EQ Magazine - July 2008 - (Page 24)

Analog Tape, Blood Sugar , and Random Bits of Genius reverb, it’s because I want it to fill up a lot of space in the mix. That’s not necessarily why I’ll use my BX20. And to think CDs were initially marketed as “Perfect Sound Forever.” It’s really funny because, 30 years ago, when everyone started using digital, it actually sounded pretty good. All the classical stuff that Philips Records and London Records were doing in the late ’70s and early ’80s sounds amazing. Steely Dan’s Aja was a digital record—Gaucho, too. They sound great because the technology was research-driven, not market-driven. All that gear was designed because there was such a drive at that point to make records sound great. It was way more complicated than recording on tape, but it sounded awesome. Then, around 1984, everything went to sh*t. The first time I recorded onto the Sony 3324, I thought, “Now this is why the ’80s sounds like it does.” With all that cheap sh*t, you could record one track and be okay, and you could record a second track and be okay, but, by the time you got to the third track, where stereo imaging becomes an issue, it all fell apart. Things have gotten a lot better, though. So much of what is made today sounds really good—even though I may not use it. RADAR sounds absolutely fantastic. It doesn’t really compromise transients. But you have to use tape with it. What about tape emulators? There are all sorts of emulators, and some sound good, but the thing about tape is the control you have over the amount of compression is all level. If I said to you, “I invented this compressor that has zero attack and zero release time, and it sounds awesome, and you can never tell it’s working,” you would probably ask, “Where do I buy it?” I would say, “It’s a tape machine!” That’s what it does! When I do a record solely in RADAR, I use everything in my outboard rack to get it to sound like tape. When I do a record on tape, I use maybe one or two compressors in the mix. I recompress the vocals and the bass, and that’s it. I don’t need to do anything else, because the tape has already done so much work for me. Ultimately, when you record Death Cab for Cutie—or any other band— what is your main goal as a producer? More and more, it’s just to get good performances. I am not the sort of producer who is going to throw my dinner at the band if I want them to sound angrier. I am not going to bring a gun to the studio if I want the song to be panicky. That is not my style. But I do want to capitalize on the mood that is happening in the room at any point. I do that by being flexible, and being able to adapt to whatever the situation might be. That’s not super easy to do when the tape is running, but I try to settle on a workable setup pretty quick in the event that I hit Record, and something amazing happens. It’s about capitalizing on what the band is feeling—getting all those calories from breakfast when they kick in, and getting their blood sugar when it’s at its optimum point [laughs]. Recording is all about being reactive to your band the entire time. http://www.sonicus.net http://www.sonicus.net

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - July 2008

EQ Magazine - July 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Louis XIV, Four TET and Steve Reid, Can Your Record Go Gold in the Digital Age Tool Box Death Cab For Cutie Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Propellerhead Reason 4 Sony Acid Pro 6 EDAX Audio Labs VTP-100 M-Audio Profire 2626 Tape Simulator Shootout Tape Simulators Sounds Room With a VU: Infrasonic Sound Recording Company, Los Angeles, CA.

EQ Magazine - July 2008

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