EQ Magazine - September 2008 - (Page 20)

¡NATURALISMO BOHEMIO! VS-2480 digital workstation.” Critical to Midlake’s sound is the group’s proclivity for integrating multiple keyboards into sections. On ‘Roscoe,’ for example, the piano sound is an equal blend of a Kurzweil SP88X stage piano and a Korg MS2000B synth. “Blending the two creates a strange electric piano sound,” Alexander says. “We ran both instruments straight into a Brent Averill BAE 1272 as it smoothed out the top end. It fattened the lows a bit too much, though, so we had to use the EQ on our Mackie 16•8 board to cut some of the low end and make it sound more natural.” Alexander credits Van Occupanther’s natural synth sounds to his trusty Empirical Labs FATSO. “We put the FATSO on virtually every synth track on the album, as well as the mix bus,” he says. “Not because we needed to even out the dynamics, but because it added warmth to the instruments. Applied on the mix bus, a good analog compressor will really help the instruments coagulate.” A FRENZIED ATMOSPHERE Twenty-two-year-old Alison Sudol (a.k.a. A Fine Frenzy) crafts beautiful, piano-driven lite-rock mixed with freakfolk on One Cell in the Sea [Virgin]. The album saw her teaming up with coproducers Lukas Burton and Hal Cragin to create a tapestry of noises that serve as a foundation for the singer/pianist’s sweet-and-salty melodies. “This album is all about atmosphere,” Burton says. “On one hand, it’s very produced with lots of layers of Roland Juno and Korg Triton synth patches. On the other hand, particularly for Alison’s voice, it was very bare bones. We didn’t want to trample on the wispiness, clarity, and vulnerability of her voice, so we tried to stay away from the compressor as much as possible.” Engineer Brian Scheuble credits Sudol’s vocal sound on One Cell in the Sea to a modified Neumann U87, courtesy of Stayne from Innertube Audio. “It’s a tube mod for the U87,” Scheuble says. “In that respect, it’s more like a U67. I’m not usually one for modded mics, but I heard how clear the mic’s sound was, and I had to use it on her.” Scheuble points out that the grit present on One Cell in the Sea is, in part, due to his applying a cheap cassette recorder as a room mic. “It picks up everything,” he says, “and it adds a little bit of noise—which makes the recording feel more real.” While Burton and Scheuble claim that retaining the natural beauty of Sudol’s voice and her pianos (an upright Yamaha and a Steinway grand) was considered of ultimate importance, there are a few choice sections on One Cell in the Sea where the executive decision was made to slather a track or three in effects. “There were slow, vibe-y songs, like ‘Whisper,’ ‘Ashes and Wine,’ and ‘Almost Lover,’ which begged for some atmosphere,” says Scheuble. “So we’d put reverb on the piano, and flip the signal for a backwards effect so it had a long trail coming up to the hit. That created a real spooky, ominous vibe to the songs.” “I’ve always liked a beauty with brains.” Josh Homme, Artist/Producer, Queens of the Stone Age SIGMA Phantom powered ribbon microphone The warmth of a ribbon mic at a fraction of the price. for a retailer near you, visit sontronicsusa.com 20 EQ SEPTEMBER 2008 www.eqmag.com http://sontronicsusa.com http://sontronicsusa.com http://www.eqmag.com

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

EQ Magazine - September 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Freak Folk Todd Rundgren Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Sony Acid 6 Ableton Live 7 Portable Recorder Showdown Gadgets and Goodies Sounds Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - September 2008

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