EQ Magazine - March 2009 - (Page 30)

The 50th Anniversary of Kind of Blue by David Royer Merging Technologies Pyramix software, a custom Muth console, a Dangerous 2-Bus Analog Summing Mixer, a Focusrite Blue 330 mastering compressor, a Blue 315 isomorphic equalizer, a pair of EAR DAR 822Q equalizers, a custom Wolifson tube amp, a Manley Massive Passive tube equalizer and Variable Mu Limiter Compressor, ProAc Four monitors, and Wireworld and Harmonic Technology cables. “I had Mark’s 2-track tapes that were mixed from the original 3track tapes,” says Calbi, “as well as three or four pressings of Kind of Blue from different eras. The early versions had a bit of a different bass sound than the ’97 remix, and I wanted to get as close to the original bass sound as I could, because I thought it spoke a little bit better. We tried several different pieces of equipment to get the roundness we wanted on the bass. I ran the audio into a custom line-stage amplifier designed by Barry Wolifson, then into an EAR DAR822Q equalizer— boosting around 100Hz to get the bottom as full as possible—and then into the Muth console. Other than that, I didn’t want anything in my signal chain that might change the original relationships of the instruments. I didn’t want to start EQing and changing the tone of things. It was basically a transfer of the mix, but fattened up to get it as smooth as possible. That was my job with Kind of Blue—to transfer the mix flat, but with a color that would enhance the sound of the horns and the bass. The original mix tended to be a little bit on the bright side. There was a period in the early ’60s where everything was really bright.” Calbi also worked hard to accurately represent the original sonic spectrum of the album. “The elements that make Kind of Blue most interesting to me are the sound of the room itself, the horns being panned hard right and hard left in the stereo version, and the natural dynamics,” he says. “The expressiveness and detail you can hear from each player is amazing. And, when mastering for vinyl, you can keep full dynamic range without having to compress everything to be louder. Today, people love their sh*t to be loud in order to compete on the radio, or with other CDs. But for Kind of Blue, that approach is irrelevant. This is music that you want to cherish, and try to enhance. You know, people always use words such as ‘organic’ and ‘natural,’ but the only natural thing is sitting in a room and hearing some guy play. Everything else is all technology and artifice.” MASTERING FOR CD As Sony’s Senior Mastering Engineer, Mark Wilder typically spends his days remixing tracks both classic and modern out of Sony’s Battery Mastering Studios on West 54th in Manhattan (formerly the Record Plant). Wilder has more experience with Kind of Blue than almost any other living person on the planet except Jimmy Cobb. Wilder not only remastered the quintessential Kind of Blue mix from the original 1959 3-track tapes, he discovered a playbackspeed flaw that remained on all Kind of Blue pressings until 1992. At that time, Wilder was revisiting the 3track safety reels from the original 1959 session for the Sony Mastersound reissue of Kind of Blue, and he noticed the three songs on Side A were a bit sharp in pitch compared to the same tunes on the backup reels. Apparently, the main 3-track deck was turning slower than MA-201 fet “The MA-201fet is big and fat, and packs an extra midrange punch that sounds great on vocals, drums and guitars.” Michael Wagener - Engineer; Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Skid Row, Extreme, King’s X Visit mojaveaudio.com for studio photos and audio samples. Introducing 818.847.0222 Burbank, CA 30 EQ MARCH 2009 www.eqmag.com http://www.mojaveaudio.com http://www.mojaveaudio.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - March 2009

EQ Magazine - March 2009 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Mr. Scruff Apollo Sunshine Al Schmitt Toolbox Third Eye Blind Kind of Blue Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Ableton Live Vocal Tools Gadgets & Goodies Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - March 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.