Recording - December 2020 - 38

PELUSO P-414

VINTAGE TRIBUTE WITH

ITS BRASS CAPSULE IS AN EXTREMELY DURABLE

PROVIDE AMAZING RESULTS ON VOCALS, PIANO,
GUITARS, AMPS, STRINGS, DRUMS, HORNS...
ANYWHERE YOU PUT IT, ANYWHERE YOU TAKE IT,
AN

PELUSO'S LDC MIC
FOR STAGE & STUDIO

P414

THE P-414 IS UP TO THE CHALLENGE.

Dual back plate brass capsule
Four polar patterns
Detailed mid-range
Shimmering high-end air
Ultra low self-noise for modern recording
Custom-wound transformer balanced output
Extremely durable all metal construction
Extended stem for quick easy mounting
10/20 dB pad & 75/150Hz high-pass lter
Handmade in USA

PELUSOMICROPHONELAB.COM

Peluso Microphone Lab

Wreckless Abandon
Do you remember the first
time you went into a studio
and heard your sounds coming
back through the monitors?
I do. We were in Gainesville, and we
had cut a demo of a song Tom and I wrote
called 'Tough Row to Hoe'. I think it cost us
$800 to go down to Criteria in Miami to record a single. Aside from demos done with
a mobile rig, we'd never been in a proper
recording studio before. I quickly realized
that what it sounds like standing in the room
by the amp is not always what it sounds like
coming back through the microphones.
I had a Fender Twin Reverb at the time,
which I would never play now because
they're so frigging bright and loud. We
set up in the studio, and one of the Albert
brothers [the primary engineers at Criteria]
came over to my amp, and I said, it's so
loud, I can't get any growl out of it. He
pulled one of the power tubes right out of
the back of the amp. I thought it would just
shut off. He said, "No, it'll still play. The other tube will just work harder and get more
grunge into your sound." That's when I began to realize that there was a whole other
art to getting your sound in a studio than
just setting up how you would in rehearsal.

Did you get involved in
the engineering side?
The Heartbreaker's first album was produced by Denny Cordell, and it was done
in an office building converted to a studio.
Denny was always open to creative input
from day one, and we trusted him. So, from
the beginning, we were involved, but we
didn't really know anything. We'd have to
ask questions, but as time went on, I would
always watch the engineers, see what they
were doing, and I began to learn. I'm not
a technical engineer, but I know how to get
a sound-where to put the mic, how to set
the amp up, how to get a level. I couldn't
fix the console if it broke...

How long have you had
your home studio?
I've always had studios at my house. By
38 RECORDING December 2020

MID- RANGE AND SHIMMERING HIGH- END AIR

AND VERSATILE MICROPHONE. THE DETAILED

Recording

CK
RE
W

THE

the second album [You're Gonna Get It!], I
had a Teac four-track. When I moved into
a slightly bigger house, I got a Soundcraft
16-channel board that we did Full Moon Fever on, and I got an Otari 24-track analog
machine. It's grown with better equipment
and more microphones. Now I have a studio wing beside the house, so I have more
isolation and privacy. I've gone past analog
tape because it's just so cumbersome. Pro
Tools has gotten really good, especially if
you use it like a tape recorder, which is what
I do. I have an old Neve that I use for inputs,
which you saw in the video. I still have the
Soundcraft that I use for extra inputs, then I
put everything into a Pro Tools session and
mix in there.

And you have a house engineer?
I have this guy who worked on the
Dirty Knobs album, Martin Pradler. He's
actually coming by today. He went and
got an oven to bake my old analog
tapes in so that we can listen to them.
He does a lot of work with Ry Cooder,
and he's got a great ear. Between him
doing all the technical work and setup
and George producing, that was how
we recorded Wreckless Abandon.

I interviewed Martin back in
March when he mixed Robbie
Robertson's Sinematic. I was
really inspired by his mixing
techniques and creativity.
That's cool! Yeah, Martin is amazing.
And he's just up the street. If I have a
problem, he'll pop over and help me out.

How did you choose George
Drakoulias to produce the album,
and what should someone
look for in a producer?
I would recommend that you find a
producer that's not only talented, but trustworthy. You need to trust that, if you bring
in a song, they will help you realize the
song the way you hear it in your head and
not take it off on some tangent. Once you
gain trust, then you can move forward.

http://www.pelusomicrophonelab.com

Recording - December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2020