RECORDING August 2022 - 30

WE HAVE
DANGER IN THE
WORKPLACE
I had just gotten divorced and needed
to stay home as a single dad. So setting
up a studio was a big game changer.
Plus, the house was empty and I had the
freedom to record in every room.
Tony, what is your
recording setup?
Tony: I'm using a Universal Audio
interface into Logic on a Mac. When
I started recording at home in the early
2000s, like Pat, I had a blackface
ADAT. It's hard to imagine now that I
was recording on that and sending people
tapes. When I switched to digital
[tapeless] in about 2002, about 10%
or 20% of the things I was doing were
home-based and trading files. Now it's
probably 95%. As a bass player, my recording
rig is very simple; I'm only ever
recording one or two tracks at the most.
I have about ten basses that I can
choose among to figure out the right
sound for any given piece.
Lately,
I
have been using the new Radial HDI
(high-definition DI) as my front end.
For anyone not familiar
with the Chapman Stick,
how do you record that?
Tony: There are various kinds of Chapman
Sticks. The version I have has six
bass strings and six guitar strings, with
two outputs. I always compress the bass
side quite a bit. I like the sound of it, but
it's a very different, particular tone compared
to other basses I have. Outside of
Stick Men, I'm very fussy about which
pieces I pick it up for. I use all the effects
I can get my hands on for the guitar
side. I'm a fan of the KEMPER PROFILER
Amp, and I use that exclusively both live
and when recording the stick.
Markus, what is your rig?
Markus: [Pans his camera down to a
table with a computer, a Focusrite interface
and a Neural DSP Quad Cortex
multi-FX processor.] This is my rig for
both live and recording. I'm a fan of being
totally mobile. I also like the idea
of always having something new or different.
I have an extensive pedal collection.
When I start a new project, I pick
30 RECORDING August 2022
two or three pedals and then use those
for inspiration. I always go direct to an
interface, and I also record a split of the
direct guitar signal so I can reamp later.
I'm using Neural DSP effects for guitar
sounds, which work really well for me.
EXPERIENCE
IN MIXING.
Does the Touch Guitar
also have a stereo
or dual output?
Markus: Mine is just mono. When recording,
I do a lot of overdubbing, doubling
and switching between bass and
guitar parts with Tony.
One thing about my mode of working
is I always try to improvise. In most
cases, I try to keep the first take and the
first sounds. On Tentacles, everything
I play is the initial idea. In the case of
the solos, those are actually first takes.
Because I'm not questioning what Tony
played or what Pat played, I'm trying
not to question even what I played.
I'm going to ask the
obvious question.
What if your first take
sucks? [Everyone laughs]
Then it's a matter of making it work in
the production process. I will quantize
it or harmonize it, or maybe, I'll simply
present it to Pat and Tony, and what they
play will make it work.
Tony: Your first takes aren't as bad as
my first takes, that's for sure.
Pat: I'll keep my first takes also, and
in Pro Tools, I use Playlists to try different
ideas. Another thing I usually do is, because
I don't have a remote control set
up, I press go in the control room and run
to the other room. So I usually take whatever
these guys send me, and I put multiple
repeats end-to-end, maybe three or
four of them in a row. Then I track to them
one after the other. Because I don't know
the material yet, often I will put a Coda
onto a song, not realizing that I'm actually
playing on the intro to the next piece,
or that I have even switched songs.
Tony: And then that becomes the song.
Pat: Also, when I record, Tony's parts
are often mono, and Markus' parts are
usually spread out in wide stereo. I typically
pan Tony to one side as if he's on
stage with me and pan Markus to the
other. This way, I can hear what these
guys are playing, and I can figure out
what parts I want to lock into. Then when
I hear a mix come back from Tony or
Markus, parts that I thought were significant
may have gone into the background
or maybe come even more forward. It's a
whole different presentation.
Tony: I've watched Pat record, and
something that fascinates me is that if he
doesn't know the piece and there's some
tricky riff that he has no way of knowing
is coming, he'll play or echo the part on
the next bar after it happens. Later he'll
just go in and move it back a bar, and it
sounds like he hit it perfectly.
TONY'S STUDIO FACTS
DAW: Logic Pro X
Conversion: Universal
Audio Apollo Twin
DI: Radial HDI High Definition
Studio Direct Box
Guitar Output: Top of the
Chapman Stick, I go through
a KEMPER PROFILER.
Plugins: I use often include stock
Logic plugins. Most commonly,
the UA Teletronix LA-2A, UA
Pultec Pro Legacy EQ and the
new Ampeg SVT Suite.
Instrument: Chapman Stick
What happens once
you are all happy with
your recorded parts?
Tony: Markus is essentially the producer.
Pat and I send our tracks to Markus,
and he assembles it and takes care of
getting it mixed.
Markus: Assembly is a good word.
Who mixed the
album Tentacles?
It was mixed by Benni Schäfer at
Horus Sound Studio in Hanover, Germany.
It started in 1979. Members of the
Scorpions have worked there and Helloween,
Kreator and Celtic Frost. One
room is famous for its rock drum sounds.
TO TRY AND
RECREATE
THE LIVE
Photo by Tony Levin
RECORDING August 2022

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