RECORDING March 2023 - 56

L Session
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g
by Marc Urselli
All photos by Marc Urselli
Recording the
Foo Fighters at EastWest
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the passing of the great Taylor
Hawkins, best known as the drummer of the Foo Fighters. By all accounts, Taylor was
one of the most genuinely loved, respected and admired souls in the musical world.
I cannot claim to have known him well. Still, on the one day I was blessed to work
with him in the studio, I got a glimpse of his incredible spirit and demeanor. He
was always smiling, deeply into the music, an attentive listener, hyper, generous and
kind--what we want every rock star to be when we meet them.
EastWest Studios
The session took place five years ago in Los Angeles at EastWest Studios. Opened
in 1965 as Western Studio (part of the United Western Recorders studio complex),
EastWest has an incredible history. Designed by Bill Putnam, this is the studio where
Frank Sinatra recorded " My Way, " " That's Life, " and " New York, New York " (I recently
was honored to mix rare live versions of these songs, but that's another story
for another article). Everyone from Elvis Presley to Barbra Streisand and the Rolling
Stones has recorded in this sacred space, along with many television and soundtrack
scores like The Godfather and Mission Impossible.
Today the studio is owned by Doug Rogers and filled with a great staff led by the
amazing studio manager Candace Stewart.
We recorded the Foo Fighters in Studio 1, a giant 61,000 cubic foot open space
with moveable wall diffusers and tons of sonic character and gear options.
A Hal Willner Production
The session was produced and organized by my mentor, the late Hal Willner,
whom I have written about many times in these pages. My adventures with Hal were
the impetus to start this column back in 2021.
The Way of the Foos
I believe the Foo Fighters are one of
EastWest Studio 1 - live room
56 RECORDING March 2023
the greatest rock bands of today. Why?
Let me explain: this is a band who came
into the studio and proceeded to all play
as a band, all at the same time, in the
same room, with the same energy, intensity
and impact that they unleash on
their audience during a live show.
They don't do one million takes, with
one million overdubs over the millionth
take, followed by hyper-editing, vocal
tuning, pitch correction ... none of that!
The Foo Fighters came in and played
straight through the track. I didn't even
have to make a single punch or edit.
They just rocked! Even the guitar solo
was played live during a choice take,
one of not many takes we did that day.
The only overdubs we did were some
percussions (namely tambourine and
hand claps around one mic). Unfortunately,
we had to overdub the lead vocal,
not because the original take wasn't
good, but simply because the live vocal
had too much bleed from the band rocking
out together in the same room. This
was despite the fact that I had set up
baffles around Dave Grohl's station and
used an SM57 on his live vocals.
Foo Fighters setup with big circle positions
around Dave Grohl

RECORDING March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of RECORDING March 2023

Fade In
Fast Forward
Neumann M49 V
Studio 101 with Joe Albano: Intro to Vocal Recording
Plugin Outlet: IK Multimedia T-RackS Joe Chiccarelli Vocal Strip
A Family of AKG C Series Microphones Compared
Reviewed and Revisited: Placid Audio Copperphone & Placid Audio 20th Anniversary Copperphone
Glamorous Modern Metamorphoses - The Creative Ethos of Charlotte Kemp Muhl and UNI and The Urchins SIMULATOR
Plugin Outlet: Antares Auto-Tune Pro X
sE 4400
Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: Vocal Advice with Beth Cohen
Drawmer 1972
Plugin Outlet: Black Rooster Audio VLA-2A Mark II & TD-201 Delay
Session Log with Marc Urselli: Recording the Foo Fighters at EastWest
Soyuz 1973
Black Lion Audio Auteur DT
Readers’ Tracks
Fade Out: The Art, Frustration and Wonder of Recording Your Own Vocals
RECORDING March 2023 - Intro
RECORDING March 2023 - Cover1
RECORDING March 2023 - Cover2
RECORDING March 2023 - 1
RECORDING March 2023 - 2
RECORDING March 2023 - 3
RECORDING March 2023 - Fade In
RECORDING March 2023 - 5
RECORDING March 2023 - 6
RECORDING March 2023 - 7
RECORDING March 2023 - Fast Forward
RECORDING March 2023 - 9
RECORDING March 2023 - Neumann M49 V
RECORDING March 2023 - 11
RECORDING March 2023 - 12
RECORDING March 2023 - 13
RECORDING March 2023 - 14
RECORDING March 2023 - 15
RECORDING March 2023 - 16
RECORDING March 2023 - 17
RECORDING March 2023 - Studio 101 with Joe Albano: Intro to Vocal Recording
RECORDING March 2023 - 19
RECORDING March 2023 - 20
RECORDING March 2023 - 21
RECORDING March 2023 - Plugin Outlet: IK Multimedia T-RackS Joe Chiccarelli Vocal Strip
RECORDING March 2023 - 23
RECORDING March 2023 - A Family of AKG C Series Microphones Compared
RECORDING March 2023 - 25
RECORDING March 2023 - 26
RECORDING March 2023 - 27
RECORDING March 2023 - 28
RECORDING March 2023 - 29
RECORDING March 2023 - 30
RECORDING March 2023 - 31
RECORDING March 2023 - Reviewed and Revisited: Placid Audio Copperphone & Placid Audio 20th Anniversary Copperphone
RECORDING March 2023 - 33
RECORDING March 2023 - 34
RECORDING March 2023 - 35
RECORDING March 2023 - Glamorous Modern Metamorphoses - The Creative Ethos of Charlotte Kemp Muhl and UNI and The Urchins SIMULATOR
RECORDING March 2023 - 37
RECORDING March 2023 - 38
RECORDING March 2023 - 39
RECORDING March 2023 - 40
RECORDING March 2023 - 41
RECORDING March 2023 - 42
RECORDING March 2023 - 43
RECORDING March 2023 - Plugin Outlet: Antares Auto-Tune Pro X
RECORDING March 2023 - 45
RECORDING March 2023 - sE 4400
RECORDING March 2023 - 47
RECORDING March 2023 - Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: Vocal Advice with Beth Cohen
RECORDING March 2023 - 49
RECORDING March 2023 - 50
RECORDING March 2023 - 51
RECORDING March 2023 - Drawmer 1972
RECORDING March 2023 - 53
RECORDING March 2023 - Plugin Outlet: Black Rooster Audio VLA-2A Mark II & TD-201 Delay
RECORDING March 2023 - 55
RECORDING March 2023 - Session Log with Marc Urselli: Recording the Foo Fighters at EastWest
RECORDING March 2023 - 57
RECORDING March 2023 - 58
RECORDING March 2023 - 59
RECORDING March 2023 - Soyuz 1973
RECORDING March 2023 - 61
RECORDING March 2023 - Black Lion Audio Auteur DT
RECORDING March 2023 - 63
RECORDING March 2023 - Readers’ Tracks
RECORDING March 2023 - 65
RECORDING March 2023 - 66
RECORDING March 2023 - 67
RECORDING March 2023 - 68
RECORDING March 2023 - 69
RECORDING March 2023 - 70
RECORDING March 2023 - 71
RECORDING March 2023 - Fade Out: The Art, Frustration and Wonder of Recording Your Own Vocals
RECORDING March 2023 - Cover3
RECORDING March 2023 - Cover4
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