I have no secrets in the studio. Everything I do is either learned from someone else, in the prior published literature or figured-out from core principles known to pretty much everybody in the game.

In the case of Joanna Newsom's harp, I used close mics, a mono area mic and an ambient mic.

The close mics were four Crown GLM100s attached to the the body of the resonator box, evenly spaced along the length of the harp. I needed four to get even coverage without hot spots, and these mics are small and light enough that they wouldn't interfere with the sound or playing. Taped in place with a little square of gaffer tape, they didn't need stands or other hardware. These mics were recorded discretely (one to a tape track) but could easily have been sub-mixed to stereo.

The area mic was either a Sony C500 or a Neumann U47. We tried both, and I don't recall which was eventually chosen. It was about head-high and about a yard away, directly in front of the harp.

We tried a C24 stereo mic in that position (or a Neumann SM2, I don't remember) but I don't think those survived the audition.

The ambient mic was an AKG C12A in omni, resting on the floor as a boundary mic about 12 feet away in a hard-sided room.

That's it.

Wrong forum. And no, not really.

Cocaine makes you want to hear things extra-bright. One client of mine even described a particularly nasal vocal effect as being exactly "like when you shoot coke and get a ringer (whining tinnitus) and it sounds like you're in a tube..."

Other than that, I haven't really thought about it. I was never much of a Bowie fan, and I haven't spent a lot of time listening to his music in detail.

Fair enough, that's your method, slightly different than mine. Is it possible then, to like a band you don't know anything about? Also, isn't the term "I pity you" reserved for cartoons and soap operas these days?

Steve,

A few years back, I picked up a cd by a band called Technician. I believe (if I remember correctly) that it was produced by Bob Weston. Did you have anything to do with that recording? It sounded very similar to Shellac.

Also, did you actually get a $million$ for recording Bush? I heard you did (obviously).

No, I got $150,000 straight.

What about Technician?

kick a some dust in Conrad Black face if you get to see him, but you do nothave to chat with him except if you do...tell him a canuck said to do so, lol

Silkworm's "In The West" is easily one of my all-time favorite albums. I had heard that the album (or at least many of the songs on it) were recorded in one take (as in everyone is recorded at the same time), vocals and all. I can hear the warble in the vocals at times due to the strumming going on simultaneously.

Is this true about that particular album?

No. Silkworm pretty much always overdubbed the singing, with the exception of a couple of all-acoustic numbers like "Goodnight Mr. Maugham."

You are spot-on about them being great though. Untouchable, great band.

What do you want to know? I did one session with them, it went okay, they made an album. Their guitar player got to meet some members of the Resurrection Band, his childhood christian rock heroes.

I'm not into these posts where somebody just drops a band's name and expects me to start talking like a nickelodeon. Ask a question I can answer at least.

I once heard the drum room at Electrical referred to as "paid for by Page & Plant." Was that another one of those "he made a million on that one" kinda things where you actually only(!) made $150k or so?

More like three grand.

Have you ever played guitar hero?

No. I tried Dance Dance Revolution once. Looked like a baboon. I am no threat at any video game.

So, Stevie-baby. I made up a joke...
Q: What do The Police and Big Black have in common?
A: In both bands, the drummer was the most talented musician.

So, anonymous internet dork. I thought you were done here.
Q: ******?
A: ****** who likes the Police.

On the subject of selling out:

Are there bands you find distasteful enough to reject their music regardless of the quality? My general take is that music should be judged on its own merit, but I know it would be a struggle to buy a Creed record, no matter how phenomenal. If the Jesus Lizard recorded an album under the name "Urge Overkill" or "Nickelback" would you end up loving it?

Of the bands who get a ton of radio play, are there any that you think are original/worthwhile? Personally, I love Tool. Wait for it... But seriously, it doesn't matter too much to me if a band charges 70 bucks for a concert ticket as long as they make good music.

Do you think some bands force their way into mainstream consciousness through sheer force of talent, or does it always require some degree of selling out?

To fit in with this thread I guess I also have to namedrop a band that you've worked with. Hearing Slint for the first time was like getting hit with a brick. A really happy brick. I don't think seeing your name in a 2+2 thread would register in quite as much of a "holy crap!" way if it weren't associated with them.

Also, you should sneak a round of puppet into your next homegame and let us know how it turns out.

Thanks for keeping up with all of the questions, this thread has definitely woken up Emil.

Creed and phenomenal should never be in the same sentence.

Have you listened to Brian Eno's work (personal and collaborative) and wondered how creative he would be if his digital "toys" were taken away? Is there any sound or effect created using Protools that you simply can't recreate in an analog environment? Or perhaps is that just not the point, that the music should be transmitted in its purest form from the studio experience to the commercial release.

Thanks
(a girl who reads BBV and listens to music, holla)

Similarly, how do you regard artists whose idiosyncratic recording style is essential to their musical expression? I think of Jandek, for one, where the hiss and tin are actually as much music as the voice/gtr/whatever. Or Royal Trux, who used effects with a kind of historical and theoretical sophistication...I mean, isn't recording as straight up documentation kind of like a painter limiting himself to portraiture? Isn't any tool useful in the right hands?

have you ever worked with jon brion on any albums? any thoughts on him in particular?

My uncle used to be Sting's drummer and in his height was considered one of the top 5 drummers in the UK. They were best man at each others wedding.

Beat: Sting moved on, formed the Police, became mega wealthy, my uncle carried on being a successful session drummer, but ended up drinking heavily, depression set in and died of liver failure.

Brag: I have a DVD video of Sting giving a prerecorded eulogy at my uncle's funeral. Funeral was in Newcastle, and Sting was on tour in America/Japan at the time so couldn't make it over.

Variance: and this matters to me why?