WATCH PART THREE OF THE INTERVIEW RECORDED AT ABBEY ROAD
In this third part of the interview series we found out from Ken about how using less impressive microphones when recording drums needn’t be a problem, talks about dynamic range, the importance of good monitoring (again) and making a decision to keep a session moving. Come back soon for the fourth part of our interview!
With credits ranging from the Doves to Paul Weller, Oasis & Primal Scream to Jamiroquai & Massive Attack. Max Heyes is happiest in a live band environment, as well as with dance-pop projects. We met up with Max at Lynchmob Studios, London, to find out more about his career and the studio that he’s based at.
Watch the Max Heyes Video Feature – Click Here
Combining the best of new technology with the organic feel of true live sound, Max co-produced The Doves’ Mercury Music Prize Nominated UK#1 album “The Last Broadcast”, and contributed mixes for Primal Scream’s XTRMNTR album- recently voted number 3 in NME’s top albums of the decade. Max was also involved in developing the La Roux project with mixes of the smash hit ‘In For The Kill’
Stuart Bruce began his recording career at London’s SARM studios under the tuition of legendary engineers Gary Langan and Julian Mendelsohn. He worked as an assistant with artists such as Dollar, ABC, Malcolm McLaren, The Undertones, Monsoon, Echo and the Bunnymen, Simple Minds, Tears for Fears, The The, Nik Kershaw, the Belle Stars, Spandau Ballet and Trevor Horn’s own band The Buggles.
Since then, Stuart has had an amazing recording career, highlights include recording the Band Aid single. We met up with Stuart at his private recording studio near Bath, England, and as there was so much ‘interesting stuff’ we have kept the feature quite long – we think it’s well worth watching all the way as it’s the only way to find out who Status Quo locked in the toilet by watching all the way through…..
Watch the Stuart Bruce video interview in HD by clicking here
Many thanks to Stuart for his time and to George Shilling for asking the questions
We really loved his studio and you can look at and buy our full quality photos in this gallery here.
Part Two of our exclusive video interview with legendary recording engineer and producer Ken Scott shot at Abbey Road Studios with Russell Cottier asking the questions.
In this second part we asked Ken about his microphone choices and placement when recording drums and came back to making decisions as you go along when recording and how important good monitoring is.
Come back just before Christmas for the third part of our interview!
Ken Scott’s video guide of how to record and mix drums for students and engineers is a superb DVD pack. Find out more about the EDU version by clicking here! Its videos cover everything from basic mic techniques to mixing and everything in between. Ken walks you through the recording process and on the second disk you get to play with the drum tracks that he recorded so that you can understand how he does things.
Special thanks to Ken for giving up so much time and to everyone at Abbey Road but we’d like to mention Mirek Styles, Colette Barber and Simon Campbell for their help in making this possible! We would also like to give special thanks to Russell Cottier for coming all the way from Liverpool to record the interview!
Come back just before Christmas for Part Three!
OTHER EXCLUSIVE KEN SCOTT VIDEO FEATURES
- Watch Ken recording the Epik Drums Samples (5 Videos)
- Watch Ken talking in an interview with Nijel Jopson at Abbey Road
Ken Scott is a legendary British recording engineer and producer who recorded The Beatles, David Bowie, Elton John, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham, Duran Duran, Dixie Dregs, Missing Persons, Devo, Lou Reed, America, George Harrison and many other iconic artists in music history. He had his start in the 60’s working as a Tape Operator at Abbey Road Studios and from there went on to engineer and produce some of the most acclaimed albums of the 20th Century. Ken has recorded timeless songs such as “I Am The Walrus”, “Rocket Man”, “Ziggy Stardust”, “Dreamer”, “Walk On The Wild Side” and many others. One of the unique aspects of Ken’s career in music is the diversity of iconic styles he has been a part of from the 60’s to today.
“EpiK DrumS – A Ken Scott Collection” is a Sonic Reality virtual instrument/plug-in for drum kits and grooves with the authentic sound and feel of timeless classic albums. Expanding the Drum Masters series with high resolution vintage drum sounds, EpiK DrumS features drum kits and grooves of 5 of the world’s best drummers all recorded and mixed by legendary producer/engineer Ken Scott.
In this first massive volume from the Ken Scott Collection, Ken has recreated the drum sounds in the style of multi-track studio sessions he recorded with David Bowie, Supertramp, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Dixie Dregs, Missing Persons, Elton John and The Beatles. These authentic classic sounds were achieved by using the same rare recording equipment, drum kits, percussion and expert technical assistance from Ross Garfield “The Drum Doctor”, advanced programming by Sonic Reality and collaboration with the original legendary drummers Bill Cobham, Terry Bozzio, Woody Woodmansey, Bob Siebenberg and Rod Morgenstein. All together it is one the most EPIK productions ever done for a software drum and groove instrument.
Is The Record Producer Dead?
Some people say we have been superseded by the Macbook, apparently all that is needed anymore to make a record. Whilst I applaud the capability of artists to record themselves independently of record company financing and interference, the article missed the point; it assumed that as long as you had the gear, you didn’t really need anything else. An easy enough mistake when you don’t understand what a producer does. But – IT’S NOT ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT, GUYS!!
The technical act of recording is NOT producing in itself. Record production encompasses the whole deal – from artist development to song to arrangement to studio to recording techniques to performance to mixing to mastering to marketing and often beyond…. knowing what’s the right thing to do at any given time during the process. Or at least giving the impression that you do.
Though it may be a thorny subject to some, the Home Studio Explosion is not something I have a problem with …I would have been first on the block for that when I started out. But what is overlooked – that equipment manufacturers hope you don’t realise – is that gear is no substitute for experience, and simply can’t fix everything. In fact, often the opposite is true when the marketplace urges you to buy the new Best Thing Ever which will miraculously bring those amateur recordings up to a stunningly pro standard.
Do note: The Best Thing Ever in those circumstances is to hire a producer…
But “what does a producer DO?”
Everything that DIDN’T occur to you.
Not dead yet, chaps….
I’m going all stream of consciousness this afternoon, after having the string parts from Eleanor Rigby running through my head since early this morning. It’s masterly arrangement, especially in the subtlety of the last bar of the last verse (no, not the end of the song!), which resolves with a poignant finality – unsentimental,almost matter-of-fact, yet elegant, compassionate, heartfelt and uplifting. All in two seconds, on 4 track. That’s the way to do it.
The biggest challenge we face in this industry is putting the value back into music. Not just simply finding clever marketing ploys to keep the pot boiling – the “give away the album because they’ll buy the T-shirt” philosophy…it’s more fundamental and far more challenging than that. Truth is, the desire to own recorded music is entirely emotional – not a pragmatic two for one deal to save you money. The draw is part lifestyle, part nostalgia (what about that crap TV advertised compilation covering old Hollywood stuff?!! Worst thing since the Eastenders Wartime Singalong album – Mea Culpa), part aspirational, and partly a visceral tug which touches the very core of a listener when they discover the grain of universal truth that only the best can deliver. The epiphany of Highway 61 Revisited, Guernica, Strawberry Fields. That’s how lasting art always connects, be it music, painting, writing, all that stuff.
Blame it on what you will, the old Art vs Commerce chestnut has a role to play in all of this… if only for the strength an ambitious artist can gain by his own struggle with it.
Tell me, how much struggle is involved with your typical home recording set up? Not much,I’m afraid. Computers are ubiquitous, you can buy a mic in Poundland, and download the software for nowt. Even if you don’t entirely understand the instructions, it’s not that demanding to get the thing working. Not like when I were a lad (cue gruff Yorkshire accent) when we ‘ad to save up for years for a banjo or make our own out of old teabags….
A little bit of adversity sharpens one’s skills. And having to dig into your pocket a little to buy a record makes it special – something of value, something worthwhile. Not that I’m advocating putting up CD or download prices. The majors got it totally wrong when they adopted new pricing structures in the early internet days. Had they reduced prices to a level the public felt reasonable instead of feeling ripped off (which they were) – the subsequent online disaster could in large part have been avoided, and we might not have been banished to the X Factor Phantom Zone we are currently in.
Where am I going with all this? Simple; the value is in the quality of work we do, not its price. Let it be a reminder if you’re not getting paid as much as you used to!
