Bruce Swedien's Mic Closet

Bruce Swedien at his Harrison console

Bruce Swedien is truly the Godfather of recording engineers, having recorded and mixed hits from everyone from Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie to Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer and Michael Jackson. He's a mentor of mentors, as so many of his teachings are now handed down to a generation now just learning (his interview in The Mixing Engineer's Handbook is a standout).

Bruce is also a collector of microphones and will not use one he doesn't personally own, so he knows the exact condition of each. Recently he posted a bit about the mics he uses on his Facebook page, and I thought it worth a reprint.

A couple of things stick out to me.
1. His use of an Sennheiser 421 on kick. I know it's a studio standard for some reason (especially on toms), but I never could get it work on anything in a way that I liked.

2. His use of the relatively new Neumann M149, because it's eh...........new.

3. His synthesizer advice (under the M49) is a real gem.

Here's Bruce.
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Constantly being asked about my mics, so here goes:

My microphone collection, spanning many of the best-known models in studio history, are my pride and joy. My microphones are prized possessions. To me, they are irreplaceable. Having my own mics that no-one else handles or uses assures a consistency in the sonics of my work that would otherwise be impossible.” 

AKG C414 EB
“My first application would be for first and second violins. It’s really great mic for the classical approach for a string section.”
Hear it on... the first and second violins in Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’.

Altec 21B
“This is a fantastic mic, and I have four of them. It’s an omni condenser, and [for jazz recording] what you do is wrap the base of the mic connector in foam and put it in the bridge of the bass so that it sticks up and sits right under the fingerboard. It wouldn’t be my choice for orchestral sessions, though.”
Hear it on... Numerous recordings for Oscar Peterson between 1959 and 1965.

RCA 44BX & 77BX; AEA R44C
“[The 44BX] is a large, heavy mellow-sounding old mic with a great deal of proximity effect. This is very useful in reinforcing the low register of a vocalist’s range if that is desired. If I am asked to do a big band recording of mainly soft, lush songs, I almost always opt for ribbon mics for the brass. I suggest AEA R44C or RCA44BX on trumpets, and RCA 77DX on trombones. Ribbon mics are great for percussion too.”
Hear it on... trumpets and flugelhorns in Michael Jackson’s ‘Rock With You’ (at 0:54); percussion in Michael Jackson’s ‘Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough’.

Sennheiser MD421
“The kick is about the only place I use that mic, and I mike very closely. I frequently remove the bass drum’s front head, and the microphone is placed inside along with some padding to minimise resonances, vibrations, and rattles.”
Hear it on... the kick drum in Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’.

Shure SM57
“For the snare I love the Shure SM57. In the old days it wasn’t as consistent in manufacture as it is now. I must have eight of those mics, and they’re all just a teeny bit different, so I have one marked ‘snare drum’. But the ones I’ve bought recently are all almost identical. On the snare drum, I usually go for a single microphone. I’ve tried miking both top and bottom of the snare, but this can cause phasing problems.”
Hear it on... snare drum in Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’.

Telefunken 251
“These mics have a beautiful mellow quality, but possess an amazing degree of clarity in vocal recording. The 251 is not overly sibilant and is often my number one choice for solo vocals.”
Hear it on... Patti Austin in ‘Baby, Come To Me’, her duet with James Ingram.

Telefunken U47
“I still have one of the two U47s that I bought new in 1953, and will still frequently be first choice on lead vocal. This is a mic that can be used on a ballad or on a very aggressive rock track. It has a slight peak in its frequency response at around 7kHz, which gives it a feeling of natural presence. It also has a slight peak in the low end around 100Hz. This gives it a warm, rich sound. For Joe Williams, another mic would never have worked as well. I figured out that it was the mic for him when I heard him speak. After you’ve been doing this for as long as I have, you begin to have instinctive sonic reactions, and it saves a lot of time!”
Hear it on... Joe Williams in the Count Basie Band’s Just The Blues

Neumann M149
“I have a pair of these that Neumann made just for me, with consecutive serial numbers, and they sound so great. That’s what I use now in XY stereo on piano.”

Neumann M49
“This is very close sonically to the M149, but not quite the same. It’s a three-pattern mic and the first that Neumann came up with which had the pattern control on the power supply... you could have the mic in the air and still adjust the pattern. I use these for choir recording in a Blumlein pair, which is one of my favourite techniques because it’s very natural in a good room. When I was recording with Michael and Quincy I was given carte blanche to make the greatest soundfields I could, so what I also did was pick a really good room and record the synths through amps and speakers with a Blumlein pair to get the early reflections as part of the sonic field. The direct sound output of a synthesizer is very uninteresting, but this can make the sonic image fascinating. You have to be really careful, though, to open up the pre-delay of any reverb wide enough to not cover those early reflections. They mostly occur below 120ms, so with 120ms pre-delay those sounds remain intact and very lovely.”
Hear it on... Andre Crouch choir in Michael Jackson’s ‘Man In The Mirror’, ‘Keep The Faith’.

Neumann U67
“The predecessor to the U87, and an excellent microphone, but it’s not one of my real favourites, as a purely instinctive reaction. It’s just a little bit too technical perhaps, and it doesn’t have sufficient sonic character for me to use it on a lead vocal, for instance. It’s a good choice of microphone for violas and cellos, however, and the U87 can also work well in this application.”
Hear it on... violas and cellos in Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’.

I'll post a bit of Bruce's interview from The Mixing Engineer's Handbook in a future post.

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The Ins And Outs Of Subtractive Equalization

One of the most effective ways of equalizing is to use a method known as subtractive equalization. While the natural tendency is to boost when using the EQ, subtracting can be much more effective and sound better as well. In this excerpt from The Audio Mixing Bootcamp (a similar explanation can be found in latest 3rd edition of The Mixing Engineer's Handbook), you'll see just how easy and effective subtractive EQ can be.

"While it’s natural to believe that by adding some EQ here and there that you’ll make the instrument or vocal sound better, that’s not necessarily the case. There’s a very effective EQ technique called “subtractive equalization” that works by attenuating frequencies instead of boosting them. Many superstar mixers love this method because it makes the sound of the track more natural than if you boosted any of the frequencies. This is because every time you boost an EQ, there’s an slight amount of something called phase shift that’s added to the signal as a byproduct of the way an electronic equalizer works. By using subtractive equalization, you completely avoid this artifact. As a result, the track is better able to blend with the others.

Here’s how to use subtractive equalization:

1. Set the Boost/Cut control to a moderate level of cut (8 or 10 dB should work.)

2. Sweep through the frequencies until you find the frequency where the sound has the least amount of boxiness and the most definition.

3. Adjust the amount of cut to taste. Be aware that too much cut makes the sound thinner.

Alternately you can try a different approach.

1. Set the Boost/Cut control to a moderate level of boost (8 or 10 dB should work.)

2. Sweep through the frequencies until you find the frequency that really leaps out above all others. That’s the frequency to cut.

3. Adjust the amount of cut to taste. Be aware that too much cut makes the sound thinner.

There are two frequency ranges that are particularly effective when using subtractive equalization; from 400Hz to 600Hz and between 2k and 4kHz. The reason why 400Hz to 600Hz is chosen is because most directional microphones provide a natural boost in that frequency range because of the proximity effect brought about by miking an instrument or voice up close. Likewise, many mics that are known as good vocal mics have a presence boost between 2k and 4kHz. Cutting those frequencies a few dB (more or less as needed) can make the track sound much more natural than if you were to try to boost other frequencies instead.

These two problem areas usually crop up when you’re recording everything with the same microphone, since there’s a buildup in the those frequency areas as more and more instruments are recorded. By cutting a few dB from these frequency ranges you’ll find that the instruments sit better in the mix without every having to add as much EQ."

To read additional excerpts from this and other books, go to bobbyowsinski.com.

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My Top 10 Compressors

I was recently intrigued by a really good article on Beatport's Attack blog called "Top 20 Best Compressors Of All Time." Since the bog is primarily dedicated to electronic music, you can probably dismiss some of its seemingly dubious entries to the way they're used creating that type of music. The article did get me thinking about the top 10 compressors that I like though, so I thought I'd do my own version.

Although the other list was primarily hardware compressors, this list is a combination, since most of us live in a DAW world these days. Okay, here we go.

1. Universal Audio 1176: I don't care which version you use, the 1176 is about as close to a desert island compressor as you'll get due to its versatility. I like to use it on kick, snare, guitars, bass, vocals - just about anything. It can be aggressive sounding, but nothing pulls an instrument out of a mix in the same way.

2. Teletronix/Universal Audio LA-2A: Once again, I don't care which version of the hardware or software you use, the LA-2A has a sound and feel all its own. It can work pretty well on most instruments, but stands out for vocals, and is dead easy to use. I never use too much, as I like the sound of 2 to 3 dB in most situations.

3. Universal Audio LA-3: Perhaps the ultimate electric guitar compressor, I've used it successfully on piano and keyboards as well. Nothing works quite the same with electric guitars in a mix.

4. Fairchild 660/670: When it comes to buss compression, the Fairchild 670 stands is king of the hill for many kinds of music (especially retro or acoustic). It just adds a glue and warmth that you have trouble getting any other way. Just a little bit (a couple of dB) works a lot better than a whole lot. The 660 is the mono version of the more widely known 670, and was the sound you heard on many of The Beatle records (Ringo's drums, for instance).

5. SSL Buss Compressor: This is the sound that made so many pop and rock records in the 80s and 90s, and it still works great in those genres. I once worked in a studio that had the buss compressor on their 9k labeled as "The Good Button." Why? Because no matter how your mix sounded, once the SSL buss compressor was engaged, it sounded better.

6. Waves L1: You can't beat a classic and the Waves L1 is probably the first software limiter that worked so well that it was abused. If used correctly, few limiters are as capable of controlling the peaks of a mix. If used badly, it can suck the life out of a mix faster than you can say "hypercompression."

7. Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor: Few modern compressors have caught on so widely as the Distressor, and that's because there are few that are as versatile. I like to track with it on vocals to keep the peaks under control, but there are few compressors that are as effective on room mics, especially when it's set to "Nuke."

8. dbx 160: I just love the 160s; any of them. For a punchy drum sound, you can't beat the hardware 160X's (or even the A model). In software, the UAD 160 sounds great. My favorite for aggressive kick and snare, but it will pull a piano or acoustic guitar up front as well.

9. Neve 33609: This is another case of a buss compressor that really works well, especially if you only need a little to tighten up the bottom. It's not always my first choice, but it usually works in a situation when the previously mentioned ones don't.

10. FMR Audio RNC: The Really Nice Compress (RNC) is a great little hardware unit that provides tremendous bang for buck. I don't feel that it necessarily excels at any one thing, but it does work well in most situations. For a home studio with not a lot of money to burn, the stereo RNC (and it's companion RNL -Really Nice Limiter) is a must-have.

Honorable Mention. Pro Tools Native Digirack Compressor/Limiter: I personally think this is one of the most versatile compressors that you can find. It can sound transparent and it can sound aggressive, and since it doesn't take up much in the way of systems resources, you can use a lot of them in a big mix. Don't overlook it.

Once again, these are my personal opinions because these are what I always use. There's lots of other great ones out there (especially in software), but I've come to rely on these units because I know what they'll do in most situations.

Which are your favorites?

By the way, check this out for a good lesson on compressor setup.

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New Music Gear Monday: Rupert Neve 5060 Centerpiece

Desktop mixers and summing amplifiers are all the rage these days and rightfully so. We live in a DAW world and well over 90% of all studio music mixing is done in-the-box. We've seen SSL and AMS-Neve recently introduce their own products in this category, but a new one from Rupert Neve Designs (not to be confused with AMS-Neve, his old company) is something completely different.

The Rupert Neve 5060 Centerpiece is basically a 24 channel summing amp with a monitor controller built in. What makes it unique is that it also has 4 stereo inputs each controllable by a fader as well as a master fader. Add a USB/MIDI transport section, and RND's totally unique Texture color control and the 5060 Centerpiece becomes a unit different from anything else on the market. Retail price is $7995. Check out this video for some of the details.

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Making A Ribbon Mic Part 2

For those of you who haven't experienced the joys of using a ribbon mic, you don't know what you're missing. Ribbon mics are incredibly natural sounding and the tracks recorded with them take EQ very well. What's more, modern ribbon mics are extremely robust and not nearly as delicate as many of their predecessors were.

A few weeks ago I posted a segment from the How It's Made television show that described how a ribbon mic was made using an AEA R44 ribbon as an example. Here's another segment on the same subject, this time showing how a Royer Labs R 121 is made. I like this segment better in that it shows a number of details that were left out of the first one. By the way, I'm a big fan of Royer microphones (as well as their Mojave Audio condenser mic cousins).

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Announcing The 2 Millionth Page View! Thanks Everyone!

I'm proud to announce that The Big Picture production blog has just crossed the 2,000,000th view threshold.

Many, many thanks to everyone who's supported me in this endeavor! It takes a lot of time every day to prepare these posts, but the fact you continue to check in makes it all worthwhile.

When I started this blog 4 1/2 years ago (November 2, 2008) there were 7 views the first week. I'm thankful that you've all encouraged me to stay the course.

As they say in politics, here's to "4 more years."

Fall Out Boy:" My Songs Know What You Did" Song Analysis

Reader Jim Yeomans requested a song analysis of the Fall Out Boy hit "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark," which is from their 5th studio album entitled Save Rock And Roll. The song was a worldwide hit, reaching the top 5 in the US on iTunes and in singles charts in the UK, Scotland and Ireland. As with all song analysis, we'll look at the song from, the arrangement, the sound and the production.

The Song
"My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" has a fairly simple form of intro, verse and chorus with no bridge or solo. As a result it clocks in at only 3:11, a timing that's built for radio, which loves the short song (and even speeds many songs up in order to play more songs per hour).

The form looks like this:

Intro, Verse, B section, Chorus, Verse, 

B section, Chorus, B section (2x), Chorus, Tag 

What's unusual about the form is that the title of the song appears in the 4 bar B section. The song is built around a single chord pattern, and that limits the melody somewhat, but there's still a melody there, which is more than you can say about many songs these days. Likewise, the lyrics work fairly well within the context of the song, telling a story and rhyming well without seeming forced.

The Arrangement
When a song is built around a single riff, chord or chord pattern, it needs a great arrangement to succeed. So is the case with "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark." The arrangement elements looks like this:

  * The Foundation: bass and drums, vocal loops

  * The Rhythm: vocal loops, rhythm guitars, claps, synth line

  * The Pad: none

  *The Lead: lead vocal

  * The Fills: vocals, effects

The song begins with a vocal loop and claps for 4 bars, after which a second vocal loop enters along with the drums for four bars, and then an electric guitar for the next four bars to complete the intro.

The first verse sees the lead vocal enter as well as a 16th note bass following the chord pattern. A sound effect occurs after the first two phrases then again after the fifth and sixth. The drums fall out during the B section when the title lyrics are stated, which leads into the big chorus with the drums switching to a half-time feel. On bar 5 "hey's" enter on the upbeat of beat 4, then on the second half of the chorus, the "whoa's" are answered by "I'm on fire" along with a new single note synth line, and then with an "In the dark, dark" vocal sample at the end of each chord pattern.

On the second verse a synth is added behind the sound effects, and a floor tom enters on bar 5. The band drops out completely on bar 12 except for a lighter sound effect. The second chorus is almost identical to the first, but with the addition of some bigger sounding guitars.

The song then returns to the opening 4 bars of the intro with the addition of some very reverbed out "hey's", then to a standard B section that's repeated, only with a very lo-fi vocal. The last chorus is bigger than the previous 2 thanks to additional parts. The song ends with a 2 bar tag of "whoa's" without any music.

The Sound
While the trend in mixing was to keep everything dry for a long time, but "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" shows what seems to be a new trend back to layered effects. Each vocal loop has a different reverb, as does the snare and the sound effects. The vocal uses a stereo tape delay simulation (you can tell by how it gets fuzzy and dull as it repeats), which is also somewhat of a trend these days.

The song is very compressed and borderline distorted, and I wonder just how much better it would've sounded if there were some dynamics left in it.

The Production
As stated before, when a song is built around a single riff, chord or chord pattern, it needs a great arrangement, as well as great production to succeed. "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" is pretty cool from the standpoint that there's always something new going on as you go through the song. There's either a new sound effect or a new vocal loop in every vocal hole, the song's intensity changes, or a different reverb or echo can be heard.

What's also cool is the unusual drum beat in the intro and verses that then changes to a half-time feel during the big choruses. What's also unusual is that for a guitar band, the guitars aren't featured in the song. Of course, add all of the above together and you have a hit.

Send me your song requests for analysis (no originals, only hits) at "requests at bobbyowsinski.com."

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The Talking Robot Mouth

One of the common every day things that we take for granted is speech. It's an incredibly complex operation, but one that we never even think about until we see the following video from professor Hideyuki Sawada at Kagawa University.

While most robots speak using electronic technology (mostly speakers), this one actually mimics the human body in that it's a working mouth, complete with nose. As you'll see, there's so much more that goes into speaking than you ever thought.

The robot is still primitive (it still doesn't do "f" or "s" sounds), but it just makes you appreciate the human body all the more.

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Using Automation To Add Dynamics To A Mix

The heart of a modern mix lies in it's precision automation and the soul of a mix is in the way it dynamically breathes in the right places. In this excerpt from the new Advanced chapter of the Mixing Engineer's Handbook 3r Edition, we see 10 tips to use a DAW's automation to instill excitement in a mix by adding dynamics.

"For the most part, a mix where the faders remain more or less static can be boring and unexciting. Even before automation, mixers were constantly riding instrument and vocal faders during a mix in order to make sure they stood out in certain places or added an extra intensity to the mix. The best part about automation is that those moves can be exactly replicated on every playback.

Among the ways to add dynamics to a mix are:

• Slightly boost the rhythm section during fills, turnarounds and even choruses (usually only a couple of dB is all that’s necessary, but it depends upon the track). 

• Boost the snare and toms during fills.

• Boost the kick, snare or cymbals on accents or the downbeat of a new section.

• Duck the rhythm instruments during an instrument solo to help clear out space in the mix.

• Boost the high-hat in parts where it’s being struck and decrease it where it’s not.

• Add additional reverb or delay to an instrument when it gets masked as other instruments are added to the mix.

• Pump a strumming rhythm guitar in time with the music, pushing it especially on 2 and 4, or push it on the upbeats (one AND two AND three AND…)

• Gently boost the fills or other instruments in between vocal phrases.

• Pull back the downbeat of a chorus if the drummer hits it too hard.

• Pump the “4 AND” on a percussion track.

TIP: The key to understanding how to use automation to add dynamics is by observing a performance by a great band. This will help you to be able to hear all the nuances that the dynamics of the mix needs in order for it to be exciting. "

To read additional excerpts from this book and others, go to bobbyowsinski.com.

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New Music Gear Monday: UAD Ocean Way Studios Plugin

We live in a world of plugins to the degree that even old school pros with a ton (literally) of available analog gear use what's in their DAW as a matter of course in their every day work. While most plugins now attempt to be some emulation of an old piece of gear or a new variation of an old concept, every once in a while something new comes along with some truly out-of-the-box thinking. Which brings us to one of the most unique and useful plugins to come along in a long time - the Universal Audio Ocean Way Studios plugin.

The Ocean Way Studios plugin works on any of the UAD hardware platforms and takes room simulation to the next step by modeling the sound of two of the studio's famous Bill Putnum-designed tracking rooms (Putnam was the original owner of both United Studios - now Ocean Way - and Universal Audio when it manufactured hardware starting back in the 1960s. Bill Putnam jr. runs Universal Audio today). You're able to choose from a number of Ocean Way owner Allen Sides' great vintage mic emulations and place them any distance in the room, as well as mix and EQ multiple combination of mics.

After using the plugin on a project that I'm currently mixing I can say that there's really not anything exactly like the Ocean Way Studios plugin on the market. I can see how this could be a great addition to a home studio owner who only has a small room to record in, but wants it to realistically sound like a larger one - and with the Ocean Way sound to boot.

Check out the video below for more details.

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A Musical Genre Overview

This is one of the coolest interactive sites you'll ever find. Want to know the genealogy of different music genres? Just about every type of musical genre you can think of is included (like chillwave, cowpunk, slow core and mbalax, to name a few of the more obscure ones). Click on any genre and you'll see who the practitioners are.

genremaps

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An Arrangement Lesson From Lynyrd Skynyrd

The key to keeping a song interesting is in the arrangement. A song that's well written, performed and recorded still might sound flat and unexciting if the arrangement is unimaginative. Even worse, if the song has the same changes that repeat over and over for 3 plus minutes, you better be thinking of how to change it up a little so you don't lose your listeners.

Reader Fred Decker recently sent an email asking to take a look at the arrangement of the solo section of Lynryd Skynyrd's classic "Free Bird," something that I've done in some of my books like How To Make Your Band Sound Great and The Music Producer's Handbook. Skynyrd's arrangement is superb in that it changes ever 16 bars (even though those 16 bars repeat over and over), elevating the song and pulling you in. Even 40 years later, it's energy is inescapable.

The section we're going to analyze begins about half-way through the 9 minute song when the solos begin at 4:56 and the song goes into double time.

To see how the arrangement develops, first understand that each section of the ending is composed of 16 bars that repeats the G - Bb - C pattern 4 times. The section repeats 9 times (10 if you include the fade), and this is what it looks like:

1: straight double time  

2: accents on beats 1 and 2 

3: straight double time with the accent changed to the "3 and" (anticipation of beat 4) on the 4rth bar of the 4rth repeat 

4: accent on the "3 and" of every 4rth bar 

5: accents on beats 1 and 2 with the band stopped for beats 3 and 4 

6: straight double time with 2 guitar solos 

7: snare double time. On the 4rth repeat of the chord pattern, beat 1 is accented with a crash cymbal. 

8: snare double time with each beat accented with a crash cymbal. The bass gradually climbs from the low to high register. On the 4rth repeat of the chord pattern, the crash cymbal changes to 8th notes. 

9: back to straight double time with a push accent on "3 and" on the 4rth bar of the 4rth repeat. On the last bar of the last repeat, each beat is accented against a chromatic descending line from C to G. 

10: fade against straight double time with accents on beats 1 and 2 and an accent on"3 and"  on the 4rth bar of the 4rth repeat

As you can see, the same G - Bb - C pattern repeats 40 times (10 full sections), but you never get tired of listening since there's always something different happening, either with the drums, bass, solo or the entire band accenting. And best of all, the entire solo section has a form where it gradually develops to a peak on the 9th section.

Love the song or hate it, there's no doubt that "Free Bird" is one of the best examples ever of great song arrangement and development.

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