(04:
02: 03 ) Do you prefer the recording part of the mixing part?
(04:
02: 10 ) Er, I think I, I think I enjoy the mixing a bit more because
I, I can be more objective, I can come into a project and really have
fresh ears and I think when you get to the mixing, to the mixing stage
I think, I found out to be very important, to have somebody mixing the
record who can be objective with it and er... it's not so close and pressured
to it. But don't get me wrong, I actually, I do enjoy the recording part
as well and I enjoy seeing a project all the way through it. There's quite
a bit of satisfaction I receive when I've done a project and seen it all
the way through.
(04:
02: 46 ) Do you think it be easier to record an album and have somebody
else mixing it?
(04:
02: 54 ) Would it be easier...
(04:
02: 59 ) Not for me I...We conclude...
(04:
03 : 27 ) Can you describe me what is your ideal studio, the one you would
like to have, the gears you would
like to have, the perfect studio?
(04:
03: 35 ) The ultimate studio?
With
the gear and....?
TLA
: (04: 03: 41 ) Well, I think it's...the ultimate studio may fallen
to the category of not so much the kind of equipment they have but how,
how the room is set up, and how comfortable the room is, and if the room
has a vib, I think that's very important, it's just as important, in my
opinion, as any of the gear that the studio would have, it's the vib of
the room: is it comfortable? Is it lit well? Does it have good ventilation?
All the little creature(?) comforts that really er...I mean they, they
tribute to a part of us getting a successful mix as much as I, I think
the gear does.
But
in answering your question, what kind of bells and whistles do I like?...The
gear...I've reallly been a fan of the old Dury(?) 11.76 compressors and
L.A. 3.8 compressors, I use quite a bit of compression in the work that
I do so I'm a big fan of the old vintage compressors and also maybe some
of the vower(?) or tub equalizers and there's a company out called Abalon
(?) who are making two class A equalizers which are quite, quite interesting,
so I like to have a couple of those around and, you know, I use the regular
bits and bobs some of the, the multi effect processor box(?) like the
Roland.....I was just...
(04:
05: 17 ) We spoke about compressors and what kind of microphones do
you use, for example on drums or vocals? Do you have favorites?
(04:
05: 27 ) Oh absolutely! Lately I've been really getting into the audio-technica
line of microphones, they sent me a couple of them for a try-out...and
er...I was very surprised, the 40s series, the 40.33 generally, audio-technica
40.33, it's similar to a Neumann 87, and I was very surprised when I
put it out...how...the clarity that the microphone delivers, it's a
great modern mic, new sound, you know, it sounds like a classic mic
but it's brand new, very low noise and that's what my mic favorite is,
the audio-technica 4000 series and the...I mean for like drums...I really
stick with the old standards, you know, RE 20(?) on the bass sherman(?),
you know, maybe an SM57 on the snare and er...Sennheiser's 4.21s around
the tom-toms, AKGs, 4.14s on the over-heads er...you know basicaly in
my opinion those are pretty much standard mics that most, a lot of people
use on the drums, they work, they sound great and they're reliable.
(04:
06: 38 ) Do you use, do you take much ambiance, do you use seperate
ambiance microphones...?
(04:
06: 43 ) Oh absolutely! Er..I record the ambiance in two stages, er...one
pair of mics, normally that's AKGs 4.14s or maybe U40, er..U87s, I would
put half way, probably about four feet away from the drum kit, on the
corners, and I call that my near room and then I would put a pair of
87s all the way in the back of the room and that would be my far room
and then I'd mix the two sounds to create, you know, what kind of depth
I want and how big I want the room to sound. Yes, ambience is a very
important part in any of my job sounds
(04:
07: 22 ) Are you very touchy about monitors? Is there a special kind
of monitors that you use?
(04:
07: 29 ) Yeah, I really love the KRK sound ??? I've never heard the
KRKs, they actually have a very good sound in monitor and they, they
are...they have a nice bottom end, a nice top end but...it all?...?..I've
been mixing on the Yamaha NS 10 near field monitors for, for so long
that I feel that er... they are...they're just another part of me. Er...I
really know what to mix sounds like... if I can get the sound really
good and kicking on a set (?) of Yamaha, then I know that it's gonna
sound pretty much the same everywhere else. They're very er...real world
kind of sounding speakers in other words, they're...if there was, there
was a speaker to, to sort of be the average sound of every speaker,
I think that they are those, the NS 10 so that's what I mix on.
(04:
08: 28 ) You said once that as a sound engineer, you're not afraid of
taking your responsabilies about sounds and stuff like that. What is
the main difference between the sound engineer's work and the producer's
work? You've been doing both...
Oh
well...it's just a matter of changing hats, I come to the studio with
quite a few hats...no er... I think that they're one and the same er...I
always view music...
TLA
: (04: 08: 50 ) I've always done my work as, as from a perspective
as a listener and I feel the same way about when I'm sitting there producing,
I really judge it as a listener not really as a producer so, for me,
it's not really a big transition, it's a...you know, I think that all
engineers when they're recording and sitting at the desk in some way
shape of form, they are part of the production and should be credited,
you know, to be because it's really a team effort. It's just when I
produce, it's, it's basically just one less person in the control room,
you know...Er..I'm..as far as the producer, I really give the artist
the freedom to experiment and er...you know just try and come up with
some lucky ideas and stuff like that when I'm producing.
But
the transition is, it's, it's actually no transition at all, I mean
as I sit down at the desk today, you know I mean I have my producer
hat on because I produce this and I don't find it a weird transition
at all.
(04:
09: 54 ) You have a favorite way to develop a project which..I'll explain
my question. Do you like to begin by something and go to another step
or are you pretty lose?
(04:
10: 08 ) I'm not quite sure I understand.....
What
I mean is when you go to a studio and do a recording, when you begin
a record, do you always have the same way of going in the project or....?
(04:
10: 23 ) Oh no, absolutely I mean I approach every project ..I mean
it's similar every project in certain ways but er...there is a certain
way that I would come into a project that er...you know like saying
ok well today we're gonna do the drums this how I do it, we record it
like this and then we mix this and blah, blah, blah. This really not
that way you know, it's really whatever the artists feel happy with
and er..being, from producing the project er...you know whatever we
feel is the best way to go around it. You understand to, to go, to approach
it.
What
is your philosophy about the use of FX?
The?.....FX?
What is my philosophy on FX?
(04:
11: 16 ) Yeah, I always think that sometimes you take the instruments....
Oh
yes, oh sure! There's no reason why you shouldn't record instruments
with FX
(04:
11: 26 ) Sorry can you say I use FX only because......
Yes,
you won't be able to edit it. Yes well, I drive a Renault and er...what
about Nigel Mansell is here.... No! TLA : (04: 11: 43 ) I use FX, they're
a very important part of, of the recording and I put instruments on
tape with FX because er...if we're coming up with the sounds or I have
a guitar player in there and if I'm monitoring him with say some chorus
or echo and I really feel that sounds you know, right for the part,
I see no reason why I shouldn't come in on it, and just record it that
way, you know, it, it it vibs the guy when he's playing, it vibs me
every time that I listen to it and it's there. And a lot of times if
you have a good effect or an interesting effect it will affect the way
the musician or the artist will be performing so it can, it can prove
to be very creative.
(04:
12: 40 ) And you said once in an interview that you were not afraid
at all about the effects, you like to put a lot.
TLA
: (04: 12: 45 ) Oh, I'm not afraid about effects at all. I mean you
have to use them you know er...no and I like to stake one effect on
top of another effect or put the reverb full flanger and then chorus
and compressors, EQ until it sounds nothing like what it originally
was but it sounds like something would. A good example, I'm mixing a
track that I did with Steve Winwood in 88 called "Don't you know what
The Night can do" and er...I can't remember exactly how I came up with
the sound but somehow it's a delay of the main keyboard that I flanged,
but however it happened it sounds like a reverse echo and it was never
intended to be that way, it was just one of those things where I just
kept turning knobs and running it through other pieces of gear and er..we
came up with this really neat sound that er...you know was used quite
a bit in the recorder in the song.
(04:
13: 43 ) How do you imagine the future improvement in the studio gear?
What do you think is the next step anyway? XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
TLA
: (04: 13: 49 ) I think the next step is a...and it's already taken
place is the er...the lowering of the prices of the gear, I think is
a... to a point it will reach everybody.
Sony's
just come up with a line of signal processors that are, that are reasonably
priced and Yamaha has had a line out and Lexicon(?) I think is coming
out with a lot of signal processors. I think to put it in reach of everybody
who, who would want to buy this stuff I think is probably the most important
development that they can come up with. Er..and I think...probably something
that I really enjoy... some of this multi-effect boxes like the SBX
1000 is stereo sampling, it's just a short stereo sampling but I find
it to be very useful if I just need to sample like you know a couple
of words and move it over here, you know and it's in a box that costs
under a thousand dollars, you know you get three seconds of stereo sampling
which to me I find to be very useful.
TLA
: (04: 14:46 ) So I think the main thing is just to get the prices
down so that it will become making available to people that normally
wouldn't be able to afford you know a Lexicon 40.? cos they're so expensive,
you know.
(04:
15: 06 ) Do you think, you speak a lot about 20 bits sampling dub(?),
do you think it's going to change something into the recording business,
or in the recording way you're working? In other words, are you satisfied
with the 16 beats revolution of the digital?
(04:
15: 27 ) No, no, absolutely not. But it's something that we have to
deal with, the way it sounds now and I think yes, I think I'm not a
technical kind of person if you wanna talk bits er....I can't answer
the question, if you want to talk bits you can't, you shouldn't talk
to me about it because I'm really a listener, I'm not a technical engineer,
I'm not, I don't talk about distorsion and loud ..?.., bits and all
that stuff. To me, I think the music is more important than any bit.
Your readers would love that...to hell with the bits! You know, just
make it worw, damn it, it's all I want! I'm sorry....
(04:
16: 14 ) It's a good way to look at it...
Er...I'm
not a techni...,
TLA
: (04: 16: 19) you know, there are people, you know, they're so
into the specifications of the gear and er...frequency response of the...you
know, that's a lot of bollocks, you know, does it sound good? Is it
user friendly. Is its cost effective? you know, can I use it? you know,
can you get me one for free? no but er...you know...I mean those things
are very important you know...it's...the main thing is does it sounds
good and is it user friendly.You know, I mean do I need a PhD to understand?
So I'm not a technical guy, I'm a listener, I love the music, you know.
(04:
17: 04 ) What is your greatest souvenir of your recording life?
(04:
17: 09 ) The greatest souvenir of my recording life?
(04:
17: 11 ) You've been working for Billy Idol, for Stevie...
TLA
: (04: 17: 15 ) Can you get this? It's the, the greatest souvenir
of my recording business. I don't know if you can get the licence plate
on that, it says Go To Mix.
What
is that?
It's,
it's my car! Did you get that! Oh good!
Can
you put it back on the desk?
Sure
TLA
: (04: 17: 51 ) Well, this is my favorite souvenir of the recording
industry but it has to be unequivalently my car. Yes, I've worked with
a lot of artists and er...some of my best memories are obviously with
Steve Winwood when we were recording "Back in Highlight", and er..."Roll
with it", "Refugees of the Heart", Steve's a very creative person, er...he
really makes you feel comfortable, you're under control and we always
try to keep a very creative environment and er....it's a lot of fun,
I've learnt a lot when I've recorded records with Steve.
04:
18: 32 ) What are your projects in the close future?
(04:
18: 36 ) My projects in the future? Well, my projects in the future are
driving this baby, take that out on the road...I just finished mixing
a Canadian artist for Atlantic Records named Iona(?) Miles er...that's
one record I have coming out soon er...and just to keep busy. I can't
be specific with, with artists names because my schedule is ever changing
right now. Er...I'm hoping that later on in the year or next year er...we'll
be working with Steve again to do another record and er...just to stay
busy and keep mixing on the Solid State Logic
TLA
: (04:19:15) Now do you mind if I fart? No, sorry...
DEMO
TLA : (04: 19: 52 ) Er...I'm mixing this
for a...I'm just doing this for....?..?..Demonstration and er...I'm mixing
Steve Winwood "Don't you know...?..." er...right now I'm just trying to
get the sound something like the album and it doesn't ressemble it at
all. Try to get the vocal ...?...effect.
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