William Shatner Is Iron Man!

Whether you love or hate him, Bill Shatner is interesting. Here's a behind the scenes look at him recording Black Sabbath's seminal "Iron Man." He's actually singing (sort of)! The song his from his new album Seeking Major Tom.

What I really want to point here is the mic technique used by the engineer. Notice how the mic is placed above the lips slightly point down? That's the best way to prevent plosives. Also notice that the body of the mic is above the capsule. That's not so important for a condenser mic with solid state electronics, but for tube mics it's a necessity to keep the heat from changing the sound of the diaphragm.

Enjoy.

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"Crazy Train" Ozzy - Isolated Guitar Track

There are not many guitar players who make an instant mark on the music world, but Randy Rhoads was one of them. With the most amazingly fluid style since Eddie Van Halen, Randy's work with Ozzy Osbourne helped bring Ozzy back from obscurity. Here's the first (and some say still the best) single that Ozzy released after his break from Black Sabbath, the isolated guitar track from "Crazy Train" from the  1980 Blizzard of Oz album. Here are some things to listen for (it doesn't begin until about 20 seconds in).

1) The guitars are a true double, split left and right, with the parts played slightly differently. The chords are on the left side while most of the single note pedal is on the right. It's amazing that he can double some of the licks and harmonics so well.

2) The guitar sound is very basic, with just a short room sound used as ambience.

3) You can hear a punch on the left side at about 2;15 and at the solo at 2;50.

4) The solo is written and again doubled very effectively, making it sound a lot bigger as a result.

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You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating the music business.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

Goodbye Ronnie.

Ronnie James Dio died today, which is a blow to everyone that loved hard rock music. Ronnie was a fabulous singer, but he was an even better person, a real gentleman who was truly concerned about everyone he came in contact with.

Most everyone knew Ronnie from either his days as singer for Rainbow, Black Sabbath or his own band, Dio, but I met Ronnie way before that when he was a bass player for The Electric Elves (eventually changed to Elf). I was in a band that opened for the Elves at a small festival in Pennsylvania back in the early 70's when I first got to know him. We met again when another band I was in opened for them at the long gone Electric Circus in New York City.

When I moved to Los Angeles, I'd run in to Ronnie again and again at parties and in various studios and we'd always fondly reminisce about the old days back East. I even did a surround mix for one of his albums along the way that unfortunately was never released.

Ronnie was always a kind and gentle soul, which absolutely no airs about him. He was your buddy from next door and he really cared about everyone he touched. Happy Journey, Ronnie. And thanks for the great memories and music you leave behind.