The Temptations "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" Instrumental Track

It's always fun to listen to what's inside a hit record, especially when some of the polish is wiped off. Here's a great example of a great arrangement and playing on The Temptations big hit "Papa Was A Rolling Stone." It's the instrumental-only version, except for the background harmony vocals in the chorus. Here's what to listen for.

1. The stereo panning is very distinct with most of the instruments either hard left, hard right or center. One of the cooler things is how the guitars are split hard left and right, with the fills in the center or just off to one side.

2. This is an excellent example of a song written around a single riff that never changes. All of the dynamics, and the differentiation between the sections, are created strictly by the arrangement. Not an easy feat.

3. The only drums are kick and high hat. The backbeat in the second half of the chorus comes from some highly compressed handclaps.

4. There are a lot of guitars playing. Usually there's a minimum of 2 but at times as many as 6. You never think of a Motown song being that guitar intense, but it's actually easier to do with clean guitars than distorted.

5. There's a touch of one beautiful sounding reverb on most of the instruments, with the exception of a tape delay on the solo trumpet.

---

Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

An Interview With Engineer Steve Albini

Steve Albini has been making records with bands for a long time, and has developed some opinions as a result that have sometimes flown in the face of the mainstream music business. While his most famous credit remains Nirvana’s In Utero, Steve has worked with a diverse lineup of artists such as PJ Harvey, The Pixies, The Stooges, Cheap Trick, Silkworm, Jesus Lizard, Bush, and even the mainstream Page/Plant Walking to Clarksdale.

Always interesting, here's an interview with Steve from a few years ago where he covers choosing an engineer, where vocals should sit in the mix, workflow, and the future of the music business.

----------------------------------

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

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 social media and the new music business.

3 Reasons To Use Your Amplifier Tone Controls

As a general rule, most musicians (especially guitar players) have no idea how to use anything that adjusts the frequency bands of their instrument, meaning the amplifier tone controls.

The reason is that they're never taught what tone controls are there for, and there's not a lot of information in the manuals that comes with amplifiers either (if anyone actually reads them).

This excerpt from the Ultimate Guitar Tone Handbook shows the 3 general reasons to use the amplifier EQ.

1) Many stringed instruments (like bass and guitar) have dead spots on the neck where a few notes can drop in level. A bit of EQing can help smooth things out if you can zero in on the frequency band of the notes that are dropping out.

2) You need to compensate for a frequency range deficiency. This could mean a situation where a Strat might not have enough bottom when played through a Marshall Jubilee so you’d add some low end with the tone controls to compensate. On the other hand, a Les Paul through the same amp might be too bottom heavy so you’d subtract some bottom. And then that same Strat might just have a mid-range that’s like an ice pick through the eardrums on certain notes, so you’d back off on the mid-range a bit and pull the pick out of the ears.

3) And finally, to keep the instruments from clashing in a scenario where 2 players use the same model instruments and amplifiers (like two Les Paul into two Marshalls). In order to fit well together frequency-wise, one player would adjust his tone to have a bit more bottom and maybe scoop out the lower midrange while the other player would go for more top end with a midrange peak just where the other guy scooped it out. There you have it - instant blend.

Of course things are never quite that easy in real life. Most guitar players never get to audio nirvana with their sound in the first place (it's like finding the perfect wave - it's out there but rarely experienced), and once found, it's difficult to get them to deviate from anything they’re comfortable with, even if it makes the band sound better. But if a player hears how successful the above techniques work in a controlled environment like the studio, they’re usually a bit more open to experimentation afterwards. Of course you can always tell them that xxx (fill in their favorite artist) does it that way to get his or her attention, because he probably does.

Whatever the method used, a judicious use of the amplifier tone controls can make a huge difference in how a band blends together both on-stage and in the studio.

---

Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

Winter NAMM 2016 Overview - Part 2 "Oddities"

Part 2 of my Winter NAMM overview looks at some of the odder offerings at NAMM. Some may be useful to certain customers, but the rest of us may be left scratching our heads. Here we go.




The 24 string guitar - because you can't have too many strings, right? This was actually a trend at NAMM, with quite a few companies showing guitars with extra strings.





The accordion controller - because accordions are just so cool.








The lightshow PA speaker - Most Chinese companies showed products like this. I guess it keeps you from getting bored at the show.










The lightshow PA speaker with crystal ball - Let's tell some fortunes during Karaoke this evening.









The Shure Electrostatic Ear Buds - I listened, but they just weren't $2,500 better than what came with my iPhone. Oh, and you need the special $1,000 amp to drive them.













The Stomplight - because floor lighting makes you look so amazing.







The traffic cop controller - You can go direct traffic after the gig.








The wearable metronome - It's so large that you may not be able to hold your arm up to see it.











The multi-switch guitar - For those guitar players who have an extra $6k and are truly bored on stage, here are many more controls to play with.










The plastic mixer cover - Protect your mixer when those bar fights break out and the suds are flowing everywhere.

---

Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

Winter NAMM Wrap-Up On My Latest Inner Circle Podcast

This week I've got a very special podcast for you. It's my annual Winter NAMM wrap-up that will showcase both the latest trends spotted at the show and some cool new products.

It's a bit different and more in-depth than what's been posted here, as it covers a few interesting new products as well as a number of re-releases of old favorites, so be sure to tune in to find out what might be the next piece of gear in your life.

Remember that you can find the podcast at BobbyOInnerCircle.com, or either on iTunes, Stitcher and now on Mixcloud and Google Play.

---

Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

Winter NAMM 2016 Overview - Part 1

Winter NAMM has come and gone once again, and left us with a lot to talk about. Once again there was nothing so new and revolutionary that everyone at the show was talking about (as expected), but there were some cool new things that were shown, as well as some disappointments, and some that were downright absurd.

Here are a few things that jumped out at me during my walk around NAMM. I covered it from a slightly different angle and more in depth on my Inner Circle podcast.

Shure KSM8 Dualdyne - This is a dual diaphragm condenser mic that reportedly gets rid of the 3.5kHz bump and the proximity response. The problem is that after 50 years of SM58s, I think we all like that sound. It's expensive at $499.




Manley Nu Mu - Here's a less expensive alternative to Manley's famous VariMu compressor with a new HIP control that allows lots of compression without losing any detail. Around $2,300 on the street.




Mackie AXIS - This is a remote controllable mixer with remote preamps that's intended for installed sound systems. It can use up to 3 iPads as displays. Available in 16 and 32 input versions. No word on prices yet.






Dave Smith OB6 - One of the sounds of the 80s is the Oberheim OB6 synthesizer and now Dave Smith Instruments has brought the unit back in collaboration with Tom Oberheim. Complete with effects and a sequencer, it sells for around $3k






Slate Raven MTi2 - I think I'm softening on my position to touchscreen controllers after playing with the new Raven MTi2. All of the most used parameters are at the bottom of the screen so you don't have to lift your arm that much. Plus, there are a ton of useful add-ons that will work with any DAW. A bargain for a 27" touchscreen monitor/controller at $1k






Solomon LoFreQ -  Many engineers won't record a drum kit without using a subkick mic, but up until now the commercial ones have used 8 inch drivers instead of the 6 1/2" NS10 driver that we all grew to love. The LowFreQ uses that same diameter driver, and compensates for the level differences between subkick and regular kick mic as well. Priced very reasonably at $199.







Subwoofer Pros - There hasn't been a company since M&K that specialized in subwoofers, but that's exactly what Brad Lunde's new Subwoofer Pros does. The cabinets are not ported so there's a smoother frequency response, they have a lot of power, and a built-in crossover and bass management. Two models available, either a 12" or 18" starting at around $2k









GTC Revpad - This is one of the coolest things I saw at the show. It's a wireless touchpad that velcros to a guitar's pickguard. From there you can wirelessly control and crossfade between a variety of onboard or external effects with the greatest of ease. Around $1200.








Fostex Headphones - I love Fostex headphones and have used T20s in various versions for more than 20 years. Now the T models are back in circulation. From about $120.

Part 2 tomorrow.

---

Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

Taylor Swift "You Belong With Me" Isolated Vocals

Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" was not only a worldwide hit, but also garnered nominations for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Here are the isolated vocals from the song and a few things to listen for.

1. The vocal in the 1st verse seems very close to you because the medium delayed reverb is dialed back a bit compared to the rest of the song. There's also what sounds like a 1/4 note delay that blends seamlessly into the track except for certain phrases where it's emphasized.

2. At the end of the 2nd verse there's a delay hard panned left and right as an effect.

3. Listen for the solo vocal counterpoint line only on the right side during the bridge, as well as the hard panned effect at end.

4. The vocal is very compressed, but you don't hear the compressor working for the most part.

5. A lot of breaths are left in the track, especially in the first verse, to up the emotion in the song.

---

Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

Can You Keep Perfect Time?

Check out your time with this handy little app. You can use any key on your keyboard except for the space bar (the mouse is slow so keep away from that too).

The track plays at 120 bpm. Your score is based on how close you were to the direct timing.

• If you're spot on you get 50 points.
• You lose a point for every 2 milliseconds that your off.
• You get 0 points if you're off by 100ms or more.

The absolute best you can score is 1000.

Let me know how you scored.


Click image to open interactive version (via Concert Hotels).

---

Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

EQing For Size

Figure 7.5: EQing for Size

Usually when we EQ elements of a mix we're doing it to make everything fit. That means juggling frequencies so that there are no clashes, and making mix elements smaller. This happens when we have large mixes with lots of tracks.

Sometimes there aren't that many tracks to worry about though (like for live recordings, or blues or jazz), so we more interested in increasing the sonic size of the tracks. Here's an excerpt from my Mixing Engineer's Handbook that describes how to do that in 4 easy steps.

"Making a sound bigger or larger than life usually comes from the addition of bass and sub-bass frequencies in the 40Hz to 250Hz range, although most will come from an area just below 100Hz, a region just above 100Hz, or both.

For use the method, the low frequency band of your EQ must be sweepable.
1. Set the Boost/Cut control to a moderate level of Boost (8 or 10 dB should work).

2. Sweep through the frequencies in the bass band until you find the frequency where the sound has the desired amount of fullness.

3. Adjust the amount of boost to taste. Be aware that too much boost will make the sound muddy.

4. Go to the frequency either 1/2 or twice the frequency that you used in #2 and add an amount of that frequency as well. Example: If your frequency in #2 was 120Hz, go to 60Hz and add a dB or so as well. If your frequency was 50Hz, go to 100Hz and add a bit there (see Figure 7.5)."

You can read more from The Mixing Engineer's Handbook and my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.

---

Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

Guitar Center: "Sign This Or You're Fired!"

Guitar Center is at it again, bullying employees into signing an agreement that would strip them of the right to sue the company in class action lawsuits over wage violations, workplace discrimination and unjust firings, among other disputes, according to the Huffington Post.

Employees at the Las Vegas store were told that they had to sign the agreement by the end of Friday or their jobs would be terminated.

Arbitration is a tactic used my many big companies today to keep down the legal costs that a court case may involve during a dispute. Instead the case is referred to a third party arbitrator for settlement.

While on the surface that might seem fair, many times the arbitrator maintains a cozy relationship with the company, resulting in favorable rulings, as outlined by an article in the New York Times. The big difference here is that GC is requiring employees to sign the agreement after they've been hired, while usually the agreement is signed when they're first hired.

Keep in mind that GC is still involved in a labor dispute with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union regarding 3 GC stores electing to unionize, but the company failing to reach a contract agreement with any of them. A decision hasn't been issued by the arbitrator in that case yet.

While its unclear whether Guitar Center's current actions violate a law since the court has ruled multiple ways in the past, the union is considering additional legal actions.

Things just get worse for GC employees, which means that it won't get any better for customers either.

---

Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

Engineer Phil Rohr On My Latest Inner Circle Podcast

I'm pleased to have engineer/producer/bass player Phil Rohr on my latest podcast. Phil specializes in recording both audiobooks and long distance (like from LA to Australia) film and TV ADR, a couple of jobs that few in the audio business are ever exposed to.

In the intro I'll discuss the passing of the legend David Bowie, and let you in on some of the amazing facts about the man and his recordings that I learned over the course of co-writing the Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust book with producer/engineer Ken Scott.

Remember that you can find the podcast at BobbyOInnerCircle.com, or either on iTunes, Stitcher and now on Mixcloud and Google Play.

---

Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

New Music Gear Monday: Sound Radix Drum Leveler

Digital technology has revolutionized limiters, enabling "look-ahead" algorithms to spot transients in the signal before they cause an overload. Now that same technology is being put to use with Sound Radix's totally unique Drum Leveler software.

Drum Leveler does a lot of very cool things very easily. For instance, if you work with drum loops, it will allow you to change the level of a drum hit within the loop. That means that if the snare of the loop is too loud or quiet, Drum Leveler allows you to look inside the loop and bring the snare level up or down.

Another thing that Drum Leveler does well is adjust the level of an individual track without having to use a compressor. That means that you can keep the level of a snare or hat consistent or even exactly the same, or change the volume envelope if you choose. While you're at it, you can also decrease or increase the leakage of a drum track, something that no other plugin can do as easily.

Drum Leveler also works with other instruments, especially when connected via the sidechain, as it provides much more control over dynamics and syncing than most gates.

Sound Radix Drum Leveler is priced at $149 and is available for all computer and plugin platforms.

----------------------------------

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