How Cymbals Are Made

If you're a drummer, you're going to love this video. But even if you're not, you'll find it fascinating. It's about the making of cymbals, looking specifically at how Zildjian does it.

Engineers, producers and many drummers don't pay near enough attention to the cymbals and what makes them sound good. If they've been gigging a lot, most drummers learn that heavy cymbals last a lot longer and project better on stage. That being said, they usually don't sound as good for recording, where thinner cymbals can sound a lot more musical (that's a general statement, I know, but usually true).

Another problem that frequently drives engineers crazy is when a drummer mis-matches the weights on his cymbal array, which usually means that the cymbals are unbalanced volume-wise. In this case, the engineer will have to break out a few extra mics to record the quiet ones separately and balance them later.

This video doesn't cover any of those finer points, but you will see how they're made from scratch. Enjoy.

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6 Questions For Composer, Guitarist, Engineer Rich Tozzoli

Rich Tozzoli is one of the many "hybrid" musicians who does a lot of different jobs in the music and audio business (I'm one too) . He's a great guitar player and composer whose music can be heard on television shows on Fox, the History Channel, Discovery and more. He's also a great engineer who was one of the first to get into surround sound (check out his book "Pro Tools Surround Mixing". And you probably know him from the articles he writes in Pro Sound News and Premier Guitar magazines.

You can find out more about Rich and his credits on his website and learn more about his new CD "Rhythm Up." Rich and I are also working on a book together tentatively entitled "The Guitar Recording Handbook," which you'll be hearing a lot more about very soon. I'm very pleased that he consented to this week's "6 Questions."


1) How did you break into the business?
Well, break in is the not the right word. Its actually slowly, gradually, and painfully (sometimes) finding your way into better and better gigs. I was lucky enough to hook up with Al DiMeola when I was getting started, and that led to many doors opening. However, you still have to be good, actually, really good, at your job to keep those doors open once you've gotten in there....As for TV music, I'm also lucky that literally my first big break was doing music for Nickelodeon. The late great Tom Pomposello 'discovered' me and helped guide me as to what and more importantly, what not to do. Also, there are no insignificant small things in our business - the smallest connection can literally lead to years of work.

2) What makes you unique?
I have an unusual background for someone in this end of the biz. I went to URI (University Of Rhode Island) for marketing and management, and took no music courses. Then, when I got out of college, I worked in commercial lending for two years at a huge bank. It SUCKED!!!!! Hated every day - no kidding. They use to reprimand me in my reviews for walking around too much (no joke). But it was when you still had to 'stay in your job'. After that ended, I rebelled against the lemmings and have not worn a tie since 95' (no kidding either). Anyway, I also am lucky to grasp things quickly, and Im an avid studier, researcher and listener. Sometimes, I dont even know how I just composed a piece of music, literally mintues after ive done it. Might be someone else inside me.

3) Who was you biggest influence?
Thats a hard one to answer. I think there are too many. I'm an observer. I sit quietly and take in what I just see happen in front of me. That gets stored in my memory banks for later use. So I'm influenced, literally, by everyone I come across. I never stop learning and trying to get better. Everyone can teach you something.

4) What's the best thing about your job?
Wow, there are so many. Having worked on the 'other side' in the corporate world, I appreciate my freedom. I'm ferociously independant, and I always like to do what I want when I want. haaa! But I don't have an alarm clock in my bedroom, and I wake when my body tells me to. Usually, the only time I ever have to get up early is to catch flights. Thats worth a million dollars! I get to play guitar, create music, travel, work with amazing artists and be free. Thats the best thing for sure.

5) When and where were you the happiest?
That's another tough one! I'm always happiest either at the beach or in the mountains. I walk along the Hudson River alot too, in a little town called Piermont, NY. I can detach there, and the water neutralizes me and gets me ready for whatever is coming next. That makes me incredibly happy.

Our business is loud and busy, and I'm sick of being attatched to iPhones, computers and hard drives. I love to get away and 'go analog'. My favorite thing to do professionally is to compose - even more than mixing or engineering. Composing for a show that I know will be on TV makes me the happiest - because I know royalties are coming! Also, with a lot of the TV music I do, I write whatever I want - so I can rock as heavy as Slayer with my Les Paul in one cue and pick like Hank on my Guild in another. Playing guitar makes me happy.

6) What's the best advice you've ever received?
Dont get married. I've stuck to it too!
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"Under Pressure" - Lessons From The Isolated Vocals

Today we'll take a listen to the isolated vocal tracks from the Queen and David Bowie song, "Under Pressure." There are a number of interesting points to listen for:

1) I don't know how many vocal tracks we're actually listening to (I suspect at least 4), but notice how many other instruments are shared on those tracks - claps, finger snaps, piano and horn.

A bit of history - in the days of multitrack magnetic tape machines, we'd run out of tracks pretty quickly since there were a limited number available (this song was probably done on a 16 track recorder), so the only way to add more instruments was to find a blank space on one of the tracks and record it there. That took a lot of skill to make sure you recorded the part without erasing a bit of the one previously recorded, and it also made for very interesting mixing, since they became complex very quickly when you had 3 or 4 instruments or vocals occupying the same track.

2) Freddie Mercury's vocal mic is a bit distorted at the beginning of the song, which makes me think that this was a one take affair since it cleans up as the song goes along. It might even be that both singers sang into the same mic, since Bowie sounds great but the mic sound isn't very flattering to Freddie. Ken Scott, who produced 4 Bowie albums, once told me that all of David's vocals that he worked on were always done on the first take. If this vocal track was a first take recording, the vocal performance for both singers is great.

3) Check out how the reverb is muted at 2:05, then reappears with a lot more intensity at 2:20. Also, the claps and finger snaps have some reverb at the beginning of the song but not the ending.

Have a listen.

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Lessons From the "Under Pressure" Isolated Drums

Here's another isolated track from a hit song from the past that we can learn something from. This time it's "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie, a big hit in 1981.

Once again, we're contrasting hits from different generations because what might've worked then, might not work today. Here are some things to listen for:

1) Roger Taylor's drum track is pretty solid, but there are some slight hesitations at about 1:00 during the double time feel, and again at 3:15. Would that fly today? It depends how enlightened the producer is, but probably not. I suspect that he'd probably break out Beat Detective to straighten it out.

2) The snare and toms have a LOT of reverb. It certainly works in the context of the song, but if you listen to the drums by themselves, you think right away that there's way too much. That's why the solo button on the console or DAW can do you a lot more harm than good sometimes. You can't really tell what's best for the song unless you can hear everything in context.

3) It's also interesting how they contrast the huge bombastic reverb with none at all like at 1:12. I suspect this was just a way to get rid of the long reverb tail across a rather naked part of the song in the days before console automation, but that's just speculation.

Have a listen.



Tomorrow we'll listen to the isolated vocals.

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My ASCAP Expo T-RackS Workshop Presentation

I was honored to be asked by IK Multimedia to give a short workshop on their T-RackS 3 mastering software on Friday at the ASCAP Expo in Hollywood. The room (thank you West LA Music) was full and the crowd was great with a lot of really good questions afterwards.

There were a lot of requests for my ASCAP workshop Keynote presentation, so I've put it online. As with most Keynote presentations, it's a lot better if you hear the talk that goes with it, but hopefully you'll get the idea.

That being said, everything in that presentation and a lot, lot more will be in a new book I just finished called, "Mixing and Mastering with T-RackS 3," which will be out towards the end of the year. If you own T-RackS or are thinking of buying it, it will give you a lot of tips and tricks for getting the best out it when mixing and/or mastering. It's a very powerful piece of software and one that I use often.

I also did an interview and book signing for my Music 3.0 Internet Music Guidebook. Click on the link for a short video excerpt of my ASCAP interview.

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How To Get A Gear Endorsement

The dream of every musician right after the one of getting a big record label contract is to get an endorsement deal with an equipment manufacturer. With the way the record business is going these days, the endorsement deal may be far easier to get and lot more meaningful too.

But there's an interesting catch-22 that exists in the endorsement world. For the most part, you only get endorsed when you don't need it. Makes you scratch your head a little bit and wonder why the world works this way, because you only really need the helping hand with free and discounted gear when you're dead broke, not when you have fame and fortune.

OK, here's the reality.

Most musicians forget this, but an endorsement is a two way street. The manufacturer has to get as much as of it as the musician, maybe even more, so the question becomes:

1) Do you have a fanbase? No fans, not endorsement, simple enough. There's no benefit for the manufacturer. Now every once in a while a manufacturer might take a fling with someone who they think has a chance to break big, but that still means that there's some industry buzz to even get them interested in the first place.

2) What's the demographic of your fanbase? Even if you have fans, if they're not the ones that the manufacturer is trying to reach, there's no benefit for them to enter into a deal with you. For instance, if you only have 14 year old girls as your fans, Marshall probably doesn't care too much. 14 year old boys may be a different story though.

3) Do you use the gear? If you don't use the gear already, once again you probably don't have a chance at an endorsement deal. If you have 3 years worth of promo photos in which you're playing Yamaha drums or a Telecaster, that's worth some consideration.

The flip side of this is if you have a player who's known for using one brand or model of instrument, and the manufacturer can turn him, that could make a huge difference to the buying public. Think of Slash suddenly playing a Strat. What a bombshell that would be in the guitar world!

4) Why should we endorse you? Imagine your toughest exam in school where you've had to give a oral dissertation. Imagine trying to sell someone something that you care about deeply (some people are only good at selling things they don't care about). That's the type of scrutiny you'll be under if it ever gets to the point of discussing a deal. You're becoming the face of a brand and they have to be sure that you're worthy. It's a lot more important to the manufacturer than it is for you.

5) Who's endorsing who? If the artist is big enough, he's putting his seal of approval on a brand or a product. He's endorsing the product. If you're not yet a household word in the music business and Fender decides to feature you in their advertising, they're endorsing you. They're raising your stature in the business. This is a bet on their part that at some point in your career you'll be big enough to turn around - think John Meyer.


Surprisingly, endorsements aren't what they're cracked up to be. In many cases you don't get preferential treatment unless you're Jeff Beck. Much of the time you actually have to wait to get a new piece of gear until after the dealer demand dies down, and sometimes you can actually get a better deal from Guitar Center than from your manufacturer (especially a Japanese manufacturer, who are very tight on endorsements).

In the end, endorsements aren't worth the time it takes to dream about them. You're better off spending the time writing the song that will make it unnecessary.
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6 Questions For Pro Audio PR Guy Daniel Keller

Writer, musician and technology uber-geek Daniel Keller founded Get It In Writing in 2002 and has provided his various communication talents to a number of hi-profile companies in the professional audio industry. Daniel's audio and music clients include Ampeg, Avid, Community, Mackie, Tascam, Shure and Meyer, as well as green companies such as Arizona Solar and Greenfuel Solar. Daniel also contributes articles to several magazines and websites and his latest can be found in the Universal Audio Webzine entitled, "Using Multiband EQ To Fix Common Mix Problems." He was kind enough to answer this weeks "6 Questions."


1) How did you break into the business?
I’m not sure I ever officially “broke in,” so much as evolved. I started as a musician in my teens, and pretty much every job I’ve had has been in the music industry. My current job is basically the culmination of all those different experiences, filtered through my own voice and my own perspective.

2) What makes you unique?
I’ve been fortunate to have had a good balance of right brain creative and left brain technical jobs, which I think has given me a good understanding of people’s different points of view. I can relate equally well to artists, engineers and corporate types. And since I don’t come from a traditional PR background, I think I take a more creative approach to it.

3) Who was your biggest influence?
It’s really difficult to point to a single influence. I’ve had the opportunity to work with and learn from so many great people, and I think that eclectic education is what makes me who I am.

4) What's the best thing about your job?
The best thing about my job is that I get paid to be creative. I get up every day and do something I love to do.

5) When and where were you the happiest?
Right here, right now. I can honestly say my life gets better all the time.

6) What's the best piece of advice you ever received?
Never get too complacent.

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"Won't Get Fooled Again" - Lessons From The Isolated Guitar

A few days ago we talked about the organ sound of The Who's classic "Won't Get Fooled Again." Today we'll focus on the guitar track, which is isolated from the rest of the instruments below.

I bring this up not to dwell on songs of the past but as a lesson to aspiring engineers, producers and guitar players since there are several interesting observations that can be made from the isolated guitar track.

1) The first thing to listen to is how each guitar track is played (there are two - left and right). There are sections of the song that are played with much less conviction that others. This would never fly with the production standards of today.

2) The guitars don't have a set part in some points during the song. Again, this wouldn't fly if recorded today.

3) The playing is somewhat sloppy by today's standards. There's a bit of a tuning problem, some of the rhythms are off between the guitars and that conviction thing pops up again and again, especially at the end of phrases.

Now this is one of the most iconic songs of all time in rock, always in the top 50 of all time songs, so why would we even bother to analyze the playing? Because the song simply would be recorded differently and as a result, sound different today, even if the original Who members were recording it. We listen a lot harder to a performance these days that we did back in 1971 when this song was recorded, and the little things mentioned above don't get by anymore.

But is this attention to detail really progress? People still listen to this song nearly 40 years later because the performance is so exciting. We frequently squeeze the life out of performance today by seeking perfection.

Some of the other things to listen to:

A) the drum leakage on the right channel

B) the way the track was cleaned up at :42 (probably by using something called "Spot Erase" on the tape recorder)

C) the guitar tracks were printed with reverb (commonly done during that era)

Have a listen.

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The Best Microphone Information Sites

There are a couple of websites that I really like for information on microphones. One is the Microphone Database at recordinghacks.com from drummer and mic collector Matt McGlynn, and the other is at coutant.com, which is a site by Professor S.O. Coutant of Pasadena City College.

The Microphone Database has 860 microphone profiles and focuses more on newer mics. Each mic has a brief description, the features, as well as the specs, frequency chart, polar plots and review. It's a great place to compare the virtues between several mics before you choose to buy.

Professor Coutant's site looks more at older mics, which makes it a great resource for any microphone history, and specializes in mics used for broadcast. There are some great detailed photos, as well as some seldom seen celebrity user pictures (like the one of a very young Willie Nelson from 1966 on the left).

When I was teaching recording in the early 1990's, one of the biggest problems for my students was one of microphone identification, especially of vintage mics. It was all well and good to discuss using a U-67 or a C-12A, but most students didn't have a clue what they looked like. That's why I dedicated an entire chapter to the microphones that are considered "standards" in The Recording Engineer's Handbook. I tried to give a history of each mic, as well as it's uses. I'd like to think I did a really good job with providing facts that can't be found anywhere else in my book, but sites like Matt's Microphone Database and Professor Coutant's now make it easy for a student to easily identify a vintage microphone. Now if only they were more available to use.

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The Sound Of "Won't Get Fooled Again"

The iconic song of a generation and staple of Classic Rock radio is The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again." What really makes the sound of that record is what everyone thinks is an arpeggiated synthesizer (actually it's an organ controlled by a sample and hold generator) which makes up the principle rhythm of the song. In video clip #1 that follows, Pete Townshend discusses how he got that sound.

Clip #2 is the first of a series of examples that I'll be posting illustrating how perfection isn't required in great music. Sometimes it's the imperfections that make a record special, and you'll hear that in the second clip, which is that same organ track of Won't Get Fooled Again isolated from the rest of the music. It's pretty random, imperfectly played (there are a lot of split notes), and so far away from what anyone would do today (even Townshend) that it makes for a great history lesson.

It's also interesting to listen to the places in the track where the organ is shared with background vocals, hand claps and guitar, which was necessary in 1970 when the song was recorded since it was still the era of limited tape tracks to record on (the song was done on an 8 track).

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6 Questions With Engineer Benny Faccone

10 time Grammy winner Benny Faccone may be the king of the Latin engineers, since he's worked with every major Latin artist from Santana to Ricky Martin to Luis Miguel to Mexican supergroup Mana. We go back a long way together, originally connecting at Berklee College in Boston a lot more years ago than either of us want to admit.

What makes Benny a star in the Latin world is he brings American rock sensibilities to the music, providing a sound as good as any record on the charts anywhere. Benny recently opened his new studio called "The Cavern" named after his love for The Beatles as he ventures more into production. You can find out a lot more at his bennyfaccone.com website. I'm pleased that he consented to this week's "6 Questions."


1) How did you break into the business?
This question is kind of difficult to explain because the business is so dIfferent than when I tried to break in. In a way, it was easier because there was a place to go and learn the trade, meaning at the professional studios like A&M (where I got my start), Capitol, Oceanway, and many more.

I started out at Berklee College in Boston, and when I graduated I know I wanted to be where the actIon was in LA. I came to here knocking on doors, but the doors here at the time were very obvious since the studio system was still around. I made the rounds, and with a connection from a Berklee graduate, I got an interview at A&M studio's where I ended up working for 6 years, learning from a lot of incredible engineers about the art of great recording and mixing. At that studio, I was able to build my client list up to where I could go freelance and work in the same studios where I started. Today I get Berklee graduates coming to me for recommendations, and the only place I can send them to are home studios where they are basically personal assistants or pro tools operators to a producer.

2) What makes you unique?
I think what make me different from other mixers is how I like to hear music. Everyone has their own "sound" and you can hear influences from certain mixers, but after a while I developed my own style in how I hear instruments blend together.

I work a lot in Latin music, but I approach it like I would American music. I try and blend vocals and music as a piece. These days Latin music is all about vocals, and basically the music is gone. They don't care about what the music sounds like as long as the snare and vocals are loud. Everything else doesn't seem to matter.

3) Who was your biggest influence?
My biggest influences were and are still are Bruce Swedien, Al Schmidt, and all those great engineers who took pride in making a good sounding record that has emotion. I learned a lot from Don Hahn, who was my mentor. He was incredible at blending orchestras in minutes. Bruce Swedien was also a big influence. I had the privilege to work wIth Bruce right after he did the "Thriller" album with Michael Jackson. His thing was about a track having a groove and punch.

4) What's the best thing about your job?
I guess the best thing about my job today is still having the opportunIty to go to great studio to record and mix. Although I have my own studio to record and mix in, it's still great to remember how good things could sound when you're working with great gear.

5) When and where were you the happiest?
I think that is a day to day thing in this business. When a song or record is finished it's like giving birth to a child. Also on a day when a session goes well it could be a very happy feeling.

6) What's the best piece of advice you ever received?
The best piece of advice I was given was, "Whatever you do, try and make it the best you can and something you can be proud of."

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NAB 2010 - A Yawner Of A Show

Most trade shows, even the ones held during the most dire economic circumstances like we've recently lived through, usually have something interesting or unique to offer, even if it's only the vibe. Not so for this year's NAB (National Association of Broadcasters), which was about as limp a show as I can remember.

Why do I say it was limp? Let me count the ways.

1) Traffic was down. Granted, I was there on a Tuesday (the 2nd day), but the attendance seemed significantly off from previous years.  Sure there were people in the aisles, but they weren't filled like always. But a sure signed was that a lot of the overpriced food vendors weren't even open, and the ones that were closed by 5PM. The economy has finally caught up with the broadcast industry.

2) Exhibitors were down too. This used to be a pretty big audio show, with an entire hall dedicated mostly to it. This show, the pro audio exhibitors were significantly less although the ones that cater specifically to radio or television where there as always. In fact, audio and radio were relegated to a small portion of hall C, instead of the huge North hall as before.

3) The vide wasn't too exciting. It was just dull. No excitement anywhere. Nobody talking about gear, deals, even parties. I heard a lot about where people were going to eat that night, but that's about it.

4) No new product big announcements. There was 3D, more 3D, and even more after that. That and the fact that incandescent lights are pretty much going away in favor of LED's, which just follows the trend from last year. And let's face it, when the biggest announcement is Avid buying Euphonix, you know the show is pretty lame. And why did Avid buy Euphonix anyway? Very curious and a topic for a future post.

So what did I see? Not much but here goes:

A) 3D. If I hear or see one more thing about 3D I'm going to puke. Some of it looked cool, but much of it had so much parallax in it that it could, in fact, make you throw up. Still a parlor trick, and it will continue to be so until you can view it without the stupid glasses. And by the way, if it's supposed to make the picture look more real, it's failing miserably.

On the left we so an unbelievable complex 3D camera setup.

B) What happened to Sony? This is a company that has really lost its way. We've known this for a long time in both the record and consumer electronics businesses, but now it's even true for broadcast television equipment, a market they once owned. Everything just seems a step behind. Panasonic and Canon have hipper cameras at all price ranges, and Sony's 3D stuff really seemed like a me-too product line (lamer than most). I think one thing kind of tells the whole story - every camera manufacturer used LED lighting in their demo scenes. Sony still used old-fashioned, hot, tungsten lighting. Sometimes, it's the little things that tell the story.

C) What exactly is Avid? It's a bathroom cleanser; it's a hair conditioner; it's a chewing gum; no, it's a shoe polish. They make editing gear, they make speakers, they make DJ equipment, they make recording software, they make keyboards, they make recording and sound reinforcement consoles, they make....., they make........., they make...... Since all of the companies that they absorbed are now called Avid instead of their original brand names, Avid just stands for confusion.

On the left, the screen that started the beginning of a confusing Avid demo.

D) The Vocal Booth. This is the coolest thing I saw. I don't know how I've overlooked these guys all these years. This is the perfect add-on to just about any home studio. Want a well-isolated, acoustically treated vocal or overdub room? These guys have it. For about $10k you have have something that really works, complete with air conditioning (which is the hard part). Check them out at vocalbooth.com

E) Hard Drive Boxes. Hudzee had a great idea for this DAW world with plastic boxes designed especially for hard drives. Remember tape boxes? It's the same thing, just for drives. Makes it easy for storage and identifying what you have.

Check them out at hudzee.com.

There you have it. At least there were a couple of things that weren't 3D.

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