The last time I posted something on Frank Sinatra it was a big hit, so here's another chestnut. It's a look at the making of "Mack The Knife" with Frank singing with the Quincy Jones Big Band.
The cut is from an album called L.A. Is My Lady, despite the fact that the recording took place in New York City in 1984. It was filmed for a documentary called Frank Sinatra: Portrait of an Album that was released in 1985.
What's cool is it's an all-star band with the likes of George Benson, Lionel Hampton, Steve Gadd, the Brecker brothers, and Ray Brown all laying it down.
One thing to take notice of is the 3 mics on Frank. There's the obvious C12, but also another right behind it and one off to his right side (can't tell the model). Sometimes the one in the front is a decoy with the mic behind it being live to keep the vocalist from getting too close. I can't say if that's the case here, but the sound is great.
By the way, that's Mule Holley, who also played upright bass, doing the scats in the beginning of the song. Also, that looks like Jerry Lewis to Frank's left.
A new study by a team of engineers and evolutionary biologists at the Imperial College of London found that there have been 3 major revolutions in music in the last 50 years.
The scientists analyzed nearly 18,000 songs from Billboard's Hot 100 chart, about 86% of hit singles during that time period, in order to produce a history of popular music. The results were published in the Royal Society Journal.
The 3 revolutions might surprise you. The first occurred in 1964, but not because of the British Invasion as is popularly thought. The study paints a picture of the rise of loud guitars, major chords and bright energetic melodies, while dominant 7th chords were rarely used. Rock, soul, funk and disco dominated and older styles like Doo Wop dropped off the charts.
Although many give The Beatles and Rolling Stones credit for this change, the study found that it was already occurring and those bands just moved the trend along.
The second revolution came in 1983 with songs that were based around synthezisers and drum machines from the likes of artists like Duran Duran, and loud heavy rock with lots of chord changes, like Van Halen, Queen, Kiss and REO Speedwagon. These rock bands were joined by new wave acts like The Police, and dance-pop like Madonna. All this was at the expense of classic country and folk music, which lost popularity as a result.
The study claims that the last and most important of the 3 occurred in 1991 with the explosion of hip-hop. This period featured a move primarily to rhythm, no chords, and signified the most social change reflected or caused by the music.
The study was based around a computer program that scanned each song looking primarily at its harmony and timbre. The team them built a "fossil record" of the music as defined by when certain chords and timbre styles became popular or disappeared from the charts.
By my count, there are 8 “constants” that we find in vocal recording. These are items or situations that almost always prove to be true. Just keeping them in mind can save you a lot of trouble in the search for a sound that works for you and your vocalist.
1) Your mic selection, amount of EQ, and compression used is totally dependent on the voice you are recording. Setting up the same signal chain for everyone might work sometime, but best to keep an open mind (and ears) before you settle on a combination.
2) The best mic in the house doesn’t necessarily get the best vocal sounds. There is no one microphone that works well on everything, especially a instrument as quirky as the human voice.
3) A singer who is experienced at recording knows which consonants are tough to record and knows how to balance the them against the vowels to get a good final result. A singer with this kind of experience will make you look like a genius.
4) With a good singer, many times you'll get “the sound" automatically just by putting him/her in front of the right microphone. On the other hand, with a bad singer (or even a good singer that just doesn't adjust well to the studio), no amount of high priced microphones or processing may be able to get you where you need to go.
5) In general, vocals sound better when recorded in a tighter space, but not too tight. Low ceiling rooms can also be a problem with loud singers as they tend to ring at certain lower mid range frequencies, which might be difficult to eliminate later.
6) Windscreens are actually of little use when recording a vocalist with bad technique. There are two different sorts of people in this category: the people who have never sung with sound reinforcement, and the people who have developed bad habits from using a mic on stage.
7) Decoupling the stand from the floor as well as the microphone from the stand will help eliminate unwanted rumbles. Often times a microphone isolation mount isn't enough. Place the stand on a couple of mouse pads or a rug for a cheap but efficient solution.
8) Just marking the floor with tape might get the vocalist to stand in the right position in front of the mic, but she can easily move her head out of position. An easy way to have a vocalist gauge the distance is by hand lengths. An open hand is approximately eight inches while a fist is about four inches. By saying, “Stay a hand away,” the vocalist can easily judge his distance and usually doesn’t forget (see the graphic on the side).
Behringer was once looked at as strictly knockoff gear made in China aimed at the lowest end of the market. Today that's less the case as the conglomerate MUSIC Group, which owns Behringer and is controlled by founder and CEO Uli Behringer, continues to go up-market with its acquisition of the Danish TC Electronic group of companies.
MUSIC Group, which had acquired Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound previously, now places TC Electronic, Tannoy, Lab.gruppen, Lake, TC Helicon, White Acoustics and TC Applied Technologies all under the same roof, which makes the company one of the largest in the pro audio industry.
Behringer was one of the first to utilize the low cost manufacturing that China had to offer in order to lower not only costs and overhead, but retail prices as well. Today the company has it's own block of manufacturing buildings in Zhongshan known as "Behringer City" that has managed to eliminate even Chinese subcontractors while maintaining a higher level of quality control.
There was no word on the price of the transaction since the MUSIC Group is privately held, but reports were that TC Electronic had been on the market for roughly $170 million.
Regardless of what you thought about Behringer in the past, the fact of the matter is that the company has used its new-found acquisitions wisely and has put new engineering effort into the products across all its companies. Midas, Kark and Turbosound have all benefited from the streamlined manufacturing to now feature high-end products at very reasonable prices, while Behringer's latest products show new innovation while still maintaining the low prices we've come to expect from the line.
TC Electronic products and technology looks to be an ideal fit in the new MUSIC Group fold. It should make for very interesting AES and NAMM shows next year. Find out more about MUSIC Group and the TC acquisition on its website.
There are a lot of artists, bands, musicians and engineers that mix on headphones, some because they're forced to because of the environment they're working in, and others as a check of the work they did on speakers. Most find it an unsatisfactory experience as it doesn't truly represent what the rest of the world will be hearing.
Hafler has tried to change all that with its new HA75 TubeHead headphone amplifier. The unit incorporates a 12AX7 class-A tube circuit that not only supplies enough clean level to overcome the noisiest environment, but a couple of extra features not normally found on headphone amps.
The first is a Variable Focus control that simulates listening in a room by bringing the stereo image more to the center, as well as an adjustable Negative Feedback Control to increase or decrease the feedback to tailor the sound better to your tastes. There's also an old-school Loudness control to tailor the low frequencies for low listening levels according to the established Fletcher-Munson curves that we sometimes forget about.
The HA75 features two fully balanced inputs on XLR connectors as well as unbalanced RCA connectors and unbalanced RCA throughput jacks. Dual headphone outputs can handle anywhere from 8 to 400 ohms.
The esteemed Hafler brand was purchased by Radial Engineering, recently relaunched at AES, and now produces both high-quality solid state and tube headphone amplifiers as well as phone preamps. Hafler was known for its power amplifiers in the past, and although none have been included in the relaunch, don't be surprised if you see a few new ones soon.
I haven't done a song analysis for quite a while as I've been saving them up for some new editions of my Deconstructed Hits series. Here's a preview from Classic Rock Volume 2. It's "Kashmir," one of Led Zeppelin's most iconic songs.
"Of all the songs recorded by Led Zeppelin, “Kashmir” may be the most highly regarded. Considered to be the peak musical achievement by all four members of the band, the song was a radio staple from when it was released (even with 8:28 running time) until this day.
“Kashmir” was originally titled “Driving to Kashmir” and reflects a time when guitarist/producer Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant were driving through the Saharan Desert on their way to play the National Festival of Morocco. The song carries Moroccan musical influences, despite Kashmir actually being a province of India, a country half a world away.
This was one of the few songs by the band that featured outside musicians, as uncredited string and horn players were brought in to provide the power that only an orchestra can provide. The song actually took three years to complete, as it started out on a home recorded work tape of Page. The song is only credited to three of the four band members as bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones was late getting to the studio when the song was being worked out.
The Song
Few Led Zeppelin songs follow the traditional rules of popular songwriting, and “Kashmir” is no exception. The verses are principally in 6/8 time but the drums play in a 4/4 rhythm against it, yet instrumental choruses and bridges come back to 4/4 so the song seems anchored and closer to what we’re used to hearing. Plus, there’s no traditional vocal chorus, as only the orchestral riff at the end of each verse acts like a chorus.
Even though the song might be considered a dirge by some, the lyrics are fairly positive and uplifting, being set around the idea of life as an adventure. The verses are written as poetry with few forced rhymes (save for the second verse, which feels unfinished), but the bridges are somewhat contrived and seem almost like they were improvised or tacked on at the last minute. The form looks like this:
“Kashmir” has an arrangement as interesting as the song demands. The song is very long because the sections repeat multiple times (except for bridge 1 that only happens once in the song), but we don’t lose interest not only because of the power of the orchestra, but because of the subtle arrangement changes.
The intro and verse are the same instrumentally with the guitar on the left, strings on the right and drums up the middle, except for the vocal entering on the verse. The instrumental chorus has an additional guitar doubling the line on the right, and horns in the center.
The second verse is identical to the first except a string counter line enters, with the basses holding the lowest note on the right side. The second chorus is the same as the first except for the strings doubling the guitar on the left.
The first bridge is entirely different from the rest of the song in that it’s much more open and funky, especially the drums. The elements remain the same as the chorus, with the second string line on the left doubling the guitar original guitar line, and Page’s guitar now playing harmony to it. The next chorus is identical in arrangement to the previous one.
The second bridge sees the Mellotron strings playing a high line on the left and the lower strings from the orchestra playing a different, almost answering line on the right, with the horns punctuating the accents.
The third verse is identical to the second, except that low horns answer the end of the string counter phrase. The next chorus is the same as the previous, as is the last verse and chorus, except for the last time through the pattern when low strings fill out the sound.
The final bridge sees the Mellotron strings begin on the right, punctuated by horns at the end of each line. After 4 bars, a new ascending line enters with the orchestra strings on the left and Mellotron on the right, accompanied by much more active drumming, including fills at the end of each string line.
Arrangement Elements
The Foundation: bass and drums
The Rhythm: none
The Pad: strings and horns, Mellotron (bridge 2)
The Lead: lead vocal
The Fills: strings and horns
The Sound
The mix balance of “Kashmir” is very interesting as it centers around John Bonham’s drums with Jimmy Page’s guitar and John Paul Jones’ bass somewhat buried in the mix. Even the vocal is laid back into the mix, which is typical of many rock songs in order to help emphasis the power of the band.
Bonzo’s drum sound is typical of all Led Zeppelin albums in that it’s somewhat distant and roomy, mostly because the drummer insisted on recording with two or three mics (when recording in stereo) in order to adequately capture the sound of the drums as he heard them. That said, by this time most other producers were resorting to using more mics closer in on the drums in order to capture the full sound of each, which helped to make them sound more dramatic. You can hear the difference in Bonzo’s many drum fills on the last bridge of the song where you can hear a bit of a stereo effect, but not what we’re used to hearing on other records. The drums were also put through an Eventide phaser suppled by engineer Ron Nevison, which can be heard clearly on the cymbal crashes of the first bridge.
Probably the most interesting thing on the record is how much producer Page used the stereo field. Guitar is panned to the left and the strings are panned to the right during the bridge and the strings are in wide stereo during the chorus. As the song progresses, you hear two different strings lines on the left and right in the second bridge, and a low horn pans left to center, then right to center at the end of the string counter phrases during the third and fourth verses.
LISTEN UP
To the guitar on the left and the strings on the right playing the same line during the verses
To the wide stereo reverb on the vocal
To the stereo orchestra panned hard left and right during the choruses
To the two different string lines left and right on the second bridge
To the low horn that pans left to right at the end of the string line during the third and fourth verses
To the phasing effect on the drums during the first bridge
The Production
The production of “Kashmir” is truly a departure for both Led Zeppelin and rock music at the time. Being known as the most influential rock band of the era didn’t stop them from coming out of left field to employ an orchestra on a recording that was the centerpiece of the album, and some say even the band’s career.
The fact that the guitar is somewhat buried in the mix turns out to be a brilliant move. It’s there in the mix and an essential part, but it doesn’t need to be front and center like on other songs.
Another interesting production point is that’s it’s difficult to tell the difference between the simulated strings and the real ones, a tribute to arranger John Paul Jones skills. The Mellotron strings can be more clearly heard as a line on the bridge 2, but they interweave so well with the real strings that it takes a conscious effort to discern the difference.
Yet another interesting production trick is the panning of the instruments in the mix. There are elements constantly entering and exiting from all sides, as well as parts moving from one side to the other. The moves are subtle, and in no way make the recording seem as drastic as a stereo demonstration record, instead adding the interest that an 8+ minute song needs to keep the listener’s attention.
All this leads to one of the most important and influential track of the era, and one that seems destined to be played on radio and streaming to people’s headphones for decades to come.
Many of you already use the New York City Compression Trick on your drum tracks, but it's possible that you're using just simple parallel compression. There's a lot more to the trick than that though if you want to do it right, and this video from my 101 Mixing Tricks program will show you the trick in all its glory.
Believe me, use this trick and your rhythm section will rock harder than ever before.
There's a lot more killer tricks where this came from covering punchy drums and percussion sounds, great lead and background vocals, killer instruments, and cool balance, panning, EQ, compression and automation tricks. Check it out at 101MixTricks.com.
If you're going to be a successful producer or a mixing engineer, it's absolutely vital that you understand the 5 kinds of arrangement elements that make up a song. You can have fewer than 5 (most songs do in several places) but having any more than 5 generally confuses the listener.
"Some songwriters already have the arrangement worked out in their head as to how they want the rest of the band to play, but for most songwriters (even the most accomplished) that’s a skill that has to be developed or have the job passed on to a specialist. In order to understand how the arrangement influences the song, we have to understand the mechanics of a well-written arrangement first.
Most well conceived arrangements are limited in the number of elements that occur at the same time. An element can be a single instrument like a lead guitar or a vocal, or it can be a group of instruments like the bass and drums, a doubled guitar line, a group of backing vocals, etc. Generally, a group of instruments playing exactly the same rhythm is considered an element. Examples: a doubled lead guitar or doubled vocal is a single element, as is a lead vocal with two additional harmonies. Two lead guitars playing two different parts are two elements, however. A lead and a rhythm guitar are two separate elements as well.
Here are the typical arrangement elements that makes up most of modern music:
Foundation - The Rhythm Section. The foundation is usually the bass and drums, but can also include a rhythm guitar and/or keys if they’re playing the same rhythmic figure as the rhythm section. Occasionally, as in the case of power trios, the Foundation element will only consist of drums since the bass will usually have to play a different rhythm figure to fill out the sound, so it becomes it’s own element.
Pad - A Pad is a long sustaining note or chord. In the days before synthesizers, a Hammond Organ provided the best pad and was joined later by the Fender Rhodes electric piano. Synthesizers now provide the majority of pads but a real string section or a guitar power chord can also suffice.
Rhythm - Rhythm is any instrument that plays counter to the Foundation element. This can be a double time shaker or tambourine, a rhythm guitar strumming on the backbeat, or congas playing a Latin feel. The Rhythm element is used to add motion and excitement to the track.
Lead - A lead vocal, lead instrument or solo.
Fills - Fills generally occur in the spaces between Lead lines, or can be a signature line. You can think of a Fill element as an answer to the Lead.
Remember that usually there should not be more than four elements playing at the same time. Sometimes three elements can work very well. Very rarely will five simultaneous elements work together."
You've blown a speaker and it's expensive to replace, or maybe even not available any more. What to do? An alternative is having the speaker reconed by a professional or even doing it yourself.
Most major speaker manufacturers supply recone kits for their speakers, but there's a technique on how to do it that you have to know before you begin.
Here's a great video that not only shows how a JBL 2226 woofer is reconed, but gives you a great inside look at the different speaker parts as well.
If you want to try recone a speaker yourself, you can get the replacement parts from simplyspeakers.com, who made the video below.
I'm a B3 player from way back and I know the sound of a Leslie speaker intimately, so believe me when I say that the new PSP L'otary is the best Leslie simulator that I've come across. All PSP plugins are killer to begin with, but the company might have surpassed itself with this one.
L'otary is based on the sound and operation of the two most famous Leslies, the 122 and 147, and provides ultimate control over just about any parameter you can think of, making it extremely versatile. That said, the presets sound great and might be all that anyone ever needs.
What I especially liked is the handle that changes the sound from chorale (slow spin) to fast, which also allows the user to select any speed in between. That said, a push button underneath provides the traditional slow to fast switching.
There's also a visual look at both the horn and drum speed provided which helps to lock in the right speed for the song.
One of my favorite aspects of L'otary is the the different simulated mic positions, as well as the motor and wind noise when it's set to fast. Just like the real thing!
The PSP L'otary is a bargain at only $99 and is available in VST, AAX and RTAS formats for both Mac and Windows. Check it out for yourself with the video below.
Mark Schulman has some amazing credits as the drummer for Pink, Cher, Foreigner, Cheryl Crow, and Destiny's Child, among many others.
But that's not all. He's also a noted public speaker and author, focusing on leadership, team building and peak performance.
I'm really pleased to have Mark on my latest Inner Circle Podcast, where he'll discuss how he got started, his big break and big defeat, and what it's like to tour with some of the world's biggest stars.
On the intro I'll give you 7 tips for Facebook videos and discuss the new "stems" audio file format.
Here's a song that was considered one of the last hits of the Disco era. It's the isolated lead vocal from Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" from his 1979 Off The Wall album. The album featured 5 hit singles and went on to sell more than 20 million units worldwide. "Rock With You" went on to be a #1 hit in the US.
Here are some things to listen for. The recording is a bit distorted, but I'm pretty sure that came from the copy and not the original master, knowing how precise engineer Bruce Swedien (the Godfather of modern recording) is.
1. Notice the lead synthesizer when it enters in the intro. Bruce was always big on adding a first reflection by sending the recorded synth sound out into the studio and re-recording it. You can hear a bit of it here, plus a nice tape echo.
2. Michael's vocal isn't too compressed. Yes, you can hear a little in certain places when he sings loudly, but listen to the softer parts where it's brought up with fader movement.
3. All the breaths are left in. This really makes the song as it injects the intimacy that puts it over the top. Many producers would probably eliminate them today in an effort to "clean the track up."
4. The synth solo is dry with the echo added half-way through the solo. Probably something you never noticed on the record.
5. If you listen closely, you can hear Michael's foot stomps in between phrases. Bruce once told me that Michael was always dancing when he sang, so he and producer Quincy Jones decided to play that up and give him a small wooden stage to sing on.
