All the stuff I've done that involved TBone at the helm was cut live. None of it has been the "some assembly required" method. We usually use the larger room at Sound Emporium and set up in the middle of the room, usually in a semi-circle with the headliner in the middle facing the rest. It was done that way on the Ralph record, Elvis and Willie. The only thing that was put in a seperate booth were the drums on Elvis' recording. Same setup for the "Cold Mountain" cuts. The "Oh Brother..." cuts were a mixture of mic setups. Sometime we stood in a line with three overhead mics recording the room ambience, plus a few mics across the front. Sometimes we sat in chairs with mics and music stands in front of us. Usually, the mics are of the tube/ribbon/ antique/very collectable and expensive variety, but not always. Now and again, we'd find ourselves listening back to an informal take that came off a mic placed on a coffee table in the back of the room. Nothing goes unnoticed by TBone. He seems to be just hanging out a lot of the time, but he's always watching what's happening, always looking for a magical moment taking place and snagging it without the interference of formality.
One thing that I've noticed, and really have been the most impressed by, is that the TBone/Elvis/Willie sessions focused around the energy of the takes, not whether they were free of mistakes or not. The cuts chosen were the ones with the most life, had the best vibe, and the mistakes overlooked. I've become accustomed over the years to the practice of laying down flawless track after track (well, not me personally...) and making the finished product a pristine example. But a lot of life is sucked out while everyone is trying to be careful. The TBone way, perfection is sacrificed for energy and impact. Most of the music I listen to is old and flawed, so I'm not opposed to a flat note or a foot stomp here and there. It brings the human element back to the table. All the cuts done with Hartford were the same way using the 'live to tape' method, John sitting in a prominent spot orchestrating the play. "Stomp" was cut a bit diffferent. David and I had our own booths to sit in across the room from each other, but not out of sight of one another. Yea, Willie's guitar has seen more pristine days, but he still plays the living crap out of it, not to mention singing his ass off. There was no question who was in charge. None. Bugs On May 19, 11:10 pm, mgromkey <[email protected]> wrote: > I've been listening, from a recording perspective, to some especially > well-produced cds. This brought me back around "Sacred, Profane," > which I was listening to a lot last year this time. > > T Bone did an excellent job producing. Clean and tidy. Everything sits > perfectly in the spare mix. M.C.'s rhythm mandolin is always a little > to the left, Jerry's dobro hard right, Stuart Duncan's fiddle hard > left. Bass in the middle. On many of the tunes the guitar is barely > there. > > I asked Mike what it was like to record this once, and he said > something like, "T Bone had mics all over the place, and you didn't > know what was turned on." I might have that wrong. It was a casual > remark. But I'd like to hear more about how this album was recorded in > the course of a couple short days. > > Which studio did you use at Sound Emporium? Were the recordings > "live"? Did Elvis sing his parts while you played, or did they go down > later? Was he in the room, or off in a booth? > > How'd the studio experience differ from making "Stomp"? From recording > with John Hartford? > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Taterbugmando" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group > athttp://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en.
