All language subtitles for 18 - Al Schmitt

hi I'm al Schmidt I'm here at the mix

with the masses a la Fabrique in

beautiful Provence and on a beautiful

sunny day in early October and I'm happy

to be here I have some questions of an

answer now and the first one is by Fred

moustachy and he asks is there an

alternative to old expensive two

microphones well yeah there are some

alternatives but if you can get the old

expensive ones and and they're in good

condition those are the ones that I try

to use all the time but there are some

alternatives and there are some really

great microphones that some great ribbon

mics out there Audio Technica 4080 Roya

microphones there are two microphones

and fantastic mojave makes a great great

two microphone some of the new Neyman

microphones are just fantastic branagh

makes a great microphone so that there

are a lot out there you just have to do

some research and and check things out

try things a lot of the manufacturers

will let you try something to see how it

works on on whatever and if it's not

right for you you can turn it back in

the second part of this question is what

do you think of you 47 clones like flee

and wonder well I haven't tried the flea

or the Wonder there is one and I can't

think of the name of it right now that's

made in Australia of 47 clone that's a

fantastic microphone I wish I could

think of the name but if you check it

out I'm sure you'll be able to find it

but they're very expensive microphones

they're not cheap and so if you can find

a really great ol mic in good shape I

would save my money and try to buy that

okay now from Warren hand tie and it's

hi out what's more important the room or

the gear well they're both incredibly

important if you've got great gear in a

lousy room it's not going to sound too

well and if you have lousy gear in a

great room I don't think it's going to

be sound too well either optimum of

course it's having great gear in a great

room unfortunately I get to work in all

the great rooms around the world so you

know I don't have that much of a problem

I think that I would if I was going to

spend money I would spend money buying

gear microphones and preamps and things

and then hope you get the opportunity to

work in some good rooms but I've heard

today just today I heard something that

was recorded in Italy in a kitchen and

it sounded fantastic so you can make

great records almost anywhere okay

this third question is from max Corolla

and he asked what is the typical

distance of omni mics from the acoustic

instruments like guitar and upright bass

well I usually start about a foot away

on the guitar foot away maybe back from

the F hole up from the round hole a

little bit on the bass I have I put a

mic on the F hole and then I put another

my cup of but by the fingers board and

they usually I usually start out a foot

away and that's usually where they're

left

sometimes I'll back them up a little

especially in the bass if he's playing

Samarco and but pretty much that's it

okay this question is from Paula Andrea

and she says hi al throughout your

career what has been the biggest

challenge you've had to face and what

steps did you take to overcome this

challenge and then she has another one

also if you are to describe one specific

quality about yourself that helped you

the most to build your career from

beginning to now what would you say that

one quality is well an answer to the

first question I think the biggest

challenge to me was recording large

orchestras you know I was I think I had

an innate fear of French horns and I

remember when I was forced into doing my

first big Orchestra section and my

mentor on big orchestras at at that time

said his name was Bob Dougherty and he

said how they're not going to bite you

he told me you know show me what kind of

a setup I should have and and how I

should do it and I remember standing

behind the board and before I walked up

to get the faders I had my hands in my

pockets because I was trembling so much

my hands were shaking so when I got up

to the board I took my hands out and

reached out quickly and grabbed the

faders so nobody would notice how

nervous and scared I was at the downbeat

the music started it sounded great

French horns didn't come and bite me and

it worked out just great and I lost all

fear of recording large orchestras and

as a matter of fact today it's probably

my most favorite thing to do I look

forward to any time I have a big big oil

castor to record

our second question describes this one

specific quality I think one thing that

I have that that it defines what I do so

much as total concentration when I'm

mixing or recording I am so concentrated

on what I'm doing the building could

fall down around me and and I would

wouldn't know it people talk to me all

the time and I I don't hear anything

it's just I'm so zeroed in on what I'm

doing and and I can concentrate for long

periods at a time and I think I just

been blessed with that and that's one of

my better qualities also I dress nice

okay this next question is from

Frederick Pasolini and he says dear al

were not mixing in capital and not

having the echo chambers what do you go

to reverbs and presets for vocal for

Orchestra well I set up a bunch of

different chambers you know I use a 480

I'll have a small room that I set up and

then a medium I have a procrastinating a

lot on vocals and I have a warm setting

on on the echo there that I use I have

an M 6000 that I'm in love with and I'll

set up a bunch of different echoes in

that I can't pick out specific ones

because it changes so much depending on

the room depending on the your caster

and depending on you know what kind of

music it is so but those are my go-to

settings to start with and and then it's

just a matter of fine-tuning from there

the next question is from John du Pont

Elle and he says hi out the units

working on analog tape and if so could

you

please explain why well there's a simple

answer I don't miss working with analog

tape although I just finished two albums

that were done on analog tape one with

Bob Dylan and and one with Neil Young

and we did those on multitrack tapes and

mix down to half-inch but I actually for

me I prefer recording on digital and 192

I prefer mixing down on digital in 192

when I take the half inch tape and the

the digital to mastering someone like

doug sachs auburn do whatever they burn

ii Grundmann they listen and 90% of the

time they pick the digital you know no

tape is and it just is just a clarity to

it it's much easier doing edits it's if

you want to fix something it's much

easier you know if they kick in the bass

aren't quite together on one beat

somewhere you just move them together

you know you can't do that now on analog

tape so it's it's quicker and and the

sound is believe me just as good 192 in

analog tape we do it all the time

my assistant Steve Chen awake and I we

set up we'll have both analog and 192

and the artists will come in we will

switch back and forth and they can't

tell us which is which most of the time

they can't tell the difference but they

certainly can't tell which is analog and

which is digital so there you go okay

the next question is from Peter Brook

and he says dear al how do you mic a

double bass I understand you like to use

omni but how do you get the presence

I use em 149 s no I'm an M 149 s on my

double bass all the time those are my

two go to

mics for the bass and I use two mics on

the base I use one about a foot from the

F hole and one up by the fingerboard

about a foot back of that off of that

and just a matter of a blend I put them

in a summit 100 and I tap it I use about

a DB of compression no more on that it's

just a tap and I basically use it to get

the sounds of the tubes from the from

the summit the presence just comes from

good bass player and and moving keeping

the mics in the right position and

sometimes just moving the mic an inch up

or down or sideways or somewhere

makes all the difference in the world so

if you know if it's not right don't just

change the mic maybe move it a little

bit and until you find the right spot

and always go out I listen to the guy

play so I know what what his sound is

like out there and where the basic

sounds are coming from so I put my mics

in the appropriate position and and it

works for me every time i one of my

favorite things that record is a double

bass and if you listen all my records

you can understand what that love comes

from it's one of my favorite things to

do also okay the next question is from

Tony

Bellucci what is your go-to microphone

for vocals these days and how far do you

usually have the singer from the

microphone well I have a couple of go to

Mike's one is my a u47 a Norman old

vintage q47 that I love that's usually

my first one the Bronner I love the

brown of the vm1

wonderful microphone for vocals I like

that a lot

those are pretty much the ones I start

with I have a 67 a Norman u67

that works on some vocals just great

like that the chain I use as I'll take

the vocal I put it into a fan of

Fairchild and sometimes into a pole tech

equalizer if I want to add a little

bottom to it or whatever but again I use

the Fairchild for the tubes so the

compression is a DB or two at the very

most and the distance I always tells the

artist to go like this and put then to

Michael be right about there and that's

usually the distance that I try to keep

the mic now some artists try to swallow

it so I'll put the windscreen there and

I'll put it off from the mic a little so

that if they do get up on it they hit

the windscreen and not the mic that's

pretty much it you just have to move it

around and and find out what mic works

right for what vocal try different mics

and you'll get to know what your arsenal

is and and what mics work on what kind

of vocals of what kind of voices female

male baritone alto and then you'll come

up with a good good way to do it

hopefully okay next question is from Lao

Bissell and his question is a two-part

question how much of a change do you

expect from mastering and how often does

the mastering engineer just transfer

flat well I I never expect to change

from mastering I expect mastering to

give me back what I gave them

you know to get the level up and if it

needs something

and my favorite mastering engineer is

Doug sax and we've been together since

1978 and he knows me like a book

and so he'll do little things sometimes

that just pop things out for me that

that I didn't do that he hears and and

makes for a better record all the times

he said out

don't ever change those speakers

and he messes flat so I don't get a lot

done in mastering other than the subtle

little things that Doug will do or I'll

get it back flat with the just a CD

level up I love to go to mastering I

like hanging out with Doug or Bernie or

any of the other Ron McMaster with

capital lease of all great engineers

mastering guys I love going and spending

time with them while they're doing it so

they asked me questions of how I did

things and I asked them questions about

what I could have done to make their job

a little easier and it works out well ok

this next question is from an Tony

pilato and he says hi al what is your

approach to processing the lead vocal in

terms of EQ and compression if at all

and then it's a second part but let me

answer this one first I find the right

mic for the vocal the lead vocal then I

take the lead vocal and put it into it

goes into a patek and it goes into a

Fairchild Apple tech equalizer and a

Fairchild compressor sometimes I'll use

the pull tech and it may be a little bit

of bottom and some air but most of the

time I don't but I always use the the

Fairchild and I hit it a DB or two and

the reason I use it is I just love the

sound of the tubes and the sound I get

back from the Fairchild so that's my

go-to setup for lead vocal and secondly

what effects do you use on vocals and

backing vocals do you differ the effects

ends for each or send them both to the

same reverb chamber

I do not send them both to the same

chamber I the lead vocal will be in a

different chamber than the background

vocals that's for sure they are there

are no effects that

use on them I you know a little

compression maybe on the background

vocals depending on how they're recorded

if I've recorded and probably no EQ or

anything and and then it's just a matter

of getting the right balance between

lead in the backgrounds and and what

kind of effects you want on them if you

want to delayed and we'll add some

delays

we may add like a sixteenth and then the

thirty second delay on the sides or

something to give a little spread but

nothing more than that you know and if

you're looking for a filter effect then

that's a whole different story I've had

a great experience here at the mix with

the masters and left fabric this is my

third time and it just gets better every

time I make great friends this has been

a great class the weather's been perfect

for us it's a wonderful experience I

wish everybody could get a chance to do

this this is an amazing thing and

everybody learns from it and and we

become friends and we become email

buddies and and we ask questions of one

another and get answers and so so

learning experience the week here is

fantastic but it goes on for a lifetime

it just goes on and on and everybody

that gets the chance should come here

whether it's with me or not but with any

of them master engineers who come here

and teach it's it's a great great

you