All language subtitles for 17 - Steve Albini

hi I'm Steve Albini and I've been here

at video la Fabrique for a week doing a

seminar with a bunch of attendees from

around the world and these are some

questions that have been sent in in

advance so I am going to be answering

these questions now for the web content

of the mix with masters from Tom s van

air soul

hi Steve I was wondering how much of a

producer role you take on with

established bands such as neurosis who

have a very clear vision of their music

and have gained a lot of studio

experience over the years do you still

work out arrangement ideas with them or

do you take on more of a recordist and

mixer role how would this work out with

a less experienced band and do you find

you can use enough of your own

creativity in either way thank you for

taking your questions specifically with

a band like neurosis who have a very

strong idea of their presentation I I

don't have much input on things like

arrangement I do have a kind of a

technical input for some of the

recording execution like there may be

something about the arrangement where

you you have a song that is very long

and involves many segments and it may be

easier to execute if we do sections or

segments separately either in the

recording or mixing process so sometimes

either they are I would suggest doing

part of the song recording part of the

song separately and assembling it with

edits especially on the longer songs

that have big changes in moods but as

far as the actual arrangement is

concerned like who plays what when I

really have no role in that like

basically for any session I'm I'm not

I'm not really that good at things like

that and

so I feel like it would be rude of me to

intrude into that process for other

bands I tend to let other band let the

band that I'm recording work out their

internal organization like things like

arrangements and production ideas and

stuff I let them figure that out and

then my job is basically a technical one

just to record their ideas or help them

execute their ideas and this would be

exactly the same process with a less

experienced band and regarding me using

enough of my own creativity I don't

really think of my job as a particularly

creative one there is an element of

creativity in trying to solve certain

problems you know you may need to think

in a in an in a nonlinear fashion about

how how to do something in the studio

but I don't really want to get involved

in the creative process of making the

music that's not my that's not my job in

a sense but also I feel like my tastes

are weird enough and specific to me that

if I were to impose those tastes on

other bands then they might end up

making a record that for the moment made

me happier but wouldn't reflect well on

them in the long term or wouldn't

wouldn't be there wouldn't be an

expression of their creative impulse but

rather an expression of mine and I have

my own band for that sort of thing so I

don't need to do that to other people

there's a PS how is your studio cat

doing the cats are fine we have three

cats pip bacon and dynamite all of them

in terrific shape

they don't spend much time at the studio

they live at the house with me and my

wife but they're all terrific cats going

onto the next question this is from

Christopher Lukasik hello Steve I'm big

fan of the sonic quality you're

responsible for capturing and present

to us listeners I feel extremely close

to the bands you recorded mix when I

play the album's it's as if you are able

to place the listener right into the

sweet spot in a room and minimize the

distance from the source to the listener

my question is how do you get that

unmistakable palpable drum sound of

yours I know you might top and bottom

front and back but there is always an

interesting room sort of slap back thing

happening would you be able to comment

on how you treat your room and/or

ambient mics and have them work with the

closed mics to create that effect many

thanks for your time and dedication to

sonic quality well thank you that's very

nice of you Christopher when I'm

recording

for example drums in a big room I often

rely on the room mics to provide the the

width and the weight and the sense of

depth in the recording I often find that

I need to use a delay line to delay the

room mics a few milliseconds that can be

anywhere from 10 to 20 to 30

milliseconds 30 would be an extreme case

but 20 milliseconds is pretty common if

you delay the room mic slightly you

allow the close mics time to speak

before they are over overlapping with

the ambient sounds and then the ambient

sound appears very slightly after and

it's more easily discerned that it's

more easily heard as a reflection that

way or as a as a reverberation that way

and not just as a muddiness on the

original signal so yeah that would be

that would be probably the only that

probably the only specific thing I do

two room mics that that might might give

you that idea I tend to place room mics

on the floor rather than having them on

stands so that they're resting on the

boundary of the floor that minimizes the

number of short-term of short

reflections going to that microphone so

you get a clearer sound from the clearer

pickup of the sound at a distance

pardon me let me shut off my phone okay

that was probably the that's probably

the only specific thing I do with room

mics is I have have them on the floor

generally to reduce reflections and then

I will occasionally delay them by 10 to

20 milliseconds okay next question

it's from mattel cheb or hi I could ask

you hundreds of questions but I'll have

to leave that to the next seminar I hope

exclamation point in the meantime you

once wrote to a band if a record takes

more than a week to make somebody's

up do you stand by those words

and if so how does that statement

influence your decisions while recording

and mixing many would consider that time

way too short to finish a record do you

find working with limits something

inspiring or is it just something you

grew accustomed to yeah I did start

working in us in a where no one had very

much money and as a result most of my

working methods sort of revolve around a

fulcrum of efficiency like trying to

waste the minimum amount of time trying

to waste the minimum amount of energy

trying not to spend the minimum amount

of money so a lot of my methods have to

do with being able to establish a basis

of sound and move on with the important

part and not get tied down with the

minutiae of the recording details and I

think most records could be made and it

can be made in a week it's hard to

imagine a record that you need a lot of

time for that isn't like a really

elaborate production where things are

being changed a lot where for the style

of music changes a lot and the recording

techniques change a lot for most things

where the band is going to be playing

the in the same style and with the same

instruments and in the same environment

I think working quickly has a lot of

benefits if you if you get the technical

part out of the way quickly then you can

spend more of your energy or the band

can spend more of their energy making

sure that they have a take that they

like and if you fix the sounds in a way

that sounds good at the beginning of the

process then you don't have to spend as

much time adjusting things at the end of

the process because you've been making

compensations along the way you've been

changing balances and when you print

things you print them in a kind of a

finished final form regarding the sound

quality and the choice of microphones

and things like that

so I still think working efficiently is

a good idea and I don't really know how

to work any other way if I'm working on

something and I get to a point where I'm

satisfied with the sound I don't think

well what else can I do

can I do something extra I just accept

that I'm satisfied and move on to the

next thing so I I don't think I can work

any other way really okay

Budda Geddes says hi Steve how was it to

record both Nirvana and page and plant

two of the most iconic bands ever and

two records with great expectations from

everyone how did you handle the pressure

of having to deliver a Nirvana record

that followed nevermind and a page in

plant record that followed well Led

Zeppelin a second question how do you

approach stereo bus and what should one

expect to get out of a stereo bus chain

that one can't get from the single

tracks especially compression wise how

to set it up what kind of attack and

release times etc thanks a lot and I

hope you've had a great time a great

week at mix for the master it was a

great week it was super fun recording

Nirvana and patient plant was basically

like recording any other band in the

case of Nirvana they were a rock band

from the same sort of social circle as

the the other bands that I work with

they had a lot of the same experience we

shared a lot of common experiences

we knew a lot of the same people we had

played it a lot of the same clubs that

sort of thing so it was very familiar

and making that record was very

straightforward they the band showed up

they were well rehearsed we set their

equipment up and we started recording

like any other band the same with Paige

in plant the page and plant record was a

little bit different because it was a

more protracted process and things about

the setup of the band would change from

song to song Jimmy Page was using quite

a different guitar setup for every song

different amplifiers different guitars

so that that took a little bit of

compensation from on a song by song

basis there were also quite a few more

secondary things to consider with the

page and plant record there was or there

were orchestral overdubs there were a

couple of guest musicians things of that

nature

but basically the the process that I go

through with those records was the same

as the process that I go through with

basically any record regarding the

stereo bus for me I don't I don't do any

processing to the stereo bus as a matter

of routine once in a while I'll put a

stereo equalizer on the stereo buss but

most of the time the stereo buss is just

the individual tracks being balanced

using the pan pots and into a final

stereo image and that's what gets

recorded on that half inch stereo master

I don't use stereo buss compression I

have tried it a couple of times and I've

just never preferred the sound of the

music running through the compressor

I've just always preferred the natural

sound of the music so I don't use a

stereo buss compressor and I don't use

any stereo buss processing as a normal

thing I don't it doesn't even occur to

me doesn't cross my mind

Fabio Yaffe Scholl says hi Steve what

was the cheapest piece of gear you used

for recording and mixing second question

I used some old sure mixer type m67 and

SE 30 mod what do you think about them

for preamp well the first studio setup

that I had was an eight-track session an

8-track 8-track set up in the basement

of my house and the the mixer was a

small sound craft 300 series mixer but

that's not the cheapest piece of gear

I've used there was a market an open

market in Chicago called the Maxwell

Street market and there was some

second-hand recording equipment that

appeared on one of the tables there

there was an Al Tech equalizer it was a

passive equalizer with big rotary

potentiometers and that equalizer cost

me ten dollars and I have used that

equalizer so there's that

I have also well on the session today

for example one of the microphones I

used on the guitar was a very

inexpensive audio-technica microphone

called the pro 37 those microphones were

you know routinely available for $100 or

less and they're a perfectly usable

studio quality condenser microphone so I

have no objection to cheap or

inexpensive stuff I use consumer grade

equipment sometimes I use you know

half-million-dollar consoles sometimes

it depends on the circumstances and what

I what I need to do there there's no

reason that you can't use entirely very

cheap stuff the quality of recording

equipment that you can get just at a

guitar store now far far surpasses what

was available when I first started so

it's possible to do decent recording

with microphones that you bought at the

guitar store for a few hundred dollars

absolutely no problem regarding the m67

se

30 mod I have no idea what that is I

don't know what those are and I I don't

have an opinion

I'm sure if if you listen to them and

you think they sound good well then they

are good so if you are using them and

getting good results then carry on okay

Paulo nowhere man I wonder if that's his

real name

Paulo no where man says hi Steve I

wanted to know if you choose the

recording facility in the gear depending

on the music and band you're working

with if not what's the best approach to

capture the true nature of a band thanks

for your answer if the choice is up to

me for the recording facility then yes I

will choose a recording facility that I

think is most suited to that type of

music these days most of the recording

that I do is at electrical audio we have

two studios there and both studios are

pretty comprehensive like some you know

it's hard it's hard to think of one kind

of music that would be better in one or

the other so a lot of that is determined

by the budget or the schedule that the

band wants to use if they want to use a

very condensed very short schedule and

if the budget allows it I would do those

sessions in studio a because everything

is on the same floor and studio a it's a

little bit faster to get from thing to

thing if the budget was quite low and

that was the primary consideration then

I would choose Studio B because Studio B

is less expensive the best way to

capture the true nature of a band is to

do as little interfering as possible

with their internal processes so if

they're having a discussion about how

they think a song should go let them

finish their discussion if they have

certain quirks or particularities about

the way they play let them indulge those

quirks let them do things in the way

that's unique and specific to them that

would be the my favorite my best advice

there ricardo Puccini says hi mr.

Roubini I'm really excited to ask

questions you teach me so much with your

records and encourage me with your

passion thank you so much thank you very

much mr. Puccini first question you said

you use 20 milliseconds in drum ambience

do you use the same trick on guitars

bass and vocals ambient mic I have used

delay on all of those things I don't do

it religiously but sometimes you can get

more clarity from the closed mic signal

if there is a bit of delay on the

ambient mic

it keeps the ambient mic from

overlapping with the sound quite so much

so yeah you you can get a little bit of

extra clarity if you use the delay for

on the room mics for guitars bass and

vocals second while I was recording

guitars in a big studio I had the

opportunity to use a Cole's 40:38 in

front of a really loud guitar cabinet it

doesn't work too distorted what is your

approach you tend to lower the volume or

move the mic usually which is your

favorite distance from mic and cab both

guitar and bass well if your Cole's

40:38 was distorting in front of your

guitar cabinet then it was probably too

close to the cabinet and it may also

just be that that's an inappropriate mic

to use on that guitar I tend to have the

microphones fairly far away from the

cabinet 14 to 18 inches something like

that I would not change the sound of the

amplifier to suit the microphone like if

the guy is playing guitar at his normal

performance volume and he's happy with

the volume then I wouldn't lower the

volume just for the sake of the

microphone I would in that case I would

use a different microphone I would just

pick something else for bass guitar I

tend to have the microphones very close

to the speaker and that's because I'm

using directional mics and that

exaggerated s' the proximity effect

which increases the low-frequency

response of the microphone it extends it

and increases the low-frequency response

and for a close-up recording on I mean

for a basic electric bass guitar cabinet

I find getting enough low-end recorded

is sometimes a problem

so I prefer to use the the frequency

response of the microphone to boost the

low end rather than using an equaliser

on the console

third said that you usually avoid

compression while tracking how is your

approach for mixing do you prefer to

compress single channels or use buss

compression I don't use as much

compression on sounds as a lot of other

engineers about the only thing that I

routinely use compression on is the lead

vocal and that's because the dynamic

range of a vocal can sometimes be wider

than that of the whole band and I'll

often use a peak limiter on the bass

drum to even out the low-frequency

response but even then the bass that

that's normally only on one of the two

microphones on the bass drum the batter

side microphone I won't use a limiter on

and the same with the bass guitar I'll

sometimes use a limiter or compressor on

the base year of the two microphones

that's on the bass guitar cabinet and

that's to keep the low frequencies in

the in the mix or in the balance of the

band keep the low frequencies at a sort

of an even level I'll typically have two

microphones on the cabinet a brighter

mic in a darker mic and I'll have a

compressor on the darker mic only other

than that I don't tend to do a lot of

compression and come mix down I don't

use buss compression I might put

something like a limiter on the snare

drum or on the overheads or something

like that to control the level the peak

level of the snare drum and the

overheads or on the channel but that

might that sound that might be about it

it's really rare for me to use a

compressor as a to solve a problem okay

II let berliner says hello mr. Roubini I

really wanted to attend the seminar I

hope you'll do it again the hardest

thing for me in mixing is the vocal

level when listening the next day it's

usually too loud or not loud enough what

is your approach and how do you find the

right volume well

I start by getting a balance of the

music together and then very quickly

after I've gotten a basic balance of the

music together I'll open the lead vocal

and I'll often have it in a position

where I that I think is too high the

reason that I do that is I want to hear

if there is if there are any points

where the the vocal dips down and level

and might become obscured by the music I

want to be aware of those so I typically

start with a Mick Mix balanced with the

vocal in a position where I know that is

obviously too high but I can use that to

adjust to calibrate my expectations for

what the vocal is going to sound like

when it's deeper in the music so then

I'll bring the level down fractionally

and just experimentally over the course

of several cycles I'll bring the vocal

down from a point where it was obviously

too high to a point where I think it

sounds natural and then I'll typically

stop I'll often have my finger on the

lead vocal master fader while I'm mixing

and as lines come up that I remember

from my sense memory of the vocal

performance that I remember these lines

being too quiet then I'll just ghost

those few lines or few syllables up

using the vocal master fader and I'll

often do that over the course of a song

I'll do that many times so that a

particular line or a particular world

word if it starts trailing off and I

notice it's trailing off I'll feather

the volume up slightly so that it

maintains a presence within the music I

often use parallel compression on vocals

that is there'll be a one channel of the

vocal as recorded and then another

channel on the desk of that vocal

compressed fairly heavily and I'll bring

that channel up just until it starts to

support the the quieter moments of the

lead vocal I don't really want to raise

the noise floor a lot and I don't want

the whole of the vocal to have a

compressed sound but that allows me to

add more of the vocal at low low levels

and then I have to then would be there

automatically just with the single

channel and that and balancing against

those two can normally normalize the

vocal level to the point where you can

here in the lab parts and you can hear

it in the quiet parts Pat Stephen says

hi Steve I read that usually go for 500

nano Webber alignment at 15 IPS on ATR

tape when doing so considering this is a

pretty hot alignment what kind of levels

are you aiming at when you are tracking

0 vo maximum on vocals bass guitars more

what about the instruments that have

more transients kick drum and snare yeah

I do use 509 Webber a per meter

alignment on the ATR and I do consider

that a pretty hot level so I tend to be

fairly conservative with level I

normally use peak meters when I'm

looking at the tape machine the ppm

meters give me a pretty good idea of

what the transient signal level is going

to the tape machine and I tend to keep

those out of the red so I'm not I know

that I'm in no danger of clipping the

input of the tape machine or clipping

the channel for signals with more

steady-state like bass or electric

guitar or vocals things like that I tend

not to peak the signal higher than 0vu

that so I would say yeah zero view is

basically a maximum for all those

signals that are being measured using

the vu meters for everything else I just

try to keep the peak meter within the

normal excursion so that the peak so the

signal doesn't go beyond the the

indicator for the ppm meter

thank you so that was the last question

thanks for those questions those we're

interesting it was fun to answer them

I'm happy to help if anybody has any

questions I'm sure you can track me down

on the web I'm pretty easy to find and

I'd be happy to answer your questions

either in a forum someplace or by email

thanks for listening