Donal Fagen "Do It Again" vocal

[Nerve Nickels]

I don't know anything about a faulty black box...But I agree that them are some fine fine albums... Aja, Katie Lied, and the Royal Scam being my favorite ...

I would love to hear more on gear used by them...

I read in another thread that they used early A/D Converters ??? Would make sense....

[Jules]

Lot's of takes?



(sorry couldnt resist...)

[Tim Halligan]

Originally posted by Nerve Nickels
I read in another thread that they used early A/D Converters ??? Would make sense....

They were fairly early adopters of digital technology, and brought one of the early 3M Digital machines. They were reputed to be fine sounding machines...when they worked. Reliability was a BIG issue.
The album that was touted as the first all-digital rock/pop album was Ry Cooder's Bop til you Drop...which was done on the 3M machine, and from memory didn't dound too shabby.

Cheers,
Tim

[orange]

liner notes for Katy Lied ---- 2 or 3 years later.....

This is a high fidelity recording. Steely Dan uses a specially constructed 24-channel tape recorder, a "State-of-the-Art" 36-input computerized mixdown console, and some very expensive German microphones. Individual microphone equalization is frowned upon. The sound created by musicians and singers is reproduced as faithfully as possible, and special care is taken to preserve the band-width and transient response of each performance. Transfer from master tapes to master lacquers is done on a Neumann VMS 70 computerized lathe equipped with a variable pitch, variable depth helium cooled cutting head. The computerized logic circuits of the VMS 70 widen and narrow the grooves on the disc in accordance with its own bizarre electronic mentation for reasons known only to its designers; this accounts for the lovely light and dark patterns that can be seen on the surface of the pressing. Vinylite compound is used. For best results observe the R.I.A.A. curve.

!

[orange]

and some more info re: Katy Lied......

When the recording and mixing were completed, they fed the master tape into a noise reduction unit. Because the equipment was faulty, the tape that came out was not the tape that went in. "If you heard that album the way it originally went down on tape, you would have heard something else," Becker says. "Very hi-fi," Fagen nods. Becker, Katz and their engineer flew to Boston at midnight to see if the equipment's manufacturer could repair the damage. Nothing could be done. "We had to decide whether we were just going to scrap the album or put it out," Katz says. "It was close." The album was released, but Katz says "it suffered 85 percent." "I can't listen to it," he complains. "I hate to hear an album that we're involved in that's not up to our standards. It was the best-sounding thing I ever heard before it was ruined."

I'm assuming that this is the ....

"the world's first and last DBX noise reduction unit with factory installed wings" mentioned in the re-issue liner notes.

!!

[wallace]

I heard the piano solo on "Do It Again" was done with a toy piano. I think a lot of Gaucho used drums loops too.

[Studio Addict]

Originally posted by orange
When the recording and mixing were completed, they fed the master tape into a noise reduction unit.

Wouldn't this imply that the original master tape is still available and a re-issue could be done without the noise reduction?

I also remember Roger Nichols saying on another forum that Katy Lied was ruined in the mastering.

[Nerve Nickels]

Bravo Orange


"some very expensive German microphones. Individual microphone equalization is frowned upon."

I'm assuming this means upon tracking...???

"Wouldn't this imply that the original master tape is still available and a re-issue could be done without the noise reduction?"

I think the faulty equipment ****ed up the tape...? no?

[orange]

Nerve,

don't know the answers to these questions...and it does seem curious that they somehow messed up the original 2track master tape - I can only assume that the noise reduction somehow acted directly on the tape - as a destuctive process - but it seems odd...and why would you do this to the only copy !! (unless you were off your face !)

Fagen and Becker always seem deliberatley obscure and contrary when refering to Steely Dan history, although, after doing some internet research, they both seem agreed that Katy Lied was a f##ked up somehow in mastering.

Interestingly Becker states (regarding digital)..an option "considered by us 20 years ago, but dismissed".
Fagen says "Digital sound loosens the fillings in your teeth. I had a lot of work done on my teeth since I started working with digital." (old sound on sound article)

who knows ?

Still, I'm guessing Fagen's got a great vocal sound whatever you record him through.


I must get hold of that 'making of Aja' DVD.

si

[Sharp11]

I think Royal Scam was the first really good sounding Dan record, the earlier ones have great music, but sound dull to me.

Ed