The Sheryl Crowe sound preamp

[o---]

What preamps give that sound heard on sheryl crowe's records of a few years ago? I have a Presonus BlueTube that can give that Beastie Boys demo sound, and I think it's great for guitar or compressed vocal sounds, but what kind of preamps have that sheryl crowe sound? They don't sound like Neve's...

I should say that I'm not just talking about the vocals. The instrumentation sounds very wide and scooped, but still warm. dfegad

[alnico]

At some point it was a pre made by Little labs...

[o---]

here it is...
http://www.littlelabs.com/new.html

New for 2004!!!

[Waylon]

I seem to recall that they used an OSA MP1A on stuff as well....

[C/G]

Never seen that before. I did not even know Little Labs made a pre. Looks cool. What was/is the EYMFL version???? Is this thing still available? I am curious.

[mikey]

yea i understood The Globe Sessions was done on Old School aAudio stuff

[picksail]

Trina is a big proponent of OSA.

[o---]

Who is this Trina you're speaking of?

[Waylon]

Trina Shoemaker, she engineered the record, and is a fine AE at that.

[WeekendWanker]

This is from an interview with Trina Shoemaker in the UA webzine:

" What is your standard vocal chain with Sheryl?
A 251 or 47 or 67 mic and Neve 1083, 1093, 1073 106-well, really any class A Neve pre amp and an 1176. The settings depend on how she is singing - loud or soft. Near 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock usually. There's so great mystery about it, it's just a great sounding compressor, and it's got a great gain. In a perfect world, I'd have all Neve pre amps, a bunch of cool mics and 15 to 20 1176s or LA2As. I have no set chain."

Neve and 1176, not exactly unique. Maybe it's the singer not the gear

Here's the link full interview.

[mikey]

what was all that stuff she liked about the OSA ?????well now she uses Neve tutt

[Mike Tholen]

Her records have Neve spilt ALL over them...Sunset Sound?

[oceantracks]

Originally Posted by Mike Tholen

Her records have Neve spilt ALL over them...Sunset Sound?

1 Get her voice.

2 Write her songs.

3 Record through any decent mic and pre.

4 No mystery, now you sound like her.

[bloodstone]

I've read somewhere that she's a big fan of the Drawmer 1960. Don't know in what application.

[picksail]

Trina and I were studio partners for a short time. The only pre that she mentioned regarding ANY application was the OSA. All the other requisite peices are usually taken for granted.

She had some very favorable things to say about Dale and OSA.

[mikey]

wonder if OSA paid her to say that stuff

[picksail]

Originally Posted by mikey

wonder if OSA paid her to say that stuff

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[MJGreene Audio]

I am sure that Picksail can answer this better than most but; wasn't most or all of the 2nd album done at Kingsway? That would make it Neve pre's and a beautiful API console. And if I am right most of the Globe sessions were started at Kingsway and then moved over to Globe Studio in New York and Sheryl bought and brought a Neve console with her. It was then mixed by Tchad Blake at Sunset Sound in B?

All that said. I can record 20 people through the same gear and I would bet a bunch of money that unless it were her and her group of musicians singing and playing it wouldn't sound a damn bit like her records.

Gear matters but more than that it is the source. Don't get to hung up on the variations in API style pre. Goto the source!!!

I guess by saying all this I must not be a true gearslut!!

Michael Greene

[o---]

Well there's no question that you need Sheryl Crow to sound like Sheryl Crow. I hear all kinds of textures on "The Very Best of", but the instruments! All the alt/rock and blues guitars blend so warmly, and they still have a wide, (wide response)digital sound.

And I'm comparing this to one of my other favorite recordings from Bad Animals / Studio Litho: "Down on the Upside" by Soundgarden.

[o---]

Aha! Well my connection went out, so it took a few minutes to post,...


So, it's Kingsway!! (and the fingers that touched the knobs and drum keys on her band's amps, and you know... their spiritual audible energy)

[picksail]

Originally Posted by MJGreene Audio

I am sure that Picksail can answer this better than most but; wasn't most or all of the 2nd album done at Kingsway? That would make it Neve pre's and a beautiful API console. And if I am right most of the Globe sessions were started at Kingsway and then moved over to Globe Studio in New York and Sheryl bought and brought a Neve console with her. It was then mixed by Tchad Blake at Sunset Sound in B?

Sounds good to me.

I was only commenting on the fact that she has made very favorable mention about Dale and his OSA preamps. I am not entirely privy to what sort of deals they have worked out and I wouldn't divulge such information either. I know that she and I share an affinity for API gear, which is what led us to the casual discussion about OSA in the first place. I hold a great deal of respect for her and knowing the person she is would lead me to believe her 'endorsments' were sincere. She is a very genuine gal.

I mean, at the end of the day if you can't make an OSA pre (or any other, for that matter) work for you than you should probably consider another line of work.

[MJGreene Audio]

Just to speculate a bit further. Having worked in the rooms at Kingsway I would be that a bunch of the textures you hear on the early records were from they used the sound of those rooms to augment the performance. If I read correctly Globe was sort of the same way. Big open unique space with great tone.

I still to this day try and emulate the sounds I got at Kingsway. I NEVER am able to. And Trina certainly knew those rooms better than almost anyone.



Michael Greene

[o---]

by the way, thanks to all of you who gave up your slutty information.

[mikey]

well i was talking about the Globe Sessions could of made a mistake but i thought i read that that was done on the OSA gear