What is it about Nashville sound?

[jimmoon]

Maybe some of you guys that work in Nashville can answer this.

Are more songs recorded live in Nashville than in other places because of the skill level of the session players?

[Sean Sullivan]

Every session I've done here in Nashville has had the basic tracks (drums, bass, guitar, keyboard (if there is any), scratch vocal) recorded live. Of course there's still overdubbing and punching, even in bluegrass, but I've never done a session where each instrument is recorded separately. I'm guessing if T Bone produced it, the recording was done at Sound Emporium, which has an amazing sounding live room.

But, look at the musician credits on something like Elvis Costello's latest. Jerry Douglas, Dennis Crouch, Leon Russell, Stuart Duncan, Jim Lauderdale, Vince Gill...all legends. It's hard to make those guys sounds bad! I've recorded a few of those musicians and it doesn't matter where they are cut, their instruments and playing sounds great. When you have that caliber of musicians playing together in one room, magic is going to come out of their fingers!

[edva]

The competition in Nashville is fierce, in terms of writers, players, engineers, and equipment, and the cream rises to the top. You're hearing the winners.
I certainly don't like everything that comes out of Nashville, but you've got to respect the audio quality of most of it, I agree. The best of the best.

[kats]

One of the few places left in the world that record real musicians playing together.

[Aisle 6]

Ah! Playing a song together at one time and capturing performance. Seems like utopia. thumbsup

[scottyjneilson]

Nashville definately has some great talent.thumbsup Grand Daddy born and raised there

[Infernal Device]

Originally Posted by kats

One of the few places left in the world that record real musicians playing together.

You need to get out more often.

[kstackm]

Originally Posted by edva

The competition in Nashville is fierce, in terms of writers, players, engineers, and equipment, and the cream rises to the top. You're hearing the winners.
I certainly don't like everything that comes out of Nashville, but you've got to respect the audio quality of most of it, I agree. The best of the best.

Well said and I definitely agree. Nashville in general is just one of those places that always seems to exceed what people tend to assume about it. As big as the name 'Nashville' is it is by far one of the most musically dynamic places on the planet at this time and has been for many years.

It's really kind of hard to grasp unless you've been there and been 'in the mix' of the music scene down there. Don't sleep though: Nashville's music tech is virtually in the ionosphere and yet the engineers down there manage to insist on organic sounding music with a hybrid paradigm twist to it. There is definitely more to that city than 'meets the eye' and that 'Nashville Sound' is the stuff of dreams - Believe that !

- KS

[initialsBB]

I think maybe it's because Nashville held on to the assembly line system where it's considered okay for songwriters, singers, and session musicians to be essentially hired guns. As opposed to the rock approach where the band is expected to write their own material and play on their own records.

Outside of Nashville I think you only see that Motown/Brill Building style of production in manufactured Disney pop, and maybe somewhat in Hip Hop and R&B, none of which have a defined geographical center like Nashville. And out of those, the Nashville scene is the only one that combines that professional specialization approach with deep historical roots and a tradition that emphasizes live playing and acoustic instruments.

And I don't mean this at all in a political way, but if you want to get philosophical about it, there might be a sort of conservatism to the area that underlies their approach to music. Take for example contemporary R&B vs. contemporary country music. They have both developed pretty far from their roots, but modern R&B tends to be perhaps more futuristic and forward looking than country. Nashville productions may use drum machines, but they try to make them sound like real drums for example.

[bcgood]

I used to associate Nashville with great recordings. Ever listen to Amy Grant's, Home For Christmas? That album sounds absolutely amazing!

These days though most of the stuff I hear coming out of Nashville sounds quite bad. Over auto-tuned vocals, beat mapped drums and smashed to the brim, weee!!!

[T_R_S]

pure talent Allison Krauss / kd Lang thumbsupthumbsup

[vinnieRice]

Old school recording chains? 1073 - LA2a - analogue desk - ProTools.

Great players, lively rooms, great engineers who work fast and make copious notes?

[stringbean01]

all i know is that if you go to roberts on broadway you will experience some face melting.

[Sparky4444]

...too bad the songs coming out of Nashville totally suck big-time a$$ these days...this has been the case for a while...Nothing like the glory days of the late'80s early '90's

[edva]

Originally Posted by Sparky4444

...too bad the songs coming out of Nashville totally suck big-time a$$ these days...this has been the case for a while...Nothing like the glory days of the late'80s early '90's

Yep, it really may be true that all the great songs have already been written. Seriously. Or most of them anyway.

[MandyC]

Originally Posted by vinnieRice

Old school recording chains? 1073 - LA2a - analogue desk - ProTools.

Great players, lively rooms, great engineers who work fast and make copious notes?

Pro Tools is old school?

[vernier]

Nashville sounded cool way back when, 40's, 50's, 60's.
.
.

[GYMusic]

Nothing unique about Nashville. What about the LA and Bakersfield sounds? The Wrecking Crew, Buck and the gang... they're each special in their own way. I think it's more of a "team" thing. You get a bunch of excellent, talented, like minded players in a room and magic happens. Doesn't have to be so much about the gear.

[LeoLeoLeo]

Originally Posted by kats

One of the few places left in the world that record real musicians playing together.

Ahem, Memphis...
But yea, more $$$ in Nashville.

[Player1]

On more simplified terms, it's 70's rock with a few changes, they retain the big guitars, subdue the drums, vocals out front, a splash of violin and banjo. Just as the modern country songs begin to rock they are pulled back and lay down to retain the country sound. Many great players and engineers and too much attempt at synthetic perfection!

[Knox]

you should always just 'copy and paste' "the old days were better / tubes are better" . . . as it's all you ever post . . . . . . . it will save you time typing.

Originally Posted by vernier

Nashville sounded cool way back when, 40's, 50's, 60's.
.
.

[Kingtone]

funny how a constructive post turns into a de-contstructive flaming session.

[vinnieRice]

Originally Posted by MandyC

Pro Tools is old school?

No of course not

[doubledecker]

Originally Posted by Kingtone

funny how a constructive post turns into a de-contstructive flaming session.

Yeah, well....

Anyway, i see three posts about quality of songs, and i don't remember me asking anything about songs and i don't see what would songs have to do with the sound.
Whatever.

Also, this "it sounded much better in 1756 when George Washington was chief engineer" argument don't make any sense because this thread is about sounds coming from Nashville now and in the last couple of years.
You may argue that stuff sounded better 20 years ago, but that's not the point.
Point is that ,even with beat detective, loud mastering, autotuned vocals and whatever else you wanna bring out, things coming out of Nashville still sound better than anything else in the world that's been autotuned,beat detectived and mastered to death.


I would love to hear more from guys who work there about recording practices, about engineers, recording and mixing rooms.
AFAIK, lots of the finest recording rooms in the world are in Nashville.

I hope i can record and mix one day in Nashville to experience it all and come to my own conclusion.

[wildplum]

Originally Posted by doubledecker

I was just replying to another thread about contemporary mixing references and then i realized that in the last 5-6 years my only reference when it comes to high quality sound has become music that's being recorded and mixed in Nashville.
From Carrie Underwood to Mark Knopfler, from Keith Urban to Elvis Costello they've got this amazing classy sound which i don't hear anywhere else.

got me thinking- i recently read that the only style of music that is still selling well is modern country. perhaps there's a relationship here.

[LeoLeoLeo]

I believe it is something in the water/air & just heritage. Also they are still very union-ized which I think it has to do with that maybe. But from what I worked up there,(I'm from Memphis) it seems very sterile, cookie cutter, session guys play the charts exactly and put their lil lick in there once. Not flaming anyone, just a little friendly state music capital rivalry. Haha. Seen a few strange things and they looked at me like I was crazy. Well I am. But one day I was smoking & talking with an asst eng while he was documenting gear after a tracking session. I was like"oh, these guys coming back later? This why you doing this?" he was like "no, next time we cut a band I'm gonna set everything like this." per eng request.Gain, eq, compression, etc.
Different day,players, instruments, song, etc...just wow!

But yes, amazing stuff comes outta nashville.

[Slikjmuzik]

Yeah, Nashville can't be beat. It's the taste factor. Somehow, Nashville has engineers that know what they're doing too....hmm, go figure.

[craig young]

he's called "chuck ainlay". i love pulling up to a studio and seeing a bmw motorcycle parked by the door. it means that its going to be a very good day. the headphone 2mix always sounds like a master, except the vocal is mixed at a musically appropriate level, vs. the "vox up 25db , as requested by (fill in that months ceo) mix" that usually goes off for mastering. even though its marked with the mix engineers own handwriting / blood: "please dont ever use this version, it will end my life and your career. seriously, please im begging you.. dont do it.). the really bad crap that comes out of nashville, is just as painful for us, if not more so, than it is for you. especially if the tune really had serious potential, and we were asked to take all the killer bits out (for radio) and turn it into formulaic crap, which unfortunately, happens... a lot. there is no shortage of seriously talented artists / writers / producers / engineers / players / studios, etc., in this town, but keep this in mind..... we are the employees and not in total creative control. we try to help, sometimes they listen, sometimes they dont. its a funny business.

[robertshaw]

Nasvhille sound is big punchy and polished, kinda like an 80s hair metal record
minus the long hall reverb but with the puerile style lyrics intact.

The new Nashville sound can pretty much be attributed to Mutt

that's why I love it