The RH Factor sound

Tom VDH · 20th March 2007

Hi Russell,

I love most artists you have produced over the years, and how you made these records sound, I have to admit your work on Roy Hargrove's recordings is on the very top of my list. I went at one of their gigs last week, the band was just great.

What was your approach (choice of room/ mics/ micing techniques/ gear of choice) to tracking and mixing the band on "Hard Groove" and "The Strenth" e.p?
Everything sounds very intimate and in your face (JT's drums are just huge!), rich and colourful, I love it!!

Thanks in advance!

Russell Elevado · 20th March 2007

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the compliments. There are certain artists who i have a deeper connection with personally, musically and sonically than others. He gives me the freedom to be me and trusts me and in turn I give him the same. I always have a lot of fun working with Roy Hargrove. He's a true orginal and musical genius (no kidding)! To me, he is the Miles Davis of our time. I only hope we can do more records together that can be heard by more people so he can get the recognition he deserves from a broader audience outside of the jazz world.

I approached this album like i would have doing a D'Angelo tracking session, except with Roy it's 8 or 10 people playing live at the same time. Both of those albums were tracked at Electric Lady and the 1st album was mixed there as well but Strength was mixed at Quad Studios.

Hardgroove was tracked and mixed all analog in about 25 or 26 days total. Strength came from the Hardgroove sessons and i took a song a day to mix. All of it live performances with the exception of additional horn arrangements (he'd add a different variation of the horn arrangement in combination with the one originally played live) and vocal overdubs. Otherwise those are complete takes with no editing. Editing was done at mastering if we had to cut a song shorter or join two songs together on an off beat or something.

I'll be general for now and come back another time with more specifics as I want to get to a couple more people today.

I wanted a vintage and natural sound for the most part, so I used a lot of old tube and ribbon mics. And all mic pre's were Neve, Helios, or Telefunken. The Focusrite board was already gone from Studio A when I tracked this album, otherwise I would've used the pre's on that as well. I also try not to eq to tape, i'd rahter move mics around until i find their sweet spots. And I patch straight to the tape machine, no bussing unless i'm combining signals to stereo or single tracks. For me, as a rule, the shortest path possible to your recording machine, the better.

Stay tuned and I'll get to the mixing part and a few more specifics.
But I might combine some of my answers with other questions from other people as a lot of the time they will relate to each other. This will prevent me from repeating myself and save me time. So please check other threads for similar requests.

Cheers

Tom VDH · 21st March 2007

Thanks a lot for your great reply Russell!!

I'll check the other threads too, no prob'.
I hope you get to work with him again asap, his music and your craft are a perfect combo!

Keep up the great vibe!

20th March 2007	#1
Tom VDH Gear maniac Joined: Aug 2004 Location: in the studio Posts: 247 Thread Starter	The RH Factor sound Hi Russell, I love most artists you have produced over the years, and how you made these records sound, I have to admit your work on Roy Hargrove's recordings is on the very top of my list. I went at one of their gigs last week, the band was just great. What was your approach (choice of room/ mics/ micing techniques/ gear of choice) to tracking and mixing the band on "Hard Groove" and "The Strenth" e.p? Everything sounds very intimate and in your face (JT's drums are just huge!), rich and colourful, I love it!! Thanks in advance! __________________ Tom Van Den Heuvel elysia France www.vdh-recordings.com

20th March 2007	#2
Russell Elevado Gear maniac Joined: Sep 2006 Location: i'm a gypsy Posts: 230	Roy Hargrove concepts Hi Tom, Thanks for the compliments. There are certain artists who i have a deeper connection with personally, musically and sonically than others. He gives me the freedom to be me and trusts me and in turn I give him the same. I always have a lot of fun working with Roy Hargrove. He's a true orginal and musical genius (no kidding)! To me, he is the Miles Davis of our time. I only hope we can do more records together that can be heard by more people so he can get the recognition he deserves from a broader audience outside of the jazz world. I approached this album like i would have doing a D'Angelo tracking session, except with Roy it's 8 or 10 people playing live at the same time. Both of those albums were tracked at Electric Lady and the 1st album was mixed there as well but Strength was mixed at Quad Studios. Hardgroove was tracked and mixed all analog in about 25 or 26 days total. Strength came from the Hardgroove sessons and i took a song a day to mix. All of it live performances with the exception of additional horn arrangements (he'd add a different variation of the horn arrangement in combination with the one originally played live) and vocal overdubs. Otherwise those are complete takes with no editing. Editing was done at mastering if we had to cut a song shorter or join two songs together on an off beat or something. I'll be general for now and come back another time with more specifics as I want to get to a couple more people today. I wanted a vintage and natural sound for the most part, so I used a lot of old tube and ribbon mics. And all mic pre's were Neve, Helios, or Telefunken. The Focusrite board was already gone from Studio A when I tracked this album, otherwise I would've used the pre's on that as well. I also try not to eq to tape, i'd rahter move mics around until i find their sweet spots. And I patch straight to the tape machine, no bussing unless i'm combining signals to stereo or single tracks. For me, as a rule, the shortest path possible to your recording machine, the better. Stay tuned and I'll get to the mixing part and a few more specifics. But I might combine some of my answers with other questions from other people as a lot of the time they will relate to each other. This will prevent me from repeating myself and save me time. So please check other threads for similar requests. Cheers __________________ russ elevado

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21st March 2007	#3
Tom VDH Gear maniac Joined: Aug 2004 Location: in the studio Posts: 247 Thread Starter	Thanks a lot for your great reply Russell!! I'll check the other threads too, no prob'. I hope you get to work with him again asap, his music and your craft are a perfect combo! Keep up the great vibe!