Steve Albini recording session video

[lukejs]

this is interesting... at 6 min. 20 seconds, you see the main vocal being recorded... in a brick room !! I have tried recording people in my house, which brick, stucko type walls, and it always sounds boxy and crappy.... why would that room not be , at least...treated with some wood, or something to get rid of the mid range resonance that brick creates ? The dry vocal in this video, sounds just like the crap I tried to record in my house !! I ended up telling the singer, sorry, I´m not going to record in my house anymore, because it just sounds to boxy.... Why wouldn´t he acoustically treat that room differently ? Personally, I think it´s a sound I´d like to avoid.... here´s the video.... YouTube - Phonovectra - Recording with Steve Albini

[Curve Dominant]

Those aren't typical masonry bricks; it's actually red clay which the builders of Electrical used, which they had shipped up to Chicago from somewhere in the southwest US (New Mexico if I recall correctly).

There's a name for the stuff which eludes my brain - anybody think of it?

-E

[lukejs]

Whatever this material is, it´s hard , and gives the midrange a hard boxy sound...judging from the dry audio track...

[patrox247]

Originally Posted by lukejs

Whatever this material is, it´s hard , and gives the midrange a hard boxy sound...judging from the dry audio track...

What dry audio track are you talking about?

[musicmann]

OK, I'm gonna say it.. Albini kinda sucks.... Yeah, he's a cool dude.. and he talks a good game.. He has cool equipment and work ethic.. but his stuff does not sound GOOD even.. GOOD, would be OK,... it doesn't have to be amazing. He was fortunate to be involved in some monumental recordings of great artists.. but his sound isn't good at all..
OK.. Let the slings and arrows begin... I know I'm gonna get it for this!!!

[quietdrive]

Originally Posted by musicmann

OK, I'm gonna say it.. Albini kinda sucks.... Yeah, he's a cool dude.. and he talks a good game.. He has cool equipment and work ethic.. but his stuff does not sound GOOD even.. GOOD, would be OK,... it doesn't have to be amazing. He was fortunate to be involved in some monumental recordings of great artists.. but his sound isn't good at all..
OK.. Let the slings and arrows begin... I know I'm gonna get it for this!!!

thumbsup

[patrox247]

Originally Posted by musicmann

OK, I'm gonna say it.. Albini kinda sucks.... Yeah, he's a cool dude.. and he talks a good game.. He has cool equipment and work ethic.. but his stuff does not sound GOOD even.. GOOD, would be OK,... it doesn't have to be amazing. He was fortunate to be involved in some monumental recordings of great artists.. but his sound isn't good at all..
OK.. Let the slings and arrows begin... I know I'm gonna get it for this!!!

Albini let's the bands make the record that "they" want to make. His engineering chops are great and I love the fact that he's not a control freak. It's true his records aren't all "glossy", and he can be highly experimental, but when bands do a record with Steve, it tends to be the most creative record of their career (which to me is cool in this day and age of homoginization).

[AlexLakis]

Originally Posted by patrox247

Albini let's the bands make the record that "they" want to make. His engineering chops are great and I love the fact that he's not a control freak. It's true his records aren't all "glossy", and he can be highly experimental, but when bands do a record with Steve, it tends to be the most creative record of their career (which to me is cool in this day and age of homoginization).

I agree. Steve's productions always seem to fit the talent and creativity of the band. I think that's a great quality to have as a producer/engineer. No ego + invested creativity = happy client.

I think the tracks sound good! Certainly not a vocal sound I'd want on every track, but I think it works for the music. The vibe seemed very good and the band seemed happy.

[musicmann]

Yeah, but does it SOUND good???.. I don't give CRAP about "glossy".. but his stuff sounds lame, hollow, or boxy and badly recorded.. Can't imagine why...
He certainly has the "know how" and gear,,,...

[patrox247]

Originally Posted by AlexLakis

I agree. Steve's productions always seem to fit the talent and creativity of the band. I think that's a great quality to have as a producer/engineer. No ego + invested creativity = happy client.

Yeah, and I also like the fact that Steves records tend to keep the focus on the band and the songs rather than the production. I think that is a tough thing for some people to digest. We have been trained that things are supposed to be a certain way, and that any diversion is either wrong or bad.

[patrox247]

Originally Posted by musicmann

Yeah, but does it SOUND good???.. I don't give CRAP about "glossy".. but his stuff sounds lame, hollow, or boxy and badly recorded.. Can't imagine why...
He certainly has the "know how" and gear,,,...

I think it would be much more accurate to say that it sounds bad to YOU.

[amost]

Did I hear band dewd say "he takes no royalties?"


as in no points?

[patrox247]

Originally Posted by amost

Did I hear band dewd say "he takes no royalties?"


as in no points?

That's right!thumbsup He charges an hourly or daily rate. He doesn't feel entitled to royalties, and doesn't feel as though a band should pay an engineer twice for doing the work once.

[Jack P]

Originally Posted by amost

Did I hear band dewd say "he takes no royalties?"


as in no points?

Yes this is correct - he famously when producing Nirvana's LP asked for a flat fee of around $100,000 and no points... You've got to remember this was the follow up to Nevermind !

[Gravity]

Originally Posted by patrox247

That's right!thumbsup He charges an hourly or daily rate. He doesn't feel entitled to royalties, and doesn't feel as though a band should pay an engineer twice for doing the work once.

Not to hijack the thread, but thats a philosophy I could get behind. I'm sure that's gotta be an unpopular opinion among most of us....

[Curve Dominant]

ADOBE - that's it. The stuff's called Adobe.

??

[musicmann]

Originally Posted by patrox247

I think it would be much more accurate to say that it sounds bad to YOU.

OK, he sounds bad to ME.. and at least one artist that I've worked with wouldn't LET him mix their album.. His "sound" is not a secret.. hasn't been for years.. When I first mentioned his work ethic, I was including the fact that he doesn't take royalties as stated previously.. That's admirable.. He doesn't consider consider himself a producer, rather a recorder. As I say, he talks a good game.. But I can't understand why his records sounds so dark, boxy and undefined.. It's not retro, it's cruddy.. (TO ME) od course.

[lukejs]

After recording one guy in a room about the size of that room in the video, with the concrete wall problem, I´ve come to a conclusion that the fact that the walls are hard, and there are the standing wave problems from parallel walls, that it creates early reflections that sound like ash, and you have to lower gain to take out more of the room sound.... my mics always sounded better with more gain, even if I recorded in my great room, which has a concrete walls too, but the walls are farther away... I guess there´s a resonance in the smaller room that you just can´t get out of the recording.... If you´re listening steve... stick some wooden helmoltz traps in there or something !!

[Alex Niedt]

Originally Posted by musicmann

But I can't understand why his records sounds so dark, boxy and undefined.

I disagree with "undefined", but dark and boxy are his style, and it fits a lot of the music he engineers. Listen to his work with the band Low...perfect depth of sound for them.

[lpkyer]

Shellac records dont sound good? Damn,theyre a reference for me

[JP11]

Was confusing to me when he said he wanted to change the recorded beat, and then about how manipulating the music is a bad thing.

[patrox247]

Originally Posted by JP11

Was confusing to me when he said he wanted to change the recorded beat, and then about how manipulating the music is a bad thing.

I beleive that was just because a kick snare pattern wasn't working in that part, and rather than retrack, they cut tape.

[JP11]

Right. So seems he's alright with some manipulation. No big deal, just thought that was sort of funny.

[Long_Shaded_Eye]

.... Steve Albini's stuff just SOUND GREAT.
GREAT !!!

Really man, I don't see what wrong in the drum sound of Neurosis (just for exemple). Yes, it's raw ... but it's hard core music , no ????

I can recognise the kick sound of Albini miles away. I think in this time of sample & stuff (I use them but...) it's great to have our own personality ... like Mr. Albini have.

My 2 cents.

[Todd24]

Originally Posted by musicmann

OK, he sounds bad to ME..

I think that may be do to the general lack of overdubs, where several hours were spent getting the perfect sound to compliment the original tracks.

His records tend to be more of a "live" studio thing. Given that context, they sound fantastic!

The upshot is by capturing the bands AS they sound, lets the feeling of the band comes through in spades.

I would rather hear a record that sounds "real" Than one thats polished. Not that I dont like polished records too.........

[patrox247]

Originally Posted by JP11

Right. So seems he's alright with some manipulation. No big deal, just thought that was sort of funny.

I think he is definatley not opposed to editing, he just dosn't want it to be the focus.

[JP11]

Out of curiosity, how is that done? (I'm not nearly the old geezer some may think I am. Born and bred digital.)

I assume he's not just changing one bar. Would you first bounce the kick to another tape. Slice it, and then loop it, then bounce back? It would have to sync. Please fill me in. Seems it would be a nightmare. He should really drop his childish principles and get Pro Tools .

[sbs]

Originally Posted by patrox247

Yeah, and I also like the fact that Steves records tend to keep the focus on the band and the songs rather than the production. I think that is a tough thing for some people to digest. We have been trained that things are supposed to be a certain way, and that any diversion is either wrong or bad.

last time i was told his rates, they really aren't high and he seems to have a very open door approach to who he works with. if the band sound good, the recording will sound good. of course, if the band doesnt sound good then...

slint's "spiderland" blows me away, the guitars on "good morning captain" make whats left of my hair stand up on end everytime i listen to it.

[patrox247]

Originally Posted by JP11

Out of curiosity, how is that done? (I'm not nearly the old geezer some may think I am. Born and bred digital.)

I assume he's not just changing one bar. Would you first bounce the kick to another tape. Slice it, and then loop it, then bounce back? It would have to sync. Please fill me in. Seems it would be a nightmare. He should really drop his childish principles and get Pro Tools .

I know analog can seem crazy to guys who have been raised into the digital world, and Steves ways may seem old fashioned, but Steve works much faster and is much more efficiant than the fastest Pro Tools engineers in the biz. To put it into perspective, he typacly completes an entire full length record from start to finish in about a week.

[dropblacksky]

I think Albini is great, but I do find his albums to be hit or miss with me. I like his philosophy and style, but sometimes it's just too muddy and undefined. Two of my favorite bands are Neurosis and Mono, and I think in most ways Albini's style fits the rawness of those bands (there's a quiet strings moment on the first Albini Mono album where you can hear the string player turning the page on their music sheets...that's some dynamic range for you!) ...but in other ways, these bands have too many layers and subtleties that get lost in the Albini mud. I also think it's funny that he talks so much about just capturing the band, but the "Albini" sound is recognizable from a mile away....