Switchfoot

[Alexi]

hi there,

i really dig the recent switchfoot releases...well not the songs but the sound of the records basically.
Just really fat sounding pop/rock mixes.
Any slutz have any inside infos on the recordings?
The only thing i know is that they tracked on an API board.

Any info out there

cheers

[TML]

just got their new cd for referencing...sounded great on tv......

[tubehead]

The drummer used to live 5 houses up from me; I found out the day he moved. lol

[jchadstopherhuez]

john fields did the switchfoot record...he is a WAY underatted producer....and a real nice dude...

not sure where they tracked this one...but, mr clearmountain mixed it beautifully....I happen to be a fan of the band...so I think it rocks...no matter what you think of the songs...it SOUNDS amazing....mr bob c does it again...

how DOES he get those hats so smooth ??

[Alexi]

Originally Posted by mixman499

john fields did the switchfoot record...he is a WAY underatted producer....and a real nice dude...

not sure where they tracked this one...but, mr clearmountain mixed it beautifully....I happen to be a fan of the band...so I think it rocks...no matter what you think of the songs...it SOUNDS amazing....mr bob c does it again...

how DOES he get those hats so smooth ??

just what i am thinking man.... i am not a fan of their music but their records just sound so freakin' fat.....especially the drums.....gotta do a search on that john fields guy.

cheers

[WeekendWanker]

I really like both records also. I found this story on the UA site, so naturally it talks mostly about UA gear, but it would seem hes uses a lot of the mic pres in recording and the plugins in mixdown.

[jchadstopherhuez]

alot of john's rock productions have a similar FAT drum sound...even when mixed by different folks....jack puig, tla..and clearmountain...fields gets a HUGE kick sound..which i love

another record to check out....and from a killer band from chicago...Dove Tail Joint

the record is calle "001" it was released on columbia in 98 or 99 i think....

Jack Puig mixed the record....and John Fields produced...killer stuff !!!

BIG KICK drums !!!!

[slaves666]

The 2 latest records sound killer. But for me its the vocals. SUPER upfront and compressed.....perfect for radio. Then again, the gear that they used is probably WAY out of my league.

[84K]

Great sounding stuff.... a little lite musically IMHO. The vocal effect is interesting. Reminds me of Steve Miller Band's "Rockin' Me Baby." John Fields does great work with that band.

[Alexi]

keep infos comin....greatly appreciated so far

cheers guys thumbsup thumbsup thumbsup

[drummin4christ]

I love their stuff as well and have been a fan of the band from their first release, "The Legend of Chin." I know they recorded part of the new record at Jon's house, but the drums and electrics were recorded at a studio.

[Dave Peck]

Yes indeed, this is a great sounding rock record. BUT PLEASE NOTE - THIS IS ONE OF THE SONY CDs THAT HAS THAT GODDAMM ROOT KIT PROGRAM ON THE CD THAT WILL INSTALL ITSELF ON YOUR COMPUTER, ATTEMPT TO PHONE HOME TO A SONY WEB SITE, AND DISABLE YOUR CD DRIVE IF YOU TRY TO UNINSTALL IT!

Sony has recalled all of these due to a slew of lawsuits and really bad PR. If you have this CD, go to the Sony web site and check the ID number printed on your CD case against the ID numbers listed on the site. If the numbers match DO NOT put this CD in your computer! (It's safe to put it in a CD player).

The Sony site will print out a UPS tag that you can use to send it back to them at their cost. As an aside, I have heard stories of folks using these UPS tags to send all kinds of nasty smelly things to Sony....

I'm not trying to turn this into a "we hate Sony" thread. There is a whole 'nuther thread on this topic over at PSW (and there may be one here too already).

Dave Peck

[Alexi]

thank god i have only listened to it on a friends boombox

[cajonezzz]

They tracked it at Signature sound in San Diego.
Pretty impressive to watch those guys work, they were tracking in studio A, and studio B and the lounge were all doing pre production assembly line style.

I think they did the whole record in like ten days.

My understanding about drumsounds_ tons of soundreplacer, but the room and overheads kept. ( this comes from a mutual close friend on the sessions.)

good stuff.

[absrec]

There's one thing that noone has mentioned so far, and it's the fact that they just sound like that! Anyone who has seen them live knows that Switchfoot does not need studio tricks to make them sound good. This makes a bigger difference than anyone realizes.

Also, someone mentioned Bob Clearmountain but failed to praise CLA. Shame!!!

P.S. I know what soundreplacer sounds like and I'd be really shocked if it were used on that record. I became intimately involved with the last two Switchfoot CDs and I just don't hear that cheesy "lack of bleed", plastic sound. They may have taken the time to make sample tracks only to have them thrown out by the true engineers that mixed the record.

[audioez]

Originally Posted by absrec

There's one thing that noone has mentioned so far, and it's the fact that they just sound like that! Anyone who has seen them live knows that Switchfoot does not need studio tricks to make them sound good. This makes a bigger difference than anyone realizes.

Abs! you beat me to it. I've had the pleasure of mixing switchfoot a couple of times for tv broadcasts. They plug in, play and it sounds great, end of story. No whining from the switchfoot camp, they are professionals to the highest degree.

[Lee Knight]

Originally Posted by cajonezzz

They tracked it at Signature sound in San Diego.
Pretty impressive to watch those guys work, they were tracking in studio A, and studio B and the lounge were all doing pre production assembly line style.

I think they did the whole record in like ten days.

My understanding about drumsounds_ tons of soundreplacer, but the room and overheads kept. ( this comes from a mutual close friend on the sessions.)

good stuff.

Hey Craig, Lee here. Are you talking about Mike Harris?

According to him, it was all the miced kit. He was blown away with the sounds they were getting while tracking. At one point Mike and the engineer looked at each other and said, "Oh my God! Listen to that." They were so blown away with what was coming out the monitors of a room they work in everyday.

So while some replacement may have been used, from what I gather it wasn't what made up the majority of the drum sound.

He did say, however, that directly after tracking drums they would be handed off the a separate PT guy and everything was cut with Beat Detective. Right away. Even though the tracks rocked and the exection was spot on.



I love Switchfoot. I think their Beautiful Letdown had better songs, but the this new one is one kick ass sounding album. And as someone mentioned above, yeah, they do sound great live. Great band. And from my home town.

[Resonater]

Yes, if I'm not mistaken, it was Chris Lord-Alge's mixes that, for the most part, made it onto the final release, NOT Bob's. Check the credits for a per-song track listing.

[aaronsternke]

Originally Posted by Resonater

Yes, if I'm not mistaken, it was Chris Lord-Alge's mixes that, for the most part, made it onto the final release, NOT Bob's. Check the credits for a per-song track listing.

Actually it's about half and half.

[cajonezzz]

Originally Posted by Lee Knight

Hey Craig, Lee here. Are you talking about Mike Harris?

According to him, it was all the miced kit. He was blown away with the sounds they were getting while tracking. At one point Mike and the engineer looked at each other and said, "Oh my God! Listen to that." They were so blown away with what was coming out the monitors of a room they work in everyday.

So while some replacement may have been used, from what I gather it wasn't what made up the majority of the drum sound.

He did say, however, that directly after tracking drums they would be handed off the a separate PT guy and everything was cut with Beat Detective. Right away. Even though the tracks rocked and the exection was spot on.



I love Switchfoot. I think their Beautiful Letdown had better songs, but the this new one is one kick ass sounding album. And as someone mentioned above, yeah, they do sound great live. Great band. And from my home town.

Hey Lee, no not mike. my bud AAron ( really good friend of the band) passed that info on to me. I know for sure there was full time PT edits going down, but I was also told pretty much everything was SR'd as well. I'll double check tho could be wrong. I agree, great sounding record. I dig the band as well! One thing for sure, I did some drums there a couple months ago and the remodeled live room is really nice for drums- kinda medium big, and a huge step up from what it was ( like ours better though! )
How's things btw? Im busy with a new baby and stuff, drop by some time and check the room out!

craig

[Lee Knight]

Originally Posted by cajonezzz

Hey Lee, no not mike. my bud AAron ( really good friend of the band) passed that info on to me. I know for sure there was full time PT edits going down, but I was also told pretty much everything was SR'd as well. I'll double check tho could be wrong. I agree, great sounding record. I dig the band as well! One thing for sure, I did some drums there a couple months ago and the remodeled live room is really nice for drums- kinda medium big, and a huge step up from what it was ( like ours better though! )
How's things btw? Im busy with a new baby and stuff, drop by some time and check the room out!

craig

I stopped by 2-3 weeks ago and wasn't sure how to find you. Upstairs around back?

[Oats]

my band used to be on the same label and played with switchfoot all the time-- great guys-- good players and singers-- plus they surf! can't go wrong there. i like the song themes but its a lil light/ poppy for the gravity of the subject imho. the sounds on the records ARE amazing--- i respect whoever produced/engineered.

[jchadstopherhuez]

Originally Posted by absrec

There's one thing that noone has mentioned so far, and it's the fact that they just sound like that! Anyone who has seen them live knows that Switchfoot does not need studio tricks to make them sound good. This makes a bigger difference than anyone realizes.

Also, someone mentioned Bob Clearmountain but failed to praise CLA. Shame!!!

P.S. I know what soundreplacer sounds like and I'd be really shocked if it were used on that record. I became intimately involved with the last two Switchfoot CDs and I just don't hear that cheesy "lack of bleed", plastic sound. They may have taken the time to make sample tracks only to have them thrown out by the true engineers that mixed the record.

man.....that is the truth...a kick ass tight band...WILL sound awesome recorded....I know the switchfoot dudes are GREAT musicians....really solid drumming...that surely makes more of a difference than anything in the recording chain !!!

btw...props to Chris as well...just noticed that he mixed about 1/2 of the tunes....CLA has mixed stuff for some of my former bands....SUPER nice guy...as is his bro TOM...Clearmountain is one of my heros but have never worked with him...from people I know who have...he is a world class human being in addition to being an incredible mixer.....Jonatha Brooke told me he is quite possibly the nicest guy ever !!!!

SO, both Bob and CLA NAILED the mixes on the switchfoot stuff...but, I think they would both say that having a band like that to mix is really the key !!!....Who knows hom much SR was used...(I happen to agree that it does not sound like samples...) it sounds killer...thats all that matters !!!

huge stadium anthemic mixes. thumbsup ...masterfully done. i first heard Dare You to Move on a total junk stereo and was still very impressed.

[Alexi]

Originally Posted by jordan19

huge stadium anthemic mixes. thumbsup ...masterfully done. i first heard Dare You to Move on a total junk stereo and was still very impressed.

exactly what i mean....if you reach the point where your mixes even sound killer on a f$$ked up boombox you're doing somethin' right.

cheers for all of your great replies

[Ckevperry]

Great stuff guys.....anyone have any info on guitars?

[Telecastr]

Originally Posted by drummin4christ

I love their stuff as well and have been a fan of the band from their first release, "The Legend of Chin." I know they recorded part of the new record at Jon's house, but the drums and electrics were recorded at a studio.

I've been a huge fan of theirs since Legend of Chin as well. I met someone who said they liked Switchfoot and didn't have their new CD, but did have their first one. I said, Oh really? You actually heard of Legend of Chin?" They said, "No, mine is called The Beautiful Letdown". It's not everyday that you come accross people who've been SF fans since the beginning.

They recorded some of the stuff on the road in "dingy backstage dressing rooms everywhere"

What's up with all of you guys saying you don't care for the music, but you love how it sounds? Seems to me that has more to do with the songs themselves, than Bob C and CLA.

Originally Posted by Resonater

Yes, if I'm not mistaken, it was Chris Lord-Alge's mixes that, for the most part, made it onto the final release, NOT Bob's. Check the credits for a per-song track listing.

Look at the credits...It's pretty well split between the two mixers. CLA - 7 to Bob - 5

[EngineEars]

Originally Posted by Ckevperry

Great stuff guys.....anyone have any info on guitars?

I know part of their guitar rig is assorted Gibson SG's & Pauls into Orange, Vox and a divided by thirteen rig.

Big ups to John Fields!!!

[Telecastr]

Originally Posted by Ckevperry

Great stuff guys.....anyone have any info on guitars?

AC30s and Tophat amps

SGs, Thunderbirds, Les Pauls, Teles, Taylor acoustics

That's what they use live anyways.

[Telecastr]

Originally Posted by Oats

my band used to be on the same label and played with switchfoot all the time-- great guys-- good players and singers-- plus they surf! can't go wrong there. i like the song themes but its a lil light/ poppy for the gravity of the subject imho. the sounds on the records ARE amazing--- i respect whoever produced/engineered.

Oats,
What's the name of your band?