alexis
I'll Be On My Way
Posts: 447
|
Post by alexis on Dec 29, 2007 17:08:20 GMT
... achieve such surgical placement of instruments and voices across the stereo field?
He was outstanding, if not unique, in his ability to do that. Listening to other records of the time (thinking of the Stones, and even the Hollies, for example), other pop producers seemed to be able to only "smear" things across the soundstage compared to EMI/George Martin (i.e., from Rubber Soul onward). I've tried to do this in my bedroom studio, and of course can't ... I didn't expect to be able to, but I'd sure like to know HOW it was done!
Interestingly, Norman Smith seemed to have the same knack with Pink Floyd ... I wonder if it was an EMI thing, or a George Martin thing, that he took with him!
BTW, briank, I just want to say how honored I am to have you post on this forum, and how grateful that you would spend time with us!
|
|
|
Post by briank on Jan 3, 2008 20:42:12 GMT
Thanks - I don't think they were doing something special. They had GREAT equipment, which means high-quality sound - which translates to being able to "place things" in space. But the mixers could not just pan ANYWHERE - they don't have smooth-turning pots to make it pan; they are just multiple fixed points as you turn the pan pot...
Another factor is EQ and effects - with brighter sounds (Beatles used a "Presence Box" a lot on vocals) and less reverb (almost dry records from 1965 onward) which makes less "smear" of a sound....
|
|
|
Post by The End on Jan 4, 2008 3:26:53 GMT
I think their pan pots could actually have done with a clean in 1968 - listen to Revolution #9.
|
|
|
Post by briank on Jan 10, 2008 10:25:18 GMT
Oddly enough, these kid of pots can't really "go bad" - that's why EMI installed them. The consoles were nearly maintenance-free... However, we don't know the source of all the sounds on Rev#9, so it's possible some sounds had a scratch on that track from something, and when you pan that sound, it pans the scratch noise too.
|
|
|
Post by The End on Jan 10, 2008 12:30:38 GMT
Interesting - I get what you're saying - I'll have another listen tonight to see whether the "scratching" only appears in the actual transit from left to right (or vice versa) or whether it is also evident when the sound is "stationery". I do love this studio chat! Cheers again AL
|
|