Unstoppable Recording Machine Podcast

Mixcritmonday triumphantly returns with Eyal and John Douglass, and we’ve got the lowdown on some subscriber mixes of Bullet For My Valentine’s “Over It.”

“It’s fun to get mega toms. There’s something validating and manly or something about it. But you don’t realize that you’re crushing the mix like a can and throwing it away.” - Eyal Levi

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

4:58 Watching out for harsh high end

7:03 Making sure that you’re not going overboard with vocal fx

11:01 Taming cymbals to allow other elements to allow more room for other elements

18:14 Effectively building up to the climax of a song

29:18 Why you need resist the urge to strut your “manliness” with toms

40:18 Efforts that have helped John improve his mixing over time

44:01 Managing your low end throughout various sections of a song

And much, much more

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Dan Lancaster (Bring Me The Horizon, Blink-182, Don Broco) is here to bring his expertise on acquiring “bigger” clients, the importance of structure in your schedule, and headphone mixing.

For a guy that openly talks about initially not wanting to be a producer, Dan has certainly become one of the best there is. How he got from one to the other is a master class on how to combine a willingness to learn through repeated experimentation, a solid strategy for maintaining flow, and figuring out how to connect with artists.

“No matter how small, or uninspiring, or if sometimes some songs you’re working on aren’t very good - no matter what you’re working on - always try to please yourself as much as you possibly can to the very last detail. Walk away feeling that it sounds amazing.” - Dan Lancaster

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

2:30 Dan’s transition from musician in a band to producer, learning how to record and mix drums in the mid-2000’s

18:00 Structure, balance, and taking breaks to maintain that level of quality; transition to being known for mixing ability

30:00 Separating mix organization/prep and actual mixing time, different brain spaces

34:00 Mixing Bring Me The Horizon on headphones, BMTH as a career turning point

45:00 Low end and groove, working out of a commercial space vs home studio, big guitars with octave + Kemper

54:00 Working with Blink-182, recording drums in a large factory space

And much, much more

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This week, we’ve got Jake Subin (chief engineer for Telefunken, Ruben Subin Productions ) on the show for a conversation that’s going to make the gear nerd in all of us happy.

Not only has Jake built an encyclopedic level of technical knowledge for himself over the course of his career, but he also brings a lot of insight to the table on how to actually apply all that knowledge. Most of us have that side that goes down the rabbit hole of gear obsession; it’s important not letting that get in the way of what matters at the end of the day, and that’s the music.

“I always have to keep in mind that it’s not my record, it’s not my music. I’m making somebody else’s record and my job is to take their vision, capture it, and make it the best it can be in their minds, not mine.” - Jake Subin

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

2:00 Jake’s work at Telefunken, real-world testing of condenser microphones, mixing/engineering for Telefunken, live band sessions

16:00 Maintaining momentum and avoiding technical problems in expensive commercial sessions

20:00 Utilizing studio time at college, Jake’s experience rebuilding an analog console

24:00 What Jake learned taking apart TV’s as a child, why “they don’t make em like they used to” is actually true

33:00 The traditional separation of producer/engineer roles for session efficiency, work/life balance and family support

44:00 Effective communication with clients re: expectations

52:00 Rational Acoustics Smaart, tuning studios and live environments, always learning new things

58:00 Getting it right at the source and the limits of that philosophy

And much, much more

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Lenny Skolnik (Yung Spielburg, Miyavi, All That Remains) brings us his insight on having an entrepreneurial approach to producing, how to build an amazing team, and crafting great hit songs.

When it comes right down to it, regardless of genre, there are certain approaches to the process that lead to successful results. Lenny’s experiences demonstrate what you can do with an open mind, a will to succeed, and an effort to refine and develop your methodology.

“If you have created something that you really believe in, do not be afraid to get involved beyond the role of the music.” - Lenny Skolnik

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

4:30 Lenny’s drive to produce pop and be financially successful from a relatively early age, becoming Howard Benson’s first intern

13:00 The “Howardisms” that Lenny has taken in over the years of working with Howard Benson

18:00 Joel and Lenny’s mix process for Miyavi

30:00 The importances of getting people who are better than you at doing what they do on your team

40:00 Why, if you’re involved in a project you really believe in, you should get involved in the promotion/other roles

44:00 Songwriting and what makes a great song, what makes a hit

50:00 Starting the songwriting process with an intimate conversation that sparks a lyric or feeling, “connect with the people you’re creating with”

60:00 Writing a #1 Billboard song with All That Remains

And much, much more

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Andy Marsh (Thy Art Is Murder) is a killer guitarist, as well as having branched out behind the scenes with Graphic Nature Management, and the twists and turns his path has taken to get to where he is are fascinating.

While Andy’s path isn’t common (let’s just say it involves rugby and multiple, severe bodily injuries) the mindset and strategies he applies to his work are things that everyone could benefit from applying to their own efforts.

“Some people will get to the limit of their energy and just push through it, and really their just doing themselves a disservice. Have a good night’s sleep. Whatever idea that you’re struggling with for 4 hours from 10pm till 2am, if you just slept you might have come up with it in 5 minutes by the time you wake up.” - Andy Marsh

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

5:30 Balancing full time band duties with recording, producing other bands

8:30 Andy’s time management - being upfront with clients, keeping notes and reminders

16:00 How efficiency at airports and travel add up

22:00 File/note sharing, Slack, shared calendars, focus on simple organization, templated folders of tour documents

32:00 John Cleese’s time blocking for creativity, specific environments for work/play, Pomodoro method

40:00 Pushing yourself but knowing your limits, sleep needs and days off

46:00 Andy’s rugby background and injury, finger injury, deciding to pursue guitar

54:00 Learning the ‘rules’ and terminology of guitar and reading tablature before actually picking up a guitar

1:05:00 Joining The Amity Affliction within a few years of picking up guitar

1:14:00 Learning via visualizing, joining Thy Art Is Murder, learning 15 songs in a day

1:19:00 Using Kemper profiles of album tone live, prioritizing a good sound guy, getting guitar tones on ‘Dear Desolation’

1:26:00 Parallel mix bus outside of compression, Kemper/Revalver, Superior Drummer, efficient songwriting

And much, much more

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Marc McClusky (Weezer, Motion City Soundtrack, Bad Religion) is here to go deep on the science of music, strategies for successful collaboration, and bringing your unique humanity to productions.

Marc brought a number of inspirational moments to this discussion. The amount of thought that he’s put into how to approach music, production, and life in general comes through loud and clear. If you ever find yourself feeling like you’re just going through the motions with your projects this is definitely an episode you’re going to want to keep handy.

“Nobody succeeds by themselves. Everybody succeeds together. The best records I’ve ever made aren’t because of me, it’s because of all of us. We’re in a room together. We all sat down and nobody had an ego, and everybody’s opinion was valuable.” - Marc McClusky

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

2:00 Marc’s childhood as a music lover, his first instruments, and his punk background

5:00 Music and Songs as math and science

15:00 Learning from music you don’t like, understanding the intention, recognize the feeling behind the math

20:00 The art of listening, visualizing an arrangement on the piano roll, the power of simplicity, and John Williams

35:00 Symphonic movie scores, relationship to classical music, and imitation/quoting as fundamental musical building blocks

40:00 Pre-production and songwriting with the mix in mind

45:00 Recording local band demos while working at Starbucks, word of mouth leading to engineering/production work

1:02:00 Being comfortable with ditching/changing parts you wrote, fighting for the ideas that you feel the most passionate about

1:05:00 Working on Weezer - ‘Hurley’, multiple mixers on the same album, mix being guided by decisions made in tracking rather than fighting them

1:13:00 How you can still add to the ‘texture’ of songs you’re mixing or don’t have creative input on.

1:19:00 Knowing your weaknesses and actively work at improving them, finding people who can complement your style

1:27:00 Dealing with entrenched competition or a saturated market

And much, much more

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Tom Knight joins us this time to dig into how to maintain creative momentum, careers in voice acting, and drumming strategy.

Tom’s approach to creativity, careers, and life is truly inspirational. His path through the audio industry is wide ranging and fearless. If you’re interested in strategically preventing yourself from getting put in a box, this one’s definitely for you.

“I do whatever I do to get past the feeling of loss on a bad day, and sometimes that means not doing anything. Sometimes that means just sucking it up, letting the day go, and starting again tomorrow.” - Tom Knight

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

5:00 Imitation as a primary form of learning

13:00 Maintaining productivity

20:00 The power of perspective in judging your recordings

35:00 Why an entitled attitude leads to no work, getting the “Hallows Eve” gig

46:00 Tom becoming the go to drummer for jazz teachers, moving into pop world, Dallas Austin, TLC

55:00 Shifting to the goal of “not being in a band anymore”, creating a demo reel, cold calling in Atlanta

1:01:00 Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”, common attributes of successful people

1:11:00 EPKs, voice acting, self-taught video editing

1:22:00 Fitness, ‘300’ program, muscle-ups, applying focus

1:28:00 (The myth of) Limb independence, playing to a click

1:40:00 Playing MPC-style grooves on acoustic drums

And much, much more

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It’s been a long time coming, and we finally have Dan Korneff back to talk dealing with being your own worst enemy, analog setups, and knowing your gear inside and out.

Dan is the definition of renaissance man when it comes to audio. Not only is he a mastermind when it comes to production, but he’s also hands on with creating hardware and plugins. He’s truly inspirational for anyone looking to embody the entrepreneurial spirit.

“At a certain point, you just have to be happy with what you’re doing, and not really care about what anybody else says or what anyone else is doing. Just live in the moment and make whatever you’re working on currently the best thing you’ve ever done.” - Dan Korneff

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

3:00 Dan’s Classic PCB venture, starting a business on his own

9:30 Learning coding, hardware design, knowing what’s going on under the hood of your business/product

16:00 Dan’s opinion on analog vs digital processing, being involved in both sides

20:00 Analog SSL console mixing setups

26:00 Not reading YouTube comments

36:00 Dealing with self doubt

51:00 Candiria’s guitar/bass relationship, single coil tones for metal

54:00 Paramore’s ‘Riot’ drum sample release

56:00 Dan’s book recommendation: ‘The Art of Electronics’ by Horowitz and Hill

And much, much more

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Joel brings Matt Brown on board for this special episode to discuss URM Academy’s Ultimate Drum Production.

Curious about what you’ll learn from the Ultimate Drum Production course? You’re in luck. Matt details the course, section by section for us, and provides a bit of insight into how these building blocks can lead to an evolution in your drum productions.

“I just can’t even imagine what some of the people are going to be doing with this information five years from now.” - Joel Wanasek

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

4:30 Growing up in the studio environment with father

8:15 Recording drums as the benchmark for engineers

9:45 ‘Speed Mixing’-sized impact on the community

11:00 The anatomy of a Drum overview

14:00 When Joel met Matt the first time

15:30 Drum head importance

24:00 The science and physics of drums

29:00 Ringy snares and overtones

32:00 Paramore Riot! drums

37:00 Tuning and misconceptions about tuning to a note

43:00 Finding the optimum pitch for each individual drum

47:00 The source makeup of drums, mics, room

52:30 How everyone will learn from this class from entry level to seasoned pros

55:20 Cymbals and cymbal choice

58:00 Mixing overview, versatility in different scenarios

And much, much more

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John Douglass returns to the show to discuss how to make yourself an invaluable engineer, communicating with artists, and tips for dealing with Pro Tools.

John always has amazing knowledge to drop, and this talk is no different. He’s really carving out a spot for himself in the industry, and his insight is invaluable for anyone looking to find their own niche.

“Guerrilla recording should be something on people’s minds, because it’s not that hard of a task. You don’t have to have an amazing control room. Just go record.” - John Douglass

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

2:57 Making your room look professional

5:00 Introverts and putting yourself out there for success

17:00 Putting in the work and surround yourself with people who are in the business

30:00 Drum and vocal editing as priorities, PT and vocal editing Fast Tracks

33:55 Communicating with performers effectively

38:16 Good starting points for being an effective drum engineer

50:00 Using Nail The Mix raw tracks as quality reference for your own engineering

59:00 Listening to only frequency band at a time for referencing, MasterCheck

1:08:00 Building a vocabulary of techniques from NTM/Fast Track/podcast

1:13:00 John’s experiences with major label artists/celebrities vs other projects

1:17:00 Recent Pro Tools improvements and Evertune

1:32:00 Speeding up editing and not over-editing

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