Comments on: Personality In Audio – or, Why sounding great just isn’t enough

By: Colin Dodds

Colin Dodds — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:09:50 +0000

Great post and comments.

These days I love the records that sound “wrong” to me; i.e. had I been producing the record it would have ended up sounding completely different. Arcade Fire’s Funeral is a prime example of this. On the back of this realisation for my next project I’m going to try and flip my standard working practices on their head and, for example, use dynamic mics for overheads.

By: Ian Shepherd

Ian Shepherd — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:07:20 +0000

Thanks ! I actually feel quite positive about this aspect of recording and mixing – the availability of affordable, high-quality gear means people are using unconventional techniques (like Diego Stocco making music from sand and trees, for example) to get fantastic, unique results – far more interesting than some of the formulaic “big studio” output, in my opinion…

By: Kenli Mattus

Kenli Mattus — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:39:55 +0000

This is an awesome post.

It is WAY too easy to make mix sound ‘professional’ so we have to take it to the next level.

The bad news: when you know this, perfectionism can creep in. The good news: most unique sounding records come from a sense of play in experimentation and now we don’t have to pay for studio time by the hour as much so we can experiment even more.

I love this post. Words to create by.

By: Jones FoSho

Jones FoSho — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:48:00 +0000

another great post. i have to say ratm does it for me on that album… i love it. but perhaps the incredible imagination of the musicians to put a hip hop flavour in a bunch of blues songs (resulting a rock album in the end) did it for me… more than the actual sound texture in the recording and mix. what i mean is that maybe something else pushed me to chose that album additionally to the sound of it.

an incredible album we should have mentioned in the post before is system of a down – toxicity. there’s some awesome different delicate passages in that album blended within some raw parts…great sounding album imo.

By: Ian Shepherd

Ian Shepherd — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:32:23 +0000

As Mike says, that’s the great thing about music ! I *do* think RATM is a great-sounding record, it just doesn’t hit my top 10. Linkin Park don’t hit my top 500… :-p

Glad you like the blog

By: Jamil P

Jamil P — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:25:56 +0000

I think a better example would have been Linkin Park. Now thats recording by the numbers. RATM was very raw, very different, extremely unique and very organic. The subject matter was the antithesis of all that was Pop, the rhythm section was based in hard funk grooves, and who can even do what Tom Morello does with a guitar? Every song has different sound in it that stuck out. If thats not putting personality into a record I don’t know what is…

Great Blog you have here by the way. I visit often. Thanks for all the tips

By: Mike Hillier

Mike Hillier — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:45:28 +0000

And therein lies the beauty of music does it not? Adrian and I can love the RATM sound, while for you it does nothing. For the record though, I don’t think the drums were sample replaced, I’m pretty sure it says on the liner notes “no synths or samples were used in this recording”, but I had my copy stolen long ago, so I can’t check. But I remember really liking that sentiment.

By: Ian Shepherd

Ian Shepherd — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:08:26 +0000

@Nick Thanks, glad you like the post ! As far as Pods go, I say bin the things, get a real amp and mic it. A real guitar & amp is a living thing – every move you make influences the feedback and the sound. And yes, lots of people use Pods because they practice in homes and can’t crank an amp up, I understand that, but when it comes to recording, go and play in a studio – or a garage, or a field or something !

@Adrian & Mike I really respect your opinions, so I’ve just been listening to RATM again – and sorry, but I still don’t get it ! No question there are great sounds, great playing and great tunes. But every track sounds the same to me. Same drum sounds (maybe even bolstered with samples?), same guitar sounds, everything clean and shiny and polished – where’s the dirt, the grunge, the real-ness ?

Listening immediately afterwards to bits of Nevermind is a completely different experience (OK, they’re different styles, but I think it’s a reasonable comparison) Nevermind is packed with interesting sonics, even if it isn’t the same “quality” as RATM. Just flick through the first 20 seconds of each track – every tune has an interesting/amazing sound to it. And there are constant little details that I love – tiny touch of chorus on the vocals at 2′20″ into Teen Spirit, the fuzz bass on Breed, the subtle use of double-tracking… and talk about aggression, just listen to the vocals on Territorial Pissings.

At the end of the day I think it comes down to taste, though – even performance-wise I’m not sure I’ve ever “believed” in RATM.

Btw it’s another style again, but have you guys heard “The Great Cold Distance” by Katatonia ? That’s a rock album I love the sound of, even though it’s clean, polished and all the songs use similar sounds :-p How about “The Blackening” by Machine Head ? (Although sadly it has some pointless clipping distortion) And, not a metal album, but “Insurgentes” by Steven Wilson sounds amazing…

By: Nick Maxwell

Nick Maxwell — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:00:38 +0000

This was a really inspiring post! This same thing applies in the world of post-production audio, especially within the sub-category of sound design for film. The same effects libraries are continually hammered over and over again as deadlines get heavier and budgets shrink which necessitates less time creating a unique sonic signature.

Also, the Pod-preset thing is a very timely example of this as well, as my guitar-savvy friends have been hearing and complaining about un-tweaked presets from that device for years now.

By: Adrian Ellis

Adrian Ellis — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:23:07 +0000

I totally agree with both the idea of using creative means to capture sonic signatures, as well as Mike Hillier’s assessment of the RATM’s sound – especially where Morello is concerned. Perhaps, however, that has less to do with the production than what Tom brought to the table from the start.

Great post! Veteran composer Richard Bellis recently said something very similar as regards music for film/tv – the homogeneity of sound is a creeping sickness, and these calls to creative endeavor and boundary pushing are very welcome!