Tape Op contributor Allen Farmelo has written a fairly in-depth post regarding his processes for capturing and processing sounds on his wonderful blog. Check it out. I bet even some experienced engineers will take note of some of the ideas Allen puts forth, I know I did. Even though I don't exactly use the same methodology, I do apply some of the same principles in different ways. A typical "Larry Crane" album will have basic tracks through a multitude of mic preamps picked for each instrument, tracked to 2" tape (16- or 24-track, speed and EQ picked for the "sound"), dumped to Pro Tools through Apogee Rosetta 800s, overdubbed in Pro Tools and mixed through the Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console with almost all analog EQ, compression and effects to 1/4" tape at usually 30 ips. That's a lot of tonal coloration going on and many subtle steps that affect the sound. And I like the results!
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Damian Wagner Records the Sound of the Earth! How?
by Larry Crane
So you just drop a microphone to the bottom of an 800ft hole in the earth? Damian Wagner (issue 64) checks in with Tape Op. "I've just returned from a two week audio expedition to Brazil. I was in Brazil to test nine microphones, cables, speakers...