Gurf Morlix | TapeOp

Gurf Morlix likes to produce, engineer, perform, write and even just plain talk about music. It might sound hackneyed to say, but music is his life's blood, the passion that drives his spirit. Born in 1951 in Buffalo, NY, Morlix decided to become a musician exactly one day after watching The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. When he got the chance, he moved to Austin, Texas, in 1975 to pursue his dream, and then made the jump to Los Angeles in 1981. After 10 years in L.A., he brought his well-honed skills and his sterling reputation back to Austin when he realized he could operate from the "Live Music Capital of the World" and still maintain a national presence. Along the way he's shared stage and studio with a wide variety of talented luminaries including Warren Zevon, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Peter Case, Mojo Nixon, Michael Penn, Jimmy LaFave and many other artists. Morlix was shot out of a cannon with his first record production credit in 1988, thanks to the release of singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams' self-titled third album, which included the hit single, "Changed the Locks" and "Passionate Kisses." The success of that seminal work created a demand for his recording skills that continues to this day. Besides making records for others, he's also engineered, produced and released five of his own solo albums: Toad of Titicaca, Fishin' In The Muddy, Cut 'n Shoot, Diamonds To Dust and his brand new record, Birth To Boneyard, the instrumental companion piece to Diamonds To Dust. Morlix prefers to keep things simple and work as inexpensively as possible. Even though he's produced records in lavish, modernly equipped studios for major labels, he's much more comfortable creating in his home studio where he's worked exclusively the past eight years. The Morlix sound is sensible and economical. He'll do whatever it takes to get a great track, but he's not going to rent a Telefunken Ela M 251 when a Neumann U87 will do just as well. He prefers to use the right tool for the right job — no gear for gear's sake posturing here — and his secret weapons in the studio tend to be the musicians themselves, rather than vintage compressors or jury-rigged mic chains. Call him the people's producer — he sounds like one of us.

How did you first get into recording?

I was always the guy in the band that had a tape recorder or had access to one and knew how to use it. My first recorder was some kind of 2-track, reel-to-reel thing.

Reel-to-reel? That's impressive.

I got a TEAC 3340 when those came out and I thought, "Great! I've jumped to four tracks now." They were great. Actually they were horrible, but they were really fun.

Was this in the '70s?

Late '60s, early '70s was when I got the 3340.

Did you have some sort of mentor or an apprenticeship with any studio?

Naw, I just figured this stuff out for myself. I didn't even have the luxury of thinking about whom I'd like to be like — I was just out there by myself.

What equipment are you using now in your home studio?

I'm recording to the Alesis HD24 hard disc recorder. I think it's great. It's pretty much like a tape recorder, so I'm not using computers or Pro Tools, just the Alesis and a Yamaha digital board. Part of my whole deal is to keep it as simple as possible. My goal was to make great records as cheaply as possible.

Why don't you use Pro Tools and computers?

I figured I'd have to go back to college to learn how to use all that stuff. I never had the two or three months or whatever time it would take to learn it. I was recording on ADATs after I moved out of tape and I thought they sounded great. But the guy who worked on my ADATs told me, "I'm not going to be able to work on these anymore because I won't be able to get parts for them. I strongly suggest you find something else." So I looked around and I thought, well the Alesis hard disc recorder sounds good. It's a tape recorder basically, and I like pressing play and record at the same time. It was simple to use and much cheaper than a Pro Tools rig.

That is a pretty inexpensive setup, but you have spent some money on outboard gear over the years. What are some of your favorite mics, preamps and compressors?

If I was on an island and had an HD24 and needed a microphone — well, I like those Neumann microphones. I've got a U47 that sounds just fantastic. I've got an M147 that sounds fantastic, too.

So you like the new Neumanns as well as the vintage ones?

Almost. You can't touch a U47 as far as I'm concerned, but the new mics are pretty close.

What about preamps?

When I started making records at my house I just had two, a couple of Avalon VT-737s. I like the 737. It's a preamp, EQ and compressor combined and they work great. That's all I used for a few records and then I decided I wanted a few more channels — I wanted to cover everything that might be going down live. So I bought some Brent Averill Neves and Brent Averill APIs and those things are great. Then I bought a couple of Telefunken V76s, and they're great too. That said, I could live without all this stuff. After I got all this gear I noticed that whenever it came time to do a part I had to decide which of these preamps to use with what mics, and what guitar amps to use with what guitars. When I started out I was just using the Avalons, so my decision was already made, but the end result still sounded great. These preamps and compressors all have different colors and slightly different little sounds, so certain ones are better for certain things. But if you're going to keep it simple you don't need to get bogged down with all of that. You can do it with two Avalon 737s or two of any preamp you can get your hands on. It doesn't really matter what brand it is, as long as you think it sounds good.

What about compressors? I heard you really like that UA 2-1176.

I've got that dual 1176 and I love it. You can't make that thing sound bad. I talked to a friend of mine who had an old one and a new one and he couldn't tell the difference.

You don't use Pro Tools, but do you ever use software plug-ins or effects?

I have made records in Pro Tools, but not as an engineer — just as a producer. I've probably made half a dozen or more that way, and Pro Tools is fine. When I'm using Pro Tools I really get into it and will use anything at my disposal, plug-ins, cut-and-paste edits — anything I think will improve the sound. At the same time there's a danger in that. You can go overboard with it, so you have to use your ears. Still, I like the flexibility of a computer-based system.

Do you now make all your albums in your home studio?

Yeah, for the past seven or eight years that's what it's been. I think I went to an outside studio once or maybe twice in all that time.

Does your home studio have a name?

I call it Rootball.

What does that mean?

I'm not sure.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you use your living room as the drum room, right?

Yeah, I've got the drums in the living room. I'll sometimes move stuff around, but for the most part I use a spare bedroom for vocals, another bedroom for guitar amps and the living room for the drums.

How does your wife put up with having musicians traipsing around the house?

As far as the drums go, that only happens a couple of days at a time, and if I'm working a lot I'm still only doing five or six albums a year, so that's five or six times she's moved out of the living room for a couple of days. It's not that constant a thing.

How do you get your drum sound? It's very distinctive. A friend of mine says, "I can always tell Gurf's drum sound. It sounds like an actual kit being played live."

I've got a great drummer I use most of the time, Rick Richards. He's the secret weapon. He knows how to tune drums and he's got a great kit, so we set him up in the living room, I put some mics on the drums, and then move them around until they sound good. Since we've been doing this for eight years now, getting the drum sound only takes me five minutes.

How many mics do you use?

Four mics on the drums and a room mic. I've got an AKG D112 on the kick, a [Shure SM]57 on the snare, two Audio-Technica AT4033s as overheads — move them around for whatever balance I need between toms and cymbals — and then an SM58 for a room mic.

That's an affordable setup.

Yes. I want it as simple as possible and it needs to sound good too. If there's a distinctive sound I think it comes from the room more than anything else. That room happens to sound good. There's a tile floor, a lot of glass and the drums are on a carpet — when I hear records that I've made I hear the sound of my living room on them immediately.

Cool. How do you get your vocal sound? Do you have a favorite chain?

Lately I've been using the U47, running it through the Telefunken V76 and then the 2-1176.

That sounds like a classic setup.

Yeah. It sounds great so I see no reason to use anything else.

How do you record acoustic guitars? Mono or stereo?

Sometimes mono, sometimes stereo depending on its role in the song. I use either the AT4033s or the Neumanns, and once in a while I'll use the Royer 121.

How do you record bass guitar?

Bass usually goes through the Telefunken V76 into the Avalon for a little compression, or sometimes into the 1176. Upright bass is usually the U47 into something similar. Put a mic in front of it and listen — if it doesn't sound right, move the mic.

Ever use compression when tracking acoustic guitars?

A little compression from the Avalon sometimes, or a lot from the 1176 once in a great while. But at that point I'm using it as an effect.

Have you ever had unusual configurations in the studio?

I've had some live things where bands want to be in the same room, and then you've got some bleed to deal with. But I'm not opposed to some bleed as long as it sounds good. My approach is to go for live drums, bass and maybe a scratch vocal and then just build a track from there. That's what I'm set up for.

What's the best thing that's ever happened in the studio, either by accident or design?

I think every record that I make is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I really enjoy recording — it's really fun and every day I wake up and I can't wait to go to work. But then I'm dealing with great artists with great songs, and I think that's the key to it.

What's the worst thing to ever happen in the studio?

Every once in a while something will happen, something out of the ordinary, and you can't quite figure out what's going on. If you start going down the wrong side of the hill it turns into a swirling vortex. Sometimes you just need to rest for 15 minutes. Fortunately, I haven't had any major disasters.

What type of music do you record? Is it genre-driven?

Anything that I like. I've done bluesy albums, I've done western swing, I've done a lot of folk singers and I've done wild rock 'n' roll albums. To me it's all just music and it's all good.

Do you think being a practicing musician helps you to be a better engineer and producer?

Absolutely. I grew up playing in bands and compensating. When I'm playing the guitar I'm playing the bass and the snare drum mentally and I think that's translated into the whole production thing. I have the ability to see the big picture, to step back and have perspective while it's all happening around me. Also, having played in many bands doing many different styles of music gave me a lot of experience to draw from.

Are you a control freak? You produce, engineer and master every album you do — even your own albums.

I don't think so. "Control freak" kind of connotes obsession to me. I don't think I'm obsessively a control freak. But when I make a record at my house and I produce and play on it, when that record's finished I've taken extra special care with every note. I've thought about every note on every instrument, so in that way I may be.

Are you able to live purely off music?

Yes, I always have. Part of it's not having anything else you can do, and the other part is being driven. All I want to do is make great records and play some gigs here and there. If someone was starting out and asking for advice, I'd say think long and hard about this because it's not easy and it's gotten harder as time goes by, but if you're completely driven then you have to do it. You have no choice.

What do you think of the trend of artists recording themselves in their own home studios? Is it here to stay?

Oh, it's here to stay for sure and I'm all for it as long as they have great songs and great spirit. It used to be that in order to make an album you had to get a record deal, which was in essence getting a license to make a record. Now everybody's driving, so there's a lot of mediocre stuff out there. But then there's more great stuff than ever before because of that too, so I guess I'm all for it.

www. gurfmorlix. com, www. myspace. com/gurfmorlix