Production Philosophies

Tiny Production less is more
Tiny production, or minimalist production, has been around just long enough for it to be absorbed into other forms of music than pop. Tiny production reduces the amount of sound being output to the bare necessities. Typically production is thought as enhance by adding, but tiny production is enhancing by editing. By the nature of it's critical approach it is usually only used in music where the producer is significantly involved in the composition or has a large amount of power over the creative process. Tiny production works well when an element of the music needs to be emphasized, which is why it is so commonly heard in dance music. Some famous/infamous examples of tiny production are Gwen Stefani's first solo record, early synth pop, late 70's funk, early 80's disco, early punk, and Prince. Because the tiny production aesthetic is often used in style conscious music it is often disregard as cheap or temporary; however, the concept of less is more can significantly enhance any musical form. However, without tiny production we wouldn't know whose milk shake brings who to the yard, who is a super freak, or whose shit is bananas.

The Wall of Sound more is more
This is the most abused music production style. Some producers (Phil Spector, Brian Eno, Owen Morris, Kevin Shields, Flood) are able to do it very well. When used correctly it can create a fascinating aural experience that encompassing and engulfing. This ethic work best when added in with another production philosophy which will make sure that there is a strong core. Some of the best examples of works in which a wall of sound ethic were used come when the more is more producers is teamed with another more grounded producer or by a producer who is grounded with a strong understanding of drums (Daniel Lanois, Butch Vig, Gil Norton, Steve Albini). Because many of the bands who have adopted the wall of sound approach have become critically acclaimed (Pink Floyd) many musicians mistake lush ambient sounds as a way to creating music, instead of what was actually the case of adding lush and ambient effects to already good music to modify the results. When creating a wall of sound the most important thing to understand is what you're trying to enhance by addition. Once you know the focus you can know what you can blur. It's also important to know whether or not a band, or song will work with the production. Consider the Beatles Let it Be, an album many critics feel would have sounded better with a more succinct production ethic.

Wax On Wax Off you need a new philosophy
Then there is the you're close, but you just need a new outlook production ethic. Much like a sensei the producers imparts his wisdom over the big picture by modifying nuisance. From guitar tone to a new way of thinking this form of production can rejuvenate an established artists or bring success to an artists who is having problems make it to the next level. Some great examples of this are Quincy Jones, Glen Ballard, Steve Albini, and Rick Rubin. The risk with this form of production is that the producer must have a large amount of respect, and the artists must be accepting of change, in order for it to work. It's important for the producer to remind the artists consistently of what is good with what they're doing. In addition, artists that often work the best under this production ethic are also the ones who are the least responsive to change. It takes a very positive person to be able to pull this off.

The Bionic Band we can build you stronger

Then there is the concept of taking an already good idea and forcing musical perfection upon it by either highly critical recording expectations, lots of practice, significant arrangement shifts, or digital manipulation Examples of these producers are Martin Karl "Max Martin" Sandberg, Howard Benson, Terry Date, Butch Vig. This style of production is very rigorous and exacting. Often time spending most the time on the element which is most important to that producer (vocals in pop, drums in rock, horns in jazz, ect). Often because of the nature of expertise needed in shaping the sound these producers stick to just one genre.

Free Noise

Freesound is a neat little web site that is creating a huge collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, recordings, etc... All the samples are released under the Creative Commons Sampling Plus License . The site also combines a geo-tracking function as well, so some of the samples even show where they're from. Over time this could become a thoroughly rich function. Imagine taking a tour of what the beach sounds like on several locations on several continents. Imagine hearing Big Ben toll, and then hearing other clock towers. Or imagine hearing the ambient house noise of a Boise resident and comparing that to the ambient house noise of a Parisian. Plus the fact that this can positively diversify the sample library of any aspiring DJ, electronic musician, sound effects artist, or producer.

Equalization: That Thing Which Changes The Tone

Equalization, or EQ, is that little piece of magic which modifies tone of an instrument. Here is a helpful list of instruments and their important EQ elements, and some terms people use for certain frequency ranges.

• Bass (20 Hz – 100 Hz) – Boomy, Thick, Depth, Bottom
• Mid-Bass (100 Hz – 500 Hz) – Full, Warm, fat
• Midrange (500Hz – 2 kHz) – Nasal, overly focused, Horn like
• Upper Mid Range (2k Hz – 8 kHz) – Harsh, Bright, Presence, Edge, crisp
• High Range (8 kHz – 20 kHz) – Airy, Openness, Treble, Brilliance
• Snare Drum – Fat at 240 Hz, crisp at 5 kHz
  

• Hi hat / cymbals - Full at 240 Hz bright at 7.5 kHz–12 kHz
• Bass Guitar – Thick and Bottom at 60–80 Hz bright at 2.5 kHz
• Electric Guitar – Full at 240 Hz, nasally at 600hz to 900hz, edge at 2.5 kHz
• Acoustic Guitar – Bottom end between 80-120 HZ, competes with vocals at 950 to 1 Hz, full at 240 HZ and bright at 2.5 kHz
• Strings – Full and Warm at 240 Hz treble between 7.5 kHz – 10kHz
• Vocals – Full and warm at 120 Hz-240Hz, nasally at 800 to 1.5 kHz (very individualized), presence at 5 kHz
• Horns – Full and fat at 120-240 Hz, harsh and bright between 5-7.5Hz
• Piano – Bottom end at 80-120Hz, presence at 2.5-5 kHz with crispness at 10 kHz

If you can figure out how to use EQ effectively you are already heads and tails better than most "engineers".

The Arpeggione - GuitarViol

Imagine the ability to effectively play a guitar with a bow. Imagine the textures and quality that you'd be able to to add to your guitar performance. Imagine having 6 strings on a cello and frets so you always had perfect intonation. Imagine that in an instrument the size of an electric guitar. Imagine the ability to blend classical stylistic elements with punk jazz rock and blues in a way which can be done simply and effectively. Imagine being the session guy in town that can add strings and guitar to a recording. Imagine it was created, but it looked like it had a tumor on it's neck.

The Togaman GuitarViol is a majestically crafted, but sort of ugly, bowwed guitar. Each piece is individually carved out of exotic woods like Alder, Maple, Purpleheart and appointed high quality locking tuners EMG pickups, and a custom designed Peizo bridge pickup to capture a natural acoustic sound. However the best part is that each string can be individually articulated by the bow or plucked/strummed and ran through a typical electric guitar amp or PA to add a whole other dimension to any guitarist's repertoire. The main question is how much.
With a Hard Case = $3,896.00

In addition a acoustic version can be purchased as well which has a sound much akin to an archtop cello hybrid. The basic model features Purple-heart or mahogany back and sides and a Engelmann spruce top; however you could also choose from Quilt/Flame Maple, Koa, Rosewood, and Cocobolo. With a Hard Case = $5496.00

Eastwood Ultra GP

Eastwood is making a copy of the rare unique Ovation Ultra GP. It's a strange thing to see copies of copies, but I'm sure it will be just as unique as the copy...

The back story on the Ovation Ultra GP goes, Ovation made decent interesting acoustics in the 1970's. They wanted to branch into electric guitars, and they did a so-so job for a while along the way they managed to create the most unique sounding Les Paul clone ever. In the mid 80's the introduced introduced the Ultra GS (Stratocaster clone) the Ultra GP(Les Paul Clone) and the Ultra Bass. The Ultra GS and Ultra Bass were fairly not noteworthy instruments by any stretch of the imagination, but the Ultra GP was different. The Ultra GP, while it similar to a Les Paul, has a rare bite and playability that Les Pauls still don't have to this day. However, because it was poorly marketed over priced and under shipped Ovation discontinued it, and eventually all solid body electrics. Because of that the Ultra GP became a rare find for those with the ear to notice it's brilliance or to hear the underground word of mouth.

In the late 90's the Ovation Ultra GP became re-popularized by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Holme, who uses the Ultra GP as part of his secret sound. However the Ultra GP is so rare that they can easily be sold today for around $4000. Luckily Eastwood, who creates exciting vintage in appearance but modern in quality electric guitars, took it upon themselves to bring an almost spotless replica of the Ultra GP to light for just $700.

They're available here, and here.

Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist

As a long time adamant fan of the Smashing Pumpkins I don't feel I should be allowed to review this album; however, maybe a fan perspective could help perspective buyers fears of buying this disc.

Zeitgeist is a massive sea change for the Smashing Pumpkins as all Smashing Pumpkins releases are. Billy Corgan will not, and can't stand still. However, this disc is also a welcome return to form for Corgan. There are subtleties that exist in a Smashing Pumpkin album, and this is the first record since Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness that doesn't try to avoid them. There are also little bits of Solo Corgan, and Zwan Corgan and Chamberlin textures, but it's only the peices which work.

Since the poorly received last album (Machina), a break-up, a freak-out, an internet music revolution, sol records, and Zwan, a lot has happened to the world. Before Corgan had always been content to write highly personal abstract lyrics, but it seems now he's more interested in lyrics that taping into the times, hence the albums title. This is certainly the first time Corgan has shifted his focus externally. Does it work? Well not as well as others, but much better than many feared. There is still a coy abstraction, but it's often lifted so that a message can be received. It's sometimes confusing what he's trying to say, but it's always interesting.

Now onto the biggest question for this album, the sound. How does it sound. I've heard lots of folks calling it poorly mixed. I've heard many people questioning why Billy's voice sounds so different. Less whiny? If you listen to the vocals you can hear that Billy's actually breathing correctly. That will often eliminate a little whine, but there is still an ache in his tenor. I'd say it's all Corgan evolving as a vocalist. There are new little things he does that he pulled in from Zwan, that I honestly think make a welcome part of his repertoire. Although in my opinion it could stand a few more belly aching wines. It's just the guitar tones are... so different. A lot of it comes from Corgan shifting to Diezel amplifiers and Reverend guitars, Billy Corgan previously reached his height using mostly Marshall Amplifiers and Fender Stratocastors, and part of me understands the necessity for a more modern sound, but I still miss his previous Mid 90's guitar tones. Aside from the stuf he uses, the guitar performance is mostly flawless. It sometimes leans more towards hard rock than I would prefer, but it always "rocks". The drums are awesome, sometimes a little bit buried in the mix, but perfect performances and great tones. The mixing is a bit awkward. Unsurprisingly it's mixed like a record from today. It takes some getting used to, but over time it starts to make much more sense. If you're going to create a record about the times it's best to do it in a current way, but a big question is whether in 10 years the choices will result in something that will sound classic or dated. Either way this record has enough delightful moments that I'd say let's encourage Billy to keep it up, and recommend he look up Butch Vig.

My Decision

Last night I went to a local music store, that my bass player now works at, and fell in love. She's a beautiful full bodied but hollow sweat heart. She sings like an angel, and she is adorned in beautiful appointments.

She's an Ibanez Artcore AF105. Yah she is almost perfect I just wish she didn't have her name tattooed on her head. She is so perfect I'm going to pick her up on Friday. She won't need to have her pick-ups replaced, and the action is almost perfect. All I would need to do is get her set-up for half a step down. She even has a case! She'll make a wonderful addition to the collection. I'm pretty sure she's the missing link. With her, my strat, and my mustang I think I will have the full range of sound, or at least the full range I want at this moment. All I need now is an AC50 to go along with my JCM900.

Dntel - Dumb Luck

or Indie Rock All Stars Get All Electronical

1. "Dumb Luck"
2. "To a Fault" [ft. Grizzly Bear]
3. "I'd Like to Know" [ft. Lali Puna]
4. "Roll On" [ft. Jenny Lewis] ya know Rilo Kiley
5. "The Distance" [ft. Arthur & Yu]
6. "Rock My Boat" [ft. Mia Doi Todd]
7. "Natural Resources" [ft. Andrew Broder of Fog]
8. "Breakfast in Bed" [ft. Conor Oberst] ya know Bright Eyes
9. "Dreams" [ft. Mystic Chords of Memory]

Dumb luck comes off as less cohesive than the Postal Service, but somehow more genuine. Dntel is more interesting and dreamy, but it is significantly less pop accessible. That could be because it features a complete absence of Ben Gibbard's signature hook laden presence. This record does what independent music does best, re-invent the wheel only slightly. It draws from a myriad of indie-rock influences either by the direct connection of working with those artists or Dntel's apparent influence of dream-pop, ambient, and drum and bass. The production is a less aggressive square pusher, and a less disconected orbital, and he makes perfect use of the artists he works with. Even though at moments it has a bit of the feel of a remix album. This fact especially on the Jenny Lewis fronted Roll On. However, the album is a clear and enjoyable listen all the way through. A rare achievement for an electronic album with so many vocalists (see the uneven UNKLE -Never, Never, Land).

Joana Newsom

I'm not quite sure why I never got into Joanna Newsom until now, but goodness she's delightful. I get her more now. She's a classically trained harpist who sings like an Appalachian folk singer. It's terrifically unique, but at moments it sounds like cats screeching over brilliant harp. However, the refreshingly traditional with the painstakingly composed is easy to get ensnared into. On her most recent release she goes a bit more baroque, but for the most part her career captures a powerfully innocent and naive take on folk music. Some folk artists create pretty music other people did, some create unique music, Joanna does both... somehow.