Andrew and Fab address the "Wall of Doom" behind them and talk about the gear he used mixing Ziggy Marley entirely analog.
Hear the history behind the gear that Andrew has collected throughout his illustrious career. Andrew discusses his transition away from analog mixing and why he now works exclusively in-the-box.
Finally, the conversation turns away from gear and onto what really matters when mixing professional records.
00:00:07 Toys, toys, toys!
All right. So, wall of doom.
00:00:11 Some new stuff, some old stuff.
00:00:13 On the mix, you majesty uses this
three or four 1176s.
00:00:18 Four of the five got used.
00:00:20 The two silver faces and
two of those black faces.
00:00:24 Black faces, yeah.
00:00:28 So, there's a big...
00:00:31 discussion about silver faces
versus black faces.
00:00:35 I think basically...
00:00:38 they are different when you
get into the really
old black faces, and these
are Rev D,
and it went through Rev H
or something like that.
00:00:46 These sound different and probably
because they're old
and they're getting slightly out of
spec and things are dying.
00:00:52 The circuits are slightly different,
they react differently.
00:00:55 In my head, the black faces
work great on guitars,
silver faces work great on vocals.
00:01:01 It could be because when they
are silver they are brighter
and it makes me think that
they are brighter, I don't know.
00:01:06 With the extreme settings I'm using on
the silver ones,
on this mix, I really don't think it
would matter.
00:01:13 As long as they can go super fast
and be able to distort
they are gonna be fine,
it doesn't matter which.
00:01:19 These pair are a little bit special only
because they came from
the original Motown LA Studio.
00:01:26 They have a little bit of history,
they came as pair and have lived
together their whole lives
I don't split them up, I actually
use them in a stereo configuration.
00:01:34 Not with a stereo link
but they always work together.
00:01:39 They just have a little special
place in the studio.
00:01:42 And we have some DBX 160,
a whole bunch of them.
00:01:45 Yeah, we're only using one
in particular,
on this mix,
but yeah, 160 VU, used on every
mix I ever do with gear.
00:01:52 It's fun on drums.
00:01:54 165s.
00:01:56 Some of the first compressors
I ever bought.
00:01:58 When I started that was the compressor
that I saw that could do everything.
00:02:03 When it was time to buy compressors
I bought 165As.
00:02:07 Unfortunately, in my head,
that gave them this
sort of Swiss army knife thing
but not necessarily the best for
anything in particular.
00:02:16 I use them a lot less
than I probably should.
00:02:18 But they've been here
since the beginning.
00:02:21 Then, Aphex. We talk about
the Aphex a lot in the video.
00:02:26 You use that on vocals.
00:02:28 Aphex has built a bunch of
different models of their stuff
all based on the same concept
but they sound totally different.
00:02:34 I love that one on vocals, percussion.
00:02:37 That's a lovely thing, TG.
00:02:39 The TG 1 from Chandler, Wade actually
gave me the mastering release mod
so it has in-between settings.
00:02:47 Yeah, it's great.
00:02:49 It just does a thing, and the thing
it does is wonderful.
00:02:51 And you use it on the mix.
00:02:53 I use it stereo for some drum stuff.
00:02:56 And a couple of 500 racks
for some exotic stuff.
00:02:59 On the mix you're only using this guy.
00:03:01 Yeah, we only used that
Moog ladder filters.
00:03:04 Awesome filters, they are
filters, they are Moog Filters.
00:03:08 They are wonderful, wonderful.
00:03:10 And then an Alien holding the world.
00:03:12 - And we all need one of those.
- Best sounding thing in the studio.
00:03:15 Next are Lang PEQ 2s.
00:03:17 I love these EQs.
00:03:20 We use these on the stereo bus.
00:03:22 The three of them are a pair.
00:03:24 These are actually from Motown.
00:03:26 This one is not from Motown.
00:03:28 This was from Sound City, Studio B,
when they closed it.
00:03:32 Before some famous guy
bought the console
I bought some of
the outboard gear.
00:03:37 This one has been modded with
an API style
output amplifier.
00:03:43 It's not actually a 2520 but it's that
topology amplifier.
00:03:46 To try and give me a little more headroom.
00:03:48 Turns out it's a little too clean.
00:03:49 I ended up using these two guys
which still have the old out amps.
00:03:54 Pultec style EQ with a solid state amp.
00:03:56 It sounds awesome.
00:03:58 I see you take good care of your gear.
00:04:00 I bought this like this
and actually the guys
at Spectra-sonics are after me to
send it in
so they can put a new front plate
and a meter on there.
00:04:08 And I'm going to do it, I swear.
I'm sorry I haven't sent it in yet.
00:04:11 Fantastic compressor.
00:04:14 Sort of LA-2A style but not really.
00:04:18 And it also has an amazing peak limiter
which is completely transparent.
00:04:22 You can get rid of 6 dB peaks and
you really don't hear it doing it.
00:04:27 It's fast enough to do that.
00:04:29 It's super fast, to the point where they
feel like it's impossible to model.
00:04:32 I'd love for someone to take on
that challenge and see.
00:04:34 But apparently
you're down in the nanosecond range
where you can't model.
00:04:40 Really fast and awesome.
00:04:42 But when you start distorting it
it does it's own thing.
00:04:45 And then that's a wonderful
thing right here.
00:04:49 - Fat-boy!
- The fat is written on it.
00:04:51 That BA6A
has spoiled me for all other BA6As.
00:04:55 Twice I've tried to buy a second one.
00:04:58 And they sound like they are
broken compared to this one.
00:05:01 There's something that goes
on the low end of this one.
00:05:03 And probably this is the one that's broken.
00:05:05 But it's fat boy.
00:05:07 - It's amazing.
- My favorite compressor.
00:05:09 BA6A are my favorite compressor
I've ever heard.
00:05:11 They are the smoothest, fattest...
00:05:13 Don't listen too carefully to this
one because then you're gonna get sad.
00:05:16 Don't look when we leave, it might be gone.
00:05:18 It won't be gone, it weights too much.
00:05:21 You are using the Eventide.
00:05:24 That H3000 has been on the same program,
with a couple of tweaks along
the way, since Stadium Arcadium.
00:05:31 I modified
a dual 910 program to act like
the dual micro-pitch program.
00:05:38 And that has stayed...
00:05:40 I mean, that box you could remove
the entire front face plant,
it wouldn't matter.
00:05:46 This is not being used.
00:05:48 - Yes, just some more stuff.
- And then...
00:05:51 Distressors are distressors,
sometimes you need them.
00:05:54 And sometimes you don't.
00:05:55 And then this guy.
00:05:57 The LA-2A, Sound City Studio B.
00:06:00 I re-tubed it, it sounds magical.
00:06:03 I did not put a new opto in it.
00:06:05 So of course, it sounds nothing
like a LA 2A is supposed to sound like.
00:06:17 It's about what's coming
out of the speakers.
00:06:21 Which is a projection of what's
in your head.
00:06:23 We hope. That's what we're striving for.
00:06:25 Absolutely.
00:06:28 This was just a little bit of gear porn
because everybody is drawn to this stuff.
00:06:34 I know that lately you've been
working more in the box.
00:06:37 - Yeah.
- Do you think that's a compromise?
No, when I was starting to migrate into
the box I was worried that it would be.
00:06:45 I was really worried about the results.
00:06:49 And once I finally got over myself
and just did it
and stopped thinking it was
about the gear,
that the gear is the source of
all my power,
because if that was true,
anybody with money
would be a great mixer. You just
buy some stuff, right?
It took a little while to get used to it
but I actually much prefer mixing
in the box now
because it's all about the process and
what makes you feel creative.
00:07:10 And what makes me feel creative now
is working on
more than one song at a time
usually three or four, sometimes
six songs at a time.
00:07:19 Be able to work on one for
10 minutes
and if I'm not feeling it,
close it, open up another song
and been able to do it anywhere
in the world
and not bother telling people
where I'm going.
00:07:29 I think it's freed me up mentally
to not have this
milestone of a non-recallable
mix on the console.
00:07:37 Because there's so many knobs involved,
you're never gonna get them
all back to the right place.
00:07:42 So when you've got a mix going
on the console
at least for me, I'm terrified
of taking it down when I know
I'm gonna have to put it back up.
00:07:49 And the way record making is these days,
you're always gonna have to
put it back up.
00:07:55 Even though it may
not be about someone
wanting to make a change
two weeks from now,
it may be that's gonna take them 2 weeks
to actually listen to the mix
even though they said it had
to be done by Thursday.
00:08:05 So now I've completely eliminated
that from my world.
00:08:11 And that lack of stress I think is making
me a better mixer. It makes me listen.
00:08:15 It makes me make decisions
based just on the mix
instead of thinking about: "Humm, if
I do that it's gonna be harder to recall".
00:08:22 "Or maybe I need to print it first".
00:08:24 I just am removing as
many problems as possible
and I don't think I'm taking
anything for it.
00:08:30 However, seeing you mix
with the console today...
- Oh, it's fun.
00:08:36 It's a lot of fun but you know what,
there's something really fun
to me about mixing in the box as well.
00:08:42 It's a totally different fun.
00:08:43 It's a much more sedate fun.
00:08:46 It's not as visceral.
00:08:49 But it is actually fun
because there's less to
commit to in a way
because I can like: "Nooo, I'm not
really ready to work on the vocal".
00:08:59 Fine, close it up.
Call up another song.
00:09:01 Work on the vocal on that.
Learn something.
00:09:04 Come back and work on the vocal.
00:09:06 So, one mix informs the other,
there isn't this kind of serial progression
from the first song you mix on
a record to the last song.
00:09:12 Invariably you wish you could mix
the first four again.
00:09:15 I do.
00:09:16 And nobody even hears it until
I'm happy with all of them.
00:09:19 I think there was an amazing balance
between the two mixes
and I think you guys will
enjoy seeing that.
00:09:24 I think it was a very informative process.
00:09:28 I have never seen it
and I'm a scholar of the stuff,
on the geeky line of scholar.
00:09:35 It was amazing to be spectator,
and to witness somebody at your
level of vision
and your level of skill set and experience
have fun both ways,
get two completely different results
and they are both valid.
00:09:51 And that's great I think it
can maybe put an end
to the 'one is better than the other'.
00:09:58 I think the one versus the other
argument is getting old.
00:10:01 This experience has the potential
to put an end to that.
00:10:03 I really believe that
if something makes you feel
more creative, than it's better.
00:10:08 I think that the problem is
that most of the time
people spend a lot
of energy thinking
that they're being held back
because they can't have
this or that or the other thing.
00:10:19 And I think that all you need to do
is look at people like
Chad Blake who's moved into the box
for reasons that had nothing to do
with moving into the box
but now wouldn’t mix any other way.
00:10:30 And people who stayed on consoles
because they really feel that they
need to be on consoles.
00:10:35 Both of those are completely valid
but they are motivated by
what they hear
and how they wanna work.
00:10:40 And it's not letting gear or software
or anything else
be an excuse for you for saying:
"Ohh, my mix isn't that great
but it's because I don't own a Neve".
00:10:50 If you are tracking things with
microphones
and you have bad preamps,
I'm right there with you,
That's gonna be a problem,
but for mixing, at this point,
there's no excuse to give yourself
one way or the other
and don't let it be an excuse.
00:11:03 Know that if that mix
is not great for you
it's just because you're not done.
00:11:07 I think that's the best way to put it.
00:11:09 I think what we're gonna do
is wrap up for today
planning to learn about
mixing in the box
mixing in analog
with the incredible Andrew Scheps.
00:11:20 - Et voilà!
- He's Fab.
Once logged in, you will be able to read all the transcripts jump around in the video.
Andrew Scheps is a music producer, mixing engineer and record label owner based in the United Kingdom. He has received Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album for his work on Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium, Album Of The Year for Adele's 21, and also Best Reggae Album for Ziggy Marley's Fly Rasta
Andrew started as a musician, but found that what he enjoyed most was working behind the scenes. This led him to study recording at the University of Miami. After graduating, he spent some time working for Synclavier, and then on the road with Stevie Wonder (as a keyboard tech) and Michael Jackson (mixing live sound). But he found his home in the studio, and he honed his craft working for producers such as Rob Cavallo, Don Was and Rick Rubin.
Scheps is known for his balanced and modern sounding mixes. He is also the owner and president of Tonequake Records
I love what AS said. "Know that if that mix is not great to you, that you aren't done." (I think I quoted that right)
Simple. If you don't love it, you're not done.
mmezrich
2016 Jun 04
fantastic!
69bluesman
2016 Mar 12
I'm a firm believer in a minimal hybrid setup. More or less ITB but with a few tasty analog pieces for flavor on either stems or the 2 bus. I also love the sound of analog summing, which lends itself to fit right in to the hybrid setup.
Andrew has some great tricks up his sleeve. It doesn't hurt that he basically has a PHD in everything that is audio and sonic character. Fab is no slouch himself...such a great ear!
Fabulous Fab
2016 Mar 07
@GTBannah: I can't speak for Andrew but for me what shapes the mixes the most, meaning what influences the transition between 'in my head' to 'that's the mix' are the room I am in, then the speakers/headphones and then the monitor section. Then the processing.
jasonxoc
2016 Mar 06
I love andrew scheps man... His philosophy of minimal mixing has shaped me more than anyone. Please please please bring andrew back to do more mixes!
Sonic Reducer
2016 Mar 05
Did no one else notice his OTB mix sounds so much better and more inspired than the ITB mix ?
freewind1974
2016 Mar 05
So true. Good preamps, good microphones and good technique at tracking is the first and foremost thing in the mixing process. Then, be analog or digital (or both), your vision, skills and dexterity make the difference.
Another amazing video set. Thank you!!!
GTBannah
2016 Mar 03
Interesting conversation!
"It's not about the gear, it's what's in your head." Would/wouldn't you say, that the gear helps you get what you hear?
60biskits
2016 Mar 02
Freed me up in so many ways!
Denis Boucher
2016 Feb 29
Thanks for making this interview Fabrice. Merci!
Denis Boucher
ON|Reflexion studio (Quebec-Canada)
Wastinglight77@hotmail.com
2016 Feb 29
If it was just about the gear, anyone with money would be good at mixing. I have never heard anyone put it better, thanks!!
PMTStudio
2016 Feb 29
@deciibel fais comme le reste du monde technique et apprends l'anglais ;-)
