FEATURE

eyes. Working with tape forced us to sit back coincidence. Around the time Johnson and really listen to takes, and to what was good planned to record his album, he and his in terms of feel, and be a little bit more forgiving manager were looking for a place to house of little mistakes that happen. That was really their label, Brushfire Records. They found a liberating. 100-year-old building in Los Angeles, which had a huge room at the back, previously used “Jack had gotten tired of ‘listening with his by a photographer. The duo immediately hit eyes’, and he loved to sit back, close his eyes and on the idea of turning it into a studio, and just use his ears. He also enjoyed the fact that asked Carranza to organise it. Following the we only had a limited number of tracks, and decision to record on tape, the engineer/mixer/ for most songs we didn’t even fill all of them producer suddenly found himself having to up. We went with the attitude of: ‘let’s not be take a rather unusual angle to fitting out what precious about it, if it works let’s leave it as it is. was to be named Solar Powered Plastic Plant The feeling of the song is more important than Studios (courtesy of the solar panels that were the technical side’. The other thing that helped fitted to the roof and made the building 100% was that we had moments of pause in between self-sufficient). takes and songs. With ProTools the files come up instantly, but it takes a while for the tape “Choosing the studio equipment was up to machine to roll back, and it takes another me,” explained Carranza. “Nobody had any minute to change reels. These scenarios created foresight as to what to get. I already owned all little moments of quiet in the recording process, the outboard gear that we needed and I also Title: Sleep Through The Static and they made us pay more attention. have a complete ProTools system, so the main Artist: Jack Johnson challenge was to get a tape machine, a desk, and “Personally I don’t mind whether I record Produced by: Jack Johnson and JP Plunier a monitoring system that would work in the Mixed by: Robert Carranza at Solar analogue or to ProTools, but I will say that relatively untreated acoustic space. We ended Powered Plastic Plant Studios, Los my views have changed after doing Jack’s last up buying a Studer A827 24-track. “As for the Angeles, on an SSL AWS900. record. ProTools is a great thing, but working desk, Jack wanted something economical and Jack Johnson with a 24-track analogue multitrack forced low-maintenance. I’ve grown up with API, and us to make quality decisions, sometimes even they’re great, but I know how problematic they irrational decisions! You can’t just fly things can be. The same goes for Neve. So I settled around at will, and this really helped us form for the SSL AWS900. I realised that I could get this record. The point of our approach was not Sleeps Through any sound I wanted on this console, as opposed that it was old-school, but that we had a clear to a Neve, which will only give you the ‘Neve’ philosophy that was liberating for us. It helped sound. And since I have an outboard rack full of us psychologically, and also sonically. But we preamps, four Neve 1073, eight API 512, 12 API didn’t overthink it. It was more a matter of, L200, I only intended the AWS900 to be used The Static ‘let’s just do it’. In the end, the gear aspect is for monitoring and mixing. superfluous. If the song is not there, it doesn’t matter how you approach the recording.” “A friend of mine, Rich Costey, recommended the ATC SCM50 monitors, which definitely TAKE THE CHALLENGE complemented the music. But they were too big The recording location for most of Sleep for the control room, causing a big bump in the Through The Static was the result of a happy Jack Johnson’s fifth album, Sleep Through RECORDING PHILOSOPHY bottom end, so I had them in an office room Jack Johnson’s new album, The Static is as laid back as ever. The album Robert Carranza has worked with Jack Sleeps Through The Static, has been phenomenally successful, reaching Johnson since 2003, when he engineered and is a hit worldwide but not number 1 in every Anglo-Saxon country in the mixed the singer’s second release, On And On. world, including Australia, the US and the UK. He performed the same duties on In Between ROBERT CARRANZA’S Dreams (2005), and graduated to co-producer for any of the reasons you’d Not bad for music that was created entirely on OUTBOARD GEAR: 4 x Neve 1073 expect from a big-budget analogue tape, almost without effects, and with (with the singer) for 2007’s Curious George. 8 x API 512 mic pres a philosophy that deliberately championed feel, Carranza is therefore well placed to describe the 12 x API L200 mic pres production. spontaneity and simplicity. differences between these albums. It turns out 2 x A Design EM PEQ that even as the result may have been relatively 2 x API 560 Text: Paul Tingen On the telephone from his home in Los similar, the making of Sleep Through The Static 2 x API 550 Photography: Kizzy O’Neal Angeles, Robert Carranza, the album’s mixer was indeed very different. It features more and engineer, elaborated on the goings-on. 2 x API 550b electric guitars and keyboards than previous “The whole focus of making this record was to 2 x Speck EQ albums, and was the first time Johnson recorded simplify things,” related Carranza. “Even the 1 x Altamoda Unicomp in Los Angeles, and to analogue tape. It was process of using outboard gear was enormously 1 x Thermionic Culture Vulture also the first time producer JP Plunier (Ben simplified: there was hardly any. We trusted our 1 x Chandler TG1 Abbey Road edition Harper, John Lee Hooker) was involved. instincts, and we had the good sense to not be 1 x Summit DCL200 bound by how people are making records right “The previous records I did with Jack were 1 x Empirical Labs EL7 Fatso Jr now. We did our own thing. We focused on feel, recorded to ProTools at his studio in Hawaii,” 1 x TubeTech CL2A and if something felt right, we went with it. recalls Carranza. “Jack had never made a record 1 x Ridgefarm Boiler Even when it came to mastering, we told Bernie to tape, and he asked me one day: ‘what’s the 1 x Summit TLA100 Grundman that this record didn’t need to be difference?’ I replied, ‘I don’t know whether 1 LA2A loud and that the acoustic songs should feel like you’ll hear the difference, but I can show you 4 1176 acoustic songs and be less loud than the other what the difference is’. And so he decided to 2 x dbx 165A songs. And it’s interesting for people to see that do it on tape and soon realised that this was a 2 x dbx 160 a hit record can be made in such a very simple good decision. Most of all it forced us to pay 1 x Drawmer MX50 way!” attention. With ProTools you spend a lot of time 1 x Studio Technologies Stereo Simulator looking at the screen and listening with your

AT 22 AT 23 off to the side. Sometimes I’d playback through through an Aviom headphone mixing system, simply went with it. If I Had Eyes was one of them while sitting in the control room, with the so everyone could hear each other and make those songs. their own mixes in their respective cans. Then office doors open, just to get a mono perspective. “We started the project using a vocal at some point someone said, ‘let’s not wear I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to monitors; microphone I don’t really want to name. It was headphones!’ and from that moment onwards I tried the PMC AML1s, but was thrown off okay, but a friend of mine was telling me about they tracked without them. I put up some nice because there was a big void in a couple of the reissue of the U47 that Telefunken was microphones, and we did a couple of takes of frequencies. I tried some M&K monitors, but making. So Telefunken sent me a demo copy, each song, and picked the best one. In the case they didn’t work either, even though they’re and the minute Jack sang into it, it sounded of one song I edited two takes together. Jack great speakers. In the end I settled on my tried great. I called the company and asked them always did a scratch [guide] vocal that we used and tested Genelec 1030s. They sounded perfect what the deal was, and they offered to send me in a couple of cases. We just went for a really in the room. I also always reference things on a a new one, but I was like, ‘no no no, I want this cheap boombox, to give a different perspective.” simple way of making a record.” ” I wouldn’t buy a book mic. It sounds amazing, you’re not getting it TRIAL BY FIRE MICROPHONE CHOICES back!’ I still have it to this day. We went back that had blurred So eager were Jack Johnson and his band – The “nice microphones” involved “nothing and re-tracked some of Jack’s vocals with this drummer Adam Topol, bassist Merlo Podlewski, spectacular on the drums”, specifically a mic. It made a huge difference, it had the sound words in it, but and keyboardist Zach Gill – to start recording, Sennheiser MD421 on the kick, two Shure I had been looking for for years.” SM57s on the snare (bottom and top), 421 on that workmen were sometimes asked to take ALMOST UNNATURAL with the loudness the toms, Audio-Technica AT4050 on the a smoko, so the band could get in. Given the Overdubs, said Carranza, were recorded with overheads, and a Royer SP24 stereo mic in front wars and so on, that band’s “feel, spontaneity and simplicity” ethos, headphones – “it’s hard not to” – and included of the drums, a foot away. Bass was both DI and it comes as no surprise that the basic tracks were guitars, backing vocals (U47), banjo (Sennheiser another MD421 on the Ampeg B15 amp. The appears to be where laid down live, with the band playing together 251), clavinet (SM57), melodica (Sennheiser 251), upright piano was captured with two Neumann in the studio. Carranza elaborated on the how pump organ (251), synthesizers, tambourine we're going” U87s placed in front of the soundboard. “Zach and why and what... (451), and handclaps (U47). “The mic we used was initially playing towards the drummer, but was usually based on what was nearest and “The basic piano, guitar, bass and drums tracks to get more separation I moved him 45 degrees, easiest to use. When you work like that, it you hear on the album were all recorded live, so he faced the wall and I covered things up creates a nice flow. When someone had an idea, which I’m really proud of. It’s guys playing with a couple of packing blankets.” together, and the camaraderie that involves. he could instantly try it out, and even if the Jack’s approach was: ‘I just want to come in “Electric guitars were also pretty sound wasn’t right, at least the idea was there.” straightforward, with a Shure SM57 on the and make it happen’, and ‘let the bleed be the Regarding the signal chains, simplicity again amp. The acoustic guitar was usually a Gibson bleed’. The piano had a little bit of drum bleed, ruled the roost. “For vocals it was the U47 going J45, sometimes a Cole Clark, recorded with an which reminded me of the old Motown stuff. into an API 512 and an LA-2A with a dB of AKG C451. I’d screened off the acoustic guitar Initially we didn’t even have screens, so I called compression at the most, straight to tape. I’ve so it didn’t bleed as much. Some songs started a rental company to hire some screens, which learned in the past that you want to use little or off acoustically, and Jack would say, ‘there’s too we placed around the drums to separate them no EQ during recording, because if you later much bleed on the mic, let’s try an electric’, and from the piano and guitar. The whole process want to drop in a fix, you’ll never match it. all of a sudden the vibe of the song changed. We was definitely a trial by fire. We monitored The drums were all cut through API preamps. For bass we went through a Universal Audio 610, guitar and piano went through the Neve 1073s. That was pretty much the signal chain on MIXING IF I HAD EYES everything. GUITAR LEFT, RIGHT & overdubs we’ve ever done! wanted to match the sound, helped fill the space that NO TONE SHAPING: “If I “There was no compression; not on the bass or CENTRE: “The funny thing We went AC/DC on this one! but I replied, ‘don’t bother.’ was opened up by having the had Eyes was the easiest the guitar. I only compressed the kick drum a about this track is that you’ll What happened was that we He did the overdub and I drums mainly in mono. song to mix on the album, little bit, and I mean just a dB, to smooth it out notice three electric guitar initially had two guitars – 19 wondered what the track even though it has the most STARTING THE MIX: a little. That was it. Everything else was pretty tracks – 13, 14, and 19 – the and 14, left and right – and would sound like with three “Because of the mono drums, tracks. Like everywhere last one being the live track Jack felt that something guitars, so I panned them I had to start the mix with else on the album, there flat. Because of their great musicianship, they that Jack initially played. didn’t feel right. So he went left, right and centre. It’s not them. They were the centre was no pitch-shifting, no balanced themselves amazingly. It was almost There are also guitars on back in with a different a big deal, everyone does it point of everything and they AutoTune, no ping-pong unnatural. I think the fact that they didn’t use Tracks 2 and 20. This was guitar and a very different all the time, but for us it was needed to sound really good. delays. We really went for the most amount of guitar sound. He asked whether I different. Jack was like, ‘wow, natural recordings, but with headphones when laying down the basic tracks So I put Track 21 up first, and helped them to really listen to each other. And this feels great’. ran the drum signal chain a modern feel. I wish I could MONO DRUMS: “The other through the same stereo take credit for shaping the finally, we didn’t use a click track, apart from striking thing about this bus as for Static, with the guys’ sound a little bit, but for the song Hope. We struggled a bit with the track is that it has a mono Fatso compressor, to give they truly shaped their tempo on that one, and when we finally agreed own. A song is the ultimate drum kit. I first recorded the drums a little bit more on a tempo, we started the song with a click the song with a full drum kit, size and weight. Next I added story to be told, and the like in Static. You can see the LCR guitars, which were music industry appears to track and then faded it out. Again, we trusted the hi-hat on Track 4 and kept pretty dry. If there was be losing focus on that. I our instincts and did our own thing. If it felt the overheads on Track 7-8 any reverb from the electric wouldn’t buy a book that right, we went with it.” remaining. I had also added guitars it came from the had blurred words in it, but one Coles 4038 mono mic to amps. Then I added in the with the loudness wars and record the drums, kind of to acoustic, piano (just boosting so on, that appears to be get the old Motown sound, the upper mids), and the bass, where we’re going. But if and when I was listening to again only riding a couple of you open up a book with a xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx the sound of that one mic, it notes. Merlo is such a good good story that’s easy to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx sounded really great. When player that I didn’t need to read, ultimately you’re going to feel good about it. So we xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Jack later asked me for more use compression. I again used xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx tracks, I erased the snare, the MX50 de-esser on the do these records, and the xxxxxxxxxx kick, and toms, and we went lead vocal, and added a little fact that so many people just with the mono mic, the bit of top end, around 12k, to resonate with it, is just overheads, and the hi-hat give it some air. amazing.” mic. Of course, the guitars

AT 24 AT 25 other instruments around of time!’. What remained sound. So I ended up it, and finally the rhythm was very slight. I’ll give you just using that. The intro MIXING SLEEP section. The whole song a thousand bucks if you can features a pump organ on THROUGH took maybe four hours to hear it!” Track 17, played by Jack, mix! With this album mixing NO COMPRESSION: “I and Zach overdubbed a THE STATIC was a matter of lining up used no compression at melodica on top. There’s the faders and listening all on the electric guitar, also some outro noise constantly. I’d listen to a the bass, or the piano. The on Track 17 and 24. Jack song four or five times, only thing I did on the bass wanted some kind of take a break, and listened was manually ride a couple static-like sound, but didn’t again. I was aware that of notes that didn’t come want to use sample CDs. So the tape was degrading out clearly. Most of the Zach pulled up this white with each playback, so the stuff was done without noise sound from a Moog pressure was on. Static automation. The piano had Voyager, sweeping it in and was very easy to mix. a little bit of SSL EQ to out. It gives you the sound Technically there’s very bring out the high mids; I of a radio station that has little happening in it. My wanted it to speak a little gone off air. There were main concern was that the more. The drums were also no effects on the intro and feeling came across. That’s really straightforward, outro sounds. what I spent the most with all the faders straight TURN DOWN THE BANJO!: time on. up. I’m a big fan of the “It was a very simple mix, RECORDING THEN lost in it. Here was this and then call us back’. DE-ESS OPTIONS: “The Empirical Labs EL7 Fatso but complex to do at the MIXING: “Trying to very sparse track, and I These mixes were really lead vocal was treated very Jr, and I added a little bit same time. My first pass create a fresh mix from felt that I had to make it quick, rough live mixes that minimally. Because Jack of compression on the was very close. Jack had a song that you’ve also sound as if something was I had done in the truck. So I had been very close up to drum bus with that. It some little comments, for engineered is very hard. happening. I was adding listened to them, and they the vocal mic, I needed to made a difference, but not example about the banjo, You may think you know compression to the snare sounded incredible. As a do some de-essing, and I a huge difference. It just that really jumped out at what the song is about drum and to other things, result I told my engineer used the Drawmer MX50 gave it a bit more size. The you, he wanted it really and that you understand but then suddenly realised to pull back all the faders for that. I really like that ambience on the drums tucked down, and I was like, how to build it, but you I had jumped in too quickly and effects and I started effect. Many people like came from the overheads ‘but it’s just two seconds, could be completely and needed to pull the again from scratch. It’s one the dbx 902 or the SPL and the room mic. nobody is going to hear it wrong. Static was one of reins back. of those lessons that you Transient Designer, but and we spent so much time these songs with an ebb learn, not from engineers, ACCIDENTAL AMBIENCE: DON’T OVERDO IT: “One the MX50 was in the room, “Track 13 and 19 were the recording it with a great and flow that was hard to of the best lessons I ever but from musicians. And it’s and it’s what I used. I also mic.’ That was the engineer grasp. I began the mixing what happened to me with guitar lines in the verse learned was when mixing ran the vocal through a that sound like a guitar in me talking. When I tucked process with this song, but Los Lobos’ Live At Fillmore. Static, I started overdoing Tubetech TCL2 limiter, it down it sounded great. quickly put it away again. it, and I realised that I was solo. They were definitely I was in the studio and with 2:1 ratio and maybe treated differently than It is well understated, There was something the band was on the road, back to making the same 1dB compression. It gave on purpose, because the about the balance that I mistake I had initially made Track 14. I recorded the and I was uploading mixes the vocal a little bit more guitar lines with a close mic whole song is supposed to wasn’t getting quite right, for them to listen to. One with Los Lobos. body and pushed it up a feel understated.” so I jumped over to the on the amp and I also had day I got a call from the “So when I came back to little. And that was it. I a Shure Beta 58 talkback acoustic songs. They were band, and they were all in a the song, I simply put the did experiment with some straightforward, so I got mic, which was close to conference room, and they faders back up, and then TC6000 reverb, because I Jack’s face. I accidentally them out of the way and said, ‘Hey, have you listened started with the lead vocal wanted to give a bit more then returned to Static. My left the talkback mic on, to the rough mixes?’ And (21) and the live guitar of the feel of a room. But and it sounded great as concern for this particular I was like, ‘no, why?’. And (14). I then added the vocal in the end it was like, ‘You song was that I was getting an ambient mic. It gave they replied, ‘Have a listen double, followed by the know what? This is a waste the guitar a much warmer

STATIC MIXDOWN Robert Carranza mixed the album at Solar Powered Plastic Plant Studios, using the Studer A827 and the SSL AWS900. Was he not tempted to load everything into ProTools and mix from there? “I didn’t want to change the mood or atmosphere of what we had been doing at all,” replied the mixer. “I could have mixed in ProTools, but aesthetically I wanted to keep the project in the flow of not looking at a screen. Even when mixing you tend to look at the screen, and you often go, ‘what’s going on right there?’ and zoom in to see it. I wanted to stay away from that. I wanted to focus on sound, faders, and my perception of what was coming out of the speakers. I wanted to mix off tape, and Jack was okay with that. “The only digitisation in the whole project occurred during mixdown, which was via Benchmark A/D converters to a Tascam DVR1000HD, both 96/24 and DSD. And we only did this because we couldn’t get a hold of any half-inch tape! The supplier had run out and nobody was making it at the time. Initially there was some concern about not printing to half-inch tape, but after we played the mixes back, nobody was worried. We went straight from the SSL to the Benchmark A/D converters then straight into the Tascam – no patchbay – and it sounded great.”

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