| It All Starts With You | | | | the sax tone like breath, spit on the reed, and even little |
| Experimenting in the recording studio can be a lot of | | | | clicking sounds made by the note pads. |
| fun with many exciting things to do. When you get all | | | | Equalizer |
| the variables just right, it can inspire your playing too. Of | | | | Even after beefing up your sound with the pre-amp |
| course, even if you have a great mic in a great room | | | | and compressor, more body and sizzle can be added |
| and go through the best recording equipment, you can't | | | | with the equalizer (eq). |
| sound too good if you have a terrible tone coming out | | | | For some extra sizzle or sparkle, I like to add some |
| of your horn. That's why it's important to take the time | | | | high end frequency, around 10k but you need to |
| to get the fundamentals down before heading into the | | | | experiment here. You may get the right boost of the |
| recording studio. | | | | sparkle you want from 8k or 11k. If you use a good mic |
| With a good tone in place, time well spent with good | | | | the boosts in eq won't need to be huge, just between |
| gear in the studio can make you sound even better, | | | | 1 and 3 db's (decibels). |
| assuming you're working with an engineer who knows | | | | I never felt that my sax needs any more from the mid |
| what a saxophone is... Don't laugh! I've done sound | | | | range frequencies, the midsas boosting them can give |
| checks in large venues and had the sound engineer | | | | you an ugly honky tone, but often a little low end eq will |
| ask me if I would be using a mic on my sax! Run, don't | | | | help to round out the tone. Again, you need to |
| walk from those guys! | | | | experiment but I go in around 125 - 250 hz (killahertz). |
| These days, some good engineers may not have that | | | | Reverb |
| much experience with a sax. Many may only have | | | | Everyone wants to hear some reverb as soon as |
| worked with bands that have the typical line-up of | | | | they hear themselves in the studio headphones. That's |
| drums, bass, guitar, keys, and a singer. No matter what | | | | because, reverb gives an immediate big, wet sound |
| point of your career you're at, learning a few things | | | | which can make your playing sound better and so |
| about the recording process will help to make your | | | | might help you feel more comfortable during the |
| efforts sound that much better. | | | | recording session. |
| Early in my career, I didn't pay much attention to mics, | | | | I've noticed reverb has been like fashion over time... |
| processing gear, EQ frequency's etc. Now I do. I am | | | | different types and styles come into vogue; |
| hands on in the studio because I want to sound good. I | | | | sometimes it's hip to use lots, sometimes you use |
| hear stuff I played years ago, and I don't like the way | | | | almost none at all. |
| a lot of it sounds. Not what I played, but the actual | | | | The original way to record reverb was to use the |
| sound... maybe it was the way the engineer EQ'ed it or | | | | sound that occurred naturally in the room, and the |
| had it sitting in the mix. | | | | amount you had depended on the size of that room. |
| So, it all starts with you... but it could all end with the | | | | People still record like this today, and we still hear |
| engineer! | | | | stories how some band went into a big old church to |
| Mics | | | | record or somebody's basement or bathroom to attain |
| The good news is that there are some very good | | | | an amazing sound. |
| engineers out there who can make us sound better. | | | | Plate reverb units are an artificial way to create reverb |
| The first thing in an engineer's bag of toys should be | | | | in studios. |
| the microphone. | | | | Plate reverb is produced by vibrating big metal sheets. |
| One of the first big recording projects I was involved | | | | Obviously, this way of producing reverb made good |
| with was in 1988 with Canadian singer/guitarist Colin | | | | sense cause, creating different room sizes without |
| James, who was signed with Virgin America at the | | | | having to leave your own studio. These days there |
| time. We went to Criteria Recording Studios in Miami | | | | are many kinds of reverb due to digital technology, and |
| to work with the famous Producer/Engineer Tom | | | | every size studio will have a few good ones to plug |
| Dowd, who recorded Eric Clapton (Layla), The Allman | | | | into. The type and amount of reverb you use will |
| Brothers, Leonard Skynard, and Aretha Franklin to | | | | depend on your personal taste, personally I use very |
| name a few. We saw all the gold records of these | | | | little; if you can hear it, then it's too much. I like to set it |
| artists hanging on the wall, plus others like James | | | | so you can't pick it out of the sound but if you turn it |
| Brown (I Feel Good), The Bee Gees (Saturday Night | | | | off you notice that it's missing. |
| Fever). All these songs we had heard growing up; it | | | | Delay/Echo |
| was overwhelming being there for the first time. But | | | | Delay or echo is the effect of repeating notes after |
| the best was yet to come! | | | | the original tone is played. Like if you were to yell into a |
| After meeting Tom Dowd, I found out that he also had | | | | well, HELLO... HELLO... HELLO. When using delay I find |
| recorded King Curtis and John Coltrane, two of the | | | | reverb isn't needed and usually gets in the way. |
| most influential saxophonists in history, right there | | | | I love this effect on my saxophone. The amount |
| where we were standing! Now being a sax player, I | | | | always varies depending on the music. |
| felt I was in good hands! | | | | The short "slapback" delay is most identifiable in |
| His mic preference was the Neumann U87. This model | | | | rockabilly music especially on the vocals and guitar. All |
| came out in the 60's; I know he recorded King Curtis | | | | aspects of this effect are controllable, from the overall |
| during the Coasters sessions of the late 50's and | | | | level of the effect to the number of repeats you want. |
| would have used the Neumann U47... for Coltrane as | | | | Sometimes a nice delay setting is the perfect thing on |
| well. | | | | a sax, especially on a rockin' tune or a ballad. I used |
| These mics are still the industry standard, because | | | | this quite a bit in my recent recording, here you can |
| they are a large diaphram mic producing a big, warm | | | | hear my sax with just a little delay and then with a lot. |
| sound. They can be found in any major commercial | | | | Wah-Wah |
| studio, but not necessarily in the smaller project studios | | | | Finally there's the wah-wah pedal. This is usually heard |
| because they cost several thousand dollars each. Still, I | | | | on a guitar. But did you know, that it was invented so |
| wouldn't put the brakes on a session or recording | | | | the guitar could sound like a trumpet? When a trumpet |
| project if these mics weren't available. | | | | player uses a plunger to get that wah-wah sound, |
| Today, companies are making really good mics for | | | | that's the sound guitarists wanted to imitate. |
| under $500. For the CD I just completed, Rock & | | | | Back in the 70's, I remember hearing some bands |
| Roll Saxophonist, I used several different mics; two | | | | having a sax player and using a wah pedal on their |
| were under $500 and one was $3000. The really | | | | horns. Frank Zappa and Steve Winwood's band |
| good inexpensive ones are the Shure SM7 and the | | | | Traffic come to mind. |
| AKG C1000. | | | | Since those days, I hadn't heard it being used on |
| Pre-Amp | | | | recordings for a long time so I gave it a try on one of |
| Directly in-line after the microphone is a pre-amp. This | | | | the tunes from my recent recording; |
| is just an amplifier which can boost your signal to the | | | | To use this pedal with your sax, just connect the mic |
| recording machine, computer etc. A pre-amp is the | | | | cable directly into it and another cable comes out into |
| best way I've found to get that really "hot" sax sound. | | | | whatever effect box you may have in-line. The pedal |
| Basically, it has a level knob and an output knob. You | | | | is moved up and down to create the wah-wah. |
| crank the gain on the input knob until it's almost in the | | | | This was my set-up while experimenting in my home |
| red, red being a no-no because that will give your | | | | studio, but once in the mixing studio, we noticed some |
| sound ugly distortion. Just before the distortion is a fine | | | | unpleasant intermittent "noises" and I had to re-do the |
| line; you can experiment with it for the amount of | | | | whole sax track. That was bad news since I liked the |
| boost you want in your sound. I've used it on the low | | | | existing one! The good thing that came out of this, was |
| setting, somewhere in the middle, and really hot. It all | | | | the engineer suggested taking 2 lines out of the wah |
| depends on the sound you want for a particular | | | | pedal, one for just the effect, the other that only would |
| recording. | | | | have the normal sax going through it. This worked out |
| Compression | | | | great. Now, we could mix and blend the 2 channels |
| The next toy to experiment with is the compressor. I'm | | | | and add or take away the wah-wah effect depending |
| not a technical engineer (you may have noticed) but, | | | | on how it was working in the track. I found certain |
| basically, compression on a sax will create a ceiling for | | | | notes or phrases sounded better with a little less of |
| your volume level and bring every note up to that | | | | this effect and vice versa... more control, better sound. |
| ceiling level, meaning that all your notes will be even | | | | Have fun experimenting with your sound in the studio. |
| with each other in volume. If you go overboard with | | | | Sometimes using all these toys will help to get the |
| this effect, you will hear it manipulating the tone, so | | | | sound you want, sometimes it's just one or two of |
| again, you've got to experiment. Personally, I | | | | them, and sometimes none of them are needed. Let |
| sometimes like a little bit of that in my sound; it all | | | | the music dictate to what extreme you should use |
| depends on the song. If you listen closely, especially | | | | these effects. |
| with headphones, you'll hear how it magnifies things in | | | | |