Sometimes things get out of hand.
Pete the Producer less than politely suggests that Bob the Bass Player may have a limited understanding of how and when to put his fingers where.
Bob responds with some speculation concerning Pete’s choice of possible companions, probable progenitors, and preferred methodology of personal recreation.
The best thing to do under these circumstances is to batten down the hatches and wait out the storm. Keep your mouth shut and your ears open (your grandchildren may crave the eyewitness details when they take computer-assisted Pop /Rock History 101 someday), and look for the most delicate piece of equipment to protect from flying missiles and bodies. The console is a good bet.
I knew an engineer /studio owner who kept an official Little League “Louisville Slugger” baseball bat (same length – greater mass than a law enforcement agent’s nightstick) concealed in the space between his 16- and 24-track, about 10 inches from his left hand when operating the first bucket of console faders. He called it, fondly, “The Equalizer.”
Being a man of superior tact, judgement and no small mass himself, he used it merely to threaten (a true story). Seriously folks, I’ve been in on more than one session where physical violence became a real factor; not fisticuffs and bloodletting, mind you, but there was a little pushing and shoving.
The best way of getting the participants “down off the ledge” is to overtly (and loudly) ignore the possibility that the hostilities could escalate any further. Invite them to continue their discussion (and make sure you emphasize talking rather than smacking) in the studio lounge, waiting room, hall, or what have you. The change of physical location alone will provide a cooling off period, and will protect the gear. And make sure no spectators are allowed in the new “arena “; this spares everyone their pride, thus encouraging professionalism. Let ‘em work it out on their own – and don’t rush them. The clock is running, studio is making money, and passion is a goodly part of musical product anyway.
In short:
Tact Factor Axiom #3
People will usually behave rationally if they can be shown that it’s in their best interest to do so – in a manner which does not insult or publicly embarrass them.
With that in mind, let’s look at a few people and situations along the Ol’ Session Trail: Teddy Triple-Scale knows the only way to get his special sound. And he’ll tell you just how to do it, despite the fact that it might depend on factors (technical, artistic, emotional) that he’s never considered. Then again, he might be right. Don’t let your pride get in the way of learning something new.
The best bet for a Best Possible Track: set it up his way; set it up your way; let the Boss decide. Or, print both (if you can afford the tracks) and reserve the decision for a time when there’s no emotional heat on the issue.
Veronica Vocalist is personal friends with the producer. Mr./Mrs. Producer may not be able to direct (i.e., criticize) Veronica. Try to establish with the producer if they would find it easier for the comments regarding the best road for a retake to come from your mouth to Veronica’s cans. Their relationship may be fine in other capacities but, in the studio, you may have to be the go-between (lucky you).
Nick Nervous-Novice gets so caught up in the details of what he thinks should be happening, that he forgets to use his own ears. He’ll tell you exactly what you’re doing wrong, and exactly what you should be doing to correct it. He’s read a lot about what a recording studio can do, and he’s sure that you can fix the out of tune concert B-sharp on his trumpet track by adding a little flanging right at that spot. (Well, can’t we just put the guitar through the Harmonizer ? “)
Resign yourself to the fact that he’ll never be satisfied, and try to calm him out by involving him in as many decisions as you can. (If he complains later, you can politely suggest that he was in on the bad decision.) If he asks for more compression during a power guitar overdub, and you’re already showing a lot of gain reduction on a completely clipped out amp, suggest to him that you can always tighten up the track as you mix, but that it might be “smarter not to get locked in now.” If he insists, give it to him, and tell yourself that it won’t make or break a hit tune anyway (which is true).
Murray the Studio Manager’s concept of Studio Policy is to wait till something goes wrong, then yell a lot about it when it does. You can never seem to get a clear line on what should go down in any particular situation. Murray may have a need-to-exert-authority problem. It’s rather like a drinking problem; the poor wretch may need his fix. Your best course is to dis-involve yourself with the emotional side, and play it strictly on its rational merits. In other words, don’t get into it with him. Not in front of a client, not behind closed doors … not at all.
Light-gauge Lefkowitz and Dobro Danny are guitar players in the same band. Part of what makes the band so good when they play is the dueling leads they get into. Meanwhile, back in the control room, Danny wants you to tell him that you’ve recorded a lot of guitar pickers in your time, and that you think he’s got the best sound around – or at least it’s better than Light-gauge’s.
Mr. Lefkowitz needs to hear that the special distortion box his brother made for him gives him a hands-down edge over Danny’s stock music store amp.
Well, you know what to do. Shift the emphasis back to how well they interweave with each other – if, that is, you have to say anything at all. Avoid the temptation of giving different stories to different people just to preserve the peace. The ultimate Tact Factor master stroke keeps everyone in touch with a single reality, without threatening anyone’s position.
Thus we see how the brave Lone Engineer can come ridin’ into the Control Room astride his trusty techno-tactful steed and dispense with the bandits. The real trick is to avoid becoming a bad guy yourself…
In his gainfully employed eight years, Dave Brody has engineered 37 albums (from the sublime to the ridiculous) more than 75 soundtracks for Films and multimedia presentations, and “enough demos to keep the average A&R Department busy for a year.’ Known around the New York studio scene by his curiously appropriate initials (DB). Brody has worked both in television and as a musician/vocalist, which might account for his oddball perspective. Citing the Industry’s crying need “to have even more people calling themselves Producers,” Brody has, of late, been producing and co-producing several projects for commercial release.
Editor’s Note: This is a series of articles from Recording Engineer/Producer (RE/P) magazine, which began publishing in 1970 under the direction of Publisher/Editor Martin Gallay. After a great run, RE/P ceased publishing in the early 1990s, yet its content is still much revered in the professional audio community. RE/P also published the first issues of Live Sound International magazine as a quarterly supplement, beginning in the late 1980s, and LSI grew to become the monthly publication that continues to thrive to this day.