What Steels Are Being Recorded?

[Pat Comeau]

Bruce said=

Paul suggested I back my bass way down from where I'd been running it.Said id would have a better place in the track. Advice I still follow today

That's why i like the E-66 pickup for recording sessions it sits better in the mix then some other pickup i've used, the lows on the E-66 is very warm and not too boomy and the mids cuts through nicely also.

[Bill Dobkins]

Not because I now own one but I would like to hear the differance between a Rittenberry and a Emmons P/P in the studio. The Derby I had, had a great tone but this Rittenberry has a deeper more distinct belltone to it.
Of course I'm sure that Paul would sound different than Buddy or Stu on the same Franklin or Emmons ect.
By the way Bruce, I bought a VCR teaching tape of you. Its the best one I have found thus for.

[Joe Rogers]

Its how they sound, how audible, and how they blend with the other instruments when the volume level is the same as the various keyboards and electric rhythm tracks. Does the guitar find its own space? or does it's sonically get in the way of the other instruments desired musical parts?
Paul

Great comment Paul! I am FAR from being an authority on mixing. A few years back I started taking on a few recording projects, so I read a ton of books to get up to speed on how certain things were done. More than one source commented on the need for each instrument to have its own sonic space. If two instruments share the same spectrum, they can sometimes have the effect of canceling each other out.

Once I put my study time to actual practice, I was amazed at how true this was. Mark was correct in his comments on EQ. You can EQ an instrument to perfection by itself, then put it in a mix with other instruments and it gets totally washed out. Get it sounding great in the mix, and the solo'd instrument may not sound at all like your concept of the perfect tone.

Didn't recording studios invent the saying, "Don't believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see"?

Joe Rogers

[Marlin Smoot]

I think this may be one of the best threads we have had on the SGF in a while. PF's studio background insights and guitar relates are well worth waiting for. Thanks Paul, for posting its much appreciated as always.

[David Pinkston]

The comment about how things sit "and combine" in a mix is dead on. While engineering in NY I had the opportunity of working with one of the top mixing engineers around, Mick Guzauski. Mick mixed and recorded many top artists including Earth, Wind and Fire, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, etc.

He left the room and while he was gone I solo'd a few of the tracks. The kick drum alone sounded clicky, the bass guitar sounded mushy and the acoustic guitars thin. The amazing phenomena was when put together the mix was amazing. It's very interesting the way tracks sum electronically especially by panning them off of each other. I usually rolled off the low end of pedal steels and then eased it back in depending what was going on in the arrangement.

[Alex McCollough]

I've been lucky enough to work on several projects that have had Show Pros on them ("Wish Me Away" with Lloyd was the first of many). They are truly amazing sounding guitars...truly classic tone.
I was so impressed that I ordered one and it's been the most amazing guitar that I've ever owned.

[Kyle Everson]

Not sure what Scotty Sanders plays. Perhaps someone knows the studio guitars these players prefer.l

Last I heard Scotty was using an all-pull Emmons which was reportedly the first prototype built for Buddy Emmons. Seems like it was through an Evans amp.


btw, instead of hi-jacking this thread, I started one here to see what everyone is using for amps. Might be fun to compile a list of the top guitars and the top amps!

[Brett Day]

"Cowboy" Eddie Long plays his keyless BMI in the studio and on tour with Jamey Johnson.

Brett

[Ron !]

Not because I now own one but I would like to hear the difference between a Rittenberry and a Emmons P/P in the studio.

I own a Rittenberry build steel guitar and I have to say these are very close(if not on top)to a P/P.

New News<----click

And this is even recorded "without an amp".

Ron

[Scott Shipley]

The last two sessions I did with PSG on them were in February, one with Lloyd Green and the other with Kevin Owens. Both of them played old Sho-Buds, and both sounded GREAT.

[John Groover McDuffie]

I've been using my Carter s-12 with a Lawrence pu, (I think it's an XR16) and my clients and I have been very happy with the sound.

Of course I'm not in Nashville 8~)

[Fred Glave]

This is a very interesting thread. My perspective is, and has been purely from the live stage situation, 6 string and steel. I've done very little recording, mostly demo's and a couple of small projects. Reading here what's going on in the "big" studio... by the guys that are there is so valuable! Please keep it coming!

[Tommy Alexander]

I clicked on the "Palladia" channel and Shooter Jennings and another singer, which I forgot his name were doing a concert.
Two steel players were on the stage; up front was Robbie Turner playing a brown and sun-burst Sho-Pro and the player in the back I could not identify him or the steel he was playing.
Robbie didn't get a chance to really do some playing, but what I heard was his usuall, "Great".

[William Sender]

I've had the pleasure of recording Paul and one of my other favorites, Dan Dugmore. It's not as much as what they're playing (I've seen both show up with a wide assortment of guitars and amps), but who's playing it. Also, as Paul said, a lot of it has to do with the engineer.

A popular recording configuration would be two mics on the cabinet (usually an SM57 and a ribbon mic, like a Royer R121) run into a nice mic pre (API312 or any Class-A Neve).

[Ulf Edlund]

Some gear records well, some don't.
For example, I'd choose a pre-bass over a Warwick anytime, any musical style.
They simply record better to my ears, and make the job easier. I have an old Yamaha acoustic that "should be" a crap guitar, but it records fantastic.

My Emmons guitar produces the sweeeeetest tone on stage, but i find it easier to get "that" tone when i record with a Carter, Sho-Bud or Franklin. (Yes i have done that)
I'm not saying the Emmons can't sound good on tape, but it's easier to get lost compared to the others.

You don't have to know anything about brands to prefer certain sound characteristics. In fact i think it sometimes is good to not "know" certain things.

[Brett Day]

Gary Morse is using a Desert Rose on at least some recordings for Brooks and Dunn and Dierks Bently.

Gary played a Sho-Bud in the studio and on tour with Dierks, but when Gary started touring with Brooks & Dunn, he started playin' his Desert Rose. However, I'm sure Gary plays his Desert Rose in the studio with Brooks & Dunn and Dierks. I do know that Gary played his Sho-Bud on Dierks' second record and also on Sara Evans' song "Suds In The Bucket", and a version of "Murder On Music Row" that Dierks recorded with George Jones on a record of songs from the past few years for Cracker Barrel.

Brett

[Tommy Shown]

Paul, when you do a session, do you go through a DI box or do you mike the amp(s) and record it live?
Tommy Shown

[Jerry Erickson]

There was a post on the Forum some time(years) ago with a pic of Paul's cabs being miced. There were 2, 2-12 cabs with a Sennheiser 421 on each cab, maybe 6" off of each cab.

[Ulf Edlund]

Here it is:

and here is the thread:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=113707

[Jody Sanders]

About Paul: His talent on steel guitar speaks for itself. Paul always shows up on time, has fresh strings,is in tune, and is ready to pick when the light comes on. Paul plays to compliment the song and the singer, not a bunch of irrevelent licks to impress other musicians. It is much better to impress the producers, the singer, and engineers than the other musicians, if you want to do studio work. As for myself, everything Paul plays on record or in person impresses me. His sets on the Dallas Show were incredible. Jody.

[Mike Bowles]

paul could take any guitar made and make it sound great he knows exactly what to play and when to play it great talent does anyone record with an sd10 mullen rp?

[Travis Toy]

Not that I do even remotely as many sessions as Paul does, but I'll add my two cents. I've been using a Nashville 112 for the last couple of years. Any of the Rascal Flatts stuff I've done has been with the 112, and a couple of different guitars. Played a song on the Me & My Gang album called "Backwards". That was a 112, and a 2003 Emmons LeGrande II that I had at the time. Since then, I've been using Mullen guitars for the last 4 or so years with good results in the studio. The G2 really sounds great. Just used it on Josh Gracin's new record and it sounded killer. Anyway, there ya go.

[Clyde Mattocks]

One thing that Paul learned to do many years ago was how to dial in a tone that, no matter how far back they put him in the mix, the steel was still audible and articulate. He has that in common with Pete Drake. While most of us cut the 800 frequency severely, I am told that telephone companies boost it because it makes speech more distinct. To my ears, there is a lot of 800 in the steel in those old Alan Jackson cuts. I don't know Paul personally, so I don't know if that is something the engineers do on mix, but I suspect it is his own doing that keeps him from getting buried.

[Dan Burnham]

Add BMI to the list. Cowboy Eddie Long, recorded sometime back with Willie, and is doing a project with Elton John.

Dan(BMI)

[Dan Tyack]

I've done a small percentage of Paul's sessions (a few sessions a month instead of a few a day), but here's my non-Nashville perspective.

If Vince Gill were to call me up tonight and say "Hey Dan, it's been too long since we have played together. Why don't you come to Nashville tomorrow and record my next album with me", there's no question. I'd bring one of my Franklins. Because they are great sounding instruments, and they record really well. And also because the engineers are familiar with the instrument, and will feel more comfortable with something that they know will track great.

The vast majority of recordings I have done have been with one of my Franklins. But for most of my sessions in the last couple of years, I bring my Desert Rose. Because it's a great sounding instrument, and it records really well. But mainly because my biggest competitor in the recording biz is no steel guitar at all. Because the Desert Rose has two pickups widely spaced, it gives me a tonal palette that enables it to fit into many songs where a more 'standard' steel sound wouldn't work. I do a lot of singer songwriter, rock and roll, and generally 'alternative' sessions. The Desert Rose gives me a big variety of sounds with which to fit into the track. It also does the 'straight country' sound very well.

Most of the engineers I work with have never used a pedal steel, so I don;t have to deal with expectations.

Oh yeah, I always record with an amp. If they want to take a direct signal 'just in case' I tell them I'm allergic.