Mike:

It's been so long I'm not sure how to spell the names of the studio machines I used to work with, from Ampex to Scully to Steuder to 3M to Revox, everything from two channel half tracks to 24 track monsters at 15 or more inches per second.

I used to do wonders with voices by slowing the initial rhythm track one half step when I recorded the voice track, then resuming at normal speed for all the overdubs. I got some pretty lame voices to "shine" that way without multiple voice overdubs and echo that sometimes included the trucks on the street outside when I wasn't using tape reverb.

I learned that craft from Ed Green, the master, and also Frank Sinatra's favorite engineer in Old Blue Eyes later years. Ed also taught me tape editing - a real necessity when recording Frank - countless sweet notes never in the same place from countless takes spliced together to produce a "performance."

Never mind the tape hiss, the vinyl pop on mass pressings, and the shratches that seemed to appear out of nowhere, those were recorded music's finest hours...

Regretfully, they are over and just sweet memories in the minds and ears of those of us who don't have to look in a history book to know what was happening in the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's.

P.E. Knudsen



[This message has been edited by Knute (edited 03-04-2004).]

P.E. Knudsen