Q&A with multi-platinum rock producer Michael Wagener.

I fear we're going to hear over the PA, "sorry everyone, but Michael has left the building"

:cry:
 
Hey Michael, great to see you on here! it's a rare treat to ask engineering questions to someone of your reputation, thank you so much!

I see you layer amps/cabs per side ie the Laney/Marshall mix you mentioned earlier... do you eg mult the whole left track to one track and pan that completely left, or hard pan the main amp left and pan the second amp say 80% to thicken it?

What do you use to adjust phase between mics?(apart from placement). Any opinion on the Radial Phazor? (there's very little on the net about this, it sounds like a more rugged IPB). Do you use that trick of flipping the phase on one and adjusting until it sounds it's thinnest, then flipping back? Any tips for perfect phase?

Are you a fan of quad tracking? If so, any tips on keeping definition when doing so? (apart from playing very tightly!) And again, how do you prefer to pan them?

What's your current favorite amp combination, and mic combination, for hard rock/metal?

Lastly, your preferred placement when doing the classic SM57 on a Celestion V30?

Thanks again, sorry for so many questions! :)
 
This is great that you are doing this Michael and taking time out of your busy schedule. Thanks to Lugo too for talking you into it. :thumbsup:

I'm happy to see you like your Splawn Quick Rod. I'm sure Scott Splawn would be glad to know that as well. Has anyone we would recognize use the Splawn lately?

I saw you reference the Egnater Tourmaster a few times. Have you tried the Renegade and do you have any thoughts on it? I ask because I liked the Renegade better and really dug its tube swapping capability and channel switching.


Thanks again :rawk:
 
Have you still used the ADA Mp1 or any other Guitar Tube Preamps recently in the last 5 rears or so, perhaps in Parallel to a regular head ?

Do you think that guitar tones have improved since the 80s or merely evolved.

Seems that many of the greatest guitar tones of all types were achieved in the 80s.
 
Hey guys

sorry for not getting back sooner. Right now I am in the middle of shooting video for my upcoming Workshop DVD series, so we are doing long days, tons of work. I will get back as soon as I come up for air. Thanx for your patience.
 
No apologies needed, Michael. We're very fortunate to have you here in the first place. Have fun shooting the DVDs.
 
No question really...just had the opportunity to play shows with Warrant some years back and I have to give a HUGE 2 thumbs up for all the work done on Dog Eat Dog...it's a very under-rated album and my fave from them. Great bunch of guys
 
thenine":35xmmmct said:
I'd like to know amps/micing techniques for the Balls To The Wall album. That is my fave recorded guitar tone of all time!!!!! I believe Wolf used a floyded strat with EMG's, is this true? I also believe Wolf had a "special" Marshall back then that was heavily modded. Is this true? Any pedals or whatever to get that grinding, pumping, sizzle with girth please!
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Amen! Best metal guitar sound ever.
 
MICHAEL WAGENER":fj9pnfal said:
:D People tell me I should write a book. I think I would get shot if I did that :D
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We'll get you some signature Rig-talk kevlar because that would be a book I would love to read :thumbsup:

James is doing a great blow by blow of him recording his latest personal project and it involves a lot of simultaneous dumping to and from protools while using tape. Do you also like doing this as well? An equal combo of dig and tape.
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Actually I am one of the few people who don't like tape, never did. I switched over to digital on the first day that old 3M machine was available and basically have not looked back.

I worked with some great engineers in the middle 80s and we spend weeks aligning tape, biased, different kinds of tape, different kinds of machines, heads, electronics, tape speeds, and NEVER ONCE, did we get a kick drum or a snare back from tape the way it went in. Granted, it can make RMS signals like guitars sound smoother (I use the CraneSong HEDD for that), but in general I like digital better, as long as you have great converters and use the right gear in front of it.
 
Hi Michael!

Really cool to have you hear , cheers!

I have a question about controlling bottom end and low mids when tracking guitar. In general i noticed that my live settings vary from my recording settings which is fine by me as long as it sounds good...

I generally use a lot less gain and low end when tracking and stacking guitars. I'm assuming that is because of proximity effect (at the least the less bass part) but it's sometimes frustrating when you dial in the amp to sound killer in the room, and then you stick mics in front of the cabinet and you can't capture what you hear in the room...

how do you capture or attempt to capture the sound of amp in the room but still achieve a tight phase coherent focused sound / blending room mics and such.. v

Cheers!! :rock:
 
Jimmie":179syw8l said:
Michael, welcome and thank you for gracing us with your wisdom and willingness to share.

Despite the advancements in recording technology, it seems the best tried and true means of capturing sound, still relies on Vintage large condenser mics like the Neumanns and 70's era pres or their clones like the Vintechs. James really opened my eyes in video-documenting his latest recording project yet I feel both blessed and at the same time, cursed. Blessed because I better understand what it takes to create a sonic gem, and cursed because to acquire these vintage pieces to capture sound, requires really deep pockets and a lot of luck that your hard earned cash isn't unwittingly purchasing a "vintage" U87 Neumann and it showing up at your door with a K-67 knock-off fresh out of China.

For desperate Recording Engineer wannabes such as myself, aside from the Vintage pieces, what would you recommend if left to aquire gear made post Y2K from mic to pre to DAW like ProTools HD?

Thanks Again!
Jimmie
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Hello Jimmie
I only used an LA2A once, same with a Pultec EQ, and only used Neve pre-amps a couple of times, when the studio had a Neve console for tracking. I don't have any "vintage" microphones or pre-amps in my studio, but I have a lot of modern gear, like Chadler, Soundelux mics, Lucas mics, CraneSong, LaChapell etc. etc. I had three vintage U87s, sold 'em all, didn't like them, but you would have to pry my Lucas CS-1 out of cold dead hands

I think the "old" stuff is really overrated and there is a lot of great new stuff out there, where you still can get parts, should it ever break and you can talk to the people that built it. All the hype about: this sounds just like ........... (insert old equipment here), doesn't work for me. Mic pres are the most overrated items in a studio right now. I do comparisons during my workshops all the time and I have come to the conclusion that I could make a great record with almost ANY set of mic pres. We used to record with MCI 500 consoles, those mic-pres are nothing to write home about, actually sounded pretty dull (until the John Hardy replacements came out), but we made great records on them, sold millions of copies. If you move your microphone by as much as half an inch, you make much more of a difference than changing mic pres. There is certain stuff I like, because it fits my taste (like the Chandler stuff, Royer mics etc.), but I could not speak for you, your taste is most likely different than mine.

In terms of the different DAWs, again there is not enough of a sound difference to pick one over the other (it is all based on the quality of the converter anyway), so I would go for the interface you like the most. I like Steinbergs Nuendo, so that's what I use.

When we did projects in the "olden days", we picked a studio mostly for the vibe as long as it had gear that worked and then we just used what we had. That was the beauty and it made those records special, the vibe that is.

I think what should be acquired (and I am speaking in general terms here) is the experience and ears to deal with what one has at hand, learning about the principles of recording before running for the gear. :rock:
 
killertone":3cz8tywf said:
Hi Michael - thanks for being here!

I have a non guitar related question...what was up with the snare drum sounds in the 80s? They are the one thing that irks me like crazy when I whip out an old 80s track. Specifically I mean that "pssh" attack instead of a "crack" attack with an extremely washed out reverb...Was that just a product of the times? I remember being in my teens back then and thinking that the snare drum sounds were bad even then. Not bagging on you at all, your status is legendary and well-deserved...it's more of an "era" question, I guess.
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Well, it was the sound of that era. We just bought all those very expensive digital reverb units, so we better use them :D
I think it's completely a taste thing, you either like it or you don't. The funny thing is, I get a ton of requests to mix with that sound again. I guess reverb is not a bad word anymore and people are tired of the overcompressed stuff of the 20th century, I can only hope.
 
MICHAEL WAGENER":1nyxf27g said:
killertone":1nyxf27g said:
Hi Michael - thanks for being here!

I have a non guitar related question...what was up with the snare drum sounds in the 80s? They are the one thing that irks me like crazy when I whip out an old 80s track. Specifically I mean that "pssh" attack instead of a "crack" attack with an extremely washed out reverb...Was that just a product of the times? I remember being in my teens back then and thinking that the snare drum sounds were bad even then. Not bagging on you at all, your status is legendary and well-deserved...it's more of an "era" question, I guess.
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Well, it was the sound of that era. We just bought all those very expensive digital reverb units, so we better use them :D
I think it's completely a taste thing, you either like it or you don't. The funny thing is, I get a ton of requests to mix with that sound again. I guess reverb is not a bad word anymore and people are tired of the overcompressed stuff of the 20th century, I can only hope.
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Nothing wrong with verb around here Michael :rock:

What are your thoughts about VST plug-ins vs rack gear such as Lexicon, Eventide, Roland, etc when it comes to verbs and delays? I find when I use my SDE-3000 or H3000 that they add this color and warmth that made them great back in the day. I have not messed with the newer VSTs out lately so I may be off base with my thoughts.

Thanks for taking the time to be here!
 
ACShreds":3m0y53j2 said:
killertone":3m0y53j2 said:
Hi Michael - thanks for being here!

I have a non guitar related question...what was up with the snare drum sounds in the 80s? They are the one thing that irks me like crazy when I whip out an old 80s track. Specifically I mean that "pssh" attack instead of a "crack" attack with an extremely washed out reverb...Was that just a product of the times? I remember being in my teens back then and thinking that the snare drum sounds were bad even then. Not bagging on you at all, your status is legendary and well-deserved...it's more of an "era" question, I guess.
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haha i love the 80's snare sound. I wish they'd bring it back.
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Working on it...
 
MICHAEL WAGENER":1niacb68 said:
ACShreds":1niacb68 said:
killertone":1niacb68 said:
Hi Michael - thanks for being here!

I have a non guitar related question...what was up with the snare drum sounds in the 80s? They are the one thing that irks me like crazy when I whip out an old 80s track. Specifically I mean that "pssh" attack instead of a "crack" attack with an extremely washed out reverb...Was that just a product of the times? I remember being in my teens back then and thinking that the snare drum sounds were bad even then. Not bagging on you at all, your status is legendary and well-deserved...it's more of an "era" question, I guess.
Click to expand...

haha i love the 80's snare sound. I wish they'd bring it back.
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Working on it...
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Sweet lol. I play lead guitar in a modern day Pop-Punk band and we're trying to bring back most of the 80's sounds. The snare, and guitar solo's being a few. Imagine Blink-182 meets Van Halen. Im only 20 but im a huge fan of 80's metal, and i really wish more of that kinda stuff would start to catch back on in modern music. Especially since thats what we're trying to do haha :rock:
 
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