Some thoughts on the sound of recording… on the anniversary of Nick Drake’s death.

Next week I am hosting my first 6-day Recording Boot Camp at the new studio in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. This is also the first one I have done in the United States in a few years. I am excited for it. Throughout the week I will undoubtably harp on one thing over and over again – the importance of what happens before the mic. How the things we do before the mic in recording are the most important decisions we can make, to get us to the sound we want coming out of the speakers.

…but do I really believe that?

Of course I do! But like everyone else, I often get excited about cool recording hardware and software and lose sight of that eternal truth. I start thinking about what mic pre or EQ I need to get the sound I am looking for.

As I write this, it is the 50th anniversary of Nick Drake’s death. If you do not know his work, I would strongly recommend checking it out. He was a brilliant guitar player, singer and songwriter, whose immense musical talent was only matched by his personal demons that eventually got the best of him. So many of us have heard Nick Drake’s music and fallen in completely in love with it. Nick’s final album was a masterpiece called “Pink Moon.” Not only do I love the music, but I am head over heels with the sound of it. (and to a slightly lesser extent his other two albums). It is direct and rich and warm and just on the edge of breaking up. The sound is everything I associate with the best gear of the era from brands like Neumann, Neve, Studer, etc. I have always wanted to know exactly what gear they used to get that sound I love so much. Neve pre-amps? Hellios?

A little while ago I was browsing around YouTube and I came across a video called “Nick Drake’s Tone – An In-Depth Look.” I was finally going to get the info about all the recording gear they used to get that sound!

I was duped!

This guy, Josh Turner, did not spend one second of the video talking about the recording gear. He spent the whole time talking about and demonstrating what one needs to do before the mic to get that Nick Drake sound. He looks at guitar choice, tuning, hand position, even fingernails. He recorded the demonstration using a low-end older Zoom recorder. The crazy part is how close he actually gets to the sound of those beautiful albums!! Is it exactly the same? No. But using cheap modern digital technology, he gets surprisingly close to the sound and spirit of Nick Drake’s albums from the golden era of analog. And I have a feeling that if I took his recordings, and processed them with a few plugins, that I could get it even closer. Does this mean that gear does not matter? Of course not! It is the gear that helps us get that extra bit of quality or character on our quest for great tone, but it is so important to remember that most of the heavy lifting is happening before the mic.So, thank you Josh for reminding me that what I teach is actually true!

I would encourage everyone to check out the beautiful music of Nick Drake and then check out Josh Turner’s video. My hope is that it will inspire you to see how much power you have, to make great sounding recordings, even if you do not have all the gear you wish you did.