Michael Jacksons Recording Secrets

[@richardkovacs2006]

Bruce's and MJs working partnership was legendary. From 1978 til MJ died in 2009. 30 years. Deep respect and love. Bruce even became co-producer on some of MJs recordings. I've noticed MJs engineers all talk about MJ with the highest respect and much much love. And my guess is they spent the most time with him. Their tales of MJ are always real, mostly funny, the best reflection of the man. Certainly better than the media portrayal...

[@ANITACHEONG-em8mt]

With you

[@ecufile4095]

Bruce is the best Sound Music Engineer and Producer ever exists, a verry nice, humble men, even when he was very ill and dying, he give many interviews ad music schools and special MJ events. For me he is bigger, better,then QJ, a perfectionist like MJ, the both were more then good friends, the where together one. Its great to he gets finely hiss credits for more then 35 years working with MJ. And QJ just came to listen how the both do it.And became to bossy. MJ And Bruce have made that all possible to made those great more then great songs for 10000 years. The both are gone, ripp, and just go on in heaven. Greetings from R-Keys from Holland how is 58 years old and grow up with MJ and Bruce. A big fan of MJ and Bruce

[@multifaceteduser3405]

so what happened with MJ is, he was born in an era with perfect ears and vocals and had an obsession with music and manged to get the best ever engineer and best ever producer, composer quincy and they all made masterpieces. its no wonder when i listen to MJs albums they all sound amazing even the songs i dont particularly like, there's nothing wrong with the sound or production!

[@Sttephy30]

Exactly, perfect description

[@onesong2001]

"...he was born in an era with perfect ears and vocals..." 🤣

[@Jaburu]

Bruce is a legend, but he was more of a workhorse. They would spend years in the studio for a single album. you better find a way to make things sound good lol.

[@Solonghoney]

​@@Jaburu...Thriller was made in 8 weeks ....

[@SamiDaComposer]

@@onesong2001 nah he right autotune and pitch correction in mixixng came later in 2007 so to sing liike that without sllight pitch correction is pure talen bro so yes perfect singers

[@goldenchildofra6432]

Michael took his craft seriously and always had the best musicians, writers and engineers to give us the fans the best music possible. Respect to all the legends behind Michael 🙏🏾 ❤

[@simondanielssonmusic]

One important note about the Shure SM7 is that it is NOT the same SM7B microphone you see so many modern producers, podcasters etcetera use. The SM7 mentioned in this video is the "original" version.

[@sonnygood3261]

Such a big difference

[@KnowledgeAustin]

Hence the B! Never even thought about that

[@jas_bataille]

It still is very similar, and both SM7 are variations of the SM57 without a transformer inside. Therefore the off-axis rejection is tremendous and the level of self noise extremely low for a microphone able to sustain this kind of SPL from his most powerful performances. The SM7B really is virtually the same microphone as far as I know, and none of those are particularly high-end nor do they have any particular coloration really. It was used for practical reasons. The only downside of this kind of microphone is the kind of gain you need : you will not be able to feed it enough gain with a regular USB powered interface.

[@1000_Jeezai]

I find the SM7B distorts the sibilance. Maybe because people aren't powering it properly

[@vadimmartynyuk]

Exactly. And they sound very different

[@sagcap7927]

I like how Bruce loves EQ more than compression. Most newbies don’t know how to use compression correctly. But you can be taught how to eq without ruining a instruments sound. Most of the time. Lol. Bruce was a real one. Good engineer so to speak.

[@sehjaanrempire5298]

His voice was natural whithout autotune he was king ❤

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

anyone using autotune should not be categorized as a singer. bullshit plugins are for children. it became a 'rapper' effect because rap needs effect to lull market into buying garbage.

[@chipgaasche4933]

His voice was thin and tinny.

[@elodie2404]

He still is, he'll stay the king forever

[@manatthegardenn]

@@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777michael literally used auto tune in his later years get smart please.

[@manatthegardenn]

@@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777plus michael worked with many rappers. get smart u r3t4rd

[@PickettMusic]

Just decades of unparalleled genius...

[@uncletone614]

MJ was the Bruce Lee of recording artists.

[@ericanderson7059]

Guess that makes Prince the Jackie Chan .

[@BluEx22329]

​@@ericanderson7059jakie looks up to Bruce

[@Mropinionated3]

@@ericanderson7059good one

[@Cormac-jd2kx]

I guess…Bruce Lee was a crappy actor that fought nobody in real life 😂

[@jamesrael9557]

Brilliant dude. I did a lot of these stereo techniques in film audio recording. Most productions thought I was crazy, until they heard what I’d turn in.

[@Filosofuerza]

I suspect you could have recorded Michael Jackson with a toy microphone, and he would still have managed to become the King of Pop.

[@messybuttons7525]

Even Bruce said this himself. He said Michael was unique in the fact that he new how to work a microphone well and his voice was already amazing … so putting his mic on your voice isn’t gonna make magic happen 😂

[@multifaceteduser3405]

haha, true

[@onesong2001]

@@messybuttons7525 I heard MJ waved his head around so much while singing that they had to come up with ways of compensating for his weird behaviour.

[@messybuttons7525]

@@onesong2001 Maybe. But I dont think so. Bruce Swedien has gone on record many times saying Michael's voice was easy to record because he knew how to work a mic properly. He'd been doing it since 6 years old. Bruce did mention he had a setup just to record his dancing, snapping, and clapping when he sang. It bled into the mix and gave the songs more long (really apparent in billie jean)

[@Bryce2k-xi1hq]

I mean if you know what you doing or the sound that you want to acquire anything is possible bro with this music shit it’s crazy !

[@GlennJimenez]

This is the first video I’ve ever seen about Michael Jackson gear and for that you have my eternal thanks this is automatically awesome

[@loudmindpro8864]

I really appreciate how your videos emphasize the philosophy of engineering

[@ChandoRibeTrack]

Likewiseee frrr.

[@breezyoakk]

love the information Bruce shared about the early reflections. i thought the exact same thing, its often the "dirty" recorded songs that are the most interesting

[@Defensive_Wounds]

Wow, loads of the stuff this guy did for recording and techniques I taught myself by feel to do pretty much the same way with my band's music! The only things I have not tried that this video gave me an idea to try out is the wooden foam coated board to isolate the snare microphone from the hi hat to minimise bleed, great idea!! Same with the kick bass drum isolation and such. I must try that out!

[@OfficialFatLip]

every millennium kid knows this crap now, no more secret BS, grab the same stuff in native plugins with UAD or softube and your set, no room acoustic flaws involved

[@BlackNAVYAmericanVET]

MJ and Bruce are both legends ❤

[@willieboyland3180]

They were both scientists when it came to recording music.

[@VarazdatMarkosyan]

Это видео просто шедевр! Я уже несколько раз смотрю его без усталости. Я помню те времена, когда ходили разного рода слухи , что Майкл Джэксон пишет музыку не так как остальные. Что у него самая крутая аппаратура. Но у него, оказывается, еще был звукорежиссер-волшебник.

[@manifestgtr]

Wow, “the way you make me feel” was an old school SM7, huh? That’s really interesting but it makes total sense. Gear is one thing and picking the right gear is occasionally *very* important but there are a few major takeaways here. Above everything, these guys worked at getting top notch performances from world class musicians…the importance getting an inspired performance worthy of documenting can’t be overstated. Secondly, their recording techniques and engineering skill levels were off the charts. If you want anything approaching this, you need to become absolutely immersed in the world of audio engineering. Something as simple as gain staging is often overlooked but it can make or break the performance of your dreams.

[@atech9020]

I am fortunate enough to have acquired the 4-way Ashly crossovers that MJ had in his home studio monitoring system. Two of them are sequential in serial number and have the warranty paperwork still. What really isn't mentioned, is much is how much effort they put into just his monitoring system. A 4-way crossover is unheard of these days, and an analog one from the 90's was crazy, but not out of hand. Kids these days have no idea how easy they have it. When I first started doing sound, a 3-way crossover was semi common still, I didn't even know a 4-way existed until I got a hold of MJ's.

[@onesong2001]

Oh

[@PC-gb8hx]

My favourite recording engineer - you did great Bruce !

[@Yasmin-dx3ek]

MJ's music was always a level above his peers in terms of the depth of the sounds. So immersive and dynamic. I think that's why it's aged so well.

[@onesong2001]

BS

[@StevenHombessa]

​@@onesong2001 bro has a wole page hatibg on mj get a life bro

[@JusNBL2000]

@@StevenHombessa He’s on Videos where MJ isn’t even mentioned hating on him on some weird shit bro

[@Sinnersainthuman]

This is such a great documentary! To be a fly on the wall in one of those sessions

[@rekocastren923]

This is Golden stuff! Thanks. Just awesome tidbit, love the idea of using the room sound in everything and avoiding compression. Got me interested in finding out more about Bruce's work..

[@RikkiRB]

Bruce was a master and he deserves a ton of credit, MJ was drawn to Bruce's talent and they both prospered because of it. If you see when they're working on Jam, Bruce had recorded like 20 different approaches to the chorus that Michael had to choose from, all subtly different but TWENTY!! This was just one small part and then multiply that by 30 years.

[@acecomet]

I am sound technician and the recording space doesn’t matter to me. With the right technique you can record anywhere and you won’t tell the difference from a real or home studio. Knowledge is the key.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

😂 ' real or home studio' so why do you even differentiate them in your rhetoric? 'won't' or 'can't' your grammar is hilarious as well you should be a stand up .

[@digitaldesigner5284]

Yes, but one of the most used techniques at the time of recording on 2-inch tape was natural compression, which was achieved by injecting a signal with more volume into the recorder.

[@geovani60624]

not really, if you try to use hos techniques in a bad space it will not work the same way

[@jeffchapel79]

Ill take MJ and his team bro

[@dondamon4669]

Of course it matters ,I personally wouldn't care as I don't like perfect music but there's no way you can get the overproduced MJ stuff in any room

[@PRIDEATH]

THANK GOD YOU'RE BACK

[@georgetmusic]

Yea two weeks turned into a month unfortunately

[@Chicano_Ninja]

This is some good info. Makes me wanna look more in depth into my own own sound equipment. Big ups

[@Jmarsbeats]

2 important things to note. Michael could really fuckin sing and Bruce could really fuckin engineer

[@willieboyland3180]

Facts!!

[@onesong2001]

Michael marketed like no other

[@geoffschuller4875]

Incredible! Bruce's techniques and approach are simple and incredibly musical. I love the part about actively working the mix to spotlight the great emerging parts, as hooks. I do that in live mixing, and it works great! Good for recording, too, I see!

[@manniegee3x]

1:13 Is Impeccable!

[@Messyjessy4]

Omg when he started singing 🥺❤❤❤❤

[@elodie2404]

Even without any instrument, the magic is here in his voice, in its beauty and intensity... Michael was incredible ! He was gorgeous, his soul was wonderful, his voice was exceptionally beautiful, the way he sang was unique, the way he danced was supernatural, he was a gift for our world, but too good for it

[@liviofazi4017]

@@elodie2404 interesting bit, he did have instruments, finger snaps and stomps. Incredible.

[@tmckmusic8584]

Amazing! I respect the true old analog sound engineers... genius

[@mr.solodolo3000]

This videos incredible. Thanks a million for sharing this man!

[@nelsonfilho6587]

This video is enlightening, thanks a lot to share.

[@someoneontheweb4303]

Always love some MJ content on the channel!

[@soundguydon]

It was an awesome video and thank you for sharing, but I'd love to get my hands on the original full length video(s) and watch those too !! :-)

[@micro1603]

Bruce Swedien is All Time Greatest engineer.

[@BunkerAudioPanama]

The "choir technique" is M/S. I used this once recording a live session in a long but narrow room with everything bleeding into the drum mics and placed overheads in M/S (vocals and keys) in order to minimize faze issues but still have good stereo. X/Y I use almost always on drums to get a nice wide mix.

[@leonramsay21]

Nowadays many are so called engineers . Genius at work

[@eche1492]

Super dope. Thanks for uploading.

[@77colorz23]

Thank you for this awesome insight 🙏💯❤

[@chrisharrison809]

You’re channel is fantastic

[@vidform]

Excellent video. It would be interesting to compare these recording techniques to what he was using as a kid with the Jackson 5 recording for Motown; plus the recording techniques used for their one album with Gamble & Huff.

[@danthegeetarman]

George doing all the research so I don’t have to. My man!

[@georgetmusic]

Thanks!

[@codee-music]

grew up in the midst of his greatest works, in sheer awe and amazement. Bruce taught us - up and coming engineers - to not mix the life out of a record but to transfer as much of its essence and emotion, to the listener, as possible. He was and forever will be an engineering God. Thank you so much for this great video and would you be so kind to like and follow. Co' 🙏🏽

[@db4ks]

Keep up the good videos man!

[@alderoth01]

Yeah, would be great to be born back when all of this was just starting. Back when you could get an internship at a studio instead of having to know someone, or paying to build a studio yourself.

[@MasonToryen]

This was a really cool video! Thank you buddy!

[@ZeLuJ]

He’s really a musical genius

[@onesong2001]

🤣

[@ad.ke.7224]

The title should be Bruce Swedien's recording secrets.

[@Haha_stillsmarterthanthem]

and i likely would not have clicked great introduction to the man you mention

[@talon3684]

In short, MJ was forever a student and became master of the game. Studied his craft and studied the greats to become greater. He learned to surround himself with greatness in the music industry as much as he could to learn, create and grow as an artist. A bonafide genius.

[@damonmoore-u2n]

Amazing video, especially for engineers

[@EtalonBeats]

Please do some levelmatching, some of the clips are very quiet while others loud.

[@vezomadeit6299]

bro. are yo

[@ShevetteJackson]

In one of the videos they showed it said September 26th 1993. Today is September 26th 2023. Wow!! Thirty years later on today.

[@andrewaboy8852]

BRUCE SWEDIEN GOATED ENGINEER

[@marvinhampton1816]

Wow he was a great producer❤❤❤

[@Bashanvibe]

So much learning in this short video needed more

[@BerakObama]

8:03 PERFECT Street Fighter

[@jason_v12345]

Ironic that you've made a video about recording secrets (a good one albeit), and your own video's audio seems to lack normalization.

[@eranddroory9987]

Slap a compressor and a limiter on your own vocal dude.. way too dynamic!!

[@mattgouette]

Jeez, what is that pic of Michael that pops up at 10:57 all about?

[@LEEXMUSIC356]

this is really good thank you. learned a lot. very interesting the part about the dullness of synthesised sound

[@scottstrang1583]

Childhood instrmental at the begging is so beautiful.

[@anakarinauranga9999]

I will forever be in love with Michael. Forever.

[@edilenecosta5108]

Saudoso Bruce, companheiro de longas datas do MICHAEL..

[@CoreyChambersLA]

Why you were talking about audio levels, you might want to consider getting your own audio level, more loud and clear

[@davestevens4193]

I'm pretty sure Quincy Jones had all the recording secrets

[@BIGGEOFF40]

Excellent video 👍🏾

[@georgetmusic]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@slovokia]

The sound level of the dialog in this video varies so much as to be very difficult to listen to.

[@JohnnyBEWork]

The editing / merging of sentences sucks too, sorry... (had to stop the video for how annoying it was)

[@lionnonny]

2024 sign of the times. The content is what's valuable. Sheesh.

[@officialpoa3171]

*Thing is about those CUBE SPEAKERS these days is, absolutely no one is listening to music in that way any longer, even in the stores. In the stores these days they use a series of FRFR COAXILE speakers bridged to mono. Cafes, bars, starbucks, etc they tend to use 2 way speakers in mono, everyone else uses ear buds, car stereos and home theater systems.*

[@lionnonny]

7:05 that's like the flower of life geometry. Wowzers.

[@joecity-rp2093]

for a video about sound production about the greats, YOUR AUDIO LEVELS ARE ALL OVER THE GOD DAMN PLACE IN THIS VIDEO! I keep have to adjusting the volume, damn this is really frustrating my watching experience

[@dondamon4669]

Entitled spoilt brat!

[@gmary524]

Michael's worst day acapella is better than most other's best day even with best production. Folks talk about certain eras having the most talented performers. Well, it's hard to beat the talented Souls who performed under unpredictable often brutal, extreme / harsh Jim Crow era circumstances, on the Chitlin Circuit .... The Jacksons with Michael and Marlon, all so young, performed on the Chitlin City Circuit, like The Apollo venue. Ya know ya gotta have the goods to Some others: make it there. Gladys Knight and The Pips, Duke Ellington, little Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle, Chuck Berry, Otis Redding, B.B. King, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, James Brown, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Ike and Tina Turner, Otis Redding, Little Richard, Ella Fitzgerald, and Cab Calloway; Bobby “Blue” Bland, Motown.... Not a complete list. ....stand-up comedy routines of future stars such as Redd Foxx, Flip Wilson, Moms Mabley, and Richard Pryor. This is where Michael STARTED, ABSORBED. He says in interviews that he was so interested in every part of production..... WOW Just WOW He dedicated his life to providing to us perfection, authentic, unparalleled in our generations, beauty in the making. Thank You God & Angels & ALL who appreciate Dear Michael & The Jacksons. Blessings to All. Love One Another. Tito's.song 🎵 Rest his Soul. His album will be platinum & we'll receive the message Love One ✨️ 💕Love to Spike Lee for supporting uplifting Michael & The Jacksons

[@franquz]

home studio examples were wild

[@henri-fillipbauer6579]

Man that guys voice was insane

[@VBOProductions]

The Greatest of All Time

[@jonjonharreld7602]

This Is Really Awesome...One Love Fam.

[@tego314]

Great Video Im About to Read His In The Studio With Micheal Jackso0n Book Bruce Wrote Im Sure He Goes More In Depth About Everything Youi Mentionj! Thanks For The Video! Cant Wait Ti See Whats Next!

[@salmonsandwich3183]

4:09 where is this footage from? would like to watch the whole lecture

[@lartisan6274]

u have to type " bruce swedien conference or something " on school its on youtube

[@ecufile4095]

Bruce is the best Sound Music Engineer and Producer ever exists, a verry nice, humble men, even when he was very ill and dying, he give many interviews ad music schools and special MJ events. For me he is bigger, better,then QJ, a perfectionist like MJ, the both were more then good friends, the where together one. Its great to he gets finely hiss credits for more then 30 years working with MJ. And QJ just came to listen how the both do it.And became to bossy. MJ And Bruce have made that all possible to made those great more then great songs for 10000 years. The both are gone, ripp, and just go on in heaven. Greetings from R-Keys from Holland how is 58 years old and grow up with MJ and Bruce. A big fan of MJ and Bruce.

[@gabehills616]

Great information! Thanks for posting

[@JUNKYzice]

good video

[@jacquessaints]

Bruce Sweden’s recording secrets applied by Michael Jackson should be the title

[@Parliament9502]

Can we stop and talk about this goatee MJ is rocking at 11:00 min in?

[@DeejayRach0]

WOW WHAT A VIDEO WOOOOOOOOW

[@defaultHandle1110]

Wow is that Dave Pensado now ? Man someone introduce him to David Sinclair!

[@kimblerogers328]

...Dave Pensado ... hes lost weight!!

[@cbrooks0905]

Yeah he looks sicker and older every year. Don’t know what’s going on with him but I hope he’s ok.

[@neonyves]

it was the sm7 that made thriller great, not michaels outstanding voice, performance and energy or bruces mixing or quincys producing

[@BrendanMiranda]

Yes, and EVH provided emotional support 😂

[@pongmaster123]

NO - only the preamp matters

[@nicolasperseguino2082]

As a matter of fact. It was a combination of all those different elemets you've posted in your comment

[@baztudyo]

😂😂

[@dyomuniverse]

@@BrendanMiranda The sm7 is of no use to you if you don't have an excellent singer and performer like Michael, a good sound engineer like Bruce and one of the best producers in history, Quincy Jones.

[@TheUltimateSeeds]

I can't even remember all the many times when, in my little home studio, I pulled out a half dozen Neuman U87 microphones to mic the drums. I mean, who *doesn't* do that? 😜

[@koriqzia]

Is 7:58 where the "perfect" sample comes from?

[@DJLimeGreen]

SOOOOOOOOOO DOPE!

[@kagisorams898]

I appreciate you so much bro

[@rickythethird]

more mj content! love you brother

[@SpiritualDreamScapes]

How did you get around the Copyright issue for this video?

[@tekis0]

The acoustics course is only $40! I just might look into it. I definitely need to tighten up my room

[@dittus420]

very good video thanks!!

[@electricmaster23]

I think compression depends on the song. I like it for rockier tracks, but I’d use minimal (if any) compression for quieter tracks.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

@0:30 JBL 4311 sighting ! Nice tripods

[@Inaworldoflove]

I find it weird that your video is about recording techniques while your own voice out sounds like it's not recorded well. There is background noise. The dynamics aren't great either. You should record in a quiet area, use noise removal software when mixing, use some EQ to fix clarity and then some compression to even out the sound. You can even use side-chain compression to push down the music a tad to let your voice over have space.

[@DarrenGlen]

your voiceover could have used some level balancing with the videos and some compression....just sayin

[@S1E2SportQuattro]

“Ill see u in the next video” bro sounded like he was dying

[@jonartan4754]

I find it hard to believe he barely used compression.. Those early Louis Johnson bass tracks would have had a lot of dynamics that would be impossible to ride the faders on