Making Records with Eric Valentine Questions & Comments 3 29 23

In this episode, I answer questions and comments from the previous questions episode (3/22/23) and the Nickel Creek episode!

[@the_adam_gallant]

Wow, incredibly generous of you to take all this time replying. No question, just a massive thank you!

[@6WireBender]

Kinda refreshing to see Eric with a shirt on again!

[@DMKahn]

😂😂

[@recordthechord]

You are a treasure to the whole music making community. Thank you!

[@veritaschurch723]

I have to say. The new Nickel Creek is easily your finest work. An amazing marriage of beautiful old school sonics and modern esthetics. Beautiful job. Unbelievable players...wow. The skill of their musical abilities really seems to have met it's match will your production skills. Great record.

[@AdrianSternMusic]

Hello Eric! You were talking about how Tube Traps solved your Room Problems in a previous Episode. Can you tell us how you built them? What materials did you use? Is it complicated? Thank you from Switzerland

[@aarongoforthofficial]

Yes this would be super helpful info!!

[@diegoromero2769]

Hey there! I think he mentioned in the previous Q&A video he said he's gonna be filming a full breakdown of how he approached the DIY tube traps he made. So I think we are all super excited to see this video when he eventually does it, because it sounds like a major breakthrough for how Eric monitors his work and how he hears his speakers.

[@scoopsdardaris1662]

Lol thanks for answering my question, and also pronouncing my last name right!

[@soulflower8687]

your commitment to giving back to the recording community with your answers is unique and very appreciated

[@marcelosuarez3027]

Man! thanks so much for sharing your references. Also, I frikking love the Nickel Creek record, such an american sounding record, so beautifully recorded, and SO MUCH VIBE for such a clean recording at the same time, it's amazing. Lastly, just wanted to say, your way of talking about all of this, I almost feel like you're my buddy, i swear i laugh at your humour as if I knew you for a while. Anyhow, amazing video of you taking time to have a conversation with the audience. Thanks for the wealth of knowledge and fun.

[@davewestner]

I feel your vibes on Atmos. Ech is right. Seems like such a great idea, but dang, what a time and $$ suck it is to get set up for it. ug

[@johnchristopherfee]

Love these episodes! I love watching you go deep into the sessions of old songs. Can you one day do Greek Tragedy by the Wombats? The drum sounds are INSANE on that record and I'd love to see how you tracked them!

[@jbonesmusicland]

You really hit the nail on the constructive criticism Eric. Something i learned from working with Arif Mardin watching him get the best out of everyone at the sessions with encouragement and enjoying it much more and seeing better results than other producers did with intimidation and discouragement. I've since incorporated it into my life as a whole. The best to you and your family! Love your channel!

[@TyroneSlothrop33609]

Eric, thank you so so much for doing this-- it's impossible to overstate how valuable these videos are. 1.About how long does it generally take you to do a mix from start to finish? Your mixes are so intricate, and a lot of them involve what seems like incredibly time-consuming work, like automating the threshold of a gate for every drum transient (for example). And do you ever struggle with maintaining perspective on a mix when you've been working on it for a long time? 2. Do you have any advice for getting better at the all-important skill of being able to conceptualize the way you want something to sound in your head, and then effectively realize it in a finished product-- relevant to both producing and mixing. I feel like I'm at a point where I can mix pretty well, and my stuff sounds decently good, but I often find myself going down the path of least resistance, repeatedly doing the same things I know will work, and at times it can feel like I'm a one-trick pony. I want to get better at having a cohesive vision before I even open Pro Tools and then really working towards that vision the whole time. Thank you so much!

[@Drummerboy106]

Hi Eric, loving these videos. I have a few questions for your next Q&A. 1. What converters are you going with for the new studio? 2. Are are you typically recording in 96k? 3. Do you have a favorite brand / series of capacitors that you go with for your designs? Thanks!

[@mattperreault3518]

Thanks a ton for doing this!! Very inspiring and great to hear that you’re using some Vermont magic already! Incredible sounding record!

[@fricknanklin]

"perfect is a moving target" - LOVE that!!

[@bobbarney1923]

Hi Eric! Your videos have been a catalyst for so much of my mix / recording approach! My question is, can you go into detail about your approach for “using yours ears” to record a sound; be it loud like drums or something quiet that is meant to be loud or otherwise? Some engineers focus on finding the low end to support the upper frequencies, some say distance in mic’ing technique is your friend? Also, can you please speak to when you find it necessary to use multiple mics on a source. Thanks! Bob

[@bobbarney1923]

Ok…to add to this, since you know ahead of time how you may be processing a given track, it’d be helpful to know what you’ve learned to listen for on a given source to ensure that you got the capture you needed in the first place. Thanks!

[@joeblack007forever]

Thank you Eric for your reference song list :) Never heard half of thoses songs so it will be a pleasure to listen to them :) Great and very useful video as always!

[@EDEN-LIMINAL]

Thanks for this effort! This reference list is different and interesting, I dig Tchad Blake (Arctic Monkeys' Why'd you only call me... is fabulous!). The Black keys album I am going to listen to meticulously. Yours, I reference a lot from: - 3EB's London and God of wine - T-Ride's Zombies from Hell (thanks for the deconstruction!) and Heroes and Villains (that instrumental version!) - Deathray's Only lies - Smash Mouth's All Star It shows you pursue how to make each moment unique. I am learning a lot from Manny Marroquin (Sia's Unstoppable), Serban Ghenea and John Hanes (Imagine Dragons's Enemy and Katy Perry's The one that...), Nicky Ryan ( Enya's Only Time), Mutt Lange (Shania's I'm gonna getcha good and The Corrs' Breathless). If you had the time to ponder about it here, what are you thoughts regarding atmos/immersive/etc...? Both from a consumer experience and from a mixer's side. Regards, Jon

[@tennesseekamanski]

Like others have said it's pretty amazing that you provide all this great info! When you were showing the RCA 77 freq charts it looks like you also did them for various m160's of various years? I'd be extremely curious to see those! In your experience are the older silver m160's special or different sounding than subsequent versions? Thanks!

[@jason.martin]

This is extremly informative to see. Eric have you looked at any of the Wes Audio stuff or Bettermaker for its recall ability?

[@samlench8522]

I want to hear more about the Common Man Cocktail Hour playlist 😅

[@iagol9737]

Hey Eric! Thanks for doing this 😊 Here's my GB Tracker question: Since the GB tracker is designed to connect the output straight to A/D, could I use it like a regular DI going to the mic input of a preamp? Using, for example my TG2 for a different vibe. Thanks!!

[@EricChesek]

Thanks for answering the cold plunge question! Neat. 😁

[@eazyhiro9689]

Need that t-shirt!

[@tab2072]

Following on from the point you made towards the end about spill between instrument/vocal mics giving you great depth and image: in such a huge room do you have any phase issues between sources in the same way you might on a multi-mic drum or amp recording, or are they far enough away from each other that it’s negligible?

[@wojzeck]

Hi Eric! Since you've been so open about money in the past: I'm sure lots of people are wondering what it'd cost to make a record with you at the new studio. What would be the smallest conceivable figure (for example: for an independent EP that could be finished in a week or two at most). Bonus question: would you be open to mix/master individual singles/songs if you particularly liked them (and again, what would be a realistic amount for that)? Thanks so much for being so open/approachable and taking the time to answer all these questions!

[@ericfrison8868]

Regarding heating a big live room, if ground heating is the best option, couldn’t you just lay down large electronic heating pads and cover them with a long carpet runner or large rugs? You could then set up heat “zones” for each musician and/or roll it up during summer if necessary. I'm not sure this type of solution exist, but would that maybe be an efficient heating solution? Love all the videos! 👍

[@kal8984]

Hey all! Those Barefoot IRs have been available on Cian's website for a while :) last link on his "Links" page. Thanks to Cian and to Eric!

[@andrewagostini4077]

Hey Eric, love your content! I don’t think you’ve done this before but was wondering if you would eventually do an in depth demo or explanation of the MPEQ-1s.

[@stijnvanrijsbergen8255]

Hi Eric! Thanks for these, so much valuable information you're putting out there all for free, haha. I finally thought of a couple things I haven't seen discussed and would maybe be good to talk about :) On the psychology of producing: -From all your stories I get the feeling that you're persistent to a fault when chasing a record's best version. Have you always gotten there in the end, and if not, what is the point when you just throw your hands up and/or pass it along to someone else? -For that matter, how do you deal with the situation where the artist really digs a song and wants to record it, but you don't like it and/or are completely indifferent to it? Do you just go on autopilot? (For context, I worked with an artist on a song I didn't really dig but had to take the job - worked on it off&on for like 8 months, getting it from a subjective 3/10 to a subjective 6.5/10, and it almost killed my love for music and with it my mental health single-handedly.) Practical nonsense: -Ever tried Wavesfactory Spectre? Got into it from working with some hiphop-adjacent guys (Jaycen Joshua uses it a bunch, I believe), and it's almost completely replaced Saturn in my mixing. It does a magical thing to me, which is 'I want to hear this frequency and it doesn't matter if it was even previously there or not.' Like a more-or-less parametric Saturn. I love it SO MUCH. -You ever think about loudness, dynamic range and such while mixing? (I did a mix last month that sounded great and big to all of us while having drums kinda low, and therefore little punch; but the mastering engineer (real solid pro, not a bad thing to say about him) had a real hard time getting it to feel anything but small and clipped and flat at full blast. -I fully understand it if you don't want to talk about this for career reasons, but as a fellow loud rock drummer and loud-music-enjoyer-turned-producer/mixer, how are your ears? It's kind of a taboo subject for obvious reasons but like, I started playing drums and seeing shows at 4, and my ears are functioning pretty fine, but they definitely don't go as high as other peoples'. Gregory from Kush had a good video about it last year, and I do think it's ultimately part of health in the studio, which as an audio community we absolutely should be focusing on more. Thanks a lot! Doing the lord's work there, Eric. :) Cheers! Stijn ------------------- You can leave this out of the video but on the psychology of making art I 2000% wholeheartedly recommend CJ The X here on YT! Their videos '7 Deadly Art Sins', 'Subjectivity in Art' (but honestly all of them) are deeeeeep-dives into art that honestly get incredibly profound at fucking ADHD-lightspeed. Like Rick Rubin on PCP but funnier. As a body of work it's honestly the most impactful thing on my worldview in yeaaaaars, I truly can't recommend it enough. AND also Pat Finnerty, simply bc he's like a post-modern music youtuber who seems truly uninterested in making the most polished capital c Content, just absurdist post-ironic deadpan 'essays' about shitty songs that are laugh-out-loud funny. The ambition is unrivaled, by his literal 4th video he was staging an international protest against Train. I feel like it'd be your sense of humor!

[@rome8180]

I don't think the Atmos thing is a passing fad. In addition to it being self-configuring, you can also experience some semblance of it on headphones. That makes the cost of entry affordable to almost everyone. And, like you mentioned, streaming services are now requiring it in order to be playlisted. The KZbinr/mixer/producer Colt Capperune had a good video on why it's here to stay. He called it the biggest development in the music industry since stereo, and I have to agree. Personally, I'd love to have an Atmos setup just to listen. My friend's band is getting their stuff mixed in Atmos. He told me hearing their music that way, in an actual Atmos room, was like a religious experience.

[@aarongoforthofficial]

Thank you Eric. You perspective and experience has really helped a lot of people! I have a 2 part question. What are your thoughts on room correction software? And what are your thoughts on using room correction software with NS-10's?? I am currently using NS-10's and a sub. I've addressed all my room issues to the best of my abilities with Fuzz Measure and acoustic treatment. I use Sonarworks to flatten out any other anomalies that I can't fix. But is this setup counter productive? Meaning should I not be correcting the curve of the NS-10's? Am I correcting what they were intended to be used for? There is so much debate on NS-10's being a game-changing speaker or being snake oil. I hope you can dedicate some time to this topic, because I'm confused to what purpose they should be used for and I think a lot of other upcoming mix engineers are too.

[@angeloboltini]

Re: Beatport mixes. Couldn't you run the stereo mix into the sidechain of the 2bus compression? Then print stems and in theory have the same pumping happening when you combine them.

[@angeloboltini]

(By the way, that's not my idea haha. Michael Brauer does/did that with his SSL!)

[@bonzology322]

Hi Eric, same problem with re ribboning not achieving optimum results, best I’ve had was work done by Samar audio, if they still do re ribboning you won’t be sorry

[@tvd1188]

Hey Eric - Suggestion for these Q+A vids. Maybe you could chapter-ize them, so one could fast forward to a question they may have more interest in. Just a thought! thanks.

[@agbdf2002]

Can you walk through your 500 series inductor rack and your move or loves in the 500 series space?

[@jerryososkie839]

Hi Eric, Have you experimented with the Dolby Atmos Music panner and renderer using headphones in the binaural setting? It's definitely not quite the same as mixing in a 7.1.4 room, but it gives you a pretty good idea of what the average listener will experience. I've been mixing singles for Robert Hayes and the new SM lineup this past year and it's made the transition to Atmos easier.

[@silverbeetle]

Will be cool to see you go down the Atmos journey in real time :)

[@paul771]

Hi Eric, you mentioned that you had pickups on the instruments for the Nickel Creek sessions for your direct signals. I'm curious what those pickups were? Were they the same pickup for each instrument, or...? Thanks!

[@TrueFallacy]

What lav mic do you use? Any vocal chain or treatment on the lav mic audio for talking head shots? Sounds great 👍

[@Voyager23548]

Master Bus question: If you were going to put to two non-detented EQ’s across a stereo mix (I’ve got two Pultec 500 series), do you go about matching the chosen settings in a scientific way? Or just get close enough using your eyes & ears and any little discrepancies between the two are part of what give the mix some charm vs. having them perfectly matched? And how about recall-ability? Thanks Eric!

[@elimontoya1969]

I'm not sure if you've covered this in past episodes, but could you speak on the acoustic isolation/wall construction in your new place? What materials are you using for insulation, over the studs, etc.? I'm building a modest studio and would love to know what you've learned about studio construction. Thanks for taking the time, man. We're all honored to "hang out" with you.

[@zuu1701]

Hey, he has an old video about all of this. It’s titled something like ‘tuning your monitors in a room’

[@elimontoya1969]

@@zuu1701 Oh, cool. Thank you for the info. I hate making him repeat himself when he's covered topics already. 👍

[@zuu1701]

@@elimontoya1969 No problem :) Although the title of the video talks about monitoring, he goes really in depth about accoustic treatment & wall construction :)

[@elimontoya1969]

@@zuu1701 Excellent. Thank you again!

[@6L6Master]

What size tube traps do you make? What are the dimensions of the pipe insulation?

[@zuu1701]

Hey Eric, not so much a question but can you please shout out about the potential workshop/in person masterclass you talked about in this video at your place. I would kill for an opportunity to attend something like that with you.

[@DMKahn]

Must have felt really great to use the barn room for that massive violin sound! Was that the first thing you used the room for musically?

[@fonte935]

When printing stems and hitting a final stereo compressor, have you experimented with the side chain of the compressor still receiving the full mix, so the compressor is still reacting as it would on the final mix?

[@DMKahn]

This made my brain hurt but I finally got it lol

[@fonte935]

@@DMKahn I probably could have phrased it better. :). If Eric reads this in the next QA I'm going to sound like an idiot hahaha.

[@jimmyether]

Which Magnatone model did you end up using? Twilighter? (usually brown tolex with a chevron or two on the speaker grill. It also has vibrato, tremolo, and reverb on it.)

[@hoojamaflicks]

hi eric excellent video as always. how did you capture the frequency graphs of the ribbon mics like that? that's something I am very interested in doing.

[@jasonsneed3731]

Hey Eric just wondering if you ever rock the Alan Smart C2 still or has the Unfairchild made it obsolete?

[@ConReising]

Hey Eric, do you ever run into phase issues when micing acoustic and vocal using ribbons? A lot of times I feel like when I position them to get the best isolation individually, when I play back the two signals together it feels like something gets lost (ie some sort of cancellation). However, if I position the capsules to be more phase coherent, then the isolation isn’t as good. Is this just the nature of the beast?

[@TomCatSound]

I have the same Orion as you but I usually record in 48k. Am I missing out by not recording in 96k?

[@joshbenshosh]

That new UnFairchild merch shirt is looking amazing🥵

[@prairieboyTV]

What direct pick ups were you using on the Nickel Creek project? Thank you!

[@allwashedup]

Yo Eric! I do a video podcast and love your work. Please send me one of your UnFairchild shirts so I can wear it on camera?! 😊🤘🏻 xx

[@gregedenfield1080]

Linda Ronstadt- What's New....N Riddle Orc......AMAZING!!!!!!! check it out.

[@RussellProthero]

On Dolby Atmos I found this recently: Trevor Horn's take on it from his masterclass video. Question start and ends at 49:40-52:00. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5W5qnuEi7qsldU

[@Richard_P_James]

Hi Eric - what AD and DA converters do you use?

[@noahmirotta6503]

How do you measure the response of the ribbon mics? Can you explain? Thanks

[@darkironman07]

It looks like he is using FuzzMeasure 3 or FuzzMeasure 4 as his software. And judging by the uneven response he is putting the mic infront of a speaker and running a sweep without any correction.

[@idrum.iproduce]

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