Power Sessions: Part 5 - Calling Bob Clearmountain

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In Part 5 of this series, CLA takes us downstairs from Studio G to the legendary Avatar Studio A, where he makes a very special phone call to get an insider's look at some of the studio's lesser-known features. This is a must see!

[@MeAndTheBoys_]

So wonderful to see Chris Alge being a fan himself too :) Give the old masters like Bob C. the credit he deserves. Good job,Chris Lord-Alge sir :)

[@MixmanD28]

CLA mixes come through like vibrant and impeccable live performances. He has incredible mastery of his craft - far beyond mixing - and yet still humbles himself to his mentors, and works to ensure that they are properly credited for their work. RESPECT. There are too many musicians who steal credit for the work of others. CLA shows us how it should be done.

[@frederickthorne2496]

Roxy Music Avalon changed my life. That was my sonic aha moment when I was a kid listening to it on vinyl. The greatest sounding album, second to none.

[@henry-joemurphy2035]

+Frederick Thorne I remember exactly where i was at (an incredibly COOL "Loft" in "Alphabet City" part of NYC with my buddy Max O. and his g/f... We had a slight buzz and listened to the vinyl record over and over and over. About as perfect a song and mix as they'll ever be.

[@AliOmar-mv1cf]

hey 8

[@AliOmar-mv1cf]

hey 8

[@MountainViewStudio]

So much history

[@kingech_B15]

Bob is the man.

[@naminnooman]

Love to Chris The Lord, I mean this is really great in 2012. This is exactly what was missing a few years ago. I think we are going to hear a lot of passionate records made by these guys and of course the rest of us who will be inspired by these talks to push ourselves. God Bless

[@dorianwolff9538]

All-in-all and say what you will, he's a great mix engineer, albeit one with a bit of eccentricity. I respect his work and look forward to Nicholas Cage portraying him in a movie sometime soon. :)

[@anthonyerwin9848]

The look on his face when he found out that that stairway was the reverb on Brian Adams voice was priceless.

[@MiddleMalcolm]

Totally agree with Chris that Bob's influence on the sound of those early records, with Nile and Bernard, shouldn't be undervalued.

[@saheltaja]

Wow. It's nice to see one of the big guys go all fanboy ;) Bob Clearmountain totally deserves all the hype, though.

[@siriusfun]

Exactly. I've been mixing and mastering for 20yrs 'on the regular" - the Waves L-series maximizer plug-ins were about the worst thing that could have happened. Almost always pushed way too hard, they mess with phase, unfocus the middle of a mix, add a harsh graininess & cause snares to go "splat" instead of "crack"! We only use the Sonnox Limiter or the Slate FG-X for plug in options & yes - a VSC-2, Elysia Alpha or Fairchild 670 (along with a Massive Passive!) can take a mix far! :)

[@ivannio8519]

Hats off :) Super. Thank you

[@busywl69]

I should not like this guy but oh how I do. And clearmountain. I remember getting alive n kicking on 45 and thinking the sound could be better because this record sounds like I’m there. Got the 12”. Absolute heaven. Need to do sone looking into iovine. Thank the demon nestalt for youtube!

[@CarcPazu]

What I like about CLA is that he's such an humble person...

[@sweliam1]

CarcPazu Ahahaha....

[@misteradilost]

Love how Erica smiles @ 0:34 :)

[@L.A.W.Studios]

Hey people, it takes all kinds of folks to make up this world we live in... Instead of calling Chris a douche or whatever, or on the flip side: calling him a mix-god or some such thing.. How 'bout we call it as it is..which is that he is a a very competent mixer, who has tracked some of the best, with the influence of Clearmouintain ever-present, of course... OK?.

[@AliOmar-mv1cf]

on page

[@AliOmar-mv1cf]

on page

[@AliOmar-mv1cf]

on page

[@AliOmar-mv1cf]

on page l mm orange j b

[@AliOmar-mv1cf]

on page l mm orange j b

[@QuabmasM]

Ive been searching for hours for a video where they actually show you the stairway chamber reverb in action. Im certain Ive seen it within the last 8 or so months but cant seem to find such a video anywhere. This is the closest clip Ive found. Can anybody help me because I KNOW it exists. I thought maybe it was a Beato or Warren Huart CLA interview after noting I didnt find it in this clip. I swore the clip used the speakers & really allowed you to hear how long of a tail the chamber has.

[@caspermaster-com]

This is very cool.

[@nodaysback8390]

Sheik and Sister Sledge are two of the greatest records of all time?? IDK, CLA... that might be stretching it just a liiiiittle bit. Don't you think?

[@ivannio4783]

This is super

[@siriusfun]

Modern "brick wall" Mastering has a great deal to do with those unpleasant results as well.

[@LittleHellStudio]

Fantastic! :)

[@iammadeofsound]

Legendary! :)

[@Stillblissstudios]

Chris lord alge is a great mixing engineer. Bob clear mountain is just an ordinary person, not indulged in audio gear but the art of music.

[@heftosprod]

You sure CLA isnt Paul Stanley?

[@adamlewismusic13]

"oh that's nice" hahaha

[@siriusfun]

Not sure what that's about -- I don't see any such option selected in my account...

[@MattyDeath]

I wonder if they used an la2a on CLA's mic? lol

[@Chattyboy123]

"If the mix isn't loud enough up there, why don't we bring the mix closer to us"? THAT'S GENIUS ON SO MANY LEVELS! I should know because I'm currently studying Audio Production

[@justinoppus7091]

Someone had the balls to wipe it off.

[@samton88]

Chris Angel's obnoxious clacking jewelry got to the best of me.

[@JustinVodden]

1:57 are those Altec 604s? maybe E.

[@faraitheprod]

So many jealous people in the comments :D

[@siriusfun]

Ever since Focusrite entered the consumer market (as opposed to pro audio only), I've stepped away from them. I have a RED 3 and love it, but the mic pres and converters in the consumer grade Saffire stuff just don't compare to Lynx, RME, Metric Halo, etc. I'd deinitely recommend a killer stereo pre and the Lynx converters - quality of quantity! :) Bang for buck, check out the Universal Audio 2-610.

[@siriusfun]

Sure, man -- shoot me a Private message here and we'll chat!

[@Stillblissstudios]

Chris kinda luks like Nicholas C, c, Cage.

[@xXxTHEBEATMAKERxXx]

All that equipment and I bet i can achieve the close to the same sound in my bedroom studio A lol

[@TheSlickoify]

Cool… Let's hear it.

[@siriusfun]

Just sent a message... :)

[@yehudz]

i just did.

[@CharlesFerraro]

I listened to those Bryan Adams and Roxy Music songs... decent composition but generic lyrics for both. Those mixes maybe sounded good for their time but can't stack to productions of today. From a mixing perspective, Rebecca Black's "Friday" has more clarity than Avalon or Heaven. And I have to disagree with Chris on the reverb from the staircase, sample the impulse response and stick it in a convolution engine and you not only have a perfect replication but more control of the reverb overall.

[@adamlewismusic13]

He's absolutely nuts. He has zero idea of what he's talking about. Till this days, there are things that I hear on led zep, elvis and beatles track that I only wish I could have been there.

[@yehudz]

what about thumbs down?

[@NicenEasyuk]

So this kinda ruined the mini series for me.

[@citytonightproductions]

Man CLA is obnoxious at times....

[@rhinoskin7550]

Seriously.. He and Bob are maybe yin and yang? Haha

[@jamesrockford2626]

CLA is OVERRATED!

[@PeterSavad]

So you don't think his mixes sound amazing?

[@jamesrockford2626]

no, I think he is below average.

[@WhistleWorld]

James Rockford Yeah, I've heard James Rockford is an awesome mixing engineer...

[@jamesrockford2626]

PingaloBill Yes Rockfish is very very awesome at parallel compressing everything things to oblivion and flooding things in delay and reverb just like CLA

[@TheSomeCommenter]

His mixes sound good, but they all sound exactly the same