Show Us Your Junk! Ep. 25 - Sylvia Massy (Studio Divine) | EarthQuaker Devices

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for Sylvia's new series, STUDIO GO BOOM!, premiering very soon - Spring 2021!

[@elderchildren]

hell yes

[@zayasmith1184]

Plz thx u

[@natemickens88]

I can’t believe she didn’t give the guitar to Prince. Maybe he brings it back to her like the guy who returned the Stones electric amp. I bet that guitar story would’ve been more interesting if she let him have and got it back.

[@ZacharyCypert]

EQD I am a serious collector and I vote with Sylvia, PICKLE FUZZ.

[@tcttvradio]

Is she still alive after touching the top of the transformer?

[@shoegazeforever8810]

I don't think that I have ever been more impressed by a recording engineer.

[@eman0828]

Well shes more of a Record Producer that wears the Engineers hat. I'm a Producer as well that wears the Engineers hat in my own studio but outside of my studio I mainly serve as a Producer working alongside an Engineer in another studio.

[@mrnelsonius5631]

She’s got a impressive list of credits too :)

[@Clinterus]

Right? I just discovered her recently and I find her fascinating. Super talented and creative, and has some incredible stories

[@TravisHY]

@@Clinterus she has an amazing book she illustrated on recordi ng techniques. It's very, very, VERY good.

[@ericwarrington6650]

Agreed..check out Steve albini... amazing

[@petermurphy4456]

"cheese has an amazing blues tone. for real." Sylvia Massy is a national treasure and deserves her own TV show.

[@yunggrandma666]

As a woman in the audio industry, Sylvia Massey is one of my heroes. I obsessively collect old phones and mod them into mics, so it's amazing to learn that she does the same thing! Thank y'all for interviewing her!

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

Thanks for watching, Abby!

[@Btvstudio]

As a dude in the industry Sylvia Massy is an inspiration, she's got such a great attitude & such knowledge. I'd love to work with her.

[@IAmTheGreatestEver]

I can’t even remember how many sessions I recorded and mixed with that board at Sound City. As she said, it was their Studio B console. The board from Studio A is now in Dave Grohl’s Studio 606. We recorded and mixed Qotsa’s ‘Rated R’ on Sylvia’s board and mixed my ‘Sunrise on the Sufferbus’ album on it as well as dozens more that I’ll likely never be able to remember. Sylvia is a genius and a rare commodity in these days of lazy ‘in the box’ pro-tooles producers and engineers. What she does is necessary to counteract the lazy convenience of inferior sounding digital plug ins. And you don’t need to be rich to do it. EXPERIMENT with whatever oddball old pieces of junk that make an interesting sounding growl or buzz; an old radio, a $10 keyboard from a thrift store. If your born with the will to be a free thinker you can do what she does with 100th of what she has. Don’t be afraid. As I’ve said when music began transitioning to digital; Treat Protooles like a filthy pig. Mistreat it. Throw noise into it. Don’t be gentle with it. Use as few built ins as possible. Did you see the cassette recorder she uses as a compressor for drum tracking? There you go. No fear. Don’t be sterile. Be feral. CG

[@musiccityspotlightpodcast4470]

Right on man. She's awesome. What made that board special in your opinion? Or Have we just gotten too "clean" and expect a good sounding noise to come out of pro tools and not the musicians. ..

[@uncleant3780]

Love you Chris!!! Thanks for keeping that flag waving.

[@bille77]

You keep mentioning Protools. Fuck that. Use Cubase instead, my very sire.

[@pawlpoche8736]

Your a legend Chris. Love the Kyuss records!

[@pocketpicker6613]

@@bille77 I think he's talkin shit about it m8

[@cultureproject4786]

This woman is a mad scientist and I absolutely love it!!

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

What's not to love? Thanks so much for watching!

[@MsAlliwannadoisdance]

Sylvia Massy: The only person badass enough to tell Prince "No, you can't have this guitar."

[@troypeterson6057]

Anyone that is fascinated with Sylvia (as you should be) ought to pick up her "Recording Unhinged" book, it's really good, and a must have for anyone that is into this stuff

[@2000stephenellis]

Thanks I'll check it out 👍👍

[@JV-rx3ov]

Sylvia is a legend! I really wish that she would write a book about all of the unconventional tools she uses. Producers like her have acquired so much MacGyver-type knowledge that has become a lost art in the age of software/plug-ins.

[@marmaladecream2233]

She did write a book! It's called Recording Unhinged. It's on my short list.

[@codydoss6414]

she has! www.amazon.com/Recording-Unhinged-Creative-Unconventional-Techniques/dp/1495011275 super worth it

[@NeurodivergentMetal]

I used to clean spilled beer and cigarette smoke residue off that Neve console when it was at Sound City.

[@helluvakhai]

thank you for your service dude. 🤘

[@iainking671]

“Cheese has a great blues tone”. Best episode yet! So inventive! Total genius!

[@SeanKerns]

I love the oddball gear she uses, and the "whatever sounds cool" ethos. The world needs more mad scientists like Sylvia.

[@terminalglimmer]

I knew she was a big name in the engineering/production scene but wow I never knew she was this much of a weirdass. I love it. Will definitely listen to her work in a new light.

[@bassadelica]

Well, this video made my day. great to see the old SVT again. EarthQuaker guys, thanks so much for the care-package you sent Sylvia last year, it showed up right before recording our new Dishwalla album, so we pretty much used exclusively EQD stuff on the record. It was like Christmas in there, we just went crazy trying everything out. I remember The Park got used A LOT

[@ProducerBryan]

Just the sound of the "bag of tricks" hitting the table is a great sound. Damn, every video I watch of hers.. She gets it!

[@ModulatedDrummer]

Sylvia Massy is super inspiring. Thanks for making this EQD.

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

thanks for watching!

[@noahzeidman508]

The story about refusing to let Prince take the Gemini acoustic is absolutely amazing. What a legend.

[@EtcEtcAndEtc]

who says no to prince?! would love to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation!

[@robertreid2241]

God bless this woman. The joy she puts into recording is incredible

[@YHRS]

Sylvia, you are an inspiration to all of us. Keep on doing what you do!

[@marvinshenk]

As an audio guy, I have nothing but the highest respect for Sylvia Massy. I worked as an engineer/mixer/producer with a band that ended up working with Sylvia. They were worried I'd be upset that they wanted to work with her, like they were ditching me. I told them to go and have the great experience of working with one of the best ever. I had 10 percent of her talent at best.

[@alexchalcoff7198]

this is easily one of the coolest things you're ever going to find in the whole of the interwebs. period

[@stuart_rose]

“Cheese has a blues tone.” Gold! What a creative genius ❤️

[@fumanchuinbrackishwater]

How has this amazing person not come to my attention sooner? Thank you EQD for this series!

[@artemfedotov4209]

My mind is blown with her recording techniques and her personally!! so incredibly smart, creative and cool!

[@PhaktTheIsolationist]

Sylvia Massy could quite easily have had a different career as a hypnotist or therapist. I feel very relaxed. What an amazing lady. What a legacy.

[@stevenolsen3162]

C'mon baby light my pickle.... Best studio tour ever!!

[@MissYaBigMan]

Sylvia is a goddamn inspiration. She's been going at this longer than most and still is miles ahead in times of experimentation. Perfect chaos!

[@redstain1]

Wow, best one yet. I had no idea she was such a mad genius.

[@BareBandSubscription]

14:24 This is ridiculously clever and creative. This woman is so next level. EDIT: Okay, no, she’s a straight-up genius of recording engineering. I was not at all expecting food to get involved in this.

[@triestelondon]

Well done to all concerned - engaging, interesting, funny, well shot, recorded and edited.

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

Thanks for watching! We appreciate it!

[@KPG76]

Best youtube video ever. How can one be a gear nerd, think outside the box like a crazy artist and love life so much at the same time?

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

rare

[@allthingsclassicrock]

I’ve always loved her work. Very relaxing voice I could listen to her talk all day. Gear-talk related AMSR.

[@brianrodman1033]

Wow. That was a treat to get a look into her process, gear used, and some stories from sessions. I don’t think I’ve ever been so stoked to hear about mics before. Also really cool to see her break out the Soma Lyra 8. I had to smile when she used it running into the Arpenoid.

[@mikebruns8839]

That was totally freaking cool. What an amazing vibe and total obvious delight in recording from Neve and Neumann to total DIY craziness. Loved this episode. Who wouldn't want to record with her?

[@rylieriley]

Sylvia Massy has inspired me to get unconventional with my recording methods. I'm grateful to her for that because I really needed it.

[@hitmakerstudio6405]

Wow I'm very impressed with this Lady... definitely One of the best real life audio engineering studio tour i have seen... Love her insight of the craft.

[@smashingairguitars]

"....it's broken in just the right way." Now this lady is really dropping gems. One of the best episodes in the series.

[@RussArteaga]

Always had respect and love for Silvia. Now I realize she’s a mad scientist too!!

[@DanielZeeglerMusic]

One of the beat ones yet- she has so much fun!

[@vulgarnecrolatry]

She has such a good discography of work and she’s become on of my favorite producers with her love of unconventional techniques. My favorite was when she plugged a guitar in and drug it from behind the van.

[@navmanshack1579]

Jake carney what

[@SoundironAudio]

That studio was a vibe. Thanks for making this series!

[@ganglu]

Prince - I want that guitar! Sylvia - No, that's my guitar.

[@wearetemporary]

Omg I just love her so much. Such an inventive and creative mind.

[@wizmos74]

Amazing lady and room full of treasures,thanks for posting this video!

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

thanks for watching! Check out the whole series and subscribe for more.

[@terminalbliss]

What an amazing talent! I love her passion for experimental recording to get unique sounds.

[@craigshortmusic9458]

I love the slow transition from "analogue compressors are cool" to "let's splice in an extension cord and run sound through cheese"

[@MicroMark-cp5ui]

I love THIS LADY SHES A BEAUTIFUL SOUL WITH a HEART OF GOLD GOD BLESS you, Sylvia.

[@xpez9694]

The coolest!!! Love to hear her talk about all of her gear!!! Best show and tell EVER!

[@j.willgooseesq.2223]

This is one of the best things I've ever seen on the internet

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

more great stuff to come! thanks for watching

[@ssrymusic]

this person is just amazing. shes a true artist in the best sense of this word

[@pascalolejnik7347]

Pretty much the most creative producer/engineer I saw in my life! It would be a dream to record with her !

[@DinnerJamSkippy]

Oh hell yes. I'm so stoked you did Sylvia

[@vinny667]

This is the best Show Us Your Junk episode so far! I especially like the DIY tricks she shared. I'd be interested to learn more stuff like that.

[@nitrolx]

Sylvia is sublime. Oozing femininity, beautiful calming demeanor. And likes the 1073 because "you really can't fuck it up too bad". The woman is perfection.

[@spkay31]

Sylvia Massy is everything that is great about really experienced and creative sound engineers! You can see how she can definitely help get the best out of the musicians during a recording session.

[@chrisrcarlson]

This is a great episode. Sylvia knows her stuff. So impressed by her knowledge and hand in recording some of the best albums of the 90s. love the adventure recording gear and bag of tricks.

[@pauliestorm]

Love your production on Tools Undertow. The whole album is amazing!!!

[@analogdragon4709]

Yes Sylvia and show us junk is a match made in heaven!!

[@anthonystahl]

I've always admired her as a person, as well as her amazing work. Must be a blast to work with her!

[@marciocunha2639]

Always a pleasure to watch Sylvia talk so passionately about her craft. Glad to see someone working with highend gear but with an experimental edge to recording. Congratulations to Earthquaker Devices for such valuable content. I must have watched the whole series/videos by now. Oh, and I bought a Rainbow Machine, so now I'm one of the cool kids. Regards from Portugal.

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

Thanks for the support and interest Márcio! We will keep making fun videos and pedals for you!

[@LightningDogg]

Sylvia I love you and your junk. You are a fascinating woman. The knowledge you must have about recording and recording history is astounding. You're a StaR. Bless you.

[@flipnap2112]

how did I miss this? this was the best 37 minutes ive spent on youtube for years. she is AWESOME!! I went to engineering school but ended up working on the other side of the industry. got a home studio though and been tracking for 20 years. her outlook and how she records, with the talent right there in the room... just amazing!! I love how she says she doesn't have to look through the glass.. such a rare gem of a workflow.. and wow what a collection!! with the little army man standing guard over the groovy waves

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

Subscribe to our channel and never miss anything ever again! More great videos to come this year!

[@billyhughes9776]

Love Sylvia -- such a huge fan. What a blend of incredible creativity and technical prowess. So classy too.

[@maxonthetrack]

i love how excited she is about each piece of equipment and has passion for the art of recording/mixing, im reading her book now and its soo inspiring

[@paulamsmendes]

Wow, didn’t know she had a book! Will buy now.

[@latonpowers5356]

Love Sylvia Massey’s work. So knowledgeable. I also believe she’s one of the most beautiful women on Earth.

[@ModularLanding]

Haha I absolutely love the Prince story. “Flipping through a women’s magazine... and he was shopping for models... but that’s a whole nother story...” And Sylvia Massey is a legend :-)

[@johnnytruck2009]

Precious Junk! Love it!

[@rodrigocontreras1656]

I had no clue who Sylvia was prior, but damn she's a boss! Some great friggin history to go along with her extensive growing list of studio junk(treasures).

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

thanks for watching, Rodrigo!

[@charbaker]

Best 37 minutes I’ve spent in a long time.

[@TheGuitologist]

Sylvia, you seem super down to earth. I really dig that mic collection.

[@lloydbrothers3315]

Sylvia Massy is the ❤️‍🔥Goddess of Gear❤️‍🔥! Love the Earthquaker demo with the Soma Lyra! ✊️ Thanks for thus epic and amazing video with an amazing guest!

[@thewenttv]

Sylvia is the real thing! A musical mad scientist with receipts!

[@LFOVCF]

Did not know of this amazing woman until now. I'm sat here mesmerised by her knowledge and skill. Yup, just sat here shaking my dead. One uber cool lady!

[@meddle333]

She's got a book called Recording Unhinged which I strongly recommend! Tons of great, creative ideas in there!

[@thismaddesire]

by far the most educational and informative youtube video i have ever seen. fantastic!

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

thats great! thanks for watching! we will keep making vids

[@WilliamYoder72]

This and the Joe Barresi episode are my absolute favs. I love this series.

[@WilliamYoder72]

I forgot about Lee Ranaldo! That one too!

[@grandudetonesnob7107]

What a lovely gear geek Goddess! Ya can't help but love a lady who says "it sounds completely broken and I love it"🤘

[@GloveBunniesVideos]

"Cheese has a very blues-y tone." I could have guessed that. So cool!

[@AndyDemos]

I love the way her mind works! Awesome video 🤘

[@radiostationoffice]

Absolutely fabulous. What a great studio. Excellent stuff earthquaker 🎸🎹🥁

[@MrRockinguitar]

Sylvia Massy is legend ! I love her work in engineering and production, she is unmatched amongst todays recording greats. I have received nothing but positive feedback from artist's that have worked with her...….My favorite has to be her work with the band MADSIDE, excellence in recording !!!!!!!

[@brianhudson7058]

Amazing Sylvia, and thanks for all you do for music in the front, middle or back

[@pocketpicker6613]

18:15 That Maynard impersonation was on point, lol

[@mikeh66]

She's a mad scientist, lol. The use of lightbulbs, wow!

[@Fatherflot64]

This video has brought me more joy than almost anything I've experienced in the last year. The look of delighted mischief on Sylvia's face when she demonstrates the Earthquaker pedals is priceless.

[@uncleant3780]

Sylvia is so dope! Her n evil joe have the most wonderful childish wonder/boundary-less approach to sound. It's infectious.

[@Miika_Laurila]

My favourite band Tool debut album Undertow is produced by Sylvia Massy. Amazing producer, thank you!

[@ToddSpoth]

Im super stoked that I stuck this one out till the end. I love it! Shes amazing!

[@willb3698]

yes - the temptation was there as always with the internet. But yes, Me too.

[@rodericmege4549]

Sylvia's book is huge, no doubt, but watching her experimenting is magic ! Sylvia, PLEASE, PLEASE, create a video podcast with a very good image and sound and show the world how crasiness and inspiration is the best in life ! Thanks !

[@AlexMitti]

Best episode yet! sylvia is the greatest.

[@dettwideo]

Always such a joy to listen to her. So much Information. Thanks!

[@highgateclub6498]

Just make more ‘Show us your Junk’ vids, so good 🤘🏼

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

WE WILL! Subscribe for more! Tell a friend

[@stepitupandgo67]

OMG this is mind blowing..I've been in this studio and had no idea of the history of her gear....wowza....sylvia is amazing...

[@billclinton6040]

"Those damn drummers and their cymbals!" hahaha, lol luv it!

[@taejun9017]

What an amazing studio, such a creative vibe having everyone in the same space. She's awesome.

[@wonkylommiter6364]

My new favourite person on the planet ever!! :-)

[@PDXLimey]

Excellent - so many cool nuggets of info. Sylvia has worked on so many records I love. Much respect!!.... and that SVT! As a bass player I'd love to give it a whirl.

[@reverball-stars4581]

"Sylvia Massey Radio Show" is the best idea I've heard in years

[@wonkylommiter6364]

Agree, this needs to happen!!

[@TimGn]

She's amazing... Sylvia is a Boss! I love her KZbin Channel and her work. Audio production for the soul.

[@hoboroadie]

Sylvia has a KZbin channel?

[@victorloya1590]

She is amazing.

[@tomsonkolson9007]

Those videos keep getting longer and longer! Love it ❤️❤️ hope to see more of them soon. The best series on KZbin, thank You EQD! 🍻PS Sylvia is a mad scientist! What a great episode.

[@EarthQuakerDevices]

Thank you for watching them! Tell a friend!

[@tomsonkolson9007]

@@EarthQuakerDevices I'm totally telling them about this show since day 1!