The Best Sounding Room in the World

🎸 Get the UAD Sound City Studios plug-in here: bit.ly/3QSHlFE
Massive thanks to Universal Audio for sponsoring this video, what an honour!
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00:00 - The Legendary Studio
01:13 - A Unique Sound
02:05 - Let Me Show You Around
03:26 - Guitar
03:51 - Drums
04:11 - Bass
04:41 - The History (Part 1)
06:30 - We Get Deep
07:28 - The History (Part 2)
09:47 - Sound City in Your Home

[@MarySpender]

🎸 Get the UAD Sound City Studios plug-in here: bit.ly/3QSHlFE Massive thanks to Universal Audio for sponsoring this video, what an honour!

[@Stefan-]

Is there any reason why all the sound samples in the middle of the video was mono, even the L and R guitars ? At the very end of the video there was a stereo mix.

[@bluebook2681]

Well done for getting on UAD's radar! As you are now in the plug-in world, here's a question: have you ever sampled your voice? A sample pack of you doing the classic ahh, mmm and ooh sounds, especially in your lower register, would be quite something. Recording the sampling process and showing the results would make for a interesting KZbin video too

[@Wowom]

One of the most elegantly integrated sponsor and product demo I've seen on KZbin, well done

[@ralfklonowski3740]

I am not a recording musician, but loved the demos as well as the storytelling. Thanks a lot!

[@MJinPitt]

Non-musician here but I just watched every second of the video. Loved the storytelling aspect on top of the tech.

[@DrVaticinator]

Me too, Mary is the best, found her because Rick Beato.

[@davidtiessen7713]

same.

[@chrislink73]

sounds great, love the natural reverbs and old console overtones from the vintage Neve. Sound City is just legendary, and UA is doing a great job continuing that legacy.

[@lundsweden]

I love Universal Audio plugins, theres always something a bit more special about them.

[@sword649]

The British voice is one of the best sounding for narration, yours is stellar Mary, thanks! 👄👁👄

[@shanepatrickward]

she really needs to do an audio book.

[@stillavenue]

Mary this is like the best product demo video i’ve ever seen! Great work, UA owe you huge on this one. I had preordered this plugin so I was messing around with it already, it’s amazing! I’ve also watched a lot of other peoples demo videos that came out since the plugin came out but this is a work of art! The examples, the history, the cinematography… exceptional! Keep working hard! Cheers!

[@The_History_Man]

This❤. This is what you do better than so many others. I love this kind of content from you! Great stuff!

[@willshanks3964]

Beautiful! Amazing and inspiring work, Mary!

[@WCworkhorse]

Another great video. I see that the uptick in videos is growing the channel. Thanks as always.

[@Musician-Lee]

I’m always learning from your channel, Mary. This is no exception ❤

[@MichaelMcBride58]

Excellent coverage of Sound City.

[@DavidMyrickPlus]

heyyy good timing on the release, cool to see your review so soon and that you're getting early access!

[@Danksta02]

I think this was your best video ever. Well done.

[@brucemartinez5343]

That recording you play at the end sure has that Robin Ford sound which I love, great work .

[@Joebd44]

Great video, Mary! I'm getting this. No need to think twice. Great demo!

[@michaelgehringmusic8440]

To say there is something special about SOUND CITY is an understatement. It is more than a console or a room. It is the spirit of music coming to life.

[@itsgmani]

I bought the signature edition plugin pack a few weeks ago and just saw this was in my download list. What a pleasant surprise.

[@paulbaldwin5037]

Love this, Mary. Thanks for making your work and your thoughts around music so accessible. It’s getting to know the magician and still being captivated by the magician’s tricks.

[@adamwoolf9993]

Love the variety of content on your channel. Awesome

[@brentsmithline3423]

This takes me back seeing the reverb room. When I worked at NorthWestern Motion Pictures, and Sound Recording Studio, Inc. (NWI) Portland, Oregon ( ORY-GUN ) ours was on the third floor. Always loved what you could do with a room with solid floor, walls, ceiling, high-end monitor speaker, and microphone.

[@SuperShawn2020]

I went by there today. This is my first ever visit to LA. What a great place for a music fan!!!

[@AndrewMasters]

Great video Mary

[@MoreisMor]

That was dramatic on a number of levels, truly a wonderful complement to Grohl's documentary

[@EMERALDLIONSOUND]

Very much enjoyed the mix knowledge, facts, and sound examples of your music. Excellent work.

[@reallygreatloops]

IM OBSESSED WITH THIS PLUGIN! REALLY!!!

[@davidk5921]

This was so interesting, I really enjoyed the history and the way you presented it.

[@cataclysmicconverter]

“Sound City” is one of the best music documentaries out there. Dave Grohl’s “Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways” not long after that is also a great one to watch about some of the most magical studios in the business. A similar and lesser known story and before Dave’s acquisition was Lenny Kravitz’s purchase of some of the original gear from Abbey Road Studios that he keeps the magic happening with.

[@Willsonix]

Brilliant video!

[@mattskalicky]

That song! ❤❤

[@petewaugh]

Been using it for the past few days and it really is great. Works best if you minimise/remove any ambient reverb on original tracks. Love it on drums.

[@jamiemcbride4226]

Hey Mary I gotta say whenever you’re talking about something whatever it may be you’ve done your homework and your knowledge is on point rock on ms spender

[@kitmateyawa7829]

My go to room sound. Amazing that we can get this in a plugin.

[@KristaMadden-dk8tl]

Sounding good!

[@keneisner3445]

Nicely done. Just a heads-up that the locals pronounce it Van Eyes, California.

[@carolmartin4413]

Fascinating...that story comes full circle...nice for the Skeeter family. Glad your plant is back but it looks pale?

[@stonebear]

Wow. On the one hand, the story of that studio is *fascinating*, and I'm glad to see that it's gonna live on (and that Dave got that GORGEOUS console)... on the other, to replicate the "room" and be able to totally VR what you're doing in that virtual space and with that virtual console - to have something like that copied into cyberspace, if you will... I've been on the 'net since before there *was* a 'net, remember when 16-bit sound was hot stuff... and still, this kinda blows my mind. If, Universe forbid, the Big One hit LA tomorrow, we would not lose That Sound... we've forever embedded it in the virtual amber of a hard drive... wow.

[@pressonc]

I love the key choices you use in this track, especially in the guitar.

[@davidgardell]

Now I am *really* curious if they ever reached out to Dave to see if they could use that console, *the* SCS console, used on all these famous albums mentioned. Btw (someone correct me if I'm wrong), the Nevermind album was recorded there, but later mixed on an SSL 4000 "G" console.

[@billyfields7722]

That's sounds like it's give you the chills.

[@stevelestermusic]

very nice!

[@sylvainbujold9084]

Merci Mary , très belle voix en plus 😊

[@markshveima]

To UA and you: 👏👏👏👏👏

[@nickshall1]

I’ve been playing with this this afternoon. Unbelievably good. No idea how they did it but this is a game changer

[@Drfresh1402]

100%. I can’t believe we have this.

[@LDdrums20]

Your vibrato is absolutely beautiful

[@3XATHAT]

Mary, I Appreciate Your Cool and Detailed Insights into SOUND CITY and a Sweet Piece of UA Tech. Well Stated Cheers AAA

[@southernchillacoustic]

We hear thousand of great songs and know about thousand of great artists but so little about the people and studio behind them which I think is a big factor on each song we hear. We need more videos like these...HISTORY...ANALOG... specially this era with AI creeping in. Wonderful content! ❤

[@dwaynearthur1476]

Another non musician here , excellent story telling . Don’t stop …..😊❤. We can miss so much of the back story in music and technology history , this is very timely.

[@blaiseutube]

I love the way she pronounced Van nuys. It makes it sound sophisticated.

[@michaeldorcey9305]

😂😂😂Van Nuys, sophisticated?😂😂😂

[@JpeterZoom-gt3pn]

Great idea!!

[@davidellis5141]

Love The REO Speedwagon title ..You Can Tune A Piano 🎹 But You Can't Tuna Fish 🐟 !

[@CANNIMAGINE]

A few years ago I watched the Sound City movie( I highly recommend it) and then checked online and they had a store so I bought a Sound City Tshirt. I'm not sure if they are still available because it was years ago.

[@daved9665]

6:05 Thanks Marry for the new word - eponymous 😃. KZbin's closed captions translated it "anonymous" (LOL), so I had a time trying to figure out the spelling of the word for which the Webster dictionary would return a result. I just purchased the plugin on sale for a massive price reduction. By far the midi drums I put through it absolutely brought them to life, even for quantized tracks. Did you know you can edit the text in the KZbin closed caption auto generator after the fact to fix errors? Handy feature.

[@johntaft771]

Years ago I took a guitar to Eric's Guitar Shop in Van Nuys. I recalled it was in a weird place and a strange property. Some time later i watched Dave Grohl's "Sound City" documentary. I qickly sat up and said, "I know where that place is! Cool!" The history of that place is anazing. Thanks for the journey.

[@TheFrasweet]

Immense thank you for education work done here. The crowd (here in user land )is varied but your way to explain hits that variety with enough prowess, and a very light touch, to get through to almost all of us. I too did not know what the “plug-in” plugged into but assumed it was recording software. Not a problem. The history of where several of my favourite albums came from was worth twice the price of admission. that being watching till the end. And then watching again. I agree that a companion video would be Muscle Shoals, or perhaps Abbey Road.

[@thureinphyo9768]

Will never get bored of ur voice.

[@Simmons2358]

Whatever else you are, you are a very good narrator.

[@NoirOp78]

Great videos you're making. Out of interest, what are your thoughts on The Libertines?

[@seancollins9745]

Dave Grohl has the console and a bunch of the hardware out of there, as well as has built some really good rooms at the Foo Fighters studio IIRC

[@Highqman1974]

Ive got Daves "Sound City" movie in my movie library. Great movie!

[@suites.74]

I love IR of real studios! I'm gonna buy this plugin lol. This awesome video worked. Good watch too!

[@user-ec3tb9xe6p]

Informative, entertaining, and perfectly presented. Boom.

[@Motowndonna8]

Brilliant all around.

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

Hell yeah! This is the best plugin UAD has released in ages! definitely on my list, can't afford it right now but sooon... Also I'm super excited about all their native plugins and that this is one of them (though a DSP version and unison pre version would be amazing!). By far the best in the industry!

[@onoesmurlocs]

I think if you have never used UADspark before you can get 3months trial for $1 currently , just thought I'd mention it.

[@SlightlyTechnical]

i want this plugin so bad ,its amazing

[@zzzaphod8507]

0:04 For me that album was recorded in Abbey Road Studios. Still, interesting indeed to hear the plug-in at work!

[@laloelsalamanca]

Is this video a 10 minute commercial for UA SCS plugin? Nevertheless it's a subtle, tasty and classy docummercial.

[@markcarrington8565]

Hi Mary I recently added the Kevin Gray 45rpm versions of those 2 Fleetwood Mac albums. The sound quality is sublime and your video goes a long way to explaining why. Great story, thank you.

[@jeffbosch1697]

Interesting. I wonder if Apple Studios will be a future plugin.

[@from.the.basement]

Awesome Video :)

[@didifischervideo]

I tested the UA Sound City plugin, I watched the Sound City film from Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) - and it's a wonderfull room for drummer. And I like this dry sound. The Neve Console is part of this famous sound, but for my personal taste, the Neve Console sounds better with all other instruments in another room. IMHO

[@davidgardell]

Yeah, it's a bit misleading mentioning all these hit records, recorded on a Neve, when the plugin is modelled after Helios...

[@DoNuT_1985]

I recommend watching the Sound City: Real To Reel documentary and listening to the soundtrack featuring some cool original songs with killer features such as Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Josh Homme and Dave Grohl all over the place.

[@escapist502]

wow! One of my fave youtube musicians working with UAD! Locked and loaded with Complete 2, including this gem of a plug in. LOVED this video, thanks a million! Congrats Miss Mary!

[@pandaartstudios1]

dave grohl bought the recording board that nirvana recorded on its in the foo fighters studio

[@shannonmonroe1694]

Didn't even mention one very important artist from the late 70's and early 80's.....the legendary Rick Springfield....he cut Jesse's Girl amongst many other songs there. JS

[@brymills]

I thought Sound City was long gone after Dave Grohl bought the Neve desk - glad to see it’s still going.

[@Naiaizumi]

hmmm ... I'm kinda curious to try it as someones whos spent alot of time there.

[@flogginga_dead_horse4022]

Now I feel like listening to REO and Cheap Trick

[@adamphillips6747]

That Buckingham Nicks record has always been one of my faves of all time. I wish they never would have joined Mac. Mick knew what he was doing by buying Lindsey's talents. So what I gather, this is basically just another reverb.

[@davidself5235]

That's awesome, what a wonderful time to be alive.

[@gzappa]

The difference is amazing.

[@MikeMalleyGuitar]

The unique thing about music today is that you don’t need a fancy record label behind you, I would argue that it’s better not to have one. More often than not, they bend you over. You’ll make more $$$ doing it yourself.

[@guitargrin]

U2 just recorded Atomic City there.

[@Fl4ppers]

Sun Studios is one of the other iconic places, Abbey Road too. These places are constructed differently to your average bedroom

[@ladisswash-haroom5029]

As great as they are...i still prefer Alice in chains all day

[@davidellis5141]

Nutshell ! 👍

[@briansrensen8204]

I have given up on this plug-in due to phasing issues. Great idea though and it sounds great until you mix it in and all body and punch disappears.

[@shadowgolem9158]

Unless it was recorded at Muscle Shoals. 😊

[@tylerhackner9731]

Legends

[@Psytheon101]

I just LOVE your voice, speaking & singing, just beautiful, & of course your pretty too 😉

[@rocketsauce5067]

If you use it moderately on most things it's natural. If you got crazy you can go into full sound design.

[@Uatu-the-Watcher]

Buckingham Nicks, baby! :-D

[@jeremythornton433]

Sounds fine but it's just not for me. I'm a Cubase user and I also have a few Waves plugins. My ears aren't good enough to hear the magic of the Sound City plugin but I can get killer sounds with what I have. I like your song, by teh way. Keep up the great videos, please. I've been a subscriber for just over a year now and love what you put out.

[@cheneyrobert]

Very cool 😎

[@LDdrums20]

Aah you got the plugins

[@pandaartstudios1]

he also made a documentary called sound city

[@bobbipson8906]

Never stops toiling, toiling away Posting new content most every day Listen to the words that make up her songs Lend a critical ear; you’ll be a fan before long Her music’s proof positive; she’s true to her art Written by pen, but flows from her heart Wears many hats, playing every facet of the music Creativity first, but then the business behind it I always wondered why Dave Grohl didn't buy the whole enchilada, building and all.

[@meherenow793]

some new tools for Drummer and Bassist to use

[@learning2tri729]

I love the DVD by Dave Grohl - Sound City - Real to Reel

[@SIM2014]

Ep. Of 'Spender in the class:' how goth learned how to stand on grunges head. 💀