the talkback

[MoreSpaceEcho]

i've been thinking for awhile that if anyone ever read a transcription of my conversations with people over the talkback mic, they would probably have me committed. the clients too.

i always try and keep it light, to keep people's (especially singers) minds off the fact that they are pouring their hearts and souls out while a tape machine is rolling. and invariably we end up in some utterly ridiculous conversations about the most random topics...yesterday in the midst of doing backup vox we somehow got on the subject of the eating habits of monkeys and how it affected their life expectancy...or there will be endless riffing on whatever the session in-joke happens to be...many of the jokes on yesterdays session seemed to be based on the phrase "light petting"....don't ask.

it's nice when you have repeat/longtime clients out in the room...when you already know each other, you can speak in shorthand, which saves time, and you can engage in a level of ball-busting that you wouldn't with a new client. the guitar player yesterday kept bricking one part and i was having a good time playing the room for laughs with variations on "that was TERRIBLE!"

also i notice that the longer the session runs/later it gets, the more ridiculous the banter gets. not surprising as everyone is a little delirious at the end of a 10 hour day.

maybe it's because all my clients are impossibly sarcastic wisecrackers, but i figure this can't be unique to me. thoughts? stories?

[cgarges]

If I'm working with an engineer I haven't worked with before, I pretty much know instantly how the session's gonna go down by what's coming through the talkback. I remember growing up and hearing really good engineers saying things like "stand by" and "rolling" and all these things that sounded technically cool, but were constant reminders that I was IN THE STUDIO and I better not fuck up. I sort of swore early-on that a "light" approach was probably better for making people comfortable and I've never regretted adopting that stance.

I've got a few good session talkback stories, but I'll save them for later.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Mystic Steamship Co.]

I just got my first console and I LOVE having talkback. My band spent all last week tracking and I had good fun giving quick words of encouragement in the middle of takes.... just a quick little "don't fuck up" while that bass player is in the middle of overdubbing a part.

[AstroDan]

It took me a while to get used to the in-joke. Typically, a band will start rolling within minutes of setting up the drum kit with something like 'Poop-a-loop!' and then the bassist will retort with 'Shazz-a-dookie!' then it's that for the next eleven hours non stop.

You really have to gauge and get a feel for if you should join in on the in-joke.

[djimbe]

it's nice when you have repeat/longtime clients out in the room...when you already know each other, you can speak in shorthand, which saves time, and you can engage in a level of ball-busting that you wouldn't with a new client.

I like the "voice of God", which is the live room monitor amp playing the talkback through the speakers. We like to track with no phones when we can. So even whispered stuff, like

"Phil...Phil..."

"I fucked up Jim. Can I start again?"

"you're still started, Phil..."


happens AND gets caught on the tape. So good to have a record start with a whispered "I fucked up..."

[woodhenge]

I had a singer in that somehow ended up doing a 20-minute parody routine of every rock singer from the 70's and 80's. For the life of me, I haven't got a clue as to what I said to send him on this tangent! Pretty funny stuff, and REALLY scary how close this guy sounded to the people he was mocking!

Of course, we ended up laughing really hard for quite a while and had to take a bit of a break after all that. There was no chance in hell of us getting a laugh-free take if we didn't...

I think that's back when I used to roll a dat all the time. I gotta find that tape now!

[klangtone]

There's always the classic fake accidental pushing of the talk back while saying something obnoxious about the recording musician. heh

Obviously only to be done when you're on the best of terms with your clients.

Roy

[ott0bot]

Definately some crazy conversations over the talkback. I record at home and usually run a snake in to my walk in closet (iso booth?), my bathroom (natural plate reverb on tap anyone?) or my living rooms for drums (for that live sound...eh) so I can't see the other person. Our only link is the mics, so more often then not, as in real life, comedy is a great way to calm nerves.

Sometimes it gets out of hand and I gotta play the the dad and fall back on a few "standby you big retard" or "shut up and play" comments. But that works cause i mostly record friends. Still, in sessions I interned on it was bassically the same once you fell into a groove with the band. But they gotta have that kind of personallity too.

My recent favorite was while recording some acoustic guitar in the bathroom the guitar player said something like:
"Can you mute it? I have to pee, and I'm a bit gun shy with someone listening."

I responded with something like:
"We're going for honesty on the record, but I can make an exception on this one. Oh, and number two's cost 4 dollars a log."

I muted the monitors too.

[permanent hearing damage]

oh man, not really talkback, but i have a good story related to only having the talkback to communicate with the band.

i was recording this doom metal band in my basement. the control room was in my bedroom on the second floor. so the singer was making this brutal gurgling sound at the end of this 13 min song. just this demonic low choking sound. and then as soon as the take was over, this meek little voice comes in (same guy) and goes "um... steve, i'm afraid i may have vomited on your floor down here."

[RefD]

and then as soon as the take was over, this meek little voice comes in (same guy) and goes "um... steve, i'm afraid i may have vomited on your floor down here."