Looking for famous quote about turning up master fader

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cnovey
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Looking for famous quote about turning up master fader

Post by cnovey » Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:10 am

There is a quote where an engineer or producer is trying to please an artist or producer with something- he discreetly reaches over and pushes up the master fader on the mixing console and the artist or whomever replies with a smile "sounds great!' what did you do?"

I am looking for the source of this just to contribute to a topic on another forum about equal loudness curves and mixing. (Fletcher-Munson curves from Bell labs)

Very interesting topic!

Thanks-
C

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Snarl 12/8
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Post by Snarl 12/8 » Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:22 pm

Man, that's got to be public domain by now. That's the oldest trick in the book. What I want to find is the story about the "ball track" that was hilarious, if not disturbing.
Carl Keil

Almost forgot: Please steal my drum tracks. and more.

cnovey
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Post by cnovey » Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:51 pm

Hi,
I just want to find out if it does in fact have a true origin. Never heard of the "ball track" story. Sounds lewd. Do tell. :)
C

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Gregg Juke
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Post by Gregg Juke » Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:00 pm

Sounds like stuff from the "Mixerman Diaries," perhaps?

GJ
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Osumosan
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Post by Osumosan » Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:07 pm

So many tricks. So many fake knobs, etc. If you know what your client is looking for, it's terrible easy to give it to them. If they need more bottom, the volume knob is the easy cure. It's called "Fourth of July."

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thunderboy
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Post by thunderboy » Mon Apr 14, 2014 6:58 pm

Gregg Juke wrote:Sounds like stuff from the "Mixerman Diaries," perhaps?
That was the "soar" knob.
"most toreadors worth a damn are circumcized."
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mixerman
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Post by mixerman » Wed May 21, 2014 9:59 am

http://www.mixerman.net/diaries5.php

Here's the excerpt. Enjoy.

The Daily Adventures of Mixerman
Audio Placebo

"Unfortunately, by appeasing Jeramiah, I'd allowed him to believe he could just push me around. So Jeramiah began to pick on other things that he felt weren't right. He felt that the snare drum really needed to "soar" more. I could tell that Jeramiah was a very persistent lad, and what he wanted, he was going to get. So I ripped a small piece of whiteboard tape that we use for labeling gear, and I wrote on it, "snare," and then I wrote, "soar," on another piece of tape. I carefully placed the "snare" label on an unused Pultec (the thirty-five-year-old analog EQ that I used on the drums), as that particular piece of equipment has very large knobs. The implementation of an audio placebo works best when done with large knobs, because the person being duped really feels that he's making a difference. Pultecs are also great for this because they have plenty of room for labeling, so I put the "soar" label directly above one of the large knobs.

"Turn this knob slowly-make sure you turn it slowly, because if you add too much soar, you could blow out my speakers," I told him as if I were telling a ghost story at a campfire.

"That's the soar knob?" he asked excitedly.

No, Jeramiah, it only becomes a sore knob if you play with it too much, I thought to myself. Unfortunately, had I answered in this manner my ruse would have been over before it began, as he surely would have concluded that I had set him up purely for that line.

"Yes, if you turn that knob, the snare will soar," I answered. "But for God's sake, be careful!" I exclaimed.

"How does it work?" he asked.

At this particular question, I was momentarily taken aback. How does the soar knob work? Was he looking for a detailed technical explanation that he wouldn't understand as to why the knob works? I considered saying that it worked through the power of suggestion, but that would have given away the ruse. So I told him how it worked.

"It sends a harmonized signal through the flux capacitor chamber, which is then blended back in to the original signal using a time stretch mechanism," I explained, pulling from my genetically passed-on ability to spew phenomenal amounts of bullshit on the spot and actually sound credible.

"Whoa!" Jeramiah exclaimed, in awe of my expertise in such things.

And so Jeramiah ever so carefully toyed with his soar knob. I'd be surprised if he actually turned the knob more than a millimeter at a time. With each millimeter, I could see the expression on his face change at the obvious results. He kept adding the tiniest amount of soar at a time, until such time that he realized he had added too much, and he backed it down a notch. When he had settled on just the right amount of "soar," he smiled, as if he could hear a difference. And I nodded enthusiastically.

"You know what?" I said, acting shocked and simultaneously impressed, "I thought it had enough soar, but it's better now. You really have good ears!"

Lance, being privy to the entire episode of audio placebo, concluded that he deserved to be in on the fun. "I think you should add ?thump' to the kik drum," he interjected. So I made a "thump" label.

This sort of fun went on for the better part of an hour. As Jeramiah continued to turn knobs, he was obviously convinced that he was actually making a difference. There was an abundance of handwritten labels scattered over the knobs of unconnected gear. I was running out of knobs as the control room began to look like an elementary classroom with words taped up everywhere. Words such as "sheen," "warmth," "crack," "heat," "brass"-don't ask me, Jeramiah wanted the guitar to sound more "brass." Who am I to disagree?

Finally, Willy arrived, and he immediately began scanning the gear rack. The band was playing a take, and Jeramiah was standing in front of the console with this smug little grin on his face, as if he'd actually made a difference. Willy began to further inspect all of the labels, and I grew concerned that he might blow the gag.

"Jeramiah made some improvements to my sounds," I said. "Do you like how the snare soars now?" I said, as I pointed to the "soar" label on the Pultec.

Willy looked at me and smiled.

"I think it's soaring a bit too much," he replied as he reached to tone it down a notch.

Jeramiah questioned the validity of such an adjustment and expressed a slight concern with making such a move in the middle of a take. But Willy insisted it would be fine and that he'd only moved the knob a little.

"But the tiniest adjustment on that knob makes a big difference!" Jeramiah professed.

I kid you not."


Zen and the Art of Recording. Due out Fall 2014!

Mixerman

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vvv
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Post by vvv » Thu May 22, 2014 11:50 am

:lol:
bandcamp;
blog.
I mix with olive juice.

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Gregg Juke
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Post by Gregg Juke » Thu May 22, 2014 11:55 am

I still love that story.

GJ
Gregg Juke
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http://MightyNoStars.com

"He's about to learn the most important lesson in the music business-- 'Never trust people in the music business.' "

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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Fri May 23, 2014 9:50 pm

I recently played back a mix, but before I did I turned
the monitors WAY UP. I have it labelled there on the console:

"Are you KIDDING?!?"

Things rattled in the studio.

Shit fell off shelves.

Bowels were moved.

The artiste was impressed.


:lol:
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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Snarl 12/8
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Post by Snarl 12/8 » Sat May 24, 2014 4:07 pm

Nick Sevilla wrote: Shit fell off shelves.
Was that shit from the last time "bowels were moved?"

Nick Sevilla wrote: Bowels were moved.
I think that means you need to cut a few db's at 7Hz.
Carl Keil

Almost forgot: Please steal my drum tracks. and more.

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ubertar
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Post by ubertar » Sat May 24, 2014 7:36 pm

That's the knob marked "feraliminal lycanthropizer".

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