| MusiciansNews | GuitarsMusicGear | BassMusicGear | DigitalPianosKeyboards | DrumsMusicGear | SingingSongwriting | GuitarSheetMusicTabs | DJmusicEquipment | CRMAV | LiveSoundPASystems | RecordingMixingMastering |
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturers | Behringer Peavey Samson Yamaha Roland DigiTech River String Fender Sarulean sE Electronics Korg Ibanez Gibson Hartke Alesis Shure Boss Epiphone Mackie Zoom Akai Marshall Focusrite M-Audio Vestax SKB Silvertone Novation AKG CBI Martin Nady Fostex |
| Guitar | Bass | Drum | Piano | Keyboard | Singing | Songwriting | DJ | Recording | Artists | Music Gear | Forums | Reviews | Musicians Wanted | Chords | Sheet Music | Tabs | MIDI |
|
Morcheeba choose sE Sound Engineering GEMINI MicrophoneAs Morcheeba’s engineer, Chris Harrison is responsible for the band’s unique, characterful and lush sound. It’s a sound that demands the best vocal recording which, in turn, demands the best mic. So what does Chris choose above far more expensive alternatives? The sE Gemini… When Morcheeba first signed their major record deal they decided to spend the advance on a studio and also hired a couple of engineers. One of those was Chris Harrison… “I went straight into an assistant engineer’s job which happened to be at Morcheeba’s private studio,” he says. “They said they needed someone enthusiastic which I’m good at and that was that. I went quite quickly on to being the main engineer. I didn’t really know what I was doing and had to learn very quickly indeed but the record sold close to a million copies!” In fact the first album, Who Can You Trust? did so well that Chris remained with the band, gradually becoming more integral to the Morcheeba sound… “I’ve done four records and co produced and engineered the last record which has done well. They’ve gone through a few changes and have a new singer now so it’s kind of a restart for them.” Replacing the original singer, Skye Edwards, was obviously a huge decision for the band. They hired Daisy Martey for the album The Antedote and the recording of her vocals was a crucial element, especially given that she was following such a big act. The decision over which mics to use was therefore a massive one for Chris to make… “Daisy has a very slick, powerful and thick tone and I was like: ‘what am I going to use?’ They had a few suitable mics available: a four and a half thousand pound Sony C800G, a Neumann M147, A Royer R121, EV RE20 and a Beyer M160. I tried these various mics on her and they just weren’t really working. Morcheeba always write the songs before we record and I recorded a demo of them so the band could listen to the tracks and go away with them before the main recording takes place. I used the sE Gemini valve mic for that whole demo. I’d just got the sE so decided to give it a go on the demo and to try it out on her. For the record we tried out all these more expensive microphones but we kept coming back to the demo vocal sound, which I was really happy with. It just worked really well with her voice…” So after having beaten off the more expensive competition, the Gemini has become a firm favourite. “We’ve got the whole sE range but I primarily use the Gemini,” says Chris. “What I like about it is that it has a bump around 2k and another bump on the top end so it has an immediate feel about it and you will know straight away whether it’s working. Some mics you will need to adjust this, that or the other. The Gemini is a very characterful mic and generally sounds very good on most things.” And it’s not just Morcheeba who have benefited from Chris’s expertise and sE mics… “I’ve also used the Gemini on Marlon from Mattafix, MC Mello and Will Young,” he says. “I’ve got into writing and producing and doing different projects and I mixed Cibelle’s last record which I’m particularly proud of. I’m assisting Paul Stacey in his studio and I’m getting right back into miking techniques and mixing. I’ve just assisted him on mixing the new Black Crowes record, we did The Kooks debut Eddies Gun, Oasis, the genius Texan, Robert Harrison and probably my favourite band right now, The Noisettes. My new project is called the Sound Makers and we’re currently doing a new record kind of like hip hop with a bit more music. There are so many little things I do – I never stick on one thing!” He might not stick to one thing but Chris does have a single studio philosophy that has stood him in good stead over the years. “Use your ears,” he states. “Don’t touch anything before you use your ears. A lot of people use the buttons before they actually listen.” And you could add to that: ‘don’t always assume the most expensive mics are the best for the job’? “Yes but with the sE mics it’s more than just value for money,” says Chris. “They are far better than that…”
|
|
Europe Gear Shop
| [Contact] [©1999-2008 Musiciansnews.com All rights reserved] [Advertising] |