I wish, I have my eye on one on ebay in the UK so i haven't paid for one just yet. it looks like my idea of a good time though 😁. Once this quarters PRS payment comes through then I'm gonna jump on it immediately
Thank you so much for this! If I see something was done with Dave I pretty much know for sure that at least sonically I’m in for a treat. A legend in my book. I remember when Zaireeka came out. I was in college and I got a copy immediately. I corralled friends I had made in my dorm to put together the 4 stereos and I was floored (I think it even impressed some “jocks” that were in earshot). I was already a big fan of Transmissions, Clouds, and The Soft Bulletin. But this was another level. Extremely inspiring. For a time I had a solo project called Roybot. Kind of an indie synth pop thing. My live show was me plus 3 pre recorded versions of myself played on stacked TV’s. Certainly inspired by Zaireeka. Anyhow… I just love that Dave is also such a regular audio nerd. He fits in with these “freaks” so unassumingly with the best attitude. I do hope he grants more interviews when he’s ready for that. Until then, keep ‘em coming, sir! 🫡 Roy Silverstein Rarefied Recording San Diego, CA
I love the Roybot concept! I was listening to Clouds Taste Metallic the moment I decided I needed to move to LA (...before the porn speech) It was fun and fulfilling to bring back these memories. David does have at lease one interview on the Recording Studio Rockstars podcast and some of this interview footage was from a great Pitchfork doc on The Soft Bulletin. It's on RU-vid and worth a watch. I look forward to checking out the studio one of these days!
Im a mediocre bedroom musician, casual Lips fan, and have no interest in getting into production. That said i really enjoyed the video. These kinds of stories are endlessly fascinating to me. Thanks for sharing!
@@morganghetti I love this comment, because although the video is told through a production lens, the real story here is about the philosophy and adventure of creativity.
Oh awesome! Another SUNY fredonia SRT grad! I haven’t ran into anyone else apart from the people I’ve met while in school, so that’s so cool, I wish they still had that studio C when I was in (2012-16). Dave has been such an important person in my life, he introduced me to my mentor, Greg Snow and got me into electronics repair. I eventually befriended his son Mike, and eventually had some gear that came out of my shop and into Tarbox. Dave is so simple, and I think that is his greatest quality. I miss seeing him and the rest of the family on a regular basis, and happy to say they’ve helped me gain confidence and nerve to be unique and simply, myself. Excellent video, I’ll have to subscribe now!
I thought people would be disappointed in the amount of gear talk. It's been a relief to see people enjoying the rest of it all! Thanks for the kind support.
@@davidpetersmusic I have had similar intuition about videos, yet I find that its the things I had the least expectations for end up being appreciated the most.
I am the biggest Lips and Mercury rev fan. As you say there is virtually no content on Dave of Web. Thankyou, however long this video is, it should have been longer!
Thanks so much for making these videos. I am enjoying them massively. I'm subscribed & very much looking forward to the next one. Greetings from England btw
@@davidpetersmusic The level loc ep was awesome (I'm going to buy a levelor later this month) but the ep on your experiences with David Fridmann & his approach to creativity was so inspiring. I'm a composer for Noiser podcasts & I spend most of my time trying to increase my efficiency & technical knowledge whilst trying to keep a playfulness & a spontaneity. All of your content so far has been unlike other things I've seen & I often laugh out loud at the humour. You obviously spend a lot of time & thought into these & after the first ep I subscribed immediately & I will undoubtedly watch everything you put out. Cheers for replying to my message, all the best 👍
Practicing both the playful side and the technical side is a great way to be comfortable in both when it comes time to balance those spinning plates! I was just talking with Ian from Standard Audio and it looked like several boxes of Level-Ors were on their way out the door. Maybe yours!
@@davidpetersmusicI feel those two albums are some of the most amazing albums ever recorded. The songs are amazing and the sonic qualities are just original and memorable. What I really liked about soft bulletin was the positive lyrics that were so hopeful and positive almost reassuring. I remember being a little burnt out with the darker themes on Ok computer and then hearing the soft bulletin and just feeling good and positive. Funny times the 90’s hahaha
I completely agree. Wayne made a comment about the album being labeled as them singing sad songs, but he turned it around and described it as singing songs because we're sad. I think that's where the uplifting lyrics came from. They were in a tough spot in those days, but I found Wayne to be genuinely positive and earnest. He was looking for the upside of it all.
Ha! You made it. Thank you. Nice twist to this sort of RU-vid video. You have a unique style of story telling. May the algorithm gods bless your channel.
I'm glad I was able to deliver! So far the algorithm does NOT like this video. It's doing about 20% what the Level-Loc video did, but it's a much bigger "ask" to watch this one.
Loving this video, David. Willpower and resourcefulness seem to go a lot further than any "ideal circumstances." This is a lesson I'm still learning. Speaking of stories, I would never exploit a loophole personally, but a friend of mine *cough* got tired of going without acoustic treatment in the house he rented and not being able to tear up the walls. Instead he essentially built a pergola that lines the walls and ceiling of the room and he mounted all the ceiling acoustic treatment to it. Floor standing treatment where possible. 25 2x4 foot panels with 7" rockwool cores. The whole project took about a year, including building the treatment. There are solutions to everything. I'm amazed at how hard The Flaming Lips worked to make the music they wanted to make. That takes a lot of perseverance and determination.
That's what I'm talking about! Finding novel ways around obstacles! Creativity applies not only in the studio, but in getting into the studio. I have so many more stories like that. Just about everyone in this business does. It's kinda a requirement.
Hi, thanks for making this video! I've been a fan of Dave for a long time but any information is so hard to come by. I enjoyed the video and your relaxed and comforting demeanour. Were you present for any mixing sessions with Dave and if so was there anything notable about them?
I was there off and on as they were mixing. What was notable to me was less about the gear and more about his demeanor. There was a lot of trying stuff, discarding it, trying again, discarding again, etc. It was a long time ago, so remembering what gear was wired up and exactly what it was doing is difficult, especially since it was always a moving target! Also, each sound was not the result of one tool, but a blend and interaction of many things. In those early days the H3000 was a big part of it. He got distortion in lots of ways, often from overloading particular boxes.
@@davidpetersmusic Thank you! Oh yeah I'm definitely not overly interested in specific gear. My introduction to Dave's work was in listening to and loving the Lip's Clouds Taste Metallic. I doubt there's a whole lot of overlap of what he used on that record to what he uses today but it's still so recognisably Fridmann. I was listening to the new Magdalena Bay album last week and it sounded amazing so looked up who mixed it and, of course it was Dave. I didn't clock it because it didn't have his super obvious hallmarks but it does have that energy and impact and little touches that work even though they seem like they shouldn't. I'm sure a lot of it comes down to that patience and persistence you've described, being open and undaunted and just chipping away at it. (That plus some amount of phase manipulation potentially involving this H3000 you mention)
I'm sorry I haven't watched earlier. I went to school with you and none of what your doing surprises me. You were always smart and creative. You were one of the easiest people to talk to .
Glad it landed! Did it show up in your feed in a noticeable way? This video is moving MUCH slower than the others. Maybe no one likes David Fridmann? haha
This delivered a pleasant surprise. Kind of rises above the gear curiosity we have and scratches a different itch. Life lessons. If you ever feel like making a more mixing-oriented video on the recording/mixing lessons you gained during your time at tarbox then we’d love to hear more. Ya know like 10 surprising recording/mixing techniques you noticed or how he mixes drums to be crunchy and present yet distant (parallel processing?), or how he applies distortion so heavily without ruining a mix (loved your Frid-gyver graphic eq distortion story!) or maybe what he does with those eventide boxes you mentioned. Wonder if that’s how he turns the mono drum mics you talked about into a stereo drum sound? Anyway thanks for the stories and your overall encouragement!
That would be fun, but I have two concerns: It's been a long time since I was there and a lot of details I don't remember. And I'd be uncomfortable sharing another engineer's methods, especially when I was invited in as a guest.
I felt the same way when I first heard it. But part of the fun of all these options is that each is unique! Pick your favorite flavors and go make some music!
Such a killer piece of hardware, the software versions aren't too bad too. Slate Digital came out with something similar in their Virtual Mix Rack but I feel it's a bit overcooked compared to the hardware units displayed in this video. As you mention, it's very easy to overdo :D It's like an instant 'that sounds nice' button and you can get carried away. Amazing content, high quality, sharing your knowledge in a digestible manner. Keep up the great work David!
I found this video researching the Dolby A301 and how to get that sound! This is officially the most informative resource on the internet about it. Subscribed. I would love to see more videos like this that teach us about the technology of yesteryear and how to use these techniques in a modern setup! It beats the heck out of these other channels that mostly review new gear/plugins. I really like the learning aspect of this.
I live for feedback like this! Thank you very much. That is one of the goals of these videos, to cover the uncovered and unique. If you haven't already, check out the Level-Loc video. It's very similar. I'm also about to start working on a video all about running things through vintage transformers. Stay tuned.
Great video! Do you use 9V battery to power the level loc? Would be curious if you remember how they powered theirs at Tarbox and if you remember it ever having phase issues (mine can act weird sometimes too)!
I powered this one with a 9V and it definitely could get weird with the phase stuff! It even appeared in this video on the comparison samples. My Tarbox days were almost 25 years ago so I don't remember the details on that Level Loc. There is a video on that experience coming up soon though!
@@Glasside These strings were recorded almost 15 years ago now. I did this particular arrangement myself and it was played by a quintet of fantastic LA film score players. I’m in the middle of remixing this collection for release in the coming months. LOTS of strings all over it, and some of them arranged by people who are far better arrangers than I am! Access to players like these has been one big benefit of LA.
Hi … it would be Interesting to hear a A to B comparison between your UTA UnFairchild Hardware Unit and the UTA UnFairchild Plugin 👍🥳 … thx a lot to you for your vids 👍🤗🤗🤗
@@darkstar.runner6669 Thats a great idea. But… I sold the UnFairchild! There’s now a POM Fairchild here. I was after the sound of the original transformers. I can compare those maybe?
AudioThing Type A is one of them. There are more out there I'm sure. I use a 361 patch on the Acustica Audio Nebula platform often. I'm not sure if that's still available out there though.
In Logic if you use the i/o plugin for outboard hardware to avoid the phase issue make sure to click the ping knob before playback this will allow logic to adjust the sample timing. Sometimes you have to click it twice if you hear phasing. Thats been an issue n Logic for about a year now. Great videos by the way, I think I want to get the Standard audio stereo version I didn't know it was even a product!!!! Cheers!
@@joesalyers I use the Logic I/O plug-in all the time, but for some reason the Level-Loc kept confusing the ping function. Every click gave me a different reading. There’s some Voodoo in that unit! :-P
@@davidpetersmusic Yea that happens sometimes its been a bug where Logic doesn't calculate the right timing for the i/o plugin for about a year now, I've reported it multiple times. Hopefully it gets fixed soon 😂 Great review!!
@@davidpetersmusic Fostex B-16 for Dolby C and my studio partner reminded me we got the E-16 soon after and that the Dolby S was a lot better and breathy. We never told anyone we’d used it. I learned it from a studio course with Dolby A for “air” and iirc he learned it from someone who worked with John Fryer of NIN etc notoriety
@@Powell19119 Sounds like the Dolby process itself was pretty consistent and could do the same basic job across revisions. Perhaps just the curves, crossovers, number of bands, etc, were adjusted over time.
@@NamelessSmile The biggest challenge was getting them set in similar ways. The knob settings don’t match, they each distort and compress a bit differently. While all related, they are not the same for sure.
@@davidpetersmusic I'm saying that it's a truly unique video. I'm always wanted to hear the original level LOC compared to a devil LOC, which I'm using all the time. Tnx 🤙
Only talking to the camera for 12 minutes about a DI box would be pretty boring. Kids suggested dinosaurs and duck puppets, so we did dinosaurs and duck puppets!
I tracked Matt Chamberlin on a record, and his level loc had an American D22 going into it. Best if you use a mic that is steering off a fair amount of top and bottom, then the thing isn't swamped by the kick or flattened by the cymbals.
@@user-wy6xd5ip8w I bought my 301 not working and it sat here for a couple years until I finally had it serviced. I glad I did! It really has something.
Such a great comparison.. Thanks a lot! I'm just confused by 1 thing.. How does one use the Deviloc in Mic level? Isn't everything that's already recorded is now Line Level? I'd love to use the Deviloc as a preamp
@@davidpetersmusic I meant the Deviloc (not Shure Level-Loc) since you use it in Mic Level at 17:27. And I actually watched the whole video but keep coming back to it for another listen. Thanks! Loving the channel.
@@SeemoreDunkan Devil-Loc CRUSH setting is like the Level Loc fed with mic level. DevilLoc CRUNCH setting is like feeding it with line level. The plug-in offer both sounds to be dialed in at the same time in whatever amount you like.
