Hi Friends, I had a great time talking to Dave Way in his home studio "Waystation Studio". Dave is an insanely talented, multi-Grammy winning producer and mixing engineer who has worked with Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow, Boyz II Men, Pink, The Foofighters and many more. A few years ago, Dave decided to move from working out of major studios to producing and mixing from his home studio. In the process he has gotten rid of a lot of his outboard gear including a beautiful SSL console and is leaning more and more towards mixing in the box. We discuss the analogue and digital recording and mixing process, what Dave considers to be the benefits of working digitally and if the "analogue sound" can actually be emulated using plugins now. Dave gives us a tour of his studio and shows off his favourite pieces of gear (he has lots of unique devices!). We geek out over guitars and as the grand finale Dave walks us through his drum recording setup! Unfortunately we had some audio issues with this video, I hope you can disregard them and still enjoy the amazing content. Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Warren you are the only RU-vidr that is still a working Professional making current albums AND making videos at a high rate !! Thank you for all you do !!
Warren, you are my hero. Iam starting in this field and have tried hard to follow and learn from you and a couple of others. I did like to get my studio gear but did like to chat with you for advice. how can i get to you for advice? Thank you
Been fortunate to have been (still am) his assistant for the past 3-4 years. He's literally the best mentor ever and the most knowledgeable person when it comes to recording/mixing. I owe him everything! Great video Warren. Can't wait for PTII!
These studio tours Warren has been doing are like fly on the wall masterclasses with the greats of the past, present & future of music production. The lights, the camera and the mics seem to be all that separate these from being a hang with two cats who love the art of recording, sharing tips and stories. Look forward to part 2, Dave Way is the man...thanks PLAP for these gems.
Best part of this video for me was watching the two you just shoot the breeze about anything and everything. Great common ground. Nice to see two extremely experienced and talented people still learning from one another and passionately enjoying the time together. Very cool ! Congrats
I am a fan of Dave's. I love his work, his taste and he seems like the coolest guy. I have to admit to being a stalker on his website, and the Way Station is the main inspiration for my dream studio, the one in my head... So I'm really happy that you interviewed him and that there is going to be a part 2! And I loved the Ross Hogarth call, with Howie Weinberg showing up and joking around! That was fun :-) Anyway, thanks Dave and Warren!
Hi noisesoundtonevibe, I agree! Dave is true talent and a wonderful guy! I am so glad to be able to take a tour around his studio and hear some of his stories! Glad you enjoyed the drop in from Ross and Howie! Totally unexpected! Haha Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Thanks very much Samuel! Yes, 'the proof pudding is in the eating!' my Grandfather would always say that! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Haha that was completely unplanned and incredibly hilarious!! And YES I need that spray as well!! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Hey Warren, thanks so much for taking us into these fabulous studios and having the pro guests share their choice hardware and its choice spot in their workflow! Question: In future studio tours, can you have guests showcase their favorite/go-to in the box plug-ins? As you know very well, a choice plug-in is on the same playing field now a days as out board gear. Thanks again!
Hi Warren. Thanks once again for a wonderful interview withe such a great engineer! Please please thank Mr Dave Way for helping me put closure on a question that for years has bothered me and now I'm happy to know that I'm good mixing in the box!
Hi caliahi, agreed! If the great Dave Way mixes in-the-box then that's good enough for me! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing many thanks Warren
That calrec mic...so sweet. Not a fan of large mirrors in live rooms though. I had that in a practice room and super loud amps/drums/bass sounded pretty crappy bouncing off the mirror wall.
Very interesting, thank you Warren! Regarding the audio of the clip, you say it was an issue with the audio recorder. But the fidelity of the sound also seems degraded by the choice in microphone... I don't know. The lapel mics have a constant distance to the mouth and are omni directional as well. Could make a huge difference.
Hi Jelmer, thanks for your insight! It's a constant search for the best solution! As I am sure you are aware I make records every day and film these videos at 9am before working! haha so sometimes we make mistakes! I really appreciate your support! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Great video! The spray moment was hilarious, I wish part 2 will cover all is outboard gear and how he uses these. thanks for doing this Warren. Stephane
About drum tracking, I was tracking drums and had an AKG C1000s as a room mic far away of the drum, I usually have kick, snare, 2 overheads sometime ORTF, sometime wide, depends and close mic for toms... and seriously, only this room mic with "ssl parrallel compression plugin" was giving me the best sound... I finally used the kick, snare and overheads to be able to control more the stereo field and some reverbs on snare but damn, even the kick was getting thru pretty good... It is about the drummer/drum/room more than the sound recording technique...
Hi Jean-Philippe Denis, thanks for your great comment! I agree 100%! The Drummers performance, Drums and the room are the main part of the sound! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
tannoy. I learnt in the little reds (?) use the 800s. and my mentors studio uses the ellips 8 with the 96k tweeter. I use others but am devoted to tannoy. they are an acquired taste though I absolutely love them.
Another fine interview, Warren. Interesting on many different levels. Follow up question for Dave: Would love to hear Dave's approach on recording upright bass, and electric bass, for that matter. What tone is he looking for? Does he shape the tone after recording? Does his approach vary with the style of the song? Ever record jazz tracks?
Warren,Can you do a video on editing timing on guitar, bass, etc. I feel like that is never really touched on by anyone, but is an intricate part of the audio engineers job. Work flow, how to achieve the best results and time efficient editing would be super helpful! Love your videos and am always grateful for your wisdom and time you put into your content!
Great Studio and Interview..A question for the pros..I have been engineering for many years but lately I have noticed..I start with my master fader on zero and mix faders close to zero but lots of headroom, I don't push levels. After an hour or so all my faders are close to the bottom mix is sounding good but? Im thinking it has to do with compression? maybe not enough as I don't push things hard? Any thoughts? Thank You, Harry
I believe that he sold his console to James Lugo, he has a whole RU-vid playlist devoted to installing it into his studio. I recommend checking it out.
Produce Like A Pro I think that he did indeed sell it as in James Lugo's videos where Bruce Millet shows him how to use the automation, as they are formatting the floppy, he asks Bruce if they can change the studio name from Waystation to Hemispheres Recordings
Yes this is correct. He bought the SSL 6048 from Dave Way. James sold it or put into storage pending sale in May of 2015. He then moved from NC to Nashville where he currently is now.
this is really great episode, dave is really talented, but, actually, I was wondering if you remember the racks in the 22:56 minute in this video, because of the cellphone call, this part is missing, could you give me some lights here?
I wish it hadn't went off topic before getting Dave's thoughts on the Electrix Filter Factory. Then I saw there was part 2 and thought we'd see it there but sadly, no :(
Nice one Warren! Is the Matrix a fancy patch bay? Must of really been hard to let the console go? On another note, I just watched a distortion guitar pedal review with Linda Taylor, She says she has a bunch new gear for you to come check out her studio update for a part two video tour.
Hi TommyV Virs that's a fantastic question! One I would also like the answer too! I have a similar dilemma! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing many thanks Warren
"proof is in the pudding" -"Very english of you :)" "is that an english phrase?" -"i grew up listening to it, im sure americans say it as well" :) Dave is cool guy, Warren a gentleman as usual :) 19:40
Hi David Cote great question! Yes it's both for play back and recording! You can record with the speakers on Believe it or not! There a bunch of tricks to minimize bleed! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing many thanks Warren
Warren, Does Dave typically do a mono overhead on his drums? If so, is he using stereo room mics? Or, is he just doing mono by itself? Inquiring minds want to know. Ha ha!
im still thinking of getting a Mackie pro fx v2 8 channel mixer. But ive heard mix reviews some bad some good. I wanna go the hybrid route. If anyone knows a place in uk where i could hear the mixer please please share
Hi Frederick, unfortunately the input of the digital recorder is crapping out! C'est la vie! Dave is an amazing talent I am so glad I got to talk with him! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Check out the DAW Transport Controller STOMPBOX! Makes life easier for home recording musicians. www.etsy.com/listing/490050174/daw-transport-controller-footpedal
Hi Pascal, Yes unfortunately we had audio issues with our recorder, I really enjoyed this video so I didn't want to not show it! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Comme tout! ;) Btw mics & issues aside, as always this is BRILLIANT (no, wait: MARVELLOUS! ;) ) content, Dave way is a supernice guy with a supernice studio. So tnx, as always.
Haha a Pro with a soldering Iron to fix an input on a digital recorder would have been great! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Hi KhronX! Feel free to fly over! Haha! As you know I'm a full-time Producer, I started this to help people and I record these videos in the morning before I start working! Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
oh hell yeah!! a studio tour & interview after sometime... love these!!! check this funny video made on u warren :D have a marvelous time ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HIw3EsCdvdk.html
