Artist Spotlight: HEALTH
-John Famiglietti of HEALTH
For Los Angeles-based band HEALTH, finding a unique sound that grabbed listeners’ attention came naturally. Beginning with their 2007 self-titled debut, they blended elements of noise, rock, and electronica seamlessly in songs that are at once both infectious and deliciously abrasive. But in the six years between 2009’s LP Get Color and their upcoming release Death Magic, the band perceived that the sound of music around them had changed by leaps and bounds. HEALTH has since turned to a new workflow focused on direct guitar recording through BAE Audio 1073 preamplifiers, giving their analog instruments the added punch they need to go toe to toe with HEALTH’s bevy of digital sounds...
“We were hearing how music production had really changed where you’ve got these pop-star songs that are hitting harder than a heavy metal record because of the production,” says HEALTH band member John Famiglietti, “and we’re saying to ourselves, hey, we make heavy music and there’s no reason our stuff shouldn’t be hitting harder than teeny bop music.”
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BAE 1073s Serve as the Primary Stereo Inputs at Derek Sherinian's Beachwood Manor Studios
For a premier keyboardist such as Derek Sherinian, whose accomplishments are truly diverse and far reaching, it is hard to highlight any single moment in his past success. There is the five years where he served as a member of Dream Theater, and the countless touring and recording work he has done with the likes of Kiss, Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Al DiMeola, and many others. Perhaps most exciting for Sherinian, is his work with Black Country Communion — a 'supergroup' comprised of Glen Hughes on bass, Joe Bonamassa on guitar, Jason Bonham on drums and himself on keyboards. Between 2009 and 2013, Black Country Communion recorded three albums and toured internationally to enthusiastic audiences around the world. Recently, as Black Country Communion announced its reunion, Sherinian has been gearing up his Burbank, Calif.—based Beachwood Manor Studios with the inimitable BAE Audio 1073 preamplifier/EQ.
BAE 1073 Delivers Sonic Sauce for Derek Sherinian's 'Wall of Keyboards' as Black Country Communion Reunion is Announced
Perhaps the most distinctive feature in Beachwood Manor Studios is 'The Wall' — Sherinian's massive collection of vintage keyboards and synthesizers. His collection features models including Hammond B3, Hohner Clavinet, SCI Prophet V, Fender Rhodes, Minimoog and many others. "My keyboard set up is pretty elaborate and it has been a dream of mine for a long time to have all these keyboards under one roof at my disposal," he says. "Everything I have here runs through either my BAE 1073 or my BAE 1073 MP. I recently picked up two of the BAE 1073s at the recommendation of my friend Simon Philips — now I run my B3 through the 1073 MP and all my other keyboards through the BAE 1073."
His decision to fortify his keyboard arsenal with two BAE 1073s couldn't have come at a better time. Sherinian's band Black Country Communion announced last April that they will be reuniting following a break-up in 2013. Sherinian is looking forward to going 'all-in' as the band looks to start recording a new album in January at East West Studios in Hollywood: "Time heals all wounds, and I think everyone in the band realized that there was something really special that happened when the four of us got together," he observes. "I think in the end, the music supersedes anything else that goes on. We are all in it to make a killer record and maybe play some shows next year, so I am excited about that."
Sherinian plans on bringing his entire keyboard arsenal to the recording sessions, including his BAE 1073 mic pre. "In my studio, the BAE 1073 is now my main mic pre," he says. "I use it if I have a guitar player coming through, or on any one of my 25 keyboards. It adds a warmth and fatness that was not there before. And if you drive it, it responds — you just get a nice, killer sound." For now, Sherinian is using the BAE 1073 in preproduction, working on various riffs and content that he is planning on presenting to the band this winter, prior to the recording session. "I am collecting ideas; then I will go back, evaluate everything and weed out the nuggets," he says.
After getting the BAE recommendation, Sherinian did several A/B tests against competitors to properly evaluate the BAE 1073 and ensure it passed muster. "The BAE units sounded warmer and tighter. The other units sounded thin by comparison and just didn't work out. I think if you are a studio owner, it is very important to have some quality mic pres," he concludes. "For now, I couldn't be happier with my BAE 1073s. They are of the highest quality and are super-versatile."
BAE Gear: 1073, 1073MP
Greg Fidelman and Metallica Ready to Track Any Instrument, Any Time with BAE 1073 and 1028 Preamps
Metallica Expands Its Vintage Channel Count with BAE Preamps to Facilitate Great Sound That Is Ready-to-Go 24/7
When Metallica and producer Greg Fidelman hunkered down to begin work on the legendary band’s latest record, he knew he needed the flexibility to hop in and out of the band’s studio and from instrument to instrument with ease. “They’re really busy guys, so we wanted to have all of our sounds for drums, bass, and guitar set up all at once and leave them that way,” Fidelman says. “That way they can get in there and cut a few takes without having to spend time dialing in sounds or breaking down mics each time.”
He knew that the (30) channels of vintage preamps the band had already in the studio would not be enough to simultaneously facilitate the multi-mic drum sound and detailed guitar micing setups he was envisioning for the sessions. He turned to BAE Audio preamplifiers to nearly double his available inputs, matching the classic sound of Metallica’s existing vintage gear with the added reliability of BAE’s modern construction and components.
A New Classic
Fidelman had first worked with BAE Audio preamplifiers on a recent Slipknot record he was producing. “On that record we were working on a full vintage console but had to change studios halfway through recording to one with a more modern console,” Fidelman recalls. “The band was concerned about retaining a consistent guitar sound so we took extensive notes of our mic placements and EQ settings and took snapshots of direct and reamped guitar to test in the new space. The new studio had a rack full of BAE 1073s and other BAE preamplifiers so we ran everything through those with our notated settings and A/B'd it with what we had done in the previous studio.” Fidelman said the results were indistinguishable. “I think if anything our sounds were 5-10% better because of the new components in the BAE gear,” he adds.
Fitting Right In with the Original
Fidelman’s experience with BAE Audio gear on the Slipknot record gave him the confidence to recommend it for the Metallica sessions to expand their vintage input count. He procured (11) channels of the BAE Audio 1073 and (8) channels of the 1028 in a mix of module and standalone rack format. Fidelman opted for the mix of vintage and new vintage inputs over the studio’s built-in modern console because of the unique qualities of the vintage circuit design.
“With the 1073, the way you can manipulate the bottom end is pretty unique, with the low-end boost and the filter working together,” Fidelman says. “There’s also a quality to the top end that’s always musical. If you need a little extra you can really dig into it without it becoming harsh. And not just the high frequency boost/cut, but also the higher frequencies in the midrange band.”
Fidelman notes that the midrange band is particularly key for articulating the top end of kick and snare drums. “It’s pleasing with drums, you can boost what you want without the other garbage,” he says. “To get the core guitar sounds for Metallica I’m sometimes routing a mic into the 1073 and then out into the direct input of another 1073 or 1028 to get access to another midrange or low end band for extra control.” Fidelman appreciates the additional frequency selections provided by the 1028 on things like overheads. “You can dig in deeply with some of those additional frequencies to define the sound you’re looking for,” he says. “It provides the versatility I need.”
Great Sound, Worry-Free
Though Fidelman says he “grew up” on vintage consoles and loves their sound, he acknowledges that working with older gear has its perils. “I was working at a studio in Hollywood recently with a (great) vintage desk, but even with the techs working through one or two modules every day, the reality was that stuff was failing faster than they could keep up with,” Fidelman says. “BAE has nailed the sound and since you’re not dealing with 30-year old contacts, dusty pots, and worn connectors it’s way more reliable.” Both preamps sport the same Carnhill/St Ives transformers specified in the original vintage circuit design and feature BAE’s renowned hand-wired construction, conducted at their facility in California, enabling them to capture the vintage sound that has been the signature of many beloved recordings.
Ready to Rock, 24/7
Fidelman and the band’s approach have proven fruitful over the course of the tracking sessions. “We began these sessions back in June and have been tracking bits and pieces as recently as two weeks ago,” Fidelman says. “We never had to stop and reset things to switch instruments, and we’ve got consistent sound on every single channel, whether it’s with our vintage channels or the BAE channels. We can hop from laying down Kirk’s guitars to Lars’s drums seamlessly and know we have sounds worthy of a Metallica record ready to go at all times.”
Working in tandem with vintage and “new vintage” gear by BAE Audio, Fidelman has also kept a coherent and consistent sound on a record that’s been in process for several months. “There are always interruptions when you’re working on a high-profile record, but we were able to eliminate technical interruptions from the project with the consistency and reliability of BAE hardware, all without sacrificing that vintage sound that I love.” BAE preamps are the new first choice for Fidelman. “I can’t really tell the difference between BAE and the original.”
BAE 1073 MP Preamp the Key to Capturing Great Guitar Sounds for Pete Thorn
Pete Thorn records his guitar in his home studio quite a lot. Part of that’s do to his new line of work. While he first developed a reputation as a crack session and touring guitarist working with artists like Courtney Love, Chris Cornell, and Melissa Ethridge, Thorn has found a niche for himself that calls on some other skills as well. “A big part of what I do these days is demos for gear companies,” he says. “There are an incredible number of manufacturers out there making all kinds of gear for musicians and engineers and people want to evaluate them and see what each one does." Thorn’s skill on the guitar, combined with his experience as a music sales person and his many years teaching lessons gives him a unique ability to create concise, yet thorough videos demonstrating the new tech to a wide audience over the internet. To record these demos, Thorn has turned to BAE Audio’s powerful 1073MP preamplifier, giving him an edge on other pedal reviewers out there with a pristine analog signal path for his guitar mics.
The New Vintage
Though Thorn has always paid significant attention to how his guitar has been recorded for his videos, he had not worked with classic vintage pres before he acquired the 1073MP. “I’m not an expert on the vintage 1073 sound,” he says. “But my good buddy Steve Stevens told me about BAE’s 1073MP and their reputation for quality recreations of classic pres.” Thorn was immediately interested in giving it a try and picked up one for his home studio. He was immediately pleased with the analog warmth that the 1073 preamp brought to his sound. “Right away there was a thickness to it that was really cool,” he says. “It also added a certain sparkle to the high end. It’s really fat but defined, which allows it to sit in the mix well.”
Committing to Quality
Thorn is fond of a two mic approach to capturing the sound of a guitar cabinet. “I like to blend a dynamic mic and a ribbon mic when I’m tracking my amp,” Thorn explains. “Like a lot of people working with a DAW, I’m often building a track up piece by piece, so by the time I’m tracking guitars I usually have a pretty good sense of the sound I’m looking for,” says Thorn, who often creates mini-songs as part of his demos that also include programmed drums and tracked bass guitar. “With those two mics running through the 1073, I can always dial in exactly the tone I need.” Thorn noted how little post-processing is required to get his guitar sound to sit properly in the final mix, too. “I don’t have to do much in the box, really just a bit of fine tuning with plugins. With these pres I’ve got the sound exactly where I need it, which I vastly prefer to a ‘we’ll fix it in the mix’ approach.”
Thorn has also experimented with driving the 1073 to enhance its highly musical saturation characteristics. “There are other pres on the market that are more aggressively crunchy, but with the 1073 you can throw a mic on a guitar amp, crank up the pre and drive it a bit and it’s just an incredibly thick sound without becoming harsh or losing its character,” he says.
Already Ready, Already
For Thorn, his recording setup has never been easier to work with. “99% of what I do here is tracking and mixing guitars, and it has never been easier for me to get a good sound,” he says. “I’ve got a cab miced up in my front room with my two mics running through the 1073MP, and I’m tracking through it all the time,” he says. “It’s my go-to thing these days, so I leave the mics and pres set up and it’s always ready for me.” The requests keep coming in for Thorn to review new products, and he’s feeling more confident than ever in his ability to give an accurate representation of what the hottest new equipment and instruments sound like. “I try to keep my commentary short and to the point when I do video reviews, and I also try to make sure the audio represents what the gear would sound like if you tracked it for your own record,” he says. “The 1073MP allows me to do that better than ever before.”
BAE Audio 1073MP with Steve Stevens Blend Mod is the Weapon of Choice for Crack Session Guitarist and YouTube Star Tim Pierce
Guitarist Tim Pierce has recorded and toured with some of the biggest names in the industry since first moving to LA at age 20 to pursue his dreams of becoming a session musician. His credits include Crowded House, Christina Aguilera, Seal, and many more. Having left his mark on countless recordings throughout the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, Pierce remains a busy session musician into this decade, but has diversified his output with his extensive Tim Pierce Guitar Masterclass subscription video series, featuring over 400 instructional guitar videos and counting. His YouTube channel, which recently surpassed 100,000 subscribers, further augments his growing online presence as an educator.
To capture singing guitar solos and tight rhythm parts for both his session clients and his subscribers, Pierce relies on BAE Audio’s 1073MP preamp with the Steve Stevens blend mod, which delivers a classic sound that meets and exceeds the quality of the vintage preamps that inspired them.
An Ear for the Classics
Pierce is no stranger to iconic studio gear. Recording both at home and in many of the top studios around the world at different points in his career, he is well acquainted with the sound of vintage gear. “I’ve owned every kind of pre at some point, including vintage 1073s, so I’m very familiar with what they sound like,” he says. “The BAE Audio 1073MP sounds just like the original vintage units, but with a better top end.” Pierce elaborates: “They’re somehow even more open in the high frequencies.”
Hand-wired in California to the exacting specifications of beloved vintage designs, BAE Audio’s preamplifiers feature the same circuitry and Carnhill St. Ives transformers that helped the original 1073 find its way into so many studios, large and small, around the world.
Recording the majority of his session work as well as audio for his video classes in his home studio in LA these days, Pierce utilizes two channels with both mics fed through the 1073MP to create a radio-ready guitar sound. “A great guitar sound to me has a really strong midrange, a tight bottom end, and a top end that’s full of air,” he says. To achieve this he utilizes two differently-voiced speaker cabinets simultaneously, a 4x12” and a 1x12”, running out of the same amplifier. Each cabinet is miced with both a dynamic microphone and a ribbon microphone for a variety of tonal options.
Both mics are fed directly through Pierce’s 1073MP rack and then into an analog summing box, where Pierce adjusts each mic’s level until he finds the perfect complement before hitting Pro Tools.
A Sound Worth Committing To
For Pierce, committing to his guitar sound outside the box is stress-free because of how well the sound of his 1073MP preamps translates in any mix. “In order to punch through a mix, a guitar needs to have a really strong midrange, which the 1073MP gives it,” he says. “Any mixing engineer is probably going to take away some of the low end during the process, but the imprint from the 1073 is so strong that even when you’re competing with vocals, keyboards, drum, and bass guitar it still manages to poke through.”
He also notes the importance of the 1073MP’s smoothness in the high end. “That glassy top end really helps, too, especially on clean guitars that are going to be turned up a bit in the mix.”
Clarity in the Mix and in the Studio
Pierce says that he has traditionally changed his mind periodically about which preamps to use for guitar tracking, but the 1073MP has brought a new level of clarity to his decision making process over the past few years. “I’m using the 1073MP nearly 100% of the time now,” he says. “I’m almost in a state of disbelief about how good these preamps are.”
In his role as a teacher, he finds himself thinking a lot more about other guitarists and how they can achieve their goals. He sees the BAE Audio 1073MP as a worthwhile investment for anyone committed to the instrument. “If you’re a guitarist and you buy a 1073MP, I don’t think you’ll need anything else for the rest of your life,” he says. “It’s truly a lifetime purchase.”
BAE Audio Hot Fuzz Stompbox Inspires Touring Guitarist Nick Maybury
Guitarist Nick Maybury has spent a lot of time on the road lately. The Australian-born Los Angeles native, who has worked with artists such as Perry Farrell, Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts, Michelle Branch, and Mike Posner, recently wrapped up an ambitious tour schedule for 2016.
“I’ve done four international tours with three different artists this year alone, so yeah, I’ve been busy,” he says. When Maybury landed back in Los Angeles for the fall, he received a call from BAE Audio’s John Daniel Christiansen. “They wanted to me to come check out their new pedal called the Hot Fuzz, and I thought ‘Wow, these guys who make high end studio gear made a fuzz pedal? I definitely want to check that out’.” And with that Maybury grabbed a few of his favorite guitars and a trusty vintage amp and drove over to Bedrock LA studios for a test drive.
Two Become One
The Hot Fuzz combines a top boost and fuzz section into a single stompbox, and Maybury knew before he even plugged in his Les Paul that there would be extensive variety of possible tones. “I’m a big fan of the Dallas Rangemaster top boost, so combining that in a single pedal with a Colorsound-style fuzz will definitely give you a lot of different tones,” he says.
“It’s a really cool idea, I’m heaps into it.” The idea for the pedal was inspired by BAE Audio President Mark Loughman’s quest for the perfect 70s fuzz tone like that heard on the Isley Brothers version of ‘Summer Breeze.’ Finally arriving at the exact circuit he desired after copious research and sourcing just the right components, Loughman and his team are making their first entre into the world of boutique guitar effects. Now putting his creation into the hands of top guitarists like Maybury, Loughman and his team get to bear witness to what this pedal can really do.
Digging In
Kicking on both footswitches, Maybury digs into some heavy riffs on his Les Paul and the Hot Fuzz roarswith a deep bottom end and an in-your-face top end crunch. Switching over to a vintage guitar Maybury describes as his “fuzz guitar,” he kicks right into the opening riff of the Stone Temple Pilots song ‘Unglued.’ The Hot Fuzz responds to the slightly lower output of this guitar as compared to the Les Paul by tightening up, while retaining its heaviness.
“I consider myself someone who’s equally comfortable with lead and rhythm work, and I like that the Hot Fuzz can give you all these different tones.” Shifting gears again to a lap steel, Maybury demonstrates the tonal spectrum of the Hot Fuzz, ranging from a saturated clean with just a hint of edginess at the lowest volume settings on his guitar up to a raging, singing lead with the volume maxed out. “There are some really cool sounds when you’ve got the volume about halfway or a little more, aggressive but still kind of controlled,” he says. “The whole range of tones is really usable.”
Interactive Tone
The interaction between the top boost and fuzz is key for Maybury. “It’s cool because what the boost does is scoops some of the low end out of the fuzz and gives you a bit more definition and bite in the upper mids, so if you want a growlier, defined riff fuzz, kicking the boost on was perfect,” he explains. “But if you want something sludgy and more bass-heavy, it does that really well with the treble boost off.”
As a guitarist who brings together the blues-rock vocabulary of Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page and the unique sensibilities of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno, the versatile Hot Fuzz manages to inspire Maybury on many levels. “The Hot Fuzz brings out the raw dog in me for sure,” he says. “It totally fits perfectly with the stuff I’m doing with my own trio, which I’m really excited about.”
Studio to Stage
Walking out of the test session with a Hot Fuzz of his own, Maybury wasted no time in putting it to the real test: a live show. “I took it with me straight to a house band gig that I have at The Sayers Club in Hollywood,” Maybury said. “We were playing a Jack White track and it was perfect for that, and I also used it on a Dead Sara tune.” It’s good for grunge, it’s good for blues, and it’s good for stoner rock stuff too.”
With more road shows coming up, Maybury is certain that the Hot Fuzz will be hitting the trails with him. “I’m definitely going to take it out on the road,” he says. “I’ve got a show coming up with Frankie Perez that I can definitely see using it for. I’ve already used it for every gig since I got it and the thing’s built like a tank.” As to whether there’s room on his crowded pedalboard for another fuzz, Maybury puts its succinctly: “If it’s got the tone, it looks good, and it feels good, there’s always room. And the Hot Fuzz has got it all.”
BAE Audio Hot Fuzz Pedal Inspires Producer and former Guns N’ Roses Guitarist Gilby Clarke
Guitarist, songwriter, and producer Gilby Clarke has owned a great many pedals during his long career, a career which has included stints as a member of Guns N’ Roses and numerous studio sessions. He was also familiar with the reputation for analogue excellence of hand-wired studio hardware manufacturer BAE Audio, whose rack gear is among the key pieces he turns to in his own full-service home studio. When he heard that BAE Audio had released its first guitar pedal, the Hot Fuzz, he was intrigued to explore one of his favorite gear manufacturers’ take on the stompbox effect.
The Hot Fuzz arrived at Clarke’s studio just as he was in the thick of recording his newest solo record. “I’ve stepped back from some of my touring obligations this year to focus on finishing the new record,” he says. “Since I’m producing as well as playing guitar and writing all the songs, it’s a lot of work.” His home studio is stocked with a healthy complement of classic guitar amps as well as over 40 guitars, so he already had access to a wealth of guitar sounds. But when he plugged in the Hot Fuzz, he found its sonics both harkening back to an old favorite and delivering something totally new.
What’s Old is New
The Hot Fuzz is a dual-stomp pedal featuring both a vintage-style treble booster and a vintage-style fuzz, each with separate bypass switches. “I had an original treble booster some years back which I used to love with a dirty tube amp,” he says. “I got rid of it for some reason, but kicking on the Hi Frequency Boost on the Hot Fuzz—it really has that sound. It’s not really treble so much as it is high midrange—it just brings that frequency range out in a way that makes the guitar really sing.”
Immediately, the tone opened up new creative possibilities for Clarke, who was looking for some additional material to round out his full-length record. “I had a little riff that was the first thing I was trying out on the Hot Fuzz and it suddenly inspired a new riff which inspired a new song!” he says.
BAE Audio CEO Mark Loughman had recommended that Clarke experiment with kicking on both the boost and fuzz sections of the pedal simultaneously for yet another tone option, a chain he had not used in his days as an owner of a vintage treble booster. “As the song came together, I ended up using just the treble boost for the verse, and then the boost and the fuzz together for the chorus,” he says. “It really did everything you could ask for from a pedal for me: it inspired me creatively and helped move the song along dynamically.”
Full Spectrum Fuzz
Clarke felt that the unique sonic character of the fuzz section of the Hot Fuzz separated it from other dirt boxes he has used over the years. “The tone of the fuzz reminds me a bit of 90s Russian fuzz pedals, but it has way more tonal range than that,” he explains. “Those were very two-dimensional pedals, you either had a fuzzy low end or a fuzzy high end. With the Hot Fuzz, the fuzz is spread very evenly throughout the bass, treble, and midrange.”
For Clarke, it is the articulate midrange of the Hot Fuzz that makes it so musical. “As a guitar player, I’m always looking for a defined midrange,” he says. “That’s the part of the spectrum that the guitar is responsible for, and the Hot Fuzz has really nice tonal characteristics in the all-important 1kHz to 3kHz range.” Clarke also found the fuzz highly responsive. “Not only does it sound good, but it’s got that great singing sustain, where you can hold out a note and it will really last,” he says.
Caught by the Fuzz
Clarke sees room for a lot more potential for exploration with the Hot Fuzz in the future. “This is a very new toy for me, and already it has lead to some cool things, so I look forward to messing around with it more,” he says. As for the new song it inspired, since named ‘Tightwad,’ Clarke describes it as among the top few single candidates on the record. “The Hot Fuzz is a huge part of the sound of that song, so I’m going to have to make some room for it on my pedalboard for my upcoming shows,” he says. He now recommends it to any intrepid guitar players out there who, like he is, are constantly searching for new tonal options. “It’s a really unique sound, so if you’re someone who likes to experiment and try new things you’ll find that the Hot Fuzz is a pedal that can really inspire something.”