'ello all .....

new 'round here .. but by no means to the Stones.

wondering if there is already or ...is there any interest in a thread
relating to the Stones in the studio ?

much has been published & discussed regarding beatles but none about
the Stones in the studio. Huh ? ... I realise they (beatles) are seen
as "serious" composers ... hehehe ... and the advents EMI/Martin made
in recording technology.

I should like to be as technical as possible ... or not. Everything from
outboard, consoles, valves, rooms, techniques, ect. (not so much instruments).

am partial to the years '67( Olympic) thru '80(Pathe-Marconi) and very
specifically interested in the recording of "Exiles .." with the RSM.

perhaps foto's, "examples" of outtakes and acetates. Anything of superior
quality pre- RIAA curve. As an example: the "Satanic Majesties sessions"
that are floating around.

anything goes I guess ... just wanna throw this out there.

so much of the Stones magic, to me, has to do with how it was captured and
the alchemy of cats like Miller, the John's.

my interest is an on-going scholarly pass time ... that maybe one day I'd
like to turn into a published work.

all righty .. I'll get the ball rollin' ..
little something we in the biz like ta' call .. "gear porn"

inside the "RSM"



"Helios" console in the RSM circa '71


EMI console from "Pathe-Marconi" (some girls, emotional rescue, tatoo you)

*I believe that studio is defunct (as the stones knew it).. this console is now privately owned

HEre's some info on Olymipic Sound Studios taken from the book
Recording The Beatles (who did use the studio for a few tunes):

Studio One: 60 feet wide, 40 feet deep, 28 foot ceiling.
The desk, designed by Dick Swettenham, later to make the Helios desks,
was transistorized, had four main outputs, with alternate outputs
for film scoring.
The desks had individual modules for each section,
so they could be removed and replaced for servicing.
The studio went 8 track in January 1970.
Monitors and power amps were custom designed made expressly for Olympic.
The control room also had several Ampex machines,
two half-inch four tracks, plus stereo and mono model 351 valve units.
A Phillips two track was also used.
The outboard gear had Pye comopressors.
Olympic had no echo chambers ,but six EMT plates.
Mics uses were Neumann U67, KM56,
Telefunkun U47. AKG D20, AKH D30, and Pearl mics from Sweden.
Like Studio Two at Abbey Road/EMI, the control room overlooked the studio.

thnx for the info ...

that book has been on my "to buy" list for some time.

Olympic is an amazing sounding room.It exscapes me at the moment
exactly which beatles songs were recorded there (some MMT and
"Hey Jude" era stuff) ..

P.s. I just read a report that U2 may be buying Olympic as they
used it for thier latest work and the studio is in financial distress.

let's hope it can somewhat stay in the "family".

Quote
elsombra
thnx for the info ...

that book has been on my "to buy" list for some time.

Olympic is an amazing sounding room.It exscapes me at the moment
exactly which beatles songs were recorded there (some MMT and
"Hey Jude" era stuff) ..

P.s. I just read a report that U2 may be buying Olympic as they
used it for thier latest work and the studio is in financial distress.

let's hope it can somewhat stay in the "family".

The book Recording The Beatles seems to be backordered a lot lately.
There is a website for it. It's the best book on recording I've ever read,
and you don't need to be a Beatles fan to appreciate it. Hoewver, it's very,
very technical.
As for what the Beatles recorded at Olympic:
Baby, You're A Rich Man (recorded and mixed in one night, with Jagger a possible
background vocalist).
All You Need Is Love (backing track, finished at EMI).
Something (backing track at EMI, Paul's bass and George's guitar solo done at Olympic, finished at EMI).
You Never Give Me Your Money (backing track, finished at EMI).
Get Back album, Glyn Johns' version mixed at Olympic.

BTW, if U2 wants to buy Olympic, sure,
but it's been a totally different studio for many years now.
It was totally gutted in the mid-80s.
Apparently some sound genius from back then said the room was of no use
for modern recording.

thanx for chimein' in here ..

I've been on that book since the word of it's writting. Funny thing
I've never been a beatles fan. Sure I've respected thier work and
contribution (though I've always said McCartney is THE most under
rated bassist).

they never really resonated with me .. HOWEVER ... as of late with the
re-versioning by Martins kid of "Love" I've discovered a whole new
world. And with all the boots ... especially the work of "Purple
chick" ... I've come to realise that the mixes (to me) were so flat.

never any punch ... I know our technology and sensibilities have
changed but I sure am glad they got remixed by bass-centric ears ...

so after all this time I am discovering a new sonic wonderland !

and yea, I know Olympic got gutted ... seeing it covered in all that
"par-kay" (?) turns my stomach .. but the '80's were unkind to sooooo
much. It would just be a shame if got turned into a car park or worse
.... a Starbucks ... hehehehe.

peace.
"in keef we trust"

Quote
elsombra
thanx for chimein' in here ..

I've been on that book since the word of it's writting. Funny thing
I've never been a beatles fan. Sure I've respected thier work and
contribution (though I've always said McCartney is THE most under
rated bassist).

they never really resonated with me .. HOWEVER ... as of late with the
re-versioning by Martins kid of "Love" I've discovered a whole new
world. And with all the boots ... especially the work of "Purple
chick" ... I've come to realise that the mixes (to me) were so flat.

never any punch ... I know our technology and sensibilities have
changed but I sure am glad they got remixed by bass-centric ears ...

so after all this time I am discovering a new sonic wonderland !

and yea, I know Olympic got gutted ... seeing it covered in all that
"par-kay" (?) turns my stomach .. but the '80's were unkind to sooooo
much. It would just be a shame if got turned into a car park or worse
.... a Starbucks ... hehehehe.

peace.
"in keef we trust"

Well, I always liked the Beatles' mono mixes over the stereo mixes.
I think the mono ones have more of a "punch" than the stereo ones.
And, also, I think Satisfaction sounds best on a transistor radio.
I'll take that over any stereo mix any day.

I quite agree regarding mono mixes ... def more punch.

I'm 42 so I have one foot in the AM transistors of my youth
and the other in current available technology. As a recording
professional I am obsessed with sonics ... and sonic space .. so
I am forever in the stereo domain. Though I often "fold" my
mixes to check phasing and relative volumes.

an interesting observation; I recently heard "the sign" - Todd
Rundgren, coming out of a single "10 speaker in a store and was
taken aback.

I hadn't heard it since my youth ... so I got home and dwnld'd
it .. listened to the stereo version on a stereo set-up. And ...
where was the punch and energy ?? .. the toms were so flat !

I've listened and compared numerous "..walrus" mixes, both stereo
and mono on a stereo set-up. Settled on a stereo version .. the '93
remix I think. Looking for that "punch".

I've come to the conclusion that there is something about the
natural compression happening in a single speaker. Because mono
mixes on a two-speaker set-up just don't work.

another ta' do thing is to get a single speaker Hi-Fi, tube
console ... like the hand me down I had in my youth.

anyway ...

Quote
elsombra
'ello all .....

new 'round here .. but by no means to the Stones.

wondering if there is already or ...is there any interest in a thread
relating to the Stones in the studio ?

Sure,I'd love it!
[www.iorr.org]

There were some really interesting posts of Beelyboy and many others.
Thanks for sharing your experience of the sudios and pics of relative Stones articles.



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

"SUNSET SOUND" La/CA (sticky fingers, exiles)




*the following two "then & now" fotos are courtesy of "hbwriter" .. thank you.



API-DiMEDEO console: studio 3-Sunset Sound


NEVE 8088 console: studio 2-Sunset Sound (updated in '95)


these two images are of a Doors session from '67 at Sunset. I've included them for vibe as the studio would
not be too differant when the Stones were there.