Episode 56 - Teezio
Show Notes:
Live with Matt Rad - Episode 56
June 1, 2021
w/ Teezio - Week 1
Show notes by: Bradley Will
Teezio
I like the natural feel of a more home-like, cozy, studio setup.
Dealing with large high-end studios have their own set of problems, like broken gear, absent gear, being too clean, etc.
Conway has that thing where it feels like it’s home. It feels relaxed and homey in a way that other studios don’t.
The only person I’ll cut vocals for is Chris Brown.
Q: What is the process of recording a Chris Brown double album with 40-50 tracks?
Teezio
Chris always prefers to do a double album.
He’s also one of the only artist who has the clout to decide that they’re going to do a double album with no input from the label.
He wants the fans to have as much music as possible.
For ‘Heartbreak’ we recorded 250 songs and ended up narrowing it down to 57 tracks on the record.
When we cut vocals it’s as rough as it gets.
Just a simple Pro Tools EQ1 w/ a cut at 100Hz and a small bell boost at 5-7k.
Whenever I’m new to working with a new artist I tone myself down and put myself in an open, learning, approach. I don’t want to come in and change the game on the very first session.
I was recommended for the gig by Josh Gudwin who passed my number on to Chris Brown
When I got the gig from Juicy J he believed in me. He wanted someone who he could start from scratch. He didn’t want anyone to feel like they had bigger things going.
Chris Brown Tracking Template
I need a simple, blank tracking template. I immediately simplified the template I inherited from Chris’ last engineer.
The color scheme is everything. It’s how I identify where I am in the session without reading anything.
When you’re recording you need to know exactly where you are at at any moment. Or else you will get cussed-out by impatient artists.
You cannot be the one to fuck up the vibe by not being on and being prepared to track immediately. Especially if the artist is writing the song in the moment. Not being prepared will throw them off their game.
It’s about confidence. It’s not about how you dress or how you look. You need to communicate that you’re ready and capable.
It’s not rocket science. It’s music. It’s supposed to be fun.
Vocal Chain
Teezio:
When he started with Chris this was the vocal chain he inherited:
1. Telefunken 251
2. Neve 1073
3. Avalon 737 (just the compressor)
4. into Pro Tools direct.
No console or anything. Just clean signal with no extra coloration from the board.
Chris swapped out the Avalon for a Tubetech CL-1B that was simpler to use.
Chris’ voice is very loud. He can push a lot of air, so I walk into the booth and shout in order to find the level when I’m setting up the session.
Matt:
Getting your vocal chain and headphone monitoring right is super important.
- You want new vocalists to come in and as soon as they hear themselves in the headphones they think “I sound amazing.”
- The vocal should sound mixed in their ears.
Mixing Template For Vocals
I start with the Pro-Q3 and subtract the frequencies I don’t want first.
This even’s the vocal out.
Then I start to add. I add the top-end and the lows to balance it out.
I use a Pultec for the high-end air.
Then I do compression
This also adds a little more warmth to the vocal
Soothe
Then Neutron EQ for any last corrective measures.
Sometimes I’ll add a C2 as a nice transparent ending compressor.
The Transition From Tracking Engineer to Mixing Engineer
Teezio
No matter where you’re at in your career you should be mixing on the side.
A lot of the best mixers come from being recording engineers
It teaches you so much about what you need to do.
Tracking is like working with training weights on. And by the time you get to mixing it’s effortless to execute what you need.
Anything you can do to just record and edit all of the time
I came up with a process for strengthening my speed of recording and getting quick with it:
1. Put a song with vocals into your template.
2. Start playback a measure before the vocals come in and listen for a moment as if your artist is laying down that vocal.
3. Immediately afterwards, stop the audio and prep/arm the next track and drag any files that need to carry over. Immediately start “tracking” the next take.
4. Practice this over and over to build up your speed and muscle memory so that you can be tracking vocals at a very quick rate. As if you’re stacking up vocals at a quick pace.
You’ve got to get the reps in if you’re going to be tracking Pro Tools.
Even if you’re just recording nonsense.
An engineer that takes too long in the session will fuck up the flow.
I am preemptively teeing up the playback to start immediately after they punch-in a track. Before the artist can even ask for it.
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Teezio:
As an engineer the most important thing is that you take notes from collaborators with no ego or pride.
This is not an industry where you can be a diva. There are too many talented people coming up behind you.
You’ve got to the put in the reps. That’s a part of the “no ego” thing.
Matt:
It doesn’t do you any good to be hyper-competitive with other collaborators.
The people who are the most successful have the least ego.
