Pedal Steel guitar used?

[PO]

Chuckles, what kind of pedal steel did Steve use on Can You Imagine? Was the setup just through a volume pedal and then an amp? Was it used elsewhere on the album?

I'd love to hear more about it.

Paul

[chuckles]

Chuckles, what kind of pedal steel did Steve use on Can You Imagine? Was the setup just through a volume pedal and then an amp? Was it used elsewhere on the album?

Hi Paul,
Steve used the same pedal steel he uses on tour: a Fender Dual Pro' Steel.He goes from that straight into a Ernie Ball volume pedal,to a tuner,and out into the clean Fender Twin amp.After that,I recorded the Twin with both a Shure 57 and an AKG 452EB microphones,both compressed equally through an Urei 1178 (the stereo version of the 1176 compressor) and then blended into mono through a Neve board.The Neve board I used was a model 8048 from 1972.Then it went straight to digital using ProTools.
Steve recorded the part in the control room right next to me,monitoring the same mix.The Twin was quite loud,so having him in with the amp would have been bad for his ears!!!
Cheers,
Nick

[PO]

Great, Nick. Thanks for the signal chain, too. That Neve sure came through the first time I heard this (to my ears, anyway!). The steel is just liquid. Great job on that! Interesting mix of mics, too.

[PO]

Also, did you do the vocals on the same song? Excellent vocal sound. It didn't seem to be a "traditional" Yes sound, but it was still very recognizable. A great feat.

[Topographic][Sardaukar]

Hey Chuckles, my dad's a recording engineer, too. Fascinating to read your posts. I noticed Alan's kit sounds considerably different in Can You Imagine than some of the other songs. If you don't mind, am I just hearing things, or did you do this on purpose?

[chuckles]

[Sardaukar']Hey Chuckles, my dad's a recording engineer, too. Fascinating to read your posts. I noticed Alan's kit sounds considerably different in Can You Imagine than some of the other songs. If you don't mind, am I just hearing things, or did you do this on purpose?

Hi Topographic][Sardaukar,
Although the drumkit was recorded pretty much the same throughout the record,we did change the sound a bit here and there,especially during the mixing stage.During the recording stage I remember changing the room mics,and the kick mics,at the minimum,to get a different vibe off the kit.Alan also played around with a "mini" kit,almost a children's kit,which I miked up with only 2 mics.I don't remember if it did make it to the final mix though,as we really only did it as more of a joke than anything.
Chuckles

[chuckles]

Also, did you do the vocals on the same song? Excellent vocal sound. It didn't seem to be a "traditional" Yes sound, but it was still very recognizable. A great feat.

Hi paostby,
I did some of the vocals on all the album.Most of the lyrics were not done until late in the album's existence.I remember using different vocal mics,but the ones I used the most is a new Neumann M149,and a very old Telefunken U47(same as the Neumann U47,just different badge).I used both the LA2A compressor,or the Summit Audio TLA100 compressor,and always a Neve mic pre from the board.This mic[the M149] was used for background vocals as well,and the lead on 'Can You imagine' that Chris sang.
I really should post the pictures I took again,if only for me to remember stuff by...I'll post the link when I've done so,in case anyone is interested in them.
Chuckles.

[cinderella]

I really should post the pictures I took again,if only for me to remember stuff by...I'll post the link when I've done so,in case anyone is interested in them.
Chuckles.

Yes please do. I'd love to see them. :D

[Bugeyes]

Do chuckles, I love to gush and fawn over in depth info, too. :lmao: We ARE interested.

[PO]

So, Nick,

Where did the recording take place?

What was the schedule like?

Did everyone come in and record "guide" tracks or were some songs put together in a different way?

[chuckles]

Hi everyone,
I am posting some pictures from the Magnification Sessions on my website:

www.nicksevilla.com

Please check them out.They are a slideshow,so they are not available to download...I have not yet figured out how to code that in Java...soon though.And soon after I will be posting my session notes,which I found again after 5 years in my garage...whew.

So, Nick,
Where did the recording take place?

Most of the recording took place in a studio in Santa Barbara CA,named Sound Design.I used to work there both as an engineer and a technician,from late 1997 through late 2002.The last parts,like final vocals and some backing vocals took place at Trevor Horns House/Studio in LA.

What was the schedule like?

The schedule was starting at 10am Monday through Saturday,ending at around 11pm or later,depending on how creative the guys felt during each day.Some Sundays I came in for extra work,usually to check backups and the like.

Did everyone come in and record "guide" tracks or were some songs put together in a different way?

Everyone came in with demo tapes,give a listen with the band all there,then they would rehearse parts for a few hours.Toward the afternoon,they would take a couple of tries,and if they were good enough,we'd move on to the next musical idea.Working inside a computer we were able to cut and paste arrangements one after the other to get a feel of the flow of the album,even before really commiting an idea to the album.I happened to have recorded all the warmup takes as well as the actual takes used on the album,and kept ALL of it...the label still has the extras,maybe one day they will see the light of day...maybe...

Cheers,
Chuckles

[gunsfornuns]

I've never been a musician. I flunked piano lessons in elementary school, and played percussion from 7th to 12th grade. I'm not usually into all the details behind a recording, only the final product.

However, the pictures are great. Thanks! I especially liked the one showing the coffee mug next to the computer keyboard. Don't let my wife see that!

[rahtreelimbs]

Chuckles, do you have any insight to the recording that Yes did on the CTTE and the like sessions?

[PO]

Nick, the pics are great. A lot of great shots of the guys and the gear.