Q&A with multi-platinum rock producer Michael Wagener.

  • Thread starter Thread starter James Lugo
  • Start date Start date
Are there any new bands coming out now, that you would love to work with?

Thanks Tony
 
Good Morning Michael,

When you are working with bands in the studio and they are developing and writing ideas for an album, but can't seem to put them together, how do you give them direction? Are there times when you pick up the guitar/bass/drums/etc and play a certain part you have in your head to help them along?

Do you have any stories where you are working with clients and they just want to do to many things and you have to back them down a bit? Like say to many effects on tracks, or they want to do eight million takes because they feel like they could just do better?

What tips/tricks do you have for your go to guitar sound in the studio? ie: favorite mic,mic position, guitar cab and speaker choice, 29 dollar pedals from guitar center that you shouldn't be without sort of thing. ;)

Thanks for your time and welcome to the forum!


Randy
 
MW:

Besides the microphone and the recording device, what, if any, is the next most critical piece when trying to record the most authentic guitar tone that you hear in the room?
 
This is awesome!!

I'm a long time Fan of Michaels, so it's beyond amazing to me to have him here!!

With that said, I figured that all the 80's guys like myself will pummel him with questions about the good old days, so I figure that Id hit you up with something different!

My questions are

1)What do you think about the modern way of recording compared to the way things were done back in the day?
2) Did you have a favorite producer that you admired from back in the day?
3) Is there a modern day producer of this generation that you admire or think is doing great things?

Hope this makes sense!!

All the best!!

Ralph
 
DEWD":1vr0hu0j said:
I'd like to know which album he has done has his favorite guitar tone and what is his favorite guitar tone of all time?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
OK, it stopped raining for now, so here it goes.

DEWD
There is not one single guitar tone I like best. I always try to get the best tone for the player /song, so based on that I pretty much like them all.
 
dstroud":qhnon0f0 said:
I'd love to know the amps/micing techniques for White Lion Pride and Dokken Back for the Attack.
Click to expand...
Pride was recorded and mixed at AMIGO in North Hollywood the old Warner Brothers studio. Unfortunately that studio is not there anymore, it was a very creative place.
On Pride (if I remember it right) we mainly used the ADA MP-1 into a McIntosh transistor power amp with output transformers into a (Andy Brauer Rentals) Marshall 4x12 with original G12 30W speakers. That was the main rig. We also used Marshall heads, but I really can't remember exactly which ones. The solo on "Wait" was played through a GrooveTubes 30 W tube amp, one of the first with direct speaker emulator out.Vito played the solo while tracking drums, and we kept it.

For mics I mainly used Fostex M11RP ribbon mics, Beyer M88s, Sennheiser 409 and on occasion a Countryman lavalier mic. We used the mic-pres in the MCI 500 console.

I did not record Back For The Attack, so unfortunately I can't help you there.
 
thenine":s0vpvayk said:
I'd like to know amps/micing techniques for the Balls To The Wall album. That is my fave recorded guitar tone of all time!!!!! I believe Wolf used a floyded strat with EMG's, is this true? I also believe Wolf had a "special" Marshall back then that was heavily modded. Is this true? Any pedals or whatever to get that grinding, pumping, sizzle with girth please!
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Again, I did not record "BTTW" just mixed it. Wolf used heavily modified Marshall 50W Plexi at that time, amongst a bunch of other Marshalls, as well as a special made 200W Marshall head. The pedals were MXR distortion plus, 3 of them in parallel, going to three different amps. There were full Marshall stacks (original G12 30W) all over the studio in different rooms.

I don't believe that he had EMGs on his strat back then, but I am not sure
 
Hey Michael,

A lot has been written about guys like Mike Slammer who were 'ghost' guitar players on a lot of those 80's albums.

Were all the albums you did with bands like Poison and Warrant recorded with CC and the Warrant guys playing or did you bring other players in as necessary...how does that work?

Cheers!!
 
kasperjensen":240uonw4 said:
Dear Michael Wagener.

Thank you for taking your time to do this. I believe I can speak for us all when I say that we are very grateful.

I would like to hear you out on your approach in getting a "sound" for a band/artist. Not specifically the guitar, but the whole shebang.
Does it start with hearing earlier material and/or seeing the band live? i.e. Do you think:

"OK, this is what they can do, but I want them to sound like this" and then take it from there? Do you then have a specific sound in your head that you will pursue, or will you let it flow into something different?

In pursuing this, will you make any arrangement edits to suit the sound you are going for, or do you generally stay within what has already been written?

Again, thank you.

Kasper Jensen
Click to expand...

Hello Kasper

I listen to the band's sound on their demo or go see them play live and take it from there. Sometimes the band has a unique sound already and i try to bring that out more during the project.

The normal flow of a project is like follows:
I get a request from a band for a production and they send me an initial demo. From there I decide if I can contribute to the project, in other words, do I like the music? If I do, I meet the band and we find out if we all get along. I try to go see them play live to find out the level of musicianship. If all this checks out, the band will send me a bunch of songs that are considered for the album. If we are looking at putting 10 songs on the album I need at least 25 demos to pick from and we will attempt to record 12. The band might have a ton of great material, but it might not all fit on the same album.
After I work on the arrangements of the demos, I will meet up with the band in their rehearsal room and we go over each song in detail. That is also the time when I get to check out the bands gear, amps drums, instruments. We will rehearse the songs to the point that drummer, rhythm guitar and bass know exactly what they have to play. The vocal line should be established, but stays somewhat open for changes later, so does the guitar solo.

By the end of the "pre-production" the rhythm section is ready to record and we won't waste time in the studio with arrangements and with "how did that go"? In pre-production we also establish the sound for the album. Based on that we pick the gear needed. In the studio we spend time on marrying the right heads with the drums and then we record the drum tracks for all the songs as well as the bass trtacks for all the song. From then on we finish one song at a time, just to stay in the same mood, same headphone mix/ruff mix and build up on the basic tracks. This is the time to come up with the final guitar sounds. I have tons of guitars and amps at the studio, so we can try different things very fast.

The main sound attention goes to the song and then to the player. I like to worj with bands where a certain overall sound is already established when they come to me and I just help polish it.
 
Nico":1bwqwzci said:
Mr. Wagener welcome to RT...

1. I wanted to ask you about the never ending debate us guitar freaks usually have. Do you think tone is mostly in the fingers or in the equipment?

2. What do you think has the most impact on tone: Guitar or Amplifier?

3. And what is your favorite guitar player out of all the people you have worked with?

Regards, :rock:
Nico.
Click to expand...
Hello Niko

1. To me it's both, one without the other is not possible. If you have a great player but he plays through shitty gear, it probably won;t sound great. And on the other hand if you have the best amp in the world and the player is no good, it won't sound good either. My tendency would be more towards a great player. Vito, Nuno, Scotti and Snake all played through that ADA setup mentioned earlier, same setting, same mics, same cab, but different guitars and different players and they all sound completely different. So, I actually would put more weight on the fingers ;)

2. Again both. It's the combination that makes the sound

3. In no particular order: Vito, Nuno, Snake, Scotti, Steve Stevens, Zack, George Lynch, Wolf Hoffmann, Chris Impellitteri, Mick Mars, Dimebag Darrel, Jake Lee, James Hetfield, Kane Roberts, Jeff Young, Roland Grapow, Al Pitrelli, Muriel Anderson, Ty Tabor, Amen, Ryan Wariner and so on and so on. There is no favorite, I think they are all great.
 
MICHAEL WAGENER":1ndrbxx3 said:
kasperjensen":1ndrbxx3 said:
Dear Michael Wagener.

Thank you for taking your time to do this. I believe I can speak for us all when I say that we are very grateful.

I would like to hear you out on your approach in getting a "sound" for a band/artist. Not specifically the guitar, but the whole shebang.
Does it start with hearing earlier material and/or seeing the band live? i.e. Do you think:

"OK, this is what they can do, but I want them to sound like this" and then take it from there? Do you then have a specific sound in your head that you will pursue, or will you let it flow into something different?

In pursuing this, will you make any arrangement edits to suit the sound you are going for, or do you generally stay within what has already been written?

Again, thank you.

Kasper Jensen
Click to expand...

Hello Kasper

I listen to the band's sound on their demo or go see them play live and take it from there. Sometimes the band has a unique sound already and i try to bring that out more during the project.

The normal flow of a project is like follows:
I get a request from a band for a production and they send me an initial demo. From there I decide if I can contribute to the project, in other words, do I like the music? If I do, I meet the band and we find out if we all get along. I try to go see them play live to find out the level of musicianship. If all this checks out, the band will send me a bunch of songs that are considered for the album. If we are looking at putting 10 songs on the album I need at least 25 demos to pick from and we will attempt to record 12. The band might have a ton of great material, but it might not all fit on the same album.
After I work on the arrangements of the demos, I will meet up with the band in their rehearsal room and we go over each song in detail. That is also the time when I get to check out the bands gear, amps drums, instruments. We will rehearse the songs to the point that drummer, rhythm guitar and bass know exactly what they have to play. The vocal line should be established, but stays somewhat open for changes later, so does the guitar solo.

By the end of the "pre-production" the rhythm section is ready to record and we won't waste time in the studio with arrangements and with "how did that go"? In pre-production we also establish the sound for the album. Based on that we pick the gear needed. In the studio we spend time on marrying the right heads with the drums and then we record the drum tracks for all the songs as well as the bass trtacks for all the song. From then on we finish one song at a time, just to stay in the same mood, same headphone mix/ruff mix and build up on the basic tracks. This is the time to come up with the final guitar sounds. I have tons of guitars and amps at the studio, so we can try different things very fast.

The main sound attention goes to the song and then to the player. I like to worj with bands where a certain overall sound is already established when they come to me and I just help polish it.
Click to expand...

Very interesting. Thank you very much for your reply, and to Lugo as well for making this happen.
:thumbsup:
 
Aloha M
what is your personal idea of perfect rock guitar tone (example?) and can you describe capture/recording chain and mix methodology (panning, volume, low pass) you have perfected over the years?

nuno/porno, accept bttw, and dokken ulak are my personal faves!

Pat
 
Capulin Overdrive":2lhaxbu6 said:
cheers Michael! :cheers2:


as allways James never fails to bring the pain! :rock:


Martin Birch spoke of having the feeling that something magical was happening during the recording of Machine Head, and then again with Number Of The Beast. What albums, if any did you get that feeling with?
Click to expand...
Pride, SkidRow, Pornograffitti, MoP, No More Tears and a bunch of others.
 
fuzzyguitars":34iuxlnl said:
Michael

Thanks for joining us and answering out questions.



Which amps seem to get the most use at your studio?

Of all the MTS and Egnater stuff, what is the most used Modules. Is it still the Wagener Deluxe by Salvation?

can you elaborate on your current go to line up while tracking guitars?

Royer----TG2----CraneHeadsong ?

Any EQ or compression?



Thanks in advance.


I have lots more questions but will only bother you with these for right now!
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It really depends on the song, but for the heavy stuff I like the Engl, the Salvation Wagener module, the Pete Turley 800 module and the Industrial Amps 120as well as the Splawn Quick Rod. For the more AC/DC direction I like the Splawn Quick Rod, the 1976 Marshall 2203, Voodoo Amps Vplex, Metropulous 12000 (68). The most versatile amp to me is the Egnater Tourmaster and for the lower Watt area the Egnater Tweaker. I have a Diezel Herbert and a Blackstar on the way, so more about those later. For the clean stuff I use a 1975 Stramp 4120 or the Roland Jazz Chorus. Anybody knows where I can get a 70s STRAMP 2100A for decent price?

Mics and preamps are mentioned above. All mics get mixed together (after the pre-amp) in the SSL AWS 900 and routed out to the CraneSong HEDD for the Tape process the recorded on a single track in Nuendo. No EQ or compression, the amps are the best guitar compressors already :)
 
This thread rocks :rock:

You've been involved in recording or producing some of my favorite music of all time. Thank you.
 
skoora":3qbyj8gx said:
Do you still have that incredible mane of hair you manly engineering man? :D

When did you feel that you could finally handle lead singers and get them through sessions rather painlessly? (of course, not you James :lol: :LOL: )
Click to expand...
I always felt comfortable with lead singers, Where do you see the problem? It's all psychology :)
 
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