Years ago John Fischbach, a well-established and respected producer/engineer, came to my studio to record an album that our mutual friend, Luther Russell, was producing. [See Tape Op #21.] In those days my studio, Jackpot! Recording, was a diamond in the rough. We had recently graduated to a 24-track, 2-inch machine, albeit one that would occasionally fall out of sync with its remote. (Jeez, that made punch-ins difficult!) Our console was nothing to get excited about, but it worked, and we had some decent, if limited, outboard gear and mics. John only brought two pieces of gear with him: an Audio-Technica AT4047 mic and a dbx mic preamp. I was shocked, as neither were high ticket items. I thought "real" engineers traveled around with big rolling rack cases loaded with the best in vintage and new boutique recording channels.
I helped set up the mics and got John accustomed to my studio, and eventually left him to his job. Nothing that he was doing seemed foreign to me, and I don't recall seeing any strikingly unique mic placements or extreme patchbay craziness going on. I observed as he calmly spoke with the musicians about instruments and sounds. I watched as he listened intently to the monitors as a mic was dialed up. It all seemed pretty typical to any Jackpot! session.
When the album, Mel Brown's Mister Groove, was finished, I took a listen. Nothing could have prepared me for the fact that it was the best sounding recording to have come out of my studio at the time. Sure, John was working with some of the top players from Portland, as well as with a focused producer who gave the project a strong, song-based connection. But the sheer quality of these recordings sounded heads and tails above the thuddy drum sounds and out of tune vocals that seemed to be my indie rock recording specialty back then. How did he do this?
Later I bumped into John at a trade show, and I remember asking him how the hell he got such a great sound out of my ramshackle studio. He let out a friendly laugh and a wink as he patted me on the back. I had to admit he had far more experience under his belt than I, but I also hadn't witnessed any magic techniques or special gear that I could attribute this recording success to.