Mr. Steve,

Just wondering what the "huge old german condensers taped to the walls" were that you used at Pachyderm to capture "IN UTERO", and had you used a similar setup (in room mic count) to record previously? What about close mics on the drums for that record? what was the preferred cab mic on Mr. Cobains rig?

I hate to bombard you with Nirvana questions as I'm sure you are well beyond tired of being bothered about that, but I haven't been able to find a solid mic list pertaining to that project and I've always been curious.

Thank You,

Jay

And out of curiosity, did you do a search here on the Electrical Audio message forums, to find information about what Steve did while recording In Utero? If yes, did you find anything good?

Here is the list for the drum mics for Surfer Rosa.

steve wrote:Bass drum: RE20
Snare drum beyer 201+shure sm98 (top) no bottom mic
Small toms AKG C451 +CK1 top & bottom
Floor tom AKG C414 top & bottom
Stereo room 2xAKG C414 in M-S
Mono overhead Crown PZM (not used much)

No limiting. Occasionally a distant room mic (NeumannU87) was added.

Is that not helpful to you?

Ok. Try here and here..

Though neither of those are Nirvana, they've got all sorts of useful information.

I did do a search for info on In Utero, but I've read interviews with Cobain where he claimed that Steve "taped condensers all over the walls". Clarification on what those were is basically all I was seeking, the guitar mic(s) would have just been garnish. By the way, I read the "compressing the dumbshit" thread, and frankly I felt I had a valid question.

Seems that the first reply might have been just a tad sarcastic, sorry to have bothered you guys with such questions. I guess that I should have just automatically known what mics they were and how they were placed.

The "Surfer Rosa" drum sound is characteristically similar I suppose, so the mic info from that era should be relevant for at least a starting point.


Thanks for the warm welcome,

Jay

Anticpunk wrote:I did do a search for info on In Utero, but I've read interviews with Cobain where he claimed that Steve "taped condensers all over the walls". Clarification on what those were is basically all I was seeking, the guitar mic(s) would have just been garnish. By the way, I read the "compressing the dumbshit" thread, and frankly I felt I had a valid question.

Seems that the first reply might have been just a tad sarcastic, sorry to have bothered you guys with such questions. I guess that I should have just automatically known what mics they were and how they were placed.

The "Surfer Rosa" drum sound is characteristically similar I suppose, so the mic info from that era should be relevant for at least a starting point.


Thanks for the warm welcome,

Jay

Your question is valid. Don't know if it's already been answered or not.

There is kind of a running joke about threads titled "question for Steve". Don't take it personally, and welcome aboard.

As for what condensers he was taping to the wall, check the equipment list at the top, all sorts of good mics there which he might have brought with him to use, and then also go here to the Pachyderm Studio website which is where I believe he recorded the album. (As well as some Wedding Present albums, and maybe PJ Harvey as well?) You might drop them a mail with your inquiry, someone on staff there may know. (It may be a FAQ that they have a form e-mail answer for. Who knows?)

Good luck.

I checked out Pachyderm awhile back and in there mics list there is nothing I would deem "tape-able" to any surface, and only a few mics that met the standard of "old, german" etc. I guess it really doesn't matter what they were or even if they were, I still love that open sound Steve got.

Thanks for the help,

Jay

Anticpunk wrote:I checked out Pachyderm awhile back and in there mics list there is nothing I would deem "tape-able" to any surface, and only a few mics that met the standard of "old, german" etc. I guess it really doesn't matter what they were or even if they were, I still love that open sound Steve got.

Look, as unexciting an answer as this is, it was probably a Neumann.

As for being "tape-able" to a wall. Really, you can tape anything to a wall:



(thank you Roi Vaara.)

Bring on the hearsay:

AnalogElectric wrote:...

CMV563's (omni) in the corner of the drum room, behind the drummer. I was told Mr. Albini used CMV's in the corners of the main performance area at Pachyderm for the 'Inutero' album.
...

Somewhat relevant