Sometimes it's worth pulling something out of comments to
make sure you don't miss it. Here, legendary innovator and engineer
George Massenburg weighs in on Beatles producer Geoff Emerick (in response to Rian's extended piece on Massenburg, Emerick, and Scheiner last week):
Thanks……to Rian Souleles for taking the time to show up
and listen to the great questions and answers from both sides of the
phone call.
It's worth pointing out that Geoff isn't really secretive about what
he's doing. I find that he more just doesn't really remember what he's
done. Like Al Schmitt he kind of "twiddles knobs till it sounds right."
What Geoff did reveal was that "Eleanor Rigby" was recorded for the most part with Shure SM56's. . . . an existence-defining moment for me I must tell you.
George Massenburg
If that defines Mr. Massenburg's existence, it sure does ours. (The
SM56 was the predecessor to today's still-inexpensive SM57; see the
original Shure SM56 manual. You can pick an SM57 up for about US$75 — proof that great music isn't about pricey gear.)