For the song exploder project, I have chosen to emulate the production style of Butch Vig. For a specific reference, I will be using the first 2 Smashing Pumpkins Albums that he produced to guide me in my own production choices.
The song I will be covering is “Chamber of Reflection” by Mac Demarco. From this song, I will be taking the chords, melody, bass line, lyrics and structure but also adding in other sections such as a solo and instrumental parts to really get into Smashing Pumpkins territory.
As far as gear and production styles go. The thing that really sticks out to me about Butch Vig productions whether it be Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins or even his own band Garbage, is the blistering amount of guitars that just jump out of the speakers and terrorise your ears.
Production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-KE9lvU810
Song Choice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY8IS0ssnXQ
The Smashing Pumpkins guitar sound was achieved mainly through the use of a Marshall JCM 800, Electro Harmonix Big Muff and Billy Corgan's ‘57 re-issue strat. In a Q&A Butch Vig stated that on some songs on Siamese Dream such as “Hummer” and “Soma” there as many as 40 tracks dedicated to guitars. In a Reverb.com interview with Billy Corgan, he states that they would use the same rig and pedal setup to achieve different tones and layer them together and it would produce this massive sound heard on the record. In regards to miking guitar amps Vig Said, an AKG C 414 produced the widest spectrum of sound, a Sennheiser 421 accented the midrange, and ribbon mics were used to obtain a smoother sound with quick, yet mellow, transients.
“You can’t have 40 guitars that are all full range,” says Vig. “There have to be places for them to fit. You could have low-midrange, or you could have everything scooped out with a high-pass that’s cut at 300 or 400kHz.”
Another aspect of the production that is undeniably unique is the vocal production. Obviously, I won't be able to find someone who sounds as indistinguishable as Billy Corgan, but what I will attempt to replicate is the double tracking and the phasey characteristic of his vocals. In an interview Butch Vig states that he much prefered to use delay instead of reverbs to create space in the ’90s, although this was in reference to the Nevermind production, I think it's fair to assume that something quite similar has done in the pumpkins production. Butch Vig said this on a gear slutz forum in regard to the vocal production on Siamese Dream, “I think we used an SM7 a lot...and I had an API Lunchbox that I used for vocals at that time for the pre...I would add a little air at the top, and usually cut a bit of mid around 800 hz.... And I probably used my Summit TLA 100 comp.
But I seem to remember Billy used a large tube mic on a couple songs...hmmmm”
In regards to effects used, Vig said this: “The one efx we used a lot on Billy's voice was the Eventide harmonizer, to add a slight double effect. Usually 20 or 30 ms delay, with about a 10 cent pitch offset.”
Another example from the production I will implement into my own is the drum sound that Butch Vig creates. He says it is very case to case with how he records drums, and that he attempts to do what the record dictates and calls for. In the case of the Smashing Pumpkins, it was something that wouldn't get muddied up by Corgan's frequency hog guitars. A huge part of the drum sound is Jimmy Chamberlain’s ability to control the dynamics of his playing, essentially mixing himself as he records.
For my own gear choices, I will be using my Marshall AVT 1x12 combo, it has the iconic Marshall sound, although lacking the 4x12 cabinet that Corgan used hopefully it will be enough to get me over the line. I will be borrowing someones strat to use on the project. I also have an array of fuzz pedals to use if I can’t get my hands on a big muff that will culminate to something similar.
For drums, I will be happy to use whatever I can get my hands on and what the drummer has to use.
The record was recorded through a Neve 8068 console so all going to plan and hoping that the Neve at SAE doesn't break down I will be using that to record and mix through.
This week I have spent my 18 hours writing the parts for the song and playing around with amp, pedal and guitar combos/settings.
References:
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