Studio Secrets -- Playing Left Field

Recording Tips by Fred Bogert

Here are some things we've done in the studio over the years that prove the chaos theory to be valid. Try these at home, but not with family in the room.

Take a hollowbody bass, grip it with your knees like a cello, and play it like a pizzicato bass. The tonalities are totally different. Also, grab a violin bow and saw on the E or G string. Do pads or long slides to injure the listener.

Stick a contact mic on the tailpiece of an electric guitar. Adjust it so it catches all the metallic noises and wierd overtones of the pick and the strings. Mix with the direct or amped signal, and season to distaste with close slapback echo.

Use a slow, full-pan tremolo, and by playing one note per side, make two parts out of one. If you can, add delays to each "side" so the images blend and swirl. Don't do this while standing up.

Play your electric bass thru a small guitar amp--with a 10" speaker or so. Mic the amp and set its tone like you would for most guitars-- some grit, but not too much distortion. Mix the result with a direct line to tape, or send direct and mic to panned channels. Try delaying the playback of the miced amp up to 25 ms, or reversing the phase of one of the playback channels. When it sounds just right, tell everybody you did it on purpose.

Tune your electric Guitar down a half step and use a capo. The sound and feel change enough so that it's like having a whole different instrument. Tell your friends it's your uncle's '59 ES-335.

Fred Bogert runs Studio C Productions in Nashville and apparently has too much time on his hands.