by alex u. case

the study of recording

Rock Steady

Notes:

Echo:
Aretha's vocal gets a rather surprising special effect in this recording, in the form of a regenerating echo. Those Aaahs/Ooohs get a bit of ear grabbing spin, adding motion and support and interest to her long sustained single syllables. Such an effect risks being distracting and out of character if it appears during the actual lyrics, but adds to the crescendo of her wordless expressions.

Reverb:
Aretha gets the echo effect above while the background vocals echoing her words in fact get extra reverb. FX irony? No, but FX contrast like this is a frequent mix move. Aretha's tone is fuller, and her reverb treatment drier than the background vocals to make the mix elements clear: Aretha rules the mix. The background vocals play a supporting role, and are sonically tucked back and to the right in the mix.

Sources

Back to the full Recordingography

---

Latest News

• Can’t You Hear Me Knocking

  

  Rolling Stones Distortion: Keith Richards plays his Les Paul Custom Black Beauty with exquisite distortion, in open G tuning, for the iconic opening riff, panned hard right.(...)

  >> Read More

• Don’t Do Me Like That

  

  Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Pitch Shift: Engineer Shelly Yakus fabricate a high harmony vocal in each chorus by pitch shifting Tom Petty's lead vocal by a fixed interval of(...)

  >> Read More

• Hold Me My Daddy

  

  XTC Chorus: Lush thick chorus appears on tasty guitars throughout. Pitch Shift: Note the 1-octave-down layer beneath the electric guitar solo. It's not about making the(...)

  >> Read More

© 2010 - 2023 Recordingology and Alex U. Case. All Rights Reserved.