Brendan O Brien

[MirrorProfiles]

no gear or plugins will make you sound like Brendan, but (as we mentioned EMT250’s) this deal is pretty great and for £40 is a pretty unbeatable way of getting:

- EMT250
- Neve 1084/2254
- 1176
- 3 Tape models
- Juno 106

VST Plugins, Synth Presets, Effects, Virtual Instruments, Music Plugins from Pluginboutique

VST Plugins, Synth Presets, Effects, Virtual Instruments, Music Plugins from Pluginboutique

www.pluginboutique.com

 

[Sleezy E]

Finally got time to watch, great interview.
His take on gear is the same as mine.. if it sounds good, it sounds good. It was fun watching him sluff off the questions about mics as if there was a model preference/secret sauce... the answer was always "the performer made it happen" love it

2 YUUGE takeaways at the very end...
He's only recorded 2 live drummers in the last year (because vst) and that analog is nothing to be romantic about

 

[MirrorProfiles]

He's only recorded 2 live drummers in the last year (because vst)

maybe I misunderstood but that wasn’t really how I interpreted it. I guessed he was either working on music that didn’t require recording real drums, or he was coming in on projects where drums had already been tracked or done remotely without him needing to.

 

[Sleezy E]

maybe I misunderstood but that wasn’t really how I interpreted it. I guessed he was either working on music that didn’t require recording real drums, or he was coming in on projects where drums had already been tracked or done remotely without him needing to.

He was referencing the "way things are these days" and the example was that he doesn't really record drums anymore....

Read into it what you will

 

[MirrorProfiles]

He was referencing the "way things are these days" and the example was that he doesn't really record drums anymore....

Read into it what you will

Yeah, I don’t think drum software has changed that much at all in the last few years. SD3 came out in 2017, and as good as it is, it’s no more realistic sounding than SD2. All the others are Kontakt based or really old. They haven’t suddenly just become a viable option.

I think it’s WAY more common post pandemic for people to do stuff remotely or using audiomovers. I think that was definitely a shift in the industry where people realised things could be done remotely without much compromise.

I’m also not even sure what Brendan has been working on the last few years. I’m sure if it was AC/DC or Mastodon or Springsteen ringing the phone, it might be different to working with a singer who has fleshed out demos on their laptop

 

[la szum]

I think it is fucking awesome that the legends in the industry get more fixated on songs,
playing, and performances than they do gear. Almost without exception.

Doesn't indicate gear doesn't matter----just that it is literally never the solution to the
problem when tracking/recording music.

I also think it is awesome (and maybe a bit contradictory) that as much as they tend to not
focus on gear they also end up with the best of the gears.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I think it is fucking awesome that the legends in the industry get more fixated on songs,
playing, and performances than they do gear. Almost without exception.

Doesn't indicate gear doesn't matter----just that it is literally never the solution to the
problem when tracking/recording music.

I also think it is awesome (and maybe a bit contradictory) that as much as they tend to not
focus on gear they also end up with the best of the gears.

I think if I was regularly working out of Henson, Capitol and Southern tracks I wouldn’t be thinking about gear either. And did he say he personally convinced Southern Tracks to spend $1m+ on gear in the early 90’s so he could move in? Presumably it already had a lot of decent stuff there, and Brendan has a pretty nuts collection of his own.

It’s definitely Brendan doing the work and not the gear but it’s also nice to nerd out a bit on what he likes/gravitates towards

 

[la szum]

A Producer reminds me a bit of being a Coach or Manager in Sports. Best way to be
a successful Coach? Have great players.

Empower them. And don't get in their fucking way with your own ego.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I also think it is awesome (and maybe a bit contradictory) that as much as they tend to not
focus on gear they also end up with the best of the gears

Well when you work with the best gear you tend not to have to focus on it too much. It works as it should so all that's left is making music.

 

[la szum]

And great records have been made with totally inferior gear..... otherwise known as "not the best gear
from the time period."

Gear is fascinating. But is it ever the most fascinating aspect or element of the end result? I wonder.

Seems like the greats look at it all as more utilitarian than utopian.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Seems like the greats look at it all as more utilitarian than utopian.

For sure. What sets them apart is experience, efficiency and of course their creativity with the whole process. But many are no doubt much bigger gear heads than we'll ever be -- they just have more exposure to them day in and day out. For a lot of us to think of working on a SSL or Neve console regularly, for example, might be a romantic idea because we don't have as much access so then we wonder about the possibilities. But for the great engineers & producers it is/was their daily driver. Some are more accommodating to share insight in regards to gear (Lanois is one) while others probably find it a mundane discussion.
Personally I think I'm more fascinated with how the great recordings were assembled rather than what exact gear was used in the assembly.

 

[Sleezy E]

Ask any mechanic and they'll tell you good tools make the job easier... but they don't make you good at your job.

 

[DrewJD82]

I have no way of knowing how much of the band had to do with this and how much was Brendan, but being that Brendan's name appears on a lot of albums that have some wonderful ear candy, I suspect he's the culprit in this. I timestamped this starting from a break in the song where it goes through several sections fairly quickly, each having it's own feel until everything drops out and the big, final chorus comes. There's ear candy alllll over this shit, tamborines, shakers, trap cases.....



Brann starts saying here how Brendan has an ear for the bells and whistles and then the editing kinda makes it seem as if it's all Brann and surely he's picked up plenty over the years, but Brendan's done 2 albums with them and there's a noticable difference in the ear candy on those albums. Cool footage here of some production work, unsurprisingly not showing Brendan at all.

(timestamped)

 

[la szum]

In the old school sense, Brendan seems to suggest that the room is maybe more important
than the gear. No amount of great gear can compensate for a crappy room. An amazing room
can overcome less than stellar gear.

Thus, the Studio Is The Room concept is born.

 

[Sleezy E]

...quick tangent... I listened to the whole King's X Dogman album last night. Great stuff

 

[la szum]

Ask any mechanic and they'll tell you good tools make the job easier... but they don't make you good at your job.

So true!

I just took a Motorcycle Handling/Safety Course this past weekend and one of the
essential takeaways was that your skill on a bike translates across all different styles
and types of bikes. The bike/gear is not what keeps you safe, or helps you be great
on the road. I kind of feel a similar sort of thing applies to musicians/producers.

Not that this will stop anyone from obsessing about the gear... or the bike.

 

[la szum]

Can a great mechanic with cheap tools fix and repair more than a wretched mechanic
with the best that Snap On can bring to your shop???

I just think the effort to develop and cultivate skill in one's craft is and will always
be superior to the pursuit of the tools/gear.

Ideally, we all end up with both. Relatively speaking.

 

[la szum]

Man, check out Brendan's feet. Like a lot of super creative people he is super fidgety.
Like his insides are going 1,000 mph in an 100mph world.

 

[la szum]

That Black The Sky clip is arguably the best sounding thing in that entire
interview. It just leaps out and refuses to be denied, both from a tonal and
production standpoint.

 

[la szum]

Brendan also mentioned putting inferior tools into a great guitarist's hands to make
them have to "struggle" and work for it a little harder.