Gear Stories With Sylvia Massy
Each month, Massy brings us her stories about the creative application of a single piece of technology on a single project. It’s like “Classic Tracks With Gear.” Enjoy.
Dec 1, 2010,
By Sylvia Massy
Mr. Williams led me through the darkened third-floor corridor of an abandoned brick office building in downtown Joliet, Ill. Cardboard boxes and ceiling plaster lay strewn on the floor, and a jolt of fear pulsed through me as we stepped over piles of debris to reach the illuminated doorway at the end of the long hall....
Oct 25, 2010,
By Sylvia Massy
Okay, I totally accept that old amps have their bad days, but this time she wasn’t coming back. We were midway through bass tracking with the band Dishwalla and my sweet, sturdy old Ampeg SVT decided to take a holiday. So we reluctantly pulled out “The Beast”—my back-up SVT, which is rarely brought out of storage because it’s just too damn hazardous!
...
Sep 21, 2010,
By Sylvia Massy
Ed Heath’s airplane fell apart in mid-air, killing him as it disintegrated. It was 1931, and Heath had been riding on the wings of the American industrial revolution with his line of build-your-own airplanes. ...
Aug 17, 2010,
By Sylvia Massy
I found it up in an oven-hot attic in the middle of summer. The place reeked of bird crap. I was rummaging for treasure in an old music store, tip-toeing around in an area that was strictly off-limits to anyone but shop personnel...
Jul 27, 2010,
By Sylvia Massy
Back at the beginnings of modern civilization, soon after the invention of the wheel, the recording of music was often done through a haphazard collection of 2-track radio consoles slung together with raw wire and powered by fossil fuels. Human beings spilled their souls onto long, winding strips of plastic tape, rearranging iron particles and rewriting history. ...
Jun 24, 2010,
By Sylvia Massy
In order to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, you must be prepared. You must pack the essentials: water, matches and, of course, an SM58. Forget the Swiss Army knife. The Shure SM58 is a hammer, a weapon, a spoon, a pestle, a dildo, a scepter—and a damn good mic on just about everything....
May 21, 2010,
By Sylvia Massy
What the heck? Were those drums sat on by an elephant? Someone must have left that kick drum out in the rain, causing it to warp into a weird melted shape—like the cake in that old “MacArthur Park” song.
...
Apr 27, 2010,
By Sylvia Massy
How can you keep from smiling? It farts, groans, weedles and screams as it’s being played, with hands moving erratically around its metal antennae. I keep the crazy thing hidden in the equipment locker at the studio and only reveal its presence when I know we have lots of time to kill....
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