Studio Pass: Sylvia Massy

Over the last 30+ years, Sylvia Massy has built a career as one of the gutsiest and most innovative recording engineers and producers. She has worked with legends like Prince and Johnny Cash, and won awards for her work with bands like Tool, System of a Down and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. In this once-in-a-lifetime experience, you will get a peek inside the recording process of one of rock’s legendary engineers.

While she is a proficient master of vintage gear, Sylvia stresses that great records come not from having the right gear, but from capturing great performances. Join Sylvia as she records a song in the studio with Seattle alt-rock band Thunderpussy, and learn how to work with an artist to capture that magical take in your own work.

Pulling from her years of experience and sharing stories from her newly published book Recording UnHinged, Sylvia will show you:

How to get interesting and vibrant drum sounds, using the room and the drummer to your advantage
Capturing great sounding guitars at the source, without editing and reamping
Pushing vocalists to deliver their best vocal takes
Mixing both in the box and through a console using outboard gear

Sylvia is also known as a prolific educator, speaking and teaching at some of the best recording schools around the world. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry’s most celebrated A-list producers.

Lessons

Class Introduction
Avast! Studio Overview & Walkthrough
Sylvia's Recording Philosophy
Introduce the Band, Thunderpussy
Drum Setup & Tuning
Drum Mic Placement
Drum Micing - Mid-Side Overhead Technique
Drum Micing - Room Mics
Drum Micing - Toms
Drum Micing - Kick and Snare Final Tuning
Bass Setup
Guitar Setup
Vocal Setup
Band Mic Check
How Sylvia Plans a Lesson
Budgets, Time and Planning a Session
Recap and Intro
Recording the Band, Thunderpussy
Mixing the Recording of the Band
Re-Recording Chorus
Process for Editing
Guitar Solo and Overdubs
Vocal Overdubs
Creative Studio Techniques
How to Mix: Drums
How to Mix: Add Bass & Guitar
How to Mix: Add Vocals

Reviews

This Studio Pass episode with Sylvia Massey covers a lot of ground. From fundamentals like correct mic placement and phase to experimentation with amps, cell phone delay and a few extra parts, Sylvia makes it fun! I have been lucky enough in my career to work with a number of great engineers and producers. I haven't had the opportunity to work with her, but Sylvia is certainly in that category, and anyone who gets a chance to work with her would be a lucky person. This broadcast is the next best thing. Great job there at Avast Studio and fantastic camera work! And as for Thunderpussy; you guys rock!
Wow, that was such a blast. Thanks so much Sylvia and everyone else for making this such a fun experience. I picked up so many new ideas that I can't wait to try out! Sylvia is such a creative producer, it was so much fun to be a fly on the wall watching everything. Loved it!!
Awesome! A great opportunity to pick into the creative mind of one of the greatest and get that kind of knowledge that you can't acquire otherwise. Highly recommended!