The Producer's Philosophy, with Brian Bender

Kirk sits down with producer, composer, and master mixer Brian
Bender to talk about the state of the recording art.


Brian Bender has been making records since the early 2000s, from
slinging cable at legendary NY spots like Electric Lady and the
Hit Factory to running his own studio, The Motherbrain, in Los
Angeles. He’s worked with countless artists and worked on dozens
of films and TV shows. He’s also the guy who taught Kirk how to
play Street Fighter back in grade school.


On this episode, Kirk reunites with his old buddy to talk about
the producer’s role in the studio, Al Green's cookies, common mix
misconceptions, how to mic drums, and how to get a good handclap
sound.


Follow Brian (and check out his studio) on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/bdbender/
Brian Bender's (Partial) Discography:
https://www.discogs.com/artist/361112-Brian-Bender
Film & TV Credits: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4685996/


REFERENCED/DISCUSSED:


TERMS


A/D or D/A: Analog to digital conversion

“In the Box”: Making music entirely digitally with no
outboard gear

Stems - Submixes of like tracks (e.g. the strings, the
guitars) which an engineer can work with instead of individual
tracks in order to streamline workflow



MUSIC


“Stop” by Joe Henry from Scar, 2001

“A.D. 2000” by Erykah Badu from Mama’s Gun, 2000
(mixed by Russell Elvado)

“Lay It Down” by Al Green from Lay It Down, 2008

“Mother Brain” by Minako Mamano from Super Metroid,
1994

“If You Hear Me,” “Promised Land” by Ben Williams from I
Am a Man, 2020

“Super Bad” by James Brown feat. Jabo Starks on drums, 1970

“Nobody Knows My Name” by José James feat. Laura Mvala &
Kris Bowers from No Beginning No End 2, 2020

“Church Girl” by Laura Mvula from Pink Noise, 2021

“Elevator" by Gavin Turek from Madame Gold, 2021

“Guilty” by Barbra Streisand w/ Barry Gibb, 1980



GEAR


Drums:


C&C Custom Drum Set

Ludwig Supraphonic Snare Drum



Studio Gear:


Studer 2-inch 24-Track Tape Recorder

Ampex 602 2-Track 1/2-Inch Tape Recorder

Otari 2-inch 16-track Multitrack Tape Machine

Teletronix LA-2A Compressor



Microphones:


AKG 414 (The OG)

Shure SM57 (The GOAT)

Electro-Voice 642 Cardiline Dynamic Shotgun Mic (Kick Batter)

Neumann U47 FET (Kick Head)

Inverted Yamaha NS-10 Woofer (Sub Kick Mic)

Sennheiser 421 (Toms)

Coles 4038 ribbon (Overheads, the other GOAT)

Lomo 19a19 tube condenser (Secret Russian mic)



OTHER THINGS


Tate’s Bake Shop

George Massenburg explains the GML8200 Parametric EQ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kBFqHo2z9Q

The movie “Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar,” 2021



Correction: Kirk initially erroneously described Bender as
having won multiple Grammys and Emmys, but he has only been
nominated (so far). The episode has been edited to remove the
error.


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