Inside Production with Richard Gilewitz

For More on Richard CLick Here

  Monday, March 3, 2003 - I met Richard Gilewitz for the first time when he came to do a Tacoma finger-picking guitar clinic at my music store, Greenbrier Music Shop, Anniston, Alabama. 

    We hit it off immediately since we have the same sense of humor and like to keep things going at a rapid pace. He mentioned his upcoming CD project, so I showed him my recording studio and played an example of my acoustic guitar recording technique. 

 Richard decided that was the sound he wanted; and after a brief discussion, we made a deal for him to record his new CD at my studio.  

 Friday, July 4^th – Arriving at the studio at 3 p.m., Richard  was so focused on getting started, he forgot it was a holiday! As in any relationship, the recording process starts by talking about expectations before recording even begins. Working in a new studio can be stressful for any artist. It takes a little time to get the feel of how you want to work. Richard was very focused and required total silence during his sessions. 

Richard got out his Tacoma ER22C guitar, and I set up a couple of mics, starting off with an Audix SCX 25 and a Neumann 184. Initially, mic placement had the 184 about six inches from the neck aimed at the 5th fret and the SCX 25 about six inches from the guitar lower bout aimed behind the bridge. We recorded a couple of songs with these two mics and then started listening and discussing what we liked and disliked about the sound we were getting.

     We took a supper break and returned to the studio, this time trying a couple of different mic placements, recording the same two songs with each change. Around 10 p.m. we decided to call it a night and listen with fresh ears on Saturday, resuming at 4 p.m.

    Saturday, July 5 – We started getting down to serious recording during this session. I decided to change out the SCX 25 and put in a second Neumann 184 to match the other. One mic was aimed at the lower bout below the bridge, and the other mic was aimed at the 7^th fret of the guitar neck. Each mic was about six inches from the guitar.

Recording the same two songs, we started fine tuning the microphone placement, moving it an inch at a time initially, then what seemed like barely a nudge, until we got the exact sound Richard was looking for.  [He has a wonderful ear and definitely knows the sound he’s after.]

Saturday night – After several hours of work and a short dinner break, we had the mics in place and were ready to begin recording the first cuts on the CD. The first song, called "Sunflower River Blues" originally recorded by John Fahey, is tuned to open  C - C,G,C,G,C,E.

Richard's Tacoma guitar sounded deep and punchy on this song. We knew immediately that this lively song would be number one on the CD. The bouncy feel of the tune will definitely have you tapping your feet. After a few playbacks, we decided this cut was a keeper.

Using the same mics and guitar, we went on to the second song  "Sarah Natasha" (also in C with open tuning). The challenge here is to keep the bass strings full without loosing any of the high end definition. The same mic placement seemed to work fine, so we decided to go for a take.

After listening to a couple of playbacks, we had a good take on this song, also. We didn’t realize that we’d spent so many hours on mic placement, but the end result was well worth it. By now it was about 10:30 p.m., so we decided to call it a night. Recording would resume Monday afternoon at 5 p.m.

    Monday, July 7 – We were satisfied with the two previous takes and the overall tonal quality of the sound. So, it was on to song number three, “Daughter of Pete's Feet”, tuned to open D - D, A, D, F#, A, D. This tune starts with a cascading finger pattern, goes into a little bass pattern and then into a slide part. It will keep you listening and guessing what's next. 

Things were going pretty well, so we decided to go on to the next tune, "Thumbsing” (also tuned to open D). This song is very unique in that Richard only uses his thumb to play it. That's where the title came from. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it. You'll just have to hear this one and imagine playing it with just your thumb. Next we worked on "Wazamataz" in standard tuning with the capo at 2nd fret. This song has a bouncy drop thumb sound with some interesting string mutes. This may be my favorite.  The next one was  "Have you Ever Seen A Rainbow at Night" in standard tuning, with the capo at the 4th fret. With the clock striking 11:30 p.m., and six songs we were happy with, we called it a night.

Time seemed to fly by, as the saying goes. With Richard's humor tumbling out between cuts, and the concentration needed to record serious guitar playing, hours went by like minutes.  

    Tuesday, July 8, 5 p.m. -  In this session we wanted to have a little fun, so he got out his Tacoma Papoose and recorded his versions of “Freight Train”  and “Scarborough Fair”. The high-pitch tuning of the Tacoma papoose was a bit of a challenge to capture. I tried a couple of large diaphragm mics on the lower bout, but ended up going back to the two Neumann 184’s. We’re not sure if either of these tunes will be on the new CD, but they sure were fun to record. 

We experimented with several different reverb settings and made a rough mix of the songs with reverb and without. We decided to live with it for a week or so to make sure we're both still happy with the sound and performance.

Since Richard is always on the road doing clinics for Tacoma, D’Addario, and SWR, our next session will be the first week of August. In the meantime, Richard will don his cap and dark glasses, and we’ll all wonder, “Where’s Gilewitz?”.

Tec Spec

Next Session : August 12

Wayne Brown

Greenbrier Music Shop

Anniston,Al.

256-831-7272

Click Here for Part 2

Click Here for The Mix

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