Matt Ross-Spang: Leaning Into Simplicity

Over the past decade, Matt Ross-Spang has emerged as one of the premiere record producers and engineers working today across country, folk, rock and roll, and R&B. Known for a philosophy of putting artists first and for a skillset that’s enabled him to capture a vintage warmth and energy without ever sounding stuffy or dated, Ross-Spang has a discography that encompasses production, engineering and mixing for legends, perennial critical favorites and some of his own generation’s most exciting music makers: Elvis Presley, Lou Reed, Al Green, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Mountain Goats, Cut Worms, Drive-By Truckers, Margo Price, Lucero, Iron & Wine, St. Paul and the Broken Bones. He has won two Grammy Awards, for engineering Isbell’s 2015 album Something More than Free and again for its follow-up, 2017’s The Nashville Sound.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

• Working at Sun Studios
• Recording a full band with less than 9 mics
• Vintage recording styles vs. modern approaches
• Recording drums that have character
• Recording in mono
• Using minimal processing
• EQing and compression on busses, instead of individual tracks
• Gain staging your mix
• Embracing bleed in your recordings
• Using far mics for overdubs
• Creating roomy recordings in small environments
• Finding unique places to stick microphones
• Using digital technology in an analog environment
• Making samples sound organic
• Building his studio, Southern Grooves

To learn more about Matt Ross-Spang, visit: http://www.southerngrooves.com/

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