All the talk of recording studios and their equipment (Page 41 on this Thread, Part Two) is interesting but we’re overlooking one thing that bothers me in those two studio shots (Post #1012 on that same page) – and that’s the gear being used by the band itself. There are lots of Vox amps on display, and those would be right for George and Harry, but Dick usually played through a ’64 Fender Showman amp and I just don’t see it there. There may be a stray Fender Combo facing the other direction but I can’t tell for sure. As for guitars, that’s even more mysterious. Dick is definitely holding his usual Japanese 'Fender look-alike' bass, but George and Harry are both playing 12-string guitars! George’s make is impossible to determine but Harry’s looks like an English-made Burns, most definitely not the 12-string Maton he later donated to the Powerhouse Museum. Never seen these particular guitars in any other Easybeats photo and I have to wonder if they were on loan for the occasion. And there is just no way that George and Harry would play a session using borrowed instruments. There is simply no way these could be shots of the band recording ‘She’s So Fine.’ There is no 12-string on that record and, for that matter, there is no Easybeats recording that actually features two 12-string guitars. I believe the picture is very likely taken at EMI Studio A, but the caption is a figment of someone’s imagination. And it may not be a real recording session at all, just a recreation and therefore valueless as evidence of anything in particular.
My doubt is around how 'relaxed' they look (apart from Stevie). Their demeanor doesn't equate to the energy of the final recording of 'She's So Fine'. I'd say a staged shot 'for the cameras'. But then again, I can't imagine EMI wasting precious time and mic'ing up the amps if they weren't recording something...
Yeah, I agree about their demeanor Jae. It's curious. What might be the case is that most of that gear was there for some other band's session and The 'Beats slipped in for a quick photo op. Whatever was going on there I'm pretty sure it was not a real recording session.
They wouldn't go to the effort of setting up the microphones for the amps and drums for a "mock up" photo. Surely a teeny bopper in 1965 wouldn't know the difference (see - every mimed pop show clip in the 60's were the guitars aren't even plugged in!!). I still say its from a real EMI session, just not "She's So Fine". The problem I have with them "slipping in" to another band's session. The Easybeats were recording all the time in '65. Why bother coming in somebody else's session when they could have just called a photographer on their own. Also, I can't imagine the union EMI engineers wanting to wait to pack up, while a pop band took photos in the space. The photos are too candid for a mock up. A photographer would have taken something more stylised (not just a boring wide shot).
Now there something that DOES bother me about these photos and that is how close Stevie's microphone is to Snowy's drumkit. On a closer look at photo number, you can see a second microphone. So it looks like Stevie is singing into a different microphone that behind a screen (or baffle) and the RCA 44BX is actullay set up for the drum kit (which makes sense, since there are no overhead microphones in the shot). Now the microphone with the 2nd arrow pointing to it (to the side of Snowy - behind the music stand) - may have been set up for George's acoustic or could have just been a spare microphone set up for something else. But then - why is Snowy not in the drum booth that's set up right behind him? It looks as if the drum kit has been moved forward.
They could have been working out the song during the session, while the photo was taken. It's funny because to me, they look like they're concentrating on what they are playing.
Which session is it then? Here's a clue to the rough date of the session. Well the hair length is too short for anything after the It's 2 Easy cover photo shoot. Look at the front cover of Easy and the She's So Fine E.P. That was taken at ATN-7 studios on the set of Johnny O' Keefe's Sing, Sing, Sing in May 1965 (note the 3 "S" backdrop). The hair looks about closer. . "She's So Fine" was released on 27 May 1965 - the Sing, Sing Sing performance would have been to promote that single (as well as perform "I Who Have Nothing" - according to the liner notes to the Raven E.P's.). The backing track of "She's So Fine" was recorded at Armstrong Studios BUT then there's the recent release of "She's So Fine (take 2)". A slower, earlier take, but WITH a vocal (only single tracked) and backing vocals!!!! So what was recorded at Armstrong Studios!?! Some possiblites: Take 2 is from Armstrong. This take wasn't used but a later take had a good enough backing track. Due to time (i.e. money), they decided to finish the song after the Melbourne tour back in Sydney. If Armstrong was a 4-track - they could have mixed down a mono version of the backing without vocals (or if EMI had a 4-track recorder - they could have taken the multi-track tape to work on. Ted's 2UW studio would not have). In Sydney, they band recorded Stevie's new vocal. Everything was recorded at Armstrong Studios - both backing tracking and vocals. Meaning the story of the vocals being recorded in Sydney are false. The song was finished at Armstrong. Take 2 sounds some what close to finished. It's even slated as "complete" meaning Stevie would have said that while the overdubs were added (unless Stevie Wright is secertly psychic ). However the band/Mike or Ted was not impressed with the results. So the song was recorded from strach back in Sydney.
Well, comparing the drum kit in the studio photos against that on the EP and LP sleeves, it's clear to me that it's the same. This suggests to me that it has to be an Easybeats recording session (again, I find it hard to fathom that everyone would otherwise go to so much trouble setting up for a mock/staged photo). So, what tracks, if any, did they use 12 string guitars on? Sad & Lonely & Blue? BtW - have a look at the photo of George at 1:49 in the take 2 video above...may be able to more easily identify the 12 string acoustic. Indeed, all photos at that point appear to have been taken at the same session as the above photos, although Harry now has his six string - makes me wonder if the photos were taken during the recording of the Easy album... (The photo of Stevie also seems to clarify which mic he is singing into)
There's yet another version of St Louis on this album (also released in Australia as Polydor 241 011) retitled 'Show Me the Way to St. Louis' in a medley with 'Viva Bobby Joe' (Grant) and 'Looky, Looky' (Moroder/Rainford). For completists only.
Yes, same photo session guys. Same clothes. In the individual shot Harry is definitely playing his Gibson ES-345 six-string. George is still holding the same twelve-string accoustic but the picture quality is too poor to determine what make. In the individual shot there is now a mic placed in front of it, but these are all Posed Shots. Jae’s comment about the drums would clinch it for me that this is a real recording situation. Probably during sessions for the “Easy” album as was suggested and likely during a break. On the liner notes for “Easy” Mike Vaughan states that the band took 24 hours to make the album; John Tait says it was done in “two consecutive all-night recording sessions” and I have no trouble believing both of these statements. I can’t hear 12-string guitars on any of the tracks on that album, but there are several ballads on which I could envision the band trying them out. Maybe those are borrowed instruments but the idea of recording with them was rejected because the results could not be duplicated live (?). I can’t reasonably think that Stevie’s live mic was positioned for recording on top of the drums like that. My current thought is that he was called in to stand for the shot and he posed by the overhead mic that was positioned to capture the drums. My own belief is that the instrumental backing tracks were recorded first and then the vocals were overdubbed on top, possibly in the same room, or possibly in a vocal booth. But that is just a guess. Does this sound reasonable to everybody?
According to the liner notes on "It's 2 Easy", Sad & Lonely & Blue has Harry on a 12-string electric. Might be a stretch to suggest the group recorded it with the "Easy" album tracks, but it's possible they may have been playing around with an early take. In any event, it proves that Harry had a 12-string electric. Which also suggests he would have used it on more than just one track.
Yes, Harry most definitely owned a twelve-string guitar. But my point was that it was not the Burns guitar shown in these photos though it's very possible that the band could have worked on 'Sad & Lonely & Blue' at this early time. These must have been taken before he bought his own twelve-string, a Maton which he donated to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney in 1999. Sorry if I was unclear. An article about Harry Vanda's Maton can be found here: http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/objectsthroughtime/vandaguitar/
Two 12 hour sessions = 2 days or 24 hours. This sounds reasonable to me. The problem is - we can't make out the microphones for the drums. 1960's recordings had 1, 2 or 3 microphones on the kit (far mic for the bass drum, an overhead microphone or a close mic for a floor tom if an accent was needed). I would imagine that the technicians of EMI Sydney would of had similar training and standards to their famous London counterpart (can anyone who knows the history of EMI Sydney confirm this?). There are a few other microphones in the back ground which are either not being used or we cannot make out what they are focused on.
Mic placement for drums seems to be variable (at least back in the 1960s). I've seen footage of some David Woodley-Page engineered sessions and the number of mics and placement differs for each, although the majority have an overhead mic on the drums. For example (each from 1968/9): Johnny Ashcroft session with both vocals and instruments recorded together. You can just make out a mic (in black) near the high hat. Eric Jupp Orchestra session with both vocals (by Shirley McDonald) and instruments recorded together. You can see the overhead mic and the mic on the kick drum. The Castaways recording backing track for later vocal overlay by Frankie Stevens. Drums with overhead mic. Doesn't appear to be a mic on the kick drum. Drummer wearing headphones. (As an aside, does the rug look familiar? ) Not really conclusive of anything but interesting nonetheless.
In the early days - it would vary. Remember the story about Geoff Emerick breaking EMI protocol by *gasp* putting a microphone near the skin of a bass drum? As the channels on consoles grew and the trend moved towards a "cleaner" production sound, close mic placement became more common place. A-B/Spaced Paired mic placement on drums (the most common microphone technique used today), became more common during the 1970's. This was also due to stereo becoming the new default for releases and the channel count of recorders expanding from 4-track to 8-track to 16-track. http://blog.shure.com/five-techniques-for-stereo-miking-drums/ As far as our photo of The Easybeats go: the resolution of the image is to low to make out any details - so it's too hard to make a definitive call on how the drums were mic'ed.
Pretty sure not Mylene, though I had to listen twice. George is loud and strong (as he usually is) and playing full rhythm while Harry is also doing a lot of chording so it sounds like it could be, but I really don't think so. Interesting thought though.
I should have just pulled out the record. That's the earliest song that I could think of where there could be a 12 string. There's definitely a lot on Volume 3. Say That You're Mine, Today etc
