Apollo Artist Sessions Vol. XI: Joel Hamilton w/ Lyrics Born

Session Notes

In this Apollo Artist Session, watch Grammy-nominated engineer/producer Joel Hamilton (Tom Waits, Pretty Lights) track and mix Lyrics Born exclusively through three Apollo 8s and one Apollo 16 High-Resolution Interface using Unison™-enabled mic preamps at Studio G Brooklyn.

Live Tracking

If you read our Commitment Issues blog post, you know Joel Hamilton is a believer in getting his sounds right the first time, on the way in, and printing them. This session with Lyrics Born is no exception.

For the drums, bass, and guitar, and room mics, Hamilton used go-to combinations of outboard preamps as well as his SSL 8048 G+ console. For drum mics, Hamilton used a Sennheiser e602 and Neumann FET 47 on the inside and outside of the kick respectively. For the snare, Hamilton used three mics — a Revox M3500 (top) a Shure Beta 56a (bottom), and an EV RE11 for the side. The toms were miked with two Oktava Mk012s and overheads consisted of a pair of Coles 4038s. Hamilton also used an Earthworks TC30K for a “center” drum kit mic. The bass was DI’d through an Avalon V5, and the guitar was captured with a single Shure SM7.

For room mics, Hamilton uses a mismatched pair for left/right — a Shure Beta 56a and Bova Ball respectfully. He also used a single Neumann U87 as a “high room mic.”

For Lyrics Born’s vocals, as well as backgrounds, synths and keyboards, and handclaps, Hamilton relied on the UAD Neve 1073^TM Preamp & EQ Collection. On the horns, a UA 610-B Tube Preamp & EQ plug-in was used in conjunction with the UAD Neve 33609^TM Compressor.

Neumann U87s were used for all vocals, and the horns were miked with a single RCA 77DX.

The Mix

Hamilton didn’t use very many plug-ins on the mix. The SPL Transient Designer was used to fine tune the snare top track, while the horns were massaged with the Neve 1081^TM and API 560 EQs. The SSL E Channel Strip was used for flavoring on the Moog, while all of the backing vocals are sculpted with the Sonnox Oxford EQ, and seasoned with a touch of the MXR Flanger/Doubler plug‑in.