About the Project

THE FACTS

Filmed in HD, the project is offered on three DVDs, totaling more than seven hours of original footage.

(Prior to the release of the DVD we are offering individual sections for streaming or download. These are being released in several batches that won't necessarily relate to the order in which sections appear on the physical DVD.)

DVD ONE

An Introduction To Recording

Alan introduces the program from the GRAMMY museum in Los Angeles, tracing the development of sound recording from Edison to MP3.
Studio Acoustics

We look at the science of sound and acoustics from the perspective of constructing a brand new studio space at Keyfax NewMedia’s California production facilities. Alan speaks with Auralex senior acoustician Gavin Haverstick and to studio designer Chris Pelonis about isolation, room modes, budgets, studio layout and more.
Microphones

Filmed mainly at his own studio in Santa Barbara, Alan investigates microphones from the ground up. What is a mic? How do the various types of mic work? Polar patterns, characteristics, applications and techniques. Input along the way from self-confessed mic junkie John McBride (from Blackbird studios in Nashville), Jonas Brothers producer John Fields, and top film / orchestral engineer Simon Rhodes from Abbey Road.
Consoles And Controllers

Starting with Alan re-discovering the EMI desk on which he recorded Dark Side Of The Moon (that now resides in Los Angeles), Alan looks at the most complex-looking piece of equipment in any studio, real or virtual. Knob-by-knob explanations are followed by an experiment with analog summing vs. mixing in the box, and finally a look at the role of controllers in the world of DAWs. With some invaluable insights from Jack Joseph Puig, Patrick Leonard, and Niko Bolas.
Digital Audio And Computers

Reel-to-reel tape recorders are obsolete. Recording has become a totally computer-based activity. What can be learned from the veterans of the analog recording art and what knowledge can be carried over to the digital world? Alan takes us on an extensive tour of the equipment currently available – hardware, interfaces, applications, software plug-ins and disc drives. With the help of producers like John Shanks and artists like Michael McDonald, he investigates both the advantages and pitfalls of record-making in the 21st Century.
Monitoring

We visit Record One in Los Angeles, home to Thriller among many others where Alan quizzes Ocean Way Recording owner and speaker designer Allen Sides. Not everyone can trade their house for a set of loudspeakers, though, and this section covers all the bases from high-end studio systems, through to classic nearfields such a Yamaha’s NS10s, to headphones and even ear buds. What is important about monitoring is that you can trust what you hear and this section clearly sets out the parameters and practices to follow.
MIDI

MIDI began life as a keyboard-aid but it went on to help establish the digital revolution that has transformed to entire recording landscape. Alan talks to MIDI founder Dave Smith, then looks at the ways MIDI recording is still widely used in film, dance music, and many other genres. The section explains exactly what MIDI is, and can do, in simple terms. Finally!

DVD TWO

EQ

A large part of being able to conduct a good recording is knowing how to listen. This section not only provides fact-based answers as to EQ frequencies and the various ways they can be adjusted, it also gives you tools that you can use to train yourself how to ‘hear’ more analytically.
Compressors And Limiters

A complex subject, and one frequently misunderstood and much argued about. Alan defines terms, explains parameters, provides instrument-by-instrument examples, and then explains the consequences. Universal Audio’s Bill Putnam Jr. is interviewed, plus there are wonderful insights into use and misuse from Steve Marcantonio, Niko Bolas, John Fields, and Allen Sides.
Noise Gates

We discover the invention and development of the noise gate and examine both its original purpose and eventual role in sound recording. A range of gate applications are set up and explained, including changing sound envelopes, creating our own gated reverbs, side-chaining, and more. Both hardware and software gates are featured in this section, along with explanations of their relative merits.
Reverb

This section traces the history and progress in artificial reverb technology, then takes a parameter-by-parameter look at digital reverb settings, hardware and software reverb products, and application of reverb to individual instruments and entire mixes. Interview clips from Elliot Scheiner, John Shanks, and others complete this highly revealing section.
Delays

Related to the earlier section, Delays looks at the application and use of this time-based effect along with its cousins: flanging, phasing, and multi-tap FX. There are some fascinating hands-on experiments with different type of delay in this section.
A Live Tracking Session

Alan wrote a brand new ‘Alan Parsons’ track for this DVD set and this section offers a fly-on-the-wall (or reality show – take your pick) seat in the studio. How does Alan turn a drum loop and chord sequence into a song? What’s the value of a ‘live’ tracking session, where musicians actually get to play together? What are the issues? All and more are revealed in this section featuring Simon Phllips on drums, Nathan East on bass, Tim Pierce on guitar, and Rami Jaffee on piano. This is a real gem.
Vocals

Probably the most crucial – and complex – part of modern recording. This section looks at and talks with singers both experienced and inexperienced and vocal techniques from both singer’s and engineer’s perspectives. Michael McDonald offers priceless information, as do a raft of producers, engineers, and vocal coaches. Techniques such as comping, and pitch correction are both looked at in detail.
Internet Recording

Few people doubt that the internet represents ‘a’ if not ‘the’ solution as to how we will conduct recordings in the future. Question is, right now, exactly how? We look at one of the currently available systems on a vocal session. It’s 9AM for Alan in California while the singer, working from his own studio Michigan, is ready for lunch. That’s just one of the issues.

DVD THREE

Drums

Simon Phillips provides one of the most comprehensive looks at the art and science of recording drums ever undertaken. From tuning, to acoustics, to mic usage, to recording approaches, Simon and Alan provide the tools to getting a great drum sound – one of the consistently most elusive aspects of modern recording. Drummer of The Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins is also interviewed.
Keyboards

From string pads, to FX and beatmaking, to genuine Hammond B3 or piano playing – the role of keyboard player can be wide and deep. Alan looks at both the playing and ‘programming’ aspects of recording keyboards. How to mic an acoustic piano, how to mic a Leslie speaker cabinet, and also how to manage keyboard parts and sounds so that they work within a track. Foo Fighters / Wallflowers keyboardist Rami Jaffee is the featured player in this section.
Bass

Bass may not be the most complex instrument to record but its role in rock, pop, and hip-hop is absolutely crucial. Alan discusses bass recording techniques with Nathan East during a live tracking session for a new Alan Parsons track, All Our Yesterdays and also meets one of his long-time bass heroes, Carol Kaye, who contributed to many groundbreaking records with Phil Spector, Quincy Jones, The Beach Boys and others in the sixties and seventies.
Guitar

Guitar recording has developed considerably since Alan first helped to record guitar heroes such as George Harrison, Jeff Beck and David Gilmour back in the 1970s. Alan visits top LA session man Tim Pierce at his own studio in L.A’s San Fernando Valley and looks at parts, sounds, effects and approaches in this fascinating look at how guitar and guitar processing has evolved over the past twenty or thirty years.
Acoustic Guitar With Voice

A common recording conundrum is tackled in this section. How do you record both, simultaneously, without one bleeding into the other? A range of physical and technical solutions are provided.
Recording A Choir

Every school, college, and church has a choir that would like to be recorded for posterity. Alan visits a California High School and captures a magical performance – not in a studio, or concert venue – but in the challenging setting of a multi-purpose school hall. Learn how a careful set-up and skilled post-production can elicit a wonderful result.
Approaches To Live Recording

The Alan Parsons Live Project at The Grove Theatre in Anaheim, California, filmed early in 2009, provides a colorful backdrop for this brief but informative section on the challenges posed by live recording in a concert setting.
Mixing

The mix is where the rubber hits the road for any recording. Conducted primarily at LA’s Record One studios, where Michael Jackson’s last three albums were recorded and mixed, Alan takes us through every stage of a mix from preparation to delivery media in this fascinating and extensive section. Good working practices (consolidation, track sheets, notes and more) are proposed, along with the chance to see so many of the program’s previous technical sections – EQ, reverb, digital audio and computers – come to life. A variety of mixing settings, from working with an analog console to wholly “in the box” are shown and discussed.
Dealing With Disasters

A ‘bad day’ in the studio can sometimes turn into a complete crisis. The final section looks at ways to avoid getting into – as well as climbing back out from – disastrous recording situations.

Art and Science of Sound Credits

Presented by
ALAN PARSONS

Written & Produced by
JULIAN COLBECK & ALAN PARSONS

Director Of Photography & Editor-In-Chief
CHRIS KILLEN

Video Editors
BEN CRUZ
CHRIS KILLEN

Assembly Editors
ROBIN MOORE
BRIAN GRANFORS

Narration
BILLY BOB THORNTON

Graphics
LISA LIU

Audio Engineers
COLEY READ
P.J. OLSSON

Technical Consultant
JASON WARE

A Keyfax NewMedia Production
© 2010 Keyfax NewMedia

Full credits appear on the DVD set but Alan and the producers would especially like to thank the following for granting filmed interviews; clips from which can be see throughout the program.

Chuck Ainlay

Producer, Engineer, Sugarland, Dire Straits.

Andrew Barta

Inventor, SansAmp

Niko Bolas

Engineer, Neil Young, Melissa Etheridge.

Tony Brown

Producer, Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, George Strait. Piano player, Elvis Presley.

Kim Copeland

Nashville Producer, Consultant.

Richard Dodd

Recording/Mastering Engineer, Kings Of Leon, Dixie Chicks,

Jimmy Douglass

Producer, Engineer, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Bjork, Jay-Z

Jack Douglas

Producer, Engineer, Aerosmith, John Lennon, The Who.

Nathan East

Bass player, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Dionne Warwick.

John Fields

Producer, Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Rooney.

Jackie Greene

Microphone Designer, Audio-Technica.

Gavin Haverstick

Senior Acoustical Engineer,
Auralex Acoustics.

Taylor Hawkins

Drummer, Foo Fighters. Alanis Morisette.

Rami Jaffee

Keyboardist, The Wallflowers
Foo Fighters, Fall Out Boy, Johnny Cash.

Carol Kaye

Legendary session bassist/guitarist, The Beach Boys, Quincy Jones, Frank Zappa.

Hal Ketchum

Celebrated country artist.

Ledfoot

Gothic Blues artist.

Patrick Leonard

Writer, Producer, Madonna, Elton John.

Sylvia Massey

Producer, Engineer, Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, System Of A Down, Beck.

Steve Marcantonio

Engineer, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban.

John McBride

Producer, Engineer, Martina McBride.
Owner of Blackbird Studios, Nashville.

Michael McDonald

Recording Artist.

Chris Pelonis

Studio Designer.

Simon Phillips

Legendary Drummer, The Who, Toto.

Tim Pierce

Top LA session guitarist, Crowded House, Michael Jackson, Goo Goo Dolls.

Bill Putnam Jr.

Chairman of Universal Audio.

Jack Joseph Puig

Producer, Engineer, John Mayer, Green Day, Weezer, U2, No Doubt.

Simon Rhodes

Senior Film/Classical Recording Engineer, Abbey Road Studios (Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone and countless other movie classics.)

Craig Russo

Producer, Writer, Robbie Williams.

Elliot Scheiner

Producer, Engineer, Foo Fighters, Steely Dan, Bruce Hornsby.

John Shanks

Producer, Christina Aguilera, Natasha Bedingfield, Sheryl Crow.

Allen Sides

Producer, Engineer, Phil Collins, Joni Mitchell, Fergie. Owner of Ocean Way Recording.

Dave Smith

Designer, Prophet-5. Mopho, and ‘father’ of MIDI.

David Thoener

Engineer, AC/DC, Santana’s “Smooth”, Bon Jovi.