We hired a PA system and set the monitor stack up on the far side of the stables pointing out across the lake. I used two Neumann U87s on the opposite side of the house, to mike up the outdoor PA sound coming back off the lake. A further two Neumann U87s were placed close to the water’s edge, as far away as our leads would allow. These picked up the sound of water lapping, and a distant strangled sound on the guitar which was perfect for lead solos. We tried to protect the microphones from the damp night air using polythene, with limited success. When they went down, on particularly wet nights or because of a heavy dew, we replaced them and then dried out the originals.
Between 3am and 6am was the toughest time on the mikes, but these quiet hours before dawn created the most magical atmosphere for recording, resulting in two of our classic masters, the title track, One World, and my favourite, Small Hours.
We fell into a routine, starting at about two in the afternoon and working through until five in the morning. Chris would spend the mornings on the phone, taking care of any business. Ray and I would check the equipment (especially the microphones), line up the tape machines, lie in the sun, or row the rubber dinghy out on the lake, taking photographs. It was an idyllic way to record an album. I used six tracks for the guitar, two for the outdoor returns and two more for vocal and basic drum machine. I had control over the blend of the six main guitar sounds because of our separate D/I feeds. These included one feed straight out of John’s guitar, another after his compressor, one each pre and post F/X and echoes and finally, one with everything but pre-amplifier.
Some of the songs, like ‘Dealer’ and Certain Surprise, were arranged and recorded quickly and easily. Others such as One World and Small Hours were played repeatedly for many hours. Chris and I would then edit the multitrack into an arrangement of verse, chorus and instrumentals, from time to time taking bets on which bar we were on.
The outside mikes not only picked up the guitar coming back across the lake, but also recorded scurrying animals, birds, and the sounds of water lapping at the water’s edge. John worked in the self-contained flat, and Ray, Barry, Chris and myself were in the mobile. We changed the reels of tape every half hour (we were recording at 15 i.p.s) and took breaks every three or four hours for tea.
― Number None, Saturday, 14 January 2017 20:20 (seven years ago) link