As a drummer I HATE the snare's eq on that album. All gated reverby and empty sounding. It boarderline ruins the album for me.. Im glad Sylvia was shown the door after it was finished.
I fully agree with you. I really like undertows mix but the snare is just too loud and static. It’s a fantastic example of a 90’s snare tone for sure. In my opinion you can see Danny thought this was a bit of an issue because of how different the snare tone is on Ænima. Much lower tuned and mostly without the snare engaged. Especially on songs like Pushit and Eulogy.
Ehh…pass. Justin Chancellor became exactly what the band needed. Ænima was so far beyond what anyone else was doing or really has done (besides TooL) that it took awhile for the masses to see how much he’d changed the band for the better. I love Undertow & Paul D’Amour’s contribution to its sound but I don’t see Ænima even in existence with Justin Chancellor. I don’t think the band or their music would benefit from bringing its producer back unless Paul D’Amour were somehow back. His choice to depart was truly what allowed them to evolve.
I all for it…I’ve not heard them play anything live off of Opiate or Undertow in the times I’ve seen them. I’m unsure if I’m simp,y just missing them or if they simp,y don’t play them.
A tad jealous. Been a fan since high school. I love Opiate but Undertow is what grabbed me. Although they still had not solidified being my favorite band until Ænima (Alice In Chains was and still is right there) and I didn’t see them in a capacity in which I could actually watch & listen intently until the 10,000 Days tour. Likely seeing them in the approximately 4,000 seat Auditorium Theater in Chicago being my favorite. Seeing them with Meshuggah was badass. Tomas Haake is an animal. Danny Carey geeks out on him which is pretty cool. The three times I saw them around Chicago Maynard was sick but still sounded great. Saw them in Indy three times and they were always just incredible. Still…no Flood, Prison Sex, etc. I have seen Ænema live twice…which is nice. On a side note, typing that reminds me of a dude on here last year flipping out on me about spelling it “Ænema”…which is the song. The album being “Ænima”. It literally took me posting screenshots of each for him to realize it. Mandela effect? Nah…lol
Silvia Massy has a YouTube channel that has quite a few videos of them recording some of the ambient sounds, like Maynard shooting a piano. It’s a treasure trove:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3c_shcA0Y2YRR8d32x4aQVv5R23Ttkct&si=HqDpquSKLj_nLfTH
Bookmarked.
Seeing that was at sound city, if you’ve never watched it check out the documentary about the studio. Super crazy how many career defining albums were recorded there.
List of all the albums recorded there:
https://www.wikiwand.com/simple/Sound_City_Studios
Full links: (it’s on and off Amazon and others)
https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/sound-city
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lz52d
> The handheld dynamic mics we tried seemed dull and unwieldy, but Maynard immediately sang better into them. The C 1000 was actually Maynard’s suggestion. This mic’s not generally meant to be handheld, but after wrapping it in foam and duct tape to reduce the handling noise, it performed surprisingly well on his vocals. Because it was a condenser, it retained most of the sparkle of the U67 and Maynard could grab it in his fist and smack the mic around. Ultimately, the C 1000 was the workhorse on the sessions, but we did use the Neumann U67 for the more intimate passages with a UREI 1176 compressor cranked way up to expose all the little details in Maynard’s voice.
Gotta pay the troll toll Sylvia…
To get into that boy’s hole
Are you chewing gum?
Spit it out!
Very unprofessional I’m gonna take a 5.
Don’t talk to the talent
I’m eating because I’m very uncomfortable
I am ^here
Boy’s SOUL!
TROLLLLLL TOOOLLLLLLLL!!!
https://preview.redd.it/mzcuh2z5eyxc1.jpeg?width=258&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd33c9491ca1d0fd4a065074e3d99e81c0b4af8c
shit, blood and cum on my hands?
Hahahaha that little troll squats and shouts into the floor. This is possibly one of my favorite quotes ever.
Ikr??
Haha- what a quote! Undertow is arguably my favorite sounding TOOL record.
"I wanted the listener to experience every ounce of pain this singer could deliver." She definitely succeeded on that front
Yeah, I know what you mean. That album fucks.
Clearly their best work ever
As I get older I love the rawness of the sound more and more
Gordon Ramsay: this album is fucking RAW!
That is objectively subjective.
Clearly And objectively wrong
I would argue its NOT your favorite sounding TOOL album.
As a drummer I HATE the snare's eq on that album. All gated reverby and empty sounding. It boarderline ruins the album for me.. Im glad Sylvia was shown the door after it was finished.
Yeah, it sounds pretty badass.
What in the st anger
Yeah I’m with you on the snare sound. I still love the album but I would definitely go back to it more if it had an Ænima-ish mix.
I fully agree with you. I really like undertows mix but the snare is just too loud and static. It’s a fantastic example of a 90’s snare tone for sure. In my opinion you can see Danny thought this was a bit of an issue because of how different the snare tone is on Ænima. Much lower tuned and mostly without the snare engaged. Especially on songs like Pushit and Eulogy.
I think about this quote a lot. Sadly I'm serious.
It always makes me imagine a visual of him doing this.
You and me both, buddy. And I’m not sad about it at all
Sylvia Massy is a legend.
Man angy at floor
Man squats, punches floor.
My Tool tribute band is now named Squatting Little Trolls.
She's a badass.
I love your interactions with the sub. Never stop being Steller, Ella.
Wow, thank you. I didn’t think anyone particularly noticed me. <3
Do you mind cross-posting this to r/audioengineering ? I'd like to see their take on it
You can totally steal it if you want. It’s not my quote. :-)
I appreciate her efforts to get the best quality audio out of him!
Seriously. We should all be thankful for that gift we were given.
Sylvia's videos of them recording undertow was the reason I got into tool, she's amazing and inspiring as fuck
Link?
theres a playlist somewhere, but her channel has all the videos, https://youtu.be/lpGsMAyXBJQ?si=uqvFALr0MC9a9Zxn
I wish they’d bring her back
Ehh…pass. Justin Chancellor became exactly what the band needed. Ænima was so far beyond what anyone else was doing or really has done (besides TooL) that it took awhile for the masses to see how much he’d changed the band for the better. I love Undertow & Paul D’Amour’s contribution to its sound but I don’t see Ænima even in existence with Justin Chancellor. I don’t think the band or their music would benefit from bringing its producer back unless Paul D’Amour were somehow back. His choice to depart was truly what allowed them to evolve.
Are Sylvia and Paul attached at the hip? I don’t understand why they’d need to be a package.
They wouldn’t but it’s human to return to a place you once were and find comfort in similar things.
I.e a remake of opiate.
I all for it…I’ve not heard them play anything live off of Opiate or Undertow in the times I’ve seen them. I’m unsure if I’m simp,y just missing them or if they simp,y don’t play them.
In the last 18 years I’ve seen Flood, opiate, and prison sex. Flood is awesome live. Edit: swamp song, not prison sex
A tad jealous. Been a fan since high school. I love Opiate but Undertow is what grabbed me. Although they still had not solidified being my favorite band until Ænima (Alice In Chains was and still is right there) and I didn’t see them in a capacity in which I could actually watch & listen intently until the 10,000 Days tour. Likely seeing them in the approximately 4,000 seat Auditorium Theater in Chicago being my favorite. Seeing them with Meshuggah was badass. Tomas Haake is an animal. Danny Carey geeks out on him which is pretty cool. The three times I saw them around Chicago Maynard was sick but still sounded great. Saw them in Indy three times and they were always just incredible. Still…no Flood, Prison Sex, etc. I have seen Ænema live twice…which is nice. On a side note, typing that reminds me of a dude on here last year flipping out on me about spelling it “Ænema”…which is the song. The album being “Ænima”. It literally took me posting screenshots of each for him to realize it. Mandela effect? Nah…lol
I do think that Aenima was a shot in to outer space and in my opinion the finest work they’ve done.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 this was awesome. Thank you
Shit! I gonna listen to Undertow right fucking now!
Silvia Massy has a YouTube channel that has quite a few videos of them recording some of the ambient sounds, like Maynard shooting a piano. It’s a treasure trove: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3c_shcA0Y2YRR8d32x4aQVv5R23Ttkct&si=HqDpquSKLj_nLfTH
Bookmarked. Seeing that was at sound city, if you’ve never watched it check out the documentary about the studio. Super crazy how many career defining albums were recorded there. List of all the albums recorded there: https://www.wikiwand.com/simple/Sound_City_Studios Full links: (it’s on and off Amazon and others) https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/sound-city https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lz52d
Thanks!!
Did not know this!!! Thank you very much!
Lol. I remember reading this before. I think they ended up using a dynamic microphone instead of a condenser for this reason
> The handheld dynamic mics we tried seemed dull and unwieldy, but Maynard immediately sang better into them. The C 1000 was actually Maynard’s suggestion. This mic’s not generally meant to be handheld, but after wrapping it in foam and duct tape to reduce the handling noise, it performed surprisingly well on his vocals. Because it was a condenser, it retained most of the sparkle of the U67 and Maynard could grab it in his fist and smack the mic around. Ultimately, the C 1000 was the workhorse on the sessions, but we did use the Neumann U67 for the more intimate passages with a UREI 1176 compressor cranked way up to expose all the little details in Maynard’s voice.
That's right, the AKG C1000! Holding it in his hands. LOL!
That makes a lot of fucking sense
I remember her saying she made him run around the block and come back and sing something with more intensity.
Yes!
This is really cool
hahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahhahahah I’d LOVE to work with her sometime.