Whenever you consider Soundgarden’s Superunknown you instantly consider its sheer sonic weight. It’s heavy with out being muddy, musical but menacing and no music captures that stability fairly like “Spoonman.” Producer Michael Beinhorn’s method to recording the bass on that observe is an ideal instance of how delicate engineering decisions can create monumental outcomes.
Beinhorn revealed that the muse of the bass tone could have been an Ampeg SVT, a traditional selection for its highly effective midrange growl and unmistakable punch. But what actually units this recording aside is what he added beneath the floor actually.
He fed the bass sign right into a DBX 120X-DS Subharmonic Synthesizer a unit well-known for producing an octave beneath the elemental frequency. To strengthen this he additionally patched in one of many subwoofers used in the course of the drum recordingspermitting the subharmonic content material to be bodily felt as a lot as heard.
“Whenever you solo an instrument with it it’s very noticeable” Beinhorn defined “however while you hear it within the observe you’re by no means going to make that out. It simply provides further weight to it which could be very good.”
That assertion sums up Beinhorn’s manufacturing philosophy. His genius lies in what you are feeling somewhat than what you hear. By subtly layering a synthesized sub octave beneath Ben Shepherd’s efficiency Beinhorn added an nearly unconscious sense of mass. The result’s a bass tone that doesn’t simply sit beneath the combination it anchors it tying collectively Matt Cameron’s drums and Chris Cornell’s towering vocal in a single seismic pocket.
It’s a reminder that true manufacturing mastery isn’t all the time about apparent tips or flashy tones. Generally it’s concerning the invisible frequencies that transfer the air the listener and the music itself.
