Called in by producer and Musical Director CJ Vanston to work on Spinal Tap ll: The End Continues, producer/engineer Steve Genewick raided his collection of Royer ribbon mics for recording electric guitar tracks, settling on the classic R-121.
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I’ve been using Royer ribbon mics pretty much since they started making them,’ Genewick explains. ‘Royer’s President John Jennings has been a friend for many years, and as they developed new products, John would send them over to Al and me at Capitol to try out. We immediately fell in love with the mics, and they became a large part of our recordings. It’s not unusual for me to have multiple R-121s or R-122vs on a horn section as well as a stereo Royer SF-12 or SF-24 as a room mic on large sessions.’
Genewick served as a recording engineer at Capitol Studios for 27 years, with 20 of as an assistant to the producer/engineer Al Schmitt. During their time at Capitol, the artists and producers Genewick and Schmitt worked with included Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, George Benson, Chris Botti, Quincy Jones, Tommy LiPuma and Phil Ramone. These days, Genewick works primarily from his personal mixing studio on album projects, as well as some TV shows, feature films, and video games. Much of his work involves orchestral and big band ensembles and he recently completed projects for Trisha Yearwood, Michael Buble, The Count Basie Orchestra and Melody Gardot, as well as the Pacific Jazz Orchestra and the video game Apex Legends.
‘The R-121 has been my go-to mic for capturing electric guitars since the late 90s,’ he continues. ‘Paired with a Shure SM57, I can capture just about any amp in a realistic way. This mic combination was my set-up for all the guitar amps on the Spinal Tap album The End Continues. Even with all the time and mic options I had available to me, the R-121/SM57 combo was the only one I ended up using. It just worked every time.
‘Both of Spinal Tap’s guitar players – David St Hubbins and Nigel Tufnell – were miked with the R-121/SM57 combination. We ended up never changing this set-up, and I used very little EQ or compression on the guitar amps. I could find every tone by simply balancing the two mics to a single track for each guitar part.’
‘I love the smooth, warm tone of Royer ribbon mics,’ he elaborates. ‘They do a great job taming harsh, loud horns as well as loud guitar amps and they can really handle the sound pressure – volume is never a problem. Every studio I work at seems to have a good collection of Royer mics. It’s not unusual for me to have five or six Royers on every session.’
While Genewick leans heavily on R-121s to capture electric guitar, he’s had an equally positive experience with other Royers on other instruments. ‘While I’ve been focused here on my experience capturing electric guitars, I’ve also gotten very positive results capturing other instruments,’ he says. ‘These days, I’ll typically use Royer mics on trombones and trumpets, as well as vibes. They produce a very natural and articulate sound.
‘I’ve been using Royer mics for over 25 years now. Royers always deliver as expected and it’s very common to see multiple Royer mics on my sessions. Plus, there’s always someone at the company to speak with if I need to. The entire Royer Labs team is very responsive. They understand this industry and are dedicated to taking good care of their customers. You can’t ask for more than that.’
More: www.royerlabs.com