RSR541 - Bill Cheney - How Missile Tech Created the Sound of Classic Rock at Spectra1964

Описание: Get my free mixing mini-course at http://MixMasterBundle.com

What happens when missile-grade engineering meets music?
Bill Cheney of Spectra 1964 joins me to reveal how a company born from aerospace tech became the secret sauce behind Stax, Ardent, and The Record Plant - and how that same precision lives on in Spectra’s modern C610, STX mic pres, and new designs shaping today’s studios.

How Did Michael Jackson’s $98,000 Console Inspire the Ultimate Studio Compressor?
Bill shares the incredible story of the $98,000 Spectra console built for Michael Jackson, how John Lennon, Elton John, ZZ Top, and others tracked through Spectra desks, and why their gear still defines headroom and musical accuracy sixty years later. We dig into RMS vs peak clipping, console restoration, plugin modeling with Chad Blake, and what makes Spectra’s circuits run ice cold while sounding hot as hell.

If you’ve ever wondered why the most musical recordings in history still sound so alive, this episode takes you inside the circuits that made it possible.

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 – Intro & Spectra legacy
00:07:00 – The evolution from Spectra Sonics to Spectra 1964
00:10:32 – Broadcast roots and Neumann lathe partnerships
00:13:00 – The lost 610s and Chad Blake’s dumpster rescue
00:15:03 – RMS vs peak clipping explained
00:18:00 – The STX series and modern circuit design
00:24:00 – Inside the C610: slope, release, and metering
00:30:05 – Console heat, power efficiency & transistor behavior
00:35:01 – Why Spectra gear enhances digital headroom
00:41:06 – The Michael Jackson console story
00:46:00 – The C610 plugin collaboration with Chad Blake
00:52:04 – Spectra’s return to analog hi-fi and summing
00:56:02 – Bill’s philosophy on headroom and musical truth
01:08:00 – The C610 plugin demo and Chad Blake stories
01:14:00 – STX100, STX100D and other 500-series modules
01:23:00 – BBDI, STX600 and practical tracking tips
01:31:00 – Power amps, headroom myths and famous users
01:41:00 – Summing mixer prototype and voltage differences (101 vs 110)
01:49:00 – Classic recordings on Spectra gear
01:58:00 – Final advice and wrap-up

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