Production
Supermassive Black Hole
Muse
Song : Supermassive Black Hole
Duration:1h43 Subtitles: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese
Description
Take a trip through sound and space with one of the world’s most influential producer-engineers. In his debut series, Rich Costey explores the making of ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ by Muse, revealing how the band reinvented themselves through modular synthesis, digital signal processing, and experimental lo-fi techniques.
The series begins with a look at the band’s artistic evolution. Rich unpacks their experimentation process, detailing how they incorporated new production techniques from hip hop, electronica, and industrial music. Every sound has a story as he breaks down their use of DI guitars, synthesized drums, vocoders, and boutique digital sound design systems.
Rich then takes it further, pulling up the multitrack on a vintage SSL console to share the essential mix techniques used on the original release. Discover his approach to gain staging, signal flow, balance, and more, as he reconstructs a rough mix in real-time.
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06 minProject overview, pre-production, arrangement, creative direction
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11 minDrums, percussion, synthesis, sound design, noise
ARP 2600, EMS Synthi AKS, Symbolic Sound Kyma System, Symbolic Sound Pacarana, Symbolic Sound Capybara, Tech-21 Sans Amp -
12 minBass guitar, lead guitar, distortion, mic placement, compression
Electro Harmonix Big Muff, Human Gear Animato, Dbx 510 Subharmonic Synth, Eventide DSP4000, Blue Microphones Mouse, Sennheiser MD421, Yamaha NS10 Woofer, Neve BCM10, Teletronix LA2A, Esoteric Audio 660 -
10 minLead guitar, synths, guitar solo, pedals, overdrive, amps, routing, plectrums,
Eventide DSP4000, Vox AC30, Zvex Super Hardon, Pete Cornish Custom Switch Box, Shure SM57 -
09 minLead vocals, backing vocals, microphones, processing, pitch shifting, vocoder
Telefunken ELA M 251, Shure SM57, Neve 1073, Urei 1176LN, Ampex ATR-102, DigiTech Vocal 300 -
10 minVocoder, pitch shifting, sound design, noise, distortion
Symbolic Sound Kyma System, EMS Synthi AKS, Tech-21 Sans Amp -
14 minMixing, console, hardware, mix bus, balance, parallel compression
SSL 4000E Console, Esoteric Audio 660, Neve BCM10, Esoteric Audio 822Q EQ, Chandler TG-1, Chandler Curve Bender, Universal Audio 1176LN, Tech-21 PSA-1, Neve 33609/N, Thermionic Culture The Phoenix -
10 minMixing, vocals, parallel compression, stereo image, converters
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16 minMixing, gain staging, final tweaks, stems, creative philosophy
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02 min
About Rich Costey
Rich Costey is an American Grammy award-winning record producer, mixer, and engineer, whose work spans across hip-hop, rock, pop, indie, and electronica. At age sixteen, he became a DJ for a local radio station before going on to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. While working at Q Division Studios as an assistant, he started collaborating with producer Jon Brion, whom he credits as an important influence. His first steady gig as a producer was with Boston indie band Swirlies. After college,...
No resources available
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06 min
Project overview, pre-production, arrangement, creative direction
-
11 min
Drums, percussion, synthesis, sound design, noise
ARP 2600, EMS Synthi AKS, Symbolic Sound Kyma System, Symbolic Sound Pacarana, Symbolic Sound Capybara, Tech-21 Sans Amp -
12 min
Bass guitar, lead guitar, distortion, mic placement, compression
Electro Harmonix Big Muff, Human Gear Animato, Dbx 510 Subharmonic Synth, Eventide DSP4000, Blue Microphones Mouse, Sennheiser MD421, Yamaha NS10 Woofer, Neve BCM10, Teletronix LA2A, Esoteric Audio 660 -
10 min
Lead guitar, synths, guitar solo, pedals, overdrive, amps, routing, plectrums,
Eventide DSP4000, Vox AC30, Zvex Super Hardon, Pete Cornish Custom Switch Box, Shure SM57 -
09 min
Lead vocals, backing vocals, microphones, processing, pitch shifting, vocoder
Telefunken ELA M 251, Shure SM57, Neve 1073, Urei 1176LN, Ampex ATR-102, DigiTech Vocal 300 -
10 min
Vocoder, pitch shifting, sound design, noise, distortion
Symbolic Sound Kyma System, EMS Synthi AKS, Tech-21 Sans Amp -
14 min
Mixing, console, hardware, mix bus, balance, parallel compression
SSL 4000E Console, Esoteric Audio 660, Neve BCM10, Esoteric Audio 822Q EQ, Chandler TG-1, Chandler Curve Bender, Universal Audio 1176LN, Tech-21 PSA-1, Neve 33609/N, Thermionic Culture The Phoenix -
10 min
Mixing, vocals, parallel compression, stereo image, converters
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16 min
Mixing, gain staging, final tweaks, stems, creative philosophy
-
02 min