Geoff Emerick

            As I studied the revolver sessions more closely the name Geoff Emerick continued to surface so, I decided to learn more about this awesome sound engineer and his major contributions to The Beatles and their sound. George Martin is given much deserved credit for the production of The Beatles however many of the actual innovations were initiated by Geoff Emerick such as: the tape loops, backwards recording, and micing techniques all used on the Revolver album. I feel that his input may have been much more instrumental than I first believed.

            Geoff Emerick was given the job of assistant engineer at EMI at the early age of 15 and was on hand when the Beatles first recorded “Love Me Do”. At age 19, he was promoted to head engineer and charged with recording The Beatles Revolver album. Though he was considered inexperienced, that was not seen as a handicap but rather a strength as he did not have many preconceived notions about how a record or recording should be done and was therefore able to think outside the box and make the recordings happen (Ankeny, J.). This album was filled with innovative recording techniques and groundbreaking changes. When John Lennon told George Martin that he wanted to sound like the Dali Lama on a mountain, it was Emerick that actually came up with the idea of sending John’s vocal through a Leslie rotating speaker and designing a way to make it happen (Geoff Emerick Biography). Another of his innovations was the way the drums were miced. He used a sweater stuffed into the bass drum, brought the mic in closer to the drum, and ran the sound through a series of compressors and valve limiters, creating a unique drum sound and became the first to compress the drums (Howard, D. 2004). Compression is still used in todays drum mixes and is now a standard treatment for drum mixes.

As an industry professional, I believe that Geoff Emerick’s willingness to experiment and seek out unorthodox answers and methods to achieve the desired sound, make him a true role model for anyone desiring to record or engineer sound. The fact that he achieved these things at such a young age is impressive and shows that age should not be the primary gauge as to your ability or talent. His innovations live on today with tape loops, compression and micing techniques. As a listener, I can truly appreciate his sonic creations with bands like The Beatles, Elvis Costello, and Robin Trower.

            In my career in music, I will incorporate the willingness to think outside the box in my studio approach with both recording techniques and production in general. If I can approach a project with an open mind and allow the ideas to dictate the methods I will also achieve a greater recording. In the next five years, I hope to record and produce my own music, to promote my song writing and even produce other new bands and help them achieve their sound. I will try to follow in the footsteps of engineers like Geoff Emerick and producers such as George Martin and Brian Wilson. I hope that over the next five years, I will be able to finish assembling my own studio and create the marketing to promote material for both others and myself.