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Hogarth Details Mic Choices on Brother Johnny

Ross Hogarth, who produced, recorded and mixed Edgar Winter’s 'Brother Johnny,' used Royer ribbon mics to capture many of the record's guests.

Ross Hogarth used numerous Royer ribbon mics to capture a variety of instruments, especially the many featured guitars.
Ross Hogarth used Royer ribbon mics to capture the numerous guests on the album. (l-r) Edgar Winter, Ross Hogarth and Steve Lukather.

Los Angeles, CA (October 27, 2022)—Ross Hogarth, who produced, recorded and mixed Edgar Winter’s Brother Johnny, a musical tribute to Edgar’s older brother, Johnny, reached for his Royer ribbon mics during tracking to capture a variety of instruments, especially the many featured guitars.

“Johnny Winter was a legendary guitarist, and this album is a bucket list of great guitar players honoring him,” Hogarth reports. “Joe Bonamassa, Billy Gibbons, Joe Walsh, Derek Trucks, Keb’ Mo, Steve Lukather, Warren Haynes, David Grissom, among many others. This is an emotional record because it relates to the lifetime and death of a brother. All these players came to show their respect and love for Edger and Johnny.”

Three years in the making, Brother Johnny was recorded at Capitol Records’ Studio B, overdubbed at Infinite Spin Recording in Van Nuys and at East West Studios in Hollywood and mixed at Hogarth’s Boogie Motel in Woodland Hills. “Throughout the entire album, all of my Royer ribbon mics were up on almost everything we recorded,” says Hogarth, a multi-Grammy winning producer, mixer and engineer with a lengthy credit list.

“Depending on the guitar amps and how many amps were in the session, I miked some of them with the classic Royer R-121/Shure SM57 combo and others with a Royer R-122V/SM 57 combo,” he says. “Royer makes a dual microphone clip that lets you mount both mics on one stand, so I often use that for ease of positioning and shifting mics from one cabinet to another. In some instances, I also added a Royer SF-24V to capture room sound.”

Edgar Winter Honors ‘Brother Johnny’, Part 1

Edgar Winter Honors ‘Brother Johnny’, Part 2

Hogarth continues, “R-121s deliver a rich, low-mid warmth on guitars, with all the energy of the original performance. By contrast, the SM57 has a very hard ‘fist’ in the midrange. Combining an R-121 and 57 enables me to capture a very natural sound without having to EQ anything up front – you just blend the two mics to taste and it’s magic. The R-122V has a bit more reach and pulls out a more defined sound, so I like using that too.”

He uses his SF-24V tube stereo ribbon on a number of instruments: “On drums, I always use the SF-24V for stereo room sound, with the mic positioned in the center of the kit, about 10 – 15 feet back. On Brother Johnny, Kenny Aronoff played percussion on a few songs and the SF-24V was perfect. I used it as an overhead mic to capture the timbales, shakers, and some additional percussion instruments. On the track ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ Edgar plays saxophone. For this, I used an R-122V up close and an SF-24V for room sound. I always use the SF-24V on horns as a room mic. For capturing strings, I always use the SF-24V, in conjunction with other room mics. And all the piano tracks on this record have the SF-24V in conjunction with a pair of tube condensers. I lean on that mic a lot!”

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