№ 29 · INNOVATION
The Acusonic Recording Process
Bruce Swedien's secret weapon, Westlake Studios, 1982
MICHAEL JACKSON
The King of Pop
★ RARE
← MICHAEL JACKSON
CARD N° 29 · INNOVATION · ★ RARE
The Acusonic Recording Process
Bruce Swedien's secret weapon, Westlake Studios, 1982
№ 29 INNOVATION
The Acusonic Recording Process
The reason Thriller sounds clearer, deeper and more spacious than every other 1983 record is a recording technique invented by engineer Bruce Swedien called the Acusonic Recording Process — a phrase Bruce made up to keep other engineers from understanding what he was actually doing.
▶ THE MOMENT
Bruce Swedien on Recording Michael Jackson (Interview)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_b9o6_xRk
MICHAEL JACKSON · B·SIDE · VOL.I
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THE FACT
The reason Thriller sounds clearer, deeper and more spacious than every other 1983 record is a recording technique invented by engineer Bruce Swedien called the Acusonic Recording Process — a phrase Bruce made up to keep other engineers from understanding what he was actually doing.
WHAT MOST DON'T KNOW
The 'process' was Swedien's combination of three techniques: running 24-track analog tapes synchronised together to give 48 effective tracks (unheard of in 1982); recording every drum and percussion element individually with custom microphone placements that captured both direct and ambient sound; and treating the recorded vocal tracks with a specific reverb decay calibrated to the song's tempo. The phrase 'Acusonic Recording Process' was printed on every Thriller liner note. When other engineers asked what it meant, Swedien would simply smile and say: 'It means the album sounds the way it sounds.' He used variations of the same process on Bad, Dangerous and HIStory. Quincy Jones once described Swedien as 'the most important non-Michael person on the Thriller record'. The Acusonic technique is now openly taught in audio engineering programmes — but Swedien took the precise reverb decay times to his grave when he died in 2020.
▶
THE MOMENT
Bruce Swedien on Recording Michael Jackson (Interview) — The Grammy-winning engineer who made Thriller sound the way it sounds.