Elliott Smith – Either/Or album cover

Elliott Smith – Either/Or

Album 1997

The music gear and equipment used by the artists, producers, engineers, and more involved in the making of the 1997 album Either/Or.

Music from Either/Or

Gear Used On Either/Or

Explore the instruments, equipment, software, and production tools used in the making of Elliott Smith – Either/Or (1997). Click more on each item to see exactly how it was used.

Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith

Mixing Engineer Producer

Studio Equipment used by Elliott Smith on Either/Or

Analog

TASCAM 38

Avg price: $236.78

''The (first two solo) records were totally limited, and there was no choice about what to use Then I got an 8-track (Tascam 38) and I had a choice between a couple of different mics.

DAT Recorders

Panasonic SV-3800 DAT

Elliott uses this recorder in 1996 for Either/Or album

Effects Processors

Ibanez AD202

Avg price: $421.90

Elliott Smith used the Ibanez AD202 effects processor during the recording of his album "Either/Or" in 1996, as shown in a user-uploaded photo on Tapeop.

Mixers

Mackie CR-1604

Avg price: $200.00

From Tape Op interview by Larry Crane with Elliott Smith and producers Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock on the recording of Either/Or.

Tom: “In other cases, like the song "Alameda," the drum mics were mixed together live through the Mackie 1604 to one track live as they were recorded, with compression from the Behringer Composer added at the same time as well. Knowing Elliott, I'd speculate that he did test passes of the drum mix until he felt it would work well in the final mix. "Alameda" was also dumped to 16-track at The Shop, where some vocals were added (see Alternate Versions… for this iteration), but for the album release Elliott chose to return to the original 1/2-inch master and mix from those tracks, possibly after recording an "updated" vocal.”

Effects Processors

Behringer MDX2100 Composer

Avg price: $20.00

From Tape Op interview by Larry Crane with Elliott Smith and producers Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock on the recording of Either/Or.

Mentioned throughout article, including this one by Elliott:

Elliott: "The [first two solo] records were totally limited, and there was no choice about what to use [gear-wise]. Then I got an 8-track [Tascam 38], and I had a choice between a couple of different mics. I got a compressor [Behringer Composer] and one of those [digital effects] boxes that will make any effect that you have the patience to try to program [Digitech TSR 24S]. Most of [Either/Or] was done at my house, some was done at Joanna's house on a 4-track, and some on 16-track in California [at The Shop]. Everything sounded different."

And Tom: “In other cases, like the song "Alameda," the drum mics were mixed together live through the Mackie 1604 to one track live as they were recorded, with compression from the Behringer Composer added at the same time as well. Knowing Elliott, I'd speculate that he did test passes of the drum mix until he felt it would work well in the final mix."

Other Gear used by Elliott Smith on Either/Or

Category needed

Audix Studio 1A Passive Monitors

Pictured in photo titled “ Elliott Smith Recording Equipment, circa 1996” from Tape Op interview by Larry Crane with Elliott Smith and producers Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock on the recording of Either/Or.

Microphones used by Elliott Smith on Either/Or

Dynamic Microphones

AKG D112 BD (Original Version)

Pictured in photo titled “ Elliott Smith Recording Equipment, circa 1996” from Tape Op interview by Larry Crane with Elliott Smith and producers Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock on the recording of Either/Or.

Condenser Microphones

Audio-Technica Pro 37

Avg price: $172.52

Pictured in photo titled “ Elliott Smith Recording Equipment, circa 1996” from Tape Op interview by Larry Crane with Elliott Smith and producers Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock on the recording of Either/Or.