Steve Levine

"When we made the original albums, the first album Kissing To Be Clever was made only with vinyl in mind, there was no such thing as CD. It was recorded on analogue 24-track, and as half-inch was only just starting to be used, the majority was mixed onto quarter-inch. The second album was recorded 48-track on analogue, and mixed onto Sony PCM F1 [an early stereo digital recorder based around a Betamax video transport]. I did mix some of it on half-inch, but actually the F1 at the time was superior as the format was new, and that was my only master. I immediately transferred it digitally to Sony 1610 [a professional and very expensive early stereo digital recording and editing system based around a U-matic video transport] at Advision Studios, one of the only places to offer that service at the time, and having listened to the tapes again, the F1/1610 master still sounds superior. The third album was recorded digitally throughout, using a 24-track Sony 3324 digital machine, and mixed onto 1610."

"It was a Roland CR78 drum machine, and Mikey [Craig] played bass and Roy [Hay] played my little Korg Delta 770 onto one track, because we knew we wouldn't have a lot of tracks to play with, then the first overdub was guitar, just DI'd into the desk, and then there was a lead guitar, with a Roland RE201 Space Echo, and then the lead vocal. On the actual master version of that track, I'd built a noise gate myself which didn't work very well. It chopped the front off everything, and on the master we had the guitar that went 'wha wha wha', which was actually Roy playing through that noise gate."

The studio is home to Levine’s considerable collection of microphones old and new which get used regularly. “It’s good to show young bands alternative ways of mic’ing,” he adds. The desk is a Yamaha DM 2000 – “It more than suits my need at present, though I might upgrade to a larger format console in the future.”

"I've just got hold of an SCI Six-Trak which I think is very good value for money, and I'm also beginning to get used to the DX7. I find it's one of the few synths that's really useful above 10kHz, though it can still sound pretty awful if you push it to the limit."

"Two other bits of MIDI gear that I've bought recently are the Roland MSQ700 and TR909 (both reviewed in E&MM April). The MSQ is really good. Its' MIDI sequencing potential is very wide, but one reason why I've been able to use it so fully so early is that I seem to be getting better at understanding Roland's manuals. Either they're writing them better or I'm just getting the hang of them."

Interview with Steve Levine in which he discusses the E-mu Emulator I.

"No matter how good it is, a keyboard will sound like a keyboard if you play it that way." That's why Steve Levine prefers to run the set-up from the Roland MC4, removing the more predictable element of human, habit-formed fingers over the black and white plastic. Organising the MC4 instructions makes you think again, and consider how a violinist might set about the job.

Video in which Steve Levine discusses the Roland JC-120.

Around 3:03, Steve Levine talks about using an Oberheim Xpander.

"There were two sounds: a rhythm, often DI’d, very clean, sometimes with a chorus; and then the lead parts with the distortion. The best example is a track called Miss Me Blind, which used the two pedals; the Octavia and DS-1 Distortion. But I’ve used this on many tracks."

"I’ve got the up-to-the-minute stuff and vintage things. I’ve still got my D-550 module in the rack. Sometimes when you just want a bit of texture, it just gives you that."

"Recently, I’ve started using my GP-8 guitar processor again. I’ve not turned it on for years! I used it lots in the mid ’80s but now it comes out for those signature sounds. There’ll be one or two layers where I know the GP-8 will do just the job!"

“Here in the studio I’ve got my original [Roland] CR-78, my original Simmons [SCS-V] and my original Linn [LM-1],”

“Here in the studio I’ve got my original [Roland] CR-78, my original Simmons [SCS-V] and my original Linn [LM-1],”

“Here in the studio I’ve got my original [Roland] CR-78, my original Simmons [SCS-V] and my original Linn [LM-1],”

"I think the modern restoration and repair tools are fantastic. I’ve used iZotope RX a lot to clean up the ones with the tape hiss on, although I’ve left everything that went through the Watkins [Copicat] with the hiss on."

"I’ve taken out some of the drum sounds from my Ensoniq [ESQ-M], which are quite interesting as well."

"I like the emulations of all the Roland plugins, the Korg plugins, but then I also love Native Instruments’ creative plugins – especially those that use random modules and things like that, they’re very musical and very creative. I love Kontakt – it’s my main sampler. I like the compressors and the de-essers… there’s not really many plugins I don’t like; it’s just a question of how you use them!"

In his studio, record producer Steve Levine has built up a complete digital recording system along with sequencing, synchronisation and MIDI equipment and instruments - though the range of equipment does encompass the odd 'classic' analogue synth such as a Minimoog.

"But I've worked with sequencers since the day they first came out, so all these things are nothing compared with the problems I used to have. Years ago, even just a simple thing like a synthesizer going out of tune was a major headache in the studio. I've worked with every conceivable computer programmed sequencer - from the Roland CSQ-100, to the Prophet switch type, to the ARP ones that had the sixteen click thing that you'd line the notes up with. I've worked with an ARP 2600 synth also - in fact, I've just bought an ARP 1600 which I'm very pleased to have as part of my set-up here. But people just make such a big deal out of MIDI and sequencing."

"But I've worked with sequencers since the day they first came out, so all these things are nothing compared with the problems I used to have. Years ago, even just a simple thing like a synthesizer going out of tune was a major headache in the studio. I've worked with every conceivable computer programmed sequencer - from the Roland CSQ-100, to the Prophet switch type, to the ARP ones that had the sixteen click thing that you'd line the notes up with. I've worked with an ARP 2600 synth also - in fact, I've just bought an ARP 1600 which I'm very pleased to have as part of my set-up here. But people just make such a big deal out of MIDI and sequencing."

"Up until recently we used the Yamaha QX1 sequencer with great success but that wasn't a popular machine - people didn't realise how brilliant it was. It was a really excellent machine. The only problem was it wouldn't record an external sync signal, but there are ways around that as well. Our problem was we were always running out of tracks because the QX1 only has eight. We were finding we were doing more and more things before we actually put them on tape. So then we changed over to the Steinberg Pro-24."

"Up until recently we used the Yamaha QX1 sequencer with great success but that wasn't a popular machine - people didn't realise how brilliant it was. It was a really excellent machine. The only problem was it wouldn't record an external sync signal, but there are ways around that as well. Our problem was we were always running out of tracks because the QX1 only has eight. We were finding we were doing more and more things before we actually put them on tape. So then we changed over to the Steinberg Pro-24."

The first and second photo show Steve Levine with a Fairlight CMI.

"The track 'Colour By Numbers' must be the very first use of a Yamaha DX7 on record," recalls Steve Levine. "The importer brought one down to the studio to show it to us. It was a Friday, and he said 'You can have it here for the weekend but I must have it back on Monday.' The first moment you heard a DX7 it was the Holy Grail, particularly for the famous Fender Rhodes sound. Most of the Culture Clubs tracks had Fender Rhodes on them, but we were always struggling to get the brightness in the sound, and then when this thing came, the fact that the MIDI didn't really work didn't matter — it was the best piano sound I'd ever heard at that time."

"It was a Roland CR78 drum machine, and Mikey [Craig] played bass and Roy [Hay] played my little Korg Delta 770 onto one track, because we knew we wouldn't have a lot of tracks to play with, then the first overdub was guitar, just DI'd into the desk, and then there was a lead guitar, with a Roland RE201 Space Echo, and then the lead vocal. On the actual master version of that track, I'd built a noise gate myself which didn't work very well. It chopped the front off everything, and on the master we had the guitar that went 'wha wha wha', which was actually Roy playing through that noise gate."

These days, he works out of a thoroughly modern home studio based around Apple G4 Macs running Logic and Nuendo.

"I wanted it to still sound like a demo, and I haven't changed it, just tidied it up a little bit. I rented a four-track machine and at my studio and transferred the four tracks via my Apogee AD8000 in at 24-bit into Logic Audio."

"I’ve had the Mac Pro (2009 Intel from day 1) and its served me very well, my previous system was the last of the power PC models."

"I run Logic X, Ableton Live and Pro Tools (native) as well as lots of other audio editing programmes such as Isotope Rx4. It all works very well."