The Wallflowers, the Americana pop band fronted by Bob Dylan's son, embrace a digital lifestyle even though their sound is decidedly analog. Keyboardist and head gadget guy Rami Jaffee told us all about their tech toys and audio-recording tools. The band is currently in an Atlanta studio recording an album that's due out early next year.
Digital World: What gadgets do you like?
Rami Jaffee: I'm a gadget freak. My favorite gadget is the Panasonic SV-AV20 [media player]. It's got a little flip top, takes decent pics and video, and plays MP3s. It all fits on an SD card, and it's super tiny.
I've got an IPod, but I'm old school: I've got the 30GB [model]. Word on the street is that model has a bad battery. I have a car charger and a dock at home, so I haven't had the battery problems some people have had. Once I was at A&M Studios, now Henson studios, and I ended up loading a [Digidesign] Pro Tools session onto my IPod to work on a part at my home studio. That's when I knew technology was on my side.
DW: What about a cell phone?
Jaffee: I have the Sony Ericsson T68i.... My card is full, and my internal memory is full. I need something that's going to hold a zillion numbers. My partners at Trampoline Records, Marc Dauer and singer/songwriter Pete Yorn, have some fancy phones; Marc has the [Handspring] Treo, and Pete has the [Danger] Sidekick. They're both on AOL [Instant Messenger], as am I. If I find out those phones hold a zillion numbers, I'm going to buy one tomorrow.
DW: What about the other band members?
Jaffee: Greg [Richling], the bass player, just got his IPod, and he's in love with it. Jakob [Dylan] just barely got a cell phone yesterday.
I convinced Jakob to get the Digidesign Digi 002 [music production system], and I think he's happy I did. It's so great to swap sessions between our studios with total ease.
Fred [Eltringham], the drummer, likes his Canon PowerShot A70 digital camera. Yogi [the lead guitarist] is really into cell phone gadgets.
DW: Do you play any games?
Jaffee: I'm not Mr. Games, but there's an Xbox upstairs and everyone's addicted to this game called Halo. We might just have to call the record Halo.
(Editor's note: We hope the imminent release of Halo 2 doesn't delay their album.)
DW: What do you use at your home studio?
Jaffee: I have a Pro Tools|24 MIX system. Chandler puts out Neve and EMI modules, and we love them. We have at least two of everything they have. We love the Chandler TG1.
We have an [Empirical Labs] Fatso Jr. It's this incredible tape simulator compressor.... It's a secret that needs to be unveiled.
(Editor's note: Chandler Limited produces hardware recreations of vintage hard-to-find Neve and EMI limiters and compressors, many of which were available only in record company recording studios. Limiters and compressors control audio volume levels. Limiters set a threshold above which signals cannot go beyond, whereas compressors can even out soft and loud audio levels.
The Chandler Limited TG1 recreates the late 1960s EMI/Abbey Road-style limiter/compressor used by the likes of The Beatles.
Digidesign is phasing out the Pro Tools|24 MIX system and replacing it with the Pro Tools|HD system.)
DW: What software plug-ins do you use?
Jaffee: I am addicted to [Pro Tools] TDM plug-ins, my favorite being Echo Farm.
Another favorite plug-in is Digidesign's Bomb Factory's Fairchild compressor. About five years ago, I was bidding on one on EBay, and my bid was $25,000, and I got outbid by $5.
(Editor's note: Line 6 Echo Farm simulates the echo effects of vintage analog audio-recording hardware such as the Maestro EP-1 Tube Echoplex, Maestro EP-3 Echoplex, and Roland RE-101 Space Echo. Bomb Factory's Fairchild plug-in simulates the very rare Fairchild 660 and Fairchild 670 limiters.)
DW: What's your advice on using digital music products?
Jaffee: Don't overuse what they have to offer. There's some incredible technology out there, and just because you bought it and got a good deal on it doesn't mean you have to use every single thing on it. For example, I'll spend three grand on one of those Yamaha Motif keyboards. I'll find some special part of one of the hundreds of sounds. Once I use that on a few records, I feel I got my money's worth.
Some technology is just way too advanced for my liking. I come across musicians all the time that just may be too versatile. Jacks of all trades but masters of none, swallowed up with options.
You don't have to use 50 [Pro Tools] tracks. People say, "I've got Pro Tools, and I can record a million tracks." Well, the last time I heard a song with a million tracks, I hated it. Don't let your eyes get the best of you. Use your ears.
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