R.I.P. Roger Nichols - World Famous Producer, Recording Engineer

svtb15 · #1 04-10-2011, 07:43 AM

World famous Producer, Inventor of the Wendel Drum Machine, Recording Engineer ...passed April 9, 2011.. I had the opportunity to work with him a few times years ago.. The man was a genius. Famous for his recordings of Steely Dan , Donald Fagan, John Denver, and hundreds of others. The music industry will miss him.

Roger Nichols (recording engineer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

azureblue · #2 04-10-2011, 07:59 AM

I worked with him way back when he was tracking John Denver at the old Warners' studio in N. Hollywood. If you said ("Mitsubishi digital 32 track" or the single word "Lynx" over his grave, I am sure he would rise up and throttle you). He was a genius, no doubt, did not suffer fools gladly, and loved what he was doing. to Roger, quality was something that was never to be compromised. Back then, Roger saw the impact digital would have on music, and was at the bleeding edge of it all. And he still knew that music was all about heart.

Roger, tell John D. hello for us, will you?

svtb15 · #3 04-10-2011, 10:50 AM

He invented Direct to Disk Recording, The Digital Drum Machine.. What an inspiration to work with him..
Think he won 7 Grammys

svtb15 · #4 04-10-2011, 10:55 AM

From what i remember he also was the first to Pioneer the use of Vacuum instead of baking old tapes...

svtb15 · #5 04-10-2011, 12:11 PM

I just found this Roger Nichols CD mastering & Master Class

jerry · #6 04-11-2011, 12:57 PM

Roger used to hang out here a bit when Walter had his studio here, cool guy and a genius.

Fly on Roger...............

I-Love-Ratm · #7 04-12-2011, 10:30 AM

Sad to hear this. As someone who has studied music technology and production for the last 3 years I realize how much Rogers work meant to the world of audio production. His discography, whether you liked the music or not, were sonically some of the best ever made. How many engineers use Steely Dan or Donald Fagan tracks as their reference CD?

R.I.P. Roger

bottomzone · #8 04-12-2011, 01:55 PM

He sure made Steely Dan sound good!!! R.I.P., Roger..........

svtb15 · #9 04-12-2011, 03:42 PM

FaceBook Post from his Daughters.
Roger Nichols | Facebook

Roger Nichols
Our Dad made the ultimate digital transfer at 3:25 AM. We miss him so much already. Everything we are and love is because of him (and our mom). We wish he could have stayed, but are relieved to know he is free from pain. We only wish he could tell us what the bliss of becoming all-knowing, inter-dimensional, anti-matter feels like. (He knows what we're talking about.) We love you Dad! -Ashlee & Cimcie

Bob Lee (QSC) · #10 04-12-2011, 03:58 PM

RIP, Roger.

One of his former assistants, Lenise Bent, is a good friend of mine and she told me of his fight against cancer.

elgecko · #11 04-12-2011, 04:17 PM

I've never heard his name but I'm intimate with his work via Steely Dan. RIP Roger!

I'm curious, was he a musician himself?

pbasswil · #12 04-12-2011, 04:27 PM

In early 2011 he was reported to be "fighting for his life," and after nearly a year of medical treatments he and his family were reportedly "all but bankrupt.

Shocking the way that can happen to anyone -- even a very successful person -- in the richest and most powerful nation on the planet.

I sure hope his family is coping.

ad9000 · #13 04-12-2011, 04:42 PM

Sad news and a very great loss.
In the mid and late 90's I had the pleasure of playing on three albums that Roger engineered (he effortlessly got a killer bass sound). I learned a great deal from hanging out with him, loved his dry sense of humor and all the Steely Dan stories. My favorite was one he told about the death of the aforementioned Mitsibushi 32-track digital recorder, which was about the size of a washing machine. Apparently, Roger and Walter Becker were so fed up with its many problems that they carted it up to the highest cliff on Maui and pushed it off the edge. That's not the end of it - they filmed its journey into the abyss and sent the video to Mitsubishi!

azureblue · #14 04-12-2011, 05:40 PM

He was recording John Denver at Amigo (old Warner's) in N. Hollywood. For some reason, they decided to go track in Hawaii. Problem was, they were using the Mitsu's so they crated one that Amigo had, and shipped it to Hawaii... And back.

The Mitsu's did not like the Lynx controller, but it was being used to sync with a MCI / Sony 24 analog. When the Lynx rewind / RTZ button was hit, the Mitsu was fail to stop and rewind all the tape. Fun! Profanity! No wonder Roger pushed it off a cliff....

ad9000 · #15 04-12-2011, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azureblue

He was recording John Denver at Amigo (old Warner's) in N. Hollywood. For some reason, they decided to go track in Hawaii. Problem was, they were using the Mitsu's so they crated one that Amigo had, and shipped it to Hawaii... And back.

The Mitsu's did not like the Lynx controller, but it was being used to sync with a MCI / Sony 24 analog. When the Lynx rewind / RTZ button was hit, the Mitsu was fail to stop and rewind all the tape. Fun! Profanity! No wonder Roger pushed it off a cliff....

I recall Roger talking about phantom dropouts, entire tracks that would disappear at random, and other fun issues as well. The price you pay for being a pioneer!

svtb15 · #16 04-13-2011, 10:08 AM

That sounds like Him.. haha... And those Mitsu machines were not a cheap piece of hardware..

Quote:

Originally Posted by ad9000

Sad news and a very great loss.
In the mid and late 90's I had the pleasure of playing on three albums that Roger engineered (he effortlessly got a killer bass sound). I learned a great deal from hanging out with him, loved his dry sense of humor and all the Steely Dan stories. My favorite was one he told about the death of the aforementioned Mitsibushi 32-track digital recorder, which was about the size of a washing machine. Apparently, Roger and Walter Becker were so fed up with its many problems that they carted it up to the highest cliff on Maui and pushed it off the edge. That's not the end of it - they filmed its journey into the abyss and sent the video to Mitsubishi!