Leland Sklar and the "producer's switch"

[Bunk McNulty]

Things I wish I'd thought of:

"Tommy Tedesco taught me a lot while doing sessions with him. Because of him, I installed a 'Producer Switch' on my bass. It has no wires going to it. It is a placebo that makes people think you have done something when you have not, but if they really do not know what they want you can go crazy trying to find it. This way they see me flip a switch and they are happy."

Interview With Leland Sklar

 

[Rev J]

I was thinking about making this in a pedal form. New from Dunning Krueger Effects.

C/S,
Rev J

 

[Bob_Ross]

btw, I keep getting ads on my Facebook feed for a band appearing at a nearby club that consists of Leland Sklar on bass, Russ Kunkel on drums, Waddy Wachtel and Danny Kortchmar on guitars, and some keyboard player whose name I don't recognize. Sort of the 1970s SoCal version of The Wrecking Crew. I may have to go.

But yeah, that Producer's Switch is pure genius.

 

[Rev J]

btw, I keep getting ads on my Facebook feed for a band appearing at a nearby club that consists of Leland Sklar on bass, Russ Kunkel on drums, Waddy Wachtel and Danny Kortchmar on guitars, and some keyboard player whose name I don't recognize. Sort of the 1970s SoCal version of The Wrecking Crew. I may have to go.

But yeah, that Producer's Switch is pure genius.

Back in the day they were referred to as "The Section" they backed up Jackson Brown, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Carol King etc. They were kinda the go to backing band for 70's singer/songwriters.

C/S,
Rev J

 

[Artman]

Or a variation of the Producer's Switch that I like to call the Guitarist's Volume Knob.
GP: It sounds too bass heavy, turn down a little. Me: Gently spins knob that does nothing and thumps on E "How's that?. GP: That sounds better. Let's run through it again.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Back in the day they were referred to as "The Section" they backed up Jackson Brown, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Carol King etc. They were kinda the go to backing band for 70's singer/songwriters.

C/S,
Rev J

Some called them the Mellow Mafia

 

[JTE]

btw, I keep getting ads on my Facebook feed for a band appearing at a nearby club that consists of Leland Sklar on bass, Russ Kunkel on drums, Waddy Wachtel and Danny Kortchmar on guitars, and some keyboard player whose name I don't recognize. Sort of the 1970s SoCal version of The Wrecking Crew. I may have to go.

But yeah, that Producer's Switch is pure genius.

Would the keyboard player be Craig Doerge? The Section was Kunkle, Sklar, Doerge, and Kortchmar. Wachtel did a lot of work, road and studio, with that base group.

 

[jblock]

Tony Levin has a bunch of stories like this too of his studio days with Paul Simon and John Lennon where he would make it look like he was changing settings but it was all a ruse.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Here is an album by The Section, it was pretty cool, if my memory is accurate.

 

[el murdoque]

When doing FOH, I have the 'Drunk-Guy-Fader'. That channel is empty and the fader is about halfway up. When the drunk guy comes in and requests whatever to be louder or less loud, I make the adjustment on that blind fader and ask him if it's better now.

 

[bikeplate]

Lol. Same on the slider. When a bar owner says its a hair too loud i do the same and they are instantly so happy!

 

[Bob_Ross]

^^^Ha! I used to mark an unused fader "AC" for all the blue-haired old ladies who would come up to me when I was mixing for some corporate event and say "Are you in control? It's so hot in here!"