Steve's Recording Method

[dc27]

So I'm at recording school and want to know exactly how Steve does things. I think it'd be useful for my own work, and also for reference in my assignments (also, one of my tutor's 'challenges' is to recreate a song as accurately as possible tonally using the same methodology, and I just so happen to have access to an awful lot of the same gear at my school). I've seen many posts referencing the Home Recording Magazine article, but in practice these exact mics and techniques aren't actually that accurate, and more tailored to rhythm parts in practice.

-How does Steve generally go around recording a lead part? I'm after a detailed explanation of the signal chain with gear and settings referenced. If he were to begin tracking a lead, what are the general 'go-to's?

-What is Steve/Greg's general mic technique? Obviously a 57 and M160 get great results along with some room mics, but where are they placed/is there more to it?

-How does Steve EQ and effect lead parts? I know from experience that delay is a huge part of getting a Legacy to sound good, and I'm aware that the delay returns go into a mono reverb but how are things routed? Are the delays and reverbs parallel aux tracks, and is there anything else sent to them other than guitar?



If anybody has any helpful information, especially from the Real Illusions/Story of Light era, (maybe the Vai.com guys!?) I'd be incredibly grateful!