Glenn Rosenstein & StageSource
interview with the producer/mixer/engineer of Madonna, Ziggy Marley, U2 testing the Line 6 Loudspeakers
Born and raised in New York City, Glenn Rosenstein began his music career at the legendary Power Station Recording Studio, assisting alongside some of the best and brightest producers, engineers and artists in the business. Honing his craft at New York’s historic Sigma Sound Studios, Glenn became a highly sought-after mixer and remix engineer, creating work for such artists as U2, Madonna, Talking Heads, The Ramones, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and many others.
Glenn Rosenstein & StageSource
interview with the producer/mixer/engineer of Madonna, Ziggy Marley, U2 testing the Line 6 Loudspeakers
Born and raised in New York City, Glenn Rosenstein began his music career at the legendary Power Station Recording Studio, assisting alongside some of the best and brightest producers, engineers and artists in the business. Honing his craft at New York’s historic Sigma Sound Studios, Glenn became a highly sought-after mixer and remix engineer, creating work for such artists as U2, Madonna, Talking Heads, The Ramones, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and many others.
Guitar-nbass.com – You’ve worked with many successful artists of the last 35 years, your work has received a Golden Globe, Grammy awards, and an Oscar. Thanks to your work over 250 million records have been sold in the world. How do you feel being considered a star?
Glenn Rosenstein – Ask my wife and daughter. 🙂
Seriously, I’ve never thought about my career in those terms. I’m surrounded by talented artists, producers, mixers, engineers, musicians. I’m grateful to be able to participate and, perhaps, make a contribution. I’ve been fortunate to have some successes, but, like most of my peers, I’m always looking forward to what’s next.
GB – You use products, music and recording technology equipment of different manufacturers, but at the moment we would like to concentrate ourselves on the StageSource L2m produced by Line 6. You had the chance to test the L2m in you studio. How was it?
GR – Surprising. While, of course, I’d not consider replacing my trusted studio monitors with a purpose-designed live loudspeaker system, I was impressed at how ‘true’ the L2m’s sounded in my studio. The built-in DSP allowed me to custom-tune each speaker for optimal sonic quality. Line 6 did a pretty outstanding job designing a very useful product.
GB – I’ve read that you’ve appreciated how they responded with the vocals, and the results on the Soft White Sixties record you’ve worked on using the StageSource PA speakers are incredible!
GR – I’d give kudos to Jim Greer’s (Foster The People) production skills and the band’s performance. That said, the L2m’s were dialed-in enough that we were clearly able to hear what was on the tracks. The rest was easy.
GB – Can you give a short list of pros and cons of this system?
GR – I like the L2m’s built-in DSP – it adds value to the speaker’s ability to be used in multiple applications. Beyond sounding good, I’m impressed with the quality of construction and it’s overall ‘usability’.
Cons? Nothing really to speak of – just a well made product that won’t disappoint.
GB – According to you, how can the StageSource L2m help on small mixing desks and can you list the minimum equipment necessary for a small studio.
GR – I don’t necessarily think that the L2m would be a particularly good match for a small mixing desk or small room, as these speakers can develop some seriously high SPL’s. Again, these are not your typical near-field monitors, nor were they designed for that purpose. But in a larger environment, these monitors shine.
Minimum equipment necessary for a small studio? A laptop, talent & great ears.
GB – What is the most played album on your iPod?
GR – If I were to be totally candid, the most played songs currently in my iTunes account would include “I’m In The Mood For Love” by King Pleasure, “Don’t Fear The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult, “Strawberry Letter #23” by the Brothers Johnson, “The Golden Age” by Beck, “Wave” by Jobim, “We’re An American Band” by Grand Funk Railroad, “Betcha By Golly Wow” by The Stylistics, “Dry The Rain” by The Beta Band, “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green, “The Battle Of Who Could Care Less” by Ben Folds Five, “Oh, Sweet Nothing” by The Velvet Underground. Of course, I could go on…
GB – Do you think analog recording is better than digital?
GR – No, I think a great song with a compelling performance and superb musicians is better then a shitty song with a lousy performance and horrible musicians. I spent the first half of my career recording on analog, before analog was a choice. I can’t argue about a storage medium because, to me, analog vs. digital is the least important part of what goes into making a great record. If I’m working with a band that insists on analog, I’m fine with that. If I’m working with an engineer who insists on using a DAW, I’m fine with that as well. All I really do care about is talent.
GB – Which are the main differences from a working point of view?
GR – Generally speaking, analog is inherently less flexible in terms of repairing poorly played or sung parts – you’d like a certain level of musicianship to effectively use analog. Also, the sound of analog changes over time – the more wear on the master, the more top end disappears, never to return. Some complain about the ‘sterility’ of digital recordings, but again I’d suggest that talented engineers and producers bring a remarkably compelling audio signature to any storage medium.
GB – How has the record business changed since your first days as professionist? Has it been a positive or negative change?
GR – There continues to be a downward trend in revenue for artists, and that doesn’t help anyone. It saddens me to think that younger, passionate & talented individuals may not have the same opportunities that I had over the course of my career, due to lack of financial support. For most, there is no ‘record business’ anymore. I think any system that can monetize the arts is not a bad thing. But I’ve seen no indication that there is a focus on supporting music sales anymore. Streaming doesn’t significantly pay anyone other than Spotify or Pandora. The major labels are investing in televised music contests (The Voice, America’s Got Talent), or buying equity in headphone manufacturers, like Beats. Is this a negative change? From my perspective, it might be – but there are those who look at taking distribution out of the hands of a corporate record entity and giving it to social media as a very good thing. For someone with my history in the business, I think its a step down. For a young artist having realistic expectations, they might like having control over their own destiny. It depends on what works for you.
GB – Thanks for your time and we hope to host you again on our magazine www.guitar-nbass.com
GR – Thank you.
BIO:
Born and raised in New York City, Glenn Rosenstein began his music career at the legendary Power Station Recording Studio, assisting alongside some of the best and brightest producers, engineers and artists in the business. Honing his craft at New York’s historic Sigma Sound Studios, Glenn became a highly sought-after mixer and remix engineer, creating work for such artists as U2, Madonna, Talking Heads, The Ramones, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and many others.
As a producer, mixer, or engineer, Glenn’s projects have won 3 Grammy Awards, garnered 5 Grammy nominations, and have won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe award. His work is responsible for record sales well in excess of 250 million units. His music production & mixing credits for film & television include The Sopranos, Celebrity Circus, The Last Emperor, Blown Away, Married To The Mob, Charmed, Beverly Hills 90210, All My Children and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. As both songwriter & producer, Glenn’s work with reggae artist Snow led to a chart-topping single in Canada.
Glenn’s music production & mixes continue to be highly visible & diverse, from Ziggy Marley, Livingston Taylor and Lucas Ohio Pattie to James Taylor, Carly Simon, The Soft White Sixties, and Bif Naked. The Glenn Rosenstein produced Benedictines Of Mary project for Decca/Universal was Billboard Magazine’s #1 Classical release for the 2012 holiday season – as well as #4 in overall sales at Amazon.Com & #1 in overall sales at Barnes & Noble, outpacing more prominent artists and musical genres.
In addition, Glenn has overseen production of a landmark multi-DVD project for Saturday Night Live’s 25th Anniversary, producing the surround remixes and audio for 60 unique music performances and 60 musical comedic sketches. This project features the live performances of Mariah Carey, Sting, Aretha Franklin, Metallica, Nirvana, Paul McCartney, Snoop Doggy Dog, Paul Simon, Alanis Morissette, James Brown and Bruce Springsteen, to name but a few.