Universal Audio in Chicago in the 1950s was the hub of big band activity. Everyone from Dizzee Gillespie and Count Basie to Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock and Frankie Valli used its big rooms to create timeless recordings. Universal engineer Bruce Swedien (pictured, inset) met Quincy Jones while working at the studio and began what would become a 30-year working partnership.

Jones and Swedien worked with Michael Jackson on his solo career from 1979 to 2001, producing the best-selling albumof all time, Thriller. The trio worked on the composition, arrangements and production as a group.

“I was mainly involved in engineering, but through working with Jones and Jackson I got more and more involved in production. I am a composer and have written songs with Jackson. I don’t really know exactly where I fit in,” he says, laughing, “but I suppose it doesn’t matter.”

Money and accolades aside, the thing Swedien enjoyed most about his work with Quincy and Jackson was the faith they had in him. “I have been very lucky, because those guys knew that I had something different to offer and they would go away and let me do my thing,” he explains.

“The best part of a relationship like that is the trust they had in me.”
Much like his ghoulish alter ego in the Thriller video, from the studio to the stage Swedien saw a massive character transition when Jackson performed live. “My wife was heavily involved in my career and we went to see him in concert and realised that we never met the guy that he became on stage,” Swedien reflects.

“He was really different than any other artist or vocalist. When we recorded some of the early hits, like Billy Jean, I had the studio carpenter build an eight foot square drum platform to stop the kick drum from spreading across the floor into the other mics, but I found out that Michael really loved to record his vocals on the stage, because he always danced when he sang.”

Swedien feels that his mic collection is the signature part of his sound. His most coveted piece is a microphone designed by Finnish engineer Martin Kantola. He explains: “I met Kantola in Helsinki while doing a lecture at The Sibelius Academy and immediately recognised that he was a really unique musical and technical force. The mic he designed uses a similar capsule and tube as the Neumann U47 and it sounds absolutely incredible. There are several of them now, but when I first began using them there were only three in the world. I don’t think there are many of them in use today. Björk had one of them and she absolutely loves it.
“I also used one of the very first Shure SM7 dynamic mics. All the vocals on Billy Jean and Beat It are all done on that mic, which proves that it is not necessary to have a condenser mic to do fantastic recording.

“I am also lucky because Neumann came to my aid and sent me some wonderful stuff. I bought a pair of U47s in 1953, but one of them was stolen during the making of Thriller. I bought them for 390 bucks and I recently turned down 20 thousand dollars for the remaining one. It is just such a phenomenal microphone.

“I also have some AKG C12s in my collection, but they are not my favourite. I think that the U47 has more character. I am not a purist and a lot of people look at me as grandpa
hi-fi, but I am after the musical value of gear – and that’s all. It has nothing to do with the technical parts.”

Along with his microphone collection, Swedien’s 1985 Harrison 32x32 series recording console is still used in his private studio. “Dave Harrison was a friend of mine and I gave him a lot of input when he was designing the desk. I love it madly. It has the greatest high and low filters; they are extremely dramatic. It was the forerunner of the great filter on the SSL desks. I don’t know if it was copied, but they were very similar.

“Anyone who works in the box and thinks it sounds good should hear what they are doing compared to my Harrison desk and they will be able to tell an immediate difference.”

After 30 years and 13 Grammy nominations, Swedien has his own studio in central Florida that does not have a website or public contact details. He picks and chooses the projects he wants to work on and, fortunately for Swedien, artists like Jennifer Lopez still hunt him down.

The Harrison desk is the centre point of the studio that also features Bill Putnam’s original 1176 compressor/limiters and four of Universal Audio’s LA-2As, which he bought during his Universal days, in addition to Westlake Audio monitors. “I first started using the Westlake monitors when I was working on Jackson’s albums in California. They are absolutely fabulous and I still use them. I don’t think there is anything else out there that compares.”

His studio is equipped with a Pro Tools rig, however Swedien misses the analog sound and is thinking of going back to it. “I was very fond of the 3M 24-track machines
and the Studer is an excellent machine. There is something about the sound that is different now and I think using  those analog tape machines had a character to them that is really great.”

After such a long and successful career in the recording business, one would assume that Swedien would be put off by recent trends in the modern music industry. Instead he states: “I think there are a lot of young people out there who care. I was always of a different style and I didn’t want to fit in the mould. When it comes down to it, it’s the passion behind that music that really matters. Art does not talk to money.”

Swedien’s new book, called In The Studio With
Michael Jackson, will be available in Europe through www.jawbonepress.com