Nicholas Vernhes runs Rare Book Room, a recording studio and record label based out of Brooklyn, N.Y. He has recorded/produced a variety of bands, including: The Fiery Furnaces, Black Dice, Blood On The Wall, Animal Collective, and many others.

I initially become interested in Rare Book Room after I acquired the Living Bridge compilation, which boasts a collection of songs I can’t stop listening to, namely Telepathe’s “I Can’t Stand It” and Deerhunter’s “After Class”. (Buy it here.)

RBR Alumni :

I sent Nicholas the following list of questions which he kindly answered:

How did you get into recording?
I had a band in the early 90’s and wanted to learn how to get the sounds in our heads onto tape.

What are the origins of Rare Book Room studios? How did the label start?
The studio began as an experimental space to practice and get those sounds in our heads down.

What is your favorite piece of studio equipment?
The studio itself and what it offers, no matter what gear is inside it.

Do you usually select bands to record or do they come to you? On a similar note, do you have any particularly memorable/unique sessions?
It goes both ways, but more often bands ask me to record. All sessions are pretty memorable, but there was a case of an unnamed drummer who wanted to remove a sticker someone had slapped onto his bass drum. Nothing as working so I suggested he use some lighter fluid and rub it until the sticker came off. He tried for a bit and then got impatient and decided to light it on fire. The sticker was gone! And so was the head! We had to stop everything and go out find him a new one. That was within the first 20 minutes of him being there.

Describe your recording process. Do you usually record bands live in the studio?
Every band is different to a certain extent. Many bands record live and then redo some parts or add parts and vocals. Some bands start from scratch and delve deeper into production by isolating every instrument to get a cleaner more pop type of sound where it’s easier to control the spacial relationships between instruments.

Do you have any techniques you’d like to share? (Mic setups, equipment modifications, effects, etc. )
Nothing fancy. I don’t use stereo overheads. I don’t put a mic inside the kick. I will sometimes mic the bottom of the snare and phase reverse it to the top mic to get a different sound. I always DI the bass as well as mic it, but i start with the idea that the amp tone is more interesting, even if later i’ll use just the DI on a song if it fits better. I use an SM7 on many vocalists. or a Soundelux U99. Or both.

Do you have any insight into the analog vs. digital debate? How does that fit within the context of RBR?
I have a 3M M79 from 1973 which i still use often to track. It’s 24 tracks on 2″. Then when the tape is full, i”ll transfer to Logic through an Apogee Symphony system with AD-16x, DA-16x and Rosetta 800 and keep working in the computer to mix. At final mix, for some types of music (and there is no rule), I’ll either mix in the box or go out to the board in stems, such as stereo drums, bass, guitars, vocals, fx, etc. And this way I can get rid of the digital 2 bus bottle neck and also have faders and analog EQ’s which means I’ll mix with one hand on the vocal fader and adjust in real time in the mix.

Are there any bands that you haven’t worked with previously that you interested in recording?
Led Zeppelin. Can. Brigitte Fontaine. Broadcast. Eno. This Heat. It’s a big list. And not very realistic.

What are your future plans?
Dinner. and making increasingly confounding records.

Thanks so much!
No, thank you!