I just got back from an absolutely stellar Grammy Sound Table, based on the topic of how people work today. Extremely relevant in today’s on-the-go world of production. Maureen Droney and her crew at the Producers and Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy put together a panel of four very talented, and very different, producers. And guess what, they all work very differently. After the intro and general-interst questions about vocal chains and favorite pieces of gear and working with artists, Moderator Michael Molenda of Guitar Player asked each one of them to play back a track and then tell how it came together. The selections and the methods were stimulating in both their variety and their care and attention.

Nick Raskulinecz, fresh off production on the upcoming Rush album and known for his work with Foo Fighters, Stone Sour, Queens of the Stone Age, selected a track from Stone Sour that was completed after the record was done and the flights had been booked home. Turns out Cory Taylor woke up that morning with the song in his head, brought it in and recorded everything, except the drums, right there in the control room. First he laid down a scratch vocal/guitar (the vocal mostly stayed intact throughout the day). Then he pulled out a Martin guitar from the basement, did the acoustic, then bass, then guitar, then drums in the big room, then sweetened and peppered with tambourine. Done, basically in a day, and it’s their hit. The vocal chain? Very common one for Nick: Soundelux 251 into a Martech pre and dbx 160XT.

Carmen Rizzo, the underground darling with high-end appeal, then selected Azam Ali’s “Endless Reverie,” a haunting sexy track with all types of world beat floating through. Her only mandate was that she didn’t want any ordinary sounds. Carmen started with high-hat and snare, programmed by hand in Kontakt 2. He also employed Reaktor and scads of NI gear. Then came guitars by Trey Gunn of King Crimson, then a guitar-viola. His sexcret? He does his processing in Reaktor, mainly for delays and effects. He also makes liberal use of Echo Farm. “I like glitchy sounds,” he said.

Next up was Harvey Mason Jr. from super-duo producers The Underdogs, fresh off the massive success of Dreamgirls. He played the track “Change M

Then came Butch Walker, an artist who also happens to produce the likes of Pink, Avril Lavigne and Hot Heat. He was the rebel onstage, and played a song he scratched down in Garage Band after waking up in an L.A. hotel room at 5 a.m.. Got out the guitar, then brought it to the band for the next record. He likes to record live in the room…the vocal did end up being a mic and acoustic guitar in a room, then overdubbed bass but had guitar live in a booth. He kept it sparse, then brought in…you guessed it. Strings! Beautifully done to fil out the track. Then on mixing, he said, “I asked him to put tape slap echo across the whole track at 150 ms. Ruined the sonics, but I loved it!” Much laughter in the audience, along with applause.

Our hats off to Maureen Droney and the Academy. And to Mike Molenda for moderating a great forum. These Sound Tables do feel like the living room they strive for. Now let’s bug the Academy to get these darn things up online so we can all hear!