Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways Album Surround Mix

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LennonCobain

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So I stumbled across this article from 2014 related to Elliot Scheiner and his partnership with Acura.
http://www.coolhunting.com/design/elliot-scheiner-els-surround-premium-audio-system

This statement at the end of the article caught my attention:
“And as proof of his faith in what they've achieved, Scheiner borrowed an Acura TL so that the Foo Fighters could listen to the latest surround sound mix of their forthcoming album.”

Based on when the article was written, the forthcoming album would have been “Sonic Highways.” It is unlikely that the reference is in regards to the HBO documentary series. Has anybody else heard anything about a possible surround mix? If Scheiner was demoing it, then presumably he mixed it.
 
So I stumbled across this article from 2014 related to Elliot Scheiner and his partnership with Acura.
http://www.coolhunting.com/design/elliot-scheiner-els-surround-premium-audio-system

This statement at the end of the article caught my attention:
“And as proof of his faith in what they've achieved, Scheiner borrowed an Acura TL so that the Foo Fighters could listen to the latest surround sound mix of their forthcoming album.”

Based on when the article was written, the forthcoming album would have been “Sonic Highways.” It is unlikely that the reference is in regards to the HBO documentary series. Has anybody else heard anything about a possible surround mix? If Scheiner was demoing it, then presumably he mixed it.

“Sonic Highways” never came out as a surround sound album, however I think the TV show utilized discrete Surround mixes of tracks from the album in each episode, so a full Surround mix of the album probably does exist.
Too bad the album never got released as a Blu-Ray audio disc. That would have been a great popular album for the format, just like Coldplay’s “A Head Full Of Dreams”.

:(
 
I have the BluRay of the HBO special - each of the 8 episodes conclude with the song recorded in that city/studio. Lossless surround - not discrete
 
This is a bit of a vague recollection, but I recall an anecdote along these lines from when Scheiner mixed the acoustic half 'In Your Honor' for the band. Did he even have any involvement with Sonic Highways?
 
The most recent surround remix project I can think of that involved Scheiner was the 2012 DVD-A release of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Southern Surroundings...but it may have been mixed years earlier and only released then. The 2013 Moondance mix doesn't count as it was confirmed to be shelved mix. It just doesn't seem likely he was still doing 5.1 mixes as late as 2014.

I suppose he retired. The guy gave us an impressive stack of surround discs though...no duds I can think of.
 
Did a little searching and found an interview by Mike Mettler with FF keyboard player Rami Jaffee, posted on May 13, 2015...

Highways[FONT=&amp] was the brainchild of head Foomaster Dave Grohl, who took his band to eight different studios across the U.S. to capture the unique vibe of each respective recording space and the city surrounding it. An additional two hours of behind-the-scenes in-studio footage on [/FONT]Highways[FONT=&amp] shows Grohl, Jaffee, producer Butch Vig, and the entire band playing off each other to get to the heart of the sound they ultimately found in towns like Austin, Chicago, New York, Seattle, and Nashville. Songs like the gnarly [/FONT]Outside[FONT=&amp] and gear-shifting two-parter [/FONT]What Did I Do?/As God Is My Witness [FONT=&amp]show even more depth beyond the layers of crunch in Vig’s 5.1 mix.[/FONT]
I love the surround mixes on the Blu-ray for Sonic Highways, because I feel like I’m right in the middle of the performances you guys did in each of those eight different rooms.
[FONT=&amp]Yeah, I love it. I love it. Elliot Scheiner has done a bunch of stuff I’ve been on in 5.1, and every time I listen to a mix of his I go, “My God! You are a wizard!” it sounds like a different song to me. I may have heard it in the studio a million times, but once I hear it in surround sound, it’s like cotton candy. We usually have the organ in stereo — now just imagine if we helicoptered in on there. A Leslie speaker flying around in a surround mix — man! I love it all.[/FONT]
 
Did a little searching and found an interview by Mike Mettler with FF keyboard player Rami Jaffee, posted on May 13, 2015...

OK - there is a bit of conflicting info here. The second quote makes it sound as if Elliot Scheiner did the mix on Sonic Highways - he did not. I believe that it was just a quote from the keyboard player saying how much he enjoyed Elliot' mixes on previous Foo Fighter projects - and who wouldn't. Sonic Highways was mixed by Butch Vig. The codec is Dolby Tru HD 5.1 (24/48) - there is zero info in the center channel making it in essence 4.1. This is basically a big stereo mix. The fronts are copied into the rears with some ambience - that's it. I had to go back and listen tonight just to make sure but sorry to say, this is definitely not a discrete mix. Not a bad recording mind you, fidelity is good, performances good, and if you like the Foo Fighters you will like this. The documentary IMHO is stellar - a fascinating journey to eight cities and the iconic recording studios that helped each define a sound - definitely worth owning - even if you don't care for the Foos.

Not to contradict Mike Mettler who certainly has credibility in the audiophile world, but for those of you who expect to hear the cowbell coming from the right rear speaker and no where else - this is not for you!

sonic.jpg
 
OK - there is a bit of conflicting info here. The second quote makes it sound as if Elliot Scheiner did the mix on Sonic Highways - he did not. I believe that it was just a quote from the keyboard player saying how much he enjoyed Elliot' mixes on previous Foo Fighter projects - and who wouldn't. Sonic Highways was mixed by Butch Vig. The codec is Dolby Tru HD 5.1 (24/48) - there is zero info in the center channel making it in essence 4.1. This is basically a big stereo mix. The fronts are copied into the rears with some ambience - that's it. I had to go back and listen tonight just to make sure but sorry to say, this is definitely not a discrete mix. Not a bad recording mind you, fidelity is good, performances good, and if you like the Foo Fighters you will like this. The documentary IMHO is stellar - a fascinating journey to eight cities and the iconic recording studios that helped each define a sound - definitely worth owning - even if you don't care for the Foos.

Not to contradict Mike Mettler who certainly has credibility in the audiophile world, but for those of you who expect to hear the cowbell coming from the right rear speaker and no where else - this is not for you!

View attachment 31375

I think you're right.
Just because Elliot played "Sonic Highways" in 5.1 surround for the Foo Fighters in an Acura TL does not mean that it was his surround mix or that it was any good.

:)
 
but it begs the question, why would Elliot play a mix for the foo's that he didn't mix?

was he trying to show the difference between Butch's mix and how his previous foo mixes sounded? Seems highly unlikely.
 
This statement at the end of the article caught my attention:
“And as proof of his faith in what they've achieved, Scheiner borrowed an Acura TL so that the Foo Fighters could listen to the latest surround sound mix of their forthcoming album.”

I think Elliot meant "in what (Acura) acheived (in their TL line of surround systems), not what Elliot and the foos acheived with a sonic highways mix.

I thought I remember reading something about Elliot being given an acura (or a loner) to promote (or as a Thank You gift) acura's produced dvd-a discs that Elliot mixed.
 
The last Foo Fighters project to contain an Elliot Scheiner mix was the live DVD "Skin & Bones" an acoustic set recorded live in Los Angeles. A discrete live mix in Dolby 5.1 only. This was released in 2006 in support of the previous album "In Your Honor" which was released in 2005.

FFSkinBones.jpg
 
The quote in the first page sounds a lot like this bit of PR from 2005:


Torrance, Calif. 06/06/2005 -- The groundbreaking audio system in the Acura TL served as a mobile studio for platinum selling rockers, Foo Fighters. While recording and mixing their latest album, "In Your Honor" in 5.1 surround sound, the band found themselves without the DVD-Audio capabilities to listen to the cuts. One of the band's mix engineers Elliot Scheiner, who collaborated with Acura on the TL audio system, offered up an Acura TL. The TL's DVD-Audio system provides separate dedicated channels for center, left front, right front, left surround, right surround and subwoofer channels. These are the same six, individual, discrete channels recording engineers use to create multi-channel mixes in the studio.
"The TL provided the band with the perfect environment to listen to their new album in complete surround sound," said Scheiner, "They literally sat in the car for hours listening to 'In Your Honor' right outside their recording studio. They were blown away by the sound quality and had a hard time parting with the car."

With the TL parked outside their Los Angeles- based studio, the Foo Fighters listened to the final surround sound mix in the comfort of the performance luxury sedan.

"We were totally psyched about the TL," said Dave Grohl, lead singer. "This car rocks - like our new album."

The Foo Fighters two-disc album will hit stores on June 14th with a tour to follow.
 
The quote in the first page sounds a lot like this bit of PR from 2005:

Funny that only disc 2 of the Foo Fighters In Your Honor has a 5.1 mix which consists of Dave Grohl's acoustic compositions mixed into surround by Elliot Scheiner. Can we also assume that disc one was also remixed for 5.1...but never released?
 
I had to go back and listen tonight just to make sure but sorry to say, this is definitely not a discrete mix. Not a bad recording mind you, fidelity is good, performances good, and if you like the Foo Fighters you will like this. The documentary IMHO is stellar - a fascinating journey to eight cities and the iconic recording studios that helped each define a sound - definitely worth owning - even if you don't care for the Foos.

I had the urge to do the same and my conclusion is almost identical.
Oh well, 3 BDs and no place for a discrete, or at least "live-in-the-studio" mix. Well, the 5.1 track feels much better than LPCM stereo (24/48), but I'd just like to hear all three (at least!) guitars and keyboards. Mix 'em if you got 'em!
Anyway, to my surprise, I liked the songs better the second time around, so I'll definitely stick to my plan to audiomux 'em all into one place - and probably compile a video album too.
What a stellar release this could have been. Case closed. Also, the originally considered second season of Sonic Highways the series most likely isn't happening. Well, I'll be spinning the first one even more. ;-)
 
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The most recent surround remix project I can think of that involved Scheiner was the 2012 DVD-A release of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Southern Surroundings...but it may have been mixed years earlier and only released then. The 2013 Moondance mix doesn't count as it was confirmed to be shelved mix. It just doesn't seem likely he was still doing 5.1 mixes as late as 2014.

I suppose he retired. The guy gave us an impressive stack of surround discs though...no duds I can think of.

Don't forget the Beyoncé Blu-ray in 2013 or 2014...

https://www.thereddingpilot.com/22968/scheiner-talks-grammy-awards-beyonce-album-and-baseball/
 
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