"MINDFIELDS", STUDIO EQUIPMENT
For those of you interested in the mixing and recording equipment Toto and => Elliot Scheiner used during => "Mindfields":
=> "Mindfields", Toto's soon-to-be-released album, was recorded and mixed using the KRK Exposé E8
near-field monitoring system. Produced by => Elliot Scheiner, the disk unites band members Steve Lukather
(lead guitar), David Paich (keyboards), Mike Porcaro (bass guitar), and Simon Phillips (drums) with Toto's original vocalist
Bobby Kimball. Basic tracks for => "Mindfields" were laid down on Quantegy 499 tape at Royaltone
Studios in L.A. using a Neve 8078 console. Overdubs were done at David Paich's studio, => The Manor,
using a Yamaha 02R, while vocals were done in Pro Tools with the aid of engineer Steve McMillan. The final mix was translated at
Capitol Studios into three different formats: analog 1/2" BASF 900, 24-bit Apogee-enhanced DA-88, and DAT.
Scheiner ultimately settled in at Sterling Sound for the mastering process, using the analog mix and a Neve VR automated desk.
"The analog just sounded better," he says of the format, which ultimately prevailed over the digital and DAT mixes.
"The sonic accuracy of the E8s played a large part in making that decision, as it allowed us to examine the true qualities
of each format. They were with us on this project all the way. In fact, when I was mixing in L.A., David Paich had a pair
installed in his studio so he wouldn't have to travel back and forth---we simply ran ISDN phone lines which allowed us to
hear the identical same sound quality through our own sets of E8s." The ever-busy Scheiner, who also produced the
band's => "Tambu" album in 1995, has used KRK's E8 system for all of his recent productions,
including the latest disks from Hanson and => Steely Dan."