I'm very much enjoying the largely over-looked 2011 40th Aniversary three-sided Rhino LP release of LA Woman Workshop Sessions. The alternate takes are good, and what a meaty beaty bouncy working session with excellent SQ:
"Dear Doors fans, here we are with the latest Doors tech talk.
As you must probably know by now, LA Woman wasn't recorded in a studio, but at the Doors Workshop. The was the Door's home, where they felt the most comfortable. Upstairs we installed a 3M 56 8-track analog tape recorder, the very one used on Strange Days. From the Elektra Paxton Ranch we used a Langevin Solid State 10-input 8-channel console; and for loudspeakers, JBL 4310s powered by a single Crown amp. The Doors plus Jerry Schell and Marc Benno were downstairs, so I couldn't see them, or they me. Microphones used were Neumann KM40s on the drums, an AKG 414 for the bass, and Sony C37s on the guitars. Ray's keyboards were mic'd by Shure 57s and/or direct. Jim's microphone was his handheld favorite EV, which he used on the road. When we were finished recording, we moved over to Poppi Studios, which was one block from where Howard Hughes was living in his office off Romaine Street. Poppi Studios had Quad Eight mixing consoles and custom Altec bi-amped loudspeakers driven by Marantz amps. The echo came from EMT140 revelation plates and room echo chambers.
This album of outtakes, alternate takes, and studio dialogue all recorded during the original LA Woman sessions that The Doors Workshop in 1970, was transferred and mixed in Ojai, CA, at Uniteye Studios. The original 1-inch 8-track masters were carefully baked and then transferred from an Analogue Studer 8-track into db Technologies 824 A/D converters at 96/24 and recorded on Protools for mixing. The mixing was done on an Avid Audio Icon console with Tannoy/Mastering Lab loudspeakers powered by Ayre Acoustic V1 power amps. Echo was from an EMT140 reverb plate and Altiverb Impulse reverbs. EQ and Limiting/Compression from GML and Sonnox.
When it was time to cut the lacquer masters, we took our final 96/24 mix masters to Bernie Grundman at BGM to do all the final EQ and level prep, and then cut the masters on Bernie's all-tube/valve Westrex cutting system.
Enjoy the way back machine.
Bruce Botnick, August 2011"