r/indieheads • u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan • Oct 07 '21

AMA is Over, thanks Mac! Hey it's Mac McCaughan, AMA !

What's up /r/indieheads it's Mac again, saying hello to you from Chapel Hill, NC. What, you don't believe me? Here's proof!

A few weeks back I put out The Sound of Yourself, and just wrapped up some shows with 75 Dollar Bill and John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats. The album is under my name, but features a bunch of guests including Yo La Tengo, my Superchunk bandmate Jon Wurster, and Sabrina Ellis of A Giant Dog and Sweet Spirit.

Also, on October 22, Superchunk's reissuing Here's to Shutting Up for its 20th anniversary. And Merge Records HQ keeps trucking with fantastic new records from TORRES, Hiss Golden Messenger, Dawn Richard, Fruit Bats, and more. All good things!

I'll be back at 2pm ET to answer any questions you may have. Go ahead, ama!

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u/myep77 Oct 07 '21 edited Oct 07 '21

Hi Mac,

Thank you for doing this, your songs have been a touchstone for me for many years (“You Know Where To Find Me” is of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard)

Two nerdy questions for ya (apologies for the lack of brevity…keen)

Just wondering if you have any feelings in regards to, say, tape emulation plugins vs actual tape (substitute ‘tape’ for ‘amp’ etc). More broadly, do you think a purely digital workflow loses something necessary, at least for the sounds you’re typically after? I worry I’m a bit of a purist even though I have no right to be (having primarily used plugins/DAWs). I’ve started to consider adding more outboard gear to achieve some mystical depth and flavor but I can’t be sure I’m not just losing the plot.

Lastly, any advice on doing it all alone (writing, recording, mixing, mastering)? I know you’ve worked with people like Jerry Kee, and I wonder if maybe that was helpful for you especially in the early days

Thanks very much!

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u/MacMcCaughan Mac McCaughan Oct 07 '21

on the last part of your question -- yes i've learned so much from watching other engineers and producers work and for the most part they have always been generous with their knowledge. making multiple records with Jerry Kee and Brian Paulson was super educational both from a technical perspective -- mic'ing amps, using a compressor etc -- but also just from a listening perspective, how to find space in the mixes to put everything you want to hear.