Roots Archives Forum

The albums credited to Dub Specialist, this site says its Coxone Dodd. Is he actually mixing the dubs or is it Sylvan Morris or someone else?

I am pretty sure its just Coxsone but who knows?

The Rough Guide to Reggae implies that it's just Coxsone, too.

discogs.com says
"......were mixed down by a number of engineers over the decade.....all under the auspices of ........Dodd "

I vaguely remember reading an article (possibly in Black Echoes or Black Music in the early 80s)that suggested that Sylvan Morris mixed the first ones and that Coxsone et al. did some of the later and less subtle ones where the new echo and fader equipment was overused.

I'm sure Rob Chapman will know the answer.

Regards

Rob

i rembember being told a long time ago that scientist did mix one or two as well, but i cant remember which one(s)
and wasnt African Rubadub mixed by Freddie McGregor & Clevie?

Nobody knows for sure.
Probably a few different people. Coxsone himself, any engineer around his studio ( an album could be mix in half a day) or even any of the usual session musicians with engineering skills.
It didn't required the highest level of engineering to mix classic Studio One from 2 tracks (or 3 when bounced ) into dub mixes. Very few faders ( instruments were grouped into single channels) or effects.

Rob Strictly-Rockers wrote:I vaguely remember reading an article (possibly in Black Echoes or Black Music in the early 80s)that suggested that Sylvan Morris mixed the first ones and that Coxsone et al. did some of the later and less subtle ones where the new echo and fader equipment was overused.

I'm sure Rob Chapman will know the answer.

Regards

Rob

Rob
I have heard this as well - that Morris mixed the earlier ones until he left and went over to Harry J's studio, and Coxsone mixed the later ones (like "Juks", and the ones with the overdubs on one channel and the main track in the other). I agree that they are "overdone', but they do have a certain unique sonic charm!

Inyaki wrote:Nobody knows for sure.
Probably a few different people. Coxsone himself, any engineer around his studio ( an album could be mix in half a day) or even any of the usual session musicians with engineering skills.
It didn't required the highest level of engineering to mix classic Studio One from 2 tracks (or 3 when bounced ) into dub mixes. Very few faders ( instruments were grouped into single channels) or effects.

Sorry, but that's rubbish you're talking.
Have you ever seen a studio from the inside, even a jamaican one in the 1970s? Do you have any skill in mixing a tape? Getting a listenable sound from a two-track by mixing it down is more difficult than flicking around a 24-track-desk or a computerised one like nowadays.
Come on, show some respect to the engineers at Studio One or to any engineer at all!
Studio One has had its technical limits, owed to Mr.Dodd himself, but what Sylvan Morris and any other engineer did come up with in the mixing is pure music-magic. That sound is what these recordings are all about!

I am with Dave, the story of Studio One (go and see the documentary) tells it all, the early dub albums were mixed by Sylvan Morris, the later, like 'Zodiac', 'African Rubber Dub' were put together by Coxsone Dodd himself.

Like them or not, they are crucial.

I love the S1 dub albums but for me it's the crucial nature of the rhythms that carry the subtle (and sometimes boring) mix.

Two showcase albums from 1977 with Coxsone(?) mixing are worth a mention too

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