John Leventhal's production discography reads like a who's who of top singer/songwriters: Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin, Marc Cohn, Rodney Crowell, Jim Lauderdale, Kelly Willis, Michelle Branch and of course his wife, Rosanne Cash. Try to pinpoint what makes him good at his craft, however, and he responds, "I have no idea. I'm not even sure I am a good producer … I've never thought about it. I think I'm a fairly musical guy with a good arranging sense and I think I have a sensitivity to what songs are trying to put across. It's not just about gear and compressing and drums. My theory is that most musicians try to tap into that adolescent feeling of what music did to you when you responded viscerally and didn't understand why. I think I can still tap into that part of my psyche.

      "Being a musician and songwriter are huge for me, but you can be a good producer without being [either]. There are all sorts of different ways to come at this thing and however you get to it is great. It can't help but enhance and help you to have a fundamental knowledge of music. Gear and compressors and miking the amps—to me, that's the least interesting part. I understand the seduction of sonic manipulation, but the song is so much more important. If you hear a singer sing a great song they sang into a Shure 57, you don't care as long as the music is great. Don't get me wrong: I like that stuff and I like making great-sounding records, but there is an incredible amount of emphasis on that. When I first started making records, I knew nothing about gear. Now I probably know too much about it. We all work on a lot of different levels, and you want your peers to appreciate what you do as well as your non-peers. If other record-makers like my records, that's great, but at the same time, I want someone who doesn't know anything about making records to like them, too."

      When it comes to gear, he makes no demands other than good vocal mics. "That's all you need," he says. "I have my preferences, and I know it when I hear it. Over the years, I've wanted to keep constant with Neumann 67s. I bought two and tend to bring those with me. I like a good compressor, and there are a lot of good ones out there. The 1176's and Distressors are my primaries and I also own and use a Tube Tech compressor. I have Geoffrey Daking and Millennia Media mic pre's, and I've invested in a lot of microphones and instruments in my studio—guitar harmoniums, xylophones, keyboards. That, to me, is the fun part: the actual music making.

      "I don't use a lot of outbtion of sonic manipulation, but the song is so much more important. If you hear a singer sing a great song they sang into a Shure 57, you don't care as long as the music is great. Don't get me wrong: I like that stuff and I like making great-sounding records, but there is an incredible amount of emphasis on that. When I first started making records, I knew nothing about gear. Now I probably know too much about it. We all work on a lot of different levels, and you want your peers to appreciate what you do as well as your non-peers. If other record-makers like my records, that's great, but at the same time, I want someone who doesn't know anything about making records to like them, too."

      When it comes to gear, he makes no demands other than good vocal mics. "That's all you need," he says. "I have my preferences, and I know it when I hear it. Over the years, I've wanted to keep constant with Neumann 67s. I bought two and tend to bring those with me. I like a good compressor, and there are a lot of good ones out there. The 1176's and Distressors are my primaries and I also own and use a Tube Tech compressor. I have Geoffrey Daking and Millennia Media mic pre's, and I've invested in a lot of microphones and instruments in my studio—guitar harmoniums, xylophones, keyboards. That, to me, is the fun part: the actual music making.

      "I don't use a lot of outboard gear at all: one reverb and one delay, no multi-effects units. Whatever you hear, I created with guitar stompboxes and stuff like that, wah-wah pedals for filter and all sorts of weird stuff. I'm a non-techno guy and I don't relish the idea of sitting in front of a screen as opposed to just listening to the music."

      Despite his years of experience behind the boards, Leventhal's definition of a producer is "an amorphous one. It can be someone super-hands-on, like me, or a benign figure who knows when to order lunch and when to say ‘enough.' That can be valuable too," he says. "For me, it's an ongoing process. With each record, I learn more, and I don't know what my process is. In the past I've gotten seduced by big landscapes or whatever, and now I like to be a little simpler. When it begins to seem routine, I'll stop, because now every record almost seems like the first record I'm doing."

     ASK Video Releases First Pro Tools DVD Tutorial
      ASK Video Interactive Media, a leading creator of software tutorials on DVD, has announced the availability of Pro Tools Level 1, a new DVD tutorial that covers the prevailing digital audio workstation for music, TV and film.

      In this first of three tutorials, ASK Video has recruited Pro Tools expert Brian Hogue to cover the foundation needed to harness the power of this world-renowned program. Based on Pro Tools 7, Level 1 is ideal for new users of Pro Tools LE or HD, beginning with the setup and layout and the basics of recording.

      Pro Tools Level 1 features 29 of the highest-quality videos and includes more than two hours of instruction from installation, setup and recording through MIDI, editing and signal flow and ending with bussing, automation and bouncing to disk. An easy-to-use interface makes it easy to learn progressively or find topics quickly as a reference or refresher.

      This product includes QuickTime 7.x Mac/PC, which is required for video playback. DVD-ROM drive required. Minimum screen resolution 1024 x 768.

      PC: Windows XP Home or Professional, Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 800 MHz or faster, 256 MB RAM. Windows MME or DirectSound Sound Card.

      MAC: Requires Mac OS X v10.2 or higher, Power Mac G4 867 MHz, 256 MB RAM, Sound Card.

      Pro Tools Level 1 DVD Tutorial is available for $55. Video examples and ordering information are available at www.askvideo.com.