Ahead of the GRAMMY Awards this Sunday, we’re taking a look at five-time nominee Tyler Childers’ incredible album Rustin’ In The Rain.

Speaking to engineer Gordon Davidson, assistant engineers Joe Wyatt & Tom Ashpitel and key members of Tyler’s team, Jesse Wells (production, engineering, electric guitar, mandolin, baritone guitar and banjo) and James Barker (production, engineering & pedal steel), we learned about the re-amping carried out in Studio Two using our EMT 140 plate reverbs and the Studio Two Echo Chamber.

James

"Coming to Abbey Road was huge for us. So many of my favourite albums were made there."

Jesse

"Abbey Road is the ultimate destination for anyone in the music world. We were fortunate to be connected with engineer Gordon Davidson for a remote plate reverb treatment during the making of Tyler Childers' Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven record. Having such a good experience with Gordon and loving the plate tones we used on that project; it was only natural to want to visit the studio in person for Tyler's next record Rustin' in the Rain and take advantage of the legendary plates again as well as the Studio Two Echo Chamber."

Gordon

"It was my second time working with Tyler and his team, the first being remote. They are all passionate about the music and sound. It was great having them over in person this time so they could get a real feel for the place and I think we all had a good time and did some great work."

Tom

"It was great! The band were super friendly and amazing musicians. They created a relaxed but fun environment and were keen to experiment with some of the unique equipment we have."

Joe

"We had a lot of fun in Studio Two with Tyler and his band - we kicked off the session by passing various elements of his album Rustin' In The Rain through Abbey Road's four EMT plates and the Echo Chamber. James and the band put a lot of thought into which of these flavours could augment their instrumentation throughout the album and it's great to hear these iconic sounds on music recorded outside of Abbey Road."

Jesse

"EMT plates have become a fundamental element to mixing Tyler's signature vocal parts. Tyler's records Purgatory and Country Squire were tracked using EMT 140 Plates at the Butcher Shop studio previously housed at the Ryman Auditorium and used for Grand Ol' Opry shows. When the process moved to the band self-producing the next record (Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven) we started talking about the ultimate plate tones and that naturally led to choosing the plates at Abbey Road.

James

"I often have to add a fair amount of EQ to reverbs to get them to not be overwhelming. It seemed like we could turn the plates up way past what we needed and it didn't sound washed out and nasty. There's truly something magical about those reverbs that could add something to almost any recorded music you could ever make."

Gordon

"The album is full of wonderful musicianship and lyricism, open and organic sounding. Using the Studio Two Echo Chamber and our plate reverbs was a perfect way to treat Tyler's voice and the band to add wonderful colour and texture to the recordings."

Tom

"The plates get used fairly often, but not with as much attention to detail as there was on this occasion. All four plates we have here sound different. Gordon spent some time with the band picking the plate that suited Tyler’s vocal for each song and tinkered with the reverb time until it was right."

Gordon

"Re-amping is essentially taking previously recorded material and sending it into a space and then capturing a recording of the sound of that space. Other effects can be incorporated depending on the desired results."

Jesse

"Reverb is such a personal element in Tyler's recording history. So much so that we re-amped his entire Long Violent History record in a cavernous 70-foot-tall cylindrical sinkhole deep below his property in East Kentucky. We also re-amped select elements in the sinkhole for Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven. So knowing that the Studio Two Echo Chamber was an additional option for the Rustin' in the Rain record, we had to apply it to various instrumental elements. The sound of the chamber was glorious and we used it on everything from drums to fretless banjo and big ambient electric guitar tones."

Gordon

"I think they fell a little bit in love with the Echo Chamber! They used it on so many elements, either alone or mixed plates to create beautiful spaces."

Tom

"The chamber was used in a similar way to the plates as another flavour of reverb. The chamber’s sound is short and dense and so provided an interesting alternative to the plates which generally had a longer reverb time."

Gordon

"The plugins are great, but there's definitely something magical about the real thing. Be it the moving air and reflections in the chamber or a big sheet of metal vibrating in a really heavy wooden box, capturing those vibrations and being in the moment make it special."

Joe

"These physical devices are always fun and always unique - the plates have all aged differently, sometimes a tile falls off the wall of the chamber mid-take...you won't hear that anywhere else!"

James

"I've used the Abbey Road Waves plugin versions of the plate and chamber, and while they sound great and I still use them, there's nothing like the real thing."

Jesse

"We're beyond happy with the results of re-amping. It was the perfect treatment for Tyler's vocals and unique elements throughout Rustin' in the Rain and Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven. We're thankful for the experience of being in Studio Two and working with Gordon, Joe and Tom."

James

"We are so proud of the finial product of Rustin' in the Rain and the plate and chamber were the last bits of glue to hold everything together."

Jesse

"It's a true honor to be recognised by the Recording Academy with five GRAMMY nominations. We're proud to say that Abbey Road has played a major role in sculpting the sound of Tyler's music."

James

"Awards certainly aren't a way to measure success but it's a huge honor to be considered for any award especially when you look at the other nominees and know you're in great company."

Gordon

"Five nominations is amazing! I'm delighted Tyler, his band and the whole team are being recognised for the talent, passion and spirit that went into this record. It was lovely to have been asked to work with them again."