Nashville audio engineer Matthew “Buster” Allen has recorded the likes of John Prine, Trisha Yearwood, and Don Henley, but is best known for his longtime association with Garth Brooks, with whom he works in the studio and on the road. On the side, Buster has also established himself as the go-to guy for 3M tape machine repair, which he handles through his business Allen Sound. We sat down with Buster recently to discuss his career, his approach to recording – especially his technique for capturing the all-important audience response at Brooks’ concerts – his 3M fascination, and more.

You were mentored by legendary recording engineer Bill Porter, known for developing the “Nashville Sound.” Can you tell us about your time with him and how he influenced your approach to recording?

What I wouldn’t give to sit down with Bill knowing what I know now. He was such a gem and very nice to me. Even in his late 70s he still had the “thing” that the special engineers have. Things he discussed at the time, like “good leakage,” depth in recordings, and handling the pressure of the work, are all concepts I still think about. Just to be in a room with a guy that recorded Elvis, The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and so many others was mind-blowing. Bill worked in a time where an engineer really had to know all the aspects of the studio, from microphone choice, a great balance, the psychology of the session, tape machine alignment, studio maintenance and acoustics. I wanted to be that guy! He had a lot of great studio war stories, which I can relate to now. Little did I know I would be living them one day!

Your Allen Sound website (allen-sound.com) indicates that you came to Nashville “looking to practice a purist approach to recording.” What does this purist approach entail? Do you feel that you have, indeed, been able to practice it?

It’s all about trying to capture the sound of the source correctly. Putting your ear down by the acoustic guitar and finding a spot that sounds good, not just aiming it at the 12th fret and calling it a day. All my engineering heroes recorded most of these great records with live musicians and that’s another part of the purity to me. People all in the room, playing and feeding off of each other just cannot be replicated. Obviously, plenty of great records get made all kinds of ways, but there is nothing more exciting than getting to make a record with everyone in the same room.

How did you come to work with Garth Brooks? 

Part of my graduation fulfillments from Webster University required me to complete an internship. While I was in Nashville interviewing at some studios, I came across a picture of a studio called Jack’s Tracks. It looked like a ’70s time capsule. They had a 36-input Quad Eight Coronado, an Otari MTR100a 24-track tape machine, and Studer B67/Sony 3324 2-tracks for mixdown. This was in 2005!

Producer Allen Reynolds owned the studio at the time and Mark Miller was his longtime engineer. I literally knocked on the door and Mark and I became friends. He encouraged me to get an internship at another studio as he didn’t think Jack’s Tracks was working enough to justify a true internship. We went to lunch every month for about six months and I’d pop by for a coffee when I had some time.

One day Mark called me to see if I wanted to go to Sound Emporium Studios and watch a large Garth Brooks session take place. It was a symphonic session with a choir, and I just helped set up mics with Mark and the other engineers. That was probably the first big session I was able to truly observe, as my internship didn’t really allow much other than food orders and wrapping mic cables.

When it was done, Mark asked if I was free to help him with a session the next day back at Jack’s Tracks and the rest is history!

Garth Brooks concert

You use the AT8015 and AT8035 shotgun mics and the AT4050 condenser (and perhaps others?) to pick up the audience response – singing, etc. – for Garth’s monitor mix. What do you like about these mics and how do they help you capture this vital aspect of a Garth Brooks concert? How do you configure the mics? Does the configuration change from venue to venue? 

I’m very fortunate to be able to work with some of the best veterans of live recording. Back in 2015, Guy and Ian Charbonneau flew to meet us in Denver during the arena phase of Garth’s comeback tour. That’s where we got started using some of the Audio-Technica line and formulated a fairly basic setup that worked incredibly well in the arenas.

In 2019 to prepare for Garth’s stadium tour, we needed to reevaluate how we were going to cover so much ground, as distance to the audience and cable runs would be our biggest issues. Ian came up with the idea about using wireless packs so we could place four field microphones in the audience, pointing into the stands. That’s where the AT8015 and AT8035 came into play, as they can be powered by a single AA battery, and then the wireless pack would last for about 8-9 hours. We modified the arena setup so we now had 22 microphones, 6 at FOH, 4 in the field and 12 surrounding all the sides of the stage. FOH ended up being a pair of 414s looking at the stage and a pair each of AT4050s and AT4071s looking to the rear. Around the stage included a combination of 57s, 416s, MKH60s, 4071s, KM184s and 460s. Depending on the stadium, the PA and the stage layout, we would change and move things with ease. Probably 80% of the stadium shows were outside, so from a sonic perspective, Garth’s FOH audio team loved it, but the crowd was harder to capture as their sound didn’t reflect back down from the ceiling like it did in the arena. It’s mainly about how loud the PA is and how loud the crowd’s singing is, and that delicate balance determines how well the mic can pick up the crowd singing every word of every song. The AT mics being so quiet and natural-sounding is instrumental in allowing us to hear every word. The raw tracks are really amazing to hear. The Garth audience is truly something to behold.

Audio-Technica shotguns with wireless packs

Just want to also give a shoutout to Clair Brothers and Garth’s main audio team for all the help and advice on how to accomplish the goal. I’m sure I drive them all crazy trying to achieve what I need to hear back in the studio. The great thing about the setup is no matter who I am using to record, be it Le Mobile, Music Mix Mobile, Tom Davis or the FOH rig, the audience has been consistent from St. Louis, Mo. to Dublin, Ireland.

In May, Garth begins his “Garth Brooks/Plus ONE” residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. What new challenges will these shows present for you? Will the setup differ from what you’re used to?

I think we are all relieved to be indoors! This show should be much closer to a studio recording as the environment is very controlled. It’s actually a little too early to tell what I’m going to do exactly, but I’m going out for a site visit of The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in April. The room seats around 5,000, but it feels like the audience is very close to the artist.

I believe we’re going to be in great shape with many of the same mic choices that I am already familiar with and maybe even some new ones! The band is great and the lineup has now morphed into some of the studio band joining the live band. So, it’s really been wonderful to watch and hear them continue to grow since they all got back together in 2014. This is the kind of live show I have been waiting to record with Garth because it will really be more conducive to what I’m looking for in a live recording, which is the free buffet and roulette!

You also work with Garth and others in the studio. Do you have a workhorse mic (or mics) that you always turn to in the studio? Any mics you like in particular situations? 

In the studio, I generally have the staples on most sources. Depending on the session, I’ll mix up a few choices to see how I or the player reacts to the sound. Recently I found a sort of hot-rodded AKG C12 combined with an A-Designs Pacifica mic pre on Garth’s vocal, and we were both really floored with how it handled him. In that same session I rented a USA Custom Gretsch drum set for Milton Sledge, Garth’s longtime studio drummer. We used some different cymbals and I kept seeing this AT5045 on overheads in pictures over at Blackbird Studio, so they let me check those out! I can hear why they choose them for overheads so often, as it’s a very full-bodied sound of the drum set. But the way the cymbal sound comes through is very elegant. It’s always great to find new mics that sound amazing in the studio, as we’re very enamored with the mics of yesteryear. Just because it’s old doesn’t always mean it’s better! I think I actually saw Al Schmitt using some when I was at Capitol for a visit, and thought, “If they’re good enough for Al….”

Through Allen Sound you’ve become the go-to guy for 3M Mincom tape recorder parts. Can you tell us about your fascination with these machines and how you came by your collection of parts?

At first it was all about the 3M look. I know everyone will say the Studer is the sexy machine, but, I’m sorry, the 3M wins for me. I’d be looking up all these records I loved, and I started discovering one component that tied them together was 3M tape machines. The M23 recorded Let it Be, the M56 recorded Led Zeppelin IV and the M79 recorded later Zep and The Who. It’s a very big list once you take a dive into this level of minutiae about making records. Sonically, it really is one of the most musical sounding machines I’ve heard. Over the pandemic, I worked with JRF Magnetics, Flux Magnetics, and Athan Corp. to help me build a ½" 2-track version of the M79 that will hopefully last me 20 years. All the motors and moving parts have been rebuilt. We made new ½" recording heads and I’ve reassembled, recapped and upgraded the other parts that needed it.

Randy Blevins, from Blevins Audio, helped me find the first big collection of 3M parts that put me on the map as “the 3M guy.” I was mentoring at the shop and he got an email from someone selling all this stuff in Birmingham, Ala. It was like 10 machines and 20 boxes of parts from the factory. Randy, being the MCI/Sony specialist, knew I loved the 3Ms. This was a way we could still work together, but on different brands, and not get in each other's way. My parents cosigned a loan with me, but to their surprise I had it paid off in a year. I think I was 23 or 24 at the time. When you see a door open you have to take a chance in this business.

Any upcoming projects or other news you’d like to share with us?

Garth has me pretty busy with a couple different boxed sets that usually are a blend of past and current material. We’ve been working on a new live record, but I believe we’ll have the opportunity to record some special material for that in Las Vegas. So, we’re waiting to see what happens. Other than that, I’m just enjoying a new outlook for 2023. Hopefully it can bring a new tide of creativity, calmness and positivity that we all could use.