Editing Brian Wilson (section)

===Production style===

Wilson's best-known productions typically employed instruments such as saxophones and [[bass harmonica]]s.{{sfn|Cogan|Clark|2003|p=33}} He usually instructed his drummer to play only the snare and floor-tom afterbeats characteristic of Spector's records.{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=27}} Reflecting further Spector influence, Wilson rarely used ride or crash cymbals{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=27}} and often combined [[tone color|color tones]] to produce novel sounds.{{sfn|Cogan|Clark|2003|pp=33–34}} Other practices he adopted from Spector included recording two [[echo chamber]]s simultaneously and having standup and Fender bass play identical parts.<ref name="Kub07"/> His bass lines were usually played with a hard [[plectrum]], which imparted a more percussive quality—a technique he adapted from Motown.{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=162}}

[[File:Carl Brian Al.jpg|thumb|left|Wilson with his bandmates at a ''Pet Sounds'' vocal session, early 1966]]
His first use of a string section was on "The Surfer Moon" in mid-1963.{{sfn|Murphy|2015|p=289}} Before ''Pet Sounds'', he seldom used string ensembles,{{sfn|Granata|2003|p=154}} preferring to [[overdub]] them after recording the basic instrumental track,{{sfn|Cogan|Clark|2003|p=33}} which was then followed by vocal overdubs.<ref name=HimesSurf /> Beginning with the 1963 track "Surfin' U.S.A.", he [[double tracking|double-tracked]] the vocals, resulting in a more resonant sound.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=32}}{{sfn|Murphy|2015|p=260}}
[[File:Scully 280 4-track tape recorder, Ardent Studios (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=An elaborate tape deck|A [[Scully Recording Instruments|Scully]] four-track 280 tape deck, identical to the model used on many of Wilson's mid-1960s productions.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=108}}]]

Starting in 1964, Wilson performed [[tape splice]]s on his recordings, usually to allow difficult vocal sections to be performed by the group. By 1965, he had become more adventurous in his use of tape splicing. These experiments culminated with the complex editing processes adopted for "Good Vibrations" and ''Smile''. [[Mark Linett]], who has engineered Wilson's recordings since the 1980s, stated, "He certainly wasn't the first person to do edits, but it was unusual to record a song in four or five sections, and then cut it together."<ref name="SOS04">{{cite web|last=Bell|first=Matt|title=The Resurrection of Brian Wilson's ''Smile''|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Oct04/articles/smile.htm|website=Sound on Sound|access-date=July 16, 2013|date=October 2004}}</ref>

According to Wilson, after his first nervous breakdown in 1964, he had endeavored to "take the things I learned from Phil Spector" and maximize his instrumental palette.{{sfn|Wilson|Greenman|2016|p=88}} In Priore's assessment, Wilson reconfigured Spector's [[Wall of Sound]] techniques, aiming for "audio clarity" and "a more lush, comfortable feel".{{sfn|Priore|2005|p=29}} The 2003 book ''Temples of Sound'' states that Wilson distinguished himself from Spector through the usage of certain instruments, such as [[banjo]], and by possessing a "clean muscle" missing in Spector's work.{{sfn|Cogan|Clark|2003|p=34}} Danny Hutton remarked that anyone recording immediately after Wilson's session would fail to replicate the sound he achieved. According to Hutton, "There was a lot of subtle stuff he did. [...] He was just hands-on. He would change the [[reverb]] and the echo, and all of a sudden, something just – ''whoa!'' – got twice as big and fat."{{sfn|Priore|2005|pp=55, 80}}