This episode was written & produced by Casey Emmerling.

Behind Saturday Night Live, there’s a small army of audio professionals making the whole thing sound effortless. In this episode, Dallas goes behind the scenes at Studio 8H to meet Robert Palladino, who’s mixed SNL for 40 years… and is about to do it one last time. Along the way, he gets an unprecedented look at how this legendary show is mixed, and talks to the new Production Mixer Fred Hedemark about stepping into Bobby’s shoes.

MUSIC FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE

Duke Herrington - May C O Later
Martin Landstrom - Funky Flat
Lowfive - Miami
Konton - Sugoi
Roy Edwin Williams - Art Heist
Wendy Marcini - To Sebastian
Duke Herrington - Maiden Voyage
Wendy Marcini - Soul to Soul
John Runefelt - In a Minute
Mathilda June - Stockholm Love
Ryan James Carr - Light It Up

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View Transcript ▶︎

[20K Sonic Logo]

[music in: Duke Herrington - May C O Later]

Dallas: I am here at 30 Rock in New York City!

Last spring, I got to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine.

Dallas: ...the home of NBC, the Home of the Tonight Show, the home of Seth Meyers…

I went to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and went backstage in Studio 8H.

Dallas: And most famously Saturday Night Live. And that's what I'm here for.

I interviewed seventeen people from SNL's incredible audio team...

Dallas: I'm gonna get a tour of all the rooms, how the booms work, how the whole show operates from a sound perspective...

…including one of the lead boom mic operators, the sound effects designer, the music mixing team, the floor A2s, and the post production team.

Dallas: I've never seen any profile on how deep the audio is for Saturday Night Live. I've heard it's quite extensive.

But the main reason I was there was a little more personal.

Dallas: I'm here to speak with Bob Paladino, who's been mixing Saturday Night Live for 40 years.

Because, the show's A1 Production Mixer was about to retire.

Dallas: …who in two days is mixing his final show for SNL.

On Saturday Night Live, the Production Mixer handles the final stage in the mixing process, receiving audio from roughly twenty crewmembers, and three entire consoles. They mix all of the booms, lavalier mics, audience mics, sound effects playback, music playback, the house band, and the guest band into one unified sound that the viewers hear at home.

Dallas: And I had the opportunity to come and interview him, and learn how Saturday Night Live’s audio is done.

Bobby's final show would be the finale of SNL season fifty. It would be a historic moment for the sound of SNL.

Dallas: I'm blown away that I even have this opportunity. And I'm so glad that I can take you with me. So let's go inside and check this out.

[music out]

So, I walked through the doors of 30 Rock, and rode the elevator up to the eighth floor, where I was introduced to Bob Palladino, who goes by Bobby. Then, Bobby led me into his mixing room, a tightly packed space with an enormous, state of the art mixing board, as well as computer monitors, speakers, outboard effects, and all kinds of expensive gear.

Dallas: Okay. I think that this is your home, right?

Bobby: Yep.

Dallas: Amazing.

We got settled in...

Dallas: I really love the lighting in here. Can I scooch you up right here?

Bobby: Sure. You want me to turn it up?

Dallas: Uh, ooh! That would be really nice, too.

And I launched into my questions.

Dallas: What was your path that kind of led you to here?

[music in: Martin Landstrom - Funky Flat]

Bobby: Well, I'm a musician...

And back in the 70s...

Bobby: I was writing some production music for a production library out on Long Island.

Production music is music that can be licensed out for commercials, TV shows, movies, and more. Just like the music you’re hearing behind my voice right now.

Bobby: And eventually the guy, wonderful guy, beautiful guy, hired me as an engineer. So I learned a great deal from him.

Broadly speaking, engineering is the technical side of recording and mixing music. But as much as Bobby loved it, the gig didn't last.

Bobby: I guess you could say I was laid off for a little bit. And I had just gotten married, and I was kind of freaking out. So I flooded the New York area with resumes.

Bobby: And one of the people that I approached was a client of ours at the studio. He happened to be a director here at WNBC. And he said, "Look, I can't get you a job, but I know who to talk to. You can write him a letter and mention my name and so forth."

Bobby: And that was very fortunate because in that year, NBC still had baseball. So they had the World Series…

[clip: 1976 World Series]

Bobby: There was a convention year, so they had a lot of conventions...

[clip: 1976 Democratic National Convention]

[music out]

With all of these events to broadcast, NBC needed lots of Vacation Relief or VR workers.

Bobby: So I was one of the people who was hired as a VR, and they said, [alternating voices] "This was only gonna be for three months, and then you're outta here." So I said, "Okay, fine. Whatever." Says, "You may have to travel." "Okay, fine." "You may have to work overnights or crazy hours, weekends." "Fine. Okay."

But those three months came and went, and while many of the other VRs got laid off, Bobby never did.

Bobby: So that led me to NBC. I worked on a variety of shows that was being produced in the building at the time. And then I got assigned to The Tomorrow Show.

[Tomorrow Show theme up, then under]

The Tomorrow Show was a late night talk show that came on after Johnny Carson.

Bobby: And I was the Audio Tape Playback person. So it was just editing bumpers and music, that kind of thing. And I played them back on air for the production mixer. And she ended up leaving, and I became the production mixer for The Tomorrow Show, which was a really good experience.

Like SNL, The Tomorrow Show had guest bands that could completely change the audio setup.

Bobby: So every day that we had music, everything had to be struck and then set again for the following day, depending on what the music requirements were. We did Santana, the Allman Brothers, George Benson, The Tubes...

Tom Snyder: Once again, the music of Santana. This song is called “Searching.” Welcome back Santana. Here they are.

[clip: The Tomorrow Show - Santana]

Bobby: And then Tomorrow Show went off the air. I mixed nightly news for like three years. And then, uh, along came Saturday Night Live.

[music in: Lowfive - Miami]

SNL was ten years old at that point, and was in a transitional period. Show creator Lorne Michaels actually left SNL for five years in the early 80s due to burnout. During that time, NBC producer Dick Ebersol took the reins of the show. But ratings gradually declined, and in 1985, Dick ended up leaving. At that point, NBC convinced Lorne to come back and help revitalize the show.

MTV Anchor: With the show in danger of cancellation, Lorne Michaels, creator of Saturday Night Live is returning after a five year absence. On Saturday, he presented the new cast.

Lorne Michaels: Uh, Randy Quaid, a cast member. Michael Hall, a cast member. Robert Downey, a cast member. Joan Cusack, cast member. John Lovitz, a cast member.

Bobby: And when he came back, he brought with him a technical consultant. And between the two of them, they decided that the show should be in full-time stereo, which it wasn't at the time, and that there should be a separate room just for music mixing, which hadn't been done before anywhere really.

Bobby: So it created two new job positions. One was to record the show on 24 track, multi-track tape, a big two inch machine. And the other one was mixing the music. And they came and interviewed me for it, because I had a lot of music mixing experience on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder. And uh, they made me an offer to join up with the crew. So that's when I joined up.

[music out]

Bobby: Those first shows were tricky because I was so new, and we had a new director, new cast... I mean, it was a whole experience.

Fortunately, Bobby had a great mentor.

Bobby: I had someone with me at the time, Joel Specter, who is a wonderful mixer. And he has a whole history unto himself. He was one of the people who worked on the very first show.

[clip: SNL first episode]

Bobby: So he knew the show and he knew a lot of the people. And he kind of guided me through navigating the first early shows.

Bobby: So that was my first job. That was in 1985. In 1986, they decided to make a change for Production mixers. So I moved outta the music room and moved into the production mix.

And that's where he's been ever since.

Bobby: One year just turned into two and then it turned into five, and then it turned into 10. Before I knew it, it was, you know, 30 years and then another 10. So I think it just kind of evolved through the years.

[music in: Konton - Sugoi]

Since Bobby started in 1985, the sound of SNL has gone through lots of changes. The mixing boards have gone from analog to digital. Wireless lavalier mics, also called Radio Frequency or RF mics, have become much more prevalent... although boom mics are still crucial. The show has gone from recording in stereo to 5.1 surround sound. And there's now even a described audio feed for visually impaired viewers.

[clip: SNL with Audio Description]

SNL AD: A panel exposes Jack wearing a khaki shirt and fedora.

Jack Black: Hi, I’m Gene. Uh, I can’t think of a pun for my name, I’m just Gene.

But in some places, the old school methods are still going strong... Like having real, paper scripts to write on.

Bobby: My script is my lifeblood. I really depend on it. I tried several years ago to try to use a computer instead of using a tactile script, and I really gave it a chance. I really tried, and it didn't work. I went back to paper like the next day.

Bobby uses his script to keep track of crucial details like which sketches will use boom mics vs. RF mics, where various cast members will be on stage, and any lines that have been cut or added. And all of this is constantly in flux.

Bobby: It's always been kind of chaotic only because there are constant script rewrites. Yesterday for example, I looked at the studio map, and certain sketches appeared in certain places. And then when they went to mount the sketch, they said, "No, it's not gonna be over here, it's gonna be over there." So that changes the whole sound design, basically.

And these changes continue all the way until showtime.

Bobby: There's a production meeting that happens on Saturday night. And each writer will go through what changes there are in the script, and usually they're cuts. So what I rehearsed in my book, and I'm looking at it and I'm seeing, “This speech is cut, this one is not in the show anymore, they've added this person…” So, that’s what makes the show the most challenging. There are changes right up until air.

If one detail gets missed, it could completely derail a taping. But that unpredictability fuels the energy of the studio, and keeps the crew focused through these long, chaotic workdays.

Bobby: I think adrenaline plays a part, because the activity is at such a high level that it's just go, go, go. And you really don't have time to be complacent about it, you know. It's gotta be adrenaline. 'Cause when I'm home, I don't stay up till one o'clock in the morning.

When people ask Bobby what it's like to work on SNL, he likes to say...

Bobby: It's hours of relative calm, punctuated by moments of sheer terror.

[music out]

The start of each week on SNL is relatively calm. Then, it gradually builds to a huge crescendo on Saturday night. Rinse and repeat.

[music in: Roy Edwin Williams - Art Heist]

Bobby: The show starts on Monday, they have a pitch meeting. And they decide what sketches are gonna be written, and on Tuesday they write them. And Wednesday is when I come on board. So that's when my work week starts.

Bobby: And they do a table read up on 17, this massive conference room. They read through some 40 sketches, and someone from lighting is up there, design is up there, costumes are up there, all the department heads. And I'll make my little notes on what I think might be a boom, might be an RF, might be, “I have to read this again 'cause it's too complicated” that kind of thing. I make all my notes.

Bobby: Wednesday night they have another meeting, which I don't go to, and that's when they decide what's going to be in the show. Or at least in the dress rehearsal anyway. So Thursday morning, they'll have a tentative rundown, and I will make a scribe sheet.

The scribe sheet is where Bobby writes out what he thinks all of the audio requirements are going to be that week.

Bobby: I'll make copies of it. They'll take that out to the floor. The boom guys will look at it and see what sketches they're in. The A2s will look at it and see what sketches they're in.

The A2’s are the audio experts that are in the studio. They're in charge of things like microphone management, and relaying info from inside the studio back to Bobby in the mixing room.

Bobby: And we'll confer along the way, 'cause there's always a lot of last minute changes.

[music out]

While this is all going on, the music department is setting up the guest band.

Bobby: They're doing their line checks. They really have a lot on their plate, because sometimes there are big acts that have a lot of inputs and so forth, you can imagine. And then they balance the guest band. And we have camera rehearsals for the music on Thursday afternoon.

During the music rehearsal, the band runs through their set along with the music, camera and lighting teams. And oftentimes, other crew members will pop in and see a rare, intimate set from one of their favorite artists... Like when Paul McCartney came on in 1992.

Bobby: The story I heard was that Lorne wanted a third song, 'cause he had done two songs from his current LP…or CD, rather. So Lorne wanted a third song and he wanted it to be a Beatles song.

Bobby: And he and his band went out there, and they played “Hey Jude," “Let It Be,” and “Lady Madonna,” I believe.

*[music sneaks in: The Beatles - Let It Be

Bobby: And the sound must have wafted through the vents, because you couldn't move in that studio. I mean, everybody was in there.

Bobby's mix partner knew that Bobby was a huge Beatles fan. So he insisted that Bobby let him manage the board, so Bobby could run out and join the crowd.

Bobby: So I, I "fshht!" took off, and I went into the room and it was really crowded. And it was just, uh, it was electrifying. It was really quite something, hearing him do those songs.

[Let It Be up, then under]

After the music rehearsal, they'll shoot the promos for that week's episode. These usually feature some kind of meta sketch involving the host... like this soap opera parody with Jon Hamm.

[clip: SNL Jon Hamm promo]

Narrator: This week on Saturday Night Live…

Chloe: Doctor, is Sarah alright?

Narrator: …with special guest, Jon Hamm.

Jon: I’m sorry, Chloe. There’s no easy way to say this but… she bombed.

Bowen: Clear a path! Clear a path! We have to get her to the after party, stat.

Sarah: I thought my farting grampa would [coughs] kill.

From there, they'll be blocking and rehearsing sketches with camera and sound, with Bobby noting any audio changes along the way. This continues through Friday, which is pretty malleable, depending on the week. And before you know it, Saturday has arrived.

[music resumes: Roy Edwin Williams - Art Heist]

Bobby's day starts at 9 AM.

Bobby: By then, we'll have a dress rundown.

This is the official running order of sketches for the dress rehearsal.

Bobby: And again, I'll do a scribe that has all the audio requirements written next to the sketches.

At 9:30, the A2s arrive, and Bobby gives them the latest info. Then, it's time for mic checks.

Bobby: Check every mic that we're gonna use for the show. We do our line level checks. I'll check video tape, I'll check audio tape playback, sound effects. We'll do all our level checks.

[music fades under]

This includes checking the audio for any prerecorded segments, which used to be very rare, but now appear two or three times in almost every episode.

[montage of popular prerecorded segments]

Bobby: And meanwhile at about 10:30, the house band starts to play and the music room will balance them.

[clip: SNL theme music]

Bobby: And then we're usually on camera at, I wanna say 12:30. And then it’s sketch rehearsals all day.

[music resumes: Roy Edwin Williams - Art Heist [Drums only]]

Everything builds up to the dress rehearsal, which is basically its own full show. It has a full studio audience, who are different from the people who will be seeing the live taping. It’s all filmed, and when the sketches go up on Youtube, they sometimes upload the rehearsal version instead of the live one. And there’s always a few sketches in the rehearsal that don’t make the show.

Bobby: The dress rehearsal, it's longer. It's almost two hours. And when we have that production meeting at 10:30, Lorne will have a rundown that usually reflects something that's been cut that's not gonna make it to the show. 'Cause the show's only 90 minutes.

After the production meeting, it's time for final checks, and everyone gets in place to go live at 11:30.

[music out into "Live from New York"]

While Bobby mixes the show, he's doing much more than just sliding faders. For example, he's also in constant communication with the boom mic operators, letting them know where they should be headed onstage. Boom mics are the ones that stretch out over the set, and dip down over the actors' heads just out of frame.

Bobby: The boom operators I probably talk to the most. Because I'm following a script book and they're not. And they get familiar with where the sketch is more or less, but I'll give them cues to, “This one's coming in from upstage” or, “Now we've gotta split it to get to this person,” that kind of thing.

Dallas: That almost sounds like you're kind of directing yourself.

Bobby: Yeah, yeah. For the booms at least, anyway.

To open up a radio channel to the boom ops, Bobby uses a footswitch down beneath the mixing board. And for his other foot…

Bobby: I have a secret weapon, and that's this gas pedal on the floor.

Dallas: Oh, awesome!

It's a pedal that controls the volume of the audience mics... which means one less thing to do with his hands.

Bobby: ‘Cause it's just too much to turn pages and mix and then worry about riding the applause because you have to ride applause. You can't just leave it in one place, as you know.

Like a gas pedal in a car, when you take your foot off, it returns to the top position. So when a character makes a joke, he'll press down with his foot to allow the laughter to come up.

[clip: SNL - Washington's Dreem]

Soldier: Football, sir?

Washington: Yes. It’s a sport where you throw a ball with your hands.

Soldier: So in football, there is no kicking?

Washington: There’s a little kicking.

Then, as dialogue resumes, he'll ease up on the pedal, so the audience fades back down.

Washington: You kick the ball to get points.

Soldier: How many points, sir?

Washington: Sometimes one, and sometimes three.

[clip up, then under]

Dallas: So you just feel this. At this point, is it almost unconscious, riding that foot?

Bobby: Yes. I've mixed other shows that have an audience in which the A1 does not use a pedal. And, uh, there are times when I, I, I feel my foot's trying to reach for an imaginary pedal that isn't there, ‘cause I'm just so used to it now.

[music in: Wendy Marcini - To Sebastian]

At one point during our interview, Bobby was showing me the printed rundown sheets from previous weeks, and I noticed that many of them were stamped with the image of Bugs Bunny. Bobby also had a Bugs Bunny coffee mug, and there was a cutout of Bug Bunny on the door to the mixing room.

Dallas: What's the Bugs?

Bobby: Oh…

Dallas: I've seen it pop up a few times.

Bobby: Yeah. That's my mascot in life, Bugs Bunny.

Dallas: Is it? Why?

Bobby: I don't know. Ever since I was a kid, I was always kind of drawn to the character. So I get these gifts people give me.

Dallas: Yeah.

Bobby: He shows up from time to time.

Bobby uses his Bugs Bunny stamp like an official signature. So when the audio team gets a script with Bugs on it, they know it’s Bobby-approved. And for the rest of my visit, whenever I'd spot another Bugs, it was a beautiful reminder of the personality that had been in this room, and this studio, for so many years.

Dallas: This is a big moment, the show's 50th finale.

Bobby: Mm-hmm.

Dallas: This is 40 years for you.

Bobby: Mm-hmm.

Dallas: What are you feeling this week?

Bobby: Bittersweet. There's some people that I've been with for so long, I'm gonna really miss them a lot. I'm gonna have to come back and visit from time to time because I… You know, they're good people.

Bobby: Some things I will not miss. Like, I'll go out and have a meal on Saturday and right before I'm going to leave, I'll get a sheave of script changes that I'll have to go through and integrate into the book and change that. And then I'll go and eat something. I'll come back to be another one to go through. So all those last minute changes, that I won't miss.

Bobby: And, um, like I said, it's bittersweet. I figured 40 seasons was enough. I feel, and I've said this to my crew, I said, "When you know in your heart that it's time to leave and move on, that's when you move on." And I… I know it's time to move on.

[music transition into music in: Duke Herrington - Maiden Voyage]

But before he could move on, Bobby still had one last show to mix... And it was a big one. Two days later, I'd be sitting right next to Bobby as he mixed the finale of season fifty. I'd also sit down with the man who'd be replacing him, to learn what led to this incredible moment in his career.

That's all coming up, after the break.

[music out]

MIDROLL

[music in: Duke Herrington - Maiden Voyage]

It’s May, 2025, and I’m in New York City to witness the season finale of Saturday Night Live’s 50th season from behind the scenes. I’ve spent the last few days interviewing all kinds of people from the show’s vast audio crew. And now, it’s Saturday, the day of the show.

That morning, I go back through the doors of 30 Rock, and head into the crowded mixing room of Studio 8H. There, I check in with the A1 Production Mixer Bob Palladino for the last show of his forty year career.

[music out]

Dallas: So how are you feeling today?

Bobby: Good.

Dallas: Yeah?

Bobby: Yeah.

Dallas: You ready to do this?

Bobby: I think so.

Dallas: Alright. I see a lot of people coming through, giving hugs, all of that stuff. Yeah. So you have what, 16 more hours or something and you're done.

Bobby: And uh that's it.

Dallas: Alright.

Bobby’s wearing a custom T shirt that says, “You say goodbye, and I say hello. Hello, hello retirement...” which of course, is a reference to a classic Beatles song written by one of his favorite artists, Paul McCartney.

[clip: The Beatles - Hello, Hello]

Dallas: And can I see the back of your shirt?

Bobby: Sure!

On the back, it says SNL Audio Production Mixer, established 1985. Below that are the classic colorful rings of the Looney Tunes, along with the words That’s All Folks. And at the bottom, Live From New York, I’m Retired.

Dallas: Who made that shirt?

Bobby: My daughter had it made for me.

Dallas: Amazing.

At this point, the mixing room is buzzing with activity, and I know Bobby has a lot to do. So, I head out to chat with some other members of the audio crew. Then later that afternoon, I snag some time to sit down with the new Production Mixer, who'll be taking over in Season 51.

Dallas: Okay. So what's your name and title?

Fred: My name is Fred Hedemark and I am the A1 Broadcast Sound Mixer for Saturday Night Live.

And it turns out, he's actually a friend of mine.

Dallas: So I heard that the last guy had that for 40 years. What are you gonna aim for?

Fred: Oh my gosh. Uh, let's get through season one first.

[music in: Wendy Marcini - Soul to Soul]

Fred first started at 30 Rock back in 2009. He was hired as an A1 for MSNBC, which is the news branch of NBC. Early on, he bounced around a lot.

Fred: And have gone through basically the entire schedule of what MSNBC has done. I've done the day side, done breaking news, done, you know, the large events, done elections...

But what he really wanted to do was work on one of the late night shows, or SNL.

Fred: My manager for my time at MSNBC also had a dual role as the Tech Manager for Saturday Night Live.

The Tech Manager oversees all of the technical departments, like audio, video, camera, and lighting.

Fred: And every time we'd have a yearly review, I'd talk to him about my aspirations about working in entertainment in this building, and that I felt like I had a pretty decent skillset to accomplish that.

Eventually, his manager introduced him to one of the producers at SNL who was heavily involved with the audio team.

Fred: We had a real nice chat. And at the end of it, kind of had this feeling that he was looking at me to become the A1 for the new Late Night with Seth Meyers show. And that was about a year before the show launched. And so, eventually got the gig because of that conversation.

[clip: Seth Meyers First episode]

Fred: I spent the first eight years on Late Night with Seth Myers. And then that was at the point where we decided that it was time to take a step away from it, and focus more on the family, and get back down to where our roots are down in North Carolina and South Carolina.

This was right around the time that I first interviewed Fred for Twenty Thousand Hertz. It was for an episode about mixing Seth Meyers, and we recorded it just as he was leaving New York to change careers.

Fred: The last time we spoke, you know, on the podcast that we did for Late Night, that was kind of like my swan song and my little love letter to Late Night. I thought I was walking away from this building and never gonna see it again.

Dallas: Tell me about that pull that started to pull you back to the city.

Fred: Yeah. I moved into an occupation and a position that wasn't audio-centric. And it was difficult to find that kind of joy that I had when I was here at 30 Rock. And so out of the blue, I got a text one day from the Tech Manager of SNL saying, "Hey, you know, we're starting to plan for when Bobby retires, and we'd like to put your name in the hat if you're interested."

[music in: John Runefelt - In a Minute]

Fred: And I was just like, "This is amazing and crazy.” I, I just never thought in a million years that that would even become an opportunity.

Fred: And when I told my wife, she couldn't believe it either. We kind of talked it out and really started to discuss, to see if this career change would benefit the family. And we figured it out, and we made a plan. And, and now here we are.

But along with Fred, there were a couple other people who were selected to audition for the role. And the first step for them was to get to know the producers and the crew.

Fred: Luckily, I already had that established because of my experience back in the building before.

Next came the hands-on testing.

Fred: The only way you can really show if you can do the show is by sitting there and doing the show. So after a few weeks of observing Bobby, it was my time to get in the chair with Bobby next to me and start mixing a show.

[music out]

Fred: Started off mixing not an entire show, but segments of it, and kind of built up from there, to where I got to the point where mixed a few shows by myself with Bobby next to me, and got a lot of incredible, constructive notes about how to make it sound like Bobby Mixes, which was great.

Fred: But it was, a really, fun and interesting time to try and put all of my skillset together to mix this thing, because you're not just mixing this show. You're also directing a team, you're directing your booms, you're reading a script, you're using your foot for an audience mix. There's a lot of things that were relatively new to me. But it was, it was nice to put it all together and prove to myself and also to others that I could do the job.

[music in: Mathilda June - Stockholm Love]

Ultimately, Fred was chosen for the role, and it’s another huge milestone in his career. But despite everything that's led him here, he still can't quite believe it's real.

Fred: I'm still pinching myself. It definitely still is surreal. You know, when I walked away from 30 Rock, I thought... Well, first of all, I was walking away from my dream job, 'cause I loved it so much. It was very difficult to do.

Fred: But, never thought I'd have the opportunity to come back again, and certainly not as, sitting in the chair as A1 for SNL. I couldn’t be happier being back here and working with all the wonderful people in this building. I definitely feel the gravity of it, too. It’s a big, big position to be in.

Fred: I feel a great amount of gratitude for the opportunities that I've had, and all the navigation that everybody has played in my life, because Little Fred has not done this by himself by any stretch of the imagination. I've had a lot of help along the way.

Fred: And also being grateful for the opportunity to mix all three shows in this building in the crown of Late Night entertainment. You know, Late Night with Seth Meyers, backing up Fred and mixing a handful of episodes on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and now Saturday Night Live.

Fred: I don't think you could have ever told my 14-year-old self that this is what you'd be doing later on in life. Um... Life is weird, and fun, and strange, and you just have to enjoy the ride, and take chances when you can, be confident in your skills, and just shoot for the stars. And sometimes it happens.

[music out]

A few hours later, it was nearly showtime. So I went back into the mixing room and settled in to watch Bobby mix the last show of his career, with Fred by his side.

[countdown + intro music]

[music transition into: Bang Bang - I Can't Live Without You]

For me, watching an episode of Saturday Night Live being mixed right in front of me was unreal. When it comes to audio, I consider SNL to be the pinnacle of live studio television. There are so many moving parts, and so much spontaneity, that it requires an incredible amount of skill and focus.

Bobby’s name might not be widely known. But it’s hard to overstate the impact he’s had on this show. Just think of the casts he’s seen come and go… Phil Hartman, Mike Meyers, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Kate McKinnon… Thousands of unique and hilarious sketches. And for almost every single one, it’s been Bobby behind that mixing board, making the show, and the performers, sound great.

And now, I’m so proud that it’s my friend Fred taking over this crucial role. Because I know he’s gonna do a fantastic job.

I was thinking about all of this as the house band played the credits music, and Bobby made his last few adjustments on the faders. Then, as soon as the show ended, people started to congratulate Bobby, giving him hugs, and wishing him farewell.

[crew congratulates Bobby]

Fred: I met Bobby 15 years ago, and he is the nicest gentleman in the world. He's incredibly open, shares anything that you want him to share in terms of audio, loves what he does, you can definitely tell that from the way he works, mixes, communicates with people in the building. And I have the utmost respect for him, and I just really want to do good by him going forward.

Fred: I'm just very grateful for the opportunity to try and take the torch from Bobby and continue to carry it, and, um, to just try and do as great as Bobby has done for the last 40 years. And I, I hope I make him proud.

A few months after my trip to 30 Rock, Bobby and his team won an Emmy for mixing SNL’s 50th Anniversary Special.

Bobby: Every sound engineer, the A2s, boom operators working on this show dedicated themselves to perfection… We are deeply honored to be recognized for our contribution to one of the longest-running, most respected comedy institutions of all time, Saturday Night Live. Thank you.

[music out into music in to Ryan James Carr - Light It Up]

Now, to get the full experience of my trip to Saturday Night Live, you really need to see it. Over on my Youtube channel, you can watch Bobby give me a full rundown of his mixing board, and join me inside the audio control room as Bobby and Fred mix the season finale. I also shot a video with one of SNL’s boom mic operators, and I even got to try it for myself. I’ll also be rolling out more videos from inside SNL in the coming weeks. To see them for yourself, just search for Dallas Taylor dot mp3 on Youtube, or tap the link in the show notes. You can also find clips on Instagram and Tiktok under that same name, Dallas Taylor dot mp3.

Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced by my sound agency, Defacto Sound. To hear more, follow Defacto Sound on Instagram, or visit defacto Sound dot com.

Other Voices: This episode was written and produced by Casey Emmerling, with help from Grace East. It was sound designed and mixed by Brandon Pratt and Joel Boyter.

Thanks to Bob Palladino, Fred Hedemark, and everyone from SNL who allowed me in to make this episode possible.

Thanks for listening.

[music out]