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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Michael Carpenter <Stagefright@msn.com.au> |
| Subject | Re: Pro Tools (for Toad Stools) |
| Date | Thu, 16 Oct 2003 20:31:39 +1000 |
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Hi gang..
Seeing as how i started this, i thought i'd pipe back in..
All the points being made are great points, and it seems we're all basically
in agreeance. I take Billy's initial point and i do agree. My reaction was
more that i've had too much experience with people making judgements because
of recording format first, with no apparent reason. Hence my initial
question..
As Brian said, PT is just a tool, and there's no doubt people abuse it. But
i certainly know more people using it for good than evil. One of the things
that no one has mentioned surprisingly, is that i find with PT, it's easier
to get more instinctive, creative takes earlier. People can just play more
freely, and go after things knowing that it is easy to comp takes now. I
used to take ages to get a full drum take, and that's with years (almost
decades of studio session) experience. Now i'm a 2 takes guy. Usually the
second take is the one, but i'll go and borrow a fill or tighten things up
using take 1 when compiling the master take. This is a wonderful way to
bring back the instinctiveness of bands tracking live, and helping make the
artist relaxed enough that they can create without a lot of the pressure and
anxiety.
I also have a few old analogue machines which unfortunately only get turned
on every once in a while. Like Ryan, i sometimes fly a vocal or some bass or
guitars into the analogue machines to get that 'sound' and bring it back
into PT and line it back up. Best of both worlds. But i don't track on
analogue any more. Once you've comp'd a drum track, it's hard to go back to
not having that freedom.
Ron mentioned that analogue makes people play better. A good point, but
there's no denying that a lot of the time, budgets don't allow for
inexperience musicians to learn to get it right in studio. And although i'd
love to be able to send clients away and say 'learn to play better', my
wallet won't let me. Does that make me a PT abuser? I guess it does to some
degree, but the band usually learns, and usually by the next time they're
in, they're 100% better. Happens all the time. Nothing like on the job
experience..
As for mixing.. well.. i LOVE mixing in the box. Plug Ins and all. The
ability to recall a full mix and tweak it is just plainly fantastic. The
ability to automate things fully is incredible. Mixing with a mouse? No
sweat. I swear i mix faster, better, and with more satisfaction now that i
ever did in the 'old days'. And finally, the ability to take my PT rig into
mastering and master straight out of the master files is wonderful.
As for places having a sound... i DO believe that's possible, and happens. I
believe my studio and my mixes have a sound. It's a sound people seem to
like, which keeps me in business. I think it's just that so many people are
making records these days that there's a LOT of sounds out there. And
everyone has limitations which bring out the best in them. Recently i just
started using the Glyn Johns drum miking approach (5 mics total, though i
cheated and used a room mic as well). Best drum sounds i've pulled for ages.
Not for everything, but i know that the knowledge will come in handy..
As far as outboard.. this is a major thing people should learn about.
Unfortunately it's expensive to learn, but SO worthwhile. They make a huge
difference to the quality of your records, regardless of format, as does a
quality vocal mic. I'm in Neumann, Neve, Universal Audio land these days,
and it's a very happy place.. If you're an overdubber, one at a time
instrument guy, save up for the best quality mic pre and compressor you can
afford. Your records, and career will be happier for it.
Anyway, after all that, i'm glad the discussion has focussed on the merits
of all of these 'tech toys' in making better records. There's a lot of
people making incredible sounding records on budgets these days. And it's
only because the technology is there to make the whole art affordable to
learn. People then learn about the art of making records and work out what
they like and don't like, and that becomes their sound. It's a fantastic
evolution, and people like Robbie Rist, Walter Clevenger, Mike from
Spaklejets, Cliff Hillis, Steve Ward, Ed James and many more are fantastic
examples of people who are on the way to becoming incredible
producers/engineers..
That's all folks..
MC
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