Where do you pro's see yourself in five years as far as recording/mixing mediums and formats? Do you feel that as conversion quality gets better and tape emulation DSP gets better that you as a pro will feel comfortable with all digital, or will you remain with a hybrid, say mixing on your favorite desk like a Neve or api like mixerman suggested? If you as a pro could design your own working production studio suited for your working style TODAY, what type of gear and rooms would it consist of? Provided that digital conversion and technology improves at the same quick pace that it has in the last five years, how do you think your future studio would be different, or the same?
JH
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Originally posted by Mixerman: .. The true irony of it all is
Originally posted by Mixerman:
.. The true irony of it all is that DAW's have been largely responsible for both reducing the number of quality of players and singers as well as the number of great sounding recording rooms.
Mixerman
This is what distresses me. The whole issue is also being casually dismissed as just being simply one of "style" since corporate America absolutely LOVES to sell us crap at a price slightly reduced from that of the good stuff with the transaction lubricated with a bunch of hype. I should probably mention how DAWs have done this.
The traditional bread and butter for studios and musicians has been advertising. Record dates were always just the gravy. People with MIDI and DAWs have taken over that market by charging ten percent or less of what it used to cost with salespeople and agencies now collecting most of the residuals that the musicians and composers used to earn.
The other problem this created is that there are no longer very many studio-based communities where people can learn from others and more important, ABOUT each other. Many session musicians were also music teachers whose most outstanding students got turned on to session gigs in high school. There was a mechanism for identifying talent at an early age and places for them to get their chops together under expert supervision. To me that is the most significant loss, the one of REAL opportunity.
The other problem this created is that there are no longer very
The other problem this created is that there are no longer very many studio-based communities where people can learn from others and more important, ABOUT each other. Many session musicians were also music teachers whose most outstanding students got turned on to session gigs in high school. There was a mechanism for identifying talent at an early age and places for them to get their chops together under expert supervision. To me that is the most significant loss, the one of REAL opportunity.
I agree 100%!
I own a studio, have taught myself by reading and experimenting (and you know just how much crap is in written word out there about recording, etc. etc.) I take what I can use and leave the rest. I KNOW that I will probably never be as good as some as my favorite engineers and producers because they were brought up under the mentoring system that all the great studios have/had in place. This is one thing that I would give a left (well almost!)... just to study under some that has the engineering discipline that has always been taught.
The other issue is the community, I can't hardly get some of the studios in my area to even return my phone calls. They are so guarded, like someones going to steal their bone! There a few guys that talk shop but when trying to get others to get involved in networking (having a society of some sort is out of the question, "I just don't want to go to any meetings or anything like that" is the usualy response). What they don't understand is it will help us all and raise the bar of the studios in our area that do get involved which will hopefully attract more business, let us know who the good players are, find a place for them and the list goes on and on!
I should have been born sooner, I wish I had been aroun when people were excited about recording, building what you needed to get the job done, and working with REAL talent!
I just finished listening to "Bloomfield Kooper, Stills.. Super Session".
Are you with me?
Originally posted by lwilliam: I though I had read somewhere tha
Originally posted by lwilliam:
I though I had read somewhere that even Studer was no longer making 2" machines.
Is that true? Is anyone even making new 2" machines anymore? If not, then I'd have to say the beginning of the end for analog (at least 2") has begun.
Even if Studer or someone else continues to make these fat-sounding machines, as the demand and manufacturing runs drop, won't the price spiral up, making them unaffordable for all except maybe Oceanway or similar high-end studios?
Actually the prices of used 2" machines have been dropping steadily for years. That's because they are big, bulky and only record 24 tracks. a 2" machine has never been as affordable as it is now. You can get an Ampex or a JH24 in the $5000 range. And the beauty of these machines is, a regular old EE can figure out how to fix them.
I would suspect that 2" machines will continue to drop in value for some time. They may see a rise in price again one day, but no where near to this level. At some point, tape will not be made anymore, and the 2" machines will be torn apart and used in other ways. Or people will have a small stock of tape that they use and recirculate, using the machine as a tool for a certain sound. I'm not thinking it'll be in my recording lifetime, but I broke my crystal ball this morning, so who the hell knows.
On the pure weight of equipment purchase costs, great sounding digital is considerably more expensive than great sounding analog. What most people use is average to below average sounding digital systems. The price point of these systems is far below the costs of a decent analog set-up. This has made it possible for many more people to get into the game, and make viable music.
Of course, in my travels, I have come to realize that the recording room and the player far outweigh the value of a recording medium. The true irony of it all is that DAW's have been largely responsible for both reducing the number of quality of players and singers as well as the number of great sounding recording rooms.
Mixerman