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A whole New World became Apparent
Alright, so my friends call me a gear fanatic. Maybe I am. I prefer to refer to myself as a pro audio enthusiast or even more so as a musician. I read the latest blogs and magazine articles and I am up on the latest trends. I'm not rich, but I like my gear and I want to do what I do to the best of my ability.
I want to make the best possible rap music I can. Yes, rap music. I know it all started with vinyl and an SP-1200. I know when audio enthusiasts discuss their most memorable recordings, rap or hip-hop is not considered at the top of the list. After all it's just rap music. You don't need to have the latest and greatest gear. You can record it on a Tascam Portastudio for that matter because it is more about the vibe. I've been there and done that. And I'm the first to admit that if the music is hot, it's hot. A good song is a good song regardless of the quality of the recording right? It doesn't matter what you made it with; until you try to make money with it.
I am old enough that I should be moving on to contemporary adult music or something more age appropriate, but it's just not in me. Not yet. I have the need to fulfill my destiny, to complete the long awaited task at hand. It seems as I grow older the audience and the music grow younger. Technology is changing quickly and it's changing the way we make music. It's changing the style of music itself. No different than the electric guitar taking rock music to a place that the acoustic guitar never could.
In fact, modern music is now synonymous with technology and they both have a symbiotic relationship with one another. Therefore the difference between your music and the music of your favorite artist might very well be the equipment they are using. It's all too easy to say the artist on the radio has better mics than you, more instruments than you, a better room than you, a bigger Pro Tools system than you, better monitors than you, and the list goes on.
I never used to believe that. Like I said, I always thought it was the song that counted. Even so, I often excused deficiencies in my songs by blaming it on the quality of the equipment I had to make it with. This is common amongst amateurs or enthusiasts but I am trying to be professional, to put together a quality product. Yet I hear it all the time, a lot of artists say "check out my new track but don't pay attention to the lack of bass. I'm going to fix that" or "I know it doesn't sound that good because I haven't mixed it yet." Or better yet, they don't even know their mix is lacking because it sounded good in their studio and they failed to realize it did not translate well in a real world setting.
We all make excuses for that which we lack but the truth is, music is accessible to the masses through new forms of media and the audience is listening. They may be willing to sacrifice a minimal amount of quality by buying your music online in a readily available MP3 format, but they certainly will pass you up if your sound is not up to par with everything else out there. And the standards have been raised. Some would argue that home studio recording has killed the industry and degraded the overall quality of music being put out. I would argue that the quality of audio produced in one's home now exceeds what was previously attainable in only the most elite studios of the past. Therefore it is up to the artist to acquire the skills and manage the use of the tools at hand because you can't really blame the equipment any more.
I have followed every trend as I have stepped up from a Portastudio to an ADAT to a Mackie D8B to Pro Tools. My struggle to reach a pro level sound on a home studio budget is a common one. Balancing the warmth of outboard gear with the clarity that results from remaining in the box is my ongoing challenge. I used to think that having all the outboard gear was the key. Then I voted for the control and versatility of my favorite plug-ins. Being almost entirely within the box brought purity to my music that began to fit in with what is currently being heard in modern music, clarity without dirt. But something still was not right; things felt stale now and lacked that life that only outboard gear can bring.
I came to find that what you loose when you no longer have the outboard gear is that fat analog punch that rips through the mix. It's best to find the perfect blend of virtual-synths, samples, outboard keyboards and processors and live instruments. Together you gain both the clarity and the punch that allows every part to sit in it's own place in the mix and create a dynamic and interesting listening experience. You find balance.
The problem is that what you put in to the box and what you get out are only as good as what your ears really hear. If what you are hearing is not what has actually been recorded, then how can you be true to the material or the intent? There are three keys to finding this truth; your AD/DA converters, your monitors and your listening environment. If equal attention is not given to each of these then you are compromising your search for truth in your audio. If your audio converters do not transmit the highest quality and fullest frequency of your recording then how can the best monitors reveal what is not there. If you have the best converters but your monitors are unable to offer the proper frequency response then you will never hear what you have really recorded and you certainly cannot mix to your highest potential. If you have the best converters and monitors but your room is not calibrated properly than once again your mix may be far from reality.
My first efforts in seeking audio purity were in the places I was obviously lacking the most. I added an Apogee Rosetta 200 to the front end of my Digi003 rack. Conversion and clock are often misunderstood and their importance underestimated. All I can say is the difference in having quality conversion and clock is alarming. Next I gave my control room the proper acoustical treatment. I was able to remove the standing waves and over abundance of bass that will kill a mix. Unfortunately, for far too long, I lived with monitors that I thought were sufficient. I always considered monitors a very important link in the signal chain, but I often undervalued it. I cut my first album on a pair of Alesis powered monitors. I knew these were lacking so I later stepped it up with a pair of Hafler TR8's and a TR10 sub. The Hafler's were a significant improvement from my Alesis and seemed to be fine. I had a pair of computer monitors as well so that I could get a different real world perspective. I always thought things sounded great in the studio, but the mix never quite translated well.
On a consumer audiophile level, I always had good taste. I have always been a fan of B&W. They always impressed me with their definition and imaging when I heard them in the audiophile stores. I have owned several pair over the past 18 years and I have used them exclusively throughout my home, except in the studio. This is where things get interesting.
I was actually shopping for speakers for my new home theater. I went to the local B&W dealer in search of something that would work well for my size room. Like I said, I know what this speaker sounds like pretty well so I had certain expectations of what I should hear. The salesman took me into the top end B&W room and gave me a demonstration. It was great, it was what I had expected, no real surprise. Then he asked me to follow him to another home theater room. He asked me to take a seat and tell him what I thought of this next demonstration. I asked him to let me hear something with a large sound stage and a lot of range so that I could check out how good the imaging was. The salesman put in U-571. The movie has an incredible scene where the actors are immersed in silence as they are trapped inside of a submarine that is under attack. Meanwhile they are intermittently being bombarded with deafening explosives dropped from a nearby warship. The amazing clarity and pressure created within the room during the bombing sequence was only trumped by the unbelievable environment created during the moments in between. It literally sounded and felt as though we were inside the submarine with the ocean pressurized around us as the water eerily dripped through the hull of the submarine. The subtlety of the dripping water and the intensity of the explosions were unlike anything I had heard before. The sound was so enthralling that you forgot you were watching a movie for the moment as we were engulfed in a true audio experience.
Then the salesman told me we were listening to Genelec reference monitors. I looked at him in awe. I was very familiar with the brand since I have been involved with recording for over 20 plus years. I knew it was an industry standard but I never knew they sounded like this. I never knew how revealing they were. I never knew what I was missing.
It became clear to me that I was unable to reproduce this quality of sound in my studio with my current equipment. How could I expect to deliver a similar experience to the listener if I was not experiencing it when it was created? Needless to say this forced me to reconsider my studio environment. If I want to take my audio as seriously as the pros then I must hear what the pros hear. I could not afford to make excuses any longer just because I could not hear what my music really sounded like. So I sold off some gear that I did not use frequently, as well as my Hafler system, and I invested in a pair of 8050A Genelec monitors. Before I shipped off my Haflers I had to take the opportunity to A/B them with the Genelec just to prove to myself that they had been worth the sacrifice. Quite frankly, it was no sacrifice. After one listen, a whole new world of clarity became apparent to me. I could not believe the difference. I really never thought I was missing that much, but wow was I wrong. The low end was more full and true and the mids were extremely punchy and the highs were filled with detail that until now I had not known existed.
I now mix with confidence. I have created as pure a sound path as I believe I am able. Now I know if the mix is off, it is my fault. It is not because I did not hear something that was being masked or muddled by my equipments inability to translate the material properly. When people hear my mixes now they think I am on another level.
As a musician and an engineer I am in a constant state of change. Having equipment that allows me to improve without worrying about having to improve my equipment certainly helps me focus more on my music and the results are evident.
Equipment: Genelec 8050A, Digidesign 003 rack, Apogee Rosetta 200, Mackie HUI, Avalon 737, Neuman U87, Rode K2, AKG 414, Lexicon MPX100, T.C. Electronic M2000, Lexicon Vortex, Line 6 Pod, Moog Little Phatty 2, Akai MPC 2000, Akai MPK49, SansAmp, Tons of Plug-ins!
I want to make the best possible rap music I can. Yes, rap music. I know it all started with vinyl and an SP-1200. I know when audio enthusiasts discuss their most memorable recordings, rap or hip-hop is not considered at the top of the list. After all it's just rap music. You don't need to have the latest and greatest gear. You can record it on a Tascam Portastudio for that matter because it is more about the vibe. I've been there and done that. And I'm the first to admit that if the music is hot, it's hot. A good song is a good song regardless of the quality of the recording right? It doesn't matter what you made it with; until you try to make money with it.
I am old enough that I should be moving on to contemporary adult music or something more age appropriate, but it's just not in me. Not yet. I have the need to fulfill my destiny, to complete the long awaited task at hand. It seems as I grow older the audience and the music grow younger. Technology is changing quickly and it's changing the way we make music. It's changing the style of music itself. No different than the electric guitar taking rock music to a place that the acoustic guitar never could.
In fact, modern music is now synonymous with technology and they both have a symbiotic relationship with one another. Therefore the difference between your music and the music of your favorite artist might very well be the equipment they are using. It's all too easy to say the artist on the radio has better mics than you, more instruments than you, a better room than you, a bigger Pro Tools system than you, better monitors than you, and the list goes on.
I never used to believe that. Like I said, I always thought it was the song that counted. Even so, I often excused deficiencies in my songs by blaming it on the quality of the equipment I had to make it with. This is common amongst amateurs or enthusiasts but I am trying to be professional, to put together a quality product. Yet I hear it all the time, a lot of artists say "check out my new track but don't pay attention to the lack of bass. I'm going to fix that" or "I know it doesn't sound that good because I haven't mixed it yet." Or better yet, they don't even know their mix is lacking because it sounded good in their studio and they failed to realize it did not translate well in a real world setting.
We all make excuses for that which we lack but the truth is, music is accessible to the masses through new forms of media and the audience is listening. They may be willing to sacrifice a minimal amount of quality by buying your music online in a readily available MP3 format, but they certainly will pass you up if your sound is not up to par with everything else out there. And the standards have been raised. Some would argue that home studio recording has killed the industry and degraded the overall quality of music being put out. I would argue that the quality of audio produced in one's home now exceeds what was previously attainable in only the most elite studios of the past. Therefore it is up to the artist to acquire the skills and manage the use of the tools at hand because you can't really blame the equipment any more.
I have followed every trend as I have stepped up from a Portastudio to an ADAT to a Mackie D8B to Pro Tools. My struggle to reach a pro level sound on a home studio budget is a common one. Balancing the warmth of outboard gear with the clarity that results from remaining in the box is my ongoing challenge. I used to think that having all the outboard gear was the key. Then I voted for the control and versatility of my favorite plug-ins. Being almost entirely within the box brought purity to my music that began to fit in with what is currently being heard in modern music, clarity without dirt. But something still was not right; things felt stale now and lacked that life that only outboard gear can bring.
I came to find that what you loose when you no longer have the outboard gear is that fat analog punch that rips through the mix. It's best to find the perfect blend of virtual-synths, samples, outboard keyboards and processors and live instruments. Together you gain both the clarity and the punch that allows every part to sit in it's own place in the mix and create a dynamic and interesting listening experience. You find balance.
The problem is that what you put in to the box and what you get out are only as good as what your ears really hear. If what you are hearing is not what has actually been recorded, then how can you be true to the material or the intent? There are three keys to finding this truth; your AD/DA converters, your monitors and your listening environment. If equal attention is not given to each of these then you are compromising your search for truth in your audio. If your audio converters do not transmit the highest quality and fullest frequency of your recording then how can the best monitors reveal what is not there. If you have the best converters but your monitors are unable to offer the proper frequency response then you will never hear what you have really recorded and you certainly cannot mix to your highest potential. If you have the best converters and monitors but your room is not calibrated properly than once again your mix may be far from reality.
My first efforts in seeking audio purity were in the places I was obviously lacking the most. I added an Apogee Rosetta 200 to the front end of my Digi003 rack. Conversion and clock are often misunderstood and their importance underestimated. All I can say is the difference in having quality conversion and clock is alarming. Next I gave my control room the proper acoustical treatment. I was able to remove the standing waves and over abundance of bass that will kill a mix. Unfortunately, for far too long, I lived with monitors that I thought were sufficient. I always considered monitors a very important link in the signal chain, but I often undervalued it. I cut my first album on a pair of Alesis powered monitors. I knew these were lacking so I later stepped it up with a pair of Hafler TR8's and a TR10 sub. The Hafler's were a significant improvement from my Alesis and seemed to be fine. I had a pair of computer monitors as well so that I could get a different real world perspective. I always thought things sounded great in the studio, but the mix never quite translated well.
On a consumer audiophile level, I always had good taste. I have always been a fan of B&W. They always impressed me with their definition and imaging when I heard them in the audiophile stores. I have owned several pair over the past 18 years and I have used them exclusively throughout my home, except in the studio. This is where things get interesting.
I was actually shopping for speakers for my new home theater. I went to the local B&W dealer in search of something that would work well for my size room. Like I said, I know what this speaker sounds like pretty well so I had certain expectations of what I should hear. The salesman took me into the top end B&W room and gave me a demonstration. It was great, it was what I had expected, no real surprise. Then he asked me to follow him to another home theater room. He asked me to take a seat and tell him what I thought of this next demonstration. I asked him to let me hear something with a large sound stage and a lot of range so that I could check out how good the imaging was. The salesman put in U-571. The movie has an incredible scene where the actors are immersed in silence as they are trapped inside of a submarine that is under attack. Meanwhile they are intermittently being bombarded with deafening explosives dropped from a nearby warship. The amazing clarity and pressure created within the room during the bombing sequence was only trumped by the unbelievable environment created during the moments in between. It literally sounded and felt as though we were inside the submarine with the ocean pressurized around us as the water eerily dripped through the hull of the submarine. The subtlety of the dripping water and the intensity of the explosions were unlike anything I had heard before. The sound was so enthralling that you forgot you were watching a movie for the moment as we were engulfed in a true audio experience.
Then the salesman told me we were listening to Genelec reference monitors. I looked at him in awe. I was very familiar with the brand since I have been involved with recording for over 20 plus years. I knew it was an industry standard but I never knew they sounded like this. I never knew how revealing they were. I never knew what I was missing.
It became clear to me that I was unable to reproduce this quality of sound in my studio with my current equipment. How could I expect to deliver a similar experience to the listener if I was not experiencing it when it was created? Needless to say this forced me to reconsider my studio environment. If I want to take my audio as seriously as the pros then I must hear what the pros hear. I could not afford to make excuses any longer just because I could not hear what my music really sounded like. So I sold off some gear that I did not use frequently, as well as my Hafler system, and I invested in a pair of 8050A Genelec monitors. Before I shipped off my Haflers I had to take the opportunity to A/B them with the Genelec just to prove to myself that they had been worth the sacrifice. Quite frankly, it was no sacrifice. After one listen, a whole new world of clarity became apparent to me. I could not believe the difference. I really never thought I was missing that much, but wow was I wrong. The low end was more full and true and the mids were extremely punchy and the highs were filled with detail that until now I had not known existed.
I now mix with confidence. I have created as pure a sound path as I believe I am able. Now I know if the mix is off, it is my fault. It is not because I did not hear something that was being masked or muddled by my equipments inability to translate the material properly. When people hear my mixes now they think I am on another level.
As a musician and an engineer I am in a constant state of change. Having equipment that allows me to improve without worrying about having to improve my equipment certainly helps me focus more on my music and the results are evident.
Equipment: Genelec 8050A, Digidesign 003 rack, Apogee Rosetta 200, Mackie HUI, Avalon 737, Neuman U87, Rode K2, AKG 414, Lexicon MPX100, T.C. Electronic M2000, Lexicon Vortex, Line 6 Pod, Moog Little Phatty 2, Akai MPC 2000, Akai MPK49, SansAmp, Tons of Plug-ins!