Alan Parsons

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Cult_Status02

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Well, last night Alan Parsons came to my school (Webster University) and spoke. But one thing that I loved, was that when asked what consoles he currently prefers, he said now most is done on the computer, so many time a console is not needed. This was great considering just a minute or so before, I heard this dork talking to his friend in front of me saying that computer-based (digital) recording is a bad idea and that it will never sound as good as analog (I don't know where he get's off saying that, probably just an extreme traditionalist). So anyway, how many of you would ahve expected Alan to say something like that? I personally would have thought he'd have been a flat out console based recording guy. All in all, he's a very inciteful guy. Not the best public speaker, but his knowlege and stories were great!
 
ah, you're trying to start a digial versus analog war, huh?? hmmmm...I probably wouldn't recommended it ;)


truth is, I personally feel your recording medium is the LAST thing you should be concerned about. The way I see it...the order of importance follows the same path your signal does. Musician, mic, preamp, converters, etc. Yes, there have been some bad ass recordings made on analog....but there have also been some bad ass recordings made on digital. If you know how to use your gear properly, you can pretty much obtain anything you want. There are positives to both sides of the equation. Parsons and other engineers know what they are doing and what they are looking for in their sound.
 
Cult_Status02 said:
Well, last night Alan Parsons came to my school (Webster University) and spoke. But one thing that I loved, was that when asked what consoles he currently prefers, he said now most is done on the computer, so many time a console is not needed. This was great considering just a minute or so before, I heard this dork talking to his friend in front of me saying that computer-based (digital) recording is a bad idea and that it will never sound as good as analog (I don't know where he get's off saying that, probably just an extreme traditionalist). So anyway, how many of you would ahve expected Alan to say something like that? I personally would have thought he'd have been a flat out console based recording guy. All in all, he's a very inciteful guy. Not the best public speaker, but his knowlege and stories were great!
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When Alan Parsons talk........people should listen. This guy has been around recording for decades and has been involved in producing music for all the biggest names as well as for himself (his 'Project'). I love his approach to recording and writing. Not one of his albums sounds like any previous one. Always innovative, I would expect him to say what he said because he's always on the cutting edge of recording whether it be using some of the first 4-track gear with the Beatles or the latest computer-driven gear. :)
 
Hey! I'm not trying to start a war...though I would get a kick out of reading it :).

I actually knew nothing about Alan Parsons before going to see him speak, other than he engineered Dark Side of the Moon for Floyd and was a tape op for a beatles cd or 2. But yeah, I was listening as hard as I could. That man became a legend to me just by listening to him (because I knew nothing of him prior). He was talking about how live mixers usually bump up the kick drum so it sounds un natural, and how he hates that, and then that tied into rap. He hated how un natural music sounded many times. He disliked the lack of personality on many modern recordings, not like at Abbey Road where he said you could guess the engineer by a record because of their distinct sound.
Another thing that was great was him talking about how they did effects, "back in the day" they had to be nearly scientific about it. Creating an effect was an art by itself.
I'm thankful that it's much easier and accessible to people (like me), but I would have liked to work with a VERY limited amount of resources (even in the best recording studio). He said with those limitations the engineer and artist had to decide what was good. He mentioned watching engineers these days always twaeking EQ to see if they can "make it sound better," but he said it's better to just know what sounds good, and know what you want, rather than waiting for a mistake to make things happen for you.

I could go on and on talking about the things he said, but i guess I have gone on too long as it is. I hope someone finds this interesting, because I believe he has changed my whole approach to recording and I think just the aforementioned things could change another young engineer.

See ya.
 
Yeah Parsons is a legend.

I love the songs and sounds he got on I Robot. One of those albums that sounds as fresh today as when it came out...what around 25 years ago? Cripes, I old
 
Cult Status 2 said:
He mentioned watching engineers these days always twaeking EQ to see if they can "make it sound better,"
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That's because there's a lot of un-talented people recording out there :D
 
tamky said:
When Alan Parsons talk........people should listen. This guy has been around recording for decades and has been involved in producing music for all the biggest names as well as for himself (his 'Project'). I love his approach to recording and writing. Not one of his albums sounds like any previous one. Always innovative, I would expect him to say what he said because he's always on the cutting edge of recording whether it be using some of the first 4-track gear with the Beatles or the latest computer-driven gear. :)
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That's a big 10-4 good buddy. He's always been one of my favs. The guy is really tall too... I'm guessing 6'7" or so... he was touring a few years ago with several of the people involved in his "Alan Parson's Project" recordings, and they were truely amazing live. I hope he tours again some day.
 
kid klash said:
That's a big 10-4 good buddy. He's always been one of my favs. The guy is really tall too... I'm guessing 6'7" or so... he was touring a few years ago with several of the people involved in his "Alan Parson's Project" recordings, and they were truely amazing live. I hope he tours again some day.
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Yeah, he sure is a big boy...Hrm, allow me to describe his appearance (I found it pretty funny).

First of all, yeah, he's a big guy, I was guessing about 6'7" as well. Then, he's got this mountain man look - hair down to his shoulders, brown and slightly greying, and then a full beard. Now, if that didn't make him look intimidating...he was wearing a purple suit. It was great,he wore a purple undershirt unbuttoned down to a bit above the chest revealing a gold medallion (It looked like) and then a purple over coat and pants...the shoes may have been purple as well. I'm just sharing this because it was very 60'sish and VERY funny to see...only someone oh his size could wear that with out being made fun of :D
 
Gold medallion?

Are you sure it wasn'y P Diddy Daddy Puffy ?
 
As much as I love Alan

and I really do, it seems odd for him to complain about music sounding unnatural, because to me, he pretty much made a career out of making unnatural sounding music. Oh, well. It's not what you say, it's what you do, and he does.
 
Oops, I feel like a twat. He was just talking about unnatural instruments sound sometimes. Not music in general. The only example he gave though was the kick drum in rap music.
 
tamky said:
That's because there's a lot of un-talented people recording out there :D
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You know, The Beatles were considered "talentless" when they first came out by adults. Only the kids dug them.

What would have been interesting to talk to Mr.Parsons about was if he had the BUDGET to recording in a studio with a big ol' SSL with full automation, interfacing with a DAW, and the racks of outboard gear, would he still want to stay in the box for mixing?

I bet not! ;)
 
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