
pipelineaudio
Well-known member
the recording gear itself tho DOES determine the absolute ceiling that the sound can aspire to. Of course, most will get nowhere near the ceiling of even crappy gear, and I guess that's the point
Oh, man Chess, you beat me to it. The source is the most important thing to get right when you're recording. Skills are the second most important thing, and recording gear is the third most important thing.Only not as much the gear you record with as the gear you perform with.
This is true. However, the difference between the maximum acheiveable sound quality in a prosumer studio and the maximum acheivable sound quality in a million dollar studio is not nearly as big as the difference between the maximum acheiveable sound quality that an inexperienced engineer can contribute and the maximum acheivable sound quality that, say, Tchad Blake can contribute. This is especially true as the quality gap being cheap gear (e.g. MAudio Interfaces, Rode and Studio Projects mics, RNC and RNP) and pro gear (Avalon, Neve, Crane Song, Neumann, Apogee, etc) gets smaller and smaller.zallen25 said:No matter how good of an engineer one is, they will be limited to the performance of their gear they use.
zallen25 said:equipment matters as much as the engineer. No matter how good of an engineer one is, they will be limited to the performance of their gear they use.
10-4 on the source. It's pretty hard to fix a sorry source.cominginsecond said:Oh, man Chess, you beat me to it. The source is the most important thing to get right when you're recording. Skills are the second most important thing, and recording gear is the third most important thing.
littledog said:there are guys out there who, in a weekend, could scrounge enough junk from a few yard sales and flea markets to jerry-rig some sort of recording chain and proceed to make a record that would astonish me.
skippy said:Re: Tchad Blake, a DAT, and a pair of SM57s:...
... Blake can make it dance and sing with _nothing_. Amazing...
Light said:I was reading a post over on Rec Pit, and I finally realized just what exactly it is about Monster cable's marketing that gets me so upset. They represent their cable as having properties which are impossible. They do everything they can to make you believe you must have their cable, or you will never be able to get a good mix. This is demonstrable untrue. With all of these boxes, they try and make you think that, if you just get that one more box, you will sound "pro."
The truth of the matter is, you will get 100X the return out of spending time with the gear you have than by buying more gear. It truly does not matter which cable, or preamp, or EQ, or format, or whatever, you are using. If you haven't spent the time to learn the basic techniques of audio, the gear does not matter. Instead of shopping for the newest and coolest piece of gear, spend time in your studio. You do not need to be recording new projects, either. Remix something you have already done, see if you can make it better. Or do a production analysis of a great album. Write down everything you hear in a track, figure out everything you can about an record. Even if you just spend time listening to CDs you like, learning them better, it will improve your skills.
Does Mogami sound better than other cable? I sure think so. Does it make my mixes any better? Not much. Is cable (or any other piece of gear) EVER the determining factor for the mixes of anyone on this forum (myself included)? No. Never. The gear is tertiary to the skills, which are secondary to the ears. If you have an afternoon to spend, and you are thinking about buying some gear. Stop. Go into the studio, and listen to something, or remix something. This will go further than any piece of gear. The important thing is NOT the gear, but the work.
Set a goal for your self. Set a number of hours you have to work in your studio before you buy anymore gear. Choose to spend 1000 hours in your studio in the next year, or 2000, or 3000, or 500. WORK. The difference between "professional" product and "amateur" product is the experience, not the gear, and it really chaps my ass (so to speak) to hear companies market their gear by saying "You will sound the way you want to by using X mic pre" or "Y compressor." It just is NOT true. And Z cable is not going to make any noticeable difference, in the end.
Remember this, you do not "get" a good mix. You MAKE a good mix. If your work is great, YOU are responsible. If your work sucks, YOU are responsible. The gear gets none of the credit, nor the blame. You don't need more gear, you need to do more WORK.
Gandhi said, "Cowards can never be moral." What he meant is, if you are not willing to take responsibility for your actions, you will be forever afraid of acting. He was willing to go to prison for his actions, even to die. All I am saying is you that we need to stop blaming our gear, and take responsibility for our work. Accept the consequences of our work, and remember that one of the consequences is the increase of our skills. Whatever you do today may or may not suck, but it WILL have added to your skills.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi