Great Tactics and Techniques From Graham Cochrane

I skimmed through the video above...and I don't disagree with him, to a point...though he does come off like he is full of himself and he know all. :D

He is kinda saying you (or he) are only able to guarantee good mixes from having phenomenal singers and players, and great songs and arrangements...which isn't necessarily the case.
If you have those things...it will be a LOT easier to get that great mix, because the performances and the songs will be able to cut through most mixing decisions...unless you totally butcher the mix.
Likewise, I think a decent singer and player and decent song can be lifted up by a really good mix.

No one is arguing that if the singer sucks, the playing sucks and the song sucks...that the mix isn't going to fix that...and that's what he is pretty much saying...which I think is stating the obvious.
However, it's not just two extremes...phenomenal performances and songs on one end, and totally wrecks on the other.
I mean...turn on the radio or your "stream"...and you can hear a lot of well mixed, sonically pleasant music...where the actual performances and songs are not that phenomenal, and they mostly are OK, and were help a LOT at the mixing stage to sound better.

I'm curious how many times he pitch-corrects his singers vocals when he mixes, considering that some of the "great" Pop singers have a hard time always nailing their vocals. ;)
 
He's right you know.

I'm a recordist, not a "mixing engineer". I also fix noise problems in gear/studios. I hear stuff most people can't hear. And I'm not talking about noise in gear, but also about the wildlife in the woods. I hear animals rustling before anyone else. Yet I can't hear a big difference between a top notch violin and a decent one, presuming both have been tuned. I can't tell which one is best. Musicians can, they tell me.

Now I'm not a musician. When I record music, I do the tech stuff. For the rest, I'm as invisible as possible. It's a totally different approach from the average pop/rock/dance/whatever studio. I don't tune instruments and I don't mess with the arrangement of the music.

The kind of musicians I work with, appreciate that. They don't like the tech sticking his nose in their stuff. Now these are not your average pop/rock/dance/whatever musicians. Most, if not all instruments are acoustic.

I only touch recordings when absolutely needed. No eq is the best eq, imho. I only touch up recordings when the room isn't very good, or I've f*cked up somehow, in which case I'm happy to take the blame.

I usually provide a "live mix" on CD. That's done while recording and printed immediately after the gig. Only minimal corrections.

I've NEVER had complaints about the recording or the CD. A few of these CD's went straight to mastering and then were pressed.

But I always hear complaints about the musician's performance. Something like "Robert was off today. I can't even listen to that. But then, he's having a cold..."

Graham is right. I'm not a fan. But he's right. It's not about the gear, it's not about the studio, or the engineer. All that is hype.

Maybe it's about instruments. Dunno. But the most important part are the musicians.

The only thing I'm certain off, is that it's about ears. Fortunately, the vast majority of listeners seem to have none. I can't even listen to more than half of what's commercially released these days. Autotune, compression, added distortion and even noise. It all sounds like a soup to me. I rarely encounter well mixed and well mastered music these days.

So, I'm officially and old fart now :D
 
I've always found his videos pretty straightforward. Yes, he's selling himself, but what's wrong with that? His points about it not being the equipment, plugins, etc., have always resonated with me because it's proven over and over again when I go out and record an entire evening of different performers at an open mic. I throw everything into a common template, and the teriffic, talented performers, are pretty much done at that point. I triage through and each one after the first one or two requires more and more work, but no matter what I do (and I know there are folks out there that could do more), they aren't as good as the best ones. (And, to paraphrase GC/TRR, they can't be because they're just not as good a performance.)

I don't think he's being "uppity" or whatever bothers folks. It's just his way of being honest.

I haven't ever bought one of his courses because the kind of music he works with, largely pop and CC, are just something I am not interested in (having done my time in a church praise team for 5 years), but his focused workflow, emphasizing minimal plugins and how to use them are a good resource for anyone. Plus, it's organized in a way that can help folks who are overloaded by what is often conflicting information. In short, I think you can do worse than spend time watching some of his videos, and will continue to suggest it as a resource for folks starting out or even needing a little break from the ones selling mics, interfaces, preamps, plugins, et al.
 
As to his skills, he ended up being interviewed on Pensado's place. You don't get invited there if you're a slouch or a hack.
:D
 
RFR said:
As to his skills, he ended up being interviewed on Pensado's place. You don't get invited there if you're a slouch or a hack. :D
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Well, with no disprect to either gentlemen or their channels, TRR has almost 2x the number of subscribers as P'sP, so that's going to generate invites to anyone's channel that thinks they might pick up some of those, because, in the words I heard long, long ago (about TV/ad revenue), "it's all about eyeballs."
 
We all know popular doesn't mean good. Whether its a video or a top selling "artist". This is a home recording site. I do my best to get the best. But I have been around long enough and Listened enough to feel respect for the people who have won Grammys for their production/engineering. And I have spent a lot of time listening to these award winners and they are to my mind, a great deal more supportive and positive. Many say its a job requirement. I don't buy the just being honest thing. IMHO its like telling someone You are fat and unattractive. I am not. So? I'm just being honest. I'm not saying that his videos cant help some people or that he doesn't have a right to do his own thing. Im just saying that just because someone makes videos or is on the net doesn't mean you should believe everything they have to say, always consider the source. And ultimately I thought the video was funny because it doesn't really match the image he has cultivated
 
RFR said:
As to his skills, he ended up being interviewed on Pensado's place. You don't get invited there if you're a slouch or a hack.
:D
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Now that's a guy who sold out completely. A disguised ad every five minutes. In every one of his vids.
 
cyrano said:
Now that's a guy who sold out completely. A disguised ad every five minutes. In every one of his vids.
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Hey...he has to pay to bills somehow for the all interview & instructional video productions he does...and then offers up for free to people like us.

Not sure why every time a creative person makes money off their work....some people will say "he sold out"...?
 
miroslav said:
Hey...he has to pay to bills somehow for the all interview & instructional video productions he does...and then offers up for free to people like us.

Not sure why every time a creative person makes money off their work....some people will say "he sold out"...?
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I think cyrano's point was that it's disingenuous.

[I don't follow anyone's channel being discussed in this thread so no horse in this race]

Most good channels make the sponsorship obvious. I follow a lot of car channels and they *always* state the sponsor, usually right at the beginning and/or in the video's written description. They also often explain if their 'sponsorship' had any bearing on the outcome on the video's content/conclusions.

You can almost always assume that any guest or product featured in a video isn't going to be ripped to shreds. The reviewer has to ride that fine line between objectivity and sustainability. They can't expect future guest or products if they shit on all of them. That's why I take channel reviews with a grain of salt, and for products especially rely on customer based reviews above all else.
 
People have mo idea what it's like to make a living in the music biz.
It's tough. We're flooded with stories of the glamorous lives of rich rock stars.
The rest are just working their asses off in a tough industry usually self employed with no pension, health care plans, retirement, severence packages, etc.

My hat is off to anyone supporting themselves in a crazy industry where so many think music should be free.

Like they're freaking entiltled.

He sold out??? Good for him.

And for anyone annoyed with someone doing a pitch on a youtube channel?

Don't buy what they're pitching. Or better yet, don't watch.
Personally, I don't watch him. ( Pensado) But not for the 'sell out' aspect.
As knowledgeable as he is, I find him boring.
:D
 
Pinky said:
I think cyrano's point was that it's disingenuous.
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Well...I've never been bothered when an engineer name-drops a piece of gear or software.
I mean, they all do it, to a great degree...and people are usually always asking "what mic, what pre, what comp...etc" ...so not sure if Pensado is intentionally "disguising" his gear promos, or just tossing out the names so people know what he's using.

Really...who cares...the value of his engineering info is not compromised. He knows what he's talking about.
 
RFR said:
As knowledgeable as he is, I find him boring.
:D
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:D

Yeah...that's a whole different thing. He tends to go all slow-n-droopy.
I guess that's just how he talks. He's not all up-beat and peppy.

I've watched a few of his videos...and there are points where things are dragging, for sure.
I kinda like the way Andrew Scheps talks through his videos...and hey, even he names gear, and at some point might even work Waves into the conversation because he does have a sponsorship thing with them...but then, so do most of the bigger engineers/producers.
Everyone is trying to expand their income options...everyone is a "sell out". ;)
 
miroslav said:
Hey...he has to pay to bills somehow for the all interview & instructional video productions he does...and then offers up for free to people like us.

Not sure why every time a creative person makes money off their work....some people will say "he sold out"...?
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Oh, I don't contest his right to cash in. Just can't watch the stuff. In fact I don't watch Graham either, but I'm able to make it through one YT vid without getting bored.

I'm more of a "Big Clive" and "AvE" fan :D

The vids I find very worthwhile if you're not just waisting time, are these from Kenny Giola and the Reaper's Blog. Top notch.

These guys make money too. But they have a lot of stuff for free too. Worth watching if you're into Reaper!
 
RFR said:
People have mo idea what it's like to make a living in the music biz.
:D
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Oh, I do. My first job was for WEA. Luring in studio owners. Did that for six months. Made a promise to myself never to work for the music industry again.

But what can I say? Life's though. Deal with it.

Move to a civilised country were even artists have cheap health care.

The music industry certainly isn't the only industry that exploits a lot of people. That's no good. We all know it, but there's very little any one of us can do about it.

About half of the people I know personally in the US have left the country. One of 'em is up in Norway. Thinks he's in heaven. Another one moved to France. Feels like a god now :D

But, yeah, we bicker too. About taxes. About politics... Such is life.
 
cyrano said:
The vids I find very worthwhile if you're not just waisting time, are these from Kenny Giola and the Reaper's Blog. Top notch.
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I don't know the guy as I'm not a Reaper user...but yeah, if the guy is talking to you from a point that you can easily reference to your needs and your own recording situation...it's always going to be more interesting and worthwhile.

Guys like Pensado, Scheps, Chris Lord-Alge...etc...they're talking more to their colleagues, than to us home recording guys. I don't mean that they are snooty, rather that they've been in the recording biz for ages, so they don't drill way down when they talk about techniques and stuff, because I think there is the assumption that their audience doesn't need that...so they often will skim over things, and assume that the audience knows how to fill in the planks for a lot of the details.
They don't do it all the time and/or intentionally just to hide their secrets...it's just how it is when you are deep into something for decades....if that makes any sense.

cyrano said:
The music industry certainly isn't the only industry that exploits a lot of people. That's no good. We all know it, but there's very little any one of us can do about it.
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Well...I don't deny that there have been cases of artists signing REALLY STUPID DEALS...and yeah, they are completely exploited....but who's fault is that?
I think those same artists are hungry for any break they can get...so they sign the deals.

That said...in most cases, the whole point and process of making money from art...IS exploitation. You can't make the money without doing that.
That's why I don't really buy the "they sold out" argument for most cases. You need to exploit your art in order to make money off of it...whether you do yourself or with the assistance of as record label. The label can get you bigger sales...but, they also want a bigger chunk of the profits.

AFA other industries...like the cheap labor in third-world countries being exploited. Yeah, it would be great if everyone was paid handsomely for every kind of job....but when some company moves to an underdeveloped country and sets up shop...those workers still earn more than if there was no company there.
I'm not saying it's fair to pay them real cheap...but it's no different than the eager young artist who willingly signs a stupid contract, because he wants to get his foot in the door, even though he's getting raped financially. If he doesn't sign, he makes ZERO and no one ever hears of him....and he is not exploited. :)

Most of the artist who are now doing their own thing...they are struggling to promote (aka exploit) their art just to make a few bucks. There's no one to blame as to why they are only making a few bucks...it's all about the market demand, and if you don't want to sell your music, there are 10,000 other artists who will gladly be exploited.
 
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