mix down recorder

[littlesongs]

thanks falken and stevemac...

after reading a ton of your posts it is great to meet you both... i am in the same position... throw in ten years of bandmates who went off to serve the country... or became parents... or developed other careers... toss in having the studio move over and over as rent skyrockets... and meth freaks breaking in and cleaning us out a few years ago... this music thing isn't easy... and it always boils down to me... for the whole shebang... but, this is about love, and when it is your baby, you have many hats to wear at any given time... and the day job...

i am proud of the fact that out of piles of ideas, come dozens of tunes and that over the course of time i am able to record them myself... some tunes, i play everything... some things, i perform with my friends... and yes, over the years i have had the luxury of mixing the material with other engineers in other studios of various shapes and sizes, but i really don't think that keeps me from being a home recorder...

until very recently, our songs were still made up of pieces captured on portastudio from the edge of the bed to found sounds to full-on cassette stretching productions in good rooms with many bounces... and when they are done, we sell out our limited local runs of cd-rs and they are released world-wide from a little tape label in italy to a small, but appreciative worldwide audience... to me, it is not about rock star or ripping flesh from bone... it's about finding a voice and making an honest effort to capture the spirit of a song... to tell a story... and to get better each time out... imho...

dave

 

[SteveMac]

thanks falken and stevemac...

after reading a ton of your posts it is great to meet you both...

dave

Nice to meet you Dave!

 

[Dr ZEE]

thanks falken and stevemac...it is great to meet you both...!

Nice to meet you Dave!

That IS what people go to Steak Houses for
**********

dude,
it all comes down to time.

Yes, dude, it does. And the choice is yours how to spend it. Some choose to spend it in a steak house and on the way to and from it, some choose to spend it in the kitchen.

you do need equipment that costs more than your house if you want to master a wide variety of music day in and day out and be able to do it consistently well..

You can consistently have great meal at your kitchen just as it is, but if you want to provide and successfully sell "restaurant service", then your kitchen will have to grow bigger than your house. ...and Then you run an add: "My Kitchen is the kitcheniest kitchen in the universe and that's the only place to get anything and everything cooked RIGHT. Come to My Kitchen!"
.... ohhhhh, and then maybe... hmmmm, why not? ...then you find some internet forum(s) (like this or like this) and tell the folks hanging in there, that they should forget 'bout it and that the the only way to get it right is to get it cooked at the Kitchen Like Yours

/respects

 

[FALKEN]

yeah but is the steak for you to enjoy or are you trying to convince total strangers that it's better than the one at the steeak house? who's steak would win if 30,000 people tasted yours and the one made at the steak house?

and what are you even advocating anyway? don't you only listen to vinyl? do you have a cutting lathe at home too?

and just for the record I had a disc mastered from one of those places in the back of tape op and though I was impressed, I feel I was eventually happier with the version I did. even if most people think it doesn't sound very "hi-fi". I still like it.

by the way, there is no getting it "right". right?

 

[Dr ZEE]

who's steak would win if 30,000 people tasted yours and the one made at the steak house?

First of all I make only couple of steaks when making steaks, serving 30,000 peaople isn't what I do. And I make steak perfectly. How do I know? - I taste it - that's how. If the steak is perfect to my taste it is perfect, period.
It's a steak! Or is it not? (or is it a debatable statement?).
And, to answer your 'who would win' - question. The answer is: It depends on whose tasting party it is and who is invited to do the tasting.

don't you only listen to vinyl?

nop

do you have a cutting lathe at home too?

nop

there is no getting it "right". right?

Nop. Not right. But you are the only one who knows what's right.
It's an art-form (which IS a debatable statement, of course... )

 

[littlesongs]

i do believe we have answered the original question and hopefully to some measure of satisfaction for the person who asked it... we were discussing how to help a fellow get his music out, right? we were examining the basic pros and cons of mixing to analog or keeping it in the box, right? we were offering constructive suggestions and advice on getting a good mastering job, right? this is why we are here... um, right?

how did this turn into a discussion of the habits of wild animals and the relative merits of beef preparation? if only one had spent as much time mixing music as one has spent mixing metaphors...

i think we have exhausted this discussion and it is time to call it good... if our friend who asked the original question would like a few more answers with less hyperbole, i would make one last suggestion... start a new thread...

peace, harmony and counterpoint...

dave

 

[Dr ZEE]

how did this turn into a discussion of the habits of wild animals and the relative merits of beef preparation?

dave

It didn't happen, Dave. Nobody is talking about animals and nobody is talking about beef.
But your point is taken, which is: "I, Dave, am here to give "sensible suggestions". I did it in this thread and I will do it in the other, all you need to do is - start one."... which is cool, Dave.
/respects

 

[FALKEN]

beef? where?

 

[Dr ZEE]

beef? where?

The beef is under the horns, Clara. The horns are out in the field over the mountain. Start HERE.

 

[Dr ZEE]

Wow! look who's down and dirty in the joint again
Hey, Blue Bear! Nice seeing you again around.
Why don't you actually post something "enlightning" instead of just sniffing around in the shadows like a stinky rat on the streets of the dying city of the industrial empire of entertainment.
Anyhow, how is serving going, Bruce? Any new hot-sleaze customers or something.?
wishing you well and all that sh*t.
********
p.s. for people who may get confused about what the hell is this post about, just ignore it. it's a long story.
And NO, in this post I am not being mean, unfair, vulgar, arrogant ...non of those. I am actually being too nice and unjustly polite.

 

[MCI2424]

Dave (littlesongs),
this is all good what you are saying... BUT! there's something missing - the main target is missing.
Here's what I mean. The basic assumption (as I see it) is, that here we all are in the "driver's seat" (in respect to music recording/production...) and we are the drivers by choice. This is "recordists community"... or is it not?
So, what is it, that you want to do? Do want to make music or do you want to keep re-reading (or re-writing) the Ode To a Few Good Men

..Good for them. Shall I add: "Who cares?" ... and I don't mean to disrespect or dis-whatever these men. What I mean is, that what they have achieved and what they are capable of doing and what their resources are - all this IS totally irrelevant to your situation, if you have chosen to make music (record and produce).
Mastering is a part of music production and actually it can be the most exciting part of it (well, it depends). Sure, you can choose not to do it. But let me try to explain what does it mean to you as music recordist/producer:
If you do not want to master because of somebody somewhere has more/better experience and resources, then!!!!....
.... why would you mix? Somebody somewhere has more/better experience and resources for mixing too.
then.... why would you record? Somebody somewhere has more/better experience and resources for recording too.
then.... why would you play guitar? Somebody somewhere has more/better experience and better guitars and talent (but of course ) for playing too.
then.... why would you write a song? Somebody somewhere has more/better imagination for writing too.
then.... why would you even get up this morning? Somebody somewhere has better life than you...
... because somebody somewhere got BETTER ATTITUDE for life. And that's why that 'somebody' has got better imagination and better guitar and resources and experience and what have you.

...that's a real bad attitude. that's all.

well, maybe you do. I don't owe them no sh*t. And this is not just my attitude - that's actually the fact.


Yes you should. And you can choose from either doing it or paying somebody to do it for you.
You can choose whether you want to be on stage or in the audience.
And, an individual, who tells you, that you should be in the audience and leave the stage for "those men who can and got this and that", deserves no respect.
And if you have decided to get on stage, then get RIGHT attitude and play it like you mean it, damn it !

/respects

Judging by this post, you don't understand anything about the difference between home recording as a hobby and professional commercial recording at all. Pro bands that are carried by a label have no choice but to use pro facilities for every operation involved in creating records. The band is either touring on the road or recording their next album. That is how they make their money. Period. As usual, your dopey ramplings just go nowhere, no disrespect.

 

[Dr ZEE]

Pro bands that are carried by a label have no choice but to use pro facilities for every operation involved in creating records. .

Yep. And it was their choice to have no choice.
I could say : "I feel their pain." ...but I would not. Why? - Because I don't. (feel their pain, that is)

 

[Golden]

This might be a stupid question but i need an answer to it

here is my set up:

I record all my tracks through the board into the a/d converters, Do all my editing in the box(computer). Then i pull 32 tracks through the d/a converters back into the board, Where i do all my mixing, compressing, and effecting. Then I have my final stereo mix comming out of the board.

my question is:

What is the best way to transport my Analog mix to a Mastering House?

I though about a masterlink, but i dont want my mix to go back to digital untill the mastering house preformes it's final step.
I looked into a 2 track reel to reel but i found one in a magazine for
5,000 (wow, maybe one day)
I was thinking about a high quality cassette recorder(700-800$) or maybe a hi-fi vcr.

like i said this might seam like a stupid question, but i'm just clawing my way out of the computer as much as possible, so i'm kinda new to the Analog world.

thank you for all your help

There’s nothing wrong with adding some tape to the mix. If you really want to get a nice analog sound, try recording on tape. You’ll find peace in the analog kingdom. To answer your question, maybe try ¼” tape for mix-down.