Software vs Hardare mixing

[jndietz]

I guess my opinion on stuff like this has always remained the same:

Get good at something and stick with it.

I guess the same kind of goes for Pepsi vs. Coke. Etc. etc.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

That's why drumagog, beat detective and auto-tune were invented. More cheap hardware, more musicians, less skill over-all. Gotta make up for the lack of ability somehow.

I agree with your post in general, but on this point I wonder about the direction of the cause and effect. Did cheap software evolve because of bad musicians, or did bad musicians evolve because of cheap software?

The reality is probably some percentage of mix of the two, depending upon whether you're looking at the pro level or the home reccr level.

I think some of them were probably developed for the pro level first so that physical stage performers like Britney or Madonna, who couldn't normally carry a tune in a bucket, could put out listenable music as well. And software like Drumagog and other samplers were great on the pro level for being able to cut musician budgets; why hire a session cat or a road musician when you can let the computer do all the work. Here it's the bad musicians or the desire to avoid paying for them that was the mother of invention.

But on the amateur level I think the focus has been different; there the sales vein they have dug for was the idea that one need not be a musician in order to make music. In this case it's flipped around IMHO; the promise that with a $90 mic and a few plug-ins that you too can sound like a pro, even if you sound like a hack in real life. This has led every Tom, Dick and Nigel into thinking that they too can get their stuff up on meSpace and be discovered even though about all they can play with any proficiency is Guitar Hero. Here the software has generated boatloads of bad musicians.

Time was when recording was meant to capture performances worth capturing. Now it's become a toss-away commodity meant to eliminate performance from the equation altogether.

G.

 

[kcearl]

modern life is rubbish......

 

[philbagg]

modern life is rubbish......

+1

Even around Dublin, there's poster-ads consisting of Facebook screenshots of things like:

"Paul became a fan of eating eggs off the random piece of pavement in the middle of the desert with your cat" - We all need to get out more.

It's basically an ad for getting people to go back out drinking in pubs ("the original social network") or doing other social activities, and spending less time on the net. And it's true! People are going out less and less because they don't feel the need to, with current technology like mobile phones and social networking sites.

On the audio side of things, beat detective/vocalign/autotune/drumagog etc. are almost eliminating the need for getting the sound right before it even goes to the DAW.

While sometimes you may not be able to live without it, because it's the only thing that can save your ass, the best option is not always the easiest one.

 

[Guitarshot]

I do both Apogee converter to SSL G series then into Pro-tools

 

[guitar zero]

I realize this thread is ancient, but since it has been resurrected, I'll chime in. Anyone struggling to get good digital mixes should be required to read this thread:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-m...s-don-t-sound-good-analog-mixes-restored.html

Pay close attention to posts from Paul Frindle. He designed the SSL analog mixing desks, as well as the Sony Oxford set of digital plug ins. He is a brilliant man who has lots of great experience designing gear and insight into how gear is made to work optimally. This thread is loaded with good information that I'll bet most people don't know. I know I didn't until I read this.

Using what I learned here has markedly improved the quality of my mixes, and greatly reduced the time it takes me to get a quality mix.

Warning: Over 118 pages and counting, but well worth your time IMO.

 

[kcearl]

thanks for that...bookmarked an Ill give it a read when Ive got an hour..