crawdad
Dammit, Jim, Shut Up!
I was reading a book about producers and engineers that spanned the 50's to the present, and it hit me that a lot of people here have never even bought a mono LP, or heard one! Also that we take so much for granted today that was not possible even 20 years ago--in terms of equipment.
These days, we are so used to overdubbing and multitracking that its hard to imagine having to engineer a session while you are getting the mix at the same time as its going down to two track tape or a three track machine. Yet thats exactly what happened in the early days. Though times have changed and there are now many different ways to get a recording, some things haven't changed much at all.
Good mic placement is still just as important.
A good room still plays a part in the finished product. Sam Phillips of Sun Records had a patented sound in his original studio. When he moved to Nashville and built a new facility, he was never able to duplicate that sound.
Talent is always a key ingredient in a good record, but even more important is a great song. Of course, the great performance is huge too.
A good mix has something indefinable which engages the listener on many levels. Its just as true now as it was in 56 or whenever. Though times and techniques have changed repeatedly, I always know when I hear a good mix--no matter when it was done.
Maybe I'm the only one who finds this stuff interesting, but when I get bogged down in bit depth and reverb parameters, sometimes I think about what the early pioneers had to work with and the results they came up with. Thats when I try and focus on the basics of making great records. Amazingly, the same principles apply. The equipment changes (seems like every week) but the basics don't seem to change much at all.
The book I'm reading--"Inside Tracks" has a funny anecdote about Al Schmitt, who was working on a Steely Dan tune. He had turned the monitors off and was just checking the VU levels when Becker and Fagan walked in, watching. Then he turned the monitors back on, and the mix was perfect. Becker and Fagan concluded that "this guy mixes without even listening!" Of course, they were amazed because the track sounded great! In truth he wasn't mixing at all!
These days, we are so used to overdubbing and multitracking that its hard to imagine having to engineer a session while you are getting the mix at the same time as its going down to two track tape or a three track machine. Yet thats exactly what happened in the early days. Though times have changed and there are now many different ways to get a recording, some things haven't changed much at all.
Good mic placement is still just as important.
A good room still plays a part in the finished product. Sam Phillips of Sun Records had a patented sound in his original studio. When he moved to Nashville and built a new facility, he was never able to duplicate that sound.
Talent is always a key ingredient in a good record, but even more important is a great song. Of course, the great performance is huge too.
A good mix has something indefinable which engages the listener on many levels. Its just as true now as it was in 56 or whenever. Though times and techniques have changed repeatedly, I always know when I hear a good mix--no matter when it was done.
Maybe I'm the only one who finds this stuff interesting, but when I get bogged down in bit depth and reverb parameters, sometimes I think about what the early pioneers had to work with and the results they came up with. Thats when I try and focus on the basics of making great records. Amazingly, the same principles apply. The equipment changes (seems like every week) but the basics don't seem to change much at all.
The book I'm reading--"Inside Tracks" has a funny anecdote about Al Schmitt, who was working on a Steely Dan tune. He had turned the monitors off and was just checking the VU levels when Becker and Fagan walked in, watching. Then he turned the monitors back on, and the mix was perfect. Becker and Fagan concluded that "this guy mixes without even listening!" Of course, they were amazed because the track sounded great! In truth he wasn't mixing at all!
