Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog

The Difference Between Vintage And Current Instruments

2012-01-26T21:30:00.000-08:00

During a long discussion about vintage instruments in the studio this week, it prompted me to think about this excerpt from The Ultimate Guitar Tone Handbook (written with writer, composer and good buddy Rich Tozzoli) that describes some of the intangible factors that went into manufacturing Gibson humbucking pickups in the 50's and 60's. As you'll see, there are a lot of external factors that went into making a pickup back then, and those factors can pretty much be applied to all instruments in one way or another.

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"As if the known factors in building a pickup weren’t enough, consider the many intangible factors as well. For instance, most pickups loose their magnetic strength over time because of environment and electrical interference. Pickups can become weakened or demagnetized completely by leaning your guitar against an amplifier with large transformers, or even from taking your guitar too close to the train motor of a subway (as happened with Andy Summers of The Police).

Another intangible is the fact that tolerances of just about every component were much looser until the 90’s. While the difference was indeed subtle, add enough components at the edge of their tolerances together and you suddenly get a pickup that sounds different even though it’s made the same.

Manufacturing intangibles are a whole other story and for that we’re going to go a bit into the history of the Gibson humbucker.

The Changes In The Humbucker

The first humbucking pickups on the 1957 models of Gibson guitars had a sticker on them saying “Patent Applied For” as the design was in the review cue before being granted a patent (see Figure 3.27). These became known as PAF pickups (“Patent Applied For”) and have become highly sought after today for their great sound. The problem is that most PAFs sound different from one another due to manufacturing process of the time.

Figure 3.27 A Gibson PAF Humbucker

Until 1961 when Gibson standardized the selection process, they randomly used different strength magnets (grade 2 through 5) in their pickups, which accounts for some of the reasons for the different sounds. To make matters worse, sometimes a shorter magnet was selected (mostly seen in gold-plated guitars for some reason), which decreased the power of the magnet as well. In July of 1961, Gibson consistently began to use all short Alnico 5 magnets, although occasionally a few Alnico 2’s showed up. In 1965, Alnico 5’s became standard in all pickups, which finally brought about a bit of consistency to the process and the sound.

If that weren’t enough, the number of windings on the pickup varied enormously as well, especially in PAFs. The early coil winding machines didn’t have an auto shut-off so the workers would shut off the machine when the bobbin looked full, which was at about 5000 turns. As a result, no two pickups were ever the same.

Even when Gibson bought a winder with an auto-stop, there continued to be problems even though the pickups became more consistent. The stop mechanism was controlled by a fiber wheel which would wear out and break, at which point the workers would approximate the number of winds by timing the wind, which resulted in more inaccuracies.

Since the humbucker is made up of two coils, sometimes the windings of each coil were different even though the total number of turns were correct. This would cause certain mid-range frequencies to stand out and give it more bite.

Figure 3.28: A Gibson Patent Number Pickup

By mid-1962, the patent for the humbucker was granted and Gibson changed the sticker to read “PATENT NO 2,737,842” which was actually the patent number for Les Paul’s trapeze tailpiece. No one knows for sure if printing the wrong number was merely a mistake or a way to throw off the competition. From 1963 to 1975, these “Patent number” pickups are very consistent, as are the ones thereafter when new, more precise winding machines were used (see Figure 3.28).

In the 1990’s, Gibson further refined their manufacturing and began to manufacture pickups based on the original PAF design. Thanks to precision modern manufacturing techniques, these pickups are remarkably consistent, which also means that a “magic” pickup made as a result of loose tolerances is no longer possible to get. That being said, most experts agree that you can now get 90% of the way there sound-wise for 10% of the cost of a vintage PAF."

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Is this Mackie Video Any Good?

2012-01-25T21:30:00.000-08:00

Here's an "interesting" video on the Mackie DL1608, the new 16 channel live sound mixer built around the iPad than the company just released at the NAMM show.

I'm not sure how I feel about it personally. Is it brilliant advertising? Is it condescending to potential buyers and users? Is it funny or not? Where all these guys on acid when they created it? Maybe some of this, or none of it, I can't decide. One thing it does do is grab your attention and make you talk about the product, which is what advertising is intended to do.

What do you think?

Thanks to my buddy Steve Harvey for giving me the heads-up on this video.

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A Look At NAMM 2012 - Part 3

2012-01-24T21:30:00.000-08:00

Here's the last of my NAMM 2012 overview, and this time it's more about some of the odd or unusual things that I spied during my all-too-fast gallop around the show. I was actually at NAMM for 2 entire days, but the problem was that I was involved in meetings most of that time, so my floor time was actually pretty limited. Sometimes that's for the best though, since you tend to see the big picture a little better as you race through the 4 giant halls, the basement, and 2nd and 3rd floors (yes, NAMM is pretty big). Let's see what we have.

First up is a rather interesting drum kit from Molecule Drums. As you can see they have this round bulb on the bottom where the bottom head should be. Surprisingly, they actually sounded really good for the brief bit that I heard.

Speaking of drums, this company puts blinking LED overlays on drums, heads and guitars. You can't see them blink here, but it probably looks pretty good on stage.

Here's a company that makes stained glass drum heads and speaker cabinet grills. This is definitely a case where image wins over audio quality, but if that's important to you, contact revampedglassdesign.com.

With Mumford And Sons so big at the moment, having a guitar player also play a rhythm instrument has become an important musical element. This piece (I think it's a "Footbass") is just the thing for that acoustic act that needs a heartbeat.

If you want to be cool, you need a hat. What better place to buy one than at NAMM?

Here's an interesting instrument called a "Slaperoo" that's a combination upright bass and percussion instrument. I can actually see this going somewhere as it seems to have some real possibilities in the right hands.

Just won the lottery and want to buy the fanciest piano known to man? The Hand-Built Piano Company can help you out. I don't know what they sound like, but they sure are ornate.

Want everyone to think that you're playing a real grand piano onstage instead of your synth? Time to get a Grand Illusion piano shell. This looks like the real thing from every angle except that of the player.

Okay, imagine you're playing playing in a piano bar in Afganistan and you want to keep the Taliban away. What better way to do it than to make them think that you have a Predator drone at your disposal. Yes, this really is a real grand piano.

Let's say you're a piano player that never could get the hand of guitar fingering, this device let's you use what's familiar.

Believe it or not, this is really an organ with 5 white keys on the left hand and 5 on the right. The songs aren't great but the sounds are good. It was found at Big City Music.

And finally, the sound police were out in force at NAMM. Here one regular sound cop and one undercover one check the sound level of a dobro player with a Radio Shack meter and an iPhone app. At the same time, none could be found around the various drum, brass and amplifier booths.

That was NAMM 2012 through my eyes. The other stuff you can read on any blog or website, but you have to come here for the cool stuff.

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A Look At NAMM 2012 - Part 2

2012-01-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

While yesterday we looked at what's new in audio at the Winter NAMM 2012 show, today we'll look at lots of guitars and amps. Keep in mind that I'm not noting what may be the hottest things at the show, only the things that stood out to me. Let's get down to it.

A big trend at NAMM this year was small amps like this Orange Micro Terror. Not only were these amps low-wattage, but they were small as well. The problem with most of these kinds of amps is that they didn't have a case around them (although the Micro Terror at least has a metal cage around the tubes). Highly impractical for gigging, although that seems to be the hot thing, for this year.

There were more amps than you could shake a stick at (see my video of how many guitars and amps there were back during the 2009 NAMM show for an idea), but I happened to like this particular design from Four Force. Sounded pretty good too.

Perhaps the most unique amplifier at the show was this Milbert GaGa (yes, that's the name). It weighs only 12 pounds, uses any type of tube that you care to put into it, and still puts out 90 watts. Supposed to be a new type of circuit design that can even power your pedals directly from the amp! Sounded pretty good, but I only listened for a minute. I'd like to find out more about it.

Over to the guitars, when 7 strings just won't do, here's an 8 string for you.

When your band is so bad that you can't pick up chicks, a least you can simulate having one close to you when you play.

Here's an interesting triple neck guitar. OK, I can see a 6 and a 12 string, but I can't see the need for the 2nd 6 string, unless maybe it had single coil pickups instead of humbuckers like the other. Uh, this one doesn't.

When big just isn't big enough, how about a 6 foot guitar?

These are all guitar and amp knobs. Every kind, shape, make, model, you name it. And there were 2 more cases just like this.

Here's a case with nothing but pairs of pickups, and it wasn't Seymour Duncan (hint: they're from that country that makes everything cheaply).

Want to build your own guitar from scratch? I mean, really from scratch? Why not buy a brick of wood and route it yourself. There were actually a number of companies that sold guitar tone woods at the show, which I find incredibly cool.

And finally, when your playing just isn't enough, how about adding an iPad in the body?

If you think some of these were odd, tomorrow we'll look at yet another side of NAMM that most don't bother to look for.

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A Look At NAMM 2012 - Part 1

2012-01-22T21:30:00.000-08:00

Another Winter NAMM show has been left behind, and once again it's time to reflect on what we've seen and heard. This year one of the things that really stood out was the enthusiasm of the exhibitors and crowd, both of which seem to indicate that the economic doldrums that we've suffered through recently may finally be in the past and better days are ahead. Most companies that I spoke with indicated that they had a solid 2011and 2012 was getting off to a better than expected start. Let's hope that continues.

Today I'll concentrate on audio gear, Tuesday on music gear, and Wednesday on oddities. Let's get down to it.

Maybe the most talked-about item at the show for those involved in audio was the Universal Audio Apollo, a multi-channel interface that also happens to come filled with all that great UA plugin DSP, as well as a rare Thunderbolt option.

Transaudio Group introduced the Sonodyne SM200Ak, a larger version of their already excellent 50 and 100 speakers. I've been using the 50's for about a month and I've got to say that it's one of the finest small desktop speaker that I've heard. Can't wait to hear the 200's for real.

Speaking of speakers, SE Munro showed studio designer Andy Munro's Egg 150 monitors. I've read a lot about the concept behind the speakers and I'm anxious to hear them for real. Unfortunately, NAMM is not the place.

Here's a company that I'm not familiar with at all, but their Airmotiv 6 monitors sounded terrific on the show floor. With so many speaker companies already in the game, it makes you wonder why another company would try to take a piece of a saturated market as well, but it seems like they may really have something here.

Speaking of speakers, you can't really hear them well unless you have some great stands, and the isoacoustics stands claim to be the best there is. I don't know about that yet, but they sure seem like they're the most adjustable.

Line 6 entered into the sound reinforcement business with an entire new line of products, including the Stagescape M20d, a mixer that has a new user interface that's almost entirely graphic. Could this be the future of consoles?

The Stagescape L3T and L3M powered speaker system and sub have a tremendous amount of features that aren't readily apparent, but they sure sounded good with music played through them. It should be interesting to see what happens with these products in the future.

The always hi-quality Dangerous Music showed this cool monitor box. Sorry, but I lost the info on it. Wish I had one right now.

I had expected this to be a huge iPad show, expecting a ton of interfaces, peripherals and apps. There were a few, but not what I expected. The Alto Masterlink Live is a 16 channel mixer with an iPad dock. I understand that Mackie also introduced a similar product, but I never spotted it at the show.

Marshall showed a number of mics they claimed were designed for the iPad, and there were a number of devices that used the iPad as a controller, like this Pimitec personal monitor system.

This was also a headphone show. It seems like the Dr. Beats phones that have become so popular exposed a huge market that hasn't been serviced and every manufacturer now wants a piece, although it's probably now too late. Just like most mics come from one Chinese factory (737, which also had a booth at the show), I wouldn't be surprised if all the headphones came from the same place as well.

There were no shortage of blatant knock-off products at the show by Chinese manufacturers. Here's a box that looks like it comes from Shure, but they're all imitations.

And of course, so many companies believe that if they copy the look of a famous vintage microphone, that automatically makes them a "studio microphone."

One of the funniest conversations that I listened in on was with a used-car-style salesman from a new mic company relentlessly telling producer-engineer legend Ken Scott about how cheap his mics were and how much money Ken could make because the margin was so high. Ken, being the gentleman that he is, just allowed him to rant.

Tomorrow we'll look at some music instruments from NAMM.

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Developing The Groove In Your Mix

2012-01-19T21:30:00.000-08:00

Normally every Friday I post a song analysis that's picked from reader requests. This Friday we'll trying something a bit different that's related to song analysis, as well as mixing.

My new book called The Audio Mixing Bootcamp is just being released at the NAMM show by Alfred Music Publishing. You're probably thinking, "Bobby's already written The Mixing Engineer's Handbook, so why is he doing another one on mixing?" Good question. What I realized was that MEH (as well as most other books on mixing) are primarily conceptual. That's fine if you already have some mixing chops and want to get better, but it's not so helpful for someone that's just starting mixing and just can't make things sound right.

So the idea behind The Audio Mixing Bootcamp is that it's a book of mixing exercises. The exercises might take you to a place where things sound terrible, but then bring you back to where things sound better than anything you've ever done. Now you know what works and why, as well as what doesn't. And that's the whole idea of the book. "Try this." "Wow, does that sound bad." "Now, try this." "Wow, does that sound great."

I'll be posting some excerpts and exercises from the book in coming weeks, but let's start off with one that will get you listening, which is perfect for song analysis. Every song is built around the groove, and you have to find that first before your mix can rock. In this excerpt, there are a few exercises to get you listening deep into a song that you know in order to train yourself to identify the groove.
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"The groove is the pulse of the song. It’s that undeniable feeling that makes you want to get off your seat and shake your booty. You don’t have to know what it is as much as recognize it when it’s there, or when it’s not. Despite what you might think, it’s not only dance music that has a groove. Every kind of music, regardless if it’s R&B, jazz, rock, country, or some alien space music, has a groove, but the better the music is performed, the “deeper” the groove is.

Contrary to popular belief, a groove doesn’t have to have perfect time because a groove is created by tension against even time. As a result, the playing doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be even in its execution. In fact, music loses its groove if it’s too perfect, which is why a song can sound lifeless after it’s been quantized in a workstation. It’s lost it’s groove.

Another misconception is that the groove always comes from the drums and bass, since it could come from other instruments as well. Some songs, like The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” has the rhythm guitar establish the groove, while most of the Motown hits of the 60s relied on James Jamerson’s bass.

Regardless of what instrument is providing the groove of the song, if you want a great mix, you’ve got to find it and develop it first before you do anything else.

Exercise Pod - Identifying The Groove
E3.3: In order to hear a groove at it’s best, let’s go to the masters.
A) Play any song by James Brown, Prince, Sly and the Family Stone or George Clinton. Can you feel the pulse of the song, the groove?
B) Can you identify the instruments that are providing the groove?

E3.4: Pick one of your favorite songs and have a listen.
A) Can you feel the pulse of the song? What instrument(s) are providing the groove?
B) Play a song at random. Can you feel the pulse of the song? What instrument(s) are providing the groove?
C) Play a song from a genre that you seldom listen to. Can you feel the pulse of the song? What instrument(s) are providing the groove?

E3.5: Now listen to all of those songs again. What makes the groove stand out? Is it the balance of the instruments? Is it because the instruments providing the groove are louder? Is it the tone of the instruments? Are they punchier sounding than the others?"

I don't have any excerpts from this book up on my website yet (soon I hope), but you can read excerpts from my other books at bobbyowsinski.com.

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A 48 Track DAW For The iPad

2012-01-18T21:30:00.000-08:00

Createdigitalmusic.com recently posted an article on a full-blown 48 track DAW for the iPad that looks pretty awesome. The app comes from a new company called Auria, and isn't available quite yet, but it's features are very complete, as you can see from the following:

"48 mono/stereo, 24-bit/44.1kHz tracks, with recording for up to 24 tracks (you’ll obviously need a USB audio interface that can do that.)

64-bit, double precision mix architecture (something that just came out in the latest version of Pro Tools)

Full delay compensation

“Vintage-inspired” channel strips, with a desktop-like UI and VU/RMS switching

Plug-in support. Out of the gate, PSPaudioware, Overloud, Fab Filter and Drumagog all work. You need to do custom wrapping of plug-ins for this host; standard plug-ins won’t work. The format is based on VST, but it’s not VST in the traditional sense in that they have to be custom-wrapped for sale through the app.

Dropbox, SoundCloud, AAF, MP3 export

Advanced channel strips, EQ, expansion/compression and dynamic controls ready to go

Convolution reverb. (This one blows my mind.)

AAF import/export, making one definite application using this as a satellite for your desktop DAW"

Check out the video.

I expect this Winter NAMM show to be a big one for iPad apps, and as always, I'll report on everything I see. In the meantime, the Auria app is a good start.

You can read the entire article from createdigitalmusic.com here.

Ask Ken Scott A Question

2012-01-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

Ken Scott has had a fabulous career, from being one of the 5 main Beatle engineers, engineering a number of Elton John and Duran Duran albums, to producing 4 David Bowie albums (including the illustrious Ziggy Stardust) and records for Jeff Beck, Devo, Missing Persons, The Tubes, Kansas, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Supertramp, and various solo Beatle singles, among many others.

Now is your chance to ask Ken a question on recording, production, or any of the artists he's worked with. He'll give you his answer during our session at NAMM on Thursday at 12:45. We'll post them here and on the Alfred Music Publishing website.

You can ask the question here, or just add a comment at the bottom of this post.

By the way, Ken will give a presentation at the Alfred booth (#4822) at noon, both Ken and I will be on at 12:45 (where I'll ask him your questions), and I'll be on at 1:15PM.

Silent Events Spread

2012-01-17T21:30:00.000-08:00


An advertisement for Silence Events.

Okay, here's something really new that I'm totally down with - silent events. The concept is that everyone at the event listens on headphones instead of a traditional sound system, and it seems to be the hot thing this year around Paris discos.

I know, I know, you're not a jetsetter or part of the Eurotrash scene. No problem, the trend is beginning to spread all over Europe, which means it's only a matter of time until it reaches the States.

Here's why so many like this idea:

1) The fidelity is so much better when you listen on headphones.

2) The privacy is way better too, both to those listening, and those not.

3) You don't have to worry about annoying your neighbors, which apparently is a big deal in Paris these days. In fact, there's a "no noise" curfew at 10PM for live events, and a silent outdoor disco keeps the riot squad away.

If these things ever catch on in a big way, a byproduct could be an increased demand for better audio quality, which is something that so many in the pro audio community have been hoping would happen for years. Don't hold your breath though. I'll believe it's for real when I get my first invite in LA and they ask me to bring my headphones. Then again, no one thought that the house concert scene would ever take off either. For more on silent events, check out this article.

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2 Tips For Recording Your Band

2012-01-16T21:30:00.000-08:00

The people that read this blog run about 50/50 seasoned pros to beginners in the business, and this post is aimed directly at those that don't have a lot of recording experience. It's an excerpt from How To Make Your Band Sound Great that covers the mindset of recording, not the technical part.

There are so many great artists, bands, musicians, engineers, and producers out there, and so much written about how they work that's pretty accessible to anyone who wants to find it. The problem is that it's easy to get the impression that recording some great music is an easy process from reading some of these. There are certainly times when the planets align and you can catch lightning in a bottle, but just like anything else done well, it usually takes a lot of work. This excerpt aims to make someone who doesn't have that much recording experience feel a little better about themselves and their journey.
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"Whether you're recording yourselves with your own gear or are using a studio, the goal is the same - make the songs and the recordings sound as big, as polished, and as accessible to your audience (however large or small) as you can. With that being said, here are some things to be aware of:

1. You Hardly Ever Sound Great The First Time
Contrary to what you might have heard about hit records done on the first take, most recordings of any type require a lot of work to be any good. It takes time to get both the right sounds and performances, and unfortunately, these things usually can’t be rushed.

Perhaps the most difficult thing to learn when recording is not to expect gold-record-quality playing right off the bat. One of the worst ideas that you can get is that you have to be perfect every time you play. It just doesn’t happen that way so don’t get discouraged. Even the best studio players make some flubs or have slightly erratic time when they’re playing. They just go back and fix the problems afterwards and you can too. Yes, it does happen occasionally when someone gets extremely lucky and plays something terrific on the first take, but it’s a rare exception even for studio savvy and expert musicians.

Recording is hard work. It’s not uncommon for people to slave over a part for days or even weeks until it feels right in the track. So if pros won’t settle for something that’s not the best it can be, why should you?

I know you’re probably thinking about all those hit records in the 50’s that were done in just a few takes, how the first Beatles record was done in one twelve hour session, and how in the glory days of Motown in Detroit they used to crank out three number one hits in three hours. All true. But don’t forget that all those famous 50’s artists honed their act from months and years of playing on the road - the Beatles played six sets a night for a year in Hamburg before they hit the studio, and the Motown studio musicians were the best of the best jazz musicians in Detroit with some hall-of-fame songwriters and arrangers. But besides all that, the bar is set so much higher for recording these days. Sad but true that many of those incredible tracks just wouldn’t make it through the recording process if they were done today because of defects in the playing.

The fact of the matter is that recording today on any level is a demanding process, so don’t expect great results right away. Just like a band learning a new song together, everything takes some time before it actually gels, so just be prepared to work until you get it.

As an example, I really believe that a typical overdub takes at least two days to record. The first day you work the part out until it’s a perfect fit for the song. The second day you actually perform it well, since now you know how to play it and can just concentrate on performance. The whole trick to to follow your gut. If you think deep down inside that you can do it better, then you probably can.

It’s A Lot Of Work
In the majority of cases, making a record is hard work. It takes a lot of time to work parts out, make them sound great, and play and/or sing them well. Sure there’s been a handful of records that have been done on the first take or in a couple of hours (mostly in the 50’s and early 60’s), but that’s a rare occurrence that involves as much luck as winning the lottery.

During the recording of one of my early band’s demo tapes, we became increasingly frustrated because it seemed to take forever (a whole 4 hours!) to record six songs from our set. “We must really suck,” is what we told ourselves from that point until the band broke up, but only later when I began to regularly work in studios did I learn the real truth. Recording is hard work and takes a lot of time to make something that will sound good.

Now these were songs that we’d been playing at gigs every weekend for about a year so we knew them backwards and forwards. Or so we thought! First of all, you never really know exactly what you’re playing and exactly what you sound like until you record yourself. Almost always you’ll find that something that you thought was gangbusters is in fact just a buster. You might be playing a line differently from the other guitar player. Maybe your rhythm pattern is different from what the drummer is playing. Maybe you just can’t hit that high like you thought you could.

The secret here is to be brutally honest with yourself about your playing and singing, just like in the previous chapters. If it doesn’t sound great, either rehearse it until it does or don’t play it at all!"

You can read more book excerpts on my bobbyowsinski.com website.

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Bob Ludwig's 3 Mixing Tips

2012-01-15T21:30:00.000-08:00

I saw this article in the Huffington Post (of all places) and I just had to excerpt some of it. Here are 3 mixing tips from mastering legend Bob Ludwig of Gateway Mastering. Of course, these a mixing tips from a mastering engineer's point of view, but excellent tips nonetheless. Go here to read the entire interview.

"Is there a top 3 "don'ts" that you have to fix in mastering?
Bob Ludwig:
1. The most common big criticism I have is not paying enough attention to the vocal. The vocal is everything to the success of a song. Make it loud enough to be able to hear the lyrics. The problem is, if the vocal level is too high, all the energy of the track disappears, if it is too low, you can't understand what is being said. If you want to be able to hear every word and you are mixing it, be sure to have a friend who does NOT know the words come in and tell you what is being sung. Once you know the lyrics, you can mix them very low and still understand them, but everyone else might miss some important words. It is hard, but crucial to get the right level.

Always cover yourself by doing one or two extra mixes with the vocal raised +0.5dB and another +1dB. Some languages need extra vocal level as more nuances of the language can easily get lost. Louder vocals are usually found on country music mixes, French and Japanese mixes.

2. Vocal sibilance not contained is a problem. As in item "1", some producers will make the vocal as bright as musically possible in order to have it be intelligible yet tucked into the track. Sometimes the vocal is simply too sibilant. These days where most big projects are being cut for vinyl it is even more important to control sibilance as it creates high amplitude, high frequency grooves that are beyond the ability of all but the best cartridges to reproduce and one gets a "spitting" sound on the sibilance. Controlling sibilance in the mix is by far the best place to do it as the de-esser will only affect the voice while de-essing during mastering necessitates compromising the brightness of the entire track.

3. A mix with a bright vocal and a dull drum sound is really a problem. The all important snare takes up a lot of spectrum and trying to brighten it with eq will make the bright vocal even brighter and quickly become unacceptable. It is a real trap that can only be helped by mastering from the TV track with a separate vocal a cappella track, something that most often is not an option."

If you're going to send you mix off to a mastering engineer, heed these points and you'll get much better results.

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Rod Stewart "I'm Losing You" Song Analysis

2012-01-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

Reader Chris Benedetto requested an oldie but a goodie, a song from Rod Stewart's first solo album Every Picture Tells A Story in 1971called "I'm Losing You." The song featured all of the members of The Faces, Rod's, band at the time, but the credits were vaguely listed because of contractual reasons. "(I Know) I'm Losing You" was actually a hit for The Temptations in 1966, but Rod and The Faces version is a much more energetic, rockin' cut. Like all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.

The Song
You can tell that "I'm Losing You" is basically a live cut in the studio due to it's looseness and the fact that not everyone hits the cues on time, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have an interesting form. The song looks like this:

Guitar/Bass Intro, Song Intro, Verse, B Section, Chorus, Bridge, Solos, Drums, Guitar/Bass Intro, Verse

The song is basically a jam based around a song and very much in the spirit of be bop jam where the head of the song is played, there's a lot of soloing, then the head is played again at the end. In this case, the basic sections of the song are stated at the beginning, but only the very intro is returned to at the end.

The Arrangement
There's not much of an arrangement, since there are no real set parts and everyone is playing more or less free form. Here's what the arrangement elements look like:

The Foundation: The drums, tambourine during the drum solo

The Rhythm: Bass, guitar, piano

The Pad: None

The Lead: Lead vocal

The Fills: Piano, guitar

The Sound
The Faces were known for some pretty thin-sounding recordings, but this is not one of them. The drums are very full sounding and recorded in stereo, as is the piano (something not found much in 1971 recordings).

Ron Wood's guitar was always kinda thin sounding until he joined The Stones. Here's it's panned to the left a big with a nice long reverb wash. Ronnie Lane's bass does sound very thin and distorted and is panned slightly to the right, and instantly disappears in the mix when all the instruments enter. Rod Stewart's vocal is clear and not overly compressed, with a touch of the same reverb as on the guitar. Ian McLagan's piano is very dry and in your face, which adds a nice layering element to the recording.

The Production
Rod was the producer of the album, but as was many the case back then, that probably meant more of selecting the take and getting the feel rather than directing the show like it is today. That's pretty much what happens when the recording is built around a jam.

Send me your requests for song analysis.

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An Excellent Nashville Adventure

2012-01-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

Ken and Bobby at RCA Studio B and their excellent piano.

Let me tell you about an excellent adventure that the esteemed producer/engineer Ken Scott and I just returned from. We were invited to speak at the TI:ME Conference in Louisville over the weekend, but the trip was extended to include engagements at Belmont University and SAE in Nashville on Monday and Tuesday. Although we usually each give separate presentations, we decided to combine what we both do because of the time restraints. In three of the sessions, I interviewed Ken about his past work with The Beatles, Bowie, Supertramp and more. On the other session, Ken interviewed me about my various books.

Amp stands in Studio B so the musicians didn't play too loud.

We gave two presentations in the lovely city of Louisville (home of the Kentucky Derby), where one night we were treated to an excellent concert by the US Army Field Band. It certainly makes you proud that a service band can be composed of so many great musicians, and their big band music was the equal to any great concert by just about any band today, bar none. Good music is just good music, no matter the genre.

On Sunday we drove up to Nashville, where we were met by studio designer Carl Tatz and multi-platinum engineer Bob Bullock (I absolutely love the Shania Twain records that he's done). Carl took us to a home studio that he built that features his Phantom Focus System. This turned out to be an incredible treat. Carl's system is more about the interface and tuning of the speakers rather than the speakers themselves and the results are tremendous. I've never heard such pin-point panning in the stereo field, or depth of field. You've got to hear a PFS system to believe it Everything else pales in comparison. We spent of a lot of the afternoon just listening to music for the sheer enjoyment of it. When was the last time that happened?

After that we had a great Indian dinner with award-winning film composer and former LA native Chris Boardman. I think it's very safe to say that he does not miss the City of Angels one bit.

On Tuesday it was off to Belmont University were they drowned us in southern hospitality, first with a lunch with their music and recording faculty, then off to a tour of the their excellent studio facilities. Belmont is lucky to have an endowment from Mike Curb to buy up some of the greatest studios on the planet rather than see them turned into parking lots. First we were off to Owen Bradley's former studio "The Quanset Hut," home of such classics as Patsy Cline's, "Crazy", Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry" and Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet." Then it was off to the former RCA Studio B, where we were amazed to see the same room and gear that Elvis, Roy Orbison, Ernest Tub, Porter Wagoner, Floyd Cramer and Chet Atkins used. Wow! Then it was off to see the church turned studio at Oceanway. That's a full day in itself, but there was more.

The cabinet that Elvis kicked and broke (and refused to fix).

At 5:30 we addressed a packed house of students at Belmont and unfortunately, they had to turn a few students away due to fire codes. That said, it was really great to feel their energy and enthusiasm, and we both really enjoyed their questions and interactions. Belmont has a truly wonderful program that touches so many facets of the music industry (I could go on and on about how impressed I was), but a college is nothing without it's faculty, and it was great to see the high caliber of pros that the program employed. Thanks to all for a great time and your hospitality, especially Professor Flo (Mark Volman, of The Turtles, Zappa and Flo and Edie fame) for arranging our visit and Sara Cates and Jim Kaiser for facilitating our tour and talk. One thing that was interesting though - there were more females than males in the audience (which is highly unusual in the audio business), probably thanks to Ken's animal magnetism.

Ken, Bob Welch, Bobby

That night, we were lucky enough to have dinner with former Fleetwood Mac singer/writer/guitar player and solo artist Bob Welch. "Ebony Eyes" has always been one of may favorite songs so it was a treat to finally meet him. But wait, there's more.

On Tuesday we started the day off over at Mayfair Mastering, where the legendary (and new AES Fellow) Glenn Meadows played us some choice Steely Dan cuts in his fine new room. If you know Glenn, then you know that everything he touches can only be excellent.

Then it was off to SAE to speak to more inquiring minds. SAE is different from most recording schools in that it's a fast track program designed to get students on their way into the business in a minimum amount of time. Once again, it was great to have the opportunity to address a great group of future professionals. You could just see the hunger to learn in their eyes. Thanks to Crystal Armentrout to facilitating our talk and Alan Shacklock for the great introduction.

Then it was off to the airport and back to LA and business as usual. Thanks Mike Lawson (my champion) for all your help and being our tour manager, and to Alfred Music Publishing for sponsoring our trip. Nashville, I have a feeling we're going to see you again soon.

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6 Steps In Avoiding A Conflict

2012-01-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

If you're in the music business in just about any way, shape or form, you're creative on some level. And let's face it - if you're creative, you have a vision. That vision can be about how a song should be written, how the music should sound, how your project is marketed, or any of a million other similar things.

But whenever creative types get together, sooner or later the sparks may fly as those visions come into conflict. That's why it's essential to have a strategy in place to deal with the head butting as it arises. Here's an excerpt from Chapter 11 of my book The Music Producer's Handbook that covers just how to handle those inevitable disagreements.
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"Being in any relationship requires at least some compromise and working with a group of musicians is no different from what you’d expect between family, friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, wives, husbands, bosses and co-workers. There are times where you just have to bend in order to keep the peace.

While compromise is easy for some people, others have a personality that would never allow it and a conflict occurs. Here are some effective steps that you can take to state your case in a way that should resolve or mediate the conflict.

1. Cool off first - Conflicts can’t be solved when emotions are running hot. Take some time to get away from the problem for a bit and brainstorm on exactly what the conflict is, how it was caused, and most important, a possible solution.

2. Present accolades, support and respect - The first thing to do is acknowledge the person’s accomplishments and talent. Something like, “I want to start by saying that I think the tracks we’ve captured are really great, and you’re playing your parts way better than I ever thought possible.”

3. Analyze why the problem occurred - If you give a clear explanation of why you think there’s a problem or why the problem or conflict has occurred, you set the initial groundwork for solving the conflict. If the other person knows exactly what your side of the story is, you might find more often than not that you’re both on the same page, but on different sides of it.

4. Take responsibility and use “I” messages - If you have a part in a conflict that you’re aware of, take responsibility and own up to it, but make sure that everything is from your point of view. For instance, it’s best to say, “I think you were really flat on that part,” rather than “Everybody knows that you always sing that part flat,” or worse, “You’re singing sucks, man.”

5. Describe what I or we need so the problem doesn’t happen again - This is the solution from your point of view. “We really need you to be here a half-hour before the session so you have time to warm up. That way we won’t waste any studio time, which is costing us money.”

6. Support their success - Tell him that you want him to win, because if he wins, so do you. “The better you sound, the better we all sound,” or “Do you know how great this is going to sound once you get that part down? It’s going to kill!”

To read additional excerpts from this and other books, go the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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If Songs Were Programmed

2012-01-09T21:30:00.000-08:00

This one comes via my buddy Gary Myer. Imagine if songs were programmed the same way as software. We'd probably have something like what appears on the left.

If this doesn't make sense, go here to have a listen to "Hey Jude" and take special note the lyrics.

As a brief aside, former Beatles engineer Ken Scott told me an interesting story about "Hey Jude." The song was actually recorded at Trident Studios instead of Abbey Road because Trident had a 8 track recorder while Abbey Road was still 4, and The Beatles felt they needed more tracks for the song. After the mix was completed, it was brought back to Abbey Road for mastering where they found out that there was absolutely no high frequencies on the mix because the speakers at Trident were so hyped on the high end, making it sound muffled. Ken, George Martin and the boys frantically spent the next day EQing to try to save the mix, and the final version that we now all know is the result. There's more to the story, but you'll have to wait for our upcoming book, Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust, to read the whole thing.

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6 Tips For Auditioning For The Tour

2012-01-08T21:30:00.000-08:00

It's the dream of many musicians to get a gig with the touring band with a major artist. I wrote a book called The Touring Musician's Handbook that covers the ins and outs of what it takes to get that gig, so I thought it might be a good time for an excerpt. Here's a bit from Chapter 5 - "Becoming A Touring Musician."
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"Depending on how you look at it, an audition can be really fun or so stressful that it makes you want to loose your lunch. The more prepared you are, the less likely you are to do the latter, so here are a number of things to help you through the process.

1. Know The Material
You can be a great player with chops that came from Mount Olympus, but the only thing that the artist or MD (musical director) cares about is if you can play the artist’s material well show after show. If you go into an audition thinking that you’re going to wing it, you’re wasting everyone's time, in which case you should be prepared for a very short audition.

First off, I want the person auditioning to play the music exactly like the record. I don’t want to hear them improvise, and I don’t want to hear their take on it. I want to hear them play it exactly with the right feel, just like they were playing Mozart or Beethoven. I want them to respect the music regardless of if it’s Pink’s music, or Cher’s or Janet Jackson’s, I want them to play it exactly as you hear it on the record. Then if I ask them to change it, they’re changing it from a place where I know that they know what it is so they can take their own spin on it after the fact.
Paul Mirkovich

Go-to guys like guitarist Peter Thorn (Melissa Etheridge, Chris Cornell, Jewel, Don Henley) will learn as much of the artist’s catalog possible before the audition, going as far as to dial in the tone of the parts as well. It’s a lot of work, but if you’re up against another guy that did that and you didn’t, who do you think will get the gig?

The other thing is that you have to be not only better than everyone else, but you have to be different. It’s basically a sales pitch. In five or ten minutes, you have to prove to them that if they hire you, they’ll get more for their money than hiring anybody else.
Ed Wynne

2. Don’t Be Late
This will just about eliminate you right from the start. Being late indicates that you have a reliability problem, which is the last thing anyone wants on the road. There are a lot of great players out there, and most of them are punctual and reliable. Who do you think they’re going to pick?

3. How You Look Counts
Not only does clothing and grooming make a good first impression, but it’s important to see how you visually fit on stage with the rest of the band. It’s possible to fit the bill perfectly as a player but still not get the gig because of the way you look.

As an example, an accomplished touring player that I know recently got a gig with a major artist that lasted one day. He went back to the hotel and received a call saying, “We’re good. Don’t come back to rehearsal tomorrow.” They just didn’t like the way he looked against the other players in the band.

You might get rejected because you have a shaved head and so does the artist or another player player in the band and they don’t want two people on stage with that look. Or you might have blond hair and so does the artist. Or you have facial hair and no one else in the band does. Nothing personal, sometimes you just don’t fit in.

I always felt that if someone is auditioning players that he’s not already aware of, it’s a clue that he’s looking for something else besides the way you play or the gear that you have. It’s a good tip that they may be looking more at how you look or at your age. I’ve seen that a lot.
Mike Holmes

4. Your On-stage Demeanor Also Counts
If possible, get a DVD or watch a video of the artist and her band playing live and take notice of the on-stage demeanor of the players. A lot of people get gigs because their physicality is right, which means how they look when they’re playing the music. Maybe the artist wants energy on stage and really likes it when a player is so into it that he’s moving all around. On the other hand, some artists just want you to stand there and play, leaving any showmanship up to them. You’ve got to know your place, so you have to tailor your demeanor to the artist.

5. Bring The Right Gear
You’ve got to tailor the gear to the gig. If you were auditioning for the job as the Strat player for Lynrd Skynrd, it wouldn’t be a great idea to bring a Les Paul or what some perceive as a metal guitar like a Jackson. If you were auditioning for the touring band of 50 Cent, you wouldn’t bring a drum kit with the snare tuned up high for reggae or ska. Can the artist or MD imagine how you’d play with the right gear? Sure they can. But once again, if everything were equal between two players, the one who will get the gig is the one that has the right sound at the audition. That way, no guessing, imagining or wondering come into play. Remember, what the artist wants most is security and one less thing to worry about. Whoever can provide that gets the gig.

6. Be Nice To Everyone
It’s important that you’re nice to everyone, including the crew, while you’re at the audition. If these people are going to spend months on a bus with you, they’d prefer that you didn’t have an attitude of superiority and were very easy to get along with. Remember, if it’s a toss-up between you and someone else, the one who will get the gig will be the one that everyone believes they can live with."

To read additional excerpts from this and my other books, go to bobbyowsinski.com.

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David Gilmour's Recording Studio

2012-01-05T21:30:00.000-08:00

Here's what the money from Dark Side Of The Moon will buy you, as we look at Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's houseboat studio. The album stayed on the charts for 741 weeks (that's 15 years) and sold 50 million copies world-wide. I think I'd buy something like this as well. The show this is from is kind of wacky, but it's a look at his studio that few have seen.

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James Brown "Cold Sweat" Song Analysis

2012-01-04T21:30:00.000-08:00

Today's song analysis is a classic - James Brown's "Cold Sweat," which is considered by many to be the song that originated the modern funk genre. Although "Cold Sweat" was supposedly done in one take, I found a different version where you can hear the engineer slating "Take 2" that also had a different horn mix. For this analysis, we'll be looking at the first version that everyone knows.

An edited version of "Cold Sweat" was released as a single on King Records and immediately became a #1 R&B hit, and later reached number seven on the Billboard Pop chart. The complete 7 minute version was later included on the album Cold Sweat. Like all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.

The Song
The song form is unique in two ways. First of all, it's based around a bass and horn riff (which became the signature of all of Brown's funk songs), and the form is somewhat random, as James shouts orders to the band when to change and when to hold the form. On the full 7:26 version of the song, the form looks like this:

Intro (4 bars), Verse (16 bars), B Section (10 bars), Chorus (4 bars), Intro, Verse, B Section, Chorus

That's where the single version ends. On the album version it really gets interesting as this is what follows:

Intro, sax solo, drum solo, drum and bass, Intro, Verse, B Section

This is where James directs traffic, calling for tenor sax player Maceo Parker to play a solo, letting him go for a random length, then asking the band to "Give the drummer some" which turns into a short drum solo (played by the great Clyde Stubblefield), then James calls the bass in. He then counts the band back into the verse, but tells them to hold on the B section, and that's where the song ends. Only James Brown could do this and have a hit, thanks to his legendary band discipline.

The Arrangement
The James Brown Orchestra was a gigging machine in those days (1967), so every arrangement was created to play live, which is why they could do the song with no overdubs (according to James' band leader and co-writer Pee-Wee Ellis), but I think that they probably only recorded on a mono or two track machine anyway. The arrangement elements look like this:

* The Foundation: Bass and drums, with an electric guitar doubling the bass

* The Rhythm: The 2nd guitar playing "funk chunks" along with a baritone sax answering the sax riff.

* The Pad: None

* The Lead: James Brown's vocal, Maceo Parker tenor solo

* The Fills: The horns playing the riff line in the verse, and again answering during the B section and chorus.

The Sound
"Cold Sweat" was recorded in May 1967 at King Studios in Cincinnati. Recording wasn't that sophisticated at that time, especially in a non-media center in the middle of the country. That said, a number of things stand out. First of all, the balance between all the instruments is great, especially the horn section. Second, there's a very long reverb on the vocal, and later on the sax solo (who was probably using the same mic, just like during their show). Everything else is dry. The you have the drums, which sound okay until the solo when he begins to play the toms. They sound separated from the rest of the kit, which makes me think they were miked separately. Finally, the song is very light in the low end, which was a trait of most music until about the late 70s.

The Production
The production of "Cold Sweat" is all in the arrangement and the direction of James Brown during the song. There are no overdubs, so there was no layering, and either the band got it or they didn't. It's obvious they captured something that still works 45 years later.

Anonymous suggested the following video of the song, which is the long album version that we know followed by the 2nd take. I also included this short clip from a concert James gave in Zaire in 1974, which shows him at his glorious peak. The arrangement is different from the original though, which is often the case with all James Brown songs. He changed them a lot the more the band played them.

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Rare George Martin-Beatles Footage

2012-01-03T21:30:00.000-08:00

If you're a Beatles fan, you're going to say "Wow" many times as you watch this video. It looks like it was recorded directly off a television, but it also looks like most of the footage are personal home movies. Regardless, this is footage that is so rare that I doubt most fans have ever seen it.

You'll see a completely at ease George Martin telling stories at home, a walk through Abbey Road Studio 2, the Beatles original demo tape - and that's only in the first 2 minutes! What I loved the most was George Martin, Paul and Ringo discussing Ringo's drumming, and Cilla Black in the studio.

Enjoy this before EMI gets wind of it and has it taken down (although it comes from the "colorful" Clive Worth, and I have no idea how he's connected to George or The Beatles).

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5 Tips For Memory Card Care

2012-01-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

Now with solid state memory becoming more and more the norm, it's important to realize that it can occasionally also be at the root of some problems as well. Although it doesn't happen that often, some nasty crashes can be avoided with a minimum of maintenance.

Here are some tips for memory card care from Scott Bourne (he has a photography great site called photofocus.com) that I've adapted for audio instead of a camera. You can read his original article here.

1) Always format your card after you have downloaded files from it rather than erasing them one-by-one or taking them to the trash. This cleans up the file system and greatly reduces your chance of a crash.

2) Try to keep you memory cards dedicated to a single device. That means you shouldn't share it between different recorders or your camera. This can cause a crash since the other device may attempt to write a system, desktop or file of unknown format to the card.

3) Stay away from the super large cards until they have been on the market for six months to a year. 90% of memory problems come from these cards because they use gimmicks or acceleration routines that may or may not work in your recorder, but possibly can cause instability. They are also really expensive so that’s plenty of reason to avoid them anyway.

4) The very large (and expensive) cards, are prone to far more File Allocation Table (FAT)-like errors. For ultimate safety, stick with cards that are at least one size smaller than the largest available until later, when they will be down in price and up in reliability. Besides, you can store plenty of audio on a standard and inexpensive 8 Gig card that are remarkably cheap these days.

5) Do not remove your card, or power down your device while the card is writing. This can cause critical data loss. In fact, always turn your device off before inserting or removing a memory card, just to be safe.

By the way, you may see memory cards that are designated by classes going from 2 to 10. Remember that the higher the class, the faster the operation. In other words, a class 10 card is the fastest, although that usually won't make much of a difference for just two channels of audio.

Memory cards are very trouble-free these days, but you can increase their reliability even more if you follow these tips.

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Building Britsh Grove Studios

2012-01-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

Former Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler owns one of the finest studios anywhere, and I've already posted a few clips of him using it in the past. We're going to start the new year off with an interesting movie showing how his British Grove Studios was constructed.

Take notice how well this studio is built, with cinder block and concrete walls rather than the usual drywall in order to get the best isolation possible.

Although you get to see the finished studio, the only thing missing in the video is a shot of the studio with all the gear in it. You can get a look at that in this clip of Mark and Engineer Chuck Ainlay that I posted a few months ago.

If you're interested in learning more about studio construction you can check out The Studio Builder's Handbook or read a few excerpts here.

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7 Music Production Predictions For 2012

2011-12-29T21:30:00.000-08:00

It's time for some predictions for the new year. Here's what I see happening in 2012. The good part is that we'll see just how accurate I am on some of them by the end of January after the CES and NAMM shows. For a few others, we'll have to wait awhile. Here we go.

1. Tablets take off for music production. For such a relatively new class of products, tablets like the iPad have quickly become a must-have device. While we've had some great music software available for it in 2011 (Garageband is insanely good for only $5), 2012 brings us the serious I/O and accessories needed to take advantage of it's portability.

2. Plugins hit the wall. When DAWs and plugins were fairly new, pro engineers complained that they didn't sound like or as good as their hardware counterparts. I don't remember exactly when it happened, but it seemed like someone flipped a switch and the pro world not only accepted, but suddenly loved the latest batch of plugins with no reservations. Yes, plugins sound great these days but that's the problem. Where do you go from here? When all the great analog hardware is successfully digitally duplicated by multiple companies (and even surpassed in some cases), it's harder and harder to come up with something new. Add to that the fact that the market is saturated, and you'll see some software companies falling on hard times in 2012.

3. Pro Tools weathers the storm. Computers are really fast these days and Pro Tools can now operate natively and talk to hardware other than Avid's, which is why a chorus of "Why do we need Pro Tools anymore?' began to rise from DAW users everywhere in 2011. I have to admit that my new i7 iMac runs circles around my old HD1 rig for way less money. So while it may seem like this is the time when the Pro Tools hold on the audio industry is finally broken, let's not get too hasty. It's still the standard of the music and post business, and the pros (especially the big facilities) can't afford to make any changes now even if they wanted to (and they don't). If the pros use Pro Tools, than those aspiring to be pros must use it as well. We very well may see a new contender to the throne in 2012, but don't expect any big industry changes.

4. Studios make a comeback. In all the major cities, the number of major studios has dwindled in recent years to just a handful. Even these were just barely hanging on in 2010 and the beginning of 2011. That all changed during the summer, as major studios have been booked solid (and some even ahead a few months) ever since. There are a number of factors as to why this happened (some looser label budgets for one), but a big one is the re-found appreciation of what a real facility brings to the sound of project. There's just nothing like tracking and mixing in a real studio with tuned acoustics, and great mics and signal path. Finally gear owners everywhere are beginning to realize that just owning the gear isn't the key to great sounding music (although it can be if you know how to use it, so keep buying those books, please) and the benefits of recording in a real studio. Look for the trend to continue in 2012 with even some new facilities coming online.

5. SSD's are everywhere. I predicted this last year, but it was a bit premature. In 2012 you'll see the beginning of the end of the spinning mechanical hard drive and the inclusion of solid state memory in just about every newly designed piece of music gear. Add to that the fact that hard drives have actually gone up in price thanks to the recent floods in Thailand while SSDs (solid state drives) have continued to fall, and you'll find that you might have bought your last ever mechanical hard drive.

6. Apple gets into the television business. This isn't directly about music production, but it does apply in a round about way. It's been rumored for a while that Apple will be introducing their own branded television soon, and that seems inevitable at this point. The bigger rumor is the fact that the user interface is every bit as groundbreaking as just about every other Apple hardware or software product. As a result, the digital living room will finally come pass in 2012. Virtually every other product that the company has released has affected music production, from their desktops to the Macbook Pro to the iPod to the iPhone (have you heard some of the music recorded on it?) and iPad. I predict that elements of the user interface of the iTelevision (or whatever it's called) will find it's way into the gear that we use to produce music, making things simpler and easier in the process. And this will happen in 2012.

7. EDM breaks out in a big way. Electronic Dance Music is the biggest trend that the mainstream music world still doesn't know about, but not for long. 2012 will be the year that it finally breaks out, although the process started already in 2011 with the big time success of LMFAO.

Let's see how these predictions turn out. I'll have a review at the end of January to see just where we're at. In the meantime, have a happy, artistic, and musical New Year!

If you liked these predictions, you might want to check out my 12 music business predictions on my Music 3.0 blog as well.

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5 Tips For Performing In Cold Weather

2011-12-28T21:30:00.000-08:00

Anyone who's have had to play a gig outside during the winter knows just what kind of hell that can be. Forget about just being cold, what really makes it bad is when your fingers are freezing and they won't move, or every time you open your mouth to sing you get this huge gulp of icy cold air that dries your vocal chords out.

That's why this article for CD Baby's DIY Musician blog is so apropos to the season (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere). Here are their 5 tips for performing in cold weather:

"1) Get to the gig early and let your instruments acclimate to the temperature. Radical shifts in temperature (both up and down) can damage your equipment. So I recommend bringing the instruments in their cases, leaving them on stage IN their cases for a while, and then taking them out.

Once they’re out of the cases, don’t play them yet. Give them more time to settle. That direct contact with the air might make them tense up again. Finally, allow yourself enough warm-up time before the performance begins and the crowds arrive so you can play the instrument, tune it, play it, tune it, play it, and tune it.

Oh, and if your instrument is your voice, go easy. Warm up slowly, first in the car, then outdoors.
Be sure to cool down and load out in the same way.

2) Warm up your amps. The same advice above could be applied to the amplifiers. Let them adjust to the cold. THEN put them on stand-by for a while. Once your guitar is tuned, fire up the amp and let it sing.

3) Wear fingerless gloves (or drummers, where gloves with grip). This may not be possible for every musician, depending on the instrument and style of music you play, but I’ve gotten away with wearing fingerless gloves on a few cold occasions, especially at gigs with limited lead playing, complicated chord comping, or right-hand palm-muting. So if its your typical rock, folk, or pop show,… try fingerless gloves. But try it at practice first!

4) Limit your set time. Don’t get stuck entertaining Jack Frost for 3 hours while the hungover bassist catches hypothermia. I’d say that 30-45 minutes in the cold is more than enough. If the event planner or promoter wants more music, they can hire an additional band and you can work out the backline details together ahead of time.

5) Construct your sets so each player gets some relief. Space out the songs where Sarah’s gotta belt out those high notes. Let a different player carry the lead on the next song. That way, when the spotlight and pressure are on someone else, you can take a minute to tune-up again, warm your hands, whatever else you need to do to keep rockin’."

I hope you don't ever have to do a gig where it's freezing, but in the event that you do, remember to use these tips wisely.

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Looking At Last Year's Predictions

2011-12-27T21:30:00.000-08:00

Dr. Beverly Crusher From Star Trek TNG

It's time to take a look at some of the predictions I made around this time last year to see just what did or didn't come to pass. These were rather random in that they're not all directly about music or production, but they are related in some way. My comments are in italics on the bottom of each one. Here we go:

1) The end of the mechanical magnetic hard drive. I believe that 2011 will be the tipping point for the decline of the hard drive. In 2010 we saw most computer manufacturers offer solid state drives as options, but what's most telling is the fact that both internal and external hard drive prices are dropping like a rock (you can get a 2G drive for less than 80 bucks right now), which means that the drive manufacturers can see the writing on the wall. Just watch what happens in the new year as people discover the beauty of solid state memory.
I missed on this one, but perhaps the prediction was just a bit premature. It's true that solid state drives (SSD's) made a big penetration into the market in 2011, but I think the big growth will actually happen in 2012, thanks to the recent flooding in Thailand which knocked out all of the plants make traditional mechanical drives. Tried to buy a hard drive lately? They're about twice as much as they were, which now makes SSD's a reasonable alternative. The high storage capacities aren't there yet, but it will be all over once that happens, with SSDs in all of our gear forever.

2) The tablet really takes off and becomes the predominant computing device. And speaking of solid state memory, I think the time has come for the whole idea of a tablet as a computer. You know what convinced me? I was watching an episode of vintage Captain Picard Star Trek Next Generation the other night, and tablets played a big, yet subtle role. Everyone had one, they pass them back and forth to each other, and it's such a natural thing to have and use. So many of the most useful gadgets start out as elements of science fiction only to become reality when the technology catches up. Guess what, in the case of the tablet, it finally has. Watch as we leave our laptops behind.
I hit a home run on this one. Everyone who owns or uses a tablet computer (especially an iPad) doesn't know how they got along without one.

3) The connected TV will gain traction. I know, it's not looking too good right now, with Samsung's Google television looking like a bust and Apple TV selling well but not setting any records. But hear me out on this. The state of the cable set-top box is still seated so far in the 1990's that I'm honestly surprised that cable subscribers aren't rioting with pitchforks and Molotov cocktails outside the company headquarters. I'm on my fourth piece-of-crap box from "Un-Scientific Atlanta" that works so badly that they should be ashamed to even have it on the market. And the cable companies still treat any kind of interactivity as if it was some sort of science fiction. Wait a minute - it was - in 1979!! Believe me, people want their TV's to be connected. Just don't wait on the cable companies to figure it out though (that's a sure recipe for disaster). In 2011, someone (probably Apple) finally will.
Okay, this one didn't happen either, and even took a step backwards in 2011. That doesn't mean that TVs won't eventually be connected. All it will take is the rumored Apple Television (the iTV?) to hit the stores and our living rooms will change forever.

4) 3D will have a big impact on the music business. Wait, I can't believe I'm saying that. Up until yesterday I was firmly convinced that 3D was surround sound all over again; basically a parlor trick that would never make it, at least until you didn't need glasses to view it. Yesterday I had my mind opened up, blown, and to put it bluntly, totally changed (how often does that happen?). The whole trick with 3D is that it has to be done technically well (something that doesn't occur that often, it turns out), and the production and post-production methods have to have a totally different approach. Yes, I've seen the future and I'll report more in depth on it as the new year dawns next week.
Boy, I was way off with this. I still believe that 3D will be a boon for music as soon as people are exposed to it. The rumored Apple Television is supposedly 3D as is the next iPad, and that might have a big bearing when all this happens. Trust me on this one - 3D will change how we enjoy music!

So one prediction came true and the other 3 we'll still have to wait and see about. All in all, it just makes looking forward to our electronic future that much better.

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12 Major Changes To Recording In The 2000's

2011-12-26T21:30:00.000-08:00

I wrote the following a couple of years ago when I first started this blog and had far fewer readers than now, so I thought it might be a good candidate for a repost with the necessary updates.
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I got to thinking about the many changes that came about in the recording business during the 2000's recently - some of it good, some of it bad, most of it significant. Here are what I consider to be the 12 major changes to recording in the 2000's, in no particular order.

1) Pro Tools Standardization - As the decade started, Pro Tools was already creeping into the major studios, but every year since it has become more and more entrenched as the standard audio capture format for any professional application. Sure, there are a lot of other great DAWs, but none of them have the traction of Pro Tools. In any professional situation, from music to radio to film and television post, this is the DAW that you're going to have to use as we move into 2012 - until something better comes along (no, I don't have a clue what that might be).

2) The Downfall of Commercial Studios - When I moved to Los Angeles in 1980, there were more than 250 "24 track" commercial studios in town. Many of them were multi-room facilities and they all were teaming with business. As we move into 2012, there are fewer commercial studios than ever before thanks to cuts in recording budgets, the ease of setting up a home studio, and the fact that studio rates have remained about the same since the 80's while overhead has risen dramatically.

One of the sad byproducts of this is the fact that the apprentice system that existed and taught so many great engineers has pretty much fallen by the wayside. With only a few commercial studios left, it's only the lucky few that get to sit behind a great engineer and learn something new every day. That's good for me since more people buy my books, but it's not a great thing for the industry at large.

3) The Rise of Software and Fall of Hardware - Once upon a time, every studio needed a pretty good amount of outboard gear to be able to record and, especially, mix a record. It would be nothing for a studio to spend in excess of $100k for outboard EQ's, compressors, effects devices and reverbs that they absolutely needed to have in order to attract independent engineers and producers and make a competitive record. During the 2000's we saw a shift away from outboard hardware boxes to software plugins that do the same thing, only cheaper and easier. At the beginning of the decade, most pro engineers complained about "the sound" of plugins that emulated their favorite outboard device, and for the most part, they were right. Plugins didn't quite measure up. Now that major computer horsepower is so inexpensive and programmers are better at what they do, the difference in sound quality between the plugin and the real thing is no longer an issue even with the old-schoolers.

One of the big reasons why software plugs have caught on is price. Why buy a rack of Neve 1073's at $2500 a piece when you can buy a Universal Audio UAD card that can give you a hundred of them for half the price of just one? Sure, you don't get the mic preamp and and you can't track with them, but if you don't record more than a couple channels at a time anyway, it's hardly a problem.

Even in live sound there's been a shift as the industry changes to a digital signal path. There'll always be a market for outboard gear, especially for tracking, but the days of large expenditures for hardware are over.

4) The Fall Of Rental Companies - It used to be that renting gear was one of the secret cash-cows of the business. Every town had at least one major rental company (New York, LA and Nashville had 4 or 5) and many engineers and producers made extra dough on their projects by renting their pricier gear back as an extra. Thanks to the rise in software plugins, the need for that expensive hardware has dropped drastically. And even when it is rented, the length of the sessions have decreased to such a degree that what used to be a three or four week rental might now take only three or four days. As a result, a lot of the major rental companies have either gone under or cut back drastically, the minor ones don't exist anymore, and it's rare that an engineer will even think about renting the gear back to a project as he's just thankful for the job.

5) Mixing In The Box (Who Needs A Recording Console?) - As the 2000's came around the corner, you would never even consider doing a project without a recording console, and for sure, you'd never open a studio unless you had a Neve, SSL, API or the like. Today, vintage recording consoles that regularly went for $250k plus and didn't depreciate much can now be had for $50k or less with the seller feeling extremely pleased that he even found a buyer. With so little tracking with live musicians being done these days (see Loop-based Music) and the increased power of the DAW, why buy a recording console at all?

DAW's offer so many features these days that a competent engineer can make a great sounding record in a way that couldn't be done in 2000. The sound is good, the plug-ins are great and plentiful, the automation and recall are better than on any console, you're no longer limited to a certain size control room by the size of a desk, and inexpensive controllers are plentiful. It's no wonder that even the old-schoolers have finally acquiesced to "mixing in the box."

6) Less Money Going Around - As everyone knows, CD sales are way, way down and as a result, so are recording budgets. Where once a $100k budget was considered bottom of the barrel and budgets for even non-superstar acts were beyond $500k, we now live in a world of $40 and 50k budgets or less. No money - no big studio, no rentals, no hardware purchases. It's all tied together. Superstar acts still get a blank check, but there are fewer and fewer of them. The future of the recording budget is here - get used to $40k or less.

7) Sample and Loop-based Music - Once upon a time, all music started with real musicians tracked live. That all changed during the 2000's. Programs like Acid and Ableton Live made it easy to make some great music without ever seeing a real musician. Loop libraries gave you access to just about every kind of sound and mood that you could think of, and samples of every type of instrument became more realistic. Suddenly, you didn't need a studio, you didn't need a tracking room, you didn't need a player - all you needed was a laptop, some software and a set of headphones. Television and film composers no longer needed an orchestra, keyboard players could record great guitar and bass parts without the players, and no one needed a drummer if you had BFD, Steven Slate Drums, or a similar program. It changed the music world, although not so much for the better, I'm afraid.

8) The Rise of Alternative Markets - Some markets thrived since 2000. The church market became a saviour for many audio gear companies as churches installed bigger and better sound systems, recorded their services and even broadcast them on television or the web. The sound system install market flourished as commercial building projects popped up everywhere. While this was truly a bright spot for many companies in recent years, the recession brought these markets to a resounding halt. Market saturation may mean that the worse may be yet to come, unfortunately.

9) The Rise of the Home Studio - It's now possible to have a studio on your laptop that's much more powerful than anything The Beatles ever had to work with for less than a thousand dollars. Home recording is within reach of anyone that wants to do it, and everybody does. This has been both good and bad. It's brought about Music 3.0, where an artist is no longer bound by the marketing, distribution and sales system of the record labels, but the filter that the label provided and the help of the many professionals along the way had it's advantages too. Just because you have your own studio doesn't mean you know how to use it. As a result, we have fewer real professionals than ever before who are making less money than ever before - and more and more people making their own music at home. It hasn't resulted in better music so far.

10) The Influx of Chinese Gear - Audio and music gear is better than ever before on average. It's really difficult to find what would be considered a "bad" piece of gear these days (I remember the old Kent guitars with the bowed necks when I was growing up - those were bad), and it's cheaper than ever as well, all thanks to those hard-working Chinese/Vietnamese/Cambodian near slave-laborers. Just about every gear company does the same thing these days - design the piece here, manufacture it in Asia, and sell it as cheaply as possible against a dozen other manufacturers with the same product and idea. The problem is that while all the gear is good, not much of it is really great. That's why we have more boutique gear manufacturers than ever. I wonder how they all survive?

11) The Failure of the Hi-Res Formats - In the beginning of the 2000's, the great hope for the industry and audio pros alike was the hi-res SACD and DVD-A formats. The trouble was, the public looked at these formats and yawned. It's difficult to hear hi-quality audio when your sound system is worse than what you could find in the typical college dorm room in 1970. Bad presentation, bad marketing, and no consumer interest all equal format death.

12) Change in Consumer Buying Habits - We all know this one. CD sales down, digital sales up, piracy still high, not as much money coming in. It's the reason for most of the items on this list and is covered every day on my Music 3.0 blog.

If this sounds like I'm complaining, you misread my intentions. I'm just noting how the music/recording business is evolving. In fact, I'm excited by the future, something I'll expound on later this week.

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