PREMIER ISSUE - APRIL 1998 "TAPE HAS A HEART ATTACK"
The Second Edition - July 1998 Will be Available July
10, 1998, Featuring
March 1998
Welcome to the premier issue of Recording Engineer's Quarterly. For a decade and a half we have published Engineer's Quarterly, a more-or-less quarterly publication that is distributed to various retail outlets in Michigan and mailed out to past graduates of the Recording Institute Of Detroit and selected studios in the USA.
At times the Engineer's Quarterly publication had been printed monthly, bi-monthly and quarterly. In this modern age, we want a more timely publication that readers can access more quickly and has more "stuff." We also don't want to make the Post Office and our ink supplier rich off of our "free" publication. Our answer is the Internet. Recording Engineer's Quarterly will still have printed copies distributed twice a year (Issue 1 - Jan-June and Issue 2 - July-Dec.). The printed issue will be about twice as large as the old Engineer's Quarterly starting with issue#2 of 1998. The Recording Engineer's Quarterly, however, will be updated monthly on the Internet at http://www.recordingeq.com. The site will be "on-line" as of March 10, 1998 and be fully formed by July 1, 1998.
When fully formed, the site will feature:
1. All of the content of the printed version.
2. Additional articles entered monthly
3. Past Articles
4. An on-line "message board"
5. Recording Institute of Detroit Information
6. An On-line RID Training Site
7. A references section
8. Links to other industry sites
As most of the readers well know, THIS IS NOT THE PREMIER ISSUE OF THIS MAGAZINE but simply a continuing of the publication started by the Recording Institute of Detroit almost 18 years ago. The publication has been called, for the last 10 years "Engineer's Quarterly" or "EQ" for short. We had a battle of letters with EQ Magazine when they started publishing because we had been known as "EQ MAGAZINE" for half of a decade. Our lawyer advised us that we had a good case of a publisher stealing our name, and then told us how much it would cost us to bring suit against the publishers of the 'NEW' EQ Magazine. We took "EQ" off of our masthead.
For the past 4 months Engineer's Quarterly has been 'on line' publishing current and selected past articles. The site has a noticeable number of "hits" per day. We actually get e-mail and surface mail from all over the world. With our own URL and expanded services, our popularity should increase. We intend to be the one-stop-reference for web activity regarding recording audio. Graduates of recording institute of Detroit programs will be able to obtain a free subscription to the magazine but must 'apply' for and continually renew their free subscription.
Recording Eq is pleased to announce the hiring of its on-line editor, Tim Joseph. Tim is a graduate of our entire program and he out-types and out-hacks the editor. welcome aboard Tim!
Bob Dennis, Editor
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"Our Feature For This Issue"
RECORDING TAPE HAS A HEART ATTACK
By ROBERT DENNIS
USE OF THIS ARTICLE SUBJECT TO USER AGREEMENT
January 1998
Just after the holiday festivities and new year's resolutions for increased capacity and clarity, Recording Tape suffered an attack of "orbital cardiac arrest." Mr. tape was found in his resting place all crinkled and mangled gasping for high-frequency breath.
He was rushed to the laboratory where scientists announced that Mr. tape had attempted to digest too many gigabytes over the holidays trying to keep up with the younger hard-disk crowd.
Unfortunately the prognosis is not good. Dr. Bias stated that although Mr. Tape may survive the attack, he could wind up with only a mere shadow of the capabilities that are needed in the industry today. Mr. Bias recommended immediate retirement.
The Institute of Recording & Technical Engineers for Audio acted immediately. A coalition of Mr. Orb, Mr. Jazz and Mr. SyQuest have been assigned to handle Mr. Tape's responsibilities to the institute.
While we're awaiting a final report of Mr. Tape's condition, we can reflect on his history of service to the community.
1900
In1898 Valdemar Poulsen, a Danish telephone engineer and inventor, patented the first wire recorder. Voice as able to be recorded on steel wire. The first wire recording device had the wire strung across the laboratory and the recording "head" traveled on a trolley across the room with Val running behind, talking into a microphone. Magnetic recording was invented!
By 1915 there were models of "Telegraphone" recorders with spools of wire that caused the wire to travel past the recording and playback heads and these machines were used by the Copenhagen Telephone Company for recording telephone conversations. These recorders resemble the modern reel-to-reel tape recorders of today.
1927
In 1927 American inventor, J. O'Neill put a magnetic coating on strips to replace the wire of the wire recorders. Recording tape was invented!
The Germans
German scientists immediately jumped on the recording tape technology and did much of the real development on tape recorders up to and during the time of World War II. Hitler broadcast magnetic recordings to "throw off" the enemy Americans during the war,
Ampex Corporation
After W.W.II, Ampex Corporation was given the license to develop a professional tape recorder from the captured German technology and quickly developed the first commercially viable audio and video tape recorders. "Prime Time" was invented when the most popular radio show with Bing Crosby was able to broadcast in different time zones at the same local time because of tape recording playback. Ampex continues today as a major supplier of recording tape to the industry.
3-M Company
Scotch Tape* - so well known for their clear cellophane tape - immediately began making recording tape. Soon the majority of the professional recordings were done on Scotch brand tape. The company shocked the professional audio world by announcing in 1996 that it would no longer manufacture recording tape for audio, video or data. What was so shocking was that this was a very profitable area of business for 3-M - and they were "dropping" the division!
Where Its Going
January 1998 shows us the why behind the tape business being in trouble and the major player, 3-M Company getting out of the business. The reason can be summed up in three words: "removable hard disk."
Most readers of this article know that we are in a digital revolution. Within a very short period the vast majority of recording and production will use digital media as the storage device. The "recording" we're talking about is both audio and video. With the new sales format of DVD (Digital video disk) a tremendous amount of research and development is being done on getting better, cheaper and larger-capacity storage media. This article is really on that subject.
The ORB* Removable Drives
Castlewood Systems has announced the release of their 2.16 gigabyte removable hard drive system. The system is fast enough to record and playback digital audio or video data. The shocking news was the price of $199.00 retail for the drive and $29.95 for the disk.
This means that you could store over 25 minutes of 16 bit audio on 8 tracks with this system. With the cost being under $30.00 it begins to compete with the price of formatted Hi-8 tapes (for Tascam DA-88) and S-VHS tapes (for ADAT). I can just see a ADAT system with the ORB removable hard disk drive installed in place of the S-VHS tape mechanism.
So Why Removable Hard Disk?
If you use your 8 track digital recorder to any extent, you know that heads and transports need to be replaced. The cost of replacing these is about $600 - $700 each (including labor). In the worst cases we're talking about replacement every 800 hundred hours and in the best case we're talking about replacement every 3600 hours. In any case, these costs have to be added to the cost of buying the tape to record. In comparison, the ORB drive has a projected life of 300,000 hours and a replacement cost of $199.00 .
Other Alternatives
The ORB drive is just the best example we have found of the high capability and the low cost of removable drives used for recording. But its not just Castlewood Systems that are developing these units. SyQuest has an almost-released drive called Quest 4.7* that has a 4.7 gigabyte removable disk. The initial price quoted for this system is $599 and the disks are $199. SyQuest also has a smaller capacity drive of 1.0 gigabyte called "Spare-Q" in the general price range of the ORB. We are looking for the Quest 4.7 system to begin dropping in price almost immediately upon release. Iomega is also planning release of its Jaz2* system that will be 2 gigabyte removable disks. Release dates and prices have not been released.
Conclusions:
Removable disk storage in audio recording now has the real potential of "doing-in" the tape storage medium for audio. The rotating head MDM's (ADAT and DA-88 formats) were remarkable when they first "hit" the market, but the whole idea of tape contacting rotating heads has serious limits. Engineers have a saying for these types of systems: "They work but they're not pretty."
* Acknowledgments:
First of all, all of the names of the drive systems and the manufacturer's names are trademarks. Data on the removable disk systems for this article was provided by computer and pro audio dealer, James McCloskey of Excell Sales & Marketing (810) 677-2799 e-mail: excelsm@aol.com .
Editor's Note:
Visit the manufacturers:
Castlewood: http://www.castlewoodsystems.com/castlewood/web/index.htm Iomega: http://www.iomega.com/
Copyright 1998, Recording Institute Of Detroit - All Rights Reserved
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"Devoted To The Rich History and Bright Future of 'Made In Michigan' Music"
IN SESSION WITH MARK FARNER
By MARSHALL BLOCK
USE OF THIS ARTICLE SUBJECT TO USER AGREEMENT
Editor's Note:
Mark Farner is the guitar player, songwriter and singer of the legendary Michigan group, Grand Funk Railroad - for more information on GFR, visit the GFR Web at http://w3.one.net/~wap/GFR_WEB/index.html or for Mark's biography, visit: http://www.grandfunkrailroad.com/gfhistory/images/mark/mark.html
Marshall's article is about a recording session with Dick Wagner at Downtown Digital Studios. Dick and Mark were together in The Bossmen group prior to Grand Funk Railroad days - for more information on Dick Wagner, Downtown Digital Studios and the Bossmen visit: http://www.wagnermusic.com
Now for the article:
On March 4, 1998, Bob Dennis and I brought in legendary rock artist, Mark Farner, as a guest vocalist for Reel II Real Productions to lend his incredible talents to our production of "Loving You" for our artist Keyna. The vocal overdub session was held at Dick Wagner's Downtown Digital Studios in Saginaw, Michigan. This is also the location of the Recording Institute of Detroit's Saginaw Annex.
Randy and Allan Lynch of RandAllan Productions were also present as musical directors. Randy and Allan are co-producing Keyna's new album with Bob Dennis and I. Jim Sommerville, the owner of Mount Pleasant's 100,000 watt radio station WCEN (94.5) was also a special invited guest. Dick Wagner personally engineered this session as a favor to me and also contributed to the production of these special vocal tracks.
Keyna is a contemporary Christian singer-songwriter and "Loving You" was written by her. Everyone present at this session felt the "special vibe" that occurs during the production of a hit recording. It was a memorable day.
For both Mark and Keyna we used the classic vintage re-issue, AKG C-12VR tube microphone. This was coupled with the Focusrite "Red 7" microphone preamplifier/compressor. The classic warm and rich sound of the C-12 and the pristine open sound of the Red 7 is a spectacular combination for many vocalists. I remember when I purchased my Red 7 and had Bob Dennis check it out. Bob initially thought it wasn't working because he couldn't hear the "pumping and breathing" artifacts associated with most compressors. He later confided to me that the Red 7 was the best compressor he "NEVER HEARD." The tape recorders used were digital Tascam DA-88's and DA-38's. A pair of Yamaha 02R's were the mixing desks. Genelec near-field monitors were also used.
With everyone present, Keyna laid down her vocals first. She took direction from both the Lynch Brothers and Dick Wagner. Mark, however, requires complete privacy for his vocal work using a "revolving door" process could repeat as often as necessary. The process is:
Keyna was the first person to sneak back into the control room during Mark's session. After a while, everyone tired of the "revolving door syndrome" and all of us were present during his final takes. Mark didn't object - so much for protocol! Mark told me that he even made Frank Zappa leave the control room when Frank was producing Mark.
Mark is a real comedian in the studio. His professionalism and perfection, however, resulted in a scintillating performance. After the session Mark played Santa Claus and had his picture taken with everybody (but no one was brave enough to sit on his lap!). He shared stories with everyone about his experiences with Ringo Starr in the All Starr Band. It was a great day. I sincerely wish each and every one of you could have shared it with all of us.
Copyright 1998, Recording Institute Of Detroit - All Rights Reserved
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MOTOWN ENGINEERING SERIES No. 1
THE LOST STEP IN THE RECORDING PROCESS,
MULTITRACK MASTERING
By ROBERT DENNIS
USE OF THIS ARTICLE SUBJECT TO USER AGREEMENT
Editor's Note:
For an article on a first visit to the Motown Museum and some history of Motown's first studio, visit: http://www.worldafricannet.com/entertain/entertain519.html
Now for the article:
Track Preparation
In the days of analog recording the Detroit engineer would clean-up and sort of pre-master the multitrack before the mixdown process began. For a major production, the engineer worked with the multitrack recording of a tune for 6 or so sessions before mixdown could begin. During that time (spanning 18-30 hours), the engineer had to mix monitors, cues and run-offs after each session. The engineer heard the tune when it was only drums, bass and rhythm and all the way through the process of becoming a finished production.
The idea was to get the tape so that it contained only the final sounds of the production. The following type of things were done to the tape:
1. Spot erasure of any noise or unnecessary ambiance in the tracks was done. This would be things like erasing the lead vocal track dung the intro and instrumental break, getting out coughs between the lines, amplifier hum before the guitar solo, etc.
2. Process, ride levels and bounce tracks. Often a Pultec equalizer and/or Teletronics limiting amplifier would be wanted for guitar and bass and maybe for other tracks. To simplify mixing and to allow multiple-use of processing gear, tracks would be processed and bounced to an empty track. When a guitar track might need a significant level change for the lead solo, this would be bounced with the level changes and any processing changes desired.
3. Effects bounces would be done when a delay effect or reverb was wanted on a particular instrument. A track could be made and called "guitar echo" with a tape-looped echo effect recorded on it - to be mixed in with the "dry" guitar later.
Composite tracks would be made. It was not uncommon to have several vocal performances on several tracks and then edit a final vocal track by bouncing. The engineer of the 60's and 70's didn't have the convenience of console automation and a "bizzillion" effects units in the rack, but still had to get the sound.
When console automation came along, 65% of the reason for multitrack pre-mastering vanished. Another 20% has become unnecessary because of the multiple and inexpensive processing devices available today.
The last 15% has not been replaced by modern technology, this being the convenience and assistance to mixing caused by pre-mastering. When a multitrack is pre-mastered, the engineer spends all of his time mixing, rather than "cleaning-up" the sound.
The Motown Heritage Of Pre-Mastering The Multitrack
In a way you could accurately state that Lawrence T. Horn, Motown's Chief Recording Engineer mixed every Motown release between 1964 and 1967. Lawrence did this remarkable feat by implementing a recording "system" for Motown and by ingenious management of a staff of engineers.
His claim to fame came from his system developed for 3 track recording in 1964:
1. Any staff engineer would record a basic session on three tracks. The engineer was strictly forbidden from using any eq, compression or any other type of signal processing.
2. Lawrence Horn would mix together the three tracks into one track. To do this, he would play the multitrack master on a playback machine and record onto track one of the 3 track master recorder. Lawrence would use all of the processing gear to make this mix. He was basically doing a "final" mix of the rhythm track. This procedure made a "B" reel that could further be recorded on.
3. Any Staff engineer would cut the horns onto tracks 2 & 3 of the B reel. Brass instruments would be on one track and woodwinds would be recorded on the other track. Again the engineer wouldn't be allowed any signal processing.
4. Lawrence Horn would take the B reel and mix the horns with signal processing onto track 2 of a new 3 track tape, making a C reel to allow further recording. Track 1 (final rhythm) would be copied to the new C reel at the same time.
5. A more experienced engineer would record the strings onto track 3 of the C reel. This job wouldn't be given to the greenest engineer on staff.
6. Lawrence horn would mix the stings and horns onto track 2 of a new, D reel, using, of course any signal processing he deemed necessary. Track 1 would again be copied to the new D reel at the same time.
7. Any staff engineer would record background vocals onto track 3 of the D reel without any signal processing.
8. A more experienced engineer would bounce the background vocals and add lead vocals, using signal processing to a new E reel on track 3.
The E-Reel had all of the final "mixed" elements and was the final multitrack reel used for mixdown. All staff engineers would be invited to mix the production off of this reel and submit their mixes to the Quality Control Department. Quality Control would pick the best mix. Engineers would "compete" for the mix that was chosen for release.
Since Lawrence Horn did the transferring & mixing to make the multitrack, he actually did most of the mixing on the released version. Since he was good at mixing, he often would be the engineer that won the mixing competition.
Today's Project or Home Studio
Today's home project engineer and even the studio engineer can learn by the original Motown recording system. Like the Motown engineer, there is often one piece of processing equipment that could be used with different settings for different tracks. When the project engineer bounces with digital recording equipment, there are no large noise restraints that cause noise buildup. The Motown engineer had a real noise problem with those 1960 vintage 3 track analog recorders.
Project studios having 2 MDM's (ADATs or DA-88s) have it made, because they can bounce to a new reel of tape and still retain their original tracks on the original reel. The interesting thing is that Digital Audio Workstations are more-or-less setup to do this pre-mastering to the multitrack recording.
Dedicated Digital Audio Workstations such as the Roland VMS 880 have a feature that several performances can be recorded onto one "track." Only one version may be played back at a time, but this version can be an edited version made from all recorded performances. This is one of the key ingredients to pre-mastering the multitrack.
PC based Digital Audio Workstations, such as Cakewalk Pro Audio have "plug ins" available that can be used to "process" tracks with effects. With the track copying features, you can keep a copy of the original,
The mid-1960's engineer had to pre-master correctly. Once new parts were added, one was stuck with the mix used for bouncing the track. The home or project recordist of today can use the same techniques but go back and re-do any mix anytime.
Conclusion:
Engineers of old had to be both smart and good to get the best sounding final mix. New engineers can be as smart but actually don't have to be as good to get good results. Premastering the multitrack allows the engineer to concentrate on getting the best mix without having to "correct": the recording and mix at the same time.
Copyright 1998, Recording Institute Of Detroit - All Rights Reserved
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"About Drums & Drumming"
ADVICE TO THE NEW DRUMMER
By STEVE "MURUGA" BOOKER
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Editor's Note:
We are very pleased to have a world-class drummer like Muruga write articles for us. Muruga's credentials include drumming with acts from Weather Report & Dave Brubeck to drumming with George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Sly Stone and Jerry Garcia. For more information on Muruga, visit: http://www.bhakti.com/Muruga/musart.htm
Now, on to the article:
My advice for the new drummer centers around this:
"Work on the skills, the rest follows getting good, BUT no matter how good you are or how long you've been playing, you must be for real and sincere; people respond to realness."
For beginning drummers, learn to master time. Practice playing to a metronome or drum machine it improves your time and gets you playing right on overdub sessions in the studio. It also makes you better while playing live. George Clinton uses other percussionists and myself to bring a live sound to the electric drums - a recording technique very similar to "playing with a drum machine." Even for myself I like the sound of both.
To begin to master time, pick a tempo then play 1/4 notes to 1/8 notes to 1/16 notes, repeating this sequence for long periods of time. 1 2 3 4 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a - repeat. Note the correlation between inches on a ruler and the bars of music, 1 bar is like one inch. They are both divided into whole 1/2`s 1/4`s 1/8`s 1/16`s and so on. 1 2 3 4 are the 1/4 notes; 1&2&3&4& are the1/8 notes; 1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a are the 1/16 notes. Practice this at a moderate tempo till it becomes easy and then speed up the tempo slowly.
This practice will also give you more control and evenness in playing multi tempos within one designated tempo, double and triple timing, and so on. It will allow you to play with ease and without rushing the tempo.
Classical musicians practice to metronomes all the time. One time I had the pleasure of spending a few nights at Dave Brubeck's home as we were practicing to play Carnige Hall with the Brubeck Generation. As I was sound asleep, I was awoke by celestial sounds. It was Dave practicing at 5:30 in the morning with two metronomes. The two metronomes were playing at the same time but each was playing a different time. His left hand was practicing 5/4 while his right was playing in 4/4. At his age and stature he was working as hard as a beginner trying to make it. That's the kind of dedication it takes to be successful at what you do.
Once you get time down then apply feeling, emotion and texture. A drummer must give the foundation of time and then must add color. There's more to it than the beat. These are some good concepts to build on.
With drum machines if you can't play time, the machine will quantize or correct time for you, but in live playing you have to play it right. I must add an old jazz sayings:
1. If you can't say it you can't play it.
2. First learn it then forget it.
Become your own path, in other words, go your own original unique and fresh way. Then go to the studio and record that . Have faith in yourself, be fearless, don't let anything stop you. Play with a relaxed approach, have fun, try new things. When you're playing with someone else's group, however, ask them what they expect out of you. Not every one thinks like you and they may be on a completely different wave length than you. When they're paying you serve them well.
Don't play music you don't like; find the music and musicians that make you happy. Chances are you'll get happier. Music can bring you peace of mind and aid the natural body healing process. Music can make you feel the blues, make you move and dance, or sit and trance to get inner knowledge and lift the soul. The spirit conveys a message, emotion or stillness. Music can make you play it.
So now ends the first spark and introduction to the vast world of drumming. Don't forget in the beginning there was the word<SOUND> and then there was us making a sound with it, co-creating with the creator in thankfulness. God makes grapes and we make wine, God makes wheat and we make bread, God makes clay and we make pottery, God makes wood metal & skin and we make drums and music - keep it up!
Muruga AKA Steve Booker.
Copyright 1998, Recording Institute Of Detroit - All Rights Reserved
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THE MUSIC & RECORDING INDUSTRY
"Did You Know This About Our Industry?"
THE "RECORDING ENGINEER"
By ROBERT DENNIS
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Introduction:
Many beginning recording students balk at learning music theory, yet it would seem logical to argue that there has to be some familiarity with the product one is making. The real reason one should study music has to do with the long-term career behind a recording console. It can be summed up in one cliché of my authoring:
"Old recording engineers never die, they simply become producers"
I have observed many successful recording engineers over my career. One thing that I have noticed is that few people sit behind a recording console for 20 years without getting deeply involved in other areas of the recording & music industry. The recording engineers of today usually are or become:
The Recording Engineer / Producer (Songwriter)
One of the most famous Recording Engineer / Producers around is Bruce Sevden who most known for engineering and producing Michael Jackson. Some of the engineers I know more personally are as follows:
Lawrence Horn was the chief recording engineer of Motown Records between 1963 and 1968. After getting very good at recording, he began to assist Berry Gordy in production of the Motown recorded "I Have A Dream" speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King. Later he would assist Brian Holland in production of recording artist Junior Walker. In his last year at Motown, he earned the equivalent of $150,000 1998 dollars, earning 60-65% of his money from production.
Barney Perkins was an extremely well-known R & B recording engineer in the Los Angeles area. Barney started out as an apprentice with Lawrence Horn in 1969 at Holland-Dozier-Holland Sound Studios in Detroit. After working his way up to a regular recording engineer, he gave an idea for a song called "Put It In The Want Ads" to a producer he regularly worked with. The record went platinum and Barney doubled his money that year off the songwriting royalties.
The Recording Engineer / Studio Owner
As a recording engineer Greg Reilly is best known for his engineering of recordings for George Clinton in the late 70's and early 80's. When Greg Reilly (a guitar player) apprenticed at Holland-Dozier-Holland, there were severe changes to the company and a new recording services company was formed by him and his (more-experienced) partner Bob Dennis. Today this enterprise is the Disc Ltd. Recording studios/Recording Institute of Detroit complex with 4 rooms that are booked 7 days a week and have trained hundreds of the working recording engineers in the industry.
Ben Grosse, drummer with Ann Arbor based rock groups, took RID classes and opened a basement recording studio as he graduated RID. Today he has a 3 room complex in Pasadena California.
The Recording Engineer / Artist (Songwriter)
Dick Wagner started his career playing the guitar in Michigan rock groups such as The Frost. Later he became a well-known session man and co-writer of songs for Air Supply and Alice Cooper. Today he is a studio owner (of Downtown Digital Studios) and regularly engineers the recordings he produces.
Pure Recording Engineer
Occasionally you get the person who does stay behind the recording console for 20 years. In 1977 John Jazz began his training at the Recording Institute of Detroit. After an apprenticeship with Bob Dennis, he became a regular recording engineer at the Disc Ltd. Today he is a working recording engineer in the Nashville area pulling down more than twice the salary of the average recording engineer.
Copyright 1998, Recording Institute Of Detroit - All Rights Reserved
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Devoted to letting you know about current articles in various recording publications that got our attention.
From The Editor:
This issue's featured article is an interview with the legendary Rupert Neve by Gonzalo Arjona in the May, 1998 issue of Recording.
Recording is high on my list of "recommended" magazines. They do a good job of fully explaining things (important to the newcomer) without getting boring (important to the professional). You can visit their web site at http://www.recordingmag.com.
Rupert Neve is probably THE most knowledgeable person in professional recording console design. You can see a picture of him and read his comments about his Amek designs at http://www.amek.com/company/profile.htm
Now for the review:
"Rupert Neve: Audio Without Compromise"
Review by Robert Dennis
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Rupert Neve's design philosophy can be summed up in a statement he made in the interview "Overkill! That's what makes the difference." In his answer he was explaining that if you design a console channel that could be assigned to 48 places it should be able to go all 48 places at the same time without distortion. You get the impression that he will never compromise sound quality in his designs. His designs "sound" for themselves. One only needs to use a piece of equipment he designed to understand his design philosophy.
In the interview he talks a lot about currently debated issues such as: Tubes vs. Transistors, Analog vs. Digital and even "Can an audio system that only passes 20 Hz to 20 kHz sound good?" He talks about why audio transformers have a bad name and why they shouldn't.
I find it very difficult to disagree with anything he has to say and I feel the student and professional in recording should get this issue and read the interview. It's an education in itself.
Reading this article could also give you an idea on why you may want to "think twice" before purchasing the lowest-price analog console.
My only word of caution is this:
Very few of you will be able to afford to adopt Mr. Neve's viewpoint and put it fully in action. He lives and designs in a "no compromise" world. This means to the person installing his/her first studio an "unaffordable world." Marshall Block used an interesting compromise when he opened his Real II Reel Studios. When installing his studio he made sure he picked up a Rupert Neve designed Focusrite "Red 7" microphone preamplifier/compressor to work with his digital recording equipment. [Go here to read about it.] It literally has made all the difference in the world to his sound. The point is, even on a $20,000 - $100,000 budget, you can afford some of Rupert Neve's "no compromise" world
Copyright 1998, Recording Institute Of Detroit - All Rights Reserved
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