Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user] recording guitar interfacing
From: Paul Winkler (slinkp23_AT_yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Nov 29 2001 - 22:32:58 EET
On Thu, Nov 29, 2001 at 06:41:55AM -0500, Jason wrote:
> A lot of working professionals are no talent hacks,
Sad but True.
> but I know what you
> mean. I wasn't really referring to R.A.P. because i'm not familiar with
> it. I was really talking a bit more about the amazing parrot/sheep hybrid
> that makes up so much of the pro audio community. the people so desparate
> to be looked at as a respected source of informations that the adopt other
> peoples opinions wholesale. I'm really just embittered because I worked in
> Pro Audio retail in the recent past, and being constantly surrounded by
> incompetent know-it-alls on both sides of the counter rubs your nerve
> endings raw after a while. As far as I can tell, they are wounds that time
> does little to assuage.
I wouldn't wish that job on anybody! Conversely, I'm very very wary of
salespeople. Sort of like tech support. :)
The problem is that everybody thinks they know more than they
do. Including me, of course...
> I should have done something to indicate that I used the term "recording
> studios' with a heavy dose of sarcasm. I was really talking about those
> guys who throw some eggcrates on the walls of their garage and then try to
> charge people 30 dollars an hour to record demos on their VS 880.
Aha. Different bracket... the place I was in was about $600 / day at
the time. The guys you're describing are here too... they're
everywhere. Some of them are really good, some of them suck. I think
at that level, you really have to hear some work they've done and talk
to some former clients. True of any studio, but doubly true of
bottom-feeder studios.
> sound design and video post these days, and that's just a shame. Never
> mind the fact that it makes it excruciatingly difficult to get work up
> here with all the amateurs running around pretending that they know what
> they're doing. IT hurts the art.
Yeah. It hasn't affected the *big* studios much, but it's a tough time
for very small studios.
> you get a chance, grab one. The C3000 is nice because it sounds enough
> like a 414 to let you know whether you really wish you had the cash to buy
> a couple of 414s. plus they make decent overheads, and sound okay on
Maybe that's my problem - I don't really like the 414 either. :) I did
like it on some percussion tracks, but as a vocal mike I found it
kinda harsh.
> > What kind of flaws are you talking about? This doesn't make any sense
> > to me. If an inexpensive mic hides flaws, wouldn't it be hiding some
> > good stuff too?
> >
> > When I want to hide flaws in my performance, I try to do it better. :)
>
> I'm of the opinion, and I recognize that I'm in a minority here, that
> believes that the right microphone is the one that matches an instrument
> best.
Actually I think most good engineers would agree with that statement.
> If you have an inferior instrument, chances are the greater accuracy
> of a more expensive mic will sound worse than a cheaper mic that makes
> mistakes in the right places.
By the same token, a cheap mic could as easily exagerrate the
flaws. So for this strategy to work, you'd need to have a bad mic
collection tailored to your bad instrument collection. ;)
> Never mind that that annoying 10k lift that
> all the really expensive condensers have only really sounds good on analog
> tape, so if you're going digital like probably everyone here is, you're
> actually going to get an inferior quality recording if you don't
> compensate for the fact that those expensive mics are built for 2 inch
> tape.
Hmm, I actually agree there. But many cheap condensers do the same
thing. It's not expensive to get a mic's frequency response up over
20k, or give it a boost at 10k to sound more "exciting".
That's one reason I like nice dynamic mics, they don't tend to peak so
high up. I really want to get my hands on an RE-20...
--paul winkler home: http://www.slinkp.com music: http://www.reacharms.com calendars: http://www.calendargalaxy.com
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