This article was written by Chris McCown at Sweetwater. We’ve publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often! And now for some motivation.

If you’re like me, then your studio consists of a DAW (digital audio workstation software), a computer, an audio interface, a decent set of monitors, a nice selection of plug-ins, possibly an outboard mic preamp or two, and a couple of good mics. Maybe you have an outboard EQ or compressor, and you may even be using a nice master clock with high-end AD/DA converters. Hopefully some acoustic treatment is present on the walls and in the corners.

If this is you, you will definitely benefit from what I’m about to tell you, although I believe a summing mixer – which is the key term of this article – will be beneficial to anyone who records audio whether it’s in a small basement studio or a full-blown commercial production facility.

What is a “summing mixer”? A summing mixer is an analog device that takes multiple audio outputs from your digital-to-analog converter or audio interface, and mixes them in the analog domain. Essentially you’re taking your mix out of the computer/DAW digital domain, and stepping into the analog realm to create a mixed stereo track filled with high-headroom, spatially present glory. A summing mixer can be either a dedicated box, such as those from Dangerous Music, TL Audio, Audient, and other manufacturers, or it can be a compact or console-style analog mixer.

But wait, your DAW has a mixer screen; why would you want to go outside to an analog summing box or mixer? Good question, but I assure you, if you’ve ever had the opportunity to listen to a mix that’s been passed through a summing mixer versus the same project with an “in-the-box” mix, that question would answer itself. You’ll have more headroom, which will give each track more room to fit into its own place in the mix. The stereo image will spread significantly, and the depth of the mix will increase. To be completely clear, you probably won’t just take your in-the-box mix, reassign the outputs to your brand-new summing mixer, and print the mix. Some remixing will likely be involved, partially because you’ll find things that weren’t optimal about your in-the-box mix, and in part because the perceived levels will be different.

Have you ever worked on a project where you knew you had spent the appropriate amount of time getting everything just right, before tracking? You experimented with different mic positions, you made sure levels were right with no digital clipping, and worked until the material was well rehearsed and polished. Yet, after tracking, although you did your best in mixdown, the mix just sounded dull and flat? Perhaps some of the nuances got lost in the mix, or there was no depth to the recording; there was left-to-right spread but there was no front-to-back depth – you didn’t feel like you could step into the mix while you were listening, because it was so one dimensional?

Perhaps it wasn’t your ability or the material. For example, I was working on a 6-song album in my DAW early last year, and I was pulling my hair out trying to get something I could live with, because I knew the band was going to release it into distribution. That’s when I first tried a Dangerous Music D-Box – which is a combination of a summing mixer and a killer monitor control box – and it saved my mixes! Just as I had described, my mixes were flat, dull, and uninspiring. I tried everything I knew to try – and I mean everything! Nothing was working. I could get the mix to sound different, but not necessarily better. Tracks were getting buried, there didn’t seem to be enough room for each track to breathe. The D-Box summing mixer was the answer.

Here’s how I did it: from the DAW, all the drum tracks were sent in stereo to two outputs on my interface, all guitars in stereo to another pair of outputs, vocals (including back-up vox) in stereo to another output pair, and the bass guitar all by its lonesome on another output. The D box has eight analog inputs, which are all combined to a single stereo output. As soon as I remixed my material and sent the tracks out to the D-Box as separate stereo pairs or “stems,” I could finally call it “done.” The stereo image spread wide open, as if someone had opened up another room. All of the sudden there was depth – that front-to-back thing that can be so elusive, and each track (even the quiet tracks and passages), had its own space and popped out of the mix.

The next time you find yourself pulling your hair out after realizing your mix just doesn’t sound as good as a commercially produced track, you might be ready to take your mix out of the box. If you’re looking to buy one piece of gear to step up your mixing game, a summing box is hands down the best suggestion I could give you. Happy mixing!

Chris McCown has over 23 years experience as a musician and over 15 years experience as an engineer. He’s currently studying music theory, playing lead guitar at his church, and is a Sales Engineer at Sweetwater, in addition to writing and producing his own material. He can be reached at 1-800-222-4700 ext. 1328 or chris_mccown@sweetwater.com.

This article was written by Forrest Powell at Sweetwater. We’ve publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often! And now for some motivation.

I’ll start off citing a source, surely to some of my readers’ chagrin: I was at church today (I even saw a dude from work there). While I was there, this great pastor mentioned something stirring and brilliant that coincides with my attitude toward music:

“The word ‘amateur’ was never intended to define a second-rate person.”

It’s a common misconception of our audiences and our age that “pro” is somehow inherently superior to “amateur. I think of all the musicians out there, working hard and playing hard and not getting paid, and I just have to grit my teeth, because many musicians who DO get paid churn out emotionless pig-fodder. Pigs will eat anything, and it seems that so long as radio or the “professionals” can polish a turd, they will never have to go hungry.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not out to disparage the mainstream recording community. Quite the contrary; recording is one of the best ways to safely deliver your music to the ears of music lovers like me or decision-makers like A&R reps. But what I would raise a little caution flag about is this: don’t get caught up in bureaucracy just because you want your deserving music to “succeed.” The obsession with “making it” can destroy not just the band or the musician, but the very music itself. Do you really want to change what you sound like because the people who buy over-compressed monotonous pop-jingles won’t buy your record?

Do you like your music?

I’ve gotta say, I love mine. It’s almost a relationship of its own; even if inspiration comes and goes as she pleases, music is forever there.

That said, sometimes I’ve got to wonder if we musicians and recording guys are as committed to the music right now as some of our predecessors were. In this industry, it’s really hard to keep a die-hard, passionate focus on one thing, and somehow marketing and survival have developed the irritating ability to outweigh care for art and craft.

This is where success in the bigger picture doesn’t just mean making lots of money. In fact, I don’t think it has anything to do with money at all, unless you want to invite something in to muck up your priorities and cheapen the deep potential of your music. I was on the Wii Internet last night and read about this sport in Japan called “yabusame,” which is basically archery on horseback. At first glance it seems impractical because the bow is taller than the man, and there’s this ceremonial garb, etc. But in the “Blue like Jazz” mentality, you don’t really understand something until you see someone who loves what they are doing and are lost in it. The guys on horseback are not involved because it’s practical, they are involved because for them, it’s spiritual. Music is just that, and for me, getting lost in the mystery of perfecting a song can make me drool on my guitar because I get so focused.

Referring to people as “professionals” means that they make a living at something, just to be clear. I remember my first visit to Austin, Texas for SXSW, and the key emotion was this: inferiority. I was frontman for a 4-piece rock band, and everyone else just seemed to have their act together in a way we did not. Professionally mastered CDs with full-color 8-page booklets, 10-foot banners, the logo on the kick drum, that sort of thing. It was easily worth the drive and the price of admission, but there was this intimidation factor present that I think most of us probably recognize, even if you’ve never been on-stage with a bigger band. It made me pause, reconsider.

The worry is this: I am (or we are) not gonna “make it.”

To counter this reaction, let me drop a quote: “Nobody ever made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.” Thanks, Edmund Burke.

Music is not just a spectator sport. It’s a universal language and I am sad to say that many people seem to die with their music still in them. You and I are not that type. We don’t just need to listen, we need to be involved in the living, breathing conversation of music. We need to play. We need to rock.

So they’ve never heard of you before…have you heard of them? A consumer is just that; don’t weigh your hopes on those thin shoulders, or you might just hang your musical hat up and resign creative art with the economy. Success is yours to define.

And to bring this full circle, that’s why I am all about “amateurs” at the moment.

An amateur is simply a person who does something because they love it, not because they are getting paid for it.

Professionals built the Titanic. Amateurs made the ark.

Don’t die with your music inside of you. Even if everyone else thinks you’re crazier than Noah, please…for the love of something greater than yourself that is inside of you, build it and they will come.

BIO

Forrest Powell is an amateur musician, amateur recording engineer, and professional sales engineer at Sweetwater. He can be reached at 1-800-222-4700 ext. 1235 or forrest_powell@sweetwater.com.

This article was written by Arend Raby at Sweetwater.  We’ve publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

As a longtime singer/songwriter, I would have to say that one of the biggest banes to my existence has been writer’s block. Many of you surely know the feeling. There is nothing worse than enduring an extended period of time where the urge to create something doesn’t subside, but there is simply nothing there. It can be very frustrating, and the more we dwell on the fact that our creative resources seem to have “run dry,” the more the paradigm seems to perpetuate itself. Heck, an astute critic would likely notice that I’m attempting to think of something clever to finish this article with as I ramble through its introduction.

Levity aside, I’m going to share a few pointers that will help you get through those ugly periods of time. These are things I’ve found that seem to work for me. I hope the same is true for you.

1. Analyze the situation…but not too much.

We can usually, if we’re honest with ourselves, pinpoint the source of the problem pretty quickly. When I look back, periods of writer’s block have been alongside moments of my life that were…well…blissfully mundane. Others may be affected in the opposite way. Some are prone to being affected by an abrupt change to their daily routine (new job, family situation, etc.). Whatever the case may be, the logical solution is to try to counter it. I know this sounds a bit like pop psychology, but it really works. In my situation, things were too normal, with life in general. I’m not saying I immediately ran out and robbed a bank or anything, but I looked for things I could do that I hadn’t done in a while. I also made a point to make changes to my daily routine. It helped significantly.

2. Look for the moment.

I don’t think that anyone will argue that some of the most memorable tunes we’ve heard, especially in the “songwriter” genre, have been about strong emotions. The almost cliche idea of a love song comes to mind, as does the raw anger expressed in heavier music. It’s catchy because it’s emotional, and most of us can empathize or sympathize with what’s being emoted. So…what if we’re not in love or miffed about something? Remember a time when you were. Don’t necessarily grab the moment to the literal degree, but rather try to re-experience the emotion that resulted from it. Consider loss, anger, love, and bliss as abstracts, and put the pen to paper.

3. Use a Thesaurus.

I can’t tell you how many times words and phrases started magically flowing to paper as a result of my thesaurus. If there’s a random word in your head, not even an idea, explore its synonyms…you’ll be surprised at what an amazing “springboard” this can be. It also helps significantly in use of metaphor.

4. Scat.

Many times, the music comes much more easily than the melody. As a guitar/piano player, I have nearly a hundred unfinished tunes that need melodies. I’ve found that writing words comes easier if I record a vocal with no words. It sounds really funny at first (think “doobee-doo-bah-dow…”), but it gives me perspective on the notes in the scale and how many syllables I can fit in the melody line. Now, a framework’s already been set for the lyrics.

5. Break your own mold.

If something sounds odd or unconventional, roll with it. Often, that’s just the writer’s block and doubt speaking. I’ve found, especially from the music end of a song, that just trying an unconventional chord transition can re-inspire me. The other day, I was on my classical guitar arpeggiating minor chords in minor-third intervals. Em to Cm is decidedly dark, and often reserved for heavier music. How would it fit into a pop tune? I’ll let you know when it’s finished.

6. Scale down.

Many of us employ pretty elaborate home recording rigs these days. In this age of technology, the average writer can have a state-of-the-art home studio for pennies compared to what was available 10 years ago. The problem is that we are now inundated with options. When you are writing, force yourself not to worry about which mic, which preamp, which patch, which preset. Just pick one setting, one guitar, one keyboard, one mic, etc. Forget about your options. They can paralyze you. The time to consider all the choices is AFTER the song’s written. I’ve lost countless hours of my life messing around in the studio, stalling instead of working on finishing a song.

7. Stop reading articles about writer’s block.

If you’re reading this, you’re not writing anything. Go have fun! Or share your own tips on writers block.

Arend Raby has been a Senior Sales Engineer at Sweetwater Sound since 2002. He has owned the Womb Studio since 1993, has recorded over 200 rock and metal acts, and is credited on many major label releases. He is currently working on a solo guitar-oriented electronic music project. You can reach him at 1-800-222-4700 ext. 1276 or arend_raby@sweetwater.com.

This article was written by Chris Scheidies at Sweetwater.  Over the next few months, we’re publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

As a creative person this may be a hard article to read. The ideas presented within took many years of denial, blood, sweat, and tears before I accepted them. But when I did, I found my music career and income rose considerably. As creative folks, we want the art to speak for itself. The truth is: if you are a musician or trying to make money with your art, then you are a business and must think and position yourself as such.

Be Cool

The music business is often about who you know and what those people think of you. Example: When you meet someone for the first time and they only want to talk about themselves, do you find them likable? Of course not. As human beings, WE like to talk about OURSELVES. This is true of anyone, including promoters, label executives, whomever. So, I have a challenge for you. The next time you meet someone from the industry, find out as much as you can about them, their dreams, struggles, and desires. You will likely learn a thing or two – then watch the floodgates of opportunities open. You may find the people at your shows are musicians as well, and you could learn a few things from them. Even if they are not, try and find out as much as you can about everyone you meet as opposed to telling them how great your group is. In other words, be cool to hang out with.

Professionalism

Do you get to the gig early? Do you start on time? Do you return phone calls promptly? I know a very famous, highly successful musician, who is also a multimillionaire, and he always starts his gigs one minute early. Yeah, that’s right – he is on stage performing one minute before expected. Not five minutes late and then another half an hour of set up. EARLY! It’s no wonder he has found such success. The person setting up the gig and paying you is your customer and you should treat them as such. This is how you are going to fund your future, so show your customers appreciation instead of attitude. Any musician with an ego is in danger of being perceived as a joke because there are 10 people waiting in line to take their place. That’s why connections and people skills matter so much. Follow Dale Carnegie’s rules: “Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.” Be a problem-solver with your peers and band. Your band will love you and life will be more peaceful. For example, one thing that drove me nuts as a “front of house” engineer was when I would do the sound for a talent show and would hear a band complain afterward, “Man, that monitor mix sucked!” Hmmm…I was not on stage. I was at the FOH position. Did you speak up and tell me when I could have done something about it, rather than badmouth me after the fact?

Get It Out There

Another thing that I find amazing is how unwilling some people are to get their music out. If you are an unknown artist you should be getting your music out there in any way possible. Many artists are so worried about getting their music stolen that no one ever hears it. I hate to say it, but songs are a dime a dozen these days. This is the marketing part of your music “business” – get your product in front of as many people as possible. Put your songs on Myspace and allow people to download and trade them. Collaborate with everyone you can. Get your songs on any compilation possible, regardless of the paycheck. I was recently commissioned to produce a hip-hop record with guest emcees. This album will be out on international release on a smaller label. It was like pulling teeth to find emcees for the project. These completely unknown groups with zero records under their belt were demanding millions, or would say, “Let’s work together!” and then we never heard from them again.

Market, Market, Market

No one knows who you are, it’s your job to tell them (just not in a way that conflicts with the “Be Cool” section above). Do you have a monthly newsletter so your fans can connect or reconnect with you? Are you in communication with the people that are paying your way to do this or further your music career?

It’s Sales

The last point, and one that drives every business, is sales. When you are trying to convince a club owner to let you or your band play – that is sales. When you have a merchandise table and hope that people buy CDs – that is sales. Consider reading some books or studying sales techniques. You don’t have to become a cheesy high-pressure salesperson, but there are things that work and things that don’t. Finding out what works can help you avoid missing out on a lot of sales and income.

At the end of the day none of this is really new information. A lot of it is just the golden rule. Think about it before you practice the next time. You should be improving not only as a musician, but also in how you treat people around you. Read some books on sales, marketing, and personal relationships. Understanding these things will take you far. Think of any truly successful person and you will find they are excellent at one or more of these things. For further reading see “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and anything by Zig Ziglar.

Chris Scheidies was a full-time musician turned studio engineer turned video/visual effects monkey. A true geek, he has worked in some sort of tech/creative industry for almost two decades. He is fascinated by business and entrepreneurship. He currently runs several web sites about pro audio and Linux as well as a Reason help site. He is also currently employed as a Sweetwater Sales engineer and can be reached at 800-222-4700 ext. 1388 or emailed at chris_scheidies@sweetwater.com.

This article was written by Nick Schenkel at Sweetwater.  Over the next few months, we’re publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

Over the years, I have played in many bands. I have labored to get band members to show up to practice. I have gone home exhausted after load out with a paltry couple bucks in my pocket. I have dealt with the drama that can erupt between two band members that are at odds with each other. I have been through it all, and I quit.

When I first realized that I no longer wanted to be part of a band, I had tough decisions to make. Was I going to just do the singer/songwriter, guitar and vocal approach? Was I going to do the “band in a box” thing? How was I going to do justice to the songs I had written while keeping the act solo?

There are several ways that an individual can perform with the sound of a full band, but without having the extra personnel. The solution might be as simple as having traditional backing tracks played through the PA system. Another solution might involve using pre-programmed MIDI sequences. Other solutions might be more complex, but might also be more rewarding. Let’s take a look at some of the options.

Traditional Backing Tracks

With the advent of the personal computer and recording software, it’s easy to create backing tracks to play at a live performance. You can load your songs onto a CD or your iPod, and have studio-quality back up for your performance. The problem is that you are locked into a specific arrangement and set list. Also, you either need to have the capability of producing the tracks yourself, or you will need to pay for studio time. This is the “band in a box” approach, and although it can sound great, it often leaves the audience feeling like they just went to a glorified karaoke performance.

Pre-programmed Sequences

With a MIDI sequencing sound module and some kind of controller, you can have high-quality sound and a certain amount of flexibility. By preprogramming different sequences for each part of a song, you can opt to stay with a particular passage longer (for example, to play a little longer on the solo), or edit out a passage altogether (skip the third verse). This allows the performer the ability to react to the audience, and adjust the performance to suit the mood.

Loop-based Performance

Thanks to advances in technology, we now have access to loop pedals that can record sound-on-sound for anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 hours. With these powerhouse loopers, a performer can build an entire arrangement in front of an audience. This can lead to a very engaging and dramatic show that will have people talking for days afterward.

To get a general idea of the process, check out a live video of KT Tunstall performing “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” solo sometime. (There are several available on YouTube.) KT uses an Akai E2 Head Rush pedal to do the looping for her. By using the percussive elements of her guitar, a tambourine, and handclaps, along with her voice, she builds a lush arrangement in a matter of seconds.

If you take this general model a little further, you can see how easy it can become to take a solo performance in a new and exciting direction. Perhaps one might choose to incorporate some simple drum loops from an external source, and (while bringing in the drum loops) use an octave pedal to lay in a bass line. You could take a microphone around the room, and have the audience provide rhythmic elements by clapping or hitting glasses with their spoons. The possibilities are endless.

The end result is a memorable performance that avoids the “canned” feel of pre-recorded/programmed backing track. The audience can also be engaged in a creative and constructive way, adding to the uniqueness of each show. This elevates the solo performance above its usual clichés, making it a fresh and involving experience.

The three options above are by no means a comprehensive list. Certainly, one can consider a number of options using a computer with recording software, or a keyboard workstation with recording options, as ways to expand the possibilities available to you as a solo performer and perhaps lead you in a new direction.

The main point is that there are many ways to avoid being the singer/songwriter in the corner of the coffeehouse strumming your guitar to an uninterested audience. Similarly, one does not necessarily need to work with a band in order to present a full-bodied arrangement in a live environment. With the right technology and a little imagination, you can take your solo act into uncharted territories and pick up new fans along the way.

Nick Schenkel is a guitarist and sound designer. He has degrees in music production and engineering, and has spent the last fifteen years working in both live sound and recording studios. Nick currently works at Sweetwater as a Sales Engineer, and can be reached at (800) 222-4700 ext. 1399 or nick_schenkel@sweetwater.com.

This article was written by Stuart Niven at Sweetwater.  Over the next few months, we’re publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater along with contests and prizes. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

After producing/engineering and mixing bands in Australia for nearly ten years I have worked with artists from their first demo to national releases for indie labels and labels with some pre-production projects for majors like Sony and Warner as well.

In this time I have seen and experienced many pitfalls, made mistakes, and learned some lessons. My hope in this article is not to enforce any rules or preach any “thou shalt do” – this is after all music and should be approached with the imagination, passion and free spirit that is music after all – but rather I hope to give you some tips on how to succeed in the studio!

Before

I find that preparing well provides huge benefits. It’s true you can never be prepared enough, but you do not want to be so locked into ideas that you miss out on the inspiration that comes from the recording process. That said, it’s easy to go so far off the path that you never get back to what it was you first set off to accomplish. These days of endless possibilities in the studio have brought with them a certain risk of never quite making decisions; it’s easy to trade the decisions off for the “we’ll fix it in the mix” path.

While this is great for some, it is a dangerous path for most. Commit! Let your heart take over, set your mind free, does it feel good? Does it sound good? What are we doing here? What is it we are trying to accomplish by recording our musical dreams? We all strive for perfection but sometimes chasing perfection can result in the “need” to edit the life out of an idea. Some of the greatest albums in history were recorded on to two tracks, bounced to another track so the overdubs could be added – editing was not an option.

This “limitation,” by modern standards, was the basis of what I consider the fundamental concept of making a record: Know your part! No amount of editing or digital trickery can replace a well played, from-the-heart performance. Technology should therefore enhance the dream, not replace it. A vintage Neumann microphone with a classic preamp, 2-inch tape, or Pro Tools will capture a bad performance the same as an all-in-one cassette 4-track. Conversely, a great performance will still be a great performance no matter what it is recorded to or how/where it was recorded.

A great record starts in the rehearsal room. It is often thought that the rehearsal (jamming) stage of the process is the fun part. While this is true to a degree, you are defeating the true purpose if you keep making the same mistakes over and over again that will become habits that get overlooked and only appear again under the close microscope of the recording process. If you are rehearsing and make a mistake, stop. What is wrong? Is the arrangement not working? Is the tempo wrong for the part? Do you know your part?

Producer

One of the most valuable sets of ears in the recording process is that of the producer. The role of the producer has always been a bit of a mystery. The evil opinionated guy in the room that makes you do it again…and again…and again? Or, the guy that facilitates the creative flow and exploration…and what makes a person a “producer” anyway?

I always imagined both sides of the coin. We get lost in our own music and sometimes and loose sight of what we are aiming for. A producer can be anyone, but must be objective and slightly removed from the subjective “dream” while seeing the dream in its essence and reality. Basically, a producer will help guide you, keep you on track, and facilitate the process. That may mean bringing lava lamps and creating the “vibe” that keeps everybody motivated and focused or refusing to accept something that doesn’t feel right and demanding better, all while seeing the essence of the song and acting without ego. I guess that the point is that an objective ear is invaluable to a recording, like a jockey on a horse: without the guiding hand of the jockey, the horse could run around completely off the track.

These days of home-based studios where the role of engineer/artist/producer/mixer, and A&R (artist and repertoire) are blurred into one, it’s important to have somebody that is both critical and in touch at the same time…somebody who likes, understands, and has respect for your music.

Gear

The better the gear that you have access to the better you can sound. I recommend hiring or gaining access to the best gear that you can. Spend some money on a good drum room with some great preamps and mics to record the drums. This is the foundation of your recording and chances are, if your drums sound great, the rest will come easier.

Get your sound from the source. A great guitar amp with a great guitar played by a person who knows his part so well that he can let go of the “thought” of the music and just “be” the music will sound real no matter what media is being used to record the performance. But again I must stress, knowing your part and being well rehearsed is paramount, a good vocal performance can be more effective with a cheap mic than a bad performance captured with a $5000 microphone.

Do you sense a recurring theme here?

The Point

I mix with a Pro Tools HD System and have nearly every plug in available, summed into a Dangerous Music 2Bus, almost always with an SSL Bus Compressor strapped over the final mix. Nice gear, but I like to think that these tools only help bring out the best in the sonic soundscape and do not “make” the sound. I have Autotune but I resist the urge to use it unless it is necessary to save a part that cannot be done again. I have Beat Detective, but I try to make sure it is used only to enhance the part and not replace a heartfelt performance.

Stuart Niven recorded bands in Australia for nearly 10 years, including projects for major labels. He graduated from the Conservatorium of Music in Queensland Australia. Niven plays guitar, bass, and drums. He is currently a Sales Engineer at Sweetwater. Reach him at 800-222-4700 x1137 or at stuart_niven@sweetwater.com.

This article was written by Yuval Fuchs at Sweetwater.  Over the next few months, we’re publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater along with contests and prizes. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

Haven’t taken the plunge into home recording yet?  Yuval Fuchs helps guide the debate between standalone multitrack recorders and home computers as total recording solutions.

When I first started out recording my own music about 24 years ago (wow, I suddenly feel old!), my first recorder was a Fostex 4-track cassette multitrack. The point was to use it as a musical scratch pad when the inspirational moment struck, but with the ability to produce a more elaborate arrangement than just a one-shot recording of me playing my guitar. Typically, I would start with a drum track using a drum machine, then a keyboard track followed by a guitar track and a vocal track. If I wanted to add some reverb to my vocals or my final mix, I would insert an external processor into an auxiliary bus and dial in how much or little effect I wanted.

While four tracks of audio doesn’t seem like much by today’s standards (and it isn’t), I was able to get some pretty good sounding musical productions, at least good enough to call it a song or “my new tune” while being able to say I performed all of the music myself. In this day and age, the premise hasn’t changed, but the means to achieve the final results have – and changed drastically!

An example is the way the audio can be edited. Today, we can take advantage of non-destructive editing in our digital audio recorders. This means that any edits (such as cut, copy, paste, etc.) that are made do not actually destroy the originally recorded audio and that we can get the original audio back if we mess something up. This enables experimentation and a whole new level of creativity.

In contrast, in the “old days,” if I were to play a guitar solo that was less than perfect, I had two choices: replay it or keep it and live with it. On some higher-end analog tape machines of that day, one could actually physically cut the tape (a process called “splicing”) and glue it to another section of the tape. Needless to say, this was a painstaking, time-consuming, and often inaccurate process. Today, just about any digital recording system enables countless takes to be recorded and seamlessly incorporated into any part of the arrangement with a few button presses. If you change your mind and don’t like the last take, just choose another one and you are free to record your next part.

Those of you who haven’t taken the plunge into home recording may be debating whether to get a standalone multitrack recorder or to use your computer as a total recording solution.

For me, the transition from analog tape to the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) realm was not smooth. When faced with the choice of going with a standalone HDR (Hard Disc Recorder) or with a computer-based solution, I initially went with an HDR because of cost/performance factor. At that time (back in the mid-‘90s), PCs were in their infancy in terms of processing power and although recording audio was a feature they offered, you had to have a really powerful and expensive computer to handle multiple audio tracks and to apply audio effects. I felt that the computers of that day were simply not powerful enough to enable me to do what I wanted to do quickly and reliably.

So I went with a standalone machine that had it’s own microcomputer inside dedicated to multitracking audio. Basically, it was not dissimilar to my original analog cassette 4-track in that it enabled me to lay down my musical performances track by track, but it also gave me the freedom to cut, copy, paste, realign, and crossfade my audio in ways I could only wish I had available to me before.

The downside of the standalone HDR was the small screen only showed a minimal amount of information. I had to depend on my ears when manipulating the data. But that was okay since the natural, tape-based feel of the recording experience outweighed the lack of visual feedback for the most part and was more congruous to the way I was used to working anyway.

Fast-forward 10 years and now we still have dedicated HDRs. But computers have evolved into total self-contained recording studios (driven by the right choice of software and hardware of course). It does seem apparent to me that HDRs are a dwindling breed these days. I have seen numerous HDR systems recently go away (Roland VS2480, Korg D series) with the advent of PC recording solutions becoming more powerful and more affordable. This, along with having a huge selection of audio interfaces, easy-to-learn software, and control surfaces, and all the audio pieces being relatively simple to integrate with even a consumer-grade PC, makes it compelling for singers, songwriters, and bands to get into the game.

The main benefit of going the computer-based DAW route is the big screen and familiar interface. With the Internet becoming an inseparable part of our lives, we are used to the visual feedback we get from our computers. We subliminally expect the computer to visually feedback what we think as we think it – for it to be a logical extension of our brain. Hearing audio is not quite the same experience as also being able to see the waveform and immediately identifying peaks, transients, quiet passes, noise, clicks, and pops.

Today, HDRs are almost gone, short of models that are still serving an important need: portability. But even for portable applications, laptops are becoming smaller, sleeker, more powerful, and much more affordable. It’s just a matter of time before high-quality audio can be recorded into a palm-sized computer without having to get any external gear! Hold on to your socks…we’re almost there.

Yuval Fuchs is well into his 24th year of guitar playing and is a Sales Engineer at Sweetwater Sound. He owns just enough recording gear and guitars to be dangerous and spends his free time testing and comparing new pro audio products in his studio. He can be reached at yuval_fuchs@sweetwater.com or at (800) 222-4700 ext. 1367.

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