clean - shmean !

[adam_w1]

I've just done some pretty damn fine demos for a manager who has been shopping the tracks to a bunch of labels usually with lots of nice feedback about the recording & production... but once or twice once a couple of A&R guys found out that they were done all in in PT, the comment that "yes, I thought they were very... clean" seems to have stuck in this guys mind. This has sparked a "make them more warm" debate, when I think personally, they sound great and the guy should learn to listen with his ears and not his mind..

Now to me, being able to hear things clear and fat, sounding as I recorded them is a good thing. Wooly, ill defined mush is not.


My usual signal path is either:

API 312 > Focusrite 430 / and/orAPI 550 > Apogee
Neve 1064 > same
Meek VC1Q > Apogee

..all of which to me are pretty frickin' warm & coloured ! I tend not to use too much EQ from plugs and am someone who is actually generally pretty happy with the sound of Protools..

I do use McDSP AC1 on quite a few channels and have DAD tape on my master quite often
as my nod to tape..but even then I'm not fussed as the **** sounds good to me !

Soo..apart from "buy a Fatso", "buy tape" any ideas ?

[AE]

Not sure why you care what A&R folks say about the quality of your recordings. I imagine they know less about this than they do about music -- and it seems that pitifully few know a whole lot about music... A&R guys/gals are paid to have an opinion about stuff, right? When they have nothing to contribute (not that that ever happens), the Pro Tools/basement/garage/whatever recordist is an easy target. The key here is whether they make these comments *before* or *after* learning that the recordings were Pro Tools productions.

[Felix]

i wouldn't waste money with tape.
try running the tracks through a nice console. Neve, Helios, whatever. if you can aford the studio time, try mixing them that way instead of the PT mixer.
but take all those AC1's off beforehand! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[adam_w1]

It's not a "quality" thing - the **** sounds (please pardon my lack of modesty)great ! ..but more the bias against a format or tool. I've been recording digitally for a loooong time and understand the way it sounds vs. analog..but I can't fight peoples perceptions, especially when they are your paymasters. Kinda disappointing..maybe I'll turn the hiss option on in DAD Tape..

[AE]

Next time, just tell them that you've started recording on an old MCI JH-24 (or whatever) with the British mod (or something else equally silly). That will probably shut them up...

[Fritz]

what’s cold has no ears and slithers thru the greens?

You could try to run you whole mix thru better D/As (Apogee) and an analog comp, Neve 33609, Manley, Pendulum, Summit etc, and just touch them lightly.

[snoopy]

Since when has any A&R exec known anything about music?

[Felix]

well, then record the mixes onto an old tape deck give that to them!
if its still too clean, use another deck for further generations.
[img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
seriously, the Fatso is something that is all about achieving that which is sought.

[Kev]

Nice to see the Neve 33609 get a mention. This is a somewhat forgotten unit but a gem non-the-less.

[jackruston]

Get two tracks both done on your pt setup and play them to the a&r guy. Tell him one was pt and the other was analogue. He'll drone on about how he knew it was analogue because of the 'warmth'. This achieves nothing by the way, but you can have a bloody good laugh about it with your mates in the pub afterwards.

It's exactly the same as if you're doing something for a commercial for example and the exec says 'yeah it just needs a little extra something on the snare etc'. You take it away and do nothing, and you can be absolutely sure when you go back, he'll say 'aah yes! I knew that would fix things'.

Dont get me wrong, I've had some really perceptive, clever and useful criticisms from some of these guys, but so often they're just ********ting.

J