what the hell am I expecting?

[easyb]

Sometimes I find myself very frustrated by not getting the sound of a great record produced by, say, Quincy Jones. Guess that so much time in front of my system trying this and that and with the hurry to learn and get a big sound can put me out of the way sometimes…


- Do I know a lot of recording, mixing and mastering? NO
- Do I work in a more than 10000$ studio? NO
- Do I record top musicians and singers? NO
- Do I work more than 8 hours daily in the studio? NO
- Do I have time enough to improve my projects before realising them? NO
- Do I have some more time to read every of the 1000 articles and books available? NO
- Do I know a lot about dealing with Windows related problems? NO
- Do I always have in mind not loosing the feel and the magic? NO
- Do somebody told me that all this was easy? NO


So, what the hell am I expecting? Damn, I should be quite happy with what I’m getting!!


- Will I know a lot of recording, mixing and mastering? YES
- Will I work in a more than 10000$ studio? YES
- Will I record top musicians and singers? YES
- Will I work more than 8 hours daily in the studio? YES
- Will I have time enough to improve my projects before realising them? (hmm.., let’s say) YES
- Will I have some more time to read every of the 1000 articles and books available? YES
- Will I always have in mind not loosing the feel and the magic? YES
- Will I know a lot about dealing with Windows related problems? NEVER!!!
- Will I tell somebody that all this is easy? NEVER!!!

Thanks for listening. I know there are more points left but I had to write this to cool down, and I think that it’s something that some of us should do from time to time, specially the newbies, newcomers and budget producers!



Peace

easyb

[tempest18]

Some of us always get the sound we want

Only jokin, I start getting annoyed when my tunes dont sound the way I want them to or sometimes I think, if somebody would write me a Good song, then maybe I'd get it to sound the way I want instead of having to mess around with my own songs.

I got a T shirt with Quincy on from a music store in florida last summer, only cost me 8 bucks!

So he cant be that good!

Chris Tempest

[Joz]

- Will I know a lot about dealing with Windows related problems? NEVER!!!

Joz

[Super Seven]

Been using Protools on and off for 4 years....only as a hobby. And only now I am getting the sound I want. Oddly enough, I am using no mics and just running everything in direct. The clearity is amazing and the sound blows me away. I no longer have to deal with the limitations of a low-mid end mic. Call me stupid, I am also recording all the effects direct in instead of recording dry and adding effects later. The end result, is something I've been after for a long time. This is also the sound I want though. Everyone has their own tastes. But over the years I've learned that to get a great sound in the end... you gotta start with a great sound before tracking. Trying to fix it in the mix will always sound like crap and you will only get frustrated. Another bit of advise I can give, if you are using mics and amps or whatever....spend alot of time playing around with mic placement. The right placement will make HUGE changes in the end result. As little as a 1 or 2 degree tilt of the mic can dramatically effect how the track will sound. This is one small step to getting a great sound. If at all possible, avoid using EQ in PT. I am at a point now, where I lay the tracks down, and use virtually no EQ. I am pretty much just using PT to mix and pan my tracks. I use some compressors and EQing only on bass as I don't have a high end bass rig. Also, I am only recording guitars and bass, I sequence all my drums. Guess the point I am trying to make is, get the sound right before you hit record you will be alot happier when it comes time to mix.

[Third Eye Studios]

It's easy to make talented people sound good. They do all the work for you. Look at the calibur of people QJ gets to work with.

[QuikDraw]

You know, I NEVER get the sound that I want. Luckily though, I sometimes get the sound that the song wants! It seems to me that each song is its own animal, requiring different mixing techniques to sound its best.

I'm not a pro by any standards. I spend maybe 20 hours a year doing recording stuff (used to be more, but life goes on LOL!). I usually end up with a sound that I'm satisfied with. My friends are usually more impressed than the sound deserves. And I never end up with something that sounds "Pro." (I always blame the latter on lack of mastering; it's probably because I suck! LOL).

Mike