In audio, a whole chain can be made out of weak links.

Acoustics-mic-cable-pre-mixer-interface-monitors-acoustics

To all of this you can add cheap or bad and you will have a weak link that will have you scratching your head, thinking “What could possibly be making my music sound like ass?”

Then, come to me an ask me to fix it. 

I fix things, but I cannot make miracles. Be mindful of your audio chain. Replace things in time, when you have the money. Repeat. 

You can spill beer on a fiddle.

I asked my client last night what was the difference between a Violin player and a Fiddle player.

That’s what he answered.

Real Musicians Don’t Care If Their Music Was Downloaded Illegally or Bought For 20$.

ambientclouds:

In fact real musicians post Full Albums on their own websites to download for free, and advocate people to share it as much as they can :) 

Mashrou’ Leila are one of those musicians <3 

Screen real estate.

I have an obsession with computer program windows.

They have to be the full screen width and height.

 I cannot stand when I can see other program windows or the desktop. I DO have to see the whole screen used up by whatever is active. 

I use command-tab to switch between programs, but I don’t see many people doing the same, am I a maniac?

It always starts at the source.

No matter what you would like to think, if it’s not good at the source, it won’t be good in mixing or mastering. 

I do get that project that just expects me to do some miracle every now and then. 

When asked if the recording is shit, I answer:

“It has its color”

Put a little effort into it.

To get something out of it. 

Listening to certain albums, an effort must be put into it. Your body and your mind. You have to sit down and listen to the damn thing because you know there’s something in there that is good and good for you. 

Or listen to the damn thing many, many, many times. I know those albums are in everyone’s lives. That album that you can’t live without now because it just makes you feel something inside. 

For me, there’s a bunch, but I’m writing this because of a series of re-releases by the band Death, a progressive, ahead of its time outfit that just did what a lot of bands are not able to do right now: Make me just listen to this. 

Ok, there are a couple: The Ocean, which I’m seeing this Tuesday, Ihsahn, a Norwegian Black Metal band, the new Anthrax album, the new Mastodon album. 

Command-Tab.

Or for PC, Ctrl-Tab.

This shortcut shifts the focus on the application you’re using. I like to “blind” my clients when dealing with their music via this shortcut so we end up looking at another application that doesn’t have the visual representation that people expect when working with computers. This makes them concentrate on what’s happening with the music instead of having the expectations that come with looking at things. There’s only been one person who didn’t like it. 

When you take breaks, it’s worth it. 

A watched bounce never renders.

The more attention and expectation you put into being creative, the less creative your music sounds. It’s the “be yourself, let go” cliché, but it’s true. Being so detail-oriented makes you miss the big picture

As well as never finish!

Great comparison between Guitar Hero and CD versions of Death Magnetic.