Now that's a good response. It's all in the mix down.
On Thursday, February 25, 2010, Thor Teague <[email protected]> wrote: > I think this whole discussion is a)tired and b)a fat load of horseshxt. > > But I will say, perhaps tongue-in-cheekly, that I just can't get > around a hardware mixdown. Other than that I'm fine with whatever, but > putting it through a Mackie seems to make all the difference. A close > second to that mixer would be hardware compression. > > I mixed one of my tracks a couple years ago then re-edited it > digitally and bounced it. The mix just drops dead. It's really > telling. I can play those two examples for anybody and they have only > to listen with their own two earballs to hear the difference. > > On 2/25/10, kent williams <[email protected]> wrote: >> All hardware is The Detroit Way(tm), and one can't argue with results. >> Virtually ('Virtually'?) every track that defines Detroit Techno and >> House music was made with hardware synths and mixed down outside the >> computer. As it happens, prior to roughly 1998, a computer was of >> limited utility for anything other than MIDI sequencing. >> >> The sound of Detroit techno arose at least in part from the way >> working with the hardware influences the aesthetic choices made. The >> one measure drum loop is a limitation of Roland Drum Machines* so >> Techno mostly involves one measure rhythm loops. Within that >> limitation, producers soon used the tools available to them (volume >> controls for individual sounds, sound parameters, write-mode real-time >> step programming) to make something static come alive. >> >> I use a mix of hardware and software, and end up doing the mix in the >> computer. That's just what I've evolved into using over the years. I >> still have nearly every synth & drum machine I've ever bought, and got >> my latest analog synth in 2008. >> >> That being said, I think it is very possible to make good music >> without the hardware, and in fact many people who make tracks simply >> can't afford a full-on hardware studio. Software synths are free to >> cheap; a proper modern analog synth costs a minimum of $300-400, a >> TR909 -- if you can find one -- is $1000 or more. A usable laptop is >> $600, and sufficient software is free to cheap (or stolen). >> >> If you don't like how all-computer productions sound, you can spend >> the multiple thousands of dollars to equip yourself with 'real' gear** >> or you could learn to get the sound you want out of the computer. The >> production techniques required for working in the computer are >> different than working with outboard hardware. >> >> In the end it's always what your'e able to do with the gear more than >> the gear itself. Whatever inspires you or feels comfortable should >> your guide, not what anyone thinks that you 'should' be using. >> >> *You can use drum loops longer than one measure on Roland drum >> machines, but it isn't the easiest or most natural way to work. >> >> **My rule of thumb about buying external gear -- if it's just a >> computer on the inside, I'd rather save my money and use my computer. >> A lot of external synths -- e.g. Nord, Elektron Machine Drum, Alesis >> Micron -- are just computers in a fancy box. They may be useful for >> many reasons, but they don't do anything your computer can't, at least >> insofar as sound is concerned. >> >> On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 6:28 AM, Kevin Kennedy <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> As a side note, I have gone back to using hardware, and there will be >>> results to post for everyone soon... >>> >> >
