EQ Magazine - November 2008 - (Page 4)

Talk Box DO WE REALLY NEED BIG STUDIOS? With more and more hits—and even movie soundtracks— being recorded in home and project studios, and commercial studios going through some hard times the last several years, some have assumed that big studios are now obsolete and will pretty much go the way of the dinosaur. But is a trend forever destined to keep going in the same direction? Not necessarily. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if we’ve hit the bottom of the cycle, and larger, commercial studios will make somewhat of a comeback. Commercial studios used to be essential because only the wealthy could afford the cost of setting up studio facilities in a home. However, with today’s gear—whose quality is on a par with some of the finest studios of yesteryear—this isn’t really an issue. But gear isn’t the only reason to use a studio. Some musicians use commercial studios for practical reasons: They need a high-quality, large, live room to set up full drum sets, amps, and the like. This is particularly relevant now, as many groups are emphasizing the performance element of music by cutting “live in the studio.” Or, they simply may not have the room for a grand piano. Recording a 10-piece band? Difficult to do in a garage. And of course, the louder the music, the more likely that neighbor issues will come into play; and using a home studio for commercial projects can lead to zoning conflicts. Yet none of those reasons may be the most important factor in deciding to work in a commercial studio. As Matt Boudreau (of San Francisco’s Broken Radio studios, formerly Coast Recorders) noted when I visited their facilities: “Technology has gotten to the point where a lot of musicians spend more time figuring out why something isn’t working than playing. In our studio, there are maintenance people to handle that, and engineers to run the gear. Musicians play better when they can concentrate on playing.” One of the reasons for the decline of big studios was expense, because they had to charge a lot to amortize all that expensive gear. But the same price reductions that have benefited home studios have benefited larger ones as well. The brutal price-cutting phase should be pretty much behind us, making the use of commercial studios more affordable to up-and-coming bands. Furthermore, the transportability of digital recordings means that a band can track in a commercial studio, mix at home at their leisure, then employ the services of a professional mastering engineer—all while fitting within a reasonable budget. The days of the “recording palace” are probably behind us, but don’t count out commercial studios just yet—they remain an important element of many recording projects. www.eqmag.com Vol. 19 No. 11, November 2008 Executive Editor Craig Anderton, canderton@musicplayer.com Editor Matt Harper, mharper@musicplayer.com Managing Editor Debbie Greenberg, dgreenberg@musicplayer.com Contributors Merrick Angle, Bruce Bartlett, Ken Micallef, Shane Mehling, Lily Moayeri, Mike Papatonis, Greg Reynolds, Angelina Skowronski Art Director Patrick Wong, pwong@musicplayer.com Staff Photographers Paul Haggard, phaggard@musicplayer.com, Craig Anderton, canderton@musicplayer.com Group Publisher Joe Perry jperry@musicplayer.com, 770.343.9978 Advertising Director, West Coast & New Business Dev. Greg Sutton gsutton@musicplayer.com, 925.425.9967 Advertising Director, Midwest Jessica Sullivan jsullivan@musicplayer.com, 661.255.2719 Advertising Director, East Coast & Europe Grace Newman gnewman@musicplayer.com, 631.239.1460 Advertising Director, Southwest Albert Margolis amargolis@musicplayer.com, 949.582.2753 Director of Specialty Sales Mike Montgomery mmontgomery@musicplayer.com, 650.238.0307 Specialty Sales Associate, North Allison Smith asmith@musicplayer.com, 650.238.0296 Specialty Sales Associate, South Will Sheng wsheng@musicplayer.com, 650.238.0325 Production Manager Beatrice Kim MUSIC PLAYER NETWORK Vice President John Pledger Editorial Director Michael Molenda Senior Financial Analyst Bob Jenkins Production Department Manager Beatrice Kim Director of Sales Operations Lauren Gerber Web Director Max Sidman Motion Graphics Designer Tim Tsuruda Marketing Director Christen McFarland Marketing Coordinator Rosario Perez Marketing Designer Joelle Katcher Systems Engineer John Meneses Assoc. Consumer Marketing Director Christopher Dyson NEWBAY MEDIA CORPORATE President & CEO Steve Palm Chief Financial Officer Paul Mastronardi Vice President Web Development Joe Ferrick Circulation Director Denise Robbins HR Manager Ray Vollmer IT Director Greg Topf Controller Jack Liedke Please direct all advertising and editorial inquiries to: EQ, 1111 Bayhill Dr., Ste. 125, San Bruno, CA 94066 (650) 238-0300; Fax (650) 238-0262; eq@musicplayer.com Please direct all subscription orders, inquiries, and address changes to: 800-289-9919, outside the U.S. 978-667-0364, eqmag@computerfulfillment.com Back Issues: Back Issues are available for $10 each at 800-289-9919, 978-667-0364, eqmag@computerfulfillment.com EQ (ISSN 1050-7868) is published monthly by NewBay Media, LLC 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. EQ is a trademark of NewBay Media. All material published in EQ is copyrighted (©) 2008 by NewBay Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in EQ is prohibited without written permission. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EQ., P.O. Box 232, Lowell, MA 01853. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork. All product information is subject to change; publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. All listed model numbers and product names are manufacturers' registered trademarks. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Bruno, CA, and at additional mailing offices. 4 EQ NOVEMBER 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

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EQ Magazine - November 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Brian Wilson Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Sony Acid 6 Abelton Live 7 Controller World New Controllers Analysis Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - November 2008

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