Recording - April 2014 - 4

PUBLISHER: Thomas Hawley
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Brent Heintz

EDITORIAL

EDITOR: Mike Metlay
SENIOR EDITOR: Lorenz Rychner
TECHNICAL CONSULTANT: Paul Vnuk Jr.
EDITOR AT LARGE: Beto Hale
MÚSICO PRO EDITOR: Fernando Curiel

CONTRIBUTORS
Paul Vnuk Jr., Sven-Erik Seaholm,
Eleanor Goldfield, Paul J. Stamler,
Eric Alexandrakis, Marty Peters

The right tool for the right job
One of the lab techs I worked with in my misspent youth as a nuclear physicist (no,
really!) said the same thing every time some well-meaning student tried to fix a piece of
equipment with whatever tools he had handy and ended up making things worse:
"Sometimes it's all about using the right wrench to hammer in the screw."
Sure, making music is all about improvising sometimes. Not just "improvising" as in coming up with music on the spot-"improvising" as in coming up with solutions to problems
on the spot. I've captured song ideas that came to me in the middle of a supermarket by
singing into my phone and retrieving the melody from my home answering machine that
night, and I've gotten to be well-known at the festivals I attend for always showing up with
a toolchest full of adapter widgets that can connect anything to anything else. (Ever seen
a MIDI-to-RCA adapter? And no, that's not our annual April Fools' joke....)
But for the songwriter who wants to capture ideas smoothly and without fuss, and then
turn them into finished tracks to shop around or add to his or her own catalog, problemsolving improvisation detracts from musical inspiration. Coming up with fixes for problems takes time and energy away from coming up with great melodies or lyrics, so it
pays to be able to capture and craft your ideas without having to cobble together how
to get the job done.
In this issue of Recording, we're looking at the songwriter's toolbox: gear and strategies that combine to make the song creation process easy, inspiring, and fun.
Sven-Erik Seaholm isn't just a producer/engineer with a fine studio in San Diego, he
also happens to be one of my favorite singer/songwriters-I asked him to start writing
for us after listening to his last two albums. Sven was a natural choice to write our lead
article, in which he takes us through the process of creating a song from initial ideas to
building a full mix, and talks about the tools and tricks he uses along the way. His
method won't be 100% applicable to your headspace and music, but I'm betting you'll
find some great ideas and inspirations in his article.
Eleanor Goldfield brings us a selection of free software-virtual instruments and
recorders-that help jumpstart your songwriting. They won't replace the products we
review every month, but why turn down a chance for quick inspiration and cool sounds
for nothing? And Eric Alexandrakis offers over two dozen sure-fire ways for songwriting
professionals to mess themselves up in the marketplace, and then provides solutions to
them all... a topic also covered brilliantly (if you can dodge the F-bombs raining down)
in one of the books in this month's "For Your Bookshelf" reviews.
We've got some serious songwriter gear reviews, too. Dynaudio Professional answers
the question, "What if a speaker was designed from the get-go to sound great while sitting on your desk by your computer?", and AEA presents a ribbon microphone designed
especially for the singer/songwriter in a less than perfect room who wants his or her
recordings to sound their very best. CME offers a keyboard controller with a unique
blend of playability and portability, letting composing keyboardists actually enjoy the
process of pulling some keys out of a laptop bag and banging out their ideas. And
TASCAM's newest digital recorder shows us that the all-in-one digital multitrack is alive
and thriving in the recording songwriter's world.
And there's lots more where that came from. Paul J. Stamler gets an assist from a number of our contributors in stocking a startup studio in Part 2 of "From The Outside In",
Paul Vnuk Jr. tries some very cool 500 Series modules from Studio Projects and Louder
Than Liftoff... and before you get to any of that, check out our huge show report on
Winter NAMM, over 160 products from 76 vendors in a single source you won't find
anywhere else.
Here's hoping that in your own songwriting endeavours, you find yourself holding the
right wrench to hammer in that screw. Enjoy the issue.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Brent Heintz, Paul Vnuk Jr.
ART & PRODUCTION

ART DIRECTOR: Scott Simmonds
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Colin Courtney
WEB GOALIE: Colin Courtney

PLAYBACK PLATINUM SERIES
Lorenz Rychner

EDITOR/PRODUCER:

CIRCULATION
Tiffany Sepe

CIRCULATION MANAGER:

ADVERTISING SALES AND MARKETING
DIRECTOR: Brent Heintz
CLASSIFIEDS MANAGER: Colin Courtney
ADMINISTRATION
Thomas Hawley

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE:

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

PRESIDENT: Thomas Hawley
VICE PRESIDENT: Brent Heintz

SUBSCRIPTIONS/ADDRESS CHANGES:
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ADVERTISING/CLASSIFIEDS/MAIN OFFICE:
(303) 516-9118
RECORDING MAGAZINE
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RECORDING April 2014

Recording - April 2014

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