Recording - July 2015 - 72

What Makes A Recording A Recording?

Guest editorial by Marty Peters
In response to a recent query from
one of this publication's loyal Readers'
Tapes subscribers, I have taken to the
hallowed page of the Fade Out section
in order to answer the age old question, "Just what is recording, anyway?"
You see, I recently reviewed a
superb instrumental track and featured it in our SPOTLIGHT e-newsletter. For those of you who don't know,
SPOTLIGHT is a free monthly email
bulletin where we publish Readers'
Tapes submissions that are basically
too darn good to take up space in the
magazine column. These tracks get it
right, and we tell the world about
them and the people who recorded
them at home.

answer is as follows: "noun re·cord·ing:
music, sounds, or images that have
been stored on a record, CD, computer,
etc., so that they can be heard or seen
again : the act or process of storing
sounds or images on tape or a disk."
Huh, seems simple enough, then.
Well, all except for the writing,
arrangement, and studio time. Oh,
and then there's the music lessons,
instruments, DAW/computer, and
mastering house. And let's not forget
the rehearsal space, engineer/producer, Auto-Tune, duplication house, and
my personal favorite, monitors. Whew,
have I covered everything? Actually,
not even close. Hey, Mr. Webster, what
gives? I'll tell you the "rest of the
story," as Paul Harvey used to say.
If you look at the front cover of our
publication, you will notice that the title
includes "The magazine for the recording musician." While there are certainly
those of you out there that handle only
the technical aspects of our craft, the
vast majority of you are musicians who
have picked up your recording skills

To that end-and to address our original question-using the latest technology to create an outstanding recording
is not only valid, in our humble opinion,
but may very well be at the vanguard of
things to come. Believe us when we tell
you that right now there are plug-ins
and software in R&D that will be blowing your minds in short order, and those
of us lucky and savvy enough to have
access to them will be creating some
amazing music via them right quick.
Tools is tools, folks. It's what we do with
them that makes the magic!
Many years ago I reviewed an incredible song in Readers' Tapes that was
recorded (using some extremely nice
gear) entirely in a machine shop.
Starting with an air compressor and a
rivet gun, and eventually employing all
manner of power drills, grinders, hammers and the like, the recordist in
question fashioned one of the most
intricate, rhythmic and fascinating
pieces of instrumental (yes, there, I
said it!) music that I have ever heard.
Was it music? Well, it sure was to my

Tools is tools, folks. It's what we do with them that makes the magic!
[You can subscribe to SPOTLIGHT, and
our other Sound Advice monthly newsletters, by visiting www.recordingmag
.com/newsletter.html or by pushing the
big green Newsletter button at the bottom of our homepage.-MM]
This was a track that seemingly had
it all-great composition, arranging,
programming/ performance, tracking,
mixing, and mastering. So what's the
catch? Well, it seems that the entire
affair was done using virtual instruments... nary a microphone, guitar
cable or drumstick in sight. This led to
correspondence from our aforementioned subscriber asking the question:
without "real" instruments, does the
track even qualify as a recording?
Now my friend and intrepid editor,
Mike Metlay, has never been one to shy
away from a good old-fashioned controversy, and so suggested that we tackle it
head on, Recording style. Okay then,
friends, let's roll up our sleeves, get
down off the fence, and see what's what.
Leafing through the pages of the
venerable Webster's Dictionary, the
72

RECORDING July 2015

through a combination of interest/
passion and necessity. In my experience, just how we all go about our business in an ever-changing recording landscape is incredibly diverse.
While one could make the case that
the basic fundamentals of recording
are static, in fact changes are happening constantly, with new techniques
and musical styles in a constant state
of evolution. Remember that Rock
and Roll was given a two-to-threeyear life expectancy back in the mid1950s, and Rap music probably less
when it emerged on the scene... and
yet here we are. Amazing, isn't it?
Early storage media included the
phonoautograph which eventually led
to the phonograph, then magnetic
wire and tape in all shapes and sizes,
followed by digital media and now
the cloud. In the same manner, the
resources available to the modern
recordist would most certainly have
seemed like science fiction just a few
short years ago. "Music in a cloud"?
Pshaw!

ears, and according to Webster's definition, it more than filled the requirement. What's more, after listening to
thousands of submissions during my 18
years of Readers' Tapes, it is one of a
handful that still strikes an emotional
chord in my memory.
In the final analysis, it seems that
the truth here is that there are many
truths. For some, only a microphone
through a preamp to tape signal path
is "real" recording, while others find
the benefits of working "in the box"
more to their liking. One thing is for
certain: there's room enough for us
all. And with that in mind... Happy
recording!
Marty Peters (peters@recordingmag.com)
took over our Readers' Tapes column,
which was been going steadily since our
first issue in 1987, in February 1997.
Over 18 years and 200 columns later, he's
still providing great advice for readers...
even though the last actual tape we got
came in nearly ten years ago.

http://www.recordingmag.com/newsletter.html http://www.recordingmag.com/newsletter.html

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - July 2015