Recording - November 2017 - 8

TalkBack
30 Years-Two More Words
Last month, Recording celebrated its 30th anniversary with
a collection of great advice for new engineers from folks who
have contributed to our pages in the last three decades. Here
are a couple of worthwhile additions that were just a bit too
big to fit the article.-MM
I was at a SPARS (Society of Professional Audio Recording Services) meeting outdoors on a hot New York City
afternoon surrounded by owners of the some of the largest
studios in the United States: Murray Allen (Universal
Recording), Chris Stone (the Record Plant), Tony Bongiovi,
Bob Walters (Power Station), and many others. "I am
not worthy" was my mantra, being surrounded by these
industry giants.
Similar to this question, there was a question posed to
the panel. "What is the most important piece of advice you
can give to other studio owners?" Bob Walters, whom I'd
admired so much as a businessman, said two things from
which I have never veered.
First: "You don't have a client until you have their money."
He repeated this, then asked the attendees to think about
it. I really didn't get it at first; what he was saying was
that a deposit on studio time puts the shoe on the other
foot. When you have a client's deposit in the bank, they
will bend over backwards to make it to the session. Before
adopting this policy, I had heard every excuse in the book...
including "My dog caught on fire."
Bob added that the incentive was to discount the hourly
studio rate proportionate to the size of the deposit. I'm
willing to negotiate lower rates if and when I know clients
are starting a major project and have funds up front. If
you bypass this philosophy, that date you have in the book
may be sketchy.
Second, Bob continued, "I wake up every morning and
say a prayer of thanks that I own the building my studio
is in." It's so sad when all of that sacred infrastructure is
ripped out due to rent hikes or sale of the property. I say
Bob's prayer frequently.
Geoff Gray
owner/engineer, Far & Away Studios, Boulder, CO
If there's one overriding theme I've discovered practically
everywhere in my years of playing so many different roles
in the music business (from engineer to studio musician,
song writer to artist, performer to producer), it can be
distilled down to just one word: Listen. That's essentially

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what you'll be doing more than anything else when working on music, it will thus become your primary job.
There are so many levels of listening that I had no
idea were involved in making music in the studio and
on stage, from the obvious to the arcane. Yes, you have to
learn how to listen to the sound coming out of your
instrument and from the speakers. But there are countless
other situations where you will find the skill of being a
good listener to be most advantageous.
You will have to listen to your inner 'band/orchestra'
when composing-it's where ideas will come from. You
will also have to listen to your better self when making
artistic/creative decisions, which will be constantly. You
will have to listen to your collaborators when working
with others. If you are an engineer, you will have to learn
to listen to your artists and producers in addition to critical
technical listening. If you are a musician you will have
to listen from your instrument outwards to your section
mates, to any vocalists, and on to the whole. If you're a
session musician, you also have to listen to the click in
your phones in addition to all of the above. And if you're
a producer, you will have to listen to the spoken and
unspoken cues your artists will give you.
Of course, you should listen to other recorded music,
and definitely to live music as often as possible. And
don't forget to listen to your surroundings for inspiration:
music is everywhere. Finally, listen to your elders and
mentors-that goes without saying!
When I first started, I had no idea there were so many
ways to listen, from listening to yourself, your instrument,
your bandmates, your speakers, and back to yourself as
you fit into the whole. From listening to one instrument
in a mix to listening to only one frequency range, from
listening to how the dynamics are working (or not
working) both on the micro and macro level, to how the
overall arrangement is working, all the way to listening
to feedback from your listeners... you will constantly
be listening!
So it follows you should aspire to be the best listener
you possibly can be, since listening will be your primary
job. And while you'll probably never be a perfect listener,
you will always be working on being a better listener
from your first day in the studio until your last. Are
you listening?
Giles Reaves
recording artist, engineer/producer,
New York/Nashville/Salt Lake City

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RECORDING November 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - November 2017