Choice

[Suntower]

I have a question, which I've alluded to before over the years.

How do you guys keep trying so many different pieces of stuff?

I wonder because:
a. If I tried -every- EQ or comp on each track I would spend all day just tweaking one freakin' track.

b. When I used to work in big studios, it seemed as though the 'pros' basically had one or two 'go to' gizmos for each function and stuck with those. Of course there were less choices back in the day (late '70s, early 80's).

c. It seems like trying to keep track of the various 'colours' of every new gizmo out there would require a brain the size of Stephen Hawking.

I guess I wonder how y'all decide what to use and why (other than sheer gear sluttedness---which I suffer from as well) you keep trying new stuff rather than just saying, 'Enough. What I have is fine.'

---JC

 

[T-Dogg]

Me personally -- I guess I keep trying all these damn plugs just to see if they'll give me the same feeling as one or two prized analog gizmo's tracked to 2\" and mixed through a fine analog board... There's definate improvement as plugin technology evolves, so that gives me the drive to keep on listening. I'm a techie, I like gear tinkering, computers and electronic design; I guess it just amuses me on some level.

But with that I admit -- to your other point -- that I do more f'cking around and listening than I do recording of actual music! Aside from the occasional recording job, I'll lay poorly arranged, half-assed tracks down just to work on my mixing skills or try something new out... And that is not a good thing, I know, it's soooo far removed from why I picked up a guitar or bought my first 4-track in the first place... I haven't been bringing any creativity or substance into the studio lately... But on the positive, I just got a new original band together with guys I really respect and look up to -- so now I'm excited to use this stuff to make \"songs\" rather than \"sounds\"...

 

[Suntower]

Well I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. I actually wanna know the secret---there's just no way I can -try- all this stuff and -really- compare it AND get any actual recording done. There just aren't enough hours in the day.

Best,

---JC

 

[tkingen]

Wasn't it Sheryl Crow who said, \"It's not having what you want - it's wanting what you have.\"
Once you learn what your plugins sound like and how they react you can visualize what a track needs, and which plugin will be the right tool to realize the vision.

 

[Giles117 DP]

Exactly...

When you know your tools you can work your tools

I have a ton of plugins. I study the charatcer of each one and for what I mix and how I mix I know which pc will be the best at that time. Sometimes I switch up for a taste of variety, but I know my tools and I know what they will give me. So over the cours eof time I have used everything I have and have defined uses based on what I want as a final result.

 

[TheEastGateMS]

what does the recipe call for? you certainly wouldn't use pepper in a milk shake. and yet i have found that i occasionally like pepper on watermelon.

trial and error should never be forgotten, lest you miss a magical combination, but knowing your gear and exactly how it will effect the mix is the best advice anyone can give.

 

[Suntower]

Well, I'm impressed by the replies!

Not being very -good- @ mixing I guess the closest I can come is that, as a guitar player, I used to have 50 guitars. But I actually used 10 or so for 90% of sessions. I bought all the others -thinking- I'd use them, but...
1. I never wanted to schlep them all to every session.

2. Being on the clock, there was never enough time for me to indulge trying every one.

3. The 10-12 I did use may not have been 'perfect' but they were definitely 'good enough' most of the time.

I used the other 40 only when I thought in advance that they might bring something really special to the hit. But that pre-supposed that I knew what was coming that day -and- that there was time to try several guitars.

I guess I would've thought it was like that for engineers. If y'all can hear a snippet and immediately -know- which of 20+ comps will provide just the right pizazz for a track I bow before thee. The pro mixes I have seen done, have been wrapped up in 1-2 days and I couldn't imagine having enough time to audition all manner of thingees and still get it done in that time frame.

Obviously much to learn.

Thanks for your replies.

---JC