John Williams: Blog

Be careful about what you say in the studio - it might end up here! This is stuff that was really said and it all came out in complete sincerity with a straight face.
"That's a leaver" - bass player, whenever he finished a track (he meant "keeper").
"Nobody ever told me I would have to play in time" - guitar player, after blowing many, many takes.
"The kick is just a subliminal thing" - bass player, when asked if he knew how to play in time with the kick.
"Record companies won't sign you if you don't have vintage gear" - bass player, while trying to justify the purchase of crappy '70s Fender gear.
"Just double the whole mix so it will have that fat sound" - songwriter.
"So do you think the Goo Goo Dolls go home and practice on their own?" - guitar player, when told to practice at home.
"I just want to climb a mountain, get naked, and smoke a joint" - same guitar player.
"I can't wait 'til I'm famous and get arrested and can say 'I'll be out in a couple of days'" - future rockstar.
"But [...]

Guest Blogger: Darin DiPietro
Probably one of the toughest studio tools to learn how to use effectively is a compressor/limiter. For good reason, unlike a reverb or a delay, the effect can be a little harder to hear and understand. The basic use for a compressor/limiter is to gain control of the signal, but I also use them to alter the sound of a particular track. I?m one of those that really like the sound of compression. Purists hate guys like me, but they can write their own article. The following are just basic starting points that work for me in a given situation and are tailored to each need accordingly.
On vocals I like the sound of a good tube limiter. Use what you?ve got, but once you hear a tube limiter on vocals you?ll be saving your allowance for one. Since most singers don?t have very good "studio mic" etiquette, squeezing down hard on them is a must in my book. I?ll start at 10:1 and take off between 10 ? 15 db. I set the attack for as quick as possible and [...]

Guest Blogger: Darin DiPietro
You don?t hear a lot about track sheets in magazine articles because most engineers and producers take them for granted. They seem so basic and inconsequential that no one really thinks about them much. This is where the problem starts. For a lot of beginners, understanding a track sheet and how to keep one organized can actually be difficult. Now, there will be some know-it-alls that laugh at this and think they're above the basics of a track sheet. Some may very well be, but not all. Here?s what made me think of this article.
From time to time at the studio here I get the ?opportunity? to mix tapes that were recorded at another ?professional? studio. I?m ADAT based so this shouldn?t be much of a problem right? Wrong, wrong, wrong. I get tapes with instruments that bounce from one track to the next, totally unorganized, nothing documented, stereo one minute mono the next because no one knew they were recording over a previously laid track. [...]

Why are most bands unsuccessful? Is it the big bad record labels, the boneheaded booking agents, or the clubs that refuse to let them play? It?s gotta be someone else?s fault that the best bands around aren?t heard. There might be a conspiracy going on to keep all the good bands unheard. A lot of musicians go around pissing and moaning about how unfair the music business is. Everyone is against them, trying to keep them down. Well to be honest with you these people really give me gas! Not just a little squeeker mind you, but a full-on-check-your-shorts blowout.
I?ve been in the business for 17 years, and as I see it most musicians are lazy, pathetic, whining cry babies. It takes alot of hard work, practice and perseverance to make a living in music. If it?s more important for you to watch the boob tube, then give up on the music. If you think you should be given a whole bunch of money because you have this great song in your head, spare me the details and just flip my burger [...]