upgrade
i got a somewhat surprising phone call from a friend this weekend wondering how i liked my new iPhone. most people know i am a gadget phreak, but i have to say i was never really interested in this phone. i have a great phone gadget (treo 680) that does everything that i need. i'm not sure if the iphone is anything revolutionary at all, i think the real technological advances are with the mobile google applications. the mobile gmail and google maps (amazing for local traffic updates) have democratized online access so that most anybody can have access to a wide variety of information on the home computer, laptop or cell phone. you don't need an iphone to run these programs, most any cellphone will do.
until recently, the 60 gig ipod was probably the most important piece of technology that i have ever owned. the ability to categorize my library and keep easily updateable playlists with notes (through the lyrics tabs). allowed me to have a pretty detailed and sophisticated process for transcribing and categorizing music. since scores are not usually available of most music i am interested in, the ability to easily transcribe a part on the fly (usually during my commute on the train between fullerton and los angeles), jot some notes down (notation, harmony and function) and easily categorize these gestures for later thoughts. over the last few years the ipod has been a great tool that has allowed me to transcribe, analyze and contemplate great deal of music. which in essence comes down to; why is this gesture interesting to me? how does it function? and how does it fit in overall to my aesthetic?
but lets back to the phone call, i'm sure he called looking for my verdict on the Iphone, but i guess the real story is that i did upgrade to the latest apple 'gadget' this past week, and i think its far more revolutionary to musicians and composers. right now the new macbooks and macbook pro laptops are just as fast and powerful as any computer in a high end recording studio. these recent technological advances (by apple and others) have allowed me to upgrade my studio and purchase almost everything that i could ever need at a very affordable price point. 5 years ago when i recorded my first cd, about $6,000 bought me barely enough technology to record my music in a studio and mix it at home.
this did a pretty good job getting me going and i kept my costs lower by recording in the studio, mixing at home (but i had to go back to the studio for the final mixdown which my computer could not handle). of course every 5 years the technology doubles (thank you moore's law). not only has the cost of the system gone down (as it has doubled in power) all the other equipment needed to record on my own has come down enough where i have been able to buy all i need to record, mix and master any recording on my own. now for just under $5,000 i have a full fledged recording studio.
as you can see $5000 now buys the whole studio. I'm sure a few tapehead/bitheads are jumping up and down screaming about about all the inexpensive chinese gear i'm using, but its amazing what you can get running it through low cost mic through a great (chinese copy) preamp. if you are on budget like me, i think spending the money on the preamp has to be the priority. one reason its been so hard to finish my cd retrace our steps is the high cost of the studio time, but now at least i have the peace of mind to know that money isn't going to get in the way of finishing a project.
lets get back to our MacBook Pro (or even MacBook***). not only you have the same computing power of a high end studio, but it only weighs 5 lbs. now i can drag my gear anywhere to get the recording. i can record guitar and bass direct at your house and use that nice vocal booth at your school to record that vocal part. schlepping my gear now is only a laptop bag and a rolling rack. and is powerful enough to add all the bells and whistles (plugins) to do the final mixing and mastering later anywhere i want (at home any other nice studio that is available after hours for free)
of course the daunting part of this is learning the whole new skill set to do this; mic placement, room sound, equalization... (the dark arts of recording). i know that some people will always have a problem these recordings might not be as polished and professional (its easy to spend thousands of dollars going down that rabbit hole), but i have learned that the point really is to first capture a great performance, and with good ears the technology keeps getting easier to make a decent recording. if i can do it, so can everybody else. using this technology as a means to an end means that we don't have to wait in line (hat-in-hand) begging for grants, awards and other table scraps to record and share our compositions and performances to a wider audience.
***just a note for those of you considering the MacBook, i almost purchased it and from what i can tell it would be just as good (for recording audio) as the MacBook pro right now. the biggest reason i got the pro was because i could to upgrade the ram to 4GB. you can never have too much ram, and because i don't think i will be able to afford another computer for at least 4 years). what pushed me over the edge was with the extra $100 academic discount (the Macbook is only $100 off) and the 2GB of ram standard on the MacBook Pro put the price difference between the 13' MacBook and 15' Macbook Pro at $300.
until recently, the 60 gig ipod was probably the most important piece of technology that i have ever owned. the ability to categorize my library and keep easily updateable playlists with notes (through the lyrics tabs). allowed me to have a pretty detailed and sophisticated process for transcribing and categorizing music. since scores are not usually available of most music i am interested in, the ability to easily transcribe a part on the fly (usually during my commute on the train between fullerton and los angeles), jot some notes down (notation, harmony and function) and easily categorize these gestures for later thoughts. over the last few years the ipod has been a great tool that has allowed me to transcribe, analyze and contemplate great deal of music. which in essence comes down to; why is this gesture interesting to me? how does it function? and how does it fit in overall to my aesthetic?
but lets back to the phone call, i'm sure he called looking for my verdict on the Iphone, but i guess the real story is that i did upgrade to the latest apple 'gadget' this past week, and i think its far more revolutionary to musicians and composers. right now the new macbooks and macbook pro laptops are just as fast and powerful as any computer in a high end recording studio. these recent technological advances (by apple and others) have allowed me to upgrade my studio and purchase almost everything that i could ever need at a very affordable price point. 5 years ago when i recorded my first cd, about $6,000 bought me barely enough technology to record my music in a studio and mix it at home.
G4 desktop computer $3500 (866mgh, 2 GB ram)
50 GB hard drive $500
828 recording interface $850
M-Audio nearfield monitors and stands $750
6 channel headphone amp $225
Digital Performer DAW $350
50 GB hard drive $500
828 recording interface $850
M-Audio nearfield monitors and stands $750
6 channel headphone amp $225
Digital Performer DAW $350
this did a pretty good job getting me going and i kept my costs lower by recording in the studio, mixing at home (but i had to go back to the studio for the final mixdown which my computer could not handle). of course every 5 years the technology doubles (thank you moore's law). not only has the cost of the system gone down (as it has doubled in power) all the other equipment needed to record on my own has come down enough where i have been able to buy all i need to record, mix and master any recording on my own. now for just under $5,000 i have a full fledged recording studio.
MacBook Pro $1999 (2GB, 2.12GHZ)
500GB HD $250
500GB HD $250
Digi 002 recording interface $650 used
Vinteck Dual 72 preamp $1400, 2 channel chinese copy of the Neve 1272 preamp.
Gator 6U rolling rack, $125.
Rode NT5 stereo microphone pair $200, to record vibes and used overheads
Studio Projects C3 large diaphragm condenser mic $325,
(chinese U87 clone, good on clarinet and some voices)
Cascade Fathead Ribbon Mic $160, (trombone/brass mic, and some vocal)
Shure SM57 dynamic cardaroid mic $100 (electric guitar)
Vinteck Dual 72 preamp $1400, 2 channel chinese copy of the Neve 1272 preamp.
Gator 6U rolling rack, $125.
Rode NT5 stereo microphone pair $200, to record vibes and used overheads
Studio Projects C3 large diaphragm condenser mic $325,
(chinese U87 clone, good on clarinet and some voices)
Cascade Fathead Ribbon Mic $160, (trombone/brass mic, and some vocal)
Shure SM57 dynamic cardaroid mic $100 (electric guitar)
as you can see $5000 now buys the whole studio. I'm sure a few tapehead/bitheads are jumping up and down screaming about about all the inexpensive chinese gear i'm using, but its amazing what you can get running it through low cost mic through a great (chinese copy) preamp. if you are on budget like me, i think spending the money on the preamp has to be the priority. one reason its been so hard to finish my cd retrace our steps is the high cost of the studio time, but now at least i have the peace of mind to know that money isn't going to get in the way of finishing a project.
lets get back to our MacBook Pro (or even MacBook***). not only you have the same computing power of a high end studio, but it only weighs 5 lbs. now i can drag my gear anywhere to get the recording. i can record guitar and bass direct at your house and use that nice vocal booth at your school to record that vocal part. schlepping my gear now is only a laptop bag and a rolling rack. and is powerful enough to add all the bells and whistles (plugins) to do the final mixing and mastering later anywhere i want (at home any other nice studio that is available after hours for free)
of course the daunting part of this is learning the whole new skill set to do this; mic placement, room sound, equalization... (the dark arts of recording). i know that some people will always have a problem these recordings might not be as polished and professional (its easy to spend thousands of dollars going down that rabbit hole), but i have learned that the point really is to first capture a great performance, and with good ears the technology keeps getting easier to make a decent recording. if i can do it, so can everybody else. using this technology as a means to an end means that we don't have to wait in line (hat-in-hand) begging for grants, awards and other table scraps to record and share our compositions and performances to a wider audience.
***just a note for those of you considering the MacBook, i almost purchased it and from what i can tell it would be just as good (for recording audio) as the MacBook pro right now. the biggest reason i got the pro was because i could to upgrade the ram to 4GB. you can never have too much ram, and because i don't think i will be able to afford another computer for at least 4 years). what pushed me over the edge was with the extra $100 academic discount (the Macbook is only $100 off) and the 2GB of ram standard on the MacBook Pro put the price difference between the 13' MacBook and 15' Macbook Pro at $300.
Labels: musings
posted by paul bailey at
5:27 AM
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