San Francisco Music

For PRODUCERS AND SOUND ENGINEERS: I'm a bit skeptical, but if you have a few minutes to check out this video it was pretty cool. For those of you that have used ProTools, Sonar, etc. IF this technology really works, it would open up a lot of possibilities to be able to manipulate recordings. I'm a big believer in doing recordings in one take to capture a "live" feel, but this software is something to check out. Who knows, maybe it's a crock, but I thought I'd at least share it with you all. The section where the demo actually manipulated individual notes within a guitar chord was pretty wild...

My head just exploded. That's unbelievable... wow.

Neat from a tech perspective, but to me this is a further stripping of the soul for studio recording. Whatever happened to good ol' fashioned plug the guitar in and commit? Feedback, scratches, pops, poor tuning, miscues, and flat-out mistakes = character and ultimately, honest music.

@ The Unknown Punker - I couldn't agree with you more. You PRECISELY raised one of my issues - kinda takes the authenticity away from the recording...

But by the same argument you are saying that there's some authenticity lost in the mastering process. First each instrument is split up to be recorded independently, then multiple takes are done and the best few are spliced together to form a single line. Combine all the lines with vocals (that were independently of any instruments) and then tweak tone, volume, add effects and repeat until you have a mastered album.

I think a properly mastered recording sounds better than a recorded live album. It just does. There's some value in listening to live recordings 'for what they are'. Old jazz pressings that were recorded from a single mic back in the 30's have a certain amount of allure that can't be had by modern techniques, but that doesn't mean I wish ProTools had never been invented.

To be clear, I'm not talking about mastering. Mastering happens post-recording.... and yeah, pro-tools is great -really great- but there's a reason all the best studio gearheads are seeking out the old mics, using old boards, plugging into the tube pre-amps, etc.

But again, that's not what this discussion is about. What this about, and what bothers me is the refining of a performance to the point it ceases to be unique. Fabricating perfection in music is like fabricating perfection in people, like um...breast implants: might look nice enough but it feels kinda weird when you touch 'em....

Back in 2003, I used to sell this software during my days of pro audio retail. One had to go through an orientation course by Melodyne to effectively communicate what it does with a prospective customer. I met and spoke with one of the top software writers from Melodyne, they were really thinking ahead back then.
I don't think that the advent of new software has made things worse, I think they open up new ideas and allow for great musical creativity, especially when combined with strong human elements.