here are my findings:

i don’t care what they say, nothing will ever sound better than preamps and compressor that use actual circuits and actual tubes. the character that these analog pieces bring is incomparable.

on the other hand, i don’t care what they say, editing digitally and tracking digitally is wildly more time efficient than any other solution.

the premise of the rig:

two channels of the best pre amps and compressors run into your DAW, summed analog with an insert of analog preamp and compressor on your main mix bus.

*i still think that nothing can replace a big console and big room for drums so go elsewhere for that step*

you need:

two really classic, high end mono preamps.

two really classic, high end mono compressors.

a DAW with very nice converters (like an apogee ensemble).

a summing box (the dangerous D Box is awesome)

a stereo mic pre and a stereo/buss compressor.

you essentially want to use the tube signal of the pre and compressor and leave the pre’s on whatever your a/d converter and interface is to a minimum. once you have tracked something go about your editing, routing and mix functions as usual but hear an incredible difference with your busses being summed in the analog world and your main mix having a really great stereo compressor strapped on it.

happy hunting friends.

gib

anyone reading this who knows me is well aware that i am highly critical of most of the music being put out today at an alarming pace. I, however came to a realization today that now (present day) is the golden age of music.

i know what you’re thinking, the purity of music is dead, autotuner is taking over, image is surpassing talent and the ready availiabilty of music has saturated us into becoming fickle listeners who move from song to song on a daily basis.

as irrelevant as it may see i realized my claim that today is the best age in music while watching the movie notorious chronicling the life and times of christopher wallace professionally known as notorious BIG. it was in the end of this movie that i learned why the name and music of BIG still resonates through the walls and hearts of brooklyn and nearly anywhere else where hip hop music is popular. BIG in my eyes was not remembered for his tongue and cheek singles although they did lead him to great fame but moreso he is revered for his songs depicting the average man in the struggle of life fighting to feed his family, make money and stay alive under adverse conditions. bed stuy brooklyn in the age in which he grew up was a very rough place where people truly hustled to survive and he took that struggle and put it into a form of beautiful poetry which has a lasting place in the heart of many.  in the movie there is actual footage of the funeral procession that went around new york city and it was overwhelming to see how many people lined the streets holding signs and crying for their beloved urban hero. it is in this same vein that i see the greats of other forms of music such as bruce springstreens depiction of the middle class blue collar working man or tom pettys vivid description of life in a changing time and the pursuit of happiness or bob dylan and his amazingly detailed accounts of city life and love and once again a changing of the times.

today is the greatest day in music because there has never been more to talk about. we are in a theoretical recession/depression, the global map is changing, missles are being fired, people are without jobs and entire cities are being destroyed and yes of course there is always love. if people stop and think for a second and find a way to hit home with people the way the likes of the dylans, the tupacs, the springstreens and the BIG’s then they too could become the speaker of their generation and maybe they too will be celebrated forever through the passing of song and legacy.

whether you write songs or just listen to them become more selective with what you listen to and try to find something you truly connect with. sure, i too love blame it on the alcohol by jamie foxx and t pain but it definitely wont be played at my funeral.  make something for the people.

despite technology’s ability to oversaturate the music market with too many songs and too many albums it also opens doors to have more people write and record songs and allow them to directly reach an audience and on that thought i stand by the idea that any music can rise if it is substantive.

substance=love+remembrance

this post is for bands trying to take the next step towards writing and recording really good songs.

writing and recording a good song seems so simple in idea because in the end its usually one guitar line or lyric that gets stuck in someones head that makes it a hit but as any successful musician will tell you sorting through all the riff raff that gets you to that point is one of the most trying and testing things a musician will face in their career.

as a producer it is my job to help control and guide the chaos and to streamline the process of writing/recording so here is (i think) a pretty fool proof way of going about writing and recording.

step one: writing

1) delegate which member(s) of the band are the main writers (the ones who come up with the main hooks/riffs/lyrics/chords/structure ideas) and give them time and space to craft out their best version of a song idea, you’ll get your input but too many voices at once makes it hard to keep focus. keep in mind many bands write differently so sometimes this initial writing may be lyric based or riff based or basic chord progression based so adapt this guideline accordingly.

2) allow your writers to record a simple (any level of recording is fine) demo outlining the preliminary writers best version of the song in as much detail as possible.

3) go to a practice space/rehersal studio and start jamming the song. this is where the “magic” usually tends to happen as each person takes the ideas and blends them with their own to create their truly unique bass, drum, guitar, vocal, piano parts and try to put them together as a group and create one big vision based on everyone’s ideas and improvisations. try not to be easily offended and do try to be open to ideas from others here as sometimes its the qwerky(sp?) ideas that work the best.

4) once adequate time has been put in whereas everyone agrees on each others parts and on a general structure of the song go back and demo record it again (once again any crappy recording is fine) and see how it comes out with all of the new ideas put in. if you feel confident in what you get then start practicing the song day and night to make sure you have your dishes done on your individual parts/performance and if for some reason it doesn’t sit well keep jamming and keep demoing it until it works.

5) once you’re excited about what you as a group have come up with and you’ve practiced it to the point where you can play it in your sleep you’re now ready to enter a studio to try to make a really great song. MY BIGGEST ADVICE since you have actually put in the time and effort to be ready for the studio is to find a PRODUCER and NOT just an ENGINEER to record you because an engineer is trained to be a machine with no heart or imagination (semi joke). they will not give you the tones you have floating in your head, they will give you a simple sounding recording (nice recording) of the very basics without any cohesive thought. A producer on the other hand is an artist who has an idea of a finished product in mind and can help create the sounds he/she feels he needs to make that final product sound the way he (and hopefully the band) would want.

6. it seems obvious but so many bands get excited when they first write a song together and they rush to a studio and spend lots of money (especially when you’re not signed) to record a song only to realize that the mix they get of it isn’t good because it was recorded with someone who doesn’t care and that the song isn’t as good as it could be because they didn’t take their time and even worse the parts aren’t played cleanly because they didn’t practice. a mix can only be as good as the performances going into it.

like i said, not all bands are the same and all work differently but if you are a band and you find the writing/recording process frustrating then try out these somewhat simple (and sadly somewhat tedious) steps and hopefully you come out of it at least feeling that you put in your best work.

finally, look for producers who work with bands you would want to sound like or who have made sounds/songs you’re interested in because if they caught your ear they can catch others.

any questions: gib@gilbertott.net

i think remixing songs is one of the most interesting and most challenging things to do in music. first off you have the original which in most cases if it warrants a remix is a really good song.  its a very hard thing to touch a song that you really like or respect. if its already good or at the point we like to call ‘the repeat factor” where you can listen to it on repeat why change it.

i think the point of a remix is to slightly change the genre and give it a new feel. i of course like to change the samples or the arrangement (and occasionally the progressions) but mainly i think changing the arrangement and the rhythm section as a whole can really do alot.

i recently did a remix for alkaline trio and took a song with a very simple sparse synth line, one guitar, one bass and drums and added more substantial synth layers to give it some texture and added some new rhythm/percussion instruments to give it more of a dance rock feel as opposed to alt rock.

i think the one type of remix i hate is one that takes the energy out of the original song. there is a remix group called the hood internet and they have a few songs which i regularly spin and think are fun but there are a ton of their songs that take a really awesome exciting hip hop song and blend it with what i consider really lame depressing ambient indie type stuff and to me although its quite a juxtaposition it also just sucks out the two things that make the originals great and leaves you with a mash up of crap.

for clarification: remixing and mashing up are two entirely different things being as remixing is taking a song and its parts and or other original parts and re arranging versus mashing which is combining or blending two songs into one.

i think remixes are going to become ever more popular as a way for artists to stay close to fans and release EP’s in between albums and do tour only EP’s and stuff that give you rare cuts of your favorite bands.

thats all for now.

dear band girls,

you may use us for our famous friends and or sometimes cool parties put did you know that in about 5 years this little exchange/dance we do will be over? you see we professionals of the music world understand your species. you like to feel important, you like to take pictures to show your friends and you really dont care what it takes to do it. we recognize this fully and if someones gotta benefit from this we figure occasionally it should be us.

you see the problem is that while you’re using us, were using you because well…. were not that cool. just because we have famous friends and do virtually nothing for a living does not mean that we stay out doing jaeger bombs till 4am everynight. in fact most nights i spend curled up to my papa johns pizza and tiger woods or with my headphones on working on tracks or on a bus sleeping because playing shows is very tiriing. occasionally though we get this spark of energy and decide it would be fun to go out and there you are. looking slutty, acting slutty, snapping pictures and you are so excited were here and frankly were excited that youre here too! you see you make it so easy, with so little disguise of feelings or intentions that we dont even have to put on our cool hat or cool clothes to pick you up, you see a posse come in and you attack and you make sure you get dibs before your friends do. as previously stated. we see this. we understand this.

the trouble for you is that there are only so many people you can “get together” with before we all know who you are. when youve reached that point…it kinda sketches us out and we kinda stop answering your calls, plus its not like we actually like you. we like the things you…offer? so its not like we want to stay in long term touch with you. frankly i would love to meet a girl who i love and be married this year. the idea of marriage to me is amazing and all the things that come with it so….being that that is that if all goes well i probably wont even be allowed to talk to you or want to talk to you within a year or so.

so what are you gunna do? youre getting older, all the bands or dudes you like to lean towards get older, they grow up, they get girlfriends or married so what do you do? do you go after the new 19 year old kids who are just getting started?

in conclusion your life is pointless and no one likes you. not even your friends do. they just use you so that you all can collectively know someone in every band so if you notice your friends only call when youre going to meet people that they dont already know then yes, its true. nobody likes you. oh and ps, no one likes sleeping with girls that their entire bus has already had.

oh and pps you could avoid all of this by just not being a whore and being a normal girl. so in the end, all the make up you put on, all the ripped jean skirts and raybans you bought and all the gas money you spent to carpool to “coincidentally” be in the same place was totally useless because all of this stuff you did/have done/ will do will get you nowhere in life. we wont get you jobs, we wont marry you and we certainly dont want our families to know you.