What They’re Doing to Your Music
by Larry Crane
I love listening to music. Sometimes I'd rather listen to a good album than record a good album. Less stress, more fun and you can pause it any time. The problem I've been having lately is...
End Rants
Sporadic and regular articles from our contributors.
Guilty as Charged
by Chris Camden
I stand before you and I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me... I have abused Pro Tools. I have used it in ways that are extremely inappropriate. I have...
Personal Taste
by Larry Crane
A friend slipped me a copy of her upcoming album recently. I liked her songs as well as her singing. The arrangements on the album showed that some thought had been put into making each song feel...
Peter Gabriel on the Future
by Larry Crane
I recently had the chance to interview one of my favorite musician/studio owners, Peter Gabriel. The situation involved me and three other writers sitting in a wooden shed with an SSL AWS 900+...
Should I Record Myself? Help Me Record Myself
by Mike Caffrey, Larry Crane
I recently got two letters. The first one is from a good client (and nice guy) with whom I've done several album sessions in the past. The second is from a new reader in Scotland. I wanted to try...
Lies
by Larry Crane
Over the years I've heard artists all tell me the same damn lies during the course of a session. Note that the people in question might just believe they are speaking the truth. It's some odd form of...
Our Fantasy Gear Wish List
by John Baccigaluppi, Larry Crane, Andy Hong
Here's a list of things that would make our recording lives easier. Larry's List Pro Tools LE that would run on my laptop without a piece of hardware attached, even if it didn't record, so I could...
Credit where Credit’s Due
by Larry Crane
I just picked up a remastered CD version of Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding, one of Dylan's many permutations of himself, and one where his singing is more emotional than some of his other work. I'm...
Anatomy of Disaster
by John Baccigaluppi
The session started with high hopes and the best of intentions. I had introduced Jason Lytle of the late, great band Grandaddy, to engineer Thom Monahan. They were mixing a record together at The...
Copy Protection Sucks
by John Baccigaluppi
First off, to all of you who've stolen software, and I will include myself in that list, you (and I) suck. You have only yourself to blame for how damn difficult and frustrating it is to install and...
Competition
by Larry Crane
I own Jackpot!, a recording studio in Portland, Oregon. There are many other recording studios in this town, including Kung Fu Bakery, Supernatural Sound, Smegma, Type Foundry, Dead Aunt Thelma's,...
Name Recognition?
by Larry Crane
My studio is at a point where the majority of the work being done there is by freelance engineers. This is great, as I spent many years as the main engineer and built the studio's reputation by...