Gear Clear...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
Yesterday was a sad day; my entire “pro” audio chain left the house to greener pastures. My general reasoning here is that since I work almost entirely ITB these days, everything in my office that had enough dust on it that fingerprints would show when I turned a knob needed to leave, and I’ve pretty much succeeded in doing just that, leaving only what I need for my normal research.
At least the big shit. There is still a metric fuckton of little shit that’s gonna go, so keep your eyes peeled for the inevitable Yard Sale posts here and on Twitter, but the majority of the expensive shit is either on the way to new homes, or already arrived, where it will be used to good effect (hah!) rather than just sitting in my office.
(Side note: I now have no credit card bills to pay. This is an interesting turn of events I hadn’t anticipated.)
In any case, it’s a breath of fresh air, and has allowed me to concentrate on my current projects with much more clarity. I have all the software, and most of the samples, so it’s not like I have any shortage of sound generating mechanisms or anything, but it’s nice not to have all this gear staring me in the face every time I sit down to do something. I heartily recommend it, but I know most of you will get a pussy-ache if you don’t have all your knobs and cables, so let’s just say that it might not be for everyone.
27 comments
So what outboard stuff are you still using? I seem to recall that at one point you had one of the Dangerous boxes and made a point of mixing down analog.
My own experience is that when I did outside the box mixes with the (extremely modest) gear I had available, I actually preferred the inside the box mixes. But that's probably unique to the sound choices I make, the (extremely modest) monitoring situation, and my ears; I can't imagine all the people talking up analog mixdowns are completely full of crap.
I also think that there are ways to maximise the quality of in-the-box mixes. If you understand the general principals of mixing and a bit about the mathematics of digital audio you can do a good job.
That might not be the case if you compare with reference quality converters and a high end professional analog mixer.
When I price out my optimum out-of-box mixing setup and mastering chain, it ends up being a significant fraction of the value of my house. Since I net out a few hundred dollars a year from audio work, it's hard to justify spending mid six figures to put together my dream mixing setup...
HCGP is but a fading memory.
That was my main point: when I was realizing a large portion of my income from writing music, owning a $20,000 outboard rig was perfectly justifiable. When the majority of my income comes from making user interfaces and designing plug-ins, that equity would be better used elsewhere. The alternative is to let it sit in disuse until it corrodes or gets out-dated or falls out of fashion or whatever.
The sole ADA I have right now is the MOTU Ultralike Mk3, and my Adams are plugged right in to it. I will probably spring for a volume knob solution of some sort, because that's just convenient, but otherwise, I'm gonna hang out at this level for a while, see how things look.
-CR
Do you still have a brace of Korg synths?
I totally understand the reasoning behind the clearout, but I just cant bring myself to do it. Mine certainly wont top out at 20,000 but to me its almost worth that much. Much of it is personal to me - I bought it broken and got it working, or I bought it to mod. Its like a documentation of my development of electronics skills, from early badly circuit bent toys that no one else would buy, through to drum machines with custom roms and midi controlled circuit bends until I reach my diy eurorack modules which I took from breadboard to finished unit. So I do get pussy ache, but thats because I created them - they are practically my children
@sean: The only synth I have is the Virus. Period. And the two MeeBlips. I'm wondering if Peter will cry himself to sleep if I sell those.
-CR
I'll be firing up my analog synths any moment now...just as soon as I get my ass off the couch with my Macbook running Ableton and my little 2-octave portable USB keyboard and headphones...
but i kinda always have a gear related pussy ache anyways.
i lightened the gear load a lot in the last 2 years but still have all the trappings and few things i just can't part with. mostly a couple synths.
I lightened my load of analog synths about 7-8 years ago to help me move... Really like working in some software like Reason, but have since acquired a metric shit-ton (an official unit of measurement) of synths again, on top of amps and organs and recording gear... Granted I have a rule for myself which is to not buy anything unless it is for way less than what I'd be able to sell it for, but I'm surprised how many "broken" or "slightly abused" vintage synths have ended up in my basement for less than 10% of their eBay value, something I thought I'd never be able to do again when I sold off the first time. And will probably end up putting the vast majority of my pieces in the studio when it is built, no doubt to give me more room to build another collection at home.
Farmers learn not to get too attached to their livestock. Musicians and engineers should do the same.
When did you let the ms20 go? Or was that on loan like the Synthi?
Most all of the analogs you'd see me using were on loan. I very rarely buy anything like that, because of its limited usefulness. If I did, I'd just flip it. I don't have a huge hard-on for analogs any more; 25 years of making music have shown me that they're more trouble than they're worth, for the most part.
Also, I have a good friend who is under no such compunctions. Why put myself through the nonsense of owning and servicing such temperamental creatures when he's more than willing to take on the task, and happy to loan me any of his large herd for extended periods?
-CR
I've been meaning to do the same thing now for awhile. I have a lot of hardware and honestly I pretty much never use any of it, besides my gameboys running Nanoloop if you count that. Everything I write is on my PC or iPad or the aforementioned gameboys. The only thing holding me back is pure laziness really, pussy ache notwithstanding.
I purged my studio about a year ago. Now its a laptop and maschine sitting on a homemade workstation desk. The only hardware synthesizer I own is an sy22, and that's because I really like its keyboard. I took the money from selling that gear, and invested it in a respectable software setup that is a lot of fun to use.
I recently had to evacuate my home studio and now all my shit is all around the house and as days go by, my wife gives more signals "to get rid all that junk".
Nah, i just need bigger house...
Recently I was forced in to a 12K mile move from Aus to UK, and I got to take my laptop, and now have zero access to my other gear (don't ask). What surprised me most was how much work I could get done with just the lappy, no keyboard, no synths, no mixer, no monitoring... I guess like Chris I make most of my money from building software now, not from writing/playing music. It's also surprising what I do miss: the little crappy behringer mixer - to compensate for no ASIO support in Camtasia (grr) is about it. I bought a reasonable 3/4 size acoustic gtr and I'm satisfied on the personal playing level too.. I am thinking about Maschine tho...
Speaking of outboard - any idea when we might be hearing some of your rt60 stuff?
Sooner rather than later. Jeremy is supposed to be mastering it this week.
-CR
Are you ready for going the next step? close the laptop-lid and use only a telephone. Plug in your Adams straight into your iphone.
This post makes me wonder about the origin and subjective interpretation of of the blog name, which I have never understood precisely.
- c
@Chad: I used to think irony was cool, before it got beaten in to a bloody pulp with social networking and hipsterism. As such, I thought "well, I do everything digitally, and in fact actually make software. This'll be funny."
In hindsight, it has become far more ironic, and is perhaps that rarest of all birds, a _triple_ entendre. But I didn't really mean it like that in the beginning. Basically I just thought it was cute that "analog industries" devolved to "AI," and that the two were somewhat opposite. You'll note the logo has always been a Space Invader (although not a canonical one), that most digital of creatures.
-CR
You know I like analog, but I'm no snob.
I like the stylish minimalism and mobility that an all-digital creation studio suggests. I've expounded at length here on AI in the past about how nice it is to make music with laptop and headphones in open spaces here in DC and you can't do that with analog stuff. So, yeah, not against anything you're suggesting here.
Also I totally appreciate the state of grace that is financial solvency. I sell stuff too sometimes to keep a feeling of balance and "it answers for itself" vibe to my studio.
RE: mixing: my new m.o. is to make draft mixes ITB and then execute a similar design analog. My draft mixes are detailed and I have a sense of gain and resolution that I have got from years of working analog. So my ITB mixes are pretty elegant, I think.
The analog mix usually wins out, but sometimes the ITB mix feels better. It feels better because it less "messed with." Because I was more in the zone.
Being in the zone trumps all other factors by a wide margin.
My whole deal is this: I do a lot of intuitive, parallel funny business in mixing. I don't think too much about it. I like the not-having-to-think-about-fussy-stuff-like-latency process of mixing analog. Give the electronic drums the glow and tautness of the API 2500, but also throw the kick drum into the non-compressed buss for extra force and snap. Have the live drums pulsing into the Smart C1, but also let the cymbals swish into the Anamod Fairchild 670 a little bit if you want.
No recipes, just cooking.
I just like it. I do. I love digital too and there may come a time soon when I have to sell my analog studio to underwrite some stuff I wanna do with Beauty Pill touring. We'll see. It's not out of the question. But for now, I'm going to keep the... ummm... ache...
- c
This was an ITB mix, done on Sony 7506 headphones.
http://bit.ly/zrGcsd
Dense, Henry Threadgill-influenced horn arrangement, and a sprawling mural of composite textures. All mixed on a park bench in Arlington, VA. I think it demonstrates the song pretty adequately.
The album version is an analog rendering of the same basic contours, but it's not a night-and-day difference to the untrained ear, I think.
Again, "in the zone" is the most important thing.
- c
I've kept a diary of all machines being used. If something isn't appearing on a list for, say, a six months, it's considered being a roadhitter candidate. If nothing's done in a year, it needs to go. I'm tempted to sell my Tempest now, but before its holiday, it was put in some heavy action. I think I'll wait.
I've so far regretted only giving up a broken SH-101 years ago, but the repairing costs and other cosmetic fixes would've brought it right next to The Most Expensive CS-5.
Hellasärö, the so-called "oven/kitchen distortion" (heh), a random screeching noise caused by musicians' female partners is, however, still somewhat obnoxious. Luckily all my stuff is in one room, no leftovers all over the house. Works as a limiter for oven distortion.
My first full music day with my heavily stripped-down rig led me to some interesting discoveries. It went like this:
1. Made a full patch for Maschine using the modular synth. (I haven't found a buyer for this yet, so it's still sitting here. I figured I might as well use it.)
2. Made some beats with said patch. That was fun!
3. Decided to see what this Virus (that I've been using mainly as a controller for the last 6 months) can actually do. Bare metal patch turned in to five hours of programming. It is an extremely powerful synth.
4. Started to build a track.
5. Discovered that I'd already written this track I'm building. (It's called "Abstract Sixteen" and is on the Unsuspected Sounds comp.) Deleted all the parts.
6. Watched TV.
So, the moral of the story is that, having a shit-ton of physical gear and not having a shit-ton of physical gear are exactly the same for me, as far as inspiration and being able to close the deal goes.
-CR
That's very interesting. Lately, I've just been skipping directly to step #6 and/or surfing (the indoor variety*).
What all did you get rid of, if I may ask?
*This is probably more than a little off topic, but I relocated this Hans Zimmer/AH anecdote to send to a friend recently (the actual author maybe here):
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Sorry for the OT post, but one more Zimmer story.
While I was interning at Media Ventures, I was also working out and playing lots of sports on nights and weekends. Yes, I was young and in great shape back then -- you'll have to take my word on that. ;-)
Anyhow, while playing basketball one weekend, I injured my ankle pretty nicely. Still angling for some sort of job at that time, I didn't want to go unseen at Media Ventures for a week or so to recover at home. Basically, I didn't want to lose my "rank" among the interns so I showed up on crutches and did whatever I could to still be useful.
Now keep in mind that almost all the interns there were trying to work their way into a role as an assistant film or TV composer (I was more interested in engineering and studio operations, but hey). Here's the fun bit:
One day while I was crutching down the hall, Hans was headed the other direction, cigarette in hand with his entourage trailing behind. He saw me, stopped and asked me in a sarcastically bemused tone: "So what happened to you?" I told him that I sprained my ankle playing basketball but I was still fine to work. Without pause, he shook his head dismissively and unloaded, "How many times do I have to tell you people? If you want to succeed in this line of work, you need to sit in a chair and fucking smoke!!"
It was all in good fun and everyone had a laugh. Hell, I don't know if he even knew who I was, but I still get a smile out of that sage advice. I never took up smoking which may explain why I'm just a lowly, Oscar-less basement synth tinkerer. ;-)
-Synth80s
@coyoteous: I got rid of virtually all my electro-stuff. I'm keeping the Virus Ti (because it's not mine to sell) and the Maschine, which I love. I have a MOTU Ultralite and my Adam A7s, and the CP-80B, of course. And other than some tertiary shit and guitar infrastructure, that's pretty much it.
My next Phase of music creation is going to be largely concerned with research, and with location and transducer-sourced material, and all that shit staring at me was bumming me out. Also, I haven't even turned most of it on in over a year. I was much more ruthless this time than I have been in the past, but my current creative nadir required it. It's quite refreshing. My office / lab is pretty empty for the first time in years, and I have room to pace and such.
-CR
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