people mistaking analog instruments for digital imitations?
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people mistaking analog instruments for digital imitations? Posted on: 22.11.2009 by Al Henger Alright, so, this probably isnt the best place to ask this, but hell, I like this community
, and I'd like to know if anyone has any thoughts on the matter.I've yet to really jump into digital music production, just some basic stuff, but I do a fair amount of home recording via protools. Pretty much I just dub record covers/original songs in my bedroom, but recently I've been asked if I'm using a synth to produce some of my backing tracks (cello, violin, flute, melodica, bari sax, and other instruments I use to bulk up the recording). I'm not sure how I feel about this haha. I mean, I'm not great at many of the instruments I play by any stretch of the imagination, but would you consider being mistaken for a digital synth a compliment, or an insult? | |
| Al Henger 26.11.2009 |
Originally Posted by sine143
It's no an ego trip, the person who made this observation is 12 years old. She happens to know I love midi, and that I do a bit of digital production, as well as recording I know that it wasn't an insult. I just dont know how to feel about it. |
| Al Henger 22.11.2009 | Alright, so, this probably isnt the best place to ask this, but hell, I like this community
, and I'd like to know if anyone has any thoughts on the matter. I've yet to really jump into digital music production, just some basic stuff, but I do a fair amount of home recording via protools. Pretty much I just dub record covers/original songs in my bedroom, but recently I've been asked if I'm using a synth to produce some of my backing tracks (cello, violin, flute, melodica, bari sax, and other instruments I use to bulk up the recording). I'm not sure how I feel about this haha. I mean, I'm not great at many of the instruments I play by any stretch of the imagination, but would you consider being mistaken for a digital synth a compliment, or an insult? |
| Charline Dunch 27.11.2009 | I'd like to hear some of your stuff |
| Al Henger 26.11.2009 | Well Guys, Thanks a lot for the insight. I'm kinda sorta shy with anything acoustic that I record, =/, but maybe i'll have the guts to put them up at some point. I know that I was taking this specific case far to seriously for hat it was, I kind of meant the question to be more of a general thing. |
| Laraine Arceo 26.11.2009 | Am I the only one who wants to hear some of these tracks? |
| Belen Wermes 26.11.2009 | they we're probably just asking to make conversation, and at best gain some insight into your production process. i believe you're reading way to deeply into what was probably an innocent question. |
| Al Henger 25.11.2009 | while I guess it does translate pretty literally like that... I guess I like to pretend that, when I'm recording something I've written , I'm playing my music the whole time, where when I'm djing, I'm playing someone elses. No matter how crazy you get with techniques, controllerism (unless you are like, godlike like moldover), you are still just playing other peoples songs for, i'll be generous, 25% of the time? And hell, maybe it is ego, but I guess I want to ell myself that there is a difference than me and the vinyl guys... because although vinyl was the standard for a long time... it just replays what someone else has already thrown down, and its still a baby (that is dying) in comparison to instruments like the violin, or something as simple as the cajon. As far as the whole "setting up wrong, but sounding right thing." I believe thats just a form of innovation. Thats you stretching the potential of the instrument itself... Dang, this actually turned out to be more complicated than I anticipated. |
| Classie Alvizo 25.11.2009 | Er, I must admit i did have to believe about this one, i wasn't totally sure about it either. At the end of the day but I believe my answer would be "does it really matter". I have been recording and producing bands for a long time, and the one thing I've learned is that there is only 1 rule........Get the right sound. Yes there are things that your "supposed to do" like techniques for mic placement, or how to set up a compressor or effects unit properly, or whatever, but at the end of the day you can have all of the settings messed up and completely "incorrect" but if the resulting sound does its job and fits in with the track and achieves whatever it was supposed to achieve, then that's all that counts. And its a similar thing here. You got certain sounds recorded, and I assume they fit the track and sound good and do the job they are supposed to, and so at the end of the day should it really matter how you actually got them? The answer in a perfect world would probably be no, but we all have a bit of ego and want people to know what our skills are etc and so its totally understandable that this would give you a funny reaction. I suppose its the same boat as beatmatching. "did you just press sync on that track", "No i beatmatched it by ear!". At the end of the day it should be the result that matters not the method, but we still wanna show off our skills and that we can do it "properly" k |
| Al Henger 25.11.2009 | Well, yes, I know the question was asked out of simple curiousity, and yes it was a very logical question... I dunno, like I said, I'm not sure how I feel about it. |
| Verona Fashbaugh 25.11.2009 | Since she knows your a fan of midi, "do a bit of digital production," etc... Then it's quite logical imo that she would believe these tracks were done digitally. Hell, if it was me talking to you, I probably would have asked/assumed the same thing. Don't feel bad about it. Especially in "this day and age," digital tracks are the norm. |
| Al Henger 26.11.2009 |
Originally Posted by sine143
It's no an ego trip, the person who made this observation is 12 years old. She happens to know I love midi, and that I do a bit of digital production, as well as recording I know that it wasn't an insult. I just dont know how to feel about it. |
| Sasha Alexander 25.11.2009 | You're like one of those vinyl guys. "I spent so much money on records and so much time to learn all these techniques and now some tool with a midi controller comes along, hits sync and the crowd goes nuts. That's so unfair." The problem is not that people don't recognize you're a great musician, it's that you care too much for their validation. If you learned all these instruments so that people come up to you and call you Maestro you should have joined an orchestra. I assume you play music because you love what you? Hint: turn down the old ego a bit when someone critiques you and quit identifying yourself with the tools you use. |
| Al Henger 25.11.2009 | yeah, I know that they were not trying to imply anything negative with the comment, and that they were really just trying to find out, but it still kind of nags at me... cause I have put some amount of effort at learning how to play multiple instrument types. |
| Estella Waber 25.11.2009 | i doubt someone lacking a good ear for intonation would be trying to imply anything by asking if you added synths to your recordings. it's a general assumption that people doing home recording use synths rather than live instruments - cheaper, easier, etc. |
| Al Henger 23.11.2009 | Yeah... I guess, but I'd have to say that most of the people making these comments dont have the best ear for intonation. |
| Herschel January 23.11.2009 | I would take it as a compliment in this regard do to the fact that in order to sound remotely similar to a non-digital instrument you would have to be completely in tune all the time |
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