It's Not The Gear

[desol]

If it's not the gear, then why do you have so much of it? 

 

[Tubetec]

Theres an old saying , 'dont try polishing a turd'  ;D

Quality musicianship shines through even with the most humble of recording gear in the hands of people who know what there doing , Ive done a few things on cassette at 3.5 ips (double speed) , yeah theres a distorted edge on the vocal and a dynamic range of about 60db max at best ,suited the material which was Robert Johnson inspired blues.

 

[gyraf]

The truth is: It actually IS the gear, but those having the gear already - for obvious reasons - don't want everyone to know..

Please don't tell anyone

/Jakob E.

















;D

 

[desol]

The truth is: It actually IS the gear, but those having the gear already - for obvious reasons - don't want everyone to know..

Please don't tell anyone

/Jakob E.

















;D

Every time I listen to Eddie Kramer...and a few others.  :

 

[desol]

There's no point in trying to hide information....or by using terminology that isn't obvious. When I asked Geoff Emerick about his use of compression and limiting, he flat out admitted..."yeah...I overloaded the 660 to get a bigger drum sound". He didn't say..."oh it's not the gear...it's how you use your ear".  :  ;D

I'm assuming the 660 was set to fastest release or next fastest.

 

[desol]

Geoff used good gear, and made artistic decisions using his ears and his instincts and probably with a little technical know how too.  The good gear works even better when there's a good performance being fed into it, and the performance/arrangement (including overdubs and edits) is much more than half of the equation to the sound of a 'good record.'  It's not one or the other..... and it is all kinds of subjective meets objective.  So the debate could go on forever if people want to keep bringing it up.  Rock on.

-A

Yep. It's true.

 

[fazer]

Never used a 660 but I remember the first time I used a manley variable mu compressor across the mix bus.  I was floored by how the bass got tucked into the mix. It was present but managed in the mix and the boomy bottom end was gone with a great balance against the kick.  Magic gear.

 

[john12ax7]

It is the gear, and it isn't the gear,  depends on what part of of the spectrum you are talking about.

(mediocre skills + mediocre gear)  < (mediocre skills + great gear)  < (great skills + mediocre gear)  < (great skills + great gear)

 

[pucho812]

It is the gear to a point.

Think of a race car driver, they can really drive the hell out of a regular sedan and if timed them on the track it would still be better then a typical driver.
Now put them behind the wheel of well tuned race car and see what happens?
Gear makes the job easier when you know what your doing. 

 

[desol]

It is the gear, and it isn't the gear,  depends on what part of of the spectrum you are talking about.

(mediocre skills + mediocre gear)  < (mediocre skills + great gear)  < (great skills + mediocre gear)  < (great skills + great gear)

I think the most important part of it is great skills, ie: listening skills...etc. Using your ear and the gear to take you to a place where it sounds great. But...when I put a roomy sounding drum kit through my first SSL type compressor on fastest release, slowish attack....and pushed a lot of level into it....it was an AHA moment. THAT's how they make drums sound amazing and punchy. I've had serious compressor addiction ever since...and that was a while ago.

But...when I hear people saying it's not the gear....I'm thinking to myself...what? Absolutely it is...a person just needs experience using it. To someone that's trying to learn...statements like that can be very confusing.

...and then you see xx name producer in his studio with a massive wall of compressors and eq's...you're kinda like...*uck off it's not the gear.

Most producer/engineers that I see, explicitly share their love of great compressors and eq's.

 

[groselicain]

Gear makes the job easier when you know what your doing. 

      Boy, oh boy, is this ever the truth. I worked in a room recently that had a BCM10 and 8014. One day when I was out getting a cup of coffee, one of the staff guys asked something like, "are you goosing the inputs? That's the only way to get that Neve sound." I just shrugged and went back to work. I thought about it later that night and wondered if that was something he had personally found to be true in his own experience, or if it was just something he read online and repeated.

      There are so many factors in the equation, and I believe most if not all of them have already been mentioned here—the material, the performance, the ability to listen, and the knowledge of what moves have to be made to achieve the desired results. With regards to the anecdote above, I don't know that a person is using their ears or trusting prior experience if they just start cranking the inputs on everything. The same goes for any time someone assumes a piece of gear will transform their work or fix their problems.

      So to balance all that negativity, I should add that I think we've all experienced that magical feeling desol mentioned with his SSL bus compression. The moments I've worked my way into a discovery, or just stumbled into them, are some of the most rewarding experiences in my life. Each one involved gear in some way or another, though, and more often than not, the ease in which I found the sound was directly proportionate to the quality of the piece—augmented by how critically I cared to listen and how much I utilized retained knowledge.

So with all that being said, do I want to work without the gear I've collected in my personal room? Nope, but I know I'm not going to lose work if I don't have access to it.