Re: Coreaudio-api Digest, Vol 1, Issue 43
Re: Coreaudio-api Digest, Vol 1, Issue 43
- Subject: Re: Coreaudio-api Digest, Vol 1, Issue 43
- From: Dennis Gunn <email@hidden>
- Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2004 13:49:44 +0900
On Oct 16, 2004, at 5:23 AM, Ev wrote:
As an owner and operator of a professional digital studio, let me put
my two cents in on this issue.
We built our studio years ago when latency was a non-combatable
problem that had no workaround. We knew we were building a digital
studio from the ground up, and we knew computers were going to get
faster, but we also knew latency would *always* exist. Here's how we
did it.
One of the fundamental rules of our studio is: *never* monitor live
inputs from the computer.
Interesting points and you obviously have your strategies worked out.
As I mentioned at the beginning I am a musician too, I play guitar in
some bands backing a major and some not so major artists and have a
decent studio in my house, but my "day job" is mainly singing TV
commercials, which is something that has me going to a lot small
preproduction studios as well as the big full on facilities, In the
*smaller* ones I find the most common configuration I encounter has me
monitoring though protools. The producers engineers are usually
working fast and they are basically aiming for something like the final
vocal processing even as I am putting my vocal on. They do that for
lots of reasons, including the fact that the producer wants to hear if
he is getting wants while I am doing my track, and sometimes the client
is there listening too so things have to sound right from the word go.
Also I would point out that apple has put GuitarAmp Pro in Logic. As
you know electric guitarists 'play to the sound' they are getting. If
they are expected to be getting their sound using guitar amp pro how
can they do that without monitoring through the Mac?
Which leads to rule number two: *never* use effects while recording.
This rule is broken a handful of times, but always while another
processor (Line 6 Pod, some other computer) is making the effects.
Never use the multitrack for effects or compression right off the bat
- always use the console.
Everybody I know breaks that one. But then I think you mean never
record only the wet signal? Of course one of the main points of the
way the channel strips work in ProTools and most DAWs is that there is
a dry signal getting recorded while the effected signal is what is
getting monitored so if you get the effect wrong you can change it
later.
Which leads to rule number three: distribute the load.
We've got 3 computers right now, but in a week or so (once our new
machine comes in) we'll reconfigure and distribute even more. Use old
computers for synthesizers and basic effects. Use others for 2-track
machines. Use others for storage. Use the console (which is actually a
souped-up QNX-based box) for audio throughput. Etc etc etc. You get
the idea.
The concept behind logic nodes. I was thrilled to death to see that in
Logic 7. But that does not do much if anything to help latency.
With those three rules in hand, we've NEVER had to deal with latency
in our studio.
To comment on a particular note - if a singer is hearing "phase
problems" in their headphones, either 1. reverse the phase of the
signal going to their phones, 2. put an actual delay (slapback) or
reverb on their voice for foldback at a reasonable level to give the
voice some "space", or 3. the singer is listening too hard, tell them
to lighten up. I really don't believe the problem is ever really
*phase* as much as it is the singer's just not comfortable. Don't look
too hard for the problem.
As a singer phase does not *usually* bother me personally much at all,
at least I have learned to live with it. But a lot of singers I know
specifically say it is an irritant. An engineer does not want to be in
the position of telling the singer he is just being too picky, do that
too many times and you may find that when the singer is the one doing
the picking he will pick another engineer. In fact a really good
friend of mine is an owner engineer of a studio where I have done a lot
of work and I love his mixes but on those rare occasions where I am the
one doing the picking I pick a different engineer every time simply
because he refuses to separate the feeds to the cue box and his
headphone mixes are nearly impossible for me to deal with.
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