Tape Op contributor Allen Farmelo has written a fairly in-depth post regarding his processes for capturing and processing sounds on his wonderful blog. Check it out. I bet even some experienced engineers will take note of some of the ideas Allen puts forth, I know I did. Even though I don't exactly use the same methodology, I do apply some of the same principles in different ways. A typical "Larry Crane" album will have basic tracks through a multitude of mic preamps picked for each instrument, tracked to 2" tape (16- or 24-track, speed and EQ picked for the "sound"), dumped to Pro Tools through Apogee Rosetta 800s, overdubbed in Pro Tools and mixed through the Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console with almost all analog EQ, compression and effects to 1/4" tape at usually 30 ips. That's a lot of tonal coloration going on and many subtle steps that affect the sound. And I like the results!
Blog
So You're Broke and You expect the Music Biz to Provide an Income?
by Larry Crane
I've received a few pretty odd emails recently. I know times are tough, unemployment sucks, but really, expecting any sort of "bailout" from the music biz has got to be the most delusional crap I've come across. Making a living in music requires hard...