(Nerd Alert)
Did a mix of a song this week on an inexpensive laptop using a $40 music DAW software platform, and plugins that were all free downloads. Not hacks/cracks, but actually just free and awesome. It came out good. Given more time to get to know the plugins, this will be totally fine.
10 years ago, we (producers/engineers) were in transition from the world of tape machines and consoles to the new world of computer-based recording. I was starting to do basic tracking on tape, and then loading it into a computer for editing and final overdubs. Not long after, we were attempting mixes done completely in the computer as well. Everyone was unsure of the viability of this new technology. After listening to the warmth of tape for years, we all thought stuff done in the computer sounded like shit. Brittle, two-dimensional, and characterless. But convenience would win, as it always does, and we could feel the pain of knowing that the old ways, which were undoubtedly better-sounding, were going to go away. I was building hot rod computers out of specific parts that could be had for cheap, and over-clocked (and subsequently overheated) to achieve reasonable results. (These computers far out-paced any Apple computers available for a long while, and were actually affordable. It wasn’t until Apple’s started using the same Intel-based platforms as PCs that they became genuinely usable for big projects.)
However, the world of software was in its infancy, and very few companies had any real information on how things really worked. And support was hard to find. In our camp, we quickly latched onto the German software companies because they had features that were highly advanced and better than others. ProTools, today’s industry-leading software, was a joke to us back then, requiring expensive hardware and lacking features that seemed obvious. Recently, they just released a version (PT9) that runs on any computer with any interface (instead of being tied to one of their expensive hardware devices) that has full plugin delay compensation. Samplitude had that 10 years ago. Cubase soon after. The Germans, as usual, had the better tech figured out sooner.
So why did it become a ProTools world? They made it easy. An integrated solution. Anybody could get one of their packages and theoretically be up and running. That why Logic is currently a popular platform. Apple bought Logic from Emagic (another German company, I believe), and made a junior version that came on every computer (Garage Band). Frustrated by its limitations? Easy, just upgrade to Logic. ProTools had the same racket going for years. Buy the LE version, which is purposely limited, get frustrated, and eventually upgrade for a huge expense to their Mix or HD platform. That is, if you wanna be a ‘pro’.
Now, though, everything is different. People have been listening to fully digital recordings for over a decade now, so they don’t know the analog they are missing. And the availability of free software is easy to find and of a high quality. And ProTools can be used in any hardware scenario you’ve got. The playing field of recording technology has been fairly leveled. So what’s gonna be the difference? The song. Which is actually the same as its always been. A compelling artist singing a kick-ass song. Now, however, just recorded whatever way you want.
