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NO RULES-WHATEVER WORKS
By joseexist in Musings On Muses
March 7, 2012

What I love the most about making music is that there are no rules! It matters not how any song has ever been recorded. Whatever techniques were employed to lay down a song have little to no bearing on any song that will be recorded in the future. What was used before and how is better used as a simple guideline.

Many artists have tried to ‘keep up with the Jones’s’ by striving to use the same equipment ‘they’ used. In many cases this is a dead end road where one could easily spend more than one could earn over a lifetime. I won’t go into how many times I’ve fallen in love with a microphone or other piece of gear only to have my heart broken when I saw the price tag.

The big time acts these days have at their disposal, thanks to hard work and deep pockets, a virtual plethora of high end gear to use in the studio. Most of that gear belongs to the studio though, or is rented for specific projects. The hallowed halls of recording are resplendent with certain pieces of hardware that put a sonic signature on everything that’s put thru them. If you listen to popular radio these days and popular albums, or singles, you’ll no doubt notice how they all sound alike. The only thing that really sets any of it apart is the individual artists themselves. Everyone who is anyone at the top of their genre is using the same microphones and audio processing gear. What’s happened is that everyone sounds great, but the same generally.

Turn your focus down the mountain a bit if you will. Off the beaten path are many independent artists who don’t have a billion dollar company backing them up. For most of them, a day in the studio, is a day at home in a basement, garage, or spare bedroom. What the listener gets is a far broader sonic spectrum to listen to. Of course not all that glitters is gold. It’s usually a tedious trek to find something you like but the sprinkling of gems is there. Instead of Abby Road, Electric Lady, or rented jumbo-jet hangers, you get something recorded on PC, Mac, or some other digital-audio-workstation. Heck, you might even get a recording done by bands no member of which has ever met one another. The digital revolution has brought out the music producer in scores of people who would otherwise simply stop at writing and performing. Even the realm of music videos has been changed forever.

Without substantial backing independent artists rely on whatever they can get their hands on to produce their music. Pre-amplifiers for microphones, compressors for signal chains, equalizers, isolation ‘gobos’, assorted microphones (probably cheap or medium priced), recording software, or all-in-one portable studios are the norm for them. (And me). Hooking it all up can be a hit and miss adventure. In the end, if it all works out, an artist becomes their own music producer. The hats to be worn become endless too. Recordist, mixer, mastering engineer, public relations manager, and the lists go on at length.

Recording boils down to capturing a song in whatever fashion works for the artist, or the song. It also boils down to what fans expect or accept. Clear takes of each element might make or break a tune for some but like I said, there are no rules. Even a crappy recording can be a hit if the public likes it the way it is. Even those in the big league know this. Some hits are actually mere four track recordings done in motel rooms on tour. The norm might be to lay all the tracks down in a million channel state of the art studio but in the world of music today, normal does not necessarily apply.