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ELECTROKITTY ARTICLES
WRITTEN ABOUT ELECTROKITTY
1. ProSound News, "Electrokitty Brings Clients New Tools," October 2007
2. EQ Magazine, "Room With a VU," April 2005
3. ProSound News, "Reynolds Brings Electrokitty Online, September 2003
WRITTEN BY ELECTROKITTY
1. HOW TO CHOOSE A STUDIO
2. ANALOG VS. DIGITAL
HOW TO CHOOSE A STUDIO
...equipment is only part of the story! The best equipment in the hands
of someone who doesn't really know how to get the most out of it is wasted;
just as an expensive instrument in the hands of a beginner is wasted.
When shopping for a studio, please remember that you need quality engineers
and producers, and great sounding rooms along with quality equipment.
At Electrokitty Recording, you get all three, and at affordable rates.
Don't be fooled by the low hourly rates some studios quote for poor quality
equipment and/or inexperienced engineers. You
could wind up spending MORE! What? Well, if you have to work
with "engineers" that take twice as long to do a task because they really
aren't sure how, the rate is double what you thought it was going to be!
And if the equipment isn't all that great AND they don't know how to get
the best out of it, you could be so unhappy with the results that you
end up having to redo the project somewhere else, or end up living with
an inferior recording.
So the amount you spent at the first studio is money and time down the
drain. Call us with all the information about your project. You'll get
a friendly and professional quote and lots of helpful information that
will make it easier for you to get the results you want.
In summary...
1. Check the Equipment - is it of sufficient
quality?
2. Meet with the engineers and producers.
Are they knowledgeable? Do they take the time to understand what you want?
Are they friendly and professional? Listen to some of their previous work...
does it sound good? Do they have experience in your musical style? Do
they know how to get the best out of the available equipment? Make sure
you meet the people you will be working with, not just "one of our engineers".
3. Check out the acoustics. Make sure
there is good isolation between the control room, studio and isolation
booths. Bring a few CD's you are very familiar with and listen to them
over the studio's monitors. Can you hear things clearly? Are some sounds
/ frequencies canceling each other out or "jumping out" of the mix in
an unusual way?
4. Ask around! Check with some of the studio's previous
and current clients and see what they think.
5. Check the prices. Make sure there are no "hidden" charges
for use of specialized equipment, engineering staff, etc. Compare the
prices with other studios... taking into account ALL of the above factors
(experience, equipment, acoustics, etc.) Then you'll be able to make an
informed decision about what you want and where you can get the job done
properly and cost effectively.
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ANALOG
VS. DIGITAL
From the article in Rock, Paper, Scissors, Aug
2, 2001
I thought that this week I'd tackle the infamous Digital Vs Analog debate.
I've found that this can be a religious argument for people on both sides
of the fence so please take the time to read the entire article before
jumping up, and perhaps out a window.
In the past I've owned a 100% analog studio as well as a 100% digital
studio. Let me start by saying that I firmly believe that in a perfect
situation both should exist hand in hand. I think the debate can be compared
to the difference between film and video. Shoot on film, edit on video.
Same goes for music. Shoot it on analog and edit it on digital. I use
both and have for some time.
The main strength of digital is it's ability to be easily manipulated.
This is a huge strong point and is unequaled by analog. With digital,
theoretically, you can have an unlimited number of tracks. You can easily
edit, change, and experiment with arrangement and then "undo" or "revert
to saved" if you screw up. You can align drum hits, substitute sounds,
make bug noises out of electric guitar parts, the list is endless. It's
easy to compile vocals together to make the best take possible. Digital
is the great turd polisher! In a DAW like Pro Tools or MOTU you can automate
and then recall mixes exactly how they were months or years ago. Digital
is clean and transparent, what goes in comes out a technically faithful
representation of the performance.
Mastering is another huge digital strong point. Compiling song lists together,
switching orders, level adjustment, changing the time between tracks,
fixing bad fadeouts and getting rid of unwanted noises before and after
tracks would all be a major pain in the ass, not to mention time consuming,
with out digital.
Then there are plug ins. The least expensive way to get a rack of compressors,
eqs, reverbs, synths etc. The digital world is proliferated with an armory
of these non tangible gadgets. When doing a mix and in need of a quick
fix they usually get the job done.
Analog is the world we live in. The way a sound wave travels is analog.
Your ears are analog. A live rock band is analog. Analog is romantic.
Analog is sexy like a foreign sports car. It's forgiving yet rock solid
when you need it to be. Analog is romantic. Analog is sexy like a foreign
sports car. It's forgiving yet rock solid when you need it to be. There
are no 1's or 0's floating around in the never land of a computer. Your
music is safely imprinted on a reel of tape tucked away in a closet for
years and years to come.
You hear the squeal of the breaks and the squiggle of the cue as your
rewinding to the head of the take. You've seen them, those antique machines
that heat up the room and look like they are straight out of an early
Star Trek episode. These have been and still are the back bone of the
recording industry. I'm not referring to the consumer 1/2 inch 8 track
or other swag. I'm speaking of the 2-inch 24-track. Don't do a rock session
with out one. Period.
In the hybrid studio the two inch analog tape deck is the best piece of
outboard gear money can buy. Analog tape is not transparent and that's
good. It gives you back more than you put into it. It captures feeling,
delivery and attitude. The Sex Pistols anger could not have been captured
by any other means.
Mixing through a great analog console is the shit. Now when I say great
analog console I'm not talking about Mackie. I'm talking about Neve, API,
Trident, Helios, and Quad Eight. There is a certain depth and richness
to the sound that comes from an analog desk. The sound of analog eq is
unparalleled in the digital world. Analog functions well and is easy to
use. Everything is overbuilt for reliability. If something goes down in
the middle of a session, a channel can be swapped out in less than 2 minutes.
In the end, track to analog, bounce to digital, edit and mix through a
great analog console.
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206.355.ROCK (7625)
electrokitty@comcast.net
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