[LAU] Top DSP plugins?

[Al Thompson]

On 10/19/2011 05:36 PM, Fons Adriaensen wrote:
> At which point it will become completely irrelevant. The easier
> it becomes to produce something, the more there will be of it
> and the less it will be interesting. And there is a secondary
> effect: the more something is _perceived_ to be easy, the less
> budget for doing it will be available. That applies to science
> and technology as well as music. 

And isn't that the point to which we've gotten?  I'll admit that I'm an
old fart - my first engineering job, in a 16 track studio was in 1979.

If a band wanted to cut a 4 song demo, they had to book studio time at
$250/hour.  They had to buy a reel of 2" tape.  The studio had several
hundred thousand dollars of equipment, and who knows how much in
acoustic design, room treatments, etc.  The alternative for someone who
wanted to record at home and save several thousand dollars was a TEAC
2440, a 24x4 mixer, and a dozen or so mics, which still was going to
cost them a few thousand dollars.

Then came the Fostex 16 track 1/2" machine.  Suddenly, it was acceptable
for a "project studio" to open up with a Fostex 16 charge $25-$35/hour
for bands to cut demos (INCLUDING ENGINEER!!!!)  The engineer wasn't
necessarily any good - he just did it as a hobby since he only had to
spend a few thousand dollars to get started.  A band that wanted to do a
song or two, which would take about 8 hours of time, then had to decide
whether to spend $2000 at the "big" studio, or $200 at the project
studio.  The "value" of the big studio was lessened, because more and
more REALLY CHEAP studios were popping up.

Look at the situation now, for the cost of a computer, soundcard, and a
few mics, They can spend unlimited time, cutting unlimited tracks, with
unlimited overdubs.  They don't however, have quality large monitors, or
an acoustically "known" room.  Now a band can spend that same couple of
thousand dollars, and spend UNLIMITED time in the studio.  The thinking
is "why pay ANYONE to record a couple of song for us, when we can spend
that same money and record ALL of our songs?"




> Nothing new here. When I was working for BRT (Belgian public
> broadcasting) they still had their own orchestra (and choir,
> and big band, and jazz orchestra). I remember one politician
> member of the administrative council saying: "20 violinists ?
> Can't they be replaced by a synthesizer ?", and that was not
> a joke. 

Which is exactly why our local musician union about had a stroke when
someone showed up with a Mellotron.


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