RainbowStorm - Update

[RainbowStorm]

Hi all!

I just logged in and saw I had an unread message that was posted to me in february this year, so I realised I haven't been too active here lately... Sorry!!

But I just got vacation...!!!

Since february I've done quite a lot of things, I bought a brand new Suzuki GSX-R 1000 motorcycle for this summer so I've been busy riding the bike which has been a lot of fun!



I've also been on a few concerts lately (ranked by quality):

- Lionel Richie
- Mezzoforte
- The Eagles
- Jeff Lorber (with Eric Marienthal, Brian Bromberg and Dave Weckl)
- Marcus Miller
- James Taylor
- Bryan Adams
- Celine Dion
- Kelly Clarkson

Currently I've only got one concert in the pipeline, but a good one I think: Victor Wooten.



With Derico Watson on drums:


Choosing the Kelly Clarkson and Celine Dion concerts was a mistake, especially the Kelly Clarkson concert, that was actually among the worst concerts I've ever been at. What a dead sound... The Lionel Richie concert was a big surprise for me, he really made it a special evening... The best musician among these bands was clearly Brian Bromberg on bass in the Jeff Lorber band, what a great bass player, check him out!





I was close to go the local music store today and buy the Toontrack Superior S2 drum package, but obviously it hasn't been released yet... Can't wait to get my hands on that package, to me it seems to be almost a revolution in terms of great sounding virtual drums. I'm thinking about buying the harware rack that goes with it too so that I can get a more natural velocity response...



Well, this was an update from RainbowStorm... I hope everything is fine with you and that you have made great progress since february... Please post a few lines about what YOU've gone through since february...

A fellow gearslut asked me what the difference is between applying a compressor and using volume automation when maximizing signal. Here is my reply:

By using volume automation you get a different result than using compressors. You could use a compressor as the last pre fader effect and automate the threshold level which would be the same thing. So yes, theoretically it's the same thing, but typically in practise you don't apply compressors that way. Secondly, when you use volume automation for ducking, the sound of the ducking is more natural because it is more random throughout the track. Besides this, applying a compressor/limiter also often brings noise/color with it which is not necessarily good for processes applied further down the signal chain. When you apply volume automation it will have an interesting impact on the application of the post fader effects, so you can use your ears to maximize the sound of the combined color of these effects when you automate the volume faders. And besides all this, you use volume automation anyway for capturing drama, maximizing the signal outside of the faders by using a statically applied pre fader compressor effect would automatically result in a different output of that volume automation.

So in the context of maximizing track signal it's both intuitive and transparent to go for volume automation. You could argue that it's better to just apply a compressor during the tracking phase for this purpose, but in my opinion the dynamic range should be as high as possible during tracking because it helps the musicians express themselves most naturally and accurately. Compressors during tracking should be applied primarily for coloring purposes according to the session player himself, which helps him/her understand how to best express himself/herself through his instrument, to maximize the use of some colors of the register.

Then again, maximizing signal is not necessarily necessary, it all depends on what you want to achieve based on what you have. And typically every track is not approachable enough to apply a volume automation process on. I use volume automation on tracks that consume a lot of mix signal, for instance vocals, kick drum and snare because it makes the final mix easier to get right in terms of getting the right loudness and still having a natural sounding mix. I try to get the right loudness as far as possible without relying on compressors/limiters. Mixes that are quiet and easily clips lack some fundamental signal and mix properties, such information is extremely valuable. Fundamental signal should be left throughout all processes.

And, this is an important 'and', there ARE more important things about mixes than mix loudness. Paying too much energy on maximizing signal is time wasted. Instead try to distribute the frequencies well. I usually mix in mono and in different speaker sets. That makes it so much more difficult to end up with a blurry mix in stereo. When the mix is balanced, your view on loudness changes. In my opinion raising the mix volume faders should improve the sound of the overall mix. I love the effects of a great mix when they kick in when I raise the volume. The mix comes alive and creates an exciting experience. No splashed transients... It's like accelerating with my gixxer, the thing comes alive...!

[Renegade Prod]

Thanks for your update RainbowStorm,

I personally have been preparing up a solid folio of written and recorded work, and am now searching for Internships across the states.

Thanks for asking

[RainbowStorm]

Originally Posted by Renegade Prod

Thanks for your update RainbowStorm,

I personally have been preparing up a solid folio of written and recorded work, and am now searching for Internships across the states.

Thanks for asking

Great...! So you can end up anywhere in the states, cool! I moved as well before I got my last job... Have you thought about trying to get hired without interning first? Some people (like me) don't want any hussle, they just want a nice long term team work that starts as soon as possible and to let people around them be passionate about their situation. I can imagine that you can more easily find such people in the smooth jazz and country genres... Good luck!

[Renegade Prod]

Hi there,
I would love that to be the case, trust me that would be the ultimate. But this text barrier seperates me from a lot of studio owners, a first impression is much better face to face rather than writing a column of what i do. So on the first trip i plan to show of my cleanliness, ambition, dedication and hard work ethic off to as many people as possible, then hopfully someone will want me bak asap

Thanks for your advice!

[RainbowStorm]

Originally Posted by Renegade Prod

Hi there,
I would love that to be the case, trust me that would be the ultimate. But this text barrier seperates me from a lot of studio owners, a first impression is much better face to face rather than writing a column of what i do. So on the first trip i plan to show of my cleanliness, ambition, dedication and hard work ethic off to as many people as possible, then hopfully someone will want me bak asap

Thanks for your advice!

I think it's important that you show yourself so that they know who you are, that's a must. And when showing yourself you can be proud, because you are important and there is an important place for you waiting out there. Phone calls are better than e-mail. If the person wants e-mail, then e-mail, but use the phone as much as possible, because then you also get fast answers and can head for other options as soon as possible.

Here are a few good values to mention when asked:

- To be honest
- To be passionate
- To be responsible

When you mention these things they should trigger a number of green lights in their heads. These values show that you are grown up and able to function well in any context which is very important because you will be in contact with important industry people.

As I mentioned earlier it is a good idea to try to find a place where you can start working without interning first. The reason is really simple, the best decision makers do it like that and you want to get hired by great decision makers. You will probably get hired as an assistant, which would be a really great opportunity for you. But you will get a good salary and good job tasks, because first of all they have money and secondly they know you are important and want you to feel important right from the start. I've read a lot of stories where people have got an internship for almost no salary and completely wasted their time. These are the companies that will go under within the next 10 years.

Well, just a few hints... Take care!

[Renegade Prod]

Thank you so much rainbowstorm, i appreciate this more than you can imagine.

Thank you for having the trust, patience and confidence in someone you have never met before, you have picked the right person to do so.

The main thing i am currently learning about more than anything is how your studio positions work and how they are labeled, everything is much different in Australia ... "an intern-what now?"

Thank you so much again, hopefully our paths will cross sometime in the near future.

[RainbowStorm]

Originally Posted by Renegade Prod

Thank you so much rainbowstorm, i appreciate this more than you can imagine.

Thank you for having the trust, patience and confidence in someone you have never met before, you have picked the right person to do so.

The main thing i am currently learning about more than anything is how your studio positions work and how they are labeled, everything is much different in Australia ... "an intern-what now?"

Thank you so much again, hopefully our paths will cross sometime in the near future.

Great! When it comes to labeling of studio positions etc. I'm sure there are quite a few different labels out there. The important thing here is to have a CV that speaks a clear message, because it will tell you what you will do over the next years, if the wrong things are listed someone might hire you doing the wrong things. My advice is to ask yourself, what would be a position that would really enable me to grow and also be inspiring and fun?! Then take your CV, relate to and build it around that. So when you grow and have a number of projects under your belt you can look at these and then ask yourself, now what, what do I want to do over the next years? Then you relate that to your earlier CV and your recent projects. Soon your CV will tell a very interesting story and you will optimize your potential of always being at the right position at the right time, which is a good thing for everyone. Maybe at first you will be a mixing engineer assistant. You will do projects, network with people etc. But this is only your first step into the business. Your second step is a major role, in other words, full responsibility. Once you have achieved that you will have a lot of options to use to create new ones. At this point in time you will find out that the best value is in the role insight that you will get. So choosing the right role is not the most important thing right now. The most important thing is to get a job as a pretty well paid assistant. You will need to have that extra money that you don't get from internship salaries, because you need that money for making your CV heavier. Nobody will tell you what you should do with that money, in my opinion when you start your career every single extra dollar should be spent on making your CV heavier. What is more important than fantastic opportunities in the future? But if not even a job will give you the money you need, what will?! So it's obvious you will have to get hired for a good enough salary. However, even more important it is to get hired as a professional assistant. It sends the right message right from the start. You will learn a lot and start making valuable decisions. I'm not familiar with the Australian market, but I think I would focus on the consultant business, being a consultant myself I would try to find a media company that sells consultants for different related tasks. In that way you will get a lot of experience really fast and you should be able to get a good enough salary really quickly. Have fun...!!!