2011 - What we've learned this year.

[JazzSax_UT]

Originally Posted by NorseHorse

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope 2011 was filled with many great recordings. It's been a good year, and here is some of what I've learned:

- Get organized, stay organized.
- If someone else can do it, you can it.
- Keep your monitor level constant.
- Record more, edit less.
- Turn down a recording to go to a birthday party. (twice)
- The weather in LA is awesome pretty much all the time.
- The drivers around DC and Salt Lake City are possibly the worst in the country.
- The clarinetist Kari Kriikku is pretty amazing.
- Wyoming is beautiful.
- Runzas are delicious.



What have you learned this year?

Yep, most drivers in Salt Lake City are terrible. Trying to pass a jacked up truck is like issuing a challenge to him. (I live in SLC, btw)
Drivers in Rome are more competent.

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by JazzSax_UT

Yep, most drivers in Salt Lake City are terrible. Trying to pass a jacked up truck is like issuing a challenge to him. (I live in SLC, btw)
Drivers in Rome are more competent.

I see a guy trying to pass, and I think to myself, "challenge accepted".

My son says that about red or yellow lights.

[newdigitaluser]

Originally Posted by NorseHorse

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope 2011 was filled with many great recordings. It's been a good year, and here is some of what I've learned:

- Get organized, stay organized.
- If someone else can do it, you can it.
- Keep your monitor level constant.
- Record more, edit less.
- Turn down a recording to go to a birthday party. (twice)
- The weather in LA is awesome pretty much all the time.
- The drivers around DC and Salt Lake City are possibly the worst in the country.
- The clarinetist Kari Kriikku is pretty amazing.
- Wyoming is beautiful.
- Runzas are delicious.

What have you learned this year?

just cause some else can NOT do something does not mean that you can NOT do it

just cause someone says you can NOT do something does not mean that you will not succeed

boston and pennsylvania drivers are much worse than dc

getting organised is hard
staying organised is harder

never let any digital signal go higher than -24dBFS - -EVER !!

watza runza ??

[Rolo 46]

I spent a month (dry) in SLC
Possibly the most boring of my whole life..
The Urals were more fun.

[jacktadoussac]

Facebook is an impediment to communication -- M to W, live conversation is much better.

In terms of remote possibilities -- having a built-in limiter is a boon to digital recording. I very much like the USBPre2 for that reason.

[AcoosticZoo]

2011, learnt that are really cunning peeps - got burnt. Thanks for the lessons.

All good. 2012 is gonna rock.

[jimjazzdad]

In 2011 I learned that the posters I enjoyed most on GS usually get banned and go away. As a noob, I learned a lot from Michael Joly and Joel Patterson. I miss them. Wish all GS members would live and let live. Happy New Year everyone.

[erikdrink]

I learned that it's nice to raise a child

[firby]

Aww Yeah! Runza!

Originally Posted by NorseHorse

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope 2011 was filled with many great recordings. It's been a good year, and here is some of what I've learned:

- Get organized, stay organized.
- If someone else can do it, you can it.
- Keep your monitor level constant.
- Record more, edit less.
- Turn down a recording to go to a birthday party. (twice)
- The weather in LA is awesome pretty much all the time.
- The drivers around DC and Salt Lake City are possibly the worst in the country.
- The clarinetist Kari Kriikku is pretty amazing.
- Wyoming is beautiful.
- Runzas are delicious.

What have you learned this year?

[newdigitaluser]

Originally Posted by jimjazzdad

In 2011 I learned that the posters I enjoyed most on GS usually get banned and go away. As a noob, I learned a lot from Michael Joly and Joel Patterson. I miss them. Wish all GS members would live and let live. Happy New Year everyone.

[dwhopson]

Eleven things learned from '11:

1. One does need to have more than two days off per month.
2. You need to regularly use the features of your digital mixer, least your forget how to...
3. You never know what you might get unless you ask (AES London trip paid for by my Dean)
4. Paris looks pretty but smells bad in some places
5. Altiverb is truly an amazing plug-in
6. Sometimes it is ok to say "I don't know..."
7. It is ok to turn down a gig
8. Some people...not having recorded with you, nor knowing your background/training/accomplishments...will ever accept you as capable (welcome to politics and working in higher education at your alma mater!)
9. Artist's with deadlines are procrastinaters
10. In rare instances, back-ups fail too.
11. Unfinished projects from half a decade ago can come back to life...with a record label contract and circa 500 album pre-sales.

It's been an interesting year!

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by dwhopson

Eleven things learned from '11:

1. One does need to have more than two days off per month.
2. You need to regularly use the features of your digital mixer, least your forget how to...
3. You never know what you might get unless you ask (AES London trip paid for by my Dean)
4. Paris looks pretty but smells bad in some places
5. Altiverb is truly an amazing plug-in
6. Sometimes it is ok to say "I don't know..."
7. It is ok to turn down a gig
8. Some people...not having recorded with you, nor knowing your background/training/accomplishments...will ever accept you as capable (welcome to politics and working in higher education at your alma mater!)
9. Artist's with deadlines are procrastinaters
10. In rare instances, back-ups fail too.
11. Unfinished projects from half a decade ago can come back to life...with a record label contract and circa 500 album pre-sales.

It's been an interesting year!

You learned the important good stuff!

[boojum]

Originally Posted by NorseHorse

<snip>

- Record more, edit less.

<snip>

Yes.

[dwhopson]

Originally Posted by memphisindie

You learned the important good stuff!

Some of those things have only taken me 12+ years to learn...others are first-timers...

If we aren't always learning...it's time to go and do something else!

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by dwhopson

Some of those things have only taken me 12+ years to learn...others are first-timers...

If we aren't always learning...it's time to go and do something else!

I've been doing this for 35 years and I learned that even though it's an economic depression, and I moved to a MUCH smaller market, I don't drop my standards or prices, requirements or rates. Customers get the exact wrong idea when you do them more good than you can afford. If there' not enough biz, ya have to move where there is. So, I'm moving again. Weeeeeee!!!

[newdigitaluser]

Originally Posted by dwhopson

Eleven things learned from '11:

1. One does need to have more than two days off per month.
2. You need to regularly use the features of your digital mixer, least your forget how to...
3. You never know what you might get unless you ask (AES London trip paid for by my Dean)
4. Paris looks pretty but smells bad in some places
5. Altiverb is truly an amazing plug-in
6. Sometimes it is ok to say "I don't know..."
7. It is ok to turn down a gig
8. Some people...not having recorded with you, nor knowing your background/training/accomplishments...will ever accept you as capable (welcome to politics and working in higher education at your alma mater!)
9. Artist's with deadlines are procrastinaters
10. In rare instances, back-ups fail too.
11. Unfinished projects from half a decade ago can come back to life...with a record label contract and circa 500 album pre-sales.

It's been an interesting year!

4
did not notice any smell in paris
some cities in tennessee reeked of urine

[newdigitaluser]

Originally Posted by memphisindie

I've been doing this for 35 years and I learned that even though it's an economic depression, and I moved to a MUCH smaller market, I don't drop my standards or prices, requirements or rates. Customers get the exact wrong idea when you do them more good than you can afford. If there' not enough biz, ya have to move where there is. So, I'm moving again. Weeeeeee!!!

better hope the other million wannabees dont move to the same place and start underpricing each other

[dwhopson]

Originally Posted by newdigitaluser

better hope the other million wannabees dont move to the same place and start underpricing each other

We're having that problem here...with student-amateurs (not recording-arts students, no programs in the area)...but they go a step farther by bad-mouthing the local pros so they can get business.

What's funny...a lot of their clients usually end-up coming back to one of the pros to redo their work.

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by newdigitaluser

better hope the other million wannabees dont move to the same place and start underpricing each other

I already have an established group where I'm moving. I have a long and good reputation there, it is a MUCH larger market, and I only work with the very top people.

Originally Posted by dwhopson

We're having that problem here...with student-amateurs (not recording-arts students, no programs in the area)...but they go a step farther by bad-mouthing the local pros so they can get business.

What's funny...a lot of their clients usually end-up coming back to one of the pros to redo their work.

That happens in Memphis too. It probably happens in most smaller places. They are desperate for business. I don't blame them, but, I won't sink to that type of underhanded stuff. There really isn't enough biz here for everyone that's already here let alone any newcomers, so, they are very protectionist.
Another problem is clients that come in, in a rush, have no time to mix, and want to go from scratch to 12 song album in two days rushing everything, maybe 30 minutes to mix, and then complaining when the mix is underbaked, via the internet. They wonder why their mix doesn't sound as good as a band who put a lot of time into their record and want to blame someone else. Lame.
These are typical anomalies of an immature market.
ALL the younger engineers use fake drums and a ton of editing because the talent is underdeveloped, often not knowing how to tune their drums, mic an instrument, or how to sing in pitch consistently. They RELY on the plugins to hide these serious shortcomings and thus "artists"never develop further.
That's the kind of "artists" the young guys get and can keep, I don't work with those types, so, they are welcome to move up and lowball all they want. I won't be the least bit bothered.
I was more of a problem to them, charging money and teaching people how to tune and sing and getting good recordings without plugins or excessive editing. They bought a shit ton of gear to make their gear lists look spectacular but, that doesn't equal 1/2 of talent and a good engineer.

[Ragan]

Building yourself a room is really expensive and takes a long time.

[Remoteness]

Tell me about it;-)

Originally Posted by Ragan

Building yourself a room is really expensive and takes a long time.

[Jim Williams]

I learned a lot but always have trouble remembering what I learned, the hard drive is pretty full.

[imaginaryday]

i learned that:
less is more in most cases.
trust my instincts
i can do a lot with gear that i own
do the best i can and move on

[fifthcircle]

My lesson-

When it comes to working for Hollywood... Don't count on anything until the gig has happened and the check has been written. So close, yet so far...

--Ben

[Remoteness]

Seems like it's like that for most of us these days.

You heard of, "the check is in the mail."
How about, "the check is (still) on my desk."

Originally Posted by fifthcircle

My lesson-

When it comes to working for Hollywood... Don't count on anything until the gig has happened and the check has been written. So close, yet so far...

--Ben

[Boba FET]

Originally Posted by johnsound

By reading posts on Gearslutz I have learned the following:

Unless I have a specific piece of high-end/low-end gear/plug-in/DAW, my work and my opinions are worthless.

If I record to a laptop, I am untrustworthy and my work and my opinions are worthless.

Despite the fact that I have been making a reasonable living from what I do for almost forty years, if I don't post regularly on subjects I know nothing about, my work and my opinions are worthless.

I have learned that anyone using a specific type of computer for recording is delusional and that no-one in the real world uses them and that they're all in thrall to a reality distortion field and their work and opinions are worthless.

As a consequence of the above, I have learned that all of the high-end studios in London that I've used this year are run by delusional people who are not in real world and therefore their work and opinions are worthless.

I have learned that I should now be going back only to using analog systems for everything that I do in the audio world and if I dare to suggest that my digital systems might be a bit better for the work I do, I am still delusional and my work and opinions are worthless.

Actually, mostly what I learned from reading posts on Gearslutz is that I'm wrong about absolutely everything, that there is always a better and definitive way to do everything than the way I do it, and better and cheaper/more expensive equipment to do it with and if I don't agree, then my work and my opinions are worthless.

Aside from that, not much, really.

Happy Holidays,

John

This post should become a Sticky so newcomers read it and don't waste valuable time finding out by themselves... Gearslutz is a huge forum - full of resources and full of... well, read the quoted text...

[memphisindie]

Yeah it's pretty priceless, haha!