Lee Flier Posted December 5, 2000 Share Posted December 5, 2000 Last night I discovered a kind of obvious but still unexpected benefit of having a home studio (which I have only very recently completed). I went down there ostensibly to work on some songs. Fired up the machinery, lit some candles, dimmed the lights. Had a nice vibe going. Then I figured I'd throw a CD on over the monitors while I was setting up mics and stuff. It's always good to listen to CD's you're familiar with when you're adjusting to new gear and besides, I felt like hearing it. I put the CD in, sat down at the desk and leaned in close to the nearfields. Damn, it sounded good! Everything was present in brilliant detail and I found myself listening to this CD as if I were listening to one of my own engineering projects. I could suddenly picture being in the studio when the record was being made. It's cool to think about how we all go through the same process when we make music, and sitting in a studio you can almost go through the process with the artist... "Wow, I wonder how many takes that took?..." "What made them decide to use that reverb? That was brilliant!" I didn't get a whole lot done last night, 'cause I found myself just wanting to spin CD's and listen. Most were CD's I've heard a thousand times, but it wasn't background music, I was transfixed. If the clock had been running at a commercial studio, I could never have done this. But having a home studio, it was OK... cool to spend all night communing with all those other musicians who've hunkered down in a dimly lit room and let it all come out. Well, maybe this is something y'all take for granted who have studios. I guess what I'm saying is... don't. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Anybody else find a lot of magic in listening to their favorite music in their studios? --Lee [This message has been edited by Lee Flier (edited 12-05-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted December 5, 2000 Share Posted December 5, 2000 Man, sometimes you need to inspire yourself. Not just work work work, but reflect. Refresh, rejuvenate, just about anything with a re- in it...resurface your driveway, well, maybe not that. But you owe yourself, we all do. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted December 5, 2000 Share Posted December 5, 2000 Absolutely! My home studio IS my stereo! As a result, I almost never listen outside the environs of my workspace; auto and the Mac at work being the exceptions. I'm spoiled now: home stereos simply don't cut it...they sound so...so...ODD. I've shown my other half how to use it as a stereo, and she digs it; she doesn't really care to know much about all the gear in there, but she knows it makes me happy and it's important to me, so we have to have it (am I lucky, or what?). I guess I'm so accustomed to doing it this way that it seems weird to even have to address the question http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted December 5, 2000 Author Share Posted December 5, 2000 Hehe offramp... actually my home stereo is quite good and I don't have any complaints about listening through it. But it's just a DIFFERENT kind of listening experience in the studio. I'm sure I will continue to do both, and getting the different perspectives helps keep things fresh. --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted December 5, 2000 Share Posted December 5, 2000 Don't mean to be a grinch and intrude with a less mystical standpoint, but...I listen to CDs all the time in the studio so that I have a better standard of comparison for mixing and mastering my own tunes. It also helps me "learn" my monitors as I hear CDs over different systems. BTW you'll always hear some details when you play CDs over different speakers owing to frequency response anomalies. There's more on this in my article on Monitoring Basics, residing somewhere in this site. np: Small Faces, "The BBC Sessions" Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted December 5, 2000 Author Share Posted December 5, 2000 Yeah I hear you Craig, that was one of the original reasons I went to put the CD's on, to get used to how stuff sounds on my gear. The mystical part just sort of happened... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletcher Posted December 6, 2000 Share Posted December 6, 2000 Originally posted by Lee Flier: If the clock had been running at a commercial studio, I could never have done this. Why? I find that interesting. Yeah, in a 'demo' studio where every second is "prescious" then yeah, you're probably right. In an 'album' situation, at least the ones I've worked on, and definitely the ones I've produced, there are some fairly frequent breaks where we'll hang out and listen to music. Though I do work with rather limited budgets, I've found that trying to work at a 'breakneck pace' is usually counterproductive. Often I'll check out other records because there's a sound on another record I want to copy, sometimes it's because we're hung up on an 'arrangement' idea and are looking for some guidance, sometimes it's just to clear the head, or to insure that I haven't totally lost my grip on reality, a "reality check" if you will. On the gigs I do, there's a whole lot of time spent just hanging out and listening to music...especially as we get closer to the end of the day, and breaks become more important. ----- Fletcher Mercenary Audio http://www.mercenary.com Fletcher Mercenary Audio Roscoe Ambel once said: Pro-Tools is to audio what fluorescent is to light Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted December 6, 2000 Author Share Posted December 6, 2000 Oh, Fletcher, I usually listen to stuff with clients at commercial studios too. We take breaks, and listen to stuff for comparison or if somebody wants a particular sound. I didn't mean to give anybody the impression that I never listen to music at a studio. I guess I just liked having the freedom to sit and listen to CD's ALL NIGHT in my studio without having to actually like, ACCOMPLISH anything. And being by myself, getting to listen to whatever CDs I wanted, and not having to talk to anybody during listening. Just something about it was different. Maybe it's harder to explain than I thought. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif --Lee [This message has been edited by Lee Flier (edited 12-05-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicMan Posted December 6, 2000 Share Posted December 6, 2000 I understand completely Lee. There is something about re-discovering something in music you heard a million times, in that space with which you call your own. I love to sit in my control room and listen to Abbey Road inparticular. There is something about the feel of those songs, not in the song writing sense, but technically, how the sounds of the instruments fit together sonically. It leaves me feeling inspired and inquisitive and open. Kind of sappy, but warming all the same. I love my studio. My space. My solace. -John My Music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratman_dup1 Posted December 6, 2000 Share Posted December 6, 2000 Lee- Hopefully I will have my little teeny tiny bedr... uh, Studio built real soon so I can experience this rediscovery for myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alndln Posted December 6, 2000 Share Posted December 6, 2000 I like to use Sonic Foundry's Siren(jukebox) so I can compare Mixes,Cd's,Mp3's ect. at the click of a mouse. "A Robot Playing Trumpet Blows" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earfatigue Posted December 6, 2000 Share Posted December 6, 2000 i love downtime. today i had a good hour waiting for the client to show up. mix restored. mic of choice on stand, complete with lyrics on the music stand. all set. and they were so late. listened to two new drum+bass cuts i just did. listened to some of the slipknot record (very therapeutic on a crap day), listened to a bit of piper at the gates of dawn. and the best part is it was totally relaxed, just feet up on the console listening to genelec 1038's in all their glory. (they sound great loud, but they sound even better at a moderate volume). $150 later the session showed up and we got to work. i felt a lot better working on it after listening to three clearly contrasted styles of music in detail. judson snell slang music group judson snell slang music group chicago, il Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted December 6, 2000 Share Posted December 6, 2000 >>listened to a bit of piper at the gates of dawn<< I think that may be the most played album in my collection. Either that, or "In a Silent Way." Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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