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Re: [OM] Obese cameras and E-system Uberbricks

Subject: Re: [OM] Obese cameras and E-system Uberbricks
From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:07:08 -0600
>
> I have a number of friends who own and use things like Digidesign's
> ProTools or an SSL mixing desk simply because their clients think that
> you're a professional only if you have what they perceive as
> "professional" recording gear.  Doesn't matter if that engineer's talent
> will allow him to make a killer recording with an old analog 16-track
> Otari or with Ensoniq's Paris system (the one I toy with).  In their
> eyes, if you don't have ProTools (Nykon, Canyon), you're not a real
> professional even if they don't have a clue how you work.
>

Paul, you are absolutely correct.  Now, I'm not going to speak down on
ProTools or SSL as they are both make excellent products, but the sheer
ignorance in the industry is staggering.  I personally saw where somebody
refused to use a Neve desk because it wasn't an SSL for a particular
recording where the Neve would have blown the doors off of the SSL. It was
one of the dozen handbuilt Neve desks that had been recently rebuilt and was
transparant to beyond 150kHz.  This was for a recording of a string ensemble
that only needed five microphones, so the 140+ channel SSL wasn't required.
The engineer wanted to record this specific on one analog using a custom
hotrodded 8-track instead of the then-current 48kHz digital.  This
particular machine is probably still in use in somebody's private jazz
studio.  What it lacked in supposed tecnical specifications it made up for
in the fact it had no A/D or D/A converters messing up the audio.

Three years ago my wife and I picked up a used Yamaha 4416AW with the WAVES
module.  I've done the regular struggling with the confusing Yamaha UI, but
the unit has proven to be near perfect for me as it is an all-in-one box
that requires no external hard-drives, computers or converter boxes to be
functional.  It has been as rock-solid as any mixer of any breed I've ever
used. These outstanding units quickly became toasters the moment everybody
thought 24/96 was required. (megapixel wars sound familiar?). But I can
guarantee you that either on CD or MP3 you will not hear any
difference--ever!

I haven't used it much in the last few months, but was using it for live
multitrack recording with top-and-tail and mid-point edits on a weekly
basis.  Churn-and-burn baby!  When we are doing something special at the
church, I'll bring it out, hook it up and do an eight-channel live recording
and with the Waves module kicking in, mixdown can get up to 24 channels of
flying faders.

What is tough for me with the 4416AW is that I worked for several companies
in the development of digital audio workstations and some of the editing
tools are actually of my personal influence or design. The problem is that
the Yamaha was designed from a different perspective and the editing method
is not simple to learn or use in some cases.

Richard L. introduced me to a couple open-source products running on Linux.
Name escapes me at the moment, but the software side of things is incredibly
complete and strong.  I didn't continue using it because I would have needed
to invest in multi-channel converters, hard-drives and a computer with more
horsepower. Had I not owned the 4416AW, I probably would have invested in a
laptop-based workstation.

The other thing is that I really prefer to work with a physical
user-interface that is designed to be used by touch, not by sight.  Give me
real buttons, flashing lights and a big knob.  (insert crass jokes here). No
MIDI or USB interface I've used feels right because there is a lag between
what you are doing and when it appears on the screen.  (although this is not
an issue on high-end systems).

How did we go off-topic?

AG-Ears
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