Sonic Valentine

Digital Performer – Tuning and Key Commands from The Sonic Fedora on Vimeo.

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Sound is pretty loud at the top… fair warning!

Consolidating files in Digital Performer. from The Sonic Fedora on Vimeo.

I received an interesting email the other day from a friend of mine.

hey ben… how’s it goin man? got a question for ya! is that entry level pro tools, that sells for about $249, good to get your ideas and songs together on? for about 4 years i been usin this fostex unit that’s a bitch to use.
i want somethin easy to use and a computer based program.
thanks man,
m

Instead of responding directly to Merrol’s email I decided it was about time I write another article.

I met Merrol about three or four years ago when Dan Baird and I recorded his band Miles From Nowhere. Merrol was the lead singer, lead guitar player, main songwriter. Very, very talented “salt of the earth” kinda guy. Can I imagine Merrol getting along with pro tools or some other program equally as good? Short answer… not at all.

It isn’t because I think Merrol is dumb or anything. Merrol is the type of guy who wants something to do it’s job and not get in his way. I think Merrol is one of those people who would have loved a couple of ADAT’s and a Mackie mixer. Can I recommend to him that he gets ADATs… no way. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. But there is something to be said for their simplicity. Arm the tracks… hit record… play… done. I have a friend who used to make very good recordings on his ADATs. One day he hired me to come over and set up his pro tools rig, show him how to use it and basically get him up and running. Have I heard one recording he has done since that day in his home studio? Nope, the technology got in his way.
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As always… best viewed in HD on vimeo…

Preparing a Pro Tools Session for mix and archival. from The Sonic Fedora on Vimeo.