My first music compact disc was by a group called Run D.M.C. and was purchased at the same time I bought my first CD player. Ironically, the CD wasn’t recorded digitally, it was captured on reel-to-reel tape. After all the tracks were recorded the individual songs were digitally mastered using a computer.
Last week I talked a bit about my daughter’s hankering for old portable cassette players. As I was reading the article in the paper last Tuesday I started thinking about how technology changed the music industry. Computers and modern technology have really changed how music is produced and recorded.
Until around the 80’s music was recorded on analog reel-to-reel tape. Each track contained one instrument’s (or vocal) worth of the song. Each member of the band would park themselves in a studio and listen to the other tracks while recording their own. Each track could be re-recorded numerous times to achieve the desired effect.
Processing sounds and effects was limited to analog controls and large pieces of equipment. The signal followed a path from the instrument through a series of sound compressors, filters, and equalizers until it eventually reached the media. Sound engineers spent most of their time pre-processing sounds before they eventually ended up on tape.
Fast forwarding to current times; sound engineers and recording studio professionals use a number of high tech post-production techniques to achieve the desired effects. Rather than spend hours creating effects, engineers use computerized editing techniques to modify sounds and create effects after the music has been captured.
Auto-Tune, a software based voice changer, received a ton of criticism shortly after it was first released. In 1998 Cher produced the first commercially released song using this technology. Since the release of Cher’s album many more artists started using Auto-Tune to correct their vocals. I was told by a very credible source in the recording industry that most artists process their voice to guarantee quality.
Without a computer recording studios would be at a loss. Even if the studio engineer simply digitally masters the tape, a computer is still necessary. One would imagine a recording studio has a very specialized computer; however, all a studio requires is a robust processor, slightly above average memory and a large hard drive. Generally no special hardware needs to be installed into the computer.
Drums and percussion instruments have been replaced by technology; making a studio’s job much easier. Contemporary artists have been substituting drum machines in place of traditional drums for years. Since the 80’s most pop artists used drum sounds created by the Roland TR-808, a fully digital (and standalone) drum synthesizer. Modern artists use software based drum synthesizers – further eliminating production steps.
Artists and producers have found ways of modifying stringed instruments in both pre and post production. Just this morning I was shown a guitar with USB outputs, allowing a studio performer to plug directly into a computer. Last year I worked on a project which took the raw string vibrations from a guitar and modified the output sound through a computer. Using this type of equipment allows a studio professional to synthesize the sounds of many different instruments.
Technology doesn’t make the music sound good, skilled professionals and musicians make the final outcome sound fantastic. It would be too easy for me to say technology is the heart and soul of a recording studio. No matter the instrument or technique used to create a final product, without creative people and a good ear, music wouldn’t be possible.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can call him directly at (978) 919-8059) or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.