"I've met a whole bunch of live sound engineers that don't know what they are really doing at some very expensive affairs. A whole bunch of live sound engineers are deaf too. Not saying you are one of those, but using that example is a bit simple and is akin to "I have a really expensive guitar, so I know how to play, listen to my opinion." "
I'm sure you have... that's why I was brought in. ;-)
The guitar analogy doesn't apply... I don't own the system, I was selected to provide a service by a producer who could hire any one they wish.
I'm just sharing my opinion after having made a living as a free lance sound technician for the past 30 years.
You can discount it and ignore the insight that having fully featured tools is useful and you can continue to suggest that somehow I arrived at this opinion because I am missing some ability to use my ears.
It makes me think you have yet to learn that it is possible to listen and look at the same time.
It just seems like a silly sophomoric philosophy to suggest that having accurate information is some sort of distraction... but that is why I have carefully stated that parameter readouts should be an "option" so that guys that get confused by it can turn it off.
" If you took a deaf guy and made him mix by purely presets and theory the mix is going to sound like garbage." The deaf mixer analogy is a complete non sequitar. Waste of time. Where do you guys get this stuff? Does it make you feel smart to come up with a line like that? That's no way to have a discussion. It's like hitting a home run in T-ball league while pretending that you faced an actual pitcher and a fast ball. Non sequitar. Red herring. Make believe.
"You're relying on your eyes to translate what you think you are hearing. Not what you are actually hearing." That's kind of a big leap... are you seriously telling me how I work? You are making a wild assumption there... and in doing so I suggest that you are invalidating everything you say in response to a statement that you your self just made up out of thin air. :-)
"Digital is just an approximation so you really aren't going to understand what is really happening when you look at a plugin." Where do you get that sort of superstition from? 110Hz is actually 110Hz and 0.4ms is actually 0.4ms.
You are just making stuff up and acting like it's a fact.
"It may show a flat plot, but in reality it isn't flat, and you won't know that unless you trust your ears." What are you talking about? Where is any of that coming from? You introduce some crazy statement about a "flat plot" and then argue against it? I have no interest in abstract drawings made on 2D graphs... why are you acting as if I do?
Some of us are in total agreement with you on this. Looking at an abstracted line drawing is meaning less. That is why we prefer to have actual parameter values available for instant display. The abstract ignores the time component of impedance and you probably know that is doesn't matter if you are working with analog or digital tools... the frequency plot doesn't mean a whole bunch.
So once again you are suggesting that I am advocating for something I never mentioned and then arguing against it. Waste of time... and I don't appreciate your technique of disagreeing with me by making stuff up out of thin air for you to make demonstrations against. You can do better than that if you really want to.
"Some of us still use racks of analog gear ever day"
That's a lot like saying
"I have a really expensive guitar, so I know how to play..." ;-)
Is that your RND 5033 EQ? It would sure go nicely with my 4 channels of RND 5012 Portico pre amps.
"I'd also argue that the quality of mixes has dropped significantly in the last 20 years" I usually hear this from people that make very little effort to seek out and purchase the great examples of wonderfully mixed music that have been produced in the past twenty years.
Also, the people that say that current mixes are lacking quality rarely acknowledge that the number of people producing and mixing music has increased by, oh let's just say, 1000% since a guy like me started working. That means a lot of the mixes you don't like are made by folks that either:
1) like the mix even though you don't
or
2) haven't learned how to mix to your satisfaction yet.
I don't spend a lot of time scrutinizing other mixes... I like to enjoy the music. But goodness me, I happen to be of the opinion that there have been some wonderful sounding records made in the past 20 years.
"I just don't think you'll convince me that looking at a screen is a good replacement for learning how to trust your ears." It is my goal to inspire any one who does want to become skilled at audio production to make use of all the tools available. If you have decided to abstain from using the latest opportunities that is certainly your choice.
best regards,
mike
post edited by mike_mccue - 2011/04/07 14:18:13