TALES FROM PRODUCER X #2

Hey gang, here's an excerpt from a recent conversation with PRODUCER X...



BAG: We're in the meaty part of the holiday season. How's it going for you production-wise?

X: As expected I guess. Even with a bad economy we're still pushing out a lot of spots.

BAG: Really? A ton of spots in this slump?

X: You have to keep in mind that plenty of bonus spots are being added to packages to sweeten deals. I think we're using more barter these days too.

BAG: What about imaging?

X: When the spot load gets big, imaging takes a back seat. Sometimes imaging is just a thing I squeeze in at the end of the day if there's time. Usually, I need to clear my head after a big spot day so, I go home, eat something and produce at night.

BAG: Would you say you're imaging has suffered in a big way?

X: Hmmmm, depends on how you look at it. I don't produce things that sound bad, I just keep them simple so they're quick and easy. They're less complicated and less creative for sure. That keeps me from working 12 hour days.

BAG: How does that compare to the past?

X: In the past, I could just focus on imaging. PDs that I've worked for always liked to have plenty of specialty imaging on around holidays. The challenge was to keep it fresh and to try and tie in to whatever was happening that year. You know, if Tickle Me Elmo is hot, you've got to have a sweeper relating to that.

BAG: And how do PDs feel now that everything is stretched?

X: I've never known a PD that doesn't love having fresh creative imaging on the air. Most of them feel like imaging is one solid thing you can own between songs that you can't own. Still, my PD understands that resources are tight to the point that we can't do what we used to do.

BAG: So, how does the people meter fit into all this?

X: Good question. I don't know. Things are too busy to think about that right now. Personally, I think the PPM will be a nostalgic museum piece as radio figures out how to transition to the web with decent monetization. In fact, PPM may be the motivator for the radio biz to speed up the process. Being a slave to the FCC and the PPM is not good for business when the web runs like a liquor store that sells to minors.



Our thanks to PRODUCER X once again for sharing real life experiences as our business transforms. More from X in the near future.

FREE LOOP CORRECTION

Some people have had trouble accessing the free loops we've posted on soundcloud.com. Try this link for better results. http://soundcloud.com/brownbagimaging

Get friendly with our soundcloud page cuz more freebies will show up there in the future.

THE SANTA VO SESSION FROM HELL

If this doesn't get you in the holiday spirit, nothing will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN9AZ-N3Npo


Btw, have a great Thanksgiving even though we know you'll be the last one to leave the radio station on Wednesday. Do you think salespeople give thanks to the prod guy before carving the bird? Yeah, we didn't think so either.

BROWNBAGIMAGING.COM...NOW FEATURING THIS GUY

Sure, we've got accordion samples but that's weak sauce. We go for the real deal and that's why we call this guy. The instrument pictured here was literally rescued from a garbage dump. We think maybe the guy was too. We throw him a few bucks and walk away feeling pretty good that we helped out a fellow music nut.

We're not making this up. This guy is real and so is the squeeze box. We just wanted you to know that we're not a bunch of "chop it to the grid" monkeys who can't get outside the quantizer.

3 QUICK TIPS FOR BETTER USE OF REVERB-video

Our latest youtube video outlines a few basics for getting better performance from a verb plug. Reverb is of course, complex and we could yammer about it all day but, people generally nod off when we start doing that. Keep in mind that the tips are not the be all end all. Nothing in the audio world is. We suggest rolling off hi and lo freqs but, you may want color from your verb so by all means, leave it if that's your goal. As with anything in production, go nuts cuz it's impossible to break virtual knobs.

Here's the link to the vid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qhsuhLap88

TALES FROM PRODUCER X

So many changes have taken place in the radio universe that we thought it would be great to hear from someone who has one foot in the glory days past and one in the constantly evolving present. That was the start of the idea for this series of posts titled "TALES FROM PRODUCER X". X may want to be opinionated from time to time so, no names and not too much personal info will be given out. Let's kick it off with some basics.

BAG: What can you tell us about your radio career?

X: I'm lucky enough to say it's been a long one and still going. I'd rather not say how long or talk about the markets I've worked in. Let's say I've worked in markets big and small and worked in different formats.

BAG: Been around long enough to remember carts?

X: Yeah. I miss carts because they were the perfect size for throwing. They were kinda like production director throwing stars. I always thought that's why they were made obsolete. Too many sales people with concussion by cart.

BAG: So you've been a spot producer.

X: Sure. I started out that way like everybody did. Cranking out spots and pulling swing shift for jocks on vacation.

BAG: Ever want to be on the air instead of production?

X: That's a definite no. Being trapped on the air with the same music everyday and the same 5 kids calling on the phone was torture. You had a stack of liner cards and the PD would always say, don't READ the liner cards...be creative. Then at your aircheck, he would hate whatever you did. The stuff he liked the best was when you practically read the card verbatim. Nuts.

Bag: So production was easier for you?

X: Not easier, just more satisfying. Time didn't exist in the prod studio. I would be in there for hours trying to make a creative commercial with a two track machine and some old jazz records. I didn't care. It was fun and even after a 12 hour day I felt energized if I did something creative.

BAG: What about that frustration you mentioned earlier?

X: Oh, the salespeople? That's the eternal struggle of good and evil. Art vs. commerce I guess. We were both wrong. What I was doing wasn't really art and what they were doing wasn't really business. I hated that they would go home and watch soaps, then come back and hand in an order late to air the next day. Ok, not everyone did that but, it did happen. Then there's the classic move. They would photocopy a yellow pages ad for the client, staple it to the order and write, "be creative" on it. I always imagined myself turning into the Incredible Hulk when I would see that.

BAG: Do you think it's better now?

X: I'm not sure. It's just different. A lot more salespeople write copy now. Production people used to do a lot of it but, there's no time anymore. It's too bad because I think salespeople don't enjoy writing copy but prod people kinda do. It's another creative process.

BAG: So, did you do imaging early in your career as well?

X: We didn't call it imaging back then. I don't even remember when the term imaging started. You were either a spot guy or promo guy. A lot of people, including me, did both since a lot of stations didn't have aggressive production yet. CHR was always the exception. Of course, with an analog 4 track, you couldn't handle a huge promo/sweeper load anyway. You'd never sleep. I remember doing slip cue music edits on 4 track. Sounds crazy and stupid now. You really respected the people who were good at it because it was like using the force. We all respected killer blade editing too. Now I think even blind and deaf people can edit pretty well on a daw.

Let's stop there for this first post. We'll keep this series going as long as Producer X wants to talk to us. Got a question for Producer X? Leave it in the comments.

FREE LOOPS ON SOUNDCLOUD

We feel like Soundcloud.com is a great place for audio people to hang out. It's not a big deal like Facebook or Twitter but, it's growing steadily while focusing only on audio. We wanted to encourage you to give Soundcloud a spin so, we're trying the oldest trick in the book...free stuff.

Go to Soundcloud.com and search on brownbagimaging. We should pop up first. There are two free loops for you to grab and each has a mixout or two. One loop is called Day By Day and the other is Down.

We're not connected with Soundcloud in any way. As audio pigs, we just like it and want to spread the word. We'll post more freebies in the future so stay tuned.

PRO TOOLS 9

There hasn't been this much buzz about a pro tools release in quite awhile. We would guess that the reason for that is this update answers a lot of complaints that PT users have had for years. Here's a quick overview of some major bullet points...

1. You can now use 3rd party interfaces. Now, Avid will truly have to compete in an open hardware marketplace. Should be interesting to watch.

2.Automatic delay compensation in LE. That's pretty big news. So why would anybody buy an HD rig ever again? Higher level pros or anybody who is tracking will not be able to make do with an LE rig. HD systems will still have more power in key areas like number of instrument tracks, voices for playback, midi tracks, video etc. HD also supports surround...the LE version not so much.

3. Free mp3 export. Ok, this seems small but so many users have complained in the past that Avid should bundle the mp3 option with the software that it's a real victory for bloggers everywhere.

4. More is more. More audio tracks. More aux tracks. More busses. More midi tracks. More instrument tracks. Major juice all over the place. Finally, you can unnecessarily complicate your projects with ease.

5. Support for more controllers. Pick up a C24 and go nuts on your LE rig. If you're not swimming in cash, go for the Euphonix MC Mix, it's now supported. Users know that Avid has been an exclusive little country club in the past. The club is opening up for what feels like the first time.

This is a very short list just to make the point that Avid has both listened to its users and responded to pressure from competitors in a significant way. Anybody who was thinking of switching to another daw will at least have to pause and take a look at version 9.

As for negatives, some are no doubt cheesed off that it's only compatible with Windows 7 and Snow Leopard (10.6.2 and up to be exact). Of course, the internet will suffer no shortage of flamers who love to hate. We'll let them prattle on about all the evils and gross injustices.

The bottom line these days is that you can handle complex audio projects on a lot of different systems. Maybe you choose which one based on price. Maybe on features. Maybe you choose by which one has the coolest logo. It just doesn't matter as long as you're happy with it. As for the flamers, don't buy stuff you hate. Problem solved.

COMPRESSOR HISTORY

Radio producers often idolize studio engineers who work with racks full of high end gear because so many radio stations now have nothing more than a cost cutter DAW, an RE20 and some cracked plug ins. It wasn't always that way. In fact, when it comes to compressors, radio developed the technology and jealous studio engineers adopted it.

In early radio, excessive audio levels could knock a station off the air. Engineers would manually ride gain to avoid it but, no one can anticipate a sudden spike and the human hand is only so fast. To protect equipment, leveling amplifiers were developed. They automated the process by acting like limiters. Recording engineers had the same desire to control levels and borrowed the idea from radio which was clearly on the cutting edge. Since limiting is just a severe form of compression, the idea for both was born at the same time.

Fast forward to the 1960s when boxes like the Urei 1176 and the LA-2A hit the market. Even by today's standards these units are considered audio rocket sauce. They changed the vibe of music production and are still in use all over the world.

Compression has been a massive force in defining the sound of modern music. Although it's often misused, it is routinely thought of as a must have for any mix whether it's a hit record or a radio promo. Recording studios seek out vintage compressors that can cost up to $25,000. No, that's not a misprint.

But, back to the beginning. It was radio that drove this technology. Imagine a time when audio geeks had to go to a radio station to see the latest gear that was blowing people's minds.

AN HOMAGE TO THE VU METER

LCDSoundsystem have a song called Daft Punk is Playing at My House. The video for that tune is quite the tribute to our friend the l.e.d. version of the vu meter. Czech it out.

click here to see video

WEB MAKE SMART NOW

How has the web affected our communication as a culture? The post at the right commenting on a Miley Cyrus video may be a clue.

SUMMING MIXERS ROUND DEUX

Last year we tested a few summing mixers to see if the buzz about analogue magic was true. While we did notice some small amount of magic, we weren't blown away. We did, however, decide to keep an eye on this type of gear since more and more companies are entering the market.

Now, we're test driving 2 boxes that have had a lot of great stuff written about them. They are the Neve 8816 and the Tonelux summing mixer which is more of a made to order thing. These products are not new to the market, but over time they have developed a good rep with none of the usual web-gear-flaming we're used to seeing with most anything. Thanks to our way cool peeps at Vintage King, we're able to twist knobs on these boxes for the next two weeks. As usual, we'll report to you after lots of pizza and many sleepless nights.

VO WORKPARTS NOW ON ROCKET SCIENCE

If you've been poking around the site lately, you've noticed a new category called VO Workparts. It's made up of free and clear, dry voice tracks that subscribers can use any way they want. Male and female tracks are posted now. That's pretty cool but, it gets better. If you have something specific you need for imaging, you can let us know and we'll get it posted. Everybody can use an extra, FREE voice now and then right?

Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas tracks all coming this week.

GREG GIRALDO DEAD AT 44

Right now, it is being said that he died of an accidental overdose of prescription medication. Whatever the case, many will miss Greg's comedy. He was a regular on comedy central celebrity roasts and he was never off of his game.

You don't have to look very hard to see that he was well liked as a person. Even though he was an insult comic, he left people with a good feeling. Here's a link to a performance clip.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/0eba527cea/greg-giraldo-is-the-best?=twitter

THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL

Ok it's Stephen King but still, this creepy old guy manages to stay relevant. Recently in Entertainment Weekly, he wrote about music. He grew up in a small town that got only one radio station. Worse yet, that station played a lot of Perry Como. As pop and rock slipped in to the playlist, King found his bony feet moving to the new sound of Jerry Lee Lewis. The young geek's life was transformed.

Though EW held him to one page in the mag, which must have been tough for the high priest of blabbity blab, he managed to make good points without going all "The Stand" on us. One in particular says it all. "The best rock isn't about thinking, but about being on fire and delighted to burn".

Well said Mr. King, now get back to your IBM selectric and write something that will give us all emotionally damaging, horrible nightmares.

OCTOBER IS JIMI HENDRIX MONTH ON FIREPOWER

For the debut of our artist spotlight category,we featured Rush. In August, we published inspired pieces throughout the month so you would have a nice pile of goodies to work with the next time a Rush project makes its way to your in box.

Coming in October, we'll feature Jimi Hendrix. While gathering up all things Hendrix, we came across this Vanity Fair article that discusses the less public side of Jimi. It was written by a woman who got to know him while writing an article for Rolling Stone.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/09/remembering-jimi-hendrixs-vulnerable-side.html

YES, WHAT YOU DO IS ART

Music, production, sound design, sweepers, promos, even legal id's. All art. It helps to not think of your audio projects as "noise making" or "knob fiddling" even though your parents may call it that.

If you're creative, you should treat your projects like you treat your mint condition Star Wars collectibles. We found an inspirational quote about producing that sums it up nicely. The quote is from a dude we don't know quoting another dude we don't know so you know it's profound. It goes like dis...

"Greatness in art depends solely on how much love you put in to a work. You put it in, it pays you back, your friends back, and everyone who listens. Moral of this lesson. Never take mixing and mastering lightly."

Sure, sometimes you have to run out on a piece because happy hour drink specials don't last forever and your friends never remember to save you any jalepeno poppers. We've all been there. If your like most people though, true masterpieces don't come out of that scene. The good stuff oozes from long sessions populated by copious amounts of pizza, red bull and a sequestering from the public that rivals the O.J. jury.

WHY YOU DON'T HAVE A BIG CONSOLE

The first two reasons you don't own a monster console are price and space. But when you think about it, you don't really need a dining room and big consoles can be found used for less than some control surfaces. So now what's stoppin' ya'? After all, every major audio genius is working on one and they all they say nothing beats 'em for sound.

The one thing nobody tells you is what it costs to run juice through that big bucket of knobs. Some producers report electric bills of several thousand dollars a month. That includes outboard gear as well but, you get the idea.

WATCHING TRENDS

If you don't have your trend radar running 24/7 you can miss some premium pop culture blunders that are great fodder for today's promos/sweepers and in ten years when you're looking back on today.

For example, did this high heel tennis shoe thing show up on your late 1990s radar?

Here's a blurb on these fashion wannabes from http://shoes.lovetoknow.com/High_Heel_Tennis_Shoes...

"It's amazing what a pair of high heel tennis shoes can do to transform a look from sporty to sassy. This unusual style had its heyday back in the late 1990s, when platform styles made a huge comeback and every type of shoe imaginable was treated to an exaggerated heel. Today, they might be less common, but they're still every bit as fun as they once were."

WHAT DOES THAT PLUG REALLY DO?

So, they make cheeseburger flavored Doritos now. Some people think they're gross while others plow through the bag like there are diamonds at the bottom. Different folks like different flavors, it's that simple.

Same goes for plugs. There are dozens of equalizers on the market and most have their own unique flavor. When you demo a plug, you should be trying to figure out the properties of that flavor.

There's a lot more to consider than presets and interfaces when shopping for your next audio twister. Developers have burned a lot of calories writing code to differentiate their products and you can benefit by building your arsenal based on specific characteristics that you want or need.

Some eq's are more musical than others. Some compressors are good for drums but not so great on other tracks. Some limiters create more artifacts than others. Before you buy another plug ask yourself if you know the properties of the plugs you already own. It may sound geeky but, why not go try 'em out on different projects and make some notes.