SnowGhost Music

Ah, the old days. Sun Studios, Motown, golden takes, session players, and all-night jams. Groupies, cocaine-fueled time signatures, breaking equipment, tantrums, tracking, and overdubs. The recording studio used to be a hallowed and magical place to me. The mysterious sonically separated rooms, the endless supply of instruments and gadgets where songs were hatched. I would read stories about how Keith Richards would spend days trying to get one little riff, or how much booze and coke Derek and the Dominoes went through while creating their masterpiece. If I dreamed of being a rockstar, the part where I got to swig whiskey and smoke various substances with a pair of headphones on while a guy in the booth told me we were rolling was equally as exciting as doing windmills on a blindingly lit stage in front of thousands of mostly female fans.

This was of course before the portable 4 track, the digital 8 track, pro tools. The continuous march of technology has changed the way we think about recording. You don't need a label fronting you advances for studio time, you don't need your own team of engineers, or a team of anything for that matter. In fact, all you really need is a good microphone and a laptop. This is not to say that there are tumbleweeds rolling through the Hit Factory, or that studio engineers are lining up outside the welfare office.

But just as the way we we listen to music is changing, so is the way that we make it. Even the word 'studio' is up for redefinition. Do you need Iso booths and truck-sized boards to create a studio album? In an era where the average listener cannot tell the difference between a song recorded with plate reverb at Avast Studios from a song recorded on a mac with virtual rack reverb, does it really matter? Well, yes and no. As always, it depends on who you ask.

So let's first ask the musician: How do you think of recording? Musician: Well, it depends on the song and on the band. If I'm with my live band, and I'm really into the sound that we can only achieve when we play together live, then I need a studio. When we know the song well enough to get it right in a couple takes, and we have enough money, we go to the studio. Getting the separation of live sound can be done at home, but it's very difficult without the proper mics and the ability to be in different rooms. We can overdub later if we have to, but getting that live sound is a lot easier with someone else at the controls, just letting us do our thing.

But if I'm feeling singer-songwritery, or I just want to get my idea down, I'll usually go with my laptop or whatever equipment I have set up in my extra room. With a few good mics and a bunch of instruments, I can pretty much get a sound that is good enough to please my fans that listen to music entirely on fancy speakers. This allows me to have complete control over the sound, as well as performance. And as long as I haven't spent too much time on Ebay buying everything I could think of, it is far cheaper.

And what about you, Loyal Music Fan? How do you think of recording? Loyal Music Fan: Well, let me first explain that I am a multi-variable being. I can be very snobbish about Hi-fi, or sometimes I could care less. I might listen on my computer, or I might spend a half a million on a sound system. I might be very interested in how a song becomes a song, or I might just want to hear it and move on to the next. But my general concern, just like my dear friend Musician, is the song itself. If I love the way that band sounded last night at the ear-blasting rock show I attended with my Loyal Music Fan Friends, then I hope to god that they record it just like that (not necessarily the take, but the sound) and they go to a fancy studio to do it. If I appreciated the emotion and connection I felt when I went solo emo to the accoustic show of my favorite singer-songwriter, but I missed the instrumentation that he or she usually employs on his or her self-made albums, then I'm pumped when they record at home if it helps them come up with that sound. I'm okay if it sounds like it was made in a series of overdubs. In fact, in some cases I prefer it. But really what it comes down to is if the recording will meet my standards of song enjoyment, and as long as that happens, I am fine with wherever it came from.

And what about you, Studio Engineer and/or Owner? How do you feel? Studio Engineer and/or Owner: How do you think I feel? These comparisons are ridiculous. If you want your songs to sound good, you go to a studio. My studio. I've got all the best equipment, all the tricks, and I know something about everything. Plus I can hook you up with all the best session guys, booze and drugs, and if you give me a little time, I can even get you an organic chef. Just give me a call. Check me out online. Please. Pretty please?