Feb 13, 2007

Recording thoughts - ears vs. vision

During the recording process of the latest album Thira, I mostly used the computer keyboard and mouse for recording, engineering and mixing. I rarely used the console at all and lately I’ve been thinking, will the console be phased out to some degree or will it still be necessary? I think my answer is, I don’t think it will be phased out. One thing I don't like about using the mouse constantly is that your hand can get tired or cramped up after hours of use. Not good, especially when you have to play an instrument. So this makes me think that it’s nice to have buttons to push and faders to move.

For the Thira sessions, I had the computer keyboard and the synth keyboard in front with the console off to the side. (I write a lot with the synth so it makes things easy to have it in front of me.) The other day, I switched to having the console in front and the synth off to the side. What I noticed right away is that it was really nice not to be pinned down to using just a computer keyboard and mouse. It’s really nice to be able to pan, EQ, move faders using the console because you don’t have to look at the screen all the time to aim the mouse while making virtual adjustments. It’s great to reach up and start turning a knob while only listening, even closing your eyes while you make adjustments to fully concentrate on the sound. Of course there are many great advantages and options with the keyboard and mouse but I’m finding that I really enjoy the option of having a small console. I suppose it's all about what you like.

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