It’s not the new tool that’s the big issue here. It’s the fact that I met up with an amazing studio engineer and even more amazing musician – Larry Seyer – through a mutual friend – Gary Powell, www.garypowell.com.
Larry has a number of websites:
http://www.larryseyer.com - audio and video production
http://www.spacemusic.com – audio products for sale. (Hint: Larry’s going to focus on products for Podcasters soon, and we’re looking at doing a Podcast about the Edirol units, the Marantz PMD660 and the Fostex FR-2.) Stay tuned for that.
http://www.electriclarryland.com - this is Larry’s blog and Podcasting site. His specialty is Podcasting recording sessions with musicans. Very unique and informative.
So, in exchange for tips and insights on blogging and Podcasting from me, Larry offered his studio engineering expertise. After giving that some thought, I said, “Heck, yeah!” I had a ton of questions about my studio setup. There are so many little variables in the way gear can be set up that I knew his help would make an impact. I had a pile of burning questions I’ve been wanting to ask someone who has a deeper knowledge of audio than myself.
Larry came over and helped me rewire my Gentner, Aphex and Focusrite Session Pack and Mackie board. It was kinda weird seeing him stand back there pulling cables out and handing them over to me, saying, “You don’t need this, you don’t need that.”
When he got done, I ended up with an audio setup for Podcasting that was simplified, and I’m so thankful.
Next Larry introduced me to Cubase SX. I wasn’t so sure about that as I was already quite familiar with Steinberg’s Wavelab, even though I knew deep inside that Wavelab wasn’t really hacking it for me for a variety of reasons. Sure, I could make things sound good, but it was a chore. I kept wondering if I was working harder than I needed to. Turns out I was right.
I purchased a copy of Cubase SX, and Larry helped me set it up and gave me a tutorial. After a few days of feeling all wobbly with it, I’m finally to the point of saying, “WOW, this is cool.” Sure, Cubase SX is, in some ways, more than I need. I’m not doing MIDI work anymore, but I am looking at providing the highest quality Podcasting work. And Larry is right – Cubase SX SOUNDS beautiful. I’ll have more on this soon.
Tom
