Studio Insider #92 August, 2005
Recording Workshop and Music Downloads
First, I want to thank the large and attentive group who came to my workshop and asked so many interesting and important questions. Several people requested tips on mic placement when recording upright bass, acoustic guitar, and banjo.
We talked about the complex ways instruments produce what we hear as their signature sounds, and how best to capture something with a microphone that will approximate those sounds for the listener of a recording. The techniques for accomplishing this in a bluegrass recording can be quite different from those for making other kinds of recordings, and we reviewed the basic mic placements.
We talked about the different kinds of microphones commonly used in studios today -- condenser and dynamic, and how their construction and operation make each one suitable for different kinds of work. We also talked about cardioid mics (mics that are unidirectional, or which pick up sound from primarily one direction), and some of the special characteristics of these mics, including the “proximity effect.” This is a phenomenon in which the microphones get quite bass-heavy when placed close to a sound source.
Several people asked about inexpensive studio mics imported from China. I explained that my personal experience with them is limited, as we don’t use them at Highland Studios. However, music instrument and studio supply retailers say they are selling many of them, and home studio owners seem to be the primary customer base.
News of note to music lovers
There were a few questions about music downloading. The biggest news was the U.S. Supreme Court’s finding, announced in June, that companies who maintain peer-to-peer file-sharing networks that exist primarily to aid people in large-scale illegal file sharing (like Grokster, for example) can be sued for damages for aiding such activity. Recording industry lawyers are expected to file suits to rein in such companies or to force them to change their operations so that royalty revenues for copyright holders can be collected from them.
Lifestyles of the hard working
While this may seem like bad news to dedicated song rippers, I think it is good news for the recording industry, for song writers, and for the public as a whole. The framers of the U.S Constitution deemed copyright an important and necessary right for creators of original works, and made sure it was protected. This was done to encourage and foster the creation of American works of art by protecting the creators from unauthorized exploitation of their work and thereby making it possible for those creators to derive economic benefit (i.e., earn a living) from their creations. If song writers like Laurie Lewis, Doc Watson, Del McCoury, or Utah Phillips can’t earn money from sales of their creations, and are forced to earn money only at shows they play as they live the road life, then we have effectively removed the dream of a tranquil and secure home life for all of these artists. Lack of copyright protection would also be disastrous for record companies who manufacture, distribute and promote their art. Finally, it cannot be good for the American music audience because it would reduce creative output to only those artists who are willing and able to live on the road or hold other, non-music-industry jobs to earn a living.
The importance and irony of protecting intellectual property are especially apparent in the promises, prohibitions, and disclaimers that are all part of the licenses we must agree to (do you really read these?) when we are installing software (such as Napster’s!!). These licenses force the user to agree never to copy, reverse-engineer, distribute, or publish the software that runs their sites. In other words, the lawyers and entrepreneurs that run these companies know full well the value of their creations and the immense importance of their copyrights for their software, but seem to be blissfully unaware or completely uncaring regarding the rights of the people who created the music whose copying they are promoting, and upon whose existence they depend.
So software engineers and entrepreneurs deserve good incomes, decent homes and cars and futures, while music writers don’t?
A real-world example
Stephen Foster, writer of “Hard Times Come Again No More,” “Oh, Susanna,” “My Old Kentucky Home,” “Beautiful Dreamer,” and about 250 other songs, died poverty-stricken and sick at the age of 37 in Bellevue Hospital, New York in January of 1864. In Foster’s lifetime, there was not yet a system of collecting compulsory royalties from commercial music exploiters. One of the reasons that ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) chose January 13, 1914 as its founding date was to commemorate Foster’s death in the hopes that never again would a great American writer be forced to live a life of poverty while others received financial gain from his or her creations. Let’s remember that lofty goal the next time somebody asks us to burn them a copy of a CD or when our kids ask to use our computer to download some mixes.
On the road in Missouri
Before I sign off, I’d like to give a brief synopsis of an intriguing and beautiful trip I took with my wife Marti in June. I mentioned in last month’s column that we were flying to Missouri to bicycle the 225-mile Rails to Trails route called the Katy Trail. It starts just outside St. Louis, MO, and wends its way along about 175 miles of the Missouri River before deviating and heading southwest, terminating in Clinton, MO. Marti and I averaged about forty miles a day, enjoying the best possible May/June weather that Missouri can offer. The trail traverses rural Missouri, passing through old towns left over from when the route supported a thriving railroad, and a few ghost towns that either the ravages of economic change or the recurrent floods of the Missouri have wiped clean. The wildlife was spectacular. We saw and photographed countless snakes, turtles, birds and reptiles, and passed through farms with horses, cattle, pigs and even a pair of albino peacocks. I had the Missouri Waltz playing on repeat mode inside my head for many of our bicycled miles. I’m not sure if that was a good thing. But I did record a version of it after we returned. Rob Ickes was in the studio recently for some overdubbing, and added some beautiful dobro to the Missouri Waltz. (More about the Missouri Waltz in a future column.) After we’d crossed the Missouri River, we passed through Booneville, where we spent a very full day with Cathy Barton (hammered dulcimer and banjo) and her husband, Dave Para (guitar). Dave and Cathy maintain a very busy touring schedule in the Midwest, performing traditional music for schools and festivals. After our 8-day stay in Missouri, Marti and I flew home to begin our summer work, refreshed and rejuvenated after what seemed like a much longer break in routines.
Joe Weed records acoustic music at his Highland Studio in Los Gatos, California. He has released six albums of his own, produced many projects for independent labels, and done sound tracks for film, TV and museums. His latest production, for Appleseed Recordings, is “Spain in My Heart.” You can reach Joe by calling (408)353-3353, or by email, at joe@highlandpublishing.com.