Home Recordists - some excellent pro advice

[Bob Womack]

I just watched a great interview with Frank Filipetti, producer and engineer, who has worked with Phil Ramone, James Taylor, and Carly Simon, and recorded such hits as Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" and the Bangles' "Eternal Flame." I got a chance to sit in on discussion with him at an Audio Engineering Society convention and found him to be interesting, forward thinking, and a lot of fun. The present interview is a free-wheeling, folksy discussion of recording, the path recording has taken in the last twenty years, and his move into home recording, though he still records at some of the best studios in the world. I think it would be a great "backgrounder" for people who are wanting to get their feet wet and a good anchor for people who are on their way into recording at home and mixing in the box.

He addresses some really important issues such as how vitally important monitoring and the monitoring environment are to getting a proper mix and explains why. I think the video interview is well worth the twenty-seven and a half minute investment. Give it a couple of minutes to warm up. It is HERE, on the Sweetwater Minute.

Bob

[napman]

Thanks for sharing Bob.

I'll watch this ASAP, always love your articles.

[Bern]

Most interesting, although, most of the recording equipment and software he mentioned I don't know. Thanks, Bob.

[KevWind]

Yes lots of good info

[anton]

Thanks for this. Listening now.

[ukejon]

Fantastic. Thanks for posting.

[Joseph Hanna]

I really love many of Frank Filipetti's mixes. His use of reverb may be my absolute favorite in the business. Nothing really earth shattering in the interview other than to say I like his willingness to not put too much romance into older equipment, I absolutely agree there's (within reason) only two ingredients in a good mix (the talent and the room). He certainly seems like a fun guy although one never knows until the pressure's on. I'd love to see Sweetwater do a series of these. Chuck Ainlay, Tony Brown and Michael Omartian all would be fun too hear from!

[myersbw]

That was a nice interview. Thanks for sharing it, Bob. Here at Miami U, the Music Dept (of which I serve as desktop support) is always evolving the curriculum and, thus, the lab to accommodate a variety of minors that might help the budding musician and for those wanting to pursue a more audio engineering path. "Where" to position the programs has always been the elusive balance. Whether to forge more for the concert musician -or- meet the often requested needs of those wanting to be innovative recording artists or composers.

The composer has so much an advantage with equipment that's dropped drastically in pricepoint these days. So many plugins...DAWS...faster processing...more widely published techniques for making a home recording space actually doable.

So, we're in constant process for the next few years to find "where" the fit is for Miami for teaching specifics related to recording and electronic music. So far, it's more of a minor program and many non-majors are quick to take it. But, I can see where seasoned faculty have a ways to go to accept and get creative with modern techniques in all those areas.

Back to Frank's interview, it seems he's found technology has finally evolved to a resolution that can avoid major latency & sync issues -as well as- still holding tight to a process where simpler-is-better can make the end result happen in a more timely & consistent manner. LOL, nobody wants a headache to mix.

I actually took the whole family to Sweetwater's campus about 2 years ago (got to catch Satriani's clinic there). They at first were reluctant and then amazed at what they saw. Bob Mondok met us for a personal tour of the place...GREAT people there! They'll do that for anyone.

Once comment my oldest kid made, "You met all types of people there along the way...and they ALL seemed to really like their job." Ya can't fool a kid. (Yes, it's nice to be within a 4 hour drive to that place).

Cheers!
Brad

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by myersbw

Back to Frank's interview, it seems he's found technology has finally evolved to a resolution that can avoid major latency & sync issues -as well as- still holding tight to a process where simpler-is-better can make the end result happen in a more timely & consistent manner. LOL, nobody wants a headache to mix.

Yeah! I live in a hybrid world myself. I started on 1970s Neves, added SSLs and then added digital boards. I still work on large-format consoles some but I do a pretty large chunk of my overdub sessions with preamps directly to DAW. My facility was an early-adopter of a totally non-linear work flow and mixing in the box because we wanted to be able to shift the product from room to room between four audio rooms and fifteen edit suites. As a result, we HAD to go with a non-standard DAW (Steinberg Nuendo) because they had the latency thing licked from their start point back around 2003 (as I remember). I deal with the same desire to have the instantly good sounds of the Neves and the nostalgia of sitting behind nine feet and $400k worth of gleaming analog recording technology, but have come to realize that like Frank, I don't think I'd want to go back. I keep the good stuff and move on to the new. Back in the day, I would never have envisioned getting a text from a client in Germany who wants a little tweak to his song mix and being able to do it with thirty minutes worth of investment including loading, tweaking, export, file maintenance, and transfer via FTP. Total reset, including all of your processing, has revolutionized my world.

I actually took the whole family to Sweetwater's campus about 2 years ago (got to catch Satriani's clinic there). They at first were reluctant and then amazed at what they saw. Bob Mondok met us for a personal tour of the place...GREAT people there! They'll do that for anyone.

Once comment my oldest kid made, "You met all types of people there along the way...and they ALL seemed to really like their job." Ya can't fool a kid. (Yes, it's nice to be within a 4 hour drive to that place).
Cheers!
Brad

We do a lot of business with Sweetwater (there are four Sweetwater boxes waiting to be opened in the offices right now) and "get it." When we buy a $250k console the sales and maintenance people from either the manufacturer or the dealer hang around and call and want to make sure everything is RIGHT because they realize that customer happiness and their reputation are right behind product quality in importance. They give you the same sort of attention for a $10 capo purchase. Smart.

But I feel a sort of collegial thing with you, Brad. I studied music composition and recording at the U. of Tennessee back when dinos roamed the earth and feasted on analog tape machines (1979). After I got into full-time work as an engineer, I started instructing audio classes at a university in my spare time and then went on to built a curriculum in recording for a local RIAA studio course. I understand chasing the state of the art while trying to get out in front and prepare your students for it. Now THAT'S an education challenge!

Bob

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

I really love many of Frank Filipetti's mixes. His use of reverb may be my absolute favorite in the business. Nothing really earth shattering in the interview other than to say I like his willingness to not put too much romance into older equipment, I absolutely agree there's (within reason) only two ingredients in a good mix (the talent and the room). He certainly seems like a fun guy although one never knows until the pressure's on. I'd love to see Sweetwater do a series of these. Chuck Ainlay, Tony Brown and Michael Omartian all would be fun too hear from!

I agree. And lets not forget Elliot Scheiner. I love his work!

Bob