Dale's Audio Tip..1 Ducks in a row.

Hey Everybody, Dale here to reaching out to my creative community. Much has been going on at my recording studio, Electric Canyon. There's generally a half a dozen plus recording projects in progess at any given moment. Small and large recordings in various stages of completion, at various paces are happening weekly. I'm typically in the studio five days a week with bands and songwriters, working on 'back burner' projects, or 'nerding out' on technical stuff to streamline operations. There are so many ways to approach recording in current technologies that I find having my ducks in a row before the session starts keeps everyone focused on the creative process as opposed to the technical aspects. Mike Wofchuck was recently in mastering his new album and his comment to this end was..."Wow, I can just sit here on the couch while you fuss with all the gear? That's a relief". Having recorded his own solo album at his home studio over a two year span he was happy to tell another engineer what final touches he wanted sonically manifested without having to push the buttons (or click the mouse) himself. Everyone now has the tools to record wherever and whenever which is truely exciting. The options these tools provide, however, are so vast that many, including myself at times don't know where to start; which tools provide the optimal sounding results for a particular application, and which get you there in a time efficient manner. These are the things that I am constantly experimenting with to get tone that sounds good and fits the artists visulization. The ability to trancend the technical and focus on the art is paramount, yet all of us get hung up on the technical at some point, stifling creativity at a potential moment of inspiration. The way to prepare for this is knowing one's tools through trial and error, comparison listening ('A,B-ing we call it' aka using one's ears) to hear what sounds better, and being prepared, as much as one can be, for the upcoming session. That way when the red button is pressed, the engineer is cool and relaxed. This puts the artist at ease so everyone has fun and great performances are played and recorded for all posterity. Cheers Dale p.s. Studies have shown higher blood pressure decreases the humans ability to critically listen and aprreciate music. Stay Cool