JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques General Technical Forum So.. how has music technology helped us in the past 10 years?

I was thinking that a lot of promises were made in the last 10 years that by now all things musical would be different and improved by technology. But aside from faster on-line speeds, I haven't seen much change. How about you?

Brian

Hey Brian,
It seems like the music industries are very resistant to change. I think it comes from having the major distribution and production outlets tied up by only a very few conglomerates. The most exciting thing has been the I Pod. It's a pretty sad statement. Where is it all leading? Wish I knew.
Rick

Technology has brought high-quality recording capability to the masses. Unfortunately it has not increased the talent pool. So now, we are inundated with crystal clear recordings of dull musicianship, and unimaginative arrangements of bad songs.

On the plus side, if you are so inclined, the technology is really a lot of fun.

What were the promises made?

As far as changes, I've seen plenty in the recording aspect of things. As far as traditional instruments there's very little that can be done at this point. Most of it is refinement of the manufacturing process.

In terms of Acoustic guitars, I know that in the past couple of years, Taylor has made some major upgrades in the quality of their pickups, which in turn translates to much better sound from the instrument when amplified. Bar none, the best direct acoustic sound period. No other acoustic guitar comes close.

In recording, the digital world is at the point of surpassing analog for clarity. Computers are getting very powerful and allow for greater control over the sound. It's really quite amazing. As Truman stated, it has brought a certain level of recording quality to persons that have no idea what to do with it. Which leads to sifting through boring songs, poor musicianship, etc.

In guitar capo's, I've recently found the most advanced capo ever. It's amazing. It's be G7th. I think the website is www.g7th.com that is the easiest capo to set the proper tension with. Nothing I've used to date compares. It's awesome. So much so, I sought out an endorsement with them. I plan on putting it to good use.

Being able to stream media through the house wirelessly is pretty nifty. Hopefully soon the net speeds will be fast enough for full quality DVD's and DVD audio to be purchased instead of MP3's. That will be the true leap forward.

It is fun to keep up with the tech stuff though.

Jody

The technology today is outrageous, just take a look in Guitar Center. For a couple a grand you too can be the proud owner of your own recording studio. My take is, when you pay a thousand dollars for a piece of modern technology, your getting about 450 worth of usable matter and the rest is fluff. The industry is getting really good at packaging a lot of stuff into little boxes and we're paying for them. You can't just go out and buy a digital recorder without getting (and paying for) a digital sampler and modeling apparatus and a dozen other fluffy items included. Oh Well!! I guess its there when and if you need it.
I do love gawking over the new stuff though. Its always good to get a new gizmo to spark your interest if needed. I'm waiting for the industry to provide, on demand, what we really need. Kinda like custom ordering your computer stuff. Right now its like buying a fully loaded Escalade when all you need is a Chevy pickup.

I suppose its debatable if you would rather listen to badly recorded dull musicianship and unimaginative arrangements of bad songs or listen to crystal clear ones. I would rather listen to crystal clear ones as it helps me to make a judgment quicker.

Technology has never set out or pretended to replace talent however those that have talent normally us it a lot better and seldom moan about it.

JMHO.

Gerry

Hey Brian,

I don't think there's any difference musically to what there was ten years ago. There's still good and bad and indifferent songs as there always has been.

The huge change which has occured is in the change over from analogue to digital, enabling an easier and more convenient way to record and distribute music. Computer power has increased enormously in this time and makes life very much easier.

Being able to communicate with other musicians on the other side of the planet, collaborate and enjoy the music of others without being locked into one's own physical location is to me a great advancement in musical technology.

The use of digital platforms, has enabled a way of thinking that anything is possible. Whatever you dream or create visually can in most respects be translated into a physical medium given enough time and effort, and for a fraction of the cost it would have taken ten years ago. Hopefully we are entering an artistic age again, maybe we'll find out in another ten years time.

cheers, niteshift

I'm with niteshift on this: I've worked on musical collaborations with people from all over the world thanks to the robustness of WAV files with lossless compression (like FLAC or WAVpack) applied. The internet transfer of files is still slow, but manageable. Thanks to the fact that everybody's rig has a sample-rate clock to resolve to, it all stays, for the most part, in sync.

With great power, however, must come great responsibility. People need to take the time to learn, through practice, the art of recording and production before they start sharing their "masterpieces" with the world. Having Garageband doesn't automatically make you a Producer.

Okay, now let's add a second part to this discussion. Which change in music gear and recording technology was bigger. 1997-2007 or 1987-1997? In the mid 80's Midi gear came around, electronic effects and the first affordable portable recorders of ANY kind surfaced and became popular. In Keyboards, the improvement and innovation was amazing. In the more recent era, the Internet has been a big factor and certainly improvements on most of the innovations of the 80's. But what's really new and different recently?

Brian

#1 - I can record my own demos at home

#2 - As a co-writer or collaborator, I can work effectively to create music with, or tracks for, musicians & songwriters all over the world

#3 - it gives me access to, and relationships with, a musical community that spands the globe. The support, encouragement, insight, friendship & information passed around this way is awesome. When I bought my first computer in 1990, the world wide web didn't exist. Look how far we've come

#4 - I can sell my work, either individually or as an album, via the net

#5 - I can access the services of musicans & producers who will record backing tracks for my works, mix my work, or master my work

#6 - I can pitch my work via the internet

I just seriously invested in a computer custom built for audio recording, so I'm probably one of the people making not-that-great recordings of (hopefully) good songs, and I'm fully aware of that - but you have to start somewhere, and rely on the feedback of more educated ears to help you grow in the art of recording and production.

With the new computer, I invested in "turbo" high speed internet... after dial-up, I feel like I'm on a jet... I downloaded a 20MB wav file in less than 2 minutes. Sweet!

I've got to vote for '97 to '07 since I'm a guitar player and I never got into all that MIDI and synthy stuff.

I'd vote for '97 to '07. That's the biggest change in recording capability from tape to digital. Especially for the do it yourself'r.

Jody

I'll vote for '97-'07 also. MIDI was a big thing in the 80's, but it was only emulating the various instrumentation and was an added effect so in that respect it was new.

The use of digital sampling, and the ability to capture and repdoruce real instrumentation has added another tool to the toolbox. Press the note on the keyboard in the 1980's and it was synthetic, press it now, and it triggers a real player playing the said instrument ( However, I don't recommend keyboard players trying to be tuba players )

From what I understand, most of the orchestration in film these days is 50% orchestra and 50% sampled overdub. So the technolgy is used as an additive rather than a replacement.

cheers, niteshift

That fifth wire in midi chords never did get used did it?? I'll vote for 97 to 07 too, but , damn, I miss the simplicity of recording to tape.

By 1987 the "jump" had already been made. Virtually nobody recorded as a band any more. That was the beginning of sterility and the end of feeling and spontaneity. I've worked with several bands who play as tight as ticks when live, but the timing and the grove is completely lost when they track separately. You simply can't strike the same groove with people across the planet from you, it takes interaction in the same space.
The same is true for the sound: it must be developed in the same physical space to sound genuine.
We've come a long way technologically toward making it easier to get"clean" sound and easier to operate the "features." I love the editing capabilities of digital audio. But, we haven't progressed in sound quality since the Neve 80 series desks and the Studer 827 recorder.
Nothing holds a mix together like analog recording. I still master through my old Revox in record/repro. It's the best 2-mix compressor I know of.

Mr. Neve would probably tell you otherwise. From what I understand based on a conversation with a friend, Rupert think's his early gear is lousy compared to the stuff he's making now.

That's why it's all in the ear of the beholder. Some still like analog. It's not right or wrong. It's just what it is.

Jody

Difficult question Brian because Midi was and still is the most major advance in studio recording and still the language that allows all our equipment to communicate with each other. I'm not sure that without it we would ever have seen the fantastic advances
that followed its implantation.

OK I'll go against the stream and say 1987-1997 purely because it really paved the way for all that followed.

Gerry

I'd go with '97-'07, too. MIDI aside, technology hadn't made (in my opinion) any great strides since 1987; recording was still very expensive, and it was hard for even a moderately successful band to get things on the radio, because of the expense of getting them recorded. (And there wasn't anything but the radio--Al Gore hadn't invented the Internet yet.<g>)

What I've seen happen over the past 10 years (the last half of which I've been seriously playing music) is extensive miniturization and digitizing and cheapening of technology, to the point where any working band--again--can produce recordings as technically competent asd the Big Boys. (Heck, I've even come close myself a time or two.) All that has saved the record labels (my opinion) is the inability of the guys and gals on the other side of that cheap equipment to get their wares to market. And that's coming--it's just a matter of time.

And I agree with all that stuff Vikki said, too.

Joe
www.soundclick.com/bands/7/joewrabek_music.htm
www.myspace.com/joewrabek
The Writer's Blog: http://nakedspacehamsters.blogspot.com

Definently 97-07
1. The marshall amp and cabinent has been reduced to simulation software and oh yea about every amp and cabinet combination quite drastically influencing the way guitars etc... are recorded today (direct) and giving more latitude to today's smaller and home studios.
2. Guitar models are bing simulated as well.
3. Recording software allows tracks to be saved and stored in file formats that won't degrade like anologue tape.
4. Midi technology is being used in anologue materials with servos, such as the new model of self playing pianos.
5. Midi in the form of its 80's hayday is going out. Digital recording from anologue sources is in.
6. APE, WAV, MP3, MPEG are all new forms of file (sound) management.
7. Websites such as www.recordingproject.com are facilitating collaborations between global musicians to achieve very high quality results.
8. said before: digital has surpassed analogue quality.
9. Tools for distributing and promoting your own music.
10. Online shopping for session musicians is gaining momentum.
11. Quality drummers are more desired (hee hee)
Heck, everything worthwhile is different.

Hi a hellavalot to take in but here is, as you say in the USA, my 2 cents worth. Communication must be the most important thing. The fact that we are doing this on JPF speaks for itself. Equipment and instruments have advanced beyond all recognition and come down in price certainly over the last decade. Most people have a home recording studio, I am referring to a PC, with capabilities the Beatles and Elvis etc would have given their soul for. BUT ON THE DOWNSIDE have you heard some of the crap they call music nowadays. You can give a monkey a Stradiv... Stradivarious.....Stravidar...oh I give up... an old violin but dont ask him to play a good tune.

Were you trying to say Stratocaster?

That's a guitar, though...

Hi Brian I must correct a mistake in JPF. According to my status I am now a SERIOUS CONTRIBUTOR. I have been called a lot of things in my time but SERIOUS...... NAAAAAA. BIGJIM.

it helps to record, mix, master, and in some cases, to release recorded work to the public and on the 'Net. I think it does, anyway.


markus
stat songs publishing, ltd. (ASCAP)
www.soundclick.com/markusky
www.myspace.com/markusky
statsongs@hotmail.com

If anything, music technology as far as the computer goes has helped me hear flaws in recordings I may have been oblivious to in the past.
Still, there is something about these old cassettes, 8 tracks and record albums that sound more real.
Maybe it's just a nostalgic thing.
It took a heck of a lot when cd's started first getting big in the market for the companies to master those old reel to reel tapes. Especially from sixties acts.
The companies were even tracking down vinyl of the best quality condition from the common public and paying good money for it.
Now anyone with a computer and little money can bring out old taped recordings and vinyl to sound more pristine.

I had such junk taped recordings of my own that I could only salvage a few.
But the computer and computer based software and hardware has made the delicacy in the sounds a lot more noticable.

Matt

I was going to say almost exactly those same things. It's very nice to be able to record a good sounding demo at home quickly.