Coined Phrase
I came up with a phrase a number of years back (at least I think I did…honestly): “No one is original, but everyone’s unique.” Everything you know, think, or believe is based on something taken from someone else. And the same goes for them. Even Einstein’s groundbreaking Theory of Relativity is an accumulation of knowledge [...]
American Idol
I don’t hate American Idol in as far as it gives unknown musicians a chance. What I hate is the concept of crafting lap dog pop stars, regardless of whether it’s a record label, a radio show, or a TV show. Adam Lambert seems like a great guy: awesome voice with kind of modern Billy [...]
Human Nature, Part 2
There’s a term in yoga called citta vritti. It’s a Sanskrit phrase for the millions of little thoughts that pop into our head every day that we chase around. The result of this constant movement makes us habitually concerned, frustrated, unsettled, and scattered. Eventually it leads to neurotic, compulsive behavior: the unsettled mind. Think of [...]
Secrets to Success, part 1
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that it’s not necessarily your talent that sets you apart…or even the price of your product or service. Success is often determined by how you communicate with, and treat, your clients. And this is because there’s no shortage of talented people, but there is a shortage of [...]
Tales of Tape
So I’ve been experimenting with my “new” (circa 1978-1982) 1/4″ machine. Doing some transfer of mixes and *really* liking the results: the right amount of dirt, grease, and realism to make a squeaky-clean digital recording sound thick and tastefully grainy. However, a glitch came up in the testing process where the stereo image seemed to [...]
300
This is my 300th blog post for From Ohm to Om. I’ve made it a point to mark each hundred with a little reflection about the process. I’m kind of surprised I’ve actually hit 300. Even for a baseball player it’s good. Hopefully I’ve hit a few home runs, but would be content for singles [...]
Explanations of Mastering
In a lot of ways, this blog is centered around explaining the process and value of mastering. I recently came across this video by the good folks @ Abbey Road. I think it does a good job an explaining, in very plain terms, what mastering is and its value.
History of Recorded Sound
Wikipedia has a good page on the history of recorded sound. It’s a good place to learn a bit of time line information on sound recording mediums. A few things struck me after perusing the page: what we consider high-fidelity (and realistic) seems to be reconsidered nearly on a generational basis. even though we think [...]
A Bit More on Speakers (again)
Recently, I’ve had a few musician friends upgrade their studio monitors. They e-mailed me for suggestions, so the topic is on my mind a bit more than usual. I know that for a recording studio, speakers are not the most exciting topic…and they aren’t one of those things that gets you clients (like microphones or [...]
Look Forward and Back
Yesterday’s post made me think of another important concept, and that’s integration. We live in a digital world. That’s not good or bad, it’s just the way it is. So our digital recordings will be as good or bad as we make them. I think it’s important have an understanding of the great recordings from [...]
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From Ohm to Om reflects the opinions of mastering engineer Paul Abbott, owner of San Diego's ZenMastering.
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