But we see, as Lasse said, many studio page where the equipment is like 0, only a pc, cracked software, cracked amps simulators, cracked drum virtual instruments, etc... ok, it's good if you do a demo for yourself, if you like to write and record yourself or you band in an easy way. But when you start to earn money in this way, it's pretty wrong.
I would never be so bold and pretend to have my own studio going, charging money, if I'd be in such a situation.
But the thing is, it might be
morally wrong but that's about it. If somebody with a Computer, a shitty interface, all cracked software, desktop speaker etc. decides to spontaneously be an engineer and to run a "studio", than it is what it is, he has all the rights in the world to do so.
We think it's "morally wrong" and we love this craft so we'd like to see it maintaining a certain quality level and some integrity. But in the end it comes down to money and many people couldn't give a rats ass about "morale" when they're on a tight budget.
The only thing you can do is to convince your (possible) clients that it will be their win if they decide to invest a little more in their product. If you can't do that, you're fucked. That's the reality.
And as these hobbyists progress they'll eventually face the same situation.
This is something we are currently losing with the bedroom studios. Everything is, at best, clear-cut, clean, dreadfully boring. There is nothing exciting about every second guy using Snare 12Z1 on their record and slapping a transparent ITB compressor on to make it pop more.
As much as some of you guys are trying to justify this by saying the old guard are hanging on by a thread simply because the bedroom guys are pulling out comparable results. Well, they're not. I don't know what you've been listening to, or what you've been listening on, but I have NEVER heard a bedroom guy match Staub or CLA. I have never even heard one come close.
The only way the home studios are winning is via price. And hell, I'm not part of the old guard. I only jumped into this game about 5 years ago, largely as the bedroom thing was taking off. I started off there. $300 monitors, no treatment, all cracked plug-ins. That's how I did my first record. But since then I've allowed myself to learn, to be exposed to new things and to understand why the old guard are advocating the use of outboard, great rooms, great gear etc. so fervently. There is a reason to all this, just because you can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Justify the existence of home studios all you want.. but the cold reality is that they are degenerating the artform of engineering, and I'm partly sickened to be part of it (though hopefully for not too many years longer).
No, I also haven't heard a "bedroom mix" that could compete with a Staub mix.
BUT: The quality gap has become smaller. "Quality" being what the industry and the peers want to hear, not "quality" in the sense of what we appreciate. If it didn't, this whole argument wouldn't exist.
10 years ago, it was almost impossible to get a somewhat "professional" sounding record on a very tiny budget. So you could either just record a lacklustre demo and hope to be signed based on it or you could sell your soul, your house, your car etc. to be able to afford a professional recording.
Nowadays, it IS very much possible to get a record that's "professional" sounding on a tight budget, in the sense of what this industry wants: a tight, clean and loud record.
To be clear, I absolutely, for the love of my life, CANNOT stand these type of productions. The aforementioned "vibe" is very much important to me.
BUT: There is an audience for this. People want to hear this. I may personally agree (and I do) that this has degenerated the overall quality level of productions, but this is only
my opinion, you just cannot state something like this a s a fact. It's not possible when we're talking about something so subjective as music.
Having the "metal audience" as a whole in mind, we very much might be the vast minority with this sentiment.
But as long as there are bands like Mastodon, Opeth, Katatonia, Isis, Converge etc. around, there will be always people around who appreciate a different approach.
Might you next generic bore-core band come around with a smashed, edited, tuned, sample-replaced etc. to hell and back record... and might every kid go ballistic about it: I still don't have to listen to this shit.
Each to his own.
But I disagree about them being bigger if they stayed their course. In Flames are much more popular now with their US influence than they ever were before. They just aren't as cool to us old dudes :Smug:
