Joe Barresi Tracking Rock: A Review

C_F_H_13

C_F_H_13

Protools Guru
Mar 21, 2006
1,554
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Kelowna, B.C. Canada
So today I was bored doing editing and decided to purchase this DVD. I've always loved Joe Barresi's work, and was curious what this dvd would be like.

Here's a short review. Let me make something really clear though.....

THIS IS MY OPINION AND ONLY THAT.


STUDIO TOUR:

Pretty cool section, and a great intro to Joe's personality. He's cracking jokes, being good in front of the camera, and is very articulate. My only complaint was when they get to the mic locker, he just closes it real quick and doesn't really go into his arsenal or anything.

INSTRUMENT SETUPS (drums/bass/gtrs/vocals):

Probably the coolest parts of the whole dvd. He goes through all the mics, why he uses them, and afterwards goes through the whole chain he uses to process stuff. His setup to me is pretty standard in my eyes, but the mics he uses are pretty different in some cases. Again he is cracking jokes and being great on camera.

The section of going through the processing chains is cool, but as you might expect not really any specific settings are giving. He speaks in pretty general terms explaining why he uses certain things. One thing I would of liked to see is to hear the mics he was summing together separately before he summed them. Especially in the guitar section where he's summing 4 mics together across 2 amps, it'd be nice to hear what he's doing!

PROS: Good info, well put together, and he's really interesting on camera.

CONS: Pretty general information. One thing in particular that was more annoying then I thought it would be was the 6505 that's blurred out, and he's censored when he's talking about it. I won't go into why that happened, but go over to gearslutz if you wanna read what everything else thinks about it.

INSTRUMENTS TRACKING:

These sections were ok IMO. You watch the band members track each of their instruments and it's cool and everything, but there isn't a whole lot of joe directing or producing them. It's basically him making a few comments here and there and then footage of said band member tracking.

PROS: Cool to hear some of joes comments.

CONS: Not really enough stuff happening to warrant it making up about 40% of the DVD.

DIRECTORS CUT/WEB INTERVIEW:

Very informative. Alot of this is him kind of rehashing what was in the dvd, but it's still really interesting stuff. Honestly, neither of these needed to be video content. It could of easily been a podcast or MP3 and I probably would still of been just as interested.

PROS: informative

CONS: again this is a large portion of the dvd and alot of the information is just rehashed from before.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I give this dvd a 6.5/10. Its informative well shot, and Joe is hilarious, but I give it a 6.5 because of the following negative things...

1-Content to Price. It's a great dvd, but not a 95 dollar dvd. I think IMO it's worth probably 65 bucks at most.

2-I know settings are totally scenario specific, but in this case, since the session was in fact included it would be nice to know EXACTLY how he got to this sound or that one. He talks in very general terms.

3-The tracking sections almost seem like filler. Yes there are some really good tidbits in there, but overall I found myself getting really bored watching 15-20 minutes of someone tracking a song, and then joe making a few comments.

One really good thing about this DVD though is the included PT/OMF/RAW wav files that are included. ESpecially the PT session has some of Joe's plugs and automation.

So yeah...good dvd.....not great, but for most people still worth seeing at some point.

*****EDIT*****

One thing I forgot to mention. I know this wasn't one of Joe's bigger projects and I bet he wasn't giving it his 100%, but there are some really bad edits across all the tracks. All tracks in you don't notice, but in solo it's pretty bad. Maybe Joe just doesn't think they are a problem, but with producers I work with if I left an error like that in a track I'd get fired.

Again not a dig at Joe or the DVD, I just found it more interesting then anything at the level of mistake in the editing that were left in there.
 
As a fan, I'd say it was worth the price. I got it. Learnt quite a bit, and got really inspired. I totally ripped off a bunch of his drum micing ideas for when we recorded drums, and they're the best drums I've ever recorded. But yeah - that's just my opinion too. There are some real gems of information that helped me out loads.

Think I basically paid about £55. I'd spend that on a computer game, or a night out eating sushi. So fuck it... it's not terribly expensive in my view.
 
Thanks for the review, i really wanted to get it but your review has confirmed what i expected and had read about so r especially the GS talk about it.
Yeah £55 isnt a bank breaker but still for a DVD ? i would be ok with £30 perhaps - maybe the price will drop after a while.
 
Yeah the more I watch it the less I like it. They also price out every piece of gear and while I'm sure they intended to be informational, it comes across as "you'll never sound as good as Joe cause you can't afford this shit".

I would be more interested in the mixing process of the song (which apparently is coming out), but what would the point be if he still doesn't go into details?
 
I enjoyed it, I think having the tracks and the bonus stuff made it worth the price. For a guy like me that will probably never work in a bigger studio or with producers like that it was pretty cool information. I will agree some more details on 'how' and 'why' he did certain things as opposed to just with what would have been nice. But then again how do you explain shit like that...
 
C_F_H_13 said:
Yeah the more I watch it the less I like it. They also price out every piece of gear and while I'm sure they intended to be informational, it comes across as "you'll never sound as good as Joe cause you can't afford this shit".

I would be more interested in the mixing process of the song (which apparently is coming out), but what would the point be if he still doesn't go into details?
Click to expand...

Do you not think "details" are largely irrelevant when transferred from one studio to another to another to another... etc...??
 
drew_drummer said:
Do you not think "details" are largely irrelevant when transferred from one studio to another to another to another... etc...??
Click to expand...

normally that's the case, but this dvd included the sessions. So for example you could listen to his snare track and be like "oh ok, so he boosted 100hz by 4db and 10k by 3db and this is what it sounds like" and start training yourself. U can listen to his tracks and say "oh he did this to this track and that's why it sounds like this in solo".

Could be an incredible learning too.
 
C_F_H_13 said:
One thing I forgot to mention. I know this wasn't one of Joe's bigger projects and I bet he wasn't giving it his 100%, but there are some really bad edits across all the tracks. All tracks in you don't notice, but in solo it's pretty bad. Maybe Joe just doesn't think they are a problem, but with producers I work with if I left an error like that in a track I'd get fired.
Click to expand...
I find this depends largely on the producer. For many of the old-school analog guys, if you can't hear it then its not a problem.
 
C_F_H_13 said:
So today I was bored doing editing and decided to purchase this DVD. I've always loved Joe Barresi's work, and was curious what this dvd would be like.

Here's a short review. Let me make something really clear though.....

THIS IS MY OPINION AND ONLY THAT.


STUDIO TOUR:

Pretty cool section, and a great intro to Joe's personality. He's cracking jokes, being good in front of the camera, and is very articulate. My only complaint was when they get to the mic locker, he just closes it real quick and doesn't really go into his arsenal or anything.

INSTRUMENT SETUPS (drums/bass/gtrs/vocals):

Probably the coolest parts of the whole dvd. He goes through all the mics, why he uses them, and afterwards goes through the whole chain he uses to process stuff. His setup to me is pretty standard in my eyes, but the mics he uses are pretty different in some cases. Again he is cracking jokes and being great on camera.

The section of going through the processing chains is cool, but as you might expect not really any specific settings are giving. He speaks in pretty general terms explaining why he uses certain things. One thing I would of liked to see is to hear the mics he was summing together separately before he summed them. Especially in the guitar section where he's summing 4 mics together across 2 amps, it'd be nice to hear what he's doing!

PROS: Good info, well put together, and he's really interesting on camera.

CONS: Pretty general information. One thing in particular that was more annoying then I thought it would be was the 6505 that's blurred out, and he's censored when he's talking about it. I won't go into why that happened, but go over to gearslutz if you wanna read what everything else thinks about it.

INSTRUMENTS TRACKING:

These sections were ok IMO. You watch the band members track each of their instruments and it's cool and everything, but there isn't a whole lot of joe directing or producing them. It's basically him making a few comments here and there and then footage of said band member tracking.

PROS: Cool to hear some of joes comments.

CONS: Not really enough stuff happening to warrant it making up about 40% of the DVD.

DIRECTORS CUT/WEB INTERVIEW:

Very informative. Alot of this is him kind of rehashing what was in the dvd, but it's still really interesting stuff. Honestly, neither of these needed to be video content. It could of easily been a podcast or MP3 and I probably would still of been just as interested.

PROS: informative

CONS: again this is a large portion of the dvd and alot of the information is just rehashed from before.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I give this dvd a 6.5/10. Its informative well shot, and Joe is hilarious, but I give it a 6.5 because of the following negative things...

1-Content to Price. It's a great dvd, but not a 95 dollar dvd. I think IMO it's worth probably 65 bucks at most.

2-I know settings are totally scenario specific, but in this case, since the session was in fact included it would be nice to know EXACTLY how he got to this sound or that one. He talks in very general terms.

3-The tracking sections almost seem like filler. Yes there are some really good tidbits in there, but overall I found myself getting really bored watching 15-20 minutes of someone tracking a song, and then joe making a few comments.

One really good thing about this DVD though is the included PT/OMF/RAW wav files that are included. ESpecially the PT session has some of Joe's plugs and automation.

So yeah...good dvd.....not great, but for most people still worth seeing at some point.

*****EDIT*****

One thing I forgot to mention. I know this wasn't one of Joe's bigger projects and I bet he wasn't giving it his 100%, but there are some really bad edits across all the tracks. All tracks in you don't notice, but in solo it's pretty bad. Maybe Joe just doesn't think they are a problem, but with producers I work with if I left an error like that in a track I'd get fired.

Again not a dig at Joe or the DVD, I just found it more interesting then anything at the level of mistake in the editing that were left in there.
Click to expand...

Thank-you for your review. We appreciate your time in watching and reviewing it.
I do have a couple of counter-comments that I'd like to make (as the producer of the video).

Firstly, whether it's Indie or Label, Joe gives 100% on all of his projects. There's a lot of things behind-the-scenes
that the video doesn't show. Joe worked 14 hour days every day until this project was done. When we (the video crew)
had packed up and left at mid-night, Joe and the band were still there working out details of the song and the production.
I have a great deal of respect for Joe and his work ethic and I think you mis-characterised him.
He doesn't take every project .. but the projects he believes in, he puts everything he has into it.

Secondly, could you point out where in the Protools session you believe Joe made a mistake?
I'm working on the Mix video now and am pretty familiar with this session. If you could give a HH:MM:SS or M:B:T
where you think a mistake was made, I would be interested in diving in to see.
Joe is such a stickler for detail, it would be surprising to me.

Not all of the tracks in the Protools session were printed to the final mix. So perhaps you're hearing things
that never made it through Joe's SSL desk. As Joe explains, he uses Protools much like a tape-machine and
there's a level of automation/bussing/muting that you may not be privy to because the SSL console is automating based on LTC.

In any case, we do appreciate your comments. One thing that you didn't mention is that Joe takes questions and comments from everyone who buys
the video ... so if that doesn't make it worth the money for you (to have access to JoeB for Q/A) .. I don't know what to say :)

jeff
 
C_F_H_13 said:
normally that's the case, but this dvd included the sessions. So for example you could listen to his snare track and be like "oh ok, so he boosted 100hz by 4db and 10k by 3db and this is what it sounds like" and start training yourself. U can listen to his tracks and say "oh he did this to this track and that's why it sounds like this in solo".

Could be an incredible learning too.
Click to expand...

Tbh, I don't really see the point. Even if you knew the frequencies he attenuated or boosted, there is so much more to it than that. It's all about having the EARS.... and I think the main message of the DVD is that - you need to be confident in what you're hearing, and you need to be able to trust your ears. Go into a project with an idea of what you want to achieve and how you want it to sound. I think there a limit to how much information is useful. Big broad strokes are often more inspiring than finely captured details.

Don't mean to sound condescending. Just a difference of opinion.

And now I'm giggling at the phrase 'big broad strokes' ..... :guh:
 
Brett - K A L I S I A said:
Meeeep, wrong :)
Go into a project and let it give you an idea of how it should sound. Don't force things.
Click to expand...

But you must surely have SOME idea of what you want to get when recording, right? You don't go in blind, no? True enough there is a definite balance between flowing with the vibe of the project and capturing your idea or concept of what it should be. It's probably not one or the other. But I think some pre-production work is important, which necessarily requires a mental image of what the outcome is going to be.

It's all well and good saying don't force things - but you'd be there for days trying to decide which microphone to use on the snare if you really stuck to that maxim!! :D
 
Yes, hehe I was mainly playing smart-ass to be honest, although there is some truth to it. This is indeed where pre-production or listening to demos or at the least the band playing as a band before tracking anything is important, it gives you that direction you must take.
 
I think you guys are both kinda getting at why Barresi says he always makes the band bring their own gear. He needs to have the typical sound of the band as a starting point that directs the flow of the production. Makes perfect sense to me.
 
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