PHOTO : MICHELLE SHIERS
think we ’ re in a world where the emulation of vintage gear has gotten better and better , and you can have a really great digital toolbox — and I feel that most people can accomplish anything with that . So , the relationship [ with Waves ] came and worked out very well .
Now , are those emulations replacements ? Well , not for me , because no matter what , my ear likes to also have the real ones . But I want to use all the possible tools I have . I could take a laptop with my plugins and mix anywhere – headphones , on a plane , whatever – I can get the job done , and have I mixed some songs in the box and it all works . It ’ s never a problem . But I prefer to have a bigger palette so I ’ m able to have both sides of the coin , both analog and digital .
And with Steven [ Slate ], he and I became friends very early on when he was just getting started with the drum [ sample ] stuff , and we also worked on Audio Legends , a program of teaching [ content ], and he ’ s a close friend of mine and I give him a lot of credit . He works really hard at trying to figure out what people want to try and experimenting . He ’ s usually one the first to keep moving forward , as smart folks do .
PS : Do you think modern production tools and techniques , and the level of processing and polish that can be achieved , are “ killing music ” the way that many people seem to claim ?
Lord-Alge : With the tools we have now , it ’ s wide open ; it ’ s the Wild West . So , I think there ’ s some creators that create fast and dirty , and they ’ re more about the end result than how it gets there . So , it ’ s really an open territory ; you know , I can ’ t say , “ Well , you didn ’ t do it naturally ” – there ’ s no real rules . But yeah , people are really using the technology in all different ways . When we started , we were lucky to get it right and get it on the record . There ’ s a lot of things you don ’ t have to struggle with now …
But now what we have is more “ documenters ” that just use all the plug-ins they can to get what they want . They don ’ t engineer – they document . Engineering means you paint as you go . Documenting means you just take a snapshot and then tweak , so you don ’ t really get a guitar sound . You don ’ t get a drum sound . You don ’ t get a vocal sound . You know , you get it all after the fact . You don ’ t build it from the beginning , you don ’ t take that gamble , you don ’ t take a chance on making a mistake .
PS : With that in mind , what are your thoughts on more DIY-style situations where the outboard processing may not be available , and instead a reliance on proper mic choice and technique ?
Lord-Alge : Absolutely . I think it ’ s all about making a decision . Look , maybe you use some really generic recording of something and you EQ it a lot , and then all of a sudden you have this EQ ’ d version – well , for me , just commit it then . Commit that , and then use that as a master . So , you know , there ’ s a lot of ways around it . For me , though , it ’ s like , whatever your creation is , organize it , simplify it , and label it correctly . And I think that ’ s the best way to go .
PS : Can you tell me about the Dante network you have set up in your studio ?
Lord-Alge : Let ’ s just call Dante the “ superhighway of audio ” – it ’ s been around for a while , and it ’ s been sitting in my room for a while . And you know , I realized that it has to be used to make Atmos work . But there ’ s infinite possibilities with it ; once you get your head around the simplicity of it , in short , I can connect any room in my facility – which has a bunch of rooms – and be able to capture from those rooms into my room , or the other way around . So right
30 PROFESSIONAL SOUND