Rumski Forum - Alan Parsons Art And Science Of Sound Recording

http://www.artandscienceofsound.com/

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DVD ONE
1.An Introduction To Recording
Alan introduces the program from the GRAMMY museum in Los Angeles, tracing the development of sound recording from Edison to MP3.

2.Studio Acoustics
We look at the science of sound and acoustics from the perspective of constructing a brand new studio space at Keyfax NewMedia?s California production facilities. Alan speaks with Auralex senior acoustician Gavin Haverstick and to studio designer Chris Pelonis about isolation, room modes, budgets, studio layout and more.

3.Microphones
Filmed mainly at his own studio in Santa Barbara, Alan investigates microphones from the ground up. What is a mic? How do the various types of mic work? Polar patterns, characteristics, applications and techniques. Input along the way from self-confessed mic junkie John McBride (from Blackbird studios in Nashville), Jonas Brothers producer John Fields, and top film / orchestral engineer Simon Rhodes from Abbey Road.

4.Consoles And Controllers
Starting with Alan re-discovering the EMI desk on which he recorded Dark Side Of The Moon (that now resides in Los Angeles), Alan looks at the most complex-looking piece of equipment in any studio, real or virtual. Knob-by-knob explanations are followed by an experiment with analog summing vs. mixing in the box, and finally a look at the role of controllers in the world of DAWs. With some invaluable insights from Jack Joseph Puig, Patrick Leonard, and Niko Bolas.

5.Digital Audio And Computers
Reel-to-reel tape recorders are obsolete. Recording has become a totally computer-based
activity. What can be learned from the veterans of the analog recording art and what knowledge can be carried over to the digital world? Alan takes us on an extensive tour of the equipment currently available hardware, interfaces, applications, software plug-ins and disc drives. With the help of producers like John Shanks and artists like Michael McDonald, he investigates both the advantages and pitfalls of record-making in the 21st Century.

6.Monitoring
We visit Record One in Los Angeles, home to Thriller among many others where Alan quizzes Ocean Way Recording owner and speaker designer Allen Sides. Not everyone can trade their house for a set of loudspeakers, though, and this section covers all the bases from high-end studio systems, through to classic nearfields such a Yamaha?s NS10s, to headphones and even ear buds. What is important about monitoring is that you can trust what you hear and this section clearly sets out the parameters and practices to follow.

7.MIDI
MIDI began life as a keyboard-aid but it went on to help establish the digital revolution
that has transformed to entire recording landscape. Alan talks to MIDI founder Dave Smith, then looks at the ways MIDI recording is still widely used in film, dance music, and many other genres. The section explains exactly what MIDI is, and can do, in simple terms. Finally!

DVD TWO
1.EQ
A large part of being able to conduct a good recording is knowing how to listen. This section not only provides fact-based answers as to EQ frequencies and the various ways they can be adjusted, it also gives you tools that you can use to train yourself how to ?hear? more analytically.

2.Compressors And Limiters
A complex subject, and one frequently misunderstood and much argued about. Alan defines terms, explains parameters, provides instrument-by-instrument examples, and then explains the consequences. Universal Audio?s Bill Putnam Jr. is interviewed, plus there are wonderful insights into use and misuse from Steve Marcantonio, Niko Bolas, John Fields, and Allen Sides.

3.Noise Gates
We discover the invention and development of the noise gate and examine both its original purpose and eventual role in sound recording. A range of gate applications are set up and explained, including changing sound envelopes, creating our own gated reverbs, side-chaining, and more. Both hardware and software gates are featured in this section, along with explanations of their relative merits.

4.Reverb
This section traces the history and progress in artificial reverb technology, then takes a
parameter-by-parameter look at digital reverb settings, hardware and software reverb
products, and application of reverb to individual instruments and entire mixes. Interview
clips from Elliot Scheiner, John Shanks, and others complete this highly revealing section.

5.Delays
Related to the earlier section, Delays looks at the application and use of this time-based
effect along with its cousins: flanging, phasing, and multi-tap FX. There are some
fascinating hands-on experiments with different type of delay in this section.

6.Band Tracking Session
Alan wrote a brand new ?Alan Parsons? track for this DVD set and this section offers a
fly-on-the-wall (or reality show ? take your pick) seat in the studio. How does Alan turn a
drum loop and chord sequence into a song? What?s the value of a ?live? tracking session, where musicians actually get to play together? What are the issues? All and more are revealed in this section featuring Simon Phllips on drums, Nathan East on bass, Tim Pierce on guitar, and Rami Jaffee on piano. This is a real gem.

7.Vocals
Probably the most crucial ? and complex ? part of modern recording. This section looks at
and talks with singers both experienced and inexperienced and vocal techniques from both singer?s and engineer?s perspectives. Michael McDonald offers priceless information, as do a raft of producers, engineers, and vocal coaches. Techniques such as comping, and pitch correction are both looked at in detail.

8.Internet Recording
Few people doubt that the internet represents ?a? if not ?the? solution as to how we will conduct recordings in the future. Question is, right now, exactly how? We look at one of the currently available systems on a vocal session. It?s 9AM for Alan in California while the singer, working from his own studio Michigan, is ready for lunch. That?s just one of the issues.

DVD THREE
1.Drums
Simon Phillips provides one of the most comprehensive looks at the art and science of
recording drums ever undertaken. From tuning, to acoustics, to mic usage, to recording
approaches, Simon and Alan provide the tools to getting a great drum sound ? one of the consistently most elusive aspects of modern recording. Drummer of The Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins is also interviewed.

2.Keyboards
From string pads, to FX and beatmaking, to genuine Hammond B3 or piano playing the role of keyboard player can be wide and deep. Alan looks at both the playing and programming aspects of recording keyboards. How to mic an acoustic piano, how to mic a Leslie speaker cabinet, and also how to manage keyboard parts and sounds so that they work within a track. Foo Fighters / Wallflowers keyboardist Rami Jaffee is the featured player in this section.

3.Bass
Bass may not be the most complex instrument to record but its role in rock, pop, and hip-hop is absolutely crucial. Alan discusses bass recording techniques with Nathan East during a live tracking session for a new Alan Parsons track, All Our Yesterdays and also meets one of his long-time bass heroes, Carol Kaye, who contributed to many groundbreaking records with Phil Spector, Quincy Jones, The Beach Boys and others in the sixties and seventies.

4.Guitar
Guitar recording has developed considerably since Alan first helped to record guitar
heroes such as George Harrison, Jeff Beck and David Gilmour back in the 1970s. Alan
visits top LA session man Tim Pierce at his own studio in L.A?s San Fernando Valley
and looks at parts, sounds, effects and approaches in this fascinating look at how guitar
and guitar processing has evolved over the past twenty or thirty years.

5.Acoustic Guitar With Voice
A common recording conundrum is tackled in this section. How do you record both, simultaneously without one bleeding into the other? A range of physical and technical solutions are provided.

6.Recording A Choir
Every school, college, and church has a choir that would like to be recorded for posterity.
Alan visits a California High School and captures a magical performance not in a studio, or
concert venue ? but in the challenging setting of a multi-purpose school hall. Learn how a
careful set-up and skilled post-production can elicit a wonderful result.

7.Approaches To Live Recording
The Alan Parsons Live Project at The Grove Theatre in Anaheim, California, filmed early in
2009, provides a colorful backdrop for this brief but informative section on the challenges
posed by live recording in a concert setting.

8.Mixing
The mix is where the rubber hits the road for any recording. Conducted primarily at LA?s
Record One studios, where Michael Jackson?s last three albums were recorded and mixed, Alan takes us through every stage of a mix from preparation to delivery media in this fascinating and extensive section. Good working practices (consolidation, track sheets, notes and more) are proposed, along with the chance to see so many of the program?s previous technical sections EQ, reverb, digital audio and computers ? come to life. A variety of mixing settings, from working with an analog console to wholly ?in the box? are shown and discussed.

9.Dealing With Disasters
A bad day in the studio can sometimes turn into a complete crisis. The final section looks at ways to avoid getting into as well as climbing back out from ? disastrous recording situations.