(#2005-1145) - Topics this issue: 1) More about selling Middle Ear and technology in general, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 06:19:50 -0400 (EDT) From: Michael Liu Subject: More about selling Middle Ear and technology in general Live performances used to have speakers sitting by the performers which sent a mix back to them so they could hear themselves. Without a monitoring system, playing live is very difficult since the sound coming out of stadium speakers is delayed - sending a personalized mix to each performer with a speaker was the way to go until the mid-90s. A new technology came aboout - and this was to send the mix straight to the performers ear through an earphone. Robin used to sing with his finger in his ear in an attempt to hear himself since the speaker method wasn't good enough. Once the earphone monitor technology came about - he stopped doing that. The first time I noticed the GIbbs using this technology live was in the early 90s. This live monitoring solution also spilled over to studio technology. Although I haven't heard direct accounts of the Gibbs using this in the studio - other mainstream old school artists have been using it and what interviewers note when they visit the Stones or Bowie in the studio is that it sounds strange compared to the recording scene in the early days since all they hear now is acoustic sound coming from an electric guitar (which is not very loud) and the vocalist singing. Of course, in each performers ear is the full recording and if you stuck in headphones you would hear the same thing. But as I said before, it is possible to acheive what used to need a full blown building sized studio, can now be done in a room that is less than 20 feet by 20 feet (about 7 meters by 7 meters for you metric people) that could be in someone's house. Instead of having to pay hundereds of dollars per hour (even if you own the studio - its still a commercial building), it can be done in a house and in that case - it can be a tax write off. These days, things sound cleaner, more lively, more crisp, more immediate and do not need a studio. Barry and Robin will record together again. They do have their own lives, projects, and families to attend to, so it won't be anytime soon. BUt, it will happen. The days of the 60s are gone where people would be rushed into the studio to record and record companies would release 3-4 short half hour albums in a year. Artists are now recording with the 80 minute CD format in mind. This, however, will change in the not so immediate future once DVD takes over and the recording industry embraces mp3 technology instead of fighting it. Artists have more time to be creative in their writing now and they have to work to release a longer length product. ALso, this day an age has many many many distractions. In the meantime, wait for another installment of the Barry Gibb Talkshow on SNL. -Mike ------------------------------ End words@brothersgibb.com Digest [08/28/2005 09:01] ----------------------------------------------------