Audio Tech News

Greg Thompson in the spotlight part 2

Posted on December 17th, 2007 by admin.
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ATN: Going into it more - whats your ideal gear rider for a recording session?

“I never want to see a Beta 52 on bass drum.
You’d better have a damn good reason to be using a Neumann KMS 105 on vocals. That’s about it.
Both mics sound good on the right source in the right situation, but I’ve been hosed by those 2 mics more often than any other microphones combined.”

“Some suggestions for all the bands I work with:
A wired vocal microphone will *always* sound better than its wireless counterpart. If you’re not taking the mic off the stand, then go with the wire. Trust me. If you’re taking the mic off the stand and you aren’t going very far from center stage.. go with the wire. Trust me.”

“Drummers, the plexiglass shield is there for your benefit. I don’t care how much it kills your vibe. Your snare drum, hi-hat and ride cymbal will thank you in the mix. In the rare instance where a bit more bleed can help gel the mix, we can always take it down at showtime.. but the lighting guys and cameramen have to get their angles set with the plexiglass in place first.”

ATN: What are you working on right now?

“Right now I’m doing mostly television work that’s pretty unglamorous, but pays the bills in between doing the big video shoots.”

ATN: Anything you’d like to work on/anyone you’d like to work with?

“I always joke that I’d like to work with Led Zeppelin or that whomever I may be working with sounds good, but they’re no Led Zeppelin, but I believe that you should never work with your idols if you want to keep them as idols. Because once you work with them, you’re exposed to their shortcomings and it ruins the illusion of what makes them your idol in the first place.”

ATN: What should we look out for of yours in 2008 then?

“Keep an eye open for things posted online from Clearchannel and AOL, as well as some indie band releases and the occasional band performance I mix on Good Morning America.”

ATN: Anything else to add?

“It’s a brave new world out there for folks working in audio. Anybody can afford the gear to record and mix the music, and so anybody does. Few musicians under 40 feel that they should pay to make an album, when they can do it themselves for free. Few labels feel they should have to pay anybody to record an album since the bands can do it themselves for free. Few people feel they should pay for music since they can download and share copies of it for free. The same 10 engineers have been mixing every album you hear on the radio and TV for the past 10 years and they’re not retiring anytime soon. I see advertisements for schools to teach you “the exciting career of audio engineering” and they pump out students by the hundreds every year.”

“I don’t know how many folks breaking into the business are going to be able to do it for a living, so keep that in mind when you decide you want to take out a loan and open your own recording studio. Engineers are forced to diversify and find niches where they can still make a living outside of making records. For some it is in post production, others - mastering. Some find gainful employment working for live sound companies. I happened to fall into mixing bands for television and internet. I’m willing to bet there are dozens people out there who think they can do what I do faster and better and are willing to do it for half the price I charge.”

“I have a wife and 2 kids to look after. I have bills to pay. I need to save up for my retirement and college for my kids. This isn’t the dream job they promise you in the ads for those recording schools, and if I’d put as much effort into selling life insurance or mutual funds as I had in working my way through the studio system, I’d have a heck of a lot more to show for it. I still look enjoy going to work almost every day, and I look forward to pulling up the faders and seeing what cool things I can do. I’m not sure how many other people actually enjoy their job as much as I do.”

Greg is an engineer after my own heart. Any type of live sound involves some sort of compromise in order to make the overall result the best it can be. Anyone who says otherwise….?

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