Disqus - Latest Comments for sexyguitar

Re: 3 Reasons You Think Your Mixes Aren't As Good As Other People's

Peter Blue — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 04:00:57 -0000

O.K. So happy to be not alone in this. I'm working together with my wife Elizabeth who also plays the keys for me. She generally has a greater overall view while I tend to get lost in details. So whenever I have a new song, arrange or mix I ask her to listen. She sits down at the speakers, hits play and I usually stand near the window and even after nearly 40 years of collaboration I feel far from good. What seemed to me like a great piece of music a minute ago sounds now like an amateurish demo at best. I start to make excuses or want to explain why what is and what needs to be changed.
I really helps to know that you too can feel the same at times.
Slaying that imposter syndrome voice for good will be my Nr. 1 priority now. I will have to dig deep into the canyons of my mind and emotion to erase the roots!
Thank you for this wonderful and entertaining article! Peter

Re: Home Studio Setup Costs Compared - 1980s And Now

Peter Blue — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 05:33:54 -0000

Oh, this reads like our history. Only difference was a Fostex A80 8 track instead of the B16 that we couldn't afford at the time. With enough channels on our 24 channel Fostex mixer we had enough capacity to have our midi expanders run parallel, synced with one track we had to sacrifice for timecode. Originally only thought as our artist studio, we soon recorded other bands and songwriters. With the EP we recorded for a Brit Pop Band ( It got them a record deal later) we gained enough confidence to advertise our studio. For printing mixes we used a teac reel to reel. Along with music we composed for relaxation cassettes (!) we could make a modest living, and we were proud of it. In 1994 we finally got rid of track shortage by getting a 24 track 1" Fostex multitrack and a soundcraft mixer. Only to find out that things had changed. Instead of upping our hourly rates we had a hard time getting what we got for the 8 track studio. Potential clients now started to record themselves as gear started to become cheaper. And we focused more and more on producing our own music, CDs and production music for tv. Looking at what tools we have today is truly a miracle. With all this goodness at our fingertips it is up to us to make great music. The real challenge - now and then.

Re: Home Studio Setup Costs Compared - 1980s And Now

Peter Blue — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 04:47:45 -0000

Re: The Mixer's Curse | Production Expert

Peter Blue — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 05:57:02 -0000

A few more thoughts: I live in Germany. In the late 60ties - early 70ties there were only 2 fm stations. The music I liked was at AM radio from foreign countries. The reception was erratic, volume faded an all kinds of flanging and strange noise appeared. But the essence of the song came through. That was enough. Today lots of these tracks are classics. I wonder if we get a plug in that mimics AM radio.
Listening to music like a user is key. Many "problems" disappear and fun and joy are back.

Re: The Mixer's Curse | Production Expert

Peter Blue — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 05:40:18 -0000

The dissecting mind is a great tool. As long as we use it as a tool it is perfect. Once it starts to act like a master we are in trouble. Attention to detail is a gift and must be trained to become master of the trade. Going dumb would give you more "peace", but the price is high. Once your skills are highly developed you have the responsibility for it. Like riding a fast car. You have to be in control. I can switch between the two levels of listening. One is analytic, the other is for my being. Just diving into the music and reconnect with the emotion that at an early stage in my life created the attraction to music and sound. I even do it with studio work: When Elizabeth asks me to listen to a track she is working on, I lie on the couch and listen with closed eyes, almost asleep. This bypasses all mental filters and I get a better overall impression.

Re: Modern Music Production Techniques May Be Killing Your Skills

Peter Blue — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 08:56:03 -0000

Nothing more to add. If you want to become real you have to walk the mile. As a one - man ( or a one woman , in case of my wife Elizabeth) producer and composer, you have to do it all: Practice your instruments - keep up with all the updates of production technology that come in faster than you have time to learn them, take care of the business side of it ( incl. taxes, promotion and much more). Yes, there is this photo of us that our publisher needs for his website. Guess who will take it? When? And after all you are a human which is more than a musician. Which means in our case getting up at 4:30, doing meditation and yoga, training with heavy iron a few times a week - whenever possible. Taking care of house and garden, growing our own food and raise chicken. It is such a good life, but only if you are ready for it.
Congratulations on your weight loss. I shed the same amount of weight in 2008. I did not even know how I gained it because I thought I lived a normal (!) lazy life. Today I'm healthier, happier and stronger than ever. I have to wrestle with the curveballs of our profession on a daily basis, but it's fun!

Re: Mac Studio & MacBook Pro 14" - Which One For Your Recording Studio?

Peter Blue — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 04:40:06 -0000

As an iMac user I'm waiting for the new M1 models. Really love the 27" screen and the compactness. What would be an equally suited monitor to use with the mac studio?

Re: The Mixer's Curse - Do You Suffer From It?

Peter Blue — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 10:30:52 -0000

I can do both, switch in between. A good example is the Beach Boy's Do It Again. For me there are exactly two versions:
On is the one I heard before I played music. After school we went to eat fries and have a Coke. The place had a juke box. Someone played the track, some people started dancing. I was too shy. Then an older girl came up to me and pulled me up and made me dance, too. I still can hear that song as a whole complex sound with a certain feeling.
Many years later, when I already was into recording, I heard the song again. And this time I could hear the instruments separately. For the first version, I just need to remember that moment when I was 14. Then it is back again as a whole.

Re: Has The Home Studio Dream Become A Nightmare?

Peter Blue — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 06:31:48 -0000

Hi Russ!
All agreed. Over the years we all were longing for having it all in our own hands. Which makes absolute sense, especially as I'm a composer in the first place and my studio is my workshop. I went all the way from 4 track cassette via 8 track 1/4" to 24 track, the hard beginnings of hard disk recording etc. So much to learn and still not learned enough. For someone like me who lives on royalties and has a very high output of tracks it is the only way and I'm grateful to be able to make a living of my music. Playing all instruments by myself, composing recording and arranging is a one man show and I could feel what you meant by being greeted by a receptionist, entering a lounge with tv and tea being served.
I would not change the way I work or go back to tape days when you find out that a whole production was trash due to a faulty capstan.
I have daylight with a beautiful view of the bavarian countryside. Maybe I should ask my lovely wife Elizabeth ( she works in in herown studio in the same house just like me ) to play the fake receptionist and welcome me with a cup of tea!
Thank you for this nice article and your humor;
Peter

Re: One Year to Live - An Artist’s Perspective

Peter Blue — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:53:28 -0000

Happy birthday,Clif!

It's never too late. I'm 54 now, but there is something inside me that is always 17.
I did a lot of stuff in my life that was off the path of becoming a successful musician. But still - whatever I did was necessary to get me to the place I'm now.
About the fear of dying - have you ever heard of Lester Levenson? A must read!
http://www.money-health-rel...

Re: What Really Pisses Me Off

Peter Blue — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:45:45 -0000

Hi Clif!
Now there is a discussion going on...

One way to look at it is that bloggers are struggling to make a living as bloggers. That reminds me of artists trying to make a living as artists. So now you have bloggers who try to make a living as bloggers writing about artists trying to make a living as artist.
I don't think anybody can predict exactly how to do it right. But I'm happy for every discussion. And all the exchange and all contacts.
Yes, and it's important to go on thinking for yourself rather than believing anything. According to how the music business works, we ( Blue Star) could not exist at all. But we are here, since 1985, happily doing only what we love in dignity. I'm grateful for that.

Re: How to be more persuasive with the power of YES

Peter Blue — Fri, 02 May 2008 06:33:14 -0000

Thank you for this post Julian. Brilliant, as always;

Peter Blue

Re: The Degenrification of Music Consumption

Peter Blue — Fri, 02 May 2008 02:26:48 -0000

Absolutely right. Although I can give a precise description of my music, I find it hard to choose a genre or category for it, when I put it on some site (i.e. reverbnation, Myspace, CdBaby). Even after CdBaby expanded it's categories I don't find the exact spot for Blue Star.

Re: Real Estate: ReverbNation

Peter Blue — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:51:15 -0000

The good thing about reverbnation is, that it creates a connection between fans and artists. But there is one thing I noticed, not only on reverbnation, but on other sites as well:
I browsed fans for certain artists / genre preferences.
As Blue Star is an instrumental artist with strong melodic emotional guitar, I looked for fans of i.e. Santana. There were 5. None for Larry Carlton or Robben Ford.
Maybe the site is too new. Or are my possible fans to old to use sites like reverbnation?