Everything old is new Again
Mood:  quizzical
Sometimes being a geek can be troublesome. Being a perfectionist geek can be more so. Let me explain:

In my mind, geekiness is that quintessential melding of the desire to get things done with a fascination for the tools needed to do those things. It doesn't matter if it's woodworking, music performance, sound support, recording and production, computers or gardening, tools are tools and work is work. I'm fascinated by all of it, which is why I spend my bread on tools instead of vacations, satellite dishes or groceries.

When I first recorded and mixed This Space for Rent, I had a very modest studio to work in. I had 3 or 4 mics, a small Mackie board, a few guitars and a couple of basses and a couple of cheap pieces of outboard hardware. In other words, I had a few of the tools I needed to get the job done, but they were pretty close to inadequate and there were more tools that I needed that I didn't have. It's hard, perhaps impossible, to make something that's above average if your tools are below average, no matter how hard you work or how talented you are.

Fast forward to yesterday. I've grown increasingly dissatisfied with the overall sound of the CD since the day I released it. I've come to really hate one of the tracks and I've found other issues with the rest. In the studio, I have things a bit better. I've pulled out some of the inexpensive gear and upgraded to slightly more expensive gear. My collection of microphones includes a couple that are definitely within the Professional Studio range and I've added some pretty sweet axes to my guitar portfolio. I've also picked up more experience as a mixdown engineer by doing a number of other, shorter projects. So here I am, a guy who is, by nature, preference and habit, a perfectionist, faced with a CD that is less than satisfactory, sitting in a room with gear that would allow me to create a better sound. What do you think I've been up to?

Yup.

As of this posting, I have done completely new mixes on 5 of the original 12 tracks found on TS4R. I'm working on number 6 and hope to have it finished by day's end. I intend to remix everything on the original CD except the tune I dislike but I'll be including a new mix of 'Still Standing' in its place. If all goes well, the entire project should be ready to release before the end of August. You'll find all of the tracks available as MP3s on the MP3 page of the website. I plan on putting complete songs there for free download. Anyone who's content to have those songs in that format is welcome to them, gratis. (I won't complain if someone wants to toss a few bucks in my tip jar and I'll be setting one up for that purpose, but the files will be still be free, tips or no.) If you've got a copy of the original CD and want the new mix on another disc, I'll be putting those together for around $6 or $8 USD which pretty much covers the cost of media, packing and shipping. I won't include a jewel case or inserts since you've already got those. It's sort of a 'music upgrade;' you don't get all of the pretty packaging that you got with Version 1.0, but you're getting a better sound.

As always, I'm interested in my audience's opinions. If you've got some thoughts about my work, please share them with me.
peace,