| It’s a little embarrassing to think about it now, but when I first bought a computer with the intention of using it to create music I was shocked to find out I’d need external devices such as an audio interface and a MIDI keyboard and interface, as well as a DAT machine or other tape device to record the computer’s audio output. I just assumed that everything I wanted to do would take place in the computer, including the mixing and storing of my final songs and works-in-progress. I assumed that my computer would be the digital equivalent of my Tascam four-track recording unit. It was a big letdown to realize that I couldn’t just plug my guitar and microphone directly in to the computer and start writing songs.
After the initial disappointment passed, I bit the bullet and began to work hard with what was available to me. At that point in time you really had to want things to work, and you really had to love the combination of technology and music, because if you didn’t the frustrations involved in making music on computer would make any sane person quit altogether.
As time went by I began to upgrade my computer recording equipment. On my second computer, using the new and exciting looping technology that was becoming available, I was able to get considerably closer to creating and recording completely “in-the-box.” Though there were still many limitations and frustrations, it was obvious that the technology was improving. I was able to see pretty clearly that even if what I had hoped for and expected from that first computer didn’t exist yet, it was not too far in the future.
Today, not so many years later, digital recording (like digital everything else) has come a very long way in a relatively short time. What I had incorrectly assumed was possible less than a decade ago is standard procedure today for many recording engineers, musicians, and producers. Today you can see these advances put to good use by laptop performers and by other musicians using computers in just about every genre, as well as the sound designers and soundtrack composers who often work entirely in desktop and laptop environments. While many studios and artists today incorporate a combination of analog, live, and digital instrumentation, it’s not uncommon for entire CDs, movies, recording projects, and even careers in music
to take place “in-the-box.”
About the Author
Cliff Truesdell is a recording engineer, producer, and musician at Take Root Recording Studio in San Francisco. He also has recording credits as an arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. Cliff cofounded the punk rock band Black Furies, which has released three CDs to date and continues to record and tour extensively. Cliff's original music has appeared in a variety of media, including video games and professional skateboard videos. Among his recent credits is a contribution to the soundtrack for Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. |
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