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[Fletcher]

In Sonny Barger's Autobiography he commented "anytime there is a rule it means that someone did something to necessitate it"... and went on to cite examples like "no throwing ammunition in the camp fire", "no sleeping with another member's girlfriend", and a few more I can't remember at the moment.

In Sonny's case the rules seem rather simple and plain common sense... and generally, for the majority of the time this forum has been around, we really didn't need to post "the rules" as an "announcement" as most people follow the [pretty much] unwritten guidelines.

To that end, I have deemed it necessary to write some of the unwritten for the purposes of clarification.

Simply - use your real name.  If you have something to say here, please feel free to say whatever it is you would like [however, decisions on the appropriateness of the comment is open to interpretation... and the decision of the judges is final]... ad hominem comments are not welcome!!!!  ...as is commercially motivated information unless you've PM'ed me and cleared it first [some will be permitted - most will not].

I would like everyone to be accountable for their statements, so if you have a doubt as to whether or not what you're about to post is cool or not... a good rule of thumb is don't post anything here you wouldn't say to someone's face.  In other words - no ad hominem bullshit - period - keep it professional.  Its fine to disagree, but its not fine to call someone out because of a spelling error, or call them a "school yard" name. 

When you respond to a post - pretend you're in the same room with the poster to whom you're responding and all should work out perfectly.  Anonymity is a powerful tool for mis-information as well as marketing / hype dissemination and the feeling you can get away with personal attacks.  To further the "anti-anonymity" concept, it will be greatly appreciated if you attach a link to your professional affiliation. 

By professional affiliation I mean a link to your studio [if you have one], or a link to your discography if you're an independent.  A link to the company by whom you're employed [as is usually my case] so we can have a better understanding of your point of reference, or in some cases, biases. 

If you are a "weekend warrior" [and there is nothing wrong with that] then please add "weekend warrior" [so similar] to your signature file or the end of your post.  If you just got out of school - cool... welcome to the forum with open arms... but it will be helpful to know that you are at the entry level of the game.  It doesn't necessarily mean that anyone will look down upon your posts, but it can give other posters an idea of your level of experience and probably help them to be patient when correcting the "facts" you have been taught while at school.

If you would like to add link to a cause with which you are involved, or a cute saying, etc. -- feel free... BUT, "real name" and "professional affiliation" are mandatory.  The only exceptions [and once again, the decision of the judges is final] will be folks I've seen here [and on other forums] for a bunch of years who have a history of being respectful, and have "earned their stripes".  Some are known to me, others are not but will be "grandfathered" in until I feel a request to add "name and professional affiliation" is needed [at which point a PM will be sent with that request].

Last - if you don't have "first hand" experience with something - CLARIFY YOUR STATEMENT about it.  For example saying "its common knowledge that ______ makes shitty gear" is totally unacceptable.  There are tons of "common knowledge" things that are total horseshit.  What is acceptable is "I tried to use a _____ from _____ when trying to record (mix, overdub, etc.) a Djembe and it totally sucked hamster dick".  If that's your impression of the tool in that application, no problem.  There are some forum sets on the internet that thrive in the creation and support of bullshit myths.  This ain't one of them!!!!

So... hopefully there aren't too many rules, and hopefully there will be no need to add any rules... basically, the hope is that no one will do anything that will indeed necessitate the installation of additional rules... so, if you could use a bit of "common sense" and refrain from throwing live ammunition into a fire, then chances are better than even we won't have to jot down any additional rules.

Peace.

[nukmusic]

  Dam good rules!!

[AgusHardiman]

I'm using my own photo & have links of my professional affiliation down here, so I hope it's adequate 

[Fletcher]

Couldn't be more perfect Agus... hope you enjoy the forum!!

Peace

[AgusHardiman]

Couldn't be more perfect Agus... hope you enjoy the forum!!

Peace

Thanks Fletcher, great forums !

[umashankar]

can I post links to a kickstarter project - Brahma ambisonic microphone - as I am associated with it?

Umashankar

[Mickeyrouse]

Makes sense- how uncommon these days.
Mickey Rouse
Beaumont, Texas
acme Sound & Demolition

[Jim Williams]

Mickey, is that your real name or did your parents have a big sense of humour?

I also know an Alan Wrench and a Harry Pitts.

[adamrose045]

Hope you enjoy the forum!!

[polypals]

Recording engineers an arrogant bunch?

Nonsense, it is a privilige to register the music during a live transmission that 200+ million people are watching.

[Jim Williams]

Recording engineers an arrogant bunch?

They used to be when there was billions to be made.

Now you see them on the Laural Canyon 101 offramp holding a sign that reads: "Will mix for food".

[polypals]

I am not that hungry, there is still a decent income to be made for
experienced pros.

[Fletcher]

There is... but way too many of my friends who used to be booked 15+ months in advance are now "lucky" to get 120 days of work at "card rate" a year... its a sad state in which we live these days.

Peace

[Dinogi]

The old guys past on.
The young guys got old.
The labels got more and more paranoid and apprehensive.
Too many in the younger generation got lazy/ignorant in their musical tastes.
In the forties and fifties, children were exposed to big bands and symphony orchestras that had top-notch professional musicians playing music by real composers. Whether you liked it or not, you were exposed to quality music.
Popular music became even more of a copycat of itself.
School music programs were left under funded if not ended completely. Music appreciation classes aren’t mandatory.
Home/self recording kept musicians from learning from seasoned professionals.
MP3’s created a quantity over quality paradigm.
The bar band scene became increasingly exploitive, making it harder for original acts to get exposure.
The loudness wars destroyed nuance in recorded music.
Perhaps to a lesser extent the fact that the eighties and nineties saw a mean spirited and hateful element come into popular music. Shock value, rather than musicianship or message became the selling point.
On and on it goes.
Tis truly a sad time dear friends…dino

[Jim Williams]

While all that came about, music has lost it's influence and importance in the average person's life. It was a driving force in the 1960's, today it's a footnote.

People have many more diversions available for their entertainment dollar, music is just another facet to compete against all of that.

I submit if the internet didn't exist, music would be far more important and popular than it is today. Bored people will play music if there's nothing else to do.

[Dinogi]

The internet also allows people to listen to music without having to pay for it.
Sadly, and I'm just as guilty as the next guy, it's so easy to pull up entire albums on Youtube.
Though the audio quality is horrible, I still find myself listening to music for free that I once would have purchased.
I am however seriously considering acquiring a PONO device from Mr. Young.
On a somewhat related subject, I have found that the local music scene has become more and more exclusionary.
Whereas I used to be able to put up a note on a physical bulletin board in a music store and get dozens of calls from folks wanting to share resources, knowledge and friendships, my latest post on Craigslist received zero response. A post on the Tapeop message board received one response, and even that never amounted to anything, at least so far. Music used to be a force that brought people together. Now it seems that folks just want to keep their personal circles closed to outsiders.
I fear this lack of interaction stifles creativity and makes it harder for a musical community to flourish and grow.
Maybe I'm going about it all wrong. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places.
As for myself, I make a fine living as a film maker but still long for the camaraderie that I found in writing, playing and recording original music. ...d

[Fletcher]

While all that came about, music has lost it's influence and importance in the average person's life. It was a driving force in the 1960's, today it's a footnote.

The first blow to "music" happened when the drinking age got raised to 21... the bars that used to be filled with kids checking out new bands [while they were really looking for like minded other kids so they could attempt reproduction] for the most part closed when they lost 3-4 years of the "target demographic". 

No bars = no "farm system" for new bands / artists to cut their teeth and gain experience... think of major league baseball without A, AA, or AAA levels and you'll kind of get the picture.  Follow that with a bunch of visionless accountants running the show after Ertegun, and Yetnikoff "retired"... the rise of CD re-releases driving record company sales for record companies that took a "one and done" attitude unless you moved at least 75,000 units during the first album of your deal -- coupled with the "instead of developing our own talent [see Bob Seger, INXS, and Brian Adams for details] we'll just purchase what the indie labels have developed [see Nirvana for details]" mentality.

The "audience" that once went to bars was now playing video games on their X-box [Playstation, etc.] instead of sneaking into bars and checking out bands... while MTV which helped break many a new artist decided that "reality shows" were the new paradigm for the kids that used to consume music... and you have the cluster fuck we live with today.

We did it to ourselves... and yeah, the internet, bad compression plug-ins for Pro-sTools, and a general lack of emphasis on playing chops and composition has led to the perfect shit-storm that basically relegated music to valueless background noise.

Then again -- the 60's were a complete anomaly as there were VERY few media outlets.  The "Ed Sullivan" show made as many bands as MTV -- but those bands were even more influential.  You had drugs coming into the scene with a rebellious set of teenagers [college kids, etc.] while folks experimented with new instruments [the electric guitar was basically a "new" instrument -- not to mention the beginning stages of electronic synthesis]... not to mention the blossoming of the FM radio band [which sounded better but wasn't quite adopted by the general public] coupled with an unjustified war that had a draft which added fuel to the rebellion fire and voila -- a new music consuming generation was purchasing its soundtrack.

We have none of those things now.  We have 8000 media outlets all keyed to a demographic the size of my finger... with no places for bands to cut their teeth and kids who don't really give much of a shit about politics as they're not going to get sent to Afghanistan against their will and we have developed an environment with the "performers" of tomorrow are defined by game shows on FOX.

What the hell did we expect?  Certainly not that the paradigm that was relevant 40 years ago would still exist... because if that is what we expected -- we were fucking wrong!!

Peace

[Dinogi]

It's pains me to think of how many real engineers (and I certainly don't include myself in that term) are forced to take jobs mixing poorly recorded tracks from inferior equipment, done in bad environments, by unqualified people. I can only imagine the frustration involved in doing this and knowing that if you had only gotten the chance to be there from the beginning, the product would have been so much better. I often wonder how many talented engineers give it up and go into other fields rather than put up with the crap. I think that guys like me, who have found a way to continue to enjoy their craft, albeit in a different but related medium are the lucky ones. Still, I have had to re-invent myself countless times over the last forty years just to stay relevant. I still hold out hope that someday I'll get the chance to work with, and learn from real engineers like you all. Hopefully it'll happen before you all pack it in and go sell insurance, or used cars...
 
Dino G
Camera guy, Audio guy, Lighting guy, Gaffer guy, Key grip guy, Jib & dolly mechanic guy, and generally unappreciated saver of other peoples butts. 

[Fletcher]

I often wonder how many talented engineers give it up and go into other fields rather than put up with the crap.

Of the ones I know... well over ¾'s of them... then again, several lawyers I know have opened commercial recording studios in the past few years [one of them with a pretty major capital investment in equipment and facility buildout].

I reckon its all a factor of your pain threshold and what you want out of life... some are fine working for the same or less money a year than they were getting 10 years ago... others can't live that way.

Peace

[goomeeru23]

Yerser!!! i got it.

[Jerry W]

Okay