Or at least that’s what it feels like.
I never realized how much I used it until it wasn’t there anymore.
I was on vacation recently and due to some unfortunate circumstances, my iPhone found itself in the ocean.
The one day I didn’t leave it at home.
The one time I didn’t put a zip-lock bag around it.
Typical.
It’s like the old saying:
You never know what you got till it’s gone.
I didn’t realize how much I relied on that smartphone. Some nay-sayers might scold me and say that I’m too connected or addicted to the internet and my apps and my blablabla.
The truth is, I loved the instant interaction I could have with readers. Every Twitter reply came straight to me like a text message. Every e-mail with a question got a response almost immediately.
It was an invaluable part of staying in touch with you guys.
But now, until the iPhone 5 comes out(I know…don’t start) I’m just going back to how things were.
I’ve got a bunch of tools at my disposal to stay connected and involved.
And that got me thinking.
What would you do if one of your favorite audio tools broke all of a sudden?
Let’s say you have a great outboard compressor that you use ALL THE TIME on vocals. Now you have a vocal session and it just stops working.
What’s your plan B then?
Are you so reliant on one specific piece of gear that you wouldn’t know how to work around it if you had to?
Or what if your favorite pirated plug-in stopped working and you had to rely on the stock plug-ins that came with your DAW?
Do you know how to get by with what you got?
I’m all about teaching you how to use whatever you have at your disposal. I’m not big on fancy gear or expensive equipment. You should know how to get a decent sound out of any old thing with knowledge alone. The gear should help, but it shouldn’t be an essential piece of the equation.
Working a session from beginning to end should be dependent on your skill as an engineer, not the price-tag of your equipment.
If you want to learn the entire recording process and learn how to use the gear you already have, without needing some secret plug-in or microphone, check out Joe Gilder’s Production Club.
Learning new skills and tricks as an audio engineer are infinitely more valuable that a fancy piece of equipment that might break at a moment’s notice.
Your skills as an audio engineer won’t short-circuit when you jump into the ocean.
Invest in your water-proof audio engineering brain right here:
http://nanacast.com/vp/108719/219371/
Image by: Michelle Brea
2 Comments on "I Lost My Right Arm in the Caribbean…"
Here’s the latest word on the iPhone 5
haha. That was a good one