THE ENVELOPE FILTER

Apr 1, 2003 12:00 PM

LETTER OF THE MONTH

'DEM BONES

I'm aware that Frankie Bones is one of the progenitors of American house and techno music, but this month's article (“Not OK, Computer,” January 2003) makes him sound arrogant, uninformed and even bitter. I believe that he would be better off trying to play up his own music instead of slagging the techniques of others. So he doesn't want to be Moby. Fine. Moby doesn't even make “proper” techno or house records anymore. Just because people embrace modern technology like computers doesn't make their music more or less valid. All people have their individual ways of working; it's the end product that counts. Whether you're using a couple of Casios and an effects pedal or Pro Tools or Final Scratch Pro, as long as people feel something from your record, that's what matters. Bones forgets that ADATs and Akai samplers use the same digital language of zeros and ones that computers use. If he wants to be an analog purist, he should throw out the drum machines, get a live drummer and use '70s-style tape loops. Bones also seems to forget that unless you are Stevie Wonder, many electronic musicians and nonelectronic musicians read these things called notes on a pieces of paper, which makes music quite visual. Think before you speak, man!
Fred R.
via e-mail

For sending in the letter of the month, Fred won a pair of Stanton 890FS dual-styli cartridges ($189.99). If you would like to win a pair of these Stanton cartridges, just send in the pithiest, silliest, bitchiest or smartest letter next month. Please address correspondence to “The Envelope Filter,” Remix, 6400 Hollis St., Ste. 12, Emeryville, CA 94608 or to remixeditorial@primediabusiness.com. Published letters may be edited for space and clarity.

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

My name is Andrea Stinson, James Stinson's wife. I would like to thank Christine Hsieh for the beautiful article that she wrote about my husband (“Respect,” December 2002). At the time that James died, we had just had a baby who was three weeks old. Of all the articles that were written, this was exactly how James would have wanted to be remembered. The article was filled with style and grace and was very tasteful — just like my husband was. I am very grateful that someone finally represented and respected his memory the way it should be.
Andrea Stinson
via e-mail

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

Here, in the birthplace of techno, we're rather proud to be anachronistic purists. So when yet another fool, Chris Cowie (“Hooked on Techno,” November 2002), advocates banning vinyl in favor of a flavor-of-the-month black box, we take notice! We've been sad to witness the spread of such cyborg-friendly excuses and their sonic horrors. Ever try to scratch on Final Scratch? Do the words failed to reboot sound familiar?

To all those who've become too enamored of the technological monstrosity that they've created or purchased for the price of all their funk and soul, I give you the words we attempted to have bronzed at Sonar in '99: Just Say No to Laptops, aka just take your sad knob-twiddlin', button-pushin' demonstration back to your bedroom to amuse your stoned friends. If you actually make some good music that way, have it pressed to vinyl so that your hero, the DJ, can spin it for the dancing masses and so that all the other wannabe DJs can rush out and buy it thinking that your hot track will make them a superstar. (And you'll be rich!)

If you're an established DJ with a large and valuable record collection, by all means, buy Final Scratch and sell off your vinyl at the local store. Just pay no attention to the person buying it all at a tenth of what you paid. Much of the confusion engulfing techno has to do with the myth that it is about technology. So sorry, but it's about humans subverting machines in a rebellion against postindustrial society's lack of individuality.

The major labels made the mistake of embracing CDs, and the result is music made quickly on computers and treated like trash. A vinyl record has to be recorded, curved, equalized, mastered, cut, plated, mothered, stamped, poured, pressed, finished, labeled and sleeved. For all that care, it doesn't last forever, but should it any more than love or the moment of a single beat?
DJ C.R. Wayne
Detroit

PRESS AND PLAY

Do you daydream about that having-the-unknown-dub-plate-that-nobody-has-but-you-because-you-made-it type of feeling? It sucks to wait mad long and pay 100 bucks or more to get back an unspinable dub. That is why I am taking time to spread the love and share some frequently overlooked information about engineering tracks for vinyl.

Because vinyl records physically vibrate a needle in a groove to play back the sound, engineering and mastering are particularly demanding tasks. Take the low end, for example; it is subject to all types of rotten problems, such as muddiness and phasing issues. There are far fewer problems when dealing with the high-end frequencies (higher than 1.5 kHz) because of the amount of energy that it takes to reproduce the low-end frequencies. A badly engineered bass line will most certainly throw any needle from a groove, maybe even break an expensive cutting head. To avoid this, I almost always keep my bass lines in mono. Keep your kick-drum frequency away from your bass-line frequency, especially in the 20 to 80 Hz area.

Also, be careful with any stereo delays or phasing/flanging effects on your bass lines (maybe even avoid them). Reverb is great for spacing things out sonically in a mix, so a little bit on your bass line should not hurt. Use your compressors and equalizers to make 'em thump. Distortion is a known favorite, but mind your levels. Also, take some time to research gain staging. Your bass lines should have lower midrange frequencies in them, or they might not sit right in the mix. Sometimes, I like to have two tracks for my bass line, one mono subbass track (20 to 80 Hz) and one mono low-mid bass track (150 to 800 Hz). I do this to utilize certain effects that will not work right on a subbass and to EQ and compress them both separately.

Bottom line: Use your ears, not your eyes. Take your tune around and listen to it everywhere before you send it away to get pressed, or you might be disappointed.
J.D.B. (John D. Brown)
via e-mail

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