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Mike Konopka
It's hard to believe that after over 22 years of serving the interests
of the technical and creative community, Recording Engineer/Producer
(RE/P) magazine has published its last issue...
As a fledgling musician in the early Seventies, I remember my
first really important "Pentwater" session at Streeterville Studios
in downtown Chicago. (I think a long haired rookie engineer named
Jim Dolan was given the task of dealing with our 90 piece drum
kit!) Recording in a big downtown studio for the first time was
quite scary, so I calmed my nerves in Streeterville's lounge by
fumbling through a copy of this way cool "studio" magazine that
featured an interview with Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"
engineer Alan Parsons. That magazine was RE/P. I couldn't believe
the detail that this story went into...mic charts, drum set-ups,
effects patches, even a diagram of pan placements for the final
mixdown!! There was simply no other source for this behind-the-scenes
info.
Needless to say, I liberated (this was the 1970's) that early
copy of RE/P from Streeterville. (Sorry, Jim!) Upon further study
at home, I discovered RE/P to be great source for information
on acoustics, microphones, new technologies like 24 track, and
those great interviews with engineers and producers which explained
how my favorite records were recorded and mixed!
I was hooked on RE/P. I even made up a fictitious studio letterhead
(Moon Studios) in order to get an "industry" subscription. RE/P
had a major role in fueling my desire to become a recording engineer.
So I'm of the recording generation that grew up on RE/P and that's
why I'm saddened to see them go belly up. Maybe I wish that
musicians were as idealistic as in the Seventies, maybe I wish
that the growing home studio/shrinking recording budget problem
facing the industry would just go away! But it's not going to.
I hope that the audio community will continue the pursuit of excrements....I
mean excellence that RE/P did for the last 22 years.
(Editor Timothy R. Powell's
note: I would like to "second" Mike's thoughts. RE/P was a great
influence in my career and I will sorely miss it. Being
a young engineer and stuck in a small studio in the suburbs of
Chicago, I was frustrated about the lack of shoulder-rubbing with
hit-making engineers. After all, the craft of audio engineering
is best taught through a mentor/apprentice relationship. I didn't
have that kind of opportunity. But via the in-depth articles and
interviews in RE/P, I was able to learn the hip tricks and hippier
attitudes that helped to bridge that learning gap.
RE/P was also a great supporter of EARS, The EARDRUM, and our
more controversial concerns. When we were debating the expansion
of the GRAMMY awards for engineers, RE/P strongly supported our
cause. Let's hoist a few rounds at the next EARS meeting for
a the passing of a great magazine. R.I.P. RE/P!!!!)
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