Dangerous Updating

It’s very well known that Apple updates Mac operating systems very often. They have already made it the whole way to Lion, and I’m sure the next update is due soon. All these updates can cause a lot of compatibility issues for digital audio workstations and other digital audio programs. I have had issues with this myself in upgrading to Lion.

In the industry, it is common knowledge that you should check compatibility before updating your computer or your software. Pro Tools, one of the most popular digital Audio workstations (DAW), even has a page to tell you when it is safe to update your operating system. Different operating systems can cause a lot of weird bugs in audio programs. With as many Macs as there are in the industry, it is surprising that there are still so many OS updates.  Lately, it seems the updates have not been that much different than the previous version anyway.

It’s not only in the audio and recording industry that new operating systems can cause problems. The latest version for Mac, Lion, is not compatible with anything previously made for Adobe. Though this brings in a lot of money for other companies that update their software and sell it as a new version, this can be hard on a lot of people. Not everyone can afford to upgrade all the time, whether it is the operating system or his or her software. After upgrading one, it’s not likely you want to spend the money on even more upgrading.

It seems that most companies are starting to upgrade more often. This is fine as long as the upgrade is worth it. Even Pro Tools has released two new versions in the last two years (Pro Tools 9 in 2010 and Pro Tools 10 in 2011). Luckily, for those that recently upgraded or bought Pro Tools 9, Avid gave free upgrades.

Upgrading is a very tricky business. It is very necessary to be aware of the upgrades and what they will actually mean and do to your computer.

Resources:

Osx lion: Welcome to the jungle!. (2012, January 10). Retrieved from http://www.recordingmag.com/blogs/post/151.html

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Audio Fidelity

Since the development of digital recording, there has always been an argument over which is better: analog or digital. It is always interesting to me to see a remastering project; a project where they take old analog recordings and mix them digitally. While I was at Full Sail University studying Recording Arts, we went over analog in many of our classes. In one particular one, we went over “baking” analog tape. The process is tricky and can easily ruin the entire recording.

Audio Fidelity specializes in remastering old classic rock and pop albums. Currently they are working on a James Taylor album. They have remastered many of his albums before dating as far back as 1970. The album they are working on now is Mud Slide Slim.  As the Mix Magazine article says, they have been lucky with the analog masters. They are in good shape so little to nothing has been lost from the original recordings.

It is very interesting to see a company that specializes in remastering analog recordings. It’s not something I have come across before. After reading the article, I wanted to look into Audio Fidelity more. Audio Fidelity has remastered many well known, bug name artists old recordings. Examples would be the Beach Boys, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Marley, and Stevie Wonder.

President Marshall Blonstein has been working in the recording industry for many years. He has worked with many record companies including Island Records and Artanis Records. As his biography on the Audio Fidelity site says, he was one of the first to recognize the potential of the CD.

Through years of experience, it seems the team at Audio Fidelity has perfected the art of remastering. They have brought many old recordings back to life and will continue to do so.

References:

About us. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.audiofidelity.net/content/about-us

Marsh mastering remasters james taylor for audio fidelity limited edition. (2012, March 2). Retrieved from http://mixonline.com/news/marshmastering_remasters_audiofidelity_0203/

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