Everyone knows that podcasts are where it’s at these days…so I’ve joined the party.
Check out my podcast “My Dad’s Record Collection”
I’ve been pretty bad at updating my discography on this site…
Fortunately, those lovely people at www.discogs.com have been adding all the latest projects I’ve worked on.
So head over to GARETH PARTON CREDITS to see some of my work. (More than 200 credits!)
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Stream of thoughts coming at you…
Stick with me…
I’ve been mixing records for a while now. Maybe 20+ years. And now I’ve ended up trying to teach others how to do this. It’s a strange combination of technical insight, creativity and chaos which I think, for anyone who knows me well, suits my personal set of traits. I have recently become particularly intrigued with dissecting the decision- making process within the creation of a mix. Every mix engineer is of course unique – but is there a common judgement process amongst the more experienced mixer? A modern producer has a slew of audio processing gizmos at his fingertips but why choose one thing over another?
What makes you opt for that SoundToys Echoboy delay plugin over the equally valid Waves H-Delay blah blah blah. And why was that the absolute perfect choice for that split-second decision? Should you dick around for hours exploring all possible avenues? Or take the path of least resistance. I have my own ideas…but I think I’d like to explore this process in a more academic way. Doctor Parton may report back in a few years time. I think I’m ready. I’m excited.
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I have become obsessed by immersive audio for VR…(that’s not me in the picture by the way)
I’ve fallen for the hype and assault of every soothsayer and taste-maker’s claim that VR, /AR etc will have a big impact on ‘the way we see the world’…Zuckerman, who bought Occulus for a hefty multi-billion $ deal claims that
“VR is the next major computing platform that will come after mobile.”
So, as an audio engineer, mixer, producer I’m very interested to see the impact this will have on my world.
I am promised by many that the future of audio is immersive. This means that sound will need to be mixed with the considerations of headphones and most interestingly, head tracking.
Most engineers (or audio students) worth their salt will understand the way that the ear perceives directionality of a sound. Through the clues of inter-aural time and level differences as well as the subtle Head Related Transfer Function of an individuals head and pinna. As mix engineers working in stereo, this hasn’t been a factor worth fussing over. But now…
There are many many audio plugin, software and hardware manufactures rushing out new products that allow the music creator or mix engineer to create a realistic 3D environment in headphones, that reacts to the head movement of the listener to mimc a true acoustic space. It’s bonkers and witchcraft.
(Perhaps, the mix engineer of the future will mix stereo as an afterthought in the same why I might check mono compatibility.)
If you are keen to discover what I’ve been looking at, I recommend:
- Joining the Spatial Audio VR/AR/MR Facebook group
- Downloading some plugins – FB360 is free and constantly improving
- Try out the Waves NX plugin (I bought the head tracker – you can mix 7.1 using headphones!!!!!)
- If you want to go down a never ending worm-hole, check out this list of resources. Holy crap!
The main conclusion I get from this foray into VR world is, everyone seems to be making it up as they go along… there are no standardised work flows, no easy implementation across all platforms or browsers. It’s still the wild west…but that’s today. Tomorrow something else will be released which will be better. And next week, something else.
Get in quick.
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G’day cobbers!
I’m organising this awesome event on 24th September 2016 at SAE Institute, Melbourne
The idea is for all of the big audio software and hardware manufacturers and sellers to congregate in one place and show off their latests goods. It coincides with the beginning of trimester for new SAE students so is a great opportunity for the exhibitors to promote their educational pricing (has Daddy given you some money to spend!!?) Open to the public – and it’s free!! (though you must register)
So far we have…
- Avid (Pro Tools)
- Steven Slate Q&A (Slate Digital, Trigger, Raven, VMS Mic Modelling, plugins)
- Roland
- CMI (Ableton, Native Instruments, Universal Audio, AKG…)
- Studio Connections (API, Genelec, Drawmer etc…)
- Yamaha Pro Audio
- Group Technology (Digico, Nexo, Quest etc…)
- Store DJ
- Soundcorp (South Melbourne retailers)
- Videocraft (Zoom, Yamaha)
- Szikla Audio (Prodigal channel strip)
plus stands by Music Victoria, HearSmart, Tom Larkin’s Studios In The City, Mute Audio (Hearing Protection) and Future Music Industry Network
Get your tickets from http://melbourneaudiotradeshow.eventbrite.com and sign up to the Facebook event page to get up-to-date news of the event.
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I’ve just finished watching the movie “Good Vibrations” about a small time record shop owner in Belfast during “The Troubles”.
An enjoyable watchable film with a charismatic protagonist and engaging story arch backed up with an authentic punk soundtrack…but….
i’m left wondering how much is true and how much is bullshit.
This is mainly because I’ve been seriously scarred by the recent Alan Turing biopic “The Imitation Game” where 99% of it is Hollywood fantasy designed for the multiplex retard.
Despite Alan Turing’s real story being truly amazing, the filmmaker thought it needed spicing…”by ‘spicing up’, I mean ‘making up’.. ( do some research but it’s really poor)
Now I’m not stupid and I realise that a true tale may need a little bit of sugar to make it palatable for yr man in the street but it would be nice to know exactly how much is a porky
Growing up I enjoyed “The Birth Of The Beatles” (You know, the one where Nick Cotton plays George Harrison) and who didn’t love “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story)
These days it seems that a meal needs to be made (when a snack will do)
I suggest when you watch such a tale…have your smartphone at hand and research the true story….
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Despite my youthful demenour and spritely appearance I will, in fact be forty-frigging-five at the end of this year.
This number means a bit more to me than forty or fifty. It may be because I read Bill Drummond‘s book (45) and many of his ramblings resonated with me. (In the same way his Manual did)
I feel like I should do something “special” to celebrate the fact I’ve made it this far. (If for some reason, I have a hideous accident, heart failure or fatal gardening incident prior to December, feel free to laugh at this in my atheist wake.)
In a pseudo-celebration of this arbitrary anniversary, I propose the following:
- I will collect 45 seven inch singles. they will all mean “something” to me. I will play them at my 45th birthday party.
- I will make a recording that will feature 45 of my friends, colleagues, associates and artists who I have worked with. The recording will feature acoustic guitars and vocals only and sound a bit like the drones of Glenn Branca – for no reason other than ‘limitations are nice’.
I also like that fact that ‘forty five’ sounds a bit like ‘fortified’.
(Expect a phone call soon…)
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