There's No Place Like Home

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

—Jazz Musician Vinny Valentino Uses Streamlined Yamaha-based Studio to Cut Tracks That Rival Commercial Facilities—

NEW YORK (September 22, 2000)—The beauty of working at home is just that—working at home. If you're a musician, vying for studio time does not fall on the Top 10 List of Fun Things to Do. Nor does negotiating hourly rates, establishing a relationship with a revolving door of engineers or learning a new setup, especially if you're handling the recording. This is why, more and more, today's musicians are taking matters into their own hands.

Vinny Valentino uses his Yamaha 01V digital mixer and DSP Factory as the heart and soul of his home studio.

Just ask jazz guitarist Vinny Valentino. The longtime performer has been there, done that, with the big labels and commercial recording studios, and it was enough to send this musician back home.

"We [The Vinny Valentino Trio] just finished our fifth CD, Center Place," said Valentino, who just returned from a sold-out, six-week South American tour. "It was the first recording that was all done at my studio. To me, it's the best sounding of my five CDs." Valentino noted that his studio, which bears no particular name, has been in operation for nearly 15 years. "I used a Yamaha MT44 four-track recorder when I first started," the jazzman mused.

The studio has since graduated from the days of cassette recordings. He credits the pairing of a Yamaha 01V digital mixer and DSP Factory as the heart and soul of his setup. "My console is an 01V and the recorder is the DSP Factory," he explained. "I also use the latest version of Cakewalk ProAudio9 for recording and sequencing."

Although Valentino stated that his guitar parts on Center Place were recorded directly into the DSP Factory, sessions at his studio generally revolve around the miking and tracking of acoustic instruments. "The Center Place CD's acoustic bass and hand percussion were run directly to the 01V," he recounted. "I took the 01V's digital sub outs for the parts I wanted in stereo, and those went to the DSP Factory's stereo digital inputs. I then recorded into the DSP Factory (on a number of different hard drives), and to Cakewalk. Within Cakewalk, there is the Audio X console, which is a DSP Factory console inside the software. That's where the parts were separated."

Valentino attributes his studio's ability to create a good headphone mix to the 01V's comprehensive output-level controls, each of which can be individually adjusted. He cites a good headphone mix as being the most difficult, yet most sought-after setting to obtain by jazz musicians.

"In order to get any separation, you need to monitor through the headphones," he explains. "The 01V and DSP Factory allow for good separation; it's just the quality of the equipment."

Console automation and scene memories also have their place in the studio mix, as Valentino explains. "For every mixing and recording project, I'll record a scene memory for each song, then make notes on which ones are substantial."

He explained that his scene memories will include settings for such levels as EQ, panning, headphone mix, output and effects. "You can automate with the 01V in many ways, but I do it via MIDI inputs and outputs," he adds. "The automation is used for program changes, fader movements, effects—everything. I mainly use it for mixing. Automation is a great time saver when you're in the studio."

Valentino further noted that he uses the 01V for remote, live recording applications. "The size of 01V permits transport, and it's a great console for live recording," he says. "I used it to record Nuevo Montuno, John's [Benitez, the bass player in his trio] Latin band, and have recorded them live with the 01V several times. The material was used for promotional purposes and we got a lot of gigs from it."

Future upgrades to Valentino's streamlined studio digs include a pair of new Yamaha MSP10 powered monitors, an ADAT card for the 01V and AX16 card for the DSP Factory for direct recording.

Valentino and Benitez are currently hard at work on their latest projects, gospel-jazz and salsa records. They are recording and producing the two songs at Valentino's studio, with the hopes of completing both by the end of the year. The progressive musician has also set his sights on digital distribution and plans on selling MP3 versions of his songs at his Web site within the next few months.

"I'm looking forward to getting involved with MP3," he says. "This is the most exciting thing to happen to music in 20 years. The audience can hear your work almost as soon as you've completed it."

While working at home does have its perks, it also sets the stage for some pretty unique situations. "During one of the sessions," he recalls, "John fell asleep during the percussion overdubs, and was on the couch snoring. If you listen closely to Center Place, there is a song where you can hear it!"

And that song, he said, you'll have to find on your own.

For more information on the Yamaha 01V console, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio & Combo Division, Commercial Audio, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail info@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com/proaudio on the Web.

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