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Knobs · July 26 · 45 min

New Tech, Same Mistakes: From Tape to AI in the Studio

Every generation of studio technology shows up the same way: a shiny new tool that promises to fix everything, gets pushed way too far, and only earns its place once we learn to hold back. Simon and Terry trace the whole arc, from wax cylinders to tape to Pro Tools, Beat Detective and quantising, Auto-Tune, stereo wideners, Atmos and now AI, digging into why the real skill was never the tool. It’s knowing a tool’s shortcomings and serving the song. Along the way: destructive drop-ins on tape, the magic that used to happen during a 15-minute tape rewind, and why “fixing” a performance can quietly kill it. Which leaves the uncomfortable question hanging over all of it. Are we brave enough to risk our musicality for convenience?

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Every generation of studio technology shows up the same way: a shiny new tool that promises to fix everything, gets pushed way too far, and only earns its place once we learn to hold back. Simon and Terry trace the whole arc, from wax cylinders to tape to Pro Tools, Beat Detective and quantising, Auto-Tune, stereo wideners, Atmos and now AI, digging into why the real skill was never the tool. It’s knowing a tool’s shortcomings and serving the song.

Along the way: destructive drop-ins on tape, the magic that used to happen during a 15-minute tape rewind, and why “fixing” a performance can quietly kill it. Which leaves the uncomfortable question hanging over all of it. Are we brave enough to risk our musicality for convenience?

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