If you’re coming to a digital setup from a 4-track cassette recording background, chances are that you’ll want a piece of software that keeps things simple. Which might explain why experimental multi-instrumentalist Yves Jarvis chose to record his new album, All Cylinders, in classic free and open-source audio editor, Audacity.
“I’ve always used Audacity to arrange and sequence my work from tape. But this time, I didn’t even use any hardware,” Jarvis tells Guitar World. “I realised it’s all the same, just another piece of hardware. I just treated it like I treat my 4-track.”
Released in 2000, Audacity began life as a relatively simple audio editor but has gradually been improved to the extent that it can now be thought of as almost a ‘full DAW’. It’s now under the ownership of Muse Group, but remains free and open source.
Compared to more powerful and refined pieces of music production software, Audacity does have certain limitations, but Jarvis’s requirements appear to be simple enough that he doesn’t notice them.
“When I’m using Audacity, I’ll only use the built-in graphic EQ. I’m recording straight in,” he confirms. “I don’t even have my own stuff. My buddy lent me this Steinberg interface. It’s got a $30 price sticker on it. I don't know what it is, but it sounds great. It sounds exactly like what I was used to getting with tape.”
All Cylinders is available now. Find out more on the Yves Jarvis website.
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