In the last few years we’ve seen some remarkable advances in artificial intelligence around audio production. Some processes, even though not using AI but smart algorithms, automate otherwise mind-numbing tasks.
A few weeks ago we featured new technology which is part of Descript that cleans up dialogue with the simple press of a button. We threw some pretty nasty tests at Descript Studio Sound and it did a remarkable job, even against software like iZotope RX.
Online mastering is here to stay, LANDR has been with us since 2014 with several other players joining the market. German software developer Brainworx has announced AI mastering is coming soon.
iZotope has pioneered some smart technology in plugins like RX and Neutron, and more recently Focusrite has announced plugins that do smart things with their FAST Range and likewise Sonible with the smart: range. Sound Radix has transformed the life of post dialogue editors with AutoAlign Post.
Can You Afford An Assistant?
In the good old days of recording with tape and mixer, many engineers and producers had assistants. This is still the case in larger studios, but for most mere mortals, it seems the modern DAW leaves us with all the jobs to do.
With that said, what would you like a virtual assistant to do for you? Those laborious tasks such as cleaning up audio edits perhaps? Getting loudness compliance on mixes? Bouncing out endless stems and deliverables?
What if you could tell your DAW to scan every mix you’ve ever done and then have it identify every part of each mix. With that data, it would know your snare and kick settings, or your vocal settings. With that information, it could then get a rough mix by setting the gain right on all channels and then adding EQ and compression.
Imagine if your DAW could go through every track, strip silence, clean the audio and set fades and crossfades at the push of a button. You’d need to check for any issues, but you should be listening to the tracks anyway. After a time, just as with a real assistant, you’d learn to trust the technology. Then you could go into forums and talk about how we all used to clean audio edits manually.
No Computer Is Stealing My Job!
Hang on, we hear you cry, at this rate I’ll not have a job! If you think any AI is going to take your job then you’ve never tried using Siri!
However, what if instead of you thinking in binary, imagine using technology to get your assistant back, wouldn’t that be a good thing? Then you could use the time to be creative, rather than doing dull sh*t or battling with your computer.
Think of this article as a chat in the pub. It’s your chance to comment, what parts of the music and post production process would you happily hand over to a smart assistant?
Over to you!
Image: Hitesh Choudhary