RS: That makes perfect sense. Let’s talk a little geek talk. What’s your favorite piece of studio equipment?
Valentin: My favorite piece of studio equipment? Well I have to say I’m a huge, huge Apple Macintosh fan, like huge, like the hugest. I’m like 6’4”, so if anybody’s bigger than that as far as fans I want to know about it.
RS: I guess that answers the Mac or PC question..
Valentin: I have my MAC G5 which I got recently and I’m totally thrilled about it. I’ve got to put in a plug for them because Apples are what computers should be. Aside from the sheer horsepower that you get out of a Mac and the happiness just from seeing that little apple on it, there are two things that have made a huge difference in my ability to hear what I am doing which I have found very crucial. First are my monitors, I use Hafler TRM-8s which were a recommendation from a friend of mine, Tom Salta, who co-produced with me on a couple of the songs on Mobius, he’s a very talented guy. Those speakers are key and I’m nervous mixing on anything else because the Haflers tell me what I need to know. Even though they’re not, in some contexts, as pleasant to listen to as maybe the higher thing Genorack speakers, they tell me what I need to do to get a translatable mix. The other thing is I upgraded my D to A converters in my studio to Apogee PSX100, and that made a huge difference in being able to hear the bottom end so that my mixes came out I think a lot more solid. They’re tight and really fine resolution. There’s probably something that’s three times as expensive that I’ll find out about that will be even better but I seem to be getting great results on radio and in the clubs. I’m very, very thankful for any success I’ve had so far, it’s really thrilling at this point.
RS: I can go into a direction with that but I’m not going to. Are you Logic, ProTools or Cubase?
Valentin: Logic.
RS: Logic, yes. We just switched from ProTools to Logic so I know what you mean. OK, what advice do you have for aspiring producers and remixers out there?
Valentin: Let’s see.
RS: Besides from that equipment you just told us to buy.
Valentin: By the way, I should tell you I’m a big fan of plug-in synths. I used to have all virtual analogue hardware synths but I got rid of everything except my Waldorf Q. If I am developing something of a signature sound, at least in the trance tracks that I do, it’s all about Waldorf Q. But other than that, everything I use is plug-ins, I don’t have another thing in the studio that I use for synth sounds or anything like that. It’s all about plug-ins. Obviously, where there’s guitar I’m playing guitar, whether it’s nylon string or electric and I’ve got my faves there, but that’s a story for another time. But with synths, the Waldorf Q is all about what I like to do. It’s so pleasant, something magical and emotional about it, if you tweak it right then that’s just, that’s a beautiful thing.
Now, let’s see, as far as advice that I would give people? It probably sounds a little cliché but listen to everything that you can that you consider is great, that’s in the style that you're trying to work in. Don’t be afraid to try things, don’t be afraid to be creative. No matter what anybody tells you, if you know in your heart that creatively you're onto something, just go for it. The worse that’ll happen, especially with computers, is that you will create a complete pile of crap and you’ll say it’s a pile of crap, and you’ll know it, and then you won’t put it out. But you're very likely, when you just play around with things and tweak them, to get creative, and really have fun with it and let your inspiration drive you.
Aside from that, learn everything you possibly can by listening to other people’s work. I mean there's great people out there doing really great stuff. There’s so many DJs and producers, DJ/producers and remixers, and every one of them has at least some tracks that are great. I’m sure not everything that I did, have done or will ever do is great, but I try to do my best with everything I can and there are a lot of other people who are doing that, and there’s so much you can learn by just listening to it. Listen carefully, don’t just pop it on and say I like them. Sit down and study something that you think is really great and you’ll learn a lot about what’s possible and maybe how they do what they’re doing. Then play around with stuff in your studio, and mess with it.
