From a producer’s standpoint, what is the main problem with digital sound software like Pro Tools?
JO: If you just listen to a record on CD or something once, it’s not a problem. But when you’re working on one minute of a song for 12 or 14 hours, it’s very wearying. It just kills your ears. And you really don’t remember, most of the time, that it’s this digital distortion that is slowly wearing your ears down. You forget, and you get this kind of mental attitude of like, “Jesus Christ, this completely sucks!” You know? You forget that your ears are tired because you’ve been listening to this tin can for the last 12 hours. AVC: Was that really a new phenomenon for you in the studio? JO: Well, with my own stuff. When I’m doing other people’s records that I have to do on Pro Tools, I always very consciously say, “Remember, it’s your job to be a sounding board. It’s your job to do this, this, and this, but at the end of the day, it’s not your thing.” You have to have a certain reserve as to how much of your aesthetic you put into it. For my own stuff, I have to decide everything. That w
