Troubleshooting

Every recording studio, from the smallest to the largest, needs to call someone in from time-to-time to troubleshoot problems that can arise with equipment. The larger studios usually have in-house maintenance engineers and support staff, but the smaller studios and home setups do not. Increasingly, session-stopping problems are more likely to occur with computers and software given the increasingly widespread reliance on computer systems in music production.

I offer troubleshooting, specialist programming and editing services at my project studio in North London. I also do callouts to recording studios, film or TV sessions.

Telephone and/or broadband Internet support and multi-way video-conferencing with iSight/iChat/.Mac for Apple Mac users are also available by special arrangement.

'Where can we get quality technical support?'

We call one company and they say the problem is with the other company's software - but they don't support this. We call the other company and they blame the first company - or a third company. We call the dealer and he cannot send anyone out to a studio in London at Midnight on a Saturday night. And he doesn't answer his phone at that time anyway. OK, during the week the distributor sends a tech support guy out during office hours - but he doesn't know the mixer or the sync routing because he never worked in a studio before. And so on...

'Where can we get better computer support?'

The dealer installs the computer in a basic way - usually without tweaking it to get the absolute best out of the system for professional studio work. And you used a different computer system previously - so you need even more support than the average user. I can help.

There are always times when the computer system starts 'playing up' - usually with deadlines looming. This has happened to me so many times that I have become used to dealing with any such problems speedily and effectively.

Computer systems do need regular maintenance and upgrades. The hard disk drives need to be checked for directory errors and disk fragmentation. The folders need to be kept tidy and organised, with unwanted files thrown out on a regular basis. And the software needs updating from time to time. At the end of every major project is a good time to do this, to make sure everything is OK before starting the next major project. I can sort your systems out quickly and efficiently if you need someone to do this for you.

'Who can we call when we have sync problems?'

This is becoming much more of a problem with digital mixers which need to be synchronized with digital audio recorders and outboard, not to mention MIDI and video equipment. And no-one in tech support seems to be able to handle all the popular combinations of products from Yamaha, Apple, Digidesign, Apogee, Aardvark, Mackie, Steinberg, MOTU, etc."

For more information, prices and bookings email mike@mikecollinsmusic.com