Jim Dugger on the 3dB forums is a jazzy, audio recording enthusiast, and a heck of a storyteller to boot. He is also one of the candidates in the Gearwire MVP contest. Check out Jim's responses to our GW interview questions.

What is your background?

What little formal education I have is in computer science. I’ve been involved in audio since I was a little kid and got my first radio shack recorder. It’s been trial and a lot of error since then.

How did you get started in music and what advice would you give to someone who just started?

I came up through the school music program, though I would consider myself a "recordist" long before I would suggest I was a musician. As such, it’s not just music that interests me in the world of recording. Other applications such as voice and radio production, sound design, industrial applications, and the audio technology itself are motivating and interesting factors for me, even though music is primarily what I record.

I’m not a professional musician, so I’m not sure what advice I’d offer someone getting started.

Who are your musical influences and what genre do you listen to most?

Jazz has always been the most appealing music to me, but I like most kinds of music. Jazz pianists in particular make up a lot of my personal library. I am very fond of modern trio work.

What's your inspiration?

Well, what makes me happy! Recording is such an interesting occupation because it balances the deeply technical with the artistic. I like the process of being a little creative while balancing all the concerns of mic selection, gain staging, mix and process decisions, etc.

What's your motivation for helping people out on forums?

I like talking gear and techniques. People share with me, I share back. It’s like bike night – a bunch of guys with a common interest sit around talking about re-jetting carbs, and share experiences.

Knowledge of audio and recording, at least at the very fine level, is a little less frequent in the general population than some other common hobbies. The forum becomes the perfect venue by connecting us from around the world and providing the critical mass.

What's your favorite piece of gear and why? What gear do you use?

No absolute favorite all around piece. Each piece has what it does best, and the right time to use it, although any of the gear I have now could be used “all around” with great results.

Miking up a guitar amp is a completely different exercise than recording a piano for a jazz trio. You pick the right tool for the job.

As for what I use, that’s on my gear list at the web site.

What are your favorite sources for gear-related information?

The web, forums, and the manufacturers themselves. At least within the boutique guys, a lot of them hang out on the forums, and you can as questions directly.

What's the best music related advice you've ever given?

I’m not a professional musician. Yea, I’ve played drums for 20 years, but I don’t do it at a professional level. I think it’s fair to say that my expertise is in recording equipment and applications, and I balance that with a modest background understanding of basic acoustics, a tiny bit of electronics, and other technical skills that are valuable to explaining “why things are the way they are”.

No one online singles me out to ask how to approach playing a part or interpreting a piece, or really any musical question. This is not my skill set. I’m asked, “how would you mic this instrument?”, “how would you process a signal with these problems?”, “how do you get that track to sit/stand out in the mix?”

What's the best music related advice you've ever received?

Keep your day job.

What's the best and worst thing about being a musician?

Well, I’m not one really, so I don’t know.

What is the best and worst thing about online forums?

The best parts are those there to discuss and contribute and enjoy the process of recording well. And, I’d say that’s the lion’s share of people involved, at least on 3D-Audio, which is the only forum I frequent. It’s like a coffee shop, and we all just chat audio stuff.

The worst parts of the forums are the individuals that don’t participate in a socially normal way. Trolls, people that show up just to pick fights, etc. Somewhere in there are people that spread disinformation, but there’s so many quality contributors involved now this stuff is shut down pretty quickly.

What music-related topic do you think is most neglected on forums?

I’m guilty of this as anyone, but all that *really* matters if we are talking about music recording is the quality of the audio hitting the microphones. I think a lot of player/recordists forget that, and look to gear for solutions for bad sounding music where the problem is fundamentally rooted in the playing.

What are the 5 forum posts/threads where you are most proud of your contributions? (Give actual URLs)

How about two fun ones instead? Who wants to read old threads of mic shootouts and techno-babble?

• Recording In March
• Yesterday Afternoon