Review by Gianni Mariani
In August 2013, a user contacted me through the website asking for my opinion on a project he wanted to undertake. A highly talented accordion player needed advice on how to use his equipment, with the goal of creating a top-tier solo CD of the highest possible quality achievable in a home studio.
I was more than happy to guide the artist toward achieving his goal, and the assistance process was extremely detailed. His name is Gianni Mariani. Initially, our relationship was strictly professional, but as time went on, it truly evolved into a personal connection, allowing me to get to know the person on a deeper level. Besides being an exceptional professional, Gianni is also a man of great character and sharp intelligence. In just a few months, he grasped many concepts that usually take years to understand.
Gianni Mariani’s CD is now in its final stages, and he has very graciously written a review about his experience with our assistance. Below, with great pride, is the complete text.
“My name is Gianni Mariani, I am an accordionist from Spoleto and I perform as a solo accordionist. My repertoire is quite varied, ranging from classical music to other genres. I perform with three different instruments because, having different timbres, dynamics, and unique characteristics, this allows me to better interpret and perform various musical genres. My great dream is to pursue an artistic career and profession with this instrument, which is little known in this artistic role; unfortunately, this is the sore point because in Italy, at least during this period…., my goal turns out to be “utopia”…. But let’s not talk about that!….. My experience in the audio field began in 2010. I happened to listen to some analog recordings made with a reel-to-reel tape recorder popular until the 1980s, and I immediately fell in love with the warm texture of the sound that analog recording achieves compared to direct digital. I am talking of course about the sound of my instrument; I don’t want to get into the debate about comparisons between analog and digital! It’s too broad a subject and one I wouldn’t even know how to answer; as for the sound of my instrument, however, I gave myself a clear answer, choosing this system rather than digital; but I reiterate that this is my objective choice; I could not make it a rule. Certainly, it is a more complicated and insidious path that requires additional preparation and experience. I must premise that in 2010 I had not yet met Francesco Gaudio, but I will talk about that in a bit. After purchasing an analog recorder, I had it serviced by a technician who unfortunately turned out to be not up to the task (and unfortunately I only realized this after three years!). Therefore, I made the recordings and my first CD using totally “homemade” techniques. At that time I felt like I had achieved something extraordinary!!! It’s normal that what you don’t know, you can’t even imagine… I circulated that CD until last summer; then, driven by my innate instinct to constantly improve and offer a high-quality product, I started browsing online, but also asking around for advice from various professionals (and here I ran into strange attitudes with them, as I found out that getting advice from them is not easy, because they prefer to keep their secrets). I found what was right for me in terms of audio equipment, I was willing to invest money in it, and I began the journey to increase my knowledge on the subject. It’s just that I couldn’t find technical support at my level, meaning at the level of my ignorance!!!!!! I dreamed of having technical support that would help me better understand certain concepts and the use of certain equipment. It is at this point that I had the opportunity to meet Francesco Gaudio, when I still knew nothing about it (not that I am a wizard now, but regarding the accordion I have gained some experience). It is also at this moment that, last summer, I decided to proceed with the recordings of a new CD of mine. Since I had made a big step forward in terms of equipment, I asked myself: ‘why not re-record all the tracks contained in my first CD as well?’ The tracks in question were 16. So I decided to re-record those 16 tracks plus another 20 new tracks, for a total of 36 tracks, to be spread across three CDs lasting about 50 minutes each. Fortunately, I learned about a new technical service that took care of the calibration of my analog recorder, allowing me to record with an audio signal up to +4.2dB. Before starting the recordings, with the collaboration of Francesco Gaudio, I perfected both the right recording technique and, subsequently, the right way to digitally import my analog recordings for their subsequent processing, i.e., editing, mixing, and mastering. Once I verified the functionality of the system I adopted, from the beginning to the end of the audio chain, I started the recordings. These lasted from 9/1/2013 to 12/29/2013, for about four hours a day. To manage to complete this burdensome task of ‘living in headphones’ for four months, I alternated the time I dedicated to them with aerobic sports activity, thus recovering concentration and energy. When I had all the material on the reels, I was able to import it digitally. This is where Francesco Gaudio’s invaluable assistance began, thanks to which, step by step, day by day, following an endless number of my emails requesting information (always fully answered with the utmost promptness and professionalism), I managed to finish my three CDs. It was a somewhat new job for him too, since the accordion is not a common and easy instrument to handle from an audio perspective, due to the wide range of harmonics its sound has and the potential negative consequences you risk getting if you don’t perform ‘surgical’ operations on the equalizations. Therefore, we managed to preserve the originality of the analog recordings, improving where possible and trying to correct small flaws where appropriate. Moreover, I must also point out that around the world there are many sound engineers, more or less skilled and professional, but certainly there are very few who truly know the peculiarities of the accordion in-depth. I can state with the utmost sincerity that had it not been for Francesco, I would never have reached the final work, or (knowing myself) I might have gotten there anyway, but with results vastly distant from those I instead achieved thanks to his professional technical support. Francesco is truly an endless source of knowledge and experience!!!! As they write in online feedback, ‘RECOMMENDED!!!’. Equally special is the magnanimity of his character, thanks to which you receive constant and tireless help and technical/moral support!!! Something I had not been able to have until now. But I don’t want to engage in cliché and perfunctory flattery! What I write reflects in a specular way what I feel inside. Therefore, thanks to Francesco Gaudio and best wishes for his future professional career.”
