This is the area where we talk about all that philosophical stuff, Ya’ know, Analog vs. Digital, Tube Gear vs. Solid State gear, Mics and Mic Pre-amps, ya’ know- all the stuff people keep writing about in those music magazines: MIX; EQ; RECORDING; ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN...

Here at The Street Factory, our theory is simple: GARBAGE IN/ GARBAGE OUT!!! "I don’t care if you use Pitch Correction, Samples, Loops, Virtual Instruments and every Plug-In in the book. I still say: GARBAGE IN/GARBAGE OUT!!!" Barnard declares decisively!!!

"For me, computers were a necessary evil. They’re great for Word Processing, gathering information and sharing things via the Internet, but that’s about where it stops for me. It took me a long time to give Digital Recorders a try, and just as long to trade in my splicing block and blade for 2 track editing. The only reason I got a Digital Audio Workstation in the first place was to save time and money for my clients when it came to creating PMCDs for duplication. Eventually, more clients began asking for Pro Tools or PC Based DAWs. Finally, we came up with a compromise.

First, we started with Pro Tools, but only to do things like DINR Noise Reduction and minor editing. Today, we offer several PRO TOOLS HD 3 ACCEL Systems as one of the many options available here at The Street Factory, Inc. We are still DIE HARD FANS AND SUPPORTERS OF COOL EDIT PRO –– a BRILLIANT, powerful and easy to use Digital Audio Software program known around the world for its POWER, EASE-OF-USE and very affordable price point. We are also big fans of ACID PRO and other LOOP BASED music creation tools. Having said that, nothing takes the place of talent. Computers don’t make music, people do. (This is the place where I’m supposed to tell you what I think about Corporate Conglomerate Assimilation and so forth –– But I’ll wait until the ELECTION for that………………..)

With the release of 20 Bit MDMs and, later, Hard Disk Recording Technology, The Street Factory reached the proverbial "fork in the road". Clients were no longer willing to pay $150 for 30 minutes of 24-track 2" tape when they could buy 40 minutes of 20 bit ADAT/TASCAM tapes for $30.00. Computer Based Digital Audio Workstations offered 160GIG Hard Drives for $150.00. We finally gave in, well, sort of... That’s when we began to make use of all the toys I had been collecting for years,” continues Barnard. What weighs 600 pounds and is our favorite ““plug in”” here at The Street Factory, Inc???? Our Studer A827……………………adds Barnard, with a melancholy sigh…………

"We love toys, jokes Cosmo. Ken has a great collection of toys. Man, I swear that cat is a "Toy Junkie!!!"

"Yup, I confess, said Barnard, I am a certified GEAR ADDICT!" For me, it started with A Foxx Fuzzwah in the early 70's. That escalated into LA-2As, 1176s, tube amps, effect devices and microphones. From then on, if it made funny noises, or created cool sounds, I had to have it...................

You name, we’ve got it. If we don’t have it, it’s always just a phone call away. We have a great collection of outboard gear and Mics and we are always looking to add more. Check out our GEAR LIST and don’t forget to check out our BUY/SELL/TRADE section. Check out our SPEAK-OUT FORUM We will keep this forum open and we will update it regularly with some of our latest secrets on how we "keep the vibe alive"