Posted by Michael Wynne at June 16th, 2009

“Propellerhead’s Record comes with an intuitive, straightforward interface and a hands-on approach to capturing performances, Record was designed for musicians – not audio engineers”

Well being a musician and recording engineer myself.  I’m hoping that Record was designed for both of us.  Especially when you are both.   And when it comes to creativity, look and feel.  Nobody seems to to get the juices flowing like Propellerhead.  I’m a long time Reason user myself and often find that I being a song there.  But the big limitation in Reason has always been no audio recording.  Which can be a show stopper especially when your mostly a guitar player like myself.

One should know that Propellerhead is a highly respected audio software developer that has rightfully earned a permanent place in today’s audio and music industry.  I can’t tell you how many times I hear Reason loops, synths and sounds on television, film and music.    They literally pioneered virtual instruments with the launch of Rebrith in 1997 taking best of show at it’s release at Namm then doing the same with  Reason 1.0  in 1999 which is still one of the most ground breaking music production software ever made.   To me, when you use their products, it just feels right.  Propellerhead always seem to put creativity first with workflow a close second putting the fun back into making music again.

Now I don’t plan on recording bands, editing, mixing, or mastering in Record.   I would use Pro Tools for all of that and wouldn’t have it any other way.  But I’m talking about music production when it’s you in the studio facing your DAW.   To me Record represents  the possibility of good work flow when writing and sequencing without a lot of thought with the power to record audio.     But since I’ve only read and watched the vidoes thus far, I’ll need to get my hands on it.  Then I’ll do a full review.   Check out the video below.

Posted by Terron Darby at May 29th, 2009

Recently I’ve been working on doing Music for Television Advertisement Campaigns like Hyundai and Burger king. I wanted to share this experience to show that ProTools is such a Powerful Tool for editing to Video. “Playlist’ editing is so powerful. Basically the client provides me with a QuickTime video that I import into ProTools using the > File > import Video command. Once I import the QuickTime movie I then write the music and do the sound FX design to timeline. Some of the Ads I’ve been able to use previously recorded Songs that have already been interleaved. When this occurs it allows me to make edits to timeline and I simply use the “Duplicate Playlist” command and make changes allowing me to have Multiple versions of the music without having to open a new session each time. So when the Client makes tweaks or changes I’m able to do this with ease. Also allowing them to have multiple versions. After I finish the edits using playlist, I simply select the Video track for length then use the > File> “Bounce to Quicktime” command. I then Flip the Playlist of the Music edits using the “Playlist view selector” and Do the same thing for each Version. After I’ve bounce each version down I then send them a .zip file with multiple QuickTime movies with audio via Digidelivery.If you don’t have Digidelivery you can use other FTP protocol like Yousendit, Etc.
Make sure to have the “video” on a separate drive. This way your System won’t slow down. Normally when you run Video and audio on the same Hard drive it will cause performance issues. Another very valuble thing to know is if QuickTime is sluggish you can convert it to a DV file. I noticed that when I do this performance is excellent. If you are on a TDM system you can even make small cuts to the video track, which I found recently to be helpful for creative changes. In my last class I had loads of Post questions. I realized that there might be a misunderstanding to some about what the difference is between Post and Music. Know that the general use of Protools is the same for both Post and Music . The primary difference is when your making Music in Protools you are simply mulitracking Audio and midi to Bars/Beats and when your doing Post Production it`s the same except you are using a Video track and Mins/Sec, Feet/Frames timeline. If your job is more demanding for performance because your doing uncompressed video at longer lengths. (i.e. movies, short films, music videos). There is a really cool new way to sync up multiple systems called

“Satelite Link”

Posted by Johnny Marshall at May 19th, 2009

Okay, maybe not save the world but I would highly recommend a test drive of the new HDELAY from Waves new HYBRID LINE.
Here’s how they describe their new line, and I quote,

“First, Waves took everything we learned when we modeled classic hardware for our award-winning SSL 4000 Collection, V-Series, and The API Collection. Then, we imagined a series of plug-ins that would blend the best of yesterday’s sound with today’s technology. Finally, we brought these elements together, and created the plug-ins that would realize our vision. The result is the new Waves Hybrid Line.“

Now that’s all well and good but how does it actually sound? All in all I think it sounds pretty awesome. For some added mixing fun here’s an easy and not exactly “normal” way to set up the HDELAY in a true “stereo delay” configuration that will open up even more possibilities for you. (more…)

Posted by Mark Hornsby at May 14th, 2009

One of the questions we get a lot in class is “What Is Mastering?”

This process can sometimes seem a little vague and confusing to newcomers in the audio world. I like to describe it as the last step in the recording process and the first in the manufacturing process. Although it’s sometimes the least understood part of the production process it still can be the most important. A lot of times you’ll hear people equate mastering with making a mix “louder”. Although that can be a by product, it’s not the overall goal.

A mastering engineer’s job is to a polish an album from start to finish, making each song sound consistent to the next, as well as fix any remaining technical issues and assemble the songs into the desired order. It’s important when mixing an album not to go crazy with bus compression and other processing on the two mix. This leaves space for you or whoever else is doing the mastering to have the necessary headroom for further processing. This processing can consist of multiple tools including compression, EQ, and limiting.

Another job of a mastering engineer is to provide a PQ coded disc to the replication plant after assembling the album. These digital codes must be present on a final master. They include information that are embedded in the master so that the manufactured CDs can be read by all CD players. These information sub-layers can contain song times, cd-text info, ISRC codes, etc. Programs like Pro Tools will not burn a coded disc so it would be necessary to use an alternate program like Bias Peak, which is a powerful, reasonably priced application for Mastering.

Posted by Terron Darby at May 13th, 2009

I just finished a composition and engineering project in Pro Tools 8 for a large Musical (30+ actors)  that was produced in Houston.  I want to share with you how this process worked and my experience using Pro Tools 8, Sibelius and Structure for this project.

Here’s the setup, the Musical required MIDI production, Score notation (Sibelius) import/export and finalization. The Score was originally written in Sibelius. Our goal was to record the entire ensemble inside Pro Tools using Digidesign’s Structure Sampler and record additional instruments like violin on audio tracks.

(more…)

Posted by Mark Hornsby at May 4th, 2009

In the midst and trends of music software companies racing to re-create all the old and cool vintage outboard gear, IK Multimedia brings T-Racks 3 to the table. Let’s take a look…

T-Racks 3 is a long overdue update to IK’s classic T-Racks. Promoted as a mastering solution, the original T-Racks found it’s way into many engineers DAWs for many applications other than mastering. Now, the new version not only includes the original four processors (Compressor, Limiter, EQ, and Clipper), but also comes with a rack of new emulations that aim to please:
670 Compressor/Limiter
This model is based on the “holy grail” of compressors/limiters: the Fairchild 670. With a faithful reproduction of every control, this incredibly accurate model strives to capture every nuance of the legendary classic.

(more…)

Posted by Mark Hornsby at May 4th, 2009

There are lots of reverb plug-ins on the market. But, every now and then one of them grabs my ear that I must have. Breverb is one of those plug-ins.

Overloud’s BREVERB is a high quality reverb plug-in, modeled after various classic outboard pieces. It’ made up of four different algorithms: Hall, Room, Plate and Inverse, each one accurately modeled and sounding true to description. The main things I like about it are that: it sounds natural, it’s easy to use, and the reverb tails stay in tune and don’t sound muddy in a mix. To have these basic yet (in my opinion) necessary features in comparably an inexpensive plug-in is a real cool thing.

Some of the main highlights are:

- Modeled after sought-after hardware units
- 4 main Algorithms: Hall, Room, Plate and Inverse
- Full EQ section to tweak frequency response
- Six fully assignable and automatable faders
- Full automation through host sequencers
- Realtime Midi control
- Low CPU usage
- Syncable with host
- Extended Nonlinear section to edit reverberation shape
- Input level can control Time, Mix and EQ
- Two different user interface modes: compact and hardware

Download a free demo and test drive it for yourself at http://www.overloud.com.

Posted by Mark Hornsby at May 4th, 2009

iTunes is the biggest music retailer in the United States. Like it or not, the days of the album are numbered and the single is back in full force. But how exactly does an independent artist go about getting their music on a site like iTunes?

Since iTunes does not deal directly with independent artists, you have to go through a third party intermediary. One of the most popular is CD Baby. (cdbaby.com)

CD Baby is a online site that provides physical and digital distribution for independent artists. They charge a one time fee of $35 (per album/disc) and then keep a percentage of all sales. Physical CDs are sold directly on their website. The artist chooses the price point and they keep $4 of every sale. On digital sales, they place the music with digital distributors like iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, Amazon MP3, etc. and pay the artist 91% of all profits collect from these vendors. So what does that mean? Most digital retailers pay CD Baby 60% of the retail price. For example: Let’s say you have an album on iTunes (that you set up through CD Baby) that sells for $9.99. iTunes pays CD Baby $5.99. ($9.99 x 60%) In turn, CD Baby pays you $5.45 ($5.99 x 91%). So, in the end you clear a little more than 50% of the profit.

CD Baby is not the only service out there. Other companies like TuneCore (tunecore.com) offer the same digital services under s lightly different business model. I suggest doing your homework, running the numbers and comparing what service is best for you and your music.

Posted by Michael Wynne at April 18th, 2009

Nothing seems to get an audio professional going more then good old fashion gear talk.  When it comes to audio gear we can all agree on one thing, we love it !  How often do we hear ” I just picked up this killer new mic !” or ” you got to hear these monitors they are so sweet ! ” And it’s true.  Having good gear, and the know how to make it work is a nice combo in any studio environment.

Gone are the days where guys in white coats worked in cold steril rooms with over sized consoles and never ending racks.  With the advent of digital technology what were able to accomplish in a 16 space rack or less is stunning and this all makes good studio ergonomics possible.   How much time and money do we spend on our studio furniture versus our mic’s and pre amps.  Well, I gotta make a confession myself.  Not much until recently.  I recently got the opportunity to rebuild my studio in a new location and was determined to make a big difference in that area on a budget.   The main reason I wanted to do so was (more…)

Posted by Mark Hornsby at April 16th, 2009

Not everyone uses a click track. Good, bad, or indifferent, this can sometimes make overdubs tedious-especially for any type of music that isn’t in a straight ahead time signature. However, this doesn’t mean the click isn’t usable as a cue or point of reference.

Let’s say you have a song that wasn’t recorded with a click track and it’s very “free form” in nature (jazz, worship music, etc.). Let’s also pretend that there’s a verse section of the song that continues to vamp on one chord until the full band comes in at the chorus. Potentially, a vocalist could have a hard time knowing where to start each phrase and might not be able to easily duplicate what was recorded during the tracking session on the scratch vocal track.

It’s really irrelevant whether or not the band was actually playing to a click because we can help Pro Tools determine the tempo that they’re playing at. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “That doesn’t mean they consistently played at the same tempo throughout the entire song”. You’re right. But, that doesn’t matter if we’re just trying to give the singer an audible cue. The trick is to only determine the tempo at the sections the singer needs. Here’s how we can use the click track as a cue:

Open the transport window. Turn off conductor mode. Highlight the tempo value. Play back the section of the song in question. Tap the “T” key to the beat of the song (quarter notes) to establish the tempo of that section. Create a click track. Choose a click sound. Play back the section again and see if the click lines up with the performance.

Now, the point of doing this is to create a cue, so the click should really only be needed to signal the singer as to when to start singing-either at the beginning of the section or for each vocal line. The next thing we need to do is make sure the click only plays back during this section. Remember, we only identified the tempo of one section of the song, if the click keeps playing, it could get distracting as the the tempo of the band shifts.

In the edit window, open up the volume view of the click track. By using the trim tool in grid mode, we can have the click only play back for a desired number of bars before the singer is supposed to start singing. In the example below, one bar of quarter notes play back before the down beat of each vocal line.

Remember, if this needs to be done at more than one place in the song, you should go ahead and write the tempo values into the tempo ruler for each section.