10 reasons why home studios suck

If you have your own ‘home studio’ you’ll completely understand.

Don’t get the wrong idea from this article, I’m not hating on home studios, I have a home studio, I host The Home Recording Show. I’m not complaining, just pointing out some of the negative sides of the average home studio. An average home studio being a room in a house or apartment that was not specifically built to be a recording studio. Purpose built home studios are the exception, they have some of the qualities of professional studios, but some of the downsides still apply.

1. Less than ideal acoustically. More often than not the home studio is a spare bedroom or in the corner of the basement. Most home studios have little invested to improve the sound in the room.
2. Noise issues. Professional studios are constructed with extreme acoustic isolation in mind. They keep sound from escaping and outside sounds interfering, allowing them to operate at any time of day. In the home studio you have to deal with your neighbor mowing his lawn, children running around and other noises. Additionally you can’t work at a normal volume too early or too late in the day without neighbors or your family complaining.
3. Never ending money pit. You may think you have everything you need but it won’t be long until you succumb to G.A.S.

[read: Audio Geek Zine]

Details contract$ of 'American Idol' singers

LOS ANGELES — It is doubtful that any of the remaining 24 contestants on “American Idol” hope that they will be playing the Teen Angel in a touring production of “Grease” in Milwaukee three years from now.

But that’s what Taylor Hicks, the 2006 American Idol winner, is doing. And it shows that winning the most popular talent competition in the country is no guarantee of superstardom.

Easing that potential pain are the substantial financial rewards promised to winners of “American Idol,” regardless of how many records they sell once the show ends. In the year since he stood under a confetti shower in the Nokia Theater here, Kris Allen, last year’s winner, has earned at least $650,000 from “American Idol,” according to contracts that last season’s contestants signed with the show’s producers during the competition.

That amount reflects the minimum a winner would earn. Including performance fees and merchandising royalties from the “American Idol” tour, as well as other opportunities, winners have never failed to earn less than $1 million in the year or so after the contest, people close to the show say. [read]

Details contract$ of 'American Idol' singers

LOS ANGELES — It is doubtful that any of the remaining 24 contestants on “American Idol” hope that they will be playing the Teen Angel in a touring production of “Grease” in Milwaukee three years from now.

But that’s what Taylor Hicks, the 2006 American Idol winner, is doing. And it shows that winning the most popular talent competition in the country is no guarantee of superstardom.

Easing that potential pain are the substantial financial rewards promised to winners of “American Idol,” regardless of how many records they sell once the show ends. In the year since he stood under a confetti shower in the Nokia Theater here, Kris Allen, last year’s winner, has earned at least $650,000 from “American Idol,” according to contracts that last season’s contestants signed with the show’s producers during the competition.

That amount reflects the minimum a winner would earn. Including performance fees and merchandising royalties from the “American Idol” tour, as well as other opportunities, winners have never failed to earn less than $1 million in the year or so after the contest, people close to the show say. [read]

Home Studio: Auralex Personalized Room Analysis & Treatment Installation

Putting a home studio in an empty room is to some a dream and to others a nightmare. Recently, I moved into a new space and was faced with this scenario. With a little help from some talented friends and the folks at Auralex, I now have a comfortable, open, and great-sounding setup. Here’s how it went down and what I learned from it.

As you can see from the picture, the room was empty — part home studio, part living space — which is a realistic circumstance in today’s production environment. It was a blank canvas in a typical condo complex with concrete floor and ceilings, sheetrock, and a sun-drenched wall of windows. Since I had deadlines, including a 5.1 surround project, I had to do the whole thing quickly.

The first step was to measure the room and then make a plan. Looking around my previous studio — used for mixing, composing, and surround sound work — I took stock of my current acoustic treatments. I already had some Auralex products: four Elite CT45 ProPanel corner traps, four Elite B24 Pro Panels, four pArtScience SpaceCouplers in a cloud overhead, and four SpaceArrays on the rear mix wall.

I then sent the measurements and info to Auralex for recommendations; they will do a free room analysis for anyone who fills out the online form. Working with Auralex’s director of sales Karen Richardson and design engineer Gavin Haverstick, I received a basic room layout and analysis a few days later. [read]

Google, Microsoft and Apple: Which one will thrive? [opinion]

Computerworld – Apple, Google and Microsoft are locked in a three-way struggle for industry dominance, competing to varying degrees on hardware, computer and cell phone operating systems, applications, entertainment, Internet search and more.

Today, Google owns Internet search, Microsoft owns operating systems and applications, and Apple owns high-end hardware and entertainment and media devices. That may well change, though. So it’s worthwhile to ask: As each company looks to encroach on the turf of the others, which one is best positioned for the future — and which is most likely to fall?

Although Apple is riding high now, it’s the most vulnerable of the three. That’s because its success is built on the singular vision and talent of one person — Steve Jobs. [read]

Canon S90 Camera [review]

It’s $430, way more than most point-and-shoots cost in this day and age. But the amount of picture power this literally slips into your pocket is almost unbelievable: Outstanding low-light performance for a camera this size; a speedy lens; full control rings, plural; and yep, RAW. It’s the soul of what makes the $500 behemoth G11 great, packaged in a true point-and-shoot. You lose some power and some pro tools, like the swivel screen, a (shitty) viewfinder, faster burst shooting, hot shoe, some zoom and a custom mode or two, but you’re also shedding a ton of bulk, meaning you’ll actually take it everywhere. And the best camera’s always the one you have with you—for me, that’s this camera, which just happens to be an excellent one all by itself. [read review]

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Buy the Canon PowerShot S90

Rule of Thirds [Photography]

Walk around any amusement park, or go to any party and the cameras come out.  Whether it’s a phone, point-and-shoot or a DSLR, there are a ton of cameras out there. But chances are, if you haven’t studied photography, you are still centering every shot.  A good start to taking better pictures is using the “Rule of Thirds“.

“Perhaps the most well know principle of photographic composition is the ‘Rule of Thirds‘.

The “Rule of Thirds” one of the first things that budding digital photographers learn about in classes on photography and rightly so as it is the basis for well balanced and interesting shots.

I will say right up front however that rules are meant to be broken and ignoring this one doesn’t mean your images are necessarily unbalanced or uninteresting. However a wise person once told me that if you intend to break a rule you should always learn it first to make sure your breaking of it is all the more effective!

What is the Rule of Thirds?

The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. As follows.” [read]

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Another great and inexpensive resource for photography is lynda.com: lynda.com photography training

Abbey Road studios 'not for sale', says EMI

Music group EMI has said it is not considering selling London’s Abbey Road studios.

EMI released a statement saying the studios, made famous by a Beatles album, should stay under its ownership.

The firm added it had rejected an offer for the historic building last year and was working with “third parties” about funding a “revitalisation project”.

It ends days of speculation after it was reported that struggling EMI would sell Abbey Road to ease debts.

The reports led to Facebook campaigns to try to save it, the National Trust said it would look into buying the property and even composer Andrew Lloyd Webber expressed an interest in owning the studio.

However, on Sunday EMI said that while it was looking for an investor in the site, based at 3 Abbey Road in St John’s Wood, it was not looking for a buyer. [read]

Abbey Road studios 'not for sale', says EMI

Music group EMI has said it is not considering selling London’s Abbey Road studios.

EMI released a statement saying the studios, made famous by a Beatles album, should stay under its ownership.

The firm added it had rejected an offer for the historic building last year and was working with “third parties” about funding a “revitalisation project”.

It ends days of speculation after it was reported that struggling EMI would sell Abbey Road to ease debts.

The reports led to Facebook campaigns to try to save it, the National Trust said it would look into buying the property and even composer Andrew Lloyd Webber expressed an interest in owning the studio.

However, on Sunday EMI said that while it was looking for an investor in the site, based at 3 Abbey Road in St John’s Wood, it was not looking for a buyer. [read]

How To Make Your Band Sound Great

How To Make Your Band Sound Great – This book by Bobby Owsinski, explores every aspect of playing with other musicians, including the equipment, hardware, and software used in today’s increasingly complex technological world, and the principles of sound every musician needs to know to work at the level of a professional band.

Here are some topics covered in the book:

• The answer to, “Why doesn’t my band sound as good as (fill in the blank)?
  The secrets to making your band play tighter
• How to get the most out of every rehearsal
• What a promoter or booker looks for when hiring a band
• How following the “3 P’s” will make you a better singer
• How to build your set list for maximum impact
• The steps to resolving conflicts in the band
• The arrangement techniques of the pros
• How to improve your stage presence

Buy from Amazon: How To Make Your Band Sound Great