Studio Sense: On ‘Essential’ Software

Sure, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without Pro Tools for recording and mixing; Peak to batch convert WAV files into mp3s; Dreamweaver to post them to a custom website I create for the artist; and Mac Mail to let them know the mixes are posted. And iChat quickly connects me to a missing session file, sends out a mix, or circumvents FTP altogether. I use Toast to compile the mastered mixes and create a Red Book CD, and the iTunes to check the burn. The iTunes Store provides unlimited sonic references in 30-second chunks.

But get ready for a cliché: The most important piece of software operates between your ears. Think about this elementary example: We were born with the same ears we have now, yet those ears learn over time to make totally different decisions than they would have years before. I’m not just talking about mix decisions.

During a recent tracking session at Odds On Recording in Las Vegas [for PAR's inaugural "Facility Review" in our upcoming November issue — Ed.] I walked in on what I thought was a familiar “analog vs digital” debate. But Sean O’Dwyer, a house engineer with a deep discography, altered the slant.

To paraphrase Sean, the problem with digital has nothing to do with inherent sound quality, but that it is easier; everybody’s gotten lazy. All the records I like, the ones that stand the test of time, were made decades ago when there were no quick fixes — no grid, no elastic time, no Auto-Tune — all techniques which create musical blandness. A producer/engineer was forced to engage the artist and their music on some personal, intimate level and learn what he or she needed to perform and make it a memorable piece of work that someone somewhere will love . . . [read]

Top 3 Most Annoying Pro Tools 8 Bugs

Kevin Becka October 30th, 2009

Pro Tools: Love it or hate it? You be the judge after reading about these Pro Tools 8 bugs begging for a fix in the pending 8.0.3 update. Leave a comment with your own experiences.

• Performing any of the following tasks WILL ERASE YOUR UNDO HISTORY.

1. Duplicating a track
2. Removing a send
3. Using either select unused regions command
4. Splitting a stereo track to mono
5. Deleting a track (even an empty track)

[read: MixBlog]

App Store officially passes 100,000 app mark

We’ve known it was coming for a while now, but the milestone has finally been passed: Apple announced on Wednesday that the App Store now boasts more than 100,000 applications available for download. And download the people have, more than two billion times in 77 countries.

As you might expect, Phil Schiller weighed in on the announcement, calling the App Store “a major differentiator” for iPhone and iPod touch customers, of which there are more than 50 million. (Schiller didn’t comment on rumors that he had also asked his staff to address him as “Major Differentiator.”)

Apple’s App Store has seen tremendous growth, having only been open for business for just over a year and a quarter. The store hit one billion downloads about six months ago, at which point it had more than 35,000 applications. In September, when it hit two billion downloads, Apple said the store then boasted 85,000 applications. [read]

112dB Redline Equalizer from MusicRadar – Reviews

We’re big fans of 112dB’s Redline Reverb, as it brings a lush, musical sound to a saturated market. Now the 112dB has released an EQ, Redline Equalizer, and most impressively, it lives up to the high standard that the company has set for itself.

The centre panel is dominated by a large graphical interface, which also has a useful spectrum analyser option (albeit with a nearly invisible pale grey colour scheme). Below this are the main EQ controls, with a high- and low-cut at either end and five parametric bands in the middle, each offering a more than ample 24dB of cut or boost, with frequency ranging from 10Hz to 28kHz.

You can also set the gain character – ranging from soft to surgical – which affects the interaction between the Q setting and the gain level. This can be handy for gentle sound-altering duties, as opposed to, say, cutting a specific frequency. [read]

Native Instruments Announces TRAKTOR KONTROL X1

Berlin, Germany /Music Industry Newswire/ — Native Instruments today announced TRAKTOR KONTROL X1, a highly functional performance controller that gives DJs immediate hands-on control over vital aspects of their performance. Designed by the team behind the groundbreaking TRAKTOR DJ platform, the compact KONTROL X1 offers an unprecedented level of integration with the latest TRAKTOR generation for maximum performance and ease-of-use, and can also efficiently control any MIDI-compatible DJ software on the market. [read]

New GrooveMaker Electro And Drums ’n’ Bass Released For iPhone/iPod Touch

IK Multimedia has released two new applications for the iPhone/iPod touch: GrooveMaker Electro and Drum ’n’ Bass (D’n’B). These complete the range of available GrooveMaker applications with two new style-based apps that allow anyone to create and share non-stop Electro and D’n’B tracks for DJing, remixing, multimedia and movie soundtrack compositions on the go, in real-time.

With over 350,000 downloads since its August release, GrooveMaker has quickly become the top loop remixing application for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing any user to create professional, full-length songs in minutes, with its unique combination of advanced remixing software and high-quality included loops’ sound content.

GrooveMaker allows for instantaneous control over 8 stereo loop tracks, making it possible to remix the included massive loop library of drums, bass, bass drums, lines, pads, percussion and effects. Its unique and patented randomization feature allows musicians to generate a vast number of remixes on the fly, with one touch, to produce millions of possible groove combinations. [read]

Recording studios are being left out of the mix

Inexpensive software is shifting music-recording to the home. Industry experts estimate that up to half of the commercial studios in the L.A. area have closed or been sold to artists for private use.

Tom McCauley didn’t plan on making house calls when he started in the music business.

As a recording engineer, McCauley made a good living working out of the many commercial studios that had grown up throughout the Los Angeles area to serve the music, film and television industries.

But with the advent of software that allows high-end recording from a personal computer, the 53-year-old Sherman Oaks resident has traded the quasi-industrial atmosphere of the commercial studio for his customers’ garages or living rooms.

On a recent Monday afternoon McCauley opened a wooden gate to the backyard of a Valley Village house, walked past a pool and into a studio converted from a guest house. He sat in front of dual computer monitors, opened up Pro Tools recording software and tested microphones.

“The old days were big budgets, top-of-the-line equipment and ‘How do you want your espresso and can I get it for you?’ ” he said. “I do miss that a bit. And at the time, even just 10 years ago, it didn’t seem like that could ever end, ever go away.” [read: LA TImes]

Apple Wants iTunes to Replace Your Cable Box for 30 Bucks a Month [Rumor]

Apple’s apparently pitching to networks a subscription plan that would deliver all your TV shows through iTunes for $30 a month, with the goal of launching it next year.

 

But don’t hold your breath on it happening yet: Peter Kafka has “yet to hear of a single programmer that has made a firm commitment.” As he points out, while networks are constantly looking for new revenue, like those asshole aliens in Independence Day moving from world to world consuming every natural resource, they’re nervous about the idea for a lot of reasons.

A lot of it has to do with the icky, sticky relationships between networks and cable operators, where everybody’s worried about losing out as people start to watch more and more TV content online, not in their living room—where streaming video eats up bandwidth, and advertising revenues aren’t nearly as rich (which is why Hulu wants to figure out new ways to get you to pay). [read]

Tab Toolkit – iPhone App

TabToolkit is an incredibly powerful guitar tablature and music notation viewer, including an audio synthesis engineer, tempo playback controls, metronome and built-in tab upload and download manager.  Definitely worth checking out.

Agile Partners Website

Native Instruments Introduces SCARBEE MM-BASS and SCARBEE PRE-BASS Amped

Berlin, Germany /Music Industry Newswire/ — Native Instruments today introduced SCARBEE MM-BASS, a new software instrument that provides an authentic rendition of the distinctive Musicman Sterling electric bass. MM-BASS is based on the acclaimed Scarbee Black Bass library, and is the latest release in the partnership between Native Instruments and sampling expert Thomas Hansen Skarbye.

Powered by the industry-leading KONTAKT engine and playable both via the free KONTAKT PLAYER or the full KONTAKT sampler, SCARBEE MM-BASS recreates the full sonic spectrum of the Sterling bass guitar, a modern classic whose characteristic tone has become a mainstay for funk, hip-hop, disco and similar groove-oriented genres. The instrument was created with assistance from seminal producer Nile Rodgers, and is available in two separate versions that address different musical applications and production requirements. [read]