James Creer brings over two decades of experience in music production and education. Starting as a well-recognized, young MIDI expert in the 80’s, James...
Charles Dye is a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning engineer, mixer, producer and educator. His credits include Lauryn Hill, Jon Bon Jovi, Julio Iglesias,...
Mihai Boloni is a talented engineer and long-time Pro Tools educator who is fortunate to draw from over a decade of experience in the music production...
Today there are many ways to self-promote. With many social networking websites and video-posting sites available, tools for promoting ones career can be administered through high-speed internet connection.
I would like to share with you a couple of self-promotional tips to assist you with getting your word out.
Success is defined by preparation meeting opportunity. First, write a bio about yourself or your band. Then get professional photographs taken and put them up on your website.
The way we can manipulate audio today is amazing. My first sampler was an ASR-10, then Kurzweil K-2000.
When I learned that I could record grooves from vinyl and re-trigger them with a key on the keyboard then organize them into a sequence using the onboard sequencer it was also amazing. Then computers came into the picture with powerful editing software (i.e. protools).
The evolution of graphic waveform editing in DAW`s increased my workflow tremendously. The process was very time consuming and tedious but still very manageable. However today’s sample recording and playback devices have all become more powerful and reliable in the form of virtual instruments. One of my favorites is called Transfuser.
Transfuser allows me to drag and drop samples right from my timeline in ProTools. To get a groove going with this RTAS plug-in is faster than ever. It’s filled with stock grooves loops and sound FX. If you want to use more custom loops and grooves you can access your hard drive right from the Virtual instrument.
Time stretch audition features allow you to hear the loops in tempo with you Protools session. The unique M.A.R.I.O feature allows you to change the groove in real time to any groove. This “re-sampling” technique used to take hours and multiple pieces of software and hardware. Now with Transfuser you can record edit sample and re-sample in minutes. All inside transfusers GUI.
Check out the DTV Transfuser video series to learn more about this amazing groove maker.
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Looking for a couple of cool (not to mention FREE) plugins to add to your arsenal of creative tools? Then check out these two developed by the plugin designers at FLUX. One is a unique transient modifier and the other is a stereo imaging processor.
When tracking your band or project in Pro Tools, often times youʼll be using a click track to help keep the tempo of the music consistent. This also allows you to easily edit on a grid while working in your production. This is great in a hypothetical world, but in the real world there will be times when you encounter bands or artists where a click track just wonʼt cut it. And as an engineer or producer our job is to make it work and get the best possible performance out of our musicians.
The first thing you donʼt want to do is tell the drummer he needs to practice or make then play with a click anyway with the intention of coming back later to fix. This will be a real vibe killer and most likely will cause some problems down the road leaving you with lack luster tracks that they will be unhappy with.
For some young indie bands, click tracks can often be difficult at times if the drummer is not experienced in the studio And most likely the band is used to playing and rehearsing the songs without it. Remember, It is our job as the engineer to adapt to the music to get the best performance rather then having performers adapt to the engineering task at hand so were going to need to know some work around option.
The footprint of all my studio gear has become overwhelming, so I finally decided to sell off some of my hardware synths and outboard gear to make room in my home studio space. As I was considering what to keep and what to sell, I realized that one of my favorites pieces of gear that has a reasonable footprint is the M-Audio Axiom Pro 61 keyboard controller. It’s a really cool controller that has a slick proprietary MIDI mapping technology called “HyperControl”. HyperControl automatically maps the keyboard’s 65 controls to commonly accessed parameters in digital audio workstations including Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic and Reason, as well as software instruments.
The end result is that that the Axiom Pro 61 serves as both a MIDI controller AND a Control Surface. The good news is it sells at a fraction of the price of buying both.
You can control all plug-in parameters, Virtual Synths, volumes, and panning.
One cool application I have used if for is as a keyboard player in a band. I played backing tracks and virtual instruments on stage at the same time.
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Recently, I’ve come across some exciting new merchandise in the audio world. Through researching these devices, I noticed a significant quality that each commonly share. They are being marketed as an “emulation” of an existing product. A microphone that mimic’s a classic microphone; a pre-amp that emulates the characteristic tone of a classic pre-amp, etc., you get the idea. Then it dawned on me, I am somewhat uncomfortable with this notion altogether.
It’s been going on for years with multitudes of products. One main reason I don’t like this is because this notion usually leads to overlooking the good 'inherent' qualities of the piece of gear by trying to put it up against the real thing. People have done many “shootouts” where they compare two products, and while I understand why this is an appealing route, I believe we should focus on the product itself and not “emulation” characteristics.
There are many amazing products for our industry, some old, some new. I know that we all covet some of the old “classic” gear, but the truth is, many of us cannot afford such equipment. As much as I like an original U47, and original Fairchild, an original 1073, etc., I am no where close to being able to buy one. But, lucky for me, and you, there are many wonderful products out there that are just as good in their own way. Furthermore, since these products are new, you get all the benefits of such things as warranties and customer support, something you might not get with a 30-year-old microphone.
This is just a small list of some great manufacturers that produces amazing devices for our industry. Yes, some of them are being compared to “classic” equipment, but, I suggest you overlook that notion. Give attention to the products you use, or buy, for what they are, not what someone else thinks they are trying to be. The main point about all these “new classics” is the price. In a world where we are all watching finances and expenditures, each fall into the affordable category. This is huge bang for the buck, you get great audio gear at a great price. You don’t have to refinance the house to have top-notch audio equipment. You can contact your favorite Pro Audio dealer and do a little research on your own. You’ll find a lot of equipment out there that suit your needs.
"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.
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James Creer brings over two decades of experience in music production and education. Starting as a well-recognized, young MIDI expert in the 80’s, James...
Charles Dye is a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning engineer, mixer, producer and educator. His credits include Lauryn Hill, Jon Bon Jovi, Julio Iglesias,...
Mihai Boloni is a talented engineer and long-time Pro Tools educator who is fortunate to draw from over a decade of experience in the music production...
The way we can manipulate audio today is amazing. My first sampler was an ASR-10, then Kurzweil K-2000.
Looking for a couple of cool (not to mention FREE) plugins to add to your arsenal of creative tools? Then check out these two developed by the plugin designers at FLUX. One is a unique transient modifier and the other is a stereo imaging processor.
When tracking your band or project in Pro Tools, often times youʼll be using a click track to help keep the tempo of the music consistent. This also allows you to easily edit on a grid while working in your production. This is great in a hypothetical world, but in the real world there will be times when you encounter bands or artists where a click track just wonʼt cut it. And as an engineer or producer our job is to make it work and get the best possible performance out of our musicians.
The footprint of all my studio gear has become overwhelming, so I finally decided to sell off some of my hardware synths and outboard gear to make room in my home studio space. As I was considering what to keep and what to sell, I realized that one of my favorites pieces of gear that has a reasonable footprint is the M-Audio Axiom Pro 61 keyboard controller. It’s a really cool controller that has a slick proprietary MIDI mapping technology called “HyperControl”. HyperControl automatically maps the keyboard’s 65 controls to commonly accessed parameters in digital audio workstations including Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic and Reason, as well as software instruments.
Recently, I’ve come across some exciting new merchandise in the audio world. Through researching these devices, I noticed a significant quality that each commonly share. They are being marketed as an “emulation” of an existing product. A microphone that mimic’s a classic microphone; a pre-amp that emulates the characteristic tone of a classic pre-amp, etc., you get the idea. Then it dawned on me, I am somewhat uncomfortable with this notion altogether.
Some of these products include:
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.