- Music Reviews – August 7, 2008
Posted by Ben Rivet in : Digital home recording studios, Music Reviews, Reviews , add a commentHey all,
Your man about town here with an announcement on the Studio Files’ newest installation… MUSIC REVIEWS.
We are going to be hitting this a little differently than your average critique. So much work goes into all of the great music that we are hearing these days, but many of those who do that work can be overlooked by the masses. We here at The Studio Files are going to dive deeper into all of this music and really look at what people are doing in the studio. No genre will be overlooked, no producer unnamed, and no synth part ignored. We want people to start talking about who is making the music as much as who’s performing the music…and we don’t just mean Timberland.
Stay tuned for all the reviews to come, and PLEASE, let us know who we should be looking at. Drop us a line and tell us who is making good music these days.
Coming soon… June 10, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Digital home recording studios, General Announcements, Studio Setup , add a commentJust thought I’d give a heads up of what is coming up for thestudiofiles.com
Repair Guide: Replacing a Boss BR-1180 hard drive June 7, 2008
Posted by PJ in : Digital home recording studios, Troubleshooting , 231commentsA good friend of mine named Joe has been using a Boss BR-1180CD Digital Recording Studio for about 5 years now to record and mix his own songs. He doesn’t own a computer so this device serves as a central workstation for all of his music endeavors. Having used it extensively myself, I can say it really is a wonderful little device with plenty of inputs and really great sounding effects. The “CD” model has a built in CD-RW drive for burning tracks and also importing .wav files (a drum loop for example) and exporting recordings. Pretty neat and great for someone not willing to take the leap into computer-based recording. (more…)
Droppin’ Beats on the go with the Nintendo DS May 25, 2008
Posted by PJ in : Digital home recording studios , add a commentNintendo’s insanely popular handheld (over 73 million sold worldwide) the DS and DS Lite has attracted a lot of attention from commercial music software developers and home-brewers alike. Gamers have already seen the release of Ubisoft’s Jam Sessions and Nintendo’s own Electroplankton.
These music “games” can be a fun distraction for audio enthusiasts but also a cheap, fun, interactive way for people to get into creating their own tunes (without selling their car to afford a tricked out Mac Pro).
The first example is a “freestyle” video from the developer of the home-brew project ProteinDS:
The second example is a video of the DS-10 Synthesizer by Korg and AQ Interactive. Korg has recently announced they are bringing the DS-10 Synthesizer to the U.S. Watch as the guy from Napoleon Dynamite lays down a phat groove:
Very exciting stuff!
-PJ
Logic Update 8.0.2 Now Available May 20, 2008
Posted by PJ in : Digital home recording studios, General Announcements, Logic Studio 8 , 4commentsApple has released a 135MB update to Logic Pro 8 today, bumping it to version 8.0.2. Here are the details:
This Logic Pro 8.0.2 update addresses specific customer and compatibility issues of Logic Pro 8.0 and WaveBurner 1.5. This update is recommended for all Logic Studio users. For more information about this release, please go to: Late Breaking News as well as Logic 8.0.2 Details.
The second link in the quote above has a full list of fixes for this update. Just glancing over the list I’m happy to see a number of Ultrabeat bugs I’ve been running into are now fixed. Here’s to improved software!
-PJ
Mix Engineering: A lost art? May 14, 2008
Posted by Damon Sink in : Digital home recording studios, Live Sound, Mixing, Reviews , 1 comment so farJust got finished watching a special guest return performance by Fantasia on American Idol. The most entertaining moment was watching Simon Cowell’s reaction: utter, unadulterated disbelief! I had to agree. It was pretty much a train wreck.
But the most amazingly amateurish performance on display was not behind a microphone, it was apparently behind a mixing board. The mix for live broadcast was stunningly bad. The (obviously pre-recorded) background singers were WAY out in front. The rapper (appearing Romeo-style from the set balcony) was barely audible as well. (more…)
Fix for Audio Glitch: GarageBand, Logic & OS 10.4.11 April 22, 2008
Posted by PJ in : Digital Audio Workstations, Digital home recording studios, GarageBand, Troubleshooting, Virtual Instruments , 2commentsAfter recently installing Software update 10.4.11 for OSX, I found that some of my Logic and Garageband software instruments produced a crackling, distorted sound during playback and recording. Audio from other sources (iTunes, Quicktime, etc) seemed to be working fine. Oddly enough, the quickest solution was to turn OFF AirPort while using Logic or GB. I’ve since installed an older version of the AirPort software and after repairing permissions and rebooting – everything seems to be in order. For anyone having similar problems, try the two solutions mentioned above and let us know how things work out. I’ll keep you all posted on an update.
Update: It has been reported on the Apple Support forums (thread here) that the July 2008 Airport update does indeed fix this problem. The update (for OSX Tiger only) can be found here.
PJ
Add Nintendo sounds to GarageBand with this free 8-bit Plugin March 31, 2008
Posted by PJ in : Digital home recording studios, GarageBand, plugins (plug-ins), Virtual Instruments , 5comments
If you’ve ever found yourself humming the overworld theme from The Legend of Zelda or have the title track from Battletoads on your iPod, then you should definitely check out the “Magical 8-bit Plug” for GarageBand (or any app that supports AU plugins). (more…)
Make your own acoustic panels: @ Instructables.com March 22, 2008
Posted by Damon Sink in : Digital home recording studios , add a commentMake acoustic panels for your recording studio or home theater:
This tutorial is pretty sweet, and the Owens Corning panels that they are using are the same thing that you would get in some REALLY expensive custom treatments. I could see The Studio Files team doing a video of this really soon to re-treat the space in one of our mixing rooms (you guys down? :))
Acoustic treatments are often used to help improve the acoustics of a room by taming “flutter echoes,” “room modes,” and other problems which arise from a room’s dimensions and construction.
ART Tube MP Mic Pre-amp for cheap March 20, 2008
Posted by PJ in : Digital home recording studios, Preamp, Studio Setup , add a commentThe ART Tube MP Mic Pre-amp that Connor wrote about in this article is now available at Musicians Friend for the awesome price of $29.99. Here’s the details:
The original Tube MP made pro-caliber tube preamping available to ordinary musicians and home studios. The MP Studio goes a step further by adding a VU meter for better level control and ART’s OPL (Output Protection Limiter), which controls and maintains the output peak signal to protect hard-disk recording systems and soundcards. The VU meter reflects the impact of the OPL circuitry when it is activated, which allows more effective fine tuning of the audio signal. It is a valuable tool for recording in project and home studios and can also function as a DI box with impedance matching and preamplification for line-level sources. Includes a 3-year warranty.
More details, specifications and reviews are available here.
PJ
Video: Smart tool and Edit Modes in Pro Tools LE March 13, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Digital home recording studios , 3commentsAfter you’ve watched the Pro Tools video on edit tools, this video will show you the smart tool (which combines the trim, selector, and grabber tools). Then, I show you the different edit modes of Pro Tools and how to apply them (Shuffle, Spot, Slip, Grid, and Relative Grid). When you are done watching this video you will know how to use the smart tool and the different edit modes in Pro Tools. (more…)
Studio Pro Files: Encore Studios March 10, 2008
Posted by Ben Rivet in : Digital home recording studios, Project Studio, Studio Profiles, Studio Setup , 2commentsHey All.
Your Man about Town here, bringing you more from the studio world. We are continuing our sweep of the mid-west with a stop in Dayton, OH. We had a chance to sit down with Bill Sellers, owner of Encore Studios. Bill has been cranking out projects for clients all over the country, ranging from rock, classical, and jazz, to voice overs, jingles, and promotional videos. Bill gave us a tour of his space and showed us his gear. We also got to chat about some of the projects he has done over the years and what he is currently working on. Awesome music, cool studio, and a lot of great stories. (more…)
GarageBand – Musical Typing Explained March 8, 2008
Posted by PJ in : Composing, Digital home recording studios, GarageBand , 24commentsIf you are making music in a mobile envornment (say on your laptop), or if you don’t have access to a MIDI keyboard, you can still program music very efficiently. (But, if you don’t own a MIDI keyboard, you might want to take Connor’s advice here and pick one up.)
In the meantime, you can still create some great tunes in GarageBand by using just the keys on your keyboard. (more…)
Problem with Firewire, Audio on new MacBook and MacBook ProI March 2, 2008
Posted by Damon Sink in : Digital home recording studios , 5comments12-13-08:UPDATE
Haven’t heard much about this problem in a while–I think things are pretty much sorted out. If anyone has other info, please add a comment. [Damon]
[ORIGINAL POST] Be very careful if you are in the market for a new MacBook or MacBook Pro to use for audio production. It seems one of the chipsets Apple is (was?) using (Agere) is not compatible with audio functionality from anybody(!) MOTU, Presonus, RME, Windows, Mac–nothing. There is apparently a “workaround” but it doesn’t seem to be possible for all users. If you were thinking about pulling the trigger on a new macbook, make sure to find out if the unit you are looking at has this hardware–it could save you a big headache.
Apple – Support – Discussions – New Agere firewire chip …
The recent firewire audio interface issues on the new iMac are now a problem on the new MBPs. According to RME this is due to the Agere fw chip used on those machines which causes a firewire bus reset when starting playback in isochronous mode. The problem also manifests on Motu and other devices.
Garage Band for Windows? Acoustica Mixcraft! February 21, 2008
Posted by Damon Sink in : Digital home recording studios , add a commentI have heard good things about Mixcraft before. This looks like a killer little app. Lots of Virtual Instruments, VST hosting and audio recording functionality. It’s even compatible with Acid and Aplle loops! Lots of people who are looking for software to make their own back up tracks or karaoke accompaniments will find this a great platform. Check the link to read more and see a video from the floor of NAMM. –DS
From the Music Player Network:
AcousticaMixcraft
One of the biggest surprises I found was Acoustica Mixcraft, a full-featured DAW with great-sounding included soft instruments (like a virtual Minimoog, polysynth, and Hammond organ) that lists for $75. Yep, $75. Here, Acoustica’s Daniel Goldstein takes us through the features. Part 1 of 2.