Archives
August 2009
It's August and time for a look at something we take for granted... right up until our songs suffer for a lack of attention there. I am referring to the almighty Beat, whether it's from a drummer, a virtual instrument, or a loop library. In this issue, we get on the beat and stay there with articles and reviews guaranteed to take you to rhythmic Heaven.
Darwin Grosse gives us a great primer on getting loops into your songs, keeping them organized, and making the best use of them; Studio maven Elad Fish talks about the long-distance drummer service he runs, and how one would prep for a session where a demo's rhythm tracks will be replaced by seasoned pros; and DJ Lynnwood talks about his techniques for remixing artists like Alanis Morissette. If you're not into beats for this month, worry not; we also talk about the guitar tone of the Beatles and Byrds, and getting that magic jangle into your tracks.
On the review side, we have lots for the beatmongers among you: reviews of Ableton Live 8 and the new Akai APC40 Ableton controller, not to mention Sony ACID Pro 7, new ReFills from Propellerhead, FXpansion BFD2, as well as a new drum library from a mysterious new maker called Dark Side Of The Tune. And there are reviews of field recording gear, monitors, a cool new preamp; Readers' Tapes with Marty Peters; and more. You won't want to miss a beat when grabbing the August RECORDING!
Pick it up now on the newsstand... and so you get your next issue early (and save on cost), why not hit the big red Subscribe Now button on this page and have RECORDING delivered to your door each month?
Akai APC40 Ableton Controller
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Akai APC40 Ableton Controller |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
A hands-on controller especially for Ableton Live.
Akai developed the APC40 in close partnership with Ableton, and while you could use it with other DAWs, it’s tailor-made for Live... in fact, the only “user manual” the APC4......Expand
A hands-on controller especially for Ableton Live.
Akai developed the APC40 in close partnership with Ableton, and while you could use it with other DAWs, it’s tailor-made for Live... in fact, the only “user manual” the APC40 comes with isn’t even distributed by Akai, it’s a chapter in the Live 8 manual from Ableton! (Live 8 is a spectacular new release for other reasons, too—check out the review on Page 28 of this issue.)
The APC40 is designed to faithfully replicate the Session View in Live, giving you a complete layout of dedicated controls for most of what’s needed in a live playback situation. It’s also a handy adjunct to other control surfaces when composing and recording in Live...
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Reviewed and Revisited: Sony ACID Pro 7
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Reviewed by
Darwin Grosse
Reviewed and Revisited: Sony ACID Pro 7 |
Reviewed by
Darwin Grosse
After a decade, the trendsetting loop program streamlines and adds even more power.
If you are reading this magazine, you probably need no introduction to Sony’s ACID software—it is one of the packages that has defined sever......Expand
After a decade, the trendsetting loop program streamlines and adds even more power.
If you are reading this magazine, you probably need no introduction to Sony’s ACID software—it is one of the packages that has defined several current music genres (loop-based dance music, audio mash-ups) and set the standard for how audio loops could be used by producers. Over the years, ACID has gained many DAW-like functions, including linear recording, complete plug-in support, and MIDI playback and editing.
Version 7 of the ACID Pro package provides a great set of enhancements to the core ACID product, with improvements to almost every facet of the software. By improving workflow and standardizing the interface, it has become even more convenient to use for complete track production.
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Reviewed and Revisited: FXpansion BFD2
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Reviewed and Revisited: FXpansion BFD2 |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
The Big Friendly Drum-library grows up.
Back in our November 2004 issue we took our first look at a drum sample library and software player from FXpansion cryptically titled BFD. Now, almost five years later, that software h......Expand
The Big Friendly Drum-library grows up.
Back in our November 2004 issue we took our first look at a drum sample library and software player from FXpansion cryptically titled BFD. Now, almost five years later, that software has turned out to be not only a “Big Freaking Deal”, but also has become the gold standard for drum emulation and hyper-real groove creation.
The original BFD was essentially a VSTi drum machine (standalone or plug-in) with a 9-Gigabyte sample library organized into 5 drum kits of varied sound and style. While the concept is the same, BFD2 has been redesigned from the ground up and is now what can best be described as a full-fledged Virtual Drum Workstation...
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Reviewed and Revisited: Ableton Live 8 / Suite 8
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Reviewed and Revisited: Ableton Live 8 / Suite 8 |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
New features, new content—and cool new directions for the future.
Ableton Live 8 and the new version of the Ableton Suite bundle were announced at Winter NAMM in Anaheim this past January. The announcement was a much larger ......Expand
New features, new content—and cool new directions for the future.
Ableton Live 8 and the new version of the Ableton Suite bundle were announced at Winter NAMM in Anaheim this past January. The announcement was a much larger one than what accompanied recent upgrades, because there was a lot more to cover. Dive in with me!...
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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ADAM Audio A5 Active Studio/Multimedia Monitors
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
ADAM Audio A5 Active Studio/Multimedia Monitors |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Small but mighty monitors with ribbon-tweeter sweetness.
ADAM Audio is well known for its monitors featuring Accelerating Ribbon Technology (ART) ribbon tweeters, which provide a unique high-end tonality that has won a lot o......Expand
Small but mighty monitors with ribbon-tweeter sweetness.
ADAM Audio is well known for its monitors featuring Accelerating Ribbon Technology (ART) ribbon tweeters, which provide a unique high-end tonality that has won a lot of converts for its clarity. We reviewed the A7 speaker back in December 2006; it was a small 2-way box that married an ART tweeter with a 6.5” woofer. The new A5 is intended for desktop, portable, and small-studio use, and features a 5” woofer and slightly smaller amps (25W per channel) at a very affordable price. How does it stack up?
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Focusrite ISA One Preamp
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Focusrite ISA One Preamp |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
A grab-and-go preamp with some very cool extras.
ISA stands for Input Signal Amplifier. The ISA One is Focusrite’s latest addition to the ISA line of mic preamps and channel strips, all of which have their origins in the com......Expand
A grab-and-go preamp with some very cool extras.
ISA stands for Input Signal Amplifier. The ISA One is Focusrite’s latest addition to the ISA line of mic preamps and channel strips, all of which have their origins in the company’s high-end Forte console of the late ’80s. Previously only available in multi-channel configurations, the ISA One—as the name implies—marks the first appearance of this microphone pre amp in a single, non-channel-strip configuration.
Not content to be just a mic pre, though, the ISA One packs a healthy number of features under its hood that include: impedance switching, independent DI, basic DAW monitoring, and full-featured metering...
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Edirol R-09HR
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Reviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
Edirol R-09HR |
Reviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
96 kHz recording and a whole lot more.
The R-09HR is a two-track portable recorder with built-in mics and USB, capable of recording and playback at 96 kHz sample rate with 24 bit depth. It uses SD cards for storage (up to 8 ......Expand
96 kHz recording and a whole lot more.
The R-09HR is a two-track portable recorder with built-in mics and USB, capable of recording and playback at 96 kHz sample rate with 24 bit depth. It uses SD cards for storage (up to 8 GB capacity). It replaces the already very competent R-09 (reviewed December 2006)—the HR stands for High Resolution, but 96 kHz isn’t its only improvement....
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Recording's Showcase Of Sounds.
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Reviewed by
Giles Reaves and Mike Metlay
Recording's Showcase Of Sounds. |
Reviewed by
Giles Reaves and Mike Metlay
Propellerhead Reason Drums 2.0 and Reason Pianos; Dark Side Of The Tune Tritone; EastWest Quantum Leap Silk.
The back cover of the product box for Tritone, the new library from Seattle-based sound developer Dark Side Of The ......Expand
Propellerhead Reason Drums 2.0 and Reason Pianos; Dark Side Of The Tune Tritone; EastWest Quantum Leap Silk.
The back cover of the product box for Tritone, the new library from Seattle-based sound developer Dark Side Of The Tune, reads as follows:
“Suppressed by the Church and branded “Diabolus in Musica” by medieval musicians, Tritone was spurned until the end of the Renaissance. Now, Dark Side of the Tune offers modern producers a three-pack salute to dissonance in Tritone, the deluxe edition of Pitch Dark, Sledgehammer to Happy, and Pretty Empty...."
Intrigued? Read more about this new library, and about cool new soundware from Propellerhead and East West, in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Recording's Guitar Column
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Reviewed by
Joe Albano
Recording's Guitar Column |
Reviewed by
Joe Albano
In Part 3 of our look at famous guitar tones, we get into the jangle of the Beatles and the Byrds...
This month’s look at guitar sounds will focus on the sound itself, more than on any one particular artist—in fact, we’ll lo......Expand
In Part 3 of our look at famous guitar tones, we get into the jangle of the Beatles and the Byrds...
This month’s look at guitar sounds will focus on the sound itself, more than on any one particular artist—in fact, we’ll look at several artists/bands who epitomize this particular guitar tone.
“Jangly” guitar has been with us since the beginnings of rock’n’roll—in many ways it helped to define the sound of rock as distinct from the standard electric guitar tones of jazz that came before. Also referred to as “chiming” or “ringing” guitar tone, jangly guitar can be summed up in two words—bright and clean. The Beatles’ music epitomizes this sound, and they were the driving force in popularizing it in the mid-’60s, influencing many other bands and guitarists to adapt this tonality for their music....
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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DJ Lynnwood on Beats and Remixes
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Interviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
DJ Lynnwood on Beats and Remixes |
Interviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
A hot remix talent shares his secrets.
DJ Lynnwood is based in the region a couple hours east of Los Angeles called the Inland Empire. Go to www.reverbnation.com/djlynnwood for his background, and you will read that “DJ Lynn......Expand
A hot remix talent shares his secrets.
DJ Lynnwood is based in the region a couple hours east of Los Angeles called the Inland Empire. Go to www.reverbnation.com/djlynnwood for his background, and you will read that “DJ Lynnwood was weaned on rock music”. Since then he has long assimilated the vocabularies of diverse music styles, but no matter how far from the original he takes a remix, his beats are solid, tribal, grounded in the traditions that have made people want to move long before dance music turned to electronic sounds. No wonder he’s much in demand for DJ gigs far and wide, which allows him to translate the live excitement into his studio productions.
I visited with DJ Lynnwood in his studio back in January, and we spoke again recently, when I wanted to tap into his experience for this month’s issue where beats and percussion are in the forefront....
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Catch A Groove
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Written by
Darwin Grosse
Catch A Groove |
Written by
Darwin Grosse
Using audio loops for your productions.
Any direction you turn, you are running into audio loop files. You probably received a boatload of loops with your DAW software, more with your audio interface and—just in case you wer......Expand
Using audio loops for your productions.
Any direction you turn, you are running into audio loop files. You probably received a boatload of loops with your DAW software, more with your audio interface and—just in case you weren’t already choking on them—your nearest retailer would love to sell you more. Loops are omnipresent, but beginning recordists may not be familiar with their use, or may need help avoiding production traps. Let’s break down the process of using these powerful production tools, and using them effectively...
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Long-Distance Drumming And Music Production
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Written by
Lorenz Rychner
Long-Distance Drumming And Music Production |
Written by
Lorenz Rychner
An interview with Elad Fish of StudioPros.com.
Elad Fish is one of those drummers who took advantage of the internet when long-distance audio production became a possibility. His clients were only too happy when he told them......Expand
An interview with Elad Fish of StudioPros.com.
Elad Fish is one of those drummers who took advantage of the internet when long-distance audio production became a possibility. His clients were only too happy when he told them that there was no longer a need for them to spend long hours in traffic between their production facilities and Elad’s studio—”Tell me what you need, send me the files, and I’ll send you back the finished product, in a matter of hours”. That was in Israel in 2000, and, being of entrepreneurial spirit, Elad quickly contacted any and all producers he could find, no matter where they were located, since it made no difference if they were across town or across the globe....
Read more in the August 2009 issue of RECORDING!
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Fade Out
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Written by
Lorenz Rychner
Fade Out |
Written by
Lorenz Rychner
Musings On The Future Of Music.
Musings On The Future Of Music.
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