News and views about the world of DIY music and audio recording

Welcome to diyrecording.com, featuring news and views about the world of DIY music and audio recording for musicians.

Lots of things are looking good for Canada: Our dollar is at an all time high, and our music industry, too, is doing well. According to this article at the The Globe and Mail:

A new reports says Canada’s sound recording and music publishing industries turned a relatively healthy profit in 2005.

The Canadian profits come despite the worldwide decline in record sales and increased competition from other forms of entertainment.

Each of the three major segments of Canada’s music industry – record production, music publishing, and recording studios – posted a profit in 2005.

In total, the industry reported operating revenues estimated at $942-million.

What does this have to do with DIY recording? Well, it means that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The music business in Canada is almost a $1 billion industry and you’re part of it.

I just bought a used Mbox “Classic,” that’s what I call the original vertical Mboxes. It was a total deal. I was so happy that I was about to add Pro Tools compatibility to my rig. It was going to be great. But it was also going to take me hours to get it to work. The first place I went for help was Digidesign’s website.

Oh my god! How many versions of Pro Tools are there?!? Just finding the correct version took me way longer than it should have. Then I found that each version had different compatibility issues with different versions of Mac OS and different Macs. Check out the Pro Tools LE Version Compatibility Grid for Mac OS X to get an understanding of what I’m talking about.

I was having lots of problems. The biggest was that none of my software could see the Mbox, even though my System Profiler knew it was there. Why?!? Well, I soon found the following recommendation on Digidesign’s support pages: “Do not use Apple’s automatic Software Update or the Mac OS X 10.4.9 Delta Update. Instead, install the Mac OS X 10.4.9 Combo Update for Intel-based or PowerPC-based Mac.” Excuse me? Is Pro Tools the most important application on my computer? It seems Digidesign feels it is, and that I should change my computer use habits to keep Pro Tools running smoothly. Argh!

I finally found the software update I needed to run on my specific machine with my specific version of OS X. Success… almost. Although things did run, the first time I closed my test Pro Tools session I got a kernel panic message. For those of you who don’t know, this is like the Mac’s version of the “blue screen of death.” After restarting my computer everything seemed to be okay. Even though Digidesign doesn’t officially support the version of Mac OS I am running (v10.4.10).

Despite all my troubles, I’m happy to have Pro Tools running. The thing is, Pro Tools is to recording studios as Word and Excel are to offices. There are other options out there, and some might be better for your specific needs. But compatibility is king and sometimes you have to go with the majority. Or as I see it, I like to have the option.

Wow, I ranted so much I got a little off topic there. Regardless, I want to end by saying that I have been running Logic Pro 6 since it was released in January of 2004 with a MOTU 828mkII and I’ve never had big issue upgrading thought the decimal upgrades of my OS. And when there’s a new version of Mac OS X, such as the imminent release of Leopard 10.5 this October, I know that MOTU and Apple will have updates ready within weeks, or even days. As it is the software and hardware still work with my machine, and it’s never been challenge to keep them up to date. Let’s hope my next Pro Tools upgrade will be just as painless. -mc

Maybe I do need a mixer. Or maybe it’s that Allen & Heath’s new ZED14 is the first mixer I’ve seen that is truly flexible enough to fit into a computer-based home studio without too many compromises.

The ZED14 offers a USB audio interface to connect directly to your Mac or PC. There are other mixers that allow you to use the mixer as an audio interface (Yamaha MW series, Alesis MultiMix series and Berhinger Xenyx series for example), but none offer the flexibility of the ZED14. The USB out can be fed via AUX 1 & 2, AUX 3 & 4 or Main mix pre fader. This allows for many possibilities when recording and mixing, including using the USB port as an effects send/return.

As mixer manufacturing companies get more in tune with the way musicians are recording, I’m sure we’ll see more products like this in the future.

The ZED14 comes bundled with Cakewalk’s SONAR LE. So if you’ve got a Windows based computer, you can set up a pretty nice little studio with just this mixer and the bundled software (and a few good mics). And you’ll also have a good live board too! I guess mixers aren’t completely out of style. -mc

Convolution reverbs are awesome. They really made mixing inside the box sound as good as using high end outboard gear. But one of my favourite uses for Logic’s convolution reverb, Space Designer, is as a speaker simulator. Take a listen. FYI, this is Fender Jazz Bass played with fingers (no pick), direct into Logic. I’m using the “Speaker 1” preset. No additional EQ or compression was used on either sample. This recording is an out take of Showroom’s The World Is Too Much With Us sessions.

Note: The difference is mostly in the low, low end so you won’t hear much difference listening though built-in computer speakers. Plug in a good pair of headphones or make sure you’re hooked up to some good monitors.

1. Original DI bass guitar

2. Processed bass guitar

The difference maybe subtle, but to me the processed bass has a lot more weight to it. I find it sounds more “real.” Of course, this won’t work in all situations, but if your bass is sounding thin and you’re looking for something phatter, give this a try. It’s usually best to blend the two sounds. Have fun! -mc

Well after much speculation, we are now able to see all that Logic Pro 8 has to offer. And perhaps the most surprising part of the announcement is the price: $499 for the full suite, and $199 for the upgrade. I thought it had to be wrong, but it seems Apple has actually cut the price in half and added some very helpful new features.

The consolodated window is a very welcome feature (thanks to the folks at MOTU for coming up with this — Digital Performer is way ahead of Logic here). Basically, this means you can access the mixer, arrange, transport, piano roll editor or whatever else you want to see in one window. There have been many times that I hit F9 (Exposé) only to find I have over a dozen windows open — and I’m not using 10 of them! The whole look seems a lot more “Apple,” meaning simpler.

The new multitake and comping tools also look amazing. I won’t try to describe them here. Check out the Logic Studio pages for more details.

The inclusion of Soundtrack Pro was not that surprising to me. I think this really allowed Apple to focus on Logic as a music production application and leave out features (and complexity) that would have duplicated Soundtrack Pro’s functionality.

The surprise for me, is a new application in the bundle called MainStage. This application basically allows you to use your favourite soft synths in a live performance setting without having to have Logic open. The look and feel of this app is also very simple — a welcome feature for live use.

The latest release of Logic is in no way a “Pro Tools killer,” but rather a very professional music production suite that allow both musicians and engineers a swiss army knife of tools to create — and perform — with ease and flexibility. I’ll be picking up my copy shortly. -mc

Michael suggested I put together a list of free online resources for SONAR users. So without further ado…

Cakewalk.com: SONAR Support

• This is the official site for SONAR technical support. It features solutions for common issues, tips, downloads, recommended books and more.

SONAR Wiki

• A comprehensive wiki dedicated to SONAR!

Sound on Sound Magazine: Sonar Notes

• Access to the most recent articles is limited to paid subscribers, but most older articles are available for free online. Their website contains archives going all the way back to 2002 – useful if you’re working with an older version of SONAR.

CakewalkNet: The Ultimate SONAR Users Website

• Features news, articles, tutorials, tips, downloads, and other free resources for SONAR users.

CakewalkSoftware on YouTube

• Search for “SONAR” in CakewalkSoftware’s videos to find dozens of short video tutorials for SONAR.

SONAR Flash Tutorials by Digital Music Doctor

• Eight free flash tutorials about mixing, mastering, using AudioSnap, MIDI editing, using Rewire and soft synths, and the Session Drummer in SONAR 6.

Know of any good SONAR resources I missed? Let me know! -kf

There are dozens of studio software packages to choose from.  These can range from a $10,000+ Pro Tools rig to free open source applications such as Audacity. Your options narrow slightly depending on what operating system you’re running. Still, considering the number of software applications multiplied by the number of audio interfaces  available on the market, there are easily hundreds of possibilities.

The best place to start is to ask yourself what you plan to use your recording setup for. Are you a singer songwriter looking to make demos? A five piece pop-rock band wanting to record your first EP? Knowing what you want to accomplish helps you make the right choice. How many audio inputs and outputs do you need? Is advanced MIDI editing necessary? Virtual instruments? Or what about integrated CD authoring?

Thoughts on the M-box

I asked singer/songwriter Scott Cooper about his setup, and why he chose it. Here’s what he had to say:

I have the M-box 2 Mini. It’s a pretty neat little thing, but for a little bit more money you get WAY more bang-for-your-buck with the standard M-box 2. I went the Mini because my needs were to find a portable Pro Tools solution for writing/demo’ing, and also for mobile editing on my laptop. Which meant portability/size was a factor, too.

The Mini is basically the cheapest real Digidesign hardware/software interface option to get Pro Tools + factory plug-ins. (I know there are technically cheaper M-Audio/M-Powered options, but I just wanted the real thing. Plus, M-Audio has so many hardware options it began to confuse me.)

Mini cons are no MIDI interface, and only one XLR input. (2 inputs total, the other is just a 1/4″ line) it does have +48V, though. I’ve also found it to be quite a resource hog for a laptop. I have 2GB of RAM and I still occasionally bog it down.

As a singer/songwriter the main purpose of Scott’s setup is for songwriting and creating demos. He also uses it for editing work he does in a professional studio running Pro Tools.

For Scott, having “real Digidesign” hardware and software is important. Because he does work elsewhere in a full-blown Pro Tools studio, compatibility between his personal setup and the pro studio he works at was important.

Likewise, if you collaborate with other musicians, it’s a good idea to find out what software they’re using. If they like it and you’re going to be working together, get the same thing so you can easily trade files and projects.

If you’re recording a full band, small 2 or 4-input interfaces are going to force you to cut some corners when recording. If you can afford it, consider an interface with at least 8 inputs. And, if you don’t need to be 100% compatible with Pro Tools like Scott, there are more options. I’ll talk about those in Part 2. -mc