Software/DAW

****Gearwire PSA Dispatch****
You know those innocuous-seeming auto-updates from Apple, the ones that only affect the third number in the OS version tag? You might want to think twice before automatically saying yes to whatever almighty Jobs suggests. The latest release apparently includes a feature that makes your audio no-workie.  

So many things get better with age -- cheese, wine, George Clooney -- but did that Ibanez Blazer Bass really attain some magical quality once it hit the two-decade mark? Crosstalk discusses the liberal use of the "vintage" tag and its implications.  

While we didn't have any problems using the PreSonus FaderPort with Logic 8 for our demo video a while back, PreSonus has only just announced that their full native Logic driver is available. I guess Bill's just that good.  

"In the 1870's, pioneering geologist Bill Paschick was data mining in the Blue Ridge Mountains when he came across a vein of raw-audio-processing-power. From this rare ore was crafted the first of Rain Recording's flagship DAWs: The Element."

I took that text directly from Rain's Website.

 

Ryan Maeker is a sound designer in NYC, and though he may come off as a somewhat threatening figure in this interview -- all talking about cuttin' fools, hitting people with cars and even threatening the life of yours truly -- he's actually a total teddy bear with a soft spot for Speilberg movies!  

Matt Mercado of Sonic Palace is an engineer, but sometimes he plays choreographer when trying to get the right acoustic guitar tone for his mix. When placement fails, he turns to EQ, and when that fails? Time to switch out the guitars.  

With BIAS Peak Pro 6 fresh out of the gate, LE 6 is not too far behind. The limited edition of Peak provides all of the integral functions without piling on features you might not need.  

Bill Holland is out to prove that one person's garage-sale fodder is another's "highly desirable vintage synth module." In this GW Labs vid, Bill's cued up a sequence in Logic 8 that he's feeding to a mid-80's Yamaha TQ5. Hot Chip is getting ideas.  

Sometimes even we get tired of seeing how much use Ableton gets when we talk to bands and artists who tout Ableton Live. The fact of the matter is, it's just that useful.  

Ableton has announced that Live 7 LE is finally on its way. The lighter version of Ableton Live 7 showcases its more playful side that usually only comes out when the camera is off.  

Acon Digital Media brings you LoopWorx, a basic mixing and recording software program that gets beginners up and running. It comes packed with about 1,000 loops in one of three versions: hip hop, dance or rock.  

Engineer, producer and recording artist Flavio Maspoli of Zurich-based Merge of Equals discusses his studio and his ideas on recording.  

Image Line's FL Studio 8 is an open-architecture DAW with a mean, new feature set. Over a decade of development has led to FL8 which is now more powerful than ever from recording to sequencing to mixing to mastering.  

Gearwire's Bob DiFazio finishes his look at the Mackie Onyx Satellite and the Mackie Tracktion software included with it. Get Bob's take on the software, but not until you learn how to use insert effects and export your Tracktion tracks.  

The Mackie Onyx Satellite FireWire interface includes a copy of Mackie's Tracktion Software. Gearwire's Bob DiFazio shows how to start a project in Tracktion, importing a drum loop to display some of the subtleties unique to Tracktion be they convenient or redundant.  

In the last video, Bill created an effect envelope, and showed us how to automate it over a drum loop. In this video, he plays the result back in the context of the whole mix and, guess what? He doesn't like it so much. Now what?  

As much guff as drummers get, they do have the task of playing multiple instruments on stage. From a studio standpoint, its smart to automate each drum track individually, and Bill Holland shows how to do just that with Ableton Live's Drum Racks in this video.  

In a previous video, Bill Holland displayed how to load a VST into Ableton Live's Drum Racks. Here, Bill expands upon that idea and teaches how to turn a regular Drum Rack pad into a multi pad.  

Don't let the name of Ableton Live's Drum Racks fool you. Bill Holland shows how you can load any VST into the Drum Racks and modify from there.  

Pretty much every interface on the market comes with some kind of DAW so that you can actually use it. Most of them come with Steinberg Cubase LE, but Mackie has the intestinal fortitude to package their Onyx Satellite with their Tracktion software.  

New England-based Ras Iron Teeth creates music using a variety of software, old gear, new gear and a positive attitude.  

Bill Holland continues his project with the PreSonus FireStudio Project and Ableton Live 7 to show how you can do inventive things with the guitar even if you don't know how to play one.  

Ableton Live can do pretty much anything short of splicing, dicing, and pureeing an eggplant. When Gearwire's Bill Holland decided to integrate it into a full band, it proved challenging. In the end, however, the results proved to be both educational and rewarding.  

Do you have $16,000 burning a hole in your pocket? I know I don't, and I probably never will. If you do, and you're a dedicated Cakewalk SONAR user, you might want to check out the newly compatible Euphonix controllers.  

Mark Mothersbaugh wanted to use MOTU's Digital Performer for its similar appearance to Opcode's Studio Vision, but DP never quite panned out for Mothersbaugh, who was reasoned into using Apple Logic by some of Mutato's young guns who knew it inside and out.  

Dan Gineer, of The Friendship Trust, discusses how the band recorded their first EP and what their plans are for the future.  

Donita Sparks And The Stellar Moments -- the first solo CD from L7s vocalist/guitarist is due in stores soon. She talks about guitars past and present and a little about recording her CD.  

Elastic Time, a new feature in Pro Tools 7.4, is about as handy as an elastic waistband during IHOP's Never Ending Pancakes promotion [valid until probably around February 12th]. Now Pro Tools can line things up to a beat for you, even if your inner metronome isn't precise.  

Because I don't lead a very interesting life, one of the most exciting things I can think of is the release a new version of DAW software. While Cubase, Logic, Nuendo, Ableton Live, et al released new versions earlier in 2007, I thought that it was all downhill from there. MOTU's Digital Performer 6 gave me a new reason to smile again.  

Tittsworth has been everywhere this year. Be it in a downtown club or in a hipster dive, his tracks and remixes have graced the decks and mp3 queues of DJs all over the world. Given all that, I thought it was about time to sit down and talk about the B-more sound and the upcoming Tittsworth full-length album release.