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6.27.2011

Featured Equipment Of The Week - Focusrite VRM Box

Focusrite VRM Box - $99 at Revolution Audio
Mixing in a perfect environment simply isn't an option for everyone. Even if you have excellent, high-quality studio monitors, chances are you don't have the liberty to crank up your latest mix at 3:00 AM, just when you've put the final touches on that last track. That's what's so cool about the Focusrite VRM Box. Designed to integrate with your favorite DAW, the VRM Box uses Focusrite's award-winning VRM (virtual reference monitoring) to simulate a traditional monitoring environment, right in your headphones. Now, instead of the tightly focused and exaggerated stereo separation you get from headphones, you get the sound of a traditional listening environment, complete with pro-quality studio monitors. [find out more]


Top Features
  • Onboard VRM (Virtual Reference Monitoring) lets you hear the sound of your mix being played over a pair of professional studio monitors in a controlled environment - right in your headphones
  • Supports sample rates up to 24-bit/192kHz via USB or S/PDIF input
  • 108dB dynamic range
  • USB 2.0 for connectivity and bus power
  • Stereo S/PDIF input on RCA
  • Stereo Headphone output on 1/4" TRS
  • Analogue headphone output level control

The Focusrite VRM Box is $99 from Revolution Audio

6.25.2011

AVID Scorch for iPad

AVID recently released a great app for the iPad, Scorch.
Read all the details - Buy it from the Apple App Store
The Avid Scorch app transforms your iPad mobile device into an interactive music stand, score library, and sheet music store. With this powerful app, viewing beautiful scores is just the beginning. Thanks to the award-winning Sibelius engine, Scorch generates true, interactive notation. Easily learn songs or adapt them to your instrument by transposing a score, changing instruments, or converting to and from guitar tab—then give a great performance using Music Stand mode. Whether you want to showcase your own music or purchase scores from world-class publishers, Scorch is the easy way to practice and perform your favorite sheet music on the go.


Features
  • Use your iPad mobile device as an interactive substitute for a music stand and sheet music library
  • Get started right away with included content and how-to material
  • View and modify your own Sibelius or Sibelius First scores and lead sheets—plus chart-toppers, classics, and other premium content from a variety of world-class publishers
  • Easily learn songs or adapt them to your instrument by transposing a score, changing instruments, or converting to and from guitar tab
  • Display individual parts to remove distraction and focus solely on your instrument
  • See the whole score—or individual parts—played on the Keyboard display
  • Hear your score by playing it back with sampled instrument sounds
  • Mix your score to suit your needs
  • Give a great performance and easily turn pages in Music Stand mode
  • Increase contrast and make music more legible by changing the text and paper texture
  • Enjoy working with the sleek, intuitive user interface
  • Publish your own music and sell it in the community score repository (requires Sibelius or Sibelius First)
  • Make secure, one-touch in-app purchases through your iTunes account
  • Find help quickly and easily with online FAQs and support forum

6.24.2011

Revolution Audio Indie Musician E-Mixing Service

Revolution Audio has been supporting Canadian Independent Musician for years by providing quality, affordable recording equipment; production classes; articles, tips and advice. Revolution Audio is proud to announce our new E-Mixing service. Coast to coast and worldwide, professional mixing is now available for your home studio recording.



The cost for this service is $100/song. This price will go up to $150/song at the end of summer.

For more information click here: Indie Musician E-Mixing

6.21.2011

Featured Equipment Of The Week: Mackie Big Knob

The Big Knob is a simple yet powerful desktop audio control center that lets musicians and engineers get right to the business of making music in four major ways: Level Control, Studio Monitor Selection, Input Source Selection and Talkback & Headphone Control. More Info


TOP FEATURES
  • Tabletop level control / monitor switcher / source selector & talkback box
  • Big, convenient volume knob for precise level adjustments
  • Switch amongst 3 sets of studio monitors
  • Built-in Talkback microphone for easy communication with musicians
  • Monitor 4 independent Stereo inputs including one for your
  • Dual Headphone outputs with independent volume controls and headphone mix bus
  • Phono preamp for direct turntable connection
  • High-end studio sound quality and robust construction
  • Perfect for computer-based studios
  • Humorous product name ensures years of off-color studio humor 
Buy Mackie Big Knob at Revolution Audio

    6.17.2011

    Primacoustic IsoWedge Monitor isolation GIVEAWAY

    Sign Up for our newsletter and WIN cool recording gear!

    The Prize - 1 set Primacoustic IsoWedge
    Improves the sound of any speakers by isolating and decoupling from the desk or stands. 6° slope for tabletop monitoring. [more info]


    How To Enter - Simply reply to the newsletter we sent June 15 with your full name. Not on the list yet? Sign up to win. All new subscribers to the newsletter as of June 15 are automatically entered.
    Bonus Entry - Get a friend to sign up for our newsletter (Send them here), they get entered in the giveaway and you get an extra chance at winning! Just email to let us know who you referred.

    Winner will be announced in the July 1 newsletter.

    Rules, terms and conditions: 1 prize will be awarded to a random eligible Newsletter subscriber. Must be a Revolution Audio Newsletter subscriber living in Canada. DO NOT spam your friends to get them to sign up.

    6.16.2011

    Primacoustic Announce New London 16 Room Treatment Kit

    Great news from Primacoustic, a new room treatment kit for home/project studios. The London 16 (along with London 8; 10; and 12 kits) will be available for purchase from Revolution Audio soon.


    Primacoustic continues its dedication to taking the mystery out of acoustically treating rooms with the introduction of the London 16™ room kit, an all in one ‘studio in a box' that can turn any room into a functional work space.
    Designed for larger rooms, the London 16™ is assembled from 38 high-performance Broadway panels. These provide even absorption throughout the audio range to ensure mixes translate better from room to room or when listening in the car. Broadway panels are also class-1 fire rated for safe use in residential and commercial buildings.

    According to Primacoustic Product Specialist Jay Porter: “The London 16™ was developed with professional control rooms, studios and post production facilities in mind, but will work in practically any room where the acoustics need to be brought under control.” 


    The London 16™ comes complete with twelve 12”x48”x2” Control Columns to control primary reflections and six 24”x48”x2” Broadband Absorbers for low frequency bass control, plus twenty-four 12”x12”x1” Scatter Blocks that work double duty by introducing soft diffusion while also reducing flutter echo. Each kit includes Surface Impalers, screws, and wall anchors for easy installation. No messy glue required! 42 panels. Ships in 4 boxes. Choice of black, grey, or beige fabric.

    Primacoustic…Take control of your room

    6.15.2011

    Creating Space And Depth

    One of the challenges we face as home studio enthusiasts is creating lifelike music with a realistic three dimensional soundstage. Recording direct with guitars and synthesizers there is no interaction with the instrument and the room, the sound comes out of nowhere and it can be a challenge mixing several of these disembodied performers into something that sounds real. Recorded music is an illusion, you can shape it however you want, these tips should help.

    Photo credit: Brian Niesz


    Room Mics
    Space and depth are tricky things to fake. Your best chance is to capture it with some microphones.
    Guitars: When setting up to record electric guitar use both close and far microphones. The far mics (aka room mics) pick up the natural early reflections and reverb of the room. The blend of close and far mics will be the balance of front to back positioning in the mix.
    Drums: If you are recording real drums, set up a couple mics as far back from the drums as possible, up in the ceiling corners can work well. You can even try pointing them away from the drums so they pick up only the reflections off the walls.
    Keyboards: Electronic instruments like keyboards and synthesizers can be treated in the same way as the guitars. Run them through an amp with some room mics.
    If your recording room is not giving you a long enough reverb, you can try compression to increase the sustain.

    Re-amping
    Re-amping is taking a prerecorded track (usually direct) and running it out or the recording system into an amp or PA and recording it again with some mics in a real space. This is one of the most effective ways of faking it. Rather than using a reverb plugin which tends to push things too far away or is just unrealistic, instrument to amp to microphone in a room doesn't get any more real. Re-amping is the next best thing. Use a re-amp box for the best results.
    Guitars: Same as above, run the signal into an amp and mic it close and/or far. If you want to use a virtual amp, you can do it with or without cabinet emulation depending on what you want to do.
    Virtual instruments: I have a good friend that programs synths in Pro Tools then runs them through some real amps. He places the amp several feet from a shelf with his record collection and mics the records rather than the amp with a stereo pair of condensers. This makes a virtual instrument sound so much more authentic just by getting some air moving and sound bouncing off things.
    Virtual drums: Make a blend of drums and send it out of your audio interface and into a lively room. You get the benefits of MIDI drums but a lot more authenticity by using your own room mics. As always, experiment with mic position for the best results.

    Echo
    Staying inside the box, you can add echo to instruments which will place that instrument in a space. By echo I mean a short delay effect that gets darker (highs reduced) with each repeat. This will not be an entirely realistic space but it can work well for vocals as an alternative to reverb, it tends to clutter less. A little goes a long way. If you keep this mono the sound will appear to be reflecting off a wall somewhere behind the source.

    The Haas Effect
    The Haas Effect is a psychoacoustic concept that explains how humans localize sound. In other words, this is how we figure out what direction a sound is coming from. We can fake this with any simple delay and level control. By panning and faking a single reflection on the opposite side we can the illusion of where this sound is coming from. Depending on the level and timing of the reflection, that places the source closer or farther from that imaginary wall and us as a listener. Very interesting stuff. This is also a great way to stereo widen something and this is a staple of my bag of mixing tricks.

    Reverb
    Finally we get to Reverb plugins, which was likely your first choice for creating the illusion of space and depth. Reverb is very hard to get perfect. The balance of level, reverb time, pre-delay and damping are all critical. We tend to like the sound of reverb and use too much, especially as it seems to hide our mistakes (not the way to fix mistakes). The reverb in a room rarely overlaps the performance or is even noticeable as a discrete element until it's inappropriate for the music. The speed of the music also definitely a factor with regards to how much reverb can be added without becoming cluttered, muddy, indistinct, etc. A huge lush cathedral verb just does not work with speed metal, but a smaller wooden recording room with a short decay will enhance without drawing attention to itself. That's the trick and it can be very time consuming.

    There is also the possibility that your music DOESN'T need to be in a realistic space. Clever use of unrealistic space can be the thing that makes your music stand out from the rest. Spring and gated reverbs don't sound like anything naturally occurring but are undeniably effective tools in the correct circumstances. NO reverb, NO depth, and NO space could also be the perfect solution for your musical style.

    6.14.2011

    Featured Equipment Of The Week: AKG Perception 420 Multi-pattern Condenser

    AKG Perception 420 Multi-pattern Condenser
    Perception 420 is a multi-pattern large-diaphragm condenser microphone for more demanding professional studio recording applications. Offering high sensitivity and 155 dB maximum SPL, the Perception 420 delivers a warm transparent sound quality ideally suited for ensemble recording, grand piano, woodwind and brass instruments as well as drums and percussion instruments. In addition, three selectable polar patterns – cardioid, omnidirectional or figure-eight – allow a wide range of stereo miking techniques and ambient recording.
    Find out more


    Top Features
    • Back-to-back large-diaphragm multi-pattern transducer
    • True condenser technology
    • High sensitivity and 155 dB maximum SPL capability
    • Switchable 20 dB preattenuation pad
    • Switchable bass cut filter
    • Legendary, pristine AKG sound quality
    • Complete with spider-type shock mount and aluminium carrying case
    Buy AKG Perception 420 at Revolution Audio

    6.06.2011

    Read our newsletter and win an iRig!

    Sign Up for our newsletter and WIN cool recording gear!

    The Prize - 1IK Multimedia iRig for iPhone & iPad [more info]

    How To Enter - Simply reply to the newsletter we sent June 1 with your full name. Not on the list yet? Sign up to win. All new subscribers to the newsletter as of June 1 are automatically entered.
    Bonus Entry - Get a friend to sign up for our newsletter (Send them here), they get entered in the giveaway and you get an extra chance at winning! Just email to let us know who you referred.

    Winner will be announced in the June 15 newsletter.

    Rules, terms and conditions: 1 prize will be awarded to a random eligible Newsletter subscriber. Must be a Revolution Audio Newsletter subscriber living in Canada. DO NOT spam your friends to get them to sign up.

    Featured Equipment Of The Week - Samson G-Track USB Mic/interface

    Samson G-Track USB Mic/interface
    FINALLY A USB MIC THAT MAKES SENSE!

    The G-Track is a total solution capable of taking you from your musical inspiration to your finished tracks. Samson's G-Track is the world's first USB condenser microphone with a built-in audio interface and mixer, allowing simultaneous input of vocals and guitar, bass, or keyboard while also providing monitoring through an on board headphone output.

    Buy the Samson G-Track USB Mic & Interface



    The G-Track allows you to record vocals like a standard USB mic, or two mono instruments through the line/instrument input, or a mix of one mono instrument and vocal. Now singer/songwriters can directly record vocals and instruments quickly and easily with one device, making the G-Track a must have for any songwriter's home studio. And its ease of use and portability allows you to take it anywhere inspiration may strike you.
    Ideal for the traveling musician or the project studio, the G-Track ships with a desktop mic stand, swivel stand mount, USB cable and all the cables needed to connect any musical instrument with a standard 1/4" or RCA output. The G-Track ships with Cakewalk's Sonar LE and works brilliantly with Apple's GarageBand.


    TOP FEATURES
    • Large diaphragm studio condenser microphone
    • Mic and Instrument/Line gain control with clip LED
    • Stereo input jacks for instruments or line level signal
    • Stereo headphone jack for no latency monitoring with level control
    • 3-position headphone switch for stereo, mono, computer monitoring
    • SuperCardioid pickup pattern
    • USB bus-powered and compliant
    • Audio I/O and USB cables included
    • Desktop microphone stand included

    Buy the Samson G-Track USB Mic & Interface

    6.01.2011

    Six Essential Mixing Tips

    Below I've compiled some of my favorite tips that have helped me over the years on the path of learn to mix. I swear by them and guarantee they will help your home studio productions.
    1. For a less cluttered mix, use hipass and lowpass filters to better define the range of each instrument. The free BX_Cleansweep plugin will be your new best friend.
    2. Automate everything. With the powerful automation functions available in your DAW there's no reason to set levels to be just "good enough" for the whole song. Fine tune balances for every section, phrase or syllable if you have to. Same goes for sends and effects.
    3. Left, Right, or Center. Nearly every element of your song can be assigned to one of those 3 panning positions. Don't fret about finding the perfect pan position for every instrument, or try to make it completely lifelike. Anything other than hard left or right and center will translate differently on every system. You can save those in-between positions for a few select elements.
    4. Take breaks to rest your ears and reset your perspective. Mixing is hard work, every couple hours you need to stop, relax and refresh your body. Interruptions and distractions don't count as breaks.
    5. All edits completed first. Drum editing, vocal comping and tuning, pocketing bass to kick drum. Those things should be taken care of before the mix stage otherwise you will not be able to develop and maintain a creative flow for the mix.
    6. Experiment. Skip the presets and what seemed to work last time. Take things to the extreme, make things distort, use guitar effects for vocals. Try out all your tools and see what makes them break. Just have fun with it. On your way you will find some unique sounds that can only be found by avoiding the presets.

    Online Lessons And Support Now Available


    Need some help with your computer or with your recording software?
    Not sure if you're doing things right?
    Revolution Audio now offers 1 on 1 Online lessons and support!

     

    Benefits
    Affordable Hourly Pricing
    Flexible Scheduling
    Hands on instruction with your system via remote connection and screen sharing.

    Lesson Topics:
    Effects
    Editing
    DAW Overview (Pro Tools, Cubase, Sonar, Logic and more)
    Streamlining workflow
    "How do I _____?"

    Support:
    Optimization
    Computer and software configuration
    "Why isn't my ____ doing _____?"
    Crashing and bugs

    Schedule a support session here: Revolution Audio Personal Online Lessons And Support