In Part 5 of this free video tutorial series, Friend of the Blog – Producer/Mixer Kevin Elib from Ksoundd finishes off the series with some last minute tips on cleaning up/organizing your session, and bringing up the levels before the final export.
Our friends at PreSonus have announced Quantum a new flagship Thunderbolt Interface. Quantum offers 26×32 over the now ubiquitous Thunderbolt 2 connectivity. At first glance, the new Quantum interface looks strikingly similar to their already popular Studio 192 interface which offers a similar experience over USB3. However, at the heart of the interface lies a much faster interface offering low latency performance out of the box.
According to PreSonus;
Quantum is PreSonus®’ fastest and best-sounding audio/MIDI interface, taking advantage of the high-speed Thunderbolt™ 2 bus and a no-frills, direct-to-DAW signal path to achieve extremely low latency. Cutting-edge 24-bit, 192 kHz converters with 120 dB of dynamic range and PreSonus’ recallable XMAX microphone preamps combine to deliver superb audio quality. For more I/O channels, simply stack up to 4 Quantum interfaces via Thunderbolt to create a monster 96×96 system.
The Quantum offers two combo mic/instrument/line inputs and six combo mic/line inputs, each with a digitally controlled XMAX preamp and +48V phantom power. You also get two ¼” TRS main outputs, the aforementioned eight ¼” TRS line outputs, and two independent headphone outs with dedicated volume controls. With ADAT Optical I/O and S/PDIF stereo digital I/O, you can have up to 18 additional digital inputs and outputs for a total of 26 in and 32 out. BNC word clock I/O ensures your Quantum and other digital audio devices operate in tight sync. Of course, you get MIDI I/O, too.
Designed to be the central hub for any recording studio, the Quantum offers two main and eight auxiliary balanced line-level outputs that are great for monitor mixing. An onboard talkback mic can be routed to any mix, and you can listen to any mix from either of two headphone amps. You also get Mute/Dim and Mono controls.
PreSonus Quantum also includes the following software;
Integrated Software
Flexible Connectivity
Specs
Physical
Accusonus have released updates to Regroover Essential and Regroover Pro adding new effects on layers and expansion kit pads, a redesigned re-sampling engine and numerous fixes and improvements.
New features:
Fixes:
New features:
Fixes:
Regroover is a Virtual Instrument that uses Artificial Intelligence algorithms in order to un-mix audio grooves and extract previously-unreachable sound Layers.
For more information on Regroover Pro/Essential, or to download a trial version – head on over to Accusonus’ Website.
Our good friends at iZotope have just released RX6 Standard and RX6 Advanced. In addition, they’ve also added a new product to their line-up, RX Elements which replaces the RX Plugin Pack and includes the RX6 Standalone Editor application as well as the plug-ins that were included in the RX Plugin Pack. Some of the new modules in RX6 include the Breath Control Module, De-ess Module/Plug-in, Mouth De-click Module/Plug-in, and De-bleed.
A number of the existing modules in the Advanced version of iZotope RX have also been improved…
iZotope have worked hard to make RX6 even more useful in music applications and so have added some new modules to the RX6 Standard version rather than just to the Advanced version to make these features affordable to more users.
A number of the existing modules in the standard version of iZotope RX have also been improved…
iZotope have added a new feature – Composite View to both RX6 Standard and RX6 Advanced. This new feature allows you to import up to 16 individual tracks and work on them in RX6 as if they were one file enabling you to address any common issues across all the files. This could be multi-misc or multiple clips from the same source. This will really help workflows in audio post production where you have a number of files all with the same issues as you can set up the processing and then apply it to up to 16 different clips in one go.
The Module menu has undergone an overhaul in RX6 with clearer sections headed Repair, Utility, and Measurements with some new icons and module names and in the Utility section a number of the elements have been brought out of tabs in modules and now are accessible directly from the module menu. The new Measurement section brings all the measurement based tools into one place. I especially appreciate that the Spectrum Analyser is now back in the Module list whereas in RX5 along with Markers & Regions and Waveform Statistics you had to go up to the Window menu to access them.
With all the new module and the unbundling of some of the utility modules, iZotope have recognised that not all of us want to see all the modules in the Module menu and each of us might like to have a different combination of modules on show normally so in RX6 they have added a Filter option to the Module Menu list so you can either use some of the included presets or create you own filters so you can customise the Module list to suit you and the work you are doing.
This new product aimed for users on a budget who want the additional power and features in the standalone version of iZotope RX but cannot afford RX6 Standard can now take advantage of this new product. It is the same price as the RX Plugin Pack but includes the RX standalone editor application with the following modules…
Owners of previous versions of RX and Post Production Suite 2 can find their upgrade coupons in their iZotope accounts.
*The introductory pricing will be available until May 31st 2017. From June 1st the normal pricing will apply.
https://embed.pivotshare.com?media_id=60411&channel_id=7235
In this video, Marcus Huyskens demonstrates how to use the Waves API 550A EQ on an electric guitar track to help them cut through the mix with some midrange grit, and presence.
Not only does Studio One offer various different ways to approach recording with features such as takes to layers, etc – it also offers different ways to activate recording. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, and whether you are in the position of having to perform & engineer your own sessions, some of these might be useful to know.
In this video, Marcus Huyskens demonstrates the 3 different ways to activate recording in PreSonus Studio One, and goes over when each method can be useful in specific workflow scenarios.
https://embed.pivotshare.com?media_id=60412&channel_id=7235
In this video, Marcus Huyskens demonstrates how to use the simple, and easy to use – yet highly effective Waves API 560 EQ on Rhythm electric guitars.
Here’s an open question for you – how do you know that your track is finished?
For me its usually when the client is happy with the work and signs it off. If I’m happy too then that’s a bonus. Maybe you’re in a band so everyone needs to be happy. That’s trickier and I’ve noticed over the years that some of the best bands out there have a hierarchy, where certain members quietly lead the process. Often but not always, it’s the songwriters. If that’s what is needed to get an album finished – a good balance of band politics – then it’s worth giving it some thought and think ‘maybe I should back down, or ‘maybe I should step up’…
There are plenty of hurdles before the finish line: indecision, fear of criticism, even thinking that your gear is not ‘pro’ enough so it can’t be released yet. Whatever they might be for you, I think its valuable to recognize what they are, and whether they are really a good enough reason to not wrap it up and move on.
If starting a project is hard, then finishing an idea can be even harder. Perfectionism is one of the biggest barriers for the developing writer. The need for things to be perfect can become a horrendous feedback loop whereby you trawl over the same ideas again and again, never quite satisfied with the result, and crucially not moving forward either. Of course we all want things to be the very best they can be – but it is very important to keep moving forward too.
Just like the work quantity vs. best work ratio, this is a major balancing act. When you do find yourself in that feedback loop of tweaking and tinkering I find its best to either just end it and say its done [very difficult but sometimes necessary] or to deliberately shelve the idea and allocate time to it later when you can approach it from a fresh perspective. It’s a very personal thing of course, but if a need for perfection is holding you back from releasing anything then you have a problem. If you’re a producer then your job title literally indicates that a finished product is on the horizon, and that’s the role when you produce for others so why not if you self-produce?
The phrase ‘good enough’ doesn’t have a great ring to it. However it doesn’t necessarily need to mean something is bad. It can actually be very liberating to realize that not everything needs to be completely perfect. In fact the effort to perfect a track might lead to a drain in what was interesting in it in the first place. I know that these days there’s a certain amount of expectation that music is tuned and airbrushed, but there’s also still a real appetite for stuff that’s a little rough and ready too. You can spend an awful lot of time doing those tiny tweaks, especially in the early days. But there’s often a point where the tweaks are just not worth it, and if you’re unlucky the process throws itself into reverse and you proceed in making things worse. If you keep your wits about, you can sense that change and do something about it.
I’ve got stacks of recordings I’ve made over the years. Two track cassettes, four track cassettes, Zip drives.. You get the idea. I wouldn’t play them all to you because frankly some of them are properly awful. Some of them are not bad, but the point is that they all represent steps on a journey to doing better work. I’ll sometimes have a go at updating the odd tune, with varied success but that’s just the way it goes. For creators, writers, and producers there’s just no simple formula to follow. The best we can hope for is good guiding principles that can be applied when we need them. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or an aspiring writer I think its vital to break down your process now and again – to figure what works and to think about how you can make improvements.
“Art is never finished, only abandoned” – Leonardo Da Vinci
We all navigate our own path, and we all somehow manage to get in our own way sometimes. It would be great to hear about your strategies for getting over the finish line. If you feel you have something valuable to add to the community, post your thoughts in the comments below.
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