I open the package. A beautiful black binder. I open the binder. Lovely cover page, inscribed, "The Maestro's Manual, presented to Maestro Bruce Richardson." OK, I'm impressed.

Garritan Orchestral Strings is the second GigaStudio library produced by harpist, composer, and producer Gary Garritan. His previous library, the GigaHarp, was among the first proof-of-concept libraries which thrust Nemesys (now owned by hardware giant Tascam. hmmm...TascSys? NemeScam?) and its "streaming sampler" into the limelight. Garritan Orchestral Strings is a much larger effort; a collection of just about every sound you can make with a string section. You get a hefty manual that's almost an orchestration text, elegant and detailed mapping guides, and the aforementioned personal fluffing. Maestro indeed. Who do ... Read More »

Miracles happen. UPS managed to get a package to my door despite the fact that the shipping label had been torn completely off. And inside that package was a string library for GigaStudio that managed to make grumpy old me giggle like a little girl.

Ever since Giga-technology redefined sampling, symphonic libraries have themselves transformed. They’re huge now, getting bigger every day. Sonic Implants Symphonic Strings weighs in at a hefty twenty CDs, packed with the most used articulations, bowings, and effects used in symphonic music.

The mastermind behind the Sonic Implants product line is Jennifer Hruska, perhaps best known to industry folks as one of the dynamo sound designers behind some of Kurzweil's most praised products. After a nine-year stint there, Jennifer founded her own company; and after rolling a couple of othe ... Read More »

I’m a big Rush fan.

Yeah, I know. Me and 50 million other drummers.

I’ve been listening to this band since they showed up on my radar in the late 1970s, and have always followed their tours and new albums. I admit that I fall into the camp of wistful fans who yearn for a return to the art-rock glory days of the band (which pretty much makes me an old burnout) but I still like to hear the new stuff and see what these dudes are up to. And, Rush’s return to a more guitar-oriented (and acoustic-drum-oriented) sound has reignited some of my interest in their performances. Rock music is all about the guitar, and few people are as interesting to listen to as Alex Lifeson. And don’t even get me started about Neil Peart.

The other interest I have in this band is that they have always been at or near the forefront of recording technology. They were one of the first bands to jump into digital ... Read More »

I've been upgrading my studio for a couple of years now. Each improvement and change has brought other weaknesses to light. Each improvement has been a double-edged sword, bringing both the joy of better audio and the curse of finding yet another area that could be addressed.

All along the way, various friends have remarked upon my lack of a world-class large diaphragm tube vocal microphone. I have an eclectic and interesting mic collection, and there is little to complain about. But when it comes to large diaphragm condensers, my choices are middling at best. I have a Neumann U-89. I have a pair of AKG 414s, one with the C-12 capsule, one with the newer capsule. These are my main choices. I have an Oktava 219 and a pair of Cascade M-20s, none of which I have ever used. It is easy to see that my options are not horrible, but not up to par with the rest of my system, and there is nary a tube to be found in the bunch.

I look at mics the same way that I look at guitars, amplifiers, ... Read More »

After a Fung Shui makeover for my studio, things sounded bad. Velly bad. My seven year old Sonex, besides being butt-ugly and crumbling into dust, was hardly up to the task of controlling my now pristine and reflective surroundings. My chi was on crack, my dragon was swimming down the river. My computers, once effectively silenced by my piles of junk, were screaming so loud I couldn't hear anything. Enter Auralex and RaXXess, with solutions that surpassed my every expectation.

Too good to be true?

I'd seen Auralex in many friends' spaces and appreciated its clean and non-crumbly look. In my new desparation, I figured I'd pick up some odds and ends to supplement my existing Sonex. I was thumbing through their slick little catalog when my glance fell upon an interesting offer. Plot my room dimensions and gear placement, it said, and Auralex would compute its deficiencies, then devise an acoustic treatment plan which would give me a world-cla ... Read More »

Every so often a product comes around that justifies a real rave. The Sonitus:fx R3 plug-in package is a perfect example of a product that I just have to praise loudly.

Sonitus:fx is a PC-based (DirectX and VST) plug-in bundle that offers a very usable assortment of innovative and practical plug-ins at a value-conscious price. This new version 3 release sports an updated user interface, enhanced metering, several new plug-ins, and some new optimizations. The bundle is available on-line directly from Ultrafunk (http://www.ultrafunk.com), or you can buy each plug-in individually. However the whole package is so damn useful you're better off with the whole bundle.

What's in the Bundle?

So, I've been tied up a while, and not as available or hanging around as much as usual. I've been both on the road sporadically, and swamped with work. Now this has never stopped me from participating on line before, so what has been the problem for the last few months? After all, all the hotels and venues are wired…

I've had a nice little Sony 505HS for a few years now. Great little machine, with a 500 mHz Pentium III processor, 128 megs of RAM, large hard drive, nice screen, and every type of interconnection I could imagine. Less than an inch thick, and under 4 pounds, it has been my constant companion. I even have done some minor recording projects on this machine. Anywhere that I might be, I could write, work on any of the corporate jobs I might be involved with, or hook up to the internet and keep in touch with all of my friends.

Sure, the floppy and CD drives were loose and connected to the computer in a variety of ways, and there was a docking bar needed to get to the ... Read More »

The Aardvark Direct Pro Q10 is a 10-input / 10-output 24 bit PCI combination preamp and soundcard for Windows and Mac. The system features 8 balanced audio inputs and outputs, MIDI I/O, and S/PDIF I/O on RCA jacks. Supported sample rates include 44.1KHz and 48KHz, and an upcoming driver update will give the soundcard 88.2 and 96 KHz capability. In addition, the Q10 ships with a free copy of Cakewalk Pro Audio v.9.

What's in the Box

Aardvark Direct Pro Q10 (front and back)

Okay, so you know that I have just got the new studio to the point where I can start to put gear into it. I'm chomping at the bit (heh heh, bit…. What, you aren't going to byte on that one?) to get some recording done. But I have other issues. First I need to put in the speakers, run some tests, take some measurements, and properly treat the room.

I have done much of this work myself, and with the help of my friends and particularly with the help of my brother Bob. I'm just not up to tackling another DIY project for the studio right now. In the past I have either built all of the studio furniture myself, or contracted out to have it custom built. The new layout requires new racks and a new desk. I did have one custom rack shopped out. Built from all birch, it is a dual 12-space rack with a birch tabletop, on 4-inch wheels. Still, I need a new main desk, and a couple of more rack spaces wouldn't hurt.

So I look at the pre-fab offerings. I'm not too excited about any of th ... Read More »

I was asked last year to review the new 3.0 version of Waves Native Gold Bundle. Anyone familiar with my work knows that I am a vehement advocate of Waves' products, and have used Waves tools on virtually every project I have ever done for the last five years. Of course I offered to do the review, and I figured it'd be easy. After all, how hard is it to review a product you love?

Waves Native Gold bundle offers a huge host of great processors, including EQ, compression, reverb, chorus, flange, dithering, and the highly acclaimed L1+ Ultramaximizer limiter. These plugins run the gamut from the practical - such as the surgical Q10 EQ - to the utterly zany - such as the totally wacked-out Enigma.

The new version 3 processors sport a pretty new user interface, which gives them a nice, 3D look as opposed to the tired, flat, sterile look and feel of the previous versions of plug-ins. Many of the processors have been optimized to offer superior perf ... Read More »

Although Sonar supports DXi software samplers, many musicians still prefer using a SoundBlaster Live or Audigy sound card for SoundFonts. Playing SoundFonts through a sound card's hardware has several advantages over using a software synthesizer: There's no burden on the computer's CPU, the response time (latency) is immediate, and it's one less plug-in to fiddle with. When I bought my current computer I loaded it with 512 MB of memory just so I could use multiple large SoundFonts all at once. (See my ProRec article Striving for New Lows for the details.)

I have many SoundFont files, but three of them serve as my main sound set and contain all of the instruments I use on a regular basis. Where a standard General MIDI bank has one grand piano, one finger bass, and one trombone, my SoundFonts have many variations in separate banks. For example, I have four different c ... Read More »

I sold off my pair of Yamaha DSP Factory soundcards earlier this year and was looking for a simple, reliable soundcard with rock solid Win2K drivers - preferrably with WDM drivers for use with SONAR. I wanted decent sounding stereo analog in and out, Lightpipe in and out, S/PDIF in and out, and MIDI in and out.

I couldn't find anything that exactly fit my needs, so I decided to give the RME Digi 96/8 PST a try. RME soundcards had been getting lots of good reviews from users, so I contacted Tom Sailor (North American distributor for RME products, http://www.xvisionaudio.com ) about getting a Digi 96/8 PST for a test drive. The PST provides everything I was looking for except MIDI and WDM drivers. The RME MME drivers were supposed to be pretty fast, and my Yamaha SW1000XG has MIDI in/out, so on to the test drive.

What It Is

Gantt Kushner is owner and recording engineer of Gizmo Recording Company in Silver Spring MD. For the past 14 years Gizmo has recorded many artists local to the Washington DC area, among them Al Williams, Junior Cline and the Recliners, Dan Reynolds, O.A.R., Quintango and many more. Before recording full time, he played guitar professionally for about 30 years in genres ranging from Rock'n'Roll, Country & Western, R&B, to lounge gigs, show bands, and society gigs. He has also worked as an electronics tech in both music and non music related settings. I met Gantt on line when I sent him questions on gear issues. He is one of those terribly smart, terribly nice guys that you just feel glad to know. His unassuming, laid back demeanor and expertise have made him a favorite with those who have worked with him.

TN:

If you have ever recorded a vocalist who plays acoustic guitar, you know the scenario. Vocals leaking into the guitar mic, guitar leaking into the vocal mic and both of these problems compromise the options you would have had if you could have recorded each of them isolated. The EQ that makes the guitar sound wonderful puts an edge on the vocalist that makes Darth Vader sound pleasant. And, when you try to compress the vocals or add reverb, the guitar bleed becomes a 300 pound gorilla. The solution: a hyper-cardioid mic on the vocal (some folks call them super-cardioid), and a mic you can put very close to the acoustic without turning it into a monster.

I had run into this problem so often, I had planned to buy a condenser with a hyper-cardioid pattern. I had considered either a Neumann KMS 105 or if business is really good, the Neumann M149. Since I have plenty of good expensive vintage tube mics for vocals (Neumann U67s and AKG C12), I decided to save some bucks and try the Alesis GT AM6 ... Read More »

The Tune

All of the production decisions for this song flowed from the song itself. It was written about a man close to us who is an extremely talented actor, writer and artist. Yet he is completely lost and has made a mess of his life. He's 65 years old living alone in an RV on the streets of LA digging ditches by day so he can try to land a role on a soap opera.

So, emotionally, this song comes from the frustration, anger and compassion that arises from seeing someone like that, someone you love, just throw it all away and not want any help. You just want to shake them and say "Wake Up!"

Production-wise, we knew we wanted the song to be noisy, loud, aggressive and musical. We were going for a sort of Sergeant Pepper-meets-Tori Amos vibe, which is kind of what the song sounds like. It's got Beatles-influenced 7th chords, vocal harmonies and a piano that follows the bass line. ... Read More »

The Guitars

The main guitar riff was played on a 1969 Les Paul through a Marshall Valvestate ½ stack. However, in order to get an extra level of overdrive it went through a Roland GP-100 before it got to the Marshall. This guitar was doubled mic'd in an 9'x6' iso booth with an SM58 on the cabinet and an E-200 in the room about 7' away.

The big dirty 7th chords on the outro of the song were tripled to really make them huge in the stereo spectrum.

To add a new and complimentary layer to the chorus a clean guitar was added here (and on the bridge). This was a Carvin DC-135 played through an Ampeg Superjet combo amp and using a Sovtek Small Stone (phaser) stomp box. One SM58 right up on the grille.

The third guitar plays a triplet figure on the choruses. It's really just one big distorted chord strummed and I played the volume knob so it would sort of "swell" rhythmical ... Read More »

A few years ago Shure made a grand entrance into the studio condenser microphone world with the KSM32. The cardioid only KSM32 quickly became a standard studio tool and was soon followed by the multi-patterned flagship, the KSM44. Now their little brother has arrived! I use the term little brother lightly, as this microphone rivals the rest of the family in both quality and character.

The KSM27 is a side-address, large diaphragm cardioid condenser mic with Class A, transformerless electronics. This is not an electret condenser but a true condenser whose one-inch diaphragm is made of ultra-thin mylar that has been sputtered with 24-Karat gold. The cosmetics of the 27 match the rest of the KSM line in shape, size and color, with the 27 being slightly smaller than both the 32 and 44.

Read More »

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Adam Kagan

A Learning Experience

Mixing a CD remotely was a true learning experience. Usually, when tracking a CD, either I am producing the CD or I've been working with a producer since the outset, so I am either setting the artistic vision for the project, or I'm in constant contact with the person in charge of the vision. On this project, I simply took my best shot and won the gig. Now I've got 13 CDs of raw, unmixed tracks in my hand, and I'm really hoping that I'm not about to really piss someone off.

In the end, I had to assume that if I won the gig, then the producer and artist must be vibing with my work, and so I had to trust that my mixing decisions would be in line with their artistic vision. I had to go on faith that if I was their choice, then my gut would lead me in the right direction.

Turns out I was wrong.

When I heard the tracks for Everlasting, my mind said, "DISTORTION. LOTS O ... Read More »

Mixing the Drums

On this song I was presented with some unusual and creative drum tracks to mix. As Rob explained, the drum kit was made to sound very trashy. No mics were used on toms, as they were not played. Instead we had mics on the kick, snare, hats, and overheads. We also had a very crappy sounding mic under the snare, and another ugly sounding mic in the room.

Presented with these choices, I decided to take a reasonably straightforward mix on the kit using the 5 main mics on the kit, and leave the ugly snare and rooms mics out of the drum submix. That way, I could use those colorful mics later in the mix.

The drummer had used an undamped kick drum with quarters taped to the head and beater. The mic was placed very close to the head, giving the drum a strange, empty, clicky sound. I rather liked it as it was - raw, boomy, round, and thumpy - but it had too much "roar". That roar can step all o ... Read More »

A Little Piano

Listening through the rough mix that Rob had provided me, it was apparent that there was a piano part that doubled the bass line. Since I had decided to base the verse around the bass part, this doubled line was very important. I knew that if those parts were going to work together, then I had better pay close attention to the piano and get it sounding right early on.

Soloed, I though that piano was rather muddy and mono. It was recorded as a stereo track, but the sound was very up-the-middle. EQ could fix the muddiness. I didn't need any more bass down there, but I definitely saw room for the piano's nice overtones. They would really help the bass line stand out. With some radical EQ - a -18 dB low shelf @ 50 Hz combined with a +7 dB boost @ 2500 Hz, the piano lost its tubbiness and became meaner.

Guitars

Most of the guitars on this track were cut with one mic on the guitar cab, and one mic in the room. Usually this is done to provide some mixing options - close and distant. However on this song I was able to use both tracks effectively.

For example, on the "tapping" guitar part that starts the song I could have only used one track, and panned it. However by using both tracks, I can get the sound to be a little larger. And due to either careful planning or sheer luck, the sounds are nicely out-of-phase - not too much, but enough to push the sounds out to the edges of the stereo image. So the effect is that the part is balanced, but not mono.

The sound from this guitar was pretty muddly, mainly from the close-miked amp cabinet. I used a bass cut on that track @ 160 Hz and a treble boost out around 2600 Hz ... Read More »

Vocals

The vocals on this