Mon, 6 November 2006
News, a Celebrity Interview, we tweak the Stupid Knob and Viewer Mail! Shawn Pelton
Shawn Pelton, The Saturday Night Live Drummer http://www.SellABand.com http://www.RecordingTheBeatles.com Grand Theft Auto When it comes to making music, most of us take access to computers and software for granted. But, what if you were to lose your sight? How would you continue to pursue your passion? One man who is making sure this is possible, and will continue to improve, is Tim Burgess. He's quit his day job to pursue improved access for the blind in the music industry. We sat down to talk with Tim and get more information on this important issue.
Kevin Federline - aka KFed - aka Mr. Britney Spears aka Cletus - has just released his rap album Playing With Fire. His album is available on Amazon.com, which allows customers to post comments Viewer Mail:
2) Arif Hodzic 3) Tim Burgess 4) Tommy from Form & Fracture Records
Q: What was the first song to achieve diamond download status? (That's one million digital downloads.) A: Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl. By November 2005, it had sold over one million downloads. Dennis McFall was the first one with the correct answer, as well as a very cleverly Photoshopped picture that has Gwen whispering into Al's ear. However, Dennis has already won a copy of Guitar and Drum Trainer, so this week's prize goes to the second person to answer correctly, and that's Trevor Brooks! Congratulations Trevor! Also coming in on the heels of Trevor with the right answer was Andy Bullock and Tony Butterworth, from the Homemade Hit Show. See you next week! Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin digidesign frappr creative commons digidesign guitar and drum trainer ssl solid state logic vst lava lamp Ardour Shawn Pelton Saturday Night Live Recording The Beatles Grand Theft Auto Kevin Federline KFed Britney Spears Gwen Stefani Hollaback Girl Tony Butterworth Homemade Hit Show |
Mon, 30 October 2006
News, a Celebrity Interview with Jon O'Neil from Naiant.com, a Crosstalk segment, we tweak the Stupid Knob and Viewer Mail! News:
Toontrack Expansion Packs For EZdrummer Guitar Player Magazine Guitar Hero 2006 Finals Brian Stephens, Host Of The Music Pro Show And The Band Ocean Street. Here's their first video release: Jon O'Neil Over the last couple of weeks we've been talking about the killer little mics mounted in Neutrik connectors available from Naiant.com. Well, we just had to know more so we got a hold of Jon O'Neil, the owner, chief inventor and product specialist at Naiant. Crosstalk:: Viewer Mail:
Ari Blum - Auralex T' Fusor Ceiling Mount Pics Jim Farley - Trash Can Vocal Booth Update! Trevor Brooks - Lava Lamps Indoctrinating Our Children: Answer To Last Week's Trivia Question: Q: What was the first record to sell a million copies? A: There were a lot of really good guesses, but none that went back in time quite far enough. There may have been some confusion as noted by Tony Butterworth over at the Home Made Hit Show. His answer was Perry Como's Catch A Falling Star, which the RIAA's own web site says was the first Gold single that was...and here's the important part...."officially" certified by the RIAA, which was founded in 1952. The original "gold record" awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicize the achievement of 1,000,000 sales. The first of these was awarded by RCA to Glenn Miller in February 1942, celebrating 1.2 million sales of Chattanooga Choo Choo. The 78-rpm commercial version of the song was recorded on May 7, 1941 for RCA Victor's Bluebird label and became the first to be certified a gold disc on February 10, 1942. The transcription of this award ceremony can be heard on the first of three volumes of RCA's "Legendary Performer" compilations released by RCA in the 1970s. Since Tony's answer was technically correct in the context of the RIAA, we're declaring him this week's winner and he takes home a copy of Guitar And Drum Trainer courtesy of Ryan Smith over at RenegadeMinds.com. Congratulations Tony! See you next week! Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin digidesign frappr creative commons digidesign guitar and drum trainer ssl solid state logic vst lava lamp perry como riaa glenn miller chatanooga choo choo catch a falling star home made hit show naiant brian stephens music pro shoiw ocean street toontrack ezdrummer guitar player magazine auralex the dumb bunnies |
Mon, 23 October 2006
News, a Celebrity Interview, a PSN Gear Review, we tweak the Stupid Knob and we have a special lava lamp edition of Viewer Mail! News:
Alesis Introduces The CD Twin LE Smart Loops Launches SL Hit Tracks Digital Music Mentor Software Tex-Mex 'Bebop Kid' Freddy Fender has passed away at just 69 years old. His hits included Before The Next Teardrop Falls and Wasted Days and Wasted Nights, which rose to No. 1 on the country chart and top 10 on the pop chart that same year, while his songs Secret Love and You'll Lose a Good Thing also hit No. 1 on the country charts. He won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album in 2002 for La Musica de Baldemar Huerta. He also shared in two Grammys: with the Texas Tornados, which won in 1990 for best Mexican-American performance for Soy de San Luis, and with Los Super Seven in the same category in 1998. Freddy also appeared in the 1987 motion picture The Milagro Beanfield War," directed by Robert Redford. In February 1999, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. http://www.FreddyFender.com In part three of a three-part interview with Mike Schettler of Hit Street Records and Shortler Studios in Spokane, Washington, Al talks with Mike about mastering your tracks. UPDATE: The little mics from Naiant.com we talked about last week are out of stock until the first week in November. Gear Review: Zoom H4 Handy Recorder Edirol R-09 Recorder Viewer Mail - Special Lava Lamp Edition:
Caleb Hawkins Tim Burgess Crazy Joe: SurfLounge.com Liner Notes David "SpoonZ" Spooner: Lava Lamp Screensaver
Q: While playing at Hollywood's Palladium in 1972, the guitarist in Chuck Berry's backup band was replaced by another one waiting backstage. The new musician played so loudly that Berry stopped in the middle of a song and asked the first guitar player to come back out. Who was the guitar player he kicked off the stage? A: Keith Richards! This week's one and only correct answer came from Ed Kachajian. Ed takes home a copy of Guitar And Drum Trainer courtesy of Ryan Smith over at RenegadeMinds.com. See you next week! Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin digidesign frappr creative commons digidesign guitar and drum trainer ssl solid state logic vst lava lamp ultramaximizer alesis led zeppelin the who sublime van halen freddy fender before the next teardrop falls wasted days and wasted nights secret love you'll lose a good thing la musica de baldemar huerta texas tornados soy de san luis los super seven the milagro beanfield war robert redford zoom handy recorder h4 edirol jimi hendrix michael dorr chuck berry keith richards |
Mon, 16 October 2006
News, a Celebrity Interview regarding recording and mixing drums, Crosstalk, we tweak The Stupid Knob and we sift through some Viewer Mail! News:
Line 6 Is Now Shipping Gearbox Plug-In Silver And Gold Bundles Frontier Design Group Introduces AlphaTrack Auto-Tune 5 Available Soon Just a few days ago, Bryan Stephens, host of the Music Pro Show podcast, was hospitalized with appendicitis. Please send him a get well e-mail. His address is: brian@musicproshow.com Al sat down again this week with Mike Schettler of Hit Street Records and Shortler Studios in Spokane, Washington. They had a chance to talk about affordable mics and recording and mixing drums. MSH-10 Mics From Naiant Crosstalk: Answer To Last Week's Trivia Question: Q: Barry Manilow was, and still is a prolific songwriter. He's sold over 75 million records worldwide. Even though he wrote many of his chart makers, he did not write three of his most popular hits. Name one of the three hits he did not write. A: "Mandy" was written by Scott English and Richard Kerr, "Looks Like We Made It", was penned by Will Jennings and Richard Kerr, and "I Write The Songs" was composed by Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys. Congratulations to this this week's winner, David P. Shortland! David takes home a copy of Guitar And Drum Trainer courtesy of Ryan Smith over at RenegadeMinds.com. Honorable Mention goes out to Dave Criddle, John Demetre, Dave Duffus and Jordan Chilcott. Congratulations! See you next week! Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin digidesign frappr creative commons digidesign guitar and drum trainer ssl solid state logic vst lava lamp alphatrack barry manilow |
Mon, 9 October 2006
News, a Gear Review, a Celebrity Interview, we tweak the Stupid knob and a deluxe edition of Viewer Mail! News:
The OTR Network Library Digidesign Announces Velvet Line 6 Giving Away Free ReFills Sweetwater's Warehouse Moving Sale
(800) 222-4700 Ext. #1273 Andrew Brierly from the Home Recording Odyssey podcast sent in this audio demonstration of what he believes is a practical use of lava lamp technology in the recording process. Lava Lamp Plugin - RTAS For Mac Celebrity Interview: This week Big Al caught up with Mike Schettler, Mike Bolan's partner at Hit Street Records and owner of Shortler Studios in Spokane, Washington. The Shortler Studios Control Room Window See the full set of detailed pics on our Flickr page Sound Studio Construction On A Budget Richard Oliver - Studio Designer Jimmy Buffet takes a page from Willie Nelson's book! Viewer Mail: Shane Hendricks Dave Criddle Patrick Abbas Anthony Berrones Grae Smart Judson Voss Answer To Last Week's Trivia Question: Q: What was the longest title of a song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100? A: The 1981 Stars on 45 #1 hit, simply called Medley, "technically" is the longest song title to become a chart hit on Billboard. It originally appears in complete title form on the printed edition of the Billboard Chart. The actual title is: Medley: Intro Venus / Sugar Sugar / No Reply / I'll Be Back / Drive My Car / Do You Want To Know A Secret / We Can Work It Out / I Should Have Known Better / Nowhere Man / You're Going To Lose That Girl / Stars On 45 Congratulations to this this week's winner, the only person to answer correctly, Mr. Dennis McFall! Dennis takes home a copy of Guitar And Drum Trainer courtesy of Ryan Smith over at RenegadeMinds.com. See you next week! Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin digidesign frappr creative commons digidesign guitar and drum trainer ssl solid state logic vst lava lamp |
Mon, 2 October 2006
News, a Celebrity Interview, a Cat Box segment and Viewer Mail! News:
MOTU Now Shipping Universal Binary Drivers The Missing �a� From Neil Armstrong FREE Synth Plugin - FXpansion ORCA SellMusicDirect.com Big Al Featured On NextCat.com! Join Big Al's NextCat Network We had an opportunity to chat with Slau, of Slau.net on the topic of acoustic treatments for your studio, no matter what size it is. Slau went through his own conundrum trying to find a reasonably-priced solution for this. He's owned and operated a studio in New York City since 1990 and has been a regular contributor to Sound On Sound magazine. The Cat Box: Shane Hendricks submits Feline Demise. Viewer Mail:
David "SpoonZ" Spooner from Down Under Dennis McFall Suzie DeCree Dan Leuders Q: In 1996, this artist's self-titled second album was dropped from Wal-Mart shelves because one of the songs contained an unflattering comment about their gun sales policy. A: Sheryl Crow! This week's winner is Vern in Los Angeles! He takes home a copy Guitar and Drum Trainer courtesy of Ryan Smith over at RenegadeMinds.com. Also answering correctly was Christopher Neal, Andy Bullock, Bill Camarata, Rev. Mark C. Chauvin, John Demetre and Adam Smith. Congratulations all! See you next week! Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin digidesign frappr creative commons digidesign guitar and drum trainer ssl solid state logic vst |
Mon, 25 September 2006
News, a Spotlight tip, a Featured Performance, a super-sized Stupid Knob and Viewer Mail! News:
Recording School Online Releases Funky Flanger Free VST Multi-Effect Plug-In Universal Audio Ships UAD v4.4 Software With New Neve Plug-In And Support For Intel-Mac Computers SRS iWOW Plugin for Mac iTunes Michael Kingston Productions Releases RetroBand And RetroBandLite VST Plug-Ins CDBaby.com = iTunes! CustomFlix.com = Amazon! Featured Performance: Arif Hodzic submits We Thank God For You for review. http://myspace.com/ad4records http://myspace.com/arifmusic http://myspace.com/olio Answer To Last Week's Trivia Question: Q: The longest title of an album that actually made the Billboard chart is made up of 90 words. The album is called, When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where to Land and If You Fall It Won't Matter, Cuz You'll Know That You're Right. A: Fiona Apple! This week we had two winning entries that both came in an exactly the same time. One from Jord and one from Jim Fidler. Jord graciously deferred the prize of a copy of Guitar and Drum Trainer to Jim as he runs a Mac and it's only available for Windows at the moment. Honorable Mention also goes out to Patrick McNeal, Arif Hodzic, Ben Brasile, Mark Rufino, Kris Keyser and Bill Camarata. Thanks to Ryan Smith over at RenegadeMinds.com for providing our weekly prize. See you next week! Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin digidesign frappr creative commons digidesign guitar and drum trainer ssl solid state logic vst steinberg cubase srs iwow cdbaby customflix charles dye elton john jay leno rolling stones keith richards john ralston lava lamp billboard fiona apple willie nelson |
Mon, 18 September 2006
News, Crosstalk, a keyboard Gear Review, we tweak The Stupid Knob and Viewer Mail! News:
Broadjam Launches Electronic Radio Delivery Service For Independent Musicians Native Instruments Releases Komplete 4 Japan’s Jvc Has Said It Will Soon Market A First-Of-A-Kind Speaker System That "Breathes" Sound Rather Than Vibrates Lionel Richie Has New Album! Last week we got a nice mention on Inside Home Recording with Paul Garay and Derek K. Miller. We look forward to doing some things with them in the future! PianoTEQ has posted our review on there web site. The new Mac Intel version is already available ahead of schedule. What’s up with lava lamps in control rooms? Gear Review: The Yamaha Tyros 2 Keyboard Arranger/Workstation The Stupid Knob: Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record company, contends the wildly popular Web sites YouTube and MySpace are violating copyright laws by allowing users to post music videos and other content involving Universal artists. “We believe these new businesses are copyright infringers and owe us tens of millions of dollars,? Universal Music CEO Doug Morris told investors Wednesday at a conference in Pasadena. “How we deal with these companies will be revealed shortly.? Pffffffffffffffffffffffft! Viewer Mail: A Freebie From Suzie DeCree: The Delay Lama is the first VST instrument to offer both vocal synthesis and a real-time animated 3D interface. Its advanced monophonic vocal synthesis engine enables your computer to sound just like an Eastern monk, with real-time, high resolution control over the vowel sound. What's more, the plug-in window displays a 3D animation of a singing monk, that reacts directly to your input! Answer To Last Week's Trivia Question: Q: You're probably familiar with the 1957 holiday classic Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms. What was on the flip side of that record? A: Captain Santa Claus And His Reindeer Space Patrol! True to his name, Dave Swift was the first one with the right answer. He wins a copy of Guitar and Drum Trainer courtesy of Ryan Smith over at RenegadeMinds.com. There was a bit of a snafu we came across for the first time this week. Dave had already won a copy of Guitar and Drum Trainer in a previous contest. Till now, we haven't had any rules about winning multiple contests for the same prize. So to be fair we've also awarded a prize to the second person to answer correctly, and that's Dave "SpoonZ" Spooner from down under. Congratulations Dave! Also coming in with the correct answer this week but just a little late was Patrick Abbas, Andy Bullock, Ben Brasile and Grae Smart. Way to go! See you next week! Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin digidesign frappr creative commons digidesign guitar and drum trainer ssl solid state logic vst nextcat.com myspace broadjam native instruments jvc lionel richie all night long three times a lady nicole richie grammy say you say me stuck on you penny lover michael jackson we are the world coming home def jam records jermaine dupri dallas austin island records raphael saadiq mariah carey justin timberlake inside home recording paul garay derek k miller pianoteq gwen stephani ricky martin george michael kylie minogue yamaha tyros 2 youtube delay lama |
Mon, 11 September 2006
News, a Featured Performance, a guest Gear Review, we tweak The Stupid Knob, we've got a Crosstalk segment and Viewer Mail! News:
Mathematicians Solve the ‘Cocktail Party Problem' Massey Plugins are now all Mac Intel compatible! Universal Binary version of VSTi Host Tri-Tone Digital Pluggo 3.6 Beta Test A few shows back we mentioned an exciting contest (still in progress) that gives you the opportunity to remix the original tracks from Peter Gabriel's Shock The Monkey. Not to mention that the winner receives a free SSL Duende! Ian Baird, one of our creative listeners, is in the top 20 for his remix in the competition. If you or any of your friends do not have an entry in the competition and you'd like to help out Ian by voting for him, click here to do so now! Gear Review: Dave Criddle, co-host of the Home Recording Odyssey podcast with Andrew Brierly, has done a guest gear review for us. Dave takes a closer look at Native Instruments Guitar Rig 2. The Stupid Knob: This one involves Clay Aiken of American Idol fame. Sometimes they just write themselves. Crosstalk: Viewer Mail: From Andrew Shaap: Download the Charles Dye Ring Tone From Kris Busby: http://Olga.net TheRecordingProject.com From Andrew in Ottawa: Pictures from Andrew in Ottawa of the Randy Bachman (of Bachman Turner Overdrive) gig he recently worked. Q: Who was the first female over the age of 50 to have a chart topping record? A: Cher with Believe in March 1999! Congratulations to Richard Crosser for being the first one to get us the correct answer. He takes home a copy of Guitar & Drum Trainer courtesy of Ryan Smith over at RenegadeMinds.com. Honorable mention goes out to David "SpoonZ" Spooner from down under and Patrick Abbas, who also mentioned he loved the vocal-booth-in-a-trash-can solution from last week. The New Weird Al Release Is Almost Here! Straight Outta Lynwood The New Album – In Stores September 26! Pre-order It Now! Visit Weird Al's web site and get the first song off the album free! See you next week! Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin digidesign frappr creative commons digidesign guitar and drum trainer ssl solid state logic vst weird al bob seeger old time rock and roll straight outta lynwood don't donwload this song xpand massey plugins pluggo colo rtone phase tone valve tone ssl duende home recording odyssey guitar rig clay aiken chuck berry pink flyod dark side of the moon james blunt charles dye randy bachman bachman turner overdrive apogee olga led zeppelin cher |
Mon, 4 September 2006
News: News, a new Cat Box submission, a Gear Review and a bucket of fantastic Viewer Mail!
Bob Dylan promotes iTunes! There must be sound all over it. Mac OS 10.4.7 Tiger is now officially supported for Pro Tools LE 7.1 and Pro Tools HD 7.2. PSN has been chosen as a front page feature over at ThePodLounge.com! This week we're featuring a rough mix sent in to us by Timothy Lee. He's a drummer and producer with his own project studio. You can see more about him at TimothyCLee.com. This tune is called My Time. It was recorded with Digital Performer in Tim's temporary studio in his house while his new studio space is under construction. It written by a bass player/singer pal of his who decided to finally record some original songs that have been sitting around for awhile. Here are some pictures of the setup Tim used while recording this song. Thanks to Shane Hendricks for asking me to take a look at the new PianoTEQ VST plugin. It's presented as the first truly modeled piano. About $310.00 US. Download a free 45-day trial version for PC and Mac (Power PC only, Intel version coming). The free version has a few notes at the top and bottom ranges of the keyboard disabled. Viewer Mail:
Rodger Willis got the Reflexion Filter! Christopher Markus shares his solution for those who think they can sing but really can’t. Now they can with the Sing Like A Pro Rainjet! Q: What is the most played song on jukeboxes across the United States? A: According to the Amusement & Music Operators Association, Patsy Cline's 1962 hit, "Crazy" is the most played song on jukeboxes across the United States. It's followed by "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger and "Hound Dog" / "Don't Be Cruel" by Elvis Presley. Congratulations to Dave Swift, who was the first person to correctly answer and takes home a free copy of Guitar and Drum Trainer from Ryan Smith over at RenegadeMinds.com. Honorable mention goes out to Heath McConnell of Violet Sun Studios who also answered correctly, but wasn't quite fast enough to beat Dave, and Bill Camarata. The New Weird Al Release Is Almost Here! Straight Outta Lynwood The New Album – In Stores September 26! Pre-order It Now! Visit Weird Al's web site and get the first song off the album free! See you next week! Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin digidesign frappr creative commons digidesign guitar and drum trainer ssl solid state logic ssl vst studio projects dave jackson school of podcasting weird al musicians cooler bob dylan the podlounge pianoteq reflexion filter patsy cline bob seeger old time rock and roll hound dog don't be cruel straight outta lynwood don't donwload this song |