Ultravox's Midge Ure Studio Tour

Via SOSMagazine on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJM6lkflbiM

Unfortunately, they won't allow me to embed the file directly, but follow the link above. And if you've never read Sound On Sound magazine before, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Excellent, in depth gear reviews and interviews.

Electro Harmonix Mini Synth

Via peahix on YouTube:



Man, that membrane keyboard looks terrible. It's amazing there were actually multiple keyboards made that way. Anyway, the sound of this synth is nothing to write home about, but it's a bit of an oddity, and frankly looks cool which for some gear dorks like myself can be enough sometimes.

WFMU Features Pre-Die Krupps Projects from Ralf Dörper

If you've never visited it before, WFMU's Beware of the Blog is a virtual treasure trove for lovers of rare and weird music. Being that it is complete with MP3's of some of this arcane weirdness, it's the kind of place that makes it very easy to waste hours of your life. Anyway, I hadn't checked it out in awhile and was interested to find this recent posting regarding some early musical projects from Ralf Dörper, who went on to be in Propaganda and Die Krupps.

From Beware of the Blog:

"Ralf Dörper is best known as a founding member of Die Krupps and Propaganda, but his musical career started earlier, as a member of avant-garde punk band S.Y.P.H. in the late 70s. When S.Y.P.H. broke up in 1980 out of protest against the commercialization of the local punk scene, he recorded his first solo project, the 7" single Eraserhead on the Rondo Biermeier label. He also collaborated with Jürgen Engler under the name Die Lemminge, releasing one 7" single Lorelei in 1981 on the Pure Freude label. In 1983 these two singles were released by UK label Operation Twilight on one 12" as Ralph Dorper's Eraserhead. Not available on the blogosphere before, here it is for your listening pleasure (if your idea of pleasure is dark electronic music from Germany...)"

GO CHECK OUT THE MP3's

Free 'Cybernetic Mayhem' Sample Pack from Cybernetika

Via a posting by Lars of Cybernetika on KVR:

"Cybernetik Mayhem Samplepack - by Cybernetika
- October 2008 -
Compressed Size: 480 MB
Uncompressed Size: 844 MB
Sample format: 44.100-48.000khz / 16 bit .WAV

Download link (right click, save as):

http://www.cybernetika.de/cybernetik_mayhem_samplepack_-_by_cybernetika.rar

These are the best samples I used in my released or unreleased tracks. This Sample Pack is focused on Dark & Cybernetic Sounds for Psytrance, Techno, Drum'n'Bass, Dark Ambient & IDM.

Feel free to use them in your tracks, these samples are 100% free to use however you like to use them. Please give me some credit if you use them and like them.

The samples are organized in 5 categories:

Basses:
Dark Neurofunk Basses and Reeces, and some trance bass sounds.

Pads & Atmos:
Nightmare pads & post-apocalyptic ambient soundscapes.

FX:
Robotic Future FX, mostly one shot samples.

Psy Riffs & Sequences:
Mind-bending leads, FM assaults, acid sequences

Percussion Loops:
Digital Drumloops, from technoid to glitchy. "

Something to Gain...

If you're anything like me, when you are first building your mix, you may have to drop the levels of all your channels a time or two so that your levels aren't clipping. This is easy enough to do in Logic... you simply highlight all the channel names on your mixer, and drag one of the level sliders and all of the selected channels will move in proportion, thus letting you adjust levels without losing the balance of the mix you just built. There is one problem with this. If you have any sort of volume automation on any of your tracks, once you play back your project the levels on those automated tracks will jump back to their original levels. This is because automation values are absolute and not relative. So how can you have flexibility with changing your mix levels without having to redo all of your volume automation? Use Logic's "Gain" plug in (located under the Utility plug-ins) and automate THAT instead of the actual track volume. Gain works by adding or subtracting volume relative to the track's level, so no matter what you change the track's level to, the gain automation will increase or decrease in the proper proportion, thus preserving the proper balance of your mix.

Talkin' 'bout a Convolution

Although the technology has existed for quite some time, it is only relatively recently that the average studio computer has had the processing power to take full advantage of Convolution Reverbs in real time. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, you can think of a convolution reverb as a 'reverb sampler'. Ever been in a cathedral and wished you could apply the magnificent reverb it had onto your home recordings? Convolution allows you to do just that. There are a couple different methods of doing this, but the most common one is to make a recording of a very short, sharp sound (think starter pistol) in the environment in question. This is known as an 'Impulse Response'. That sound is loaded into your convolution reverb of choice, and the software uses the recording to apply the characteristics of the reverb to whatever sound you apply it to. It's an extremely powerful technique that has put otherwise impossible to get reverbs at the fingertips of computer musicians everywhere. But you can also use it for some unusual special effects that might not necessarily fall under the traditional definition of a reverb. Because this technique uses a sound recording to create its effect, one not need restrict themselves to the short, sharp sounds traditionally used for impulse responses. Have a go at loading in a bit of speech, a drum loop, or anything with a rhythmic quality to it, and you get effects somewhere between reverb and creative gating. Different convolution reverbs have different restrictions, but in Logic this is quite easy to achieve in the included Space Designer plug-in. Simply apply the reverb to the track in question, click on the IR Sample menu (on the left) and select 'load IR sample'. Select your audio, and you're off! It may take some experimentation to get the ideal results, but that's part of the fun. Below is quick example where I loaded a drum loop as the IR sample and applied it to a piano.

Goa and Psytrance Bass Sounds

Just a link to a thread on the KVR forums where a user named ZenPunkHippy gives a lot of useful advice on programming and producing synth bass sounds for Goa and Psytrance tracks...

GO CHECK IT OUT

Burikusu!!! Remix Contest

Vember Audio, creators of the critically acclaimed Surge softsynth, in conjunction with 23db Records are happy to announce the Burikusu!!! 2080 Remix Contest. To help introduce the world to the genre-busting electronic sound of Sweden's Burikusu!!!, the band has uploaded the submix stems for their song Year 2080 for you to cut-up, remix, and smash to bits! All entries will be reviewed and judged by the band themselves, with prizes going to the top two contestants:

1. FIRST PLACE PRIZE - A free copy of Vember Audio's critically acclaimed Surge softsynth, a signed copy of the Burikusu!!! debut album 2080 (out on November 17th on 23db Records), and free copies of the entire 23db Records catalog!

2. SECOND PLACE PRIZE - Free copies of the entire 23db catalog, including releases by SD6, Lost Signal, Nerve Filter, and Burikusu!!!

Now for those pesky rules.

The remix kit (including stems) is downloadable at: http://burikusu.net/remix/

All submissions should be in MP3 format at 320kps and should be sent to: remix@burikusu.net.

Deadline for all submissions is November 5th, 2008. Winners will be announced November 7th, 2008. The rights to stems and all remixes belong to Burikusu!!! and 23db Records. (Don't worry, we're not going to sell your remixes and make money off them, this is just to protect the band from unauthorized parties trying to commercially release their remixes. Remixes are a derivative of the original track, and thus remain under copyright protection.). By entering this contest, you are giving permission for 23db Records and Burikusu!!! to share your remix with the rest of the world as a free download. All decisions are final.

You can hear the original version of Year 2080 at http://www.myspace.com/burikusu

Now get to remixing and show us what you've got!

Hartmann Neuron Demos

Via Testheld on YouTube:

Audio quality isn't great, but it's rare to see a demo of one of these beasties in action, so here are two:

Free DJing Software for Mac

via Synthtopia:

Note that it runs on Windows and Linux too, it's just rare to find this sort of thing free on the Mac. From the UltraMixer website:

"UltraMixer is a DJ mixing software which enables you to mix digital music in various formats such as MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, WAV or CDs in real time. All you need is a sound card. The DJ's turntables are replaced by two digital SoundPlayers, the "vinyls" are available within seconds through the integrated FileArchive.
No matter whether you want to use UltraMixer for a professional gig or at a private party or as virtual jukebox in restaurants, hair studios or medical surgeries - it will prove the right choice!

UltraMixer is the first DJ software in the world, that is available for the most popular operating systems Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

There are three versions of UltraMixer available: the Free Edition and the Basic Edition for private users and the Professional Edition for high demands and commerical use. All versions are integrated in one program, and can be activated through the appropriate licence keys. This enables the user to switch to a more advanced version without any problems."

GO GET IT!

EDP Wasp Scares Small Child

I've always wanted a Wasp and I'm not afraid to admit that it's 90% based on the way it looks. Yes, I'm just that shallow. Anyone out there have one? Opinions?

via Babytog:


Incidentally, this is pretty much exactly what my own song-writing process looks like.

Logic's Hidden Autopanner

One way to add depth and interest to a mix is to make creative use of panning instruments in the stereo field. An auto-panner allows a producer to have a track automatically pan back and forth in the mix for a pretty nifty effect that can really add energy to a mix. As well-appointed as Logic is in the plug-in department, it doesn't have an auto-panner. Or does it?

Logic's Tremolo effect has an extremely wide 'Rate' control that actually gets slow enough that you can use it for more than just standard tremolo effects. Indeed you can slow it down so far that a full cycle of panning takes 32 bars! A couple of things to remember when using this for autopan:

1. The first, and perhaps obvious one is that you need to use either a stereo or mono->stereo version of the plug-in. You won't get any results if you try to do this in mono since panning is, by nature, a stereo effect.
2. You will probably want to cut the 'Depth' value to around 75%. The full 100% will go hard left and right, which is not as pleasing to the ear as a more subtle curve.
3. Mess around with the Symmetry and Smoothing values to attain different types of curve.

Help SD6 Win Evening Magazine's "Best of the Northwest"

I try to keep the personal plugs to a minimum here, but here I am doing my second one in a week. Damn my talented friends! SD6 is a band I produced and whose debut album I released on my small label, 23db Records. Check them out, and if you like what you hear, give 'em your vote!

Direct from SD6 headquarters:

SD6 needs your vote for Best Band in Western Washington!

It's election season, and sure enough - WE NEED YOUR VOTES! We're up against some heavy hitters here, but with your help we can win the music category in Evening Magazine's Best of Western Washington! You do have to sign up to vote, but we'd REALLY appreciate the support. And remember - a vote for SD6 is a vote for all electronic artists in Western Washington. Plug-in pride, baby!

Just head over to http://best.king5.com/sd6/biz/115898 and click the "vote" button above our photo! It only takes a minute.

If you haven't heard SD6, pay a visit to http://www.myspace.com/sd6 and listen to tracks from our debut album "Between Noise and Transmission"

To celebrate the nomination (and SD6's unique economic bailout plan) 23db Records is offering the full-length "Between Noise and Transmission" CD for the outstanding price of only $8.00! This offer is available exclusively at http://www.assemblage23.com/store.html Head on over and drop one in your basket!

Thanks in advance for your support! Together, we can make a difference!

www.myspace.com/sd6
www.sd6online.com

Book Recommendation: Mastering Audio - The Art & The Science

In the world of Audio Mastering, there are probably few names more famous than Bob Katz. The Grammy-winning mastering engineer is known for the high standards he applies to mastering and for inventing some new mastering technology such as K Stereo. I will admit that I don't know much about mastering, but it is something I eventually hope to pick up, and this book is a very good place to start. It's probably not for total audio noobs, as Katz doesn't 'dumb things down', but if you have some experience with audio and recording and you want to expand into the world of mastering, this should be the first book you read.