We weren’t sure of what this site would become, and we definitely didn’t know if the site would actually LAST  a whole year. We’ve seen blogs come and go, and I know Sanjay and I are very happy that AASG is still around.

If you would’ve asked me a year ago what my aspirations and hopes were for the site, I would’ve said that I wanted to attend a trade-show or two (we did), post some tutorials that people find useful (I think we did that), and start reviewing awesome hardware and software (we’re doing that, too).

Thanks to everyone who’s read, is reading, and continues to read the site! We wouldn’t do this if it weren’t for all of you!

Yeah, yeah, digital is everywhere. It’s great and flexible and full of amazing technology.

But Analog FEELS good. It SOUNDS good.

Isn’t that enough sometimes?

Show Analog some love by leaving some of your Analog memories in the comments or shooting us some tweets @askasoundguy or @benversluis

Just to show I’m a good sport, I’ll start:

My first recordings were all done on a four-track cassette deck that my first band bought together.  We spent many many hours trying to get a decent recording in my parents garage with a couple of mics we bought at target or walmart or something along those line.  We had a $150 drum set (mine) a couple of learner guitars and almost nothing resembling talent, but it was fun.  That cassette deck (which I recently bought from the guitarist of that first band) was truly decked out – EQ’s, two aux sends and even dbx noise reduction (a compansion – compression then expansion – noise reduction system that gives you MASSIVE compression effects when tweaked).  It also has a varispeed knob that let you speed up and slow down playback – and incredible feature which I use to make lo-fi tape flanging.

What a great machine…

Oh and the first time I recorded on a 24-track Studer at school, I almost cried.  Although that might be because I was mixing-down on a SSL 9000. But yeah, I’m a digital man with a child’s analog heart.

Twibbon:

Sanjay Yoshimitsu Patel is a fan of

Show Analog Some Love

Create your Fan Badge

As of now, I have a total of 28 Google Wave invites that I would like to get out. Want one? Then participate!

1. Send in a recording/audio production question to askasoundguy@gmail.com and I’ll send you an invite.
2. Leave a somewhat thoughtful (read: no “google wave invite plz”) comment on any past or future posts.
3. ReTweet any of what @benversluis or @AskASoundguy posts regarding the new site.
4. Become a fan of ours on Facebook and post your email on the wall.

That’s all there is to it. So get involved and get a Wave invite!

Owning one of these NPR streaming boxes is:

• Access more than 1,000 NPR station streams, more than 800 podcasts and audio archives of NPR programs.
• Quickly store and access their favorite NPR stations with a convenient “my NPR“ button on the front of the device.
• Access a comprehensive list of more than 16,000 validated Internet radio stations from around the world through Reciva®, a global market leader in Internet radio technology, in addition the NPR stations and content.
• In mere minutes, through a wireless of Ethernet connection, search by genre, location or keyword, and find NPR content and other world programming for free.

For $200, this can all be yours. It just seems to me that this product has a very limited market, but this will be really nice for that niche. Portions of the sales will also be donated to NPR, however the press release neglects to say what percentage goes to NPR.

This isn’t really Music Production-related, but it seems relevant to how we relate to our readers.  The FTC has some new regulations that kick in Dec 2009 that requires publishers to disclose if they received free products for review or were paid in anyway for their endorsement.  It also requires that people selling things disclose any relationship to a person providing a testimonial for said product.

Roughly speaking this translates into: “Hey Internet, stop lying or it will cost you $”

While it does require me to type a few extra sentences in some of our posts – I think it’s about time bloggers were told that their honesty matters, especially in situations where people look for some sort of help or advice.  Misinformation directed at nabbing sales is a huge problem for people sifting through the ever-growing population of “blogs” out there.

Last, and I think most important, I’d like to say that most manufacturers and software developers aren’t looking for a free thumbs-up.  Sure, we submit our reviews for fact-checking, but we’re not getting told how to interpret who a piece of gear is good for, or what features are lacking in a software package. As we try to cover more gear and review more software, inevitably we’ll have to develop relationships with the makers and sellers of that equipment.  Our promise is to give you honest, un-pretentious and practical advice about your music production needs.

As always, we can be reached at askasoundguy@gmail.com

Also, I’d like to make one thing explicitly clear: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice. I’m not qualified to give you legal advice. Please go read through the regulations yourself or talk to an actual lawyer before you go making changes to your content, etc.  http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

The first two mics of note are A-T’s first foray into the world of ribbon mics: the 4080 and 4081. Both mics were designed from the ground up by Audi0-Technica. The 4080 is more of a traditional side-address ribbon microphone suite for vocals, horns, strings, acoustic instruments, drum overheads, orchestras, ensembles, and guitar cabs. The 4081 is more of the smaller pencil ribbon for use with just about any that the 4080 or other ribbons can be used for.

Both of the ribbons will be available in November. The 4080 will be $895 retail while the 4081 will be $1,245. Both are pretty reasonable considering that they’re ribbons and they’re also A-T’s higher-end microphones.

Also being shown at AES is the 4050ST: A-T’s new stereo condenser microphone which is a stereo version of their ever popular 4050 condenser. The user can either record the signal that’s summed through the microphone’s internal matrix or you can record the signals as discrete mid/side signals and process them at a later time.

I was able to actually demo this microphone for a little bit on Friday, and man does it sound killer. For the price-point, you’d be hard pressed to find a stereo condenser this good.

The 4050ST will also be available in November at a price of $1,625.

I first heard Bock mics at a TransAudio Group Roadshow in Sacramento last year a small group of engineers were introduced us to the world’s first elliptical diaphragm condenser mic.  Hearing his mic first hand on drums, acoustic guitar and some other sources was one of the most exicitng experiences of my music production career.  It’s only beat out by the first time I got to mix a song solo on an SSL 9000 J-Series Console.

Hopefully I’ll be able to snag a listen and a picture of this sure to be AWESOME mic at Aes (Booth #555).

Press Release after the Break:

Oct 7, 2009, 07:10

Las Vegas, NV –  TransAudio Group, the worldwide distributor for BOCK AUDIO, is introducing the new BOCK AUDIO AM 50 omni-tube microphone at the 127th AES Convention in New York. Focused on a
tradition that stretches back to classical orchestral recording microphones of the 1950s, the BOCK omni-directional AM 50 is similarly intended to capture the natural ambience of groups of acoustic instruments, from small ensembles to large orchestras. It is particularly well-suited for use in a
Decca Tree configuration.

The BOCK AM 50 features a half-inch diaphragm mounted in a sphere offering unique frequency-dependant directional characteristics. The capsule is mated to BOCK-designed tube electronics for wide bandwidth and dynamics. In addition, the custom BOCK inductor loaded linear power supply offers the
best combination of long-term power, low noise floor and high-end mic sonic performance.

BOCK AUDIO, established in 2007, builds the personal designs developed over the last eleven years by mic expert David Bock in Los Angeles, California.

See TransAudio Group at AES Booth #555.

Harrison's Mixbus

Harrison – maker of fantastic analog and digital consoles – has released it’s own take on the DAW, which begs the question Who cares?

But what makes this particular workstation unique is it’s design philosophy.  Mixbus was built as a customized version of Ardour, and re-introduces engineers to something simultaneously frustrating and inspiring: Limitations.

Harrison gives us a DAW that mimics an analog console.  They call it a “knob per function” design, which basically means each knob does one thing and only one thing. There’s also only four stereo mix buses for grouping and effects, which seems like a pain, but it’s a blessing in disguise.  How many times have you been asked to put 20 different kinds of verb on a single track? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to honestly say “I can’t do that?”

The other and perhaps most important benefit of having a limited DAW is the way limitations force you to get creative and thoughtful with your mixing. Choosing a reverb becomes an important decision when you’ve only got space for one.

Here’s a list of details from the Harrison Site:

Mixbus Features:

• Straightforward “knob per function” mixer layout based on Harrison’s renowned 32-series and MR-series music consoles.
• Precision DSP algorithms for EQ, Filter, Compression, Analog Tape Saturation, and Summing based on Harrison’s world-renowned large format analog and digital mixing consoles.
• Unlimited stereo or mono input channels (based on available CPU power) featuring High-pass Filter, EQ, Compression, and 4 Mix Bus sends on every channel.
• 4 Stereo Mix Buses (can be used for groups or auxes) featuring Tone controls, Compression, Sidechaining, and Analog Tape Saturation.
• Stereo Master Bus that features Tone controls, Analog Tape Saturation, K-meter, and Limiting to help you make polished mixes.
• Plugin delay compensation to support effects such as parallel compression.
• Comprehensive “at-a-glance” metering with peak, peak hold, and compressor gain reduction visible on every track and bus.
• Extensive DAW features via the Ardour Digital Audio Workstation.
• Supports AudioUnit plugins and any CoreAudio interface.
  

This Daw looks awesome, and for $80 – it’s worth a shot if you’re trying to make the jump from analog console to DAW.

AES New York 2009

Just landed in New York so I thought I’d mention – The 127th Audio Engineering Society Convention is going down Friday – Monday October 9-12th New York, and AskASoundGuy.com is going to be there!

We’re excited to get you guys some interviews, looks at new gear, and possibly some pictures of awesome swag.

If you’re going to be there, shoot us an email at AskASoundGuy_at_gmail.com!

Melodyne Editor and Direct Note Access

So Ben and I got our emails for beta testing of Melodyne Editor. We can’t say much about it, but so far everything seems great.  We’re excited to be able to tell you more about it, whenever Celemony allows us to.

Oh Yeah and 3-Part Video Intro!

From Press Release:

Celemony begins beta testing Melodyne editor
Haste makes waste, some say, so it took a while – but from today, Sept 17th, 2009, all registered Melodyne users are welcome to participate in the beta testing of Melodyne editor

Celemony Software GmbH/Munich, Sept. 17th, 2009 (ictw) – Celemony Software GmbH today is pleased to invite all registered Melodyne users to participate in the beta testing of Melodyne editor, the first Melodyne product featuring the Melodyne DNA technology. The sales launch is scheduled for the beginning of November and the price will be USD 349 or Euro 349.

It’s been a long wait but finally all registered Melodyne customers are able to try out Melodyne editor as part of a public beta test. The beta installer is up on the Celemony server waiting to be downloaded and used to change music recordings in a way that has never been possible before.

Melodyne editor represents, in terms both of functionality and technology the latest Melodyne generation and features all the fully mature and proven editing functions which are familiar already from previous editions of Melodyne. Through the integration of DNA, however, even the harmonies in an audio file can be made visible, accessible and malleable – note by note. Users can literally intervene in the chords of their recordings and alter individual notes with them. The implications for the correction and refashioning of audio are simply sensational.

Melodyne editor is designed for the editing of recordings of individual instruments, for example vocals, guitar, saxophone or piano, but good results can be obtained even with complex material such as string quartets. Users can alter the pitch, position and duration of the detected notes, make them louder or softer, copy or cut them and paste them into new locations, and so on. In addition, characteristics such as the formant spectra, vibrato and pitch drift of notes can be modified, as can the pitch, amplitude and formant transitions between notes.

Furthermore, special copying functions make it possible to impress selected attributes of one note upon another.
Whilst Melodyne editor, in terms of intuitive access, musicality and sound quality, stands squarely in the great Melodyne tradition, its technical foundations are completely new. The new software basis offers among things optimized multi-threading of which modern multi-core processors can take full advantage. It also allows many improvements in plug-in operation including a freely definable window size, auditioning during pitch editing, scrubbing and “Edit Play” – playback uncoupled from the host.

The beta test is aimed at all registered Melodyne customers. The sales launch in music dealers and the Celemony Web Shop is planned for the beginning of November; the price will be 349 US$ or 349 €.
For more information, visit www.celemony.com