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neB
Last Login: 08/17/2010 8:29 AM
Link: www.myspace.com/slowearth

Comments: 4 wrastlin' electronica...

posted February 11, 2005

Writing electronic music t'ain't easy when you spend half your time troubleshooting dumb issues. These are the questions that plague us:

Why won't it sync?
Where did the Audio go?
Why did the computer just reboot?
That softsynth is GREAT! if it just didn't always tank the sessions.
It was just working last night!
Where did I put that Keygen?
Who's GOT the Keygen?!
Something is different...i think...is something missing?
Shouldn't I have a few days left??
What the hell sound were we using??

Anyhow...yes...there are a million. We should all take a moment to give our respects to all those who actually have completed projects - at the very least just for getting past all the numerous mysterious hurdles that are constantly [and conveniently] placed at all the wrong places at all the wrong times.

Anyhow, we're writing our 4th Album and it's fun - let me tell you. Quickie on how it often works (for me anyway...sometimes....)...

I have my Titanium loaded with Logic and a slew of softsynths - along with my Oxygen8 in my nifty M-Audio BackPack. I write when the mood, time or idea presents itself...or maybe just out of mindless boredom...or I just got a new softsynth...Anyway, I get the vibe, beat, idea down and maybe record some melodies real quick so I don't forget. Then, I get to our 'space' (rehearsal/studio), which houses all of our hardware synths and Protools rig. Myself and maybe another in the band will then groove out for a while and noodle and jam on to the sequences and then, before we know it, we start working out the structure and vibe and IT can either - come together, become a different beast entirely...or get kicked to the curb [and start all over]. If it makes the cut, we tweak on it still in the sequences phase and when that's taken about as far as it can, it's time to record everything to Protools Rig and then start the process of tweaking. adding/deleting, editing, recording/replacing [more] keyz and live elements, etc...Untill you have yerselves a bonafide spanking new song...[Then you get to figure out how to do it live;].

Just recently, it came time to start tracking several songs to the Protools Rig. I hadn't really messed with the freezing function in Logic, but I figured this would be a good time to do it. [for those that don't know - Freezing a Track in Logic basically means that it converts a sequence from an AudioInstrument - Into an actual stereo audio track]. It's good to use if you need to free up some CPU power or if you want to bypass the 'recording' process to another system and just burn a CD of the frozen tracks and then reassemble it into the song once the outboard stuff is recorded. Long story...still long...it sucks. At least in Logic 6 [i hear they fixed some stuff in 7]. A bunch of the tracks were clipping and/or had a bunch of digital noize [undesirably] added. Lame. We ended up have to record the tracks anyway.

Second issue...we ran into an issue syncing my Titanium Laptop to the G4 Desktop using MidiClock (connecting one USB Midi Interface to another). Basically, Protools (desktop) was running as the Master and Logic (titanium) was the slave. After recording a few tracks, we realized the sync was drifting. That SUCKS! And is Ultra Frustrating [especially since it syncs just fine to our PowerMac 9600 the same way]. SO, after a 6-pack of Pabst, a pack of cigarettes and trying different things, we finally managed to 'Sync' them using MidiTimeCode and switching the roles of the machines (titanium = master / Desktop = Slave). This worked, but it still kinda sucked because we still had to go back and line some of the tracks back up manually - which is mind-numbingly TEDIOUS work...

So, we have few more songs that are now in Protools. That’s good. It's now time to tweak on the structure and sounds and starting adding Live Drums, Geetar, Vocals and whatever else we'll add (the G4 conveniently enough Syncs just fine to the OLD-ASS Powermac (which is running logic 4(!) using an old Opcode Serial Midi Interface that connects to all the other outboard goodies.

Whelp, that should do it for now...just thought I'd share (vent) in the making of wholesome goodness. Maybe I'll add as we go.

Ben
www.slowEarth.com

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Comments:

Pardon my ignorance, but: What is a softsynth?

posted February 17, 2005 by Nick

A softsynth is basically a Virtual Synthesizer Or Drum Machine program on the computer. There are a ton. You can use them by themselves or within a recording program like Logic, Protools or Nuendo. On the monitor, it looks like a synth with knobs and keys and everything. If you have a MIDI Keyboard controller, you can typically plug it into your computer using a USB cable. When the Softsynth program is open, when you play keys on your keyboard, it actually triggers the synth program - from there, you can add a track to your sequencing program, and then open up the softsyth and play it and record it like it's a regular keyboard. So, in short, it's like having a bunch of extra keyboards that you can record without taking up the space.

Here are some links to a few of my favorites:
link [www.nativeinstruments.de]
link [www.nativeinstruments.de]
link [www.digidesign.com]

So, hope that helps.

ben.

posted February 18, 2005 by neB

Ah, Native Instruments.

I have such mixed feelings about that company.

On the one hand, I like some of what they do.

On the other hand, I think they're the worst when it comes to prioritizing marketing new products over fixing/improving existing ones. And I think they're in the stone age where user interface issues are concerned. I still, to this day find it hard to forgive them for releasing Reaktor 3 for Mac as a valid product, when it didn't really work until version 4. Even version 4 didn't work especially well. Version 5 is supposed to be better, but that's a $170 upgrade from v4. No thanks.

I've also heard from more than one person that they can be a bit on the arrogant side.

I have a lot of NI produts, but when I really think about it, not that many of them end up in the final mixes,

posted May 22, 2005 by Mike Fisher

Yeah, I agree...the earlier versions of Reaktor were/are a real bitch...I guess it's the beauty and the curse...Unless you had have a chunk of dough to upgrade, or a fair amount of time to really dive in AND have it on it's own designated machine, then it's all but useless...BUT, once you get it somewhat functional, there was typically a lot of payoff.

I've been to a few NI clinics here in atlanta that were run by Richard Devine. He seemed like a cool guy...he hung out afterwards with some of us and had some drinks.

I felt that their other stuff sounds really good in mixes...I've had a good run with Battery2. It's easy to use and edit and doesn't burn up the cpu...also, Absynth, FM7 and Pro53 are pretty neat for softsynths...we just recently really started messing with GuitarRig and we've managed to find some really interesting sounds from that...it's worth checking out anyway...

Anyhow, if I based my artistic tastes and opinions based on level of arrogance - then, I would likely have nothing more than a jug and washboard...spending a couple years working in music retail and such put a lot into [bittersweet] perspective...While it afforded me a way to get a bunch of great gear for myself, most of all the vedors and reps I had to deal with were typically arrogant fuckholes that used their mouths for farting rather than useful or meaningful discussion...

posted July 6, 2005 by neB

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