YOU DONT GO STRAIGHT INTO PRODUCING AN ALBUM
you demo it first to get a feel for what you actually want with a record.
Now, i could tell you exactly how to make sound go to the right place via the mixing desk, and i could tell you how to get play back right, i could tell you the way that the patch desk is supposed to be set out and i could tell you where the EQ is and what frequencies everything sits at.
yes, i really could tell you all that.
but i wont.
its way more fun if you find out for yourself.
the only thing i cannot tell you is how your song should sound, only you know that. You demo a song to figure out technologically how you want it to sound and if you should change anything in the song, such as chords. it gives you an idea of what it will sound like.
and then you listen to it, make any changes and go again, for real this time.
the recording process is not as easy as it sounds, there is alot of waiting around for mic placements and your late drummer, but it is also the process in which you decide what you sound like, or want to sound like because you will never know it untill your get into that box.
A software program can do anything, it can emulate every great amp in history, it can make you feeble drum kit sound like its ten meters tall.
but you cannot polish a turd.
Nat.
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Seventh: This is how it works in my studio
There are 2 types of studio that you will encounter.
the first is the large studio set up that you probably have in your mind when you read the word recording studio. The most basic of these studio's will have a computer, a large mixing desk (32 channels or over), a patch bay (which is a big place where all of the wires end up, just so your not crawling under the desk to plug your XLR into), a set of very very good monitors, a lot of wires tucked away in convenient places, a wall box (for plugging XLR's in), effects racks, a tape machine (optional).
and that's just the basics.
these studio's are generally owned by the producer, or by a record company, some of them are just privately owned by someone who really likes music. A small percentage are owned by the bands themselves.
On the other hand the stationary studio can be a very messy mish mash affair.
most studio's are a mixture of both analogue and digital equipment, only a very small percentage specialize in just one area.
and then you have the second type of studio, the portable studio.
a portable studio looks like this: a laptop with a music software program on it, a bunch of microphones, and audio interface and a MIDI keyboard.
that's it.
portable, right?
depending on the type of studio and the producers preference will specify the software that is used in the studio.
hey! do you wanna know something really cool and horrible all at the same time?
Pro Tools is a type of software and it, as well as Logic, is considered a professional software program. in order to run the software you have to have the hardware to go with it.
now, if you have ever seen a pro tools studio you will know that its brilliant, its all white and polished silver. it is beautiful.
but, its such a scam at the same time.
which i don't like.
technology, technology.
it all makes, or helps sound at the end of the day. you just have to pick the studio depending on what you want.
and then turn it up!
Nat.
the first is the large studio set up that you probably have in your mind when you read the word recording studio. The most basic of these studio's will have a computer, a large mixing desk (32 channels or over), a patch bay (which is a big place where all of the wires end up, just so your not crawling under the desk to plug your XLR into), a set of very very good monitors, a lot of wires tucked away in convenient places, a wall box (for plugging XLR's in), effects racks, a tape machine (optional).
and that's just the basics.
these studio's are generally owned by the producer, or by a record company, some of them are just privately owned by someone who really likes music. A small percentage are owned by the bands themselves.
On the other hand the stationary studio can be a very messy mish mash affair.
most studio's are a mixture of both analogue and digital equipment, only a very small percentage specialize in just one area.
and then you have the second type of studio, the portable studio.
a portable studio looks like this: a laptop with a music software program on it, a bunch of microphones, and audio interface and a MIDI keyboard.
that's it.
portable, right?
depending on the type of studio and the producers preference will specify the software that is used in the studio.
hey! do you wanna know something really cool and horrible all at the same time?
Pro Tools is a type of software and it, as well as Logic, is considered a professional software program. in order to run the software you have to have the hardware to go with it.
now, if you have ever seen a pro tools studio you will know that its brilliant, its all white and polished silver. it is beautiful.
but, its such a scam at the same time.
which i don't like.
technology, technology.
it all makes, or helps sound at the end of the day. you just have to pick the studio depending on what you want.
and then turn it up!
Nat.
Sixth: Power to your Point
PowerPoint is a software program that enables you to put key points, video's, pictures, charts and words into a presentation that responds at the click of your space bar.
it also induces the urge to ramble.
When you do a presentation you should make eye contact, yes? however when all your points and charts are on a big screen behind you you start to read off the big screen instead of looking at the people your presenting to.
as a program though PowerPoint is pretty easy to use and everything is clearly marked and all of the programs templates can be modified and customised if you really care that much.
and I'm not even done!
if you want to go really wild you can also customise the way the text flies in and out of your slide, you can also do this with the way your slides appear on the screen. some of them are quite extravagant and shouldn't be used in a professional PowerPoint.
PowerPoint also gives you the novelty of adding diagrams, pictures, movies, and music to help you make your point.
if your like me and cant be bothered to press a button when you need the slide to change you can also time all of the stuff in your presentation so that it runs seamlessly and you know how long your going to talk for.
now all you have to do is talk.
Nat.
it also induces the urge to ramble.
When you do a presentation you should make eye contact, yes? however when all your points and charts are on a big screen behind you you start to read off the big screen instead of looking at the people your presenting to.
as a program though PowerPoint is pretty easy to use and everything is clearly marked and all of the programs templates can be modified and customised if you really care that much.
and I'm not even done!
if you want to go really wild you can also customise the way the text flies in and out of your slide, you can also do this with the way your slides appear on the screen. some of them are quite extravagant and shouldn't be used in a professional PowerPoint.
PowerPoint also gives you the novelty of adding diagrams, pictures, movies, and music to help you make your point.
if your like me and cant be bothered to press a button when you need the slide to change you can also time all of the stuff in your presentation so that it runs seamlessly and you know how long your going to talk for.
now all you have to do is talk.
Nat.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Fourth: When Live Needs to be Louder
A basic PA signal flow goes like this: Microphone, mixing desk, Amp, Speakers.
that's it. a lot of small mixing desks have a simple EQ and effects set up built into them, because carrying around a EQ and Effects rack is not really that feasible when your only working with a small PA set up, then there is the idea that in a small pub there is only so much you can do, its still going to sound like your in a pub. everything else is pretty simple from there with a small gig, though it does depend on what the bands instruments are and all that complicates is your Channel list and microphone selection.
Channel lists are basically just a big list of the instruments that will be used, the channel that they will go into on the desk, the microphone that will be used on that particular instrument and any effects that will be put on it. obviously the bigger the gig the bigger the channel list and the bigger the desk needed, but all gig, big or small, have a channel list.
Microphones are these things that turn acoustic energy into electric energy and they come in different shapes and sizes for different jobs. tricky instruments have special microphones made for them so that they fit in the most acoustically sound place on that instrument. they also have a polar pattern on them which is the direction around the microphone that will pick up the sound, all microphones have a polar patters and all of them fit into one of two categories: Dynamic and Condenser.
dynamic microphones are very robust, they are the tanks and units of the microphone world. they sound wonderful and last a long time, they are wonderful for anything that is very loud, they are not very good at quiet things though. they have a electromagnet inside them that turns the acoustic energy into electric energy.
Condenser's like quiet things and they need to be handled with care as they have a diaphragm inside them that can destroy a microphone if it is popped.
Big gigs are very different because the chances are you have a team of very strong men to help you carry them around. the signal flow for a big gig looks like this:
Microphone, Multicore (a big wire which cases lots of little wires, also called a snake), mixing desk, EQ rack, Effects Rack, Crossover (which splits the signal into High, Mid and Low signals. so it can be split into the right monitor), Amp, Monitor.
There is also the added complication of FOH and monitor engineers.
at a really big gig there will be a separate desk in the middle of the crowd somewhere that just deals with the sound that the audience hears, and then there will be a guy in the back that controls what the band hears on stage. The FOH engineer will send an untouched mix of all of the instruments to the monitor engineer via a multicore. the monitor engineer will then send it to the appropriate places.
this can be done in 2 ways, the band can have monitor wedges on stage or they can have wireless in ear monitoring. usually it is the in ear idea as this leaves more room on the stage for them to perform.
Sometimes with a large PA, such as a festival there will be a flown set of monitors attached to a truss and then there will be another in the crowd, and sometimes the sound doesn't get there in time, the way around this is to delay all of the monitors slightly so that they play the sound at the same time. its a very complicated process that involves a lot of science.
that's it. a lot of small mixing desks have a simple EQ and effects set up built into them, because carrying around a EQ and Effects rack is not really that feasible when your only working with a small PA set up, then there is the idea that in a small pub there is only so much you can do, its still going to sound like your in a pub. everything else is pretty simple from there with a small gig, though it does depend on what the bands instruments are and all that complicates is your Channel list and microphone selection.
Channel lists are basically just a big list of the instruments that will be used, the channel that they will go into on the desk, the microphone that will be used on that particular instrument and any effects that will be put on it. obviously the bigger the gig the bigger the channel list and the bigger the desk needed, but all gig, big or small, have a channel list.
Microphones are these things that turn acoustic energy into electric energy and they come in different shapes and sizes for different jobs. tricky instruments have special microphones made for them so that they fit in the most acoustically sound place on that instrument. they also have a polar pattern on them which is the direction around the microphone that will pick up the sound, all microphones have a polar patters and all of them fit into one of two categories: Dynamic and Condenser.
dynamic microphones are very robust, they are the tanks and units of the microphone world. they sound wonderful and last a long time, they are wonderful for anything that is very loud, they are not very good at quiet things though. they have a electromagnet inside them that turns the acoustic energy into electric energy.
Condenser's like quiet things and they need to be handled with care as they have a diaphragm inside them that can destroy a microphone if it is popped.
Big gigs are very different because the chances are you have a team of very strong men to help you carry them around. the signal flow for a big gig looks like this:
Microphone, Multicore (a big wire which cases lots of little wires, also called a snake), mixing desk, EQ rack, Effects Rack, Crossover (which splits the signal into High, Mid and Low signals. so it can be split into the right monitor), Amp, Monitor.
There is also the added complication of FOH and monitor engineers.
at a really big gig there will be a separate desk in the middle of the crowd somewhere that just deals with the sound that the audience hears, and then there will be a guy in the back that controls what the band hears on stage. The FOH engineer will send an untouched mix of all of the instruments to the monitor engineer via a multicore. the monitor engineer will then send it to the appropriate places.
this can be done in 2 ways, the band can have monitor wedges on stage or they can have wireless in ear monitoring. usually it is the in ear idea as this leaves more room on the stage for them to perform.
Sometimes with a large PA, such as a festival there will be a flown set of monitors attached to a truss and then there will be another in the crowd, and sometimes the sound doesn't get there in time, the way around this is to delay all of the monitors slightly so that they play the sound at the same time. its a very complicated process that involves a lot of science.
Fifth: Pop, Rock, Electronic and Other
All of the different genres have different things that establish them as that genre. right?
for example, rock music usually has guitars. and pop music usually adheres to the idea that it is mass marketed, radio friendly and easy to listen to.
however, how do we establish what makes a genre a genre? what are the technological factors that make them that genre?
which is a very hard question to answer.
Pop music is a shortened version of Popular, and popular is anything that is in the charts and is liked by the general public. Whats popular now is not what will be popular in ten years time.
Rock music has a huge spectrum, and can straddle into pop as the only defining factor is that it has a guitar in it.
Electronic is anything that has been created on something electronic, i.e not an instrument.
and other? well. that's everything else that isn't rock, pop or electronic.
still with me?
What are the technological defining factors?
well, realistically, there isn't. it is getting harder and harder to actually define something as many bands are striving to make themselves different therefore they are either making up their own obscure genre, or they are simply taking the best bits from a few genre's and throwing them together, ignoring the idea that they may not sound very good.
however for this exercise lets pigeonhole everything and simplify it all.
you wouldn't expect a rap drum pattern on a rock record, and you wouldn't like the idea of a huge, vocal driven, wall of sound type thing on a electronic record, right?
but this does happen! you do get really huge vocals on rock records, and you do get rap drum loops on them. i have used rap and rock drums on my own songs, which i class as Contemporary classical, but if you were going with my definitions then it would be electronic, which it isn't i can assure you.
so to answer my question in full: there isn't a way to categorize and pigeonhole a genre and tie it down and try to figure out what are the defining technological factors for a genre or band, it does not happen like that because all genre's have sub genre's and those sub genres have sub genres and then all of those genres cross over into other genres and their sub genres and their sub genres sub genres.
it isnt impossible, but realistically you will run your mind into circles and you will be there all day doing it.
my best advice?
go with the flow, if you want it on your song, then put it there. it doesn't matter if you have borrowed the technique from pop music or rap music, someone, somewhere will connect with what your doing, and if it doesn't fit into a genre then make one up!
its fashionable, darling.
Nat.
for example, rock music usually has guitars. and pop music usually adheres to the idea that it is mass marketed, radio friendly and easy to listen to.
however, how do we establish what makes a genre a genre? what are the technological factors that make them that genre?
which is a very hard question to answer.
Pop music is a shortened version of Popular, and popular is anything that is in the charts and is liked by the general public. Whats popular now is not what will be popular in ten years time.
Rock music has a huge spectrum, and can straddle into pop as the only defining factor is that it has a guitar in it.
Electronic is anything that has been created on something electronic, i.e not an instrument.
and other? well. that's everything else that isn't rock, pop or electronic.
still with me?
What are the technological defining factors?
well, realistically, there isn't. it is getting harder and harder to actually define something as many bands are striving to make themselves different therefore they are either making up their own obscure genre, or they are simply taking the best bits from a few genre's and throwing them together, ignoring the idea that they may not sound very good.
however for this exercise lets pigeonhole everything and simplify it all.
you wouldn't expect a rap drum pattern on a rock record, and you wouldn't like the idea of a huge, vocal driven, wall of sound type thing on a electronic record, right?
but this does happen! you do get really huge vocals on rock records, and you do get rap drum loops on them. i have used rap and rock drums on my own songs, which i class as Contemporary classical, but if you were going with my definitions then it would be electronic, which it isn't i can assure you.
so to answer my question in full: there isn't a way to categorize and pigeonhole a genre and tie it down and try to figure out what are the defining technological factors for a genre or band, it does not happen like that because all genre's have sub genre's and those sub genres have sub genres and then all of those genres cross over into other genres and their sub genres and their sub genres sub genres.
it isnt impossible, but realistically you will run your mind into circles and you will be there all day doing it.
my best advice?
go with the flow, if you want it on your song, then put it there. it doesn't matter if you have borrowed the technique from pop music or rap music, someone, somewhere will connect with what your doing, and if it doesn't fit into a genre then make one up!
its fashionable, darling.
Nat.
Third: Techie Recording For Beginners
The Recording Process can be summed up in three words, however the art of getting it right cant be summed up in any words.
put very simply, the recording process goes like this: Write the song, Copyright the song, Record the song, mix the song, copyright the song, master the song.
simple right?.
not nearly as complicated as you think because for every step in the simple list there is about ten for the actual list. for example you will need musicians, engineers, a producer, a mixer and a master-er.
most producers do not do mastering.
and most big name producers don't do mixing.
so you need 3 separate people for that. plus a guy to plug stuff in and turn things on.
then of course there is getting the song right, and actually deciding what you want it to sound like. so in reality the recording process looks like this:
come up with the idea for a song, Write the song, re write the song, Copyright the song, demo the song, find the right musicians and session performers, make the changes, practice the song, sit around for about a week while the engineer/producer argue over mics and mic placements, Record the song, decide you don't like the 4th chord in the second bar of the last verse so the producer decides to record it again (all of it) record it again, mix the song, copyright the song, master the song.
times that, plus a lot more niggle stuff and factor in tantrums because the drummer wants to do backing vocals and the fact that your bassist is stoned, by twelve and you have an album.
in theory.
however, because your producer is milking the money out of you its now costing you ten times more than you though.
as for the technology of the whole thing, you have to decide whether you want things done quickly or if you want them to sound good. Analogue studio technology sounds brilliant, even if you record into Logic and then re record the masters onto a tape machine it still sounds so much better than if you just bounce it to Wav, however it does take twice as long.
The way out of this whole paying for it thing is to do like all the cool kids are doing and do it yourself.
A simple home set up needs:
not so scary is it. it will cost you alot of money in the short term but once you realize your not shelling out for studio time you can get on with recording your ditties.
now go, my little geeky army, and profess to the world that Elvis had nothing on you.
Nat.
put very simply, the recording process goes like this: Write the song, Copyright the song, Record the song, mix the song, copyright the song, master the song.
simple right?.
not nearly as complicated as you think because for every step in the simple list there is about ten for the actual list. for example you will need musicians, engineers, a producer, a mixer and a master-er.
most producers do not do mastering.
and most big name producers don't do mixing.
so you need 3 separate people for that. plus a guy to plug stuff in and turn things on.
then of course there is getting the song right, and actually deciding what you want it to sound like. so in reality the recording process looks like this:
come up with the idea for a song, Write the song, re write the song, Copyright the song, demo the song, find the right musicians and session performers, make the changes, practice the song, sit around for about a week while the engineer/producer argue over mics and mic placements, Record the song, decide you don't like the 4th chord in the second bar of the last verse so the producer decides to record it again (all of it) record it again, mix the song, copyright the song, master the song.
times that, plus a lot more niggle stuff and factor in tantrums because the drummer wants to do backing vocals and the fact that your bassist is stoned, by twelve and you have an album.
in theory.
however, because your producer is milking the money out of you its now costing you ten times more than you though.
as for the technology of the whole thing, you have to decide whether you want things done quickly or if you want them to sound good. Analogue studio technology sounds brilliant, even if you record into Logic and then re record the masters onto a tape machine it still sounds so much better than if you just bounce it to Wav, however it does take twice as long.
The way out of this whole paying for it thing is to do like all the cool kids are doing and do it yourself.
A simple home set up needs:
- A Laptop - it needs to have enough power and hard drive space to store all your software and your ditties.
- A music software program - i would go with logic on this one if you are recording standard bands, its expensive but its an industry standard software package and it sounds amazing. its easy to use as well. If you are a DJ or you wanna do things differently then go with Ableton Live. it sounds wonderful and its quirkyness will never ever bore you. both of the software programs i have mentioned to you come with VST Instruments and various effects, you can buy more of both VST and effects if it doesn't come with what you want, or you can make your own sounds.
- A selection of mic's - you will need a dynamic, a drum kit set up (these mics are smaller and have little clips that make sure that the mic can be as close to the drum skin as possible, theyre really cute too), a bass drum mic (a D112 will do the job here) and a condenser mic for things like accoustic instruments, soft vocals and any soft instruments.
- A Audio Interface - this is basically a box with 2 jack spaces and 2 microphone spaces. it enables you to plug mics directly into your computer where the clever box will turn it into the right Electrical signal to sit nicely in your project and it also means that you dont have to run thinks like bass's and guitars through a mic to get them into your computer. Different sizes come with different things and there are lots of companies that make them. head to www.dv247.com for info.
- A MIDI keyboard - this is an optional thing, its a keyboard, but instead of it registering as audio on your channel it will register as MIDI. very useful if you are not into recording bands and prefer to make your own music. its also good if your using Ableton Live instead of Logic, and i would recommend you to you Ableton if you are not recording standard bands or if you are a DJ, The reason being is that MIDI keyboards also have lots of knobs, buttons and sliders for you to assign bits of Ableton to. If you are a going to use ableton i would disregard any of the mics, except maybe a condenser and a dynamic, for vocals.
not so scary is it. it will cost you alot of money in the short term but once you realize your not shelling out for studio time you can get on with recording your ditties.
now go, my little geeky army, and profess to the world that Elvis had nothing on you.
Nat.
Second: Formats VS Time
Music Changed When computers (and people) said 'faster, smaller, cheaper'
put into a simple timeline it goes like this - Vinyl, Tape, CD, Mini Disk, MP3.
the MP3 sprouted when the IPod generation happened.
and MP3 is basically a CD, squashed. it has a smaller bit rate and it takes up less room on your computer meaning you can have more songs on there, however this makes file sharing very very easy. So now all you have to do is log onto a peer to peer file sharing site and you can download the discography for any artist for free.
and of course the general public went mad, because at the same time all of this happened the words credit and crunched were being thrown around like tomato's in Barcelona.
Its a bad idea, and its also against the law. The law is there because you are basically stealing someone Else's property, and that property is covered by 2 different kinds of copyright. its a bad idea because the general public is now responsible for the stagnant music industry we have now. with less money to play with the record companies and radio stations and TV programs and Press are less willing to take a chance on anyone new, so instead of maybe 50 artists making the cut only 10 or so are making it to the top of the ladder.
Britain still has one of the richest music industries in the world, but its not the most exiting and this is down to the letters M and P and the number 3.
MP3 has its upsides though and it isn't always illegal. many programs, such as ITunes or Windows Media Player are able to turn Wav (the format used for CD) into MP3 in minutes, they do this so you can put the song onto your MP3 player or IPod, meaning you can carry round with you hundreds, if not thousands of songs, it also means that because the files are smaller you can store more of them on your computer.
the question is, does the downside weigh out the upside?
well, there isnt really an answer to this. as a avid lover of exiting new music i will now say that it is wrong and that peer to peer shouldnt be done. you may be sat there thinking 'yeah, but musicians dont really do anything', they do. in a later blog i will be discussing what goes into an album. and while your waiting think about this, if you came home on pay day to find less, or even no money in your pay packet you'd be pretty mad right? because you expect to be paid for the work you have done.
same thing.
however, there is a rebellion happening and now record companies are become less and less useful. in my opinion the only reason they are still here is because they have the money and power to promote a record properly and make sure that alot of people know about them which is something that your mate in his bedroom doesnt have, that is why all you hear about is copies of the same artist, because some major record label wants you to.
Its the dawn of DIY Music 2.0 and this time we have easy to get to, easy to use technology on our hands that makes the entire traditional music industry process run and hide in the corner.
Nat.
put into a simple timeline it goes like this - Vinyl, Tape, CD, Mini Disk, MP3.
the MP3 sprouted when the IPod generation happened.
and MP3 is basically a CD, squashed. it has a smaller bit rate and it takes up less room on your computer meaning you can have more songs on there, however this makes file sharing very very easy. So now all you have to do is log onto a peer to peer file sharing site and you can download the discography for any artist for free.
and of course the general public went mad, because at the same time all of this happened the words credit and crunched were being thrown around like tomato's in Barcelona.
Its a bad idea, and its also against the law. The law is there because you are basically stealing someone Else's property, and that property is covered by 2 different kinds of copyright. its a bad idea because the general public is now responsible for the stagnant music industry we have now. with less money to play with the record companies and radio stations and TV programs and Press are less willing to take a chance on anyone new, so instead of maybe 50 artists making the cut only 10 or so are making it to the top of the ladder.
Britain still has one of the richest music industries in the world, but its not the most exiting and this is down to the letters M and P and the number 3.
MP3 has its upsides though and it isn't always illegal. many programs, such as ITunes or Windows Media Player are able to turn Wav (the format used for CD) into MP3 in minutes, they do this so you can put the song onto your MP3 player or IPod, meaning you can carry round with you hundreds, if not thousands of songs, it also means that because the files are smaller you can store more of them on your computer.
the question is, does the downside weigh out the upside?
well, there isnt really an answer to this. as a avid lover of exiting new music i will now say that it is wrong and that peer to peer shouldnt be done. you may be sat there thinking 'yeah, but musicians dont really do anything', they do. in a later blog i will be discussing what goes into an album. and while your waiting think about this, if you came home on pay day to find less, or even no money in your pay packet you'd be pretty mad right? because you expect to be paid for the work you have done.
same thing.
however, there is a rebellion happening and now record companies are become less and less useful. in my opinion the only reason they are still here is because they have the money and power to promote a record properly and make sure that alot of people know about them which is something that your mate in his bedroom doesnt have, that is why all you hear about is copies of the same artist, because some major record label wants you to.
Its the dawn of DIY Music 2.0 and this time we have easy to get to, easy to use technology on our hands that makes the entire traditional music industry process run and hide in the corner.
Nat.
First: Blogging and using a Mac
Blogging
Blogging is the simple technique of writing something down and publishing it online, there are a lot of different sites that enable this and the best one in my opinion is Blogger. Its simple to use and navigate. it lets you embed pictures and video's and you can edit pretty much everything about they way that your page looks. you choose from a set of templates and edit the colors ad fonts from there. it really is that simple. To join you just need to provide some simple information about yourself and then your ready to start your bio, this is there to let your readers know who you are, what you do.
You can blog about anything, your life, your dog, your job. the things that interest you. anything.
that's all there is to it.
blogging also works as a wonderful platform to let someone know about an event, gig or album. its a really great networking and promotions tool as it is personal.
Blogger also lets you know your stats, like how many people visited your site, and if they were members or visitors to blogger.
Mac
i have been a windows girl until this year, and after only a year i am converted. the ease and speed in which you use them is wonderful and there is no hidden anything on a mac, it is all categorized very simply. Mac have gotten the art of simplicity and speed down to a tee and i applaud them for this. if you don't live in a cave you will know just how big the apple mac corporation is and honestly, it is everything it is hyped up to be. there are only a couple of problems on some of the models, but a couple of problems is all it is. i would very much recommend that you go and try one out, you will see what i mean.
Apple even managed to convert my mother.
Nat.
Blogging is the simple technique of writing something down and publishing it online, there are a lot of different sites that enable this and the best one in my opinion is Blogger. Its simple to use and navigate. it lets you embed pictures and video's and you can edit pretty much everything about they way that your page looks. you choose from a set of templates and edit the colors ad fonts from there. it really is that simple. To join you just need to provide some simple information about yourself and then your ready to start your bio, this is there to let your readers know who you are, what you do.
You can blog about anything, your life, your dog, your job. the things that interest you. anything.
that's all there is to it.
blogging also works as a wonderful platform to let someone know about an event, gig or album. its a really great networking and promotions tool as it is personal.
Blogger also lets you know your stats, like how many people visited your site, and if they were members or visitors to blogger.
Mac
i have been a windows girl until this year, and after only a year i am converted. the ease and speed in which you use them is wonderful and there is no hidden anything on a mac, it is all categorized very simply. Mac have gotten the art of simplicity and speed down to a tee and i applaud them for this. if you don't live in a cave you will know just how big the apple mac corporation is and honestly, it is everything it is hyped up to be. there are only a couple of problems on some of the models, but a couple of problems is all it is. i would very much recommend that you go and try one out, you will see what i mean.
Apple even managed to convert my mother.
Nat.
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Hello Initial Blog
For this blog i am going to explain my experience and knowledge about a range of technology that is both very geeky and very cool at the same time. in the next range of blogs i will show you why different technologies are both geeky and cool at the same time.
welcome to technology masked as a blonde.
Democracy is not democracy after all which shows that all the silly bitching that goes on in this little group is just the same as the bigger things that go on in the rest of the world.
My god i hate him.
Ready?
Music Technology
You know you love my fun lists.
and now for the best part of my fun lists, the bit where i dissect them in a very round about way that make sense.
but only if you read it twice.
so, my favorite comes first. its my favorite because i know a lot about it. and i care about it, i know how to make it do what i want it to, and it usually complies.
so, software.
Computer
welcome to technology masked as a blonde.
Democracy is not democracy after all which shows that all the silly bitching that goes on in this little group is just the same as the bigger things that go on in the rest of the world.
My god i hate him.
Ready?
Music Technology
- Music Creation Software
- Music Technology Hardware (includes microphones, effects, analogue and digital recording equipment)
- Live Sound Equipment
- Audio File Conversion
- Video Technology and Equipment
- Video Editing Software
- Still Camera's
- Image Editing Software
- Web Design
- Flash
- Scanners
- Podcasts
- Word Processors
- Spreadsheets
- Database Software
- Presentation Software
- Online Office Applications
- Computer Software Installation
- Computer Software
- Network Set Up
- Social Networking Sites
- You Tube
- Online Photo Sharing
You know you love my fun lists.
and now for the best part of my fun lists, the bit where i dissect them in a very round about way that make sense.
but only if you read it twice.
so, my favorite comes first. its my favorite because i know a lot about it. and i care about it, i know how to make it do what i want it to, and it usually complies.
so, software.
Computer
Monday, 7 June 2010
Initial Blog.
This is a blog that i have meant to publish for a while. It is a initial blog that details how i feel and what i know about the big list of technology things listed below.
Ready? oh, i am exited.
Music Technology
Recording Equipment
Hardware.
When i say hardware i mean anything that does not come on a disk that you load on your computer. something that comes in a box. it has that new hardware smell.
i have had experience using a wide range of studio hardware that includes mixing desks, tape machine's, effects racks, patch bays, wall boxes, backline such as amps, monitors and reverb. i am very comfortable using all of the above and although you cannot just use it and have the results come out perfect first time with a little time and some instruction they are easy to use.
with the whole hardware/software recording debate i choose both, i like the sound of different things from both sides, software based recording is easier and more reliable to use though.
Software
This, by proxy is anything that comes on a disk. yes?
i have experience using Cubase, pro Tools, Logic, Garage Band and Ableton Live.
my favorite is Logic, by far. its ease of use is wonderful and i love the endless possibilities. However the program has a few downsides. it tends to overload and whinge a bit if you put too many channels on it and it doesnt come with a very good selection of VST and plugin instruments and finding the sounds that i wanted was very hard. The effects that it come with are easy to use and sound amazing. Overall its an easy program to use once you know what your doing.
Cubase is its little sister, a very very easy program to use with some great VST instruments on it. its a very good program for anyone learning to use music software as its MIDI use is very simple. Cubase still holds the record for my favorite piano sound.
Pro Tools.
I don't want to hurt pro tool's feelings, but i do not like this program at all. i haven't had much experience with it, but i don't like that you have to have Pro Tools compatible hardware just to run the program, Pro Tools also takes a silly amount of time to bounce anything down and waiting half an hour for something is not my idea of fun. The Pro Tools hardware though is very very sexy and one day ill have a full Pro Tools set up, just so i can wander into the room and go 'Oooohh'
that is its only saving grace.
Garage Band.
Take Logic and strip away all the good stuff and complicated buttons. that's what garage band is.
Ableton Live is amazing for live stuff and the amount of stuff you can do with it is endless. Ableton live has managed to make performing in front of an audience as painless as possible.
with Ableton live you can basically assign buttons of your keyboard to bits of the software. its a very easy concept to get hold of, it also has a live looping and recording system, which effectively means you can write and build the song on stage. in practice however its much harder than it looks.
overall i am more than comfortable with software recording and have used enough of them to be able to form my own opinions and favorites.
Microphones
i both like, and understand microphones, though i prefer traditional and popular microphones to conventional ones and i prefer simple polar patterns to anything else. There is a range of mic's that i default to, many of them are dynamic microphones and for a normal and standard band setting i still havent found anything better than a Shure SM58. i love that mic.
Live sound Equipment, much like studio is easy to use once you know what your doing, its not something that is easy to pick up and teach yourself. also, it helps if your strong, alot of the equipment is very heavy and some of the big PA setups are amazing to look at.
Other Technology
Video Camera's
i have used a video camera and i own a little tiny thing that you have to put little tapes into, which makes it very hard to edit the video's or generally upload them to a computer, though it does make them easy to store and archive. they are easy to use and take very little time to set up. i like them, though my ability to capture what i want is hindered somewhat, someday maybe ill get one installed into my eye.
Video Editing Software
my only experience with this is IMovie, which is a bit of software that comes with any apple computer or laptop. its easy and simple and does what i want it to.
Still Camera's
i have a Samsung NV and its amazing. it has lots of settings and it lets me play with shutter speeds, the quality of the picture is very high and its small enough to fit into any bag or pocket i can throw at it. the camera is a digital one, and it defiantly looks the part. i dabble in photography.
Image Editing Software
photoshop springs to mind, and i have used photoshop. i found it complicated, the instructions were terrible and i found it very picky about what it decided to comply with. my software of choice in this catagory is a windows program. its a simple to use thing with not many buttons that can handle cropping and text insertion.
Web Design
I have no experience in this, and i don't think it is anything that i am going to get used to, it just isn't my forte. ditto with Flash, i know what it is and i know that alot of things use it, but i have never created it.
Scanners
same with web design and flash, i know what a scanner is, i just have never needed to use one.
Office Type Software
Word Processors
like everyone in the english speaking world i have
Ready? oh, i am exited.
Music Technology
- Recording equipment - Hardware
- Recording Equipment - Software
- Microphones
- Live Sound Equipment
- Video Cameras and equipment
- Video Editing Software
- Still Cameras
- Image Editing Software (photoshop)
- Web design
- Flash
- Scanners
- Word Processors
- Spreadsheets
- Database Software
- Presentation Software
- Online Office Application
- Computer Software Instilation
- Computer Hardware. Mac VS PC
- Network Set Up
- Social Networking Sites
- You Tube
- Online Photo Sharing
Recording Equipment
Hardware.
When i say hardware i mean anything that does not come on a disk that you load on your computer. something that comes in a box. it has that new hardware smell.
i have had experience using a wide range of studio hardware that includes mixing desks, tape machine's, effects racks, patch bays, wall boxes, backline such as amps, monitors and reverb. i am very comfortable using all of the above and although you cannot just use it and have the results come out perfect first time with a little time and some instruction they are easy to use.
with the whole hardware/software recording debate i choose both, i like the sound of different things from both sides, software based recording is easier and more reliable to use though.
Software
This, by proxy is anything that comes on a disk. yes?
i have experience using Cubase, pro Tools, Logic, Garage Band and Ableton Live.
my favorite is Logic, by far. its ease of use is wonderful and i love the endless possibilities. However the program has a few downsides. it tends to overload and whinge a bit if you put too many channels on it and it doesnt come with a very good selection of VST and plugin instruments and finding the sounds that i wanted was very hard. The effects that it come with are easy to use and sound amazing. Overall its an easy program to use once you know what your doing.
Cubase is its little sister, a very very easy program to use with some great VST instruments on it. its a very good program for anyone learning to use music software as its MIDI use is very simple. Cubase still holds the record for my favorite piano sound.
Pro Tools.
I don't want to hurt pro tool's feelings, but i do not like this program at all. i haven't had much experience with it, but i don't like that you have to have Pro Tools compatible hardware just to run the program, Pro Tools also takes a silly amount of time to bounce anything down and waiting half an hour for something is not my idea of fun. The Pro Tools hardware though is very very sexy and one day ill have a full Pro Tools set up, just so i can wander into the room and go 'Oooohh'
that is its only saving grace.
Garage Band.
Take Logic and strip away all the good stuff and complicated buttons. that's what garage band is.
Ableton Live is amazing for live stuff and the amount of stuff you can do with it is endless. Ableton live has managed to make performing in front of an audience as painless as possible.
with Ableton live you can basically assign buttons of your keyboard to bits of the software. its a very easy concept to get hold of, it also has a live looping and recording system, which effectively means you can write and build the song on stage. in practice however its much harder than it looks.
overall i am more than comfortable with software recording and have used enough of them to be able to form my own opinions and favorites.
Microphones
i both like, and understand microphones, though i prefer traditional and popular microphones to conventional ones and i prefer simple polar patterns to anything else. There is a range of mic's that i default to, many of them are dynamic microphones and for a normal and standard band setting i still havent found anything better than a Shure SM58. i love that mic.
Live sound Equipment, much like studio is easy to use once you know what your doing, its not something that is easy to pick up and teach yourself. also, it helps if your strong, alot of the equipment is very heavy and some of the big PA setups are amazing to look at.
Other Technology
Video Camera's
i have used a video camera and i own a little tiny thing that you have to put little tapes into, which makes it very hard to edit the video's or generally upload them to a computer, though it does make them easy to store and archive. they are easy to use and take very little time to set up. i like them, though my ability to capture what i want is hindered somewhat, someday maybe ill get one installed into my eye.
Video Editing Software
my only experience with this is IMovie, which is a bit of software that comes with any apple computer or laptop. its easy and simple and does what i want it to.
Still Camera's
i have a Samsung NV and its amazing. it has lots of settings and it lets me play with shutter speeds, the quality of the picture is very high and its small enough to fit into any bag or pocket i can throw at it. the camera is a digital one, and it defiantly looks the part. i dabble in photography.
Image Editing Software
photoshop springs to mind, and i have used photoshop. i found it complicated, the instructions were terrible and i found it very picky about what it decided to comply with. my software of choice in this catagory is a windows program. its a simple to use thing with not many buttons that can handle cropping and text insertion.
Web Design
I have no experience in this, and i don't think it is anything that i am going to get used to, it just isn't my forte. ditto with Flash, i know what it is and i know that alot of things use it, but i have never created it.
Scanners
same with web design and flash, i know what a scanner is, i just have never needed to use one.
Office Type Software
Word Processors
like everyone in the english speaking world i have
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