Archives for December 2016

When you’re in the tracking phases of a recording project and need to get the best takes out of each musician you’re working with, one trick of the trade is setting up headphone mixes. Musicians are able to perform at their peak when they’re getting the musical information they need to make the next take great — and that information may not make itself clear in the overall mix. Here’s how to create a headphone mix in Pro Tools.

Key Takeaways:

• Group these tracks in a track folder so you can hide and reveal them at will during the recording session.
• Now, create an aux bus for every musician recording simultaneously and send all the stems to each of these buses
• Last but not least, don’t forget to send the musician’s signal directly towards the physical output assigned to his/her headphone mix, so that he/she can hear him/herself adequately.

“a relatively simple method that will give you enough flexibility to give the musicians the ideal headphone mix, according to their own criteria, while at the same time giving you, the audio engineer, the possibility to listen to what you need to during the recording.”

http://en.audiofanzine.com/recording-mixing/editorial/articles/setting-up-the-headphone-mix.html

These days, high-quality yet affordable hardware synths are what we expect. Whether you’re looking for a pocket-sized instrument, a module or a keyboard, you can get a whole lot of instrument for your money. You can take your pick when it comes to sound engines, too. Analogue is undoubtedly so hot right now – and well-represented at the budget end of the market – but make sure you check out the digital synths that are on offer, too. In some cases, you don’t even have to choose between the two.

Key Takeaways:

• This year’s hardware winner isn’t analogue – but boy is it a technical marvel. The Montage is pretty much the synth to end all synths, with an incredible engine (or two), brilliant onboard effects, hundreds of sounds and an amazing touchscreen that sets it apart from anything else out there and makes it a joy to use.
• Montage is huge, not just in terms of its size (the 88-note in particular) and its sonic arsenal, but also in terms of its scope.
• Yamaha knows that its digital synths have to deliver – and this is the new mothership that promises to do just that, with hands-on controls, with huge sounds, with two synth engines, with a Motion Sequencer and with a massive and brilliant screen at its centre.

““It’s full of great analogue character, rock-solid in stability with the new v1.2 firmware, and is nothing short of a joy to use.”

http://www.musictech.net/2016/12/goty-11-hardware-instrument/

Since way back in the 90’s, when home recording first started… And the earliest versions of the modern DAW began emerging… People have always argued about which one is best. And as the options continually improve, the debate rages on. For beginners starting out, that makes for a tough decision, doesn’t it? So to help you guys with the all-too-common problem… For today’s post I’ve created an in-depth guide covering the best DAW’s of 2016.

Key Takeaways:

• But while this year only saw tweaks, some of them were significant, with Ableton Live nudging up to 9.7 with enhancements that make it even more intertwined with the rather great Push 2 controller.
• I’ve been using the 9.7 beta for some time and, by the way, it’s been very reliable in my setup, said reviewer and Live expert Martin Delaney.
• I was personally a little lukewarm about Push back in the early days, but it really is growing into the monster it always promised to be.

“It consequently has a huge fanbase and regularly tops our Best DAW category.”

http://www.musictech.net/2016/12/goty-12-daw/