Jake Weston

Phase Cancellation is an auditory phenomenon that occurs when two waves cancel each other out, resulting in loss of sound quality. This effect can be greatly detrimental to the effectiveness of performances and clarity of communication on a stage. Phase cancellation happens when the peaks of one wave align to cancel out the troughs of another wave. Using 2 mics at a 90 degree angle, adding paneling to the venue, or implementing a delay can help prevent phase cancellation and loss of sounds.

Key Takeaways:

• Phase cancellation is when two sound waves interfere with each other and reduce volume at specific frequencies.
• The most common cause of phase cancellation is using the same audio source for recording and/or poor microphone placement.
• You can prevent phase cancellation by having proper microphone techniques as well as using acoustic panels in your recording studio.

“The result is a sharper stereo image full of the frequencies you want while suffering no spikes in the ones you don’t want.”

Read more: https://ledgernote.com/columns/mixing-mastering/phase-cancellation/

Beatmaker has been given an upgrade with the new ujam plug-in. Beatmaker 2 will help users to create beats that sound authentic in genres like trap, EDM, and grime, to name a few. There is also a new MIDI drag and drop feature, as well as additional compressors and filters for Room and Overheads in the Mixer section. The Master section has also been upgraded, giving users more control with Saturation and Maximizer. Customers looking to upgrade to version 2 will be given a discount.

Key Takeaways:

• Ujam has upgraded its Beatmaker plugin to the second version. Ujam was created by Pharrell and Hans Zimmer.
• The second version retains many of the positive aspects of the original layout, including the smooth flow and intuitive navigation.
• Beatmaker 2 adds more control and customizability, with additional mixing and editing options.

“The plug-in is designed to help create authentic beats and grooves across a range of genres including EDM, trap, grime and more.”

Read more: https://www.musictech.net/news/beatmaker-2-upgrade/

Arturia has released several new delays, including recreations of older hardware, and a brand-new digital delay model, “Eternity”. Eternity has new, cutting-edge features, including a Bitcrusher. The “Tape 201” version is a tribute to Roland’s “Space Echo”, and is an emulation of the legendary hardware. It has several vintage delays and a spring tank reverb. “Memory Brigade” follows in the footsteps of Electo Harmonix’s “Memory Man”, with a filtered and dark barking sound of the iconic predecessor.

Key Takeaways:

• Tape-201 has vintage tape delays that are saturated and is an actual piece of hardware, not a plug in.
• The Eternity is a plug in that has five different delay modes, two LFOs and feedback effects.
• The memory brigade is used to replicate dark and filtered sounds and is inspired by the Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man.

“Tape-201 is inspired by Roland’s RE-201 Space Echo, while Memory-Brigade is informed by Electro Harmonix’s Deluxe Memory Man pedal.”

Read more: https://www.musictech.net/news/gear/arturia-3-delays-youll-actually-use/

Amazon is creating a new platform that will allow users to use the worlds first machine learning enabled musical keyboard for developers. This keyboard will connect to the cloud and use artificial intelligence to arrange a song based off of a melody you have created or played. You can use drums, bass, guitars, any type of instrument to create your melody. This keyboard will cost $99 and gives you access to the machine learning cloud for free for 12 months. Amazon is working with the company DeepComposer to implement all of this new technology.

Key Takeaways:

• Machine learning is still a source of interest and also some leeriness to many. Now Amazon is wading into the gray, offering a new way for users to make use of machine learning.
• What Amazon is doing is putting forward the very first machine-enabled keyboard for developers
• Called the AWS Deep Composer, the keyboard links with the Amazon Web Service cloud, making use of a system entitled Generative Al.

“Once your composition is completed you can then publish it to your SoundCloud account.”

Read more: https://bobbyowsinskiblog.com/2020/01/02/aws-deepcomposer/

You don’t need to spend a fortune on equipment to make a strong and appealing master track. There are plenty of free wave editors in existence that can help you achieve your goal. Furthermore, these editors are open sourced, come packed with many valuable features with multi-features and work on multiple computer platforms, such as Linux, a Macs, and PCs. Audacity fits the above criteria perfectly and can be integrated smoothly into your recording studio. It has processors that are integrated and many audio features that will help you achieve a quality master track.

Key Takeaways:

• Audacity is a piece of free, open source, multi-platform wave editing software.
• “Audacity 101” is a set of instructional videos offered by Ask Audio and featuring Joe Albano,
• Audacity has a wide variety of free tools, including compression, EQ and audio normalization.

“Starting with a multitrack session that has been recorded, edited and arranged entirely inside Audacity, Joe shows you how to take the mix and bounce it down to a stereo track, ready for mastering.”

Read more: https://ask.audio/articles/a-quick-guide-to-mastering-tracks-for-free-with-audacity