Found this little toy on the interesting yet random & oh so powerful StumbleUpon.com The musically perfect way to kill some time, as if there isn't enough time wasters on the web, here's another one. Angry Octopus developed this little baby Moog toy synth for online use whenever you feel so inclined. If you follow the second link below you can check out his other online synthesizer emulations too. (Yamaha CS01, Korg Monotron, Roland Juno 6, plus more!) All of the synths are hosted online and free to play around with right from your browser. They respond to MIDI too, so feel free to jam away on your MIDI keyboard. Twist some knobs, smash some keys, rock out & have fun! That's what it's all about!
It was only a couple days ago that I introduced you all to Rodec's MX2200 DJ Mixer. Today I'm going to feature the product that brought me into the Rodec light. The Rodec/Sherman Restyler is an analog EFX unit built by two of the best boutique analog audio manufacturers in Belgium. Sherman products have made their name in the standalone analog filter world, and Rodec makes some of the best analog DJ & Live Sound mixers you can buy.
Sherman's Filterbank 2 has become a staple in the analog filter game, it literally features everything any analog filter nut could ever want. The Restyler isn't quite as versatile but IMO, I feel like that's what makes it so special. The Restyler has no MIDI or LFO features, not to say this is a bad thing. Both Sherman & Rodec took a more direct approach when they designed & built the Restyler, no fluff, just the stuff you need to give your music those fantastic analog filter characteristics that have been around since the days of Hendrix & even before.
On first glance the Restyler is certainly a visual wow, when you're looking at the Restyler, it stares you back in the face and screams; "manipulate every part of me, NOW!" The unit sits tilted at a nice angle that should be rather comfy & ergonomic for most of you DJ's & Performers out there. The knobs, buttons & faders live separated and spaced out from each other on the unit, this means even fat finger people like myself won't have a problem mashing the controls to infinity and back during a live set.
The Restyler won't leave you in the dark either, the visual feedback from the multiple LED's on the unit ensure that you and the Restyler are constantly in close communication. Feedback from a piece of equipment isn't as important in the studio world when we should be using our ears but, in a live setting (specifically one with crumby stage monitoring) these visual cues can often times be all we have to go on. The Restyler has all the typical metering LED's you're used fo and some that might be less familiar. It's large blue LED ring around the Master pot indicates filter modulation by pumping on & off based upon how much filter modulation is being applying to your source material. The blue & green trigger LED's rung around the "Slave" pot indicate which filter (master or slave) has the greatest effect on the source material you're running through the Restyler. If the master filter is processing more source material, than the slave the LED will be lit with blue, if the processing is taking place inside the slave filter, the LED will light up green. Any combination of the two filters will be represented by the illumination of both colors around the slave knob.
Three sliders handle the output levels of the low-pass, band-pass, & high-pass filters. Their travel is quite short at only 20mm but users do say they are still quite effective. If a fader is raised above the center unity detent the output of the filter is increased whilst simultaneously reducing filter modulation. The modulation knobs offer both positive and negative modulation with the unity setting set not dead center but at the 9 o' clock position. The Restyler features both amplitude and frequency modulation sourced from an envelop follower. (an envelope follower extracts multiple frequencies from a single wave and then uses the information to control EFX; phase, wah, etc.) The three slope buttons on the Restyler change the filter cutoffs from the default 12dB to a steeper and more aggressive 24dB slope. According to Sound on Sound (where I first discovered the Restyler) The 8 button combination provides you with enough filter flavours to satisfy just about any producer or DJ. The Restyler is more than just a filter, utilizing the controls correctly you can gate and delay material too, the Restyler does major work beyond just typical filtering, revealing a whole set of EFX characteristics not first considered when talking about filters. It's all just a matter of how the user puts the Restyler to work. Keep in mind that a limiter behind the Restyler is extremely important, filters can do major damage to not only our ears but our equipment as well. If you abuse this beast it will in turn abuse you; destroying your ears first and then demolishing your equipment. Treat it with respect and safe guard from costly mistakes by using a limiter post the Restyler in your chain.
The inputs and outputs of the Restyler are certainly DJ friendly as they offer RCA in's & out's. The restyler also features combi jacks (XLR & 1/4' Connections in one Jack) for 1/4" & XLR Inputs, and 1/4" Outputs. This is a stereo unit and is mainly designed for the processing of entire songs in a live situation but, I see no reason why it can't become a trusted tool in many production studios as an outboard filter EFX unit too. There's no doubt the Restyler can liven up those linear and lifeless sounding soft-synths from your DAW. After all analog filters are a large part of what gives true analog synthesizers their own character & sound.
I've never actually used a Restyler so I can't really speak much as to how it works once in your hands. However, the Restyler to me seems more like an instrument than an EFX box. The analog character from both Sherman & Rodec should liven up almost any piece of material ran through the Restyler. Wheather you're a performer on the go or a producer locked up in a studio the Sherman/Rodec Restyler is certainly something you want to take a look at. The audio world is slowly becoming more and more consumed by the hard and lifeless sound of digital audio, utilizing something like a Restyler adds the analog flavor that will set your music apart from the rest. For more information on the Sherman-Rodec Resytler be sure to visit the Restyler Website and check out the video below!
The ELB Distressor from Empirical Labs is probably the most recognizable and consistent piece of gear you'll ever see in any music production studio. If you look at videos or pictures of professional dance music producer's studio you'll see at least one EL-8 and most of the time you'll see two!
Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor is an analog compressor that integrates digital control over separate analog circuits. This design gives the user total flexibility and makes the Distressor one of the most versatile compressors out there. The Distressor is really a handful of units all rolled up into one single rack space unit. Even without any compression applied there is a treasure trove of harmonic tricks & character you can apply to your material using the various harmonic/distortion modes built into the Distressor. Most of these modes model vintage sounding gear that today would cost you an arm and a leg to afford. (more on this at the end of the article)
The Distressor offers 8 different compression ratios from a subtle 1:1 ratio to Empirical Lab's "Nuke" setting (200:1) These ratio's aren't selected with a knob like on most compressors, you use a switch, this switch digitally engages different analog circuits based on your chosen compression ratio. Thus giving each compression curve it's own personality and release character. The more subtle curves add just the right amount of low order harmonics while the intense ratios provide the user bright and shiny sound characteristics perfect for livening up drum groups or room mics. The most sought after curve the Distressor possesses is no doubt the 10:1 "opto" curve. In this setting the analog circuits are switched to a different set designed to emulate the famous opto LA2A of yesteryear from Universal Audio. Professionals will tell you that the Distressor's "opto" mode sounds a bit harsher than the LA2A but, they will also tell you the Distressor does a damn good job of emulating on of the finest compressors ever built.
Another very handy feature of the Distressor is it's "fool proof" operation, you don't have to be an compression master for this beast to help your work. According to Empirical labs if you leave the knobs towards the middle and the ratio set around 6:1 you can't really go wrong. The large knobs with high resolution numbering in small steps makes it very easy to adjust settings, furthermore this feature makes recalling previous settings when coming into the studio with fresh ears in the morning a breeze.
The last feature I'll touch on is the Distressor's three harmonic/distortion modes. The first two modes; Clean & Distort 2 are designed to add warm 2nd order harmonics similar to the sound achieved when using classic tube gear. The third mode; Distort 3 provides 3rd order harmonic distortion much like the warmth & sound achieved when using an analog tape machine.
The Distressor isn't built cheap, it's built like a tank and housed in solid and sturdy vent-less single rack unit. The components are all top quality and most are military grade. You don't hear of Distressors breaking down too often because they have been designed and built with an immense amount of care. The power supplies are designed to run cool and all the components were selected in part because of their long life. Rest assured, you're investment is quite safe when you purchase a Distressor, no need to worry about quality issues with any of Empirical Lab's gear. If you ever do have an issue they will surely get it resolved for you as quickly as possible. The people behind Empirical Labs are passionate about audio and this shows in their products and services.
Fact is, I could go on about the Distressor for days, like I said in the introduction to this article, you will be hard pressed to find a professional production studio without at least one Distressor. I feel like I've said enough for you to get the basic idea though. The EL-8 Distressor is an extremely versatile and flexible piece of gear perfect for almost any tracking or mixing situation. If you're making music completely inside of the box and looking for something to add a little magic to the brittle and linear sound of digital music get yourself a Distressor. It is one of the most unique sounding and multifaceted pieces of professional audio gear you can buy without spending 6 months salary. To learn more about the Distressor check out Empirical Labs website and scope the video featuring the founder of Empirical Labs!
PS: All of Empirical Labs gear is currently 15% off to celebrate their 15 years in the audio industry.
Pioneer... It's fantastic gear for DJ's. But, is it the best? If you ask the guys at Guitar Center they will tell you it is, while their standing in front of the massive Pioneer display. Fact is, it probably isn't. Yeah all the pro's use it but it's not the only gear the pro's use. Professional DJ's & Performers use gear from Allen & Heath, Korg, & even Dennon (sometimes). Have you ever heard of a Rodec Mixer? I hadn't heard of them until just a couple months ago, I came across their EFX unit while doing some digging for new ways for DJ's & Performers to make their show one of a kind.
Rodec products are all designed and manufactured in Belgium, and they've been doing it this way since 1954! Their MX2200 DJ Mixer is one of their newest products from their Progressive Line and I must say that it might just be the ultimate analog DJ mixer out there. The MX2200 is a 6 channel 12 1/2" professional analog DJ mixer. All of Rodec's products have been made famous due to their ultra high quality studio ready analog sound. Nothing sounds like a Rodec... Period. Now that we've got the "amazing sound" aspect covered we can move on to the specifications of the Rodec MX2200. The MX2200 features 5 multiple input channels which can handle; balanced XLR inputs, Phono inputs, & 2 stereo RCA inputs. Channels 1 & 5 also include a digital S/PDIF input as well as an option for a USB audio I/O signal from your computer. Each of the 5 input channels feature a mic pre with gain adjustment, Pan, EQ, Crossfader routing, PFL Solo for cues & an analog fader for level control. The 6th input channel doesn't feature RCA or digital inputs but, it does have the same balanced microphone input with pre, gain settings, and PFL functions as the other 5 channels.
There's one more feature to each channel that's a world exclusive, and that's Rodec's FX wet/dry selection potentiometer. (potentiometer= geek speak for knob) The Rodec doesn't feature an on board FX section, instead they have two FX inserts on the rear of the unit for connection to outboard FX units. IE: Korg's Kaoss Pad, Rodec's Restyler, Kalediloop. With the Rodec mixer you have dual wet/dry control over both effects units for each individual channel. Do you understand how cool that is? Forget standard and tired Pioneer DJ EFX everyone's heard, you can use a Rodec with two EFX units to create totally original and unique EFX for your sets. You could even hook a computer up to one of these FX inserts and use EFX plug-ins as one of your inserts on the Rodec. Then imagine a Kaoss Pad on the other insert. You could then be rocking a set whilst using the Kaoss Pad EFX blended with any number of EFX from your computer to create truly insane sounds.
Rodec build their mixers in a modular fashion and you can even make changes to the mixer to suit your style. You can add USB audio I/O to the mixer or Digital Faders (I'm not sure if the digital faders can send midi info though) Looking at this modular concept it's no wonder they didn't add an EFX unit to their Progressive Line of DJ Mixers. Rodec has definietly taken the "build your own" setup idea to heart.
The MX2200 has multiple outputs for performance and tracking in the studio. Their is one standard balanced XLR output, and then a second balanced XLR output with an EQ that allows you to control the high and low end of your master channel. (great for adjusting your overall sound to meet the acoustic specifications of where ever you're playing.) The master channel features Rodec's exclusive dual wet/dry EFX control. For live recording the mixer features 3 RCA & 2 digital S/PDIF outputs.
The bottom line is... Rodec Mixers are built like tanks in Belgium (not china) with quality materials by passionate craftsmen. They have a reputation of sound that can't really be rivaled in the DJ Mixer world and their products allow the end user to get something that will suit their needs perfectly regardless of how insane their current setup might be. I hope this has been a decent introduction into the world of Rodec DJ & Sound products. Maybe one of you looking into some Pioneer of Allen & Heath gear might give Rodec a look. I highly doubt you'll be displeased.
I had a hell of a time finding a video of the MX2200 but, I did find one of Rodec's Restyler analog EFX units. Be sure to give Rodec's Website a look so you can check out all of their products!
I haven't done any posts on German MIDI controller manufacturer Fader Fox yet but, if you know me, you know... I love FaderFox! Quality MIDI control, something that's a rarity in the audio industry. You've got Livid Instruments & FaderFox doing honorable work in the MIDI world, beyond that you have to get very boutique or DIY to give yourself reliable controls capable of MIDI.
Even though it seems bleak for you MIDI guys it's not all darkness. in 2009 when Traktor Pro was introduced a DJ by the name of DJ Mole switched from his timecode vinyls to a custom MIDI controller he built with the help of FaderFox. The popularity of this unit was quickly picked up on by the YouTube masses and DJ Mole saw an opportunity to create a product. Thus, Glanzmann Digital DJ Solutions was born. They set to work creating a new fully functional DJ Controller they could sell to the public. Glanzmann Solutions joined forces with FaderFox and together the two companies set out to build the finest DJ MIDI Controller ever created. Fader Fox has made a name for itself by creating rough & tough portable MIDI Controllers for DJ's & Producers. They've dubbed their controllers the MicroModule line and that's exactly what they are. Everything they make is professionally designed and built in Germany for customers demanding precise and tactile MIDI control.
Now that we know a bit more about Glanzmann Digital & FaderFox we can take a closer look at their collaboration for the digital DJ world. The 4midiLoop is a completely functional and customizable MIDI controller specifically designed for Traktor Pro. It features 4 sections complete with everything you need to control each of Traktor Pro's 4 tracks. Each section features its own: EQ, Transport, FX, Seek/Scratch, Looping & Cue sections all designed to work with Traktor Pro. I haven't seen a controller with as much control over a program as the 4midiLoop has. Sure, some can control everything that the 4midiLoop can but... they can't do it without hitting some sort of "shift" button. Every single thing you need to control your DJ set is right in front of your face with the 4midiLoop. No need to worry about switches or shift buttons, if you need to control it, you can quickly access it on the 4midiLoop. The 4midiLoop features 47 knobs, 5 Faders, 152 LED's & 166 Buttons plus, the whole thing is USB bus powered. You don't have to be worried about being rough with this beast, it's designed for the road as all FaderFox products are.
Give the 4midiLoop a look, the price is a bit steep considering it has no interface but all in all I feel it's a pretty fair mark. Would I buy it over the Xone DX? That's debatable but, it certainly wouldn't be an easy decision. Hopefully I can get my hands on one of these for a review, until then be sure to check out the 4midiLoop & FaderFox websites for more information regarding this truly savage DJ controller.
I first saw this little beast on Livid's facebook page, the product has since been made more famous, post its appearance in Sweedish House Mafia's video for One. You know that madness in the beginning of the song? That's all from the OP-1. You're intrigued now, might as well keep reading.
The OP-1 is a portable synthesizer that also features MIDI & Teenage Engineering's exclusive "tape" feature. Inside is multiple types of synthesis (8 to be precise) including a form of analog emulation for you tone lovers. Most of you are used to controlling synthesis through the basic ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) envelope which is obviously built in to the OP-1. But, the OP-1 also features other types of envelope forms giving you even more control and customization over the sounds you create on the OP-1. Add to this a built in sequencer and sampler for creating drum loops and small samples of program info. The synthesis and drum sampler are all cool enough but, that isn't really what sets the OP-1 apart.
What does make it quite unique is the OP-1's "tape" emulation function. With this little tool you can record and manipulate sounds you've created to the tape function (HD) in real time. It's a 4 track tape recorder that's capable of capturing sound from the built in synth/sampler or from the inputs available with the OP-1's audio interface. A tape machine can in fact be a very cool sounding instrument. The first time I hit play on a 24 track I instantly re-wound the tape to record the sound of the tape starting up. It's truly an epic sound and while the OP-1 obviously isn't a Studer, it does it's best to emulate the effects of one. There are a ton of unique sounds you can concoct using the tape feature that will surely set your music apart from the masses. There's a small built in mixer so you can easily blend the sounds between the 4 tracks you've built up while jamming on top of the OP-1. The OP-1 connects to your computer via USB and shows up as a storage device. This allows you to easily pull material you've created onto the OP-1 right into your DAW for mixing and placement into your songs. The USB functionality also enables the OP-1 to act as a basic MIDI controller.
The built in audio interface features in's & out's via 3.5mm jacks @ 24bits & 96kbps. The OP-1 also has a small built in speaker so you can jam anywhere, did I mention the unit can be battery powered. Another neat feature of the OP-1 is it's G-Force motion sensor. This allows the user to shake or move the OP-1 complete with an effected audio response from the OP-1. Shake this beast and the sound will in turn shake as well! There is even rumors from Teenage Engineering that you will be able to connect multiple OP-1's for jamming with your friends without wires. That's what I just said, wireless digital jam sessions! The OP-1 might be worth buying just to keep in your glove box for long road trips with people like me who don't shut the hell up.
The OP-1 has gotten incredibly fantastic reviews from the audio world and if it's good enough for Sweedish House Mafia it's certainly good enough for all of us! You can't buy the OP-1 yet but as soon as you can I'll surely let you all know via ZeSoundSuite! Check out the video below of the OP-1 in action and for more information on the OP-1 & the company behind it; Teenage Engineering be sure to check out their webstie!
I know everyone that produces or works with digital music has seen it. That option in the bounce menu or on a plug-in that says "Dither" or something similar with the word dither in it. Every single digital audio system utilizes dither to add noise to a signal when a higher quality digital audio file needs to be down sampled or re-quantized to a lower bit-rate.
The whole idea behind dither is actually quite simple. My goal with this article is to condense the theroy in a way that I've not yet come across on the internet. The process of dither addition is very important, the problem is people don't know about it. Furthermore, when people go to find out about it they are smacked in the face with very complicated explanations behind the practice. It seems complicated at first but I'm going to do my best to explain this as painlessly as possible.
Lets talk about why we need it first and then I'll explain exactly what it is and how to apply it to your work. Lets say we have a digital audio sample at a resolution of 24bits @ 44.1kbps. This audio sample is not an actual analog audio signal, it's merely a representation of one that has been digitally created using binary samples. A 24bit sample has a number space of around 16.7 million spaces. This basically means that there is 16.7 million samples taken from the analog audio signal per binary word to create a digital audio version of it. A 16bit sample by comparison only has 65,536 spaces in each of it's binary words. Obviously a 24bit sample is a much truer representation of the original analog audio. The higher the bit & sample rate the better quality digital audio you'll have. The problem is that high bit & sample rate files are very large in file size. A CD is a 16bit 44.1khz digital audio file this is all fine and dandy but, bad things happen when we sample down from 24bits (the sample rate we should work with when recording & mixing) to 16bits for CD and mp3 creation.
When you down sample from 24bits to 16bits you're reducing the amount of digital spaces per binary word (the binary words make up the digital waveform) by a factor of 256 to be precise. Basically the computer recalculates the digital waveform of each sample from a 24 space binary number down to a 16 space binary number whilst maintaining the same amplitude level. Can you see how this might create a problem... Imagine a bus with 30 people, no imagine all 30 of those people being told to get off the bus and get into a van. Chaos! The same thing happens when you down sample from 24bits to 16bits, there is audio chaos in the form of binary errors.
What we get in digital audio is harmonic distortion, and when you down sample without dither, harmonic distortion increases all the way up to very high level harmonics. Fundamental frequencies of the tones show up at irritating levels in the harmonic spectrum. These aren't pleasant 2nd and 3rd order music friendly harmonics, they are nasty sounding high level harmonics up into the 20th level harmonic and above. These harmonics are not musically pleasant and will ruin what was otherwise a beautiful sound. How do we prevent this from happening? We add Dither, itunes does it, (crapilly) and we can do it on our own inside of our DAW.
Dither works by randomizing all those binary word errors that result in ugly sounding high order harmonics through the addition of low level noise to the digital audio signal. The noise of dither is created by randomizing the least significant bit of each binary word sample. The least significant bit is the last number in a binary word sequence. Adding dither results in a random 1 or 0 being added to the sample (remember digital audio is simply 1's & 0's) This random addition removes the regularity of errors in the digital audio sample. If it's not regular digital errors and instead random digital errors (as it is when dither is added) we remove the harmonic distortion. Basically, the errors are no longer errors we hear as harmonics but, instead random less noticeable sounding errors. To sum it up after addition of dither the binary errors have been randomized so that we can no longer hear them. Now the errors are spread out throughout the frequency spectrum, they still exist it's just that they aren't as present and extreme as they were before. We can further mask these errors after the addition of dither through a technique called shaping.
Noise Shaping is a way of choosing where we would like to focus the dither "noise" in the frequency spectrum. If we can do this we can eliminate the harmonic distortion and keep the overall dither "noise" level low. Noise shaping adds a filter to the noise created by adding dither. This allows the noise to only live in the inaudible frequencies from 20khz up to 22khz. We can't hear this and it effectively kills the harmonic distortion while reducing the overall level of dither heard in the rest of the frequency spectrum. To be honest though, you don't need to worry about noise shaping all that much unless you're doing serious mastering. Most dither plug-ins do a fine job of noise shaping regardless of which setting you select. Just remember to add dither and some form of noise shaping any time you are re-quantizing (down-sampling) IE: 24bit/48k to 16bit/44.1k.
So now that we know how it works lets talk about how to correctly add it to our material. The best way to add dither is in mono form. If you're adding it to stereo material bounce it to mono first without dither at the same sample rate and then re-bounce the now mono material with a dither plug-in down to a lower sample rate. Here's an example: Lets say I'm in the mix and I've got a stereo sample of live drums at 24bit/48kbps that I want to add to an old 16bit/44.1kbps session. Fist I'd bounce the stereo sample to mono at 24bit/48kbps (no down-sampling, merely bouncing to split the stereo file to mono) I'd open a session at 24bit/48kbps drop the drum sample in there and add a dither plug-in such as Waves IDR. I'd select my bit rate (for this example it's 16 bits) and choose my shaping option, "normal" is usually more than adequate. Then I'd bounce the two mono files out as a stereo file and have a perfectly re-quantized sample at 16bits/44.1kbos without any harmonic distortion at all. It's that simple and it will make a difference in the overall sound of your work if you do it correctly and at the right times.
Dither is, in all reality most important during mastering when preparing material for CD & mp3 distribution but, it should also be put to use during mixing as well, like in the example above. It seems a little daunting at first but it's very important in digital audio and makes the difference between the pro's and the amateurs. Learn it, love it, use it. It's dither and it's noise that is our friend! If you're still confused and have question just shoot me an email and I'll do my best to help you out!
Curious about live sound? Check out this video from 5MinLife! It's not the most visually appealing video you've ever seen but it's full of knowledge pertaining to a live sound system. Even if you're not into live sound, this video can teach quite a bit about an audio system in general. They go over nearly every part of an audio system and sum it all up in a basic yet still very informative way. Topics in the video include, but are not limited to; Mixing Consoles, Amplifiers, Speakers, Subs, Monitors, Cables Microphones, Time-Based EFX, Crossovers, DI Boxes, EQ's, Compressors and more! This basic sound reinforcement knowledge is beyond important if your serious about getting involved with audio as a producer, DJ, or engineer. I wish they would've spent time on general signal flow but, you can't always get everything you want. Regardless, this is still a fantastic video to help beginners wrap their heads around what can seem to be a very daunting subject. It's not, I promise, just check out the video and after it you'll know quite a bit more about what's going on inside of that big booth that sits in the middle of every concert you've ever been to!
What sounds better than digital gear? Analog gear... What kind of analog gear sounds the best? TUBE analog gear! All valve (tube) equipment actually process 100% of the incoming signal, Class B (tubes are Class A) forms of equipment only process 50% of the incoming signal. Not to say this is a bad thing, it's just that tubes do in fact sound better than solid state gear. They just add that pleasant harmonic touch to everything they process, no plug-in will EVER be able to replicate vacuum tube's effect on audio. Tubes bring the life and harmonics from a piece of material that would've been otherwise dull and unappealing. I can't explain it in a way that will make sense without typing 4,000 words though, you just have to hear tubes action for yourself to understand why they're so much better.
Since there isn't a lot of manufactures left who make all tube gear some things have happened to the industry. First: Gear that's 100% all valve has gotten fairly expensive. Second: Everyone knows tubes sound better, so... Companies will throw a crumby tube in their equipment to process the basic tone but still leave the power amp as a class B design. This is just flat out misleading. Don't buy tube gear from companies who don't specialize in all tube designs. Thermionic Culture doesn't sacrifice quality to cut the bottom line & fool the consumer, they make amazing sounding gear for the masses who want professional sounding productions!
The man who started Thermionic Culture; Vic Keary, built his first studio's in the 50's and has been in the audio world ever since. In the 50's you couldn't just buy a bunch of commercially available gear you actually had to "build" a studio, with your hands and brain. Vic Keary is an audio legend and the company he's created will surely become a page in the book of professional audio companies.
I could spend a bunch of time explaining all of the products Thermionic Culture offers the public but that would be quite a lengthy article. Instead I'll just give you a run down of the basic idea behind the company and then you'll be able to take that info with you when you visit Thermionic Culture's website to check out their gear! Thermionic Culture is a professional audio equipment designer and manufacturer from England. Everything they build is constructed by hand (if this isn't fantastic I don't know what is) Thermionic Culture's gear can be found in some of the best professional studio's in the world. People that know audio know tubes sound better, people that know tubes sound better know Thermionic Culture is the business when it comes to sweetening sounds. Thermionic Culture has 16 different models of all valve based gear in the form of Pre-amps, Compressors, Summing Mixers & EQ's. I am quite interested in their Phoenix Mastering Compressor and can't wait till I have enough cheese to afford one. Thermionic Culture's company motto is: 100% Full Fat Audio Content. Why give your productions and projects anything less than 100%? Check out Thermionic Culture's Website and do some digging for yourself, you'll understand why this in indeed one of the most respected professional audio companies out there!
Check out this video from Sound on Sound featuring Kevin Walker from Thermionic Culture to learn more about their flagship product The Culture Vulture!
Here's an episode from Benchmark Audio's Masters From Their Day Webisode Series. This is the second episode and I chose it because I think this is by the most appealing and beautiful song featured thus far in the series. The quick little 10 minute videos show you what happens in a recording session from beginning to end. It's a great in depth look into what actually goes down in a studio to capture the sounds that eventually create an entire song. If you've never seen how a recording session works I can't recommend this video series to you enough. You'll see how passionate these engineers and artists are about capturing the perfect sound. The studio featured is the world famous Pie Studios in Glenn Cove, NY and the band that's in the video is Annie and the Beekeepers. The song is called "In the Water" and you can download it for free from the Masters From Their Day Website. While you're over there make sure you check out the other 2 videos as well! Enjoy!
Am I a fan of all of AVID's restrictions and BS they make you work around with their LE systems? Not really what-so-ever. Do I think it's the best DAW out their for Mixing & Recording... No doubt.
Nothing works like Pro Tools, it's seamless and beyond efficient for applying a speedy work flow to any project. Pro Tools just works, bottom line, regardless of all the hardware restrictions. (They are only trying to protect their product from piracy. Can you blame them?) Pro Tools LE with the Music Production bundle was a pretty hefty beast of a DAW and you could do quite a bit with it but, it still lacked some very important features that were available with Pro Tools HD. IE: Automatic Delay Compensation, 5.1 Feature, High Channel Counts, 192khz Resolution, Synchronization, Multiple Solo Modes, etc. These limitations made working with LE a trying process at times and their is no doubt I've opened up and used Cocko's Reaper more than a couple times when I was just fed up with Pro Tool's limitations. Still, I always ended up using Pro Tools in the end. I honestly just can't change my DAW, I love the work flow I've created inside of Pro Tools way too much. Maybe one day but, for now I'm a dedicated Pro Tools user and very excited about the new Native HD Systems that were just released.
With the release of Pro Tools HD Native, Pro Tools has changed the DAW game. It's not even really "native" though, it still requires a PCIe card from AVID. So the whole name is a little misleading. They should have just called it, Pro Tools HD That Costs Less. I guess it is kind of native, since it does take some advantage of your computers processing power unlike previous HD Systems. However, I feel that to call a system "native" it needs to only use the power from the computers processor. IE: Logic, Ableton, etc. Now you can have all the benefits of a Pro Tools HD System (Minus TDM Plug-ins) at a price that's actually affordable though. Who could really ever afford an actual HD system on a home budget anyways. I don't know about you but I can think of about 100 other things I'd buy with 10 grand as opposed to some of Digi's other PT HD Systems. Don't start thinking that Pro Tools HD Native will be "cheap" it's not trust me, it' retails for $3,500 without AVID's new Omni or HD Interfaces. You can score a decent deal by picking up the Native HD System bundled with one of AVID's new Omni interfaces (8x8) for just under $6,000. Compared to an HD 1 system you're saving a fairly big chunk of cash while still having the great quality, features & plug-ins that HD is known for.
Let's talk about who this system is for first because, it requires a few things which put it beyond the reach of some users. In order to run the new Pro Tools HD Native system you need to have at least one of AVID's HD Interfaces. Whether it's their new HD line of interfaces or an older 192/96 I/0 you still need one of these to run the HD Native system. The HD Native system supports up to 4 interfaces. Like I said before it doesn't have support for TDM Plug-ins but does support RTAS/AudioSuite Plug-ins. You also need to have a computer with at least one open PCIe slot (Laptop Users Check this Out, you can get the PCIe power too) AVID also recommends at least 2 gigs of ram and either Windows 7 or Mac OSX 10.6.4.
I suppose it's time for the specs now... Pro Tools HD Native features up to 64 channels of simultaneous I/O. More than you'll likely ever fill. Maximum number of audio tracks allowed varies depending on what sample rate your session is set to. Since most of the new age kids are making their sessions all stereo (please stop doing this, there is nothing wrong with a mono kick) I'll list the stereo specs, these audio track counts are doubled for mono tracks. @ 48kHz you can have up to 96 Stereo Audio Tracks, @ 96kHz you can have up to 48 Stereo Audio Tracks, and @ 192kHz you can have up to 18 Stereo Audio Tracks. As I said before if you're using mono tracks these audio track counts are doubled. There are other caps on numbers of instruments tracks, midi tracks, aux tracks, VCA tracks, & master tracks but they are such high counts most of you wouldn't be affected by these limitations. If you still want to see them check out the specs page over at AVID. Yes it does still require one of AVID's "native" PCIe cards and cannot just run off of your computer's host processor. Beyond that, it's loaded with all the goodies and features of previous HD Systems, Including all the plug-ins and instruments!
Is this a truly "native" system? No, far from it in fact. It still will cost you a nice chunk of cheese to set up a new Pro Tools HD Native system from AVID but, this is the most professional and highest quality format of Digital Audio Workstation available at an affordable price. You can't expect it to be cheap, you're paying for quality and if you've ever used a Pro Tools HD system you know it's worth every cent. The great thing is they've made this HD system affordable enough for serious home studio enthusiasts & producers. I've included a few links below to AVID's website so you can do some digging of your own. They haven't really made that much information available yet. I'm sure we will all learn more as the days go by and the product begins to sell though, I'll keep you all posted on any updates related to this release, including the general consensus on it over at GearSlutz.
If you guys remember I did a post on Nick and his Ableton tutorial's site aptly named NicksTutorials.com back in March. His tutorials aren't your average run of the mill tutorials, all of them (even the free ones) do a fantastic job of digging deeply into Ableton Live and getting down to the nitty girtty, covering areas of the program other tutorial makers often neglect. All of his tutorials avoid useless info and when you hit play on any of Nick's videos you're off and learning within 10 seconds. This one isn't quite as in depth as some of the other videos he's made but it's still incredibly important. Automation has the ability to transform a lifeless track into a track with; varying dynamics, structure, and stereo spread if it's used correctly. In this quick tutorial from Nick on Ableton Automation, Nick goes over; Drawing, Recording, & Editing Automation. As with all of Nick's Tutorials this one gets right down to the "need to know" info right off the bat. This is certainly on the basic side of his tutorials but I'm willing to bet even you Ableton Savages might learn something new, he goes over lots of shortcuts that can save everyone a lot of time when working with automation. Check out the automation tutorial from Nick right here and be sure to visit his homepage at NicksTutorials.com to investigate everything else this Ableton Guru has to offer!
Buttons, Good... MIDI Buttons, better... Arcade Style MIDI Buttons, INSANE! DjTechTools.com is a blog/resource/store for DJ's based around the equipment, techniques & tricks of the Digital DJ world. Fear not producers, they haven't forgot about you. Case & Point: The MIDI Fighter. This piece was originally sold out but, as of October 1st, 2010 DJTechTools.com is now taking orders for this beast once again.
The MIDI Fighter is a hand built, completely customizable MIDI Controller for use with any software that accepts MIDI messages. The MIDI Fighter features a high quality sturdy frame sporting 16 spring loaded durable & smooth Japanese Sanwa Arcade Buttons & blue LED's. If you've ever used any type of spring loaded controller button you know how absolutely epic they are for bouncing between cue points, loops and firing samples. Allen & Heath's Xone DX features 4 tiny spring loaded buttons for memory cues and this was hands down my favorite feature of the controller. I'm getting all turned on thinking about 16 massive spring loaded buttons to jam on. The MIDI Fighter isn't some cheap crumby standard MIDI Controller, quite the contrary in fact.
Each one of these controllers is completely hand built and unique from the acrylic base plate up. DJ TechTool's store allows you to customize your controller in real time on the web and see exactly how it will look before your purchase it. They can build your controller for you, for an extra $15.00 (a very fair shake I must say, props) or you can have it shipped to you in pieces and you can build it yourself. No need to worry about soldering either, none is required with their DIY MIDI Fighter kits. Don't forget that since these are built DIY style in pieces your MIDI Fighter is also completely customizable and ready for an upgrade anytime you feel the urge. The main board comes with an extra 8 inputs. (4 Analog, 4 Digital) This means you can add your own controls aside from the Sanwa Buttons (IE: Faders, Knobs, Ribbons etc) thus turning your MIDI Fighter into a truly one of a kind machine. If you're still skeptical about the whole DIY idea, don't be. DJ Tech Tools put together a great video to help you out and guide you through the process step by step. I feel like I could show my 8 year old niece this video, give her the pieces and she could build it. Plus, think how much better you'll feel about your controller knowing you built it yourself. That's worth the DIY time right there not to mention you save 15 bucks.
Worried about mapping this controller to your software? You worry to much... no need to trip DJTechTools.com has taken care of that for you too. At their site they have mappings available for Traktor Pro & Serato Scratch. Mapping in Ableton is beyond easy and it's also a program that's used in such a variety of ways by each user it's obvious they don't have a map for it. I know three people who use digital lighting software to control their DMX capable stage lights, I have to say that I think the MIDI Fighter might be the perfect option for those lighting guys looking for a durable controller to orchestrate their light shows with too.
Lets re-cap this thing really quick. Hand Built, High Performance/Quality, DIY Option, Customizable, Upgradable, Supported, Versatile MIDI Controller. It also has quite the community of passionate and dedicated digital geeks standing behind it to ensure you're never left in the dark if you have questions regarding the MIDI Fighter. What are you waiting for? Go buy one! Even I must admit that I had given up on spending money on DJ/Production equipment so I could save up for more engineering based analog gear but I think I'll be breaking that little pact with myself to grab one of these before they're sold out again. For more information regarding the MIDI Fighter check out the video below and visit DjTechTools.com.
Hey everyone here's a little quickie for all of you. Native Instruments just announced they would be releasing their Traktor Kontrol S4 on November 1st 2010 & NI just started taking pre-orders on it today. While I did just do a post on Allen & Heath's Xone DX & The HoloDesk proclaiming their greatness, this piece of hardware is also another quality controller option. While Native Instruments doesn't have the reputation for software control & DJ equipment that Allen & Heath does, they did create Traktor and I'm sure the Traktor Kontrol S4 will be quite the beast when it comes to MIDI talk with Traktor. The 24bit/96k audio interface shouldn't be a slouch either. There isn't much to say about it yet, just check out the video below and follow the link for more info from Native Instruments. When this product does become available I'll surely get a review out to all of you as I am a big fan of Traktor Pro and can't wait to see what this MIDI Controller can do! Plus, for $999.99 including a specialized copy of Traktor Pro this thing is a pretty damn good deal!
We've all heard the rumors and seen the epic Rane Mixer but it's hard to be stoked on something until it's really here and in front of your face. Well my friends, The Bridge is finally here! Ableton and Serato got together to smash up the best of both worlds when it comes to live electronic music performance, and I must say, I think they've hit the mark.
The Bridge was released on Septemeber 22nd and is available for Ableton Suite & Live users. Since it's so new to the market a lot of infromation isn't available yet but will surely trickle onto the net as more users put The Bridge to work. In order to use The Bridge you need to have Ableton Live/Suite 8.2 or above and Serato Scratch Live 2.1.1 or above. Support for Serato's Itch is also in the works and will no doubt be available here in the near future.
Essentially The Bridge gives your Ableton productions DJ Turntable style control with Serato and your CDJ's. You can drag clips from Ableton into a deck inside of Serato and have all of the typical "DJ" tools and tricks at your disposal for your Ableton clips. Looping on the fly efficiently and EQing two tracks at once is nearly impossible with Ableton so The Bridge will be a much needed god send for those old school DJ's who now use Ableton to perform. Basically, if you can do it in Serato you can now do it with Ableton and if you can do it in Ableton you can now do it with Serato. I hope that makes sense if not think of it like this... The Ableton Session View now lives inside of Serato. You can also record you Serato mix sets directly into Ableton. With this feature you can use plug-ins available in Ableton to tweak and perfect your recorded live DJ mixes. The programs accomplish their respective tasks seamlessly together and unlike ReWire it doesn't matter which program you open first. You don't need an interface either, Ableton and Serato have perfected the routing so that all the audio is being routed inside of the box. And yes all your Ableton Midi Hardware will also work with the Bridge. An APC 40 ripping Ableton clips to shreads next to a set of CDJ's mashing up bangers... if that doesn't stimulate creativity I don't know what can.
Scope this video to learn more about The Bridge and for even more info on The Bridge be sure to visit Ableton's site. They have done a fantastic job introducing the world to the The Bride and you can even try the demo for free! After all, actually using the software and putting it to work with your personal work flow is the best way to learn.
You've all seen holographic displays before, they are very prevalent in Hollywood movies and often now used by news anchors and sports casters on television. However, they aren't quite as prevalent in the musical performance scene. Kevin Andreassend is the inventor of the HoloDesk and he's looking to change that. Kevin was kind enough to leave a comment on ZeSoundSuite and helped me promote this place by linking ZSS to some of his sites. I figured I would return the favor by doing some research on the HoloDesk and preparing a post for all of you to enjoy.
ICE AV is a company from the New Zealand that has created the HoloDesk for DJ's and digitally based performers. The HoloDesk is a holographic 2D touch sensitive display that projects images on both sides of the unit. This gives the audience a front row seat to whatever is being displayed on the HoloDesk. The crowd can now see all the madness the DJ or Performer is manipulating in their software during the show. Obviously the HoloDesk can be put to more uses than just DJing but for now being that it's so new to the market that's all we have a preview to at the moment. The HoloDesk can convert your hands touch into MIDI messages which can then be sent into your DJ software to manipulate the various parameters and controls. Imagine being able to see exactly what the DJ is doing as they're doing it. The HoloDesk has the ability to connect the artist and the crowd in new ways never before thought of. A live performance is all about the connection and the HoloDesk will certainly be that link between performers and audiences as it gains popularity in the industry.
Currently you have to purchase a DIY kit to get your own HoloDesk but, a plug & play complete version from ICE AV is in the works currently. However, a DIY kit does give you the advantage of choosing from a variety of options ICE AV offers. There's no doubt within a few years we will all of seen this live and in use as DJ's & Performers from around the world are itching to get their own HoloDesk. ICE AV is even working on a 10.2" LCD Touchscreen computer running Windows 7 for use with DJ Software as well. The basic function of the HoloDesk is simple, you touch it and your computer responds just like any other MIDI Controller. The difference being that this is coolest looking most epic MIDI Controller ever created! If you're interested in a HoloDesk you can contact ICE AV Directly or do some more research on your own at their website. Check out this video of a user putting Traktor Pro to work with the HoloDesk and you'll understand why the the HoloDesk is indeed the future of live performance!
Rupert Neve... This man needs no introduction, he's a legend and his creations have been put to work on countless hit records from around the world. Walk into any major recording studio and there is a 50% chance you will see a console bearing the name Neve. The name Neve sends shivers down any audiophiles spine and touching one is akin to a car addict taking a Bentley for a spin. While the original Neve brand (AMS Neve) is now owned by SAE. (where I was educated) Rupert Neve has created a new brand, this one bearing his full name. Rupert Neve Designs is the new professional audio company churning out quality products for producers & engineers who demand the best.
The Portico II Channel is the latest product in the Portico line and the first full 2U rack space Channel Strip Portico Unit. This rack mount beast features the same circuitry & transformers from Rupert Neve Designs 5088 Console. The Portico II Channel strip features: Input Section (Mic, Line, DI) 4 channel EQ Section, Compressor Section & a unique Neve Texture Section. The larger unit size also means larger transformers for the Preamps. =) This Portico unit is a step above the rest. I'll start with a few words about the input section featuring Rupert Neve Pre's and move on from there to cover the rest of the Portico II Channel.
The input section of the Portico II Channel features a very unique preamp from Rupert Neve. The preamps are TLA (Tube Leveling Amplifier) design. You've got 66dB of gain with the Portico II Channel's pre and this can be adjusted in 6dB increments using the gain pot. You can also make fine adjustments with the trim pot between these 6db increments. The amplifiers are true Class A Tube preamps and as a result they process 100% of the incoming signal. Other Class B (Push-Pull) amplifiers only process 50% of the incoming signal. From the lips of Rupert Neve himself, "They are very inefficient as a result but who cares about efficiency when we're talking about music." You can also bring Line & DI signals into the Portico II Channel as well. All of the inputs are of course ultra high quality Neve Design Inputs. The input section also features; 48v Phanton Power, Phase Inversion Switch, Mute Switch and a transient optimized HPF from 20khz-20hz (High Pass Filter, also known as Low Cut Filter) The input section can handle a 26dBu signal without the use of a pad.
The EQ section of the Portico II Channel is incredibly advanced and unlike a lot of other analog rack mount EQ's that are available today. The design allows the EQ in the Portico II Channel to retain a variety of characters from classic EQ's while still allowing the EQ to be surgical enough to make precise EQ adjustments. The EQ is 4 bands and lies in between the HPF and the compressor in the signal chain. However it can be moved behind the compressor by switching the Post Comp Switch on the unit. The following sentences are from Rupert Neve Designs and they do a far better job than I could of explaining the nerdy details of the Portico II Channel's EQ/De-Esser Circuits.
"The Low Shelf has an independent engage switch, Classic Peak/ Accelerated Shelf selection, with +/- 12dB level adjustment, and selectable turnover frequencies of 35, 60, 100, and 220 Hz. The Fully Parametric LMF and HMF bands have a joint engage switch, providing +/- 12dB level adjustment, continuously variable “Q” from 0.7 to 5 and continuously variable frequency ranges from 70 to 1.4KHz and 700Hz to 14KHz. In addition to its standard capabilities, the HMF band can also be used to precisely tune a new De-Esser circuit. The De-Esser can be varied from off to full effect, and uses the Frequency, and “Q” controls to tame harsh sibilance in vocals and instruments with an independent high-mid limiter. Even when the De-Esser is on, the EQ level may still be used. The High Frequency shelf has independent engage switch, Classic Peak/ Accelerated Shelf selection, +/- 12dB level adjustment, and selectable turnover frequencies of 4.7, 6.8, 12, and 25kHz. When two Portico II Channels are used side by side, the EQ section can also excel at stereo material."
If you're not familiar with EQ terminology you're no doubt tripping out right now wondering what you just read but fear not, I will help put all this into normal human speak. When they say Low Shelf they are reffering to the Low End of the Frequency spectrum. This knob/pot (pot is a term used in the industry to describe knobs) controls the low end. You've got 12dB+/- of gain adjustment for the low freqeuncies at 35, 60 100 & 200Hz. The Classic Peak/Accelerated shelf refers to the Q (or shape) of how the EQ attenuates and boosts the selected frequencies. This little bit should help you understand EQ terms and you should be able to take this knowledge with you when you read about the LMF, HMF and HF sections of the EQ. A De-Esser is a tool used to remove sibilance (the sss sound in vocals) This sound can often get out of control when recording some vocalists and a De-Esser is a good way to cut out this sibilance that can be so disturbing to our ears when played back. If you're still confused about EQ terminology send me an email and I'll link you up with a bunch of tutorials to help you out!
The compressor section of the Portico II is just as felxible as the EQ and I/P sections of the Portico II Channel Strip. If you're looking for clean subtle dynamic adjustments or massive compression with a ton of fat ass Neve character the dynamics section of the Portico II can put itself to work for you. It features the same Forward Feed/Return Feed modes from the Portico 5043. Each of these responses features it's own character the first has a more transparent and modern response while the second option gives you a more tonally aggressive "old school" character. The HPF to SC feature allows you to insert the HPF into the side chain of the compressor which makes it much easier to tame the low end material that can really screw up dynamic compression processing in some situations. There is also a "Blend" switch which allows you to blend the compressed and uncompressed materials together thereby giving the less loud material in the track a chance to be heard dynamically with the louder signals. If you just smash a signal into a compressor you'll loose all the dynamics, the quietest sounds and the loudest sounds will all be at the same amplitude, the blend switch affords you a lot more control when compressing material. This whole idea goes into Parallel Compression which I will cover in a later post. There is also a "send" & "return" insert feed from the compressor so you can hook up external EQ's and other equipment to it for even more control. The "return" i/p can also be used as a key input for the compressor.
Finally we have the "Texture" or "Silk" Section on the Portico II Channel. This feature can be found in other Portico units but the idea has been expnaded upon in the Portico II Channel providing the user with even more texture options to shape their sound harmonically in a subtle or very aggressive manner while still maintain the original source material without destroying it. Here's a few words from Rupert Neve Designs explaining their unique "Silk" section.
One of the key developments in the Portico II is the new Texture section. Building on the “Silk” mode found in the Portico Series mic pre-amplifiers, Texture is designed to adjust the actual amount of harmonic music content from the source material, in effect, providing countless tonal options in one device. The texture section features distinct modes, controlled by a potentiometer from barely audible to dramatic!. With that said, we have placed great care insuring that the musical integrity of source material itself will not be compromised by these harmonic controls (these are not to be confused with controls from other manufactures that may “incinerate”, “demolish” or “destroy” source material), and we believe they can be confidently modified to fit the personality of any song, instrument or engineer. Like the original Portico, Silk mode works by reducing negative feedback on the output transformer and adjusting the frequency response to more closely resemble Mr. Rupert Neve’s vintage designs. “Silk +” mode pushes this technique still further, achieving a more harmonically rich sound.
Like the original Portico, Silk mode works by reducing negative feedback on the output transformer and adjusting the frequency response to more closely resemble vintage designs by Mr. Rupert Neve. Velvet mode pushes this technique further, by increasing saturation on the output transformer to achieve a more colored sound. With that said, we have placed great care insuring that the musical integrity of source material itself will not be compromised by these harmonic controls (these are not to be confused with controls that may “incinerate”, “demolish” or “destroy” source material), and we believe they can be confidently modified to fit the personality of any song, instrument or engineer.
That pretty much sums up Rupert Neve Design's Portico II Channel rack mount system. There is of course much more to be said on this monster but I unfortunately haven't gotten my hands onto one yet. Everything I wrote here I got from other information sources on the web. I'm pretty confident pumping up Neve though, they have been doing it right forever and will continue to break new ground in the audio industry so long as they continue to create new products. If you want to learn more about the Portico II Channel be sure to watch the video below featuring the one and only Rupert Neve. You can also learn more by visiting Rupert Neve Designs Website.
This blog serves mainly as an educational tool and aside from learning about new gear & techniques I'd also like to spread the word about people who've shaped this industry from the past. I could've no doubt done my first historical person of significance post on Les Paul. He did epic, ground breaking things for the audio industry; inventing the multi-track as well as practically pioneering the practice of home recording. I don't even need to mention what he did for guitars or music for that matter. However, There's someone that I feel like is more important to the whole world that is professional audio. That man is Tom Dowd and he revolutionized the recording/production game and was behind some of the biggest projects and groups that the music industry has ever seen.
Hands down, the most notable and important thing Tom ever did was break down the racial segregation that existed in American Music. Before he recorded & produced acts like Joe Turner, Ray Charles & Otis Redding African American music was of little interest to the majority of the white population in America. In fact before Dowd, major record companies would cover Black artist's music with white performers and then sell the songs. Tom Dowd helped to put African American recording artists on the map, the albums he produced & engineered by Atlantic's major black artists were some of the first records that ever sold well on both ends of the racial spectrum. If that doesn't deserve major props I don't know what does. Heard of Aretha Franklin? Dowd helped mold and create her famous and everlasting sound as well. In fact some could argue that Aretha Frankling wouldn't of been who she was without the help of her friend and producer Tom Dowd. Dowd's infectious character and technical skills helped him to bridge the race gap between white pompous record executives and the extremely talented artist's of the Black music world. The insecure and close-minded nature of America would begin to change as Dowd introduced countless Black musicians to the country via Atlantic Records. Hat's off to you Mr. Dowd, you changed a lot more than just music with your personality and work. I'm just getting started on Tom's life by the way.
Who likes faders? I for one have a fetish with them as I'm sure most you do too. Tom Dowd was the first person to integrate and use moving faders in recording. Before he did this everyone used big clunky knobs to control amplitude levels. This made it impossible to make adjustments to more than two controls at a single time by a single person. Dowd was a piano player and he wanted to be able to adjust multiple tracks at once, with all of his fingers. He created the fader in recording and the practice hasn't been the same since. Dowd also built and designed multiple studios for Atlantic Records which have put out countless multi-platinum hits.
So lets take a look back at Mr. Dowd real quick... He broke down the race barrier in American Music, he's a multi-platinum, Grammy award winning audio engineer, producer. He changed the feeling of recording by offering faders, he designed and built multiple world class recording studios. I'd say this guy is worthy of all the praise that's inside of all the world's audiophiles. We aren't even done yet... Heard of The Allman Brothers Band, Alabama & Cream? Dowd was instrumental in the creation of those groups as well as many other famous acts from the 60's & 70's.
He discovered The Allman Brothers Band playing in a studio while he was recording another session. Immediately Dowd had them off to Florida where he produced the countless hits the bands subsequently released. Eric Clapton's Layla was even recorded and produced with Tom Dowd sitting in front of the desk during a 10 day jam session featuring Clapton and Greg Duane Allman. Dowd remained good friends and partners with the Allman Brothers Band and in 1996 he helped the group to win a Grammy by recording a live performance of theirs which nabbed them "Best Acoustic Rock Performance."
As the 70's & 80's came around Dowd continued to record and produce countless hit from artists such as: Rod Stewart, Willie Nelson & Lynard Skynard, Kenny Loggins, Diana Ross, Eddie Money, New Model Army, Phil Collins and countless others. Dowd remained active and present in the music and recording communities up until his death on October, 27 2002.
What I've written here is literally only a fraction of the accomplishments Tom achieved during his lifetime. I feel bad even posting this as it seems it's no where near what his life deserves. I didn't even mention his incredible educational background or that he was part of the Manhattan Project before he got involved with recording. The guy is brilliant and has done it all, he's truly a person to admire as well as respect. I was really turned onto him by a biographical documentary I saw on him called: Tom Dowd and the Language of Music. I highly recommend this to anyone serious about pursuing a career in the audio world.
