Gobbler – Back up solutions for audio and video professionals.

Through a tweet I hear about Gobbler today. Gobbler is a cloud based file sharing and backup solution for media professionals like musicians, studios, and video editors. Sign up to the site was easy and right now they are offering a 25 GB free account while the web site is in beta testing.

After sign up and confirmation of your email address you must download an application that catalogs your files. I searches your hard drive for session created by your DAW (digital audio workstation.) It recognized files by all the popular recording softwares including Logic, Protools, Garage Band, Cubase, Sonar and more. For a full list of compatible files visit the Gobbler website. When Gobbler has finished searching your computer is shows a list of files you can select to back up. The sessions you choose to back up are then put in a queue or fancy waiting line to be uploaded to the cloud. Once the file is on the cloud the it can be sent to another person by link in an email. The session will also be updated and continuously backed up on the cloud from that point on. One of the best features about Gobbler is it does not do anything while your DAW is open and you are working. It leaves that precious CPU for you to use on your session and plug ins. When your session is closed and you are watching reruns of the Jersey Shore on Netflix Gobbler gets back to work.

Gobbler seems like the backup solution musicians and studio owners have been waiting for. Back up products like Apple’s built in Time Machine are good but the danger lies in the back up being on site. Cloud based back ups are more useful in the case of some catastrophe like theft, flood, or fire. In an event like that your main hard drive and back up drives are in the same place and they will most likely suffer the same fate. Cloud based storage moves you backed up information off site.

I’ll be trying Gobbler over the next few months to back up sessions for my clients. Give it a try while they are still overing free hard drive space. It might not last for

Turn Native Instruments Battery Into an EMU SP1200 or Akai MPC-60

Native Instruments Battery is a sampler specifically used for working with drums. While you can program other sounds into it like basses or keys, its strength is in being able to individually manipulate each sample or “cell”

Battery gives you controls to edit the pitch, volume, attack, sustain and release of each samples as well as many more. One option most people over look though is the “Vintage” button. Enabling this button give you classic sampler sound.

You can select from various ranging from S-1200 Filter off to MP-60. Try the the sample using the different filtering options in the menu and you will hear the dirty vintage inflections each adds to the sound.

The EMU-SP1200 made famous by producers like Pete Rock and DJ Premier was notorious for its 12 Bit sound.Take it one step further and click on the “effects” tab and enable the “lo-fi” effect. By adjusting the amount of “Bits” you can make your sample more gritty and dirty.

Now download the free Drum kit from DrumsAndsounds.com and start making beats. If you have questions or comments be sure to leave them below.

* Tenga cuidado con los altavoces. Profesional de los fusibles en línea con los estudios de uso de sus sistemas de altavoces para evitar sobrecargas y destruido. Todos los becareful no tener nada sentado en la parte superior de los altavoces, en especial su florero de cristal madres favorito. Caerá, se romperá. Lo que se dice en la lectura.

El primer paso para conseguir una mejor bajo en sus latidos se utiliza mejor los sonidos.Siempre es mejor empezar con un sonido que tiene lo que quiere desde el principio en lugar de “que la fijación en la mezcla. “Si tu tratando de agregar un sonido sub bass muy bajo entonces no busque más la onda senoidal. Una vez que haya marcado una onda senoidal en el sintetizador o sampler empezar a jugar a su línea de bajo. Trate de jugar el bajo en algunas áreas diferentes del teclado. Mientras lo hace escuchar el sonido y ver donde su sonido mejor. Se dará cuenta de que ciertas áreas del teclado tiene un sonido de bajo muy resonante y llena, mientras que otro sonido muy fino o en audible.Juega un poco hasta encontrar lo que mejor suena para su seguimiento. Bombos también suenan mejor tono arriba o hacia abajo a veces. Si su uso de una MPC puede asignar la muestra de bombo de 16 niveles diferentes de tono, los encargados de golpear el teclado puede utilizar el pitch bend y rueda de modulación para hacer lo mismo.

La siguiente forma fácil de crear su sonido grave es que los programas de capa o sonidos. Para ello el juego de su línea de bajo, una vez en su secuenciador. Después de que se registró copiar la parte de pista diferente y canal MIDI y asignar un sonido diferente. Usted puede hacer esto tantas veces como quieras o hasta que el sonido es lo suficientemente gruesa como para hacer estallar los altavoces. Cuando se utilizan diferentes combinaciones de sonidos buscar el contraste. Yo suelo utilizar dos sonidos de la línea de bajo y bombo. Un sonido es por lo general para el ataque o inicio del sonido. El otro sonido por lo general se llena la parte inferior del cuerpo o del sonido.Mediante la mezcla de una buena batería dura patada de rock con un viejo 808-tiro de la muestra se obtiene un sonido de batería que tiene un claro ataque y un fondo de asesino. Esto funciona con líneas de bajo de la misma manera. Trate de jugar una línea de bajo con un bajo slap bass o el sonido arrancado. Continuación, haga doble con un sonido de bajo sin trastes o el sonido de tipo sinusoidal como el órgano, o mi arma secreta del general midi “silbido” por una pocas octavas. Por lo menos los parches midi generales son buenas por lo menos un sonido.

Tuning es también un factor importante en la toma de las ventanas traseras de los rumores jeep. En el extremo inferior de su ritmo no hay lugar para el choque de bombos, bajos y submarinos.

Si usted nota baja o el tono principal es el hogar y E entonces usted quiere armar su sub bass o el tambor de 808 patadas a un mensaje también. Para encontrar el tono de su 808 se puede conectar a un afinador de guitarra. Ambas versiones de hardware y software de estos se puede encontrar por menos de $ 20 dólares en línea en su tienda de música. Si el uso de una batería acústica que suena patada que en realidad no es que bajo esta realidad no es tan importante, ya que no conviven en el mismo espacio que su maravilloso submarino.
Usted puede notar que después de recibir este sonido muy bajo de cadera baja va usted quiere usarlo sin parar en su ritmo. No lo hacen. Haga que su línea de bajo reglamentario de juego, cuando cada vez que quieras, pero sólo utilizan el bajo super acento ella. Para finalizar baja mucho todo el tiempo hará que todo sea muy difícil de escuchar. Las cosas tienen un impacto mucho más cuando se usan con moderación en una pista.

En este punto usted debe tener algunas líneas de bajo muy espeso y patadas. Si no es su última oportunidad para reforzar todo lo que está en la mezcla. Aunque el primer pensamiento de todo el mundo sería incrementar las frecuencias bajas, como 40 Hz a 200 Hz aproximadamente, no hay otra opción. Ecualización buena por lo general viene de cortar las frecuencias y aumentar ligeramente. Ya que no la va a necesitar las altas frecuencias en el bombo y las líneas de bajo de cortarlas. Trate de experimentar mediante la reducción de las frecuencias de 200 o 400 Hz hasta que algo suena bien.Tenga en cuenta que cada frecuencia de corte que altera el color o chareteristics del sonido.

Si su todavía tiene problemas para hacer los altavoces de su padre la casa de explotar su tiempo de conseguir algo de ayuda. No es un plug in para todo. La respuesta a sus oraciones se presentan en forma de Max Bass. Aunque no voy a entrar en detalles sobre cómo funciona voy a ofrecer algunos consejos. No más de hacerlo.

Un ingeniero me dijo una vez el secreto de su sonido de bajo que era un secreto chino antiguo. Hasta que descubra los misterios del zen y el arte de la parte baja probar algunas de las técnicas anteriores para conseguir sus latidos Bumpin

¿Preguntas? Comentarios, dejarlos a continuación.

These two video will walk you through how it works.

Part I

Part II

This is a quick snapshot of the mixer. Sorry I did not label it. You can still get a clear picture though. You are only hearing 3 drum parts. Kick Clap, and Hi Hat, but there are many different sounds layered together to make the track sound big.

* Please be careful with your speakers. Professional studios use fuses inline with their speaker systems to prevent them from overloading and being destroyed. All becareful not to have anything sitting on top on your speakers, especially your moms favorite crystal vase. It will fall, It will break. That’s said read on.

The first step to getting better bass in your beats is using better sounds. Its always better to start with a sound that has what you want right from the beginning instead of “ fixing it in the mix. “ If your just trying to add a really low sub bass sound look no further then the sine wave. After you’ve dialed up a sine wave in your synth or sampler begin playing your bass line . Try playing the bass line in a few different areas of the keyboard. While you do this listen to the sound and see where its sound the best. You’ll notice that certain areas of the keyboard have a very resonant and full bass sound while other sound very thin or in audible. Play around until you find what sounds best for your track. Kick drums also sound better pitched up or down sometimes. If you your using an MPC you can assign your kick drum sample to 16 different pitch levels, keyboard beat makers can use the pitch bend or modulation wheel to do the same thing.

The next easy way to build up your bass sound is to layer programs or sounds. To do this play your bass line once into your sequencer. After it is recorded copy the part to different track and midi channel and assign a different sound. You can do this as many times as you like or until the sound is thick enough to blow your speakers. When using different combinations of sounds look for contrast. I usually use two sounds for bass line and kick drums. One sound is usually for the attack or start of the sound. The other sound usually fills the bottom or body of the sound. By mixing a good hard rock kick drum with an old 808-kick sample you get a drum sound that has a clear attack and a killer bottom. This works with bass lines just the same. Try playing a bass line with a slap bass or plucked bass sound. Then double it with a fretless bass sound or sine type sound such as organ, or my secret weapon the general midi “whistle sound” down a few octaves. At least those general midi patches are good for at least one sound.

Tuning is also an important factor in making the back windows of the jeep buzz. At the bottom end of your beat there is no room for clashing kick drums, basses and subs.

If you main bass note or home tone is and E then you want to pitch your sub bass or 808 kick drum to an E also. To find out the pitch of your 808 you can plug it into a guitar tuner. Both hardware and software versions of these can be found for less then $20 dollars online at at your local music store. If your using an acoustic sounding kick drum that’s not really that low this really isn’t that important because it doesn’t coexist in the same space as your groovy sub.
You might notice that after you get this really hip low bass sound going you want to use it non stop in your beat. Don’t . Have your regular bass line playing when ever you want but only use the super bass to accent it. To much low end all the time will make everything very hard to hear. Things have much more impact when they are used sparingly in a track.

At this point you should have some pretty thick bass lines and kicks. If not your last chance to beef up everything is in the mix. Although everyone’s first thought would be to boost all the bass frequencies, such as 40hz to about 200hz , there is another option. Good equalization usally comes from cutting frequencies and slightly boosting. Since your not going to need the high frequencies in your kick drum and bass lines cut them. Try experimenting by cutting the frequencies about 200 or 400hz until something sounds good. Keep in mind that each frequency you cut alters the color or chareteristics of the sound.

If your still have problems making your dad’s house speakers explode its time to enlist some help. There is a plug in for everything. The answer to your prayers will come in the form of Max Bass. Although I won’t go into details about how it works I will offer some advice. Don’t over do it.

An engineer once told me the secret to his bass sound was an old Chinese secret. Until you uncover the mysteries of zen and the art of the low end try some of the techniques above to get your beats bumpin

Questions? Comments, Leave them below.

Most mixing engineers agree that the vocal is the most important part of the track but there are no hard fast rules when it comes to mixing. Some engineers will work on a mix and start blending everything from the start, others will take the vocal and work on it by itself for hours until it sounds perfect on its own. The way i approach a mix will often depend on the style of music I am mixing. With a style like dance music you might only have a few vocal tracks and if they are not just right there is no place for anything to hide. Hip Hop on the other hand the vocals are still important but the crowd will rock to a beat that is hitting hard weather the vocals are good or not. Hearing the vocal for the first time will also help you make that decision. The better the artists is the less will need to be done to it. No one spent hours editing Frank Sinatra’s vocals in Protools and then pitch correcting them with melodyne or autotune. The recording engineer put a a mic in front of him, he sang and it sounded good. If a vocalist doesn’t not have a lot of talent then your going to start with the vocal. Try both ways and see what works for you. Go slow. Stop and listen.

Peter Weis
Composer, Producer, Engineer

DrumsAndSounds.com – Questions

I would like to know some tips for mixing a beat in a small room 6×6. And which is better mixing before adding the vocals or after? Thanks
- Matthijp

Thanks for leaving a comment on the web site Matthijp.  To answer your first question about mixing in a small room this is they way i would approach it.

The first and most important thing to mixing in any room is to LEARN the room.  Learning to Mix music has a lot to do with learning what a “Good Mix” sounds like. Even Pro engineers will sit in room they have never used before and listen to Albums or Singles they know the sound of very well, or listen to other work they have mixed. In both situations your playing something you know and comparing how you know it and how it sounds at this point in the room your listening in. You’ll want to make notes to your self about the overall lows, mids and highs. Take a Good CD you know has a “Good” low end sound. Not necessary loud, but good. Play it in your small room. Can you hear it? Does it sounds to soft, to bassy? Now when you mix your music you know what bass should sound like in your room.   What your trying to do by listening to good records in your room weather it be 6×6 or 30×30 is to give your ear a reference point. Some place to refer back to and some place to compare.  As you start working on your mix you should also compare your mix to your reference mix directly. Switching back and forth. Recording engineers call this AB ing a mix.

Some other solutions to help your problem would be to add a small amount of acoustic treatment to the room.  Also you can check your mix in a pair of good headphones. You will also find that it will help to use small speakers and work at low levels in volume. None of these answers are exactly ideal how ever many  records have been made like this. If you have questions leave them in a comments section below.

Peter Weis
Composer, Producer, Engineer.

Akai EWI USB Review

I’ve been playing with the Akai EWI USB now for 4 days. Here is my complete review of it. If you don’t have time to read the whole review I can summarize it up real quick. I Love it.

The Akai EWI USB is basically a MIDI controller for any one with experience playing a valved instrument or a woodwind instrument. You can play synths in your computer and make music on a instrument that works similar to a horn like a trumpet or saxophone. Why would you want to do this? Well for a few reasons. First not all of us a blessed with good keyboard skills. Second because you can actually blow into the instrument there alot of room for expression in your playing. Your MIDI will sound a lot more realistic.

I purchased my EWI USB from BH Photo in New York. The price was $299 which is pretty standard. Before hand I had looked online at the usual places Sweetwater, Sam Ash, Guitar Center and Amazon. At $299 this is a deal. Prior to this product an EWI was at least an $800-1000 investment.

The Akai EWI USB is much cheaper then EWI 4000s because there are no onboard sounds. You must plug the instrument into a computer by USB to get sound from it. It comes packaged with a library of Garritan Sounds. The sounds range from clarinet and flute to different types of synths. There are also patches that try to emulate trumpets and saxophones. Most other reviews commented that the sounds sucked. There not that bad considering your only paying $299. Besides that the true strength of the EWI USB is that you can play just about any sound you want because its MIDI. Just about every MIDI trumpet and saxophone I have ever heard sounds like MIDI. If you do buy one I recommend using simple presets like clarinet or flute when you first start out.

It does take some practice and getting used to. I spent the earlier part of my life on the trumpet so I am using the EVI fingerings. I am still getting the hang of it and feel with some practice it is well with in reach. You can also you Saxophone and other woodwind fingering settings.

The actual instrument is made mostly all of plastic. The keys do not move. This also take a bit of getting used to. Once you start playing it though you will realize how much faster the response is. There is a plastic mouth piece which you breath into. As a trumpet player this was also a bit awkward at first. Brass players are used to blowing harder to play in the upper registers of an instrument. The EWI makes all this happen mechanically through use of the fingerings. The breath control focus more on timber and tone of the sound. If you a MIDI expert you could also use a program like Logic to reassign the breath controller to just bout any MIDI Message you want. I’ve already experimented using it to control filter cutoff with Logic’s EXS24 Sampler. Along with the Keys on top there is an Octave roller that you work with using your left thumb. This has been the biggest obstacle for me so far. This s where i think the most practice with your technique will need to happen.

Other things in the box include a neck strap. A USB Cable that is about 8 feet long and a cap for the mouthpiece. The neck strap could be better. If you are a saxophone player you more than likely have something better already. It did not come with a case or a stand. From what i have read on forums though most people are using cases made for soprano saxophones.

Overall this is one of the best and most fun gear purchases I have made in a long time. Honestly for $299 its a must for any horn player want to take their chops into the world of MIDI. As I play the Akai EWI USB more I will post more.

Tech Notes: I am using my Akai EWI USB on a Apple ghz 2.4 Intel Macbook Pro running Snow Leopard. The standalone application will work fine, but if you want to use the Garritan sounds as an Audio Unit plugin with a program like Logic Studio you must download the free update from the Akai website. I also have been using the EWI with a Dual 2.0 G5 running OSX Tiger and Logic. On this system I installed no programs or drivers. I took the USB cable plugged it in to the computer and it worked perfectly as a MIDI controller. Its important to note that the EWI USB will work as a MIDI controller on OSX Tiger but you must have one of the new Intel systems running OSX Leopard to install the Garritan sound library and configuration application. The application is where you set the preferences for the device including the fingerings.