3 Songs, 3 DAW's, Part 3 (The Finale) - Reason 6.5

First post of 2014! I'm back once again with another new track, which will conclude my "3S3D" series of posts. So as usual, I will start off with a link to the track, before I get all into it...

This track was created using Propellerhead's Reason DAW, starting way back in the summer of 2012. As I mentioned in the last post, my original plan was to do the Reason track as Part 2 of the series. Due to creative issues with this track, I decided to put it on the shelf, and skip ahead to work on another track with my old standby, Pro Tools.

The song was originally written back in 1999, making several attempts over the years to record a proper version. The basic structure hasn't changed too much from how I originally wrote it, but it's certainly gone through some editing and revisions this time around. Writing songs like this one back in my earlier days, I was much more inexperienced, and struggled with what I know now as "song arrangement". I may have known what the chords were, but there's probably several different ways to play those chords... Chord progressions, tempo, key signatures, rhythms, they can each have a million different variations, and a million combinations of those variations! It can be hard to make a choice sometimes, but the bottom line is that eventually you have to eliminate all those options, and settle on something. This recording is the end result of me settling on something, haha...

The track was arranged around a single static drum loop, similar to how sample-based tracks were done back in the late 80's to early 90's. I appropriately and unashamedly jacked the loop from a friend's old song demo cassette tape from 1997 or so. I used a sampler inside Reason to re-arrange the beat to suit my song. Getting the track together was a slow process for sure, but I stuck with it and eventually got it done. Not perfect by any means, but I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out.

Until next time...

3 Songs, 3 DAW's, Part 2 - Pro Tools 10

Back once again, with part 2 of the "3S3D" series. Yes, I realize this series is VERY slow going, but rest assured I'm determined to see it through to the end. If you wish to hear the final results now, feel free to click below...

For this second installment of the series, I originally planned to record a song from scratch, using Reason 6 as my DAW of choice. However, at some point I realized things track were not working out the way I had hoped. My problems were with motivation and inspiration. Motivation to record a song from scratch using a program I'm not very familiar with (which, unfortunately, was exactly what this task entailed!). And inspiration to come up with a track, arrangements, production ideas, etc. So in the meantime I decided to re-work and re-mix one of my old projects and see what I could do with it using Pro Tools, so I could get  some sort of project completed, using tools I'm much more familiar with.

This instrumental originated as a basic "idea" sort of track that I recorded back in 2004, using Pro Tools LE on my first Power Mac G4. The title "Saturday" has no significance really, other than it was the day on which I recorded it, and I couldn't think of anything better... This was a long time ago, but I'm fairly sure that all the instruments were recorded all in one day in a single session, different from how I record these days, to be sure. At the time I believed that I would some day come up with some lyrical ideas and turn it into a "song", but nothing has come to me so far. So until that day arrives, it will continue to live out its days as an instrumental.

As far as the changes that I made from the original version, I did a bit of editing to delete some parts of the original arrangement, which was about 4:30 long. I felt it needed to be shortened in some sections, just to keep things moving along, so to speak. As you can see from the Soundcloud timeline, this new version clocks in at 3:22. The edits were made to hopefully keep from boring the listener too much. Because this was born as an "idea" track, I didn't really play all the parts as tightly on the beat as I could have. So after listening to it again 9 years later, it was apparent that some fixing of parts here and there was needed, using a bit of editing "magic". Some of the new arrangement ideas were born out of necessity for the same reason. As much as I would have loved to re-record certain parts, I decided to simply work with what was already there.

I decided to re-visit this piece because I still like the musical idea, and my overall skills using Pro Tools have much improved since 2004. Especially since the past 3 months or so, I feel that I have much more of an idea of what I'm doing as far as mixing goes. Some newly acquired skills in using Pro Tools itself, as well as general mixing skills, seemed to help out quite a bit in finishing this new version. In fact, this just may be a new upcoming "experiment" of mine; to continue re-visiting more of my old Pro Tools recordings, and re-mix them to more "listenable" standards...

Now, on to the software. As I mentioned before, I recently upgraded my Pro Tools from LE 8 to version 10. In detail, Pro Tools 9 was bundled with the new Mbox audio interface I purchased last year. But I had no intention of using PT 9 at all. Since PT 10 was already out when I bought the Mbox/PT 9 bundle, I was allowed to upgrade to 10 free of charge. Perhaps I'll talk about my experiences with the new Mbox in a future post.

After putting this new version through its paces, I would say that I'm very pleased with it. Although there weren't any life-changing improvements in this version, there were some incremental ones that improved my workflow, and allows me to get the results I'm looking for.

Pro Tools' Edit Window.

Mix Window.

Version 9 (I chose to skip this upgrade) introduced the ability for Pro Tools to be used with "3rd party audio interfaces"; meaning audio interfaces other than those sold by Avid (the company that develops and sells the Pro Tools software), as well as the option of using your computer's native audio outputs, eliminating the need to a separate audio interface at all. This feature is fairly new for Pro Tools users, as they previously required the use of the interfaces to use the software at all. So, this little convenience may come in handy for me someday.

Secondly, Pro Tools 10 comes with standard with a new "channel strip" plugin, which allows you to get right down to business of the most important audio processing you will do as a DAW user. This plugin emulates the functions of the audio channel of a large format audio mixing console, the kind found in the big-time commercial recording studios. These mixing  console channels typically include EQ, Compression, Expansion, and Gating controls. Without a plugins like these, you can certainly get the job done with individual plugins of each type of effect you need, but it's convenient to have all these functions in a single plugin. I also recently treated myself to the SSL 4000 Collection bundle, by Waves. Part of this bundle includes my new favorite plugin, the SSL E-Channel. This plugin as well as the others in this bundle are emulations of legendary SSL mixing consoles, used to record and mix hit records too numerous to mention. After using both the Avid Channel Strip and the SSL plugin on this mix, I must say that I am a new fan, and will continue to use them on other projects to come. These types of plugins helped me to limit my choices of effects and other processing in a positive way, and apply more focus to getting the mix done.

Avid's Channel Strip Plugin, comes standard with Pro Tools 10.

Waves SSL E-Channel Plugin.

A new feature in Pro Tools 10 is Clip Gain, which allows you to reduce the amount of gain (volume) on a section of audio in your project on-the-fly and in real-time, without having to process and create a whole new audio file similar to older versions of Pro Tools. Also new are features to let you automatically import your new mix into your iTunes library, and upload to SoundCloud as well as Gobbler, an online storage and file sharing website, seemingly geared towards audio and other media creators. The "import to iTunes" feature was especially handy in quickly checking out new mix versions. These handy little features make Pro Tools 10 a nice, if not a "can't-live-without" upgrade for me.

Pro Tools' Clip Gain feature allows changes in volume to individual pieces of audio in real-time.

In some way it feels strange to be "reviewing" these DAW's at this point in time, because I'm always a bit behind the times. It seems that by the time it takes me to post a new piece of music, the DAW that I'm talking about has already been upgraded to a new version. Pro Tools is now on version 11; Reason was also updated to version 7 earlier this year; and just this past July, Apple FINALLY released Logic Pro X.

However, I understand that it doesn't matter in the big scheme of things. For one, just because these DAW's have moved on to new versions, it doesn't mean that I can't continue on with my "experiments" simply using what I have, which are great tools in their own right. They perhaps don't have the shiny newness of whatever version they happen to be on at the moment, but does not in any way hinder me from making music.

Secondly, it looks like the computer system requirements for all 3 new versions are beyond the specs of my current laptop; so, apparently I couldn't upgrade to them if I wanted to. It doesn't really bother me, though. The software versions I'm working with are MORE than capable of being the tools I need to produce some high quality recordings. I remember when all I had to record to was a cassette boombox, so I've got to keep some perspective. I'm still learning and re-learning the important lesson of not focusing on the "tools" themselves (as cool as they are!), but actually learning and using these tools to actually create SOMETHING.

Soon I will start working on my new track in Reason 6, for the 3rd and final installment of this series. Until next time...

Streaming Music With My Old Airport Express

A "bonus" post of sorts for this month... Painfully obvious from my recent posts, I’ve been doing a lot of work on my guitars lately. I'm having a blast, but it’s time consuming work. I find that playing some music helps keep things moving along.

Until recently I had been using my iPod for that purpose, because I’m working at my studio workstation desk where my laptop resides. Running iTunes software, computers (along with my iPod) have been my main source of music for years now, effectively replacing all my CD players. The laptop is usually connected to my studio speakers via a special "Y" cable, with an 1/8" stereo mini-plug on one end that goes into the laptop's headphone jack, and the other end splits into separate Right and Left 1/4" plugs that go to the speakers. So when I’m working on my guitars, I have to move the laptop off the desk, and usually onto my bed, nearby. That audio cord I use is way too short to reach from the speakers to the bed - about 3 feet, and I haven't been able to locate longer ones of this type. I could certainly play music from my iTunes on the laptop via the laptop's built-in speakers, which I tried at first. The sound is loud and clear, but a bit wimpy - I need some BASS in the music I listen to! Using the iPod is fine, but having those dang earbuds in my ears for hours on end is rough on my ears, so that’s not ideal either.

I came up with an idea: I remembered that I still have an older Apple Airport Express Wifi base station, bought years ago when 802.11g was the fastest WiFi standard available to most consumers. I replaced it just last year by its big brother, the Airport Extreme, which has the current 802.11n standard and other features that the Express doesn't have. So until now, the Express had been just sitting, collecting dust. However, the Express is unique from the Extreme in that it has an 1/8" stereo audio out jack that you can connect to a pair of speakers, and wirelessly stream your iTunes audio out to those speakers from anywhere in your home. This feature was originally called "AirTunes" when it was available only on the Express. In recent years, Apple came up with AirPlay, which includes streaming audio from iOS devices to computers and Apple TV, and eventually they changed the name for the Express' streaming feature to unify it all together and, I suppose, to make things less confusing.

After plugging in the Airport Express to power, I went to the laptop, and launched the "Airport Utility" program to configure the Express to join my current WiFi network as an AirTunes device. During this setup, you can give your AirTunes speakers a name of your choosing for easy recognition. Then I went to the AirPlay icon button in the lower right corner of my iTunes window, where you configure which speakers you want the iTunes audio to stream to. Once configured, it worked great, no issues whatsoever. I can now have my laptop sitting anywhere in my apartment and stream iTunes into the bedroom connected this way. Yes, the distance from the speakers to the bed is only about 4 or 5 feet, but if you don't have an audio cable that length to connect your laptop and speakers, this comes right in handy. You also have the option to stream iTunes audio out to multiple speakers at once - very cool!

One thing I noticed after configuring the Airport Express to join my WiFi network is that, because the device uses the older and slower 802.11g, it slows down any other devices on the network to that standard, such as my 802.11n Airport Extreme I now use for Internet access. I noticed that web pages (especially with video) load noticeably slower at "g" speeds. The problem could be solved by buying an updated Express that runs on "n", but I wouldn't bother for this type of occasional use. I see myself only using it while I'm working on guitars, or some other situation where I'd need the laptop to be out of the way, and I wouldn't have need for much web browsing then, anyway. I can simply plug in the Express when I want to stream from iTunes, and unplug it when I don't need it, returning to full network bandwidth again with the Extreme. A nice feature, and a good way to put "retired" equipment back to work...

Selecting the AirPlay speakers, labeled "Bedroom".

Airport Express (white box), with an audio cable (orange & grey plugs) connected to my speakers. My laptop - off to the left about 4 or 5 feet away, untethered.

iPod Resurrection with CompactFlash, Part 2

It's alive!!! Muahahaha....

Well folks, the iPod project is finally complete, and I'm happy to report that the operation was a success! For those who need reminding, the hard drive inside my old iPod (bought in 2006) died earlier this year, and I got the idea from some web articles to replace it with a 32GB CompactFlash card, with the help of an adapter.

But first a relatively brief run down on what took so long to get it done... A few things, really: First, once I initially opened up the iPod, I figured out that I'd purchased the wrong type of adapter to install the CF card with. That turned out to be an easy fix, as I contacted the Amazon merchant I bought it from, and they graciously and easily arranged for an exchange for what I needed. Secondly, not 15-20 minutes after realizing I had the wrong adapter, I messed around and broke the connection that attaches the hard drive ribbon cable to the iPod's logic board. More specifically, I accidentally tore the dang thing off! That pretty much ruined the logic board, so that sent me on another online search for someone who sold replacements. That search led me to iRepair.com, which offered one at a fair price. Thirdly, after the new parts arrived... I got caught up in other things in life, I suppose. Then this past week, I got into some weird sleep patterns, causing me to find myself awake way earlier than I wanted to be. Since I was up and about by 7 a.m. yesterday with not much to do, I figured it would be a perfect time to see if this project was finally going to work...

Let's get it started

The actual job itself was about as straightforward as one could hope for, as long as you start out with the proper tools, which I fortunately did. Since messing around with logic boards was new to me, I looked for some help, which I found at iFixit, another helpful site for do-it-yourselfers. The job started with opening up the iPod (again) with my plastic "spudgers"; special tools that allow you to open the case without scratching or otherwise damaging it. They usually come in a pack if you purchase a new iPod battery, which I was replacing as well, since I had the thing opened up anyway.

Opened up, minus the battery

Once opened, the Torx T6 screwdriver was all that was needed to remove the old logic board. Screws removed, I then had to remove two ribbon cables from the logic board - one connected to the iPod display, the other to the click wheel. There's actually a third, the one that would be connected to the old hard drive that I previously mentioned. But since that was the connector that I ruined, the cable was already out. I always try to learn from my mistakes, so this time I was VERY careful with the other connectors, haha.

Left to Right: iPod screen, top shell, old logic board

Installing the new logic board was a simple reversal of that process. From that point I installed the new battery, which simply consisted of plugging the connector into the logic board, and setting it in place. Next was attaching the CF adapter to the hard drive ribbon cable, then inserting the card into the adapter. That was pretty much it, other than closing up the iPod. Not much to it at all, except...

New battery, logic board and CF adapter installed

Since the CF card took up considerably less physical space than the hard drive, it sort of rattled and flapped around inside, when you shook it. To remedy that (and avoid any potential disconnections from vibration), I re-opened the iPod, cut out a small piece of cardboard to use as a cushion, taped it to the inside of the iPod's metal back cover, and closed it up once again. Sure enough, that did the trick. There's a noticeable difference in weight; the iPod definitely feels lighter in my hand without the hard drive in there.

CF card installed and cardboard in place

Once all re-assembled, I fired it up, and I got the initial Apple logo on the screen that told me that it was powering on, at least. Then my only concern was to see what it would do once I connected it to my Mac. Once connected, the computer recognized it right away, giving me a screen in iTunes, wanting to "set up" the iPod. A text field on the screen said "TRANSCEND" for the "name" of the iPod, which is the actually the brand name of the CF card inside.

Plugged in

I changed the name to "Scott's iPod" - obvious, but works for me.  Anyway, once I clicked "Done", I noticed oddly that it was reporting being formatted for Windows.  I can only guess that since most (if not all) media cards are formatted for use with Windows, that's what it chose for the iPod.  However, to avoid any potential conflicts in syncing with my Mac, I decided to "restore" the iPod, and see if that fixed the formatting. I did so, and the computer instructed me to disconnect the iPod and connect it to an external power charger to complete the process. Connected to the charger, the screen showed the Apple logo once again, along with some weird progress bar at the bottom. Once it was done "progressing", I re-connected it to the Mac, and the format showed up as "Macintosh", this time.

iPod set up & ready to go!

To test it out, I transferred over some Al Green music. Transfers were nice and speedy. Operation of the click wheel through the menus was fine as it was before, and music played just like it should. I haven't connected it to my car stereo yet, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work there as well.

Installing a flash-based memory card with no moving parts, this iPod should last me years and years to come. Battery life should be much improved as well, as it was never all that great when running on the original hard drive. I'm really glad that this worked out though, mainly because I'm attached to this particular model of iPod. Since it's an older model, it's perfect for use in my car. No more carrying around a boatload of CD's!

Besides, in the very near future who knows, one may not even be able to purchase an iPod that only plays music. I also own an iPod touch, which I like a lot. The extra features of this iOS-based iPod (wi-fi, e-mail, web, apps) make it very powerful and useful in many ways. But I suppose I'm "old-school" as well, being the kind of person that prefers simplicity in many cases. A great device that performs one task very well, suits me just fine. An iPod touch in the car would be definite overkill. With the iPod touch at home, and my newly resurrected 2006 iPod in the car, it seems I will once again have the best of both worlds.

Success...

Apple WWDC Announcements - iCloud and More.

Well, I've had roughly a week to absorb the general "message" given this past Monday, at the Apple WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference) keynote presentation in San Francisco. The message that I got from it was that a significant change to personal computing is coming. It may not happen tomorrow or next week, but the change is on its way.

If you have an interest (as well as nearly 2 hours to kill), you can watch the entire keynote here. If not, I wouldn't blame you; they're probably not for everybody. I personally enjoy watching these keynotes, but they do tend to run rather long, and are probably a bit too geeky for those not generally into that sort of thing. To attempt to briefly sum up exactly what was discussed at the keynote, it was 3 upcoming technologies from Apple: Mac OS X "Lion", the new version of their Mac operating system; iOS 5, which runs on their mobile devices including the nearly ubiquitous iPhone and iPad; and their new internet-based service called iCloud.

After watching the webcast of the keynote, the standouts for me were particularly the presentations for Mac OS X "Lion" and iCloud. The iOS 5 presentation was fine, but to me it seemed mostly like it will be an update to simply address some sticking OS issues that users have had with iPhone almost from the beginning, when the first version was introduced in 2007. The one major change that I noticed about the upcoming iOS is that users will no longer be forced to sync data from a PC or Mac. You will be able to use your iOS device as your one and only... device. Finally, no computer needed! One major issue definitely addressed, there.

The new version of Mac OS X, code-named "Lion" (due sometime in July), will be bringing some fairly major changes to the general look and feel of the OS. Apple has made it no secret that many of the new features in the new version of the OS are directly inspired by their experiences developing their iOS, which runs on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Apparently their goal is to make the Mac simpler to use and navigate, much like their mobile devices. Finger gestures (familiar to iPhone & iPad users) to initiate commands, and easier access to and management of applications seem to be the emphasis with this new version of the Mac OS. Since OS X Lion is not out yet, we can only speculate at this point whether this shift in approach to the OS will be good or bad; for us users, and subsequently for Apple, as a business. Much of the features demonstrated seem pretty interesting to say the least, so I'm anxious to see how it plays out.

Which brings us to iCloud, Apple's new internet service, included as a component of the new iOS 5. Honestly I'm still trying to completely wrap my head around what they're trying to do with this, but I believe I get the general idea. iCloud offers storage and backup, as well as an easy way to sync all your devices. It's a way to have access to all your data, from any device you may have in your hands at any given time!

The way Steve Jobs explained it, Apple initiated a concept about 10 years ago, where the personal computer would be the "hub" where all of your digital media is stored; music, photos, video, etc. What they hope to do with iCloud is make the computer simply another one of those devices, just like your smartphone, tablet device, what have you. The hub (for most Mac users, Apple is hoping) will now be a data center (or "server farm") they have set up in North Carolina. What they will store there is most if not all of our digital media, especially media purchased from the iTunes store as well as their recently launched Mac App Store. At present, the type of data included for iCloud is mail, contacts, calendar info, iWorks documents, music, photos, apps, and books.

Apple seems to be going in a slightly different direction from Google and Amazon with their cloud computing offerings. The advantage of iCloud appears to be that all your data would be instantly accessible by any of your devices, new or current. The data does not remain in the cloud to be "streamed" to your devices. The data is automatically downloaded (or "pushed") to your devices. The amazing thing is that they will offer this service (mostly) for free.

My opinion is that if these new technologies catch on like Apple would obviously like them to, it's bound to make them an even more powerful entity in the tech industry than they already are. I'm sure there are many who have already found things about the announcement to complain about (mostly because it is Apple announcing it, haha), but the way I see it, Apple is one of the few tech companies out there who are actually creating fundamental changes to not only the technology itself, but in how we interact with it. As opposed to the approach of other companies, who wait to see what everyone else is doing before making a move. But back to Apple, it will most likely be an interesting 6 to 12 months, seeing the public's response to these intriguing new products and services.

Amazon & the Future of The Cloud

Another weekend is upon us.  Like most weeks, it felt like I wasn't gonna make it to the end...  Anyway, I thought I'd check in once again with a thought about the future.

With the state of things in 2011, one has several options when it comes to purchasing music. However, the advent of digital distribution of music has made it all too easy to simply give an online merchant your credit card number, and *VOILA*, you're downloading one or more albums' worth of music to your computer (or mobile phone!) within a matter of minutes. Along with high speed broadband connections, they have made it so convenient for us, that not very many of us need or even want to purchase CD's anymore - be it online, or "brick-and-mortar". I'm not telling you anything you don't know already, I'm sure. This is simply a setup for my recent experience in purchasing music online, which was a bit different from my other experiences in recent times.

You see, it all started with the recent release of the new album by Radiohead, which has been a favorite band of mine for some time now. Like many other album releases before it, once again I was confronted by several choices in regards to purchase. I have been an iTunes member since 2005, and it quickly became my primary source for purchasing new music, like so many other folks out there. But as a somewhat older music fan, I still like the (now) old-school method of buying a physical product (almost always a CD these days), which typically comes with artwork and "liner notes" that detail track lists and lyrics, along with musician, producer and other studio related credits. Once I have the CD, I can then export the music into my computer via iTunes. Not to mention that with a CD, I'd also have a physical back-up of the music, should something happen with my computer. These days, if there is a new release by a "favorite" artist of mine, I find myself weighing the pros and cons of buying a physical CD, or buying a download from either iTunes, or more recently, Amazon MP3. For less "important" artists, or those whose music I'm just discovering, I almost invariably go the download route. My method of music purchasing in a nutshell...

The other night, I finally decided to look into buying the new Radiohead album, as it had already been out for at least 2 weeks or so. Digital download or CD? I hadn't decided yet. It was at that point, I discovered an offer that I couldn't refuse... As the first option, Amazon had the physical CD available for $9.99 - a pretty decent price for a new CD in 2011. This particular album is only 8 tracks long, so that may have something to do with it. Anyway, they also had an MP3 download of the album available for $5.99!  I was pretty amazed at such a deal!

Amazon had recently launched their Cloud Drive and Cloud Music Player for their members. You get 5GB of Internet-based storage, free of charge. For those not aware, "cloud" is a modern synonym for "the Internet". I believe you can upload any type of files you wish, but along with the Cloud Player, they are advertising it as a new way to store all your digital music in one place, so you may access it from any computer, or mobile device. If you purchase MP3 music from Amazon, you have the option of having it automatically stored in your Cloud Drive, with the additional option of downloading the music to your computer, so you may have your music both there, and "in the cloud".  Additionally, Amazon MP3 purchases do NOT count towards your Cloud Drive's capacity; only files that you upload from your computer.  Pretty cool!  They have paid options available for more storage. For those of you with Android smart phones, there is an Amazon Cloud Player app available to play your music.

The thing that sealed it for me to buy the MP3 version of the album was Amazon's offer to not only sign me up for their new Cloud Player service automatically, but upgrade my Cloud Drive capacity from the standard free-of-charge 5GB, up to 20GB, for a year. That's pretty major, in my opinion. Checking with iTunes first just to make sure before I commit, they are currently charging $9.99 for their AAC digital files of that particular album, with no "digital booklet" - another thing I look for when considering a new music purchase. iTunes offers a digital .pdf file of liner notes and credits for many of their albums - Amazon does not. However, Amazon still got my credit card digits for this one. Sorry iTunes, but this offer was simply too good to pass up...

So this is my very roundabout way of saying that I eventually went with Amazon MP3 for this purchase, in part due to my intrigue with the offer of 20GB of free cloud storage for a year. How I plan to actually use this 20GB, I don't know, but I'm sure some opportunity will come up before the year's through, haha. Apple has been long-rumored to announce some sort of cloud-based version of iTunes, but it has yet to materialize. With this new cloud service from Amazon, I'd say an announcement from Apple can't be far behind.

The subject of cloud storage and cloud computing is big in the tech news world these days, and it's quite apparent with introductory deals such as these, companies like Amazon are looking to be early facilitators of this new technology that allows users to store and access their data. It looks as though we, the public, will very soon be relying less on our personal computers and mobile devices for data storage, and more on companies willing to host (and hopefully backup!) our data. Meanwhile, these companies will be finding new ways to make some dough off of us (either on the front or the back end), for the use of these services. Yes, these certainly are changing times...

Cloud Drive - Mostly empty, for now

Cloud Player