Spectronics Stylus and Getting Unstuck

I’ve made no secret of my fondness for Stylus. I’m so glad something like this has come along, if you don’t already have it, you really need to get it as it’s awesomeness is beyond compare.

When I’m stuck, I usually pull it up and it inspires me to the point where ideas start to come to me. Even if I don’t end up using the tracks I’ve created with it.

I wish there were more “idea generators” out there, but for me it’s mostly the stylus. Granted sometimes it happens when I Synth 1 up, but by and large it’s the Stylus that gets me started flowing ideas again.

I haven’t tried any of their other products yet, but I’ve been told they work like Stylus. I’ve never really looked in to it, but I should. Anyway, they may have a demo or something so you can see for yourself if you don’t have one.

It’s really good for generating ideas.

Synth 1 Free VSTi Is Damn Good

I downloaded a free VSTi last night and I’ve just about fell in love with it. I found a post on The Music Producers Blog and listened to the demo and had to download it.

It’s so easy to use and I can get something extremely good going in half the time it takes me with other analog type VSTi’s.

It’s actually better than most of the ones I’ve had to buy. It’s that good.

It’s called Synth 1, and it’s a free VSTi. On this site, you can also download banks to expand it. Those are free too.

Here’s a couple of youtube videos that can give you a demo.

Would You Record In A Strange Place To Get Mood For Your Record?

I’ve been doing work with the Nine Inch Nails multitracks lately and it got me to thinking about how Trent Reznor from NIN recorded “The Downward Spiral”. He said he tried out a lot of different places and he liked the house that Sharon Tate was murdered in. He ultimately recorded the record there as well as a few others.

I know that sounds odd. And it got me to thinking if he hadn’t recorded it there, the record would’ve ended up completely different than it turned out. I know it made the mood of that record different from the earlier releases as well as the later ones. It was dark, scarry. But what can’t be denied is how good it sounded.

Whether you like rock/electronic music or not, it was recorded, mixed, mastered, and remastered really well.

This got me to thinking if room acoustics weren’t an issue, would you think about going to a location that would inspire a specific tone or mood for your record?

If I was making a childrens record, I might like to be in a day care’s off hours to set a mood. Or if I wanted something dark or somewhat spooky, I might do it at a house that was claimed to be haunted.

It can even go further than that. If you were doing a record that appealed to teens, would you record in a highschool at night? Maybe set up your gear around the desks?

Presonus Studio One

Presonus is about to release a music creation-editing-production software called Studio One. It isn’t available yet but you can download a free demo from their website.

It has some stipulations to it though. It only works for 30 days, you can’t save, and you can’t import mp3 files.

But they  say it’s good though.

Is anyone else getting tired of companies joining the “We’ve got a music creation-editing-production software available”?  So how many is this now. Is anybody keeping count?

It has to be something revolutionary for people to change the software they’re comfortable with. My only question to the new software packages is “What are you doing different?” If your answer is “nothing”, you shouldn’t be wasting your time and money.

Propellerhead Record Download

Propellerhead has something good going with their Record software. If you’re at all familiar with Reason, it won’t take you long to get the hang of it. Honestly I really liked the software. I really liked it. Until I went to bounce.

Seriously Propellerhead, did you really have to disable that? What’s the logic? Because I sure can’t see it. It’s a boneheaded move on your part.

Here’s what you should have done:

1. Limited the beta testers instead of limiting what you can save and what you can’t.

2. You should’ve given your die hard fans (the very people who signed up for an invite) with something more since they actually are helping you with your own bottom line.

These people are doing something completely useful for you for absolutely no money whatsoever. You should’ve at least given them a way to test the whole thing.

You have good software. No denying that. But you guys need to start thinking long term.

Tool Dependence – Which Tool Do You Use Most?

Over the years, I’ve created hundreds of songs with my computers. And for the most part, I still have the multi track sessions. Thank God.

I listen to a song I’ve been working on and think “the drums from song x would be great with this. I need to make a sample of those drums”. I can’t believe how much that happens with me. It seems like I’m loosing more and more creativity as I age.

So my tool dependence is obviously Propellerheads’ Recycle. To be such a simple program, I use it every single day. If it’s not me that needs it, it’s one of the hiphop acts I record that needs it. They’ll come in with these crazy drum loops in 135 bpm and want me to slow it down to 90 or something like that.

If you’re changing tempo on drum loops alot, Recycle is the perfect software. And with so many recording software packages that can read rex files (FL Studio, Logic, Protools, etc.), it makes it an obvious choice. Even if you’re using a software that doesn’t support it, it can help out a lot. You can export to wav files.

Nine Inch Nails Remixes – More Bands Should Do This

I’m a huge fan of Nine Inch Nails and when they released multitrack versions of some of their songs, I jumped on it. Seriously, every band should be doing this. It can only help with promotion. Anyway, I’ve been spending a lot of time lately making remixes of some of the songs they’re offering.

If you haven’t already, you can download the multitrack versions here: Nine Inch Nails Remixes

“God Given” is the track I’ve been working on. If you’re interested in knowing.

I have even more respect for Trent Reznor now that he’s done this. This one guy has done much for internet music, he doesn’t get the credit he diserves. Even if you’re just starting out, the professional quality multitracks are something I wish I had when I was starting.

These have been out for quite some time, but I just wanted to say something about it since I’ve been revisiting the mixes. If you haven’t already, you need to download those.

Edirol Orchestral

I’ve only had this for a little while and I haven’t used it much. It’s a good plug-in, but it’s hard for me to get used to. To me, the interface isn’t as easy as it could be. And some of the sounds don’t really sound like their physical counterpart.

Basically, I was not impressed with it. I’m currently looking for something else similar to Edirol Orchestral. It might just be me or I’m not giving it enough time to grow on me like I have.

It’s just usually, when I use a plug-in for the first time, especially a VSTi, I know that I’ll want to work with it in the first few minutes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to hear a demo of it and took a friends word for it.

What are you using for your string parts?

How To Get A Good Recording From The Most Relentless Musicians

Back when I was starting, I would record bands for free. I still do that sometimes, but I would always make their recordings sound the way they wanted it to sound.

Over the last few years, I’ve found this to be a double edge sward.

Some of the newer bands that come to me tell me in conversation that they almost didn’t want to work with me because what they heard from other bands was bad. Then, they hear a recording of someone else and they liked that one, so they wanted to try me out.

Can you see how bad this is for you?

You really want your clients to feel good about their recordings, but at the cost of the quality of the recording?

The only way I’ve been able to do this is to tell them up front that I’m a producer first. If they want someone to just hit the record button for them, they need to go somewhere else. There’s a song that I’ve been using for the last couple of months to help explain this…

Iris by the Googoo Dolls

They released the first demo of the song recently on “Goo Goo Dolls Greatest Hits Volume 2″ and it totally sucked. It was boring, it had no dynamics. It basically had nothing. It sounded like a high school garage band making fun of the song or something.

Then I put in the CD of the album version, and they’re amazed by how much better it sounds than the first demo. The arrangement changed a little, but the feel of the song changed a lot. It became a hit.

This usually gets them to consider maybe a fresh set of ears is actually worth something.

Then I tell them, after we’re done, take the mix home and listen to it for a couple of weeks, and if they still don’t like it, I will record the song the way they want for free.

This gets them to want to try my way. Musicians are a fairly picky bunch, but you really have to let them know that you want the best for them and their music. After they get a taste of what you can really do, they refer their friends to you and you develop a relationship with a whole other group of people. And sometimes a completely different style of music that you wouldn’t be able to record otherwise.

The only downside to this is you won’t get as many people wanting you to work with them. But you usually get the best of them. And it does start slowly, but you find yourself taking in clients from many miles away just to work with you. And that’s a damn good feeling.

I Got The Spectrasonics Stylus RMX Last Weekend

I mentioned that I was going to get the Stylus RMX the other day in a previous blog post. I got it, and I played with it all weekend.

One of the cool things about it is you can have a professional drum mix in a matter of seconds. I like it because you don’t have to start from nothing.

I don’t know it well enough to write up a review on it yet, but I will say one thing. It is fast and easy to work with.

I really like the look and feel of it’s interface too. I’m having fun with it:)

After I’ve played with it a week, and then recorded something with it, I’ll tell you more about it. If you have it, I’m sure you can give us all some tips about how to use it more effectively. I just got it and need a few tips.