Thursday, March 13, 2008

M-Audio's Sputnik and Pulsars


Starting this month you are going to see a new feature on HowAudio.com, Product Spotlight. These videos are to assist you in your purchasing decisions by showing you how these different products perform in real-life situations.

The first edition will feature M-Audio's Sputnik and Pulsar microphones. We start off by putting the $1000 (retail) Sputnik up against the $4000 (retail) U-87 on an acoustic guitar. You will be pleasantly surprised. All these mics are utilized in a real-life home recording situation where we used just the M-Audio mics to track acoustic guitar, a baby-grand piano and a drum kit.

No EFX, no compression, no nothing - just the instrument and the mics.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Cubase 4: Stacked Mode 2 Recording


Cubase 4 Audio Cycle Mode Recording - taken from HowAudio.com's Cubase 4 tutorial, Matt demonstrates the power of Stacked Mode 2 Recording. This feature allows for recording on multiple tracks while playback can be taken from segments of each individual tracks.

When I first watched this tutorial I was amazed at the capabilities of Cubase. Since I've been around ProTools for so long I wouldn't even consider another DAW, but this . . . . well . . . we'll see. Logic 8 is also very cool, especially for the price.

The entire Cubase tutorial should be available next week.

Check out ever expanding library of tutorials at www.HowAudio.com.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Don't Drop The Mic: Tip From A Pro


Too many times have we, inadvertently, dropped a microphone when either taking it off or putting it on a mic stand. If it's a 57 or 58 it's not a big deal (because they're tanks) but if it's a U87 or M-Audio Sputnik, you're bummed when that hits the floor.

In this HA! Tip From A Pro, Roger Cole (Steve Vai, Little Feat, Gryphon Labs) demonstrates an easy way to reduce the chance of dropping a microphone when removing it or placing on a mic stand.

It may seem like common sense but . . . then why are so many mics being dropped?

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Thank You for the Praise

“I love what HowAudio is doing. HowAudio.com offers exactly what I have been looking for: solid, quick info on things you need and want to know. Whether you’re a novice, a bedroom producer, or musician living in middle of nowhere, you can go to their site and have access to professionals who can offer valuable information and insight on topic you’re interested in. Or, you might be someone like me, a professional, who might be embarrassed to say, “I don’t know how to do that. I want to learn more. These days, too, there are no mentoring opportunities for folks to learn from the pros. This is a great way for people to gain access to the pros. It’s like mentoring in your own home. It’s a wonderful way to learn. I support what they do and they have a very high standard and I know that whatever they do, it’s going to be done very well.” —Carmen Rizzo, producer/remixer/recording artist

“I’ve been working with Pro Tools since before it was Pro Tools. With HowAudio’s Pro Tools LE 7.0 DVD, I was able to pick up a bunch of cool tips. From beginners to experienced pros, this disc has something for everyone." —Rich Tozzoli, producer/mixer/ engineer/composer (Blue Oyster Cult, David Bowie, Al DiMeola, Ace Frehley; Discovery Channel, VH1, Nickelodeon and The History Channel)

“While there are a multitude of musician-run websites and streaming video on how to play specific instruments, Thel Rountree and Joe Randeen have come up with a new approach with Howaudio.com. This site goes much further in providing an easy-to-use online, video-based training for the audio enthusiast as well as the working professional.” —Jonathan Widran, Music Connection

“Why not use the Christmas vacation time to self-improve? For me that’s getting better thanks to the resources from Howaudio.com. Like a gift that keeps on giving, HowAudio offers both annual and monthly subscription plans to access their entire library of tutorials.” —Barry Rudolph, Music Connection

Once upon a time, recording engineers learned their trade through a long and compulsory apprenticeship in a commercial studio; observing and assisting established professionals while also carrying out the facility’s thankless entry-level duties. Many of today’s top engineers and producers are veterans of that model and are fortunate to have amassed the wisdom and experience of the professionals who helped shape modern audio recording. With the decline of full-service, multi-room commercial facilities and concurrent exploding popularity of smaller, often private digital-audio workstation-based production environments, that time-honored paradigm has largely disappeared. In its place, however, are an abundance of popular, and costly, recording schools and programs within colleges and universities. Also filling that void is a fast-growing collection of instructional self-help tools. The growing volume of DVD-based audio recording instruction products, in addition to the abundant supply of recording-education institutions, demonstrates the unprecedented level of interest and activity fostered by the DAW revolution. Now available and catering to multiple levels of experience and abilities are companies addressing a very broad array of software and techniques like HowAudio.com. HowAudio.com, launched in October 2006, has already amassed DVDs and subscription based online video tutorials covering subjects as diverse as Pro Tools, Logic, Reason and GarageBand, plus upcoming titles such as Essentials of Podcasting, Miking Techniques for Drums and Line 6 Low- Down Bass Amp.” —Chris Walsh, Pro Sound News

“No worries if you only use 20 percent of your brain's memory cells. That's human nature, and drinking doesn't help. But only using 20 percent of NI Battery 3's sweet features? Shenanigans, my friend! On How Audio's Battery 3 training video (download or DVD; www.howaudio.com), British producer Kevin Bazell lays out every nitty-gritty of the kick ass drum instrument in less than one info-packed hour. It's also easy to refer back to individual chapters after you forget 80 percent of what you learned the first time.”
—Markkus Rovito, Tech Editor, Remix

I just wanted to write in and give my take on your site. HowAudio.com is an incredibly useful resource for anyone wanting to know more about the software and tools we use in the audio industry every day. I am an experienced Pro Tools user, but after watching all of the HA! tutorials on the subject, the speed of my workflow has increased substantially, and I am discovering features, tools and shortcuts in Pro Tools that I never even knew existed. There is a wealth of information here that offers valuable insights to the beginner and advanced user alike. I have used other video training services in the past, but they always seemed to put me to sleep, and only touched on most topics without ever really going past the surface. The HowAudio format far surpasses its competition in both areas. There are tons of tips and hints that are extremely useful in the real world, and they are presented in a way that keeps the viewer mentally engaged so that the information actually sinks in. Excellent job. I am looking forward to viewing the rest of your tutorials as soon as possible. -Aaron Meier, ProTools User and HA! Subscriber

Friday, January 25, 2008

New Contest: Complete Podcast Studio


We're running another contest. No purchase necessary. Simply go to our website and follow the link.


One (1) Grand Prize Winner will receive a Behringer PodCastudio.

Get a full recording studio "out of the box" including USB audio interface, mixer, microphone, headphones, professional audio software and more.

One (1) Second Place Prize Winner will receive a Behringer Xenyx 802 Mixer.

The XENYX 802 has 8 inputs and a FX Send control for each channel. Additionally, assignable CD/tape inputs have been incorporated for routing flexibility.


Four (4) Third Place Winners will each receive a DVD copy of The Essentials of Podcasting with Daniel Murphy.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

House of Blues - Anaheim


HowAudio.com was honored to have co-sponsored EM House of Blues - Anaheim party along with Electronic Musician and Euphonix, during the NAMM '08 show. Carmen Rizzo DJ'ed the party and did a spectacular job. If you have never heard Carmen live, you have really missed out. Even the staff at the House of Blues told us that, this was the best private party that had been held at the HoB-Anaheim. Nice to know that we had a part in that.

It was at this event that we first saw the AudioCubes (Percussa) in use. If guys have to check these things out.

NAMM Winner


From our perspective, and a lot of people that we talked to, there was nothing earth-shattering at this years NAMM show. But, we all seemed to agree that one of slickest new products were the AudioCubes by Percussa. Personally, I first saw them at the EM House of Blues party that HowAudio.com co-sponsored. Carmen Rizzo had these cubes sitting next to his computer. I thought they were just some cool looking lights and it wasn't until the following day, when I happened to walk by the Percussa booth, that I realized that these 'cubes' were far more than I thought. The Percussa AudioCubes are cubes capable of generating and processing audio and MIDI information. Way too cool. And it uses open source software so they can be easily customized. You need to check them out.

Tell them that How Audio sent you. Shortly, you will be seeing a tutorial on them on our site.

Stay tuned.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

The Cool & Affordable Must-Have's

From the Editor

Okay, if money was no object I could think of a thousand
pieces of gear that I would want in my studio but since that
is not the case I have to be a little more discriminating.
Here are 3 things that are: one, affordable and two, useful.


First, let's talk about drummers. Since I am a drummer maybe
I'm a little touchy about his subject but, if you have ever
used a virtual drummer, whether hardware or software based,
the sounds are pretty poor, especially the cymbal's. Most
are hard to program so you just make do with the presets
and hope everything works out. Well, those days seem to be
over. Welcome to the scene - STRIKE (Digidesign). The only
reason why I came to know STRIKE was because we (HowAudio.com)
created a tutorial on the software. This software is AMAZING.
It's easy to program, the 1500 customizable presets give
you a lot of options to start creating your own unique sounds.
You change so many different parameters including mic placement,
drum tuning, style complexity and for me, one of the nicest
features is you can set where on the cymbal the stick will
strike. In past drum software/hardware you either had the
rim or the bell to choose from. Words cannot explain how
cool this is, so check out the video and see for yourself.
You will become a believer in STRIKE.


Secondly, the Axiom 61 Keyboard MIDI Controller. I'm not
a keyboard player but this is a piece of gear that I'm adding
to my arsenal. Yes it's great for the studio but I would
use it in live settings, as a controller. M-Audio has hit
a home-run with this keyboard. Jeff Dykhouse called this
the "Swiss Army Knife of Keyboards". Check
it out
.


If the Axiom is the "Swiss Army Knife of Keyboards" then
the NRV10 is the "Swiss Army Knife of Mixers".
The NRV10 is made by M-Audio and it combines an 8 x 2 analog
mixer with a 10 x 10 24bit/96kHz digital audio interface.
For those who aren't 'gear-heads' - so what. Well, without
getting into every nuance of the NRV10, just image only having
to plug in a single firewire cable versus a slew of cables.
You have real-time insert effects on every channel. You can
host two VST plug-ins on every channel. The NRV10 can be
used in live situations as well as in the studio, as an analog
mixer or and digital control service for Pro Tools or other
DAW software.


If you want to learn how to use any of the aforementioned
products or would like to evaluate them to see if you would
want to add them to your family, check
out the videos
.




Friday, January 11, 2008

Carmen Rizzo: Musical Renaissance Man


Take one peek at Carmen Rizzo's website news page (www.carmenrizzo.com), and you'll get a glimpse of just how busy this talented artist actually is. Rizzo is a two-time Grammy nominated recording artist whose multi-faceted career includes producing, mixing, remixing, programming and co-writing with/for influential artists such as Seal, Coldplay, Alanis Morissette, Paul Oakenfold, BT, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Cirque de Soleil and Pete Townsend. Carmen has also co-produced projects with such notable producers as Trevor Horn, Marius, David Foster, Rob Cavillo and Don Was. His current solo album The Lost Art of the Idle Moment, is a lush beat-driven disc that features vocal collaboration with Esthero, Jem, Kate Havnevik, Ladybug Mecca and Grant Lee Phillips. He co-founded Niyaz (Six Degrees), a world-beat and electric fusion musical project, with Azam Alit and Loga Ramin Trorkina. Other recent projects include collaborating with Eurythmics' Dave Stewart on a world-beat song for Greenpeace, a documentary-style music show for HBO, putting finishing touches on a solo album (with guest vocalists including Jem), a new album with Niyaz slated for an April 2008 release on Six Degrees Records, a lecture tour for M-Audio/Digidesign, Avid & Microsoft (at colleges and venues in Boston, New York and San Francisco), scoring the new Michael Apted film, The Power of the Game, and miscellaneous musical work with Al Gore's Current TV network - to name but a few.

We caught up with Carmen in between his myriad projects and dizzying schedule.

How did you break into the business? Was there a pivotal point in your career where you took it to the next level, in terms being a professional?

I was in bands as a kid, but when I found out I couldn't be a pro baseball player, I went back to music! I moved to Los Angeles in 1984 from the California Bay Area. I was 19 years old and had $1,000 in my pocket. Through friends of friends, I just started at the bottom. I worked in recording studios as a runner and a go-fer, and worked my way up to an assistant engineer. I was fortunate to produce a record early in my career, in my twenties, with Kristen Vigard, that was her critically acclaimed debut with lots of guest stars from Fishbone to the Red Hot Chili Peppers to N'Dea Davenport (Brand New Heavies) to Amp Fiddler - a lot of people that were super credible in that scene. I can't really say what was a pivotal part of my career... but I think I was fortunate to have a lot of really wonderful relationships, and when I got put in a situation where I could shine, I shined. I can't really say that it was really one moment, but if there was, it would be working with Seal [as co-writer, programmer/engineer/mixer on Seal, 1994] because I was lucky to be brought into the Seal/Trevor Horn camp early on. Having that attached to my name gave me instant credibility.

You are a man of many hats... Of all the projects you're involved with - as producer, artist and educator - how do you juggle all your responsibilities? And of all that you do, where do your passions lie?

It's blessing and a curse but I can't complain! It's very difficult because I have a very good work ethic and I'm very disciplined but I also have a family. During the week, I'm extremely disciplined and I work long days and long nights. You've got to multi-task in this business to survive.

What prompted you to work with HowAudio.com?

I met the guys and fell in love with what they were doing and wanted to help them with their cause. So far, I've done instructional titles on M-Audio's Torq DJ software and Essential Gear for Mobile Recording. I'm famous for recording on the road; I travel a lot, making records in hotel rooms, and that title tells you what gear you need to do it yourself. I'm also working on a title on essential studio tips and tricks that we hope to complete soon.

I really love what Howaudio is doing. Whether you're a novice, a bedroom producer, or musician living in middle of nowhere, you can go to their site and have access to professionals who can offer valuable information and insight on topic you're interested in. Or, you might be someone like me, a professional, who might be embarrassed to say, "I don't know how to do that. I want to learn more."

These days, there are no mentoring opportunities for folks to learn from the pros. This is a great way for people to gain access to the pros. It's like mentoring in your own home. It's a wonderful way to learn. I support what they do and they have a very high standard and I know that whatever they do, it's going to be done very well.

You're a very big proponent of education. What are your goals and what you hope to impart with these instructional titles?

My goal is to reach out to individuals. These DVDs offer something you wouldn't read in a manual or won't see in an interview. Also, if you're a fan of someone's work, it's a great way to get an inside view and to see them work. As far as gear reviews in magazines, they rarely dog a piece of gear. I'm not suggesting that we rip a piece of a gear, but what these DVDs do is that they spotlight features and benefits and what nuances you should pay attention to, and why this piece of gear is worth using. It gives you an objective view that you might not get from a manufacturer. Plus, it puts software and gear into context with how you're using it.

I'm grateful to be a part of the family and it's a long-term relationship. I want to help spread valuable information to other colleagues. I really do believe in the educational process and I do a lot of that for other organizations.

Any parting tips for an aspiring producer/artist/engineer?

Be a good listener and have humility a lot of people. A lot of people come into a situation and have a bit of a chip on their shoulder. Over the years, I've had many interns and assistants, and the ones that have shined have been ones that have been good listeners. They actually want to learn.

Also, too, it's important to master your craft first. In this climate with way technology is changing, anyone can walk into Guitar Center, buy a Portastudio or Pro Tools and a computer and think they can make records. Just because you know how to use Garageband or Pro Tools doesn't mean you're a record producer.

There has to be something said about that. Master your craft before you just jump in.

Click here to see a list of titles by Carmen Rizzo.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Drum Miking Techniques with Les Camacho (NEW TUTORIAL)

01.08.07 NEW TUTORIAL: Drum Miking Techniques with Les Camacho

__For the studio engineer there is no more complex a job than properly miking a drum kit. Join veteran recording engineer Les Camacho and accomplished drummer Jonathan Gorman as they demonstrate the microphones and techniques used for miking a drum kit, in the recording studio. Les will demonstrate how to listen critically, finding the “sweet spot” of each drum type, what type of microphone is best suited for each drum, how to “audition” and then fine tune the microphone placement. Utilizing three different setups: entry-level microphones, mid-range microphones and high-end microphones, Les shows you how to best capture the dynamics of the drum kit no matter what your microphone budget is.

__Les Camacho is a multitalented and experienced Los Angeles-based audio engineer with credits that include artists such as Massive Attack, The Killers, Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons and Fleetwood Mac just to name a few. Les' first big gig was running sound for Nick Mason (Pink Floyd's drummer) on Pink Floyd's 1994 World Tour. A consummate professional, he really understands how to preserve the ""live"" sound of a band while in the studio.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Grammy-Award Winning Musician & Recording Artist, Carmen Rizzo, Outlines Essential Gear For Mobile Recording In New Howaudio.com DVD

No longer is your musical creativity confined to the walls of a recording studio. Today with a little planning and the right gear, you can record audio whenever and wherever you want. In HowAudio.com's new instructional title, Essential Gear for Mobile Recording, two-time Grammy nominated recording artist and musician Carmen Rizzo shows you all the audio gear necessary for on-location recording. PLUS, Carmen shows you that it can all fit into two carry-on bags you can stow into the overhead compartment of most major airliners. Learn valuable tips from a seasoned pro about the best way to travel light without sacrificing any of your audio recording quality. This DVD title is available for purchase online at HowAudio.com, OR subscribe to the site for as little as $19 a month (or $199/year) and get complete access 24/7 to this and get every tutorial in the howaudio library—over 1000 movies on three-dozen-plus topics—with new titles added weekly.

"I'm passionate about recording on the road," says Rizzo. "I travel a lot and am known by my colleagues for the music I make in hotel rooms and on the fly. Essential Gear for Mobile Recording will tell you what gear you need to buy and what you need to pack to record from wherever you are. Whether you're a novice, or a bedroom producer, or musician living in middle of nowhere, this DVD can benefit anyone, and give you access to great, valuable information and insight on remote recording not widely available. It's a wonderful way to learn."

Source: Music Industry News Network (mi2n)