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Music, Technology, and The Independant Artist

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Home Recording: Choosing Your DAW

Tuesday, 3 August, 2010

protools8Home recording has exploded over the past decade as digital technology has given musicians more and more powerful tools for capturing and mixing music on laptops and desktops.  One of the key choices a musician or engineer must make is which DAW to invest time and money into.

What’s a DAW you say? Well, why don’t we see what good ol’ wikipedia says:

“Originated in the early 1980s, the term digital audio workstation (DAW) originally referred to a tape-less, computer-based system such as New England Digital’s Synclavier and Fairlight that used hard drives for media storage. ” – Wikipedia.org (read the full article) Read the rest of this entry »

Not Enough Room for a Real Piano? Go-Go Midi Keyboards!

Tuesday, 29 June, 2010

flip_flapNot everyone has room for a nice black satin baby grand piano in their home studio, but most of us have a computer with more than a few gigabytes of harddrive space.  These days you can buy a midi keyboard for under a hundred bucks.  So what’s stopping you . . .the sound?

Musicians are often skeptical of synth sounds and are wary of creating music that sounds artificial–and rightfully so.  Luckily today’s midi sounds are not your Dad’s midi sounds.  Infact, some must  be heard to be believed.

Whether you are a composer, songwriter, recording artist, or all of the above, a midi keyboard and a good sound library can help you reach new levels in music production.

While sampled piano is not 100% realistic, nowadays it’s quite close. Many sample developers have been increasing the standard of virtual instrument libraries in the last few years.

Piano is one of those instruments that has taken decades to perfect.

When some of the first high quality sampled piano libraries came out, they weren’t cheap. But thankfully today there are a few options out there, some more expensive than others.

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The Basic Elements of a Home Recording Studio

Monday, 14 June, 2010

studio-2008-2Music recording technology has advanced considerably in the past few years. As a result, there are a lot of options for assembling your own recording studio without breaking the bank.  In fact, our sister blog Echoes shows how you can get started for just under a 1000.00 dollars.

Now before you get out your credit card, it’s important to know what elements to consider when building your home studio. Certain aspects are often overlooked.  Many people will end up buying the cheaper gear, thinking it’s all the same quality unless they spend thousands of dollars. However, this is not the case! Many renowned equipment manufacturers have altered their product line to focus towards low budget studios.

So let’s get started with the key elements!

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