Dan Higgins Ripping It
July 18, 2010 in Videos
If you don’t know who Dan Higgins is, you have heard him…..in movies, on TV soundtracks, albums, etc. He’s everywhere. Check him out.
You are browsing the archive for Studio.
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Spare Room to Studio in 10 Minutes
April 28, 2008 in Articles
The SOS Forums had this interesting thread about a bloke who can turn his guest room into a studio in about 10 minutes.
My studio set up consists of a control room/office which is unusual in that it has no parallel surfaces, even a sloping roof. This room is loosely triangular being a maximum of 4.8m long and 4.5m deep. There’s a short 1.2m corridor (which I call the portal) that leads into a guest bedroom which is 3m by 2.7m.
Sometime ago I renovated the guest room so that I can convert it into a studio in around 10 minutes and I thought this might be interesting/useful.
The guest bedroom has a permanently installed double bed in it, but I’ve put it on hinges! It’s really easy to hinge the bed onto the wall
Pictures and other info with the original post.
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Gearjunkies User Studios
March 11, 2008 in Articles
Gearjunkies.com has opened a neat new little site called Gearjunkies UserStudios. Here, people can flaunt their pro, semi-pro, project, or home studios. Though, right now, it seems that a lot of info is left out such as microphones, computers used, etc. But it was just launched, so, hopefully, that will be coming soon.
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Pimped Out Studio
June 15, 2007 in Articles
The idea, which I have had for years, was to have a digital studio where I didn’t go through reams of paper every year. I finally did it. Using an iMac, and it’s video spanning capabilities, I made a digital music stand. While the technology has been there, the costs were way too high. The costs for this was around $650+/-. $70 for the VESA Mount, $100 for the Conga stand, $300 for the monitor, $25 for the iMac video adapter, $120 for the USB foot pedal, and $6 for the plastic cover and connectors (Tap Plastics rocks). A year or two ago, this would have been a lot more. A year from now, it will be less. That’s technology for ya.
Pictures and more inside……
I have a lot of songs that I have done on Finale and on PDF, enough to fill a 3 inch binder. In fact, I have 5 such binders that I have tried to store copies of the songs so I wouldn’t need to print them out if I wanted to play them with a student. One problem with this system is finding songs. An Index? Well, I suppose, but it is a pain keeping it up to date, and flipping though a huge 3 inch binder is not fun. Plus, the Manhassette stand won’t keep raised with a full 3 inch binder on it. Then there are page turns. It was just a hassle.
Now, with the all digital setup, I can load a song up, display it on the other screen. Simple. No printing. If it is multiple pages, no problem, the 22″ monitor handles it with no problems. Three pages? That is where the foot peddle comes in. I have the X-Keys programmed (using iKey) to advance to the next page if I stomp on the right of the peddle, back a page if I stomp left, and in the center, it toggles one or two page mode. I can also do the same stuff using PDF files. So, anything I’ve scanned in I can view in the same way. It works very well so far.
The other thing is SmartMusic. It’s easier to use, though SmartMusic does not do two pages. Though it does seem to work alright if you flip the monitor around and put it into portrait mode.
Pictures are here
Update: 06/17 17:18 GMT by E :One of the things sorta like my setup is A Music Pad. I considered this, but that product just wouldn’t do it. Not enough space, and it is just too small. They seem to generate a lot of press, but if it was maybe $400, had more memory, and had an attachment to allow you to drive it from a laptop, it would be cool.
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Running Band in A Box Under Parallels
February 1, 2007 in Articles
Ok, so we all know that the latest Macs all run Intel processors. You might have heard of an Apple Beta program called Boot Camp where you can get your Mac to boot up as a *shutter* Windows XP computer. You might also have heard of a program Parallels that lets you mitigate Windows to just a Window. Well, if you take the two programs, and add in Band in a Box 2007 for PC, you get a very functional program that runs pretty flawlessly.
Yes, Virginia, it works fine….
Ok, so, first off, you need to download Boot Camp, and get Microsoft Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2. Not Vista. Vista, as of right now, works fine in Boot Camp (IE: Dedicating the whole machine to it), but has a lot of issues with Parallels. Boot Camp is picky, and you need to have Service Pack 2.
Now, having Read the rest of this entry →
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Xmas Guide 2005
November 4, 2005 in Articles
Yes, it is only November. But there is no time like the present to start thinking of presents for people (woohoo, good play on words there E).
To start things off, iLounge has a very good, free, Holiday buyers’ guide available. Of course the guide is for people who own an iPod. And if they don’t own an iPod, that would be the #1 thing to get people. An iPod nano is only $199. Amongst the things they recommend are AKG’s new K 701 headphones. I own a pair of AKG 271 headphones, and they rock. The 701s are around $399.
Other things to consider getting a musician are:
- an iTunes music store card.
- Transcribe for figuring out solos
- Greg Fishman’s Jazz Etude Book
This is just a start…..I’m sure there are other potential presents out there.
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Apple MiniMac
March 22, 2005 in Reviews
I am the proud owner of a new Mac Mini. I must say, it is the slickest piece of hardware ever. Small, quiet, fast. Everything my Aging Cube was and more. It’s roughly 3 times faster than my Cube (450Megahertz compared to 1.42Gigahertz). Digital Performer works faster, Finale works faster. Printing is faster. Loading iTunes is faster. Generating 50 choruses in Band-in-a-box is faster. Everything. I also regained about 8+ inches on my desk. Wow.
Two things that I don’t like about the MiniMac. One…Memory. Yeah, it ships with 256Megs. The MiniMac is real pokey with 256Megs. Putting more in makes it a lot more responsive. Two CD/DVD drive. Perhaps it is my Minimac, but it has issues ejecting CDs/DVDs. Maybe it was my upgrading the memory myself (not a huge deal, but it was a pain to get the case lid off).
Overall, it’s a great computer for the music studio. 9.5 out of 10. I’d give it a 10 out of 10 if it could handle more than a gig of memory.
More reviews and pictures to follow!
Update: 03/24 08:22 GMT by E :The MacMini needs AT LEAST 512 Megs of Ram. Anything less makes it sluggish. I ordered a 1 Gig Dimm, which should be comming next week. That should make things better. But right now, loading Finale 2005 and iTunes results in a sluggish MiniMac. Doing a process monitor on it, most all the memory is used up by those two processes. So, adding more RAM should make things fly. More to come!
Update: 03/25 19:02 GMT by E :Some pictures of someone comparing the G4 Cube to the MacMini.
Update: 03/31 06:24 GMT by E :Ok, I just installed a 1 gigabyte Ram chip in it. It came with a 256Meg one. That is totally not a usable computer with that. I installed a 512Meg chip, which is better, but still, when the little guy runs out of Ram, things SLOW TO A CRAWL. Installing a 1 Gigabyte ram chip has totally fixed everything. This little guy rocks now.
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Xmas 2004
December 26, 2004 in Articles
I know this is kind of late, but what did Saxophonist wish for and receive (music related) this holiday season?
For myself, I upgraded to Band in a Box 2005, and Digital Performer 4.5. I bought more RAM for the Jazz-Sax.Com server (up to over a Gig now) and I bought a couple of Dick Oatts CDs.
Some things that I wanted but didn’t get include:
- Selmer Model 37 Bass Clarinet
- A New 828MkII or MOTU Traveler
- Selmer Sopranino
- Haynes Flute with open holes and a low B
- Winning the State Lottery
Probably a bunch of other things as well 
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New Studio
July 10, 2004 in Articles
One of my projects this summer (2004) was to redo my music studio. I was inspired by watching a lot of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy episodes. Here are the results!
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2003 Christmas Buying Guide
December 6, 2003 in Articles
Seems every website out there has some sorta list of things to get. I felt left out. So, here is the first annual Jazz-Sax.Com Christmas Shopping list for the budding saxophonist or the professional. Enjoy!Items Under $50
- CDs! such as anything by Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman, Phil Woods, Coltrane, and the latest Dave Weckl Album.
- Kiwi NeckPaks
- iTunes – Best way to manage/listen to your MP3s
- Smart Wrap for those headphones and stuff.
- Jazz Conception – Great books to learn jazz.
- Omnibook – Essential book for learning the jazz language.
Items Under $200
- Band in A Box 2004 – New version for PC allows for multiple styles, repeat endings, and includes MORE styles. Great program for practicing!
- Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones – A great pair of natural sounding headphones.
Items Under $1000
- iPod – Has changed the way I listen to music. Cool, sexy, styling, small, works great. Enuf said.
- MOTU 828MkII – Record at 96Khz via firewire. Awesome interface!
Items We Want But Can’t Afford
- Apple 20″ iMac, or an Dual G5, with a 23″ LCD Display, or an iBook, or an 17″ Powerbook. Ok, I admit I like Apple’s stuff.
- Nuemann U87 – The ultimate mic.
- Vintage Selmer Mark VI Saxophones…..:-/
- Yanagisawa Sopranino – why? Cause it’s itty-bitty.
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The Incredible Shrinking Studio
October 2, 2003 in Articles
Wired magazine has an interesting article about how a number of artists and schools are going to laptops to do music. Artists such as Steve Vai.
A couple of things that I thought were interesting. One, Berklee professor Michael Bierylo hinting that days of learning piano are over and computer learning is in. And two, the seeming decline of recording studios. I know that I have a little studio running (G4 cube, AKGC414 mics, MOTU828), and the quality of sound I am getting is good, but not as good as one could get in a real studio. But still, its a whole lot cheaper than renting studio time and space
Update: 10/02 18:24 GMT by E :Seems Slashdot has an article on this as well. Some interesting comments over there.
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Christmas Wish List 2002
December 1, 2002 in Articles
What do saxophonist want for Xmas? The latest Phil Woods album? The latest Michael Brecker album? Or perhaps you are feeling like going over to the Dark Side this year?
Some of the things on my list are WolfPaK Tenor Sax case, Rode NT4 Stereo Microphone, Rode NTK Tube Mic, Mic stand, Band in a Box 12, and a StudioCanvas 80. Of course a Segway, a Bari Sax, and a Bass Clarinet would be nice to have as well.
What does everyone else have on their list this year?
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Real World Studios
April 8, 2002 in Articles
Peter Gabriel has a great studio called Real World. Pretty neat looking place. An old English build converted into an ultra high tech studio.
However, I still think the coolest setup is Skywalker Sound. Not only do they have the latest/greatest high tech gadgets, but perhaps one of the best recording stages anywhere.
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Band-in-a-Box Version 11
November 30, 2001 in Reviews
PGMusic has been at it again. The have bumped Band-in-a-Box to version 11. It is for PC only. Is it worth the $49 upgrade price? YES YES YES.
The New features are interesting. I don’t know if I would use them, but the Free Bonus 8-PAK that you get makes it well worth it. Styles Disk 27 sounds great, and Styles 28 is good too.
If you have a PC and are into music you have to have this program. Or if you have a Mac, and want to use this program, get Virtual PC and run it!
Here is what PG Music’s site says:
The latest version of Band-in-a-Box adds 50 more features. The “MIDI File Chord Wizard” reads any MIDI file, interprets the chords and displays them in the Band-in-a-Box chordsheet. We’ve added new “Jazz Music Fonts” for authentic looking Jazz and Pop notation. New “Direct-to-Disk” Audio Rendering allows you to directly convert your Band-in-a-Box song to an audio WAV file in seconds. Automatically add life to existing Melodies with The Melody Embellisher. To make all of your Band-in-a-Box music sound better we’ve added the famous RolandED VSC3 MIDI Synthesizer. Guitar Styles have been enhanced with a Jazz Guitar “highest-4-strings-comping mode”. Plus many new Notation Enhancements including the ability to display and print multiple tracks of notation at once.
The thing that is FINALLY FIXED is LONG FILENAMES in Windows 2000! About time!
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Fleshing Out The Virtual Studio
July 13, 2001 in Articles
I have a little virtual studio. It consists of a roland sound canvas, an Alesis Nanopiano, an old EMU Proteus 1 and a Korg M1 keyboard. I like what I can do with my system. However, I’m wishing somethings were a little more “realistic”….
Anyone have some suggestions for an additional tone module? Would adding a VST instrument be better than hardware? I’m expecting my copy of Digital Performer 3.0 any day, and most of the woodwind parts that I’ll do in the future I’m going to record…….so I’m looking for string/brass/bass sounds.
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