To The Cloud

Despite the high-flying superlatives at this year's Apple Developer's Conference, that the Cloud really, truly and amazingly does work, Google Music has been quietly rolling out their beta cloud storage locker. "Locker" is a good term to describe this cool service as it's a good place to park your library...at no charge (note that Apple plans to charge an annual fee for the same type of service).  As a producer or  music professional, don't get too excited about what Google Music or other lockers like MiMedia can do for you.  Here's the Good, Bad and the Ugly analysis after a week's worth of uploading and usage...

• GOOD:  Massive capacity with no known limit on storage capacity.  The only limitation appears to be the quantity of songs, topping off at 20,000 files.  Not bad.
• GOOD:  No charge for service (vs. $29.99 for Apple's proposed locker)
• GOOD:  No apparent data compression of audio.  The file you put up there in the cloud is the one you'll be playing back
• GOOD:  No Google Ads or banners to clutter up the service.  Works quickly and smoothly on wireless Android 3g and 4g devices (fast and smooth in WiFi mode, as you'd expect)
• BAD:  This is a one-way trip...upload only.  Once audio is uploaded, it cannot be downloaded, only deleted from Google's server.
• BAD:  You can listen ONLY...on a computer or device that has been linked to the service through Google's downloadable music manager, similar to iTunes service.  Here, though Google gives you a generous 20 or so devices per account.  
• BAD:  No links or apparent ways to share or embed files.  
• UGLY:  Make sure you're on an unlimited data plan because you will chew up bandwidth faster than a hungry man plows through a buffet.  

There really is no downside to Google Music:  It's fast, easy and fun (sorry, slipping into superlatives).  However, if you're looking for something more than a music locker, that's where the wheels come off.  Google Music is a lock-box that would make Al Gore sing hosannas!  You can't download, link or share files, rendering this practically useless for audio production.  If you're looking for something more robust for sharing material in the cloud, a good ol' fashioned ftp or Sound Cloud may offer better results.  

Tascam HD-R1

Tascam announces the release of its new HD-R1 Solid State Recorder. It's a two-track recorder that stores audio on flash media. The rack-mountable unit is expected to hit shelves later this summer.

Frontier Design DAW for Adobe 2.0

We like tinkering with controllers for workstations, and a well regarded device is the Frontier Design Alpha Track. It's compact size leaves a small desktop footprint and its control surfaces are sturdy and well placed.

The touch-sensitive shuttle/jog surface is very handy, indeed.

Is Peak Limiting making people sick???

Apologies to you for our lack of posts and reports over the past two weeks. We're busy with the final touches of our forthcoming redesign and development of a new marketing plan. With these in place, we'll be in a good position to attract a vast array of Production and Imaging Directors across the country and beyond. More on that in the coming days.

Now, on to the news. Is the "11" factor making listeners sick? Remember Nigel Tufnell's and Marty DiBergi's dialogue in Spinaltap, "What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do? We put it at 11! It's one louder." Well, are peak limiting plug-ins making people ill? It's in interesting question raised in a recent article. Check out the accompanying video presentation for more detail.

Are you a Peak Limiting freak? Post your reply and let us know.

Ableton Live Lite upgrade to Full

Ableton Live Lite users can now purchase an upgrade to a full version.

Talk about Honesty in Advertising

Thanks to Iron Mike Russell for unearthing this gem!

What a great line: "Don't worry about the equipment, imagine all the fun you can have in the back!" Oh, it must be a Friday, friends....

Job Opening ... Bring Lots of Tanning Lotion

Happy Friday!

Channel 104.8 has an immediate opening for a creative production wizard. Accommodation within walking distance to the station will be provided, along with transportation, too.

Sounds great, as long as you don't mind working in one of the hottest places on mother earth. Ajman, in the United Arab Emirates. I checked today's forecast, which calls for a balmy 102 degrees. However, during peak summer periods the temp may surpass 127 degrees.

Oh, if you're worried about security, consider this: Halliburton will soon move its headquarters there. I guess that says something about security.

"Where's the hearse?"

So..... you're in the production studio, sitting comfortably in front of the console and ready to begin a mix-down when, to your surprise you hear somebody yell, "Where's the hearse?"

This Sheffield, Alabama station received an unwelcome guest in their production studio. I'm not sure what's funnier: the sight of a silver hearse punching a hole through the production studio wall, or the fact that the station "repaired" the damage in less than two hours.

Hey, a picture is worth a thousand words. Read the full story here.

Recording Music

Have you ever wondered what it's like to record musicians in a live performance. Let's step out of the production studio for a moment and take a behind-the-scenes look at an actual session... in this case, a jazz recording.

Victor Schermer penned this article on what takes place in the control room and the recording studio during an actual session. Leading the session is one of the great underrated pianists, Don Friedman.

Using Skype for Phoners and Production

I receive the occasional question ...usually from a home-studio producer... on the easiest way to record a telephone interview in the digital medium. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the use of a Gentner hybrid interface or even a Telos, assuming the session is on an ISDN circuit.

One inquiry, however was particularly complex and involved recording an interview on the phone. It didn't help matters that my colleague was on vacation in the Caribbean, miles away from the nearest studio. With laptop in hand and ProTools M-Box at his disposal, we tinkered with a few scenarios on how to record the interview as an MP3 file...something he could edit and e-mail to his producer at the radio station.

Enter Skype to the rescue! Skype taps into the speed and quality of VOIP. With a couple of quick software downloads, our intrepid explorer/producer was up and running in no time.

Thanks to David at ContentDeveloper.com for writing this thorough article on how to make it work.

Add a Stereo Mic to your collection

Okay, it's not everyday that a Production Director has a practical use for a Stereo Mic. However, a couple of applications come to mind: 1) You want to get out into the field and record some of your own Stereo sound effects; or 2) that bit for the morning show would really sound hot with a little spacial quality to it.

Well, whatever your reason might be for owning a Stereo Mic, Superlux announces the release of the E 522/B Stereo Mic. Hey, at $100, it's easy to add two to your collection. Can you say, "Quad Stereo?"

M-AUDIO ver 1.5 Release

M-Audio announces the release of version 1.5. This version makes M-Audio Session compatible with Windows Vista, and it also features some cool enhancements, too.

Download the update here.

Portable CD Recorder by Marantz

CD Recording is fairly commonplace in today's studio environment. However, finding a good field recorder has been hit or miss. Marantz, who has a durable line of MiniDisc and Flash recorders on the market announces the CDR310 CD Recorder.

Pro Tools for Windows Vista

Pro Tools for Windows Vista arrives this Summer. What's more, the entire line including Pro Tools LE, Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools M-Powered will be available for Vista. That's good news if you're planning to upgrade hardware with Vista pre-installed.

Western Digital AV Drives

We came across this info a couple of weeks ago (sorry for the delay, but one too many radio station reunion parties have been keeping us running). Western Digital introduces a new line of internal hard drives with audio and video editing in mind. With a MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) of 1-million hours, and whisper-quiet operation, these drives are an editor's dream device. The drives are designed specifically for 24/7 operation.

If you're like me and like to tinker inside the chassis, it may be worth looking at these new WD's. The drives are available direct through the company's distribution network.

The New Nimbus Line

Rain Recording of New Jersey rolls out its new Nimbus line of computers. These beefy machines are designed specifically for audio recording, and the newest model comes packed with Dual Core processors, aluminum construction that keeps mission critical drives and processors cool and quiet, six USB 2.0 ports and two 80 Gig internal drives that operate at 7200rpm. Although the price moves you close to Mac territory, it's not too far out of expectation considering the durable reputation of their previous models.

Voice ... in HD

I wouldn't chuck your brand new $3,000 Telos Xstream just yet, but this latest news from Texas Instruments might make it possible to do so in the very near future. TI is calling it Voice Velocity, allowing voice to be transmitted in Hi Def, with frequencies approaching 48k and 64k.

The large bandwidth of DSL, Cable or T1 connections, along with an MPEG 4 AAC codec will allow CD-quality audio transmission possible across IP networks.

Although TI is touting the home and consumer benefits of HD voice across IP networks, it only takes a little imagination to see how this applies to audio production. For those of you looking forward to building a home studio ...without the expense of dedicated ISDN lines and an expensive Telos unit, the future may be a little closer.

Okay, time for a musical diversion.

Today would have been the 90th birthday of The "First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald. She won 13 Grammys, sold over 40-million recordings and was the most popular female jazz vocalist for more than half a century. Her successful career grew from humble roots, as outlined in her official bio:

"What's she going to do?"

In 1934 Ella's name was pulled in a weekly drawing at the Apollo and she won the opportunity to compete in Amateur Night. Ella went to the theater that night planning to dance, but when the frenzied Edwards Sisters closed the main show, Ella changed her mind. "They were the dancingest sisters around," Ella said, and she felt her act would not compare.

Once on stage, faced with boos and murmurs of "What's she going to do?" from the rowdy crowd, a scared and disheveled Ella made the last minute decision to sing. She asked the band to play Hoagy Carmichael's "Judy," a song she knew well because Connee Boswell's rendition of it was among her mother's favorites. Ella quickly quieted the audience, and by the song's end they were demanding an encore. She obliged and sang the flip side of the Boswell Sister's record, "The Object of My Affections."

Ella was 17. Shortly thereafter, she would catch the attention of drummer and band leader Chick Webb, who would go on to hire Ella for $12.50 a week.

This performance of "How High The Moon" allows Ella to use just about every tool in her vast vocal arsenal, from scatting, singing, improvisation, high notes, low notes....you name it!

Long Live the First Lady of Song!

Here's an ad design for TDK cassettes, c. 1993. The campaign's slogan, "As Serious As You Can Get" was designed in part to shore up sagging cassette sales for both pre-recorded and blank media. Indeed, 1993 was a bleak year for recordable media manufacturers as CD players had reached 5 million units sold during that period, up 21% from the year before. That same year, cassette player shipments had dropped 7% to approximately 3.4 million units.

TDK has come a long way since its founding in 1935. It has been at the technological forefront of the recording and audio production industries since it manufactured its first magnetic recording tape in 1952. Now comes word that Imation will acquire TDK's media business. At least the TDK brand name will live on.

Radio in 5.1

It's a radio first! CBS Classic-Rocker WZLX in Boston fired up it's brand new 5.1 Surround Sound service. The system operates on the station's main HD channel and is provided by Fraunhofer and Telos Systems.

Since Bose and Boston Acoustics are both based in Boston, a high-quality receiver can't be far away.