Home Recording Studio Guru

Avid Pro Tools 10 – The Top New Features!

Big Al — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:37:57 +0000

Here’s a quick video overview of the top new software features in Avid Pro Tools 10:

Using a screen reader? Click here for the video

Avid Pro Tools 10 – The Top New Features! is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

Steve Jobs Has Passed Away – His Inspiring Commencement Speech At Stanford

Big Al — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:18:39 +0000

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005

Using a screen reader? Click here for the video

I’m grateful for all the wonderful tech that Steve Jobs conceived of and brought to life and the joy it brought me and the impact it has had on me in so many ways.

Steve Jobs Has Passed Away – His Inspiring Commencement Speech At Stanford is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

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Slau Demolishes His BeSharp New York Studio – On Purpose!

Big Al — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:29:00 +0000

If you’re not familiar with Slau, you should be. He’s an awesomely talented singer/songwriter/recording engineer/mixer/mastering engineer/multi-instrumentalist/studio owner/podcaster. Oh, and he loves his beer.

He’s also in the process of remodeling his New York recording studio, BeSharp. Here’s a cool video walk-through of the work in progress so far.

All Things Slau

Slau On Twitter

Sessions With Slau Podcast

Slau on Wikipedia

Slau’s Album “The Weight Of Words“

Slau Demolishes His BeSharp New York Studio – On Purpose! is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

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8-Year-Old Jonny Mizone, Banjo Wiz!

Big Al — Sun, 15 May 2011 03:59:06 +0000

8-Year-Old Jonny Mizone, Banjo Wiz! is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

Microphone Preamp Question For Big Al

Big Al — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:00:40 +0000

I received an e-mail from Mike today with a great question…

“Would you have any suggestions on a good pre amp in the 500 dollar range? I use a Shure SM-57 and a Korg D3200, mic all my guitars and bass. I just can’t afford the computer and software setup just now.”

With all the preamps I’ve gone through in this price range, I think the hands-down winner is the True Systems P-Solo, no question.

The True Systems P-Solo Ribbon Mic Pre

It sounds as good as preamps costing many times more. There are two models, the P-Solo and the P-Solo Ribbon. Since you’re using a dynamic microphone I would have to recommend the P-Solo Ribbon, as it has the extra gain that you’ll need for your Shure SM-57. If you later want to use a microphone that requires phantom power it’s easy and inexpensive ($30-$40) to add an external box that can do that for you.

I personally have this model and I love it, it’s great. If you’d like to read what I’ve written on it before, click here to see my review.

Microphone Preamp Question For Big Al is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

I Give You The Flame Thrower Trombone!

Big Al — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 17:39:01 +0000

It’s Saturday…therefore I present for your perusal the Trombone Flame Thrower. (I wonder is this no longer requires a spit valve?)

I Give You The Flame Thrower Trombone! is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

Ladies And Gentleman…I Give You Beavie Wonder!

Pat Metheny And His High Tech One-Man Band, Orchestrion

Big Al — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:31:54 +0000

Orchestrion…it sounds like some kind of evil genius robot on Futurama. In this case, it’s an ambitious project to create a large interconnected music performance machine, the brain child of jazz guitarist Pat Metheny.

Pat Metheny and his Orchestrion were featured on CBS Sunday Morning this past weekend. On the show, he gave correspondent Russ Mitchell a behind-the-scenes look at the Orchestrion, which is featured on his latest Nonesuch release, also titled Orchestrion, and explained the inner workings of the cutting-edge instruments and performance methods he used on the album and subsequent world tour. Metheny also discussed his personal inspiration for the project the Guardian called his “most ambitious experiment” yet.

Pat Metheny And His High Tech One-Man Band, Orchestrion is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

Ladies And Gentleman…I Give You Beavie Wonder!

Big Al — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:32:27 +0000

I have nothing of real value to say as of yet today, so I give you…BEAVIE WONDER!

Beavie Wonder

Ladies And Gentleman…I Give You Beavie Wonder! is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

I Give You The Flame Thrower Trombone!

The Making of the Fart Expansion Pack For Trigger

Big Al — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 22:59:01 +0000

Here a behind the scenes look at the making of one of the most challenging sound libraries ever, the Fart Expansion Pack for Steven Slate’s Trigger drum replacement plugin.

The video features Steven Slate, Chris Kantrowitz (CEO of Gobbler), and legendary, Grammy-winning producer/engineer Ed Cherney (Iggy Pop, Bob Seger, Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna, Eric Clapton, Jann Arden, Jackson Browne, Keb’ Mo, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones).

Using a screen reader? Click here for the video

Learn More About Slate Digital Trigger Platinum Drum Replacer…

Contains more than 2.3 GB of high-quality 24 bit samples compressed using TRIGGER loss-less sample compression (6 GB uncompressed).

Slate Digital Trigger Platinum Drum Replacer Plugin

Click Here For More Info!

The Making of the Fart Expansion Pack For Trigger is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

Public Domain vs. Copyrighted Works – Mechanical Licensing For Cover Songs

Big Al — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:00:05 +0000

This post first appeared on Limelight’s blog.

Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs … and what’s wrong with that? If you’re planning to use a previously written composition in your efforts, though, you may want to ask: "What constitutes a public domain composition?"

The U.S. Copyright Office defines public domain as: "A work of authorship is in the "public domain" if it is no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection." In the United States, music written before 1923 is generally considered to be public domain.

Many artists and labels who follow the "Golden Rule of Licensing" – if you don’t own or control it, you need a license to use it – know that public domain compositions are one of the few exceptions since tracks within the public domain don’t require a mechanical license or royalty payments made to music publishers.

One important point to consider: even though a song may be found in the public domain, a copyrighted arrangement of that song may exist, which does require a license – so check first. An excellent rule of thumb is, if you used sheet music to learn it, you can often find the copyright information there.

The songs listed below are just a small sample of love songs that are in the public domain.

"I Love You Truly" (Carrie Jacobs Bond)
"Let Me Call You Sweetheart" (Leo Friedman, Beth Slater Whitson)
"I Can’t Tell Why I Love You, But I Do" (Will Cobb, Gus Edwards)
"For Me and My Gal" (George W. Meyer, Edgar Leslie, and E. Ray Goetz
"You Made Me Love You" (James Monaco, Joseph McCarthy)
"Sweet Adeline" (Harry Armstrong, Richard Gerard)

Also numerous classical works, including: "Gymnopedie" (Erik Satie) and "Clair de Lune" (Claude Debussy) are in the public domain.

But, many classic love songs that are presumed to be in the public domain are in fact copyrighted, so make sure to double-check your sources before deciding a track is public domain. PD Info Online is an excellent starting point if the liner notes and copyright information are unavailable. In addition, a simple Google search with "written by" and "published" or "copyright date" alongside the song title often presents information related to the song’s initial copyright date. This is by no means an exhaustive method for determining public domain, but can be helpful.

Here are just a few classic love songs that would require a mechanical license:

"At Last" (Mack Gordon, Harry Warren)
"Can’t Help Falling In Love" (George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore)
"My Funny Valentine" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)
"Embraceable You" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
"Night and Day" (Cole Porter)
"The Way You Make Me Feel" (Michael Jackson)
"You Are So Beautiful" (Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher)
"I Will Always Love You" (Dolly Parton)
"I’ve Got You Under My Skin" (Cole Porter)
"True Love Ways" (Buddy Holly)

Securing a mechanical license can be a difficult task, but Limelight helps artists, school groups, choirs, record labels, and more in clearing the appropriate rights and paying songwriters and publishers.

If you have any questions about Limelight, don’t hesitate to reach out – their support staff is always willing to help! Email or call (646) 863-6375.

Limelight also has a fairly robust FAQ page

Also check out their “Ask Alex” video FAQ page

This post first appeared on Limelight’s blog.

Public Domain vs. Copyrighted Works – Mechanical Licensing For Cover Songs is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru