Free updates and an iPhone app for remote controlling Omnisphere!
Click here to visit the official Spectrasonics site
Thanks to the great team over at Sonic State for this.
Spectrasonics’ Eric Persing With Omnisphere And Trillian At NAMM 2010
Sunday, January 24th, 2010How “The 88″ Recorded Their New Song With Only An iPhone
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009This is a video of The 88 recording “Love Is The Thing” on an iPhone!
Get “Love Is The Thing” on iTunes!
Back story from their web site http://The88.net:
This Spring, we were on tour opening up for the B-52s, with shows all around the East Coast. One day while we were driving, Keith was browsing through the applications on the iPhone and came across FourTrack. We thought this app would be a great way to record song ideas while we are away from home.
So we downloaded it, and I thought it would be a neat experiment to record the full band on a phone. I was very curious to see how it would sound.
First, we picked out a tempo that felt right for the song. We used a pair of our own headphones that plugged directly into the iPhone. The first track we recorded was acoustic guitar.
Keith recorded a quick scratch vocal just to have something in place for us to listen to that we would eventually record over. Then we used Anthony’s daughter’s toy drum set that he played with brushes. (In order to get a good volume level that didn’t overload the phone, we covered the drum set with a sheet.)
Keith played the electric and slide guitars through an old Silvertone Amp that a good friend gave to us a long time ago. I recorded the piano part on a small Yamaha keyboard using the built-in speakers.
We ran the bass through a practice guitar amp to give it a different sound and to also keep a similar theme with the way we recorded the drums. We recorded the backup vocals like they did in the old days — we all gathered around the phone and sang all the parts onto one track.
All in all, thanks to the bounce feature on FourTrack, we laid down 14 tracks — including a crash cymbal I added at my house at the end.
After finishing a mix of the song, we really liked the way everything was sounding, however we thought that the lead vocal sounded a bit distant. We ended up using an Alesis ProTrack, which allows you to connect an iPod or an iPhone to both a microphone and headphones, and adjust your input level.
So that’s the way we recorded “Love Is The Thing” on the iPhone. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it! – Adam
TRACKS RECORDED 6/8/09
- Acoustic guitar
- Scratch Vocal (which was replaced)
- Drums
- Bass
- Electric Guitar
- Slide Guitar
- Piano
- Backup Vocals
- Hand Claps
- Lo Vocal
- Hi Vocal
- Double Vocal (which was replaced)
- Shakers
- Crash
- Vocal (recorded on 6/13/09)
- Double Vocal (recorded on 6/13/09)
Get “Love Is The Thing” on iTunes!
Visit the web site for more including additional session photos
An iPhone “Must Have” Music App – From McDSP? Wait…What?
Monday, June 22nd, 2009McDSP, maker of some of my favorite plugins (like Analog Channel for one), has gone and jumped into the iPhone app fray (say that five times fast). I must say, I didn’t see this one coming.
It sure looks and sounds cool! When I finally get my new iPhone it’ll probably be one of the first apps I actually buy, considering there are so many cool FREEeeee ones in the Apple App Store.
It’s called Retro Recorder – Enhanced Mobile Recording.
Here’s the lowdown from McDSP.
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The highly stylized yet simple interface of Retro Recorder makes recording easy on any iPhone. Patent pending Audio Level eXtension (ALX) technology improves recording quality beyond the capability of handheld recorders costing many times more.
Even without an external microphone, Retro Recorder can capture detail other recorders cannot – up to 32 times more signal level.
Recorded files can be exported individually or in batches. Exported files may then be downloaded to a PC or Mac, using a Wi-Fi network.
Supports iPhone and second generation iPod Touch. An external microphone is required to use Retro Recorder on the second generation iPod Touch.
Feature highlights:
- Up to 30 dB (32 x) more signal level with ALX technology
- Audition ALX processing instantly during playback, the original recording is preserved
- Export original recordings or ALX enhanced versions in WAV format
- Wi-Fi download page allows downloading to any Mac or PC with most web browsers
- Batch rename, delete, and export makes organizing a snap
- User interface rotates 180 degrees for better iPhone microphone orientation when recording
- External microphone support
- Record short ideas or lengthy meetings for hours, even in sleep mode
- Pause, fast forward, or rewind signals during playback
- Filter list of recordings by keyword to find your recording fast
- Recorder page allows quick review of last clip recorded, great for level checks
- Supports mono signals only, up to 22,050 Hz sample rate
- Developed and supported by a professional audio company with over ten years experience
Check out the RetroRecorder.com web site for more info and to hear audio demos of ALX in action.
Get Retro Recorder From The Apple iPhone App Store
ALX (Audio Level eXtension) – What Is It Exactly?
McDSP Audio Level eXtension (ALX) algorithms improve audio recording and playback performance using patent pending techniques derived from McDSP’s experience in professional audio software development over the last decade.
Recordings using ALX can capture up to 30 dB (32 times) more signal than standard recordings. ALX can also isolate close proximity signals from background noise during recording, and minimize volume variations during playback.
Audio playback using ALX provides a better listening experience by maximizing audio fidelity and minimizing volume changes. Playback benefits of ALX algorithms include:
- Minimized music track volume variations
- Noisy environments no longer impacting listening enjoyment of music and movies
- Television and movie manner mode for listening at reduced levels, while keeping loud and quiet parts audible
Because ALX algorithms are highly optimized and have little latency, they can be used for other realtime audio applications such as:
- Maximizing signal levels between cell phone callers
- Better audio fidelity in laptop and desktop computer speakers
- Improved fidelity for internet audio streaming
- Better audio fidelity in computer games and game consoles (XBox 360, PS3, others)
The McDSP Retro Recorder is the first consumer audio product to incorporate ALX technology. Stay tuned for more developments using ALX. Contact McDSP for licensing information.
