s weetnotes august 2006 issue vol. 70...on stage, you can tweak parameters from across the room. the...

By Mitch Gallagher

Twice a year, in January and July, the world’s music equipment manufacturers gather together for the NAMM tradeshow. NAMM — the National Association of Music Merchants — puts on the show for the benefi t of retailers, who come to see the new products and to place their orders for the items they’ll be carrying in their stores. Naturally Sweetwater is front and center at every NAMM show, and this year’s Summer NAMM in Austin, Texas, was no different.

You can always count on Summer NAMM for a huge array of new guitars, and manufacturers defi nitely delivered. But there were also a number of interesting developments on the technology front. Following are some of my favorites from the show. (For a complete list of new products and for further information on the items mentioned here, surf over to our show report at www.sweetwater.com.)

Among the bigger announcements at the show was Ableton’s unveiling of Live 6, which includes a host of very enticing new features such as QuickTime video support, the ability to edit “frozen” tracks, Instrument and Effects Racks, multi-core and multiprocessor support, and much more.

Cut the Cord!Wireless has been the buzzword in recent years, as we’ve all grown tired of cables sprawling everywhere, especially in the studio and on stage. Following the lead of the innovative Frontier Design Tranzport wireless remote control for DAWs, M-Audio presents the MidAir 25, the world’s fi rst wireless MIDI keyboard controller. Based on the hugely successful Oxygen 8, the MidAir 25 sports 25 velocity-sensitive keys, eight MIDI-assignable knobs, modulation and pitch bend wheels, assignable sustain button, and a 3-digit LED display. The MidAir 25’s receiver is USB 1.1-compatible and features MIDI I/O for remote controlling software synths, DAWs, or hardware instruments.

The MidAir 25 isn’t just a studio tool. With wireless capabilities, keyboard players can be un-tethered from their laptops, rack modules, and other MIDI-equipped instruments on stage, allowing them to step out of the backline to take center stage. On stage, you can tweak parameters from across the room. The MidAir 25 is effective up to 30 feet away, and when used wirelessly, it delivers the same consistent, real-time response and low latency you’d expect with wired controllers.

Bundled with Ableton Live Lite, the MidAir 25 is ready to rock right out of the box, and the USB is completely class-compliant, meaning no drivers are needed. From project studios to live performance, the MidAir 25 let’s you free yourself of the cable spider web — at least on the MIDI side of things.

Making music happen for over 27 years!(800) 222-4700 • www.sweetwater.com

weetNotesSAugust 2006 Issue | Vol. 70

Ableton Live 6

Summer NAMM .................. 1,4,5,10

M-Audio MidAir 25 ....................... 1

Convolution reverb plug-ins ......... 2,13

MOTU Ethno ............................... 3

Fender 60th Anniversary Strat .......... 3

WaveMachineLabs Drumagog .......... 6

Novation ReMOTE SL .................... 6

GUITAR 101: Understanding Pickups .. 7

Universal Audio Solo 110, 610 ..... 7,13

Inside Sweetwater ........................ 8

Lucid GENx192 ............................ 8

Roger Nichols at Sweetwater.. ......... 9

Q & A ................................... 9,15

Customer Studio ........................ 10

Studio Notebook ........................ 11

ADAM A7 ................................. 11

Cakewalk Kinetic 2 ..................... 12

Inside The Sweetwater Difference ... 13

Tech Notes ............................... 14

E-MU Emulator X2, Proteus X2 ....... 14

Massenburg Masterclass .............. 15

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

> > > > M-Audio MidAir 25 • Sweetwater price $199.97 • www.sweetwater.com/MidAir25

NAMMHITS

— continued on page 4

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from the editor

Moving? Moved? Want more than one copy? Call, fax or email us your new address and don’t miss an issue of SweetNotes!

Mitch Gallagher

Editorial Director

[email protected]

SWEETNOTES | AUGUST 2006 | PAGE 2

Get Out ThereAs I write this, I’m fresh off a plane returning from the Summer NAMM tradeshow, which was held in Austin, Texas this year. A couple of weeks ago, I was out in Tucson, Arizona, attending the Tape Op Conference, which is, as you might guess, put on by Tape Op magazine — I sat on a Pro Tools LE discussion panel there, and manned the Sweetwater table in the exhibits.

Both of these trips, but in particular, the Tape Op experience brought home an important point. If you’re like me, you have a personal or project studio in your home. Again, like me, you may work producing and engineering outside artists and projects in your studio. But I bet a lot of the time, (once again) like me, you’re working alone in your studio. And even if you bring in outside musicians or bands to work with, you’re probably handling most of the engineering duties yourself.

That’s cool — I love being ensconced in my studio, working on a piece of music that’s near and dear to my heart. But being completely isolated from your engineering and producing peers isn’t always a great thing. As artists and creative types, we need interaction and sharing with others. It’s a great way to learn new techniques, learn about gear, and, perhaps most important to share our enthusiasm and joy for what we do with other like-minded individuals — and to do some commiserating about the problems and challenges we all face.

Speaking for myself, spending a weekend or two surrounded by other studio owners and operators was simply wonderful — not only did I learn a great deal, I returned home with my “batteries” charged to overfl owing. I couldn’t wait to get back to making music!

My suggestion is to haul yourself out of your studio once in a while and go meet some other engineers and producers. There are lots of ways to do it: users groups, meetings with organizations such as AES (the Audio Engineering Society), or through events such as Tape Op Conference or similar gatherings — or just an informal gathering you put together yourself. Yes, it’s time away from the studio and it takes a bit of effort. But it’s well worth it!

You Say You Want a ConvolutionConvolution reverb offers us the closest thing we can get to a real acoustic space inside the confi nes of our computers — after all, convolution uses a mathematical snapshot (called an Impulse Response) of a real space to add ambience to your tracks. But there’s a trade-off: The amount of math it takes to do a really convincing reverb-under-glass is quite daunting, even for a powerful computer! Of course, that’s not really an issue with today’s lightning-fast processors, abundant RAM, and the new RAM-friendly features found in many convolution reverb plug-ins.

Brando SnifterLets talk about what’s really cool about convolution reverb plug-ins. To state the obvious, it’s having realistic-sounding spaces to use on your tracks or the sound of a $15k hardware reverb unit for a fraction of the cost. Beyond that, it’s the fact that you can take any impulse response (IR) you desire (even create your own), and process sound through it. For example, in the movie Superman Returns, sound designers used a crystal glassware IR convolved with Marlon Brando’s voice to make it sound as though it were coming through the crystalline walls of the Fortress of Solitude. With convolution you could literally play a frog through a peach (provided you can get a really good frog sample and a decent peach impulse response). So if you’re looking for the ultimate secret sauce for your mix, you’ll fi nd a lot of great options on the sonic menu.

Space, The Final FrontierThe fi rst to make the long and convoluted journey to TDM, Trillium Lane Labs TL Space offers extensive automation features and can harness up to eight Pro

Tools|HD DSP engines to deliver smooth reverb and maximum sonic fi delity. HD|Accel system’s zero latency processing allow it to be used live.

McReverbMcDSP’s Revolver provides Mac-based Pro Tools users (TDM and LE) all-encompassing

impulse response control, dedicated and routable EQ, two sync-able delay lines, a reverb decay crossover network, and specialized

stereo imaging. Revolver’s effi ciency-optimized engine also provides tail-cut controls to save CPU resources.

Alternate UniverseWinner of Best Signal Processing Software in Electronic Musician magazine’s Editors Choice Award 2006, Audio Ease Altiverb 5 gives the kind of control you expect from high-end dedicated hardware reverbs. Plus, Altiverb 5 offers up to an 80% reduction of CPU load. Altiverb supports Mac RTAS, MAS, VST, Audio Units, and AudioSuite, as well as VST and RTAS on Windows XP.

Acting On ImpulseWaves IR-1 will add a little gravy to meat and potatoes processing. By employing classic controls, you can edit all the traditional reverb parameters you’ve grown accustomed to. The IR-1 features a special “Low CPU” mode that requires less CPU

Waves IR1 TDM

Trillium Lane Labs TL Space

Audio Ease Altiverb TDM

McDSP Revolver le



(800) 222-4700 | www.sweetwater.com

MOTU EthnoOne of the factors that made the Beatles music so appealing to so many people of so many cultures was their never-ending search for new sounds. But where did they go to get those new sounds? Prior to the days of modeling synths, sonic visionaries like the aforementioned Fab Four mined the riches of the ethnic instruments encountered in their world travels. Most notably, the sound of the Hindu sitar,

dilruba, and tabla were fi rst brought into pop music by George Harrison in his song, “Within You Without You” (Sergeant Pepper). Similarly, Peter Gabriel added a huge new dimension to pop music with the sound of the Japanese shakuhachi and African talking drums in his mega-hit album, So.

Get MOTU-vated with Ethno If you’re not a globetrotting superstar who can afford travel expenses, the instruments, and lessons with Ravi Shankar, MOTU’s latest software instrument, Ethno Instrument, virtually puts the world at your feet. Ethno gives you 4GB of expressive ethnic instrument sounds plus 4GB of authentic world music loops and phrases recorded in world-class studios by musicians who specialize in each instrument. Rather than leave you to sort out how to use them in musical context, instruments that don’t conform to Western tonality have two presets: one with the “original” tuning and a second preset with each note tuned to conform to a “Western” chromatic scale so you can easily incorporate it into your music. Circling the GlobalEthno Instrument’s loops and phrases include percussive rhythms, vocal utterances, solo and ensemble voices, single-instrument chord progressions, multi-instrument rhythm sections, ornamental fl ourishes, and much more. Rhythmic loops always play in tempo with each other wherever possible. Ethno can also sync to host applications such as Digital Performer, Pro Tools, and Ableton Live. State-of-the-art time stretching ensures sound quality even at extremely slow or fast tempos, plus, highly rhythmic and percussive loops are stored as sliced loops (similar to REX2 fi les) that can be automatically mapped to MIDI notes as single hits or beats. Your Virtual Travel AgentFinding sounds is easy with Ethno. It organizes instruments and loops by regions of the world. You can also browse by categories such as woodwind, stringed, percussion, etc. In fact, it’s educational as well as practical; when you load an unfamiliar sound, a map displays the area of the world that the instrument comes from. Click the map, and a picture of the instrument appears. Discovering New WorldsFor even more sonic exotica, a variety of sound-shaping tools are available including an amplitude envelope, multimode fi lter, LFO, EQ, and pitch controls. Stunningly realistic built-in convolution reverb lets you place sounds in authentic acoustic spaces. Ethno Instrument can be used on the Mac or PC as a plug-in (VST, DXi, MAS, Audio Units, and RTAS formats) or standalone.

MOTU Ethno Instruments will offer your music the “worldliness” that one can only acquire through extensive travel — and the best part is that there’s no dreary hanging about in airport terminals or lost luggage to contend with.

Your Chance To OwnA Piece Of HistoryIn 1946, the world’s fi rst fully electronic computer was built. It contained 17,468 vacuum tubes, covered 1,800 square feet of fl oor space, weighed 30 tons, and consumed 160,000 watts of electrical power. Also that year, Dr. Benjamin Spock’s groundbreaking book, Baby and Child Care was published and Juan Peron (whose wife, Eva was immortalized in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, Evita) was elected President of Argentina.

That same year, a small company located in Fullerton, California changed the course of music history forever, though at the time, nobody could possibly have predicted it. In 1945, Leo Fender was selling and servicing radios out of a tiny storefront, but you might have suspected something big because Fender’s Radio Service ad in the North Orange County Directory claimed he was “Specializing in Every Branch of Sound.” By 1946, Leo built the fi rst Fender factory — two 30’ x 60’ fabricated steel buildings — and the fi rst Fender single-neck steel guitars were unveiled, as well as the fi rst Fender tweed amp, dubbed the Dual Professional.

Today, sixty years later, Fender Musical Instruments is celebrating its 60th Anniversary as one of the largest, and certainly one of the most prestigious manufacturers and distributors of guitars, basses, and amplifi ers on the planet. Though Leo passed away in 1991, his legacy is immeasurable. When accepting his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Keith Richards leaned over the mic and said, “Thank God for Leo Fender, who makes these instruments for us to play.”

To celebrate its Diamond Anniversary, Fender has produced a number of beautifully crafted instruments that combine the best Fender traditions with modern innovation. For 2006 only, the company is building 60th Anniversary Stratocasters and Telecasters, as well as both Precision Bass and Jazz Bass models. Since the company will only have one 60th anniversary, you can bet that the guitars and basses built to commemorate this event will quickly become collector’s items, though Fender has actually gone out of its way to make these limited edition instruments surprisingly affordable.

We sold out of the fi rst batch of 60th anniversary commemorative guitars and basses in near-record time and we’ve just taken delivery of a second shipment. The company isn’t saying how many instruments they’ll build, but they have made it clear that after December, there won’t be any more available. If you’ve been dreaming of owning a Fender guitar or bass, you certainly won’t go wrong by grabbing one of these special anniversary editions!


> > > > MOTU Ethno Instrument • Sweetwater price $279.97 www.sweetwater.com/EthnoInst

> > > > Fender 60th Anniversary Strat Sweetwater price $1099.99 • www.sweetwater.com/Strat60Anniv



Boss Micro BR

Roland Cube-15X

Fender Princeton RecordingDigiTech

Brian May Pedal

Ableton also announced Sampler, a powerful new software sampler instrument/sound design tool that’s designed to take advantage of everything Live offers. Disk preloading supports large sounds, and Akai, Giga, EXS, SoundFont, and non-encrypted Kontakt sounds can be imported.

Boss defi nitely had one of the “buzz” items at the show with their Micro BR, a tiny-yet-powerful portable “workstation.” It’s small enough to fi t in the palm of your hand, but it can record two audio tracks at once, play back four tracks at a time, and has 32 virtual tracks. There’s a built-in drum machine with 300 patterns, a tuner, USB connectivity, and multi-effects. It records to SD media cards; a 128MB card is included. This little baby’s on my personal “Must Buy” list.

If you’re looking for a compact stomp-box looper, then the Boss RC-2 Loop Station is the pedal for you. It’ll do up to 16 minutes of record time, can store 11 phrases for future recall, has jam-along guide drum patterns, an aux input for an audio player, and an external footswitch in for additional control. Pretty sweet.

Speaking of guitar effects, Digitech intro’d their latest signature effects pedal, the Brian May Red Special, which includes a variety of immediately identifi able tones from Brian’s halcyon Queen days, including lead and rhythm sounds from “Bohemian

Rhapsody,” “Tie Your Mother Down,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “Brighton Rock,” and more. Digitech was also showing the Chorus Factory, which contains models of seven very popular chorus boxes. The company’s new RP Series modeling guitar processors (RP350, RP250, RP15) add brand new amp, distortion, and effects models, along with tons of power for crafting your perfect tone.

Roland was touting new guitar amps, including the Cube-30X, Cube-20X, and Cube-15X. Features in the various models include COSM effects, a built-in tuner, an aux in for MP3 and CD players, acoustic guitar simulation, the Power Squeezer for maximum tone at minimum volume, and much more. I thought these sounded great. They’re perfect for rehearsal, practice, or smaller gigs.

Peavey was displaying the upcoming Windsor amp, which is a 120-watt straight-ahead single-channel amp designed for the rock crowd. It’s amazingly affordable; expect to see a lot of these on stages around the world. Peavey also showed the Penta 212, a 2x12

combo version of the company’s popular “boutique-ish” single-channel Penta tube amp.

On the acoustic guitar front, Martin debuted an array of new signature models, including the Johnny Cash D-35, Mark Knopfl er 000-40S, Peter Frampton D-42, Nancy Wilson HD-35, JC Buddy Guy, and many more. Their booth was an acoustic guitarist’s dream with all those signature and custom instruments on display.

Further on the acoustic guitarist’ dream, Taylor was showing their new Fall Limited Edition models, which feature tonewood upgrades and maple detailing and accents. There will be Fall Limiteds in the 400, 700, 800, and 900 series, all featuring the Expression System pickup.

In other acoustic guitar news, Wechter is now offering Schertler preamps, which feature premium electronics, Bluestick pickups, and have their volume and active bass and treble tone controls mounted inside the edge of the soundhole, so there’s no need to punch an additional hole in the rim of the guitar.

There were electric guitars as far as the eye could see, from the “traditional” to the outrageous, in every style and color you could imagine. The Fender booth was defi nitely hopping with the new ’65 Mustang reissue, the 60th Anniversary Limited Telecaster, and the new Highway One and Classic Player series Strats and Teles.

Fender ‘65 Mustang


— NAMM continued from page 1

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Fender amps were on display, too. New offerings included the cool Princeton Recording, which is a 20-watt, all-tube, 1x10 combo. It features a special Trans-Impedance Power Attenuator that let’s you crank the amp to 10, but keep the volume manageable for even the quietest apartment building. To my ears, the Trans-Impedance system worked wonderfully well. The Princeton also includes built-in overdrive and compressor effects “pedals,” as well as a tube-driven spring reverb and an FX loop. It’s a reissued amp on steroids. You need one.

Fender also showed the Pro Junior 60th Anniversary amp, which is part of the Hot Rod series. It’s all-tube, 15 watts, with a 10" Jensen speaker and a semi-opaque wood-fi nished cabinet and carrying handle.

Guitars weren’t the only instruments at NAMM, of course! Roland’s PM-30 is a new 2.1-channel monitor system for use with V-Drums. It offers 200 watts of power, a 12" woofer, two 4" satellite speakers, 3-band EQ, and a compact, easily portable form factor.

Other electronic drum news included the Alesis Control Pad, which is a USB/MIDI Percussion Controller with eight velocity-sensitive pads, two trigger inputs, two pedal inputs, and PC and Mac compatibility. The Trigger I/O is a 10-input drum trigger converter that comes bundled with FXpansion’s BFD Lite. Use it with any single- or dual-zone drum pads

Basses were well represented at Summer NAMM, with the Basic Swamp Ash and Killer B Swamp

Ash models from Tobias. Fender had the new

Precision and Jazz Highway One and Classic Player basses on display as well. Peavey was showing the new Pro 2000 bass amp head, which is said to be the most powerful bass amp ever, with 2,000 watts of brain-rattling power, extensive EQ, and stereo, mono, bi-amp, and full-range/sub modes. The new Pro 810, 410, and 115 cabinets are voiced for maximum articulation, bottom, and punch.

Aside from the afore-mentioned Ableton Live 6, there wasn’t a lot of software presence at the show. However, Steinberg did announce WaveLab Studio, which is a “streamlined” version of the WaveLab 6 audio editing and mastering application. WaveLab Studio includes complete stereo and multitrack editing features, CD burning, track-based and global plug-ins, and much more. Also new from Steinberg was Groove Agent 3, the latest version of the virtual drummer software. This version includes new sounds and styles, and two new “agent” players, the Special Agent and the Percussion Agent. With the new Dual Mode, two of the three modules can be combined for more dynamics and variability.

New mics were on display from AKG, which had the large-diaphragm, multi-pattern condenser Perception 400, and Samson, which offered the C03 USB large-diaphragm condenser mic, the CL2 small-diaphragm condensor, which comes with interchangeable cardioid and omni capsules, and the VR88 ribbon mic. Audix had the FireBall-V, a compact mic aimed at harmonica players.

Audio-Technica rolled out a new line of Artist Series mics. I was especially excited about the ATM450, which is a side-address small-diaphragm “pencil” mic — it should be incredibly easy to position on toms, hi-hats, and other sources. The ATM250DE is a dual-element kick drum mic, combining cardioid condenser and hypercardioid dynamic capsules in one mic — much like the company’s popular AE2500.

There was no shortage of keyboard controllers at the Summer NAMM show, starting with a new offering from Line 6, the TonePort KB37, which integrates a 37-note USB/MIDI keyboard with a TonePort audio interface with VU meters and a S/PDIF output.

CME was showing the U-Key, a USB keyboard controller with 49 keys, a programmable joystick, eight trigger pads, eight programmable knobs, a data encoder, and much more. CME also generated interest at the show with the WIDI-X8, a new wireless MIDI system with built-in MIDI/USB interfacing. Bi-directional communication is supported, and up to 64 WIDI-X8 systems can be used simultaneously. It’s compatible with both Mac OS X and Windows XP, and operates on batteries, power adapter, or USB bus power.

Not all controllers have keyboards! Novation’s ReMOTE Zero is designed to give you hands-on control over your software, with eight sliders, 16 knobs, and transport control, as well as LCD displays that “auto-map” to display the parameters in your software. Other Novation news included the XioSynth, which combines a MIDI keyboard controller with an audio interface and an 8-voice polyphonic virtual analog synthesizer. A 32-step sequencer is also built-in. XioSynth comes in 25- and 48-key versions.

Martin JC Buddy Guy.

Audio-Technica ATM450

SWEETNOTES | AUGUST 2006 | PAGE 5Martin HD-35Nancy Wilson

Martin D-42Peter FramptonMartin

000-405Mark Knopfl er

Martin D-35Johnny Cash


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ReMOTE Control!A MIDI controller’s a MIDI controller, right? Not when it comes to the ReMOTE SL Series from Novation. Not only do all three keyed models boast semi-weighted action (yes, even the 25-key version), but the ReMOTE SL brings Automapping to the table. At the time of this writing, the ReMOTE SL Automap-supported applications include Reason 3, Cubase SL/SX 3, Nuendo 3, Logic Pro 7, and Ableton Live 5, with more to come.

Automap will blow open the creative doors, freeing you of the task of manually creating templates and mapping parameters for your MIDI applications, letting you focus on creating music. All you need to do is boot up your supported application and the ReMOTE SL will automatically load the appropriate

template and assign the parameters to the pots, sliders, encoders, and buttons. To further expand your creative possibilities, the SL sports an X/Y touchpad for completely expressive and hands-on control of sound manipulation. Parameters are displayed across two 144-character LCD screens, which can display up to 16 parameter names and values simultaneously.

Novation has created even more waves in the MIDI controller world with the introduction of the SL Zero, a keyless controller that packs all the controls of the other SL devices, but without a keyboard. The SL Zero is for MIDI-meisters who already have a keyboard they’re

comfortable with, but lacks the current modulation options of recent controllers. This unit would also fi t nicely into a MIDI rig for artists who prefer to draw in their MIDI performances and want access to advanced controls, and it would be perfect for DJs and remixers who want to take hands-on control over their music.

With the ReMOTE SL series, Novation has presented controllers that will fi t into anyone’s studio, and technology that takes the work out of setting up parameters. There are 25-, 37-, and 61-key versions available, along with the keyless version, so no matter your working style, there’s a ReMOTE SL for your needs. With class-compliant USB and standard MIDI ports, the ReMOTE SLs are ready to roll right out of the box, so plug-in and take control!


> > > > WaveMachineLabs Drumagog • Sweetwater price $269.97 • www.sweetwater.com/drumagog

REVIEW: DrumagogBy Mitch Gallagher

When you work with a computer-based DAW, you have a lot of fl exibility — you can change just about anything at any time that you desire. That statement is certainly very true with drum tracks; you can edit and move notes as much as you like to create the exact feel that you wanted. But until recently, you were stuck with the drum sounds that you recorded; you could EQ and process the sounds, but what you captured is what you had.

Things are different now, with drum replacement a common technique. Leading the drum replacement charge is Drumagog, a plug-in that supports VST and RTAS on Mac and PC, and Audio Units on the Mac. At fi rst glance, Drumagog seems simple. Insert it on your track, select a drum sound, and when the plug-in detects a drum hit on the track, it will respond by playing the sound you have selected for it to trigger. But Drumagog is much deeper than that…the more I dug into this plug-in, the more amazed I became.

Drumagog comes with a variety of drum sounds: kick, snare, toms, cymbals. When you buy the plug-in you also get access to a free downloadable 4GB collection of sounds. Plus, Drumagog can import WAV, AIF, SDII, Gigastudio, and other formats. Each Drumagog sound can have up to 384

multisamples, which can be applied in a variety of fashions, including different positions on the drum, volume, hi-hat open/closed position, left- and right-hand strikes, rolls, and more. It’s amazingly fl exible.

You can trigger Drumagog sounds from recorded drum hits (or other percussive sounds) or via MIDI from a track or drum controller. Drumagog can also generate MIDI notes from the recorded drum hits on a track, allowing you to drive Gigastudio, BFD, or whatever drum module you’re using. There are several different triggering/detection modes, and if your host software supports latency compensation, you won’t hear any delay from the Drumagog replacement sounds.

AutoDucking allows Drumagog to accurately track the desired hits on a track that has bleed from another drum. If more than one sound lives on a recorded track, such as snare and hi-hat, Stealth mode allows you to ignore the hi-hat, while still triggering Drumagog from the snare hits. A Blend control lets you layer the original sound with a new sound from Drumagog. Drumagog can even automatically trigger right-and left-hand samples based on how fast hits are occurring.

Whew…astounding stuff, especially when you see it in action. But I’ve only barely begun; the list of features in Drumagog is long and detailed — clearly WaveMachineLabs have thought through the process of drum replacement and provided a tool that can handle pretty much any situation. Drumagog can even function in a live environment: load it on a laptop and trigger it using the mic feeds from your drummer’s acoustic kit. All you’ll hear through the PA are the clear, crisp, dynamic Drumagog samples.

At $289 retail price, Drumagog is a no-brainer. It does a fantastic job of replacing the drums in a track, and has enough features to keep you exploring new ideas for a long time.

> > > > Novation ReMOTE SL 61 • Sweetwater price $599.99 • www.sweetwater.com/remotesl61> > > > Novation ReMOTE SL 37 • Sweetwater price $499.99 • www.sweetwater.com/remotesl37> > > > Novation ReMOTE SL 25 • Sweetwater price $399.99 • www.sweetwater.com/remotesl25> > > > Novation ReMOTE ZeRO SL • Sweetwater price $299.99 • www.sweetwater.com/remoteslzero

ReMOTE SL 61

ReMOTE SL 37

ReMOTE SL 25

ReMOTE ZeRO SL


continued on page 13



HumbuckerPickup

By Mitch Gallagher

Universal Audio’s involvement in the professional audio business goes back a long way — the original company’s products date back to Bill Putnam Sr.’s groundbreaking designs back in the 1950s. Now Universal Audio has added two new preamps to its line-up: The Solo/110 and Solo/610.

The two Solos are nearly identical externally; but inside they’re very different animals. The tube-based Solo/610 is based on the historic original 610 console Putnam built, which was used by artists ranging from Sinatra to Van Halen. The solid-state Solo/110 is a discrete Class A preamp based on Universal Audio’s high-end Precision 8110 and 4110 models.

Both models are housed in the same rugged steel “desktop”-style enclosure, which has a convenient handle on top and an angled front panel that makes seeing settings easy. This form factor makes it easy to grab a Solo and place it in the studio near a microphone, to take it on location, or to position it near your computer, recorder, or mixer. You can rackmount up to three units side-by-side using an optional rackmount shelf.

Aside from the fact that the two units have different circuits inside, each has its own types of switches and knobs — the 610 goes for big “vintage”-style knobs and toggle switches, the 110 has lighted pushbutton switches and streamlined “modern” knobs.

Both preamps have a DI input (with a DI thru connection for routing the signal to a guitar or bass amp), high and low input impedance settings, switchable phantom power, a low-cut fi lter, and a phase (polarity) switch on their front panels. Knobs are provided for controlling input gain and output level; a tri-color LED shows signal present, near clipping, and clipping. Around back, each has a power switch and IEC power cable connection, an XLR mic input, and an XLR output with switchable mic/line level setting and ground lift switch.

REVIEW: Solo/110 and Solo610

By Jim Miller

The world of guitars is complex — there are so many manufacturers and instruments, so many features and components, and a fair amount of misinformation out there on various topics. This new SweetNotes feature is designed to demystify the technol-ogy and help ease the process of selecting the right guitar, bass, or amp. Let’s start by looking at pickups.

At its most basic, a pickup consists of a coil of wire wrapped around a magnet. The pickup works by converting the vibration of a metal string within the magnetic fi eld into an electrical signal. This tiny signal is then boosted to where it can drive a speaker by an amplifi er.

Traditionally, electric guitars have featured either single-coil or humbucking pickups. Actually, up until the 1950s, the only pickups available were single-coil, meaning there was one coil of wire, though the pickup might contain one magnet, a single magnet with adjustable screws under each string (known as pole pieces), or a separate magnet for each string. No matter the number of magnets or their arrangement, these are still single-coil pickups as there is just the one wire coil.

Single-coil pickups are typically characterized by their bright sound, which was perfect for the early days of rock and roll. Early in their development, Fender guitars like the Stratocaster and Telecaster became almost synonymous with single-coil pickups thanks to their crisp, clean tone. The tone was great, but such designs can sometimes act as an effi cient antenna, picking up unwanted electromagnetic noise, such as 60-cycle hum from electrical wiring or radio frequency (RF) interference.

In 1955, a Gibson engineer named Seth Lover invented a pickup that canceled out unwanted noise. The new pick-ups eventually became known as “humbuckers.” Humbuckers use two coils wound with opposing electrical polarity resulting in the noise signal being cancelled out. Humbuckers generally have a richer, fatter tone. This is because the noise-canceling feature also limits the high-frequency response of the pickup. Famous early guitars with humbuck-ing pickups include Gibson Les Pauls and the semi-hollowbody ES-335.

By the 1960s, guitarists who wanted a bright sound gravitated to Fenders, while those who preferred a chunkier sound found Gibsons more to their liking. Naturally, this is an oversimplifi cation and in recent years, manufacturers have come up with interesting ways to expand the tonal range of either pickup type, as well as decrease noise problems with single-coils. We’ll cover these next issue, along with a new design introduced in the 1970s called the piezoelectric pickup. See you then!

GUITAR 101: Understanding Pickups

Single-coilPickup


Inside

Chuck Surack



In the last issue of SweetNotes, I announced that we’re building a new state-of-the-art facility to house our rapidly expanding operation. Thanks to you, Sweetwater is growing at a remarkably fast rate, and we’ve completely outgrown our current building, which has already been expanded four times over the past few years. It’s time to move into a building that has room for our current staff, and additional room to allow for continuing growth into the future.

When I, and the other “planners” here at Sweetwater look at making a major decision like building and moving into a new facility, of course a big concern for us is how the decision will impact the company’s operation. Will it make us more effi cient? Will it allow us to provide better service for our friends and customers? Will it impact the environment? (Our new building will be certifi ed under a program from the U.S. Green Building Council.) And will it make life easier for our loyal employees, so they can work more effectively and productively without additional stress?

These were all important questions for us to consider, and we think (we hope!) that we’ve covered all the bases and come up with a plan that will make everyone happy, and allow us to reach our main goal of doing an even better job for our customers.

Around here, “doing a better job” has a number of different meanings. As it relates to our new building, it means a huge warehouse, so that we’ll have more of the products you want and need in stock, and ready to immediately ship to you. We’ll also have a larger sales fl oor, to accommodate our growing staff of Sales Engineers, which will ensure that your needs are taken care of as quickly as possible.

It also means a signifi cantly enhanced retail store, including a showroom that will be more than three times the size of our current retail space. This means more products will be on display and available for our local and regional customers to see, hear, and try out. (We hope that those of you outside the region will come to visit us and see the new store, too!)

But there are more aspects to the new building that will directly benefi t you, our friends and customers, as well. We’re including a high-tech

auditorium — designed by studio designer Russ Berger — in the facility, with state-of-the-art surround audio and video capabilities. This will be used on a nearly daily basis for training our Sales Engineers. As you know, the real-world product and technical knowledge our Sales Engineers offer is one of the biggest benefi ts we provide to you; this auditorium will help us stay right on the cutting edge, ready to answer questions and make recommendations for you.

The auditorium will also be used to host seminars, workshops, clinics, and classes for our customers, and we’re even hoping to make it available for musical performances by local, regional, and national artists and groups. The auditorium will be directly linked to our new recording studios (also designed by Russ Berger), so we’ll be able to capture whatever happens in the room.

We think the new building is really going to be a truly special place for us to work in, and from which to serve you. We can’t wait to move in later this fall, and to begin sharing all the benefi ts the facility has to offer with you! Visit www.sweetwater.com/feature/expansion to see daily photos of our progress.

GENx192

> > > > Lucid GENx192 • Sweetwater price $699.97 • www.sweetwater.com/GENx192

So why would a world-respected maker of high-end, top-quality digital audio gear name their company Lucid? One possibility could be that “Lucille” was already taken by B.B. King. (Okay, probably not). The dictionary defi nes “lucid” as:

1. Easily understood, intelligible. 2. Translucent, transparent. 3. Mentally sound; sane or rational.

Defi nitions 1 and 2 certainly make sense when you hear Lucid’s no-compromise digital conversion gear in action — and when you fi nd out what their new GENx192 Master Clock can do for your studio’s sound, along with its unexpected low price, having one is just plain defi nition 3 (mentally sound, if not perfectly sane and rational).

Jitter RepellantWhen you fi nd digital recordings harsh or hard on the ears, it could be its jitter that’s bugging you. Arguably the most advanced affordable master clock ever made, the GENx192 can give your system a major shot of jitter repellant

for a serious boost in audio performance. Lucid uses extremely low jitter crystal oscillators internally, and a pair of voltage-controlled oscillators to convert any input frequency between 28kHz and 216kHz to a jitter-free output. If the input clock goes away, the GENx192 will simply switch to its internal oscillator and generate a rock-solid clock — dropouts aren’t a problem!

THERE’S MOREThe GENx192 also performs multiple sample rate conversion (e.g., output both 48kHz and 192kHz from a 96kHz input), can synchronize up to 14 digital devices, plus its AES and word clock inputs can simultaneously convert to AES, word clock, and S/PDIF out. Sounds complicated, yes? Au contraire mon frère (and frèrettes). The GENx 192 has perhaps the world’s easiest interface. No menus, no scrolling, and auto-termination to boot. With a Lucid GENx192 in your rack, your recordings will comply with defi nitions 1 and 2: Intelligible, transparent, if not shimmeringly translucent.


AQ&In a dues-paying business such as ours, where mentors are hard to come-by, and withholding information is a standard practice, how do you get with a guy like Roger Nichols and learn what he knows so you can apply it to your recordings? There are a couple of options actually. You could pound the pavement for three years hoping for the opportunity to ferry coffee in his studio, or come work at Sweetwater, where in a recent visit, 7-time Grammy-winning engineer/producer Roger Nichols came to train Sales Engineers on his new series of plug-ins from his newly formed company, Roger Nichols Digital.

Nuclear Powered EngineerFor those who aren’t familiar with his accomplishments, this former nuclear engineer-turned-recording engineer/producer devised one of the fi rst sampling drum machines, whose later incarnations have been used on numerous landmark recordings. Roger was also a consultant with Yamaha for the 02R digital console, and when 16-bits were the rage, he designed a 24-bit splitter device for Rane. On the artistic side, Roger has recorded the likes of Joe Cocker, Bela Fleck, Mark Knopfl er, and Frank Sinatra. He’s best known for his work with Steely Dan, which earned him fi ve of his seven Grammy Awards. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Roger Nichols is that he shares his experience and insights freely — and you see that generosity of spirit on a personal basis and within his plug-ins as well. But enough of plugging Roger, lets talk about his plug-ins.

Musically DrivenWhat is so compelling about RND plug-ins are their musically driven features, only overshadowed by the presets created by Roger himself, and born of insight that can only come from years of hit-making experience. For example, take Roger’s innovative Bitchin-izer compressor (which is not a plug-in that nags you until you set it right) that will actually write compression fi les that you can go back into and edit. That means that your results are no longer restricted to the choices the compressor makes for you! Imagine being able to open up a single note on a vocal track that got squashed a little more than necessary. Then there’s the Frequalizer, an EQ plug-in that adds absolutely no phase shift. With its “EQ learn” function, you can match EQ to previously recorded tracks, environments, and tonal context, which makes it perfect for mastering and ADR. You want musically driven features? The Dynamizer plug-in is a compressor that lets you divide your audio levels into “zones” so you can, for example, simultaneously compress louder levels with a quick attack, expand the lower levels with a slow release, and leave mid-level sounds alone. Try that with a traditional compressor! Of course this is just tip-o’-the-iceberg stuff. You need to talk to your Sales Engineer to get the full story.

Now You Can Buy ExperienceEven if you’re not an aspiring engineer/producer looking for a mentor — just a musician or engineer in

search of that fi nished, professional hit-record sound for your recordings, you can have the next best thing to Roger Nichols himself sitting in the big chair for your session via his new series of plug-ins — and at a price tag anyone can afford!

For in-depth video interviews with Roger Nichols from his visit to Sweetwater, go to www.sweetwater.com/feature/nichols

Roger Nichols at Sweetwater

Q: Why isn’t my computer reading or allowing me to burn CD-R/CD-RWs?

A: Most major brands of CD and DVD media should work fi ne in just about any CD/DVD drive, including our Sweetwater Creation Stations.

It isn’t uncommon for the fi rst few and last few discs on a spindle to be bad or damaged since they are more exposed while on the spindle or packaging. Check the underside of the disc for scratches or dust.

If a blank CDR/RW isn’t showing up try loading a commercially duplicated disc (e.g., your favorite music CD) to make sure that the drive is loading and reading correctly.

You can also try using a CD cleaner to clean the laser lens. Do not try cleaning the lens with anything other than a recommended cleaner or disk. Using household items, blowing, or using compressed air may scratch the laser lens and make things worse.

If the drive continues to refuse to read discs correctly, contact the manufacturer of the computer or seek advice from a computer repair center. Creation Station owners should call Sweetwater tech support.

Q: How do I monitor my PreSonus FireBox input channels without latency?

A: It’s quite simple using the software FireBox Mixer. The Firebox Mixer functions independent of your recording software and is for monitoring only. Any levels set within the FireBox Mixer are what you will hear, and don’t determine what your recording software will record. The FireBox Mixer allows you to listen to all input channels and mix them with playback from the computer. You can independently assign which software playback channels are mixed, which channels to monitor with headphones, and which output channels the mix goes to. The FireBox Mixer also gives you pan, mute, and solo control for every channel.

Q: How do I ReWire Ableton Live to Apple Logic?

A: Using Live, you can quickly integrate audio loops and samples into your Logic projects. This is done by ReWiring Live with Logic Pro or Logic Express:


The Sweetwater Difference — Experience it for yourself! Call, fax or email us today!


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In this installment of “Customer Studio,” we’ll be featuring Ten 23 Studios of Oryan Productions, owned by Sweetwater customer Ryan T. McGuire. Ryan has been playing drums for just over 30 years. He took lessons from a local drum teacher and later served as Drum Major while attending Northwestern Military and Naval Academy. Upon completion of Illinois Wesleyan University in 1989, Ryan attended and graduated the Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio. He also completed the Berklee College of Music Studio Production Specialist Certifi cation Program in 2005, and attended Pro Tools Classes at The Electric Lounge in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Ten 23 Studios was built from scratch in late 2004 and early 2005 in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb just west of the Chicago city limits. It’s a 2-room facility with a 16' x 14' control room with 9.5' ceilings and an 8' x 9' ft live room with a 22' (yes, 22'!) ceiling. There isn’t a parallel wall in the whole studio. Despite the unusual dimensions (somewhat like an echo chamber) and focus on recording live drums, Ten 23’s live room has proven to record any instrument with amazing natural warmth. Ten 23 also sports a very impressive equipment list including a Digidesign HD|Accel 2 system and

96 I/O, a Focusrite OctoPre LE, Genelec 8050A monitors, and a PreSonus Central Station to mention just a few key items. According to Ryan, “The majority of Ten 23 recording gear was purchased from Sweetwater with help from my Sales Engineer, Steve Ponte. Steve designed a gear list that fi t Ten 23’s needs, then fi ne-tuned it to fi t my budget. Also, through Sweetwater, I was put in touch with Auralex who designed sound treatment to fi t my exact studio dimensions. Finally — still tooting Steve’s horn — he was instrumental in selecting my Genelec monitors, which I have received countless compliments on.”

Ten 23/Oryan Productions is a one-stop music creation facility covering all musical genres. Services include recording, mixing, mastering, and audio post-production. On the creative side, Oryan Productions offers scoring for video/fi lm, performance and arranging services, artist development, and more. Oryan has also recently partnered with WuLi Records to release cutting-edge rap, rock, R&B, soul, pop, and alternative music.

We wish much success for Ryan and Ten 23/Oryan Productions. For more information, visit www.oryanproductions.net.

Customer Studio: Ryan T. McGuire

Want to see your studio in SweetNotes? Email photos to Mitch Gallagher now! ([email protected])

In other technology news, PreSonus rolled out the V-Fire, which is a 24-bit/96kHz R-Bus to FireWire converter, perfect for connecting Roland digital audio devices to FireWire-equipped computers. Yamaha had the GO46 FireWire interface, which supports 24-bit/192kHz digital audio and MIDI from a computer. It has two premium-quality mic preamps with phantom power, two insert connections, S/PDIF in and out, and comes bundled with Cubase LE, HALion SE, and Groove Agent SE.

Sony was showing the MDR-7509HD professional headphones, which have closed backs for use by FOH and studio engineers, musicians, and other audio professionals who need high-resolution audio-ready phones with outstanding tonal balance and extended frequency response. Sony also showed the MZ-M200, the next-generation portable Hi-MD recorder, which has USB2.0 connectivity, Mac and Windows compatibility, linear PCM recording ability, and includes a stereo mic and ear-bud headphones.

Rounding out the list of portable recorders was the

Zoom H4, which has stereo and 4-track recording modes, built-in condenser mics, XLR inputs, a high-impedance instrument input, guitar effects equivalent to the Zoom G2 processor, compression, limiting, mic modeling, and more. It records on SD media cards and has USB connectivity.

That’s it for my picks from this year’s show! Be sure to visit www.sweetwater.com for a complete show report and for more information, give your Sales Engineer a call!

PreSonus V-Fire

MDR-7509HD

— NAMM continued from page 5

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studio notebook: making choicesBy Mitch Gallagher

Setting up a recording studio means making choices; one of the toughest is choosing the right gear. Since you’re reading SweetNotes, you already know the best resource for helping you make gear decisions is your Sales Engineer, conveniently located at the other end of your telephone line. But you’re still going to have to do some work; and even after you’ve purchased gear, there are still choices to make: Which mic to use, which reverb preset to apply, and so on.

In the real world, the decision process often comes down to comparisons; comparing two mics, comparing two chorus presets, and so on. After doing a lot of studio work, hundreds of product reviews, and consulting with manufacturers on products, I’ve come up with a few things to consider that may help you make better choices.

Context — Be sure to consider the context of how your gear will be used. Something might seem great on its own, but nestled into a complete mix, the picture may change.

Specs — I think of manufacturer specifi cations as a starting point, and use them for validation of what I hear: “Hmmm, sounds like there’s a bump at 1kHz on that mic; let’s check the frequency response graph to fi nd out for sure….” But I never use specs by themselves to reach any kind of conclusion.

Science — I read a post on an Internet forum that went something like, “I

don’t do scientifi c comparisons. I just use my ears.” Well, sure, you should use your ears. However, if you don’t make “scientifi c” comparisons, you can’t be sure you’re comparing apples to apples. Levels must be precisely matched. You must ensure the musical performance is exactly the same. Mic distance and placement must be repeated, etc. Everything must be identical except for the one thing you’re changing for comparison, or your ears may be deceived.

Letting go of bias — We all have preconceptions and biases. The only way to ensure you’ve removed bias

is to remove knowledge of what you’re comparing. In other words, devise a blind (preferably double-blind) test, where you don’t know what you’re hearing, and must choose based on what you hear. If you’ve gotten the “science” (as described above) right, don’t know what you’re hearing, and make a choice, you can be sure the decision is bias-free.

Have a benchmark — Not the converter company (though I love my Benchmark converters) but a standard to compare against. I fi nd it impossible to make decisions in a vacuum. So I’ll devise something to work against. It may be a commercial recording. It may be my recording. It may be an acoustic sound. “What” doesn’t matter — it’s a reference for comparison.

Focus — It all comes down to having the focus to listen critically. Trust your ears above all else, the sound is what matters.

> > > > ADAM Audio A7 • Sweetwater price $499.50 each • www.sweetwater.com/a7

Here at Sweetwater we’ve always made it abundantly clear that monitors were one of, if not the most important part of your signal chain. Everything you do in the studio, from laying the fi rst track to fi nal mix will be infl uenced by the accuracy of your speakers. Using bad monitors to record and mix music is like trying to paint while wearing sunglasses (or blindfolded).

You know it from ADAM When ADAM fi rst introduced their groundbreaking A.R.T. ribbon tweeter technology, ears perked up all over the recording world, such as those inhabiting Abbey Road Studios, 20th Century Fox, and the Juilliard School amongst numerous others. So what’s the good news? The affordable new ADAM A7 nearfi eld monitor makes their ultra high-end sound available for any studio. If you’re concerned that ADAM cut corners, be at peace; this Mix Certifi ed Hit is a winner on all fronts.

You Gotta’ Have A.R.T.Before we talk A7s, let’s do a little refresher on A.R.T. technology, which will go a long way to explain why ADAM monitors have such an amazingly clear and accurate sound (sans ear-fatigue), and a sweet spot that goes on forever.

The A.R.T. (Accelerated Ribbon Technology) tweeters and midrange units take a completely new approach to moving air. The membrane consists of a folded diaphragm whose folds move according to the signal’s current, squeezing air in and out. Other loudspeaker drive units act like pistons, moving air in a 1:1 ratio. Since the specifi c weight of air is much lower than that of the driving mechanics, the match between source and load is unequal. The A.R.T. principle achieves a 4:1 velocity between driving diaphragm and driven air, which moves the air in and out four times faster than the folds are moving. This superior “motor” produces enormous clarity and exceptional transient reproduction. When you consider the inherently musical sound of ribbon mics, it’s a small wonder that these advanced ribbon tweeters make long listening sessions such a joy.

Press A7 To Hear Your SongThe A7’s well thought-out features include a front-panel volume control, tweeter level control, and high- and low-frequency shelving controls. The unit also features balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA inputs, allowing it to be used in almost any audio application. Two 50-watt amps (RMS) power the A7. One drives the ribbon tweeter, the other a cutting-edge 6.5" woofer comprising a new lightweight cone material that offers high rigidity and high internal damping. The result is an extremely accurate monitor with all the clarity, detail, and spectacular imaging you expect from ADAM.

Do your studio a favor: Check out a pair of ADAM A7 monitors. You’ll be amazed at just how easy on the ears these accurate monitors are — and you’ll be blown away by the price.

ADAM A7




Get Rhythm!Rhythm is the heart and soul of most types of music. Unfortunately, good rhythm players can be hard to fi nd. Enter Cakewalk’s Kinetic 2, which is a great tool for musicians of all skill levels to create loop-based music with point-and-click simplicity on the Windows XP platform.

Packed with over 1,000 preset sounds, there are no boundaries with Kinetic 2. The included classic Roland synthesizer and drum machine samples (including the legendary MC-101, TR-808, and TR-909) offer access to the sounds that made hip-hop and electronica what it is today, and the PSYN II virtual polyphonic synth lets you create anything from fat bass and lead lines to lush pads. The user interface couldn’t be simpler. The tempo and MIDI information can be entered by tapping the mouse, your computer keyboard, or MIDI controller, and Acid-format loops can be automatically synced to your tempo with drag-and-drop ease. For novices, Kinetic offers the ability to choose a musical style and audition the different sounds, loops, and patterns within Kinetic’s browser. To document your ideas within Kinetic, hit record and Kinetic will capture what you’re doing — from triggering different sounds to creatively tweaking the sounds. Kinetic supports up to 16 tracks of layered sounds and patterns.

Aside from operating in standalone mode, Kinetic 2 supports ReWire with VST and DXi compatibility for seamless integration into a DAW for fi nal polishing of your song. If you don’t have access to a DAW, Kinetic ships with 10 effects including reverb, delay, fi lter sweeps, and bit decimation. You can also use any VST or DXi effects in Kinetic 2 to modify your project. You can even import your own samples into Kinetic for integration into your project.

Mix your project down using Kinetic’s mixer window, which provides a console-style interface complete with two aux busses to send audio to the various effects. The mixer gives you complete control over the faders, along with mute, solo, and pan controls. You can output your fi nal mix as WAV fi les for CD, or WMA and MP3 fi les for distribution online.

The quality of the sound bank alone makes Kinetic 2 appealing for advanced users, and the complete ease of operation keeps the program from overwhelming a new user. With its sizable sound library, Kinetic 2 is a great tool for music creation of any style, and hip-hop and electronica enthusiasts will appreciate the inclusion of the vintage Roland sounds. Making music has never been easier — or more affordable!

Hot off the Press

> > > > Cakewalk Kinetic • Sweetwater price $79.97 • www.sweetwater.com/kinetic

The Summer 2006 edition of our ProGear Gear Encyclopedia has hit the streets! The new 385-plus page directory, packed with the latest pro audio and recording gear plus guitars, keyboards, and thousands more audio essentials, has begun shipping.

This new directory is even more interactive than before, with hundreds of refer-ences to our website, where you’ll fi nd audio and video demos, additional images, and application informa-tion. We’ve expanded the “Specs” sections so you can check vital statistics and compare different models. Plus, there are even more personal gear recom-mendations from our award-winning Sales Engineers.

Most copies of ProGear should arrive in the next few weeks. If you don’t receive yours, log on to www.sweetwater.com/progeardirectory. We’ll get one on its way to you right away. If you just can’t wait, you can download the directory in PDF or Zinio format.

Sweetwater wants you to go to the AES Show — with a FREE pass to see all the great manufacturer’s exhibits! This year’s show will be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, with the exhibits open from October 6 through October 8, and the conference beginning a day earlier.

Want a FREE pass to the AES exhibits? We’re here for you! Just give your Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700, and you’re in!

The AES show is a great chance to see all the newest professional audio gear, network with fellow musicians, engineers, and producers, and learn more about making great recordings. Make your plans to be in San Francisco and call your Sales Engineer for your FREE exhibit pass now!

AES ShowFREE

passes


IN USEYou might think that “straight-ahead” preamps like the Solo series have just one sound. But in fact, these are quite versatile units. First up, you can alter the tone of the preamps by changing the input impedance. Beyond this, you can dial in the tone to taste using the gain structure of the preamp. By running the input gain control lower and the output level higher, you get a clean, transparent tone. Turn up the input gain and turn the output down, and you get a fatter, more harmonically rich tone. It works sort of like a guitar amp — turn the preamp up for more drive, and use the output control to set the fi nal volume.

Although they’re operationally identical, naturally there are tonal differences between the 610 and 110. The 110 tends toward a clear, pristine, sound, without a lot of coloration — perfect for when you want to capture a natu-ral, realistic sound. I found that it compared favorably to some of the high-end “straight-wire” preamps in my studio. As you turn up the gain, the 610 has all the tube “girth” and punch that you’d expect from a vintage design — we’re talking fat, with a smooth top end. It’s great for rounding out and warming up a signal.

Whether you’re looking for a pure, clean sound or a vintage tube-ifi ed tone, the Solo/110 and Solo/610 deliver. They’re compact, convenient, and decidedly afford-able. In fact, you’ll want both; I found the two units were perfectly complementary to one another. Where one wasn’t right for a signal, the other stepped right in and sounded great. Both are clean, quiet, rugged, and easy to use. Universal Audio has a pair of winners on their hands with the new Solo preamps!


The Sweetwater Difference — Experience it for yourself! Call, fax or email us today!

Inside the

Jeff Radke

The term “sales meeting” can mean many things to many people. Perhaps the scene about the sales contest from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross comes to mind (fi rst prize is a Cadillac Eldorado, second prize is a set of steak knives, third prize is getting fi red)…yikes! My personal gut response (and that of most folks who haven’t made a

living in sales — and many who have!) is that this is a rah-rah session for the sales team where some well coifed sales manager charges to the front of the room to “motivate” and turn the sales wanna-bees into selling machines. He teaches salespeople secret Ninja sales tricks to help “close” customers using short-term technique-oriented approaches to achieve “instant success” and frankly…this stuff gives me the willies!

Needless to say, “that dog don’t hunt” at Sweetwater. Here, we have two sales meetings each week totaling 3-1/4 hours. That’s a big chunk of extra time each week, but for us, a “sales meeting” is primarily an opportunity to learn about new products and have some great face time with factory experts. It’s not unusual

for us to be the fi rst to know about a new product and already up to speed before its formal “introduction.” For example, this morning we had a “double-header” with factory folks from ADAM Audio and AKG in the house. We were able to get our hands and ears on the soon-to-be released ADAM A7 monitors and new AKG Perception series condenser mics (amazing products, by the way). The real goal of our morning “sales” meetings isn’t just to stuff our heads with specs and feature/benefi t analysis, but to fi gure out how to best help our customers choose the perfect product solution for their specifi c and unique applications.

On top of the scheduled morning meetings, we regularly have daytime training in small groups (today we’re getting hands on with Dave Smith Instruments products). If it makes sense, we have the occasional evening session (like George Massenberg coming in to hang out in Studio A with the crew to listen to mic pre comparisons) or even in-depth weekend training (Digidesign ICON or VENUE training, for example). We also have a rotating collection of gear that the sales staff can check out and use in their studios at home. To keep up to speed we regularly have e-mail product updates/white papers and the Sales Engineers tend to be voracious readers of industry magazines and key websites, where they often participate in the forums (speaking of which, please check out the Sweetwater-sponsored user forums at www.sweetwater.com/forums/).

The bottom line is that our sales crew is literally immersed in ongoing product and application training, and uses the products we sell personally on a regular basis. Honestly, it’s the only way we can keep up!

Rock and Roll!

Jeff (VP of Sales)

> > > > Universal Audio Solo 110 • Sweetwater price $799.00www.sweetwater.com/solo110

> > > > Universal Audio Solo 610 • Sweetwater price $799.00www.sweetwater.com/solo610

TASCAM GigaPulse

— Convulution continued from page 2 — Solo 110, Solo 610 continued from page 7

usage while preserving high sound quality and defi nition. IR-1 supports RTAS, AudioSuite, VST, DirectX, MAS, and AudioUnits formats.

Check our GigaPulseTASCAM’s GigaPulse offers acoustic space modeling through

convolution, which gives you the fl exibility to place instruments anywhere in a room. It also features microphone modeling and placement, a cascade function that lets you combine two or more impulses, plus, tail-cutting technology to reduce CPU load. GigaPulse is available for VST running on Windows XP.

For more information on these amazing reverb plug-ins, call your Sales Engineer or visit us at www.sweetwater.com.

> > > > Waves IR1 TDM • price $900.00 (TDM), $600.00 (Nat)sweetwater.com/ir1tdm • sweetwater.com/ir1nat

> > > > Trillium Lane Labs TL Space • price $995.00 (TDM), $495.00 (Nat)sweetwater.com/tlspacetdm • sweetwater.com/tlspacenat

> > > > Audio Ease Altiverb TDM • price $799.97, (TDM), $520.97 (Nat)sweetwater.com/altiverbtdm • sweetwater.com/altiverb

> > > > McDSP Revolver LE price $449.97www.sweetwater.com/revolver

> > > > TASCAM GigaPulse Sweetwater price $249.97 www.sweetwater.com/gigapulse


TechNotes

Jim Miller

Emulator X2 and Proteus X2E-mu’s Emulator samplers broke the sampling world wide open in the ‘80s; they were used by everyone from Depeche Mode to Yes — even Ferris Bueller used one to con his parents into thinking he was ill! The Emulator X2 for Windows XP builds on E-mu’s 30-plus years of sampling innovation to create an extremely powerful software instrument capable of working at up to 24-bit/192kHz.

The Emulator X2 can run as a standalone application or function as a VST instrument. It ships with a 2 x 2 USB MIDI interface, but can also run with an installed E-mu digital audio system, E-mu USB audio interface, or an Xboard MIDI controller. If used in conjunction with an audio interface, you can record your own samples into Emulator X2 and quickly assign the sounds to keys on your controller. Existing samples can be imported into Emulator X2 as well, with support for EOS, EIII, GigaSampler, MP3, REX2, AIFF, SoundFont 2.1, and WAV formats, among others. To get you started, Emulator X2 ships with over 3GB of great sounds.

There’s another aspect of Emulator X2 that’s pretty cool — Synth Swipe. Synth Swipe automatically samples and generates a preset from any hardware MIDI instrument. After you’ve set the basic sampling parameters, Synth Swipe takes care of the rest. This is a great way to integrate the sounds of your old synths and modules into your computer setup.

E-mu’s Proteus began life as a hardware sound module, and the latest incarnation, the Proteus X2, is a 24-bit/192kHz software sound module combining many of the features of the vintage hardware — including all the wonderful sounds — and of its big brother, the Emulator X2. Like the Emulator X2, Proteus X2 can run standalone or as a VST instrument, comes with 3GB of sounds, and can import a number of formats.

Among the groundbreaking shared features of the Emulator and Proteus X2 is the TwistaLoop Player, which offers real-time control over samples with time expansion/compression and the ability to sync your loop to a host application or master tempo. The new Emulator and Proteus also employ Morph Filter Designer, which lets you create your own fi lters as well as morph fi lters from one type to another in real-time. The Multi-function Generator offers three generators that can be programmed to modulate a number of functions such as pitch, volume, fi lters, LFOs, or tempo changes, just to name a few.

In short, both the Emulator and the Proteus offer a tremendous wealth of synthesis and sound-shaping power — whether you’re playing a sample back or crafting an entirely new synthetic soundscape, these instruments deliver! Huge libraries, sonic excellence, creative power, and more, all at amazingly affordable prices. E-mu has not one, but two hits on their hands.



The year 2006 is already past the half-way point, but I think it’s safe to say that this has been a pretty exciting year for the music technology industry as a whole. My biggest disappointment is the fact that we still don’t have a delivery standard for high-resolution audio. Though we’ve been able to produce 24-bit recordings at sample rates up to 192kHz for quite some time, we’re still stuck in the same 16-bit/44.1kHz CD-quality rut.

One reason there’s so little pressure to make the next leap in audio quality is the explosive growth of music downloading. Let’s face it, there’s a lot to be said for the instant gratifi cation you get when you sit down in front of your Mac or PC and in a matter of minutes (or seconds with a broadband connection) you’re listening to a brand new song or piece of music someone turned you onto. Apple’s iTunes Music Store downloads have passed the billion mark and are well on their way to two billion.

Eventually, we’ll adopt a new standard, either Sony’s Blu-ray or Toshiba’s HD DVD,

but in the short term, be prepared for a format war along the lines of VHS versus Beta and it’s probably going to get messy before one side or the other comes away with the larger market share. Blu-ray discs boast the higher capacity: 50GB on a dual-layer disc as opposed to 30GB on a dual-layer HD DVD, but the extra data means Blu-ray discs will cost more. We’ll keep an eye out on this for you and report developments in our daily inSync column (www.sweetwater.com/insync)

Another reason this year has been memorable is that Fender is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Wow! It’s hard to believe that Leo Fender built his fi rst amplifi er way back in 1946! Today guitars are as hot as ever, and quality across the board is unquestionably the highest it’s ever been. Every manufacturer is focused on building a wide array of models to match every player’s budget. The real winners are the musicians who don’t have to take a second job to afford a fi ne instrument!

Another milestone was reached this year: Sampling (at least of the affordable kind) is now 20 years old. I think two decades is long enough to convince even the most skeptical that sampling technology isn’t going to replace real musicians, despite the current state of the art. Both IK Multimedia and MOTU released outstanding orchestral libraries at surprisingly affordable prices, while companies like VSL and East West have developed extraordinarily detailed collections that capture all the subtleties and nuances of a real solo or ensemble performance.

I’ve saved the biggest news of 2006 (so far) for last, which is Apple’s move to the Intel chip set. When Apple starts shipping its new OS X “Leopard” later this year, users will have the option of running Windows on their Macs. There’s already beta software called Boot Camp available that allows Intel-based Macs to install and run Windows XP, but the company is quick to point out it’s not going to offer customer support for those that choose to do so.

Space prevents me from mentioning all the amazing events of 2006, but meet me back here next issue and we’ll pick up right where we left off!

> > > > E-MU Emulator X2 • Sweetwater price $299.99 • www.sweetwater.com/emulatorx2> > > > E-MU Proteus X2 • Sweetwater price $199.99 • www.sweetwater.com/proteusx2


Massenburg MasterclassBy Mitch Gallagher

“I’ve got a <<insert any DAW system here>> with a <<insert any audio interface here>>. I’ve heard I should buy better converters, a really expensive mic, better preamps, and a master clock for my studio. I don’t have the money to get all of that at once. What’s going to give me the most improvement in my recordings?”

GM: I’ve said it in these master classes before, but it’s true here, too. The most important thing for improving your recordings is to improve your critical listening. In other words, to improve your recordings, you’ve got to improve your monitoring. With that in mind, I recommend that you establish a list to work through, prioritized in order of what will help you most with the accuracy of your critical listening. This would be my list:

1. Choose appropriate reference material. We’re all into recording because we’re passionate about music, so the best reference for you is going to be the music that moves you, that sounds good to your ears. What do you like? What’s accepted as a high-quality reference recording by others? (Get online and check the forums for this.)

2. Get the best monitors you can afford. I debated whether improving your room should be done before improving your monitors, but the best room in the world isn’t going to give you much help if you’ve got bad speakers, so I put speakers higher on the list. Take a good hard look at what speakers you’re depending on; maybe they’re defi cient. Then again, maybe you’re being misled by your speakers in other ways; maybe they’re hyping you. It’s hard for me to forget working on a record at a studio in Nova Scotia several years ago that had a certain very popular brand of speaker; speakers that were popular only because they were extraordinarily hyped. I think you want accuracy, not hype in your monitors.

3. Make your room as accurate as possible. You have to evaluate your room. If you can afford to have it analyzed, great. If not, a quick and dirty way to do it is to do sine wave sweeps of the room and listen to the low end, from, say, 50 to 300Hz. Now any professional studio acoustician is going to disagree with me, and for good reason; measuring with static sine waves is never advised because of the standing waves they set up in almost any room, even the best. My experience is, if you have nothing else at your disposal, if you sweep fast enough, and if you move around the room a bit, you can hear if there are any really major bumps in your room response.

4. Get the best digital-to-analog converters you can afford. I just bought a very good new converter that I can use away from my Pro Tools system. It’s an expensive Prism converter, and it’s decidedly better. It’s got a much better clock; I know this, because I’ve put it on our Audio Precision II and looked at it, and now I have the confi dence that I’m not just hearing things. But not everybody has a $27,000 test set that can bolster their confi dence. And you know, just listening to it, the comparison is relatively subtle. But it is defi nitely smoother and more detailed, and that makes all the difference, at least to me.

I’ve heard some really expensive converters that weren’t that great, and some moderately priced converters that sounded fi ne. You really have to use your ears and you have to make some reference recordings to judge for yourself how far to go with converters.

5. If your converter doesn’t have a good clock, get the best master clock you can afford. A good clock is going to bring everything together for you — it’s essential for accurate monitoring. But you’ve got to organize it correctly. If you’re distributing word clock, make sure you use RG-59 and that it’s properly terminated.

There are a lot of opinions fl oating around on online forums about clocks (and audio gear in general); some of those opinions are valid, some are unsupportable. I think you have to listen with your own ears and make your decision based on what you hear.

The idea is to work from the top of the list to the bottom, improving each item as much as you’re able. Once you can do critical listening with accurate monitoring, and have established your reference materials, you can begin deconstructing so that you understand how recorded sounds are made, and can begin creating your own sounds — and fi guring out what other gear you need to make those sounds happen. That’s the key to improving your recordings.

AQ&



Do you have a question for George Massenburg? Send it to [email protected]

1. Launch Logic.

2. Select a ReWire channel in one or more of Logic’s Audio Objects. If you also have Reason or another ReWire application installed, be sure you select one of Live’s 16 ReWire channels and not the other application’s channels. Live usually appears fi rst in the list.

3. Launch Live.

4. Select the desired ReWire Bus in Live’s Output menu.

Notes:• Live is now in ReWire slave mode, Logic is the ReWire master.

• Live will lock to Logic’s tempo and transport with sample accurate synchronization. If you change the tempo in Logic, Live will follow.

• You can bounce Live’s ReWire signal in Logic to disk by selecting the “BNCE” button in Logic’s mixer on the main output 1-2 channel.

• To disconnect the ReWire connection you must quit Live fi rst.

George Massenburg reveals insights to

Sweetwater Sales Engineers at a recent training session

— Q&A continued from page 9


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PAIDSWEETWATER

SOUND

All contents © 2004 Sweetwater, Inc.INSIDE THIS ISSUE

5335 BASS ROAD, FORT WAYNE, IN 46808 (800) 222-4700 • sweetwater.com

Name: Arend Raby

Position at Sweetwater: Sales Engineer

Start Date: March 4, 2002

Education: Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Mississippi.

Where are you from originally? Jackson, Mississippi

What was your occupation before coming to Sweetwater? Inside B2B sales for Airborne Express, recording studio co-owner.

Why did you fi rst apply for a job at Sweetwater? As a customer, I was impressed by the level of service and integrity of my salesperson.

Foreign Languages: Some Spanish.

Technical Strengths: DAW confi guration, mics and preamps, MIDI.

Favorite Music-related Website: www.vintagesynth.com

Instruments you play: Guitar, keyboards, trombone. Some would say I can sing. Others would not.

Gear you own: Digidesign Pro Tools system with every plug-in running on a PC, lots of cool old keyboards, Kurzweil KME61, Line 6 Vetta, approximately 30 stompboxes, Ibanez, Fernandes, Parker, and Gibson guitars, and a custom 8-string guitar.

Family info: Amazing wife Jennifer, daughters Rilee and Kennedy.

Other stuff we should know about you: I’m a bit of a math and science geek.

Quantum physics fascinates me. I love to cook.

Personal motto: Do something.

Favorite magazine: Scientifi c American

Real-life hero: My father.

Guilty pleasure of choice: I can eat an entire package of Oreos in front of the Discovery Channel. One day, when I’ve gained 100 pounds and know way too much about the mating rituals of the Aborigines, my wife will leave me.

How would your boss describe you? Relentless.

How would your best friend describe you? “That guy owes me 20 bucks.”

What did you dream about doing for a living when you were growing up? Airline pilot or radio DJ.

Describe the most dramatic situation in which you provided the “Sweetwater Difference” for a customer: Most recently, confi guring — at the very last minute — the 56-channel MADI system used to record the Houston Symphony for the NBA All-Star game.

What in your life best prepared you for the work you do here at Sweetwater? Working both in the studio and in sales. Coming here felt like a very natural transition.

What do you enjoy most about being part of the Sweetwater Team? The people. I get up in the morning and look forward to coming to work, both for the company of my coworkers and clients. There is an endless amount of knowledge and experience here, and just great people.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned at Sweetwater? There is nothing more valuable than trust.

©2006 Sweetwater Sound, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners.

MeetArendRaby

Summer NAMM .....................1,4,5,10M-Audio MidAir 25 .......................... 1Convolution reverb plug-ins ............2,13MOTU Ethno .................................. 3Fender 60th Anniversary Strat ............. 3WaveMachineLabs Drumagog ............. 6Novation ReMOTE SL ....................... 6GUITAR 101: Understanding Pickups ..... 7Universal Audio Solo 110, 610 ........ 7,13Inside Sweetwater ........................... 8Lucid GENx192 ............................... 8

Roger Nichols at Sweetwater.. ............ 9Q & A ......................................9,15Customer Studio ........................... 10Studio Notebook ........................... 11ADAM A7 .................................... 11Cakewalk Kinetic 2 ........................ 12Inside The Sweetwater Difference ...... 13Tech Notes .................................. 14E-MU Emulator X2, Proteus X2 .......... 14Massenburg Masterclass ................. 15


s weetnotes august 2006 issue vol. 70...on stage, you can tweak parameters from across the room. the...

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