UPDATE 5:52 p.m. 7 Feb 2010: Looks like the forums are back, and the problem was the result of a corrupt file. I’m not sure what happened, but we’re online again. Back to your foruming, everyone. Sorry for the interruption.
The IHR Listener Forums are currently down, and we’re not quite sure what’s wrong. I’m looking into it, and will update this post once I figure out how to fix things.
Add comment February 7th, 2010 by Derek
Here’s a weird one: Apple’s newest Mac Pro computers, the most powerful they’ve ever produced, were introduced early and late in 2009. But they also appear to have a software bug that significantly increases generated heat and reduces performance when using nearly any part of the audio subsystem—including, in some instances, simply keeping a FireWire or USB audio interface plugged in.
The problem doesn’t appear on the same machines when they run another operating system (such as when booted into Windows), indicating that it is probably a low-level driver issue with Mac OS X. Developer experiments with hacking some power management kernel extensions support that. Older Mac Pro systems are not affected.
Apple should be able to fix this with a future software update, but if your brand-new multi-thousand-dollar Mac Pro isn’t performing as well as you expect when working with audio, now you know why it might be so.
Add comment February 3rd, 2010 by Derek
Last Tuesday, I had the unique opportunity to spend a couple of hours on Skype with pretty well all my Podcasting heroes.
I had the pleasure of chatting wtih the guys from the Home Recording Show: Ryan Canestro, Jon Tidey, and Jesse Zoller. Plus, Ronan Chris Murphy from Ronans Recording Show, Slau from Sessions with Slau, and of course Big Al Wagner from The Project Studio Network!
We all agreed that this would be the 1st Annual Roundtable Discussion of the Audio Recording Podcast Community. Considering how much wrangling had to go on to get a free slot of time scheduled, I think that once a year is ambitious! ;)
Where else are you going to hear all of your favorite podcasters together in one place?!
Here’s a link to the show:
http://www.ryancanestro.com/hrs/01.roundtable.2010.mp3
2 comments January 21st, 2010 by Dave
Today’s the last day of NAMM and there have not been a WHOLE lot of over-the-top announcements … at least not that have gotten me jumping out of my seat. Here are a couple of interesting product announcements that have surfaced the past couple of days that may be of interest to you.
Strum. Tune. Rock! Welcome to TC Electronic’s PolyTune™ pedal, the most revolutionary product of NAMM 2010…
Forget the old days of string-by-string tuning – it’s time to join the PolyTune™ revolution. TC Electronic’s PolyTune™ is the quickest and easiest way to tune your guitar. Simply strum, tune… and rock!
TC Electronic has just revolutionized guitar tuning at a stroke – or strum – with PolyTune™, the world’s first polyphonic guitar tuner. This cutting-edge tuning technology revolutionizes tuning and accomplishes what has been deemed ‘impossible’ until now: tuning all strings simultaneously! Simply strum – PolyTune™ will tell you which strings need tuning – tune up and you’re ready to rock!
Peavey® & Muse Research And Development® join forces to develop the Musebox™ Flexible Musical Instrument And Effects Module.
MuseBox features incredibly flexible I/O, with front-panel guitar and microphone inputs, MIDI, and four USB ports. Musicians can play with it, sing through it, process keyboards, play along to backing tracks, and of course, create lush keyboard sounds with a MIDI controller. Guitarists can use it to run their favorite amp modeling software, multi-effects libraries and more. Singers can enhance their vocals with reverb, compression, de-essing and pitch correction in real time. Keyboardists can run virtual pianos and other instruments with super-low latency and superb stability.
The MuseBox comes pre-loaded with a wide variety of ready-to-use virtual instruments and effects, including an assortment of essential keyboard sounds, reverb, chorus and Peavey’s award-winning ReValver™, a revolutionary amplifier modeling software VST that captures the true characteristics of vacuum tubes while allowing users unprecedented control over their tonality and gain structures.
Okay, I’ll admit – I only put this in because I’m a fan of Rush and Neil Peart. But geez, having Neil and his kit in your mix? Who wouldn’t?
Neil Peart, legendary drummer of the band “Rush”, has collaborated with Sonic Reality and producer/engineer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters, Alice In Chains) to bring the authentic sound of Neil’s “Snakes and Arrows’ Custom DW® Drum Kit into the digital domain. With advanced features such as deep level dynamics, humanized random alternating hits, discrete multiple mic mixing and more, this deluxe sampled kit is an ultra-realistic recreation of Neil’s actual acoustic set as used live on tour and in the studio.
“The Kit” features 8 Toms, a vast array of cymbals including 3 Chinas, 4 Crashes, 3 Splashes, Ride, 2 Snares, Massive Kicks, Percussion – such as Cowbells and more. It comes mapped in GM, iMap™, V-Drum and a Custom Map mode to be controlled by any electronic drum kit. It includes both discrete mic mixing and album-quality presets right out of the box for instant gratification.
Waves continues its highly successful string of Waves Artists Collaborations as it announces the release of two new bundles plus two new plug-ins: The Chris Lord-Alge Artist Signature Collection and The Jack Joseph Puig Artist Signature Collection, both part of the Waves Signature Series, and Eddie Kramer HLS Channel and Eddie Kramer PIE Compressor, from the Waves Modeling line.
The Waves Signature Series features customized multi-effects plug-ins (with compression, EQ, reverb and more) based on the personal processing chains and settings of top producers and engineers. The Waves Modeling line consists of software plug-ins based on vintage and rare hardware, such as SSL, API, and Neve mixing console components.
Add comment January 17th, 2010 by Dave
Well, I asked for it … I signed up to be on the media list for NAMM and my inbox has be inundated with emails since Wednesday evening. I haven’t even mentioned the RSS feeds that I follow and how their activity has escalated exponentially!
It’s Day 2 of NAMM down in Annaheim and I’ve just sifted through some of the news items that have come through. Here are a few interesting things I came across:
Roland announces the V-Combo VR-700 with Organ, Piano, and Synth Sounds
Roland has announced the V-Combo VR-700. Featuring the best of their Virtual Tonewheel organ, full key multi-sampled piano, and pro synthesizer sounds, Roland say that the V-Combo is perfect for players who need an all-in-one keyboard for a variety of musical settings, including houses of worship, stage performances, and rehearsal studios – offering powerful real-time performance capabilities in a simple-to-use-interface.
Available in March 2010 with an MSRP of $2,329
Akai announce the iPK25 MIDI keyboard with a built-in dock for iPhone or iPod touch
The iPK25 transforms iPhone or iPod touch into a portable music production studio for mobile music creation. This MIDI keyboard controller gives your handheld device a two-octave set of piano keys and professional audio outputs, and it works with the Akai Professional SynthStation Studio app. The iPK25 is powerful enough for professional musicians, yet virtually anyone can use is to easily create music.
Available in April 2010 – price is TBD
Akai launches the Synth Station App
Akai has announced their Synth Station App. Here’s the details…
- Three VA synths, three oscillators each
- Drum kits and sequencer
- Create melodic and accompaniment parts using arpeggiator with preset patterns
- Unlimited creativity with effects and filters
- Seamlessly compatible with Akai’s iPK25 docking keyboard controller
Available at the iTunes store for $9
Boss releases the TU-3 Chromatic Tuner an updated version of the TU-2
The TU-3 is the stompbox tuner for the next generation of guitarists and bassists, retaining all the features of its predecessor while adding many new tricks of its own.
Housed in a rugged BOSS stompbox chassis, the TU-3 is built to last. The new high-brightness meter mode improves visibility under bright sunlight, and a newly-designed 21-segment meter light ensures super accurate and visable tuning. The proprietary BOSS Accu-Pitch function visually verifies when the target pitch is attained. The sound output is muted while the tuner is on, allowing players to tune silently on stage.
Available now with an MSRP of $160
Korg debuts Sound On Sound (SOS) unlimited track personal recorder
Korg has introduced the SOUND on SOUND (SOS) Unlimited Track Recorder, which they say enables musicians to capture and develop musical ideas as they happen, wherever they are. Battery-powered and completely self-contained, the SOS contains a high-quality stereo microphone and a built-in speaker for all-in-one recording and monitoring.
Unlike other portable recorders (even multi-track), the SOS allows for an infinite number of overdubs or alternate takes to be recorded. Each track, take or overdub is recorded as an individual CD-quality 16-bit / 44.1 kHz WAV file, and saved directly to a microSD or microSDHC card. Accurate BWF (Broadcast Wave Format) timing information is embedded in each track, meaning all tracks will automatically line up when imported into a computer-based DAW system for further editing, mixdown and final playback. The SOS can record up to 200 songs in the traditional linear manner, or be set to loop a specific section. Memory consumption is roughly 100 recorded minutes per GB (gigabyte).
It’s slated to be available in April 2010 and have a MSRP of $400.
Korg announce the Kaossilator Pro
A touchpad-based synthesizer, the KAOSSILATOR PRO offers built-in sounds suitable for an expansive range of musical genres including techno, house, hip hop, R&B, reggae and electro. Additional sounds simulate acoustic instruments such as piano, trumpet and guitar. High-quality PCM samples have been added to the DSP engine to provide realistic drum sounds, yielding twenty individual drum hits and twenty-five preset drum patterns. In all, there are 200 programs available – including fifteen vocoder programs that can process an external audio signal. Eight memory keys allow instant recall of favorite programs.
Available in May 2010 with a MSRP of $460
_________________
There’s going to be more … I’m sure of it. ;)
2 comments January 15th, 2010 by Dave
Okay, yes, I know I haven’t posted shownotes for IHR #77 yet, but I will get to it. In the meantime, if you record and process speech files for podcasts or other media, go get the new improved Levelator 2, the latest version of the free software tool I use to automatically compress, limit, and adjust levels for every podcast I work on. I’ve written about it many times before. It’s freeEEEEeeeeeeee…
Add comment January 7th, 2010 by Derek
IHR listeners know I’ve been fighting metastatic colorectal cancer since early in my days hosting the show (I was originally diagnosed in January 2007). It’s never been in remission, though over the past year I have been taking a semi-experimental drug called cediranib, which has kept the tumours that spread into my lungs from growing very fast.
At least, until now. My CT scan at the end of November showed new cancer deep in my chest, growing fairly quickly since my previous scan in September. I have had to stop the cediranib, and will be returning to aggressive chemotherapy treatments starting today, Friday December 4.
I’m not yet sure what this means for my co-hosting and production duties at IHR. Whether I keep doing them depends on how I feel—I managed to continue working on the show through most of my previous treatments. I am more tired and in a bit more pain now, however. So for now, I intend to return, but I can’t make any guarantees. Dave and I still plan to have a show out in December sometime (probably after the Podcast Awards are announced December 12), but it may be a short one.
Thank you to everyone who has already left messages of support at my blog and http://www.facebook.com/penmachine”>on Facebook. While this sort of turn isn’t unexpected, it’s still disappointing, and (needless to say) scary.
10 comments December 4th, 2009 by Derek
As we’ve noted before, IHR has been nominated for a 2009 Podcast Award, in the Education category. We’re up against some heavy hitters, such as Grammar Girl and The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe, so to have a chance of winning, we’re asking for your help.
Simply go to PodcastAwards.com and choose Inside Home Recording in the Education category. (Feel free to pick any other shows in other categories too.) Then put your name and email address at the bottom and confirm your vote when it reaches your email box. Finally, if you can, please do it again tomorrow, and each day until voting ends on November 30. Each person can apparently vote once per day.
I’m not sure how good a shot we have, and the prizes aren’t huge, but it would be fun to win. Thanks!
Add comment November 17th, 2009 by Derek
When I interviewed CBC Radio producer Paolo Pietropaolo back in January, he talked about his upcoming documentary on the Salish Sea here in British Columbia.
The original version appeared in the spring, and a documentary edition was broadcast this morning on the Canada-wide radio broadcast “The Current.” You can listen to both.
Add comment November 2nd, 2009 by Derek
Apparently both Altec Lansing and Polk Audio are now making small monitor speaker wedges designed for use with Guitar Hero and Rock Band setups.
Neither is likely powerful enough or rugged enough for use on a genuine concert stage, but they will provide better sound than the built-in speakers of nearly any TV. Of course, for $100 or less you can buy a proper stand-mounted stage monitor, but you can’t dramatically put your foot up on that as you rock out with your Rock Band guitar controller.
2 comments October 25th, 2009 by Derek
Enhanced AAC podcasts »
—or—
Audio-only MP3 podcasts »
Latest IHR TV Episode »
—or—
IHR TV Archives »
Choose how you want to subscribe to the IHR podcast (audio) or IHR TV (video) in iTunes:
...or on your Zune:
If you like, use our PayPal tip jar to make a one-time donation of $2 or more, or subscribe to donate $2 each month automatically (you may cancel anytime), to help keep IHR going strong:
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Jan | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | ||||||
(AAC audio)