VO WORKPARTS NOW ON ROCKET SCIENCE

If you've been poking around the site lately, you've noticed a new category called VO Workparts. It's made up of free and clear, dry voice tracks that subscribers can use any way they want. Male and female tracks are posted now. That's pretty cool but, it gets better. If you have something specific you need for imaging, you can let us know and we'll get it posted. Everybody can use an extra, FREE voice now and then right?

Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas tracks all coming this week.

IT'S A SHILLER!

Can you tell the difference between the 3 band eq from one company and a similar 3band eq from another? A lot of people can't. It's confusing and companies that make audio gear know it. Competition is heavier than ever in the gear universe and that has led to some greasy behavior.

It's not uncommon to see a video on youtube from a respectable, professional producer that mentions specific gear used in a recording. It's an independent producer so, you think this person is being cool and honest by posting this vid about an audio technique. What you don't know is that sometimes, a producer has a relationship with a particular company and pushes their gear in his "instructional" videos almost exclusively. Beware when someone says "we did a mic shootout and picked this one because it sounded best". Could be legit...could be someone shilling in exchange for free gear or cash.

Keep your bull**** detector in good working order when you go to a free event, sponsored by an audio company. Often, the panelists for a seminar happen to agree the sponsor's gear is the best.

Most of us know enough to give the stink eye to paid endorsements. That guy wearing the lab coat in the tv commercial isn't a real doctor and we get it. Today he wants you to eat healthy and exercise while tomorrow he'll be telling you to get down to Taco Explosion for the 12pack meal deal. Of course, he'll be sans lab coat.

The regular guy nature of youtube and other sites is blurring the line between info and advertising in a new way. Old concept sure but, new way to chrome plate it.

When it comes to gear, the best beta test comes from those two chunks of cartilage on the sides of your head. If you don't trust your own ears, don't be too quick to pick up on skanky internet advice.

AUGUST IS RUSH MONTH ON FIREPOWER

This is brand new for Firepower. Throughout August, we'll be posting some Rush related workparts for artist focused imaging. In the future, we'll be featuring more artists in randomly selected months. It means a new level of depth for our classic rock users. FP will be bigger and better than ever. That's how we roll.

SOCK IT TO ME

As 3d televisions are moving off the shelves and iphone production fails to keep up with the stampede of demand, something very simple and ancient refuses to give way to all things new. Hand puppets. Pictured right is Warren the Ape. He's the star of a new show on MTV by the same name. Furthermore, he's not much different than the stinky sock puppet you put on your hand as a kid. This show does not attempt to reinvent the puppet or fuse it with modernity. It's a fist shoved into a fuzzy wrag which is then pumped full of the wit and bite of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

Perhaps the point is, everything can't be Avatar. We need contrast. And so it is with radio stations and their imaging. Some resemble the complexity and too cool for the room vibe of the iphone and some are more like the unfiltered crudity that comes from making a dirty sock that smells like stale Dorito's do an imitation of your uncle Bob. Yes, crudity is a word. The internet says so.

Both are equally entertaining. Both clearly have a place in media and society. What's better, you can increase their effectiveness and entertainment value by cleverly squishing them together. Remember Dennis Miller Live on HBO? That show seemed to smoothly shift from insightful political and social commentary to rampant eff bombs in 0.0 seconds. John Stewart, Steven Colbert and Bill Maher have a similar formula. Now, they have more credibility than network news.

What we're saying is, it pays to know that your audience has more than one dimension. Soccer moms can have a great sense of humor. Political junkies sometimes talk about who is the better draper on Project Runway. Soccer fans have been known to hold jobs and be productive members of society after intense anger therapy. If you want to prove to your audience that you really understand them, go beyond the obvious. A well thought out sweeper can do it quickly at no cost.

The young, text-crazy, iphone obsessed, video-game-addicted, hi-tech generation loves the oldest trick in the book. A dirty sock. So, what's the dirty sock for your audience? There's a good start to your next brainstorming session.

MINING RADIO GOLD

Good or bad, radio is changing. We certainly don’t sit around a wooden box with our families and listen to the radio to our favorite programs anymore. Computers pretty much run the show now (literally) and a lot of the radio we listen to is piped through a mobile phone or some other wi-fi or 3G gadget. But every so often, it’s good for us to look back and see where it all came from. We’ve compiled a list of places you can online to listen to various shows, commercials and other content from the Golden Age of Radio.

Old iTunes commercials – a glimpse into what products were being advertised and how they advertised them (downloads are $0.99 but you can listen to the ads in their entirety for free – link will open iTunes app) - http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/old-time-radio-commercials/id271694368

Radio Lovers - Old Time Radio programs of all sorts including Amos & Andy, Bob Hope and Benny Goodman - http://www.radiolovers.com/

OTR (Old TimeRadio) - Old radio commercials sorted by year starting in the early 20’s up to the 50’s http://www.old-time.com/commercials/

Old Timer Radio Fans – Another place to listen to retro ads from the 50’s and earlier http://www.oldtimeradiofans.com/old_radio_commercials/1957_Chevrolet.php

VO RECORDING REFRESHER

The human voice is highly dynamic and care must be taken to make it intelligible over loud background sources. Assuming your station has made the mic choice and pre amp choice for you here’s some tips to help improve the quality of your VO recording without going to the PD for more cash.
If you don’t already have a pop filter you can always fashion one from a nylon stocking (preferably a new one) and a metal coat hanger. Another method in a pinch is to tape a pencil (or two) right over the center of the mic to disperse air around the capsule.
Try and deaden the sound around the mic. Move the mic into a corner of the room that has been deadened with packing blankets. You can also isolate the mic from the rest of the room by using a mic boom stand with blankets hanging over them to reduce reflections from bouncing back into the mic
Don’t over compress during recording, you can always add more during mixdown to get the VO above your mix. Make use of a 60hz high pass filter to remove rumble and reduce any pops that might sneak through. If you need to warm up the sound try adding a bump in the 200-500hz range and to increase intelligibility perhaps a little boost in the 7k area.
It’s always a safe bet to get a good full sound recorded, that way you can take the sound in any direction you want at mixdown. Above all make sure your message is being heard. It may be obvious to you because you know the script. Remember it’s going to go by the listener really fast, when balancing do so at a low level and make sure you can make out the dialog.

NEW VO FEATURE ON RIPPED

Users already know that Ripped offers free custom voice over. Now, we're taking it a step further. We're creating some imaging pieces that feature a vo track you can use as is. Literally just add your calls and you're done.

The tracks will be easy to find because they'll contain a green text box (pictured right). This new feature is just getting started so you'll see just a few cuts pop up this month. More coming. Every track that contains free and clear vo will be marked so, a quick glance is all you need. Fast, easy and free. Get Ripped!

BETTER CREATIVITY: WAIT FOR IT

Filling a blank page with great stuff is never easy. It's even harder when you're imaging 3 stations, doing an air shift and trying to run a freelance business on the side. With all of the physical and mental crunch that goes along with that, one thing remains constant. Great creativity rarely happens quickly. You have to give it time. You have to have a clear head and allow your brain to do what it does when it's free of clutter.

Think about the spontaneous creativity that comes from children seemingly without effort. Their brains are clean. Their minds can wander without worrying about deadlines, rules, paying bills, getting to the dry cleaner before they close etc. They are loaded with imagination because the human brain naturally gets funky when you unshackle it.

If you want to get better results in your production, you need to start with your writing, or more specifically, your ideas. Better ideas on paper equal better production pieces.

So, how can you get better ideas? One truth seems to bubble out among a lot of creative types. You have to take the time to craft better concepts. In radio, you often don't have much time to stare into the computer waiting for inspiration but, sometimes that what it takes. Many songwriters want to avoid cliche's just like you want to avoid writing another commercial that says "friendly service and convenient location". They accomplish that by isolating themselves from distractions to endure silent spaces and blank pages. It can be rough but many different types of creative people will tell you that's what it takes.

We get that this isn't realistic for the average imaging/production director. That being the case, we suggest picking a special project now and then to try this. Give yourself time to brainstorm, write, rewrite and punch up your ideas. Make something a little more epic and you'll get a rush from doing it. Also, it will beef up your demo. Cliche production done fast food style will leave you empty when it's time to round up your best stuff to shop around.

DECADE IN REVIEW

Obama girl. Did she truly leave her mark on the last decade or was she just another viral flash in the pan with less staying power than Chocolate Rain? We try to answer this question and more with our first ever decade-in-review production pieces. Look for them on all services December 18th.

These rewinds will jog memories and entertain your audience as we transition into a new year. Go home early and enjoy the holidays...we've done the heavy lifting on the decade-in-review.

HOLIDAY AUDIO BARGAINS

As most audio geeks know, Santa is really good at dropping the ball when it comes to audio toys. You must take matters into your own hands as soon as possible and follow these links for special deals on audio goodies. Quickly now! Go stimulate the economy! We know you didn’t do enough on Cyber Monday.

AUDIOEASE
http://www.audioease.com/
If you are an existing owner of any Audioease products you should have an email offer with special upgrade pricing through December 31st.

DELL 1.5TB Backup Drive
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-10406724-58.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TheCheapskate

DIGIDESIGN
Don’t forget about the STIMULUS PACKAGE from AVID.
http://www.rspe.com/Special-Deals/AVID-Stimulus-Package/Trade-up-to-Pro-Tools|HD.html

FLUX
http://www.soundonsound.com/news?NewsID=12311
http://www.fluxhome.com/

GUITAR CENTER
http://gc.guitarcenter.com/promo/cyber-monday-coupon/

IKMULTIMEDIA
http://www.ikmultimedia.com/Main.html?holidaydeals/index.php

McDSP
http://www.mcdsp.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=102&Itemid=100008

NATIVE INSTRUMENTS
http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/?content=1036

OHMFORCE
Way back in October the crazy cats at Ohmforce made a significant reduction in their pricing. Check them out if you are looking for inspirational plugins that stray from the norm.
http://www.ohmforce.com/ViewCategory.do?category=Bundles

SOUNDSONLINE
http://www.soundsonline.com/home.php

SUGAR-BYTES XMAS SPECIAL
http://www.sugar-bytes.de/index.php?lang=en

SWEETWATER
http://www.sweetwater.com/

UNIVERSAL AUDIO
http://www.gearwire.com/universalaudio-2009holidaysale.html

WAVES
http://waves.com/Content.aspx?id=351&HPMF

THE PROOF IS IN THE PROMO

Brown Bag makes imaging sound great. Although we've been doing it for
years, we're never above earning our reputation. With that in mind we make the following offer. If you're eligible to use Brown Bag and have a trial membership to any service,
we'll produce a sample radio promo with your voice over. Let us show you how great your station can sound with Brown Bag Imaging.

GOSSIP SITES

There are plenty of choices out there when it comes to gossip sites. Sites like Eonline, Perez Hilton and TMZ all have great late breaking content as well as archived material. But if you’re looking for content that's a little less mainstream yet relevant, try these sites.

OMG - offers extensive gossip content and features a dedicated video section along with photos, written news and a blog. The video section highlights some of the most recent celeb stories including current and past American Idol contestants and the like. They have a great keyword map on the right that allows you to quickly click on videos OMG considers to be “Hot Topic”.

Pop Eater is similar to OMG in that they specialize in all the latest gossip from the biggest stars of today (people like Katy Perry, the cast of Twilight, Brad Pitt etc.). Popeater has an easy and visually comfortable site that mixes news stories, pictures and videos.

Star Pulse takes things a step further and breaks down their video category into music, television and movie sub-sections. Each sub-section contains a boatload of vids, all with deep and thorough coverage of their title subject. The music category for example will cover big stories and events like the latest Michael Jackson developments as well as small stories like Girls In Bikinis and the Human Synthesizer (what?). Anyway, it’s worth a visit if you want a big choice of quick and easy gossip news with videos.

The Smoking Gun does not offer any recent gossip news but if you’re looking for something with a vintage flair to spice up your imaging then this is the place to be. They feature archive footage from some of the biggest celebs and stories of the old days. The video section will show things that back in the day may have been scandalous, controversial, compelling or at least interesting. The audio has a that great old sound and the site is easy to navigate, making your audio foraging experience very easy.

RADIO AND RAILROADS

In the news recently was a rumor that Greenstone Media, a feminist radio network, is going to shut down. One of it's backers is none other than Gloria Steinem. Whether it survives or not isn't important to this post. What's more important is it's beginning which was only about a year ago. When interviewed about the development of Greenstone's programming by women, for women she was asked, "Why radio"? Her reply indicated that she thought radio was the most democratic of all media. We'll risk putting words in her mouth to explain further.

Radio is just about everywhere. The average household has more radios than televisions. Receivers are cheap. Until HD came along, you could get a hand held radio for next to nothing. All you needed was a nine volt battery to stay connected to world news, a local baseball game or the music that accompanied some of the great moments in your life. The internet doesn't come close to being as democratic as radio. So, what is all this web chatter about the grim future of towers and transmitters?

Theater survived talking pictures and radio survived television. AM radio survived FM. All of these have been declared to be on life support by someone with air time, print inches or cyberspace to fill. That task is now almost exclusively the domain of the internet. The web has a mechanism to deliver negativity quickly and easily. Just paste "FAIL" next to anything and surfers flock to it like Romans to a slaughter at the coliseum. But what about success? Is there any way to seek out and denote innovation or evolution? Maybe, but it certainly isn't as popular or as visible as "FAIL".

Isn't radio old technology? Yes, but so is the railroad, another business many tried to declare dead a long time ago. In the end, the railroad could do certain things better than any new technology so although, it got smaller, it survived.

On the flipside, criticism is good. Everybody needs to be checked into the boards now and again to be reminded to keep their head up. Maybe that's where radio is right now. It might have a bloody nose from getting it's face smacked into the glass but it will be back. A little smarter for the lesson as well. (This edition of Analogy Theater brought to you by Spishak Cola).

Creative and scrappy radio people have made a lot of amazing things happen for a long time. It's doubtful they'll roll over. Greenstone Media was one example. The company saw a need and took a risk on something that hadn't really been done before. Even if they don't make it, it was the right thing to do. Innovation is messy and involves much more failure than success.

Fortunately, we live in a time where anything is possible. One indicator of that would be that Jesus Christ has his own radio show. Surely, he could have chosen any outlet and he chose radio. Maybe he too felt it was the most democratic medium.

THE PRICE OF LOUDNESS

Is louder better? That debate is raging all over the audio world. While the debate continues, there is no question that overall, recorded music has been getting louder over the past 20 or 30 years.

On vinyl, levels had to be kept lower since louder meant wider grooves and less audio per album. Smart, resourceful people back in those ancient times used the volume knob on their stereo to achieve a desired listening level. Those people had to be resourceful since they spent most of their time running from flesh eating dinosaurs.

Rumor has it that audio playback and listening devices today still have these volume knobs. Why the loudness competition in recording and mastering studios then?

Part of it is driven by artists and part by engineers. Another part is driven by information that says if a person hears the exact same song at different levels, he'll always say the louder version sounds better. We've never seen that study but, that info gets thrown around a lot. Human ears tend to hear more highs and lows as volume increases so, it's certainly not a wild concept. Boomy bass and crisp high end seem to sound good to most folks.

The debate rages on with no end in site. Levels will probably get louder as long as someone is making gear that will accommodate. What does that mean? Who knows but, as audio people we should at least understand the basic principle that more loudness means your audio will be affected in other ways. Trying to get the loudness and sound you hear on high budget recordings in your (project) studio comes at a price.

Mastering studios have mondo expensive and sophisticated gear which most radio or project studio producers will never see or be able to afford. The big guys are in a world of their own and the rest are forced to do what they can with whatever plug ins they can afford or crack.

A very popular loudness tool for a long time has been the Waves L2 limiter. Great plug right? Yes, but the harder you push it, the more it goes all Freddy Kruger on your audio. Limiters limit, it's that simple. More limiting means a ceiling that your audio can't get through. Your audio will sound crunchy and you may notice a loss in top end.

Adding loudness with eq and compression have their effects as well. When you boost eq you add distortion in upper harmonic frequencies. Some say a little of that is good. Hard to know where the line is since too much can smear the sound. Gotta use your ears.

With compression, more equals less dynamic range. Also, there's the pumping. A little might be good but too much could drive listeners nuts.

In the midst of the loudness war are many produers who feel that boosting loudness is simply unnecessary and frivolous trickery. They also believe it's counter to good audio. They would prefer that listeners kick it old school and adjust the volume control to determine level while the audio source remains truer to its origins. It makes for great discussion over a few microbrews. The way it's going, it may join politics and religion in the list of topics most likely to start a fight.

G-G-GARTH RICHARDSON

On the far right is the producer of bands like Atreyu, Chevelle, Rage Against the Machine and MANY more. One of his buds in the biz happens to be our mixer Joe Primeau (left). Both of these guys have seen the inside of nearly every decent studio from LA to Toronto.

Garth stopped by the Bag studios to borrow a stapler and say hi to Joe. They're both Canadian so, hockey was discussed even though it's frakkin' July.

Garth told many wild stories none of which can be repeated. Those are the best kind. Party on Garth.

SECRET SAUCE

Some of the sound you hear on Brown Bag libraries comes from this strange and wonderful piece of analog machinery. Ok, it's not strange, it's a classic Studer A810. It weighs more than a Fiat but, when it comes to getting certain sounds, there is no substitute. It resides in a remote, semi-secret, temperature controlled location for completely fabricated security reasons.

Yes, tape is obsolete at radio stations and almost everywhere else,however, it still has a significant place in the recording biz. We look at it as a plug in. Whatever goes through it will absorb it's characteristics. There are parameters to tweak as well.

This baby does 30 i.p.s and has lots of extras. The speaker is perfect for checking your audio in mono and summed stereo. The VUs are great for mastering. Better than digital for sure. It's biased for 499 and calibrated at +6 so you can drive it hard.

We don't exactly fire it up everyday but, when we need it, nothing else will do. Software developers have been hammering away at tape emulation for years and have yet to nail the uniqueness of this magnificent beast.

Fun Fact: that sticker with the green dot in the upper right was placed there in 1999 by an engineer to signify Y2K compliance. That's way too cool for us to ever remove it.