WHERE'S THE BEEF UPDATE

Decapitator from SoundToys

In our series of "Where's The Beef" we are happy to pass along this little gem.
Decapitator is a great analog saturation modeling plug-in that definitely adds "The Beef" and other "Special Mojo" to your sounds. Right now SoundToys has a public beta of the plug, that means free.... for now. Get ready to break your piggy bank, we guarantee you will hock something for this puppy.

Decapitator will deliver the subtle warmth to blistering mayhem. Basically the analog gooeyness that you have been looking for in a software.
Best of all, it is as simple as turning a knob. Get ready to say ahhhhh!!!

LINK:

http://www.soundtoys.com/products/Decapitator

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.

THE MODERN CAVE WALL

Since the dawn of time, mankind has been recording ideas. It started with paintings on cave walls and has continually grown in importance for about the last million years. If your reading this blog, you're probably connected to the creative biz so, you know the value of hanging on to ideas. You also know that they notoriously come at odd times and can be quickly forgotten. Luckily, modern tech has offered up many new versions of the cave wall so your random thoughts in the dentist's waiting room are never lost to the sounds of screams (from patient to insurance company) and the allure of out of date magazines.

One such device is likely mixing it up with your pocket lint right now. Aside from being a mighty communicator filled with cool apps, music and other goodies your phone may have a built in voice recorder. Most of us are so caught up with the apps that steer model helicopters that we often forget about the built in stuff. When it comes to creating and remembering your cool ideas, the voice recorder can be your best app. It’s always with you, in the car, on the street or at your nightstand – ready to record and playback in an instant.
If you’ve got a standard, run-of-the-mill cell phone and it’s not from the 90’s your voice recorder will probably be found in Tools on your Main Menu. Recording will be pretty self explanatory and indicated by a small microphone icon at the top of the screen. If you’ve got an iPhone, there’s an app call Voice Memos http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/voice-memos.html that let’s you record yourself in mono (or stereo with a mic sold separately).

GAMERS: GET READY TO ROCK AND LAUGH

Some of you will relate to this in a very personal way. Put down the bottle of sleeping pills and learn to laugh about it.

http://g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/comedy/64042/Red-Ring-of-Death.html

HD PROMO VID

This link takes you hdradio.com to peep a vid. Just sharing this in case you're too busy to hunt for promotional videos about hd radio.

http://www.hdradio.com/radioSizzles.html

DANNY BOY ON THE BAG

For St. Patty's day we wanted to do something we haven't done before. We decided to track a traditional version of Danny B0y and get a singer to belt out some lyrics. Seems like a good thing for anyone to have on hand as the greenest of holidays approaches. The singer who did us a solid is Chrissy Lomax.

Chrissy is a Singer/Songwriter originally from Toronto Canada, currently living in LA. Chrissy has performed solo and with her band across Canada and all around Los Angeles. She has two Independently released CDs out on her own label Spare Room Records, and is currently recording her third. Check out her website at http://chrissylomax.com/

WILD HAIRY CREATIVITY

We heard from a person or two that had trouble playing the Chewbacca piece from Ripped we posted awhile ago. Here's a link so you can catch it on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2t9Hyge8-Q&feature=channel

PULP NON-FICTION

What do you do when you’re at work and you wanna kick some Scritti Politti but forgot to load it on your iPod? This is an easy one.

Pulptunes http://www.pulptunes.com/ has a solution that will allow you to listen to all of the music in your iTunes from any location via the web. All you do is download an app and follow a few simple instructions – opening firewall ports and such. What’s great is that there is nothing to install on the remote computers. The player opens in your browser and is very user friendly. Mac and Windows supported

Socko http://sockso.pu-gh.com/ is similar to Pulptunes in that it streams over the internet but this one works with any music collection, not just iTunes. The setup is very simple and the interface is very easy to use. Also Mac and Windows supported.

RIPPED IS WILDLY CREATIVE

You need wild ideas that are ready for air and that's what we do. Here's an example of a killer creative piece available on Ripped that keeps people tuned in more than that Nickelback song you're about to play.

ONLINE RADIO RECORDING

Wouldn't it be great to have a TIVO for web radio to keep up on what's happening? Yes, it would and here's a look at some software that puts web radio at your mercy.

One slick piece of software is Radioshift, made by the folks at Rogue Amoeba.
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/radioshift/
It allows you to easily search through their very comprehensive radio guide (100,000+ listings) for the stations you want to record. You can then bookmark your favorites, and then via “subscribing” to a station you can schedule a recording. These recordings are done in the background without interrupting your own audio production work flow.

A key feature is that Radioshift supports recording multiple streams simultaneously. We have tested it extensively, recording several stations over several weeks, while recording various day parts. At the end of the month using our preferred audio editing app, we can then quickly scan through the recordings looking and listening, for the imaging vs the music vs commercial breaks.

Another feature highlight that we cannot forget to mention is that Radioshift can wake your computer from sleep or power it on when a recording is scheduled while you are away from your studio and everything is shut down. You can disable this feature if you want.

The latest update adds support for “thousands of new streams” as well as improved handling of stream errors. Go take a test drive with the demo, and we dare you to convince us that it isn’t worth the meager 32 bucks. Radioshift has us firmly hooked, but some of the following alternatives may suit your needs better.

Radio Gaga (MAC)
http://www.gagafactory.com/radiogaga/index.html

We liked the look and feel of Radio Gaga, but with only 10,000+ streams in their directory (radioshift has over 100,000), we had a heck of a time finding any of the radio stations that we wanted to record. Finding even major market stations was tough. Weird.

Snowtape (MAC)
http://www.snowtape.com/

Snowtape is a really great looking app, with some very cool features, especially for casual music listeners. Instant record button. Automatic split recordings at track boundaries (if the stream info is accurate). Auto removal of commercials. Integrated track editor.

Total Recorder (PC)
http://www.totalrecorder.com/productfr_trPRO.htm

The Pro Edition is the one to have if you want to record streams in the background, as well as do scheduled recordings. Very feature rich for the money.

TUNE UP

Always trying to sound as good as you can? The place to start is to see if you are in tune. Western music has a tonal standard of Concert A, A440 Hz. If you do not know this you need to get on board quickly!!! So, if you play any of these popular instruments, and there are more, you need to be in tune with your buddy A440.

12 String
7 String
6 String
5 String
8 String Mandolin
Accordion
Acoustic Guitar
Autoharp
Brass
Calliope
Concertina
Bag Pipes
Banjo
Bells
Bouzouki
Dobro
Electric Violin
Hammered Dulcimer
Harp
Luke
Mallet Instruments
Piano/Keyboard
Organ
Sitar
Tympani
Ukulele
Woodwinds
Zither

There are many devices out on the market that can help you stay in tune. Tuneing Forks, Pitch Pipes, Electronic Tones, Pocket Tunes etc...... and if you or lucky enough to possess perfect pitch you can tune your self.

Let us turn you on to a company that has all the bases covered. The fine folks at Peterson have been in the tuning biz a long time and do it very well. For the DAW centric producer Peterson makes a couple products of interest. StroboSoft™ 2.0 VST/AU Software-Based Strobe Tuner. Strobosoft takes your tuning needs to the professional level, and we are all professionals right? And if you need to completely geek out, snag iStroboSoft™ Application for the iPhone™ and iPod touch®.

If you want the very best in tuning for your DAW and pro work flow look no further. This is the shizz!

StroboSoft VST/AU Features:

Basic Chromatic Tuning / Cents/Hertz/MIDI Note Number Output / Noise Filter / Selectable Sampling Rate Up To 96kHz / 12 Temperaments (Equal, 1/4 Comma Meantone, 1/6th Comma Meantone, Rameau, Zarlino, Just Major, Kellner, Kirnberger III, Pythagorean, Valloti, Werckmeister III, Young) / Manual Note Select / Capo and Drop Tune Settings / Target Tune Function / Global Cents Offset / Selectable Concert A Reference (340Hz - 540Hz) / Calibration Feature For External Reference / Support for Multi-Channel Input Devices / +24dB Input Boost / Illuminated Sharp and Flat Indicators / Compact Interface Mode


StroboSoft for iPod Features:

- Exclusive strobe display allows you to achieve an unmatched level of accuracy.
- Note/Octave window displays the correct note and octave for the note being tuned.
- Cents display allows you to see how far out of tune your note is in cent values.
- Glowing flat/sharp indicators assist when tuning a note very far from the target position and it is difficult to gauge which direction the strobe is moving.
- Noise filter: Use the noise filter when utilizing an external mic or clip-on tuning device to help reduce the effect of extraneous environmental noise during tuning.
- Input boost: The input boost will raise all input frequencies by +24dB.
- Calibration mode: iStroboSoft can be calibrated to an external source guaranteeing 1/10th cent accuracy.
- Drop/Capo mode: iStroboSoft will auto-transpose notes up or down to one full octave.
- Full screen mode permits the strobe display to be maximized on screen to allow better viewing from a distance.
- Adjustable Concert A: Change the Concert A reference of the tuner to accommodate tuning to a fixed instrument, such as a piano, or tune instruments that do not utilize the typical Western A440 reference.

PIMP YOUR MIC

You can find some ok sounding mics for between two hundred and three hundred dollars. If you want those mics to sound like much more expensive models, pimp 'em out with a good preamp. A high quality pre can make your bargain mic shine, however, the good ones are not cheap. When $$ is a concern, it's hard to go all out on both mic and pre. To stretch your buck, save on the mic, spend on the pre.

The right pre will give your mic a presence you never thought possible. Some are designed with channel strip capability to give you some eq and/or compression which can give you a sound not possible with your plugs.

Take your time and learn about preamps before buying. Y0u don't have to buy an Avalon to get good sound but, you will need stay out of the bargain basement.

HE HEARD IT ON THE RADIO

You've probably heard the rumors flying around about Jay Leno and the possible fates of his 10pm show. In a recent monologue, he mentioned that his first exposure to the news was on the radio. Jay was listening to a local LA radio station, as he normally does, and got his first whiff of NBCs plans for his future. It wasn't part of the joke, he really heard it on the radio. He reinforced that fact during an interview on a news station.

If celebrities are turning to radio and finding interesting info that affects their lives, it's fair to assume others are as well. Maybe Drudge had the story earlier but, that's not the point. The point is that radio is still an integral part of daily life for a variety of people, not just folks trapped in long, horrifying commutes. Radio works! Here's a link to a clip from Jay's monologue mentioned earlier. http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2010/01/08/jay-leno-nbc-stands-never-believe-your-contract

YOU DOWN WITH FTP?

Chances are you’ve got some files to share from time to time. There are many different technologies out there that can accomplish the task of file sharing (some of which we’ve talked about here). But today we want to focus on the basics, File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

In short, FTP is a network tool that allows you to transfer, exchange, store and manipulate files via the internet. Many people/companies have file servers these days and they use those servers to store large amounts of files. Back in the day, in order to have access to these files, that company would have to burn the files onto a CD and FedEx it to you. With an FTP client, you can arrange to share these files with yourself or other people in your building almost as if they were on your own computer. It’s difficult to get your head around the technology at first but once you get into to it, you’ll be hooked. Here at the Bag, we use ftp daily and found these four apps to be the best for our purposes.

1. Cyberduck (Mac OS X) - http://cyberduck.ch/ - It’s free, open source and easy to use. Many of the Mac’s core system functions like Spolight, Bonjour and Growl are supported.
2. Transmit – (Mac OS X) - http://www.panic.com/transmit/ - Transmit costs 30 bucks but it’s way loaded with awesome features including server to server transfers and droplets for quick drag and drop functionality.
3. Filezilla – (All Platforms) - http://filezilla-project.org/ - Filezilla is great if you have Macs and PC’s in the building. They have a great support via extensive forums and they constantly update and improve the software. The best part is it’s free. If your just learning about FTP and want to get into the game, this is a great one to start with.
4. Smart FTP (Windows XP and up) - http://www.smartftp.com/ - Though not really for beginners this FTP software will do all the heavy lifting. With Smart FTP you can schedule downloads and perform a lot of automatic tasks. It’s good for managing web material and can also easily manage your stored files. When your ready for the big leagues, this is the client you wan to get. It’s free for 30 days then it’ll cost you 39 bucks

Give FTP a chance. It’s a huge time, money and resource saver. For more on FTP clients go to http://compnetworking.about.com/od/ftpfiletransfer/tp/aatp_winftpserv.htm. For more information on FTP technology and how it works check out Wikipedia’s entry on the subject. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ftp

TWEAKING THE ESS

Sometimes when you brighten up a vocal or filter it you accentuate the hard consonants as well as the ess sound. In the case of the ess sometimes a de-esser doesn’t quite get it or it takes care of some and not others. That’s when you turn to the volume window. Once you identify the offending sounds and zoom in you might lose them at high magnification. The ess sound will look like a lot of tightly grouped jagged waveforms as in fig.1, whereas a hard consonant will be shorter and fewer jagged edges as in fig.2. You can always confirm by scrubbing over them.
You may have to be dramatic in the amount of level you remove. The accompanying examples have been dipped almost -10db which may seem like a lot , but in context they sound quite natural. As always use your ears to judge how much volume reduction you need. This technique can help your VO stand out in a sea of Sound Design and Music and reduce those annoying hard sounds that can rip your listeners ears off. Keep it smooth.

XMAS LIGHT HERO

For some, chilly temps and holiday parties signal Christmas is coming. For others, it's a mondo, non-ecofriendly light display synced to rock music with a Guitar Hero theme. Watch the vid before Al Gore shuts it down.

Christmas Light Hero

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

YEAR IN REVIEW IMAGING ON ALL BAG SERVICES

Not long after the Christmas turkey is picked clean, we'll be thumping our noggins trying to figure out what happened to the blur that was 2009. Too much has happened and who can remember it all. That's why we crank out our always popular year-in-review production pieces. The first one posted today. It covers many of the celebs and important people who passed this year. Our YIR pieces are all wrapped up, complete with a bow and ready for air. We put 'em up early so you can start your 09 retrospective push whenever it feels right.

More YIR prod will be posting throughout this week so grab it and put in your pipeline for year end imaging. We took care of this part of your gig so you could chill a bit around the holidays. 'Tis the season.

FOLDER MADNESS

Has your audio folder gotten unruly? Perhaps your OCD has just gone into over drive and you are compelled to organize the file mess residing in your folders. What to do! Organizing your files will take hours if not days. Well, let the Bag turn you onto a great utility app called..... The Big Mean Folder Machine. Get ready to rock your drives Ladies and Gents..... this puppy will will give a new meaning to "presto"! Just some of the things you can do with BMFM are:

Split Files into multiple folders
Merge files from different folders
Split files into multi-level folder hierarchies
Take files and split into batches
Create folders based on file name

We use it at the Bag to wrangle files into submission. Try it out and see if it works in your flow. This is a Mac only app, go ahead and make the switch.....you will thank us later.

Link:

http://www.publicspace.net/BigMeanFolderMachine/index.html