Do you play a mean air guitar? Well now not only can you look stupid playing air guitar, but you can sound stupid too with the help of the Virtual Air Guitar.
The Helsinki University of Technology has created a Virtual Air Guitar that adds genuine electric guitar sounds to the passionately played air guitar. The system uses a Linux computer with a Webcam to monitor the hand movements of a "player", the system adds riffs and licks to match frantic mid-air finger work. Read More »
Brandon over at Recording Review wrote an interesting article on How to reduce the noise of a computer when recording in a home studio.
"Everyone who records with a computer has probably asked "How can I reduce the noise of my computer?".
Let's get to it. I'm not an expert, so I'd like as much feedback as possible. Read More »
Mel Lambert over at EQ Magazine online did a nice little article about building a project studio. It covers the basic things to consider when building your home studio.
From EQ Magazine:
"1. Good soundproofing is pretty simple: If you can keep your sounds inside the space, there’s a good chance that outside noise won’t find its way to your mics.
2. If you can, avoid parallel walls: Flutter echoes and other anomalies are a bitch to eliminate! Read More »
Have you ever wanted a karoake version of a song? Have you ever wanted to isolate a vocal part and use it somewhere else? Elevayta Extra Boy is a VST plugin that will do this for you. Awesome!
According to Elevayta's website: Read More »
I found this cool little item. It's called the PowerSquid Outlet Multiplier.
I know in my home studio, almost every peice of equipment I use has one of those big black power converters. Try plugging these into a power strip. They take up like 3 spaces. A basic power strip simply will not work. Some smarty pants invented the PowerSquid Outlet Multiplier with those giant power converters in mind. He eliminated the actual power strip and connected together five flexible outlets. Now you can plug in those converters easily.
The PowerSquid has these great features:
Great invention, pretty affordable too at just over $10. Get a few PowerSquid Outlet Multipliers for your home studio.
Ever wonder what happens to rock stars after their heyday? Currently residing in the "where are they now" files.
I found a really interesting site. This site focuses on rock stars who have been spotted in regular jobs. Lots of really interesting stuff, go ahead and give it look. Not really home studio related but lots of good time wasting here.
Chordspace is a free VST plugin which generates midi chords for any given key. Chordspace has a pallette of 226 chords per key. Pick a key and Chordspace will find a chord for you. This software is inspirational, educational and best of all...free.
Chordspace allows you to assign a midi note to any chord, which will allow you to use Chordspace with a midi keyboard. Chordspace will also act as an arpeggiator.
Chordspace is based upon jazz harmonic theory. Harmonic theory attempts to explain what notes can be used to extend that chord, and what notes sound good when played over it and what chord sounds good coming after it.
You can download your free copy of the Chordspace VST plugin right here.
Digidesign has just announced a new addition to their DigiRack plugins called Dynamics III. The new plugins are completely free and include a Compressor/Limiter, Expander/Gate, and De-Esser. Dynamics III requires a Digidesign-qualified Pro Tools system running Pro Tools 6.7 or higher software.
From Digidesign: Read More »
When you are recording in your home studio, it is very important that you have privacy. It can be extremely frustrating when you're cutting the track of your life and someone barges in and says "Phone!"
I have made it clear to everyone in my house that when I'm in the studio, no yelling, no knocking on the door, and most of all, no phone calls. My friends even get the picture when they call, they'll say "Are you in the basement?" I do like to spend time in the studio, but not every waking second...there's blogging to do. Read More »
Do you have a daughter who's looking to rock? If so, you need to check out Daisyrock. Daisyrock creates guitars for young girls. Lots of pink, butterflies, hearts and flowers. What, no unicorns? No Care Bears or Hello Kitty? Even the guitar case and accessories are pink.
I'm not sure how they sound or play. But they come standard with: Read More »
A while back, I did an article about how Jackson Guitars was using adult film star Jenna Jameson to model their clothing and guitars. Well now it looks as though Jackson Guitars has created a limited edition guitar that features Jenna Jameson's image on the guitar.
There were only 300 of the $1,200 Jackson King V Limited Edition Jenna Jameson guitars made this year.
The Jenna Jameson Jackson King V Limited Edition model features: Read More »
A plugin is like a software version of a rackmount effect processor. A plugin is a software effect processor that can be accessed by your software in it's effect loops.
There are many different types of software plugins, Direct X, VST, RTAS, AudioSuite, etc. Some types will only work with certain pieces of software. For instance, you want to make sure your software will support VST before spending money on VST plugins. Read More »
What is the worst album cover ever? I'm not sure, but I just found some stiff competition. Hopefully, when you finish your CD in your home studio, you'll come up with a better CD cover than these?
I know this really has nothing to do with home studio recording, but I had to share this with you. I found this site today. I must've spent the last hour or so laughing my *ss off. Read More »
I am by no means an expert at songwriting, but I thought I'd share with you some of the processes that work for me when I sit down to work on new songs. Since this is such a huge topic, I'm going to break this up into several posts.
For me, songs come in groups. I can go six months without writing a single thing, then suddenly I'll have 5 or 6 ideas. I'm not sure why this is? I know at times, I feel more creative and inspired than others. But again, I'm not sure why this is. I just know that I HAVE to write songs. I don't have a choice. Read More »
Epiphone has a souped up mandolin in the shape of the classic Gibson Firebird and they call it the Mandobird. The four string solidbody mandolin is also available in an eight string version called the Mandobird VIII. The Epiphone Mandobird comes with a custom humbucking pickup and mini Grover tuners.
The Mandobird, with four strings, produces clear single-string tones; the Mandobird VIII, has eight strings arranged in pairs, will feel and sound more familiar to acoustic mandolinists. Read More »
The Yamaha AW1600 Audio Workstation is a 16-track recorder with 8-channel simultaneous record, 8 XLR/TRS combo inputs with preamps, 2 effects processors, 24-bit/44.1kHz A/D/A conversion, USB 2.0 output, Pitch Fix, CDRW drive, 40GB hard drive, 36-channel mixer, and 4-band EQ and compression on all channels.
This is a pretty cool looking unit. It runs for around $1000. Musician's Friend did a nice review of the Yamaha AW1600.
"Yamaha has unlocked the door into the professional studio and the key is the AW1600. Taking design cues and components from the 02R96, DM2000, i88X, SPX2000, and many other high-end Yamaha units, the AW1600 includes audio-handling and recording capabilities of much more expensive units. It pulls important details from its ancestors and counterparts in the Yamaha Professional Audio product category to make itself the ultimate small-format, professional DAW. It moves into the Audio Workstation lineup spot previously occupied by the much-loved AW16G. The AW1600 fits a middle ground between the more professional AW4416 and the AW16G while retaining the small format and features users love about the 16G.
If you are a recording musician or are setting up a small home or project studio, there is a very good chance that the AW1600 will have everything—yes, everything—you need. Let's run down the list. It's a 16-track recorder with 8-channel simultaneous record, 8 XLR/TRS combo inputs with preamps, 2 effects processors, 24-bit/44.1kHz A/D/A conversion, USB 2.0 output, Pitch Fix, CDRW drive, 40GB hard drive, 36-channel mixer, and 4-band EQ and compression on all channels. Amazing, isn't it? Not to mention the dual processor-powered effects section and powerful pitch correction algorithm that can make a hoarse, tone-deaf frog sound like Mel Torme." Read More »
Being a child during the 70's, I was completely into Star Wars. I had all of the action figures, tie fighter, x wing, land speeder, I even had the Death Star. I saw all of the movies in the theatre (multiple times), and I was extremely dissapointed by the prequels. I've been reliving my childhood lately by collecting old Star Wars toys and memorabilia. Yeah, I know. I'm a complete dork. At least it's not Star Trek...huge difference. Read More »
Over at Guitar Geek, they have a cool site that shows you different guitarists amp and pedal setup. You can look and see what Jimi Hendrix or Robert Fripp use for pedals, strings, setup, etc. It's really cool. Each artist has a nice graphic showing each piece of equipment in the chain.
Now the only problem is coming up with all of the money to buy the equipment that Jimi Hendrix or Robert Fripp use. The chaining part is easy thanks to Guitar Geek.
Hottie Amplifiers claim they will turn your old toaster into a guitar amplifier. A toaster? Will it cook toast too?
Hottie Amplifiers are solid state units fitted in vintage toasters and powered by a 9-volt battery. They use a 6" Jensen MOD speaker and have an output jack to drive an external speaker cab. Hotties will power any 4, 8, or 16-ohm speaker cab and can also be used as an overdrive.
This is what Hottie Amplifiers say about their toasters...I mean amplifiers: Read More »
The AKG C 3000 B is a large-diaphragm cardioid condenser microphone that was designed for universal use and is an awesome deal for the price. I have a pair of the AKG C 1000 S microphones and love them. So I tried out the C 3000 B for vocals, and I was happy.
The AKG C 3000 B ships with an AKG H100 spider suspension mount. Which works well for eliminating low-frequency vibrations and handling noise.
On vocals the AKG C 3000 B had a very pleasant, spacious midrange sound with a transparent top end that never became brittle. Off-axis response was solid, allowing the singer to move without compromising the high-frequency response.
Roland has chosen the AKG C 3000 B as the source for its COSM mic modeling software. Roland's engineers decided that the C 3000 B was an optimum model on which to base their technology.
The AKG C 3000 B Condenser Mic Features:
I haven't used the AKG C 3000 B microphone for anything other than vocals, acoustic guitar and cello. I've heard people say they work well recording loud distorted guitar and overhead drum miking, but I've yet to experiment with either of those areas.
Overall, I would highly recommend the AKG C 3000 B if you're looking for a great mic in the $300 range.
Jackson guitars must be having a hard time selling their guitars? I just noticed on their site that they are now using adult film star Jenna Jameson to sell their guitars.
There are several pictures of Jenna Jameson with it strapped on...with a guitar strapped on. Whatever happened to using ugly old rock and rollers to sell guitars? I guess somebody decided Jenna Jameson is more appealing to the 13-15 year old kids who actually buy Jackson guitars. Read More »
The M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 is a handheld 24-Bit, 96 KHz two-channel digital audio recorder that records WAV and MP3 files to CompactFlash or microdrives. The MicroTrack records using balanced line inputs or built-in high-fidelity microphone preamps complete with phantom power.
Connect the MicroTrack 24/96 to a PC or Mac using USB and you can drag and drop recordings to your computer for immediate editing. MicroTrack is powered by lithium-ion batteries. You can record for around four to five hours on a single charge (or about three hours using phantom power). The cool thing is you can recharge the battery by connecting it to a PC or Mac via USB, or you can use an optional power supply.
M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 Features: Read More »
My band used to play a lot of parties. One of the songs we used to do was a cover of the Theme from Shaft by Isaac Hayes. We did a fun little punk rock rendition of it, it was quite a crowd pleaser and really fun to play.
Anyway, my old wah wah pedal had expired. So in a pinch I ended up picking up a Vox Wah Wah model V847. It seemed a little pricey, $99 for a wah wah that I'll use on one song. But I was in a pinch, and I had to get something. Shaft without wah wah is like cake without frosting.
But, it worked, it got me thru the next few gigs I had. But soon after, about 3 or 4 months later, it started crackling. I don't know squat about electronics, I'm sure it's just the pots needing to be cleaned or something. But a pedal should last more than six months.
I have since shelved this unit, luckily it came with the vinyl carying bag. I would definately stay away from the Vox V847. I was a little annoyed with the quality of the hardware and to be honest very dissapointed in the Vox V847.
Why join Home Studio Tips?
It only takes seconds to sign up, all you need is an email address.
Home Studio Tips is a social networking site, and contains content posted by authenticated users. Occasionally, users may post information that they legally do not have rights to. If any content, images, audio, video, feeds, etc. is copyrighted and needs to be removed, please contact us and we will gladly remove any copyright or offensive content.
Please see our User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
Licensed to www.homestudiotips.com under a Creative Commons Attribution License
