How to Make Enhanced Podcasts in GarageBand - Point Blank

Now this hasn't really got much to do with music production but it's still useful to know how to put together a professional podcast, especially if you're DJing as well as putting your own music out there. Check out this video from point blank.



"http://www.pointblankonline.net/music-business-online-promotion.php This week we show you how to put together an enhanced podcast in GarageBand to give your DJ output a professional edge.

If you want to learn more about this subject check out the four week Music Business 2: Online Promotion course on Point Blank Onlinehttp://www.pointblankonline.net/music-business-online-promotion.php"

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Propellerhead upload teaser video for Rack Extensions

It must be getting really close now to the official launch of Rack extensions for Reason and Reason Essentials, Just check out this teaser video that the folks over at Propellerheads have uploaded. It reveals loads rack extensions including Korg's Reason friendly version of Polysix! That's right, you'll be able to have Polysix in your reason rack.

Anyway, check out the video. What Rack Extension are you exited about getting your hands on?

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Audio Damage Rough Rider coming to the Reason rack

Yesterday Chris from Audio Damage posted pictures on Twitter of a Rack Extension version of their popular free VST compressor, Rough Rider. The Rack Extension is still being development so it's hard to say if we'll be seeing this in the new Reason store when the much awaited 6.5 update goes public.

On the back of the rack there is only one CV output and that's for gain reduction, but maybe there will be more routing options in the final version. An option for side chaining would be awesome but unlikely as the VST  version lacked that ability.

It's not clear on the price of the Rack Extension but it was stated on the Audio Damage Facebook page that it will not be a freebie. But still, it looks pretty cool.

Update:
Thanks to whoever posted in the comments section for the link to the more up to date screen shot. Here's what it now looks like. =]

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Making music with apps (pt 2) - Point Blank

You might of remembered the video from Point Blank online where a track was built using nothing but audio sources taken from iOS music apps. Well here's part 2, this vidio focuses on connecting your iOS device to your computer so that you can easily record audio.

"http://www.pointblankonline.net/courses/ableton-live-courses.php In this tutorial Danny J Lewis breaks down the connection process when recording material from your music apps into your chosen DAW (in this case Ableton Live). He uses a camera connection kit to connect a MIDI keyboard to bring a traditional method of inputting note data, and a simple stereo mini jack to 2 x mono phono jack lead to connect the iPad to your audio interface.

Go to: http://www.pointblankonline.net/courses/ableton-live-courses.php to find out how you can learn more about using Ableton Live as a recording tool. Please get in touch with our course advisors at advice@pointblankonline.net if you want to find out more."

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Full details of Propellerhead's new Pulsar LGM-1 module

If you've been following this post about propellerhead's awesome new LFO tool then you'll be pleased to hear that the guys at propellerhead software have released more details on the new Pulsar module. The best news, of course is that pulsar will be available from the propellerhead store for free for the first 3 months.

For more details on Pulsar and the upcoming 6.5 update to reason then check out this page on the propellearheads site.

I really cant wait for the Reason 6.5 update to hit so I can hit the Propellerheads store and fill my Reason rack with all sorts of cool Rack Extensions.

...But while we wait here's all of the awesome audio demos from pular.

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Awesome Minimoog Google doodle

If you've not seen this then you're probably part of that 1% of internet users that dosn't use Google search. To celebrate what would have been Bob Moog's78th birthday Google has designed a browser based version of the Classic Moog Minimoog synthesiser. I have to say this has to be one of the coolest Google doodles ever and it's really fun to play about with.

Check out this video from Moog for more infomation on the Minimoog Google doodle and then headover to google.com and have a play arround with it for yourself.

"In celebration of Bob Moog's Birthday, Google created a web based synthesizer for the world to enjoy. Moog's Chief engineer Cyril Lance overviews the doodle' s capabilities to help you get started crafting sounds.  

Now everyone can explore the wonders of subtractive synthesis and express their creativity by sculpting sounds. Remember, experimentation and learning will reward you with a lifetime of rich synthesizer experiences. #celebratebob"

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Awesome Time lapse tribute to Bob Moog

Check out this awesome time lapse video of the Bob Moog mural that's been painted on the side of the Moog factory in Asheville, NC.

To #CelebrateBob on what would have been his his 78th birthday, Moog Music commissioned a larger-than-life mural of Dr. Moog for their factory in Asheville, NC. The mural was created by local Asheville artist, Dustin Spagnola. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB! Love, your family at Moog.

Dustin Spagnola is a contemporary visual artist who has shown and created work in NYC, Miami, New Orleans, Richmond, Atlanta, Washington, DC and in his home, Asheville, NC. His work is often political in nature and eschews corporate advertising and graffiti culture alike. See more of his work at dustinspagnola.com

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Milton Jackson Music Production Live Masterclass - Point Blank

"We are very excited to welcome Scottish producer Milton Jackson on Thursday 17th May at 4pm (BST) / 11am (EDT) for a Music Production Live Masterclass - set to be the first ever live broadcast via our YouTube channel.

He will be running through how he used a combination of Logic and Ableton Live to make some of his most well-known tracks to date such as 'Ghosts in My Machine' and 'DSI'

At the end of the session he will field some questions from members of the audience and those of you watching live online so if you have anything to ask please go ahead in the comment section below.
Please subscribe to our channel to make sure you don't miss future exclusive tutorials and live events from Point Blank Online school."

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Free samples from Fine Cut Bodies

Thanks to Kevin from Fine Cut Bodies for getting in touch and sharing the free samples that he's uploaded to his soundcloud page. Click on the download option on the player below to get the samples for yourself.





"When I write new tunes, the first 1-2 days I always experiment with different sound design techniques, new plugs, etc...
And now started to clean all my temp folders for interesting sounds...

For these I used some of my field recordings and some acoustic instruments as upright bass... then processed them
with some granular stuff like Twisted Tools 's Reaktor paches, some of my own MaxMSP patches, and spectral processing
like Iris from iZotope.

I like the digitally processed sound of noisy organic samples :)"

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Propellerhead Pulsar LGM-1 teaser.

Propellerhead software have uploaded some teaser sounds from their new LFO tool, Pulsar LGM-1. It sounds awesome, check out the soundcloud player below. 





"We snuck something top secret out of the Propellerhead lab! Take a listen to the rhythmic modulation of Pulsar LGM-1.
If we practice our ninja stealth skills we might be able to sneak out some more things during the week... keep your eyes and ears open!"


UPDATE:

Here's another audio demo of Pulsar LGM-1.

"This one's wobbly... Another Pulsar audio snippet out of HQ! An example of a wobble bass using the Keyboard Follow function so you can "play" the modulation!"

UPDATE 2:

Here's yet another audio demo of Pulsar LGM-1 that was uploaded by Propellerhead.





Here's a fresh new Pulsar audio example. It's easier to sneak things out of the Propellerhead Labs when it's a Saturday!


UPDATE 3: 
I'm just going to keep updating this post whenever more previews of pulsar are uploaded. Here's another, This time using 6 instances of Pulsar LGM-1.

Have you been following our Pulsar audio sneak peeks? Here's one that's using a total of six(!) Pulsars and some drums!

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Grab the free Audio Damage plugins before they're taken down from the site

FuzzPlus 2 and Pulse Modulator are currently available from the free downloads section of the Audio Damage website. But not for long, they'll be taken down soon so be quick and grab the plugins before it's too late! This might be your last chance to get these awesome freebies.

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Making a beat using only iOS music apps.

I usually post quite a lot on Voltage-Controlled about iOS music apps so this tutorial from Point Blank seems fitting for this weeks post. Be sure to check out Point Blank's YouTube channel for more tutorials.


The apps used in this video are:
- iMaschine
- iMS-20
- Animoog
- GarageBand
- BeatShuffler

"In this Ableton tutorial Danny J Lewis experiments with creating a drum and bass track idea entirely with iOS Apps recorded into Ableton Live. It is part of our series of Making Music With Apps tuorials.

Please subscribe to our channel to make sure you don't miss future exclusive tutorials from Point Blank Online school."

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More updates on the Voltage-Controlled Refill for Propellerhead Reason

I mentioned a while back that I was working on a Refill for Propellerheads popular music creation platform Reason. I'm aiming to get  about 2GB worth of multisampled instruments for the refill recorded, I've already got about 500mb so I've still got quite a length to go before I can upload it for you lot.

I'm mostly recording sounds from my Korg R3 hardware synthesiser for the refill but throwing in a few patches in from some of my other synths (Microkorg, AG-10, MC-303, FB838, etc).

I've also tried recording some multisamples from a few iPad synths (mainly Animoog) but because I'm using a cheap camera connection kit (eBay, 99p) for midi input the apps keep crashing. I might have to invest in an iRig midi (or something similar). An Alesis iOdock would be ideal but I really cant afford to be splashing out that much at the moment as I've just updated my studio set up to include a brand new set of KRK RP8 studio monitors, a new hard drive and a second screen. So don't hold your breath for iOS synth multisamples in this first Refill, although it is something that I'd like to be doing in the future.

As I do with the samples that I upload here, I'll be giving this Refill away for free. It'll be royalty free and you'll be able to use them free of charge in whatever project you want. However if you like the samples and want to give something back to the site there's a donation button in the right hand side-bar, Voltage-Controlled makes near to no money at all from the ads so any donation from you guys would help the site greatly.

I can assure you that these multisamples are very usable, in fact I've already used them in a few projects of my own. You might have remembered me posting a track on here called Barflair that I wrote for a friends film project. Well that piano sound that I used was taken from the refill that I'm working on. The original sound was taken from the Korg AG-10 sound module which uses ai2 synthesis to create its patches. I've embedded the track below so you can have a listen.

Keep an eye out for future updates,
-Dan.

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More details of Reason Rack Extensions

If you're like me then you're anxiously waiting for the release of Propellerhead Reason 6.5 along with the Reason store where you can buy Rack Extensions. Well the good folks at Propellerhead software have revealed some more details about the upcoming update.

Pulsar and Polar are two devices that will be available in the Propellerhead store from day one. Pulsar will be a dedicated LFO tool that doubles as a basic synthesiser and Polar will be a harmonizer/pitch-shifter effect.

The idea of Pulsar being a dedicated LFO tool for the Reason rack is big news for someone like me, it means that I will no longer have to load up an instance of Subtractor to use its LFO CV out (which I find myself doing a hell of a lot). A dedicated LFO module has been at the top of my Reason wishlist for years, so depending on its features and price that will be my first purchase that I will make from the Propellerhead store.

I'm not so sure about Polar though, depending on its features it could be pretty cool but to be honest I've never been a fan of pitch-shifting and harmonizing effects. Although creative CV/audio routing options could make this a pretty nice addition for the Rack.

Along with announcing Pulsar and Polar, Propellerhead also uploaded some audio demos of their new "Radical Piano" module. You can listen to them below.



There's a whole list of things that I hope to be seeing from the Rack Extension store, from the obvious new synths to some basic modules that help with productivity, routing and work flow. For example, one thing that I think Propellerhead could have improved is the the audio/CV splitter modules. I use these splitter modules religiously for basic tasks such as duplicating a kick drum signal so that I can send it to various different compressors for side chaining. There's never enough outputs on the splitters so I always find myself linking about 3-4 splitters together. Maybe this could be something that would turn up in the Rack Extension store, an audio/CV splitter with 20-odd outputs.

That is just a basic example of how the Rack Extension store could offer a whole new Reason experience. What else could turn up in the store? What modules are you hoping to come across when the 6.5 update rolls out?

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Recreating a bassline in ableton live - Point Blank

"Go to: http://www.pointblankonline.net/courses/ableton-live-courses.php to check out our range of online Ableton Live courses where you can learn more sound design techniques like this. Please get in touch with our course advisors at advice@pointblankonline.net if you want to find out more.

In this Ableton tutorial Danny J Lewis (Defected/Enzyme Black) reverse engineers the bumpy bassline in the 2011 club anthem Noir & Haze - Around (Solomun remix) 
Out to the original artists. You can buy the release here:http://www.beatport.com/#/release/around/378135"

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