Monthly Archives: November 2012
Halocene: Indie to the Core, Without The Attitude or Buddy Holly Glasses
Quote of the year comes from Halocene’s Brad Amick. “I can confidently say that 100% of every Halocene song that we’ve ever recorded has been through a PreSonus interface, be it the FireStudio or, lately, the StudioLive.”
That’s awesome. More awesomer, however, is the fact that Halocene has ownership of their entire operation. They write, produce, and record their own recordings on PreSonus gear. No big studios, no big labels, all DIY to the core… but they’re nice about it. Like, really nice.
And the result? The combo of good songs, PreSonus gear, and positive attitudes has gotten Halocene some big, big shows. They’ve opened for Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World, and had some killer Warped Tour slots… and they did it their way. See video below for more.
What other bands do you know that get to play shows like this that own their entire operation? NOFX and Manowar are the first that come to mind for me…
Who else?
For Those About to Watch… We Salute You!
AC/DC: Beyond the Thunder, a documentary film by Kurt Squiers of SQUiERS, LLC and Gregg Ferguson of Current Motion, is about the tremendous influence rock band AC/DC has had on our culture around the globe. The two producer/directors dropped their careers in order to make this film, which pays homage to one of the greatest bands of all time in such a way that has less to do with the band members themselves, and more to do with the common bond that ties fans together around the globe.
Killer! In this clip, the filmmakers take a look at the thought processes behind music licencing for advertising, and how AC/DC’s music always seems to work… almost.
Shea Michaels’ new Record: Nov. 2
PreSonus Artist Shea Michaels has a new record coming out… Now! He sent us a little sneak preview and talked a bit about PreSonus’ role in the production of adventures of CALICO JACK, described by Michaels as “A breezy blend of country and tropical flavored southern rock,” which sounds to me like the sonic equivalent of a Mai Tai alongside a shot of JD.
Shea Michaels
Hey PreSonus! Here are some of the details regarding the production of my upcoming album.
Presonus gear used:
-5 sets of PreSonus BlueTube DPs—We use these specifically as pre-amps for the drum microphones. We do not utilize the tube drive for any of the drum mics, except for the kick drum. We engage the 80Hz roll-off functions on all the others.
-PreSonus Eureka—used for direct inputs such as bass guitar and occasionally electric guitars when we feel the need to use software amp models for a certain sound a song may need. Also used as a pre-amp for drum/room mics.
PreSonus FaderPort—self explanatory!
PreSonus AudioBox USB/Presonus HD7 headphones—I used these two on song ten, on the album, which is an acoustic song titled “Didn’t Take Long.” This song was recorded at my writing station, in my home, using the AudioBox USB, PreSonus HD7 Headphones, Audix CX212B condenser mic, an iMac, and PreSsonus Studio One Professional 2. This is the only song on the album recorded in Studio One 2, quite frankly because the project was under way well before I downloaded a copy of the latest version. Now that I’ve attended PreSonsSphere (which was absolutely par excellent) I have a better understanding of this DAW. I intend on recording my next project entirely in PreSonus Studio One Professional 2.5.
The beauty of being a PreSonus user is getting access to more than one license of the software. This allows me to install Studio One 2 on my writing station and in my studio. While supplying the tools for the trade is a bonus, the heart of PreSonus literally has a strong rhythm. What else could an artist ask for than to be a part of a company that has a crew of world class musicians running the business end of it all.? This thing is groundbreaking, and about to form a few mountains. Honored to be a part of it.
Added Bonus: Shea was kind enough to share his drum microphone selection and placements!
-Kick (Beta 52) – Sound hole; off-center facing beater head
-Snare Top (SM57) – A couple of inches up angled toward center of snare
-Snare Bottom (SM81) – A couple of inches away from center toward snares; invert phase
-Hi Hat (SE Electronics SE1A) – angled about 45-degrees toward opening but not directly on opening to reduce air from closing hats
-Tom 1 (Sennheiser MD 421) – angled toward mid-center
-Tom 2 (Sennheiser MD 421) – angled toward mid-center
-Overheads – Stereo Pair in XY Configuration (Oktava MK 012 cardioid capsules) – almost directly center of drums approximately 2’ or so above kit to capture more of a stereo image of drums
-Room Mic (Neumann U87) – As far from kit as possible, while allowing a couple of inches from the wall to avoid phasing issues. Trying to create a big room sound with software reverb.
Sounds good to us… but hear for yourself!
The Diverse Tastes of Scott Detweiler
[This just in from Scott Detweiler, New Orleans composer, lyricist, and PreSonus advocate. He had some nice things to say about our hardware, software, and foodware via e-mail, which makes my blogwriting REALLY easy.]
Scott Detweiler
Hi guys, hope you are doing well.
I wanted to give you and update on Nimbit and on my new BlueTube DP V2!
Last year I ended my relationship with my old online distribution account for several reasons, so I was really happy when I received your email regarding the Nimbit accounts for PreSonus Artists… but I wasn’t sure what to expect.
So far, we have uploaded two of my albums to Nimbit, and all of the descriptive info. Nimbit is great! It’s very user-friendly and offers many more options than other online distribution platforms. It’s a great product! We will go live when we get three more CDs up. The uploading of my entire catalog will take some time (13 already-released albums and about another dozen or so unreleased!) but hopefully it will all be up within the next few months. I will also provide more feedback to you after we go live. Thanks to PreSonus and Nimbit!
>As for the BlueTube DP V2, I use it for live shows: one channel for guitar, and the other for vocals. I like it better than my old preamp for several reasons.
I notice an increased fullness of the voicing and more clarity in the higher range of my guitar.
The power cord is much more rugged and hearty, and is not as delicate as the electrical cord that came with the previous model. There were a couple of times when the power cord got kicked out. As said, I use it for live gigs—not to say that the old cord was a dealbreaker, but for live gigs the new one is really durable—it’s inevitable that sometimes the end that plugs into the power strip accidentally gets stepped on and pulled, but this cord can take it.
Believe it or not, I liked the owner’s manual! It is way more user-friendly! I have never been a very technical guy. Not to say that the old manual was Greek to me, or anything like that… but the new manual is laid out really well and the organization of the information works better for me.)
Also, the unit seems to be just a little bit bigger. That’s good because it sits in myeffect rack better!
Last but not least, the Jambalaya recipe. I cooked some up and it’s great!
Again, thank you and thank PreSonus. Please give my regards to Mark Williams. I look forward to seeing y’all at NAMM. I will be sure to pass by and say hello!