PreSonus Blog

Monthly Archives: February 2015


AudioBox iOne Review from @iGuitarMag

A great video review of the AudioBox iOne from Interactive Guitar Magazine! Thanks guys!

For more on the AudioBox iOne, click here!

 

Nimbit Artist of the Week: Tom Rush!

Tom RushNew Hampshire folkster Tom Rush has been in the game since 1961, and having recently celebrated his 50th year of music-making, it’s not hard to see why the guy has endured so well. He delivers everything a listener could want from an acoustic singer/songwriter—adroit, restrained guitar playing, a voice that quietly compels your attention, sincere, relatable lyrics, and—most importantly—great songs.

Really great songs. An adept humorist with a Harvard English Literature degree, Tom understands critical components that escape lesser songwriters: humor and a great story. Add to that a little bit of melancholy and some surprisingly earthy blues romps, and you’ve got a little something for everybody.

Tom is probably best known for 1968’s “No Regrets,” which has become something of a standard in acoustic circles. This is, of course, only fitting—Tom had a major hand in popularizing the likes of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and others, by performing their songs early in his career. Both James Taylor and Garth Brooks cite Tom as a major influence. Furthermore, Rolling Stone went so far as to credit Tom with “ushering in the era of the singer/songwriter. Call it full-circle.

A video of his performance of Steven Walter’s “The Remember Song” went viral in June 2012, causing Tom to comment “I’ve been waiting 45 years to be an overnight sensation, and it’s finally happened!” It’s accrued over six million views at the time of this writing.

Tom Rush’s Nimbit Store has a lot to offer, including a whopping 13 albums, a Blu-Ray, and four DVDs—including a documentary and a guitar instruction course, How I Play (Some of) my Favorite Songs. If you’re new to Tom Rush, start with What I Know. It was voted Folk Album of the Year by The International Folk Alliance.

 

 

 

Hurry, LAST CHANCE to Save Big on Progression 3 and Studio One Artist!

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Hurry, this great offer ends February 28! Click here to get Studio One Artist and/or Progression 3 for just $20.15 (USD) each! If you’re not in the USA, that’s OK—monster discounts are available globally. Get your song on for less money than you even thought was possible!

 

Notion 5.1 Available Now! Includes Ukulele Support and Free Demo Version

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We’ve got an update to Notion to announce today! You can click here for the full list of changes, but here’s the long and short of it: You can now open exported audio stems from Notion in Studio One, with automatic track names, volume, pan, rehearsal marks, and initial tempo and time signature information. Additionally, we’ve made the usual batch of bug fixes, including SoundCloud uploading and adding instrumental techniques for the new Woodwind and Brass expansion packs to display in the palette.

All you need to do to install the update is launch your existing copy of Notion, and you’ll receive a prompt to download the update. To update from My.PreSonus.com, sign in and click on Notion in the “My Software” category. Next, click “Download Notion 5 Installer.”

We’ve also made a FREE demo of Notion 5.1 available to all via My.PreSonus.com. You don’t need to own a PreSonus product to get the Notion demo, just create an account, sign in, and click the button that reads “Click here to try the Notion 5 Demo!” Enjoy, and tell your friends!

Last but not least, we’ve released a Ukulele expansion for Notion and Progression that is available at our online store by clicking here.  The Notion Ukulele was recorded by David Doucet on a Collings soprano ukulele, and includes sample variations for open strings, picked or plucked notes, and both up and down strokes. It’s available standalone or as part of the Acoustic Bundle Pack alongside the Mandolin, Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar, and Banjo.

 

 

 

 

Studio One Tape Stop Effect

Once in a while we get a request for a tape stop effect in Studio One. Fact is, you can do this by automating the pitch control in SampleOne to achieve the exact same effect! Alex from Wiz Produxions put together this excellent demo showing how its done. Thanks Alex!

Nimbit Artist of the Week: JP Harris and the Tough Choices

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There’s a paradox inherent in the very notion of country music in an internet age. Country has always been directly influenced by whatever the devil pop music is doing at the time, and crossover hits between the two genres are subsequently commonplace. For better or for worse, this has made for some interesting sonic innovations, and a music writer can’t help but notice that the very things that made country appealing in the first place—earnestness, humanity, and real people playing together in the same room—tend to get a little lost in the digital dustup.

Fortunately for you and I, JP Harris and the Tough Choices play the sort of country music that makes one realize that some things were done correctly the first time around. To both their credit and listenability, Harris and company’s sound is less new-school and more no-school. It shoots from the heart rather than for it, and there’s nary a digital artifact detectable on either of their wonderfully emotive full-length recordings. This isn’t to say the records don’t sound old-fashioned, it’s to say that they sound just right. Perhaps they should have called themselves JP Harris and the Right Choices.

A well-traveled troubadour despite being scarcely over thirty, JP left Alabama to travel the country via freight train at the age of 14, guitar in tow. Over his four vagabond years, JP wound up in California before moving through Louisiana, where he recorded I’ll Keep Calling before settling in Nashville, which is the closest he can call to a permanent home.

JP’s influences don’t seem to draw from any music that came out after 1974. The most overt influences echo Buck Owens, and particularly George Jones and two out of three Hank Williamses in woeful tracks like the titular “Home is Where the Hurt is.” The material isn’t tear-in-your-beer from start to finish, however, as there’s a bevy of boisterous fun in tracks like “Young Women and Old Guitars,” which contains a winking nod to low ends via a double-dose of baritone sax and baritone guitar on the same track.

Both Home Is Where The Hurt Is and I’ll Keep Calling are available from JP Harris’ Nimbit store on CD, digital download, and good ol’ vinyl, which was also done right the first time around.

.@Groove3 on Drum Sequencing and Programming in Studio One

Groove 3.​ continues the greatness with this, part two of their new series of Studio One production tips!

In this, the second episode of the series, the guys share their secrets on getting human-sounding drum sequences using an electronic drum kit to trigger Superior Drummer and Steven Slate Drums.

Check out more great tutorials at http://www.groove3.com!

Nimbit Artists of the Month – February 2015

Vance Gilbert

 

bio-bioWhile Boston’s Vance Gilbert is known largely to singer-songwriter circles, to say he draws strictly from the book of Guthrie would be something of a disservice. While his lengthy discography bears many acoustic affairs, there’s a lot of blues in here. Add the fact that Vance got his start as a jazz singer—you can REALLY hear it in his inimitable, vulnerable vocal tones—and you have a unique blend of influences that create something simultaneously familiar and new. While this would be enough for some artists to get by on,Vance also brings significant guitar and lyrical chops to the table. The Boston Globe puts it better than I could, however, when of 2000’s Somerville Live they espoused, “Young songwriters should study this disc the way law students cram for bar exams.”

Turned out that it wasn’t just young songwriters who took note—over the years, Arlo Guthrie and Anita Baker both chose Vance for their support slot on the road, and he spent a year and a half touring in support of the late George Carlin.

Vance’s Nimbit store is a credit to his prolific recording and release schedule—somehow on top of a busy touring schedule, the man has managed to release a dozen albums since kicking off his career as a humble open mic night regular. Well… as humble as one can be when blowing minds. Some are available as digital download, others as CDs, some as both. Noteworthy among them is Side of the Road, a collaboration with fellow Nimbit torchbearer and close friend Ellis Paul.

 

 


 

 

Billy Walton Band

2324553There was a time when the Jersey Shore represented the best in American entertainment. Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, the Rat Pack, Dick Clark, Chubby Checker… they all made stops on the Jersey Shore. Tony Mart’s was the club Levon Helm was playing when Dylan called. Of course, we all know what happened in Asbury Park. The town, ravaged by riots in the late 60s, became a melting pot of musical experimentation. Late-night jams that ended when the sun came up were the norm. Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny were the two acts that made their way to an international stage from these humble beginnings.

For decades musicians have come and gone, always hoping to make a living and pursue a dream. Billy Walton is no different. Billy’s proving ground was Long Beach Island. Too young to drive around and enter the clubs on his own, Billy was chaperoned from gig to gig by his mom, always up for a jam and looking to learn some tricks. For years Billy spent his time sharpening his skills, developing his stage act until he decided to step up to center stage with the Billy Walton Band.

Billy’s talent was noticed by NJ legend Southside Johnny and was he invited to join the band. This is when Billy began formulating his version of the Jersey Shore sound. On his latest release, Wish For What You Want, Billy brought award-winning producer Tony Braunagel (Eric Burdon, Trampled Under Foot, Phantom Blues Band) into the mix to turn his musical vision into reality. The resulting sound is straight-up bluesy rock, no chaser,  that’s a perfect fit for a Saturday night or a long drive.

The Billy Walton Band’s Nimbit store offers four full-length albums and an EP, as well as a four-album combo pack for just $20.

Interested in Nimbit? Sign up for free here.

 

 

Nimbit Artist of the Week: @VanceGilbert!

bio-bioWhile Boston’s Vance Gilbert is known largely to singer-songwriter circles, to say he draws strictly from the book of Guthrie would be something of a disservice. While his lengthy discography bears many acoustic affairs, there’s a lot of blues in here. Add the fact that Vance got his start as a jazz singer—you can REALLY hear it in his inimitable, vulnerable vocal tones—and you have a unique blend of influences that create something simultaneously familiar and new. While this would be enough for some artists to get by on,Vance also brings significant guitar and lyrical chops to the table. The Boston Globe puts it better than I could, however, when of 2000’s Somerville Live they espoused, “Young songwriters should study this disc the way law students cram for bar exams.”

Turned out that it wasn’t just young songwriters who took note—over the years, Arlo Guthrie and Anita Baker both chose Vance for their support slot on the road, and he spent a year and a half touring in support of the late George Carlin.

Vance’s Nimbit store is a credit to his prolific recording and release schedule—somehow on top of a busy touring schedule, the man has managed to release a dozen albums since kicking off his career as a humble open mic night regular. Well… as humble as one can be when blowing minds. Some are available as digital download, others as CDs, some as both. Noteworthy among them is Side of the Road, a collaboration with fellow Nimbit torchbearer and close friend Ellis Paul.

 

 

.@NothingMoreRock’s World Tour with the StudioLive RM32AI! #RMWorldTour

Here’s Jonny Hawkins from Nothing More discussing his band’s use of the RM32AI for running backing tracks and monitors during the Juggernaut tour with Periphery! Thanks for your support, guys!