PreSonus Blog

Introducing Ari Ahrendt’s Pure Synthetic Drums

Photo: Matthias Baumgartner

Hi,

My name is Ari and I’m the creator of Pure Synthetic Drums. In my day job, I’m a Quality Assurance Specialist at PreSonus Software in Hamburg/Germany. My job is to ensure the quality and stability of our software products. In my free time – and when I’m not hiking in the woods, cooking over an open fire or swing my sword – I immerse myself in audio technology, music production, and synthesis. This all adds up wonderfully.

As a percussion oriented Sound Set for Impact XT, Pure Synthetic Drums perfectly augments the already existing products “Analog Model Machine” and “EDM Synth Classics” for our Mai Tai synth. For many years, I’ve been interested in sound design and sonic exploration in order to better understand their structure and quality. Splitting up a sound into its components, then reconstruct it is absolutely fascinating! This was one of the core concepts of Pure Synthetic Drums (PSD).

With this Sound Set, musicians and sound designers are able to create all-new sounds from combining individual components. The underlying model is always the same: all sounds have their roots in synthetic waveforms. That’s the “Pure” part of the name. The idea came up when creating sounds on the Eurorack modular. For example, to create a type of 808 kick, you need a snappy envelope and a self-oscillating filter. Once you created such sound, it remains intact for as long as you don’t tweak any knobs, so you have to destroy one sound in order to create another. Which led to the idea of sampling these sounds in Studio One and make them available as part of the library.

Photo: Matthias Baumgartner

Here I went one step further: instead of just sampling complete sounds, I also included their individual components in the library. This way you could combine the “click” portion of one kick drum with the “boom” portion of another. Or you could enhance the attack sound of a snare with filtered noise from an analog synthesizer – then extend the sound with an epic long release, more than any analog drum machine could ever deliver. The possible combinations are endless. As a user, you’re able to work with drum sounds and their raw components as if you had all of these analog synths and modular systems in your studio. Every single recorded sound is a direct output of a synthesizer—raw and unprocessed. No EQ, no compression—just “Pure.”

Over the course of two and a half years of conception, development and sound design, I’ve constantly drawn inspiration from drum machines, my own synthesizers, and even domestic and natural sounds. You wouldn’t believe how close the crackle of a campfire sounds compared to the filtered attack of an 808 kick. It’s all about finding the right filter parameter settings. So I went back and forth between the campfire and my modular synth lair—don’t worry, the fire was never unattended. Fireman Sam had an eye on it at all times… 😉

The result is a fully-modular product, made from modular synthetic components for creative use by musicians and sound designers. However, if you’re not into tweaking knobs, there are a total of 30 complete, ready to use Impact XT kits to play with, covering the full spectrum of available sounds. I’m an electronic drummer myself, so I made sure to follow the GM-standard key mapping. I’m able to play every kit from my e-drum kit instantly. My neighbors weren’t always pleased… If you’re tired of drumming, you can choose from a variety of included Musicloops representing each of the available drum kits. These include further freestyle grooves and pattern ideas.

Photo: Matthias Baumgartner

Stylistically, the library is covering a variety of musical styles: electro house, minimal, hip-hop, R&B, trap, EDM, psy trance, synth pop, chillout, electronica. For the first time, the integrated step sequencer of Studio One is used here. That’s a lot of source material to choose from to build your own analog drum part.

Combine it with an ATOM and your next track is born.

 

Pure Synthetic Drums is available now from shop.presonus.com. 

 

Ari Ahrendt’s Pure Synthetic Drums

Photo: Matthias Baumgartner

 

Hi,

mein Name ist Ari Ahrendt und ich bin der Macher der Pure Synthetic Drums. Bei PreSonus tagsüber als Quality Specialist, kümmere ich mich um die Qualität der Softwareprodukte. Und wenn ich in meiner Freizeit nicht im Wald und in der Natur unterwegs bin, draußen über Feuer koche oder ein Anderthalbhänder schwinge, beschäftige ich mich sehr viel und intensiv mit Tontechnik allgemein, Musikproduktion und synthetischer Klangerzeugung. Alles ergänzt sich wunderbar und hält die Balance.

Als percussion-orientiertes Soundset unterstützt und erweitert die PSD-Collection für Impact XT perfekt die beiden vorherigen Instrumenten-Soundsets “Analog Model Machine” und “EDM Synth Classics” für den Mai Tai Synthesizer. Mich interessiert schon viele Jahre Sounddesign und die Erforschung von Klängen, um ihre Struktur und Beschaffenheit zu ergründen. Es ist faszinierend, einen Klang in seine Bestandteile zu zerlegen, um ihn dann wieder neu zusammensetzen zu können. Das war auch einer der Grundideen der PSD-Collection.

Mit diesem Soundset gebe ich den Musikern und Sounddesignern die Möglichkeit, aus Einzelkomponenten Drumsounds völlig neu zu kreieren und zu kombinieren. Die Grundphilosophie bleibt dabei immer die Gleiche: Alle Sounds haben ihren klanglichen Ursprung in reinen Synthesizerwellenformen. Daher das “Pure” im Produktnamen. Die Idee entstand bei eigenem Sounddesign am Modularsystem. Um zb. eine artverwandte Kick der legendären 808-Bassdrum zu erschaffen, benötigt man knackige Hüllkurven und hauptsächlich ein Filter mit hoher Eigenresonanz. Ist dieser Klang erst einmal gepatched und alle Knöpfe eingestellt, ist der Sound komplett und bleibt auch solange bestehen, bis man die Knöpfe wieder verstellt. Um jedoch einen neuen Klang zu erstellen, muss man zwangsläufig den bestehenden Sound wieder zerstören. Also war die grundlegende Idee, diese fertigen Sounds in Studio One aufzunehmen und eine eigene Library anzufertigen, um die Klänge immer wieder sofort abrufbar zu haben.

Photo: Matthias Baumgartner

Ich bin dabei aber noch einen Schritt weiter gegangen und habe nicht nur komplett fertige Sounds aufgenommen, sondern deren einzelne Bestandteile separat in die Library zusätzlich mit aufgenommen. So kann man beispielsweise eine Attackphase “Click” von einem Bassdrumsound mit einem Ausklang “Boom” einer anderen kombinieren. Ebenso kann man das Anschlaggeräusch einer Snare mit einem gefilterten Rauschen eines anderen Analogsynthesizers versehen. Und das mit einem viel längeren und epischen Ausklang, als es normalerweise analoge Drummachines hergeben. Die Kombinationsmöglichkeiten sind gigantisch. Der User wird damit in die Lage versetzt, Drumsounds oder deren Einzelkomponenten so zu benutzen, als würde er all die Synthesizer und Modularsysteme selbst besitzen. Alle aufgenommen Klänge des Soundsets sind reine Synthesizeroutputs ohne weitere klangliche Nachbearbeitung außerhalb der Synthesizer. Ohne EQing, ohne Kompression… eben “pure”.

In zweieinhalben Jahren Entwicklungszeit, Konzeptausarbeitung und reinem Sounddesign, habe ich mich immer wieder von Drummachines, meinen Synthesizern und sogar Geräuschen aus der Natur inspirieren lassen. Man glaubt gar nicht, wie ähnlich das Holzknacken eines Lagerfeuers an die gefilterte Attackphase einer 808 Bassdrum erinnert. Essenziell dabei ist die richtige Parameterstellung der Filter. Also bin ich immer schnell zwischen Feuerplatz und Modularkeller gewechselt und habe die feinen klanglichen Nuancen umgesetzt. Aber keine Angst, das Feuer war nie unbeaufsichtigt! Feuerwehrman Sam hatte stehts ein wachsames Auge darauf. 😉

Herausgekommen ist ein modulares Produkt, hergestellt aus modularen Synthesizerkomponenten zur kreativen Benutzung für Musiker und Sounddesigner. Und wer gar nicht viel selbst schrauben möchte, bekommt über 30 vollständig fertig zusammengestellte Impact-Drumkits zum sofortigen Einsatz, welche die klangliche Vielfalt der Soundlibrary wiederspiegeln. Als E-Drummer habe ich darauf geachtet, dem GM-Drum-Standard zu folgen. Somit kann ich jedes Set sofort mit meinen E-Drums spielen. Die Nachbarn wollten sich bestimmt schon einige Male beschweren. Aber aufgrund der massiven Analog-Kicks im Soundset, habe ich sie einfach nicht klingeln hören. Wenn einem abends dann die Arme lahm werden vom trommeln, kann man auch gut auf die mitgelieferte Musicloop-Library zurückgreifen. Dort habe ich jedes Drumkit-Kit einzeln präsentiert und darüber hinaus noch freestyle etliche Groove-Ideen festgehalten.

Photo: Matthias Baumgartner

Die musikalische Abdeckung des Soundsets ist vielfältig und deckt etliche Styles ab, wie: Electro House, Minimal, Hiphop, R&B, Trap, EDM, PsyTrance, Synth Pop, Chillout, Electronica. Dabei wird auch erstmalig in einem Soundset der Studio One eigene Stepsequencer benutzt. Alles in Allem kann man sich so ganz entspannt einen Analog-Drum-Track zusammenklicken, ein Pad-Sound darunter legen, und die Basis für den nächsten Track ist damit schon geschaffen.

Pure Synthetic Drums is available now from shop.presonus.com. 

 

Molly and Denton Making Jams in the Red Stick!

One of the best things about PreSonus is having our roots run deep into the heart of the Louisiana music scene. Louisiana has long known that the things that make life worth living are good food, good drink, and good tunes and we couldn’t be more onboard. Rich character and soul runs deep throughout the whole state. Baton Rouge is primarily known for one of the country’s largest blues festivals, the annual Baton Rouge Blues Festival. But Red Stick locals will tell you, our town is littered with talented singer-songwriters and musicians from Downtown to Tiger Stadium to Mid-City and all in between.
We recently had the opportunity to connect with some local favorites Molly Taylor and Denton Hatcher in their home studio. Check out their performance of their original song “Don’t Leave Me Hanging” recorded right here in Baton Rouge!

They’re also Studio One users and own a Studio 192! We wanted to know about their workflow so we took the opportunity to interview Denton. Read more from him below.
Give us some background on yourself. How long have you been making music?
Making music for over 25 years, I started playing guitar at age 13 on my grandfather’s old harmony acoustic guitar and the rest has been a party!
How has the music industry changed since your early days? 
When I started playing we only had VH1 and MTV, no Internet, and none of the streaming formats like kids have today. That’s totally different!

Follow Denton on Instagram!

Describe the first time you wrote a song? Produced it?
The first song I really remember writing was about Superman and Wonder Woman and their love for each other. My first recordings were very Daniel Johnston-like, using two jam boxes and overdubbing while playing one jam box and recording with the other. Around the age of 18, I got a 4 track tape recorder and that changed my life.
Who has been an influence in your life? 
My influences growing up varied. I loved Motown and Stax artist and also the old country from the sixties and seventies, which are still my main influences. When I started playing guitar in the ’90s, it was Nirvana that made me want to play guitar. I went from soul and country to grunge soaked jams. Nowadays my fellow songwriting friends are my biggest influence.

Have you ever wanted to give up on music? What keeps you going? 

At one point in my journey, I told myself,  “if I don’t make it in the music business by 27, then I should stop.” But that was a ridiculous thought. Music is more than “making it” whatever that means. I couldn’t stop now, it would kill me.

What do you like about PreSonus? What caught your eye? 
I bought my first PreSonus interface about 12 years ago. One of the first two input interfaces which came with Cubase at the time then I bought an 8 channel firewire interface about 10 years ago from PreSonus and recorded my first project with it and Studio One. I haven’t used another program since. I recently purchased the 192 and love it! I love the zero latency and how fast and easy the 192 works with Studio One. Such an easy program to learn. The layouts that are preprogrammed for whatever interface and type of session work to be done, make everything and no brainer. So simple. Just pick click and record.
Any other thoughts on Studio One or PreSonus gear? Recent projects? What’s next for you?
I have used studio one and the 192 for several of my last projects, which includes local artist like Jodi James, Clay Parker, Molly Taylor, and many others. I’ll be working on my next album soon. I have been writing a good bit the last year and need to get busy making the magic happen with the wonderful tools Presonus has given me.
Stay tuned for more opportunities to celebrate local Baton Rouge musicians in 2020!

Join the Studio One family today!

How to Use FX Chain Transition Curves

FX Chains are a powerful Studio One feature, yet I can’t help but notice that when I write tips about FX Chains, some people are lost without a download…so I get the impression people might think that making FX chains is difficult. But it isn’t really, and your reward for creating one is a multi-effects processor that you can call up whenever you want, as well as assign controls that allow tweaking parameters without having to open up the effect GUIs themselves.

One of the most important aspects of mapping parameters to knobs is choosing the right Transition settings, so let’s delve deeper into how to make them do your bidding.

Transition Settings Explained

A great aspect of FX Chains is being able to map Macro knobs to multiple parameters and control them all simultaneously. For example, in the EZ Squeez tip for a one-knob compressor, a single Macro knob varied the Compressor Ratio, Release, Threshold, Knee, Attack, and Gain controls simultaneously. Because of this, when changes in the Ratio or Threshold parameter reduced the output, the Gain control could increase automatically to compensate.

When you map a parameter to a Macro knob, the default is for the knob to alter the parameter over its full range. But, you often don’t want to vary the parameter over its full range. For example, if you were creating a wah pedal effect with the Pro EQ, you wouldn’t want the filter to go from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. A more realistic range would be around 300 Hz to 2 kHz.

The Transition setting allows restricting the parameter range covered by a control. When you click on the small Transition graphic, a bigger view opens up where you can set the parameter’s upper and lower limits (Fig. 1).

Figure 1: Click on the small graphic window (outlined in orange) to open up a bigger view (outlined in red).

However, the calibrations are sometimes difficult to read, so it can be challenging to create a precise change. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution.

Suppose you want to change the Pro EQ LMF frequency from exactly 150 Hz to 2.4 kHz (five octave range) by turning one of the Macro knobs. To do this:

  1. Open the Pro EQ GUI so you can see the LMF Freq knob, and “pin” the Pro EQ so that it remains visible.
  2. Click on the Knob icon in the Pro EQ’s upper left. The Macro Controls panel will appear (or the Macro Control Mappings window if it was opened up last). Since we want to use the Macro Control Mappings window, if the Macro Controls panel appears, click on its little wrench icon toward the upper left.
  3. Turn the knob at the bottom of the Macro Controls Mapping window fully counter-clockwise.
  4. Open the larger transition window for the LMF – Frequency parameter.
  5. Click on the transition line’s left node, and drag it while observing the LMF Freq knob in the Pro EQ. Stop dragging when it hits 150 Hz; you’ve now adjusted the knob’s lower limit. Note that it’s sometimes difficult to obtain a precise setting; you can’t, for example, type in direct value. You may want to temporarily slow down your mouse pointer speed (in the mouse section of your system properties) to make this easier.
  6. Now we need to set the upper-frequency limit. Turn the knob at the bottom of the Macro Controls Mapping window fully clockwise.
  7. Re-open the larger transition window for the LMF – Frequency parameter.
  8. Click on the transition line’s right node, and drag it while observing the LMF Freq knob in the Pro EQ. This time, stop dragging when the knob’s frequency readout shows 2.4 kHz. Note that you won’t be able to reach exactly 2.4 kHz; the closest I could come was 2.38 kHz…close enough. It’s not always possible to hit a value exactly, but most of the time, this doesn’t matter.

This kind of precision came in handy when creating the Imaging Phaser, where I wanted each frequency band in the Pro EQ to cover five octaves, and the bands had to be offset an octave from each other.

Bend Me, Shape Me

The Transition setting has another very useful feature—you can click the node in the middle to bend the curve into different shapes. For example, the Gain parameter in the EZ Squeez compressor needed to increase in level as the settings became more extreme, which squashed the signal more and brought down the level. Dragging the midpoint down a bit accelerated the amount of Gain as the single knob was turned higher (Fig. 2).

Figure 2: Bending the Transition line alters the “feel” of controls.

Where the Heck Are FX Chains Stored, Anyway?

Whenever a FX Chain tip provides a download link, there’s an inevitable comment in the Comments section along the lines of “Where do I store this after I download it”? The easiest way to find out is to go to the Browser, expand the FX Chains folder, expand a sub-folder if necessary, right-click on an FX Chain, and choose Show in Explorer (Windows) or Show in Finder (Mac). Now you’ll know where your FX Chains live. Note that you can also specify the location for your presets in Studio One > Options > Locations > User Data.

How to get multiple outputs from Kontakt in PreSonus Studio One

In this video, Gregor shows you how to set up multiple outputs in a single Native Instruments Kontakt instance. Fortunately, this is extremely easy to do in Studio One.

PreSonus CDLs Headline at Spasskaya Tower in Moscow!

Spasskaya Tower is an annual music festival held in Moscow, Russia. It’s a spectacular, week-long event, staged on the background of the monumental walls of the Kremlin. More than 90,000 people enjoy the festival’s night shows and, all in all, more than half a million Muscovites and guests attend events surrounding Spasskaya. There’s something for every music lover: military, classical, folk, pop, military band parades… but it doesn’t end with music as there’s also dance shows, lasers, and pyrotechnical effects that make the festival one of the brightest and most memorable events of the year.
The Festival is held annually on the historic Red Square. Fortunately, the kind folks at Starline, our Russian Distributor, was there to provide the PreSonus CDL12 and CDL18S. This rig was used indoors and outdoors for the entire event!
Check out these photos from the festival—and book your tickets to Moscow for Spasskaya 2020!

 

 

Interested in learning more about our Award-winning CDL Loudspeakers? Click here!

Football, Podcasts and Studio One

Over here stateside, ‘Tis the season for family, over-eating, traveling, watching football, and more eating. You may not be a huge fan of the holidays, but I love them! The holidays have something for everyone, much like a recent podcast I came across on Twitter called The F.A.N. Show.

The F.A.N. Show is a one-man, award-winning sports variety show based in Spokane, WA—and it’s in a league of its own. There’s something for every fan. The show is hosted by Richard Tieman, who is a musician, producer, sports fanatic, and Studio One user. After five years of recording 440 podcast episodes on the same AudioBox iTwo he purchased in 2015, Richard shows no signs of slowing down. We wanted to know more about how his podcast came to be so successful.

 

 

Tell us about your background. How long have you been in the audio industry? 

I was a drummer for a punk rock band since I was 17, and loved music, performing live, and traveling to different cities. I also love a variety of things like football, the outdoors, pop culture, and even pro wrestling. I had a knack for entertaining people, and I’ve always been comfortable on a microphone. I met my wife seven years ago and we’ve been married for five, and she is my single greatest supporter and biggest fan. I’ve been in audio for about 15 years. 10 years ago I got really passionate about it when I started hosting karaoke at a local bar while I was still touring with my band. Then when we broke up five years later, a friend suggested that I should start my own podcast, so I figured… why not?

 

How has the audio industry changed since your early days? 

It’s changed quite a bit. When I was in the band, podcasts weren’t very popular yet. Not many people even knew what they were. Recording and editing equipment and software were super expensive, so you had to really have a passion for audio/video in order to justify going all-in on the idea. I remember making a business proposal for starting my own karaoke and entertainment company in 2015, and the money I needed for karaoke equipment and songs, just to get started, was about $3,000. Now, everyone and their mom has a podcast or YouTube channel and the cost to buy a “starter kit” for those is around $300. Quite the difference.

 

What’s your favorite podcast right now?

Talk is Jericho

As a wrestling fan, he’s one of my favorites. He’s also the frontman for the band Fozzy, and he doesn’t just interview wrestlers. He has a wide variety of different guests and that’s what I love about his show. The mix. I guess his podcast is what inspired me to branch out to talk about more than just football. Yes, I love football, but I love other things as well. Music, comics, the outdoors. Why limit myself?

 

Tell us about your podcast. 

At first, it was just me and my thoughts about football and my 49ers. It’s the sport I know well, and the one I felt the most comfortable talking about. I also hated all the irrelevant news you started to see and hear on mainstream sports media. It was less about stats and highlights and more rumors and gossip. I wouldn’t say I started my podcast out of spite, but the idea of being different was certainly appealing. What was a weekly podcast called The ButtFumble Show is now a live-streamed variety show that airs three times a week and covers a little bit of everything: The F.A.N. Show. “Everyone’s a FAN of something, and we have something for every fan.”

 

Where did the idea for your podcast come from? 

The rooftop of a bar in downtown Spokane where my 10-year high school reunion was happening. My buddy Cameron and I were talking about his Seahawks and my 49ers. and going back and forth about their last season and stuff that needed to happen in the offseason. He was really impressed with not only my knowledge of my team and the league, but that I could carry a conversation and could back up my opinions with facts. So he asked if I had ever thought of becoming a sports analyst, and I laughed and said, no thanks. That’s when he suggested starting my own podcast.

 

How does your first podcast compare to your most recent? 

Oh boy. My first episode was terrible. 20 minutes of me sitting in a chair in the spare room of our house, just rambling on about the upcoming season and what to watch for. I’d never used any PreSonus equipment before, or any podcasting equipment for that matter, so my mic was turned down really low and I didn’t know how to edit the recording. Like I said, terrible. Now, almost 440 episodes later, I have my own intro theme, I have segments, sound effects, I know how to edit and get the best sound quality I want. My best episode is always my next episode.

There are so many podcasts these days. How do you stand out? 

In all honesty, I can’t say that I do “stand out.” I know that I’ve learned a lot in five years of doing my podcast, and even though all the changes and trying new things, I’ve always stuck to what I believe and not trying to conform to certain styles just to get clicks or downloads. My fans are my fans, and as long as they tune in and listen, I’ll keep doing it. But I do know what makes my show “different,” is that even after five years, I’m still doing it. Not everyone who has thought “Hey, I can do that,” has actually done it for very long. Some guys I know that started podcasts never made it past 10 episodes. I’m about to do my 440th. I pride myself on constantly wanting to learn and get better. Try new things. And I’m persistent. 

What advice do you have for someone who wants to start a podcast? 

Be ready for criticism and be open to feedback. Feedback is one of the hardest things because it’s not all good feedback, but you need people supporting you that will be honest with you and tell you what they liked and more importantly, what they didn’t like. That, and to be consistently persistent. Like I said, I know people that never made it more than 10 episodes. There will be a lot of excuses you can make for yourself, but if it’s really something you’re passionate about, you’ll make it a priority. I’ll tell anyone and everyone what programs or equipment I use, and people think I’m crazy for giving away my “secrets to success.” That’s not the secret. I don’t even have a secret. I just made my show a priority and have built a brand as a result.

 

How did you first hear of PreSonus?

Google. Haha. I talked with my wife about the podcast idea and since the band had broken up and I was going back to school for my AA degree in Business Management, she said I needed a hobby and thought the podcast would be good for me. So we searched “Podcasting kits” and the 2nd or 3rd result was the “PreSonus AudioBox iTwo.” About $220, it came with the AudioBox, mic, mic cord, headphones, and Studio One for editing. Connect it to the USB port on your computer and you’re ready to roll. I loved how simple the set up was, and that it didn’t take up a lot of space. It travels easily too, so it’s easy to take with me when I do podcasts on location. 

 

What PreSonus products do you use?

I still use that same AudioBox iTwo (five years later) and I absolutely love it. I actually want to get another one so I can have one for my studio and one specifically for traveling. Or have one as a backup at the very least. You can never be too prepared when it comes to technology. I’ve since upgraded my mics, but still use Studio One and that same box for my show.

 

Why was PreSonus a good option for you? Was it easy to learn?

It was convenient, easy to use, and not a lot of extras. The less you have to worry about when it comes to recording, editing, and producing, the better. Not everyone has a producer or even an assistant, so if you’re a “one-man show” like I am, PreSonus is amazing. There was definitely a learning curve. A lot of it was self-explanatory, but I have a lot of audio friends that were happy to help me. YouTube is also an amazing learning tool, haha.

 

Do you ever take your podcast on the road? 

All the time. I’ll take it to local events like Comic-Con and interview special guests and cosplayers, or I’ll go to the comedy club and interview the comedians in the green room before their show. I’ve even interviewed bands at our local concert house before their shows. But my favorite time of the year is my annual tour. I take the AudioBox and my set up and go to different events across the country like BattleBots, or arena football games and I’ll host tailgate parties and use it for a live stream, or I’ll interview players and coaches after the game. I’ve gotten pretty good at setting up in hotel rooms and at arenas.

 

Recent projects? What’s next for you?

I just finished my third tour, which was awesome, and I was also hired to do media for different events where I would go and interview players, coaches, staff, cast and crew and publish them as podcasts to help promote the events. The show has a great following and I’ve gotten more and more opportunities like these as a result. I recently accepted the position of Director of Communications for the Sioux Falls Storm. An indoor football team that had heard of me and my podcast and wanted me to be apart of their winning team for 2020. I will be doing that as well as continuing what I do with my podcast. I’m hoping 2020 is my biggest year yet and that moving to a new city will hopefully create new opportunities. The new owners of the Storm were very adamant about me continuing to do my podcast and continuing to grow my brand, so that is what I will look to do next year!

 

Where can we listen to your podcast? 

The F.A.N. Show is available on most major podcasting platforms including:

Follow The FAN Show on Instagram! 

Follow the FAN Show on Facebook! 

Interested in joining the Studio One Family? Click here for the best price all year! 

 

 

Sound Design? “Commitment” Recording? Say What?

Maybe it’s not a well-known feature, but Studio One allows inserting effects or FX Chains before a track, not just in a track. Open up the Input section, and you’ll see a place to insert effects. The only significant limitation compared to inserting an effect in a track is that Input section effects can’t expose their sidechain inputs.

This feature has multiple uses, but first, let’s touch on how it allows for “commitment” recording. Consider recording electric guitar. In the days before tape recorders had enough tracks to do re-amping, you had to commit to recording the final sound on a track. If you decided you should have used a different amp, you had to re-record the part because the track already had that amp sound, and it was unchangeable.

Amp sims (and re-amping) changed all that. You could record a dry guitar track and change the sound at any time, even up to the final mix. While that certainly offers possibilities, it can also cause “analysis paralysis” because some folks can’t just leave a track alone—so they tweak constantly in the hopes of finding something “better.” I’ve spoken with quite a few musicians who are nostalgic for the days when you had to commit to a part because not being tempted by endless tweaking accelerated the songwriting or recording process. Ultimately, some of them felt that the benefits of spontaneity outweighed the benefits of flexibility.

It’s easy to do commitment recording with your amp sim: put the amp sim in Studio One’s input section, not the track. You can also use the Input section’s Input Controls to adjust the gain and phase going in. Record-enable the track, and you’ll record the processed guitar sound into the track (Fig. 1).

Figure 1: Click on Inputs (outlined in red) to see the input sections prior to the tracks. In this example, a Helix Native amp sim has been inserted into the L+R input. Track 1 is set to record from Input L+R (outlined in yellow), so it will record the processed sound.

 

This has other uses, like inserting the Virtual Pop Filter into the input section when recording vocal tracks. Of course, you can always insert the virtual pop filter in the track itself after recording, and render the changes. But it can save time and effort to nuke those stoopid pops before they’re recorded.

RE-AMPING MEETS TRACK-TO-TRACK RECORDING

Some amp sims use a lot of CPU, which can be problematic with projects that include tons of tracks. Of course, with Studio One you can always bounce or transform a track, which saves CPU—and you even have the option to revert and re-edit. However, an alternative technique, track-to-track (TTT) recording, allows one track to record the output of another track. For example, in Fig. 2 the guitar is going through AMR/Peavey’s ReValver amp sim in track 1, while track 2 is recording the processed output from track 1.

Figure 2: The dry and processed guitar sounds are being recorded simultaneously with this setup.

So, after doing your recording, track 2 will have recorded the sound of the guitar going through ReValver, not the dry sound. Meanwhile, track 1 will have recorded the dry sound. You can simply bypass the amp sim in track 1 to save CPU (instead of bouncing or transforming), and listen to the amp sim sound from track 2 instead of the dry sound from track 1.

If you want to experiment with different amp sounds in track 1, you know that you always have the recorded sound in track 2 as a fallback. Or, try a different amp sim, pan tracks 1 and 2 somewhat off-center with respect to each other, and now you’ll have a “stack” with a bigger stereo image.

INSTRUMENT TRACKS WITH TTT RECORDING

Here’s perhaps an even more important application for the TTT approach. Some synths have randomizing functions; you can also wire up a modular synth-like Voltage to do all kinds of randomized and sequenced effects. And of course, it’s possible to apply randomized modulation effects to almost any synth. By recording the instrument track’s output, you can capture the randomization of that moment in a track. If you don’t like the randomized effects, then just try again by re-recording the track.

SOUND DESIGN WITH TTT RECORDING

Sound design is all about creating novel, unusual sounds, and you often want real-time control over these sounds while you create them, especially if you’re using external hardware. This is another use for TTT recording. For example, I create a lot of FX sounds and sweeps for transitions and emphasis. Many of them involve the Tone Generator effect generating white or pink noise, followed by plug-in processing, and sometimes hardware effects inserted via Pipeline.

The workflow is simple: insert the white noise generator and plug-ins in the input section, as described above for commitment recording, and record the results in a track. Or, insert the white noise in a track, and use the TTT recording technique—the results are the same, except that TTT creates two tracks instead of one.

But wait—there’s more! The Tone Generator isn’t the only effect capable of making sounds you can record into a track. Several effects, when properly abused, can generate sounds. The internal noise and artifacts generated by these effects are often very low-level, but you can always add a maxed-out Compressor and a few Mixtools after the effect to boost their outputs. And of course, once you’ve recorded the effect on a track, you can normalize it to bring up the level.

 

  • Flanger. Turn up the resonance, and boost the output level, for a variety of cool sci-fi effects.
  • Rotor. Turn all the controls to maximum, and turn the power on and off for strange psycho-acoustic panning FX.
  • Redlight Dist. This is the most versatile noise generator in Studio One. Oceans, rain, torrential storms…you got it.
  • Tone Generator. We mentioned using this for noise, but super-low and super-high frequencies can have merit for sound design, especially when followed by other effects. I’ve gotten some great engine sounds with this and X-Trem.
  • Bitcrusher. Think of this as a white noise generator currently serving multiple life sentences. It’s even nastier if you max out a couple Mixtools afterwards, and overdrive them.

 

 

 

 

 

The VoxTool FX Chain

Y’all seem to like FX Chains, so here’s one of my favorites—the VoxTool, a toolchest for bringing out the best in vocals and narration as quickly as possible. You’ll still need to add any desired time-based effects (doublers, reverbs, or whatever), or perhaps some compression, but this will help take care of pops, EQ, peaks/transients, and vibrato during the songwriting process. In fact, this FX Chain may even do the job all the way to the final mix.

You can download the FX Chain from the link at the end of this tip; but let’s cover how the various modules affect the sound, so that (if needed) you can tweak this FX Chain for your particular voice.


1. PRO EQ

This stage uses the Low Cut Filter, set to 48 dB/octave, with the cutoff frequency controlled by the Pop Filter control. Turning up this control attenuates the low frequencies where pops occur. The Steeper button adds a bit more low-frequency attenuation, aimed specifically at subsonics, by enabling the LF stage.


2.  LIMITER

 

Now that the p-pops are reduced, we can add some limiting to tame any vocal peaks or transients. The Limiting control in the Macro Controls panel turns up the Limiter’s input control to increase the amount of gain reduction. 


3. PRO EQ

 

 

 

This link in the FX Chain uses four filter stages. Like the first Pro EQ, the Low Cut stage ties to the Pop Filter control for further attenuation of sub-vocal low frequencies, while the Steeper switch enables the LF stage for additional pop filtering. The LMF section provides the VOG effect (what narrators call “Voice of God”). This adds fullness to the bass, like an FM late-night DJ, which can also help restore some low-end depth in the vocal range if removing pops extends a bit into the vocal range. The HMF stage is the engine for the Clarity Gain and Clarity Frequency controls. Increasing Clarity Gain adds intelligibility and articulation to the vocals; vary the Clarity Frequency control to find what works best with your voice.


4. ANALOG DELAY

 

This provides a vibrato effect, with Vibrato Depth and Vibrato Frequency controls applied to the Analog Delay module. You likely won’t want to leave Vibrato Depth up, but instead, control it with automation, a footpedal, mod wheel, or whatever to add vibrato when needed.

 

That’s all there is to it! So download the VoxTool FX Chain, and bring your vocals up to speed—fast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Studio One Tutorials!

These PreSonus Studio One Tutorials starring Gregor Beyerle will help you learn how to make beats on Studio One – and more! You’ll find everything you need to know to get started producing in Studio One in this breakthrough series—from set-up and Studio One basics to more advanced topics like the Project page.

Enjoy!

 

 

Click here to view the full playlist on YouTube.