[This just in from Jessica Ramsey of Moon Honey! She offered some insights on using the FireStudio Mobile for memory loss aversion. ]

I suffer from melody-idea-loss-aphobia: the common fear that a melody will be lost forever if not immediately recorded. That said, the FireStudio Mobile was an invaluable tool for writing vocals on my new record. In two snaps, I’d hook it up to my laptop and lay down vocal demos. Thanks to Studio One I was able to try out my ideas, mixing lead and back up vocals on top of rough instrumental tracks the boys had already recorded.

I wrote and recorded a four-part vocal harmony for “The Ship” on my own bed at 3 a.m. I exported each harmony individually, so that when it came time to officially record the seven-minute-long epic of a song, I could play them back individually and nail them in one take… almost. The tracks were also extremely helpful when it came time to perform; I had four choir singers on stage with me at our last Manship Theatre show, and they learned/practiced their parts with the demo harmonies!

Here’s “The Ship:”

We’ve got a new album in the works, if you like what you hear in “The Ship,” why not throw in a little bit over at Kickstarter? You can pre-order the dreamy rock & roll album, or even have me cook a vegan dinner for you!

[This just in from Ilias Gogakis, who recently produced an entry in the Eurovision Song Contest using Studio One!]

Hello PreSonus! Anna Capone Papas is a Spinto Soprano vocalist with many years of studies in classic music, piano and opera. She wrote melodies for the song “A Glimpse of Heaven,” with her friend S.Rhodes. In the beginning, the song was a ballad with only piano and vocals.

I work on rock and metal music, and have worked with Anna Capone Papas before. Once I listened her demo, the first thing that hit my mind was to transform the song to a pop metal opera, without changing her original ideas. So, I added some heavy modern metal riffs and my friendly drummer wrote some groovy drum parts.

Because the Eurovision Song Contest needs a catchy song, we made a pop/symphonic metal song, which is catchy to all listeners in central and Northern Europe, where both styles of music are very popular.

We had a very little time to compose, mix and master the song in order to enter the Switzerland Song Contest for Eurovision. The whole song was ready in five days. We were working 13 hours every day for all five days at my studio, Master Sound Studio, located in Athens, Greece. It was a great experience!

With the song structure finalized, we tracks guitars, drums, vocals, and pianos. This was followed by adding full orchestra parts using PreSonus sound libraries and some other libraries.

Drums were recorded using Slate Digital SSD 4 and CLA Expansion Kit via a Roland TD 20 KX V-DRUM. The were all  recorded by me using Schecter Guitars though the Blackstar Amp Series One 6L6. All recordings, mixing and mastering sessions were made in Studio One 2 Professional.

You can hear “Glimpse of Heaven” below.

The link to vote for the song is www.eurovisionplattform.sf.tv/videos#A

Check out this talk with the drummer/producer of TOOMS, who leverage the the StudioLive 16.0.2 for integrating Ableton Live into their concerts.

WARNING: heavy heavy sounds ahead…

The new StudioLive AI PA Loudspeakers offer unparalleled sonic clarity and power with landmark DSP. Here’s Justin Spence and Wesley Smith revealing all the pertinent details at PreSonuSphere 2013 in this engaging (and funny!) demonstration.

For more on the StudioLive AI PA Loudspeakers, click here: http://www.presonus.com/products/StudioLive-328AI

[This just in from Julian Reaves, AKA Giuliani, of Architect Media Group!]

Hey PreSonus! I’m Julian. I run Architect Media, an independent entertainment company located in California. We have an in-house digital studio where we use PreSonus Studio One Professional as our main  DAW. We feel that Studio One gives us unlimited flexibility from producing and recording to mastering—all in one application! We used Studio One on Irban Jeter’s album  “I.R.B Hit The Spot,”released on Architect Media Group/ Interscope Digital Distribution, as well as on Ryan Goree’s single “Chocolate Teddy Bear,” that was released on Architect Media Group/ Def Jam Digital Distribution.

Architect Media Group is not just a music company. We are venturing into soundtracks, film, television, and video games, and we’re confident that Studio One Professional is going to play big part in recording, mastering and sound design.

[This just in from Jamie from the Kickin’ Cajuns!]

Hey PreSonus! Last year I purchased a Presonus StudioLive 24.4.2 board from a local dealer, and have nothing but great things to say. I’ve had a Midas board for seven years prior, and one night at a club gig a fight broke out, and the subsequently spilled drinks ended its poor li’l life beyond a worthy repair.

As the front man, I’m none too savvy on the technical aspects of the equipment, so I got some advice from my engineers and some other local sound companies. So we started looking and ended up going with the StudioLive. We used a 24.4.2 for front house initially, then added a 16.4.2 for in-ears. It’s not only a high-quality piece, but very affordable. I paid three times the amount for my other board, and this thing runs circles around it and the sound quality is unbelievable!

Well, all aside from the great sound we were getting as a band, we recently found ourselves overdue for a new CD. I had always talked about a Live album because I think our live show is killer; and have often heard that confirmed by our audiences! I started checking out prices pricing for someone to record the album. Days later my engineer said, “Jamie, we can record ourselves live with the PreSonus”. I was like, “well let’s get with it!”

Long story short, we recorded us where we thought we were getting the best sound quality as far as venue, crowd and band performance were concerned—and with a few tweaks here and there, Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin’ Cajuns “Live Like Dat” CD was born.

I’ve gotten numerous compliments in all aspects of this CD, which is our number six. Since then, I have seen some local competing bands switching to… guess who?

PRESONUS!!!!!

Thanks, Jamie

K.C. Entertainment Inc.,
www.kickincajuns.com 

On October 5 2013, The Ruth Paz Foundation hosted Paz Fest III: A New Orleans Tribute to Joni Mitchell. The lengthy bill featured none other than PreSonus Artist Roland Guerin! Paz Fest is all about great music helping a great cause; the all-star show donated proceeds to help the Ruth Paz Hospital for Burns and Pediatric Surgery in Honduras.

“While the negative and overwhelming media attention of Tropical Storm Karen prevented us from having a great turn out for the event, we still managed an amazing show with over four hours of Joni Mitchell songs performed by some great artists,” says Micheal Paz, President of the The Ruth Paz Foundation.  “We also were blessed to have many of the people in attendance and many people across the USA write personal checks to the foundation that helped the night be a great success!

“I am in the process of going through a total of 16 hours of music that I have recorded over the past three PazFest events, and will be producing a “best-of” compilation collection. I will also be producing a one-hour radio special to be broadcast on Meg Griffin’s show on The Loft on Sirius/XM Radio that will be broadcast sometime this winter.”

Paz Fest I occurred back in May of 2000, when the Ruth Paz Foundation hosted an event to build a burn hospital in Honduras. It was the first of many fundraisers toward this effort, and in 2004 construction began on a 20 bed burn and pediatric surgery hospital at a cost of $1.5 million.

In August of 2010, the organization opened The Ruth Paz Hospital for Burns and Pediatric Surgery, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, offering crucial services to poor children of Honduras. The grand opening was celebrated with Paz Fest II!

With this history, The Ruth Paz Foundation is certain to continue their honorable work in the spirit of helping those in need. Thanks very much to Michael and his team for their incredibly selfless work, so far Paz Fest III has raised over $6,000! Photos from the fest are below.