[This just in from Kirk Farmer of the Dirty Rumors, who are living the PreSonus life to the fullest!]

Thanks for the invitation to be included in your blog. We are called Dirty Rumors. We’re a quasi rock band / jam band from Roanoke, VA comprised of Kirk Farmer, (Me) on lead vocal and guitar, Tim (Caesar) O’Sullivan on lead guitar, Scott Sutton on bass, Ben Hite on keys, and Thomas Wilson on drums. We’re more of a jam band than anything. Our live performances are heavy on the long instrumental jams with variety of influxes including rock, funk, blues and county. We actually have a large collection of live tracks that can be streamed from our website. Most of which were also recorded using the same equipment and software we used to record the EP. The EP is called Unity Gain and was released online through TuneCore.com in January.

I was originally introduced to PreSonus when I worked as a recording engineer in Raleigh, NC. I saw a demo of the StudioLive 16.4.2 at a show put on by one of your distributors in Greensboro. I was particularly impressed with it’s ease of use and by the transparency of the preamps.

I few years later, I relocated to Roanoke,VA and brought on a business partner named Nate Potter in order to expand my mastering studio, K-14 Studios service offerings to include mobile, multi-track recording. Nate was also a big fan of the Presonus gear and owned a 16.4.2, and also introduced me to Studio One.

Tim and I formed Dirty Rumors in September of 2012. When we made the decision to record our EP, it was only logical that Nate and I produce and engineer the project using the PreSonus gear that we had been using to record our clients with.

As mentioned before, we primarily use the 16.4.2 for tracking. One of the great things about this setup is its mobility. All we need is the board, the laptop, the snake and some mics and we’re in business—literally! We use Capture to track everything, including overdubs. Once we get the tracks back to the studio, we use a FirePod as a speaker/headphone interface, and mix the sessions on Studio One. We also use Studio One’s project page for mastering.

The things we like most about the PreSonus hardware are the quick setup time and the preamp quality. With other digital mixers, we can potentially spend a significant amount of time just getting the board settings where we want them. Using any outboard gear  just adds to the process. With the 16.4.2, we can be powered up and signal and level checked in less than 10 minutes.

As far as the preamps are concerned, the transparency and gain insures a good recording the first time, every time. This is paramount when recording a live show where we might not get a second take. They also allow for a great deal of flexibility during the mixdown process. We can make a lot more creative decisions about the overall sound of the project when we don’t have to contend with preamp coloration introduced by your hardware.

On the software side, Studio One is undoubtedly the most flexible and user-friendly DAW I’ve ever used. It’s intuitive, powerful, and very easy on my CPU. In the past, I’ve primarily used Pro Tools and Audition, both for their different strengths: Pro Tools for tracking and Audition for mastering. Studio One combines the best of both worlds in one very dynamic suite.

Nate and I are currently working on a video project for a band from Lynchburg, VA. Again, we used the PreSonus gear for the tracking, and continue to use Studio One for the post- production processing. Our last major project was the Unity Gain EP, which we created ourselves from start to finish. Dirty Rumors is rumored to be recording a concert video in May at the new amphitheater in downtown Roanoke. We plan to use the 16.4.2, tied in to the FOH board through a splitter snake to record the audio from the show.  We’re also talking about recording a full length album this summer, and PreSonus is along for the ride every step of the way!

Check out this incredibly comprehensive series of videos from the geniuses at Groove3. These guys have broken down the StudioLive AI workflow into easily-digestible bite-size pieces. First-time-buyers will find everything they need to get connected and running on the StudioLive AI, while seasoned audio vets can skip straight to the chapter on ringing out monitors.

The incredibly thorough Groove3 has left no stone unturned here, and have also taken on VSL, remote mixing, Smaart wizards, and the AI family’s integration with Studio One.

Click here to check out the StudioLive AI series from Groove3 with some free videos. Enjoy!

We’re happy to report that PreSonus Artist KATFYR’s track “Lose Control” is currently sitting at the #2 spot on Beatport’s Dubstep chart, notably above some guy called “Skrillex.” We’re equally happy to also report that the track was made in none other than Studio One!

If you’ve ever wanted to see what makes a track like this tick, you need look no farther than to KATFYR’s demonstration of Studio One at NAMM 2014, where you can see how “Lose Control” was built from the ground up.

Sincere congrats to a good friend doing good work. If you’re so inclined, why not help him out a bit, and get a copy of the track and bump him up to #1?

This is one of the better episodes of PreSonus LIVE that we’ve done for a while—no bandwidth problems! Amazing! In it, PreSonus tech support guru Dominic “TicToc” Bazile takes us on a tour of the new Temblor T10 Subwoofer and Eris 4.5 studio monitors. This combination is an ideal way to bring some real rumble to a modest home studio—if you want it. The Temblor’s foot-switchable bypass can tone things down when the neighbors start complaining.

For more on these products, watch the video—duh. But for even more more, click the following links:

• Temblor T10
• Eris

When Tiny Frog Media is involved, the hits can’t/won’t stop. Here, Greg takes a close look at the entire line of StudioLive AI PA Loudspeakers. His talk-through is pretty handy if you’re trying to decide exactly which StudioLive AI PA speaker is right for you and your applications. While he addresses high-tech matters such as power, DSP, and software integration, he also addresses some of the equally-enthralling low-tech features offered by these speakers, including threaded pole-mount adapters, dollies, and dust jackets. Give a look-see.

Mixer aficionados the world over could always stand to learn a new trick or two, and at the rate that technology changes, sometimes we all find ourselves with a little catching up to do. Good thing, then, that Alfred Music has recently released the StudioLive Mixer handbook, which has a little something for everyone. If you’re using one of the classic StudioLive mixers or the new AI mixers, you will find something of value as the book covers both! Furthermore, it’s broken down into a simple three-tier arrangement: a general overview, live sound, and studio recording—including a nice bonus chapter on mic placement.

You’ll also find info on getting the most out of using your StudioLive with external devices like your laptop and iPhone, feedback elimination, remote iPad control, and recording your shows.

Here’s a couple freebies to get ya hooked:

• Sample 1
• Sample 2

With the publication of this tome, renowned engineer/producer Bobby Owsinski has cemented his stature as a dyed-in-the-wires StudioLive expert. After all, he wrote the book on it, right?

Click on over to Alfred Music’s site to grab a copy today.

The kind folks at Tiny Frog Media posted this not-tiny overview of the StudioLive 32.4.2AI! This is a pretty thorough overview, right down to the coverage of our new fader dust guards. Thanks much for doing this guys—keep it up!

Cheggitout!

Check it out—here’s Dave Bryce, showing you the best way to set up your Temblor T10 Subwoofer in your studio. While a lot of subwoofer marketing verbiage talks about “room-shaking” bass, the fact is that’s not all hype. Subwoofers REALLY DO shake the room, and can resonate the environment at specific frequencies, creating sounds that aren’t actually coming from your speakers. This makes mixing critical low-end frequencies impossible, as you aren’t hearing an accurate representation of what you’ve recorded.

The solution is to systematically test your sub in YOUR environment, and work out the kinks to get the most accurate-sounding configuration possible. The Temblor T10 makes this very easy, and Dave is here to help. Take a look!

For more on the Temblor T10 subwoofer, click here.

[This just in from Shane Simpson of Express AV / Steele Creek Studios! These guys are using just about every product we make. I, for one, am impressed!]

In my opinion, PreSonus is the most forward-thinking company in the industry! They care not only about functionality, but also about workflow, ease of use, and cost! If you run a live production company or a recording studio, PreSonus offers many cost-effective solutions to our every-day needs. When it comes to signal flow, pre-amps, user-friendly layout, EQs, versatility, and price, the StudioLive mixers are some of the best desks on the planet.

The StudioLive package stands out for me for many reasons:

1. They ship with a complete (free) software package for recording, mixing, and controlling the mixer! You won’t see other companies doing that!
2. They include a version of Smaart in their Universal Control software! Smaart is one of the best Real Time Analyzers (RTAs) in the business. Smaart software is usually very expensive by itself, but comes free as part of Universal Control Software with every StudioLive desk! Allowing you to visually monitor your house and monitor mixes! Smaart also comes with a great setup tool that allows you to calibrate your speakers.
3. The Studio One Digital Audio Workstation software (a version of which is also included free with every StudioLive desk) is fast becoming the industry standard DAW! Other DAWs are dropping like flies while engineers are discovering the great sound and workflow features of Studio One. Studio One is lightweight (meaning it uses less computer hardware resources) and it’s very fast! That would make it worth switching for me, but Studio One just sounds better. Clean, clear, and awesome! I now prefer it over the other majors.
4. The Capture software is the easiest multi-track recording software you will ever use! Enable the tracks you want to record and press the record button, it’s that simple.
5. One of the things that really floored me was that the new AI-series Studiolive mixers have an “A/B” button on every channel on the desk! That means two separate Fat Channel settings for every channel on the board! Let’s say you are mixing a live show and one band member plays acoustic guitar and mandolin. You can have two seperate EQ and compression settings for the guitar and the mandolin, by just A/B switching between the two.

We received a pair of PreSonus Sceptre studio monitors a few weeks ago—Wow! I never thought a co-axial monitor would even work, let-alone be some of the best sounding I have ever heard! They sound like monitors several times their cost, clean and powerful! That is not to discount the Eris series monitors, as they are awesome as well. Our local PreSonus rep demoed a set of Eris for us, and although we wound up with the Sceptres, the Eris blew us away for sounding so good at that price.

We have also been using the PreSonus Monitor Station; man is this thing cool! It makes switching between adjustable audio sources and monitor sets a breeze—we have our subs on one of the outputs, so we can bring them in or out with the touch of a button. The built-in talk-back mic is awesome, and the adjustable Dim feature is really cool as well.

Using the Presonus HP60 headphone amp has been very helpful to us as well. We were using a diffferent brand before we got the HP60, and we were not very happy with it. The HP60 is very clean with lots of headroom.

We also use the AudioBox 22vsl, which has been a great portable interface. We look forward to acquiring an ADL-series preamp (or two), some new A.I. series mixers, a set of Eris near-field monitors, a Temblor T10 Subwoofer, PreSonus StudioLive speaker cabs for our live production, and all the other goodies PreSonus has to offer. PreSonus is a great company that cares about its customers. Our PreSonus rep came to our shop and spent two days with us educating us on PreSonus products and getting to know our needs and our business so he could better serve us and help us grow. He offered invaluable information and insight and showed us how PreSonus products can help us succeed as a business.

Thanks, PreSonus. We appreciate a company that cares enough to spend time with a small company like us—keep on doing what you are doing: Providing us with useful, innovative products, and the help and know-how to implement them.

Dave Williams
Senior Audio Engineer
Steele Creek Studios / Express AV