PreSonus Blog

Category Archives: Control Surfaces


Two new Studiolive CS18AI videos: AVB!

Here’s Ray geeking out in your favor—illustrating how to set up and network the StudioLive CS18AI using AVB and Direct Connect Ethernet. Enjoy!

Live Webcast Thursday, Sept. 24: Using the StudioLive CS18AI to Control Studio One

Don’t miss this Thursday’s PreSonus LIVE: Using the StudioLive CS18AI to Control Studio One!

 

Click here to watch or sign up for a calendar reminder.

CS18AI-Webcast

Get a $200 Instant Rebate When you Buy a StudioLive RM16AI Before June 30

RM16_Rebate_Digital_Flyer_05-01-15Until June 30, we’re offering $200 the purchase of the StudioLive RM16AI in the USA. No rebate forms, no mail-in anything, just money in your wallet. This is a similar offer to the $300-500 off we’re offering on the StudioLive AI Console mixers, which you can learn more about by clicking here.

Make no mistake—because we kinda did. The StudioLive RM16AI is a 32-channel mixer. While it boasts 16 analog XLR inputs on the face, (I bet your face only has 5) there’s another 16 digital inputs available under the hood that allow you to pipe in multi-channel audio from a workstation or laptop. This positions the RM16AI as an exceptional choice for a gigging band that makes heavy use use of backing tracks—a model that is becoming increasingly common. For example, Check out what Startisan has been doing with it:

 

Of course, since there’s no faders, you also get UC Surface control software (for Mac, Windows, and iPad), Capture 2, QMix AI, and Studio One Artist. The mixer additionaly features monstrous onboard Fat Channel DSP, Wi-Fi and wired networking—plus built-in AVB.  It’s a real powerhouse, despite an inability to adhere to long-established conventions of nomenclature. Click here to learn more about all that good stuff.

But perhaps coolest of ALL, and why this is such a good deal right now—the RM16AI is designed to be elegantly controlled by the StudioLive CS18AI moving fader Ethernet/AVB Control Surface, allowing complete hardware control of all mixer features.

Oh, and the StudioLive RM16AI is also one of Mix Magazine’s “Most Innovative Products of 2014.” We’re flattered and thankful for the recognition.

Click here to find a dealer!

Dawg Pound Studios Raises the Woof

[This just in from John Taglieri from Dawg Pound Studios!]

Hey there, I’m John Taglieri from Dawg Pound Studios. Based in Hanson, Massachusetts, our studio boasts a 200 square foot live room full of drums, vintage amps, a ’64 Hammond, and close to 30 mostly-vintage guitars and basses to choose from. Our control room is full of great digital and outboard gear to help make sure we capture the music as accurately as it is performed—and make it sound amazing. I’ve produced close to 20 CDs for myself and clients, and as an engineer/producer have had two Billboard charting CDs (a #74 and a #112), a #1 single on Amazon, a total of 11 top ten singles on Amazon & iTunes, as well as a Best-Selling Alternative EP on iTunes. The studio has been touted as having a great-sounding live room, and a control room that sounds true. What you hear at the mix area is what it sounds like out in the real world as well.

One thing I’m proud of is that we use a lot of PreSonus gear in the studio. When I had my studio at its old location in New Jersey, it was very piecemeal. I started really working with PreSonus when I moved the studio to Massachusetts three years ago. I did the studio build from scratch and wanted the best gear that I would feel comfortable with. The room didn’t exist, so I worked with an acoustic engineer to get the design right, got some help from Auralex to tune it, and then chose PreSonus for workflow, live room monitoring and control room mixing. Currently I’m using the following;

For my latest EP, Days Like These, we had a great and fun situation. We assembled top musicians from all over the country, including Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, Michelle Branch), Rich Redmond (Jason Aldean, Ludacris), Alan Bowers (Rachel Allyn), Chad Cunningham, as well as myself on drums. We also got Lee Turner (Darius Rucker) & Eric Ragno (Kiss, Alice Cooper) on keys and Greg Juliano on bass. Keith LuBrant, Joe Gilder & myself handled guitars, and we used writers from the US & Australia.

Tracks were cut in eight different studios around the country, as well as at Dawg Pound Studios, and on all different DAWs. We then used DropBox to get the .WAVs to Dawg Pound Studios, where Studio One Professional 2 was used to assemble and mix all the tracks. Dozens of tracks were done in-house as well as sent in. All songs started at my studio with acoustic guitar, vocals, and click tracks, and ended with final mixes. The workflow was effortless. Working with Studio One and my FaderPort, mixing was a great experience. I had just added the FaderPort to the system and I can’t tell you how much it streamlines mixing. It makes subtle mix, pan and FX moves far easier than using my trackpad. I run a tricked-out Mac Mini with a Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad. We must have done something right because the EP debuted on release week on the Billboard Independent Album chart at #112, which was quite an honor.

Running PreSonus in my studio has brought my studio up to a level of quality that I can truly be proud of. I am putting out sounds rivaling any other studio thanks to the quality of my inputs, the workflow, the ease of mixing, true quality stock plugins, great preamps, and I know my clients love the custom monitoring setup in the live room during tracking. Stop by the studio’s website and Facebook and check us out!

 

Great Scott; The FaderPort!

Seattle’s Brandon Scott has been saying nice things about us for a couple years now. Beneath his infinitely approachable demeanor, the guy is completely PreSonuCore. His home studio is almost completely draped in familiar silver and blue; a rack-mount roll-call finds the AudioBox 1818VSL, FireStudio Mobile, Studio One, and now the FaderPort all present and accounted for. The FaderPort is Scott’s latest acquisition, and he’s already singing the praises of portable power placed in the ‘Port’s petite profile—check out the cool video he made on the matter, below.

Hey Brandon – now that you’ve had some time to learn to love the FaderPort, try taking it away for a week and see what it does to your workflow. I DARE YOU!

Brandon’s been staying busy in true Scott form:

“Of late, I’m still writing some newer songs, recording some cover songs, doing a lot of video, and of course being a new daddy to a 7-month old has been challenging, but also amazing all at the same time. That’s probably my best job ever over anything else.”

“I’ve been doing a lot of mixing projects for people, of course using the amazingly beautiful Studio One. I’ve also gotten into video lately, I use Studio One to render any needed audio effects, and then bounce it back out to Final Cut or Adobe Premiere—and it lines up perfectly!”

“I want to thank you all for what you do for someone small like me. I appreciate you all at PreSonus and love you and Rick. Next time you all are out in Seattle let me know so we can hook up!”

Follow Brandon Scott on Twitter.

DJ Craig Wood Finds Faderport, Creative Utopia Follows

Ain’t no party like a Craig Wood party

[This just in from DJ Craig Wood, thorough wordsmith and PreSonus advocate. He recently got a FaderPort, and apparently it has changed his life. I recommend going to the kitchen for a minute and making a sandwhich, as in the Twitter-era, this is War and Peace. Not to mean it’s long. I mean it’s a literary classic!]
Hey PreSonus! Below you’ll find my review of the omnipotent controller that is the PreSonus FaderPort. Feel free to publish, post, tattoo, etc!
Having spent several years working “in the box” with Apple Logic 9, my production partner began to view it as a bit of stagnant piece of software in terms of both its functionality as well as its ability to get our creative juices flowing. We decided to jump ship to PreSonus Studio One after having been told by many of our colleagues that we’d be in for a treat. To sweeten the deal, the timing of our new purchase coincided with a PreSonus promotion offering a FREE FaderPort. After spending many hours over the course of a week with this baby, I’m wondering how I could ever live without it.
After many years of hands-on time playing guitar and DJing, there’s nothing I appreciate more than being able to incorporate a bit of tactile response within my little basement studio setup. There’s something refreshing about being able to press the keys of my MIDI keyboard, hit the pads on my Maschine MK2 or turn the knobs of my beloved Virus B module. PreSonus’ FaderPort has certainly found a spot in my “Hall of Things to Touch in a Non-Creepy Way.”
Installation
What installation? Seriously. I simply connected the USB and AC power and I was running! I couldn’t get any easier than this. In the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t try FaderPort with my other DAWs, Ableton Live 9 and Logic 9/10… and why would I? Studio One is the sh*t! But I digress.
On the Surface
The controller itself is easy enough to figure out, and comes with the essentials which I will conveniently breakdown in bullet-point fashion to prevent a wall of text from forming:

  • A touch-sensitive, silky-smooth motor-controlled (YES, motor-controlled!) fader that makes about as much noise as rubbing your hands together (you’re doing that right now, aren’t you?).
  • The standard array of transport/channel buttons (Play, Mute, Solo, etc.) in addition to a bonus “User” button to define your own actions and a “Shift” button to obtain secondary functionality with the transport buttons.
  • A row of buttons dedicated to quickly access different window views (goodbye “F” keys!).
  • A row of buttons dedicated to navigating the tracks of your mixer…that consequently results in your motorized fader adjusting to match the volume of the respective track. In other words, less screen starting and more fader moving!
  • An “endless” pot control for the respective track channel’s balance.
In Practice
Let me make this perfectly clear: if you own Studio One, you need to own FaderPort. Personally, I like to work fast when inspiration strikes. Being able to keep one hand on my trackpad with the other hand on FaderPort has me working at speeds that would make the Flash bow his head in shame. The ability to quickly access interface windows and physically adjust the volume on any given track is an incredible time-saver. The buttons have a satisfying”click” to them.
Parting Words
While reading this review you may feel as though my tone is a bit shill. I assure you I’m no salesman, just an excited music maker who has taken a strong liking to a simplistically brilliant piece of hardware that works straight out of the box. By eliminating the need to constantly hunt for keyboard shortcuts, I can apply that time saved to the one thing every producer–no matter how famous–strives for: more opportunity to be creative.
About the Guy Who Wrote This
Craig Wood is a nerd who has surrounded himself with technology and music throughout his 32 years on this Earth. He’s one half of the EDM production group that goes by Stepchild. (Shill: Debut EP available on Heavy Artillery Recordings!) He enjoys heavy basslines, drop-kicking mannequins, and writing review bios in the third person. He will not rest until he unleashes his revenge against the six-fingered man.

#TeamPreSonus Spotlight: Spud Too Tight of The Producer’s Corner!

[We decided it best to give some recognition to our more vocal advocates—and what better way than via a blog series?]

Who are you, where are you, and what do you do?

My name is Spud Too Tight based out of Minneapolis, MN, I’m a producer/keyboardist and host of The Producer’s Corner with Spud Too Tight—A celebrity-driven music production & tech talk show since 2009. It’s the new hot spot where Billboard chart-topping, award-winning, Grammy-award winning & platinum-selling icons sit down and discuss their craft. I’ve interviewed some of the biggest names in the business such as George Duke, Jeff Lorber, Larry Graham, Brian Culbertson, Gerald Albright, Fourplay, Marion Meadows, Gloria Loring, Mindi Abair, Joyce Cooling, DJ BattleCat, The Justice League, Cool & Dre, and a long list of others.

I am also the Inventor of V.S.C. (Virtual Studio Configuration) A new studio wiring configuration that allows musicians to stream audio directly from any DAW (PC or MAC) or analog setup over the Web in stereo without any feedback or audio looping issues. I use WebRTC chat services that provide real-time communication. As musicians, we can run into obstacles preventing us from making rehearsal or recording sessions that may require us to fly out of town. The traditional days of playing music over the Internet would consist of either using your internal microphone on your laptop or desktop, or using a USB microphone. It’s an instant turn-off to collaborate online effectively without good audio clarity. As musicians, we need to be able to hear what’s going on in the song. If we are going to collaborate online, we need to be able to hear the low end of the bass, some nice punch from the midrange and brightness from the high end of the mix. When your studio is configured with V.S.C., you will be able to stream and monitor music online directly through your studio. I also use various screen sharing and remote desktop control programs to give me more of an interactive experience working as a virtual musician.

 

How were you introduced to PreSonus?

I had the pleasure of chopping it up 1×1 with legendary music producer Teddy Riley. He introduced me to PreSonus and Studio One. Teddy Riley is my biggest influence as a keyboardist, producer and tech expert, so I was all ears when he started sharing with me what PreSonus had to offer! Our conversation got really HEAVY on production and engineering—and at that time, I was using another DAW for all of my work but I wasn’t truly happy or inspired to create. After my conversations with Teddy, I was eager to make a big change including switching from Mac to PC as well, which was a hard sell. So I purchased Studio One Pro and Teddy advised me for starters to first create some generic test tracks, tracking with my hardware and software MIDI instruments. He recommended to quantize them and listen to the timing of tracks on playback and compare it with my other DAW. The difference was night and day and worlds apart. I was immediately sold!

What PreSonus software/hardware do you use and for what purpose?

I use Studio One Professional for all of my tracking, recording, editing, and sound design projects. It is my main platform for all of my musical ideas. Studio One has changed the way I create as a composer. I feel more inspired as a musician than ever before. I have over 100+ plug-ins so the drag-and-drop functionality and the search bar in the browser for my VST’s and samples really helps me narrow the search down. The automatic time stretching feature and Melodyne integrated right in the DAW: priceless! I also use the PreSonus FaderPort to assist with my editing and recording tasks. I love having the layout and the feel of the FaderPort, excellent build quality, quick access to my Mix, Edit, and Browser windows, and adding a motorized fader was the icing on the cake! I also converted A.Rapheal, (film and music producer as well as my beta tester for V.S.C.)  from another DAW over to Studio One and he hasn’t looked back since.

What’s so great about PreSonus, anyhow?

I see nothing but passion behind the extraordinary PreSonus products. From interfaces, mic preamps and headphone distribution amplifiers, and now the new Eris & Sceptre studio monitors, finally we have the perfect tools for musicians and recording engineers created and built by some of the most prolific tech experts, musicians, and recording engineers. It’s always exciting to see new product releases and it’s so easy to recommend PreSonus to other musicians… a true one-stop shop. I look forward to their new lines in the future!

Where can our readers learn more about you online?

http://www.spudtootight.com   

https://twitter.com/spudtootight   

http://www.linkedin.com/in/spudtootight

Damon Humphrey, Up All Night on Studio One Professional 2.5

[This just in from Damon Humphrey, who was kind enough to offer insightful As to our run-of-the-mill Qs regarding his company, After Midnight Productions—that’s AMP, to you.]
Hey PreSonus! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences! If you need anything, please let me know. Thanks again.
  • How and when did you get involved in music? How long has AMP been running?
 I got involved in music by accident actually, my friend—and now business partner—Sean Fields was always involved with music. He asked me how I would feel about starting up a music production company. Without any hesitation, I said yes! We came up with a plan, put together a demo, and earned enough money to go official in 2003.  I first started out doing the marketing and promotion, which led us to our first client. That’s when I got into producing!
  • What PreSonus stuff do you use?
Right now I use Studio One Professional 2.5, and I am using the PreSonus FaderPort.
  • What were you using before PreSonus, and why did you switch?
I was using FL Studio, which I still do now, ReWired, or I may track out and mix in Studio One, which I do a lot of. I’ve used Reason, Sonar and Logic as well. But feel that it is much easier to do what I want to do in Studio One without struggling to do it. To get where I want to go, there are simply fewer steps. Studio One speeds up the process.
  • What are some of your favorite features?
My favorite features? Hmm, there are too many to mention, LOL! But, I really like the drag-and-drop feature, without multiple shortcut keys. I also like being able to move around in the DAW without thinking too hard, by not having to go through several menus and sub-menus. For example, I never bothered with bussing in FL Studio, because it was too complicated. I would end up loading up plug-ins on each channel. In Studio One, setting up the bus is simple. It’s just a right click, and select Add Bus for Selected Tracks.  I can then add a single instance of the Compressor to the whole bus.  That is a definite time saver, and also works with sends. Thanks to Studio One, I now have a better understanding of the way effects chains work.
  • Any tips’n’tricks or production secrets you can share?
Well, this can be implemented in all DAWS, but, for those who have had issues with their drums not sounding punchy, and full: stacking is the key. Also, knowing how to compress and EQ with minimal settings. In other words, less is more when it comes to those type of things. Taking your time to learn the DAW without rushing is the key to getting great sound out of the software. Know that when your drums start clipping, back off a little, that will make a huge difference. ALSO—and this is a big tip I am starting to do it myself—listen to a reference mix of your favorite artist and try and get your beat or song to sound just as clear and loud as that, with out over-doing it… Keeping in mind what I mentioned before: less is more.

 

 

Siegfried Meier on PreSonus and Beach Road Studios

[This just in from Siegfried Meier at the stunning Beach Road Studios!]

Pretty!

Hey PreSonus team!

At Beach Road, we use a few pieces of PreSonus gear that are in regular use each and every day. At the forefront of our monitoring rig, we use a Central Station that has a custom built PSU by none other than rad PreSonus audio dude Chad Kelly. The unit was awesome before, but has been made more awesome by this simple upgrade. We also make heavy use of a FaderPort during all of our tracking and mixing to have some hands-on control when setting up the sessions.
Furthermore, we’ve also got a mobile recording rig that is comprised in part by a pair of PreSonus Digimax LT units, which are used to capture anything from drums to guitars to vocals on our remote sessions. The mic pres in the LT’s are fantastic, (as are all of the PreSonus pres,) and pack quite a punch in such a small 1U space. A PreSonus HP4 handles all of the headphone duties, since the amps are so blisteringly loud, and the unit is über small and fits in well when trying to keep the load light on the road.
Studio One Professional 2  gets a lot of use as well. It’s used on our main rig for simple editing and mastering, as well as on our mobile rig for the same. We also keep it installed  on both our playback and recording rigs in our high-end mastering room for various tasks.

A Closer Look at Asskan Studios

This just in From Jean-Jaque in Aalen, Germany! He runs Asskan Studios, where many PreSonus products have found a caring home. He sent some photos for me to put on our Facebook album of user studio photos, and I instead found them completely blogworthy. Jean-Jaque shares a few words:

Asskan started as a little home recording project. But perfectionism led to a complete little studio, with all the stuff I need. The studio was finished just about 6 months ago.

I searched for a recording solution with a analog-like usage that’s covering a wide range of requirements. I wanted to record mobile, for example in good sounding rooms, I wanted to record bands live, and most of the time, use it in my studio. The solution was the StudioLive 16.4.2. It gives me many channels of recording, great neutral preamps, and the opportunity of mixing my monitors, all in just one device. The HP60 was the perfect extension—now I can give all members of the band what they need in live recording situations.

I also use several pieces of outboard gear, and I’m a total microphone freak. The studio is equipped with a full drum set, guitar amps and many instruments. The combination especially of vintage gear and modern recording gear is what I like. I’m a singer and guitarist myself and so I understand the wish of recording a real 412 guitar-cabinet and not via VST…. although I’m using VST instruments as well. 🙂

With Studio One I’ve found a classic, but easy-to-use DAW with many time-saving features. And the FaderPort adds ease to my fader adjustments. I do not like to do  fine adjustments via the mouse, but also I searched for a controller with just one single control.

What I’d like to have? The Studio Channel could be a good follower for my actual outboard preamps.  Maybe the ADL600?!

Some of my recordings:
– Big Fish Audio: The Black Kit 
– My Band: SevenLies

Photos by Andy Nowakowski