Yes, I’m sure some of you are looking at that title and thinking “But isn’t the Winter NAMM show in January?” – and you would be right. But here at PreSonus, we’re already starting to get stuff ready for the show about six weeks ahead of the date. Yep, so much for the holiday season…

There’s an old music biz joke that the acronym NAMM stands for Not Available, Maybe May (or even less kindly, Maybe Movember). We took the decision a while back not to show stuff unless it was actually ready to ship, and we’re trying to stick to that, though sometimes when you have some wonderfully cool piece of technology in development it is really hard to resist the temptation to show it off. This time round we have Studio One 2.0 to show of course, and the new AudioBox VSL range, but we’re currently looking at the other stuff we have in engineering and evaluating how ready it is, and how best to debut it if it is indeed ready for prime time.

I’m pretty happy to say that I think we’ve got a couple of really cool things that we should be able to introduce at the show, so for the next weeks my head will be buried in technical notes and slideshows figuring out just how it all works and preparing to show it off. Cant wait!

A great question came in via Twitter this morning, and I thought the answer was worth sharing with everyone. I was asked how GarageBand owners should demonstrate proof-of-purchase in order to qualify for our Studio One Crossgrade offer, as GarageBand is often bundled with a Mac upon purchase.

The answer is to take a screenshot of your registered applications list including GarageBand, and send it to us. In case you don’t know where to find this information, (its in the system profiler, and who ever needs to mess around in there?) I’ve taken the liberty of assembling this handy li’l guide. Click to embiggen any screenshots.

1. Click “About This Mac” from the Apple Menu.

2. In the dialogue that pops up, click “More Info…” The System Profiler will appear.

3. In the left column, scroll down to “Applications,” under “Software.” Click here.

4. In the main System Profiler window, scroll down until you find “GarageBand.”

5. Press Command+Shift+3 (all at once) to take a screenshot. It will be saved to your desktop.

6. Send this screenshot to crossgrade@PreSonus.com to qualify for your discount, and we’ll send you a coupon allowing you to purchase Studio One Professional 2 for $299 USD!

If you’re not familiar with Transient Detection, the first thing you need to know is that it’s not about finding the homeless. You’re thinking of a hobometer. Forget that. Transient Detection, in the DAW sense, is about grabbing the louder, pokier bits in your wave form. Now sure, you can do that with your eyes and ears, despite the creeping tinnitus you likely have by now, but what’s important is what you do WITH these Transients once they’ve been detected. Grab these os and 1s by their digital little collarbones and bend them to your will! But why?

Because drummers have substance abuse issues. Let’s say you spent EONS on your snare tuning and mic placement, and it sounds like a squib in a squnich. Then the drum-dum shows up reeking of cheap patchouli oil, tail and sticks dragging. You get the take, but it’s sloppy, and said drummer is all “THAT WAS THE ONE, MAN!”

The advantages of Transient Detection begin with the ability to grab those late-but-great-sounding snare hits and snap ’em to grid. Just make sure no analog purists are looking. You’ll end up with pixel-perfect snare whacks—if you like. The quantization is scalable; you can render the performance TR-909 mechanized, or leave some natural looseness, or set it somewhere in-between.

Now that you know what this technology has to offer, let’s consult with another aweseomesauce OBEDIA video on the how.

Good news everyone! If you buy (or upgrade to) Studio One 2 Producer or Pro before the end of 2011, you’re entitled to some free training from OBEDIA!

OBEDIA  is a rad company that ‘s all about making your gear work FOR you instead of against you. “Obedient media,” see what they did there?  Their training is fun, concise, and above all informative. It makes even the expert-level functionality of the software easy-to-understand. OBEDIA videos have mined all the fun of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and all the information of Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos,” and compressed it all into sparkly 6-minute infotainment diamonds.

Click here to REGISTER (that’s important) and for more info…
http://www.obedia.com/presonus/

Brad tricked me.  He sent me this vid titled “Steve Vai Hand on Heart – Carvin DC400 PreSonus Studio One.” I got all excited, and clicked the link, and it started to play, and I was all “HOLY CRAP NO ONE TOLD ME WE SIGNED UP STEVE VAI.” Then the camera panned back from the guitar, and I realize it’s PreSonus artist Phil LaBarge! And not only does Phil play like Steve Vai, but he sounds like Steve Vai, thanks in no small part to the painstaking amp and cabinet re-creation algorithms of Ampire, the amp modeling package included in Studio One.

So, I guess it’s not all Brad’s fault. Our software engineers had a lot to do with it; listen for yourself! Sonically, it’s all here: buttery, polyunsaturated, gently delayed 80’s tubey-tone that makes me want to head down to the beach to practice my Karate Kid crane kicks.

With Ampire, you can fool your fans and have them thank you for it. Where else does that happen?! Thanks, Phil!

Brad tricked me.  He sent me this vid titled “Steve Vai Hand on Heart – Carvin DC400 PreSonus Studio One.” I got all excited, and clicked the link, and it started to play, and I was all “HOLY CRAP NO ONE TOLD ME WE SIGNED UP STEVE VAI.” Then the camera panned back from the guitar, and I realize it’s PreSonus artist Phil LaBarge! And not only does Phil play like Steve Vai, but he sounds like Steve Vai, thanks in no small part to the painstaking amp and cabinet re-creation algorithms of Ampire, the amp modeling package included in Studio One.

So, I guess it’s not all Brad’s fault. Our software engineers had a lot to do with it; listen for yourself! Sonically, it’s all here: buttery, polyunsaturated, gently delayed 80’s tubey-tone that makes me want to head down to the beach to practice my Karate Kid crane kicks.

With Ampire, you can fool your fans and have them thank you for it. Where else does that happen?! Thanks, Phil!

Those of you who love classic synths as much as I do probably know the name of Wolfgang Palm, the genius behind the revolutionary PPG synths, and later Waldorf. However very few people seem to know of the unique software instrument he designed a few years ago called Plex. It’s been one of my favourite virtual instruments for years, allowing the creation of wonderfully organic yet unique sounds via a drag & drop palette.

Unfortunately the commercial version was discontinued some time ago, but I just found out that he’s now brought it back as a free download! Unfortunately for MacOS users it’s Windows only, but if you are a Windows user it’s definitely worth getting. Grab it at http://plex.hermannseib.com/

Y’know, even after 25 years in the professional music business, and many tours and records with great musicians etc. I still got a huge thrill when Andy Gill called me on the phone this morning.

Andy Gill…! Andy Gill!
Probably my favourite guitarist of all time. Funny thing was, I even playing Gang of Four’s I Party All the Time when he called.

gillmusic.com | The production and studio site of Andy Gill Gang of Four.

How did I miss the Made with Studio One group on Soundcloud until now? Standout tracks so far are Drachmae’s Handiworks and Luis Toniolo’s Second Thoughts. Nice work guys.

I’m currently listening through an Audiobox 44 VSL and a pair of Event Opal monitors that I’ve borrowed courtesy of the lovely people at Hyperactive in Germany. I am very hard to please when it comes to monitors, but I have to say, I really, really love these speakers. I don’t think I’ve ever heard monitors that are so clear and so powerful right across the frequency range. Quite remarkable. They aren’t cheap, and I already have some very nice monitors, but…