PreSonus Blog

Tag Archives: Beards


It’s Ray Tantzen for #PreSonusFAMFriday

Every Friday we introduce you all to a PreSonus employee that’s not just here for the paycheck, but also here because they love and use PreSonus products outside of the office. Today’s feature currently holds the title of “Greatest Beard of All Time.” He knows everything there is to know about growing, grooming and maintaining a beard–it’s a lifestyle, not a choice for him. He also knows basically everything about the StudioLive Series III because he helped engineer them. Here’s Ray Tantzen!IMG_2849
How long have you worked for PreSonus?

Four years and six months.

What’s your official job title?
Senior Product Manager
What’s your favorite thing about your job?

Knowing products that I’ve worked on help wonderful artists create and perform.

What was the first 8 track, cassette, CD, digital download you purchased?

8 track was the Village People.
Cassette was Beastie Boys, Licensed to Ill.
CD was Micheal Jackson, Bad.
Digital Download was Pearl Jam, Man of the Hour.

Who’s your go to band or artist when you can’t decide on something to listen to?
Anything Chris Thile.

Everyone has a side gig, what’s yours?

Dad, Husband, Church sound mixer, Beard mastering.

What do you love about the StudioLive Series III?
What’s NOT to love 😉 The workflow is awesome. It’s super easy to just jump on and use. I also love having the different EQ and compressor models available. It adds a whole new layer to the sound. And of course there’s the multitrack SD Card recording! There’s no need to mess with a computer to record. They’re all available now and shipping worldwide!

What other products do you have?

I also have an RML 16AI, CS18AI, Studio One, Notion, AudioBox iOne, ADL600, HP4, and just got a Quantum Thunderbolt interface. I’m hoping to get some Sceptre monitors and ULT PA speakers soon.IMG_1931


Why did you choose the Series III as your favorite?

I love having a mixer as the centerpiece of my home studio and the StudioLive 24 is a perfect fit. It has a smaller footprint than the 32 but still has the split-layer fader workflow and is still a full 32-channels under the hood. I have it connected to my Mac Mini via AVB to also use as an interface for recording. Plus is sounds incredible and I can take it out for live gigs when needed. I’m also really looking forward to the stage boxes and DAW control coming later. That will be the cherry on top!

AND it’s shipping as of this week!

Tell us about the coolest thing you’ve done with PreSonus.

The most exciting event I’ve been involved with hands down has to be Deadmau5. He had a StudioLive 32.4.2AI for his touring system and on the most recent tour with the Cube 2.1 he had so much bass on stage that the FireWire cable in the computer would start to shake loose. When he found out the new Series III mixers had AVB he wanted to upgrade immediately. Since the Series III had just started shipping and he was in the middle of the tour we wanted to make sure things transitions to the new mixer smoothly. So I got on a plane and meet up with his crew in Seattle to help set up the new mixer and show him how to use it. The first night I sat behind the Cube so I was nearby in case something went wrong. The show went great and there were comments about the sound being even better with the Series III. The second night I got to enjoy the show from the audience and it was amazing! He has put together a great show and the sound and live mixing/performing he does was top notch.

What are you currently working on? What’s next for you?

I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you 😉 What I can talk about is the upcoming stage box solutions and DAW control for the Series III mixers. After that, you’ll just have to wait and see!

Got any tips for working with the mixer?
Spend a little extra time before your show to setup custom layouts on the fader User layer and Fat Channel User layer. This will really help to put what you care about most right where you ant them for faster and easier mixing.

Anything else you want to share?
The beard is real, I’ve had it for 10 years, there are actually some competing beards here at the office.

Connect with Ray on Social here:

Snapchat and Instagram: @stingray_1122
Twitter and Facebook: @stingray1122


Fluff from Guitarist Facts Chooses PreSonus Interfaces to Bring the Heavy

Fluff

[This just in from Fluff, AKA GuitaristFacts, who has an absolutely KILLER YouTube channel full of heavy metal riffage, gear demos, facial hair, and all the endeavors where the three coincide. He produces his videos as skillfully as produces his music, and he’s chosen some PreSonus gear to help him along the way. He was kind enough to share a few paragraphs about his recording tricks and experiences with PreSonus gear.]

Hello, my name is Ryan, but my friends call me “Fluff.” I make guitar-related gear demos on YouTube in my home studio for companies all over the world. Pickups, speakers, guitars, pedals, microphones, you name it. I also produce the occasional record and re-amp guitars for rock albums, and record about five days a week. For all of this work, I rely exclusively on couple of pieces PreSonus gear that I simply would be lost without.

I should probably mention that I try to capture every kind of guitar tone, from brutal to chiming. In order to produce a wide array of tones, I need an interface that offers flexible signal routing, low latency and high-quality instrument inputs, as well as low noise on the outputs. The PreSonus FireStudio Project is perfectly suited for all of these needs. Two instrument inputs, (I keep one set for guitar, one set for bass) loads of inputs and outputs and +48V power when needed to run my condenser microphone for when I do voice work. WIN!

I also use the PreSonus Studio Channel as my go-to mic preamp. The built-in EQ and compression make it extremely versatile for clean guitar tracks, vocals, huge distorted guitars, and bass cabinets. I am also a tube nut, and I find that replacing the stock tube (a high-gain tube with good midrange) with an inexpensive NOS 12AX7 JAN tube (usually about $30 on eBay) can really round off the harsh highs I sometimes experience while recording high-gain guitars, and fattens up my signal prior to going into my FireStudio Project.

When it comes time to record, I use a Heil PR30 about 90% of the time for guitars, as that mic has a very flat frequency response. Knowing this, I can get the microphone placed in the ballpark (usually around the area where the dust cap meets the speaker cone, on-axis) and then use the Studio Channel’s EQ to fine tune the highs and mids (I typically boost about 2dB in the 3K range with a medium Q) until I find a nice sonic pocket for the guitars to sit in the mix. If I want to add a bit of flavor, I will add a Shure SM57 plugged directly into the FireStudio Project and then bring the volume up on the SM57 to add some bite and ‘oomph’ for palm mutes on the distorted guitars.

As for the aforementioned re-amping, I plug straight into the FireStudio Project and adjust the input level so I am seeing an average -16dB, with peaks no louder than -12dB. This way I have some wiggle room when outputting the DI through my re-amping box (I use a Radial ProRMP), as sometimes I need a stronger signal to go over a long lead or something like that.

I am asked quite often which interface people should get when diving into home recording, and I always say PreSonus for two reasons: first, they have the computer driver experience that allows their products to work the first time, right out of them box, problem-free. Second, the customer service and support is outstanding. I found out first hand when I called about my 8-year-old FirePod interface and was treated like I was in The Rolling Stones.

Seriously, why can’t more companies operate this way?

-Fluff

Twitter

YouTube