Pro Audio: Sony Creative Software News: September 2007
September 10, 2007
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Interested in writing for us? Click here. Also join us at 
for contests and further news. Thanks for visiting!
Pro Audio: Introducing Vegas Pro 8
The Vegas Pro 8 collection is coming soon! A significant upgrade from version 7, Vegas Pro 8 software provides precise control over DV, HDV, and XDCAM projects through powerful tools for professional video, audio, and DVD creation.
Vegas Pro 8 new features include:
- ProType titling technology
- Multicamera workflow tools
- Sony AVCHD read and write support
- 32-bit floating point video processing for greater color depth
- Digital signage-style video editing
- And much more…
The Vegas Pro 8 collection will be shown at IBC 2007 in Amsterdam beginning today and will be available for purchase from Sony Creative Software as well as retailers worldwide September 10, 2007. Learn More
New! Two Cinescore Theme Packs
Just announced at IBC 2007 today in Amsterdam, Hyperculture: New Media Soundtracks and Urban 24/7: City Soundscapes are two new Theme Packs that add a total of 20 distinctive new Themes to the Cinescore music production system, thus delivering thousands of new options for generating unique, royalty-free music.
Urban 24/7: City Soundmaps delivers the audio experience of a major metropolitan cityscape directly into your studio. Cue audiences to react to inner city scenes with royalty-free music maps that are as rich in character as the locations they represent. From block party action to intimate nightclub atmospheres, Urban 24/7 reflects the true diversity of the public and private spaces we use to conduct modern life.
Reflecting the range of the category with the diversity of its content, Hyperculture is the ideal Theme Pack for documenting the New Media experience, blending genres in proportions controlled directly by the end user. Open one of the ten Themes on Hyperculture and create perfectly integrated music by working intuitively with an intriguing set of easy to understand controls. Jazz and symphonic backdrops, rock, pop, hip-hop, electronica, world music and expansive cinematic forms only begin to document the variety found within the Hyperculture Theme Pack. With Hyperculture, producers can easily merge authentic sounds from the global village in ways that resonate with the true spirit of any project.
Assembling and creating a CD in ACID
by Craig Anderton
These songs are about to be burned to CD. The Track markers indicate the start of each track; the marker for Track 3 starts at the beginning of a crossfade between Track 2’s end and Track 3’s start. Note that in the Clip Properties window, the ACID type is One-Shot.
When I want to create a Red Book audio CD, I usually reach for Sony CD Architect software—it’s simple and fast. But ACID software incorporates similar technology so you can assemble and burn CDs within the program. Although you can use this capability to burn a single project to CD, you can also assemble an entire album of tunes.
Choosing the songs
All songs must have 16-bit resolution with a sample rate of 44.1kHz, so convert if needed. Then, drag each song into its own track. If the Beatmapper wizard appears, click on No (unless you want the songs to be beat-mapped so that they’re all at the same tempo). To verify the songs are at their original tempos, check the Properties for each one and make sure the ACID Type says “One-Shot.”
Arranging and spacing
To have the time ruler at the bottom of the track view display hours:minutes:seconds, go View > Time Ruler > Audio CD Time. Also make sure that “Show Time Ruler” is checked. This makes it easy to see the CD’s elapsed time.
Although the standard space between songs for CDs is 2 seconds, sometimes more space lets an album “breathe” more between cuts. Drag the songs on their tracks to create the correct sequence and desired time between cuts; do crossfades by fading out one track as another fades in.
To set a precise time between songs, set the end of one song at the same time as the start of the next one. Place the cursor where they join, and go Insert > Time. Enter a value in minutes / seconds / milliseconds in the box that appears. Continued
Craig Anderton (on Gibson digital Les Paul guitar) is currently performing with Public Enemy’s Brian Hardgroove (drums) in the power hard rock duo EV2. And yes, he’s having a great time doing it.
Tech tip: creating exciting text elements with the new ProType Titler in Vegas Pro 8
by Gary Rebholz
For everyone who has ever wished for more powerful titling tools in Vegas software, Vegas Pro 8 software features the brand new ProType Titler. This powerful new title generator gives you the tools you need to present compelling and endlessly creative titles to your viewers. In this article, we’ll take a basic look at the ProType Titler and teach you how to get started so that you can begin using the tool immediately. Although we’ll save the detailed discussion of the entire tool set that we can’t go into here for another time, we will take a quick look at some of those features so that you can get a taste for them.
The ProType Titler is integrated inside Vegas Pro 8 software as a media generator. To find it, click the Media Generators tab in the window docking area. If the tab does not appear in the window docking area, choose View | Media Generators to open the window.
In the list on the left of the Media Generators window you see all of the standard generators such as Solid Color, Noise Texture, Color Gradient, and so on. Vegas Pro 8 software features a new item in the list: ProType Titler. Select ProType Titler from the list on the left.
As usual, the area on the right shows you thumbnails of presets that you can add to your project to get you started. I prefer to start with a blank ProType Titler event and go from there. To do this, drag the Empty preset and drop it into the timeline. This adds a new event to your timeline and simultaneously opens the ProType Titler window. Continued
Gary Rebholz is the training manager for Sony Creative Software. Gary produces the popular Seminar Series training packages for Vegas, ACID Pro, and Sound Forge software. He is also co-author of the book Digital Video and Audio Production. Gary has conducted countless hands-on classes in the Sony Creative Software training center, as well as at tradeshows such as the National Association of Broadcasters show.
Pro Audio: SOUNDFIELD INTRODUCES DSF-1 MUSIC SURROUND MIC SYSTEM
September 10, 2007
Pro Audio: SOUNDFIELD INTRODUCES DSF-1 MUSIC SURROUND MIC SYSTEM
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 2007: During AES 2007 in New York, U.K.
microphone manufacturer SoundField will introduce the DSF-1 music surround
music mic system designed just for music recording. Building upon the
commercial success of the DSF-2 Broadcast Mic System, the DSF-1 Music
Surround Mic System incorporates SoundField’s unique technology that enables
the high-resolution capture of ambient or image critical music events that
must ultimately fit a variety of delivery formats - from the traditional
stereo to esoteric multi-channel formats. The DSF-1 can deliver mono,
stereo, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 and B format, the archival medium for future
formats, all without ever leaving the digital domain. The SoundField DSF-1
eliminates the struggle recording engineers face finding a simple,
easy-to-use microphone system and technique that avoids the phase error
problems associated with all other multi-mic or multi-channel microphone
systems.
The DSF-1, which is comprised of a SoundField microphone and a digital
output preamp/processor, interfaces seamlessly with recording industry
standard hardware and protocols. In addition to selectable 48/96/192kHz
output sample rates, the DSF-1 can also output audio at the CD mastering
standard of 44.1kHz, as well as 88.2kHz and 176.4kHz. Both word clock input
and output are provided as standard. Like the DSF-2, the DSF-1 Music
Surround Mic System allows users to: change the microphone pickup pattern
remotely from the preamp; effectively rotate and invert the mic without
physically handling it; precisely adjust the angle or width of the final
output in stereo or surround; and deliver the final output in mono, stereo,
Mid-Side, or surround sound. SoundField proprietary software called Surround
Zone(r) is available for use with all common DAWs, such as Digidesign Pro
Tools, Steinberg Nuendo, and SADiE, so that all of these adjustments can be
made in post-production. The DSF-1 is a perfect solution for capturing
performances by artists of international standing in world-class concert
venues where imaging of the recording is important.
To learn more about the DSF-1, or SoundField’s other new products, including
the DSF-3 and SPS200, visit booth #851, where SoundField can be found
throughout the AES convention.
TransAudio Group, founded by industry veteran Brad Lunde, has quickly become
the premier U.S. importer/distributor and/or U.S. sales and marketing
representative for high-end audio. Success hinges on TransAudio providing
dealers and end users with a higher standard of product expertise and
support far beyond the norm.
www.transaudiogroup.com
PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT US AT AES 2007 NEW YORK AT BOOTH #851
Pro Audio: Trebas Institute is holding an open house Tuesday, September 11th at 6:30pm.
September 10, 2007
Pro Audio: Trebas Institute is holding an open house Tuesday, September 11th at 6:30pm.
Trebas Institute is holding an open house Tuesday, September 11th at 6:30pm.
If you are interested in attending, please let me know and I will reserve a
space for you.
You may RSVP by calling 416-966-3066 ext 223, or online at:
http://www.trebas.com/ads/openhouse/rsvp/
If you have any questions please give me a call at 416-966-3066 ext 223 or
you may email me at edward@trebas.com.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours truly,
Pro Audio: APOGEE INTRODUCES DUET, PROFESSIONAL TWO-CHANNEL FIREWIRE AUDIO INTERFACE FOR THE MAC
September 7, 2007
Pro Audio: APOGEE INTRODUCES DUET, PROFESSIONAL TWO-CHANNEL FIREWIRE AUDIO INTERFACE FOR THE MAC
PRO AUDIO: METRIC HALO IS SOULIVE!
September 7, 2007
PRO AUDIO: METRIC HALO IS SOULIVE!
HOPEWELL JUNCTION, NEW YORK - AUGUST 2007: To say that musician, engineer
and producer Alan Evans is a Metric Halo power user might be an
understatement. Evans first ran into company co-founders Joe and BJ
Buchalter while gigging around upstate New York, heard about their plans to
get into software development and manufacturing, and bought some of the
first Mobile I/O 2882+DSP units to become available - and they’ve been in
almost constant use ever since.
Over the years, Evans has discovered the versatility of the MIO 2882+DSP,
using them both in the studio and on the road. “Right now I have the three
of them in my studio. I use Logic Pro 7 and I’ve been using Pro Tools with
them, via the M-Audio Lightbridge. I’m kind of old school. All the outputs
go to my console.”
The audio quality of recordings made through the Metric Halo boxes never
fails to impress, he reports. “Up until very recently I’d never used any
outboard gear at all with them. I would literally just plug some microphones
into the MIOs and hit record. Then I’d go into the studio, where we’d be
mixing on an API or a Neve, and we’d bring up the faders and it would just
sound awesome. At every studio that I’ve ever gone into with tunes or tracks
that I’ve recorded on them the engineers are always floored, hands down,
every time.”
A multi-instrumentalist, Evans has been the drummer in Soulive, a funk-jazz
band he formed in Woodstock, New York with his bass-playing brother Neal and
guitarist Eric Krasno, since 1999. Recording and playing live with a variety
of guest musicians over the years, Soulive has built a substantial fan base
while touring as a headliner and with bands such as the Rolling Stones, Dave
Matthews Band, The Roots, Common and John Mayer.
Evans took his MIOs on the road several years ago to record a live album,
“Soulive (Live),” for the Blue Note label. “I had three boxes with me, and
we took up all 24 channels. That side of the application is awesome. It’s
just amazing for live recording. I’ve never had a problem with it at all.”
The band, now a quartet with the addition of singer Toussaint, is on a
month-long U.S. tour through the end of September. This time, Evans is using
a single MIO unit to record the shows, which will be available as mp3
downloads through Snocap within a couple of days of each performance. The
eight-track method worked well on a series of shows in 2004 that were made
available for download via Live Nation’s Instant Live platform, he says, and
was inspired by old school jazz and other live recordings.
He elaborates, “We’ve been having a lot of success with stereo pairs; a pair
at the sound board, some onstage mics, plus taking something off the board.
For the Instant Live thing we took a mono line off the front-of-house desk.
You’re usually just mixing in mono, so you get that dry, fat sound up the
middle then round it out with the ambience mics. So that’s the plan for this
tour. I’m really excited. Any time I can bring my stuff out I get pretty
psyched!”
The Metric Halo gear also got put to use on the band’s latest full-length,
“No Place Like Soul,” which was released at the end of July on the revived
Stax Records label. “A few of the tunes I cut at my studio here at home, and
at another spot, a house that we use up in Vermont. I took two of my I/Os
and did some tunes up there. Almost half the album was done with the Metric
Halo equipment.”
Between tours, Evans stays busy with production projects. “Whenever Soulive
isn’t on the road I try and chill out and work with some other bands. The
last group I did was Infernophonic, out of New Jersey. It’s classic rock,
like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. I did that in the house in Vermont with
the Metric Halo boxes. That came out great. And I have some other things
lined up for the end of this year and the beginning of next year.”
Based in New York’s Hudson Valley, Metric Halo provides the world with
high-resolution metering, analysis, recording and processing solutions with
award-winning software and hardware.
http://www.mhlabs.com
