Pro Tools Tip Of The Day: How To Clean Up A Session

by Jesse Cannon on March 31, 2009 9:02 pm

In celebration of Musformations Data Loss Prevention Week, I have a tutorial on how to get your files down to the bare minimum when you need to transfer/back them up! You have finished mixing a song and the record is done but now you are left with a Pro Tools file of massive size! If you have not been consolidating and deleting files as you have been recording they can end up being 10 times or more the size they should be, wasting valuable Hard Disk space and money backing them up. I can often get a track with 15 GB down to 1.5-2.5 GB after performing these steps. These steps also enable you to easily recall a session or give it to another studio for further use NO MATTER WHAT AUDIO SOFTWARE THEY USE! This alleviates the headache of worrying about whether the next person working on the record can open your file. If they need to open it they can simply import all of your Audio Files and they will open. Click over the jump to read how to get your Pro Tools File to a more manageable size.

The Bent Shure SM 57 Trick

by Jesse Cannon on March 31, 2009 6:14 pm

Do you often have the problem of a drummer cramping your Drum Micing style with cymbals being to close to his drums? About a decade ago, I figured out how to never worry about this problem again. I unscrewed a Shure SM 57, bent it at a 90 degree angle and affixed some gaffers tape to keep it in place. Since then I have had the easiest time micing Snare Drums, Hi-Hats, and Toms with 57′s anytime I need to! There is no change in the sound or added noise, just hours of your life saved getting your mic under a Hi-Hat. Go to the jump to see how to do it!

Add Your Twitter To WeFollow.com

by Jesse Cannon on March 31, 2009 5:41 pm

More in our never ending posts about Twitter! We last told you about #hashtags and how to use them, now we are going to introduce you to another tool using those cool little things. Meet WeFollow.com and find out what to do with it after the jump.

Sample This: “Stop and Listen”

by ToddThomas on March 31, 2009 1:42 pm

With all our recent talk about samples, the more music we listen to, the more we’re finding awesome songs that people SHOULD sample and (unless we missed it) haven’t. Take for instance this garage jam by Shag called “Stop and Listen” – the opening guitar riff (it almost sounds like synth!) is tailor made for sampling. I found this track on the awesome The Pebble’s Box: Box of Trash, a collection of somewhat rare garage rock tunes from the 60′s. If anyone decides to use this sample, let us know!

Data Recovery: DiskWarrior Saved My Ass

by ToddThomas on March 31, 2009 11:00 am

Even as we were preparing for Data Loss Prevention Week here at Musformation, tragedy struck me close to home: out of nowhere, one of my external drives inexplicably refused to mount and was not recognizable to my computer (I believe Alanis Morissette would call this “Ironic“). I restarted the computer, checked the cables, tried on different computers, checked the forums online, called the company and no luck. Now while I TRY and practice what we preach on this site, one of my band’s newest (and fingers crossed) best songs was on said drive without a second backup (gasp!) Anyone who has ever had to face the data recovery “experts” knows that their pricing ($800 to POSSIBLY get your data back) is often akin to getting raped by some sort of large, hairy African beast in front of a ravenous crowd of your ex-girlfriends while waiting in line at a Brooklyn Post Office (ouch).

After hyperventilating for a few minutes and then peeling myself off the floor, I did some research and found out about a program called DiskWarrior. DiskWarrior operates a little differently than most programs because it tries to read your hard drive’s old directories and create new ones (the directories are often what gets damaged on these drives). Disk Warrior is not cheap (around $100) but it is FAR cheaper than data recovery and if it works for you only one time, it is still WELL worth it.

What A Modern Artist/Band Needs To Be: Learning From Deadmau5

by Jesse Cannon on March 31, 2009 10:59 am

Whether you like dance music or not you have to admire the wave that has crashed over the scene, that is Deadmau5. It is by no coincidence that he has become one of the hugest artists in this genre. He has embraced many of the modern ideas of what a band should be in the modern age and it has paid off. After the jump we will go over what you can learn from him no matter what type of music you play.

Sampling Vs. Reinterpreting

by AdamBird on March 31, 2009 10:02 am

Sampling is frowned upon by many a musician. Many people are quite glad to see the days of P. Diddy‘s plagarising songs all over the radio gone. However one trick that is often mocked and underestimated is the simple reintrepretation or recontextualisation of a part being added to your latest track. After the jump we will go over a few techniques and explore this idea more deeply.

Must-have Tuner for iPhone

by Jesse Cannon on March 31, 2009 9:55 am

It is getting to the point that the iPhone is an essential studio tool. I just saw this amazing $3.99 app that will tune any instrument by just holding your iPhone up to the source. How well does it work? I just tried a Banjo, Ukelele, Melodica, and Acoustic Guitar with great results! If you have any odd instruments around and want to practice your pitch or tune them easier, I can’t reccommend this App more highly. It even shows you a graph of where the fundamental falls on each instrument. Too cool!

Become A YouTube Partner

by Jesse Cannon on March 31, 2009 12:01 am

Everyday it becomes harder for you to make money as a band. One of the few ways left is to monetize your bands music and content. YouTube is one of the best ways to do this now that they have a partner program. It works very simply, if you sign up with them and people watch your videos fequently, you will make money! You basically share in their ad revenue. Apply now!

The Grolsch Beer Strap Lock

by Jesse Cannon on March 30, 2009 8:20 pm

Strapped for cash to get a Straplock? Don’t want to tarnish a classic guitar by installing a modern implement of convenience on to a beautiful vintage axe? Have a Grolsch Beer handy? Producer Dean Rispler says “After years of trying so many different strap locks – and all of them either failing or being just so-so, the Grolsch system is the best. Plus if you have a vintage guitar, you don’t want to change the strap buttons anyhow. And, the best part, it’s the cheapest way to go.” After the jump he will show us how it’s done.

The Onions 25 Records That Need To Be Listened Start To Finish

by Jesse Cannon on March 30, 2009 8:01 pm

Many argue that iTunes has killed the album by allowing everyone to purchase songs individually. If you are on that side of the debate The Onion has spelled out the notes for your next debate. They have listed the 25 Records that you need to disable Shuffle for.

Buddyhead Gossip Is Back!!!

by Jesse Cannon on March 30, 2009 7:34 pm

Anyone who has been around this business of music for a while knows the pleasure and joy of reading the Buddyhead Gossip Column. I guess since that Nine Inch Nails gig ended, these guys have realized they need to get back on the ball and stir things up a bit. I have always found this to be one of the greatest things on the internet and the latest installment does not dissapoint! Check it!

Op-Ed: The Dream Isn’t A Reality

by Jesse Cannon on March 30, 2009 5:54 pm

This month Rolling Stone and Kanye West’s Blog are going all bats**t over Producer, The Dream‘s claim to be producing some of the biggest hits around in either 20 minutes or an hour. I want to discuss some of the disconnects with reality that this assertion makes. While his claim may be partially true, it is not the whole truth.

Pro Tools Tip Of The Day: Know Your File Structure

by Jesse Cannon on March 30, 2009 12:47 pm

In celebration of Musformation’s Data Loss Prevention Week, we will be giving you a very basic but important lesson today. A key point to avoid DATA loss is to know how to properly backup and point your file to the right places. The first lesson is to learn that Pro Tools, and many other platforms, store their files in a specific hierarchy. Many people make a huge data loss mistake when they simply backup the Session File. You have a few other folders that need to come with it:
Session File- This is the actual file you click on to open your song.
Audio Files- This where the actual recorded Audio is located. A common mistake, especially for people coming from Garageband, is to think your Audio Files are stored within the session file, when in fact they are in this folder.
Fade Files- These are the files that join two Audio Files together to make a seamless transition between the two files and help avoid clips and pops. In most audio software, Fade Files are stored in a separate file than the audio.
Session File Backups- These are files that help you recover from a crash. Your Audio Software can be set to make a safety backup in case of a crash or you wish to go back past the number of Undos you are allowed.
Bounces/Rendered Audio/MIDI/Undo Data- All of these may also be in your session folder. Essential files for your project to play back properly are contained in these folders. Make sure you also back these files up for future use.

Don’t Be Scared: Back That Thing Up!

by ToddThomas on March 30, 2009 11:18 am

It’s Musformation’s Data Loss Prevention Week!
One of our frequent sayings is: “If you don’t have a backup, it doesn’t exist!. While some of us have learned the hard way, if you haven’t yet had a terrible accident with your precious data you worked so hard on, you are bound to very soon. The best time to backup your data? Yesterday. The second best time? Right now! It’s dorky, it can take some organization, it takes time and money but it’s an ESSENTIAL part of being in a successful band.