The BROpack Newsletter

How to Build a QUALITY Home Studio Set Up

Posted by thebropack — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 14:36 GMT

[if gte mso 9]> I [The BROfessor] have a home studio. THANK YOU, thank you... please hold all of your applause until the end of the article. [#Modesty] Drum Roll Please... SO WHAT!!! So many guys have home-based to studios now; it's become a fad. However, when people come to my home studio (Haven House Music Recording & Production Lab), or when I take them to other home studios to which I'm associated, the response is usually the same, "WOW! This is really nice! I was expecting a lonely Mac laptop and some of those huge, wooden speakers you'd find on an old school stereo system circa 1982!" So what is the difference between what they thought might be in my studio, and what was actually there? There are three main components to creating a great home studio that will not only be functional, but also keep your clients coming back over and over... they are the FEEL, the GEAR, and the WORK ETHIC. Let's start with feel. Have you ever been to a home studio that's in the basement of an unkempt house? You walk through the house to access the basement (because the backyard is so shabby, you really can't walk through it if you wanted to. You reach the studio only to realize... it is no less dank, dark, and creepy than you'd expect a basement to be... it even has the added bonus of being just a tad bit smelly too. Given all these things, the gear was decent and the engineer was too. Next question, did you go back? There is no doubt in my mind that most of you said, "No". Because you like so many others who have recorded for a while understand that the ambiance is just as important as the engineer, or gear. You could easily record in a studio that was inviting, calm, and peaceful, even if the gear wasn't as good. A good engineer will know how to take not-so-good equipment and make it sound amazing, leaving you (the artist) only having to consider your performance and your vision. Providing your clients that right is paramount in bring new and repeat business back to your studio. Now let's tackle the Gear. The simple reality is most of the clientele you'll have coming to a home studio will not be savvy enough to know what the hell does what in a studio at all, let alone YOUR home studio which, if it was anything like my first studio, probably had so many "workarounds" that a seasoned engineer would have trouble putting your hardware together properly. But that doesn't mean your patron is completely ignorant. Here is the quick breakdown of what is most important in a home studio and why. The Microphone: the mic is one of the first things a client (or potential client) will ask about, or look for. It is the one thing that any client will use to quickly identify if your studio is "quality" or not. That being said, for those of us "in the know", I realize that the mic can be an investment, but doesn't have to be the greatest mic ever made to sound amazing on it. Some voices sound great on a $100.00 MXL mic, but that cheap mic may look-like a cheap mic... so also having a higher end mic (or brand name mic) may give you the right visuals that will keep clients coming back. The Preamp: the preamp (or mic pre) needs to be a good quality one. A good quality mic pre is (in my opinion) even more important than a great mic because that same MXL mic will sound better coming through an Avalon vt737 for example, than going directly through the interface (albeit the interface may have a mic pre as a built in feature. With a (less than) decent mic, that signal coming into your DAW will be of a poorer quality. Do your research here because what may be good for me may not be the best for you. Example: The Apogee Duet is a tiny two in, (one for mic, one for guitar), stereo out pre, that is a very high quality pre, although it doesn't give the "polished" studio look. Whereas the Focusrite OctoPre MkII 8-Channel Mic Preamp is a rack-mounted, 8 channel pre (as stated in the name), but is not as high quality mic pre as the Apogee. Either way, both of these items are at basically the same price point... meaning they cost about the same. One gives you more options for recording in however, while the other is limited but a much better brand and/or quality. Again, consider your own needs and do your research because this is also very much influenced by personal opinion. The Cables: Yes the cables MATTER! If the mic matters (because the signal starts with the mic), than, the cables running from the mic to your preamp/interface, also matters! This purchase adds absolutely no "visual" effect at all, however, it does add in creating a better sound quality that your clients will love. The Room Treatment: The sound padding in you room is a great way of ensuring that not only will people be pleased at what they see because foam gives that polished and expected studio look (even if they don't know what it actually does), but, if done properly, will also counteract any of the reflection, room reverb, or echo problem that maybe present in your room, and would distort your mixing ability.

The #1 Way to Be a Successful Producer

Posted by thebropack — Sat, 1 Apr 2017 20:36 GMT

[if gte mso 9]> Picture it... your city, USA... in the year of our Lord, 20-"it doesn't really matter". You're making beats in your basement or bedroom... After being basically deafened by the "not so" amazing tracks of yours you've been playing in your noise-cancelling headphones for the last 2 and a half hours, you seem ready to give up the fight and charge into that PB&J with the crust cut off you've been wanting, but trying to avoid because, like Pringles... you can't just have one. Suddenly, inspiration hit you like a pissed off Bruce Lee with nothing to lose! You fly to your laptop, crack open (insert DAW here), power up the midi controller and... (20 mins. later) you have a hit track unlike anything that has even been done, in the history of anything ever being done before... EVER! After jumping around the room a few times and pounding your chest like your favorite football team just won the Super Bowl (and by some random happenstance, you had something to do with it), a crushing feeling comes over you knowing that EVERYONE needs to hear this but, NO ONE might because... "I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO GET THIS TO THE PEOPLE WHO CAN GET IT OUT TO THE ARTISTS & SUBSEQUENTLY, THE GENERAL PUBLIC." Is that you? Hopefully not, but the stark reality is that all of us at one point in our music careers or another go through this. We can dodge it for as long as we can but even the big producers can fall into this, if they're not careful. That being said, you truly have failed only... if you've given up. "Really!? Cause not getting any money, recognition, or even getting your props from your "fam." for such an EPIC track... sure feels like failure to me!" But that begs the question, "As a producer, how can I be successful?" Full disclosure, I work a full-time job currently and produce and record at my home studio on the side. Hopefully and prayerfully I intend on being in a very different place when you read this but either way, the road to success (like the road to hell) is paved with good intentions. So how can "WE" become successful as producers without being "shot to hell"? Here is what I've found from my experiences so far: 1. Your "tracks" aren't good enough; 2. Unless your name is (I), you belong in a team and; 3. No one will work FOR you unless you have something to offer. Less break this down a bit shall we? Let's take the first point which is, your "tracks" are not good enough. I am not an ogre, I'm not making fun of where you might be in your learning of music, your production skills, and such, but what I mean is this. This industry is moving at the speed of sound, so you have to make the shelf life of your music much longer by adding a song to it; so your tracks are not good enough alone! It is easy to hear the potential in your own music; seeing where it could go, what it could do or mean to someone, and who could be doing their thing on it. However, every producer should keep in mind that this industry is run by NON MUSICAL PEOPLE. Executives, A&R, other label reps, managers, promoters... usually these are the guys that can make things happen but are not the guys you want doing backgrounds on your latest EP. It is difficult for them to hear what you mean to do or say with the bare track, or hear "it" (it being whatever that thing is that makes your vision so powerful to you), or envision who might be able to rock this the most. I've found that that power rest with artist and producers especially! We "know" and have the vision for the music and are only interrupted by "gnats" when we are told that our vision, our track, our music is "flawed" or "underdeveloped". So... spell it out for them! Write (or have a song written) to all your worth-while (and even the not so worth-while) tracks and watch them come to life. Then when the exec., rep, etc. hears the music, they can make a better assessment of the true potential of the music. Oh, and mix whatever you're writing to because that will allow them no excuses to say, "NO". Next let's tackle being in a team. I don't suppose that everyone is built to be in a team per say, however, even if you are a loner... making it up this mountain will require some "equipment". First, the Manager. Their job is to (drumroll please...) manage you, and all the aspects of you, manage and present you with opportunities, and present YOU to those opportunities; basically be your industry liaison. In a matter of speaking, they are like your doctor, and as such, they are essentially you're employee. They are supposed to use their industry connections, knowledge-base, and go-get-it-itudeness to steer your career in a profitable direction. The Mix Engineer. Their job is to take what you've done and make it sound AMAZING. A great mix will make possible mistakes sound purposeful and hide any unwanted "noise".

Which Platform is the Best for Music Production, Mac or PC

Posted by thebropack — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 20:40 GMT

[if gte mso 9]> I am not a very technical person when it comes to computer use in general. In fact, I'm just old enough to have known when the home computer was a "big deal" and having the internet was the weirdest thing to have in the home because it made that loud, mind-numbingly annoying, simply ridiculous sound when you tried to go on AOL, also... there was only AOL (You know... with the CD's that came in the mail for free minutes)! In those days, I was a bit more interested in being outside playing and acting a damn fool... meanwhile, my little brother and sister both learned to type, search the web, and the more... my jump shot was killer though [#useless]! I definitely learned those computer skills a bit later, but I didn't learn it because I was interested... I learned out of necessity. What that means for me is now I have to continue to actively learn, and learn because necessity keeps following me like a stray cat follows the person that consistently feeds him. What does this mean for the best platform for producing music? Well first, it depends on whether you're a necessity person, or an interest person. What I mean is this. If you're interested in how the computer works, its various capabilities, and how to make it work better (or an interest person), you might choose a PC to work from for creating your music. If you prefer to have something that is ready-made, plug & play, ready out of the box (a necessity person), then a Macintosh maybe the right choice for you. Let's break this down a bit further so we all understand the differences in platforms (...again, from a non-technical person, to other non-technical people). PC: This platform is good for those of us who probably already have a Personal Computer (PC) and really would just need to purchase a DAW system to get started making music (or maybe find a torrent site and a free download). [#shameful, #IMightHaveDoneThat, #DontJudgeMe]. This platform allows for a quick start and easy proliferation of your music, speaking from a music creating standpoint. PC's are fully editable (from a hardware perspective) meaning, if you don't like the soundcard that came with your PC at the time of your purchase, you can easily change or swap it out for something else. Don't like your visual card? Change that too! It's a bit difficult, but you could swap out your whole motherboard if you wanted. MAC: This platform is great for folks like me who are either technologically impaired, or just not very tech savvy. The ready "out of the box" medium that MAC offers is good for being able to just use it. Unlike what I've seen in other PC systems, MAC's come equipped with good software for making music, visual arts, movies, and even websites, that are of a high enough quality, as a standard feature. MAC's in my opinion were tailored for those of us in the Arts community, and since they have provided so much for us to use, it makes it really easy to learn quickly and effectively, without breaking the bank on numerous other purchases. Each platform has a downside to it as well. First, PC's are fully editable... but if you don't know the "who, what, when, where", and especially the "how's" of editing your PC, you will be quickly calling your PC repair guy and spending some money on fixing a probably very simple and avoidable mistake. Also, from virus control and prevention to the regular maintenance of a PC like defragging; you will sacrifice time; time you could be making more music, or watching more of those pirated, newly released movies from that torrent site you shouldn't be on. [#youshouldknowbetterthanthat] MAC's are not off the hook either. Although the iLife suite will provide you with enormous creating power, you will need a small loan to purchase a MAC these days, or risk spending your money on a used system, from a third-party site. Although you'll never have to worry about viruses, the software updates are so frequent and systemic, you'll be surprised how often your other software may be left inactive or become outdated because it's missing a vital plugin to be able to run on the newly rendered, animal-named 10.- whatever upgrade. I have even had to reinstall Pro Tools (an industry-wide brand name for music production), because it was "incompatible" with my newest upgrade; what an inconvenience to say the least! I'm talking about these things at a very high-level, because I don't want to get too "bogged down in the weeds" in technical-speak that will fly over most folks heads and become a meaningless discussion on how one perceived problem, isn't a problem on the other, or can be easily addressed on that system, or how one is intrinsically "better" than the other like you might find on some other blogs; if that is what you were looking for... so sorry for you. Here at 2BrosShow.com, I just want people to feel comfortable making music. My personal preference is the MAC platform (probably could've guessed that by now) but it's my choice mostly because my time at Berklee College of Music. When we (the general student body) were learning about, asking/answering questions about, or creating and doing music production... it was always on a MAC. Before that I was on a PC, but quickly found that for me... Plug & Play was the way, and since then I have kept with it. I know a bunch of folks that have stayed exclusively with either or, and some (like me) that went from PC to MAC... but I don't know basically anyone (and I say "basically" because you should never say never), who went from MAC to PC. To me, that speaks volumes! [if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE

3 Quick Secrets to Uncovering the Best D.A.W. for YOU!

Posted by thebropack — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 18:49 GMT

Producers ask me constantly about what DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) they'll need to master in order to get pro results when they produce music, record it, & mix it. Do you know what I tell them? There are probably two of them... Want to guess what they are? They are the ones that will aid you to produce music, and the ones that will record/edit it well (albeit for you and your needs, they might be the same system). Music Production is a funny thing because it encompasses a little bit of so many of the creative aspects of music AND technology. So when choosing a DAW, the first "secret" (which is hardly a secret, lol)... you will need: 1. Pro Tools (or more aptly, you'll need to know HOW it works and WHAT it can do). You will need to know its functionalities, its varying capabilities, and all of its many uses in music recording and engineering. It remains an industry standard among all major and mid-level studios for recording and editing... meaning... not knowing it will leave you basically in the proverbial "dust". "But, I can't afford PRO TOOLS! It's like... several thousand dollars, right?" Yes, & No. Pro tools and its supporting hardware, comes in many iterations (Express, LE, HD, TDM) and they can be purchased and varying price points. They are still very functional at every price, and will work for many different kinds of studios, or even a basic laptop production set up. My gripe with Pro Tools is (and please "every engineer on the planet", don't throw me under the jail for blasphemy)... though it is amazing for editing and recording, I've found that the music production functionality is really lacking. Though I do know folks that use it for production, in general I think it is very complex and can be down-right difficult to use because of its huge learning curve as compared to other DAWs; it's just not very intuitive. That means... for the average music producer who is interested in just CREATING music, it just may not be very practical. That brings us back to the starting question, "How do you find what is the BEST DAW for you." Whether you just want to have a home-based studio for part time use and income, a thriving production house in a small, rented, commercial space, or a fully functional HD quality recording facility with all the trimmings... As far as making music (not just recording or mixing it) you WILL need to think of: 2. The last thing you want it to do for you. What I mean is this. It's very common to grow into your studio or production set up, so you may have started with something as simple as Cool Edit (pretty old school), and want to grow into something as much more powerful, like Cubase. But if you are thinking about where you want to be in 5, 10, or 20 years (or however long/short of a time it would take for you to reach to your maximum potential), then consider what you want to be doing then, as well as now... and invest in that. In this way, you give yourself the maximum amount of time to really practice and master the various attributes that the DAW has to offer. There are many DAW systems for both PC & MAC that are amazing for creating music. Still, one DAW is not that different [functionally speaking] from another. They can record, edit, bounce or export in many formats, work with audio and midi regions, basic plugins, etc. So, once you've become proficient at one, you can always find that same type of functionality (albeit packaged or titled differently) in the other - maybe even with more options or power. That being said, here is my list of quality DAW systems that can't be hated on by anyone (in no particular order)! Logic Pro X