American Songwriter » How-to

Review: Fender Acoustasonic 150 Combo Amp

Steve Martin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:07:51 +0000

The Fender Acoustasonic 150 guitar amplifier is ideally suited to the gigging musician looking to maximize the sound of an acoustic-electric guitar while taking advantage of a variety of modern features and flexibility. The Acoustasonic delivers an incredibly clean, full, and powerful sound, provided by two 8” foam-surround low-frequency neodymium drivers and a high frequency tweeter that deliver 150 watts of pristine acoustic tone. Two inputs allow for amplification of 2 sources, with the option for a microphone input on the second channel via a combo jack capable of providing phantom power for use with condenser microphones or other active electronics. In addition to the two inputs, the Acoustasonic has multiple output options, including a USB output that can be used for recording directly into your computer, and doubles as a means for updating the firmware of the amp. As standard with most amps, a 3-band EQ is included on the instrument channel, but where the Acoustasonic really stands out is the effects and voicing section. The voicing control allows you to select between different acoustic tones and apply them to your performance. You can select between Parlor, Dreadnought, and Jumbo acoustic sounds as well as tweed, Blackface, and British amp settings for electric guitar tones that sound surprisingly authentic even when played with an acoustic guitar. You can also bypass this feature and use the direct sound from your instrument. This feature alone allows you to limit the amount of gear you need to bring to a gig, and it’s worth its weight in gold. With the Acoustasonic, one guitar, and one amp is all you need, and at just over 22 lbs, loading out after the gig will feel a whole lot easier. You can even scrap your pedal board because the Acoustasonic comes with an onboard FX section that allows you to apply reverb, delay, chorus, and vibratone. There’s plenty of combinations and variations of these effects to use, as well as a master FX level to control the amount blended into your sound (and keep in mind that those two 8-inch drivers mean that you’re getting those FX in stereo). Effects can truly add to your performance, but in some cases they actually change the way you play. Most likely, you bought your guitar because it felt good in your hands, and it sounded great, and more than anything, you felt like it helped you to play better. The Acoustasonic’s String Dynamics feature has the same effect. Essentially, it’s a compressor for those pesky high notes that sometimes peek out too harshly when you amplify your acoustic guitar. When applied, every note is smoothed out, but not suppressed so much as to be noticeable. Everything just sounds right. Once turned on, you’ll be hard pressed to find a reason to turn it off. It’s spectacular. Every nuance of your playing, and the tone of your guitar is enhanced, and your playing will respond to that.

Learn The Nashville Number System At Vanderbilt University

Sarah Newman — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:03:11 +0000

Odie Blackmon On August 25th, the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University will be offering a new class for musicians and songwriters. It will be held on Thursdays from 7 to 9 pm and it will be taught by Odie Blackmon, grammy nominee and the winner of 3 ASCAP Awards. Some of his songwriting credits include George Strait’s 50th number one song, “She’ll Leave You With A Smile” and Gary Allan’s “Baby I Will.” Says Gary Allan: "I've written with Odie Blackmon for many years and have learned a lot from him in that time. He makes songwriting an exciting and almost therapeutic experience each time you sit down and write. Anyone from a beginner to a seasoned professional in the songwriting realm can learn from Odie." Students will not need to be able to read traditional music, but Blackmon will explain music theory, notation, and chords. The class will also explore the charting of original songs, classic hits, and the Nashville Number System with some observation and discussion of studio work. One student said, "From the very beginning I felt as though Odie's Nashville Number System course was specifically designed for me. I am a pretty serious guitar player who, before this class, knew shockingly little about music theory, could not read music notation, and felt that it was too late to start. Odie, however, was able to change all that by teaching us practical and straightforward music theory without taking us back to ‘square one.’ I now feel more prepared for local jams and for playing music with others. I also have a higher understanding and appreciation for the music I listen to.” Register now for $195 plus a $40 registration fee. You can download the form from the Blair website at http://blair.vanderbilt.edu/pre-college-adult-program/current-offerings and return to Blair School of Music, 2400 Blakemore Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212. For more information, contact trisha.johns@vanderbilt.edu.

What Apple’s New Version Of Final Cut Might Mean For Musicians

Davis Inman — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 18:15:16 +0000

While a new version of Apple's audio editing software Logic may be more immediately interesting to musicians, we've written at length about why and how musicians are using video editing skills to promote their music on the Internet. On Tuesday this week, Apple re-launched their market leading Final Cut video editing software in a move that seems to favor consumer and aspiring creators over professional video editors. Conan O'Brien and his video team took some pot shots at the new version of Final Cut Pro, dubbed "X" (i.e., "ten" in Apple lingo). In a segment on Conan, the editors made fun of what they perceived to be downgraded features of Final Cut Pro X in a "video statement" featuring out-of-sync audio, mistimed text fly-ins, and shoddy jump cuts. It's a great bit of humor at Apple's expense, well worth checking out below. While Apple would surely deny that the new version of Final Cut is a downgrade from the previous version, Final Cut Pro 7, it certainly is a downgrade in terms of price. X will go for the consumer-friendly price of $299, available as a download (no DVDs) in Mac's App Store, while previous versions of Final Cut weighed in at three times that. In a company press release, Apple's touts the software's new key feature, the Magnetic Timeline, which they describe as "a trackless approach to editing your footage that lets you add and arrange clips wherever you want them." The New York Times technology editor David Pogue has some good things to say about Final Cut Pro X, admitting that while certain features are noticeably absent and the software "looks and works" like the beginner-level iMovie, the "greatest annoyances" of previous versions of Final Cut have also been left out. Why Apple chose to completely reinvent Final Cut is a secret that only the Cupertino initiated will ever fully understand. But perhaps a clue lies in the other decisions Apple has made to make creative tools easier for beginners to use. In 2004, Apple launched the beginner music production software Garageband, which shares many of the same building blocks as the professional version of Logic. Garageband has gone on to enable and inspire many amateur music makers and earlier this year, Apple, clearly seeing the future in terms of iOS and mobile, launched a robust iPad app for Garageband. In the future, it might not surprise us if Logic goes down the same road as Final Cut.

Software Review: Toontrack Chuck Ainlay EZMix Pack

Steve Martin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:55:27 +0000

A great mix engineer is one with tools. He knows them back to front. Every little control, sweet spot, and parameter. That magic point where it’s just about to catch on fire; he knows how to tweak his gear to get the perfect mix. This process is never easy, though over time, it gets smoother. So for a product like Toontrack's EZmix to come along and proclaim, with its name alone, that it’s “easy” certainly raises some eyebrows. Sure, it’s easy to throw a plug-in on your channel strip, pick a preset, and sit back, but that’s hardly a craft. But what happens when those presets are designed by engineering icon Chuck Ainlay? What if the same force behind so many hits by the likes of Willie Nelson, Travis Tritt, and the Dixie Chicks, was the man whose hours and hours of woodshedding in the studio you were taking advantage of? With the Chuck Ainlay EZmix expansion pack, you’ve got just that. In Chuck’s own words, he “decided to craft something that everybody needs, like a great vocal reverb with delay, a way of making a bass drum really punch through a track or a mix bus preset to optimum gain on your mix.” All of these capabilities (16 effects in all, wrapped up in a generous amount of customizable presets) are yours for the taking. The Chuck Ainlay EZmix expansion pack brings a boatload of expertise to your fingertips, at a price that’s extremely enticing. The catch is that in order to get the most out of these presets, you need to have a working knowledge of what each effect does. “What’s a compressor? What’s the threshold control? What’s pre-delay?” If you can answer these questions, then you’ll be able to really harness the power inherent in this pack. If not, then hit the woodshed yourself and try again tomorrow. Toontrack Chuck Ainlay EZMix Pack List Price: $29.00 www.toontrack.com

Avid Introduces Scorch App For iPad

Davis Inman — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:03:48 +0000

Avid, the company behind Pro Tools and M-Audio, has announced Scorch, their first app for Apple's iPad device. We've seen how the iPad and iPhone's operating system (iOS) and functionality have affected both the new version of Mac's OS, Lion, as well as the way musicians are recording music. Scorch is essentially an app version of Avid's popular music scoring software, Sibelius. (Check out our past reviews of both Sibelius 5 and Sibelius First - a product aimed at beginning amateur composers.) The Scorch app contains a sheet music store for buying new scores in-app - much like one would buy a book in the iBookstore or song in iTunes - as well as a library of all the scores a user owns. The iPad's touch screen and easy user interface seem like an ideal way to explore the different sections of a score. Scorch even has a mode for Music Stand, and one can only imagine how nice it must be to flip through a score's pages on the iPad while playing an instrument. Scorch is being offered for an introductory price of $4.99 and is available in the App Store now, though the price will increase to $7.99 on July 31.

Music Supervisors Panel Enlightens Nashville

Doug Waterman — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:04:03 +0000

L to R: Dave Parker, Julia Michels, Dave Jordan, Anastasia Brown, Julianne Jordan, Rachel Levy and Jojo Villanueva. On May 21, 821 Entertainment Group President Anastasia Brown (music supervisor for Footloose, August Rush, Taken) moderated the Nashville Screenwriters Conference’s annual “Music In the Movies” panel. Sponsored by Ole, one of the world’s largest independent music publishers, the event took place at the Country Music Hall of Fame and was well attended by songwriters, publishers, producers, songpluggers, artists and others seeking a foot in door of Hollywood’s music department. Featured panelists included music supervisors Julia Michels (Sex and the City 1&2, The Blind Side, The Devil Wears Prada), Dave Jordan (Captain America, Iron Man 1&2, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle), Julianne Jordan (Hop, Valentine's Day, Mr. And Mrs. Smith), Rachel Levy (Little Fockers, Fast and Furious 5, Change Up), Jojo Villanueva (Prom, Arthur, Marmaduke) and Dave Parker, a highly-regarded indie publisher with more than 100 placements this year. There were some common threads that ran through the discussion—as far as dos, don'ts, and other things to be conscious of—for those searching out song placement opportunities. Here’s what resonated most: • Do your research before reaching out to music supervisors. Know exactly what project they are working on and what kind of music they are looking for. If you send them something that contradicts what they need, you’ll most likely be blackballed from the supervisor’s working order. Make sure to include all “metadata” for your songs for digital delivery. “Track 2” doesn’t work. Deliver songs via DropBox, YouSendIt or a similar method. Don’t send mp3s unless agreed upon beforehand. • Secure a publisher or a specialty film & TV pitching agent If you’re not in the precious position of having direct contacts/relationships with music supervisors, your best bet is to hook up with a publisher or a film & TV placement company to work on your behalf. The panel stated that they generally delete all unsolicited outside communication—meaning songs or links that come from untrustworthy sources, or outside their working network of publishers, placement companies and others. • If you have the talent and resources, produce great-sounding cover song recordings (Except Beatles songs and others that don’t lend themselves to licensing ease, or are outright impossible to clear.) Directors these days love to use old familiar songs that are re-imagined by new voices and visions. This can generate you income on the master-use license side of things. • Make sure your songs are easy to license Now more than ever, music supervisors and directors are generally more welcoming of independent artists and writers because they don’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops to obtain licenses for their songs. The one-stop-shop approach is what is working most effectively. Don’t pitch songs that you know a co-writer (or co-writer’s publisher, especially if it is a major label publisher) won’t sign off on, for whatever reason. Anything that could stand in the way of a song successfully being licensed should be considered BEFORE pitching it. Deal-breaker situations reflect poorly on the song’s promoter and can lead to the aforementioned blackball list. • Filing away instrumental tracks is essential Have all of your instrumental tracks available and on hand for quick turnaround if and when they are needed for a placement project. Not having them is a good way to lose a great opportunity. • Attention new indie artists and bands: you can compete! In recent years, music placement in film, TV and advertisements have been trending toward new and/or unknown artists and bands, as opposed to successful and well-known acts like Led Zeppelin or Coldplay. One reason is that going indie is a lot less expensive, and as stated, there are less licensing hurdles. The other motive behind the trend is that music supervisors, directors and ad agencies genuinely take great satisfaction in breaking new acts and talent through their projects. The playing field is pretty darn level, so get after it while the getting’s good.

U2 And R.E.M. Engineer Talks Universal Audio Gear

Davis Inman — Thu, 26 May 2011 16:44:27 +0000

The Irish musician, engineer, and producer Garret "Jacknife" Lee is probably most known for his work with worldwide rock stars U2 and R.E.M. But he also recently did the radio mix for The Black Keys single, "Tighten Up," and mixed the great Walkmen track, "Juveniles." In an interview with the iconic gear manufacturer, Universal Audio, Lee says it was U2's The Edge that recommended his services to Michael Stipe. Lee went on to co-produce both Accelerate and Collapse Into Now with the band. Lee shares insight on both legendary rock acts in the interview. About U2, he says: "They were very patient, and it was a fun project. Yeah, they’re pretty driven, which is always good for an artist." He also reveals the secrets to recording R.E.M. -- "Weather is a big factor... it’s got to be warm for recording. It’s got to be a good atmosphere in the city. Food’s got to be good." For R.E.M.'s newest album, Collapse Into Now, Lee talks about the different studio locations for the sessions: initial tracking sessions at New Orlean's The Music Shed and Berlin's Hansa; mixing at Nashville's Blackbird, as well as one additional vocal session with Stipe at Athens. Lee also discusses his aversion to stuffy English studios, preference for rack gear over recording consoles, and how he annoyed the engineers at Blackbird for preferring plug-ins to vintage hardware while mixing Collapse Into Now.

Mixing Tips: Focusrite VRM Box

Jason Bullock — Thu, 26 May 2011 13:30:53 +0000

Focusrite VRM Box List Price: $99.00 www.focusrite.com Mixing is all about perspective: how well you hear and understand what a song needs and how that song will translate once it leaves your mix environment. The Virtual Reference Monitoring Box from Focusrite is designed to help those who are headphone-bound to get an idea of what their mix might sound like on different speaker systems and even in different rooms altogether. Mixing with headphones can be a manipulative ordeal especially when using standard laptop or motherboard audio hardware. With a simple USB or S/PDIF connection and software installation, any system can be upgraded to higher fidelity headphone monitoring system and weighing in at a mere 4.3 ounces means the VRM Box is designed to travel and setup on the fly. Having the quarter-inch headphone jack and the large volume control on the top of the box are nice touches. The software is made up of three different environments: The Bedroom, The Living Room and The Studio. Within these rooms, choose from a variety of speakers that range from top of the line all the way down to a flat screen television. Try out the British Studio monitors to hear your mix with serious low end or move to the Japanese White Classic monitors for a sound reminiscent of NS-10s. Learning the differences in monitors as well as the environments allows you to evaluate the holes in your mix although some monitors seem to be more useful than others. You might even come away with a mix that doesn’t sound like it was mixed with headphones.

Review: Thunderdrive Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal

Jake Kelly — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:08:56 +0000

Boutique pedals with custom psychedelic paint jobs and wacky graphics have taken a grip with many guitar players. ModKitsDIY.com’s Thunderdrive is an overdrive pedal with boutique features (point-to-point wiring, pure analog circuitry, true bypass switch) sans the nutty paint job and stratospheric boutique price. But there’s a catch: it’s a kit. Supplying my own cheap labor and using common guitar maintenance tools, the instructions walked me through, step-by-step, the process of constructing the Thunderdrive. There are no schematics, so no degree in electrical engineering is necessary to attempt this project. Any questions I had with the instructions were immediately clarified when looking as the accompanied drawings. I consider myself a novice in terms electronics and found the project simple, though I felt clumsy working inside the confines of the small enclosure. Working slowly and methodically, I was able to complete the project in about 90 minutes. Putting the completed pedal through its paces, I was pleased with the results. With the distortion knob turned all the way down, the signal still broke up nicely: however, this was due to the pedal’s circuitry and not overloading the amp’s front end as promised in the product description. Still, the results were musically pleasing. The higher distortion settings provided all the girth and grind one would expect, never sounding shrill or brittle. There were some features I wish the Thunderdrive had, such as an on/off indicator and the ability to use external power, but for a $29.95 kit price (available from ModKitDIY website) and these cool sounds, who cares? Thunderdrive Overdrive Effects Pedal Price: $29.95 modkitsdiy.com

How To Get Your Songs Heard By The Film Industry

Alyson Holland — Thu, 05 May 2011 12:00:04 +0000

The Nashville Film Festival, which recently took up residence at the Green Hills Regal Cinemas, was enriched with foreign films, documentaries, and music business panels alike. Music Supervisors 101: The Basics Of Song Placement was led by film industry supervisors Andrea von Foerster (500 Days Of Summer), Alethia Austin (The Cursed, Grassroots), Jon Ernst (The Hills, Laguna Beach), Chris Mollere (Kyle XY, The Vampire Diaries), Marcy Bulkeley (Inception, The Hangover and its sequel) and Richard Glasser (Blue Valentine, King’s Speech, Motion Picture Music/Weinstein Co.) The event was moderated by Jim Scherer, President of Whizbang Inc. What is music supervision? “I think it’s something that changes all the time”, says Chris Mollere. Essentially, it is someone who combines music with audiovisual entertainment, or an individual that manages a team of music directors working on a given project. This general definition, though, does not quite fulfill the diverse role that the music supervisor tends to, or the ever-changing film industry that the supervisor works in. Much like the music industry, the film industry is in the midst of reinvention, with the music supervisors positioned exhilaratingly close to the front lines. How do you find your music? When asked how music supervisors find their music, the panel seemed to be excited and timid in equal measure, as if the key to their success was about to be exposed or courageously introduced to the public. Jim spoke first, saying “I send out a music search”, while Marcy went a bit further in depth, “I go to production companies, and love to find young composers who want to get in on it.” Alethia Austin, supervisor for The Cursed replied, “[I prefer] Indie artists. I like to look to them to be our music supervisors. [Indie artists] have the opportunity to set the tone and mood for a project. We like to be appealed to. I also like to receive physical copies when I’m being pitched to.” The mention of physical copies rallied a kind of discussion on which was actually better: physical copies or an emailed Mp3. Some said it was nice to have an actual CD sitting on your desk, one that is easily stowed away and retrieved at the right time. While others, less convinced of the material clutter, stuck to the ways of the Internet, giving others the advice to post tracks on file-sharing websites. Richard Glasser, with prolific experience, then returned to the question of where he finds his music and said, “I look for undiscovered artists. It’s also nice when an album cover fulfills that genre. Songwriters, pay attention to your album covers! That helps music supervisors.” What are some other things songwriters should know when sending songs to you? Marcy Bulkeley: “Include your instrumentals!” Andrea Von Foerster: “Include info in links.” Alethia Austin: “Give us a description of the music. It can be as simple as telling us the feel, sound, mood, etc. We remember that.” Jon Ernst: “Don’t fade out music. Hard in, hard out.” Richard Glasser: “Songwriters, get in with editors!” These short quips of wisdom also led to a “What not to send” list. What not to send: Tagless music, mysterious writers, vague contracts, head shots, big press kits, single MP3s in each email, lack of clearance, unknown percentage of ownership, and duplicate emails were the general consensus. As a final invitation for Nashville’s songwriters to jump on the bandwagon, Jim asked, “What’s the best entrance for songwriters into the music industry?” “Film festivals are the absolute best places for songwriters to be. You’re meeting composers, up and coming directors, editors, and producers. That is critical. And as a rule of thumb, get songs in early,” said Richard Glasser.