May

Resource Roundup (May 2010) - Awesome Apps for Musicians

Posted In: Career Building, For Businesses, Marketing & Promotion, Reviews, Uncategorized by claybutlermusic

It’s time for a new Resource Roundup! So many awesome apps, gizmos, and gadgets are hitting the market that appeal to musicians. Here are a couple:

Accept Credit Cards at Gigs with your Smart Phone

Poised to revolutionize the way indie musicians do business, Square allows you to accept credit and debit cards right from your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or Android. Simply sign up for the service by downloading the app, and they send you a card swiper attachment that plugs into the audio input of your device.

Rock Out with your Pod Out…iPod, that is.

Being a guitarist, I’ve been waiting for an app that I can use to get great guitar tones on the road and on the fly. Enter iRig by AmpliTube. The app installs on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The modeling sounds great, the interface looks great, and it’s surprisingly intuitive. There’s a small guitar interface jack that plugs into your audio input, which costs around $40. It’s not released yet, but you can preorder iRig from IK Multimedia’s website.

Guitar Toolkit

Agile Partners has released a killer iPhone app, Guitar Toolkit. This one’s a definite must-have! For about 10 bucks, the app boasts the following:

Tuner, complete with custom tunings
Metronome
Scale library
Chord Library
Chord Finder - you play the chord, Chord Finder tells you what it is
Supported instruments include 6- and 12-string guitar; 4-, 5-, and 6-string bass, banjo; mandolin, and ukulele
“Lefty Mode” for southpaw players

Have you found any cool tools recently? Comment and let us know!

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February

24

A Web-based Sequencer?

Posted In: Career Building, For Educators, Recording, Reviews, Uncategorized by claybutlermusic

I was searching around the ‘net today for cool tools, and I found something that I never would have thought of, a web-based sequencer. That’s exactly what I found in Soundation Studio. The interface itself looks remarkably like a cross between GarageBand and Fruity Loops. While it’s not quite as feature rich as those programs, it does boast a library of over 400 loops, three synthesizers, a drum machine, and 11 real-time effects. Best of all, it’s completely free!

Users can mix loops and utilize track automation. Once the mix is complete, simply bounce it down to a wave file. One interesting feature is the ability to host your creations as an mp3 file online and direct your friends to a specific URL. Also, you can embed your audio in much the same way you do with YouTube videos.

As a creation tool, Soundation Studio opens up worlds of opportunities. Not only does it present musicians with a place to create from anywhere in the world, any time the muse strikes, but it’s also a great introduction to the world of sequencing and loops. Soundation Studio could be used in the home or in the classroom.

Check it out. Let us know your thoughts. How could you use Soundation Studio?

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February

1

Product Review: Behringer BCF2000 Control Surface. Use It or Lose It?

Posted In: Reviews, Uncategorized by claybutlermusic

I love working with computer-based digital audio production. However, one thing that I’m not particularly fond of is having to mix “in the box”. It’s cumbersome, time-consuming, and not very intuitive. I had been considering a control surface for the studio, but it had to have certain criteria: it had to have motorized faders for automation, and it had to have some transport controls. For the longest time, I’d been searching for a decently priced control surface, but none were automated. Since I didn’t need it to act as an audio interface, I was hoping that would reduce the cost factor. I was delighted when I heard that Behringer was releasing a control surface — complete with motorized faders — for less than $200.

I know many people harp on Behringer products as being sub-par quality, but I find, if you pick your products wisely, you can get some really decent gear for a budget-conscious studio. Plus, I figured, since I was needing it to act solely as a MIDI control surface and not something critical (like an audio interface), that I’d give it a shot. At that price, I didn’t stand to lose much.

The box itself has surprisingly small footprint, so it fits nicely on my workstation desk. Although the BCF2000 is built using plastic and some metal, it’s ruggedly constructed, and it doesn’t feel “cheap” at all. The unit consists of 8 motorized faders, as well as 8 rotary encoders (assignable for pan, aux sends, etc.). There are also various user-assignable buttons for bank select, transport controls, or other functions. It can connect to your computer via USB or MIDI. If using USB mode, the MIDI ports act as an extra MIDI interface. There’s also a standalone mode to control a live MIDI rig. The BCF2000 has various modes and settings to function with different software DAWs. It also works under Mackie Emulation and Baby HUI.

The BCF2000 comes in two colors, white and dark blue.

The first drawback that struck me with the unit was the lack of a Master fader. That would have been a really useful addition to the control surface, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker for me. Upon testing the unit, I did notice that the faders weren’t equally smooth. One in particular was worse than the rest, but, again, not a deal-breaker. At slower automation speeds, they can also be a bit jerky, but that’s not a significant issue either. Unfortunately, though, it was disappointing that the motors were a bit noisy and the faders were a little “clackety” as they traveled to the extreme top and bottom of the throw. Excess noise isn’t welcomed in a recording studio environment.

The setup itself wasn’t too terribly complicated, however, the manual left much to be desired. Even though there are so many potential uses for the BCF2000 and numerous software applications with which it can be used, it seems like Behringer neglected to put some important information in its manual. For example, I use MOTU’s Digital Performer (just upgraded to version 7, the latest version as of this writing), which, considering that it’s a major contender in the DAW world, is inexplicably nonexistent in the manual. On the other hand, it does give info on ProTools, Cubase, and Logic. Most of my information on setting the BCF2000 up for DP was found online in various forums, but only for DP6 or earlier. Even more shocking, after consulting the Digital Performer 7 manual for information on setting up control surfaces, I find the DP7 manual actually mentions the BCF2000 (and only the BCF2000) and the setting to use! Once I learned (from the DP7 manual) to use Mackie Emulation mode, we were good to go.

All-in-all, the uses for the BCF2000 are virtually limitless. It can be used to control your sofware synth or sampler, DAW or live MIDI rig. It can also be used as a lighting control surface in conjunction with LightJockey, LightFactory, or Cuelux.

So, what’s the virdict, Use It or Lose It? If you’re looking for an inexpensive control surface for your DAW, Lighting, or MIDI rig, the BCF2000 is definitely a Use It!

Behringer BCF2000

Price: $179

Purchase one for yourself.

If you would like us to review your product or CD on the MusicIsMyBiz.com blog, just send it to us!

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