Finally, the official music video for my band's song Walis Tambo!!! Please help me share it with the world :)
Monday, September 10, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Let's Hear It Direct :)
As some of you know, I offer some Music Production Tutorials to people interested. They learn the basics on what you need to produce down to actual production. Their final project actually is a release internationally so it's quite a trip for the students. Just hanging out in the studio and learning 1 on 1 :)
I've had a few students come and go and unfortunately, I only thought of this video idea after some finished already so I couldn't include them unless they're ok to come back just for the shoot. (hint hint)
So here are some video interviews I did for the ones who made it. As soon as the others finish, I shall add to this collection. They were shot on the fly and they didn't know that there was a video interview to come so they only found out right before. From zero background and knowledge, DJs, to some with a little experience as well. :)
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Multitasking and Just Doing Everything...
As I wait for my video to upload, I'll take the time to write an entry. So multitasking it is...
But it's interesting how the video you may end up viewing later on was shot, recorded and edited by myself. It's nice to be able to know how to do those things but trust me, I'd rather have someone do it for me so I can focus more on making music than editing or shooting videos.
But I guess this leads me to this blog's topic... how we as musicians today tend to be everything for everyone... we make music, we promote, we market, we design our merch, we deliver our music to key people, we design websites, we blog, we shoot videos and edit them, and so much more.
I guess that's just it... Being a musician today simply entails being more than one. If you want to get yourself out there, read up and learn things that you can do other than music to help promote your act, or create things that can help get your name out there. Now I'm not saying pour time and money into it but try to at least have a basic grasp on things. It can help you immensely. If you ask me, I would LOVE to have a team of people helping me out. By the way, if you wanna help out, please let me know. I'd gladly accept the help at this point :) Going back to my point, it's nice to have that but it's also nice to be able to know how to do it when there are times that the people you rely on for certain things aren't available or cannot attend to it asap. This way, you can do some small tweaks to let's say your website, or possibly fix your promotional materials in social media, or even send out your press kit via email.
We live in a different world now. I would have loved to just focus on writing and creating music. But since I don't have that luxury, I am also thankful for the time and the knowledge that I have gained trying to do everything. It's fun too! try it!
Cy
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Mic has Arrived! :)
First off, I give glory to God for being able to provide for me to be able to buy this! :)
Now onto the mic...
I've long wanted to upgrade my mic for the studio. Not because the one I have sucks but because I know that it can be a HUGE help for the studio and for all the upcoming things I plan to record. I needed a good (great even) vocal mic and a very practical deal came my way and so I was able to swing for it.
It's a Peluso 22 251 which is modeled after the Telefunken. It's a tube mic so we can hopefully expect that valve warmth :) It came in this nice case and opening it is a sight of beauty. We have the power supply for the tube, the shockmount, the cables, and the mic.
I'm VERY excited to record with this already and I can't wait to finish all the things I have lined up.
This is a great addition to this little studio of mine for sure and together with my AT4033a, and a few other budget mics I have, I am just very happy to be able to fill up my mic "locker" for particular mic'ing needs... I wasn't actually looking but was just waiting and this happened so thank you, Lord! :)
Cy
Friday, August 10, 2012
Looking for a USB soundcard?
Here's something worth checking out...
http://www.amazon.com/RME-Fireface-UC-USB-Interface/dp/B002N12DM2
I just came across this while watching a Chris Liebing interview on his setup while doing his hybrid DJ/Live set and this is his soundcard.
I got curious because he said it has the lowest latency he's ever found on a device in its class so I really got intrigued!
However, when I saw the price, my dreams of getting one quickly disolved and then I understood why it can have the lowest latency... because you really pay to get it :) hehe
But if I had the money, why not!? Though for my live use or even in production, I pretty much can work fine with what I have and am pretty content with my current setup.
What I need more at this point isn't gear but TIME to work and finish tracks and have more consistent studio time for my releases and preparations for live shows :)
Cy
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Doing My Little Part To Help
I remember when I launched my album Devotion in 09, it was right after Ondoy and what I did during the launch was to have all the proceeds of the launch sales handed to relief efforts/donations to help out our fellow countrymen. Fast forward to today, we have all, once again, experienced another great tragedy in our country...
With that, for the whole of August, I shall forward ALL sales of my new album, Manila Electronica to the current relief efforts for the victims of the "habagat" (since we don't have a storm name to call it) tragedy.
Donate here and get the album in return http://silverfilter.com/album-manilaelectronica.html
I just want to give a little something to anyone who wants to help, with the little that I have, which is my music, as something extra for your generosity. If you would take the time to read up about the vision of my album initially, it's all about raising awareness of Filipino electronic music. But this goes beyond that now. This is for all of us helping out our fellow Filipinos struck with this tragedy one way or another. I hope it raises awareness that we can help in our own way with the talents we have been blessed with.
It would be a huge blessing if we can all do our part in helping out. If you can shell out a little of your savings to give for this cause, then I hope this little album of mine can do its small part to give back as a simple thank you to anyone who would want to help the victims financially.
If you do not have money, then volunteer your time to pack relief goods, look for things at home you can donate, round up people to help. There are tons of things each person can do to help and I do hope we can all do our little parts as it can benefit HUGELY in the end.
God bless your generosity!
Cy
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Where The Music Happens...
Been a while since I got to clean up and fix the studio. I'm telling you, having a kid can really eat up so much time... I'm not complaining though. It's a nice thing really. But since I got to clean up a bit, I took a photo of the current desk just to have a snapshot of it at certain points in time as I tend to jumble it up to find the best setup for me. This is temporary as I'm looking to have a proper desktop made so tom I'll be doing some measurements to make that possible. What I'm missing from this photo is a 23" screen which I want to buy if I get the funds for it. For now, this is it. This is where the tunes are created and realized :)
About the photo: Well, I don't have a DSLR and so I just my point and click cam which resolution-wise isn't as nice so I just fooled around with the effects from a web app and just had fun with it. This somehow shows how the vibe should be... some lights and the feeling that I'm in this place where I can make music to dance to :)
Post up your studio shots and let's see em!
Cy
Sunday, July 15, 2012
My New Album Manila Electronica Is Now Available Worldwide
Friends!
Here's my latest full length album and my first on my label, Trike Records! Announcing it again as it is now available worldwide via Beatport, Amazon, (and your chosen digital music stores). Hoping you can support local electronic music! Enjoy! :)
http://www.beatport.com/release/manila-electronica/940468
Full track previews are available at http://soundcloud.com/silverfilter/sets/manila-electronica/
If you want to fully support me and get all the freebies and more, Please purchase the full album at the official site http://www.silverfilter.com
I hope you would enjoy listening to the music. I definitely had fun making them over the years :)
God bless!
Cy
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Can you really produce on headphones?
Whether you’re trying to produce on the road or just keeping the noise levels down in your home studio, the idea of studio-quality reference headphones is appealing. Sharooz was a self-confessed headphone sceptic. Could Sennheiser’s HD650s convert him?
One of the questions I get asked most often by young producers is which studio monitors I’d recommend. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been asked to suggest the best pair of monitors under £300 or the best for a small bedroom studio. Over the last few years, I’ve found that the standard monitor query is just as likely to be followed by a second question: Which headphones are best for production?
The bottom line is that until recently I’d never considered a pair of headphones, either as an alternative or to supplement a dedicated pair of loudspeakers. I understand that a lot of producers might not be able to make a lot of noise in their studio or might not be able to afford room treatment, but my advice has always been that a pair of decent monitors will outperform pretty much any headphones.
But, being on the road, working remotely, and noise restrictions have in recent years led to an explosion in the use of headphones, not just as a backup monitoring source, but as a primary reference in their own right. As I’ve found myself on the road more often, my need for a portable monitoring solution has also increased. Despite being sceptical about the idea that headphones could genuinely work for production and mixing, I figured it was time to give them a chance.
The headphone challenge
If the consensus on various production forums is anything to go by, the Sennheiser HD650s have emerged as the professional’s preferred choice of monitoring headphone. Tommy Trash and Skrillex have reportedly been using these cans as a primary monitoring source, and in Tommy Trash’s case producing his biggest hits using solely this very model.
“My initial reaction was that the 650s seemed to make everything sound pretty damn good. Too damn good. ”
As far as headphones go, the HD650s are fairly expensive, with an RRP of £399.99. That equates to a street price somewhere around £275, which may be a lot compared to most headphones but barely gets you into the price range of decent entry-level monitors.
My initial listen, straight through the headphone socket of my MacBook Pro, revealed a very hi-fi, pleasant soundstage for tracks I have known and trusted for years; too hi-fi for serious applications and, in truth, it was difficult to differentiate between the overdriven electro drivel and high-end platinum selling pop fodder. My initial reaction was that the 650s seemed to make everything sound pretty damn good. Too damn good. Great for listening but not so good for serious reference.
However, in the studio I connected to the Prism Orpheus via its own inbuilt headphone amp, and a different picture emerged. It became quickly apparent that the 650s demand a higher quality DAC and headphone amp than those built into the Mac. Through the Orpheus I felt confident enough to have a crack at a new tune using only the 650s. Choosing the right kick was easy. A bassline to match? No problems. Ping-pong delays, EQ tweaks, pads, sweeps, risers – I was making accurate decisions, easily able to reference against my other tracks and quickly get up to a point where I had a steady vibe going.
The A/B test
In the spirit of fairness, I A/Bd the 650s against a similarly priced pair of monitors, the £250 pair of KRK RP5s I bought my girlfriend for Christmas. There is little comparison. The accuracy you get from high-end headphones vs entry-level monitors is unparalleled. I tried and tried again to get up and running on the KRKs. All my kicks sounded the same, I could sweep the EQ from 20Hz to 200Hz and the only response I was getting was too much bass or too little bass. Frequencies muddled into reverbs muddled into mush muddled into a non-starter. I gave up and got back on the Sennheisers – quick, steady progress was being made again in no time.
After a while, I forgot I had them on. Open back in design, they were hugely comfortable to wear and relatively well built – I could imagine having these on for hours on end and not experiencing any pain or fatigue.
Most importantly, there’s no room correction, no nodes, no acoustic irregularities to correct. You get the sound of the drivers, and the drivers alone. The only significant flaw comes when attempting to pan sounds. The exaggerated stereo field of headphones means that stereo images don’t quite translate to speakers. It’s a weakness, but it’s small enough that I could learn to live with it.
David vs Goliath
Like many producers, I favour using more than one set of monitors to check mixes – in my case the Focal Twin 6s and my trusted Yamaha NS10Ms, which have served me without fault for more than a decade.
My main focus now was to use the Sennhesier headphones as a comparison source alongside the monitoring system I have tried and tested in the same position in the same room, day in, day out.
Anyone who knows me will know my love of the Focals – impressive but precise bottom end, sparkling tops, unrivalled separation and an almost three-dimensional stereo field. Where I’ve thought they lack definition is in bringing out the subtle distortion in the bottom-end which can occur when I heavily limit the mix bus in order to match the loudness of everything else out there. How did the 650s cope with the task?
“They're that rare beast - a smooth, enjoyable, listen but also a reliable, revealing, accurate reference”
I was amazed by the results. The kicks, which sounded muffled and distorted on the Focals, were quick and easy to fix. That rogue bit of compression or random EQ hike at 65Hz, the pad with remnants of cheap reverb lingering in the background I’d failed to spot, the vocal with the painful sibilance – there was an added dimension of detail, barely present on the Focals or NS10s, which jumped out and bit me on the ass with the Sennheisers on.
Level matching was a breeze too – unhindered by the mighty bass hype of 10″ drivers, turning down kicks and instead EQing them to punch through, made it possible to get things rounder, more defined and louder.
Conclusion
If you hadn’t already guessed, my scepticism about producing and mixing on headphones has been almost completely disproved.
There’s little to fault with the 650s, the open-back design being the only potential problem. It’s part of what makes the 650s sound so good, but the downside is that sound leaks in and out much more than you’d find with as closed-back design like the HD25s.
In the shared Attack office, with the noxious drones of Gotye coming at me from overheard laptop speakers, it was hard to know whether I was listening to my source material or yet another out-of-key/time bootleg ode to crap Scandinavian pop. Keen to try something other than electronic music, I blasted out a few tracks from the Alicia Keys album, and when the Gotye listener fell silent, he looked over at me like I’d just felt up his mother.
They’re also not pretty. The earpieces on the 650s are incredibly well built but the plasticky headband and cheap gloss paint don’t look attractive and I can see the finish chipping or cracking over time. But these aren’t Beats. They’re not meant to be a fashion statement. I’d wear them in a studio, a hotel room or possibly a plane. Not on the back seat of a bus or around my neck at a gig.
In summary, these are an incredibly useful tool. They’re that rare beast – a smooth, enjoyable, listen but also a reliable, revealing, accurate reference – much like the Focal Twin 6s, which cost almost ten times as much.
Can you really produce music on headphones? Can headphones really compete with dedicated studio monitors? I never thought I’d say it, but the answer’s undoubtedly yes.
I've always wondered about this. Well, I've always recommended to use speakers but there are just times when it is needed. It's one of the reasons i got my Sennheiser HD25's in the first place but I was never convinced enough but this article got me curious. Good thing I'm not in the market for a new pair of cans...
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)