Pro Audio, Music & Mac Blog

There’s a great thread going on at the R-E-P Forum at ProSoundWeb.com killing dead, once and for all, the wretched notion that you need to slam as hot of a signal as possible into the A/D converters to “make use of all the bits”…  

Some really cool tangential discussion about all the reasons why it’s so counterproductive with today’s modern digital recordings. Even at 24 bit 44.1k, the noise floor is a complete non-issue.  The biggest problem being available headroom for plug-ins to do their math and the summing buss trying to make sense of everything being slammed so hard. 

I’ve been saying it for years. One of the reasons digital sounds “harsh” to people is that they try to run everything too damn hot!

Read the thread here: Digital Tracking with Low Levels

The debate rages on, timeless. Someone posts something about one platform being “professional” and the other being “outdated”. It even spawns the Mac versus PC demon sometimes. Well, guess what happened again recently… Somebody wanted to know more about switching to a Mac / DP rig and all hell breaks loose – AGAIN.

Like most of these arguments, this one is stupid for a couple of reasons but primarily because no one gets to be “RIGHT” about this. Everything depends on the particular user involved.

The case for linear hard disk recorders:

They are ultimately the modern replacement for the analog multitrack tape machine. Signal directly to “tape”. Rock solid, no head alignment or bias bullshit. No “erasing” the contacts on the cards in the old MCI machine with a pencil eraser. (Am I dating myself as a 2″ kinda guy?).

If you have lots of good outboard gear, you can mix right from a console “old-new school style”. If you want to edit or mix in a DAW, you’ll need to move that audio into the computer.

That takes extra steps and time but is by no means a “problem”. You’d have to fly tracks into ProTools from 2″ too. You can record tracks into the computer digitally in real time or you can import files much faster using a swappable drive system or some of the onboard networking capabilities of the current crop of recorders. Some even have firewire/USB2 for this purpose.

I don’t think this approach is necessarily yesterday’s technology as much as it is a modern equivalent of time-tested professional workflow paradigms. For example, Radar24 is a popular pro-tools haters compromise in LA because its analog section sounds good and it works just like a tape machine, only
no waiting for the transport.

When you’re on the clock spending someone else’s money, or doing live remotes where you can’t do a 2nd take, or when you just want to have a capture/archive collection method for the source audio, a linear HDR makes a lot of sense.

Now, have you noticed something? Most of the primary benefits and functionality of this type of rig is geared towards the needs and wants of the professional ENGINEER, PRODUCER, or STUDIO. From the perspective of any of these, an HDR is a clear advantage for a variety of reasons, namely rock-solid reliability and compatibility with established methodology.

The case for the computer-based DAW:

For the COMPOSER, PERFORMER, or ARTIST, there is much to be gained from using a computer based DAW as both a creative tool as well as an audio recording platform. In fact, the line blurs tremendously when incorporating virtual instruments, plug-ins and the powerful editing/mixing functionalities that simply don’t exist in a real-time, linear playback system. Many artists and engineers become spoiled (so do many records) by the ease of correcting performance problems, tuning a vocal, time-corrections, looping parts, replacing sounds, replacing parts, comping multiple takes, etc.

Then there are the utilitarian benefits for the chronically right-brain “artiste” who is frequently bad at left brain project and file management stuff. The DAW keeps everything together in one place that’s easy to back up to DVD and export out pieces and files.

Then there are the mixing benefits which are still mind-blowing to a kid that thought the installation of Dolby SR was the greatest achievement in audio history in 85 or 86. To have an infinitely expandable, wholly automated console that you make look the way you want and every possible type of audio plug in one click away definitely beats no hiss…

The old saw of this argument is reliability and what I would call “instant response”. There’s a good reason for that argument. Computers are really only in the last few years fast enough to deal with the large amount of number crunching involved in large track count audio. The advantage of a TDM based ProTools rig is that all of the audio processing is done of their own dedicated DSP cards – hence the home equity line price tag.

BUT… We really have reached the age where native, or host-computer only, DAW programs can and do kick reliable ass. I find it FUD like to say that you can’t “trust” a computer daw for reliable tracking. You can’t rely on a FUCKED UP COMPUTER DAW for reliable tracking.

I can rely on mine and anyone who cares to can as well. 9 times out of 10, problems with computer
recording are the result of individual, personal and subjective issues. Your computer with your particular interface with this set of circumstances doesn’t work = DAWs are unreliable. Bullshit.

Now it sucks for YOU if your computer DAW doesn’t work well but I can tell you that my formula is not
complex or difficult to duplicate.

A MOTU 828 with a modern Mac and DP5 works really fucking well.

Maybe a derivation from that formula will also work well, I don’t know and I don’t really give a shit because mine works. CAVEAT: OF COURSE there are bugs in DP and things occasionally do weird stuff. But even then, you can decide on what version of a program you want to run. With each version comes
new features and new issues. You pick and choose your battles. There is always a well documented sort of “status” of issues and new features. The idiotic audio drop out during bounce to disk bug that MOTU fixed in their last update to DP for example.

When something ISN’T working right, it can almost ALWAYS be attributable to lack of enough ram or horsepower. Something that I COULD do something about by buying more ram or a faster computer if I’m bumping the wall on track counts or available plug ins.

Remember, you haven’t bought a $20k ProTools rig, you spent a couple grand on a Mac and the Motu shit. More fast or more stuff equals faster computer with more memory. Do that and everything will work very happily for you in Mac/DP land.

ISDâ„¢ – Intelligent Signal Display

ISD is a cool new waveform display tool that analyzes the frequency range of the source material and overlays into the waveform display a colored representation of low frequency to high frequency information contained in the source audio.

I’m not entirely onboard as far as how this tool saves time, per se, but it’s just flat out cool to have PERIOD. On their site they promote it’s appeal as:

A more detailed interface saves time for Sound Editors by reducing the need to zoom in and zoom out repetitively.

Which, to be clear, I’m not disagreeing with, apparently I just don’t do the kind of editing and zooming that they do to make this is aspect of the technology’s appeal self-evident, and I suspect that there’s lots of us out there that might find this thing to super cool for other reasons!

Check out the interactive preview of the tool below:

SoundEvolution’s ISDâ„¢ – Intelligent Signal Display

PreSonus has announced improved Digital Performer support for their FaderPort USB Automation and Transport Controller.

The FaderPort’s single fader writes automation for single and group channel volume, pan and mute. FaderPort’s 100mm long throw fader features 1024-step resolution.

Available since November this year the FaderPort is currently compatible with Pro Tools, Cubase, Nuendo, Logic Pro, Sonar and now Digital Performer.

The Digital Performer support download for the FaderPort is available now at the PreSonus downloads page.

Here’s the rundown on the FaderPort’s features:

The audio software geniuses at AudioEase (Altiverb, VSTWrapper, BarbaBatch) have been working on the mother of all (why didn’t Apple think of this) audio file auditioning utilities for the Mac. They had been calling this tool SoundAbout and it provides a really cool, fluid method for previewing and audtioning audio and sound files of all types: samples, song files, mixes, tracks, whatever… It’s totally cool.

Check out the AudioEase SoundAbout preview movie

But what really caught my eye was this:

We are looking for a new name. If you come up with a good one please drop it in the subject line of an email, and if we choose it you get a free copy, an early beta as soon as we have it, and a mention in the about box.

Sweet… Think up the new name and become an instant DAW-MAC legend…

M-Audio ProFire Lightbridge FireWire Lightpipe Interface
connects up to four Lightpipe devices with a PC or Mac via FireWire. Shipping for $399 at most retailers, it’s a pretty inexpensive way to connect digital mixers, AD/DA converters and/or ADATs with most popular DAW software.


The unit is capable of 32 channels of Lightpipe I/O, S/PDIF I/O and two-channel analog output for a total of 34 x 36 concurrent channels at 44.1 or 48kHz sample rates. (It also supports 16-channel Lightpipe operation at 88.2 and 96kHz sample rates via the SMUX protocol.)

The ProFire Lightbridge can output word clock as a master, or slave to external sync on any input, and MIDI I/O also accommodates MIDI Time Code and MIDI Machine Control. Independent volume controls are provided for the ¼” balanced outputs and front panel ¼” headphone jack.

The ProFire Lightbridge is compatible with most DAW software. My experience with M-Audio’s drivers, however, tells me to be cautious.

The new PreSonus Fader Port control surface / fader / transport device looks to be perfect for me as someone who isn’t particularly afraid of mixing with a mouse anyway. That said, being able to automate fader moves one at a time, or in groups, and having the transport controls at my finger tip in such a small footprint gadget makes a lot of sense.

My questions are:

1) PreSonus has been pretty vague about support for Digital Performer. Things are weird enough with Universal Binary evolution going on to start throwing new hardware device issues into my life. Does the Fader Port support DP? Natively, through CoreMIDI or with a driver?

2) How noisy is the fader when it’s sliding around?

3) How high is the resolution on the fader automation? Much is said about the differences in resolution between the various control surfaces. How does the Fader Port compare?

4) Not really a question, but more of a entirely subjective, principled superstition: the Fader Port is a brand new, first generation product for PreSonus. I usually only buy brand new, first gen products that I really, really friggin’ want. In such case, I’m willing to live with bugs or features no one realized were important yet.

Gearwire has a PreSonus Fader Port demo video from Summer NAMM 2006

In the NAMM video above, as well as on the PreSonus site, there’s no mention of whether or not the PreSonus Fader Port is compatible with Digital Performer or not, and IF NOT yet, WHEN they expect it to be. Hopefully, we’ll learn more soon and we’ll report back when we do!

Just released is the brand new MOTU 8pre – Multi-channel Mic Preamp/Converter/Firewire Audio Interface. Clearly, the new MOTU 8 pre comes as a move to keep some of the dollars being spent in the hot 8-channel single rack unit mic-pre/ADAT converter space all under the MOTU tent.

For many DP users, simply having such a choice as the 8pre, coming directly from MOTU, supported natively in Digital Performer, would be reason enough to choose the 8pre over other similarly featured boxes.

And there is some logic to that idea, especially as the MOTU 8pre can be used as either a primary or supplemental audio interface (for example, adding to an existing Traveler or 828 MKII) or it can be used strictly as a stand-alone 96K A/D D/A converter via ADAT – even when disconnected from the computer, making for a very flexible set up.

The 8pre also a cool way to be able to have multiple interfaces that you can split out for mutiple purposes – you could grab the 8pre and go with a Powerbook, then easily came back to the studio and hook back up to a larger MOTU rig connected to a desktop DAW.

However, I’m going to come right out and blaspheme against the MOTU faithful a little by saying that I’m not really that impressed by the 8pre.

The mic preamps have never been a strong point of MOTU’s audio interface line (particularly and maybe only because of their lack of gain) and so, right off the bat, you’ve got a fundamental issue with the primary function of this box. It’s an 8 channel mic pre, that’s not that great as a mic pre. So the MOTU 8pre is kind of an “eh” for me.

If you really don’t need the firewire audio interface functionality but just want an additional clean 8 mic/line inputs to hang off the ADAT port on your existing interface, the Behringer ADA8000 Ultragain Pro 8-Channel A/D D/A Converter is pretty hard to beat for the disposable price.

I know, I know… It’s a Behringer, but they actually (surprisingly?) got the ADA8000 right and it’s doesn’t cost much more than a decent patch bay.

Then, when you consider what you can buy in the same price range as the MOTU 8pre, you can get yourself significantly better mic preamps with the Focusrite Octopre LE.