Elephant Brain

The iPad 2 dilemma

2011-03-24T22:51:00.001-05:00

Apple's iPad 2 was released in the U.S. a few weeks ago and it's coming to Canada tomorrow. As an engineer and music producer, there are many incentives for me to purchase one, seeing its potential in the studio and live environment is exciting. Many are already using the iPad to control their mix via Mackie HUI protocol implementations (AC7, ProRemote) as well as a guitar amp and effects modeler (Amplitube). But there's something holding back the iPad from being a serious heavy-hitter in the pro audio environment.

There's an app for just about anything music related, no question about that. Need a metronome? Guitar tuner? Music theory primer? RTA? The list is endless! However, this rich variety and access to so many apps has also introduced a bit of a problem to serious engineers and producers: It has fragmented our workflow! There are very few apps in the App Store that encompass the majority of the creative process for artists and producers. Instead we have apps for creating beats and loops (nanoStudio), another for writing down your lyrics (Freestyle) and yet another to help you get through writer's block (Inspiro, Wikipedia). If you were to use the iPad exclusively as your artistic device, you'll spend a lot of time switching between apps, which wastes time in the long run and creates instabilities since many apps are swapping the system memory back and forth. It's happened to me a few times already on my iPhone 4.

So what about Apple GarageBand? Well, I think GarageBand is definitely a step in the right direction, as is studio.HD by Sound Trends. For starters, they're both designed as DAWs, and that adds a sense of familiarity for those accustomed to working in Mac OSX and Windows environments. But herein lies the problem. The App Store creates a market environment in which developers seek large profits by providing apps that appeal to the masses. Who is going to spend money on developing an app geared towards serious users in the hopes that they 1) perceive it as a professional grade product and 2)Find it to be affordable. The answer is: Apple and other established well known software developers (I'm looking at you Ableton, when is Live coming to the iPad?). Sound Trends and Intua took huge risks when they decided to code and put their products online, and for them, a flop could have discouraged them and others looking on from pursuing future projects in the App Store. One advantage of the App Store though is that the competition encourages innovation.

So where do we go from here? The reason why the iPad won't be replacing your MacBook as your workhorse is because it's not built like a MacBook inside. But looking at the new MacBook Air, we can see this is exactly where this tablet game is headed. The iPad requires more horsepower to do true multi-tasking, as we know it in our desktop OS. Higher processing consumes more battery, so the issue is in design limitations. The engineers at Apple are performing a balancing act, battery life vs performance, and they're doing it very well I might add. Another thing to consider is that Apple's target market is not media and art professionals, at least it's not their focus right now. The focus is to sell to the masses. It won't be till the 4th generation iPad, at the very least, that these new devices will really start to be ubiquitous as day to day pro audio tools. Here's hoping that Apple will deliver something special in a few years time just for the audio and video communities. Could you imagine integrating your iPad to your Logic Studio/Final Cut session and doing all the editing by touch? I can't wait.

--Cristopher

Phayzed Out

2010-01-10T18:24:00.000-06:00

Hey folks,

So I did a gig a while back with a good friend of mine, Estuardo Figueroa, that involved a peculiar setup. Here's the lowdown:

1. It was a live show that was being tracked, 16 channels coming straight out of the FOH console pre EQ etc
2. The recording equipment we had:

2 ProjectMixes
2 Laptops [MacBook Pro, Compaq]
cables, etc.

Yes that's right, two project mixes. That's like trying to daisy chain two 003's. We had a few people tell us this can't be done and to an extent they were right:

THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN USE A PROJECTMIX'S FRONT END ONLY AND OUTPUT IT STRAIGHT TO IT'S OPTICAL OUT.

So our workaround? We had one projectmix paired with a Windows laptop running Pro Tools 7. We loaded 8 mono tracks. 8 inputs coming in from the projectmix's pres and being output to it's digital outs 1-8. We had a lightpipe going from the the first projectmix INTO the second.

The second projectmix was connected to a MacBook Pro running Logic Pro 8. 16 tracks were created. 1-8 inputs were coming in from the projectmix's pre's and 9-16 were coming in from the lightpipe. Now here's the problem: LATENCY.

The 8 tracks that had to go through one computer, get routed and output to the 2nd project mix were being set back in time relative to the other 8. bummer. . . Why couldn't M-Audio's control panel include a simple option to route any analog input and throughput to it's digital outputs? This is essentially all we were using Pro Tools to do, unfortunately the DAE was making it's presence felt a little too much.

We had to find a way to reference one group of 8 to the other and find a way to set them back 'in-phase'. So Estuardo suggested this:

Take a copy of the L/R mix from the FOH board, send the L channel to one project mix, the R to the other.
This results in one channel going through the latency and the other straight to the final destination.
After recording was finished, we soloed the L/R mix and found the value of difference between the two. This value determined by how much we had to shift the other 7 tracks to regain phase coherency between all tracks.

It worked great. So that's how you can record 16 tracks with 2 ProjectMixes. If someone else has found another [read: simpler] way, let my know!!!

PEACE.

Cristopher.

Fix My Lips Like Collagen

2009-09-22T17:55:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the wait, but here's a new post!!

Now that I've graduated and have my diploma in Audio Engineering hanging on a wall, the next necessary step is to implement my knowledge. So what have I been up to? As soon as I touched back down in my hometown, I did FOH for the Cuban Pavilion for 5 whole days.

The Cuban Pavilion was a great experience. I had the opportunity to do sound for the great Cuban Saxophonist Cesar Lopez and The Habana Ensemble. The rest of the production consisted of a dance group from Cuba called JJ.

Sunday September 13th I was a part of Ciclovia 2009 here in Winnipeg MB, doing sound for one of the stages. Ciclovia is a day to promote active transportation, health and environmental awareness. This event takes place in many places around the globe and Winnipeg is the first Canadian city to join in.

Pics will be posted soon on Facebook, stay tuned.

Graduation

2009-07-31T15:14:00.000-05:00

July 24 was our Graduation ceremony. OIART Class of 2009. I had a great time studying what I truly enjoy and wish everyone could do the same. I am back in Winnipeg MB and drove here with my parents and roomate/colleague Steven Grundmann.

I hope to sometime in the future go to New York, but at the moment I have an interest in studying more about electronics. I love gear and know how important it is to keep it maintained in it's best working order but I also want to delve into what distinguishes one compressor from another on the insides. All those components working together to make an 1178 or SSL so distinguishable.

Right now is party time but as soon as I settle in I'll edit and post some photos and movies.

PEACE MY PEOPLES
Cristopher.

Live and Reloaded

2009-07-18T11:31:00.000-05:00

Live Sound; you're only as good as your last show.

The school year is coming to a close ladies and gentlemen. It's been fun. No regrets. You're boy did good and completed all exams (but one . . . don't ax) confidently. These last weeks in London have had me doing the unimaginable. You guessed it folks: Live. Sound. Engineering. [gasp]

I'm known amongst my good friends as being a control freak, the guy who needs to know all angles at all times. How could I manage putting myself in a situation where things happen spontaneously? A position where problems crop up without warning and people are less than cordial when dealing with the sound guy. The answer: who cares.

I'll be posting some videos of some of these great events. My personal favorite was a Saturday I volunteered at Sunfest in London ON. I had the opportunity to assist Christoph H.B. [the man, the legend] and met Plena Libre.

Links to be posted soon.

PEACE MY PEOPLES.

Cristopher David.

Michael Jackson: Dearly Departed

2009-06-25T19:01:00.000-05:00

Michael Jackson is the reason why I love audio. Straight up, the very first CD I ever listened to, the very first time I had to put my toys down and walked up to a speaker and just stared at the cone moving to and fro, was when I heard "Bad".

Those horns in the intro, blew my mind away. I felt like I was in the recording studio as that track was being laid down. I was about 5 years old then, now at 22 I find myself studying Audio Engineering and hoping to pursue a professional career. The news that Michael has passed shocked me to the core.

His last years were surrounded with controversy about his child molestation case and his ever changing outward appearance. It is too easy to target him with jokes and hate, the very person who sang "Man in the Mirror". Who are we to judge him or anybody really? He's famous so we hear about his personal business openly, but look inside yourself and all the horrible things you think about. The things you covet, lust, despise. If you judge him you're no better, and on the inside, you'd find yourself needing a little cosmetic work, truly.

His career as an artist is unparalleled, he remains The King of Pop. In the studio, Bruce Swedien has mentioned time and time again that Michael was the very best performer. Name one poor vocal performance from Michael. His songs will forever be with us and his love for art and humanity deeply missed.

We love you Michael Jackson.

Throwback Series 1&2

2009-06-16T00:12:00.000-05:00

We've been busy at school, doing mix sessions and have had the great opportunity to utilize a lot of classic vintage gear alongside today's best digital technology. So among our Pro Tools sessions, we've added a Studer A80 for a rock track we're working on, to phatten up the drum sounds. For another Blues/RnB track we reamped a rhodes part to a Leslie Cabinet. The videos are on my YouTube channel, check em out!

The bands we had the privelage of working with are:
The Artful Vandelays
Lizzy Clarke & The Pretty Boys

Trying to Make Me Go To Rehab . . . Say Yes . . .

2009-05-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

Whoa alright well you know Dr.Dre right? Dropped 2 classic hip-hop albums; The Chronic and the subsequent 2001 [dubbed Chronic 2001]. Well even if you don't like Hip-Hop these albums were influential in the music world due to their high production values. soon after 2001 was released, Dr.Dre and his team commented on a follow up album called Detox.

By now Detox has slipped in and out of urban legend status a few times now, some still say it's never coming out but do I have a surprise for you. Not sure if this is news to everybody but a recently opened recording studio in Detroit called Allure Sound posted an album of pictures on their Facebook page with the title "Detox / Aftermath Sessions" In it you see D12 member and producer Denaun Porter in the studio with Slim da Mobsta and other studio personnel.

If I recall correctly, in an issue of Scratch Magazine, Denaun Porter was commenting on his involvement with the Detox project a number of years ago now. There is no doubt in my mind that this cements the existence and assurance that Detox will in fact reach our ears within our lifetime!

Click to see the album for yourselves

PEACE MY PEOPLES

Cristopher-David

David Rayo

2009-05-21T20:21:00.000-05:00

Enjoy the interview

Bizzy B

2009-05-16T23:21:00.001-05:00

Once again, a large period of time has passed since i've posted. The good news is that my absense has been due to the many projects that I'm involved in. Sooooo..... You know the promises I've been making? They're materializing! Let's begin:

I had the opportunity to get together with a very talented singer/songwriter in London called David Rayo. His work is amazing! With my partner in crime Kevin O'Leary, we were able to record a few demo songs with David. I also took the time to conduct an interview with him for those unfortunate souls who aren't familiar with him to seek redemption. The video will be posted on my YouTube channel, so peep it. Over the course of the next few weeks we will track four songs in the studio and trust that it will all be documented.

A while back, I met a very special girl named Ashleigh Philips. She had a book of songs and was kind enough to share some with me. They were wonderful and of course my first impulse was to ask if I can record them. One song in particular holds a special place in my heart. Stay tuned for a video where I described what we did to make it happen.

Thank you for your support, those who visit frequently. Don't hesitate to email me with praises in regards to my sexiness but please also take the time to ask questions.

PEACE MY PEOPLES

Cristopher.

Welcome Back

2009-05-04T02:00:00.000-05:00

Hello all, sorry for the lack of updates, allow me to provide an explanation. We had our internet access cut short for a week and a half. We're back on track now and plans will resume.

Exams are over and we have a lot of projects coming up for the third term. My lab partner Kevin and I have some plans to record a few artists, including his band. Check them out at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y23FK3DQvAc

I'm trying to figure out a way to perhaps film important parts of the recording process and share with yall. There still a few details I'll have to iron out but my main vision is to provide some insight on day to day aspects of the recording process.

During my week off I plan to spend a little more time with Logic Pro 8, I've ignored it for far too long and I think it's time I give it some proper attention. Of course not all is work, so I'll also be indulging in some online games! Hit me up:

XBL: RIO XL
PSN: Z-RIO

PEACE MY PEOPLES

Cristopher.

One Mo'Gen

2009-04-24T02:30:00.001-05:00

Today in general has been truly unproductive. All I can hear in my mind is:

". . . Electric Relaxation from A Tribe Called Quest
with the boom, tokin', smokin', coolin' out
as I parlay in my room 'cause it's a lazy afternoon" - © Blackthought

3 weeks of exams has started taking its toll folks [3, yeah.] But among the many hours of procrastination and head-scratching I came across a true gem on youtube. Something I hope you'll all enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/nqtv

His name us Remi. His stunts are hilarious. Some might say they're akin to the guys from Jackass without the unnecessary vulgarity. Noteworthy mentions are Pac-Man and Rocky but I'm sure there's something for everyone.

Stay tuned, projects are a-brewing. I know I keep saying that, I'm a keep saying it! I'm a man of my Word, cuz Pages is too confusing. . .

PEACE MY PEOPLES

Cristopher.

Back Like a Chiro-Prac . . .

2009-04-21T14:44:00.000-05:00

So Pracs, Practicals, Hands-on examinations, whatever you wish to call them . . . were today. We got tested on 3 Major Focuses:

1. Pro Tools: General
2. Pro Tools: Working with Audio for Picture
3. Engineering and Signal Flow

How did your boy come out? Just fine. No stress, the procedures were carried out by three professional individuals and so I only responded in an equally professional fashion . . . ahem . . . but for real, get your game tight before taking on these courses 'cause they're not for the faint of heart. I can't divulge any more information than that seeing how my group was the second to undergo the exams, there are many still awaiting their turn in the hotseat.

I have a few things planned with this blog and am trying to make it work in synergy with my YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/barrioaudio For example, we had a project assigned to us which involved manipulating Multi-track sessions of some really famous songs. I chose to re-do Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and did some serious chopping and re-arranging. So please leave comments, and use the reactions, I put them there for a reason. I want to know what YOU want to know about what I know . . . ya know?! I'm not as dumb as you look.

PEACE MY PEOPLES.

Cristopher.

The Filtering Process

2009-04-20T16:51:00.000-05:00

Term 2's Final exams have commenced and so have the practicals. An educational institution's very own version of natural selection: If you dumb, you out. In between study spurts I take the time out to check up on some of my favorite up and coming producers. Here's a couple you shouldn't sleep on:

Do these guys even really need an introduction? When it comes to mixtapes and hot material, these guys are dropping it quicker than the economy. Ladies and Gentlemen, Cookin Soul:

Boon Doc: This brother brings that Soul!!! He even let's you in on his creative process. School's in session, stop playing.

Genesis

2009-04-20T15:14:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog, to kick things off here's the story so far:

After two years in University studying Anatomy and Physiology along with other mmph-ologies I decided to have a career change and follow my dreams. What made me decide to leave a University education you ask? Audio Engineering. . .

- oh so you're studying music, what do you compose?
- not exactly, it's more about the recording process
- oh yeah, so you're gonna sell CDs and be a star?
- not me but I hope to be working with talented people and capturing their magic
- so you just push the record buttons?!
- there's more to it than that
- if you say so, good luck with that . . .

I hope to clear some misconceptions about this career along the way. So whether you are reading this because you are in the industry and already know what the job of an audio engineer entails or are just learning, remember one thing:

Everything you hear has an origin, a designer(s).