How's It Sounding?

If you have listened to my tracks “Not Your Grandmother’s Ireland” and “Not Your Grandfather’s Ireland”, then you should know that there is a spot in my musical heart for the sound of bagpipes and other Celtic sounds.  Now while I normally don’t talk about music on this blog, I recently came across a performer that is unique enough to be mentioned, and that is The Badpiper – “the world’s only flame-throwing, punk rock bagpiper.”

I personally am not the biggest fan of punk rock.  However, as mentioned in my article How to make your Music Sound Different, I’m not opposed to listening to something new.  ACDC songs are an undeniable classic, so when I heard some guy with bagpipes would be performing “Thunderstruck”, it was worth giving it a listen, and I’m glad I did.

It seems that anyone you ask gives a similar answer when you ask, “how is The Last of Us?”  Just about everyone says something along the lines of, “this is the best game I ever played.”  I love Uncharted, so when I heard about this game, I had it pre-ordered as soon as it became available.  The game was very good, but let’s talk about the audio shall we?  I mean after all, this is an audio blog, right?

Courtesy of Christian Gaming 

Have you ever had that moment where you become frustrated with yourself when you try to compose some music because you realize it always sounds the same?  There is a difference when “that’s so-and-so’s signature sound” becomes, “haven’t I heard that before?”  I have recently been running into that problem.  I’m going to share some of my tips that helped me get out of it.  These “tips” may be common sense to some, or not helpful to others.  However, I hope these may help someone!

Ever notice in the world of entertainment, the original is best, and the sequel is subpar?  Well, with this being my second visit to InfoComm (2011 being my first), this was no different.  I was shocked about how dissimilar this one was.  I was ready for an amazing event!  I even gave out some tips about how to get the most out of it in my previous InfoComm13 post.  I was let down.

InfoComm13 from above; it looked better then it was

Courtesy of GPO US

There are conferences and conventions for everything these days.  If you are in the audio or show production industry, then InfoComm is the convention for you.  According to InfoComm’s website, “InfoComm International is the trade association representing the professional audiovisual and information communications industries worldwide.”  What that means: you get to see all the shiny new toys first!

This year, InfoComm13 is being held at the Orange County Convention Center June 8 through June 14, 2013 (with exhibits from June 12 to June 14, 2013).  I had previously attended InfoComm back in 2011 when it was last in Orlando, and it was an amazing event.  I only attend the exhibits, but that is still something worth seeing.

In the world of audio, there are quite a few digital audio workstations (DAWs) to choose from.  However, unless you are set on making phat beats with FL Studio, then you are aware that the two biggest players in the DAW world are Apple’s Logic Pro, and Avid’s Pro Tools.  With the onset of Pro Tools turning things up to eleven, and more unconfirmed rumors about Logic Pro 10, it’s only appropriate to visit the Ford VS Chevy battle of the audio world: Logic VS Pro Tools.

Currently, Apple is on its long running Logic Pro 9.  Avid’s Pro Tools is currently on version 10, but is to be rolling out version 11 in the near future (Pro Tools 10 will be used for comparison unless stated otherwise).  Both are quite popular in the industry.  Which one is best?  This can seem like a loaded question, unfair, or inapplicable to some.  GearSlutz has a heated forum thread about this.  There are simply certain things that each does better than the other. 

If you are in the audio industry, you are one with Pro Tools.  That is just how it is.  If you have been keeping up with Pro Tools, then you are well aware that Avid is releasing the next installment in the Pro Tools line up: Pro Tools 11.

Courtesy of XLR8R

I always thought that Pro Tools 9 was a huge jump forward, but Avid took it even a step further after 10.  Dare I say: they turned up to eleven?  There are plenty of changes this time around.  Some I am looking forward to, some I am not.  Now I will say that since I am on a budget, the latest Pro Tools I have is PT9, and I like most things about it.