Sound Recording - the WellMixed.com Blog

New Study on Bandcamp Success

Sound Recorder — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:58:10 +0000

Well, OK it’s by Bandcamp, so yeah - a little biased. But I’m taking them at their word.
Basically it says that every day they track the Google searches that lead customers to the site. Every day, they claim, they have tracked people who search for words like “torrent” “megashare” “pirates bay” and then ultimately spend money to support the artist on Bandcamp.

It’s kind of encouraging news!

MuseSpring Educates Would-be Moguls on the Music Industry

Sound Recorder — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:02:09 +0000

A new company called MuseSpring is offering an educational program in the modern music industry.

It seems pretty legit. Considering that Berklee music industry education starts at about $500, it should be a nice value for those looking to dip their toes into the horrible economics of music!

Costs begin at $90 for 3 months of access to videos and documents.

What music do you have in your collection only because of the art?

admin — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 06:11:34 +0000

Album art is fun, even in the digital age. I like to touch it. But if all I can do is view it on a screen… so be it. What is your favorite album art?

NPR News begins series about Music Fans

Sound Recorder — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:45:37 +0000

What do you do as a music fan?

In my early years it was buying the CD, listening to it on repeat, and memorizing the lyrics from the insert. Now I’m so busy, that I hardly have time to click the “buy” button in iTunes or Amazon.

Anyway, NPR music is beginning a series on this subject. Check it out here.

WellMixed Mic Store Opens - Blog Kinda Closes

HipstRecordR — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 03:58:08 +0000

The blog has not been well-tended recently, but now it will be even less so, as the WellMixedStore.com takes over the NavBar link on the main website.

However, this means the beginning of a new era, where the microphones that you want to listen to are available at WellMixedStore.com

News about all thing related to home recording will be more constantly posted on a little microblogging platform that you may have heard about called Twitter. Be sure to Follow @WellMixed there.

MySpace Re-Focuses for Musicians

HipstRecordR — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:20:56 +0000

Michael Arrington reports in Tech Crunch today that MySpace is now focusing on what they are calling “Discovery.” This comes in the wake of CEO Owen Van Natta being canned two weeks ago.

Read Arrington’s report by clicking here.

What does this mean for musicians? It can only be good, as the website that all musicians are still obligated to join has hemorrhaged users, dropping from the 6th most popular site one year ago to 17th place today. Sound Recording has discussed in the past about how MySpace is failing, and how the music aspects of it have been lost.

This news presents us with a ray of hope that MySpace will again be a place for musicians to “be discovered.” Imagine if all internet users felt the need to visit MySpace every day to stay informed of what they should be discovering. What do you think will happen? Leave a comment…

List of Top 5 Online Music Generators of 2009

HipstRecordR — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:58:52 +0000

I’ve been playing around with several online music generators over the last year. Mostly, they are simple timewasters to help me avoid being a productive member of society. But with the help of Audio HiJack Pro from rogueamoeba these browser sounds have made their ways into ProTools on occasion.

5. BALLDROPPINGS.com

I can’t believe that the domain name “balldroppings” wasn’t taken. They put it to the best possible use. I’ve spent way too much time trying to create the most ambient or most rhythmic sounds, and just as much time trying to get the balls to bounce exactly straight up and down or in a certain line.

4. The Indian Music Generator

This one might be a little bit racist, and not all sounds sync up in rhythm.
But in a pinch it’s a fun introduction to Indian musical elements. If you’re already familiar with Hindustani or Carnatic Music, you can go here for an online Tanpura,.

3. Tiny Drums

It looks like Q*bert would be at home using Tiny Drum 3.0 with its 3-D grid of 16 x 5 blocks.
The y-axis is a pentatonic scale for Versions 3-5. Version 1.0 and 2.0 use drum sounds.
The x-axis is a standard 16th note grid.
The tempo is adjustable, though there isn’t an option for swing or for accents. You can also save your patterns in a text file by copying the number commands (like 4369-0-21845-17681 )

2. Grotrian Piano

Similar to balldroppings, the Grotian Piano is auditory and as well as visual and relies on a gravity effect. It allows a good deal of control over 12 tones. Then it lets things get out of control in very delightful ways.
The “Grotian” setting also includes percussive piano knocks and taps.

1. Hobnox Audiotool

This one blows me away and is sure to only get better as Flash, browsers, and computers speed up. Recording is built in, the sound is amazing, and the possibilities are great. The only problem is that the learning curve is not for beginners. For musicians who want to spend some hours with Hobnox, the rewards might be something special.

Did I miss anything? Please Leave a comment!

Do You Hear Better than a Rock Drummer?

HipstRecordR — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:48:20 +0000

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is one of those medical mysteries whose cause is unknown to medical science. A common thread is loud noise, whether it be a single exposure to a jack hammer or constant traffic noise as one drives with the window down.

However it is caused, the resultant ringing is particularly troubling to musicians as it interferes with the enjoyment of music. Check out this CNN-produced video featuring Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Lars Ulrich.

Have you ever experienced a ringing in your ears? Leave a comment below and tell us about it.

Get Your Project Funded

Sound Recorder — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:12:37 +0000

Musicians are poor. When I ask potential WellMixed clients why they don’t get their stuff mixed and mastered, the number one reason is money. It takes most artists years to realize that people in their communities (churches, frats, bowling leagues, etc) want to support them.

Many of those folks are willing to donate or invest money in recording projects.

Check out Sellaband.com

It is a site that allows fans to help fund their favorite musical artists.

Dutch singer Hind raised $60,000 in 11 days last month via Sellaband. Once the album is released, fans will receive a variety of goodies/incentives .

It never hurts to ask for cash if you believe in your product!

Do You Remember the CD?

Sound Recorder — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:20:33 +0000

Jacob Ganz hit many right notes on his NPR blog last week.

It got me thinking about how quickly things change.

Edison’s wax cylinders stored two to four minutes of music; that meant getting up and changing them over and over in order to enjoy one of the symphonies or operas that were the standard unit of music at that time.

By the time 78 rpm records replaced cylinders, a new manner of pop and jazz music had developed with individual songs of two to four minutes.

Can anyone be surprised that with today’s technology and artist overload, the three-minute track is giving way to the 20-second ringtone? Comments welcome!