Big thanks to all the CM readers who've been in touch to tell us how useful they're finding our current 'Special: How To Make It In Music. (Well, everyone likes to to be appreciated!) Here's a taste of what they're saying: "Insightful and intriguing" – Dan, musician/performer "I wish I'd had all that advice a few years back" – Alex, pro songwriter “Full of facts and tips to give aspiring pro musicians that all-important edge” – Paul, programmer/producer If you haven't picked up a copy yet, there's still time! The magazine – written by industry experts – uncovers everything you need to know to get on track for success in 2010. Discover how to: • Get your tracks heard • Promote your act • Build a fanbase • Make money • Make the leap from bedroom to pro producer • Be your own manager And if it's a full-time gig you're after, this is your chance to get insider advice from pros in the most coveted careers in the business. We've assembled a lineup of producers, tunesmiths, performers and tech-heads who share their insights on the skills you need, and reveal how you could get that break you've been seeking. Computer Music Special 40: How to Make It in Music Onsale dates*: UK, Europe and North America* - available now! ROW* - 24 March * Overseas dates are approximate due to factors beyond our control. Computer Music Specials are available from selected WH Smith, Barnes & Noble, Chapters and independent newsagents or online from www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk Questions? Problems? Contact us at computermusic.special@futurenet.com
Read more...
Based in County Durham, drum builder Andrew Street registered Liberty Drums as a limited company in 2006. The MPX is Liberty's latest, high-end, American maple shell pack drum kit, featuring fashionably shallow 'fast' toms. Build The MP (maple) X (extremely thin) kit is a five-shell pack with 10"x6" and 12"x6" shallow toms, together with 14"x12" and 16"x14" floor toms and a 22"x18" bass drum. The bass drum is undrilled and the small toms have lightweight aluminium Gauger RIMS mounts. "It's obvious that great care has been lavished on these shells and they are blemish free, the timber of high quality" The most striking thing about this set is the thin North American maple shells. The toms are six ply and 3.9mm thick while the bass drum is eight ply and 5.3mm thick. This, Andrew says, is the thinnest Liberty can make whilst guaranteeing the shells won't distort: "Just the right thickness for outstanding resonance but enough integrity to be strong." Bearing edges are a sharp 45 degrees and are cut and finished superbly. It's obvious great care has been lavished on these shells and they are blemish-free, the timber of high quality. Andrew currently uses his own design wooden moulds, but has begun converting to hydraulic, alloy moulds. The bass drum hoops are also maple ply, finished in contrasting natural lacquer, and have sharp edges, which we found a bit surprising. Surprising because everything else has been done with such thought and we'd prefer these to be rounded off slightly. The outside is satin mahogany (Mann's Brown Mahogany stain), one of six standard finishes. Unusually these days, the inside is finished in exactly the same way - another indication of Liberty's assiduousness. If you really want a different finish, Liberty can also do stain fades, or solid or stain high glosses. The MPX certainly has a distinctive look. The lugs are off-set top and bottom, forming a diagonal pattern around the shells. This is actually necessitated on the small toms by the shallow 6" shell depths - the generic, rounded lugs themselves being quite bulky. But, for consistency, the pattern is carried through on the large toms and bass drum also. Like most small new companies, Liberty relies on generic metalwork. This is no big deal except that you don't get the exclusivity of the big manufacturers. The bass drum spurs, tom tom legs and snare throw-off are all familiar, reliable designs. The toms have 2.3mm gauge steel hoops as standard, but Liberty can do a coloured powder coating if you so desire. Each drum is finished off with a rather tasty, etched Liberty badge. The 14"x6" review snare drum was included as another example of what Liberty can offer. It's a contrasting design in Finnish birch ply with natural gloss satin lacquer. The shell is rather thicker at 7.5mm (15-ply, each ply 0.5mm thick) and Liberty also offers to make snare shells via stave or single-ply steam bent construction, in 13" or 14" diameters and a choice of depths. This drum has 10 double-ended bridge lugs and die-cast rims rather than the standard triple-flanged. (2 pages; go to page: 2 )
Read more...
Categories:
Audio Production Tags:
carried-through, county-durham, exclusivity, indication, liberty, liberty-drums, natural-lacquer, north, shells, solid-or-stain, stave-or-single, timber
12th March 2010: MUTOOLS has announced MU.LAB 3. A pre-release version of MU.LAB 3 is already available for download for Windows and Mac OS X. New in MU.LAB 3: Function shortcuts: Map a key or MIDI event to almost a...
Read more...
12th March 2010: Monkey Tools has updated Library Monkey Pro and Sound Grinder Pro to v1.1.10. Changes: Added functionality to allow for the pruning of missing files as well as removal of any asset from any library....
Read more...
12th March 2010: Rob Papen has updated the Windows version of Predator to v1.5.8. Changes: Preset banks update (bugs). Banks of subject 05 Trance and PsyTrance 03 , 08 Ambient 02 and 04 HipHop DirtySouth 02, 04 HipH...
Read more...
12th March 2010: Intermorphic has updated Noatikl to v1.6.0.3 and Mixtikl to v2.1.0.6. Both products now include native 64-bit standalone and plug-in versions for Windows and native 64-bit standalone versions for Mac ...
Read more...
Every so often, I’m reminded of a simple fact: the greatest machine on the planet remains the human machine. So, yes, it may seem strange to one of the uninitiated to imagine strapping an iPhone to your wrist. And yes, musicianship in the digital age is partly about triggering, not just playing (though Onyx can really blow on his Akai wind controller.) But the bottom line is, the precision of movement and the genius of human musical creativity wins out. However unusual the technological solution, it can still tap into that power. In the video above, our friend Onyx Ashanti shows off his proof-of-concept work-in-progress as he assembles a new musical rig. Open source patching software Pure Data (Mac/Windows/Linux) is the sound source, proof that you can substitute free software at the center. The controller is an iPhone running TouchOSC (though this makes me want to revisit ultra-portable, open, embedded hardware with sensors). And yes, that’s one of AKAI’s wonderful EWI series, the digital input tool of choice for those with a wind background. Onyx says this is only to be one of two iPhones. Expect craziness to come, but I like watching things in progress, too – so I couldn’t resist sharing. http://onyx-ashanti.ning.com/
Read more...
11th March 2010: zplane has announced that a new version of the Elastique Pitch Plugin is available for download. The new version 1.1 brings new features and numerous minor bug fixes - it adds VST and AU support and r...
Read more...
11th March 2010: SONiVOX has announced the release of its new Grand Piano Virtual Instrument: Eighty Eight. It's available now with a MSRP of $199 for Windows and Mac OS X in Stand-alone and VST, AU and RTAS instrume...
Read more...
11th March 2010: Iliadis has updated Efthimia Electronic Organ to v1.4. Changes: GUI Changes. Now with 2 Percussion Oscs. Better Percussion Decay. Now with Overdrive. Adjustable Drawbars Tone. The Click Noise (not t...
Read more...