Performer Magazine: June/July 2020

THE MUSICIAN ’S RESO URCE

CORNERSHOP

JUNE/JULY ‘20 FREE

Tjinder Singh on owning his own label, the transition from analog to digital, and creating a full album experience

COVID-19 Resources for Musicians

The 11 Tips for Livestreaming Your Return Show From Home of CMJ?

5 Things to Spend Money on For Your Studio

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

VOLUME 30, ISSUE 3

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

COVER STORY

26

CORNERSHOP

by Benjamin Ricci

DEPARTMENTS 4. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 6. The Return of CMJ? 8. Pro Tips for Livestreaming 12. Insurance Do’s and Don’ts for Musicians 14. Music Will Survive COVID-19 16. COVID-19 News & Resources for Artists 32. Best Things to Spend Money on for Your Home Studio 36. Making Music in The Time of Quarantine

EMMA MCGANN

22

40. How to Set up a Home Studio 44. GEAR REVIEWS: PreSonus, Washburn, Celestion, and more…

Cover

Marie Remy

PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 3

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

I

started off last month’s letter from the editor by saying, “These are indeed strange and turbulent times.”

I had hoped, perhaps naively, that two months later when I sat down to write my next letter kicking off the new issue, things would somehow be better in this country. Perhaps we could have banded together to eradicate the virus (or at least follow the rules enough to slow the spread). Well, we failed miserably there.

Now we’re opening up all the states again with no real plan in place – I guess we’re taking the, “Hey, we barely tried and failed even at that minimum effort, so I guess we’re just living with it now” approach.

Then the murder hornets came, and thankfully, haven’t amounted to much (yet – this is 2020,

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after all). Then, we had a brief diversion from reality with the amusing (and equally appalling) antics of Tiger King (and man, doesn’t THAT seem like eons ago?)

We successfully survived Jumanji Level 6.

And then, in the span of 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the nation was turned on its head.

George Floyd was killed in the street, in broad daylight, by police officers in Minneapolis. And suddenly, things weren’t so funny. They never were in the first place.

I watched the video footage like everyone else. It tore my heart in two. I felt sad. I felt rage. I felt… defeated. What other reaction could you have?

I’m not sure there’s much more I can say, or that I’m even an appropriate person to be saying it.

I pause here to note that the original version of this letter was a lot longer, a lot more rambling and, frankly, did a very poor job conveying much of anything. Other than anger.

And dissapointment. It was not worthy of publication. Even after I re-wrote it about a dozen times.

Again, I questioned whether I was even in a position to say much of anything. So it’s here that I’ll leave you, and let Beyonce pick up the conversation in a letter she penned to the Attorney General in Kentucky. I think her voice should be elevated right now, not mine.

Black Lives Matter.

Stay safe, and be well.

Benjamin Ricci

1973-2020

Volume 30, Issue 3

PO BOX 348 Somerville, MA 02143 CONTACT Phone: 617-627-9200 Fax: 617-627-9930 PUBLISHER William House Phone: 617-627-9919 bill@performermag.com EDITOR Benjamin Ricci ben@performermag.com

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

George Floyd

DESIGN & ART DIRECTION Cristian Iancu EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Bob Dobalina editorial@performermag.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Adam Kagan, Barry Rudolph, Benjamin Ricci, Chris Devine, Eli Krantzberg, Emma McGann, Michael St. James, Sarah Jones CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS David Lee, Chris Almeida, Marie Remy, MIRLYN ADVERTISING SALES William House Phone: 617-627-9919 bill@performermag.com © 2020 by Performer Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any method whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher.

The magazine accepts no responsibility for unsolicited recordings, manuscripts, artwork or photographs and will not return such materials unless requested and accompanied by a SASE. Annual Subscription Rate is $30 in the U.S.; $45 outside the U.S. ABOUT US / Performer Magazine, a nationally distributed musician’s trade publication, focuses on independent musicians, those unsigned and on small labels, and their success in a DIY environment. We’re dedicated to promoting lesser-known talent and being the first to introduce you to artists you should know about.

MUSIC SUBMISSIONS / We listen to everything that comes into the office. We prefer physical CDs, cassettes and vinyl over downloads. If you do not have a physical copy, send download links to editorial@performermag.com. No attachments, please.

Send CDs to: Performer Magazine, Attn: Reviews, PO BOX 348, Somerville, MA 02143 CORRECTIONS / Did we make a heinous blunder, factual error or just spell your name wrong? Contact editorial@ performermag.com and let us know, cuz we’re big enough to say, “Baby, I was wrong.”

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS / In the words of our esteemed forefathers at CREEM: “NOBODY WHO WRITES FOR THIS RAG’S GOT ANYTHING YOU AIN’T GOT, at least in the way of credentials. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be sending us your stuff: reviews, features, photos, recording tips, DIY advice or whatever else you have in mind that might be interesting to our readers: independent and DIY musicians. Who else do ya know who’ll publish you? We really will...ask any of our dozens of satisfied customers. Just bop it along to us to editorial@performermag.com and see what comes back your way. If you have eyes to be in print, this just might be the place. Whaddya got to lose? Whaddya got?”

PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 5

MUSIC BUSINESS

Amaz The Re

I

n a world where we are encouraged to pick the music we listen to or follow a playlist, some have forgotten the joy of true discovery. I’m not talking about algos that match your birth date with your prom date and the last three songs you listened to in a specific genre. No, I am talking about a person–a real, live, music-loving person– just picking songs that people should know. That’s the spirit of radio.

And so it was that I was listening to AmazingRadio.com and heard HAIM for the first time. They blew me away, I couldn’t believe this band wasn’t signed. It wouldn’t be long before they stormed the scene. I could name countless other bands I found, too. Amazing Radio launched in the U.K. in 2009 with Punk sensibilities. They took over an airwave frequency that was literally playing bird calls, and proceeded to broadcast all independent, unsigned acts. No shit. The idea was simply to get these artists their first “radio” plays. Studios were made of cardboard boxes, they mixed genres, they were just about the music and community, and it worked. Over a decade later, having partnered in Glastonbury, SXSW, and introduced loads of independent acts to international fans–1975 and Bastille, among many others–the strategy is to conquer America.

To do that, they’d need to make a big splash and they’d need the right people to do it. Enter Andy Zicklin, the CEO of Amazing Radio. A man who was admittedly the worst musician in his high school jazz band (which featured Dave Koz on sax). He explored the punk scene of San Francisco in the late 1980s, worked at record stores, as a DJ at KUSF and the Quake, had a hypnotherapist practice for almost a decade, and then built a successful finance career.

After he moved his family to Barcelona for over a year following the financial crash, he started doing private equity, aggregating private equity for smaller investors which was much more in line with his rock and roll sensibilities. Add to that, he does motorcycle rides around the country taking photos (and they are really good) for a project he calls Lamfography. The music bug never left, and this

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MUSIC BUSINESS

zing Radio and Return of CMJ? An Interview with CEO Andy Zicklin renegade is back in the saddle leading the charge for independent music in the U.S. Let’s talk about Amazing Radio - the elevator pitch to artists and bands.

“You heard it here first” is our tagline. We bring emerging and new artists to the fans who want brand new music through digital radio.

So, first let’s talk bringing Amazing Radio to the U.S. What’s the timeline, how will it be different than the U.K. version?

In the coming weeks we are launching in the U.S. and it will be a slightly different process.

Artists can sign up at AmazingRadio.us to register early and we will email them when the upload process is open.

I think one way it will be different is that we are really focusing on making the experience different for fans by offering some different ways to interact with the service. For instance, we are going to be offering different tiers and rewards for “Super Fans” who are making playlists and sharing songs.

We’re looking to integrate a Tastemakers program, too. A few other differences include integrating video for things like livestream and rewind shows, and we will also have a lot of guided channels with actual DJs in addition to the mainstream.

For bands, we’re just really expanding our offerings to help them connect with fans and the industry, as well as provide the coveted radio plays.

It sounds like this version of Amazing Radio is much more focused on not just getting airplay for bands, but really giving artists a new way to realize revenue, too?

Absolutely, we definitely see Amazing Radio as a way for bands to not only get some new listeners, but also turn them into fans with special offerings. Just like the UK version, we are offering downloads, but we’re going further. We’re hoping to have merch offerings through our partners, vinyl, concert listings, and more. We are also really excited to be rolling out a mentoring department with some key people once the radio site is up and active to help bands navigate this crazy landscape.

What will the pricing be like for new artists or bands to sign up for Amazing Radio?

Pricing is as follows: for $25, bands can upload 5 songs (doesn’t have to be all at once). Artists will receive airplay on our uncensored stream of all bands that have uploaded, opportunity for radio play within the different specialty shows. We also promote the bands we play on the radio to tens of thousands of our fans (and growing) on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Someone told me that they spend $200 bucks on social media and get nothing. $25 for all that is a no-brainer. As a special incentive, we are going to run a first month special, 8 songs for the price of 5.

For artists, what will the company be doing to offer a way to leverage fans?

There will still be downloads. There will still be direct donations. We take nothing from that, the bands get all of that money, that hasn’t changed.

Amazing Benefits, our $10 per month premium plan, will include discounts on vinyl pressings, EMK, access to our industry portal, ability to post videos or livestream on AmazingTV, which will be rolled out after the radio launch.

All of the songs that you upload will be in consideration for the many areas of CMJ we are ramping up - the classic Marathon, other CMJ festivals, something we’re calling One Night Stands, livestreams, interview pods, and CMJ samplers on vinyl which we are really excited about.

Let’s talk about the CMJ - was this a deal to gain assets that help growth? It’s certainly a big splash in the American indie scene.

CMJ [f/k/a College Music Journal] still has tons of credibility within the indie community [ed. note – that remains to be seen…] and we just want to amplify/revive that. By combining CMJ and Amazing Radio, we are fusing live and digital to blow up the opportunities for new artists to find the fame — and cash — they deserve [ ed. note – this also remains to be seen…]. This is more important than ever in these turbulent times. I think we really caught lightning in a bottle with this tie-up.

Is it true you are bringing back the CMJ

Music Marathon in the fall?

The plan right now is to bring back the CMJ Music Marathon to New York in October. But we are also looking to expand the CMJ brand to include multiple festivals and little mini gigs under the same banner once this whole live music thing gets going again. NYC shouldn’t have all the fun.

Will there be a licensing side to the U.S. version like there was for the U.K one?

We think so, we definitely are interested in expanding micro-licensing for all of the artists that are being played. The U.K. version had a strong licensing presence for in-store plays and some other usages. The laws around the sync business are a little different in the States, but we will be rolling that out as we secure deals for the catalog.

How do artists track when their music is favorited or heard?

We plan on rolling out a very robust dashboard for artists to track their plays, and also engage with fans of their music. And there’s going to be an industry portal where we’re industry people can go check out press kits from different bands that they’ve heard on the air, because really, we’re an A&R company. We’re an incubator for unsigned bands from the music side of it, much like an independent A&R company.

Parting thoughts to the U.S. audience?

Yes, this is a crazy time, but music is going to be important to help us all get through it. Everyone is searching for bright spots and hope, what better time to launch a music initiative?

Come on over and see what we’re about, we want to help break your band to the largest audience possible and we look forward to hearing what you got.

For more information, head to AmazingRadio.us and sign up to be notified when uploads and artist areas are ready.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -Michael St. James is the founder and creative director of St. James Media, specializing in music licensing, publishing, production and artist development.

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MUSIC BUSINESS 8 JUNE/JULY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

MUSIC BUSINESS

11 PRO TIPS FOR LIVESTREAMING YOUR SHOW FROM HOME

Sarah Jones

I

f you’re like most musicians, gigs are your lifeblood. But when you can’t connect with your audience in person, livestreaming is your best opportunity to gain new fans and generate income while building momentum for your next show.

Livestreaming lets you provide a casual, intimate experience that offers a deeper connection to your fans. It’s also a great way to share new content, such as acoustic sets, Q&A sessions and glimpses behind-the-scenes.

The world’s biggest stars have embraced livestreaming, whether it’s Keith Urban performing from his basement on Instagram or Andrea Bocelli live-streaming a solo Easter concert from Milan’s empty Duomo cathedral to 5 million people around the globe.

The great news is, livestreaming can be done by anyone, just about anywhere there’s a web connection. In fact, you’re likely holding everything you need to get started in your hand right now. By investing in a few free and low-cost tools and following these simple tips, you’ll be on your way to producing a professional-quality event that will thrill your fans and keep them coming back for more.

CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORM Streaming services range from free, familiar social media platforms such as Facebook Live, Twitch, Instagram Live, YouTube Live and Google Hangouts to turnkey services that will host your event for you for a cut of earnings.

Get to know the unique features of each service: YouTube, Facebook and Instagram all offer instant “go live” functionality; Twitch, known for videogame streaming, has numerous

built-in promotional features including rewards for followers. Wowza offers VR and 360-degree streaming functionality. You don’t have to stick to one platform; you could use platforms like Facebook and Instagram to reach your established audience, for example, while using Twitch to build a new one.

THINK BEYOND THE BAR GIG Streaming events are opportunities to “expand your brand” and explore new content ideas: Bring your fans behind the scenes into your production process; hold Q&A sessions, podcast-style interview shows, masterclasses or live DJ sets. Consider “crowdsourcing” a festival or variety show by pairing up with artists, comedians and other performers.

Tip: Be mindful of playing cover songs; some services, including Facebook and YouTube, have agreements in place with rights holders, but performing copyrighted works without permission can get you flagged—and even banned—by others.

BE YOUR OWN PR AGENT Create a streaming landing page or social media event post and share it. This is a chance to cast a wide net—think global, not local. In your communications, include the platform you’ll be using, music you’ll be playing, topics you’ll be discussing, etc. Engage your audience by asking attendees to submit song requests and questions ahead of time. Consider asking a few people to host virtual “watch parties.” (Build lead capture into all of your communications so you can keep your new fans informed.)

BANISH BAD ACOUSTICS Choose a “stage” with good acoustics, one

that isn’t boomy or echo-y. Empty rooms and rooms with hard surfaces in them generate lots of reverb—which might feel fun to perform in, but will make your streamed show sound like mud.

Make a test recording in your space; if you hear echoes, break up the reflective surfaces in your room by adding curtains, wall hangings, an area rug, even a large plant.

CONSIDER A PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Your livestreaming setup can be as simple as a phone and an internet connection, or it can be a complex operation combining multiple cameras and microphones, professional lights, and simulcasting to many platforms. You can certainly stream a solo performance yourself without assistance, but you can pull off more complex scenarios if you have an extra hand.

Enlisting a friend to mix sound, switch between cameras and field audience questions lets you focus on nailing the perfect performance.

Remember, there’s a significant delay between your live performance and the streamed signal, so have your assistant monitor your show feed with over-ear headphones like AKG 371-BTs, which will provide some isolation from the sound in the room and offer wireless freedom of movement over Bluetooth. JBL 104-BT Compact Studio Monitors also offer Bluetooth functionality, which allows a partner to easily monitor your performance from other rooms.

CHANNEL YOUR INNER SET DESIGNER Creating visual interest is key to getting fans’ attention and keeping them engaged.

Make sure your space is well lit and free of obstructions and distractions. Set up bright, even lighting, especially on your face (a PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 9

MUSIC BUSINESS ring light provides uniform, shadow-free illumination) and run tests to make sure that dramatic lighting translates on camera. If using a video switcher, place a second camera overhead, on the floor, on an instrument, or even enlist a friend to manage a roving camera.

SAY BYE TO BUILT-IN MICS Yes, you can capture audio with your laptop or phone microphone, but if you’re a musician, chances are you’re aiming for better sound quality. Just about any standalone microphone will out-perform the mics built into your devices.

While multi-microphone setups are great, you can capture professional sound with a single mic.

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The simplest way to livestream a performance is to choose a versatile USB microphone such as AKG Lyra that allows you to capture ultra-HD audio directly with your phone, tablet or laptop.

Lyra also allows you to adapt its focus to capture a single performer, duets, or ensembles, plus it looks great on camera.

then send audio from your workstation output, from an interface or from a mixer with a USB connection to your computer. Soundcraft’s Notepad series small-format consoles combine pro-grade analog components with a USB audio interface and include Lexicon effects that’ll help you sound your best.

If you’re already using your computer for home recording, chances are you’re already set up to channel content into encoding software (Open Broadcaster Software is a popular opensource platform) that will feed your streaming platform. You can capture audio with the professional microphones you already own and

OPTIMIZE INTERNET PERFORMANCE The higher your stream quality, the more data you will be using, and the more bandwidth you will need. Make sure your internet connection is as robust as possible by using a hard-wired connection, running a speed test, choosing an off-peak time window

MUSIC BUSINESS and improving stability by shutting down bandwidth-hogging applications and ask other users to not to be streaming on your network at the same time as your performance (that means no Fortnite or YouTube, kids!)

PERFORM LIKE A PRO Always do a runthrough before you go live: Check everything, from your internet speed to your camera settings to your mic stand. Create a loose script or set list that will provide structure and consider putting up a title slide or video preroll to give viewers time to tune in, and to give you a small buffer. Then, it’s showtime! Perform directly into the camera lens, and make your

audience feel like part of the action by responding to comments and giving shout-outs. There’s a fine line between being engaging and rambling; stay focused and keep things tight.

ASK FOR TIPS, BUT ASK NICELY While platforms such as SoundStage and StageIt offer built-in ticketing, if you’re just getting started, consider making payment voluntary. Many streaming services have tipping features; you can also point fans to popular platforms like Venmo, PayPal and Buy Me a Coffee. Don’t forget to link to your website and merch pages and remind people about these options during your show.

TREAT EVERY END AS A NEW BEGINNING Take advantage of the momentum you just started with your event: Immediately afterward, take time to respond to fan comments and review feedback. Share your recorded stream with your fans; include a call to action to subscribe, check out merch or preview new tracks. Then comes the awkward part: Sit down and watch your performance with a critical eye, noting what worked and what didn’t. Review audience analytics, such as how long viewers tuned in and when they dropped off and use everything you’ve learned to hone a plan for putting on an even more amazing show next time.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 11

MUSIC BUSINESS

BEST PRACTICES: I DO’S AND DON’TS F

W

e know that we’re living in uncertain times, and I’m sure now more than ever many of you are itching to get back on the road.

Live performances are the lifeblood of the music industry, and where many independent artists earn a living. So, when the world does open up again, and concert venues and festivals welcome live performers back to their stages, it would be a great idea to head back to the gig fully prepared.

That’s why we recommend taking a look at entertainer insurance for your band, for when you are able to reschedule those tour dates (and hopefully that’s sooner rather than later). Liability insurance is a topic we’ve written about before, but in this article, we want to provide a few practical tips when researching policies for the first time.

DO Know what your policy covers. This isn’t something to take lightly, as some insurance companies have (logical) exclusions that may specifically rule out coverage for specific incidents. It’s important to know the full scope of your policy, and what, if any, exclusions may exist in the policies you’re researching.

In the past, we’ve seen some cases where animals that are not a part of your stage act might be outside your policy. Meaning, if you bring a pet to the festival gig to hang out backstage, and it causes bodily harm or damage to another person or property, that could be a no-no as far as your policy goes. In other words, you could be on the hook, financially, for those issues caused by Spike.

Be smart – know the full limitations of what your policy covers, so that there are no surprises when things go awry.

DON’T Don’t ignore insurance requirements set forth by events. Some festivals and outdoor performance events, and even some traditional venues, want live acts to carry insurance for their own benefit (and of course, to protect the venue – hey, self-interest and all, amiright?). Anyway, as much as we’d like you to rely on your booking agent to run through your performance contract with a fine-tooth comb, it in YOUR best interest to double check the details. If the promoter wants

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you to have coverage in place before you hit the stage, don’t ignore it until the day of the show.

It’s very likely they’ll pull the plug (literally) on your performance before you even sing a note.

With insurance so easy to quote online now, there’s really no excuse to blow off this requirement. You can, in many cases, even get single-event coverage so you only pay for what you need.

Bottom line: don’t leave the gig emptyhanded, wishing you had listened in the first place.

DO Shop around. There are different types of policies that cover different things and exclude

different things. Most importantly, they also provide varying levels of coverage and payouts in case you’re held liable for damages or injuries.

Think ahead about how much coverage you actually want, and what’s a reasonable amount of money that hospital bills, pain and suffering, etc. might amount to in case the unthinkable comes to pass.

You’re better safe than sorry, and don’t want to be holding the bag for a big financial payout when your policy could have had you covered for just this type or circumstance.

Your agent will help guide you to the right policy, so get a few different quotes if you’d like, and compare what each covers, what the

dollar limits are and then judge them against your specific needs.

DON’T Be afraid to ask questions. We see this a lot in the medical community – one of the biggest issues doctors bring up is that patients ask fewer questions at their annual checkups than they do about the menu when they go out to eat. Your health is important, and so is your insurance policy. ASK QUESTIONS. That’s what your agent is there for – they know this stuff inside and out, don’t just pick a policy blindly without fully understanding it.

Learn the basics of the policies that are

available so you can make an informed decision; the right decision. You don’t want to leave this type of decision to chance, this isn’t as simple as spinning a globe and pointing a finger to determine your next vacation spot; this will take a real effort to get at the heart of your band’s needs, and match them up with your agent to the right plan. Failing to ask now, means the possibility for headaches later on.

So take our advice, spare yourself the trouble and get the questions out of the way NOW. There are no stupid questions, and literally no one’s expecting YOU to be an expert on this stuff. That’s why your agent is there in the first place. Let them do their job

MUSIC BUSINESS

: INSURANCE S FOR MUSICIANS

and ask away.

CONCLUSION You’ve heard us repeat it a million times, but to be sure, always check over your insurance policy and ask your provider to answer any questions you may have. They have the answers, trust us.

The best policy (no pun intended) is consult a professional whenever you’re in doubt. Stay safe out there and look for more tips in the months ahead.

And in the meantime, check out www.kandkinsurance.com – you may qualify to get a quote or even purchase insurance online.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 13

MUSIC BUSINESS

Music Will Surv

E

veryone I talk to in the music industry these days is truly uncertain about the near-term future of music. Oh, you’ll find some who are optimistic about venues reopening “safely,” just as you will find some that say live music won’t return until next spring. You can find some who are saying that sync (licensing music 14 JUNE/JULY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

for TV, movies, ads, and games) is exploding right now, just as sure as you will find some who say that without new productions the sync game is a bit dormant. Same for streaming: more people with more time should mean racking up massive stream counts for everyone, but others are pointing to rising numbers in audiobooks

and podcasts as the driving force of those larger MAUs. The fact is: we don’t know.

Just like this damn virus, we really don’t actually know much for sure.

be ramped up quickly enough to truly get back to a sustainable model of sync for licensors and composers.

That sucks, right?

Musicians are naturally an optimistic bunch.

Hell, we’ll drive halfway across the country in hopes of a half sold out show, we’ll blow $8-15k of our own money on a recording that we hope people will buy, listen to, or at the very least give a damn about. And now, as some bars and venues slightly reopen with limited capacity and outdoor patios, tons of players are willing to risk it just to play live in front of actual live people (rather than a phone that’s live streaming from a basement).

So, what’s the truth? As with everything, it lies somewhere in the middle. Clubs will try putting on these limited shows and yes, some fans will come out and support. Will your band be able to book out 6 months in advance like normal? No. Will you be able to go on tour anytime soon? Not a chance. You may see a small bump in streaming numbers from a certain percentage of fans, but keep in mind, your fans are also getting hooked on new podcasts and Spotify is still suing to prevent songwriters and publishers from making more money.

Here’s what we do know. Music will survive.

It always has. During the pandemic 100 years ago, these same questions were raised, believe it or not. Opera houses and musicals were shut down, as were small musical outfits. But lo and behold, it gave way to the Roaring ’20s, when Jazz, Big Band, Blues, and Broadway exploded.

There will be live music again.

We don’t know whether clubs and venues will be able to subsist on very limited capacity and demand and for how long. We don’t know whether consumer listening and streaming shows will be a blip or a sustained change in behavior. We don’t know whether entertainment productions which rely on underlying music will

There will be a recording industry, people will stream, TV shows will need licensed songs.

Even though the phonograph was invented in 1877, it wasn’t until the 1920s right after a global pandemic when independent record labels and new acoustic recording technology was invented which paved the way for records to take off.

Coupled with an explosion in radio and ASCAP, the modern music industry as we know it can be traced right back to the 1920s after the last great global pandemic. There will be recorded music, and it will flourish.

We are a country driven by entertainment; productions will come back. They will need great music to place in the shows, games, movies, and yes, even ads. Except these ads won’t just

be filled with sad piano chords under narrators somberly saying, “In these challenging times, we’re with you” and other such crap. Pretty sick of THAT commercial, which seems like EVERY commercial.

MUSIC BUSINESS

rvive COVID-19 I’m going to be brutally honest with you though, not everyone is going to make it. Many venues and probably most small clubs won’t survive past the fall unless something drastically changes in terms of a vaccine or treatment. The demand just will not outweigh the risk. By the way, go support National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) www.nivassoc.org and do what you can to help.

Some small studios and filmmakers won’t make it. Some gaming companies will be swallowed by bigger ones for the IP. When live music comes roaring back, people will demand the best of the best; “good” won’t do.

With fewer venues, fewer gigs and lower budgets, the bands that guarantee a draw will be first in line for bookings, and in some cases, that means a stable of safe cover or tribute bands. But there will be a desire for new, exciting, independent, sweaty, and sexy music. Right now, pretty much every big tour planned for this summer is already booked for the same date next year. So, sorry, I know it’s a huge letdown, but you will not be able to play Red Rocks or Wembley until 2022 at the very earliest, no matter how big your next EP hits!

The point is to be optimistic, but also realistic. Don’t try to push your band or your fans too hard right now. Everyone has to deal with this in their own way. Take care of your own music community, pay attention to the changes in public policy. This is a perfect time to get your music prepared for licensing. Write and produce something new, not with the intention of putting it out, but just to be alive and awake in this time as an artist. It’s going to take patience, but music will come back, and if history teaches us anything, it may be better than ever.

No one is sure how long this virus crap will last, but I know how long music will: forever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -Michael St. James is the founder and creative director of St. James Media, specializing in music licensing, publishing, production and artist development.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 15

COVID-19 RESOURCES

Club Passim Raises $100,000 For Musicians in Need

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Money Has Helped More Than 180 Artists To Date

lub Passim has raised more than $101,000 for musicians in need through its Passim Emergency Artist Relief (PEAR) Fund. $87,000 has already been distributed to 182 artists, with additional applications coming in every day. Launched on March 16, the PEAR Fund was created to help musicians dealing with the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Passim continues to take donations and requests for aid at passim.org/PEARfund.

“It has been very meaningful for us to be able to do something positive to help artists get through this difficult time,” said Jim Wooster, Executive Director of Passim. “All of us at Passim are extremely grateful to the 16 JUNE/JULY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

community for its generous support of the PEAR fund.”

Passim launched the “Keep Your Distance Fest,” a virtual music festival to support the PEAR Fund. Artists including The Wolff Sisters, Darlingside, Laura Cortese and nearly 170 others have submitted videos sharing songs about staying calm, hope, and sticking together and encouraging people to give to the PEAR Fund. The complete playlist is online now at Passim’s YouTube page.

About Passim The mission of Passim is to provide truly exceptional and interactive live musical experiences for both performers and audiences,

to nurture artists at all stages of their career, and to build a vibrant music community. Passim does so through their legendary listening venue, music school, artist grants and outreach programs. As a nonprofit since 1994, Passim carries on the heritage of our predecessorsthe historic Club 47 (1958-1968) and for-profit Passim (1969-1994). We cultivate a diverse mix of musical traditions, where the emphasis is on the relationship between performers and audience and teachers and students. Located in Harvard Square, Passim serves Cambridge and the broader region by featuring local, national and international artists. Our ultimate goal is to help the performance arts flourish and thereby enrich the lives of members of our community.

For a complete schedule, visit www.passim.org.

COVID-19 RESOURCES

Student Organization Launches ‘Worldwide Day of Gratitude’ to Honor COVID-19 Heroes

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irst responders and healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic were honored on April 30 as part of “Worldwide Day of Gratitude,” a global coming together through the arts organized by the student-run organization, YOUnison.

Music has long served as a unifying force during challenging times. For Worldwide Day of Gratitude, teachers and students of all ages, as well as the general public, were invited to learn and share the iconic Bill Withers song, “Lean on Me,” which has emerged as a rallying cry for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting April 14, sheet music authorized by Hal Leonard Corporation, as well as sample lesson plans and thought starters for participation were available at https://www.younison.org/leanonus.

Participants were encouraged to download

the materials, then record and share their unique versions on YouTube and post on social media channels using the hashtags #LeanOnUs and #DayOfGratitude.

“The effort put forth by the first responders and healthcare workers has been incredibly inspiring to so many around the world,” says Andrew E. Morrison, co-founder of YOUnison, a student-centered community empowering YOU to achieve musical excellence based around selfdirected learning, creativity and collaboration.

“To show our gratitude, teachers, students, and people of all ages can use the power of music and the arts to unite to honor these amazing heroes.”

The Worldwide Day of Gratitude has attracted the attention and collaboration from the leading organizations in music and education, including Arts Ed NJ,

CMA Foundation, D’Addario Foundation, Drum Corp International, Grammy Music Education Coalition, Hal Leonard Corporation, John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, Little Kids Rock, Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, NAMM Foundation, Noteflight, Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, Save The Music Foundation, Teach Rock, Yamaha and YOUnison.

About YOUnison A student-centered community empowering YOU to achieve musical excellence based around self-directed learning, creativity, and collaboration. YOUnison’s mission is to redefine lifelong individual development through music, leadership and social-emotional learning.

Learn more at www.younison.org or contact the team at info@younison.org.

PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 17

COVID-19 RESOURCES

Shure Works With Musicians To Start #FoundSoundChallenge While Supporting MusiCares Foundation

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hile people adhere to stay-at-home guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are looking at new ways to maintain creativity. Shure, a global leader in audio equipment, is working with top artists from a range of musical genres to recreate songs using household items and posting their performance on social media. These performances will serve as inspiration to others to re-create their favorite songs by using items around the house, such as kitchen utensils, toys, books, furniture or other materials.

As part of the effort, Shure will make a total donation of $100,000 to MusiCares Foundation. This donation comes in a time of need as recently MusiCares reported their COVID-19 Relief Fund is depleted and was

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forced to stop accepting new applications until more money is raised.

Artists Shure has recruited to help with the initial wave of performances include Jacob Collier and Scarypoolparty. Artists will post performances to their Instagram feed and will be shared across Shure social channels including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Jacob Collier kicked things off with his re-creation on Tuesday, May 12.

“Music continues to be a central part of our lives and I think we’re all looking for ways to unlock creativity while we’re spending more time at home,” said Erik Vaveris, Vice President of Global Marketing at Shure. “This is one way we can have fun while supporting a great cause.”

About MusiCares MusiCares Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1989 and incorporated in 1993 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Meant for musicians to have a place to turn in times of financial, personal, or medical crisis, its primary purpose is to focus the resources and attention of the music industry on human service issues which directly impact the health and welfare of the music community.

The foundation’s programs include emergency financial assistance, addiction recovery, outreach and leadership activities, and senior housing. MusiCares also offers hearing clinics backstage at several major festivals around the U.S. to help musicians protect their ears. Since 1989, MusiCares has distributed more than $48 million to artists in need.

COVID-19 RESOURCES

Summer NAMM 2020 Cancelled

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ear NAMM Family,

After speaking with so many of you and closely following the latest news regarding the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Summer NAMM, scheduled for July 9–11 in Nashville. We sincerely recognize the importance of this annual mid-year gathering for our industry. However, the current circumstances make it impossible to hold the show or to undertake the many months of careful planning and preparation that are required to create a secure and organized event.

in Nashville, we will continue to connect our community to help everyone move forward. Our focus remains on guiding our members to the financial relief that so many badly need through the CARES Act. In addition, the NAMM team has been sourcing and sharing the most creative strategies that are working in music retail and online music learning, vital tools to survive these unprecedented economic times. The NAMM website is your trusted and reliable place to get the latest news; please utilize https://www. namm.org as our virtual gathering spot for the time being.

In spite of not being able to be together

As difficult as these days are, we gain strength

and inspiration from the generations of NAMM members who came before us, overcoming every obstacle in their way. And in that spirit, we can just imagine the heartfelt celebrations that will occur when we are all together again in Anaheim next January. In the meantime, please stay safe and connected to each other; with perseverance, vision and passion, we will succeed.

C.F. Martin NAMM Chair Joe Lamond NAMM President and CEO PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 19

COVID-19 RESOURCES

I

Los Angeles-Based Organization Equal Sound Launches Coronavirus Relief Fund

n response to the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating effect on the artistic community, the Los Angeles-based organization Equal Sound launched the Corona Relief Fund (CRF) on March 12, 2020.

Through the fund, musicians can apply for an initial grant up to $500 to help cover expenses due to the impact of COVID-19. Guidelines to apply and ways to donate are listed at https:// equalsound.org /project /corona-relieffund The Equal Sound Corona Relief Fund 20 JUNE/JULY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

is one of a handful of initiatives that has received national attention from publications such as Billboard, NPR Music, and The New Yorker. The fund has received requests from thousands of artists across the nation in need of assistance. In order to meet this demand, the non-profit has assembled a team of six volunteers working to raise both earmarked funding for CRF and general operating support to administer the fund.

Despite its lean operations, Equal Sound launched the CRF and distributed its first

payments weeks ahead of the national response from the United States government.

Interested partners and sponsors may go to https://equalsound.org/project/ corona-relief-fund for more information.

ABOUT EQUAL SOUND Founded in 2015 by Artistic Director Nick Norton, Equal Sound curates experiences that illuminate the threads between music genres to attract and engage new audiences from all musical worlds. Equal Sound is dedicated to the idea that all music is created equal.

COVID-19 RESOURCES

Music Advocates Denounce Big Radio Bailout in HEROES Act

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ollowing the release of the House of Representatives’ draft HEROES Act, SoundExchange, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), the Future of Music Coalition and the Recording Academy issued the following statement: “The economic impact of COVID-19 is very real and causing dramatic upheaval in local communities throughout the country. Musicians are proud that during this time of isolation, uncertainty and crisis, communities have turned to music for strength and comfort. That is why earlier efforts by Congress to provide aid to truly local broadcasters who serve their communities with unique and locally-relevant content has merit and received broad support.”

“However, language in the HEROES Act introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives essentially greenlights a warrantless Big Radio Bailout for every massive broadcaster within the multibillion dollar industry who can lay claim to a smaller station within their portfolio. To be clear: there are a small number of broadcasting companies who own hundreds of stations in markets of all sizes across the country, and the language in this bill will provide more help, even if unintentionally, to companies like iHeartMedia, Cumulus and Sinclair than it will to the small independent broadcasters truly hurting in this environment.

The stunningly broad language would divert assistance away from true community outlets in favor of the same mega corporations

that have been laying off thousands of local employees in a wave of consolidation. Truly small, non-commercial and community radio stations shouldn’t be forced to compete with huge companies for limited payroll assistance.”

“There is a difference between supporting vital local news outlets and billion dollar broadcast conglomerates, especially given that these enormous radio conglomerates refuse to compensate recording artists for using their music, in contrast with satellite radio and streaming services that do pay. With so many people in need at this time, let’s keep the focus where it should be: small businesses and workers, not on big broadcasters.”

PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 21

SPOTLIGHT

Emma McGann on Maintaining Artistic Momentum During the Pandemic Emma McGann

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MIRLYN

SPOTLIGHT PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 23

SPOTLIGHT

“It’s been interesting to see the world utilize a format I’ve been using for years to continue connecting with their audiences.”

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riginally, I planned to be on an April 20th plane to Seattle to start the ‘Duality Tour,’ the biggest tour of my career to date - 21 dates across North America.

No easy challenge for an artist with no label support. While planning the tour, I came up with a new hybrid touring format that I knew could benefit artists of every level - especially for those touring for the first time. The idea consists of live in-person shows and simultaneous virtual

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shows, through which fans can grab a Virtual Tour Pass, even if they’re on the other side of the world. The purpose of this format was to make live shows more accessible and inclusive worldwide, and at the same time, enable artists at any level to tour in a more financially viable way, beyond their normal venue ticket sales. My ‘Duality Tour’ across the US was set to be the first implementation of this.

Of course, my travel plans changed. I’ve been

at home here in the UK in my pyjamas, staying inside like much of the world, riding out what is a very surreal and very dark moment in time for us all. Like many hard-working artists out there, I had to postpone my tour ( just two days after the tour announcement). It was a hard but necessary hit to take.

In the wake of the pandemic, I quickly pivoted towards a Plan B, where the virtual element of my ‘Duality Tour’ could remain in place. Although

SPOTLIGHT

those 10 songs to Bandcamp as Jungle Tapes, an acoustic fundraiser album priced at £8. I am donating 100% of the proceeds to Intensive Care Society here in the UK to directly help our healthcare workers. ICS provides wellbeing resources for nurses and doctors and sends additional care packages to aid those working day-in-day-out, helping to save the lives of those affected. The album will remain on Bandcamp indefinitely, and I’ll continue to donate those proceeds each week to ICS for as long as they come through. Hugely grateful to have raised £345 [in just the first week].

While we prepare for my first run of Virtual Shows, I’ve been reflecting on how much positive action I’ve seen from people worldwide. Whether it be through a fundraiser to help a cause or using a livestream to hang out with fans while they’re stuck at home - we’ve all found a way to continue to be together and support one another. I’m so grateful for those who continue to support me at a time like this.

Virtual Tour Pass holders have helped to cover the loss of the tour cancellation itself - which is a huge deal. I’m thankful that we had it in place to begin with, and I look forward to performing both virtually and at my US tour dates when we are able to reschedule them in the future.

Follow on Instagram: @emmamcgann

the physical tour itself has been postponed, weekly virtual shows will proceed via my website with my Virtual Tour Pass (with a slight change of venue - my neon jungle home studio). When SXSW was cancelled, my mind went to all of the artists who would be missing out, and I foresaw in that moment just how much livestreaming was going to come into play and be a saving grace. It’s been interesting to see the world utilize a format I’ve been using for years to continue connecting with their audiences.

Currently, it’s the closest thing we have to a live show.

In an effort to combat helplessness in the weird, emotional realm of lockdown, I rebooted my “10 Songs Challenge,” encouraging my audience to stay creative and write one song every day for 10 consecutive days. I’d push out daily writing prompts to help guide their ideas and I took part in the challenge myself, uploading a full song each day. Then, I uploaded

EMMA MCGANN JUNGLE TAPES VOL. 1 STANDOUT TRACK: “FADE AWAY”

PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 25

SPOTLIGHT

TJINDER SINGH On Cornershop’s Latest LP, Managing His Own Label and Staying Focused in the time of COVID-19 Benjamin Ricci

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Chris Almeida and Marie Remy

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SPOTLIGHT

T

his year marks the 23rd anniversary of “Brimful of Asha,” one of the quintessential British pop songs of the 1990s (I do hesitate to actually lump it in with “Britpop,” as I feel that’s doing the song a disservice, but you can do what you like, dear reader). It landed on the shores of the States in spectacular fashion, complete with a colorful, retro-vibe video on MTV and a Fatboy Slim remix that remains a classic to this day. But if that’s all you know of Cornershop, the band, you owe it to yourself to seek out more from Tjinder Singh’s group of musical merrymakers. Much more than a mere one-hit-wonder, Cornershop has continued releasing some of the best poprock albums in the UK for the past 20+ years, and their new 2020 release, England is a Garden, might just be in the running for album of the year.

We recently spoke with Singh about the record, the pandemic, his label and what’s been going on with the group since “Brimful.”

There was a five-year gap between the new album, England is a Garden, and the last Cornershop record. Can you tell us what you’ve been up to these past few years?

them to be good songs, so I took a lot of time to work on the recording; getting back to lyrics was different to how I had generally worked, so that took a while, too.

gymnasts out there, who could not put one of their own songs together. Luckily, we all play guitar, so a variety of sound can build and come from that.

Over time, it dawned on me that we were possibly at the end of our career, and therefore it was worthwhile to take whatever time it took to make it exactly as we wanted it. Career or broke - and the reviews have come back to support the approach, with many calling it album of the year already, which is very upful [ed. note – British slang for positive] to us.

When it comes to the studio, you’ve been around long enough to see the industry’s shift from tape to digital. Do you approach the recording process any differently now in the 2020s? Do you have a home studio set up where you can demo tracks before you do the studio versions?

The new album contains some of the best songs we’ve ever heard from the band.

Do you approach the writing process any differently now, as opposed to when the band was first recording albums in the ’90s?

No, exactly the same. There was always the use of more instruments or technology, but the basic approach is the same. Production for me is about knowing different areas of as much music [that] is out there. If you think something is bad, it’s not enough to just dismiss but to have the reasons why. This is as important as why you like music. We generally concentrate on albums, so then there is the need to make songs sit next to each other for a full listening experience. Variety

“Personally, I achieved everything I wanted in life at the age of eight. The rest has been a bonus.”

We have never stopped as a group and have always worked hard over the long years. I went through a stage of not feeling too well - a sort of burnout, which meant I had no option but to slow right down. That was one reason to put out so many other artist’s albums on our own label, Ample Play Records. This meant being creative, and working hard for other groups, but taking the foot off the workload I was not able to attend to with my own music.

When my writing work resumed it was fast, but due to resting I didn’t have all the lyrics I usually have at hand. Thankfully, [musical] ideas still came, so songs got started. Then we wanted 28 JUNE/JULY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

is usually good for that and makes for a more interesting back catalogue.

There’s an almost-instantly recognizable strum pattern to the guitar parts on Cornershop records - is the guitar your primary writing instrument?

That is very generous of you.

Guitar is not exactly my primary, vocals probably are, but it is used a lot for initial ideas.

Me and Benedict [Ayres] have always reneged on learning guitar any more than basic, for that may pigeonhole ideas. There are too many guitar

When we first started it was home cassette.

Then 4-track cassette recorders. Then a small studio setup, whilst working in studios with very good setups. There was a general paranoia about going for an analogue sound when we first started, and digital sounds clipped harshly with shrieks. Then digital got a whole lot more like analogue with the benefits of recall, less space/ ease of portability, and lower overhead costs.

My turning point was listening to a French mp3 designer/scientist do a talk in a small Britany village about the difference between mp3 and vinyl and I agreed with him, and did walk with my burdens lifted in total praise of both digital and vinyl, and my paranoia never reared its face again.

Right now, live performances and touring are pretty much shut down worldwide. Did you guys have plans to tour behind the record before the pandemic broke, and if so, are you making alternate plans now to do any live-streaming or reschedule shows for later in the year?

We actually stopped touring in 2013, so no need to live stream or rescheduling.

Have you found any creative inspiration or motivation during these times? We’ve been speaking to a lot of artists, and people are all over the place.

Some are finding the downtime to be a catalyst for creativity, while others are feeling uninspired to do anything right now. I’d be curious to hear how you’re handling everything.

Just before COVID-19 we released our album and went into admin mode. As we own our own label, we have to work a few different turbans at any time. I don’t think lockdown is too creative for me. If you think about it, it gets too much, if you don’t and are able to, you are a sucker. So, we stay middle ground and let the admin [work] help us through.

I think one of the incredible things about the new record is how modern it sounds, while still retaining a

SPOTLIGHT PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 29

SPOTLIGHT

vibe of the Britpop era - which raises two questions. One, do you look back on the ’90s as a particularly special time in British pop music, or is that just a nostalgic view that music fans have put on it in the subsequent years?

Thanks for that modern and old, the French scientist would be happy. I do look back at the ’90s as a special time for music. There were so many different musical sounds going on, visuals were making for a greater listening experience, then all of a sudden in the year 2000 we set the clock back to just white indie boy groups and bad chart music - all the acceptance for other sounds went as if they had never lived side by side.

How do you maintain good relationships with bandmates over this many years and keep the music from sounding stale?

Personally speaking, I know it’s hard to keep a lineup intact for one record, let alone keeping members for 5, 10 or 20+ years. Is there a way that you approach interpersonal relationship that others might learn from?

Well, we have had changes of band members.

My brother Avtar and David used to be with us when we were first born. But me and Ben studied together and have always been there except for about 6 months. Things change, people have moved on at times, but ultimately, I have always tried to treat others as you want to be treated, and that means we have forsaken some opportunities because some non-band people, in fact most people, are full of shit. To get on you really have to see the shit in people.

You’ve infused a lot of Indian elements into your band’s sound, not just on this record but of course on tracks like “Brimful of Asha” and others. As an American, I’d be interested to hear if you ever received any pushback in the UK either from labels or listeners about that. We’ve heard some horror stories from artists of color in the States about their experiences with prejudices, so I’d be interested to hear your experiences. And if anything has changed since you first entered the business (either for the better, or worse).

No, I’m glad to report this side of the pond nothing has changed. We have always had to accept that we always start from square one. No matter if you have released an album like When I Was Born For The 7th Time or Handcream For A Generation or Disco & The Halfway To Discontent or The Double O Groove Of or Judy Sucks A Lemon For Breakfast, or England Is A Garden.

However, due to this last album we have given life to all our releases before it, which is a very welcome and positive turn of events – this book has opened all chapters in the series before

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SPOTLIGHT Follow on Instagram: @cornershophq

“We have forsaken some opportunities because some non-band people, in fact most people, are full of shit.”

it. Sometimes I pity for those white people in the band, they would have done far better without me.

As for my part, I would have given up if it wasn’t for the continued need to prove some slackers that they are all-day slackers.

Finally, where do you see the band’s direction headed in the future? After 25 years, I can’t imagine you’ve got anything left to prove. But is there anything else, musically or otherwise, that perhaps you haven’t done yet that you can see Cornershop doing in the years ahead?

Personally, I achieved everything I wanted in life at the age of eight. The rest has been a bonus.

We never have had any musical goals, that’s for white indie rock groups.

CORNERSHOP ENGLAND IS A GARDEN STANDOUT TRACK: “ST MARIE UNDER CANON”

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GEAR TIPS

THE 5 BEST THINGS TO SPEND MONEY ON FOR YOUR STUDIO

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GEAR TIPS

T

Eli Krantzberg

he subject of how best to spend your money to improve your productions will be different for everyone.

Maybe you are a weekend warrior who wants to jam with friends every Friday night, or perhaps you are running a post-production business with clients coming by regularly.

Maybe you are recording bands in a large space or beat making in your bedroom. Do you see what I am getting at? Everyone has unique needs. Sure, we all want better monitors, microphones, preamps, interfaces, computers, plug-ins, et cetera. In this blog, I’ll focus on a handful of aspects of enhancing your production workf low that will benefit anyone and everyone. Things that will make us more creative, productive and richer, regardless of end-game business goals or the gear we may or may not already have or that we lust after.

I. Reflections Aren’t Just In Mirrors The biggest mistake we make when setting up new studios is underestimating the importance of room acoustics. Acoustics affect the quality of what we hear more than our particular choice of monitors, microphones, preamps, or converters. Fortunately, this problem need not be an expensive one to solve.

One of the most noticeable problems in small room acoustics tends to be in the bass response. Commercial bass traps are readily available from companies like Auralex and GIK. Bass traps are often placed in corners, so they remain out of your way, and they smooth out the lumpy low-end problems that lead to poor translation and muddy or lean low frequencies in your mixes.

Whenever sound is generated in a room, part of the sound travels directly to your ears (or microphone) and part of the sound bounces off the surfaces of the room and then reaches your ears (or microphone). These reflections, which follow the direct signal by only a few milliseconds, are called first reflections and these reflections combine with the direct sound and affect the overall frequency balance and clarity of the sound. Variables like the size and shape of the room and the nature of the reflective surfaces determine how the reflected PERFORMER MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2020 33

GEAR TIPS sounAuralex, among many other companies, sells a wide range of absorption panels for this purpose. Don’t overdo it, though, as too much absorption can make a room sound “dead.” A certain amount of reflections are necessary to keep things sounding natural and open, but some rooms can be more dead than others. Small vocal booths, for instance, can be made much more dead (less reflective) than larger performance areas for recording acoustic instruments. Control rooms should be a mixture of reflective areas and dead areas, following the live-end-dead-end principles.

Acoustic diffusers work in conjunction with absorption panels by scattering reflections, so sound doesn’t get focused directly back to any specific area. Diffusion helps retain a natural sense of space and a smooth frequency response. Strategically placed bookshelves, for instance, can act as low-cost natural diffusers. The uneven nature of the surfaces forces a random 34 JUNE/JULY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

sort of dispersion of acoustic reflections.

Companies like GIK Acoustics, among others, manufacture decorative acoustic diffuser panels based on established acoustic theory.

Ceiling clouds help reduce unwanted reflections from the ceiling. A modest amount of money spent on a combination of absorber panels, diffusers, and ceiling clouds goes a long way to tracking and monitoring in more neutral environments. Online acoustic planning and analysis programs are available from many acoustic companies, like this one from GIK or this one from Auralex.

II. Make Good Monitors Sound Great Now that your room is acoustically treated, it’s essential to calibrate your monitors so they work optimally with the unique frequency response curve of your studio space. Most modern speakers include some onboard DSP to compensate for things like reflections

due to walls or corners behind or close to the speakers. These simple EQs are often just coarse two- or three-position dipswitch adjustments. While useful, these EQ controls don’t compare with accurately calibrating your monitors using software-based analysis and correction like that in Sonarworks Reference.

Reference 4 from Sonarworks calibrates, or “tunes” your monitors to your room.

It does this by taking a series of acoustic measurements around the listening area and calculating a correction curve so that you can mix on your monitors with confidence. Your monitors are, in effect, unaffected by the frequency dips and boosts that are inherent and unique to your studio.

Besides frequency issues, many studios have simple-to-fix problems like unbalanced volume between left and right speakers. Be sure not to just set the dial to what looks like the same setting on your monitors, but also

Utilizing room correction software like Reference 4 ensures that your mixes will translate consistently when played back in other environments and listening conditions.

We may not be able to control the listening conditions that our mixes are played back in, but Reference 4 allows us to trust the environment where we produce and mix our music.

III. Ergonomics We spend a lot of time in our studios— most of it seated in front of our screens and monitors. The chair we sit in is undoubtedly THE most used piece of gear in our studios. In addition to creating in it, we also often eat and even fall asleep in it. A good chair is crucial not only to our comfort but our health as well.

Those of us over forty will surely know what I am talking about. For those younger producers, enjoy your healthy backs and arms while you still can. Buy yourself a good; make that a GREAT chair. In 20 years, you will look at that chair as the best purchase you’ve ever made.

A good studio chair needs to be comfortable, adjustable, and mobile, since we need to move around while we are working to reach patch bays, outboard gear, etc. Most importantly, we need a chair to support our backs and arms. Good posture is critical to preventing back injuries, as well as carpal tunnel and tendonitis-related problems. An adjustable armrest is vital to ensure your arms are at a 90% angle with your keyboard. Excellent support for your back goes a long way not only in keeping you comfortable during long editing

or mixing sessions but also in keeping you pain-free twenty years from now.

IV. Upgrade Your Skills Your room is sounding great, your speakers are calibrated, and you are comfortably set up to create music. Now what? Education would be a wise place to invest in for yourself. The value of expanding your knowledge applies not only to our creative lives but to life in general.

Never before in history have we had such good tools for creating music, as readily available, and as affordable than now. But we have to learn how to use these tools in order to get the best out of them and out of ourselves.

The Internet is full of information about using your favorite music-making hardware and software. Some of it is good and some of it is not . Some of it is just plain wrong. Do yourself a favor and invest in professionally authored and curated training materials from one of many respected online resources like Groove3. These days, videos are ubiquitous.

YouTube can be hit-and-miss not only in terms of quality but also in continuity. You may pick up some useful tips, but you may miss out on some important fundamentals.

Services like Goove3.com and Puremix. com host industry professionals and skilled educators who share their techniques and knowledge in structured, organized and complete courses that cover all the bases.

Whether you want to learn the basics of using your DAW, how to get the most from the latest plug-ins, how to track instruments, how to tap into your creativity or advanced mixing strategies, it’s all there. For those who prefer reading, Groove3 also provides access to Hal Leonard’s curated production library in easyto-use digital ebook form.

Online education centers are not particularly expensive in the grand scheme of things and will help you bring your skills up to a professional level much more quickly than endlessly trolling through YouTube. Many services provide subscription plans or à la carte viewing options.

V. Listen, Listen, Listen So, you’ve got your room and monitors optimized, you’re comfortably set up and you’re up to speed with all your hardware and software. What’s next?

GEAR TIPS

measure the volume using an SPL meter or room correction software to make sure your levels are perfectly matched. A much more subtle problem occurs when the left and right speakers have slight timing differences and the sound that reaches your ears is not perfectly in phase between the left and right channels.

Reference 4 software corrects this problem, as well as channel volume matching and overall frequency response.

Being creatives, we all need to derive inspiration from somewhere. Artists look at paintings. Authors read books. Musicians listen to music. Spend some money on a good streaming subscription and access the best music in the world. Given that we all strive to create high-quality material, it’s worth paying a few extra dollars for a premium service like Tidal or Qobuz, where you can stream music at high resolution.

Most importantly, make sure to set aside time for listening. Given that streaming services make content easily downloadable to your mobile devices, it’s easy to listen away from the studio. I enjoy listening when going on long walks. I get back to the studio with my creative juices flowing, full of ideas to try out.

Listening to music stimulates not just musical ideas, but production ideas, too. Old music, new music, it doesn’t matter – they all have production aesthetics unique to their era and provide jumping-off points to inspire you to navigate specific roadblocks or bottlenecks in your creativity.

The tools to create great music and great productions have never been so abundant to so many. These investment suggestions will help you get the most out of whatever means you have to work with. Whether it is a beatup old guitar and an SM57 or a fully decked out Pro Tools HDX rig with the best vintage gear available, we all have the tools to create memorable music. Get comfortable, get inspired and get productive!

[Ed. note -- This article was originally published at www.sonarworks.com – it has been re-published here with permission.]

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GEAR TIPS

Making Music In Quarantine Adam Kagan

GEAR TIPS

M

ost of the world is shut down.

People are working from home, staying indoors and wondering when life will return to normal. Those of us who work for ourselves, or who are artists, or who are simply workaholics wish to continue creating, despite the situation and mood outside. I’ve taken to self-isolation, staying at home with my family, while we wait out this pandemic. I have made some serious adjustments to my work-style and I want to share some tips on being productive in this downtime.

I mix and master mostly in my private mix room and a couple of days a week I’m at Chalice Recording Studios, a multi-room studio complex in Hollywood.

Los Angeles, like many cities around the world, has shut down, but I have clients and projects that will continue for the foreseeable future. I have decided the safest course of action was to move the essential components of my studio to my home. I can always make a trip back to the studio, if necessary, to get additional things, but I would rather do without and stay home with my family.

Bare Necessities For my pared-down studio setup, I chose to bring home my Mac trash-can, running Pro Tools HD, Logic Pro X and Studio One 3, along with an HD Native Thunderbolt box, an AVID Omni interface, a UAD Thunderbolt DSP, and my NHT Pro A20 and Reftone monitors. I also have a few pairs of headphones, including Beyer DT770 Pro, Sony MDR7506 and a beloved pair of (super-cheap) KOSS Titanium headphones. I was somewhat nervous about trying to work without my main studio monitor system and a nice selection of analog and digital outboard gear, not to mention my Antelope clock and multichannel interfaces, but I decided to make do with the minimum.

Obviously many of you are thinking this is still an extravagant setup, and it might be more than some have, but for the caliber of records that I work on, it really is about the minimum and even if I was working on a laptop with a budget 2-channel interface, my workflow and ability to work would remain the same. As my home is an old building, I also brought home a UPS battery backup to power all my gear. Who knows when the power might fail?

Set-Up I know that the most important issue will be accurate monitoring at home, where I have no acoustic treatment. I decided to put my monitors and computer screen on my dining room table, where the front wall is about 1.5 meters (5 feet) away and there really is no back wall. The dining room is open to my living room and the rear wall is about 7 meters (23 feet) away. The ceilings are about 3 meters (9.5 feet), so I don’t really have any first-reflection (SBIR) problems to worry about.

The closest wall to me (6 feet) is a side wall, and on

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GEAR TIPS

that wall, I’ve set up a long coat rack and I’ve hung all the coats and sweaters from my closet so that wall is essentially dead. The opposite wall is about 10 feet to my left and has curtains, so the room is essentially symmetrical.

My NHT monitors are only about 15 inches (38cm) tall, so I thought about setting them on some books, but I ultimately decided a small block of wood will angle the monitors up to my ears, so the tweeters are aiming at my head. This setup also helps eliminate high-frequency reflections off the table and keeps the speakers placed on top of similar surfaces, whereas I might not find two of the exact same book to set them on.

Tune-Up The first thing after setting up my DAW was to run Sonarworks Measure on my NHT monitors.

These monitors, like many monitors, have a few built-in EQ adjustments and I started with the settings that I felt were appropriate: whole space bass EQ (no bass boost), near-field locations (neutral HF EQ), and sensitivity to match my interface. I ran through Sonarworks Measurement software and noticed by the graph it generated that my bass response below 100Hz was kind of weak.

I increased the bass boost EQ one or two clicks on the monitors and ran through the measurement process again. Now I had a more reasonable bass response. Overall my room’s speakers’ response curve was respectable.

I feel much more confident mixing, even on modest 2-way monitors, knowing that Sonarworks Reference 4 is dialing in a truly flat response. After listening to a few reference songs and some of my own recent mixes and masters, I chose to use the Linear Phase response and I also chose to enable the bass tilt EQ and click it one notch towards favoring the bass. The top-end may be extended even further by adjusting the high-frequency limits in the Limit Controls section of Systemwide.

Even with a modest 2-way monitor with a 6.5-inch woofer can provide a flat bass response down to 50Hz and useable bass response as low as 30Hz (-12dB). Between these monitors and my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 Ohm headphones (which have a really nice bass response), I feel confident that I can mix and master any style of music and get an excellent result.

Pro Tips I’m using the Sonarworks as a DAW plugin, so to switch between the speakers and ‘phones, I created busses in Pro Tools where I have a Master fader and two monitor faders, one that feeds my speakers and one that feeds my headphones. The Omni interface can send DAW output 1-2 to the speakers and another stereo DAW output to its cue/ headphone output.

In my Pro Tools routing setup, I route all my

mixing tracks and buses to a stereo bus named “MIX”. Then I assign a Master Fader to this MIX bus. Then I create an Aux that picks up the MIX bus and sends it to outputs 1-2, my speakers. I also create an Aux that picks up the MIX bus and sends it to my CUE output for my headphones.

The Aux tracks labeled “Speakers” and “Phones” both have a Sonarworks plugin with the appropriate settings for either the monitors or the headphones and either, or both Auxes may be monitored with their own volume level and mute.

The image also shows a “Print” track that picks up the MIX bus (after the Master Fader) so that I can record my mixes right back into my session.

Most DAWs and many interfaces provide some similar methods of monitor routing. Cubase’s Control Room feature and UAD’s Console software, for example, allow speaker and headphone routing and control.

If you are using Systemwide software instead of the Reference DAW plugin, you can simply create presets for each monitor system you use and switch between those. Set your DAW output to Systemwide and you can even use a MIDI controller to send messages to Systemwide to recall specific presets, like listening to speakers vs headphones.

Dialing it In I spent an hour or two listening to some great sounding reference mixes (J Cole KOD, Bruno Mars 24K Magic, Damien Rice Blower’s Daughter, Daft Punk, Portishead, etc…) and oriented my ears to my new environment. After mixing on headphones for a while, I take a break and then switch to the monitors at a moderate volume. When I start a mix on the DT770s I seem to nail the low end right away, but the vocals come out crazy bright. I need the speakers to dial in the vocal, percussion and reverbs.

After I finish a mix, I take another break and then I bounce a mix to a USB stick and go listen in the car, on my Sony 7506s and even my KOSS headphones. As long as I’m not shocked by any one of these monitors, I feel good about my mix. No two monitor systems sound the same, so I don’t expect the exact same sound from everywhere, but I expect the same overall impact and vocal vs music levels and I want to hear the important elements properly.

Just Do It! It takes a leap of faith to move out of our comfort zone, but these times call for drastic measures and I jumped in with the belief that my talent and the tools I have, including my favorite software and Sonarworks room and headphone correction, I can make really good mixes. During the past week, I’ve mixed four songs and mastered more than one full album in my dining room. Since I’m working at a slightly more relaxed pace, I find myself spending a bit more time exploring my new plugins—I recently subscribed to the Plugin Alliance Mega Bundle, so I have 110 new plugins to learn! I’m also spending a bit more time trying out new effects and tricks, rather than my same-old routine.

All my clients have been super happy with my output and I’m left wondering why I’ve been paying studio rent for so long. Oh yeah, my dog wants a walk, the dishes are dirty and I’m home. I wish I could head out to the studio, hah! Actually, being home with my family, especially at this time, has its obvious benefits.

Remember to stay healthy, keep a consistent schedule, and continue to create great music! A little disruption to your daily life can open your eyes to so many new ideas!

[Ed. note -- This article was originally published at www.sonarworks.com – it has been republished here with permission.]

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GEAR TIPS

How To Set Up Studio For The

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good sounding home studio starts with careful planning, measurement, and a realistic expectation of how well a room can function within the constraints of your budget and the physical limitations of typical residential rooms. Converting an apartment, spare bedroom or garage into a studio presents built-in challenges because they weren’t built or intended to be proper recording studios or mix rooms.

For now I will set aside a discussion about sound isolation or soundproofing as it will be covered in a subsequent article. Know that with professional recording studio design, proper sound isolation must be considered as part of the initial, ground-up construction.

In typical home studio room conversions it’s nearly impossible to “add on” truly effective sound isolation to existing structures.

The overarching goal when setting up any home recording studio is to provide a viable space where you can produce, record, and mix music while confidently making crucial artistic decisions throughout the process. The only way sound and the spatial effects of stereo or surround productions can be recorded and mixed accurately is by working in as acoustically neutral a room as is possible. Two key considerations for sonic accuracy at the listening position are the proper setup of the monitor loudspeakers and the application of acoustic treatments.

You have to be able to predict how your end product will translate to the outside world when played on consumer-grade speakers and/or headphones.

GEAR TIPS

Up Your Home he Best Sound Barry Rudolph

Let’s Start With The Room’s Size and Shape When selecting a room for your studio, you should try to use a rectangular-shaped room, as they tend to have the best potential for proper bass reproduction. Try to avoid square, round or irregular rooms, as they tend to be more problematic.

Most residential sized rooms are in the range of 3 meters wide by 4 meters long or even smaller (10 feet by 13 feet). Typical residential ceiling height is somewhere around 2.6 meters (8.5 feet). Begin your planning process with precisely measuring the dimensions—length, width, and ceiling height of the room you want to convert into a recording studio.

For easy measuring, I use the Bosch Blaze Pro Laser Distance Measure GLM165, but you can use an ordinary tape measure. Get a friend to help you by holding one end of the tape while you take the measurement at the other, or thumbtack one side of the tape to the wall to make one-person measuring easier..

When planning your furniture and equipment layout, I recommend drawing (try a drawing app like SketchUp) a dimensionally accurate layout of your room. Include all architectural features you cannot easily change: the location of doors, windows, support columns, closets, alcoves, and varying slanted ceilings.

The biggest acoustic problems in small rooms stem from the fact that low frequency wavelengths, the physical length of the sound wave, are much too long to be contained within the room’s dimensions without reflecting off a nearby floors, ceilings or wall boundaries. For

example, a 20Hz waveform is approximately 17 meters (56 feet) long, while a 100Hz waveform takes up about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet).

If you have the option of more than one room, try setting up a pair of monitor speaker on stands so that they project down the longest dimension (length) and start listening to familiar music to get a “sense” of your particular room’s character and feeling. Listen in one room and then the other to see if one feels more comfortable to you.

Placing Gear In Your Room A symmetrical layout of the equipment around the listening position promotes better workflow because you are always at or near the listening position while making gear adjustments and DAW tweaks during a mix or recording. It is essential that the intrinsic beauty of symmetry is applied to the positioning of your monitor speakers, the listening position, and the application of acoustic room treatments—absorption panels, bass traps and diffusers. The ultimate goal is to get your studio to function as a system and not a bunch of random pieces of gear thrown into a room.

Symmetry, as an abstract, is easily applied to the layout of your studio. Symmetry can separate a random and haphazard music setup into a reliable “tool” you can trust to evaluate your mixes and performances. Think of your left and right walls as mirror images of one another with your mix position in on the centerline. Any treatment you put on the wall to your left side should also be placed on the wall on your right. It is important to match the acoustic space around you at the listening position and the space around your monitor speakers.

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GEAR TIPS Speaker Positioning I recommend placing monitors on stands, instead of on a desk surface, as this allows for easy minor positioning adjustments in the future. The monitors are to be positioned in the front of the room and just in front of the 25% point in the length dimension. At about the 38% point of the room’s length—approximately halfway between the 25% location and the 50% point is the ideal listening position lengthwise in the room. Referred to as the 38% listening position, this location is a good compromise between the severe room modes of vibration.

The various peaks (where frequencies are reinforced and sound too loud) versus nulls (where frequencies may cancel) tend to be

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present at 25%, 50%, and 75% positions in the length dimension of any room.

Symmetry is assured by locating the listening position at the 50% point, or centerline, of the width dimension. The intersection of the 38% point in the length dimension and the 50% point in the width dimension is where you would sit—the listening position or “sweet spot”.

Room modes based on the physical dimension of the room exist in all three dimensions of the room—the length, width and height. Furthermore, there are three types of room modes. The strongest and most problematic modes are axial room modes cause

by two waves traveling in opposite directions and striking two parallel walls. Tangential room modes employ four waves and four walls and are more numerous but have half the energy of axial modes. Lastly, oblique room modes arise from eight waves reflecting off six walls; they are one-fourth the energy of axial modes.

After measuring your room’s dimensions, you may calculate the 1st Room Mode frequencies present in each of the three dimensions easily using this formula: 1st mode frequency (Hz) = 344 (speed of sound in meters per second) divided by twice the room dimension in meters. So, for a 4 meter long room, the first and lowest mode would be 344/8

subjective performance of a room. No other room treatment will make the most dramatic change in your room’s acoustics.”

After you’ve set up your desk, computer, outboard gear and your monitor speakers start playing music in your space and move your seat forward and backward from your original listening position—always staying at the 50% point of the width dimension. If you are too close to the speakers you may hear the left and right speakers as separate point sources. Too far away you will not get solid stereo imaging.

Somewhere within reach of your desk, there should be a location where the stereo image is solid and immersive­. This feeling is sometimes

There are two main categories of acoustic absorbers are they can be divided by use and frequency range: velocity absorbers for middle and upper frequencies and pressure based absorbers for lower frequencies.

A velocity absorber slows down the speed of sound within fibrous, porous materials such as rigid fiberglass, mineral fiber, cotton/polyester fibers or open-cell polyurethane foam. Sound

Sometimes referred to as quadratic residue diffusers or skyline diffusers, these devices don’t remove energy from the room, but return the sound back into the room it in a randomized,

described as hearing the music and not the speakers. If your speakers are placed on stands, dialing in the best listening position is easy.

energy is converted to an innocuous form such as heat (not enough heat to feel any change in the room’s temperature however). Velocity absorbers work best on the middle and high frequencies above 300Hz. You can build your own or purchase commercially made absorption panels from companies like GIK Acoustics, Real Traps, and Auralex through many musical instrument retail stores.

scattered manner that affects the direction and timing of the sound waves.

Acoustic Treatment Products The application of acoustic treatment panels centers around and should focus on the listening position. The listening position is to be as reflection-free as possible. All reflections from the ceiling, floor, and side and back walls should be at least 20dB quieter than the direct sound coming from the loudspeakers.

Sometimes called the reflection-free zone, this is accomplished by acoustic absorption panels and bass traps.

Acousticians, experts in room acoustics and treatment, have only three tools when treating rooms: surfaces that absorb sound, surfaces that reflect sound, and surfaces that diffuse, or scatter, sound.

Rooms must have the proper amount of acoustic absorption at various frequencies to function well. A rule of thumb is that the smaller your room, the more acoustic absorption you will require. “The exacting use of absorption has a powerful impact on the

Absorbers

Bass Traps

frequencies yet absorb mid-range and high frequencies excessively.

Diffusers Diffusers reduce echoes by “jumbling” and randomizing reflections off walls and ceilings to provide the feeling that those surfaces are farther away from your ears. Diffusers can help provide a sense of spaciousness to a small room.

GEAR TIPS

= 43Hz. An online room mode calculator can be found at https://amcoustics.com/tools/ amroc

In professional recording studio control rooms, there are usually diffusers placed on the rear wall behind the listening position. There are no hard and fast rules here but if your rear wall is closer than about 2.5-meters, usually deep bass traps are a better idea for that rear wall.

Summary

Bass traps are low frequency absorbers that work below 300Hz. Low frequencies, with their much longer wavelengths, require much more mass and density to be absorbed. Rather then using a velocity absorber, low frequencies are absorbed more efficiently using pressure based absorbers, which are constructed of pliable membranes that bend and flex with the incoming wave energy. Velocity absorbers, like acoustic foam panels, may be used as bass traps, but their required depth may take up too much space in a typical home studio.

The considerations for setting up a home studio involve proper room selection, monitor and listening position setup and the application of acoustic treatments. Keep in mind the simple ratios for the listening position and the three types of acoustic treatment and you can achieve an excellent sounding environment.

Once your room is setup and tuned to the best of your ability, room correction software, like Sonarworks Reference 4, will further perfect the accuracy of your room.

Ideally a bass trap would not affect frequencies above 300Hz but many velocity absorption panels are sold as bass traps when they do little to actually absorb bass

[Ed. note -- This article was originally published at www.sonarworks.com – it has been re-published here with permission.]

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GEAR REVIEWS

PRESONUS Quantum 2626 Thunderbolt Interface

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e recently upgraded some of the office Macs to new machines, and along with some speed boosts and processing power, we got a slew of new Thunderbolt ports to play around with. Around the same time, as luck would have it, the folks at PreSonus sent us one of their new interfaces to test out.

post-processing.

Right off the bat, we loved how stupidsimple the new Quantum 2626 was to setup. We already use Studio One as our primary DAW, but configuring the I/O in any modern workflow should take just as little time. We were up and running in about a minute.

We like that there’s so much front-facing I/O – sometimes it’s a bummer to install outboard gear and interfaces for testing, where everything is on the back. It makes plugging in and recording a pain – but not here. And of course if you need more, you can use an ADAT solution like the DigiMax we reviewed a while back. It’s all seamless. We even inserted used a master bus compressor with ease.

Our first tests included some simple condenser mics on acoustic guitars and scratch vocals, along with processing some bass-heavy synths and our new digital Mellotron. This unit comes with eight of PreSonus’ killer XMAX preamps, which sound awesome. Flat out – awesome. Highs were crisp with plenty of clean headroom, and dialing up the gain introduced zero clipping, distortion or digital noise. The whole experience was…transparent, I guess is the best word. There was no obvious coloration of the sound, which is great, especially for capturing ultra-hi-res audio for mixing and 44 JUNE/JULY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

For this money, it’s stupid how good interfaces have become. No joke, we’d use this as the centerpiece of a pro studio any day of the week, the results are that good. And since it’s Thunderbolt, latency is basically non-existent.

Like seriously, it’s a thing of the past.

The fact that all this clocks in under $600 is ridiculous. Eight excellent (and fast) mic pre’s, full sized MIDI ins and outs (5-pin DIN!), an insane amount of rear-panel I/O and a small rackmount form factor that’ll get you 24-bit//192kHz audio into an INCLUDED DAW? That’s nuts. I don’t know how the folks down in Louisiana can do it for such a small price tag, but our guess is these will be flying off the shelves.

Benjamin Ricci

PROS

super-fast, easy to install, excellent mic preamps, low cost CONS

none.

STREET PRICE

$599

GEAR REVIEWS

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ASM Hydrasynth 49-Key Polyphonic Synthesizer

hen the Hydrasynth was first announced, we were excited to get our hands on it. It looks like nothing else on the market, and has a unique sound to make it stand out from the Korgs, Rolands and Moogs of the world (or the Behringers of the world, who are busy cloning the Korgs, Rolands and Moogs of the world…)

Anyway, the Hydrasynth doesn’t operate like your standard analog subtractive synthesizer.

Sure, there’s a filter and some waves to fiddle about with. But the folks at ASM have taken the idea of a synth to the next level. In their world, each voice (you get 8-voice polyphony here) features a few different WaveScan oscillators, with about 200 different wave types to pick from.

That’s a lot of choice (A LOT OF CHOICE!), way more intimidating than your run-of-the-mill Minimoog knock-off, where you can basically select a sawtooth wave, adjust the filter and that’s about it. But it’s actually easy to find your way around and start diving deep into the world of harmonically-complex sound design.

Whereas a non-traditional setup like this might seem intimidating at first, the real strength in the Hydrasynth is the menu-navigation. Now, typically we’re big haters when it comes to menudiving and controlling synth parameters with tiny knobs and LCD screens. But here, the whole signal path is re-imagined and when you choose a module to tweak, the entire synth changes itself to that specific task. And the front panel layout

is so intuitive that even if you’ve never learned synthesis before, you can see how the modules flow into each other and affect the overall patch you’re working on.

So if you go into shape the envelope or something, the entire beast’s controls transforms to match, to enable you to do that task quickly and easily, making parameter adjustments FAR more intuitive than any other menu-based system we’ve used in a while. Big kudos for making such a complex synth actually simple to navigate, even for dummies like us.

Build quality is spot-on, and the sounds you can coax from this thing are amazing. We got lost in a lush-pad dreamscape for a few hours, but biting leads and sharp bass lines are all a knob-turn away. The arpeggiator offers up some neat options, too, including 8 different modes, ratchet and chance options and so much more.

We could write a book on all the wave-shaping options available here, the multitude of sounds and envelopes to work with, the on-bard CV/Gate inputs/outputs for your analog gear…just about everything you could ever want from a “forever synth” has been included.

That goes for the 4-octave keybed as well, with PolyTouch response, and the super-awesome ribbon controller. We’ve never played a genuine CS-80 before, but now we known why the ribbon is such a talked about feature. The dynamic expression that’s possible on the Hydrasynth is

second to none. And call us superficial, but the orange/black color scheme and light-up pitch/ mods wheels just complete the package.

It looks amazing, sounds epic, is insanely complex-yet-inviting, and might just be the last synth you’ll ever need to buy (OK, who are we kidding, you never have enough synths, but you get our point…)

Benjamin Ricci

PROS

tons of sounds, great layout, good build quality CONS

learning curve might take some time to get used to STREET PRICE

$1299

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GEAR REVIEWS

ULTIMATE SUPPORT MDS-100 Modular Desktop Stand and MDS-X Expander

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rgonomics are key for a focused workflow. One issue that arises, is the line of sight a user may (or may not) have to work a piece of gear. A flat piece of gear on a desktop is great, if you’re standing right over it.

Sitting down at a console or desk, you may find yourself having to angle a device or constantly stand up to get a good view of the controls being tweaked. Ultimate came up with a new way to easily see and access those ever-present desktop devices, like synth modules and the like.

Yes, it looks like an angled pedalboard, but looks are deceiving. On the underside of the MDS-100 is a knob that controls a pair of rubber padded walls that slide across the top surface to grip devices. Place a desktop unit that might be tough to see in between the walls and tighten up the knob to secure the unit in place. Done!

There’s even a small lip at the bottom to make sure it doesn’t slide off.

On the back side is a pop out center divider that can easily be placed in the middle to make contact for devices of a smaller width. With the adjustable knob, there’s no need to commit to a permanent placement (or semi-permanent like on your guitarist’s ever-changing pedalboard) and no need for any particular fastening like Velcro or dual lock. OK, so it looks good, but what devices and items go here? Pretty much any unit that might reside on a flat 46 JUNE/JULY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

desktop: pedals, pads, drum machine, effects devices, desktop synth modules, interfaces and sequencers. Even as a way to place an iPad or tablet in front of your creative station might make for a great application. The overall concept is being able to let the user easily see and access the device at a better angle, and it does that perfectly and cheaply!

Have more devices and need more space?

Well the MDS-X Expander lets you add a second tier. This is great for units that might be wired or linked somehow together, like Roland’s boutique synths, drum machines or MIDI controllers, that might need to reside near each other.

One down side -- if you’re thinking this would be great for placing guitar pedals on there, make sure you consider the connections for power and signal connections. The movable walls are pretty tall and might require 90-degree ends on cables, if the connections are on right- and lefthand sides. Now you may not need to tighten up the walls, even just placing them on the shelf still provides stability.

So, for easy access to desktop synths, drum machines or effects, this is pretty much a no brainer, as a better line of sight to all of the knobs, controls, switches and displays on a variety of equipment.

Chris Devine

PROS

flexible positioning of external devices CONS

none.

STREET PRICE

MDS-100 @ $59 // MDS Expander @ $19

small format tube amp, so the lighter speaker makes sense for a “grab and go” amp. Rated at 65 watts and 8 Ohms, it’s also a great pairing for its power range. Our test amp weighed in at 31.2 pounds stock and dropped to 28 pounds with the Celestion. That’s a 10% weight savings.

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ith their Neo Creamback, Celestion brings great tone with a lighter weight.

Let’s talk magnets - it’s a big part of the speaker, and usually the heaviest. One relatively recent development is using Neodymium rareearth magnets, which are much lighter than traditional magnets. For comparison, Celestion’s Creamback with their usual magnet comes in at 7.9 pounds. Their Neo Creamback weighs in at 4.2 pounds.

Our test amp was a 2008 Fender Blues Jr with the stock speaker. It’s a great sounding,

Sound wise, it reacted very nicely with the Blues Jr. It didn’t change what we liked about the amp, it just seemed to bring out more out of it.

One complaint about these amps is a “boxy-ness” -- previously we’ve found some workarounds with the EQ settings, but the Neo really opened things up, allowing much more movement on the EQ overall.

It took the noticeable dry and sometimes brittle top end out of the cleans and smoothed them right out, while maintaining articulation.

The midrange also sat much better in the mix, with a smoother response, and less need to dial in the EQ. Overdriven tones sounded amazing with plenty of richness. We dialed in a great crunch tone, at a reasonable volume, with plenty of dynamics. Pushing things into a more saturated

lead tone, the mids maintained balance and the lower end maintained a tightness that didn’t compress or drop out. On its own, it made the amp, just...better in every way.

GEAR REVIEWS

CELESTION G12 Neo Creamback Speaker

A lot of players have retired their favorite tube combos and large cabs due to weight issues.

Fitting them with these speakers would make it easier during load in/out, while maintaining the great tone Celestion is known for. If you have an amp you LIKE, but don’t LOVE, consider changing the speaker(s) to one of these. You’ll fall back in love with it.

Chris Devine

PROS

CONS

STREET PRICE

classic Celestion tone, lightweight, easy way to upgrade any amp/cab

none.

$169

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GEAR REVIEWS

WASHBURN Michael Sweet J40 Acoustic Guitar

S

ignature guitars are kind of tricky; while they might be awesome in their own right, its association to a certain player might not attract players to a particular instrument.

Michael Sweet’s best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the band Stryper, and while he may not be known as a signature guitar shredder, the Washburn acoustic that bears his name, stands out from the pack.

Let’s start with the materials; with bear claw spruce on the top and quilted maple on the back and sides finished in translucent black, this jumbo body style looks amazing. The bracing underneath is quarter sawn spruce, for rigidity, and scalloped enough to let the top wood resonate. The neck is made from some very unusual materials; the fingerboard is laurel and is found in Asia and the neck core wood is okoume, which is a hardwood found in Africa’s equatorial regions. We haven’t had previous experience with either material, but the neck and board’s figuring looked very nice, and felt normal to us. The nut and saddle were cut from bone, and the abalone binding, along with the abalone/ red/abalone sound hole rosette detailing was done perfectly. The fingerboard inlays are acrylic, but still look very nice as well on the 25.5” scale neck that sports 21 medium jumboish frets.

Electronics wise, Barcus Berry’s LX-4 system covers volume, presence, a 3-band EQ and a tuner with display.

Picking it up, the neck shape felt very comfortable, it’s that soft and comfortable profile that feels familiar in first position, and as you go up the neck just continues to feel right. Jumbo sized guitars have a jumbo-sized projection, and there was no surprise here, but the overall vibrancy was a pleasant surprise. Some biggerbodied guitars tend to get bassy or woofy,

48 JUNE/JULY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE

but this one rang with a defined brilliance up and down the fingerboard. The tonal balance and response was perfect, with no issues at all.

Plugging it in the Barcus Berry preamp worked very nicely, as well. Doing a track in the studio with a simple condenser and this system brought a great balanced sound. In many cases the mic brings in additional thump and room, while the piezo delivers the sparkle, but we got great results pushing the mic for the definition, while carving out some low end through the pickup.

Now there are a couple of things that might not appeal to all players, and it’s something that comes with any “signature” guitar. The headstock inlay is very ornate, and with a very subtle “Michael Sweet” designation on it, this is pretty bespoke, and fits in nicely. On the 11th through the 13th frets, however, there is a wreath inlay with the “MS” branding. Some players might prefer a more subtle styling of sorts, but the work is done very well, and signatures aside, this guitar really delivers.

Overall, it’s a great big and rich sounding, easy playing acoustic, with looks to boot. Maybe you’re not a super yuge fan of Michael Sweet, or his music, but if you’re a fan of great sounding acoustics that feel perfect in the hands, this is worth a look.

Chris Devine

PROS

big sound, comfortable neck, solid electronics CONS

signature branding might not appeal to all players.

STREET PRICE

$749

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