Unless you haven’t left your house today (and do not own a TV or an Internet connection), you’ve probably heard about Apple’s unveiling of the iPad this afternoon. I’d have to say that for one of the company’s most widely speculated and, frankly, over-hyped product introductions in their entire 30-year history, it’s been interesting hearing the mixed reactions to the portable device over the course of the day.

Without getting too far into the specs and features of the iPad (which I’m sure have been drilled into your head by now), I feel that the summation of everyone’s reaction to it is that it merely seems like a large, overpriced version of the iPhone which still lacks Flash support, has no camera, but is optimized for reading electronic versions of newspapers and magazines. At $500, it’s price point will probably be a bit too expensive, especially for those who already use a netbook or iPhone.

What I find interesting is that if you turn back the clock on Apple’s history, there have almost always been mixed initial responses to product launches like this. When the first iPod was released in 2001, it’s $400 price tag scared a lot of potential users away. Many felt their money was much better justified buying a portable CD player or cheaper MP3 player with less storage space. Fast forward to 2007. The first iPhone was released for $500, and it came with restrictions on which service provider you could use. It took a long time for the iPhone and iPod to gain momentum. However, once the popularity rose as consumers ultimately found them to be useful within their daily lives, the price of both dropped and better versions were released.

It’s been interesting seeing the iPhone and iPod evolve, especially in the sense that both can do many more things then just what they were originally intended to do. Consumers had no clue that they would eventually be able to watch movies on an iPod in 2001, or download apps that could help them plan their next vacation on an iPhone in 2007. Practical features and additions to their initial feature sets have made both desirable for many years now.

I can see much of the same happening with the iPad, especially in the sense that it can carve itself several different niches in industries such as publishing and gaming. This actually lies in stark contrast to the iPhone/iPod, both of whom were walking blindfolded into over-saturated markets of PDA’s and MP3 players (respectively). There can possibly be some unchartered territory the iPad is jumping into; and as we all know, Apple has the knack for releasing products with features that “most consumers don’t even realize they want yet.”

Although I do not intend to purchase one myself, one niche that I especially see the iPad being useful in is for music production and performance.

Frankly, I think a 10” device has a great deal of potential in acting as a MIDI control surface. Jazzmutant’s Lemur has been a well received product which has such a feature set: a fully customizable midi interface, where you can build your own faders, knobs, trackpads, etc and assign them to any parameter within your DAW software. The problem is, few will be able to harness it’s usefulness because the $2000 price tag is outside most people’s price range. With Apple’s invitation for developers to hit the ground running with formulating iPad apps, if someone was to make a similar device to the Lemur run on this device, wouldn’t you think that would make it’s $500 seem like a good deal in comparison?

Software manufacturers such as Akai and Novation have recently jumped on the iPhone App bandwagon; and I find it interesting how both said companies released very popular physical control surfaces for Ableton Live last year. I can definitely see the potential in these guys making a control surface based app to control a program like Live via it’s interface. With an iPhone being a little too small to be practical, and a laptop possibly being too large and cumbersome, an iPad could be just the right size to trigger clips and ride faders, in an interface even more user-friendly than the Launchpad. 

Remote editing of DAW’s through programs such as Hexer’s TouchOSC and the Cubase iPhone app is also feasible, although I think the iPhone holds an advantage in it’s size for now. 

When thinking of the possibility of being able to launch apps that have different MIDI surfaces, all at your fingertips, instead of having to physically lug out three or four separate pieces of kit which do pretty much the same exact thing, this thing really starts to sound enticing.

Without a USB cable connection, I would probably have to write off the iPad’s potential of working with a DJ-based application such as Serato or Traktor for now. Because you’re dealing with more text when searching for songs, a small screen may be at a bit of a disadvantage. I’ve noticed that many who utilize Serato or Traktor prefer working off of 15” laptops and for good reason: it’s tough to see the tracklistings on a smaller screen! The iPhone DJ app can have some potential down the road if you want to keep things entirely within the box, however one significant thing I noticed about the iPad’s feature set is that it allegedly only outputs a mono signal. This would render monitoring under headphones useless as it would only work in one ear; however I might be wrong on this assumption so feel free to correct me!

Basically what I’m getting at here is that although the practical use of the iPad may not seem obvious at first, who knows what the future can hold for it. I’m not going to act like I can predict the future or anything, but the iPad does seem like quite an open-ended piece of hardware, and it should be interesting to see what developers will come up with and how the consumer market responds. After all, I said in the earlier part of the last decade that I would NEVER buy an iPod, and in the latter half that I have no use for an iPhone, and I don’t know how I lived without either for as long as I did! (PS- I also mentioned somewhere in this article that I wouldn’t plan on buying an iPad, either. I’ll be sure to remember this 3 or 4 years from now)

What are your thoughts on the iPad- do you think it has the potential to be of value to musicians and producers, or within your own profession for that matter? Or do you think it will be about as relevant as the Newton and G4 Cube by this time next year?

Amazing video, this is pretty much a complete reverse engineering of Smack My Bitch Up! Jim Pavloff sources every single sample used in the song here (how the hell he was able to figure out how the guitar riff from Rage’s Bulls on Parade was used, which probably isn’t even common knowledge, is beyond me). Then he takes it a step further and arranges everything, and even figured out all of the send effects used to generate a startlingly accurate re-interpretation of the 1996 classic. Nice work.

Here is something that can come in very handy for producers of all backgrounds. Many thanks to AbletonVids on Twitter for sharing!

In a nutshell, this is a frequency chart that illustrates the ranges that many different types of sounds occupy within the entire audible range, from 20 Hz all the way up to 20 Khz. This definitely comes in handy when arranging music and trying to figure out which instrument tracks to use and which ones not to use to prevent different pieces occupying the same dynamic range from fighting against one another. Another extremely helpful piece is at the bottom, where the frequency of each chord is listed as well. This comes in handy for tasks such as tuning drum and percussion sounds. Download the hi-res version below, print out, frame, and hang this bad boy in your studio today!

Hertz-Chart (hi-res .png)

If you think the kicks in your samples folder on your hard drive are a little lacking, and no amounts of EQ or compression will bring them to life, check out this video. This tutorial is by Love Capacitor, and he demonstrates how to generate a kick from scratch in Ableton using two oscillators from the Operator synth (which comes with the full suite or is a $159 add-on). 

Adjust the envelopes so there is a short decay/sustain, and increase the pitch envelope a bit to give an up-front “thump”. Make sure you use the algorithm where each operator generates it’s own sound (as opposed to the default, where one operator modulates the next, which modulates the next, etc.)

One thing to keep in mind here is that he also tunes his kicks using the course/fine knobs on each operator, make sure you click “fixed” in order to be able to do this. He copies the parameters from operator/oscillator A to B. C and D are turned off. He uses specific frequencies to ensure the kicks match the key of the rest of the song; there are charts you can find online that show you which frequencies relate to each scale to help you tune your drum sounds!

To finish, he also applies some gentle compression and uses an auto filter to roll off the high end a bit.

Four or five years ago, when CD’s and MP3’s were just starting to wrangle the vast majority of DJ’s away from their precious vinyl, many would have shuttered at the idea of a fully functional DJ interface and music management system for less than a hundred dollars. Since then, I have not only been amazed at the emergence of technology such as Ion’s Discover DJ which has made this possible, but am equally impressed with the changes in attitudes from many DJ’s who have come to embrace them.

Now I’m not saying for a second that something like the Discover DJ system, released last month with a low price tag of $99, will necessarily be well suited to a standard club setting. With only a 2-band EQ on the mixer, very basic effects, and sound quality output that has yet to be proven, most professional DJ’s aren’t going to turn a cheek at this.

However for someone who is looking to getting into DJ-ing now is a better time than ever before to get into hobby or even wedding DJ-ing without breaking the bank. The software package will allow DJ’s to manage their digital assets, along with a sleek tactile interface (I mean, who doesn’t like spinning the wheels of plastic?) For $99 there ARE some nice features on this, such as a looper, pitch bend, the software GUI looks solid, and the ability to record your mixes.

I think it’s great that this technology has made it easier than ever before to become a DJ based on the price of entry point. Yes, it makes the competition far more intense due to the quantity of jocks, however this should encourage creativity and force those that want to be serious about it to invest time in looking for good music. Those who change their mind? Well, at least they didn’t spend a fortune like they would’ve 10 or even 5 years ago.

Like it or not, there is no longer an “industry standard” interface when it comes to DJ-ing. Obviously this has made things a little more difficult for promoters and sound technicians as many DJ’s will demand something a bit different than the next man/woman. However as all these different interfaces are starting to peacefully co-exist with one another, it has allowed people to focus on what is most important: the MUSIC.

What’s your take on this? Do you think it makes more sense for an entry level DJ to start out with a less expensive system like the Discover and use the leftover cash for MP3’s, or should they invest straightaway on a higher end system like a Pioneer CDJ-1000 or Technics 1200 setup, as these are what you will still see most often set up in clubs?

max4live.info Tutorial: Beginning Max from max4live on Vimeo.

Announced on Ableton’s website yesterday, the highly anticipated Max For Live is now available for download! If you are unfamiliar with what this is, it’s essentially a visual-oriented programming environment developed by Cycling ‘74 that allows you to extend the capabilities of what you can do in Ableton Live by creating your own instruments and effects racks from scratch. You can also connect these devices in a completely free and modular environment, and there are even a bunch readily available right out of the box. 

Although I have no intentions of utilizing Max For Live myself, if you have a highly technical background and you are looking to create instruments from scratch or finding new solutions and ways to interface with your MIDI controllers that haven’t been developed yet, this could be a worthy expansion to your Live suite. Max For Live’s integration with Ableton is promised to be seamless.

For an intro on how the Max programming environment functions, take a look at the video above. 

Max For Live is a separate add-on you must purchase separately; it costs $299, or $99 if you already own the original Max package. You also need to download the Ableton Live version 8.1 update, which was also released yesterday.

http://www.ableton.com/maxforlive

Many Ableton users know Tom Cosm and his mastery of the program and willingness to drop little nuggets of information from time to time. The video above shows ten little tricks/keyboard shortcuts he utilizes to speed up his daily workflow. If you spend a lot of time in the piano roll/MIDI-editor (I know I sure as hell do!) you will especially find this helpful.

In addition to this, a GOLDMINE of Live tutorials by Jason Timothy have been posted on his site, www.musicsoftwaretraining.com, for streaming. Jason was one of the first Live users to give detailed tutorials of the program online, and the content here originally came from a DVD he originally had available for sale. The reason he is doing this is because he is trying to get viewers to make a donation to help a friend of his obtain a ticket for a friend of his to fly to Alaska to be with a loved one who’s partner unexpectedly passed away recently.

All of the donation info is at the top of the link provided above - and after watching about half of the videos and donating myself, I can honestly admit these are well worth the money. There are pretty much NO free tutorials out there that go in depth on Sampler and Operator, however this video covers all of this as well as a section on DJ-ing, and plenty of focus on each of the built-in effects and basic training.  

Propellerhead has just released a brand new refill pack called Soul School, which is chock full of soulful drums, guitars, bass, keys, and grooves from the 1960s and 1970s. They have gone to the source for this project, teaming directly with many of the producers who were working with artists such as the Temptations in the 1970s! Many of them have gone back into the vaults to extract sounds and grooves from original reel-to-reel tapes, in a cleaned up format, for use in Reason. Plenty of patches as well to work as a cornerstone to help you synthesize your own sound. Check out the video!

http://www.propellerheads.se/products/refills/soulschool/index.cfm