Remember the Jazz Mutant Lemur DAW Controller?

You may remember the Lemur multi-touch hardware DAW controller by Jazz Mutant released in 2002 which cost about $2,500.  Along with the original hardware and software, Jazz Mutant released add-on applications such as the Dexter DAW controller and the MU controller for Ableton Live.  The hardware Lemur has since reached end-of-life, however the Lemur is now back on the iOS platform at a cost of $49.  While this may seem expensive by iOS app standards, this is a steal considering what this app does and how much this same technology cost just a couple of years ago.

The potential of the Lemur as a music workstation and DAW controller is mouthwatering.   If you are the kind of musician that is OK with spending time dragging and dropping knobs, faders, sliders, buttons, switches, pads and multiballs onto an editor in order to  create the most complete controller that you’ve ever owned… you will have a field day here.  There is some learning curve in creating a new Lemur template, however most items are fairly straight forward if you’re familiar with MIDI control.  Just drag a fader onto the editor, assign it to a MIDI port and channel number, match this control on your DAW and it’s ready for action.  There are, however, many advanced functions that are also available, but require knowledge of scripting in order to make them work.  For this, I would suggest starting with one of the user templates from Liine’s website, and looking through the user forum where some generous users have posted scripts.

My First Lemur DAW Controller Template

I’m not a script programmer by a long shot, but after downloading the Lemur app and a user template, I was able to immediately begin crafting my own template for Cubase 6 based on my needs.  This template for Cubase has three pages:

• a 16 channel Mackie controller
• an 8 channel Mackie controller
• a channel strip controller with EQ, Sends and Inserts control

By quickly tapping from page to page, I have three different DAW controllers.  The beauty of Lemur is that I can (and will) continue to build upon this and create other pages to control specific virtual plug-ins and effects.  Screenshots of the template are on this post and I’ve posted a demonstration video below.  You can download a copy of this template HERE.  Register on this site if you’d like to receive emails for future updates or new Lemur templates.

You’ve got no interest in scripting or Lemur template design?

No problem.  The Lemur DAW controller app was released in December 2011 and already there are some good user templates on Liine’s website to choose from.  In addition, some of the top template developers of the legacy Lemur are already at work, and Liine has begun releasing Premium Content which include (at the time of this writing): a MU template, AB Lemur Bundle and AB Breakpoint.  I anticipate that more DAW specific Premium Content will be available in the near future.

Lemur Setup

Setting up the Lemur app is pretty straight forward on Mac or PC and there are several helpful setup videos available on Liine’s Support page. Since Liine does a good job of showing Mac and PC setup, I won’t focus on that but will focus on some tips that can be helpful when setting up templates or using Lemur:

Wi-Fi

1. Lemur has very low latency over a standard Wi-Fi connection.  However performance and accuracy will be based on the speed of your Wi-Fi router and computer’s Wi-Fi card.  If Lemur performance is sluggish using your Wi-Fi connection, I recommend that you create an ad-hoc wireless network.  An ad-hoc network is a peer-to-peer network that bypasses a router, so your connection is direct and much quicker.  In my Cubase video demo I’m using  a standard Wi-Fi connection and I experience very little to no latency as you can see in the video, but I know that all Wi-Fi connections are not created equal.  There’s a demonstration of how to setup an ad-hoc network on Liine’s support page.

Cubase Device Setup

2. When using a Lemur template with 16 channels, you have to setup two Mackie Controls.  Each Mackie setup controls 8 channels so adding two will allow you to control 16 channels.  *IMPORTANT: in Cubase you must press the RESET button in the Device Setup menu page in order for Cubase to read both Mackie setups.  This drove me crazy for a few minutes when I kept adding the second Mackie Control and Cubase wasn’t updating the project.

3. Some Lemur templates for Cubase will require you to add both a Mackie Control and Generic Remote in the Device Setup menu.  This is because the Mackie protocol has set controls that it works with (i.e. faders, pan, arm, solo, mute, etc.).  However, it doesn’t control other DAW functions (i.e. quantize, edit functions, specific plug-ins, etc.), so these are controlled using MIDI continuous controllers or MIDI CC.  Using the generic remote in Cubase you’re able to assign MIDI CC to match the controls assigned in the Lemur editor.

Here’s a video of me demonstrating the Lemur iPS DAW controller with Cubase 6.

So if you’re looking for a good DAW controller for your iOS device, you should definitely give Lemur a try.

Free Virtual Instruments & Effects Plug-ins

It’s no mystery that the global economy isn’t in the best shape these days. It seems like every television, radio and print news organization jumps at the chance to throw around the “R” word.  While these are economically sluggish times for all right now, this is nothing new for many performance and recording artists whom unfortunately have been in recession for centuries.  Fortunately for us computer-based home recording artists, there are developers out there who offer high-quality instrument and effects plug-ins for FREE.

Below is a list of developers and websites that offer or list free VST, RTAS, AU and DXi instrument and effects plug-ins.  Since the internet is cluttered with music related freeware, my aim was to focus on the more popular developers and listing sites with full-functioning freeware and not demo versions.  Inevitably I may have missed a few favorites, so please leave a comment below or in our FORUM if I’ve left out key products that you feel should be listed.

Let’s get to it then shall we.

FREE Virtual Instruments and Effects Plug-ins

Below we’ll look at some essential tips to help you obtain a good mix that’s ready for mastering. Mixing is an art and not a science, so don’t expect to become a professional mixing engineer overnight. However like any art, with regular practice and the tools currently available inside most popular DAW packages, you can certainly whip up a great sounding mix that you can be proud of. Alright then let’s get started!

1. Mixing Essentials: Use Your Favorite Music as a Reference

Once your tracks are recorded and you’re ready to mix, it’s a good idea to gather a couple of commercial tracks that were recorded and mixed professionally and use these as reference tracks.  The music can be any style, but should be of a similar style to the music you’re mixing so it acts as an anchor and keeps you within the ballpark.  Using a reference track doesn’t mean that your recording should (or will) sound like the track you’re referencing.  Keep in mind this music has also gone through a mastering process.  However, you should be listening out for overall instrument balance, EQ, reverb and other effects levels.  Also pay attention to the idiosyncrasies in your room acoustics.  Do your ceiling corners have a reflections?  Do bass frequencies gather in parts of the room and sound boomy?  Listen to your reference track in headphones and in your speakers for comparison.

2. Mixing Essentials: Learn from Your DAWs EQ Presets

Since you’re reading this article, I’m guessing you’re a home recording artist like me and not necessarily a seasoned industry-leading mixing engineer.  However the professionals that create plug-in presets for popular DAWs often are.  Learn from their expertise.  Key up a preset from your favorite EQ or filter plug-in and study the parameters.  Look at where and how the frequencies are increased or decreased and the type of filters used.  Use these settings as a guide or starting point, then using your ears, adjust the parameters to fit your music and taste.

3. Mixing Essentials: Steer Focus, Create Space

When listening to music, our brains can really only focus on one musical part at time.  It’s why we often play a song we like several times to get a thorough listening of its various parts (i.e drums, bass line, rhythm guitar riff, etc).   So you’ll want to steer the listener to the parts in the music that are most important such as the melody or other key parts.  Creating musical focus will also create interest and help the music sound less cluttered.  While creating focus for your music, visualize that each part will sit in one of five key spacial areas in the audio spectrum: Near, Middle, Far, Left and Right.  This is also known as creating sonic dimension or a 3D mix.

To create sonic dimension in a mix we use panning, EQ, delay, reverb and automation.  For parts that should be more prominent you’ll want to: have them centered or close to center in the mix, use full upper sonic frequencies, have a bit more bottom presence, and have less reverb and delay.  For parts that are less prominent (or further back), you’ll want to: roll off higher frequencies above 5kHz or 10 kHz, possibly offset the part further left or right in the panorama, roll off deeper levels of bass frequencies, and add higher levels of reverb and delay.  Use your DAWs automation feature to increase or decrease the volume of parts as you want them to be more or less prominent in the mix.

While we’re creating space for tracks to sit comfortably within a mix, you should consider as a rule of thumb to roll off lower frequencies in all tracks where it’s not needed.  Use your DAW’s EQ or low shelf filter to roll off frequencies below 200Hz to 250Hz on all vocal and instrument tracks in order to leave room for the bass and kick drum.  Then decide whether the bass track or kick drum will drive the low energy for the song and roll off one or the other at about 100Hz to 150Hz.  This way the bass, kick and remaining instruments will have their own space and will sit comfortably in the mix.

4. mixing essentials: Use your Eyes to Help Your Ears

If you don’t already have a good spectrum analyzer,  I definitely recommend you add one to your arsenal of sonic tools.  There are a few really good spectrum analyzers out there including my favorites SPAN by Voxengo and Blue Cat’s FreqAnalyst.  Both are FREE and work as VST or AU plug-ins.   I’m currently using FreqAnalyst because it’s a native 64-bit plug-in on the Mac while SPAN isn’t as of this writing.  Spectrum Analyzers are very useful for several reasons, but a couple of which are important for home recording artists.  First, they help you to learn what frequencies your instruments are occupying so you can better EQ them.  Secondly, and most importantly, if you’re mixing in a room that has not been acoustically treated to reduce bass and high frequency reflections, what you’re hearing may not be the most accurate representation of the actual sound.  Using a spectrum analyzer as a visual reference will help you use your eyes and ears together so you can ensure your mix is properly balanced across the frequency spectrum.

While you’re on Blue Cat and Voxengo’s websites you should check out the other free high-quality audio tools for mixing that both have.

5. mixing essentials: Avoid Listener Fatigue

This last tip may appear obvious, but I’m sure we’ve all been there.  In the heat of the creative process we may forget to eat, sleep or do other important things that allow our brains a chance to reset and refresh itself.  Here are a few best practices to avoid listener fatigue:

Listen at low volume levels while mixing.  This is important not just to avoid listener fatigue, but also to save your precious ears.

Take a break.  Step away every couple of hours and take a short break.  Relax your ears.

Eat, sleep, finish tomorrow.  It’s always a good idea to let a day pass before completing a mix.  After a good meal and some rest, you’ll come back to the music refreshed and possibly with a fresh perspective.

In future “Mixing Essentials” posts I’ll dive more specifically into frequency basics and individual instrument EQ treatments.  As always, feel free to leave me a comment or ask a question in our FORUM.

Happy recording with the usage of the above mixing essentials !

Recording guitar setup.If you’re a guitarist or bass player who’s interested in recording music at home then you have several good options available to you.  Simply perusing the articles within HomeMusicProduction.com you’ll find great tips for computer or iPad based DAW setups, many of which may be right for you.  However, in this post I’m going to review three easy setups for recording music at home that are specifically geared toward guitarists.  We’ll start with a basic setup and then move toward something more elaborate.

OK Let’s get started!

iPad Guitar Recording Setup $605

If you’re looking for a really simple and ultra mobile recording workstation than the iPad is a great place to start.  The second generation iPad’s increased processor speed and RAM make it a real home recording contender.   For whatever it lacks in power, and flexibility it makes up in ultra mobility.  Truth be told, an iPad with today’s music recoding software is many times more  powerful than the Tascam 4-track Portastudio from many moons ago.  So here’s what this setup would require:

1. iPad 2 $499 – While any iPad will do, you’ll get slightly better performance from the iPad 2 over the first generation iPad.  Also if you plan to use your iPad alongside a computer than the 16GB ($499) model will work fine.  However if you don’t plan to use the iPad alongside a computer, then I recommend the 32GB ($599) model, or the 64GB ($699) model.  The reason is because most iPad music production apps allow you to export the finished .WAV, .MIDI or project file; so with a 16GB iPad you can export your completed songs to your computer and save space on the iPad.  Without another computer for storage, you’ll want as much storage as possible on the iPad to save your recordings.
2. GarageBand $4.99 – There are many mobile music workstations available for the iPad, but for guitarists I recommend GarageBand (see my article iPad DAW Comparison for more details on other recording apps).  GarageBand is currently the only mobile recording workstation for iPad that allows you to record audio tracks.  Other iPad DAWs allow you to record audio, but only as sampled instruments.  Also GarageBand for the iPad has an array of modeled guitar amps and stomp boxes, a decent sound library, a very easy to use graphic interface and a great price.
3. Apogee JAM $99 – Jam by Apogee is a digital audio guitar interface for iPad, iPhone and Mac.  It’s plug-and-play ease of use allows you to simply plug Jam into the iPad, then plug in your guitar and start jamming.  It’s got a gain control and LED status light right on the interface for ease of use.  It’s signal path is completely digital so the sound is clean and allows you to get great tone from GarageBand’s built-in amps and stomp boxes.

The iPad’s touch screen surface and GarageBand’s drum and keyboard graphic interface allow you to play the internal instrument sounds without the need to purchase an external MIDI controller.  However if you do decide to connect an external MIDI controller checkout my post on how to connect an external MIDI controller to your iPad to see what you might need.

Guitar Practice Amp / Computer All-N-One Setup $2,500

This second guitar-focused setup is a bit nostalgic and an absolutely brilliant concept if you ask me.  It’s the Orange OPC all-in-one- recording studio which is a guitar practice amp, computer, audio interface and DAW.  This computer by British amp maker Orange Amps looks like a standard practice guitar amp but features:

• - Core i3 Processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, wifi, USB 3.o, HDMI, Windows 7 64-bit
• - Built-in Audio interface with analog and digital audio connections
• - Presonus Studio One Orange Edition DAW software
• - Mixcraft 5 DAW software
• - IK Multimedia AmpliTube and AmpliTube Orange
• - Toontrack EZ Drummer Lite
• - Lick Library Guitar Lessons

So what’s needed to make this a complete setup?

1. Orange OPC all-in-one computer amp $1,995
2. Computer Monitor $199
3. MIDI Controller (keyboard, Guitar or EWI)

Some of the advantages of this product are its ease of use and the ability to plug your guitar into the amp and begin playing straight away.  The pre-installed Windows 7 operating system has been optimized for music recording and production so there’s no OS tweaking needed.

Currently this product is only available in the UK, and Europe but will soon be available in the US.

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Laptop with Stomp Pedal Audio Interface $2,150

The third music recording and production setup for guitarists is probably the most traditional setup, but with one twist.  It’s a laptop music recording workstation with Guitar Rig 4 KONTROL Edition $499 by Native Instruments.   Guitar Rig Kontrol edition is a hardware / software package that includes Guitar Rig Pro amp simulation software and a pedalboard MIDI controller with built-in audio interface.  Guitar Rig Pro is one of the most powerful amp simulation and FX software packages on the market.   Combined with the pedalboard controller, using wah-wah, reverb, distortion, delay and other effects are only a foot step away.  And let’s be honest, in the middle of a ripping guitar lick, the last thing you want to do is reach for the computer mouse to change an effect.

While this setup is the most powerful and flexible of the three mentioned, it’s also just as easy to use as the others.   So what’s required?

1. Laptop such as a Dell XPS 15 X15L Laptop $899 or Apple MacBook Pro 13.3-Inch Laptop $1,138
2. DAW. If you go with a Mac and are looking for something easy and powerful, use GarageBand which is free with a Mac.  You can always upgrade to Logic Express later.  If you go with a powerful PC such as the Dell XPS, give FL Studio 9 Producer Edition $199 a try which has a simple to use interface and lots of instruments and FX plug-ins.  One advantage to FL Studio is that once you purchase a version of the software all future updates are free.  This will save a load of money over time.   See my DAW Round-up for a listing of other popular DAWs.
3. Guitar Rig 4 KONTROL Edition $499. Audio interface is built-in.
4. MIDI Controller (keyboard, Guitar or EWI) such as the M-Audio Axiom 49-Key MIDI Keyboard Controller $349 which is a great all around controller for playing keyboard parts, tapping out drum parts with the drum pads and controlling your DAW with the knobs and faders.
5. Speakers. Finish off your rockin’ guitar setup with some reference monitor speakers such as the popular M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 $149

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Additional iPad Guitar Audio Interfaces

While I recommend you check out Apogee’s Jam for the iPad and NI’s Guitar Rig Kontrol for computer setups, there are other guitar iPad and computer interfaces on the market that are worth mentioning.  Here are a few of them:

• - iRig – Audio Interface Adapter for iPhone, iPod, iPad $39.99 – This small interface comes with a free app store download of an iOS version of Amplitube.  The interface isn’t digital like JAM and uses the iPad or iPhone’s audio headphone connector to interface with the device.  There are in-app purchases that allow you to increase the capability of the amp simulator software.  iRig, while great sounding is limited in is usefulness.  Unless you’re using it to play live in place of actual effect pedals, you won’t be able to use the amp simulation software to record into other iPad apps.
• - AmpKit LiNK Guitar Interface for iPhone and iPod Touch $29.95 – Ampkit link is an analog iPad interface and amp simulation package that is very comparable to iRig.
• - i-JAM 3-N-1 by RapcoHorizon $110 – This analog interface for the ipad is also a practice interface and MP3 player.  You can use this to plug in headphones and play along to MP3 music.

Below are a couple of videos that both demonstrate connecting your guitar to your iPad or Laptop and demonstrate the Orange OPC.

More studio recording solutions? Check Music recording software roundup to help you with recording guitar setup.

If you’re considering a mobile music recording solution for your iPad, then you’re in luck.  Things have come a long way with iPad DAW recording apps in just a short time.  While recording software for PCs and laptops are called DAWs or Digital Audio Workstations, I believe these new iPad DAWs will be referred to as Mobile Music Workstations or Mobile Audio Workstations.  Whatever we’re calling them, the recent release of FL Studio Mobile HD by Image Line and more recently the native iPad release of BeatMaker 2 by INTUA are game-changers for providing near-complete solutions for mobile music recording.

iPad DAW examples

I say near-complete because currently none of these mobile music workstations has everything.  For example GarageBand is currently the only app that allows you to record an audio track from the built-in iPad microphone, but it’s lacking time signatures other than 4/4 and it doesn’t allow for piano roll MIDI note editing.  Likewise, BeatMaker 2 which is the most complete mobile music workstation lacks the ability to record audio tracks.  BeatMaker 2 does allow you to record audio into it’s drum or keyboard sampler for playback, but this isn’t very useful if you’re a singer/songwriter.

Since there are increasingly more iPad mobile DAWs available and their feature sets may not be so clear, I’ve created a comparison chart below to give you an idea of their various capabilities.  The DAWs mentioned below are not to be confused with the various loop-based music apps for the iPad such as Looptastic HD or the synth-based sequencer apps such as KORG iELECTRIBE. I specifically wanted to focus on music recording apps that allow you to create and record your own original music and not simply loop or remix existing recorded material.

Note: Use the page arrows or the “show entry” pull-down menu to see all of the entries.

iPad DAW conclusions

Lastly, one of the features that make these apps very usable as your only music recording solution is their ability to work with an external MIDI controller using CoreMIDI (iSequence is currently not MIDI compatible, but this should change in the next version update).   To learn more about how to connect your iPad to a MIDI controller or your computer using MIDI, please read my post titled Using Your iPad as an External Synth or Drum Machine.

More iPad goodies? Check Touchable App for iPad

iPad DAW review brought to you by SealStudio

Music recording software thoughts>

I’m often asked what Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is the best for musicians within a specific type of music genre, or for musicians just getting into home music recording for the first time.  This is a difficult and almost impossible question to answer since this is a personal choice based on your style and preference for writing and producing music.

Next to the computer choice, the DAW is the most important component of your music production workstation.  It has to flow with your way of thinking and become a tool to realize your ideas.  It can’t slow you down and it has to have basic features you’ll need to create music.

So since I can’t say which DAW you should choose, I want to at least provide you with some data that shows:

1. What DAWs are currently on the market
2. Which DAWs are full packages and which are entry-level or scaled back versions
3. What DAWs work only with PC, Mac or both
4. Whether a DAW is known for a specific way of creating music
5. What are the most searched DAWs on the web.

Below is a roundup of most popular DAWs on the market.  If you feel there’s a DAW package missing that should be present, please leave a comment in the forum and let me know.   The lists below are in no particular order, and you can sort them using the title bars.  OK, let’s begin the roundup.

Complete Package of Music recording software

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Limited Function & Entry-Level DAWs

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Music recording software Popularity

Out of curiosity, I checked Google to see which DAWs are the most searched on the web.  I utilized Google’s Keyword Tool and entered each DAW one by one.  To the right I listed the top ten Global Monthly Searches which according to Google is the approximate 12-month average of user queries for the keyword on Google search.

This doesn’t mean these DAWs are the best or the best for you, it only means these are the most searched.

Using Google’s Insight tool, below illustrates how the top five DAWs have trended over a twelve-month period from July 2010 to August 2011.

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Questions / Comments?

Please leave comments and questions in our forum for any music recording software.

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iPad synths & Drum machines review

It seems like not so long ago when purchasing a new synth or drum machine meant a trip to the neighborhood music store, and hours drooling over the latest hardware sonic marvels.  Now you can make one hardware purchase for an iPad, and browse the latest synth and drum machine apps that are available from the Apple App Store at a fraction of the cost.

But how do you make these cool sounding synth and drum machine apps compatible with your existing DAWs such as Ableton Live, Logic or Cubase?   All music creation apps for the iPad allow you to create music using the iPad’s touch screen interface, but in order to us these apps with your hardware and computer setup, the app has to be MIDI compatible.

Below we’ll take a look at some really useful synth and drum machine apps for the iPad featuring MIDI capability, and go over how to integrate them into your current setup.

iPad Synths & Drum Machines

Let’s start with some of the cool synth and drum iPad apps currently on the iTunes App Store.   There are many apps on the market that play synth or piano sounds, but below are a few popular products that have MIDI capability.  All of these mentioned apps will work with Core MIDI and a few also work with Line 6′s MIDI Mobilizer.

Sunrizer synth by BeepStreet ($9.99) is a virtual analog synth.  It features true SuperSaw sound emulation which is a layered waveform consisting of multiple saw waves which are detuned to create an extremely full sound.   It’s possible to use two SuperSaw oscillators per voice for a total of 98 saw oscillators playing at the same time.  This synth has very inspiring sounds and works well with MIDI.

KORG iMS-20 ($32.99) analog synth studio is a complete recreation of the Korg MS-20 synth.  It’s an analog synth, a drum machine, 16-step analog sequencer based on the Korg SQ-10, and has dual Kaoss pads.

NLogSynth PRO ($14.99) virtual analog synthesizer with fat sound that features full MIDI capability for Apple’s Camera Connection, Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer and Akai SynthStation.  It also features 192 factory presets and full hardware synth sound control capability.

Fairlight Player by Fairlight Instruments ($9.99) is a byte by byte perfect re-issue of the classic Fairlight CMI sounds of the 80′s.  While this app is exciting for nostalgic purposes, its sounds may be a bit dated and limited in purpose.  It does however feature Core MIDI capability and is fun to play if you’ve ever dreamed of playing this legendary instrument.

Molten Drum Machine by One Red Dog Media ($1.99) is a synth and sample drum machine used to create percussive sounds and rhythm sequences.  It features Core MIDI and AudioCopy for copy and paste into other iPad music production apps.

SynthStation by Akai Professional ($1.99) is an analog modeling synth,  drum machine and sequencer that works with both it’s own Akai SynthStation controller (sold seperately) or Core MIDI via the camera connection kit.

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iPad synths & drum machine Connections

In order to connect an iPad synth app to your MIDI controller or DAW, you’ll need a MIDI connection device suited for this purpose.

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Apple’s Camera Connection Kit

The most common way to connect your iPad via MIDI to your MIDI controller or DAW is to use Apple’s  camera connection kit ($29.99).  This adapter connects to your iPad, and requires a separate USB cable to plug into your MIDI controller or a separate MIDI interface.

If you’re only looking to play your iPad synth from your MIDI controller, then you only need the camera connection kit and a USB cable that connects to the USB MIDI connector on your controller.

If you’re looking to control the sounds within the iPad synth app from your favorite DAW, then you’ll also need a MIDI interface which will transmit MIDI output and receive MIDI input signals.  The M-Audio Uno works well for this.
M-Audio USB Uno MIDI Interface ($39.99)  Using the Uno in connection with the camera connection kit will allow you to use your iPad synth app like an external synthesizer.  In this setup you will also require an audio cable connected from the iPad into your audio interface in order to record the audio.
Here’s a recap of connection path using a camera connection kit:

1. MIDI controller to play iPad synth or drums:

• iPad >> camera connection kit >> USB cable >> keyboard or other MIDI controller

2. Computer DAW to control iPad as external synth or drums:

• iPad >> camera connection kit >> MIDI interface (ex. M-Audio Uno) >> Audio Interface

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Other Connection Devices

An alternative to using the camera connection kit is to use Line 6′s MIDI Mobilizer.

Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer ($69.99) This device is the equivalent of having a camera connection kit and MIDI interface.  It allows you to connect your iPad directly to your audio interface’s MIDI port for MIDI in / out connectivity.   However there are a couple of potential drawbacks to this device that I would like to point out:

1. Not all iPad synth and drum machine apps have functionality for this device.  Before you purchase the MIDI mobilizer, make sure the iPad synth you’re looking to use is compatible.

2. MIDI Mobilizer doesn’t allow for direct USB connectivity.  If you’re looking to simply connect your MIDI keyboard to the iPad to play sounds, the keyboard will need to have stand MIDI connectors and not only a USB MIDI connector.

Akai SynthStation49 Keyboard Controller with iPad Dock ($269) is another iPad MIDI alternative.  The Akai SynthStation controller with dock provides all that you would need to connect the iPad to a keyboard controller.  With this setup you would only require a USB cable to connect the controller to your computer, and an audio cable to connect from the iPad to your audio interface to record the sounds.

One drawback to this setup is that not all iPad synth and drum apps may recognize this.  Akai built the controller specifically to work with its SynthStation App. While more and more iPad synth apps are becoming compatible with Akai’s SynthStation, you’ll want to ensure the app of your choice is compatible before making the purchase.

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Portable MIDI Controllers for iPad synths & drum machine

In addition to the Akai SynthStation controller, any USB MIDI controller can be a good fit for the iPad with the camera kit.  One good ultra portable option for controlling your favorite iPad synth or drum machine are Korg’s Nano 2 controllers.  These are great if you enjoy the portability that the iPad provides, but want a little more than the touch screen control.  The Korg synths such as iMS-20 and the iElectribe come pre-configured to work with the Nano 2 control series (not the original Nano controllers).

You can also opt for a 49-key controller such as the  M-Audio Axiom 49 2nd Gen 49-Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller.

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Below is a video demonstrating connectivity the iPad to various MIDI controllers.

More iPad goodies and help? Check AC7 Core Control surface for iPad

If you’re a fan of Spectrasonics’ flagship virtual ‘Power Synth’ Omisphere, then you’re in for a special treat.  Omisphere 1.5 was just released along with a new controller app for the iPad called Omni TR.  Omnisphere 1.5 is available as a free download for all registered owners of Omisphere, and the Omni TR iPad app is available for free on the apple store.

Spectrasonics Omnisphere 1.5 new features:

• Harmonia: New zoom page shows all Harmonia parameters per layer adding up to 10 oscillators per patch with new independent modulation options for Levels and Fine Tuning on each Harmonia oscillator.
• Waveshaper: New zoom page with extreme new processing modules including polyphonic ‘Crusher’ and ‘Reducer’ sections with ‘Force’ and ‘Animation’ controls that can all be modulated.
• Granular Synthesis: New ‘Speed’ and ‘Position’ modes. New zoom page with new ‘Granular Visualizer’ showing a graphic model of the effect of parameter edits which makes Granular synthesis easier to use.
• Over 700 brand new patches created by renowned Spectrasonics sound development team = over 5,000 patches and 8,000 total sounds
• Five-Column Browser view displays more sound categories and attributes simultaneously
• “Recently Added” Browser sorting option
• Added support for MIDI devices which send polyphonic aftertouch
• New ‘Clone Part’ feature allows easier editing/setup with multichannel MIDI controllers
• New MIDI Learn hardware control mode follows Live Mode selection
• Modulation Envelope points can be key-command snapped to semitone when modulating pitch
• User-assignable Legato Interval rule added

Omni TR app for the iPad brings “Touch Remote” functionality to Omnisphere for a powerful tactile hands-on user experience.  It’s especially great for using Omnisphere in the live environment, and is blast for creating new sounds in real-time using the new Orb feature.

Spectrasonics Omnisphere 1.5 conclusions & thoughts

If you’re ready to be inspired, check out this video by Eric Pershing demonstrating the new features of Omnisphere 1.5 and Omni TR.

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Logic comes with an array of track icons including icons for each of its software instruments, but it also allows you to add your own.  I like to use custom icons especially when creating track presets.  I speed up my work-flow by creating track presets (as Cubase calls it, or “Channel Strip Settings” in Logic) with EQ settings, Compression, or other effects ready to go.  I like to have my custom icons pre-built into the track preset, so I can record quickly and view at a glance which instruments are recorded and where they sit in the edit window.

Logic Track Icons – Things to Remember

1. Logic track icons must be saved as a .png file and include the Alpha transparency channel in the file.
2. Icons cannot exceed 128 x 128 pixels.
3. Icon files must be given a numerical name (ex: 401.png).  Logic 9 icons are numbered up to 325.png.  I started numbering my icons at 350.png, but you can begin with any number higher than 325.png.
4. Be careful not to change or rename any existing files in Logic’s application folder.

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Where Track Icons are Stored in Logic

To find where the track icons are stored in Logic, navigate to the Applications folder and right click (or control click) on the Logic icon then navigate to:

• Show Package Contents -> Contents -> Resources -> Images -> Icons

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Copying Application and File Track Icons into Logic

Here’s how to use any existing application or plug-in icons already stored on your Mac.

• Find the application or plug-in icon you wish to use
• Right click (or control click) on the icon and select “Get Info”
• Click on the icon at the top left until it has the blue glow, then press ‘Command+C’

• Open Apple’s ‘Preview’ application.  Go to: File ->New From Clipboard
• Select the icon on the right that is 128 x 128 (some applications may have multiple icon sizes).

• Go to: File -> Save as. Navigate to Logic’s Icons folder as mentioned above.
• Name the file to the number of your choice (greater than 325) and select PNG as the format.  Ensure Alpha is checked.

• Enjoy your new icon in Logic!  Your new track icon will be available in Logic and visible according to its numerical order.

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Finding More Application Track Icons on Your Mac

Many of your applications have available icons that can be copied into Logic and used as a track icon.  Simply go to your Applications folder and right click (or control click) on the application icon and navigate to:

• Show Package Contents -> Contents -> Resources.

At this point you may see icons, or there may be an Image folder or an Icons folder.  If the icon you’re looking to copy is a .ICNS file type, simply right click (or control click) on the icon and select copy.  Then open the Preview application and follow the steps above to copy the image into Logic’s Icons folder.

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Creating Your Own Icons

If you’d like to create your own track icons using a screenshot of your favorite plug-in for example.  You would:

• Use a graphics program of your choice (i.e. Photoshop) to edit the image
• Name the file as a number greater than 325
• Save as a .png file into Logic’s Icons folder as mentioned above.

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More Icons on the Web

If you’d like to increase your Logic track icon library, but don’t want to create your own, there are a few sites out there that have music icons such as Icon Archive.  There’s not a whole lot of music icons, but there are a few generic ones.  Leave a comment if you find a site with better selections for Logic.

Well, have fun creating tracks with your new custom Logic track icons!

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The electronic wind instrument, also called a MIDI wind controller or wind synthesizer, has been around since the 1970′s. Affectionately known as the EWI (pronounced E-wee), it’s typically designed to emulate the fingerings of either a saxophone, other woodwind instruments or a trumpet, and is capable of controlling music synthesizers or other devices.

Today’s line-up of MIDI wind controllers include the Akai EWI USB, Akai EWI 4000s and the Yamaha WX5. Each of these controllers is extremely expressive and use a variety of MIDI continuous controller messages in order to manipulate and control sound. Although EWI’s are designed to play expressively, the sound source it controls must be programed to take advantage of the MIDI continuous controller (CC) messages transmitted by the EWI. Not all of today’s computer-based virtual instruments have the feature-set needed to take advantage of the power and flexibility of the EWI. Below are some of the virtual instruments currently on the market that are either specifically designed to work with wind controllers, or take advantage of MIDI CC automation and work very well when controlled by an EWI.

Virtual Instruments for MIDI Wind Controller pt1

EWI 4000s Internal Synth

Before I begin with the computer-based virtual instruments, I want to point out that the Akai EWI 4000s is currently the only electronic wind instrument that comes with a built-in analog modeling synth. The built-in VZX 4000s synth uses two tone oscillators and a noise generating oscillator to create its internal sounds. The preset sounds that ship with the EWI 4000s tend to be thin and leave much to be desired. You can create your own custom sounds using the Vyzex Editor which is available as a free download in the downloads section of the Akai EWI 4000s website. If programming analog synths is not your cup of tea, you can purchase EWI 4000s soundbanks from Patchman Music which is the largest developer of wind controller soundbanks in the world. Patchman Music creates some of the most warm and inspiring sounds available for the EWI 4000s internal synth and other wind controller tone generators.

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Woodwinds & Brass

If you’re looking for realistic sounding solo woodwind and brass instruments, Samplemodeling.com has a line-up of instruments designed specifically for wind controllers. Samplemodeling’s current line-up of instruments include: The Sax Brothers (Alto, Tenor and Baritone saxophones), The Trumpet and The Trombone. These instruments are built on Native Instruments Kontakt sampler platform, and use physical modeling and sample modulation programing techniques to create the most realistic interpretations of their acoustic counterparts available.

A few of the highlights of the Samplemodeling instruments include: complete volume and timbre control using CC2 (breath control) or CC11 (expression), an array of mutes on the Trumpet and Trombone instruments, growl and harmonic effects on the saxophone instruments, convolution reverb impulse responses (IR) of natural spaces, key noises, and vibrato behaviors specific to either the Akai EWI or the Yamaha WX5. The Samplemodeling.com website has audio and video demos available for you to hear these instruments in action.

Virtual Instruments for MIDI Wind Controller pt2

Retro Flute by Bela D Media is another good product designed to work well with wind controllers. While not as advanced as Samplemoding instruments at interpreting timbre and volume using CC2, it’s got a natural and breathy sound that responds well to breath control and velocity. Retro Flute is built on the Kontakt sampler platform and like Samplemodeling instruments, can be used with either the full version of Kontakt or the free Kontakt player. A few of the highlights of Retro Flute include: random player breath noises, a sung style which emulates the humming while playing technique, key noises, flutter, and sustained straight and vibrato tones.

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Solo Strings

There are many great ensemble and solo string sample sets out there, but few take advantage of MIDI CC2 as well as Dan Dean Solo Strings Advanced. Solo Strings Advanced is also built on the Kontakt sampler platform and includes: Solo Violin 1, Solo Violin 2, Solo Viola and Solo Cello instruments. It also includes small ensemble versions of each of the instruments as well as pizzicato, spiccato, arco and tremelo articulations. In addition to each of the instruments being very responsive to CC2 breath control, this set also includes convolution reverb IR samples and convolution timbre IR samples. These help to create an ultra-realistic sound of not just the solo instrument, but also emulates the tone of the instrument in various acoustic spaces. Visit the Dan Dean Productions website to hear good examples of these sample-based solo and ensemble string instruments in action.

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Guitars

When you’re ready to turn your EWI into a hard rockin’ distorted Stratocaster or Les Paul Custom guitar, check out RealStrat and RealGuitarLPC sample-based instruments by MusicLab. I’ve got a few sample-based guitar libraries such as Electri6ity by Vir2 and guitar libraries by Pettinhouse, and they’re good for keyboard playing, but RealStrat and RealGuitarLPC work especialy well with wind controllers. MusicLab libraries are cleanly sampled raw guitar sounds, so they require a separate amp simulation effect plug-in such as Guitar Rig or AmpliTube for that amped distorted guitar sound.

Some of the features that make RealStrat and RealGuitarLPC well suited for MIDI wind controllers include:

• String timbre controlled by breath velocity (just like plucking a real guitar string)
• Vibrato responds well to the vibrato bite sensor on the Akai EWI and reed movement on the Yamaha WX5
• Guitar effects such as palm mute, full string mute, harmonics and string bends can be assigned to be triggered from high or low velocity levels
• An expression pedal can be used to trigger wah-wah effects real-time while playing (just like a real guitar)
• A sustain pedal can be used to trigger harmonic feedback real-time while playing
• Random string noises and scratches are triggered by “note-off” commands which means these cool effects sound as you pause or breath between passages (just like a real guitar player). This behavior is controllable to taste.

Many more features make these virtual guitar instruments real-sounding and fun to play. Visit MusicLab‘s website to see and hear demo’s of these instruments in action.

Synths

Wouldn’t it be great if a virtual synthesizer could allow you to assign any MIDI continuous controller message to any function of the synth? Having the ability to assign CC2 to cutoff frequency, frequency envelope, amplitude; or assigning pitch bend to a delay effect; or assigning velocity to trigger alternate oscillators would allow you to create the most expressive wind controller synth sounds possible. Unfortunately, the majority of virtual synths on the market are primarily designed to be played by MIDI keyboards, and don’t often have the sophisticated MIDI learn and CC automation functionality needed for wind controllers.

However, one synth that will get the job done (and then some) is Omnisphere by Spectrasonics. Omnisphere is one of the most powerful virtual synths on the market today with over 2,700 sampled sound sources and a rich sounding synthesizer powered by its STEAM Engine. What makes Omnisphere a perfect match for MIDI wind controllers is its advanced MIDI learn and CC automation parameter handling. Omnisphere allows you to assign any oscillator, filter, envelope, sound effect, or layered sound to any MIDI CC transmitted by your wind controller. Another reason Omnisphere is a great match for wind controllers, is because you can layer up to eight complete patches (provided you have a powerful CPU and lots of RAM) to create an awesome Michael Brecker inspired multi-patch.

Programing Omnisphere can be daunting, especially learning all of the functionality needed to make a good EWI patch sound expressive. However, your time spent learning to program Omnisphere will be well rewarded with unique sounds that respond well to breath, pitch, vibrato and velocity controls. Spectrasonics has many tutorials on its website for you to get started learning Omnisphere. You can also find really good in-depth Omnisphere video tutorials here at macProVideo.

Lastly, there’s a fantastic wind controller player who creates EWI sound refills specifically for Propellerhead’s Reason. You can purchase and download sounds directly from his website at EWIReasonSounds.com.

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Virtual Instruments for MIDI Wind Controller thoughts & conclusions

The products mentioned above are just a few examples of virtual instruments that will work well with MIDI wind controllers. If you have a favorite sample library or virtual synth that you use with your EWI, please leave a comment and let us know.

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