Iain Cameron's Diary
"Click here to access the Fruitful Album" - Click here to visit Music for the Highveld Project


The Highveld Project

Get your own
 diary at DiaryLand.com! contact me older entries

2011-06-02 - 5:23 p.m.


Band website template

The volumes on RN have been pretty good for a few days but this isnt enough to build the band equity yet - this puzzles me. Cubase Essentials 6 arrived yesterday and completely colonised my external sound box - it won't let any other applications into the hi fi. They have to play through the laptop speakers. The last time I used Cubase I remember this happening. Actually this laptop doesn t sound too bad. I have been doing some lines against guitar parts from the vaults. There are two substantial softsynths in Cubase and I have been trying out some of the odder patches. The amp simulator in Cubase is surprisingly good - it will take a track recorded clean through the Roland Cube onto the Zoom H1 and crunch it pretty well - various kinds of US and UK valve amps are simulated. I took one guitar and synth track and load it into the free Acid software to add some industrial noises - then into Soundforge to tidy it up. Steinberg wants me to pay extra for mp3 conversion software. Currently I am exporting from Cubase in massive 32 bit wavs and then knocking them down to 10% of their size in Soundforge as mp3s. Currently Cubase seems to be oriented more towards Electronic Dance Music rather than natural instruments.

Today 2 CDs arrived from LA courtsey of Rich Ruttenberg who is a studio musician specialist on keyboards. One CD is classic jazz repertoire but done to an exceptionally high standard by the piano trio - familiar standards are made fresh by unusual harmonic turns. The second CD is a larger ensemble and more varied instrumentation - harmonica, flugelhorn, sax and English horn. It is quite as good as anything you might hear played live on a Radio 2 or 3 late night jazz programme if not better. With the flow of posts from the Linkedin jazz discussion group, which mostly come from the US, I can t help but be impressed by the general standard of musicianship and experience. Lots of people in the US study jazz really seriously and organise all kinds of bands and ensembles.

Gilbert thinks the overall sound from Cubase is colder than from the Sony. Clearer means colder?

previous - next