Blog 5: Home recording

 Hello and welcome to this weeks blog presented by Infidel Audio. Over the past few weeks I have gone over some new products with in the world of recording but today I am going to talk just about home recording because not every one can wake up and call a million dollar studio their work place. I have the luxury of being about to recording in a professional studio but I dont always have time to to mix and finish recording in the studio so the next best place is my house. I have a A house with a nice sized basement. I built a room in the corner of the basement with a couple things in mind. How the room would sound without spending a million bucks that I don have and also the space I would need to record musicians and voice talent. The room sounded good after I used insulation between the walls and used acoustic foam to control the noise inside the room. As far as equipment, I am a college student and money is a thing that I wish I had so I had to be smart with my money. I started with my computer and I choose a Windows machine over an Apple computer mainly because of the price tag. I built a Windows machine with 12 GB of memory a nd a AMD 8 core 4.3 gigahertz processor. This allows me to run Pro Tools 10 and 11 with all the plug ins i need without any performance issues. I have three 1 Terabyte external hard drives that give me all the storage space I need. I have both the Focusrite 2i2 and the 18i20 that i keep in the box unless I am tracking a live drum set, which will not happen until I can acoustically treat the other room in my basement. I leave the Focusrite 2i2 hooked up to my computer via USB and the unit features two really nice XLR and 1/4" combo jacks as well as phantom power. This allows me to record voice talent as direct inputs for bass or guitar. I can as mic up guitar and bass cabinets as well. I know one of the most important pieces of equipment in any studio is the monitoring system. For my monitors I found a great deal on KRK Rokit 8's. Normally the sell for $250 to $300 a piece but I had a friend that just upgraded his monitors and sold me his Rokit 8's for only $200 for the pair. I could not pass that up and gives me solid performance that I expect from KRK. I still use my Shure 440 monitoring headphones to mix, but i did have a pair of KRK headphones that I loved until I let a friend borrow them and the person moved before I had a chance to get that back. Moral of the story is never loan out your good equipment. If i would have let her borrow my Shure headphones I would not have cared at all. I have many different guitar and bass amplifiers as well as a couple microphones. My main vocal mic i use is the Audio Techinica 4040. I paid about $300 for this mic and I could not be happier with a mic in this price range. For instruments I use the rock steady Shure SM-57. This is a classic mic that I can use on just about any thing. For the future I would like to upgrade my interface to a Antelope Zen studio and also upgrade my computer to a Mac but that wont be until I can afford a Mac that has the same power that my PC has. Well thank you for taking the time to read this and if you like what you read then please subscribe to my blog.

Blog 4:M-Track Eight by M-Audio

                  Hello every one and welcome to the fourth installment of Infidel Audio's Blog and this week I am going to talk about the M-track Eight by M-Audio. This eight-input USB 2.0 audio interface enables you to track large music ensembles, record the band, or mic an entire drum set with pro-grade audio components and a myriad of connections. Eight combo XLR+1/4" inputs accommodate nearly any source, from phantom-powered microphones to your favorite guitar, and eight dedicated outputs offer versatile playback options. The XLR inputs are designed to work with microphones and other Lo-Z sources, and the phantom power switch enables you to use condenser microphones by delivering 48v phantom power to the XLR inputs (Channels 1-4; 5-8). M-Track Eight also has two conveniently located inputs on the front panel that can be switched to allow instrument-level signals, so you can plug your electric guitar or bass directly into M-Track Eight and start recording. Individual gain knobs with meters help ensure the proper input level by providing real-time visual feedback. M-Track Eight features pristine and precise audio recording with up to 24-bit/96 kHz resolution.

 Each input channel is equipped with a high-headroom input that features M-Audio's sought-after Octane Preamp Technology. The result is a robust signal path for clean, professional sound. In addition, each input comes with dedicated line-input circuitry so you can record and track with your favorite external preamps. The M-Track Plus software suite also includes an impressive selection of plugin effects from Waves Audio Ltd. TrueVerb delivers a broad, natural reverb with an easy-to-use interface. AudioTrack offers a remarkable EQ, plus gating and compression. Plus, you can add a professional touch with the Eddie Kramer Effects Channel, created with legendary audio guru Eddie Kramer. World-renowned, L1 Ultramaximizer offers look-ahead peak limiting, level maximization, and high resolution re-quantization in one powerful plugin. Add depth & dimension while enhancing the groove with Manny Marroquin Delay. This is a unit that can be for an engineer that is just starting out and wants a nice clean unit that is an upgrade from older M-Audio units or this can be used in a traveling rack for a professional engineer or producer. The unit starts at a price of just $399 so it is a very affordable unit. 

Features

• 8-channel USB 2.0 audio interface
• 8 XLR+1/4″ combo inputs with individual metering
• Pristine and precise audio recording with up to 24-bit/96 kHz resolution
• High-headroom inputs with Octane Preamp Technology
• Dedicated line-input circuitry for clean, professional recordings
• 2 front-panel instrument inputs for easy access
• Selectable phantom power (Channels 1-4; 5-8) for using condenser microphones
• Dual headphone outs with selectable source for custom mixes and monitoring
• 8 balanced 1/4″ outputs and dedicated control room output
• Zero-latency monitoring with USB/Analog Direct Balance control
• Standard 1U 19" rack size with durable metal construction
• Includes Cubase 7 LE for out-of-the-box music creation and up to 8 channels of simultaneous audio recording
• Use the included Waves plugin bundle (AudioTrack, Eddie Kramer Effect Channel, TrueVerb, L1 Ultramaximizer, and Manny Marroquin Delay) to add a professional finish to your production

Blog 3 :RIVAGE PM10 console from Yamaha

           Hello every one and welcome to the third installment of Infidel Audio's Blog on new products and innovations within the world of audio recording. Today we are going to look at the new recording and live desk from Yamaha. Yamaha has launched the RIVAGE PM10 console, which it says marks "the birth of a new era in live sound mixing."At the core of the new digital mixing system is the recently-developed RY16-ML-SILK hybrid microphone preamplifier. This unique design features an analogue section designed to deliver consistent, natural-sounding audio, even at high gain levels. It is partnered with a 96kHz, 24-bit A/D converter, followed by enhanced Yamaha VCM digital modelling of Rupert Neve Designs transformer circuitry and Silk processing.The audio engineer can have a completely transparent audio input path or, using the Silk Red and Blue modes and the Texture control in the console’s selected channel, can be creative with the colour and character of each individual input. As well as forging closer ties with Rupert Neve in the development of the RY16-ML-SILK, new VCM models of the Rupert EQ773, Rupert Comp 754, Rupert EQ810 and Rupert Comp 830 are included as well. Yamaha has also worked with TC Electronic to include two reverbs, the VSS4HD room simulation reverb and NonLin2 stereo reverb, as featured in the System 6000 devices. Yamaha collaborated with Eventide to add the H3000-Live Ultra-Harmonizer as a future standard inclusion in the RIVAGE PM10 too.The system is operated via a user interface that will be familiar to Yamaha console users, yet which delivers more flexible operating possibilities. The full Selected Channel section was a key element of the PM1D and PM5D consoles, and is a fundamental aspect of the RIVAGE PM10’s design.  Twenty-four of the control surface’s channel strips extend into the twin, 15-inch touchscreen displays, while the rotary encoders offer ‘horseshoe’ ring indicators for optimum visibility. A third display screen can be added via a DVI socket, if required.There are also enhanced Scene functions, dual monitor busses, the ability to run up to 384 effects processors at once and four USB connections for data storage, mouse/keyboard control and two-track USB recording.The backbone of the console is Yamaha’s new TWINLANe ring network, which can handle up to 400 audio channels at 96kHz, 32-bit over distances of up to 300 metres. TWINLANe can connect up to eight RPio622 I/O units, two CS-R10 control surfaces and two DSP-R10 DSP engines.

Blog 2: dbx 676 mic pre channel strip

              Hello every one and welcome to Infidel Audio's Blog. As we look at new innovations with in the world of audio recording I will be looking at new products to help with creating the sound you desire and today i will be talking about a new tube microphone pre channel strip  built by dbx. This channel strip  will not be available until January of 2015 but its always a good idea to look towards the future. dbx has announced the introduction of its 676 Tube Mic Pre Channel Strip.The 676 is a vacuum tube-based microphone preamplifier that delivers a host of flexible sound-tailoring options, delivering "extraordinary" audio quality for recording and live sound applications.It employs a high-gain, Class A tube preamp section based around a 12AU7 vacuum tube that can be adjusted to produce either clean/pure or more 'dirty' sounds. The new model also incorporates the Compressor/Limiter design from the dbx 162SL, as well as a three-band parametric EQ, enabling control of dynamics and tonal balance. The 2U preamp offers vintage style controls, a 'military-grade build', ¼-inch and XLR inputs and outputs, a front-panel instrument input and a side chain insert. An optional digital output card is available as well. The 676 allows for precise tailoring of input and output levels, which can be monitored via its large multi-function VU meter. The compressor/limiter section provides flexible control of dynamics such as threshold, attack, gain and release, auto attack and release, hard and soft knee compression, dbx-exclusive AutoVelocity manual and OverEasy modes and a PeakStop limiting algorithm. The EQ enables adjustment of level and bandwidth at frequencies that have been carefully chosen for "maximum musical effectiveness."  I have been using the DBX 266xl compressor for a year now and have many friends that have used other DBX products in the past and I have never heard a bad complaint yet so i have no doubts in my mind that the 676 will deliver a smooth warm sound and easy controls. The price for this unit will sell for $999.95.  

Blog 1: Zen Studio by Antelope

               Hi every one and this is this weeks Infidel Audio's blog. This week and the next few weeks I will be posting products, innovations and advancements in the audio recording world. This week I will be talking about the Zen Studio by Antelope. I have working in professional studios as well as set up my own home recording studio in the basement of my house. I have an acoustically treated room at home filled with mid level equipment. I am still a collage student and I cant afford professional equipment but it does not stop me from making excellent recordings. I currently use a FocusRite 18i20 as a interface. It is a very nice unit for the $500 price tag. The unit features nice preamps and loads of additional features but is designed to a mid level interface. This is where the Zen Studio comes in, Pro Audio Review pick this product as the winner of the 2014 Innovated Products award. After spending some time reading reviews and watching clips on the unit I can see why it won awards and why even professional engineers and producers are using this. Antelope Audio Acoustically Focused Clocking provides the most authentic analog sounding A/D & D/A conversion on the market. Antelope's clocking and conversion along with the custom USB technology implemented in Zen are identical to the ones in the top-selling 32-channel Orion interface which is a centerpiece in the playback rigs for artists such as Rihanna, Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake, and inside the mixing and mastering studios of engineers like Eric Sarafin (aka Mixerman), Brian Vibberts, Howie Wienberg or electronic music producers like Robert Babicz and Dusty Kid. In addition to proven sound quality, Zen Studio offers an extremely powerful DSP, based on a custom FPGA device with massive parallel processing capabilities. The proprietary FPGA makes the DSP chip in Zen Studio eight times more powerful than the ones used in similar devices. This allows fast and easy simultaneous processing of multiple effects, enhancing the workflow like no other device on the market. Zen Studio is fully controllable using an intuitive desktop application on both PC and Mac, offering flexible signal routing and DSP-based effects alongside custom presets. Users can create up to four independent, zero-latency mixes assignable to any outputs, including the two independent headphone outputs and monitor outputs. All audio I/O is available simultaneously for a total of 38 possible input and 32 output channels, plus 24 simultaneous I/O channels via custom USB, supporting 24-bit, 192 kHz audio. This unit is amazing sounding and turns out beautiful recordings. This is not a entry level or mid level interface and the price tag shows. Coming in at just under $2,500, the Zen studio and other products should be a main stay in an engineers arsenal for both  the home and for the studio. Thank you for taking the time to read and please subscribe.

Podcast1 by Infidel Audio

https://ia902701.us.archive.org/4/items/KinnellyPODCAST1/KinnellyPODCAST1.mp3

Podcast 2 from Infidel Audio

https://ia902701.us.archive.org/4/items/KinnellyPODCAST1/KinnellyPodCast2.mp3

Personal History

                Hello every one, and welcome to Infidel Audio's Blog. My name is Kevin Kinnelly and I was born and raised just outside the wonderful city of Detroit Michigan. I grew up in a household supported by the auto industry and I have watched the devastation the wake caused after every thing dried up. I have been around cars and music my whole like. I grew a passion for music and began playing guitar when I was 15 because the girl I liked played bass. But out of my passion for music, the shift changed from playing to the art of recording. Its only thing to play a performance but its a separate art to record it. My goal is to make great recordings of great artist to share though out the world. Every one has a voice and my job is to make sure that voice is heard. That is how I ended up at The Art Institute of Michigan. I will be graduating soon with my Bacholors of Science degree in Audio Production.  I graduated high school in 2000 and was not ready to continue my education so I joined the US Army to learn discipline and to learn about myself and who I was. I might have hated a lot of things about the Army but after spending significant time in places like Colorado Springs and Fairbanks Alaska, I got to learn about things outside my world of Michigan. I spent the better part of three years in variuose locations through out Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar. I joined the Army pre September 11th and had no idea I would be getting shot at or blown up a daily basis. Not that I would have changed my descision to join the Army but it would have been nice to have a heads up. I was Honorable Discharged  from the service on November 19th of 2012 with 7 Army Commendation medals, 3 Army Achievement medals, 3 Good Conduct medals The Iraqi Campain medal with 5 gold stars, a Purple Heart, two busted knees, a bad back and a great work ethic. With the Post 9/11 GI Bill I was able to start school and transition from the service to civilian life. The journey has not always been easy but for some reason I like it like that.