Emerald City Productions

Electronic Music

Experiences with Computers Cubase and Logic Pro as a composer!

by Stokes-Herbst on May 24, 2010

in Electronic Music, Music

Hi,

I have been in the Music industry for more than 20 years working in rock bands that took me to playing to 15,000 people at a time, to the sole composer as I am at the moment.  The great change though came when I left the band and married and did family stuff!  But that was not the end of it.  I decided that Music was for me and that led me down ‘that’ path plus providence!   The ‘Holy Grail’ of recording at home without the high cost of renting recording studio’s and getting the quality music out there through contacts etc.

Fifteen years ago, cash in hand I started to look for a computer and the problems started!  PC’s then were in their infancy, and all the claims that were made about their ability in music recording terms were about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.  After 3 custom made PC’s at £1000 every time, failures in reliable recording without regular crashing and glitching were ongoing.  I became somewhat of an expert in all things PC, and was able to fix with time most faults whilst not writing music!  I was using Cubase at the time and gradually upgraded to Nuendo 2.  I thought that this final professional DAW would end my problems.

Then problems seemed to revolve around constant crashing or high latency with plug-ins etc.  Further there were problems with the Cubase/Nuendo 2 not performing tasks correctly or locking up.  These would especially be during working in the midi note edit page where dragging notes or selecting notes would lock up the PC.  One that was never solved, was recording midi in time with the click, then on playback it would be time shifted by 0.25s-by the way not my playing!  Whatever I did-offsets etc I never did solve it and I went over to Mac!

In more enlightened moments, I have wondered whether the PC processors/speed though powerful were just not fast enough for the programs and what was recommended. But then I ask why do the Mac’s work straight away out of the box?  Can anyone answer this?

It must be 10 years later after working with PC’s I found out that the Apple Mac’s existed!  It is only in the last 3 years, that I believed what I had been told by every musician worth his salt, that the ‘Apple Mac’ solution to music recording worked!’  Slowly in the past 2 years I have gradually migrated my whole studio to Apple Mac’s.  It has been a steep learning curve-in some ways-new architecture-new procedures-but worth every penny of it, and wish I had not believed the Windows-PC  evangelists brigade.

Looking back, if only I have spent the three grand on a decent Mac, and not on PC’s, I would still have the Mac and be working with it!  I have looked at the quality of build, their speed and seeming robustness of the Operating System.  Perhaps the wisdom of sometimes listening/researching all camps before taking the plunge and also cheaper is NOT always the cheapest option, long term!  Time is precious, and I am sad about the time lost, but perhaps in other ways, I learnt a lot about PC’S.

Logic Pro had been recommended to me and the moment I started hammering it-it held up with whatever I threw at it-or was it the Apple Mac? Whatever the combination I have never looked back-Logic Pro Studio is great, and so is the Mac.

Currently I am writing an LP/EP and have laid down 3 tracks.  I have invested in the Native Instruments Komplete 6 package and have used this as my main writing tool and find it fantastic.  Most of the sounds have been drawn from this stable so far and the sound bank is so vast that this is all I might ever need.  The tracks are Electronic in nature and the writing style.

I hope this little explanation of where I come from shows my hand well and helps in your journey.

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SPL Vitalizer Mk II for Mastering processor reborn…!

by Stokes-Herbst on April 8, 2010

in Electronic Music, Music

Hi All,

For those who are Mastering audio, the debated questions go round the topics of polish, spectral content, harmonic content etc.  For me I have for years used Steinbergs Wavelab with material which is almost of entirely computer generated audio.  As you may well know, many complain that audio composed entirely by computer can be cold and harsh rather than warm and silky and endearing.  I have been aware of these views and in the back of my mind, have felt that my material lacks that certain ‘something’ as described above.  I have several albums released via Digital Download stores-itunes/Amazon/Musiczeit etc, and they were processed with Wavelab.

Recently, I reworked the studio enabling me to include ‘external hardware’ using Logic Pro Studio.  Suddenly, I remembered a piece of gear that I stored for a few years called an SPL Vitalizer.  On research, I found out that it was the ‘Rolls Royce’ of exciters using Physco-Acoustic properties rather than the addition of harmonics to lift the quality of the audio.  SPL have created a Plugin copy of the Vitalizer Mk II that is used as ‘replacement’.

As I have the original, I inserted the Vitalizer and got a track ready for experiment.  The track for trials was an Electronic track that I have written for a future EP and has the required ‘atmospheric’ passages.  I set up the Vitalizer and put the audio through the Vitalizer path adjusting the controls for the smooth and silky sound that my computer setup apparently ‘cant’ produce.

On comparison the difference astounded me!  Here was the sound that I had missed-even though trying to generate it with ‘warming’ plugins imported within Wavelab also PSP’s Vintage warmer etc.

Does this mean that I am a convert to analogue gear?  Well I am ‘really over the moon’ and ‘wonder’ at the design in these units-astounding.  I am now a convert to the principle of mixing analogue gear with the Computer Studio as much as I can as money allows!

Cheers

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Album ‘Chthonic Netherworld’ release by Paul Stokes-Herbst

by Stokes-Herbst on March 27, 2010

in Electronic Music, General, Music

Hi All,

I am glad to report that the continuing release of my albums continues with ‘Chthonic Netherworld’ on a wider scale.  It is released in nearly 260 countries by BelieveDigital.

It contains Electronic Sytnth music created for Film & TV some of which has been released in America and elsewhere.  Containing Sci-Fi backgrounds, Synth Leads and and Sc-Fi Pads it takes you to other worlds and through space to Alien Worlds.  Your imagination can run riot-the music was partly created for Aliens operating on human beings!-aaaaarrrrrrrggggg-as part of a diploma in writing ‘Music for the Media’.

I take inspiration from many sources from Ian Boddy to Sc-Fi music and Films.  The studio equipment used is the latest gear-Kore 2 and it’s many synthesizers to Propellor heads Reason.  Hopefully people will get the benefit of the latest sounds taking them to the future!

Hear on www.itunes.com/paulstokes www.believedigital.com/artists/90126,paul-stokes-herbst.html  or www.musiczeit.com/directory.php?artist=80&title=Paul+Stokes

Enjoy!

Cheers

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Mixing the Music?

by Stokes-Herbst on March 5, 2010

in Electronic Music, General, Music

Hi There,

I’m mixing tracks for the Electronic EP I’m doing.  It has the highest number of track counts so far for this EP.  It is an exploration of the future including spacey sounds and particle Physics level stuff-brilliant.

I released another album on march 3rd-Chthonic Netherworld. This is fully Electronic with synths using the excellant Kore 2 system with Komplete 6 set of Native Intruments series of Plugins.  It is Space orientated with again melodic stuctures and a sense of exploration of the further reaches of the Universe-I loved writing it as it a particular interest area of mine aside other things.  You will be able to get it off www.itunes.com/paulstokes and www.believe.fr/albums/52696.cosimc-renditions.html or hear it at it at: www.downloadplatform.com/paul_stokes and released in 260 countries-enjoy.

Cheers


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‘Concepcion-the first performance of ‘

by Stokes-Herbst on February 24, 2010

in Electronic Music, General, Music

‘Concepcion’ started out as a piece that was written whilst trying out an idea within Nuendo the software sequencer package.  The idea was Orchestral and Classical, scored with strings and a smattering of wind instruments.  I played it to Russ Conway, my A&R Manager at the time, who likened it to Goretsky, a famous classical composer.  He really liked the piece and suggested that I scored and modified it.  After some work, it ended up in it’s present form.  It seemed that many people liked the work and it was arranged by Russ Conway that the work would be performed at the Stockton Riverside Music Festival in July 2004.

I had to prepare the piece for public performance, so set about scoring the piece for production.  It took about 3 Months before I had finished with something that which is required for professional musicians.  The score was then passed on to Deborah Mollison who scored the hit film ‘East is East’.  We passed the score for correction between each other several times, visiting London to see Deborah before an agreed working score was achieved.  Without her input the dream would have never been realised.

The work has a melancholic sadness but beauty about it, which seems to deeply move people.  After some time it was clear the score needed a title.  After some thought, I realised that the name of my Fathers Burial place would be very appropriate, as A) I had not been able to visit the place, and B) it would be an appropriate memorial to him and his life.

My Father is buried in a little town-Concepcion in the Republic of Paraguay, South America where he was a Christian Missionary when he died under suspicious circumstances.

The works ‘tone of sadness’ yet beauty seem a very appropriate.  After the title was arrived at it was time for the work to be performed at its Premier performance.  It was arranged that it would be played at St Peters Church in Stockton on Tees that had very good acoustics.  Also as an experiment, because of the lack of monies, and the work would be experimentally produced and performed to massively save on costs of a full Orchestra.

I took up this challenge and assured Russ Conway that all would be ok!  We had one rehearsal to get it right-he not knowing my shear fright at the idea!

It was a challenge, but I set about producing the score so that it would play back through Nuendo and on a Midi Instrument if necessary.  This was to be a Yamaha A4000 Professional sampler.  In the score, I provided a Click Track so that the Orchestra would have a cue to come in to.  The idea was that I would record the Instruments and score them into Nuendo.  I would then play back the piece from the Orchestral Samples of my Garritan Personal Orchestra in Nuendo they would be recorded by the A4000.  The idea was that on hitting the ‘play sample’ button on the A4000 Sampler the Orchestra would play ‘in time’ to the ‘Orchestra’ recorded in Nuendo playing through the ‘fold back speakers’, and the orchestra players would accompany the playback adding that ‘real effect’-it worked like a dream!

Members from the Northern Sinfonia were recruited and made up the real orchestra to accompany the sample orchestra with one or two friends of Russ Conway.

On the rehearsal night, a PA was thankfully hastily arranged by Studio 64 in Middlesbrough at the time now called TMA (Tees Music Alliance).  Deborah Mollison was brought up from London.  However neither I nor Russ Conway or Studio 64 had thought about recording the great event!

On the night, all the musicians turned up, and the bows were ready!  The click started in the players fold back and off we went on a pre-premier practice-it sounded fantastic!-then suddenly, Russ Conway had the idea-what about the recording of the work!  Ideas were quickly gone through, and an engineer was suddenly dispatched home to get hold of his Sony handheld Mono DAT recorder!  30 Mins Later and just in time, the performance and recording started.  People were very complementary and I was over the moon with the sound that we had got.  Deep resonances of the piece worked well with the acoustics of the Church which enriched the energy and Pathos in the piece.  Paul Burns, the manager of TMA was more than complementary of the Pieces performance, and a celebration meal was held for the benefit of all the Players.

The only recording that survives is the mono Sony DAT recording.  So I set about trying to EQ and Master the recording for possible release on the Ether!  I used Wavelab 5 and Har-Bal including my beloved Reverb Wizooverb.  It still needs work on the Mastering, but it has been used for various projects.

On reflection, it was just a shame that the work was not in Full Orchestral mode and that we did not have a Stereo recording, however all were well pleased with the whole process and the effort put in on the night.

You can hear the recording on www.itunes.com/paulstokes on the album: Natural Force


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Playing Piano and Electronic keyboard….

by Stokes-Herbst on February 19, 2010

in Electronic Music, Music

Hi All,

I started playing the piano at 6-7 years old taking lessons with a very old lady-Mrs Wix (80 yrs Old) for 3 years or so.  She died and I didn’t continue!  However through being required to play at church meetings till the age of 20 years or so I learnt that I could play by ear as well as read score to some degree.  However my greatest strength tended to be the playing by ear and eventually composition.

As I time went by I was invited by Pete Gilgan to join a band he was forming, and I became the keyboard player-the band was called Giantkiller. We grew in skills and became known for our particular emphasis, playing up and down the land-our largest gig to about 15,000 people at Greenbelt a few years running.

The point I want to take from all this is the progression that I experienced and how that developed skills through just hard graft and application. I had a basic knowledge of score having only progressed to grade 3 on the piano.  My piano teacher having died threw me onto using internal skills that I believe we all have to a greater or lesser degree.  From recent developments in the psychology of music and the brain, we all have basic skills in phrasing notes as part of language skills.  We also all have the ability to recognise notes pitches and can tell whether a note is out of tune with other notes-whether they are ‘right’ or not, and also have the ability to connect notes to one another and create ‘note’ phrases.  It’s an amazing ability we have to innately create tunes.  Why not try to just whistle a quick tune-it’s easy to make one up-you’ll also probably find yourself repeating notes-called a phrase.

Add to the above the trying to play the notes you hear on the piano and you have the beginning of Mozart!  Well-all that is needed now is the desire and application to practice!  Yes that old word we all hate-the beginning of a life in music!  Do you want it-or just for route of just becoming a Star immediately-it will never happen!  Fortunately for me circumstances uniquely came together and I was required to practise year after year until I found some self expression coming in.  This I learned was my own brain beginning to express itself through the mechanical skills that I had picked up and practiced over the years.  I am a very fortunate person to have had the upbringing I had.  Others have been on different paths-some progress in the mechanical skill side to a high degree, but cant create.  Others have no training and play by ear only having a highly intuitive brain.  They seem to be naturals in all areas, picking up melody lines and creating chords and phrasing around it.

Once you have the melody, the phrase (series of notes-possibly repeating) Chords and the Tempo, you have a tune.  All that is needed is refinement-ordering it into a structure, sharpening the tempo, putting spaces in (breaks) your more or less there with your first song or instrumental piece!  The phase would be going on a course to learn scoring to put down your musical ideas.

Whatever your path, I can believe that with application you can improve-practice, practice, practice-you will succeed-it’s built in you to whatever degree…..

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Music Careers-Becoming a Star-The Unsigned and ‘Fate’!

by Stokes-Herbst on February 5, 2010

in Electronic Music, General, Music

Hi,

I am a working composer and in the last few years have had the opportunity to watch the rise and fall of some Artists in the music industry.  I am basically a positive person and so believe that I have a relatively realistic view of the music industry as a whole having also spent some time in it.  I am beginning to believe however that the ‘old adage the musicians lot is largely a poor one in life.

It is reckoned that only 6% of Artists whether Music/Art/Performing are working in terms of making a ‘living’.  I think this is largely true.  There always seems to be a core minority of artists who seem to be in work.  This is very difficult to accept when young and full of creativity and wanting to ‘take the World by storm’, however the reality is there are only a few who are going to ‘make it’.

Lets take  look at whats out there.  There are two camps in my thinking-those who are signed to ‘Record Deals’ and those who are not.  You first need to ask how those who are signed to record deals got there?  There are several things that separate them, and steps they have taken in most cases.

Firstly ‘Providence’-being in the right place at the right time!  Unfortunately true.  It’s just the way it is, and although you can do something to get there through hard work and being ready, it’s eventually out of your hands!  What percentage the unforeseen makes up I’m not sure, but it’s there. I have seen a documentary on a famous composer of Hans Zimmer’s stature, and when asked how it all happened say “I’m not the most talented composer but better than some-it’s just that circumstances came together and I met ‘so and so’ and it took off from there”.  Sometimes you came cause ‘that meeting’ to be more likely by taking your work somewhere personally to a Composer or Artist or Producer or Record Label, but this has to be at your cost as well in time.  You will have to travel-even abroad-to London or wherever the likely place they might be-but you will have to do it, otherwise you will lessen your odds of ‘making it’.

On the issue of ‘making it’-what does that mean?  Well for me there are things far more important than money-in fact the art form is more important than money and what you produce.  Are you willing to suffer financially for a period of time-even years?  There are even some who have died for their Art!  I believe there is more to life than money, and you will say well how do I live?  I believe in a ‘Creator’ however you may look at Him, and if you move in line with your ‘Creative Self’ things will come together!   Things outside of your control will move circumstances ‘into line’ and you will find yourself in places you never dreamt of!  I once had a dream where my music was being played by an Orchestra-a real live one-further I felt that it was a direction I should move in.  One day through training Seminars in Middlesbrough-the North East  of England, there was an A&R man called Russ Conway.  Through that meeting, he particularly rated a piece of mine that was called Concepcion (called after a small Town in South America)  He felt it was similar in style to Goretsky (English Spelling) – a Polish Composer.  I had a demo ready and had to also Score the piece, and Deborah Mollison was called in to Orchestrate the work.  After all this was done, Russ arranged for members of the Northern Sinfonia to perform the work at the Stockton Riverside Music Festival one year-it was brilliant. It was a highlight and a beginning for me!

Interestingly, I also was in the place of having studied, practiced worked towards the goal I was trying to attain-and it could be said -in line with my ‘creative self’.  You are less lightly ot achieve what you want in life without input and cost from yourself.  The current move to create ‘Stars‘ and ‘instant success’ in several walks of life, is a an anathema to me-it is a foreign land!  I don’t think that is how things should work.  If your work/study/input brings success, that is the way things come about, otherwise there can be big falls ahead as we all know!  The success is not actually the point, it is an aside-the result is-the painting-the piece of music-the performance-that is the point.

This brings me on neatly to those who are not signed to ‘Record Deals’.  I constantly assert that the most important thing is to be ‘doing something’ with your art and that is the point-it has ‘value in itself’ as I believe Human Beings’ are of inestimable value to the Creator, therefore what they produce is inherently of value.  Nothing can be worse than to be doing something without being valued for it.  Modern thinking places no value on the Human Being as they believe there is no purpose to existence!   What a dreadful and depressive condition to be in.  I ask how do you produce anything when it is purposeless and pointless-and a lot of modern art and music reflects this Godless view and I cannot see how you can continue working under these conditions-you might as well leave your brushes in the water jar for ever!  Similarly with music-smash up your guitar-isn’t the action of smashing your guitar up ‘saying’-there is no purpose-life is futile-God is dead-there is no need for existence?  The opposite is true-Produce Produce Produce! Work Work Work!

In summary, for the ‘unsigned’, go for it, do all you can to be in the place with your skills-sharpen them constantly-don’t give up-push through depression and the uninspired moments-you will get-they’re part of the journey!  The best way for me during these times is to sharpen my skills and get my head down and produce however slowly-there is a purpose-enjoy!

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How to start composing on computer?

by Stokes-Herbst on February 1, 2010

in Electronic Music, Music

Hi,

Do you want to start writing music with a computer?  Do you think that there is something musically stirring in you that need s to get out?  Can you play an instrument but feel restricted by the options available?  Then computerised music is for you.

Fortunately I was trained on the piano early on in life, and was able to use that skill to progress on the computer as a Midi keyboard is the main input device for the musician working with music on the computer.  If you are at a basic level though, do not despair as even basic notes being pressed can create wonderful strings or a simple held chord even better.  The quality of strings samples available is incredible these days. Theoretically, with only a basic knowledge of chords and notes, it is possible to create a whole orchestral piece.

What do I need?  Well a computer is the basic requirement!  I chose the Mac route, for many reasons including reliability and simplicity of operation with the well renowned support you get.  Initially I was a Windows PC person and cut my teeth that way, but feel I have made the correct decision to ‘move over’.  If you choose the Windows route, remember it has been written to accommodate the millions of programs written for it and is horrendously complex in nature.  Further, it has more than a million viruses written for it-Mac historically a few!  I recently asked Technical Support for the Mac if I needed anti-virus software-the answer-no!  If you choose the windows route-I pity you!-well make sure that it is at least a dual core processor with more than 2GB RAM and keep it clear of as much program clutter as you can-really-dedicate it if you can to music only.  If you decide on a Mac, most will work out of the box for music reasonably competently.

Next you will need an input device.  This is simply a Midi keyboard that transmits the notes pressed into Midi signals that a Computer/Sequencer can understand.  A music Sequencer is a piece of software that takes Midi signals and converts them into computer language that the sequencer can understand.  It will record the notes and then playback your symphony! Voila!  Further a sequencer is a vast and clever piece of software that can perform cartwheels with the information that you put in-seriously-it can create score from your inputted notes, Record/Playback/Record Audio/Playback audio and has numbers of sound effects-in short-you are fully equipped to start creating music with one.

At last, two other pieces of kit required are: a Midi Controller and sound output device-commonly called the Audio Interface-with speakers.  The midi controller can be a simple midi in/out device connected to the computers USB port.  The sound output device can be as simple or as complex and expensive as you want.  Generally these days they connect to the USB or Fire-wire ports of your computer.  They then feed their output into a pair of amplified speakers-ranging from about £10 to £1000′s depending on your needs.  The Audio interface also twins up taking the sound of Microphones plugged into it or guitars for example, and converts it into computer code-acceptable for the Sequencer-i.e. the Audio side of things.

That’s it in a simple nutshell!  Yes you’ll need cash, but just think-the outcome may be another Mozart or Alicia Keys!

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Composing Electronic Music

by Stokes-Herbst on January 27, 2010

in Electronic Music, General, Music

Hi All,

I have been busy composing tracks for the forthcoming EP today.  It is purely Electronic in feel working on the Kore 2 series of Synthesizers.  Had a good bash at it today, working out Bass parts for the 2nd half of the track, although there is a more to go.  The sound is spacey though up front in parts with a good synth lead sound that I have designed.  Just as I was getting it deep, I had to give up due to the daughter ringing me for a lift :)

Having a night out with the 3 stooges (Ian Boddy, Marcus Howarth & me) tomorrow night!-a music seminar ending in the most important part-a curry!

Cheers

Paul :)

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Ian Boddy-Electronic Composer and Performer….

by Stokes-Herbst on January 22, 2010

in Electronic Music, Music

Ian Boddy-was an unknown to me 10 years ago until he was introduced to me as a result of a contact at a Music seminar.  His biography is shown below for interest:

Ian Boddy – Biography

Ian Boddy has been at the forefront of the UK electronic music scene since 1983 when he both performed at the very first UK Electronica Festival in Milton Keynes and released his first vinyl album The Climb.

In the 4 years preceding this event he had been experimenting at an Arts Council funded studio in Newcastle whilst at University. His early work resulted in 3 cassette only releases on the Mirage label as well as several local concerts. These early tapes showed Boddy gradually forming his own style through a long self teaching process in the techniques of analogue synthesis and tape manipulation.

After the success of 1983 he went on to release another 2 vinyl albums, Spirits and Phoenix, as well as performing several concerts throughout the UK. However it wasn’t until 1989 that his first CD release, Odyssey, came out on the EM label Surreal to Real. After Drive, his second release on the Surreal label Boddy formed his own record label, Something Else Records , through which he released a further 4 solo albums as well as reissuing his 3 early vinyl albums and the cassette only release Jade on CD. Furthermore he released three collaborative CD releases with some of Europe’s finest exponents of EM, namely Andy Pickford, Ron Boots and Mark Shreeve.

He continued to expand his concert appearances which have now surpassed over 100 events with concerts in the UK ( including several more UK Electronica appearances, two shows at the Jodrell Bank Planetarium & two at the National Space Centre), Holland ( five festival appearances ), Germany and three shows in Philadelphia, USA.

Alongside these mainstream EM activities Boddy has also built for himself a formidable reputation as a sound designer having produced a series of sample CD’s & virtual instruments for sampling specialists Time & Space. In late 2008 Boddy set up his own downloadable sample CD company with the Waveforms series of sample packs. Furthermore he is also involved in library music having composed nine such CD’s for the publishing company deWolfe as well as producing some music for a computer games company.

Thus we come up to the present with the formation of his DiN label in 1999. Unlike his private Something Else Records the DiN label was set up to allow Boddy to actively form different collaborations with a wide variety of musicians as well as release other artists music. DiN has achieved widespread critical acclaim for it’s adventurous outlook at the world of EM and has seen 31 releases with Boddy being involved in 16 of these ( five solo and fourteen collaborative projects ).

In 2008 DiN expanded it’s catalogue with a series of download only releases featuring Boddy in concert both as a solo performer and with other DiN artists.

January 2009

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