Web changes

This is where I'll announce the most recent additions to my web site and what I've been up to. If you've visited here before and want to know what's changed, take a look here first.

For general Music and Music Tech news follow this link.

2012
May	It has been confirmed that I will be recording Steve Hackett at Trading Boundaries on June 30th.
April	Recorded Max Shire at Woodside Studios and will be mixing and mastering the 4 songs over the coming weeks.
March	Got to together with Nick from Cutting Crew to finalize the mixes of the 5 songs that we hope may be released soon.
February	UFO album "Seven Deadly" released. If you click on this link you will get to the All Music website showing the credits for the "Seven Deadly" album. I get credit as Engineer on this album (having recorded some of Paul's guitar parts).
January	Hopefully got some more exciting projects to record at Trading Boundaries this year.
January	Talked to Nick about the Cutting Crew mixes and hope to be getting together soon to finalise them.
January	Recording John Wetton of Asia at Trading Boundaries. Steve Hackett will be making a guest appearance. AE Productions will be videoing the show as well.
2011
December	Recorded Cutting Crew at Trading Boundaries when they were playing there along with local band The Tar Babies. I have done some initial mixes for Nick Van Eede and we are now waiting to see what happens next.
November	Recorded Focus at Trading Boundaries where they were playing as part of their 2011 tour. Hoping this becomes their new live album.
October	Introduced to a new local studio near East Grinstead and had two days of recording for a local band and am now mixing and mastering these tracks.
July onto September	Helping Paul Raymond with Cubase with his home system as he writes songs for the new UFO album. We then moved onto recording his guitar parts for the album and sending them off to Germany for the producer of the album
April to June	Plenty of teaching throughout.
February to March	Got some tracks from a client to master this month. Also some more tracks from Brandin to finish his album and some tracks from a soundtrack album to master.
February	Followed this up later in the week with a recording of Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash at Trading Boundaries. Roger Dean and Steve Hackett in attendance along with others. recording MTWA for another promo video for the same management company as Focus. They also manage Steve Hackett as well as many other artists. The great thing was Steve Hackett came over to talk to a couple of the cameramen and said how good the mix of Focus was, that it was better than the live album. Andrew thankfully was on hand to introduce me to Steve which was great. I left feeling very happy. Spent some time mixing and mastering 3 tracks from the evening for the video.
February	Good start to the month, visited Alvin Stardust to help him with some technical questions with his new recording system. Very knowledgable and a good guitarist.
January	Quite a bit of teaching to start the year off.
2010
December	Got to do the live sound for the Tar Babies at Trading Boundaries for one of their Christmas gigs. Big crowd and a good evening.
November	Mixed and Mastered 3 tracks for a band in the south east for a local producer. The main singer/ writer being a BBC introducing winner.
October/November	Returned home from holiday to receive an emergency call to fix some live tracks from the 70's band Focus who had performed at a local venue. They had major problems with the recording which I got sent to me. Mixed and mastered two tracks for a promo video. These were Hocus Pocus and Focus 3. (more on this later).
July to September	Mixing and Mastering tracks for Taline Temizian. For another album to be out there on iTunes later in the year.
May to July	Bit more Music Tech teaching, start work on mixing Brandin's new tracks for an album and also for producer Kay Asare.
Jan to April	Very busy teaching for the whole of this time, not a lot of other stuff going on.
2009
September	I got involved in Managing a Project for a Charity delivering Music Technology, IT, Creative Writing and Web Design. I taught the IT and Music Technology course also. Amongst other things this kept me very busy until April of 2010.
July	New Tuition page added. Now I will be teaching how to use the new package supplied by Propellerhead called Record. If you need to know more go here
June	London International Music Show at Excel. Not as big as last year - the recession hits everything. However an enjoyable day out, finding out about new equipment and software. The thing I am looking forward to most is trying out Record when it comes out later this year.
May	Spent a couple of days working at the BBC in Sheperd's Bush. Teaching 2 of their BBC Worldwide technicians how to use Pro Tools 8 with their new PT003. This was my first job for Audio Support.
April	Recording and mixing 3 tracks for a local band called Sketch.
March	Working on some videos for my band, as a side project just simple rehearsal stuff to give people a view of what we do. I have to say it is really good getting to do some work in Final Cut. There is so much you can do in FC Express.
March	One good thing about this year so far....Kristelle Graff's EP "The Girl from Nowhere" has just been loaded into Tunecore.com and will be available on iTunes UK/Europe, US and Australia/NZ in about 4 to 6 weeks time. She has had some CDs printed, I shall be getting a couple from her next week when I go to see her. You can listen to these tracks on MySpace. Follow the link on my links page.
January	Mixed songs for a Mauritian band. Sounds great but work getting in their way. Which has slowed down them getting new tracks finished.
2008
November - December	Working for Sound Architect doing some IT teaching for the elderly in Kent. Will be there in January. A nice way to start Mondays.
November	Went out on a location shoot with a cameraman to record sound for the day. Very interesting day with a radio mic and 416 on a boom trying to stay within 3 metres of the cameraman. I am used to location recording but this was interesting to work with a new company.
November	Worked on a couple of conferences this month which was interesting. Setting up and then running sound for a few days. Also getting to see a bit more of the Visual side of things as well. All good experience.
October	Added a couple of extra pages to my Services section. Mobile recording and Video Post Production. Also I am starting to work in partnership with AE Productions on video/audio recordings of bands. If you need anything go to my Services page or just follow the links. Also because I now have a mobile set up, if you want to see Logic, Pro Tools, Reason or DP before you go out and buy it and you want an impartial piece of advice please call me.
September	Discovered that Max Shire put his first album on CDBaby so you can buy his tracks there. Also some recordings of Carmen that I was involved in about 4 years ago are now on iTunes as well. I think I should go hunting iTunes for all the albums I have ever mixed and see how many are on there....
September	There are now 6 tunes on iTunes for Silvertown Girl. Apparently we are changing aggregator in the next couple of weeks so the initial three tracks will be down for a while but back again soon.
August	It's all over now. Did the last Derek Acorah dates for Rainbow in Scotland. Three packed houses. I have always enjoyed my trips to Scotland.
July	Max Shire has had loads of great reviews. He even had "Love Lost Again" reviewed in Sound on Sound in July 2008. "There are lots of positive qualities to Max's album, crisp recording, enthusiastic performances...".
July	Got a call asking me if I would engineer at an outside event in Sussex. Approx. 800 people attended the Proms in the Park. Sorted out the kit list for the PA and all the gear with a local PA company and then did the sound on the day. Very lucky with the weather. Really busy day, non-stop for 13 hours, setting up, sound checking and then mixing. Good day.
June	What I thought were going to be my last dates working on the Derek Acorah tour. Apparently there are a handful more at the end of August.
June	Had a trip to SRT in Docklands. Along with the Guitar show and Drummer Live. Good fun day out and some interesting stuff going on.
May	Just starting up a MySpace page to show some of the stuff I have recorded or produced with some of my clients.
May	Working with a DJ to produce some tracks. Round for the first time today with the major parts of a track, which we spent all day rearranging and putting together. More in June...
May	Had a trip to France to help an ex-pat songwriter with some mixing and make sure his set up was working as well as it could. Also to help a local inexperienced sound engineer with the set up for live gigs using an 01V.
April	Spent some more time at the Trinity, 3 gigs to do the sound, a couple as technician and one to do the lights.... Yes, operate the lights, a new experience for me, but once you get used to the desk it's quite straightforward to do the basics.
February to April	Working with Martin and Brenda on some more songs, 7 recorded now and mixing the last 4 in May, getting them ready to go on sale on iTunes.
January	Finished 3 songs with Martin and Brenda, now see where they go... iTunes here we come...
January	Updated the site to include 2 new pages for Sonar, Live and Garageband. Also added new links for www.soundengineer.co.uk , Sonar and Live.
January	Spent 7 days working at the Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells as a Sound Technician. Got a call just before Christmas asking for help on their Medieval Baebes gig. Then they asked me to help out with their Christmas show. Good experience of seeing theatre life from the venue's perspective.
2007
December	Another great review for Max at Room 13. They just keep coming in. How long before somebody picks this up and puts it out?
December	The tour is over for another year. Very hard work, a lot of miles but some good new venues and made some new friends.
November	The album that I have been working on with Max Shire is now circulating and getting good reviews from Independent sources. See Max's MySpace page for details.
November	Started work on a 5 day project involving taking Soundbeam to some adults with profound learning disabilities in Kent.
October	Derek Acorah shows start again. I went off to Ireland for the first time. The tour continues through to December.
September 6	Tomorrow, Friday 7th at 7.15 on BBC Southern Counties Radio a song that was wholly recorded and produced at my studio should be played. Sue Cope came in a few weeks ago and we rearranged "Thinking of You" that was originally recorded here nearly 3 years ago. We're not sure which version is going to be played. If you miss it you should be able to play it again (for a week) from the SCR website.
August	Starting a project this week with a client in Tonbridge, Martin. He's written some songs and found a singer, Brenda, now we start recording. He's had a couple of false starts but he is now ready to go.
July	Now have a copy of the masters from Max, he has a MySpace account with 4 of the tracks on. Follow the link above to have a listen.
April/May	Working on a project mixing tracks that a client (Max Shire) has been working on for a couple of years now, Indie rock with really cutting lyrics and a great voice.
April	Busy, busy, busy... Mixing 14 tracks for a songwriter in South London, some really memorable hooks and some heartfelt lyrics. Should be finished in early May.
March	Still mad out there. Just had a really good night at the Hastings World Music Night at St Mary's in the Castle on Hastings sea front. Apparently had up to 600 people in. I was there to Stage Manage the whole event, a new experience and great fun as well as getting the whole thing to work like clock work. The bands were great and made everything very easy to manage. The headliners were Gabbidon and Celloman. The support acts included Sambalanco and Meli Melo. My favourite of the night was Celloman and his band. It's also great to meet such nice people. Had a nice long chat to Ivan and his percussionist Joelle (I hope I spelt that right...).
February	Got a late call from an agency in London who wanted me to do the sound for an Elvis at a private party. He was brilliant and they were very loud, but a good time had by all. The Elvis was Jim Devereaux from Brighton. I can recommend him as a very good entertainer. He sounds like Elvis, looks like him and puts in a lot of effort to providing an excellent show. See his website at www.this-is-elvis.com
February	It's completely mad, no time to stop and think. Alongside the Derek stuff and fitting in lessons, I'm mixing an album's worth of material for a songwriter in South London and doing some work for Sound Architect down in Hastings again, some IT as well as music.
January	Here starts the New Year, straight back into Derek Acorah shows from the 18th in Skegness. I doing 23 more dates on this tour.
2006
December	DA tour ends and the year comes to a close. It's been pretty busy, but I'm always on the look out for that really interesting project..
November	Delivered the 500 copies of the Stoke Brunswick CD to the school prior to a big Christmas concert.
October	Plenty of teaching and starting up a project with a client with some new songs and a fantastic singer.
September	Finished mixing and editing the choral album for Stoke Brunswick School. Nearly ready to go to the printers now all we need is a cover..
August	You can now access my site via the following web addresses: www.digitalperformer.co.uk www.logicpro7.co.uk www.logicprotuition.co.uk www.cubasetuition.co.uk www.protoolstuition.co.uk www.cubasehelp.co.uk www.cubasesx.co.uk www.logicprotutor.co.uk www.cubasetutor.co.uk www.logicprohelp.co.uk
August	I just re-mixed 4 tracks for Rainbow Productions which are going onto a dance/fitness album which is just to be released in the US. This is under the name of Alien Dance Machine with me as joint arranger.
July	Just added a couple of pictures of one of the new control rooms at LMU. See my Studio Set Up and Sound Engineering page. Pictures provided by Ross Rayner-Brown and Pro Music International Ltd.
June/July	A couple of recording sessions of a local school choir. Which will be for a CD for later in the year. Sessions went really well, all the kit worked very nicely. Especially the UltraLite.
June	Splashed out on a new UltraLite from MOTU to replace my Delta 1010LT which was not compatible with my G5. Already showing its worth very simple to use. The monitoring facilities are great.
May	A mad month, loads of Derek Acorah shows... and some really spooky goings on at one of the shows. Well, even more spooky than usual...
April	Pro Tools help now offered. Go to the Tuition page for help.
March	LMU studios complete. Spent a day last week configuring 2 of the Yamaha DM2000s for 5.1 Surround. Running out into the Genelec speaker system. It's looking and sounding really cool.
January	The Derek Acorah tour starts again. Including a stop at the largest theatre in Europe. The Edinburgh Playhouse.
2005 back to 2002	Highlights
December 2005	A new music shop opens in West London. Pro Music International in Ickenham, currently supplying mainly guitars and percussion but also wind instruments such clarinets and saxophones as well as all your bits and pieces such as cables and strings. They are already building studios for the London Metropolitan University, and are a one stop provider of studio build, equipment and fitting. The shop is due to expand into studio equipment in the new year. It has a much healthier attitude to customer support than its London based competition.
November 2005	Spent a day recording a steel band up at the Jubal studios
June 5th 2005	I was on TV today apparently. Meridian news showed there footage of the Sound Architect film premiere from last week and I have even managed to be on screen for a couple of seconds... Ah fame... I didn't see it. Oh well. If anybody taped it please tell me...
June 2005	Finished mixing the Dr Ekei album for Noel at Jubal. All being well it's being mastered next week.
April 2005	Wow! What a week this was... I have spent a couple of hours this week in the company of Dames Judi Dench and Vera Lynn recording some poetry and an introduction to a charity CD. Also spent all day on Wednesday with Anna Krantz helping her mix a demo track that her publisher wants to send to a couple of very big names in the States. The publisher likes the mix now so all we have to do is wait...
December 31st 2004	A very busy year is over. I have recorded, mixed, taught all sorts of students of all sorts of ages in all sorts of places. I have been around the country in some great theatres and been in front of some very large audiences. It has been a fantastic year, and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself.
February 9th 2004	Today was my first day as sound engineer on a national tour. I am covering for another engineer on some of the dates on this sold out tour.

Recent Music Industry Media Coverage

Digital Performer 8 announced at NAMM.

In summary: Windows 32 or 64 bit alongside MAC OS X compatibility, more new plugins, Punch Guard and a new video engine make it very tempting indeed.

Reason 6 Launched

Reason has launched its new version and they have incorporated Record as part of the package. So Reason finally has audio recording...

Pro Tools 10

Now there is Pro Tools 10. N.B. Windows 7/ Intel Mac only.

Another new audio interface from MOTU.

The Audio Express is a Firewire/USB 6 in/ 6 out interface in a similar box to the Ultralite. Don't forget they also have the 8 Pre if you need more inputs. Also the updated Ultralite, 828 and 896 Mk IIIs for added DSP processing.

Avid /M-Audio and Pro Tools 9

Yes there was M-Powered Pro Tools for M-Audio cards and now there is Pro Tools 9 which you have to pay for but will theoretically work along with any Soundcard from any manufacturer. This is a major departure for Pro Tools and will open up the market for Pro Tools. However, now you are not tied to the hardware... I am not sure where I see this going but PT will come in a couple of versions but I feel it is still expensive. However the hardware should get cheaper if you buy it without the software. N.B. Windows 7/ Intel Mac only.

Digital Performer 7 announced.

More enhancements and more features. I love this software but still lacks the instrumentation that Logic provides. If I was asked which I prefer I would take this over Pro Tools.

Cubase 6 Launched.

Some new features and instruments but still more expensive than Logic. It is getting really impressive reviews, I would say great if you are committed to PC but Logic still looks better value if you are MAC based. I still don't need to change my view from last time... N.B. Windows 7/ Intel Mac only.

Avid takeover of M-Audio announced.

Will there now be Pro Tools for M-Audio soundcards?

Steinberg acquired by Yamaha

Yamaha have bought Steinberg from Pinnacle systems. More changes afoot regarding MLAN and hardware and software compatibility for Yamaha and Steinberg products, such as the 01X and Cubase.

M-Audio for Pro-Tools.

I asked the question (see above) and M-Audio answered. You can now get a version of Pro-Tools that will work only with specific M-Audio interfaces... Starting with Firewire devices but building up. RRP is £239. There is a demo on the M-Audio web-site, if you have a relevant audio interface.