The other day, I realized how significant each and every minute is. Every moment, time is slipping away, and that is a scary thing. The memory flashed through my mind the other day from when I was setting up my sister's computer. Vista has an "old school" clock widget that can be placed on the dashboard on the desktop. I asked her if she wanted the second hand on there and she said "no, because that will just show that time is ticking by." I thought that is cute, but it is an honest truth. I had the same realization the other day when I was watching running time code in ProTools. (lame, I know...)

Every day, a set of 24-hours slowly breezes by without us second guessing it. That is...1440 minutes per each day, 86,400 seconds...I will spare you the time that measures out to in a week's time. Those numbers are scary to think about. Each and every day cycles happen, that we may take for granted...such as the sunrise or sunset. This brings up a question I have. What have you done today...or even this week for instance to make an impact on the world and better yet those around you? Have you been selfish? Over dramatic, mean, excessively confrontational, helpful? If we take a few minutes each and every day to invest into someone, that would be 365 people in one year that we can have an impact on...assuming that it is a different person each day. That is a humbling thought...

Labels: big ben, clock, days, digidesign, friendships, help, hours, invest, minutes, protools, seconds, sunrise, sunset, time, time code, weeks

For our generation, you will never look at an Apple the same way. About a hundred years ago, if you looked at an apple, you would think a fruit. When we see an apple today, yes...maybe a fruit goes through our mind, but also the computer company will as well.

We all have unique and specific characteristics that make up our individual selves. We can observe each other and notice how we all are physically different; but also many other factors go into play...such as our beliefs, strengths, weaknesses and many many others which can include things that we wear or use all which make up our individual character.

For myself here, I know what types of items I like. Usually, these are classified as a "name brand," especially when it comes to clothing. As an example, those that know me probably would witness my love for the Abercrombie clothing family (which includes the obvious A&F, Hollister and Ruehl.) On the tech side, I love products from Apple, SONY, Digidesign, GigaByte, Intel...the list continues for days.

This bring up the question, is it okay to be branded...to support the brands in which you prefer? To be honest, I think that it is perfectly acceptable. I desire nothing more than great quality in manufacturing, stylish and ease of use. As I attempted to point out earlier, you can learn a lot about a person by which products they consume and use on a daily basis.

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day, and he informed me (as if I did not know) that I am "branded." I knew that, but in reality...we all are. Even those that choose not to display the "brand logo" on their clothing...they still do a little bit of advertising for the companies they like consumables from.

If you look at Apple's marketing, many of their items sell themselves. Sure...they have television commercials and whatnot but most of their marketing is done through the end user. For instance, whenever you purchase an Apple device, you get along with the packaging two Apple stickers...which you can place on your vehicle or whatever you choose. Then, on every laptop they sell, the chassis has a nice Apple logo with a light behind it. Apple no longer participates in trade shows or anything like that. Their sales are done through the Apple store...and they are doing quite well, if you ask me.

What are your thoughts on branding?

-Ken

Labels: abercrombie, apple, brand, branded, characteristics, digidesign, friendships, hollister, intel, macbook, personalities, reuhl, Sony

Each and every sound engineer has their own tricks to help make their mix sound the best. Whether it be a specific EQ for an instrument or voice, a specific mic or placement or using all of the above and effects at their disposal for the best optimization.

The base of every mix with a drum kit are both the kick drum and base guitar...if the specific genre of music allows. I have found a priceless tool that is built into the Digidesign series of consoles that allows you to make your kick drum sound the best it can...all with the help of some Plug-Ins that the console has built in.

First and foremost, proper mic placement within the kick drum is always the first step in obtaining a good overall mix. I would always recommend double mic'ing the kick if you have the necessary equipment. Secondly, proper EQ and compression (Smack compressor is my favorite for vocals and kick) on the channel will allow your kick drum to "pop" and not sound like a soggy noodle. Third...the Digidesign consoles have a built in "Signal Generator" within the Plug-Ins that ship by default with the board. Place this Plug-In on the Direct-Input of an unused channel at about 50Hz. Add a gate to that, and key it to the kick drum channel. Configure the gate accordingly, and mix the key and the drum together for a solid and impactful "kick" impact for your mix.

Again, Digi always amazes me with their top of the line products. I love their stuff. What tips can you share for others to use? Would love to hear them. If you have any questions with this process, send me questions. I love this stuff, so maybe we can learn something together. Hope you find this useful.

-Ken

Labels: art, audio, digidesign, drums, effects, enginnering, foh, front of house, kick, mix, mix down, multi-track, music, oscillator, plugins, profile, protools, sc48, venue

As most of you are aware...and for those that do not, nothing is more fun and relaxing as mixing audio. I would consider mixing audio one of my most favorite jobs to do. It is a creative art form and the operator is always learning something new! You can always learn factors by listening to music and the mixes of others. Yes, there are theories and practices that go into play, but at the end of the day you mix what sounds good to you. Everyone has a different technique to their mix.

I want to focus on a jewel that I have discovered recently...Digidesign. Digi, a division of Avid Technology, is in no way new to the audio world. They have been top of the industry for multi-track recording for many years, since their introduction of ProTools. ProTools leads the industry in editing digital audio tracks. The engineers at Digi released their live sound reinforcement console in the spring of 2005. They called it the VENUE. The VENUE is not just limited to a front-of-house console. Many have used the Venue for monitors, broadcast, recording and Post-production.

Since the debut of the original Venue series, they have had a couple of different releases of specific desks. First and most is the most popular which is the D-Show. This is primarily my favorite console to work with...not only from Digi, but from all console manufactures. It mimmicks a full spectrum analog console the best that I have seen. Since then, they have released other models within the Venue family, such as the Profile system and SC48. Both are of high quality, and it is giving other manufactures a run for their money.

The fact that the D-Show is backwards compatible with ProTools is a major plus. This means you can record a session from the desk then instantly play it back and remix it with complete control through the desk. They have a few varieties in rack units for your specific need.

Digidesign is hands down doing great things, and I believe are basically reinventing how digital consoles play within our industry, while setting a standard that others have not. I love the ease of use their systems have. It makes sense. The plug in effects are great...even the ones that are shipped from the factory. Of course, you can purchase additional ones. The effects that are state-of-the-art in ProTools are available for the digital desks. Digi has worked hard to engineer effects that function close to the outboard analog classic gear that many engineers have come to love. All available on the Venue systems. Above all, the effects are also easy to manage and configure. These desks are very common. In fact, many of my favorite artists are using this consoles for their front of house mix. These include John Mayer and Dave Matthews Band.

My apologies for the nerdy post. I just get all excited about toys that I play with. Feel free to leave feedback on what you think. Would love to hear back from you!

-Ken

Labels: art, audio, avid, digidesign, effects, front of house, mix, mix down, multi-track, music, plugins, protools, venue, Yamaha

When I redesigned my website and started blogging in the spring of this year, I set a goal of 100 posts by the end of the year. I picked 100 because I thought that would be a do-able goal...would require a specific amount of commitment, but not an over-commitment in order to reach the goal I had set forth. With that being said, this blog marks my half way point. The goal is still 100, but I am hoping to exceed that.

Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster of an day. It was marking the first official live lab that we had in the main hall at Full Sail University. That was a memorable experience. I was elected to to the simulcast mix on the DigiDesign VENUE (D-Show) digital console. That was a great experience. In addition to that, I made a big mistake in "jumping the gun" in a specific situation at school. That could have drastically effected a relationship with a friend on both a personal a professional level, but luckily it did not. It was a learning experience for both of us. Live and learn. Each day has new adventures for us. Nothing is wrong with doing wrong . . . as long as you learn from your mistake(s).

All in all, it has been fun blogging and connecting with you all through the first 50 posts. Hoping that the next 50 will be just a good if not better!

Labels: Blog anniversary, digidesign, friendships, goal, life lessons, Live lab, microblogging, mistakes, relationships, venue

Last night, I had the opportunity to go to my instructors church. I
was under the assumption that he was going to simply show us around
the reinforcement systems they had on campus. It turned out that was
just a little bit of what we were able to do there.

In fact, they have an entire system and staging they have to setup for
the Sunday overflow and childrens services they have on Sunday! I was
able to assist in this process. I must say, it was a great experience!
Vince is using a DigiDesign FOH console in that venue. I must say,
looking at that control surface for the first time may throw a person
into a confused state, but once you take a minute or two to sit down
and play with the control surface, it really makes sense.

This experience made me think of the first time I did a show on a
Yamaha digital console at my previous church. It was just
installed...the installtion was the finest part! I knew how to use the
system, and made it through the dress rehearsals just fine. I was
scared to death though...I was scar3d that somethingwpuld happen
during the service that I could not correct, but could if the same
thing happened on an analog console! The show turned out fine, and by
the end of it I was fairly confident with my abilities with that desk.

Digital consoles are wonderful. In some scenarios, I prefer them over
analog systems. Many people tend to be scared of them, but in reality
you can do exactly the same thing on a digital system that you can on
an analog. Most of the time it is even easier. There is criteria that
make up a good or bad digital console, and that is a factor you have
to figure when going out to make the purchase.

Ken Miller, Jr.
Sent from my iPhone.
Web: www.kintmiller.com
Moblog: www.kintmiller.mobi

Labels: analog, audio, church, control surface, digidesign, digital, foh, future, upgrade