Archive for November, 2007
Doni Music Production School Update!!!
Hey again
Doni here with another update to the vast emporium of knowledge that is The Doni Music Production School. Next up, I’ve adapted my first ebook to an easy to download PDF file. Take this and read it anywhere! Check out the article below:
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Music Production in a Digital Era – A Doni Music Guide to making Music on your Computer
What better way to introduce this book than to let you read its introuduction?
“Many people think that making music is something that is out of the question for them. People commonly have the preconceived notion that in order to make professional sounding music, you must be a professionally trained musician/producer and have access to expensive recording equipment. In fact, this was what I thought to myself every time the idea of making music popped into my head. After a while, making music was changing from something I wanted to do and becoming something I needed to do. I knew I could make music if I had the right tools! I thought there had to be some resources I could make use of to create something musical. Well, after many hundreds of hours of searching, testing, tweaking, twisting, and crafting, I have finally made it to the spot where I wanted to be: creating professional quality music to express all the artistic ideas I had bursting out of my head. Through my research and tinkering, I figured out that you DO NOT need a full-scale studio to make things happen and you DO NOT need absurd amounts of money either.
But as you can guess, the path I took to this point in my career was not a smooth one. In fact, if I knew what I am about to share with you in this book 5 years ago, I can say with absolute confidence that I would be far beyond where I am now! Think about it, if somebody hands you the knowledge you need to get over certain limitations, then you will get past those limitations much more easily than if you had to figure things out for yourself. This is what I had to do. How did I find the motivation? I’m glad you asked.
From a very early age, I turned to music for entertainment and encouragement. Growing up in the 90’s put me in a position to absorb many of the great bands coming out of the grunge and alternative rock scenes at the time. I would always tune into radio stations and television shows to find a great and heavy stream of sweet noise flowing out of each peripheral. This was a truly great time for music. I thought that it would never stop. But it did.
Slowly the consistent stream of great music was being dammed by the emergence of a steady flow of cookie cutter mainstream pop music. Ok, this music had always been around, but before, there was at least a balance. It didn’t take long before the entire music scene was overwhelmed with plastic pop music; and the alternative rock scene which I had loved for so long became nothing but a distant memory… sniff…
The sources I had traditionally gone to for music were no longer delivering what I needed, and for a music lover such as I, this was unacceptable. I had to turn to other sources. It was the year 2000, and lucky for me technology was changing the playing field completely. A little computer program called Napster was making the Internet the newest and easiest resource to tap into for music. Many people will say that Napster was the beginning of the end for music. I would argue that it was truly the beginning of the beginning for music.
Before Napster, or any other music sharing (and soon after, file sharing), there were only a few different sources for music. There were the obvious ones, like Television and Radio, which traditionally could only bring economically viable music to the masses. Then there were music scenes that grew in pockets around the world, but these were only accessible to people in proximity to those scenes and only to those who were in ‘the know’. The Internet and Naspter paved the way for a new online music scene – an online scene where people were not limited in their ability to connect with different genres of music. It was in this time that I began to realize that there was more music than the one scene that I had been a part of since I began listening to music. I found many different genres easily and I was able to listen to a ton of different tracks by a ton of different musicians. This is when I began thinking about joining this online scene. Over time, it was becoming more and more viable to make music and sell it online. The obvious players like Itunes come to mind, as well as the several online music stores popping up all over the web like. Now you don’t have to play in a thousand stinky bars before you gain an audience with a record exec. In fact, now you don’t even NEED the record exec! Now, an artist can publish their work online and reach far more people than ever before. With all of the tools spawning across the web, it is increasingly easy to monetize your artistic creations. Since this opportunity is abound, it just makes sense to follow your passion and learn how to craft majestic beats! The Internet has brought this book to you and it will also bring you many of the tools you will need to be successful. You’ve already taken the first step and got this book. Now take the next step and do what you always wanted…”
Click here to return to the School Main Menu
Doni Out.
Another Doni Music Production School Update! Doni’s Software Setup
HEY EVERYONE!!!
Another update for all you producers out there! Check it out below!
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This is the Software I use to create music! This is where it gets a bit pricey. It’s important to note that you do not necessarily need any or all of these pieces of software to make music, this is just what I use! However, in terms of “production capability per dollar” these 5 items are off the chain fantastic! The above software includes a sequencer, a couple of synthesizers, and a couple of mastering tools. Depending on your sequencer and what plug-ins it has built in, you can have a very complete studio with this software package!
I’ll take you through my Software setup piece by piece so you can get a better idea about how the parts work towards the whole:
1. Spectrasonics Atmosphere Effects/Synth Module: If you are looking for a synth that can create any sort of atmosphere you want, look no further than Spectrasonics Atmosphere! This synth comes with a ton of ready to go presets that cover almost any sort of soundscape you could ever need. Everything from retro zombie movie atmospheres to bizarre space atmospheres. Also includes some bass samples, and some cool lead synths; making for a very versatile synthesizer plugin.
2. Ableton Live: This sequencer comes with an extremely high recommendation from me. The best thing about Ableton Live is it’s relatively small learning curve and it’s flexibility. You can use Ableton to do almost everything you would need to do to create a solid mix. You can also use Ableton as a live ‘jamming’ tool. Ableton’s double interface makes it easy for you to jam out a series of loops and samples in one interface and then tweak your resulting mix in another. Check out the full Doni Music Ableton Live overview here.
3. Spectrasonics Trilogy Bass Module: Who needs a bass player when you have this synthesizer? This is actually a combination of a synth and a sample based program. What it has is every bass sound you could ever need! It has several recorded bass sounds from several different basses. Everything from acoustic to electric to those awesome stand-up style basses! Kick the bass player out of the band with this synth! (Just kidding K-Dawg)
4. Waves Masters Bundle Native Version: These expensive mastering plug-ins really make a ton of difference when it comes to producing a good final mix. This bundle includes several different plug-ins that will suck the bad sounds out of your mixes and pump up the good ones! Don’t expect to get instant results however. These plug-ins, although fairly simple, take a bit of practice to use properly. I will of course be including a full review soon, so stay tuned!
5. M-Audio Ozone Izotope: So you think you have a pretty good sounding mix? Think again! I am confident that every mixdown needs to have the Izotope treatment for it to pulse out of the speakers properly. There are so many ways you can use this mastering tool its ridiculous. It has a ton of wicked presets that will help you figure out how to use the plug-in to its’ full potential and make your tracks sound really awesome!
Doni Out.
Doni Music Production School Update! Doni’s Hardware Setup
Hey-y0! WHAT’S UP my people!
Another article for your critical analysis. Do take care of those brain cells now. Check the article below!
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This is the Hardware I use to create music! YES! That’s all! It took me a while to figure out what I really needed and what I could emulate with software for less money, but I have stopped upon this as the ultimate home hardware setup! With this setup, I am able to record all of my own solo music, my band, The Martial Artists, and pretty much whoever I want (except for like, an orchestra; but stay tuned to Doni Music and you’ll learn how to replace an orchestra with a synthesizer.) This setup isn’t the bare minimum you need to make music on your computer, and it isn’t the extreme either. This is, however, a highly optimized setup for the home studio; maximizing cost, space, efficiency and sound.
I’ll take you through my Hardware setup piece by piece so you can get a better idea about how the parts work towards the whole:
1. KRK Studio Monitors Solid, solid, solid recording speakers! These are pound for pound the best quality and best sounding speakers in their price range. You can literally hammer out sound with these things all day long and they keep on tickin’. If you are just starting with sound production, you might not need a pair of these right away. But if you are serious at all, you need at least a pair of these for your home setup! Read more about KRK Studio Monitors here.
2. Ye old Personal Computer (PC) Ah yes, I use a PC to record! Blasphemy, right? Wrong! If you were to ask me if PC’s and Mac’s were on the same level for sound production, I would have said without a doubt that Mac’s are better. But the fact is, I bought my MacBook Pro to replace my PC and I couldn’t because half the plugin’s I used did not work on Mac. It was also around this time where Core2duo processors and RAM was getting cheaper, so buying a stinking fast PC solved this problem instantly. Mac recording studio’s are for those who use a fairly standardized setup, like a Pro tools setup for example. Of course, those setups are ridiculously expensive and really absolutely inflated in terms of their ability to create “better sounding” mixes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what setup you have if you do not have any production knowledge!
3. Presonus Firebox This tough unit does all of the most important things very well for an inexpensive sound card. If you are looking for bang for your buck, look no further! This is the ultimate soundcard for the beginner to the advanced producer on a budget. Check out my article on the Presonus Firebox here.
4. APEX460 Large Diaphragm Vacuum Tube Condenser This Microphone is EXCELLENT if you want to record your voice or anything else consistently well! This microphone records a very clean and fuzz free sample. I could get technical here, but I would rather let the folks at Apex electronics handle it for me, so click here for more info!
5. M-Audio Oxygen 49 USB MIDI Keyboard Controller The perfect keyboard/controller to get your synth on! This is great for banging out synth lines and whatnot. Pretty basic stuff here. It works like a keyboard, only you can play any sound out of your computer that you have a synth for. Now if only you paid attention at piano lessons you’d be a regular Elton John by now. Don’t laugh, Elton is a knight and he will slay you if you laugh. The Queen hath decreed it be so, bitch.
Doni Out.
Doni Music Production School Update!
Hey everyone!
MORE UPDATES TO THE DONI MUSIC PRODUCTION SCHOOL!!!!! BASK IN IT BABY!!!!!!!!! Read em below or go to the school to learn up!
Article 1
Studio Monitors – Do you need them?
What sounds good on one pair of speakers can sound awful on another pair. That’s why it’s very important to invest in a good pair of monitors when you reach a level where your productions are being heard by many people. Is it critical in the early stages of learning music production for you to have studio monitors? Not necessarily, but a pair of proper studio monitors will definitely take your productions to the next level.
Good studio monitors are expensive, but they sound amazing, and they will give you a true feel of what your tracks will sound like on most speakers. This allows you to make a solid mix that will play well on many, and if you are good, most different speakers. Let’s face it, not everybody s going to hear our music on a big beautiful system, so it is important to test out a mix in proper monitors before publishing it to a large audience.
What makes a studio monitor good? There’s a whole lot of jargon and such that is thrown around to persuade buyers into spending more than they need to. If you are reading this, chances are you are just getting started in the world of production. This may sound like crazy advice, but don’t worry about anything else but durability in your first purchase of a pair of studio monitors. There are all sorts of parameters that are executed upon better and worse depending on which monitors you choose, but for the most part, you can’t really go too wrong when it comes to sound quality.
So what’s a good durable pair of monitors that won’t run you too much cash and still sound great? The KRK Rokit 5’s would be great for those looking to maximize their bang for buck factor. Click here to read my KRK Rokit 5 Studio Monitor Review!
Article 2
Super Solid Studio Monitor – KRK Rokit 5
For those of you who do know know anything about the importance of having good studio monitors, read my article about them here. For those who do know and already have a good pair of studio monitors, quite wasting your time! Finally, for those who are in the market for some solid studio monitors, look no further. The KRK Rokit 5 studio monitor is second to none in its price to performance ratio, and they provide big sound in a small package.
Sound accuracy is very important when one is producing audio materials. Most monitors on the market do a fairly good job of being leaps and bounds better than even the best consumer desktop audio speakers simply because they are designed to help you monitor sound; not to help your computer render explosions in video games. For this reason, one of the most important things in a pair of studio monitors is their durability. If you are a serious producer like me, you are going to put a huge amount of stress on these things all the time. I have tormented my KRK rokit 5s for over 2 years now and they are still alive and well! I strongly recommend picking these up as your first pair of studio monitors.
BUY KRK ROKIT 5 STUDIO MONITOR
Doni Out.
Doni Music School: Presonus Firebox – Product Review
Hey all!
Doni here with another juicy article to add to his wealth of knowledge at The Doni Music Production School! Check it out below!
The Presonus Firebox – Serious bang for the buck
This tough unit does all of the most important things very well for an inexpensive sound card. If you are looking for bang for your buck, look no further! This is the ultimate soundcard for the beginner to the advanced producer on0 a budget. I’m not going to go into too much detail about what a soundcard does or anything like that in this article, but you can be sure that I will publish an article with that information inside soon enough!
This unit is around 300$ and will provide you with all the functionality you need to record anything (within reason). I am able to record an entire band with this unit! It’s got several inputs and outputs so you won’t be limited in your options and I cannot say enough about the pre-amps this thing has on board. When you buy a unit like this, beyond connectivity and latency, there is only one thing: Sound! The pre-amp is what gives the power your microphone and connected instruments. This may sound like a simple matter, but the quality of the pre-amp directly relates to the quality of sample you are able to record. If you have a cheap pre-amp, then recording good sounds will be very difficult. Good thing this puppy is only $300!!
I seriously recommend this unit! I’ve had mine for about 2 years and it still works great. I leave it on all the time and I use the crap out of it. Are there better units on the market? Of course! Are there better units on the market in the same price range? Not even close!!
If you are serious about music, then you need to save your paper route money and buy one of these, Johny. I think my Firebox will out-live me for sure. You can get a great price at many online stores, the best of which I found at a store called www.Zzounds.com.
Doni Out.
Doni Music Production School Update
Hey everybody!
I’m posting my first article to my music production page today! It’s a review of a great sequencer called Live made by a company called Ableton. Check out the article below, or by clicking here.
Ableton Live – My Sequencer of choice:
Overview:
This sequencer comes with an extremely high recommendation from me. The best thing about Ableton Live is it’s relatively small learning curve and it’s flexibility. You can use Ableton to do almost everything you would need to do to create a solid mix. You can also use Ableton as a live ‘jamming’ tool. Ableton’s double interface makes it easy for you to jam out a series of loops and samples in one interface and then tweak your resulting mix in another.
The thing I noticed about other sequencers was that I would be limited in what I could do with my samples. If I wanted to add an effect, I could not adjust this effect in real time most of the time. So, lets say I wanted to add a common reverb effect to a piano sample. In other sequencers, I had to destroy the sample and re-sample it with the reverb effect applied. This made it difficult to experiment with different effects and it made undoing changes made too far back in the process. To get around this challenge, one would need to create backup files and take extra care during the process to ensure that mistakes could be easily corrected. Isn’t that unnatural? This kind of interference with the creative process was not something I could tolerate at all. Ableton solved this problem miraculously for me. The interface in Live is non-destructive. So you can apply whatever effects to whatever samples you want and freely change the parameters on those effective in real time. If something doesn’t work out how you want it to, or if you change your mind somewhere down the road in the process, you can do so easily and you will not have to worry about keeping backups of your samples. Noice!
Live’s innovative “Jam Mode” makes it easy and fun to experiment. The simplicity of Live was a key factor in my ability to learn how to create professional quality music. When I first loaded up a program like Pro-tools I was befuddled by the interface. I couldn’t figure out how to get anything to work! Ableton’s simple interface made the learning curve much more forgiving. Don’t get my wrong though, just because Live has a simple, easy to use interface, it doesn’t mean you will have to sacrifice quality. Not even a bit! The quality of sound that Ableton Live is capable of producing is phenomenal! It works with most plugins (all that I have tried), so you are not limited to what tools are available with Live initially.
Overall, Ableton Live is a flexible, versatile sequencer
that makes music making easy and fun.
Doni Out.
The NEW Doni Music Production School almost ready to launch!
The NEW Doni Music Production School almost ready to launch!
I’m here with Francis the production Flamingo getting you PSYCHED UP for the new Doni Music Production School!! This is going to be one of the premiere resources on the web for all your music production information needs! The page is almost done and I would love it if you all came by to check it out.
I’m going to be publishing the first set of articles very soon, so check back or subscribe to my blog for more information!!
You can check out the splash page here
Doni Out.
The Doni Music Podcast – #7 – House Music – This Old House (www.donimusic.com)
Doni Music Podcast Mix- This Old House – House Music
Right click on the image and choose “save link as” to download!
A friend of mine came over a while back and we mixed this set with some records of his. I threw in a couple of my own tracks for good measure, but if anybody wants to ID any of the tracks here please let me know! I can’t get in touch with the friend who had the records and I would only be guessing on a track list at this point. DON’T HATE ME PLEASE
Tracklist:
Unavailable 
Doni Out.
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- Doni Mix – Discoretro – Disco House
- Doni Mix – I’ll Take The Brazillian Please – Brazilian House
- Doni Mix – Kid of the Future – Chillout/Hip Hop
- Doni Mix – Saddam Hussein is Finally Dead – IDM
- Doni Mix – The R. Simmons Kung Fu Mystery – Speed Garage
- Doni Mix – This Mix is too Cool for You – Ultra cool House
- Doni Mix – This Old House – House Music
- Doni Mix – Break Beat and Bass – Drum and Bass
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