Free Sound Of The Week is a new weekly series here on AGZ, once a week I’m going to share a couple sound samples I’ve recorded or created and manipulated.
This week I’ve got a set of samples of bowed cymbals. I LOVE the sound of bowed cymbals, it’s one of those classic sounds that instantly evokes some kind of feeling, suspense, fear, etc.
If you create music for film, no doubt you’ve used bowed cymbals in your scores. Essential sounds for Horror, Suspense, Action and Adventure films.
The sound is created by dragging or pushing a violin bow across the edge of a cymbal. There are 2 different cymbals (china & crash) recorded with a spaced pair of Audio Technica AT3035 into a Presonus Firestudio Project audio interface. No processing has been done except fade ins and out.
Go nuts with them, pitch shift, time stretching, layer with drones (like my Household Drones set), and reverb, these are begging for some ambiance.
I think these turned out really well, I’d love to hear what you guys can do with them.
This pack contains 9 samples. 16 bit 44.1kHz Stereo Wave files.
Those nasty bastardos at Ohm Force have decided to release Symptohm PE (Performer Edition) for free. This is very good news for home studio dudes, because Ohm Force makes some of the best virtual synths and effects out there today. Ohm Force doesn’t just think outside the box, they fill it with stinky cheese, piss on it and set it on fire! It’s software with attitude, bent on audio domination!
Here’s what they have to say about Symptohm PE
This ‘Performer Edition’ is a simplified version of our Symptohm:Melohman powersynth, especially made for live use – but being also handy at the studio. The core of the synth, its oscillators and all the filters are there: it’s the same audio engine of the ‘normal’ version. The only difference is that they’re all already programmed/fixed for each one of the (up to 1200!) patches from Symptohm’s sound library, the result being a simple and straight forward interface.
So you won’t worry about tweaking knobs in the plug-in interface, being able instead to focus in live preset morphing using your midi keyboard controller and the Melohman feature. The midi mapping for each plug-in parameter is still there too, so map them all and please your crowd with bewildering sounds. Last, but not least, try setting your own samples instead of the default ones, and get an intuitive and fun experience! What are you waiting for? Download it right now and you’ll be playing what maybe is one of the best freeware synths out there…
Symptohm PE is for Mac & PC; VST, AU, RTAS
Read more about the Symptohm PE features here
So TRY OUT Symptohm PE this week and let me know what you think. Is it nasty enough?
It’s nearly Christmas time so I feel like it’s my duty to make some gift suggestions so you guys don’t end up with a Cosby sweater or socks this year. Everything on this list should be under $200.
Books & Education
[amazon_link id="0879309458" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]The Daily Adventures of Mixerman[/amazon_link] by Mixerman
[amazon_link id="0922915601" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Tape Op: The book About Creative Music Recording[/amazon_link] by Larry Crane. [amazon_link id="0977990303" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Tape Op Volume II[/amazon_link] is here.
[amazon_link id="0240808371" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Mastering Audio[/amazon_link] by Bob Katz
Found this today, (Via Rekkerd) and was just too good not to share. I’m a big fan of The Prodigy, specifically the Fat Of The Land album so this was really enjoyable for me. So cool to see the song being constructed from unlikely samples and recreated into the classic track. I’m pretty sure Ableton wasn’t around in 1997 so imagine how difficult creating the song would have been then. Something to think about.
A good seat to park your ass on while you work is important. Like Uber important. It was #2 on this list.
The BEST or ULTIMATE studio chair is up for debate, there’s a lot of choices. IMO it should meet these criteria:
Adjustable height to allow your arms to be at a comfortable position for typing and mousing.
Wheels. If not then tank tracks or the ability to hover.
Reclining (inclining?) for power naps
Comfortable. Do I really need to explain this?
Removable arm rests. It’s hard to sit and play guitar with the chair arms getting in the way.
Not every chair meets these requirements. A Lazy Boy is comfortable and reclining (a little too far) but no wheels, height adjustment and can’t play guitar in them. About 50% of office chairs will meet the requirements but perhaps not the removable arm rests.
Most studios have several generic leather full back chairs like the one below. They’re decent, but you have to sit on the edge to play guitar and can get sweaty before long. I prefer a mesh back chair personally.
A ton of studio guys swear by the Herman Miller Aeron. They’re definitely nice chairs, not sure if you can move the arms out of the way, and they’re pretty expensive. There are plenty of similar mesh back chairs, but none as durable and quality as the Aeron.
Eschewing the plush swivel chair favoured by most producers, Imogen likes to position herself on an altogether more spherical studio seat: a furry fitness ball. “This is really fun and actually improves your posture if you’re like me and spend ages doing a lot of audio editing,” she says.
