New Logic 10.3 update is great except for Track Alternative bug!

Disappearing Track Alternatives
The new Logic 10.3 update was unleashed last week and we love it…kind of. It's overall a fantastic update and introduces a bunch of new features. A favorite new enhancement is something I've longed for since I "switched" from Digital Performer to Logic many years ago; The ability to make another underlying "playlist" ala Digital Performer or Pro Tools. Apple calls this feature "Track Alternatives". Unfortunately theres a big bug whereas when one does an edit to the top most "Track Alternative" track, the hidden Alternatives may disappear. The work around is to always show the hidden Track Alternatives while doing any kind of editing. In the long run this isn't very practical so I'm hoping that this gets fixed in the next update. I made a video documenting this bug and hopefully will prevent others from losing too much hair over this issue.
Update: As of the latest 10.3.1 Logic X update, this bug has been squashed!

Happy New Year 2017! Check out these killer guitar player demos!

Guitar Demos!

It’s a few days into the new year and I’m busy writing and recording some great electric guitar demos. A few years ago I bought a Kemper Profiler Amplifier. The Kemper is basically a computer type guitar amp that’s soul purpose is to capture the sounds of real amps and store them so that one can have virtually any amp with them at any time. Many people (including myself, Dave Chamberlin) “profile” their own amp collection and store it in their Kemper. This is great as it allows one to recreate their exact guitar sound at a later date, even if they’ve sold their original amp (which I’ve also done). There are many great commercial resources for these profiles. I’ve invested in a ton of them and enjoy the variety. One of my favorite commercial vendors is a company out of Germany called “Soundside”. I’ve created demos for many of their amps for use on their website. Check out the sound samples below. Keep in mind that I wrote and recorded these demos in under 2 hours each! It’s also a reminder that when you come to DBW that you have an excellent studio guitarist at your disposal;-) Thanks for listening!

Warning, Mad Scientist Stuff!

Those of you who know me know that I like to run musical “experiments”. Well, many times I’ll run actual real experiments. Especially when it comes to my guitar sound. Lately I’ve been doing some subtle mods to my 92’ Les Paul Standard guitar. By swapping out the tone capacitor I can easily alter the sound of my guitar. I documented one such “experiment” below. If you’re still awake after the video give yourself a gold lollipop!

In The Studio, August 2016

VocalSynth by Izotope, plugin of the month!

We just can’t help ourselves (which is good for you) and have purchased a few more plugins. Yes, you can never have enough plugins as my grandmother always said… or was it money? At any rate, this is what we’ve added to our arsenal this month!

Waves Mix Centric

We love our Waves plugins and have been using them for what seems like 20 years now. They’re always innovating and coming up with cool unique plugins as well as some great emulations of classic hardware. The first one we bought this month is kind of it’s own thing. It’s called the “Greg Wells Mix Centric” plugin. Although very simple to use this sucker does some complex stuff under the hood. You put it on your master bus and then just turn the knob and listen to the magic! To our ears it’s adding some compression and eq changes which can be pretty subtle or extreme depending on how far you turn the knob. We like it and have used on several new mixes this month.

Waves API 560

Up next is the Waves API 560. This is an emulation of a classic API hardware graphic EQ. Although pretty simple to wrap your head around this is still a very versatile EQ and has a pleasing punch. We likey.

Izotope VocalSynth!!!

VocalSynth allows you to turn any kind of a vocal, spoken word, sung, barked by a dog, etc, into something melodic or crazy evil sounding. It’s nuts and very fun to use. Check out the video for a short example of how I sang a simple straight vocal line and then turned it into something else. I went for more of a retro sound but that barely scratchers the surface in terms of what this plugin can do.

Who Cares Fundraiser

While I'd love to say that the band "The Who" is currently recording with me I can only dream of such a thing. But, what I can tell you is that I went to a fundraiser this week at my brother-in-law's house in the Pacific Palisades where The Who actually performed!! The fundraiser was for Teen Cancer America which is a great originization that helps support teens and young adults with cancer. The event also featured Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, David Spade and Eddie Veder (who played a solo ukulele set). Jordan Kapan (my brother-in-law) and Howie Mandel were the MCs. Other notable contributors were Sugar Ray (who raised $100k alone) and Kiss's Paul Stanley (who auctioned off a day with Kiss). Make no mistake about it, this was a full blown high decibel concert complete with giant light show and PA/staging, all in someone's yard. The next day I felt inspired to record a ukulele version of the Who classic "Behind Blue Eyes". Please enjoy and think about contributing to Who Cares.

Studio News June 2016

EDM to Jazz!

This has been another busy year here at DBW. We finished a big classic rock CD where we incorporated a violin bow on our guitar (ala Jimmy Page), a Jazz CD, and helped launch a Hip Hop record label called “Tre Entertainment”! We’re also happy to be working with Mark Burnett Music Group artist “Destiny Malibu”.

Destiny

I’ve been working with Destiny from the very beginning and by beginning I mean from the time she was 5 years old! She’s now signed to reality show mogul (producer of everything from “The Voice” to “Survivor”) Mark Burnett’s new music publishing company. Destiny is an amazing and versatile singer/songwriter who lately has been writing and recording EDM/Rap style songs but who can easily switch gears and do pop or even folk inspired material. This girl can really sing and it’s really exciting working with her again and being a part of the production “team”! To show her true musicianship, here’s a cover of the song “Here” by Alessia Cara she recorded with me that really exposes her voice. I’m playing bass guitar on this track and Dillon is on piano.

Here’s a cool EDM song she tracked here called “Love Hurts”. I recorded the vocals, mixed and mastered this.

G Money Baby!

Galo (aka G Money) is back in the studio after taking a break. We recorded his debut Hip Hop CD called “It’s My Time” (available on iTunes) back about 10 years ago. One song even featured an up and coming actor named Shia LaBeouf! This time around Galo is starting his own label called “Tre Entertainment” and will be featuring not only himself but several other up and coming artists. You’re truly is co-producing and mixing and adding some magic here or there;-)

Sweet Jazz

Long time friend and client, Paul McCallum, is back finishing up another Jazz project. This project features trio work with Paul on guitar and Domenic Genova on upright bass as well either Tom Buckner on Alto Sax or David Smith on guitar. Paul is one of the most versatile guitarist I know. He can flow from blue grass to jazz and everything in between. It’s always a pleasure working with him and usually leeds to me improving my own guitar skills.

Welcome, some fantastic new singers!

Linzi Graham

The lovely and talented Linzi Graham came into DBW and sang a fantastic version of “On My Own” from Les Miserables. You might recognize Lindsey as being the former 2009 Miss New Hampshire. She’s a fantastic singer, actress and pianist!

Linzi singing “On My Own”

Amaya Rose

Amaya Rose came in and did an amazing job on the Linda Ronstadt cover, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”. Amaya actually won during last year’s Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest and is primarily a singer/fiddle player. Well, let me tell you, this girl can also finger pick a beautiful acoustic guitar! Amanda had apparently only been playing guitar for a few months but still recorded her tracks like a pro. She then nailed her vocal, first take I might add (and no pitch correction)! I then added a little percussion and we wound up making a nice demo. She then proceeded to blow me away by singing and recording (one take of course) “The Star Spangled Banner”. Not an easy song ;-) Great job Amanda! Keep up the god work. Here’s the video of the song we recorded.

Charlie Brown

While not “new” exactly but worth a mention, DBW regular, Charlie Brown, was back in DBW working on some tunes. Charlie is starting to get out again and can be seen occasionally at the Guitar Merchant in Canoga Park. He’s truly an amazing musician: great guitar player, singer, songwriter and harmonica.