OSX Mountain Lion? Yes.

To get things clear, I was a huge PC fan up until 2004 when a friend introduced me to the coolest, cleanest, most polished computer realm that existed.  I entered the Mac world right around the time Leopard was introduced.  My wife purchased a MacBook Pro for me; a pre-unibody that was maxed on ram and hard-drive space.  Leopard was a great OS to learn Mac on, because it was simple, efficient, and powerful.  When Mac introduced Snow Leopard, many of my friends were complaining about paying money for a “small” upgrade. 

Now, many of those friends refuse to upgrade to Lion because of how solid Snow Leopard truly was.  I was skeptical about Lion when it was released, but the moment Pro Tools became compatible, I dove in.  I wasn’t exceptionally thrilled with Lion, but it was a little more polished and integrated a few great iOS ideas.  So, when apple announced Mountain Lion last year, I was once again skeptical.  If Lion wasn’t so impressive, how is a year of development going to bring a great experience back to the Mac? 

They do it by rounding up all the loose ends Lion left answered.  Once Avid (Pro Tools) stated there were minimal issues with Mountain Lion, I dove in again.  It feels like an entire upgrade from Snow Leopard, which truly fits the Apple release model.  Think of the iPhone.  The last two models have been released with an updated model to tide over Apple junkies (which I shamelessly am) until a revolutionary product can be released the following year.  Lion is the initial product, like the iPhone 4, while Mountain Lion makes the initial product its best, like the iPhone 4s.

I would like to share a few of my favorite features from the little time I’ve spent with the OS.  The first treat I wanted to try was AirPlay mirroring from my MacBook Pro.  It was as simple as clicking on the display preferences tab and clicking on Apple TV.  I was streaming my computer’s desktop to my 46” TV in 1080p, and was immediately impressed with the picture quality and sharpness of the font.  There’s some lag, but that will probably be addressed in 10.8.1 or a nearby release.

In the top right corner there is a new icon, which pulls your notification center from the right side.  While many see the notification center as minor iOS integration, it is a hot feature for me because I knew having it would allow me to integrate my calendars, and receive notifications from whichever device I’m sitting at.  The final feature I’m enjoying is the new built-in dictation feature.  So far it has been extremely accurate, and has allowed me to dictate an entire paragraph without a break, or error.

To me, Mountain Lion feels like a new and complete OS.  I could never figure out what made Lion feel so unworthy of being a new OS version until I tried the newest platform.  Thankfully, Apple tied up one final loose end to maximize the Mountain Lion experience.  All transitions and effects appear to happen cleanly, and without lag.  I am comfortable in the Mountain Lion world, just like I was in Snow Leopard.  That’s always subject to change though, especially since the experience has been short so far.

How Many Plug-ins Do You Need?

A debate that I've seen come up more frequently is how many plug-ins are too much?  For the past few years, I have been nearly obsessed with expanding my plug-in and sample collection.  It has recently come to my attention that I have been nowhere near as productive I once was when I had so little.  How could one possibly do so much less with an endless supply of dynamics processors, reverbs, instruments, modulators, filters, and samples?

I had to take some time to reflect on my creative past.  While my knowledge in the technicalities of music has grown drastically, the connection with my creative and natural musical ability have diminished.  Sometimes I feel like knowing the tricks behind the most popular music has destroyed my drive for this industry.  Other times I have to use those same techniques because it's the sound a client wants.  Getting caught up in the 'owning of things' has really made me lose touch with the music world.

When you have every plug-in under the sun, you can't pinpoint what your favorite EQ or compressor are because you haven't spent a ton of time with just one.  If you spend all of your time trying new plug-ins, you'll never get good at the excellent ones you already have in your arsenal.  To be quite honest, I still haven't found an RTAS EQ that sounds better than the EQ-7 band that already comes with Pro Tools.  That is simply because I haven't spent enough time with any other EQ.

Lately, I've been forcing myself to mess around with a few plug-ins for a period of time.  If I like how one of them works, I specifically use that one every time until I get comfortable with it.  If I feel I can't run a session without it, it becomes a piece of my permanent arsenal.  If I feel it needs more features, I'll try another one.  The point is to get familiar with a set group, so your efficiency and quality are continuously allowed to improve.

Now that I have narrowed down my plug-ins list, I feel a little more comfortable in front of performers.  For a while, I began picking plug-ins at random to see if I could find some sort of 'wow' effect.  That really slows down your mix time, and gives your performer a chance to step in and suggest some crap plug-in you accidentally left installed on your computer.  Work with what you know, get great at it, expand if it's necessary, and experiment with free time.

The following list are some of the plug-ins I've made permanent members of my family:

Waves L3 Multimaximizer - Mastering Suite

Stock 7-Band EQ in Pro Tools - EQ

Native Instruments' Kontakt - Library Sampler

iZotope Iris - Sampler

Rob Papen Albino - Synthesizer

The Square Card Reader

Have you seen the commercials for the Square Card Reader?  If you had any sort of reaction like mine, you were excited, impressed, and a bit skeptical.  Most technological advances seem like a good idea when you first see them, but when you visit the website and read the fine print, it normally turns out to be more hassle than its worth.  This is how I felt when I saw Square, swiping numerous cards, all coming out of the headphone jack of an iPhone.  I had to know what this thing was about.

http://www.pcworld.com/product/693414/square_card_reader.html

First off, let me state that this card reader is attractive for its function.  It sits nicely on any phone, and the minuscule size of it is astonishing.  Tomorrow, I'll be picking up keys to a studio spot that I plan on using for a business.  The thought of accepting credit cards was completely out of the picture, at least until I saw the commercial.  I didn't want to setup typical negotiations with card reader companies, and the rates are less than favorable for small businesses.  That is why the Square Card Reader is even more attractive.  Every purchase takes the same rate of 2.75%, and all major credit cards are accepted.  That means anyone using a Visa, Discover, American Express, or MasterCard will have no issues.

Square takes things a step further with the Square Register.  This converts your iPad into a fully functional credit card register.  The application is customizable, so business owners can incorporate photos and change the register layout.  What does this mean for you?  Let's say you own a coffee shop, and want to speed up the amount of time a typical customer takes from the moment they come through the door, to the moment they leave.  Instead of forming the typical line and shuffling people through like cattle, they can seat themselves the moment they walk through the door.  One of your waiter or waitresses can take the whole order on the iPad, and swipe right at the table.

This has been the most exciting way to collect money that I've seen yet.  We've all worked somewhere and used an old school card reader, but have you done this on your phone?  There have been other phone readers in the past, but none as simplistic and attractive as Square.  So what does this mean for the studio I'll be building over the next couple months?  Well, for those who do use my business, there is another payment option, so missing the ATM on the way isn't a problem.

Mastering for iTunes: Good Idea?

I recently learned of Apple’s ‘new’ encoding standard for iTunes and was initially very interested.  What they are now offering for the online ‘iTunes Plus’ store are AAC encoded files at twice the bitrate to their previous catalog.  When Apple initially launched the iTunes store, songs were encoded using AAC at 128 kbps.  After artists submit their high quality masters, Apple pushes the songs through a 32-bit float point AAC encoder, converting them into a salable online download.  

iTunes wants to improve audio quality?  I’m immediately on board because I am an audio quality freak.  My music library is slowly being switched to lossless audio, which is a digital file that makes an exact copy of the original.  While most people may not hear or understand the difference between a lossless digital file and an mp3, there is something comforting in the thought that I possess the exact same copies as the songs on the CD.  I am one of those people who can hear a difference, and there’s nothing worse for me than getting a demo from someone who exported the whole album in mp3.  You want me to hear how good you sound?  Don’t give me crap quality!

In my opinion, there is an up and downside to Apple’s improved file format.  The positive is that Apple is taking the initiative to move digital music into the right direction.  Also, they are informing engineers to submit the highest quality masters they possess, which means the song will provide the best quality it can for an AAC encoded file.  The downside is that this may be a ‘jump the gun’ scenario for iTunes.  While the new audio files will be superior to those previously offered, Apple cannot account for the future desires of their customers.  By the time this whole process is rolled out, it could be possible that customers of iTunes will demand lossless.

I think Apple should’ve considered waiting a bit longer so that storage space could become cheaper, Internet could become faster, and online lossless purchasing could become the norm.  Here is the reason: when everyone IS demanding lossless, Apple will have to start over again and re-encode all their masters with a lossless encoder.  They could’ve waited 5 years to rollout iTunes Plus, then release the highest quality possible, and even charge an extra fifty cents per song, just for the improvement.  While I commend Apple for taking a step into the right direction, I must say that someone working there was thinking too much in the ‘now’ and not focusing on what this decision meant for the future of iTunes.

Who is Whitney Houston?

When I started a music program at an alternative high school, I had no idea how old I was becoming. I’m only 25, but in the eight years since I’ve graduated from High School, music has gone through some pretty dramatic changes. It’s the same for every generation. You begin to lose interest in new music over the years, and begin to think that the ‘golden age’ of music has disappeared. You’re not the only one going through this. Ever notice your 65-year-old grandmother tapping the steering wheel to some new artist you just can’t stand, while you’re in the passenger seat grinding your teeth? Then your grandma is one of the lucky ones. She is one of the blessed few who don’t get trapped into a couple decades of music and think everything else is junk.

Go beyond the generational difference, there are some artists that everyone should know, even if they aren’t within their era or favorite genre of music. If you agree with that last statement, then you should be able to imagine my horror when one of my students asked, “Who is Whitney Houston?” She had just passed the day before, and he had learned about her death. I was completely shocked and thought it impossible for anyone his age to not know Whitney Houston. That’s when it hit me; I’m fading out, getting old, dust in the wind. This kid was looking at me with the same look I had given my teacher when he played his music during class. How could this be? What odd circumstances in life prevented you from ever hearing about Whitney Houston, one of the most famous singers in recent history?

I understand, it’s a little bit dramatic on my end. We all go through it, and we all accept it eventually. In the meantime, my fellow co-worker and I take 5 minutes at the beginning of each class for the students to share a song. Each week, a different student shares a song, and we encourage them to share a song that they truly enjoy and might not be popular amongst the other students. It has worked out phenomenally. The students listen to the music with limited interruption, then each shares their thoughts on the music afterward. It’s been a pretty enlightening experience. I get introduced to music that I had never heard, either because I wasn’t looking or being close-minded. I also get a nice surprise when a student plays a Tupac or Pink Floyd song from time to time. It appears that my favorite music won’t die with my generation after all.