Finally got an acoustic-electric

Last sunday I was like, I’m going to one of my favorite music stores and try me some acoustic-electric guitars. A good acoustic-electric guitar has been on my wishlist for like, ages. Of course I first checked on the site of the music store what they had to offer and at that moment I basically made a choice already because I had a hunch that the guitar of my choice would stand out because of its specs (hand-built, solid spruce top, mahogany neck, sapele sides and back). When I wandered into the music store and started checking out the acoustic-electrics the sales guy quickly approached me asking the inevitable question what I was looking for.

I told him my budget and he immediately picked the guitar I had checked out on the site. He handed it over to me and I was sold. The next one hour and a half were pure bliss, only tempered by a brief intermezzo with a Martin D-16GT which sounded like a cardboard box compared to the guitar I wanted. So I just bought it.


Eastman AC320CE


The AC320CE ships with a Fishman Matrix VT under-the-saddle pickup system which isn’t the best sounding solution but for the intended purpose of this guitar (using it on stage) it’s probably better than a solution that includes an internal mic. So no, I wasn’t blown away by the sound once it was plugged in but yesterday I bought a Fishman Aura Acoustic Imaging Pedal Concert preamp/DI for cheap so I should be covered. It’s actually an older model that can be upgraded to an Aura Sixteen.

aura_imaging_pedal

Fishman Aura Acoustic Imaging Pedal Concert


So I’m a happy camper. The guitar plays like a dream, sounds sublime unplugged and looks very good. I really like its neck which feels a lot like the one on my Sigma DR-41 (an old one, so not a recent, re-released Sigma). The tone is very well balanced, lows are well present and the highs just shimmer the way I like it. And normally I don’t really dig Venetian style bodies but the body of the Eastman is just very well proportioned. Awesome guitar. Oh yeah, I got 10% off the price, that always helps in making these kind of decisions.

Finally got an acoustic-electric

Workshops Music Production with Open Source Software: Introduction and Basic Principles

This Saturday my series of workshops about music production with open source software will kick off. The first workshop will be an introduction to the open source ecosystem and attendees will get acquainted with some basic Linux audio principles; different work-flows (monolithic vs modular), ALSA/JACK/PulseAudio, most used and most useful applications and maybe a bit about plug-in frameworks (LADSPA/DSSI/LV2/VST). I will also outline the content of the following workshops and this workshop is a gauge to see if there is enough interest. So people should show up in considerate numbers because I’m not going to invest another 5 Saturday afternoons for just a few people. After all, I’m doing this for free (as in beer).

Announcement on the site of De Bakkerij

Facebook event

Workshops Music Production with Open Source Software: Introduction and Basic Principles

Workshops Music Production with Open Source Software

Starting September 7th I’m going to conduct a series of 6 workshops on music production with open source software at De Bakkerij in Castricum. With software I also mean the operating system so the OS I’m going to use will be an open source based one (probably Ubuntu or Debian). So basically it’s a series of workshops on music production with Linux Audio.

Last week I had something like, what the heck, I’m just going to mail De Bakkerij to ask if they’re interested since they host more DIY initiatives like the workshops inititiative I proposed. I didn’t expect much of it but I immediately got an enthusiastic e-mail back from the promotor of De Bakkerij. So after a few mails back and forth it was a done deal.

Rough outline of the workshops:

  1. Introduction and base principles of open source software and using it for music production. What is open source, why use it, how does the open source audio ecosystem look like and will my hardware work?
  2. Recording with open source software. What software is available (DAW), how to use it during the recording process, base principles of recording instruments and vocals (I’ll be focusing on home recording and not recording complete bands).
  3. Making music with open source software. Softsynths, samplers, drum machines, amp/cabinet modeling, sequencers, trackers, DAWs, MIDI/OSC, plugin frameworks etc.
  4. Mixing and mastering with open source software. What software is available, what kind of hardware do I need, base principles of mixing and mastering.
  5. Showcasing the possibilities of the usage of open source software with the focus on low-cost solutions like the Raspberry Pi and RockChip based devices.
  6. Concluding workshop: listen to and discuss the musical projects made by the attendees, discussion on music production with open source software.

There’s no fee for attending the workshops but you do need a notebook or netbook and an empty USB memory stick of at least 4GB.

Workshops Music Production with Open Source Software

Linux Audio artikel CDM

Op CDM (Create Digital Music) is een redelijk artikel verschenen over muziek maken met FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). Ik heb het idee dat CDM wel redelijk veel gelezen wordt, goeie exposure dus. Uiteraard worden wel weer de geijkte applicaties genoemd zoals Ardour en ZynAddSubFX maar de auteur heeft beloofd er nog wat meer in te duiken dus hopelijk krijgt dit artikel een vervolg.

Het YouTube filmpje over Adam Drew dat bij het artikel zit is wel een beetje een afknapper. Adam Drew is een werknemer van Red Hat en in zijn vrije tijd maakt hij op Nine Inch Nails geïnspireerde muziek. Daarnaast beheert hij een handige knowledge base met potentieel. Maar persoonlijk heb ik de nodige vraagtekens bij zijn workflow en ben ik niet bepaald gecharmeerd van zijn presentatie. In een eventueel vervolgartikel zou het tof zijn als er eens iemand in de schijnwerper gezet zou worden die echt professioneel met Linux audio bezig is, want op deze manier blijft Linux audio gelieerd worden aan mensen die als hobby wat met Linux audio doen.

Linux Audio artikel CDM