Updated 3D Logo

I spent my time today learning 3D design basics. Here is my basic 3D design:

The colors are decent, but the extrude, or the part that goes back and is a grey color, just doesn't pop enough for me. I want it to be more of a metallic silver color. Again, here is the logo I'm trying to simulate:

It's all shiny and "metallic'y" looking! I've got a ways to go to learn that kind of 3D shading, especially since 3D rendering is pretty slow.

My progress has also hit a speed bump because I'm still adjusting to the Macbook Pro. I am liking the photoshop work on this laptop so far though, 3D is something I couldn't do on any other PC I have. When I'm done with other work-related projects, I will make my first sample on my macbook! Until then, I'll be playing around with my logo.

Super Looper Logo & Album Name

I haven't worked on music much at all this week as I've been busy setting up my new Macbook Pro. So far, it's been a cultural shock not by the operating system, but the software I've set up on it. So far I'm loving the actual operating system.

To celebrate my new laptop, I've created a new logo for "Super Looper:"

So far I like it. I still may need to elaborate on it, as its' not designed as a "vector" logo, but more as a really large layer. I may change the sizing or try my hand in the new 3D features I have yet to explore in new Photoshops.

In addition to a new logo, I also designed a "mock" album with a working title for my EP project, entitled "Legacy:"

As you can see, I have a thing for "starry" pictures! I originally had a different design in mind, but the more I worked on it, the more it didn't fit. I then designed to try an all black background, and it looks pretty cool. Eventually I'll have a picture of myself incorporated into the picture, but for now that looks like a good start.

I will soon start making more samples, but for the weekend and the better part of next week I will have to focus on work. I would like to finalize my 6-song EP by January of 2013, and I have planned out some of the tracks. "Out of Time" will be there, though I probably won't stick with the Piano feel to it. It feels more robotic than a dynamic song. "Untitled Twelfth Song" will most likely be a song, though I plan on putting it on the back burner until I have more samples. I have a song in mind called "Dance All Night" planned for future mixing. In addition, I will start playing around with vocals, including *gasp* my own vocals. We'll see how that turns out..

Here is a 1280x800 wallpaper of my new logo/album name (specifically for macbook pro 13"):

I plan on making all size wallpapers once I get a more finalized logo/album title. How exciting!

Researching Macbook Pro

Instead of working on my music, I've taken the time and got to know Apple's operating system: Mac OSX Lion. Though my laptop will be here Tuesday, since I've never used a Mac computer I'm getting to know everything about it so that my experience will be about applying what I know, instead of learning by trial-and-error.

I don't like to post anything non-music related, but since I got this laptop specifically for music purposes, I want to elaborate on the newest piece of equipment I'll be using. This article will contain opinions and preferences to my new laptop that don't necessarily pertain to music. You've been warned.

• First, the most impressive feature I'm seeing in the operating system is the ability to create multiple desktops. What this does is I can have Ableton running in a full screen on one desktop, and switch over to another desktop that has something else on it. I plan on using this feature to swap between tutorial videos and Ableton, without doing so like on the start menu bar in Windows.

• In addition to having multiple desktops, I also use my laptop for other features. Having multiple accounts is standard, but while I'm working on projects with Creative Suite, I can again have multiple desktops running Photoshop, Premiere and other stuff, like internet and etc... The workspace flow is what is impressive to me. This is something I haven't seen specifically done in Windows.

• As far as screen size is concerned, I got the 13.3" screen. My previous laptop is a Dell with a 15.6" screen, and I think even that screen is sometimes small. However, another feature I will use is the ability to dock my macbook pro's monitor onto my 42" TV (or my current monitor) and be able to have my Akai APC40 controller side-by-side with my laptop. Due to space limitations in the computer room, my controller doesn't sit right next to me, but off to the side where it's quite inconvenient to use.

• Another key feature, is the e-mail system and how it organizes all the e-mails. I'm constantly running separate web browsers for e-mail, and it would be nice to have a streamlined program to run e-mails. Though this feature is in Windows, I never utilized it and I should've at least tried it out. Otherwise, this program looks pretty amazing.

• It will also be able to dual-boot into Windows. I don't really want the Macbook for leisure, and when I want to browse via Microsoft I can still do so (like the company standard Microsoft Word, Excel and etc...). I run quite a bit of strenuous applications that my laptop is starting to struggle with, so it'll be nice to have the power of the mac.

Finally, many people wonder why I'm switching to a Macbook, even I've said distasteful things about Apple in general.

• My first response in favor of a Macbook Pro is: I've never used one before. I'm really interested to see if it lives up to the hype, and I'm ready for a change. Apple is a company that does the majority of their computer designing in-house, whereas Windows will work on any computer built, ranging from (my personal favorite) Dell, to HP and eMachines (my least favorite).

• Second, for the last ten years I've used Windows XP. Every update to the Windows operating system, and respective programs, has felt like an upgrade to look and feel like an Apple OS. If I wanted it to look like Apple, I'd get one. I dislike Vista, I'm not a fan of 7 and I don't know why they can't focus on upgrading XP, instead of looking like an Apple OS as stated earlier.

• The program I use specifically for Ableton is better executed through an Apple OS. Many people will argue for and against this statement, but it's almost unanimous that Apple is the easier of the two. In Windows, you have to update sound drivers and install sound devices to keep from having latency issues, whereas a Mac it already works perfectly. Plug-and-play equipment works seamlessly better, as you don't have to restart the program to identify the device.

I've been met with much opposition on the change to Apple. I suppose this should come as no surprise, as I used to be one of those guys who opposed all things Apple; call it Karma. I'm not switching over to look cool in a coffeeshop, I'm switching because I want to perform music I create.

Twelfth Song v2 Sample

I elaborated more on my new sample, it's starting to come along nicely: Twelfth Song Sample v2

I only have 1:10 of this song, and I'm already up to 13 tracks and 3 returns. I wonder how many layers I'll end up with in the end! It's kind of funny I've actually shaved off 7 seconds from the sample. After I've got about 20-25 tracks down, I can probably make a pretty beast 3-4 minute song. We shall see.

I also ordered my Macbook Pro 13. We'll see if Macbooks really are more powerful.I'm actually really excited to use the screen capture program, so I can show off my Ableton timelines as they play!

Arpeggiator and New Sample

One of the many things I learned from here was the arpeggiator tool. Basically, you take as many notes as you want, stack them and with this effect you can make it toggle through each note:

This effect is featured in my new sample: Untitled Twelfth Song (Sample)

I like the song. I will attempt to make it a full-fledged song later. Unfortunately, it is 6:00AM as I work on it; I spent a few hours playing around with the sounds. I've added more bass to the song than I normally do. I'm always worried I'm going to overpower the song with bass, but I turned it up and it sounds pretty good. I haven't thought of a cool name yet, but I'm sure I will the next day.

I haven't been doing much with Ableton recently because I've been researching new laptops. I'd eventually like to perform live, but I really shouldn't be jumping the gun for a new laptop. I know this goes against everything I've said about Apple, but I'm considering a Macbook Pro. Some of my friends own them and say they are a power house for programs like Adobe Creative Suite. Other people use Macbook Pro's as performance tools because they eliminate issues with low-latency. However, my brother says that Macbooks are completely overrated and supply hardware that isn't even up-to-date with the newest laptops.In addition, Macbook Pro's are dual-bootable and support Windows 7. Having Mac & Windows on one computer!? Sounds pretty awesome. I don't know, I've been using Windows XP for the last ten years and I don't understand why Microsoft strayed away from such a great interface. I think it might be time for a change-up?

As for music producing, I'm not sure if it's my desktop or if it's my lack of professional producing skills, but some of my songs end up with artifacts, or multiple crackling sounds, in the middle of the song (including my newest sample). At the moment, I'd rather focus on producing the music than polishing it, I can learn that once I've gotten a firm grasp on music creation.

Applied What I've Learned

Didn't learn much over the weekend, instead applied what I've learned. Here is a sample:

Random Song Sample

Meh, getting better.

Experimenting: Bass Line Creation, Sidechain Effects and Etc...

I've taken a step back into creating music. Instead, I'm learning what the effects do, and why it's important to know what they do; the key to a great paper is even better preparation!

Here is the featured sample I made today: Tenth Song - Sound Designing & Experimenting (18 Second Sample)

One of the interesting things I learned was that you can create multiple instruments on one MIDI track. This allows me to combine two basslines (Hi Bass & Sub Bass) into one MIDI track, that way I can free up tracks:

In addition to combining instruments onto one rack, I also learned a great deal about the operator instrument and how to route A,B,C & D to create different sounds; operator instrument is pretty fun!

Another thing I learned was the importance of keeping the low frequencies from clashing, specifically the sub bass and the kick:

The compressor allows you to take a track with low frequencies (Sub Bass) and compress it when every kick of the drums happen. This is called the sidechain, and basically moves all the bass of one object so that the low frequencies don't "fight" and cause your sound to get nasty.

I also tried to build the suspense by creating white noise, and adjusting the volume and frequencies as it builds up. Easy technique to create sound as it "whooshes" in!

I also learned what "Send A" and "Send B" do. Basically, you can program an effect into the sends, and then you can have your tracks go through them to produce the effect. It's pretty neat, but I'm not sure why you can't just put the effect on the actual track like I've been doing. I suppose when I build an actual "Live" performance set, have multiple sends with effects will come in handy!

Last, I finally played around with my APC40 controller. The first couple times I don't know what happened, the controller would no longer respond (which isn't ideal for a live performance). However, I managed to keep it from crashing, later, and found some of the buttons somewhat useful. It's more of a live performance tool than a producing tool, but it's nice to just play around with it when I get burnt out on designing songs/sounds!

In addition, Tom is on his way to making 100 songs! Check out his soundcloud here.

Steve Wilson, who helped me understand the drums a little better also has a soundcloud and has made a song:

Steven Wilson III - Steve's New Song Demo.

For the first song, the production value is pretty intense! It's got everything I'm currently trying to learn, which is how to create a bassline, synth line & drums to form a well-designed song. This song makes me feel like I'm going about this whole music creation business the long way!

Voice Work

Not much going on the last few days, except I got my DVDs and my APC40 controller:

The controller is fun to play with, but it's definitely a live set piece of equipment. I downloaded one of Tom Cosm's sample live sets to play with, and it's really fun! His live set sample is very intricate, almost scary when I think about how I have to get to his level.

I ordered "An Introduction to Digitial Audio Production" by Tom Cosm. So far, it's very intimidating! There is so much interweaving of effects and this guy makes it look so easy!

Also, I watched one of his videos on voice work using an effect called "Vocoder." This is what I got when I used it:

Matt Looper - Paradise of the Gods (Voice Only) 

This sample was taken from a line in a script I did for Tom's machinima series, "Legends of Roika." Check it out here! You can also check out his musical progress here. I definitely want and need voices in my music, and for now I can synthesize my own voice to sound really cool. Eventually, though, that'll get old. I've noticed people use sample packs to create their live sets (like pre-recorded voice work, drum beats, etc...). Really nice idea, except I'd like to be the author of my own music.

The blogs will probably be scarce over the next week or two, as I'm going to watch the 10-hour DVDs just to study Tom Cosm's method, and I may re-watch it for further clarification. I can definitely feel the process slowing down as I now must create something I've never made. I trust that in a few weeks, though, I will have a firm grasp and will be able to make complex beats with minimal effort. I would prefer not to spend an eternity getting to know the software/hardware, but it looks like six months is appropriate for most starters..

Out of Time

Out of Time (Click for Song)

Not only is this a new song, but it's a complete song! I've mustered everything I've learned in the last two weeks, and made this song in three hours!

ElectroLite feels like a spiraling mess, probably because it's such a disorganized song. I decided to make a new track, and viola, I created "Out of Time."

To be honest, this isn't the kind of music creation I'm going for. I am glad, though, that I was able to take a simple beat and turn it into a complete song. This is the first song I've actually completed, and it feels great! The only thing I might fix is give it a little more kick, but otherwise a pretty solid song. It's a pretty awesome song too, just not one of those flashy complicated "Skrillex" numbers I'm going for.

As for the creation process, it sounded just "OK" until I stumbled upon an effect that made the song sound infinitely more professional grade:

 

It's called "Car stereo," and it's in the "multiband dynamics" section of Ableton. I don't even know what it does, but now I know this is an important effect for making a well polished track. My next goal is to learn what exactly it does to a song, then make my own custom multiband dynamic. I'm not a fan of using pre-made effects as it makes my experience feel "cheap," but this particular one did magic to my song. I will definitely use it for later tracks, at least for the near future. I wonder what this effect does to a song if I listen to it in... my car stereo!? (Haha... no?)

Yes, the song cover was last minute. Now that I think about it, I need my boy Steve to make a sweet logo for me! This is and ideal title I'd like to have:

My friend Tom also mentioned if I make the flat version, he can make the 3D effects. I think I could get Steve to make the flat outline of it, then I could scan it, make it black & white, then have Tom add the epic effects!

Also, my friend Tom is getting serious about making music as well:

Tom Clough - theping781 Music

You guys should check him out!