“I recorded the song exclusively with Apogee One and Logic,” Cody said. “The drums are midi but all strings, bass, and vocals were recorded live using the ONE!”

The Gen Art Film Festival (June 8-14) celebrates some of the best emerging talent of the festival circuit with a week of seven red carpet premieres, each followed by an exclusive after party where the audience mingles with the filmmakers and cast. This year’s slate includes performances by rising stars such as Zoe Kravitz, Dan Byrd, Emily Van Camp, Rachel Boston, Matt D’elia and Gabourey Sidibe – as well as veteran actors such as Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Harvey Keitel, Pierce Brosnan, Scott Caan, Tim Blake Nelson and Marisa Tomei.

To learn hear more of Cody Wood’s music, please visit his website at http://www.codywood.net/ or visit the GenArt film festival website at http://www.genart.org/.

Nathan Chapman has produced, written, and engineered records with artists such as Taylor Swift, Sara Evans, The Band Perry, Jewel, and K’Jon. Joe West has produced, written, and engineered with Warren Zevon, Emmylou Harris, Toby Keith, and Keith Urban.

Video Transcription:

NC: A couple of months ago, Joe West and I got to get together and do a shootout at Sony Studios here in Nashville.
 
JW: The way we had the desk arranged was that we had the two mics just coming in, just the two raw inputs, the mic pres, and then we had the Symphony I/O, a 192, and we had an AD-16X.
 
NC: We recorded piano and we recorded guitars… and we recorded everything simultaneously through all the different interfaces and then we were able to play back simultaneously and sit there and A/B all the different interfaces that we were going through.
 
JW: What I loved about it was it was a clear, concise difference.
 
NC: We were astounded at the Symphony I/O. The depth, the 3D characteristic to it which is kind of an intangible thing that you can’t explain. You feel it. There was a feeling of more of that openness and the air around everything and the detail and the 3D quality that is what we all really hope for when we are trying to record music.
 
JW: You know, coming in, being asked to come in and listen to that in an environment that you don’t know, on monitors that you don’t know, it’s always sort of like, well, am I really going to be able to tell the difference? But, man, it was just as clear as day.
 
NC:  The stereo piano really came through, even a mono acoustic guitar… you could tell that there was a place you could point at in the speakers where the guitar was.
 
JW: What I noticed primarily was that the 192 and 16-X both sounded good, but I’d always want to EQ them.. let me just get this frequency out of there, let me get that out of there. But with the Symphony I/O, I didn’t want to EQ it.
 
NC: It’s been astounding, the difference. I had an artist, that was sitting on the couch, the first day that I turned that on and we had been working for a few days, and one of the days in to the week we were working together, I plugged the Symphony I/O in and didn’t say anything and the artist immediately sat up on the couch. And they were like, what did you do to the song? Did you do something last night? I was like, No, it’s just this new interface.

That to me is a big deal because it’s not that, when an artist or an average listener or somebody who is not really listening critically, like engineers, I mean we are all pretty nerdy about it. But when someone who is more artistic about it notices a chance in the engineering, just with something as simple as plugging in a different interface, to me that is something that we -as nerdy engineers who love the gear- we should take note when someone who isn’t obsessed like we are, notices something better, that’s a good sign, and maybe even a better sign than someone like myself or Joe geeking out on it. 

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Dave Tozer has produced, performed, and written with artists such as Kanye West, John Legend, Free Sol, Musiq Soulchild, Jazmine Sullivan, Bridget Kelley, and Emile Sande.

Video Transcription:

I track probably I would say about 75% of the work I do here. And, If I have to track strings or live drums, I’ll do it in bigger rooms, but it all ends up coming back here. So when I come out with records that I produce, for the large part, they are recorded here. Absolutely.

My main chain going in is going through this Vintech Stereo Mic Pre into the Tube Tech compressor, a very good compressor, and into the interface, which is now the Symphony. It really struck me, you notice that all of a sudden, to me, that the bass is a little tighter. And there is more depth to the stereo spread. And it just sounds pleasant. It’s really great. And also I’ve noticed the sound going in, that’s just the monitoring side, but the recording side is sounding really good. The conversion itself is top shelf. So it’s a great thing just knowing that you’re getting the best conversion going in, because that’s really the sound you’re getting right there, that’s what you’re getting. You want it to sound really great going in.
 
***
 
One of the things that strikes me about the Symphony I/O is the thought that is put into the engineering of it so that it can be used across the board for people who work in a variety of styles and who also have a variety of needs. It’s set up to be very compatible. The fact that it’s modular in the first place really illustrates that. It’s designed being very intuitive and flexible and I think it’s great.

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Check out Gabe’s YouTube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/gabebondoc

About The PSM

Pauli “The PSM” Stanley-McKenzie is internationally known as the backbeat behind Gorillaz Sound System, a remixed version of the cartoon band, Gorillaz, performed to visual effects. The london based group has headlined major music festivals around the world spreading danceable arrangements to thousands.

More about Pauli “The PSM” Stanley-McKenzie >

More about Rohan Blair-Mangat >

About this video:

Equipment used:
Apogee GIO
MacBook Pro
MainStage 2
Logic Pro 9
Sennheiser e835
Mini Power Generator

In this video GiO was used as an interface and controller, plugging into a MacBook Pro via USB also providing bus power. The small guitar amp is plugged into the output of GiO and an XLR to 1/4″ cable is connecting a Sennheiser e835 microphone to GiO’s input. Prior to shooting, Pauli created his own concert file, mapped to the GiO and created custom patches in MainStage which were recorded via the Loopback plugin.

GiO’s stomp buttons were used to enable individual effects and the next button was used to toggle through the patches along with the transport control buttons, record, play and reverse – which is demonstrated at the end of the film. In post-production, Pauli saved the loops and exported as files which were then imported to Logic 9. This allowed Pauli to move each loop around to fit to the audio drum bed taken from the mic on the camera, as well as mixing and processing the audio before bouncing and exporting to Final Cut Pro for video editing.

“As a musician who has to do so much work on the fly, I’ve been so curious about ONE since hearing about its development,” Christine says. “The fact that I split my time between London and LA makes the challenges of high-fidelity mobile recording at the drop of a hat REALLY obvious.” After reaching tenure at the Houston Symphony, Christine brought her talent for weaving notes together to the recording industry. Now based in LA as a string arranger/composer and producer on records for artists such as Usher and Leona Lewis, Christine also records violin, viola and cello with L.A. Strings, a professional studio string section.

Hear the raw audio file of Christine’s performance on the Apogee Hear ONE page.

For more about Christine, visit her at: http://www.christine-wu.com/index.htm

Their above-featured song, “Pretty Far Gone,” was recorded entirely with Apogee’s ONE- including cello, guitar and vocals- captured solely by its internal condenser microphone, premium converters and mic preamp. With soothing cello, solid and rhythmic acoustic guitar and harmonizing vocals, a song about drinking Jagermeister has never been so intoxicating.

Hear the raw audio file of Oak & Gorski’s performance on the Apogee Hear ONE page.

To learn more about Oak & Gorski, visit: http://www.oakandgorski.com/

Two-time Grammy nominee Tommy Emmanuel is one of Australia’s most respected musicians. Recently given the Guitar Legend Award by Guitar Player Magazine, Tommy has a professional career that spans almost five decades as an iconic performing artist. A household name in Australia, he has garnered hundreds of thousands of loyal fans worldwide with millions signing on to YouTube to study his unparalleled fingerpicking technique. With 300 shows a year over the past four years, Tommy is on the road more days than not. Paired with the free version of GarageBand on his MacBook Pro, his Apogee ONE proves to be the ideal traveling companion to make recording on the road feasible and hassle free. Currently on a jam-packed international tour, Tommy kindly spared a minute to delight and entertain the folks at Apogee with a live performance and recording of Australia’s unofficial national anthem, “Waltzing Matilda.” Recorded with ONE’s internal condenser microphone at Berkeley Street Studio, his performance will be sure to inspire and amaze.

About Tommy Emmanuel, the ‘Guitar Wizard of Oz’

Tommy’s unique style – one he calls simply “finger style” – is akin to playing guitar the way a pianist plays piano, using all ten fingers. Rather than using a whole band for melody, rhythm, bass, and drum parts, Tommy plays all that- and more -on one guitar. Guitar legend Chet Atkins was one of the first to inspire Tommy to try this “fingerpicker” style as a child. Decades later, Atkins himself became one of his biggest fans.

His popularity in the US has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years, aided by a non-stop touring schedule and increasing exposure in the media. 2005 kicked off a stream of US honors and awards. Tommy was inducted into the National Thumbpickers’ Hall of Fame in Muhlenberg, KY (the only non-American ever to be selected) and was also awarded with Thumbpicker of the Year and Album of the Year. He played Carnegie Hall for Les Paul’s 90th birthday Tribute Concert and his The Mystery album earned a Grammy nomination in 2006 for Best Country Instrumental for “Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag.” In 2008, Guitar Player Magazine and Acoustic Guitar Magazine named him Best Acoustic Guitarist and Gold Medalist – Fingerstyle category- in the Readers’ Choice and Players’ Choice Awards, respectively. Most recently, in 2009, Tommy was honored by Guitar Player Magazine for the second time as “Thumbpicker of the Year” and was given, as mentioned earlier, the magazine’s Guitar Legend Award.

Tommy’s newest album and DVD Center Stage were produced in 2008 based on the popularity of his episode of a PBS series called “Sierra Center Stage” filmed live at the famous Sierra Nevada Brewery venue in Sierra Nevada, CA. Tommy’s Center Stage video has been featured on PBS stations around the country during 2009, drawing ever-larger sellout crowds to his live shows.

In all, Emmanuel’s catalogue includes 16 musical recordings running the gamut of solos, duets, ensembles, cover tunes, and originals, both electric and acoustic guitar. He has made several instructional DVDs and regularly teaches master classes on the road. At 54, performing live is more important to him than ever and he tours constantly. Guitar players of all levels come to his shows to watch the magic hands of the “Guitar Wizard of Oz,” but his appeal goes far beyond musicians. His live shows are known for their humor, passion, and infectious joy. The power of his charismatic showmanship will be foremost in his legacy.

Hear the raw audio file of Tommy’s performance on the Apogee Hear ONE page.

To learn more about Tommy or to check out his upcoming tour dates, please visit: http://www.tommyemmanuel.com/

Video Transcript

I’m Val Garay. I’m a producer/engineer. I started many years ago at the Sound Factory in Hollywood, started as an engineer. The early projects that I did when I first started out were Seals and Croft. I did a record with them that had “Summer Breeze” and “Diamond Girl.” Then, I started doing Linda Ronstadt records. Started with her with “Heart Like a Wheel.” I did all the pop stuff with her until she started doing Nelson Riddle albums. I did five records with James Taylor starting with “JT,” I did “The Pretender” with Jackson Browne, and then I built my own studio in Sherman Oaks called Record One and I started working there. I really started doing more production that engineering although I always did all my own engineering. I produced Kim Carnes, Joan Armatrading, Carlos Santana, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, The Motels- I did all their big hit records. It’s hard to remember them all.

And then about 6 years ago, I met Henry Marx and we started a record label and a studio here in Topanga, and I started developing artists. So i have a new artist named Bonnie Piesse whose record is about to come out. She’s Australian, wonderful singer/songwriter. I’m working with another girl right now named Katrina who is a great pop voice, kind of along the lines of Celine Dion. Then I have another girl singer named Erica Jane who came out of the Hip-Hop dance world.

The apogee gear that I have in my studio now is I have the AD/DA-16X converters and the Big Ben Clock, and the Rosetta 200 and the Apogee ONE, which I am absolutely in love with.

What I’m using the ONE for is, well, when I first got my hands on it, I didn’t quite understand what it was capable of. But the more I played around with it and watched a couple of how-to videos on the Apogee website, which were very good. It’s great because if you’re working with writers which I do all the time, and I write  myself, it’s such a great tool with GarageBand. It’s unbelievable because you can do things in GarageBand you could never do before, i.e. record guitars right into GarageBand with your own guitar, plug it in. Do vocals, plug it in, and they sound great. Because a lot of people use GarageBand and they use the mic in the Mac computer and it’s okay but it doesn’t sound anything like this one. The mic in the ONE is unbelievable. Being able to play back from iTunes through the ONE with the converters that are in it, also unbelievable. Be able to record with it, and use the mic in it. The mic… we were sitting in a hotel room in Miami about a week ago and everybody was just  unbelievably amazed listening on earphones with the mic open in the room… you could hear everything. But it’s an amazing tool, you can actually record a record with it if you wanted to. I suppose, i mean theoretically, that microphone sounds pretty amazing and you can plug anything into it you want and run it right into a laptop or regular computer. And, it’s not expensive which really amazed me.

The song you just heard in the video is “Soak It Up” by Bonnie Piesse.
Visit 321 Records here.

Visit The Script’s Website

Video Transcript

Danny: We are The Script from Dublin, Ireland, and we are here to talk about the Apogee ONE. We are very familiar with the Duet, this little piece of kit here. We have used that now for probably about seven or eight months, for all the capabilities for us being on the road. We are all producers at the end of the day. Being able to throw down ideas in the fastest amount of time is paramount for us. The Duet was amazing. We were thinking wouldn’t it be great if you were able to have a microphone in there, instead of lumbering around a microphone, jack and the whole shebang? And then they came out with it! The new ONE. They have a small little microphone, right there, which is perfect for those hotel rooms.

Mark: It’s USB, is it?

Danny: Yeah, It’s USB. It’s not actually going through Firewire at all.

Glen: It’s actually half the size of that one (pointing to Duet).

Mark: The big thing for anyone out there is that, as we know from traveling, that carrying microphones can be doggy on your microphone. With microphone climate changes that can mess up your microphone, and plus trying to carry it around is such a pain. But this actually has one of the best microphones I’ve ever heard in a machine. Especially when it’s not actually a microphone that’s just got a microphone in it. It’s got such good processors that, actually, you recorded a vocal on it the other night, didn’t you?

Danny: Yeah, I did. It sounded amazing. Even Bob Clearmountain himself heard it and said, basically, I can mix that. But you know, for people who have computers, even Logic, especially on this mac here, when I hit record, now this has a mic in it, and you’re able to throw down little ideas but there is a lot of latency on it. I mean, when you are trying to throw things down. For those of you who don’t know what latency is, it’s like a 3 or 4 second delay almost to when you sing to when you hear it. It’s very off-putting, especially if you want to just throw down ideas. The ONE has a piece of software called the Maestro. It also has all the volume knobs and all the buttons and stuff, but it’s got a latency control. And I have to say, as Mark was saying, it’s got the best quality mic I’ve ever heard on such a small piece of kit. Just to show you how cool it is, this is my mobile phone. Look at the size of it. It’s the same size as my mobile phone. So rather than you lumping around a whole lot of gear, whole lot of everything, microphones, the whole shebang, to be honest, this is where it is.

This is it. The ONE.

The song you just heard in this video is “Before The Worst.”