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lohogan

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  1. I hope this helps. Here goes: I'm using this setup on stage. The hardware is 3 rack space box with UAD Apollo Quad, Line6 V70 mic, and rack mounted Airport Express. Modified V-Stand with VAX77, Arturia 49, and MacBook Pro 15 with Retina. QSC K8 speakers, modified 10" Logitech subwoofers, Alesis DM8 drum kit, and 2 iPads, one for music, one for OSC remote. Modified pedal controls from Fender and Morley. 4 mics and other line inputs and s/pdif coming in through UAD Apollo Quad. Software instruments generated in MainStage 3, with help from ikMultimedia SampleTank3 and Arturia V2, plus multiple UAD plugins to sweeten the mix. All of this goes through the Apollo, and into Logic9, which supplies channel EQ and gain. (Logic uses hardly any processing power when that's all you use it for.) Everything routs back out through UAD Console app, and then to speakers. I removed everything but the mixer, pan, and EQ screens from LogicPad in TouchOSC on the iPad. (I even removed the record controls.) Strangely enough, the whole thing runs like a top. If there's no WiFi, I use the Airport Express as a local 5.8 GHz bridge (no internet access, on purpose.) I have to make a point of keeping the WiFi from the Airport Express on 5.8 GHz, so it doesn't interfere with my 2.4 GHz mic system. At one venue, there was a massive guest WiFi system that overran mine, so I jumped on theirs and my system still ran like a top. There's a steep learning curve to get all this going, but the hardware can actually handle it. I'm going to see about bringing my own 5.8 GHz hot spot with BIG antennas to put in the room, for when I'm having issues with the local WiFi environment. I use the paid version of inSSIDer on my Android phone to scan the environment to see what's on the WiFi frequencies. Otherwise, I would be running blind... The TouchOSC LogicPad interface is really comprehensive. You can simply remove the parts you don't want your sound person messing with.
  2. The brown is, I believe, a reference to "brown out", in other words, reduced power voltage. I'm pretty sure it's a Marshall Super Lead running on a variac set to about 80 volts - giving early distortion from power supply sag. Eddy Van Halen used a "Brown" setup. I found Guitar Amp Pro quite usable, but the main thing was to reduce the high end. At that point it got a lot creamier. I think one of the main things to do when trying to copy a sound is to A/B the two sounds and adjust the EQ on the copy until you have a match. That's one of the main things to do to get it to sound right. My guitar playing friend tells me that the two systems will respond to the guitar player differently, and there's nothing I can do about that that I know of. I input my guitar sounds off the keyboard...
  3. I'm trying to distribute Mainstage 2 processing between two computers. I'm running a MacBook Pro, and an Alesis io26 hooked to a Mini for the main pro output unit and mixer. I want everything to stay digital until it goes through the io26 for the last time, and out to the speakers. This is the hookup: 5 Mics and a guitar hooked up to the io26. The io26 is attached by firewire to the Mini. The MBPro is the keyboard processor. The s/pdif output on the MBPro is hooked through an s/pdif converter to the input on the io26, which is then processed as a digital audio input to the Mini. An instance of Mainstage 2 is running on both computers. The Mini is set up to do audio only, with a Korg nanoKontrol as a mixing surface velcroed to the keyboard. Another Korg nanoKontrol is used as an additional keyboard control, plugged into the MBPro. The problem is that the s/pdif link fails if there's no input from the first source. I think I've found something that kind of works. Open the Audio MIDI Setup on the Mini (the second computer with the io26 connected to it) and just keep it running. Open the Window/Audio Devices page and select SPDIF. When you select the dropdown where it says 8ch-32bit, the s/pdif system resets and the digital distortion vanishes. Open the same window on the MBPro and select the same dropdown. It appears that selecting the 2ch-24bit cures the distortion. If all I'm trying to do is distribute processing amongst multiple computers, for use in a 2 channel mainstage hookup, it appears I will be able to daisy chain computers through the s/pdif this way. I also have the option of using the additional inputs on the io26 for analog audio from other computers. Hope this helps?
  4. I'm using an Alesis io26, and it always works just fine. 8 good mic pres with inserts, 8 outputs, 2 headphones, midi, sounds great, runs on Firewire. The io26 is getting harder to find, but it is really good, compact, rugged, reliable. There's a similar box (rack mount shape) from presonus.
  5. If you have that many knobs on your setup, the basic fix I've heard of is to run two laptops, one for each controller. I'm running a controller with 4 pedals, pitch and mod controls, and a VAX77 keyboard. The knob controller I'm using is a Korg nanoKontrol - very reliable and effective. It has 9 sliders which I'm always using for Hammond patches, 24 buttons, and 9 knobs. The right four knobs are always set up to control the volume of 4 mics. The other five remap depending on the patch. 18 of the buttons are used as patch selectors, and the remaining six are hooked up as a recording toggle, panic button, and four Hammond controllers. I modified a Fender Volume/Tone pedal to give me control of two pedals at the same time (very nice - use 10k linear pots.) A Roland continuous damper rounds out the mix. One pedal is reserved for a knob on my lead singer's mic.
  6. I have found that when I restart Mainstage, patch name and patch number functions get reset to patch 1. I've found that program number behaves the way I would expect it to, that is to say, patches stay programmed and remembered. MacBook Pro 15" 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 duo 4Gb RAM, 120 Gb HD, OS 10.5.8 Logic Studio 9 Alesis iO26, Ensoniq (Fatar) Keyboard Toa K4 for vocals
  7. I've been very happy with the Alesis io26. 8 mic pres (Burr Brown chips that usually cost $25 each), inserts on all 8, meters, phantom power, 8 outs, 2 light pipe ins, midi in/out, firewire 400 with daisy chain, and it self powers off my MBPro. Did I mention it's built like a tank? Neutrik jacks, etc. I know it's not tweak audio, but it sounds awesome.
  8. I don't control volume from the foot pedal any more. I set the foot pedal to control "expression" and set the volume separately. That way, I can control the relative volume of two patches independently, and rely that they'll still be correct the next time I run MS. BTW, if you use a Korg microKontrol, you have massive control over a whole bunch of additional screen controls, live. $60. Do it! Use velcro to keep the microKontrol in place on your keyboard.
  9. The workaround to have more than one parameter mapping for one foot controller in MS1 is to put multiple foot controllers on the screen, all mapped to the one physical foot controller, then map each of the screen foot controllers to whatever parameters you want. I've been using a single foot controller to control the expression of up to four keyboard patches at the same time that way. MS2 is nicer, though.
  10. I have found turning off Airport to make a difference. Also, there's less latency when you disable the safety buffer. They tell me Mainstage 2 (Logic 9) uses multiple processors - I believe Mainstage 1 (Logic 8 ) uses only one. Another thing that can cause hiccups is loading more than 4G of instruments. (They say there's a 4G limit on memory, and then some kind of paging takes place.) I wonder if this is an issue on MS2? Also, you probably want to avoid using more than one instance of Space Designer, Delay Designer, and other things that are processor intensive. (A lot of instruments load their own copy of Space Designer. All you have to do is bypass the extra SD.) I run a CPU meter on my screen so I can easily see if I'm in trouble, and hopefully what did it.
  11. I was trying to use JackServer to hook GarageBand up to Mainstage so I can use the guitar rigs in GB with MS. The latency was out of hand, and there was also unacceptable delay with the pianos and such that don't go through GB. I had the latency set to 128 samples with the safety buffer checked. Just on a lark, I unchecked the safety buffer and tried it. Perfect! The pianos were awesome, and there wasn't any noticeable delay on the heavy metal guitar patch. If you have LATENCY issues, try UNCHECKING THE SAFETY BUFFER. (All in caps to help those who skim posts.) Now, what exactly does the safety buffer do?
  12. I'm getting good results for female voice by using a channel eq that is similar to the frequency response of a Neumann U47, which I googled. The eq is set up as follows: Low freq rolloff: 95Hz, -24db/oct, 0.71q (this is not part of the U47 response, but it works to control breathing and proximity artifacts.) 5000Hz, +3db, 1.70q 8100Hz, -2.5db, 1.90q 10000Hz, +4db, 1.60q 13000Hz, -3db, 1.30q The dip at 8100Hz helps control sibilance, which is not an issue with this setup. The effect is crisp, clean, and clear. When I'm recording the voice, I turn off all post processing except the channel eq, so there's no noticeable echo/latency. I'm using an Alesis iO26 with a Toa K4 mic. The Toa is a cardioid response with a 1/2" true condenser diaphragm. It has fairly low handling noise, so I use it live as well. I'm recording in a walk-in clothes closet.
  13. I use an Alesis iO26. It's not tiny, but it's smaller than a rack mount. It has balanced 8 in and 8 out with vu meters, volume controls, and phantom power on all ins, line level inserts, phono pres, guitar inputs (2), 2 8 channel light pipe inputs, midi IO, 2 headphone amps, and programmable thru for each of the 8 busses. It comes with Burr-Brown preamps, sounds awesome, built like a tank, and runs off the firewire port on the MacBook. I loop back from output 5 to input 1 in order to use the guitar amp models in GarageBand09 in Mainstage. Works great! It's available refurbished from the Alesis website for $227. Can't beat that with a stick...
  14. Get a piano teacher. Learn to play on a real piano, if you can. No, for real. Practice doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent. You absolutely need to know proper hand position, and turning the thumb under. Must. Know. Otherwise, your kung fu will be weak. Hanon will get your fingers working independently, so you can play melody lines. I always draw a crowd with how my left hand plays bass lines independently. That comes from playing classical music. Hey, can't hurt, huh? Now, learning how to play means your ear has to be working. Music is a sound, not something your hands do... To learn to play by ear, and to learn a lot of stuff you want to know, check out Jermaine Grigg's www.hearandplay.com website. He has enlisted some of the most awesome musicians to make DVDs and CDs where you can learn exactly how they make the sounds they get. I'm old, I'm good at what I do, and I want to see you win. (My secret, which I'm going to tell you right here, is that about 30 years ago, I decided to look for melodies, and leave the chords to themselves, because they would come anyway. This is the road less travelled, and it has made all the difference.) I would be totally rong if I didn't mention this: my playing started to truly blossom when I began to play for God. God alone deserves and owns the glory for what I can do.
  15. As far as directly going to a patch goes, it's very easy to duplicate the presets you want to use and copy them to the end of the concert. When I play in church every Sunday, during rehearsal I set up what patches I'm going to use and add them at the end. Then I divide the patches up with folders listing the name of the song and the key it's in (That key thing has been massively helpful over and over.) Then when next week comes, you delete all the new stuff and start over, or get really lazy and just edit the song names and drag new patches down. Also, you can have a button on your Korg nanoKontrol that goes to the next patch, and one that goes to the previous patch. At $60, there's no reason not to have something as awesome as the Korg nanoKontrol. It makes Hammond possible. I also discovered that if I want to pop back and forth between two patches, I can set the sustain pedal to be "next patch" on the first one, and "previous patch" on the second one. That way, I get the second patch as long as I'm holding the sustain down, and revert back to the first patch when I let go.
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