Feel like helping develop a new piece of sampling software? Maize are currently developing the Beta version of Maize Sampler 2, to go alongside their ‘Modular Studio Environment’ a VST and effect chaining/mixing shell. They’re inviting producers to download the latest version of the sampler beta, and use it for a couple of weeks before reporting back with feedback and information on any bugs you might find. Be quick though, the software’s license will run out in a fortnight’s time.
The recording studio downstairs here at RouteNote Towers is only a modest affair, certainly no Abbey Road, but making sure everyone involved in the running of the studio or the scheduling of a project can still get complicated. This web app from Gain Studio aims to arrange your business neatly, and make it remotley accessible, so that multiple members of staff can use it even when they’re not offsite. You can also:
- Book sessions and assign rooms, staff, resources etc to each one, then easily edit them.
- Easily track tasks by assigning jobs, tickets, and to-do lists to staff, setting due dates and priorities.
- Track your equipment and reserve it for sessions.
- View calendars for every room, staff member and piece of equipment, or get an overview of the whole studio in one place.
Of course you can also manage staff calendars etc on Google Calendar or even Outlook, and having all your studio’s co-ordination happen online can be a problem if your internet connection goes down, but this does seem a neat way of collating all the necessary information and making sure everyone’s on the same page. The basic version, for smaller studios (like ours) is free, but if you’re managing a massive organisation with tens of projects and multiple simultaneous recording sessions you’ll need to pay for a premium version (up to $399 a month!). That said, they’re running a month’s free trial at the moment, so you don’t lose anything by taking a look.
Waves continue their domination of digital music production releasing the first product for their ‘Signature Series’, The Tony Maserati Collection. 
For the amateur producers / engineers that haven’t heard the name, Maserati is the ‘genius’ behind hundreds of hip/hop, RnB, pop chart toppers that include Britney Spears, Beyonce, MJB, David Bowie and Jay-Z. Crap tracks? Maybe. But even the most of ‘anti commerce in music’ must appreaciate the level of quality in mix and production of modern pop music. Maserati is hailed as being the principal archetect of the modern New York pop sound and widely respected as one of the worlds most clinical mixing engineers.
Maserati has worked closely with the guys at Waves Audio to front this collection of plug-ins in an attempt replicate his personal engineering, mixing and production styles.
Maserati says “I’ve been using Waves from the beginning. From dynamics and EQs to special effects, most of the tracks I’ve mixed have Waves on them. Waves did an amazing job turning my personal processing chains into custom plug-ins.”
The Collection includes:
Maserati VX1 Vocal Enhancer
• Maserati B72 Bass Phattener
• Maserati ACG Acoustic Guitar Designer
• Maserati GTi Guitar Toner
• Maserati DRM Drum Slammer
• Maserati HMX Harmonics Generator
Each advertised with high status names, check the waves website for specifics.
Definately worth a look for all kinds of RnB, Hip/hop producers out there and any body else who wants to create a clean, powerful sound.
The Tony Maserati Collection RRPs at around $800 US, but im sure, just like anything else you can torrent the software for free… ooops, did I say that?
