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Tuesday, September 06, 2011Session Documentation: Choose Your Weapon
Kyle P. Snyder 09/06/11 02:57 PM,You’ve just finished a killer tracking session, one that you really want the ability to recreate, so now what? I’m generally confident in my memory for microphone placements and studio setup, except that plans change and what may have been easy to remember tomorrow suddenly needs to be compartmentalized until everyone is available again next month. Plus, there’s no remembering compressor or EQ settings, let alone values for gear that has less than descriptive front panels. So, what’s an engineer… View this post
20 Comments
Filed in: Recording • Feature • Blog • Technologist • Poll • Engineer • Sound Reinforcement • Studio • System • Technician -
Monday, August 29, 2011The Value Of UPS Protection In Your Studio
Kyle P. Snyder 08/29/11 12:45 PM,While the skies now shine bright over my home state of Indiana, less than a month ago it was particularly harrowing to use Pro Audio equipment in the Midwest. Why? Well, we were constantly plagued with blizzards and freezing rain, which had a fairly devastating effect on the local power grid. Though I never completely lost power this winter, it did often waver intermittently for hours. Thankfully, when I setup my studio, I invested in several Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)… View this post
5 Comments
Filed in: Recording • Feature • Blog • Technologist • Poll • Audio • Digital • Power • Software • Studio • Technician -
Wednesday, August 03, 2011Don’t Come Unglued; Bake A Tape!
Kyle P. Snyder 08/03/11 09:35 AM,In late 2008 I was called out by a friend to repair a Studer tape deck; an A827, which I had never used before. While I was very fortunate that the studio owned both the original alignment tape and tentelometer, the original (rather aged and unused) tape shed like crazy because of its storage conditions, and our inability to bake the tape before use. Baking has gotten myself and many a colleague out of a sticky (ha ha) situation. However,… View this post
8 Comments
Filed in: Recording • Feature • Blog • Technologist • Opinion • Poll • Audio • Business • Education • Studio -
Wednesday, July 20, 2011Session Interchange Options In A Pinch
Kyle P. Snyder 07/20/11 05:14 PM,You may be shocked to learn this, but there actually are DAW’s other than Pro Tools. You’re stunned, right? I just knew you would be. All kidding aside, I tend to do most of my work in Pro Tools, mainly because I just like the program better than the other options. However, I do have occasion to mix in other DAW’s from time to time depending on the needs of clients. For instance, the other day I was mixing across… View this post
13 Comments
Filed in: Recording • Feature • Blog • Technologist • Poll • Audio • Digital Audio Workstations • Digital • Education • Engineer • System • Technician -
Wednesday, July 13, 2011A “Walk Down That Lonesome Road” Of DAE Errors
Kyle P. Snyder 07/13/11 08:21 AM,Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, things just go wrong. I know because that’s exactly what happened to me today. I sat down at a workstation that worked perfectly the day before (OK, not perfectly, but you get the point), opened up Pro Tools with my MBox 2 Pro attached, and that’s when the trouble began. To rewind a bit, there’s a light on the front panel of the MB2 Pro. Mine is green because I use the power supply,… View this post
10 Comments
Filed in: Recording • Feature • Blog • Technologist • Opinion • Audio • Digital Audio Workstations • Digital • Power • Processor • Signal • Software • Studio -
Friday, June 10, 2011Identifying “Go To” Sources For Important & Necessary Microphone Data
Kyle P. Snyder 06/10/11 10:14 AM,It’s no secret an engineer’s knowledge of his tools is a source of great power. Any time I’m preparing for a recording session or live sound gig, the first thing I set upon once I determine the makeup of the ensemble and the equipment at my disposal is to determine how best to utilize the available microphones. One of the best tools any engineer has in this task are manufacturer specifications. However, many microphone manufacturer websites are laden with Flash… View this post
5 Comments
Filed in: Recording • Feature • Blog • Technologist • Opinion • Audio • Education • Microphone • Studio -
Monday, June 07, 2010iOS 4 And iPhone 4: What They Mean For You
Kyle P. Snyder 06/07/10 08:51 PM,Apple today presented the new iPhone 4. With features like the new Retina display, a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash, HD video recording, and Apple’s A4 processor, it’s hard to even imagine what this means for pro audio. iPhone 4 comes with iOS 4, the newest version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system, which includes over 100 new features and 1500 new APIs for developers. iOS 4 features, among a multitude of other new features, Multitasking, which is… View this post
13 Comments
Filed in: Live Sound • Recording • Feature • Blog • Technologist • Poll • AV • Audio • Digital • Engineer • Measurement • Monitoring • Processor • Signal • Sound Reinforcement • System -
Sunday, February 07, 2010Firewire Device Hierarchy: Does It Really Matter?
Kyle P. Snyder 02/07/10 07:40 PM,FireWire: it just sounds fast, doesn’t it? At the very least, it certainly sounds faster than USB. Perhaps that was Apple’s intention when they sat down with Sony, Texas Instruments, and many others to create an amazingly accessible data transfer specification that conjured up the image of reliability ease of use within the minds of users. However, if FireWire has one flaw, it’s that it’s too easy to use. What do I mean? Let’s compare the connectors for USB and… View this post
29 Comments
Filed in: Recording • Blog • Technologist • Opinion • Digital Audio Workstations • Digital • Ethernet • Interconnect • Manufacturer • Networking • Studio -
Monday, December 28, 2009The Technologist: Spotlight Versus Pro Tools - The Devil Is In The Details
Kyle P. Snyder 12/28/09 04:23 PM, 0 CommentsAs any Pro Tools user can tell you, the devil is in the details. Making sure that your system is properly optimized makes all the difference, as I found in my month-long battle with Spotlight. It all began when I started having random kernel panics, which seemed to be attributable to a Spotlight conflict. So, I set out to correct the issue. As specified by Digidesign on the DUC: “If Spotlight Indexing is running in the background, this can cause… View this post
Filed in: Recording • Blog • Technologist • Opinion • Digital Audio Workstations • Software • Studio




