"Zeros and Ones" is the new official Mixcraft blog site!

[Acoustica Mitchell]

Hey all,

Wanted to post here and introduce myself. I'm Mitchell Sigman and I'll be writing "Zeros and Ones", Acoustica's new Mixcraft 6 blog. It'll be full of Mixcraft 6 tutorials, tricks and tips, recording, synth and programming how-to’s, maybe some info on other Acoustica software, pictures of my synths, my cats, my cats and my synths... you get the idea!

Please check out the first post, “Building Drum Tracks” at http://blog.acoustica.com/?p=40 and let us know what you think. And by all means DO let us know Mixcraft topics you'd like to read about - I'm all ears!

Cheers,

Mitchell Sigman

[outteh]

Saw that earlier on Facebook, welcome! Looks like we have some additional technical and artistic help! Looking forward to it. Be aware, there's a lot of midi drummers frustrated and looking for some great advice!

[fredfish]

Hey Mitchell

welcome - I am looking forward to reading the blog. Great to see another cat lover on the forum!!

Cheers

John

[TrevsAudio]

Yep, and it's a welcome from me too...

[Tiasdad]

Welcome to the Madhouse Mitchell, I'm looking forward to some Midi control blogs in the future

From a cat & dog lover

[Mark Bliss]

Welcome Mitchell!

Great start on the tutorial, and as outeh points out, very timely, as there has been a lot of discussion and questions on the topic of building midi drum tracks in the forum here lately.

I think all forms of information are valuable and I learn from each and every source I can find. So thanks for a new one! Also, I think the fact that you provided the project file is a nice touch! Gives everyone something extra to study and a way to work along as you describe the steps.

Good stuff!

[bob53050]

Welcome Mitchell,

I am looking forward to learning more about our great Mixcraft

Bob

[Acoustica Mitchell]

Thanks for the kind feedback. I love programming drums the "old-fashioned hard way" , so feel free to throw anything you like at me.

cheers

Mitchell

[outteh]

Thanks for the kind feedback. I love programming drums the "old-fashioned hard way" , so feel free to throw anything you like at me.

cheers

Mitchell

Which supplied "kit" provides the most realistic drum sounds?

[Acoustica Mitchell]

Tom... the Acoustica Studio Drums sound pretty darn good to me (they're included in all editions except for Mixcraft Home Studio),

That said, I have maybe a different perspective on drum samples than many. It seems to me that "the industry" is always trying to sell "SUPER MEGA DRUM SAMPLES!- 10,000,000 TERRAGIGS OF THE MOST AMAZING DRUM SAMPLES EVER!". I suppose they move lots of product this way, and maybe they get lots of musicians to trash the drum samples they were using last year.

But I've mixed many recordings of multi-miked live drum kits, and often the raw tracks sound pretty bad, but if you compress/EQ/reverb them properly, you can make them sound great. Of course it's nice to start out with something pretty good, but IMO, it's not really that important, because shaping them into what you like is kind of the fun part (at least for me!). I often still use the Bob Clearmountain drum and percussion sample sets (originally released in the early 90's, I think), and they still sound great!

[Mark Bliss]

Official nomination-awesome post of the week!
I think I'm gonna like this guy.

[outteh]

Thanks - I've been mixing the drum sets to achieve what sound I like in my mixes. And of course, the resident musicians have all pretty much agreed with your synopsis. Maybe it!s me but the Acoustica Studio Drums seem a tad muted? I always have to tweak them up some to get them "crisp and snappy"?

[MikeDVI]

I cant stand by and let this go by. Welcome from a new guy (me) to Mitchell!

So here I am on my soapbox offering this concept to everyone regarding sounds, be it drums or anything else for that matter:

Bands, musicians, have a "signature" sound. You can hear "who" it is before you even know the name of the newest greatest song on the radio.

That said, I submit that as home recording artists we should pursue that idea to a point also. We need to search carefully when looking for that latest greatest thing. As a new Mixcraft user, one of my goals is to maintain the overall sound very close to what I have been achieving on my soon-to-be-sold gear. As Mitchell stated: "It seems to me that "the industry" is always trying to sell "SUPER MEGA DRUM SAMPLES!- 10,000,000 TERRAGIGS OF THE MOST AMAZING DRUM SAMPLES EVER!".

I could not agree more. And as I post a few more songs you'll see I also practice what I am preaching here. I tend to stick with a certain sound in my humble tunes, and my little following here in NE Ohio, both musician and non-musicians, tells me they can "hear" in a song that it is me.

THAT goes a long way!!

My .02

Mike D, certified noob.

[Mark Bliss]

Agreed, and I think its important to note that those bands "signature sounds" often rely on a signal chain as much or more than any original source.
Example: the much discussed "clicky" kick Metallica drum signature sound. Love it or hate it, the thing to keep in mind is that those drums would sound much different in the natural acoustic environment, sans any processing.

My other point for the day, my recent excursion into music that has no drums at all has had an interesting releasing effect on me and my "personal style" by allowing me to quit hyper focusing on the drum tracks and sound........ Such a time suck!

[benhal9]

Read your blog minutes after it was posted on facebook, and am very much looking forward to reading more as you post them. I like your writing style. and you where very easy to understand. I can see getting a lot out of this blog.