06.01.2010

Chance to Enter to Win the Electronic Musician/Indaba Music Digital Mixtape Contest

Sonic Reality partners with Electronic Musician and Indaba Music for the Digital Mixtape Contest, here are quotes from the press release:

“Indaba Music is the online home for musicians worldwide. Sign up now to join remix contests, collaborate with others, share your music, learn from masters, and manage your musical life. Get started now, it’s free! EM Presents: Digital Mixtape Vol. 1 – Sonic Reality, one of the premier creators of pre-made loops, and Electronic Musician magazine, one of the world’s premier resources for the home recording musician, wants you to help compile a digital mixtape to be released through Electronic Musician. For this contest, Sonic Reality is providing you with a collection of samples from their R.A.W. loops pack. Enter your most compelling original composition using at least one of the provided Sonic Reality R.A.W. Loops. Your song could be one of 10 submissions to make this digital mixtape, to be distributed online by Electronic Musician. Don’t be afraid to step outside of the box for this one, we’re looking for the best and most compelling submissions. Take these amazing loops and be creative! R.A.W. Platinum Special Offer: As a special bonus for the month of June all participants in the contest and all members of Sonic Reality’s affiliate e-store “esoundz” can get an incredible $250 off the price of the massive R.A.W. Platinum Edition featuring over 50,000 loops in Rex, Apple Loops in Wave spanning a large range of music styles. The discount is available now by using the coupon code RAWPLAT when ordering from esoundz here. Submissions are Due by June 24, 2010 at 3:00 PM MDT. Voting Ends June 24, 2010 at 3:00 PM MDT.” – Indaba Music

Read the full article here

04.21.2010

DrummerTracks is demonstrated on YouTube

A creative video and audio demo from MSI’s main songwriter/performer.

Showing off what one can do with the grooves of the upcoming Ken Scott DrummerTracks and the recently released EpiK DrumS – A Ken Scott Collection virtual instrument, Jimmy Urine, the front man and main songwriter of the band Mindless Self Indulgence (MSI) takes us on a trip through creating an “MSI Track” using the grooves of Woody Woodmansey from David Bowie’s Spiders from Mars. While you have faithful recreations of classic album drum tracks in both the DrummerTracks song length grooves as well as the stereo and multitrack Rex grooves of EpiK DrumS – A Ken Scott Collection, as you can see and hear there’s an unlimited range of other styles that can be created with them besides that of the original context that it came from. From Classic Rock to Fusion to Hip Hop, Electronic, R&B and more, it’s like lifting the vintage drum grooves off of timeless records and being able to create any music you want. Jimmy shows us a great example of how he would use these grooves in his style of music creation.

Watch the user demonstration here:

You can listen to the full audio track here:

04.20.2010

DrummerTracks Provide “Instant Gratification for Sketching Songs Quickly- These Rock!”

Music Connection Magazine and Gear Lust reviewer, Barry Rudolph, reviewed Sonic Reality’s new DrummerTracks, and had these quotes to share:

“For instant gratification and making up song sketches quickly, these Rock! I should think you’d want all ten albums–why limit yourself?…For drum tracks with even more live feeling, each collection includes a folder of two to four Bonus Live Tracks–drums played live not to a click track. A lot of the LZ Grooves are compressed viciously and Levee Beat is way over the top. B Grooves are a dryer and tighter sound that follows those Liverpool songs well. In the Funk Soul album the Bonus Live Tracks folder has Stacks of Soul–a drum track that sounds lifted from the ’70’s hit record and black exploitation movie Shaft. I found lots to like in all these albums of drum tracks and they are just fun to play and play along with–the most important things for me. Lastly, Sonic Reality also has an app for the iPhone® that includes 10 songs from the DrummerTracks™ range for only $1.99, The interface has speed control, count in and instant endings.” – Barry Rudolph, Music Connection

Read the full article here

04.08.2010

Music Connection reviews the new Serafine FX Tron by Sonic Reality for the Infinite Player powered by Kontakt

Barry Rudolph’s Report for Music Connection features his review of the newly released FX Tron sound effects workstation created by famous sound effects designer Frank Serafine and Sonic Reality, here are quotes from the article:

“Called FX Tron, it is a sound effects workstation that comes with a wide range of sound effects for film, TV, games, radio, music or any multimedia project. I loaded up FX Tron into my Pro Tools rig and was presented with preconfigured groups of related sound effects called Multis (multi-samples) ready to be “preformed” to picture (if you like)–using a USB/MIDI keyboard. If you have not used a Kontakt-based player before, know that each sample in a Multi has a mixer, can be truncated, altered in pitch and time to fit and processed through a set of a synth-like filters and more. Individual samples are also available to be layered, processed, and manipulated in any way you like. I also found the search ability of the Infinite Player essential for locating just the right noise for adding sound effects to picture–this feature will save hours of hunting and auditioning. FX Tron shapes up to be one of those “how did I ever get along without it” products and it is a must-have for any composer, media producer, post production house, DJ or music creator looking for film quality sound effects for their music or media productions.“ – Barry Rudolph, Music Connection

Read the full article here

04.05.2010

Ken Scott discusses EpiK DrumS: A Ken Scott Collection and the future of music recording

Elianne Halbersberg’s Report for Planet Ill features Ken Scott discussing his collaboration with Sonic Reality to create EpiK DrumS: A Ken Scott Collection, here are quotes from the article:

“As today’s producers, engineers and home-recording musicians increasingly turn toward technology to create their beats, Scott has teamed up with Sonic Reality and released the ultimate in drum software: A Ken Scott Collection — EpiK DrumS, the first in a series. EpiK DrumS features original drummers recreating their distinctive styles and making them available for use “as is,” as well as for applications and a learning tool. Planet Ill spoke with Ken Scott about EpiK DrumS, the art of recording real drums, and the future of production and technology. When asked how he got involved with Sonic Reality and the EpiK DrumS project, Scott replied, ‘I was asked so many times over the years how to get this sound and that sound, and originally there was an easy answer, but time has gone by and the gear that was used then has been thrown to the back and it’s harder to get those sounds without it. I worked on a sample project [Fab Four Virtual Instrument] a couple of years ago and it was a blast. It seemed a good way to get those sounds to people. I hooked up with Dave Kerzner and Sonic Reality and then five drummers I had worked with in the past: Bill Cobham, Bob Siebenberg, Terry Bozzio, Woody Woodmansey and Rod Morgenstein. I specifically picked them because each had a very distinctive sound and each a totally different style from the others. The result is A Ken Scott Collection – EpiK DrumS, which can either be totally played or programmed by the user, or the grooves can be pieced together. Or even a little of each.’” – Elianne Halbersberg, Planet Ill

Read the full article here

04.01.2010

Rock Royalty Ken Scott Records EpiK DrumS: Interview from UAudio.com

Here are quotes from the interview with Ken Scott about the recording of EpiK DrumS: A Ken Scott Collection, from the Universal Audio website:

“Scott had his start in the ‘60s working as a tape op at Abbey Road Studios and from there went on to engineer and produce timeless songs, such as “I Am The Walrus,” “Rocket Man,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “Walk on the Wild Side,” and many others. Scott keeps busy these days with EpiK DrumS–A Ken Scott Collection, a virtual drum and groove instrument from Sonic Reality in which Scott recorded and mixed samples by his favorite drummers: Bill Cobham (Mahavishnu Orchestra), Terry Bozzio (Missing Persons), Woody Woodmansey (Bowie’s Spiders from Mars), Bob Siebenberg (Supertramp) and Rod Morgenstein (Dixie Dregs). This collection is so large that it comes on a hard drive. I used a Trident A-Range board with every one of these drummers. So that was the logical desk to use. Then it was trying to match up the studio that had the A-Range with the acoustics of the room that we originally recorded in. Then it was finding the mics. That was easy–costly [laughs], but we found them. And then it was on to the drums themselves. Some were easy. Terry Bozzio, one of the drummers, he still had basically the original kit that we used back in the early ’80s when I recorded him with Missing Persons. Some of the others, like for Bill Cobham, were really hard to find, because he used Plexiglas Fibes drums, who are now out of business, and it was very hard, because he used so many toms back then…we managed to patch something together, most of which is Fibes. A couple of others we had to throw in, but they matched up perfectly. I started off having them play along with the records that I’d done with them, to match up the sounds. Once I was happy with that, we just had them play the ` grooves from the records. Then once we’d got those, it was, ‘OK guys, now play whatever you want to.’ And that’s what they did. One of the things that will be happening with EpiK DrumS is called A Ken Scott Collection: EpiK DrumS. The reason it’s “a” Ken Scott collection is that we do eventually want to have “the” Ken Scott collection, which would cover lots of different instrumentation, not just drums. So the next thing that we will be doing will be all basses. And once again, it will be a similar situation, where it will be six bass players that I’ve worked with in the past very successfully, and recreating their sounds as well.” – Marsha Vdovin, Universal Audio Webzine

Read the full article here

03.29.2010

Mickie blogs about Sonic Reality’s release of 10 DrummerTracks

Mickie’s Blog for Mickie’s Zoo Blog announces and discusses DrummerTracks by Sonic Reality and the release of ten new titles, here are quotes from her blog:

“Sonic Reality, co-creators of premium sampled drum products have released 10 brand new “DrummerTracks™” titles for guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, songwriters and other musicians who want to play along with professional “album quality” drum and percussion backing tracks. Designed for songwriting inspiration, practice, play-along performance and fun, DrummerTracks™ offer the same high-quality drum sounds that Sonic Reality is known for in a simple easy-format that anyone can use…Sonic Reality is releasing two different versions of DrummerTracks titles: Pro Wave and Standard MP3 Editions. The Pro Wave Edition titles have full CD quality WAVE files that can work in any media player, DAW or recorder/player. They come with the license to create commercially released music using the included DrummerTracks of that title. Pro Wave Edition DrummerTracks titles include 10 drum songs that lock to tempo plus additional bonus “live” tracks with natural drift and loose human feel. The Standard MP3 Edition titles come with 10 high-quality compressed MP3 format drum songs with no additional bonus tracks. Offered at a lower price, they come with a recreational-use license only and do not include the professional commercial use license that comes with the Pro Wave Editions. DrummerTracks Standard MP3 Editions are ideal for use with iPod®, iPhone®, iPad® and any MP3 player. It is as simple to use as pressing the play button on the player and jamming along with your musical instrument anywhere you go. For on-going official and unofficial “user demo” videos and contests, please follow DrummerTracks on Twitter and Facebook, and please visit the YouTube channel.” – Mickie, Mickie’s Zoo Blog

Read the full article here

03.18.2010

Ken Scott answers questions about his expansive career while promoting EpiK DrumS: A Ken Scott Collection

Elianne Halbersberg’s Report for Gibson features Ken Scott answering questions about his career while promoting EpiK DrumS:  A Ken Scott Collection, here are quotes from the article:

“If The Beatles are part of your musical vocabulary, then producer/engineer Ken Scott is also a part of your music collection. Scott has been making records since he was 18, and among those records are the White Album, A Hard Day’s Night, Magical Mystery Tour, and countless others. Lately, Ken Scott has been in the news for his new A Ken Scott Collection: EpiK DrumS, the first in a series of software packages he has created with Sonic Reality. While an expert in miking and recording drum sounds, Scott also knows guitars and the techniques to capturing tone. Best of all, he mastered the craft the old-fashioned way: using and cutting tape in the days when the artist was king and creativity, not market research, ruled the studio. ‘…I started working with The Beatles, which was a blessing because they never wanted anything to sound the way it would normally sound, so we got to experiment a lot without worrying about budget or pissing the artist off. It was a perfect learning environment for me as a sound engineer’, said Scott, ‘…Learn from your mistakes! Today, it’s all cut and paste, on the grid, mistakes aren’t allowed. With The Beatles, mistakes would happen and they became a vital part of the recordings…Does anyone know what makes something great? If it comes from the heart, it stands more of a chance of lasting.’” – Elianne Halbersberg, Gibson

Read the full article here

03.01.2010

Ken Scott while promoting EpiK DrumS: A Ken Scott Collection stops to answer some in-depth questions from fans

Elianne Halbersberg’s Report for Premier Guitar features Ken Scott answering questions from the reporter as well as select fans about his career while promoting his new software with Sonic Reality, EpiK DrumS: A Ken Scott Collection, here are excerpts of Ken’s quotes from the article:

“’It’s funny, I remember an engineer who, when mixing, would zero out everything every night just so that no one could copy how he got his sound. To me, that’s such bullshit, because you can copy to the nth degree and it still will not come out like it’s him or me doing it. There’s a sensibility that’s indefinable. It has nothing to do with EQ and reverb. It basically comes down to the same way I mic’ed drums back in the day: a Neumann U67, now a U87, and normally some kind of compression, maybe an LA-3A [Audio Leveler] or something like that. With acoustic guitar it has changed a bit. With the Beatles I used an AKG d19c. It was a general-purpose mic and I liked it for a lot of things. I also used U67s and AKG C12s.’ When Scott was asked what it was like to lead Beatles sessions he replied, ‘They were in complete control, but they were absolutely open to input. Sometimes that input was purely accidental…Sometimes that input was meant as a joke.’ When asked what John used on ‘Revolution’ to create the fuzz tone Scott replied, “They were overdriving two of the mic preamps on an EMI REDD desk that was being used at the time. I was a mastering engineer at the beginning of the White Album recordings, and I happened to go to Studio 3, where they were recording that track. John, Paul and George were all in the control room and had their guitars plugged directly into the board, and Ringo was all on his own on the drums in the studio. Geoff Emerick came up with a very cool way to distort by going in one preamp to overload and into another preamp to distort it even more.”" – Elianne Halbersberg, Premier Guitar

Read Part 1 of the full article here

Read Part 2 of the full article here

02.22.2010

Ken Scott shares his stories about recording songs like “Helter Skelter” and “Rocket Man” and also sidebars EpiK DrumS: A Ken Scott Collection

Barbara Schultz’s Report for MIX features Ken Scott discussing his career and Sonic Reality’s EpiK DrumS: A Ken Scott Collection in an in-depth “Classic Tracks” Feature, here are quotes from the article:

“Scott’s desire to offer these classic sounds to the masses stemmed from a conversation he had at a re-visit to Abbey Road Studio 2, where he became re-acquainted with Brian Gibson, a maintenance engineer he’d worked with on Beatles sessions back in the day. ‘We hadn’t seen each other in donkey’s years,’ Scott says. ‘He told me had specifically asked to work that day so we could have a chat about old times. And he said, ‘Do you remember, when we started here, there were all these old timers who had the most incredible stories of the beginnings of recording? And we used to just sit there listening, fascinated by what they were saying.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’ And he said, ‘Well we’ve now become them. The next generation now wants to hear our stories.’ The Beatles: “Helter Skelter” (The White Album, 1968) Scott sets the record straight about the mood in Abbey Road Studio 2 for these sessions, which took place early in his long career. George Harrison: “What Is Life?” (All Things Must Pass, 1970) Scott overdubbed and mixed tracks for this singular, Phil Spector-influenced song. Elton John: “Rocket Man” (Honky Château, 1972) After leaving Abbey Road and joining Trident Studios, Scott found himself traveling to France with Gus Dudgeon and a cutting-edge artist called Elton John. America: “I Need You” (America, 1972) Back at Trident, Scott tracked and mixed the debut album from a transplanted folk-rock trio. Devo: “Secret Agent Man” (Duty Now for the Future, 1979) Scott and his family moved to L.A. when Scott was working steadily with Supertramp. During this period, he was frequently found at Chateau Recorders in North Hollywood, Calif. Missing Persons: “Walking in L.A.” (Spring Session M, 1982) Scott saw something in the Missing Persons that contradicted label rejections and even his own better judgment.” – Barbara Schultz, MIX

Read the full article here