Archive for the ‘Site News’ Category
AASG Turns One!
On February 1, 2009, we made our first post on this site.
We weren’t sure of what this site would become, and we definitely didn’t know if the site would actually LAST a whole year. We’ve seen blogs come and go, and I know Sanjay and I are very happy that AASG is still around.
If you would’ve asked me a year ago what my aspirations and hopes were for the site, I would’ve said that I wanted to attend a trade-show or two (we did), post some tutorials that people find useful (I think we did that), and start reviewing awesome hardware and software (we’re doing that, too).
Thanks to everyone who’s read, is reading, and continues to read the site! We wouldn’t do this if it weren’t for all of you!
Show Analog Some Love
Yeah, yeah, digital is everywhere. It’s great and flexible and full of amazing technology.
But Analog FEELS good. It SOUNDS good.
Isn’t that enough sometimes?
Show Analog some love by leaving some of your Analog memories in the comments or shooting us some tweets @askasoundguy or @benversluis
Just to show I’m a good sport, I’ll start:
My first recordings were all done on a four-track cassette deck that my first band bought together. We spent many many hours trying to get a decent recording in my parents garage with a couple of mics we bought at target or walmart or something along those line. We had a $150 drum set (mine) a couple of learner guitars and almost nothing resembling talent, but it was fun. That cassette deck (which I recently bought from the guitarist of that first band) was truly decked out – EQ’s, two aux sends and even dbx noise reduction (a compansion – compression then expansion – noise reduction system that gives you MASSIVE compression effects when tweaked). It also has a varispeed knob that let you speed up and slow down playback – and incredible feature which I use to make lo-fi tape flanging.
What a great machine…
Oh and the first time I recorded on a 24-track Studer at school, I almost cried. Although that might be because I was mixing-down on a SSL 9000. But yeah, I’m a digital man with a child’s analog heart.
Twibbon:
Want a Google Wave Invite?
Google Wave is the hottest new interweb trend since YouTube. I was lucky enough to get an invite to Wave and thus have been given a bunch of invites.
As of now, I have a total of 28 Google Wave invites that I would like to get out. Want one? Then participate!
- Send in a recording/audio production question to askasoundguy@gmail.com and I’ll send you an invite.
- Leave a somewhat thoughtful (read: no “google wave invite plz”) comment on any past or future posts.
- ReTweet any of what @benversluis or @AskASoundguy posts regarding the new site.
- Become a fan of ours on Facebook and post your email on the wall.
That’s all there is to it. So get involved and get a Wave invite!
The NPR Radio
Do you really like NPR? Can you not get enough “All Things Considered” or non-stop Saddle Creek-ish country/folk rock? Well, if any of that strikes you, you’ll probably want to consider picking this device up.
Owning one of these NPR streaming boxes is:
- Access more than 1,000 NPR station streams, more than 800 podcasts and audio archives of NPR programs.
- Quickly store and access their favorite NPR stations with a convenient “my NPR“ button on the front of the device.
- Access a comprehensive list of more than 16,000 validated Internet radio stations from around the world through Reciva®, a global market leader in Internet radio technology, in addition the NPR stations and content.
- In mere minutes, through a wireless of Ethernet connection, search by genre, location or keyword, and find NPR content and other world programming for free.
For $200, this can all be yours. It just seems to me that this product has a very limited market, but this will be really nice for that niche. Portions of the sales will also be donated to NPR, however the press release neglects to say what percentage goes to NPR.
New FTC Regulations Affect How Blogs Endorse Products
This isn’t really Music Production-related, but it seems relevant to how we relate to our readers. The FTC has some new regulations that kick in Dec 2009 that requires publishers to disclose if they received free products for review or were paid in anyway for their endorsement. It also requires that people selling things disclose any relationship to a person providing a testimonial for said product.
Roughly speaking this translates into: “Hey Internet, stop lying or it will cost you $”
While it does require me to type a few extra sentences in some of our posts – I think it’s about time bloggers were told that their honesty matters, especially in situations where people look for some sort of help or advice. Misinformation directed at nabbing sales is a huge problem for people sifting through the ever-growing population of “blogs” out there.
Last, and I think most important, I’d like to say that most manufacturers and software developers aren’t looking for a free thumbs-up. Sure, we submit our reviews for fact-checking, but we’re not getting told how to interpret who a piece of gear is good for, or what features are lacking in a software package. As we try to cover more gear and review more software, inevitably we’ll have to develop relationships with the makers and sellers of that equipment. Our promise is to give you honest, un-pretentious and practical advice about your music production needs.
As always, we can be reached at askasoundguy@gmail.com
Also, I’d like to make one thing explicitly clear: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice. I’m not qualified to give you legal advice. Please go read through the regulations yourself or talk to an actual lawyer before you go making changes to your content, etc. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm
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