Daddy's Blog

Just In at Daddy’s Junky Music - Fishman Loudbox Mini

bfoley — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:42:29 +0000

If you’ve ever tried to buy an acoustic amp, like me, you’ve probably had mixed results. Acoustic amps tend to be a little on the “coffee shop” side of the spectrum, meaning, they sound decent, but they are small and not very loud. A few years back Daddy’s started carrying the Fishman Loudbox series of amplifiers. These are, in my opinion, one of the best acoustic amp lines that I’ve ever heard. We just got a new model in the Fishman Loudbox line here at Daddy’s that is a great place to start for someone who is looking for a high quality Fishman acoustic amp, but doesn’t want to spend a ton of money. Introducing the Fishman Loudbox Mini.

The Fishman Loudbox Mini is a 60 watt, 2 channel amp with digital reverb, and chorus built in. It also has an 1/8″ mini jack for an iPod or MP3 player, as well as a balanced XLR output that you can use to run direct to a PA system or recording device. If you’re looking for an acoustic amp that packs plenty of punch for larger rooms, but still has the sound quality that you need to properly capture and reproduce your acoustic tone, then look no further. The Loudbox Mini is a sweet little amp, that’s not so little on volume, sound quality, and features. The Loudbox Mini is $299.99 and is available at any Daddy’s Junky Music location, or by calling 800-373-8393 X100 to order from Daddy’s Online.

And then there were three..

Michael Tocker — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:55:53 +0000

I assembled the third an final Canopus kit, as promised, early yesterday morning and displayed it with the Birch and R.F.M. kits already stationed in front of the drum area in Boston. It’s the Natural Oil Sword Bop “Katana” kit. Simple, yet elegant. This kit is less money than the others though still made in Japan,and is just as pro. This 18″kick, 12″rack tom , and 14″ floor tom , complete w/single tom holder, sells for under $1900.So stop by the Boston Store and check out all 3 Canopus kits, and all 3 Canopus snare drums, plus hardware and snare wires this month. See ya.

http://www.canopusdrums.com/en/index.html

Michael Tocker-drums

Pro Tools - Recording Audio - by Hirsh Gardner

mgroove — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:36:08 +0000

The very first thing you will want to do is check your hardware settings. Go to the Setup Menu, click on it, scroll down to hardware and open the below box. Since our first recording will be with a mic, guitar or keyboard using the audio output, click on Channel 1-2 Analog button. Clicking on the S/PDIF button will allow you to record from a digital source such as a Dat player or other digital playback system. By default the Clock Source will be internal-leave it there for our analog recording.

Setup Menu, then choose hardware.

Create A Track

Once you have opened a new song and saved it in a session folder (see my last blog) go to the New Track menu. Click on “New” and the New Track dialog box will open. Let’s create a Master fader first.

Master Fader

Open the dropdown that says mono and choose stereo. Open the dropdown that says Audio Track and choose Master Fader. Now click the Create button and you will have a Master Fader which can be used to determine the overall level of your recorded tracks. Now we will create an input track for our instrument or mic.

Aux Input Track

Let’s record a guitar track but the same instructions apply to recording a mic as well. Go back to the Track menu and click it. Then click on Aux Input. This is the track that represents the input of the M-Box or whatever interface you are using. Hit create and you now have an Aux input track showing on your mixer screen. Double Click on the channel strip that says Aux 1 and change it to Gtr In (or Mic in).

You now want to go up the channel strip to I/O and where it says “no input” click on that and go to interface and click on 1 mono. The channel that you created is now hooked up to the input of the hardware. Plug your guitar into input 1 of the M-box. We should now hear sound. But, you cannot record onto an Aux Input channel. So go back to the Track menu and click New, then click Audio Track, then hit create. You now have an audio track and this is where we will record your music.

Bussing the Audio

In order to get the sound coming into the Aux Input to an Audio Track we must Bus it to that track. Look on the Aux Input channel strip until you locate the I/O section. Click on the second tab that says Analog 1-2, go to the Bus tab and choose Bus 1. Now go to the Audio track labeled Gtr 1 and in the I/O section open the top tab, go to Bus and click on Bus #1. Arm the record button on the audio track and you have successfully Bus’d from your Audio Input Track to you Audio Track.

A lot of people record right into their Audio track. You can do this. I choose to use the above method because when doing multi tracking of guitars or vocals I usually use a compressor or EQ inserted in the Aux Input. Doing this allows me to establish my guitar or vocal sound and then have that same sound bus’d to the other tracks. So, recording more guitar tracks…just add another Audio Track and click on the input button and then click on Bus 1 (the bus that carries the Gtr signal from the M-Box). Arm your recording button on the new track and you can now double track or do multiple overdubs using the same guitar sound.

Start Recording

Use the input volume knob on the M-Box to set your levels. Click the red record button, then the play button and you are recording. Or, use the keyboard shortcut: “Apple-spacebar.” To stop the recording, hit the spacebar again, or the square on the transport panel. I usually monitor the edit window while recording. You can see your waveform as you record.

And there you have it. You can now record multiple tracks of guitar.

“Your Canopus is here”

Michael Tocker — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:00:03 +0000

This is how how my my daughter Justice, who has been a greeter at the Boston Store this summer and receives FEDEX and UPS packages, paged me 3 times this past week. First on Monday we received the previously mentioned Birch kit. It has a sweet 14″x20″ kick, 8″x12″ rack tom and a 14″x14″ floor. It’s in the Tobacco Burst Oil finish. The Birch Series Drums do not have reinforcement hoops. They have plenty of low end and projection. This kit would be at home in a jazz club, funk bar, or your spacious antique decorated living room , just far enough away from the fireplace to do any damage. On Wednesday a box w/2 snare drums showed up. One was “The Maple” in 6.5″x13″. This has become a popular size. More pop less snare buzz. The depth keeps the drum sounding big and full. This drum is in Royal Blue Lacquer w/brass lugs and die cast hoops. The 2nd snare is Birch and 5.5″x14″. It is in Ebony Matt lacquer and has chrome hardware. Simple and classy. It’s got a lower pitch organic earthiness to it when played. It sounds like that snare on that old album that you loved where no effects were added. In the middle of Friday, yesterday, afternoon I got the last page of the week. There were two boxes. The day was too busy so I was not able to assemble what was contained on the inside. I didn’t even open the boxes as I knew I would want to assemble them during hectic afternoon business. I know what’s inside though. It’s one of the new moderately priced Sword” Katana” maple jazz kits. The lugs are different and there are no reinforcement hoops. The finishes are simpler too. There are only two finish choices, Natural Oil for Jazz Bop Kit and Charcoal Oil for Rock kit(22″,10″12″14″) , available. So the that we recieved guess t is Natural. I will arrive early at work on Monday and assemble them. Stay tuned.
Michael Tocker-drums

New at Daddy’s Junky Music Zoom H1 Recorder

bfoley — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:47:11 +0000

Every day something new shows up at the Daddy’s warehouse here in Manchester, NH. Whether it’s a new product, product line, or cool special order for one of our customers, there’s always something new around the corner. That’s one of the things that I love about working here is that I can stay up to the minute on all the newest, coolest gadgets. One of the cooler things that’s showed up here in the last few days is the new Zoom H1 Recorder.The H1 is the newest entry in the extremely popular line of Zoom portable recording products. They also have the H4 and H2. If you want to check out some more detailed information and specs on those products visit the Samson/Hartke/Zoom website here. The H1 is the lightest and most portable 2 track digital recorder they offer. One of the really cool features that I appreciate on this device is that it has all of the hardware controls on the surface. You’re not going to have to dig through endless menus to get this thing to function the way you want it to. Simple hardware controls are always best.This recorder was designed for ease of use, portability and sound quality. Another nice feature is that it uses a standard mounting adapter that will give you the ability to use it easily with your Digital Camera or Video Recorder when you need to capture higher quality audio to go along with your movies. All this and a price of $99.99 just can’t be beat. This item is available at any of the 20 Daddy’s retail store locations or by calling 800-373-8393 X100 to order by phone. Our first shipment was limited, so if you’ve been waiting for something like this to come along that will not only easily fit your pocket, but also your budget, then you should call now. They’re going to go fast. Remember, Daddy’s rents, repairs, buys, and loves to trade. Thanks for choosing Daddy’s Junky Music!

Pro Tools - by Hirsh Gardner

mgroove — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:51:02 +0000

Opening and Saving a New Session

1. Digidesign hardware must be connected and turned on for the software to launch. If you get a warning that the hardware is not connected, check all cables and if still a problem go to the Digidesign web site and go to their SUPPORT AND DOWNLOADS page. This is a valuable resource and one that I use whenever confronted with a Pro Tools problem.

2. Once Pro Tools is open, select File > New Session…

3. Name your project, select the hard drive where you want to save your project-a drive other than the drive where your software resides, and make the following selections in the “Session Parameters” box to ensure maximal compatibility and minimal processing:
o Audio File Type: BWF (.WAV)
o Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz
o Bit Depth: 16 bit or 24 bit
o I/O Setting: Last Used should be fine
o Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility: this will assure you that if you mix a Mac session on a PC, all files will be compatible.

4. When done, click “Save” to create your new session.

5. I usually name each folder the same as the song file and make sure the song file resides in the song folder.

When you create a new session, Pro Tools creates the following files and folders in your save location folder.
1. a main project folder named after your session
2. a session file with the extension “.ptf”
3. Audio Files and Fade Files folders, a Region Groups folder

Saving Your Work

Make sure you are “saving” religiously. As a matter of fact, you have an auto save function that should be on and I auto-save every 5 minutes. It is much easier to recover from mistakes or return to an earlier version of a project if you have a series of session files (e.g., “yoursessionname01.ptf”…”yoursessionname99.ptf”). The key is to save frequently and with some easily-recognizable series of filenames. Don’t worry about taking up drive space, these session files are small.

Important! When moving between workstations-

The file “yoursessionname.ptf”. contained in your session folder does not contain any of your recorded audio. Whenever you move from workstation to workstation, be sure to copy and bring the ENTIRE contents of your project folder, including the “.ptf” file(s) AND the “Audio Files” and “Fade Files” folders, along with any other folders Pro Tools has created within your main project folder. Check that you have these files saved on your external hard drive or burned to CD or DVD as data before you move to a new workstation.

Hirsh Gardner Productions

So opening and saving a new session is a pretty easy function but a very important one. I have just completed an album for Willie Nile, “House of 1000 Guitars” (check it out!!!) There were 12 songs in the project. I had one main folder named Willie Nile CD. Inside that folder were 12 folders, each with all the individual song folders and their accompanying files. The Willie Nile CD folder was in my main “PRO TOOL SESSIONS” folder on my D drive with the Pro Tools application on my C Drive. Keeping track of different songs and mixes is fairly simple but six months or a year from now, going back to do a remix can be difficult if you don’t document properly. Name and date all mixes (.ptf files) as follows:

12_2 House of 1000 Guitars.ptf
12_3 House of 1000 Guitars More BD.ptf
12-4 House of 1000 guitars12_3 more Ld Vx

I would also recommend keeping a note book handy and beside each session file (12_2 House of 1000 Guitars.ptf) write in detailed notes of what you changed in the session and any of the artist’s comments.

Well that’s it for now. Next week will get into recording. If you have any questions please contact me.
Hirsh Gardner, GM
Daddy’s Junky Music Boston
hgardner@daddys.com

Canopus Month and Zildjian Day..

Michael Tocker — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:25:44 +0000

..are two events happening in the drum department at Daddy’s Boston in September. I’ve written about Canopus drums before. They are amazing hand crafted drums from Japan. We’ve had a set of R.F.M Maple shell drums in the past. R.F.M. stands for reinforcement maple as these drums feature very thin maple shells, with thin reinforcement hoops. The reinforcement hoops vary in height depending on the size of the drum. These drums are very resonant and full, like no drums I’ve heard before. They sing with just a light touch. We have another , new R.F.M. kit in Boston now in Walnut Satin oil finish w/brass lugs. The sizes are 18″ bass drum, 12″ rack tom, 14″ floor tom and 14″ snare. We will receiving a Birch kit any day now. I’ve heard great things about Canopus Birch drums but haven’t seen or heard a kit up close yet. So for now I’ve been staring at the catalog and waiting for UPS guy daily like a kid right before his birthday. This kit will have similar sizes to the R.F.M. drums mentioned above except will feature a slightly more versatile 20″ bass drum. I’m not sure what color it will be so it will be a surprise. We will also be getting a couple of separate snare drums to showcase to go along with the solid shell 6.5″x14″ Zelkova snare that we already have. One snare will be 13″ and one will be 14″. One will be Birch, and the other Maple. I am unsure of colors but wait with anticipation to crack open the boxes. I consider us very lucky to be able to showcase such finely crafted beautiful instruments from Canopus. We were also lucky enough last month to have a visit from Mr. Shinichi Usuda, the President of Canopus Drums. We had drum talk on the sales floor for awhile and I learned some things. You can see a picture from the visit down below. Daddy’s Boston , along with stocking Canopus Vintage Snare Wires in 13″ and 14″ and snare belts, is also stocking some lightweight hardware. When I say lightweight I rally mean it. The flat base CCS-1F cymbal stand folds up small enough and is light enough that you could carry a couple in your backpack. The same can be said for the flat base CSS-2F snare stand and CHS-1 hi-hat stand both which are also very light. Along with being thin and lightweight , this hardware is also made very well. Stop by and check it out along with all the Canopus Drums featured during Canopus month at Daddy’s Boston in September.
I can’t believe that it’s been 4 years since we had our first ZILDJIAN DAY at Daddy’s Boston, but it has. OK I’m getting a little teary eyed and nostalgic now, but you never forget your first. Well the 4th ANNUAL ZILDJIAN DAY in Boston is Friday September 17th from 11-7. If you’ve ever been to one of our Zildjian Day’s you know how cool it is. Zildjian brings boxes of prototypes ( Sound Lab) to the event. I usually don’t know what they are until the day of the event. In the past we’ve had prototypes of the Bill Stewart inspired Complex Ride (3 sizes, different weights), The Kenny Washington and Jeff Ballard inspired Overhammered and Bounce Ride’s and all the different sizes of K Light Hi-Hats , to name a few things, many months before these cymbals officially became part of the Zildjian catalog. There are also many prototypes that never become part of the catalog. The prices that day, especially on prototypes, are as the kids would say “off the hook”. Zildjian will also be carting regular stock cymbals along, most from the K, K Custom and K Constantinople lines, that will also be heavily discounted on the day of the event only. So mark that day on your calendar. (cut and paste here) FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 17TH, 11-7, ZILDJIAN DAY, DADDY’S BOSTON). Remember , also like every other day, we take trades at this event. Thanx and see you soon.
Michael Tocker-drums

Vintage Gretsch 6152 - Rickenbacker Combo 400 - Daddy’s Junky Music

bfoley — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:37:04 +0000

It’s no secret that when you are looking for your next piece of vintage music gear that Daddy’s Junky Music comes to mind. One of the things I love about my job at Daddy’s is all the cool gear I get to see and “test out”. We’ve always got a ton of cool pieces in any one of our 20 Daddy’s Junky Music locations, but every once in a while we come across something pretty special. That is why today, I bring to you one of the coolest sounding vintage rigs I’ve had together in a while. Check out the Gretsch 6152 and Rickenbacker Combo 400.The Rickenbacker Combo 400 is a rare piece to say the least. For us to have found one is pretty rare to begin with. For it to be in this condition is amazing. This guitar was manufactured between 1956-1958. Out of the roughly 500 produced, 216 of them were black. This guitar features the double cut tulip body, neck-thru design, 21 frets, with a single pickup set in the gold anodized pick guard. Cosmetically this guitar is in great shape considering its age. No modifications of any kind. The neck is straight, frets are level, and it plays and sounds awesome. This guitar is selling for $2999.99 and will be available starting Friday at our Manchester, NH retail store. You can also call me at 800-373-8393 X100 to purchase the guitar online. I’m going to bring it over to the store tomorrow. Now, on to the amp.

The Gretsch 6152 amplifier was produced from 1964 to the late 60’s. So although it’s not quite as old as the Rick, it’s definitely getting up there. This is another example of something that when we saw it, our collective jaw dropped because of the condition. We get cool vintage gear all the time, but most stuff that’s this old just doesn’t look or function as well as these two primo pieces do. This Gretsch amp is a 5 watt, all tube combo, with reverb, and tremolo. Just like the Rick, this piece is in amazing shape with no rips or tears in the tolex or grill cloth. From what we can tell it has the original RCA tubes in it. Another thing we thought was pretty neat is that it has the little accessory bag with extra fuses in it still unopened and stapled to the inside of the chassis in the back of the amp. When you see that, you know it’s been taken care of. This amplifier is selling for $499.99 and is also available for auction in the Daddy’s Online eBay store! Click here: http://bit.ly/aKwdXb and check it out. Remember Daddy’s rents, repairs, buys, and loves to trade! Thanks for choosing Daddy’s!

PRO TOOLS - by Hirsh Gardner

mgroove — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:52:25 +0000

Avid’s Pro Tools has been the industry-standard digital audio program for many years. Why…it is used for many of applications, from the production of just about every major record and cd, to mixing film sound to producing music in your living room to, well you name the musical production and it was probably produced or mixed in Pro Tools. The many complex features and options in Pro Tools can be overwhelming not only to the beginner but to the seasoned pro as well. There are many times when I sit in my studio with my Pro Tools manual in one hand and my plug ins manual in the other. This and future articles article will guide you through many of the operations of the program.

The version of Pro Tools that we will be using as an example is 8.0. The Mbox is only one of the several Digital Audio interfaces that is available in the Pro Tools line up. There is also the MBox Mini, The Factory versions of the MBox 2 (you get about 1000.00 of free plug-ins), the MBox 2 Pro and the Digi 003 rack and console versions. If you budget is 300.00 you can be a Pro Tools user. Want to spend a little more and increase your inputs and outputs? Go for the Digi 003 model…you can plug in an entire drum kit!!!

Pro Tools Models
As I mentioned above, Pro Tools comes in several different models. The most common is the Mbox interface with Pro Tools LE. For most home studio owners, the MBox will fill all your needs. On the road travelling with the band…just plug in a mic, USB it to your laptop and you have a recording studio. Or Start your home studio with the MBox and upgrade to the Digi 003 console. Remember, Daddy’s has a program (Expanded Benefit program) that will allow you to trade up and get most of your money back. See a salesperson for details.

All the Pro Tools family interfaces are sold with the Pro Tools LE 8.0 software package and the hardware interface (MBox mini, Mbox 2 pro etc). The Mbox 2, is a great choice for most users. The Digi 003 is an integrated controller with hardware faders and the ability to input and output multitrack audio. The Mini and the Mbox2 connect to your computer with a USB cable. The Mbox2 Pro, 003 and 003R connect with a firewire cable.

Daddy’s also offers the M-Powered Pro Tools program which is a less-expensive version that works with a variety of interfaces made by M-Audio. These interfaces can be purchased separately. Pro Tools M-Powered and the M-Audio FireWire Solo interface would give similar capabilities to the M-Box and Pro Tools LE. There are a few differences but they are otherwise functionally similar. As with ProTools LE, ProTools M-Powered will only function with an approved hardware interface connected…

Important: Before you buy a Pro Tools system, be sure to consult the Digidesign website and check that your computer and operating system are compatible with the hardware and version of Pro Tools you want. There are enough exceptions that doing your homework on their website is well worth it. BTW…Daddy’s will also design and build you a ProTools compatible computer!!!

Well that’s it for now. Next week will get into recording. If you have any questions please contact me.

Hirsh Gardner, GM
Daddy’s Junky Music Boston
hgardner@daddys.com
617-247-0909

Tama and Ibanez Gear On Sale this Month at Daddy’s!

bfoley — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:04:45 +0000

Summer is just flying by. It’s almost time to break out the long sleeves and stop running the air conditioner. If you’re going to need something to do in the coming fall, this month’s sale can get you the best deals on all our Tama and Ibanez gear, as well as interest free financing for 12 months with a qualifying purchase. One of the coolest new products we got from them recently is the new Ibanez TSA15H. This is a all tube guitar head with a built in tube screamer. For $299.99 it’s a real bargain. Add the optional matching 1×12 enclosure for $199.99 and you’ve got yourself a nice sounding rig for under $500 dollars. I just took one of these to the studio for some guitar tracking and it literally blew me away. For $299.99 I wasn’t expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ibanez guitars and basses. Ibanez as a company is fantastic. Their customer service is top shelf and the folks Daddy’s deals with at Tama are great people. What I’m trying to say is, I went into the session thinking that it would sound good, but not fantastic. I mean, after all, it’s pretty short money for what it is. I think what blew me away was how good the clean channel sounded especially. I was definitely able to get some good clean tones out of it without too much tweaking. During the lead parts I kicked in the tube screamer channel and that’s where the amplifier really shines. Nice overdrive with tons of sustain and great harmonics. I could definitely use something like this in the studio on occasion, and well, I might just have to get one. If you have any questions about this product, or if you need anything else from us, stop by your local Daddy’s Junky Music store, call 800-373-8393 X100, or email bfoley@daddys.com. Thanks again for choosing Daddy’s!