Has DJing Positively or Negatively Progressed

Old School

A large issue within the DJing and producing world is the lack of on stage mixing. If you do not know what i'm talking about with the whole mixing thing ill give you a run down. Mixing is taking two different songs and blasting them together creatively to create something that sounds awesome. Check this clip out for a visual on how awesome it is.

This is amazing. There is no doubt about that. How he just creates the music and beats on the spot and you see it all unfold in front of your eyes. Beautiful. But you also need to notice that the records he is using he did not create. He is using someone else's' work for his DJing. There is so much more that goes on behind the scenes to create a song that this kind of DJ will use.

What does old school have going for it? It's creative and fun to watch as it's happening. Wasn't it exciting to watch the DJ in the video above? It was a lot more interesting than a DJ who sits up above his tracks and does literally nothing. Also there is more to your name. More skill attributed to your name. It's awesome to have a scratch artist at a club playing banger hits and doing creative mixes live. It has a great feel to it. But to everything there is a bad side. VERY easy to screw up a mix. You are live and you are bound to make a mistake while doing quick scratching and mixing. And the thing is, everyone notices too. All the attention is mostly on you so if something falls through, they know.

New School

The "New School" DJs are less about live preforming and more about creating original content. So to the new schoolers it's more about what they create then about how the preform their creations. Here are the inter workings behind a big song in the electronic genre. 

This is but a taste to what these DJ do behind the computer. Even before mastering the song, in which I'm not going to go into. Everything needs to sound correct with every element in the right place and flowing continuously throughout the entire track. 

New school is amazing in the way they can make music sound the way they want. They cannot do the same thing in old school mixing. You can only change so much live in a old school set. Also there is no limit for time to produce a track. there really is no way to screw up as bad as old school DJs can screw up. Perfection is a virtue within the new school DJ's. But the negative side to that is there is a lot of dirt going around about the skill of new school DJ's posing as old school DJ's. And it's true, the skill of a new school DJ is in the production of the track, not the live mixing. So consequently on stage the new school artists do not have the skill as live old school DJ's. Giving them a bad reputation live.

Old School vs. New School

Now here is the issue that is coming up over all DJ realms, new school DJs don't do anything and here is a funny way to present their argument. 

Even though I fully support new school DJs, I have to agree. They've already created their song exactly how they want it to sound so there is no reason to go and change it and potentially ruining it in front of hundreds of thousands of fans. Personally I think this is a just a battle of different values. the old school values their performance on stage and how they can manipulate the sounds live. On the flip side, old school values how hard they slaved in the lab to create this amazing song. There is no "This one is better than that one!" argument because they aren't even on the same playing field. They are awesome in different ways. Yes, I will agree that new school acts like old school but can you blame them. And honestly they are not doing nothing up there. They are manipulating the different frequencies to make the track sound the best it can at the venue and even though they are not making the amazing sounds right on the spot they are mixing from one song to the next while beat matching or other practices in the DJ world.

Mixing has changed throughout the ages with new technology and new personalities. There is no direct right or wrong in this situation it is a matter of opinion and setting for all issues. Either way they, new and old school DJs, deserve the highest respect as musicians and should be revered as such.

PLUR,

Taren McCullough

How Logic Pro X Is Changing The Production Game

Logic Pro X

As a current and avid user of Logic Pro 9, I was very stoked to hear Logic was coming out with their next product in the Logic line. 

What Is Logic?

For those who do not have experience in the music production industry, Logic is an apple based music production tool. Like many other musicians, electronic artists use interfaces like Logic, Pro Tools, FL Studio, etc. to produce music. It is the instrument in many ways. In addition to being the musical instrument, Logic, and others alike, are also the means that Audio Engineers mix and master tracks. Mastering is the art of changing levels of high, mid, and bass frequencies and other equalizers to make the track sound more full and professional. These are just some simple examples of what Logic can do as a product.

What Is New In Logic Pro X?

According to Apples website on Logic Pro X, the improvements from its predecessor are as followed: advanced design, track stacks, powerful mixer, score editor, easy exporting, drummer, drum kit designer, bass amp designer, new pedal board stomp-boxes, redesigned vintage keyboards, retro synth, arpeggiator, midi plug ins, flex pinch, smart controls, new sound library and loops, and logic remote.[1] 

What does this mean? Logics' interface is has been redesigned to be easier accessible to all the tools and inter workings of the meat and bones of the music. It looks BEAUTIFUL. All your compressors and channel EQs are laid out to have an easy flow and everything has been stepped up a notch in productivity and power. Once you've made your track it's a simple process to export to your favorite places such as iTunes or Soundcloud. The new synth and drum designer is a long awaited improvement on logic to get your synth and drums to sound exactly how you want without going through ultrabeat, an integrated beat machine, or the EQs.

What Is Negative About Logic Pro X?

There is not many bad things to say about Logic Pro X but not all new products are flawless, so here are my negative views on the new changes. Not all changes are good, things have been renamed making it hard for seasoned users to relearn simple things. The grouping function of Logic is rather annoying when moving windows around. It is a little too intuitive to the degree its hindering its functionality. The interface in all degrees is a sleek dark design, which is pleasing to look at in the beginning but it becomes awfully hard to see detail after a period of time.

Comparison

The main competitor for Logic Pro X is FL Studio 11. One difference between Logic and FL Studio is their libraries. The FL Studio is old and it's libraries are starting to show it. Logic has been updating their libraries at a faster rate that FL Studio. This has been a major improvement for Logic and a major disadvantage for all FL Studio users. Also Logics synth creator ES2 is way ahead of FL Studios equivalent. It's actually no contest when it comes to functionality and depth within the synthesizers. Another point where FL Studio falls short is the quality of the EQs. Logics native EQs have amazing quality where FL Studio is falling short in. The only real stickler in Logics name is the price tag affiliated with it. FL Studio 11 is going for $99 and Logic Pro X is $199. But in reality you are paying for quality of Logics flagship.

In Conclusion

Most of the main issues within the inter working have been patched in updates since the initial release of the product. So all in all this is an amazing product for only $199. Great functionality and user interfaces. Everything you could ever need in a production and creation software. If you can overlook the dark complexion of the GUI and relearn everything that has been hardwired into your mind, there is so much to be had in this newest installment in the Logic series. A beautiful product for the beautiful songs to come from it. All in all, I will give it a 9.5/10. A must buy for the Mac users and a must upgrade from the Logic Pro 9. So many more features are available with Logic Pro X, it's ridiculous. I feel bad for the Windows users who cannot natively use this product. But better for me! 

What Exactly Do Audio Engineers Do?

Welcome All

Hello and welcome, my name is Taren McCullough. All of this started when I was a kid in high school; I rigged up some $400 subwoofers in my garage with no help other than Google. From there I was hooked on not only the quality of audio I was experiencing, but also how everything worked. Here I am, four years later, studying Electrical Engineering at North Dakota State University. But Electrical Engineering is only a stepping stone to what I would really like to accomplish in life.

MY DREAMS (Relevant I Promise)

As I study Electrical Engineering I have a deeper, much larger goal in life. Personally I am an amateur DJ and aspiring producer of EDM music. This has driven and consumed my life since high school. For those who do not know what EDM music is, check this out. This is an after movie for the 2013 Ultra Music Festival in Miami, FL playing EDM and genres alike.

That is my dream right there. to be a DJ/Producer on the main stage of Ultra Music Festival. Big dreams right? But as everyone knows and is told from a very young age that money has to be relevant when choosing a career. Or more of less you live on the streets or take money from hard working people through welfare. (Please no political debates. It's a joke.) So taking that into consideration, I chose the closest major to what I want to do with my life, Electrical Engineering. And believe me, I made the right choice. I love Electrical Engineering with a passion. Im not going to go too far in depth here about how these two things coincide with each other but I will give you a little insight. Electrical engineering generally deals with electricity, electronics, and electromagnetics. In relation to Audio Engineering, Electrical Engineers deal with active filters. Active filters are ways to cut out different frequencies as needed. Most of you should know that frequencies are the building blocks for audio. Music is build from an assortment of sound waves varying in different frequencies to make lower or higher tones. Now active filters is only one tool Audio Engineers use but the connection between Electrical Engineering is the same. The alteration of sound waves to make a different wave or a collection of waves is a way to describe Audio Engineering. And that is why I am pursuing Electrical Engineering on my way to my ultimate goal.

What Do Audio Engineers Actually Do?

Audio Engineers are responsible for the recording and reproducing of music.[1] The responsibilities include creating, recording, mixing, mastering, and producing all the music you know and love. No matter what genre you enjoy and listen to, Audio Engineers are making their music sound exactly how it is meant to be.

What Equipment Do Audio Engineers Use?

Audio Engineers use a wide variety of equipment just like the one pictured above. When I say wide I mean WIDE. Anything from the actual sound production equipment such as, musical instruments, microphones, amplifiers, speakers, etc. Then it goes to be modified which has a totally different set of equipment such as, mixers, computers, equalizers, compressors, etc. As you can see it's a complicated field but also very interesting.

Why Is Audio Engineering Awesome?

Depending on what you actually do within the Audio Engineering field, you could be traveling the world on tours showing off your productions or collaborations with other artists. You could also be in the studio working with stars listening and perfecting their craft exactly how they want it to sound. Building a creating from the base up and creating something magical every day is what I strive for. And you know that whole stupid 9-5 thing? Throw that away. Creativity isn't built into a schedule; within reason I mean. When the creativity bug hits you, that's when you should be working. Normally long nights are in the regiment but you know what? Night owls are more fun anyway.

To Conclude

But in reality. All I have to do is post another video of an EDM festival to show the amazing things Audio Engineers are doing. So I will. Here is Tomorrowland after movie 2013 in Boom, Belgium.

Enough said. Thank you guys for checking out my post. I hope I've opened your eyes to the amazing abilities of Audio Engineers.

PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect)

Taren McCullough