http://digidesign.com/index.cfm?navid=48&itemid=24899&langid=100&action=news_details

http://akmedia.digidesign.com/news/images/JustBlaze-RyanWest-web_35007.jpg

Seasoned hip hop producer Just Blaze has produced songs for some of the biggest hip hop artists, including Jay-Z, Kanye West, The Beastie Boys, The Game, T.I., and more. And he chooses Digidesign® Pro Tools® as his all-in-one creative solution for composing, editing, and mixing music.

“With so many of the records that I work on now, I go from start to finish without leaving Pro Tools,” says the former in-house producer for Roc-a-Fella Records and founder of Fort Knocks Entertainment. “Ninety percent of Jay-Z’s “Show Me What You Got” was done in Pro Tools—from the band’s live overdubs to composing the drums and other instruments.”

While it is common in hip hop for producers and beat makers to use hardware samplers to compose music, Just Blaze prefers to do everything “in the box.” Having relied on an Akai MPC sampler for many years to compose his beats, he says that he now creates music entirely within Pro Tools. “We still have the MPC in the studio, but we don’t use it much anymore,” he admits. “What we do now is record the sample into Pro Tools, chop up the parts of the sample that we definitely want to use, then import them into Native Instruments Battery. We basically use Battery and an M-Audio Trigger Finger to trigger the samples the same way an MPC would, and we use Pro Tools as the sequencer.”

Just Blaze also attests to including Xpand!™, a free sample-playback/synthesis virtual instrument developed by the Digidesign Advanced Instrument Research (A.I.R.) group, among the critical tools he used in the production of “Show Me What You Got”. He chose to use Xpand! to produce the Hammond organ sound. Ryan West (Jay-Z, Usher, The Game), who engineers for Just Blaze, comments on the benefits of using A.I.R. instruments: “I think Digidesign is changing the game once again. Using Xpand!, we can dial up beautiful preset patches or create our own in a snap. The fact that these virtual instruments are tuned to work perfectly within Pro Tools means no fussing with tech support or digging through online forums to diagnose and troubleshoot. It simply works, and works well.”

But it’s not just the music creation aspect of Pro Tools that has made a fan out of Just Blaze—it’s the portability and flexibility too. In addition to the Pro Tools|HD® systems he has housed in his own New York-based Baseline Studios, Just Blaze relies on a Digidesign Mbox® 2 Mini Pro Tools LE® system and a Pro Tools M-Powered™ system when he travels. During the mix phase of Jay-Z’s single, he recalls how Pro Tools benefited his workflow: “My engineer, Ryan West, got most of the mixing done using the HD rig in the B Room at Baseline Studios. Then I took that session with me to Hong Kong and literally finished mixing the record on the plane using Pro Tools M-Powered with a set of headphones. A week later it was on MTV.”

“It’s not about the machine, it’s about the man behind it,” he concludes. “At the end of the day, all these machines do is translate the ideas in our heads into something for the rest of the world to listen to, and Pro Tools streamlines that translation process.”

Just Blaze is currently in the studio completing the debut album of Fort Knocks Entertainment artist, Saigon. He’s also working with artists from other labels, including Busta Rhymes, Memphis Bleek, Faith Evans, and Talib Kweli. For more information about Just Blaze, visit www.myspace.com/justblazeradio.

For more information about Pro Tools and Digidesign’s A.I.R. instruments, visit www.digidesign.com.

way diferent.

But anyway back to furry Kangols, Jamaican wallabies.

i think thats what this is for sure..but the only thing i dont believe is..the fact he completely abandoned the mpc..what is he triggering sounds with..sure he can use a keyboard..but using a keyboard only when u gotta do drums kinda sucks.

>During the
>mix phase of Jay-Z’s single, he recalls how Pro Tools
>benefited his workflow: “My engineer, Ryan West, got most of
>the mixing done using the HD rig in the B Room at Baseline
>Studios. Then I took that session with me to Hong Kong and
>literally finished mixing the record on the plane using Pro
>Tools M-Powered with a set of headphones. A week later it was
>on MTV.”

They still referring to Show Me What You Got? No mention of Dre? Didn't the mix to that song kind of suck anyway? Mixing on a plane....?

Aside from that, I don't think he's overly bigging up Digi. For what he does it makes sense to work this way.

~
<--Pearl, Pig & ear2ear are Everything That's Fly
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iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/yaewat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le_9yVtDZ0A
T-Dot.

SUCKAS

_

shakin your block with a 6 million dollar bop

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www.davidevanmcdowell.com

interesting.

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shakin your block with a 6 million dollar bop

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www.davidevanmcdowell.com

<--T*ny* M*rg*n in Brooklyn Tonight
Von Pea "Grand Vonye"
http://www.rappersiknow.com/?p=58

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shakin your block with a 6 million dollar bop

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www.davidevanmcdowell.com

except where there weren't any cameras at the gig; then he played his Edwards.

<---Okay Jima (© Bridgetown)

http://www.myspace.com/musicphilosophy
http://www.myspace.com/icapinstrumental <---updated 5/31/07
http://www.soundclick.com/realsoonthemental <---NEW

not *exclusively* Pro Tools, too.

<---Okay Jima (© Bridgetown)

http://www.myspace.com/musicphilosophy
http://www.myspace.com/icapinstrumental <---updated 5/31/07
http://www.soundclick.com/realsoonthemental <---NEW

Only now I got the axiom instead of the trigger finger.

I remember him saying on the smack dvd that with the mpc he used to record parts of samples and assign them to pads. Now it looks like he records the whole sample onto pro tools, chops them up, and puts them on Battery. Sounds more streamlined. I think that shows how powerful of an audio editor and sequencer pro tools really is.

Ableton, Acid, Audition, Cubase, Sonar, Nuendo, Logic, etc. can do too.

I'm not a PT hater, but I try to cancel out some of the hype for reality's sake. PT is a multitrack audio app like those others, and it does the same things those others can do. PT *MIGHT* have an advantage in having some strong in-box native effects, but even those don't really kick in till you put down the $ for the bigger pro packages. Beyond that, it's a matter of interface preferences, though of course PT does enjoy the super-easy session transfer with so many people using it (thanks to smart and effective marketing).

<---Okay Jima (© Bridgetown)

http://www.myspace.com/musicphilosophy
http://www.myspace.com/icapinstrumental <---updated 5/31/07
http://www.soundclick.com/realsoonthemental <---NEW

>Ableton, Acid, Audition, Cubase, Sonar, Nuendo, Logic, etc.
>can do too.
>
>I'm not a PT hater, but I try to cancel out some of the hype
>for reality's sake. PT is a multitrack audio app like those
>others, and it does the same things those others can do. PT
>*MIGHT* have an advantage in having some strong in-box native
>effects, but even those don't really kick in till you put down
>the $ for the bigger pro packages. Beyond that, it's a matter
>of interface preferences, though of course PT does enjoy the
>super-easy session transfer with so many people using it
>(thanks to smart and effective marketing).
>
>
>

With the exceptions of Cubase, Sonar, and Nuendo, I have tried all those programs and I find that the audio editing and the way regions are handled all together is so much better with Pro Tools. But as you did point out, it does have to do with interface preference and with what you feel more comfortable working with.

i think other DAWs outclass it as far as midi sequencing, but protools is still the #1 for that, with its automation and plugins, and the fact that (with the LE and HD versions) it processes plugins with it's interfaces, its still just a notch (depending on how you look at it) above the rest.

____

automatic systematic.

-------------------------------------
http://www.myspace.com/therealnopayne
http://www.last.fm/user/nopayne/

but i use battery and many instrument plugins.

none of em would run without a sequencer driving them (unfortunately. if native instruments ever decides to supplement battery with a sequencer of MINIMAL proportions..sheesh.)

your seq is more important to your workflow than any plugin, i'd argue.

____

automatic systematic.

uh...maybe thats why his beats sound so THIN!!!

best example yet of why hardware samplers are better....

heres the test....

(1) Listen to Just Blaze production on Kingdom Come then flip immediately after to a DRE production...the difference is MAJOR!

everyone knows dre has some of the best mixing in the business so

(2) Listen to Just blaze productions on Late Registration...then forward to a kanye production MAJOR difference again!!!!!!!

and before cats rip me to shreds...heres Russ Elevado (Roots/DAngelo/Common mix engineer @ ElectricLadylan) thoughts on Pro Tools

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php?t=116045

And IMHO is only used by people that are 'threatened' by the rapid developments in the DAW world. People never like 'change', and the strong sentiments (superstition?) that certain people have against mixing in the box reminds me of the way people thought that the first steamtrains made the cow's milk go sour. Right.

It's about WHO uses what and WHAT do they do with it, and it's about the SONGS first and foremost. Sure, a good mix helps appreciate a good song. But a good mixed bad song is still going to suck. Plus... an SSL console and a bunch of Neve stuff is NOT going to make a mix great by default.

And so here's Roger Nichols, you'll agree equally a legend, on the subject (thanks Merlin for reminding me).

(Quote)

Q: I heard the mixing buss in Pro Tools is no good. Everyone says I should mix through an external analogue summing buss.

A: Someone asked Al Schmitt how he mixed a record. Al answered "I just turn the knobs until it sounds good." You can't argue with that.

The first thing I had to learn about audio engineering was signal flow. You have to know how to get the audio signal from the microphone to the recorder and back to the speakers so you can hear what you are doing. The second item is gain structure. At any point in the signal path you have to keep the signal higher than the noise floor but lower than the point of clipping and distortion. Everything else is going to be easy. Just twist the knobs.

Every console is designed to add signals together before they come out as finished mix. It is called a mix because the individual tracks are mixed together. I rather fancy the English term 'two-track reduction': it is being reduced from 24 tracks to two tracks.

Physical consoles usually have a stereo mix buss 'summing amp' for each group of eight modules. These summing amps then feed another summing amp connected to the master output module. During the mixing process the master fader is turned all the way up. As individual tracks are turned up their audio is heard through the master fader and the level is registered on the main output meters. As more and more audio channels are introduced to the mix, the overall master level starts getting high, so the master fader is turned down a little to compensate. This work flow proceeds in a loop until the mix is getting pretty far along.

At some point the engineer looks at the gain structure of the mix he has going on the console. He has learned that by running the individual faders high and pulling down the master fader he runs the risk of overdriving the summing amps with too much level and adding distortion to the final mix. The engineer will trim down all of the track faders by 6dB or some similar amount so that the master fader can be brought back up to zero.

This method has worked for decades to keep the audio quality as high as possible while remaining within the limits of the console's design, but for some reason engineers ignore this procedure when mixing inside a DAW (digital audio workstation). When asked why they don't perform this requisite task the answer is always "It's digital, you don't have to do that." All of the 78 track faders are up near zero and the master fader by now is down to -40dB. Soon the engineer starts to complain about how gritty and distorted digital sounds.


A 1/24th-octave spectrum display of two signals in Pro Tools. The top display is a summed mono signal from an analogue summing network; the bottom shows a mono output from the Pro Tools mixer for the same mix.
How do they fix it? They connect the DAW to a console. At the console they either trim down the inputs or pull down the track faders to prevent the summing amps from clipping, and they make sure that the master fader is all the way up. "Hear how much better the mix sounds through a console?"

Sound familiar? I know all of you have run across this situation from one end or the other. The smart guys who saw this wanton disregard for gain structure quickly designed 'outboard analogue summing boxes', charged a lot of money (because it can't be good if it doesn't cost enough), and made a fortune. Good for them. Too bad I didn't think of it.

Because Pro Tools was the most visible professional DAW, Digidesign took the brunt of the criticism. "Man, I can't mix inside Pro Tools, their internal mixer sucks." Although there were tons of good-sounding records made and mixed in Pro Tools by engineers who knew how to turn down a fader, the majority of the forums on the Web hosted tons of complaints. "It shouldn't do that, it's digital."

Digidesign have updated their internal mixer to 48-bit. This means that you can mix 128 faders at +12dB with the master fader down to -90dB without overdriving the internal mixing buss. There will not be much room for a final fade, but at least Pro Tools is now being idiot-proofed. Me, I prefer to watch what I am doing and trim all of my faders down so that my master fader stays at zero. It has worked for me since the '60s and continues to work for me in whatever digital DAW I mix in.

Oh, and check out the in-the-box versus external buss measurement (left, above).

TTFN (ta-ta for now).

(End quote)



Nicolay

http://www.nicolaymusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/nicolay
http://www.last.fm/music/Nicolay

_

shakin your block with a 6 million dollar bop

_

www.davidevanmcdowell.com

Nicolay

http://www.nicolaymusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/nicolay
http://www.last.fm/music/Nicolay

did either 1 of yall do what i suggested. go listen to the store version or itunes version w/e u got

listen to his beat and then listen to theirs (dre/kanye)

nic u got ears...i know u will at least admit to a difference

i know u can get a good sound outta ITB mixing...i did my record that way. but analog is still better. digital was meant for convenience but it wasnt supposed to be the norm. the best example of this is when cats started mastering from dats instead of 1/2 tape. dats were for a&r's who didnt have tape machines to take to meetings. every1 knew the tape sounded better. wtf?

i digress

do the test and honestly tell me there is no difference

...but all that is irrelevant to me. The only thing I'm concerned with, is... is the song dope and does it sound good?

Yes on both.

End of story. It's THAT simple to me.

I'm not trying to offend anyone or downplay anyone's knowledge. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and tasts, and there's a lot of people that are a helluva lot more qualified than me to talk about this subject. But the way some people in the field look down on digital recording reminds me a lot of how labels have been looking down on filesharing.

It's the future, though. Get with it or don't, but it's not going to be halted anytime soon. Me personally, I just love the endless possibilities it brings us.

Nicolay

http://www.nicolaymusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/nicolay
http://www.last.fm/music/Nicolay

u backpedaling though...
this is a music board. i said just blaze beats sound thin. u disagreed. i said put it to the test. now its "that dont matter its only if the song..."

shit madvillian was made on the worst equipment (as was 1 of my top 5 albums of all time "straight out the jungle) i know its about the music....

BUT

everything being equal. digital will never beat analog...cuz you hear in analog (vibrations). yes the plugs, converters and clocks will one day approximate closely analog but it will never be equal

im done

>BUT
>
>everything being equal. digital will never beat analog...cuz
>you hear in analog (vibrations). yes the plugs, converters
>and clocks will one day approximate closely analog but it will
>never be equal
>
>im done

THANK YOU...

they don't have that warmth and color to his sounds.

never had.

Just Blaze beats sounded the best sonically on Kingdom Come (Dr. Dre mixed those). And still you can only do so much.

the Lesson is for you.

Personally, Protools is the end all for my DAW editing/mixing/sequencing needs. I'm with Blaze.

what protools set up do you have, and what would you say it's done for you? if i can kinda railroad the post a bit.

_

shakin your block with a 6 million dollar bop

_

www.davidevanmcdowell.com

...since I have only been using Pro Tools for so long. This really is about DAW's in general, whether it's Cubase, Reason, Pro Tools, you name it.

A little bit of background: I started out doing music on the computer for the pure and simple fact that I already had one at the house. Ever since I found out that, similar to whatever else you can do on a computer, there were programs that allowed you to make music, I was hooked. Now, mind you... to each his own. Everyone has their weapon of choice. For some it's the MPC, for some it's the computer (Mac or PC), for some it's pots and pans, etc. You find what works for you, and you stick with it. So, I stuck with using a computer.

Initially, I used Cool Edit Pro to multitrack/mixdown, and later 'upgraded' (I use the term lightly, because it was more or less the same thing) to Adobe Audition. Cool Edit Pro, cheap and simple as it is/was, did the job perfectly. Still does to this day, for a lot of people who's records come out on the regular. The Foreign Exchange album was totally done this way, and the general concensus amongst critics, listeners and peers was, that it sounded great. Maybe not good enough for the 'gearheads', but that's a whole nother discussion. I have never been big on gear, for me it's all about the music. We were just trying to get some good music down on record, with the means that were available to us at the time. We all were pretty much broke, yet we were able to get some great results with minimal equipment. And I don't hear arguments like that in much of the discussions on analog vs. ITB.

I made the decision to move to Pro Tools for several reasons:

-I wanted my sessions to be compatible for when I work in studios other than mine.
-I tried several other DAWs, including Logic and Cubase, but Pro Tools to me was the better one by far, when it comes to workflow, stability, etc.
-The plug-ins that have been developped recently for the Pro Tools platform have been in one word, amazing.

The only thing I really have to get used to, is the file handling. I think there's a lot of improvements to be made there. That, and the way the ASIO driver works.

I'm definitely NOT saying that everyone should use Pro Tools. Instead, use whatever you want, whatever you are comfortable with, whatever gives you great results, whatever you have access to. If it's a 10 million dollar studo and you have access to it, wonderful. If it's a 1500 dollar computer with a DAW and some plug-ins, that's great too. If you know how to use the tools available to you, I strongly believe that you can get excellent results either way.

Nicolay

http://www.nicolaymusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/nicolay
http://www.last.fm/music/Nicolay

>
>Initially, I used Cool Edit Pro to multitrack/mixdown, and
>later 'upgraded' (I use the term lightly, because it was more
>or less the same thing) to Adobe Audition. Cool Edit Pro,
>cheap and simple as it is/was, did the job perfectly. Still
>does to this day, for a lot of people who's records come out
>on the regular. The Foreign Exchange album was totally done
>this way, and the general concensus amongst critics, listeners
>and peers was, that it sounded great.

So, to clarify, the entire FE album was just samples sequenced within Cool Edit and instruments recorded directly into the program? How did you do drums?

www.twitter.com/seandammit

i use protools as well and i was wondering which plugins you were referring to
thanks in advance

---
the pursuit of fame and fortune
leads to shame and misfortune
-tao

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IG: mike_gx
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