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You may not know Luke Martin yet, but this young wunderkind has been blowing up both the studio and the internets with his drum covers since 2007 after receiving his first kit at the age of eight. Martin’s first experience playing drums started with the popular Microsoft Xbox game ‘Rock Band’, and unlike most weekend-rager wannabes, grew out of the plastic four-piece and parlayed his emerging deftness into frenetic explosions of raw energy.

The novelty of Martin’s drumming isn’t due to his relative youth or skill level; it lies in the fact that he is extraordinarily talented regardless, or even in spite of, his age. Martin is clearly inspired by heavy metal and boasts a library of covers filled with Led Zeppelin, Lamb of God, Dream Theater, and Metallica: all groups whose songs require a notorious amount of precision, speed, and endurance.

A small, but not negligible, drawback of composing original scores is when arrangements have unintentional confines automatically built-in to accommodate the limitations of the musician’s ability. Focusing on covers may be a key contributor to Martin’s drumming aptitude, as it pushes him to play as quickly and skillfully as his idols…

…who are taking notice.

One of Martin’s favorite drummers, Chris Adler from Lamb of God, shared encouragement after watching a cover of his band’s ‘11^th Hour’, just one of 48 videos, 875 subscribers, and 23,356 views on popular video sharing site YouTube. Able to position himself above the fray, Martin is a digital native who is savvy in social media and recognizes the appeal of personal interaction with his fan base. Initially sharing covers with the world from his father’s Facebook profile, he soon graduated to his own fan page, YouTube channel, and Twitter. His internet presence attracts followers in the thousands and would be the envy of any emerging artist.

Fans are multigenerational, diverse, and engaged; Martin regularly asks them for cover suggestions, shares personal experiences, and thanks them for their support. His attitude and humility belies his years: Martin is a young man who understands image and personal connection as well, if not better, than musicians with decades more experience. He is part of the new breed of artist, where buzzwords are hashtags and fans are treated as close friends.

That said, all has not been easy for Luke Martin. He acknowledges that as long as it has taken him to increase his drumming skill, it’s taken him nearly as long to build his YouTube and other social media presence. Increasing speed and precision applies to his double bass skills, as well as planning, practicing, and executing videos and other content for his fans. In addition to playing drums, he is also hard at work learning guitar and determined to create a band to share his skills, talent, and passion.

Vertigo Productions is proud to be a part of Martin’s journey to rock god-hood, and can’t wait to see what he masters next!

You can find out more information on Luke Martin through a variety of social media channels:

• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRSgt60ngQPCXlkS_jmm8Iw?feature=mhee
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LukeMartin5
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LukeMartin5
• Google+: https://plus.google.com/117408411695171394634/

To keep up with Vertigo Productions, visit our website (http://www.vertigo-studios.com), like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/VertigoProductions.music), or follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/vertig0studios).

The post Emerging Talent—Luke Martin appeared first on Vertigo Productions.

The number of bits involved in computing refers to how many 1’s and 0’s are in each chunk of processed data. The bits we are discussing today are completely separate from audio sample rate and recording bit depth, you should know that all the 64bit and 32bit terminology in this blog entry has absolutely no effect on sound quality. 

When we are talking about 64bit vs 32 bit software, the main difference is how much of your computer’s RAM the program can access. Older 32bit software can only utilize 4gb of RAM. So if you’ve filled up your machine with 16 or 32gb of RAM but installed a 32 bit OS, you’d only be using a fraction of the horsepower at your disposal. So why on earth would you want to run 32bit when 64 is available???

… not all software supports 64bit architecture.

Fortunately, you can “mix & match” if you keep in mind that software works from a “ground up” approach. This means that in order to run 64bit plugins your DAW needs to be 64bit, and in order to run a 64bit DAW, your OS needs to be 64bit. Most 64bit DAW’s will allow backwards compatibility and run 32bit plugins with no problems. All 64bit OS’s will run 32bit DAW’s with no problems.

Notice I said “most” 64bit DAW’s will run 32bit plugins. There are certain combinations and plugins that will cause problems in a 64bit DAW… so if you don’t have any 64bit plugins, you might consider sticking with a 32bit DAW for now.

If you were wondering about the tangible benefits of having access to more than 4gb of RAM, the largest gain occurs when loading sample libraries. Software instruments have come a long way, and patches that encompass many gigabytes of samples are not uncommon. Being able to load these sounds into RAM rather than stream them from your drive will provide smooth and responsive audio without bogging down your system. This is why you will always see professional composers using 64bit software to load their massive sample libraries, 32bit just can’t load enough sounds. As for processing plugins like EQ, verb, distortion, & Dynamics… RAM has very little stake in the matter. While the differences in plugin load time, cpu use, and number of instances is improved, the amount is too slight to make any noticeable difference. (we’re talking about <1%)

Over the next few years we can expect all audio software to rely on 64bit architecture. Until then, if you have any confusion feel free to give me a call anytime!

The post The 64bit Future appeared first on Vertigo Productions.

Compressors are Dynamics processors. They regulate the amount of volume that passes through them based on a specific threshold and ratio of compression. In layman’s terms, compressors make loud stuff quieter. For example, using a scale in decibels, we could set the compressors threshold at 36db. Once the threshold is established, any signal passing through the compressor which exceeds the 36db threshold triggers the compressor to activate. The compressor will attenuate (make quieter) any “triggering” sound by a specified ratio.

To illustrate, if our threshold is set to 36db, and our ratio is 4:1 (four to one), a sound of 40db would be compressed down to 37db with those settings. This 1db increase in volume is resultant of a 4db excess of sound beyond the threshold being divided by the ratio of 4 to 1… meaning one of every 4 db beyond the threshold is allowed to pass.

The same in visual form:

A typical compressor has the following controls:

Threshold: sets the level at which attenuation begins (note: some compressors have a fixed threshold and a variable input gain rather than adjustable threshold)

Ratio: determines how much compression occurs when signal exceeds threshold

Attack: how long the compressor waits to begin attenuating after threshold has been surpassed.

Release: how quickly the compressor stops attenuating once signal recedes below threshold.

Output: because compressed signals are quieter than the original, boosting output gain is almost always necessary.

Compressors are excellent at taming spikes in level and smoothing out dynamics across a track. They also have some artistic merit beyond basic level control. By adjusting the attack and release you can highlight transients in your signal. Meaning you can choose to accent the initial impact of a sound by slowing down the compressors attack. If the compressor doesn’t kick in for 20 or 30 milliseconds after a drum hit, for example, the resulting output signal will have more of a “snap” at the front end of the sound. Likewise, a longer release time will maintain the compression after signal has decayed.

Compression can vary from subtle to extreme. Regardless of how much influence it has on your mix, I recommend frequently A/B’ing compressed and raw signals to make sure you retain perspective. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions!

The post Change the Gain, Don’t Let the Gain Change You – Compressor Basics appeared first on Vertigo Productions.

Pssst….we have a secret for you: Grandma Kelsey and Gregory Rawlins are breaking in Vertigo Productions new venue space, Winston’s Lair, on Monday, January 7 as one of two exclusive shows in Seattle on their Dapper Yeti tour and you’re invited!

Rooted in the Pacific Northwest (Grandma Kelsey hails from Boise, Idaho; Gregory Rawlins is from La Grande, Oregon), each artist expresses a distinctive sound rarely heard in the local alternative-folk movement. Biographical, acoustic, and decidedly lo-fi, Grandma Kelsey and Gregory Rawlins incorporate the best parts of tour-driven energy in their solo work. Intrigued? Well, here’s an introduction:

For those of you who unfamiliar with Grandma Kelsey or her performances, this is a show that can’t be missed. The lilting tremor of her voice accompanied by the familiar chirps of chord progressions reminds one of playing an old timey record rescued from a grandparent’s attic and dusted off. Grandma Kelsey’s sound is both charming and intimate, and her honesty alternates between coy and brutal. Waves of guitar-driven rhythm sounds like blood pounding in your ears; pauses in tempo are like skipping a heartbeat. Tickled by a quivery-voiced whisper, you crane your head and lean in further to hear her secrets of intimacy, perseverance, and devotion.

If you haven’t already, make sure to clear your calendars and to catch both of these artists at Winston’s Lair on Monday night at 7pm.  Space is limited for this free show, so RSVPs (and donations) are appreciated. Hope to see you there!

The post Pssst…we have a secret… appeared first on Vertigo Productions.

I should explain a couple things before we even talk about the different cables available.  Of all the audio cables available, we can break them into two main categories: analog and digital. While some digital cables are similar in form factor to common analog cabling, many are vastly different and will only fit into their corresponding physical hardware ports. Some digital cables include USB, ADAT optical, ADAT coaxial, SPDIF, MADI, AES EBU, Firewire, Thunderbolt, CAT5/Ethernet, MIDI, and many more.

I’ll talk more about digital audio cables in the future, but for now let’s look at the real meat and potatoes of the audio world… analog audio cables. Every analog cable shares one thing in common. They all include at minimum 2 conductors. With the exception of speaker cable, one of these conductors serves as a ground and the other/s pass the audio signal.

Unbalanced 2 Conductor Cables – Examples: RCA, INSTRUMENT 1/4inch

Found in most consumer grade electronics as well as instrument cables for guitars and keyboards, these cables typically contain a jacketed/insulated copper core that carries the signal. The core’s insulated jacket is protected by a stranded ground wire. The ground is typically braided around the core or wrapped in a foil sheath, separating the core insulation and external jacket. This protective grounding is frequently called a shield. The signal quality of unbalanced cables begins to taper after length reaches 18 feet.

Balanced 3 Conductor Cables – Examples: Tip Ring Sleeve (TRS) 1/4inch, Microphone XLR, TT/Bantam

Used in virtually all professional audio facilities, balanced cables provide a much cleaner signal and better signal strength than unbalanced cabling. Because of its construction, balanced cable can be run several hundred feet with minimal signal loss. These cables contain the same ground/shielding as an unbalanced cable, but two cores that carry an identical signal albeit one is out of phase with the other. By carrying inverted signals, any line noise or interference that is picked up along the cable will be cancelled out when the signal phase is inverted back to normal by the receiving device.  After the phase inversion, the remaining signal will be theoretically identical to the source with no added artifacts or noise added during transmission through the cable. Because the phase inversion processes happen in the sending and receiving device, using balanced cables with an unbalanced device will yield no benefit. Likewise, using unbalanced cables with a balanced device will prove detrimental to sound quality.

Unbalanced 3 Conductor Cables – Examples: Stereo 3.5mm/mini, Stereo 1/4inch headphones

Physically this cable itself is identical to a balanced 3 conductor cable. The difference being that each of the two cores carries its own signal and both signals share a common ground. The real difference is how the device sends and receives the audio. For example, an iPod uses a stereo 3.5mm balanced cable to plug into your car’s audio system or headphones. The signal being transmitted is actually 2 unbalanced channels (left and right) being sent through one cable which plugs into your car’s unbalanced 2 channel stereo input jack, or physically splits into two cables to reach each ear of your headphones.

Speaker Cable – Examples: connects an amplifier to a passive speaker

Last but not least are speaker cables. This cable is different from all the others in the sense that it actually carries electricity used to drive a speaker cone through the cable itself. Most speaker cables use 2 conductors in the form of 2 copper cores with no ground/shield. Because power actually has to run through the cable, using other types of cables in place of an actual speaker cable can cause equipment damage and should be avoided.

The post Choosing the Right Cable appeared first on Vertigo Productions.

The diverse musical backgrounds of Gertrude’s Hearse lend to their distinctive sound, which is grounded in alternative country, blues, and folk rock, but also includes an alchemical infusion of punk, R&B, and bluegrass. Gertrude’s Hearse’s signature style is small town storytelling at its best, sharing snippets of love lost (“Jealous Hearts & Broken Lovers”; “River”), nostalgia (“Coming Home”), and down-home livin’ (“Skagit River Valley”; “Smokey Hollow”). Much of the band’s set list is comprised of an elaborate 7+ piece grandstand-style band, while a smaller number of songs feature pared-down and intimate acoustic pieces starring duos or trios of performers.

Highly sought after as a live band, Gertrude’s Hearse’s dynamism injects irresistible energy into each performance they give. Well known for stirring interpretations of select “preservation” songs and obscure covers, the majority of their original songs employ the simplicity and honesty of country lyricism with the raucous guitar-driven melodies of rural blues, solidifying Gertrude’s Hearse’s reputation as a band to be enjoyed both on the dance floor at live shows and in the comfort of your own living room.

KnotWörst in particular encapsulates the salt of the earth-style honky tonk that fans of Gertrude’s Hearse know and love. A dark followup to 2007’s Wörst album, KnotWörst explores different facets of everyday life such as jealousy, melancholy, whimsicality and camaraderie that envelop the listener in moonshine-soaked melody, while the momentum of unrelenting rhythm keeps you toe-tapping and humming along. As a measurement of development and progression as songwriters and musicians, Gertrude’s Hearse’s KnotWörst resonates with musical integrity and love for the Americana genre. As an album, KnotWörst is the band’s finest work to date, and promises to be just as fun listening live as on the stereo.

For more information about Gertrude’s Hearse, including upcoming shows and discography, visit their website (http://gertrudeshearse.com) or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/gertrudeshearse). They’re also working on putting together a tour, so if you want Gertrude’s Hearse to roll into your town, please visit their Kickstarter page (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1039082910/gertrudes-hearse-tour) and help them achieve their goal!

To keep up with Vertigo  Productions, visit our website (http://www.vertigo-studios.com), like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/VertigoProductions.music), or follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/vertig0studios).

The post Artist Profile: Gertrude’s Hearse appeared first on Vertigo Productions.

To be clear, it is EXTREMELY important to know your equipment. But there is a measurable difference in attainable mix quality based on your monitors. A good set of monitors does not sound “colored”. Frequencies are produced smooth across the audible spectrum. In switching to a high end reference setup you will hear things that you never heard before: a subtle buzz on a guitar string, harmonic resonance in a snare drum, consistent bass response, vocal’s real relation to the rest of the mix, and much more.

So what exactly does this added level of detail bring to your mix? Allow me another analogy- if we think of music as visual art, mixing through a poor monitoring systems would be like putting on a pair of orange-tinted snowboarding goggles while trying to create a painting. While many elements of the work would remain intact, differences in color and intensity throughout parts of the spectrum would become lost in the bright orange hue. The difference between red and yellow would begin to blend together, and colors like green and blue would become difficult to discern. Anyone who views the painting through the goggles might really like the look, but for the rest of the world certain things could be extremely dissonant or out of place. A painter with clear lenses can see every shade of color, create beautiful gradients and shadows, construe lighting and depth, and create a piece of work that can be admired from any viewpoint. High quality monitors can do the same for your music. Don’t let your audience hear anything but the best version of your piece of work.

The post Put Your Money Where Your Ear Is appeared first on Vertigo Productions.

This year I cringed while watching one of the soundchecks at Bumbershoot… during the testing of vocal levels, the artist actually chose to make a series of bird sounds rather than using her voice… literally, no speaking. While this sort of behavior may be cool in Portland, it isn’t what any sound engineer wants to work with.  I’d like to explain the purpose of the sound check and give some suggestions about how musician’s can make the process fast, easy, and effective.

Sound Check is a series of tests that allow audio engineers the opportunity of configuring a sound system before a performance or recording. The process typically involves playing every instrument individually while the sound engineer adjusts preamp gain and listening levels.  When done properly, all the microphones will be set to optimal sensitivity, and the listening levels will not be overly loud or too soft when the performance starts.

To get the most out of sound check, musician’s can do the following:

• Be quiet until it is your turn, the engineer will instruct you when to play your instrument

• Play the same style or exact same music as you are about to perform (if you’re singing, actually sing the song at the volume you intend to perform. A quick whisper, loud yell, or bird noises do nothing to help the engineer configure mixer settings for your performance).

• Perform you sound check until asked to stop by the engineer (don’t just play one phrase and stop

• Be patient while waiting for monitor mixes. Often the volumes you hear at the beginning of sound check will be far different than the stage or headphone mix at the end of the process. This is because the engineer will configure optimal input gain before creating a listen-able blend for your monitoring. Be patient as this task is accomplished.

It’s really not that hard, and a good sound check will send a performance or recording session off to a solid start. Play hard and I’ll talk to you from the other side of the glass!

The post Don’t Make Bird Sounds During Your Sound Check, Unless You Are A Bird. appeared first on Vertigo Productions.

Recently, Vertigo was asked to master “Elwha” the newest self produced album by Greg Rawlins. What a treat it’s been! Greg’s music is hard to describe, saying he plays guitar and sings doesn’t seem to do it justice. The instrumentation is varied and the sound of one song to the next vastly different. I figured the best I could do to adequately explain this music was to write a little review about how it makes me feel… rather than what it sounds like… Crazy but here it goes!

Singer/Songwriter Greg Rawlins has done it again. His third solo album,”Elwha,” is an audible example of why we all need to stop and smell the roses.

Adventuring across 11 songs, Greg manages to capture the strangeness and graceful honesty of the human condition. The albums imagery stretches deep into rural America, conversing with antiquated farm equipment and negotiating passage with the sun as she casts her final shadows over the mountains. But the messages are deeper than rustic life in the Pacific
Northwest. Mr. Rawlins dive-bombs the heart of civilization and carefully re-builds musical skyscrapers one girder at a time, controlling each instrument and lyric with thoughtful precision as he crafts “Elwha” into a glowing metropolis of interpersonal communication, longing, loss, & inner balance. This is an album for humanity.

Musically, his most technical release to date, “Elwha” is brimming with sonic character. Greg’s voice brutally exposes the psyche of mankind while weaving a hypnotic web of rhythm and melody. His style is unique and satisfying, always revealing the integrity of his message, Greg is a true poet born into a musician’s body. I doubt there is another artist alive
that could deliver a lyric like, “nice to meet you pitchfork” and somehow cause me to trigger half a dozen mental images of long lost conversations, childhood memories, and awkward social encounters all at the same time.

“Elwha” stands tribute to what really matters in modern music, the ability to capture and convey raw emotion. The album is built of hard work, poetic catharsis, and love. I think you’ll feel it too.

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