To my mind anything other than the purchased audio accounts for DRM and I don’t want it. While I’m all for legal downloads, I’m not into being tracked, no matter how legal you make it. Lucky for you and me the account information is actually embedded at the last moment of the iTunes purchase and download process. Which means it isn’t hard embedded, it’s only some additional meta-data. I will have to mention, at this point, that this process only works on iTunes Plus (.m4a) files downloaded from the iTunes Music store. It will not work on older iTunes Protected files (.m4p) although protected files can be upgraded in the iTunes music store to iTunes Plus for a nominal fee.

To remove the meta-data, you need an program which doesn’t recognize the additional meta-information and a way to save the audio losslessly. The program that fits the bill is Rogue Amoeba’s amazingly versatile Fission ($32). It’s a lossless audio editor for the mac and it’s a seriously wonderful tool that I use on a daily basis for editing audio files and creating ringtones. To remove the meta-information, open the iTunes Plus file and re-save the audio.

That’s it. It losslessly saves a .m4a with no user information embedded and best of all, it doesn’t recode or transcode the audio (as with some other burn a CD and reimport methods). It is exactly the same quality coming out as it went in.

A few things you might notice about this process is that the file size will drop after saving. Not entirely sure why. Perhaps removing all that extra meta-data cleans house a bit. You will also notice that the bit-rate for the file will go from 256kbps to something else. This is normal and because Apple, in an attempt not to scare it’s users with different  variable bit-rates from the encoding process, makes every file share the 256kbps regardless of it’s true bitrate. Lastly, Fission adds 0:00.032 of audio to the track? While odd, this shouldn’t actually effect the sound, as it’s 0.03% of a second, so unless you have crazy dog ears, you wont hear it.

Best of all, now you have an audio file that has none of your private data attached, which in my books is truly DRM free.

I will use this post to track all the very best themes in one place, so I don’t have to start from scratch each time I want to plan a relaunch.

Themes

K2 (Kubrick 2)

Here is an update of the original Kubrick theme, but with more bells a whistles than I feel necessary. Unfortunately this theme is beyond my understanding to hack, but it is a great place to find out what is possible with a brain the size of a planet. Includes an aside feature.

Fauna
This is a lovely theme and the first I have found which might destabilize the era of Kubrick. It is clean, sensible and very easy to modify. It includes an asides, noteworthy, sidebar categories, supports widgets, and has a preference pane.

Hemingway
Clean and very clear, although it makes the front page show only 2 entries. It is far better for the occasional blogger and not an everyday writer, but handsome none the less.

Emire
A very smart business like theme which has a very serviceable template structure. Although unrelated it has similarities to kottke.org look without being demonstrative.

Rounded

This one of my new favorites in terms of sensible themes with great look and feel. It makes me smile just looking at it. It’s fun, carefree, and has a totally different feel than most themes. Includes an aside feature.

Sandbox

“Is a theme for themers. It has the ability to be easily skinned, so beginners will feel comfortable styling it since they only need to know CSS.” I have to say that this theme is a great framework to begin creating themes. It’s got “semantic classes” which allows for very sophisticated Interface and interactive design.

Prebuilt

This theme looks promising, although I am not a fan of the dashed style for the links. Also the site lacks good clear screenshots of the theme, but the framework looks good and this might become a contender in the future.

This sort of idea could definitely be harnessed for events like the Aids Walk or Race for the Cure. It could of course also be used for my fat ass.

(via Photo Matt)

The Iconfactory

Did I mention they’re free?

*How will I ever forgive myself?!*

In other news I now have an accurate running approximation of how many subscribers now subscribe to my podcast from the friendly folks over at “LibSyn”:http://www.libsyn.com/ who now host some of my episodes. _Although my screwed up RSS feed may have stunted those stats!_ I’ve switched the hosting part of my podcasts to their service because last month I went way over my usual bandwidth counts and decided it’s better to be safe than sorry. You can find the running tally in my right-hand column.

And finally, many thanks to people visiting the site for their comments about the new design. It makes all those lonely nights staring at a flickering screen in my boxer-shorts worth while.

My new weblogging software, “WordPress,”:http://wordpress.org/ while superior in many ways to my old blogging software, “MovableType,”:http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ has one major downfall… every page that WordPress creates is dynamically created and must be a PHP file. This seemingly harmless caveat means that all my old static pages must be renamed or reorganized. This doesn’t bother me particularly, because I can always keep all my old weblog files in the background, but more I am worried about my RSS feeds which had been simply named *index.xml.*

*The .xml thing doesn’t work with WordPress.*

The only fix I can find right now is to create a redirect for my index.xml file which would load my new RSS feed location. The only problem with this approach is that the browser address actually changes with a redirect which I would assume might create a problem with some RSS readers. Does anybody have a better solution? One that would be completely transparent?

_Thanks for listening to my techno-jumble, I promise not to be as dorky in future._

Tascam US-122 features:

• USB power
• Two analog inputs and outputs (stereo)
• 24-bit (44.1 kHz or 48 kHz) input to output path
• Separate source selection (MIC/LINE/INST) and gain control per channel
• 48V phantom power
• Hi-Z input for (D.I.) instrument pickup
• TRS inserts on each input channel
• Balanced/unbalanced connections
• Zero-latency direct monitoring
• Unbalanced RCA and Headphone outputs with dedicated volume controls
• MIDI input and output ports
• 16-channel MIDI interface

Installation of the drivers needed was a breeze, I decided to download drivers directly from the Tascam website instead of messing with the included installation CD. A restart later the US-122 was up and running. In GarageBand’s Preferences, selecting Audio/MIDI was equally easy to start recording from my guitars pickup. Although at first I noticed an audio lag from what I was playing when I was monitoring the guitar track, I quickly found opening the included utility US-122 Manager I could set the Audio Safety Buffer from 2ms to 1ms and the lag disappeared.

The sound quality, recording directly from my Takamine EG330SC acoustic guitar, was very clear and synched to my playing, although I could detect a slight latency. Unfortunately latency, or audio lag, is a problem on all USB recording devices and the Tascam US-122 is susceptible, but Tascam includes a zero latency direct monitoring feature which allows you to bypass the circuitry and listen to your input directly. The latency was almost imperceptible with all track effects off in GarageBand.

I had never heard my guitar accept through cheap guitar amps and the US-122 was so clear and detailed that I could hear every movement of my fingers on the strings and every missed fret. It was a little unnerving. The short of it is, the Tascam US-122 is extremely responsive, so much so you may be surprised to hear your guitar uncolored.

( Here’s a sample from my horrible playing. MP3 340k )

To my Takamine’s defense, I really didn’t have a chance to fool around with any settings and the recording is done straight, without any EQ adjustments. It will be interested to see what I can do to make the guitar sound like I want it to… fingers crossed.

UPDATE: Sat down for half an hour with my acoustic guitar and went through GarageBand’s settings. This is more like it. Forgive Me Love instrumental as QuickTime Movie 450kb.

(To be added later this week, dynamic microphones and the Tascam US-122)

• Your recordings are only as good as their weakest link (Basically this means that even if you have a $2,000 guitar, if you plug it into a crappy amp it will sound crappy)
• Buy the best equipment you can (an economy in quality, is always a false economy)
• Always look for affordable alternatives (this may seem the opposite of the above statement, but it isn’t. Sometimes you may not be able to buy the best equipment and some lower priced alternatives may be there if you look)

To start with I needed an audio recording and mixing device. Back in the days it would have been a huge reel-to-reel recorders with huge mixing boards and teams of engineers in lab coats pushing little light up buttons. In the professional world today they use huge digital recorders and mixing decks, behind glass with millions of dollars of equipment. In an amateur home recording studio there are many different approaches from analog tape mixers, digital deck mixers, to computer based recoding. I chose to edit on my old Apple laptop using software which takes up the least space and allows for maximum quality and maximum edit-ability over all the other amateur formats, for this I am using a PowerBook and a copy of GarageBand to record and mix. GarageBand also has virtual amps which utilize DI (Direct Inject) which sound great, cost a fraction of real amps, are post-production friendly (can change amp’s sound later in the mix) and save a huge amount of my limited urban living space.

(Direct Injecting is a recording term used when you don’t mic up a guitar’s amp, but rather plug the guitar directly into the mixing board. It is often seen by professionals as cheating because it does not allow for an artist’s individual amplifier sound to be captured, but then again the same was said about digital photography 5 years ago.)

Audio Interface

Since I’m using a small laptop, it has no real recording audio inputs to connect microphones or guitars and I need some inputs pronto. Here I found a problem, any layman’s reviews of audio interfaces are impossible to evaluate because you have no idea what the people reviewing the interface are connection to them, or what their level of expertise is. Some reviews would be very favorable, then the next review was extremely unfavorable. So, I looked at 4 models:

• M-Audio MobilePre USB ($150) great interface for the money, but it has “severe problems with condenser microphones.”:http://www.mojopie.com/mobilepre.html
• Digidesign Mbox USB Interface ($450) The best quality but no MIDI interface. Just too damn expensive.
• Tascam US-122 USB Audio/MIDI Interface ($200)($185 ebay new) Has everything including “proper phantom power for condenser microphones”:http://www.musicgearreview.com/reviews-guitar-bass-drums-recording/6867.html and made by the premiere name in recording.
• M-Audio Delta 410 FireWire Computer Recording Interface ($400) Too expensive for feature set.

After quite allot of debate and research, I found that Tascam US-122 was the best value for what I need. Although I don’t have a condenser microphone yet (read further down to understand what a condenser microphones is) the fact that it had real phantom (v48) power was extremely appealing. It’s small size and USB powered interface was perfect for my portable laptop.

Next up… Guitars

Two basic approaches to this, externally mic up your guitar or musical instrument, or buy a guitar with pickups built in. I have opted for the second. My Acoustic Takamine EG330SC has a mic built in to record acoustic passages.

Microphones

This is by far the most difficult area to get into. To record any sound, your environment really matters. Where you record is as important as what your recording. I have the luxury of an internal room in my apartment that has no external windows and is basically isolated from outside noise. Because i’ve never recorded with real microphones in this room, I decided not to spend my money on an expensive microphone that may be completely useless in my home studio. Instead, I directed my attention to a very versatile “live” dynamic microphone the Shure SM58. It’s characteristics are a natural and warm sound that is unidirectional and perfect for live performances, because of it’s directionality. The Shure 58 costs about $100 and is well worth the money, but in my searches I found a mic that many had compared to the Shure called the Nady SP-5 at a fifth it’s price tag. Better yet, they had a sale for buy one get 2 free at MusiciansFriend. Because I eventually wanted to use a condenser microphone, this cost saving was perfect to try out my recording studio performance, without spending much on expensive equipment before knowing what recording problems I would encounter.

• 3 Nady SP-5 ($20)
• 2 Mic Cables ($6)
• 1 Boom Mic Stand ($20)

I also developed, with some help of the Brooklyn Public Library and Modern Recording Techniques, a cheap alternative to a sound booth that I can create in my middle room. It’s basically two doors bolted together covered in carpet (or some other sound absorbing material) against a wall with caret draped down it. It creates a little recording “V” that should be totally sound absorbent. I would imagine this should run me about $100-$150.

The Mysterious Condenser Microphone

Condenser microphones are the apparent cream of the crop when it comes to microphones in the recording studio. They feature the best audio quality and sensitivity and can capture the most accurate reproduction of vocal and instrumental sound. The only problem that I see is that, from the books I have read, they can be too sensitive for the amateur recorder. They are much less directional than dynamic microphones (Omnidirectional) and are so sensitive that the air displaced by pronouncing the letter “P” can wreak havoc by creating an audible pop in the recording track, so they require a pop screen which is placed between your mouth and the microphone. Pop-screens cost about $20, but can be built for $0.69 with a pair of pantyhose, a wire coat-hanger, and a bit of duct-tape.

I decided after long thought that I will hold off buying one of these guys until my recording studio is better fleshed out and I know what it is that I want to record, but am looking at the Nady SCM-1000 and the MXL 992. On closer examination the microphone that seems to have everybody raving about it’s exceptional quality and fantastic price point is the Studio Projects C1 Single diaphragm cardioid condenser microphone. The reviews of this microphone are absolutely amazing.

More about Microphones.

That’s all I have right now. I hope to post some samples of recordings I make to give you all a better idea what the hell it is I’m talking about real soon.

LINKS:

• MacMusic
• MacJams aka GarageBand Users

As I said back in “November,”:/archives/031103_52_pickup.html I intend to record my musical ramblings for you guys to see what you think… I’m thinking of it as writing music like a blog. I would post a new song, you guys would take a listen and I would repost a revised edition, unless I thought that your comments sucked… like somebody out there says Barry Gibb isn’t the king of disco. It would be a big experiment, that will probably self-destruct but it’s worth a try.

GarageBand is basically a program to supply anybody with a backing band for their musical expressions. You can even record into the thing using a microphone, or guitar! I am totally stoked. I have already started looking at new electric guitars for recording these compositions.

* “Fender Stratocaster”:http://www.music123.com/Item/?itemno=119416 (American Made)
* “Epiphone Casino”:http://www.music123.com/Item/?itemno=69552 (Lennons guitar) (No, not the dictator)
* “Epiphone Dot”:http://www.music123.com/Item/?itemno=28135 (Like Chuck Berry’s guitar only cheeper)

The best part of GarageBand is that it costs a measley $49.00 with 4 other great iLife applications (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD). The only question I have, is why didn’t they call it iBand, or iPerform, or iMix? GarageBand seems like a strange move in their naming strategy.

Contrary to popular belief, the iPod Mini is priced perfectly in the “MP3 player market.”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000AXKBK/ref=pd_ts_e_12/102-4376633-4439302?v=glance&s=electronics&n=493964 Sure there’s people who are saying that a $250 price tag is too high to compete with the junky players offered by other companies and I agree. That doesn’t, however, mean that Apple has ever tried to get enter that market or should.

*Jaguar cars has never offered a low end car because they want to compete with Honda.*

Apple’s original iPod was not marketed from it’s low price. It was, and still is, the top of the line in portable digital music players. It costs the most and sells, why? Because Apple’s strategy is not to create the lowest price digital players on the market, there is enough competition already, instead they created the best MP3 player in the world.

People still don’t quite understand that when you buy an iPod it’s because it is the best player that money can buy, not because it’s a cheap product. I’ve had this conversation with a few people so I shall post it here. People say…

“I wouldn’t buy the 4GB Mini for $250, when I could have the 15BG iPod for $300.”

So, where’s the downside for Apple? Instead of shelling out $250 you’ll shell out $300 and think you’re getting something even better. What Apple do, extremely well I might add, is up the ante ever so slowly that before you know it you’ve bought the $400 model because you wanted the remote and sleeve. The scenario is this you go into the Best Buy to buy a MP3 player and see the iPod Mini. Wow, you say to yourself it’s only $50 bucks more than that other player that holds 1/16th the amount of music. Wow, you say to yourself again for $50 more I get 3 times the amount of storage!

You have just added $100 to your purchase, in small increments and before you know it Apple has you as a customer. It’s simple and brilliant. The best part is that it’s a win win situation, Apple gets you as a customer and you purchase the best MP3 player in the world.

“Then there’s the fact that later this year HP will be producing their own iPods thanks to an agreement with Apple.”:http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/jan/08hp.html So all those PC people out there who don’t get it, will buy one and marvel at it’s ease of use and the thought will creep in “maybe I should try a mac.”

_Or maybe that’s wishful thinking._