The vinyl of unsuspected sounds has arrived here at the compound, and assembly and shipping will commence in the morning. As promised, and since this is a good cusp, here are all the numbers so far, with annotations where appropriate. I had meant for this to be a learning experience as much as anything else, and I think everyone that hasn't had vinyl pressed before will benefit from this information. (I no longer count myself among those sad individuals. Now I'm a different sort of sad individual.)
Since this is a compilation for charity (more on that at the end) with tracks submitted royalty free by all the artists involved, there is no cost in acquiring the music. The costs are 100% related to the production of the final product. So don't use this number and say "SEE THIS IS WHAT A RECORD COSTS TO MAKE!!!" If you're pressing someone eles's music, at least here in America (and most Western nations) you have to pay the statutory mechanical royalty at the bare minimum, so figure that in to your accounting. With that out of the way...
Mastering: $675. This included 5 hours of mastering at $125/hr, the digital master, the vinyl master, and one reference acetate.
500 Jackets: $1280. These were done by Stumptown Printers as true old-school offset, one color on recycled heavyweight dyed stock. This was a more expensive option; normal jackets would be about half this price.
500 Vinyl Records: $1261.48. The pressing was done at RTI in California, and the price included 5 test pressings, a small over-run (35 copies), plus shipping to Phoenix.
300 Vinyl Record Shipping Boxes: $242.83. I got these from U-Line. Betcha forgot about shipping 'em, didn't you? I didn't. This is a cost. Notice I only ordered 300.
Total Actual Cost Of Production For 500 Units: $3459.31
Now, with that out of the way, as you know I put them on sale as soon as I got the jackets, about 3 weeks ago. So pre-orders have been running for nearly a month. And here's the result. Note that figure does not include the Paypal fee or Bandcamp's fee. With my other sales, and Bandcamp's largess, they dropped their fee from 15% to 10% when we had taken in about $2200, so it's difficult to figure exactly, but best I can tell, I have received $2635.48. Also, the artists collectively ponied up $100 (or more in a couple cases) each to pre-buy copies for themselves, and that was another $700 in the kitty. So basically we're not even close to breaking even, technically, but in real dollars, figuring a slight overage on the S&H, we're in the black at this point, albeit barely.
Some notes on the sales: you'll notice that the average price paid for the vinyl is over $18. This number is skewed by three people who paid much more than the asking price. On the whole, the vast majority (I'd say around 90) paid the asking price for the vinyl. The average price paid for the digital only was just a touch south of $6.75.
You'll also see the two big peaks in the sales graph. The first one is my initial promotional push. The second peak is when Peter mentioned the album on Create Digital Music. I have done no promotion whatsoever beyond that. (I wanted to actually have the vinyl before I got carried away.)
So, long story short: it has, more or less, paid for itself, and at the end of the day I'll still have over a hundred units to get rid of, which are, at this point, the pure charitable donation. 100% of every sale from this point forward will go straight to charity. But it was a close thing.
Anyhow, I'll be packing and shipping for the next few days. This should be great fun. I hope this info will be useful to some future person considering this course of action.
Since this is a compilation for charity (more on that at the end) with tracks submitted royalty free by all the artists involved, there is no cost in acquiring the music. The costs are 100% related to the production of the final product. So don't use this number and say "SEE THIS IS WHAT A RECORD COSTS TO MAKE!!!" If you're pressing someone eles's music, at least here in America (and most Western nations) you have to pay the statutory mechanical royalty at the bare minimum, so figure that in to your accounting. With that out of the way...
Mastering: $675. This included 5 hours of mastering at $125/hr, the digital master, the vinyl master, and one reference acetate.
500 Jackets: $1280. These were done by Stumptown Printers as true old-school offset, one color on recycled heavyweight dyed stock. This was a more expensive option; normal jackets would be about half this price.
500 Vinyl Records: $1261.48. The pressing was done at RTI in California, and the price included 5 test pressings, a small over-run (35 copies), plus shipping to Phoenix.
300 Vinyl Record Shipping Boxes: $242.83. I got these from U-Line. Betcha forgot about shipping 'em, didn't you? I didn't. This is a cost. Notice I only ordered 300.
Total Actual Cost Of Production For 500 Units: $3459.31
Now, with that out of the way, as you know I put them on sale as soon as I got the jackets, about 3 weeks ago. So pre-orders have been running for nearly a month. And here's the result. Note that figure does not include the Paypal fee or Bandcamp's fee. With my other sales, and Bandcamp's largess, they dropped their fee from 15% to 10% when we had taken in about $2200, so it's difficult to figure exactly, but best I can tell, I have received $2635.48. Also, the artists collectively ponied up $100 (or more in a couple cases) each to pre-buy copies for themselves, and that was another $700 in the kitty. So basically we're not even close to breaking even, technically, but in real dollars, figuring a slight overage on the S&H, we're in the black at this point, albeit barely.
Some notes on the sales: you'll notice that the average price paid for the vinyl is over $18. This number is skewed by three people who paid much more than the asking price. On the whole, the vast majority (I'd say around 90) paid the asking price for the vinyl. The average price paid for the digital only was just a touch south of $6.75.
You'll also see the two big peaks in the sales graph. The first one is my initial promotional push. The second peak is when Peter mentioned the album on Create Digital Music. I have done no promotion whatsoever beyond that. (I wanted to actually have the vinyl before I got carried away.)
So, long story short: it has, more or less, paid for itself, and at the end of the day I'll still have over a hundred units to get rid of, which are, at this point, the pure charitable donation. 100% of every sale from this point forward will go straight to charity. But it was a close thing.
Anyhow, I'll be packing and shipping for the next few days. This should be great fun. I hope this info will be useful to some future person considering this course of action.
If you point your browser at this little gem, you'll be rewarded with an interesting insight in to Apple's continual process of legacy software pruning. They learned long ago (c. OS 9) that it is far easier to just not support older software rather than try to work it in to whatever current version of their OS they're building.
To be fair, this is a continual source of headaches for Redmond, and a big reason that Windows is so full of security holes. Apple has different problems, of course, but life as a developer for OS X is basically a long string of beatings. We all have Stockholm Syndrome at this point, and anything like this is met with resignation, and a muttered "thank you sir, may I have another?"
For those that don't see what I'm talking about, Gatekeeper is a new whiz-bang feature in OS X 10.8 that essentially won't let the user install any software that isn't digitally signed. The user can turn this feature off, theoretically, but it is on by default. If you use a piece of software that is not currently supported by whomever made it, you can pretty much write that software off with respect to 10.8.
For plug-in companies that have a large product line (like, oh, I don't know, Audio Damage?) this means a rebuild of everything, yet again, plus we have to buy the ridiculous Mac Developer License at $99 a seat to get the signature in the first place. The only other option is to continue to sell our products unsigned, and hope that our customers decide to run Mountain Lion with Gatekeeper disabled.
Adam and I haven't discussed this issue at any length yet, but I imagine we'll go ahead and get the signatures and such-like, because that's the pro thing to do. But expect us to complain about it at length. (A question: if the host is signed, why does the plug-in need to be signed?) Also note that, in the event we do this, we will NOT be rebuilding and signing our own legacy products. This means that if you want to continue using, say, Discord2 or the original Kombinat, you need to stay at 10.7 or earlier.
Gatekeeper? Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!
To be fair, this is a continual source of headaches for Redmond, and a big reason that Windows is so full of security holes. Apple has different problems, of course, but life as a developer for OS X is basically a long string of beatings. We all have Stockholm Syndrome at this point, and anything like this is met with resignation, and a muttered "thank you sir, may I have another?"
For those that don't see what I'm talking about, Gatekeeper is a new whiz-bang feature in OS X 10.8 that essentially won't let the user install any software that isn't digitally signed. The user can turn this feature off, theoretically, but it is on by default. If you use a piece of software that is not currently supported by whomever made it, you can pretty much write that software off with respect to 10.8.
For plug-in companies that have a large product line (like, oh, I don't know, Audio Damage?) this means a rebuild of everything, yet again, plus we have to buy the ridiculous Mac Developer License at $99 a seat to get the signature in the first place. The only other option is to continue to sell our products unsigned, and hope that our customers decide to run Mountain Lion with Gatekeeper disabled.
Adam and I haven't discussed this issue at any length yet, but I imagine we'll go ahead and get the signatures and such-like, because that's the pro thing to do. But expect us to complain about it at length. (A question: if the host is signed, why does the plug-in need to be signed?) Also note that, in the event we do this, we will NOT be rebuilding and signing our own legacy products. This means that if you want to continue using, say, Discord2 or the original Kombinat, you need to stay at 10.7 or earlier.
Gatekeeper? Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!
Been a busy few days 'round here.
1. I went to L.A. yesterday. While I was there, I got a tour of NI's LA office. They have a nice office. It's just like the Audio Damage offices, except in a big building on the Sunset Strip, and with no empty monster cans lying about, and as far as I can tell, no cat hair.
2. Tattoo is now 32/64-bit on all platforms, and version 1.1.2 is in the AD store for download. The only one of our commercial products left to do now is... uh... I know there's one left but I can't think of which one it is, because I just woke up and there's no caffeine in the house. Dr. Device, maybe?
3. New set from Standard Beat Company, called Doom Dub. This is is, in my opinion, one of Wade's best collections. US$29.00, and a bargain at twice the price.
4. The vinyl of Unsuspected Sounds should be here today or tomorrow. As soon as it arrives, I'll begin shipping the pre-orders, in order of ordering. That should be hilarious. I'll also put up the numbers so far. I haven't added everything up yet at this juncture, but I'm not losing my shirt. Only a tank top and a pair of socks.
1. I went to L.A. yesterday. While I was there, I got a tour of NI's LA office. They have a nice office. It's just like the Audio Damage offices, except in a big building on the Sunset Strip, and with no empty monster cans lying about, and as far as I can tell, no cat hair.
2. Tattoo is now 32/64-bit on all platforms, and version 1.1.2 is in the AD store for download. The only one of our commercial products left to do now is... uh... I know there's one left but I can't think of which one it is, because I just woke up and there's no caffeine in the house. Dr. Device, maybe?
3. New set from Standard Beat Company, called Doom Dub. This is is, in my opinion, one of Wade's best collections. US$29.00, and a bargain at twice the price.
4. The vinyl of Unsuspected Sounds should be here today or tomorrow. As soon as it arrives, I'll begin shipping the pre-orders, in order of ordering. That should be hilarious. I'll also put up the numbers so far. I haven't added everything up yet at this juncture, but I'm not losing my shirt. Only a tank top and a pair of socks.
The long-awaited day has come. I was waiting until the jackets arrived, so that I knew the most time-consuming part of the process wouldn't have to be repeated. They just showed up today, and look fantastic. So I've made the unsuspected sounds page at BandCamp live, and you can listen to and purchase the album, in either digital or vinyl + digital forms.
All net proceeds will be donated directly to the Breast Assured Foundation of Tucson, so here's your opportunity to show you're with boobs, and hook them up. They do very good work taking their mobile labs to poor neighborhoods and providing free screening for breast cancer. Plus they have just about the best name of any charity group ever.
The vinyl will arrive on 5/5, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, I expect to have all orders shipped by 5/10. If the temperature has climbed too high here in Phoenix, I may pick up the vinyl in California and drive it back here, rather than relying on the good graces of UPS. (Their brown trucks get very hot here. I've received packages in Autumn I couldn't even pick up they were so hot. This wouldn't be good for vinyl.)
Anyhow, pay what you want, minimum $5 for the digital, $15 for the album. Go forth!
I'm currently writing my next EP, and this album is interesting inasmuch as the particular set of constraints I've set for myself this time involve using only generative techniques for the sequencing. That is to say that while I'll be recording to and mixing from Live, there are no Live clips playing MIDI; all the hardware and softsynths are driven from generative methods created in Max4Live.
Simultaneously, I decided I wanted to finally learn Spanish, so I joined Duolingo, which is a very nice service. However, many (most? all?) of the learning phrases are generated algorithmically, and I'm left with the lingering impression that there is some synchronicity here. Or, in other words, the turtle eats cheese.
Now, you and I know that turtles don't eat cheese. Or if they do, they probably regret it later. However, the algorithm that generates statements for me to translate in Duolingo doesn't know that. It just does animal + verb + food. Thus, we get: las tortugas comen queso. On the one hand, the sentence makes perfect sense. If you actually saw some turtles eating cheese, you'd turn to your monoglot friend Javier and say "las tortugas comen queso" and he would no doubt be in full agreement.
On the other, you're never going to do that. Because you most likely will live your whole life without ever seeing a turtle eat cheese. So the sentence itself, when used as an example of language, is correct, but ridiculous. This is largely the same thing with generative music, I discover. I was having a conversation with Matthew Davidson (stretta) about this via email earlier this week, and he pointed out that generative techniques probably best serve when they are just one tool in the musician's toolbox. I, ever the purist, bristled a bit at this; when I set myself a paradigm for recording, I don't do it by half measures, and the tracks I'm creating play by themselves, with zero input from me, and the resulting recording is already pre-mixed, even.
However, this methodology of mine, while crafty, usually results in a cheese-eating turtle. That is to say that my algorithms are choosing notes that are harmonically correct, but not necessarily something a person would play. I suppose this is the point of the exercise, but I was hoping for a more organic sound.
So my question is thus: what are your feelings vis-a-vis generative techniques? Are you like me, where it should be an all-or-nothing affair? Or is some subtle randomization to a hi-hat pattern or hand-editing MIDI output more to your taste? What's some good electronic music that was created wholly generatively?
Simultaneously, I decided I wanted to finally learn Spanish, so I joined Duolingo, which is a very nice service. However, many (most? all?) of the learning phrases are generated algorithmically, and I'm left with the lingering impression that there is some synchronicity here. Or, in other words, the turtle eats cheese.
Now, you and I know that turtles don't eat cheese. Or if they do, they probably regret it later. However, the algorithm that generates statements for me to translate in Duolingo doesn't know that. It just does animal + verb + food. Thus, we get: las tortugas comen queso. On the one hand, the sentence makes perfect sense. If you actually saw some turtles eating cheese, you'd turn to your monoglot friend Javier and say "las tortugas comen queso" and he would no doubt be in full agreement.
On the other, you're never going to do that. Because you most likely will live your whole life without ever seeing a turtle eat cheese. So the sentence itself, when used as an example of language, is correct, but ridiculous. This is largely the same thing with generative music, I discover. I was having a conversation with Matthew Davidson (stretta) about this via email earlier this week, and he pointed out that generative techniques probably best serve when they are just one tool in the musician's toolbox. I, ever the purist, bristled a bit at this; when I set myself a paradigm for recording, I don't do it by half measures, and the tracks I'm creating play by themselves, with zero input from me, and the resulting recording is already pre-mixed, even.
However, this methodology of mine, while crafty, usually results in a cheese-eating turtle. That is to say that my algorithms are choosing notes that are harmonically correct, but not necessarily something a person would play. I suppose this is the point of the exercise, but I was hoping for a more organic sound.
So my question is thus: what are your feelings vis-a-vis generative techniques? Are you like me, where it should be an all-or-nothing affair? Or is some subtle randomization to a hi-hat pattern or hand-editing MIDI output more to your taste? What's some good electronic music that was created wholly generatively?
As you know, I provide a public service occasionally where I point out situations where musicians are being taken advantage of. Haven't had to do this in a while (although TuneCore's "Get My Money" boondoggle has been tempting me) but this here is a doozy, and needs to be addressed.
The site is AlbumCredits.com, and here's the grift: it is owned and operated by AMG, the company that brings you the All Music Guide. What they've done is create a site that is a separate front end for AMG's database, where you can pay for the opportunity to correct it. The image above is a screenshot of what I'm met with when I click the "Claim This Profile" on my own page.
So, for a cool hundred bucks a year, I get the opportunity to fix AMG's database for them. This heaping pile of poorly collected, badly managed pig shit, that hasn't been worth fuck all since the Internet was knee-high to a short goat, will finally allow corrections, but only if you pay.
Seriously, this company can't go out of business fast enough. I would be sorely disappointed if any of you fell for this. (Look at it this way: I was always right about TAXI. I'm right about this. Just trust me.)
As you all know, our good friend Wade Alin folded his Beatserv sample company a few months ago, due to issues beyond his control with his partners and other things. Much dismay and rending of garments ensued. Well, from the ashes comes Standard Beat Company. Wade picks up right where Beatserv left off, with his first offering, Dark Downtempo 4. He has a new pricing model (cheaper sets and more of 'em, rather than big, relatively expensive packages) so DDT4 is only US$29.00.
There is also a free set to get you started, a fantastic warped acoustic house set called Penthouse that is eminently usable. Here's to success with the new endeavor!
The funny thing about getting vinyl (or CDs, for that matter) made is that it is essentially a long, boring process, punctuated with brief flashes of blind panic. My sister has told me that this is what being in Iraq is like, but I don't think the parallel is very accurate, honestly. The mastering lab didn't lob any mortars at me, for starters.
In any event, I got the test pressings today, and as I listened to 'em I had a couple of thoughts. The process for making CDs, while sharing the net result, is significantly different than that for making vinyl. When you have a CD made, you send off (or upload) a digital master and some Illustrator files with artwork, and in a couple weeks, FedEx Ground shows up at your doorstep with a couple dozen boxes. It's a fairly simple workflow, without much in the way of things that can go wrong. One time, a friend of mine who owned a label had a CD pressed, and instead of whatever industrial band's music, it had Tito Puente's Greatest Hits on it. While I felt this was a sizable improvement, subjectively, obviously his customers wouldn't have been too happy with that. That's the worst problem I've ever heard of when pressing CDs, and easily remedied with a phone call and a couple more weeks of waiting. (After that, we always did what we called the Tito Check; that is to say that we made a point of listening to units from several different boxes to ensure they had the correct content.)
Where making CDs is a science, making vinyl is much more of an art. You have to make subjective choices along the way that are heavily informed by the process itself. The only real limiting facet of a CD is the total time; when manufacturing vinyl I have discovered that there are many interdependent factors, and the entire process is sort of an exercise in finding out how much fuck you're willing to give about any particular aspect.
The main thing I noted is that receiving these test pressings made the whole thing much more real. A CD is, at its base level, fundamentally indistinguishable from a downloaded file or a USB thumb drive. It is simply a container for bits. With a vinyl record, however, the medium is part of the message. Yes, it is anachronistic. That much can't be argued. Yes, the sonic quality is demonstrably different than the digital file from whence it came (and, on paper at least, worse, although there's a subjective "better" in there as well.)
I hate to use the word "cooler," but the simple fact of the matter is that it's fucking cool to make a record. And I relish the fact that I can use the words "record" and "album" in their proper context, rather than as placeholders. It's big. It's black. It's round. It fucking crackles. Drop that tonearm, yo.
In any event, I got the test pressings today, and as I listened to 'em I had a couple of thoughts. The process for making CDs, while sharing the net result, is significantly different than that for making vinyl. When you have a CD made, you send off (or upload) a digital master and some Illustrator files with artwork, and in a couple weeks, FedEx Ground shows up at your doorstep with a couple dozen boxes. It's a fairly simple workflow, without much in the way of things that can go wrong. One time, a friend of mine who owned a label had a CD pressed, and instead of whatever industrial band's music, it had Tito Puente's Greatest Hits on it. While I felt this was a sizable improvement, subjectively, obviously his customers wouldn't have been too happy with that. That's the worst problem I've ever heard of when pressing CDs, and easily remedied with a phone call and a couple more weeks of waiting. (After that, we always did what we called the Tito Check; that is to say that we made a point of listening to units from several different boxes to ensure they had the correct content.)
Where making CDs is a science, making vinyl is much more of an art. You have to make subjective choices along the way that are heavily informed by the process itself. The only real limiting facet of a CD is the total time; when manufacturing vinyl I have discovered that there are many interdependent factors, and the entire process is sort of an exercise in finding out how much fuck you're willing to give about any particular aspect.
The main thing I noted is that receiving these test pressings made the whole thing much more real. A CD is, at its base level, fundamentally indistinguishable from a downloaded file or a USB thumb drive. It is simply a container for bits. With a vinyl record, however, the medium is part of the message. Yes, it is anachronistic. That much can't be argued. Yes, the sonic quality is demonstrably different than the digital file from whence it came (and, on paper at least, worse, although there's a subjective "better" in there as well.)
I hate to use the word "cooler," but the simple fact of the matter is that it's fucking cool to make a record. And I relish the fact that I can use the words "record" and "album" in their proper context, rather than as placeholders. It's big. It's black. It's round. It fucking crackles. Drop that tonearm, yo.
It's been a while since I did a Disembodied Hands Touching Gear video, so I busted one out this afternoon. I've picked up quite a few new pieces of kit in the intervening months, and some of it appears in this video.
The bassline is the old MeeBlip, while the main melody is the new MeeBlip SE; I think you can pretty clearly hear the difference. The new one is quite a bit cleaner and more sedate. There are significant UI differences between the two, despite their identical panel layout, and this means a pretty big divergence in the results. I had a feeling this would be the case when I saw the specs for the new one, which is why I didn't update my old one. I plan to keep both. They are essentially different synths entirely. That said, a MeeBlip of any stripe is now, and has been since its initial release, the best deal in new hardware synth gear, period, for what you get versus cost.
The drums and percussion are all from the Maschine. I have a Mikro controller, and am seriously thinking about switching up to the Makro one; I'm still trying to decide if it fits in my workflow, though. I'm having a strange struggle with the gain structure, and I'll probably upgrade to the bigger one if I figure it out. (Obviously, the software part that actually makes sound is not dependent on which controller is used.) The samples are all from my pretty large library of TX81Z percussion sounds; I sampled directly in to the Maschine software. This was an interesting exercise, since it functions essentially identically to a hardware sampling drum machine. Kickin' it old school with the new hybrid gear, yo.
Towards the end, the little percussion pattern that comes in is the SammichFM, which is a MidiBox FM in a little desktop box, from the same folks that brought you the SammichSid. Information available here. Short version: it is basically a MIDI-to-Yamaha OPL3 Chip interface unit, so essentially a 4-op FM synth nearly identical to a Yamaha TQ-5, except without the FX. Or a volume knob. This will rapidly drive me insane; as you can see in the video (or any of my many other videos) I arrange when I improvise by turning the volume on the units up and down. Grrrr. Argh. It sounds like an OPL3-based synth, anyhow, albeit with a much nicer user interface.
The DSI Tetr4 makes its normal appearance, as well as my Eventide TimeFactor and Space. (They are the only effects used, period, other than a couple compressors and gates in Live to tame things; they are configured as External Effects in Live.)
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Digits... |
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Las Tortugas Comen Queso... |
