Freelance Audio Engineers - Please send you cv and covering letter along with a showreel or link to an online version, to the email address below.

Studio Assistant - This is an ideal opportunity for a student to gain some hands on experience in a studio. This is not a full time position and will involve some evening and weekend work and would fit around your course load. On top of financial renumeration, assistants will benifit from our training resources, studio down time as well as gaining hands on experience of Pro Tools HD hardware and software.

Please enclose a covering email with contact details to be considered as an assistant.

Email: ross@bostonrecording.co.uk

Vocalign is an awesome tool and the only one of it's kind in the industry. Whilst various sequencers and software will let you manipulate timing in a multitude of ways none offer the speed and accuracy of Vocalign. Aligning any track to a master track is only a few short clicks away and that pro sound is yours, double tracked vocals or guitars without the mush, you guessed it, Vocalign!

The new bass traps have really improved the sound from the room particularily when recording percussion instruments.

No idea what a bass trap is? Get the info over at Ross' blog - www.rossworth.co.uk

2008 was a great year for Boston Recording, we have seen some awesome bands and solo artists pass through our doors and are simply overwhelmed with the support we have been getting, so firstly thanks to all of our clients!

So for 2009 we have some new toys to make sure your projects sound fresh and run as efficiently as possible...

Pro Tools 8

Pro Tools 8 was released in December and we have finished our testing of the product and it is now available throughout Boston Recording. We are still running Pro Tools 7.4 for those of you who still want to use the last version of Pro Tools.

The upgrades are massive and we have definitely seen an improved workflow on the last few mixes, so better software means faster projects for you! There are also countless new plug-ins and soft synthesisers to give you the latest sounds.

We also have Logic 7 and 8 at the studio for those who prefer to work with Logic, and don’t forget you can use Logic with the awesome sounding Digidesign 192 I/O.

 New Mics

We have also treated ourselves to some new Large Diaphragm Condenser Mics to compliment the range already available. We will be updating the equipment list soon with all of our recent additions.

Online Shop – www.bostonrecording.co.uk/shop

Also for 2009 we have our very own online shop, providing you with a choice range of products handpicked by resident Producer/Engineer Ross Worth. We won’t just sell the latest gear, we can also provide you with first class support and advice. So if you’re not quite sure what you need just give us a call and we’ll be happy to help. Over the coming weeks we will be adding more and more products to our shop so please keep checking back or if you need something that is not listed online then please give us a call on: 01205 317710.

Speakers are probably the least considered part of all your equipment. Think about it, how much thought went into choosing your last guitar amp? Did you spend hours researching or drooling over magazines or did you try every amp in your local or not so local music shop? Now think about your speakers, chances are you brought the cheapest you could or the most expensive you could afford either way did you actually try them first?  I'd be surprised if the majority of people did. The truth is speakers can make a massive difference to your sound.

At Boston Recording we have a selection of cabinets each with its own sonic character, this week however one of the cabs started imposing a large amount of crackling and buzzing on the tone of the bass!

After a quick trip to our repair desk the fault turned out to be a dry solder joint and was resolved in minutes, restoring the great bass tone, studio clients and rehearsal room users have come to expect.

This month has seen Boston Operatic Sciety enter the studio to record a commemorative 50th anniversary Buddy Holly cd. The CD contains various covers of original Buddy hits performed brilliantly by the cast. The cd is limited to very exclusive numbers due to licensing  reasons so be sure to get your copy quickly!

BOS are to perform the musical at Blackfriars Theatre in Boston Lincolnshire  from Thursday 20th to Saturday 29th November (excluding Sunday 23rd).  For tickets call the Box Office on 01205 363 108.

For more information visit: Boston Operatics Society

October has seen the reactor party head into the studio to complete two tracks, Turn It Off, and Wait for Tonight which sound awesome!

Check out their MySpace page here

TOP TIP - Own a Marshall Mode4? - Keep the fans clean with spray air to prevent the transistors overheating!

The past few weeks have seen many a Marshall amp enter the repair shop. Known for their reliability Marshall products are generally very good and true to form most of the problems we see are due to poor maintenance.

If you own a valve amp remember that the valves need some care and attention. Power valves normally need replacing every year with heavy use and can last as long as 3 or more years under light usage. Pre-amp vales generally last much longer however high gain fxpedals can reduce their life dramatically. When power tubes fail they can ften damage other components in the amplifier so regular servicing is reccomended.

You can improve the tone of your amp over its stock configuration just tell us what you need, more BEEF? more DISTORTION? If you would like to discuss upgrading or servicing your valves then please get in touch, together we can  get the sound you crave and with full services from as little as £64.99 including parts there has ever been a better time to service your amp.

TV show Time Out recently used Boston Recording for filming an interview between renowned poet Benjamin Zephaniah and up and coming Boston based rapper Luminus.

The interview centered on Lincolnshire and Boston subculture and seeks to define the rural dialect.

The show will be aired on the BBC in the near future please monitor listings for details. 

Finally we have the solution to that age old problem.

How can you combine the ease and flexibility of a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) with a great analog sound?

The answer is Mc DSP's Analog Channel.

The AC1 configuration acts as a digital pre-amp allowing even excessive amounts of gain without digital distortion. A drive control determines where the audio “sits” in the saturation/compression region, and even the attack and release times of the distortion character are adjustable.

The AC2 configuration emulates analog tape machines.  In addtiion to standard tape machine parameters such as bias, playback speed, and IEC1/2 equalization, AC2 offers controls well beyond the limits of the reel-world devices including adjustable low frequency roll off and head bump - independent of playback speed. The user can select from several playback head types, tape formulations, and even control the tape saturation recovery time.

The Analog Channel can now be found at Boston Recording Studios

The main reason was to make the name easier to remember so that name again? Boston Recording Studios.

You can still contact us using the usual details and you will still find the same great equipment and helpful staff.

Thanks,

Ross

1. Launch Cubase before reason, rewire applications always start after the host program.

2. Select "options" -> "Play in Background"

3. Select "Panels" -> "Rewire"

4. In the Active column (next to the channels you wish to activate in Cubase) click the green buttons

5. Open Reason

Note: You don't need to create a mixer in Reason; just wire the modules directly to the interface.

 When you export a mixdown all of the unmuted Rewire channels are also included.

	The Radial Engineering Pro DI is a fantastic sounding passive DI box. Keeping a DI track of guitars and bass allows us to change the amp sound using virtual amp software suchs as Amp Farm by Line 6.
Of course virtual amps will never completely replace recording a fantastic sounding amp, but at Alt Mu you get the failsafe of having a DI track as well as a great amp tone.

The equipment list can be downloaded from the link on our home page or from the equipment section of our web site.

Kevin will be providing creative input to our design team as well as heading up our youth workshop and music club programmes.

Kevin will also be responsable for overseeing the majority of rehersal room hire so I'm sure you'll all get to know him very soon.

Kevin is still available to be commisioned as an artist via his own Green Shed Studios and please feel free to get in touch for contact details.

If you have never used RSS don't panic as it's really easy. Just click the link below and select subscribe to this feed from the page that appears.

It may be no suprise to hear many studios and engineers are currently using illegal software and plugins in their work but did you realise that the end user could be held responsible?

Our advice is simple, make sure your projects don't use illegal plugins ask your engineer and the facility you plan to use if  all of their software is legal and ask if they would mind providing proof of this.

At Alt Mu Studios all our software is legal and registered to us. This means you can rest assured you won't be involved in software piracy by recording at our studios and that we have the lastest versions and full technical support across our software titles.

If you would like to see proof of ownership for any of our software please feel free to email us at bookings@alt-mu.co.uk

Or why not use your own head with our speakers to keep your tone without the lifting!

The desk powers our new Peavy 1.2 Kw PA system that ensure what ever happens at your rehersal you can be heard! The PA consists of 2 x 15 inch bass bins, 2 x 10 drivers with horns.

We also have PA systems available for rental please get in touch for more information on: 01205 317 710.

The new Bowers and Wilkins 3 way speakers are a full range speaker that extend right down to 30Hz allowing us to focus on the bass of your projects and get the results you desire. On top of the bass the Mids and highs are fantastically accurate with a large soundstage that is not unduely bright.

Mapex are fast establishing themselves as a serious name in the drumming world and having spent some time on the new kits we can see why, the sound is amazing and the build quality out of this world.

Note: Drummers should bring their own kick drum pedal, cymbals and snare drum. These items can be hired if necessary at an additional fee.

Please call our office on 01205 317710 for more information.

Everyone knows that valve amps produce fantastic tone but unortunately those little tubes deteriorate and fail, infact a bad tube failure can even seriously damage your amplifier.

Valve servicing need not be expensive and should be considered general maintenance by any valve amp owner.

Here at Alt Mu we provide matched tubes and gaurentee them for 90 days, prices currently start from £45.99.

Please check our services page for more information.

Having added additional bass traps to deal with flutter echhoes and other sonic nasties the control room is now sounding beter than ever and you can here the results in your next mix.

Projects completed at Alt Mu are now generally transporting better between systems and the mix environment is now very accurate.

These pultec EQ's are what they say on the tin, CLASSIC. Modelled on the MEQ-5, EQP-1A and EQH-2 equalisers the units provide a sweet warm sound untill now only found in analog units.

Bombfactory are famed for their accurate recreations of studio classics and the pultec eq's are certainly no exception.

Top of the tree in terms of new features has to be the elastic audio function which allows engineers to stretch audio with ease, from tidying vocals or moving out of time notes and reworking samples elastic audio is a real time saver and a massive plus for the Pro Tools environment.

Elastic audio even works across multitrack audio without phase problems, how did we ever work without it?

Revibe is a room modeling Reverb that sounds simply fantastic, it's intuitive user interface and optimised room reflections give users ultimate reverb in their projects.

Revibe is a TDM only plugin and not available on home versions of Pro Tools.

Ranging from crazy effects to subtle and delicate and every tweakable degree inbetween the Waves plugins are simply awesome, and now as an Alt Mu user you have all the Waves processing power your project coud require.

Logic 8 is now available along-side Logic 7 for users happier working in the older version.

You can check out Backstage Academy by clicking here.

What should you know about MP3? - MP3 is a form of compressed audio and as such the quality is not as high as an uncompressed source. For recording and backing track purposes we preffer to have good quality uncompressed recordings however, for demo work or when users are collaborating over distance, MP3 can provide a reasonable working quality for demo arrangemnets and other similar purposes.

Other forms of compression include AAC, or Advanced Audio Coding, which has been designed to be the successor of MP3. It typically produces much better sound quality and comparitive bit rates and has already been employed by iTunes as the standard form of audio compression.

If you need small file sizes then AAC is preffered over MP3.

It can be downloaded here