Paul Franklin's Music Technology Links
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to main page
last update 2006/09/28
This is a list of links I
use to look up information, product reviews, prices and specs on
equipment and software. It's not meant to be all-inclusive or
for general use, but anyone stumbling over it is, of course, welcome
to use it. I'll be adding to it on a regular
basis.
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Menu |
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Recording/MIDI/Looping & Sampling Software |
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Samples |
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Hardware & Software Synthesizers |
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Recording Hardware: analog & digital mixers, preamps, effects, etc. |
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Microphones |
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Soundproofing the
Home Studio |
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Online Tutorials & Information pages |
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Music Recording Magazines |
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Music Forums: reviews, chat, discussions, information |
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Articles on recording, the
industry, piracy, copyright, inspiration, aesthetics, etc. |
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Technical Issues |
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Music & Science |
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Books |
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Links relating to Music Recordings |
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Links to Other Sites of Interest |
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Articles on recording, the
industry, piracy, copyright, inspiration, aesthetics, etc. |
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Canadian
Artists group to support downloading
A
new group of Canadian musicians have recently banded
together to fight the major companies' "war on consumers".
www.cdfreaks.com/news2.php?ID=13350
www.musiccreators.ca/ |
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Is downloading really bad? The Guardian, April
2004
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/netmusic/story/0,,1186075,00.html |
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The Effect of
File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical analysis
Felix Oberholzer,
March 2004, Harvard Business School
www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf |
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Janis Ian on
downloading
Read Janis Ian's brilliant pre-iTunes assessment at
www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.html
and follow-up article
www.janisian.com/articles-perfsong/Fallout%20-%20rev%2011-23-05.pdf
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Dan Bricklin
on file sharing
Dan Bricklin's 2002 article
www.bricklin.com/recordsales.htm |
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Music acts
'go it alone'
Growing number of artists are going independent
NEW YORK (AP) -- In 2000, the Churchills thought they had it
made.
CNN: The New
York-based pop band had landed a major-label record deal and
were fixed up with producer Mark Hart, former keyboardist
with the seminal Australian band Crowded House. ... They
recorded with only the finest guitars and ate gourmet
lunches -- all charged to the album expense account.
Three months later, they had spent $270,000 and the record
was finished. But strangely, nothing seemed to be happening.
More at
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/11/diy.music.ap/ |
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Aimee Mann won't play nice for others
By
Larry Getlen • Bankrate.com
There are some people in this world who just shouldn't work
for other people. Aimee Mann could be their spokeswoman.
Ever since her initial success in the '80s as the vocalist
for the band 'Til Tuesday, which had a hit with "Voices
Carry," (itself a song about a woman struggling for
independence, albeit of a different sort), Mann has had a
history of battling with record companies. Her fights
against corporate judgment have been so severe that they
left her legally unable to record and release music for
almost a decade.
More at
www.bankrate.com/brm/news/investing/20030509a1.asp |
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UNITED
MUSICIANS is founded on the principle that every artist
should be able to retain copyright ownership of the work he
or she has created and that this ownership is the basis for
artistic strength and true independence.
United Musicians
Artists have their own labels under the United Musicians
banner and retain all rights of ownership to their work. By
uniting and sharing resources, United Musicians Artists have
a stronger organizational base from which to build and
flourish in their independence.
More at
www.unitedmusicians.com/temp/index.html |
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Courtney
Love Does the Math
"What is
piracy? Piracy is the act of stealing an artist's work
without any intention of paying for it. I'm not talking
about Napster-type software.
I'm talking about major label recording contracts."
http://dir.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/index.html
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Performance
is King and The Secret to the Bonham Drum Sound
'There is no
greater truth in making records than this: "The recording is
governed by the performance." This may seem obvious, but
many times the implications of this are not. There are two
main areas where this truth manifests itself. The first is
in the emotional impact of the music and the second is in
the sonic signature or sonic possibilities of a recording.'
www.studioreviews.com/performance.htm |
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Audio
Schitzophrenia
"Am I alone in
thinking that the audio industry has become somewhat
schizophrenic these days? On the one hand, we're striving to
improve performance by raising both sampling and bit rates,
24 bit/96kHz being one example. On the other, we're into
data reduced formats like the popular MP3, Minidisc and
Dolby Digital, which work by throwing away up to 90% of all
the audio information in places. Don't you find that
strange?"
www.innocentear.com/
Click on the "Audio Schitzophrenia" button |
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Suing Your Customers: A Winning
Business Strategy?
The recording industry has a pricing problem.
People do not want to pay $15-20 for a compact disc when
they can download the same music for free over the Internet.
The industry’s solution appears as novel as the technology
that is giving it such headaches: launch hundreds of
lawsuits against otherwise law-abiding consumers who
download music. But, as Wharton legal studies professor
G. Richard Shell writes below, this same tactic was
tried 100 years ago against Henry Ford. It didn’t work then,
and it won’t work today.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewfeature&id=863 |
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almost famous inc: musicians on
industry standard practices - January 28, 2002
"The history of
the music industry is a history of dissembling, conflict of
interest, exploitation, and theft - legal, illegal and
quasi-legal."
~~ Robert Fripp
A large number
of articles/opinions on industry practice.
www.disinfo.com/archive/pages/dossier/id1995/pg1 |
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Canadian
Copyright Board FAQ
http://neil.eton.ca/copylevy.shtml |
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CIPS
Comments on Increased Levies on Blank Media, May 2002
www.cips.ca/it/position/recording |
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SOCAN:
collects licence fees for the public and
broadcast performances of copyright-protected musical works
on behalf of its members in Canada
www.socan.ca |
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Technical Issues |
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Sony BMG Audio CD Copy Protection Runs Amok
Story 1: Sony
BMG is now using rootkit-based DRM on some CDs sold in the
US.
http://p2pnet.net/story/6816
A rootkit is a set of tools developed to crack a computer
system. Normally, malware authors who want to stay hidden
use it but, "As far as we know, this system has been in use
since March 2005," says F-Secure research director Mikko
Hypponen on the company blog.
...
Hypponen says when a CD is slotted into a Windows-based PC,
a license agreement is displayed, "and then it will seem
install a song player software". However, what's
really happening is a rootkit is being planted in the system
and, "there's no direct way to uninstall it," says Hypponen.
rest of story and links at
http://p2pnet.net/story/6816
for those technically inclined, I recommend reading
http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html
Story 2: New
virus uses Sony BMG software
Thursday, November 10, 2005 Posted: 2220 GMT (0620 HKT)
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/11/10/sony.hack.reut/index.html
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) -- A computer security firm
said Thursday it had discovered the first virus that uses
music publisher Sony BMG's controversial CD copy-protection
software to hide on PCs and wreak havoc.
Under a subject line containing the words "Photo approval,"
a hacker has mass-mailed the so-called Stinx-E trojan virus
to British email addresses, said British anti-virus firm
Sophos.
When recipients click on an attachment, they install malware,
which may tear down a computer's firewall and give hackers
access to a PC. The malware hides by using Sony BMG software
that is also hidden -- the software would have been
installed on a computer when consumers played Sony's
copy-protected music CDs.
...
The software sparked a class action lawsuit against Sony in
California last week, claiming that Sony has not informed
consumers that it installs software directly into the
"roots" of their computer systems with rootkit software,
which cloaks all associated files and is dangerous to
remove.
Story 3:
Sony's uninstall tool worse than the problem
By JACK KAPICA
Friday, November 11, 2005 Posted at 11:51 AM EST
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051111.gtsony1111/BNStory/Technology
The uninstall tool posted by Sony BMG to get rid of its
controversial digital-rights management software is worse
than the original software, a security company says.
Computer Associates, maker of eTrust PestPatrol anti-spyware
software, says that the technological protection measure (TPM)
uninstall routine itself can be classified as spyware.
...
Sony's TPM went further, CA says. The media player that Sony
ships with those CDs sends the IP address of the computer
and the user's listening habits back to Sony and perhaps all
its partners, without notice, consent or choice.
...
But to uninstall the rootkit, Sony's website says that
before you can download the uninstaller, you must give your
identity, CD name, e-mail address, and other data back to
First4Internet, the Sony-related company that makes the
rootkit. And no uninstaller is made available after this
disclosure. There is no way for the user to disable or
modify this "phone home" technology.
After detailed testing, Computer Associate researchers found
that the following all qualifies as spyware:
- The Sony XCP Application, which installs a rootkit on a PC
when a CD is placed in a CD drive, failed CA's eTrust
PestPatrol Spyware Scorecard, a behaviour-based list of
criteria that defines what eTrust PestPatrol AntiSpyware
products will detect, on eight out of 22 individual points.
- Sony issued a "patch," a 3MB download that contains a
large amount of new software. That patch removes the rootkit,
but also installs itself without notice to the user and
without user permission. Moreover it cannot be removed
either.
- The uninstall routine is so poorly made that the act of
removing the rootkit can cause Windows to crash.
... |
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There is a
problem with Microsoft SP2 and Firewire IEEE 1394.
Apparently, Windows XP SP2 reduces Firewire bandwidth from
400Mbps (IEEE 1394a) or 800Mbps (IEEE 1394b S800) to
100Mbps! However, there are some workarounds for those
working with high-bandwidth multimedia (or other)
applications.
M-Audio
discusses the problem at
www.rme-audio.com/english/techinfo/fw800sp2.htm
Microsoft offers a get-into-the-registry fix at
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;885222
Firewire IEEE 1394b is described at
www.glyphtech.com/site/technology_firewireb.html |
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FireWire vs.
USB 2.0 - FireWire - Still the Performance King!
Question: USB
2.0 is faster than FireWire...right?
Answer: No, actually FireWire is faster than USB 2.0.
Question: Hold
on...USB 2.0 is a 480 Mbps interface and FireWire is a 400
Mbps interface, how can FireWire be faster?
Answer: Raw throughput rating numbers alone don't tell the
whole story, as explained below.
www.cwol.com/firewire/firewire-vs-usb.htm |
| Music & Science |
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Music &
Science Information Computer Archive
MuSICA Research
Notes. MRN is a newsletter of analysis and commentary on the
broad field of research on music and behavior, including
evolution, brain mechanisms, child development, perception,
learning, memory, performance, health and related topics.
The author of all material is Dr. Norman M. Weinberger.
www.musica.uci.edu/
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| International Foundation for Music Research (IFMR)
The
International Foundation for Music Research (IFMR) was
founded in 1997 to support scientific research to explore
the relationship between music and physical and emotional
wellness, with particular attention to the elderly
population, the impact of music making on at-risk youth, and
music education and the effect of music and music making.
www.music-research.org/ |
| Books |
| Recording Technology |
The Art of Mixing: A Visual Guide to Recording, Engineering,
and Production, Second Edition
David Gibson, Course Technology, 2005, Softcover
ISBN: 1-931140-45-6 |
Digital Audio Essentials: A comprehensive guide to creating,
recording, editing, and sharing music and other audio
By Bruce Fries, Marty Fries, O'Reilly Press
First Edition April 2005
ISBN: 0-596-00856-2 |
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Plug-in Power!: The Comprehensive DSP Guide
Ashley Shepherd,
Course Technology, 2005, Softcover
ISBN: 1-59200-953-0 |
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Principles of Digital Audio, 5th Edition
Ken C. Pohlmann, McGraw-Hill, Paperback, Published April
2005, 842 pages,
ISBN:
0071441565 |
The Science of Sound (3rd Edition) (Hardcover)
by Thomas D. Rossing, F. Richard Moore, Paul A. Wheeler
Publisher: Addison Wesley; 3 edition (December 18, 2001) |
The S.M.A.R.T. Guide to Digital Recording, Software, and
Plug-Ins
Bill Gibson, Course Technology
ISBN: 1-59200-696-5 © 2005 |
The S.M.A.R.T. Guide to Mixers, Signal Processors,
Microphones, and More
Bill Gibson, Course Technology
ISBN: 1-59200-694-9 © 2005 |
The S.M.A.R.T. Guide to Producing Music with Samples, Loops,
and MIDI
Bill Gibson, Course Technology, Publish date: August 30,
2005, Softcover
ISBN: 1-59200-697-3 |
| An excellent bibliography of sound recording books can
be found at
www.richmondsounddesign.com/docs/thsndbib.html |
| Synthesizers, Electronic &
Experimental Music, Midi, Looping & Sampling |
Advanced Guide to MIDI
Robert Guérin, Course Technology
ISBN: 0-619-13083-0 © 2003 |
Computer Music: Synthesis, Composition, and Performance
(Paperback)
by Charles Dodge, Thomas A. Jerse
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 2nd edition (July 2, 1997)
ISBN: 0028646827 |
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Sampling and Soft Synth Power!
Michael Prager, Course Technology
ISBN:
1-59200-132-7 © 2005 |
Users' Guide to Sound Synthesis with VST Instruments
Simon Millward
ISBN: 1929685785 Published: 2002 (Currently out of print) |
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Click here for an Amazon Listmania list of books on
experimental and electronic music |
| History |
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Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog
Synthesizer
Trevor Pinch, Frank Trocco, Harvard University Press, 2002.
Paperback edition
November 2004
ISBN 0-674-01617-3 |
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120 Years of
Electronic Music - Electronic Musical Instrument 1870 - 1990
http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/ |
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Electronic Music Pioneers
Ben Kettlewell,
published by Hal Leonard Pub Corp), Paperback, 2001.
ISBN: 1931140170 |
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Genesis of a Music: An Account of a Creative Work, Its Roots
and Its Fulfillments
Harry Partch, Da Capo Press (Paperback) (September 1, 1979)
ISBN: 030680106X |
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Vintage Synthesizers: Pioneering Designers, Groundbreaking
Instruments, Collecting Tips, Mutants of Technology
(Paperback) April 2000.
Mark Vail,
Backbeat Books
Second Edition
341 pages ISBN 0-87930-603-3 |
| Music and the Brain |
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Music, the Brain and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our
Imagination (Paperback)
Robert Jourdain,
Harper Collins, 1998
ISBN: 038078209X |
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Mystic Chords: Mysticism and Psychology in Popular Music
(Paperback)
Mansih Soni,
Algora Publishing, 2001
ISBN
1-892941-70-8 |
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