Pro Tools 8 Keyboard Shortcuts

What is Qwikn?

Qwikn - an app that lets you effortlessly search and store keyboard shortcuts.

An App to help reset PT Prefs on Mac

Here is a link to a user friendly GUI (Pro Tools Prefs and Database Helper) for resetting you Digidesign prefs and databases when things are not going well.

How some basic electronics can save you some $$$

I wanted to write about how some basic electronic repairs has saved me in excess of $100.

Firstly, I have had a Jim Dunlop Cry Baby guitar "wah" pedal since being a teenager (yes... quite some time). Anyway due to a lack of use, living by the sea and collecting dust my attempt to use the pedal recently was quite futile. The pot inside which creates the iconic "wah" sound had inherited a nasty cheese grating crunch noise, every time I pressed on the pedal! After a quick diagnosis it was apparent that it was just a dirty pot, but a dead pot. Looking around Ebay the replacement genuine Hoy Potz pot was going to cost around $50 AUD. Thinking that this was a bit steep for a part which gets used once a year I decided to test a "non genuine" pot instead. Going to Tandy and ordering a $2.75 part with the same specs had me feeling quite confident. After installing this new pot, my confidence had soared as the sound was identical to the Hot Potz in it's glory days. The only change I had to make was that the nut on the pot has to be tightened as much as possible, as it a slightly smaller fit that the original. But hey, for $2.75 - you can' tell the difference. If you want to know the part I used, it was a 100K ohm linear flat shaft pot.

Whilst feeling confident in this repair, I also had an apple laptop with an external power supply which had frayed cables where the plug inserts into the laptop. Having a second power supply allowed me to simply chop off one cable and splice on another cable (in almost new condition). This doner cable had come from the original power supply. However the power supply decided to internally combust one day after being plugged in for 12 hrs. Many people would simply have thrown these power supplys out and bought another one, however for 10 minutes work I have saved another $50 or so.

Cheap HD TV recording option. And very Good!

With the introduction of digital television into Australia, I have been been procrastinating in my purchase of a video recorder or the like. NOt having even a VHS recorder to my name, I have seen the advertisements in catalogues showing the new DVD recorders, and Hard Drive recorders for sale. What has deterred my from making a purchase is that I didn't want to spend $1000 on a Hard Drive/ DVD/ HD recording device - as I wanted all of these options... not just one or two.

Having an old G4 laptop (circa 2002) in my posession, I wanted to put it to some use without having to retire it to the top of a cupboard. I was ecstatic to read the box of the Elgato EyeTv DDT
which I recently saw perched upon the shelf at my local Apple store. The box mentioned that the USB digital tuner/ recorder (the size of a USB thumbdrive) was compatible with G4 Power Pc's (at SD quality). I don't know about you but this is good enough for me, and at only $130 delivered it beats any $1000 dedicated device!!! Owning an Intel MacBook, I am able to record at HD quality should I wish.
After purchasing the EyeTv over 2 weeks ago I have thoroughly tested the device on both G4 and Intel computers. I can report that my old G4 1Ghz, 768 meg ram runs without a hiccup at SD. I have also set up an external self powered 40 Gb hard drive which I have targeted. Having Roxio Toast installed, I am able to record, edit and burn straight to DVD with only minimal mouse clicks. So if you are wanting a hard drive/dvd recorder and have an old Mac lying around I highly recommend that you check out the Elgato EyeTV.

Share links using Zotero

Last post I mentioned the use of Zotero as a great resource for the sharing of research articles and links. I have set up a public group for those of you who wish to join.
http://www.zotero.org/groups/australian_sound_designers

Please feel free to contribute to this group by adding your own favorite resources!

A few FREE Mac Apps worth mentioning

It has been quite a while since my last post. What I wanted to share today are a couple more small applications which have made my workflow much easier- especially in regards to online collaborations.

Firstly I wanted to mention a Mozilla Firefox extension called Zotero. Zotero is a web based research tool which allows you to manage, collect and cite research sources. Although this is not necessary for the average sound professional, what makes this fantastic is the ability to sync web sources. This is is extremely useful for users with multiple computers, or for workplaces who want to share "common sites". I have used del.icio.us for this same purpose before, however Zotero is far quicker, due to links living locally after sync.

DropBox is another app which I am tending to use more and more. DropBox is a cross platform + web based file sharing system. For free you are granted 2Gb of fully sync-able data! I have a folder set up on all of my computers and any documents or files which I always need access to are only a click away. DropBox also keeps a backup of your data on the web incase of any accidental deleting. This works just like any other folder in your finder.... except it can be shared and synced to anyone you wish - or kept private. Some uses I have had are: contact lists, app udates, picture updates, or just sending audio! This is truly one cool app!

Remote Pad an app for the iPhone and a computer which allows you to use your iPhone/ iPod touch as a remote touch mouse over a wifi network. Great for presentations!

What is great about the mentioned applications is the fact that they are all free!

Cheap stereo location recording

Lately I have been doing a lot of sound effects and atmosphere recording in country NSW. The locations are quiet, free from traffic and abundant in birds. 

Over the years I have generally borrowed high end microphones and location mixers from colleagues whenever I have needed to record in stereo in the field. Not wanting to spend big money or always depend on borrowing high end schoep microphones off friends, I generally use my Rode NT5 matched pair. These are setup on a T-Bar and allow for the recording of stereo atmospheres. The problem with the NT5's is that wind is very difficult to control due to the mic set up and the lack of any windshields (except for my home made stereo pair wind socks). 

- Lately I have been on a bit of a mission to find a good quality and economic outdoor field recording solution.

With much testing, my new low cost combination of choice is to use the Rode NT4 stereo mic inside the new Rode blimps. With this combination connected to a good field mixer and recorder, the audio quality is excellent!  ... no more wind buffets and quite affordable. 

However one downside is that you can't change the stereo spread of the microphone, but the portability and wind rejection qualities make up for this downfall.