The RØDE iXY is the ultimate recording microphone for iPhone® and iPad®. With up to 24-bit/96k* recording and on-board high-fidelity A/D conversion, your iXY recordings are rich, smooth and accurate.
At the heart of the iXY is a matched pair of ½” cardioid condenser capsules, fixed in a perfect 90 degree ‘near-coincident’ alignment. This results in immersive and true-to-life stereo recordings, captured in incredibly high detail.
Designed and manufactured in Australia, the iXY is available in two versions – Lightning and 30-pin. The Lightning version supports the iPhone® 5s, iPhone® 5 and iPhone® 5c. The 30-pin version supports the iPhone® 4S, iPhone® 4, iPad® (3rd generation) and iPad® 2.
A foam windshield is supplied for outdoor recording as well as a reinforced protective zip case to ensure your iXY is available whenever you need it.
By downloading the paid RØDE Rec app to your device, you can benefit from multiple sampling rates up to 96kHz, equalization effects (compressor/expander, high-pass filter, low pass filter, parametric EQ), non-linear editing, geo and photo tagging, and one-touch publishing to SoundCloud, Dropbox, email, FTP and iTunes. The app allows control of the iXY’s continuously adjustable input levels for equally accurate recordings in both loud and quiet environments. The free RØDE Rec LE app has limited features, but still allows 24-bit/96kHz recordings.
Also included are two accessories for the iXY. Use the foam windshield to help reduce wind noise when making recordings outdoors and the reinforced zip case for storage or transport.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Dual end-address condenser mics
Capsule: 0.5″ (12.7 mm) matched pair
Polar Pattern: Cardioid
Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
Maximum SPL: 120 dB
Sensitivity: -42 dB re 1V/pa (8.52 mV @ 94 db) +-3 dB @ 1kHz
Equivalent Noise: 18.8 dB SPL
Signal to Noise Ratio: 75.1 dB
Digital Audio Resolution: Up to 24-bit / 96 kHz
• Stereo recording microphone for iPhone 4/4S or iPad 1st/2nd/3rd Gen
• Matched pair of 1/2″ cardioid condenser capsules fixed in a 90-degree ‘near coincident’ alignment
• Onboard A/D conversion
•Up to 24-bit/96kHz recording (if used with the paid RØDE Rec or free RØDE Rec LE app)
• Comes with a foam windshield to reduce wind noise when recording outdoors
• Reinforced zip case protects the iXY for storage or transport
For more information and to hear audio samples visit www.ixymic.com
Turns out California packed on some pretty good economic muscle last year, generating the world’s eighth biggest economy in terms of gross product, according to a World Bank analysis.
Last year California’s gross state product of goods and services totaled $2.2 trillion, up from $2 trillion in 2012.
The state moved past Italy and the Russian Federation and is closing in on Brazil.
“The move up to eighth last year is another piece of the California comeback story,” economist Stephen Levy, director of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy, said in an email. “These numbers do contradict the idea that the Golden State is on the decline with everyone leaving.”
The U.S. was once again the top world economy with GDP of $16.8 trillion followed by China with $9.2 trillion, Japan at $4.8 trillion, Germany at $3.6 trillion, France at $2.7 trillion (all that fine wine, I imagine), the United Kingdom at $2.5 trillion and Brazil, at $2.2 trillion.
It adds up to an OK growth rate for the state considering the battering it took during the Great Recession.
The numbers might get better, too, when they are revised, as most economic reports are.
“I expect the 2013 estimate for California to be revised up as the state far outpaced the nation in job growth. In addition California is growing much faster than the nation measured by job gains in the first half of 2014. California should move closer to the United Kingdom and France in the rankings in 2014 and may also move closer to seventh-place place Brazil,” Levy said.
California is used to this place among the world’s economies as it also ranked eighth in 2011.
That certainly is nice.
But cooler, I think, is that we get to mess with Texas and its job and business poacher, Gov. Rick Perry. California finished higher than Texas, which with a $1.5 trillion GSP ranked second in the nation and 14th in the world.
Levy said that he will be doing a deeper analysis of the state’s numbers in the coming weeks and that, too, could offer some economic hope.
“The expansion has moved beyond just tech in the Bay Area to trade and tourism in Southern California and (there’s been) a statewide construction resurgence. L.A. County and the Inland Empire are outpacing the nation in job gains currently with unemployment coming down faster than in the nation. Port volumes are moving into record territory again or soon,” he said.
Being an entrepreneur is hard work. Here are 15 things that EVERY successful entrepreneur does to aid too to success on their journey.
1. Eat breakfast. To work at your peak performance, your body needs fuel. Rather than just grab a cup of coffee on your way to the office, take a few minutes to eat a meal or drink a protein smoothie — even if it’s on the go.
2. Plan your day. First thing in the morning, look at your calendar and prioritize your schedule. If you work best during a specific time of the day, block out those hours for quiet work time. I do my best work in the mornings, so I try to schedule at least 90 minutes to work on my writing before daily distractions begin. While you’re at it, schedule short breaks throughout the day to eat a healthy snack and keep your energy up.
3. Don’t check email right away. It’s tough not to hop on your smart phone first thing in the morning and see who’s emailed you. Often checking email is a distraction from what you want to focus on early in the day. Try to wait until 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. to check email, after you’ve completed at least one of your critical to-do items. If you’re working on an important project, try not to check your email more than three times a day.
4. Remember your purpose. Take a few moments at the start of each workday to remind yourself of your company’s goals. Think about your core customer and which areas of your business are most profitable. We oftentimes get caught up in the minutia of daily tasks we lose sight of what brings us happiness and profitability.
5. Single-task. We live in a world that praises multi-tasking. Unfortunately, when you have too much going on at once you may become distracted by interruptions and unimportant glitches. To be productive and effective, prioritize, delegate whenever possible and focus.
6. Visualize. It may feel silly, but close your eyes and envision your success. Imagine what you will feel like when you reach your goals. Visualization is a powerful tool and can help you keep your aspirations at the front of your mind. It might also help to post a picture of what you’d like to accomplish. For example, if you’re interested in taking a trip to Paris, post of photo of the Eiffel Tower on your desk.
7. Say no. Entrepreneurs especially feel pressure to accept every opportunity that comes their way. However, not every opportunity will benefit you or your business. Time is our most valuable commodity. Be selective about what you agree to do.
8. Value your time. Unlike money, time is a non-renewable resource. There’s simply no way to make more of it. Guard your time and spend it doing the most important things for yourself and your company. Avoid distractions whenever possible. Whether you facilitate or attend a meeting, online or in person, get clear about the start and end time. Whenever someone requests a meeting or consultation with you, try asking for the questions in advance so you can do my research ahead of time. This will keeps you on time and on task.
9. Delegate. In the early days of my business, I thought I could save money and do everything myself. Then I realized the small, mundane tasks were taking me away from those things that generated the most income for my business. I was on the fast track to burnout. When you become overwhelmed with work or can’t figure out a solution, hire someone to help.
10. Listen. Be present when you speak with a colleague or employee. Take the time to fully understand what the other person is saying. Leaders who listen effectively avoid miscommunications and are less likely to have to ask for clarification later.
11. Show gratitude. Make it a daily habit to sit down and be thankful for all the opportunities you have been given and all the things you’ve accomplished so far. Simply reminding yourself of your past successes will keep you focused, present and productive.
12. Stand up and move around. Did you know sitting is the new smoking? This car-commuting, desk-bound lifestyle can be harmful to your health. Studies show it raises the risk of disability, diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer and obesity. No matter when you can make time for it during the day, take a few minutes to stand up and take activity breaks every hour or so. It’s good for your body and mind.
13. Breathe deeply. Many people take shallow breaths. Every hour or so, stand up from your desk, stretch and take 10 deep breaths. The quick break and boost of oxygen will reinvigorate you for your next task.
14. Take a lunch break. Get up from your desk and eat lunch elsewhere. If you can’t spare even a moment away from work during the day, make lunch your networking hour. Schedule lunch meetings throughout the week with key clients, professional acquaintances or friends.
15. Clear your desk. At the end of each day, clear the clutter from your desk. Put away your pens, stack loose paper and straighten other items. A clear desk will give you a clean slate for the next day and prevent you from feeling bogged down by yesterday’s work.
You might be surprised to learn that the chart-topping duo are not signed to a major label. Neither are veterans like and . They’re all self-releasing albums.
But if you self-release, you still need someone to get your name out there, get your product into the marketplace, and get it sold. In other words, you need someone to do all of the stuff record labels used to do. You could do it yourself — or you could hire someone like Kevin Wortis of Girlie Action, a leading music marketing agency based in New York.
“Here we offer sourcing, distribution, sales. We also handle marketing, digital marketing, social media, press and radio promotion,” Wortis says. “We have clients that come in who have chosen not to be with a record company; they want to control all the revenue and they want to do things in their own way.”
Girlie Action’s clients include Pretty Lights, , and The Crystal Method. The French recording label Naïve hired the agency to provide label services for Marianne Faithful’s last record. Girlie Action is now working on its third album for .
Ndegeocello herself says that, in today’s environment, musicians don’t have the luxury of just sticking to music.
“The music business is changing,” she says. “I enjoyed the smoke and mirrors, and now I have to be really involved in a way that sometimes — there’s no other way to say it: I just wish I didn’t know.” She adds, laughing, “If it was totally up to me I’d fail horribly.”
Ndegeocello’s manager, Alison Riley, sees clear advantages to the label services model.
“The charm, I think, of a major label is that they have all of the resources in house. But you lose a lot of creative control and you lose a lot of control of one’s career,” Riley says. “It’s a much more collaborative, cooperative experience to work with label services. We have a much greater say in the channels things are pushed out through.”
Under the old system, the label called the shots and often owned the rights to the artists’ recordings. But labels also fronted the money for recording, promotion and distribution. Musicians had to pay it back, of course, which sometimes meant not making any money from record sales.
Today, if you contract for label services, you generally pay up front; only the biggest stars can attract advances from label services providers. The top firms typically charge $4,000 to $6,000 per month to promote an artist or record. With album pre-release campaigns running up to four months, it’s not cheap, and only a select few can afford it.
Unlike many recording artists, — who had a Top 10 hit in 1987 with “Luka” and was then dropped twice by the majors — maintained publishing rights to her songs.
Four years ago, Vega founded her own label and started re-recording her back catalogue. To get it out there, she signed deals in the U.S. with Red, Sony’s label services division, and internationally with the U.K.-based Cooking Vinyl.
“Rather than being the one waiting to see if they are going to renew my contract, it’s me renewing theirs,” Vega says. “And that makes a difference.”
Vega recently self-released her first album of new material in seven years, and she’s back on the charts for the first time in two decades.
“As it happens, this new album has done so well so far that suddenly I see that my first two albums are being re-released this year, in June, without my consent or permission or participation,” she says. “So I’m competing now with my own back catalogue. I find myself competing with myself from 25 years ago!”
With label services deals, artists can keep the rights to their music and about three quarters of their sales revenue, and providers get paid whether or not the album sells. In the last two years, all three of the remaining major labels have hopped on the label services bandwagon.
These deals may work well for established artists, but they are out of reach for up-and-coming musicians like the Philadelphia punk trio Cayetana. The three musicians had been playing together for about six months when they recorded the song “Hot Dad Calendar” and put it up on the online music site Bandcamp. Bassist Allegra Anka and singer/guitarist Augusta Koch say they were floored by the response.
YouTube
“A few days after that, Tiny Engines contacted us about really enjoying our demo and asking us if we’d be interested in working with them,” Anka says.
“As soon as I saw the email I was like, ‘Oh my God!’” Koch adds.
A small indie label like Tiny Engines can’t provide the kind of marketing push available to artists like Meshell Ndegeocello or Suzanne Vega.
The label is releasing Cayetana’s debut album this summer as a digital download with a limited vinyl pressing. It’s also helping the band cover the cost of renting a van for its first-ever national tour: five weeks, 31 cities, on a shared bill with three other bands. With tickets going for less than twenty bucks a pop, this isn’t exactly the limousine life, but Augusta Koch says that’s OK.
“I don’t really care about being on a bigger label or being famous,” Koch says. “I just want to make more music that people like; I think that’s the best part of it. Especially outside of Philly, seeing that people actually like our music blows my mind.”
Still, as Cayetana hits the stage for a sold-out Philadelphia show, Allegra Anka isn’t dreaming of rainbows and unicorns.
“In five years, and after that, I just hope we’re still making music,” she says.
For now, she’s also hoping their day jobs are waiting for them when they get back.
One of the things that frequently happens when building your own studio in your basement or garage is that you construct it to get as much isolation as possible, then realize that the temperature inside always hovers around tropic-level heat, even while the weather is below zero outside. That’s because the last thing that most home builders consider is ventilation and air exchange, or they think they don’t have enough money to get the job done properly.
Here’s a quick excerpt from my Studio Builder’s Handbook (written with Dennis Moody) that covers what might be the best way to make those studio temperatures comfortable without spending a lot of cash.
“HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) is a bigger part of any studio than you might realize, so it has to be taken into consideration right in the beginning. Don’t even think of using a window air conditioner since they’re way too noisy and will defeat any isolation you might’ve built. For real studio HVAC you really only have two options; forced-air or a mini-split.
Forced-air is certainly the way to go but gets very expensive very quickly, since the ductwork has to use a lot of right angle bends and diffusors to lower the air speed so it doesn’t make any noise (air noise is a vocal killer). It also requires a concrete slab to mount it on the ground outside. Finally comes the installation labor, which must be done by a pro.
A much more viable solution is known as a “mini-split”. This is a system that’s very popular in Europe and Asia were the compressor is located outside the building and the air handling unit inside. All that’s required is a 1″ hole that’s cut through the wall to allow access for a hose to go from the compressor unit outside to a cooling head mounted on the wall inside the studio, and a small drainage hose. The cooling head is mounted on a wall and is very quite. Depending upon how large your space is, a unit that puts out between 9,000 and 12,000 BTU unit may be enough. A big plus for the mini-split is that not only is it inexpensive, it’s very quiet as well. They are also available with an optional “heat pumps” for those cold winter days that everyone experiences (even in warm climates).
While you can install a mini-split yourself, your might want to get a pro HVAC technician to do the complete job. It should only take a few hours to install, so it won’t be outrageously expensive, but because these units need freon gas to function, you’ll have to have a professional technician do the freon work and they charge a lot for handling this gas. Even with the extra expense of a professional tech, at least you’ll be sure that it’s done right. Make sure that you have the unit serviced every year, and keep the filter clean as that helps to keep the unit from getting noisy.
If you do decide to install a forced-air system, it’s important to know where your feeds and returns are going to be. For instance, you don’t want to place an air conditioning feed directly over the mixing position of your console, or directly over were your drums are going to be set up. As practical as this might sound, you’ll find this kind of direct placement will mean that it will become uncomfortably cold when the air blows directly on you. Make sure you put the feed in a place where it will be defused and quiet.”
You can read additional excerpts from The Studio Builder’s Handbook on the excerpts section of bobbyowsinski.com. You might also want to check out my Music Studio Setup and Acoustics video course on lynda.com.
