Nocturn in the thick of it
24-11-2009
Making music for commercials is a tough business. As well as having the necessary chops to create literally any genre of music the client asks for, a commercial composer needs to be a disciplined and efficient engineer and mixer; with new jobs landing on your desk in the morning and being sent to the client at close of play, deadlines pass on an hourly basis.
Alex Weinstein, one of a team of in-house composers at The Lodge in New York City, has recently turned to Novation's Nocturn to give him hands-on access to the UAD2 plug-ins in his Logic-based composition system.
"It can get pretty crazy. So anything I can surround myself with that will speed up my process, I do. Which is why I like the Nocturn."
Alex Weinstein at work with his Nocturn.
"I find it's a much faster and more natural way to control the sound. I can finally use my ears to get the sound I want. It's different than using a mouse alone. I'm usually staring so hard at the screen when I use my mouse, it's so distracting. With the Nocturn I can literally close my eyes as I mix."
Because he's mixing using the same tools every day, Alex has configured a workflow for his very specific set of circumstances, using Automap, Novation's world-class MIDI control application: "So check it out: when I'm working with the UAD2 Neve 88RS channel strip, I mix in three stages. I start with the filter section and try to focus in on a basic sound, then work with the compressor to punch the sound up a bit, then set the EQs. I do this over and over again for every instrument. And my Nocturn mapping is set up for that workflow. I like to work left to right. So my left-most knobs on the Nocturn are my high-pass and low-pass filters. While on the right side is my compression gain, threshold, ratio and release. On the next page are all my EQ knobs. I can use both hands at once, and very quickly get a sound.
"The Nocturn lets me get my hands on my music! It's more engaging, more fun!"
Alex says it took a number of different mappings and some trial and error with Automap to find what works best with his setup, but by configuring the Nocturn's knobs to address the same functions across different plug-ins, he's reached a state where he can switch to any of his UAD plug-ins and immediately have the desired controls to hand. "That's what's so cool about Automap. They make this customization so effortless. The less time I spend tinkering or figuring out a gadget the better. It means more I get more time to spend on writing and mixing. Those of us with home or project studios, don't have the space or budget to spend on big consoles or racks of hardware. So we've turned to software instruments and effects. Which is amazing, but the downside is that we've lost that tactile approach to making music. The Nocturn lets me get my hands on my music! It's more engaging, more fun!"
