Hard Drives for Music Makers

I was recently talking with a film-music producer about external hard drives, and she asked me my opinion on good hard drives, specifically one that can stream audio sample libraries, hold a terabyte of data (1000 gigs) and be portable.

If you've been producing/composing music for a number of years, then you've probably gone through a few hard drives like I have. They stack up in the corner, different colored and shaped ones from Best Buy or Staples, clunky gray "professional looking" boxes that turn out to not be sturdy enough to travel with. It's inevitable that we outgrow drives, that our sample libraries get bigger, and our computers find new ways to be conveniently incompatible.

I wanted to share this with you all, because for the past year I have been using an external hard drive that works great.

Just to be clear, this is my professional opinion. I don't know everything about every technical spec and benchmark, and I haven't compared brands in a controlled manner. I've just used a lot of drives, and I've also seen the way that other producers & composers use drives.

The first thing I'll say in general is that Glyph drives are your best bet for music making.
•They're as fast as internal drives 7200 RPM, (although not all Glyphs are that fast).
•They're designed to work with Pro Tools, Logic, Digital Performer, Nuendo, Cubase, Sonar, Sony Vegas, etc. Of course Reason, Ableton Live, Sibelius and Finale are less intensive so Glyph should work with them as well.

This is the drive I use: Glyph PortaGig 800






http://www.glyphtech.com/products/portagig/features.php#/images/products/portagig-gallery-picks.jpg

• I keep all my sample libraries in here,
• my entire iTunes library
• as well as my project folders,
• all my Sibelius notation files and GuitarPro notation files.

When I'm creating music I tend to keep Logic projects and Reason projects in a secondary hard drive in my desktop computer (not the system drive), but then if I'm going on a trip, I will drag the projects that I know I'm going to need, from my computer to the Glyph.

I use my Glyph everywhere, at the coffee shop, on a plane. I have worked on Sibelius and Reason projects while riding on a plane with my laptop connected to the Glyph.

Of course the catch to you getting a drive like mine is that, it's last year's model, so A) it's not as readily available in stores, and B) it may not be enough storage for you. The PortaGig 800 has up to 500GB

so

Here are the next generation. Comparable in portability and speed, but with more storage.

Glyph PortaGig 50
http://www.glyphtech.com/products/portagig50/specifications.php

Up to 1 terabyte


Glyph PortaGig 62
http://www.glyphtech.com/products/portagig62/specifications.php

Latest release: up to 2 terabytes


These all use Firewire 800 and USB, so they're compatible with Mac and PC.

;;;

Fun Stuff

October 16, 2010 hanging out at Dear John's in Culver City. Left to Right: Pat Weaver of LakeHouse Sound, Film Composer Cliff Martinez, Joe Matzzie of Studio Miracles (that's me), and John Rodd, Film Score Mixer.

Dear John's is a really fun place to hang out. Live music 7 nights a week. That night the performers were "Dean and Richard", a multi-instrumentalists duo covering standards from Jazz swing to Country.

It was also a thrill to meet Cliff. I consider him to be one of my favorite composers. Cliff had just come from seeing the film Social Network, and had good things to say about the film, and about Trent Reznor's score. Also we discovered that John has a wealth of good stories of recording studio practical jokes from his years working at various recording studios.

Alan Menken Walk of Fame Star Ceremony

Yesterday I stopped by the El Capitan Theater, where Alan Menken was receiving a star on the Walk of Fame. Alan composed songs and scores for The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Beauty and The Beast, all the great songs that are associated with the resurgence of fabulous Disney songs in the past 20 years "A Whole New World", "Under The Sea", "Be our Guest", "The Colors of The Wind".

Presenting the award was Richard Sherman, who wrote all the songs in Mary Poppins.

At the ceremony (the people I recognized) were Richard Kraft of the Film Composer Agency, Kraft-Engel, Dan Foliart & Laura Dunn of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, Ray Costa of the Public Relations firm Costa Communications. Also Actress Mandy Moore, the voice of Rapunzel was there.













11/10/2010 Beverly Hills Courier - Composer Alan Menken Receives Walk of Fame Star

11/11/2010 L.A. Times - Songwriter Alan Menken gets his star on the Walk of Fame

11/10/2010 In Contention.com - Alan Menken gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

11/07/2010 Playbill - Alan Menken Honored with Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Nov. 10

Garry Schyman's New Website

Composer Garry Schyman has a brand new website, and it was designed entirely by Joe Matzzie. It is mostly done in html & css, but features a flash player which plays both audio and video. Check out GarrySchyman.com

Studio Miracles Partners with GuitarTricks.com

Joe Matzzie is now working as a Music Transcriber for
GuitarTricks.com, the website that invented online multimedia guitar lessons.

December, 2009, I did a hardware job for Chris Smyk, assembling and wiring his ProTools studio. Chris is a Songwriter/Producer who recently moved from New York City to Santa Monica, and has some exciting things happening with his music on both coasts.

I've also been working part time for Concert Composer
Russell Steinberg, helping him with promotion of his catalog, and his AudioMaps books and lectures. Russell is one of the great authorities on concert music, and it's been inspiring to watch him successfully keep the LA Youth Orchestra funded and active through the economically turbulent times.

I also did a job for songwriter Lisa Donna, troubleshooting her home studio to record midi and audio, and giving her an intro lesson on the software.

And lastly, I transcribed 4 songs for the Bonnie Hunt Show, which Nicholas Pike and his awesome house band performed on air in mid December.

Discovery, Sony, IMAX To Create 3D TV Network

Sony, IMAX, Discovery to Form 3D TV Network

Nov 16, 2009 Composers and Teamsters Meeting

Tonight went to an informational meeting regarding possible unionization of composers, with the Teamsters. About 400 people attended. The main speakers at the event were Composer Alf Clausen, Composer Bruce Broughton, Steve Dayan of the Teamsters Local 399, Gary Zuckerbrod of the Casting Directors Union, Composer James Di Pasquale, and Composer Alan Elliott. A lot of successful composers in the house as well as entry level and working composers, orchestrators, music editors, songwriters, and musicians.

The meeting was hosted by the Association of Music Composers and Lyricists

The general vibe seemed to be that everybody wants to see composers organize and collectively bargain, but that it will take a lot of work to get the whole national/global cross-section of composers and lyricists involved. All parameters will have to be talked out and worked out in a democratic way, over time.