Vig and Bush discuss how M-Audio technology is changing the way they work
Butch Vig has played a pivotal role in shaping the sound of modern rock music. With production credits that include groundbreaking artists such as Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins to current modern rock darlings AFI, Vig has mastered the process of creating timeless sounding albums. And with his group Garbage, Vig and engineer Billy Bush have created an entirely fresh sound that has spawned countless imitators. But regardless of what project they’re working on, Vig and Bush make use of M-Audio technology at every step of the creative process.
M-Audio: “What pieces of M-Audio gear have you been getting mileage out of lately?”
Trigger Finger and BFD
Bush: “The Trigger Finger is awesome. We’ve used MPCs for years, and the whole process of getting the sounds into the MPC, programming it and flying the stuff back into Pro Tools, was sort of a needless exercise, in my opinion. And it always drove me nuts. It’s great to finally have something that plays like an MPC but gives you access to your entire sample library, at any time. It’s totally been a lifesaver to be able to throw up something like FXpansion BFD and play it like you were playing an MPC.”
For a limited period, DV are offering a special deal on the M-Audio Trigger Finger bundled with a full version of BFD (you only get BFD Lite with the Trigger Finger) and a FREE 8 Bit Kit Expansion library.
EX66 Active Reference Monitors
Butch Vig is also a big fan of the new M-Audio EX Series EX66 active reference monitors:
“One of the first things I listened to on the EX66 monitors was the title track off our last record, Bleed Like Me. I was amazed becuase I heard lots of things on the EX66s that I didn't hear when we mixed the record. I love mixing on them.”
Inside the Development of the M-Audio EX66
When creating the new M-Audio EX line of monitors, M-Audio's goal was to make the most accurate active nearfield monitors on the market. While M-Audio monitors have long been known for delivering exceptional clarity and detail, the overall design ethos has always included cost and portability as top considerations. By narrowing the focus to simply creating an exceptional monitoring experience, the design team was able to concentrate on overcoming many of the perceived shortcomings found in even the most high-end studio monitors. The first offerings in this new line of products are the M-Audio EX66 active reference monitors.
“We did a lot of competitive analysis—including exhaustive listening tests and detailed measurements,” states M-Audio product manager Vivek Maddala. “Early in our research, it became clear that most studio monitors on the market had substantial low-frequency and high-frequency output, but they lacked good mid-frequency imaging. As a result, the vocals and lead instruments seemed pushed back—distant and lacking in detail. By contrast, many of the higher-end monitors in this market have great imaging, but some were fatiguing to listen to on long sessions. Immediately, we identified this as an opportunity. We wanted to design a top-class monitor that's both revealing and effortless to work with — more so than what was currently available for under £2,000.”
Obviously, one of the most important aspects of any new speaker technology is the construction of the drivers themselves. “We characterized the resonance properties of a variety of different materials and discovered that the extent to which resonant modes are mitigated within the audible band greatly affects how accurate the speaker is,” Maddala explains. “We employed materials that create a cone with a tensile-strength-to-weight ratio that pushes breakup modes sufficiently high in the passband. Our 6” drivers have their first breakup mode at about 6.5kHz—but at that point, the signal is already down by over 30dB because the crossover point is at 2.5kHz. So the drivers are like perfect pistons.”
“We did an extensive amount of tuning in-house,“ Maddala adds. “But I also solicited input from music producers and engineers I got to know while composing film scores in Hollywood. Colleagues of mine, with credits ranging from the London Symphony Orchestra to Alanis Morrissette, helped in the final tweaking stages. In fact, we tracked and mixed a couple of scores on these monitors to get real world feedback during development. That’s really the best way to know if you’ve got a winning product—put it in the hands of those who will use it day in and day out, and see if they like the results.” Butch Vig obviously does.