Harmony or Hype? Exploring the Authenticity Debate as Musicians Experiment with AIAn exploration of the musicians and technology leaders testing the boundaries and moral quandaries of using AI in music creation.

Bela Fleck Explores Sanken MicsAcclaimed banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck is also a proficient producer and recording engineer. As an ambassador of the banjo, Fleck has taken the instrument from its Bluegrass roots to Jazz, Classical, Rock, and various world music genres. The recipient of multiple Grammy Awards going back to 1998, Fleck's total Grammy count is 15 wins and 27 nominations. He has been nominated in more different categories than any instrumentalist in Grammy history.

Fleck has been exploring three innovative Sanken microphones, the dual titanium capsule CU-44X MkII and the wide-band 20Hz >100kHz CO-100K and CUX-100K mics. An engineer as well as musician, Fleck describes his early work with legendary Nashville producer/engineer Bill VornDick, "I'm a banjo player and I've been making my own records since the 80s. I spent a lot of time with Bill, who was okay with my engineering ambitions."

Fleck is often considered the premier banjo player in the world.  A New York City native, he picked up the banjo at age 15 after being impressed by the Bluegrass music of Flatt & Scruggs. Since releasing his first solo album in 1980, Fleck has continued to make a name for himself. In 2022, Fleck's "My Bluegrass Heart" won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.

Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn perform in Denver with the Colorado Symphony. 

Photo by Amanda Tipton.

"During the pandemic," he explains, "I was invited to do a collaboration with an opera singer, and the engineer was Chuck Ainlay. I was unfamiliar with Sanken, but those mics just knocked my socks off. We recorded the banjo and used a pair of the CO-100Ks. I was just blown away by how good the 100K's sounded. I immediately ordered a pair of them, and I've been using them ever since on all kinds of instruments."

Sanken's CU-44X MK II microphone has a revolutionary design featuring two titanium matched capsules for low and high, with 100-volt internal power for super wide dynamic range and headroom. Fleck describes his experience with the CU-44X, "My wife Abigail Washburn and I recently did a song cycle with the Colorado Symphony, recording the premiere for an album. I used it on Abby's voice, and it was great, really excellent. She sings some very strong notes, and this mic has a very rich sound, but it also has a clarity. It's almost like it's already mixed. 

Fleck and Washburn used a combination of CU-44X and CUX-100K Sanken's. "I've also now used the 44X on my banjo along with the 100K. The result is a very full range sound with a lot of interesting characteristics. I think it's a great mic that could be used in all kinds of ways. It's clearly a great vocal mic. It's clearly a great instrument mic. I know people who use them as overheads for drums and other percussion. It's a high-class mic and I'm glad to have it in my arsenal."

For the full-length in-depth interview click here:

Béla Fleck Explores Dual Diaphragm and 100kHz Sanken Microphones

Learn more about Béla Fleck: https://www.belafleck.com

ABOUT SANKEN CHROMATIC

The Sanken Chromatic range of 6 professional studio microphones provides musicians, sound designers, engineers, and producers with the optimum set of pure, transparent sounding mics for a wide variety of applications. They are designed and meticulously engineered in Japan using the latest technology and include many innovative features. The result is a set of mics that have phenomenal frequency response, accurate off axis response, exact patterns, minimal proximity effect, low noise, and high SPL tolerance.

Sanken Chromatic

Sanken Chromatic mics are distributed in the USA and Canada by plus24.

plus24

Will Page on streaming pricing, music’s revenue ‘pie’ – and why the global record industry is more local than everThe author and former Chief Economist at Spotify discusses multiple hot topics with MBW founder Tim Ingham
Source

TikTok Music is live in Brazil and Indonesia. What might this mean for Spotify?MBW Explains is a series of analytical features in which we explore the context behind major music industry talking points – and suggest what might happen next.
Source

Playlistification and ‘the crushing ubiquity of cheap music’“There is too much new music, and most of it sucks” encapsulates how a growing number of fans, musicians, and the industry feel about the bulk of the 120,000 new. Continue reading
The post Playlistification and ‘the crushing ubiquity of cheap music’ appeared first on Hypebot.

54 Great Lies Of Rock ‘n Roll found in a beer bottle backstage at CBGB’s in NYCAs lore would have it, this list of 54 Great Lies Of Rock ‘n Roll was found rolled up in an empty Heineken bottlebackstage at the legendary CBGB n New. Continue reading
The post 54 Great Lies Of Rock ‘n Roll found in a beer bottle backstage at CBGB’s in NYC appeared first on Hypebot.

How to get closer to fans outside of social mediaLearn strategies to connect with new and loyal fans beyond the guardrails and outside of the potentially toxic confines of traditional social media. by CRISTINA CANO of CD Baby’s DIY Musician. Continue reading
The post How to get closer to fans outside of social media appeared first on Hypebot.

A 10% stake in Led Zeppelin’s music is for sale. Here’s how it ended up on the market.Stake is being sold by Helen Grant, the daughter of the band's former manager, Peter Grant, as first reported by The Times on Monday (July 10)
Source

Sarah Silverman sues OpenAI and Meta over alleged copyright infringement in AI trainingSilverman is one of three book authors suing OpenAI and Meta
Source

New Music Critique: St. James WaySt. James Way Contact: rac@crlr.net

Web: newpants.com

Seeking: Film/TV PlacementStyle: Contemporary Christian

James Becker spearheads St. James Way, whose new album features songs that are, by turns, acoustic, calming, gentle and inspiring. These songs are fully arranged to uplift the listener’s spirit with a gust of emotion. Those qualities make Becker’s recordings ideal for the Contemporary Christian market.  “Call Out My Name” and “Will You Be My Friend” epitomize this artist’s ability to convey a genuine glow of heartfelt sincerity, whether as a giver of aid and comfort (“I will come to you.”) or as a receiver (“Isn’t love wonderful when you’re around?”). In the song “Without You,” a tribute to a friend, Becker shows what he and his high tenor voice can do with a full band (strings, horns, drums, electric guitar).

The music industry is at a tipping point [MIDiA’s Mark Mulligan]Artificial intelligence, underpaid artists, and tens of thousands of new tracks released daily are just a few of the major problems facing the music industry. “There is still time for. Continue reading
The post The music industry is at a tipping point [MIDiA’s Mark Mulligan] appeared first on Hypebot.

How to commit music career suicide with just two words [Rick Beato]The music business is a community, and you will cross paths with other members of that community repeatedly throughout your career. So what you say and how you treat them. Continue reading
The post How to commit music career suicide with just two words [Rick Beato] appeared first on Hypebot.

Will an explicit label impact your song streams?Learn about the truths and myths surrounding explicit music and how it may affect your streaming success. by Philip Kinsher of Disc Makers Blog Musicians have long loved the freedom. Continue reading
The post Will an explicit label impact your song streams? appeared first on Hypebot.

Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y. and Indie MusicThis week, our tips and advice for the independent, do-it-yourselfers out there covered how to use ChatGPT to your advantage, common AI music myths, and more… Five essential tips for. Continue reading
The post Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y. and Indie Music appeared first on Hypebot.

REWIND: The new music industry’s Week in ReviewA busy week by any definition, the music industry was no exception, with Spotify adding more video content features, Anime music taking over the world, and more… Tidal joins Apple. Continue reading
The post REWIND: The new music industry’s Week in Review appeared first on Hypebot.