[This just in from Damon Humphrey, who was kind enough to offer insightful As to our run-of-the-mill Qs regarding his company, After Midnight Productions—that's AMP, to you.]

Hey PreSonus! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences! If you need anything, please let me know. Thanks again.

 

• How and when did you get involved in music? How long has AMP been running?

 I got involved in music by accident actually, my friend—and now business partner—Sean Fields was always involved with music. He asked me how I would feel about starting up a music production company. Without any hesitation, I said yes! We came up with a plan, put together a demo, and earned enough money to go official in 2003.  I first started out doing the marketing and promotion, which led us to our first client. That’s when I got into producing!

• What PreSonus stuff do you use?

Right now I use Studio One Professional 2.5, and I am using the PreSonus FaderPort.

 

• What were you using before PreSonus, and why did you switch?

I was using FL Studio, which I still do now, ReWired, or I may track out and mix in Studio One, which I do a lot of. I’ve used Reason, Sonar and Logic as well. But feel that it is much easier to do what I want to do in Studio One without struggling to do it. To get where I want to go, there are simply fewer steps. Studio One speeds up the process.

 

• What are some of your favorite features?

My favorite features? Hmm, there are too many to mention, LOL! but I really like the drag-and-drop feature, without multiple shortcut keys. I also like being able to navigate without thinking too hard. When it comes to routing and bussing—which I didn’t do very much of in FL Studio. Everything is laid out in the menus on the right-hand side: I see it, I drag and drop it, and it’s done.

Well, this can be implemented in all DAWS, but, for those who have had issues with their drums not sounding punchy, and full: stacking is the key. Also, knowing how to compress and EQ with minimal settings. In other words, less is more when it comes to those type of things. Taking your time to learn the DAW without rushing is the key to getting great sound out of the software. Know that when your drums start clipping, back off a little, that will make a huge difference. ALSO—and this is a big tip I am starting to do it myself—listen to a reference mix of your favorite artist and try and get your beat or song to sound just as clear and loud as that, with out over-doing it… Keeping in mind what I mentioned before: less is more.