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Biographical Information

 View Glen Heffner's profile on LinkedIn

Avant Electronics

V.P. of Sales and Market Development (U.S. & International)

I'm very fortunate to be the V.P. of Sales and Market Development for a rapidly "up and coming" pro audio company that makes everything  from incredible studio accessories, (such as Pop Filters, Shock Mounts, Drum Clamps), to THE Full-Range Mini  Reference Monitors for the NEW MILLENNIUM - the MixCubes, to a series of excellent microphones (including the fabulous CR-14 dual Ribbon Microphone). and our number one selling CV-12 Tube Microphone. You can check them out at www.avantelectronics.com

MidiScope
Engineer/Producer/Owner

I've owned a recording studio for years and it has went through many phases; analog Otari 24 track, Neotek console, Digital with ADAT's, Yamaha O2R's and now, it's all computers!  I still have some analog equipment but I've really become a fan of working with a control surface (like the Tascam FW-1884) and Sonar 5.2 software.  I have other variations, but this gives you an idea.  Most of my work now-a-days is for myself but I use to do everything from recording for national labels to writing jingles that received national airplay.  I'm a keyboardist, (that's what started this whole crazy thing for me -when I decided to major in it in college), so I took to Midi the moment it was first introduced and I guess you might call me an expert. I'm about 10 years behind in finishing my instrumental album that a national label was so interested in releasing ,("if I would just complete it), but you know how that goes.  Life gets in the way and you keep thinking that you'll get to it.  Still, I plan to complete it and you can actually here the "roughs" of the original tunes by clicking on my "Current Projects" page (man, is that a poorly named page!), and you'll see where to click to the link that will take you to the songs.  By the way, you can hear them all in their entirety in "Hi-Fi" sound.  Don't worry about getting a 30 sec. dull sounding sample...  Anyway, a few more facts: Glen Heffner - has a degree in Piano and studied engineering in NYC. He is currently working on a national project of his instrumental music titled "Timeless Travels. (I've already told you that didn't I?)  MidiScope is active and I'm producing a signed musician even with all the stuff that I'm doing. I work 14-17 hours a day, I believe in people and I hope that we'll all learn to see the beauty of getting along.  John Lennon said it best, "Give Peace A Chance"...  One more thing: The fact is; I just love music and once it's in your soul, that's it.  Give up and accept it!

Cakewalknet.com

Associate Editor/Reviewer

Cakewalknet.com is a wonderful source of information for just about anything that has to do with midi, software applications and especially software softsynths.  While the site is definitely a "treasure" for Cakewalk/Sonar" users", the site is updated constantly with news on all products of interest to the midi musician, producer and engineer.  A big feature of cakewalknet.com is that the reviews are particularly in-depth. (Of course, I would say that since I'm one of the reviews), but you should read a few of them and make your own determination!  All of the reviewers are working musicians/engineers/songwriters and each piece of software is thoroughly "put through its paces" and is given a major workout prior to a published review.  You can rest assured that a review of a product at cakewalknet.com has had many hours invested in it in "real world" applications.  I can honestly say that a www.cakewalknet.com review is a good place to start when trying to determine if you want to buy a particular piece of software!  There's lots of other great information there also so please just go check it out!  As of August 19th, 2006, over 7 million people have!

                   

The stuff below is a lot of information about me.  If you're not interested in my "year by year" thoughts as to how I got here...just skip it.  Some however, might be able to relate to my comments.  It's your choice!

  1. 1953 - I was born in Kittery, Maine (my father, who was in the Marine Corps, was stationed there).

  2. 1958 - I heard my first dirty joke by a guy named Tony in kindergarten.  Tony, if you're out there somewhere, I only hope that  your jokes improved!

  3. 1959 - Fell in love with the song "BimbomBay" by Jimmy Little and his Orchestra - (I still love it to this day)

  4. 1960 - "Tom Dooley" became my favorite song (probably because they hung Tom)

  5. 1961 - I worked at being  a kid...(mostly a good/bad one!)

  6. 1962 - I dreamed about my first guitar (and I GOT IT!).  It was a Sears Silvertone Concert Acoustic Guitar (and it was bigger than me).

  7. 1963 - Yes, I became a huge Beatle fan (which continues to this day!) I also started taking lessons religiously!  Later in the year, I  got the famous Silvertone "combo guitar/case/amp".  It put out a stoking 10 watts and on really wild nights, the band  that my friend Dale Williams and I stated, would cut up to "6".  This rig taught me that you can't get in a bathtub with an electric guitar!  

  8. 1964 - Yeah, Yeah, Yeah... I started "eyeing" the Vox Continental Organ (but I had to settle for a Doric Organ out of Italy). Still, I have a "place in my heart for that grey vinyl covered Doric" to this day.  Do you have one?  I'll buy it.  Let me know.

  9. 1964 - If you were an English band... I was listening...and learning/playing the songs. 

  10. 1965 - I played rhythm guitar with The Telstars (we did covers of all songs instrumentally).  We actually made $50 a night!  Not bad for a 12 year old! I was the only 5th grader with $25 in my pocket after a weekend! 

  11. 1966 - My first kiss!  Hi, Lorrie (where ever you are...) 

  12. 1967 - Sgt. Pepper "pulled" me into studio techniques forever.  I couldn't believe the sounds coming from my family's big Magnavox "Hi-Fidelity" Stereo System. "Fixing A Hole" blew me away! Thanks Mom for going for the expensive headphones that the salesmen "pushed" on you.  How many hours I must have sat in front of that huge console with those great closed phones...

  13. 1968 - Long hair and all... I formed my own group.  We thought we were cool (of course, all of us who played back then thought we were cool!) Maybe one difference for us is that we were very popular.  Call it luck.  The girls loved us which meant that all the guys had to be nice to us too.  When we played, we had standing room only shows and I was only 15 years old.  It was an amazing time.

  14. 1969 - I was driving , playing successfully with my band, dating girls, living the age of Aquarius, Haight-Asbury, Frisbees, parties, writing my first original songs, etc.  Man, I wish I could go back!  My first original tune was called "I want to take you to Bed".  Now, I'm going to confess, with all the girls who were nuts about us, I had never gotten that far!  That must have been my inspiration for the writing of that tune:-).  One month later, it worked! Eureka!

  15. 1970 - Finally my  senior year arrived! My band got into the finals of  "The Battle of The Bands",  I sneaked out of detention hall, fell "head over heels" in love, graduated to a Vox Continental keyboard (with black keys!), won the state "Battle of the Bands" (thank you Carlos Santana for the song "Evil Ways") , bought a Maestro Envelope Follower and an Electro-Harmonix Electric Lady Flanger, and finally, I got two of the incredible Uni-Vibe effect pedals.   Oh yeah, I also graduated with the longest hair in my high school class (ah, youth...)

  16. 1971 - I attended Western Carolina University, majoring in Piano.  Met a great bunch of musicians, formed a wonderful group called SourWood and began backing up all the national acts that played the campus... Santana, Rare Earth, Blood Rock, The Byrds, Goose Creek Symphony, Badfinger, Black Oak Arkansas, and many  others.  During this time, I  got my first major synthesizer, the EML-101 (I still have it!).  I began jamming with a guy who wanted me to go with him and his bass player to California to "make it".  His name?.... Billy Squire.... (of course, that wasn't the name that he went by then).  And...I drew the number "242" in the lottery (A low number and you were assured an all expense paid trip to Vietnam.) For the record they took people up to the number 215 that year. I still think about some of my friends....

  17. 1972 - I started my 2nd year at WCU but decided to transfer to a Liberal Arts College, Lenoir-Rhyne College.  They had awesome music professors there! My band  released our first 45 ( a tune called "Nevermore To Roam").  We actually charted on the local charts, moving all the way up to number 9 (number 9, number 9).  We were very lucky and I learned a lot about the music business because I got to meet the "real people" in the music industry.  RCA  was very interested in us.  During the summer I went to study in upstate New York.   DondiSound was a hands-on school with a great program in Studio Techniques.  It was taught by Dave Moulton (this is the guy who is always writing fantastic articles for magazines like Recording, EQ, Electronic Musician, etc.)  Hi Dave!!! I'll always respect Dave  for his absolute desire to "turn people on" in the Recording Arena.   I met Todd Rundgren, James Taylor and Paul Butterfield (may he rest in peace) in the town of Woodstock, NY.  I came home a changed man...

  18. 1973 - I formed the rock 'n roll band FRAGILE.  Man, we kicked!  We toured all over the South and became "seasoned professionals".  For the first time, production was absolutely a necessity. I began doing "work for hire",  playing keyboards in a number of studios, including one that (oh my gosh!), had an 8 track Ampex machine!  I remember stating: "Who would ever need more tracks than this?".  

  19. 1974 - This was the year that I seriously began designing and building my own recording studio.  Researching equipment and developing a business plan took a huge portion of my time...

  20. 1975 - "Studio A" became a reality with a Tascam 40-4 four track recorder (with DBX), a DBX -160 compressor and a DBX-162 stereo comp/limiter!  I even had a Furman parametric EQ  (with it's horrible green back plate and red knobs), and.... a party collection of microphones, i.e. U87, RE-20's, AKG 451E's, Sennheiser 421's and 441's, Sony EMC-23F's, and lots of SM81's!  I remember my original "package promo",  a $100 a day would get you 8 hours of time and/or four complete songs. 

  21. 1976 - I bring on a partner in the studio, Tim Berry, (at this point it was still part-time).  I accepted a job with SureFire Productions as an entertainment booking agent ..  SureFire promoted concerts in stadiums with such groups as Mother's Finest, Brick, Wild Cherry, and  many more.  I also hated Fridays....I would book bands all week and then spend all weekend fielding calls from irate club owners who wanted to know "where's the band?".   Usually, after the club owner finished talking, you would get a call from  the band explaining that they had ran out of gas and and didn't have any money, (or they were in a ditch because of a snow storm...)   At this point, I knew that the studio was calling me....

  22. 1977 - ....and so was marriage.  I married my high school sweetheart and I've never regretted it to this day. IT IS THE BEST THING THAT I'VE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE! I remember only having four days for our honeymoon, returning home and then packing for a " road trip " with my group Fragile. Yet, Kathy has stayed and supported me through all the various crazy "ups and downs" of the music world and has always been there for me.  Guys, and I mean you; if you have a girl that supports  you and tries to comfort you; DON'T LET HER GO!  She's better than a record deal will ever be and she just might save your life.  Oh, and don't forget to let her know occasionally, (since we're often so obsessed with  our music that we fail to recognize that we're not paying attention to the things that are the most important )- like the girlfriend or wife.  PLEASE, PLEASE recognize this today and let your love know....OK, I'll quit preaching now.

  23. 1978 - I finally "gave in" to the horror of disco, and my rock n roll band "morphed" into a disco band.  Man, "we mopped up".  We learned a total of 16 songs in 14 days and extended them with long solos, breakdowns, etc.  We made close to $90, 000 that year.  I still hate disco to this day but it was a learning experience and sometimes it is good to "go with the flow" because...in

  24. 1979 - The band was spotted by an agent in Knoxville, Tenn. who hooked us up with the U.S. Department of Defense!  They auditioned us,  and the next thing we knew, we were doing a Department of Defense tour in Greenland!!!  Oh yeah, there's nothing green in Greenland!   It was a fantastic experience for us all.  On the plane back, the bass player, guitar player and I went through with our premeditated plans and announced to the  disco group, "Too Hot To Handle" that we had played our last show. It was time to get back to our roots.

  25. 1980 - My studio had grown to a 8 track facility and a big Tascam console (24 channels even!).  That's the B/W photo on the home page.  Notice the short hair?  Well, we had started joking about punk music, started listening to Devo, The Clash, Elvis Costello, etc.  We became hooked.  It also led to my most successful group, The Rumblers (which are still together even today)!

  26. 1981 - After a full year of practicing and learning movements and steps, deciding on props, and getting a glorious lighting system, The Rumblers played to SRO crowds!  Selling as many as 144 T-shirts a night, refusing any guarantee from clubs, but rather taking 100% of the door, The Rumblers, made as much as $2800 a night on average.  Nobody could touch us.  Mercury and RCA were all over us, we flew to NYC to meet with PolyGram and turned down a $50,000 advance offer.  To this day, I don't know why I didn't go for  it....(well, really I do know).  By this time in my life, the 5 of us could easily just go to the bank and get a $10,000 loan and we knew was was being asked of us by the record company.  In fairness to them, they did say that if we could "Give them a cigar", then we would have a deal anyway.  I asked what a cigar was and I was told that it was a song that was so good that it could successfully launch the band without us having to travel all over the US prior to a record hitting.

  27. 1982 -The studio (now called Fantasy Music), starting  taking off!  I  quit my "day job" and  began working the studio full time.  This is the year that we really got serious about the facility.  Acoustical design, 24 track 2" machine, an excellent mixing console , the best effect processors, etc.  We also started a division that specialized in radio jingles (the real start of MidiScope).

  28. 1983 - MidiScope (which was the name for all the midi gear being used for jingles) was exploding!  We lucked up and found several radio stations that would pay us a flat fee for our jingles (which  they gave  away in packages to their customers in exchange for them purchasing large advertising packages).  The Rumblers were continuing to get the best jobs and we started, in earnest, working on our first studio album.

  29. 1984 - We decided to open a large music store, Fantasy Music.  We built it from the ground up and we had the best of everything.  This is when I really learned about Midi.  I ordered everything that was available at that time, and  I read the manuals over and over so I could apply what I had learned.

  30. 1985 -1989 - Fantasy Music, Fantasy Sound Studios, The Rumblers and Sanctuary Systems (an off-shoot of Fantasy Music specializing in Church Sound Systems), became "serious business" in our area.  During this time, I also constructed a midi studio in my home.  I wanted to do a collection of original instrumental songs that had been in my head for a long time.  I started playing in a wonderful group called Puddingstone.  The mastermind of a Doctor by the name of David Abernathy, it was very unique in the way that the group "merged" ancient instruments with synthesizers.  Check out www.puddingstone.com for more information about them!

  31. 1990 - I start feeling a bit "burned out", but nevertheless, I continued with all the various companies that I had formed.  I was also asked to teach Recording and Midi at a local university...(which was a welcome relief).

  32. 1991 - This is the year that I decided to close Fantasy Music and concentrate on "other things".

  33. 1992 - I was asked if I had ever considered becoming a "pro audio rep".  I was shocked.  After learning more about the job, I took it.  As of June '06, I am now officially out of the rep business.  I spent about 15 years in it however.

  34. 1993 - Digital equipment lands at Fantasy Sound!  ADAT's, the Ursa Major Space Station, Lexicon Reverb, DAT machines,  etc. became the "rule of the day". The Future had finally arrived (or so I thought).

  35. 1994 - This year I started investigating the amazing world of Digital Audio and Hard Disk Systems!  All my problems were going to be resolved.  I started converting my analog studio into a Computer-Driven one...little did I know what awaited me!

  36. 1995 - I discovered the following statement to be true: " HARD DISK RECORDING IS NOT THE FINAL ANSWER". I'm constantly spending more and more time updating my computers and trying to get just a little more CPU power out of them...My midi project "Timeless Travels" takes precedence.  A national label is very excited about it.  I start  converting my recording studio into  a full-blown midi workshop.

  37. 1996 - The Rumblers are discovered and a request to do four songs by a major record company was "ordered up".  I decided to put my midi project on hold and once again, I went back to a studio format.... This time with a Fostex 24 track Hard Disk Recorder which worked flawlessly and it was synched to Cakewalk.

  38. 1997 - Pausing in midstream, ...."Timeless Travels" starts looking like "the sure thing".  Fantastic reviews and encouragement from several record companies convince me to go back to my midi studio "design" so I can update those tunes.  I mean, most of those tunes had been done with a Roland S-50 or S-550 hardware sequence and sometimes just one module.  For example, the tune "Timeless Travels" was completely done with a Korg M1R ,(except for the trumpet part - that is a real trumpet player that I dubbed in).  Most of "Secret Reef" was done with a Roland U-220 and so on.  The original idea was just to get them down and then move individual parts to the best sounds in my module array.  I mean, I did have 76+ synth modules and they were all connected to the mixer, so it wouldn't be a problem.  Anyway, that's what I'm finally working on now, except  I've injected major compositional updates to ALL of the songs and completely tossed out a few of the tunes. I've also written 7 new songs; one that I hope to put on-line for you to check out soon. You're honest input will really be appreciated!

  39. 1998 - MidiScope (which is what I now call my hybrid midi/digital studio), is now fully operational.  At this point,  I'm doing The Rumblers as well as my solo CD.

  40. 1999 - I've learned that technology isn't the answer.  The song is everything... Don't spend the majority of your life chasing after that "silly DB cleaner signal".  Believe in yourself and for gosh sakes, just record it!  I promise you that you will be much happier and I'll  bet that not a single person will realize that you didn't use a Finalizer or some other "high-tech" processor on the last cut!  Todd Rundgren once said "If it sounds cool, then why are you messing with it?" Think about that and if you have a good answer to that question, then let me know!

  41. 2001 -UPDATE!  I'm starting to believe that "HARD DISK IS THE ANSWER:)".  The new Sonar XL 2 program from Cakewalk is truly awesome.  I'm finally getting the type of audio recording and midi sequencing that I've always wanted in this package!

  42. 2004 - I am now using computer programs like Sonar 3 Producer Series for almost all of my hard disk recording.  Also, I've started using computer synths often called "softsynths" for my music production work.  Quite a bit of time has passed since I've updated this area.  Be on the lookout for a special "update" section soon!

  43. 2004 - I am using SoftSynths for almost all of my music production now!  I just find them so much easier to use and they sound great!  I've also moved on to Sonar 4 Producer which is a wonderful program for recording and midi production.  While I'm also using Steinberg SX-3 and Cakewalk's Project 5-2, I can't  stop myself  from going back to Sonar 4 Producer Series again and again!  It is an incredible program.

  44. 2005 - Things have really gotten hectic!  Not only is the studio busy, but I'm writing even more articles at  www.cakewalknet.com, working on several studio projects, doing "outside" session work, and I've been contracted to work on a film score!  In the meantime, I have removed my large console (because I don't really need it, since all of my instruments are "virtual instruments" coming from inside my computer and I've "tuned in" with my Tascam FW-1884..  That runs in conjunction with my Hammerfall Card  and 3 Alesis AI-3 analog to digital converters, (so I actually can run 24 balanced inputs into the AI-3's and they come out to three ADAT Lightpipe connections that plug directly into the Hammerfall card, (I have the extra ADAT input!), so I have plenty of flexibility. I'm bragging now, but counting the 8 analog inputs on the FW-1884, the ADAT lightpipe that it has plus the 24 inputs that I get from the AI-3's, I actually have 32 analog inputs and 8 digital ones. And they're all running simultaneously.  I think my favorite part is that I really only have 4 digital cables and a Firewire cable going to my computer.  Man, I just love it.  For the record, I have a couple of little mixers from Fostex that are pretty cool that are have 4 channel analog inputs with EQ, FX and the best part is that they have SP/DIF output, (and the Tascam FW-1884  has SP/DIF Input.  I usually just run my preamp output (that has a CD player, a reel to reel, cassette deck, DAT recorder, record player and FM Tuner) into the Fostex mixer and it makes for a great way to move client's music over to your computer.  You know, somebody has a cassette of a song that they recorded 10 years ago and that is the only copy that they've got and "I would die if I lost it".  EXAMPLE: Getting Customer's Cassette onto CD....Well, just select the cassette recorder on your preamp, bring up the levels on the Fostex mixer, do a little EQing there if your want to, (I don't, but you could), and send it via SP/DIF to your FW-1884 which in turn will send it to your computer via Firewire.  From there, you can clean it up, EQ it, compress it a bit; in other words; blow the customer's mind and send him home with CD copies.  Remember, if you have a studio, it's often not the most glamorous thing or even something that you want to do, but when you do it, I'll wager that you'll appreciate just how great it is to be able to do it, make a bit of money.  The experience doesn't hurt anyway.

  45. 2006 - Long time since I put any entries in here but I've been very busy.  I added a Sonica Labs (www.sonicalabs.com ) Neo-64 dual core computer to my studio as my principle machine for recording and it is working beautifully! I've also rebuilt my studio to accommodate my way of working which is going to be mostly instrumental music.  I added a M-Audio 88 note keyboard controller and two 21" LCD monitors so I had to position the keyboard off the the right hand side of the studio; not in the center of the speakers stereo image, but a quick swivel in my studio chair and I'm there.  

  46. VONAGE  NUT - I'm also a "Vonage Nut" now too!  I've given up all other phone systems.  I've got a Vonage wireless phone system, a Vonage number that is connected to my regular telephones and a very cool Vonage V-phone that is a USB keychain device that you can plug into any internet connected computer and it loads up in about 10 seconds (no, it doesn't install any software on the computer); you plug in the earplugs and from the dial that you see on the computer, you can call anybody anywhere.  So, I've got 3 phones and they completely rock.  I kept my regular telephone lines for 6 months just to be sure that Vonage was trustworthy and they are!  By the way, you get a personal web area where you can go and view info about  every call that you've made, your bill, to listening to your voicemail.  Yes, you have voicemail and it even lets you know via email when a call has come in.  BUT the best thing (and the thing that finally sold me), is that if your internet provider just happens to experience trouble or goes down; your web area has a section that lets you input what number (or numbers if you have more than one phone), that you want them to dial should it go down.  I just input my cell phone, which is with me all the time.  Recently, Charter Communication had a problem in my area and I immediately grabbed my wife's cell phone and called one of my Vonage phones.  My cell phone started ringing immediately!  So cool. So, don't let anybody tell you that you're stuck if the internet goes down.  It simply isn't true.  I was paying close to $390 a month in phone bills prior to Vonage.  Now, even with 3 phones, my month bill is $65 and that includes calls all over Europe!  One thing I must mention however is that the USB V-Phone, while it works fantastic does not sound perfect like the other Vonage phones do.  That is because it comes with a dual-ear plugs and the voice is picked up from "inside" the head, so it sounds a bit dull.  Don't get me wrong, it is usable, but I went out and bought a standard phone headset with a regular microphone and everybody tells me that it sounds fantastic and that they can't tell any difference from any other quality telephone!  Do yourself a favor and get yourself hooked up to these guys. http://www.vonage.com  It's the future.  The phone companies have been ripping us off for years! 

  47. SoftSynth Joy! - Back at it again.  I've just finished spending the Labor Day weekend with Sonar 5.2 and the following softsynths: Arturia's Analog Factory, Prophet V, IK Multimedia's Miroslav Philarmonik Orchestra/Choir and Native Instruments Akoustik Piano and it was absolutely DELIGHTFUL.  If you haven't "taken the proverbial leap" yet; CONTACT ME!  I'll explain all about it and how easy it really is to get going.  If you're a keyboardist, you're got to do it.  But guitarists, it is definitely in your area also!  For example, I'm getting ready to review IK Multimedia's Ampeg SVX (which is like having all the Ampeg Bass amps, pedals and lots of different microphones to mike the cabinets with all in one place!).  You just plug your bass guitar into your board, call up the SVX software and the next thing you know, you think that you're playing through the real thing.  It's unbelievable!!!  Oh, by the way, I've hyperlinked each company name for you to the main site, but the specific softsynths are hyperlinked directly to their places on each companies' website. (Hey, I had some time on my hands!)