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Post by rowmat on Jan 2, 2024 12:00:23 GMT -6
I still keep in regular communication with our former mastering guy.
He said he’s never been busier.
COVID unleashed a lot of home DIY projects from people with no clue how to record or mix who wonder why their project doesn’t sound remotely like a ‘rekkid’.
The term “Fix it in the mix.” doesn’t apply in the case of these people.
It’s beyond that.
It’s become “Fix it in the mastering.”
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Post by rowmat on Dec 8, 2023 23:56:45 GMT -6
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Post by rowmat on Dec 8, 2023 16:30:58 GMT -6
Build a rack of SCA J99’s and don’t look back!
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Post by rowmat on Nov 25, 2023 17:08:30 GMT -6
Makes sense to me thx. It was interesting in Eric’s test little difference, but I would lean towards sealing them! To be clear you need quite a number large tube traps to effectively treat the low end. And I am specifically referring to the low end here. Unsealed tubes can indeed improve the acoustics of the middle and higher frequencies but not nearly as much at the low end. Measuring the room low end response between sealed and unsealed traps won’t make a lot of difference unless you have enough traps of suitable size in the first place. And typically most don’t have enough. (My large tube traps are 8” taller than me) By that I mean a pretty large budget that few home studio owners could likely afford or have the time and energy to DIY build unless they were very motivated.
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Post by rowmat on Nov 25, 2023 16:28:03 GMT -6
Thx for the detail. I’ve been thinking about using the sonotubes and using radial cutters ti cut diffrebt sized circular holes in one side of the tube: like you reflective on the other side. I would cut circular pieces of safe and sound ti stuff inside, cap bottom and top with circular pieces of semi rigid comfort board. Eric’s analysis suggests capping does little sonically, but would keep insulation in place. i’d make a circular wooden base, a little bigger with a routered counter sunk groove fir tube ti sit in, likely use construction glue there and attach 3 wheels, cover with fabric! In order to reduce bass buildup which occurs at the perimeter of walls and in corners the tube traps do require ‘sealing’. By ‘sealing’ I mean they need to provide some resistance to the flow of air through the wall of the trap into the internal air cavity during the positive half cycle (high pressure) and then back out of the tube into the room during the negative half cycle (low pressure). This action is what effectively absorbs the acoustic energy and levels out the bass response. The bigger the air volume of the tube, the lower the frequency it can treat. If you want the traps to be effective especially at lower frequencies they shouldn’t be completely open but rather provide ‘leaky’ resistance to the flow of air in and out of the tube. The trap acts like a smoothing capacitor in an AC to DC power supply. During the positive half cycle where the pressure inside the trap momentarily rises as air moves through the wall of the tube absorbing the positive energy it then, during the negative half cycle when the air in the trap is at higher relative pressure compared to the air in the room adjacent to the trap, moves back through the wall of the tube into the room. Of course you need enough traps of suitable size to be effective in smoothing out the low frequencies. A couple of small traps won’t make much difference in treating the low end.
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Post by rowmat on Nov 25, 2023 12:54:12 GMT -6
I built some too as the cost of shipping them to Australia on top of the actual traps was off the planet. It was a ton of work but they definitely helped. I used rock wool sandwiched between inner and outer wire mesh tubes. I used some construction damp-proof course plastic to create a reflective side. View AttachmentView AttachmentDid you make or purchase the tubes ? I built them entirely from scratch using galvanised wire mesh which I cut and formed (rolled) into two tubes per trap. A smaller diameter inner mesh tube and a larger diameter for the outer. These held the rock wool insulation batts sandwiched in between the mesh tubes. I used wire clips to join the mesh along the edges and used round plywood end caps and stapled the mesh to the end caps. I made two sizes. The smaller trap is just over one metre tall (around 40”) and approximately 10” in diameter and the larger about 80” tall and 16” in diameter. The larger trap required four one metre (40”) mesh tubes with each inner and outer pair joined end to end to make a two metre (80”) tall tube. The roll of wire mesh was actually 1200mm tall (48”) but I had to cut it down to about 40” otherwise the larger traps would have been too tall once the wire tubes were joined end to end. They’re very lightweight.
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Post by rowmat on Nov 22, 2023 20:01:58 GMT -6
I built some too as the cost of shipping them to Australia on top of the actual traps was off the planet. It was a ton of work but they definitely helped. I used rock wool sandwiched between inner and outer wire mesh tubes. I used some construction damp-proof course plastic to create a reflective side.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 31, 2023 18:03:55 GMT -6
Wear a tiny bikini while practicing Zen meditation on the roof of your bespoke built campervan facing the sunset with your labradoodle puppy Bartholomew at your side. Of course don’t forget the pan flute soundtrack.
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Post by rowmat on Sept 24, 2023 23:48:46 GMT -6
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Post by rowmat on Sept 19, 2023 16:09:43 GMT -6
While I know it's annoying and even difficult to pay that much for a mic stand, the Latch Lake 1100 is just exceptional. I don't use anything else for LDCs anymore. I had an Ultimate MC125 fall over with my Soyuz 017FET on it. Sure, I'll use one of my K&M stands for SDCs or dynamics or lighter ribbons, but the Latch Lake sees tons of use, and I haven't even had to think about mic stands anymore since I got it. It's worth saving up for. I have a pair of Ulimate MC125’s and I had a couple of close calls with them.
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Post by rowmat on Sept 19, 2023 16:00:33 GMT -6
The best heavy duty mic stands I found that weren’t $500 plus are Century Stands (C-Stands) used for film lighting. They easily take shot bags on the legs if you really need to make sure they don’t move and the clamps don’t slip or creep. To be frank most mic stands don’t cut it for use with extended booms with heavy mics unless you are prepared to spend big.
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Post by rowmat on Sept 12, 2023 9:53:32 GMT -6
When tracking live bands I used a console but with a bunch of outboard preamps via patchbays.
This allowed for picking the mic/pre combination that best suited each source.
Obviously you choose the mic first and then a preamp to compliment the mic that gets you close to where you want to be before even reaching for EQ.
The console pres were never used and neither was the console EQ.
The signals from the outboard pres went direct to the recorder and never through the console when tracking.
The console was for used monitoring and cue sends when tracking which is being ‘hands on’ is far easier to change on the fly in a dynamic live band situation.
The console was also used during mixdown (yeah old school!) basically as a line level summing mixer with outboard hardware, EQ’s, dynamics, effects (EMT140, Lexicon 480L).
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Post by rowmat on Sept 9, 2023 6:30:36 GMT -6
I have these, the original SCA format, not the 500 series. They are all good but the J99’s have been my goto pres especially for vocals and acoustic instruments. The N72 do the Neve thing as well as a Neve. The C84’s get the least use not because there’s anything wrong with them it’s just that they are basically invisible and don’t provide anything much other than clean gain. For anyone thinking a Coles 4038 may not be a great idea as a vocal mic when you have access to the ‘usual suspects’, just plug a 4038 into a J99 (Twin Servo) back off the mic to around 12”, crank up the gain and be amazed. Add some Pultec goodness and some EMT140 plate and you’ll end up with a huge, rich and smooth vocal that will make you cry. The AEA ribbons with their pre’s are just like that - amazing for vocals when you add some gain and stand back a bit. Of course you need a “real” studio space that has a great room tone and is free of ambient extraneous noise! You mean like this? 😉 AEA ribbon/stand back/add gain/great room…
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Post by rowmat on Sept 9, 2023 6:16:16 GMT -6
They are all good but the J99’s have been my goto pres especially for vocals and acoustic instruments. Are these the ones that sound similar to John Hardy M1's? Or am I simply mistakening the fact that you can order them with John Hardy opamps? The J99 is based on the Jensen Twin Servo which uses two 990 type opamps which Hardy makes under his own name. The main difference between the J99 and the Jensen Twin Servo are the transformers. The J99 uses a Lundhal LL1538XL mic input transformer and a Cinemag output transformer (high nickel). The Lundal LL1538 is also used in the several Rupert Neve designed Focusrite preamps and the Cinemag has very similar specs to the Jensen version. When I built my J99’s I intended to use the Hardy 990 opamps but getting any was another thing altogether. In the end I ordered some Sonic Imagery 990 opamps and they have been excellent although I expect there’s not a huge difference between most properly designed 990 opamps especially in the case of the Twin Servo where two 990’s share the gain so are not worked as hard as a single opamp at higher gains.
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Post by rowmat on Sept 9, 2023 3:43:44 GMT -6
Seventh Circle is running a sale, I'd be curious to hear what others are finding as great pairings with each pre topology, esp. C84, J99 and N72 I have these, the original SCA format, not the 500 series. They are all good but the J99’s have been my goto pres especially for vocals and acoustic instruments. The N72 do the Neve thing as well as a Neve. The C84’s get the least use not because there’s anything wrong with them it’s just that they are basically invisible and don’t provide anything much other than clean gain. For anyone thinking a Coles 4038 may not be a great idea as a vocal mic when you have access to the ‘usual suspects’, just plug a 4038 into a J99 (Twin Servo) back off the mic to around 12”, crank up the gain and be amazed. Add some Pultec goodness and some EMT140 plate and you’ll end up with a huge, rich and smooth vocal that will make you cry.
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Post by rowmat on Aug 28, 2023 7:57:16 GMT -6
At least he's not using an... EV 320. Still pretty revolting. Chris Yeah he should learn how to re-volt correctly!
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Post by rowmat on Aug 21, 2023 19:31:01 GMT -6
Maybe I've been using it wrong. I want ribbons to warm up sources like my m160 does on overheads. Based on this comment and also on how much Royer brags about SPL handling, maybe the idea is to take the R10 and just smoosh it right on the source. If the idea is a fig. 8 with minimal proximity effect I could see some use there. Maybe I'll just change my mindset and stop hoping this will be a "warming effect" mic and think of it as a more of a specialty type mic. Now we're getting somewhere. I don't know if it was completely hidden or only partially obvious from my original reply, but the R10 is one ribbon I just don't get on with. The R121? One of my ten most valued (for usability) mics. Been in almost constant use here since 2007 or so With the AEA N22 you had to use it within about 4-8” from the source or the low end thinned out dramatically. Of course it was designed this way to allow close micing without excessive proximity. Seems like the R10 is similar. I also suspect the perforated acoustic tube that covered the ribbon motor assembly caused some comb filtering effect which results in some high end resonance that mechanically boosted the sound around 10khz.
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Post by rowmat on Aug 21, 2023 2:51:09 GMT -6
According to Royer the R10 has been designed to reduce proximity effect.
The AEA N22 was also designed to reduce proximity effect and I hated mine.
I don’t know if the R10 uses a similar design to the AEA N22 which used a perforated metal tube that covered the entire ribbon motor assembly.
This not only reduced proximity effect but also seemed to provide some high boost around 10khz along with the reduced low end produced a rather thin anaemic tone nothing like a true ribbon.
After I removed the tube (it just slid off) the mic was completely transformed and became a favourite.
I suspect removing the tube basically converted the AEA N22 into an AEA R8.
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Post by rowmat on Aug 11, 2023 22:50:16 GMT -6
From my cold dead hands…
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Post by rowmat on Aug 11, 2023 22:43:58 GMT -6
The original rack had significantly higher power rails. I don’t know if that’ll make a difference for preamps, but… Volt and amp starvation was a HUGE issue in the past... since rare which leads me to believe everyone got on the bus. The SCA 500 series modules are using boost converters to achieve 24volt supply rails as required.
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Post by rowmat on Jul 18, 2023 23:22:48 GMT -6
www.seventhcircleaudio.com/500-seriespretty cool. I've always been interested in these preamps but the proprietary power rack unit always kept me away. Nice to see they are now in 500 series format. I’ve had a bunch of the originals for about 7-8 years. I’m glad I didn’t wait until the 500 series came out because they got a bunch of use. Buy yes it’s good to see SCA has risen from the ashes and it could have only done so by moving to 500 series.
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Post by rowmat on Jul 18, 2023 22:39:03 GMT -6
Hardy preamps are really wonderful...they work for everything in my experience. I think having a transformer really helps with vocals...GML...Benchmark...Millennia are all very fast but I find I like my Hardys more for vocals. I've always been interested in trying on of Jim's preamps. I've always been curious in the Radial Twin Servo preamp but never heard one...not sure if they are using 990 op-amps or not. Another option would be the Seventh Circle Audio J99, which is the Jensen Twin Servo circuit, and the T15, which is very similar to the Millennia. Seventh Circle Audio are now producing 500 Series modules including the J99 which is basically the Jensen Twin Servo circuit. www.seventhcircleaudio.com/product-page/sca-j99-500-series-microphone-preamp-moduleI have several of the original (Classic) proprietary SCA J99 modules which use their own form factor and high voltage rail power supply rack. The original SCA modules run off +24/-24 supply rails and have a ton of headroom. Looking at the 500 Series it appears to have a DC-DC converter which boosts the +15v/-15v rails to +24v/-24v. If I had to pick just one out of all the pres I’ve owned/used it would be the SCA J99. They have clarity without ever being clinical and are big, open, 3D and very quiet. Although it doesn’t use Jensen transformers the J99’s use the same Lundahl LL1538 input transformer (albeit the higher headroom XL version) as those in the original Focusrite console along with a high nickel Cinemag OP transformer. The LL1538 (XL) is very highly regarded micpre transformer. Also the Cinemag shouldn’t be far removed specification wise from the original Jensen output transformer having a nickel core with high headroom. I’m using Sonic Imagery 990 opamps in mine (which are excellent) as I couldn’t get the Hardy versions for love or money at the time when I built the pres. www.sonicimagerylabs.com/products/Model990Enh-Ticha.htmlThe J99’s absolutely excel on vocals and acoustic instruments but are great on anything. Out of my cold dead hands…
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Post by rowmat on Jun 2, 2023 16:26:04 GMT -6
Here’s an old photo of a Flea 47 Classic and a Neumann KM84. Ribbons combined with SDC’s also work. Just check the phase. Another great upright bass mic is the Neumann U77 (hard to find) but that is great on just about anything.
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Post by rowmat on May 10, 2023 22:22:15 GMT -6
" Daisy, Daisy... Give me your answer, do. I'm half crazy, all for the love of you."
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Post by rowmat on Apr 28, 2023 21:35:07 GMT -6
While we’re rapping about musical conspiracy theories, anyone else listen to the “winds of change” podcast? It’s awesome. Fascinating dive into the CIA’s operations, esp their cultural influence campaigns, vis a vis the titular song, which some folks believe was actually penned by US feds to disrupt the soviets. I first heard about this on the podcast "No Agenda" from Adam Curry, yes THAT Adam Curry of MTV VJ fame. It's wild! I can only imagine how strange things are going to get with 3 letter agencies using AI and deepfakes. What a time to be alive 😁 In the short term AI will be used as a control mechanism. In the long term AI is likely to become an existential threat to humanity. ”The 9000 series is the most reliable computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake, or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the word, foolproof and incapable of error."
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