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Post by rowmat on Oct 23, 2017 3:22:53 GMT -6
Do it. Thats a great price. You can always put passive pickups on it and use it with any mic preamp and driver amp... thats what I do and many say that sounds better than the old tube driver and pickup electronics. Better high and low end response. It sounds 100 or 1,000 times better than any plugin to my ear. Even a Bricasti can't do a plate that even comes close to the real thing. A thousand years from now even if a single computer was as powerful as all the computers in the world today the emulation would never come close to a real EMT 140. That's how good they are. There is magic happening in that plate. Get it right now and never let go of it. Its the best piece of gear I have ever bought. I paid that much for mine and it was a rebuild project that I had to ship across country and needed a bunch of work to get back in working order. So worth it. I have some plans for a DIY plate and had already been playing around with some piezos and a Radial Stagebug high impedance DI and preamps. If I get the EMT I am definitely intending to experiment with both the driver side of things and the pickups and preamp electronics where the biggest improvements can be made especially with regards to the SNR.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 22, 2017 21:36:37 GMT -6
Buy a plugin and spend the rest of the money on a fancy mic/compressor/vintage guitar etc. You could do a lot with that money. Or, buy an old space echo, or other cool hardware reverb. I know it's not the same thing, but your money will go farther. That's my 2 cents. We have plugins, a real 480L, an original Echoplex plus other vintage gear, good mics, pres etc. We mostly run a hybrid setup with an analog console (soon to be a Neotek Elite) and record mostly indie bands/singer songwriters, roots, Americana etc. I do all our tech/DIY etc. The sort of clientele we record tend to be into vintage hardware style gear. As I said I was always going to build a DIY plate regardless but it would cost me at least $1000 - $1500 in parts to do it properly plus lots of time and no chance of recouping anything near the original outlay if I was to sell it. The same seller also has a Retro compressor for sale but I'm waiting to find out whether it's a Sta Level or a 176 so I very well may end up with a nice compressor whether I buy the EMT or not. Also it's only a little over two hours drive to pick it up and I have a trailer it will fit on. PS: A functioning remote is also a bonus.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 22, 2017 20:39:46 GMT -6
I have the opportunity to purchase an EMT 140 plate reverb (Stereo solid state) with remote in very good condition for $2400 USD. ($3000 AUD)
I know plate reverb plugins are getting very good and the logistical issues of moving, locating (in a quiet and vibration free spot) and maintaining an EMT 140 may make less sense these days than it once did, but I was always going to build a DIY plate unless the opportunity arose to buy an EMT for a reasonable price and it appears it has.
Ok talk me out of it!
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Post by rowmat on Oct 21, 2017 2:29:46 GMT -6
Sure, just saying if you go down this route, there's no need to pay $3K. He's just assembling a kit, and then doubling/tripling the cost. When you buy a $4K mic from a boutique manufacturer, you get a unique design they've put years of work into, a warranty, support from a local dealer, and resale value based on brand reputation. Whole different set of parameters dictating the final price. In contrast, DIY is meant to be cheap. If an assembled DIY mic ends up being basically the same price as a boutique mic, then it's too expensive. In this case, the RMS M49LE is the much better buy for the same money. That aside, the Flea you like is based on the M49B. Not many manufacturers make them, most make the M49C. Make sure to ask him what his build is based on. The C version uses a much simpler PSU, and isn't as nice on vocals (less lowend). Agreed. DIY needs to be cheap or the numbers rapidly cease to work. A DIY version of a $4k mic may say cost $1500 using decent quality parts excluding labor. Resale maybe less than half this, even as low as $500, as who really wants to take a chance on a DIY mic? So you could easily lose 2/3rd's of your cost ($1000) excluding labor assuming you can find a buyer. You are likely to take less of a hit on a Flea or similar when it comes to reselling it.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 18, 2017 22:52:05 GMT -6
What's the deal with the Crookwood converters? Never heard of them... They're made of oak and sold by criminals.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 13, 2017 1:51:33 GMT -6
Mind you I know someone who had a Lavry Gold that had continual overheating issues that were never resolved.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 12, 2017 15:04:36 GMT -6
I still have an Echo Audio Layla 24/96. It cost me a bunch when I bought it and sounded great but alas support eventually ceased and I no longer have a computer with a PCI slot for the interface card.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 12, 2017 11:22:47 GMT -6
You can store images in any Reaper session and assign them to a particular track. AFAIK this option has been available for years.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 12, 2017 11:00:34 GMT -6
Many converters use the same AD/DA chips.
It's often the rest of the design, analog stages, layout, power supply etc. that makes the sonic differences.
For instance the original RADAR units used the same AKM convertors as used by many other manufacturers but the RADAR was deemed to sound better than most.
Then there's the associated functionality, features DSP, drivers etc.
Great hardware with crap drivers isn't going to satisfy customers for very long.
Antelope seems to be singled out for this issue quite often.
RME on the other hand is known for excellent, efficient drivers with high track counts and low latency (even over USB 2.0) along with some of the best product support longievity in the business.
Developing reliable drivers requires skilled people and must include ongoing support.
I very much doubt you would get that in a cheap clone convertor.
With the rapid changes in digital technology, hardware connectivity and operating systems, cessation of product support is the deathknell for most digital hardware.
A Neve preamp clone doesn't require firmware and driver updates to keep it operational.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 8, 2017 23:23:02 GMT -6
I use Logic, and generally tweak small sections with automation, usually lowering a line and occasionally taming a few words that jump out. I do the same with bass and electric guitar but in small doses. I use Superior Drummer to set basic levels with their mixer, then go into the midi and adjust beat velocity for most everything, so it has a more natural dynamic. I have Waves Vocal rider and Bass rider. I think there's a way to use them to write the automation, but I've never done it. They don't do a great job, but it helps. Basically I go into Logic's automation and adjust volume using my mouse, then I use things like the curve tool to smooth out changes. Where I have the most trouble is with booming bass notes. Some basses sound fine, but one or two notes just bloom and sustain too loud and too long. I use compressors on the bass track, Waves bass rider, and Logic automation, but it's difficult to fix boomy bass notes that shouldn't be there in the first place. I wish someone I knew had a few tricks I could borrow to fix that. If the bass is DI'd only then it won't be affected by room modes during tracking but could be during playback. If the bass was amp'd and mic'd then it could be either room modes that got recorded during tracking and/or a combination of room modes during playback which are the most difficult to deal with because you now have multiple moving targets and need to determine whether the problem is in the recording or coloration occurring during playback. Notes that are heavily cancelled due to room modes during tracking can often be harder to fix than notes than boom. Solution? Bass trapping and finding the best position in the room(s) that give the most even response.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 8, 2017 19:58:19 GMT -6
Recently got a Faderport and have been using it with Reaper.
The trick is definitely NOT to look at the screen when doing fader rides otherwise you end up just mimicking mouse moves which is exactly the thing you were trying to escape from in the first place!
Remember we're dealing with an audio medium here, not a visual medium, which is why I still find staring at DAW's a distraction when trying to make judgements about what I'm hearing.
A 'Lights Out" monitor function that could be enabled to automatically black out the monitor during playback is something I have thought about.
While the Faderport is much better than a mouse it still feels less connected than the analog console faders but I guess it's a case of getting use to it.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 7, 2017 23:17:42 GMT -6
Sounds like something I might be interested in.
I'm using two Alesis HD24XR's, one as a dedicated A to D and the other as a dedicated D to A with an analog console.
I want to be able to select whether the playback comes from the line outputs of the A to D during tracking (for latency free live monitoring and overdubbing) or from the line outputs of the D to A for DAW playback.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 2, 2017 22:32:44 GMT -6
Damn! I just found the copy of 'Wildflowers' I picked up from an 'Op Shop' a while back. It's been a shitful past 24 hours for many.
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Post by rowmat on Oct 2, 2017 22:25:37 GMT -6
Points taken. I can't fathom why many of these titles get hundreds of millions of streams. From this Grandpa's historic POV, I liked lo-fi tunes like Kingsmen's "Louie Louie," Five DuTone's "Shake A Tailfeather," Standell's "Dirty Water," and many more, as much as I liked the better recorded stuff like Jackie Wilson's hits, and many if not most of the major label efforts. To this day, The Champs' "Tequila" is to my ear among the best recorded 45's of its time, or any time, in sonics and loudness. It just blazed out of any speaker you heard it on. So maybe it's the sentiment and content, not sonics that makes Cardi B all that.. (!) I think part of it is this generation hasn't heard music that didn't come out a speaker, we grew up hearing the real thing. So to these kids if it thumps and has a beat it's the thang? I would almost go as far as saying some of this generation hasn't heard music that didn't come out of a cellphone speaker so that even excludes the 'thump' or the 'doof' if you prefer!
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Post by rowmat on Oct 2, 2017 20:45:23 GMT -6
Really more of a DIY post but I did acquire 100x 3300pf polystyrene capacitors to replace the 3.3nf greencaps in the high EQ band of my Neotek Elite. Unfortunately radial polystyrene capacitors are becoming even harder to get than axial electrolytics (first world problem) so I had to settle for N.O.S. axial polystyrenes for 0.35 cents each (about 28 cents US) I'll probably replace the remaining EQ capacitors with Wima Metalised Polypropylenes when I can locate the correct values and maybe experiment with some other opamps. Although the stock Elite EQ isn't too shabby 32 Channels of EQ somewhere in the ballpark of the Kush Electra is what I'm aiming for.
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Post by rowmat on Sept 30, 2017 14:22:13 GMT -6
IMO Class A/B Neves sound closer to API's on guitars and drums at least our 33114's do which have smaller output transformers than the original 1081's. I had someone ask over at GS. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being 312 and 10 being 1073 I put these 1081 clones much closer to the 1073 being somewhere between a 7 or an 8 on that scale. The transformers must be playing a role in that. Geoff Tanner has referred to the much larger output transformer used in the 1081 being the primary difference between it and the broadcast series Class A/B Neves apart from the EQ. I have two Heritage Audio 8173's which are partially based on kind of 1081 EQ stage but with a 1073 style Class A output stage, a couple of Heritage 6673's (same concept again but different EQ points) and four Seventh Circle Audio N72's (Class A Neve circuit). Our Neve 33114's (with the EQ bypassed) are more present and generally more in the ballpark of our Capi pre's than the typical Class A Neve circuit. The 33114's are also more sensitive to output transformer termination loading and can become quite bright if the output load termination resistor is removed.
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Post by rowmat on Sept 29, 2017 18:36:55 GMT -6
IMO Class A/B Neves sound closer to API's on guitars and drums at least our 33114's do which have smaller output transformers than the original 1081's.
Although I'm not really a fan of API's on vocals (a bit too pokey in the upper mids for my liking) Class A/B Neve's are often great for a little extra sheen off the bat than the Class A's.
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Post by rowmat on Sept 27, 2017 14:44:10 GMT -6
Here in Oz GST (Good and Services Tax) is applied at 10% to any personal imports that exceed $1000 AUD.
So in theory this should add $100 to a shipment with a value of $1000 bringing the total to $1100, shouldn't it?... Er no!
Once GST is deemed payable a bunch of other charges get applied on top of the GST which in many cases can exceed the cost of the GST itself.
So the $1000 shipment typically ends up costing around $1200-$1250.
Also I am hearing that in some cases they are including freight and insurance charges and adding those to calculate the total.
If say you buy an item for $950 AUD and think you're under the $1000 GST threshold you might get a nasty surprise when you discover the $60 freight and insurance costs are added to the $950 bringing the total to $1010 and thus incurring up to another $250 in additional taxes and fees.
Also Paypal and other's inflating the foreign exchange rate in their favor by up to 2% can push the total over the $1000 threshold when in fact it shouldn't have if the exchange rate calculations weren't basically fraudulent.
I don't have an issue with paying the GST under normal conditions it's the all the additional fees and charges that get on my goat!
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Post by rowmat on Sept 26, 2017 23:12:23 GMT -6
I get that the album Albini is best known for is 'In Utero' and it's likely that with his current mic collection he simply may not have used these mics he's auctioning for years. I did read (but don't take it as gospel) that Electrical Audio costs around $30k per month to keep the doors open. I also read that he owns the bullding but even so it is no longer cheap to even operate a Lemonade Stand these days assuming you can even get a permit for it. Unless of course he 'bet the farm' on a round of poker, lost and needs the $$$!
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Post by rowmat on Sept 26, 2017 22:31:40 GMT -6
That ugly sinking feeling of a realized mistake Glad you like the Coles rowmat! I understand why the Coles along with mics like KM84's and a few others are considered desert island mics.
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Post by rowmat on Sept 26, 2017 22:11:52 GMT -6
What makes a particular piece of gear so valuable that it has to retired from active use and sold to the highest bidder in order for its heritage to be preserved? AFAIK Frank Sinatra's 'Telly' U47 is still in active use (try putting a price on that!) and plenty of other pieces of historical gear are still being used daily. There's no doubt some pieces of gear have been used to record not one or two but many famous artists over the decades. The moment you retire a piece of gear from active use the option for it to be used to record the next Nirvana or Adele or whoever is gone. I maybe completely wrong but methinks there maybe more to this auction than just preserving history?
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Post by rowmat on Sept 26, 2017 21:45:56 GMT -6
I remember when Tom was trying to sell the Original Smart studios Scorpion that Butch had recorded his original Nirvana demo's on. Couldn't sell the Damn thing, I think it ended up with Wendy Schneider who did the Smart Documentary. I have had so much stuff from famous studios and tours over the years that I forget the source and fame, at the end of the day it doesn't smell or sound any better. I dunno, I heard that the mic John used smelt like Strawberry Fields but later someone said it was more like Walrus!
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Really?
Sept 26, 2017 20:17:22 GMT -6
Post by rowmat on Sept 26, 2017 20:17:22 GMT -6
That's a great story. Unfortunate. They didn't just steal some mics, they stole those mics from history. Which makes me think, maybe this isn't so dumb. Who am I to say? I know it was cool to see Jerry Garcia's guitar at the rock n' roll hall of fame. Along with michael jacksons bedazzled outfits worn at various performances. They were small enough a school girl would fit them. Seems silly this close to history but in 40 years the mic that was used on kurts vocals for in utero would be cool see in person. I'm just not gonna be the person to spend $15k on it. I'm not in the historical relic market though. Neither are most people on reverb I would assume. Too special for eBay? Not special enough for the fancy auction houses? Sometimes in discussions with other sound people Ray's name would occasionally pop up. Often someone would say... "Did you know Ray's got those mics the Beatles used at Festival Hall in 1964?"It appeared anyone that knew Ray were aware of the "Beatles mics". It had crossed my mind that whoever robbed his house may have also been aware of that.
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Post by rowmat on Sept 26, 2017 19:55:49 GMT -6
That's a great story. Unfortunate. They didn't just steal some mics, they stole those mics from history. Of course there's no way to prove it one way or the other but he knew a lot of industry people and had a lot of vintage gear with bonafide historical links.
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Post by rowmat on Sept 26, 2017 19:42:47 GMT -6
I guy I know whose father was a live sound engineer had two early Sennheiser 421 mics he claimed were the actual mics used by the Beatles during their Melbourne concert appearance at Festival Hall in 1964.
Although he had nothing to do with the Beatles concert itself (AFAIK), he was an inhouse engineer at Festival Hall for many years.
I saw these 421's before he passed away about 15 years ago. They were definately of that era, grey not black, and fitted with DIN connectors.
The mics went missing along with a lot of other vintage gear when his house was robbed during the process of cleaning it out after his death.
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