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Post by bossanova on Sept 12, 2024 16:33:27 GMT -6
Not so sure. One of the Pres hadn’t even been taken out of the package…and the assistant I picked up from said they were hardly used. Hey - no accounting for taste, right? lol.  It's gone now (I made a copy) but Ben made a Patreon post on the gear he used to record his last album due to the pandemic and it's almost exclusively Warm Mics and Warm comps into an Apollo 8x. Who would have thought? [added: I don’t think this is 100% correct the more I read into it, because the same post talks about mixing, but Michael Brauer mixed WMM. Maybe it’s his chain for demos?] (Now truth be told, I don't think it sounds as good as Lonely Avenue, my favorite Ben album for pure sonics, but I know he went all out on that one to correct for how bad Way To Normal sounded after mastering.) According to a story Ben told in concert in Austin, "What Matters Most" is at least partially about him realizing how much audio gear he'd accumulated and how little of it he really needed 😅 And now John has a couple of Helios pres! I saw him last year and What Matters Most has is seed in cleaning out his storage space after the Nashville floods, so that seems to check out. He also got a call while there that a friend lost his medical battle and that made him introspective. Lonely Ave was tracked analog and does sound quite good. I still like Way to Normal musically, I haven't listened on monitors in a while.  Now I’m gonna go listen to his newest album. I got into Ben Folds Five big time in the mid to late 90s. Man, that and Owlsley really takes me back. Played it for my kid a couple years ago and I was surprised at how…it didn’t sounds like…I remembered it. lol. The kid was like, “What. The. Hell. Is. This?” Yeah, I bought in on the first BFF record and have been all in ever since. The First Owlsley record is SOOOOOO GOOOOOD!!! The 1st album is still a miracle to me because, by all accounts, it was recorded live in a living room including live vocals. Songs and performances are all top notch too.  . "Underground" was on constant rotation when I was in high school. It was actually the second record "Whatever and Ever Amen" that was done in Ben's small place. DA88s and a bunch of Neve pres. Riiight. This is what I was thinking of on the S/T: ”I think that we knew nobody else was doing it and that added a lot of fuel. And the album is full of fuel. We had made the same record with almost all our budget once before and we canned it because it was too produced. So what was left was three or four thousand dollars and three days left in the studio. So we did it all over again in a cheap studio and that’s the record that you hear.” Also, Way to Normal is (not) secretly one of my favorite albums. I have my own vinyl rip that I listen to at least a couple times a year. Way more ear-friendly than the original CD without the alternate mixes from the Stems and Seeds version. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 12, 2024 17:51:11 GMT -6
Damn, didn’t know there were so many Ben Folds fans…
Man I can relate to the “sounding too produced” thing. It’s so hard sometimes to not end up sounding too perfect.
Edit: that sounded obnoxious. Lol. I meant sounding too…idk…uncool.
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Post by drumsound on Sept 12, 2024 22:07:33 GMT -6
I saw him last year and What Matters Most has is seed in cleaning out his storage space after the Nashville floods, so that seems to check out. He also got a call while there that a friend lost his medical battle and that made him introspective. Lonely Ave was tracked analog and does sound quite good. I still like Way to Normal musically, I haven't listened on monitors in a while. Yeah, I bought in on the first BFF record and have been all in ever since. The First Owlsley record is SOOOOOO GOOOOOD!!! It was actually the second record "Whatever and Ever Amen" that was done in Ben's small place. DA88s and a bunch of Neve pres. Riiight. This is what I was thinking of on the S/T: ”I think that we knew nobody else was doing it and that added a lot of fuel. And the album is full of fuel. We had made the same record with almost all our budget once before and we canned it because it was too produced. So what was left was three or four thousand dollars and three days left in the studio. So we did it all over again in a cheap studio and that’s the record that you hear.” Also, Way to Normal is (not) secretly one of my favorite albums. I have my own vinyl rip that I listen to at least a couple times a year. Way more ear-friendly than the original CD without the alternate mixes from the Stems and Seeds version. Now I'm thinking I should buy a vinyl copy of Way To Normal, which by the way is the 'twin' of where I live. I was at the show where Ben and the band passed Effingham (not Effington) and he said he wrote the song at soundcheck and played it that night at Braden Auditorium at Illinois State University, in Normal. Damn, didn’t know there were so many Ben Folds fans… Man I can relate to the “sounding too produced” thing. It’s so hard sometimes to not end up sounding too perfect. Edit: that sounded obnoxious. Lol. I meant sounding too…idk…uncool. Perfect and uncool are often hand in hand... |
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Post by Dan on Sept 12, 2024 22:41:32 GMT -6
Damn, didn’t know there were so many Ben Folds fans… Man I can relate to the “sounding too produced” thing. It’s so hard sometimes to not end up sounding too perfect. Edit: that sounded obnoxious. Lol. I meant sounding too…idk…uncool. I feel you. So many records are too sterile, not enough bleed, performances too rigid and tame. Room mics and good monitor mixes and playing references to the band help. So can special sauce on guitars and extra grit on certain types of vocals. About the clean gain that turns into a pedal when pushed… the best I’ve used is daking. Wire with gain… grace. |
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Post by thehightenor on Sept 13, 2024 1:41:59 GMT -6
at basically half price. It was Ben Fold's...and I guess he just wanted to move them...because I basically got them half off of what they are new. One hadn't even been opened. So...good fortune for me. Just couldn't pass it up, now I gotta figure out how to pay lol. And I'm SO glad I did. They're the most balanced pre I can think of - where they can be flat and uncolored at low gain and then you can crank for color and use EQ. (I know that is supposed to describe all pres) I swear there's something to the 32V PS. The next electronics class I teach will be my first, but I do have ears...and there's something about these on my vocal that just sounds like it's not being pushed. You guys know - but I had one of these (mono) a year or so ago. I got all huffy about having $3500 wrapped up in ONE mic pre/EQ, so I thought I could replace and be happy. But ever since, I've been using different 1073 iterations...and I just can't get happy with a vocal. They just sound "tight" or "hot" or "cooked" or something saturationy...and I think it has something to do with the mids and how my voice makes them. Anyway - here are two acoustic clips using the 0011 and SAE U-48. I'll add a vocal when I get a sec. Acoustic SAE U48 into H2 0011 No Verb - drive.google.com/file/d/1-iT8Q5TvZjhSAiGD8itQ5oTJAWQ0rvjp/view?usp=sharingSAE U48 into H2 0011 With Verb - drive.google.com/file/d/1ALizlYJej12nYS9m28qpmYNGnvWDYiYu/view?usp=sharingVocal I just checked the current price at KMR for 11 series two pre/eq's and a the PSU and it's £4850 ($6370) !! If you got them half price then you just got the bargain of the century!! Those pre/EQ's are really stunning - your files sound great! IIRC The Helios desk has recorded Led Zep, Bob Marley to name just a couple of great artists. It has an amazing sound imho. Lucky you! |
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Post by Ward on Sept 13, 2024 13:58:16 GMT -6
the Helios 'sound' reminds me of the ubiquitousness of the LA3a sound. How they both work so well with any kind of guitar recording and bring out the best in electric and acoustic instruments.
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Post by drumsound on Sept 13, 2024 14:01:49 GMT -6
the Helios 'sound' reminds me of the ubiquitousness of the LA3a sound. How they both worth so well with any kind of guitar recording and bring out the best in electric and acoustic instruments. Anytime I or a client things a guitar needs more midrange 'push' a Helios plugin is perfect, and if I had the hardware, I'd probably just record all guitars with it. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 13, 2024 14:56:53 GMT -6
Man…I am really, really happy with this chain. I’ve had it before and thought I could do better. But the next time I want to sell a Helios, kick me in the nuts.
That being said, the Heiders still seem to sound a little better on the 2 bus.
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 14, 2024 1:21:49 GMT -6
Damn, didn’t know there were so many Ben Folds fans… Man I can relate to the “sounding too produced” thing. It’s so hard sometimes to not end up sounding too perfect. Edit: that sounded obnoxious. Lol. I meant sounding too…idk…uncool. I feel you. So many records are too sterile, not enough bleed, performances too rigid and tame. Room mics and good monitor mixes and playing references to the band help. So can special sauce on guitars and extra grit on certain types of vocals. About the clean gain that turns into a pedal when pushed… the best I’ve used is daking. Wire with gain… grace. I’ve never tried one, but everyone that has used them seems to like them… |
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 14, 2024 1:24:03 GMT -6
at basically half price. It was Ben Fold's...and I guess he just wanted to move them...because I basically got them half off of what they are new. One hadn't even been opened. So...good fortune for me. Just couldn't pass it up, now I gotta figure out how to pay lol. And I'm SO glad I did. They're the most balanced pre I can think of - where they can be flat and uncolored at low gain and then you can crank for color and use EQ. (I know that is supposed to describe all pres) I swear there's something to the 32V PS. The next electronics class I teach will be my first, but I do have ears...and there's something about these on my vocal that just sounds like it's not being pushed. You guys know - but I had one of these (mono) a year or so ago. I got all huffy about having $3500 wrapped up in ONE mic pre/EQ, so I thought I could replace and be happy. But ever since, I've been using different 1073 iterations...and I just can't get happy with a vocal. They just sound "tight" or "hot" or "cooked" or something saturationy...and I think it has something to do with the mids and how my voice makes them. Anyway - here are two acoustic clips using the 0011 and SAE U-48. I'll add a vocal when I get a sec. Acoustic SAE U48 into H2 0011 No Verb - drive.google.com/file/d/1-iT8Q5TvZjhSAiGD8itQ5oTJAWQ0rvjp/view?usp=sharingSAE U48 into H2 0011 With Verb - drive.google.com/file/d/1ALizlYJej12nYS9m28qpmYNGnvWDYiYu/view?usp=sharingVocal I just checked the current price at KMR for 11 series two pre/eq's and a the PSU and it's £4850 ($6370) !! If you got them half price then you just got the bargain of the century!! Those pre/EQ's are really stunning - your files sound great! IIRC The Helios desk has recorded Led Zep, Bob Marley to name just a couple of great artists. It has an amazing sound imho. Lucky you! There’s one for sale on Reverb for $3600 US. Pair with the rack and PS. You can also make him an offer. No, silly geese, it’s not ME! |
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Post by thehightenor on Sept 14, 2024 2:14:33 GMT -6
I just checked the current price at KMR for 11 series two pre/eq's and a the PSU and it's £4850 ($6370) !! If you got them half price then you just got the bargain of the century!! Those pre/EQ's are really stunning - your files sound great! IIRC The Helios desk has recorded Led Zep, Bob Marley to name just a couple of great artists. It has an amazing sound imho. Lucky you! There’s one for sale on Reverb for $3600 US. Pair with the rack and PS. You can also make him an offer. No, silly geese, it’s not ME! After I’ve paid UK import duty and VAT I’d be close to full price again! Plus, I can’t afford anymore gear. Period. One things for sure, you’re now sorted out for preamps. |
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Post by Dan on Sept 14, 2024 10:35:07 GMT -6
the Helios 'sound' reminds me of the ubiquitousness of the LA3a sound. How they both work so well with any kind of guitar recording and bring out the best in electric and acoustic instruments. most of these early transistor cirucits are similar to guitar pedals without the silly eqs. They pretty much turn into them when pushed. So do some cheap and early opamp designs. Sometimes it’s cool like a Tascam or the stuff we’re talking about but often the distortion is unwanted or it just sounds like crap like most prosumer circuits. |
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Post by Dan on Sept 14, 2024 10:36:06 GMT -6
I feel you. So many records are too sterile, not enough bleed, performances too rigid and tame. Room mics and good monitor mixes and playing references to the band help. So can special sauce on guitars and extra grit on certain types of vocals. About the clean gain that turns into a pedal when pushed… the best I’ve used is daking. Wire with gain… grace. I’ve never tried one, but everyone that has used them seems to like them… The Daking stuff is dirt cheap for what you’re getting used. People buy clones over it? WTF? |
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Post by craigmorris74 on Sept 14, 2024 19:00:40 GMT -6
I’ve built a couple channels of “Helios” mic pre/eqs based on PCB designed by Matt is Iron Age. With any modern transformers (I used Sowter) they are serious hi-fi equipment. I was expecting low headroom from these things, and that isn’t the case at all (THD is very reasonable). But everything sounds s musically satisfying through them , I’d love a whole rack.
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. "Underground" was on constant rotation when I was in high school.
