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Post by nobtwiddler on Nov 21, 2013 18:03:51 GMT -6
Did a few session with this set up. And I must tell ya, the recordings sounded amazing! To me, there is nothing, and or was nothing like recording directly to the Genex in DSD. I remember the band listening to play back of the very first take they did, they ALL had their mouths wide open, because it sounded sooooooo figgin GOOD! It was truly something spectacular. But this rig, this particular choice of gear had it's problems... (I can't be this easy right?) #1 - A was a little bulky, and the gear wasn't protected in my home made rack...(although it got me thinking how I could take this concept further and perfect it) First thing I did, was to change the case to something safer, a SKB Military Shock mount case, which was WAY more secure, but not really any smaller. As a matter of fact it was much larger, and bulkier, although very, very, secure as it was air tight and water proof! I've posted two pics (sorry for the bad photos, that's all I can find right now) of the slow evolution of gear, but you can see where I was headed at this point in time.
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Post by nobtwiddler on Nov 21, 2013 17:42:57 GMT -6
These pics show at the time, my second attempt at building something to go out with... This was a home made wooden rack, just a prototype to see how it would all fit together... And it utilized a Aurora Audio GTM-822 mixer, and a Genex 8 track DSD recorder~!
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Post by nobtwiddler on Nov 21, 2013 17:23:03 GMT -6
So that being said....
I started to think, what were the reasons I got into this biz in the first place when I was a kid.
Well.. - First, during the 70's when I got started, it was the music. I loved the music, Rock n Roll was amazing, lots of great bands and artists...Every week there wasn something new was groundbreaking on the radio.
- Then it was the gear, and the technology, although limited by todays standards, very much cutting edge for it's time.
- The I really loved working with bands, and working on songs, arrangements, etc. I loved to hang with musicians... - And most of all, I loved the moment when you are tracking something, when you know, (EVERYONE KNOWs), when the magic happens. The hairs on your arms, head or wherever, all stand up, and you get this chill...You can't put you finger on it, but it's there, and it's so real.
But like I said early, that wasn't happening anymore. As a matter of fact, most of the bands weren't even cutting tracks together anymore, just a drummer cutting to a click or a scratch guitar part seemed to be the norm. And I often asked myself, how the hell is this making music?
More to come...
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Post by nobtwiddler on Nov 21, 2013 17:10:15 GMT -6
Hey Guys... How's tricks? Ok, this is gonna be a few parts story.... More will come as I have time, grab a beer, (or a coupla two tree,) and enjoy my odyssey.... Scum, Let's see, you are correct, the first version of this portable recording rig I designed did have a laptop as it's main recorder. Obviously this was done to make the portable system a bit more manageable. As I had already been going out on locations with a either a Otari, MCI, and or Brennell 1 inch 8 track recorders. It became painfully clear that in this day and age this wasn't making any sense...so I opted for something else. That was when I figured I'd try a computer for recording (which I had never done before) (Actually the very first portable rig I made was a long time ago, and was 24 tracks back in the 90's, but I'll post a photo of that later if I can find one?) Basically I got tired with the crazy track counts I was getting at my place to mix, and all of a sudden I was totally distanced from the music I was working on... Which was sad, cause I really loved my clients, and I had a long history with most, and we all got on great. But the music those last few years just did nothing for me...even more so as things got over produced, over processed, grid'ed, sample added, pitched corrected etc, etc, etc... All of a sudden I hated what I did for a living...and considered getting out. But what else could I do? As I started in this biz with my own studio at age 16...in 1972 So how could this happen?
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Post by nobtwiddler on Nov 18, 2013 19:16:39 GMT -6
Paper on the tweeter was Bob Clearmountain's trick!
Basically he taped one sheet (square) of toilet paper over the NS-10's tweeters. After mixing for a few hours, when your ears might have been fatigued, he would then peal off the first layer of toilet paper to allow a bit more high end to come thru.. And then would continue mixing...
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Post by nobtwiddler on Nov 18, 2013 18:26:21 GMT -6
Boy, they really make that look good, and I'm sure it's great (for what it is?) (By the way did Allen say the plug in was great? Or was he just talking about the original Fairchild being the holy grail??? But let's remember. There's the originals, (that are the real deal,) and there's the emulations.
I'm so done with the dumbing down of the audio industry at large...
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Post by nobtwiddler on Oct 19, 2013 9:35:43 GMT -6
I actually received a email from Tony last week... From what I can tell, all's good with him!
He has a few projects he has to finish up before he can move ahead with any new Helios pieces. But he does have some new stuff he wants to bring out.... I guess with the economy being what it is, only time will tell if it's worth continuing ahead with these pieces. We will see, I'm always waiting to see what he has up his sleeve next.
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Post by nobtwiddler on Sept 14, 2013 19:41:49 GMT -6
The new reissues are very close to the originals, with a lot less headaches! Helios' modules, especially the Type 69's have a beautifully clean but woody sound. Very much suited for acoustic instruments, including drums. Personally I love them on everything. A few quirks yes, but after a few days you figure them out and from then on, it's really a beautiful thing.
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Post by nobtwiddler on Sept 4, 2013 7:08:35 GMT -6
Hey Guys, Maybe you'd like to check out a clip of a song I did with Eddie Seville and his band in my little room?
The clip is Eddie tracking the drums, to the tune. In between our chatter, you can hear the sound of the kit using 4 Cloud Ribbon mics. We were looking for a particular sound for this record, and on this track we really got it. The mics are wonderful. I thought that this might give some of you an idea of what is capable in a smaller room, with proper mic'ing techniques, and the correct instrument, & mic choices you can make beautiful music.
On this track I also used the Cloud Mics (2x) on the upright bass!
Enjoy...
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Post by nobtwiddler on Sept 2, 2013 7:18:15 GMT -6
My room is 25 x 25 with a 9 foot ceiling. I've found less mics usually are better in this situation, which is fine by me, because that's my normal procedure anyhow.
I also found that besides the obvious (a great drummer), more then anything else the actual drum kit in that room is the key thing.
When I moved into my new space, which was quite smaller then my previous room of 27 years (45 x 31x 13) I found the actual shell size, wood, and # of ply's (as well as skins) to be more important to the sound in the room then I ever noticed before at my old joint. It took me a few months, and quite a few different kits, sizes (5) to find a set that actually sounds great in my smaller space. Now I have to make No excuses... And 95% of the bands just use my kit, cause it sounds amazing in this room...
My feeling is a bit of experimenting my be in order?
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Post by nobtwiddler on Aug 26, 2013 18:21:38 GMT -6
Martin, The ad's you saw for the Matchless Thunderman were mine... I originally listed it for 8K, but I did get 5K for it a year later. It was very rare, I believe there were less then 50 made of the version I had. Hence the large selling price. Anyhow, in a nutshell, I only sold it, cause it NEVER sounded as good as any of my 4x B-15's. It was a beautiful amp, built like a tank, and sounded damn good. BUT side by side, it never sounded as great as my B-15's. At the time I also owned, 2 original 69 SVT's, 2 x B-25's, 1 x V4-B, 7 x pre CBS Fender Bassmans all with cabinets, brown, blonde, and black tolex. No matter the music, it was either the SVT's for heavy rock, or the B-15's for everything else. ![](//storage.proboards.com/5388330/thumbnailer/L5UBZgXZdvu3bL1WF1Jb.JPG)
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Post by nobtwiddler on Aug 24, 2013 5:06:10 GMT -6
Tony, That's basically my plan. But what's been happening more often then not is, I set up somewhere in the artists house, barn, garage, instead of being outside in a truck. And I have t tell ya, I love the instant communication with the musicians! It's really a very cool way to record, all together in one room, or maybe in the next room. Just not totally isolated. The main difference is I can't get sounds on the fly, I need to print a little snippet of said instrument, and then play it back, listen and then make any adjustments from playback. Repeat and adjust again if needed. It really takes no more time then if I was isolated, as I used to record a piece and play it back for each musician anyway? Since I rarely EQ anything while printing, the process of getting sounds usually happens quite quickly. We make sure we like the sound of what's being recorded, and go from there. It all starts at the other end of the mic...if that don't sound good, then NO mic, EQ, or compression, is gonna help ya. ![](//storage.proboards.com/5388330/thumbnailer/0IzaifcGKMJrRtUtK3XD.JPG) ![](//storage.proboards.com/5388330/thumbnailer/arFV6EX5jj2Pm4nx7pL4.JPG) ![](//storage.proboards.com/5388330/thumbnailer/H3bf4y45dLxZ1Gmo_otU.JPG)
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Post by nobtwiddler on Aug 23, 2013 21:42:50 GMT -6
Tony, John Thanks guys for the kind words, I really appreciate it... Cause only people like us truly understand why we do these things.
Puttin this rig together was really a labor of love, and the final results have proven to be better then I ever expected!
John, the 760's (more coming) are GREAT. But they are very specific... What I mean is they are very grabby, and vibey, A true COLOR piece. I needed two more, not sure why, but I do...AS I usually use compressor instead of EQ's for color.......you can understand right? Haha.
Anyhow, they work beautifully on bass, lead vocal, drum room, piano, and the stereo two mix, but again you really need to set them correctly. Very, very vibey...
In the meantime, to further clarify, here's a list of what's in the previous photos:
Top Rack #1 Center 8 x channels of Helios Type 69's Mic Pre / Eq's 1 x API 8200A mixer used for summing (if needed) while printing tracks to the Radar. 1 x Neve 8816 - 16 channel Summing mixer, used to monitor playback while recording, and used as the mixer if mixing. 1 x Neve 8201 - 16 channel fader unit for the 8816. 1 x Soundcraft 96 input TT Patchbay for Helios, API and Neve connections 1 x Soundcraft 8 in 8 out XLR Bay for mic connections.
Top Rack #2 Right 6 x channels of Helios Type 69's Mic Pre / Eq's 4 x ShadowHills Mono Optograph Limiters 1 x ShadowHills Dual Vandegraph Stereo Limiter 2 x Helios (ADR) 760 Limiters (2 more on order) 2 x Retro Instruments Double wide Tube Limiters in Revolver Rack (1 shown in photo) 1 x Soundcraft 96 input TT Patchbay for Helios, & Shadowhills, connections. 1 x Soundcraft 8 in 8 out XLR Bay for mic connections.
Top Rack #3 Left 1 x 2 Space rack drawer, holds manuals, discs, drives, etc. 1 x Radar 6 1 x Radar 6 small remote control. 1 x Foldable (into rack) 19 inch screen. 1 x 24 in, 24 out REDCO DSUB connector panel to connect the recorder to the other two racks.
ALL THREE BOTTOM RACKS ACT AS STANDS FOR THE TOP RACKS AND STORE: All the interconnects, DSUBS, TT Cables, the 2 Genelec speakers, The Mono Speaker, Extra drives for the Radar, the 2 Retro Compressors, Little lights, and lots of other small stuff~!
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Post by nobtwiddler on Aug 23, 2013 20:07:12 GMT -6
Here's a better shot of the racks ![](//storage.proboards.com/5388330/thumbnailer/9l2Ge1CYzl6J7HauM8hJ.JPG)
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Post by nobtwiddler on Aug 22, 2013 17:40:11 GMT -6
Until I can afford to purchase a Vintage Helios, I designed and built this little rig basically to feed my Helios habit! Ha Yeah I'm addicted! Anyhow, I specifically picked each piece for it's sonic attributes as well as it's ease of use while recording on location. As you know, things can happen fast, and the last thing I need is to slowed down by too many choices on a piece of gear. NO piece of recording equipment should ever get in the way of a recording session. EVER~! (The main reason I record to Radar, besides it's beautiful sound!) So here's my little Helios, API, Neve, rig... It's part of a new venture for me...A new company called The Band Waggon. (new website soon) Basically a van with all this shit pulls up, we unload everything into said location, and I set up somewhere near the band and hit record! We've been going out on location, to rented cottages, cabins, houses, barns etc... to cut basics for artists and or bands that want to get away from it all and create their vision, with NO distractions. This type of location recording has always been a dream of mine, so I designed & built this little rig, to have a NO excuses set up to capture those type of performances! Each specific piece brings something to the table that when combined sounds absolutely beautiful. THE BAND WAGGON PIC-1 (335.02 KB) ![](//storage.proboards.com/5388330/thumbnailer/pCc3YwRbMACeD1_Tp1vQ.jpg)
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Post by nobtwiddler on Aug 20, 2013 16:46:47 GMT -6
8 busses During mixdown.
1 & 2 Drums, L & R in the stereo mix...with a stereo compressor that works for the tune. (33609, EMI TG1234, ADL 670, Smart SC-2, or REQ L2M)
3 Bass Di & Amp, mono, up the middle in the stereo mix...with mono a compressor that works for the sound I'm after. (LA-2, LA-3, EMI TG1234)
4 Ld Vox, and maybe a double, mono up the middle in the stereo mix...again with a mono comp. (EMI TG1234, Daking 91579, EMI, ADL 670, etc)
5 & 6 Guitars, L & R in the stereo mix...(comp only used on the channel inserts before the buss, if there are Acoustic guitars, not usually needed on electrics!) On acoustics in this case, a LA-3, Requiste L2M, Joe Meek Sc-2, Langevin Opto,
7 & 8, Bk Vox, and or Keys...Again a comp used lightly on this buss, usually, a second SC-2, 1178, 33609,
Anything else gets sent to the stereo fader, and usually has any Comp/Eq on the individual channels before that.
On the stereo fader (MIX) I use either, the SSL 384, the Shadowhills Mastering comp, Manley Slam, or run the whole damn mix thru the DW Fearn VT-2 with the Line input attenuator and at that point I don't need a damn comp! GO fiigure...
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Helios
Aug 18, 2013 15:29:39 GMT -6
Post by nobtwiddler on Aug 18, 2013 15:29:39 GMT -6
Yep. a beautiful desk indeed. That is the Henry Hirsch desk that is in his studio Waterfront Music in Hudson NY. I believe it's the old "Mushroom" studio console. I sat in front of that beauty a while ago, and if I could afford it, I'd buy it in a minute. Totally rebuilt, & refurbished by Dave Amels, a beautiful thing to behold, and hear trust me.
Sadly enough, Henry has decided to retire, so the console, as well as all his gear, his beloved pianos, as well as the beautiful Church he made into the studio is all for sale...
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