Some random songs that rock...
Bad Brains - Attitude
Bad (Brains) but still rocking...
The Remains - Don't Look Back
Accountants but still rocking...
Iggy Pop - Consolation Prizes
Will show you his penis but still rocking..
The Saints - This Perfect Day
Who ate all the pies but still rocking...
Iron Maiden - Prowler
Needs a square meal but still rocking...
Flipper - Ever
Burning fat woman but still rocking...
Meat Puppets - Split Myself in Two
Inbred but still rocking...
Cabaret Voltaire - Nag Nag Nag
Nagging but still rocking...
Human League - Almost Medieval
Human League but still rocking...
maningrey
"Some songs that rock..." > read the full post
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Sunday, 19 June 2011
My Favourite New Song
If only all songs were as on the money as this peach...
My girlfriend turned me onto this, should be number one all over the world, if I had a label this would be my first release
Lover Hurts by Clemmers
Maningrey
"My Favourite New Song" > read the full post
My girlfriend turned me onto this, should be number one all over the world, if I had a label this would be my first release
Lover Hurts by Clemmers
Maningrey
"My Favourite New Song" > read the full post
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Phone music on Public Transport?
Why do people play music in public through a phone?
Does anyone think it's normal / acceptable / incredibly annoying?
Have a look at this...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13749313
"Phone music on Public Transport?" > read the full post
Does anyone think it's normal / acceptable / incredibly annoying?
Have a look at this...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13749313
"Phone music on Public Transport?" > read the full post
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Students learn how social media helps Eric Prydz sell more records
Terry Church is an award winning dance music journalist and editor with over a decade of experience in the industry. He has worked for DJ Mag as their News and Web Editor and at Beatportal.com as the Editor. He now runs Terry Church PR and has clients such as Dubfire, Eric Prydz, Adam Beyer and Sebastian Leger.
Last week the students of London School of Sound were treated to a lecture by Terry where he went through how he helps his clients sell more records and become even bigger successes.
Terry began the lecture by discussing brand attributes and the characteristics we associate with artists who indeed have their own brand. When you think of an artist you may or may not realise that they do indeed embody a brand and culture. Lady Gaga is a brand, Deadmau5 is a brand, the moody local DJ who refuses to do interviews is a brand. It is what we become addicted to, what we feel when we hear their music. Terry asked each one of us in the room to write down a list of brand attributes that we want to associate with ourselves and our music (for those interested mine were eccentric, wild and uplifting...yeah baby). This was a powerful thing actually because nearly all of us had never even thought about this, or even that we can control it.
Most of us just make music and let the world decide how to perceive us. But what Terry made us see is that because of the changes in the world today we have a lot more control on how the world perceives us. Super celebs can directly communicate with hundreds of thousands of their fans in seconds via updating their status on Facebook or sending a tweet out on Twitter, it's astonishing.
He went on to discuss exactly how we can showcase our brand attributes via Social Media. In today’s world we can access our fans and target market directly through Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud and blogs. Terry went through each one and discussed how they play a part in the branding process and how we can utilize each to become a household name. Facebook on one hand is great for talking directly to fans and getting feedback on tracks you may be working on. Twitter on the other hand is good for networking with companies, labels and major artists directly to gain good business connections.
Terry closed the show by discussing how to start a label in today’s digitally enhanced world. Overall Terry was a delight and was great afterwards handling the students questions too.
I really took away a lot from the lecture, knowing what it takes to market your own music and yourself makes you incredibly more likely to be successful and signed to a major label. Labels today want to know an artist can create their own following and have done so, meaning knowing how to do this with the wonderful world of the Internet is a major plus.
This was one of a series of free lectures we organise from time to time. Some are exclusive to LSS students, others are open to everyone; each lecture is unique and will not be repeated. Subscribe to our newsletter to hear about future events as soon as they’re announced.
For more information on Terry Church visit his website www.terrychurchpr.com/
"Students learn how social media helps Eric Prydz sell more records" > read the full post
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Studio Update: Argosy studio furniture
In these days of “in the box” mixing and recording, it’s important that a studio still has a main focus point - something that at least looks like a recording console (if not for any practical reasons, then for the aesthetics!). There’s also an element of “hands on” control that’s missing with a keyboard and mouse.
We’ve had a Digidesign C24 Pro Tools control surface for a while now which meets most of these needs, but simply placing it on a desk doesn’t have the functionality and ergonomics of a large format console. We'd looked at getting custom furniture built, and had been stuck with a horrendous combination of Quiklok stand and office desk for a year. Eventually something had to be done about it....
The 90-NC24-RR model is designed with the C24 in mind, so suited our purposes nicely. It arrived in a variety of confusingly numbered boxes, but once we’d found the one with the instructions in, we were ready to get assembling.
Putting together an Argosy desk is a familiar experience to anyone who’s ever bought IKEA flat-packed furniture. The step-by-step instructions make perfect sense once you go through them carefully, but as typical men, we blundered ahead regardless (we had to redo a few stages, but no damage was done - I’d advise you spend a bit more time reading than we did!)
After the best part of a day, we’d cleared out the studio and the Argosy frame was finished. Days 2 and 3 were spent re-wiring and testing the studio (most installs wouldn’t take this long, but we have a dual console studio, which takes a surprising amount of time to wire up fully and neatly).
First impressions of the Agosy? It looks awesome! We went for the mahogany hardwood end panels, which along with the padded armrests give a classy finishing touch. Put the C24 into Vegas mode, and the studio is all set to impress.
The rack rails are direct screw in American style, and the Argosy comes with more than enough screws to fill the rack. Once you get over your fear of cross-threading (and let’s face it, when have you ever cross threaded a rack nut?), you’ll start to appreciate these over the European nut-and-bolt standard. I never want to have to force rack nuts into slightly too small rack slots ever again! There’s also a couple of logo’d blanking panels to be found somewhere among the boxes.
The C24 comes with a full set of D-sub multicores, each around 6 meters long. Given that the patchbay lives under a meter away, this tends to leave a lot of slack. Keeping this amount of cabling all tidy was always a difficulty before, but the Argosy has a large space underneath where you can coil any excess neatly out of the way. There was even enough room left to tuck in the C24 power supply.
Once the wiring’s all in place, you can still get to the back of the desk via three hinged lids and with a latched rear panel, so it’s simple enough to mod your setup (we added alt speaker connections and the listen mic patch point about a week after the initial install with no difficulties).
There’s more than enough space for a mousepad and keyboard on both sides of the mixer, but you’ll probably end up balancing the keyboard on the arm rest and leaving the mouse to one side. You could change to a trackpad or trackball, but I’ve never been a fan of either of these. I’ve yet to see an ideal solution to this on any desk furniture though.
My biggest gripe about the Argosy? I’m starting to despise slanted patchbays! It’s all too easy for the rear patches to fall out, and almost impossible to see where they came from. Admittedly, a permanent soldered patchbay would solve this, but we need a fair amount of versatility and adaptability to our setup. As it stands, I’ve spent so much time beneath the desk recently, that I’m starting to consider buying an under-car mechanic’s trolley!
If you’re looking for studio furniture, I’d rate Argosy over the AKA design and Quick-Lok desks I’ve put together. It’s solid and built to last, though (much like IKEA furniture) I’m not sure how easy it would be to take apart and re-assemble. It’s a lot of money to outlay (especially when you add shipping to the UK from the States), but it will give any studio that professional look that a laptop and audio interface just will never have.
"Studio Update: Argosy studio furniture" > read the full post
Monday, 30 May 2011
Terrible Music I Dig
Here is a list of my favourite songs which are officially terrible, as in you would not stick them on if you brought a date home but would hide the albums in your wash basket with your soiled grots rather than admit you owned them. My bete noire Ciaran would suggest that everything I listen to is terrible, but as his favourite band is Hayseed Dixie he can go whistle.
Godley & Creme - Cry
Famous for it's hideous shape shifting video and Kevin Godley's massive beard if this was recorded by Radiohead it would be a lighters aloft weepy anthem instead of hogging the bargain bins. Best bits are the really high pitch shift at the end and the strange spacious production which is quite at odds to the usual kitchen sink productions of most 80s pop, Dub-MOR if you will.
Touch - Don't You Know What Love Is / When The Spirit Moves You
Massive cheesy power pop/soft metal also rans, bizarrely produced by the Tim Friese-Greene who worked on Talk Talk's brilliant last two albums, the mortgage needed paying eh Tim? Everything is overblown but is oddly soulful in it's own grotesque way, much more Todd Rundgren than Bon Jovi. No one knows why it never happened for them but a disastrous performance at Donington where the bass player swallowed a bee on stage and had to be carted off to A+E probably didn't help...
Detective - One More Heartache
Zeppelin clones who were championed by Jimmy Page who was in the running to produce this album until heroin led apathy got the better of him. What else is there to say that the massive opening drum salvo doesn't say already? I have sampled this already for a tune so hands off!
The Cars ― Moving In Stereo
Know for dire cynical skinny tie cobblers, The Cars lead singer produced some surprisingly credible bands on the side including Suicide and Bad Brains. Their albums always had at least one droning electronic Suicide tribute amid the fluff, this being the best example. Everything is so icy and riddled with sang froid you feel the need to run out into the street and hug a stranger post listen in a desperate desire for human body heat. A note for our overseas students, this is not advised in Dalston or Brixton.
Cristina - Things Fall Apart
A bit of a cult classic this, for everyone who thinks Noel is a big pile of pig balls, doleful, oddly sexy vocal over metal guitars, what's not to like? The song sounds like the model from Kraftwerk's The Model got to write her own song. Makes sense as Cristina was a model and girlfriend of the millionaire owner of the label ZE which released this Christmas turkey to resounding lack of success. Features a description of everyone's classic Xmas party from hell:
The party was a huge success,
"But where should we go next?" they said.
They'd killed a tree of ninety-seven years,
And smothered it in lights and silver tears.
They all got wrecked, they laughed too loud,
I started to feel queasy in the crowd,
I grabbed a cab back to my flat,
And wept a bit,
And fed the cat.
Pavlov's Dog - Natchez Trace
Spectacular spaghetti AOR, a deranged clash between Journey's shrieking vocals and Sergio Leone guitars. The whole album is simultaneously repellent and addictive. The record company must have torn their hair and nashed their teeth at all these great songs being sung by a man whose balls had failed to drop. Featured a fat dog licking it's chops on the cover as if that would help matters.
Robert Fripp and Daryl Hall - North Star
A nightmarishly unlikely collaboration between the dark lord of prog rock guitar, King Crimson's Robert Fripp, and the crown prince of the blow dry/back comb Daryl Hall, 80's "soul" star, AKA the one without the tach' in Hall & Oates. Who knows how they met or why they chose to collaborate but this is a strangely lovely thing despite Hall's over singing, sounds at points like he's having a tilt at Pavlov's Dog's highest voice in AOR title.
Al Di Meola - Race With The Devil on a Spanish Highway
Steady ladies, remember women were powerless under the comb over and three piece suit (with weak chin disguising beard) combo in the 1970's. Dismissed as "prattle wank" by LSS tutor Ben Wood, bear in mind though that Ben dislikes anything in music unless it is three minutes long, sung by a white guy with a skinny tie and has a guitar going "a chak a chang" before a big chorus about luv. Whether the musicians saw it or not at the time jazz fusion is best approached with a healthy sense of comedy, so much talent and skill going into producing music of such idiocy. Then you can sit back and enjoy the cop show riffing, mach speed axework and terrific title.
Please note LSS will most definitely NOT teach you to produce any of this toss while studying with us (Editor)
Maningrey
"Terrible Music I Dig" > read the full post
Godley & Creme - Cry
Famous for it's hideous shape shifting video and Kevin Godley's massive beard if this was recorded by Radiohead it would be a lighters aloft weepy anthem instead of hogging the bargain bins. Best bits are the really high pitch shift at the end and the strange spacious production which is quite at odds to the usual kitchen sink productions of most 80s pop, Dub-MOR if you will.
Touch - Don't You Know What Love Is / When The Spirit Moves You
Massive cheesy power pop/soft metal also rans, bizarrely produced by the Tim Friese-Greene who worked on Talk Talk's brilliant last two albums, the mortgage needed paying eh Tim? Everything is overblown but is oddly soulful in it's own grotesque way, much more Todd Rundgren than Bon Jovi. No one knows why it never happened for them but a disastrous performance at Donington where the bass player swallowed a bee on stage and had to be carted off to A+E probably didn't help...
Detective - One More Heartache
Zeppelin clones who were championed by Jimmy Page who was in the running to produce this album until heroin led apathy got the better of him. What else is there to say that the massive opening drum salvo doesn't say already? I have sampled this already for a tune so hands off!
The Cars ― Moving In Stereo
Know for dire cynical skinny tie cobblers, The Cars lead singer produced some surprisingly credible bands on the side including Suicide and Bad Brains. Their albums always had at least one droning electronic Suicide tribute amid the fluff, this being the best example. Everything is so icy and riddled with sang froid you feel the need to run out into the street and hug a stranger post listen in a desperate desire for human body heat. A note for our overseas students, this is not advised in Dalston or Brixton.
Cristina - Things Fall Apart
A bit of a cult classic this, for everyone who thinks Noel is a big pile of pig balls, doleful, oddly sexy vocal over metal guitars, what's not to like? The song sounds like the model from Kraftwerk's The Model got to write her own song. Makes sense as Cristina was a model and girlfriend of the millionaire owner of the label ZE which released this Christmas turkey to resounding lack of success. Features a description of everyone's classic Xmas party from hell:
The party was a huge success,
"But where should we go next?" they said.
They'd killed a tree of ninety-seven years,
And smothered it in lights and silver tears.
They all got wrecked, they laughed too loud,
I started to feel queasy in the crowd,
I grabbed a cab back to my flat,
And wept a bit,
And fed the cat.
Pavlov's Dog - Natchez Trace
Spectacular spaghetti AOR, a deranged clash between Journey's shrieking vocals and Sergio Leone guitars. The whole album is simultaneously repellent and addictive. The record company must have torn their hair and nashed their teeth at all these great songs being sung by a man whose balls had failed to drop. Featured a fat dog licking it's chops on the cover as if that would help matters.
Robert Fripp and Daryl Hall - North Star
A nightmarishly unlikely collaboration between the dark lord of prog rock guitar, King Crimson's Robert Fripp, and the crown prince of the blow dry/back comb Daryl Hall, 80's "soul" star, AKA the one without the tach' in Hall & Oates. Who knows how they met or why they chose to collaborate but this is a strangely lovely thing despite Hall's over singing, sounds at points like he's having a tilt at Pavlov's Dog's highest voice in AOR title.
Al Di Meola - Race With The Devil on a Spanish Highway
Steady ladies, remember women were powerless under the comb over and three piece suit (with weak chin disguising beard) combo in the 1970's. Dismissed as "prattle wank" by LSS tutor Ben Wood, bear in mind though that Ben dislikes anything in music unless it is three minutes long, sung by a white guy with a skinny tie and has a guitar going "a chak a chang" before a big chorus about luv. Whether the musicians saw it or not at the time jazz fusion is best approached with a healthy sense of comedy, so much talent and skill going into producing music of such idiocy. Then you can sit back and enjoy the cop show riffing, mach speed axework and terrific title.
Please note LSS will most definitely NOT teach you to produce any of this toss while studying with us (Editor)
Maningrey
"Terrible Music I Dig" > read the full post
Friday, 27 May 2011
Go Live Now!
Ever thought you'd make a good Radio DJ? Tired of daydreaming of spinning that iPod playlist you love so much to a wide audience? If you can answer yes to one of or both questions then here's something to give you a fighting chance at beginning a culture and era moulding radio broadcast movement. Here's introducing "Spreaker"...WHAT on earth!? I hear you quibble, well...as weird as that name sounds (also hoping their marketing team were more creative than just putting spread and speaker to form this brand genius) it is probably another Twitter in the making or maybe that's a bit farfetched. Spreaker is one of those DIY personal profile, follow or be followed and play ranking hybrid of podcast hosting sites that also lets you broadcast live to your loyal listeners for all of 30 minutes (Free user accounts) or 3 hours as a Premium member with commercials inserted at 15 minute intervals..niiiice! There's also the very handy link with ubiquitous Facebook profiles to get your listeners flowing in fast and furious, the same share feature lets users update their status with an "I'm LIVE on AIR now" message thereby making you the provider of much needed music for friends that might be unaware of your hot mixes or newly released tracks.
Other features include being able to record podcasts for later broadcasts, use of jingles, sound effects and even looped music for talk segments of a broadcast.
Now, if you're not musically inclined how did you end up on this blog? Ok seriously if you're not a musician or an aspiring DJ this site is still a good platform for your discussions on sport, current affairs and other areas of entertainment. I've said enough to arouse your interests...go now...an SPREAK to the masses!
"Go Live Now!" > read the full post
Other features include being able to record podcasts for later broadcasts, use of jingles, sound effects and even looped music for talk segments of a broadcast.
Now, if you're not musically inclined how did you end up on this blog? Ok seriously if you're not a musician or an aspiring DJ this site is still a good platform for your discussions on sport, current affairs and other areas of entertainment. I've said enough to arouse your interests...go now...an SPREAK to the masses!
"Go Live Now!" > read the full post
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Best ever cover versions!
Tired of watching some pony tailed oaf (no offense Ciaran) strumming a tuneless acoustic version of "Bittersweet Symphony" on the tube? Well here are some top covers to warm the cockles of yer jaded heart...
The Residents - Satisfaction
Brutal dismemberment of the Stones classic, out dweebs even Devo's version by some way. Reminds us there are many more things to be worried about in the world than if a girl will not make out with you (but not many).
Big Black - The Model
Talking about dweebs, check this out! Kraftwerk's cool dispassionate ode to the unattainable is turned into a nerd's stalker anthem.
Rapemen - Just Got Paid
Charmingly named and the second Steve Albini related cover, ZZ Top this time, what can I say the guy has a knack for great cover versions (still shit with names though). As funky as the original but with an writhing mass of noise where a slide guitar solo should be.
Judas Priest - Diamonds and Rust
Joan Baez folk dirge about what a twat Bob Dylan was is mangled into a storming, none more metal shriek, tailor made for thousands of screaming Japanese people to wave their arms to.
James Chance - Jailhouse Rock
Elvis provides a veritable gold mine of cover versions that out do the originals, check out this racket, worth it just for the intro.
No embedding with this mutha unfortunately:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNry5C4PIrM
John Cale - Heartbreak Hotel
If there was ever a song for a miserable Welshman to sing this is it. Years of bitterness about how Lou Reed wrote all the best songs for the Velvets come to the surface in this suicide note in song.
Annette Peacock - Don't Be Cruel
If you like your dose of The King delivered as a sultry samba the eccentric Ms Peacock is your woman. Just bought her long unavailable album "I'm The One" for £30, signed and everything..
Jimi Hendrix - Come On
Better know for his Dylan cover I like this off the cuff version of an old New Orleans classic because it captures Hendrix at his most exuberant. You can almost hear the strings snapping on the fret board as he wails away, leaving the white boys in the rhythm section for dust.
Dinosaur Jr - Just Like Heaven
As with most of J Mascis' work it's hard to tell if this is a genuine tribute or a piss take, but isn't that the best thing you can get from a song? I hate The Cure but I love this so if it's a tribute it's worked.
Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy
Credited to Muddy but pretty much a straight lift of Bo Diddley's "I'm A Man" this is what most people think of when you say the word "blues". Bo's swaggering original is turned into something monumental, if you are looking for the roots of heavy metal you could do worse than this.
Van Halen - Ice Cream Man
The boys did a blazing version of "You Really Got Me" but I like this one as firstly nobody has heard of the original and secondly it's possibly the first time ever where a white heavy metal cover of an old blues song actually captures the raunch, swing and humor of it all.
peace
Maningrey
"Best ever cover versions!" > read the full post
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
DIY PAD cable
I was having a few difficulties recently when trying to record drums with the C24 in studio 2 - even with the mic gain turned all the way down, we were still clipping the inputs to Pro Tools.
On the day of the session I worked around this by using external mic pre's, but I wanted a better solution.
A little bit of research and soldering later, and I turned up with this:
(at the other end of the lead is a standard XLR female connector)
The circuit fits quite neatly into the chassis of an XLR male connector (it's important to make sure it goes on the desk input end of the signal, so I'd avoid wiring this into a patch cable), and does the job quite nicely.
I made the cable about a foot long, and you simply daisy chain it to the end of a mic lead. They've turned out to be so useful, I'm in the middle of making another half dozen of them.
"DIY PAD cable" > read the full post
On the day of the session I worked around this by using external mic pre's, but I wanted a better solution.
A little bit of research and soldering later, and I turned up with this:
(at the other end of the lead is a standard XLR female connector)
The circuit fits quite neatly into the chassis of an XLR male connector (it's important to make sure it goes on the desk input end of the signal, so I'd avoid wiring this into a patch cable), and does the job quite nicely.
I made the cable about a foot long, and you simply daisy chain it to the end of a mic lead. They've turned out to be so useful, I'm in the middle of making another half dozen of them.
"DIY PAD cable" > read the full post
Friday, 18 March 2011
SE Voodoo Ribbon mics - active vs passive
I remember when SE mics came out, we all assumed they were just another company ripping off classic European mics for budget prices. Turns out we were quite wrong! SE have introduced some totally new concepts (take the Reflexion filter for example - why did nobody think of this before?), and developed their own technology - the capsule design on the Voodoo ribbon mics being a case in point. Designed by Siwei Zou (the CEO of SE), it extends the hi frequency response of the mic, giving us what is said to be the first ribbon mics with a 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response.
I managed to get my hands on both the Voodoo VR1 and VR2 mics, so I though I'd check them out, and see what the differences are between them.
The two mics have identical capsules - the VR2 is the active model, so has an extended body to fit the amplifier circuitry (Careful putting the two up against each other though - the magnets are strong enough to stick them together!). Both look pretty unusual - but at the same time, pretty cool. As with all ribbon mics, it's essential to treat them with care, so there's a small drawstring bag included to cover the capsule when moving the mic (the saying with ribbon mics is "bag it on the stand" - simply waving the mic though the air can be enough to damage the ribbon - it's only 2 micrometers thick!). In practice, the bag is a little fiddly, so it might be worth investing in something like an iPod sock to do the job.
The Test Setup
I decided to put the ribbon mics to a classic purpose - guitar amp recording. I used a Fender Strat (Rory Gallagher model, set to neck pickup), and a Vox AC30. I let the amp warm up for an hour, and played around with the tone settings until I found something I liked (which honestly doesn't take long with that set up!).
To keep the performance consistent, I DI'd a guitar take into Pro Tools, then used a Radial Pro RMP re-amp box to feed the performance back into the AC30 through a Soundcraft Reims console.
After setting up the passive VR1, I played around with the mic position until I found a sweet spot. I quickly recorded the re-amped performance, then swapped over the VR1 for the VR2, positioning the capsule in as close to the same spot as possible.
The Results
Both mics sounded great - I have a couple of guitar tracking sessions coming up soon, and can see them getting quite a lot of use. On paper, both mics have the same frequency response, so I was surprised to hear as much difference between them as there was.
The passive model definitely picked up more room sound, and the active model had a fuller low end. On balance, I'd choose the sound I got from the VR2 over the VR1, but only just. The only thing I can put this down to is the mic pre settings (the VR2 has a much higher sensitivity, so although I took care to match the record levels, the mic gains had to be significantly different).
The oddest thing I noticed was that the mics are wired phase-opposite - definitely something you should be aware of when putting multiple mics on an instrument (and simultaneously using a ribbon mic with an SM57 is pretty much a standard guitar recording technique). OK, simple enough to fix, but a bit of an oddity all the same.
The Final Word (for now)
I'd like to put the VR1 to test with a few different mic pre, just to see the kind of difference that makes (I'll try this over the next couple of weeks), but if you have a lower end interface, it might well be worth stretching your budget to the active model, and letting the inbuilt mic circuitry take the strain. However, whichever of the two you go for, you won't be disappointed in their performance.
"SE Voodoo Ribbon mics - active vs passive" > read the full post
I managed to get my hands on both the Voodoo VR1 and VR2 mics, so I though I'd check them out, and see what the differences are between them.
The two mics have identical capsules - the VR2 is the active model, so has an extended body to fit the amplifier circuitry (Careful putting the two up against each other though - the magnets are strong enough to stick them together!). Both look pretty unusual - but at the same time, pretty cool. As with all ribbon mics, it's essential to treat them with care, so there's a small drawstring bag included to cover the capsule when moving the mic (the saying with ribbon mics is "bag it on the stand" - simply waving the mic though the air can be enough to damage the ribbon - it's only 2 micrometers thick!). In practice, the bag is a little fiddly, so it might be worth investing in something like an iPod sock to do the job.
The Test Setup
I decided to put the ribbon mics to a classic purpose - guitar amp recording. I used a Fender Strat (Rory Gallagher model, set to neck pickup), and a Vox AC30. I let the amp warm up for an hour, and played around with the tone settings until I found something I liked (which honestly doesn't take long with that set up!).
To keep the performance consistent, I DI'd a guitar take into Pro Tools, then used a Radial Pro RMP re-amp box to feed the performance back into the AC30 through a Soundcraft Reims console.
After setting up the passive VR1, I played around with the mic position until I found a sweet spot. I quickly recorded the re-amped performance, then swapped over the VR1 for the VR2, positioning the capsule in as close to the same spot as possible.
The Results
Both mics sounded great - I have a couple of guitar tracking sessions coming up soon, and can see them getting quite a lot of use. On paper, both mics have the same frequency response, so I was surprised to hear as much difference between them as there was.
The passive model definitely picked up more room sound, and the active model had a fuller low end. On balance, I'd choose the sound I got from the VR2 over the VR1, but only just. The only thing I can put this down to is the mic pre settings (the VR2 has a much higher sensitivity, so although I took care to match the record levels, the mic gains had to be significantly different).
The oddest thing I noticed was that the mics are wired phase-opposite - definitely something you should be aware of when putting multiple mics on an instrument (and simultaneously using a ribbon mic with an SM57 is pretty much a standard guitar recording technique). OK, simple enough to fix, but a bit of an oddity all the same.
The Final Word (for now)
I'd like to put the VR1 to test with a few different mic pre, just to see the kind of difference that makes (I'll try this over the next couple of weeks), but if you have a lower end interface, it might well be worth stretching your budget to the active model, and letting the inbuilt mic circuitry take the strain. However, whichever of the two you go for, you won't be disappointed in their performance.
"SE Voodoo Ribbon mics - active vs passive" > read the full post
Sunday, 20 February 2011
first impressions of The King of Limbs
Last week I pre-ordered the full package, vinyl+CD+artwork+download for £33, and yesterday was the day you could start getting your download, while the rest will arrive by post eventually.
It could have been £3 less choosing to get the download as MP3, but since there was no indication of how these were produced* I thought I'd pay a bit more for the bandwidth and get full-quality Wavs.
And just to give you the full picture, if you don't believe in material things you can get just the MP3 for £6 or just the Wavs for £9. Very fair.
"first impressions of The King of Limbs" > read the full post
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Papa Sangre - a binaural computer game
Been having fun with this for the past day or so. A game for the iPhone (3GS and up), that uses binaural processing to place you in a surround-sound acoustic world. Play with your eyes shut, and navigate a pretty scary game......
Check out the demo video here, and head to the App store to try it out for real!
"Papa Sangre - a binaural computer game" > read the full post
Saturday, 4 December 2010
01V96 rhythm section
Have to try this some time - we have an old Yamaha desk kicking around somewhere... (not to mention a Mackie d8b, and a few dozen MIDI controllers...)
"01V96 rhythm section" > read the full post
"01V96 rhythm section" > read the full post
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Slayer! In Christmas lights!
I know it's not time for Christmas stuff yet, but to celebrate my 500th post, here's Slayer, but, like, Christmassy....
"Slayer! In Christmas lights!" > read the full post
"Slayer! In Christmas lights!" > read the full post
Monday, 22 November 2010
Otamatone Jumbo!
I picked up an Otamatone in Japan earlier this year (now available at Amazon and as an iPhone ap), but I wish they had one of these - the Otamatone Jumbo!.......
"Otamatone Jumbo!" > read the full post
"Otamatone Jumbo!" > read the full post
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Monday, 15 November 2010
Something big on the way for iTunes....
Rumours are it'll be music streaming - something on the lines of Spotify. Come back tomorrow to find out!
"Something big on the way for iTunes...." > read the full post
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Friday, 12 November 2010
Jon Bon Jovi Likes Cup Noodles.....
We saw Jay Kay was a fan before, but here's Bon Jovi selling Japanese pot noodles....
Once more, the evil effects of illegally downloading music show themselves.
Apparently translates as:
"the son is third grade of junior high school.
He was studying for his exams.
But Cup Noodle for midnight snack
His Mum has forgotten it.
The son......
Sulked."
Mmmmmmm. Not poodle......
(Thanks to Yohei for spotting that one)
"Jon Bon Jovi Likes Cup Noodles....." > read the full post
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