AudioTechnology App Issue 37

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SPOT THE DIFFERENCE Every M5 Matched Pair has been carefully made, tested and selected together, to ensure a variation of less than 1dB of sensitivity between each microphone.

You won’t find a difference.

Because there isn’t one.

RODE M5 Compact 1/2 inch Condenser Microphone AT 2

www.rode.com

Editor Mark Davie mark@audiotechnology.com.au Publisher Philip Spencer philip@alchemedia.com.au Editorial Director Christopher Holder chris@audiotechnology.com.au Assistant Editor Preshan John preshan@alchemedia.com.au Art Direction Dominic Carey dominic@alchemedia.com.au Graphic Designer Daniel Howard daniel@alchemedia.com.au Advertising Philip Spencer philip@alchemedia.com.au Accounts Jaedd Asthana jaedd@alchemedia.com.au

Regular Contributors Martin Walker Paul Tingen Guy Harrison Greg Walker Greg Simmons Blair Joscelyne Mark Woods Chris Braun Robert Clark Andrew Bencina Ewan McDonald Cover Photo Maclay Heriot

AudioTechnology magazine (ISSN 1440-2432) is published by Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd (ABN 34 074 431 628).

Subscriptions Miriam Mulcahy mim@alchemedia.com.au

Contact (Advertising, Subscriptions) T: +61 2 9986 1188 PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest NSW 2086, Australia.

info@alchemedia.com.au

Contact (Editorial) T: +61 3 5331 4949 PO Box 295, Ballarat

www.audiotechnology.com.au

VIC 3353, Australia.

All material in this magazine is copyright Š 2017 Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd. Apart from any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process with out written permission. The publishers believe all information supplied in this magazine to be correct at the time of publication. They are not in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. After investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, prices, addresses and phone numbers were up to date at the time of publication. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements appearing in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility is on the person, company or advertising agency submitting or directing the advertisement for publication. The publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions, although every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy. 10/04/2017.

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COVER STORY

Paul Dempsey Plays with Wilco’s Toy

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ISSUE 37 CONTENTS

26

Macy Gray Stripped Back to Binaural

Tales from the Front Line of VR Audio

36

Triad Orbit Deluxe Microphone Stand

Rode HS2 Headset Microphone AT 6

50

DIY Bedroom Funk with Harts

42

32

EV ND Series Microphones 52

Pro Tools Dock

28 46

Digital Mixing Redefined. Again.

T

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PreSonus products are proudly distributed in Australia by Link Audio. www.linkaudio.com.au.

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GENERAL NEWS

ASTON STARLIGHT The new Aston Starlight is a ‘laser targeting’ pencil microphone, allowing for recall of mic position in studio use, and quick setup on the live stage too.

The small-diaphragm condenser showcases Aston’s variable voice switching for sound contouring, a nearly indestructible build, a signature sintered head, and Aston’s tumbled 100% stainless steel chassis. The Class 2 laser pointer with an on/ off switch helps you easily recall mic positions in the studio. It’s original, and seemingly functional.

Starlight’s capsule itself is a 20mm gold-sputtered

type which feeds into bespoke transformerless electronics designed with low noise and low distortion as priorities. You can choose between Vintage, Modern and Hybrid settings thanks to some fancy front-end inductive, active filtering at the input stage of the preamp section (rather than simple post-EQ) to alter the response of the capsule without adding any noise to the circuit.

Link Audio: (03) 8373 4817 or info@linkaudio.com.au

DYNAUDIO LYD 48 Dynaudio’s latest monitor offering is in its LYD range. The new LYD 48 has a three-way speaker design coupling eight- and four-inch woofers with a one-inch tweeter. It’ll perform just as well as nearfields or midfields. Both woofers and the tweeter are powered by a Class D amplifier delivering 80W, 50W and 50W of power to each transducer in order of size. The amp features a 24-bit/96k signal path and selectable input sensitivity, as well as the same Standby Mode

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as the original LYD speakers. It also has Bass Extension, giving you a choice between the default setting or pushing towards maximum bass or maximum volume. Changes affect the low-end response but the linear frequency response remains intact. The Sound Balance option is basically a tilt filter that gently tips the tonal balance toward Bright or Dark.

Amber Technology: 1800 251 367 or sales@ambertech.com.au

JOECO’S LATEST BLUEBOX JoeCo has debuted its most affordable BlueBox workstation interface yet — the 24-channel BBWR24B interface/recorder. In the studio, the BBWR24B’s built-in recording capability forms a unique backup service that ensures you don’t lose your source recordings. The 1U 19-inch rack unit has 24 balanced line inputs, 16 ADAT Lightpipe inputs, and 24 balanced outputs and supports audio resolution up to 24bit/96k over USB 2.0.The host interface supports both Windows and Mac with a locally generated zero latency monitor mixer.

The JoeCoControl app lets you customise your I/O routing and setup. JoeCo Managing Director Joe Bull: “The BBWR24B, particularly when used with the expanded control and customisation options of the updated JoeCoControl app, is an extremely powerful but affordable solution for interfacing with your DAW, recording in the field and ensuring that none of your recordings are ever lost, even if the power fails.”

Gigpiglet: (02) 9698 9292 or info@gigpiglet.com.au

MEET THE KNOB FAMILY What’s Mackie Big Knob doing in the interface section? Well, Mackie has expanded its monitor controller concept to include three new models — Big Knob Passive, Big Knob Studio, and Big Knob Studio+ — with the latter two doubling as interfaces. With the addition of Onyx USB recording and playback, the Big Knob Series products become a multi-function hybrid solution that’s greater than the sum of its parts. It also makes a great interface choice for first-time studio owners. Big Knob Passive lets you choose between

two sources, two monitors, and control it all with the large central knob. Big Knob Studio expands on the I/O, offering a routing choice between three sources and two monitor pairs. It also has integrated talkback and dual headphone outs.

Studio+ has greater 4×3 routing for more flexible integration, along with a dedicated amp-driven studio output for a headphone distribution system.

CMI Music & Audio: (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au

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LIVE NEWS

CONNECTED WITH HARMAN Perhaps the biggest NAMM news from Harman was the introduction of Connected PA. Designed to be a complete integrated ecosystem of live sound products with app control at its core, Connected PA gives centralised control over setup and configuration of audio systems. Because it’s made by Harman, teh concept unites a number of brands under the company’s umbrella; Soundcraft mixing consoles, AKG microphones, dbx DI boxes, and JBL speakers via Harman’s ioSys technology.

The major push is for streamlined and efficient setup, so it’s largely a preset-driven system with some handy intelligence. Harman has included a number of presets out of the box, powered by dbx, DigiTech and Lexicon, designed to get you on your way quickly. You get over 70 preset parameters including gain, EQ, and optimised effects.

The ‘connectedness’ comes into play when you hook up a compatible piece of gear. Each component is automatically recognised and paired with its unique preset. At launch, compatible products include the

Souncraft Ui12, Ui16, and Ui24R digital mixers, JBL PRX800W Series loudspeakers, dbx DI1 active direct box, and the AKG P5i microphone. Made a preset for a vocalist using the P5i? Hook it up and the preset will auto-assign to the corresponding input. Or perhaps you’ve saved FOH output levels, room EQ and delay for a venue with the PRX800W speakers. This’ll recall by itself the moment you plug them in.

“Musicians need a fast and easy way to set up their PA system so they can focus on performing instead of worrying about their equipment,” said Noel Larson, Senior Global Manager, Harman Professional Solutions. “The Harman Connected PA system provides musicians a simple and effective way to set up and operate their entire PA system from one central app, with minimal pro audio skills or previous live sound experience.”

Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or www.jands.com.au CMI Music & Audio (AKG): (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au

SENNHEISER XS WIRELESS The new XS Wireless 1 from Sennheiser is a series of six wireless microphone sets aimed at the budget-conscious user looking for quick setup and ease of use. The sets include a handheld option with built-in transmitter, a beltpack transmitter with lavalier or headset mics, or beltpack with instrument cable. Up to 10 XS Wireless 1 channels can operate simultaneously, with the system

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functioning in the 548-572MHz band. The XS Wireless 2 system, expected to appear later in 2017, will sport a more sophisticated feature set over XSW 1. XS Wireless 2 brings true diversity reception to the table, along with the ability to manually select your channel.

Sennheiser: (02) 9910 6700 or sales@sennheiser.com.au

PROJECT VULCAN ERUPTS The Digico SD12 launch was no small affair.

Starting in Melbourne, there were events all around the globe with MD James Gordon beaming in to each with his ‘Minority Report’-style presentation of the big idea behind Project Vulcan. There’s plenty of familiar Digico trademarks. Two 15-inch touchscreens, 72 fully-processed input channels, 36 freely assignable busses, a 12 x 8 output matrix, LR/LCR buss with full processing, 12 stereo effects units, 16 graphic EQs, 119 dynamic EQs, 119 multiband compressors, 119 Digi-Tubes, 12 Control Groups (VCA), and SD Series Stealth Core 2 software, for compatibility with all other SD Series sessions. They’ve also done something different under the bonnet with a range of optional cards that will accommodate any I/O eventuality.

Metering feedback has been improved — the Dynamics controls are exactly where you’d expect them to be, but with the addition of gain reduction meters normally only seen on the SD7 and SD5, and

metering to show the action of the gates. The level of feedback from the work surface is hard to find at this price point, with systems starting at $45k.

On the back of the console is a standard local I/O format. There are eight local mic/line inputs, eight local line outputs and eight AES/EBU in/ out for local digital sources, as well as two MADI ports, plus a UB MADI connection for 48 tracks of recording when the console is clocking at 48k and 24 tracks if it is clocking at 96k.

Digico MD James Gordon: “The SD12 takes all the true Digico values and installs them into a compact, cost effective surface with unrivalled feedback and control. It is ideal for operators that demand the best audio quality, combined with an intuitive and fast multi-screen worksurface.”

Group Technologies: (03) 9354 9133 or sales@grouptechnologies.com.au

BLACKBIRD FOR TONEPACER Acoustic Technologies owner Harry Lloyd-Williams has announced that James Clark and Nicole Perry of Tonepacer Live Production have just taken delivery of an Acoustic Technologies turnkey Blackbird/ CLA System comprising four CLA700 and four CLA LF3000s powered by two PowerSoft X4 amplification platforms. The company’s Blackbird CLA700 active and passive systems have already been hard at work at various festivals and events, indoor venues, and corporate functions. The passive CLA700 running two tops and two double 18-inch CLA3000s per side have covered everything from

beach festivals to convention centres. Tonepacer’s TLA1.4 systems have often been used in the system design time aligned in support of the CLA700s to provide a natural sound field with minimal crossover as you move through the venue.

The addition of the TLA1.4 dual 10-inch subs builds a cinematic low end to the design. Pictured is the AT system at the Gold Coast’s annual Bleach Festival last year.

Acoustic Technologies: (07) 3376 4122 or info@atprofessional.com.au

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SOFTWARE NEWS

EVENTIDE FISSION Eventide unveiled a new plug-in technology called Structural Effects at NAMM. Structural Effects is designed to cleanly split a sound into its tonal and transient components. Each of the components can then be individually processed before recombining them. The first plug-in to feature Structural Effects technology, Fission, was also released at NAMM. Fission carries out this source audio deconstruction into transient and tone, then lets you treat both bands independently with dynamics processing and effects. It’s a unique approach to processing audio, and Eventide’s resident fossil Tony Agnew is

a little excited. “It’ll be fun to watch as the industry grapples with something as ground-breaking and revolutionary as Structural Effects. The technique makes it possible to mess with sounds in ways that we’ve only dreamt of.” Also released was the new multi-effect algorithm for Eventide’s H9 Harmonizer platform called PitchFuzz. The new set of effects combines delay, pitch-shifting and distortion to interesting and unique sounds from a single stompbox.

Audio Chocolate: (03) 9813 5877 or www.audiochocolate.com.au

KORG GADGET SOFTWARE STUDIO Up until now, Korg’s Gadget software has been available only as an iOS app. Now Korg has released it as a desktop application with the ability to split the screen four ways to make the most use of a PC’s larger screen real estate. If you’re unfamiliar with Korg Gadget, it’s a new type of music production that provides more than 30 small synths and drum machines called ‘gadgets’ and lets you freely combine them to produce music to your taste. At an introductory price of $199, then moving to $299,

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the computer version is a fair bit steeper than the $39 iOS version, and suggests Korg wants you to see the software more as a DAW. The Mac version of Gadget comes with a ‘Gadget Plug-in Collection’ that also supports AU, VST, AAX and NKS. The company has managed to channel its decades of hardware synth expertise into a one-stop software production suite, and we’ll soon see if it takes off.

CMI Music & Audio: (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au

OUTPUT ANALOG STRINGS Output has released its latest virtual instrument called Analog Strings. It’s designed to do more than your average sampled strings library, instead drawing on both sampled and synthesised string sounds to create a diverse palette of tones.

The instrument’s ‘ingredients’ consist of two string orchestras, some rare vintage synths, and unconventional elements for sound design. Analog Strings lets you blend these sounds together to

create a unique starting point. The software engine includes advanced modulation routing, dual tape loopers, dual arpeggiators, flux sequencing, and four macro sliders for creating truly unique yet usable string-based sounds covering a variety of textures.

Analog Strings comes with a 39GB sound library and 500 presets — more than enough to keep you busy for a while. Analog Strings is going for US$199 and comes with Output’s 14-day guarantee.

DASHBOARD FOR ROLI BLOCKS At NAMM, Roli unveiled a Dashboard for its modular music creation platform Blocks.

Dashboard enables easy integration with a wide range of popular software including Logic, Ableton, Cubase, Omnisphere and Kontakt. The bundled application is available to all Blocks creators. Blocks Dashboard allows the Lightpad Block module to become a versatile controller for various OS X and Windows programs. It lets you easily configure your workflow by uploading preprogrammed scripts and editing the parameters of those scripts. The new Fader Mode makes it even easier to control parameters at the touch of a

finger by utilising Lightpad Block’s LED-illuminated, touch-sensitive surface. And as part of Roli’s mission to make Blocks an open-source, hackable music hardware system, Blocks Dashboard also enables programmers to write their own scripts and design their own applications for Blocks. Roli founder Roland Lamb: “Blocks Dashboard unlocks new modular possibilities by connecting each Block to a huge range of software tools, making it more customisable for any workflow.”

CMI Music & Audio: (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au

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REGULARS

STUDIO FOCUS:

ANALOG CABIN If analogue synths are up your alley, do yourself a favour and visit Analog Cabin’s website. The immersive 3D-camera studio tour has gotta be the most fun I’ve had on a homepage. It’s a drool fest that must be clocking up some lengthy page views for owner Felix Warmuth.

Analog Cabin is a synth-loaded studio and production space in Ultimo, NSW. It’s located inside the Fishburners complex; a fast-growing not-for-profit charity for scalable tech startups.

The cabin has serviced a bunch of its neighbour’s corporate needs, from voiceovers to podcasts, but the Cabin’s bread and butter is all manner of electronic music.

Felix caught the pro audio bug a while ago.

Scoring a job at pro audio retailer Sound Devices in 2000 helped him cut his teeth, and gain an appreciation of quality kit. Fortuitously, at that time the pro audio world staged a mass exodus from the analogue realm, and Felix was heading in the opposite direction.

Several years and a number of home studios AT 14

later, he and his friend Adrian Burns decided to get a recording space of their own where their passion for producing techno and other electronic music would be unrestrained. Plus, all those synths he’d collected needed a home. Though Felix, Adrian and producer Mike Witcombe are all accomplished producers in their own right, producing other artists and DJs was always part of the plan. Hardly a week goes by when the Cabin isn’t graced by a number of international or local acts getting their dose of old-school synthesis.

Plans are already underway to establish Analog Cabin as a record label. Mike helps out with graphic design, and ‘on-the-ground’ engineering is handled by Rob Erskine to facilitate sessions for signed artists.

Despite the name, tracking is mostly digital — although a quarter-inch tape machine sits in the corner ready for mixdown when desired. So why the name Analog Cabin? Because, Felix says, they like “getting things out of the box and being creative with the audio flow.” Ableton is the DAW

Photography: Tim Jones

of choice, with its creative workflow being perfectly suited to the song-brewing environment intended for the studio. The mountain of synths feed into the Soundcraft 6000 console, where inputs are mixed into a Metric Halo 2882. Extra ADAT conversion provides more inputs.

For Felix, picking a favourite synth is nearly as hard as fitting an adult into the puny vocal booth. He reckons if he had to choose, the Alesis Andromeda ranks pretty highly as do the modular synths and classic 808 and 909 drum sequencers.

A “fetish” (his choice of word, not mine) for Ace Tone gear has led him on extensive hunts for very particular models.

The Analog Cabin rarely sits in silence. One recently completed project was a video with artist Lucy Cliché for Red Bull Music Academy’s 1800-ANALOG event. Other artists that have been in lately include Mia Lucci, Crooked Colours, Seekae, and Trus’Me. www.analogcabin.net

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Musos Corner 1 National Park St Newcastle West NSW 2302 PH: 02 4929 2829 www.musoscorner.com.au

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FEATURE

fDeluxe brings together the original members of The Family — a short-lived but much-revered 1980s Prince project. The band, headed by Paul ‘St Paul’ Petersen (lead vocals, bass) has some funk royalty in its ranks and some very accomplished record producers to boot, including Flyte Tyme’s Jellybean Johnson, Eric Leeds and Oliver Leiber. AT spoke to St Paul about his career and you can read some more in this issue’s Last Word. Here he describes fDeluxe’s live approach.

GET READY Paul Petersen: Priority number one: be rehearsed and tight, and everything that’s good will follow.

On tour you’ve got to have the right personnel.

My motto: no drama. That’s not what I’m out here for. At age 52, I don’t want the drama.

Preproduction for this tour has been easy. We worked through our set list, making it flow, and I’ve worked up some ‘tracks’ for the songs that had string parts, for example. It was a case of making sure the stems are all at the same level so we don’t throw the sound guy a curve ball or get crazy level changes in our monitors.

We haven’t taken any in-ear monitors out on this tour — it’s all wedges.

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LOOK AFTER YOUR VOICE Here’s a tip that might help singers. I call it my Cheater box. If you’re on wedges but you have the occasional disaster where you just can’t hear yourself, something like this might save your life.

My mic goes into this ART device which was released years ago when there was a lot of latency in DAWs — it’s basically a direct monitoring box but I use it in a live context. So it takes my mic and adds a little reverb. I’ll then pop that feed into one earpiece. With its top end it gets me above the band frequency-wise. I don’t have to scream to be heard even if the monitors aren’t great, or if it’s a tough room acoustically. It’s saved my life in so many situations. I mean, you can always rely on hearing the bass, drums, and backline, right?, even if they’re not mixed perfectly. But vocals? If you can’t hear yourself and you over-sing, then you can blow your chops within an hour and wreck a tour.

1980s DI My pedalboard DI is a Demeter tube device from the mid ’80s. It colours the bass in such a way that it doesn’t cloud what I’m doing but it fattens and enhances it. When I’m in the studio I’ll use that or a Great River or an Avalon, depending on the gig.

BASS RIG It’s Gallen-Krueger all the way for me — a brand new Fusion 550 rig. I’m loving my GHS strings as well. I’m greedy; I love playing rock ’n’ roll and I love playing funk and each one of those has different needs as far as the brightness of the strings. I’m using flatwound strings on both types of gigs [Paul Petersen was recently on tour with Peter Frampton] because I like that sound. There’s enough life to clarify that note you’re hitting.

LIKE A BOSS For an ’80s-revival gig like this we’ll use a lot of Boss pedals. My pedal board is like a Boss Ad. So is Oliver’s and Jellybean’s.

LOOK AFTER YOUR EARS I joined a band called The Time as keys player in the early ’80s for Prince’s movie, Purple Rain. It was a revelation. Back then our idea of a monitoring system was a huge 18-inch threeway horn-loaded monster. I’d get it as loud as I could to try and be heard over the rest of the band. I’ve gotta tell you, I’m still paying for that to this day. I’ve lost a lot of hearing from those days.

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FEATURE

Paul Dempsey had every instrument he could possibly imagine on hand at Wilco’s The Loft, but he was the only musician there to play them.

Story: Mark Davie Photos: Maclay Heriot

Artist: Paul Dempsey Album: Strange Loop AT 18

When Paul Dempsey packed his suitcase for a three-week stint at Wilco’s The Loft studio in Chicago, he couldn’t help himself. From the first time he’d Skyped producer Tom Schick, Paul had been assured Wilco’s inventory of gear would cover his every want and need. Paul said Tom would assure him, ‘Trust me, they acquire things faster than anyone could keep a list.’ Still, he had to throw something in that represented his own musical taste and peculiarities. He grabbed the smallest things he could find, his cherished JHS Colour Box and MI Audio custom stomp boxes, and stuffed them between some shirts… And they didn’t come out again until he arrived back in Australia.

In the first afternoon at the Loft, said Dempsey, “I realised I had to actually stop looking at instruments. I’d found half a dozen guitars that were all doing what I wanted. I didn’t need to open any other guitar cases, or I wasn’t going to get any work done.”

Schick is all too familiar with that glassy-eyed look musicians get when they first enter The Loft.

There are rows upon rows of guitars, keyboards, amps, and random instruments; imagine an instrument and they probably either have it at The Loft or will do soon. Beyond the maze of instruments on the floor, there are storage racks reaching to the roof of the warehouse stocked with occupied guitar cases. After the interview, Paul opened up a handful of smartphone videos he’d shot over the three weeks. One showed he and Tom prodding at an old Wurlitzer tape percussion machine, where every button activated a different tape to roll past the heads. The resulting analogue blips and tocks became the phasey, underwatersounding opening of the song Idiot Oracle. “On tour, Jeff [Tweedy, Wilco’s lead singer] just goes back to his hotel after the gig and buys stuff on eBay, then it turns up at the studio,” explained Dempsey as he played another video, this time of him doubling a lead line with a mystery gourdbellied electric guitar the post man had dropped off that day.

“It can be overwhelming for a musician,” said Schick. “I usually tell them to grab the closest instrument, try it out, and see how it feels. You can get bogged down and spend all day trying to find the right guitar and the right amp.” Studio manager, Mark Greenberg, is probably as close as anyone comes to being a Loft librarian, but even he doesn’t have a definitive list. Schick’s recommendation to artists is, “If you see something you’ve never tried before, just plug it in and don’t be precious. You’re never going to plug in something that sounds horrible. It’s more about whether you want a big amp or a small amp, a 12-string or a six string, a hollow body or a solid body, then you narrow it down that way. Paul is a great musician, he knew what guitars he likes and he’d gravitate towards those.”

STRIPPING BACK THE RACK

Dempsey is particularly savvy about gear, both for making music and recording it. In his Melbourne home studio, he has more than a few guitars himself, a Wurli, a handful of guitar amps, and

loads of stomp box effects, but his 19-inch rack is looking pretty empty these days. It just has a Universal Audio Apollo interface in it, and an API lunchbox leaning up against it stocked with only a couple of Neve 1073LB preamps. The rest of the rack used to be full, but times have changed, and he’s finding the Apollo and Neves are all he needs.

For years he was using a Digidesign 002 for demos. Then in 2009, he signed a new deal to do a solo record with Wayne Connolly, which came with a budget. “Usually you’d spend that all on studio costs, but I was starting to feel more confident with my home engineering skills,” explained Dempsey.

“I thought I could take the money to get some gear, then I’d be set up for future albums as well. I enlisted Wayne’s help with the shopping list because he’s a better engineer. That’s when I got the Digi 192 interface, and a few rack pieces and some mics. We dragged it all up to a friend’s place and recorded the album there.”

It was more than just a demo rig. He had a Pro Tools HD system, with the 192 interface and Accel cards, a PCI card-compatible Mac Pro tower to run it all, with Chandler and TL Audio outboard as his front end. All up, it was around $15,000.

Then a couple of years ago, Avid started to phase out the 192s.

“They weren’t really providing support for it, so I got the s**ts.” admitted Dempsey. “I was starting to write and do demos for Strange Loop and all my gear was obsolete. I was still using Pro Tools HD software, but I needed new gear that interfaced with Thunderbolt on a new Mac. I got talking to the guys at Manny’s in North Fitzroy, weighing up the pros and cons, and they put me onto the Apollo.”

Since acquiring the Apollo and an iMac, most of his 500 series gear has disappeared off to the Music Swop Shop in Carlton, and he got less than a thousand bucks for his previous Tools rig.

He’s pretty satisfied with the compact setup, which also includes Native Instruments Komplete and a Komplete Kontrol keyboard. “With my previous Pro Tools rig you couldn’t walk in half the room because of all the looms of cable,” he said, and trips down to record drums at the rehearsal studio have gotten a lot simpler. Still, he does fantasise about one day building a small studio out the back of their property and stuffing it with all kinds of vintage collectibles, which is why he went to The Loft. “It’s the complete opposite of this because they actually do have every single keyboard, guitar amp, guitar and drum kit,” he said. “They’ve got the real version of everything you’ve ever dreamed of, including mics, compressors, preamps, and Neve consoles. I went over there with my demos and said, ‘let’s do this again with the real stuff.’”

DEMO DOWN

Dempsey is also the frontman for Australian rock stalwarts Something For Kate. It’s a complete band dynamic, where all three band members push and pull a song in different directions until they’re all happy with it. Recording a solo record like Strange Loop affords him the last say on everything.

It’s more of an ego trip. “But what music isn’t?” questioned Dempsey. “It’s satisfying to make a

I realised I had to actually stop looking at instruments or I wasn’t going to get any work done

record the way you’ve heard it in your head.”

To that end, he uses his demo rig to flesh out each song in detail before going into the studio.

Then the final step in the process is throwing it open to critique. “Appointing someone as devil’s advocate,” Dempsey described it. “Installing Tom Schick as the last line of defence against me being completely wrong about something. I also like to keep an antenna up for the accidents that happen in the studio, when you’re working with someone else and they go, ‘what was that?’. I went over with 80% of it on the demos, and the rest was happy accidents or feedback from Tom.” Luckily, Dempsey isn’t a hack. Something For Kate shows he can obviously sing and rip on guitar, and bass isn’t a stretch for him. However, Dempsey was actually a drummer first, and he’s handy on the keys.

“I knew he played a lot of instruments, but I was a little scared at first that it would for the most part be me and him,” admitted Schick. “You just never know how somebody is when they say they’re a multi-instrumentalist. The first song we worked on, he sat down and starting playing drums, then right away played another instrument over the top of it.

It really sounded like a band, which was hard to do.

He’s an amazingly talented guy.”

Dempsey writes in two distinct sections; music first, lyrics and melody later. “It’s a completely separate vacuum. The music production process and lyric writing process are completely separate from each other. I essentially build up an album’s worth of music and then write lyrics. I guess a lot of songwriters are holding a guitar and writing in a journal. I don’t do that.

“Music’s not an issue. I’ll go from the germ of an idea to getting it pretty well demoed in a free afternoon. Whereas, it can take me a very long time to finish lyrics. I’m not lazy; I’ll sit for hours and hours a day and do it for weeks and weeks.

Lyrics are harder because you have to make decisions about what you want to verbalise and say about yourself.”

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With only two people in the room, if you get fixated on a part you lose the momentum. The key is to keep momentum going and letting the record build itself

The multi-instrumentalist streak comes out of him from the get-go, typically starting with a groove or beat in his head, and forming the song around that. In many ways, his songwriting process is well-suited to a one-man band style of tracking; drums first, instruments, then vocals, which is exactly how he did it at The Loft.

SCHICK EFFECT

When he reached The Loft, it was just he and Schick. Schick is a stone cold legend of American rock and folk. Dempsey was attracted to working with him, obviously because of his work with Wilco, but also because he produced, recorded and mixed Ryan Adams a number of times, including one of Dempsey’s favourites Cold Roses, worked AT 20

with Low, Rufus Wainwright, Norah Jones, M Ward, and helped Jeff Tweedy with the Mavis Staples record, as well as when Tweedy recorded arrangements around Pops Staples’ final vocal recordings. These days, Schick is essentially the inhouse engineer at The Loft. When he’s not working with Tweedy — which only happens when Wilco goes on tour — Schick uses the studio to work on other projects like Strange Loop. “Jeff ’s a really hard worker, so when he’s in town he’ll be in the studio writing and recording ideas,” said Schick. “He’ll always get one thing done in a day.”

Paul has worked with a lot of producers, Something For Kate made a point of not sticking with the one person throughout their career. It all started with their “dream producer” Brian Paulson,

who made their first two records, then a couple with Trina Shoemaker — “a comfort zone we could have easily stayed in” — then Brad Wood, and John Congleton. “I’ve been able to watch how they do what they do, all they’re different tricks and techniques,” said Dempsey. “And they’re all really different.” He learnt engineering from watching each engineer, working back through their signal paths, and asking lots of questions. “The first time you look at an SSL as a 19-year-old, you are thinking, ‘that’s why that guy earns the big bucks’,” recalled Dempsey. “Trina was the first person to say to me, ‘it’s just plumbing.’”

The biggest difference Dempsey noticed about Schick’s way of working was the lack of processing.

“Everything was done with the simplest possible

ABOUT TOM SCHICK Right out of college Tom went to New York City and got a job at Sear Sound.

Most everything he learnt was from Walter Sear and the engineers and producers that came through the studio. Schick: “I learnt a lot from jazz engineer, David Baker, who would do all of his recordings and mixes with hardly any EQ or compression. It was all about balance. He did a lot of live to two-track jazz recordings that would sound incredible. All he was doing was moving the faders and getting the right balance and panning. Then in the late ’90s, it would be everything from live to two-track jazz records to Sonic Youth and a lot of indie rock bands. It was a great studio to learn in.”

single chain,” he explained. It helps when you have an entire floor of instruments to choose a sound from. “He knows what works. I’d describe something to him, and he’d come back with a little speaker made out of corrugated iron and just stand in front of it with a 57, then blend in a bit of that.”

Layering soon became a theme, often doubling a guitar solo with something unique, or layering tones to produce a sound you couldn’t get any other way.

“He also worked really quickly,” said Dempsey.

“Most of the time he stood at the console, there was hardly any sitting, and no couch. The whole album was recorded and mixed in two and a half weeks, mixing and balancing as he went.”

Schick didn’t strictly keep to those mixes, but “every time I work on a song I put down a rough mix before moving on, because you learn something every time,” he explained. “It’s not so much about compression and EQ, but more about balance and panning. Getting stuff out and making a commitment. If a part is played all the way through, your first instinct is to listen to it and pull it out at certain spots and do a rough like that. That way when you do the final mix it should be pretty close.”

Other than not sitting down much of the time, he also sits the computer keyboard and screen off to the side on a high counter. “I don’t like working at a studio where you’re sitting down staring at a screen between two speakers,” said Schick. “I want to be listening to music and not looking at a screen. I treat Pro Tools like a tape machine and you wouldn’t have a giant tape machine between the speakers.”

The other main difference Dempsey discovered was how much Schick trusted what he was hearing, without having to jump out to his car. Most of that is due to Schick working day in and out on the Genelecs in The Loft. “I basically spend every day in there listening to stuff,” he explained. “So I can

tell right away if something is a little off.” Dempsey on the other hand, had to occasionally run out to the tracking floor and slip on his trusty pair of Sennheiser HD280s just to be sure.

ONE DRUMMER, TWO KITS

Most of the recordings started by loading up the demos, muting everything except the guide guitar and going from there. Occasionally, Dempsey would sit at the drum kit and play a song from memory. Each time, it would start from one of two drum kits setups, which gave two different sounds out of the box, without any processing. “If you want dry drums you play the kit behind the baffles,” explained Dempsey. “If you want them to sound bigger, go play the kit out in the warehouse.”

Schick explained the setup in more detail: “One was a pretty tight-sounding drum kit that was totally isolated in the booth. I had a pair of Coles 4038s for overheads, a Shure SM57 on the snare, an AKG D112 on the kick drum. I also have a Neumann CMV-563 kit mic right above the outer rim of the kick drum and pointed at the rack tom.

If the drums need to be a bit brighter, I add a little more of that mic. If they need to be darker, I trim it down a little and let the Coles do most of the work.

Those mics were all going through API mic pres. I used the Neve 2254 compressors in the console to compress the overheads, while the kick and snare went through dbx 160s.

“The other kit in the live room had an RE20 on the kick drum, a Sennheiser 441 on the snare, a Royer for an overhead, and a room mic. The overhead was going through a Neve BCM10 sidecar and a TG1 compressor, and the kick and snare were going through APIs and Urei 1176s. The live room had a smaller setup but a bigger sound.

“I like the idea of a mono drum kit, so you can pan the overhead where you want it to be,

rather than having a drum kit that takes up the whole stereo field. Often I will have the kick in the middle, because the low end doesn’t translate when you pan hard, then the snare and overhead all the way off to one side. You get a nice spread that way.

Sometimes having the snare slightly to the left and overhead up the middle opens up things too.

“When I use stereo overheads, they’re usually only a foot apart, and I’ll get them as close as the drummer will let me. I don’t like it really wide, which is why I like using a mono overhead sometimes, because I can really get that close in there. When you’re using ribbon mics, they pick up from the other end too, so you’re still going to have some space around it. They also help cut down on cymbals, and I love the way the toms, kick and snare sound through them. I get most of the drum sound through the overheads. The kick and snare mics are used to get a little more definition.

“Sometimes we’d do a tight dry kit in the booth, then throw in some tom overdubs in the live room that doubled the toms.”

ON THE GO SETUP

After the drums were laid down, it was up to Paul where he wanted to go next. “We had everything set up,” explained Schick. “We had the two different drum stations going, two bass rigs set up, an acoustic guitar station, an electric guitar station, and another amp that floated which you could plug a keyboard into, two pianos that were always miked up, and a couple of DI lines. You could jump from one to another.”

Like the drums, the two bass set ups gave two diverse starting points. “We had a Schroeder bass head going through a large cabinet and a Manley tube DI for the bigger rounder sounds,” said Schick.

“The more blown up, distorted bass sounds came from the Ampeg B15. Both had an EV RE20 on AT 21

the cabinet. Paul used a couple of different basses; it was between Jeff ’s P Bass, a Rickenbacker, and a hollow body Kay Bass.”

Of the many instruments, Jeff Tweedy’s cherished Kel Kroydon acoustic guitars became a favourite of Dempsey’s too. They were originally an affordable depression-era Gibson spinoff sold in department stores, and only appeared for a few years. “The company that used to make them also made children’s toys, so they just used the same stencils,” said Dempsey, pointing out the mirrored birds in a picture of him playing one. They’re light and flimsy, explained Dempsey, “It feels like you’re holding plywood.” But that lightness transfers to a non-boomy, unique sound with “just the right amount of mid range,” said Schick. “They record great. They don’t sound perfect, but are pretty even sounding, not scooped out like a lot of modern guitars. They cut through a mix, but still have a full frequency. We used the Neumann CMV-563 with an M7 capsule on that guitar, which has a nice punchy sound to it.”

SPEEDING FOR A BLEEDING

Schick’s speed has a purposeful side effect especially important to a one man overdub session.

“I try to keep things pretty loose and not worry about making anything perfect,” he explained.

“If we needed to go back and fix something, we

would, but it was about getting all the parts down first, trying to capture great live performances, and hearing it all together.”

Quickly chasing performances and living with imperfections kept them from getting “too bogged down in details,” said Schick, which can too often happen with overdubs and kill the vibe.

“With only two people in the room, if you get fixated on a part you lose the momentum. The key is to keep momentum going and letting the record build itself.”

While moving fast helped recreate the performance aspect of a band playing together, “the one thing missing is the bleed between instruments,” said Schick. The Loft layout helps in that regard, because the control room isn’t isolated from the tracking floor. “Sometimes we’d have the speakers on and he’d play along, rather than isolating him in the headphones. You’d get a little of the track bleeding into the microphone of that take.

Every once in a while we’d blend a room mic when he was doing a guitar pass.” Overall though, said Schick, the most important part was “capturing the live performance. If you’re doing that, it’s going to feel live.”

On a couple of occasions, musicians were brought in to play instruments Dempsey couldn’t, like horns on a couple of tracks and pedal steel on the last. The studio manager said he knew some

people who could stop by, one of whom happened to be Brian Wilson’s band leader, Paul Von Mertens.

On the rocker, Morningless, Dempsey wanted to double the bass line with a bass sax, not realising how difficult the part would be to play in real life.

“I can’t play a bass saxophone, so I gave absolutely no consideration to how much air a person has to push through a horn that big to produce a sound,” he explained. “And, of course, the part is fast. Paul came in and said, ‘This is a crazy part. What are you doing?’ I was like, ‘Really? S**t, sorry.’ But he really wanted to give it a try because he wasn’t sure if it could be done. There was a little cutting and pasting involved to tighten a couple of things, but he gave it a valiant go and nailed the whole song.

Then he did it on baritone as well. By the time Paul had finished, his lip was bleeding from frantically trying to push air through the sax.”

where we should mix the record. I thought we were getting great roughs here, so we should try to mix it at The Loft too. We gave it a shot, and booked a day at another studio to see what there difference was.

We really liked the results we got at The Loft and Jeff realised we could make records from start to finish here.

a rack of 20 API pres and EQs that sit next to the console. There’s also an EMT gold foil plate, an AKG spring reverb, and some nice echo boxes like a Binson Echorec, and some analogue delay pedals for fun. We also procured a few more microphone choices.

VOCAL PULL

While Dempsey gravitated to the drums early, it was surprising that he was a late comer to vocals, considering he grew up in a house full of trained opera singers. It was only out of necessity, when Something For Kate couldn’t find a vocalist, that he stepped into the role. “I came late to singing, but was lucky enough to have a household of singers to give me some tips,” said Dempsey. “I really project from my diaphragm and sing with my whole body;

THE LOFT GEARS UP While The Loft’s floor stock is constantly evolving, the control room setup has come along in greater leaps. The original intention for The Loft was for it to be a rehearsal/tracking space, but things have changed since Schick put down his roots. Schick: “The first record I did with Jeff there was the Mavis Staples record, which was on a Sony console, and the master section wasn’t really working. They had a lot of API pres, and a good amount of gear was there. We did a lot of recording, then Jeff asked AT 22

“After the Mavis record, the studio got more serious.

We got a mid to late seventies Neve broadcast board with the 33118 modules, a Neve BCM10 sidecar, and

“We have a Studer A27 always set up, and everything goes through the inputs of the tape machine. The Pro Tools rig is hooked up after it. If you want to record to tape, you can do it. Or sometimes, if we’re moving really fast, we’re just going right to Pro Tools.”

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AT 24

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I don’t know how to do it any other way. When I’m breathing the right way, and singing the way the technique will dictate it just comes out in this loud, gravelly production.

“I’m completely aware I have a particular voice that some people like and that make the hairs stand up on the backs of people’s necks as well. There’s nothing I can do about it. When I’m working with a producer I’m open to them saying, ‘give it a shot and do something different.’

“On our first records I was always singing into a Neumann U47 through a Neve. Now I use a Shure SM7 on pretty much everything. It just seems to flatten out my voice in the right kind of way, because I’ve got a particularly sibilant voice when I sing.”

At The Loft he used the SM7, through the Neve BCM10 sidecar into a Urei 1176. Dempsey is also dead against pitch correction: “It doesn’t agree with me on a philosophical level, if I don’t sing it right I just sing it again. I’m a bit of a stickler about warming up vocals too. I learnt on those early records that I’d sing a song 10 times and may be on the eleventh time it’d actually start to sound good.”

“He would do a few takes and a lot would be full performances with a couple of lines comped,” recalled Schick. “The SM7 has a closeness to it that sounds better in a performer’s headphones when they’re working the mic. Mostly I just had the low frequency rolloff on the EQ, and added a little bit of top end. The 1176 adds a bit of upper mid range to it, and I’d sometimes add a de-esser to it, because dynamic mics can sometimes get a little ess-ey.

I don’t usually do a ton of hard EQ. I try to get it right with mic choice and placement. If I have to do extreme EQ, I feel like I’ve done something wrong and I’m trying to compensate.”

HAPPY COINCIDENCES

When it came to the final mix, Schtick had already been through multiple rounds of roughs for each song. Still, he starts with the same process of relying on balance and panning at the beginning of a mix. “I try to start panning either hard left, hard right or centre and make it work that way,” he said.

“I give myself limitations to get everything sitting right in that puzzle, which helps me figure out if the arrangement’s right; if I’m missing something or there’s too much stuff. If I get it close, I’ll bring parts in a little and do more detailed panning.”

He also doesn’t bother zero-ing out the console whenever he brings up a new song to mix. “I don’t totally reset it, because sometimes you’ll bring it up on the same faders as the song before it and you’ll hear something you wouldn’t have ever done. For instance, you might find the acoustic guitar sounds really cool with all that reverb.”

Unlike Dempsey, who likes to cycle through producers, Schick has often worked with the same artist over multiple records. These days, Schick is pretty well served by his relationship with Wilco.

Having constant work, and a consistent place to work out of is nothing to be sneezed at, considering many of the studios he used to work out of in New York are closed down. He credits that longevity in his working relationships to not sticking to

Engineer Tom Schick in a position you won't often catch him in at The Loft — sitting down at his Pro Tools workstation.

any particular formula. “I like to have fun in the studio and not be precious about anything,” he said. “Have the focus be on the music and not on the engineering. I like to make it so people feel comfortable being creative. Usually when I do a record with somebody, we end up doing another one, and I can usually do it within a budget because we work fast.”

In just one three-week trip, Dempsey and Schick were able to record and mix the entirety of Strange Loop, with one person playing almost every instrument on 11 tracks. That’s fast. Who knows, maybe Dempsey will loop back again one day.

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FEATURE

BEAUTY IS IN THE

EARS OF A DUMMY Are high sampling rates a cure or a curse? Chesky records stands by them, and pays top dollar to ensure both tracks of its ‘Binaural +’ recordings make the most of every I and O. Story: Paul Tingen

Artist: Macy Gray Album: Stripped

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True to its name, Macy Gray’s ninth studio album, Stripped, is a minimalist affair. The mainstream music press reported it as a revival of the simpler days — recorded in a church, over two days, with a single microphone and no overdubs. It matched the picture of a singer going back to basics to record a selection of older songs, some new ones and the occasional cover with only a small jazz combo as accompaniment. Unsurprisingly, that revivalist image only told half the story.

For starters, Stripped was not recorded by only one mic, but by two. Specifically, it was recorded with a B&K 4100 D Binaural ‘head’, which has a mic in each ear. Stripped also has no compression or EQ (as we know it), was recorded to 24-bit/192k, and released by New York audiophile label Chesky Records, as part of its ‘Binaural +’ series.

Normally, binaural recordings sound wonderful on headphones, but don’t translate well to speakers.

However, a collaboration between label co-founder and co-owner David Chesky, and Professor Edgar Choueiri of Princeton University — known for his research into advanced spacecraft propulsion — has resulted in technology that renders binaural recordings compatible with speaker playback.

Hence the ‘+’.

Chesky’s Binaural + series is the most recent of many moves the company has made to remain at the forefront of recording and playback technology.

The label was started in 1978 by David Chesky and his brother Norman, and has since been a leader in the audiophile market. In 2008, long before Tidal and Pono, the Chesky Brothers founded HDTracks.com, where all Chesky releases, as well as a wide variety of other albums, by artists from Jimi Hendrix to Alanis Morissette to Bela Bartok, can be downloaded as uncompressed files with resolutions up to 24-bit/192k. The blurb on the Chesky Records website notes that “we’re living in the Golden Age of headphone design,” and the Binaural + series aims to cater for connoisseurs of the headphone market, and attract a younger audience more inclined to listen via headphones than by any other means. Adding an established pop/R&B name like Macy Gray to the label’s roster helps serve both purposes at the same time.

PRINCETON’S HIGH-FIDELITY BLESSING

Over the course of several phone calls to New York — where David Chesky also works as a composer, producer, arranger, and musician — he elaborated on some of the company’s philosophies and technical approaches, and the innovations resulting from his work on ‘future audio technology’ with Professor Choueiri at Princeton. Together with engineer Nicholas Prout, Chesky explained how these philosophies and technologies were applied on the Macy Gray project.

Chesky is clearly a driven man, who talks fast and with great intensity. He began by addressing the entire raison d’etre of his company: “We pioneer HD audio, but unfortunately we live in a time of cheap consumerism, fast food and disposable everything. However, the pendulum can swing, and we should always try to do the best work we can. If we make a film, we want to shoot it in 70mm rather

than 16 or 8mm. If we have tools like that, in our case high-definition audio, why not make use of them to the best of our ability? Why make things cheap and bad when we can make them great?

There’s a world that goes for the lowest common denominator, and there’s a world that’s utopian.

Eating in McDonald’s is not the same as eating in a great French restaurant. We try to offer the latter.”

Chesky’s utopian vision of quality over quantity is not only embodied in the label’s technical approach, but also in the music Chesky Records releases. Despite the great variety of genres, including jazz, classical, pop, R&B, folk and world music, performed by artists who rarely enjoy mainstream recognition (Macy Gray is one of very few exceptions), Chesky releases have an identity that oozes high-quality, in a manner similar to the sonic and aesthetic identity of releases by the German label, ECM Records. In the past Chesky releases were recorded with as few microphones as possible, using custom-made valve desks and the latest in digital technology. The label’s Binaural + series defines the label’s identity and sound with even greater clarity.

“What we’re about is capturing great musicians in a great space,” explained Chesky. “We take beautiful aural photographs of musicians playing together in a real space. As good as high definition audio is, if the musicians aren’t great, or they’re not playing in a great space, it won’t work. If Madonna works in a studio and creates a song using 64 tracks and tons of overdubs, that’s okay, because that’s the world she lives in and that’s what she wants to do. Similarly, if someone wants to express himself through Hip Hop, that’s the way they do it.

But our recipe is capturing real musicians in a real space, playing music together. We’re not trying to be everything to everybody; instead, we’re being very selective.

“With regards to our binaural recordings, we do a different type of binaural. Our recordings are a hybrid version of binaural that work perfectly on headphones and on speakers. If you listen back on speakers, it sounds like it was recorded by two spaced omni mics. The technology was developed

by Dr Edgar Choueiri of Princeton, with whom I have been working for many years now. They’re BACCH 3D Sound filter cancels crosstalk between speakers, and in so doing retrieves a 360-degree sonic hologram of the binaural recording. The recordings have height and depth, as well as width, and you can hear things above you and behind you, and so on. We use a Diffuse Field EQ which also makes sure that ambisonic recordings translate better to speakers.

“Normally when you listen to speakers there’s corruption from crosstalk, because your ears are hearing both speakers at the same time, but the filters developed by Dr Choueri at Princeton’s 3D Audio & Applied Acoustics Lab correct for this. It means we can put the listener in a virtual space. Think of it as virtual reality for audio. This definitely is the way of the future. It’s where we’re heading. The other aspect that’s important for this is that we need high sampling frequencies to be able to auto-locate sounds, as we do in nature. The

We take beautiful aural photographs of musicians playing together in a real space ear needs at least 10ms to auto-locate, and 96k and 192k sampling rates give you better location and imaging. 44.1k is not enough; at that sampling rate, the lens is still a little blurred.”

IRATE OVER SAMPLES

The mind — and ears — may boggle a little at all this utopian talk, especially when introducing relatively new and obscure technologies like Choueri’s BACCH 3D Sound and Diffuse Field EQ. Moreover, in championing 192k, Chesky also takes a position that is in some quarters regarded as controversial, as there are plenty of fairly credible papers and blogs doing the rounds that state that 24-bit (as a playback format) and sampling rates above 60k are overkill. In fact, some experts claim that 192k sampling rates can actually damage practical fidelity because of intermodulation distortion cause by nonlinearity at high frequencies (for more, read Justin Colletti’s blog on sonicscoop.com called The Science of Sample Rates, and the credited paper

by Lavry at lavryengineering.com/pdfs/lavrysampling-theory.pdf).

The high sample rate debate has gone on for decades, at times degrading into flaming wars with both sides taking up mutually exclusive positions.

Instead of trying to single-handedly resolve the conflict, let’s bring things down to earth and see how these techniques panned out in practice with the recordings of Macy Gray’s Stripped.

As with all other Chesky releases, David Chesky is credited as producer (in this case alongside his brother Norman). David explained how the project came into being, and what his role was: “I have been involved in the making of every record Chesky has released, because everything we do is my concept and my vision. Our entire binaural series is as well.

BACCH IN BLACK & WHITE For more information on BAACH 3D Sound, you can head direct to the source at Princeton University to find a collection of info — princeton.edu/3D3A/Projects.html.

The concept is now commercially available in a hardware box developed by Theoretica (theoretica.us) called the BACCH Stereo Purifier (BACCH-SP). It’s also available to be integrated into software via BitCaludron’s Unity plug-in SDK (bitcauldron.com).

AT 27

Nicholas Prout setup a PA inside the Hirsch Center. He used it to project vocals, miked with a Beyerdynamic M160, out into the church to enhance the natural reverb.

However, I also like to give our artists the freedom to make the records they want to. In this case, it’s not a David Chesky record, it’s a Macy Gray record.

All I’m doing is helping capture an artist in a space.

I’m not trying to make a pop record or a hit record or trying to push an artist into doing something they don’t want to do. In fact, mainstream artists often come to us because they want to do something different and new and a little more creative. Macy picked the material, with some input from me, and then she rehearsed it with the band.”

From then on, freelance engineer Nicholas Prout was heavily involved. Prout has worked for Chesky Records since 1997, and has recorded, edited and mastered all Chesky Records releases for the last decade. He began life as a jazz drummer, studied at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, held staff engineering positions in Boston and New York, worked for a while as a mastering engineer at Foothill Digital, and currently also works at Chesky’s sister companies Manhattan Production Music (a music library) and HDTracks. In addition, Prout works on sessions unrelated to Chesky, notably he’s been the recording engineer of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra for the last 20 years.

“I think Macy and the band had two rehearsals in Manhattan,” recalled Prout, “during which they worked out the keys, roughed out the arrangements and got a general feel. David and I, and the entire Chesky recording team, were working on a different project earlier that week at The Hirsch Center, in Brooklyn, where we do most of our recordings [The other location is St. Paul’s Church, in Manhattan]. When Macy and the band came in to record, she knew what the songs were going AT 28

to be, and they further refined the arrangements over the two days we recorded. They even created a song from scratch. On the second day, to everyone’s surprise, Macy announced we were going to make up a song. David suggested a groove, the band made up the music and she made up the lyrics, all on the spot. They did three takes, and in postproduction I put together the best performance I could, creating the final arrangement after the fact. This became the final song of the album, Lucy.”

I switched the cables while standing behind the speakers, and even from that position the improvement in sound was dramatic

MAKING ROOM

According to Prout, the Chesky team normally spends a day setting up. The gear they use includes the B&K dummy head affectionately dubbed Lars, Crystal cables, an MSB Technologies Platinum Studio A/D converter going into a Sonic Studio Pro Model 303 eight-channel AES/EBU interface made

by Metric Halo. Then they record a stereo 192k file into a Macbook Pro using the Sonic Studio recording software included with the interface. A Mytek 8X192 AD/DA converter going into Logic is used as a backup system, which also provides monitoring feeds to the headphones. So far, so simple, and totally in keeping with Chesky Records’ perfectionist credentials. However, the gear list also includes a PA system, a Beyerdynamic M160A mic, a Mackie desk and some effects units, like a delay.

Are Chesky and Prout secretly cheating on their purist binaural approach?

“That mic has two functions,” explained Prout.

“First of all it gives the vocalist a focal point, and we encourage him or her to work the microphone.

Singers totally relate to that, because it’s what they do all the time. It also gives us a consistent position

from the singer in relation to the B&K head. But the M160 is not in the recording chain. Instead it gets sent to the PA system that we set out in the church, with the speakers directed outwards, away from the singer — this is how we add more room reverb to the vocal. The Beyerdynamic is a hypercardioid mic, so you don’t get a lot of leakage from the rest of the band, and because we usually want a very present vocal sound, we tend to ask the singer to be very close to the binaural mic, which means the singer will sound very dry. For the same reasons I also sent a touch of Wallace Roney’s trumpet to the PA. “Cranking the PA system adds more room reverb, if we want it, and I sometimes delay that signal by 120ms or so using a digital delay, to separate the reverb a bit from the dry signal. We want the PA to sound good, but we don’t go crazy with that gear. No super-expensive cables, for

Mixing was achieved purely by spacing each instrument a certin distance from the B&K mics in the dummy head.

Laying down some plywood helped liven up the takes.

example. The church has beautiful acoustics, which we like to use, but not always. For example, there’s a hideous green rug on the floor, which warms and dampens the sound. But sometimes it causes the sound of an instrument to die, in which case we put three-quarter inch plywood under the player to get a livelier sound. On Macy’s record both the bass and the drums are on plywood.”

REALITY CAN BE SPOOKY

“Because we have often worked at The Hirsch Center before, we know what it sounds like, and where to put the equipment to get the results we want on a project,” continued Prout. “What changes is where the musicians are positioned. In the past we had two eight-channel custom mono mixers with tube electronics and we used a Soundfield microphone to pick up as much as we could, and then added two or three spot microphones.

The fewer microphones you have up, the purer your sound is going to be. We now only do binaural recordings and if you add any additional microphones the ambisonic effect collapses, so that was an adjustment for me. It really becomes a matter of: if you want some more guitar, move the guitarist closer to the microphone. With Macy’s record there were just three players, guitar, drums, double bass, and a singer, plus occasionally Wallace on trumpet, so that was relatively easy.

“Before the musicians arrive, David and I discuss how he wants the final product to sound, as far as where in the stereo field the instruments should be and how present, so when the musicians come in we get going pretty quickly. In this case, the band came in before Macy so they had some

time to run through songs and we had time to get the balance we wanted. We monitor in a separate room, with headphones on, and the moment the musicians play, it is apparent right away what adjustments need to happen. The dummy head has rubber ears with B&K mics in the ear canals, and with headphones on we’re in the same position as the dummy head in the room. The realism that we experience while we’re listening back to the recording in that side room, with headphones on, is uncanny. If someone in the church stands behind the microphone and makes an unexpected sound, we all turn our heads. It’s so realistic, it’s spooky.

“We mix the sound while recording by placing the musicians in the stereo field. This has to do with balance, panning, and presence, and I will go into the church and talk to the players about these. It may be a matter of asking someone to play a little louder, or softer, or I’ll move a chair a little bit, because the imaging is not quite where I want it to be. If we want an instrument or singer to be really present, we place the musician or singer right next to the mic. With the Macy Gray album, we really wanted the bass player, Daryl Johns, to have punch and presence and immediacy, so he’s placed right next to the mic, in the right channel. Russell Malone, the guitarist, also was fairly close to the microphone on the left, but his amplifier was about 20 feet back, because I wanted some space on his sound. Although, because he was sitting close to the microphone and playing a semi-hollow body you hear a little bit of the natural acoustic sound of the guitar as well. Ari Hoenig played drums, and we wanted those to sound very present as well, so he’s pretty tight on the microphone too. Macy was

closest to the dummy head, though, and the general rule for these sessions was: ‘If you can’t hear Macy, you’re playing too loud!’

“In general, the more experienced the musicians are, the more they like this way of recording, and the better they adapt to the situation and play with dynamics. They get it right away. All the players on Macy’s record had recorded for Chesky before so they knew what to expect, and they all rose to the challenge! To me that’s what music is: people playing together, listening to each other and reacting to what they hear. The musicians don’t use headphones while recording, but they do come in and listen through any of the many headphones we have lying around, and they can immediately hear how they are coming across. That also is a very important part of the process because usually if they hear the playback they know how to adjust their performance to what the microphones pick up.”

PURITY AT ALL COSTS

One detail conspicuously missing from the above equipment list and descriptions are monitor speakers. Prout explained that it’s part of Chesky Records’ wholesale switch to the binaural recording approach, and keeping that associated mindset in focus: “We used to bring speakers, but not anymore. Because we are recording for people with headphones, that’s what we use while recording.

Many headphone manufacturers are aware of what we’re doing, so they supply us with an array of different headphones that we and the musicians can listen to, from headphones costing $500 to one pair costing $5000. I personally listen to my custom-moulded Ultimate Ears in-ears. They are AT 29

The general rule for these sessions was: ‘If you can’t hear Macy, you’re playing too loud!

not the most comfortable in the world, but I feel they accurately represent what I’m recording. Some of the more expensive headphones sound amazing, but have very little to do with the truth of what we’re actually laying down.”

While Prout leaves the uber expensive headphones for the end listener, the rest of the recording chain is as high-end and expensive as it gets. The B&K Head And Torso Simulator (HATS) costs so much money that dealers ask customers to call in to get a quote — which will probably come in at around the AU$20,000 mark.

From there the recorded signal goes from one of two mic pres (supplied with the HATS) via Crystal Cables (which start at AU$700 a pair and can cost up to a staggering AU$7000 per cable) to the MSB AD Converter, and so on. While a twoday, two-track recording process free of constant credit card payments to update software may sound comparatively cheap, the initial gear outlay is significant.

“Crystal cables are very expensive,” agreed Prout, “but they sound amazing. We made a recording in Sweden a couple of years ago of an orchestra playing three concertos by David Chesky. We brought our whole setup, including the Soundfield mic we used at the time, but one cable was not sent, a six-foot link in the chain, so I used a regular cable instead. When our Crystal cable arrived the next day, I switched the cables while standing behind the speakers (which we were using for this session), and even from that position the improvement in sound was dramatic. Every link in the chain is important. I really like B&K microphones, and the MSB converter is the best converter we have heard.

Every step in the chain makes a big difference, and we always try to refine that.”

RELEASE RATE

So far, so admirably purist. But there comes a moment when even Chesky Records needs to knock these pristine recordings into a shape that can be released. The post production is mostly performed AT 30

by Prout, explained David Chesky, who likened his own role to that of a movie director. “Nick goes in and finds the best takes, and edits out the wrong notes. It’s like the director in a movie and an editor.

The director gets all the takes in, and gives them to the editor, who then puts them together. Most of the time we try to use complete takes, but it is live, and if there are flaws Nick will go in and find something better from another take and insert that. His job is to make sure the product goes out sounding great based on the material we captured.”

“We usually record two or three versions of each song,” said Prout. “With Macy there were sometimes even fewer takes, because we didn’t want to burn her out and spend the whole day on a song. I go into the editing room at Chesky, load everything into Sonic Studio’s SoundBlade software, and create the best version of each song.

With the amazing players we had on Macy’s record it was not so much a matter of fixing mistakes as simply including all the good stuff. There might have been a particularly exquisite bass fill in one take, or a better intro, or ending, and you say to yourself: ‘That has to be in there.’ When I get it to a stage I’m happy with, I send a sequence to David and the artist so they can listen and give feedback. I then make whatever changes are needed and that’s it. A couple of songs with Macy were shortened because we felt the soloing could be cut a bit.

“The next step is for me to apply the Diffuse Field EQ, and then master the project. Traditionally this involves balancing the tracks to each other. You don’t want the listener to be running to the volume controls for different tracks. The second aspect is getting it as hot as I can, without using compression.

Overall we try to make it sound exactly the way it sounded the day we recorded it. I don’t normally apply EQ, unless for emergencies. I apply a highpass filter at 20Hz to the recordings at The Hirsch Center, because it’s a very noisy environment. You can hear helicopters and aeroplanes, and the busy street and subway that are nearby, all competing with the rumble of the heating system.

“I also sometimes use EQ if a fix is absolutely needed. There was a record we did recently where there was something odd coming from the position of one of the singers. I dipped the mid-range just when he was singing, and only on one song.

Equalisation degrades the sound. You’re altering the signal, and we try very hard not do to that.

We want the listener to be as close to the original recordings as possible, which is why we have the ultra clean signal path, with very few stages between the microphone and the hard drive. I think you can hear that.”

HEARING PLACEMENT

Stripped undoubtedly sounds wonderful, and it’s great to hear a modern recording with its entire dynamic range intact. The remaining question is whether end listeners can hear that the entire project was recorded in 24-bit/192k. David Chesky stated that his target audience “is a sophisticated person, with a good stereo who wants to appreciate good acoustic music,” and argued that this person would be able to hear the difference between the 192k download version of the album (which is a whopping 3.3GB), and the CD version. “Yes, if you are playing back on a good system, the 192k version will sound a lot better.”

This writer put this to the test, but sadly, perhaps after several decades of rock ’n’ roll abuse, his ears could not spot the difference between the two versions. However, my 14-year old son, with young and completely unspoilt ears, picked out the HD version three times in a row during blind testing, each time within seconds. He used words like ‘smoother high’, and ‘more detail in the bass’, terms I’d never discussed with him before, so words had hardly been put into his mouth.

This obviously throws up several cans of worms.

Detractors claim it’s impossible to hear what my son heard, so how could he? Moreover, Chesky’s target audience is more likely in the 30+ range, and certainly not young teenagers. If anyone could hear any benefits to HD Audio, it’ll be the younger generation. The same generation that has grown up largely ignorant of and indifferent to hi-fidelity audio and may be ruining its ears with relentless high-volume headphone abuse.

The HD controversy undoubtedly will rage on.

Meanwhile, perhaps it’s best to simply listen to that Macy Gray album, and enjoy the music as it envelops you — whether you’re listening to it on headphones or not.

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FEATURE

Harts is like a funky version of Kevin Parker, smashing out blazing modern soul and funk rock from his budget collection of gear in his bedroom studio.

Story & Photos: Mark Davie

Artist: Harts Album: Smoke Fire Hope Desire

AT 32

Harts' bedroom studio is his sanctuary. He produced the whole of his latest album Smoke Fire Hope Desire from here, with Roland drum triggers, cheap gear and great ears.

It hasn’t been the smoothest ride for independent artist Darren Hart, aka Harts, but occasionally enduring a stop start journey and going round in circles has had its up-sides. Harts has always been a prodigy, regardless of the field.

Early on, it was the athletics oval, where he trained every sinew to deliver him down the stretch. These days he channels that fine muscle control to his extremities, laying down impressive finger work on his psychedelically-painted Squier Strat. He doesn’t need no vintage American-made guitar to rock.

That guitar work, and the songs he writes, captured the attention of none other than the late Prince — his ringing endorsement was saying Harts reminded him of a younger version of himself — and The Roots’ Questlove, who commissioned him to be the Australian representative for a Lenny Kravitz-helmed remake of their song The Fire for the Rio Olympics. His axemanship even landed him in the backseat of a modified Subaru WRX playing his guitar while the driver revved the wah wah throttle pedal. Not the most comfortable ride, but they got it to work, and it worked for Harts.

DEAL DONE RIGHT

All that attention — from the Paisley Park visits, to the car ads — was doing Harts’ negotiating position big favours when he went shopping for a record deal. Back in 2011, he was signed to Universal Music for his first EP, five years later, he came full circle to sign a licensing deal with Dew Process, a label under Universal’s banner. He’d been negotiating for about a year with the label while those endorsements were filing in; his festival sets were getting later in the evening as punters cottoned onto his good-time soul/funk stage show; headline sets sold out and moved to bigger venues;

and Triple J more eagerly put him on rotation — to the point where his latest album, Smoke Fire Hope Desire, was a Triple J feature album.

He learnt a lot about record deals from that first direct signing, and was adamant he wanted to stay fiercely independent. His new deal means he still owns all his master recordings, through his own label Offtime Music, licensed to Dew Process. He gets to decide when his releases come out, taking on the advice and experience of the label and his long-time manager. “ I’d always wanted to work with a label,” he said, “but I also wanted to be able to call the shots about when things went out.”

Though, now he’s got control, he’s on the other side of the table, stressing about whether he’s rushing the schedule rather than being frustrated by delayed release plans.

Harts is happy with his new deal, which is reflective of the way he makes music — fully in control of the process from start to finish. His recently released full-length, Smoke Fire Hope Desire was made much the same way his album and EP were done before that; in his bedroom, with a modicum of gear.

He didn’t plan to keep the same recording and mixing process, but during the year he was floating between US label meetings, all they wanted to hear was new material. “I started writing and recording around CMJ, but for no real purpose,” recalled Harts. “The Breakthrough EP cycle had just finished, and I could either take a break and do nothing, or try get a single back on radio right then.” He pitched a few things and Peculiar made its way onto Triple J and a few US stations, which got him thinking about putting together another album. “I wasn’t really thinking about a new way of recording,” he said, “because I was just doing it and naturally fell into the way I’d been recording in here.”

But when you push that clipping to the maximum, all of a sudden you get this super heavy distortion…

That paved the way for my really distorted guitar tones on the record

BEDROOM ON A BUDGET

The small barely treated room in Melbourne where Harts makes his music has a Logic workstation on an iMac and a pair of Behringer Truth monitors sitting alongside some Polk hi-fi bookshelf speakers. He uses a couple of multi-track recorders — including a Yamaha AW1600 and a Boss BR-600 — for specific channel strip settings on the way into his M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R interface.

His vocal mic is a Behringer B1 large diaphragm condenser. It’s a very budget setup. That’s the way Harts operates. Like his Squier Strat shows, he’s not fixated on ‘must-have’ Neves and vintage compressors, he’s focused on what sounds he can manipulate out of the gear he already owns.

He also uses samples to augment whatever he can’t record adequately in his bedroom. A technique he learnt out of necessity, but developed into an aesthetic early on in his career. “I used to do dance work for Ministry of Sound when I was AT 33

Most people wouldn't consider the Yamaha AW1600 hard disk 16-track machine to be a tone machine, but Harts gets his signature fuzz tone by clipping the input gain… hard.

I’m not a trained engineer and I was just doing what sounded right to my ears

coming up,” he explained. “I learnt all about sweeps and drops and how to build dynamics in that style of music. It’s great for my music, because if I did the straight revivalist thing, it would be like a lame version of Jimi Hendrix.”

He skewers any chance of that label right at the beginning of the album. The down-tempo opening to Smoke is distantly vintage and swathed with tape modulations. The laid-back swung groove and vocal-mimicking guitar lines sounds like Hendrix riffing in a moment of downtime while the tape operator finds the sweet spot. The vintage revivalist facade quickly fades out to make way for Harts as a real funk force, and he doesn’t let up from there.

Harts’ sample techniques and the moves he picked up on the dance floor show themselves right away with his drums sounds. He currently has a Questlove breakbeat kit made by Ludwig, but it really doesn’t matter what drum kit he uses.

He places Roland triggers on the kick and toms, and airballs the cymbals during tracking so he can play them in with a MIDI keyboard after the fact. He triggers a mix of live drum samples he’s recorded over the years while engineering other bands, with more dance-specific samples from Native Instruments’ Battery and a smattering from Addictive Drums. “I might just use the attack from a dance kick in Battery and blend it with the body of a live one,” he explained. “Then that attack cuts through the mix.”

He records the Ludwig snare with the lid off a Shure SM58, tuning it loosely with plenty of ring, then whacking a wallet on the skin to tighten up the overtones. “I put a wallet on it to make it super tight because I’m not a trained engineer and I was just doing what sounded right to my ears,” he said.

Though sometimes the wallet comes off. “In the right mix, like Red & Blue, that ring is exactly the sound I’m going for.”

The only other part of the drum kit he records live are the hi hats. “The hats are pawn shop hats that sound really lo-fi,” said Harts. “I used them a lot on songs like Power. They’re not pristine at all, which sits right with the snare. They don’t sound like any other hi hats I’ve heard.”

Part of the reason he keeps to his odd box collection of gear is, if nothing else, it’s unique.

One of those pieces is a Yamaha AW1600 16-track recorder. “It’s not a secret weapon,” said Harts, “but people wouldn’t think to go through a multi-track machine for a guitar tone.” True, most people wouldn’t. He actually learnt a lot of his engineering skills on that exact machine, particularly finding the onboard compressors provided a simple, yet AT 34

effective punch on guitars. He began by pulling together a patch for a clean sound on the unit, with a bit of compression, gain, noise reduction and EQ. The only external addition was a bit of spring reverb in Logic’s Space Designer. Then he realised that as he pushed the preamp gain on the channel, it started to clip in a really digital way. “But when you push that clipping to the maximum, all of a sudden you get this super heavy distortion,” he demonstrated. “That paved the way for my really distorted guitar tones on the record. The problem is, when you start pushing it to its limit, it doesn’t clip as dynamically. That’s the problem I had to get around, getting it to still clip in the same way without it limiting.” A side effect is when he plays higher notes, the clipping is less harsh, giving him a lot of clarity for those top note solos.

L OGICAL SIGNAL PATH

Harts keeps using Logic because it’s “super easy to get ideas out of, and if the sounds are in the ballpark, you can mix them to sound good.”

Built-in Logic instruments like the Mellotron patch feature prominently throughout the album, often blended with pads, or vice versa, he’ll fill out an electric piano sound on a rock song with a Mellotron sample. He’s also developed a few go-to patches, like the Moog-sounding bass sound he originally made for Red & Blue, but appeared all over Smoke Fire Hope Desire. It’s actually a bass guitar sample from a Sample Tank library processed with a plug-in chain anchored by the powerful grit of Waves’ Chris Lord-Alge bass plugin. “It sounds more like a Moog,” he said, playing the bass patch. “I started using that preset in a lot of material, because it was easy to get to when writing.

I left it because it added continuity between songs.

I use a lot of in-the-box Logic instruments for composing, and if it doesn’t sound bad, I don’t need to replace it.”

Harts has learnt a lot along the way, which has helped him get the most out of his tools without having to buy new ones. “You learn as you go,” he said. “I wasn’t the best at using compression and

EQ when I started — even when I was making the Daydream album. I’ve learnt a lot since then, working with people like Prince to see how it’s supposed to happen, and where I wasn’t using something as well as I could be.

“A big thing for me was learning how to use subtractive EQ instead of boosting the gain.

Things were getting too distorted and messy because I wasn’t creating room. As soon as I started subtracting and boosting the overall level, it was easier because it made more space for everything to sit.

“The other game changer was not over compressing all the material. It would get really hard when we got to mastering, because it was already super compressed, but it was holding the song together.

“I still wanted that super compressed Beatlesesque sound sometimes, but now I don’t have a whole guitar track on one channel, purely for dynamic reasons. Previously if guitar was on track one, it would stay on track one and I’d automate all the thresholds. This time I separated everything. You can still keep the dynamics but maintain that heavily compressed sound from all those records I love.”

STUDIO BRASS

Harts would eventually like to be able to record drums acoustically for his records, but with the caveat that it fit snuggly into his songwriting process. The idea of heading to another studio at the moment doesn’t seem to be a priority. The one instrument that would be most likely to coax him out of the bedroom would be the chance to record some real brass. “It’s something lacking from the sample libraries I use,” said Harts. “Live brass and live guitar seem to be the things sample libraries can’t really do well. Brass sounds okay in the mix, but a bit dodgy when it’s soloed.”

Whether you come to Harts because of the blistering solos, the foot-tapping funk, or the catchy hooks, his budget gear never gets in the way of a great song — even dodgy brass.

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www.sounddistribution.com.au AT 35

FEATURE

Tales from the Front Lines of

VR Audio It’s early days in VR. Not many people on the planet have finished and shipped a ‘Virtual Reality’ experience, but those pioneers have valuable insights from the VR audio production coalface. AT brings together four leading audio developers who’ve actually been there and designed the t-shirt. Each has experienced their own unique sonic journey in VR sound, dialogue and music.

Story: John Broomhall

AT 36

TODD BAKER

BARNEY PRATT

SIMON PRESSEY

MATT SIMMONDS

(freelance audio & music artist)

(audio director, Supermassive Games)

(audio director, Crytek)

(audio director, nDreams)

You need to understand the nature of the experience you’re trying to create for

LAND’S END

Developer: Ustwo

Land’s End is a VR adventure from the creators of Monument Valley. Set against spectacular landscapes, the player is tasked with awakening an ancient civilisation using the powers of their mind. Land’s End combines Ustwo Games’ award-winning approach to interactive storytelling with Samsung Gear VR, creating a virtual reality experience you can take anywhere.

Music in VR is multi-faceted. In a passive linear experience like a movie, you’ll hear diegetic music — i.e. music emanating from somewhere in the movie world which the characters can hear. It could be anything from a radio playing in or out of shot to an orchestra playing at a concert attended by the characters.

Then there’s non-diegetic music which helps the audience decode and emotionally interpret what’s onscreen by clueing them into a character’s feelings or intent. Even in regular ‘first person’ perspective videogames this can raise questions around who the underscore music is for, when you — as the player — are the character actively participating and creating the action. VR raises the question of ‘Who’s the music for?’ even more acutely, and audio developers are finding music can very easily bump you out of the experience.

Each case is different but certainly music needs to be highly appropriate, strongly connected with the environment and characters — possibly even melded with the soundscape/sound design. It can even be diegetic, but designed to deliver emotional messages from within the VR environment itself.

Todd Baker: “There’s an established language in film and games, where you’re used to hearing non-diegetic music all the time. This highlights the true difference of VR, you’re actually not looking at VR on a screen. There’s this removal of the ‘fourth wall’. So if you’re standing on the edge of a cliff with the 3D ambience giving you all the realistic cues for that environment, and then a music cue kicks in, it’s like somebody just put headphones in

HEADS UP WITH THE DISPLAY Todd Baker (Audio/Music Artist): “It’s really important to have access to VR headset tech early on in the game’s development. You need to understand the nature of the experience you’re trying to bring to life with audio. The sooner you get the headset on, the better. While not a world apart, if you’ve worked on a 3D game (a first person game, in particular), there are key areas of difference.

your ears! It’s very easy for music to take you out of the experience and make you question why you’re hearing it. That said, it’s not like music doesn’t have a place. It’s such a powerful tool, so it’s a case of coming up with approaches that aren’t distracting.”

Barney Pratt: “With Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, we decided that all music would be diegetic with a 3D position in the world. We placed visible loudspeakers wherever we wanted and as the concept grew, evolved a back story for their presence, further enhancing their diegetic appeal whereby they embody the mood of the ever present character who guides you. He scares you, laughs at you, and plays spooky music, all to help drive the overall experience. A strong design edict of only having diegetic music resulted in a very immersive game element. We have a lot of licence with Rush of Blood — we could put visually fantastic gramophone speakers throughout, which look like part of the world — whereas another game might be set in nature, for example, and therefore not have that opportunity.”

Matt Simmonds: “Conversely, in narrativedriven The Assembly, incidental score works because the title’s not so obviously ‘first person’, mitigating that feeling of ‘Why is there music following me around?’ By two or three chapters in, the player is settled with the interface/ viewpoint and we bring in incidental music. It’s not everywhere though, and we’ve also made ‘spot’ radios part of our game world. Actually, I’ve found incidental music score can greatly enhance the experience and it really doesn’t feel out of place

“A good thing about the mobile VR platform is you can take the headset anywhere — you just need a phone and the headset — so I was able to take ‘game builds’ home very easily and play in different environments using different headphone options.”

within a narrative experience.”

Todd Baker: “With Land’s End I took a very holistic approach with music and sound. For instance, there were lots of musical tonal elements in the interactional audio that were tuned to a key related to very subtle underscore elements. Music grows gently out of the ambiance at key points. It’s a light touch with very blurred lines between sound and music.”

SHIFTING SOUNDS

Though VR clearly creates dramatic opportunities for sound to provoke strong visceral responses, arguably sound designers have to throw out at least some of the rule book and find some new tropes and techniques.

Barney Pratt: “From the outset we knew we would have to adjust our approach, opening the door to experimentation. Certain things we’d taken for granted simply didn’t work in the VR realm. Rush of Blood exists in the same world as Until Dawn, but the step to VR meant continually reshaping the experience from a cinematic to a more immersive one.”

Matt Simmonds: “The first immediate VR sound difference I noticed was how players respond to new environments. They spend much longer experiencing them, even if they’re not actively engaging with them. In that regard, we’ve had to rework our ideas on ambience over time by having things evolve gradually, and understanding players will be in the game space far longer than in flatscreen games. You need more attention to detail, AT 37

Choosing your moments is key to the emotional curve

UNTIL DAWN: RUSH OF BLOOD

Developer: Supermassive Games Strap yourself in for the most disturbing rollercoaster ride you’ll ever take. From the warped minds of the team behind PS4 horror classic Until Dawn, comes Until Dawn: Rush of Blood — a virtual reality experience to strike fear into the hearts of every trigger happy arcade shooter fan.

PULLING FOCUS Barney Pratt (Audio Director): “The way sounds are attenuated over distance has to sound more realistic than in a filmic experience, which creates challenges at long distance with sounds you want to prioritise. Early on, we realised that when characters or objects are very close to the player, we can really invade their personal space, creating audio events people feel they can literally reach out and touch. It can add a visceral layer of

creepiness when a character leans in to talk to the player, and it’s fantastic for VR horror scares.

We call it ‘pulling focus’. VR soundscapes have a lot more space but it’s a mistake to try and fill it with more sounds as any ‘clutter’ can be a tiring distraction. Choosing your moments is key to the emotional curve. Rush of Blood is an intense experience so having emotional lulls is just as important as pushing the highs.”

ROBINSON

Developer: Crytek

Set in the future, Robinson features a 12-year old survivor of a crash landing, whose space colony ship Esmerelda has experienced a catastrophic disaster. Robin starts exploring his new planet and finds a remarkable environment populated with incredible flora and fauna… and dinosaurs. He must maintain his healthy survival, learn why the disaster struck and possibly contact other survivors.

As soon as music started to play it was like, ‘What is this stuff doing in my world?

AT 38

STRONGLY—CONNECTED MUSIC MATTERS Robinson features a unique music score provided by composer ace, Jesper Kyd, but figuring out the right overall music design approach was not without its challenges.

Simon Pressey (Audio Director): “I was very concerned about music potentially bumping us out of the experience. Our early experiments in VR proved how easily this could happen — as soon as music started to play it was like, ‘What is this stuff doing in my world?’

“We found the music had to be totally coherent with the entire world and narrative. The key design pillars being Robin’s story and perspective, and the world and the mission of Esmerelda. The music continually makes reference to both. We kept the use of music minimal and intentionally simple — less truly was more with the Erik Satie-

esque compositional minimalism adding to the experience rather than taking it over. The overall simplicity and sense of naivety connect strongly to young Robin. The story is a ‘future fiction’ rather than pure science fiction because it’s Robin’s story and in fact about mankind’s desire to explore. So the music has a sense of wonder of the unknown.

“There’s also a cinematic approach with the music being used to help direct the player’s experience, expressing emotions related to the story. For example, when you’re seeing a vista of the world you’ve landed on for the first time, with the ruins of the crashed ship, one music cue expresses all the emotion connected to that — wonder, potential, loss, resolution — in a way words can’t.

Subsequently, elements of that music cue echo throughout the rest of the story and score.”

THE ASSEMBLY

Developer: nDreams

The Assembly is an intriguing first-person interactive drama in which players investigate a shadowy organisation that’s been conducting secret experiments, their astonishing breakthroughs only made possible by operating outside government scrutiny and society’s morals. But what is it hiding and how far will it go to keep its existence buried?

Actually, mixing and placement are kind of interchangeable going forward

populating even seemingly mundane objects with emitters to make them feel more solid.”

Barney Pratt: “One of the biggest mind shifts was meticulously giving all sounds, without exception, a true 3D position, otherwise they detracted. The in-world spatialisation of all sounds is vital.”

Simon Pressey described his team’s attention to detail with Crytek’s high-gloss Robinson title as nothing short of ‘fanatical’: “We’ve created a totally complete and coherent new world, every creature (and variation of it) from brontosaur to cockroach makes sound. The world is alive with sound, all playing in dynamically binaural 3D. VR takes visual immersion to a new level, and for that immersion to be believable and engaging, the audio reality has to complement and reinforce it.”

Matt Simmonds: “You’re operating in an audio setting with no framing. How much that affects sound design depends on the project, but it certainly changes your approach to many things. It’s about removing some of the traditional ‘go-tos’ we take as given. For example, I’ve found ducking, and ‘focused audio’ can take a step back.

MY FIRST VR PROJECT Matt Simmonds (Audio Director): “If you’re approaching your first VR project, my advice would be to think carefully about dialogue recording. It’s a difficult thing to manage but in a narrative game I think a larger sense of the scene’s environment comes into play. The player’s viewpoint eschews old concepts of a ‘game camera’ plus omitting ducking and sound focus removes the notion of the player’s audio being ‘controlled’. So, what are you left with?

“Record dialogue the way the actor would respond to environment. If it’s quiet, downplay it; you can even whisper in VR and have it work. Same with competing sound loudness, have them shout

I did use that approach for the main VO on one project but in future I’d rather re-work the way assets are recorded and placed.”

HOLY FOLEY

Whether or not the notional sounds of the user like footsteps or breathing should be included is a caseby-case judgement according to Todd Baker: “It comes down to the project and the particular world you’re creating. In Land’s End I included very gentle foley when you move between ‘look points’. It was a very subtle feeling of wind movement — a kind of ambiguous ‘flappiness’ — we talked about it like a spirit or a memory.”

Barney Pratt: “We decided against incorporating any breaths. We discussed possible heartbeat for stress situations but decided against that too.

However, for contact with the environment, where you actually see your feet walking, we have appropriate sound. That’s a correct response to the environment and quite natural, rather than forcing something on the player.

against the environment. For the latter, I think having crystal clear dialogue in the mix isn’t something you’ll strive for compared to a greater sense of realism. You rework dialogue so the implication is obvious even if the words are not.

“Also, get your third party technology choices settled early, start thinking about mixing sooner rather than later and allow generous scheduling for it. However, remember that mixing and placement are almost interchangeable going forward. Think ahead how you’ll deal with the obvious difficulty of having to wear the headset whilst mixing.”

BINAURAL UTOPIA?

Barney Pratt: “On paper, binaural encoding — or head-related transfer function (HRTF) — is a ‘ticked box’, ‘job done’, ‘best 3D audio’. However, that’s not necessarily the case. We’d often exclude sounds from the HRTF in Rush of Blood’s busy soundscape to improve the sense of directionality for the player. We’d only select sounds for HRTF filtering that wouldn’t suffer from the resultant lowend loss; the mulch.”

Todd Baker: “It does affect the character of the sound. I ended up not using HRTF at all on Land’s End. It’s interesting how a lot of the talks I’ve heard over the last couple of years have been very technically focused. I just had to ask, ‘do I need this? Is it actually going to make this project better?’ HRTF filtering affected the character of the sounds in a way I felt was undesirable. It’s definitely not a case of absolutely needing it. Even if you do use it, it’s going to most likely be on a select few sounds within a scene.”

AT 39

REGULARS

PC Audio If your PC audio whistles in time with the music, or has itchy/scratchy background noises, ground it until it behaves properly.

Column: Martin Walker

During my regular forays during the last 20 years onto Internet forums intended for the PC musician, there's one audio problem that has popped up with alarming regularity, never seems to get any easier to solve, and still results in lots of confusion and frustration. I refer to the humble ground loop, which since the onset of digital technology has moved on from infesting our audio with low-level background hums, to creating a raft of ticks, clicks, scratchy burbles, high-pitched whistles and various other digitised noises that often resemble covert conversations between various forms of robotic lifeforms. Some people simply assume the culprit is their audio interface and attempt to ignore such background noises, but the truth is that even the cheapest audio interfaces should nowadays be capable of very good audio quality with at most a tiny amount of background hiss from the circuitry.

LOOPING THE LOOP

So what causes the problem? Well, the simplest ground loop occurs when you have two gear items each separately grounded via their mains cable earth, and then you connect the two via a screened audio cable. For a musician, this typically happens when you attach your desktop PC to an external audio interface with its own power supply.

Laptops/notebooks/notepads suffer the same issues if connected to their own earthed PSUs, but should be immune if run from battery power or via Class-2 double-insulated PSUs. As soon as the ground loop is 'completed', current flows through these multiple paths to ground causing low-level signals to be heard in the audio path. The smaller the loop, the lower the current that flows, which is why you can often minimise such interference by making sure all your mains-powered gear is connected by distribution boards to a single mains socket.

For example, I once connected a MIDI controller keyboard in my studio to a mains socket on the other side of the room from the one used by my PC, and experienced nasty audio glitches that were immediately cured by moving the keyboard PSU to my PC mains socket. Ground loop noises can also be surprisingly unpredictable. You may have a dozen gear items connected together in perfect AT 40

sonic harmony, despite incorporating several ground loops, but then replacing your PC with a different model or adding one more gear item results in nasty noises that prove difficult to track down and eradicate.

GETTING GROUNDED

The ideal way to cure audio ground loop problems is of course to break all such loops, but without compromising electrical safety by removing any earth wires from the mains plugs themselves (if your gear ever develops a fault, you could electrocute yourself if you've removed its safety earth connection). Since it's quite possible to end up with multiple ground loops that each affect the other, the only sensible way to silence these annoying background noises once and for all is to unplug all the audio cables in your PC setup, which should result in perfect silence from your audio interface output. The aforementioned tiny amount of background hiss is acceptable, but shouldn't be audible at normal playback levels unless you press you ear right up to your loudspeakers. Listen to this background noise each time you plug in another audio cable into your setup, and if any ground loop noises reappear you need to break the loop you've just created.

If your audio interface/active monitors offer balanced I/O, using balanced XLR or TRS audio cables between them rather than unbalanced cables should help resolve most ground loop problems.

However, some commercial XLR cables still have their pin 1 erroneously connected to the XLR shell, so snip this connection if you still get ground loop problems. This 'pin 1 problem' is a well known issue (more at www.rane.com/note151.html if you're interested). One handy device to have in your tool box is a 'hum eliminator', incorporating an isolating transformer (you can buy supercheap ones from car accessory outlets, or more professional-sounding versions such as the ART Pro Audio Cleanbox range). Your audio gets through almost perfectly, but the 'galvanic isolation' of the transformer connection ensures that no ground loop is created. Use hum eliminators to fault-find noise-causing cable connections, and then either cut the earth at the destination end of the offending audio cable, or leave a Cleanbox

in place permanently (super-cheapy car hum eliminators tend to have tiny/grotty transformers with poor bass response and noticeable distortion at higher signal levels, although a few may like the resultant sonic changes). The most important thing is to be systematic and go slowly.

DIGITAL BITS & BOBS

Problems areas can arise when connecting some USB-connected synths and audio interfaces to your PC, because both your computer and USB device are earthed via their respective mains plugs, so the ground loop is, on this occasion, completed via the USB cable that connects the two. If unwanted noises only reappear when you plug the USB cable back in (or even touch the metal of its plug to the chassis of the other gear), you've confirmed the culprit. In the past it could be difficult to eradicate such problems, as 'USB isolators' tended to be rather upmarket items. However, you can now buy reasonably priced ones that work exactly like the 'hum eliminator', but for USB connections. Once you've confirmed it is indeed the USB connection that closes the loop, have a look on eBay for a modern in-line 'USB Isolator’; it looks like a large USB plug with a USB socket at the far end. With USB audio interfaces you can also sometimes run into background noise problems if connecting them via some USB hubs, so try to keep your audio connections as simple as possible.

Finally, if audio gremlins appear that don't respond to ground-loop tweaks, make sure that the problem isn't simply due to interference emanating from a nearby wall-wart/line-lump PSU. Try rotating the offending article to see if this reduces the noise, and leave it in the 'quietest' position.

However, wherever possible try to keep such boxes well away from audio cables, and if they must be close by, ensure their cables cross at right angles rather than running in parallel. It can also help to keep your mains and audio connections clean, as this will minimise any remaining ground currents.

After powering down and unplugging, I give mine a wipe down with Caig DeOxit contact cleaner about once a year. If your PC is currently whistling at you, don't put up with it!

AT 41

REVIEW

TRIAD-ORBIT

Microphone Stands & Booms You’ll never look at a cheap mic stand again after trying Triad-Orbit. In fact, you may never look at all mic stands the same way again.

Review: Mark Davie

O1

NEED TO KNOW

There is no greater example of ‘getting what you pay for’ than microphone stands. To a fault, I have never found a ‘cheap’ stand worth paying any money for. Let me list the faults, and you can all cringe along with me. Culprit number one: cheap plastic tensioning knobs. The outside of them can last an age, but a cheap plastic knob will have its guts milled out in one fell turn by the very screw it’s attempting to drive into a locking position. Forever more they will only lightly grip the screw and turn it until its ‘kind of ’ tight, but not tight enough. The result: everything slips.

Whether it’s a rotating microphone head (turning like König & Meyer in their graves); the bottom of your stand bumping into the floor; or a boom arm limply retreating from whence it came, nothing is safe from a cheap plastic knob.

Culprit number two, is the first’s bigger brother; the wing nut tensioning the boom arm pivot point.

Even without the repetitive tweaking of a fidgety lead singer, a cheap one of these — comprising nothing more than a couple of felt sheets rubbing together — will never be able to support anything

PRICE T2: $356 O1: $217 O2: $397 CONTACT National Audio Systems: (03) 8756 2600 or sales@nationalaudio.com.au

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PROS Extremely well built Quick-change couplers make mic & boom changes simple Single lock boom arm swivel No cheap plastic knobs

CONS Heavy to carry

SUMMARY Triad-Orbit makes the ultimate stands, if you can handle the heft. It fixes everything wrong with cheaper stands and adds-in its own features. The quick change coupler system means you will never have to wonder if another mic would have sounded better.

O2

remotely resembling a condenser microphone. From there, it’s anyone’s guess as to where an el cheapo stand will fail — glued on adaptor threads coming free and never being able to tighten down; end grips falling off; legs going floppy. The worst part about all of these is most cheap stands are difficult to repair; they may not have a screw to tighten, or if they do, it’s already stripped out by the tool in the factory. Either way, don’t waste your time. Buy something good.

STAND UP & BE COUNTED

Rant over; the question now becomes, how much is a good stand? I’ve been a pretty loyal K&M purchaser over the years, and have had a range from lighter-weight, budget-friendly options with welded on, non-telescopic booms, up to more fully-featured, heavy duty jobbies. They’ve all performed admirably for years. I’ve had others recommended as ‘good enough’ and they never have been. I’ve heard good things about other brands, but I’ve formed a ‘fool me once’ attitude with microphone stands that could probably do with some readjusting.

One stand I’d definitely lower my guard for is a Triad-Orbit. Ever since the brand’s debut, I’ve looked on with interest at these over-engineered black beauties. Even from afar, they look as if

they have all the requisite talents — no plastic knobs anywhere, a grippable locking swivel nut — which is actually the tightening agent for the stand’s central ball pivot joint, and plenty of places to stick an allen key and tighten things up.

Although it purports to be a regular-sized stand reaching similar heights and the same leg spread as a standard K&M boom, when I got a little closer, I realised this was no ordinary stand. I tried to lift the thing up with one hand and almost toppled over — it’s shockingly heavy. A standard high quality K&M boom is 2.8kg, the Triad-Orbit — with single-telescoping T2 stand and single O1 boom arm — came in at 7.75kg. While Triad-Orbit includes stage as a recommended use, it’s not for the average bump-in; it’s a heavyweight in the guise of a workaday stand.

WEIGHING IN

So, what do you get for all that weight. Well, everything. This stand can literally do it all. As well as the T2 base stand, and O1 single boom, we were also supplied with the O2 dual-arm boom. The O2 allows you to position two mics anywhere within its arm span of 1.5m, all on one stand. You can go-go gadget mics anywhere with that combo. At one stage, it became a very expensive short boom stand. We’d forgotten to bring one along to a recent

session, and needed to figure out how to get a kick mic through the resonant head port. We jerryrigged the O2 arm to the end of the boom (which, technically, you’re not supposed to do) and were able to slide the mic into any position we wanted inside the drum.

The central ball joint is really nifty too. By loosening just the one locking screw, you can swivel the head a full 360 degrees, and then, with the ball joint, you can do full 360 rotations either side of the stand and anywhere in between. I couldn’t think of a position the boom arm couldn’t assume. Even without all that 360 action, it would usually require loosening at least two screws to get horizontal and vertical boom swivel — Triad-Orbit only needs one. It also locks in amazingly well and I couldn’t over-tighten and strip it. I positioned my heaviest tube condenser at the end of the extended boom and it never sagged. I chickened out after a day and took it off, but it held long enough to prove the point.

All cheap plastic knob positions have been taken over by clutches. The clutch grips are knurled metal, with a rubberised coating for a more comfortable grip. Again, these hold really well, and as long as you tighten the largest boom clutch first, it’ll never rotate while you’re tensioning up the next one along the arm.

The legs can also be locked into different angles, allowing you to tilt the stand over if you desire.

This is where its weight is a bonus, keeping it AT 43

relatively stable. In fact, the weight means the Triad-Orbit can reliably reach further than most. Even though you can use the counterweight to help balance an extended load, it’s surprising how far out you can stick a mic without the stand toppling over.

TRY OUT A COUPLE

Lastly, Triad-Orbit’s quick-change coupler mechanism is a true time saver. Dream about this, studio engineers. Imagine you’ve spent a good couple of hours miking up your drums, listening for phase, double checking everything, and then you spot a pair of Neumann KM84s out of the corner of your eye, and a couple of Coles 4038s next to those. You look back at the AKG C414s already up and think about unscrewing the mic, then loosening the boom to rotate it out of the suspension mount. There goes that careful positioning. In a Triad-Orbit scenario, you’d have quick-change couplers in every suspension mount, and be able to switch between mics by simply pulling down on the locking collar to free one and replace it with another.

It’s a surprisingly secure solution. It seems impossible that anything would be able to firmly grasp the sides of the coupler’s hexagonal shaft, but heave away at it and it won’t come loose.

Triad-Orbit’s series is designed to be modular, you can just as easily mix ’n’ match microphone adaptors as you can boom arms and stands. They’re incredibly well-built, and while weighty, it does add to its use. I even took to it with an allen key, and found you can dismantle and tighten up almost every part, making fixing or replacing parts on your Triad-Orbit completely feasible. Whether you’re looking to replace an entire inventory of stands, or just need a new one to replace a cheap buy, think of an Triad-Orbit as a long term investment.

I’ve not seen a better microphone stand for the studio.

Legendary sound, reborn as an analog synthesizer module.

40 years on, the ODYSSEY continues...

Find your nearest KORG dealer: www.korg.com

AT 44

ARP Odyssey keyboard also available

AT 45

REVIEW

AVID PRO TOOLS DOCK

iPad-assisted Control Surface Avid’s Pro Tools Dock will be the centrepiece of your mix setup, if you let it.

NEED TO KNOW

Review: Anthony Garvin

PRICE $1820 CONTACT Avid: 1300 734 454 or www.avid.com

AT 46

PROS Solidly built Excellent fader Highly customisable

CONS Pricey, considering it requires a recent iPad Doesn’t dynamically update to plug-in selection

SUMMARY Avid’s Pro Tools Dock controller leverages the iPad’s power to exponentially increase the amount of touchpoints available to the dedicated in-the-box mixer. However, its price and operational style really demands it be the centrepiece of your setup. For dedicated S3 studio users, it’s almost a no-brainer.

My general philosophy flows over to the way I approach mixing: have fun and make life easy. Whilst software mixing has certainly made life easier, it hasn’t made it more fun. Control surfaces exist to help smooth over the gap between software mixing and hardware tactility to make the whole process more enjoyable. Who doesn’t like twiddling knobs and moving faders?

The best ones will get your hands off the mouse and keyboard without you even realising it.

When Avid announced the Pro Tools Dock over a year ago, I was so interested to see how far it could blur those lines that I put my hand up for the review way back then. It seemed that by combining the well-established EuCon protocol and a wealth of inherited Euphonix hardware knowledge, with the power and tactility of an iPad, Avid had the makings of a superior controller.

Obviously, getting all that power to play well together took its time, because it was a 10-month wait before the hardware was realised and a demo unit landed in my studio.

PIZZA DELIVERY

When that day finally came, I was surprised to unbox a unit the size of an extra-large pizza. It’s quite solidly built, and while it’s only 35cm wide, the Pro Tools Dock takes significantly more desk space than the Artist Mix or Control units because it needs about 40cm of depth to sit comfortably with an iPad mounted. While the Dock will technically function without an iPad, it’s limited to transport, jogwheel and fader control. If you’re buying a Dock, the iPad isn’t really optional, as it forms the central ‘brain’ required for navigation, plug-in control and all soft-assigned features.

With the initial real estate shock aside, I moved on to setting up the Dock with my Pro Tools system. Saying it was an involved process is putting it lightly, though the system has been very stable since. You see, whilst the Dock not only requires an iPad for most functions, it needs a fairly recent model — anything beyond the iPad Air, except for the incompatible 12.9-inch iPad Pro — with the Pro Tools Control app installed. The co-dependent computer requires at least Pro Tools 12.5, with the latest version of the EuCon software installed, and an ethernet connection to the Dock (either directly or through a network switch). It’s not a hugely demanding list of requirements, but certainly a few more hoops to jump through than your average USB-compatible controller.

When setting up the Dock via the EuControl settings, I found that whilst the Dock has a USB connection for the iPad, it turns out that connection only provides power. The PT Control app interfaces with EuControl over Wi-Fi, just like it does without the Dock hardware. Initially I was concerned about reliability and responsiveness, but it hasn’t been a problem at all, even when using a simple Bigpond router for my wireless network.

BOLT OUT OF THE BLUE Supercharge your desktop DAW system Ultra-low latency Lightning quick 10Gb/s Thunderbolt transfer rate 2 x great-sounding preamps Full metering Auto gain feature Pro-grade converters

WHEELING AROUND

As is the case with these bridging devices, the pain was mostly in the setup. The learning curve and fun factor dramatically sped up once everything was connected. In the middle of the Dock is a nicely-weighted, 65mm aluminium wheel, which functions as more than just a jog or shuttle. Without too much fuss I was able to zoom horizontally and vertically, scroll in a similar manner, mark in and out points and move my selection.

I even accidentally adjusted clip gain via the ‘User 1’ function, which led me to investigate what other parameter controls were lurking behind the option buttons. I discovered that while many common functions are pre-set to buttons on the Dock, almost every button is customisable. If you find you never use a particular button, it can be diverted to another function via the EuControl settings. The wheel sensitivity seemed just right straight out of the box to me. However, should you disagree, that too is adjustable via EuControl.

Zoom TAC-2 Thunderbolt Interface

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The Dock doesn’t simply automatically map to whatever plug-in is selected onscreen — which was a bummer!

ASSIGN ME UP

On either side of the iPad mount are four vertically mounted soft-knobs. Gaining control of a plug-in requires a couple of quick selections on the iPad — you select the channel on the iPad, and from that channel’s page choose the plug-in from the available list. Once selected, the plug-in pops up in Pro Tools on your workstation screen and the first eight parameters of the plug-in are assigned to the Dock’s knobs. It’s a fairly intuitive process for users who immerse themselves in a controller and don’t rely on the computer screen. However, if you prefer to use a mix of software and hardware controls (as I do), the Dock doesn’t simply automatically map to whatever plug-in is selected onscreen — which was a bummer!

To simplify the plug-in controlling process, Avid has implemented a generic set of EQ and dynamic controls in the channel page’s list of plug-ins.

Regardless of the selected plug-in manufacturer or model, it picks the first EQ or dynamics processor in your signal chain and controls them with predetermined assignments. For example, release and attack on the first dynamics plug-ins will always be the first and second soft-knobs. This certainly makes familiarisation much easier, though it has limited use when implementing multiple dynamics instances on a single track, as only the first plug-in is accessible with the predetermined mappings.

The knobs are apparently very similar to those on Avid’s flagship S6 — which I personally haven’t used — but they have a fairly solid feel and dynamically adjust their sensitivity (the faster the knob is moved, the quicker the parameter changes, and vice versa). This takes a little getting used to, but after a while I found them quite functional and enjoyable to use.

FADES AT THE TOUCH

In the bottom left area of the Pro Tools Dock is a 100mm touch-sensitive and motorised fader, which assigns to the track selected on the iPad, or within Pro Tools directly. Like many others, I find it easier to find a good balance using a real fader rather than staring at the screen and moving a mouse. The fader is responsive, has a nice feel to it, and proved extremely useful. Purchasing a Dock solely for this purpose would be unnecessarily expensive, but the fader’s responsiveness and ease of use is certainly a big plus. On the negative side, the Dock doesn’t currently accommodate using the fader to adjust send levels, it would require a software update for that.

On the left side of the fader is a record enable button and small meter useful for checking signal but not much more. Above are large mute and AT 48

solo buttons, and to the right are 12 dedicated automation buttons such as Write, Touch, Latch and Trim. By default, these are setup as global buttons that correspond to the automation modes currently in use across the whole session. However, an option in the EuControl settings alters the buttons’ function so it changes the mode of the selected channel, which was my preference.

ALL BUTTONED UP

Aside from the pre-mentioned buttons for the wheel, fader and automation, the Pro Tools Dock features seven large transport buttons at the bottom of the unit — right where they should be for quick playback control. Two shift buttons, located just below either side of the transport, effectively double the number of functions available on the Dock, and a nifty shift + fader tap resets the selected channel to unity gain.

Running horizontally above the transport, and vertically along the right side of the Dock are a set of touchstrips with four zones. These are unassigned (except for the shift layer) by default and configurable via EuControl. You’ll have to get your masking tape out, as there’s no scribble strip for these functions, though these would become second nature after frequent use.

Up the top of the unit, just below the iPad mount, are 16 soft-assigned buttons. Similar to the touchstrips, these are freely configurable, but do have a number of pre-set assignments. Pressing the lower left soft-button displays the assignments on the bottom of the iPad, while the rightmost buttons scroll through a number of preset banks of control options. Perhaps I am being too pedantic, but was it really necessary to have buttons simply replicate what the touchscreen is doing? Having said that, I could find 16 favourite buttons to be my go-to options here. Undo was one of them, as there’s no dedicated Undo button on the Dock.

DOCK HERE FOR A WHILE

Overall, I’ve enjoyed integrating the Pro Tools Dock into my mixing process. There were a few subjective ergonomic changes I would have preferred, like swapping the position of the soft-buttons and rotary encoders. Also, the inability of the iPad and dock to dynamically update to selected plug-ins means I’d have to change my habits and really immerse myself in using the Dock to get the most out of it. That’s really the key here. The Dock didn’t feel like a magical bridging device that slotted seamlessly into my established workflow; it actively pulled me away from my screen.

While I enjoyed using the Dock, it felt like an expensive way to go about what 80% of Pro Tools users want — i.e. transport, jog wheel and plug-in/ channel control. However, for heavily invested users who are willing to put this front and centre in their workflow, it could dramatically change their connection with Pro Tools, and the Dock/iPad pairing integrates more closely than simply using an iPad with EuControl, and another controller. For S3 users who are already heavily invested in a hardware control system, the Dock makes an excellent complement to that workflow, adding missing hardware features like a transport and jogwheel.

Lastly, the question of obsolescence hangs over any hardware device, and is impossible to guess at the beginning of a product’s lifecycle. It’s hard to say whether the Dock’s reliance on the iPad is a pro or con. On one hand, it adds an external bit of hardware that could fall into an unsupported state. On the other hand, it allows Avid to evolve its EuControl software to adjust to user demands, and the option to upgrade the Dock’s brains with new hardware while keeping the staples of fader, jog wheel, transport, buttons and knobs the same.

On the face of it, that seems like a bit of security for your investment.

AT 49

REVIEW

RODE HS2 Headset Mic

Rode’s new headset will fit into more productions with its superior design.

NEED TO KNOW

Review: Chris Holder

Rode is best known for democratising audio products. Rode is arguably the first name in home studio condenser mics (although Audio-Technica can make a strong case), and has become undeniably the first name in on-camera mics in recent years after inventing/defining the market. With the Rode Lav/SmartLav, we saw Rode move into micro mics. The HS1 lightweight headset mic applied the micro capsule technology to the presentation market.

The HS2 supersedes the HS1 with a range of improvements to the build and ergonomics. The ear strips are the headliners; they’re now more flexible and easier to slip on and stay on without discomfort over long periods. There’s also improvements to how the boom arm functions and there’s a new strain relief system at the back.

The whole mechanism now has the look of something that should have a couple of patents pending — hi-tech and supremely adjustable. But it’s not complex to get it fitting just right; there’s an immediate comfort. And with the talent I’ve worked with there was none of that ‘is this thing on right?’ look on their faces that normally comes with a first time fit.

For years I’ve been mostly working with a single-ear headset design. That’s mainly out

of sympathy for the presenters I work with, to minimise the ‘can I take your order’ stigma of a larger assembly. I haven’t had any pushback with the double over-ear design of the HS2 — the fit, the weight and the comfort are excellent.

Like any headset there’s some ‘mic whispering’ required to get it sounding spot on. Mostly the trick is to ensure the omni capsule is positioned spot on — as close to the cheek as possible just up from the mouth. My first attempt saw the capsule a centimetre or so proud of the cheek and I spent more time messing about with compensatory EQ than I’d like. The next time I was wise to my error, and ensured the HS2’s flexible arm placed the capsule right on the skin. The result is a natural voice reproduction, with enough gain and imperceptible self noise.

DPA and Countryman dominate the upper echelons of headset mic applications and I don’t see professional musical theatre troupes throwing away their inventory any time soon.

This is not where the HS2 is pitching. It’s half the price for starters. And in the spirit of Rode’s ‘democratising’ ethos, the HS2 will find new friends who already have a couple of Rode mics in their Krumpler bags and will appreciate the option because of its price and performance.

PRICE $399

CONS 3.5mm TRS jack only

CONTACT Rode: (02) 9648 5855 or info@rodemic.com

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PROS Beautiful ergonomic design Sounds right Well priced

Headset mics for most applications are as much about fit as they are about sound. When you’ve got half a dozen school kids needing to be miked up for a musical (there’s a smaller kid’s version of the HS2, by the way), audio performance is the last thing on your mind. It’s about getting the mics on securely (so they stay on their heads and keep the same position on their cheeks for the length of the production) without the sort of tedious fine-tuning that leaves the talent feeling unsure of themselves (seeing a presenter or performer fiddling with their headset before a performance normally makes my blood run cold).

In the few weeks I’ve had the HS2, it’s felt solid, reliable and comfortable — the build quality is reassuring. I’m not entirely sure how it’ll react to a severe sweat test but if any headset is to withstand an aerobic workout, best use some rubber flange as a sweat prophylactic.

The HS2 is unobtrusive — both to the audience and to the talent; sounds right; ships in two colours and comes with the right selection of accessories, including a windsock and a collar clip for the lead.

SUMMARY Rode continues to disrupt the headset market with a new-improved superior fit, combined with its proven small capsule performance.

U LTR A-H I G H P E R F O R M A N C E C E I L I N G S P E A KE R S N O W A V A I L A B L E AT U LTR A-C O M P ETITI V E P R I C E S - C A L L U S TO F I N D O UT M O R E

KEY FEATURES • 6.5 & 8-inch speaker with highperformance compression driver.

Ultra-wide HF dispersion (100 to 120˚) provides extremely even coverage through the room.

• High-excursion woofer provides dramatic low-end frequency extension. Reinforced steel back can provides rigid enclosure to minimize acoustic loss.

• Four-point clamp mechanism and integrated mounting legs enable quick ceiling installation.

• Detachable pass-thru Phoenixstyle signal connections simplify installation wiring. Tap selector with 8Ω/70 V/100 V operation.

60 W transformer, 200 W program.

WINNER

BEST OF SHOW

• Fully reinforced ABS UL-rated baffle ensures long life. Fully compliant with UL 1480 and 2043 standards.

INFOCOMM 2016

EVID PC line TH E STATE O F TH E A RT I N C E I L I N G SOUN D

Learn more at: www.electrovoice.com Bosch Communication Systems:

1300 026 724 sales.communications@au.bosch.com

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REVIEW

ELECTRO-VOICE ND SERIES Microphones We take EV’s ND series to Chopped to see how they stand up to the abuse.

NEED TO KNOW

Review: Mark Woods

PRICE Starting at $299 CONTACT Bosch: 1300 026 724 or stsales@au.bosch.com

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PROS Smooth, modern sound Choose your style Swivel heads handy for positioning

CONS Plain stand mounts

SUMMARY EV’s new ND collection of mics handle a lot of things well — lots of volume, high stage levels, handling noise… even mud. With three vocal mics to choose from, and a range of pose-able instrument mics, the ND series will cover most anything you have on stage.

I’ve always thought of Electro-Voice as the ‘other’ American mic manufacturer. It’s probably been more successful in the broadcasting world but has its fans on live stages too. Released in the mid ’80s, the original N/DYM Series was a worthy contender to the leading brand with some sonic advantages. EV likes to boast these were the first mics to use the now near-universal neodymium magnets that help produce a flatter frequency response, with improved transients and signal-to-noise ratio. At the time they were released the vocal mics in the N/DYM range were seen to have a smoother sound that some singers preferred and I remember them as being especially good for taming strident female voices. The swivel-headed instrument mics were also popular.

Funny looking things but they were easy to position with a tough sound quality that worked well on toms and guitar cabs.

The new ND Series updates the N/DYM Series with a range of eight mics, all designed primarily for stage use. There are four vocal mics and four drum/instrument mics, seven dynamics and one condenser. The dynamics share a new capsule chassis and large Mylar diaphragm but each model’s coil and physical structure have been designed specifically to suit the characteristics of its intended application. The coils are a humbucking design to minimise any line noise. The mic bodies are made from die cast zinc and finished in matt-black polyurethane paint for a clean, discreet look under lights. They feel tough and the Memraflex grille is unyielding. Under the grille a hydrophobic foam insert protects the diaphragm from plosives and spit… even mud. Handling noise has been improved by a new four-point suspension system that sits on a tuned pneumatic pump at the base of the capsule.

THE VOCAL MICS

The entry level ND76 is a cardioid handheld mic designed for general-purpose vocal duties.

It’s comfortable in the hand, well-balanced and feels substantial at 323 grams. Through speakers

the first thing you notice is the level… it’s hot.

The high sensitivity (quoted as 2.4mV/Pascal) means less preamp gain and lower noise but care is required if you’re hot-swapping with other mics as it might be closer to feedback than you think. That’s not to say it’s susceptible to feedback, it’s quite stable at high volumes, but it is around 6dB hotter than average. The pickup pattern is wide and even across the front of the rounded grille with strong rejection around the side and rear. The voicing above 1kHz is crisp rather than bitey with a wide peak centred around 6kHz and noticeable response above 10kHz. Below 1kHz the response depends on distance from the mic and, like most directional dynamic vocal mics, it’s pretty thin unless you’re right on the mic. Used up close the strong proximity effect fills out the sound nicely and you end up with a modern, scooped sound with added richness to the low-mids and a brightened high end. Pops are well controlled and it doesn’t freak out too much if you cover or swallow the mic. I suppose it could even be used for rap vocals or beatboxing.

The ND76S is the same mic with an off/on switch. For a few dollars more you get a recessed, sliding switch that is silent, smooth and wellweighted, so it’s easy to use but unlikely to be triggered accidentally by nervous fingers.

The next model up, the ND86, is a supercardioid vocal mic that’s in the same body as the ND76 but the top of the grille is flattened off, I suspect to provide a visual difference rather than functional. This is the model I’d choose for lead vocals in front of your average band. It’s much the same voicing as the ND76 but the tighter pick up pattern makes for a tighter sound, more isolation from the stage sound and more easy level in the monitors. Part of this quality is due to its natural off-axis response — particularly noticeable in a studio comparison — that’s better than your average vocal mic. It’s got the crisp top end but overall it’s a big, warm sound with strong body in the low-mids. The new capsule suspension system

works too; handling noise is commendably low on all the vocal mics. The supplied stand mounts are fairly generic flexible sided clips but they’re simple and functional.

The top-of-the-range ND96 is a supercardioid mic designed for the loudest stages and it’s a beast.

Same body as the others in the range but the head is really flat this time and lets you get right on the diaphragm, a couple of millimetres away.

The voicing is a little different to its siblings, with a slightly smoother top end and less low-mids as you move off the mic. The sensitivity is even higher than the rest (3.3mV/Pascal), and when combined with the tight hyper-cardioid pattern, it makes for a loud mic that’s super stable in the monitors. The trade-off is a narrow, shallow sweet spot and an un-even off-axis response, but that doesn’t matter because as long as the singer — or screamer — is right on the mic, the vocal will be clearly heard above the band and strongly present in the monitors. Really abusive and plosive-rich vocalists are met by the well-named double blast filters under the front grille. Unique to the ND96 is a small, sunken switch towards the bottom of the mic that further scoops the mids between 100Hz and 1kHz and I liked it on this setting. The sound gets concentrated into the high-mids and gives it the bite to cut through the stage sound, even when the band is on eleven, but does it without being screechy or too harsh.

THE INSTRUMENT MICS

The instrument range begins with the cardioid ND44. Primarily designed for toms it’s a pivotinghead design with a fast, punchy sound. It comes supplied with a drum-mount clip rather than a stand mount but I think a stand mount should also be included. The first time I wanted to use it was on a bass cab and it’s a thin body so I had to find a spare clip thin enough. Also I’ve written before about finding drummers who don’t like things hanging off their drums because it might change the balance or tone. Despite that, the drum-mount AT 53

is a good design and slips onto the rim without any fiddling. Mounted on the drum or not its low profile is great for getting in tight spaces especially around the floor tom/ride cymbal area.

Its bigger brother is the super-cardioid ND46.

Again designed for cabs or toms it’s a little tighter, a little smoother and goes down deeper than the ND44 with a proper stand-mount and locking pivoting head.

The ND68 is the kick mic and it looks like one. It’s not too big to get right inside the drum if you want, and it’s got a sensible stand-mount.

It’s got the classic rock ’n’ roll smile shape to its frequency response with a big, deep bottom end, a scooped mid-range between 330Hz and 2kHz, and an exaggerated attack around 5kHz. Quoted as going down to 20Hz, the low-end boost is centred around 60Hz. It’s a kick mic but there’s no reason it couldn’t be used on other low frequency sources that would benefit from its powerful rock voicing.

The ND66 is the small diaphragm condenser of the range. In the ND Series this is the cymbals/hihat mic but could be used for acoustic instruments and percussion too. It features a lockable, pivoting head that increases your placement options if you’re close-miking the cymbals or hats. Included is a 75Hz or 150Hz HPF and a -10dB or -20dB pad.

No big deal but curiously the HPF takes quite a deliberate effort to change whereas the Pad is quite easy to accidentally change. It should be the other way round. The frequency response has a few dB added between 5-10kHz to bring out the cymbals.

The first festival with the ND Series was the annual Guildford Banjo Jamboree. I got to know the vocal mics and condenser well, but no drums or amps allowed. Both the ND76 and ND86 were right at home in this environment, where harshness is not appreciated. They were airy and warm on the gentle voices, with the ND86 being the closer of the two. I briefly tried the ND96 but its pattern was too tight for these non-focussed performers and they tended to drop out if they weren’t up on the mic. The ND66 got plenty of use as an instrument mic with good results, especially on acoustic guitars. The off-axis response is very good, the frequency response is on the bright side of neutral AT 54

and the sound is clear and detailed, bringing the instruments forward.

CHOPPED SUEY

What better place to really try out a new series of live mics than Chopped 2016? Simultaneously dangerous and good clean fun, its three days of barking hot rods and equally loud bands. Cars that wouldn’t be allowed on public roads have drag races in the dirt. The bands range from raucous to rockabilly and the night-time acts inevitably see a few punters held aloft, so you know they’re having fun up the front. Normally we eat dust for three days and nights but this year, with the wet season showering rain in the lead up to the event, it was more like those photos you see of Glastonbury where everyone is rolling around in the mud.

Not ideal, but the show must go on. Monitor operator Simon Glozier and I were trying the new EVs alongside our regular mics, using them for a couple of bands until we got to know them. On the big stage the ND76 and ND86 had a full tone and plenty of level in the foldback without having any particular frequencies taking off, or having to seriously re-EQ anything. They work as intended with the ND76 being an easy to use, general purpose vocal mic. The ND86 is more focussed with good isolation for lead vocals.

Lots of the bands at Chopped are manic, with roaring onstage volume. With the loudest acts I found the ND76 and ND86 needed to be pushed in the front-of-house to get above the band and sometimes weren’t sharp enough to cut through without adding hi-mids. This is where the ND96 is needed. You have to be right on it but it cuts through like the proverbial hot knife. We had one on a stand between bands, admiring just how loud it was in the monitors, when it caught the eye of the singer from the next band — the insightfully named, The Pinheads.

I explained it was new and we were testing it and he confirmed that they were indeed a very loud band and was happy to try it. By the second song, the crowd was thrashing away and he went straight over the punter barrier, into the crowd and the mud, with the ND96 in hand. I don’t always

understand the ways of the artist (TISM had some theories*) and this was one of those times. The mic took more mud than a microphone should, but it kept working and sounded great. The singer was nowhere to be seen after their set.

On a happier note, The Puta Madre Brothers use three kick drums in their energetic set so we had ourselves a kick drum mic shoot-out. The ND68 held its own in some classy company with its fast, punchy attack and modern, pre-EQ’d sound.

The ND44 and ND46 moved between toms and guitar/bass cabs and it was the ND44 that got the most comments on its looks. The ND46 is the updated version of the distinctive swivel-headed N/DYM468 and it’s a bigger and better-looking mic than its predecessor. It reaches down deep and is aimed slightly more at guitar/bass cabs. The ND44 is more for toms, but they both work well on either. There’s no specific snare mic but the ND44 works and it’s the right size, the ND46 is a bit big to position in there, but gives a meaty sound. The ND66 SDC was impressive in use too; it had good isolation for a condenser and while it was not as linear as most SDC mics, its slightly-hyped top end was ideal for rock with plenty of detail and clarity.

90 YEARS OF CHOICE

EV made its first mic in 1930, and being the ‘other’ US-based mic manufacturer, it was made in North America. The new ND Series is made in China but I guess that’s a sign of the times. A lot of effort has gone into the design of these mics and the manufacturing quality is high. I expect these will be in use for a long time even if their intended environment is the risky live stage. Different mics suit different voices and some singers may find these mics are a better choice for theirs. The instruments mics cover all the common stage instruments and would also suit home or project studios. Production companies or venues may appreciate having a co-ordinated and sonically compatible range of live mics. *Refer to TISM song The Mystery of the Artist Explained if you’re game.

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