VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Philip Banks · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 9:44 am Post subject:

Sit me in front of a 416 and the first thing I'll do is put as much distance between it and me as possible. The next thing that happens is the sound engineer moves it back to where it was, takes some level, comes back into the booth and then puts as much distance between it and me as possible.

We've done the what, now what about the where? I took my camera into a session I did about 30 minutes ago and while having a quick read through snapped a pic so you could see where I am relative to the mic. It would seem that as long as I'm in the same room as a mic things tend to turn out ok-ish.

Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Good stuff about the 416. I decided to put more distance between myself and my 416 so I sold it to a Voice Talker from Nevada. Wink

When he sets his preamp to high gain it still can pick me up rather well.

Brian, how close is your 416 and how much gain is on the Hardy?

I just replaced my Firebox with an AudioFire2 (same cost) and I can't believe the improvement in sound.
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Yoda117 · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 11:13 am Post subject:

Hart · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 1:03 pm Post subject:

The M1 probably should have had more signal than I gave it there. The baby likes to play with the knobs and it takes me a little while to get it dialed back in.

In my current setup I can't actually see the meters from the "booth." So it's quite the process getting dialed in. Man I hate this place. I'm ready to move. Grr. Just lowered the asking price on the house... again. Anybody need a lovely 4/2.5 in Apex, NC for what is now probably below appraisal? My agent says the market isn't that bad, there's just a lot of inventory. Umm... isn't that the same thing for a seller?

Okay, rant and threadjack over. For that batch of samples the mic was about 10 inches away for the first and last read, a bit closer on the middle read.
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Yoda117 · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 1:13 pm Post subject:

Hart, that's a nice way of saying that the market isn't that good for sellers.

market-bad = extra inventory since folks don't want to buy.

As for your comment regarding the metering, have you ever thought about snagging a small, portable VU meter and running a pair of cables into the booth so you can monitor the levels?

I use a laptop, but can eyeball the VU meters on my desk from the booth.
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Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

Do you have actual vu meters or do you watch the software meters? I have a separate screen in the booth that I watch and also read copy from.

JTVG · Backstage Pass Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 433

Alright, here's my contribution. Clickey here.
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Yoda117 · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 3:03 pm Post subject:

Eddie, is that for Hart or myself?

I've got the VU meters through the DAW application, but I also have physical VU meters in one of the racks of the control desk.

A good physical VU meter, when properly calibrated, is far more reliable IME.
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Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

ricevoice · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 3:18 pm Post subject:

I'm in.

El Link-o

I'm thinking about a pre upgrade in the semi-near future, possibly a Great River or a John Hardy. My question for the gearheads: do you think it would make that much of a difference?
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Hart · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 3:31 pm Post subject:

Chris and Joe, both sound fantastic.

Vu meters. Yeah. At my old place I could just look out the door and see where I was at on both the DAW and the VU meter on my pre. But here the rack and computer are in one room. Then you walk into another room and go into the closet which is the temp booth. I'm not inclined to spend a whole lot more money here as I'm really hoping we'll be able to move into permanent digs soon.

P.S. Forgot Chris's question. The 286 produces one sound, the M1 another. I think you'll find the M1 to be a much more "pristine" sound while in your file the DBX coloring is there. Not heavy, but it's there. Just a matter of taste and opinion really not a question of which is better.
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Yoda117 · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 3:42 pm Post subject:

Frank F · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 3:46 pm Post subject:

Better suggestion: without going overboard on spending and trouble; buy a "reference tape" or CD. Match your DAW and sound card (both In's and Out's) meters to the reference tones.

Match your pre-amp settings to the reference tones. Match any other outboard equipment to the reference tones.

This suggestion may take a few minutes and some tweaking but it will save you time, money and frustration in the long run.

The reference tones and a some other toys are also a great first-step to "tuning" your studio for the best possible sound reproduction.

Please note: video "reference tones" and audio recording tones are different beasts. Video tones which are currently the standard for M-Audio and ProTools are approximately -3db peaks (showing as 100%) on video tape machines, which may make your audio over modulated. Audio recording reference tones for video are set to be used for the old standard of video tape (32k mono analog per track) recording. This audio reference point was derived to prevent over-saturation of the video tape and audio artifacts from entering the video data.

The current standard for digital audio recording studios is 24 bit, 48k, stereo and 96k, 24 bit per track for surround sound.

Crafting a proper recording studio/facility at home is more than just Plug 'N Play. Knowledge and technique make a quality recording space a reality.

Toodles

F2
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Yoda117 · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 9:42 pm Post subject:

Yep, I do that... (easier than using a multimeter most days).

I'll still take a certified VU meter over the DAW's any day of the week. Twice on Sundays. Probably more of a personal choice (I can admit it), but it's what works for me.

Frank, that's the best statement of the thread (regarding the building of a proper home studio). Feel free to offer a bottle or two to your local studio engineer... the education you receive in turn will pay you back 10 fold at least.
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Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

Hi Yoda, It was for Hart. Usually I have my levels set so there's no worry about watching the meters, but with the screen in the separate booth (room) I can read copy and also see meters if I have to. I also have a keyboard to control the recording and edit copy if needed. That's helpful when I do sessions and can control most everything from the booth. I don't worry too much about the accuaracy of the meters as Sound Forge gives me as much as I need to see. A real set of VU is nice though.

Jacob Ekstroem · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:09 pm Post subject: