Other Side of the Tracks

“Other Side Of The Tracks” Recording Blog 018

March 6th, 2012

“Other Side Of The Tracks” A Recording Blog by Shawn Bradley

STICK A FORK IN IT, IT’S DONE.

While recording guitars for a session this weekend I discovered that one of my 1×12 speakers had finally crapped out. The speaker was torn in several spots from drying out over time. As you can see in the pictures below, it wasn’t a very small tear that could be fixed easily without purchasing a re-coning kit.

I thought to myself ”F*@k, there goes some money”.

There are probably a lot of us that run into this problem and don’t care to fix it or use the speaker again. Then I remembered something I’d been wanting to try for quite awhile but didn’t have a busted speaker to do it.

Here’s the idea… use the broken speaker for some really cool bass distortion and other effects. If you want to fix the speaker wait and get it re-coned after you have had some fun with it. Grab a few dinner forks from the kitchen, find a spot in the speaker that is not already torn and “stick a fork in it”. The fork should stay in the paper of the speaker and vibrate when the speaker starts moving. I’ve found that if you put the fork through the speaker at the right spot it will touch the metal frame behind and cause a neat metallic vibration. Try different types such as metal, wood, and plastic to stick in the speaker to change the sounds of the distortion.

Any other interesting uses for broken or torn speakers? I’d like to hear your comments…

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“Other Side Of The Tracks” Recording Blog 017

February 24th, 2012

“Other Side Of The Tracks” A Recording Blog by Shawn Bradley

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Mix with your EARS not your EYES.

PART2 – “The McGurk Effect”

In recording blog 015 I discussed the importance of relying on your ears more while working behind a set of speakers. A friend of mine directed me towards this YouTube video from the BBC that describes an auditory illusion called “The McGurk Effect”. This auditory illusion was discovered by Scottish cognitive psychologist Harry McGurk (23 February 1936 – 17 April 1998) and his research assistant John McDonald. The effect was first described in a paper they released in 1976 titled “Hearing Lips and Seeing Voices”.

“The McGurk effect is a perceptual phenomenon that demonstrates an interaction between hearing and vision in speech perception.” – wikipedia

This effect shows how our brains can be tricked into thinking we hear one thing while we are actually hearing another. The only change when listening is a visual cue. Watch the video and you will have a better idea of how we can be distracted by visual stimulation and it can trick us into thinking we hear something that we are not. How cools is that?

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“Other Side Of The Tracks” Recording Blog 016

February 23rd, 2012

“Other Side Of The Tracks” A Recording Blog by Shawn Bradley

Happy 155th to Heinrich Rudolf Hertz!

Happy 155th Mr. Hertz

Born in 1857 the German physicist whose work is crucial to television, radio, and Wi-Fi – would have turned 155 today. He was the first to conclusively prove the existence of electromagnetic waves. The scientific unit of frequency — cycles per second — was named the “hertz” in his honor. The hertz (symbol Hz) is the unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon.

Google “Heinrich Rudolf Hertz” to learn more…

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“Other Side Of The Tracks” Recording Blog 015

February 21st, 2012

“Other Side Of The Tracks” A Recording Blog by Shawn Bradley

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Mix with your EARS not your EYES.

Are more records being made visually than sonically? The advent of DAWs has allowed for on screen editing, manipulation of plugins, and use of other interactive software. Engineers seem to be spending more time looking at a computer screen and moving the mouse around then keeping a steady workflow. The whole session seems to revolve around what happens on the computer screen rather than what is coming out of the speakers. Wave forms are easy to see and right there for you to chop up and edit.

“I can see an edit, something must be wrong.” This is something that I hear a lot.

Not always the case. There are too many advantages to using DAWs to list all of them, but it would be great to have a few engineers out there turn off their screens and give the project a focused listen. No distractions or watching for edits while listening. Think about how records where made before computers. A tape machine would be rolling and the engineer sat behind the speakers and worked. Some higher end control rooms would have automation screens for the consoles, but they would normally be a hard to read monochrome green screen with very little information provided. The screen was there but the focus was still listening.

Keep these ideas in mind next time your sitting behind the console.

1. Take a step back and listen.

2. Don’t let your eyes lead the way.

3. Your ears are the boss.

A nice idea when working in the studio is to set a mood to add focus and vibe. This will include lowering the lights and maybe adding a few candles or cheap holiday lights strung up. Anything that makes the environment inviting and give you a good sense of creativity and focus. Sometimes when I want to listen to a track back I will lower the brightness of my computer screen using the ’F1 & F2′ (Apple OS) function buttons. I was unable to make the screen completely black while using Protools until I discovered this keystroke for mac OS systems: CTRL + Shift + Eject = Black Screen

Once you move the mouse or make a new keystroke the screen will return to normal. I would be curious to know the key command for PC. Feel free to share in the comments below.

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THIS WEEKS TIP

CARBON MICROPHONES

“A carbon microphone is a sound-to-electrical signal transducer consisting of two metal plates separated by granules of carbon. When a sound wave presses on the conducting diaphragm, the granules of carbon are pressed together and decrease their electrical resistance.” source: wikipedia.

Basically carbon microphones look like little silver hockey pucks and can be found in a tons of devices that you probably already own and have around your house. Find an old telephone you can take apart or can buy at a Value Village for like $5. Take it apart and inside you will find one of these carbon “puck” microphones. Take the mic out of the phone and wire an XLR cable to it and add some 48v phantom power to the mic to bring up the gain and you will be off to the races with a low quality effect mic. If you want to learn about building a basic microphone and practice your soldering skills this is great project to try.

Below is a pic where I had a carbon microphone capsule and took apart a mini mag flashlight to house my carbon mic. The diameter of the “puck” is the exact size of the flashlight top. All I had to do was drill a hole in the bottom to have the cable come out. ”Voila” mini microphone for some weird interesting sounds in your studio. Since most of these are taken from telephones the frequency response of the new microphone will be much the same.

Carbon microphone built into a Mag flashlight.

BONUS INFO

A useful tip when using carbon microphones: After some time the granules of carbon can become packed together and will have a harder time moving between the metal plates. The result will be a poor signal from the microphone. If this seems to be the case then try tapping the end of the microphone with the carbon disc lightly on a flat surface such as a table. This procedure will separate any packed carbon and allow for better movement between the plates. Result – better audio and frequency response from the carbon mic. This problem can become common in older microphones or ones that have been in a damp environment where condensation could build up on the mic at one time or another. PLEASE NOTE: This is only for use with carbon “puck” microphones.

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“Other Side Of The Tracks” Recording Blog 014

January 19th, 2012

“Other Side Of The Tracks” A Recording Blog by Shawn Bradley

12 GAUGE MICROPHONES REVIEW

There are a ton of great microphones being made by people around the world that not very many of us know about. Custom made microphones are made in smaller quantities and are usually only sold by the builder. But with the internet we are able to find these people and spread the word of their great products. Using search terms like ‘custom’, ‘DIY’, ‘handmade’, ‘rare’, etc has allowed me to find some pretty neat microphones over the last while. I came across an ad for these tiny little microphones built into 12 gauge shot gun shells called ‘12 Gauge Microphones‘. The price was very reasonable and the cool factor was high, so I was eager to try them out. I got in contact with the owner and designer Brad Martin and he hooked me up with a pair of his RED12′s and GREEN12′s to try out for awhile. A big thanks to Brad for sending out the microphones so quick.

Click photos to enlarge.

Let’s start with a bit of background of 12 Gauge Microphones. These awesome looking microphones are being manufactured by hand personally by Mr. Martin in North Adams, Massachusetts. Brad was kind enough to answer a few questions via email.

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SB: How and when did the idea come about for 12 Gauge Microphones?

BM: “The story really has 2 parts… There’s a thrift shop in my town that people line up at every Friday because of the crazy stuff you can find. I’ve bought a lot really cool vintage gear there for really cheap over the years. One of the pieces I bought a few years ago was a 1938 Astatic Omni mic, which to my disappointment no longer functioned. I brought it to my electronics repair guru hoping he would have some insight on how to repair it. Instead, he suggested I replace the element entirely, which is what got me into microphone building.

A few years later the studio at which I was working unfortunately had to close its doors, but many of its regular clients still wanted to continue work with me in my home studio. I didn’t own enough similar sounding microphones for recording the several a cappella groups I work with, so I began getting serious about putting together some good sounding mics for cheap. I started building them into male XLR connectors and filling them with silicone, which sounded great but they were messy to build and were very unimpressive looking. I began thinking about what I could do to dress them up a bit, and it just so happens they fit perfectly into spent 12 gauge shotgun shells.

I never set out to make it a business or even sell any for that matter. I posted a thread on Gearslutz.com titled “Help me name my microphone” with some pictures and a sound clip, hoping to get some witty names for my microphones. To my surprise I received so many e-mails to buy them I made a quick webpage to handle all the orders.

I try to remind people that I’m just a humble DIY microphone builder. My microphones won’t replace your Neumanns. But, I enjoy how my mics sound and I’m glad other people seem to be enjoying them for what they are, too. Inexpensive microphones that look like shotgun shells!”

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The first step in making a microphone has Brad pick up his 12 gauge shotgun and head out into his backyard to fire off a few rounds. Click here to watch the process in action. He saves the shell casings which are then modified to create the casings for his microphones. The RED12′s are made from a red winchester 12GA shot gun shell and the Green12′s are made from a green remington 12GA shell. Each microphone is personally made by Brad Martin and comes with a serial numbered business card for identification of the mics. The microphones that I received were RED12 #361 & 362 and GREEN12 #104 & 105. It would be nice to have the serial #’s on the microphones instead. The only visual difference between the two designs is the colour, a longer shell casing, and 2 cut out grills on the GREEN12. They are both electret microphones that require 48v phantom power. An electret microphone is a type of condenser microphone, which eliminates the need for a polarizing power supply by using a permanently charged material. The RED12 is has an omni-directional polar pattern and the GREEN12 has a cardioid polar pattern.

Electret Condensor Microphones

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SB: Do you record music yourself and if so, what instruments are your favourite to record with the 12 gauge microphones?

BM: “I’m a guitar teacher for a living, so naturally I record a lot of guitar in my own music. I love the way both my Red12 and Green12 sound on acoustic guitar, as well as most other stringed instruments. I also really like the Red12s as stereo room mics for just about anything.”

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Time to test these microphones and check them out against 2 other small microphones I have here at the studio. I chose a Karma Silver Bullet and the Sony ECM-55B. Both of these microphones are omni-directional and also require phantom power (ECM-55B can be powered by an internal battery or via phantom power). During the first microphone test I used a mono 10″ speaker driven by a CD player*. All microphones had the same placement in front of the speaker. The mics were 6 inches in front of the speaker and half way between the edge of the speaker cone and the centre of the driver. I used an API pre with no compression or EQ to ProTools. The API pre was adjusted for each mic to give the same overall output level into ProTools. The average SPL from the mono speaker for this CD test was 90-95dBA. When the SPL from the speaker was 100-105dBA there was distortion overload from both of the 12gauge microphones. I thought a test of max SPL would be helpful. The second test was done with the same microphones and signal path but I played mandolin. All files were recorded as mono 24bit, 48kHz .wav

MICROPHONE	PRICE	AUDIO TEST: CD	AUDIO TEST: Mandolin
RED12	$35/per	RED12_CD_6inch_mono	RED12_Mandolin_6inch
GREEN12	$45/per	GREEN12_CD_6inch_mono	GREEN12_Mandolin_6inch
Karma Silver Bullet	$35/pair	Karma_CD_6inch_mono	Karma_Mandolin_6inch
Sony ECM-55B	$447/per	ECM-55B_CD_6inch_mono	ECM-55B_Mandolin_6inch

Audio signal path:

MICROPHONE -

API 3124+ MIC PRE -

APOGEE ROSETTA 800 A/D -

PROTOOLS 9 (24bit, 48kHz .wav)

Testing the microphones I discovered that the 12Gauge microphones sound very nice on sources that might require a bit of mid range boost. The Red12′s seem to keep a bit more low end in them than the Green12′s due to the omni polar pattern, where as the Green12′s have a bit more presence in the mids and the highs. The low SPL level could be an issue if you are trying to get a good level from a quiet source as I had the API pres fairly cranked for the mandolin recordings. The Karma Silver Bullets and the ECM-55B’s seemed to keep much more of the overall frequency spectrum, and had a much higher output level. I should note that the ECM-55B is a lavaliere microphone so it will also have a boost around 1-3kHz. But with the cool factor of the 12gauge microphones and such a good price it seems like a no brainer not to buy a set. I would describe them as a very cool effect microphone in my collection. I may not reach for them everyday, but I know they are going to find their place to shine in future recordings.

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SB: Shall we expect more microphone designs in the near future?

BM: Both the Red12 and Green12 have a fairly low SPL limit, so I’m currently working on a dynamic model for loud sources like close micing drums and electric guitar cabinets.

Thanks a ton to Brad Martin for being a part of this review and head over to his website to check the microphones out yourself! If you order a microphone from 12Gauge leave a reply below and let me know about it, or let Brad know you read about them here at “Other Side Of The Tracks”. Spread the word.

* Music: Birthday Boys “Get Alone”

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“The Other Side Of The Tracks” Recording Blog 013

January 11th, 2012

“Other Side Of The Tracks” A Recording Blog by Shawn Bradley

Your the Tech in 2012

Since this is the 13th blog, I figured I would talk about the unlucky situation of gear breaking down in the studio or on the road.

There is a certain cool factor that goes with knowing how to repair something. If it breaks and stops working, you’ll have the skills to problem solve the situation and fix it. How sweet is that? There is no need to send it out to be repaired, little money spent, no lag in time waiting to use it and your able to maintain the quality and value of your equipment over time. You probably won’t be able to solve and fix every problem you come up against, but there are a lot of simple repairs that we should all know how to do to keep sessions rolling.

How often have you been in a recording session and somebody has a ‘crackle’ or a ‘buzz’ in their guitar cable? One of the most common causes over time can be cable connections coming loose and creating noise in your signal path. This could be with XLR mic cables, 1/4″ instrument cables, RCA cables, etc. Anybody in the music business for an extended period of time will come across the situation and knowing how to repair it fast and correctly will be HUGE benefit.

Problem Solving

One of my first jobs during college was assisting the head tech at a large studio in Boston. I was a runner by day and then in the evenings when the studio did more music sessions I would either assist or work with the tech in the other rooms not being used. Each studio would have a repair log where the engineers would write down any problems with the gear during the day. It was his job to problem solve and get the gear back up and running. He taught me 2 major things that I remember most when fixing things:

1. Use your nose (more on this in another blog)

2. Work backwards – when problem solving a signal chain, go from the last thing in the chain and test it then work backwards to the first.

Let’s apply this technique of working backwards to problem solving a ‘crackle’ in the guitar cable as in the picture below.

Let’s assume the amplifier, stomp box and guitar are working fine. The ‘crackle’ might be from the cable on the left going to the amp or the cable on the right going to the guitar. Start at the end of your signal chain, which in this case would be the amplifier and work backwards towards the guitar. Check the connectors and the cable for loose connections (give the each end a wiggle) or any possible crimped/cut sections of the cable. The amplifier will allow you to hear the ‘crackle’ as you search for it in the cable. Keep the volume of your amplifier fairly low as there could be some sub harmonic sounds. Blowing a speaker while trying to repair a cable wouldn’t be good. If you find the problem, disconnect the cable and set it aside for repair. If not, then move on to the second cable going to the guitar and repeat the same process as the first cable. Working backwards in this fashion allows you to know that everything past the point of where you are in the signal chain is clean and working. You are not randomly searching in your signal path for the ‘crackle’. Once you have discovered which cable you need to repair, it is time to fix it.

Everybody should know how to us a soldering iron

A soldering iron has a metal tip that supplies heat to melt solder so that the solder can flow easily. The solder is used to join to workpieces like wires and connectors. The most common type of soldering connections in the studio are balanced microphone XLR and unbalanced 1/4″ instrument connections. It takes a bit of time to learn how to use a soldering iron correctly so that you don’t overheat components you might be working on. But knowing this skill will open up a ton of doors for repairing your own gear. I found this basic soldering video that gives a tutorial on soldering that might assist you.

I have included some basic wiring information to reference for repairing cables. More of this info can be found on wikipedia.

XLR CONNECTORS

Pin	Function
1	Chassis ground (cable shield)
2	Positive polarity terminal for balanced audio circuits (aka “hot”)
3	Negative polarity terminal for balanced circuits (aka “cold”

1/4″ CONNECTORS

1. Sleeve: usually ground
2. Ring: Right-hand channel for stereo signals, negative polarity for balanced mono signals, power supply for power-requiring mono signal sources
3. Tip: Left-hand channel for stereo signals, positive polarity for balanced mono signals, signal line for unbalanced mono signals
4. Insulating rings

TRS •	Unbalanced mono in/out •	Unbalanced mono insert •	Balanced mono in/out •	Unbalanced stereo
Tip	Signal	Send or Return signal	Positive/”Hot”	Left channel
Ring	Ground or No Connection	Return or Send signal	Negative/”Cold”	Right channel
Sleeve	Ground	Ground	Ground	Ground

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THIS WEEKS TIPS

Tuner w/Splitter: It is useful to have tuner connected when recording guitar or bass, rather than disconnecting and reconnecting every time your ready for another take. Anything to save time and keep focus is great. Use a splitter box to send the signal to your amp and then send a signal to either a stomp box tuner to a rack mount tuner in the control room. It will also allow you to check intonation on some lead lines and things during solos.

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“The Other Side Of The Tracks” Recording Blog 012

December 21st, 2011

“Other Side Of The Tracks” A Recording Blog by Shawn Bradley

HOLIDAY iSPY CONTEST

Here is your chance to win a (1) one year subscription to Canadian Musician magazine. There are (3) three subscriptions to give away, so the first to post a correct answer to one of the three iSpy pictures below will win. Once one image has been correctly identified then that image will not be available for others. Post your answers in the comments section below. Prizes could go quick. The lucky winners will be contacted via email.

Please post only a guess for one picture to give others a chance to win. Good luck.

iSPY PIC 1:

iSPY PIC 2

iSPY PIC 3

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THIS WEEKS TIPS

Double Tracking: Double tracking a vocal to make it sound a bit fuller, try this trick. Once the first track is recorded and you are ready to record the double, have the vocalist stand about a foot or so back. You will have to adjust your mic pre gain to get the same level as your first track. Record another performance and blend the two takes. This can be done repeatedly with the vocalist standing farther and farther back while adjusting the mic pre to match level. It is always good to check the phase of each track that is added. Don’t be afraid to use this technique on guitars and other instruments. This technique was used by legendary recording engineer Bruce Swedien with Michael Jackson.

Lavalier Mics: These tiny microphones are great for recording voice overs for film and TV, but they are also great for recording music. The size allows for them to be placed in unconventional places that other larger mics can’t get to. Another cool feature is that there is a large variety that will run on a battery to cover the phantom power normally needed. This is great because you can record with the microphone out in the field using only an ipod or other portable recording device.

Sound Baffle: In my studio I have an 8×8 foot drum room with wood walls on all sides and the ceiling. I absolutely love this room for recording drums. Sometimes the sound can get a bit too reverberant for a vocal track. So instead of hanging blankets and using other types of baffles, I decided to hang a set of curtains that can be pulled to the sides when not in use. The effect is a more deadend sound in the room and it also looks good for the artist performing. Having a comfortable recording environment is always a benefit to an artist creating.

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