Audio, hi-fi and car audio - A interesting concept

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A interesting concept

A friend of mine has recently had his
55th birthday. On the same day he
was made redundant by the broadcast
organisation for which he has worked
all his life.

He was too young to throw in the
towel, so he decided to set up his
own small studio, specialising in
baroque and small classical ensembles
- his area of expertise.

He found a very fine location, a small
deconsecrated church in a village environment.
It is a fine wooden building, and like many
Lutheran churches has a floor plan in the
shape of a cross. He intended at first, to use it
as a purely classical, but realises that with most
studios it is pop music that pays the rent.

He told me that he had always considered
the control room window to be not just a
physical, but also a creative barrier in the
music making process. So his solution was to
have the control area built on a large octagonal
wooden platform, on rubber wheels which enable it to be
moved to any position within the recording space.
At the northern end he had build a room with drum
booth, bass traps, acoustic tiles and curtains (velvet drapes)
for pop sessions, and the rest of the space is open plan.

To solve the question of monitoring while recording, he
decided to use cordless headphones. Together we tried
Bluetooth which proved to be acceptable in the close
vicinity of the source, as in the control area, but not
practical for foldback in the recording area.
So he bought 24 pairs of Sennhesier RS 140
wireless headphones.

Each headset comes with an inductive charging cradle
which is also the FM transmitter with a power of 10mW
working at three selectable frequencies 863-865MHz,
perfect for monitor, and foldback 1+2. So he set up a
groups of three transmitters at eight points in the
recording area.

The audio systems were wired and working, building,
airconditioning, and electrical contractors were still
on site when I last visited, with work on schedule,
and he plans to open in November.

He has a firm 14 day booking for his first project,
music by Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1756) -
the Swedish Handel.

And the client? His previous employer!

Nice:-)

Iain

Instead of having a sel

A interesting concept

In article ,
Iain Churches wrote:

[snip]
To solve the question of monitoring while recording, he
decided to use cordless headphones. Together we tried
Bluetooth which proved to be acceptable in the close
vicinity of the source, as in the control area, but not
practical for foldback in the recording area.
So he bought 24 pairs of Sennhesier RS 140
wireless headphones.

Hmm. Pretty well known that things recorded on headphones will only sound
their best when listened to on headphones.

And if he his looking for pop work, can't think of any client who would be
happy with only this.

The idea of having the control area on some form of movable pod is novel,
but The problems involved in doing so make me ponder. ;-)

--
*You can't teach an old mouse new clicks *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

A interesting concept

Dave Plowman (Nutcase) wrote:

Hmm. Pretty well known that things recorded on headphones will only sound
their best when listened to on headphones.

** Only well known to lunatics like the Plowmaniac.

I am reminded of the advertising campaign used by JBL for several years where they claimed that since the majority of US pop/jazz music studios used JBL monitors in their for control rooms - it was only logical to use JBL brand speakers in your home, in order to hear the sound as the engineers intended.

Luckily, most audiophiles ignored this patent absurdity and used much better speakers instead.

..... Phil

..... Phil

An interesting concept

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Iain Churches wrote:

[snip]
To solve the question of monitoring while recording, he
decided to use cordless headphones. Together we tried
Bluetooth which proved to be acceptable in the close
vicinity of the source, as in the control area, but not
practical for foldback in the recording area.
So he bought 24 pairs of Sennhesier RS 140
wireless headphones.

Hmm. Pretty well known that things recorded on headphones will only sound
their best when listened to on headphones.

Indeed. They say the same about Tannoys:-)

In his music room at home, my colleague has a
pair of B+W Nautilus speakers,the same model
which up until now he has used in his daily work.
So his audio reference is well and truly ingrained.
He also has many hundreds of fine recordings, so
the next few weeks will be spent in comparative
listening on speakers and headphones to
"acclimatise" himself, just as location or freelance
engineers and producers do when move from place
to place. His task will be simpler as he only has two
monitor systems, the B+W and his 'phones to compare.

But there is a huge practical advantage to his idea.
The objective of classical recording is to
capture as faithfully as possible the sound
of the music being recorded in that particular acoustic.
With this system he can sit among the players, or
behind the conductor's podium, or even on a stepladder
level with the top of the front line mics, and soak up
the sound in the recording area. Then, without walking
a step, he can put his headphones on, and hear his conrol
room monitor balance. I think producers will like this too.
They can sit close to the conductor.and still be in the
control area, as the 'phones are cordless and offer
complete freedom of movement..

Traditionally, at the end of a good take, more than
half the orchestra want to hear their performance
played back. Even though there are probably tracking
speakers in the studio to which the monitoring can easily
be routed, they prefer to put down their instruments,
cross the studio and crowd into the control room.
Only when everyone is in place, and the door closed,
does the playback begin. Then, they all file out,
cross the studio, sit down and pick up their instruments.
This takes a lot of (very valuable) time.
With a large orchestra the clock is ticking in multiples
of the pound sterling, and the bean counters are
tearing their hair! With the new system, the players
stay put, put on a pair of headphones, and listen to
the playback at the volume of their choice from their
own chair.

During a prolonged listening session, my colleague
acknowledged a preference for the Decca tree over
AB or XY pairs with outriggers so often used used in
broadcast, so in what I call the West aisle, he has
set up a tree to the precise Decca spec with vintage
Neumanns which will become a permanent fixture.
He then simply has to lay out the chairs beneath it.
He is spoilt for space, and so he can have a
semi-permanent multi-mic brass or woodwind set up in
say the East aisle, and just turn his octagonal platform
to "´face the music"

And if he his looking for pop work, can't think of any client who would be
happy with only this.

How can you know until you discuss it with them?

I think many will be intrigued by such an
innovative idea.

Instead of an "open day" with dozens of people
milling around, I suggesred inviting potential clients,
producers, A+R, musicians etc separately
to a private visiti, to discuss their needs.
He will offer them recording "pilots" (a
weekend at half tariff to record three titles, then
overdub and mix) If the client is not happy,
and decides not to continue, he will not receive
an invoice. This is common practice in studios
wishing to expand their clientele.

His principle intention is not to do pop rhythm
(backing) tracks, but tracking, - (strings, brass,
woodwinds/saxes etc) taking advantage of the
natural acoustic of the recording space, which
I think will work well.

But, I also have an inkling that a Slingerland Radio King
double drum kit will sound amazing in that recording space,
as will a Strat with a Marshall full stack! Time will tell.

The idea of having the control area on some form of movable pod is novel,
but The problems involved in doing so make me ponder. ;-)

Yes. Copious pondering is required. But he who dares.........

Iain

An interesting concept

"Phil Allison" wrote in message
...

I am reminded of the advertising campaign used by JBL for
several years where they claimed that since the majority of US pop/jazz
music studios
used JBL monitors in their for control rooms - it was only
logical to use JBL brand speakers in your home, in order to hear the sound
as the engineers intended.

Yes I remember that too. Clever advertising, and
by all accounts successful. A lot of people bought
the JBL Century 100's for home use.

The UK record company where I worked
had a monster pair of JBLs in studio II.
They were put up only when a client (usually
American) specifically asked for them.

The canteen also bought in Budweiser beer.
There is no accounting for taste:-)

Iain

A interesting concept

An interesting concept

Hello Brian,

I have top posted for you. Hope that is OK.

Speakers are so much matter of taste.
I have a pair of Tannoy Lancasters which I
listen to daily. They please me as much now
as the day I took them home. I also have some
large Kef (ex BBC monitors) and a pair of B+Ws
They all sound very good, but very very different:-)

When I was at Decca, Tannoy Lancasters
(and a few pairs of Canterburys) were the standard
monitor throughout the whole facility, studios, mixing
suites, cutting rooms, editing and copy suites. Thousands
of very fine recording were made on Tannoys.

We made a direct to disc recording for Peter
Walker, using Tannoy monitors. Even he admitted
they were "rather pleasing"

I have never heard anyone describe them at metallic.

Iain

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
Its a bit like Tannoy dual concentrics. I still use a pair, but i would
most certainly not call them uncoloured, but I happen to like the sound
myself. People tell me they sound metallic.
Brian

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"Iain Churches" wrote in message
...

"Phil Allison" wrote in message
...

I am reminded of the advertising campaign used by JBL for
several years where they claimed that since the majority of US pop/jazz
music studios
used JBL monitors in their for control rooms - it was only
logical to use JBL brand speakers in your home, in order to hear the
sound as the engineers intended.

Yes I remember that too. Clever advertising, and
by all accounts successful. A lot of people bought
the JBL Century 100's for home use.

The UK record company where I worked
had a monster pair of JBLs in studio II.
They were put up only when a client (usually
American) specifically asked for them.

The canteen also bought in Budweiser beer.
There is no accounting for taste:-)

Iain

A interesting concept

In article ,
Phil Allison wrote:
Dave Plowman (Nutcase) wrote:

Hmm. Pretty well known that things recorded on headphones will only
sound their best when listened to on headphones.

** Only well known to lunatics like the Plowmaniac.

Some 40 years of actually balancing sound for a living tells me different.
That you've no experience of the obvious differences just tells me you
have ears of cloth.

I am reminded of the advertising campaign used by JBL for several years
where they claimed that since the majority of US pop/jazz music studios
used JBL monitors in their for control rooms - it was only logical to
use JBL brand speakers in your home, in order to hear the sound as the
engineers intended.

There is also some truth in that. Using exactly the same loudspeakers is
likely to give the most consistent results. But saying all models from one
maker sound the same is nonsense. Even before you take into account the
room acoustics.

Luckily, most audiophiles ignored this patent absurdity and used much
better speakers instead.

You think you need to be an 'audiophile' to realise advertising is not
always 100% true?

You must lead a *very* sheltered life.

.... Phil

.... Phil

--
*A day without sunshine is like... night.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.