SampleLogic’s Waterharp is a spectacular library. It’s been installed in my studio for a few weeks and I’m *still* finding new and interesting sounds – both in the nature of the instrument itself *and* the amazing programming that the wizards at SampleLogic has instilled in this sound set.
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SampleLogic Waterharp
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009Voxengo Voxformer (now v2.1)
Monday, April 6th, 2009I just updated to the latest version of Voxengo’s Voxformer plugin, and need to take a moment to dote on how great this plugin sounds. Every time someone comes to the studio to record a voice over, ADR or vocal track – they instantly ask “what’s that plugin you just inserted?” as soon as they hear the magic that this bit of DSP creates. Granted, you should have some knowledge of how ‘old skool’ channel ops *should* work to get the best sound for a particular situation – but Voxengo has created an extrememly versatile plugin that can make any track sound better.
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Voxengo’s slug line on their site is “Sound with a Soul”, which is an understatement. I’m really looking forward to digging into the new features. The new UI looks like it’s pretty easy on the eyes, too. Congrats to Alexy Vaneev on another feat of software engineering!
New Synergy in the studio, in a manner of speaking
Thursday, March 19th, 2009I get really happy about the little things that help me get work done faster in the studio. Oh sure, it’s fun to break out a new sound that allows me to explore uncharted territory – that’s always a rush. I’ve lost days at a time to finding all of the nuance and subtlety in sound textures, whether it’s a new synthesizer or a modeled acoustic instrument. But when I find a new way to get something done that makes *every* day go faster, I get really excited. It’s a double-benefit – I get through the mundane tasks which in turn gives me more time to focus on the creative stuff. The following is a perfect example:
Synergy is a freeware application that has been available in PC and Unix circles for many years. I’ve actually used it in my previous life in IT. The core function is to move the mouse (and keyboard control) across multiple desktop machines as though the monitors are attached edge-to-edge in one large contiguous screen. The head engineer at SmartAV suggested that I install it in the studio not only for controlling both of my audio workstations, but also to use it to occasionally control my Tango console, which runs on an embedded form of Windows XP. The really cool thing is that Synergy allows you to define the width of the boundaries between screens, so if you have a funky setup like mine, you can still configure things to ‘line up’ when the mouse moves from screen to screen so that the pointer moves smoothly between computers.
Notice how the two screens of the Tango console (and extension bay) are wider than LCD screen of the main audio workstation. Likewise, the second screen above (which also functions as a video monitor when I switch it to the HDMI input) is offset from the main screen in order to both make room for the center channel speaker and to swivel out to the right of the console area in order to serve as a prompter for ADR sessions. This is nowhere near the “standard” case of having all screens the same size aligned edge to edge. Fortunately, Synergy knows how to handle this kind of odd situation…
Notice that the full length of the main monitor (Q6600) matches to the Tango at about the 25% and 75% points. So, there are two “links” defined between the two screens that tells Synergy how to track the transition. The same goes for the upper screen – where 0%-50% of the 22″ LCD overlaps with 67%-100% of the top edge of the 30″ centerpiece LCD.
With all of this defined, the mouse tracking is seamless and automatic. And the keyboard sends to the same machine where the mouse is active. When the mouse and keyboard are *not* pointed at the main screen, it’s actually sending position data on the other machines over the local network connection. No more groping for a KVM switch to toggle between DAWs. No more diving behind the console to connect a keyboard and mouse in order to install a new firmware set or change a setting. It *all* works as one contiguous workspace, which is a real treat. All I have to do is slide the mouse pointer onto the desired desktop and go to work on it. It’s a remarkably simple workflow enhancement that’s causing me to re-think the studio configuration in new and interesting ways.
It seems kind of silly that something so simple could make such a big difference. Even more interesting is the fact that the technology has been around for more than 10 years, and I’m just now getting back around to re-discovering it. The fact that it seamlessly connects all of my workspaces – from the touch screen console control surface up to the secondary monitor makes it feel brand new again. There’s a lesson in there somewhere about thinking “out of the box”, but right now I’m having too much fun with my “new” studio to ponder it too much. Now it’s time to set about finding new and interesting ways to get new and interesting work done.
Wiring up for surround with Mogami cable
Thursday, February 19th, 2009Mogami cable is one of the more highly regarded brands in the pro audio industry. And while I’m not too hung up on labels and such, it seems in this case there *is* a difference. I had been running unshielded cable to the surround system in my studio, which was fine for my previous location. But now I’m in Studio City, which is a noisier environment – both acoustically and electronically.
Not only did I have to build a special window soffit to block out street noise *and* ventilate the machine room I had built in the adjacent closet, but I also soon realized that I would have the “pleasure” of hearing all of the chatter from the LAPD police helicopter bleed into my monitors when it flew overhead (I live near the intersection of the 101, 132 and 170, and there’s often a car chase or crash scene they’re checking out). I also know that there’s a call coming into my cell phone 5 seconds before it actually rings because the sync-up between the cell tower and my phone creates some really “interesting” intermodulation distortion that sounds like an old phone modem connecting to an internet service, 1980s-style. Not good, particularly when you’re sitting in front of the console doing an mix review session with a director. So now it’s time to find a cable that is able to soak up some of that noise and drain it to ground before hit hits my speakers.
I went to my favorite electronics shop in LA – Electronic City in Burbank – to find some shielded cable. They showed me a few options, including several sizes of Mogami cable. I was happy to find that it was not only plentiful, but reasonably cheap as well (I paid about $.61 per running foot). So I came back to the studio with a spool of wire and set about to re-wire (and re-dress, for looks) everything in the studio, starting with the surround monitors. I had to custom build a ground plane to sink all of the shielding for each set of wires on the amplifier. Instead of doing all of it at once I decided to just wire up the speaker that seemed to catch the most interference. Unfortunately it didn’t kill *all* of the cell phone noise, but it is greatly reduced. I have a few other tricks to try to get the rest of the noise out of the sound field, but I have a feeling that I’ll need to upgrade the actual amplifer and speakers (to something with much better internal sheilding – which means much more $$$$) in order for it to completely go away. Such as it is – is *does* sound better, so I guess in this case name brand/reputation *does* matter.
“New” monitors calibrated (round one)
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008There was a time when my trusty M-Audio BX-5 speakers were a mainstay on my desk. While not the most elaborate near fields, they had a decent range of controls for tuning their response, and seemed to give an honest acoustic portrayal of what’s piped through them – for their price range. But with a recent spate of surround work, they managed to get pushed to the back of my gear closet and have been gathering dust for some time. I had grown accustomed to the sound of the LX-4 5.1 surround system, and often used them for stereo work by simply routing to them in a 2.1 configuration.
Of course it’s much better to check mixes through multiple speaker sets, to increase the chances that a problem hiding on one set of speakers might somehow emerge on another, making for a more even mix that will translate well to “the real world”. Now that I’ve installed the SmartAV Tango and an extension bay, there’s a lot of new flexibility in routing through Nuendo’s Control Room function that makes checking mixes through multiple speaker sets a real breeze. I’ll be cutting a video or two to show how that works, but before any of that could happen I really need to have everything set up and calibrated.
As usual, it took a great deal more time than I had originally expected. That’s because, of course, once I moved the left and right LX-4 speakers around to make room for the BX-5s, they needed to be re-calibrated as well. Plus I think the SmartAV console is entering into the acoustic picture more than I expected. I think there are some additional things I can do to make the room a more “friendly” acoustic space, and reduce the amount tweaking I would have to do in order to get things dialed in. My first guess is that the large angled surface of the Tango console has done something to change the initial reflection of sound in the room, which can affect overall sound perception fairly dramatically. I think I’ll move some of the acoustic treatment around to compensate.
In the past I’ve managed to generate some controversy around statements I’ve made regarding the amount of money people should spend on near field monitors versus the budget for acoustic design/measurement/treatment in the room. I believe that a lot of folks get caught up in an acoustic “arms race” of sorts, wasting time and money and in essence trying to solve the wrong problems with the wrong tools. And here I am at the limit of what’s possible in my space, trying to apply those very maxims to my situation. I’m just about “maxed out” on the amount of money I can spend on speakers *or* acoustic treatment for the studio I’m in. I might just have to learn to live with the changes and “adjust” my ears to compensate. It will take some initial changes, some listening to old and new material (plus some favorite music that I know well as a baseline) and see what needs to be done next. At a minimum, it will give me an excuse to create some new music for my reel – but all of that will come with the New Year.
Anything more than that and I’ll have to seriously consider moving to a larger space and setting up a mid-field arrangement. Here’s to hoping that the projects in 2009 will support such a move. Until then, I’ll keep playing, composing, arranging, recording, mixing, and of course listening and adjusting.