Have I missed anybody's questions?

[Randy Yell]

Thanks Harvey,I am curious as to what you think of the Audio Buddy.I have one and I find it to be very quiet and clean,but I am a hobbyist and may not have the best ears(I'm middle aged with some hearing damage).I have an Art "TUBE" MP which I think is pretty much useless except maybe as an effect or a DI.


I think that this forum (and like forums) are a terrific source for real world knowledge.Before I came online the only source I had was the reviews in Recording mag and the like,hence my purchase of the 2001p,the Art and other bad buys I hven't read one bad review in that magazine,might as well just read the press releases from the manufacturers.

I think its excellent that someone of your experience is willing to take the time to share your knowledge.Thank you!

 

[Henrik]

Harvey,
there was a question hanging in the GMT (Great Microphone Thread) - this guy had tried out the M-S technique and had some disappointing results. I'm really curious what you think he may have done wrong.

And, OH YES, we want your advice, and you can count on that I'll remember most of it. And the stuff I don't remember I have saved on my hard disk for future reference.

Cheers
/Henrik

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Harvey,
there was a question hanging in the GMT (Great Microphone Thread) - this guy had tried out the M-S technique and had some disappointing results. I'm really curious what you think he may have done wrong.

Cheers
/Henrik

He really didn't do anything wrong. He mentioned that there was a 12 dB drop in the signal at one point which I believe is normal when you put the mics into the configuration he tried. I don't use M/S that much here, but he found that you could get very good and wide seperation with the technique, as predicted.

The balance between the mid and side levels controls the stereo effect very precisely, yet sums to mono without any of the phasing problems you might get from other stereo recording techniques.

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

Henrik,

I'm not really dissapointed with the results, just not sure what to expect. Thinking back on it, how could I really expect to have 2 perfectly out of phase channels blaring away and NOT have a huge drop when summed to mono? The key (I think) is that there are no phasing problems in mono, not that the levels will automatically be the same.

I've used it on another acoustic guitar tune since and found that it still gives a wider seperation than x/y and sums to mono well if I have it set right. Playing with the levels is pretty important, though. Those 3 channels don't behave quite the same way as the others.

Chris

 

[Henrik]

I see, OK you guys!

Before long Meshuggah and me will try out a new mic he's thinking of buying, which can do figure 8 (the ADK Generis GT-2). So then I'll try the M-S technique myself.

Thanks again!

/Henrik

 

[Randy Yell]

Harvey,I hope I'm not a pain in the ass as i know you must be a busy man so I was wondering if you don't get a chance to try the Audio Buddy if you can ask your son what he used it for and how he liked it (if he did).

thanks man,

 

[darrin_h2000]

what do you use the Nady 1100 for?

.

 

[jimistone]

I have a question Harvey. If you have a singer (that would be me) that has to really belt out his high notes and the dynamics are way out of control...would you compress while tracking? compress on the mixdown? Compress while tracking and during the mixdown? Use the faders to control the vocal dynamics during mixdown? Or tell the singer to learn how to use a mic and come back when he's better?
Im using a C-1 and a joe meek vc6q pre/compresser/eq. I have a digital compressor too

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Harvey,I hope I'm not a pain in the ass as i know you must be a busy man so I was wondering if you don't get a chance to try the Audio Buddy if you can ask your son what he used it for and how he liked it (if he did).

thanks man,

I'll try to get to it today. I don't know if Alex used it or not. He had it at his house for quite a while.

Originally posted by jimistone
I have a question Harvey. If you have a singer (that would be me) that has to really belt out his high notes and the dynamics are way out of control...would you compress while tracking? compress on the mixdown? Compress while tracking and during the mixdown? Use the faders to control the vocal dynamics during mixdown? Or tell the singer to learn how to use a mic and come back when he's better?
Im using a C-1 and a joe meek vc6q pre/compresser/eq. I have a digital compressor too

I compress "out of control" singers while tracking AND again during mixdown. During tracking, I might use anywhere from 4:1 to 10:1 ratios, lighting the threshhold levels about 6 to 8 dB, and then maybe 2:1 or 4:1 during mixdown if they're still out of control.

 

[notCardio]

Harvey, what have you gotten yourself into?

You realize now, I'm sure, that this thread will never die. But it just goes to show you how valuable a resource we consider you.

Now I'll jump in with my question.

Regarding the ECM8000 and V67 mics that have been discussed extensively based on your recommendations, I have one remaining question. Since both of these mics are of Chinese manufacturing origin, and given the reputation the Chinese have (Studio Projects notwithstanding, Alan), has anyone noted a problem with quality control for either of these two? How likely is it that I'll get a dud? Since I have NO condensers at this point, between my untrained ear and my bottom-feeder gear, unless the mic is totally unusable, I probably won't know it for quite a while. And, since a lot of people are using the 8000's for drum overheads, how hard is it to find a two that are close enough to use as a stereo pair?

I'm 44 and I want to be you when I grow up.

 

[trew]

Maybe I lucked out, but my two ECM8000's are pretty derned close to matching (even though they are physically slightly different). Actually, I pretty much KNOW I'm lucky in this case. It's probably a crap-shoot unless you can test them yourself before buying.

For drum O/H's they rock. But mostly if the drums you're recording are on the loud-ish side. They're just the tiniest bit self-noisy.
I don't really like them for acoustic guitar, for example.


Oh, gawd. MUST I get a V67, now?

Must..control..hand..on..mouse - Must..not..click..on.."Buy Now!"

Must..save..for..Neumann..stop..the..impulse..help........

 

[Harvey Gerst]

I'm not sure the ECM8000 uses a Chinese capsule. It may be from the Phillipines or Taiwan, but it's pretty consistent. The V67G is very consistent, thanks to Brent Casey's watchful eye at Marshall.

 

[notCardio]

Thanks, guys.

Thanks for the answer, Harvey. If you're ever in Indiana, I'll buy you a beer (though I may have to do some looking to find a Lone Star). And I didn't think the capsules were Chinese, just that that was the point of assembly.

And trew, thanks for sharing your experience with the 8000's.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

A house brand coke will do fine. I used to live in Hudson Lake, Indiana when I was a kid, and I'd love to go back and see it again.

 

[lavoz]

Harvey,

I'm wondering what your opinion is on the current batch of Groove Tube Mics...they're being offered at very low prices. I'm just trying to get a feel for these units (ie am62), see if if they're worth it, any price!

Thanks,

lavoz

 

[Harvey Gerst]

I'd call Aspen Pittman at GrooveTubes and ask his opinion about them. I'm very serious. If there's something wrong about them, he'd probably tell you privately.

 

[DougD]

Hudson Lake?

In Northern Indiana? That's right down the road... I secretly suspected something like that...

 

[darrin_h2000]

Urgent!

Yesterday the supervisor at work retired and left me in charge. The last peice of advise he gave me before he left was "You cannot put too much water arround a neucler reactor" so now I am in a quandery on what that means.

Please hurry with your reply because the red lights on the thingy have been blinking for a while now.

Wayne

 

[Track Rat]

It means "lunch time!".

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Re: Urgent!

Yesterday the supervisor at work retired and left me in charge. The last peice of advise he gave me before he left was "You cannot put too much water arround a neucler reactor" so now I am in a quandery on what that means.

Please hurry with your reply because the red lights on the thingy have been blinking for a while now.

Wayne

Probably just the phone lighting up. I used to get a lot of calls like that, people trying to sell me aluminum siding. I wouldn't worry about it. People get so persnickity when you're talking about nuclear reactors. If they weren't safe, people wouldn't be allowed to build them, just like cars.

I worked at Johnson Controls, writing manuals for nuclear power plant security systems and it was laughable. I mean what's someone gonna do? Back a semi up to the door and steal it?

But he's right about the water. Too little and the temperature starts climbing; it gets too high and it's not usable anymore if you want tea or coffee. Try to keep the temperature right around 180 to 190 degrees. There should be a gauge somewhere on the big board with little red lines to indicate the ideal brew temperature. Probably says something like "Core Temperature". That's the main meter - the rest are mainly for show. You can safely ignore the other gauges.

If you lower the amount of water flow during the winter, the core will heat up nicely and warm the building, saving you some heating bill money. Remeber it does take a while for everything to settle down, so don't be impatient. Start with about 25% of the normal flow and if the building gets too hot, increase the flow in 5% increments till you feel comfortable.