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Post by garbulky on May 1, 2018 9:18:45 GMT -5
I look forward to hearing your thoughts about the yggy. You're talk of CD Players making me want to find my Marantz CD-67. The CD-67 uses a Delta sigma dac. I was mainly interested in this old Denon because I'd never heard a multibit CD player. If you ever get a chance to try out those old units they are well worth it. The higher end unit to my current Denon with the PCM 63 multibit dac is selling on ebay for about 65-80 bucks. |
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Post by garbulky on May 15, 2018 0:46:38 GMT -5
Lately I think I've started a new period in my musical life. That of more aggresive creation. Quantity over quality. That Tascam DR 70d MK2 that I use has served me very well. Only little niggle is <sigh> the power switch fell off in the first few days of use. I just use a keychain tag or paperclip to slide the switch now.  I've begun recording nearly daily out in big grassy fields. It's allowed me to get used to the quality of different microphones. I use 3 different models of microphones. All of them are less than $500 each - most between $80 and $200. All of them have some sort of coloration in the treble. All have their own stregnths and different tonal signatures. The M-Audio Luna  This is probably the most detailed microphone I have. It has a pretty impressive holographic soundstage which is apparent in mono mode - because I only have one of them. Layers in the audio and a sense of airiness are what appeals to me with this microphone. On the other hand, this mic is the heaviest one I own. And when my audio recording gets portable weight matters especially if you are also carrying a fold out chair, uke, and recorder along! I have a feeling this would make very impressive stereo recordings. However a used M-Audio Luna II costs about a $100 and I don't know if it's worth that expenditure as I already have several microphones that work. It's main problem is that its treble has a bit of a bite to it, similar to a saber glare. And you get the impression the treble is slightly compressed on you. Rhodes NT-4 stereo microphone.  This is probably the most tonally relaxed. Probably because its treble is significantly rolled off and it produces a non-fatiguing treble and mid-range. It also has the advantage that it's the lightest microphone I own. Very useful for me. it's a genuined stereo microphone pre-calibrated in a fixed position. This means that its twin diaphgrams are a lot smaller than my other two microphones. At the beginning the NT-4 required some surgery to function due to a fragile internal wire that had come loose. Luckily it was a cheap easy fix and it's worked well. In terms of resolution it's not the greatest in treble. It does produce a satisfying 3 dimensional soundfield. Outdoor recordings with birds chirping while I play my uke and sing are quite nice to listen to, if mainly for the birds, not so much for my singing ability!  However its strength isn't upper end air. I guess it doesn't quite have "pop". I would characterize it as a warm sound that's still quite listenable to. MXL V67G microphone. I have two of these which allow me to run them in stereo. The MXL is sort of a favorite. It has a nice vibrant treble tone and voices have a nice presence. It's treble has a bit of a treble bump and it doesn't quite have the resolution of the M-Audio but it gets close for a fraction of the price. Plus it helps that it looks great and is slightly lighter than the M-audio Luna. Its main fault is that its treble does have a slight coloration. What I like about it is that whenever I record something on it, I can be reasonably assured that it's going to come out sounding quite nice. It's very forgiving about what you do and it just does a reasonable job.  Recently I also came across the a Roland VS 2480 digital recording workstation. Maybe vcautokid or somebody can tell me something about it?  This is a professional grade digital audio workstation from 2005. Probably at the time it was cutting edge. I have not tried it. To be honest, I don't know what to do with it. I wasn't going to mess with it because I felt it was beyond me in terms of skill needed. But I've been thinking about getting together a group of like minded music enthusiasts to just jam. And if that was the case having a DAW may be very useful. Maybe it will allow me to record a sound similar to this. It goes without saying my music adventures would not have been the same without the assistance of a dear fellow Emotiva audio buddy of mine of who I am quite grateful for. I wonder who?! hehe. (B'zilla, of course it's B'zilla!) I am having a great time exploring audio and recording. It brings me a sense of peace and enjoyment hearing the results of my daytime recording late in the night when I play it back on my system with my wife. I hope you all are enjoying audio too. Boomzilla |
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Post by Boomzilla on May 15, 2018 1:01:20 GMT -5
AND for those who don't know, garbulky is one of those amazing people who can pick up literally ANY instrument, and within a few minutes be producing a tune on it. Additionally, Gar's lovely wife is an absolutely unbelievable singer who has one of those "one in a million" voices. When the two play and sing together it's just awesome. When I was young, I could sing, but my voice (among other things, LOL) just doesn't work the way it once did. So I envy Gar his musical talent and am in awe of his wife's voice. In addition to which, they're both very nice people. Would that we could all be so lucky! |
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Post by novisnick on May 15, 2018 2:57:37 GMT -5
AND for those who don't know, garbulky is one of those amazing people who can pick up literally ANY instrument, and within a few minutes be producing a tune on it. Additionally, Gar's lovely wife is an absolutely unbelievable singer who has one of those "one in a million" voices. When the two play and sing together it's just awesome. When I was young, I could sing, but my voice (among other things, LOL) just doesn't work the way it once did. So I envy Gar his musical talent and am in awe of his wife's voice. In addition to which, they're both very nice people. Would that we could all be so lucky! I am fortunately blessed to know all four of these lovely people! They all give me such great hope for our species! Thanks for your friendship, a most cherished relationship! |
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Post by vcautokid on May 15, 2018 5:19:48 GMT -5
Lately I think I've started a new period in my musical life. That of more aggresive creation. Quantity over quality. That Tascam DR 70d MK2 that I use has served me very well. Only little niggle is <sigh> the power switch fell off in the first few days of use. I just use a keychain tag or paperclip to slide the switch now. I've begun recording nearly daily out in big grassy fields. It's allowed me to get used to the quality of different microphones. I use 3 different models of microphones. All of them are less than $500 each - most between $80 and $200. All of them have some sort of coloration in the treble. All have their own stregnths and different tonal signatures. The M-Audio Luna This is probably the most detailed microphone I have. It has a pretty impressive holographic soundstage which is apparent in mono mode - because I only have one of them. Layers in the audio and a sense of airiness are what appeals to me with this microphone. On the other hand, this mic is the heaviest one I own. And when my audio recording gets portable weight matters especially if you are also carrying a fold out chair, uke, and recorder along! I have a feeling this would make very impressive stereo recordings. However a used M-Audio Luna II costs about a $100 and I don't know if it's worth that expenditure as I already have several microphones that work. It's main problem is that its treble has a bit of a bite to it, similar to a saber glare. And you get the impression the treble is slightly compressed on you. Rhodes NT-4 stereo microphone. This is probably the most tonally relaxed. Probably because its treble is significantly rolled off and it produces a non-fatiguing treble and mid-range. It also has the advantage that it's the lightest microphone I own. Very useful for me. it's a genuined stereo microphone pre-calibrated in a fixed position. This means that its twin diaphgrams are a lot smaller than my other two microphones. At the beginning the NT-4 required some surgery to function due to a fragile internal wire that had come loose. Luckily it was a cheap easy fix and it's worked well. In terms of resolution it's not the greatest in treble. It does produce a satisfying 3 dimensional soundfield. Outdoor recordings with birds chirping while I play my uke and sing are quite nice to listen to, if mainly for the birds, not so much for my singing ability! However its strength isn't upper end air. I guess it doesn't quite have "pop". I would characterize it as a warm sound that's still quite listenable to. MXL V67G microphone. I have two of these which allow me to run them in stereo. The MXL is sort of a favorite. It has a nice vibrant treble tone and voices have a nice presence. It's treble has a bit of a treble bump and it doesn't quite have the resolution of the M-Audio but it gets close for a fraction of the price. Plus it helps that it looks great and is slightly lighter than the M-audio Luna. Its main fault is that its treble does have a slight coloration. What I like about it is that whenever I record something on it, I can be reasonably assured that it's going to come out sounding quite nice. It's very forgiving about what you do and it just does a reasonable job. Recently I also came across the a Roland VS 2480 digital recording workstation. Maybe vcautokid or somebody can tell me something about it? This is a professional grade digital audio workstation from 2005. Probably at the time it was cutting edge. I have not tried it. To be honest, I don't know what to do with it. I wasn't going to mess with it because I felt it was beyond me in terms of skill needed. But I've been thinking about getting together a group of like minded music enthusiasts to just jam. And if that was the case having a DAW may be very useful. Maybe it will allow me to record a sound similar to this. It goes without saying my music adventures would not have been the same without the assistance of a dear fellow Emotiva audio buddy of mine of who I am quite grateful for. I wonder who?! hehe. (B'zilla, of course it's B'zilla!) I am having a great time exploring audio and recording. It brings me a sense of peace and enjoyment hearing the results of my daytime recording late in the night when I play it back on my system with my wife. I hope you all are enjoying audio too. Boomzilla Wow you are a very busy man Garbulky. I had the green body MXL Mic and really liked it. I finished my project and sold it, but the Roland is a good find. It really isn't hard at all. Just learn one channel bank, and you know them all. Looks like an honest straight forward mixer with no gimmicks. James Taylor used a much smaller lesser capable Roland Portastudio to make allot of his hits as he got the inspiration he laid down some tracks and took it to the studio and he and his group made the hits. I don't have personal experience with that mixer per se, but conceptually it behaves just any quality mixer does. Usually low Z mic preamps, flash card like SD or CF or USB recording. No external recorder needed. My PreSonus AR-12 does similar though smaller. This Roland has more channels than mine. Sweet 16 is a great count. Since mine would be for mostly Podcasts at some point I didn't need that many channels and space being a constraint. Looks like you got this done well. I like. All the core gear you need. You could even use the Tascam as your Mastering deck from the mixers stereo feed from your mixed recording sessions. I have mine setup that way. You record your main the mixer recorder or computer software and can Master to the Roland or Tascam. I don't know if the Roland can be used as a USB computer interface. Would be cool if you could, but no biggy if you can't. Just gig on the Roland. Import the files to a computer with your favorite workflow editor and then Master. You are set. Fun huh? |
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Post by dsonyay on May 15, 2018 7:58:26 GMT -5
Lately I think I've started a new period in my musical life. That of more aggresive creation. Quantity over quality. That Tascam DR 70d MK2 that I use has served me very well. Only little niggle is <sigh> the power switch fell off in the first few days of use. I just use a keychain tag or paperclip to slide the switch now. I've begun recording nearly daily out in big grassy fields. It's allowed me to get used to the quality of different microphones. I use 3 different models of microphones. All of them are less than $500 each - most between $80 and $200. All of them have some sort of coloration in the treble. All have their own stregnths and different tonal signatures. The M-Audio Luna This is probably the most detailed microphone I have. It has a pretty impressive holographic soundstage which is apparent in mono mode - because I only have one of them. Layers in the audio and a sense of airiness are what appeals to me with this microphone. On the other hand, this mic is the heaviest one I own. And when my audio recording gets portable weight matters especially if you are also carrying a fold out chair, uke, and recorder along! I have a feeling this would make very impressive stereo recordings. However a used M-Audio Luna II costs about a $100 and I don't know if it's worth that expenditure as I already have several microphones that work. It's main problem is that its treble has a bit of a bite to it, similar to a saber glare. And you get the impression the treble is slightly compressed on you. Rhodes NT-4 stereo microphone. This is probably the most tonally relaxed. Probably because its treble is significantly rolled off and it produces a non-fatiguing treble and mid-range. It also has the advantage that it's the lightest microphone I own. Very useful for me. it's a genuined stereo microphone pre-calibrated in a fixed position. This means that its twin diaphgrams are a lot smaller than my other two microphones. At the beginning the NT-4 required some surgery to function due to a fragile internal wire that had come loose. Luckily it was a cheap easy fix and it's worked well. In terms of resolution it's not the greatest in treble. It does produce a satisfying 3 dimensional soundfield. Outdoor recordings with birds chirping while I play my uke and sing are quite nice to listen to, if mainly for the birds, not so much for my singing ability! However its strength isn't upper end air. I guess it doesn't quite have "pop". I would characterize it as a warm sound that's still quite listenable to. MXL V67G microphone. I have two of these which allow me to run them in stereo. The MXL is sort of a favorite. It has a nice vibrant treble tone and voices have a nice presence. It's treble has a bit of a treble bump and it doesn't quite have the resolution of the M-Audio but it gets close for a fraction of the price. Plus it helps that it looks great and is slightly lighter than the M-audio Luna. Its main fault is that its treble does have a slight coloration. What I like about it is that whenever I record something on it, I can be reasonably assured that it's going to come out sounding quite nice. It's very forgiving about what you do and it just does a reasonable job. Recently I also came across the a Roland VS 2480 digital recording workstation. Maybe vcautokid or somebody can tell me something about it? This is a professional grade digital audio workstation from 2005. Probably at the time it was cutting edge. I have not tried it. To be honest, I don't know what to do with it. I wasn't going to mess with it because I felt it was beyond me in terms of skill needed. But I've been thinking about getting together a group of like minded music enthusiasts to just jam. And if that was the case having a DAW may be very useful. Maybe it will allow me to record a sound similar to this. It goes without saying my music adventures would not have been the same without the assistance of a dear fellow Emotiva audio buddy of mine of who I am quite grateful for. I wonder who?! hehe. (B'zilla, of course it's B'zilla!) I am having a great time exploring audio and recording. It brings me a sense of peace and enjoyment hearing the results of my daytime recording late in the night when I play it back on my system with my wife. I hope you all are enjoying audio too. Boomzilla As to recording acoustic stuff like above, you're probably there or close enough to give it a spin. All this stuff is fascinating.. I bet mastering that older Roland would be cool as well. |
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Post by garbulky on May 18, 2018 15:31:47 GMT -5
vcautokid thanks for the reply. I haven't had a chance to get cracking on it yet. Maybe this weekend. I have to read up on the manual. Yesterday I got a Velocifire mechanical keybaord. They've been coming down in price. This is my first experience with one. Since I type heavily, once typing over 4 million words over a period of months, I figured it's high time to get involved in a mechnical keyboard. That level of typing can lead to strain and pain in your hands. I got this ($50) www.amazon.com/Velocifire-Wireless-Mechanical-Copywriter-Programmer/dp/B076D6GJFY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1526674721&sr=8-4&keywords=mechanical+keyboard+wirelessIt uses off-brand/imitation "Ometu" Brown switches. The first most obvious thing is that this keyboard is loud. Not quite as loud as I thought but the click clack is obvious. The second most obvious thing is that this feels very different from a regular keyboard. I thought mechanical meant I have to depress the keys harder. But actually I find I am using less force. Also, I make a lot less errors. Overally it's a very tactile sensation that appears to be easier on the fingers. Since I've only had it for a day it's hard to say what thefinal verdict is. But that tactile response is very nice. I can tell that I'm going to want to try different mechanical keyboards. I may end up preferring keyboards with a little bit more resistance. 
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Post by garbulky on Jun 4, 2018 1:00:18 GMT -5
This evening we had a great recording session. I have figured out how to input external phantom powered stereo microphones into an iphone video directly while recording. The point is to get a realistic stereo soundstage coupled with high quality recording from an external source. No lip sync delay. No hiss. It's just what you would expect. I believe, after looking on the internet I am the only person talking about this particular combination. I hope to expand on it a bit later.
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Post by geeqner on Jun 4, 2018 9:46:56 GMT -5
I'm no expert at Recording (little to NO experience in that area) - however:
I DID attend a program on Sound System Design (mostly for Sound Reinforcement Systems / PA) and during some discussions about miking:
It was said that dual Cardioid mics at right-angles was a recommended setup for Folk Music / Chamber (almost any SMALL group, which is what it appears that YOU are attempting to do) - it was also good to arrange the performers in a semi-circle, roughly equidistant from the mic(s). I have heard good things about certain models from Telex having a relatively flat (or at least CONSISTENT, so that you can compensate) frequency response across the Audible spectrum.
On the Keyboards - check out Das Keyboard. They have a model geared for TRUE "UBER-GEEKS" / Typists - it is all black, mechanical, with NO LABELS on ANY of the keys... I have also seen an article on conversion boards for the old IBM Model F Keyboard. These were used with OLD IBM System 32 and System 34, they were semi-legendary for their feel (they used a unique capacitive plate, linked to a buckling-spring mechanism that is different from modern versions). Some even had a built-in Solenoid that was there simply to produce a tactile "ca-chunk!" that was meant to mimic the feel of the old Selectric Series typewriters (to aid the transition for those who were used to regular typewriters). [Thought you might find this interesting.]
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Post by garbulky on Jun 4, 2018 10:23:03 GMT -5
I'm no expert at Recording (little to NO experience in that area) - however: I DID attend a program on Sound System Design (mostly for Sound Reinforcement Systems / PA) and during some discussions about miking: It was said that dual Cardioid mics at right-angles was a recommended setup for Folk Music / Chamber (almost any SMALL group, which is what it appears that YOU are attempting to do) - it was also good to arrange the performers in a semi-circle, roughly equidistant from the mic(s). I have heard good things about certain models from Telex having a relatively flat (or at least CONSISTENT, so that you can compensate) frequency response across the Audible spectrum. On the Keyboards - check out Das Keyboard. They have a model geared for TRUE "UBER-GEEKS" / Typists - it is all black, mechanical, with NO LABELS on ANY of the keys... I have also seen an article on conversion boards for the old IBM Model F Keyboard. These were used with OLD IBM System 32 and System 34, they were semi-legendary for their feel (they used a unique capacitive plate, linked to a buckling-spring mechanism that is different from modern versions). Some even had a built-in Solenoid that was there simply to produce a tactile "ca-chunk!" that was meant to mimic the feel of the old Selectric Series typewriters (to aid the transition for those who were used to regular typewriters). [Thought you might find this interesting.] Very interesting For recorings, I mainly use a pair of MXL V67 g which is some sort of large diaphragm condenser microphone. I am ignorant of the different kinds of mic patterns. I have never tried the DAS keyboard but I have heard about it. Hopefully I will get the chance to try it out. |
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Post by garbulky on Jun 8, 2018 20:58:49 GMT -5
I forgot just how much patience it takes to setup a computer. You can always guarantee that something weird will happen that requires painstaking procedure to uncover. So today I installed an 8 TB HD. First problem after manhandling a genuinely massive computer out of the rack was that there wasn't a free SATA power plug. So that started a hunt to find where my PS box was to get a spare SATA power plug. Then that problem solved, I packed everything back in to find out that the thing did not start. This required at least two more sets of manhandling in and out. Then I found out two things The power switch jumper - about the worst design which hasn't changed in ages - came loose. Then I discovered I had a spare unused HDMI cable that I was plugging in instead of my regular HDMI cable which caused no screen display. Following that, I found out that I had a spare unused ethernet cable that I was also plugging in instead of my regular ethernet cable. Finally everything appeared to be working only to have the internet go down all throughout the house requiring numerous reboots of the router and resetting up my smart house. But now the HDMI snafu caused display scaling issues (overscaling) with my two tvs. Requiring some restarts and software juggling till that fixed things. Then I plugged in a new wireless keyboard which refused to work. Only to find out you had to download a piece of software to ADD the wireless keyboard to the receiver. (Come on now?!) The manual said nothing about this. And finally - oh my hard drive was not showing up in windows. Lol.  Finally I remembered I had to initialize a new drive in disc management. Then had to struggle to remember if I wanted GPT or MBR format. After some short research, now the drive is finally in and formatting. Which guessing by the size, is going to take a few hours. Sweet googly gosh.  |
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 9, 2018 15:24:04 GMT -5
If it were easy, anyone could do it! LOL
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Post by garbulky on Jun 10, 2018 15:04:08 GMT -5
To add to my woes my digital audio transport came loose so I had to pull it out...AGAIN which then had me plug the incorrect HDMI cord in again. Oh well it never ends. In more positive news, to the unending suffering of my wife, I got more room treatments in! So positive for me I guess. I was hoping it would arrive when she was off on a trip. But it arrived a day too early! Lol!! This time the purpose of the treatments it was to add a bit more buffer on the left side of the wall for my left speaker. Because of the exposed brick on that side, that side has a different tonal signature and balance which requires a slightly uneven toe in to keep a good center image. As it is with all room treatments, I instantly wonder why the heck didn't I get around to doing this earlier?! What this has allowed is better reproduction of the environment of the recording. It seems like there is going to be some repositioning of the speakers needed. Right now the treble tone is just north of being quite right. I prefer a slightly warmer tone while this sounds just a tad bit raw/grainy. But I feel it's a step in the right direction with the left to right integration of the soundstage seeming to coalesce better and more evenly. You know that room overload effect? Room treatments help with that. Lowering the feedback of the room, it lowers the noise floor. You can hear deeper in to the mix. It allows more realistic dynamic reproduction - if applied carefully. Otherwise it may sap the dynamics of the sound. Getting a left right pan and center image is also helped with broad room treatments. I belive the thing that creates a teeny tiny center image and a vague left to right pan is the rooms effects interfering with a precise stereo signal reaching your ears - at least to an extent. |
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 10, 2018 19:26:49 GMT -5
The Lounge needs to have a photo contest for the "Listening room with the lowest WAF." ONLY Lounge members' wives are allowed to vote. The Lounger who "wins" the contest gets $5 each from the rest of us to take the long-suffering Mrs. to dinner!
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Post by garbulky on Jun 10, 2018 20:27:38 GMT -5
The Lounge needs to have a photo contest for the "Listening room with the lowest WAF." ONLY Lounge members' wives are allowed to vote. The Lounger who "wins" the contest gets $5 each from the rest of us to take the long-suffering Mrs. to dinner! I second this!!!!!! Probably because I would win! Hahaha Now I think we have to have multipliers. For instance a living room system that the poor spouse has to sit in should count more than a mancave or an office system. Bonus points if kids have to be forced to use the sound system. "It's just the news dad". "Yeah but feel that bass, though!" |
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Post by dsonyay on Jun 13, 2018 10:57:57 GMT -5
The Lounge needs to have a photo contest for the "Listening room with the lowest WAF." ONLY Lounge members' wives are allowed to vote. The Lounger who "wins" the contest gets $5 each from the rest of us to take the long-suffering Mrs. to dinner! WAF? I know it must be a humorous acronym |
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Post by garbulky on Jun 13, 2018 11:46:08 GMT -5
The Lounge needs to have a photo contest for the "Listening room with the lowest WAF." ONLY Lounge members' wives are allowed to vote. The Lounger who "wins" the contest gets $5 each from the rest of us to take the long-suffering Mrs. to dinner! WAF? I know it must be a humorous acronym Wife acceptance factor. It's an old term that's about how our setups are governed by what the wife will accept.  Like the above has a WAF of zero. We have a contest going on right now so if you think your SO balks/doesn't understand your setup you should participate! emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/52979/listening-room-lowest-waf-contestTrue there are party poopers that say we should have a healthy mutual understanding of each others hobbies and all that. Meanwhile, those who live in bitter resentment of not being able to have their 8 subwoofers in their 10*10 living room should definitely post there. ^^ |
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Post by novisnick on Jun 13, 2018 12:16:09 GMT -5
WAF? I know it must be a humorous acronym Wife acceptance factor. It's an old term that's about how our setups are governed by what the wife will accept. Like the above has a WAF of zero. We have a contest going on right now so if you think your SO balks/doesn't understand your setup you should participate!  True there are party poopers that say we should have a healthy mutual understanding of each others hobbies and all that. Meanwhile, those who live in bitter resentment of not being able to have their 8 subwoofers in their 10*10 living room should definitely post there. ^^ Should post here as well! 😋  windows 7 screenshot |
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Post by jackfish on Jun 13, 2018 12:17:44 GMT -5
Nice birch plywood though.
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Post by jmilton on Jun 13, 2018 14:33:55 GMT -5
Speaker-HVAC system. Genius.
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However its strength isn't upper end air. I guess it doesn't quite have "pop". I would characterize it as a warm sound that's still quite listenable to. 
