Fri, 26 Dec 2008

Christmas Post

They have a Merry Christmas thread going on over at the mic forum on the homerecording.com bbs so I posted this.

http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=275671

-----

Hi,

I'm up before everybody else so I'm gonna ramble a little in this Christmas thread.

Chessparov, I've been doing some research on studios and engineers that used the EV 635a back in the day. The names Bob Ohlsson and Scott Dorsey keep coming up. Bob Ohlsson was at Motown where evidently the 635a and the RE15 were used for vocals quite a bit. RCA also used the RE15 for Elvis and Dolly Parton. I read that there was an AE guy at RCA who really liked Elvis' voice through a 635a and some of his early hits at RCA were recorded with this ever popular mic.

I still haven't pinned it down to Elvis had this hit singing through a 635a or this Motown hit was sung through a 635a but after just a couple of hours I am convinced that this is the case and I might be able to get this specific.

Also if you like Lawrence Welk you can see that almost everyone sings through a 635a as was not uncommon at many video studios.

Any help on this research will be greatly appreciated.

I've recorded two Christmas albums now, "The Gift" and "Anniversary Recital".

"The Gift" is me playing my own arrangements of popular Christmas Carols on acoustic guitar. It's been out for several years and can be heard here.

http://www.archive.org/details/Hairy_Larry.The_Gift

"Anniversary Recital" features Suzanne Michell on her Steinway baby grand. It's not all Christmas music with a mix of Jazz standards, traditional, and original songs but the last cut called "Christmas Pastiche" is a 17 minute long improvisation including many Christmas Carols mashed together like Charles Ives. I don't have this album posted yet but I will be able to post the trad. and original songs.

Both of these albums were recorded with a stereo pair of Naiant MSH-1 omni condensers mounted on my Jecklin Disc, an outstanding arrangement for recording acoustic instruments in stereo. The mics went into my M-Audio DMP2. "The Gift" was recorded on my Iriver H320 hard drive recorder. "Anniversay Recital" was recorded on my new toy, the Zoom H4 flash recorder.

I am very happy with the little flash recorder. I've used it four times already, each time with satisfactory results. I recorded Jazz Alliance live, a quartet with drums, bass, vibes, and trumpet. They were playing a coffeehouse in a rather small room with a lot of doors. I used the stereo pair condenser mics that are built into the unit running it off of batteries for the whole show. The recordings sound fantastic. Everything came out balanced and clean. The vibes sound great and the cymbals just sparkle.

I've just made six copies of "Anniversary Recital" for stocking stuffers so now I'm going to do Quality Control and print on the CDs. I hope you and all your families have a wonderful Christmas as we plan to and I hope your lives remain filled with music.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Sun, 14 Dec 2008

Hairy Larry and internet radio

I sent an email to Babs Bearden, president of the Arkansas River Blues Society and she sent it out to her mailing list so I thought I might as well post it here.

-----

Babs,

I have two internet radio stations. I was an early adopter on Live365
but since then I have writeen my own KGPL software and I use it. I
have two versions now.

Delta Boogie Radio - All Originals
http://deltaboogie.com/hifi

We host the songs in dialup and hifi formats so I must have the
songwriter's permission to post. This is the only station I know of
that actually streams over the internet on dialup.

KGPL - All styles, all genres
http://www.kgpl.org

KGPL runs on the Google Appengine so it should scale for any amount of
traffic. It works by linking to songs already on the internet. It's
still in beta testing but it's been running pretty solid for months. I
have many improvements I want to make.

On KGPL artists can actually submit their own songs, make their own
playlists with these and other songs, and then embed these playlists
on their website or myspace.

Both stations support on demand play and download. Give them a listen
and let me know what you think.

I also did "Something Blue" on KASU for ten years starting in 1991.
Now that I'm retired I am producing "Something Blue" shows again but
we don't have any scheduled for broadcast yet so I'm not publicizing.
When we do go on the air you will definitely get a press release.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Fri, 12 Dec 2008

My thoughts on piano FWIW

Hi,

I just finished my first piano project so that makes me an expert.

If the piano sounds good in the room mic the room not the piano.

I recorded a Steinway Baby Grand in Suzanne Michell's teaching studio that is the living room of her house.

Suzanne was playing with the lid closed when I first started listening and I walked around the room listening. I was amazed at how much the sound changed from different places and I was surprised when I walked into a corner beside the piano and all of a sudden I had a rich stereo sound.

When I opened the lid the first impression was that the piano sounded a lot better. Fuller and more robust. But careful listening showed that with the lid open in this small hard room I lost bass definition and the upper mids became very stringy leaning towards a harpsichord sound. Short stop on the lid improved this and there was one place where the magic happened if you wanted a little bit of that stringy sound. I didn't so I closed the lid.

I used a pair of MSH-1 omnis on my Jecklin disc in the corner beside the hinge side of the lid. All my thinking would tell me this place was wrong but my ears told me different. I added a couple of gobos between the mics and the walls.

And that's it. KISS.

MSH-1 omnis > DMP2 > Zoom H4

I am very pleased with the full and rich piano sound on the recordings.

Different pianos, different rooms, different pianists will call for different solutions but I do think close micing the strings can lead to anomolies as noted above. Especially if you're recording solo piano don't record the piano. Record the sound of the piano in the room.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Originally posted in this thread on homerecording.com bbs.

Sun, 16 Nov 2008

Fifty Dollar Mics

Hi,

This is a thread I started at the homerecording.com bbs. To participate in the discussion go here.

http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=273636

-----

I started my mic buying career in the late sixties when I bought a Shure 545 used for fifty bucks. In the early seventies I bought a new EV 635a. I think it was fifty bucks too but it might have been a little bit more. But since they are still making them today and they sell for about $120 now fifty seems right.

Anyway as I haunted music stores and pawn shops and added to my collection I basically worked on that $50 or less theory. Of course, now I sometimes buy expensive mics, meaning a hundred bucks or a few dollars more. But I still feel best when I get a really good mic for $50. Or less.

Of course sometimes these are exceptional bargains. I've even got some mics for free. But that's not the point of this thread.

Here I'm focusing on mics you can buy for $50 or less pretty much all the time. Not that exceptional yard sale or junk store find where you get an expensive mic cheap.

So tell me about your favorite fifty dollar mics that you use a lot and feed my addiction.

I'll start the ball rolling.

Realistic 1070b dynamic omni - Everyone here knows I love these mics. Like EV 635a or RE50 mics but with an extended frequency range. My secret weapon for field recording they also find use in my studio. My pair of 1070b mics cost me $30 and they get used more than any other mics in my collection.

Naiant omni condensers - A favorite on this board and for a reason. I use mine on a Jecklin Disc for recording acoustic guitar. They sound great.

EV PL80 dynamic cardiod vocal mic - A true classic. Fantastic vocal mic. Recently reissued but I don't have the skinny on the new ones. All I know is that the vintage versions are cheap and great. Larry Donn was singing through one and I told him I have one and it used to be my main vocal mic. He told me he bought his from Merle Travis' wife after Merle passed. This mic was one of Frank Sinatra's favorite stage mics. Dooby dooby doo.

AKG D770 dynamic cardiod vocal mic - A more recent inexpensive vocal mic that's better than it ought to be. Everybody who sings through this mic loves it.

AKG D690 dynamic hypercardiod instrument mic - I used it on banjo and stand up bass. Worked well for both. At one festival it ended up on a mic stand and everybody sang through it for the rest of the day. A little harder to find than the D770 but well worth it.

Ok, now it's your turn. What mics can you recommend for home recordists that they can actually buy for fifty bucks or less?

If you want to answer that question or read what others have suggested go here.

http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=273636

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Thu, 30 Oct 2008

Delta Boogie News - November 2008

Hi,

I've got the pics up for the first two weeks of Blues Fest this year. I haven't linked them all up yet so you'll be the first to see. Here's the links.

http://deltaboogie.com/bluesfest090708

http://deltaboogie.com/bluesfest091408

Don't forget to click through to the Photo Gallery on each page. Megan took these pics.

And don't miss linking over to the CD I made on Ronnie Presley's show September 14. It came out great. In fact here's the link if you want to listen right now.

http://archive.org/details/rp2008-09-14

When I get the other weeks done and all linked up you can find them here.

http://deltaboogie.com/bluesfest

And yes there will be more audio.

A big shout out to all my extended family from Helena. Everyone from Bunky's, Tent City, Dave Riley, everyone. As always it was a blast. Dave started hosting electric jams at Bunky's in the evening hours to compliment our acoustic jams for breakfast. I'm already getting some pics in my email and myspace. Keep them coming and I'll put up a page on Delta Boogie.

I have three new HairyLarryLand CDs up on the net now. You can download or listen here.

Blues For Peace
Hairy Larry and The Flying Hungarians
http://www.archive.org/details/blues_for_peace_cd

Hip Sexagenarians
Hairy Larry and George
http://www.archive.org/details/hip_sexagenarians

The Mudcats
Blues Fest House Band
http://www.archive.org/details/blues_fest_house_band

I'm writing a column about protest music and other topical songs including humorous material. There are three types of articles; music that changed the world, change the world with music, and Pimp Your Song! You can read them on Delta Boogie.

http://www.deltaboogie.com/forum/

Or take part in the discussion on DailyKos.

http://hairylarry.dailykos.com

All you musicians promoting yourselves on the internet I've got a resource for you. The band is called Beatnik Turtle and they are songwriters from Chicago. They've got a ton of info and internet resources. Here's a link to the Pimp Your Song! article I wrote about them.

http://deltaboogie.com/forum/index.htm/2008/10/27#2008-10-24-beatnik_turtle

If you want me to help you Pimp Your Song! send me an email.

Finally here's two of the ways I can help you promote your music. And they're both internet radio stations.

Delta Boogie Radio - All Originals! (or public domain covers)

http://deltaboogie.com/hifi - HiFi
http://deltaboogie.com/radio - Dialup

And KGPL - All genres, all styles

http://www.kgpl.org

Even if you're not a songwriter these stations are great just to listen to. Enjoy!

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
http://deltaboogie.com

Please forward and publicize freely. If you would like to be added or removed send me an email. The Delta Boogie monthly newsletter keeps you informed of what's new on Delta Boogie. It also promotes Hairy Larry and George, The Mudcats, The Flying Hungarians, Bunky's Breakfast Emporium Orkestra, and other Delta Boogie artists including our Sunday In The Park and Blues Fest festivals at the Craighead Forest Bandshell in Jonesboro.

Thu, 23 Oct 2008

Something Blue Production History

RadioGirl and I were talking on my Freedom Highway diary on DailyKos and I got to going on about Something Blue. I thought what I wrote was interesting in the context of the history of radio production as well as specifically to my show. Here's my text.

RadioGirl,

At KASU everything except the telethons is pre-recorded. At first Rich Moeller and I would produce Something Blue in the station, old school, he would engineer and cue the tracks (often LP records on a turntable) and I would read my script into the microphone. Then I learned how to do the engineering and I recorded my shows direct to tape, just like a live DJ, except I could splice the tape before it went to air.

When the station was making space for their CD library they gave me the tapes!

Then I got a gigabyte hard drive for $500 and I started producing my shows at home. I would carry my computer into the station to dub to DAT. June Taylor is helping me get these shows from DAT to CD.

Then another $500 bought me a CD recorder bringing me into the modern age. To put these prices in perspective now a 500 gig hard drive is less than $100 and a CD recorder is about $20.

Thanks for bringing this up. I'm going to cross post this at my MixRemix blog.

Send me an email and I'll see about getting you a couple of shows. I have some really great ones.

I think I will check through my archive and find some live music shows that can be put up on the Live Music Archive. I'm still in touch with most of the musicians I recorded and working with them I can make this happen. This music isn't available anywhere else and it needs to be archived.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com

Tue, 30 Sep 2008

Three Condenser Mics - MCA SP-1, Superlux CM-H8c, Audio Technica AT 4054

Sisko41,

I have a pair of cardiod condenser MCA SP-1 mics I bought for $40 each from PSSL. They were recommended in TapeOp magazine so I thought I'd give them a try. I've used them recording the room live for a fairly quiet acoustic duo placing them about 6 feet in front of the stage. I was not disappointed. Clean and detailed would be my description. These were originally sold in blister packs at music stores but now they are discontinued. They are made by MXL.

I can also recommend the Superlux CM-H8c mics. These are multi pattern with omni, cardiod, and figure eight patterns. More than once they have saved my butt recording live music. When the other mics gave me crap the Superlux track sounded great. They can be had new for around $200 but I bought mine for under $100 on eBay.

My top recommendation is the Audio Technica AT 4054. This is a stage condenser in the 4050 series. They can be found on eBay for $150 frequently and sometimes can be purchased between $110 and $150 used. This is an absolutely fantastic mic, great on vocals and acoustic guitar.

All of these mics will hold their value. The SP-1s because they start dirt cheap and are quickly becoming legendary. The Superlux because it's multi pattern. And the Audio Technica because it's a 4050 series mic and the 4050 series is not cheap and it's well thought of.

The SP-1s are also candidates for modding. According to the TapeOp article another $250 a pair in mods will turn them into really exceptional microphones.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Originally posted on the home recording bbs.

posted at: 06:38 | path: | permanent link to this entry

Sun, 01 Jun 2008

How to record acoustic guitar

There's a nice thread on recording acoustic guitar at the homerecording bbs.

http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=264488

Here's my two bits.

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I like my MXL 603 on acoustic guitar. I like my AT Pro 37 better. Just a little crisper or more detailed in the upper registers. Still both good.

I like my Naiants fine and choose them often especially when recording audio for video. I like them on a Jecklin Disc.

One mic that hasn't been mentioned is the AT 4054. This is a stage vocals condenser mic that has also found a home in many studios. It's great on vocals and also happens to be very good on acoustic guitar. I have gotten very good tracks pointing it straight up at the guitar while I stand and play above it.

Another good mic placement in over the shoulder near your ear pointing down at the guitar. I like this with my 603 or Pro37.

Dynamic omnis are great for recording acoustic guitar because they can be placed really close without getting a proximity effect. Sometimes I work with a pair of omnis less than six inches from the guitar, one on the twelfth fret and one on the wood behind the soundhole. Stereo and everything.

Ok, now to the important stuff.

Even if I'm recording to my iRiver internal mic I always use a gobo when recording acoustic guitar. I made my own out of rigid fiberglass and burlap. It is just amazing what a gobo will do for your sound. Two's not too many. I use mics right in front of the gobo or peeking over the top. Or I just play into the gobo and mic one of the ways described above.

None of the mics I ever bought made as much difference as a good preamp. I use an M-Audio DMP2 which is about the least expensive quality preamp. It makes all my mics sound better. I have two and never record without them.

And most important is your playing. Practice. Make sure you're in tune. record yourself. Listen. If it sounds boomy maybe you should hit the bass strings a little softer. When recording I often play very soft. Much quieter than I could ever play live. If a string has a twang or a buzz control it with your fingers. To get good acoustic guitar recordings you have to control your guitar and make it do what you want it to do. Iteration is the key. Record, listen, practice, record, etc.

And I don't mean generally. I mean on that part that you're working on recording right now. If it's not good enough it may be the mic or the mic placement and if while you are listening you get some ideas try them. But in the end you are going to have to play the part and make it sound the way you want it.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Wed, 28 May 2008

Calvin "Fuzz" Jones and "Papa" Joe Lee reunited after 70 years

Six of us took the Blues Van down to Senatobia, Mississippi to meet Joe Lee's childhood friend, Calvin Jones. When we got home I had an email from Pete Mitchell, the Stratmaster. Here's my short description of our trip that I sent him.

-----

Pete,

You'll dig this. My friend Joe Lee grew up with Calvin "Fuzz" Jones in
Inverness, Mississippi in the thirties. We went to Senatobia,
Mississippi today to visit, take pictures, and conduct a very informal
interview.

Joe was a top session man in Memphis during the late fifties and
sixties and he worked with Scotty Moore at Fernwood, played with the
Bill Black Combo, recorded many hits in Memphis at Fernwood and other
studios and in Jonesboro at his own studio and label, Alley Records.

Meanwhile Calvin moved north to Chicago. Started playing guitar and
hanging with Freddy King. Played in and fronted several bands
including the Chicago Flames playing rock n roll and blues. Took up
bass when a guy gave him a pawn ticket for a bass. He'd been knowing
Muddy Waters for a while but now he started playing bass in Muddy's
band. Worked with Muddy through most of the seventies. Still plays
with Bob Margolin in Muddy Waters reunion band plus he recorded with
my friend Sam Carr in just the last few years.

Joe and Calvin hadn't seen each other for nearly seventy years. Joe
has pictures of the farm in Mississippi where they were raised that he
took to Calvin's apartment. They had a great time reminiscing. Myself
and several other blues fans would occasionally interject a question.

Joe became aware of Calvin and his life in music when Calvin was
interviewed by Living Blues and he mentioned Joe Lee (Joe's father)
and his childhood friend Sonny (Joe Lee). We connected with Bob
Margolin and Living Blues, I got Calvin's phone number, and it turns
out we're just a few hours apart.

What a long strange trip it's been.

I have over an hour of audio tape with Joe and Calvin reminiscing and
catching up. Plus still pictures taken today and not yet out of the
camera.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Mon, 26 May 2008

A lifetime of self publishing

There's a topic about self publishing going on over at DailyKos.

Click on over for the whole thing. Here's my post.

Great topic choice.

Before there was mimeograph there were spirit duplicators.

For me anyway. Spirit duplicators disadvantage was they would only do short runs. Their advantage was that they would do short runs. Also they were cheap used.

In 1960 I was a member of the Elmhurst Astronomical Society and I published "The Observer's BiMonthly" on my spirit duplicator.

I was also editor of the High School literary magazine, "Collage", in 1964 and 1965. A friend and I published the "In And Out Digest", a comedy of manners. Doing this taught me the power of snark and just how much trouble a printing press can lead to.

Another friend and I had bought guitars. We were listening to Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and recording onto audio cassettes that were bigger than VHS tapes (but thinner). The only distribution we had was playing the tapes for friends when they came by to visit.

In the early seventies at the Northwestern University Library we had an opportunity to do some video production on a Sony open reel video recorder. Until Beta and VHS tapes there was no video distribution format.

Then, before cheap copy machines, came the cassette revolution. Although they were sometimes used to record demos their real power was as a distribution channel. Eventually cassette became a car and home standard and bands and other self publishers could buy a duplicating deck and make copies of their music to sell/giveaway at shows. By then copy shops allowed you to affordably reproduce black and white liner art.

An important aspect of copy machine publishing was bulk mail. We published the "JUG News" for the Jonesboro User Group for years using copy machines and then offset printing. We had a mailing list over 500 and it was bulk mail that made that possible.

A friend of ours from the Jonesboro User Group started a dialup ISP business and we were early adopters. We were publishing on the web in 1995. Delta Boogie came soon after.

At this same time I moved to computer for music production. Each cassette machine runs at it's own speed. They will not sync with video. Hard drive recording made it possible to sync quality audio with VHS camcorder footage. The capture cards were a real problem as well as inherent graininess of VHS. MiniDV and firewire solved those problems. It is now possible to do very high quality video production using computers and inexpensive consumer equipment.

And, of course, we all know that the internet is the distribution channel for these videos. Even though I can make DVDs and they are better quality than my downloads almost all of my video distribution is over the internet.

I also record audio of my live shows on my iRiver running RockBox and post the shows at the Live Music Archive at archive.org.

I'm still running Delta Boogie.

And I blog internet video and audio at MixRemix.

Sorry for the long comment but it's been a long and interesting life in the self publishing business.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Thu, 08 May 2008

How to play Delta Boogie Radio (or any playlist at a URL) from an icon on the windows desktop using Winamp (or any media player that plays .m3u files).

Thanks to Sandi Sallings who gave me the idea for this project.

Winamp does do an excellent job playing Delta Boogie Radio over dialup. I recommend it.

If you did a standard install of winamp you will find in C:\Program Files\Winamp a file called winamp.m3u. Double clicking on that file should start Winamp with your most recently played playlist.

If it opens another media player you need to make Winamp the default player for .m3u files. To do this instead of clicking on the winamp.m3u file right click on it and then choose Open With. From the list of programs you see choose Winamp and click the box so it always opens .m3u files with Winamp. Save. Then try it again. Double click on winamp.m3u and see if it starts Winamp.

Good.

Now download this file and save it in C:\Program Files|Winamp.

To download right click the link and then choose Save Target As or Save Link As.

You should be able to see it in the same listing as the winamp.m3u file. Right there under D. Ok, double click that. It should start Delta Boogie Radio in Winamp.

Now download this file to your desktop.

Btw this file was made in XP. Other OS users should probably make their own shortcut.

You should now see an icon on your desktop with a big green arrow and it says DBRadio. Double click the icon to start Delta Boogie Radio.

Now how does that work. There's a tricky bit of redirection there in the dbradio.m3u file. If you look at it in a text editor you'll find one link like this.

http://deltaboogie.com/radio/delta_boogie_radio.m3u

See. If I find an m3u file on my hard drive and double click it it will load and play. But how can I do that when the playlist is out on the internet? I can't. So I put a playlist on my hard drive and all it does is load the playlist that's out on the internet. Clever Eh? These innertubes. What will they think of next?

And then the icon is just a desktop shortcut to dbradio.m3u. With the image changed to a big green arrow provided by microsoft.

Of course this works with other players and other playlists (including our hifi playlist).

And there is a limitation. It does not auto shuffle the playlist. It just plays the last shuffle. If you want another show go out on the net and give it a shuffle.

http://deltaboogie.com/radio

Click the radio to play.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Sun, 23 Mar 2008

Hidden Treasure Mics

http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopic.php?t=41674 - Hidden Treasure Mics

I read this thread on the Tape Op Message Board and enjoyed it quite a bit. Since I'm always broke my mics are all budget mics. Here's some of my favorites. I used these recording the new Flying Hungarians CD.

Realistic 1070b (1070c 1070d) Omni Dynamic

My secret weapon for field recording. Manufactured for Radio Shack by Shure. It looks exactly like an EV RE50. It has an extended frequency range which makes it better for recording some things than the 635 and RE50 interview mics. More like a PL9 or an RE55.

These are extremely versatile mics. Great for recording the whole band in stereo. Great on acoustic guitar. I even sang a vocal through mine on the new CD.

The c and d versions are the same mic painted black. The d version has the magic word Shure printed on it so it goes the highest. The 1070b mics are on ebay all the time for $20-$30. You can sometimes get a pair for $30-$40.

Audio Technica ATM25 Cardiod Dynamic

This is a pro kick mic for under $100 used. Very versatile. Good for anything bassy and loud.

Audio Technica Pro 37 (37r) Cardiod Condenser

Cardiod SDC. Famous for drum overheads. Good for acoustic guitar. Kind of like an MXL 603 with more detail in the high end. The 37r is the same mic as the 37, just older.

Peavey 520i Cardiod Dynamic

Called a poor mans SM7. Good for horns, bass instruments, loud vocals. It stayed on the bass cab during recording and I also sang several vocals through it.

Beyer M400 Soundstar II Cardiod Dynamic

Harvey Gerst recommends this mic if you can't afford an SM7. So I got one. They usually run $150 but I lucked out and paid under $100. Sounds great on vocals. I haven't done any recording with mine yet.

Audio Technica AT4054 Cardiod Condenser

This is a fantastic high end vocal mic. Designed for stage use but perfectly at home in a studio. The 4054 has bass rolloff. The 4055 no bass rolloff. The AE5400 replaces these mics with switched bass rolloff. The AE5400 is high. You can't find the 4055. The 4054 is the bargain.

Usually runs around $150 but I worked ebay hard for about 6 months and got one from the Grammy Awards for $110.

EV RE10, RE11 Cardiod Dynamic

These are the least expensive in the RE10-18 family. The RE10 is for instruments. The RE11 is for vocals. Either is good on guitar cabs. More treble and cut than an SM57. The RE10 kills on blues harp. Versatile, general purpose, indestructible.

M-Audio DMP2 DMP3 Preamp/Direct Box

This preamp will make all your mics sound better. This is the best bargain in quality preamps. Compared to low end mix boards we are talking about a big noticeable difference especially in high end detail so important to acoustic instruments. Two channels for about $150. DMP2s are rare but much cheaper.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Fri, 15 Feb 2008

CD Session Log - December 29, 2007 HairyLarryLand

Randy, Carl, Larry

-0079 - Blue Nines
-0080 - Surprise Blues - Lead tails and song drags at end
-0081 - Surprise Blues - Outside lead
-0082 - Fish Story - Good
-0083 - The Way - Ok
-0084 - With All The Love - Ok
-0085 - Won't Be Down Always - Good
-0086 - Blues For Peace - Good
-0087 - blues nines

On this session

I played my Fender Lead guitar through my Silvertone twin miked with an SM56 and an EV RE11.
Carl played bass on his Peavey bass through a Peavey bass head and a Kustom column with 2 15s miked with the Peavey 520i.
Randy played my orange drums (Kent with Ludwig snare) with an ATM25 on kick and 2 AT Pro37s on overheads.

82, 85, and 86 are used on the CD. I overdubbed vocals and harp in January. Here's some overdub details on those songs.

-0082 - Fish Story
Vocals Peavey 520i
Harp EV RE11

-0085 - Won't Be Down Always
Vocals Peavey 520i
Harp SM56

-0086 - Blues For Peace
Larry vocals and harp Shure 545D
Randy vocals AKGD690
Megan vocals EV 357B

CD Session Log - Nov. 25, 2007 Home

Backed Up 60-71

CD Session Log December 29, 2007 Home

Backed Up 75-87.

CD Session Log - December 22, 2007 HairyLarryLand

Kier and Larry

Rehearsed and recorded test tracks on The Way and Blue Nines

Tue, 12 Feb 2008

The MCA SP-1 microphone review - funky and soon to be uncommon

Did you ever see a condenser microphone in a blister pack. I know we're used to wood boxes, metal boxes, at least plastic boxes but a blister pack? Yep, that's the way you get the MCA SP-1. Now that's funky.

I bought two after I read the favorable tape-op review. The one that said that you just knew that out of all the cheap chinese condensers there just had to be a good one. Well it is in fact a good one.

I've used mine twice so far.

I used them as a stereo pair recording acoustic music at Bunky's Breakfast in Helena, Arkansas. I had them up close to the stage at the right and left corners. In the center I had my Superlux CM-H8C set to cardiod.

They did not do as good as the Superlux at noise rejection from the rear. When there was a crowded noisy restaurant the Superlux gave a superior focus on the music. However I also recorded a set with a near empty restaurant. This set came out in beautiful stereo and the MCA mics sounded as good as the Superlux. I ended up blending all three mics. The SP-1s gave me stereo and the Superlux allowed me to crisp up the center stage activity.

Then I tried the SP-1 as a vocal mic overdubbing a part. I used the Audio Technica AT4054 like a stage mic and the SP-1 was about 8 inches above it pointed at my forehead or the bridge of my nose. I sang about a foot back from the mics. Later I played back just the vocal parts for soundwoman. Neither she nor I could reliably distinguish the tracks. The $40 SP-1 competed head to head with the superb AT 4054. Now that was a surprise.

I noticed that PSSL still had these listed in their catalog. Here's the link.

http://www.pssl.com/Search?q=sp1&x=0&y=0&by=s

This is a discontinued item and when they're gone I expect them to be higher on the used market than they are new. That's why I list them as soon to be uncommon.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

crossposted at the mojopie Funky and Uncommon Recording Gear forum

http://mojopie.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=1763

Thu, 24 Jan 2008

How to do an a/b comparison of audio sources.

Often I want to do an a/b comparison of two sources, maybe different mics, preamps, placements, etc. Say I've recorded two different mics onto 7 and 8 on my Fostex and I want to a/b compare them. Say it's an EV PL6 in 7 and and EV 660 in 8.

I'm just saying that because in fact that's what I do have plugged into my Fostex.

Make your recording with your levels from each source matching pretty well. Check that each track sounds clear and clean.

Here's how I set up for a/b compare.

Adjust the volume so each track has the same output.

Pan 7 hard left. Pan 8 hard right. Play both tracks. Adjust the sliders until the left and right outputs match. Depending on what you're comparing they may not match perfectly. When they match each track is outputting the same volume.

Do not compare the tracks in stereo. You want to hear each track, mono, through both speakers.

So go back to mono. Pan 7 and 8 back to center. Mute 7 and play only 8. Don't change the levels you just set. Mute 8 and play 7. This way you listen to each channel at the same output level through the same speakers. On my deck you can do a two finger punch and barely hear the transition.

When I was using the sliders to adjust the levels while comparing the tracks I thought I could hear a difference. With the outputs leveled and using the mute to switch tracks I couldn't hear any difference at all. Just a slight volume difference can have a significant impact on the perceived sound.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Wed, 23 Jan 2008

Mono Monster

I've got totally narcissistic listening to Mono Monster. I just can't put it up. Here's how I describe it on my archive.org page.

Mono Monster is a guitar instrumental that cooks all the way to the last two choruses where it double times on home.

Please head over and give it a listen. If you like it post a review. You can even post a review if you don't like it. It won't make me mad.

I'd just love for you to hear it.

http://www.archive.org/details/mono_monster

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Always Share

I was reading a thread at the homerecording bbs about whether you share your recordings or not and if you do how do you share them. Here's a link.

http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=257909

And here's my reply.

Congrats on the nice thread. Lots to think about here.

I always share. I even post with a Creative Commons attribution license so people can post or p2p my songs and use them in their own projects.

http://creativecommons.org

I post my original music to archive.org Open Source Audio and Video. I post the live shows at the Live Music Archive also hosted by archive.org.

http://archive.org

I promote my music on my websites and on Delta Boogie Radio - All Originals!

http://deltaboogie.com
http://mixremix.com
http://deltaboogie.com/radio

I make CDs and DVDs which I give away to friends, radio stations, and fans. I used to sell CDs at shows but when they hit under fifty cents to make I realized I would have a lot more people listening to my songs if I just gave it away.

I promote on YouTube, MySpace and other video and audio sharing sites. I am looking into TubeMogul which posts to multiple sites for you.

http://youtube.com
http://myspace.com
http://tubemogul.com

I think a broad distribution of your product will garner a wider audience. Bittorrent is a good way to distribute large files like videos and hifi albums. By using the Creative Commons license I make it legal for p2p sites to include my files.

I am very interested in the part of this topic about those who do share. What is your strategy to promote your songs on the internet?

Thanks,

Hairy Larry