When a band or artist is first starting out, many choose to make a demo recording of their music. While some find that recording a demo is essential in getting their musical career off the ground, others find that it has little benefit to them in the long-term. Here are just a few things to consider when thinking about recording a demo.

If you’re a new artist or band, then you might not have the financial backing which is often required to record a whole album, which can require a larger of time to be spent in the studio. Once you have a recording contract, it is also unlikely that your original recording will be used – usually they will be professional rerecorded before public release. In this sense, recording a whole album simply to allow music executives to listen to a short sample can seem like an unproductive use of time and money – it can be a better idea to simply record a short demon to show what you can do.

It is also worth bearing in mind that demo recordings do not always give a true representation of your musical ability. After all, those who like your music won’t simply want to listen to your recordings as they play online games or on their headphones during their commute to work. They’ll also want to hear you play live – and so will record companies and producers. Although the fact that broadband internet is now widely available from companies such as O2 can mean that a large number of people will listen online to digital recordings of your music, this will not negate the need to be able to play live. Whilst a demo can act as a good taster of your sound, but you should make sure you are able to recreate that sound for a live audience should you be invited to.

Lastly, it is worth bearing in mind that unsolicited demo tapes rarely get much attention. Only record a demo if you have a clear plan on how you want to use it – other than just blindly forwarding a copy on to every record company which you can think of. Otherwise you may be better off recording a full album, which you may be able to see at gigs and performances.

-Andrea

As some of you already know, I invented a new type of number-theoretical diffuser a while ago and I have been working on developing it into a product and filing the necessary patent applications.  It’s called the Acoustic Ramp™ because it is wedge shaped.  The diffuser became my master’s thesis for my degree work at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell in Sound Recording Technology.  The degree that I will earn is called a Master’s of Music in Sound Recording Technology (M.M. S.R.T.) and will hopefully make it easier to get a job that pays the bills!

This past Saturday 7/30/2011 I spent the day running a series of tests on the diffuser and comparing its performance to that of a flat reflector.  Essentially what I am trying to show is how much better the back wall of a control room would be if it had an array of my Acoustic Ramp™ diffusers and wasn’t a flat wall.  When sound hits a flat wall it bounces back, a lot like a rubber ball might bounce.  The problem is that the sound bouncing off the wall interferes with the sound going towards the wall and causes problems like comb filtering, flutter echo and bass buildup. One option for handling the problem is to absorb all of the sound hitting the wall and preventing it from reflecting.  This works, but really changes the sound of the room, deadening the frequency response and creating an unnatural ambiance. The other option is to use diffusion to reflect the sound in many directions and to prevent the sound bouncing back in only one direction.

Testing the Acoustic Ramp at U. Mass Lowell's Concert Hall

Testing a diffuser is actually pretty complicated and involved, but in a nutshell the process is as follows:

Shoot an impulse burst of sound at the diffuser and then record what bounces back every 5 degrees in the semi-circle around the diffuser.

The white tape in the picture shows the test points where I placed the microphone. The first test point is at 0 degrees directly underneath the speaker.  This test point simulates what a listener might hear if they were sitting directly in front of the speaker and the sound went past them and hit the back wall of the control room and then bounced back.  A flat wall would reflect a sound very similar to what was coming out of the speaker, essentially an echo that hasn’t been greatly changed. A diffuser should have multiple smaller echoes spread out over time with seriously reduced sound pressure. This is what the 0 Degrees test results look like:

Diagram showing the difference between sound reflecting of a flat reflector and sound being diffused by the Acoustic Ramp

As you can see from the diagram, the large reflection in the top response is changed into a series of three smaller reflections  and greatly attenuated (reduced) amplitude when diffused by the Acoustic Ramp.  The reflection is spread across time and diminished greatly in amplitude.

Hurray! It Works!

I was recently given a pair of JBL L100T speakers from the late 80′s.  They needed to have the foam surround replaced because the originals had started to rot away. I ordered new surround from Speaker Works (http://www.speakerworks.com/) so that I wouldn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for the repair.

In order to replace the foam surrounds, I needed to first remove the woofers from the cabinet so that I could work on the speaker more easily.  After removing the speaker, I discovered a large pile of what appeared to be cat food in the bottom corner of the speaker.

Here are some of the photos taken on my phone. Apologies for the poor quality, the room was dark and I had to use a flash for up close photos…

Cat food carefully collected and stored by a family of mice.

More cat food and mice dropping found under the fiberglass insulation

I pulled the bag's worth of cat food out of the speaker cabinet.

More later when I get the speaker surrounds replaced!

-H

Question:

I have a question about the patchbays. I’ve laid out all my gear and figured out every I/O that I have and what cables I need, I started hooking things up and I’m slightly confused about how the audio interface (M-Audio Delta 1010) hooks up with the TASCAM DM-3200 through the patchbay.

Answer:

The most common configuration for an audio interface, a mixer and a patchbay is as follows:

Directs outputs on the mixer would be half-normaled to the analog inputs on the audio interface.

Analog outputs on the audio interface are half-normaled to the line inputs on the mixer to allow for digital mixing in the mixer.

In the case of the TASCAM DM-3200, in order to get more analog outputs you would want to purchase 1 or 2 TASCAM IF-AN/DM 8-channel expander cards.  You would use these additional outputs as direct outputs or bus outputs.  Out of the box, the DM-3200 has only 4 assignable analog outputs, plus the main outs and the monitor outs.  The DM-3200 does have 24 channels of TASCAM Digital Interface outputs (TDIF) and you could buy an audio interface card that has TDIF digital inputs.

You could also purchase the TASCAM IF-FW/DMmkII a card the makes the DM-3200 into an interface eliminating the need for the M-Audio Delta 1010′s.  The only problem with this is that M-Audio has REALLY good drivers for the Delta 1010′s and TASCAM has a really bad reputation for their drivers and support. I have no firsthand knowledge of problems with drivers for the DM-3200, but I have experienced the disaster of Giga-Sampler, Giga-Studio and GVI which all used specialized drivers to work.

Hope this helps!

By Carlton Meriwether (from the New England Institute of Art AKA AI New England)

Distressor EL8-X

Distressor EL8-X

The Distressor EL8-X is a mono digital compressor/ limiter produced by Empirical Labs. A highly adaptable machine they’re considered one of the industry standards for compression and distortion. They have a multitude of compression ratios ranging from 1:1 to 20:1 and a Nuke setting for brick wall limiting. Two types of distortion can be applied focusing on 2^nd or 3^rd harmonics.  Time based features like attack and release are calibrated to keep consistency between machines when stereo linking.

The Distressor was built with not only modern compression but with vintage emulation in mind. The Distressor has a soft parabolic knee when set to ratios less than 6:1 giving a more natural sound to compression. Setting the unit to 6:1 or greater applies a more sharp vintage knee to simulate tube, FET, or  optical compressor machines from the past. There are specific settings listed by the manufacturer to emulate the LA-2A, 3A, 4A; the dbx160; the Fairchild IGFET and 670.

With a frequency range of 2Hz to 160kHz and a 110dB dynamic range the Distressor is a complete all around compressor. With an MSRP of $3000 for a pair ($2295 through dealers like SweetWater) the Distressor is a reasonably affordable replacement for multiple vintage compressor/limiter rack modules. An over all well built machine utilizing all metal film and Roeder resistors, the craftsmanship is well above average in American made electronics. The hand connected input and output ports allow for consumer changing of the “hot” pin in the xlr connectors to match any gear already in use and the A/C power source can run on 110 and 220 volt inputs giving the Distressor superior compatibility on a global scale.

Sources:

http://www.empiricallabs.com/distdes.html

http://www.empiricallabs.com/index2.html

http://www.wikirecording.org/Distressor_Compressor

http://www.wavedistribution.com/distressor.htm

http://www.empiricallabs.com/distman.html#DRatios

Written by Joe Cenedella (New England Institute of Art AKA A.I. New England)

dbx 160 (1976) Designed by David Blackmer, using early Overeasy circuit and RMS detection

The dbx 160 was introduced in 1976 as a professional quality compressor/limiter.  The brainchild of David E. Blackmer (founder of dbx) it quickly became a must have for studio engineers of the time.  Besides being one of the earliest compressors, the dbx 160 introduced to the market features that allowed for a much smoother and more natural sounding compression.  The 160 uses voltage controlled amplifiers (VCAs) which adjust gain settings to fluctuate with the voltage creating smooth and natural sounding compression that closely simulates how the human ear interprets sound. Along with the VCA the dbx 160 introduced true RMS detection paired with feed forward gain reduction. This allows the model to achieve an infinite compression ratio (120:1) without excessive gain levels, and without excessive distortion, which causes oscillation in the feedback loop. All models of compressors at the time the dbx 160 was introduced gave the user some control over compression in the form of preset ratios (10:1, 20:1). (source) this is where the VCA’s come in allowing the attack and release to fluctuate with the input signals envelope. This allowed for more of a set it and forget it approach instead of constantly adjusting the ratio throughout a performance.

The Features:

Auto detected/attenuated 40dB for ground loop hum

Introduced “over-easy” compression, or soft knee compression

Adjustable threshold 10mV-3V

LEDs for input level, output level, or gain

First to have fully adjustable compression up to 120:1

RMS detection, VCAs, and Feed Forward gain reduction

VU origin adjustable 20dB (+/- 10dB input)

Mono inputs, two required for stereo tracking

Output level of +/- 26dB Hi-Z, +/-24dB Lo-Z

Cost New: $300 in 1976

Cost Now: pair sells on ebay for $1600

Link to user manual: http://mixonline.com/online_extras/dbx_160.pdf

Official dbx Pro Audio Info: http://www.dbxpro.com/vintage_download.php?product=160

Other Sources:

http://mixonline.com/TECnology-Hall-of-Fame/1976_dbx_160VU_complimiter/index.html

http://www.barryrudolph.com/mix/comp.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable-gain_amplifier

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dbx,_Inc.

This semester my Audio Technology 2 classes at the New England Institute of Art (or AI New England) will be compiling a list of classic gear with descriptions, links and information about why and how equipment became classic. This is the list I came up with while waiting in the airport in Detroit, so I am sure that I have left off at least a few classic items. I would encourage everyone to make suggestions of equipment to add to the list. Right now, for reasons of my class curriculum we are including only preamps, dynamics and spectral processors. Here is my first revision of classic gear:

Compressors:

1176

LA-2A

LA-3A

Distressor

Fairchild (mono or stereo)

Neve 33609

dbx 160

API 2500

API 225/525

Gates:

Drawmer DS-201

Pre-Amps:

Neve 1073

UA 610

API 212/512

Millenia HV-3C

Focusrite Red

Trident “A Range” – Daking MPIV

Ampex Tape Machine Pres

EQ:

Massive Passive

API 550A or 550B

Weiss EQ-1

Pultec EQ (Original or Manley)

SSL EQ Module

GML 8200

As many of you already know, I love to build things out of wood: guitars, acoustic treatments, furniture, and assorted house-oriented projects.  What you probably didn’t know is that there’s a black walnut tree in my backyard.  For years and years the squirrels have been denting the hood of my car by throwing walnuts at it. You can’t blame the squirrels.  The walnuts do sound great when they bonk my car, but it still sucks. Partially from my frustration that cars are made out of aluminum foil instead of actual steel, I have been fantasizing about cutting down the two large branches above my parking space in the driveway. And I have been fantasizing about how great it would be if I could then mill the logs from the branches into usable lumber.

Last week my dreams came true and the next door neighbor hired a tree company to remove the branches because they were also above their parking spaces and creating a wonderful super-highway for the squirrels nests in the roof of their house. I then convinced the guys gutting the trees to give me all of the large branches from the walnut tree for free. Score! I was so excited.  Black walnut has an incredibly beautiful grain with a dark brown heart wood and a creamy tan sap wood.  Walnut makes amazing guitar necks, great furniture and is just generally really cool looking and feeling.

I ended up finding out about Roy from A.W. Woodworking (phone: 401-219-1258) through Craigslist and he gave me a quote for driving all the way from Rhode Island up to Medford, MA to mill my black walnut into usable lumber. The price was about 1/4 – 1/3 what the lumber would have cost from a lumberyard locally. Hurray!  The following is a short photo story of the process:

The Black Walnut tree after the branches have been cut down

Black walnut branches waiting to be milled

Branches are somewhat less than ideal for milling because they aren’t straight and they aren’t very big. It makes is harder on whoever is milling the wood. Roy did a great job!

A cross-section of a log and 4 fresh walnuts before the soft outer shell dries and falls off

Another cross section of a log with the bark still intact

A tiny black walnut sapling growing from the neighbors' foundation

The waxed end of a cut branch

The saw mill has arrived and is backing into the driveway

The portable saw mill is in position and ready for work

Garfield places the first (and smallest) branch on the mill to rip it into planks

The blade of the mill is lined up with the first branch ready to remove the first slab

The first slice comes off the first log while the saw exhausts on the driveway

Roy cranks the handle pulling the saw blade through the log

Garfield rotates the log into position for ripping off the top slab

Ready to rip off the top slab to create two square edges

Now with two clean edges the log can be ripped into planks

A bird's eye view of Roy and Garfield working

This ripped log shows the beauty of black walnut's grain

Discarded slabs of bark and pieces that are too short to mill

Black Walnut planks after milling waiting to be stacked and dried

Top view of the black walnut wood grain showing both the lighter sap wood and the darker heart wood

This piece of embedded metal ruined the band saw blade

A close-up view of the grain of the black walnut plank

Several months ago I was approached by two former students (Evan Schlosser and Robie Rowland) at the New England Institute of Art to help them to design a studio in a rented space in Allston.  They introduced me to their partner Arjun Ray and I started consulting with them.  The space was being converted into rehearsal  spaces and construction was already underway in the space to convert it from an office building into a rehearsal room.  We would convert that into a fully-functional professional studio.

After measuring the space and investigating the existing construction, I came up with a design that would isolate the studio from their 3 neighbors as much as possible and that would provide them with 2 large and functional live rooms and  a good sized and well proportioned control room.  My initial design follows but had to be altered some to address problems such as sprinkler and HVAC locations.

The Original Design for Con-Fusion Entertainment's Studio

One of the things that is very nice about the space is the two large windows allowing natural light into the studio’s control room.  I designed all of the spaces to avoid parallel wall to help prevent problems with standing waves and the accumulation of low frequencies in less-than-ideal locations.  The rectangular space is broken up in such a way that the control room gets larger the further away from the mix position.  Both the live rooms have site-lines to the control room as well.  The control room, where the most time will be spent, is the largest room and will allow for comfortable seating for producers, engineers and their clients.

Here are some of the early construction photos.  In the pictures are Arjun Ray, Robie Rowland and Evan Schlosser (The 3 partners of Con-Fusion Entertainment), and Mike, Rick and Robie the Elder.  I tried to create some order to the photos to create a narrative.  At this point, nearly all of the metal studs are in place and drywall is starting to be hung.

Looking at control room from inside the large live room

View out of the control room door

View into the corner of the control room

View out the main control room window

The wall makes a slight job at the studio entrance

Exterior walls filled with 703 fiberglass insulation

Detail of the double wall construction

3 Layer studio window in progress

Detail of finished studio window

Cutting metal studs makes sparks!

Placing the first piece of gypsum board (from the left: Evan, Robie and Arjun)

Arjun sealing the top edge of the drywall

Signatures of the builders on the first drywall

So those are some of the pictures of the progress.  I would love to hear your thoughts!

I was really bummed when my 20-Space Raxxess mobile rack disintegrated on me with all of my most expensive gear in it.  The bottom collapsed and then the whole thing twisted breaking the sides as well.  I was not at all impressed with Raxxess’ design after looking at it closely.  The entire weight of both sides of the rack is held up by 6 metal pins in 3/4 inch particle board.  Not a good design.  So I called Raxxess and they agreed to send me the broken parts after they grilled me about how heavy my equipment was and what I was using it for.  It’s a rack and I put audio gear in it and it broke because the design is bad.  The guys on the phone were pretty snotty, but they did agree to send me the replacement parts and they did it pretty quickly.  Then I thought, “Do you want to put your favorite rack gear in a rack that previously disintegrated?”

The broken pin holes on the bottom plate of the Raxxess rack

A detail of the broken particle board

So I decided to build a replacement instead.  The new version is MUCH stronger, better designed, has bigger casters and it is generally awesome.  I DIY.  It would have been faster and maybe cheaper just to buy a new crappy rack, but I wouldn’t be very proud of it!

Top Corner of New Rack

Big Fucking Wheels (For Off-Road Recordin')

Side View of New Rack

Cable Tie Mounts

Cable Tied Power Cables Down the Right Rear

Fully Wired Rack with Optional Squirrel's Nest

I would love to see other people homemade audio equipment racks!  This one is probably only going to be loved by me and the family of squirrels that made their home in the back!