Hi Friends, my team and I had a blast at the AES Convention in LA the last couple of days. This is the first of two videos giving you some impressions of AES: We´re checking out the latest headphone amp by Littlelabs, the "Monotor". Standard Audio is presenting their new innovative multiband compressor, Eric Valentine of UnderToneAudio shows off their latest redesigns of classic EQs and Compressors and we also have a short talk with John Krivit, President of AES. Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Thanks Eric!! You Rock!! Yes, Eric Valentine, wow what a humble and informed guy! The Standard Audio gear is fantastic, Overstayer, Amazing and then throw in the new Little Labs, just so much great gear in one place with talented informed people! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Hi Arthur! Thanks ever so much! You Rock! Yes, I had an amazing time at AES!! The Undertone gear is so good!! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Holy hell eric valentine what a freakin eq.... what a feature list, its now my no 1 eq wishlist item and I have been wanting an eq since bloooody long..... jeff is another killer dude, I have his vca comp want more of his new stuff
Hi Warren, it would be amazing to do a full interview with Eric and studio tour. I know he did one a while back with Pensado, but a recent one would be great!
Thanks for sharing Jeff Turzo's piece w/Overstayer great musician/engineer/producer loved his stuff with God Lives Underwater and Wired All Wrong..such a humble knowledgeable guy! Much appreciated!!
Hi Celo, agreed 100% about Jeff Turzo! Amazing booth! Standard Audio, Overstayer and UnderTone all together!! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
A lot of the Scully sound character comes from the mic input, line input, and output transformers. These are the UTC A-39, UTC A-18, and FREED 32035. Also, the Sprague Caps, GE 2N527 and 2N4250 transistors. I would guess the bulk of the sound comes from the relationship between the mic or guitar coils/transformers, and the UTC transformers. There's something about that relationship that immediately creates this thick, rich, vintage sound, that is difficult and costly to reproduce. Then, add the softening going back and forth from 32 more coils (16 tracks, write and read heads) and you get the beginning of the foundation of a hit record. One suggestion is to add your effects, eq, gate, compressor, and dolby to each channel before you record to tape, and not after. This way the transformers and tape get to tame all of the effects too! I think Bowie did this, but I'm not sure. Then, take the 16 tracks, and mix that thru a good stereo compressor/filter/limiter and to stereo tape again, and you'll be close to that sound you have been looking for; although this does not cure bad playing. To note, adding some cheap tube preamps in the beginning, right after your C12 or Neumann clone to bring the line level up before it hits tape seems to really do some magic and throw a vintage blanket over the sound. You may be surprised what a used $39 ART preamp can do. Now, if you don't have this stuff, you can start with any used reel to reel tape machine, but you must clean and demagnatize the heads, and get a new tape from ATR in Pennsylvania. I believe it's Mary that answers the phone. When I was last there last, they were making the 2" stock for Abby Roads. So again, new tape please because "The magic you seek starts and ends with a tape machine." One note that I found interesting, I think the electronics on the newer smaller tape units are equal to, or superior to, the sound of the old big stuff, and could solve your tape challenges completely. All you need to do is record your clone tube mic, cheap tube pre, effects, eq, and dolby to tape, then dump that thru a small apogee to your laptop doing one or two channels at a time. Then, send the final multi-channel mix to any Mackie VLZ3 or better mixer, then back to stereo reel to reel, then your done. Lastly, if your recording right next to your tape machine, expensive cables and balanced circuitry may be unnecessary and unneeded because the small tape units may have an FET front end anyway, so short cables everywhere please! Also, if you can get a tape unit with a variable pitch control your golden. So what you do is spin the pitch fully clockwise (faster) and record. Ask the band to play a little faster too.. Then, turn the pitch back to normal, and wah-la, your bass sound just got 25% thicker. Good Luck Scotty
Hi princetoneaudio, WOW!! Thanks for the incredibly detailed comment! I am impressed ART stuff, Ulrich Wilde uses them and gets great results! Thanks for the great tips! Yes I love the speeding up and down Tape tricks! George Martin and Pink Floyd did that a lot! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Ha! Glenn and Trey in the background during the Overstayer segment. By the way, great job on the audio! It's amazing how much you're NOT hearing from the crowds. Cheers!
Haha yes, Glenn was there! We hang out that day! Thanks, it's difficult doing great audio in those situations! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
I hope you had a chance to interview Steven Slate about the distoressor and reverbs he's releasing and Dynaudio about their new monitors the LYD and the mastering tower ones. Looking forward to the other parts.
Hi Jorgen, agreed! I was blown away by all of these guys level of talent and commitment to making great things!! Have a marvellous time, recording and mixing many thanks Warren
That switch was amazing Malcolm! I loved hearing the track with the Polarity flipped and just being able to hear the ambience on the track! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Ingenior were in their forties and they couldn't ... Do you mean they could not hear trebles as well as when they were young ? ;) Are you careful about your ears ? Do you monitor your hearing take its evolution in consideration ? Thanks for your awesome youtube channel btw !
Hi Florent, I've been very fortunate to protect my hearing! I am in the top % for my age group in hearing! But many people damaged their hearing, especially now with in-ears! We have to be very careful! Have a marvellous time, recording and mixing many thanks Warren
Re: Monotor - ok, keeping the whole signal path balanced all the way to the output - but headphone jacks only have three terminals (left, right and common / ground), so... How does that work? :P For 540$, surely they could've thrown in some crossfeed circuitry as well...
Hi KhronX, thanks for the great question! I highly suggest watching the Aspen Pitman video! He explains the benefits of keeping the signal balanced thought the circuitry! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Hi Alex, yes, if you get a chance watch the Aspen Pitman video! He talks about keeping the signal balanced the whole time, throughout the unit! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Produce Like A Pro You mean "Affect" :) I was just ever so slightly curious how his claim "fits together" with an industry standard, that's all... Also, how does the "keeping the signal balanced" work with the 3.5mm stereo(!) input? :)
19:00 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KQmucTjTKYk.html# -- This guy is a genius - its like even more anvanced and creative than my FabFilter PRO-Q software parametric - but just as detailed and sharp - completely different to use an EQ like that, but WOW - 1st piece of analogue hardware EQ ive seen that is classic and modern all at once - that fuckin notch switching into a multi band variable phase reverse - genius -- Its a bloody beast EQ - kind where u need to keep the manual out for a while - and what he said about his Re-amp ting, he's just right - shit man - his Unfairchild -- AAAHHHH - WOW - LA2A@s slowly die - Hes a Knowledgeable guy.
Hi DawntreaderUK!! Agreed 100%!! Eric is an insanely talented Producer and he is making some of the best equipment ever!! This booth was a wonderful booth! The Overstayer, Standard Audio and UnderToneAudio Booth was REALLY happening!! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren