Author: Teaj

Is there such a thing as “Concert Envy”?

I think there is.

See, my wife just loves to tease me with the fact that SHE got to see Michael Jackson on his tour after the release of the “Thriller” album, and I… did not.

Not fair!

But I’ve got something over her too –  I record with the same mic that Jackson used for most of his “Thriller” vocals… the Shure SM7B!!

Of course, it’s not the EXACT same mic that he used. Engineer Bruce Swedien or Producer Quincy Jones probably has that, and, man… could they sell THAT for a lot of money!!

Improve it or Lose it!

The SM7B has a long, rich history in pro audio.

It was first introduced in 1976 as a step up from the SM57, and as a smaller design than the SM5, a widely used broadcast mic.

Basically the owners said to the engineers “Redesign the sm57 cartridge element from the ground up, and make it better. Spare no expense.“

The result? The SM7B!

There are some who dismiss this mic because it’s a dynamic and not a condenser, but the word is quite widespread on the street that the SM7B is without question a quality option for any serious audiophile’s mic cabinet.

In fact, some ardent supporters really sing its praise, inventing outlandish superlatives that are hilarious! How about this gem I found online:

“It’s whispered that with careful positioning… you can use an SM7B to record the future!”

Humor aside, the popularity of this mic has not waned since the 80s, probably bolstered by the “Thriller” association that makes anything linked to it seem more important. That album continues to be a juggernaut in popular music’s influence.

In any case, I thought I’d put this mic through its paces in the studio and give us some sound bites so we can all decide whether the hype is well-founded or not.

Let’s dig in!

The Specs

For those of you who want the engineering specifications, as I always do, these are the SM7B parameters that give it its unique sound and tonal flexibility:

Type: Dynamic
Frequency Response: 50 to 20,000 Hz
Polar Pattern: Cardioid
Included Accessories: Foam windscreen; close-talk windscreen; locking yoke mount
Emphasis Controls: Bass roll-off & mid-range emphasis; Slotted response
     selector switches.
Microphone Connection: 3-pin (XLR)
Cartridge Shock Mount: Internal air-suspension shock & vibration isolator.
Case: Dark gray enamel aluminum and steel case with dark gray foam windscreen.
Electromagnetic Hum Sensitivity:
     60 Hz: 11 dB
     500 Hz: 24 dB
     1 kHz: 33 dB
Net Weight: 765.4 grams (1 lb, 11 oz)
Polarity: Positive pressure on diaphragm produces positive voltage on pin 2 relative to pin 3.
Output Level (at 1,000 Hz) Open Circuit Voltage: – 59.0 dB (1.12 mV)
     0 dB = 1 volt per Pascal
Swivel Assembly: Integrated, captive nut for ease of attachment to stand, fits
     5/8 in.–27 thread.
Impedance: 150 ohms for connection to microphone inputs rated at 19 to 300 ohms.

The two most important diagrams I always want to see with regard to microphones are these two – the polar patterns… :

… and the frequency response:

Knowing these facts helps us choose mics appropriately. If we consider what instrument we need to pick up, and how the response and polar patterns will either flatter, or worsen, the instrument’s most appealing characteristics, we’ll always have “the right tool for the job”. And THAT will mean… an excellent recording.

See? Even the dullest of specs can be pretty exciting when they’re working for YOUR music!

That Michael Thing

So are we hearing the SM7B on the entirety of Michael’s “Thriller” album??

Not exactly. First off, Bruce Swedien, the engineer for the project, was using the SM7 at the time, which was the original iteration of the mic. The SM7A, then the SM7B, followed from Shure some years later.

Now, according to Shure, all three versions of the mic sound acoustically identical.

Swedien, however, begs to differ. He says he can hear the difference. Given the high caliber of the products he’s put out, I tend to believe him.

But that doesn’t mean that the SM7B isn’t useful, or dependable, in the studio. In my experience, it is.

Second, Swedien has said himself that he used the mic on most of the songs, but not all.

In his book, “In the Studio with Michael Jackson“, Swedien recalls that he definitely used it on ” Billie Jean”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, and all of Vincent Price‘s voice-over work the song “Thriller”.

Even if it were just those, that’s pretty impressive for a dynamic mic!!

The remainder of the songs were tracked using a Nuemann U-87 mic.

Think of that! Arguably the greatest pop artist in the world sang, on his most popular album, through two mics: one that cost over three grand (the u-87) and one that retails, today, (the SM7B) for under $400!!

Wow. This must be why artists like “The Weeknd” are today still using it, all the time. And since their albums are also at the top of the charts, well… I think they’re onto something, don’t you?

The Low Gain problem

There is one shortcoming to the SM7B – it’s low output.

This is “par for the course” in dynamic microphones; they just don’t put out a lot of signal.

And what is the natural by-product of that?? It means that you have to have some type of mixer, preamp, or gain staging device to boost its signal.

If you don’t, you’re going to deal with that dreaded pro-audio headache… NOISE!

The first thing I heard when I listened back to my voice, recorded through the SM7B, was substantial noise. And I had even run it through my Apollo Twin interface which puts a LOT of gain at my disposal.

I knew immediately that, if there wasn’t a fix for this, I was taking it right back to the store. The music we create these days is too digitally clean for that to be acceptable.

Luckily, I then hooked up the Cloudlifter (which I reviewed in THIS POST!) and it took care of the problem in a BIG way.

I mean, this thing really made all the difference. It was not subtle at all, what the Cloudlifter accomplished and, in the final analysis, I had a great, clean, clear signal to work with.

Gotta love technology!!!

My Test Gear

In this mic shootout test, I used the following hardware and software:

• the Ibanez Exotic Wood Dreadnought Acoustic
• the AT4050 as a 2nd mic on guitar
• the Oktava 2500 tube mic as a 2nd mic on vocal
• the Apollo Twin MkII interface
• Pro Tools

I used NO processing, either in the Apollo or in Pro Tools, on any of the individual recordings. What you hear is exactly what the mics provide and nothing else.

For the very last video clip, where the song was mixed and all mics put together, I simply slapped on a little compression for the vocal, using my favorite set of plug-ins, the SSL bundle:

As well as a very slight and fast plate reverb to “put ’em in the same room”.

Of course, they actually were recorded in the same room, but… you know, I couldn’t help myself!   Lol

Finally, I put on the mix bus the same thing I almost always do: this fantastic tape machine emulator by Slate. LOVE THIS PLUG-IN!!!!

Curtain… OPEN!!

Enjoy the results. I can’t wait to hear what you think of the differences!

What I Noticed…

First off, in this test I think the Cloudlifter makes this mic SO much better.

Here’s the gain staging for my first recording. The SM7B is on the left channel, and my Oktava tube mic is on the right:

Now take a look at the same set-up, but with the Cloudlifter added to the SM7B:

Do you see that amazing reduction in gain??!! I got a 17 dB reduction. Did that affect my noise floor?? You bet it did! I couldn’t hear the awful hiss anymore. Problem solved!!

Switch Me!!

On the bottom of the SM7B you are given two switches to manipulate if you have one of two problems:

1. You’re getting too much low-frequency noise coming through your signal, e.g. mic stand bump noises.
2. You’re NOT getting as much “body”, or “sheen”, that is, mid to high-frequency content in your signal as you’d like.

If the first is your issue, you can simply engage the high-pass filter switch. It rolls off the bass quite well, starting at 400 Hz and sloping downward.

Unless you’re a real bass-y singer, or prefer a lot of low end in your voice, this filter will clean things up for ya without getting into any territory that normal vocals might occupy. 

I would NOT, however, engage this while recording acoustic guitar. The Low E on a guitar clocks in at 82.4 Hz, so whenever I’m tracking or mixing a song with just acoustic and vocal only, I cut off everything below 82 with a high-pass filter, but without exception leave the low E territory unmarred by EQ or filters. I wanna hear the BEEF, people!    😉

If that sparkly second problem is what your ears want fixed, you’ve got a really useful “Presence” switch on the bottom too. It gives quite a significant bump in the 1k – 9k region.

Here’s a little recording I did to let you hear exactly what each switch will do to your sound. Headphones, of course, will do it the most justice, so… don those cans and push play!

It’s a Lifted Keeper!!

So what’s my final verdict on the SM7B?? It’s this: without the Cloudlifter, I probably wouldn’t use it. 

With the Cloudlifter, however, it’s absolutely a great transducer that I expect to use in a great number of signal chains for years to come.

I’ll probably also use the high-frequency boost switch quite often, depending on the instrument. You can really hear the difference when it’s engaged, and since the mic has a darker, rounder sound to begin with, that switch adds a lot of versatility.

Is that what you would do? Do you prefer different settings? Or completely different mics?? Have you used the SM7B on any recordings we can hear???

Let us know by dropping us a Comment. Besides getting to know you, we can get to know your music too!

Now, go… make… sounds!!

Teaj

We do a ton of music equipment research here at Serious G.A.S.

And we LOVE IT! Not only because of YOU, our super song-forgin’ friends, but also because we genuinely dig music and the gear that makes it.

Throughout all this research, we often find ourselves watching live, or virtually online, some uber-skilled, insanely-impressive musical artists. Stars. Legends.

After being sonically washed in the flood of their musical excellence, it sometimes makes us feel…

“Less than”.

Inferior.

UN-impressive.

A wanna-be.

Been there??

Today we’d like to float up a much-needed reminder: stop comparing yourself to others!

Why? Oh… that’s easy. ‘Cause…

… you’re awesome. 😉

Worth vs. Skill

There’s a distinct difference between skill and worth.

Many of us have worked for decades to hone our skill at various instruments, and yet, if we’re honest, we would say we’ve still got a long way to go to say that we’ve mastered the instrument.

But none of that speaks to the worth of our person. Or the worth of pursuing those instruments and the passion for music.

Parents seem to know this intrinsically. Those of us with kids have all experienced babies playing instruments… badly.

Very badly!

Yet, we laughed and hugged and encouraged them, because it was the broadening of their inner horizons that mattered.

As we get older in life, more is expected of us. Unfortunately, that often means that as we try something new we are not supported as much as we were in our youth. Or we’re afraid to try anything new, lest we be seen as “being lame at something”.

If you’re new to an instrument, yet really feel the call to share your music with others… do it! Don’t let anyone else tell you “you’re not ready”, or “you’re not good enough.”

Sure, maybe your sixteenth notes are little uneven. Maybe your barre chords have the wrong fingering occasionally. Maybe you don’t always sing the note perfectly in pitch.

That doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is: do you feel called to do this?

Is this something you think about all the time and can’t get your mind off??

Do you feel most alive when you’re playing music??!

If so, play on, comrade!! Haters gonna hate. Let ’em. They have to live with the stress of their own disparaging spirit, not you.

Now, when your technique needs some work, definitely put in the effort to improve. It’ll show that you’re serious about the craft. And you’ll feel the satisfaction of a hurdle that’s overcome.

And don’t be afraid to study the greats. EXPECT that you’re gonna feel inept compared to the legends of music. That’s okay. Just learn from them, little by little, and know that you don’t HAVE to do what they do. Just learn what works for YOU from them, and keep moving.

This month, for example, I’ve taken in performances and lessons from:

• Steve Vai performing a piece at N.A.M.M. last month.

• Allan Holdsworth and Vinnie Colaiuta playing on Allan’s album “Secrets“.

• Tori Amos playing her compositions with piano parts that only she could think up.

• Jaco Pastorius playing bass for Joni Mitchell in film footage to celebrate her 75th birthday recently.

• Eddie Van Halen‘s guitar parts for “Take Me Back”

With all of these I was again floored by their technique and creativity.

But at the same time, I didn’t let the fact that I still have things I can learn keep me from spending all week recording a new tune I wrote recently.

Express your inner music. Work hard to bring it to life. Practice, practice, practice, knowing that it’s FUN.

And remember… it’s totally WORTH it.

An Audience For All

Here’s another reason why comparing yourself to others doesn’t make any sense: everybody likes different things.

An audience listening to one artist might hate another. Yet that other artist might be a better musician than the first!

Where’s the logic in that?? Well there IS no logic in that. It’s not about logic. It’s about preference, penchants and predilections – in other words, we all just like… what we like.

Thus, it’s important to recognize no matter how good your music is, there will be an audience that will hate it.

But the flip side of that is also true: no matter how bad your music is, there will be an audience who loves it.

Therefore, what’s the most important thing for us to do?

Get our music out there!!!

You can play it safe and never release anything, and never play live. Do that, and you will be safe; that’s true. You’ll never hear a word of disdain from anyone.

But neither will your songs earn you any words of praise, or understanding, or empathy or any whisper of applause. You’ll never have the chance to read a critic’s review of your album that says it’s the most moving he or she has heard in years.

And most importantly, you’ll never develop important, lasting relationships with really loyal fans if you never take the chance to put your sonic creations out there for the world to see, and hear.

Could your recording be better?? Probably! Billy Joel has stated that he always thought his recordings could be better. Every single one!

But there comes a time when they’re good enough, and that’s when we must let them go, like children sent into the world, and see what kind of bonds they can create with others.

So let the words of those who believe in you guide your path.

And the voices of those who don’t like what you do??

Put studio headphones on and let your newest song drown out their sophomoric scoffing.

The eventual applause from your fans will teach ’em!!

Learn, Diverge. Learn, Diverge…

Becoming a master craftsman, or even just becoming “good enough” in audio engineering, music writing and production, means studying the craft.

We can’t do that without listening to the techniques, tips and tricks of the best audio gurus out there and applying them to our own content creations.

That means that there actually is a time when we SHOULD compare. But not OURSELVES! Making it personal is the big mistake. It’s not about YOU. It’s about skills and choices.

So go ahead – go wild at comparing:

• EQ
• Volume levels
• Lyrical content
• Rhythm section instrumentation
• Compression levels
• Instrument choices
• Melody shapes
• Vocal interpretations
• Soloing chops
• Song Form
• Reverb selections
• Effects usage

We definitely need to set our decisions in these areas next to the choices of the greats, and see how we sound. This is how we learn what the goal is – sonic excellence.

This is also why, as I go over in THIS REFERENCE TRACKS POST, we listen often to the best albums ever made, to set up a well-defined target to shoot for, every time we track, mix or master anything.

BUT… (and this is, as Shrek’s friend Donkey would say, a BIG BUT) after comparing what you have done with the best that’s out there, recognize that YOU could be the one to come up with a NEW way of playing, producing or recording that one day everyone will want to copy. So don’t forget…

… BE DIFFERENT! Don’t feel like you have to do everything in the ways that you’ve learned from the masters. Instead, diverge. Veer away from “standard protocol”. If you have an idea that you think will work., try it.

If it doesn’t work, no harm, no foul. You still learned how to use your equipment in new ways, and that is really worth something.

Work with the gear you have, incessantly, and learn how to use it in ways that work for YOU. That will be different than how anyone else does it.

What was it Picasso said? ” “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”

Truer words not often spoken!

Du Bist Du

Each of us has a special spark of life, and a temple of understanding, a manner, and a style, that no one else on the planet has.

In fact, not one on this Earth has EVER had exactly what goes into making you the singular creation that you are.

It’s true.

And because of that, everything you do will come out in a unique way. You won’t have to TRY. It just will. And that is a reflection of the distinct identity that only you possess.

Ever notice that the same song can be performed by countless people, and yet every time it’ll sound different??

That’s the distinctiveness of each human mind, body and soul coming through.

Is one better than the others?? You could argue that one performance is more technically sound, or proficient, than another.

But is their worth better??

I believe the universe has plenty of room for ALL of our personal expressions. And even more, it WANTS to hear them. See them. Feel them. Unlike the opinions of other humans at times, creation smiles, not derides or questions, when you try anything.

That what being alive is for! And, like all things, we get better as we go.

I can really put this in no better way than German artist Jürgen Werth did in his song called, “Du Bist Du“.

This song was sung to me, as a gift, by my good friends in Germany, Irene and Manuela, decades ago.

I recorded it then on cassette tape, and I’ve had it ever since. The quality is what you’d expect from simply pushing the record button on a boombox.

But you know what? I take this recording over most of my CDs any day. If you’ve ever been gifted with a song then you know what I mean.

Here are the original lyrics, in German, as Jurgen wrote them:

“Vergiss es nie: Dass du lebst, war keine eigene Idee,

und daß du atmest, kein Entschluss von dir.

Vergiss es nie: Dass du lebst, war eines anderen Idee,

und daß du atmest, sein Geschenk an dich.

Vergiss es nie: Niemand denkt und fühlt und handelt so wie du,

und niemand lächelt, so wie du’s grad tust.

Vergiss es nie: Niemand sieht den Himmel ganz genau wie du,

und niemand hat je, was du weißt, gewusst.

Vergiss es nie: Dein Gesicht hat niemand sonst auf dieser Welt,

und solche Augen hast alleine Du.

Vergiss es nie: Du bist reich, egal ob mit, ob ohne Geld;

denn du kannst leben! Niemand lebt wie du.

Du bist gewollt, kein Kind des Zufalls, keine Laune der Natur,

ganz egal, ob du dein Lebenslied in Moll singst oder Dur.

Du bist ein Gedanke Gottes, ein genialer noch dazu!

Du bist du, das ist der Clou,

Ja, der Clou. Ja, du bist du!“

Now, my own English translation of his lyrics:

“Never forget: the fact that you’re living wasn’t your own idea,

and that you’re breathing isn’t a decision you’re making.

Never forget: the fact that you’re living is the idea of another,

and that you’re breathing, its present to you.

Never forget: Nobody thinks, and feels, and acts just like you,

and nobody smiles in that exact, special way you do.

“Never forget: No one observes the sky quite exactly like you,

and no one has ever known… what you know.

Never forget: no one else in the world has your face,

and those eyes? Those are yours alone.

Never forget: You are rich, identical whether, whether without money;

because you can live! Nobody lives like you!

Chorus:

You are wanted. You’re no child of chance, or mood of nature,

It doesn’t matter whether you sing your life-song

in a minor key or a major one.

You are a thought of God. And a genius one at that!

You are you. That’s the whole point,

Yep, the whole point:

Yes, you… are YOU.”

Can you believe that? Can you really take in the statement that you are a genius thought in this universe??

If not, copy these lyrics, print them out, and hang them where they can be seen every day.

Whether we’re talking art, relationships, education, career, life skills… whatever the pursuit, the truth remains: your existence is a gift to the world. Your song is a needed harmony.

You are you. That’s the whole point. 🙂

Be Reasonable

Here’s yet another reason to not compare yourself with others: their sound, or their products, are not the reason you put forth the effort you do.

Nobody spends weeks, or even months, on a song hoping to be told that they sound like somebody else. We want our own thing! We’re seeking to find our own voice. Our own way. To stand OUT in the crowd, not blend in.

Some music sounds more derivative than others. But you know what? If the song you wrote sounds a little like another artist, IT’S OKAY!!

As long as you haven’t directly copied or plagiarized another artist, there’s nothing wrong with letting your song have a little tip of the hat towards your favorite artist.

I mean, did ANY of you hear the song “Uptown Funk” and not think of James Brown??!! It’s a fantastic homage to Brown’s classic sound. But so what?!! It’s awesome!!

At the same time, it also sounded like Bruno Mars, “cause (Duh!) he sang the tune.

Should we disparage Bruno, and call him “unoriginal”, “inventive” and a “copycat” cuz we’ve “heard that funk before”??

Bolony!! Not at all. He’s a fine artist, a masterful singer and a songwriter who’s not afraid to use hooks of the past to dress up the present.

If you’re going to compare anything, compare yourself to yourself. Start an inner revolution that takes no prisoners, but is totally committed to working hard to bring the dream to life. As I heard someone say recently, “Originality is the best form of rebellion!“

Ask these questions of yourself:

Am I striving to be a better writer? Am I striving to be a better performer?

Do I play my instruments better now than I did?

Am I improving my vocals through ongoing study and practice?

Does my music sound like it’s on the journey of discovery, we’re stuck in a slough of sameness??

To put all that in a nutshell, I’ll share with you the most important sign in my studio. It hangs just to the right of my console table, in easy line of sight as I’m working. It underscores everything I do:

Can you say that about your own pursuits? Are you striving to be “the best”? If so, you’ve got at least a thousand people in front of you, who are all probably better than you.

Good luck. :-/

Perhaps a better tactic is to follow my sign’s advice, compare your work to yesterday’s efforts, and see if you’ve improved.

If you do this every day, committing to your own advancement and enhancement, your progress will so SKYROCKET that it will awe the world.

And probably you too. 😉

I Robot

This website is all about music gear. It’s interesting, isn’t it, how we can have the same machinery in our studios, even the same instruments, and yet the products we churn out sound totally different from each other?

Too many recording musicians get caught up in the mantra of “I don’t have cool equipment like so-and-so”, or ” I need more expensive gadgets to sound good.” It’s like a musician from the year 2112 whining because their robot instrumentalist doesn’t have the latest “Beatles” upgrade.

I totally believe that’ll be a thing. 😉

That’s only true to a very small margin. Especially these days, when pretty good digital effects and recording are available to everyone… FOR FREE!

Again, compare yourself to yourself. As you keep working with specific instruments, and specific pro audio components, and even the A.I. systems that are coming into the market now, how you integrate with them will be unique.

The combination of effects, Dynamics processing, and EQ decisions that you make, for example, will make your music singular and unmistakably you.

And the more you work with your outboard gear, and software plugins, the more you will start to merge with that technology to the point of developing your own sound.

That’s why we here at serious gas say to work with your audio equipment as much as you possibly can. Play with it. Try things with it. Do recordings for no other reason than to learn. Have friends over and record silly songs for fun.

All these are ways we uncover new ways to express ourselves. And as our choices coalesce with the possibilities inherent in today’s technology, a new A.I.-human partnership is formed that will ongoingly be honed into a feel, a style, even a genre all your own.

One day this will really be taken to the pinnacle when our brains are hooked up synaptically to our computers. I have no doubt that’s coming… and sooner than we might think.

But for right now, we’ll just keep using our mouse, and let our hardware, our software and our brains wetware take us onward…

… to all our destiny is capable of!

Be A Never-Relent-er!!

There’s something to be said for pursuing work that you never grow tired of, because you’re so into the products, services or results that at the end of the day… you can’t wait to do it again!

Whatever you’re pursuing, pursue it with discipline, courage, consistency and relentless focus.

And though it’s harder to do than ever, with all those ubiquitous social media posts, commit to comparing yourself and your work to what you’ve done and been in the past, not to others who have completely different skill sets, goals, habits, and even DNA than you!

Now, go… make… sounds!!

Teaj

Smooth sailing.

Isn’t that what we all wish for?? No problems; no trip-ups. No sudden interruptions to our progress, only the sea of tranquility leading us to our desired ends.

Too bad that we all know… that ain’t how the ocean rolls, baby! Sometimes we feel like chucking the whole thing into the ocean ‘cuz nothing… is… WORKING!!

We all come across obstacles and those mocking wrenches of monkeys occasionally. Learning how to handle them with patience, informed direction and (with our clients) tact and ameliorating confidence will win the day every time.

But that only comes with persistent study, practice and serving ‘in the trenches’ of audio long enough to know a thing or two.

That’s why, in this post, we’re going to start sharing some of the little hiccups we find happening in the studio occasionally. We hope they’ll help YOU should the same audio gremlins sneak up into your creative space and become a nuisance.

I’ll even share an audio problem I encountered just this week that I NEVER have before that took several hours to rectify. As always, perseverance paid off.

Let’s embark!!

Not Tray Cool

I first got Pro Tools a few years back when version 11 was up and running.

Until that point I had worked on the Roland 2480 Hardware system. I knew that thing backwards and forwards… Every little menu, every little command.

Ever switched DAW recording platforms? To say it’s a DAW-nting task would be an understatement, especially if you’re moving from a hardware-based system to software.

It took probably five months before I really felt like I knew what I was doing in Pro Tools. It’s a very powerful program; menus and sub-menus abound. Only with time and effort was I able to get back to swift and deft control of this platform.

Avid Customer Care was also masterful in their assistance. No matter what issue I had, day or night, someone would always answer my phone call, and most of the time the issue was resolved immediately.

One example of this was a P.T. problem I had that was very weird. It wasn’t a big thing, but it was aggravating. I put up with it for about 2 weeks, but then couldn’t take it anymore and called Customer Care.

Here was the issue: if I was working in Pro Tools, and decided I wanted to do some work in another program, say, Gmail, I would minimize Pro Tools to get it off my desktop, and then open up the other program.

Once I was done in that other program, I would close it down and click the Pro Tools icon in my toolbar to bring it up so I could get back to work.

The annoyance?? Every time I did this, Pro Tools would not open back up. It was still running… I hadn’t lost my session or anything. I just couldn’t get it to maximize back onto my desktop!

The only work-around I found on my own was this:

* push Alt-Ctrl-delete

* call up “Task Manager”

* right click on Pro Tools

* click “bring to front”

This was obviously a royal pain in the %@#!

Don’tcha hate it when something that should take one second takes a lot more?? Grrrr… it’s one of my pet peeves.

I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for ways to maximize my work efficiency. If I can get MORE done in LESS time, that’s a win for everybody.

Anyway, I’d finally had enough and called Avid Customer Care. The first assistant I talked to had not come across this problem before.

He assured me though that he would pass on this issue to someone more knowledgeable and that I would receive a call soon.

A couple hours later a second representative called me. The conversation went like this:

“So, you’re not able to maximize the Pro Tools window after you’ve minimized it, is that correct, Teaj?”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, do you have Pro Tools open right now?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, go ahead and minimize the window.”

“Done.”

“Now try to bring it up again.”

“Nope. Not working.”

“Okay. Does your computer have a CD tray?”

“Yes.”

“Is there a DVD or CD in it currently?”

“Uhhh… I have no idea. Why would that matter??”

“It might have something to do with it. Could you check and see please?”

“Sure. Hold on.”

At this point I went behind my control desk to my desktop Mainframe and clicked the CD tray button.

Sure enough, there WAS a CD in the tray. If I remember rightly, it was Don Henley’s latest album that I had been listening to through my studio monitors.

(An incredible album, by the way, if you haven’t heard it yet!)

Back to the phone I went:

“Yeah, it was a CD in it.”

“Did you take it out?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, Teaj. Now try to maximize Pro Tools.”

“It worked!”

“Good! Problem solved.”

“So, you mean to tell me that simply having a disc in the tray created this problem?? What does one have to do with the other??!!”

“It has something to do with the coding, I’m not sure. As long as your tray is empty, you shouldn’t have the problem again.”

“How bizarre. Alright, well… thanks.”

“Thank you for contacting Avid Customer Care.”

Talk about coming out of left field! I’m still incredulous that having a disc in a tray can make software malfunction, but, hey… you can’t argue with results.

And, long before the end of the day, it was back to smooth sailing in the studio again.

Ever happened to you?? Now you know what to do. 😉

Special thanks to Nolan and Nestor from Avid C.C. for their patience, professionalism and ability to fix our Pro Tools issues lickety-split. You guys rock!!!

Hello?? Is this Mic On???

The next audio troll we’re going to push from the fjord cliff is one that I faced many times when first starting out.

Sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know. If you’re trying to track down the source of an audio problem without having an informed grasp of all the individual components, you might just glide by the answer without even knowing.

The issue? Microphones not working.

Have you ever hooked up microphones to cables, plugged those cables into your interface, and routed your interface correctly to your DAW, only to find that you’re still not getting any sound from the mics??

When you’re ready to record, the more time passes with something preventing the signal from getting through, the more exasperating it becomes.

I’ve been there; I feel your pain. But it’s all part of the process. The more you deal with these recording headaches, you become that much more of a professional, able to bat out of the park whatever is thrown at you.

Here’s the number one reason why you might find no signal coming from your mic:

The PHANTOM POWER isn’t on!

In case you don’t know, condenser microphones need to be powered. Some you can put batteries in.

Most, however, are made such that they draw power through the microphone cable from a source of electricity labeled “phantom power”.

Now, even if you know this, you can forget. It happens. If, on your last session, you used a lot of dynamic mics, and your phantom power button is off, then the next time you plug in condensers for another session you’ll have “dead” mics.

Unless you remember to flip the switch.

To the right you can see the phantom power switch on my Tascam interface, which I use primarily when I’m tracking live drums.

It’s a great interface. I’ve had ZERO problems with it, so if you need one with quite a few XLR inputs, check it out by reading THIS POST.

If I forget to turn this on when my condensers are set up, I’ll be scratching my head in wonder… until I remember.

As usual, the big takeaway here is: know your gear. Know which mics need phantom power, and which ones don’t. Know where the phantom power switch is on your interface or mixer.

If you want to explore and research phantom power further, click over to THIS WIKI PAGE.

Or, as always, just throw us your questions and we’ll be happy to answer them. 🙂

The Panning Troll!

Okay, now the biggie…

Just this week a major source of audio aggravation hit my studio.

I finally finished writing my latest tune, and I had spent hours setting everything up for my acoustic guitar and vocal recording session.

The mics were perfectly placed.

My guitar had fresh strings and was perfectly in tune.

My Pro Tools session had every track, effect and routing optimized for success.

I was ready!!

I laid down my first pass on acoustic guitar, then came back to my control desk to listen to playback.

Something was wrong. Something I had never faced before. A dilemma so odd, I was stupefied.

I like to record my acoustic guitar with five different microphones, plus a D.I. This allows me a lot of options during the mix stage.

It’s rare that I use more than three in the final product, but having six to choose from to get to that final masterpiece… I wouldn’t have it any other way!

This week though, when I started to listen back to the acoustic tracks through my headphones, it was clear that every single track was suffering from some kind of phase issue. Every one!

The details help explain: if the panning on any track was dead center, the signal would be very low and thin. I recognized it immediately as what phase cancellation sounds like.

But get this: if I panned any of the tracks, left or right, the signal would start to get clearer, and louder.

Any track that I then panned fully left or fully right, would sound totally normal and full, like there was no problem at all!

But wait – there’s more! Those signals I had hard-panned? They didn’t sound panned AT ALL!! Yeah, that’s right; even though I had every single track panned to the extreme left or right, what I HEARD through the headphones was all tracks dead center.

Can you believe this??! I was dumbfounded. Flabbergasted. A back and completely bewildered. Never before had I experienced anything like this.

In a way, it was totally cool! I mean, how often do we get to experience something totally new that we’ve never encountered in the recording studio? Not that often.

Still, my musical momentum had totally crashed in the face of this obstacle, and I was so itching to get this song recorded that this latest hindrance was really getting on my nerves.

I Googled for an hour. No whisper of anything like this.

I searched YouTube. Nada.

So I started to troubleshoot. What do we do when faced with audio anomalies?? Start at the source and trace it forward.

I knew that I had placed my mics in such a way that there should be no phase issues. So I thought, “Let’s do a single mic test recording and see what happens.”

Amazingly, the same issue occurred when recording with only ONE MIC!!

Clearly then, this was not related to phase issues. There was only one waveform! Only one or more other waveforms could cancel cycles out!

Being at my wit’s end, I decided to call a good friend of mine who is an informed, professional audio engineer and prolific artist: Sidney Howard.

When I told Sid the problem, he offered a few suggestions, but since he had never come across the issue himself, and since I’d already performed his suggestions, we ended up just grasping at sound straws with no clear remedy

Back to Google I went. Another hour. Still no solution.

I decided to totally close down my Pro Tools session, start a brand new THIRD session, and try it with only one mic again.

After setting up my tracks and routings, I recorded one more pass.

Same problem.

Aw. I was so frustrated. What in the $@!$% was going on???!

Then it happened: I had decided to get up and go double-check the electronics on my acoustic, just in case there was some switch or button that I had missed there it might be causing this weirdness.

As I got up out of my chair, I heard some sort of a pop or click in my headphones. I sat back down to see if it was something coming from the software. I pushed play…

… and the problem was gone.

WHAT???? Now I was more perplexed than ever! I hadn’t done anything. Nothing had changed!! I had simply got up out of my chair.

“Okay,” I thought, “Do it again. See if I can replicate it.”

Sure enough, when I stood up I heard the pop again. That’s when I realized…

… it was coming from my headphones connection.

I picked up the end of my headphones cord, where it was plugged into an adapter, and then into a headphones extension cable.

I discovered that the adapter was not totally screwed on to the headphones plug. It had come a little loose. We’re talking only, maybe, an EIGHTH of a turn! But that was it enough to cause this problem.

The lesson I only just now learned after decades in the business?? A simple headphone adapter maladjustment can trigger what APPEARS to be phase cancellation… but isn’t!

So there you have it – technological proof that no matter how much experience you have, you can always learn something new.

And I definitely have!!

Rectify that Vexing “Why??!”

We’re bound to run into problems and conundrums occasionally in the recording studio environment.

The best thing we can do is keep working our gear hard, actually record as much as we can, and try to head these issues off at the pass before they can rear their ugly head during a session where we actually have other clients present! That’s when it gets really tormenting.

Keep up the good music and you’ll bound to serenely sail past those choppy waters in no time.

But keep your life vest on… just in case. Lol

Have you come across any outrageous DAW anomalies? Have any hardware issues stopped you while tracking??

Let us know in the Comments section. When we share what we know, we all learn and grow.

Sounds like a new song coming out, doesn’t it? 😉

Now, go… make… sounds!!

Teaj