Soundkeeper Recordings

[Bruce B]

I'm sure I can speak for everyone. We would love to see pictures of your studio rooms. You know how guys are visual creatures....

 

[bdiament]

Hi Bruce,

I'm sure I can speak for everyone. We would love to see pictures of your studio rooms. You know how guys are visual creatures....

There is only one room at BDA.

I don't record in any studio because I much prefer the acoustics of fine performance spaces such as auditoriums, churches, etc., depending on the type of music.
The studio is used only for post-production (i.e., mastering, etc.).

The Soundkeeper site has photos on each of the album pages, from the recording sessions.
Lift was recorded in a church, deep in the woods of upstate NY. Equinox, Confluence and our latest, Americas (being released this Tuesday, May 1) were all recorded in a beautiful auditorium built in 1908. That two latter albums make use of the room's immaculately maintained 1908 Steinway.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

[Bruce B]

Hi Bruce,
There is only one room at BDA

Thanks Barry... we saw the 2 photos you had on your website but they are dark and the only thing I see are the Maggies, 2 subs and a Mac laptop. Just thought you had more clear (brighter) photos of the whole room/acoustical treatments and gear... like amps and preamps... EQ's...workstations, phono/tape sources.... things like that. Thought you had a mixing and mastering room.

 

[bdiament]

Hi Bruce,

Thanks Barry... we saw the 2 photos you had on your website but they are dark and the only thing I see are the Maggies, 2 subs and a Mac laptop. Just thought you had more clear (brighter) photos of the whole room and gear... like amps... EQ... phono/tape sources.... things like that. Thought you had a mixing and mastering room.

It *is* a mixing and mastering room. Perhaps not like what you are familiar with but it in fact works *superbly* for mixing and mastering; better than any other room I've been in. The folks who have worked here with me all remark at how easy it is to hear what anything needs and how these decisions hold up perfectly when they take the results outside.

Since analog sources don't come in as much as they used to, I only bring in an analog machine when needed.
I don't use analog EQ anymore, finding I get more transparent results with the 64-bit EQ (and other processing) and 80-bit data paths in the Metric Halo hardware and software. Everything I need is in that laptop, including the SpectraFoo analysis software and several different editing/mastering apps.

The room is purposefully designed to optimize monitoring, so there are no desks to create reflections resulting in cancellations, no racks full of gear as in many other studios (I never liked that stuff and don't clutter the room with it). By design, I use only what I need to accomplish the job and nothing more. The appearance is minimal and the sound is wonderful, with the gear simply getting out of the way and providing what feels like direct access to the recording. For client mastering sessions, things like EQ decisions come quickly and easily.

The Enjoyyourshelf racks I designed, which house the rest of the playback chain are hidden to the right of the right speaker (though one is somewhat visible). They house the ULN-8, power conditioning and power amps.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

[Bruce B]

Thanks Barry... you don't need to defend/justify what you use. Just thought you could enlighten us with what your monitoring chain is....

So you work in the box with plugins, use a MH converter and have racks you designed. Cool...

 

[rbbert]

And Magnepan stands of his own design!

But I also would like to see a better illuminated, more encompassing view of the room. As Bruce says, it's probably a guy thing.

For that matter, I'm also curious about Bruce's room with his new speakers.

 

[Bruce B]

For that matter, I'm also curious about Bruce's room with his new speakers.

I've had my MM3's almost 2 years now. Don't see me changing anytime soon.
The next few days I will be turning my room around 180 degrees to better facilitate clients coming in and out and also a better workflow. There are 100's of pictures of my rooms on the web.

 

[treitz3]

I was wondering what happened to the status of your room, Bruce. Where are you going to hire the gorillas to move everything? Just ribbing a bit, no need to answer.

Best of luck to get everything situated and running smoothly. I know that this will be no simple task.

 

[rbbert]

I've had my MM3's almost 2 years now. Don't see me changing anytime soon.
The next few days I will be turning my room around 180 degrees to better facilitate clients coming in and out and also a better workflow. There are 100's of pictures of my rooms on the web.

The last ones I remember seeing still had Sashas (or WATT/Puppies?).

 

[Bruce B]

The last ones I remember seeing still had Sashas (or WATT/Puppies?).

Don't want to derail Barry's thread. Here's the pic of the EA speakers. I had a surround system in there with WP7 and WATCH surround.

 

[bdiament]

Hi Bruce,

Thanks Barry... you don't need to defend/justify what you use. Just thought you could enlighten us with what your monitoring chain is....

So you work in the box with plugins, use a MH converter and have racks you designed. Cool...

No defense at all. It was a response to "Thought you had a mixing and mastering room."
While it doesn't look like other mixing and mastering rooms (thank Heaven), it is where I do my mixing and mastering. ;-}

I use almost no plug-ins. For EQ, I'm a big fan of the Metric Halo MIOEQ (and their ChannelStrip too). After trying many experiments with different EQs and EQ plug-ins, making the same settings on all and comparing all the results, I wrote to Metric Halo and told them their EQ make the others sound "coarse and broken". Other than a very rare "special effect" (such as MS processing, also in the Metric Halo), I don't use any other plug-ins.

For mixing, I've yet to hear a "board" remotely as transparent as the 80-bit MIO Console. And it doesn't put a large reflective surface in the room! ;-}

The monitoring chain is also simple: MIO to Outlaw 2200 amplifiers (though on some rare occasions, I might run the signal through a line stage) to the speakers. Monitoring is Magnepan 3.7s, with a pair of Outlaw LMF1-EX subs augmenting the sound below 30 Hz. All cabling is by Nordost.

All the gear, including the speakers and subs, is "afloat" on my own Hip Joints roller bearing design. All the electronic components each also has its own independent air bearing to aid in vibration isolation.

The rest of the room, not shown in the photos, has the traps, on the sides and five along the back wall.
Right rear has vertical storage "drawers" that hold audio (and video) discs). Rear left is the way to the bathroom and also has a few hard drives. Rear center, off the ceiling is where the video projector is. I didn't think any of these as interesting to photograph as the front. Lighting is down a bit, as I always keep it when working and listening.

What about you Bruce? What are you using? (Edit: I just saw the photo.)

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

[rockitman]

Don't want to derail Barry's thread. Here's the pic of the EA speakers. I had a surround system in there with WP7 and WATCH surround.

Those speakers make the XA-100.5's look tiny !...Good thing they don't need to drive the bass anymore.

 

[treitz3]

Hello, Barry. I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I have already received the discs I ordered. Thank you very much for the quick turnaround! I'm really looking forward to listening to them.

Tom

 

[mep]

Hello, Barry. I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I have already received the discs I ordered. Thank you very much for the quick turnaround! I'm really looking forward to listening to them.

Tom

Tom-Please let us know your thoughts.

 

[treitz3]

I'm warming the system up as we speak. Unfortunately, I will only have about an hour to listen tonight but I'll be happy to share my observations. I'll start off with......

 

[bdiament]

Hi Tom,

Hello, Barry. I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I have already received the discs I ordered. Thank you very much for the quick turnaround! I'm really looking forward to listening to them.

Tom

Thanks for the word. Wow! The Post Office really got them there quickly! Hooray for the U.S.P.O.! ;-}

(I believe Steve wanted this thread to be more of a pure announcement, so I'm wondering if a new thread should be started regarding what you experience. Steve?)

Enjoy Tom! (And don't be afraid to turn them up! ;-})

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

[bdiament]

For any WTB members who will be in the New York City area, we're going to have a release party for "Americas" on Thursday, May 17.
The particulars:

Place: The Kitano
66 Park Avenue (at 38th Street)
New York, NY 10016

212-885-7119 for reservations

Time: Sets at 8pm and 10pm
There is a $10 cover charge and a $15 food/drink minimum per set.

If you can make it, please stop by and say Hello and introduce yourself. It would be great to meet some fellow members in person.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

[bdiament]

New write up on Positive Feedback

Just found a new write up on Soundkeeper Recordings 24/96 DVD-Rs at Positive Feedback:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue61/soundkeeper.htm

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Hi Tim,



Actually, even if you don't mic everything, balance doesn't happen by itself. The players are part of the key - they must be able to balance against each other. Musicians used to do this all the time, until they got used to having a "soundman" do this for them.

Getting rid of the PA and the headphones is not a problem for musicians that are used to playing for real - as opposed to playing through a system where someone other than the musicians is in control of their sound.

I can say from experience that the drummer can be powerful and dynamic and the vocalist completely unamplified and a balance still properly achieved, thanks to the inverse square law. If the performance space has good acoustics (which I've never heard in any studio, large, small or otherwise), things are easier.

Amplified vocals do not sound like human beings to me, so for my purposes, they are out. (It is "the natural environment for that kind of music" only insomuch as that is how that music is commonly presented. On second thought, in my view, there is nothing "natural" about it. That is why I've taken a different path. Vocals and background vocals, when they come directly from humans to the microphones are *very* different from when they are passed through amplification and loudspeakers first.)

The whole approach does take some getting used to by players who are used to studios, headphones, gobos, soundmen and having mics placed too close. But I can also say from experience that good players get used to it pretty quickly; many times, I've watched them set up with questions on their faces and *very* quickly get into a "flow" that they will agree does *not* happen in the other situation. The only other place they've experienced it is when they're rehearsing or playing for themselves, with nothing but humans and instruments, like it used to be before studio technology ascended.

Granted, there *are* requirements:
The players do have to be able to play that three minute song *well* in three minutes. I'm sure some club bands can do this but in my experience (and opinion), most of the time, it is not a performance worthy of being preserved and heard over and over again.
Vocalists, in particular, must be able to "send their voice" across a room. This will rule out those who need to "swallow" a microphone in order for their utterances to be heard.
As mentioned above, the players need to be able to balance themselves to a degree - by *listening* to each other, the way the finest players always have.
Everyone must UNlearn what they have "learned" from any prior experience recording, especially in typical studios.

Like anything else, there is a give and a take. Something like "Sgt. Peppers" could not be done this way (though there *are* ways to incorporate the technique and still allow for overdubs, special effects, etc. - I've done this but not for Soundkeeper). On the other hand, the "electricity" between the players that occurs when there is no chance to "punch in" or "fix it in the mix" is unique and quite real -- it results in something that can't be achieved any other way.

In any event, this is an avenue of recording I've always wanted to explore and Soundkeeper is my vehicle for doing this. So far, I've been very fortunate to find players (and vocalists) whose music moves me and who have been bold enough to "stand naked" before the Soundkeeper mics. I am forever grateful to all of them for the experience and I'm proud of what we've achieved so far. I want to apply this to other types of music as well.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

I get most of that because it's where I live. I rehearse and play with no mics, no amplification except for vocals, most of the time. The need to be able to balance with the other instruments, and to ride dynamics up and down in the process -- both in the round and facing out into a room -- is critical to playing the music well. The only part I don't get is the unamplified vocals. I'm a pretty loud singer, but I can't imagine that a drummer sitting in the middle of, and playing a full trap kit, could really hear me well, even if I were facing him. Push the singer several feet forward, closer to the mic, and facing away from not only the drummer but the rest of the musicians, and the problem would become much bigger. If what I was trying to achieve was a set-up that facilitated a good, balanced performance, it would never occur to me to set up that way -- loudest instruments/voices in back, softest in front, all facing forward, backs turned to the other players. Not even for an all acoustic peformance. I mean no offence, but it seems like it would be very unnatural, and while it might facilitate the recording it would hinder the performance. I'll have to give it a try.

Tim

 

[bdiament]

Hi Tim,

Most definitely, for players who think in terms of prior studio-type recording experience, this will seem unusual at best and impractical at worst.
Just as the recording and listening to real performances is a change from typical studio performances, the playing requires a re-adjustment too - back to what players did through all of music history prior to the advent of multichannel recording. (Think of the vocalists who performed with the big bands. A roomful of horns can create more volume than a couple of electric guitar amps and a set of drums.)

It *can* be done and the results can be quite gratifying musically, not just sonically. For the players too - who have thanked me for turning them onto the idea.

Two things:
1. The band must know the material (or the other players) well enough and/or be players of a quality that allows them to "feel" what is going on with the other players and vocalists.
2. (A little secret here.) A strategically placed mirror or two makes things even easier - i.e., eye contact between players who might not be facing each other, etc.

As I mentioned earlier, it takes some getting used to for folks used to hearing each other via headphones and/or being in separated spaces. But so far, my experience has been that good players will get used to it quite quickly - and take a liking to the idea that can be heard in the performance.

My hat is always off to those players willing to work this way and stand virtually "naked" before the microphones.
There are many ways to make a satisfying recording. Each brings its own rewards. Though it is more work on my side, I love this approach.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com