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15 seconds of time-lapse nonsense

Mandala/Hardware trigger experiment

The Mandala drum trigger is the most advanced on the market. The current lineup is a USB/software based sample brain combination. As a standalone tool it’s great, but from day one I’ve wanted it to interact with the hardware world. Up-until recently it was a game of software/midi routing hell. Dealing with the laptop/software layer between the Mandala & external synth/samplers was a show stopper. Do to the popularity of the iPad & in-turn the release of the iConnetMIDI, we are now able to bridge the gap between USB compliant midi controllers & hardware instruments without the need of a computer host. This is my 1st trail experiment with this computer-less solution.

Setup Description

  • Mandala – configured in three zones/midi notes
  • iConnectMIDI
  • MIDI triggered Octatrack bitcrushed sample goodness.

 

DIY – RM-5 Ribbon Mic Build

So a few weeks back I snagged this ribbon mic kit over at www.diyrecordingequipment.com

Really simple nice sounding mic. Highly recommend Artur’s “official” retail RM-5 for anyone looking to get their hands on one of these.

After it was wired up, I pulled a few coworkers into a booth to make sure it passed signal. I setup a VERY informal comparison. I recorded it side by side with a 416 via a Hardy M1 pre. No processing, EQ or compression. For vocal tasks I recommend having 80dB of gain or so. I’m very pleased with the mic, I’ll be putting it up on Rhodes & Drum duty shortly.

For more in-depth reviews checkout these examples

 

DIY TB550A

Finished this guy up tonight (TB550A). Not the easiest of builds, as mentioned patience is key. I made a couple careless mistakes along the way, but all are resolved. TIP – Triple check alignment/orientations at all stages. For the time being I’ve loaded it up with a pair of 990′s & a CMOQ-2S. I might swap out the 990′s at some point, but I have to say it’s performing very well as is. Great EQ kit.

This is a quick test with the EQ on a solo kick batter mic. With & without the EQ active. Pretty amazing difference, the EQ is last in the chain with no other influence.

Time-lapse video / optical synth control experiment.

While getting familiar with the d5100′s time-lapse & video capabilities, the idea of video controlled synthesis came to mind. I unsuccessfully scanned the net looking for a something to generate midi from video. While staring off into space a psychical solution was staring back at me. My Thingamagoop 2. I ended up using it’s photocell eye to pick up the changes of light from my video experiments.
Laid down some drum noodling & patched the CV output from the Thingamagoop into the pitch input of a Moog Voyager. I recorded one Bass & one Lead pass & called it a day. “Controlled Chaos”

Evil toy piano shootout

As posted via recordinghacks.com

I recently scored this wonderful, but horribly pink toy piano. I found this to be a perfect opportunity to experiment with a few mic techniques. That, and I can never turn down the opportunity for over-the-top ridiculousness.

I decided to try out a pair of 414s, a large diaphragm Red, & a self-made piezo contact mic. I setup the 414s in a 90° stereo configuration over the hammers, but quickly found some severe phase issues. I then tried a simple left & right spaced configuration that had similar results. I opted to use a M/S configuration for a more “phase friendly placement,” and the ability to control the width as needed. For the Red I placed it behind the open lid to capture the overall tone of the piano. For fun, I taped a rat-shack sourced piezo element directly to the tone-board.

The Gear

  • 2x AKG C 414 B-ULS via ADL-600
  • Red Type B with R8 Capsule via API-312
  • DIY Piezo contact mic via API-312

The Verdict

The M/S pair sounds great. Nice stereo image, accurately captures the direct sound. Even picks up the key press noise position. The Red sounds nice as well, more ambient room tone. I really enjoyed the piezo, & love the LoFi character.

For the current track I’m using this with, I’m thinking I will use a mix of the bunch. I’ll most likely make a very wide image from the M/S pair, then use the Red/Piezo to pull in the center image.

Audio Clips

Eric Beam is a musician, composer, and professional audio engineer based in Santa Monica, CA. Find him at rhythminmind.net or on Twitter: @rhythminmind.

matthew mcglynn

When Eric posted these photos to Twitter, I couldn’t resist asking him to write about the session. There’s just something awesome about miking a toy piano with $5000 worth of gear. Well, $5003.95 if you include the piezo.

What’s great about it is not just that all three tracks sound different, but that each mic captures a wholly different vibe. Each is usable in its way, but each brings something different to the production. Having all these choices will make the mix that much more interesting.

  • Eric Beam@tarabusch Yeah your not alone, "Twitter API errors" keep popin up. - posted on 22/05/2012 13:38:51
  • Eric Beam@don_k_gunn Well right now it's 70 + haze, & 100% chance of perpetual dullness. You got the better end of the stick. - posted on 22/05/2012 10:42:18
  • Eric BeamRT @theaudiogeek: Google's tribute to Bob Moog tomorrow is up in Australia now. One for the synth nerds. http://t.co/PMdcWiPu - posted on 22/05/2012 10:23:29