Recording Handbells

Hey mic heads

Today I spent all day working on a recording I did a few weeks back for St. Ignatius Catholic Church. The recording was mostly their girls choir augmented by a string quartet, flute, oboe, organ, and a small group of handbells. Recording the voices, strings, winds, and organ is nothing new or terribly exciting, but I had never recorded handbells before. Not only that, but I'd never seen anyone do it, heard about anyone doing it, or even read anything about how to do it. So I thought now that I've got one handbell session under my belt I'd let you know what I did and how it came out.
This was a remote session that took place at St. Ignatius Church in Yardley. It's a LARGE sanctuary with a great natural reverb, but all the music is set up and takes place in the choir loft which is a balcony set in the rear of the sanctuary about 25 above the main floor. The balcony is about 18 feet deep and is the width of the room. Fine for close micing but pretty much impossible to get any distance from the source without having really long mic cables and running up and down a lot of stairs.
I brought my small mobile rig which consists of a laptop (running Cubase LE), the Lexicon Omega, and various mics and such. So this limits me to 4 tracks simultaneous recording. On the songs with the other instruments and the kids singing, I used one large diaphragm condenser mic just on the other side of the table from the ringers, maybe 18 inches from the middle ringer. I think it was an MXL 990, running through a Mackie board and into the Omega.
This produced a really great sound although of course there is no stereo image. But the mic placement combined with the fact that there were only 6 ringers playing in this configuration kept everything very simple and because the bells were merely a part of the ensemble, this method worked great. Added a touch of reverb in mixing with the Wizoo W2 Reverb (I'll review in another post), but that's it. No other effects were needed (and I'm a compression fiend, so that's pretty amazing).
The problem came when recording the three songs that were only bells. The personnel increased to 8 players and since I only had to worry about the bells I moved over to a four mic configuration, one mic splitting each pair of ringers. I used 2 large diaphragm condensers (the MXL 990, and a Nady SCM900) and two small (MXL 993 and Oktava MK-012) putting the Oktava on the lower range bells because of its clear and extended low frequency response. Again, all mics were just on the other side of the table (it was a cramped space) about 18 inches from each pair of ringers. I figured this would yield great coverage and allow many options in the mix to bring up or down each section as needed. Not to mention give the possibility of a wide stereo field to create a more realistic image from left to right, which is something very important IMO.
But it was not to be. When I got back to the studio and started mixing the multiple close mics resulted in a very in-your-face bell choir with more than a few out of control frequencies. Not half as good as the single mic method and not even in the ballpark for what I wanted. Not to say I didn't salvage a decent sound out of it, but it certainly wasn't what I had hoped. A bit of multi-band compression (Waves C4), a touch of EQ (Bombfactory Pultec EQ-5), and rolling off some of the piercing hi end using the simple Digidesign EQ1.
So next time I'll definitely forgo the multiple close mics in favor of finding any way possible to get at least one mic (preferably a stereo pair) a minimum of 6 feet away. I'll let you know how that goes.
Anybody have any handbell recording experience or different techniques?

Listening to Muddy Waters Electric Mud. Oh yes.

Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com

Samson Resolv 65a

Good evening Gearheads

I was trying to decide what to write about today when I realized I haven't written anything about my most used piece of equipment.
Studio monitors along with a great audio interface, are the most important part of any digital recording or post-production facility. If you can't accurately hear what you're working on, how will it ever turn out decent?! Being a small studio/production room, I rely upon active near-field monitors exclusively.
For the past 2 years I have been using the Samson Resolv 65a bi-amplified active monitors. They consist of a 75 watt powered 6.5" woofer coupled with 1" titanium tweeter (25 watts), with a crossover near 2.3khz. It's got a ported MDF cabinet with a sleek black with blue trim design. The speakers also come with rubber foot pads. Mine also have a feature where if they aren't used for 10 minutes, they hibernate. A very cool feature, but I believe that the newer models don't have this feature.
These monitors are billed to be "clinically accurate" by Samson and they nearly are. The mid-range is more pronounced than I would expect from "clinically accurate" speakers, but Samson has covered this by building in a mid-range contour control. This comes in the form of a rotary on the back of each speaker that increases or decreases the mid-range (around 1.7khz) from -3db to +6db in 3db increments. A nice feature for those who are used to other classic near-fields. I personally don't use this feature. When I first set these bad boys up, I fiddled with this until I got a sound I was comfortable with which just happened to be in the 0db position. They are spec'ed with a frequency response of 45hz-20khz. They have a very tight low-end response that sounds great, but this can often lead to "boomy" mixes for those not experienced with them.
Joining the mid-range control on the back of each speaker are 3 input options: balanced XLR, balanced 1/4" TRS, and unbalanced RCA. Very handy for running multiple sources. And of course there's an on/off switch, volume knob, and AC input.
In use, it really took me almost 6 months to really get used to these speakers, but now I'm locked in. So much so that a few months ago when one of them stopped working in the middle of me trying to meet a looming deadline, I went out and purchased another pair as a backup. Luckily these speakers come with a 3-year manufacturer's warranty and after a few weeks and a replaced driver amp, I had it back in my hands and back to work. Thank goodness for the warranty!
So I'm very happy with them. I listened to quite a few others in the same price range when I was comparison shopping (Alesis MKII, Behringer TRUTH, M-Audio BX5, Event TR-5) and obviously these were my favorite. They can be had for $299/pair.

Right now I'm listening to the new Dashboard Confessional album, Dusk and Summer. This is surprisingly a very cool album. They were way too emo for me until now. But this is a well written and nicely produced record.

Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com

ART Tube MP

Whew! What a frenetic couple of days. As I mentioned, B Original is down to the wire but we made it! Deadline met. But not without a lot of hard work and FAST work. And I'm just the audio guy. I can't imagine what the atmosphere was like in the video editing room...Kudos to the people at 2 Chics and a Camera Productions for a job well done.

Anyway, today I'd like to talk about one of my oldest and most frequently used pieces of gear. The ART Tube MP is a single channel tube microphone preamplifier that is insanely inexpensive. I picked mine up for $80 I think, about 5 years ago. Now they can be had for as little as half that.
It's a simple thing really. Just two rotary knobs on top combined with three push buttons and an LED make up the entire face of the unit. Knob #1 is for input and shockingly [sarc] Knob #2 is output. But honestly this feature is one reason I like this pre so much. Many of my other pres only have a Gain knob and no output so I end up having to back off the input of the next thing in my signal chain. Often the next thing in line is this old graphic EQ unit I like and it doesn't have an input gain so I'm screwed without a way to control the output of the pre. But I digress...
The first button is a gain booster that adds 20db of gain to the input. This gives you a ton of flexibility to use mics and sources that are really hot. When depressed, you can still get enough gain to record those quiet sources. Excellent. Button #2 is for 48volt phantom power. Obviously useful and important. The third button is for phase inversion. I don't use it a whole lot (usually just for top or bottom snare and such), but it sure is nice to have when it's needed.
The LED is a single light that goes through a few colors depending on how loud the signal is. Green is good; yellow, getting warmer; orange, tube saturation; red, crunched. Which brings me to the tube. It's a 12AX7 as with most modern tube gear. I had a problem after a few months of ownership where the unit was not working at all. I called ART (Applied Research and Technology) and asked them if it could be a tube problem. I was assured it wasn't. But we couldn't figure it out over the phone so I sent it back (under warranty) and when it was returned there was a tube in the box with it with a piece of masking tape on it to label it 'BAD.'
So much for the tube never going bad. Anyway, since then it's been working well although every now and then I get some sizzle and distortion from the tube for no reason. This has yet to really bite me in the ass, but I'm sure it will sometime.
Those problems aside, this is a great unit. It really warms the sound and has a great sounding tube saturation. I've also used it many times as a DI for bass and other things and it does the job splendidly. On Gavin Beaudry's self-titled album, Jared Wilayto played electric guitar and for one of the songs I simply ran his semi-hollow body (I think it was a Gibson 335?) directly into the Tube MP and into the recorder. I pushed the MP pretty hard and got a really fat, fuzzy, distortion that worked great for the track.
So needless to say, I really like this unit and will probably buy a couple more in the coming months. For a 'budget' pre, very much a good start for any studio or recordist.
Oh yeah, it's got XLR I/O as well as 1/4" unbalanced I/O and plugs in with a wall-wart (ugh).
There you have it. Definitely at least 4 out of 5 stars (just because of the tube problems).

Right now I'm listening to Sister Hazel's Chasing Daylight but I just finished listening to Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer Drum Hat Buddha as I typed. Check out the song "Gentle Arms of Eden" if you get the chance.

Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com

No Rest For the Weary

I'm back!
Yes, I was gone. Thanks for noticing.

I just got back last night from a very wondeful week of sand and sun on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Being self-employed, you can take these respits without having to clear your time off with anyone but yourself. But...there is also no one to do your work while you're gone.
So there I was in paradise, hooked to my laptop with my headphones on. B Original, the TV show I do the audio for has a deadline of 5pm today (Monday) for the entire 1st season to be finished and in the hands of the network. This translates into me working on my vacation (as best as I can remotely) and then having to work twice as hard today to finish up despite having spent nearly 14 hours in the car yesterday driving home.
But what separates the people who 'make it' running their own business from people who don't is often simply doing what you said you would. I would like to succeed (duh!) so I make this my focus. So as I type I'm sitting at Starbucks uploading the final episode for this season as another episode uploads from my studio. And I'm tired, but feeling pretty satisfied that the goal has been met and everyone's happy.

Look for the show on DIY Network and HGTV airing this fall. It's on everyday, literally (sometimes twice), so I imagine this won't be the last deadline that is made dangerously close.
Such is the life...

I'm listening to James Brown 20 All Time Greatest Hits

Rock on

Ben
www.javboyrecords.com

WXPN Free At Noon Concert

One of the many benefits of not having a 9-5 is that (duh!) you don't have to work 9-5.
Today I took the morning off and headed down to 30th St. to check out the WXPN Free At Noon Concert. This is a live on-air concert series that is broadcast by NPR and XPN every Friday at noon from their World Cafe Live venue. It's a great place. I try to get down there when I can.
Today I made an extra effort to attend because one of my new favorite artists was performing, Alexi Murdoch. You probably know his song "Orange Sky" from the OC television show and I think it's on some car commercial too. But anyway, he just put out his first full-length album (Time and Consequence, check it out) and is in Philly today and tonight to promote.
That's one thing about being a studio guy that I miss. The 'performance' aspect of the music. There's nothing quite like being in the same room as a bunch of other people experiencing the music all at once.
But I don't really have time to write today. One of the bad things about being self-employed is that if you skip out for a few hours there's no one there to cover for you...Time to catch up.

I'm listening to Nanci Griffith The Dust Bowl Symphony right now.

Rock on

Ben

Behringer BCF2000

Behringer gets a bad rap. Every audio forum I've ever browsed has a contingency of posters that love to trash this company. Ok, ok, it's not like they have no reason to, but I'd be willing to bet that many of them haven't owned a piece of Behringer gear in the last year or so.
I on the other hand own three Behringer pieces and am very happy with two of them. Today I'd like to tell you about the BCF2000.
For those who don't know, this is billed as a MIDI control surface. It's pretty simple. It consists of 8 motorized faders, 8 endless rotary encoders (with push button feature), 2 assignable buttons per track, and another dozen or so assignable buttons. It connects to your computer either via MIDI cables or USB. All for a street price of $199. Nothing like it on the market for even twice that price.
I won't vouch for it as a straight up MIDI controller, but I do have experience with it in the ProTools realm. In fact, I have three of them giving me 24 motorized faders and rotaries to control my PTLE system. And I couldn't be happier.
I did a lot of research before buying them and found a lot of negative feedback aimed at Behringer in general but nothing about the BCF2000 itself. So again, I took a leap of faith and bought one. For the price, it was worth the risk. Man did it pay off! Within a week I had ordered two more to give me 24 faders for under $600 which is less than half of the Tascam unit I was considering and still 25% cheaper than ONE bank of 8 faders using Mackie control.
It took a bit of work and manual reading (imagine that, reading the manual!), but I got all three working via USB and have been happily using them hiccup free for a year.
There are only two real complaints I have about this unit. 1) Because there is no scribble strip, it can be hard to tell which track you're adjusting. But I can count, so I have overcome this issue. 2) The motors that move the faders are not quiet. To the point that if you have a one-room studio and automate a fader movement while recording a really quiet part and you're near the faders, you may hear them. Again, not something that was a deal breaker for me. I don't automate until the mix usually.
They work well with PTLE and give transport, send, pan, and record enable functionality in addition to the faders. Like I said, I couldn't be happier.
Check out the DUC and search for the BCF2000 for my many posts on the subject there. I knew that I couldn't find any info before I bought so I thought I would help out other people considering it.

Listening to a Pandora station based on Alexi Murdoch right now. It always fits this time of night for me.

Rock on

Ben

SM Pro Audio AO8

Happy 4th of July!
Ok, so I really didn't get to celebrate at all. In fact, I worked all day (big surprise) but when you've got deadlines, you do what you have to do. There aren't any good events around here anyway. For some reason towns in my area like to celebrate the 4th (and any other holiday) only on Saturdays so the activities will be on the 9th. Sounds pretty stupid to me.

Anyway, I'd like to share some thoughts on a little nearly invisible unit that I purchased about 6 months ago. It's the SM Pro Audio AO8 which is a simple A/D converter. When I was deciding whether or not to purchase this piece I did my usual Google check to read reviews and see what people think before I lay down my hard earned cash. This time I came up empty. I found no one with any experience, no pro reviews, nothing. But it's pretty inexpensive so I took a leap of faith (although all the reviews of SM Pro that I found were negative....eep!).
Before I get too far into this let me tell you why I bought it in the first place. For all you Pro Tools LE users out there, I was in the boat of having 8 simultaneous inputs which serve my purposes nicely for most of my projects, but now and then I'm working with a larger band that needs more. So I was looking for an economical way to utilize the digital inputs of my Digi 002 rack unit. It didn't have to necessarily be the highest quality as I didn't plan on using it all the time. After looking at my options, I found the SM Pro Audio AO8 for about $150 which is by far the cheapest I've seen, then or now.
It's a simple thing. Just 8 unbalanced 1/4" inputs on the front with a power switch. The back sports word clock I/O via BNC connectors, a sample rate button (44.1k or 48k) and an ADAT lightpipe out. Should be an easy setup right? WRONG!
To make a long story short, I had MAJOR problems getting this unit to work with my PTLE system but in the end the problem turned out to be something stupid (as it often does). PTLE could not find the unit and as I was using the AO8 as the clock source (that's the only way to get it to work with the 002R because the rack doesn't have word clock I/O), it simply wouldn't work. I tried different combinations for many frustrating hours and found no helpful info online. Then finally I tried something that shouldn't have worked. I set the session I was testing in to 44.1k and set the AO8 to 48k and voila! It worked. So the problem was/is that the AO8 has the sample rate button on the back mislabeled. Had this not been the case, it would have worked right out of the box. I notified SM Pro so they may have fixed it on subsequent releases.

Since then the thing has worked flawlessly and I don't even have to think about it (unless I'm changing sample rates). Does just what I wanted it to.
Definitely worth the money. It's not an Apogee or anything, but it does the job.

Listening to Paul Simon's new album Surprise right now. Very cool. Contemporary arrangements, even some samples and loops, but the songs are still rock solid in typical Simon fashion.

Enjoy the fireworks!

Rock on

Ben

Lexicon Omega

Hey all,

Today I'd like to talk about the Lexicon Omega. For those of you unaware, the Omega is a little 4 channel audio interface made by legendary reverb aficionados, Lexicon. I bought this unit to use as the guts of my remote recording rig. For me it was an upgrade from the Tascam US-122 unit that I had used for the last 2 years and of which I have nothing but great things to say. So the Omega has a lot to live up to.
I made the upgrade because I had a few projects coming up immediately that required more than 2 discreet inputs. As a general rule, it's a good idea to make equipment upgrades only when the financial benefits of the upgrade are immediate. At least that's the way that I keep my gear lust in check.
So I got the Omega from Musicians Friend and went the B-stock route which saved me about $70 and put the unit in my hands for a little over $230. Certainly the only unit of it's nature in this price range. Especially since the laptop I use for remote recording doesn't have firewire which rules out nearly all other options with more than two channels.
It's a nice little unit with pretty intuitive controls although the direct monitoring control is not as functional as the one on the US-122. It's got 4 line inputs which worked great and sound clean to my ear (I hooked them up using the inserts from a Mackie mixer). It's also got 2 built-in mic pres. This is where I ran into problems. The pres worked fine with my SM57 or any other dynamic mic, but as soon as I hooked up a condenser and turned on the phantom power it was hum city. Horrible, horrible, unusable hum at any level. I figured this must be a cable or mic problem so I tried 3 other cables and 3 other mics in each preamp, but had the same problem. Bummer.
I contacted Lexicon customer service via email and got a response asking what mics I was using, etc. I replied that I had tried with lots of different mics and got no response. That was weeks ago. I sent another request for service two days ago and haven't gotten a response yet (although it is 4th of July time so people with real jobs might have off).
So that makes the whole thing nearly worthless for me as most of the remote recording I do is of classical ensembles where I'm only using a stereo pair of condensers. So for the time being, it's back to the Tascam for that.
But, when using external preamps, I must say I am pretty pleased with the Omega. It comes bundled with Cubase SE which I am not a big fan of but it does ok. The only problem I had is that when recording long, long passages sometimes a digital click would show up in the audio every once in a while. I imagine that this takes place when the screen is scrolling although I can't be sure.
This is a problem as well when I'm doing remote recording because usually it's continuous recording for 30 minutes or more at a time. At a conference I just recorded it was sometimes 80 minutes a shot. So I fix the clicks during the mix, but I shouldn't have to.
Another step back from the Tascam is that the Omega requires external power, not just USB. Not a big problem for me, but just one more cable to get tangled as I frantically set up for live event recording session.

So overall, I give the Omega 3 stars out of 5. It could easily be at 4 or 4.5 if only the phantom power worked right. Maybe it's just my unit, but tech support hasn't given me any reason to believe that.
But if you've got to go USB and need 4 ins, this is a decent bet as long as you have external mic pres.

On another note, as I write this I'm listening to a Pandora station based on Alexi Murdoch. If you don't know about Pandora, check it out. It's a great way to discover new music and listen to music that really fits your mood.

Rock on

Ben

Waves Musicians Bundle II

Howdy fellow surfers

Right now I'm listening to Del Amitri Twisted which honestly I wouldn't recommend as a great album, but is worth the price of admission for one song tucked in the middle of it. "Tell Her" is simply a great song. It's funny, I bought this album when it came out in 1995 because I liked the song "Roll To Me" and then a few years later during a CD cleanout it didn't make the cut. Relistening to it now, I see why. But after I got rid of it, the song "Tell Her" snuck back into my subconscious and really dug in. So I started playing it for my own satisfaction (it's one of those 3 chord wonders on guitar) and I grew to really love it. So I just got the CD again and am listening to it right now. The funny thing is, the recording of "Tell Her" doesn't live up to my memory of the song. The arrangement isn't terribly good and the tempo feels all wrong. But it's still a good song.
That reminds me. This is a CD that I got from a great service called La La. It's this online CD trading website. You list the CDs you have and then another member indicates that they want something you have and you agree to ship it to them (with LaLa provided envelopes and shipping). Then you find some CDs you want and request them. So essentially you're trading CDs but the discs you get aren't necessarily from the member you're sending the CDs to. Just a great idea. Plus La La pays royalties so the artists don't get screwed in the deal. Check it out.

So anyway, I thought I'd talk about some plugins today. My studio is ProTools based for the most part. I use other programs for other things, but for tracking in the studio I work almost exclusively in PTLE. With DAW work comes the inevitable conversation about plugins. What do you use, how do you use it, where do you get it, etc, etc. The problem with plugins (as with most gear) is that people get obsessed with getting the newest thing whether they need it or not and insist that if you don't have the new Mega Volume Pumper Plugin X, you suck.
I'm not immune from this disease either, but as a budget conscious studio owner I have to keep myself in check and really only buy what I think I need or would really justify itself by it's contribution to the sounds I'm creating. That said, the best plugin purchase I've made is also the cheapest. Over a year ago I got the Wave's Musicians Bundle II. Now I'd had experience with Waves from other studios I'd worked in, including the actual hardware version of the L1 (imagine that, actually using an outboard limiter!). I also use the Rennaisance Compressor, C4, and L1 as my default mastering chain. But I digress...
The Musicians Bundle II comes with about 5 plugs, honestly I don't remember them all. But for $150 I would be happy with just the RVox plugin. This is just a great tool and makes my job a ton easier, especially while tracking when speed and time are of the essence. It has only 3 control parameters: Gate, Compression, Gain. That's it. And really 90% of the time I only use the middle control. And it sounds great. Some people have said even better than the RComp, but to me they are just different. Anyway, I love it. Love it. I've probably used it in some capacity on every recording I've made in the past year. Not to say you can't make it sound bad. If you push it too much it introduces artifacts into the track that sound pretty horrible. And if you're into having intense control of attack, release, etc, this is certainly not the compressor for you. But to me, it's worth it's weight in gold.
Also included are some delay modules, 2-tap and 6-tap. I use the double tap with the analog preset (minus the direct sound) as my default vocal delay. I don't think I've even used the 6-tap more than twice. The RAxx compressor is not great. Now before I turn you off this plug, let me explain why I don't get much use out of it. Most of the recording I do is for corporate or commercial use and what not. That being the case, I need a lot of different guitar sounds so I'm a Line6 POD guy. I think it's a great tool. Some people don't like it, but for what I do, it's perfect. For that reason most of the guitar sounds I get are pretty controlled and don't require additional compression in the box. And my chain for recording acoustic guitar (which I do even more often than electric) includes compression so any additional compression added ITB is minimal at best. So I don't get much use out of RAxx and I haven't been impressed when I have used it.
So all in all, if you're looking for a nice, easy to use compressor for not a lot of money, get the Musicians Bundle II from Waves.

UPDATE: I just found out they are now including the Rennaissance Compressor with this bundle. Major bonus.

My next purchase, probably next week, will be the WizooVerb Convolution reverb. So I'm finally jumping on the convolution reverb bandwagon. I'll let you know how I do.

In the meantime, check out LaLa.com and trade some music with me. I love music.

Rock on.

Ben