Strays Dave

I have the M-Audio speakers working now so I'll be able to play back and listen easily and not be tied down by wired headphones. I'll also be able to play them when on the phone with an Obedia teacher/coach. I have a learning "hump" I need to hurdle in mixing. And I'll listen for the off-pulse problems in the conga strikes. Speaking of internet, AT&T did a lot of digging and cabling a couple of months back. I signed up for their fiber cable internet, and scheduled a router installation. I've actually been happy with my internet speed, but still signed on to the upgrade. Hopefully I'll still be happy. Thanks for the feedback Kuru.

I was thinking about how to describe in words and realized I could simply share a link. I guess I'm an all audio guy maybe(?). I'm thinking of pulling out my circa 20 year old Yamaha S03 and trying the various drum and percussion sounds. Recording line in. Basically I'm cooking up songs with the idea of enjoying the arranging. As if I had a little band.Mostly acoustic recorded with mics. I do want to record direct line in with my Reverend electric guitar. I'm trying things out, or hope to. And I know my mix is horrible. Mixdown(3).mp3

I purchased tutoring time (Obedia - phone call and remote desktop). I am working at a very basic level and I'm now able to record and do some simple editing and punch in to fix mistakes in my recording. Any suggestions on what to attempt learning next ? The Obedia instructor can access my computer, but cannot hear what's going into my headphones so hearing problems in my mix are a bit problematic.

So....Kuru, I'm finding that I most enjoy working out arrangements for my songs. But then I'm lacking in the patience to stand with headphones on, listening for things in the mix. I do have an old pair of M-Audio AV40 speakers I bought some years back. I'm going to try playing things thru them - once I receive the AC power adapter (currently lost) that I just ordered from Amazon. Thanks for your input.

Rick Beato very recently recorded a video with his thoughts and experiences regarding how the music and record business changed. https://youtu.be/_LyHG1R0p28

I've long admired Paul's inventive bass playing. I would have thought he sometimes played without a pick. The YouTube "Boring/Genius" video plays with a pick all the through. I don't know.

I went ahead and dragged over my panned mix. I like it better Still need to clean up a ragged vocal spot or two. But regardless it'll soon be time to move on to my next effort. I found a pair of mallets with the fluffy cotton ball like ends. I'm going to try them on some stuff. Mixdown(5).mp3

Kuru....I panned the piano left maybe around 45. It's stereo but I don't know that I can separate the two channels for panning. I panned the various percussion to the right....some around 30 and some around 40-45. Left all the vocals in dead center..... I pulled some instrument volumes down but pushed up vocal1, and maybe the other two vocals. Don't remember. After I try some EQ (I'll have another Obedia tutorial Friday) , if it's called for, I'll post the new version.

I ordered the 3 GB DVD's from Amazon for $20. My girlfriend and I recently watched about one hour into part 3. This was a repeat viewing. I happened to catch Billy Preston picking his nose about 20ish minutes in. That was fun. IIRC, from a previous part (2?) , when Billy first sits in with the Beatles on the studio/band set, he lifted the musical mood, making them sound more complete. I'll go back and watch some earlier parts again. I see it as a historical document. And maybe beneficial for some young musicians to see how boring the process of making their creative sausage actually was. Interesting to hear how they often sang in goofy parody style voices when playing thru some potential song. I wondered if they we sometimes trying not to overwork their voices. A non musical friend was horrified when he first watched Get Back. They sounded so bare and rough. He compared them to how Stevie Wonder and said they sounded poorly. I told him if he was going to compare them to "Songs In the Key Of Life", he needed to listen to "Sgt. Pepper". Whatever the case, I'm glad this time capsule has been resurrected. My same non musical friend has a theory that the scene when Peter Sellers pays a visit (early in part 2?) he's tripping. Who knows. I learned that the "Long And Winding Road" bass part that I'd long admired was played by John, with Paul on piano. But Paul coached John (in part 3) on just what to play.

Thanks Kuru. I'll do the panning change tomorrow when I fool with it. And maybe try some of the EQ presets.

Thank you Kuru. This should be it. It may sound a bit rickety, but I'm attempting to create a percussion combination. Experimenting. BTW, this song is about a cat named Noelle, who fetches in the house for fun. Over and over. Mixdown(4).mp3

Your song reminded me of a movie soundtrack. Nicely done. I tried to share an mp3 of my little Studio One song, but on my I'm not sure how to generate a sharable link on the MacBook . I can (in Studio One) do a "Mixdown" to an mp3 which I can email. But I failed to share it here. Maybe my GF can copy it to her iCloud for sharing. I've done some snapping to grid and punching in to fix problems. But the mixing with EQ and such will be something to learn about.

I'm newly dipping my toes into the multi-verse (multi-track) universe. Only 3 or 4 songs thus far. I'm using the piano as a foundation track, with left hand bass, right hand rhythm chords. I guess it's what you are calling a guide track. I've been using songs I've written with a chord/melody/lyric sheet I create using the Goodnotes app on my iPad. Trying to keep the piano part simple so it doesn't conflict with a percussion part added later. At least that's the hope. I'm assuming you are all using some sort of metronome, or a virtual drum with a steady pulse.

Thanks much Kuru. I was indeed able to go to System Preferences and change the output to the Presonus 1810c. Now it sounds in my headphones, but that's OK. Much better than it honking out loud during a recording. I've recorded a piano part (of what I'm currently fooling with) and some vocal parts - 3 voices in harmony. So next I'll start fooling with the djembe. I've been thinking about ways to create a percussive groove - that hopefully don't just sound like someone playing along with a tambourine. I'll try to do a foundation groove on the djembe and then try to come up with some complimentary percussion parts. And thanks Ken. I actually have a 45 year old SM58 and also a 7 year old Sennheiser dynamic mic I used for singing. I'm thinking about maybe creating separate tracks for the djembe with different mics to see what I like best. I hope to create some sort of bass kick drum substitute with the djembe and then attempt some percussion to compliment it. Jake Blount's band (below) creates a percussive momentum that moves me rhythmically. I'm also thinking about plucking a repeated note on my baritone uke for a percussive effect. I've also got various maracas, shakers and bongos. I'm trying to construct that groove. And I do need to learn a bit about EQ.

Maybe I should mention that I also have a Rode NT4 , an X/Y mic. I've only used the NT4 for acoustic piano up to now. So, which would combination would (the collective) you use ?

1st and most important, on a MacBook, what is the notification that sound a bit like a horn, and how do I silence it ? It's an octave and a half above middle C..... an F#. I heard this same sound on a political podcast I follow, and also recently on PBS News Hour remote interview. I've googled how to silence it but the advice didn't work. I'd hoped my Presonus 1810c interface would prevent it from sounding when I was recording, but no. 2nd and less important. I have a 14" djembe and want to experiment with it as a "foundation" percussion part. I have 2 AKG C414 mics (not matched). Also a Shure SM81. I'd like to capture that "ring" in the djembe. I watched a YT video and I gather there's often a mic at the bottom hole of the drum and one near the drum head. Also Craig, I purchased your Studio One Tricks and Tips virtual book. Very nice. I've tip toed into punch in recordings and duplicating a section of a wave form.

I'm afraid the article won't be easily accessed. I copied and pasted it below. Apologies for any squirrelly formatting. I just tend to think of what I'll call "Hot Rod Syndrome". But one man's quirk is another man's expertise ? I'm thinking that if he's focused on finding flaws in the record, he's tending to ignore the music being played. Sgt. Pepper has a pop or crackle ? Oh my, worthless. -------- Tom Port is a 68-year-old man who spends his days in an office park outside Los Angeles where he takes it upon himself to determine which records are the best-sounding in the world. This is a task for which he considers himself uniquely qualified. Port is a true audio iconoclast. He delights in telling you that the slab of vinyl you’re listening to isn’t worthy of his ears and the only thing more pathetic is the audio setup you’re using to listen to it. Port developed his self-proclaimed skills over decades of scouring used LP bins, gathering up multiple copies of the same album and comparing them side by side — listening sessions he calls “shootouts.” That’s what I’m here today to observe. It’s just one stop on my year-long search for the perfect sound, an attempt to take a lifelong passion for music and find out if I’ve really been hearing it. “The number of copies of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ I’ve played or ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ are well over 100, maybe close to 200, to find the ones that are really good,” Port says. “I want the best, and that’s exactly what should be driving you. You get this very special record. You may have only five of them in your whole collection. But those five are like a drug. They’re just so beyond anything you’ve ever heard, and you just can’t believe it.” Port believes that records are like snowflakes — no two are the same. So many things can impact the pressing, including room temperature, the split second the stampers are pressed onto the hot, vinyl biscuit, and unknown factors no human can understand. You can’t find the best-sounding record by reading the marketing sticker proclaiming the latest advances in audio technology. The only way is to use your ears. So Port and his staff at Better Records sit for hours in a windowless room, unplug the small refrigerator in the back so as not to get any electrical interference, and simply listen. Speaker wires hang from the ceiling like renegade strands of linguine so as not to cross and cause feedback. Port sits in a chair on one side of the room, its position marked under each leg with blue electrical tape. Sunshine English, a staffer, sits at a VPI turntable outfitted with a Dynavector cartridge. On the menu today, at my request, is jazz trumpeter Kenny Dorham’s 1959 album “Quiet Kenny.” It’s an elegant album that has become a collector’s item. Original copies in top condition regularly sell for more than $1,500. I don’t have one of those, but I’ve brought three copies with me, all of which claim to be on the cutting edge of new audio technology The first is from the Electric Recording Co., based in London, which produces roughly a dozen albums each year on vintage equipment painstakingly restored by owner Pete Hutchison. ERC makes just 300 copies of each reissue and charges $376 per album. The stock sells out immediately. Then the records pop up on eBay for as much as $2,000. English has agreed not to reveal which copy is being played so the shootout can be truly blind. She lowers the needle onto the ERC edition of “Quiet Kenny.” Port groans loudly. “Listen to that bass,” he says. “Blah, blah, blah, blah. Who wants to play a record that sounds like this?” Next up is a copy pressed by Analogue Productions, the Kansas-based label founded by Chad Kassem. Port says that Kassem “has never made a single good sounding record” since AP’s founding in 1991. (Kassem calls Port a “f---ing loser.”) This blind listen gets better marks, which surprises Port when he’s told it’s an Analogue. “That’s the best-sounding Analogue Productions record I’ve ever heard,” Port says. “Because it’s not terrible.” The third is a test pressing from Tom “Grover” Biery, a former Warner Bros. veteran who is starting a label called Public Domain Recordings. Biery believes records are too expensive and wants to offer a solid-sounding, cheaper alternative to the costly reissues coming out today. Port calls it serviceable but flat. He grumbles that it’s a mono, not a stereo recording. “It sounds tonally correct,” he says. “But the problem with mono is everybody is in line between me and Sunshine, and they’re all standing one behind the other. Can you really separate out all those musicians when they’re all right in the middle? It’s very difficult. I don’t like it.” None of these would make the hot stamper cut. (Port defines a hot stamper as a pressing that sounds better than other copies of the same album.) We talk more about ERC and how coveted Hutchison’s records are in the market. He agrees to try song two on the ERC vinyl, but things don’t get better. I suggest that maybe English adjust the arm on the turntable. The vertical tracking angle, or VTA, as he calls it. “Nothing can fix this record,” he shouts back. “It’s junk. And that guy should be ashamed of himself.” There is something almost charming in Port’s brash refusal to praise anything pressed in the modern era or to consider a digital source. (He won’t even listen to music in his car; the system just can’t compare to that in his shootout room, he says.) And Port’s take, as rigid as it is, makes a certain amount of sense when you consider the scandal that emerged during the reporting for this story. Mike Esposito, a Phoenix record store owner and YouTuber, claimed that Mobile Fidelity (MoFi), a reissue record label beloved by analog-only purists, had been misleading its customers and using digital files in the production chain. The revelation sparked outrage among the label’s devotees and plunged audiophiles into something of an existential crisis. Two customers filed a lawsuit against the Sebastopol, Calif., company after an article was published by The Washington Post. Experts such as Esposito and Michael Fremer, the dean of audiophile writing, had included some of the now-exposed company’s records on their list of the best-sounding analog albums. Could digital technology have advanced enough to fool even the best of ears? A trio of acclaimed mastering engineers — Bernie Grundman, Kevin Gray and Ryan K. Smith — told me that an all-analog chain always sounds better than an album with a digital step, but that didn’t seem to settle the debate. It also brought back an exchange I’d had earlier in the summer with Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett. He had spent years working with scientists to create a special record that would capture a recording session in a way a normal LP couldn’t, using materials primarily found in space stations. He recruited Bob Dylan to rerecord his first iconic composition, “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Burnett made only one copy of the record. It would be auctioned by Christie’s only weeks after we met in New York for $1.78 million. After Burnett played me the song, we talked about the process behind the recording. Burnett told me he captured the session on a restored Nagra tape machine as well as a digital recorder. When it came time to put the song on the disc, he chose the digital recording as his source. I asked him whether he worried about the analog crowd. He was unrepentant. “There was no noise or tape hiss,” he said. “That’s the way we deemed it was best. I don’t have to apologize for it. It’s a great recording.” Which may lead to the biggest lesson of my quest. Don’t pretend to know everything.

Are copies of records like snowflakes (no two are alike) ? Tom Port of Better records says so. Certain pressings at the plant are better than others. I'm inclined to call it hair splitting. https://better-records.com/ I originally read the article below. I emailed the link below to a friend. She had to "register" but was able to read it without a subscriptions. https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/interactive/2022/perfect-sound-quality-vinyl-records/

Earlier in this thread I complained about difficulty with Studio One. I've since reached a point where I'm able to set up a song and create a multi track recording. Not really fluent in it, but able to do it. I have another (my 3rd) tutorial tomorrow with Obedia. I created a recording with "problems" I'd like to solve for tomorrow's session. Things like simple editing, punch in recording, fundamental mixing (EQ, effects and such). One thing I enjoy, maybe most, is trying out things to see if they work...hand claps, mouth clucks, fluttering my lips (for a motorboat effect)....some things may work and some may not. I'm creating little songs or partial songs. I used a Female pop vocal reverb effect on my voice to see how it sounded.

I'm not a techie. I play piano and simply want one that feels and sounds "real". I've had an N1X approaching 2 years now. I recommend you try one out to see how it feels and sounds to you.

I don't listen to music nearly enough these days. I believe that repeated listenings to a specific work is important to digesting music, especially when it has more "heft" to it. I do have a small pool of classical works that I listen to on occasion. Over the several last decades I've favored Stravinsky's "Symphonies of Wind Instruments". It's been suggested that it uses some of the same musical language as the Rites Of Spring. In the last 2 years I became aware that there's a piano reduction available from Boosey and Hawkes. Piano transcription performed below. I also sight read slowly thru some of Bach's Well Tempered Clavier pieces. Over the years I've read a few (2 or 3 ?) interviews with jazz pianists who said they play some of Debussy's Preludes. Back circa 1980 I read an interview, probably in Downbeat magazine, with a guy who worked for Charles Mingus. He said he played thru Bach's 4 part Chorales. The chorales are not difficult to play. Around 1973 I saw Dave Brubeck in concert. He introduced one of his songs saying something like "all jazz pianists like Chopin". I think he was making a point about Chopin's forward looking harmonies. Bartok's 4th String Quartet is also sometimes compared to Stravinsky's Rites of Spring. I should listen more. But I think of my preferred classical pieces and works as a sort of "well" to drink from. I don't think Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica would be what is was without exposure to Stravinsky (I think it was something Van Vliet listened to with Zappa in their youth). The Beatles wouldn't have had the harmonic depth they had without classical influences - whether input from George Martin, or things that McCartney figured out by ear.

You pretty much nailed me PFC. I am off an crawling with Presonus Studio One 5.5. I used Obedia (a software support outfit) to get past a roadblock. I changed interface (bought a Studio 1810c to replace a Studio 26) and up popped extra buses or something. I also couldn't find why there was more hiss in the headphones - something in the signal chain?. The stock hot keys don't seem to respond - another of those infernal hidden settings ? I know nothing. But want to experiment with creating percussion parts, including fooling with some mouth noises (beat box?). When I spend an hour filled with roadblocks, my impulse is to go back and play the piano. BUT, I've decided to spend the money for tutoring sessions from Obedia. Maybe they can introduce me step by step to the fundamentals. I'd also like to be able to make minor edits if say a tambourine pulse is slightly off in spots. Maybe try to cook up some vocal harmony parts and try to recruit some friends to sing them. I figure they can guide me through steps 1, 2, 3. Maybe give me a recording assignment. Whatever. I just wanna make music. And get decent recordings.

I will check out your Presonus blog. I'm impressed with the company's (Presonus) support ecosystem. So many YouTube tutorials, the Presonus forums, and now I know about your blog.

My solution to Studio One not seeing/hearing my microphone turned out to be: System Preferences/Security & Privileges / Privacy / Microphone .................then a check mark for "Studio One" . There were already check marks for GarageBand and Universal Control. The support tech said Apple tends to be pretty stringent. My solution ended up being an online support company called Obedia (rhymes with "media" ). I paid $60 for 60 minutes of support - a phone call along with remote desktop software. The problem with solved within 15 minutes and I had 5 more minutes left to ask a couple of questions. I was happy to pay, just to get past my roadblock. I still have 40 minutes left in support time - the shortest support session is 20 minutes. If not used within 90 days, they will expire. As always, thanks for any input from you guys. I'm happy with the Presonus ecosystem, especially all the YouTube tutorials.