Procedure No.1: Using Freeware/Shareware programs





1) Obtain sheet music that is in the public domain, such as a volume of sheet music published before 1923 or a reprint of a public domain source. READ THIS PAGE FOR INFO ON HOW TO TELL IF AN EDITION OF SHEET MUSIC IS PUBLIC DOMAIN OR NOT.

2) Using the Black and White setting, scan the sheet music into TIFF CITT-4 graphics format. A program called Infothek 2000 scan (shareware from http://www.informatik.com) does this automatically.

3) Number each TIFF file sequentially, with the first file named 001.tif, the second named 002.tif, then 003.tif, etc. The Infothek program also does this automatically as you scan.

4) When finished scanning, place all of the TIFF files into a directory. Next, place in the same directory a freeware program called C42pdf (freeware from http://c42pdf.ffii.org.

5) Finally, if using Windows, exit to the DOS command prompt and go to the directory with the TIFF files and the C42 program. Type the following command at the command prompt:

C42 *.tif

All of the sequentially numbered CITT-4 TIFF files in the directory will be combined into a single pdf file (called 001.pdf) containing all of the pages in sequential order.

6) Go back to Windows, load up the 001.pdf file in Adobe Acrobat Reader (available free from Adobe ) and check to make sure that all of the pages are there, clear and not cut off, and in the proper order. If any page is missing, scan it in, and add the TIFF file in the directory with the TIFF files, making sure that the TIFF file name is numbered in the order where it should appear in the file (for example, page 39 should be numbered 039.tif). If that means you must rename every TIFF file in the directory by 1 (for example change 040.tif to 041.tif), use a batch file rename program to do so, such as the freeware Rename program at http://www.1-4a.com/rename/ .

7) Once you are satisfied with your pdf file, give it a new file name and e-mail as an attachment to the Sheet Music Archive. This is a great technique for making pdf files, since it is simple, quick, and the files are small in file size, typically 50-60k per page.

Procedure No.2: Typeset your own





You may use freeware programs such as MusiXTeX typeset public domain music. You can also use a freeware program called GhostScript (version 6.0 and above) to turn Postscript files (.ps) or sheet music into Adobe PDF files. See this page from the Werner Icking Sheet Music Archive for information on these and other programs.

Procedure No.3: Using the Adobe Acrobat Suite





Buy the Adobe Acrobat Suite from Adobe.com or from your software dealer, and use the Adobe Acrobat Exchange file in the suite to directly scan public domain sheet music into pdf files. Use a resolution of at least 300 DPI (Dots Per Inch; 400-600 DPI give better results, but the file size will be larger). After making the pdf, you may use the Adobe Acrobat Distiller (which comes with the Acrobat Suite) to compress the size of the PDF file further.

Procedure No.4: Using Photoshop with the Adobe Acrobat Suite





Sometimes you may want to add text to your scanned sheet music PDF file. On the title page, for example, you might want to add your own title or other info.

1) To do so, scan the first page into Adobe Photoshop. Then, use the Erase tool to erase text or other things you do not want to see on the title page. Next, use the Text tool to write in your own text, and drag the text onto the title page.

2) After you are done with your editing, save the file in Photoshop EPS format.

3) Then, use Adobe Acrobat Distiller to change the EPS file into a pdf file.

4) Now, open that title page PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Exchange. Use the Exchange program to insert, after that first title page that you have edited, a PDF file containing the other pages of the sheet music. Save the file. You now have the complete sheet music PDF file with the edited title page.

		The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Verizon Hall Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Opus 76 Phase 2 Installation Although the organ appears to be completed, only the casework and largest pipes were installed as part of Phase 1. Because Verizon Hall is heavily used, it is free only for several weeks during summers. During two weeks in the summer of 2004, the attached console, reservoirs and wind system were installed. The rest of the organ was installed in the summer of 2005. Voicing began in October and is carried out at night, after evening performances, and is projected to run until April 2006. Some of the parts laid out on the stage. Two of the four blowers. They are located in an insulated room two floors below the organ. To prevent transmission of vibration, all blowers are mounted on “intertia bases”, which carry the weight of each blower on springs. One of the three Great slider windchests is hoisted. All of the windchests will be passed through the side of the case into the organ. One of the two Pedal slider windchests is hoisted. The Great and Pedal chests are situated at the lowest level of the façade, and have been installed first to provide a “floor” for the installation of the Swell, Positive and Solo windchests, which are located one level above the Great and Pedal. Here is the whole sequence of hoisting a windchest—in this case, one of the two Swell slider chests. The windchest is brought onto the stage, where the rigging is arranged. A hoist above the canopy over the stage does the heavy lifting. The windchest is pulled onto the next balcony and moved through the side of the case. The rigging is rearranged to hoist the windchest within the organ. At this point, everyone is standing on the Great and Pedal windchests, which are covered for protection. Up it goes… …slipping between the steel beams that support the upper divisions (Swell, Positive and Solo) and brace the façade. Finally, the chest is set, on edge, on the steel beams that will support it, and tipped into its final, horizontal position. The Solo expression shade frame can be seen at the extreme right of this image. Some members of the Dobson crew pictured at the top of the Double Open Wood 32': Gerrid Otto, Donny Hobbs (on 32' CCCC), Bob Savage, and Mitch Clark (from left to right). Steel beams run through the organ at the most inopportune places. Special fill-in pieces are fitted around them to keep the sound in the expression boxes. This is the stage console opened up, showing in extended position the panels to which all the console wiring is connected. A console view orchestra patrons are more likely to see. The lozenge-shaped area of the floor is a lift that descends to the room where the console and the pianos are stored. Adjustment of the keyboards and installation of the key action. Art Middleton is above, Dean Zenor is obscured below. Dean Zenor measuring the key weights. Adjusting the key action for evenness of touch and weight is fully as involved a process as tonal finishing, and equally important to the success of the organ. Some pipes of the Great are going in. Most of the principal chorus is placed together in the front part of the Great. Solo pipes, from front (on left) to back: Principal 8, Octave 4, Full Mixture V, walkboard, Gamba 8, Major Flute 8 (a Doppelflöte), Orchestral Flute 4, Gamba Celeste 8, French Horn 8, and one pipe of the Clarinet 8 in the lower right-hand corner. The Principal, Octave, Gamba and Gamba Celeste are inverted-conical shape, meaning the upper diameter of each pipe is larger than the diameter at the mouth. Pipes of the Positive, from front (on right): Principal 8, Quintaton 16, Salicional 8, Octave 4, Bourdon 8, Nasard 2-2/3, Chimney Flute 4, Doublet 2, Tierce 1-3/5, Larigot 1-1/3, Sept 1-1/7, Piccolo 1, None 8/9, Cor anglais 8, Mixture IV. An overhead view of the Positive. Positive pipes behind the walkboard, from left: Bassoon 16, Trumpet 8, Cromorne 8, Recorder 2, Sharp Mixture III. Originally, the Great was to have a Horizontal Trumpet 8 in the façade. However, as the design was developed and the movable canopy over the stage came within a foot or so of the case, these pipes were moved to the interior. Though the console still bears the name “Horizontal Trumpet”, the pipes are in fact hooded, to direct their sound out into the hall. Tonal Director John Panning at the console during the final voicing.    Thanks to Sean O’Donnell for some of the photographs. Op. 76 Home Photographs Phase 1 Installation • Kimmel Center Dedication Phase 2 Construction • Consoles
		Top Our Shop • Instruments • Recordings • Testimonials • Sound Samples • Recitals News Archive • Guestbook • Contact • Home Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd. 200 North Illinois Street • Post Office Box 25 Lake City, Iowa 51449 USA Tel 712/464-8065 • Fax 712/464-3098 info@dobsonorgan.com Site designed by metaglyph All contents ©1999–2005 Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd.

Organ Notes, week of March 20
Date:	3/20/2006 6:05:20 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:	newsletter@americanpublicmedia.org
To:	farnuma440@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Organ Notes Around Bach Music by offspring, pupils, and later enthusiasts for whom the works of Johann Sebastian Bach were both beacon and benediction. View complete program Listen to the program Audio extra! 30 minutes of disc programming related to this week's program, hosted by Michael Barone, available only to newsletter subscribers like you. Listen to the extra audio Audio extra playlist: J. S. BACH: Fugue in E-flat, S. 552b—Fretwork Gamba Consort (Harmonia Mundi CD-907395) BACH: Cantata No. 161, Komm, du süsse Todesstunde —Elisabeth von Magnus, alto; Pal Agnew, tenor; Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir/Ton Koopman (Challenge Classics CD-72203) Special features Pipedreams Mailbag Submit your questions to the Mailbag New 24 hour classical music stream KSJN in Minneapolis, the home of Michael Barone, has launched a 24-hour classical music service on the Web using Windows Media player. The New Releases You can listen to Michael Barone's The New Releases online, updated every Friday. The show reviews new and notable classical music recordings. A glimpse ahead March 27, 2006: E. Power to the People A celebration (Part 1 of 2) of the 100th birthday of one of the most influential and effective advocates for the pipe organ, the late, great E. (Edward George) Power Biggs (March 29, 1906-March 10, 1977). April 3, 2006: E. Power to the People II A continuing centennial tribute to one of the most influential and effective advocates for the pipe organ, the late, great E. (Edward George) Power Biggs (March 29, 1906-March 10, 1997). April 10, 2006: Easter Uprising Our musical progression leads from Palm Sunday through Passiontide and on to the Resurrection Festival. Program archive National broadcasts of Pipedreams are made possible with funding from the National Endowment of the Arts, Mr. and Mrs. Wesley C. Dudley, MAHADH Fund of HRK Foundation, by the contributions of listeners to American Public Media stations, and by the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, APOBA, representing designers and creators of fine instruments heard throughout the country, on the Web, and toll-free at 800-473-5270. Travel Join these Mozart inspired tours of Europe Where to hear us If warmer weather has you on the move, you can still catch Pipedreams wherever you are. Find out where and when Or listen to us online, any time. Visit our Web archive and pick out a show Public Radio MusicSource Find all three Pipedreams CDs, as well as 200,000 other recordings, playlists, artist reviews, and links to the best music featured on public radio. Go to Public Radio MusicSource Support us Your tax-deductible contribution will help support Pipedreams's online efforts. Make a contribution! Subscribe to "The Tracker" from the OHS Request a free sample copy of "The Tracker", the quarterly journal of the Organ Historical Society. Contact Jerry Morton at: mail@organsociety.org.

You received this free e-mail newsletter because you previously subscribed or because it was sent to you by a friend. Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Tell a Friend © 2006 American Public Media 480 Cedar Street, Saint Paul, MN USA 55101 powered by Convio

| www.ifilm.com/shorts

| www.idiotwork.com

  | http://www.ifilm.com/player/?ifilmId=2654283&pg=default&skin=default&refsite=default&mediaSize=default&context=channel&launchVal=1&data=6~1~10"> short/film (2004)

Two Characters find themselves the unwilling participants in a post-modern short film.
If you thought getting into a film was hard, try getting out of one! 
 

Lethal Objection  (2003)

http://www.ifilm.com/player/?ifilmId=2473044&pg=default&skin=default&refsite=default&mediaSize=default&context=channel&launchVal=1&data=6~1~10

Two dingbat lawyers are too busy with cocoa butter to notice what their enemies are up to.  
 

DeathMatch  (2005)

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2665580

This Place Sucks (2005) Superfriends meets Office Space...another great mashup from Idiotwork.  
 

More From WebMD WebMD's Cold & Flu Survival Guide Want to Stop Your Kid's Cough Before It Starts? Get the Latest Health News Delivered to Your Inbox

Jan. 9, 2005 -- Over-the-counter cough medicines may be a waste of time and money, says a panel of America's top lung specialists.

Consumers spend billions each year on nonprescription cough syrups, drops, and so-called cough and cold medications. But an expert panel concluded that these products rarely help a cough.

"There is no clinical evidence that over-the-counter cough expectorants or suppressants actually relieve cough," says panel chairman and pulmonary specialist Richard D. Irwin, MD.

The updated cough treatment guidelines were issued by the American College of Chest Physicians and are published in the January issue of its journal Chest. They are endorsed by the American Thoracic Society and the Canadian Thoracic Society.

Nondrowsy No Good

So what should you do instead to relieve that irritating cough?

The panel recommends the use of older antihistamines with a decongestant for the treatment of coughs due to colds, allergies, and sinuses in adults. They specifically suggest the antihistamine brompheniramine and the decongestant pseudoephedrine, both found in many over-the-counter cold remedies.

The anti-inflammatory pain reliever naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) has also been shown to be effective for cold-related coughs, the report states.

Newer antihistamines, which are nonsedating, are not effective for treating coughs, Irwin tells WebMD.

"If you take an [antihistamine] medication that says 'nonsedating' or 'nondrowsy' on the label, it isn't going to do anything for your cough," he says.

Coughers Everywhere

Each year in the United States, roughly 30 million Americans see their doctors because of coughs.

"Cough is the No. 1 reason why patients seek medical attention," Irwin says. "Although an occasional cough is normal, excessive coughing or coughing that produces blood or thick, discolored mucus is abnormal."

ACCP President W. Michael Alberts, MD, tells WebMD the guidelines were updated to reflect new research on the treatment of coughs.

Kids and Cough Medicine

While the revised ACCP guidelines stop short of saying that adults should not take over-the-counter cough medications, this was the group's recommendation for children under the age of 15.

"Cough and cold medicines are not useful in children and can actually be harmful," says Irwin, who is chief of the division of pulmonary, allergy, and critical care medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

"In most cases, a cough that is unrelated to chronic lung conditions, environmental influences, or other specific factors, will resolve on its own."

But pediatric lung specialist William Brendle Glomb, MD, who helped write the new guidelines, tells WebMD that he frequently treats children with products such as Robitussin and will continue to do so.

"I have discussed this with every pediatric pulmonologist that I know, and we all use it," he says. "It works wonderfully to clear the mucus out."

The problem, he says, is that there have been very few studies done on over-the-counter cough medicines, and most were conducted decades ago. Most studies also involved narcotic products containing codeine.

"There are big holes in the scientific literature, and this is one of them," he says. "These products just haven't been studied."

Though he disagrees with some of the wording in the new guidelines, Glomb does agree that coughs in children should not necessarily be treated.

"When children cough it is generally because they need to get out whatever it is that is in there," he says.

Page: 1 |

Cough Medicines a Bust? (continued)   |   2

By Salynn Boyles WebMD Medical News

Reviewed By Michael  Smith, MD on Monday, January 09, 2006

More From WebMD WebMD's Cold & Flu Survival Guide Want to Stop Your Kid's Cough Before It Starts? Get the Latest Health News Delivered to Your Inbox

Whooping Cough Shot for Adults

The revised guidelines represent the most comprehensive recommendations for the diagnosis and management of cough in adults and children ever published.

"People may think they have to put up with coughs, but they don't," Alberts says. "Coughing is a symptom that something is wrong, but it can be effectively treated with proper medical attention."

For the first time, the guidelines include a "strong recommendation" that adults up to age 65 receive booster vaccinations for whooping cough.

Known medically as pertussis, whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection characterized by coughing so violent that it can lead to choking, vomiting, passing out, and even broken ribs.

Children are routinely vaccinated against the disease, but older versions of the vaccine were too dangerous for use in adults because they could potentially cause serious central nervous system side effects.

Last year, however, the FDA approved a new version of the vaccine that testing has shown to be both safe and effective for use by children over the age of 10 and adults under the age of 65.

The revised guidelines call for adults aged 64 and under to get the booster pertussis, tetanus, and diphtheria vaccine every 10 years.

The hope, Irwin says, is that whooping cough can be eradicated in the same way that polio was several generations ago.

"Whooping cough is thought of as a kid's disease, but 28% of cases occur in adults," Irwin says. "A study in my state of Massachusetts showed that 40% of coughs severe enough to send patients to the ER were caused by pertussis."

Orchestral Recording

By Blair Jackson

Jan 1, 2006 12:00 PM

REVISITING AND REFINING CLASSIC TECHNIQUES

A John Rodd session: musicians performing the score for an animated short film at Capitol

The conceit of these sorts of periodic articles, which are designed to fill readers in on the latest recording techniques, is that there is great new information to be imparted — that changes in technology have led to some sort of reassessment of the way a particular musical style is captured for posterity. But the fact is, in the world of orchestral recording, there doesn't seem to be radical departures in the way that engineers are working, even as the ultimate media destinations have almost entirely moved from tape to digital disk storage. Traditions run deep in classical music recording, and while it isn't exactly accurate to say that there's nothing new under the sun, there is still a great reliance on tried-and-true methods that have been successful for many decades, though it isn't hard to find a few new wrinkles, too.

With that in mind, we contacted four engineers steeped in the wisdom of how to best record an orchestra, whether for a classical production, a film score or as background on a pop date. Lawrence Rock (you can call him Larry; many do) has been the audio director of the New York Philharmonic for nearly a decade, and has made countless classical recordings both in recording studios and, more often, live in concert. Long revered as an intelligent and resourceful studio owner (Ocean Way, Record One, et al), Allen Sides' greatest passion has always been engineering, and he's recorded orchestras for many pop and rock records (Goo Goo Dolls, Sheryl Crow) and film scores. These days, John Kurlander mostly engineers film scores in L.A. (The Lord of the Rings films, Master and Commander, etc.), but during his more than three-decade career, he has also cut dozens of straight classical albums and has worked with orchestras on numerous rock LPs. John Rodd, the youngster of the group, cut his orchestral recording chops in the late '80s and early '90s in his native Canada, working on classical and film scoring dates at Manta Sound in Toronto and the Banff Center for the Arts (Alberta). Later, he moved to Los Angeles and landed a job as a scoring recordist at Fox's Newman Scoring Stage and is now an independent engineer specializing in recording orchestral film and videogame scores.

MODIFIED OLD SCHOOL
For a half-century, orchestral recording has been dominated by two techniques that emphasize minimal miking in front of and above the musicians: The Blumlein method, developed in the early 1930s, uses a single pair of bidirectional mics to create an accurate stereo image; and the more popular Decca Tree, developed by engineers for Decca Records in the mid-'50s, uses three microphones on a T-stand (the classic iteration used Neumann M-50s) to give optimal left, right and center imaging for recording. (For a detailed, cogent look at the Decca Tree, see Ron Streicher's September 2003 Mix article at mixonline.com.)

There are still some purists who fully embrace these proven “old-school” techniques, but it has been much more common during the multitrack age for engineers to augment either the Blumlein or Decca setup (often modifying each) with spot mics over small groups of players or sections of the orchestra that can be brought into the mix later. All four of these engineers favor a modified Decca Tree with spot mics. And, not surprisingly, surround recording also considerably changes the mic equation.

John Kurlander at the Neve Capricorn at CTS Studios, Watford Town Hall, UK

Kurlander got his start at EMI (Abbey Road) Studios in London in the late '60s. After several years working his way up from “tea boy” to assistant, he got his first shot as lead engineer on a classical project in 1975. “I went up to Liverpool with instructions from one of the chief engineers who said, ‘Look, just do as you're told and don't experiment. I've been doing Liverpool Philharmonic Hall for 20 years now and this is how you do it.’ You had classical engineers and pop engineers; they were very, very separate. The EQ modules for the valve boards even said ‘pop’ or ‘classical’ on them.

“The Decca Tree was the tradition from Decca, which was about a mile down the road from us,” he continues, “and the tradition for EMI Classics was a Blumlein stereo pair, so you could get into serious trouble if you tried putting three M50s up. [Laughs] And, likewise, the Decca boys would have been in trouble if they had put up a Blumlein stereo pair. The truth is, even the guys who worked for Decca were constantly trying to second-guess [the Tree]. Even though they probably had the formula framed on the wall, they were still wondering, ‘What if we tried something else on the center? What if we went a little wider?’”

By the late '70s, Kurlander found himself working increasingly on hybrid pop/classical projects. “You know that joke in This Is Spinal Tap where they say they want to do some of their acoustic numbers with the London Symphony Orchestra? Well, that joke was based on what actually happened! Every rock band worth its salt wanted to overdub the London Symphony.”

Kurlander says that unlike in straight classical recording, when the orchestra's natural dynamic range is maintained, an ensemble being layered over a rock track requires different mic treatment. “I would typically mike it up from three different perspectives: a close, a medium and a distant. Then I started compressing those three layers. In those days, I would probably have six or eight mics close, then a medium [pair] over the conductor and then a really distant [pair]. A lot of times, I wouldn't be mixing it. The engineer who had recorded the [pop] tracks would come along and I'd give them very specific guidelines on how to mix my tracks. By using the multi-perspective technique, you'd actually come out with something that was relatively squashed up but gave the illusion of being dynamic and natural.”

Today, Kurlander says, the modified Decca Tree has become a standard for film scoring. “I use the [Neumann] 150s [a modern update of the M-50] simply because they're new and they're matched and they're reliable, and reliable is really important. So I'll do that and then do a round of closer mics, depending on what the score is, because you never really know what you're going to need [in the mix].

“I'll put my initial Tree at 10 to 12 feet. Then I'll have a circuit of close mics in the sections, and that would depend on the size and the writing and where we're recording — how close they're going to be. It could be as few as five or six mics or up to as many as 18 or 20. I use a lot of [Neumann KM] 84s or derivatives of 84s — the 184s. And if I have to go closer than about 12 to 18 inches, I prefer not to go that close with a modern condenser and I'll use a ribbon. And if I'm going to go for violin solo or a cello solo, I'll use a ribbon, as well. For surround, I'll have a pair of very high omnis, and sometimes I'll add in some of the Tree's left and right into the rears.”

LIVE CHALLENGES
Most of what Rock records for the New York Philharmonic are live concerts for either broadcast or CD release, putting him in a different position from the other engineers. Not only does he have to deal with a live audience, he usually doesn't have the opportunity to switch miking schemes between musical pieces at a given performance, even if there are significant changes in style or instrument configuration. And if he's working a broadcast, he also has to consider the dynamic limitations of radio compression.

Lawrence Rock in the radio room at Avery Fisher Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic Photo: Chris Lee

“When you're recording live, you're dealing with an audience and the noise they make, and any concert hall is going to become less reverberant when people are in it. As a result, I have to use digital reverb; in fact, I've often said that I've built my career on the judicious use of digital reverb,” he says with a chuckle.

Rock says he has mostly used Lexicon reverbs during the years. “The 300 has been my workhorse because the digital interface is so straightforward. Of course, I go back to the era of the 200 and the 224, which didn't even have digital interfaces.”

When asked about the newer generation of reverbs that actually emulate some of the classical halls in which he records, he says he doesn't like the “known room” approach, “because in my mind, what you're really creating is an idealized version; what we're creating is an illusion. Microphones don't hear the way ears do — you don't have the brain to sort it all out until you're listening on the other end, and then you're listening to speakers or headphones. So you're really creating a whole sound that's certainly related to the source, but it's hardly an exact replication. So you use whatever you have at your disposal in terms of types of microphones and the placement and whatever processing you need. That said, in the classical world, we try to minimize processing — choosing the microphone that has the kind of sound you're going for and then not adding equaliztion to it because, be it analog or digital, you're still introducing a form of distortion, technically speaking.”

Rock says that growing up in Chicago, he was well aware of the Decca Tree approach. “During the [music director Sir Georg] Solti era, they always had the Decca Tree and they applied that approach no matter what hall they were recording in, and I think the results were variable. Sometimes they would have seven of the modified M-50s — a Tree and two outriggers on each side — and it was too much of the same mic sound; it got a little muddy and a little brittle.”

Rock likes to mix mics, avoiding the buildup of the coloration of any given mic. “What I generally use is a combination of the Neumann KM-130s, which are the omnis — in fact, I use them with the little [sound defraction] spheres that make them, as I call them, the poor man's M-50 — in the center, and then I use the Schoeps MK2S, which is an omni capsule that has a little bit of high-end rise, as does the Neumann 130. In a place like Avery Fisher Hall here [in N.Y.], and really, working in any hall with an audience present, the first thing to go is the high-frequency return — the kind of reflections and so on that would support high frequency. So those mics are both good for that.”

How far up does he hang the mics? “Just under 10 feet; nine-feet-11 to be exact,” he says with a laugh. “You get this sweet spot. These four mics hang in a line in front of the orchestra, spread horizontally. The center ones are 18 inches apart; the outriggers are another 12 feet out on either side. One of the things that does is give me flexibility in changing the balance between the inner pair and outer pair. The Schoeps tend to be a little warmer-sounding and the Neumanns are a little more brilliant and have a little more reach. A program might have a wide variety of pieces, and I can't go down there and change mics and change positions in the middle of a concert. But I can change the balance, and if I need a warmer sound, I can bring the Schoeps up, and if I need a clearer sound, I can bring the Neumanns up.” When it comes to spots, “I'll use some of the KM-140 cardioids over woodwinds and some string spots. I also like the MK21, which is the sub-cardioid Schoeps. Generally, I go from the omni to the more directional as I go upstage.”

CAPTURING SMALLER ENSEMBLES
A conversation with Sides centered on his involvement with the most recent Crow album, Wildflower, which features sumptuous orchestral accompaniment (by veteran pop arranger David Campbell) on nearly every song. While Sides certainly has experience working with larger orchestras, for this pop date, he recorded a smaller ensemble. The sessions took place at Ocean Way B in Los Angeles.

“The way I record [strings for a pop album] is not that different than what I do for a motion picture,” Sides says. “The big live rooms we have sound so good that with the right section and the right setup and a pair of M-50s and the right spot mics, it sounds pretty amazing without having to work all that hard. It's one of those things where simplicity is really the way to go.

Allen Sides leaning over Capitol’s custom API board, with (from left) assistant engineer Scott Barefield, Burt Bacharach (foreground) and music director Rob Shrock

“With the smaller sections,” he continues, “I set it up a little differently than with a larger orchestra. Typically, with David [Campbell], it will be like 12 violins, three cellos and three violas, so I end up making three rows of six: six violins, six violins and then the three violas and three celli in the last row.

“One of the challenges of recording a section like that is if you have your overall mics aimed at the first row of players, it ends up sounding like a few violins playing. With M-50s, which are actually fairly directional mics above 1k, if you aim past the front of the section, you end up getting a more unified sound. If what you're looking for is a more impressionistic sound, where you don't actually hear any one individual string but you really hear it as a group, I'll aim the M-50s more toward the last row. Then, what I'll usually do in a small section like that, I'll have three KM-54s for the L/C/R violins. If it's going to be 5.1, I'll put up a center M-50, plus I'll put up a couple of Schoeps omnis, sometimes left-right distant front, also left-right rear, depending on what perspective I want with the 5.1.”

With the front M-50s, “Depending on the room, I'm usually about 12 feet in the air and sometimes as much as 15 feet — depending on the size of the section,” Sides continues. “The bigger section I might split up in a more conventional fashion — say, four, four, four and four violins on the left; then four and two celli and four and two violas on the right; and the bass is in the center in the back. The other thing I do a lot of is if we're recording two basses, I usually record them in stereo with a couple of [Neumann] U47s because it sounds impressive in pop and they're also centered in the section, so if I have it six, six and six [as in the Crow date], the two basses are dead center in basically a fourth row, so they're also being picked up evenly by the M-50s.”

For spot mics, “I'll put a couple of 54s or omni 67s on the violas, and then I use a couple of 54s on the celli. The reason I use a 54 is because they have an incredibly smooth off-axis response. Usually, I'd put one per two celli; if it were four, I'd have two; if it were three, I'd have a left and right and have the mics a little farther apart and a little closer to the outside, because if they combine to mono, the center guy will be too loud.”

When it comes time to mix, Sides says, “If it's a wide-open track with lots of space, I'll probably use much more of the overalls. Usually, I'll add a little viola, a little celli and not necessarily any of the close violin mics. But if it's a very dense track with multiple doubled guitar parts and lots going on, I'll probably need a little more of the close mics to fill in the distance. It always depends on what the track needs.”

ROOM, ROOM, ROOM
Rodd, whose recent credits include DreamWorks' The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, has also seen a lot of variations on the Decca Tree in the film scoring world. “Sometimes, you might see five microphones across the front, as well as spot mics. Every engineer has his own favorite way of doing it,” he says. “In a good-sounding room, I'd say the room is probably going to be about 80 percent of the sound and the spot mics are more for presence than volume. On the Newman stage, for instance, depending on the score, the woodwinds often speak so clearly that you need minimal spot-miking. They're there for some presence and articulation.” Rodd's favorite main mics are the Sennheiser MKH 800s, “and I've also been pleased with the Neumann 149s.

“Awhile back,” Rodd relates, “I was recording a feature film score in a room that was more live than I would have liked, and the string section was proportionally a little bit small for the brass section. The players were all in one room, so I had to drop the spot mics a little bit closer than I might ordinarily, especially on the strings. I was aware of this going into it, so I was careful in terms of using the rejection side of the spot microphones in my favor and using a little bit of baffling, but still trying to use as few mics as possible. I guess I approached that session more like a TV date. In TV, you don't rely on room mics as much. With a smaller ensemble, in terms of speed and flexibility, it's more about putting all the sections together and making sure that you can move quickly and balance things and not be reliant on the room sounding balanced.

“There are so many variables to consider before you start recording. Is there a huge dynamic range [in the music]? Are there featured soloists? Is there any musical element that's more important than anything else? Is it a lush pastoral score or more aggressive and edgy? Sometimes you have to pick which mics and mic placements are going to work for what the composer likes: Do they like an aggressive sound or a more lush sound overall?”

For an animated project called Smile, with music by Cody Westheimer, Rodd found himself recording a 45-piece orchestra at Capitol Studios A and B. “I put the strings and woodwinds in Studio A and then I put in the glass wall that divides A and B, and had the French horns, trumpets, trombones and tuba in Studio B. I put the conductor with his back to the glass wall that divided the two rooms,” he says. “Depending on the writing of the music, the brass and so forth can overcome the smaller string section if they're all in one room. So the way I set it up, as it was a loud score, the brass could play as loud as they wanted and I could still have a refined string sound because the spot mics could be a little farther away from the instruments. It also really helped with editing because we could edit the brass differently than the strings as we had total isolation. Don't get me wrong — I'm a big proponent of having everyone in the same room at the same time, but with that particular size of an orchestra, that's a good way to work if you are at a studio like Capitol.”

Two Characters find themselves the unwilling participants in a post-modern short film.
If you thought getting into a film was hard, try getting out of one!
9 min 40 sec

Subj: Amplifying the Classics Pipe Down! We Can Hardly Hear You   Date: 1/1/2006 7:02:33 AM Eastern Standard Time From: FarnumA440@aol.com To: concertd@optonline.net, jrobinson@greatneck.k12.ny.us, cincilla@earthlink.net, LZBelz@aol.com, AnalogMan1@aol.com, APuntel@hotmail.com, CaraMecoli@hotmail.com, Bartmart@aol.com, NYMetro-@NYMetro-EMS.com, JPPiano@aol.com Sent from the Internet (Details)

Amplifying the Classics

Pipe Down! We Can Hardly Hear You
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
In the last few years, the increasing embrace of amplification has brought classical music to a technological crossroads.

 

 

 

Pipe Down! We Can Hardly Hear You

• By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Published: January 1, 2006

WHEN "Doctor Atomic," the much-anticipated opera about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project by the dynamic American composer John Adams, had its premiere in October at the San Francisco Opera, the critical reaction was all over the place. But whatever one's take on the opera - I found it, over all, a courageous and musically haunting work - surprisingly little was made of one of the production's most unorthodox attributes: the sizeable orchestra had 30 microphones positioned among the players, and the singers wore body microphones.

Not that long ago, the use of microphones in a major opera house would have provoked critics and buffs to denounce the perpetrators with blood-chilling Verdian curses of "Muori! Muori!" A love of natural sound, the unaided human voice and traditional instruments have, after all, been hallmarks of classical music and opera. But electronic amplification has been insinuating itself into the opera house and the concert hall, much as it did on Broadway starting in the early 1960's. To the dismay of traditionalists, the public, by and large, doesn't seem to mind.

Is it the beginning of the end? The answer requires some historical context.

All art forms change over time. And the technology of amplification is more sophisticated than ever. As a composer who grew up in the age of rock and has immersed himself in electronic music, Mr. Adams, a modern master of orchestration, a digital-age Berlioz, has every right to incorporate all such resources into his works. Obviously, using body microphones for "Doctor Atomic" is not the same as using them for "Don Giovanni."

Still, there's no denying it: in the last few years, the increasing embrace of amplification has brought classical music to a technological crossroads.

In 1999, the New York City Opera, long frustrated with the dry acoustics of the New York State Theater, introduced what it called a sound enhancement system. The company's decision provoked cries of protest from opera purists. Would the technique of singing as it had been taught for nearly 400 years continue if the practical reason for it began to disappear? But for the most part audiences were compliant. Today City Opera rarely receives complaints from patrons about its sound enhancement system. And critics have mostly stopped mentioning it.

AMPLIFICATION systems, whether called that or not, have popped up everywhere in recent years. The Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music has one, as does the Houston Grand Opera. The Boston Lyric Opera, which performs in that city's historic Shubert Theater, has "recently and happily experimented with sound enhancement" in the words of Stephen Lord, the company's music director, to rectify acoustical deficiencies in certain areas of the theater.

This fall, just a week after the premiere of "Doctor Atomic," the Caramoor center presented a production of Bernstein's short opera "Trouble in Tahiti" in the commodious, wood-paneled music room of the House Museum. The cast includes a trio of amplified singers who evoke radio jingles of the 1950's. But Michael Barrett, Caramoor's artistic director, found that the singers in the main roles of Sam and Dinah, a quarreling suburban couple, were being overpowered by the band. In the old days you would fix this by working on balances. Mr. Barrett simply hooked up body microphones to these two trained operatic vocalists.

Though technological fixes like this may be convenient, they come at a high cost. The mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, who has watched with distress as amplification systems have been installed even in European concert halls and opera houses, calls sound enhancement the "kiss of death for good singing."

When I was 16, I heard Renata Tebaldi sing Desdemona in Verdi's "Otello" at the Metropolitan Opera. I stood in the winter air to get a standing-room ticket, stood during the performance and then went back the next week and stood through another performance. I can still hear the rich, poignant and enveloping sound of her pianissimo tones floating throughout the house, seemingly without effort. That sublime exposure to the human voice hooked me on opera. How many young people today who say they are indifferent to opera have had the experience of hearing such a voice?

How many young people with no feeling for the symphonic repertory have heard a great orchestra play Beethoven's Seventh or Stravinsky's "Firebird" at a glorious concert hall like Carnegie? Or have heard a string quartet play in an intimate room suited to chamber music, like the one at the Frick? Today even sermons in churches and temples are almost always carried through loudspeakers. If Abraham Lincoln were to reappear at the Great Hall of Cooper Union, where he gave a historic speech as a presidential candidate, exasperated audiences would be shouting at him to use a sound system. The spread of amplification, even in classical music, is inseparable, I fear, from another growing national problem: hearing impairment.

According to a Newsweek cover story last summer by David Noonan, baby boomers who exposed themselves to blasting rock bands are now suffering the consequences. More than 28 million Americans, many in this age group, have a significant degree of hearing loss, and the number is expected to swell to 78 million by 2030. Mr. Noonan reported that more than 5 million children and teenagers between 6 and 19 have some hearing damage from amplified music and the general noise they encounter every day, a good deal of it funneled directly into their ears. "If they don't take steps to protect their hearing," he wrote, "the iPod generation faces the same fate as the Woodstock generation. Or worse."

At concert halls and opera houses, I sometimes hear a maladjusted hearing aid start to buzz with that high-pitched ring that can cut right through the collective sound of an orchestra, at least at low volumes. Yet many in the audience seem not to be at all bothered. Could they not be hearing it? Sadly, it would seem so.

DESPITE the proliferation of microphones, and the effects they have had on audiences, most lovers of classical music still cherish the experience of hearing voices and instruments without any electronic boosting, thank you. And most opera companies that have installed sound systems in their houses, like the New York City Opera, have drawn the line at hooking singers up to body microphones.

In "Doctor Atomic," which crossed that line, the young tenor Thomas Glenn sang the role of the physicist Robert Wilson, an acolyte of Oppenheimer. Mr. Glenn was a last-minute cast change, taking the place of Tom Randle, a fine singer and agile actor whom the production's director, Peter Sellars, has said he respects enormously. But young Mr. Glenn exuded youthfulness, which may be why in the end Mr. Sellars gave him the role.

Mr. Sellars would not say. I suspect that another attraction of Mr. Glenn was that his sweet and smallish voice came across beautifully through the amplification. Like a fledgling musical theater performer, he adapted naturally to the body microphone in contrast to, say, the experienced mezzo-soprano Kristine Jepson, who portrayed Kitty Oppenheimer. Ms. Jepson, who has a rich and vibrant voice, seemed rattled on opening night by the miking, as if she did not know whether to sing out normally or to adjust the volume of her voice.

Mr. Glenn had a shining moment. But with this success behind him, will he now return to tradition and work on supporting his breath and beefing up his sound the old-fashioned way?

For clues as to how amplification can affect an art form, opera could look to the musical.

In its thrilling early decades the Broadway musical was a bracingly literate genre in which clever words were mixed in ingenious ways with snappy, snazzy or wistfully tuneful music. In its essence, though, it was word-driven art form, which is why stylish singers with small voices, like Fred Astaire thrived on Broadway. Look at reviews of Astaire in Gershwin and Porter shows and you never read that he could not be heard. Why? Because composers wrote songs suited to his style of delivery and kept orchestrations light. More than that, audiences knew that when hearing a glorious belter like Ethel Merman you could sit back and bask in her singing, but when hearing Astaire you had to learn forward and pay attention.

Consider this. In 1949, Mary Martin, a queen of Broadway, joined Ezio Pinza, the great operatic bass, in "South Pacific." Though they came from different worlds, vocally they were not that far apart. They essentially used the same techniques to project their voices and make words take off.

But when amplification took hold on Broadway, audiences inevitably grew less alert, more passive. It began changing every element of the musical, from the lyrics (which grew less subtle and intricate), to the subject matter and musical styles (the bigger, the plusher, the schlockier, the better). Musicals became less literate and more obvious, and stars like John Raitt, who had a burnished baritone voice of operatic dimensions, became marginalized.

The nadir came in the 1980's with melodramatic spectacles like "Phantom of the Opera" and "Miss Saigon." Whatever one thought of the music in those shows, no one paid much attention to the sappy lyrics. (Throughout this period Stephen Sondheim, the most literate composer in the history of the musical, remained a world unto himself with his own devoted audience.)

Though there are still plenty of schlocky musicals on Broadway, in recent years the literate musical has been making a comeback - works like "Falsettos," "Parade," "Urinetown" and "Caroline, or Change." Still, it is notable that several of these shows and others like them played in smaller theaters that were more conducive to works where words really matter.

"The Producers" is a verbally dexterous work that is still going strong at a large theater, the St. James. So, the Broadway musical would seem to have made peace with amplification. But the peace treaty has involved a tradeoff.

On the upside it has enabled actors with modest voices, like Matthew Broderick - whose elegant style I love - to evolve into appealing musical theater performers.

On the downside, we will never again experience the rapt atmosphere of Broadway theaters in the days when musicals relied on natural vocal talents and nurtured attentive audiences, even though there are some big-voiced stars, like Brian Stokes Mitchell, who would surely have thrived in an unamplified theater. To put the best spin on things: The musical has creatively adapted to amplification. But in doing so the art form has diminished, or at least become something different.

What might the history of the musical imply for opera? There is no doubting the right of contemporary classical music, including new opera, to use electronic resources. I sometimes wish that there could be at least two branches of opera as the genre continues to develop. The traditional branch would remain an unamplified art form and cultivate singers with traditional techniques. The works themselves need not be traditional: Thomas Adès's adaptation of Shakespeare's "Tempest" was a recent, thrilling example of a musically audacious opera that relied on traditional techniques of singing and a mostly acoustic orchestra.

But there would also be an experimental branch where works embraced all manner of electronic and digital resources and were presented in special venues, like the Cube, as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology calls its big, adaptable black box performing space.

It probably won't work out that way. Breaking down barriers and assimilating different traditions is the vogue right now.

More adventurous opera lovers and critics routinely complain that the Metropolitan Opera is a great but tradition-bound company. Yet, the Met insists that it would never, ever introduce any type of amplification into its house. What will happen when, as expected, "Doctor Atomic" comes to Met? Will the singers use body microphones? Company officials say they will respect the composer's wishes. I suspect that this matter will actually take some hashing out.

This could be one time in which opera buffs are counting on the Met to be its old, stodgy self.

Victor Koen

Enlarge This Image

 

Eric Owens and Gerald Finley in John Adams's "Doctor Atomic"; the singers and the orchestra were miked.

 

Enlarge This Image

Renata Tebaldi and Mario del Monaco in a 1958 "Otello" at the Met.

 

The booking is definite

Your check's in the mail

We can fix it in the mix

The show starts at 8

My secretary will take care of it

I'm sure it will work

Your tickets are at the door

It sounds in tune to me

Sure, it sounds fine at the back of the hall

I know your mic is on   I checked it myself

She'll be backstage after the show

Yes, the spotlight was on you during your solo

The stage mix sounds just like the program mix

The club will provide the PA and lights

I really love the band

We'll have it ready by tonight

We'll have lunch sometime

If it breaks, we'll fix it for free

We'll let you know

I had nothing to do with your marriage breaking up.
It was already on the rocks long before I ever met you

The place was packed

We'll have you back next week

It's on the truck

My last band had a record deal, but we broke up before recording the album

Someone will be there early to let you in

I've only been playing for a year

I've been playing for 20 years

We'll have flyers printed tomorrow

I'm with the band

The band drinks free

You'll get your cut tonight

We'll supply someone for the door

There'll be lots of maintenance guys when you get there to help you

You'll have plenty of time for a sound check

My other horn is a Mark VI

We'll definitely come to the gig

You can depend on me showing up on time

There was traffic, that's why I'm late

I left my instrument home, so I had to go back and pick it up.  That's why I'm late

Stage hand talking to band:  The monitors are on!

Music Editing for TV Animation
"SpongeBob SquarePants"
Erik Hawkins
Electronic Musician, June 1, 2000
The wacky undersea world of SpongeBob SquarePants, Nickelodeon's first original Saturday-morning cartoon, is officially a hit. Recently touted by TV Guide as the most watched Saturday-morning kids' show, this highly original series springs from the mind of marine biologist Steve Hillenburg-which explains the show's oceanic slant. It features a host of kooky saltwater characters: the protagonist, SpongeBob, a pants-wearing, rectangular, bucktoothed sea sponge with goo-goo eyes; his pet snail, Gary; his best friend, Patrick the starfish; an egotistical clainet-playing neighbor, Squidward; and SpongeBob's love interest, the beautiful Sandy Cheeks, a squirrel who lives in an underwater biodome. The show's theme is simple: SpongeBob's simpleminded antics, although well intentioned, continually wreak havoc. More...





Comping a Vocal Track
Scott R. Garrigus
Electronic Musician, Nov 1, 1999
No matter what kind of songwriting you do, the vocal tracks are typically the most important element for connecting with the listener and conveying emotional content. It's therefore crucial that you produce the best possible vocal tracks, even when the singer doesn't deliver that elusive "perfect" take. More...

Hot Topic of the Week - Picking the "Best" Stereo Preamp!
Microphone and line preamps are worth their weight in gold if they're
delivering the "sound" you desire. One Sweetwater Forum user writes,
"I'm in conquest of an incredibly versatile stereo preamp. I don't
have huge bucks to spend, but I am willing to buy something that is
some of the best quality available." While many would agree that sound
quality is very subjective, and "best" largely depends on the style of
music you're producing, which stereo preamp would you suggest? What
are you using, and what have you heard that you wish you could own?
Chime in and lend a hand!
http://www.sweetwater.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=6286









Technical Tip Of The Day:
Alert: this is NOT nostalgia Tech Tip, no matter how often we say,
"Remember when...!" This is a reminder that keyboard players, past and
present, can enhance the sonic variety of their boards, vintage or
modern, through the use of the myriad of stomp boxes. originally
designed for guitars. You can make yourself instantly more valuable to
your band or to any recording session by offering more sounds to
contribute to the mix.

Guitar effects have been keyboard players' "secret weapon" for years.
A few examples:

In the 1970s the "Big 3" effects heard on most classic Fender Rhodes
pianos were the MXR Phase 90 phase shifter , a tape echo unit like the
Roland Space Echo and the Crybaby Wah. For phase shifting, think of
Billy Joel's "I Love You Just The Way You Are" (sorry, lounge
veterans). Herbie Hancock's groundbreaking track "Chameleon" moved
from Clavinet to heavily echoed Rhodes in its middle section. And
perhaps the ultimate Clavinet/wah pedal combination was heard on
Stevie Wonder's mega-hit "Higher Ground." Tube preamps were also used
to warm up the Rhodes, giving it that 70's Steely Dan clean-tone
(Tine) sound.

Led Zeppelin used the Rhodes more than many listeners realize. John
Paul Jones created the swirling "underwater" sound of "No Quarter" in
concert, by feed ing the Rhodes through a Maestro PS-1A phase shifter.
Incidentally, this phaser was developed by Tom Oberheim, who later
produced the famous Oberheim synthesizers.

Wurlitzer electric pianos also ruled in the late 1960s and through the
1970s. How many of us (at the time) recognized the haunting opening
chords of the Beatles' "I Am The Walrus" as a heavily processed
Wurlitzer? On Supertramp's "The Logical Song" Roger Hodgson took the
Wurly output into a DI and then split it through a Boss chorus pedal
to give it a half-straight and half- modulated chorus sound.

Keep in mind that Rhodes' and Wurlitzer's passive electronics are not
much different from an electric guitar. Almost any guitar effects can
also be used on a these pianos, so long as the piano's signal goes
through a preamp at the beginning of the effects chain.

As synthesizers took over the keyboard world, stomp boxes remained
essential tools for fattening signals and providing interest. Although
groups like Yes and EL&P tended to focus on the power of the synths
themselves, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream made heavy use of (often
custom-designed) guitar-oriented signal processors. And in the funk
world, George Clinton of P-Funk ran a variety of synths through his
Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron envelope filter for constantly swirling
modulation.

Synths evolved through the 1980s and 1990s, and many manufacturers
developed sophisticated internal effects units that complemented their
sound programming powers. Some impressive workstations from Korg,
Kurzweil, Roland and Yamaha featured digital effects processing that
rivaled what was found in dedicated studio boxes.

But still, guitar boxes rocked the keyboard world! Look under the
Chemical Brothers' heap of live-show synths and controllers and you'll
find loads of vintage guitar processors, including Electro Harmonix'
Bass Microsynth, Guitar Micro-Synthesizer, Electric Mistress, Tone
Bender and Space Drum; an Ibanez analog delay, Schaller tremolo, a
Morley wah and more.

There are some technological hurdles when connecting modern keyboards
to vintage guitar effects boxes. Most synthesizers have Line-Level
audio outputs that can overload a typical effects box, designed for
the lower level signals and the higher output impedances of guitar,
which usually needs to receive a Hi-Z guitar input. One hardware
solution is to use a re-amplifier , which converts line-level input to
Hi-Z instrument output without adding noise. Unfortunately, these
boxes cost from $250 - $500, making them as expensive as the effects
box you want to connect! Sweetwater Tech Support recommends a more
affordable workaround: use mic attenuators between your keyboard out
and the stomp box in. For example, the ProCo MAX20 provides 20 dB of
attenuation , which should eliminate any overload. You need a couple
of adapters to convert its XLR connectors into 1/4" for the effects
box.

So whether your keyboard rig is onstage or in the studio, you can
realize a world of sonic possibilities you may never had thought about
by simply plugging in to a piece of guitar technology, old or new.
Give it a try!

______________
- phaseshifter -
http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wphaseshifter
- DI - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wDI
- chorus - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wchorus
- modulation - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wmodulation
- passive - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wpassive
- synthesizer - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wsynthesizer

- envelope - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wenvelope
- filter - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wfilter
- wah - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wwah
- LineLevel - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wLineLevel
- impedance - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wimpedance
- Hi-Z - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wHi-Z
- re-amp - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wre-amp
- dB - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wdB
- attenuation - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wattenuation

- XLR - http://www.sweetwater.com/click/is_042304/wXLR
----------------------------------------

The GIZGang

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Kenneth A. Farnum, Jr.: (aka: FarnumA440@aol.com): (Cell): (917) 805-4699 / (H): (718) 885-2480 / (fx): (718) 885-0774 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Thomas Bitondo aka: (Analogman1@aol.com): (Cell): (914) 772-3587 /(W): (914) 479-8000 / (800) 464-7604 / (fx): (914) 479-0260 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Rich Berretta: (PianoMan051@msn.com): (718) 863-5809 / (C): (347) 866-6073 / (W): (718) ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Martin Bartolomeo: aka: BartMart@aol.com): (Cell): (914) 720-5989 (H): (914) 579-5900 (W): (718) 353-4406 / (W-fax): (718) 353-4407 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Elizabeth Farnum (aka: Elizabeth@ElizabethFarnum.com): (Cell): (646) 391-6505 (H): (718) 885-2480 / (fx): (718) 885-0774 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Steven Finkelstein: (aka: sfink23@earthlink.net): (203) 743-9231 (Cell): (914) 536-1102 19 Saddle Rock Rd Danbury, Ct 06811 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Andrew Puntel: (aka: APuntel@hotmail.com): (Cell): (646) 643-2138 / (H): (215) 836-4861 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Cara Mecoli: (aka: caramecoli@hotmail.com) (cell): (856) 304-9993 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• George Ruiz (aka: GRMondo@aol.com) V Midi-Percussion Robert Cartolano (aka: rtc@columbia.edu) VI Midi-Wind Controller ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Orchestral Recording

By Blair Jackson

Jan 1, 2006 12:00 PM

REVISITING AND REFINING CLASSIC TECHNIQUES

A John Rodd session: musicians performing the score for an animated short film at Capitol

The conceit of these sorts of periodic articles, which are designed to fill readers in on the latest recording techniques, is that there is great new information to be imparted — that changes in technology have led to some sort of reassessment of the way a particular musical style is captured for posterity. But the fact is, in the world of orchestral recording, there doesn't seem to be radical departures in the way that engineers are working, even as the ultimate media destinations have almost entirely moved from tape to digital disk storage. Traditions run deep in classical music recording, and while it isn't exactly accurate to say that there's nothing new under the sun, there is still a great reliance on tried-and-true methods that have been successful for many decades, though it isn't hard to find a few new wrinkles, too.

With that in mind, we contacted four engineers steeped in the wisdom of how to best record an orchestra, whether for a classical production, a film score or as background on a pop date. Lawrence Rock (you can call him Larry; many do) has been the audio director of the New York Philharmonic for nearly a decade, and has made countless classical recordings both in recording studios and, more often, live in concert. Long revered as an intelligent and resourceful studio owner (Ocean Way, Record One, et al), Allen Sides' greatest passion has always been engineering, and he's recorded orchestras for many pop and rock records (Goo Goo Dolls, Sheryl Crow) and film scores. These days, John Kurlander mostly engineers film scores in L.A. (The Lord of the Rings films, Master and Commander, etc.), but during his more than three-decade career, he has also cut dozens of straight classical albums and has worked with orchestras on numerous rock LPs. John Rodd, the youngster of the group, cut his orchestral recording chops in the late '80s and early '90s in his native Canada, working on classical and film scoring dates at Manta Sound in Toronto and the Banff Center for the Arts (Alberta). Later, he moved to Los Angeles and landed a job as a scoring recordist at Fox's Newman Scoring Stage and is now an independent engineer specializing in recording orchestral film and videogame scores.

MODIFIED OLD SCHOOL
For a half-century, orchestral recording has been dominated by two techniques that emphasize minimal miking in front of and above the musicians: The Blumlein method, developed in the early 1930s, uses a single pair of bidirectional mics to create an accurate stereo image; and the more popular Decca Tree, developed by engineers for Decca Records in the mid-'50s, uses three microphones on a T-stand (the classic iteration used Neumann M-50s) to give optimal left, right and center imaging for recording. (For a detailed, cogent look at the Decca Tree, see Ron Streicher's September 2003 Mix article at mixonline.com.)

There are still some purists who fully embrace these proven “old-school” techniques, but it has been much more common during the multitrack age for engineers to augment either the Blumlein or Decca setup (often modifying each) with spot mics over small groups of players or sections of the orchestra that can be brought into the mix later. All four of these engineers favor a modified Decca Tree with spot mics. And, not surprisingly, surround recording also considerably changes the mic equation.

John Kurlander at the Neve Capricorn at CTS Studios, Watford Town Hall, UK

Kurlander got his start at EMI (Abbey Road) Studios in London in the late '60s. After several years working his way up from “tea boy” to assistant, he got his first shot as lead engineer on a classical project in 1975. “I went up to Liverpool with instructions from one of the chief engineers who said, ‘Look, just do as you're told and don't experiment. I've been doing Liverpool Philharmonic Hall for 20 years now and this is how you do it.’ You had classical engineers and pop engineers; they were very, very separate. The EQ modules for the valve boards even said ‘pop’ or ‘classical’ on them.

“The Decca Tree was the tradition from Decca, which was about a mile down the road from us,” he continues, “and the tradition for EMI Classics was a Blumlein stereo pair, so you could get into serious trouble if you tried putting three M50s up. [Laughs] And, likewise, the Decca boys would have been in trouble if they had put up a Blumlein stereo pair. The truth is, even the guys who worked for Decca were constantly trying to second-guess [the Tree]. Even though they probably had the formula framed on the wall, they were still wondering, ‘What if we tried something else on the center? What if we went a little wider?’”

By the late '70s, Kurlander found himself working increasingly on hybrid pop/classical projects. “You know that joke in This Is Spinal Tap where they say they want to do some of their acoustic numbers with the London Symphony Orchestra? Well, that joke was based on what actually happened! Every rock band worth its salt wanted to overdub the London Symphony.”

Kurlander says that unlike in straight classical recording, when the orchestra's natural dynamic range is maintained, an ensemble being layered over a rock track requires different mic treatment. “I would typically mike it up from three different perspectives: a close, a medium and a distant. Then I started compressing those three layers. In those days, I would probably have six or eight mics close, then a medium [pair] over the conductor and then a really distant [pair]. A lot of times, I wouldn't be mixing it. The engineer who had recorded the [pop] tracks would come along and I'd give them very specific guidelines on how to mix my tracks. By using the multi-perspective technique, you'd actually come out with something that was relatively squashed up but gave the illusion of being dynamic and natural.”

Today, Kurlander says, the modified Decca Tree has become a standard for film scoring. “I use the [Neumann] 150s [a modern update of the M-50] simply because they're new and they're matched and they're reliable, and reliable is really important. So I'll do that and then do a round of closer mics, depending on what the score is, because you never really know what you're going to need [in the mix].

“I'll put my initial Tree at 10 to 12 feet. Then I'll have a circuit of close mics in the sections, and that would depend on the size and the writing and where we're recording — how close they're going to be. It could be as few as five or six mics or up to as many as 18 or 20. I use a lot of [Neumann KM] 84s or derivatives of 84s — the 184s. And if I have to go closer than about 12 to 18 inches, I prefer not to go that close with a modern condenser and I'll use a ribbon. And if I'm going to go for violin solo or a cello solo, I'll use a ribbon, as well. For surround, I'll have a pair of very high omnis, and sometimes I'll add in some of the Tree's left and right into the rears.”

LIVE CHALLENGES
Most of what Rock records for the New York Philharmonic are live concerts for either broadcast or CD release, putting him in a different position from the other engineers. Not only does he have to deal with a live audience, he usually doesn't have the opportunity to switch miking schemes between musical pieces at a given performance, even if there are significant changes in style or instrument configuration. And if he's working a broadcast, he also has to consider the dynamic limitations of radio compression.

Lawrence Rock in the radio room at Avery Fisher Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic Photo: Chris Lee

“When you're recording live, you're dealing with an audience and the noise they make, and any concert hall is going to become less reverberant when people are in it. As a result, I have to use digital reverb; in fact, I've often said that I've built my career on the judicious use of digital reverb,” he says with a chuckle.

Rock says he has mostly used Lexicon reverbs during the years. “The 300 has been my workhorse because the digital interface is so straightforward. Of course, I go back to the era of the 200 and the 224, which didn't even have digital interfaces.”

When asked about the newer generation of reverbs that actually emulate some of the classical halls in which he records, he says he doesn't like the “known room” approach, “because in my mind, what you're really creating is an idealized version; what we're creating is an illusion. Microphones don't hear the way ears do — you don't have the brain to sort it all out until you're listening on the other end, and then you're listening to speakers or headphones. So you're really creating a whole sound that's certainly related to the source, but it's hardly an exact replication. So you use whatever you have at your disposal in terms of types of microphones and the placement and whatever processing you need. That said, in the classical world, we try to minimize processing — choosing the microphone that has the kind of sound you're going for and then not adding equaliztion to it because, be it analog or digital, you're still introducing a form of distortion, technically speaking.”

Rock says that growing up in Chicago, he was well aware of the Decca Tree approach. “During the [music director Sir Georg] Solti era, they always had the Decca Tree and they applied that approach no matter what hall they were recording in, and I think the results were variable. Sometimes they would have seven of the modified M-50s — a Tree and two outriggers on each side — and it was too much of the same mic sound; it got a little muddy and a little brittle.”

Rock likes to mix mics, avoiding the buildup of the coloration of any given mic. “What I generally use is a combination of the Neumann KM-130s, which are the omnis — in fact, I use them with the little [sound defraction] spheres that make them, as I call them, the poor man's M-50 — in the center, and then I use the Schoeps MK2S, which is an omni capsule that has a little bit of high-end rise, as does the Neumann 130. In a place like Avery Fisher Hall here [in N.Y.], and really, working in any hall with an audience present, the first thing to go is the high-frequency return — the kind of reflections and so on that would support high frequency. So those mics are both good for that.”

How far up does he hang the mics? “Just under 10 feet; nine-feet-11 to be exact,” he says with a laugh. “You get this sweet spot. These four mics hang in a line in front of the orchestra, spread horizontally. The center ones are 18 inches apart; the outriggers are another 12 feet out on either side. One of the things that does is give me flexibility in changing the balance between the inner pair and outer pair. The Schoeps tend to be a little warmer-sounding and the Neumanns are a little more brilliant and have a little more reach. A program might have a wide variety of pieces, and I can't go down there and change mics and change positions in the middle of a concert. But I can change the balance, and if I need a warmer sound, I can bring the Schoeps up, and if I need a clearer sound, I can bring the Neumanns up.” When it comes to spots, “I'll use some of the KM-140 cardioids over woodwinds and some string spots. I also like the MK21, which is the sub-cardioid Schoeps. Generally, I go from the omni to the more directional as I go upstage.”

CAPTURING SMALLER ENSEMBLES
A conversation with Sides centered on his involvement with the most recent Crow album, Wildflower, which features sumptuous orchestral accompaniment (by veteran pop arranger David Campbell) on nearly every song. While Sides certainly has experience working with larger orchestras, for this pop date, he recorded a smaller ensemble. The sessions took place at Ocean Way B in Los Angeles.

“The way I record [strings for a pop album] is not that different than what I do for a motion picture,” Sides says. “The big live rooms we have sound so good that with the right section and the right setup and a pair of M-50s and the right spot mics, it sounds pretty amazing without having to work all that hard. It's one of those things where simplicity is really the way to go.

Allen Sides leaning over Capitol’s custom API board, with (from left) assistant engineer Scott Barefield, Burt Bacharach (foreground) and music director Rob Shrock

“With the smaller sections,” he continues, “I set it up a little differently than with a larger orchestra. Typically, with David [Campbell], it will be like 12 violins, three cellos and three violas, so I end up making three rows of six: six violins, six violins and then the three violas and three celli in the last row.

“One of the challenges of recording a section like that is if you have your overall mics aimed at the first row of players, it ends up sounding like a few violins playing. With M-50s, which are actually fairly directional mics above 1k, if you aim past the front of the section, you end up getting a more unified sound. If what you're looking for is a more impressionistic sound, where you don't actually hear any one individual string but you really hear it as a group, I'll aim the M-50s more toward the last row. Then, what I'll usually do in a small section like that, I'll have three KM-54s for the L/C/R violins. If it's going to be 5.1, I'll put up a center M-50, plus I'll put up a couple of Schoeps omnis, sometimes left-right distant front, also left-right rear, depending on what perspective I want with the 5.1.”

With the front M-50s, “Depending on the room, I'm usually about 12 feet in the air and sometimes as much as 15 feet — depending on the size of the section,” Sides continues. “The bigger section I might split up in a more conventional fashion — say, four, four, four and four violins on the left; then four and two celli and four and two violas on the right; and the bass is in the center in the back. The other thing I do a lot of is if we're recording two basses, I usually record them in stereo with a couple of [Neumann] U47s because it sounds impressive in pop and they're also centered in the section, so if I have it six, six and six [as in the Crow date], the two basses are dead center in basically a fourth row, so they're also being picked up evenly by the M-50s.”

For spot mics, “I'll put a couple of 54s or omni 67s on the violas, and then I use a couple of 54s on the celli. The reason I use a 54 is because they have an incredibly smooth off-axis response. Usually, I'd put one per two celli; if it were four, I'd have two; if it were three, I'd have a left and right and have the mics a little farther apart and a little closer to the outside, because if they combine to mono, the center guy will be too loud.”

When it comes time to mix, Sides says, “If it's a wide-open track with lots of space, I'll probably use much more of the overalls. Usually, I'll add a little viola, a little celli and not necessarily any of the close violin mics. But if it's a very dense track with multiple doubled guitar parts and lots going on, I'll probably need a little more of the close mics to fill in the distance. It always depends on what the track needs.”

ROOM, ROOM, ROOM
Rodd, whose recent credits include DreamWorks' The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, has also seen a lot of variations on the Decca Tree in the film scoring world. “Sometimes, you might see five microphones across the front, as well as spot mics. Every engineer has his own favorite way of doing it,” he says. “In a good-sounding room, I'd say the room is probably going to be about 80 percent of the sound and the spot mics are more for presence than volume. On the Newman stage, for instance, depending on the score, the woodwinds often speak so clearly that you need minimal spot-miking. They're there for some presence and articulation.” Rodd's favorite main mics are the Sennheiser MKH 800s, “and I've also been pleased with the Neumann 149s.

“Awhile back,” Rodd relates, “I was recording a feature film score in a room that was more live than I would have liked, and the string section was proportionally a little bit small for the brass section. The players were all in one room, so I had to drop the spot mics a little bit closer than I might ordinarily, especially on the strings. I was aware of this going into it, so I was careful in terms of using the rejection side of the spot microphones in my favor and using a little bit of baffling, but still trying to use as few mics as possible. I guess I approached that session more like a TV date. In TV, you don't rely on room mics as much. With a smaller ensemble, in terms of speed and flexibility, it's more about putting all the sections together and making sure that you can move quickly and balance things and not be reliant on the room sounding balanced.

“There are so many variables to consider before you start recording. Is there a huge dynamic range [in the music]? Are there featured soloists? Is there any musical element that's more important than anything else? Is it a lush pastoral score or more aggressive and edgy? Sometimes you have to pick which mics and mic placements are going to work for what the composer likes: Do they like an aggressive sound or a more lush sound overall?”

For an animated project called Smile, with music by Cody Westheimer, Rodd found himself recording a 45-piece orchestra at Capitol Studios A and B. “I put the strings and woodwinds in Studio A and then I put in the glass wall that divides A and B, and had the French horns, trumpets, trombones and tuba in Studio B. I put the conductor with his back to the glass wall that divided the two rooms,” he says. “Depending on the writing of the music, the brass and so forth can overcome the smaller string section if they're all in one room. So the way I set it up, as it was a loud score, the brass could play as loud as they wanted and I could still have a refined string sound because the spot mics could be a little farther away from the instruments. It also really helped with editing because we could edit the brass differently than the strings as we had total isolation. Don't get me wrong — I'm a big proponent of having everyone in the same room at the same time, but with that particular size of an orchestra, that's a good way to work if you are at a studio like Capitol.”

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The Turntables That Transform Vinyl
By ANNE EISENBERG
Published: January 21, 2007

LONG-PLAYING records are gathering dust in the homes of many music lovers, who hope to hear their contents one day on a CD player or iPod.

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This turntable from Audio Technica allows users to convert music from LPs to digital files directly onto a computer’s hard drive.



The Ion iTTUSb turntable. Such models are designed with the nontechie in mind.




Now, an updated version of another audio relic, the phonographic turntable, may provide a fairly inexpensive way to do that. Two new consumer turntables on the market at $200 or less connect directly to computers to transfer cherished vinyl to MP3 files and CDs.

The machines aren’t for audiophiles who have the skill to rig their own systems with special cables and preamplifiers. But they may offer a doable way for nontechies to thrill again to their favorite bit of analog Beethoven or Dylan.

Learning how to use these systems takes time — up to three or even four hours. The turntable has to be assembled, and the LPs cleaned carefully to remove the dust of ages — two jobs that those over 30 might remember well.

Then the recording software, which comes on a CD, takes about a half-hour to set up properly — or three times that if you skip the “frequently asked questions,” as I did, and then sheepishly return to them when you get stuck.

The software requires some attention even after you learn its ways. For example, it can’t automatically detect the end of each track between two songs or movements of a symphony. You have to mark these spots yourself in the program before burning a CD or making an MP3 file.

Still, once the learning curve is vanquished and the sounds of much-loved old recordings fill the air, you may wonder why you waited so long.

One of the new turntables is called the Ion USB or, more formally, the iTTUSB ($199 list price, about $150 on the Web through a site like Amazon.com). Made by Ion Audio, it works with both PCs and Macs. This lightweight plastic turntable plugs directly into the USB port of computers; inside, it has a preamplifier to bolster the sound, which is digitized and then sent to the computer through the USB cable.

When the Ion turntable is removed from its box, the rubber belt that drives the platter must be threaded into place, and the tone arm put together and balanced so that it produces just the right weight on the record. Be sure not to discard the Styrofoam blocks after you unpack the device: the tone arm and its counterweight are tucked within them.

The software goes on next. The Ion uses a venerable and free program called Audacity, which can do many jobs — like eliminating some scratches on the recording. Installing it is easy, though a few instructions in the Audacity manual are in high geek, particularly those that guide you through changing the settings so the internal sound card on the computer will be used for playback rather than the turntable, which has no speakers. The frequently asked questions, downloadable at the Ion site, www.ion-audio.com/ittusb_FAQ.php, are invaluable here.

One of the trickiest parts of the recording procedure is low-tech: cleaning the records. Unearth your old LP cleaning brush or buy a new one and carefully run it over the LP. And make sure that the turntable is on a level, relatively vibration-free surface.

When you press “record,” you’ll see the digitized wave forms of the music traveling across the monitor and hear the audio version through the computer speakers or headphones. (Ion suggests trying a short section of an LP as a test.) If you are ambitious, you can edit the file, deleting some of the scratches, for instance.

Once the recording is done, the album must be divided manually into tracks, by marking the beginning and end of each with the computer mouse. If you can’t tell from the wave forms where the break is — they drop off when there’s silence — you can always check by listening to the recording.

In Audacity, each track is stored as a separate file; if you are making multiple tracks, you send each on its way as a .wav file to your hard disk. The manual was too geekish on this step, but the frequently asked questions explained it clearly. Once the files are on the hard drive, they can be burned quickly to a CD. The Ion will also convert 78-r.p.m. records, as well as cassette tapes.

Another new turntable, Audio-Technica’s LP2Da ($170 to $199) works with PCs but not with Macs. And it has a sturdy dust cover, unlike the coverless Ion. The Audio-Technica’s tone arm comes assembled and can be set to raise and lower itself from the turntable automatically

The Audio-Technica model has a pre-amplifier, but no USB connection. It plugs into the computer the old-fashioned way: through an analog line input jack. That means that it won’t work with many laptops unless special hardware is bought, for laptops typically have a jack only for a microphone.

THE accompanying software, Cakewalk Pyro, is easier to use than Audacity: burning a CD, for instance, requires only one click for the entire LP, while Audacity requires that you send along each track separately. And it includes software for converting .wav files to MP3 files; by contrast, Audacity requires users to download a free plug-in in order to do this.

Ion users may soon have software that is easier to handle: in April, the company plans to replace Audacity with a program that detects tracks automatically and allows recording in MP3 format without a separate download. Buyers of the iTTUSB will be able to download the update at no charge. The company also plans to ship two models that are variations on the basic iTTUSB, both with dust covers.

Of course, there are other ways to digitize old LPs. Commercial services will transfer them, typically for $15 to $50 each, depending on the number of extra services. TEAC makes an all-in-one machine that doesn’t require a separate computer to convert LPs to CDs ($400). It does some automatic tracking, although incompletely.

To see how the new, inexpensive turntables sounded once they were set up, I invited a friend, George Basbas, a physicist, to bring over some of his treasured LPs. One was an old Columbia Masterworks album featuring the countertenor Russell Oberlin. We recorded it on the Audio-Technica turntable, burned a CD from the .wav files, then played both the CD and the LP on the stereo.

We couldn’t tell for sure which was the LP and which was the CD, although many experts probably could. “Any digitization process imposes limits on quality,” said Mark Schubin, a media technology consultant in Manhattan. “Be prepared: it won’t sound the same as you heard it through your analog system when you were playing back the record.”

But the new recording sounded good enough as we listened to Mr. Oberlin’s exquisite voice fill the room, ready to be taken along by CD or MP3 in the car or on a walk, freed after more than 50 years from its vinyl confinement.

E-mail: novelties@nytimes.com.

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Subj: Check out celemony_ :: Melodyne plugin  Date: 2/18/2007 6:32:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time To: FarnumA440

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In tune. On time.

The fast way to perfect tracks.


Melodyne plugin integrates the most important of Melodyne's functions directly into a host sequencer. Correct pitch and timing, quantize audio, restructure melodies and more – it has never been so easy. Supported interfaces are VST, AU and RTAS. Crossgrades (from Auto-Tune, Waves Tune et al.) and Loyalty Offers (Melodyne plugin for half the price) are available – and even a free Melodyne plugin for registered users of Melodyne studio!

 

With the ultra-flexible Melodyne plugin, editing audio becomes fast and easy. Thanks to its musical display, unique time-stretching and pitch-shifting algorithms, unmatched sound quality and intuitive operation, Melodyne plugin makes the resolution of timing and intonation problems child's play, thereby simplifying, and increasing the efficiency of, day-to-day music production in the studio. At the same time, Melodyne plugin offers fantastic creative possibilities way beyond the scope of conventional audio software. See our videos or try out the demo version!

 





Melodyne plugin - Click for details





Melodyne plugin's main area of application is the intuitive correction of the intonation and timing of vocal recordings – a sensitive task it performs supremely well and in the highly musical manner for which Melodyne software is known all over the world. Once you have transferred to Melodyne plugin the passages you wish to edit, you can edit with great precision the pitch, vibrato, drift, timing, volume and formants of every note in the recording individually! Intelligent tools that adapt automatically to the current task streamline the workflow, whilst for the two commonest tasks, correcting errors of intonation and timing, Melodyne plugin provides the Correct Pitch and Quantize Time macros that allow you to optimize an entire recording with a single mouse-click.

 

With Melodyne plugin you can edit and optimize not only vocals but also single-voice instrumental recordings as well as drum and percussion tracks in an extraordinarily flexible way. With a drum loop, for example, you can alter the position, length, pitch and volume of individual hits, straighten up the timing, make the whole loop swing, or even give it an entirely new rhythm through re-quantization.

 

Melodyne's famous algorithm for single-voice material as well as a new algorithm for percussive material ensure that even when you introduce extreme modifications, the results remain impressively natural and the sound quality is in no way impaired. The programmable scale snap function provides for harmonically correct transposition, and the multi-level Undo function for relaxed editing. Virtual knobs that can be automated in the host and controlled via MIDI offer real-time control of Pitch, Formants and Volume.

 

It was never easier to manipulate, correct and optimize audio. Melodyne plugin brings perfection – as never before – within your grasp!

 

So grasp it: Melodyne plugin is available for Macintosh (PowerPC and Intel-based) and Windows and can be purchased from dealers worldwide as well as from our Web Shop. The price is 299 Euros / US$ 299. Even better: If you own one of the programs listed here, you can benefit from our attractive offers:

 


Normal price 
for new users 
US$ 299
299 Euros 

Competitive Upgrade
(ltd. to Apr 30, 2007) 
for users of Auto-Tune, Waves Tune, Pitch Doctor and Pitch 'n' Time. More ... 
US$ 199
199 Euros 

Loyalty Offer
(ltd. to Apr 30, 2007) 
registered users of Melodyne uno, essential and cre8 (only version 3.x) 
US$ 149
149 Euros 

Loyalty Offer
(from May 1, 2007) 
registered users of Melodyne uno, essential and cre8 (only version 3.x) 
US$ 199
199 Euros 

Loyalty Gift 
for registered users of Melodyne studio 3 
free! 


 

 

System requirements

 



PII/400 CPU (1 GHz+ clock rate recommended); at least 512 MB RAM; 32 MB video RAM; around 100 MB of free space on the hard disk; Windows XP Service Pack 2 or higher; RTAS or VST host.




G3/G4/G5 or Intel-based Apples; at least 512 MB RAM; around 100 MB of free space on the hard disk; OS 10.3.9 or later; AU, RTAS or VST host.


 

Note: It is always advantageous to install additional RAM. Our recommendation for Melodyne is 1 GB or more. OS X in particular benefits from additional RAM when working with audio.

 

 

More about Melodyne plugin:

Watch videos
Download the demo
Questions & Answers
Read Host FAQ
Read the manual
Compare products
Purchase Melodyne plugin

 





Key features

runs as plug-in (VST, AU, RTAS) in your host sequencer

ideal for the correction and optimization of vocals

suitable also for single-voice instruments, drum loops and percussion

intuitive note-based editing

control of pitch, time, length, volume and formants of each note

best quality pitch-shifting and time-stretching

Swift operation, scale snap, multi-level Undo function

Realtime control and automation for pitch, formants and volume

Crossgrades from Antares Auto-Tune, Waves Tune, Pitch Doctor and Pitch 'n' Time offered (until April 30). More ...

for Mac OS X (PowerPC and Intel-based) and Windows XP

RRP: US$ 299 / 299 Euros (for special offers, see above)

< Back to products overview

Watch videos
Download the demo
Questions & Answers
Read Host FAQ
Read the manua
Purchase Melodyne plugin





Melodyne Movie
See in our demo videos, how easy it is to shape your audio with Melodyne plugin. More...






Featured in plugin:

Vocal editing
good, better, optimum. more





Composition
reconstruction and rebuilding. more





Sound design
the essence. more





Integration
connection-friendly. more

Product comparisonWhich Melodyne masters Audio-to-MIDI? How many tracks does cre8 have? What is the difference between uno and studio?

Here is the overview.









 
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                       Phone: (718) 885-2480            Cell: (917) 805-4699            Fax: (718) 885-0774

E-mail:
           FarnumA440@aol.com or NYMetroEMS@aol.com

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