Buying advice - IK mastering gear

[fabiolcati]

Gentlemen,
this morning I've found an offer from IK Multimedia in my mailbox to buy one plug in from their T-Rack Singles series at a discounted price.
Which compressor is best suited for classical tracks? Vintage Tube or Classic T-RackS ?
Thank you for your help.

[Admin]

I would think that the classic T-Racks would be your best bet. The tube comp might be a bit more colored.....

[Surfwhammy]

Gentlemen,
this morning I've found an offer from IK Multimedia in my mailbox to buy one plug in from their T-Rack Singles series at a discounted price.
Which compressor is best suited for classical tracks? Vintage Tube or Classic T-RackS ?
Thank you for your help.

There are several Compressors and Limiters in the T-RackS 3 Deluxe Suite, which includes the previous version of T-RackS (now called "Classic"), and they have different behaviors, characteristics, and uses . . .

(1) Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter Model 670:

This is based on the Fairchild Model 670 compressor/limiter, I have no idea how it works, but it is used in one of the mastering rigs I like, so I think it does something important, and I am planning to study it to discover how to use it intelligently, since at present all I can do is use the preset configurations, which is the way I use it . . .

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/trsingles/moreinfo/moreinfo2.php

This is the link to the original Fairchild Model 670 Stereo Limiter . . .

http://audio.kubarth.com/fairchild/670_Manual.pdf

(2) Vintage Tube Program Equalizer:

This is based on the Pultec EQP-1A Program Equalizer, where "program" refers to the audio material broadcast typically by AM and FM radio stations during the 1960s or whatever, and it does several things, including a bit of compression and limiting, as well as colorizing or "sweetening" . . .

In the US, there are very specific requirements for broadcast radio, and it is important for radio stations to maintain a consistent broadcast level. Additionally, as was the case when music was available primarily on vinyl records, the overall volume levels and frequency characteristics of recorded music vary considerably, so another use of this device was to ensure that everything was consistent for listeners . . .

And while it might appear that the goal of making everything similar is counterintuitive, audio engineers and producers quickly discovered that there were other ways to use the Pultec EQP-1A, since it has unique abilities that are very melodic . . .

This particular T-RackS 3 Deluxe plug-in is a personal favorite, and I use it primarily for bass instruments, but it also works very nicely for "sweetening" lead instruments, which is due in part to its melodic characteristics, and it also is excellent for "smoothing" . . .

My primary focus at present is on DISCO and Pop, and the reality is that getting good bass TONE requires a virtual festival of bass instruments, some of which are a bit surprising . . .

I use bowed string bass sections, various keyboard bass synthesizers, an electric piano playing bass notes, and a Hofner "Beatle" Bass guitar, all of which are VSTi instruments from SampleTank 2.5 (IK Multimedia), and in particular I use the Vintage Tube Program Equalizer VST plug-in with the Hofner "Beatle" Bass, where the goal is to get deep and rich vacuum-tube blur, which it does very nicely . . .

This is one of the DISCO songs done this way, and at the end of the song you can hear one of the two channels of the Hofner "Beatle" Bass enhanced by the Vintage Tube Program Equalizer in the right channel if you listen with studio-quality headphones like the SONY MDR-7506 (a personal favorite). In this song, are approximately 12 different bass instruments that comprise what I call the "bass section", and they are panned to distinct locations . . .

[NOTE: This is done entirely VSTi instruments in Notion 3, but it is mixed and mastered in Digital Performer 7 with the T-RackS 3 Deluxe mastering suite ("Master 1"), but there are individual components on most of the instruments, including the pair of Hofner 'Beatle" Bass tracks, where the Hofner "Beatle" Bass tracks are panned far-left and far-right, respectively. The keyboard bass synthesizers and bowed string basses are more in the middle, with one of the keyboard bass synthesizers being at top-center where it mostly "growls". I have not added real guitar yet, but it is easy to determine where the lead guitar solos go, since the music switches mostly to a droning rhythm pattern that is the background for the lead guitar solos. This is mixed with headphones, but later I will mix it using loudspeakers, which actually creates a mix that sounds better on headphones than a headphone mix . . . ]

http://www.surfwhammys.com/Put-It-O-Me-1-18-2011-ST25-N3-DP7.mp3

This is a similar song, but it is done entirely within Notion 3, and it uses the Vintage Tube Program Equalizer for the Hofner "Beatle" Bass, and the Notion 3 Master stereo output channel is mastered with T-RackS 3 Deluxe using the "Master 1" mastering suite with a tiny bit of tweaking . . .

[NOTE: One of the more fascinating aspects of Notion 3 is that its Mixer is very good, and in some respects it is easier to get great TONE with the Notion 3 Mixer than it is with Digital Performer 7. I would use the Notion 3 Mixer for everything, but I have so many tracks and need to record real instruments and singing that Digital Performer is the only practical way to do it . . . ]

http://www.surfwhammys.com/Feel-Me-1-31-2011-Extended.mp3

This is my favorite T-RackS 3 Deluxe plug-in for bass, for sure . . .

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/trsingles/moreinfo/moreinfo3.php

And this is the original user manual for the Pultec EQP-1A in PDF format, as well as a link to Do-It-Yourself (DIY) information for folks who want to build one of these devices themselves . . .

http://www.recproaudio.com/diy_pro_audio/diy_files/eqp_1a/PultecEQP.pdf

http://www.recproaudio.com/diy_pro_audio/pultec_eqp1a.htm

This program equalizer is so popular that it continues to be manufactured in the US, where a pair of them retails for $6,495 (US):

http://www.pulsetechniques.com/home.html

And while this probably is not a compressor/limiter, per se, it does a bit of compressing and limiting via its vacuum tubes, which is where the "blur" comes into play, so I include in the general category of "compressors" for this reason, and for Classical music it can do very subtle but effective "smoothing" in a "melodic" way . . .

(3) Opto-Compressor:

This is an optical compressor, and it is used primarily to "pump" modern music in a variety of genres, where the general idea is to get as much volume as possible without distorting the various instruments, and this particular VST plug-in is stellar for this purpose, which is the way I primarily use it . . .

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/trsingles/moreinfo/moreinfo4.php

The Opto-Compressor has "M/S" and "L/R" capabilities, which are used for stereo imaging, where "M/S" lets you work separately with the "Middle" and "Sides", while "L/R" lets you work separate with the "Left" and "Right", but there also is a combined setting, where the two parts of "M/S" or "L/R" are made equal . . .

The Opto-Compressor also has more gentle and smooth capabilities, so it is not solely for "pumping" audio material, and I use it for gentle compression on some instruments . . .

For sure!

(4) Brickwall Limiter:

Like the Opto-Compressor, this VST plug-in is stellar for "pumping", but it also is excellent for controlling wildly varying dynamics in a way that is smooth but preserving, in the sense that the dynamics exist but are constrained in an intelligent way . . .

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/trsingles/moreinfo/moreinfo5.php

However, it does something else that is very useful, which specifically is being able to partition the notes of an instrument into ruthlessly controlled "slices", which is the "brickwall" aspect, where the general idea is that notes are contained within the boundaries of a "brickwall" such that you only hear what is inside the walls, and this is very useful for kick drums and snare drums, since it allows you to adjust the drums so that there is complete and total silence between hits, with this being adjustable so that you can determine the duration of the hit, as well as the way the initial attack is handled . . .

This is another favorite, and I use it mostly for kick drums and snare drums, but it is useful for other percussive instruments like guitar, piano, Latin percussion, bells, chimes, and so forth . . .

It is not a compressor, per se, but it does "saturation", which is a bit like compression . . .

(5) Classic T-RackS Compressor:

This is a nice compressor with classic vacuum-tube "blur" capabilities, but I do not use it for DISCO, Pop, and Rock and Roll, since it is not so "melodic" . . .

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/trsingles/moreinfo/moreinfo7.php

I used it for a while when it was the current version (T-RackS 2 Deluxe), but I never was able to get a good overall sound with it, so when T-RackS 3 Deluxe was released and I did a few experiments with its new components, I switched to the new components nearly exclusively, since the new components are modeled using the real devices that were used on most of the hit records of the 1960s and continuing forward, where it is possible that some of the new components were available in the late-1950s, actually . . .

However, it has one feature that is quite intriguing, and this feature is "Stereo Enhancement" . . .

[NOTE: In contrast to the Opto-Compressor, which has "M/S" and "L/R" capabilities, the Classic T-RackS Compressor has "Stereo Enhancment" but no "M/S" or "L/R", so one way to determine which strategy works best is to consider whether balancing everything in such a way that it works for monaural listening is important, in which case the Classic T-RackS Compressor might be the best solution . . . ]

(6) Classic T-RackS Multi-band Limiter:

This is an interesting VST plug-in, but I never discovered how to use it, although I understand the concept . . .

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/trsingles/moreinfo/moreinfo8.php

Mostly, it was a matter of the controls not making much sense to me, but since I was intrigued by the idea, I did a bit of research and discovered MultiDynamics 5 (Wave Arts), which I use, since the controls make sense and it is more visual . . .

http://wavearts.com/products/plugins/multidynamics/

However, I use this primarily for real instrument tracks that have a variety of problems, such as "booming" in certain frequency ranges, "pops", "rattles", "squeaks", and so forth, where the general idea is to use its "brickwall" filtering capabilities to remove troublesome frequency bands, but it also has separate compression and limiting abilities . . .

From my perspective, this is more of a tool for making badly recorded tracks sound better, which makes it a useful tool, but the better strategy is to ensure that real instruments adjusted, maintained, and recorded properly . . .

(7) Classic T-RackS Clipper:

As best as I can determine, this is the precursor to the T-RackS 3 Deluxe Brickwall Limiter, and I do not use it, since the T-RackS 3 Deluxe Brickwall Limiter is much better and has advanced features . . . .

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/trsingles/moreinfo/moreinfo9.php

COMMENTS

Overall, since I have both T-RackS 2 Deluxe and T-RackS 3 Deluxe, and have used both of them extensively, I prefer T-RackS 3 Deluxe specifically for its new components . . .

It is very important to understand that mastering is very different from composing, playing, recording, and mixing, and the focus is entirely different, which is the reason that mastering with T-RackS 3 Deluxe usually is done using a set of components rather than with only a single component . . .

Single components are used for very specific purposes on individual instruments, but for mastering the goal is to work with all the instruments when they have been mixed to a two-channel "stereo" track (left, right) . . .

There is an excellent training video series available at Groove 3 that explains the general strategies used in mastering using T-RackS 3 Deluxe, which has chapters on the various individual components . . .

[NOTE: You can watch the introductory tutorial in its entirety, and the presenter is very good and understands mastering . . . ]

http://www.groove3.com/str/mastering-with-tracks.html

And there is an eBook on mastering with T-RackS 3 Deluxe, which also has some very useful information . . .

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/trbook/overview/

DISCOUNT OPPORTUNITY

IK Multimedia has a Facebook promotion that maps to an increasing discount based on the number of folks who "friend" IK Multimedia's Facebook page, and the discount currently is 25 percent but with a few more "friends" it will increase to 30 percent, with 35 percent being the maximum . . .

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/Main.html?fanatik/index.php

So, this is another way to get a discount on IK Multimedia products, but it ends on March 31, 2011 (unless they extend it another time) . . .

SUMMARY

I am getting better at mixing and mastering, and the improvements in my mixes have coincided with the versions of T-RackS, which is a huge clue from my perspective, although some of the improvements come from realizing that mastering for the most part is a separate activity from mixing, where mastering is the most subtle aspect and is best done in the most subtle ways possible . . .

I never was able to get stellar bass TONE with T-RackS 2 Deluxe, but the Vintage Tube Program Equalizer provided the solution, along with the Hofner "Beatle" Bass in SampleTank 2.5 for VSTi and Notion 3 bass sections . . .

I play bass guitar, and I have a Hofner "Beatle" Bass from the 1960s but I use a Steinberger "Spirit" bass guitar most of the time, although occasionally I use a Fender American Vintage '62 Jazz Bass . . .

Now that I am doing what I call "basic rhythm sections" with music notation and VSTi instruments in Notion 3, there is more stuff that I can do with bass, so the only need for real bass is to do things that are not so easy to do with music notation, and this makes the Steinberger "Spirit" bass guitar optimal, since it is excellent for doing what I call "textures" . . .

Everything is very dependent on the specific music, genre, recording techniques, Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software, as well as what you are doing with Notion 3 . . .

My focus is on discovering how to do songs that have the overall high-quality sound of hits from the 1960s through today, and the fact of the matter is that it requires a lot of advanced software, which is more the case for current popular songs, since popular songs at the dawn of the early-21st century have so much stuff in such intricate detail that it is a bit mind-boggling to the point that one does not actually begin to hear everything in great detail in an immediately conscious way until one has listened to a song with studio-quality headphones at least for 50 to 100 times . . .

Consider the European Single for "Who Owns My Heart" (Miley Cyrus) . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVbQxC2c3-8

My best guess that is a vocal producer and a team of audio engineers worked on the lead vocals for several hundred hours, which included Miley Cyrus doing perhaps 50 to 100 vocal tracks for a virtual festival of specific purposes, including such subtle things as emphasizing a particular fricative, sibilant, consonant, and other manners of vocal articulations, with there being at least as many highly-customized vocal echoes (some of which can be done with the Melodyne Editor [Celemony]) . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manner_of_articulation

In the background, there is a soprano counterpoint similar to one of the songs on "The Dark Side Of The Moon" (Pink Floyd), and I did not notice it in any immediately conscious way until I had listened to the song over and over for hours, but once you notice it, it is very easy to hear . . .

For all practical purposes the singing is done as if it were a vocal orchestra with at least as many different parts as a symphony . . .

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS

The primary reason I like the Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter Model 670 is that it is very "melodic" and does an excellent job of creating vacuum-tube "blur", but as noted it all depends on the material, and while the Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter Model 670 might be excellent for some scenarios, it just as easily could sound really bad in other scenarios, as the case with all the compressors and limiters . . .

The Opto-Compressor is easier for me to use, since it has excellent VU-style meters and its controls make sense . . .

In the Grove 3 training videos, the presenter focuses on the Opto-Compressor and Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter Model 670 and suggests using both of them, where one feeds the other, since they have different behaviors and characteristics . . .

However, for stereo width, the focus in the Groove 3 training videos is on the Classic T-RackS Compressor and its "Stereo Width" control, so the general perspective is that the best solution is to use a variety of mastering tools for specific purposes . . .

On the other hand, if your focus is on Classical music, then I like the Vintage Tube Program Equalizer for two reasons, even though it is not a compressor or limiter, per se:

(1) Dynamics are very important in Classical music, and the Vintage Tube Program Equalizer makes only vacuum-tube induced changes to dynamics, which maps to being very subtle. In some respects, especially in the audiophile universe, the unforgivable sin is destroying dynamics, so this aspect of the Vintage Tube Program Equalizer is important to consider . . .

(2) Some instruments in an orchestra simply do not have equal dynamic ranges, where for example a trumpet has a much greater dynamic range than an oboe, at least with respect to loudness and volume, so there are times when you might want an oboe to play the melody followed by having a trumpet play the melody, and this presents a bit of a problem, since as a solo instrument the trumpet nearly always will be louder than the oboe, which is where the Vintage Tube Program Equalizer becomes very useful, since it has the ability to make the solo oboe equal to the solo trumpet in a very "melodic" way without needing to resort to heavily compressing or "squishing" the solo trumpet or expanding or "pumping" the oboe, and doing it this way is both smoother and more graceful, which makes it very nice for Classical music . . .

Yet another factor is the specific VSTi instrument library you will be using, since there are significant differences in the various available VSTi instrument libraries, and what might work wonderfully for one VSTi instrument library might not work so well for another one . . .

From a different perspective, if you like the way Classical music sounds when broadcast by a high-quality FM radio station, then the obvious choices are the Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter Model 670 and the Vintage Tube Program Equalizer, since these are sufficiently "melodic" but nevertheless subtle to do a bit of gentle smoothing and colorizing, which produces what one might call a "warm" TONE . . .

My strategy is to use all of them in a variety of ways, since each component has a "best use" and special set of behaviors and characteristics . . .

Nevertheless, these are the T-RackS 3 Deluxe components (listed alphabetically) that I use most often for individual instruments in various combinations per instrument:

Brickwall Limiter
Opto-Compressor
Vintage Tube Program Equalizer
Vintage Tube Compressor/Limiter Model 670

And my primary use for the Classic T-RackS Compressor is its "Stereo Enhancement" feature, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!

P. S. This is short bit of Classical music with some Heavy Metal drumming and an Indian Sitar section with Indian drums, as well, and it has a variety of T-RackS 3 Deluxe components doing different things, where the general goal was to make it easy to hear all the instruments, some of which typically are so soft that it is impossible to hear them at their natural levels when other naturally louder instruments are playing at the same time, which makes it a bit "pumped", albeit in a somewhat graceful way, really . . .

[NOTE: The mega-forte kick drum accents are like having your head stuck inside the kick drum and it sounds like a giant marshmallow, which is stellar! ]

http://www.surfwhammys.com/Ode-To-A-Mode-Surfwhammy-12-31-2010-ST-N3.mp3

Really!

[fabiolcati]

@surfwhammy
Excuse me, Sir,
whilst I thank you for the time you spent to answer my simple question,
may I ask you where you placed it in your Faust-long post?

[Surfwhammy]

@surfwhammy
Excuse me, Sir,
whilst I thank you for the time you spent to answer my simple question,
may I ask you where you placed it in your Faust-long post?

Excellent observation!

At first, I thought that it would be easy to answer your question, but the more I thought about it, the less obvious the answer became, because there are a lot of variables . . .

So, instead of answering you question based on what I think makes the most sense, I prefer the strategy that encourages you to answer the question for yourself based on having as much information as possible, which requires more work but over the long run tends to produce the best results . . .

For example, over the years my nose had been broken quite a few times, which is not an unusual thing and happens more often that most people realize, so since it was interfering with my ability to breathe through my nose, I decided to have the problem corrected by a plastic surgeon, and prior to the surgery I explained that it was very important to understand that I sing, so this was an important factor for the plastic surgeon to understand . . .

On the morning of the surgery, the plastic surgeon did something that was quite brilliant, which was to let me know that as part of the surgery he could do a bit of cosmetic work and make my nose "look like Robert Redford's nose", who at the time was at the height of his popularity, and my immediate response mostly was a bit of shocked surprise, which I explained by saying quite emphatically that "I like my nose the way it looks, and I certainly do not want to have Robert Redford's nose!" . . .

So, everything worked nicely, and my nose continues to be my nose but improved with respect to breathing and singing . . .

In other words, asking if you would like to have Robert Redford's nose is a quick way to determine what you think about your nose, and the fact of the matter generally is that you are the one who is best able to determine what you need, provided you have sufficient information . . .

As another an example, it is a bit like asking "Which guitar is best for Rock and Roll: Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul?"

If you ask 100 Rock and Roll guitar players, 50 might say that the Stratocaster is the best and the other 50 might say that the Les Paul is the best, but if you ask me I will say that I need more information about what you want to do . . .

In other words, it is not a matter of one being definitively better than the other in an indisputably absolute sense . . .

From another perspective, I am trying to work through the problem using logic, but without more information, all I can do is state a preference, which is not the best way to answer a question definitively, so instead of providing a simple answer, I decided to provide more information . . .

As noted, I have the current and previous versions of T-RackS, so I can provide some insights if I know what you need to do . . .

Toward the goal of being able to answer your question, let me ask you some questions:

(1) QUESTION: Why do you need a compressor?

(2) QUESTION: How do you plan to use the compressor?

(3) QUESTION: What do you expect or desire the compressor to do?

Another way to provide a bit of specific help is for you to post a link to a WAVE file that is representative of the problem that might be solved by a compressor, at which time I can run the WAVE file through each of the T-RackS compressors at a few different factory presets, so that you can hear how the compressors work . . .

TIP: If you decide to provide a WAVE file, then something in the range of 30 seconds is a convenient length, since WAVE files get big very quickly, and a WAVE file with 30 seconds of audio is approximately 5MB in size . . .

From a different perspective, I think it is accurate to suggest that audio engineers and producers use compressors to solve very specific problems, and because there is a virtual festival of different types of specific problems, there tends to be a virtual festival of compressors . . .

For example, if you want to make a snare drum rimshot very crisp in duration with a distinct but controlled initial "pop", then the Brickwall Limiter is excellent . . .

If you want to narrow the dynamic range of a Classical piece, then this is something that the Classic T-RackS Compressor, Opto-Compressor, and Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter model 670 do very nicely, but each one has different behaviors and characteristics, so it is not simply a matter of one clearly being the best choice in every possible scenario . . .

Nevertheless, I think that each of these three compressors will provide a good solution for general compressing scenarios, where the primary use is to add a bit of gentle compression to the Master stereo output . . .

These are two ways to categorize the three compressors:

(1) Compressing Technology

(1.1) Vacuum-tube based: Classic T-RackS Compressor, Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter model 670

(1.2) Optical-based: Opto-Compressor

(2) Stereo Imaging

(2.1) Advanced with Independent Channel Controls: Opto-Compressor, Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter model 670

(2.2) Equally Treated Channels with Stereo Enhancement Control: Classic T-RackS Compressor

It might be nice if there were a simple answer, but as you can understand by the observations of Paul White (Editor-in-Chief of "Sound on Sound" magazine), there is no simple answer without specific information about the application or intended use of a compressor . . .

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep03/articles/qa.htm#3

Yet another approach to determining a good answer is based on your perspective regarding the audiophile aspects of listening, where as a general rule audiophile aficionados consider vacuum-tubes to be the gold standard for everything, which pretty much removes the Opto-Compressor from consideration, although IK Multimedia suggests that "optical compression has a special sonic character that audiophiles can truly appreciate", which is a bit of an oxymoron in some respects . . .

[NOTE: The reference to "sonic character" is a fancy way of stating that the Opto-Compressor will do a bit more coloring of the overall TONE, but again it depends on the way it is set, since at more graceful compression settings it is very subtle, with "very subtle" mapping to few changes in the "sonic character", where "coloring" maps to cool and warm in the light universe, with bluer light being "cool" and redder light being "warm", where "warm" tends to be more pleasant and enjoyable, while "cool" is more harsh and stark, which is useful because the Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter model 670 is noted for its warmth when it is set to change the color of TONE, which is one of the stellar benefits of vacuum-tube based designs and maps to what I call "blur" but in a melodic or musical way . . . ]

From this perspective, one might suggest the Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter model 670 is the best choice of the two compressors about which you asked, since this particular unit in the real-world is considered to be one of the best and most "musical" vacuum-tube voltage-controlled amplifier (VCA) compressors . . .

In fact, IK Multimedia describes the Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter model 670 VST plug-in as being based accurately and faithfully on "the 'Holy Grail' of compressor-limiters, the Fairchild 670", where as I read and understand this description, the general idea is that audiophiles are the ones who consider the Fairchild 670 to be the "Holy Grail" of compressor-limiters . . .

And while audiophiles listen to a lot of different musical genres, for the most part I think they focus primarily on Big Band, Classical, Jazz and typically early Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues music, where the general goal is to reproduce the recorded audio with such extraordinary high-fidelity that it is as near to being in the actual studio or concert hall in the best location as possible, which basically maps to the passionate desire to experience the moment in the most intimately and immaculately accurate possible way . . .

Audiophiles are a fascinating group of folks, and when they are fortunate to be well-funded, they do some extraordinary things with respect to designing and building advanced listening rooms and to providing exquisite audio equipment that they keep finely-tuned and adjusted, all toward the goal of being able to listen to a recording and to experience the music as it was played and sung by the musicians and singers during the recording session based on sitting in a comfortable chair in the best listening location in the studio where the musicians and singers were playing and singing (as contrasted to being in the control booth where the audio engineers and producer were working) . . .

And while I am not an audiophile, per se, I devoted the better part of two years to doing research on listening room architectures and acoustical physics, which eventually resulted in designing, building, and fine-tuning the RAE Multimedia sound isolation studio, which is a room within a room within a room with a fully floated floor done in a low-budget way, where the floor is "floated" on 5/8" rubber mats made from ground automobile and truck tires, which I got on sale at a fantastic discount, and several layers of heavy tar paper . . .

The sound isolation studio has air spaces between the walls and ceilings, and there is a virtual festival of carefully tuned Helmholtz resonating panels, as well as multiple layers of different thickness gypsum sheeting, and there are no holes, nails, screws, or wires that connect the innermost room to the outermost room, since even a single nail or tiny air hole is more than sufficient to transfer high-frequency energy from the outside to the inside or from the inside to the outside . . .

Basically, with all the doors closed, I can play the Really Bigger Drumkit™ with hard hits and someone with excellent hearing standing on the other side of the fourth outer wall (which is separated by a well-insulated triple-layered hallway from the third outermost wall) cannot hear or feel the drumming, where the "feel" aspect refers to the low-frequency and subsonic vibrations also being damped, at least to the extent possible with a fully "floated" floor using hard rubber mats . . .

Conversely, the same person can run a Stihl professional logging chainsaw (a personal favorite) at full power, and I cannot hear it inside the sound isolation studio . . .


Stihl MS 362 Professional Chainsaw


Really Bigger Drumkit ~ March 2010

As yet another example of the way a compressor-limiter is used, consider this stellar song by Elvis Presley, where his singing is enhanced by a compressor-limiter that might have been the Fairchild 670, or at least was similar in general operating principle, which is the basis for the Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter model 670 VST plug-in . . .

[NOTE: I use this as an example of what I call "working" a condenser microphone, vacuum-tube compressor-limiter, and reverberation unit, where the reverberation unit also is being controlled via a vacuum-tube program equalizer like the Pultec EQP-1A3 to filter low-frequencies below approximately 500-Hz and above 10-KHz, which is the way George Martin had the reverberation units set for the Beatles when they were recorded. The "working" aspect is that depending on the way the singer controls both volume and proximity to the condenser microphone, the various equipment behaves and responds differently, where for compressing you are able to hear Elvis doing what I call "melodic breathing", which is "pianissimo possibile" at the extreme but sometimes is pianissimo, but you also are able to hear when he is singing "forte" and "forte possibile", which is easy to identify by listening to the reverberation, which is maximum when Elvis is singing "forte possibile", all of which Elvis was able to control by the way he sang, although the various equipment was setup and configured by audio engineers for this specific purpose . . . ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fEPq1VzcgE

This is the modern version of the microphone Elvis used for "Fame And Fortune", the Telefunken U-47 . . .

http://www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com/products/show_product.php?item=20&cat=mics

And this is a bit of information about the plate reverberation unit . . .

Adjacent to Studio B was a little room containing a plate reverb device made by EMT, German makers of similar effects units installed in other recording studios around the world. The EMT reverb was an electro-mechanical echo chamber used to add artificial reverberation effects to recordings. Porter arranged to have the dedicated echo room cooled down as much as possible with an air conditioner, and he adjusted the ten springs on the EMT plate to be tighter than usual, in order to feed the plate more audio signal and get a cleaner sound returning from the device. So much signal was being sent to the plate that Porter disconnected the associated VU meter so that he would not be bothered with its needle slamming against its peg. Porter related that the EMT's springs frequently broke under the increased tension, and he would have to replace them, but that the trouble was worth achieving a "brighter and fuller" echo effect.

[SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Porter_%28sound_engineer%29#RCA_Records.2C_Nashville ]

This is the best information I have found on the limiters, which based on the way the recording sounds most likely were working as leveling amplifiers, which is a type of typically gentle compressing:

The limiters we used were RCA singleended output stage types with one 6V6 tube set at a simple 2:1 ratio.

[SOURCE: http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/bill_porter_sound_died_on_July_7_2010.shtml ]

According to this interview of the audio engineer, Bill Porter, there is a different perspective on what I consider to be Elvis Presley's remarkable ability to "work" a condenser microphone, but so what . . .

We went ahead and did the next song, “Fame and Fortune,” on which he popped the mike a couple of times: in fact, he was popping it more than that. And I kept pushing the talk-back button, saying “Elvis, now you're popping the mike, back up, please.” And so after four or five times, he was getting up-tight and he started cursing. I figured I'd better not do it again, because he was losing his cool. So, you know, back then we didn't have roll-off filters on the console. It was pretty much as it was. It used to be the engineer's duty, if you saw a flaw, it's up to you to stop the producer and say “Hey, there's something wrong with this record, you can't put it out.” And, as you know, phonograph cartridges back then were real stiff and they wouldn't track those low-frequency notes. They'd skip. Well, here I am sweating, when I heard two mike pops. Is it bad enough? Do I let it go? Do I stop it? I'm sitting there weighing in the pros and cons. Well, I chanced it. You can hear them. But if it hadn't tracked, it would have been my rear end later on. But you'll notice when it comes out, it goes “ 'ame and fortune,” not “fame,” because he was popping the “f” so bad.

[SOURCE: http://www.musicangle.com/feat.php?id=109 ]

So what!

It does not matter to me whether Elvis was aware in any immediately conscious way that he was "working" the condenser microphone and all the audio equipment, because he did it, and it is easy to hear him doing it . . .

This does not diminish the importance of the audio engineer, and in fact actually increases the importance, because getting everything properly setup and configured is an art, but the reality is that Elvis did the singing within the parameters of the available technology, and his unique ability to fit his singing into what I call the Spherical Sonic Landscape™ and to dominate it is simply amazing . . .

Amazing!

If you like this type of compression, then the Vintage Tube Compressor-Limiter model 670 is the indisputable choice, for sure . . .

For sure!

P. S. This might be a more definitive answer, but perhaps not . . .

[Surfwhammy]

As a bit of follow-up, you can download the demo versions of the various compressors and do some experiments with them toward the goal of determining which one works best for what you need to do, which is fabulous . . .

[NOTE: These are the full versions, and the demo period is 10 days, which should be plenty of time to do some experiments . . . ]

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/trsingles/download/

[NOTE: This is the link to the demo version of T-RackS 3 Deluxe, which is the full version and has a demo period of 10 days . . . ]

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/t-racks/download/

Fabulous!