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Tag Archives: Recording

Austrian Audio Hi-X50 and Hi-X55 Headphones – A Real-World Review

Austrian Audio’s Hi-X50 and Hi-X55 headphones at Catalyst Recording.
Austrian Audio’s Hi-X50 and Hi-X55 headphones at Catalyst Recording.

Microphones and headphones are both transducers, doing basically the same thing in reverse, so it should come as no surprise that Austrian Audio has brought its considerable expertise to the headphone market. The closed-back Hi-X55 and Hi-X50 (as in high excursion) share the same drivers, the same overall design and also a unique frequency translation that stands apart in the marketplace.

Out of the Box

Unlike many headphones today, the 50 and 55 have an understated, classy look based on dark greys, satin blacks and sleek lines. The padded aluminum headband is thick enough for rigidity, but vented down the middle (laterally across your head), allowing air circulation, more comfort and less weight. The ear cup adjustment sliders are firm, with only slight indentations that hold in-place. The oval ear cups swivel on strong pivots with metal hinges, and fold inward for compact storage. When in-place on your ears, the headband is positioned slightly forward on your head—an unusual feature that feels nicely balanced and encourages long-term comfort.

About the only difference between the 50 and 55 is the ear cups; the smaller 50 sits directly on top of the ears, while the larger 55 completely surrounds the ears. This difference accounts for not only the slightly heavier weight of the 55 (still a reasonable 305 grams, only 20 more than the 50s), but also the different frequency response between the two models (both rated from 5 Hz to 28 kHz). With a low impedance of 25 ohms, the resulting efficiency is a loud 118 dB spl/V.

The 44 mm drivers use a ring magnet system moving a copper-clad aluminum voice coil with a reportedly strongest-in-class magnetic field. The combination of power, stiffness and light weight makes for fast and accurate voice coil movements with very little “wobbling,” according to Austrian Audio, resulting in more punch and detail, and less coloration and distortion (less than .1% at 1 kHz). The ear pads are a soft, leather-like material over slow-retention foam with a large L and R inside the cups, clearly marking each at a glance.

The 50 and 55 each ship with a three-meter straight cable, terminated with a proprietary twist-lock mini-plug on the ear cup-side and an 1/8” mini-plug (with a 1/4” screw-on adaptor) on the other end. A storage bag is also included.

In our tests, guitar-playing and vocalist clients mostly preferred the Hi-X55 headphones.
In our tests, guitar-playing and vocalist clients mostly preferred the Hi-X55 headphones. PeterDraxl

In Session

There’s a certain solid-feel and balance to both headphones that impresses right off the bat. When mounted on my head, the weight distribution had no particular pressure points; they’re reasonably snug and don’t feel like they’re going to fall off of your head should you lean forward. Despite these similarities, these headphones create very different listening experiences.

The 50’s ear pads are not much bigger than your ear and exert a good bit of pressure on them, but they weren’t uncomfortable. I found I could wear them for fairly long periods of time for mixing, but for a long day of tracking or overdubbing, the pressure was a little fatiguing.

For such longer sessions—or people who don’t like on-ear designs (of which there are many)—the 55 shares the same comfortable balance but with absolutely no weight or pressure on the ears. These feel spacious, but offer a sonic presence that seems a bit further away and feels like “listening in a small room” compared to the 50. Despite these significant differences, there isn’t a right or a wrong headphone here; it’s purely a matter of personal taste and preference. I found most clients preferred the 55 for fit, like I do, but some preferred the smaller size of the 50 (especially my clients who like to use headphones on-the-go as compared to earbuds).

After a lengthy break-in period, I found the 50 and 55 to sound quite similar, different only in mid-range frequency reproduction. Both share a tight, focused and accurate sound that is quick, punchy and tightly damped, not at all loose or flabby. Dynamics are nuanced and imaging is clearly defined, with the phantom center sounding truly centered. The tonal balance is not at all warm here; it is more clinical and exacting, more flat than sculpted. The bottom is strong when the source material is strong, but there is seemingly no hype; if the source is at all lacking in low-end fullness, then the headphones scream “thin.” Likewise, if the source is brittle or thin up-top, the Hi-Xs will starkly relay that; there is no smoothing or sculpting to mitigate the problem.

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It is in the mid-ranges that I find the Hi-Xs to be so different from either of the prevailing market trends (a scooped out at 400-ish “smiley face” curve with considerable hype on both ends, or monster bass boosts). In general, the mids sound flat on the 50 and 55, and it takes some getting used to; you’ll reconsider some of your mix moves for sure. Not only are mids abundant here, but the 50 seems to have a response bump around 700 Hz that I wish wasn’t there, although with a little subtractive EQ, I was able to get superb results. The 55, in my estimation, had two response bumps—one at 500 Hz and another at 1.2 kHz—that got in the way of making accurate EQ decisions, although in all fairness, with a little subtractive EQ, it sounded quite good too.

The Final Mix

I found myself loving almost everything about the Hi-Xs with time and extended use—the fit (even though I wear glasses), the soft ear pads, the long straight cable, the well-marked L/R designations (for the talent’s sake), the excellent punch, the note differentiation among very low notes, the precise transients. Over time, I did not get used that stark and unforgiving midrange (and the accompanying mid-bumps) and could not mix solely on the 50 or 55, although they sure could inform decisions with other monitoring. For tracking and overdubs, my guitar-playing and vocalist clients mostly preferred the 55 over the 50, while the drummers and bassists preferred cans with a more boomy bottom and less midrange response.

The inevitable question beyond “do you recommend them?” (I do) is “which model is better?” and that can’t be answered. For people who “don’t like things on their ears,” they’re going to get a better user experience with the 55, which feels really roomy and open, if a bit less intense. For those who want a little more bottom end, more immediacy and a bit less bulk, the 50 will fit the bill nicely.

Austrian Audio • www.austrian.audio

TASCAM Launches TM-70 Dynamic Broadcast Mic

TASCAM TM-70 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone
TASCAM TM-70 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone

Santa Fe Springs, CA (January 13, 2021)—TASCAM  has unveiled its new TM-70 Dynamic Microphone. Designed as a hybrid of super-cardioid and dynamic elements, the TM-70 is intended to be resistant to ambient noise and used for applications such as live broadcasting, podcasting, film dialog and audio streaming.

The TASCAM TM-70 Dynamic Microphone is largely intended for use in vocal audio production, featuring a super cardioid polar pattern and a frequency response of 30 Hz-20 kHz to help isolate specific sound sources such as directional dialog. The mic’s super cardioid directivity makes it resistant to ambient noise.

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Being specifically tuned and ready for professional podcasting, film dialog, broadcasting and live streaming applications, the TASCAM TM-70 is also intended to provide simplicity of use, allowing users to focus on performance as opposed to tweaking EQ settings or using isolation baffling.

The microphone package ships with a variety of accessories, including a shock mount to reduce low frequency rumble, a 6-foot mic cable and a table-top mic stand. The package is expected to be available Q1, 2021.

TASCAM • www.tascam.com

Goldfinger Gets Nostalgic with Never Look Back

John “Feldy” Feldmann likes to stay busy. Over a three-decade career, he’s done just that, fronting bands, holding down A&R positions, co-founding a record label, and producing and writing for a list of artists as long as your arm.

Then came the pandemic. Feldmann, Grammy-nominated for his work with Blink-182 and Fever 333, got down to business in the studio at his home in Calabasas, CA, re-recreating back catalog hits by Goldfinger, his seminal California ska-punk band. The other far-flung band members contributed their tracks, with video, and Goldfinger’s Quarantine Video series was born.

Inspired, Feldmann sat down to write and produce a new Goldfinger album, the band’s ninth studio full-length since forming in 1994. Never Look Back was released Dec. 4 on his label, Big Noise.

Over Zoom, Feldmann gave PSN a virtual tour of his studio, where he’s currently working with Avril Lavigne, and talked about his pandemic productions.

On the Quarantine Videos:

The idea came out of me knowing my own brain and knowing that an idle mind is the devil’s playground. I have got to be busy, and at the time, we didn’t know what COVID-19 was, or if it was a straight killer. I came up with this idea to record my parts and see if the guys could do their own parts in their respective houses.

The first song was “Here in Your Bedroom,” which was apropos. I just ripped it off YouTube and put it in a Pro Tools session. We set up a click template and I sang and played along to the original. All these videos are one take of me playing guitar and singing. Everyone else would send me their takes and I’d put them in the session. I wanted it to sound like a live show, so our live mix engineer, Jon Graber, mixed all of them.

On Producing Never Look Back:

I wrote most of it in quarantine by myself. The whole album was recorded in quarantine. It’s a fun, nostalgic Goldfinger album. We’ve got ska, punk, reggae—all the flavors.

Mike Herrera, our bass player, lives in Bremerton, WA, and did all his parts at his studio. Moon [Valjean], the guitar player, lives in St. Louis; he did all his stuff on a little Pro Tools “light” system. Jon Graber has a studio and recorded [guitarist] Charlie Paulson there. Everything else was done here.

A lot of people want to sing their lead vocals to the vibe and hear the finished music to get the energy of the song, but I couldn’t do it that way. I would record my final vocals, all the doubles and all the harmonies, and all my guitars. I’m definitely a fan of Rupert Neve; I have the Brent Averil 1073s, the Vintech 1073s, I use the Slate Dragon as my 1176 modeler—I love that thing.

I sent everyone my finished parts with a click track. A lot of times I would program the drums; EZ Drummer has all my samples in their Pop Punk EZX. Travis Barker [of Blink-182] played a lot of the drums on the record; he lives in Calabasas. Nick Gross [Big Noise co-founder] also played some of the drums. I’ve got a great drum room and a great drum kit, so we cut all of the drums at my studio. They were one of the last things I did on this album.

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On Remote Production:

I had Mike [Herrera] sing a bunch of stuff. He’d write a verse, send me the lyrics, and I’d say yes or no: “Maybe you can give it another shot.”

Monique Powell from Save Ferris sang on one song. I said, “Could you give me more ad libs? I don’t feel your presence.” She did four different takes. She was in an apartment in London on a laptop, screaming into an SM58, so I used [Antares] Mic Mod [software] and changed it to a Manley Reference Gold.

Every album I’ve ever made, I’m in the room with the musicians and I’m saying, “Let’s try that again.” But this time, I got the parts and had to make use of whatever they sent me. Thank God I’ve got such great musicians!

Roland Launches VERSELAB MV-1 Song Production Studio

Roland VERSELAB MV-1 Song Production Studio
Roland VERSELAB MV-1 Song Production Studio

Los Angeles, CA (January 11, 2021) — The Roland VERSELAB MV-1 Song Production Studio is a new composition tool based around a portable, all-in-one design that offers vocal recording, 16 velocity-sensitive pads and Roland’s 16-step TR-REC rhythm sequencer.

The MV-1 contains a ZEN-Core sound engine with a sizable library of instrument and rhythm sounds already onboard, while future integration with Roland’s Zenbeats music creation app will allow users to connect the unit to a computer or mobile device.

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VERSELAB provides users with templates, pattern generators and a guided workflow that moves through the process of making tracks. Users can record vocals via the built-in mic or an external XLR mic and add various effects, from auto-pitch to harmonizers. The ZEN-Core engine provides the sounds of classic Roland instruments and further curated sounds, while the TR-REC sequencer and 4×4 pads provide an interface for building drum tracks, bass lines, and melodic parts.

VERSELAB also includes pro mixing and mastering effects to help users polish tracks ready for distribution.

The VERSELAB MV-1 Song Production Studio will be available in January 2021 for $699.99.

Roland • www.roland.com

Peek Inside Phish Bassist Mike Gordon’s Home Studio

First purchased in 2003, the Vermont home of Mike Gordon is up for sale.
First built in 1990, the Vermont home of Phish bassist Mike Gordon is up for sale.

Phish bassist Mike Gordon put his Essex Junction, VT home on the market in late December, 2020, looking to get $895,000 for the 12-acre homestead. First purchased by Gordon in 2003 for $425,000, the 3,400-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 4-bath contemporary-style house, built in 1990, has a finished basement, eat-in kitchen and multiple balconies, but the stunning draw for many will be the gorgeous attic recording studio.

The amply sized live room of the attic recording studio.

Gordon has put the home facility to good use over the years, recording solo albums like The Green Sparrow (2008) and Moss (2010) there, as well as parts of his 2020 collaboration album with Leo Kottke, Noon. Looking through the real estate listing for the house, clearly other rooms have been used for recording as well, including a second-floor bedroom with conspicuous acoustic treatments.

Reclaimed mahogany doors lead to the control room.
Reclaimed mahogany doors lead to the control room.

The two-room studio has radiant heat to keep things quietly warm in cold Vermont, and features an antique painted-tin ceiling, reclaimed cypress walls, stained glass and a curved bank of windows with views of the Green Mountains.

Mike Gordon's control room centers around a circa-2001 Digidesign Control|24 control surface.
The control room centers around a circa-2001 Digidesign Control|24 control surface.

Passing through reclaimed mahogany doors to the control room, visitors are greeted by more stained glass and a variety of recording gear. Centered around a circa-2001 Digidesign Control|24 control surface, the room also sports a good-sized rack of outboard gear, adjacent patch bay and a Grace Design M906 monitor controller to switch between the consumer multimedia speakers and Dynaudio BM6A nearfield monitors on hand.

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Finally, there’s sure to be plenty of good vibes that have soaked into those cypress walls from all the years of music-making, and that’s something you can’t put a price tag on.

Flow Goes with SSL Origin

Flow Studios, a new recording facility based in France’s Loire Valley, has opened with a 32-channel Solid State Logic Origin analog in-line console in its control room.
Flow Studios, a new recording facility based in France’s Loire Valley, has opened with a 32-channel Solid State Logic Origin analog in-line console in its control room. Nodal+Antoine Huot

Loire Valley, France (January 8, 2021) — Flow Studios, a new recording facility based in France’s Loire Valley, has opened with a 32-channel Solid State Logic Origin analog in-line console in its control room.

Studio owner Luke Aaron Clark reportedly built the studio control room to accommodate the Origin desk. The studio itself was designed by John Brandt, took three years to complete and involved modifying an old town hall.

“What I love about the Origin is that it gives me the ability to work with one artist in the control room, or to have a band or larger group spread out throughout the studio, with all instruments recorded simultaneously,” says Clark. “As a commercial studio owner, I wanted to create a beautiful space where an engineer or producer can get to work quickly. Thankfully, the engineering and design behind Origin is very intuitive.

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“The SSL Origin is set up as fully patchable, which provides a highly flexible workflow throughout the studio. We have 96 patchable audio lines accessed via wall panels located throughout the facility, while we also use the intelligent and intuitive bus routing on the SSL Origin to manage our dedicated hearback system.”

Clark says the console can create a comprehensive workflow: “For tracking, if someone wants to get a session up and running quickly, they can run everything through the desk and it all sounds harmonious,” he explains. “After tracking, the desk, outboard gear or trusted plug-ins can be employed for mixing.”

He adds, “I was already familiar with the snarl and crunch of the E series 242-type EQ. It gives some added weight and the ability to fine-tune during or after tracking. And the glue you get from the classic bus compressor is indispensable.”

Solid State Logic • www.solidstatelogic.com

Producing the Producer: Creating Rick Rubin’s ‘Broken Record’ Podcast

Rick Rubin, producer/podcaster
Rick Rubin, producer/podcaster

As a music producer, Rick Rubin is known for stripping away the clutter and guiding artists to focus on what they do best, whether it’s Johnny Cash’s deep baritone voice, the primal energy of Danzig’s guitar riffs or Run DMC’s iconic breakbeats. Broken Record, a podcast that fosters conversations between musicians and their audiences in the way album liner notes once did, follows the same premise by keeping the setup simple.

Broken Record producer Leah Rose.
Broken Record producer Leah Rose.

“The main focus of Broken Record is the conversation,” says Leah Rose, producer of the Pushkin Industries podcast. “Because the conversations go so deep, when you do hear the music, you hear it in an entirely new context. You might hear things that you didn’t hear before, and learning about the artist’s motivation or the backstory really adds a lot to their music.”

Producing Broken Record, which bills itself as “liner notes for the digital age,” is a bicoastal endeavor led by Rubin, co-interviewer Malcolm Gladwell and host Justin Richmond, from Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, California and Pushkin Industries’ studio in Hudson, New York. The podcast’s guest list has included Industry veterans like Bruce Springsteen and Don Was, as well as newer artists like FKA Twigs, and conversations are free-format affairs that can include playbacks of recorded music and even live, off-the-cuff performances.

In a recent episode, Rubin and artist James Blake dissected Blake’s recording and creative process, and how he often records a single vocal phrase, then stacks it and manipulates the pitch while playing along on the piano. “He lays out that entire process while he’s tinkering around on a piano during the interview, which is just really special and incredible when you hear it,” she says. “It’s like all of a sudden you have this new information to hear the song with, and it makes for an incredible experience.”

Face-to-face interviews like the one used for the Blake episode, which was recorded at Shangri-La on Neumann U87s using Neve 1073 mic preamps into an API console, are typically the most productive. [Rose says Rubin has a doctor onsite who does rapid COVID testing.] The raw audio from the Blake session clocked in at two and a half hours, giving Rose plenty of material to use when building toward the final edit.

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“With Rick, nothing is linear,” she says. “As an editor, my job is to look at the entire thing as a puzzle and figure out how the pieces fit together, [to] take something that could be completely non-linear and make it linear.”

Broken Record Artwork PushkinAs the main facilitator and producer, Rose is on standby via Zoom during recording sessions to cue up recordings for the host and guest. Many of the episodes released in the last year were recorded with the guest at home, with mixed results. Sometimes they get lucky and the artist has a world-class studio at their disposal—as was the case with Springsteen—but often Rose works directly with the guests to ensure their recording setup will be up to standards. She’s even shipped gear to some guests.

After the interview is done, Rose compiles the audio files into an edit that gets reviewed by Richmond and Mia Lobel, executive producer at Pushkin Industries. Once the edit is locked in, she sends it to engineers Jason Gambrell and Martin Gonzalez for mastering.

Producing audio on behalf of one of the most successful and enigmatic producers of his generation might intimidate some, but Rose says Rubin is hands-off for most of the process. “He trusts us,” she explains. “We take the finished product, the conversation, once it’s done and then it’s really up to us to figure out the best way to present it.”

Broken Recordhttps://brokenrecordpodcast.com

Q&A with Bill Schnee

Bill Schnee is a producer, Grammy Award-winning engineer, and author of Chairman at the Board—Recording the Soundtrack of A Generation.

 

What inspired you to write the book?
I’ve always loved telling stories, and had considered writing a book, but thought it was too self-serving. The tipping point came when a client encouraging me to write a book said that the music business was born in the 50s, grew up in the 60s, and peaked in the 70s going into the 80s. He said it was a very short time, a very iconic time—never to be repeated again—and you were there! Hearing that made me realize a book didn’t have to be, “I did this, then I did that.” Rather, I could tell stories about other fun things I had nothing to do with, like the cute story about Miles Davis. Read that in the book!

To be clear, this is not a “how-to” manual.
No, and I’m afraid some engineer types might be disappointed about that. I’ve written the book for anyone like me who loves music and records but hasn’t been as fortunate as I have to go behind the curtain. Early on I came to the conclusion that producing and engineering are servant’s roles…you’re there to serve the artist and his music. Beginning my career as an artist on the “other side of the glass” helped me realize that. I started recording by being thrown in the deep end of the pool with Three Dog Night and managed to swim.

Is your primary aim as an engineer to be mostly invisible at a session, or are there times when you need to step in more forcefully?
I definitely try to stay out of the way unless I see there’s a need that I can fill. It may be a sonic or even a musical suggestion. I think most people know that the musician in me is there waiting to contribute, and so I’m most often encouraged to do so.

What artist(s) surprised you most by the sheer breadth of his musical talent?
That’s an easy one…Barry Manilow. I was actually not a fan back in the day, but found quickly what an immense talent he really is.

The industry has changed. What do you miss most about the golden age in which you worked?
Before computers, an artist had to work in a recording studio with very expensive equipment where a group of musicians would all play together making the record. Today, “professional recording equipment” is within everyone’s reach, so most records are recorded in pieces in different people’s home studios. There’s something very special about the synergy of a group of musicians playing with and off each other.

In a career filled with so many achievements, what do you think was one of your greatest moments personally and artistically?
One that I would hope speaks to your audience is the Thelma Houston and Pressure Cooker direct-to-disc album (I’ve Got The Music In Me, 1975). That’s the album that brought direct-to-disc back in the modern era. Shortly before he died, I was proud when Doug Sax told me it was the most exciting record Sheffield ever made.

On Ringo’s self-titled album you ended up working with all of the Beatles on different tracks. How often did you pinch yourself during those sessions?
Those sessions were all fantastic, so I’m sure there were little black and blue marks all over me. For that record, Ringo’s mates had decided to pitch in and give him a leg up. When John came in to record his song, for the first and, I believe, only time after the group’s breakup, I had three of The Beatles recording in the same room. That was a magical night to be sure. Paul was not allowed in the country because of some little problem about drugs. If he could have come, I’m pretty sure there would have been a Beatle reunion. So we went to London to record the song Paul and Linda wrote for Ringo (“Six O’Clock”). I guess you could say he got by with more than a little help from his friends!

Using a word or phrase, how would you describe your encounters with each former Beatle at that time?
Ringo—very jovial and a real sweetheart. John—a bit dark but absolutely brilliant. Paul—warmest, sweetest, and most melodic of the four. George very warm and studied as a musician.

What is the most important skill required to succeed as a mastering or session engineer?
The art of critical listening.

What is the key to longevity in the recording industry?
Staying current. When hard-disk recording was coming in, I had to learn a whole new way of capturing sound. I knew when I started that if I was going to have a long career, I had to take extreme care of my ears, and I have. I didn’t realize back then that eyes would become more important than ears!

The post Q&A with Bill Schnee appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

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