Monday, June 18, 2012
Early Adopters Beware!
Apparently, there are some USB3 compatibility issues that may prove problematic for power users like sound designers. Check out the link here (thanks to CDM!).
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Obsolete tech sounds
Gizmodo has a great piece about obsolete tech sounds - sounds we used to hear all the time but have now virtually disappeared from our world.
Here's my favorite description:
Dot Matrix Printout
Long before the days of color laser printers that churn out 30 pages a minute, we had dot matrix printing. There was something hypnotically relaxing about the sound of the chirpy print head moving from left to right as reams of paper slowly pulled past it. We could meditate to that sound."
You can read the whole piece here.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Sinan Zafar, BA, UC-Irvine
UCI commencement exercises will be held today for the undergraduate students. Among those students receiving their Bachelors Degrees will be Sinan Zafar. Sinan is our first real sound design undergraduate student at UCI. He showed up on our radar over two years ago, and quickly made himself indispensable at UCI. He worked on large projects with the graduate students, was the go-to designer for workshop productions with his classmates, and took a significant number of graduate level classes. This year, in addition to all of that, he also designed two shows for the UCI mainstage season. Not surprisingly, he also became our first Honors in Sound Design student.
Sinan will be moving to LA following graduation to pursue his creative work, and the future has great things in store for him. Congratulations, Sinan!!
Sinan will be moving to LA following graduation to pursue his creative work, and the future has great things in store for him. Congratulations, Sinan!!
Monday, June 11, 2012
Beth Lake and Jeff Polunas, MFA, UC-Irvine
Congratulations to Beth Lake and Jeff Polunas, our most recent graduates of the sound design program here at UCI! They're both terrific designers, and Mike, BC, and I are proud of them and wish them great success!
Beth hails from Arizona by way of Colorado, but she also spent time at Jacob's Pillow out in Mass. Her thesis design was Arcadia, and she's looking forward to relocating to NYC.
Jeff spent formative years in Ohio, but had been in California (including work for PCPA) for quite a while now. His thesis was a design for Dance Visions, our faculty-choreographed dance concert. He'll stay around the socal area for the time being. Jeff is also getting married this summer, so it's quite an exciting time for him!
They have both been terrific students and designers, and I look forward to the great things they'll do in the future!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Darron West, Tony winner
Just a quick update for those following... Darron West won his Tony Award last night. Congratulations Darron! We're all proud of you!
Which future Tony winner will visit our classroom next year? Wait and see...
Which future Tony winner will visit our classroom next year? Wait and see...
Friday, June 1, 2012
Final Projects!
Each spring for the past four years, I've taught a class called
'Creating Sounds from Scratch.' SfS starts out exploring old synthesizer
technology through a digital lens, looking at oscillators, filters, and midi to
create entirely new sounds or to give a unique sheen to old sounds. The bulk of
the class time, however, is spent digging into the details of a program called
MaxMSP. Max is a piece of software that lets the user create complex creative
packages for sound & video based on data and numbers. In SfS, we use Max
primarily as a data mapper, taking real-world control (pressing keys or twiddling
knobs on a keyboard) and turning that data into opportunity for creative
control.
SfS is a required class for MFA Sound Designers here at UCI, but
this year, I let the class open up to students of various backgrounds and
aptitudes. It was a great challenge for
me, as I found myself having to frame the class in such a way to engage both
the students who were comfortable and versed in this kind of thinking and
control as well as the students who were totally new to this kind of work. I
must admit that I didn’t think it had gone particularly well, but yesterday, my
mind was changed. Final projects were
due recently, and I was consistently delighted by the kind of work that the
students did. So impressed, in fact
that, I want to share them with you.
The prompt for the final project was simple: ‘Use digital tools to create a modifiable soundscape of
an event.’ Over the past few weeks, we looked at ways to get real-world control
data into Max and ways to use that data to create/control sonic events. Let’s look at what the students came up with:
Bryan is an undergrad with a focus in sound for games. He was my student in a different class in the
fall, and I thought that SfS would be useful to him in his game work. He created a warzone, using his Android phone
running TouchOSC as a controller. Bryan
did an excellent job in prioritizing energy and attention on foreground sounds
v. background sounds (a requirement for the fast-paced world of game design). Here’s a screenshot of his work:
Dean (an MFA Stage Manager) and Jenna (an undergraduate Sound
Designer) created a car-driving sequence using a Wii Remote as a controller.
The user controls speed of the car and volume of the radio using the gyroscopic
parameters of the controller, and the buttons on the remote take us through a
sonic event, ending in a surprising car crash (spoiler alert!)
Elliot (an undergrad Sound Designer), Pablo (an MFA student in the
ICIT program in the computer music wing of the Music Department), and Stephen
(an MFA Sound Designer) worked together to create a comprehensive sonic event,
tracking the result of a botched bank robbery during a Fourth of July
celebration. A wii remote served as a master controller, an iphone (running
TouchOSC and Facetime) streamed data and audio to the host computer), and the
bank safe was cracked in real time using a cardboard box modded with various
sensors.
Kat (an undergrad Sound Designer) and Phil (an MFA Stage Manager)
created a very precise aural replication of Super Mario Brothers to be played
using a Wii Remote. They used chance to
re-create events, but they used brute force programming to get the sounds to
behave correctly.
Kristen (an MFA Stage Manager), Michael (another ICIT student),
and Patricia (an MFA Sound Designer) created a space battle using a JazzMutant
Lemur as a controller. They implemented
their battle using an eight-channel delivery system. Unfortunately, the user
loses the space battle.
You may, by now, noticed a theme of catastrophic death in these
projects. Don’t fret – the theme continues.
Phillip, another undergrad game sound student, created a medieval
sword fight for two Wii Remotes. He
created comparison events to trigger sonic events: if only one ‘sword’ was
swung, that sword would hit, but if both ‘swords’ were swung, they would parry
and clang off of each other.
Sinan, our final undergraduate Sound Designer, also created a
sword fight, but his vocabulary was Star Wars light sabers. Sinan built his sonic event using theme
music, differently-pitched sounds for light-side or dark-side fighters, and
victory music that changed depending on which side won:
I was thoroughly impressed by all of these projects, and I’m proud
of them all! I’m looking forward to
teaching the class again next spring!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Apple pulls Airfoil
According to this link on Huffington Post, Apple has pulled the Airfoil App from the iTunes store. I know of a lot of sound designers who use Airfoil to stream audio wirelessly to an iphone/ipad. It's a economic solution to a problem (so long as you have an iDevice, that is). No news yet about why, though there's speculation of an audio-streaming feature in a future Apple update...
Sound Designers... be warned! If you rely on Airfoil, be careful about updating apps and OS-es...
Sound Designers... be warned! If you rely on Airfoil, be careful about updating apps and OS-es...
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
The Inaugural Meyer Studio Rock Band Recording
This past Saturday the 19th, Jeff and I awoke at 6AM-ish to set up the Meyer Studio for a full-band recording session. The session's purpose was to lay down the rhythm tracks and a first pass at vocals for two tunes. The instrumentation The band is Manwich and Potato Salad, and they shall go down in the recordbooks as the first band to record in our new studio.
We knew going into the session that the instrumentation would be a full drum kit, electric bass, and electric guitar, plus vocals from Kevin, the guitarist. Kevin sent us a couple demos, and I knew from working with him before that his style is an upbeat pop-rock with elements of blues. Kevin mentioned a Raphael Saadiq song that demonstrated the '60s "motown-homage" quality he was interested in capturing, but still had a modern pop "edge" to it. Jeff and I decided early on that we wanted to get a controllable, close-miked sound with all of the elements isolated from each other so that we could "design" the sound if the band desired it.
We placed the drum kit in the classroom on the wood floor, and loaded it up with mics to give us options in the mix.
The drummer, Neil Daniels, clearly had significant experience in the studio, and the drums were tuned beautifully. I wanted to try using my SM7 out in front of the kick drum to capture a more complete "picture" of the drum, in addition to the AKG D112 up close, capturing the "thud" of a pop-rock kick.
A few other pictures of mic choices and placements. An AKG D6 on the floor tom...
A Sennheiser MD421 on the rack tom...
I've been aching to try using ribbon mics as a pair of drum overheads, so I placed our Beyer M160s in XY above the kit, centered over the snare. They do an excellent job of smoothing out the harshness of the cymbals, while capturing a good image of the whole kit. The Neumann KM184s were placed to get a wider overhead option, but also to capture the high transients that we lose with the ribbons.
Here is an audio sample of the ribbon's soloed: LINK
For room mics, we placed the Neumann M149 in omni about 10 feet in front of the kick drum. Directly next to it, we put the Shure VP88 in Mid/Side mode. The two are phase-aligned, and gave us some imaging options for the room sound. The moving blanket is covering the studio's TV, which acted as a giant reflector of the drum sound directly into our room mics ... no good!
Kevin's guitar was an off-brand Stratocaster model fed into a Fender Deville tube amp, which gave a great clean tone with a little crunch to it. To give us tonal options, we put up both an SM57 and a Neumann U89 in cardioid. Both the guitar and the bass were also recorded through a DI, to give us the option of "re-amping" the signal later.
These pics are just to show the extent that we used the studios supplies. We ran out of mic stands, and nearly ran out of patch cords and XLR...
The session was a hell of a lot of fun, and Jeff and I have some very good tracks to play with. The musicians — Chris Lorentz on Bass, Kevin Dekimpe on guitar and vocals, and Neal Daniels on drums — were fantastic and really insightful during the whole process. We look forward to being able to post the final tracks soon!
~Matt
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Mother Courage and Her Children
For the past 12.5 months, I've been working on a score for a show at UCI. Mother Courage and Her Children is a staple of the Western canon, written in the early 20th century by Bertolt Brecht. The play takes place during the 30-years war, and it primarily concerns one women's life as she tries to survive the war as a merchant. Over the course of the play, she has success and failure, but ultimately (surprise, surprise), the war takes its toll on her.
Brecht is synonymous in the theatre world with the phrase 'alienation effect,' which, briefly, means that the theatre makers should take steps to ensure that the audience remains aware that they're watching actors in a room, not real humans named Mother Courage, Kattrin, etc. Brecht wanted the audience to have to juggle sympathy for the characters with an objective analysis of the theatrical mechanisms by which they're being manipulated. One of the ways that Brecht achieves this goal is by writing about a dozen songs into the text (the theory being that the break with reality caused by actors breaking into song will remind the audience that they're watching a play, not real life). Thousands of pages have been written on alienation effect, and I'm just touching the surface.
Our production at UCI was directed by 2nd-year MFA student Ryanne Laratonda and featured scenery & video by Luke Hegel-Cantarella, lighting by Lonnie Alcaraz, sound by Stephen Swift, and stage management by Brandy Lee Hatcher. It ran last weekend, and during tech rehearsals, I made some videos of the songs. I'm posting them here for you!
When I sit down to write song, I always start by focusing on the text. In this case, I sat down at my piano, copied the text, and then read it out loud to myself over and over until I understood how the words flowed naturally. The natural flow of the words directly fed the rhythm of the text, which fed the rest of the music. Once I understood how the words flowed, I could begin to set them to music, incorporating ideas that I pulled from the research I had been doing (Tom Waits, Beat Circus, Kurt Weil, etc.).
I drafted all of the songs in August/September '11. In late September, when we had callback auditions, I brought a few of the songs into the callbacks with me. I taught them to the actors, and we were able to use some of the actual songs in the show as audition pieces for the cast. The actors, incidentally, were mostly untrained as singers. We were definitely looking for a more raw sound for the cast, and casting actors without a lot of formal singing experience brought some of that rawness to the music.
One of the big question marks for the music was what the orchestra instrumentation would be. I had only written piano and vocal parts, and we knew that we wanted to use actors in the band (as opposed to finding a separate group of musicians). For callbacks, we asked every actor who played an instrument to bring their axe to the callback auditions. I was nervous about what kind of instrumentation we'd get, but I ended up pleasantly surprised by the variety of instruments (including guitar, violin, recorder, and others). In the end, we settled on piano (with two musicians), tenor sax, alto sax, and clarinet. Shortly after callbacks, two actors who did not play instruments emailed me to volunteer to be percussionists, so I ended up with a nice little percussion section as well.
Once I had the instrumentation established, I could orchestrate the music. One rule I set for myself, since I was working with actors who were not necessarily trained singers, was that the vocal line would almost always be doubled by one of the reed instruments. This gave support to the vocal line and gave a little bit of a crutch to a singer who might need a little bit of extra help. After that, my orchestration process basically followed my training as a percussionist: I wanted to use the instruments to propel the rhythm and cadence of the song forward in time.
It took me a month or two of on-and-off working to get the arrangements to a useful place, and I was able to schedule a rehearsal with most of the orchestra before formal rehearsals even started. Once regular rehearsals started, having the band made up of actors was a terrific (and entirely intentional) boon for us. Unlike musical theatre, where the orchestra doesn't show up until the sitzprobe, our orchestra was with us, in rehearsal, from day one. That allowed me to work with the musicians, work with the singers, and continue to tweak my arrangements. We found a number of significant edits in the music that helped the show in major ways. I wouldn't have been able to make those changes had we not had the band with us in the rehearsal hall.
Once we were in tech rehearsal, I was making small changes to the music. I'd change a vamp, add a sax line, swap out percussion instrumentation. Mostly, I focused on making the music flow well within the rhythm of the play. How do we set up appropriate vamps? When should the music for the next song start? When should it end? How does the music connect rhythmically with the sound? The lights? The video?
It was an excruciatingly hard week last week, but we opened and completed our run to great success. I'm very proud of the show, and I hope you enjoy watching the videos from Mother Courage and Her Children!
Mother Courage Theme:
The Song about The Soldier and His Wife:
The Song of Fraternization:
The Song of the Hours:
The Song of Great Capitulation:
From Ulm to Metz:
The Cook's Song
The Anonymous Song
Eia Popeia
Finale
Brecht is synonymous in the theatre world with the phrase 'alienation effect,' which, briefly, means that the theatre makers should take steps to ensure that the audience remains aware that they're watching actors in a room, not real humans named Mother Courage, Kattrin, etc. Brecht wanted the audience to have to juggle sympathy for the characters with an objective analysis of the theatrical mechanisms by which they're being manipulated. One of the ways that Brecht achieves this goal is by writing about a dozen songs into the text (the theory being that the break with reality caused by actors breaking into song will remind the audience that they're watching a play, not real life). Thousands of pages have been written on alienation effect, and I'm just touching the surface.
Our production at UCI was directed by 2nd-year MFA student Ryanne Laratonda and featured scenery & video by Luke Hegel-Cantarella, lighting by Lonnie Alcaraz, sound by Stephen Swift, and stage management by Brandy Lee Hatcher. It ran last weekend, and during tech rehearsals, I made some videos of the songs. I'm posting them here for you!
When I sit down to write song, I always start by focusing on the text. In this case, I sat down at my piano, copied the text, and then read it out loud to myself over and over until I understood how the words flowed naturally. The natural flow of the words directly fed the rhythm of the text, which fed the rest of the music. Once I understood how the words flowed, I could begin to set them to music, incorporating ideas that I pulled from the research I had been doing (Tom Waits, Beat Circus, Kurt Weil, etc.).
I drafted all of the songs in August/September '11. In late September, when we had callback auditions, I brought a few of the songs into the callbacks with me. I taught them to the actors, and we were able to use some of the actual songs in the show as audition pieces for the cast. The actors, incidentally, were mostly untrained as singers. We were definitely looking for a more raw sound for the cast, and casting actors without a lot of formal singing experience brought some of that rawness to the music.
One of the big question marks for the music was what the orchestra instrumentation would be. I had only written piano and vocal parts, and we knew that we wanted to use actors in the band (as opposed to finding a separate group of musicians). For callbacks, we asked every actor who played an instrument to bring their axe to the callback auditions. I was nervous about what kind of instrumentation we'd get, but I ended up pleasantly surprised by the variety of instruments (including guitar, violin, recorder, and others). In the end, we settled on piano (with two musicians), tenor sax, alto sax, and clarinet. Shortly after callbacks, two actors who did not play instruments emailed me to volunteer to be percussionists, so I ended up with a nice little percussion section as well.
Once I had the instrumentation established, I could orchestrate the music. One rule I set for myself, since I was working with actors who were not necessarily trained singers, was that the vocal line would almost always be doubled by one of the reed instruments. This gave support to the vocal line and gave a little bit of a crutch to a singer who might need a little bit of extra help. After that, my orchestration process basically followed my training as a percussionist: I wanted to use the instruments to propel the rhythm and cadence of the song forward in time.
It took me a month or two of on-and-off working to get the arrangements to a useful place, and I was able to schedule a rehearsal with most of the orchestra before formal rehearsals even started. Once regular rehearsals started, having the band made up of actors was a terrific (and entirely intentional) boon for us. Unlike musical theatre, where the orchestra doesn't show up until the sitzprobe, our orchestra was with us, in rehearsal, from day one. That allowed me to work with the musicians, work with the singers, and continue to tweak my arrangements. We found a number of significant edits in the music that helped the show in major ways. I wouldn't have been able to make those changes had we not had the band with us in the rehearsal hall.
Once we were in tech rehearsal, I was making small changes to the music. I'd change a vamp, add a sax line, swap out percussion instrumentation. Mostly, I focused on making the music flow well within the rhythm of the play. How do we set up appropriate vamps? When should the music for the next song start? When should it end? How does the music connect rhythmically with the sound? The lights? The video?
It was an excruciatingly hard week last week, but we opened and completed our run to great success. I'm very proud of the show, and I hope you enjoy watching the videos from Mother Courage and Her Children!
Mother Courage Theme:
The Song about The Soldier and His Wife:
The Song of Fraternization:
The Song of the Hours:
The Song of Great Capitulation:
From Ulm to Metz:
The Cook's Song
The Anonymous Song
Eia Popeia
Finale
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Tony Nominations
Yesterday, the Tony Award Nominations were released. Congratulations to all of the nominees, but we want to extend a special congratulation and best-wishes to Darron West, who visited the graduate students last fall. Here's shot of Darron demonstrating his basketball skills:
Darron was nominated for his work on Peter and the Starcatcher. Congratulations Darron! We're all pulling for you!
Darron was nominated for his work on Peter and the Starcatcher. Congratulations Darron! We're all pulling for you!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Piano miking demo
(updated on March 30, 2014 to fix a broken link)
For the 255 Recording Engineering and Production class we took a trip to our sister studio located in the back of the new xMPL Theatre. It really is a fraternal twin to the Meyer Studio except it was designed and is run by Professor Chris Dobrian - Head of the Integrated Composition Improvisation and Technology (ICIT) program in the Music Department. We routinely share facilities, equipment and classes between Sound Design and ICIT. This studio is simply called the "Recording Studio." Like the Meyer, it is equipped with a ProTools HD system, Icon/D-Command control surface and Meyer HD-1 monitors. Chris is fortunate in that he doesn't need to house as much crap in his studio as we do downstairs; it's a comfortable and productive space.
The goal of this session was to listen to different methods of miking a grand piano. I consider piano miking to be the bellwether test of recording ability -- if you you can master all of the challenges presented by recording a piano in stereo (and deliver a great sound) you have the chops to mic up just about anything. The Recording Studio has a Yamaha 6' Disklavier piano. For those unfamiliar with the Disklavier, it's a standard piano with "player piano" mechanical control built in. You can send it MIDI, SMF files, or it will record and playback on its own. For this test we used a piece from the Yamaha PianoSoft library of files for the Disklavier: "I've Got The World on a String" by Koehler and Allen, and performed by Shelly Berg. The Disklavier allowed the same performance to occur repeatedly. Without it, several dozen mics would have to have been stuffed into the piano at the same time and there would be no way to use the same mics and preamps over again. This piano is a stellar instrument and records very well.
I chose the mics based on past experience - with a bias towards those that work well. Here is what we used:
(2) Neumann U89 (large diaphragm, multipattern, condenser, flat, no pad)
(2) Neumann M149 (large diaphragm, multipattern, tube condenser, flat, no pad)
Earthworks PianoMic_hammers_fullstick_24_96.wav
VERDICT:
The M149 is a modern reinvention of a series of classic tube mics from Neumann (Neumann copying Neumann). They actually did manage to capture a lot of the old tube mic character - even-harmonic saturation (warmth), high-mid presence boost, huge proximity effect bump (lows) - and none of the tube mic problems like slow warmup, instability, capsule drift, and microphonic distortion (ringing from excess LF SPL). It is a caricature of an older mic and has an incredible coloration that can't be achieved any other way with processing. It's sounds fat and bigger than life.
VERDICT:
Like the U89, the M149 makes for a less-than-optimal omni. Uneven response front/back and side/side. However, it's better than the U89 in this application.
For the 255 Recording Engineering and Production class we took a trip to our sister studio located in the back of the new xMPL Theatre. It really is a fraternal twin to the Meyer Studio except it was designed and is run by Professor Chris Dobrian - Head of the Integrated Composition Improvisation and Technology (ICIT) program in the Music Department. We routinely share facilities, equipment and classes between Sound Design and ICIT. This studio is simply called the "Recording Studio." Like the Meyer, it is equipped with a ProTools HD system, Icon/D-Command control surface and Meyer HD-1 monitors. Chris is fortunate in that he doesn't need to house as much crap in his studio as we do downstairs; it's a comfortable and productive space.
The goal of this session was to listen to different methods of miking a grand piano. I consider piano miking to be the bellwether test of recording ability -- if you you can master all of the challenges presented by recording a piano in stereo (and deliver a great sound) you have the chops to mic up just about anything. The Recording Studio has a Yamaha 6' Disklavier piano. For those unfamiliar with the Disklavier, it's a standard piano with "player piano" mechanical control built in. You can send it MIDI, SMF files, or it will record and playback on its own. For this test we used a piece from the Yamaha PianoSoft library of files for the Disklavier: "I've Got The World on a String" by Koehler and Allen, and performed by Shelly Berg. The Disklavier allowed the same performance to occur repeatedly. Without it, several dozen mics would have to have been stuffed into the piano at the same time and there would be no way to use the same mics and preamps over again. This piano is a stellar instrument and records very well.
I chose the mics based on past experience - with a bias towards those that work well. Here is what we used:
(2) Neumann U89 (large diaphragm, multipattern, condenser, flat, no pad)
(2) Neumann M149 (large diaphragm, multipattern, tube condenser, flat, no pad)
(2) Neumann KM184 (small diaphragm, cardioid, condenser, matched pair)
(2) DPA 4006 (small diaphragm, omni condenser, matched pair)
(1) Earthworks PianoMic (dual omni condenser on built in bar)
The recording chain utilized mics plugged into a Grace M802 preamplifier connected to Protools analog inputs running at 96K and 24-bit, internal sync (sorry audiophiles, no external A/D or clocking for this session). The Grace is a lovely sounding preamp - quiet and clean with just a little bit of high frequency graininess. I would use this on a piano again in a heartbeat. However, the M802 has one stupid flaw for a $5K box -- it causes audible clicks in the audio when changing gain live. Grace could learn something from Millennia or Avalon about "grace-fully" quiet knobs!
All recordings were done with the mics hard panned L and R and flat (with the noted exception of one EQ example). I suggest you listen with the ability to collapse to mono as many of these methods suffer from awful phase cancellation. The mics had pads off -- they all fared well but the KM184 did sound a little edgy but I don't think it was overloading. The cardioid patterns all suffered from proximity effect and you should take that into consideration when comparing -- there is some significant bass boost going on. All high pass filters were bypassed (the M149 was set to 20Hz).
You can also listen to them in my SoundCloud:
TEST ONE
VERDICT:
The U89 has always been my favorite piano mic and it performed great! The sound is super full, not too strident in the highs, and has a ridiculous stereo spread (albeit u
(2) DPA 4006 (small diaphragm, omni condenser, matched pair)
(1) Earthworks PianoMic (dual omni condenser on built in bar)
The recording chain utilized mics plugged into a Grace M802 preamplifier connected to Protools analog inputs running at 96K and 24-bit, internal sync (sorry audiophiles, no external A/D or clocking for this session). The Grace is a lovely sounding preamp - quiet and clean with just a little bit of high frequency graininess. I would use this on a piano again in a heartbeat. However, the M802 has one stupid flaw for a $5K box -- it causes audible clicks in the audio when changing gain live. Grace could learn something from Millennia or Avalon about "grace-fully" quiet knobs!
All recordings were done with the mics hard panned L and R and flat (with the noted exception of one EQ example). I suggest you listen with the ability to collapse to mono as many of these methods suffer from awful phase cancellation. The mics had pads off -- they all fared well but the KM184 did sound a little edgy but I don't think it was overloading. The cardioid patterns all suffered from proximity effect and you should take that into consideration when comparing -- there is some significant bass boost going on. All high pass filters were bypassed (the M149 was set to 20Hz).
The high resolution files are clean and 96KHz/24-bit WAV (but a hefty 1.4GB download). Feel free to download them from my Dropbox:
You can also listen to them in my SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/hookmusic-1/sets/uci-sound-design-piano-miking
Special thanks go to the sound grads for helping set up these examples and to Jeff Polunas for snapping pics with his iPhone. Kudos!
Special thanks go to the sound grads for helping set up these examples and to Jeff Polunas for snapping pics with his iPhone. Kudos!
Here we go...
TEST ONE
Mic - U89, cardioid
Method - spaced cardioid
Position - close to the strings
Lid - full stick
The left mic was in the middle of the piano where the low and mid strings intersect. The fundamental is stronger at the middle of the sting, which leads to a rounder sound. The right mic was closer to the hammers (near the dampers) at about 2 octaves above middle-C. Diaphragms were about 6" from the strings. This is a very standard mic position for popular and jazz piano recording - especially where bleed from other instruments is a concern. The two clicks that you hear are not sync problems - they were tiny mid-stream gain adjustments on the Grace preamp (sigh).
Position - close to the strings
Lid - full stick
The left mic was in the middle of the piano where the low and mid strings intersect. The fundamental is stronger at the middle of the sting, which leads to a rounder sound. The right mic was closer to the hammers (near the dampers) at about 2 octaves above middle-C. Diaphragms were about 6" from the strings. This is a very standard mic position for popular and jazz piano recording - especially where bleed from other instruments is a concern. The two clicks that you hear are not sync problems - they were tiny mid-stream gain adjustments on the Grace preamp (sigh).
VERDICT:
The U89 has always been my favorite piano mic and it performed great! The sound is super full, not too strident in the highs, and has a ridiculous stereo spread (albeit u
seless in mono). Some strong proximity effect going on leading to some overly loud damper thumps.
TEST TWO
LISTEN:
U89_spaced_cardioid_close_fullstick_24_96.wav
U89_spaced_cardioid_close_fullstick_24_96.wav
TEST TWO
Mic - U89, cardioid
Method - XY
Position - just inside the piano
Lid - full stick
The XY array was inside the piano curve by about 1' with the left pointed at the low strings and the right pointed at the hammers
VERDICT:
XY miking relies on the timbre differences between left and right. Typically XY delivers an OK stereo image but only in the mids and highs with no bass separation at all. This is clearly audible in the recording. It's stereo but slightly pinched sounding. However, it's superbly mono compatible (and boring).
Method - XY
Position - just inside the piano
Lid - full stick
The XY array was inside the piano curve by about 1' with the left pointed at the low strings and the right pointed at the hammers
VERDICT:
XY miking relies on the timbre differences between left and right. Typically XY delivers an OK stereo image but only in the mids and highs with no bass separation at all. This is clearly audible in the recording. It's stereo but slightly pinched sounding. However, it's superbly mono compatible (and boring).
LISTEN:
U89_XY_inside_fullstick_24_96.wav
TEST THREE
U89_XY_inside_fullstick_24_96.wav
TEST THREE
Mic - U89, cardioid
Method - ORTF
Position - just inside the piano
Lid - full stick
The ORTF array was inside the piano curve by about 1' (same place as the XY).
VERDICT:
ORTF miking is like an XY but has the capsules oriented at 110 degrees and about 7" apart. It adds something really exciting to the stereo imaging and that excitement is TIME! The spacing of the ORTF capsules makes for a hybrid of XY and spaced pairs - using timbre, level and arrival differences to create stereo. It can be a little smeary above 10K in mono and sometimes leaves a hole in the middle, but in the case of this piano I think you'll agree that it is a much more pleasing sound than the XY.
Method - ORTF
Position - just inside the piano
Lid - full stick
The ORTF array was inside the piano curve by about 1' (same place as the XY).
VERDICT:
ORTF miking is like an XY but has the capsules oriented at 110 degrees and about 7" apart. It adds something really exciting to the stereo imaging and that excitement is TIME! The spacing of the ORTF capsules makes for a hybrid of XY and spaced pairs - using timbre, level and arrival differences to create stereo. It can be a little smeary above 10K in mono and sometimes leaves a hole in the middle, but in the case of this piano I think you'll agree that it is a much more pleasing sound than the XY.
LISTEN:
U89_ORTF_inside_fullstick_24_96.wav
U89_ORTF_inside_fullstick_24_96.wav
TEST FOUR
Mic - U89, cardioid
Method - XY
Position - just outside the piano
Lid - full stick
The XY array was outside the piano curve by about 1' and height was about half way from the frame to the lid. The capsules were stacked on top of one another in time-coherent fashion. The left mic faced the back of the piano and the right faced the top octaves of hammers.
VERDICT
It's not as "roomy" as everyone expected but you can definitely hear the midrange smear from the lid. It's a very unobtrusive sound that might sound good in a classical application or backing up a soloist. My past experiences the the U89 have been that it never sounded good at a distance and really shines up close.
Method - XY
Position - just outside the piano
Lid - full stick
The XY array was outside the piano curve by about 1' and height was about half way from the frame to the lid. The capsules were stacked on top of one another in time-coherent fashion. The left mic faced the back of the piano and the right faced the top octaves of hammers.
VERDICT
It's not as "roomy" as everyone expected but you can definitely hear the midrange smear from the lid. It's a very unobtrusive sound that might sound good in a classical application or backing up a soloist. My past experiences the the U89 have been that it never sounded good at a distance and really shines up close.
LISTEN:
U89_XY_outside_fullstick_24_96.wav
TEST FIVE
Mic - U89, cardioid
Method - spaced cardioid
Position - at the hammer
Lid - off/fully open
The left mic was just above and slightly forward of the dampers with the hammers underneath. The harmonics are stronger at the ends of the strings and this leads to increased articulation of the low notes. The right mic was also close to the hammers (near the dampers) at about 2 octaves above middle-C. Diaphragms were about 6" from the strings. Miking the hammers is another popular style for music requiring a very bright and present sound. It is even more striking sounding on a piano prepared with hardened hammers or even a tack piano.
VERDICT:
This sound is super clean. A lot of that has to do with the absence of resonance from the lid since it has been propped up out of the way. It is also aided by the brighter sound at the end of the strings. The higher frequency noise made by the felt dampers is more evident here.
Position - at the hammer
Lid - off/fully open
The left mic was just above and slightly forward of the dampers with the hammers underneath. The harmonics are stronger at the ends of the strings and this leads to increased articulation of the low notes. The right mic was also close to the hammers (near the dampers) at about 2 octaves above middle-C. Diaphragms were about 6" from the strings. Miking the hammers is another popular style for music requiring a very bright and present sound. It is even more striking sounding on a piano prepared with hardened hammers or even a tack piano.
VERDICT:
This sound is super clean. A lot of that has to do with the absence of resonance from the lid since it has been propped up out of the way. It is also aided by the brighter sound at the end of the strings. The higher frequency noise made by the felt dampers is more evident here.
LISTEN:
U89_spaced_cardioid_hammers_lid off_24_96.wav
TEST SIX
Mic - U89, omni
Method - spaced omni
Position - above the frame edge
Lid - full stick
The mics were placed about 15" apart right at the curve and directly above the frame with a slight downward tilt (yes, I know they are "omni").
VERDICT:
Just like its older, nastier and larger U87 cousin, the U89 is not a good omni mic. Something about the way the two capsules sum together just doesn't work right and has a colored, slightly harsh sound. If you need an omni I suggest using an acoustically-derived single-diaphragm omni and not a electronically-derived dual diaphragm disaster. However, for the scope of this test the omni mode on the same mic used as cardioid isn't necessarily unfair.
Position - above the frame edge
Lid - full stick
The mics were placed about 15" apart right at the curve and directly above the frame with a slight downward tilt (yes, I know they are "omni").
VERDICT:
Just like its older, nastier and larger U87 cousin, the U89 is not a good omni mic. Something about the way the two capsules sum together just doesn't work right and has a colored, slightly harsh sound. If you need an omni I suggest using an acoustically-derived single-diaphragm omni and not a electronically-derived dual diaphragm disaster. However, for the scope of this test the omni mode on the same mic used as cardioid isn't necessarily unfair.
The sound has pronounced room in it but seems to be quite a bit less bass-y. It's got a midrange honk to it and a somewhat vintage character. In case you were wondering, the room is very dead - with 2" fiberglass panels on every vertical wall, carpet and ceiling tiles - and about 15' x 20'. The stereo is very natural and subtle. Spaced omni pairs derive imaging almost solely from timing differences from left to right. 15" spacing is about right to capture stereo without a hole in the middle but not enough to present low frequency imaging. This recording is completely mono compatible if you just mute either of the channels.
LISTEN:
U89_spaced omni_outside_fullstick_24_96.wav
TEST SEVEN
Mic - U89, omni
Method - spaced omni
Position - underneath
Lid - who cares?
Sorry no picture here. The mics were placed about 32" apart underneath the piano. Placement was difficult because there is a crapload of electronic boxes and wiring underneath this piano (and a pair of speakers!). There was also a piano dolly frame.
VERDICT:
Method - spaced omni
Position - underneath
Lid - who cares?
Sorry no picture here. The mics were placed about 32" apart underneath the piano. Placement was difficult because there is a crapload of electronic boxes and wiring underneath this piano (and a pair of speakers!). There was also a piano dolly frame.
VERDICT:
Discussions among engineers about miking pianos from underneath have been the cause of many bar fights throughout late audio history. I take the side of it being a stupid thing to do unless you want something dull and boxy sounding. However, many FOH engineers swear by it for maximum gain in a noisy environment. Don't pick a fight with me over this - you will lose!
But... I have to admit that this piano actually doesn't sound half bad underneath. That also means it also sounds half good. You can hear the awful resonance of the sound board but I think some of it could be EQ'd out. It has zero attack, though. I think it sounds like a towel was tossed over the mic.
Unfortunately, our C-Ducer contact tape mics are in a show picking up tap dancing on a platform. A contact mic on the soundboard is something that I do like a lot. It doesn't sound natural and actually makes the best grand sound like a Yamaha CP-80 electric piano (it's a piano with 2' strings that packs up into a road case -- early Keane songs use one a lot, so does "That's All" by Genesis) but that sound is really retro and unique. Maybe we'll do another recording with the C-Ducer and compare at a later date.
LISTEN:
U89_spaced omni_underneath_24_96.wav
TEST EIGHT
Mic - U89, omni
Method - spaced omni
Position - outside the piano
Lid - short stick
The mics were placed about 15" apart well outside the piano and at the height of the gap between frame and lid.
VERDICT:
Position - outside the piano
Lid - short stick
The mics were placed about 15" apart well outside the piano and at the height of the gap between frame and lid.
VERDICT:
Short stick is often the result of sightlines in the pit or on stage. However sometimes it is called for by choice in some music circumstances. A good short stick recording either requires a wood floor to pick up the soundboard or it requires that the mics be placed inside the piano and really close to the strings. For this test I chose to put the mics outside so that we could hear what the lid does. It sounds similar on the inside because you are hearing the same higher resonance (boxiness) caused by the cavity created by the lid. This recording is devoid of any excitement.
LISTEN:
U89_spaced omni_outside_shortstick_24_96.wav
TEST NINE
Mic - Earthworks PianoMic
Method - pre-spaced, random-incidence omni mics on a bar
Position - inside and very close to the strings
Lid - full stick
This mic was placed 180 degrees (reversed) from what Earthworks recommends. We did it to get the elements closer to the hammers.
VERDICT:
Position - inside and very close to the strings
Lid - full stick
This mic was placed 180 degrees (reversed) from what Earthworks recommends. We did it to get the elements closer to the hammers.
VERDICT:
The PianoMic is the greatest recent mic development that I can think of. It is a serious problem solver because it does a lot of things that have been challenging until now:
1. Allows mics to be placed with the lid fully closed with little resonant issues
2. Allows about 9 dB more gain-before-feedback on stage than closely placed cardioids.
3. No worries of mics falling into the strings or scratching the underside of the lid.
4. Doesn't present any precedence effect bass buildup.
5. It sounds great flat!
The PianoMic is befuddling because (when you look at it) your engineering brain says it can't possibly sound good with really tiny diaphragms, omni elements, etc. It's probably best for you to listen for yourself. It has a slightly overly-present character (slightly edgy high end) that is balanced by a general openness and really great imaging. It has detail that the U89 can't even come close to resolving - probably due to the perfect impulse response of those tiny diaphragms and their very small mass. It does struggle to deliver low end and sounds slightly EQ'd in this regard but that is compensated by its very punchy sound. If I had the time, I would love to try combining this mic with a set of nice room mics.
For those wondering, these are random-incidence (RI) omnis. RI mics are essentially omnis with a special high boost curve that compensates for sounds that are diffuse-field - like out in an auditorium. Most RI mics use an acoustic equalizer created by the shape of the grid that covers the capsule.
RI or not, all this comes crashing to a halt when you find out that it costs over $3K!
LISTEN:
TEST TEN
Mic - M149, cardioid
Method - spaced cardioid
Position - close to the strings
Lid - full stick
These mics were nearly in the same position as the U89s were in test #1 - but up another few inches to try and avoid some of the proximity effect. They are an unwieldy size to stuff into a piano.
Position - close to the strings
Lid - full stick
These mics were nearly in the same position as the U89s were in test #1 - but up another few inches to try and avoid some of the proximity effect. They are an unwieldy size to stuff into a piano.
I made a huge goof with this recording by not engaging record in time. The first note is lopped off! Sorry.
VERDICT:
The M149 is a modern reinvention of a series of classic tube mics from Neumann (Neumann copying Neumann). They actually did manage to capture a lot of the old tube mic character - even-harmonic saturation (warmth), high-mid presence boost, huge proximity effect bump (lows) - and none of the tube mic problems like slow warmup, instability, capsule drift, and microphonic distortion (ringing from excess LF SPL). It is a caricature of an older mic and has an incredible coloration that can't be achieved any other way with processing. It's sounds fat and bigger than life.
Just as expected, the sound was warm and huge - almost ridiculously so - but it would be imminently EQ-able to fit into most mixes. The proximity effect is just too large and the highs are pronounced - the curve would look like a huge smile. The stereo imaging is wide with this placement but not as striking as the U89. Damper thump was very pronounced - as was some of the higher damper noise. But that warm tube gooeyness makes you forgive everything - just like a cute puppy that just piddled on the floor.
LISTEN:
M149_spaced_cardioid_close_fullstick_24_96.wav
TEST ELEVEN
Mic - M149, omni
Method - spaced omni
Position - just outside the frame
Lid - full stick
The mics were very wide (about 2').
Position - just outside the frame
Lid - full stick
The mics were very wide (about 2').
VERDICT:
Like the U89, the M149 makes for a less-than-optimal omni. Uneven response front/back and side/side. However, it's better than the U89 in this application.
The sound was warm but not huge. This is probably from the lack of proximity effect. The stereo imaging has a hole in the middle with the notes clumping left or right.
LISTEN:
M149_spaced omni_inside_fullstick_24_96.wav
TEST TWELVE
Mic - KM184
Method - ORTF
Position - just inside the piano
Lid - full stick
The ORTF array was inside the piano curve by about 1'
Lid - full stick
The ORTF array was inside the piano curve by about 1'
VERDICT:
The KM184 is the modern revision of the classic Neumann KM84. I think the KM84 is a nicer mic but the KM184 is still an excellent small-diaphragm condenser. Typical of other mics in this class, it struggles to capture low frequencies and it has a very broad and high presence peak. This is a mic that sounds flat at a distance and hyped up close.
The KM184 is the modern revision of the classic Neumann KM84. I think the KM84 is a nicer mic but the KM184 is still an excellent small-diaphragm condenser. Typical of other mics in this class, it struggles to capture low frequencies and it has a very broad and high presence peak. This is a mic that sounds flat at a distance and hyped up close.
This was a favorite of much of the class. The sound had much better transient response (clarity and articulation) than the U89 and a pleasingly forward and bright sound. The ORTF imaging worked really well in this combination. The image is very stereo but not overblown. I think the piano sounds smaller here but with a modern edge.
LISTEN:
KM184_ORTF_inside_fullstick_24_96.wav
TEST THIRTEEN
Mic - DPA 4006
Method - spaced omni
Position - inside the piano
Lid - full stick
Lid - full stick
VERDICT:
The DPA 4006 is a stunning mic. It is super flat, very fast, handles high SPL and has one of the most neutral sounds of any mic - almost to the point of being boring to listen to. These happen to be mics from our Meyer SIM3 measurement system and were hand-matched 5-wide.
The DPA 4006 is a stunning mic. It is super flat, very fast, handles high SPL and has one of the most neutral sounds of any mic - almost to the point of being boring to listen to. These happen to be mics from our Meyer SIM3 measurement system and were hand-matched 5-wide.
The piano sounded very different with these mics. Arguably, it sounded the most like the piano did live. There is a very open character but still sounds close-miked. The clicks in the middle of the recording are from the damn Grace mic preamp gain adjust.
LISTEN:
DPA4006_spaced omni_inisde_fullstick_24_96.wav
Method - spaced cardioid
Position - close to the strings
Lid - full stick
Lid - full stick
(same track as test #1)
This is the same recording as test #1. However, it has been EQ'd with what would be a very typical curve to make it sit well amongst other tracks in a popular style song. This exercise was to demonstrate the problems that can be solved with EQ, if needed. The U89 needed these fixes.
PROCESS:
Starting from low to high, we corrected imbalances and talked about the cause of each...
Starting from low to high, we corrected imbalances and talked about the cause of each...
THUMP - the proximity effect of the U89 led to enhanced thumping sounds from the dampers and some very hyped low fundamentals in the bass. This was countered with a gentle 1st order (-6dB/octave) high pass filter.
RESONANCE - pianos have a resonant character, which isn't very audible from a distance but becomes problematic with mics up close. Typically this resonance falls between 200-400 Hz. It is a very wooden tubby/boxy sound. This was reduced by a -2.2dB cut at 213 Hz about 3/4 octave wide.
LACK OF SHEEN - pianos easily become lost in a mix with the typical solution being to bring them up in level. This can lead to muddiness in the mix as it competes with other instruments or voices. Sometimes a better approach is to brighten up the top end. Instinctively you might grab a parametric band and this can lead to problems where certain harmonics jump out on specific notes or groups of notes. A smoother way is to use a shelving EQ. In this case we rolled it down all the way to 2K and applied a gentle 1.6dB boost. This is similar in sound to adjusting the high crossover output on a reinforcement speaker.
RESULT:
The piano track took on a very present and well-balanced sound. Compare this to track #1 to hear the flat version.
LISTEN - EQ VERSION:
U89_spaced_cardioid_close_fullstick_EQ_24_96.wav
LISTEN - FLAT VERSION:
U89_spaced_cardioid_close_fullstick_24_96.wav
I hope you enjoy this demo, too. Let me know if you would like more of this kind of posting here on our blog.
Cheers....
-Mike Hooker
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Welcome Mark and Brian!
Mike and I are thrilled to announce our incoming class of MFA Sound Design students. Brian and Mark will be joining us in the fall, and we're really looking forward to having them join our program. Here's a little bit about each of them:
Mark Caspary
Mark Caspary will graduate from Illinois State University with a major in Arts Technology (music emphasis) and a minor in Theatrical Design. Originally from Springfield Illinois, Mark was involved in all aspects of theater, from performance to pit orchestra to lighting and sound crews. He won the Over the Moon Productions Brilliance Award for his work designing and engineering sound and lighting for local productions. At ISU, Mark studied all facets of media and theater design while continuing his percussion training. He designed sound for main stage productions of La Boheme by Puccini and The Women of Lockerbie by Brevoort. His work on Lockerbie resulted in him being named a national KCACTF finalist. He was sound designer for ISU production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin and was assistant sound designer and engineered several other ISU productions. Last summer, Mark lit Springfield’s MUNI 2011 production of The Wizard of Oz and did a sound internship at the Utah Shakespeare festival with Joe Payne. Mark was part of a collaborative group that created and built a performance multimedia Laser Harp at ISU. As part of the ISU Music Business Association, he initiated and helped organize and mix monthly Open Mic Nights and other on campus shows. The last two summers, Mark also performed as part of the National Park Service’s Lincoln Troubadours singing civil war era songs. Mark enjoys playing guitar, piano, violin, percussion as well as hiking and cycling outdoors.
Brian Svoboda
Brian is overjoyed to study with the students and faculty of the UCI sound design program. Shortly after studying with Curtis Craig at Penn State, Brian served as the lead audio engineer for the Gallo Center for the Arts for five years, building and managing an audio department from the ground up and creating education opportunities in a developing artistic community. He has mixed over 500 shows for thousands of unique patrons. Recent sound designs include Hairspray, The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, and the Wizard of Oz. Coming from a music background, Brian has a passion for music and the complexities of its journey from the musician to the listener. He is particularly interested in imparting this journey to audiences as a function of design that is accessible, adaptable, and progressive.
Mark Caspary
Mark Caspary will graduate from Illinois State University with a major in Arts Technology (music emphasis) and a minor in Theatrical Design. Originally from Springfield Illinois, Mark was involved in all aspects of theater, from performance to pit orchestra to lighting and sound crews. He won the Over the Moon Productions Brilliance Award for his work designing and engineering sound and lighting for local productions. At ISU, Mark studied all facets of media and theater design while continuing his percussion training. He designed sound for main stage productions of La Boheme by Puccini and The Women of Lockerbie by Brevoort. His work on Lockerbie resulted in him being named a national KCACTF finalist. He was sound designer for ISU production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin and was assistant sound designer and engineered several other ISU productions. Last summer, Mark lit Springfield’s MUNI 2011 production of The Wizard of Oz and did a sound internship at the Utah Shakespeare festival with Joe Payne. Mark was part of a collaborative group that created and built a performance multimedia Laser Harp at ISU. As part of the ISU Music Business Association, he initiated and helped organize and mix monthly Open Mic Nights and other on campus shows. The last two summers, Mark also performed as part of the National Park Service’s Lincoln Troubadours singing civil war era songs. Mark enjoys playing guitar, piano, violin, percussion as well as hiking and cycling outdoors.
Brian Svoboda
Brian is overjoyed to study with the students and faculty of the UCI sound design program. Shortly after studying with Curtis Craig at Penn State, Brian served as the lead audio engineer for the Gallo Center for the Arts for five years, building and managing an audio department from the ground up and creating education opportunities in a developing artistic community. He has mixed over 500 shows for thousands of unique patrons. Recent sound designs include Hairspray, The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, and the Wizard of Oz. Coming from a music background, Brian has a passion for music and the complexities of its journey from the musician to the listener. He is particularly interested in imparting this journey to audiences as a function of design that is accessible, adaptable, and progressive.
Mike and I are thrilled that both Brian and Mark will be joining us at UCI. They'll be joining an incredible group of designers, and we're looking forward to spending the next three years with them as they focus on taking their work as designers to the next level.
Welcome Mark and Brian!
Friday, April 6, 2012
UCI to host Smaart 7 training session 9/18-9/20
The Sound Design program is hosting a professional training class from Rational Acoustics - the makers of the Smaart acoustic analysis software. The classes will be held September 18-20. Please contact Rational Acoustics for more information or click here for more info:
http://www.rationalacoustics.com/files/RA_Class_Flyer_-_Sept_18-20_2012_Irvine.pdf
http://www.rationalacoustics.com/files/RA_Class_Flyer_-_Sept_18-20_2012_Irvine.pdf
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Push The Button and an Award!
Yesterday, after a long half-week of exhaustion and many months of planning, the USITT conference wrapped up in Long Beach, CA. This year, in addition to helping to plan parts of the conference, I also chaired a panel on intermediate/advanced applications of multi-channel audio. Brad Berridge and Davin Huston worked with me as a group called Push The Button, and director/dancer/artist Maya Gurantz helped out as well. We created two new dance pieces, one of which used data from two wii remotes to control the sound, and the other of which used an xBox kinect to control the sound. The dance pieces were accompanied by a short lecture about some of the techniques used to harness the sound delivery system of the room. The presentation went well, I thought. A little short, with a few bugs, but overall, a nice start down a new path of research.
In other news, my recent design for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's production of Tigers Be Still won a League of Cincinnati Theatres Award for outstanding sound design. You can read about it here!
This week has been exhausting. I'm taking today off. Mostly.
In other news, my recent design for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's production of Tigers Be Still won a League of Cincinnati Theatres Award for outstanding sound design. You can read about it here!
This week has been exhausting. I'm taking today off. Mostly.
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