ol's blog

2010-12-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

what is going on PAGODA!

and this
http://www.verellenamplifiers.com/products.html

Problem... SoLvEd

2010-08-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

Instead of buying a pre amp with A/D built in I have just snagged a cheap stand alone unit,

ULTRAMATCH PRO SRC2496.

Reviews are decent and I already have a Fatman 1 + 2 to use as pre amps. I will
do a review when the item has arrived.

I have also just bought an old KAY electric guitar.

Recording tomorrow will post the fruit.

Hot and Rotten

2010-07-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

Is being made after a week long trip to Spain.

Been gone...

2010-07-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Been gone for a while! Lots of stuff being done - that is not (yet) done.
Currently running Pro tools with an MBOX2 and only have 2/2 (io) so am
looking at getting converters for the SPDIF stereo in and out. That would give
me 4/4.

Options I have to choose from include;

ART DPS II - £230.00 - Cheapest option although this would only give me 2 ins (no extra outs)

ART digital MPA II - £350 - Step up from the DPS (each input having its own dedicated tube)
although still only giving me 2 extra ins.

focusrite ISA one digital - £600 - better quality although only gives one mic pre-amp allowing an extra d.i input in.

As all these options would only give extra inputs along SPDIF I think I am going to use a dat player/recorder to get extra outputs using SPDIF.

More, more, more racks, mics, books, mix...

2010-04-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

Starting to move more and more bits and bobs in.

Rack:
Moved in my very bare rack that holds
a fatman 1
a fatman 2
and my amp (samson servo 170).
These are soon to be joined by and ART DPS II
(adding more inputs to my MBOX2.

Also pictured is a ancient TANTEK unit I am going to use in
conjunction with my MTR mixer when recording 2 track live demos.

Moved in my MTR 12 - 8 - 2 series 2 desk going to be used for
tracking bands for quick cheap demos.

Brought in a couple of quality books.

Lined up my poor collection of effect, but where is my small stone!

labeled some plugs...

Here are a couple of pictures of the entire room as it is, enjoy...

Microphones and very cheap diy acoustic treatment

2010-04-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

After moving some furniture in I decided to dig out all the mics I could find, not a great deal (quantity and quality), but its all I have at the moment. Mics include;
- AKG D112
- Joe Meek JM27s (matched pair)
- Cheapo Samson 'qdrum' mics; 'Qsnare' and 'Qtom'
- Red5Audio RVD1
- Unbranded vintage dynamic stereo pair
- An old Shure unidyne
- Studio Projects B1
- 3 Shure SM57s
- 1 Shure PG58
- 2 Naiant sdc mics

I also fashioned some really cheap acoustic treatment.

For the side walls I placed two treatments either side at key reflection points.
I made these by covering a side of wood in packing blankets and then covering with a thin blue material (aesthetics), as these were not fixed to the wall it ment i could remove them when necessary and create an air gap behind them increasing there effectiveness.

For the front wall I hung a piece of packing blanket from a shelf that would ensure MF/HF were absorbed at head height, increasing effectiveness with limited budget. Then covered in material.

For the back wall I rescued the slats from an old double bed which gave me a large removable frame. I tacked a large white sheet to the back of the frame followed by a large packing blanket. When raised the gave me a large mid/hi absorber for the back wall while also some diffusion (the slats). By tacking onto the back the frame could also be laid flat on the floor with a guest mattress laid over the top for use as a bed.

Desk in!

2010-04-02T06:41:00.000-07:00

After finally finishing the floor I brought in the monitor stands, desk and chair to set-up my listening position (38% down the room from 'front' wall'). I used some cheap rubber under each corner of the monitor and more underneath the actual stands. Hope this will aid in decoupling them from the room.

Recycled Stands

2010-03-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

Look, I built some really poor stands for my monitors out of some old bed! They are pretty poor aesthetically but are a good height and balanced (stable). I'm planning on using 8 rubbers or erasers on each stand, one on each corner top and bottom, this will hopefully decouple the monitors from the stands. After finishing sanding my room I then hoovered and cleaned (white spirit) the boards and have just started to put the varnish or gloss on top, two coats down two to go!

My room

2010-03-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

After days of hammering, ripping, squeezing, painting and many other 'ing' words; I have got to this stage in throwing away the new and making the old look pretty. Here are some photos taken on my laptop...

Me

2009-03-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

Hello, welcome to my blog. It is here that i will document what I do.