Hmmm....In my own studio I use Tannoy Reveal (non active) monitors driven hard by a Bryston 4B amplifier. I went into the store a few years back to buy something new (I was tired of my Tannoy PBM 8's and sick of their blatant lack of midrange) with the idea that I would spend whatever it took to get great speakers. At least up to about $3000.00. I seriously listened to everything there; Genelec, Quested, Dynaudio, Mackie, Krk, Event, JBL, you name it. I ended walking out with a pair of $350.00 speakers. The Reveals are easy on the ears, are quite detailed, and have a good soundstage. They are not without their flaws, but what are? They were my hands down favorites. I also use a Sunfire "True" subwoofer set at just enough volume (quite low actually) to hear the lower octaves you just cant really hear or feel on ANY nearfield monitors (no matter what "they" say.) It can play pretty loud as it does have a 2400 watt amplifier built into the little bugger! I don't use a crossover on the Tannoys, and have the Sunfire set to about 60 hz-ish. Just the real low stuff. With digital audio it is even more critical to use a subwoofer as there can be a lot of garbage information at about 20 hz that can truly suck the life out of a mix. With analog there was a gentle roll off down there, or the tape would somehow absorb the garbage, but not so with digital. You have to take more care. I find it to be a good thing to watch your woofers on occasion; if something is shaking those puppies in a strange way, chances are something is seriously wrong in low-endville. I also sometimes reference my headphones which are Sennheiser HD-600's driven by a Musical Fidelity tube headphone amplifier. And lastly, I have a pair of JBL Control 1's when I want to hear what the mix would sound like on, well, a pair of JBL Control 1's! Why do I still have these things after 12 years???

When I am at other studios, I tend to use Genelecs these days. The basic 1031A (I think that is the model). To me they have replaced the Yamaha NS-10M as the ubiquitous studio nearfield monitor. Almost every studio has 'em, and I pretty much know what to expect. I do find them harder on the ears than the Tannoys. I will also still use the Yamaha's if that's what they have. I also sometimes (at one particular studio) use these things called PMC AML-1's. They are about $6000.00 per pair (for friggin' near field monitors!!!!) They sound pretty good, but I find them very hyped on the toppest top end. The good(?) side of this is that you can easily hear noise, hiss and other garbage that could be detracting from your mix. I still prefer my Tannoys, and I don't think the PMC's are worth the price of a decent used car. I also don't mind the Dynaudio M1's, but I find them a bit flattering and polite. Quite frankly, I often mix with whatever is in the room, as long as I have listened to plenty of material I have previously mixed (usually on my Tannoys.) This will tell me right away what I need to know...I don't think I have ever had a problem with monitors.

My only pet peeve is with active (powered) monitors. I usually can't get them as loud as I would like if I am mixing a record that has a good deal of bottom end (which I so often do.) The Genelecs and the Mackies both crap out on me frequently. The PMC's do shine in this department (I guess you pay 6 large for something!!!) I believe they have Bryston amplifiers in them already (they are distributed by Bryston as well.)

I listened to a pair of Audix monitors a year or so ago that sounded good. A friend of mine always used Pro Ac's which I also enjoyed mixing on once...

Basically, I think all monitors are very flawed. Just like people, but that also makes them loveable, doesn't it?

Respectfully Submitted,

Eric

I'm looking into getting a new set of 8" mix monitors and would love to know
what all the cool mofo's out there are using and why....I guess you could say this is a survey....

peace and love
nataraj

When I was a kid, I worked on the Brady Bunch. The little girl Susie Olsen, who played Cindy was a total pain and always had people in a fluster. She was always crying and would snap her fingers and production would have to stop until someone brought her an ice cream or cookie or whatever it was she wanted.

None of the other kids wanted to play with her and she was always trying to get people fired. Her parents had money or something along those lines, and she carried a lot of power in the production. Everyone had to do what Cindy said. She was every director's nightmare.

Clandestinely,

Secret Squirrel

A couple of weekends ago I went to Vegas with my girlfriend Alina and Jamie White from Star 98.7 radio.
Of course we went in style in some friends private 8 seater plane sipping tequila and eating chocolate and arrived there in the same amount of time it takes to get from Graumans Chinese theater to the Beverly center with a little traffic. Jamie White was hosting the annual Star 98.7 bachelorete party at the Palms Hotel in the MTV Real World suite. Mindy Barbano from KTLA was covering the party as well as being one of the bacheloretes. Quite an array of 30 or more women ranging from the very attractive to the very not so attractive who probably made their boyfriends propose at gun point. The Real World suite is quite a spread with panoramic views of Vegas from the top of the Palms Hotel but its of course not as big as it looks on tv. Very sleek modern eclectic bling bling furniture and decor with a gang of bedrooms , bathrooms and showers that belong on the starship enterprise, a jacuzzi ,a very sexy kitchen and a few secret rooms that have the word sex written all over them. .I got lots of ideas for decorating my pad. I was not allowed to be present while drunk women were sculpting their ideal penis out of clay.There was a Pamela Anderson sighting by the pool but in the midst of it all I slipt away to the movie theater at the Palms
to see Terminator 2...I'm not much of a gambler or drinker...
boy am I boring....the end,,,,,,,

till next time,
Nataraj

In the world of analog vs digital and the plethora of some intelligent users opinions that swarm around it I realize that both analog and digital give meaning to and enhance each other. It seems to be that the contrast between the two is what allows us to appreciate what each has to offer. Nothing seems to have meaning till it has a relationship to something else.i.e. the contrasting effect between a kick and snare. As mentioned in a prior posting the placebo affect of a Pultec eq plug-in was revealed when the real thing was dusted off and brought into the mix..So one gives meaning to the other. I might now be more inclined to combine the warmth of a voice or instrument affected by real harmonic distortion with that of a less colored or cold digital sound within the body of a mix so that the audience can also appreciate that contrast and so its not just a mental frame of reference in the mind of the craftsman.
And by the way I was one of the 16 that saw Charlies Angels Full Throttle...I thought it rocked...!!!

peace and love,
Nataraj

Danny Bonaducci would try to hit on Shirley Jones. Shirley would always laugh it off, but David Cassidy would react very jealously and they would end up actually having grudge matches and punch outs.

Clandestinely,

Secret Squirrel

(Secret Squirrel is a guest post. If you would like to submit something for consideration for posting and you are not a SOS producer, please submit via the contact form. All submissions are subject to editorial review prior to publication.)

I often liken myself to Harvey Keitel's character "Wolf" in Pulp Fiction, but in the context of making records. I am often summoned to "make the problem go away." Sometimes musically, sometimes technically, sometimes sonically, or all of the above ("We have this song we have already put, like, $100,000 into and nobody likes it - could you make it a hit?) Like the other day when I was told of the saga of an accapella by a popular artist that had been time compressed (sped up without changing the pitch to all you landlubbers out there) by the label for the purpose of remixing. The vocal sounded, well, time compressed and a bit odd. Her vibrato was fast enough in the original tempo, and when sped up, sounded not unlike that interesting noise women make at Middle Eastern weddings. A very cool sound, but not exactly radio friendly. Not at least this side of the Bosphorus. The gent from the label sent me the accapella and asked me if I could fix it. I said that I could. By selectively and carefully editing the original vocal and the sped up one together, I was able to construct an accapella that the label felt sounded "great." If only everything in life were so easy. To ProTools one's life - wow. Now to do the mix...

Respectfully Submitted,

Eric

Okay, I've calmed down a bit. I had a REAL bad day. Sometimes you never know what is going to get you going; you just need a second to breathe. Actually, Danny was my favorite Partridge as a child (aside from Lori, but that was in a different kind of way.) He seems like a cool enough fellow in real life these days, and he still retained the impish grin. Danny is aiigghht in my book...

Respectfully Submitted,

Eric

Fuck this Bonaduce nonsense - he IS Danny Partridge. Said and done. No one would give a rat's rump about him if he were not an ex-Partridge anyway. So let's still call him Danny Partridge. We called the beloved Joey Ramone "Joey Ramone" until his unfortunate early death, did we not? And we ALL knew that was not his real name...Now I'm really pissed off.

Respectfully Submitted,

Eric

I second that Stylus is a wonderful thing! Most of da funky grooves on the latest Charlie's Angels score (for the 16 of you who saw it) were created in either Stylus or Abelton's Live. In concert with Digital Performer, there ain't much better!

I've been on a quest of late, the likes of which I swore I would never embark. I have been thinking around the box for some time, starting from when I "took delivery" (I hate that phrase!) of my Euphonix CS-2000 last year. I thought that mixing "inside" the box was the way to go, but after going back and breaking everything out of DP/DAE through good converters (in my case, 48 channels of Apogee Intellidacs), I have become re-convinced that all that sonic goodness flows better through a bigger faucet, if you catch my meaning. It's so good, I just bought another baby Euphonix for my B room. I no longer think inside or outside, I think around the box. As the wise man says, there is nothing wrong with digital that a little analog won't fix.

Everything was good until last month, when I decided to dust off an old Pultec EQ and pop it across a lead vocal. Two words: "Glory Be!". Followed by 17 more words: "Get me three more of these so I can put them across the backgrounds and the bass". Sorry guys, but the plug-in isn't doing it anymore - it's a placebo, a fake, a cold blanket that you think is warm just because it says it is. They all are. I said I'd never do it, but I'm going back to the old school, and it's uphill, both ways, in the snow. Two Manley Pultecs, a Massive Passive and a Vari-MU. A vintage LA-2a, 1176LN, Pultec MEQ, UA 176, AKG BX20E spring reverb, and Martech plate. On top of all that, I just got the Daking EQ's and compressors, and they are amazing. Like a mini Trident A-range right in your rack. But I fear I need help. I scan eBay and Harmony Central three times a day for new, er, old finds. Gotta sell the house, the car, the kid (well, maybe not the kid). I know, some of you have been down this road numerous times before, but consider me a newbie (tubey?). Gotta have more good vintage compressors and EQ's... I'm sick.... I've got a fever, and the only thing that can cure it... is more cowbell! (for you Walken fans)...

Until next time,

Chris

These days thinking outside the box is the way to be cutting edge and innovative but not so for us recording studio super heroes. Thinking inside the box or inside your cpu is becoming more and more the way to go. The virtual recording studio seems to offer almost limitless options almost like a magic Jeannie granting your wishes. I do most of my work on Digital Performer, Reason and my newest software device addtion "Stylus" by Spectrasonics . Stylus is a playback drum sampler plug in that's easy to use and comes with a 2GB library of groovy drum loops and sounds that kick booty. It locks up right to tempo and is easy to dial in a sound through its
envelope, filter, pitch ,resonance and velocity parameters. But there is a latency issue which you have to put up with and for drum programming it can be a little annoying .I'm still going to use my external sampler as well for obvious reasons and I don't think my set of mic pre's are going anywhere too soon especially my Focusrite Producers Pack.But overall Stylus sweetened up my latest creation in the works ...so I'm happy

Bye for now,
Nataraj

Danny Bonaducci has the hots for me ..he had the privilege of beholding my big red Hispanic full lips in a photograph and has been saying on the Star 98.7 "Jamie and Danny" show that I look like a girl followed up by gender bender jokes...ha ha ...I'm sure bout my gender..I check every morning when I go take a pis ....but Danny ..are you sure about your sexuality? Its not my fault your weener wiggles when you see my picture!! The Partridge family has always been one of my favorite shows even though Danny faked it on bass as well as the kid on drums..hee hee

Peace and Love
Nataraj

I finally got rid of my entire 24 track ADAT system, which has not been used for over 5+ years when I became a complete and utter ProTools whore. It has been spacially replaced with a strange old Neve 8 channel console, equipped with 4 33114 mic pre/eq's (which I personally love just about as much as any Neve pre really) and 4 line inputs. Cool little/big board (even with only 8 channels it takes two people to comfortably lift this bohemouth.) No pan pots, just L, C, R busses. Hmmm, could be useful for those L,C,R mixes that I need sometimes for my occassional film gig...This is yet another chapter in my saga of vintage gear meets the world of digital. I have more tubes in my studio than the London underground train system. Mind the gap...

Respectfully Submitted,

Eric