Line 6 Pod HD500x Channel Switching ABY with a Vintage amp! Tips and Tricks...

Modern Channel Switching on a Vintage Two Channel Tube amp.

 Pod HD300, HD400, HD500 Tips and tricks...

Vintage amps are a tricky commodity.  On one hand, they can offer unparalleled sound.  On the other hand, they can sometimes require more effort to use in a daily working context.  For example, I have converted many tube public address systems(PA's) into guitar amps.  The benefits are simple: Usually you get a hand wired multi-channel amp, with vintage parts that are no longer made.

Listening to one of my tunes on spotify helps me keep this site alive!

Well, vintage parts aside, the multi-channel part doesn't usually factor in channel switching.  Rather, the channel preamps are usually mixed together before the phase inverter of the amp, in the last gain stage. So, instead of modding into the amp, and adding relays or optoisolators, you can easily switch the inputs of the amp with a switching device called an A/B or A/B/Y switch.

Enter the Pod HD500X.  With it's inputs and outputs and flexible internal routing, it's simple to make a patch to use with your favorite 2 channel vintage amp!  (This should work for the HD300, HD400, and HD500 line of pedals as well.)

A little switching info, if  you aren't already keen to it- an A/B switch is a box that routes your guitar signal to either Amp "A"(channel "A"), or to Amp "B"(channel "B".)  So, if you have two separate amps, and you want to use either "Amp A" or "Amp B" and switch between them, then you can use what's called an "A/B box."  Now, if you have the same two amps, and you want to use either one of them individually AND also use them BOTH at the same time, then you want an "A/B/Y box."  The "Y" indicates that the signal is split and sent to BOTH AMPS AT ONCE.  In our case, we are treating the independent channels as "Amp A" and "Amp B."

Now, you could DIY an A/B/Y switching box but you'll have to prepare yourself  for the sad fact that Ohms Law comes into play when splitting signals, and you'll lose some tone if you split the signal without an amplifcation buffer.  That's why quality A/B/Y boxes are powered, and usually come with a hefty pricetag.

(The HD500 isn't exactly cheap, but if you add up the expenses of a good tuner pedal, overdrive, compressor, EQ, Reverb and Delay...it starts to even out a bit.  Now add the price of a good A/B/Y pedal...) 

Moving on...If you have a pedal like the HD300, HD400, HD500 then you are just a patch away!
I made a demo showing exactly how to make a simple patch which will allow for A/B/Y Channel switching.
The details for hookup:

You'll need three Standard mono 1/4" to 1/4" guitar cables.

One cable goes from guitar to pedal input-
One cable goes from pedal "Left" output to Channel "A" amp input.
One cable goes from pedal "Right" output to Channel "B" amp input.

Set the levels for each amp channel to the desired sound.

 Power on the Pod Pedal.  On a new, blank patch turn the no. 1 FX selector knob until you reach the "Volume/Pan" pedal effect.

Turn the no. 2 FX selector knob to the setting "Pan."

That's it!  Just make sure that the pan settings for your stereo outputs are set at "100% Left" and "100% Right".

Now you can use the included expression pedal to switch between channel "A" (100%Left) and channel "B" (100%Right).  With the Pedal at 50% (halfway up or down) you get BOTH channels at once!

Don't Forget to turn on your amp!


The amp used is a Bell 5630, which has inputs converted for guitar.  Channel "A" is the phono input, and channel "B" is the first microphone input (which happens to be a high impedance input - 5879 tube).

The two inputs are mixed together with 1/2 a 12ax7 and then fed to the 12ax7 Phase inverter to the output tubes- in this amp, 6L6GC. 

It should be noted that there are many ways to achieve this channel switching with the HD500 pedal- this is just one way, and a simple way at that.  I'll post more elaborate ways in the near future!

I hope you enjoyed this and that it was helpful to you!  If so, please "Like" and Share!

Recording guitar to tape w/ Otari Reel to Reel Tape Recorder MX 5050 B2 - Video Demo!

How to record a simple guitar song on tape...

Here's one way to record a song on tape. I have recorded drums on one track of the tape, and now I'll record guitar to the other track.  This is a demonstration of the most basic multitrack recording: a separate channel stereo recording, synced in time.  However, the song is a short one! 

Here it is recording a short original song with guitar and drums in 2 channel stereo.

This is the Otari MX 5050, B2 HD2.  15ips, 1/2 track with additional 1/4 track playback head.
This is a half track studio-quality recorder with an additional quarter track playback head.  This machine was designed for professional mastering use.  The tape speed for this song is 15ips.

I've recorded drums to one channel(the right), and in the video I record guitar on the left channel.  The drum mics are summed to mono.
The drum set retains it's full range of sonic bliss- warm, punchy lows, singing mids, and the highs are still crystal clear. 

It's important to set levels correctly, so the tape doesn't saturate (too much!)  Do this by running the intended audio into one of the channels of the recorder and monitoring the VU meters.  You'll have to engage the "source" button, rather than tape. Adjust the line or mic preamps until the highest levels are reaching the "0" point on the meter; now you are ready to record.

This tape machine offers lots of dynamics and headroom- depending on your tape of choice.  It has a smooth transport and quiet electronics.  It even has some nice microphone preamps!

The tape is Maxell UD 35 (1 mil thickness) 1/4" stock. 

This is an excellent choice for mastering stems to quarter inch for final mixdown!

Thanks for watching and I hope this video post was helpful!

Standalone DIY Spring Reverb Vs. Digital Reverb Pod HD500X

Here's a comparison of a stand alone tube Spring reverb vs. a Digital reverb model on the POD HD500X.

The tube spring reverb is a DIY project that I put together from spare parts.  I'm using a low wattage tube amp to drive the reverb tank.  The Tank has a 500 ohm output, with which I'm driving another tube amp.



Setup:
Guitar into Low watt amp input.  8 ohm output from amp to 8 ohm input on tank.  500ohm tank output to hi-z guitar input on the larger Bogen tube amp.  4 ohm Bogen output to 4 ohm 12" alnico speaker.

True, there is an impedance mismatch from the tank to the Bogen amp, but its a short run of cable and it sounds fine so I didn't feel a need to use a matching transformer. 

Note:  It's best NOT to use an amplifier with more than a couple of watts to drive the Reverb pan.  You may damage the pan or your amp!

Another Note:
In this case, the reverb pan acts as an ATTENUATOR for the few watts that the driver amplifier is putting out.  NEVER hook up an 8ohm speaker level output to ANY amplifier input.  If I had hooked up the amplifiers without the pan in place, it would have cause severe damage to BOTH amplifiers, possibly in a dangerous way.  Be careful and seek advice from a knowledgeable person if you are uncertain about using amplifiers properly.  Always start with volumes set to very low.  Work your way up as you listen to the amplifiers. Good luck and have fun!
Digital Model:
Now listen against a high quality DSP version, in the line 6 pod hd500x.  The HD500 (X) is a high quality stomp box modeller and amp modeller combined.  In the following video, I demonstrate the Fender '63 tube spring reverb model with a Fender Twin Amp model:



I hope you have enjoyed these video comparisons!  If so, please like / share / help me keep bringing these videos to you!


In the spirit of DIY, here's some music to help keep busy on a rain day!  This EP represents many hours of hard work, and I hope you'll take a few minutes to listen and enjoy!  Click to listen:

ADC EQ Sound Shaper Stereo, How to use a 10 band Equalizer...

The stereo frequency equalizer is a long misunderstood piece of hifi gear.  I've seen many units in many homes with the sliders arranged in a standard "V" shape.  It looks interesting enough, but what is it doing?

Here's a video of an ADC sound shaper, 10 band stereo EQ model number SS-100SL.  It offers some really precise eq options.  In this video, I'm using it to bring back some sparkle to a slightly muddy drum mix on a TDK SA90 cassette tape.


Well, the basic idea behind any eq is to correct some frequency that is either lacking, or too over bearing.  Personally, I use a home EQ to "Fix" the lacking elements of my media player (record player, tape deck, Ipod / amplifier / speaker combinations).  Some amplifiers are overly bright!  Some speakers are excessively woofy!  Some cassette tapes are just muddy...

So an eq, when properly placed utilized, can help overcome some of these obstacles to your listening pleasure.  I hook up the EQ as the last element in the chain before the amplifier.  For example, you can hook up the iPod into the tape recorder with the RCA inputs, and hook the cassette player into the EQ.  Run the output of the equalizer into your amplifier, and you're in business.

EQ tips:

If your speakers are really woofy, you can turn down the 500hz a few db.
If your speakers are a bit dark, Try reducing everything below 5 khz by a few db.  If that doesn't suit you,  instead boost everything above 5khz by a few db.
For an old muddy tape mix, or a poorly recorded bass drum, reduce 250hz by 3db.
Vocals, horns, and guitar solos sit right around 5khz, so If you need to increase or reduce any of these sounds, use the 5khz slider.

 So, where does the "V" Shape come from that everyone used?  Well, my best guess is that somewhere along the line, the general public learned about the recording Eq standards for vinyl and cassette tapes, which boost highs and/or lows on playback. The problem is that those eq curves are already accounted for in playback systems both vintage and modern.  So that "V" shape on the home hifi, the eq is probably doing more harm than good, really.

If this post was helpful, please like or share so I can keep bringing interesting videos to you!

Tube Preamp for Recording acoustic guitar....or Solid State?

Use a tube preamp to record acoustic guitar and you'll probably be glad you did.  Use a solid state mic preamp for acoustic guitar, and you'll probably also be glad.... We could call this Tube vs. Solid state, but I'd call SS AND Tube.  Or just: Get a good sound.

This is a demonstration of 2 different microphone preamplifiers.  One is a tube only preamp, and one is a solid state preamp mixer.

TUBE PREAMP:

The first is an all tube Mic preamp, featuring a 12AX7 and an EF86 (and tube rectifier - 6X4)
         This is a modified AKAI M8 Two channel preamp.  This was formerly a tape recorder preamp, and they are exceptionally quiet and well built.

PROS:
  When the gain levels are properly adjusted, this unit sounds great.
  Warm, smooth, round (but not dull) tube sound.
  Distortion options, if you want the source overdriven nicely.
  Great presence, and gentle compression effects

CONS:
  The units can be expensive if you don't modify a tape recorder yourself($600 for pre-made units).
  Searching for a donor unit can be a timely process.  Modding is also a time consuming process (between 8 and 16 hours, depending on skill level)
  Gain levels can be tricky to set at first- (but you rely more on your ears, which may be a good thing.
  This unit has no EQ
  No onboard phantom power.

SOLID STATE:
The second is a modern Solid State preamp which is available new at a street price of around $200 U.S.  It's a Mackie 802VLZ3, which has 3 very dynamic yet quiet mic preamps.
PROS:
  Somewhat inexpensive($200 street price for 3 solid mic preamp channels)
  Gain levels are easy to set with the onboard solo meter.
  Sound is great- clean and professional.
  Nice EQ section.  Good for nailing down a sound as it's going to tape.
  They are easy to find and use on the same day (vs. modding a used tape deck unit)
  Onboard phantom power.

CONS:
  The transients can be peaky, so you may need compressor software or an outboard compressor/Limiter
  People are generally skeptical of mass produced- compact units, so it may take time to convince artists of their crediblity.
Distortion appears as "Clipping" which is not a pleasant sound.
  Wall wart style power supply is annoying to carry around.


Common Factors:
The guitar is a Yamaha FG160 dreadnaught acoustic.
The microphone is an SM57, a very popular dynamic mic designed for miking instruments.
The mic cable is a hand made star-quad cable- canare brand(I think it's the best and it's my personal favorite!).

This is a very short, quiet signal chain, so It's easy to get professional results!

The sound card is an Emu 24bit/96k AD converter, recording at 24/96k.

The individual files were recorded at 96khz, 24bit and rendered to 16bit/44.1k to be inserted into the proper points of the video.

While this isn't really a shoot out, it should give you some idea of the sonic differences of each of these two mic preamplifiers.  Consider this more of a comparison.

Also, you get a pretty good idea of what a Yamaha dreadnaught FG160 sounds like miked with an sm57 pointed directly at the 12th fret, about 4 inches away. (hint: an sm58 will sound pretty much the same way...)

For each take, I was careful to play the same chords, in the same style and volume- with some arpeggios near the end of the pattern.  I was also careful about holding the guitar at the same distance/position from the mic.

It's true, there's a lot to consider when thinking about purchasing each of these mic preamps, but I hope this comparison has give you some insight about which might be better for your project!

At home or in the studio, the best gear to record your music is the usually the gear you know how to use the best.  That said, if you're looking for a new piece of gear and you are weighing your options about which way to go- either tube or solid state, I hope this entry helps you out.

Enjoy!

Recording a Song on a Reel to reel Using the Teac 40-4 Tape Recorder

Here's how to record a song to tape using a 4 track reel to reel recorder- the Teac (Tascam) model 40-4.  I'm recording basic tracks to tape:  Guitar, bass and a guitar solo.
Here's a demo of how to use a 1/4" rtr Tape Recorder!

This is a quarter inch tape machine, which records four tracks to tape.  The tape used is Ampex 456, as is recommended for this machine.  (The machine is biased for this tape)

The levels have been set for each track, to speed up the demonstration.  The song is an original of mine.

Watch carefully and pay close attention to the meters for each track.  I was careful not to push the meters too far into the "red" since I didn't want to over-saturate the tape.

There are two clusters of switches that you'll see me pushing.  The ones on the left are the channel RECORD/ARM switches and the three on the right are the output select switches, which allow you to hear what is going to, or has gone to tape.

I'm using open reels 7 1/2" tape and takeup spools, since this is a demo.  The tape is Ampex 456 mastering tape.  Note:  The DBX unit is not used in this recording!  Also the tape speed is high, 15ips.

The guitars are an Ibanez AF75 hollow body guitar, and a Fender precision Bass guitar.

To hear the final mix in stereo, start at 4m40s.  That's the file as it gets mixed by the 8 track mixer and gets recorded by my DAW at 96khz 24 bit.  Notice how full and smooth the bass is.


Using a tape recorder doesn't have to be complicated. This demo was recorded in real time.  The only prep work I did off camera was set the levels to tape and clean the heads of the machine.  Setting the levels is necessary for any recording analog or otherwise.  The only edits are incidental moments due to sync issues with my camera recorder and movie editing software.  For the sake of watch-ability, I pre-recorded the drums to track one, since recording drums (analog or otherwise) is tricky business.  That's an entire series of articles in its own right...

I hope you enjoyed the demo and I truly hope it was helpful if you have one of these machines!

Boss DS-1 w/ a Champ Style tube amp... Lots of settings and overdrive goodness

If you're a guitarist, and you play electric guitar- then you've probably used (or own!) a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal.  This venerable pedal seems to make it's way on everyone's pedalboard at some point or another, and as a modding platform, it's become quite popular.  So, I thought I'd give it a run through to give everyone an idea of what it's capable of in stock form.
My goal was to be as comprehensive as possible when going through the range of gain available by the pedal.  So this video starts with the gain at "0" and ends with the gain at "10" (Full gain).  I even max out the tone at the end, so you can hear how much treble boost is available with the pedal.

You can hear that the pedal is gritty, right from the instant it's turned on.  And it only gets more saturated from there....

The amp and is a 5 watt hand wired tube amp, made by yours truly- and the speaker is a 12" Alnico from the 1950's.  The tubes are vintage 12ax7 and 6V6.  You can hear a tiny bit of overdrive in the amp even before I turn on the DS-1, but I chose to do that because I felt it was a normal amount of OD for the volume of the amp.

The layout was:
Single coil Strat > Boss DS-1 > Tube amp input > 12" Alnico speaker > Shure SM57....

Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed the video!

Use a Microphone with POD HD500X - Patch - Singer Songwriter HD500

The Line 6 POD HD500X has a microphone input (XLR) and a preamp with quite a bit of gain.  This patch shows how you can turn it on and use the mic!  If you're recording acoustic guitar with the HD500X, or using the mic for live vocals, this one's for you.

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The newest demo for the POD HD500X Mic preamp XLR input uses the best of the POD FX family.  A warm, quiet, detailed preamp, a studio eq, cool delay and a thick compressor.  Don't forget your favorite reverb!



As more musicians and podcasters are doing the bulk of their singing and narrating at home, the POD HD500X keeps holds it's own with a powerful feature set that offers features that really add up both in AND out of the box.

I'm speaking mainly of the mic preamp, compressor, and studio eq for starters. The built in preamp gives substantial gain when using the recommended Vintage Pre. Though Line6 never comes right out and states how many db of gain the unit affords(they slyly use the word "healthy"), if you set your gain staging properly you shouldn't have any problems.
The tube compressor does a good job of squeezing your vocals. Set the threshold lower if you want more compression(voice of God) or lower if you just want to take the peaks out of your performance. The level knob offers a hefty output or as we call it in the studio- "makeup gain."
Additionally, the Studio EQ is a solid performer giving 11db of cut or gain with either a low pass filter(ranging between 75hz to 1.4khz,) or a hi frequency band(8 options ranging from 200hz to 8k). Use several for multi band tone shaping.

The pic below shows how to activate the mic preamp:

The following demo i a few years old, and specifies how to make the separate paths- one for guitar and one for a microphone (Shure SM57), and then adds a few effects(don't forget, this is also a pedal board which happens to be a powerful stompbox modeler!) to make the features a bit more useful.  Also, you'll need an XLR mic cable to use the onboard mic preamp inside the POD HD500 or HD500X.


If the video is helpful, please "like" it!  Regardless, I hope you enjoy the demonstration and it is helpful to you in your path to sonic bliss... P.S. Don't forget to click the SPOTIFY follow button!>>>

To elaborate a bit more, the HD500 (and hd500x) allow you to set up 2 independent paths, complete with separate fx for each.  So, I often use one channel for vocals (and vocal fx) and the other channel is dedicated to guitar(and related guitar fx).  Here's how you can make a patch that will allow you to do both.

First, we must make 2 paths by moving the amp symbol up, which adds a second path.  Then I add a "Mic Preamp" under the preamp+eq menu.  I prefer the Vintage Pre.  I move that down into the acoustic mic channel.  Now we must go into SYS/IO and change input #2 to Mic, which is the XLR connection.  Now add whatever fx apply to your situation.  Delay, reverb, eq- just be sure you keep them on the same path as the mic pre.  The other channel can be used for electric guitar, or bass if needed.

Part of my music career is about performing solo. Sometimes, that means being prepared perform under less than ideal circumstances.  Often there's a P.A. system provided at venues I play, but sometimes there's not...for example, a house party.

Looking through the myriad of multi-fx processors on the market, I was drawn to the HD500 because of this mic input and preamp feature.  However, it takes a bit of learning to set up the paths correctly, so I made a demonstration detailing how to use the microphone feature.  In the demo, I make a patch which turns on the mic and some fx.  I hope this will be of great help to singer songwriters who choose to use the line 6 pedal.

Line 6 Pod HD 500X Video demos, and will it work for gigs?

The Line 6 Pod HD500X has lots of features, but what does it offer to gigging musicians?  

As a working musician, I'm constantly being faced with the question of whether to bring vintage gear to gigs.  Despite the cool factor, it's often cumbersome to bring a myriad of vintage pedals to a gig, especially when you'll be walking 10-15 blocks to and from the subway.

So, for the price of about 2.5 boutique pedals, or 4 or 5 well manufactured mass-produced ones- Reverb pedal, Distortion pedal, chorus pedal, Compressor? (Don't forget to buy a decent tuner...)  I decided to take the leap and (re)learn how to use a multi fx pedal again.

So far I've been pleased with the results and I've now got a myriad of (useful!) FX and amp models.   Ultimately, I was interested in a stomp box modeler to replace my current pedal chain.  I also often record demos which mainly use a "direct guitar" or DI scenario.  It works well for that purpose too.  In any given "pedal board" setup I use, The HD500X has proven to be more than worth the money paid.

So here are a couple of videos demonstrating some of the amps and effects that the pedal has to offer.    These feature some of the tube amp models and vintage fx that the Pod HD has become known for.






 
I love vintage gear and I often use it to achieve tones that inspire me.  Maybe this isn't the "perfect" choice for everyone, but I hope it will inspire musicians to be creative and open minded about gear!  Perhaps there is a pedal, amp, guitar, drum that will inspire you!

Four Track Phone Recorder App - Recording Songs and Music on your Smartphone...

4 Track Phone Apps... Yes or No?  Make a quick acoustic guitar recording using J4T multi-track recording software and a smartphone.

As someone who spends a lot of time recording sound  and music, the question has been plaguing me:  Is a smartphone a valuable tool for recording music?

UPDATE:  Listening to one track on spotify helps me keep this site alive!

I hope you like it!

Now, back to the matter at hand...

I used the J4t app to record this song.  I used the vocal microphone which is inside the phone.  I had to set the levels for each track I was recording- making sure that the sound source didn't go into the red.  That is a nice feature, since it can be easy to overdrive any mic and preamp combo if you play loudly.  Once the levels are set, just arm the track that you want to be your main rhythm track.  In this case, I armed track one.  After pressing record, I played the acoustic guitar rhythm track.  After Dis-arming the track, I listened back.

I did the same thing for the second rhythm track.  Arm the track. Press record. Play the part. Dis-arm and listen back.

All good?  Yes.

Solo track.  Go back and reset the levels for your acoustic guitar solo.  You'll probably have to bring the level back up, as I did.  (Acoustic guitar solos tend to be quieter than most acoustic strumming).  Once the level is set, follow your procedure:  Arm, Record, Dis-arm, playback.

Now you have a song, fully recorded on your Mobile smartphone  device!


Now, lets discuss some major ideas- specifically intent and limitations, and perhaps that will determine if recording to a smartphone is the right medium for you.

So, what is your intent for using a smartphone as a recording device?  Are you going to use it to record quick ideas, such as chord progressions or a lyric that's rattling around in your brain?  If this is the case, a smartphone and a simple four track app is probably a good choice.

Most smartphones have pretty sophisticated preamplifiers, noise reduction, and microphones built directly into the units.  With a simple four track application(often free or inexpensive),  one can use the device which he is likely carrying around at all times to capture an idea and flesh it out, to some extent.



However, if you intend to use the smartphone to record a full album release, I think one will find that the limitations catch up to the device(and software) pretty quickly.

Before I continue to explain why I prefer not to use this combination of hardware/software to record important performances, of course I realize that some of us will embrace these limitations and create beautiful art in spite of my experiences.  Great! 

Now then, I feel there are a few obstacles stacked against the four track smartphone recording device.  First and foremost, the sound quality is simply not up to the challenge.  Again, there are a number of factors to consider- and every phone is different, but my experience with these devices is that they are designed to do one thing:  to record the human voice at a close proximity.  The microphones are generally small lavalier-style condenser mics.  They will pick up most things in the room that are present, but won't really pick up extended highs or lows (bass guitar and drums, for example).  The mics also lack presence or punch that a bigger, well designed musical microphone will bring to the mix.

Also, I've encountered my share of glitches and bugs in the software of these devices.  If you encounter a glitch when recording, you often won't know until playback.  Unlike a tape dropout, the timing of a glitch means that part of the take is totally gone.  Now the timing of the take has been altered.  Most often, this ruins what would otherwise be a great take.  So, what do you do when you encounter a glitch like this?  Open the wave editor function and punch in a new section- size the section and glue it in place?  Not likely.  If  you're like me, after a period of cursing and increased blood pressure you put the phone away and chalk it up to a fun experiment.  Then, dig out a proper recorder designed for the purpose.

Unfortunately, because of the glitches, I can't even recommend the 4 track smartphone combo as a field recorder.  Find a better device.  Even a four track tape recorder will give more reliable results.  Perhaps the video function of the smartphone is more dependable, but the audio is generally compressed into a proprietary codec, and that's not helpful, is it?

However, if you plan to use your smartphone as a sketchpad, to jot down ideas, and get a quick sense for a song, then the device works just fine for that.

Anything more than that, and I say find a device that is better suited to the task at hand.


iPhone users, stay tuned- I'm planning a demo for you too, since I know there's a plethora of software available for your hardware!

Best!

Vinyl Record and LP Cleaning, Care, and Storage! Great ways to enjoy clean records.

This one's a little off topic from instrument recording gear, but I feel it's an important topic.

Vinyl record cleaning and care!

A few general suggestions:

1.  Store records upright.
2.  Try to only handle the record by it's edges- (I know, easier said than done).
3.  As much as possible, avoid lifting or dropping the needle between songs- its better to play the entire side of a record.  Otherwise, you'll eventually end up with audible pops and scratches between songs.
4.  Remove static from your record (we'll come back to that).
4.  Clean your record and needle as needed....  which is what this post is about!

This technique is a variation on an old technique from the golden age of hi-fi, when records were the only real medium for popular music.  This advice comes straight off the jacket of an old Jazz record.

The original advice is as follows:

   Using a dampened, lint-free towel wipe the record in a circular motion, following the grooves of the record.  Use light pressure, and lift the dust away in a sweeping motion.

My advice is just a variation of this old technique:

Do the same as above, but use a microfibre cloth(or pad), dampened with distilled water.  It is very important to use light pressure, and "lift" away the dust.

That's really it!  Work slowly and you'll be amazed at how great your records sound.

Notes:

Sometimes static creates a lot of pops on a vinyl record.  You have a couple of options to deal with this:

1: Use the method describe above, using distilled water and a Microfibre cleaning cloth.  This will actually go a long way in reducing static pops, as the moisture of the water helps remove static from the record.

2.  Use a distilled water "record steamer" (a device that has a nozzle that shoots steam at your record.  This is a similar method to the one above, but I feel a bit riskier, because the labels are constantly being exposed to warm steam.

3.  Buy a static discharge device.  These are expensive, but they work well at discharging static.  Perhaps a necessity if you're an avid listener.  Try the distilled water / microfibre cloth first, it might be all you need!

Using Vintage Microphones. Pros and cons of using vintage mics in your recordings....

Vintage Microphones- are they worthwhile?

Pictured: WEBCOR crystal Microphone.

The short answer is yes!

The long answer is obviously longer... so here goes...

Considerations:

1.  Does the microphone function properly?

          If not, fix it!  Or, sell it!  It may be worth a few bucks!

2.  How does the microphone sound?

          Warm, bright, nasally, honky?       

3.  How will the microphone best suit your track?

          Maybe you need a bright/honky sound to cut through a mix!

 It may take some trial and error, but that's the fun part about learning the ins-and-outs of new(old) gear.

Vintage microphones that we come across on a daily basis are by and large either dynamic microphones, with a plastic element(very similar to todays mics) or they are crystal microphones, which have a crystal (ceramic) element.  Other microphones you may run into might be condenser mics or ribbon mics.  The former usually has a gold sputtered plastic diaphram which picks up vibrations from the air and the latter has a thin ribbon of pure aluminum to do the task.  We'll come back to dynamics, condensers and ribbons.  Today let's talk about crystal mics.  

Crystal mics are possibly the most unique, since they are no longer made (realistically)! In the 1960's, as dynamic mics became the standard, crystal mics basically ceased production.  Also, it's important to note that crystal mics have a really high impedance(generally), so they were often used to feed the first stage of  a tube mic preamp- often found on consumer tape recorders and industrial public address systems.  As such, crystal mics may not be "plug and play" with your computer sound card, but if you have a small mixer or other modern preamp with a guitar line in, then you have something to work with.

Crystal mics are now sought after mainly by harp players, since they capture the essential "Vocal range" of the instrument.  These players are generally also mating these mics to tube guitar amps of the same era, which is a natural choice.

I think they can sound really cool on other instruments, and vocals as well!  Of course, you should do thorough testing by using the mic and carefully listening to the results.

Here are a few videos of some mics that I've recorded with, and had great results!

 

 

That is a recording of a Yamaha FG160 dreadnaught guitar, and as you can see I pointed it near the 12th-15th frets of the guitar.  I think it picks up the guitar beautifully.  The bass isn't booming, the string noise isn't overwhelming.  The essence and tone of the guitar are brought forward.  For this application, the mic works!  Mic preamp is a modern "botique" all-in-one-chip style and the mic is plugged into the "Hi-Z/Guitar" input.

And The classic Shure Slim X 777:

The mic is pointed slightly off axis near/toward the cone.  The speaker is a vintage 30 watt alnico.  The amplifier is an all tube 5e3 deluxe clone.  Guitar is a single coil strat type.  This is a relatively quiet demonstration, but that was the tone I was after.  Clean, thick and creamy. So again, for this application- the mic works!  

I'm not sure I would crank this speaker to full clip and record with this vintage (now pricey!)Shure crystal mic pressed against the grill, but I won't hesitate to pull this mic back a bit and pick up a fuller room sound.  Plugged into mic preamp through the hi-z/guitar input.

The same goes for drums.  I think Crystal mics make great room mics to add ambiance to a one or two mic setup.

So, in summary, use those old mics!  Come up with a sound and commit it to tape(or digital)!  It might be exactly what your track needs!

Ampex Reel to Reel, Recording a song to tape RTR

Record a song with a reel to reel recorder...a little bit of how to...

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This is a mix of a song that I recorded using an Ampex Reel to reel tape recorder.   Each take is recorded to one side of the tape machine and subsequently recorded onto my DAW.  Then, all four tracks are bounced back to this stereo tape recorder.  Drums are recorded to one side, rhythm guitar to the other side, and bass guitar and solo are in the center of the stereo image.


This is a fully tube operated unit, and the sound quality is second to none.  It happens to have a mix of vintage tubes, including some Telefunken 12AT7's in the preamps(from my personal stash).

The format is 1/4" half track ,7.5 ips.

This rtr recording was made using direct guitars and bass.

The machine pictured above is a Roberts 192 Ft (which stands for Full Track), 1/4" tape machine.  Like many of the Akai/Roberts tape recorders of the 1960's, this was modeled after the Ampex 600/601 portable recorder.

Though the Akai/Roberts units were popular, they never achieved the reputation as broadcast standard recorders that the Ampex units did.  This model was intended to change that!

The roberts recorder was fitted with full track (mono) erase, record, and playback heads.  Though running at 7.5ips, the fidelity is great.

However, Ampex was committed to quality and through the 50's and 60's, nothing about their tape machines was budget quality.  This changed many year later as they produced consumer format tape machines, but they still offered studio and high end consumer tape recorders in a variety of formats.

Here is one such high end consumer machine, made by the Ampex Professional division!


I love, collect, and use vintage tape recorders...

UPDATE:  Here's a record I made with analog tape as well as some vintage and modern gear, including a stereo tape recorder...Click Below to check it out!

Bandcamp

Here's a great sounding multitrack recorder:

https://www.zzounds.com/a--3960122/item--TASDP006 

Enjoy!

Tascam 414 MkII Portastudio 4 Track Cassette Tape Recorder!

  Four Track Cassette tape recorders!

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Cassette four track recorders, such as the Tascam Portastudio 414 mkII, are still a popular way to record music masters at home (or anywhere!)  This is a multi-track tape recorder, which will record to one of four different channels or "tracks."  After recording guitar, vocals, bass and drums to tape (with your own microphone) you have control over the volume of each track- or mix.  Yamaha, Fostex, and Vestax all made their own versions of multi-track recorders, as well.  I'm not sure there is a "best" one, but maybe there's one with a lot of features you like. 
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Although they are popular for demos or songwriting ideas, in the right hands these machines can produce mixes suitable for widespread release. (Don't forget about the Tascam 424MKii....)

These are sophisticated multitrack devices. They allow you to record one track onto the tape, and then record 3 additional tracks as you monitor back the original track(s).  You can do this one track at a time, or you can do it all at once.  This allows you the ability to control the volume of each source you've recorded.  So, if you record guitar and vocals at once, each to it's own track- you now have the ability to control the volume of each with the track volume faders.

Once you have all four tracks filled, and have mixed them to their approximate volume levels, there is a master volume fader which controls the overall output of the machine.

Here's a video demonstrating the concept, and giving some tutorial about how to basically use the machine.  In the video, an acoustic guitar is recorded to tape using only a cascade ribbon mic.  DBX is on and the tape used is a high bias type, Maxell XLII.  Contrary to popular belief, condensers are not always needed to record acoustic guitar...

This unit features 2 suitable microphone preamps, they are fine- but not great.  Better results can be had with newer, quieter preamps.  It's important to note, however that the mic preamps on this machine are not phantom powered.  So, it will work fine with newer ribbon mics(Cascade or Royer) and dynamic mics (like the shure sm57 or sm58) but it will not power a condenser mic(like the MXL 990 or v67G).  To use a condenser mic with this unit, you'll need to use a preamp/mixer with a phantom power supply, or an inline phantom power supply.

Also, 2 band eq, which comes in handy.  It also features 2 effect sends, which are available on each channel.  So, you could hook up a delay and a reverb and then dial in as much(or as little) as you need.

This recorder also has DBX noise reduction as an option, which nearly eliminates tape hiss on the tracks.  If you find it changes the feel of the tone, you can switch it off for future takes.  One note about dbx on this machine, though.  If it's on, it affects all 4 channels.  So if you record a take and want to turn it off, you have to redo the take, or you'll be left with the weirdness of the dbx encoding on that track.  If you continue to record, you'll have one track that has obvious "effect" and the rest will sound "normal."

My experience with this device is that it is a great tool for singer/songwriters, or small ensembles. This is a narrow track format, and I feel that four tracks on cassette tape at 3.5ips (inches per second) is right at the limit of "great sounding" fidelity (feel free to argue here).  Eight track cassette machines cross the line into "acceptable sounding" fidelity(my opinion!)  That's not to say I don't think they are worth using.  I have heard compelling music come from these machines.  I just prefer the four track fidelity for my work.

That said,  I feel that using four tracks on this format requires some compromises for a large band.  For example, guitar, bass and drums will occupy 3 tracks(or 4, if you give the kick drum it's own mic).  Bouncing that to 1 or 2 tracks means you've lost the ability to mix the instruments independently with the vocals and you will have lost a bit of sound quality from the bounce...

Here's how to get all 4 tracks out of the 414 in one pass:



Less sophisticated versions of this type of machine also exist, such as the Tascam Porta 02 (I think it runs at 1 & 7/8 ips, which is really suited to bare-bones sketchpad-style demos.  But the tapes are really handy to have stored for future listening if you've run out of ideas....

Enjoy your portastudio! 

You can check out more of my music at www.frankolson.com

Welcome to Vintage Music Tech.!

This is a place where we'll be talking about vintage music gear and it's place in the vast music making landscape of today.

Tube gear, reel to reel tape recorders, microphones, preamplifiers- these important bits of gear and how to get the most from them.

In general I shoot demonstration videos, but I'm always happy to talk gear with any interested party!

So here is one to kick it off!


This video is of a microphone preamp that I modified from an old tube reel to reel machine (Roberts 720 or 990, as I recall).

 Also featured in the video is a popular microphone and line mixer- the Mackie 802VLZ3.

This video gives just a quick example of the differences between tube mic preamps, and solid state preamps.  I would say they are approximately equally priced "for their time."

The tube preamp is 100 percent all tube path, including the recctifier tube/ power supply.
Tubes are 12AX7, EF86, and 6x4 (rectifier).

To be honest, I'm not sure about the opamp/chips that the Mackie uses, but it performs well and it has mixer features that the tube preamp doesn't have.

I suggest listening a few times over speakers as well as in headphones to really catch the subtle (and not so subtle) sonic differences of each instance.

The microphone is a Shure SM57.

Enjoy!