Flow

There is a flow to creativity. Sometimes it’s there and that’s when one has to follow its trail, absolutely. Record whatever it is that wants to get out, come through, arise, however it can be done. Sometimes it’s not there. On those days I will obsess over reverb decays or the equalization of some element however small. I spent most of this afternoon working on a massive reverb for a short bowed bass note that I wanted to be the last sound of the piece.

It’s difficult to know ahead of time which way the wind blows. Sometimes one recognizes what’s happening immediately, one feels the invincible flow of creativity, one feels switched ON. Sometimes one can feel the struggle. For me that’s the sign to start working on details, or make a new mix of something in progress. Those hours are just as useful and feel just as necessary.

Recording

My laptop has a 14″ screen but Pro Tools works best on one big screen or using two screens. In my studio I used to have one main 23″ monitor and a second 15″ monitor. Last week I started using my iPad as a second screen, propping it up next to my laptop. It connects via a short USB-C cable, which also powers the iPad. I am really pleased with how well it works. Extremely portable, too. I would hesitate to carry a second screen with me, but I almost always travel with the iPad.

Liquid Congas

I worked out a new setup for my beloved Stax headphones, which I have used on every album for more than twenty years. Since my Weiss DAC2 uses FireWire and my new laptop only has UCB-C I had to find a new way to get digital audio from the computer to the balanced analog inputs of the Stax headphone tube amp. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money and I wanted something versatile that I can tote with me, if necessary. I settled on a CEntrance DACport Pro, which, at $370, doesn’t break the bank. I found the DAC waiting for me when I returned from Lisbon late on Thursday. The next morning I connected it to the laptop and the Stax.
IMG 8155
The DACport Pro is small, smaller than my phone and a little more than twice as thick, looks well built, and gets power through the USB-C connection with the computer. Compact. I opened the album Cachaito and gave it a listen. Nice. Listening to the second track of album, called Redención, I had the impression that the congas sounded liquid, like a river playing in time. So I looked up the conguero, who was Angá Díaz. Then I discovered his solo album Echu Mingua. Very nice. And so a few hours passed… Nice to be able to listen to the Stax again.

Binaural Video

This morning I noticed a new comment from Éric B. on a post from 2008:

Ok. After almost 14 years…. Is there a place to still access this video? It’s simply gone now. I found someone reposting your video but it’s been transcoded so the sound is not…. Really crisp anymore.
Help Ottmar! Help! ;)
Have a good time on your side of the planet and to all the crew. Much love.
Éric

Ah, the Internet Entropy. Well, I hadn’t watched that video in a long time, myself, and went looking for it. The video is 14 years old and looks like, well, the way video used to look. But it’s still great fun to see/hear when Davo walks around with the shakers or when I get up (at around 3’52”) and walk around the head. Watch the video here or go to this link, where you will also find download options.

Reminder: you will NOT properly hear the music is you listen with AirPods or similar “open” earphones. If that’s all you got, try to cover them with your hands. It’s important that your left ear does not hear anything emanating from the right speaker and vice versa. That is also why regular loudspeakers will not work at all. Old fashioned “closed” headphones, that cover all of the ear, work well. IEMs work, of course.

This links to the original post from September of 2007, which explains the video a little.

This links to a post by Stephen Duros about the binaural recording experience.

Question : Answer – plugins

Ian had a followup question:
I have one more music production question – what plug-ins (if anything) do you use on your master fader in Pro Tools?

I don’t have any plugins on the master track, but the preceding mix has the following three plugins inserted. I normalize the stereo mix to -1.5db to allow enough headroom and then use the Massenburg EQ plugin, and two plugins from Sony Oxford, Sonnox, the Inflator and the Limiter. That’s also the order in which the plugins are inserted: EQ, Inflator, Limiter.

I have used the MDW EQ for a long long time, perhaps for 15 years. It is my guitar EQ as well as my mastering EQ. I think they didn’t make the plugin for a while and I was bummed to have to do without it after upgrading my equipment last year. But then they came out with a new version of the plugin and I was able to move the presets, which I had created over the years, from the old G4 Macintosh to the new MacBook Pro without a problem. And they worked!! That was a relief.

Jon turned me onto the Inflator and Limiter and they have been part of my mastering for at least five years.

Question : Answer – DAW, microphone choice

Ian left a question in the comments:
Have you settled on a DAW – I know you were a Pro Tools user for many years. Also is your M149 still your mic of choice?

Yes, having tried Logic and UA Luna I decided that I much prefer to work with Pro Tools. It may just be the sense of familiarity but I like the way it works and the amount of control I feel I have when I work with it. I don’t use MIDI for anything and understand that people who use MIDI a lot like Logic.

Regarding microphones, I love my M149 but it picks up everything and requires a very quiet room. The Earthworks mic I use live is really great at focusing on the guitar and rejecting other noise. So I have been working with the Earthworks mic and it really sounds good. I have also been using the microphone preamp in the MixPre instead setting up the Martech MSS-10. It also sounds remarkably good. So for now I am using Pro Tools and the MixPre (A/D converter and mic preamp) with the Earthworks mic. But at some point I will use the M149 and Martech again.