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This WKND! Nov 11+12 ! Bridgeport Open Studios

Bridgeport Open Studios 2017 is THIS WEEKEND Nov 11+12!   I’ll be hanging out in the ILSSA N/E Command Center at the American Fabrics Arts Building, 1069 Connecticut Ave, Bridgeport, 3rd floor.  I’ll be around most of the weekend 10A -5P

As per usual I will have stuff for sale from the Preservation Sound shop, including some odd n weird audio oddities (like the insane fuzz amp shown above), recording studio odds n ends, lotsa records, and some pretty incredible vintage clothes this year…  More info at http://amfabarts.com/events/

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Microphones Pro Audio Archive Technical Uncategorized

“Microphones And Their Placement” from ‘The Aerovox Research Worker’ 1958

download a 6pp article on “Microphones And Their Placement” as published by the Aerovox Capacitor Corporation, 1958:
DOWNLOAD: Microphones and their placement
Written by Arthur Davis, Phillip Erhorn, and their team at Aerovox, the article offers an interesting historical perspective on microphone technique in the 1950s.

(image source)

If you’ve spent much time creeping around inside old electronic equipment, you have undoubtedly seen numerous examples of the capacitor shown above.  I really don’t have a super-strong sense of ‘how good’ Aerovox caps were as compared to their contemporaries, IE., how often they tend to need replacement, ETC,, but IIRC they tend to be more reliable than most 50’s foil caps.

“The Aerovox Research Worker” was a sort of ‘branded content’ marketing item that the company published from at least 1949 through 1958.  I recently picked up a large pile of these publications, and most focus on RF and TV applications.  This was the only one I could find that was audio-focused.  Enjoy. CR

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Gately IPM-8 Schematics

Years ago I bought the super-sweet Gately mixer system pictured above; it has long been sold-on (to a studio in TX IIRC) but wow really great kit. All UTC transformers, all discrete, modular, ETC.

You can learn more about Gately at these two earlier articles:

Gately Gear Overview

The system that I acquired and restored

Anyhow, reader M.Nathan has been so kind to scan some schematics of some of their later Series 8 kit.  Nathan: “Here are three pics of the imp8 series 8 input module schematics.  This section has the mic pre which, in isolation, is a pretty simple little thing.”

 

 

 

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Preservation Sound Radio: May 10 2017: setlist and link to listen

(this show was broadcast live on WPKN FM 89.5 on May 10, but you can listen to it at this archive link -click here)

Class Info “Out of Line” from The Minimal Wave Tapes, Vol. Two

Gary Numan “Me! I Disconnect from You” from Living Ornaments ‘79

Falco “auf der fluct” from auf der fluct

Polyrock “Romantic Me” from Polyrock

Nico and the Faction “My Heart is Empty” from Camera Obscura

Kate Bush “cloud busting” from cloud busting

Fleetwood Mac “Seven Wonders (Remastered)” from Tango In the Night (Remastered)

Au Pairs “Don’t Lie Back” from Sense and Sensuality

Sheila E. “The Glamorous Life” from The Glamorous Life

Orange Juice “Mud in Your Eye” from Coals to Newcastle

Allez Allez “Wrap Your Legs (Around Your Head)” from Allez Allez: Best of

The Style Council “All Gone Away” from Our Favourite Shop

Billy Ocean “African Queen” from African Queen – Single

The Human League “seconds” from Dare

Cameo “Word Up (Original 12″ Club Mix)” from Funk Essentials – The 12″ Collection and More: Cameo

Mechanical Servants “Problem What Problem” from Problem What Problem/Protecting – Single

Momus “The Hairstyle of the Devil” from single

New Order “Blue Monday (12″ Version)” from single

Martin Dupont “just because” from Lost and Late…

The Psychedelic Furs “Yes I Do (Merry-Go-Round)” from Forever Now

David Bowie “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)” from Let’s Dance – Single

Jane Birkin “Baby Alone In Babylone” from Birkin / Gainsbourg : Le symphonique

World Party “Ship of Fools” from Private Revolution

Crowded House “Don’t dream it’s over” from Crowded House

Corey Hart “Never Surrender” from Corey Hart: The Singles

Yaz “iN MY ROOM” from Upstairs at Eric’s

Warp 9 “Light Years Away (Original)” from single

Depeche Mode “Stripped” from Black Celebration

Simple Minds “Book of Brilliant Things” from Sparkle in the Rain

The Sugarcubes “birthday” from Life’s Too Good

Public Image Ltd. “Rise” from Album

Squeeze “Take Me I’m Yours” from Squeeze

Mazarati “stroke” from single

Neil Young “Mr. Soul” from Trans

Material “Busting Out (feat. Nona Hendryx, Fred Maher, Bill Laswell, Michael Beinhorn)” from One Down

Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark “Telegraph (2008 Remaster)” from Dazzle Ships

Tina Turner “better be good to me” from single

Missing Persons “Rock and Roll Suspension” from Spring Session M

Sharon “let the music play” from let the music play

Shannon “Let the Music Play” from Let the Music Play

Tears for Fears “Shout” from Songs From the Big Chair (Deluxe)

 

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Support Independent Free Form Radio! WPKN 89.5 FM needs a new transmitter – you can help

Hey y’all – if you’ve been reading this site for a while, you will know that I DJ regularly on WPKM FM 89.5 here in Bridgeport.  WPKN is a listener-supported 10,000-watt FM station which has been here, totally non-commercial and free-form since 1963.  It’s an incredible thing in this day and age.  All of the DJs (myself included) are volunteers, as are 99% of the staff.  Now, you know how much I love old janky sound equipment.  But sometimes, new really is better, and we need a new transmitter to blast our weirdo music thru another half-century.  Here’s how you can help.  And yes WPKN is a legit non-profit corp so your donation is tax-deductible.

Click here to read more, and to donate.  Thank you for listening!

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LINK TO STREAM NOW/// 89.5FM /// $ }{ @ /\/\ @ |\| $

updated:  the voyage is complete.  you can stream the show from this link.  CLICK HERE

***

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TABLES ::: Live ::: Firehouse 12 New Haven CT Thurs 12.15.16 – Tix on sale now!

tables_groupphoto_2016Hey y’all – my synth group TABLES will be playing our 2nd-ever show at FIREHOUSE 12 in New Haven CT next Thursday 12.15.16.

Show starts at 9PM with drone duo HIKO MEN (Brooklyn) as the opening set.

Tickets are $10 at the door, and $8 at this link when you use the promo code TABLES.

Carlos from Safety Meeting Records will have copies of our debut 12″ LP for sale at the show.

Firehouse 12 is an amazing place to see a show; truly like no other venue.

tables_albumcover

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New Series SOUNDBREAKING feat our original score airing now

firefoxscreensnapz001SOUNDBREAKING is on air in the US now!  Nathan Halpern and I scored this fantastic PBS 8-hour miniseries earlier this year, and it was truly a dream assignment for me.  Whether you know a lot or a little about music production, the show is certain to be illuminating.   Read a great review that ran today in the Hollywood Reporter.  It’s on television in the US now, and available online here.

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Our Annual Tag Sale Event – NOV 12/13 Bridgeport CT !!!!

img_7327Yes it’s that time again: Open Studios at the American Fabrics Artists’ space in historic Bridgeport CT.  As per usual we will be offering our annual TAG SALE event.  Much rad audio / recording /musical stuff for sale at well below typical online / ebay prices.  Used and vintage hi fi gear, rack equipment, vintage microphones, NOS audio tubes, transformers, blah di d blah blah blah

Click for full info here

until

American Fabric Arts Building

1069 Connecticut Avenue Bridgeport, CT, 06607 United States

Ample on-site off-street parking

In the “IMPRACTICAL LABOR” studio, third floor, rear side, near the elevator.

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Sansui MR6 six-track Cassette Tape Multi Track Machine

img_7181Our ongoing series of cassette multi-track experiments rolls on with the Sansui MR6.

img_7182This ADAT-sized multitrack machine dates from 1990 or thereabouts.  It records 6 tracks on a standard type 2 audio tape at double speed,  with defeatable Dolby C and zero return.  And that’s pretty much it.  No gain trims, no autolocate, nothing.  It really is strictly a tape machine and requires a mixer in order to use it in any sensible way.  I picked it up for about $100 on ebay; a quick clean and demag and that’s it.  Seems to work fine.  High end response seems to trail off around 14k on a first-pass, which is A O K w/me.  Here’s how it sounds, and thank u Jenny Holzer:

As with the earlier tracks in this series: the rules for tracking and bouncing are simple: no midi.  no editing.  Nothing u couldn”t do in the 80s.  The only effects used for tracking are the Yamaha E1010 that you see there, a cheap boss reverb pedal, console EQ, and acoustic sources were tracked with some compression via that Symetrix 528E you see there.  Marimba and shaker/tambo were mic’d with a Neumann KM184; vocals are an EV RE15 for no other reason that it is what I had on the desk at the moment.

Tracking was:

1: Korg volca beats kk/snare pulse sync’d to korg SQ1 driving that repeating 8-note figure on…    2: korg MS20,   3: one-note low pad on Minbrute,   4. Yamaha MR10 toms/CH SN dbl hand-played,   5. elec bass DI’d thru a  cheap gtr preamp

(bounce to track 6)

  1. 8th note shaker/tambo played w foot, 2. Marimba (doubling and/or harmonizing MS20 part, 3. Basic polyphonic sampler of me singing an ‘A’ note ahhh, 4. analog choir synth sound

(bounce to track 5)

1, 2, 4: vocals (hi is doubled),

3: ch synth pad

My goal as with the previous productions was to mix this all on my lil Mackie Onyx 1220 el cheapo mixer into a single pair in Pro Tools, but I couldn’t find a way to route it while still using two FX returns (my patchbay on this lil desktop rig is very limited).  So I played all six final tape tracks into P/T, and once in PT it was hard to resist applying a bit of EQ and compression to each stem.  Also mix FX on vocals were via P/T (Echo Boy and Valhalla Verb).  But that was it – no editing, no tuning, no fixin’.   That weird noise at the head is probably some kinda bias abomination that resulted when I did the first bounce, but it’s really part of the charm, ain’t it.   Whole mix is low passed at about 12K, which really ties it together IMO.