Category The Compound Studio

In category Documents on  April 10, 2010  No comments

MIDI in the Studio

I’ve had a lot of people ask me how all my keyboards are connected. Are they all MIDI connected? How did you wire it? How do you keep it all straight?

I’m not sure how other people with 30+ keyboards wire their rooms, but here is the method I’ve come up with through trial and error. It seems to work well and isn’t that hard to keep track of things.

Let me first talk about how I work in the studio so you can better understand why I’ve configured the studio in this way.

I have a handful of synths which I use more than others. I also have some I prefer to play more than others (I love the sound of the Roland JX-8P but the keyboard action is clunky and terrible). I have others that are about 7 feet off the ground and are hard to play directly...

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In category Documents on  April 10, 2010  No comments

Years ago I decided to transfer all my reel tapes to computer. I hadn’t played these tapes for many years. When I loaded them up on the machine and tried to play them I was presented with a nasty squeal as the emulsion shredded off the tape. At first I thought it was a machine problem, considering I hadn’t used it in ages either. I broke down the machine for a complete inspection and cleaning. Once that was complete I loaded up a reel but was presented with the same problem.

I hit up the internet and found this was a common problem with various tape brands. Most of my tapes were Grand Master 456 and sure enough they were on the list. When Disney asked Wendy Carlos to digitally remaster the soundtrack to Tron she had the same problem with her tapes.

As I understand the problem, the tape is ...

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In category Woodwinds & Horns on  April 8, 2010  No comments

A C-melody saxophone is an intermediate size between alto and tenor. Altos are in the key of Eb; tenors are in the key of Bb; and C-melodys are in between, in the key of C.

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Read about the restoration of this sax here

Acquired: 2006

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In category Interface on  April 7, 2010  No comments

The AudioFire12 has 12 balanced analog inputs and outputs (TRS), 2 FireWire ports, MIDI I/O, word clock synchronization, and 12 channels of full duplex 24 bit 192kHz recording and playback. Read More

In category Synthesizer Keyboards on  April 7, 2010  No comments

This synth was used on the song Fade (Low grumbling sound)

I don’t have many comments to add at this point as I just picked this machine up. After spending a couple hours on it I will say this synth will get a lot of use. Easy to program, nice sounds. I like it.

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Insert stolen specs..

• Polyphony – 8 voices (4-part multitimbral)
• Oscillators – Alesis proprietary DSP Analog Modeling: 3 oscillators per voice (Sine, Square-Pulse, Saw-Triangle).
• Filter – 2 multi-mode filters with 16 filter types.
• Envelopes – 3 EGs: Pitch/Mod, Filter, and the Amp have their own ADSR envelopes.
• LFO – 2 multi-wave LFOs and 1 S&H. Ring Modulator. FM. hard&soft OSC sync.
• Effects – 4 Individual Mono/Stereo Insert Effects and Stereo Master Multi-FX Processor (80ms slapback delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, dis...

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In category Retired Gear on  April 7, 2010  No comments

16 stereo channels (32 mono inputs) plus 4 stereo aux returns (8 extra mono inputs), and two mic preamps.Read More

In category Mixing on  April 7, 2010  No comments

I will never sell this board! The Topaz is well known for its clean sound and warm, musical “British” EQ, distinguishing it from rival analog mixers by Mackie, Behringer and Yamaha among others. The sound of the Topaz is often compared to more expensive consoles from Allen & Heath and Soundcraft.

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In category On the Bench (internal pictures), Synthesizer Keyboards on  April 7, 2010  4 comments

This synth was used on the song Arecebo (string sound)

The sleeper synth of the last 20+ years. Produced in 1986, if I recall, it wasn’t a beloved machine. Of course now, people in the know snatch these up. (I know if I find another in good shape, I’ll buy it.)

The AX60 and the Roland Juno 106 are very much the same in the way of layout and patch programming.

The AX60 is a fairly rugged machine, easy to program, and a joy to sit in front of (it could use more blinky lights). It is one of my most loved synths at the moment.

I’ve had to crack this synth open a few times for a few minor repairs.

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In category Outboard on  April 4, 2010  No comments

From the manual…
The JBL/UREI 7110 Limiter/Compressor is built in the tradition that has made UREI limiter/compressors the audio professionals’ choice world-wide. Incorporating both peak and average gain reduction detectors in a single rack space size, the Model 7110 is equally at home in the small recording studio, the sound contractor’s rack, portable sound systems, broadcasting studios or anywhere audio levels need to be automatically controlled.

The 7110 offers new smooth sounding Smart-Slope compression ratios adjustable from 1.5: 1 thru infinity: 1 and permits independent settings for limiting threshold, attack and release times, and output level...

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In category Woodwinds & Horns on  April 3, 2010  No comments

Like buttah.Read More