Archive for the ‘Audio’ CategoryCody Jensen, percussionMonday, May 24th, 2010On Saturday, March 7th, 2010, I had the pleasure of recording my friend Cody Jensen’s Senior percussion recital. Shown here is a Gangsa duet written by I Ketut Gede Asnawa. This is the premiere performance and features Matt Plaskota along with Cody. embedded by Embedded Video Gangsa Ro – I Ketut Gede Asnawa. Cody Jensen and Matt Plaskota, Gangsa You can view more of the recital at: Protected: James PriceFriday, May 21st, 2010Colwell Playhouse Audio StudioMonday, May 10th, 2010During January and February 2010, Andy Krumeich and I began work on a Digital Audio Station (DAW) based studio at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Verses That HurtMonday, May 10th, 2010
Verses That Hurt is a Poetic/Theatrical/Musical performance that took place March 5th and 6th, 2010 at the Armory Free Theatre on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I collaborated primarily in the area of sound, but also contributed in the original development of the performance, along with the project’s originator, Grant Bowen. A main element of my sound design for Verses That Hurt was the subway atmosphere. A main idea of the treatment of the performance space was that we wanted to place the audience actually in a subway station. The main environmental element of the experience of being in a subway station is its sound (or maybe its smell, depending on which city…). Here is a short clip of the subway atmosphere and a train arrival that I created for this show. Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. More details on the show and sound design can be found in the documents and photos below: Verses_That_Hurt_Documentation Verses That Hurt System Diagram
New PhilharmonicMonday, May 10th, 2010This semester, I have been assisting Jon Schoenoff recording the New Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Music Director and Conductor, Kirk Muspratt. On April 23rd and 24th, I had the opportunity to record the orchestra myself, which was a great learning experience. This example is from one of the concerts from that weekend: Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. This is the documentation for the concerts I was involved in recording: New_Philharmonic_Recording_Documentation New Philharmonic Recording System Diagram The following photos are from the January concertized opera performance of Puccini’s Turnadot. The orchestra mic’ing was supplemented by microphones on the front edge of the stage to highlight the solo singers, and mics were placed in front of the choir and on the organ loudspeakers.
 Soloist Mic Placement  Choir Mic Placement  Organ Mic Placement
Matt Jacklin, percussionSaturday, May 8th, 2010Recently I had the opportunity to produce and record a project with percussionist Matt Jacklin. We completed two sessions, one week apart in Foellinger Great Hall at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Matt_Jacklin_Recording_Project We recorded three pieces: Session 1 (4.11.2010): Bernard-Francois Machet – Phenix (for vibraphone and 9 tom-toms) Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Session II (4.18.2010): Andrew Thomas – Merlin (for marimba), Jacob Druckman – Reflec Session I Photos:
Session II Photos:
Faster Forward/Audio Production Class Recording Session at Krannert!Friday, May 7th, 2010Recently, Faster Forward played a short recording session at the Krannert Center for students in the audio production class (I am not in the class – I was just drumming and singing background vocals. In fact, I was forbidden from touching microphones or other audio gear – I could just “Ask questions”. I asked many annoying “questions”!). Sound files from this session …will never be heard in public! (You could say it was an “off night” for FF, which is to say “a night”. That said, we did 3 songs in as many hours, which is an insane pace).  The good 2/3 of Faster Forward  Jay on bass  Hamptone keeping it real on kick and snare  Robert at the DDA console  Chris, Beth and Robert, our engineers for the session Audio Recording PortfolioSunday, April 4th, 2010Jeff Zahos – Audio Recording Portfolio (Details below): Jazz Quartet Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Solo Harp Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Solo Marimba Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Female Jazz Vocalist with Backing Band Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Solo Viola Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Solo Piano Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Solo Percussion Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Solo Tenor Voice Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Jazz Trio Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
In early 2008, I had the pleasure of recording Ryan Leatherman, a very talented saxophonist playing with a jazz quartet for a demo CD. The recording was done in Smith Memorial Hall Rm. 25. Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Setup/Equipment
Sax – Heil PR 30 (cardioid dynamic) Bass – Heil PR 40 (cardioid dynamic) Guitar – MXL 603 (cardioid consenser) Drum Overheads – (2) MXL 2001 (large capsule cardioid condenser) (ORTF Configuration) Bass Drum – Shure SM7 (cardioid dynamic) Process/Issues/Evaluation: This live multitrack session was completed in a lecture hall/jazz rehearsal space with no baffling/gobos. The quartet set up as if performing live, except that the saxphonist faced across the front of the band to keep the polar response null point of the sax microphone facing the drums. This was done to allow maximum flexibility in mixing the sax. This also placed the mic facing the keys, for a tone which I prefer. The bass mic looked up to a spot slightly above the bridge, very close. The main issues in this session centered on maintaining a very natural performance feeling for the musicians while giving me tracks which were mixable and flexible (mainly by having properly selected mics and rejecting direct sound from the drums). Perhaps I would use a close mic on the snare drum, if I had another shot at this session. I feel like the high ratio of indirect to direct snare drum sound is slightly inconsistent with the intimacy of the cymbals, but not objectionable. There is no editing/crossfading in this example. Solo Harp Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Setup/Equipment
Process/Issues/Evaluation:
This track comes from a recording session that took place over several days in a university recital hall (900 seats). Though no splicing was necessary in the end (the performer was exceptional), making sure the setup was exactly the same session to session was a challenge. Additionally, using the spaced omni pair in close proximity to the instrument required careful placement, resulting from a bit of experimentation. In the end, I felt the ratio of direct and reverberant sound was exactly what I had in mind, without the use of much of the signal from the hemispheric pzm.
There is no reverb added, or editing/crossfading in this example Solo Marimba Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Setup/Equipment
Process/Issues/Evaluation: Solo marimba in a large concert hall (2,100 seats). The instrument was noisy, however beginning around 00:14 seconds, what sounds like distortion does appear. A particular frequency range **(name it)** was problematic, most likely to the mic amplifier circuit. Because the session was gratis (and during a specified time slot), I did not stop the performance to try to troubleshoot the situation. There is no reverb added, or editing/crossfading in this example Female Jazz Vocalist with Backing Band Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Setup/Equipment
Vocal – Heil PR 40 (cardioid dynamic) Piano – MXL 603 (cardioid condenser) (ORTF Configuration) Drum Overheads – (2) MXL 2001 (large capsule cardioid condenser) (spaced pair placement) Bass – Direct input Process/Issues/Evaluation: This live multitrack session was completed in a house dining room with no baffling/gobos. The main challenge was capturing the vocals without too much bleed from the drums, for maximum flexibility in mixing (the vocalist was not playing piano). The null point of the vocal microphone faced the drums. Additionally, the mic was placed at standing height in a doorway which led to the larger living room, where I liked the sound of the voice better (this also helped with separation). This was a sort of “lesser of two evils” choice, as the room reflections complicated adding reverb (very slight) convincingly. There is no editing/crossfading in this example. Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Setup/Equipment
Process/Issues/Evaluation: This track comes from a recording session that took place over several days in a university recital hall (900 seats). Though no splicing was necessary in the end (again an excellent performer, and the audition for which this recording was made prohibited editing), consistency from session to session was again a challenge. The position of everything was recorded and taped. Again, only a touch of the PZM signal was used. I found that moving the performer up and downstage had a noticeable effect on the sound, even when the microphones stayed the same distance from her. In the end, I found a spot I liked, and you hear the result. There is no reverb added, or editing/crossfading in this example Setup/Equipment
Steel Pans – MXL 2001 (large capsule cardioid condenser) (ORTF placement)
Percussion – MXL 603 (cardioid condenser) Drums – MXL 603 (cardioid configuration) Process/Issues/Evaluation: This session was recorded in the band’s rehearsal space. In planning this session, I considered close mic’ing each instrument or group of instruments closely. In the end, I decided that the essential sound of the band was captured better by positioning the band creatively in the room, and achieving stereo imaging and depth in real-time/space, rather than in mixing. I built a “low-tech” drum isolation booth using various materials at my disposal (file cabinets, blankets, carboard boxes with packing noodles, etc.). The drums were recorded mono to be consistent with the “live” feeling. There is no editing/crossfading in this example Solo Piano Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Setup/Equipment
Process/Issues/Evaluation: In this particular space, (a 900 seat university recital hall), the spaced omnidirectional pair with a touch of the pzm mixed in has become a favorite setup of mine for recording piano recitals. I have tried ORTF, XY and close ORTF, with and without a hemispheric mic, and the omni pair provides the piano tone and combination of direct and reverberant sound I am looking for. There is no reverb added, or editing/crossfading in this example. Solo Percussion Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Setup/Equipment
Process/Issues/Evaluation: This session was particularly interesting for several reasons. The multiple-percussion setup of this piece resembles a drumset in that it’s main elements are kick drum, snare drum, tom-toms and cymbals, with bongos, and various woodblocks and cowbells added. In planning, I vacillated between close mic’ing the various instruments or groups of instruments and using a stereo ORTF mic’ing/bass drum or spaced overhead pair/bass drum setup. After some brief experimentation, I decided to use an overhead ORTF pair and bass drum mic, for several reasons.
With the spaced overhead pair setup, the non-cymbal voices were noticably “deeper” in the stereo field than the cymbal, causing an timbral and volume imbalance. The ORTF pair achieved a more “realistic” environment, that is, the impression of being in a small room full of instruments being hit, and not a “fabricated” acoustic space (which would have occured in a dry, close mic’ing situation).
In the end, I was pleased with this recording. I avoided the main personal objection I have to many studio concert percussion recordings; many times, the sounds are more like drum sounds you’d hear on a pop or rock record, unlike the piece would sound in performance. While these are aesthetic preferences, I currently feel that the ‘acoustic’ approach is closer to the spirit of most concert percussion pieces. In most cases, the pieces were written for live, acoustic performance and recordings I make of them should reflect that aesthetic intent as much as possible. There were edits made in this example, no reverb was added. Solo Tenor Voice Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Setup/Equipment
Process/Issues/Evaluation: This is an example of two excellent performers in a very complimentary acoustic space (the same 900-seat university recital hall as above). My method consisted of repositioning the ORTF pair a few times to achieve the desired balance between soloist and accompaniment and between direct and indirect sound. In the end, this became one of my favorite recordings. There is no reverb added in this example. There are edits/crossfades in this example. Jazz Trio Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Setup/Equipment
Piano – MXL 603 (cardioid consenser) Bass – Direct input Drum Overheads – (2) MXL 2001 (large capsule cardioid condenser) (ORTF Configuration) Bass Drum – PZM Process/Issues/Evaluation: This project was conceived with the idea of emulating the sound of the work of Rudy Van Gelder in the early 1960’s (a mutual choice of my own and the drummer, for whom this was an audition tape). Of course I did not have any of the same equipment as Mr. Van Gelder, but I attempted to capture some characterstic elements with instrument placement, intentional mic bleed, dynamic treatment and equalization in mixing. There is no editing/crossfading in this example. Setup/Equipment
Process/Issues/Evaluation: This percussion recital was recorded in the same 900-seat university recital hall as several other examples above. The combination of the ORTF pair and flanking omnidirectional microphones has proven to be very effective in this space. The hall is all wood with no curtains, very friendly to keyboard percussion instruments as long as they are downstage of the proscenium. The depth of the accompanying marimba band placed the low register of one instrument and the high register of one instrument a little further back in the stereo field than I would have preferred, and in a recording session, I would have experiemented with the placement of instruments and possibly added a mic on the accompaniment to be able to mix in a touch of direct sound. There is no reverb or editing/crossfading in this example Krannert AudioSunday, April 4th, 2010 Krannert's Audio Team for Ellnora '09 - The Guitar Festival I work and study at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. My activities include providing live sound reinforcement, recording and sound design for many of the performances at the center, as part of the audio team.  Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Recently, the graduate students, Andy (Krumeich, the Krannert Audio Events supervisor) and I have been doing major upgrades to the facilities and equipment. Current Audio Facilities: Current Audio Facilities being renovated: New Audio Facilities (coming Summer 2010): Here are some photos of the facilities as they are right now:
 Cable storage in the Audio Office  This is the Great Hall Recording Studio  This is the monitoring position for the Great Hall recording studio. This studio is equipped with 8 Channels of Buzz Audio preamps (True Systems, Yamaha, other pres available for more channels), an Alesis HD24 hard disk recorder and Meyer HD-1 monitors. The Midas console is used for live to 2-track (CD) mixing and monitoring.  Here's the view from the mix position in the Great Hall Studio.  This is the new Post Production Studio. It is not done, but has been forced into action by the many projects I have going on. Soon to come are: A rack, a small console, a couch and further acoustic treatment. It's actually a pretty good sounding small control room.  Visible here are the acoustic treatment panels on the ceiling. This design was developed by Andy and I.  This is the room that is becoming the archive room. A WORK IN PROGRESS!  Another view of the Archive Room in progress.  This is the room that will be Sound Design Studio.  The future location of the voiceover booth in the Sound Design Studio. Construction started this weekend (4/3/10)!  The Vault, the KCPA Audio Department's newly renovated maintenance shop/electronics lab.  The Vault also has storage for less frequently used cable and equipment.  Future site of video editing studio (coming summer 2010).  The view as you enter The Kitchen, the main equipment storage room.  Gear in the Kitchen  More gear in the Kitchen  Cable storage in the Kitchen |
tions on the Nature of Water (for marimba)
