Something else that confounds me ...

Special Interest Groups Audiobook Production
121

The NT1 is even better…
My next major purchase… at about £200…
The 1A is only slightly under this spec. Minimal.



Description
The World’s Quietest Studio Condenser MicrophoneLarge 1 condenser capsule with gold-plated membraneCardioid polar patternInternal Rycote® Lyre® based capsule shock mounting systemUltra-low noise, self noise of only 4.5dB (A)State-of-the-art surface mount electronicsAvailable with included SMR shock mount (NT1-KIT)The NT1 is a revolutionary new 1 diaphragm condenser microphone from RØDE.Although the body of the new NT1 closely resembles the NT1-A, the microphone has been completely redesigned from the ground up, with the only shared component being the mesh grille.RØDE?s design engineers approached the NT1 as a marriage of innovation and tradition, starting with the capsule which is a completely new design. Codenamed the HF6, it is the perfect example of RØDE?s fusion of artistic design approaches and cutting-edge manufacturing techniques, and features a sound signature reminiscent of the famous microphones of old while at the same time exhibiting extremely low noise.It has been developed with a focus on detailed midrange response, coupled with silky smooth high frequencies, and warm, round, bass reproduction to make the NT1 an absolute standout in its class.In another world-first for RØDE, the transducer itself is suspended inside the microphone using Rycote?s industry-leading Lyre system, minimizing external vibrations at the capsule level. The capsule is then married to high-grade electronics that have been designed to provide the lowest noise level of any studio microphone available. The NT1 is an incredibly quiet microphone, measuring only 4.5dBA of self-noise.Its body is machined from 6061 aluminium and then nickel plated for resistance against corrosion. Finally it is coated in a durable, military-grade ceramic layer, using advanced electrostatic application techniques developed by RØDE to ensure an extremely hard wearing finish that is resistant to scratches or marks.The NT1 is supplied with the revolutionary new RØDE SMR shock mount…

122

Like the others said, dynamic mics have to be turned up all the way or it just won’t work right (especially for ACX stuff); at least my mic does for sure. I spent hours playing around with gain and volume and the only way I could consistently pass ACX (after things like normalize or compressor then normalize) was to have the gain and volume at max.

I’ve heard of the NT1 but ended up going with the AT2035 because it was (currently) within my price range. I already have the Blue Yeti but didn’t want to fight with that one on projects like this. Speaking of ‘quiet’ condenser mics, I also heard about this one - the CAD E100s. But at more than $400, there’s no way right now. :stuck_out_tongue:

http://www.amazon.com/CAD-Large-Diaphragm-Supercardioid-Condenser/dp/B002UXQTAK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455468713&sr=8-1&keywords=cad+e100s

123

Yes, I’ve decided that condensor mics are not ideal for this sort of work, and my budget. When sales come in, maybe then a top end mic like a Rode. Meantime I’ll stick with my Shure55SH Series II. Which isn’t cheap by the way.
I’d like to try a ribbon mic which are also dynamics, as I believe they give a richer tone than a lot of other mics.
Probably look around for a vintage type.
I’m also looking around for a small/good valve preamp. ( vacume tube ) as I figure they will be able to gate out the mouth noises, that fast digital lets through. Just an idea, and finding such a thing may be an issue?

124

Yes, I’ve decided that condensor mics are not ideal for this sort of work, and my budget. When sales come in, maybe then a top end mic like a Rode. Meantime I’ll stick with my Shure55SH Series II. Which isn’t cheap by the way.
I’d like to try a ribbon mic which are also dynamics, as I believe they give a richer tone than a lot of other mics.
Probably look around for a vintage type.
I’m also looking around for a small/good valve preamp. ( vacume tube ) as I figure they will be able to gate out the mouth noises, that fast digital lets through. Just an idea, and finding such a thing may be an issue?
Now heres what I’m talking… Look for it on Amazon. Brilliant. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?k=Art+Tube+Mp+Original+-+Valve+Mic+Preamp+With+48V+

Description
The original ART Tube MP put professional-caliber tube preamplification into the hands of thousands of musicians and recordists who wanted great tube tone.The new ART Tube MP Studio features ART’s ?OPL? Output Protection Limiter, which precisely and accurately controls and maintains the output peak signal.The OPL circuitry is crucial in protecting the next link in a signal chain - such as a hard-disk recording system or a sound card.The Tube MP Studio goes even further, with the inclusion of a VU meter for observation and measurement of the unit’s output level, which enables the user to keep his signal consistent with desired levels.The meter also reflects the impact of the OPL circuitry on the signal. For example, if the signal is ‘in the red’ on the meter, the meter will reflect the attenuation of the signal when the OPL is activated, and the signal is brought out of the ‘red’.The Tube MP Studio is the only Mic Pre in it’s class with sophisticated metering and OPL functionality. These features alone can add hundreds of dollars to the price of a processorThe Tube MP Studio can be used in a wide variety of applications including recording, project and home studios, where it’s metering functionality and OPL circuit really shines. It also functions as a direct box, with impedance matching and preamplification for line-level sources.The ART Tube MP Studio’s performance exceeds that of units costing many times its price… and it’s unique combination of features and flexibility will make it a must-have in any audio toolkit. Tube MP ? Studio Features * Provides Superior Preamplification for: Microphones, Instruments and Line Level Sources * Analog VU Meter * OPL? Output Protection Limiter * Hand-Selected 12AX7A Vacuum Tube * Variable I

125

How is that different from the Scarlett Solo? Will it work on the mics we already have?

126

I wouldn’t advise these mics for audio books. EIN is very, very good, but the tone isn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, these are very nice mics for a lot of things, just not for narrators. Too bright. For this kind of job, most revered mics (on the net) are plain overkill.

And I seem to remember you concluded dynamic mics are the thing to go for?

Have a look at the Sennheiser 8XX. Very nice tone, affordable and a bit higher output (2,7 mV/Pa) than an SM7b (1,12 mV), for instance. The 835, fi, is around 100 € here and around 125-150 AU$.

A tube preamp won’t get rid of plopping noises. It’ll change the tone, but I don’t think you need that as you are not singing, but talking. Tube preamps have their use, but you need several of those to cover all voices. For audio books, a good clean preamp is the thing to go for.

Also, a real GOOD tube preamp isn’t cheap. It’s bloody expensive. The cheap ones are real ripoffs, as the tube isn’t even functioning. That’s why they have to put leds behind the tube if it’s visible. If you want to know more, look for “starved plate design”.

Take a look at the Aerco MP2:
http://www.aerco.net/html/mp2.html
Very clean tone, extremely low noise floor (-127 dBm for 50 dB gain you can use at 100%). It’s 750 US$.

Also very good: Golden Age Project Pre-73 Preamp MKII, around 350 US$.

Most lesser preamps won’t beat what you have, as the Focusrite is good, clean and has a reasonable noise floor. It’s just a pity that it’s built for high output condensers. The Sennheiser E835 would solve that, as it’s about 8 dB louder than the Shure 55 you have now.

127

Rode isn’t top end. That’s Royer, Schoeps, Neumann, ACO Pacific, Sanken, Brauner, Sennheiser MKH and especially the former B&K, now called DPA, not to be confused with DAP.

Rode used to be a simple marketing operation. The original NT1 was a Chinese LDC, with some Rode quality control. Over the years, Rode has evolved and they make most stuff themselves now.

128

It is however recommended in at least one place by ACX. http://blog.acx.com/2013/09/05/acx-studio-gear-series-part-1-microphones-and-preamps/
One good feature of the NT1-A is that compared to similarly priced condenser mics, it has exceptionally low self-noise. I agree that they are “bright”, and because of that they probably won’t suit all voices, but that can easily be moderated with a little Eq (turn down the treble a bit after recording, and that helps to reduce background hiss even further).

129

Tube preamps are mostly a marketing thing as executed. But. A performer at work swore by (and occasionally at) his Gates microphone amplifier. The smooth, mellow sound isn’t all tube. You’re actually listening to the transformers at both ends. The expensive, heavy audio transformers. And that’s not even counting the power transformer. Where, exactly are you going to get 300vdc from to run the tubes? The transformers alone can run hundreds of dollars.

I got involved when it stopped working reliably. It was, depending on no fixed condition, crackling. It had been back to the supplier (lots of legacy equipment in the garage) multiple times and had all the cheap, easily replaced parts replaced…multiple times. I called the output transformer sparking between winding wires—when it felt like it. Turns out over weeks of fuss I was right.

I found a roughly compatible plate output transformer and installed it. The crackling stopped immediately, but the amplifier never sounded exactly right after that. It was so close that he’s probably still using it.

Which brings us to purchasing replacement tubes. Nobody remembers this, but drugstores had tube checkers in the corner and you could bring the tubes from your TV in with a bag and test them. And buy new ones as the older ones failed. Tubes don’t work forever like solid state electronics.

I think Russian Svetlana is still making 12AX7 and 12AU7 new vacuum tubes. You will become acquainted with the reason we all rejoiced when solid-state electronics got good enough so we didn’t have to deal with “Fire Bottles” any more.

Even louder rejoicing when people started to make Vacuum Tube effects software.

Highly recommended.

Koz

130

They are rather hard to eq, in my experience… It’s more of a hit or miss. Either they suit a singer’s voice, or they don’t. And I wouldn’t use them for narration. Full stop. BTW I own the original NT1 and the NT1a (not the latest version).

Look at the CAD E100. Comparable price-wise (dunno 'bout Australia, tho…), even lower noise/higher output. Hardly any brightness peak.

But it’s no longer available… except on ebay. Look at the graph. No peak at 10 KHz, but a dip! That is fairly unique as condensers go.

Owww… Replaced by E100S. Virtually the same.

http://cadaudio.com/products/equitek/e100s

Ouch. 500 $. Paid mine 275, I think.

BTW, I haven’t heard you voice yet, as I couldn’t find the audio part of your book on Amazon. Care to post a link? Fragments here are too short to really form an opinion.

131

There’s a guy in France who does replica’s of any glass tube ever made. And besides Russia, there are several other manufacturers in Hungary, Poland… I don’t know the quality as I still have a small stock of Telefunken, Mazda, Adzam, Philips… These surface here in NOS condition every now and then. As long as they aren’t any of the wanted “audiophile” tubes, prices are low. If they are “audiophile”, they go straight to ebay, for a lot of money :laughing:

Even louder rejoicing when people started to make Vacuum Tube effects software.

Sounds exactly the same, unless you have audiophile ears, of course…

In the latter case, I can also make you a version with germanium transistors, pre WWII tubes, transformers with an unobtanium core, hand wound with vintage OFC copper wire by Swedish virgins and 24kt gold plated Neutrik connectors with Swarovsky crystals. :laughing:

132

Short answer. I don’t know yet. I have to do the research yet. Sunday night and I’m watching Martian… :slight_smile:

133

So I searched on Amazon for “valve mic preamps” and turned up dozens… of new versions…

134

Wrong search, wrong source…

Search for “tube mic preamps” and use Google, or whatever search engine you prefer. Most of the stuff on Amazon is fake. Some doesn’t even have tubes…

And the true classics, like Rupert Neve’s designs or Studer clones probably won’t even show up.

There’s an excellent designer in Australia, who sells kits and ready-built preamps. Mostly transistor based, but I think he has a couple of tube designs too. Only, I can’t find his site atm.

135

He no longer sells kits…

This is the guy: Dax Liniere

http://www.puzzlefactory.com.au/

136

Vacuum tubes weigh very little. They’re mostly, you know, vacuum. But the surrounding stuff needed to make them work can weigh as much as a lorry/truck. If you can pick up your preamp with one hand (or it doesn’t get warm in extended use) it’s very likely not real.

I found a picture I took of the surgery (attached). The transformer next the coffee cup is the old one with a leaky insulation layer. The squarish one to the right is the new one and I was making the screw holes line up.

Note the tools needed to fix this amplifier are remarkably similar to the ones needed to fix a lorry/truck/motorcycle.

Koz
Gates_SA-134 copy.jpg

137

I see.

I’m lucky to have a professional motor repair shop here. They can recoil almost anything. And I have a vintage coil making machine, so I can recoil some of these myself. That is, if I can get them to open up.

This one looks like a hard one to open without damaging the looks. And its probably impregnated with resin.

Fortunately, transformer hardly ever break. Capacitors, otoh…

Gates 40B? The one that goes with the Model M “Velocity microphone”?

I don’t recognize it. I don’t expect to see them a lot here in EU. I can understand his attachment to this unit, especially with that mic. :open_mouth:

This one?
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/gates_microphone_amp.html

Or a 60B?

http://gates-harris-history.com/1936-01%20January.pdf

138

That is, if I can get them to open up.

That’s the limit right there. If you have to deform the mu-metal surround, you’re dead.

Fortunately, transformer hardly ever break.

That’s why it took so long to repair. “Are you sure you replaced the coupling caps?” Yes. Twice.

We were also in the Wizard Zone of trying to find a crack in the ceramic tube sockets. I eventually got extreme (not that I make a habit of that or anything) and substituted a large fixed resistor for the vacuum tube. The noise did not go away. The only thing left in the circuit [dum, dum, dummmmmm] the output transformer.

Koz

139

Anybody remember what the original post was about?

Koz

140

Yes,
@DL Voice, @Dana_Tucker, myself and ocassionally @steve - and yourself, were discussing the merits of various bits of equipment, and how to use same - or not - to try and achieve optimum recording sessions. I probably started this particular part of the thread by commenting that I had read that recording into the old Tape Recorders, meant that fast transients like mouth noises were largely lost at the tape head. This led me to thinking that valve based equipment may actually provide something of an answer in some areas. Including richer tones for voice, and the ability to increase gain for Dynamic mics without overloading all the other input factors. I also commented about Vintage equipment - and that started the off-shoot :slight_smile:

This particular item on Amazon may just do the trick for me I thought. The company is here. The Company specs look pretty good.

Now, back on track. Editing out mouth noises is a laborious process. It’s well documented throughout the industry, both film/tv/and radio. It’s not really possible to wander through the spectral view, and the only way I have so far is play through the wave form view, and stop on each audible occurrence, and edit it out. Getting real good at spotting the little ‘clicks’ in the wave form.
It’s no good sitting back from the mic, and upping the gain, because all that’s doing is increasing the sensitivity - and the mouth noises are still picked up, as well as amplifying all the other rubbish in the background. Back to square one.

So I’m looking for something that will maybe … hmm . gate ? out the mouth noises. Cant use a frequency filter, because they - the mouth noises - aren’t all the same …

So I figured, that some of the problem may be the speed of Digital processing. Digital is fast enough to pick up the rising and falling edges of mouth noises - predominantly tongue movement, and just swallowing? Now maybe, just maybe, like the old Tape Recorders, a valve preamp, although still being sensitive enough to pick up the noises, will be just a fraction slow enough to smooth the edges and merge such tiny noises into the background… So, I’m going to try it in a few days. When I can buy the equipment.