Pomplamoose has a “sound” I can’t exactly describe except by trotting out all the buzzwords, “polished, professional, well-produced, etc.” Lots of performances sound like PMJ. That’s just the example.
They’re all hitting the same notes and have similar production values. Yes, PMJ does have strings on occasion. That’s too easy.
I ran across one of Pomplamoose’s tunes a couple of weeks ago and have worn out the groove on a couple of them. Their Los Angeles concert dates are sold out or I might have gone to see if they could translate that sound to a live venue. (I’m not a “go-outer.” It would be more like “failing to go out least.”)
Any ideas? I’ve resisted doing the usual sound tests, spectrum analysis, etc. I suspect that’s too simplistic.
I see one of their microphones satisfies the requirements of a Successful Device. It’s dented, there’s no paint left, you can’t read the knobs and dials any more and you can’t have it right now because it’s on a job.
People who liked Pomplamoose also liked ScaryPockets …
The vocals are not plain centre-panned mono: stereo-reverb/width has been added.
Everything is miked-up individually, so all the performers are isolated, which is good.
One sound oddity I noticed was the drums don’t come out and smack you in the mouth. In spite of Ben’s best efforts, the drum track is always restrained, balanced and supporting the vocals. The drummer for a lot of this is Ben Rose. Instagram @bensnroses. Cute.
Caleb’s command of microphones is amazing. One of the songs features a cello and I can’t tell if it was real or not, but he appeared to be using a 44 as a microphone.
A 44? Really? It’s not unusual for people to have a huge, cool-looking microphone on the desk but secretly be using Something Else for the actual sound. They do work. I have one. But I wouldn’t have put it together to use it on a cello.
The one with the dent and no paint appears to be a Neumann.
Those are fun. Those things were still in use decades after the 44 stopped being used. There’s impedance and tonal adjustments on the bottom and that screw on the side shoves baffles and doors around the ribbon to get different patterns. You can hear them clunking into position as you turn the screw.
Don’t blow into one. That’s a good way to lose some teeth if the owner catches you.
In the directional configuration, It has proximity effect. The closer you get, the ballsier you sound.
NBC Radio News on the Hour. Now in Washington, here is Russ Ward.
1.2 Magnitude Richter.
The New York announcer does not have three testicles. I asked.
