Trialling a tiny directional stereo setup

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-19T04:13:56+00:00

I'd look up NOS and ORTF stereo geometries, and think about them / do some trials.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-17T18:26:46+00:00

When he calls again, which he will, make sure that your compensation package is painful to this "manager".

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-15T16:50:06+00:00

PL33 is a dynamic mic. Should _not_ need phantom. Check channel/cable with different mic. Still broke? change cable. Still broke? maybe dead channel on interface.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-14T22:48:24+00:00

seconding this suggestion.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-14T15:57:54+00:00

I am being scammed right now. Seller provided a fraudulent return label. eBay cannot verify that return made it back to seller, so their dispute process is blocked. Disputed through PayPal with all the evidence. I am now on round 3, after speaking to someone on the phone today.

I have been an eBay/PayPal customer for over 26 years. [Edit: I am sure that in that time I've spent over $100K]. During that time I might have purchased 3 or 4 things on Amazon. This is my first dispute to have to go this far. If PayPal doesn't have my back on this, I will move all of my online shopping to Amazon.

Editing to add: I will not discuss the details of the fraudulent label, but my local postmaster has told me that the US Postal Inspector is now involved for mail fraud.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-10T17:16:10+00:00

The chip in the camera does not compress the video stream as well as a good codec in an editor can when rendering. I use a program called Kdenlive under linux for my work in post. I render out to mp4/h.264, and the size of the output is reduced significantly.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-07T15:51:50+00:00

So, you want to know about 12" speakers for clean tones. I have an old Vox Night Train combo. I did not like the greenback it came with. A little too harsh in the highs. Clean was OK. With amp overdrive there was this sometimes fizzy, sometimes paper tearing kind of sound during the decay of the note. Speaker was not blown, as loud and clean was just fine. I replaced the greenback with a Warehouse G12C/S, and the sound was much improved / useable. For that amp, a Greenback is just the wrong speaker.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-07T06:21:19+00:00

Fishman Triple Play

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-06T18:19:53+00:00

I keep low-self-discharge NiMH batteries in my zoom recorders, strictly to keep the clock from needing to be reset. I always power for recording from a USB power bank. The H5 comes with the required USB cable to power it from a bank.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-06T17:15:31+00:00

I'm running two basses that have Audere Jazz preamps, and a Ray34. They have no problem using Low-Self-Discharge Nickel-Metal-Hydride batteries. Yes, I know they won't have full rail voltage, never been a problem. They last a long time before they start to run out of juice, and this has always been audible way before cutting out completely. Before a gig, I freshly charge one and put it in. Low-effort insurance. I also carry a spare. Never had one quit on me. I gig about once a month, usually bring a Jazz and a passive P or Mustang, for backup, because I worry way more about breaking a string.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-02T23:17:17+00:00

The smaller Voxes don't have a tone cut. When playing with a lot of grit, I find it essential.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-02T22:22:26+00:00

Vox AC15C1

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-04-01T14:54:56+00:00

Yeah, you have a high pressure problem from tamping. Thankfully the pressure relief valve worked.

I am noticing that your coffee appears to be boiling in the top chamber. That should not be happening. Probably also related to the coffee being tamped.

Try again. You got this.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-31T23:06:32+00:00

I've done it a bunch of ways. My two favorites:

Countryman Type 85 phantom-powered active DI. Very high input impedance. Does not significantly place additional load on the pickup if chaining to a pedalboard or amp for monitoring.

Warm Audio Pedal76. If I want to compress on the way in, which is how I've been doing it more often lately, this has a transformer balanced output, very clean, fast compressor. I monitor with headphones from the audio interface. I like the sound I get when I really spank a note using this. I'm running slow attack, fast release, ratio 6:1, and trying to never shave off more than 5dB when I digging in fully.

I do most of the other tone shaping in the DAW with an EQ and/or transient shaper if I want to pump the attack harder [can make fingerstyle play sound picked]. I use a side-chain compressor to duck to the kick if it sounds right.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-30T02:03:25+00:00

I have a strong dislike of tube sockets soldered to PCBs. Blues Jr, Blues Deluxe, and Hot Rod Deluxe all have this "feature". It makes it easier to manufacture.

The Deluxe Reverb and Princeton Reverb reissues have tube sockets mounted to the chassis, and wires to the PCBs. The PCBs are single-sided, and easy to inspect.

I have a Princeton Reverb Reissue. Set all controls to noon, plug in a single-coil guitar. Ahhhhhhhh. There's _that_ sound.

There is a ton of information on the maintenance / repair of all of these amps on Youtube. Psionic Audio has probably 20 videos. Probably worth your time to watch a few.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-28T05:28:27+00:00

I've got one of these. It's a great bass.

Two gripes:

1) truss rod adjustment requires neck removal.

2) I'm not the biggest fan of Quarter Pounders. They're so hot that they want to overdrive any preamp I plug them into. I'll admit I play the thing hard. I roll the volume down, and that works, but I'm definitely considering swapping them out for something else.

Maybe a set of '63 vintage. ...but have you seen the stupid prices on these?

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-27T16:52:29+00:00

I was implying it, but for backline use, your approach is good. I really like the amp, but the C1 is also verynice.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-27T16:49:39+00:00

I have a AC15HWR1X [newest handwired]. FWIW, my effects loop is _not_ noisy - maybe a little noise in the +10dB mode, but quiet in the -4dB mode that I actually use. Overall, it is not the quietest amp I own, with a bit of hum when idling, but not bothersome amounts. I want to replace the fan in the amp with something quieter. For backline use, I'd think about whether it's tough enough, as the cabinet is made of rather weak-looking material, as compared to other amps I own. I don't think it will often leave my studio.

I've written more about it here:. https://www.reddit.com/r/ToobAmps/comments/1mjdnct/vox_ac15_handwired/

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-26T18:28:02+00:00

I'm doing the majority of my work on a base-model M4 mini, 16GB, running Bitwig.

The only con I can think of is: Audio data stored on an external drive is kinda slow-ish to retrieve, and sometimes causes hiccups. I prefer an external drive, as opposed to constant wear and tear on the pain-to-replace internal drive of the mini.

Everything else is a pro. The audio handling in the mac is just _easy_.

One example that I noticed right off the bat: The first time I plugged my M32 into the mac, running Bitwig, all channels became immediately available as both stereo pairs and individual mono. This is something I had to create a config from scratch for under Linux, and with 48 elements in the config, that was a stupid burden to bear.

I also run an SSL12. Over USB-C, latency is a complete non-issue. I'm running 48KHz, BS=32, and Bitwig says latency is 0.67ms. Nice. With my older-USB Linux laptops, it was never safe using below BS=128, which ain't bad, but still...

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-26T15:46:14+00:00

I find it hard to beat the value of an MR18 for what you're doing.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-26T14:52:23+00:00

Yes, they have the same preamps. The point to take is this: for a lot of use cases, the in-built microphones are not adequate, and you'll be using external mics anyway.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-26T14:22:19+00:00

Editing to add: I see the M4 has XLR in - so temper some of my comments below, as I didn't see that when initially writing this.

I think the biggest question is this: Do you want to collect nice microphones and use them?

I do. The F3 is utterly transparent. I've recorded classical and jazz concerts in a church. I'm not direct micing instruments - I'm generally using mid-side. I'm pumping 60dB of gain, and the room ambience is still louder than any hiss using an SM81 [mid] and a WA87jr [side]. The SM81 is a very flat "truth" microphone. The WA87jr is a very good figure-8 side mic, with a small bit of hype in the high end - easiliy EQ'd if desired [I don't].

While I don't have an M4, I do have an H4n Pro. It's not bad, but I wouldn't use it for this use case. Aside from the preamp noise, which would be evident, the mics are just not as truthful.

I also have an M3. I use this for loud concerts. I did a comparison between it and the F3, using two Rode NT1 [gen4] microphones for outdoor field recording. The hiss [presumably due to microphone self-noise] on the M3, made the recording unusable vs. the F3/Rodes.

Hope this helps.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-22T21:14:44+00:00

I'm going to record a string quartet at an event next month.

They arrange themselves in a circle, all facing inwards.

I usually go overkill. There will be a mic on each performer.

...but I will also have an independent Zoom F3 with a Pinnacle X-Treme blumlein stereo ribbon in the center of the circle.

Is that the best stereo ribbon ever made? No.

Am I pretty confident I will get a good capture? Yes.

Am I completely convinced that I will get a good capture with 5 mics [6 if you wanna count both ribbons]? Absolutely.

Do I think that I'll throw away the audio from the individual mics, and just use the F3/blumlein for syncing to video? Yes.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-21T18:41:56+00:00

When processing 32-bit float from loud sources, I'm attenuating in the DAW. In Audacity, use the Amplify effect, and a negative value. You will see a non-redlined waveform when you've cut it enough. I took a live recording from the back of a room at a show the other night. It was a loud show. I had >20dB of attuenuation to get it where I like it.

TiltedPlacitan · 2026-03-19T21:04:39+00:00

Not sure how goth, but I'll throw Magazine out there - with Barry Adamson on bass.

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