DIY Oktava 319 Mic Mods – Part 1, introduction
October 25th, 2010 by marshalserna
Oktava "Flat Top" mod by Michael Joly (NOT DIY)
More than a year ago Jess and I purchased a pair of Oktava 319 microphones with the express intent of having them modified by Michael Joly at Oktavamod.com. Several years ago Guitar Center was blowing these out at $89 each. They currently go for about $300 new. We found them on Ebay for less than $100 each.
They sound pretty good stock, but according to many sources (including tapeop.com and gearslutz.com) Mike really makes them sound amazing. In addition to replacing all of the electronics with much higher grade components (except the transformer which is great stock) he dampens the body of the mic (stock, it noticeably “rings” when you tap it), removes the high frequency resonator disks, and removes a layer of the headbasket and its supports to achieve a more open sound. He does this all for the low price of $299 per mic – which is very reasonable. A year or so ago it actually seemed like it would fit in our budget… eventually.
As time continued to pass, this $600 investment started to lose priority status. So I did a bunch of research on cheaper ways to get it done…
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 319, diy, mod, oktava, studio
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DIY – Classic studio compression
September 4th, 2010 by marshalserna
The real deal... LA-2A. NOT DIY.
I’ve seen plenty of preamp kits and microphone mods in Tape Op and on the internet. It’s relatively easy to find complete kits to build your own Neve or API preamp clone. There are several tube preamp kits around as well. Only recently have I come across DIY plans for the next link in the audio chain: compression and limiting.
Manufactured - Universal Audio 1176LN. NOT DIY.
It’s nearly impossible to find a professional studio that does not have at least one 1176LN (FET based) and/or LA-2A (tube/electroluminescent based) in the racks. These are the classic compressors/limiters, and as such they do not come cheap – about $2000 and $3000 per channel.
Universal Audio’s 1176LN at Sweetwater
Universal Audio LA-2A at Sweetwater
These designs have been around for 40 years or more. I’m not sure why (copyright or patent issues?) but no one seems to offer a complete kit.
Hairball Audio comes close with on the 1176 though… Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: compression, diy, limiting, tubes
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New Domain
June 27th, 2010 by marshalserna
I started messing with this WordPress business a few months ago, but life had other plans. Dad had a major stroke, and there was a lot of family stuff and time spent at the hospital. I kind of wish I would have blogged about all that, but there’s plenty on Facebook I suppose. Also – while so many are still aching for work, I seem to have had plenty as of late.
So, I’m back at it. There’s still a bunch of stuff I need to figure out, but at least I was able to set up a new domain here, and import some of the posts I’d written. I hope to set up some kind of Facebook connect soon.
Tags: wordpress
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Mac Desktop Sharing (VNC) over Internet
June 27th, 2010 by marshalserna
A while ago I started using VNC (Desktop Sharing) both at work and at the home studio. In my opinion, this sort of technology is a real game changer. From my laptop (or any other computer on my LAN) I can access any other computer – just as though I was sitting in front of it. Here at the home studio I’ve wired balanced tie-lines from the control room to most of the rest of the house. *Anywhere* I might need to record I can open my laptop and control Pro Tools or anything else – WAY better than I could with my Tranzport or any other wireless solution I’ve seen.
G4 Powerbook running JollysFast VNC. Desktop sharing with Pro Tools running on another mac in the control room. Out of frame is a 20 channel snake... I was remotely assigning track inputs.
Even cooler than that, with a little intervention you can do this from anywhere you can get online! Recently I used a remote desktop connection to make a quick edit on a Full HD video – from across town. It could have just as easily been around the world.
A while ago helped a friend set up Desktop Sharing over the Internet. I thought I’d share my instructions here. He was using a Mac, but (save one great big one) the steps are nearly the same for Windows. I should add: this friend had already set up VNC to run on their local network. I’ll likely write another article on that initial setup. These instructions show how to configure your router to access your desktop over the internet.
Tags: laptop, studio, vnc
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DIY/kit guitar effect pedals
April 21st, 2010 by marshalserna
Monday night I ordered parts to mod 2 of the foot switch pedals I currently use for my electric guitar setup.
My amp is a Peavey Classic 50 2×12, which has a double foot switch – a channel select switch (normal/overdrive) and a reverb switch. That’s fine, except there are no indicator lights to let you know how the switch is currently set. There’s also no indication on the amp. I’ve got a similar problem with the foot switch for my Ibanez modulation delay. The delay unit itself is a rack mount that sits on top of my amp – BEHIND ME. The delay box does have an indicator light, but I have to turn completely away from my vocal mic to see it.
I tried a bunch of commercially available 3rd party foot switches, but none of them worked with my gear. So I’ve decided to mod the ones I have. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: diy, guitar, mod, pedals
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DELAY Delay delay… a study of The Edge’s efx
April 19th, 2010 by marshalserna
A very detailed dissection of delays used by the Edge on a LOT of U2 songs.
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