The Sound Of Woodworm

[Keith]

Mark, oh guru of the tracks,

I heard a tale that you had recorded the "ambience" of Woodworm Studios before it was sold off by the Peggs so that it could be added to later Fairport recordings.

There have also been tales of people recording desert and canyon ambiences to add that extra special something to studio recordings.

Please tell me how you record an ambience, and how it can be used in the studio - as technical as you like, I have a translator who sits near me at work 

Many thanks

Keith

[Liam Schwilik]

Hi Keith,

Thanks for your question.

With the advent of digital technology, also came the possibility to record ambience, or acoustic spaces and environments. You do this by playing the sound of a gun shot, or a sweep tone ( a sign wave tone that is swept from 20hz to 20,000khz- each ways of generating broadband noise across the frequency spectrum) loudly through high quality speakers and record this process by high quality microphones in the room you wish to sample. There are a few software programmes and hardware units that allow this principle to be applied. I believe, "Convolution"  is the term for this type of reverb? Having recorded either the gun shot, or sweep tone, (both give different results) the original gun shot, or sweep tone can then be removed mathematically from the original recording, leaving only the reverb. You then save these samples as patches and use them in programmes such a Altiverb or Space Designer for sinthetically producing the feeling of real space and reverbs. Yamaha and Sony each have hardware based devices that work to this principle.

The benifit is that it allows me to have an armoury of sounds and acoustic spaces no matter where I work. I can have very usable copies of old valve EMT plate reverbs, tape echos etc. etc. that are very rare, expensive and need lots of space, love, attention and money to keep them working...They can be amazing and offer a new concept to producers and engineers, but often, as usual, there is still no alternative to a real room - just like those musicians, they still do a better job than any pre-programmed midi or digital replication. But there is a lot of exciting equipment around now!

I hope this answers your question?

Regards,

Mark.

[Liam Schwilik]

P.S. What are all these smiley things and how are you meant to use them?

[Barry]

They are there to re-inforce messages and clarify tone of voice, etc.  You seem to have worked out how to use them, oh wizard of the knobs 

[Paul]

I think you just found out Liam.

Mark

Talking about digital recreations. I have a Valvetronix modelling amplifier, if I set it to Vox AC30, I can't tell the difference between it, and the AC30 I had when I was a youngster (except it doesn't go wrong as much). Can you, as a proffesional, tell if something has been recorded using a modelling amp, or the real thing, in a blind test. Or whether Maart is playing a real Les Paul, or his Variax?

Paul

[Keith]

I hope this answers your question?

Great answer - yes it does.

[Liam Schwilik]

Hi Paul,

The amp you have probably uses the very same technology. I had a session a few months ago, where the young band came in with some amps that really sounded dreadfull. I'd just bought a new amp simulating plugin, so I decided to use it. I fed the two guitar players the mic'd sounds coming off their own amps, fed to the headphones. However, in the control room, I had built two new sounds from di feeds on the the electric guitars. These di's fed the guitar simulator. It saved the session. They can sound amazing, but at the end of the day, I believe, it's what you do, more than what you have that makes a difference. I saw Maart's thread on the Variax he uses, again, similar technology.


Mark.

[Liam Schwilik]

Hi ,

I thought I would mention that I'm currently planning to sampling Beer caves, near me in Devon. There are miles and miles of chambers ranging from 10x8' rooms to huge cavernous spaces. I think I'll pick a really hot summer day where the cool of the cave beckons. Also, the possibility of Exeter Cathedral YTBC?

Mark

[Ian_]

Hi ,

I thought I would mention that I'm currently planning to sampling Beer caves, near me in Devon

 Wow! Are there really beer caves?  Is that anything like Ken Dodds treacle mines in Knotty Ash?
 Might be a great incentive to overcome my claustrophobia....

[PaulT]

or the snuff quarries & the jam butty mines 

Couple of other suggestions for sampling venues... Truro Cathedral, Herm Island (east coast) - just sea, air & birds.

Cheers

[Tullfanatic]

Hi ,

I thought I would mention that I'm currently planning to sampling Beer caves, near me in Devon. There are miles and miles of chambers ranging from 10x8' rooms to huge cavernous spaces. I think I'll pick a really hot summer day where the cool of the cave beckons. Also, the possibility of Exeter Cathedral YTBC?

Mark

Hi Mark!

Have you ever heard the cd In the Caves of the Iron Mountain by bassist Tony Levin?  He and a few other great musicians recorded it in.... a cave!  It's got a great sound and great tunes, I highly recommend it.   

Annette,  armchair spelunker

[Barry]

I know Exeter Cathedral is a nice "space" to sing in, having done so.

The most amazing "space" ("ambience") I've ever sung in is St Mark's, Venice.  If you can get that one ....

[Ian_]

The most amazing "space" ("ambience") I've ever sung in is St Mark's, Venice.  If you can get that one ....

 You can't just let it go at that, Barry; you were singing in one of the most remarkable man-made places on God's great Earth ? ! Please tell us more. What were you singing?

  Ian, in awe and jealous. 

[Barry]

Touring with a choir from Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammer School (my old school) where a friend and contemporary was then head of music.  When arranging the tour he told the agents that he wanted to do two market square concerts and sing mass in a local church.  For the local church, they came back with St Mark's, Venice!  After asking the obvious question "What?  The St Marks Venice?" "Yes Sir - can't miss it, big square, pigeons, golden horses, bell tower") he elected to sing entirely English sacred music (Tallis, Gibbons .... can't remember what else).

There is a remarkable "dwell" on the sound, so after you finish, you can hear what it sounded like.

It was lovely to get a standing ovation from the Nuns at the end of the service, too.

The musical event of my life so far .... one I'll never forget.  (Mind you, I couldn't resist belting out the start of the 'Deus in adiutorium meum intende' from the Monteverdi Vespers)

But this is totally off topic .....

[johanna/ulla]

Hi Mark,
good to see you here in this nice place.
A personal question: How is Molly?

[Ian_]

Hi Barry 
          sorry for taking things off topic. But thankyou. What a lovely experience....

              Ian 

[Liam Schwilik]

Hi Ulla,

Molly is right by my side and say's thanks for the Tiara, I'm verry well and happy.

Mark & Molly

P.S. I have replied to a number of the messages and my replies seem to have gone astray and not made the forum? 

[johanna/ulla]

P.S. I have replied to a number of the messages and my replies seem to have gone astray and not made the forum? 

Men and technology ......

[Liam Schwilik]

Hi Ulla,

Well I was taking my time at something, which most men get accused of failing to do...

Apparently, it's a time out problem with the forum message element?

Anyway, how are you? Still doing some promoting in Germany?

Mark.

[Pugwash]

Been reading this thread with great interest. I've also read your Recording Column in Acoustic Mag.

I was interested in your comments about Bert J's use of low action. Maart has told me he always prefers a higher action and Stevie RV apparently had a very high action for tone. Does it really make that much difference, and if so why would BJ use a low set up?

Finally I've often noticed the different qualities that come when I strum a guitar when it is hung up, the reasonant qualities are quite different, goodness knows how they might be captured!

Puggs