January 2007
Tuesday, Jan 30
Good stuff from Le Studio...
H8000A -
I loaded up one of the I/O setup presets, "Analog/AES 8 track A,B" - which means that Processor A uses all four analog inputs and outputs, and Processor B uses all four AES/EBU (digital) inputs and outputs. This is extremely cool, and allows you to load "quad in, quad out" presets into both processors, making the H8000A a true 8-in, 8-out effects processing machine. Hell yes!!! This thing is a monstrous beast and I love it.
MIDI -
What I thought was the Motif "Base channel receive" setting, turned out to be something else. The synths kept triggering each other when their physical ports were absolutely discreet...I finally looked in Pro Tools preferences>MIDI, and discovered an option for a default MIDI Thru instrument. (I forget what the options are, the machine's off right now.) A very nice feature, if you want it. Anyway, I selected "None" - problem solved. Nobody triggering anybody else.
I did a simulation of a syndicated radio program, recording eight simultaneous inputs, with Sony Oxford compressors strapped across all inputs. I recorded for a straight hour. The system never flinched. Pretty different from the last time I did this, at the old place, when their system froze at about fifty minutes in (they've since upgraded their systems, but it ain't like MY system).
Sunday, Jan 28
It's likely that no one who reads this drivel understands or cares about the technical crap that I post (with the possible exception of Eric, Tim, and Mike McCurdy), but anyway:
MIDI related -
(1) The Motif was responding to the Handsonic and the Virus, even though each synth was set to Local-On. I set the Motif to "Base channel receive OFF" and that solved it. That setting is for multi-part synths (like the Motif) being driven by an external sequencer, and it made the Motif respond to anything coming through the MIDI interface that everything's connected to.
(2) Unless Pro Tools, and/or the Audio/MIDI application that holds your MIDI setup configuration are opened, the Digidesign MIDI I/O interface sits in a mode where it's spitting out a constant stream of communication/garbage, as indicated by the front panel LED's. Unless either or both apps are open, all synths will trigger each other with key events - even when they're all set to Local-On. So if I want to simply walk into the room and play the three MIDI instruments, I need to ensure that (1) the computer is turned off, or (2) if the computer is on, Pro Tools and/or the Audio/MIDI setup app must be opened. I've searched and can't find any info on this. I might do some "free ninety-day" tech support.
H8000 related -
I spent a long time trying to get wrapped around User Groups. There are ten, which act as placeholders that store up to 128 settings each, for convenient organization of favorites. I cannot seem to store favorite settings in a specific group without major headaches. If you've stored five consecutive presets in a group, and you change the preset that's stored in slot number three, it apparently deletes whatever is stored in slots 0 through 2. I've searched and found no remedies for this. And there is no pattern to what I've just described; there are other anomalies in these efforts that I can't figure out. I can't determine what to attribute to the machine versus myself.
What the hell...who cares?
Friday, Jan 26
A friend of mine's wife passed away yesterday morning. They'd known each other since college, and had been married fifteen months.
I guess better a little than not at all. I'm glad he was there for her.
Other: the Talbot Sound "official open house" was held last night. Several people came and enjoyed; there were others who had prior commitments. I had lots of support and assistance, and I believe the proper impression was made. I'm trying very hard to not panic that the phone isn't ringing yet. Although, at the moment, it's only seven o'clock the next morning.
Saturday, Jan 20
Alrighty, yet another day of frantic action, performing various tasks, running errands, and at the end of the day I've accomplished...what?
I have a couple of single-pair cables to assemble. I have to test a piece of gear that arrived yesterday, that hopefully will replace one that has issues; an easy fix would be lovely. I have to find a place to store all my soldering gear, since the workshop is still not fully recovered from 2006. I have to mount a couple of coatracks, and three shelf brackets in the equipment closet to hang cables on.
I tried painting the metal outside door, but it's too cold and the paint glopped up like paste. (Thanks guys, for taking so many months to do the job, that now it's too cold to paint the damn door!)
I got a call from my crazy builder yesterday. I thought I'd never see him again. He said (he said) that he would come over early next week (ha ha ha ha ha) with a truck and haul off the remaining debris that is stacked beside the house. So I spent an hour hauling crap out of the shop and onto the pile outside.
There is an intriguing assortment of valuable things left over from the construction hell that I have absolutely no use for. They were either left here as samples, or I was told to buy them and then didn't need. Brushed aluminum hinges, spare brushed aluminum A/C outlet covers, heavy-duty brushed aluminum doorstops, millions of different types of screws and bolts. Absolutely ridiculous.
Oh, and I have food that needs to be cooked into meals, and an entire house to clean. Anybody want to pretend to be a family member and come over and lend a hand?
Wednesday, Jan 17 again
I recalibrated the Pro Tools system this afternoon, as well as the Line A inputs to the console. I decided I want the I/O reference level for the system to be -12 instead of -18. For some reason, I never adjusted the console in the beginning. During some recording tests today, I realized the A-channel output was too low, so using the oscillator in the Eventide 8000 (a very large thank-you for that, guys) I adjusted the A-channel's normally "fixed" gain trims to analog 0dbVU. Then, I re-performed the calibration procedure for the Pro Tools hardware interface.
This means I will record to and play back from Pro Tools at hotter (louder) levels, and now that the console is adjusted properly, everything is nice and full, and up louder where it's supposed to be.
Since I had to stand in the workshop while adjusting the interface at the rear of the equipment closet, I dug out my mother's binoculars from the hall linen closet so I could read the console and computer screen meters from a distance. I was thanking my mother out loud during this process. Her binoculars enabled me to do the job alone.
Wednesday, Jan 17
Alright, my telecom giant rage has abated somewhat. Once I PROVED that my little telephony issue WAS INDEED something beyond the scope of the average homeowner, Bellsouth AT&T have come out and replaced the cable pairs from the pole. So now the studio line is strong and clear.
They're probably the original lines that were put in when my parents built the place. I'm told that when they first lived here in 1955, they went for six months without a phone. That actually holds some appeal...
I purchased a small sound effects library, The Hollywood Edge Premiere Edition 1. Although I've worked with that set for ten years, it's got a good variety of very useful, high-quality things. It's one of those "if you can only have one library..." It's a start, and I want more.
Friday, Jan 12
Today was a low-key day, the first in quite a while. I only did a few errands, and tie-wrapped a couple of cables. No soldering, no flipping out, not much of anything.
And I am tired. I don't believe it too dramatic to say that I am physically, mentally, and emotionally spent.
Studio telephony is still completely screwed. I've had a personal technician whom I trust working on it; something is still very wrong. Bellsouth claims it is on my end (but of course!), and left me a rambling, ebonic sort of message, outlining a procedure that I should follow by going outside, opening the box on the house exterior, connecting a telephone to something, testing it, and if I still hear the problem, then I should call them.
People, I am in complete disbelief over this kind of garbage. Is someone like an eighty-year-old grandmother supposed to follow through with this kind of shit? Why in the name of all that's reasonable should ANYONE be fed this kind of complete, utterly insulting bullshit?
I HATE BELLSOUTH, PROBABLY MORE THAN I HATE ANY OTHER CORPORATE ENTITY (except Wal-Mart). It's likely the fault of the half-wit tech that installed the second line, on a Friday afternoon, wanting to get the hell home for the weekend.
Rant over...I am prepared to settle into a less frantic weekend, and am planning to conduct some testing of my connections and routing scenarios. I also plan to start playing with this stuff and having some fun.
We're planning a corporate-targeted open house in a couple of weeks. I'd originally been against it, preferring to have those people over in small groups, but I've been convinced otherwise by others whose opinions I'll go with in this matter. It is a marketing ploy after all, and although I know what the place looks like, everybody who has not seen it finished seems to be quite impressed.
And no, I haven't even thought about photos, because I'm still tidying up after the wiring. But I will put some up soon. Probably. Maybe. If I feel like it. I have to anyway, for the studio's web site...oh yeah, that...oh boy, what fuuuuun...
Monday, Jan 8
12:09 A.M.
It was a long afternoon/evening...
Saturday, Jan 6 again
D-sub 25 pin connectors, y'all. Four of them.
Don't mess with me, now...I'll come after your ass with a hot soldering iron.
Saturday, Jan 6
After nearly five hours of pure desperate hell, and managing to completely trash my existing wireless base stations' configurations, I have finally gotten the wired router set up and have internet access in the frigging studio, and restored the original wireless configuration.
Which means I can proceed to install Pro Tools, register the iLock, and download the Sony Oxford plugins I bought. (Except I still have one more Dsub 25-pin connector to solder, plus all the mic panel connectors.)
Many thanks to Mareesh/Mashar and Saleem/Saradh/Sahar at Linksys tech support for their kindness and thoroughness.
Thursday, Jan 5
Somewhere around midnight...
I am sick and tired of soldering.
I have more to go - but not a lot. I want to get the soldering station out of there, NOW. I've been using one of my mother's card tables, available and useful for many occasions since the late sixties. It now has solder and flux splattered on it.
After that comes computer-related crap, and hooking everything up to the patchbay (which also means routing/arranging/tie-wrapping multipair wiring harnesses in a lovely and organized fashion).
A longtime favorite client called on Tuesday wanting to complete a radio spot and get it distributed by tomorrow. I had to pass.
My tech designer came by on Tuesday and had some good suggestions for taming the Live Room. I would share them here now, but I've been awake since 5:20 A.M., missed lunch, and am at the end of stout Bloody Mary #3. Brain's fried.
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