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Jim Feeley

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Everything posted by Jim Feeley

  1. An announcement. No ship date or price available yet (anyone, correct me if I'm wrong, or fill in other details). I have only a hazy idea/guess where these slot into the market. More info here: https://deitymic.com/products/theos-digital-wireless/ Top-level features copied from that page: Dual Channel Reciever Wideband Digital UHF spectrum; 550-960 MHz* Built-in 32-bit float recorder in the transmitter Recordings are saved to a Micro SD card; up to 128Gb Can wirelessly sync timecode from the Deity TC-1 timecode generator Both the transmitter and receiver can be remotely controlled via the Sidus Audio™ app Upto 14hrs of battery life with lithium batteries Full-color LCD screen CNC-milled aluminum chassis SMA antenna ports
  2. Hopefully discussions are well under way. Remember last year the controversy around the documentary “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain”? Here's a brief and non-paywalled news story from The Guardian: Anthony Bourdain documentary sparks backlash for using AI to fake voice And here's a longer article that includes comments from the director and others from The New Yorker: The Ethics of a Deepfake Anthony Bourdain Voice Here's a short news story with some faked audio from the film:
  3. Not what you're asking for, but it looks like the RX can be stacked as in this picture from Sennheiser:
  4. Dan, have you reached out to Sound Devices? In my experience, they respond quickly and helpfully. Note I've only sent something in once, but that went well (this was before the apparent cost increase): support@sounddevices.com 1-800-505-0625 Or use the web form here: https://service.sounddevices.com/contact-support/ Perhaps they can direct you to an authorized repair person near you. Good luck!
  5. I still dig and periodically use my 302. Maybe drop a line to SD to see if they still service them. I'd guess they do and if they don't perhaps someone else probably does. And then buy one. But ya, it would be cool to see some basic utility tools from SD or a similar company. Maybe Ambient or Kortwich? (Doesn't seem to be in Zaxcom's world, but perhaps I'm wrong) Maybe something already exists or we'll see something new at NAB?
  6. @Phil Palmer, what labels did you end up going with? Happy with them? Still looking? thx...
  7. Such a great film. And gosh; the Tiny Dancer scene. Jeff, did you hear Fresh Air yesterday where Bill Crudup talks about his experiences on Almost Famous? From 'Almost Famous' to definitely famous, Billy Crudup is enjoying his new TV roles https://www.npr.org/2023/03/20/1164275110/billy-crudup-hello-tomorrow-morning-show-almost-famous 44-minute interview. Good stuff throughout. Excerpts and transcript here. But if you have time, give the audio a listen. The Almost Famous memories start around 19.54.
  8. I had another thought (<-- warning). Maybe Marc's correspondent was using a mic with very low sensitivity (e.g., a SM7B which is really popular with podcasters and YouTubers) and running it into a 32-bit recorder with a preamp that can't add enough gain to bring that mic's signal up to a reasonable or standard level (or that just had a default gain setting too low for a mic like a SM7B). That on its own, and perhaps combined with a mic too far from the source, could create recordings where someone would want to add over 30dB in post. As for what to do, I recorded a clip on my Track E (the only 32-bit recorder I have) at 32-bit/48kHz and at a really low level (peaks around -45dBFS) and tried a couple simple things that anyone could do. Mainly, I wanted to confirm that the obvious worked on 32-bit files. And I'm still sick at home so what the heck... Adobe's currently free and kinda neat online Enhance Speech tool wasn't great for my track. It processed the 32-bit file and did increase gain and also removed the mic's/recorder's self noise. But it sounds like it gated my speech so heavily that some words were lost. So that's no good. https://podcast.adobe.com Manually adding 40dB gain pretty much worked, of course. But so did just normalizing. Of course that raised self noise, but a little simple noise reduction got rid of that without hammering the track. Again, all obvious stuff but perhaps helpful steps for Marc's correspondent.
  9. I haven't gone looking for an AES spec or rec or anything. I'm mainly rolling with this bit from the Sound Devices 32-float explainer from a year or two ago (and that was linked to earlier in this thread... and that I'll link to here) . "There is one other aspect of 32-bit float files which is not immediately obvious. Files recorded with 32-bit float record sound where 0 dBFS of the 32-bit file lines up with 0 dBFS of the 24- or 16-bit file. Keep in mind that unlike the 24- or 16-bit files, the 32-bit file goes up to +770 dBFS. So compared to a 24-bit WAV file, the 32-bit float WAV file has 770 dB more headroom." And for yucks I've used the Track E I have as a (mono) backup recorder. Mainly to get a bit familiar with it and its smartphone app. Anyway, I rolled 32-bit once and 24-bit a few times. Levels seem to line up. I set tone to -20dBFS, but I didn't do any carefully calibrated steps up to 0dBFS, so maybe there's some variance. But at least for the Track E that I have, it's close. And I'll assume SD does what they say. Zoom probably, too. But I don't know if that's down to some AES thing, chip manufacturer design choices, or just common best practices. As you say, DAWs and NLEs might wander away from good practice. I'm still leaning towards user error, though. The inconvenience for post and the enabling of poor practices amongst not-really experienced users of 32-bit kinda keeps me away from it for now. So I'm still in the 24/48 & nice limiter world. I'm watching but don't have tons of experience with 32-bit.
  10. I think it's reasonably helpful to make clear(ish) that at 0, 32-bit files match with 24-bit and 16-bit files. Perhaps after some time has passed, we can shift to a scale nomenclature that reflects the true value of 32-bit audio. Such as: Decibels Beyond Scale, or dBBS I jest. Also, Jez, I may not have the hours of many here, but I've been in and out of professional audio for several decades now and have been through a bunch of technology shifts (as have we all). Part of the issue with 32-bit adoption is it's happening through people who have less contact with craftspeople and technicians than happened in the past. And as (I think) you say, some view 32-bit as a panacea for all audio ills. I'm still wondering why Marc's correspondent wants to add over 30dB to his track. Did he intentionally lower the gain setting on his device from the default, and/or was his mic poorly placed? Whispering talent? Or...? (Marc, to be clear, I'm not asking you to follow up with the person. And sorry about misspelling your name earlier.)
  11. [Note that this isn't written to enlighten anyone here (it won't), but for Marc to borrow or forward in his correspondence with the person who wants to add 30+dB gain. Not that he'll learn anything, either. I'm arrogant but not stupid.] For dialog, I don't see an advantage to 32-bit over 24-bit with an OKish good limiter (and reasonable attention to levels). And good limiters are increasingly common. Also, beyond post hassles, the bigger downsides I see to 32-bit are that it gives people license to ignore gain settings....and inadvertently allows some to ignore good mic placement, with the thought that it can be fixed in post. I wonder if your correspondent wants to add 30dB+ to overcome suboptimal microphone placement. I only have one 32-bit recorder, a Tentacle Sync Track E, and several 24-bit recorders (mostly Sound Devices but let's toss in my Canon C70 & Fujifilm X-T3). And as a mixer, I've fed all sorts of other cameras that record 24-bit audio. I've been handed a few tracks from other 32-bit recorders (MixPre II, Zoom F-series, other people's Track E recorders. I think that's it). But all of my "research" is at best anecdotal. In 32-bit mode, my Track E defaults to something like +18dB. If needed, I can crank up the recording gain with the smartphone app. The default seems to work fine for most dialog. The thing comes with a rather crappy lav (that looks a lot like what Sennheiser includes with their G3/G4 tx). The preamp & A/D are OKish (I mean for lower-end doc/corp and perhaps home-brew indie). I usually roll it at 24-bit (where the limiter is always on), but at the default level for 32-bit, a well-placed lav gives a decent signal. It certainly doesn't require an extra 30+dB gain. I will guess that other 32-bit recorders also default to a setting that, when paired with a decent and decently placed mic, doesn't require 30dB+ gain in post. And by way of comparison, I've rolled on dozens of interviews as an OMB with a well-placed Schoeps 641 going directly into my little Canon C70 camera at 24bit/48kHz. Those tracks sound much better than what I've recorded on the Track E (going through a SD mixer before my C70 sounds better, and recording to a SD mixer/recorder sounds a bit better still). And my Schoeps-->C70 tracks sound better than many of the 32-bit tracks I've been handed (and otherwise heard). But I more-or-less know what I'm doing. I think the meh 32-bit tracks I hear are related to things besides the recording format (mainly, not great mics and suboptimal placement). I end up reminding people of (or teaching them about) the hierarchy of audio importance. As in the further to the left of this chain, the more it matters. What's being said > mic placement > mic selection > wind/cable/handling/location-noise mitigation > recorder/preamp choice > gain staging > recording format. None of that is news to anyone here, though there's room for more and for debate. And sure there are a range of quality issues and craft at each stage. But for someone who wants to add 30dB to a dialog track in post, I think this is enough to get them to pay increased attention to the first four steps, while still paying enough attention to gain and format to keep themselves (and their post pals) out of deep trouble. So then they don't need 32-bit audio for dialog. Or at least, they won't need to add 30dB gain in post to get to a reasonable level. So my point is, good 24-bit w/limiter audio is widely available and works well (and is basically simple). 32-bit works, but isn't a panacea that lets you disregard other more-important issues for capturing good dialog. Disagree with what I wrote? That's fine. I'm still recovering from Covid-19, so that's my excuse. 😉 Jim PS- I'm fine, btw. Mainly now just a bit of a cough and tiredness.
  12. Nice observation by Poison Ivy (who's such a great guitarist). Baritone guitar and half-speed recording? 😉 But sincerely, I know the struggle and hope you get your playing to where you want it.
  13. Speaking of reverb tanks... “To get the reverb,” he chuckled, “we used a 2000-gallon water tank out the back of the studio, with a speaker at one end and a mic at the other – and we ran the guitar sound through that. Then, when we took the record to Gold Star Studios in LA to mix it, they also had a great echo there, so we combined the two and that’s how we got that beautiful echoey sound.” —Duane Eddie talking about is version of Peter Gunn https://www.musicradar.com/news/to-get-the-reverb-we-used-a-2000-gallon-water-tank-out-the-back-of-the-studio-duane-eddie-tells-the-story-of-peter-gunn
  14. Their (previous?) website domain appears to be parked: http://sound-guys.com/ Google doesn't reveal a new or different website. And their Facebook page hasn't been updated in a month: https://www.facebook.com/SoundGuysSolutions/ Are they just on hiatus, have they shut down and moved on?
  15. Ha! Did you put that up? Both funny and thoughtful. 🙂
  16. > Check out Watson Wu's blog (and his whole website). He knows a lot about recording cars and guns. https://www.watsonwu.com/blog And check out the various videos he's made (and interviews he's consented to) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=watson+wu And as Jon suggests, search this site for past discussions of the two recorders you're considering.
  17. Wow! That's amazing. I have not summoned the courage to watch The Room. But I did enjoy the bio-comedy/drama based on the book inspired by the movie.
  18. Thanks for the link. It's unclear to me if/how this law applies to the batteries we use for work. Also, if it does then perhaps Gotham, B&H, and such are required to take/recycle our batteries, but general electronics and hardware stores might not be. I could easily be misreading this, but here are a couple bits from PCM's link that I think apply (bold text emphasized by me): Maybe I've just been lucky. Has anyone else besides Izen (if I'm reading him correctly) been stopped when trying to recycle NP1, V-Mount, and similar professional batteries?
  19. No worries. I'm sure there's plenty else to criticize about the US. Like how hard it is to find surströmming here. 😉
  20. There's plenty of battery recycling in the US (check Johnny's updated post at the top). I can take most batteries to our local city recycling center. And as Johnny Points out, call2recycle.org makes it easy to find drop-off spots with a postal-code search. Near me, it points to lots of hardware stores, some pharmacies and sports stores, etc. And they do take lithium-ion batteries up to 300Wh:
  21. I've been happy enough with Maverick Label (and ordered more last week). And note that they offer asset tags in different materials. They write: But I'd guess that's a brand you're familiar with. Did they not work for you? And I'd be happy to hear other's recommendations and experiences.
  22. There's also Power of Babel. I'm acquainted with the president, and they're also really solid. Headquarters in Toronto, Canada, but they can do more than French-Canadian accents. 🙂 https://powerofbabel.com
  23. Ya, ASUS seems to be the way to go. At least, a couple TV news friends have and like them...
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