soundmanjohn

Apple has quietly admitted that there might be a problem with the video chips on 'a small percentage' of MacBook Pro models. Just a month too late for me, as mine crapped out during prep for a show and I had to go out and buy another one. Still, at least it looks as though I can get my old one fixed and sell it on. Here's a link that gives some background info: http://preview.tinyurl.com/k5vzbej And here's the official Apple link: http://www.apple.com/uk/support/macbookpro-videoissues/ Regards, John

Orson Welles' last movie - F for Fake - seems appropriate...

Pablo, I've found a couple of companies that list the in-line connectors as Soundfield spares: part numbers 410-401 for the female, and 410-402 for the male, at $41 each. This company seems to be a sales outlet for TSL so they may be able to help: Bexel TSS, West 2701 N. Ontario Street, Burbank, CA 91504 Phone: 800.842.5111 & 818.565.4339 email: BexelTSS@bexel.com Worth a try? Regards, John

Soundfield made a special version of the SPS-200, with the suffix -SB, which had a sort of built-on Zephyx. It was very expensive and pretty unwieldy and I wasn't that thrilled with the entire set-up and sold it on. As far as the extension cable is concerned, you could just put together a four-way XLR multi: probably cheaper, too! Regards, John Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Nearly there in the UK. Best wishes to all for 2015. John Sent from 2014

I'm also a long-time Soundminer user: I use it to catalog the commercial libraries that I own and also to add metadata to my own recordings. It's pretty straightforward to use and although it's a bit pricey, it's worth every penny/cent. John

This afternoon I met the lady who first worked out this routine with her friend. They were called Lulu & The Lampshades and are now known as Landshapes. We had an interesting discussion about recording bees. You can see their original video here, although the YouTube sync is pretty terrible Regards, John

Gabe, Rather than going back to your dealer again, I suggest that you contact Rob Ramon at Sound Network, the UK distributors for DPA, and let him hear the file. His number is 020 3008 7530 and he's always been very helpful to me. I'm sure he'll sort you out. Best wishes, John

Better get down there today: efforts to save it have failed and it'll close tomorrow. Sad day. John

Hi, For those of you that haven't heard, the owner of the building which houses the Cafe Edison (or The Polish Tea Rooms, if you like) plans to close it down and replace it with a fancy restaurant with a "name chef." Even as someone who is only rarely in Manhattan, the Cafe Edison has always been a place where I've felt at home: basic food at basic prices in the heart of the city. Ira Glass, he of This American Life, feels pretty strongly about this and has started a web-site where you can post a message to the owner, asking him to reconsider: it's here if you want to add your voice: http://www.deargeraldbarad.com Manhattan will always be in a state of flux and many of the institutions that I came to know and love in the 30-plus years that I've been visiting have long gone - I still mourn the loss of McHales, for example, - but some things are worth fighting for. The hope that he might reconsider is faint, but if you also know someone famous who's an Edison regular, get them to join in and we might just change his mind. Thanks for listening. John

I know I said all this last year, but the balance engineers on Broadway & West-End musicals do this every night, with a live orchestra, not with a pre-recorded track. And they do on their own. Here's a quick mix of bits of a show I worked on a while back: this is an archive recording of a live performance. Wireless mics on all the singers, Sennheiser TX/RX and DPA 4061s. Lots of moving around, dancing, interacting whilst singing. https://soundcloud.com/soundmanjohn/ceilingskymix/s-QKUa2 It's a private link, so please don't share. Thanks, John

I spend a lot of time on the road, mostly in hotel rooms and theaters, editing and mixing audio on my laptop and I frequently feel the need for a second screen. I've been looking around and have found this company's products. http://www.gechic.com/product_en.asp A couple of them look entirely suitable for my needs, but the UK price is, as usual, about double the US price and before I pull the trigger, I thought I'd ask if anyone on this list is using one of these and if so, whether they are as good as they look. Thanks, John

A calendar glitch prevented the BFG14 code from working properly: now fixed and discount increased to 40% to make up for it. Cheers, John

Well, everyone else is doing it: 30% off all libraries (except the dollar deals) including the Big Bag from midnight U.K. time tonight until 8 am 2nd December (for our West Coast America friends.) Use discount code BFG14 at checkout. Happy what's left of Turkey Day for those of you still celebrating. Cheers, John http://www.johnleonard.co.uk/immersive.html

Interested to know how this worked out for you. John

He also made some of the funniest comedy records with Elaine May, most of which I have in my collection and which never fail to raise my spirits. 'Mother and Son' and 'Adultery' are two of my favourites. A sad loss, but an amazing legacy. John Mother & Son is here: http://youtu.be/N5pXggZIr6I and Adultery is here:

You could approach Len at Core-Sound and see if he's got TetraMics available instead. He's in Teaneck, New Jersey. Call him on 201.801.0812

If you have the time, you might want to send your SPS200 to Len at Core Sound who will produce a set of calibration files for your microphone that will improve its performance. The only downside is that you'll need to use an extra plug-in before Harpex, but those who have had it done are very pleased with the results. He can do it for Soundfield Mk IVs as well. Regards, John

Just to add that I've had a Soundfield mic since 1989 and have been involved with Ambisonics since 1979 and these days there's a wealth of versatile software available, quite a lot of it free, and a wealth of experience from academic institutions around the world. Low cost mics are available from Len Moskowitz at http://www.core-sound.com and from Brahma at http://www.embracecinemagear.com/brahma-ambisonic-microphone.html although their web-site's a bit temperamental. The original Soundfield microphone company was bought out by TSL at http://www.tslproducts.com/ but because this is a large organisation, the personal service that one used to get from Ken, Pieter and Richard at Wakefield is now rather lacking. A colleague was quoted twelve weeks for a replacement cable for her SPS200 recently, which is not exactly user-friendly. Currently, I use an ST450 and a Core Sound TetraMic: both have their uses. The ST450 outputs at line level, has a full Rycote set-up and is used for all my outdoor recordings, which covers about 85% of the recording work I do. The Core-Sound is tiny, easily hidden in a live music recording situation, for example, but has a higher noise level and needs good mic pre-amps to fulfill its full potential. It's also rather more difficult to isolate from wind and vibration, although Rycote will make you a modified Lyre suspension for it and it will fit inside an extended BBG. There's a reasonably up-to-date list of software available here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ambisonic_Software. Regards, John

May I suggest you join the Sursound mailing list? Probably the main resource for this kind of recording and playback. There's a whole bunch of really clever people to help you out. https://mail.music.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/sursound John

Today's session, courtesy of the extremely nice people at RAF Odiham. Comedy moment of the day: me and my RAF minder desperately clinging to the mic stand and leaning into the back-wash at an angle of 45 degrees as the pilot of one machine decided to give us a close up of a take-off. Just about useable, although the directional info is blown all over the place. But a truly memorable session with a bunch of remarkable people, most of whom have done six or seven tours in Afghanistan and are still smiling, if a little crazily! Regards, John

At the theatre I'm currently working in, the in-house sound chap asked me to look at a pair of speakers that they'd removed from the control room to see if I thought they were any use or if he should dump them. He brought out a pair of pristine Chartwell LS3/5A BBC reference bookshelf monitors from the late 1970s and I told him they were excellent speakers and he should certainly not throw them away. One week later, after a short Ebay listing, a Chinese gentleman turned up with £1,800 ($2,800) in cash and took them away.

The sublime Sam Kelly as Edgar, the sound recordist: one of the nicest men I ever worked with: a Mike Leigh favourite, equally at home in high comedy and deepest tragedy, self-effacing, hardworking and just a delight to be in the same room with him. Sadly, Sam went to that great Green Room in the sky earlier this year. One of nature's true gentlemen. John

Recording sea effects yesterday evening in Dorset, England.