Paul Garafola

On 10/13/2020 at 4:08 PM, Sound Intuition said:

Even though I never got to meet Eric face to face I considered him not only a incredible wealth of knowledge for all things sound but a friend. I was lucky enough to have been able to chat with Eric every weekend for the last several years. I would recomend people watch the podcast posted here from Joseph Boyle and inspired by Rachel Cameron about Eric.  He will be missed. "And you do What"?

 

This is FANTASTIC!  THANK YOU for sharing this.

13 hours ago, cribner said:

Hi All,

 

I know that I'm a bit late here, not a day goes by that I don't think of Eric, in fact, there's a large photo of him in the studios that he used in his profile picture hanging on the wall just inside my office.

 

Eric was a close, dear friend of mine for over 20 years.  He lived in the apartment just across from mine.  When I opened my front door, I saw his, #1516 directly in front of me.  When I moved to that building, I was in my 20's, I'm now approaching 50.  I remember the first time I met him. I came home late in the evening to the entire area being in a power outage.  Having nothing else to do, I took a walk and saw the electrical team installing a new transformer, and just beside, Eric smoking a cigarette and watching.

 

We made our introductions, and after a short talk, he said to me, "Do you know, you talk a lot?"

 

This didn't do anything to stop a friendship from forming.  I have always loved audio, but what I know about audio wouldn't impress any of you.  I remember once asking him if "this" (some speaker, headphone, etc.) was "Good".  He said, "Does it sound good?'  I replied that it did, and he just shrugged.  Simple as that.

 

Eric lived his life on his own terms.  I've never known him not to smoke.  I smoked and quit at least twice while he continued to do so.  Everything was just fine as long as you didn't suggest he stop; his follow-up was always a doozie.  We spent a lot of time talking, sometimes watching a movie, sometimes that 11:30PM phone call from him, "Waffle House?", a pause, "Sure", I'd reply, "Meet me by my car".   He'd drive,  he always did.  Maybe he didn't like my car, or my driving sucked (we're both from the northeast, so we both know how to drive), maybe he didn't like the sound system I had; probably not the music I listened to, either way, we ate and came back just before dawn.  This could have been repeated with any number of gourmet establishments, such as Steak and Shake.  It was usually always welcome.  There was a time in my life when I was just not feeling too well, and I declined a lot of those invitations.  I regret that now.

 

Eric was there for me when my dad died.  He was there for me when I married for the first time in my mid-40's.  He was always there.  When he wasn't anymore, it was just not normal.  He will always be someone I consider my family.  Brother, father, uncle, who knows.  Family.

 

I learned a lot from Eric.  Mostly, to just live and enjoy your life.  If he was really worried about things, you never knew.  He loved his work, he loved those he considered his friends, and I believe he loved life to its fullest.

 

Small tidbits:

 

1. Eric's 1996 Ford Taurus had an "Audio Etc." plate on the front, the name of his company.

2. Eric painted the concrete patios of his apartment green.  The association hated it and tried to make him paint them grey.  He never did.  They made the landlord paint them after he passed.

3. Eric loved his Magnepan speakers.  His go-to track when showing them off was usually Track 1 of Beth Nielson Chapman's CD, "Life Holds On".

4. Chevy hid the exhaust pipes on his new Malibu too well under the bumper, so he extended them with chrome extensions.

5. "Put a phone book under it", he said to the young kid who moved into the second-floor apartment, referring to his subwoofer.

6. Fast food is your friend.  (I'm using him as a reference when my doctor brings it up).

7. Eric told me that a Chinese restaurant he found was as good as New York.  I said "No Sh*t?", he replied "No f**king sh*t!".  It was good, but sorry, we don't have Chinese food (or pizza) in Florida my friend.

8. MacGyver learned how to fix things from Eric Toline, not his grandfather, as was so incorrectly depicted in the TV series.

9. A stray cat that adopted Eric slept on the canvas convertible top of another tenant's car.  She stopped by to tell him that he was leaving hair all over it.  He told her he'd talk to the cat later that evening when he saw him.

10. He knocked at my door one evening to show me the new logo for Professional Sound Services, and asked if I knew what it was.  I told him it was a VU meter.  He couldn't believe I wasn't completely retarded.

11. Eric was a PC, not a Mac.  I'm sorry if the truth hurts.

12. The name of the dog that interrupted Eric's interview in the video was named "Mini".  Mini was cute, but like me, talked too much.

13. Eric worked his ass off every day until he no longer could.  There wasn't a lazy bone in his body.

14. Eric liked label makers.  A strip on the front of his speakers said, "Sounds Good", and labels on his doorbell button read, "Door Bell", then below the button, "Bing Bong".  I managed to snag that off the door later on and still have it.

15. Eric really liked the choice I made in my wife, Tara.  And his approval meant a lot to me, as it always did.

16. He was really proud of his kids.  If I crossed a line there, I'm sorry, but I felt the need to say it.

 

... Too many more to mention, but they will come to me.  If you're interested, drop me a line.

 

I mentioned I considered Eric family because there's just some point where a neighbor isn't a neighbor anymore and a friend isn't a friend anymore.  That's what I had with Eric.

 

Please feel free to keep in touch.

 

Corey Ribner

What a fantastic post, Corey.

(I didn't know Eric personally - just a few comments on mics here and there, here on Jeff's site.)

Those tidbits were wonderful to read.  THANK YOU for sharing all that with us.

Hi Dermot,

Yes - this problem was sorted out.  I didn't want to force it, so I sent it back to DPA as a defective thread.

They fixed it and now the MMP-A seats perfectly on the 4017 (and the 4018 before I sold it).  No issues at all now.

Have a great day,

Paul, NYC

Just now, Dermot Stewart said:

Hi, yes everything is in perfect working order. I only brought it to do just one test with it and that is the only time I ever used it.

 

Thanks.

Wow.  Cool. 

Thanks so much.

Are they ANY issues at all???

The dial settings still work perfectly?

Thanks.

Hi Roderick,

Yeah, I cleared and cleaned the threads on the MMP-A and still no progress. 

I would try the lubricant, but I really think the primary and only issue is a faulty thread.

So you've had this exact issue and the lubricant actually worked - and the capsule then attached easily??

(Yeah, if there's not a solid solution that people have succeeded with, then I'll just send it back for a warranty replacement.  But obviously, I'd like to not have to do that.)

Thanks for your reply.

 - Paul -

My 4018 cap screws on easily & perfectly to my MMP-B and MMP-C pre-amps - and here's where it's giving me resistance on the MMP-A. (see photos)

In this moment, I do not want to take the chance on giving it more force, in order for it to seat as it should.  I don't want to make the problem worse.

If you've had this occur, is it an actual problem - or will it seat perfectly if I continue turning it past the resistance?  Did yours?

If you'd had this exact situation occur, what was the solution?

Thanks for your help.

 - Paul

Thank you, Dejan.

I appreciate you taking the time to do that.

           🍻

Just now, Dejan Ceko said:

LC@100Hz will be.

THANK YOU!!!  👍🏽

20 minutes ago, Dejan Ceko said:

Hi Paul,

I will record some samples for your consideration  and post it here during next week.

MMP/A is not RF shielded (so I do not use it with A10TX of mine - cable only), just to know.

 

Regards,

Dejan.

THANK YOU, Dejan, for your quick reply. 

Ooooh, that's good to know.  In my case here, I'm cable only.  So that would be a non-issue for me.

Looking forward to hearing your samples, preferably with some low cut on the mixer if you can. Maybe 100Hz?

Have you ever used the MMP-A preamp with the 4018 cap?

1. Do you have any samples to share, compared with the B or C?

2. If not, what was or is your opinion/impression of the A.

The reason I'm asking and what has peaked my curiosity is that there are no dialogue audio samples online anywhere, yet I'm reading about how the MMP-A is "superior" to the others.  Hhmmm....while that may be just an opinion of some reviewers, it still intrigues me.  

Hopefully, I'll be able to get one in my hands soon to try it myself.
But in the meantime, any feedback about your direct experience with the MMP-A would be so greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone!

1 minute ago, KC Kelly said:

To me, the DPA sounded more neutral, and smoother.  The Schoeps sounded warmer, but some high frequencies sounded a little harsh.  I could have lived with that, but I noticed some artifacts from the Schoeps when I was recording too near a wall.  (The DPA didn't have the problem.)

 

All in all, it just boils down to personal preference. 

Hhmm.. Interesting.

KC, do you still have those tests?  Would you be willing to share?

9 minutes ago, KC Kelly said:

A few years ago I did I test between the Schoeps, and the DPA.  I preferred the DPA.

 

Could you describe why, if you can?

R.I.P., Eric

19 minutes ago, berniebeaudry said:

Interesting that the noise floor is an issue being that the specs are almost identical between the the MK4 and the MK41.  I don't quite understand the MixAssist reference.  Is it the combination of the MK4 and the Cut 1 that increases the noise floor?  Or is the wider pattern picking up something environmentally that the MK41 isn't? Just got me curious as I might want to add that capsule someday.

Trey, that interview sounds really great!  

Hey Bernie.

The MixAssist is what I'm using on the Sound Devices MixPre3 mixer.  It's like Duggan's Automix.  When using multiple mics,  it attenuates the mics not being used.

Yes, the wider pattern of the MK4 captures slightly more environmental noise than the MK41 in my small studio here in NYC.  (I tape actors' auditions for Films & TV)

I've been using the MK41 capsule on the actors; and as the reader I use a DPA 4060 at a lower volume. I've been using these with Sound Devices' MixAssist activated (since it was first released.)  It all works perfectly. 

Then, the MK4 got on my radar recently and I was very curious about that one, since the actors often move about a bit and I thought the wider pattern would be a great.

However, when I tried the MK4, the little bit of extra noise the mic was capturing wound up being an issue :

Every time the actor spoke, the background noise was very apparent. Every time I spoke, it the background noise was more quiet. 

It was very noticeable with the MK4, whereas it was barely noticeable with the MK41.

NOW....if I was recording doc or corporate interviews on a more regular basis, I would definitely keep that MK4 on hand.  

The sound is absolutely b e a u t i f u l .

It's just that for my specific purposes right now, it would be sitting in the drawer 95% of the time. 

1 hour ago, Trey LaCroix said:

Thank you Paul for inspiring me to use my MK4 today. And also sorry for not sending you a sample earlier (last weeks was busy). Here is part of a recording for a doc I'm working on. Both cameras were fairly tight so I was able to get it right in there as you can see in the photo. Worked beautifully in my opinion. He was a bit of a bobblehead. It will definitely see more action from now on.

 

Schoeps MK4.wav

 

Wow. Thanks, Trey!  Beautiful and natural. It sounded great.

I just bought an MK4 (using with a CMC 1 + Cut 1) and have done a bunch of dialogue tests in my small home studio + a few film audition sessions with it.

Here's my assessment, based only on my personal needs.

THANK YOU ALL for your valuable input.  I really appreciate it.

On 8/10/2020 at 1:17 PM, ryanpeds said:

I recorded an interview a number of years ago with an MK4 on a CMC6. If you don’t mind a religious video you can look it up on YouTube, Patterns of Light. It’s a 3 part series and all 3 have the interview from that mic. I would be surprised if I have the original audio files anymore, but that should give an idea of the sound. 

Hi Ryan,

Did you also record this one below?

MK4, too?

1 hour ago, JonG said:

I mixed a film last year where the majority of the time, it was boomed with an upgraded cmc4->cmc5 by Pete Verrando. I usually use mk41s but in this instance, the majority of the film was in a very confined space, so I needed to use a polar pattern that would have a wider patters and no back lobe, so I used an mk4. I thought it sounded fantastic and was very pleased with the results. Unfortunately I can’t share the files, but if you are trying to make a comparison between the two capsules, I would say that if you are talking about a manufacturer of this level of quality, you have little to worry about. Now, if you were trying to put lipstick on a pig by using a budget setup, that would be a very different story!

Thanks, Jon!

1 hour ago, ryanpeds said:

I personally think that the 2 capsules sound very similar when properly positioned. I used the MK4 in that instance because he liked to move forward and backward and side to side a little so it gave me a wider pattern for that without losing his voice on the sides of the pattern of the MK41. I thought it worked really well. 

Oh for sure it did.  I'm considering the MK4 for the same reasons.  I mostly tape actors' auditions for film and tv they're often moving around bit and I thought the MK4's slighter wider pattern may be a good option for me.  Your footage really helped me.  It sounds fantastic. So, thanks again.

5 minutes ago, Trey LaCroix said:

Happy to make some for you if you like. Have a cmc1 and an MK4.

That would be amazing, Trey.

If you could hold it or boom from above about 12"-14", that would mimic how I typically place my mic for stationary booming on a C-stand (for actors' film auditions + interviews, etc.)

I use a CMC1 with a Cut-1 and an MK41 and LOVE this set-up. 

But I've still very curious about the MK4, which I haven't tried (obviously). 🙂

2 hours ago, ryanpeds said:

No cut on it, probably had a high pass on the recorder at 60 or 80

Stellar audio on those videos, Ryan.  Beautiful job, man!!!

3 minutes ago, ryanpeds said:

I recorded an interview a number of years ago with an MK4 on a CMC6. If you don’t mind a religious video you can look it up on YouTube, Patterns of Light. It’s a 3 part series and all 3 have the interview from that mic. I would be surprised if I have the original audio files anymore, but that should give an idea of the sound. 

THANK YOU, Ryan!  Any recollection if you had a Cut-1 or a Cut-60 on it???

Does anyone have any dialogue audio samples that I can hear... of a Schoeps CMC1 or CMC6 with an MK4 (not a 41)?

(Preferably at 12"-14" from subject)

If you do have anything to share, do you remember if you were using a Cut-1 or Cut-60 or using a low cut on the mixer?

Thanks, in advance.  Much appreciated.

Paul

Dan, so those Anker candy bars have the power specs the Mix Pre series need???  

On 2/15/2020 at 2:04 PM, Fred Salles said:

Hi,

Paul you said you found the sound between the CMC6 and CMC1 quite different.

I haven't had the chance to listen to it but consider buying one (only one for now...)

As I often do 2 booms with CMC6+MK41 work on set I need good matching.

Would you say that they are too different so that they won't match for 2 boom setups?

 

No. They're not too different, in my opinion.  I think they'll mix well together in post.

I'll try to describe what I heard in my own tests here in my studio.

I LOVED the CMC6+MK41. I had ZERO problems.  ZERO complaints.

So when the CMC1 was released, I was simply curious if there was ANY difference in the sound, despite Schoeps' claim that they were the "same audio quality".  The plan was to return it if it sounded AS GOOD or WORSE than the CMC6.  Well....the CMC1 was so clear and crisp...and also the S's sounded cleaner and the K's sounded cleaner.  It's as if the voice is even more 'real' than before...with no filtering. It's so hard to explain. But my ears heard it immediately and I knew right there and then that I was keeping the CMC1. (My friend who also has trained ears, heard it immediately, too.)

But again, are they too different that they won't match two booms?

I'd say no. BUT...if you listen carefully, you'll definitely hear the difference.