96k world... a year plus into my adventure.

By Tim Dolbear - www.timdolbear.com

So my entire world now seems to be at 96k. I even just did a Voice over session for a film company in London who attended via Skype and I tracked it all at 96K. I am loving it! Loving the sound stage or stereo field, loving the sound, the accuracy, the way plugins work, everything. But Sample Rate Conversion (SRC) using A/D/A loopback has gotten old... Run a mix for a client and have to add 15 minutes of my time just to SRC it down to 44/16 to send to them... a necessary evil I thought...

In December I was at and with the amazing Alan Silvermans' at his ARF Studios in NYC  ( http://www.arfproductions.com/about/ ) and we talked about SRC.  He brought up the point that running a SRC out a D/A then back into a A/D still has software SRC happening as the A/D converter runs at a higher SR and then SRC down to 44.1.  Good point!  So what does he use and what do the other big guys use. Whats considered he best?

SARACON by Weiss. Weiss ( http://www.weiss.ch/ ) is a big player in Mastering hardware and he also was part of the 4 person group behind the development of POW-r dithering and NS.  So he knows his stuff.

I set out to get my hands on a copy both to use myself but also to preach  about when I travel teaching Sequoia, because if there are others who don't know about Saracon, as I didn't, they need to know. I got my copy last week and started comparing it in every way. I ran mixes off at 96k/32bitFloat and then SRC by Analog loop conversion, Sequoia's built in SRC, and using Saracons. I SRC to 44.1 32bitFloat, to 44/24bit and to 44/16bit. Using POWr-1 for the 16bit files.

There was a noticeable improvement in all the Saracon conversions. The mid held together so much better, the 44/32bit float was not even detectable in its difference from the original and the 44/16bit versions all sounded great. A huge improvement over Sequoia's built in SRC (set to its highest settings) and a noticeable improvement to the analog loop. Saracon is fast too, in fact 2x the speed of Sequoia's SRC and it does batch processing and it does every SR and bit rate, even DSD. I am truly happy!

Its not cheap, but its also not a slight improvement. Its worth every dollar in my opinion. So now I mix to 96k/32bitfloat and quickly SRC with Saracon to 44/16 and upload to the client.  ( I have also changed over this year to sending 44/16 mix references to clients instead of MP3 320s. The internet is fast enough now that MP3 and AAC just needs to go away)

That all for now,  now.... go make some music!

SRC using Analog loop back, a How to and description of my setup/workflow

By Tim Dolbear - www.timdolbear.com

I talk about Sample Rate Conversion in 6 months into the 96k adventure.  Its a few blog entries down if you want to get caught up.

Well here is how I do it and some keys factors to note.

Sample Rate Convert by playback of a high resolution file and record or capture back at 44.1:

You need 2 different audio interfaces, 2 different brands, since one needs to run at 44.1 and the other at 88 or 96. Example I have a RME HDSP9652 and a HDSP 9632 but the ASIO driver sees its as 1 giant interface with 84 Ins/outs.

You also need 2 different audio software's to play and capture since they will be at different SR too.

Sequoia allows you to open 2 instances at the same time, one records from one setup of hardware, 1 feeds the the other for playback.

So I open up the Sequoia setup I named Playback, its using the Mytek 192DSD  D/A USB interface.  Its running at 96K and will play back my 96k stereo file. The Mytek is good for this setup since my RMEs are using 1 set of Digital inputs, and it also have a USB interface.  So I simply hit a button on the front to change from my normal recording everyday operation with my RMEs feeding it to USB input, so my Playback Sequoia can feed it.

I then open my main version of Sequoia which is always set to use the RME HDSP9652 +9632 interface. My Apogee is hooked to my RMEs. The setup is clocked from my A/D (Apogee AD16) and I switch it to record from my normal 96k to 44.1k. I open a session and arm a track to record stereo the input on my Apogee AD16 that is hooked to one of the 2 outputs on the Mytek 192DSD  D/A.

Playing back the Sequoia Playback instance, the file leaves the computer via the Mytek 192DSD  D/A and is captured back into the main Sequoia via the Apogee AD16. The recorded file is 44.1.

You can certainly add any hardware processing between the D/A and A/D, just make sure you address monitoring. In my setup I am listing to the Mytek which would be prior to any analog processing.

Californication... I could have been a Moody.

By Tim Dolbear - www.timdolbear.com

So we just watch through all of Californication on Netflex to relive it before seeing the last season. The first 3 seasons are great, written very well, dark and funny, but after that it kind of looses its way, and especially the last season (7), it was written so poorly, like a cheesy sitcom.  I did loved the last episode though.

Upon watching the first show, I was heartbroken for leaving California. I really do miss SoCal.  Every street they shot the show on, I have been on, every place and scene was my old place and scene... I am not moving back, ya kidding? A smaller house for 750K on a lot they list in square feet and not aches? its not for me any more... I love the vibe of So Cal, and I really relate too much to the show.  I am not and have not been a druggy or drinker... but my vise was elsewhere... I can't help but think I could have been Moody, or at least very much like him. My life could have been totally different, but God had different plans for me.

If I had not surrendered to the plan Jesus had for my life, everything would have been centered around self destructive activities in an never ending search for happiness between the legs of another. Harsh, but true.  Life still has its firestorms, but as the storms circle around me I have comfort from it and a peace that only comes from knowing Him.

Sometime we are given a glimpse of what could have been, those are the times to realize just how much Jesus cares for each one of us.  I see where my life was, the road I had hoped to go down, and reality of the pain if would have brought.  My life now is good, very good, I must always remember that. People talk much about Jesus being our Savior, and how He gives us eternal life, but today think about how he is your Savior for your current everyday life.

Inside Eclectica Studios 09/08/2014

By Tim Dolbear - www.timdolbear.com

So a lot has been going on.  2014 has been a very busy year.  Lets recap a few cool things:

Randoms....

@ http://www.timdolbear.com/

I added links to most of my Mix Magazine reviews  You can find the here:

http://www.timdolbear.com/mix.htm

6421

A new reality show following Music Producer Tim Dolbear as he works with groups and artist in the studio.

Well, we got some good responses from the first web-episode of 6421. But as far as developing it into a reality show… production companies just wanted to script it all out. So we back burnered the project.  We will move this 1 episode into a promo about working with me and the studio.  So not a complete waste.

New Gear Added this year!

The stunning Great River MP-2NV 2 channel preamp has made a home here. Absolutely love it. If you watched the Dave Grohl Documentary on Sound City (where I worked for a while at Kieth Olsen’s Good Night LA Studios) all about the studios’ NEVE console, this preamp nails the sound of that board.  You can push the input into the red and add a wonderful sweet harmonic rich tone to the sound, amazing!  More about it soon.

I also added another 1981 Ashly SC-50 Compressor, Blackface.  It will be permanently married to the MP-2NV. 

I also added the sE5 Stereo pair of mics this year.  Just a great set of room and overhead mics.  I did a review in Mix on them if you want to know more about them…http://www.timdolbear.com/mix.htm

We started testing Sequoia 13 here months ago and it was released last week. all going good with it and we are digging the new workflows features. 

That's it for now.  More in a few days. 

6 months into the 96K adventure…

By Tim Dolbear - www.timdolbear.com

6 months into the 96K adventure…

So a lot has happened in the last 6 months.  I am still loving 96k!  I upgraded all my converters, now I am strictly Apogee A/D, Mytek D/A, and I am using a RME HDSP 9652 and 9632 together for all my ins and outs. But a few procedures have become the norm around here.

New website:  www.timdolbear.com

Also, check out Eclectica Studio's revamped website: www.eclecticarecordings.com/  

SRC.  

For my first blog all SRC (Sample rate conversion) was done inside Sequoia, which as we all know has a very high quality of SRC.  At the urging on of a few friend and for my own curiosity, I wanted to test simply running the 96k mix out the Mytek D/A at 96k and back into the Apogees and capture at 44.1, then compare to simply SRC the mix at mixdown in the box.  

The 2 different ways of SRC sound very close on the surface but once you listen into the mix you start hearing big issues.  The version converted by way of D/A – A/D and captured at 44.1 sound very close to the original. Most people would never hear a difference and I struggled too.  The SRC done in the box had an issue with sound that was further back in the mix. i.e. the snare drum,  it now sounded like a blanket had been placed over it,  hi hats were dull and more distant too, but the snare was a big surprise.

So now all my mixes are run off at 96k 32bit float in Sequoia.  From there I can SRC down to 44.1 by playing the song out the Mytek D/A via its own USB interface at 96k from one instance of Sequoia and then capture back in through the Apogee to the other opened instance of Sequoia running at 44.1 through the RME setup.   Simple and sounds wonderful. And I have 96k mixes that I can also master from and make hi-res WAV and MP3s

Mixing projects that come in at 44.1.

So I am now up sampling everything to mix at 96k.  The plugins and EQ sound so much sweeter and better at 96k.   My favorite channel strip, the UAD NEVE 88RS used to bother me in the high end.  I could never get the ‘AIR’ I wanted out of it.  At 44.1, high end EQs up sampled to a higher sample rate to be able to handle the highs better, at 96K there is no need to do this, the UAD NEVE 88RS now has this benefit and sounds absolutely wonderful.   Other are also benefiting greatly.

That’s It.  :-)

96k vs 44.1k sample rates, my real life test.

By Tim Dolbear - www.timdolbear.com

Back in ’96…

I tested working at 96k sample rate vs 44.1k years ago with Presonus A/D/A. It was the only way I could test it as my A/D/A devices only would work at 44.1k and 48k. I tracked out a song and then mixed and converted it all back to CD quality (44.1k/16bit), and once it was all back at 44.1, they difference between versions was really nothing, really the 44.1 session sounded best than the 96k session. So I had been at 44.1 ever since.

Fast forward to December 2013… I just got a Mytek Stereo192 DSD (Mastering version) and Apogee AD16, getting its WC from the Mytek. With such new toys, I wanted to test the whole 96K Sample rate issue again.

First I tracked a simple rock song in Sequoia; acoustic guitar, clean electric guitar, distorted electric guitar, bass and drums. The drums themselves were programmed using our sample library made from our studio kit…but the cymbals were all played live. All but the bass had a stereo room mics that were tracked as well (meaning we used close mics and a stereo room pair).

I recorded the song 4 times, at 44/48/88 and 96k; 4 sessions, exact same parts played 4 times the same way each time. I wanted this test to inform me, so I spent 2 days make sure it was done perfectly.  I set the sound, hit record, hit stop, closed the session, opened the next session, hit record…4 times through the song in a row for each instrument.

Next I mixed the songs to their actual sample rate and 32bit float. So I had mixes; 96k/32bit float, 88.2k/32bit, 48k/32bit, 44.1k/32bit. The plugs used and mixer setup were copied between sessions to be perfect copies.  I then sample rate converted them inside Sequoia using the highest quality setting, all to standard CD quality: 44.1/16bit (POW-r 1 dithering was used).

Blind listening test...

When listening to the mixes at their original sample rate, you could hear a difference, and the difference carried over to the 44.1k/16bit versions. I also made MP3 320 versions and the differences carried over too. I also ran a fader up mix versions; no plugs. The outcome was the same...

96k vs 44.1k, the 96k session in the end at both 44.1/16 and at MP3 had a little more sheen to the sound, but the big difference is the 3D and stereo imaging the 96k sampling rate made. The 44.1 session sounded flat in both image and tone. Not a huge difference, but enough for us here at Eclectica Studios to make the jump. Goodbye 44.1, my old friend, but I just cannot go back to you, knowing what I know.

You can download the results from here:  

http://www.eclecticarecordings.com/Blog1213.htm

Also, I know that A/D converters can sound different at different rates, and none of us listening liked the 88.2k as much as the 96K… Seriously, I had hoped to save the small amount of resources gained with 88.2k, but it did not sound as good. Interesting.

Another note;   I used to use the UAD 88rs channel strip for a many years during mixing.  The 88rs does not upsample to increase quality, like the newer UAD EQs do.  I could never get the high end tones I wanted, the “Air”.  So about 3 years ago I switch over to using the Harrison EQ as it would give me the results I wanted and I liked the workflow; knobs only!   I opened up the 88RS channel strip in the 96k session and setting the highs to about 17khz and turned them up!  And WOW!  Amazing.   I copied the setting and pasted it into the 44.1k session and its was gone, a completely different tone came out, not the 17khz I had hoped for.   So now, the 88RS running in a 96k session gains the benefits of the higher sample rate to be able to give me the sound I want.  I am so pleased because this now wonderful sound channel stripe is easy on the resources. Can’t wait to hear how other plugins improve at 96K.


One last thing...


Also I just tested a mix that I did at its recorded rate of 44.1k,  taking the files and upsampling them to 96k then running off the mix at 96k 32bit float to preserve it for sample rate conversion(SRC),  SRC'd it down to 44.1k 32bit float and compared it to the one mixed and run off at 44.1k 32bit float and the one that was are 44.1 though out sounded better by a lot.   So my rule now is, what ever sample rate a session shows up here to be mix at, it stays at that sample rate through out. But as for complete projects I do here from tracking through mix and beyond, I will only do 96k from now on.  There is some nice plugin quality that gets added at 96k so it may sometimes be worth the upsampling.  Case by case...

MIX magazine Review Nov 2013, Additional content for "Three Mastering EQs"

By Tim Dolbear - www.timdolbear.com

Hey all,

My review for the November issue of Mix, "Three Mastering EQ Plugins", had a lot of extra info I wanted to add, but we did not have room.  I wanted to talk about what "sound" is added to you audio when you simply load one of these EQs before you even turn a knob.  They are doing something to your sound, so let's dive in!

So…whats going on behind the GUI face plate …

Since the Pultecs, Millenia and Waves RS-56 EQs all tout the full modeling of the hardware counterpart’s analog circuitry; I wanted to share what I was hearing by simply inserting these plug-ins onto a track and not twisting any knobs.  What’s being added?  Harmonic distortion, noise, extra EQ curve… Since just placing these onto a track changes the sound before you even start moving a knob, its good to know what signature they bring to the signal.

I did this a few ways, first by simply placing a song on 2 adjacent tracks in Sequoia. I then muted the 2^nd track which contained the plug-in.  Now I can simply hit the Solo button on the muted track to hear this 2^nd track, allowing me to switch between them seamlessly and instantly to listen for added tones and distortions.  Secondly, with both tracks playing, I flipped the phase button on the mixer to cancel out the entire shared signal and only hear the difference, showing the added EQ curve and distortions that the plug-in was adding.

The Pultec EQP-1A with EQ switched out but the plug-in on, added some low mids warmth. With the EQ switched in, but with the EQ set flat, there is also a nice sheen added to the sound, slightly more highend and even more low mids. But this is not just a frequency boost, but more of a transformer type sparkle or excitement, Hi-fi-esc.

The Pultec MEQ-5 adds a bit of the same sheen as the EQP-1 had with its EQ switched in.  But, I do not hear any difference between having the EQ switched in or out on the MEQ-5.

The Pultec HLF-3C with the low cut and High cut set to off, There is no difference to the sound compared to the unprocessed signal since there is no in/out circuit to be modeled. The original HLF-3C does not contain an amplifier or other circuitry outside of the passive EQ cut filters.

The Millennia in Class A Discrete J-Fet delivers a light Hi-Fi sheen to the sound, but it’s very very subtle. In Class-A Vacuum Tube mode, an additional, very subtle silky high end enhancement, you also get a slight bump to the low mids, but again, very subtle. 

With the WAVES eq set flat, there is a slight boost to the highs but not a lot of added tone from modeling of tubes and transformers, like you find with the UA Pultec collection. Something entire different was going on. The thing I heard, and easily confirmed through running the null test, there is actually some very fast, tube like compression taking place to the transients. 

:-)