A recent addition to our collection is the Grace 201 Mic-Pre. The signal path is more than simply transparent or neutral; it is basically an invisible link between the microphone and recorder. So after the proper microphone selection and placement, we are very confident that what the microphone hears is what our HD System will capture.

This mic-pre is very clear and precise and captures many tones that a lesser quality pre will miss, distort or dull a tracking session.

We had the opportunity to test drive the Adam’s P-11 Monitors. This is the near field version in that series. The other P-series are the P22A which is the two-way shielded active near/midfield and the P33A that has the second woofer joining it only below 150Hz.

The P-11A’s is a active powered monitor with a ribbon tweeter It was primarily designed for small to mid-sized project studios; however, it can also be used comfortably in most application where a small powered monitor is called for, from broadcast/post applications to surround monitoring. A great pair of monitors will make or break a mixing project, the clarity in the Adams is well worth the money spent for the pair.

The other evening at Fastback we hosted an engineering networking night with new equipment to reviews. One of the items we tested was a Korby KAT47 tube Microphone. We tested the KAT47 against four other like microphones of the same quality.

KAT47 Pros: Comes with extra tube, 9-pattern power supply is sweepable for different pattern blends, 4 hot swapable heads - Neumann U67 & U47 - AKG C12 & 251. Shock mount has two sturdy holding bands to keep the mic in place, heavy duty flight case.

KAT47 Cons: Price $5,000, includes one head. U47 capsule is not as dynamic as the other mic we tested it against, as we only tested one capsule. We had eight engineers/producers from other Seattle studios, all commented that it would not stand out in the mix or not an impressive mic for the money.

Test Standard: All mics where placed on the cardiod pattern, male & female singing, 1st test through a Focusrite ISA 428 mic-pre and the 2nd test through a Neve custom made channel strip “lunchbox”.

Test 1: Korby KAT47 Vs. Manley Reference Gold. The Manley was also a darker sounding mic like the KAT47 but Manley had just a bit more high end. Cost of KAT47, twice as much as a Manley.

Test 2: Korby KAT47 Vs. Telefunken M16. Night and day The M16 with a refurbished AKG C12 tone stood out in the test with a lot more presence and clarity. Cost of KAT47, four times as much as a Telefunken M16

Test 3: Korby KAT47 Vs. Neumann U87. The U87 is a studio pillar we almost put the KAT47 away after A/B’ing them. The U87 was standing ontop while the KAT47 sounded like a distant buried vocal mic. Cost of KAT47, twice as much as a Neumann U87.

Test 4: Korby KAT47 Vs. Blue Bottle with a B-6 vocal head. This mic was also more transparent than the KAT47 similar in presence to the U87 the KAT47 sounded dull in comparison. Both mics are equal in price range.

On of the coolest mics in our locker is the Telefunken M16. This is a special mic to me because of the very low serial number of 016 and nine-polar pattern power supply that can capture many colors of sound. This last Saturday we used the mic on the bottom of the snare close to the floor to record both the kick drum & snare. Later that evening we put it on the bottom of a Leslie 122 speaker cabinet to record the spinning drum while a pair of Rode NT2’s recorded the top of the cabinet.

The R-F-T M16 MkII provides an exceptionally clean and warm tone, substantial gain, extraordinary low end and extended high frequency response, while preserving the classic tube sound Telefunken microphones are known for. Utilizing standardized microphone parts from overseas, NOS tubes and a combination of high quality components made in the United States.

In the spirit of the C12 and U67 microphones, the M16 MkII features a new circuit design based around a custom wound BV314 transformer hand built in the United States by TAB Funkenwerk, a dual sided 6 micron gold sputtered capsule, custom 10 meter Gotham Audio cable, a remote 9 polar pattern external power supply and the same New Old Stock GE JAN 6072a tube found in the Telefunken Ela M 251, Ela M 12 and Ela M 270 microphone systems.

Dan Purser recorded part of his new release “Live In Seattle” here at the studio and now you have an oppertunity to win ticket to the Sonics in Seattle, here’s how.

If you haven’t heard by now the Dan Purser band is playing at the KEY ARENA for the SONICS home opener Wednesday, November 1st to kick off their next tour. We are giving away two FREE tickets for the event where you and a friend get to watch the game from the bands private suite, and full access to the pre-show and half time show! Here’s how you can win… Beginning Thursday, October 12th we will be selling the new album to the public online at Dan Purser or through live concerts. We’ll be keeping track of ALL live and online sales.

The individual who purchase’s the most albums will be the contest winner. The contest will end October 29th and the winner will be announced Monday, October 30th on the website. If there are any questions please e-mail us. GOOD LUCK!

Contest starts Oct. 12th Contest ends Oct. 29th Purchase cd’s at Dan Purser / live shows Most purchases for ONE individual wins Winner announced on the website

OK, so it’s time to let you know how we get great electric & acoustic guitar tone. Per a few articles and other inside friends Jimmy Page has six of them and Pink Floyd also uses them.  Now that I have name dropped to keep your interest, we only have one.  One big heavy all tube and transformer boat anchor that is as clear and discrete as the day is long.  The RCA BA6A takes up about six rack spaces and weights about 60 pounds, why all tubes!  It takes about 30 minutes to warm up but is as user friendly as can be, it only has two knobs.  These compressors where first used in radio stations in the late 1940’s but soon showed up in historic recordings studios such as Chess Records, Sun Records and Stax Records.  This compressor is a great piece of gear to our collection and is often followed in line by a Pultec EPQ-1 to give it that classic guitar tone.

TJ Sherrill song Brave heart was recorded the other night and Jason & I added electric guitar, Hammond B-3 foundation and percussion. One of the items that really caught my attention during this session was our mid 1940’s RCA 77DX Ribbon Mic, what really brings this mic out is the fact that you have several separate settings to get you almost any sound you are looking for.
Here was the basic set up we used during that part of the session: Mid 1970’s Silver face Vibro-Champ with a 1991 Classic Les Paul. We put the RCA 77DX about 8-ish inches away from the amp. The first mic-pre we tried was a UA 2-610 but switched over to a Focusrite 428 because we needed a bit more gain for this tone.
Final results; A clean & clear tone that Jason could place anywhere in the mix. You can hear this song at TJ Sherrill - Braveheart historic info on RCA 77DX Ribbon Mic

The Neumann M249 (refurbed by BLUE) makes for a great pairing with the Manley “SLAM!” mic-pre/limiter.  Then through the Summit EQF 100 just for a tone box and maybe a little high pass.  This mic is so musical.  It has enough top end, and a great low end.  Some of the mic’s in this price range try to “sit on top of the mix” too much for my taste and end up with a brilliant, sibilant, vocal with no low-end presence.  The M249 captures the performance and seems to add excitement to the vocal track. 

One of the best things a studio can get is great album review from our clients music.  As a studio we have been working real hard to put out the best music on the market and it is paying off album after album by getting regular kudos, reviews & market distribution.  Our latest release is by Andy Werth .  Congrats Andy for the great press you have received. 

Well, we are test driving a new mixer for and upcoming “Hush-Hush” release to be talked about soon. One of the great sound flavors we are adding is a Chandler Limited mixing rack. I thought I would do my part and let you know how smooth this is.

The Chandler Limited Mini Mixer is the culmination of Chandler’s experience working with many types of vintage, discrete circuits. The Mini Rack Mixer traces its lineage back to several types of these amplifiers developed in the 60’s and 70’s that have been Chandlerized for modern usage.

Each Channel of the 16×2 Mixer is transformer balanced and driven by the New Chandler Line Amp, which borrows from Chandler’s other products but has been redesigned for use in this mixer. The Mini Mixer is jam-packed with discrete amps and classic sound, 20 discrete amplifiers and 22 custom wound transformers in the unit, and delivering all the punch and tone you need for todays digital environment.

In addition to the mixer section, the unit has a full featured Control Room section including Talkback, Speaker switching, Mute, Mono, Dim, External input (also used as an insert point), and separate Control Room and Stereo Buss outs