Steve H---Mastering room equipment questions

[RetroSmith]

Steve thanks for the great pix!

What can you tell me about that cool mixing board shown in the pic at RTI?


Is that an Altec Lansing board? Or perhaps a Langevin?

Anything you can share about it would be appreciated.

thanks!
Mikey

[Steve Hoffman]

I've got to go have breakfast with the boys right now, but when I come back I'll explain a little about the setup. :)

[AudioGirl]

Originally posted by Steve Hoffman
I've got to go have breakfast with the boys right now, but when I come back I'll explain a little about the setup. :)

Hey... while your'e explaining... Can you explain about, "breakfast with the boys," too... Is this the bunch that you referred to a couple of times over on the DCC boards? Hal Blane and the Goldstar guys? :p

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by Steve Hoffman
I've got to go have breakfast with the boys right now, but when I come back I'll explain a little about the setup. :)

You eat breakfast at 1:30 PM? :confused:

[Steve Hoffman]

Patrick,

I eat at 9:00 am Pacific time. What time zone is your website clock set for???? My earlier post says 8:28 am or something, right?

AudioGirl,

Tuesday is breakfast with Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew gang and their engineers who worked and founded Gold Star Recording Studios....Hal Blaine, Lyle Ritz, Stan Ross, Dave Gold, Larry Levine, Mel Levin, Fred Darian, Randy Van Horne, etc. AKA: "The Vine Street Irregulars".

Mikey,

That is a mastering console, not a mixing console. It's job is to feed a signal to the cutter head, while "doing stuff" to it.

The knobs on the left are the Sontec Parametric EQ units.

The stuff on the right is super duper mastering level controls and switches to go from one song to another (each with different "pre-settings"). In other words, when cutting an album, and one song needs to be one volume and one eq, and the next song needs something different, there are two of every control. One for the song that is being cut, and one for the next. When one song is finished, the fader goes down, the switch is punched, and the next set of controls come into play. While THAT song is being cut, the first set of controls are readjusted for the third song, and so on. Like a radio station, cueing up a record while one is already playing. But in this case, everything is on one reel of tape that cannot be stopped. Hence the second set of controls.

So, this happens when cutting one side of an LP. When that side is finished, the lacquer is checked through the scope to make sure that the groove looks good and not too much of this or that. We want you to be able to play the record at home without problems. The process stops while the lacquer is changed, and then side two begins, with the same setup. If a mistake is made halfway in, the side is stopped and scrapped. It could go on a long time to get it right!

Make sense? :eek:

[Sckott]

Yep. Assembly-line mastering. Kinda like that "I Love Lucy" episode where the chocolate candy keeps coming down the belt.. ;)

[AudioGirl]

AHHH!!!

Steve, that disc mastering sounds completely out of control! I'm sure glad you know what you're doing! You must have nerves of steel!


Originally posted by Sckott
... Kinda like that "I Love Lucy" episode where the chocolate candy keeps coming down the belt.. ;) :)

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by Steve Hoffman
I eat at 9:00 am Pacific time. What time zone is your website clock set for???? My earlier post says 8:28 am or something, right?

Ooops...looks like I wasn't logged in, so my clock was showing up in whatever time zone (London?) the server is in.

[Holy Zoo]

Using my super-duper image enhancer (borrowed from Blade Runner), I think I've found Steve's secret!

[Holy Zoo]

(I know, I know... if only it were so easy! ;))

[Steve Hoffman]

That gave me a good chuckle.

Thanks, I needed it. Because:

Tomorrow, it's back for more Creedence mastering...:eek:

[luke j. chung]

All the adjustments you have to make for each cut on the mastering console makes me appreciate the kind of dedication and effort you and Kevin Grey put into all these LPs! I'll be showing my appreciation by purchasing each and every one of these CCR titles from Chad Kassem when he announces their availability at Acoustic Sounds.:cool:

[Claus]

Steve... I love this forum! The first what I have to do at work... search for your replies the day before.

[Sckott]

I vow that we all play lots and lots of Creedence. At least Steve and Kevin won't feel like they're the only ones suffering. ;)

You're doing a painstakingly enormous job. :D We're all rooting for ya!

[Steve Hoffman]

Thanks, friends!

[Ronflugelguy]

Has AP determined any projected release date for the CCR lps?

[Steve Hoffman]

Should be starting next month I guess.

[Dave]

Steve,

I don't know how to transfer the picture but................ I'd really like to know what those 2 components on the left of the cutting lathe on the top shelf are.

Thanks;)

[Steve Hoffman]

Dave, I'll take a look at the shot and be right back.

[Steve Hoffman]

The top unit is a DAT recorder and the unit under it is a CD player. Nothing fancy, just good hard wearing studio gear that won't break easily. ;)

Remember, this is not my personal studio, this is AcousTech Mastering at Record Technology Inc.

[Dave]

Steve,

What do you use the DAT machine for, as I'm not very familiar with that format?:rolleyes:

A to D?

[AudioGirl]

DAT is an Acronym for Digital Audio Tape.

The media looks like a little bitty cassette.

I'm sure Steve or someone will be able to tell you more... :p

[Claus]

Yeah... Bob Ludwig had to use Ray Davies' DAT-copies for the KINKS remaster. No way for Steve!!!

[Dave]

AudioGirl and Claus,

Thanks but I do know what DAT is. I just was curious as to what and why Steve would use it on anything.:)

[Steve Hoffman]

Well, in the Creedence case, I wouldn't.

The DAT is the industry workhorse. Whenever one studio sends another studio a tape, it's a DAT. Better sounding than a CD-R.

90% of music delivered to mastering studios is DAT based....