Figured this was as good a time as any to start one of those blog thingies... things will probably be a little disjointed while I make the initial entries, but should move along nicely once I hit my stride...
MAM Blog
127th AES '09... a little late, but here goes...
Just found a text file documenting my visit to the 127th AES NY convention in Oct0ber 2009 that I never got around to posting on the AES-New York Thread on Gearslutz.
Spent Saturday and Sunday roaming the aisles at Javits. The show was smaller this time around but that was a plus in my book. Reminded me of the AES show a month after 9/11... much more intimate which allowed more time to savor the experience.
Saw a LOT of stuff that I liked! In no particular order:
Mark VIII from Pete's Place. I originally saw this unit on GS and it was cool to see the unit in person as well as have the concept fully explained by Tony Shepperd at the Pete's Place/A-Designs booth. The sound of the Electrodyne 511 EQ 500-series module brought back memories of my early days learning on a '70s-vintage Electrodyne 2000 with 711 and 712 input modules. Another cool 500-series module was the Brad Avenson-designed BAC-500 compressor, another great-sounding device.
This booth was the crossroads for a number of regular Gearslutz posters. Besides Tony, I met Armando Avila and his Cosmos crew, and Ronan Chris Murphy who hipped me to the LittleLabs VOG and with whom I checked out the "Laser Mic"... he interviewed the(very young!) guy about the concepts behind it. He shot a very cool video showing a lot of the highlights of the show. It filled in some gaps in my experience looking at all that was available. I didn't really have a chance to talk to Peter Montessi but I must mention that his wife is a wonderful person, very warm and friendly, a sweetheart. A lucky man he is.
UBK's Fatso and Clariphonic(a.k.a Clarity Control). I have an Empirical Labs Fatso and do indeed like it, but now I want to add a UBK version after demoing it. Even with the noise on the show floor it was obvious that this unit would be a great flavor to have around to use on individual elements, parallel processing or across a 2MIX. Never would have known Greg had a 102 degree fever, I just thought the elevated temperature was the tracks post-Fatso processing. :-) And the Clariphonic EQ... smoooth, oh so smooth.
Zaxcom Digital Wireless and portable Hard Disk recording system. I spec'd and purchased a Zaxcom system awhile back consisting of a TRX900AA Transceiver with STA100 Stereo Adapter, RX900 receiver. and IFB100 IFB transmitter. One of the things that sold me on the system was the total integration of all the devices. There was obviously a lot of thought put into the design and construction of this gear. Their latest device, the TRX992 transceiver for boom / parabolic use, performs the functions of an audio transmitter, IFB audio receiver, back-up recorder and phantom power supply - all in one compact package.
Vertigo Sound. Originally I had walked past this booth a few times. But eventually I looked closer at these units and was blown away by the possibilities they offered once I got my mitts on 'em. The first device that Andy demonstrated was their VSC-2 Quad Discrete Compressor. It uses 4 VCA’s built by hand using only discrete components. Try as I did, I just couldn't make this thing sound bad! This would be a great unit across a 2MIX or in a mastering setup. That was a great opener for the VSM-2 Mix Satellite. I've always been a sucker for parameters and this unit did not disappoint. With it's various controls it allows one to tweak a signal using(from their site):
• two independent stereo coloration circuits
• Stereo & M or S Generation of pure 2nd & 3rd harmonics• Each coloration generator is independantly switchable to M, S or LR
• Excessive harmonic filtering possibilties for each harmonic generator
• RMS LED level control for equal level of harmonic generators
• Unique "Track" mode for processing individual instruments
• Soft & Hard clip switching capability
After running signal through it and trying different combinations of parameters I can see this easily being a "secret weapon/butt saver" in a studio's rack. Huge possibilities in a mastering setup. I saw more than a few people get really excited about these boxes. Markus and Andy are also great guys to hang out with!
al.so. Dynax. Olivier wasn't the most outspoken cat but the Dynax did a lot of talking for him! One could do a lot of damage with this unit(in a good way of course!). I also(no pun intended) liked the Hellax and the 500-series format Modual Series.
Little Labs VOG. Simple and effective 500-series format module, perfect for optimizing that kick drum or bass, creating separation, handy tool. Recommended by RCM.
Taytrix modular sound booth. I need one of these!
Bricasti M7/M10. Was nice to talk to Casey and listen to the 2.0 algos. There was one demoed that I could have used on a recent project where I need ambience that doesn't sound like ambience(dry upfront vocals). This particular preset was used on an electric bass with some slap to it, which would quickly reveal the usage of reverb. Amazingly this preset gave what I will describe as an enhanced spatial presence that did not sound like your typical reverb.
Thermionic Culture Fat Bustard. Damn, I want one. Endless possibilities. I love the blurb on their site: 100% Full Fat Audio Content!
Airfield Liminator. Sean Eldon demo'd this beast for me at the Mercenary booth. Can anyone tell that I like compressors? BTW Sean does some cool stuff on the Methods And Applications Laboratory(a.k.a. METHLab) area at Mercenary Audio.
After the show floor closed on Saturday there was a GS hang at the Aspen Social Club. Andy and Markus from Vertigo were there, and Niklas, Oscar and Torsten from Softube that I'd met earlier that day. Met a number of cool people! Afterwards dropped into Famous Dave's for some BBQ and on to Penn to catch the train home.
I came away from AES energized by the passion of the people who design, build, and use this equipment... and the fellowship that we share.
The 2010 Brookdale Guitar Show
Well the show is over and everybody has packed up and gone home.
It was an interesting day. This morning I was running a bit late because I was editing some video from a DVD that Larry had sent me featuring an interview he'd done for local access TV up in New England... a show called "Far And Wide" with host Dave Davis. I was glad that I had spent the time because it ended up being a very helpful tool during the day to show people more about the "leather guitar" and how it and it's other family members came to be.
After hurriedly setting up my table with the Rue Du Royale on a stand, Atelier Du EL Welker literature, my business cards, my MacBook Pro with the QuickTime video I'd prepared, and a pair of powered speakers(which turned out to be necessary equipment due to the oftentimes high noise level on the show floor), I was ready to go.
First person to stop by was Chris Buono, who I'd met a couple months previously at a local Ableton Live user group gathering at the Downtown in Red Bank. At that time I'd mentioned I'd be attending the show with the Rue and now he had a chance to see and play it for a bit. He was slated to do a couple of clinics today, so he headed off after trying out the guitar and chatting a bit.
By now the show floor was open and the room quickly filled with guitar enthusiasts:
Quite a few people stopped by to see... and talk, often at length, about the Rue. It's unusual look made a few people do double-takes. As I mentioned earlier the video was a huge help. Using iMovie '09, I had put chapter markers into it which allowed me to skip rapidly around rather than trying to scroll through a DVD, which more often than not is frustrating... and would have been even more so in a situation like this.
My iPhone rang and it was my friend Barbara, Brookdale colleague and vocalist for the Brookdale Big Band, who was going to sit with me and was also bringing a couple of five-string bass guitars to sell, a Pedulla Thunderbolt and an Ernie Ball Music Man Sting Ray 5 from a collection of equipment that I had been working at selling for her due to some difficult circumstances. We finally found each other and realized that we had no stands for the basses. What better place to buy a guitar stand than at a guitar show?
Happily the Sting Ray 5 did sell, leaving the Pedulla to keep the Rue company.
On the left in the above picture is Jimmy, one of our booth mates. He had been checking out the Rue during the day and I eventually handed it to him to take it for a spin:
Was a little difficult to hear it unamplified, but we made a note to try it out later plugged into an amp. The video was very helpful in giving an impression of the Rue's tone, as one of the segments was of Larry playing the Rue's close cousin(click on the picture to view video):
This dude(Alvin Harrison) had a couple of SICK basses he built. When he had first stopped at the booth he really seemed to be into the video I was showing. He was checking out Larry's shop's wide assortment of wood and metalworking tools and the best word I can think of is looking transfixed! When he took his basses out, all you could say was WHOA!!! This bass was done in a snake motif, with a snake head with a working mouth and flashing red LED eyes on the headstock.
Later on in the day when the show started to wind down(along with the noise level), Jimmy plugged the Rue into that little amp down in the corner. Initially the tone was crunchier, more of a rock sound, but I think it was a hint of the versatility of the Rue when electrified. Jimmy mellowed the tone and brought the guitar to life!
It was time to pack up and head to Valentine's Day dinner but on the way out I ran into Stu Coogan who is one of the on-air staff at WBJB. I'd been promising him a crack at the Rue and off he went:
I got the impression that he liked it...
All in all there was a lot of interest in the guitar. A lot of people really appreciated the video which offered a closer look at the work Larry and his staff put into their guitars... and I appreciated it because it made my job easier.
A bit of history with ELWelker...
I am an audio engineer and producer, not a player per se(even though I consider the recording studio an instrument in it's own right), and I've always liked things that combined the aural and mechanical worlds. Maybe one day I'll get off my butt and get more into learning more about one of my favorite instruments, the electric bass.
Back some time ago, before the Internet existed in the form it does today, I became a member of the PAN Network. PAN was created with the goal of being a self-help organization for self-managed performers, but quickly expanded its charter to include all professionals throughout the music industry.
One of the individuals I met "online" back then was Larry Welker from Cornish, New Hampshire, an area which has a famed tradition as an artist colony including artists such as Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Maxfield Parrish. Larry is a lifelong musician, wood/metal/leather designer and worker, master luthier, and a member of the American Guild of Luthiers. I was able to visit he and his wife Kathleen at their home for the first time in the summer of 2000.
At the time Larry had an extensive wood and metalworking shop housed in an 80' barn at his home. I am a true geek when it comes to tools, and this shop was like a toy store! Sadly in 2004 the shop was destroyed in a fire started by workers doing work on the barn.
Fast forward to 2009 when I heard from Larry telling me that he was now building guitars at his new shop in Claremont, New Hampshire. I was planning to spend some time in the area with my girlfriend and stayed a few days at his home during our travels. The day we arrived was June 25th... the day that Michael Jackson(and Farrah Fawcett) died. We were at a gig that Larry and his band were playing when we saw the news on the TV... it was surreal. I visited the shop and was impressed by the guitar-building facility in a three-story(well, basement and two floors!) structure located in the heart of Claremont. Even more impressive than the shop(and for ME this is saying something) was what the shop produced... these fine hand-crafted instruments.
Atelier Du EL Welker, Claremont, NH
Later on that year I was heading back up to New England to spend New Year's 2010 in Montpelier, Vermont. Since my summer visit Larry and I had talked about the possibility of me bringing down a guitar to show around this area. We stopped by the shop in Claremont on the way to our lodging in Brookfield VT, and picked up one of the Rue Du Royale leather-wrapped archtops in order to exhibit it to interested parties, one of these opportunities being to show it at the 2010 Brookdale Guitar Show.
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