The circuit is is the Silicon Chip Magazine design, for which a kit is available from Altronics. The transformer is a 30V center tapped variety. Whole thing probably cost less than $50.00 and only took a couple of hours. Ain’t she pretty?

MC10+

The MC10+ will be very similar to the existing MC10, but the input and output connectors will be replaced with XLR, the volume control will be a stepped attenuator, and the auxiliary inputs will be on RCA, rather than 3.5mm jack. The MC10+ will also sport a mono switch.

MC20

The MC20 will feature 2 pairs of inputs, both on female XLR and 2 pairs of outputs, again on XLR. Volume control will be taken care of by a 23-position stepped attenuator. The MC20 will also feature a mono switch and left/right cut control. Unit is housed in a sturdy aluminum desktop box.

MCR20

1u rackmount version of MC20.

MCR30

The MCR30 will feature 3 pairs of inputs, both on female XLR and 3 pairs of outputs, again on XLR. Volume control will be taken care of by a 23-position stepped attenuator. The MC30 will also feature a mono switch and left/right cut control. 1u rack-mount box.

All new products are still in the prototype phase, but should begin to become available in the next 4 weeks. Keep an eye out here for more information.

Nick

NF Audio

While I was at it, I decided to leave one of the pres in the mix bus, so it would have and input and an output knob as well as metering.

The mod was  simple affair, as it’s clear where the pres entered the mix bus just after the level pot. Inside, the M67 was a typically 70′s affair with a groovy looking circuit board and a ratsnest of wiring that looked like it was put together whilst the engineers were slightly stoned, but still lovely. I routed channels 1, 2 and 3 to new TRS direct outputs and left number 4 going to the output amplifier section.

Sounds cool, nice and gritty and ‘old-school’. Easy peasy!

1. Metalwork

The first thing I’ll do on a job like this is cut out the holes for the connectors. In this case the controllers are sporting 8 XLR connectors each. I make up a drill template using Front Panel Designer then glue to the panel to be drilled. Rather than go strait for the hole saw, you can see here that I have drilled a 3mm hole for each XLR cutout. This ensures better accuracy when I pull out the hole saw.

I then use a 20mm hole saw to cut out the XLR holes. It’s important to use a slow drilling speed and lots of cutting oil to prevent it from grabbing. Putting your work in a vice, as I’ve done here is also a good idea.

With the XLR holes cut out, I use an actual XLR connector as a drill guide to make the mounting holes. I use a 3mm drill bit, again slowly and with some cutting oil. Using an XLR connector really minimizes the chances of mis-drilling.

That’s it for metalwork for the time being. You’ll notice I haven’t drilled out any holes for the top mounting parts, but you’ll see why soon. At this point I clean the case really well to remove any excess cutting oil and metal shavings in some water and detergent. I then give it a wipe down with some isopropyl alcohol and paper towl and make sure it’s 100% dry. Next up it’s time for painting the enclosure. I give the box two light and even coats of a grey colored primer. Primer helps the paint take to the metal better and also fills any blemishes in the metal. I leave an hour and a half between coats of primer on a hot, sunny day, or try to give it 5 or 6 hours between coats on a colder day. I then give it two light, even coats of whatever color I want to use. These monitor controllers are going to be silver.

At this point if possible I like to give the paint 24-48 hours in the sun to really cure. 12 hours if I’m pushed to get something done. I usually give it the “smell test” (smell it to ee if it still smells like paint!) to see if I’m ready to move on. Once I’m happy with it I print out the decal that I’ve prepared earlier on to a sheet of lazertran. I won’t go into detail about the lazertran process, as there is a guide in the DIY Resources section of my website. I slide the decal on, smooth out all the bubbles then sit it in the sun for at least 6 hours to completely dry out.

I’ve run out of photo’s so I’ll do another blog in a few days covering the remainder of the process!!

NF

Different clients have opted for different types of connectors, different in/out combinations and different functionality, but all controllers are being manufactured using the highest quality components.

If you are interested in having a custom monitor controller built, please feel free to email me at info@nfaudio.com

Striking the balance between the old and the new is challenging but rewarding, which is why I thought this recording was worth blogging about.

Day 1: Live Tracking – Vienna People Recording Studio, Sydney.

I got the drummer, Dan to set his kit up in the center of the room, as I’ve found this spot to be pretty much the most flattering to drum kits in this particular studio, and began setting up mics around him. To get a kind authentic 60′s garage tone I wanted to use as few microphones as possible, and preferably the majority of the sound would come from a single mono room/overhead mic.

That said, I knew with a number of competing elements in the mix and the reality band would undoubtedly try to get some radio play, there might be need for a couple of close mics to blend with the room mic.

I placed the room mic (modded Carillon Axis 70 ribbon mic) by donning my favorite Direct Sound ‘Extreme Isolation’ cans and waving the mic around in the air like a dork while Dan bashed out a few bars until I found the spot. I was especially listening for the balance between the cymbals and the kick and snare. 90% of drummers go pretty hard on the cymbals so you’ve really got to get that spot where the snare and kick poke out through the wash of a bashed crash cymbal.

With the main drum kit mic in place, I stuck a Shure SM7b on the top of the snare, 45% angle, probably 6-8 inches from where the stick strikes the skin. The SM7b has a nice rolled off top end, which was excellent for subduing the “twack” of the drum whilst bringing out the body and sustain.

Kick drum saw an AKG D112 Poking its head just inside the hole in the front head, angled so that the beater was off axis. Again, we’re not going to a punchy, scooped, Pantera type kick drum sound here so by turning the mic away from the point of impact I was able to get a bit more air and tone, and a bit less boom and snap!

At this point I was 95% sure these drums were going to get mixed in mono, but for safety’s sake I threw up a second room mic that I could pan opposite to the ribbon if we needed stereo width in the mix. The room mic was right down on the floor, Steve Albini style in a corner of the room out of the way. The Fet LDC was switched into omni and the pad engaged.

With Dan bashing out a tune or two, I fine tuned the positions of the microphones and settings on the recording chain.

Hardware chains for the drums are as follows:

Kick: AKGD112 -> API 3124 pre -> Pro Tools HD
Snare: SM7b -> API 3124 pre -> Pro Tools HD
Room/OH: Axis 70 -> Neve 8801 fast attack, fast release 5-10dB gain reduction, slight high shelf boost -> Pro Tools HD
Room 2: Joe Meek JM32 -> API 3124 pre -> Pro Tools HD

The two Fender guitar amps were set up in the smaller room adjacent to the main recording room. I put the amps side by side and placed a baffle between them. With the two guitarists (Dion and Brendan) playing I matched their levels by ear in order to minimize spill between the two. In this type of recording I welcome a little bit of spill between the guitars because it adds to the kind of rough 60′s vibe, but you do want some control in the mix.

As with any two-guitar recording I do, I listen to the sound of the two guitars and try to find a way of differentiating their tones. In this case Dion and Bren where pretty much doing it already, with Brendans guitar focused on the mids/low end and Dion’s jangly Jaguar shining in the top end. Great!

First port of call for mic’ing the guitar amps where the bog-standard SM57, placed about 10 inches in front of the amps, rotated and adjusted as I listened. Dion’s guitar was perfect, but Brendan’s didn’t sound right until I swapped the microphone out for a Sennheiser e-something. Don’t ask me, I’m just the engineer.

Both guitar amp mics fed some Focusrite ISA preamps which connected via ADAT optical to the Pro Tools rig. Flicking through the selectable input on the impedance on the ISA pres gave me a final nice, quick way of finding just the right tone for the two guitars, with the SM57 showing quite startling reaction to different input impedances!

Out of practicality the bass got DI’d. There just wasn’t the space or isolation to crank a bass amp (nor do I think the Shakin’ Howls own one!!). The tone was fine, and as always I planned to re-amp later down the line (of course with an NF Audio RA10 http://www.nfaudio.com/shop/ra10). The DI bass went strait into Pro Tools via the last preamp left in the API 3124.

So that’s how the Howl’s bed tracks got laid down. Next blog will be about overdubs and vocals, and the one after that about the mix, so if you care, keep ‘em peeled.

Nick.