Here we are in '08 and I've been back since February. Haven't had much to add because there hasn't been much to report. I've been busy at uni and I've barely had a chance to touch the audio that I've got let alone get my hands on the rest of the suff that wasn't recorded on my mac. Bad news though, my T.C died and I am thoroughly itching to get some mics together and get back to pointing mics at things.
Being back in Sydney and keeping busy it has been very hard to keep all that I've taken away from my experiences. Financial discipline, dedication to goals and especially keeping fit but if theres one thing I haven't lost, its listening. One particular memory always drives home for me how important it is as a devotee of sound to be listening. We were in the last village of our trek, recording some beautiful chanting through some beautiful mics on a night so cold it couldn't be anything but beautiful, what a good night to be listening.
Of course being as keen as I was to keep on top of things and prove that I could keep good records and be a good 'operator' I thought, 'Hey, why not quietly type some notes on this and that about the performance to help with editing etc later.'. Of course this is an issue with uber sensitive DPA mics and was quite a double standard on my part because we were constantly telling our kind villagers that even though the mic wasn't pointed at them, it could still 'hear' them. Then there was me oblivious to the damage I was causing, going 'Tap, taptap, tap' When Greg or George kindly and patiently tapped on my shoulder telling me to be quiet what was my response? 'Oh sorry! I'll type more quietly...' 'tap.....tap.......taptap' Not my smartest moment ever.
This was not met with kind comments at the first break in recording because it was thought I ws typing emails to my Alexandra or something, I was given a little more slack when my good intentions were revealed. The point was missed by me at the time but now I feel that I've learnt it, I should've been listening to the recording! Should've been stuck in the music in the atmosphere rather than contributing "Tap, tap tap taptap tap" to it. What can I say I'm just another product of my generation convinced that I know best and I'm totally listening even though my left brain is being occupied by a fiddly text editor. Sorry Greg.
So lesson learnt, LISTEN. Just stop trying to be clever and LISTEN! The rest comes later. This applies to the rest of it as well. When you sit down and listen to some music instead of just consuming it on the train to work or wherever. We sit down to sitcoms or food and indulge sight and taste so why not sit down and endulge the ears. It takes patience and a quality reproduction system helps but this aural experience once appreciated is addictive. You may find you crave more harmonic structure than drum, bass and lead vocal. You may find you desire a finer response from your system and choose to listen to .wav s instead of .mp3s or even vinyl if you're a fan of the fine ritual it entails. I digress, but really just listen.
My T.C should soon be resurrected, I spoke to Amber Tech Australia and it wasn't anything major, just some tired pots. The 3 analogue components of the system ate it after 4 months on the road and daily use thereafter and thats really quite acceptable and better still I'm told I'll be getting better pots as soon as Amber recovers from the recent SMPTE show. The digital side of things couldn't be better and truth be told I really miss my T.C converters. I listen back to over the standard jack on the mac and the difference is astounding. I don't know what it is, Its the sound of headroom, stability, I don't know its just a subtle, beautiful difference though.
When I am reKonnekted to T.C I'll be hunting for some microphones. At the top of my list is the DPA SMK4060, a favourite from the trip due to size, character, binaural compatibility and thrift! Next is the DPA Shotgun with the Rycote windshield, quite a lovely mic and useful should I attain location recording work. I also think an M-S rig would be fabulous but cost factor makes it unattainable for me to obtain perhaps a nice scheops rig. I'd consider the Neumann KM series but have had many bad experiences with them and ribbon mics are still just not rugged enough. I've also checked out the AT 4050 capsuled X-Y mic and I think for the price and size It'd be a great tool to have on location but you can't separate capsules if you decide you want too do ORTF and a pair of 4050s are just too big for me.
I think right now if I had my way, I'd have my DPA omnis and shotgun and 2 scheops cardioids and 2 bi-directionals. 7 mics capable of just about anything. This is gear lust (which makes one into a gear slut) though and its something I wish I could avoid becuase it is both irritating and counterproductive. I thought I left it behind when I went overseas. I guess it was waiting for me when I came back. What to do though? Keep busy, extended periods of lethargy are destructive and lead to dowdy-ness and old age.
I think I need to go back to Nepal again, hang out for a month with the worlds coolest and nicest musicians, try put in to practice what I was learning the first time. Sounds like a plan.
Being back in Sydney and keeping busy it has been very hard to keep all that I've taken away from my experiences. Financial discipline, dedication to goals and especially keeping fit but if theres one thing I haven't lost, its listening. One particular memory always drives home for me how important it is as a devotee of sound to be listening. We were in the last village of our trek, recording some beautiful chanting through some beautiful mics on a night so cold it couldn't be anything but beautiful, what a good night to be listening.
Of course being as keen as I was to keep on top of things and prove that I could keep good records and be a good 'operator' I thought, 'Hey, why not quietly type some notes on this and that about the performance to help with editing etc later.'. Of course this is an issue with uber sensitive DPA mics and was quite a double standard on my part because we were constantly telling our kind villagers that even though the mic wasn't pointed at them, it could still 'hear' them. Then there was me oblivious to the damage I was causing, going 'Tap, taptap, tap' When Greg or George kindly and patiently tapped on my shoulder telling me to be quiet what was my response? 'Oh sorry! I'll type more quietly...' 'tap.....tap.......taptap' Not my smartest moment ever.
This was not met with kind comments at the first break in recording because it was thought I ws typing emails to my Alexandra or something, I was given a little more slack when my good intentions were revealed. The point was missed by me at the time but now I feel that I've learnt it, I should've been listening to the recording! Should've been stuck in the music in the atmosphere rather than contributing "Tap, tap tap taptap tap" to it. What can I say I'm just another product of my generation convinced that I know best and I'm totally listening even though my left brain is being occupied by a fiddly text editor. Sorry Greg.
So lesson learnt, LISTEN. Just stop trying to be clever and LISTEN! The rest comes later. This applies to the rest of it as well. When you sit down and listen to some music instead of just consuming it on the train to work or wherever. We sit down to sitcoms or food and indulge sight and taste so why not sit down and endulge the ears. It takes patience and a quality reproduction system helps but this aural experience once appreciated is addictive. You may find you crave more harmonic structure than drum, bass and lead vocal. You may find you desire a finer response from your system and choose to listen to .wav s instead of .mp3s or even vinyl if you're a fan of the fine ritual it entails. I digress, but really just listen.
My T.C should soon be resurrected, I spoke to Amber Tech Australia and it wasn't anything major, just some tired pots. The 3 analogue components of the system ate it after 4 months on the road and daily use thereafter and thats really quite acceptable and better still I'm told I'll be getting better pots as soon as Amber recovers from the recent SMPTE show. The digital side of things couldn't be better and truth be told I really miss my T.C converters. I listen back to over the standard jack on the mac and the difference is astounding. I don't know what it is, Its the sound of headroom, stability, I don't know its just a subtle, beautiful difference though.
When I am reKonnekted to T.C I'll be hunting for some microphones. At the top of my list is the DPA SMK4060, a favourite from the trip due to size, character, binaural compatibility and thrift! Next is the DPA Shotgun with the Rycote windshield, quite a lovely mic and useful should I attain location recording work. I also think an M-S rig would be fabulous but cost factor makes it unattainable for me to obtain perhaps a nice scheops rig. I'd consider the Neumann KM series but have had many bad experiences with them and ribbon mics are still just not rugged enough. I've also checked out the AT 4050 capsuled X-Y mic and I think for the price and size It'd be a great tool to have on location but you can't separate capsules if you decide you want too do ORTF and a pair of 4050s are just too big for me.
I think right now if I had my way, I'd have my DPA omnis and shotgun and 2 scheops cardioids and 2 bi-directionals. 7 mics capable of just about anything. This is gear lust (which makes one into a gear slut) though and its something I wish I could avoid becuase it is both irritating and counterproductive. I thought I left it behind when I went overseas. I guess it was waiting for me when I came back. What to do though? Keep busy, extended periods of lethargy are destructive and lead to dowdy-ness and old age.
I think I need to go back to Nepal again, hang out for a month with the worlds coolest and nicest musicians, try put in to practice what I was learning the first time. Sounds like a plan.
