Recording - June 2011 - 6

Note to faithful writers: When sending your letters by email, please remember to include your name and where you hail from.
Disk Duality Dear Mike, hope you are well. I really enjoyed your article on DAWs and the bus (DAW Details, January 2011). I am guitar player, IT guy, and database programmer. I thought your article was very insightful and made excellent points. One thing that I did want to mention is, some of us don’t have the money to have one machine that we work on (i.e. internet, email, etc..), and another to do DAW stuff on. I don’t know if you’re interested or not, but people who do both on one machine, would be well advised to save two (2) separate boot-up hardware profiles under their System properties. I turn off my network, webcam, and other USB devices by using a second hardware profile when I’m practicing or recording. This has really helped my latency and gotten rid of grief I had using Cubase and my Line 6 UX2 audio interface (which I use to practice my guitar on). Anyways, I don’t know if that’s at all helpful, but I thought I would mention it. Have a great day!
Bruce Bray via email

Ribbon paranoia Hi, I love your magazine. I am curious about something I have read in several articles about ribbon mics and preamps. Sometimes I read about how a preamp has a switch to prevent phantom power from turning on and this is called “ribbon” mode, but other times I see ribbon mics that need phantom power to work. What’s the difference? Also, I have read about how easy ribbons are to damage with puffs of air from loud drums or guitar amps, but then I read articles about how great they sound on those sources. I’m getting kind of confused and I’m not sure what to believe. Help me out please!
Gordon Perry via email

Hi, Bruce, and thanks for your letter. Alas, your solution is now outdated to some extent. Hardware Profiles were commonly used in versions of Windows from 95 through XP, but were removed from Windows 7. For my Mac, I go a step farther and partition my hard disk into two separate boot volumes. I install OS X on both partitions and then separate my applications and device drivers so that if something goes wrong on one partition, I can boot into the other and make repairs using Disk Utility, back up my data from the bad partition, or even reinstall my software on it and start fresh. This is very important for me as a computer audio product reviewer, as the “work” partition of my test computer quickly gets filled up with all sorts of device drivers, plug-ins, sound libraries, and even whole DAWs, and is at risk for sudden failures... although ironically the only install that’s caused me any major grief so far was an attempt to put in some printer drivers from the Apple website! This same trick is possible in Windows 7 from a technical standpoint; since the two partitions on your disk are both resident in the same computer with the same hardware configuration, the installer will not flag the dual install as something you’re not permitted to do. Unfortunately, I have been told by Microsoft that while it’s possible, it’s not legal; it violates the terms of the license agreement, which allows a second Windows 7 install on a virtual machine that runs in a window inside your booted version of Windows 7, but not on a second partition.—MM

Gordon, what you’re missing here is the march of technology over the years. Fragility around puffs of air and damage from phantom power are the hallmarks of vintage ribbon mics from companies like RCA and Coles. Some of those mics’ ribbons are so delicate they can’t even be stored on their sides, or the ribbons will sag and deform under their own weight! While a lot of these cautions still apply to the precise recreations of these older designs from companies like AEA and to some modern designs that share their traits, there is also a new breed of ribbon mics out there today, pioneered by Royer Labs and with a lot of variations in design from companies like Crowley & Tripp (now owned by Shure) and Audio-Technica. Many of these ribbons use modern materials and designs to make them considerably more rugged than old ribbons and very suitable for loud sources. The phantom power question has to do with another Royer innovation that’s now appearing everywhere—the active ribbon mic, where the mic itself contains a head amp that is phantompowered and buffers the ribbon’s element from the rest of the audio chain, giving it the electrical characteristics of a condenser mic: a much hotter output signal and an impedance better matched to that of modern preamps, so it can be used anywhere. When buying a ribbon, read up on the particular model you’re getting to determine the manufacturer’s suggestions for care and feeding. I hope that clears things up for you. Thanks for reading!—MM Drum recording fan Hi Jon, I just had the pleasure of reading your article, “Recording Drums in the Studio” (February 2011). It was very refreshing to hear you say all the key points of using a real drummer over machines and samples, And I loved all you had to say about everything. What a great article, I just had to email you and say thanks! I am a drummer and appreciated all you had to say—thanks again for setting the record straight about the value of a real drummer.
Lindsay McDonald via email

Jon Bare replies: Hi Lindsay: Thanks for that. You’re a drummer so you know what I’m talking about. Let’s hope the non-drummers get the message. And besides, samples won’t look cool in the video! Best—JB

Write to us at: Talkback, Recording Magazine, 5408 Idylwild Trail, Boulder, CO 80301 Or save stamps and send email to talkback@recordingmag.com
6
RECORDING JUNE 2011

Recording - June 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - June 2011