The Beatles "The End" Isolated Drums

Abbey Road alternate album cover

Ringo Starr has always been an under-rated drummer, but while not flashy by any means, he was as solid and lyrical as they come. Here's the isolated drum track from "The End" from The Beatles now legendary Abbey Road album. Listen for the following:

1. Ringo's time is super solid even during a solo and drum fills, which is where most drummers have trouble.

2. The kick drum is very punchy, especially for the time.

3. The panning is rather odd. Although the drums are in very wide stereo, the snare and hat are leaning to the right side, while the toms go from the center to the left.

Stereo was still in its infancy in those days, so this was as good a choice as anything else at the time. Besides, it fits the track well and no-one has ever complained about the drum panning in the almost 50 years since.

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The Next Big Thing In Audio

Dust off those surround sound chops because it's coming back in a big way.

I'm frequently asked by students and people new to the business where they should put their efforts. While music is the most glamorous choice, it's also the one with the greatest heartache, since you can have a great career if you have a hit, but might be struggling for a long time otherwise.

Until now I would tell everyone that if they wanted to make money and have a more or less secure job, post-production was the way to go, since the pockets were generally a lot deeper and there was a lot more work once you were established.

That's no long true, as the home studio craze has now hit post in a big way, and normal "jobs" are harder to find as many editors and mixers now work at home as an independent contractor with a far smaller budget than ever before.

But I've seen the writing on the wall, and it's called Virtual Reality.

As of this Christmas you're going to see the prices come down on devices like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Sony Playstation VR, Samsung's Gear VR and Microsoft HoloLens as they become the hot gift of the year and the beginning of next as new versions are introduced. 

In 2016 the floodgates for headphone surround will open, because as virtual reality takes hold, the need for surround sound audio will be quite apparent to further enhance the experience.

Everything from games to movies to music will be needed to be mixed in headphone surround, and the best thing is that you won't need a big expensive surround monitor setup to do it - only a really good set of headphones.

Headphone surround isn't limited to 5.1 either, as 7.1 is the norm, with DTS's Headphone X adding height channels at an enhanced 11.1.

So it's time meet the newest and fastest rising sector of the audio business. You can get started by brushing up on the VR systems available, as well as the various surround headphone technologies by Dolby, DTS and Sennheiser, among others.

Listen to some music examples at Bob Margouleff's Headphone Surround site, and prepare for a new journey into audio.

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The Reasoning Behind The Hanging Microphone

Here's an excerpt from my Recording Engineer's Handbook that explains why those old vintage tube mics are frequently seen hanging upside down.

"Everyone has seen the photos of the vintage large diaphragm tube mic hanging upside down in front of the vocalist. Many engineers think that it’s a fashion statement or some sort of convenience, but there really are several good reasons for placing a mic this way. Here are just a few things to consider;

• Much of the reason for hanging a mic upside down is because many of the early studio microphones used tube electronics. The heat rising from the tube can cause the diaphragm to change temperature over time, which will change the sound of the mic. Placing the tube above the capsule will let the heat rise without passing over the diaphragm.

• An excellent byproduct of singing slightly upward into a mic because it’s positioned upside down is that it forces the singer’s airway open and encourages a full body voice. Take a deep breath and sing a low note. Start with your chin to your chest and slowly lift your head until your chin is about 15 degrees above level. Hear any difference?

• Maybe even more important, the mic can be positioned so the singer is less likely to direct popping air blasts into the mic

• It’s easier for the singer to read any music or lyrics since the mic is out of the way.

Now you can see that hanging the microphone was more than a random design. It was indeed a well thought out placement technique used by our engineering forefathers."

You can read more from The Recording Engineer's Handbook and my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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Pro Tools Clip Snapping Shortcuts

If you use Pro Tools as your DAW of choice, then you should be reading Pro Tools Expert, an excellent site for PT tips, tricks and instruction (there's also Logic Pro Expert, Ableton Live Expert, Reason Expert and Studio One Expert as well). It's one site that I check almost every day.

Here's a great video from the site on some clip snapping shortcuts for Pro Tools that even those experienced in the program will enjoy. I learned a few things myself.

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Producer Robert Margouleff On My Latest Inner Circle Podcast

I'm happy to have producer Robert Margouleff on my latest Inner Circle Podcast.

Bob has been super influential in that he was largely responsible for the synthesizer coming to the forefront of popular music, which led to co-producing four of Stevie Wonder's most beloved albums (including my personal favorites Inner Visions and Talking Book).

Bob was also an early proponent of surround sound music, a torch he carries to this day with Headphone Surround.

In the intro we'll take a look at why Pandora buying the online ticketing agency Ticketfly may be a big deal for artists, and some quick and easy soundproofing tips for home studios.

Remember that you can find the podcast at BobbyOInnerCircle.com, or either on iTunes or Stitcher.

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New Music Gear Monday: Waves eMo D5 Dynamics Plugin

Most of the time we use signal processors like EQ, compressors, gates and de-essers in a serial fashion, meaning that the signal goes through the first one placed in the signal path, which processes the signal and sends it to the second processor, and so on. Waves has changed that with their new eMo D5 dynamics processor, which uses their new Parallel Detection technology to trigger all of the processors simultaneously.

The eMo D5 contains 5 processors in one plugin - a gate, leveler, de-esser, compressor and limiter. By triggering them all at the same time instead of sequentially, the user is provided with a lot more control without over-processing or over-compressing. All processors are available via a single interface screen, as you can see via the graphic on the left.

The plugin has zero latency, so it's perfect for use in a live situation as well as the studio. Plus, it has low CPU consumption so that you can use a bunch of them on a mix without running out of horsepower.

The Waves eMo D5 Dynamics plugin retails for $299, but is currently on sale with a introductory price of $149. Find out more information on the Waves website or check out the video below.

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The Who "Eminence Front" Isolated Drums

The GMC commercial featuring The Who's "Eminence Front" has been all over television lately, which is actually a good thing because it's great to hear the song again.

Kenny Jones' drum fill entrance makes you want to hear a lot more of what he's doing, so here's the isolated drum track from the song. Here's what to listen for:

1. The reverb is interesting. It sounds like it has a 1/16th note delay on it, which at 100 bpm works out to be around 150ms. Although most of the verb is on the snare drum and toms (the cymbals are clean), the reverb leakage gives the kick drum an interesting swing that helps the motion of the song.

2. The panning is also interesting. The drums are mostly in mono but the kick is panned to the left.

3. There's some interesting percussion that enters later in the song that you don't really hear on the final mix. There's a cowbell at 3:55 and various percussion at 4:10, but they're muted at 4:33.

4. Jones was playing to the synthesizer sequencer, but the playing is extremely solid, except for a couple of ever so slightly lazy fills (I'm getting really picky here).

A few weeks ago I posted the isolated keyboard tracks from the song, which you also might want to check out.

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A Snare Drum Quick Tuning Trick

It's important to have a snare sound that's right for the song, which is why studio drummers usually carry so many snare's with them to a session.

That's impractical for live gigs however, but this trick can actually make retuning your snare in between songs easier than you ever thought possible.

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Mix Comparison: From Rehearsal To Master

Here's a pretty cool video from the DVD that went with my Music Producer's Handbook. It's a look at a project that I did a few years ago with the band SNEW that compares a mix of the same song from rehearsal to basic tracks to rough mix with all the overdubs to final mix to mastered mix.

Sometimes the mix doesn't sound that much different between versions, but there's a big difference between the final mix and the mastered version that shows the value of mastering.

You can read more from The Music Producer's Handbook and my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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Welcome To The Quietest Place On Earth

OK, quick quiz. Where do you think the quietest place on earth is? Could it be the research lab of a speaker manufacturer like JBL? How about a mic manufacturer like Neumann? Both wrong.

The quietest place on earth is actually at Microsoft, and it has the means to prove it. Here's a video about measuring the anechoic chamber at the company's Audio Lab to enter into the Guinness Book of World Records.

The chamber measures an astounding -20.6 dBa, which is essentially just the sound of air molecules knocking into one another.

Also check out this pretty cool virtual look at the Microsoft Audio Lab.

Thanks to my buddy Jesse Jaye for the heads up.

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New Music Gear Monday: Audio Technica BP40 Large Diaphragm Microphone

While large diaphragm condenser mics seem to be available at a number of price points, the same can't be said for large diaphragm dynamic mics. In fact, there just aren't that many to choose from when it comes right down to it. Audio Technica hopes to change all that with its new BP40 large diaphragm dynamic microphone.

The BP40 uses a new patented humbucking design (yes, just like the pickups) that decreases electronically induced interference, and provides better hi-frequency performance and less distortion. It's designed to decrease the proximity effect, but it also has an 80Hz rolloff to further compensate for that as necessary.

The mic is actually intended for broadcast but the word is that it's also a killer kick drum mic as well. For those of you who like an RE20 on your kick, this is one to try.

It also has a very tight hypercardioid polar pattern, making it an interesting choice for under-snare work as well.

The Audio Technica BP40 has a street price of $349. The optional isolation mount is $99.

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Duran Duran "Girls On Film" Isolated Vocals

When Duran Duran burst on the scene in 1981 they were an immediate sensation, thanks in part to the provocative video of "Girls On Film." Here's the isolated vocal track from that hit.

The vocal starts at 0:18. Here's what to listen for.

1. Simon Le Bon's lead vocal is very closely doubled, except for the answers in the choruses.

2. There's a long delayed reverb with kind of a mid-range sound that's not too pleasant sounding by itself. It works great in the track though, proving again that things that don't work soloed often fit in the mix better than things that do.

3. As with all recordings done on tape, there are a lot of noises, pops, and foot movements that you can hear. Sometimes these were cleaned up with the spot-erase feature of a tape machine, but usually they were just left in because you wouldn't notice them in the track anyway. Also notice how sibilant the vocal is, although some of that might have to do with the audio on the video rather than the original multitrack audio itself.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.