Editors:
Mary (Tone Mistress) Mazurek
and
Kathy (Splice Girl) Dunaj

Volume 17 Number 11
November, 2002

EARS MEETS AT PARAGON RECORDING

820 W. Fulton Market, Chicago, IL.
312-942-0075
Tuesday November 26th 7:30pm

EARS returns to Paragon Recording Studio, 820 W. FultonMarket, Chicago (1 block west of Halsted and 1 block North of Lake) 312-942-0075. Marty Feldman, Jack LeTourneau, and Ned Englehart open their doors to show off their newly acquired Trident console. Check out www.paragonrecordingstudio.com for more info about the studio. Also, Bill Curtis of Curtis Technologies will demonstrate his AL2 stereo microphone system, and his 2 and 8 channel Opre microphone pre amps. We'll be recording drums with the system into the Alsesis HD24 hard disk recorder(featuring up to 24bit/96kHz capabilities) provided by Spoiled By Technologies.

The election will be held at this meeting, so do your EARS duty by making sure your dues are up to date and vote for your favorite candidate!
-MaryMazurek-

Appreciation File/Recaps:

September's meeting was hosted by Rick Barnes at Rax Trax Recording in Chicago. EARS members were treated to an evening of good food, beverages, and plenty of Pro Tools talk. The evening kicked off with our usual introductions and some EARS business followed by nominations for President. Past President Danny Leake nominated Mary Mazurek for Prez. This was the only nomination of the night, but the floor remains open.

Next we turned the floor over to Steve Ponte, and Sam Rodgers from Sweetwater Sound accompanied by Chris Hammond of Digidesign. Using Rick's brand new HD system, Chris spent the evening demoing the unit and answering questions all night. From setting up a session template, to some editing tips, EARS members questioned him thoroughly. For specs on the new HD system, refer to the July 2002 Eardrum in the archive section on the website. Jeff Komar of Digi gave us all the details.

Special thanks to longtime EARS member and supporter Rick Barnes for being such a gracious host, supplying all the food and drinks. To contact Rick for information call 773-871-6566 or see www.raxtrax.com. Kudos to Sweetwater Sounds' Steve Ponte and Sam Rodgers for spending the evening with us. Big thanks to Chris Hammond of Digidesign for all his patience answering all our questions, and for a great demo. For more info on the new HD system check out www.digidesign.com or call Sweetwater at 312-867-0250.
-Kathy Dunaj-

In October, we took a trip to Mike Castronovo's award winning Studio "B" Digital Recording in beautiful Rockford. We were greeted with warm hospitality by proprietor Mike, wife Deb and daughter Amy. (Not to mention the ever flowing supply of pizza and cool door prizes.)

Mike assembled a top notch panel of experts including Danny Leake of Urban Guerrilla, Gary Khan of Pegasus Recording, and Kathy Dunaj of Sound/Video Impressions, to discuss the topic "The Business of Recording". Some of the points covered were:

Print- Always have business cards with you; Have attractive, informative flyers; Labeling tapes properly shows you care.

When is too much information is just too much- Figure out who you're talking with and what they're interested in; Really listen to your client; Help clients develop their ideas without being threatening; Find out what the final product will be (CD, video etc.) first and then work back from there; Gain your client's trust.

Dealing with clutter- Date flyers & mail; Deal with mail immediately and toss items that are uninteresting; Scan info into your computer.

Diversifying your business- Develop skills in other areas, so you'll have work if you core business slows down ex: forensics, voice-over work, web audio, CD Rom audio, duplication etc.

Get the most out of your tax deduction- Keep records of all expenses like: travel, tolls, equipment depreciation, square footage etc; Stay well within the IRS limits as not to raise red flags; Have a pro do your taxes; And the handy IL ST-587 form for tax exempt purchases. You don't have to pay sales tax on equipment you useto manufacture a final product (good form, have to remember that); Check with your tax advisor.

The floor still being opened for Presidential nominations, Harry Brotman nominated David Moss for a second term, and David accepted [as well as his trusty VP Jack LeTourneau]. Also, congrats to all our raffle winners of the evening who walked away with cool raffle prizes. Many thanks to Mike Castronovo for organizing a great meeting. For more info on Studio "B" Digital Recording go to their web site at www.studiob3984477.com or call 815-398-4477.
-Mary Mazurek-

EARS Member Newsflash!

Our good EARs buddy, Don Morris is no longer with EMTECH. We spoke, and he his doing well. He will update us on his new professional activities which are still in our business. Please wish him luck!
-Gary Khan-

STEREO MIKING 101 Part Two

By: Mary Mazurek

[Note Part One may be accessed on the website in the archival section, Septmber'02 issue]

NEAR COINCIDENT PAIR

The near coincident pair uses two identical, directional microphones spaced a few inches apart and angled some degree. Angling directional microphones creates level difference between channels, and the space creates timing differences. Kind of combining the best of both worlds, eh? Adding just a few inches between mikes increases the width, adds to the depth and creates a sense of "air" in the recording. Increasing the angle also increases the stereo spread.

This technique yields a very accurate stereo spread and depth. It also creates a nice sense of "air" while still maintaining sharp imaging. Due to the space between microphones, this technique is not mono compatible, but has less phase interference than the spaced pair.

BINAURAL

Just a mention about the baffled omnis. The techniques discussed above try to mimic human hearing, but they fail to take into account the mass between ones ears. The Binaural technique uses an artificial head with microphones mounted flush in the "ears". You can purchase heads made of various materials, facial details, and an attached torso if you wish. It picks up sound much the way the human head does. It produces a highly accurate image including the perception of sounds coming from behind you so long as you listen over head phones. It's always fun to watch my students when they experience this for the first time. They swear someone is behind them or that I turned the speakers back on.

This was a popular style of recording in the 70's, but it lost favor for awhile. It is now resurfacing as a means to capture the rear channels for surround. Careful, it tends to generate conversation at inappropriate times. For that reason, it's probably not a good technique to use if an audience will be present.

So there's the basics. Try them out on your next recording, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results. If you want to hear stereo pairs in action, tune in to 98.7 FM WFMT every Wednesday at 12:15pm for the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert. I almost always exclusively use one stereo pair to pick up the ensemble.
-MM-

© 2002 All RightsReserved

Steering Committee Update:

The Steering Committee met October 17th. In attendance were: Harry Brotman, Marty Feldman, Craig Harding, Gary Khan, Mike Konopka, Jack LeTourneau, Mary Mazurek, David Moss, and Timothy Powell. Topics discussed were:

• Membership- Agreed on the dues increase to $25.00 annually; Current member dues will be due in October per the by-laws. New members joining in months not near October will pay half upon joining then $25.00 at the October due date; Plaques to honor current and past Presidents; Certificates for paid EARS members will be made as an official certificate of membership.
• EARS Publicity- Add new features to the Web site; Possibly make the EARdrum available by e-mail only or possibly doing an expanded quarterly hard copy (This is still up in the air); Fund raiser: an EARS roast, jam or battle of the bands.
• Other- A budget committee was formed. Stay tuned for more info later.

and now...A Word From Our Presidential Candidates

The floor is still officially open until the November election, these are our candidates so far.

David Moss:

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend me your EARS. . . I come here to bury last year not to praise it!

I hereby pledge to each and every one of you that I shall do my level best to see that EARS continues to do its part in the promulgation of homey land security and that it remains in the vanguard of the fight for truth, justice and the American way. And as though that were not enough let me say moreover that I plan, if elected, to dedicate myself to the following splendiferous agenda:

1. Every studio in Chicago booked 24/7
2. A wide screen plasma T.V. in every lounge
3. A fancy Italian "Saeco" espresso maker in every lounge
4. Deluxe mixed nuts (no peanuts) in oversized snifters - in every lounge
5. At least one Platinum and two Gold records per year, per studio
6. Oscar quality parties with designer sponsored attire for all - simulcast
7. At least one foreign beer at all meetings
8. Anyone guilty of serving "snacks" at meetings will be pilloried in his control room and forced to listen to Yanni's greatest hits while the rest of us dance around on the other side of the glass eating pizza we charge to his studio. (Jack will bring the pillory to each meeting just in case)
9. No gratuitous, boring harangues at meetings - or else
10. I promise to love, honor and cherish real knobs - till death do us part.

Remember, to vote in the November election your dues must be current. We will still accept dues payments prior to the election at the November meeting. It is best to bring your payment to the meeting, if you mail it, there is no guarantee we will receive it in time. If you are not attending the meeting we strongly suggest you mail the ballot ASAP to make sure it¹s counted.  We will only accept a printed snail mail version of the ballot.  DO NOT SEND THE BALLOT BACK VIA EMAIL, PRINT IT OUT AND SEND VIA SNAIL MAIL OR IT WILL NOT COUNT.  Please send your SIGNED ballot below to:

Kathy Dunaj
Sound Video Impressions
110 S. River Road
Des Plaines, IL 60016

Thanks! -KD-

Payin' Their Dues

Past Presidents Hudson Fair and Craig Harding sent in a big check to help out with the cause, thanks a bunch guys! Other members who have paid their dues recently include: Timothy Powell, Joe Ensalaco, Andrew Twiss, Mike Konopka, Lou Ann Franich, Rich Mastella, Warren Gandy, Ed Welly, Harry Brotman, Kevin Robbins, Mary Mazurek, Gary Khan, Mike Castronovo, Andy Alton, and Jackson Audio Productions. Thanks so much for your support!

Remember, to vote in the November election your dues must be current. We will still accept dues payments prior to the election at the November meeting. It is best to bring your payment to the meeting, if you mail it, there is no guarantee we will receive it in time.
Thanks! -KD-

Who have you been working with lately? We want to know! If you have any ideas for stories, wish to contribute an article, want to include any upcoming events, or have a tech tip, please contact:

Mary at pegasusrecording@ameritech.net. Or write to:
Peagasus Recording P.O Box 578903, Chicago, IL 60657.

Kathy can be reached at SVI, or
kathy@soundvideoimpressions.com.