THE BIG LUDWIG MARCHING SNARE CONVERSION FOR RECORDING

BIG SNARE DRUM = BIG SOUND

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

John Bonham, 1975, with Led Zeppelin, notice he is using a 6.5" snare drum in this photo

I've always been a big fan of the drummer John Bonham, the style of his playing and his tone were both very influential on me. He was notorious for many unique and interesting drumming characteristics but the size of the taller snare drums he used made the biggest impression on me.

I put together my first studio drum set in the mid 1970's, it was a conglobulation of Ludwig, Rogers, Premier and a bunch of cheap pieces people gave me (because I had zero money). Over the next 37 years my studio drum set evolved a lot but it was always a patchwork of used pieces, tuned and assembled the best I could. I eventually invested in the Yamaha snare drum we still use today, it cost more than all the other drums I owned, a lot more! Everything changed when I got TuneBot for drum tuning, suddenly I could really tune drums to sound their best and this caused me to want a great sounding set for recording.

In 2012 we began building the new drum kit for the Proworkshop Recording studio. I was studying all the drum brands trying to determine what we should invest in. In particular I was thinking about the height of the snare drum John Bonham used when I went on the chase for the tallest snare drum I could find. That chase ultimately led me to this Ludwig 12" tall x 14" diameter snare drum built for marching bands.

PROWORKSHOP BASIC TRAINING, RECORDING STUDIO WIRE SIZE AND WIRE GAUGES

UNDERSTANDING WIRE SIZE AND
WIRE GAUGE FOR AUDIO CABLES

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

In the USA the wire inside audio cables is measured against a standard called "American Wire Gauge". A wire gauge is a handheld tool capable of measuring the diameter of a conductor.

The American Wire gauge (AWG) is the standard used in the USA for measuring the diameter of a solid-core electrical conductor.

PROWORKSHOP, BASIC TRAINING, CONNECTORS FOR PROFESSIONAL AUDIO AND RECORDING

CONNECTORS IN THE STUDIO

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

When your recording rig starts to expand you need cables and they need the right connectors on them to give you correct performance. Here we will take a look at the popular connectors used in modern recording and production studios. For detailed information about what signals are flowing through the connectors and cables see this link to Proworkshop Basic Training about Signals and Levels.

PROWORKSHOP BASIC TRAINING, UNDERSTANDING SIGNAL LEVELS

Introduction to Recording Studio
Signals and Circuits

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

If you want to make any audio system function at it's best* then you need to know what is going through the wires.

Electrical signals** represent sound in an audio system, they are the electricity that runs through the wires in an audio system.

But what is it? What are those signals? How do we connect them up?

PAWN SHOP STRAT STYLE WASHBURN ELECTRIC GUITAR, CUSTOM WD MUSIC PICKGUARD

WASHBURN STRAT STYLE PAWNSHOP GUITAR

WD MUSIC CUSTOM PICKGUARD

SEYMOUR DUNCAN LITTLE '59 PICKUPS

Washburn Strat Style Guitar retrofitted with Seymour Duncan pickups, original pickguard

Here is the guitar before I start the pickguard conversion. To my old eyes the white pickguard looks so cliche' and common, I've adopted an all black look on my other strat style guitars so I wanted this one to have it too. Even though it looks like a Strat, it's not the same at all and a Fender replacement pickguard would not work, not even close.

STUDIO DRUM SET

MEET THE PROWORKSHOP STUDIO DRUM SET

We've spent a lot of time and money figuring out how to record great sounding drum tracks.

Here is what it takes:

COMPARING AUDIO TRANSFORMERS

AUDIO TRANSFORMERS, SIZE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

JIG FOR TRANSFORMER A-B TESTING

A friend asked me to compare a small isolation transformer to a larger model I'm familiar with so I set about making a jig so I could easily switch between two transformer-parts under test or bypass. I chopped some alligator test clip leads in half to make it simple for connecting to the transformer under test. I used the standard Crimson input-output wiring color code for the test leads.

STEREO MICROPHONE CABLE

TWO MICROPHONE CABLES IN A SINGLE CABLE

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

Twin mic leads exit a jacket which is just slightly bigger than a standard single mic cable

I use a coincident pair of microphones over my drum set, it's always been sort of messy and fiddly with two cables and some clamps or velcro to hold it all up out of the way of the performer below. If you want to make adjustments then you've got to deal with both cables and it just seems like unnecessary technical clutter. Here is how I fixed the problem.

VU METER BOX REBUILD AND REVIEW OF JLM VU METER BUFFER CIRCUIT KITS

35+ YEAR-OLD DIY VU METER BRIDGE REBUILT WITH JLM DIY BUFFER KITS

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

DIY QUAD VU METER PACKAGE ORIGINALLY CONSTUCTED IN 1979

Back in 1979 I had virtually no money to spend. I was playing in a band and taking college courses so recording was very low on the financial priority list. There was no internet and raw hardware components were hard to find and expensive.

ULTRA LOW MASS MINI MOGAMI DRUM MICROPHONE CABLES

LOW MASS, LOW NOISE MOGAMI MICROPHONE CABLES

by Mark King for proworkhshop.com

Three Tom Tom mini microphone cables by standard mic cable for comparison

The drum set in the Proworkshop recording studio is sitting on a floating plywood platform which decouples the kit from the floor, the plywood is covered in carpet. The goal of the floating floor is to isolate all the vibration of the drum set from the building, this keeps the building around the drums from resonating and causing distortion in the recorded drums. I had my headphones on and was adjusting the kit for a recording session when I detected some very low frequency rumbling mechanical noise. All my microphones are in shock mounts so where was the rumble coming from?

API 3124 MIC PREAMP QUAD OUTPUT ATTENUATOR DIY

API MIC PREAMP OUTPUT ATTENUATOR PACKAGE DIY

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

Quad Attenuator box under API 3124

I'm a big fan of the API microphone preamps, they have transformer coupled inputs and outputs along with a wonderful op amp made from discrete components. There is one big problem with these preamps, they have too much output-level for most modern recording equipment.

The solution is to add a master volume control after the output stage. In this DIY article we'll look at how to bring the vintage API 312 mic preamp in to the modern studio and control the output-level in a way that makes this preamp much more useable.

PROWORKSHOP BASIC TRAINING, RECORD BETTER TRACKS IN THE FIRST PLACE

RECORD BETTER TRACKS IN THE FIRST PLACE!

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

Signal processing and plug-ins are seductive but they can cover up and distract you from a weak musical performance. 

ULTIMATE HEADPHONE OUTPUT SELECTOR BOX

RECORDING STUDIO HEADPHONE OUTPUT SELECTOR BOX

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

Custom built Heaphone Selector Box mounted to side of mixing console stand

In my studio there are five headphone outputs I need to access regularly, they are:

1 The output from my digital mixer

2 The output from my Powerplay headphone mixer

3 The output from my stereo mastering recorder

4 The output from my Neve mastering mixer

5 The output from my Soundcraft 40-channel analog console

I wanted to build a selector box so I could pick headphone sources without physically moving my headphone plug from gadget to gadget. This DIY article will show you how I did it for our studio.

BAGAIN STUDIO HACKS, TRS-THRU STUDIO HANDY-BOX

THE TRS-THRU HANDY-BOX FOR MUSICIANS AND STUDIOS

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE LABELS? LOL

I have a lot of wiring in my studio that uses Tip-Ring-Sleeve TRS connectors. I also have a lot of unbalanced phone plugs on guitar cords. I came up with this handy little problem solver a few months back and just built three more.

MAXING OUT THE FENDER SQUIRE JAGUAR SHORT SCALE BASS

PT 2. MORE SQUIRE JAGUAR BASS MODS

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

Previously I detailed the first round of mods on our Squire Jaguar short scale bass, you can read that here.

That article mainly involved replacing the cheap sounding stock pickups with a bodacious pair of Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound models. This time we're going to work on tone from a more physical point of view, replacing the bridge and the nut.

REVIEW WARM AUDIO EQP-WA vs KLARK TEKNIK EQP-KT, PULTEC-STYLE TUBE EQ SHOOTOUT

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

We've been using the Warm Audio EQP-WA since they first hit the market, as early adopters we purchased two from the very first batch, we've since added a second pair because we liked the first pair so much.

Several months after the release of the Warm Audio EQP, British designer Klark Teknik announced they were also going to release an EQP-KT model for the same price as the Warm Audio product.

The KT model made an uneventful entry in the market place and after a very short time Klark Teknik reduced the price, first to $499 and then to the unbelievable price of $299 each. This low price combined with encouraging threads on various audio forums like Gearslutz caused a run on these units. Almost overnight dealers went from some on the shelves to triple digit backorders of the unit.

User reports about the EQP-KT have been very positive so we ordered a pair for the Proworkshop studio in July, 2017. They finally arrived September 16. Were they worth the wait?

REVIEW KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER RACK

IS THE KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER WORTH IT?

PRELUDE

Getting ready for the real tube vs digital smackdown

The Kemper Profiling Amplifier is a digital guitar amplifier. It has an input gain control, digital effects processing, speaker cabinet simulation and a standard complement of bass, mid, treble and presence tone controls. It is available in an oversize lunch box package or a rack mount unit, either configuration can be optionally configured with a 600 watt internal power amplifier. All that is the standard stuff. What really sets this thing apart is the somewhat bizarre, and totally unique way it can sound like any amplifier through a process called "profiling". Will Kemper destroy the tube amplifier industry by cloning the sound of all the best pieces into digital profiles?

SHORT SCALE FENDER SQUIRE JAGUAR BASS MOD

SEYMOUR DUNCAN 1/4-POUND BASS PICKUP SET TO THE RESCUE

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

I bought this short scale (31”) Squire Jaguar Bass for Mary to noodle around with. I’ve already adjusted the neck to be very straight and the action is low but not buzzing. The top-loading bridge on this bass is very similar to what Fender puts on their USA P-bass and Jazz bass instruments. The volume and tone control layout is the same as the classic Fender Jazz bass. 

PAWNSHOP GUITAR REBUILD, CAN $55 USED GUITAR SOUND GOOD?

REBUILDING THE STRAT-STYLED WASHBURN LYON

for Proworkshop.com by Mark King

I bought this Washburn Strat style guitar for $55 at a pawn shop in Jacksonville with my friend Paul back around Y2K. Here’s a pawnshop shopping tip, if you’re looking for a low priced guitar find one that does not work. The price of this Washburn instantly dropped in half when I showed the store it did not make any sound. I also got a non-working Squire Stratocaster for $50 which I fixed up and gave to my friend Captain Welsh, both of these guitars had very simple wiring problems. 

GIBSON FLYING VEE REBUILD

REBUILDING 2003 GIBSON FLYING VEE

PRELUDE
I bought this Gibson Flying Vee "preowned" in 2006 at Eddies Guitars in Maplewood, Missouri for $400. The neck and body are all mahogany, it's finished in a rough coating that is dull and feels slightly unfinished.

CAN MADE IN MEXICO STRATOCASTER SOUND AS GOOD AS AMERICAN?

CAN A MIM STRATOCASTER 

SOUND AS GOOD AS AMERICAN MADE?

by Mark King for Proworkshop

MIJ left, MIA center, MIM right

So far I’ve updated and improved my 1986 MIJ (made in Japan) Fender Stratocaster and my 2006 MIA (made in America) USA American Standard model. The MIJ got new Seymour Duncan pickups that really made it a fabulous sounding guitar. The American Standard kept it’s original pickups but NOW utilizes a simpler single volume and tone control circuit instead of the classic Fender 3-knob design.

Now lets do a rebuild on this Made in Mexico Stratocaster, can this low cost model possibly sound as good as its Japanese and American cousins?

10 BEST PLACES ONLINE FOR GUITAR STUFF

BEST PLACES ON INTERNET

FOR GUITAR STUFF

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

PRELUDE
What is Guitar Stuff? It's everything except for main stream branded instruments. It's pots, bodies, pickups, tuners, capos, slides, strings, string cranks, stomp boxes, speakers, tape echo, true bypass switches, tone controls, all sorts of interface boxes, tremolo systems, instrument cables, transformers, tubes, op amps, patch cords, patchbays, and on and on it goes. 

Where are the best places on the internet to get this stuff?

PROWORKSHOP BASIC TRAINING, USING EQ AND COMPRESSORS

TIPS FOR SOUND AND RECORDING

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

Using Equalizers and Compressors

The answer to these questions comes from the man himself, Chris Lord Alge

You've got a vocal that needs a compressor and an EQ on it, what order should they be in?

Does it really matter?

Is it the same when you use plug-in's?

PROWORKSHOP BASIC TRAINING, MOST IMPORTANT CONTROL IN SOUND SYSTEM

TIPS FOR BETTER SOUND AND RECORDING

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

#1. What is the most important control on any sound system?

As the sound engineer it's your responsibility to know where this control is and how to operate it at a moments notice. 

It might sound simple to experienced operators but it is amazing how often I hear the results of it being used poorly.

REBUILD FENDER JAPAN STRATOCASTER WITH SEYMOUR DUNCAN PICKUPS AND POTS

MADE-IN-JAPAN FENDER STRATOCASTER
 WITH SEYMOUR DUNCAN PICKUPS

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

MADE IN JAPAN FENDER STRATOCASTER AT BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT

PRELUDE

I bought this Japanese Fender Stratocaster at a Pawn Shop in Jacksonville Florida around the year 2000. According to the Fender web site and the serial number on this guitar it was originally manufactured between 1984 and 1986. The pawn shop used price was only $180 with a nice hardshell case. It's time for a rebuild!

THE BEST WAY TO TUNE DRUMS FOR THE BEST SOUND

TUNE-BOT DRUM TUNER MAKES TUNING DRUMS
EASY, FAST, REPEATABLE

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

TUNE-BOT DRUM TUNER CLIPPED TO DRUM RIM

I've owned drum sets for over 40-years but I never knew how to tune them correctly to get the best tone. At best it was just a guessing game. I watched tons of videos. I've had drummers tell me how great my kit sounded and others tell me my set was totally wrong and then they retune the whole kit. Did it sound better? Not to my ears.

 DW DRUMSET IN PROWORKSHOP.COM STUDIO

PROWORKSHOP BASIC TRAINING, HOW TO SOLDER CORRECTLY

DIY = BETTER QUALITY,
MORE OPTIONS, LOWER COST

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

HOW TO SOLDER AUDIO ELECTRONICS, CABLES AND CORDS

MY FATHERS VINTAGE CRAFTSMAN SOLDERING IRON WITH WOOD HANDLE AND ASBESTOS CORD

I remember watching my father soldering when I was only five. He was building a Heathkit tube preamp and a matching tube power amp. I was totally intrigued, amazed and enthralled with the process. I did not know what he was building but it sure looked cool. 

REVIEW YNGWIE MALMSTEEN SEYMOUR DUNCAN SPEED POT FOR STRATOCASTER

WORLDS FINEST POTS FOR STRATOCASTER GUITARS

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

SEYMOUR DUNCAN POTS FOR FENDER STYLE GUITARS

We own a lot of Fender style guitars in our recording studio. When a volume or tone pot goes bad I replace them with these YJM High-Speed Pots from Seymour Duncan. 

Yngwie asked Seymour about better, easier to turn pots. This is what Seymour came up with. 

WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THESE?

LESLIE 147, THE MAGIC ROTATING SPEAKER SYSTEM

LESLIE 147 TUBE POWERED ROTATING SPEAKER SYSTEM

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

THE REAR OF STOCK LESLIE 147, UPPER AND LOWER COVERS REMOVED

PRELUDE

I bought a Leslie 145 brand new in 1972 (identical to 147 except a shorter wood-cabinet). It contained the 40 watt tube amp, came with the weird thick brown cable which is 30-feet long (the only choice). It also came with a good looking chrome preamp box, the whole thing was around $650; that was a lot of money for me. More than my car! But it had an amazing sound and I carried that thing around to many band jobs over the next 25 years. One bitterly cold winter night it almost killed me when I slipped on some ice while unloading the beast after a band job. I retired it from live performance use after that gig, it was just too big and heavy to haul around.

YOUR RECORDING SESSION, WHAT TO EXPECT

YOUR RECORDING SESSION

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

This article is intended to give recording artists an overview of the recording studio process. These steps are common in any recording studio.

PROWORKSHOP BASIC TRAINING, BUILDING YOUR OWN STUDIO MICROPHONES

BUILDING MICROPHONES AND TOOLS NEEDED

by Mark King

12-251 from microphone-parts.com

Why would you build your own microphone? The first answer is to save money and the second is to get a microphone that sounds like you want it to sound.

Besides looking at building microphones we'll take a look at the basic tools you need for doing electronics and DIY. If you're looking for just the tool information scroll down to the TOOLS section head to see what's needed.

REVIEW FULLTONE 69 DISTORTION PEDAL

FULLTONE '69 MK II = FUZZFACE ON STEROIDS

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

I like Fulltone products. They are very solidly built using the finest components from around the world. Each box is designed by Mike Fuller the man behind the Fulltone brand. These little jewels of tone mayhem are each individually handcrafted in the USA by the small Fulltone factory located in Los Angeles, California. I really like products that are designed and manufactured by the same company, this almost always results in products that provide superior performance to those jobbed out to contract manufacturer's. 

This review is going to focus on another great Fulltone distortion, the '69 MK II. This model replaces the original '69 pedal by Fulltone. The original had four knobs in a row while the MK II has reduced two of the knobs to small shafts that poke out under the two larger control knobs. The original design required a lot more hand wiring inside which limited production from the factory. The MK II utilizes a new smaller enclosure so it takes up less space on your pedal board. It has a new circuit board design that is faster and easier to build while enhancing reliability and improving the tone.

REVIEW AUDIO TECHNICA ATM 450 MICROPHONE

THE AUDIO TECHNICA ATM450 REVIEW

An excellent & unique cymbal mic

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

Everybody has opinions, mine have been developed and derived from over 50-years of recording experience. Life has given me many unique opportunities to try out lots of equipment. Back in the 70's I had virtually no money to play with. That led me to try out microphones by a Japanese company called Audio Technica. Their electret condenser microphones were a particular favorite of mine because they were affordable and sounded good. They had fantastic clarity and uniform frequency response that made them indispensable in my recording adventures. 

REVIEW BEYER DYNAMIC M 201 MICROPHONE

THE INCREDIBLE BEYER DYNAMIC M 201 

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

Beyer Dynamic is an old German company that builds microphones, headphones, wireless systems and conference systems. Beyer Dynamic has been family owned since it was founded in 1924. In this article we're going to look at the M 201 TG, a hyper cardioid dynamic microphone that is arguably the worlds best snare drum microphone. 

BEHRINGER X32 IN THE STUDIO

BEHRINGER X32 IN THE STUDIO

FOR FIVE YEARS

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

I think it was 2011 when I first saw a prototype of the X32 at a Namm show. It had motorized faders which was a fantastic feature. Overall I was very impressed with the way the X32 looked but how would it sound? 

Apogee was coming out with a new converter system, oh no, another cycle of sell what I've got for half what I paid then buy the new one for twice as much? Not this time.

The x32 finally hit the market and I ordered one from my Sweetwater sales engineer in 2012. 

THE END OF ANALOG MIXING IS AT HAND, TOTALLY UPDATED JULY 2023

IS ANALOG MIXING IN THE STUDIO DYING?

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

OUR SOUNDCRAFT GB8-40 INSTALLED

UPDATE: I've left the original article as it was but be aware, our studio electronic architecture has changed a lot since this article was first published (the X32 mixers have been replaced with Neve 1073spx preamps). To see a few of the updates scroll down to the end of the original article. 

ORIGINAL ARTICLE FOLLOWS

In our studio we use a split-console metaphor which essentially means one mixer to record and a completely separate mixer for mixing. I decided it was time to upgrade our analog mixing console. I needed more Aux-Sends and they all needed to be post fader for effects-sends. I needed more subgroups and a more versatile stereo master group. I needed better solo capabilities. I've been building and repairing electronics all my life, I wanted something new so I could focus on mixing not repairing or hot-rodding some 30+ year old beast. 

REVIEW WARM AUDIO EQP-WA TUBE EQUALIZER

WARM AUDIO EQP-WA 

TUBE EQUALIZER REVIEW

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

WHAT IS IT?

The EQP-WA is an equalizer based on a 1960's design by Pultec Audio. The original units are some of the holiest of grail in professional recording studios and fetch astronomical prices. For years mere mortals like me could who could not afford to drop 4000-7000 dollars on a single vintage piece (provided you could even locate one) were doomed to not know the magic of the Pultec EQ.

REVIEW KLARK TEKNIK 1176-KT COMPRESSOR-LIMITER

KLARK TEKNIK 1176-KT REVIEW

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

Up until the last couple of years if you wanted a real 1176 style FET compressor-limiter like the one Bill Putnam invented you had very few choices. Now there's a new kid in town from an old and well respected British brand name, Klark Teknik. In the following review we'll take a look at the similarities and the differences of the original UA-1176 by Universal Audio, and the Klark Teknik 1176-KT.

NEUMANN U-47 MICROPHONE ORIGINAL SCHEMATIC

NEUMANN U-47 MICROPHONE ORIGINAL SCHEMATIC

Click on the picture to enlarge it

Take notice of how few electronic components are used in constructing a working microphone. This does not include the power supply components which energize the mic and provide connectivity to the outside world. 

U47 PARTS LIST

CAPSULE
POLARITY SWITCH (ON OFF)
VACUUM TUBE
OUTPUT TRANSFORMER
EIGHT RESISTERS
THREE CAPACITORS (NOT INCLUDING CAPSULE)

It's easy to see from examining this list of parts that the electronic components which will have the greatest impact on the sound are:

#1. The Capsule (the ear drum of the mic),
#2. The Tube (the amplifier),
#3. The Output coupling capacitor
#4. The Output Transformer (connects the microphone to the rest of the world)

More than any other marketing hype, these components account for 95% of the way a vacuum tube microphone sounds. The physical shape and construction of the head that houses the microphone capsule is the other big determining factor in what creates the sound the microphone produces.

If the Head/Grille sounds like the ocean when you hold it up to your ear and listen through it you're going to need to mod the grille work to get rid of that sound or else the capsule will hear that too and it will bias the tone of your recordings.

COST EXAMINATION
The tube used in a Neumann U-47 is no longer made. For cost comparison we'll use the most similar functioning counterparts that are plug and play compatible with the original microphone.

$400.00 Thiersch PVC M-7 Style Capsule from Germany
$750.00 Replacement VF-14K from Telefunken
$300.00 Classic BV-8 from AMI

There is the bulk of the cost for building one of the best U-47 style microphones

If a different, lower cost tube is used then the cost would also be correspondingly lower. As of today there are still good alternative N.O.S. glass tubes which are similar in characteristics to the original steel can VF-14 tubes. One such alternative is the Telefunken EF-800.

REVIEW MXL REVELATION TUBE MICROPHONE

CAN MXL MAKE A SERIOUS TUBE MICROPHONE?

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

THE MXL REVELATION MULTI-PATTERN TUBE MICROPHONE

I've been a fan of MXL microphones for modding ever since I bought my first MXL model 2001 large diaphragm condenser microphone back around 2004. The internet was starting to bristle with hot-rod microphone stories and I was ripe to jump in and apply my 50 years of electronics experience.

ROTOSOUND BASS STRINGS AND B-E-A-D BASS TUNING

FIVE-STRING BASS TONE 
FROM A FOUR STRING BASS WITH B-E-A-D TUNING

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

I love deep, ballsy bass tone but I don't own a five-string bass because I just have not found one with the right features that seemed to justify the price. I like expensive equipment but I also really like cheap gear that plays and sounds expensive. This is a classic tale about just such a piece of equipment.

MARY'S B-E-A-D SQUIRE-FENDER BASS

ROBIN TROWER IS STILL ROCKING

ROBIN TROWER ALBUM

AND CONCERT REVIEW

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

ROBIN TROWER'S LATEST ALBUM

I still remember the first time I ever heard Robin Trower playing guitar. I was at a frat house with my friend Tony in Atlanta Georgia, it was the summer of 1973 and we were returning from a vacation in Florida. We were sitting in the living room and somebody down the hall in a bedroom was playing “Bridge of Sighs” fairly loud. That was actually the second album by the Robin Trower band but it was the one that really put Robin in the world spotlight as an artist. As soon as I got back home I bought the album and began playing the grooves off of it. 

THE RIDES, THE BAND, THEIR ALBUMS, THE REVIEW

THE RIDES

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

Why is Stephen Stills (you know, the S in CSN&Y) playing in a blues band with Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg?

Because it’s where he is supposed to be. Don’t read any more, go buy their CD’s on Amazon or wherever you buy music. There are two to choose from, they are both awesome and infectious (provided you enjoy listening to a killer blues band). 


Chris Layton (who laid down the backbeat for Stevie Ray Vaughan) is sitting in the drum seat and the beat just grooves and grooves, this band feels good to listen to. They are not a copy of anything, it’s all original and it’s all good.

The first time I listened to some samples of The Rides on Amazon I was not very impressed but I remembered another album that sounded weird at first and grew on me every time I listened to it, Keith Richards first solo album “Talk Is Cheap”. After thinking about that I ordered the first CD by The Rides. It is indeed one of those CD’s that grows on you the more you listen to it. I have to drive about 45 minutes north to get to the guitar repair shop, listening to The Rides makes that drive go by in about 10 minutes, it’s like time travel. 

THE RIDES - LIVE AT THE KING CENTER IN MELBOURNE FLORIDA

Back on April 5th, 2017 we had an amazing concert here in Melbourne Florida, The Rides opening for Buddy Guy. I bought tickets the day they were available and got great fourth row seats for Mary and I. 

THE RIDES, LIVE AT THE KING CENTER

DIY BUILD THE STEREO MASTERING PRECISION BALANCED-LINE VARIABLE ATTENUATOR

BUILDING THE 600 OHM BALANCED-LINE VARIABLE ATTENUATOR

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

TWO CHANNEL BALANCED-LINE VARIABLE ATTENUATOR

RACK MOUNTED DIRECTLY BELOW API 2500

THE PROBLEM

I am a big fan of the Warm Audio EQP equalizers. The Proworkshop studio has a pair from the first production run which we bought for tracking use in the studio. Once I heard them in the mastering-loop of our Neve mixer I knew this pair was doomed to stay there because they added so much power and tone to the stereo mix.

Newer production units from Warm Audio include a variable-gain trim-pot control on the back of the unit so you can match two pieces for stereo use. The pair we're using in the Proworkshop mastering system does not have these gain controls.

With the gain control located on the rear of the new Warm models the options for adjustment are still limited unless it's very easy to get to the rear of your rack to tweak the screwdriver-adjustable trim pots. 

THE ATTENUATOR SOLUTION

BUILDING LARGE DIAPHRAGM MICROPHONES AT PROWORKSHOP

BUILD YOUR OWN V-TWIN TUBE CONDENSER MICROPHONE

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

THE PROWORKSHOP V-TWIN LDC MICROPHONE

THE V-TWIN TUBE CONDENSER MICROPHONE

The Proworkshop studio records and mixes a lot of rock music but I've also recorded lots of classical projects from opera singers to a large vintage harp (one of the most difficult things I've ever recorded). Microphones are a critical part of the recording chain and so we need to have many styles and models to cover all the various sound sources.

Back in 1985 there were not nearly as many large diaphragm condenser (LDC) microphone choices available as there are today. The internet has made the entire world a resource for designs, parts and pieces.

REVIEW API 3124+ MICROPHONE PREAMP

FOUR-CHANNEL PREAMPLIFIER CLASSIC FROM API

Review by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

Microphone preamplifiers are definitely in the top five things audio engineers bicker about. Don't they all basically sound the same? Don't they all basically do the same thing? If your mixer or interface already has a microphone preamp in it why wouldn't you just use that?

These are all valid questions with equally valid answers depending on how well developed your ears are, whether you think the end is justified by the expense and perhaps most importantly whether you can afford it.

REVIEW BEHRINGER MDX2600 COMPOSER PRO COMPRESSOR LIMITER

Infinitely Affordable and Incredibly Useful

The Behringer Composer Pro Review

Pair of Behringer MDX2600 Composer-Pro

The Behringer MDX2600 Composer Pro is an inexpensive dual mono or stereo compressor-limiter in a single space rack mount enclosure. 

REVIEW RADIAL REAMP - PRO-RMP STUDIO REAMPER

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

What is Reamp?

Reamp is a process by which a guitar or other signal is replayed from a recording, out through a special interface box (called Reamp), then into a musical instrument amplifier which is then re-recorded on to a different track. This lets an artist focus on the performance during recording and allows the engineer to rework the track with different amplifiers and effects after the fact.

REVIEW LEXICON REVERB COMPARISON, PCM 92 VS MX200

LEXICON REVERB REVIEW

AND COMPARISON 

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

I've been a big fan of Lexicon digital reverb since 1984 when I acquired a new PCM-60 stereo digital reverb. Up until the day that piece arrived in my studio all my reverb effects were typically done with high quality spring reverbs. I also had a room upstairs in my house that had over 30 angled surfaces and a solid wood floor, when it was empty it had a great short reverb sound. I put a Fostex studio monitor in one corner of the room along with a widely spaced pair of microphones and used the room as a reverb chamber on lots of recordings.

REVIEW RNDI RUPERT NEVE DIRECT INTERFACE

Review by Mark King and Proworkshop.com

THE RNDI NEXT TO A BOSS TUNER FOR SIZE REFERENCE

When I first heard that Rupert Neve Designs was going to release a direct-box I expected it to be $500 to $750 in price. Count me very pleasantly surprised when upon its official release the sale price was only $269, I ordered one immediately.

REVIEW 1176 COMPARISON, UNIVERSAL AUDIO UA1176LN, KLARK TEKNIK 1176KT, WARM AUDIO WA76

THE CONTENDERS

TOP TO BOTTOM, UA1176LN, 1176KT, WA76 PAIR

Article update, August 4th, 2020

The number 1176 refers to a specific model and brand of audio compressor/limiter invented by Bill Putnam. The UREI company was bought out in the 80's and the 1176 was retired in favor of other lower priced alternative offerings.

The original 1176 units evolved and changed over the years they were produced and these changes inevitably altered the way they sounded in use. You'll find references to "Rev D" or "Blue Stripe" which are ways of identifying the best versions of the vintage models.

Today, new 1176 units are manufactured by Universal Audio (which was founded by Bill Putnams sons), these are very high quality units made in the USA. In 2004 our studio acquired a new UA1176 and our love affair with the '76 began, far and away it is our "style" of compressor at Proworkshop.

REVIEW FULLTONE MDV-3 DEJA'VIBE AND FULL-DRIVE 2 MOSFET

Here is an outstanding pair of pedals for any rock guitar player, a classic sounding Univibe clone and an excellent distortion pedal, both from Fulltone in Los Angeles and both completely hand built by humans in Los Angeles, California.

FULL-DRIVE 2 & DEJA'VIBE PEDAL

FULLTONE MDV-3 DEJA'VIBE REVIEW

The Fulltone MDV-3 Deja'Vibe is a functional clone of the vintage Unvibe made famous by Jimi Hendrix and many others.

Fulltone master tinker'er Michael Fuller has crafted his take on this classic electronic circuit and packaged it a couple of different ways. One is a stomp box with a big knob on the top that you can sort of roll with your feet, the second is the MDV-3 which is a custom wah-wah style pedal with controls on the side of the base.

DEJA'VIBE CONTROLS

BARGAIN RIBBON MICROPHONE SHOOTOUT AND REVIEW, NADY RSM-4, BADAAX AR 520, MXL R144, FAB 56, VS ROYER 121

RIBBON MICROPHONE FOR

ELECTRIC GUITAR

SHOOTOUT AND REVIEW

by Mark King for proworkshop.com

Ribbon microphones for recording electric guitar amplifiers have become quite popular.

We decided to do a shootout of several models with the Royer 121 as our high-end control.

Using a Rupert Neve Designs direct interface we recorded a simple hard rock series of power chords which were then re-amplified through a Mesa Boogie combo amplifier. By using re-amplifying technology we could expose each microphone to the exact same source material.

PULLING TUBES AND HOT RODDING BUGERA INFINIUM 1960 GUITAR AMP

HOT ROD THE BUGERA 1960

INFINIUM GUITAR AMPLFIER

by Mark King for Proworkshop.com

BUGERA 1960 INFINIUM GUITAR AMPLIFIER

I got my Bugera 1960 guitar head about a year ago from Sweetwater. I really like this amplifier a lot, it has amazing tone which is a lot like the Marshall Super Lead heads I had in the 70's and 80's. There is just one problem with the stock head, it's too LOUD!

REVIEW API 2500 STEREO COMPRESSOR LIMITER

Our studio has been using a Chameleon Labs stereo bus compressor up until we discovered it was really killing our stereo image. It has left the building.

For a replacement we chose the API 2500 stereo bus compressor. It lives in the mastering loop of our Neve 8816/8804 and along with a pair of Warm Audio EQP, provides the finishing touch to our stereo mixes.