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NEW Additional monitoring system | ||||||||||||||||
With increasing “more classical” cutting, came the need for “more classical” monitoring !. Our Anthony Gallo + supertweeter system, both integrates really well with clubs, having a slightly brash upper mid, and recovers extreme detail, but a smoother more “hi-fi” system was needed for classical and jazzy music. This lead to trying a multitude of bookshelf and floor standing speakers from just about every manufacturer you can imagine: KEF, B&W, Wilson, Genelec, Acoustic energy, to mention but a few. While Wilson would always be my personal first choice for any listening, and if you forget the fact they are over 20 grand, they are also undeniably huge - a problem in a small cutting room. So, after months of listening trials, we’ve ended up with the no longer produced Tannoy DC1. .A bookshelf speaker, with an 8” version of their famous 15” dual concentric driver (the very one I grew up on) with a top cabinet mounted supertweeter taking their response to over 30 kHz. Being a “small” speaker, they have been relieved of the strain of anything below 80 Hz. This deep bass being handled by an 18” JBL powered by an “antique” Carver PM1.5. Meanwhile, the Tannoy’s are bi-amp able, and so, powered by a pair of Music angel 500’s. The one driving the concentric tweeter and the supertweeter fitted with Harma cryogenically treated valves for the best possible detail recovery, while the one driving the 8” bass cones is fitted with JJ Tesla valves for the fluidity and musicality only they can do. Every component, sub, Carver, valve amps, and the Tannoy’s themselves are mounted on Mana supports. And hey presto, a very accurate and horribly revealing system. Interestingly, the system’s overall stereo image accuracy reveals some disastrous use of the pan pot by some engineers - presumably because they couldn’t hear the image properly at the time of recording !. Also interesting, even a good cartridge is limited to about 35 dB channel separation, compared to probably over 80 dB in the digital domain. A mere 35 dB separation means the leakage from one channel to the other is 1/56th, or, in a typical 100 watt playback system, we get 100 watts of “left” on the left, and thirty two thousands of a watt of “right” leaking onto the left. Absolutely nothing to worry about I’d say. But, that, and “insane use of the panpot is another story !. | ||||||||||||||||
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"DE - DIGITISING" WITH MAGNETIC TAPE | ||
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In these days of many computer based digital recording set ups, with, possibly 44.1 kHz brick wall filtering, and possibly zero dB maximum recorded levels, it is often difficult to stop music from "sounding digital". Recording to vinyl is sometimes not enough, specially as the vinyl process applies punishing eq to high frequencies, where, most of the "digital" sound character comes from. Back in the good old days, vinyl would have been cut from masters on tape, where the sound character is well and truly analog. Recording on tape has mainly 4 effects:- (1) Slight alteration of frequency response. (2) Frequency based compression. (3) Generation of harmonics. & (4) Smearing of transients. These add up to a character that is warmer, more musical, and, most importantly, free from high frequency digital distortion, which the cutting process eq can amplify and make even worse!. We now have our completely refurbished 1/4" - 2 track Studer A80 up and running, which we can "pass digital masters through" to help achieve that less digital and more analog sound character. Using only quality virgin tape for every cut and daily "line - up's" maintain the highest possible sonic quality while "de-digitising". | ||||||||||
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New Stuff | ||||||||||
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VINYL RECORD CUTTING, NEW VALVE CUTTING AMPS | ||
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Following the re design of our cutterhead management electronics, we decided to look further, at the power amplifier itself. We set up a test (that took most of a week end) cutting the same sections of tracks with, no less than 4 transistor amplifiers, (from a "collectable" Amcron to a cheap and cheerful Behringer), 2 switch mode types (one being the famous Carver), and 2 valve amps. The results were both interesting and unexpected. The Behringer was by far the cheapest but the best sounding of all the transistor types, while both the switch mode models were quite harsh. Lashings of headroom, but harsh none the less. Then, going to valve, the musicality of the whole thing just opened up. Despite the valve amps not having enough watts (on paper) they both drove the head coils without any problems at all, while one in particular had everything you could want. Warmth, guts, and that all important musical "sense of urgency". The one indescribable thing that makes music "get to you". We use valve amplification in our monitoring system, so their natural character and ability to sound big, even at low listening volume is no stranger to us. But, we were still surprised at how much of that transfers from the amp, through the cutter coils, to the stylus onto vinyl, and back again, when you play the record. It would seem theres a number of reasons for valves sounding the way they do. An extremely wide frequency response, producing only even harmonic distortion, and a bit of microphonics being just some. After much trial, we opted for a modified Chinese model with KT88's. We chose that over a similar unit with EL34's, but that sounded too nice!. You know a bit "twee" and not "urgent" enough for club music. | ||||||||||
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NEW STYLUS HEATING | ||||||
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In an effort to get the diamond cutting stylus warm enough to produce really smooth (noiseless !) groove walls, our head, like many, has a heating coil on the diamond tip itself. By design, the coil supplies so much heat that its on the verge of self distruct. This was done to get instant cutting temperature on the stylus. However, we've always been wary, and common sense would say that a very quick, high temperature rise must do some thermal damage to the tiny and very delicate stylus. We decided to try a slower "warm up" using much less heat, and let the stylus gently increasing in temperature, over a little time, rather than instantly. The result has been far greater stylus life, lower noise, and an extra cup of tea before each cut, while the machine warms. So, good for everyone ! | ||||||
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VINYL RECORDS CUTTING | ||
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DUB PLATES | ||
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