Creating an echo room sound without an echo room , creating a great harmonica sound, further simplifying the Springsteen Nebraska production process

For example.


Assuming 2 ribbon Grampian mics are driving a pair of Pleiades E88CC long tailed pair preamps.


The preamps are then driving a Philips CDR recorder. So we are recording direct to disc.


So far so good.


The trick is continuing the signal path after the preamps or after the CDR.


If for example the CDR line out is connected to a Pleiades 300B single ended stereo pair and then loudspeakers and the room is filled with good sound the mics will be picking up the sound they are producing in the first place!


If the gain is lowered well before oscillating it is just positive feedback without oscillation.


This can give for example an amazing harmonica sound and the sound heard is being recorded in real time!


If the speakers are placed many meters away in a far away room, the acoustic delay is very interesting.


To summarize: the mics pick up the the very close sound of the instrument or voice and at the same time an echo room type sound feeding back to itself in a Phil Spector wall of sound way. Phil Spector was tape delaying the sound to the chamber and feeding it back to itself. (See a previous euroelectron post).


Now Bruce Springsteen as mentioned in a very nearby euroelectron post used 2 SM57 for the album Nebraska. The tracks were cut by a Tascam 4 track recorder on cassette. Mixing was done by adding the magnetic head Gibson delay and the end product was re-recorded to a Panasonic cassette boom box.


The slap back echo is an important ingredient of this album's sound.


Can this simple setup be further simplified?


For example assuming recording an electric organ and voice or voices.


The electric organ is directly connected to a Marantz 3 head cassette recorder through line in.


One or two mics are also connected to the Marantz portable recorder through mic in.


Singer sings and plays an Italian EKO organ.


The Marantz is in tape monitoring mode from its 3rd (playback) head.


It's headphone output is connected to a sensitive vintage full range speaker hung from the ceiling.


The speaker plays the organ and the voice sounds phase modulated too by the Leslie rotating effect.


The mics recapture the sound in the room and there is a slap back loop. The effect can be controlled by adjusting the headphone output volume driving the loudspeaker.


Advantages:


One generation for everything.


Analog recording only.


Voice is close miked and organ is direct injected.


But at the same time there is slap back echo with repeats for voice and organ and delayed room sound too simulating a echo chamber.


There is absence of early reflections but a plethora of delayed reflections simulating a big space.


When a singer sings or plays, his-her ears listen to a great sound consisting of the acoustic wave coming from their mouth and the thousand delayed acoustic waves coming from the room. Since the mic is very near to the ears what is heard is almost what is being recorded. The fact that the speaker cannot play too loud helps the singer sing in tune. (Pitch as perceived depends on acoustic intensity, see other euroelectron posts on pitch and S.S. Stevens).

Why can pentode single ended amps drive full range speakers and giving excellent treble

Because pentode tubes are not presented by a load 2 to 3 times their internal resistance as is done on triodes (for reasons of reducing harmonic distortion), the output impedance at the secondary is fairly high.


So the speaker is driven by a highish impedance. As the impedance of the voice coil increases at high frequencies (the reactance of coils increases with frequency) the amplifier is presented with a higher load. So there is less voltage drop at the output of the amolifier.


So the output voltage of the amp increases at very high frequencies when the speaker is connected!


This makes cymbals so realistic on full range open back speakers from good vinyl records reproduction that it is scary to listen too.


It sounds as if a real big cymbal is inside the room.


Reference:


Applied Electronics - T.S. Gray - MIT

Some earlier Pleiades Electron Tube Amplifiers

Names have to given to these too in the chronological order they were made. For example V-6 older than V-4


This post will be a rough estimate.


If memory is correct the first Pleiades electron tube amplifier was a single ended power amplifier based in the PCL86 triode pentode in the same glass envelope. The design was based on the application schematic of the excellent French radio tubes data book. The transformer used was ordered from Hammond in U.S. The treble and mid juice of this amp is excellent. It can be heard on the organ sound driving a full range vintage speaker hung and rotated from the ceiling to give the Doppler Leslie effect. The vid is titled Mystery on YouTube Chanel renewablemusic. The only mics in the room were Coles 4038 driving a Pleiades E88CC 2 stage long tailed pair. Sowter input and output transformers. 2 for stereo. Then if  memory is correct the output was attenuated and EMI RS61s were driven and then driving the A to D converter of a modified Philips CD-R. Unfortunately the image quality given to the vid was bad and YouTube treated the sound too as such. The file used may had been MP3. The mics were hung from the ceiling. Unfortunately there was no acoustic treatment for the room.


Other Pleiades amps in almost random order:


300B single ended class A. Final year engineering electronics project at Warwick University. It is thanks to professor Flower, head of engineering and his kind secretary who booked the appointment that this project could begin as no lecturer was happy taking in a project on electron tubes in 1994.


Other Pleiades Amps:


Cascode mic preamp with nuvistors.


Small simple ECC83 stages.


Smaller ECC86 stages powered by 6V.

What is a nice sounding distance and Pleiades inductance for Shure Unidyne III

This experiment started by singing to Shure Unidyne III, amplifying it with Pleiades V5 and then directly driving a cassette recorder stereo head kissing with the playback head of Sony TC-D5 pro. This is described on the previous post and is a first attempt to analog simulate analog tape recording in real time with no tape moving or other moving parts.


The analog simulation gave a loud sound.


The Pleiades V5 has an input inductance of only 47mH making a very bright sound out of the Unidyne III.


After the tape simulation experiment the V5 was directly connected to Sony TC-D5 Pro for comparison as follows:


Signal path, setup:


Living room with Pleiades membrane absorbers - male voice singing the end phrase of Words - Bee Gees - Shure Unudyne III hand held at various distances - Pleiades V5 with its output pad - Sony TC-D5 Pro to its XLR transformer input, at mono - TDK type II cassette - Sennheiser HD580


The sound was nice but very bright.


It was decided to increase the inductance the mic sees to get more bass.


So the mic was directly connected to Sony TC-D5 Pro using only various Pleiades filters.


Setup same as above with the following difference:


...- Shure Unidyne III - Pleiades filter - Sony TC-D5 Pro -....


Naturally the first Pleiades filter tried was 52mH which is very close to the 47mH input transformer primary inductance of the V5 prepreamp.


The sound was similarly bright but weaker and the TC-D5 rec level pot had to be at max for full modulation compared to 3-4 when using the V5 with its output pad.


Next an 82mH Pleiades filter was connected and the mic used at 2 in with better sound.


Then 135mH corresponding to about 200Hz turnover. The best distance was about 3in and the sound was fuller.


Then 333mH or about 100Hz 3 dB cutoff point was used with the mic sounding best at 4-5in and full bass and treble and mid range sound. This seems to be the sweet spot combination.


Then ni Pleiades filter was used. The sound was very bass heavy due to proximity effect even at 12in.


Summary:


The best combination was a mic mouth distance of 4-5in and a Pleiades shunt inductance of 330mH or 100Hz cutoff.


The use of Shure Unidyne II was inspired by Brian Wilson using it for vocals on Pet Sounds and Bruce Springsteen on Nebraska (SM57).


Very beautiful mic. With a Pleiades filter it becomes very bright at very small distances. The 4-5in distance may be the optimum for the particular setup described.


If the Pleiades V5 is to be used with this mic the primary transformer should be redesigned with more primary and secondary turns or a larger core so that the input inductance is of the order of 330mH.

First real time Pleiades analog simulation of analog tape recording experiment with no moving parts

For ease and time saving it was decided that the first experiment uses only what is already available.


So a Shure Unidyne III microphone driving a Pleiades V5 preamp driving a Sony cassette adaptor. It is those cassettes that have inside them a stereo magnetic head connected to the external cable. The cable is usually connected to a portable CD player line out for playing CDs in the car by inserting the cassette adaptor to the car cassette player.


The setup used under modulated the tape recorder as there are only 2 electron tubes from mic to magnetic head.


The sound was interesting reminding the sound of analog recording. There was something loud about the voice even at such under modulation, the VU meters barely moving and tape recorder sounding with hiss as expected.


It must also be taken into account that there may be some peak limiting processing already from the second electron tube stage operating with only about 6V at the anode.


The cassette adaptor head was coupled to this anode through a capacitor to bloc DC.


The cassette adapter was inserted to Sony TC-D5 Pro with the pause and play buttons pressed.


Then some experiments were done with the Pleiades V5 directly driving the SONY TC-D5 input transformers and recording the sound on type II cassette (see next post).


Signal path, setup:


Living room with some Pleiades panel absorbers - male voice singing the end phrase of Words-Bee Gees - Shure Unidyne III - Pleiades V5 - Sony car audio cassette adapter CPA-11 - Sony TC-D5 Pro - Sennheiser HD580

Simulating analog tape recording with analog electronics part 3

The objective is to instantaneously peak limit in real time or simulate the sound of reel to reel tape or disc records or FM broadcasting etc.


20Hz to 20KHz is 10 octaves.


If the magnetic ring core is fed with constant current...as is done on tape recording? On the Ferrograph series 6 schematic for example the head is driven by the high impedance output of an electron tube. This is the equivalent to a Pleiades filter or low cut, high pass for recording. Constant current will get the character of the sound of the magnetic core not only on bass but on most frequency spectrum as is done on magnetic tape. (Magnetic tape, the way it is used, does not only
saturate on low frequencies in the way audio transformers are used).


There will a reduction from treble to bass at 6dB per octave. This is 60dB lower at 20Hz than 20KHz.


The integrator (high cut) after the core secondary (simulating the replay head) would have to increase 20Hz by 60dB or a million times?


This of course corresponds to a high frequency time constant of much less than what is used at 30ips tape speeds. For 30ips the turnover frequency when integration stops is roughly at 10KHz.


But a 1,000,000 voltage ratio or 60dB voltage difference from high to low seems too much. On second thought an electron tube battery powered as on Pleiades V4 preamplifier for example could easily handle more than 60dB to 120dB?


Should the experiment start of with a 70μs EQ be used as in 7.5ips reel tape machines or chrome cassette?


Or premphasising the whole spectrum by say 3dB per octave? This would change the million requirement to a thousand. Can 3dB per octave be done by a suitable series resistor to the primary?


Or should a RIAA premphasis be fed to the toroidal transformer. This has two slopes, one going down below 1KHz and one going up above 1KHz. (It is interesting to hear how a vinyl record is recorded by connecting an MM or MC cartridge to a mic input, tremendous treble that have to be EQed at playback by the phono preamp.


If RIAA premphasis is used the output from the ring core transformer will have compatibility with MM or MC phono preamps and the sound may simulate characteristics of the record sound.


The conditioned signal can then feed an ADC for example.


Or should an FM broadcasting type 70μS turnover high frequency boost be used for premphasis?

France is again fist and second South Korea for the first time on weekly euroelectron view statistics

An interesting story of Bruce Springsteen mastering from his cassette Tascam 4 track demos

http://tascam.com/news/display/226/

Comparing a 4038 internal transformer core to Magnetec Nanoperm

The Magnetec M-059 which is so what thicker and bigger appeared to have an inductance index about 5 times bigger that the ring core from a Coles 4038.


The measurment was done with the usual Escort ELC-120 LCR meter.


One of the terminal measuring wires was passed through each core.


12μH was the reading with the Mumetal? core from the Coles 4038.


55μH was the inductance reading from the Magnetc Nanoperm ring core.

A very simple SM58 bass proximity compensating Pleiades filter

This was perhaps one of the first Pleiades filter experiments, about 10+ years ago?


A tiny ferrite ring core, it's outer diameter smaller than a pencil?, was used with just about 25 turns. Light blue color, Philips? The wire used was an orange wirewrap.


The inductance was only 1.11 Henries.


It was connected inside the Shure SM58 Mexico microphone by unscrewing the body of the mic.


It was connected in parallel with the low impedance voice coil before the internal Shure step up transformer.


The sound was very nice and bright at even 1in from mouth.


The drawback was that it was a permanent cutoff frequency soldered setup.


Setup, signal path:


Male or female singing voice at 0-1in - SM58 capsule - 1.11mH Pleiades filter - SM58 internal transformer stepping up to 200Ω - Sony TC-D5 Pro operated in mono - TDK type II cassette

Analog is a caress to our ear

Setup, signal path:


Baroque Favorites cassette, Raymon Lepard, CBS - Sony TC-D5M - Sennheiser HD580

The Good Wolf

On the previous euroelectron post in Hellenic language with title Ο Καλός Λύκος.

Ο Καλός Λύκος

Πανέμορφο παραμύθι ο Κακός Λύκος και η Κοκκινοσκουφίτσα.


Μήπως όμως τελικά δημιούργησε μια ατελείωτη στρατιά φοβισμένων γυναικών και ανδρών φοβισμένων να τις αγαπήσουν, να τις πλησιάσουν, να τις αγκαλιάσουν η να τις χαϊδέψουν;


Ιςως ενα αντίδοτο παραμύθι βοηθήσει;


Κυνηγός ειναι γυναίκα και γδέρνει τα ζώα για να τα πουλήσει.


Τρώει την Κοκκινοσκουφίτσα.


Μετά ερχεται ο καλός ο λύκος μέ τα αλλα πανέμορφα ζώα του δάσους να βοηθήσουν την Κοκκινοσκουφίτσα η τον Πρασινοσκουφιτσο.


Ιςως οχι.


Μπορεί και αυτο να δημιουργήσει στρατιά φοβισμένων γυναικών να αγγίξουν τους άντρες.


Πάντως κατι χρειάζεται για να επανέλθει η αγάπη στο δάσος. Που δίνει ζωή με το οξυγόνο τόσων δέντρων.


Που ολα ειναι πανέμορφα και δημιουργούνται όμορφες ιδέες.


Οπως στην παραλια, κατω απο το φως του Ηλιου που δεν αφηνει καμια σκια στον φόβο.


Στον φόβο που ετςι και αλλιώς δεν υπάρχει.


Το άπλετο παντοδύναμο φως του Ηλιου που λάμπει σαν την αλήθεια και την αφοβία.

Τι ωραια οταν σε συναντώ, παντα γελώ

Όποτε σε συναντώ μένουμε οι δυο μας στο σύμπαν

Bruce Swedien on compression

An interesting interview:


http://www.voicecouncil.com/the-man-who-recorded-thriller-speaks-to-singers/

Vintage microphone explorer or which artists use a particular microphone

Is there a site like vintage synth explorer that at the end of the description lets you know some artists who used this microphone in the studio?


For example:


Shure SM7
Michael Jackson


RCA 77DX
Amy Winehouse
The Mamas and the Papas
5th dimension


RE-15
Elvis Presley


SM58
Sade
Bono


Unidyne III (SM57)
Brian Wilson
Marvin Gaye?
Bruce Springsteen Nebraska with Tascam 114


MD441, MD421
Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac


U87
Karen Carpenter The Carpenters
The Bee Gees?


C34
ABBA


C24
Madonna on Like a Virgin


...

Preventing Sex, Porn movies ruin your life

It is not because you are alone that you watch porn.


It is because you watch porn that you are alone.


Going with a public woman (protecting measures) is far better and the real thing.


Reference:


How Pornography can control us - euroelectron 

Μην φοβάσαι το χρήμα

Υπάρχει ενα φανταστικό σχετικό άρθρο με τίτλο Opening the Flow απο τον Montalk.

Don't be frightened of money

There is an excellent article on this subject with title Opening the Flow written by Montalk.

Αντίο, πορνογραφια, τσόντα, να είσαι καλο κοριτσι

Μερικά στοιχεια στα αγγλικά βρίσκονται στο κοντινό euroelectron post με τίτλο How pornography is used to control us.

Buy buy pornograohy, be a good girl

Some elements are on the the next euroelectron post.

How pornography is used to control us

Why not pornography?


Because it makes us stare at women like crazy, our girlfriend notices and we may lose her too. By stoping watching nothing bad can happen.


(If needed one can happily go with a public woman (protecting measures of course)).


Because it makes you feel watched. The most natural expression, making love, may appear dirty. You may for example  receive a frigtening email saying that the girls were under 18 when in fact they were not but were made to appear as such. If you feel watched it may make you hide many good things inside you. For example it may make you not publish your ideas on a blog. Not publishing your ideas makes it difficult for your brain to crate new ones as memory gets almost full. Keeping things inside you makes you feel even more frightened. And as of 2017 fear and making you fell insecure ie insecurity is the best product.


Because it is "free". It seems wise to suspect anything "free". In fact you pay it with lessons of your life and very expensive ones.


Because when felling guilty and down you are frightened and less likely to call the police. When unjust us happening to you. So you may let yourself become a victim of life until you stop the loop or vicious circle.


Because when people nearby you sense you are hungry for the other sex  they will exploit it. In fact it is not them, it is you letting the, exploit you.


At a stage in a man's life where there is not a girlfriend it is far better going to a brothel and pay for sex with a real woman assuming all protection, condoms etc is used. It helps understanding that sex, the thing that you were ready to sell your soul for, is not that precious anyway.


Because it makes men look at women as objects. They are not, they are just like you. Treated like an object is the last thing a woman wants. After watching pornography when you go out on the street the next day all you would be thinking when looking any woman is what you saw yesterday. This will make women understand that you look at them in a strange way. They may be frightened. Watching the news helps a lot. The news and pornography are like cousins. One plays with the other. And it is not only news. Another relative that creates fear from thin air is fairytales such as the bad wolf etc. When you look at them in a strange way after the sex movie, their fear will project on you and you will be frightened too. It may make you feel someone that wants to do harm when all you would like is having a nice girlfriend and share the most beautiful thing in the world. This is positive feedback. The more alienated you feel the less likely woman are to talk to you back. The more alone you will feel. The more pornograohy you may watch. This is positive feedback, an electronic engineering term that describes increasing oscilation when the amplified microphone is close to the loudspeaker. All you have to do to stop this positive feedback is promising yourself you will never watch again. And realise that fear does not even exist. And then when you are calm you may very easily without any fear say to a woman that you like exactly what you feel. That you like her. Without wanting anything back. That she is beautiful. No matter how beautiful she is if what you say is true for yourself it is likely that she will not only talk back to you gladly but you may start being friends. The bad oscilation has stopped and now there is positive feedback on a good and happy oscilation for two.


Because it will make you feel that money is all there is. Money can buy sex but not love. And sex is much more interesting when there is love. A correct sequence between a man and a woman could be. Friends then loving each other then falling in love then sex. And women are not interested in money. They are interested when there is stupidity. There is nothing wrong with money but if you feel you need it you are already not free. And then not only money but everyone can control you. You lose the most worthy of all, freedom and free will. When you are happy you can give happiness to others too.


Because it may make you like girls under 18. Pornography above 18 concentrates a lot on this. It is the best way to lose your freedom. Girls just on 18 are dressed in a way that appear 15 years old. Not tall girls are deliberately chosen to highlight the young effect. Next thing you find yourself starring at your neighbour going to school in a sexual way. The neighborhood finds out. Call you a pedophile. And they help you to become as they treat you as such. And it's again positive feedback that needs to be broken by stopping watching pornography. Also not tall women are chosen so that the penis of the actor appears larger that it really is. This may open an inferiority complex from nothing. Also men looking at pornography full with non tall girls are more likely to make a pass on non tall women. Non tall women are fed up with this happening everywhere to them so they stop talking to men or even insult them. And you get frustrated thinking you are not worth. Whereas a tall woman feels alone because no one dares or wants to talk to. And if you talk to her she will be very glad and talk to you back. And you may find that you like her tall body very much. As it is the size suitable for your body. And suddenly you are not the pedophile of the neighborhood. A title you unjustly received because you happened to think you liked the non tall girls with body like children that you made yourself watch on pornography.


There is nothing more beautiful that a man and a woman who like and love each other caress each other for hours non stop before penetration or non penetration. This is making love. It is free.


References:


Enchiridion - Epictetous - free PDF


How to win friends and influence your environment - Dale Carnegie - free PDF


Fringe Knowledge for Beginers - Montalk - free PDF


The little price - Exupery


The ugly ducking - Andersen

SONY TC-D5 PRO

What a nice portable pro tape recorder.


It the one with the nice looking male XLR microphone inputs.


Signal path:


Chrome cassette, Baroque Favorites, Raymond Lepard - Sony TC-D5 PRO, Dolby off - Sennheiser HD580

Replacing a belt on Sony TC-D5 PRO

At your own risk.


If your TC-D5 PRO cries it does not mean it is thirsty.


And if it eats cassette tape it does not mean it is hungry.


The belt moving the take up spool may be slack or permanently deformed. This is memory.


It is recommended a TC-D5 specialist do the servicing.


If you have to do it yourself do not even think of not using a service manual. You must have experience in replacing belts to other tape recorders. Walkman belt is an easy starting point. You must also have experience with electronics including destroying irreversibly a lot of equipment.


The service manual shows in photos the steps to arrive at the belt.


Do not even think of starting unless: you feel well, have helped people the previous days free of charge, have a cassette playing baroque masterpieces on another cassette player to keep you calm and happy.


At the most critical moment while you are holding the delicate motor assembly with your left hand and the small spring with your right hand the girl that does this all the time may send you an SMS for meeting. It is the girl that disappears for months and always comes back at such moments. A girl you have chosen to not have sex with. Do not even think of reacting to the SMS. Just carry on calmly your work as if nothing has happened.


Before you start, put a soft tissue on an extra clean table or bench and place your Sony upside down.


Before you start it is worth checking what is working and what is not.


As of writing this, Adagio in G minor - Albinoni is being played on the TC-D5 PRO listened through the HD580 headphones at excellent quality. Vivaldi mandolin concerto too. How nice does it sound. The mandolins, strings, harpsichord like real instruments in your head. It is pure chance that the TC-D5 PRO made it so well!


Immediately after the back panel is removed take photos of all those color wires, it may save you.


After the circuit board screws are removed, take many deep breaths.


The black wire on the left bottom corner has to be unsoldered.


Try to lift the circuit board from the bottom side in the most delicate way possible. It may take 10 minutes.


As you gradually increase the height you will see what wires are on the way and have to carefully slide them underneath the felt securing tapes. They are very thin, be extra careful.


Do as the manual shows for removing the motor spring.


Before removing it from the motor side note where the other side is going just in case it is removed as a whole. Murphy's law says it will happen. It will save you hours of guessing. Be careful, the TC-D5 manual shows a different place to fasten the other side of the spring from what is done on the TC-D5 PRO and TC-D5M.


Then the motor assembly can be removed as shown in the manual.


Use a belt thin as the original.


Replace and tighten carefully the motor assembly.


The free side of the spring can be hugged by a wire wrap loop to help you move it towards the motor tightening point. So do this before replacing the motor assembly. You may need the help of an extra tool to position the spring exactly in place. This is when the girl will strike.


The wirewrap loop can then be carefully cut. Keep it in a special drawer, it has helped you a lot.


Be even more careful when replacing the circuit board. A tiny resistor from the other side of the playback board might for example had been bent all the time while your attention was at the motor assembly and then you may wonder why the circuit board does not sit exactly flat.


The job may take hours or preferably be split on 2 days so that you do everything in the most calm way.


Reverse the processes until you find yourself to a nice looking TC-D5 PRO.


It is worth checking basic functions after securing the circuit board.


Do not forget to bring back up the black wire before securing the playback circuit board, so you can then resolder it.


Do not attempt this unless you really have to.


If you do it patiently and slowly your TC-D5 will sound like new.


He who sails slowly sails far away.


References:


TC-D5 PRO service manual


Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu - free PDF


(To understand why the girl comes back at these moments) Fringe Knowledge for Beginers - Montalk - free PDF

Replacing tape recorder belts if needed with thicker ones

Revised addition. The following seems to be wrong. Use a belt as thin as the original. Do as written below only in emergency.


At your own risk.


If a belt as thin as the original can't be found and a slightly thicker has to be used...


The diameter may need to be equal to the old slack one or slightly larger.


A thicker belt has more molecules to do the tension job.


It was tried successfully on Sanyo M-G32 Walkman and on Sony TC-D5 PRO.


Experience will tell if it right or one with a smaller diameter should be used.


Is it alway best to use the same thickness and the diameter that will give the desired tension anyway.


Hint by Harris.

Russia is first in this week's euroelectron view statistics

The is France with not a big difference.

The basilar membrane spectrum microvariation caressing theory

It is a theory that tries to explain why our brain finds it a very pleasing sound when there are microvariations in pitch around a center value.


Examples are vibrato on violin or guitar etc.


The Leslie rotating speaker using the Doppler effect, transforming to beauty the sound of an electric organ. Perhaps even more so if the variation is produced by acceleration. For example accelerating from low to high speed as on Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum or the subtle effect of angular speed constantly increasing or decreasing when hanging (and rotating) a loudspeaker from the selling.


Recording by a hand held microphone where the slight movement of the hand creates phase modulation.


Making a CD listenable by copying it to cassette and then listening to the cassette.


Listening to a digitally mastered classical music cassette.


Listening to Digitaly recorded Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits reprocuced from a record player.


Has frequency domain dithering been applied to digital recordings?


Examples of random dithering are the above.


It is easy to understand how this works by connecting a microphone to a preamplifier and then to an oscilloscope. If a Stationary loudspeaker plays a tone in the room and the microphone is hand held to capture the sound, as the hand moves towards or away from the source, the waveform in the oscilloscope moves to left or to right. This is phase shift.


Our basilar membrane operates in a similar way directly on frequency.


As frequency changes the basilar membrane is caressed by nearby hair cells which are connected to the brain.


The most boring scenario for the brain would be listening to a Digitaly produced tone through headphones, and it is very boring. The same hair cells are excited all the time which seems to be very boring for our brain.


If we listen to the same tone through a loudspeaker in the room the slight Doppler frequency shift microvariations (as our ear can't be in exactly the same place since our head moves) make the tone times more listenable.


Is this another reason why analog recordings of the 60s or even earlier sound so listenable on YouTube even on headphones? The microvariations are in the production as a reel to reel recorder no matter how good always has a very small amount. The small amount that our basilar membrane needs to be caressed.


It is frequency modulation but of a very small modulating index.


A large index means annoying wow and flutter.


It seems our brain likes small departures.


For example a double octave of 1000Hz as 4000Hz sound horrible. Increasing to say 4040Hz may sound great. But further increasing will sound horribly out of tune again.


More investigation is needed.



Reference:


Sound and Hearing - Stevens, Warshofsky - Time life science series


Analog vs Digital - euroelectron

Analog versus Digital

May we need to realise that flat frequency responce from the brain of the artist to the brain of the listener applies only to analog systems?


Analog systems are linear which means they obey the principle of superposition at small signals.


The principle of superposition means that the output of the sum is equal to the sum of the outputs of any two signals input to the linear system. In fact this is the definition of a linear system.


Superposition makes the Fourier theorem or the Laplace Transform apply for predicting what the output of the system will be at any signal input.


Digital systems are not linear.


On analog systems distortion tends to zero as the amplitude of the signal tends to zero like all systems in nature that tend to be linear at small excitation.



On digital systems as the amplitude tends to zero, distortion tends to infinity.



Is this the reason why even the cheapest analog system sounds like music? As if real musical instruments are there.


Having said that, this post is being written while listening to a digitally mastered cassette. The system that recorded the music and plays it are both analog though. Signal path: Artists brain - Baroque Favorites cassette CBS MYT 42548 Maestro 40-42548 - JVC cassette player Nivico 9425W - ordinary half tiled kitchen - listener's brain


By examining the signal path there seems to be a medium impedance matching from artis's brain to listener's brain. I.e.:
Artists - recording hall - microphones - analog tape - digital tape - analog tape - inverse microphones or speakers - reproducing room - listener's brain


There is symmetry to the left and to the right of digital tape in the signal path.


The microvariations of the playback motor mechanism in this example may produce micro caressing to the basilar membrane of the listener as the whole frequency spectrum of the music micro varies of micro shifts.




References:


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superposition_principle


Design and investigation of a triode single ended audio frequency amplifier with no negative feedback - Y.N. Tsakiris - Final year project thesis for engineering electronics - University of Warwick - Department of Engineering - 1993


Information theory and Noise - Dr. Robert Pettifer lecture course notes - University of Warwick - Department of Physics - 1993


Engineering Circuit Analysis - Hayt Jr., Kemmerly


Introduction to System Dynamics - Shearer, Murphy, Richardson


Tubes vs Transistors, is there an audible difference? - Russel O. Hamm - Journal of the Audio Engineering Society

Buy buy Cancer? Be a good boy, Αντίο Καρκινε, να είσαι καλο παιδάκι

This is not a medical advice. You act at your own responsibility and risk.


The first thing to remember is that being happy does not allow anything bad to happen. When you are not happy, just by smiling you become happy again.


It was heard one day that cancer is not a disease.


Everyday our body produces cancerous cells and they are killed by the T cells like a hammer 'T" does. Happiness helps T cells do their everyday job. But sometimes we forget to be happy. And if too many toxins get into the body through bad quality air, bad quality liquids, bad quality food, the situation may get out of control and cells may get crazy.


Cancer may be a way of protecting ourselves from dying.


When our food ingredients have inappropriate content our body tries to send them out  in any way it can to protect itself, ourselves.


If too many toxins get into the body at a rate greater than the body can dispose they are accumulated like fat. Then sent to the outer layers of the skin like spots.


One can see a lot of artifacts on the skin of in general poor people on the bus. In general poor people are more likely to buy the cheapest packaged food in the supermarket without reading the ingredients. For example cheap croissants are made with palm vegetable oil, fat which has a reputation of being trans and clogging the arteries like wax. It is strange that margarine marketed for kids contains palm fat. Is this because kids do not easily die as there is not much toxin in their body yet? Is milk suspect too? White flour? Meat? We do not eat the animal, the animal eats us.


There may be personal experience of kids getting ill all the time until they stop drinking milk.


Sesame seeds and tahini is possibly the best source of calcium and good fat as monks and photo models very well know. Salads too and fresh fruit or juice but everything of top quality.


As of 2017 perhaps the best way to know what gets inside us is eating seeds, walnuts etc. For example peanut or walnut butter contains generous amounts of palm fat which is written on the ingredients list on the packaging. The letters are small but they can be read with a Sherlock Holmes type magnifying glass. Sugar is out too as it feeds cancerous cells and beverages too for the same reason.


It is great that the food industry prints what is inside and that people start reading the small letters.


Getting ill is another stage to send toxins out as fever produces sweating.


If we keep eating inappropriate things (is palm oil one of them?) the organism may store toxins in the form of cancer.


This is why there is no cure for cancer. Because it is not a disease in the first place.


A way to get rid of cancer may be to starve oneself bu eating only fresh juice?


The starved body will try to eat everything to get energy including the tumor.


It seems better not to eat that eating inappropriate substances.


In general nature gives us all we need.


It is the trees, plants, leaves. For example olives, pure virgin olive oil, sesame, sesame oil...


The best cure for cancer is prevention by eating, drinking and breathing the best Mother Nature gives us.


This is not a medical advice and is written by ignorance itself.

Γραφείο ειναι εκει που γεννούνται οι ιδέες, η παραλια

Office is where ideas are born, the beach.


It can be any place really.

3 color code for Pleiades microphone filters

Orange for low frequency cutoff.


Nature green for higher cutoff.


Blue for even higher.


Colors are according to the sun frequency spectrum.


The inline XLR Pleiades filters can be separate or combined in a long cylindrical adaptor with Neutrik modules and circular switches.


If 100Hz, 200Hz, 400Hz Pleiadss filter made from corresponding inductors are used all the switching combinations should give: 0Hz, 100Hz, 200Hz,...,700Hz.


These cutoff frequencies of gentle 6dB per octave slope should allow almost any microphone to be used at any distance with any singer for flat frequency responce from singer's brain to listener's brain.


The Neutrik modules that can be used for the combined filter:


NM3FXI XLR female - KMX with stripe painted orange - SM2/2 switch - KMX with stripe painted green - SM2/2 switch - KMX with stripe painted blue - SM2/2 switch - NM3MXI XLR male


Inside each KMX spacer barrel will the corresponding inductor made by winding insulated wire on Magnetec Nanoperm M073 core.


It should look nice with 3 colors.


Reference:


Sound picture recording and reproducing characteristics (for flat frequency responce from actor-singer vocal chords to listener's brain) - Loye, Morgan - Journal of the Motion Picture Sound Engineers

Painting color cut off frequency designation strips on Pleiades XLR inline adaptor microphone filters

Neutrik XLR modules are used.


The hills on the central part were covered with Scotch 3M invisible tape.


Nail painting varnish was generously applied.


After about half an hour the tape was carefully removed. It might have been better removing it when the paint was still wet?


The result is very nice, not perfect but the best so far.


Annie Paris brand nail varnish was used. Blue color similar to euroelectron, code 245.

How would chrome cassette sound at 7.5 ips full track stereo?!

It would be a joy to design recording and playback preamplifiers.


For experiments the transport of a Sanyo M-G32 Walkman could be used with the motor supplied with higher voltage. At your own risk. t uses just one belt in an ingenious mechanical arrangement.


7.5ips on C60 will give a total recording time of 7.5 minutes. Perhaps the max needed for recording a song. Everything on one side since full track.

A nice sounding portable cassette player recorder

JVC Nivico 9425W


Everything sounds so real, even the pipe organ.


It seems to be factory equalized (ingenious bass boost) so that the bass sounds large and natural without being heavy.


Signal path:


Baroque Favorites cassette, Raymond Lepard, CBS MAESTRO 40-42548 - JVC Nivico 9425W - ordinary rooms - listener's brain


How lifelike analog equipment sound, it is amazing.


Having said that the cassette is digitally mastered.


The reproduction from this analog cassette player sounds as if the instruments are in the room.


Violins, strings, mandolins, you name it.


And it plays for days without the need to change batteries yet.


Old equipment need to be brought back to life gradually.


The first turn on was for a few milliseconds. On radio first.


At the moment the second part of the oboe concerto in D minor - Marcello plays as modified by Bach on his keyboard arrangement.


The orchestra sounds so real.


It is moving.


It is funny, one can use so many years listening to almost everything and at last feel satisfied with a very simple setup and signal path. As Jim Morisson said, we are trying for something that has already found us.


My fist sound system. When a very small kid, 4+ years old?, I was carrying it and playing in every cafeteria my parent went too.


It was summer time and they had rented a house near the sea near the city of Patras in a small seashore city called Derveni.


The house that my parents rented for these few months happened to be the country house of pianist Gina Bachauer who recently had departed from earth life.


Her sister told my father that we should be very careful as in the living room was still the music stand with scores etc that her friend conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos used to study.


And there was the upright piano too.


My first experience.


I was so young that only after my dad had reminded me recently about this house that the memory came back.


The atmosphere of the place.


How generous can Life be. Thank you!

Is Mike Oldfield using varispeed on electric guitar too?

Maybe.


There is a guitar part on Eagle - ABBA that has a similar sound.


How influential was the BBC radiophonic workshop.

Why does varispeed make you feel happy?

Examples:


ABBA


The previous Sanyo Walkman example.


It is not just a key change or tempo change.


There is dormant change too.


It is like a time machine.


It shrinks time in a way that was never possible before the invention of analog recording?


It makes you feel young.


And everyone playing sounds younger too.

Analog makes you a better man, woman

Baroque music sounds even better with +2 semitones varispeed

If sounds fresh, uplifting...


Great sound, almost real.


Signal path, setup.


Baroque Favourites cassette, CBS - Sanyo M-G32 varispeed +2 semitones - Sennheiser HD 580

Music can be analog recorded and then shared on YouTube

Shouldn't there be analog in the chain?

Germanium transistors sound great

Is it because electrons have greater mobility? behave as lighter particles (better said particles of less mass therefore they can accelerate easier), than inside silicon.


Hyperart radio receiver sounds amazing on FM. Does it have germanium transistors too?

Walkman radios sound great too

Setup, signal path:


Athens FM radios rations - Sanyo M-G32 - Sennheiser HD 580


It does not sound as good as a descrete receiver perhaps with Germanium transistors but it sounds amazing.

Cassette is Nice

It can be put in the pocket.


And spinning electrons carry the information by remembering their spin.


Magnetism!

How would Tascam porta High Speed sound with electron tube electronics?

Would a 7.5 ips mod needed too?

Why did we think cassette was bad?

Perhaps were we listening through cheap Walkman headphones in the 80s.


If excellent quality for example Sennheiser HD 580 precision headphones are used cassette sounds clearly a top quality format medium.


How would it sound using electron tube recording or playback amplifiers or other descrete class A operating devices?


How would hugh speed cassette sound using Pleiades electron tube battery recording and playback preamps?


It is great format, fits in the pocket.

Cassettes type II have nice 70μs premphasis

Having said that, chrome commercial classical music cassettes use type I premphasis (see cassette Wikipedia) and sound great too.


Examples of 70μs premphasis.


1/4 inch reel tape.


FM radio in some territories.


There is something mice about 70 milliseconds.


Is it the way peak limited high frequency content is founded on playback by the inverse low cut filtering of mathematical integration.

Proposed new format?

Cassette running at 7.5 ips.

Tascam Porta 2 running at 7.5 ips

At your own risk.


It sounded amazing but it broke.


Speed was increased to double by tweaking the resistor near the variable speed resistor on the circuit board.


For doubling again a pulley of larger diameter was made and put on the motor.


It is not really recommended. The previous pulley is so tight that by removing it the motor is almost destroyed becoming noisy etc. A special extractor needs to made or used.


Experiment was abandoned after the great sound and the mechanism breaking.


It is felt it should be much better not doing any pulley mod.


Perhaps speed can be increased by increasing further the voltage to the motor.


At your own risk.


This will give it more power too.


Will it overheat?

The microphone does not have a brain

It cannot distinguish and forget reflections of a room while recording.


Reference:


Motion Pocture Sound Engineering - Van Nostrand  - New York


Interview of Bones Howe, producer of Aquarious  - Tape Op

Would it be nice if artists sell master cassettes or tapes of a performance

For example:


A pianist players adagio on piano recorded direct to a cassette recorder


The super quality direct sound recorded cassette is sold on eBay. Note: it is not at all easy to make good quality recordings. The microphone dies not have a brain. There should be low and high frequency absorbers in the recording room to minimisei reflections of sound to the microphone. Each instrument should preferable be closed miked etc.


The artist does not have the master anymore. Like painting selling.

Is listener's brain getting tired of one audio format that helps a new format being accepted?

For example going back from CD to cassette is a revelation.


Signal path, setup.


Baroque Favorites, Albinoni, Vivaldi, Marcello etc cassette digitally mastered - Sanyo M-G32 - Sennheiser HD580

Sanyo M-G32 Walkman

Sounds excellent with studio quality headphones.


A new belt was placed, slightly thicker, so therefore slightly larger diameter.


The speed had been tweaked to faster and it sounds nice, ABBA way varispeed.


It has an ingenious way of driving everything with just one belt.


Setup, signal path:


Athens FM radio - Sanyo M-G32 - HD 580 precision


Commercial chrome classical cassette, Baroque Faborites CBS, Vivaldi mandolin Concerto  - Sanyo M-G32 - HD 580 precision


On cassette for example the high frequency detail is amazing.


Sends CD to tea many times.


Although on specification it goes up to 10KHz, to listener's brain it sounds going many? octaves up, why?


It's a joy to listen to the harpsichord mixed at low volume, basso continuo, on the above mentioned cassette. Strings excellent too!

Is CD nice sounding?, is CC compact cassette sounding better?

Analog sound recording uses molecules and electrons...

To directly represent the signal itself.


In digital the signals has been converted to 1 and 0 bits.


For example molecules on vinyl disc recoding.


Spinning electrons on magnetic tape recording.

Analog means all the values between 2 values, digital means discrete values

Reference:


Electronics, a systems approach - Neil Storey

One of the most beautiful pedal bass examples

You've lost that loving feeling - The Righteous Brothers


Produced by Phil Spector.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=viqa6I4ehrA


If it started on C major the next chord would be C bass with B flat major.


But everything is a semitone up making it even more beautiful.


It is written in C sharp major. Same key as The Chariots of Fire - Vangelis


Another amazing example of pedal bass is


Alfie - Burt Bacharach


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KoNtj27a6Rk


Is it B flat major and then B flat bass with E flat major? Ie


Key B flat
B   What's it all about    (1  3  5  by default)
B 4 6   Alfie



Reference:


http://normanschmidt.net/scores/bachjs-general_bass_rules.pdf

Righteous Brothers

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zrK5u5W8afc


And the classic produced by Phil Spector:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=viqa6I4ehrA

Οι φόβος ούτε καν υπάρχει

Περισσότερα στο διπλανό euroelectron post, fear does exist.


Πηγη:


Εγχειρίδιο - Επικτητος - εκδόσεις Κάκτος

Fear does not even exist

Sometimes we may be told that we should overcome our deepest fear etc...


Fear does not even exist.


Reference:


Epictetous - Enchiridion


http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html

Another piece of music that contains most music

Adagio for organ and strings - Albinoni, Giazotto


The figured bass was discovered by Giazotto and he write down the beautiful parts.


Figured bass is like stenography of composition.


The piece is full of major 7ths, 9ths, 6ths, possibly all the beautiful colors.


http://normanschmidt.net/scores/bachjs-general_bass_rules.pdf

ABBA did not come out of thin air

They were working 9 to 9.


Studying Phil Spector, Beach Boys...


Even at home they were trying different keys as they were two couples.


http://www.carlmagnuspalm.com/Upload/blog/crs-recording-the-vocals-extractB.pdf

Do you wonna dance - Cliff Richard, the Shadows

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HBRK9v840gg

The secret of the beautiful ABBA sound

Overdubbing the whole band using varispeed as they could not have for example 5 guitars playing the same part as when Phil Spector was producing.


https://books.google.gr/books?id=SufjAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT274&lpg=PT274&dq=michael,tretow+on+recording+bass&source=bl&ots=x3dm5q65vU&sig=xyIErEvdhh0ba2VX7TlSR2TuLis&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS8K-o5a7WAhXDzRQKHQWSBVIQ6AEIbTAR#v=onepage&q=michael%2Ctretow%20on%20recording%20bass&f=false

A great example of prepared 9th interval in music

Dancing Queen - ABBA


Where the melody goes "and when you get the chance" at "get".


"Get" is C# while the bass is B and other instuments add the 3rd etc exactly as in the Niedt-Bach code.


Reference:


http://normanschmidt.net/scores/bachjs-general_bass_rules.pdf

Another great songwriter who was self taught, Benny Andesson, ABBA

Benny Andersson BBC life story radio interview


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0C07MJEbejQ


His is still playing the piano everyday and learns everyday.


He liked and studies among others the Beach Boys.

Engineer Bones Howe of California Dreaming - the Mamas and the Papas explaining how the vocals were tracked

Bones Howe - Tape Op interview


http://tapeop.com/interviews/64/bones-howe/

Is it possible to hear for example 25KHz and 26KHz?

At your own risk. High intensity sound can irreversibly damage hearing.


Needed for this experiment:


2 sinewave oscillators each driving a tweeter in the same room.


This experiment was done on around 1995 at Napier University - Edinburgh. It can't be recalled what the 2 frequencies were. But it should work with many or any combinations.


When one generator is emitting in the room an adult with good hearing will hear up to about 16KHz.


The hypothesis is that if 25KHz and 26KHz are input to a non linear system then not only harmonics are produced by intermodulation tones such as 26KHz-25KHz=1KHz.


These are also called Tartini tones. Tartini was one of the fist who observed them on the violin.


Since the ear mechanism is non linear if the ultrasonic frequencies are high enough in intensity, the non linear byproducts should be heard.


And this is what happened.


It was not loud but a frequency inside the audible spectrum could be heard.


The experiment should not be difficult to be repeated but caution should be exercised for ear protection.


References:


The definition of linear systems, superposition principle or f(x1)+f(x2)=f(x1+x2) which rarely if ever happens on nature which is non linear. Usually f(x1+x2) give additional multiple combinations of f(x1) and f(x2).


Radio Engineering - Terman - McGraw Hill


Tartini tones - Wikipedia

Interesting ABBA song story on YouTube showing Phil Spector studio footage

Ring ring recording story of the Abba sound.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O8gxUXvr2bU


And the mind blowing Dancing Queen session:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GbP6Q8aYKDk


How nice can unison sound like!  Both girls singing the same melody.


Notice also how down the voices go in frequency. The sing E resolved to F# when the bass is F#, when they sing "Look in their eyes?" at 1:47.


These are the equivalent notes of a baritone or bass but 1 octave up since they are women. So this is close to alto or contralto low range.


And this funny one:
Recording ABBA the album 1977


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VvSA79otnTM

Why does a CD recorded on cassette sound better?

Is it the basilar membrane caressing effect due to light speed microvariations.


Also slight speed micro variations Fourier analyzed means side ands for every frequency.


So the final result is more total frequency spectrums together.


Is this a similar effect to Micahel Tretow engineer of Abba vari speeding tracks and adding them to the original tracks?


In the case of voices this meant formant change.


In the case of cassette does it mean micro formant change as the tape can't travel at exactly constant speed.


On cassette we also have premphasis and de emphasis. High pass at recording (constant current recording), high cut at reproduction rounding off any peak limited. Does this make an excellent treble limiter? See also how Mike Oldfield makes his guitar sound on interview and Bob Orban processing for FM broadcasting.


A similar pre, post emphasis is used on vinyl record cutting and reproducing. If a moving magnet cartridge is connected to a mic input all that is heard is high frequencies. This is the RIAA pre emphasis curve.

Οςο πιο πολυ έχεις πονέσει τοςο λιγότερο μασάς.

Where do the names of the notes come from?

Is Do from Domine?


Re from Rex?  A symphony ending in D major has a very majestic sound.


Sol? From the Sun?

ABBA Engineer Michael Tretow on using varispeed

We overdubbed the whole band using varispeed and couldn't get enough of it! We recorded the drums, bass, piano , guitars, everything twice, most of the time, pairing the tracks in stereo with the de-tuned varispeed track on one of the channels. Thus goes for the vocals as well. We used to record them at different speeds to get different harmonic effects when they were replayed at the correct speed...


Michael Tretow - Recording Engineer - ABBA


Reference:


Good Vibrations - Mark Cunningham - Sanctuary Publishing Limited

And the Wall of Sound is...

So Larry [Levine] came over and says, "The first thing I'm going to have to show you is how we get The Wall of Sound." And the Wall of Sound was — it sounds childish now — you take the live sound, you delay it with a 7 1/2" reel of tape, then you send it to the echo chamber, then you mix it with the live sound. You know, it was just echo stuff. Instead of using what we called "tape-reverb" in those days, he was putting the tape [delay] ahead of the chamber while the live sound was going in to the chamber. It just lengthened it, that's all. If you mixed it right, you got that huge sound. The trick was to get it all rolling without getting howling feedback. It made the chamber like an instrument of its own. It was very simple. Everybody else wanted to delay the sound coming back from the chamber. Philip [Spector] was smart. He delayed the sound going into the chamber.


Bones Howe interview - Tape Op


http://tapeop.com/interviews/64/bones-howe/

On Compensating for Flat Frequency Responce from Singer's to Listener's Brain by Adjusting the Primary Inductance of the Microphone Input Transformer

In music industry as in any industry what matters is the perception of the consumer's brain.


For example when producer Bones Howe recorded Aquarious - 5th Dimension feedback or experience to his brain made him choose the V1 low cut setting on the RCA 77DX microphone [1]. The V1 switch connects an inductor (reactor) in parallel with the microphone output. Combined with the mic's output impedance it creates a low cut slope of 6dB per octave. the turnover defined by Zout and L.


The V1 turnover  setting was chosen because this sounded correct to his brain at the given playback intensity and ultimately to the consumer's brain.


It is known that flat frequency responce from microphone to loudspeaker does not in general produce a flat frequency responce from singer's vocal chords to listener's brain. [2]


Generalizing we may state that the ultimate goal of production and reproduction is flat frequency responce from artist's brain to listener's brain.


Article continued on the next euroelectron post.


References:


[1] Classic tracks, Aquarious - Sound on Sound - Bones Howe interview


[2] Sound Picture Recording and Reproducing Characteristics - Loye, Morgan - Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Sound Engineers

How to choose the inductance of a Pleiades filter

This is done by experiment.


The judge is the listener's brain.


In general, the more:


Bass heavy a mic is, ie lower membrane reasonant frequency


Bass reverberant a room is


Soft is the voice to be captured by the mic


Loud the voice is listened to when played back


Close a directional mic is to source


High notes are sung (this needs high cutoff);


The more bass heavy the sound perception to the listener's brain will be.


So the Low cut turnover frequency will have to be higher, more than 1kHz in extreme cases.


So the less the inductance of the Pleiades filter or the primary inductance of the Pleiades input transformer will have to be.


This is good news as it makes the input transformer primary turns needed very few.


For example using a ribbon mic at a few inches while singing softly, less than 10 primary turns can be wound on a Magnetec M073 ring Nanocrystalinne core. If a step up ratio of 1:20 is desired, only 200 turns need to wound for the secondary. This clearly can be hand made almost everywhere.


The Pleiades transformer or the Pleiades filter is connected of course after the internal mic ribbon transformer. In the above example the 1:20 transformer will step a 200Ω impedance by 20x20=400 ie to 80KΩ. This can clearly drive the grid of an electron tube amplifier. If a Pleiades V4, V5, V6 battery powered electron tube prepreamplifier is used an amazing overall signal to noise ratio can be achieved even with a whispering voice and a low output ribbon microphone. Schematics are open source, public domain.


References:


Sound Picture Recording and Reproducing Characteristics - Loye, Morgan - Journal of the Motion Picture Sound Engineers


Pleiades Filters - euroelectron


Pleiades schematics - euroelectron

Flat frequency responce from singer's brain to listener's brain using SM58 or M55

The term from singer's brain to listener's brain is used as the end product is satisfying the brain of the artist and the listener.


1st setup:


Kitchen half way up tiled room - male singer at various distances and registers - Shure SM57 Mexico - Pleiades low cut filters of various inductances - Canford 400mH primary inductance 1:14 input transformer - Pleiades V4 prepreamp - Realistic disco mixer mic input - Sennheiser HD580


Bass adjustment depends on singing distance and this is an advantage of directional mics.


With no external Pleiades filter ie just the 400mH primary inductance the sound may be bass heavy even at 12in. Adding 330mH in parallel (Pleiades 100Hz XLR filter) the sound is better. Adding another one ie (200Hz External but total more than 200Hz because of the 400mH transformer inductance) the sound is better. The mic can now be used much closer. 82 mH was then used and the mic could be used at 1-2in with very clear sound. The volume of course was increasing too. An inline transformer that gave a good result (save for its lower ratio and some noise induced) on its own is the inexpensive 96mH trasformer bought from eBay.co.uk described in an earlier euroelectron post.


If a high pitched song was sung such as Aquarious - 5th dimension more low cut was needed. A Pleiades filter of 54mH, overall about 47mH? taking into account the 400mH primary inductance was found to give a balanced and clear sound.


There may be a systematic effor as voice is monitored in real time, the singer and listener is the same person. The internal and external acoustic wave may lead to inaccuracy. (Analog or digital recordings were done in some previous experiments, not on this one).


2nd setup, signal path:


Kitchen half way up tiled room - Male singing voice at 0-1in - Beyer M55 - Pleiades filters - Canford transformer - Pleiades V4 - Realistic disco mixer - HD580


Although on low pitch male voice singing the sound is almost there with just the 400mH inductance, on singing Aquarious high pitch introduction the sound was bass heavy.


2 Pleiades filters of 330mH ie 100Hz+100Hz =200Hz solved the problem (total inductance 400mH\\330mH\\330mH giving a cutoff of more than 200Hz).


1 Pleiades filter of 82mH worked fine too.


The sound quality of the above was exceptional with very clean, loud sound and high frequency detail.


It is not always easy to say which type of mic, directional or omnidirectional performed better.


Low pitch male singing seems preferable on omnidirectional. The bass is there, clean with full detail.


High pitched male singing may sound good on directional microphones too if the correct distance and Pleiades filter is used.


They have the advantage that the cutoff frequency can be adjusted in real time by the singer by singing further from the mic as they sing higher notes. This is also an effective manual volume control ie compression.


This may be the reason that directional mics as more popular.


On omnidirectional mics there is no proximity effect and the cutoff frequency is fixed.


There is a trick to adjust it.


2 omnis can be used close to each other, out of phase and the singer singing to one of them.


This creates a noise canceling microphone as described on Lou Burroughs book.


On directional microphones the noise canceling effect is made by the proximity effect and tye Pleiades filter.


On the original Aquarious recording a ribbon RCA 77DX directional mic was used with its internal Pleiades filter (reactor or inductor in parallel) connected to a tap of the mic transformer (the transformer stepping up the ribbon). The switch setting was V1. See a previous euroelectron post or the 3rd reference of this post. Same for the Mamas and Papas recordings.


References:


Sound picture recoding and reproducing characteristics - Loye, Morgan - Journal of Motion Picture Sound Enginners


Microphones - Lou Burroughs


Sound on Sound classic tracks, Aquarious - interview of Bones Howe

Vintage mics can be seen live on Eurovision Song Contest

AKG, Sennheiser etc.


Examples:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=11f7p_jIbF8


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4xnzPnyyWbY


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LNOfTnv-3BY


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WSxD2G2AGr4


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5MzOUfAl_lw


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1DRYWObtQvw






https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kTk7SnsG8rk

A song recorded at EMI Columbia Athens

Ανναμπέλ - Ξαρχακος, Παπαστεφάνου


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5YsYSxx1aT0

Good things do not came out of thin air

Example is ABBA member Benny Anderson saying that working from 9-5 everyday in a month' work the very good bits were 3 minutes long.


Or differently perhaps 5% of what was done was cream.


Reference:


Benny Anderson, 30 minute BBC life story interview
https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9Tvu2-CfHUZyHaecFKMxoYv2a0oixr2e&params=OAFIAVgM&v=0C07MJEbejQ&mode=NORMAL

An interesting mod for the Altec 436C Compressor Limiter Amplifier

It is US patent 2,357,696 - Curt Singer.


If memory is correct it involves feedback in the side chain signal path so that thump is minimized. The feedback signal is applied from the cathode resistor of the second pair of electron tubes to the cathode resistor of the first.


A simple switch can toggle between normal mode and "turbo" mode.


It makes the rhythm section sound more dynamic in a way like ABBA for example.

Stories of other great recording Studios

https://www.soundonsound.com/people/crosby-stills-nash-suite-judy-blue-eyes-classic-tracks


https://www.soundonsound.com/music-business/studio-file-hyde-street-studios-san-francisco


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Heider_Studios

Aquarious - 5th Dimension vocals were recorded with an inductor coil across the mic's output

A Pleiades filter is an inductor, (reactor), (coil) connected directly across the microphone output (shunt, in parallel) in order to cut bass frequency content.


This is to compensate for the proximity effect, Fletcher-Munson curves, voice effort curves.


The microphone used for Aquarious - 5th Dimension was an RCA  77DX at the V1 setting which connects the inductor across the secondary of the ribbon input transformer. As producer Bones Howe comments this not only gave the correct sounding low cut but also eliminates mouth and tongue artifacts leaving the melody to shine through. This may be explained by the electromagnetic damping effect of the ribbon by the shunt inductor according to Lens's law or conservation of energy. (If the ribbon was not damped there would be a very high current flowing through the low impedance at low frequencies  of the shunt inductor giving more energy output than is input by singing which is impossible).


Pleiades filters can be built inside an XLR female to male adaptor. A suitable small magnetic core is the Magnetec 073 Nanocrystalinne tape wound ring core. A wire is wound inside this core and its ends are connected to signal pins ie 2 and 3. Pleiades filters  are open source and public domain.


References:


Classic Tracks - 5th Dimension - Sound on Sound
https://www.soundonsound.com/people/classic-tracks-fifth-dimension-aquariuslet-sunshine


Flat reproduction from singer's vocal chords to listener's brain -
Sound Picture Recording and Reproducing Characteristics - Loye, Morgan - Journal of the Motion Pictures Sound Engineers


Instructions - RCA 77DX
http://www.coutant.org/rca77dx/77dxinst.pdf


Pleiades Filters - Euroelectron

Most there is to music in just 2 pages

The masterpiece by brothers Marcello and Bach.


2nd part of oboe concerto in D minor - Marcello


Arranged for keyboard by J. S.  Bach.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c3Qg8yqmxzY


In 2 pages we may find almost all the harmony, (colors), or intervals from bass to melody used in popular music of any time and especially our times.


Almost everything, major 7ths, minor 7ths, code 4 5, interval of 7th resolved to 6th etc.


Another great example is the Prelude in C major - J.S. Bach from the Well Tempered Clavier. Part of it can be heard in Don't Cry for me Argentina - Webber, Rice.


References:


Bach Keyboard Concertos - Bach - Vol 1 - Edition Peters - Benedetto Marcello D Moll - Adagio -page 25


http://normanschmidt.net/scores/bachjs-general_bass_rules.pdf

Why is bass so important in music

Bass is the reference point at any time.


As in physics we may have 0 degrees Celcius (when water freezes at 1 atmosphere pressure) as a reference for temperature. Actually the scientific reference is -273 degrees, called absolute zero.


As on year dates we have as reference annum 0 the birth of Jesus Christ.


As in electronic engineering we refer voltage to usually ground which we assume it is 0 volts.


Bass may change all the time but at each instant it helps us define harmony (a chord).


Melody also refers to bass.


Examples:


Any major or minor chord is defined as code 1 3 5 from bass. C major is C E G, C minor is C Eb G, D minor is D F A, G major is G B D, C# major is C# E# G# etc.


When a high part plays B and bass plays A as in the beginning of Just Hold Me - Maria Mena, this defines a musical interval of 9th as B is 9 note scale steps away from the reference bass A.




Reference:


http://normanschmidt.net/scores/bachjs-general_bass_rules.pdf

Could it be that a not so well trained voice...

may sound better on digital as it has microvariations in frequency, caressing the basilar membrane in a random way,


On an analog medium the Cartesian product of 2 microvariations may lead to a chaotic effect.


A trained singer may shine on analog.

Καθε μέρα ξοδεύουμε ενέργεια Ηλιου πολλών ημερών

Everyday we spend multi day Sun energy.


Oil stored sun energy.


Ενέργεια αποθηκευμένη στο πετρέλαιο.


Μπορούμε να το αλλάξουμε.


We can change this.

Vicky's melody

Thus is how it was imagined just after waking up today.


Almost similar to other songs but there it is:


E  -   -   -            Am
s   s   A  -
G  -   -   F            Dm
-    s   s   s
D   -   -   -             G
-   -    G  -
F  -   -   E              C
-   s  s  s                              B 246
E     loop                Am

Interview of Bones Howe, the man who produced Aquarious/ Let the Sunshine in and much more,

Bones Howe interview:


http://tapeop.com/interviews/64/bones-howe/

How beautiful is female voice to the right and male voice to the left

Aquarious - 5th Dimension


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=06X5HYynP5E


The bass panel absorbers used in this recording should have been designed and built by Bill Putnam, please do your own search.

Δωρεάν Μαθήματα Μουσικής

Bach Bass Rules:


Στο παρακατω εγχειρίδιο ειναι οι κανόνες της μουσικής οπως έχουμε μάθει να την αγαπάμε και να μας αγαπά:


http://normanschmidt.net/scores/bachjs-general_bass_rules.pdf


Πηγη:


Bach's Biography - Spitta - appendix (instruction of JS Bach to his students)

The first time that music making s open source, free?

Bach bass rules:


http://normanschmidt.net/scores/bachjs-general_bass_rules.pdf


Reference:


Bach Biography - Spitta - appendix (instructions of JS Bach to his students)


A summary of the Niedt - Bach code was in the very old editions of the Anna Magdalena book.


There is not perhaps one hit music piece on our planet that is not based in this code.


Let the sunshine in!


Aquarius - 5th Dimension


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=06X5HYynP5E

Analog cassette sounds good too

Signal path, setup.


A vintage commercial classical etc music cassette.


A cassette player.


A room.


Your ears and brain.


Power supply is very easy.


Alkaline or rechargeable batteries seem to last forever.


Even a CD case sized monocrystalline solar panel can power a cassette player in real time.

Recording on digital but still caressing the basilar membrane

Can this be done by using for example.


A gravity rotated speaker hung from the ceiling as a Doppler Leslie Pleiades speaker.


Rotating reflector panels hung from the ceiling.


Hand held microphones.


...

The grandma CD, vinyl LP comparison experiment

The experiment needs:


Our grandma if she's still on earth.


A CD player playing Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits.


A record player playing Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits.


An integrated amplifier.


A pair of triangle listener positioned speakers.


An ordinary room.


Brothers in Arms is started simultaneously on both sources.


The selector switch of the integrated amplifier is used while the song is playing.


Grandma is asked which she prefers.


Guess what will be the result.


The Brothers in Arms is a DD album.


Is one of the reasons of her preference that once analog is on, the subtle-delicate shifts of pitch make the basilar membrane of the ears swing?


An ear massage.

Is church the fist multinational on earth?

Euroelectron just exceeded 30 thousand total views

7 day euroelecron statistics

France in the lead.


Then Russia.


China.


Poland.


U.S.


Thailand.


Germany.


Australia.


Greece.


Sweden.


Very soon all time euroelectron visits will exceed 30 thousand.

SM58, RE-15, 635a, F-96 with Pleiades V5

The input transformer of the Pleiades V5 microphone prepreamplifier has an inductance of only 47mH.


This is to cut bass for flat frequency responce from singer's vocal chords to listener's brain.


It attempts to compensate for the proximity effect, Fletcher-Munson reproduction curves, voice effort production curves.


The SM57 Mexico at 2in sounded correct.


The early vintage RE-15 with low cut, at 2in sounded more focused.


The 635a being an omnidirectional microphone had a more natural sound at 2in. There was more ambience as expected.


The F-96 low impedance sounded very natural at 0in without ,the exaggerated effect and less clear sound, of the other mics at such close distance. At 0in there was no room sound ambience coloring.


For the particular high pitched male singing line chosen the F-96 sounded the most natural to the listener's brain.


Setup, signal path:


Kitchen with tiles halfway up- male singing the ending phrase of Words - Bee Gees - Shure SM58 Mexico or Electro-Voice RE-15 or Electro-Voice 635a or Sony F-96 Low Z - Pleiades V5 prepreamp - Realistic stereo mixer 32-1101A mono mic in - Sennheiser HD 580 precision


Although usually there is induced an electromagnetic noise from the Realistic mixer DC converter to a mic input transformer this was not the case with the Pleiades transformer of the V5. Although this transformer is not even mu-metal shielded there was not any noise, possibly because of the tremendous inductance index of the Magnetec Nanoperm Nanocrystalinne core, the fact that the core is a tape wound ring core and the fact that the winding is electrically or geometrically symmetrical or balanced.


The overall signal to noise ratio of the whole system from vocal chords to listener's brain was very high.


The Pleiades V5 electron tube prepreamp was power supplied by the usual 2 li-ion 3.7V batteries in series for the starved (underheated) heater circuit at 3.7V and the anode supply of 7.4 volts.


References:


Sound Picture Recording and Reproducing Characteristics - Loye, Morgan - Jounal of the Motion Picture Engineers


Pleiades V5 - euroelectron

How to easily see which microphone a singer uses

Searching on google images with keywords:


Artist Name microphone


It seems Google have algorithms that can recognize if a photo includes a microphone...

Stevie Nicks is also using the RE-15

https://lyriquediscorde.com/2014/07/16/quintessential-albums-fleetwood-mac-rumours/


One of the photos show her in the studio recording with the Electro-Voice RE-15 microphone.

Voice effort curves on women

If a woman is singing very softly right next to our ear it can be very apparent.


There is an exagerated low mid frequency content.


By using a Pleiades filter or input transformer after the microphone, flat frequency response should be restored from singer's vocal chords to listener's brain.


References:


Pleiades Filters - euroelectron


(Flat frequency responce for singer's vocal chords to listener's brain) Sound Picture Recording and Reproducing Characteristics - Loye, Morgan - Journal of the Society Motion Picture Engineers

How to stop something addictive

At your own risk.


To find out the dose of the next time we multiply the dose of the previous time by a number less than 1.


The number can be 0.9, 0.97, 0.998 etc depending on how quickly we can.


By multiplying by the same number which is less than 1 we get what is called an exponential reduction. Exponential reduction is happening in nature in many natural occurring processes. For example discharging of a capacitor by a resistor, radioactive decay etc.


It has the property of half time.


This means that the time it takes for the dose to become half is always the same.


For example if the half time is 1 month and we start reducing from 1mg...


In one month the dose will be 1/2mg.


On the second month 1/4mg.


On the third month 1/8mg.


And so on...


The half time depends on which less than 1 number we choose.


This can give us excellent resolution, for example, for each day.


The nice thing about the exponential way of reducing a dose is that the first reduction is the greatest of them all.


As time passes by the slope, if one plots dose against time, becomes less and less and eventually almost parallel to the time axis.


This supposedly helps our brain to adjust in perhaps the less hard way.


There are more posts on euroelectron on the same subject describing the same dose reduction process in other words and perhaps a bit more of mathematics.


Will is Key.

Yes Heaven is a place on Earth

Θα ταίριαζε το What About Now - Daughtry στον Θεμη Αδαμαντίδη;

Θα μπορουςε να εχει εισαγωγή, κατι σαν:


Α  Α  A  s
E   s   D  E
s    s   D  C
-    s   E   D
-    s   s    s
s    s   s   A
B   -   C  B
-    -   C  A
-    -   s   s
E   -  D   E
-    -  D   C
Loop
;


Dummy Lyrics, brainstorm:


Τι για τη ζωή
Μια μαγεία στην ησυχία

Οταν σ'εχω πιο κοντα
Νοιώθω σαν παιδι
Οταν σβήνω τα παλιά
Νοιώθω σαν βροχή


Καθε χάδι σαν χαλί
Που με καλύπτει

Οταν μου μιλάς
Οταν μου γελάς
Ειναι σαν πρώτα
Που ερωτευόμουν


Οταν σε κρατώ   (Γυναίκα τραγουδάει εδώ)
Οταν σου γελώ
Ειναι σαν πρώτα
Που ερωτευόμουν


Μια στιγμή κοντα σου
Κι ανασαίνω
Μια γαλήνη στη σιωπή
Κι αναπνέω


Ενα λουλούδι μαγικο
Μας ενώνει
Ενα σύννεφο καπνό
Δεν αφηνει


Οτι και αν μου πουν
Οςο να γελούν
Εγώ εσένα μονο αγαπάω


Οςο και αν γελούν
Οςό κι αν μισούν
Εγώ για σένα
Είμαι πλασμένη

Καθε κύκλος της ζωής
Με φέρνει κοντα σου
Καθε σημάδι της ψυχής.  (Γυναίκα)
Με κανει δικιά σου


Ειναι σαν όνειρο γλυκό (γυναίκα)
Η ζωή μαζι σου...


Οταν μου γελάς
Οταν τραγουδάς
Ειναι σαν χάδι
Το καθε χάδι


Οταν μου γελάς
Οταν τραγουδάς
Φεύγει για παντα
Καθε παλιά μου


Σε κρατώ... απο το χέρι
Και το μονο που ζήτω
Ενα αστέρι


Η καρδιά μου παει να σπάσει

;

Album covers of Frank Sinatra LPs that show microphone placement

Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!


and


The Concert Sinatra


Reference:


Making Records - Phil Ramone, Charles Granata

The best way to do almost anything

Is doing nothing?

Ο καλύτερος τρόπος να κανεις σχεδόν τα παντα ειναι μην κανεις σχεδόν τίποτα;

Οπωροκηπευτικα μεγαλωμένα στο χώμα η στο νερό.

Δεν θα έπρεπε να αναγράφεται τι απο τα δυο αγοράζει κανεις στο σούπερ μάρκετ;


Λίγες περισσότερες πληροφορίες στο διπλανό euroelectron post.

Plants not grown in soil but water

Yes plants get their carbon from air, from carbon dioxide.


But it was not known to me that some tomatoes and cucumbers etc that are in the supermarket are made like this, not grown on soil but water.


Shouldn't there be a description tag on the product?


Learning that the long cucumbers are made in soil it was decided to buy these. They taste great. Are they more healthy too?


Tomatoes that are water grown look perfect. But are they?

Why low voltage on microphone front ends?

It makes sense a front end amplifier has to be low voltage and current.


Low voltage and current comparable to the tiny microphone signal it has amplify.


And electron tubes operating with very small anode voltage do away with secondary electron emission effects.

Iron deficiency cured by stopping milk, meat?

At your own risk.


This is not medical advice.


It is just an observation from a friend.


She is near her thirties.


She had stopped for a few week dairy products and meat. She did that in a hope to get rid of acne spots on her face. It worked.


And after a blood test she found for the first time that she did not have a deficiency of iron.


Why?


(As she has a juice bar, she told me that she drinks a lot of greens and beetroot.)


Unfortunately she is now back to meat, almost addicted, and of not good quality and back to cooked food. She is back to spots on her face.


She has not repeated a blood test.


Please take everything that is written, as what it is, just observation.


You may do your own observation and you are closer to science as science is largely based on observation.


And you may come up with a theory that explains why this is happening.