What is a Pleiades microphone filter?

In many cases the signal from even a very high quality microphone is completely different from what the producer or listener has in mind. If a wrong for the purpose of a high quality recording (not sounding correct to the listener's brain) is fed to the signal chain (mic preamplifier etc) it may be too late to correct effectively without loosing quality. The reason for a microphone not sounding correct without a filter may be: Proximity bass boost effect, human voice recorded at low intensity but reproduced at high intensity, voice effort effect (when we sing sofly we create a broadband acoustic output, when we sing loudly we create a mid centered norrower band acoustic output. Great microphones such as RCA 77DX, Shure SM7 have the switchable bass reduction filter inside them so as to help the microphone preamplifier get the best possible signal or near to it. The Pleiades filter is just this, the inductor filter of say a 77DX, or SM7 etc being external put inside an XLR female to male barrel adaptor so almost any microphone can be used. The inductor is connected as on the classic microphones across the output of the microphone. For great high frequency detail the gentle slope high pass L,R (inducor in series with resitor) can be cascaded. So for example the signal path can be: microphone - Pleiades low cut filter - Pleiades gentle high pass filter - mic pre. Recently it was studied that the SM7 uses an inductor of 240mH. Recent Pleiades experiments showed that an SM58 at 16in can sound amazing with a 175mH to 175mH 1:1 transformer just after the mic and before the preamplifier. A high pass filter may not be needed as the capsule of the SM7, SM57, SM58 has an inherent high frequency peak. A Pleiades filter are usually put inside Neutrik XLR modules to create a nice looking XLR barrel adaptor that is small, light, beautiful with a color painted cetre for indentification of turnover frequency. The inductor is wound on a toroidal core so there is absolutely no noise, or noise picked up electromagnetically etc. Anyone can make a Pleiades filter, it is public domain as any other euroelectron or Pleiades idea that does not infringe a 3rd party.

How was the piano recorded on Clocks - Coldplay

Music studemt Jhanna sent an email to the record producer of Clocks-Coldplay, Ken Nelson who kindly replied to us on how the piano was recorded on this masterpiece. Blue Bottle mics with omni capsules fitted. They were placed about 2.5 feet above the strings and about 3 feet apart on Bosendorfer grand piano at Air studios in Hamsted, London.

Recording the piano

At your risk. Not at all easy. Large spaces help a lot, eg halls, tall ceiling, church, outdoors etc. Early reflections being recorded make a frustrating result. Recently better luck came while recording the big Yamaha grand piano at SNFCC library (books tower). It is a average to big recording space, high ceiling, acoustic treatment on walls, seats, one of the main walls missing (making the sound escape to the other areas) which makes a perfect or great absorber! The piano was recorded, while Aaron was playing, with just one vintage Electro-Voice 635a omnidirectional moving coil microphone. Experience recording directly to Sony TC-D5m with or now low cut filters sugests that no low cut filter is needed. Lid was closed (regulations of library), mic was at say 4 feet.

Liliya

It is a pleasure meeting by pure chance in the metro train Liliya. Smartly dresed on amazing italian shoes. Very kind like a princess. And a singer. Her youtube channel is Liliya.mp3 Thank you Liliya for the inspiration, your kindness and laughing joy you bring.

Beautiful air gap in signal transformer carrying dc

Watching the video interview on Allen Sides to Vintageking on the best studio equipment made by mankind, the UA610 preamp was mentioned. By briefly looking at a very low resolution reading and reading a comment on air gap used... It is very encouraging as Pleiades amplifiers are really naturally into this sort of thinking and doing. Class A operation (electrons flowing all the time) not just on the active device but on the output transformer too. Allen sides says the UA610 old version sounds so lifelike.

Some quotes of Edwin Armstrong

https://www.bookey.app/quote-author/edwin-armstrong (perhaps for me seize the day may not be appropreate as it places stress and hurry, and hurry actually creates delay due to accidents). Instead perhaps the Tao Te Ching quote "She or he who sails slowly, sails far" is more appropreate for me. All the other posts are so moving.

The greatest problem of mankind...

Paraphrasing form Edwin Armstrong's (electronic engineer inventor of broadband FM amongs so many other inventions). The greatest problem of mankind is not what we do not know but what we know and it is wrong.