H3000 PATCH: "Wup!"

from Andy Capp/KELO-AM/FM, Sioux Falls, SD

Here's a patch I came up with on the Eventide Ultra-Harmonizer that is kind of a synth golf swing, complete with pan. I call it, "Wup!"

Begin with preset 402, "BOINGY BUZZ," and make the following changes.

DETUNE: 39.20
TONE: 100.00
TUNE: 100.00
CUTOFF 1: 5370 Hz
CUTOFF 2: 30 Hz
Q FACTOR 1: 37
Q FACTOR 2: 15
DELAY 1: .00 MSEC
DELAY 2: .00 MSEC
SCALE 1: 5.2%
SCALE 2: .2%
COURSE: -4320 CENTS (.083:1)
FINE: -4320 CENTS (.083:1)
P. DELAY: 45 MS

There is some audible "hiss" on the patch. When I use it, I ride the levels -- a gate would mask it well!

Quick Fix

Craig Rogers of WHO/KLYF in Des Moines sends this handy tip:

First the setup. It's late in the afternoon. (Don't all good production stories begin this way?) A jock has done a great job of producing a multi-voice spot over a music bed with an announcer tag. The problem? The address is wrong in the tag, all the voices have gone home, and the spot starts tomorrow! If only I could cut the spot before the mistake and splice on just the tail of the music bed. Then I could re-tag it. But a change in music levels will call attention to the splice.

Here's what I did: I found the completed spot with the mistake and the music bed used under it and cued them both up. I set the produced spot to peak at 0 VU then panned it hard left. Then I panned the music bed hard right. Next, I started both sources, trying to get the music beds reasonably close to synchronized. I then adjusted the levels on the music bed until the music was centered in between the monitors. Now I had the music bed that matched the level of the music in the original spot. I recorded it to a reel. Then I marked a spot on the original spot before the mistake where I could begin the tag. I found the exact same spot in the music bed reel, made the cuts, and spliced them together. Now I had a spot with the multi-voice open intact and a music trailer bed over which to place the correct tag. Did it work? Give it a listen on this month's Cassette.

Penny-pinching: Pop Shield!

New subscriber Colin Day of Colin Day Creative in the United Kingdom offers this tip for a homemade wind screen, or "pop shield."

What's the best homemade pop shield? It's got to be this one: a simple embroidery hoop (half-inch thickness) with a stocking stretched over the inner ring! I reckon about an eight or nine inch diameter is the minimum that will properly disperse the plosive sounds. Heavy grade stockings seem to work best, but it won't cost a lot to experiment. As for fixing, I asked a woodworking friend to drill and tap a short piece of dowel. I've glued that to the outer ring and screwed a length of gooseneck on it. I've seen pop shields on sale for a hundred dollars and up. This one looks much better and actually works like gangbusters! What's more, it'll cost you less than ten bucks! Hope you can make use of it.

Audio

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