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.
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