The Sound-O-Mat

Hooking Up Turntables to Various Things

I recently wrote an answer on AllExperts.com where someone was asking about hooking up a turntable, aka a phonograph or grammophone player (technical names) to some kind of amp or box I'd never heard of (an "Mbox 1".) Here's what I wrote that's important info for anyone who wants to set up a turntable because they've realized that contrary to popular belief, vinyl is not dead:

There's an important thing (or three) to know about turntables. Aside from magnetic vs. other carts, the main one is that the signal from phonograph players, as they're technically called, is very, very low, even lower than line level. It's also been recorded with a freq. transformation known as the "RIAA Equalization Curve"; you can read more about that here:

The Sound-O-Mat: RIAA Equalization Curve

So what you're getting out a turntable needs to be heavily boosted as as signal (which is why pops, clicks and vinyl hiss is so noticeable, although the curve does help remove the hiss) and also the amp you're plugging into, in this case an Mbox 1, needs to have what's known as a "phono hookup" which boost the signal as well as applies the reverse transformation for the effects of the RIAA Equalization Curve.

It also needs to be grounded, if it's not grounded you're in bad shape, sound-wise. I haven't looked up the specs on the Mbox 1 but if it doesn't have at least one "phono (line) in" pair of red/white plugs and a place to hook up the ground line from the turntable, then the only way you can make it work is to buy what's known as a "phono preamp", which is basically a, well, pre-amp that corrects the RIAA equalization and boosts the signal to what's called "line level". If you do a Web search you'll find lots of them; the cheap ones will sound bad, so it's worth spending money to buy a decent one, but no need, unless you want, to go crazy on the audiophile ones, although I have to admit some of the tube/valve-based phono preamps out there, while expensive (we're talking US $1000 and up) sound pretty damned great.

Recent Space Echo Sales on Ebay

A Roland RE-301, $710 and not yet sold:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200093205140&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=010

Roland RE-201, Buy It Now! at $699.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330103648016&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=014

Steps to Cleaning a Roland Space / Chorus Tape Echo

This article is a step-by-step explanation of the work we do in taking in a tape echo unit, cleaning it up and restoring it to original condition, assuming there are no broken parts, other than perhaps the tape loop.

1. Plug in the unit and using a mic and/or guitar, run a list of basic tests to make sure each component of the unit works correctly:
• Test the unit with all effects turned off.
• Test the unit with echo turned off w/switch and reverb on.
• Test again with echo turned off w/the foot-switch and reverb on.
• Test again w/echo turned off w/the Echo Dial turned to "Reverb Only"
• Test with reverb off, going through each echo mode, 4 "Repeat" and 7 "Reverb Echo" settings, 11 in total. (Yes, this unit goes "up to eleven!")
• Test with reverb and echo on, again all 11 combos.
• Test each knob setting with min/mid/max settings: Reverb and Echo Volume, Bass, Treble, Repeat Rate w/Intensity in about a dozen combos. Do this with echo & reverb off, reverb only, echo only, and reverb and echo on.
2. Open the tape chamber, aka the "tape tank" and make sure all dirt and dust are blown out, and clean the cover with Windex.


3. Remove the existing tape and recycle it.


4. Install a chamber tape case for the loop if we have one.


5. Remove the tape head guard and clean if necessary.


6. Using foam-tipped cleaners (never cotton!) and rubbing or pure alcohol - clean the rubber pinch-roller and the tape feed, the outtake caster and tape feed, the erase/playback head, and the record heads (four total on this model.)


7. Demagnetize each tape head for 30 seconds minimum, with output plugged in so we can hear it, being very careful not to touch the tape heads with the demagnetizing wand.


8. Clean and replace if necessary the felt lining for the tape feeds. We use a modern felt that does not produce dust like the originals do.


9. Install a new tape loop, usually the stock RT-1L length (there were 2L and 3L versions, 2x and 3x as long respectively.)


10. Reinstall the tape head guard and tape chamber plastic cover.


11. Run through all the tests in the first step, making sure any noise, hiss, warble, etc. are gone, to the extent that these machines can sound.


12. If the lid is missing the Operating Instructions sheet, we can replace it with a reproduction version for only $5.


13. If missing, place a copy of the cleaning instructions in the tape chamber packet or glue it to the cover if the packet is missing, which is very common.

As you can see, just the first step of diagnosing the unit takes approx. 45 minutes, provided everything works correctly. Overall, it takes us at least three hours to properly clean a unit. Hopefully this explains the $100 fee w/o a new tape and $125 w/new tape loop charge, as really cleaning a unit can be time-intensive. The Operating Instructions can be replaced for $5 (which will easily make the unit worth $20 more) and cleaning instructions are provided if missing. We can also replace the plastic kit packet on the top of the tape chamber if we have an extra for $25 w/o a tape loop, or $50 with an extra, new tape loop (military grade graphite-backed tape.)

But when it's finished, we guarantee that it'll sound its very best, as good as new, and we never over-charge if the work takes us longer, unless something is broken, at which point we contact the owner to discuss what we found wrong and suspect needs to be fixed or replaced.

We require a $50 deposit to start the work, and that deposit goes towards the total charge for all work done to the unit. If it's unfixable, the deposit is kept, or counted towards a purchase price if we want to buy the unit for parts, which is likely.

If you're in the Portland metro area or are willing to pay UPS shipping to/from your place, we can guarantee you'll be very happy with the results. Please feel free to contact us at info@sound-o-mat.com if you're interested in having your unit cleaned, and once it's done, you should be able to maintain it by cleaning it yourself with the provided instructions for at least 3-5 years (3-4 times per year) before it will require servicing again. We recommend changing the tape loop at least once a year if you use the unit at least 1-2 times a week, twice a year if used almost daily.

Most importantly, we are available to make sure you will know how to keep the unit cleaned and in top condition until it needs to be serviced again.

Writing on Home Recording, MIDI, etc.

I've been registered as an "expert" since getting approved by AllExperts.com a few months ago. You can read answer I (and my fellow experts) have written on various subject areas, so if you're looking for information or just to educate yourself in one or more of these subject areas, I highly recommend reading past answers, and if you have a question, feel free to submit one for me there. I respond in 1-3 days, as time permits.

Here's the areas in which I write responses to questions:

Home Recording

Audio Systems

MIDI and Computer Generated Music

It's a better forum to ask questions rather than contacting us, as we reserve direct contact for clients, but if you ask at a AllExperts.com, we'll definitely do our best to get a decent answer to you in a couple of days.

Roland RE-201 Operating Instruction Sheets

Roland RE-201 Operating Instruction Sheets now available!

We are now offering reproduction Operating Instruction sheets for the Roland RE-201 Space Echo model tape echo. These are full-color, glossy, heavy-paper reprints of the operating instructions for the entire front panel that were originally stapled inside the side of the tape echo units.

We're selling them for $9.99 each plus postage to wherever you are, plus a 4% PayPal surcharge if you choose to pay that way, to cover their costs.

Even after years of using our Space/Chorus Echoes, we've always found them handy for quick reference when we need them, and if you ever need to sell your tape echo, you'll easily make back 2-3x the cost by having these original instructions as part of your unit.

If you're interested, please contact us at info@sound-o-mat.com and we can make arrangements. We're happy to be able to make this reproduction available for those old tape echoes that are lacking them, and if you contact us to service your tape echo and its missing, we'll attach a new one for only $5.

Roland RE-201 Operating Instructions

Early vs. Later Model RE-201 Space Echo tape units

Many people do not realize that Roland built and sold some version of a tape echo from 1978 to 1993... some until 1995. They just recently, as of the end of 2006, dropped ALL support, repair and parts for these units.

Over time, they did change things on the units that were prone to fail. We'll be updating this posting with photos we're taking of an early model RE-201 and a later model one, as we're current restoring both, one of which will be for resale soon (if you're looking for a pristine RE-201 Space Echo with a bonus service manual, please contact us now, it will be $600 plus shipping if you're not able to pick it up.) The later model RE-201 had several minor changes to it that were all major improvements Roland made after years of servicing models, and we'll show all the photos of what's different, as well as how to read the tag on the back of the unit to figure out which one you have.

Building Custom MIDI Devices

Recently, answering a question on the AllExperts.com site about a D.I.Y. MIDI system to control lights with a MIDI device reminded me of one I helped build years ago to trigger samples. Here was the original question:

"What I'm trying to do is take midi information and convert it to light rather than sound. So instead of the midi being assigned to a note "F#" it's assigned to a color "red". I'd need this to be done in a small space powered by a 9v battery. I'm thinking I'll need a microchip and midi program. Any insight would be great. Thanks a lot." — Tom

I ended up responding with a basic outline of the components that Tom would need to put this together, and mentioned that there are commercial products out there that do this sort of thing already, but they're really expensive:

"Sorry to say, but the scope of a cool project like that is well beyond what can be answered here. I will say you can find MIDI (properly all-caps) info and you'll want to learn that, and that there's at least two companies that were already making products similar to what you propose (although I think it would be cool to build myself, I've thought of it as well!) If you do a Web search for "MIDI controllers" and "live performance" you'll likely find at least one of the companies making these kinds of products.

Of course, if you want to build your own, you're like me, but I'd still check out the products to get an idea of what's out there. And what the heck, since it sounds like a fun project, I'll try to think it through - you'll need a MIDI interface coming out of a keyboard and/or computer to generate your MIDI data, unless you want to buy a product that translates hand-movements, such as the Korg Kaos controller, to use instead. And a cable to get it to your device. That's all easy.

Your device would require a MIDI input plug, chip and board at least, and you can buy these online if you do a Web search. The hard part would be a microcontroller or DSP (Digital Signal Processing) chip - DSPs are great microprocessors. The translation could be something as easy as just mapping notes to colors, although if you wanted to get trick you could have it do fades, etc. - the speed of which from one color to another I would map to the velocity info in the MIDI stream: slow velocity numbers would fade the colors slowly, and high vel. nos. quickly.

It's really finding a DSP and programming it that would be the hard part. And then figuring out how to send the light data out and what you would generate the light with. My guess is you could get an composite or S-Video microchip that would generate that, and you'd need to build the board to connect the DSP to talk to that chip and generate color.

It's a fun and cool project, but as said, I think there's at least one, if not two products I've already seen that are available. The downside is that despite costing maybe $5 in parts total, they were very expensive - US $100's of dollars. So it's up to you to decide how competent you are with this kind of development - heck, if you can do it, you can probably apply for a patent and start your own product line! As digital video projectors get less expensive, the demand for this sort of thing is just going to go up! Good luck!"

The follow-up from Tom reminded me of a summer when my pal Sean Williams of Process & The Mystery School Ensemble fame, who also runs Artifact Records stayed with me for a couple of weeks and we worked on a project to create a MIDI controller that he could attach to his bass and use to trigger samples on his Mac using eMagic's Logic Audio. Here's what I wrote back to Tom:

"A custom board would be able to do it. There are boards out there with MIDI connections and DSPs - I've helped someone (Sean Williams) from the Mystery School Ensemble build one that didn't control lights but samples instead, but in theory it's all the same. We were able to fit the whole thing in an Altoids tin on the back of his bass, with wires around to 8 buttons near the bridge he could hold down to trigger samples. He bought the board, which had MIDI out/in plugs on them and a DSP, and we just added the switches. You might have to shop around for custom parts like we did, but it works well."

I wish I had a digital camera back then, or if I did, had the insight to take photos, because it was a fun project, and worked out well, and the Altoid tin holding the main MIDI controller was pretty cool glued to the back of his expensive Yamaha electric bass. In the future, any of these projects I take on, I'll be taking photos so I can put together a "step-by-step" demonstration on how it's done.

We're currently rebuilding three Roland RE-201 Space Echo tape echo units (we'll probably gut one for parts for the other two, and then sell or keep the spare parts around.) I'm going to photograph the steps as we work to restore a tape echo to show exactly how involved the whole process is, and why we charge what we charge to do the work.

The upside is that we do work on these particular machines as well or even better than the couple of good audio repair shops in town, and they start at $50 and $65 just to look at the unit, before they start charging parts and labor. We can usually clean up a Roland tape echo for around $40-50 if it doesn't require parts.

But I've gotten off-track and rambling. The main point was that MIDI controllers can be cool to build - it took us only a day once we got all the parts together and I came up with tin to house the electronics, and the two of us had it working by the next day, with eight trigger switches on the front of his bass that he could push and each would start a unique loop in Logic Audio and keep playing it until he let the switch up, and he could change Logic to either then reset and restart the sample at the beginning, or leave it where it stopped to continue again where it left off.

I just really wish I had photos of the project, because it was really fun and cool. If you've read this far, remember to take pictures! You'll never know when you'll want to share it for fun, information, or just to relive a little project that was a blast to do.

Music System on a Canoe

Here's another recent question we answered:

"I have been camping/canoeing on The Saco River, ME for 15 years. My group has attempted to perfect the audio entertainment in this time. However, we continue to battle a two powerful variable -- water and time. Our trip is a three day, two night river journey. In the past we have suffered drenching rain, turned-over canoes -- all of which desimate a portable system. We recently tried the work-site radios hoping their durability and large rechargeable batteries would be the answer and it was -- however, when our canoe turned over (only the 2nd time in 15 years)the music was silenced. I was recrntly on a large cabin-cruiser and had an idea. If I had a power source - battery - why not put together a portable system and install it in a heavy duty waterproof case. I think the only components that would need to be exposed to the elements are a couple of weatherproof speakers which I could install flush to the case and seal - the rest i.e. receiver, battery, amplifier (would I need one?), power converter (would I need one?) and wiring could be tucked into foam within the box." — William

Hi William,

Well, you're lucky, because I've done a lot of sound for outdoor parties, events, and camping trips, so I'm got some experience in this area. The two most important things have nothing to do with audio equipment but how it's handled:

Firstly, make sure that the audio setup, all of it, unless the speakers/monitors are designed to be used outdoors, like certain Mackie setups, are covered and kept from being exposed to any rain or sun. Basically, keep everything under a tent or cover.

Secondly, bring some blankets, and try to keep the gear (CD player, etc.) covered as much as possible. This keeps the problem elements: dust, fog, humidity, bugs, etc. from getting in the gear. Just get some cheap wool blankets from your local charity place and they'll work well.

Now, if you're taking gear into a canoe and it's flipping and dumping it in the water - there's really nothing you can do unless you can find fully water-proof audio gear, which I'm not familiar with. I'd suspect you also lost your cell phone if you had it on you, or would have. Basically, electronics in water means they're fried.

Your idea about putting a battery in a case is OK but only if you buy a battery that does not "out gas." Car / motorcycle / boat batteries emit small amounts hydrogen as they operate (its what causes the weird greenish corrosion around the terminals) and why you should never smoke near a battery. So if you put it in a case, and the hydrogen builds up, and there's any flame - you're basically going to blow yourself up. So this probably won't work. If you tried it, you'd need some way for the air to circulate, which would mean it wouldn't be water-tight. And yes, you'd also need a converter, and that might be a problem too - it might get hot in a case, too hot and fry itself, melt, or set the battery off.

I'd shop around for some sort of manufactured water-proof system that's already built for what you're looking to do. I'm all about the Do It Yourself (D.I.Y.) approach, but in this case, putting a battery in a waterproof case is very dangerous! So look around for a system - I'm sure a Web search would turn something up. Good luck!

Subwoofer for Home Theaters

Here's a question we recently answered about adding a sub-woofer (aka a "sub") to a modern TV system:

"My 50" rear projection Sony Hi Def TV has 2 RCA red/white ports labeled "Audio out". Can I just buy a subwoofer and plug it in to the output jacks on the TV. Why do I need an amplifier? I'm happy with the midrange/treble. I can't tell for sure, but I think Sony does what some of the other companies do: the bottom of the TV set has 5 speakers or so, angled different directions, to give some illusion of surround sound. Whatever they do, it sounds pretty good, seems like it could just use some bass." -- David

Hi David,

If you have RCA-style red/white output jacks on the TV, you can hook it up to a sub-woofer, but the sub will have to be separately powered, and must have what's called a "low-pass filter" built into it so it only plays the lowest frequencies. You don't need a separate amp but the sub needs to be powered, which means it has an internal amp.

If you shop around carefully at subs before you buy you shouldn't have a problem. Good luck!

Roland RE-201 & RE-501 Operating Instruction Sheets

We are now offering reproduction Operating Instruction sheets for the Roland RE-201 Space Echo and RE-501 Chorus Echo models of tape echoes. These are full-color, glossy, heavy-paper reprints of the operating instructions for the entire front panel that were originally stapled inside the side of the tape echo units.

We're selling them for $9.99 each plus postage to wherever you are, plus a 4% PayPal surcharge if you choose to pay that way, to cover their costs.

Even after years of using our Space/Chorus Echoes, we've always found them handy for quick reference when we need them, and if you ever need to sell your tape echo, you'll easily make back 2-3x the cost by having these original instructions as part of your unit.

If you're interested, please contact us at info@sound-o-mat.com and we can make arrangements. We're happy to be able to make this reproduction available for those old tape echoes that are lacking them, and if you contact us to service your tape echo and its missing, we'll attach a new one for only $5.

RE-501 Instructions Sample

Spare Roland Space / Chorus Echo parts

We're happy to say that we're picking up a broken RE-201 Space Echo today and will be able to offer spare parts - we've a few we need to pick off it, but then the rest will be available. We'll try to post here a list of what we have, unless we somehow manage to fix both of them, in which case we'll have a restored one up for sale with all the extras. Stay tuned and please drop us a line at info@sound-o-mat.com if you're interested in getting parts or service.

Roland Space/Chorus Tape Echo Warble

We were recently contacted by someone in Oakland, CA who has a Roland RE-201 Space Echo that had started to "warble". Here's what we had to share with him:

"I'm in Oakland, CA and have a 201 and it just started to have a strange warble."

Yup, they do that. In fact, we keep one around the studio just for that sound, on purpose!

"It seems to be running fine. Maybe it's dirty? or needs a new tape? If you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate it. Thanks."

The problem could be one of three things, in order of likelihood:

1. Needs to be cleaned. Tape echoes will start warbling, distorting, and sounding weird if they're not cleaned regularly. All you need is rubbing alcohol and *foam* tipped cleaners, or even a super-soft toothbrush although the foam is what came with them originally and what Roland recommends. We've got an RE-201 cleaning diagram scanned in, when we get time we'll send you a copy if we don't post it on our site. DO NOT USE COTTON SWABS or BALLS! They can leave cotton that will jam the machine, or worse embed in the tape heads, which is bad.

2. Needs a new tape. The tapes last a *lot* longer than most people think, but over time they do stretch, or sometimes tangle, and that'll cause warble, flutter & wow, and distoration as well. We give a thorough cleaning, which usually fixes it (esp. the pinch-roller) but if not, then a new tape is in order.

3. Needs a new motor. If this is the case, that's really bad news. Some times the motors just die, other times they just get all jakey and weird and won't run at a constant speed. We just talked with Roland and as of last year, they have discontinued making the motors and no longer support them, so while we haven't given up hope of finding an after-market motor, or some other replacement made by another company, the odds aren't good because it has to be variable speed and a specific size, and hold the pinch roller rubber piece. But until we've exhausted our search, we're still hopeful.

All that said, the first one is probably it - if you're using it regularly, they need to be cleaned about every 1-2 months, depending on how much you use it, otherwise even if they're just sitting around, they still need to be cleaned once or twice a year.

Give it a go, and we'll try to send a copy of the diagram, although it's easy enough, just clean everything the tape goes through or touches outside the collection chamber (grey box.) And DON'T USE COTTON "Q-TIPS"! Little bits of cotton can get embedded in the tape head and will wear the heads and the tape down badly. We've seen that too many times, unfortunately. If you need to, buy a tape cleaning kit, they're still on the market (we'll research where to
find one and post that here on our blog.)

Roland Chorus Space Echo RE-501 Operating Instructions/Schematics

We now have reproduction Roland Chorus Space Echo RE-501 Schematics/Operating Instructions available for RE-501 Chorus (Space) Echo unit, that was original stapled on the inside lid of unit. If yours is missing one, we can provide a full-color replacement that will easily pay double for itself if you ever have to sell your unit, and will let you in on all the details of using every aspect of these wonderful, cranky, eccentric tape echo units!

If you're interested, just drop us a line and we can hook you up with one for just $19.99 postpaid. Printed in full color on heavy photo-quality paper. Here's a photo of what you'll be getting in 8/12 x 14" size: Roland Chorus Space Echo RE-501 Operating Instructions.

If you're interested, give us a call or drop us a line! We'll have versions for the RE-101, 201, and 301 units coming soon! Cheers!

How to Copy Vinyl Records onto CDs

When we first started The Sound-O-Mat, one of the services we decided to offer, because we'd be doing it so much ourselves, was media transfers: for example, taking a vinyl record and digitizing and burning it to a CDR. We've done a lot of transfers, from all sorts of formats, even Magnetic Recording Wire, which pre-dated audio cassettes by many years.

In recent years we've decided to give up the service. There's too many people willing to do it for far less money than is worth our time: a local guy will do an entire LP, including "cleanup" and copy it onto a CDR shaped like a vinyl record with the label for $15. We figure he's making about $5/hr before taxes, far less than Oregon's $8.15/hr minimum wage, but if people are willing to do it for that cheap, and other are willing to risk having their vinyl ruined and/or ending up with lousy results, so be it. We've still gotten 2-3 queries a month about transfers which we've dutifully sent estimates on, and the total number of transfer jobs we've done in the last two tax years has been zero.

Well, now there's systems out there that make it easy and affordable to do it themselves. If you have vinyl and want to digitize it so you can burn a CDR and/or turn the music into MP3s or WMAs (Windows Media files), well, here's an article written by one of us on what to buy and how to do it:

How to Copy Vinyl Records onto CDs. As always, we welcome feedback if you think we left anything out. And if you email us and ask about a media transfer and we don't email you back, now you know why!

The Boss (Roland) CE-300 Super ChorusRack Mount Processor

Ah, nothing like getting your hands on a piece of classic, almost "retro" music processing gear. We recently found a Boss... er, Roland, who owns and makes all Boss gear, which is just another brand that their brilliant founder came up with... anyway, a Boss CE-300 "Super Chorus".

It's a classic piece of kit that was probably used on 80% of the albums produced in the 1980's and early 1990's before it fell out of favour, which is too bad, because it's like most Roland gear: you can use it very subtly as a processor to just barely tweak something, or you can set it to "11" and it becomes almost a musical instrument, given the kinds of crazy sounds it can produce.

For starters, if you're interested in one, best to read up on it on the best place to find out about audio gear, because all the reviews are written by end-users like ourselves, not paid reviewers: Harmony-Central. Bookmark this site if you're a musician, producer, audio engineer, or in any way ever need to know anything about music gear, it's the place to go. Here's the entry for the Boss CE-300 Super Chorus.

So we've been playing with this thing, and for such a simple interface, there's so much you can do with it, it's astounding. First off, it's got the mono input and stereo output 1/4" jacks in front as well as back, so you get a free patch-panel as part of the deal. The power switch is obvious, and ours came with a busted LED that took 2 seconds to fix. The controls are very simple: input levels, and you can push it to +3dB at least without really overloading, although you can also overload it to get some interesting effects.

Next there's the modulation of the chorus, which you can choose the speed of, and the "depeth", which is basically how much of the original signal/sound comes through vs. the altered, better known as the "wet/dry" ratio. If you want the full effects, you just dial it all the way over.

The chorus control itself has a "Tone" control, which is rather arbitrary, but on top of the unit is the entire circuitry layout, showing the signal path from input all the way to output and all of the possible effects that you can use on the way. The "Tone" seems to just drive the chorus units to stronger levels, but we haven't studied the diagram closely enough yet. It does do as it says, and next to it is the "Level" dial, which is how much of this chorus you want, from "Min" to "Max".

Add a "bypass" switch to skip the processing so you can compare it to the original source, and a "mute" switch which just turns off everything, and that's it. The "mute" might seem odd but we've already made this thing scream and crank out some loud, gnarly noises: even through it's a purely digital effect box, it seems that if you really turn things up, you can overdrive circuits and/or get them to feedback, so it's actually nice to be able to hit the button should things get out of hand.

Right now we're amazed at how much these are selling for on Ebay, and despite owning over a dozen (possibly closer to two dozen) software-based chorus plug-in effects here at The Sound -O-Mat Studio, within a minute we knew it was a great purchase, because we've never heard anything like this.

To sum it up, it's a 10/10 and if you're at all interested in chorus as an effect in your studio or as a musician, you'd be wise to check this out. Oh, and for the guitarists out there, although it's a rack unit, it has a plug in back for an on/off foot-switch and is the same circuitry and algoritms as the classic but expensive Boss CE-1, CE-2, & CE-3 guitar pedals. In fact, we'll probably sell off our Boss CE-1 for twice as much as we paid for this. It's built like a tank, so you can tour it without worry, and if you have any rack units at all, we'd say you can probably get rid of any chorus git-peds you've got and go with this one and get them all in one neat package.

The Art of Mastering

Here's a copy of a blog article written by one of our clients, Greg Headley, about "The Art of Mastering" and how working with us really helped improve not only his final CD releases but his recording techniques and other ways he looked at making and recording music:

The Art of Mastering

I've been having some music professionally mastered recently, for a coming CD release, and it's been a great learning process. I've been involved in pseudo-mastering projects before, but having a pro do the work, someone who listens critically with skilled and experienced ears, is a first for me

The science of mastering is in many ways a mystery, and not just to me. I certainly know now that it's more than just having someone set a brickwall limiter and crank everything up to 11. I listen to a lot of music with substantial amounts of very high frequencies, like at least 14khz and up. My ears are so used to it (or maybe fried from it) that I don't always notice how harsh those frequencies can be and how much they can fatigue the ears. My mastering engineer pointed this out as a potential problem right from the start.

Now this is what I need: someone knowledgeable to listen and tell me what the problems are. At his suggestion, he made one mastering run with no low-pass filtering or EQ and a second one with a brickwall LPF at 16khz and some EQ tweaks from 12-16khz. His analysis of the tracks had found measurable energy across the frequency spectrum, all the way up to 22khz. We humans don't hear that much over about 16khz, but those frequencies do have an effect on the more audible spectrum. Very high frequencies can obscure the clarity of other frequencies or make everything sound harsh (especially when it's all digital).

I'm evaluating the versions now, and his idea to filter those highs was definitely a good one. I listened to the no LPF version at a somewhat high volume, trying to listen critically to the high tones and found that those frequencies really did wear on my eardrums quickly. A nice surprise with the filtered and EQd version is that the quality of some sections was improved by the reduced highs, even when they weren't audibly present. Some parts have more presence in the mid and low frequencies now that they aren't masked by those sneaky highs.

In all, I'm happy with the outcome. I used almost no compression in the recording and mixing and no compression was used in the mastering. The music has a wide dynamic range with many layers that I hope will reward attentive listening. There was also some stuff about DC offset and normalizing and RMS power that I managed to glean from the process. I know what mistakes not to make next time.

Cleaning & Repairing the Roland Space Echo (Chorus Echo, Tape Echo)

Our studio owns a couple of different versions of the famous Roland Space Echo tape echo/reverb/delay/chorus unit. They started with the "RE100" and "RE200" in 1973, but both of these seem to have disappeared without trace. It was also launched alongside the RE-101, but this lacked six of the modes, the EQ and the all-important reverb, so it was the RE-201 that became the Space Echo. Oddly enough, we like our RE-101 and RE-301 better.

They are built like a tank and look superb. Later came the RE-301 "Chorus Echo" which added the all-important "sound-on-sound" effect (basically, a switch to turn off the tape erase head) and a really great analog chorus circuit, and then the RE-501and the rare rackmount SRE-555 which added chorus, sound-on-sound, a fourth echo head and a balanced (XLR) input.

There was even a cut-down model, the RE-150, but this was really just a reissue of the RE-101 without reverb nor EQ, and only had two playback tape heads instead of three like the original. Most of these remained in production until 1990, having been first released between 1973-1976. That's quite a long run for audio equipment, second only to guitar pedals.

A digital version, the RE-3, was launched in 1988, and, although it was an OK unit that didn't really sound like real tape echo but has its own unique sound in its own right, but it was not a great success. So people like the Roland SP-808 for its tape echo effects, which are identical to the RE-3, and easier and cheaper to find.

Of course, there's other brands, the Korg Tape Echo, the Ace Tone EC1 which is a dead ringer for the RE-101, with the same three-channel input configuration and prominent VU meter. Sure, the Ace's controls are different, with buttons rather than the rotary knobs of the Space Echoes, but the family resemblance is unmistakable.

These amazing analog wonders often need a good cleaning, adjustment or repair. We've gotten quite good at it, although when they start to get dirty and act funky, we'll often leave it that way for awhile to see what kind of weird sounds we can get out of this thing.

And even in the most basic use, we've run electronic digital recordings through one of the units with all the effects turned off just to get the sound of a real, high-end tube amp sound.

If you're in the Portland, OR metro area and own any kind of tape echo unit, we can happily clean, adjust and repair your unit for you for a lot less than what the local shops cost. We can also provide information, so if you've been looking for a repair manual and/or the operation info card/sheet that's supposed to be on the inside cover, we can probably help you out with that too. Having operating info and/or the repair manual can make your life so much easier.

Heck, we even run this blog through Space Echo before we allow anything to be posted! So if you've got a Roland Space Echo and need any help or have any questions, please drop us a line!

Some Local "Competition"

There's another studio in the Portland metro area that's all over the place: recording studio, although far less of that in recent years, manufacturing, and lately a push for mastering work. And seemingly really busy.

So we get the most recent issue of "Mix Magazine" (http://www.mixonline.com/) and while having a pint we notice in the back that there's regional announcements of work and/or changes at various studios. And this one has a huge list of clients they've been working with. We were really impressed and blown away, because while we don't think this studio does bad work, it's not better than ours and is more expensive.

But one of us points out that we've never heard of any of the bands listed. So sure enough, we get home, do Web searches, and these bands don't exist. Just making it up. Bring in business by looking like you're actually really busy and popular. There was actually one real band that seemed to be working with them, and the rest were pulled out of their ass.

That's why we always list the record label(s) that end up releasing material we've worked on. It's too easy to bulls**t in this market and pretend you're doing booming business by making it up, because let's face it: there's about a zillion bands out there, and Portland, Oregon is one of those towns like Austin, Texas where it seems everyone is in a band.

That's also why we make sure we have up-to-date, excellent references. And why someone looking for a studio to work on their recordings should take the time to check into those things. Because you might be paying top-dollar for what's basically a sham!

Funny thing is they're running some super-cheap deal on small run CDRs with full graphics and all that, and we're actually thinking of farming out some of the manufacturing work through them - let them do the work at a loss to "network", and it's our and our clients' gain.

And at least all of our clients are real. We're tempted to write Mix Magazine to narc them out but that seems unfair - if people are pulled in by that kind of stunt, they get what they deserve, and they can pay twice the hourly rate for the same work we provide. After all, if name-dropping non-existent band names is what it takes, we'll pass, because the folks who'll go for that are probably not the kind of people we like to work with.

But it does remind us to write to Mix Magazine and mention the work we're doing, even if it's 1/10th the amount - although since 90% of theirs is made up, guess we're even. Ha!

The Global Economy

So our most recent project involves a new record label in Paris, France. We hooked up with them through networking, an old fellow music maniac we used to be on a mailing list with in the early 90's. He's got a great first release and we're getting to do a 7" with a locked groove, a first for us!

What was amazing was that we mailed out CDRs with two versions of things, which he still hasn't received (French Post sucks, worse than Canada, U.K., Germany and Australia are amazing.)

So the artist will be in Paris on 12 April and wants to hear the results of the post-production (we ended up having him re-record two tracks, with a long explanation of how to properly use a compressor/limiter) and the CDRs aren't there. What to do?

We were going to mail out new copies, and we will, but things were urgent - so we set up an FTP site and uploaded images of the two versions of the CDs we'd mailed with cuesheets and info on burning them. Worse comes to worse, they'll be able to at least listen to all the tracks, which we uploaded individually, but hopefully they can burn the CDRs we sent them but seem to have gotten lost or more likely stolen.

Outsourcing and off-shoring sucks in a lot of ways. If it was going to bring up the standard of living and salaries of workers in Mexico, India, Russia, etc. that'd be grand, but we're convinced it's going to drag down the U.S. to at least Russian standards, which aren't bad, but hopefully not India.

But on the other hand, business is business, and it's great to help an old Internet pal get his label off the ground, and maybe we can swing an excuse to visit Paris as a business trip, and screw the French Post - Filezilla FTP utility to the rescue! And one very satisfied customer, albeit we're not making extra money going the extra mile, but the artist lives in Japan so it's unlikely he'll be back in France for at least six months.

Heck, this way he can download the images in Japan and burn his own copies! A big win for everyone. Provided we can start getting Indian workers paid a living wage or decent salary, and everyone does better rather than the U.S. doing worse.

As the ancient Chinese curse says: "May you live in interesting times."