[LFF]

*******NOTE****** My dummy head is speaker compatible but for best effect, use headphones!!!! *****NOTE*****
 
Well, having finally completed my dummy head, I decided to give it a real test drive. I took it along with me to Disneyland to record some live music and some fireworks.
 
Playing live was Doc Anello & The Swing Machine feat. Madeline Vergari. You can visit their website here:
 
http://www.docanello.com/
 
Anyway, I recorded their sets from three different locations and all three really let you know what they sound like live. Here are some of the recordings:
 
The first two songs were recorded about 25 feet away from the band with X being the dummy head. The space in between the band and music fans is the dance floor.
 
http://www.sendspace.com/file/u3qsi4
 
-----------BAND--------------
--                              --
-------MUSIC FANS-------
------- FOOT TRAFFIC-------
---------------X------------------
 
The next full set, the last one of the night, was recorded closer - about 15 feet away, dead center.
 
http://www.sendspace.com/file/9lqiip
 
-----------BAND--------------
--                              --
-------MUSIC X FANS-------
-------TRAFFIC--------------
---------------------------------
 
The track list for the last set is as follows:
Satin Doll, Easy To Love, It Had To Be You, The Shadow Of Your Smile, Kansas City, Broadway, Closing Theme Mess-up, Who Can I Turn To/What Kind Of Fool Am I? Medley, Closing Theme
 
In between the music recording, I decided to give the fireworks a shot. The dummy head was right next to a wall on the right side, hence why the recording might seem a little lopsided. Also, because I remained in the live music area, the entire fireworks recorded performance as well as the huge crowd, is mainly behind the dummy head. The fireworks are directly infront as well as a few other music fans around the dummy head.
 
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ewfht4
 
Keep in mind that these are live recordings made with a dummy head in a non-professional environment where people were talking, moving chairs, scooting, dancing, etc.
 
ENJOY!!!
 
If there is demand, I'll post the other set as well.

 

[Maxvla]

Thanks for doing this LFF. The experience was almost like being there. Great band and singing.
 
Overall the sound quality is great. The only quibble I have is that it seems like the treble is pretty significantly rolled off. Cymbal crashes, hand claps, and other assorted sounds have a dull thud to them instead of being crisp and clear. I know live sound that you hear in such a venue is going to be slightly rolled off by nature, but this is more rolled off than I would expect.
 
Did Disneyland know you were recording this?
 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Thanks, I'll be sure to check this out!

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Thanks for doing this LFF. The experience was almost like being there. Great band and singing.
 
Overall the sound quality is great. The only quibble I have is that it seems like the treble is pretty significantly rolled off. Cymbal crashes, hand claps, and other assorted sounds have a dull thud to them instead of being crisp and clear. I know live sound that you hear in such a venue is going to be slightly rolled off by nature, but this is more rolled off than I would expect.
 
Did Disneyland know you were recording this?
 

 
Good ear! The highs are rolled off a bit due to the dummy head being under a hood. It was a bit windy. It was a small tradeoff IMHO, no wind noise for slightly rolled off highs.

 

 

[Maxvla]

Oh, that's actually great news. For my hearing as well as the future of your recordings. Can't wait until you are able to do a recording in a more hospitable environment (like a jazz club, hint hint).
 
I'd love to get that extra set if you have it handy.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

dont really notice the highs being too rolled off, it just sounds a bit left heavy, is the dummy head not facing directly at the stage? anyways, thanks for the files LFF, never enough binaural recordings, cant wait for the stuff from canjam either 

 plus with this one i can eavesdrop on the people behind you 

 
also, to second what maxvla said, did disneyland not care at all?

 

[Maxvla]

I noticed that too Soup. Slightly left heavy. I thought it might have been the speakers they were using, but the dummy could have been angled to the right a bit.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

I noticed that too Soup. Slightly left heavy. I thought it might have been the speakers they were using, but the dummy could have been angled to the right a bit.

haha yeah it at first, since it was the first thing i put on, made me think i needed to clean my ears or that something was blocking one of the sound tubes in my 13's, so after so thorough ear cleaning and jh-13 cleaning i returned to the same left heavy sound, so i checked some other music and lo and behold it was the recording lol but not after some serious worrying 

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Slightly left heavy. I thought it might have been the speakers they were using, but the dummy could have been angled to the right a bit.

You guys are making me feel great! It's just as if you are there and you hearing exactly what I was hearing as well. As you can hear, while the music was live, it was amped and being passed through speakers. There are various speakers there. HOWEVER, the one that was off to the right was...well...off. This is especially noticeable on the last set. Moreover, the stage monitors were left side heavy. It really is as if you are there.

  Maybe I should post my version of the virtual haircut!
 
If you have ever been there, you would know that there are certain followers of these bands as well as swing dance fans that are always there. Hence, trying to find the perfect seat is difficult. The right side in particular, is always packed (I wonder why?!) so I couldn't scoot on over and monitor at various points.

 
Quote:

also, to second what maxvla said, did disneyland not care at all?

The highs are slightly rolled off due the dummy head wearing it's hood. You can actually compensate for it using EQ but I didn't bother as it sounded great with the pre-measured EQ compensation.
 
Disneyland checked my bag at their first gate (their anti-terrorist check point) and I told them what it was. They handed it back to me and that was all. The people there, including the staff that was present, didn't seem to notice either. I plan to go back and record another band this Saturday unless it is windy. I'm sure it's kosher because many people record with their video cameras. As long as I don't sell it for profit - all should be ok.
 

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Can't wait until you are able to do a recording in a more hospitable environment (like a jazz club, hint hint).
 
I'd love to get that extra set if you have it handy.

Working on it.
 
The tough part with the microphone I used is the actual size of the thing. It's the actual size of a human head! Being discreet with it is hard.
 
The good part is that I have successfully made a miniature version that is easy to carry and is more discrete.
 
I'm working on finding a good jazz club with great sound. The only two I know of have horrible live sound which negates the purpose of using the head in the first place.

 

[LFF]

This video from 2009 was taken about 6 - 10 feet to the right of where I was recording. This is just to give you guys an idea of the layout of the Carnation Plaza Gardens at Disneyland.
 

 
Not surprisingly, some of the people in this video were there while I was recording.
 
EDIT: Just noticed that the band playing in the video is Doc Anello & The Swing Machine!
 
Another video to show what the early atmosphere is usually like:
 

 

[Maxvla]

The hood cutting down the treble had me fooled about the venue. I attributed some of the rolled off highs to the stage being elevated 4-5 feet and you being close enough that the highs were literally cut off by line of sight.