MORE Adventures in Binaural Recording!!!! Live Jazz!!!!
Aug 18, 2010 at 10:26 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 6

LFF

Co-Organizer for Can Jam '09
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So a few days ago I found myself carrying my dummy head around in the back of the trunk while being near Disneyland again! I stopped by and decided to record the last performance by The Royal Street Bachelors who were playing at the French Market located at New Orleans Square.
 
I felt the set list was really short but it was most likely due to some unruly children who were being loud and very rude. One of them repeatedly smacked the guitarists amp. The other one kept shouting. Both kept running and jumping around. Moreover, the parents said nothing to these little brats. The playing was supposed to last 35 - 45 minutes but all we got was about 15 minutes. In all honesty, I felt those darn kids deserved a shotgun blast to the face and their parents deserve the same or at the very least...some free radiation to make them sterile. Yes...yes...I know I'm being mean.
evil_smiley.gif

 
Anyway, ranting aside, the music was really good and I was surprised by the decent results I got. The saddest thing for me was hearing how little applause they received. You can hear the telegraph station on the right side along with the steam trains. On the left side you can hear the boats tooting their whistles. I recorded this performance about 8 feet away from the band.
 
ENJOY!
 
http://www.sendspace.com/file/d9rnxu
 
For reference, it seems this guy was sitting in the same spot the dummy head was sitting on.
 

 
Aug 18, 2010 at 12:52 PM Post #2 of 6
Will check this out when I get home from work. Thanks!
 
Aug 25, 2010 at 1:21 AM Post #4 of 6
Been listening to this a few times over the last few days. Once again there is a sizable imbalance in left and right. Is the dummy facing the source? it seems to be facing to the left as I hear the center of the music at approximately the 1-2 o'clock position rather than straight forward at 12. The dummy must have not needed his cover this time as the claps and high pitches sound pretty crisp. Overall a much better recording because of it, but the balance still bothers me.
 
Regarding the noise in the surround I actually fairly enjoy it, even the loud kid made me smile. The loud static-like sound on the left was a bit obnoxious, though, the few times it happened. What was that? Sounded like steam escaping or a plug coming undone in the speaker system.
 
The music itself was kind of boring actually. Very pedestrian jazz, if it can be called jazz at all. It was well played, but not difficult with few key shifts and seemingly metronomed tempos reminiscent of click tracks used in current popular music. The singer needs to keep playing his instrument and leave the vocals to someone more talented. He did an alright job, but the highs were clearly straining his voice.
 
A good job, LFF, but I look forward to better results next time! I wish you had some studio binaurals (or do you?), specifically of multi-instrument groups.
 
Btw, on your website, the sample #4 didn't survive the mp3 process too well. In some ways the original sounded better, most notably the cymbals and wood block. The cleaner crisper sound I imagine your version created got super crunched by the lossy mp3 and sounds pretty bad to my ears. Edit: I did manage to link up the sample album with sample #4 and it seems to be higher quality on the V0 Lame and sounds significantly better. Kudos on great work.
 
Aug 25, 2010 at 7:12 AM Post #5 of 6


Quote:
Been listening to this a few times over the last few days. Once again there is a sizable imbalance in left and right. Is the dummy facing the source? it seems to be facing to the left as I hear the center of the music at approximately the 1-2 o'clock position rather than straight forward at 12. The dummy must have not needed his cover this time as the claps and high pitches sound pretty crisp. Overall a much better recording because of it, but the balance still bothers me.
 
Regarding the noise in the surround I actually fairly enjoy it, even the loud kid made me smile. The loud static-like sound on the left was a bit obnoxious, though, the few times it happened. What was that? Sounded like steam escaping or a plug coming undone in the speaker system.
 
The music itself was kind of boring actually. Very pedestrian jazz, if it can be called jazz at all. It was well played, but not difficult with few key shifts and seemingly metronomed tempos reminiscent of click tracks used in current popular music. The singer needs to keep playing his instrument and leave the vocals to someone more talented. He did an alright job, but the highs were clearly straining his voice.
 
A good job, LFF, but I look forward to better results next time! I wish you had some studio binaurals (or do you?), specifically of multi-instrument groups.
 
Btw, on your website, the sample #4 didn't survive the mp3 process too well. In some ways the original sounded better, most notably the cymbals and wood block. The cleaner crisper sound I imagine your version created got super crunched by the lossy mp3 and sounds pretty bad to my ears. Edit: I did manage to link up the sample album with sample #4 and it seems to be higher quality on the V0 Lame and sounds significantly better. Kudos on great work.


Imbalance problem is due to the PA system imbalance. The loud static-like sound on the left is from the New Orleans Square telegraph station which it behind the train station.
 
I do have studio stereo masters but I am not authorized to post them or share them.
 
I will be recording a brass band this weekend and I have specific permission to record and share the recording. Hopefully I can get a nice recording this weekend. I will try to show up early so I can get a proper set-up going.
 
Stay tuned.....
 
Aug 25, 2010 at 12:56 PM Post #6 of 6
Great. Looking forward to it!
 

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