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Should we use our cellphones to record our playing


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Bflatman
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PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2021 1:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And you are repeating the same message that has been said many times and this message is fatally flawed.

What you are saying is because you have an iphone that is satisfactory to you any cellphones therefore must be satisfactory to me.

Because you are happy with your iphone that does not make my samsung perform well for me.

That is not even bad logic it is no logic at all.

It is like saying my ford pickup performs as well as a land rover therefore a trabant will perform as well as a land rover.

Where I am iphones are rare and iphones are known to use high quality components that cost a fortune. That is why iphones are loved and cost a fortune. And that is why samsungs sell in buckets they are cheap

I am not going to change my samsung to an iphone at a cost to me of 1000 dollars just to get a mic in it worth 50 dollars so do not try to persuade me to do that, and my cheap phone with a cheap and bad mic will not perform the same as your iphone with a far more expensive mic in it will.

If you are going to declare that my mic in my samsung performs the same as uyour iphone or an external mic does, do me the favor of actually testing it and not just speculating.

And do not tell me that all cellphones are good because one make happens to be good

That is like saying all trumpets are good because a bach is good.

I tested my samsung cellphone yet again today I recorded "mad about the boy" several times changing location and venue.

My tones in the live playing were rich full and vibrant the several recordings I made were all heavily clipped a full 50% of the frequency range was entirely missing no matter what I did and the instrument sounded dull like a badly played tuba at the bottom of a bucket. It was deeply unpleasant.

I have been invited to join commercial bands and orchestras I dont sound like a tuba at the bottom of a well

I went on to play for several audiences who know music and know trumpet music. It was arranged that I play some miles davis and I played pictures of spain. I received accolades from miles davis fans for that one of whom told me pictures is his favorite work of miles and he has the album and according to him my rendition was gorgeous and he thanked me for it.

So who is lying all of the audiences who know jazz and know miles work and know good music and how it sounds or the cellphone that says I am a rank amateur and cannot make acceptable tones at all.

I wish members here would stop telling me I should spend 1000 dollars getting an iphone that works like a 100 dollar mic instead of simply getting a 100 dollar mic.

I am saying that many cellphones cannot produce the level and quality of recordings that a 100 dollar mic can so we should use a dedicated purpose built 100 dollar mic for the job instead a crapshoot mic just because it does not cost anything if you already own a phone.

Microphone manufacturers even tell us that the cheap mics clip half of the frequency range that trumpets make that means they are incapable of recording 50% of the tones of the instrument. They only record the bottom half of the full frequency range. All of the life and the spirit of the instrument is entirely missing.

It is physically impossible for cheap mics to record a trumpet the laws of physics say that is true.

You are trying to tell me that somehow the laws of physics do not apply when it comes to cellphone recordings.

Your mic might pick up that missing 50% that mine does not pick up but the reality is that means your mic in your iphone is a good quality mic

This is one of the technical specs of an inexpensive purpose built hand held microphone typical of or better than the quality most cellphones ship with.

Frequency Response 80 - 12,000 Hz

Human hearing spans the range of 0 - 20,000 Hz

In studies trumpets have been shown to generate frequencies up to 25,000 Hz All of these frequencies are important and need to be recorded because that is the trumpet sound.

As you can see the lower quality microphones clip more than half of the tones that trumpets generate and we hear these tones, and no matter what room you play in and no matter what the acoustics of that chamber you will never in a million years make the microphone pick the frequencies up that the microphone cannot physically detect.

To say you can is to deny the laws of physics.

Cheap microphones in cheap cellphones cannot record trumpets correctly that is known and established.

However most of the hand held and studio microphones can record trumpets correctly and we should use these microphones to record trumpets not a cheap mic just because it happens to be free with your phone.

I am saying and I say it yet again the specs of cheap microphones explicitly state that half the frequencies generated by trumpets cannot be recorded by those cheap microphones and I have tested cheap cellphones made by samsung many times and found that the recordings show this to be true.

Sansungs therefore ship with cheap mics and that is to be expected because samsungs are cheap.

All you are offering is a statement that because your iphone is satisfactory for you I should accept that as proof that my samsung will be satisfactory for me.

I will instead trust the microphone manufacturers the acoustic tests the laws of physics and my own extensive tests rather than your flawed logic.

Of course I could just spend 1000 dollars buying the iphone you tell me to buy, or I could just do what I have said all along and buy a dedicated fully functional microphone for 100 dollars that is up to the job.

Stop trying to make me out to be a fool with my head in the sand I have researched this I have researched the laws of acoustics the microphone manufacturers specifications the acoustic spectrums of trumpets and I have done extensive testing of cellphones available to me. All of which confirm the inability of cheap cellphones to record trumpets.

I have not tested iphones or Huwawei or Motorola or Sony all of which would cost me 1000 dollars to test them. If you want to send me 3000 dollars I will be happy to test sony huwawei and motorola cellphones for you.

A good mic that will record a trumpet will cost me around 100 dollars be so good as to allow me to make this choice and do not try to persuade me to buy apple at 1000 dollars.

You say "the iphone sounds ok to me" but I do not believe that you have done any research into microphone specifications and capabilities and I do not believe that you understand the acoustic spectrum of a trumpet or a flute or a piano for that matter.

On the other hand sound engineers agree that a good mic made by a good manufacturer is needed if you want good sound recordings.

I dont see iphones in recording studios at least I have never seen a sound engineer lay down a track for a major artist using an iphone.

That is not because engineers want to look good it is because an iphone is less controllable has more distortion has a smaller frequency response and clips more and uses compression and has a different sound stage.

If iphone microphones really are as good as you say why is there an entire industry selling better additional mics for iphones. Nobody should need these.

I do not care how many times members tell me that iphones make good recordings so I should use a samsung, that is just plain nonsense and I will oppose that idea.

A Lexus is great so you should drive a Ford makes no sense either.

Does anyone else want to tell me to use a samsung because an iphone is good.

I oppose your position it is unsupported by any logic or research other than "it sounds good to me" well my samsung sounds bad to me and I can prove why it sounds bad.

I deal in facts I deal in precision I deal in measurements I deal in specifications I deal in laws I deal in testing. So give me some of those that prove that my samsung will record my trumpet up to 20,000 hz. Or I will use something that will and has the specs that prove that.

And since cellphone manufactures refuse to give any specs on their microphones I dont see that happening any time soon.

And the reason they dont is because the mics in cellphines are not mics that we would recognise they are in fact tiny electret MEMS.

A MEMS (MicroElectrical-Mechanical System) microphone is a mic that is etched into a silicone wafer or “chip” using MEMS technology.

I dont think any serious microphone manufacturer uses MEMS technology.

And this is why a simple and cheap external mic is a massive quality boost to a cellphone and that includes iphones

iphones might be great I aint got one and I aint getting one, lets move on.
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snichols
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PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2021 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was all essentially wrapped up by dschwab on the first page. There's not much sense debating about the technical comparisons of a phone vs high fidelity, specialized equipment, because obviously the latter is better if quality of sound is the primary consideration. It all depends on your use. For the purpose you outlined in your original question, simply for listening back to yourself in regular practicing, you can hear and diagnose many things with low-fi recordings. If you want to hear the absolute finer details of your tone or articulation, or something like that, sure a hi-fi setup would be better, but frankly, that's something that is probably more efficiently diagnosed and corrected in real time anyway, and I think you're likely to see diminishing returns on trying to improve those things by referring to audio recordings.
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Bflatman
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PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2021 4:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hi snichols

That is well considered post and you are generally right about diminishing returns but in this case poor mics lose a full 50% of the sound and 50% of the frequencies even a small improvement in the mic will yield a significant improvement in the tones.

This is not diminishing returns or anything like it.

A 10% improvement in mic performance will give a close to 20% improvement in sound quality. This is because the frequencies lift to 60% and that 10% improvement is around 20% of the 50%. they start with

Diminishing returns would be a 10% lift in performance yielding a 5% improvement in sound quality so I have to disagree.

In fact it is closer to the opposite of diminishing returns. It is profound and easy returns at low cost.

I dont have any desire to debate this any more than you do but members are continually saying the opposite of reality seemingly becoming defensive about cellphones as a quality recording medium when it is nothing like that.

I suspect that the quality of playing of some members might improve if they ditch their cellphone and for maybe the first time in their lives hear what they really sound like.

Or maybe they dont want to hear what they really sound like that might make them want to improve.

This is not seeking high fidelity at all this is seeking standard to low fidelity as evidenced by the BM800 studio microphone kit which at 27 dollars has all the fidelity we need it records up to 20,000 Hz that is the same as a 500 dollar mic offers and the same as just about every mic costing more than 25 dollars offers. It is industry standard.

This is dime store prices and beats cellphones hollow for fidelity and response including iphones.

If you buy a trumpet for 2000 dollars and a mouthpiece for 100 dollars why on earth is 27 dollars suddenly too much to pay to record what you play and hear what you sound like.

I dont understand the wisdom of spending 10,000 dollars on lessons and on equipment to finally play well enough to record and then you refuse to pay more than zero dollars on a mic because of course spending another 27 dollars on a mic would be insane.

And you are saying this was answered on the first page so why are members still getting hot under the collar and keeping the argument alive I already said this argument should end and be dropped but still members keep it alive and push their opinion that cellphones are perfect for recording trumpets.

I have spent more on valve oil this year than that BM800 mic costs.

27 dollars is peanuts, I have bought meals more expensive than this.

I dont think losing half the entire sound is acceptable and it is the best half that is lost.
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sdr93trp
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PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2021 5:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bflatman, the only one here being defensive is you. No one is saying that a cell phone recording is as good as a studio quality microphone. So you need to take a chill pill and actually hear what we're saying.

*****If the only reason one is recording is for the purposes of practicing, a cell phone they already have will be sufficient for many (if not most) people.*****

Read it ten times slowly and calm yourself.

If you want to spring for nicer recording equipment, more power to you. No one is saying there aren't any benefits. But stop trying to tell us that it's absolutely necessary because we know better.


Let me add this: No one here is saying you or anyone else should go out and buy an iPhone to record themselves practicing. I never said that and you seemed to suggest I did which is completely disingenuous.

You also seem to be confusing the word "sufficient" with the word "excellent." Saying it's good enough is not the same as saying it's amazing. You seem to think we're arguing that cell phone mics are the best thing since sliced bread. They're not. WE KNOW!!

And if all someone has is a cheap phone with a poor mic, then it probably is worth to go spend at least $50 and get a decent USB mic that they can record with. But if someone has a decent smartphone with an okay mic (like an iPhone for instance), all we're saying is that IT'S NOT NECESSARY to go out spend extra on a mic just for practicing. It's fine if you want to, but you don't have to. That's all. Not sure why you're taking it so personally.
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HaveTrumpetWillTravel
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PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2021 5:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do cell phone recording mostly to listen for things like intonation, rhythm, articulation, etc., and it's pretty good for those. I probably should record myself more. I also don't particularly care about quality and find any device has worked for the above.

One aside: recording won't help you if you don't know how the song is supposed to go. A problem I've had is practicing jazz standards and missing some point (holding a dotted quarter too long, etc.) and then having to really relearn that spot.

I feel like recording is kind of like metronome work or backing music. For me any of these reduce some of the fun but they are better practice.
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snichols
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PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2021 6:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don’t mean that it’s diminishing returns on improving the audio equipment. I mean that some aspects of playing will have diminishing returns by using the recording/listening back method at all.

In other words, what aspects of your playing do you actually need the higher quality for (ie. cell phone audio isn’t sufficient)? Probably tone quality, and maybe articulation on a critical/micro level. Those aspects of playing are probably better served by real time/non-recorded practice.

So to answer the original question, from a practical stance-
-most things, cell phone audio is sufficient
-for everything else, probably better worked on in real time anyway

Bflatman wrote:
hi snichols

That is well considered post and you are generally right about diminishing returns but in this case poor mics lose a full 50% of the sound and 50% of the frequencies even a small improvement in the mic will yield a significant improvement in the tones.

This is not diminishing returns or anything like it.

A 10% improvement in mic performance will give a close to 20% improvement in sound quality. This is because the frequencies lift to 60% and that 10% improvement is around 20% of the 50%. they start with

Diminishing returns would be a 10% lift in performance yielding a 5% improvement in sound quality so I have to disagree.

In fact it is closer to the opposite of diminishing returns. It is profound and easy returns at low cost.

I dont have any desire to debate this any more than you do but members are continually saying the opposite of reality seemingly becoming defensive about cellphones as a quality recording medium when it is nothing like that.

I suspect that the quality of playing of some members might improve if they ditch their cellphone and for maybe the first time in their lives hear what they really sound like.

Or maybe they dont want to hear what they really sound like that might make them want to improve.

This is not seeking high fidelity at all this is seeking standard to low fidelity as evidenced by the BM800 studio microphone kit which at 27 dollars has all the fidelity we need it records up to 20,000 Hz that is the same as a 500 dollar mic offers and the same as just about every mic costing more than 25 dollars offers. It is industry standard.

This is dime store prices and beats cellphones hollow for fidelity and response including iphones.

If you buy a trumpet for 2000 dollars and a mouthpiece for 100 dollars why on earth is 27 dollars suddenly too much to pay to record what you play and hear what you sound like.

I dont understand the wisdom of spending 10,000 dollars on lessons and on equipment to finally play well enough to record and then you refuse to pay more than zero dollars on a mic because of course spending another 27 dollars on a mic would be insane.

And you are saying this was answered on the first page so why are members still getting hot under the collar and keeping the argument alive I already said this argument should end and be dropped but still members keep it alive and push their opinion that cellphones are perfect for recording trumpets.

I have spent more on valve oil this year than that BM800 mic costs.

27 dollars is peanuts, I have bought meals more expensive than this.

I dont think losing half the entire sound is acceptable and it is the best half that is lost.
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Bflatman
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PostPosted: Wed May 05, 2021 12:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Got you

Apologies my bad

I agree and your posts now make perfect sense.

This is my problem and I will come clean, I havent so far because I dont like bigging myself up in a place full of professionals who I consider to be better musicians than I am.

I have spent many years developing a great style and wonderful tone and I am told it is great by audiences.

I have a fanbase stretching from australia to canada to russia and europe I have been asked to join orchestras and bands and play live and so far hearing myself live has worked well - but

Now I am being recorded variously and the recordings appear on the internet last week a movie was made about me by a small company - a day in my life, and this is being edited now for release in the next few months.

During the recording another company visited and this other company said they also wanted to approach me for their movie about me but the company I went with got me first. I am being fought over and you dont get that if you sound bad

This is not the first time I have appeared in a movie some years ago I was chosen to appear by a movie company for a movie about a major football team. I played their football anthum. I was selected to play solo from the best players available

I am expecting some revenue from this short movie on a profit sharing deal.

I have been recording myself on whatever equipment I can find because I am recorded on all kinds of equipment and i need to control the sound so I sound good on recordings.

My playing has been sampled many times by musicians for their tracks they love hearing me live and they want me on their tracks, live is not where my problems lie.

Trying to improve while hearing myself live just does not cut it the sound is radically different in recordings from live sound and no matter what I do I find it impossible to sound good on the recording equipment in general use.

It is as though, because everyone loves cellphones they use cellphones to record everything whether it sounds good or not and they dont care if it sounds bad. Look at the cellphone photo images most are out of focus nobody cares about the quality of images any more.

I am trying to control bootleg recordings of me made on poor quality equipment with no success and this is my reputation at stake. I cannot stop the bootlegs and I cannot improve my playing live but I can perhaps improve my sound on good recording equipment if I can have access to it.

Millions are hearing me play badly in recordings when live I sound great.

The words used to describe my playing are beautiful and gorgeous and musicians and music producers are saying this. So as far as I can tell there is little room for improvement. I was told recently I hit every note and played perfectly you cant improve on that.

Now I am in crisis, a successful commercial band who outsold their last album has invited me to join them on their next album and they were grateful when I accepted their offer.

Unless I can guarantee to sound fabulous on their professional studio recording equipment my career ends right there. Good or great is not good enough it must be fabulous and nothing less.

And it wont cut it if I arrive at the studio and have to spend a week there trying to sound professional, I have to sound fabulous out of the trap with just a warmup. that is what I do live so I expect to do that in the studio.

I will have to practice my tone formation on the kind of equipment that will be used to lay down the tracks in order to know I will sound good on that equipment, live playing simply cannot work for this. I have done live playing in spades and it hasnt worked for recordings.

My tones in real life I guarantee you are full rich and vibrant my tones on the equipment used to record me so far are pathetic and amateurish and this is about sounding like a pro or like a fool. Live I sound like a pro and recorded I sound like a fool

I am in demand now professionally because I sound like a pro live.

Due to covid all the venues have been closed for 12 months all the recording studios have been closed all my earnings have been lost and I have zero money to set up a studio and resolve this but within a couple of weeks I will have to appear in a studio and record tracks with the band on their next album.

I cannot afford to get this wrong. I must know going into the studio exactly what I sound like and how to help them sound as good as they can be.

I have no confidence I can polish my recording performance skills because all I have is crappy gear to practice on and the recordings on it dont sound anything like the live sound they recorded and nothing I do makes any difference, the recorded sound does not sound like the live sound.

I have already perfected my live playing skills and I am shocked when I make a mistake or sound poor, and the band chose me to join them because they love my tones and my playing live so when I turn up and sound like crap they will simply say sorry we cant use you it didnt work out after all. And the door closes.

My career will depend on fabulous sound in the recording studio and nothing less than this.

Yesterday I played live for a small audience of jazz fans and I played miles davis to several miles davis fans and they totally loved it so how can practicing live improve on this.

We have to practice in the areas we have problems or we cannot get rid of the problems. I have no problems playing live at all my only problems are with recording equipment that is incapable of recording faithfully the sounds we hear in real life.

It is not a small difference the sounds that come out of the horn sound nothing like the sounds that the recording equipment records.

Recording equipment is supposed to record the sounds that are there not change them.

10 years ago I was good enough to be invited to join the premier orchestra in the country and I am far better now than I was then.

Musicians and music producers are telling me I am ready for a stage career and this wont happen unless the recording issue is resolved.

Practicing live is useless to resolve this practicing with a cellphone is useless to resolve this studio time is unavailable and there are no paying gigs so I cannot earn enough to buy and equip my own studio.

I can buy a cheap mic but that aint a studio.

I am being sent a cd of the bands new tracks in a few days they want me to play in their recording studio at the other end of the country I will be taken there of course VIP treatment, I am expected to do some improv on the album. It is a professional paid gig with maybe the possibility of joining the band if it goes well but I dont see it going well

In a week or two I expect to be performing with them in the studio how do I get myself performance ready without access to the gear that will be used to record me. It will be in the door out the door and dont come back.

The only reason for recording in a studio is the recording so sounding good live is worthless as practice. I have discovered that.

So this is about tone formation and sounding fabulous in recordings and nowhere else because a bands commercial album must sound great so I must sound great in recording to appear on it.

If recordings sounded like live performance then there would be no issue but they dont.

What are your thoughts.
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snichols
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PostPosted: Wed May 05, 2021 5:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So this sheds some light on the matter. It sounds like this is actually a few separate concerns.

For bootleg recordings, the only real recourse you have are legal options or by going through the processes provided by the video sharing site. But... I wonder if maybe you are reading too much into what viewers of the bootleg videos will think, and the impact it will have on your fanbase, just because the audio quality is poor. True, it probably doesn't represent your in-person sound, but if someone is watching a cell phone video on Youtube of a trumpeter in a jazz bar/club or at a concert venue, I would think they understand that they are watching a low quality video, and that they aren't getting the true sound. Just something to consider...

On the studio part, I will ultimately defer to others who have more experience recording in a studio, but my initial thought is that if you are happy with your sound live/in-person, then that's what you should bring to the studio. It is then the audio engineers' responsibility to get the best representation of your sound into the track.

Quote:
I will have to practice my tone formation on the kind of equipment that will be used to lay down the tracks in order to know I will sound good on that equipment, live playing simply cannot work for this.


To me, this sounds backwards. If the band that invited you likes how you sound, I see it as your responsibility to show up sounding like yourself. Trying to change your sound ahead of time to "match" the recording equipment seems like it will only confuse yourself, and perhaps even complicate the studio recording process. I don't mean this as a cop-out to downplay your concerns, but I wonder if you've approached it from the wrong direction.

Again, I'll invite others with more studio recording experience chime in, but my TL;DR thought is that achieving your technique and sound comes first (which it sounds like you have), and then it becomes the responsibility of the audio engineers to record that sound accurately. Not the other way around.
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Bflatman
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PostPosted: Wed May 05, 2021 8:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for that valuable contribution snichols.

I disagree that what I am trying to do is backwards.

The band have heard me live with my sound and made the invite based upon hearing that. They have not heard any recordings of me yet. They would not have made the invite if they had.

I am saying that I need to make sure that the recordings of me sound like the me that the band have chosen when they heard me live.

If I turn up with a different recorded sound than the sound they heard live problems will surely happen. My sound must be consistent both live and recorded. And recorded it must sound like I already sound live.

I think we agree on this

The problem should evaporate once I am in the studio with someone who knows what they are doing in charge of the sound and if the studio gear is good quality.
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PostPosted: Wed May 05, 2021 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bflatman wrote:
I have a fanbase stretching from australia to canada to russia and europe I have been asked to join orchestras and bands and play live and so far hearing myself live has worked well - but

Now I am being recorded variously and the recordings appear on the internet last week a movie was made about me by a small company - a day in my life, and this is being edited now for release in the next few months.


Bflatman, please link to one of these recordings on the internet. You've piqued my interest, and it's frustrating when you keep mentioning recordings and a film but refuse to name them. It's okay to show off a little
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Bflatman
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PostPosted: Wed May 05, 2021 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The recordings are bootleg recordings of my live playing made privately by members of the public so I dont have any links to them. It is frustrating to me too.

All of these video clips and recordings are cellphone videos and those I have heard are pathetic sound quality not worthy of a musician but I have no control over them. When I tried to ban them they just kept on filming them despite agreeing not to.

The movie is in post production and the rushes will be shown to me shortly. They would not be happy with my releasing a link of their first edit even if I had one and that is understandable.

The filming ended a few days ago so we have to cut them some slack they assured me they are good video clips but what do they know about the sound quality I want to appear in it.

As for where it is to be used they assured me it will be put into various locations and will raise revenue. They will be in control of distribution.

I have secured editorial control of it but I have to wait for the rushes to discover the quality and content, and if they have messed up the sound or the editing I wont be pleased and may have to hide under a rock.

If the band comes through and I come through for them then I should be appearing on a released album later this year and I should have a link for you then. The rock may be visited by me many times this year.

I am working to get access to a community recording facility but that is months away due to lockdown.

I have offers from producers, one appeared today, so lots of things are happening but nothing has followed through to production yet.

It sounds like I am wriggling out of it but I am still in covid lockdown here and opportunities are taking forever to move forward.

Having said that, today I got a private gig offer, a community gig arrangement for later this week and a contact to a large community band to play in when they emerge from lockdown. I have to add this band to the list of community bands that have reached out to me during lockdown. I dont think I will have time to appear with them I am just too busy.

I keep mentioning being filmed because I have been filmed for several years sometimes twice a day. And many times I have no knowledge of it happening. I am told much later that it happened.

It comes with the territory when you play concerts in the street and in parks every day and everyone has phones.

When you reach a certain standard practice can becomes a concert and a concert becomes practice. So I get paid for practicing and that aint bad.
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Jaw04
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Joined: 31 Dec 2015
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Location: California

PostPosted: Thu May 06, 2021 10:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just play trumpet in the studio and let the audio engineer do their job.

Also about bootlegs and people recording you on their phones, music is not about everything being ideal circumstances. I would recommend just letting go of a little bit of perfectionism.
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lipshurt
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Joined: 24 Feb 2008
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PostPosted: Thu May 06, 2021 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Bflatman...
SO i just had some downtime to vegitate and read some trumpet herald post, and actually just read all of your writing here. (there is quite a bit:)

I think i get where you are coming from, regarding going into a studio and feeling presure to sound good right off with no issues. I do some recording, but latley most of it has been at home where someone will send me a track and a part to play, or have me make up a part, or several version of parts, and i record and send back. Then they take what they want etc. That system is quite nice by the way, cuz when you record yourself there is zero presure. I like it better.

Yesterday i had one of very few actual live recording sessions for me since covid. I did feel a bit of pressure when i got there, probably for the same reasons you were saying. I wanted to have zero issues and for the sound to be right on from the get go. Sometimes and engineer will have up what i consider to be not a good choice for a microphone, like a big diaphram condenser that is great for vocals. SOmething like an AKG 414 which is a great mic but there are better mics for getting a great trumpet sound. Or they have the mic placement weird in the room near a glass panel or something and if there is a out of phase reflection its could go go bad quick. All that stuff is their job not yours of course, and even if they have issues they can prob work around it with EQ etc.
For the session i did yesterday all was very nice and right away we were all comfortable (trumpet sax and bone).

I think what you might be fighting more than the actual recording, is the sound of the headphone mix. This is where for some reason in the last 30 years, things have gotten worse and worse. 30 years ago if you were in a decent studio the headphone mix was loud, clear, well mixed, and you own sound coming back was gloriously reverbed and just sounded like a million bucks. If you were in someone home studio 30 years ago, the headphone mix was a crap shoot, and you sound coming back was never loud enough, never had reverb, and the overall volume was never loud enough all the way up. I know this trial with this from setting up my own gear for recording. Trumpet parts just take a lot of cans volume, especially if you have one ear cracked open to let the natural sound in. IF your sound coming back is great, by the way, you dont need to crack one side, but 90 percent of the time its best to open one side a bit. You control that of course. Suffice it to say, the headphone mix is critical to getting that feeling of doing a great job with horn basics. If you are thinking of the sound it is distracting fro creativity or precision with time and pitch.

Now lately i have been is situations in great studios with gold records all over the walls, and they could not put up a decent headphone mix. Not sure what is up with that, except that maybe they are putting it up like a singer would have it, and they dont know how much volume a trumpet player needs to balance with their half-open or fully open one side of the headphones. When that happens its good to use your in-ears cuz those are louder, so bring those all the time.

So if the headphone mix is problematic, it can shake you up and make it hard to play good, or can make you think you are not sounding good, even though what is printing can be totally good enough. So ask them for plenty of your own sound, with reverb on it, and plenty of track and plenty of click. If you have those network boxes with the knobs to adjust all that stuff, you still might NOT get your headphone mix good, cuz it still might not have enough level or reverb on your return. It can be a thing for sure, and after a few sessions like that you will know what to maybe expect, and to bring hot in-ears like shure SE215's and to ask them to set up a reverb return for you. You can ask for that.

So good luck on your venture with your upcoming sessions. ANd by all means share clips. Have a nice one Bflatman
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