PlayClassics master file giveaway for CA members

[Mario Martinez]

I just sent you the album and the flamenco files.

 

Why am I insisting on these flamenco files? All our albums have piano. These flamenco files are the only thing we have so far that do not have a piano. These files are just voice and Spanish guitar.

 

The piano and the guitar are probably in the opposite sides of the "good practice recording manual" but we are recording them both the same way. We are using the same mics at the same distance (12 feet apart from the instrumens) So I think listening to both this instruments on the recordings pretty much gives you a feeling of what this technology is all about.

[Mario Martinez]

Yes, thank you!

I just sent it to you

[Mario Martinez]

Yes, no problem. I just sent you another one.

[Mario Martinez]

Thanks, I am glad you liked it !

 

I know about track 1; it really is something else

 

I wished I had some more, but that is it, we were just trying a couple of songs to see how it would turn out.

[Mario Martinez]

Mario,

Thanks for this wonderful service to CA members. I would love to have Iberia and the Flamenco stuff. If as people say, I would use them in my reviews here too (PlayPoint is finished and into Chris; Fore Audio is next). It would provide another common baseline for readers to react to, relate to, etc.

 

Please feel free to use it in whatever way you see fit.

It will make me very happy if you do find it useful

Thanks!

[Mario Martinez]

Thanks Ricardo. I wished this flamenco was an album just so that I could use your description as a testimonial

I have also been listening to the Flamenco "sketches".

The recording is again very "natural"-sounding, "nicely"-balanced tone-wise (the guitar sounds "warm" but not "fat" or bottom-"heavy", the voice "clear" but devoid of sibilance and "full") and without exaggerating "detail".

As mentioned by jtm, the dynamic range is very impressive and overall it doesn't sound very different from what one would expect listening at a live tablao.

 

About this other subject:

Again the spectrogram shows little energy above 15kHz which illustrates my recurring complaint that many "audiophile" recordings described as "detailed" are in fact too "bright".

I am only speculating here (for lack of knowledge and experience) but think that two possible causes could be mic positioning or mic frequency.

Mario has already explained that his studio has been tuned with great care and that his mice are positioned at a civilised distance, which helps.

 

This is what we have done to get this results:

It is not the mics or the mic setup, it is the hall. We have worked the acoustics of the hall to deliver the sound that way onto the mic setup. The mic setup is just registering the sound the way the hall is delivering it. The sound for the recording has to be made before it hits the microphones, after that you really cannot fix anything. All the work has to be done on the hall not on the DAW.[/Quote]

[Mario Martinez]

Thanks Guido, I just sent them to you.

[Mario Martinez]

Thanks Yin, I just did, Enjoy!

[Mario Martinez]

We have given out 99 gift codes so far: 50 for Iberia, 21 for Cabrera plays Debussy, 16 for Debussy Préludes, 8 for Chopin Polish Songs and 4 for Songs of Paolo Tosti.

 

I am sending the flamenco samples along with all the gift codes. I think listening to such a different instruments in different gender really gives you a feeling of what the hall can do. So far we have given out 21 of those.

[Mario Martinez]

After looking for information about their piano solo recordings I found this video on youtube.

I can see a a couple of mics positioned low and very close and a spot mic peeking into the piano; the tonal balance (in the video) appears "brighter" than it should and a tad "over-detailed":

 

 

Actually, they are using 6 microphones to make the recording on that particular video. There is one setup with two mics further back, another setup with three mics closer to the piano, and one more microphone inside the piano. Besides the number of mics, they are modifying the angle of the piano lid. They are using an extension to open the lid past its normal point. They are also using the wood on the floor. My guess is they are modifying the lid and placing the wood to avoid unwanted reflexions.

 

Our approach is completely different. We only use two mics and they are placed 12 feet away from the piano. And we do not modify anything on the instruments or within the stage. We do all the acoustic work outside of the stage.

 

Here is a picture of our setup. The proportions on the picture are real. The person in red represent the place where the mics are placed outside of the stage. The piano is a 7 foot Yamaha.

 

[Mario Martinez]

The "secret" to our sound is not on the equipment we use. It is on the "recording setup". By "recording setup" I mean the relationship between stage, hall and mics.

 

Our "recording setup" (Stage-Hall-Mics) is a fixed setup. This setup has been developed over years of trial and error. Now that the setup is working you can practically put any instruments within the stage area and the results are always the same.

 

You are listening to recordings of "piano solo", "voice and piano" and "voice and guitar". They all could have been recorded on the same take. Nothing changed from one recording to another. We do not alter anything in the stage, the hall or the recording gear from one recording to another. This is what we are trying to say on our explanation of the Truthful Recording Technology:

 

In addition, all recordings are made in exactly the same conditions. It's like listening to all these artists from the same chair of the same auditorium. This allows the listener to establish objective comparisons on the ability of artists based on the result of the different recordings.[/Quote]

[Mario Martinez]

Here are the sketches to all the recordings: The proportions are real. The blue area represents the stage. The person in red represents the microphones.

 

"Albéniz Iberia", "Cabrera plays Debussy" and "Debussy Préludes":

 

 

 

"Chopin Polish Songs" and "Songs of Paolo Tosti":

 

 

 

"Flamenco samples":

[Mario Martinez]

Hi Mario,

I made a donation on the web site to thank you for your great recordings and your generosity.

But I must admit I'm a little confused about how the site works. I assumed that when I made a donation from an album page, that I'd also get a download code for that album. I donated from the Debussy Preludes page, but don't see any download/gift key.

 

Is that not how the site works? Or is the key only sent manually and not automatically?

 

Thanks

 

 

Hi Danny,

 

PayPal is supposed to bring you back to the album's page showing the download buttons. Something must have gone wrong, I am sorry for the inconvenience. I just sent you a PM with a code so you can download the album. Please let me know if it worked so I can help.

[Mario Martinez]

Thank you Mario for providing the information.

I think there are three reasons for lesser string harmonics from the piano as compared to the 2L-049 track.

1. without the mic "inside" the piano

2. the Yamaha 7' vis a vis a Steinway

3. the slanting angle of the piano in relation to the pick up microphones (I normally hear it in concerts with ears [in place of microphones] PERPENDICULAR to BODY OF the piano.

 

 

Thank you Francis,

 

the purpose of our fixed recording setup is to produce a "consistent" sound across all recordings. We are not trying to record the sound of the instruments, we are recording the sound of the hall. That is the reason why we do not use spot mics.

 

When you listen to several recordings this way you learn how the hall sounds. You know what to expect. Then you can easily recognize the ability of the artist depending on what he is able to do with it.

 

All these recordings are done in exactly the same way, nevertheless they all sound different. You talked about the "right hand high notes" on the Albéniz. Luis voiced it that way, we just picked up what he was doing. If you listen to Cabrera playing Debussy you might not hear that at all. You might like one thing better than the other but you can be sure that whatever it is you are hearing they are purposely playing it that way.

 

About the piano. Our auditorium is a chamber music hall. We had to choose a piano that could play chamber music without overriding other instruments. We tried several pianos on our hall to try to find one with just the right amount of power. A full size grand and two 7 foot pianos. Full size grands are way to powerful for this kind of setup. So we chose one of the 7 foot pianos.

 

About the position of the mics. They have been placed at the same height a real person would have his ears on if he was sitting at that spot listening to it live. They have been purposely placed that way because that is your usual listening height when you attend a concert on a chamber music hall.

[Mario Martinez]

did you turn down the recording volume for her? She sang so much louder than the guitar and didn't overload the mic.

 

The recording chain from microphones to master is a fixed setup too. We always use the same gear with the same settings. Both microphones have the same amount of gain, and we use the same gain for every recording. I hope that helps

[Mario Martinez]

How is that?

 

Of course digital music has gender! 1 for the boys, o for the girls

 

Thanks Mario for the beautiful and well recorded music (Debussy Préludes)

 

Best,

 

Roch

 

 

jajajjaaj, ....wow, I am slow, I just got that

 

Thanks

[Mario Martinez]

Mario

Thanks again for this beautiful music. I now have Iberia, Debussy Preludes, Polish Songs, and the three flamenco tracks. They are all outstanding. I also greatly appreciate the openness with which you describe your approach to recording. Whatever it is you are doing, please keep it up!

 

Recordings of small trio jazz and of acoustic guitar music would also greatly benefit from your approach, so I hope that you will arrange some new artists in these areas for your sessions.

 

 

Thanks!

 

I am looking into it. I will record some samples first and, if everything goes as expected, we will go for the albums

[Mario Martinez]

Hi Mansr,

Good for you that what you hear more or less matches the setup sketch of the recording scene.

Perhaps I am too fastidious about layering and positioning of images. For current listening I will take the voice as being jaleadore cheering up from behind.

 

 

Hi Francis,

 

The purpose of our setup is to record the musical event exactly the way it happened, it is a documentary approach. This type of recording is very demanding on the musicians. Here the artists are responsible for the balance between instruments, just like they would be in an acoustic live performance without any amplification. Once we capture that performance, there is nothing we can do to alter that balance. The artists have to be able to control their dynamics to balance out the performance for themselves.

 

Classical music artists are used to doing this. They do it at every performance. But what happens when you try to record other genres?

 

Flamenco is usually recorded using close miking techniques. They are used to having the engineer balance their performance at the mixing table. They were here for just one hour trying things out. They ended up making the recording this way to try to compensate for the fact that her voice was not so big and the guitarist sound was big. So the sketch is correct, the singer was closer to the mics and the guitarist was further back. Had they been here long enough, I am sure they would have been able to balance themselves to be able to sit next to each other on the stage.

 

If your system was "flat", what you should be hearing is a not so big voice closer to you and a big guitar sound further back. Their difference in loudness should compensate for their position so, if you are not looking at the sketch, it should sound like they are more or less at the same level.

 

There also exists the possibility that the system you are on is not totally "flat". A hole on the right spot could easily through the balance off resulting on one of both instruments appearing further back than it should.

 

So which one of these things is what you are really hearing I do not know. I wished you could hear the recording on different systems to see if what you are hearing is not system related. I hope this helps.

[Mario Martinez]

Here is the weekly report.

 

We have given out 110 Gift Codes so far: 55 for Albéniz, 23 for Cabrera plays Debussy, 18 for Debussy Préludes, 9 for Chopin Polish Songs and 5 for Songs of Paolo Tosti.

 

Once again, I want to thank you for your donations: Three people reported not being able to download after their donation. That problem should be fixed now. If you do donate PayPal should automatically get you back to the album's page showing the download buttons.

 

Also, thank you for your testimonials, we have included a lot of these feedback on our web page. This is really helpful

[Mario Martinez]

I have been listening to and enjoying both Iberia and Polish Songs, for which I sent in 10 euros each. Amazing sound, talented performers; what not to love? I also am intrigued by the approach toward recording the hall and not the performer. I like how this establishes a baseline of familiarity. Similar to how I enjoy listening to Chicago Symphony Orchestra recordings made in their space, because I am so familiar with its sound that I can recognize it and critique a recording by how well it reproduces that space's sound that I know so well. I can see myself learning the sound of this recording space with a similar familiarity. In any case, I would certainly enjoy a code for the Flamenco recording. Thanks for presenting us with this opportunity.

 

 

Thank you very much for your feedback. I am really glad you brought this up. Creating this "baseline of familiarity" is one of the main goals of our technology.

 

The sole purpose of using a fixed setup to record everything is to make albums that consistently recreate the same space around you. It's like listening to all these artists from the same chair of the same auditorium.

[Mario Martinez]

Thank you so much, ...it is a real pleasure to be able to share this music with you

[Mario Martinez]

Mario, If it is not to late I would like the code to download Cabrera plays Debussy. I'm just getting into digital music files and still have a lot to learn however the positive comments that I have read on the Computer Audiophile forum have peaked my interest in your company. I actually signed up for a years subscription to Computer Audiophile based on what you are doing and the comments that the members have posted. I've tried to visit your donation site but I get a message that the site does not exist. I'm not very adept on computer usage so maybe I'm doing something wrong, ( Hopefully this post works since this is the first time I've used a forum.) Please provide further information on how to get to your donation site. Thank You. John Bernot.

 

 

Hi John,

 

welcome to the forum

 

I have sent you a Private Message with the codes and links to download the files. Should you have any problems, please respond to the private message so I can further assist you.

 

Enjoy!

[Mario Martinez]

mario,

 

if the offer is still available, i would love to download iberia! thanks for your generosity!

 

jim

 

 

Thank you Jim, I just sent you the code.

 

The offer is on until we reach everyone. We have only reached 115 people so far, so I think we still have a long way to go.

[Mario Martinez]

ok, I just sent them, that makes 117 gift codes...

[Mario Martinez]

Hi Mario, could I try the flamenco files too?

 

Thanks!

 

Yes, please, I just sent them to you.