My Reel Club - make your own reference recordings

[ferenc]

7 hours ago, Rexp said:

Can you post a link to the 24/96 download? 

 

I can send you one track sample. If you need the whole recording you need to buy it unfortunately (from us - send a PM please), but yes I can send it in 96k, if you mean the Goldberg variations on nativedsd.com. 

 

It will take few weeks to complete the new Varga Gabor Quartet cool jazz recording. I may share one track (with the stereo ribbon mic and in native DSD256, and the one mixed live and recorded on the Nagra and digitized from it in DSD256 as well), if there is a need, if any of you interested. 

[ferenc]

16 minutes ago, gmgraves said:

See, I’ve found that just the opposite is true. It is relatively easy to make tonally balanced recordings of big bands and full blown classical orchestras. A stereo pair gives a phase coherent recording with a wide, deep sound stage that images like “you are there”. With multi-miked setups, you have the problem of keeping each microphone feed separate and isolated from the other mike feeds to avoid bleed over. Also multi-miking robs large-scale ensembles of all real world soundstage information and strips orchestral recordings of the sound of a group of instruments playing together (multi-miked violins, for instance, never sound like violins miked with an overall stereo pair. When one close mikes violins and then mixes them electronically they do not sound like a string section in a symphony orchestra playing in a concert, the sound like a bunch of separate violins all playing at once and I’m pretty sure that no composer intended for the strings to sound like that.

 

I’ve tried just about every microphone technique known to man, and I tell you that whether we’re talking full blown symphony orchestras, big band jazz, or a jazz trio, or anything in between, a stereo pair is best. Now that doesn’t mean that I never use accent mikes. There are situations where they’re indispensable. But they must always be subordinate to the main pair, and pan potting of the accent must be very carefully done to avoid smearing the image by confusing the location dictated by the physical presence of the instrument(s) being highlighted, with regard to the stereo mike and the pan potted location of the instrument superimposed on the instrument in the mixer.

 

Many thanks for explaining your experience. We have done dozens if not hundreds of recordings this way in the past 15 years or so and we will in the future as well. Occasionally we will use other methods too. Like in this case, but let me remind you: we used a ribbon stereo in this case as a main mic and in most of the tracks it will be used only and these two tracks will be published as well. There will be tracks when we will add a bit from the rest of the feeds as well. 

[gmgraves]

46 minutes ago, ferenc said:

 

Many thanks for explaining your experience. We have done dozens if not hundreds of recordings this way in the past 15 years or so and we will in the future as well. Occasionally we will use other methods too. Like in this case, but let me remind you: we used a ribbon stereo in this case as a main mic and in most of the tracks it will be used only and these two tracks will be published as well. There will be tracks when we will add a bit from the rest of the feeds as well. 

Ribbons can work very well, but in my experience, most of them are kind of light on the top end. I used to own a lovely B&O ribbon stereo mike, it was a very attractive satin chrome, and the mike came in a gorgeous padded Brazilian rosewood case with gold lettering on it. It sounded pretty good (especially when used on choral music) but needed a step-up transformer in order for it to have enough output to drive a standard mike mixer (I ended up using a modified Panasonic moving-coil cartridge transformer that had switchable gain and adjustable load to get the output I needed to get a usable S/N. Still, a rather sharp roll-off above 13KHz limited it’s usefulness for what I bought it for.
 

Once I rented a Telefunken ELA-M-270 stereo mike (tubed) for a job and fell in love with it. But when I found out how much used ones (they weren’t being made any more at the time) were selling for (US$16,000- $20,000!), I lost all hope of ever being able to afford one. Then I found out about the Chinese made Avantone CK-40, which is a large capsule (35 mm) stereo mike much like the Telefunken. I arranged to borrow one and to my great surprise and joy, it sounded very much like the Telefunken and I was able to compare them directly, because I still had the master tape recorded with the ELA-M-270 mike. The main difference, performance-wise was that the Avantone, being solid state (FET, was much quieter and had a smoother, flatter top end. The Telefunken had etched bronze diaphragms (it was designed in the late 1940’s, after all, and was contemporary with the Neumann U-47) while the newer mike used gold sputtered Mylar for a diaphragm. Also, not being a tube design, the Avantone can be powered by the 48 volt phantom power available from most modern mixers while the Telefunken needed a dedicated power supply. Best of all, the Avantone is less than US$700. Needless to say, I bought one. It makes super recordings and can be used as a stereo pair of cardioids, a crossed pair of figure-of-eights, or as an MS mike employing either a cardioid and a figure-of-eight or an omnidirectional mike and a  figure-of-eight. IOW, it’s very versatile, quiet, and sounds great! The only complaint that I have is that I don’t like the red mike body. I’ve been meaning to paint the body that cream-color of the ELA-M-270, but I’ve never gotten around to it!

[Rexp]

5 hours ago, ferenc said:

 

I can send you one track sample. If you need the whole recording you need to buy it unfortunately (from us - send a PM please), but yes I can send it in 96k, if you mean the Goldberg variations on nativedsd.com. 

 

It will take few weeks to complete the new Varga Gabor Quartet cool jazz recording. I may share one track (with the stereo ribbon mic and in native DSD256, and the one mixed live and recorded on the Nagra and digitized from it in DSD256 as well), if there is a need, if any of you interested. 

Jazz is more my thing, let me know when available, also you may want to upgrade your YouTube recording device to at least give a glimpse of the original performances. Cheers! 

[ferenc]

8 hours ago, Rexp said:

Jazz is more my thing, let me know when available, also you may want to upgrade your YouTube recording device to at least give a glimpse of the original performances. Cheers! 

 

I am dealing with Canon cinema cameras and lenses in my real life and television, film productions as a system integrator and technical advisor so that I could do it much better, but it was not the purpose of this simple iPhone recording.

 

We shot a "werk film" so there will be a much better audio/ video quality version sometime in January.

All the registered attendees just got a DSD128, and DSD256 sample track from both the analogue mixed Nagra recording (digitized with the same A/D converter) and the ribbon mic stereo track.

[ferenc]

We have made a short (3:39 min) DSD256 sample of our cool jazz recording from the Gabor Varga Quartet available.

You can download it from the link below in the next very few days.

 

https://we.tl/t-V2UIAnM6L0

 

There was no editing, no processing, only live mixing of very few microphones, including one stereo ribbon, in an analog mixing chain.

[The Computer Audiophile]

PRESS RELEASE

   

My Reel Club: a new era in high-end audio recordings for unique and thrilling entertainment and education My Reel Club Budapest 16th March 2023. My Reel Club presents a unique music recording process: two alternative versions of live studio performances using the same recording chain in parallel.   The comparative listening of the two versions is an exciting and thrilling experience. It allows audiences to transparently analyse the results of the two recordings with different technologies. By comparing the two versions, the listener can evaluate the capabilities of the device chain and loudspeakers at home, the accuracy of the spatial placement, the natural timbres and the quality of the sound field. Listeners will be able to understand how modern music production processes alter live sound.   The first variation is the digital DXD version mixed live to stereo on an analogue desk and recorded with 352.8 kHz sampling, processed without editing, post-production or mastering. The chain includes one of the top A/D converters (Merging Anubis ADC with external linear power supply, Pyramix recording software).   The first variation analogue stereo feed was also recorded on analogue tape at 38 cm/s speed using a Nagra IVS recorder. The average dynamic range of these recordings is higher than the current commercial recordings.   In the second variation, a simultaneous microphone feed was transferred to a Pro Tools system using the same analogue chain in a typical multi-track configuration with 192 kHz 24-bit sampling, then enhanced in post-production by mastering engineer Istvan Matok.   These unique audiophile recordings are made available by My Reel Club, whose purposeis to produce recordings that capture the true live concert experience.   The history of lifelike stereo recordings goes back to the 1950s when pioneers ofmodern music recordings used very few microphones and a maximum of three reel-to-reel recording tracks. Since all the musicians would perform live simultaneously at these sessions, the recordings go beyond individual performances.   As post- production technology was not yet available, the final performances show how the artists influenced each other.   My Reel Club My Reel Club shows these recordings in the raw, letting the artists and their talent shine to offer the purest possible rendering of these captivating performances.   The audience of this unique performance consists of club members who initiate and co-finance recordings. My Reel Club’s mission is to bring listeners closer to the art of music recordings and introduce worldwide audiences to the most sophisticated Central and Eastern European (primarily Hungarian) music.   The initiative started with guided studio visits and continued with high-quality live studio recordings, as founder Ferenc Koscsó sought to connect excellent performers with dedicated audiences directly.   My Reel Club projects bring together personal music experience and crowdfunding. Members can initiate music recording productions, contact artists and other supporters,and play a role as funders.   My Reel Club aims to share revenues from the productions with the performers as well. Returns are shared proportionally between performers and community members in atransparent way.   The cornerstone of My Reel Club recordings lies in a community funding concept that involves audiences, performers, investors, and producers.   My Reel Club is the first high-end audio label funded by a community dedicated to producing the highest possible quality artisan recordings for all platforms and formats, aiming to introduce music lovers to the basics of sophisticated music listening.   The first My Reel Club Project For the first project, My Reel Club had the privilege of recording the world premiere of a unique album composed and performed by internationally renowned Hungarian jazz musicians.   The works on the Planets album, written by composer/jazz guitarist Gábor Juhász, were inspired by long stargazing evenings during the Pandemic. His compositions reflect the ethereal, mystical and distant world of the planets and, simultaneously, the lonely genius of Copernicus: humanity’s restless, constant striving for further discovery.      The Planets album is available on the My Reel Club website:     DSD256/DXD raw live stereo recordings using an analogue recording chain (Live-to-Disk) Multi-track PCM 192k/24-bit with post-production and mastering Stereo high-speed tape (Live-to-Tape) Double CDs with two comparable versions Dolby Atmos and 192k/24-bit 5.0. immersive audio version is also available The MQA version processed by MQA is available now. Available on highresaudio.com this week and Qobuz, Deezer, Tidal, Spotify, and Amazon during April

 

 

 

https://myreel.club/index.php/en/releases-menu

 

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

LIstening to the DXD version of this now. What a great album. 

[ferenc]

5 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

LIstening to the DXD version of this now. What a great album. 

 

Thank you very much. When we tried to find a sub-genre for it, the only one that came to our mind was chamber jazz. :) 

[ferenc]

Few photos of the recording. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

3 minutes ago, ferenc said:

Few photos of the recording. 

Thanks!