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Club Cubase San Francisco May 2012

Square Cad #36 – Master Craft with Michael Romanowski
Michael Romanowski (Michael Romanowski Mastering, The Tape Project)

Michael Romanowski spends a lot of time thinking about music. Aside from mastering in San Francisco for over 18 years, he’s also President of the San Francisco NARAS chapter and chairman of the San Francisco Producers and Engineers wing of NARAS , one of the minds behind The Tape Project, a live sound engineer, and co-producer of the Bay Area music podcast Renee and Romo.

Michael and I spoke in his studio about the consequences of devaluing music, why he’s adding a live tracking room to his business, and how the role of a mastering engineer has changed in the past 20 years.

Michael Romanowski Masters “Laurel Zucker” Project for Producer Leslie Ann Jones
Award-winning Artist’s New “Journeys” Album of Flute Concertos Mastered in San Francisco

San Francisco, CA – December 1, 2011 – Mastering Engineer Michael Romanowski recently completed the CD master for award-winning artist Laurel Zucker’s new “Journeys” release. The album of Zucker’s original flute concertos was produced by Laurel Zucker and long-time Bay Area recording engineer and producer Leslie Ann Jones and recorded at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, CA. Ms. Jones brought the project to Romanowski’s San Francisco mastering studio and listened back on the studio’s Focal Grand Utopia speakers making final adjustments for the master of Zucker’s flute performances. Ms. Jones is currently mastering several projects with Romanowski at his SF studio.

“Michael always manages to sprinkle just the right amount of fairy dust on my mixes,” says Ms. Jones. “His mastering suite is a great place to make critical decisions when necessary.”

Zucker’s new album “Journeys” is a collection of her own compositions including movements of flute concertos such as Sphinx, Alexandria and Cairo from the Cairo Flute Concerto, and the California Flute Concerto among many other selections. In 1978 Zucker won the Artists International Competition, which launched her Carnegie Recital Hall debut. At the age of 16 Zucker performed 1st flute in the Alexander Schneider Orchestra at in Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center. Over the past decades she has released over 50 highly regarded albums of classical repertoire, as well as original compositions and toured the world.

Grammy-winning engineer and producer Leslie Ann Jones has worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years engineering a wide range of major projects including film scores such as Apocalypse Now, Good Night and Good Luck, jazz albums for Herbie Hancock and Marcus Miller, classical music including the Kronos Quartet and in pop, rock and blues for BB King, Carlos Santana, John Mayall, Michael Feinstein and Rosemary Clooney among many others. Today, as the head of the recording and scoring department at George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound, Ms. Jones has added major video game scores, to her credits including Pirates of the Caribbean, Uncharted, Knights of the Old Republic, and the just released Anniversary edition of Halo, to name only a select few. Ms. Jones received a Grammy(r) Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical for Eliesha Nelson’s Quincy Porter: The Complete Viola Works.

Visit the Skywalker Sound website for more information on Leslie Ann Jones: http://www.skysound.com/

Michael Romanowski has mastered music in the San Francisco Bay Area since his move from Nashville in 1994. He recently became President of the San Francisco chapter of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and he is currently serving as the Chairman of the SF NARAS chapter’s Producers & Engineers Wing. Romanowski traces his legacy through several generations of mastering engineers in the Bay Area from George Horn and Phil Brown to Paul Stubblebine. He has worked with seminal San Francisco artists including Norton Buffalo, Third Eye Blind, Big Brother and the Holding Company, George Winston, Pat Monahan, Jacqui Naylor, Spencer Day, Suzanne Ciani, Joe Craven and many other national and international artists and producers. Romanowski’s mastering room features: Pacific Microsonics Model 2 A/D/A converters, Focal Grand Utopia EM speakers, ATR 102 1-inch two-track tape deck, along with a host of other definitive analog and digital audio equipment.

Contact Michael Romanowski Mastering at (510)-882-8555 or visit: http://www.michaelromanowski.com

Mastering Engineer Michael Romanowski Adds “Requisite Audio” Limiter to his San Francisco Studio

San Francisco, CA – October 19, 2011 – Mastering Engineer Michael Romanowski recently installed the Requisite Audio L2M Mk III M/S Version dual channel mastering limiter in his San Francisco mastering studio. The L2M Mk III is an optical limiter based on classic designs of the early 1960s featuring point-to-point hand-wiring, as they were, but includes many technical improvements aimed at offering the mastering engineer specialized capabilities such as make-up gain settings to +17dB in 1dB stepped increments, control of vacuum tube harmonics, frequency-based limiter response and more. Romanowski has a thriving audio mastering business in the heart of San Francisco, serving the diverse local music community as well as national and international clients.

“The Requisite Audio L2M Mk III is a great addition to my mastering equipment line-up,” states Romanowski. “It certainly offers me a totally new palette of sound control for making clients’ masters. Having a wider choice of outboard gear with impeccable specs and unique control like the L2M lets me get even deeper into the sound.”

Other unique L2M Mk III features include the ‘Limiter Feedback’ adjustment for controlling the amount of vacuum tube harmonic texture and amount, giving the engineer control of even more sonic shaping. The variable ‘Limiter Response’ control allows gain reduction to work less obtrusively at low frequencies, offering a significant smoothing of mid and high frequencies above 1-kHz and a tight and ‘punchy’ bass response in lower frequencies.

Besides its strong mastering feature set, the L2M Mk III limiter is also meant to support live tracking and mixing with capabilities such as ‘Mid /Side’ for stereo tracks recorded using stereo micing techniques, and a ‘Stereo Level Ride’ control allowing the engineer to make manual adjustments to level transitions within the analog domain.

Michael Romanowski has mastered music in the San Francisco Bay Area since his move from Nashville in 1994. He recently became President of the San Francisco chapter of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and he is currently serving as the Chairman of the SF NARAS chapter’s Producers & Engineers Wing. Romanowski traces his legacy through several generations of mastering engineers in the Bay Area from George Horn and Phil Brown to Paul Stubblebine. He has worked with seminal San Francisco artists including Norton Buffalo, Third Eye Blind, Big Brother and the Holding Company, George Winston, Pat Monahan, Jacqui Naylor, Spencer Day, Suzanne Ciani, Joe Craven and many other national and international artists and producers. Romanowski’s mastering room features: Pacific Microsonics Model 2 A/D/A converters, Focal Grand Utopia EM speakers, ATR 102 1-inch two-track tape deck, along with a host of other definitive analog and digital audio equipment.

Contact Michael Romanowski Mastering at (510)-882-8555 or visit: http://michaelromanowski.com

See more information on the Requisite Audio L2M Mk III M/S Version Limiter here: http://www.requisiteaudio.com

Posted by Michael Gallant on September 19, 2011 10:39:31 AM PT

The Ampex ATR-102 Professional Tape Recorder.
For more than three decades, the Ampex® ATR-102 two-channel tape recorder has imparted the final cohesive sound to countless recordings with its distinctive low-end punch and ability to provide unique saturation and color. Even circa 2011, where a huge number of recordings are tracked and mixed completely within the digital realm with no analog processing whatsoever, many an audio engineer still want to pass an album’s final mixdown through the ATR-102 to give it that final mastering “glue.”

Read on for a look inside the legacy of the ATR-102 tape machine and more on the sound qualities that make it so desirable for producers and mastering engineers alike. You can also get more information on Universal Audio’s ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder Plug-In for UAD-2 here.

ABC used the Ampex Model 200 for the first ever
tape-delayed radio broadcast of the Bing Crosby Show.
Ampex and Innovation

Established in 1944 by Russian-American electrical engineer Alexander M. Poniatoff, the Ampex Electric and Manufacturing Company derived its iconic moniker from the initials of Poniatoff’s name, plus the “e” and “x” of “excellence.” Operating to this very day in Northern California, the unmissable AMPEX sign can still be seen while driving highway 101 on the San Francisco Bay Peninsula.

The company first gained widespread visibility in 1947 with the release of the Ampex Model 200 tape recorder, which Bing Crosby famously used to broadcast the United States’ first tape-delayed radio show the year after. In 1956, CBS aired the first videotape-delayed broadcast, using Ampex’s Mark IV. A year later, the company won an Emmy® for video recording innovations. Ampex’s technologies continued to play key roles in journaling a diverse array of major events, including Elvis Presley’s first single, the live assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald, and the first videotape images of the Earth from the Moon. These, among many other seminal moments, were all recorded on Ampex inventions.

Unlike many companies known for music technology, Ampex’s business covered a much larger range of markets, perhaps one of the most unusual being national defense. In 1950, the company produced a Model 500 instrumentation recorder for use by the United States Navy. Ampex tape recorders were also used to help monitor and analyze guided missile flights. As a rocket would launch and carry out its flight path, coded data would be broadcast via radio to ground stations positioned along its trajectory. Ampex tape recorders documented these signals which contained data relating to the missile’s speed, fuel consumption, skin temperature, and other factors. By splicing the tapes from different ground stations together, technicians were able to reconstruct and document details from the projectile’s journey.

With thousands of patents to its name, the company has also won numerous awards since that first Emmy in 1957. Ampex received its 12th Emmy nod in 2005 for innovations in slow-motion color recording and playback. In 2008, the company was given a Technical GRAMMY® award, recognizing its contributions to the world of recording technology.

Its ease of use, reliability, and cohesive sound made the
Ampex ATR-102 a staple in the modern recording studio.
Enter the ATR-102

In 1976, the ATR-102 Professional Tape Recorder was introduced at the Audio Engineering Society convention, and emerged as the most ubiquitous model in the ATR-100 line. Other models included the ATR-116 and ATR-124 tape recorders –16- and 24-track models that were more expensive and difficult to maintain. Today, these two multi-track ATRs are coveted collectors items.

The ATR-102 itself was discontinued in 1982, but it quickly became a widespread favorite amongst recording and broadcasting professionals. To date, it continues to be held in high esteem by many recording and mastering engineers as the top choice tape machine for final mixdown.

It’s All About the Sound

The secret behind the ATR-102’s original success was its transparent sound and rock-solid reliability. “The 102 has a very flat frequency response, tight tolerance, and sounds fantastic,” says mastering engineer Matthew Gray. “This makes it ideal for accurate transfers. It’s also a very robust, reliable machine with the fastest winding speed I’ve seen on any tape machine.”

The sonic accuracy that the ATR-102 provides as compared to other tape machines made it a staple in many 20th century recording studios. However, compared to the colorless sound of digital audio, the legendary Ampex machine is now used more for its unique analog tape warmth characteristics. Like many, Gray now uses the ATR-102 for “lay-back mastering, in order to smooth out some harsh digital recordings without losing too much detail.”

The characteristically unmistakable sound of the ATR-102 has a low noise floor, wide and deep soundstage, fat low end, and an excited high end that extends beautifully without getting shrill or harsh. Various genres can benefit from this tape “warmth,” including rock, blues, folk, indie, metal, and even hip hop recordings. Not all recordings benefit, however ­–– mixes that are already full in the low frequencies, or are heavily compressed, will have the low end exaggerated to the point of muddiness.

The variety of available tape speeds on the ATR-102 gives engineers the flexibility to experiment with varying ranges of fidelity, from near-pristine audio quality to a more classic, colored, analog-tape sound. At a tape speed of 30 IPS (inches per second), more tape is being used, thus more audio signal is being captured than at, for example, 15 IPS. The higher speed makes for a lower signal-to-noise ratio and a more transparent sound. At slower speeds, such as 15, 7.5, or 3.75 IPS, the warm analog character begins to emerge. The ability to switch easily between differing degrees of these characteristics is a large part of the ATR-102’s success.

The transport controls of the ATR-102.
The Stable Mechanics of the ATR-102

The ATR-102’s sound may have made it the king of the mixdown decks, but the stability of its design is what kept it there. Ampex’s designers went to great lengths to ensure that the transport of the ATR-102 was smooth at varying tape speeds to create a consistent sound and predictable response.

“Ampex did a very good job of keeping electronic noise out of it,” says mastering engineer and longtime ATR-102 user Michael Romanowski. “You don’t get motor noise seeping into the heads and added to playback or recording. Other machines sometimes suffer from that. Also, because of its overall clarity, you’re able to hear a real difference when you use different tape speeds.”

How did they do this? For starters, the designers of the ATR-102 did not use the standard pinch rollers to guide the tape. These often-rubberized wheels typically pressed the moving tape against the recorders magnetic erase, write, and read heads. Since the ATR-102 was specifically created to maintain constant tension on the tape, regardless of the size of the tape reel being used or the position of the tape in the reel, pinch rollers went out the window.

In addition, the ATR-102 was built with an unusually large capstan drive wheel, roughly 2 ⅜” in diameter, with one revolution being equal to 7 ½” of tape. Ampex designed the size of the capstan to specifically fit intervals of time, with a speed of 30″ of tape per second equaling four capstan revolutions per second.

In addition to its timing precision, another benefit of a larger capstan is the machine’s resistance to “run-out” — and the resulting tape flutter — which occurs when a rotating shaft gets bent and doesn’t revolve consistently. “The [capstan] shaft simply can’t be made or supported in its bearing perfectly,” said one Ampex engineer. “That run-out translates directly to flutter . . . The larger you make the capstan radius, maintaining the same number for the run-out, say one one-thousandth of an inch, the more you proportionately reduce your flutter.”

The bi-directional servo motors that power the ATR-102’s transport are rated at a beefy ¼ horsepower. This is significantly more juice than is needed just to move tape, but the added power aids the machine’s stability. Furthermore, given the servo motors’ ability to sense and react to changes in tension, the ATR-102 does an admirable job of keeping tape tension constant throughout a recording, mastering, or playback session.

With easily accessible components and
calibration settings, the ATR-102 is easy to customize.
Customizability is Key

The robust backbone and simplicity of design makes the ATR-102 open to easy customization by engineers. Adjusting the machine for different tape widths is relatively straightforward — just change the head stack and two guides, one on the left and one on the right. On other tape machines, adjusting for different tape widths can be a more arduous task, with more rollers, guides, and trickier head stacks to navigate.

Inside the ATR-102, the I/O module and alignment electronics are easily accessible, adding to ease of replacement and customization. Various updates and “hot rods” are common.

“Our machine was sourced from the University of Wisconsin, from where it was shipped directly to ATR Services for a complete internal rebuild with the highest grade components,” explains mastering engineer Matthew Gray. “This rebuild also included an exchange of the stock electronics for Aria Class A Reference Series electronics and flux magnetics mastering grade half-inch heads which gives it maximum transparency and detail.”

Regardless of whether you’re a reggae aficionado, classical buff, or hard rock devotee, chances are you’ve heard the unmistakeable analog richness of the ATR-102 on countless recordings over the last three decades. Thanks to its unique combination of sonic integrity, mechanical robustness, adjustability, and overall excellence in design and construction, the tape recorder has locked in a revered place in audio history – and helped define the identity of contemporary recorded sound in the process.

Special thanks to engineers Matthew Gray (www.matthewgraymastering.com) andMichael Romanowski (www.michaelromanowski.com), and UA Product Manager Will Shanks for their help with this article.

Club Cubase San Francisco is pleased to announce their next meeting to be held on Monday April 25th at Michael Romanowski Mastering. This month Greg Ondo from Steinberg North America will be showcasing the new features of Cubase 6 including new drum editing tools, VST Amp Rack, Comping, VST Note Expression, HALion Sonic SE and much more. Don’t miss this speciall opportunity to see this exciting new Cubase version in action. Please RSVP to Michael Romanowski at Studio@Michaelomanowski.com

Come on by…

The panelists will include Gavin Lurssen, Andrew Mendelson, Joe Palmaccio, Mike Wells and Paul Stubblebine. We may even have a few surprise guests show up and add to the discussion.

Learn more about all of the events and panels at AES.org

See you there.

Michael

review by Emmett Chapman

Sometimes one cloud is all you need.

It follows you around, something to proudly point to wherever you go. And if your live gig doesn’t turn out as planned, you’ve got this silver lined CD to stand in for you. (I must say though, I’m pretty sure Rob Martino can play almost all of this CD live any time he wants to.)

And yes, it’s a treasure, and I have no doubt, also a milestone for Rob.

It’s all solo Stick and The Stick sure sounds good! There are almost no effects in the foreground Stick sound. The “orchestra” of textures, voicings and expressions are all from his hands. The entertainment value alone is high, as it’s fascinating to hear what one artist can extract from a single musical instrument live in a recording studio – strumming effects, harp like arpeggios, a broad dynamic range, always a dialogue between the hands, and of course those familiar passing tone embellishments from his bass 4ths tuning.

My biggest surprise was in the variety of rhythmic grooves he creates throughout the album. In his two extended songs, “Circle” and “Enigma”, the rhythmic element becomes even more intense as he stretches out. This more relaxed yet more dynamic mode of play might foretell a future direction in his musical art!

And yes, I hear the “vintage” sound of Michael Romanowski’s special mastering process. It’s somehow an American electric guitar sound with a metallic ring from bass and melody sides. Rob doesn’t even bother to change timbers from song to song. It’s always his same unique sound of well recorded but largely unprocessed Stick strings through dual in-phase Villex PASV-4 pickups. I believe such faithful sonic consistency is the mark of a true stylist, putting ones best foot forward at all times, in plain shoes.

Now and then he throws in some time-extended, “sweetening” washes played live through Guitar Rig audio plug-ins on his computer, but even then the straight Stick strings dominate and the soloist shines through.

Rob has an array of unusual resources in his fingers, an expressive variety of sub-techniques that uniquely serve each of his eight original songs on this album. Here are my “highlight” moments:

1) “One Cloud” as we know it, but with subtle refinements, and very well recorded and mixed.

2) “Circle”, an 11-minute stretch that gathers in dynamics and intensity, showing Rob’s spontaneous side.

3) “Dream” with fascinating sonic textures and rhythms.

4) “Cloud Dispersed”, an apt title for his loose thematic reinterpretations of “One Cloud”.

5) “Differential”, where the rhythms stand out, along with a growling low bass.

6) “Turbulence” with rich, harp like cross-patterns, again with a pronounced bass growl.

7) “Star” with sustained melody ringing out like bells. (Could this be a new, more musical form of reverb?)

8) “Enigma” with more melodic bells a’pealing. And the chords seem unusually transparent, which of course allows an opposite quality, that of richer and more complex chord progressions and voicings.

I’ll say it loud, “I’m part of the crowd extremely proud of One Cloud.” Emmett

You can hear sample tracks at Rob’s website. One Cloud on CD is now available from Stick Enterprises, and as a digital download from DigStation

Track Listing (all songs by Rob Martino)
1. One Cloud (3:35)
2. The Long Circle (11:06)
3. Conscious Dream (5:15)
4. Cloud Dispersed (2:17)
5. Differential (5:27)
6. Turbulence (1:26)
7. Mighty Distant Star (6:11)
8. The Third Enigma (13:14)

For true lovers of Americana.

There’s an ongoing debate as to what Americana actually is. This website gives a definition, but whenever I’m asked to describe it, I struggle. And I’m supposed to be an “expert”; well I’m not, I’m merely someone who has the opportunity to provide a personal opinion on music in a public space.

But fear no more Americana fans. Simply go out and buy this album and you will get what Americana is about; all the answers are here. Upon the first couple of listens it doesn’t happen. Well it didn’t for me, but persevere and then it all becomes apparent.

‘The Ten Ton Feather’ gives us most of the Americana genre including folk, blues, country, bluegrass, gospel, rock’n’roll, stomps and hollers. Hell there’s even some old-timey in the mix too. I think that just about covers Americana; don’t you?

What is so good about this album is Didia and Espiritu can cover each of the constituent parts of each of the aforementioned genres and leave us wanting more. Too many albums these days tend to flog one or another genre to death, whilst purporting to cover the entire landscape on one album. Not so here.

Kicking off with the immensely likeable Appalachian bluegrass of ‘Wailing Sun’ and swiftly following it with the gentle contemporary folk of ‘Big River’, this duo set their variety of wares out on display. Effortlessly combining their vocals and expert guitar and ukulele playing, these two were simply made for each other.

Espiritu is a native of the Philippines and she’s got a voice that’s reminiscent of Vika or Linda Bull. DiDia has developed a unique lap-style playing method that drives the sound along, but he can also be laid back and thoughtful, particularly on the acoustic guitar in the final song ‘To The Ends Of Love’.

This CD contains 14 tracks and I could rave about all of them. But for the sake of brevity, some of the highlights include the tracks already mentioned, plus the melancholic ‘I Dream Of You’, the moody haunting ‘Shine’, the boogie blues of ‘Mississippi’, ‘Flying’ with its simple harmony’s plus ‘Suzanne’ which falls into the “thought provoking” camp, as do many of the other songs. ‘My Country’ brings in some gospel inspired acapella.

And if I was to re-write this review, I’d probably concentrate on highlighting the other five tracks, not to mention the wonderfully written lyrics. The album has an extremely well balanced running order that allows the songs to compliment each other whilst also providing the light and shade that all great albums have. As DiDia & Espiritu themselves state this album “Makes the old sound new, in an old sort of way.”

Select random on your CD player, and you have an instant Americana jukebox; all in one package. Albums like this don’t come along that often, so get yourself a copy. You’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t. And if for some reason you don’t like it, I will personally refund your money. Or refer you to the Americana doctor for help.

http://www.uaudio.com/webzine/2009/december/basics.html

(Please click on any image to see a larger view.)

ATRS

Lathe 1

Lathe 2

I’m very happy to announce that the cover of Mix Magazine‘s Mastering Issue, December 2009, features my Mastering room with an interview inside. The interview includes myself, Paul Stubblebine and Bob Hodas. We talk a bit about the room, the Speakers (Focal Grand Utopia EM’s), the Tape Project and of course Mastering.

A gathering of SoundBlade users, Thor Legvold, Gavin Lurrsen, Michael Romanowski, and SoundBlade/Amarra owner Jon Reicbach

This AES 2009 panel was entitled ” Mastering in an Ever Expanding Universe (2009 and Beyond).” The panel consisted of Joe Palmacio, Gavin Lurssen, Vic Anesini, Andrew Mendleson, Mark Wilder and Michael Romanowski. We had a great discussion to a standing room only house. I really enjoyed these guys. Very talented, fun and engaging group. I was very proud to be a part of this group of passionate music lovers. These guys will be movers and shakers in the mastering world for many many years to come. I wish them all continued success.

http://www.myspace.com/DaddyTheBand

http://home.hetnet.nl/~noci48/

Hope to see you there.

Computer Audiophile is proud to announce the inaugural Computer Audiophile Symposium to take place at world-renowned Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. Never before has an event demonstrated this complete musical chain. Experience everything from a live acoustic performance to a high resolution digital recording to the state of the art in computer-based playback.

Witness legendary Recording Engineer and product innovator Prof. Keith O. Johnson capture this live performance. Industry leaders including Mastering Engineer Paul Stubblebine, Reference Recording’s Marcia Martin, Sonic Studio’s Jonathan Reichbach, Berkeley Audio Design’s Michael “Pflash” Pflaumer, and representatives from Meridian-Sooloos will illustrate every step in the chain from performance to playback. In addition to these well recognized panelists, Matan Arazi will debut a groundbreaking music server and his approach to developing this all-out assault on computer based-playback.