Rob Schnapf

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

Rob,

'Recorderman' many years ago gave a detailed description of them Cat 22 Dolby A thing.... cant remember if it was here or PSW. I think he may even have done the mods himself. Im sure they might be archived now so perhaps a search might reveal them.

David Bianco was way into them a few yrs ago I heard and if he is still around in LA perhaps he can shed some light on them as well.


Wiggy

[rob S]

yeah thanks to this forum i came across one version of the mod.
john from orchid electronics was kind enough to send me a very nice diagram and
mick and john at sunset sound knew of another version.
john at sunset modded one CAT22 card with orchid electronics version of the mod which bypassed band 1(the lowband 80hz and below)
and then he did another Cat 22 card with the version he knew about which was bypassing band 2 (80hz-3k band).
we listened to them and decided to both mods to the cards.
very hypie and kind of exciting.
but definitely program dependent ie its not always a great idea.
the next move is going to be making them switchable in and out.
so you can bypass band 1, band 2 or both.
i like it.

[rob S]

dave pearlman was kind enough of to lend us a TM-1 and a TM-LE for the day.
already had used a TM1 several months back and it was nice to hear the consistancy of his build.
thought it sounded really good.
the TM-LE is a pretty interestng mic.
it uses a 6AK5, same tube as used in the Lomo 19A9 and has a K67 capsule.
being a frequent user of both the 67 and the 19A9 this was a very interesting blend.
sounded really good.
brighter than the 67 we were using and more bottom than the 19A9.
but has its own thing.
i'd love to get a pair.
back to work......

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by rob S

dave pearlman was kind enough of to lend us a TM-1 and a TM-LE for the day.
already had used a TM1 several months back and it was nice to hear the consistancy of his build.
thought it sounded really good.
the TM-LE is a pretty interestng mic.
it uses a 6AK5, same tube as used in the Lomo 19A9 and has a K67 capsule.
being a frequent user of both the 67 and the 19A9 this was a very interesting blend.
sounded really good.
brighter than the 67 we were using and more bottom than the 19A9.
but has its own thing.
i'd love to get a pair.
back to work......

Cool.
Rob did you get a chance to hear the Anamod Box?
hows the MCI coming along?


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[rob S]

heard the anamod.
liked it fine.
dont know how happy i'd be if i bought it.

the mci should be done next week.
its taking forever and a day.
got a record to make on it in june.
so hopefully it'll be good.
hows the API been doin?

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by rob S

heard the anamod.
liked it fine.
dont know how happy i'd be if i bought it.

I though the Studer card was ok.
My M79 killed the 79 card.
But what really got my attention was when I later heard the 351 card.
Pretty bitchin.
yeah the price and build quality is
at least get those fvcking Line 6 knobs off it.

Originally Posted by rob S

the mci should be done next week.
its taking forever and a day.
got a record to make on it in june.
so hopefully it'll be good.
hows the API been doin?

Cool.
The API at the moment is rockin my world in pretty supreme fashionthumbsup


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[Jules]

I heard the Ampex ATR102 'flavor' for the Anamod at the Amsterdam AES earlier this week..

Seemed nice..!

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by Jules

I heard the Ampex ATR102 'flavor' for the Anamod at the Amsterdam AES earlier this week..

Seemed nice..!

Howdy Jules
Nice.glad to hear its out.gotta check it.


..

[rob S]

yeah, i heard the 351 card was really cool.
the guy that lent us it really liked the M79 as well.
i only heard the first ones which i think were the studer and the ATR.
i like this box alot better when someone else buys it and i get to use it.
if its my money, not so much.
when you did the comparison between the M79 and the ananmod did you find similiar characteristics?
what kind of tape were you using?

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by rob S

the guy that lent us it really liked the M79 as well.

Maybe you misunderstood:
My Real M79[W/ GP9] killed the anamod
the low end on the real machine had some serious dimension and went doooown there.
Now the 351 card regardless of whether it nails a real one, has some vibe.

Originally Posted by rob S

i only heard the first ones which i think were the studer and the ATR.

The first ones had the Studer and 3M cards.
the ATR just came out..haven't heard it though.

Originally Posted by rob S

i like this box alot better when someone else buys it and i get to use it.
if its my money, not so much.

I'll drink to that

Originally Posted by rob S

when you did the comparison between the M79 and the ananmod did you find similiar characteristics?
what kind of tape were you using?

See above


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[Jules]

Originally Posted by RoundBadge

Howdy Jules
Nice.glad to hear its out.gotta check it.


..

Also the 500 series Fairchild copy compressors on show were excellent sounding, I must say..

Sorry to interrupt your private thread Mr Schnapf!

[Sean Sullivan]

FYI, you can read Rob's interview in Tape Op in the Tape Op book. There are many neat and useful articles in there as well.

[rob S]

Originally Posted by Jules

Also the 500 series Fairchild copy compressors on show were excellent sounding, I must say..

Sorry to interrupt your private thread Mr Schnapf!

very funny, my private thread on a public forum.

the fairchild thing looks pretty cool.
i take it there are no valves involved?

[rob S]

oh yeah thats right the studer and the M79.
my bad.
that was last summer so i cant exactly remember but i think i ended up using the M79 on some horns and bgv's and liking it more than the studer.
maybe because it was more colored or something.
but what i meant was when you did your comparison, you say the real thing sounded better but did the anamod version have any of the personality or characteristics that the real one had even though the real deal slayed it?
alright breaktime is over, back to work......

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by rob S

but what i meant was when you did your comparison, you say the real thing sounded better but did the anamod version have any of the personality or characteristics that the real one had even though the real deal slayed it?

Yes the nuances were there just less than[M79]

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[rodreb]

Hello Rob,

I just recently picked up the Switches "Lay Down The Law" CD on a whim. I had never heard of them and still have no idea "who" they are, where they're from or anything about them but...... the album sounds GREAT!!! Great production, great sound, great tunes.

I seem to hear some ELO and 10cc influences going on.

Great job, guitars sound super (as do the drums,vocals, etc)

It seems to my ears that a HUGE percentage of the new music out there these days is almost unlistenable, either from a sound standpoint or a songwriting standpoint so, what a pleasure it is to hear a CD like this.

Great job! Any details on the recording process for this album?

Thanks, ROD
Imaginary Friend Recording

[rob S]

Originally Posted by rodreb

Hello Rob,

I just recently picked up the Switches "Lay Down The Law" CD on a whim. I had never heard of them and still have no idea "who" they are, where they're from or anything about them but...... the album sounds GREAT!!! Great production, great sound, great tunes.

I seem to hear some ELO and 10cc influences going on.

Great job, guitars sound super (as do the drums,vocals, etc)

It seems to my ears that a HUGE percentage of the new music out there these days is almost unlistenable, either from a sound standpoint or a songwriting standpoint so, what a pleasure it is to hear a CD like this.

Great job! Any details on the recording process for this album?

Thanks, ROD
Imaginary Friend Recording

hey rod,

glad you like it.
that record had alot of production on it.
great fun to do(overdo) every now and then.
ELO and 10cc not to mention queen, T rex, bowie
and the vines as influences.
teles, strats and P-90's were our primary sources of gtr sounds.
moogs and mellotrons with the occasional solinas string ensemble for the keyboards.
la3a's 1176's distressors api and neve do the bulk of the work.
don't wanna get to detailed, it gets boring.
time to mix
rob

[Fleaman]

Originally Posted by rob S

yeah, i heard the 351 card was really cool.
the guy that lent us it really liked the M79 as well.
i only heard the first ones which i think were the studer and the ATR.
i like this box alot better when someone else buys it and i get to use it.
if its my money, not so much.
when you did the comparison between the M79 and the ananmod did you find similiar characteristics?
what kind of tape were you using?

Hey Rob,

It was my Anamod you guys checked out. It had the Studer/M79 cards in it at the time. While 'nice', it wasn't $3k nice to me. Also, the biggest difference/mojo was on drums, which you guys hadn't tried it on (according to Doug). Even so, It wasn't me that 'really liked the M79 card', or even the Studer card, musta been someone else...

I was thinking hard about returning it (pretty much decided to), then the 351 card showed up and it changed everything. I think I mentioned this to you at the easter picnic, but that 351 card is the sh*t, everything is way better through it. And unfortunately I became the someone else that now owns it for good. I don't even bother with the Studer/M79 cards now.

Anyway, if you guys have a situation to wanna try it out again, let me or Doug know and I'll shove it off for a few days if ya like. 351 + drums is Magic

[rob S]

exactly the easter picnic is when you told me about the 351.
i love using your anamod......
you should come by and check out the new studio once we get it on the air.
its sort of doing sessions right now but the main console isnt in yet.
hotrodded MCI 428B and an electrodyne.
should be sometime next week.
doug and i will be camped most of june and some of july in there.
alright
rob

[Fleaman]

Sounds fun......

I quick little walk over the hill, if it's not too hot.

Anamod is finalizing the Scotch 111 tape card, think I'm gonna check it out.

[RoundBadge]

Did the Greg & co give you a release date on the ATR card yet?
\


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[Fleaman]

Nope, but I haven't asked recently. I got so jazzed up with the 351 card I kinda lost interest...

[rob S]

have you noticed a big difference between tracking thru it and playing back thru it as compared just playback?

[Fleaman]

Originally Posted by rob S

have you noticed a big difference between tracking thru it and playing back thru it as compared just playback?

In this strict sense, no. If I track a snare track through it or just played a digitally recorded snare track, to the anamod it's just the same (minus the difference the digital signal might have).

But I don't think that is what you meant.

Individual built up tracks vs. just a stereo buss, yes big difference. Just like a tape machine, multitracked project (2") vs. digital multitrack mixed down to a 2 trk tape.

On the program/stereo stuff you can hit the anamod, and hear a nice tape compression/saturation (with that 351 card!), but it might be missing or not affecting the non-transient stuff as much, like Vox, strummed gtr, etc. But if it do it individually, snr, kick, OH (or just drum buss), gtr, vox, etc.,..you can really drive each instrument or buss the way you want, like 2". Then you can still hit it on the stereo buss for the final touch. That is the best/ideal....but tough with only 2ch.

So in a sense, it's like having a 2trk tape machine. You can either bounce/track everything through it or just wait to the end for mix down and use it on just the drum buss (the biggest difference of course) or the stereo buss. I prefer to have everything through it, so I've been bouncing tutt.

Bottom line is we need 16 channels @ $6k (8 ch units @ $3k). Just like a tape machine. Can probably be done with surface mount components

[rob S]

tried out the new lexicon reverb for a couple of days.
its very nice.
pretty deep.
just barely scratched the surface of it.
it sounds really really good.

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by rob S

tried out the new lexicon reverb for a couple of days.
its very nice.
pretty deep.
just barely scratched the surface of it.
it sounds really really good.

Right on.
I love it too.
bought one about a month ago.
Put it up against the old 480 and we prefered the 96.
and the plates are good.never really liked the 480 plates
To me the 480 overall sounded grainy by comparison.
Have you tired the Bricasti yet?
for clean/real spaces great.
Best sounding artificial rooms I've ever heardthumbsup


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[rob S]

havent heard or tried the bricasti.
you prefer it over the lexicon?

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by rob S

you prefer it over the lexicon?

Both great.They actually compliment each other nicely.
the Lex has the really nice rich lush stuff.
The Bricasti really sounds like live rooms..thumbsup


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[rob S]

do you like altiverb at all?

[RoundBadge]

Well the real verb impulse clones never sound as wide /deep as the real thing.. but Yes for certain things[like stuff I don't have: weird springs and churches,halls.hallways]. always returned on their own console channels so I can eq,compress,fvck it up in the mix..also TL space has some really weird ambient/droney sound design super out there impulses that are fun to blend in under stuff.