Hi everyone,
As a new member here, I’d like to introduce you to my label, Soundkeeper Recordings.
Several years ago, I hit a burn out point with so many record industry folks evaluating mastering work using loudness meters instead of loudspeakers. So I stopped promoting my mastering services to the big labels and stepped back to re-evaluate just why I was doing what I was doing.
After spending some time writing computer software, I realized that rather than enter projects at the mastering stage, I wanted to take them all the way, starting from the microphones. I’d come to realize that 90-95% of a recording’s ultimate sonic quality has already been determined by the time the signals are leaving the microphones.
So, I decided to start a label, which I named Soundkeeper Recordings, the soundkeeper being charged with the caretaking of the sound. I wanted recordings that sound like attending the performance rather than like studio creations. (I think both approaches are valid and each yields results the other cannot. My interest, however, is in capturing what occurs in a real performance.)
Everything is recorded in spaces suitable to whatever the music is: auditoriums, churches, etc., rather than the artificial confines of a studio. I use a matched pair of microphones, separated by a baffle of my own design (outlined in my article “Recording in Stereo”.
The audio is captured at 24/192 (except for our first release where the gear I used only went up to 24/96). Output from the microphones is fed, via a pair of balanced Nordost Valkyrja cables, to a Metric Halo ULN-8, which serves as mic preamps and A-D converters. (Incidentally, the ULN-8’s preamps are the cleanest in my experience and its conversion, at 24/192, represents the very first time in my experience that I cannot distinguish the recording from the direct mic feed. This is something I’ve never experienced before, with any recorder, analog or digital, regardless of price or format.)
AC at recording sessions is first fed to a power conditioner. Both the ULN-8 and the Mac laptop that will store the audio are “afloat” using vibration isolation devices of my own design.
All recordings are complete performances. The “mix” is accomplished *before* I press the red “Record” button, by moving instruments and players physically on the stage, instead of by moving faders on a console. Dynamics of the performance are kept fully intact – no loudness wars here! There is no console, no mix, no overdubs, no processing. We call it “recording without a net”.
Mastering is done at my own studio (BDA) with dedicated, filtered and conditioned AC lines. All the gear (including the speakers and subs) is supported on vibration isolation devices of my own design and the electronics sit on my own design, Enjoyyourshelf racks, which feature independent vibration isolation for each shelf (I call them the world's first piece of furniture with a fully independent suspension!) The room is fully treated acoustically, for quelling of resonant modes, absorption of early reflections and diffuion of late reflections. Monitoring is via Magnepan 3.7s, augmented by stereo subs from 30 Hz down. All cabling is by Nordost.
***
Ever since the first CD I mastered, in early 1893, I’ve said CDs from different replication facilities all sound different from each other and that *none* sounds indistinguishable from the master used to create it. Having worked with dozens of plants all over the world, I selected the one that does the best work in my experience, to produce Soundkeeper CDs.
But I wanted the CD to be the start of what Soundkeeper offers, not the end. So we also offer 6 custom burned formats:
CD-R at $20 (for those using a transport or player, I find the CD-R gets more of the CD master than even the best pressings I've been able to get - which are the best in my experience; for those who will extract audio from the disc to be used with a music server, such as a computer, there will be no difference in sonics – the differences appear, subtle though they may be, only when the disc is used in a player or transport).
DVD-R at $30 (24/96 in standard DVD-V, video, format, so no special player is needed; there is no video content other than rudimentary menus but the DVD video standard allowed for 24/96 PCM from the start, so we use it).
24/96 files-on-disc DVD-R at $35 (in either .aif or .wav format, customer's choice at order time; we don't do FLAC because I don't find it sonically equal).
24/192 files-on-disc DVD-R at $45 (in either .aif or .wav format, customer's choice at order time).
All the burned formats include the same printed booklet and traycard as the pressed CD. In addition, the first 25 copies of each of the burned formats are autographed by the artist. The files-on-disc versions also include a pdf of the booklet and a high res .jpg of the album cover.
We do *not* offer downloads, for several reasons. Among these, our artists conceive of their work as whole albums and I don’t want to break these into “singles”. Further, a download of a whole album (4 gig or larger 24/192) takes a long, long time, even on the fastest systems. Where others reduce file size of their “singles” by using the so-called “lossless” formats like Flac, to my ears, when these are decoded while being listened to, there is a sonic price to pay. As such, our files-on-disc offerings are in raw PCM formats only (.aif or .wav).
Soundkeeper Recordings are available only direct from Soundkeeper. Rather than give a "cut" to a third party, I want to maximize what the artist gets from each sale (which, incidentally, is much larger than what even the biggest acts get from the major labels -- I really want to support our artists). From the start, I wanted to approach the business end as differently as we approach the audio end.
There are samples from everything and photos from the recording sessions on the Soundkeeper Web site. In addition, we have a "Format Comparison" page where folks can download longer .wav samples of one song from each album, at each of the resolutions we offer.
***
Our releases so far:
SR001 “Lift” by Work of Art
Recorded in a church deep in the woods of upstate NY, “Lift” is a mostly acoustic set, though Art does “plug in” for a few tracks. This was recorded at 24/96. All of our subsequent releases were recorded at 24/192.
SR002 “Equinox” by Markus Schwartz & Lakou Brooklyn
Recorded in a beautiful auditorium built in 1908, “Equinox” features Haitian melodies played with a jazz sensibility. Instrumentation is Markus on assorted percussion (including a JamMan, used live to build loops, making Markus sound like several percussionists at once), acoustic bass – unamplified, electric guitar, trumpet and some vocals. “Equinox” was chosen by Stereophile as its Recording of the Month in February 2011.
SR003 “Confluence” by Jason Vitelli
Recorded in the same room as “Equinox”, “Confluence” features tracks that might be the world’s first “purist” recordings of a full electric rock band. The albums 17 tracks range from Jason solo at the piano, to a piano-voice/cello duet, a piano-voice/cello/French horn trio, guitar-voice/piano duet to full electric rock band including a few tracks with cello, French horn and celeste (a real one, not a “keyboard”). Jason writes original, literate. moody songs and I’m still surprised he hasn’t been swept up by a larger label – lucky me!
SR004 “Americas” by Paul Beaudry & Pathways
This is our latest release, coming out next week, May 1. It features Paul Beaudry (who played bass on “Equinox”) and his band Pathways (piano, saxophone, drums), also recorded in the same auditorium in which “Equinox” and “Confluence” were done. As with “Confluence”, the piano is the room’s immaculately maintained 1908 Steinway grand.
Paul & Pathways had recently returned from a Rhythm Road tour of Central and South America and the Caribbean. On the tour, sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. State Department, the band gave seminars, jazz classes and performed concerts, learning local music all along the way. “Americas” is a collection of the music from those far off lands, played with the band’s jazz sensibilities. It also includes an original by the group’s pianist, Bennett Paster.
***
Outside of Soundkeeper, I still do independent mastering also but nowadays, I respond to all inquiries by first asking how important level is. I take on the job only if the client understands the best way to achieve loudness is with the playback volume control. On those mastering projects I would consider, I started asking for something to listen to first and only accepted those I felt some musical attraction to.
But Soundkeeper Recordings is the fulfillment of a long held dream of mine – to make recordings that bring the listener to the performance.
A long introduction, to be sure. I hope it is of interest. Please visit the Web sites in my signature for more information.
Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com
As a new member here, I’d like to introduce you to my label, Soundkeeper Recordings.
Several years ago, I hit a burn out point with so many record industry folks evaluating mastering work using loudness meters instead of loudspeakers. So I stopped promoting my mastering services to the big labels and stepped back to re-evaluate just why I was doing what I was doing.
After spending some time writing computer software, I realized that rather than enter projects at the mastering stage, I wanted to take them all the way, starting from the microphones. I’d come to realize that 90-95% of a recording’s ultimate sonic quality has already been determined by the time the signals are leaving the microphones.
So, I decided to start a label, which I named Soundkeeper Recordings, the soundkeeper being charged with the caretaking of the sound. I wanted recordings that sound like attending the performance rather than like studio creations. (I think both approaches are valid and each yields results the other cannot. My interest, however, is in capturing what occurs in a real performance.)
Everything is recorded in spaces suitable to whatever the music is: auditoriums, churches, etc., rather than the artificial confines of a studio. I use a matched pair of microphones, separated by a baffle of my own design (outlined in my article “Recording in Stereo”.
The audio is captured at 24/192 (except for our first release where the gear I used only went up to 24/96). Output from the microphones is fed, via a pair of balanced Nordost Valkyrja cables, to a Metric Halo ULN-8, which serves as mic preamps and A-D converters. (Incidentally, the ULN-8’s preamps are the cleanest in my experience and its conversion, at 24/192, represents the very first time in my experience that I cannot distinguish the recording from the direct mic feed. This is something I’ve never experienced before, with any recorder, analog or digital, regardless of price or format.)
AC at recording sessions is first fed to a power conditioner. Both the ULN-8 and the Mac laptop that will store the audio are “afloat” using vibration isolation devices of my own design.
All recordings are complete performances. The “mix” is accomplished *before* I press the red “Record” button, by moving instruments and players physically on the stage, instead of by moving faders on a console. Dynamics of the performance are kept fully intact – no loudness wars here! There is no console, no mix, no overdubs, no processing. We call it “recording without a net”.
Mastering is done at my own studio (BDA) with dedicated, filtered and conditioned AC lines. All the gear (including the speakers and subs) is supported on vibration isolation devices of my own design and the electronics sit on my own design, Enjoyyourshelf racks, which feature independent vibration isolation for each shelf (I call them the world's first piece of furniture with a fully independent suspension!) The room is fully treated acoustically, for quelling of resonant modes, absorption of early reflections and diffuion of late reflections. Monitoring is via Magnepan 3.7s, augmented by stereo subs from 30 Hz down. All cabling is by Nordost.
***
Ever since the first CD I mastered, in early 1893, I’ve said CDs from different replication facilities all sound different from each other and that *none* sounds indistinguishable from the master used to create it. Having worked with dozens of plants all over the world, I selected the one that does the best work in my experience, to produce Soundkeeper CDs.
But I wanted the CD to be the start of what Soundkeeper offers, not the end. So we also offer 6 custom burned formats:
CD-R at $20 (for those using a transport or player, I find the CD-R gets more of the CD master than even the best pressings I've been able to get - which are the best in my experience; for those who will extract audio from the disc to be used with a music server, such as a computer, there will be no difference in sonics – the differences appear, subtle though they may be, only when the disc is used in a player or transport).
DVD-R at $30 (24/96 in standard DVD-V, video, format, so no special player is needed; there is no video content other than rudimentary menus but the DVD video standard allowed for 24/96 PCM from the start, so we use it).
24/96 files-on-disc DVD-R at $35 (in either .aif or .wav format, customer's choice at order time; we don't do FLAC because I don't find it sonically equal).
24/192 files-on-disc DVD-R at $45 (in either .aif or .wav format, customer's choice at order time).
All the burned formats include the same printed booklet and traycard as the pressed CD. In addition, the first 25 copies of each of the burned formats are autographed by the artist. The files-on-disc versions also include a pdf of the booklet and a high res .jpg of the album cover.
We do *not* offer downloads, for several reasons. Among these, our artists conceive of their work as whole albums and I don’t want to break these into “singles”. Further, a download of a whole album (4 gig or larger 24/192) takes a long, long time, even on the fastest systems. Where others reduce file size of their “singles” by using the so-called “lossless” formats like Flac, to my ears, when these are decoded while being listened to, there is a sonic price to pay. As such, our files-on-disc offerings are in raw PCM formats only (.aif or .wav).
Soundkeeper Recordings are available only direct from Soundkeeper. Rather than give a "cut" to a third party, I want to maximize what the artist gets from each sale (which, incidentally, is much larger than what even the biggest acts get from the major labels -- I really want to support our artists). From the start, I wanted to approach the business end as differently as we approach the audio end.
There are samples from everything and photos from the recording sessions on the Soundkeeper Web site. In addition, we have a "Format Comparison" page where folks can download longer .wav samples of one song from each album, at each of the resolutions we offer.
***
Our releases so far:
SR001 “Lift” by Work of Art
Recorded in a church deep in the woods of upstate NY, “Lift” is a mostly acoustic set, though Art does “plug in” for a few tracks. This was recorded at 24/96. All of our subsequent releases were recorded at 24/192.
SR002 “Equinox” by Markus Schwartz & Lakou Brooklyn
Recorded in a beautiful auditorium built in 1908, “Equinox” features Haitian melodies played with a jazz sensibility. Instrumentation is Markus on assorted percussion (including a JamMan, used live to build loops, making Markus sound like several percussionists at once), acoustic bass – unamplified, electric guitar, trumpet and some vocals. “Equinox” was chosen by Stereophile as its Recording of the Month in February 2011.
SR003 “Confluence” by Jason Vitelli
Recorded in the same room as “Equinox”, “Confluence” features tracks that might be the world’s first “purist” recordings of a full electric rock band. The albums 17 tracks range from Jason solo at the piano, to a piano-voice/cello duet, a piano-voice/cello/French horn trio, guitar-voice/piano duet to full electric rock band including a few tracks with cello, French horn and celeste (a real one, not a “keyboard”). Jason writes original, literate. moody songs and I’m still surprised he hasn’t been swept up by a larger label – lucky me!
SR004 “Americas” by Paul Beaudry & Pathways
This is our latest release, coming out next week, May 1. It features Paul Beaudry (who played bass on “Equinox”) and his band Pathways (piano, saxophone, drums), also recorded in the same auditorium in which “Equinox” and “Confluence” were done. As with “Confluence”, the piano is the room’s immaculately maintained 1908 Steinway grand.
Paul & Pathways had recently returned from a Rhythm Road tour of Central and South America and the Caribbean. On the tour, sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. State Department, the band gave seminars, jazz classes and performed concerts, learning local music all along the way. “Americas” is a collection of the music from those far off lands, played with the band’s jazz sensibilities. It also includes an original by the group’s pianist, Bennett Paster.
***
Outside of Soundkeeper, I still do independent mastering also but nowadays, I respond to all inquiries by first asking how important level is. I take on the job only if the client understands the best way to achieve loudness is with the playback volume control. On those mastering projects I would consider, I started asking for something to listen to first and only accepted those I felt some musical attraction to.
But Soundkeeper Recordings is the fulfillment of a long held dream of mine – to make recordings that bring the listener to the performance.
A long introduction, to be sure. I hope it is of interest. Please visit the Web sites in my signature for more information.
Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com
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