Audio
Engineering Society
Chicago SectionMeeting Recap - June 21, 2011
AES
Chicago Section Meeting Highlights
Meeting
Date: June 21, 2011
By:
Ken Platz and Kerry J Haps
"It
was a dark and stormy night", said Wes Dooley, taking full
advantage of the proximity effect in his KU4, big ribbon cardioid
microphone, as he brought the evening's talk to a close.
On
Tuesday night, June 21st,
the Chicago Section of the Audio Engineering Society held the last
meeting of the 2010/2011 season by conducting elections for the
upcoming year and hosting Wes Dooley of Audio Engineering
Associates (AEA).
Election
results for the upcoming 2011/2012 year:
Chair:
Kerry J Haps; Vice-Chair: Giles Davis; Treasurer: Rivanaldo
Oliveira; Secretary: Ken Platz; Webmaster: Chad Cline
Committee: Bob Cochran;
Teri Grossheim; Gary Khan; Charles King; Bradley Olson; Bob
Schulein; Jeff Segota
Topic:
Ribbon Microphones: Then and Now
Presenter:
Wes Dooley
Wes
Dooley began his presentation by providing a brief history of
microphone development and how improvements to the designs of the
early audio pioneers have enabled ribbon microphones to stand the
test of time – recognizing the recent ‘re-interest’ in using
ribbon microphones for the studio and the stage.
Reviewing
notes from the evening, I realized that most of what I formally
captured was the paraphrased comments or insights that came from
Wes’s experiences and observations:
“…the
common setup of using microphones as MS stereo pairs went out of
style…but not
out of fashion...”
“How
many of you used to record stuff?...How many of you are still
recording?...There’s no end in sight…”
“…making
ribbon microphones – you can make enough to survive if you’re
careful…”
“I
do everything I know how to do.”
“It’s
all physics – design designs relative to performance.”
When
you measure your designs and determine your design changes “make
a difference”, you need to ask yourself, “but does it
matter?”
In
regards to predictive modeling, “you could model ribbon
microphones but you’re better off if you build it and see how
it does…”; “Trial and error works better for me.”
“The
1932 RCA 44A was a sonic revolution.”
“Transformers
and transformer design – now that is the true black art”
I
have always been impressed when great thinkers and designers
acknowledge those that have come before them and Wes did just that
in his presentation. He referred to the early microphone pioneers
of Walter Schottky, Erwin Gerlack, and Harry Olson and also
mentioned our great contemporaries – from Richard Heyser to
Walter Sear.
Across
the Chicago area, violent storms raged, knocking out power,
downing trees, and even, somewhat ironically, canceling an Earth,
Wind and Fire concert, but Chicago's AES section was dry and safe
in the S.N. Shure Theater, and entertained and further educated by
the good Wes Dooley.
The
Chicago AES Section would like to extend a special thank you to
Wes Dooley for providing our Section a very informative and lively
presentation.
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