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| Matt McGlynn Checking out the Blackspade Mics |
One of the challenges with showing microphones at a consumer or trade
show like the AES Show is that it is what do you do? People don't buy microphones based on looks (well maybe a little
bit...) they want to know what they sound like. While there are many microphone manufacturers that provide listening
set ups at trade shows we don't believe that they're very helpful. Ideally, to audition a mic properly you need to hear
the microphone in your own studio on multiple different sources through multiple different pre-amplifiers to get a true sense
of what a mic can deliver. Unfortunately, you can't recreate that on the floor of a trade show. And while sticking
some headphones on and saying "check one, check two, sibilance" through a mic may give you a rudimentary idea of
what the mic sounds like, it's also equally possible that hearing every passer by through the microphone and the 300th replaying
of Michael Jackon's Beat It from the booth next door might make you hear something that causes you to go "huh, I'm
not impressed". So while you can't bring your recording studio with you, we thought this year we'd bring you
to a studio to check out the two lines of microphones that manufacture as an OEM product.
Fortunately for us, we have friends in NYC! Scott Clark who owns Mercy Sound Recording Studios also happens to own several CS-1 and CS-4 microphones. Having spoken to him numerous times over the last year I was
able to explain our situation and he pointed out that there where Mercy Sound is located, there are actually two other studios
located on the same floor. He then introduced us to Paul Cox of Metaphonic Recording Studios and they were gracious enough to provide their facilities to us for the evening for the event. Both studios love using
the Lucas mics and wanted to check out the Blackspade mics as well. Thanks to Scott, Paul and their engineers they set
up the studios for trying listening to the mics, arranged for some musicians to drop by the studio and even helped us order
pizza!
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| Matt Castillo and Slau Halatyn at the board |
Metaphonic Recording Studios
We put the Blackspade microphones into Metaphonic Recording Studio's sound
booth. Engineer Matt Castillo set the UM17, UM17R and UM25 up so that we could record and listen to the source on the
same performances. This worked great for both the saxophone and acoustic guitar but was a little tricky on the female
vocal. For that we moved mics around to give each one a good chance with the vocalist. The mics were run through
an API 3124 and then brought back through the Metaphonic's Control 24 mixer. Folks
took turns at the board switching between mics and we all played the "guess which mic is on now" game as we cycled
through the performances. The reaction to all of the Blackspade mics were very positive and it was a great way to showcase
there characteristics.
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| John Notar at the helm with Barry Hufker, Terry, John Whynot and Keith Bird in back |
Mercy
Sound Recording Studios
The Lucas mics were run
in Mercy Sound Recording Studio's sound booth since Scott already owned a Lucas CS-1 and CS-4 that we used for the demo.
Unfortunately, we did not have a working CS-3 for the event but hopefully that will be available for something next year...
Engineer Jon Notar set up this room for the Lucas mics as he gets to use them on a regular basis in that room! The same
musicians that we used to audition each of the Blackspade mics were rotated through this room with one exception. Tamara,
wife of John Whynot, was on hand to do some singing into the microphones as we waited for the scheduled female vocalist to
arrive. I think John left the studio on the CS-1 waiting list after that audition...
Overall, it seemed that the guests who were there enjoyed the event. I have some
ideas for improvements for next time but all in all it achieved what we wanted to do- provide folks with an opportunity to
hear these great mics in an environment that feels more like home than a trade show floor. It was also great to make
new friends. Thanks again to Paul Cox, Scott Clark, Jon Notar and Matt Castillo and all of the folks who attended the
event! For those of you who are in need of studio space and services in NYC look these guys up to see if they can handle
your needs. The whole staff was great to work with.
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| Paul Cox of Metaphonic Recording Studio |
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| Blackspade with vocalist |
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| Scott Clark, Matt Castillo and Barry Hufker |
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| Nice Mics!- CS-4, CS-1, UM25 and UM17R |
