The Abbey Road Experience.

Many times while reviewing a piece of music I'll have listeners jump in for the ride. Here is a copy of one of those times.

"I think we will pick up the Abbey Road Experience here since there has been interest from several people. I invite you to join in and ask questions and make observations.

I will not promise you that I will make this recording the way you want it to sound but I will show you how much is in this big soundstage recording.



here's where we left off

hi Sonic

For years I have encouraged people to get involved with me in listening. I'm glad you are doing so.

The very first thing I do when starting with Abbey Road is go to the 10th track to develop my starter stage. Keep in mind that I've been listening with no high frequency brightness which is my own personal thing but people may do what they wish. I like turning bright into air. Detail and bright are not the same thing at all in my book. if I ever hear bright I know that I've got blockage and this blockage is almost always caused from something in the system being too heavy.

got my ears on

So, I pop on 10 and with one 5 second adjustment on the canopy over the receiver I start listening. I have my tape measure by just so I can paint a little picture. The crickets (sounds like a single cricket) are 35' wide and 25' deep start to finish. There is a very nice movement that happens with no jumps across the stage and not a cricket near the speakers ever. You can hear the tape loop stop and start midstage but it stays right in place. A good start. The crickets are very defined with a medium space around them. It definately puts me outside. The center of the cricket image is about 8' tall but this can be put anywhere height wise. I'll leave it where it is at cause I like it and move on. I start the song again and listen to the mallets hitting the cymbals. This song along with the rest of the recording is a panning masterpiece. This is demonstrated by the romantically paced cymbal hitting that goes on while the cymbals are paned along with the guitar. While the cricket starts his journey the instruments begin on the opposite side 10' left of center The first splash goes from left to right starting about 3' left of my left speaker and flows across the stage. As soon as it dies another hit of the cymbal starts, and this continues. The drums starting in the same general area also makes the soft gentle pan left to right. These are both very important cause they make the movement of the guitar very pleasing as they support the space and fill it with a sound wall deep and rich. Once the drums make it to the right side the stage is full of air and stays full to greet the vocals. But while your waiting you are taken away by the movement sweeping from side to side while staying very full. As soon as the drums arrive there are no holes in the stage anywhere. It's like sitting in a 3D movie. The bass stays very stable as the rest of the music moves. It's nice to go back to the bass once in a while to hear it deal with it's recording blips but who cares It's part of the fun.

So there you have it my first minute into the sun king.

BTW, at anytime if you hear something happen in the music that is cool let me know so if I don't get it I can make it happen. I love playing!

note: Did you know the Beatles White Album was one of the first big recordings that jumped from the 4 track machine to 8 tracks. You can hear George Martin put all eight to good use on Abbey Road.

Bill speaking

Here's what I'm hearing on my own system on Sun King:

The crickets span 10' from right to left, and about 5' deep. Essentially, the width of the room and the depth of the room behind the speakers. The transition is smooth and not difficult to follow.

It took me a while to identify the cymbals in the mix. The cymbal and the guitar go through the same width and depth as the crickets, but starting on the opposite side. They seem to disappear at times- I don't think I'm getting enough clarity and low-level resolution to reveal them as continuous.

The soundstaging is actually very large and clear compared to any other system I've ever owned, even though it isn't extending much beyond the speakers or the room boundaries at the moment.

MG
Great Bill, excellent!

How tall are the crickets and do they at any time go into the speakers?

Do you hear the panning back and forth with the guitar? How high is the guitar and how full?

When the instruments start on the left side do they start at the speaker or just left of the speaker?

Do they sound like they are starting in the speaker or just above it?

Bill
Hi Michael,

The crickets are 5' tall. As for whether they go into the speakers, I find that kind of hard to answer for the Quads. The Quads are 32" wide and 26" tall, so that encompasses a pretty large area. It doesn't usually sound like things are coming from the panels themselves- with the very start of the crickets, it sounds like it's about 6" to the right and a foot behind. As they move to the left they sound like they are behind the panel, rising in an arc towards the center of the room.

Yes, I definitely hear the panning of the guitar. At its full height in the center, it's about 4 feet. The fullness seems to be somewhat less than that of the bass guitar. From what I can hear, it starts out strongly and then seems to lower in volume after a few riffs.

When the instruments start out, they sound a few inches to the left of the speaker, and behind it a bit. Like the crickets, they transition across the speaker in a rising arc.

The instruments definitely do not start above the panel. They sound like they are at about 2/3 the height of the panel. Maybe this is the panel speaker equivalent of above the speaker?

MG
HI Bill

So here's what I'm basically getting.



Bill

You mean this is what you're hearing in your room?

That's similar to the pattern I hear also, except that everything at the far left and right sides is much lower because the Quads are so low.

MG

Yes, this is my room only the image is bigger than I can draw. See how easy it is? The first step to real is right in front of you.

You now know a couple things about your present system without even going any further.

You know your system is in phase and able to produce the soundstage.

You know that either the speakers need to be raised or the speakers are causing blockage which can pull the stage down toward the speaker.

You also may be getting blockage from the equipment or the transfer.

You know that by the size of your stage it can be opened up more if you wish (making the instruments bigger).

But basically you can begin fine tuning the sound making it to your liking.

Ok folks

Lets work on tonal balance just for a second before moving on. You have by now located and followed to cymbals right? Well a way to know if your setup has got blockage in the upper mids highs is to look at the cymbals and hi hat.

The first cymbal hit is a ride that starts in with that group over to the left yet not up front but behind the drums bass and guitar. The splash is 3 feet wide and flows for about 8' toward the center and back to 10'as it fills out and dissolves into the stage. The next cymbal splashes to the right (on my setup) about 8' back and 8'wide to flow just to the outside of the room if your room ends at your speakers being close to the wall. The decay on this cymbal goes pretty deep in the stage I would say around 15' on some of the hits and a little less on others. The hi hat appears in front of this cymbal right of the center of it 3' behind the speakers and a little to the right of the speaker. On my setup I sometimes will bring the Hi Hat in front of the speaker but let's do the easy stuff first. The hi hat seems very real sized saying that it was probably close miked. Now here's the important part and the one that is tempting to lie or cheat on the test (there is no test). Almost all high end systems have a problem with brightness. Most times we call this detail but it is nothing more than a gathering of frequencies around the higher notes that are compressed. This is not detail but the absence of the full range of frequencies that are around the note. Detail is when you can hear the hit and the air around the hit as well. There are very few microphones designed to pick up just the hit and highs of an instrument like a cymbal and I guarantee you that they were not used on this recording.

Your typical recorded cymbal is going to start around 300hz -600hz and depending on the type of cymbal over 20khz in decay. Surprised? If your hearing these 3 cymbals at a higher frequency say around 2khz-3khz without hearing the lower splash you have a very typical form of signal blockage. Here's where you need to be very honest with yourself cause it will make or break the recording later on. All 3 of these cymbals have size to them. If you are hearing the cymbal sounding more tight on this song without a 2' feet splash on the hi hat and 5' and up splash on the other 2 let me know. Splash on a good setup will go both up and down hz wise as the cymbal grows. If your hearing the cymbals only go up in pitch let me know. This is a sign of dampening.

Cymbals are a foundation to listening so always pay attention to the splash as you listen as this will tell you why somethings are working or not working. Here's why I'm harping on this!!!!!! Cymbals in your recording can be used as your systems "equalizing tester". It's a trick that if you get it down and are always on the look out will help you keep your system from getting out of tonal balance. Cymbals I have found are better than any test CD. When I hear a cymbal shrink or head north on the scale I know I've got blockage building up and need to go rescue the frequencies in distress. It never fails!"

end of part one

Audiophile fact

Did you know that your audio equipment sounds better turned on the whole time? It's true. If you leave your audio system always on playing it allows the signal path to develop something known as burn in. Burn in is when the parts are charged enough to develop patterns in the way the music flows through the system. Sounds weird but the parts actually start sounding like the music they are playing. Thats right if you turned up the signal at any part in the audio path you would be able to hear the music playing through it. It's all about vibration. I know you probably won't want to play the music at real listening volumes to keep it burning but even at very low volumes it makes a big difference. Ok, so lets say the music keeps you up at night, still keep the system on and don't turn up the sound. Even a static system turned on sounds better than a system that gets turned on only when it is played.

If there was a defining moment for me in the music biz it would have to be working with David Bowie. I love being a designer but deep inside I'm a designer because I'm such a huge fan of the folks that have brought us music. The first DB LP I ever got was Ziggy and I think it is still my favorite even though that whole period from Ziggy Sane Pinups and Dogs is something that really all fits together. I became a little bro to Mick Ronson (guitar God) which got me into the crowd but then meeting up with several engineers got me in a position to work with an interesting bunch of music animals who during the 70's and early 80's were all seeming to be going through interesting times in their lives. Kind of a spiritual awakening for many of them. Even though "Natch" (my music nickname) wasn't around during the Ziggy time Mick (because I was such a Ziggy fan) called me "Little Spider". I now tell a white lie to people who don't know I was too young that I was one of the "Spiders From Mars". Well an honorary spider is close in my book.

the 40 anniversary is now out

bi was my guy,,iol

that's a bad man ,,,his fitness and his moves are beyond,,,,,

maybe halfway to a Korean Michael Jackson,,lol,, well if he had stayed in the game

my understanding is bi never wanted to make music a lifetime thing and wanted to settle with a family once he reached his thirties....

Yeah. It's a must watch :) You will enjoy it :) I think his latest drama is "The Fugitive". It was aired 2010. So busy in his singinv career :)

Come To My Chat area I'm New Too This Nd I wanna Meet New Ppl

Yes, I like a lot of spacial head music. This doesn't limit listening to any one type it just means that there is a lot more on the CD than we give credit to. Here's a fact you may not know. Even if you have your system setup to deliver a fairly good presentation you are more than likely hearing maybe 10 percent of the music.

When I bring people in for a listen they always are saying "never heard that before". This is mainly because the art of listening is more than a system in a room. When you turn your room into your system you find a whole new chapter to listening to music that you never thought was there.



This is one of my rooms, but don't let it fool you. If you took your basic system, set it up in a spare bedroom, and did a couple of tricks you would hear your music in a completely different way than you ever had before.

The hobby of being an audiophile listener has a few tricks that you can do to make your system really perform. Once you do these tricks and put on your music you will be shocked at how much more there is to the sound than you had before.

Please note this is only my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. Not here to come off as preachy, but hear me out if you can.

Sometimes after we've been single for a long while, we can learn to appreciate the freedom of it. But we have to look at life with better eyes than the "depressed about BEING single" kind.

I used to be that way. Then over time, it didn't really bother me anymore. I had good friends, a great family, no drug or alcohol addictions, was reasonably healthy for a guy my age, I wasn't tied down to anyone, had a lot of great hobbies and led a well-rounded life. In that time, I learned it's not so bad being single, it all about attitude. Life's more than a relationship status or a label, in my opinion.

To love another, you have to love yourself first, otherwise nobody else can love you. Once I got that coda, that belief down to a science, life was fun again. And I got noticed by a great lady who I now call my sweety.

Im taken and happy, but before that I had to learn to be single....and STILL happy. so, to those of you who are single and unhappy, I can relate, but always remember this:

At point A, you are born.
At point B, you are history.
What happens in between? It's up to YOU.

food for thought, right? This too shall pass.

Have faith in yourself cuz you're awesome and you're the only one who DOESNT know it....yet!

Hoping my post lifted your spirits, ladies and gents!

Take care out there!