NPR: Couple's Custom Microphones Carry Colorful Past

So this article strains way to hard to make the Hitler connection...

Ok, it's still a good read though.

NPR has posted an article up about John Peluso, a boutique microphone manufacturer, whose not only trying to replicate the look, but also the sound of classic microphones. As a studio engineer, John worked on Sony's, AKG's, RCA's, and Neumann's, and learned quite a bit of his craft from Verner Ruvalds (a physicist responsible for the bottle mics popularized by Hitler's speeches).

Of course the article focuses on that, and it is kind of chilling to think how Nazi propaganda was tactically planned down to the micron measurements of their microphones (there's probably a lesson in there somewhere buried in our villification of history),though I can no more blame Neumann for the rise of the Nazi party than i can Volkswagen...

Anywho, the actual history of this article is fascinating, and I'm seriously going to consider getting my hands on some Peluso Microphones.

Having just finished fixing up an SM56, it's kind of crazy to think that as these engineers are passing away, we're losing the knowledge to create these sounds. Kinda crazy, kinda sad...

Here's NPR's Article, and here's audio of the article.

Here's the Peluso Microphone web site.
someaudioguy some audio guy microphone voice over recording vo voiceover demo production history engineering restoration vintage tv film radio broadcast

The Final Whisper in "Lost in Translation" Revealed?

LOL! I guess I should preface this with a spoiler alert?
I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. I find it very satisfying when film makers leave things up to their audiences to figure out, but I also like to know what the film makers intended. I'm a total behind the scenes commentary junky, like hearing Tarantino's theories on what was in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. You know MacGuffins right?

If you don't really care to know, then don't watch this vid. I think the second half works really well, though I can't quite make out the beginning. All in all, still a really sweet scene, from a great movie.

When Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation, one of the big topics of conversation revolved around what Bill Murray’s character whispered in Scarlett Johansson’s ear at the conclusion of the film. YouTube user Vid22 used digital processing to clear up the audio and finally reveal the answer.

read more | digg story

Rescuing Recorded Sound from Ravages of Time

This is just plain cool!
Scientists are using modern technology to archive the recordings off of older media. I wonder what our media's shelf life will be. I doubt CD's will really last beyond 30 years, and I wonder how long a harddrive can last inactive, let alone early wax cylinders which have lasted over 100 years.



Still it's fascinating work:

"These echoes of a bygone era were recorded on media such as wax
cylinders and shellac and lacquer discs. But many are now too fragile
to play in their original format; the pressure of a stylus or
phonograph needle could cause irreversible damage. Others are too
broken, worn or scratched to yield high-quality sound. The archivists
needed a means to preserve the recordings without injuring them further.

A physicist with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Haber
was developing subatomic particle detectors to be used at CERN in
Geneva, Switzerland. This involved using digital cameras and robots to
place each delicate detector in precisely the right place. In a flash
of insight, Haber realized that an optical scanning system could solve
the Library's quandary."

Read the rest @ huliq

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