Final PT Monday
Monday, August 7th, 2023 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudioI forgot to change my alarm last night, so it didn't go off until 12:30... about twenty minutes before I had to leave. So it was a quick walk with the pets, and then straight to work without stopping anywhere on the way.
But I did clock in on time. Then I got gas on my break, and grabbed some beer and smokes on the way home.
I finally heard back from BMO, responding to my email from Friday, telling them I was retaining a lawyer because it'd been over two weeks since I sent them the documents, and i hadn't heard back.
They said;
So I photographed the front and back of my new DL and sent them immediately.
But... what a bunch of ass holes!
I included a copy of the appointment to renew, with the old license.
So I was expecting, "Dear sir, we've received your documents, but we will need you to send the Drivers License when it is renewed," kind of thing.
I mean, clearly they aren't disputing the validity of the death certificates, or the deed documents... so they MUST know, that both Mom and Dad ARE dead... and that a person with MY name now owns the house!
It doesn't matter! I'm still gonna see that lawyer on Thursday.
------------{=0=}------------
I also broke down and bought myself a dynamic XLR microphone, with the XLR cable, and an interface box to use it with the computer.
XLR stands for, "External Line Return," which means absolutely nothing to me, but an XLR cable has a round plug with three pins, and has been the industry standard for performance applications since the 1960s.
A dynamic mike is one that has a diaphragm to receive the sound waves, which moves a coil around a magnet, to generate the signal.
They are different, and much older, than condenser microphones... and again, have been the standard for performance applications since... the dawn of time.
Dynamic microphones are also typically, "cardioid" microphones... which refers to the shape of the space around the mike element that picks up the best sound.
Cardio, of course, means, heart.
A cardioid microphone has a fairly heart-shaped area surrounding it in space, where the voice is best received... and different locations in that space are better for different types of singing.
If you're singing louder, you back away... if you're singing more quietly, you go right up to the thing... and the closer you get, the more bass response it has.
And you can get also get different mike response by singing to the side, or across the front of it. Basically, wherever you are in that heart shaped space will affect the sound quality differently.
Condenser mikes are also, often promoted as being "cardioid" but... not really, cuz the sound quality is the same from any angle or distance.
All dynamic mikes are cardioid, by nature, but not all cardioid mikes are dynamic.
And if the mike is not dynamic... it doesn't really matter that it's cardioid... becase thats a shape, not a material!
--<>--
Whatever the case, the new mike should sound as good as the old recordings... and with the interface box, I should be able to record vocals directly into FL Studo.
The question remains... will I be able to hear myself in headphones without any latency, while singing along with a track?
If so... the only thing holding me back will be my own vocal rustiness.
--<>--
Now, there is one other type of microphone I used to use a lot on those old recordings... which I've been reminded of, now that I'm playing them all back to get lyrics.
And that was the mike element out of an old style rotary phone!
Back in the 1990s, you could still find those phones in the thrift stores.
And all you had to do was unscrew the mouth peice, and the mike element dropped right out!
It's what was called a carbon microphone, and goes way back to the 1920s. A great mike for picking up a voice with very low voltage, but it had a very unique sound, that was all high-end. No bass at all.
I soldered on a wire and plug to mine, so I could just jack it into a tape deck... but I was still using it with the BR8 digital machine years later.
They have filters to recreate this sound, but... nothing beats the actual thing!
So I did look around (last week actually) and found that I can still get one of these old rotary phone carbon mike elements on Ebay... and I can get the other wires and plugs I need on Amazon.
So... I do have to persue this next!
------------{=0=}------------
I'm still doing lyrics for Lost Cause, but that album should be migrated by the end of the night tonight, leaving me just, Alb-O-Matic to migrate.
I want this whole migration project done by tomorrow night, if possible, because Wednesday begins my five day weekend.
And for that I'd like to focus on house cleaning, and other things that need to be sqared away before I go back to full time.
I want the pets to get a lot of attention too.
It's stressful for all of us when I'm gone for nine hours, and don't get home until midnight.
They were all being real troopers through March, April, and May... and I'm sure they will be again, but... I think it was good for all of us to have this time, through June and July, where I was only gone for five hours, and back by 6PM.
Yvette's finally spending most of her time in the back room, rather than the kitchen, which means she's right by my feet when I'm home, and a little more comfortable when I'm not... cuz she has a window AC unit back here.
The cats are doing better too, but I'll talk about them more tomorrow, on the anniversary of their adoption.
--<>--
Not much else to talk about tonight.
Albums are being migrated.
BMO's being dealt with.
New studio mikes are being procured.
And my lazy part time summer's about to end.
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
But I did clock in on time. Then I got gas on my break, and grabbed some beer and smokes on the way home.
I finally heard back from BMO, responding to my email from Friday, telling them I was retaining a lawyer because it'd been over two weeks since I sent them the documents, and i hadn't heard back.
They said;
In order to better assist you, the following additional information is needed:
A valid Driver's License, Passport, or other government-issued photo ID.
Previously received ID was expired.
Thank you,
Special Loans Department
So I photographed the front and back of my new DL and sent them immediately.
But... what a bunch of ass holes!
I included a copy of the appointment to renew, with the old license.
So I was expecting, "Dear sir, we've received your documents, but we will need you to send the Drivers License when it is renewed," kind of thing.
I mean, clearly they aren't disputing the validity of the death certificates, or the deed documents... so they MUST know, that both Mom and Dad ARE dead... and that a person with MY name now owns the house!
It doesn't matter! I'm still gonna see that lawyer on Thursday.
I also broke down and bought myself a dynamic XLR microphone, with the XLR cable, and an interface box to use it with the computer.
XLR stands for, "External Line Return," which means absolutely nothing to me, but an XLR cable has a round plug with three pins, and has been the industry standard for performance applications since the 1960s.
A dynamic mike is one that has a diaphragm to receive the sound waves, which moves a coil around a magnet, to generate the signal.
They are different, and much older, than condenser microphones... and again, have been the standard for performance applications since... the dawn of time.
Dynamic microphones are also typically, "cardioid" microphones... which refers to the shape of the space around the mike element that picks up the best sound.
Cardio, of course, means, heart.
A cardioid microphone has a fairly heart-shaped area surrounding it in space, where the voice is best received... and different locations in that space are better for different types of singing.
If you're singing louder, you back away... if you're singing more quietly, you go right up to the thing... and the closer you get, the more bass response it has.
And you can get also get different mike response by singing to the side, or across the front of it. Basically, wherever you are in that heart shaped space will affect the sound quality differently.
Condenser mikes are also, often promoted as being "cardioid" but... not really, cuz the sound quality is the same from any angle or distance.
All dynamic mikes are cardioid, by nature, but not all cardioid mikes are dynamic.
And if the mike is not dynamic... it doesn't really matter that it's cardioid... becase thats a shape, not a material!
Whatever the case, the new mike should sound as good as the old recordings... and with the interface box, I should be able to record vocals directly into FL Studo.
The question remains... will I be able to hear myself in headphones without any latency, while singing along with a track?
If so... the only thing holding me back will be my own vocal rustiness.
Now, there is one other type of microphone I used to use a lot on those old recordings... which I've been reminded of, now that I'm playing them all back to get lyrics.
And that was the mike element out of an old style rotary phone!
Back in the 1990s, you could still find those phones in the thrift stores.
And all you had to do was unscrew the mouth peice, and the mike element dropped right out!
It's what was called a carbon microphone, and goes way back to the 1920s. A great mike for picking up a voice with very low voltage, but it had a very unique sound, that was all high-end. No bass at all.
I soldered on a wire and plug to mine, so I could just jack it into a tape deck... but I was still using it with the BR8 digital machine years later.
They have filters to recreate this sound, but... nothing beats the actual thing!
So I did look around (last week actually) and found that I can still get one of these old rotary phone carbon mike elements on Ebay... and I can get the other wires and plugs I need on Amazon.
So... I do have to persue this next!
I'm still doing lyrics for Lost Cause, but that album should be migrated by the end of the night tonight, leaving me just, Alb-O-Matic to migrate.
I want this whole migration project done by tomorrow night, if possible, because Wednesday begins my five day weekend.
And for that I'd like to focus on house cleaning, and other things that need to be sqared away before I go back to full time.
I want the pets to get a lot of attention too.
It's stressful for all of us when I'm gone for nine hours, and don't get home until midnight.
They were all being real troopers through March, April, and May... and I'm sure they will be again, but... I think it was good for all of us to have this time, through June and July, where I was only gone for five hours, and back by 6PM.
Yvette's finally spending most of her time in the back room, rather than the kitchen, which means she's right by my feet when I'm home, and a little more comfortable when I'm not... cuz she has a window AC unit back here.
The cats are doing better too, but I'll talk about them more tomorrow, on the anniversary of their adoption.
Not much else to talk about tonight.
Albums are being migrated.
BMO's being dealt with.
New studio mikes are being procured.
And my lazy part time summer's about to end.
°¦}
