©2000 Antares Audio Technologies. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All names of microphone manufacturers and microphone model designations appearing in this manual are used solely to identify the microphones analysed in the development of our digital models and do not in any way imply any association with or endorsement by any of the named manufacturers.
The Obligatory Legal Mumbo-Jumbo The Antares Microphone Modeler software and this User’s Manual are protected by copyright law. Making copies, adaptations, or derivative works without the prior written authorization of Antares Audio Technologies, is prohibited by law and constitutes a punishable violation of the law. Antares Audio Technologies retains all ownership rights to the Microphone Modeler software and other software offered by Antares Audio Technologies and their documentation.
Term of the Agreement This agreement is effective until terminated by you or Antares Audio Technologies. You may terminate the agreement at any time by notifying Antares Audio Technologies and destroying all copies of the manual, and erasing Antares Microphone Modeler from all machine-readable media, whether on-line or on archival copies.
Contents Getting Started Chapter 1 Installing AMM Authorizing AMM Technical Support Introducing the Antares Chapter 2 Microphone Modeler Overview About the Technology So What Exactly Does It Do? Operation 8 8 9 10 11 11 Chapter 3 Live or Mixdown Signal Flow Controls Input Section Source Mic Section Modeled Mic Section Preserve Source Tube Saturation Output Level 12 12 13 13 14 17 20 21 22 The Microphone Models Chapter 4 The Mic Model Files Customizing Mic Menus Automation 23 24 24
Realistic Expectations Get Creative Chapter 5 Choice of Input Microphone Microphone Variations Microphone Technique Excessive Frequency Boost Polar Pattern Selection Off-Axis Response Transient Response 26 26 27 27 27 28 28 Chapter 6 30 Appendix 31 Acknowledgments 37 Index 39
Welcome! On behalf of everyone at Antares Audio Technologies, we’d like to offer both our thanks and congratulations on your decision to purchase the Antares Microphone Modeler. Before you proceed any farther, we’d like to strongly encourage you to fill out and return the Microphone Modeler registration card. To make it as easy as possible, we’ve included a sticker with your serial number to attach to the card.
Chapter 1: Getting Started Installing Antares Microphone Modeler Instructions for installing Antares Microphone Modeler for your specific platform are located in the Microphone Modeler Read Me file on the CD ROM. This file may also contain any last-minute Microphone Modeler information that didn’t make it into this manual.
Challenge String: • Once you have reason to believe that we have received your proof of purchase (or if you’ve attached it as a scan), copy and paste your Challenge string into an email along with your name, the product name (e.g., Microphone Modeler for MAS) and your serial number and send it to: register@antarestech.com. You will receive your Response string by return email, usually within 24 hours (unless you have sent the email over a weekend, in which case you should receive it the following Monday).
Chapter 2: Introducing the Antares Microphone Modeler Overview If you’ve spent any time lately flipping through the pages of pro audio magazines, you have almost certainly noticed the intense focus on microphones. From the proliferation of exotic new mics to the almost cult-like following of certain historical classics, never has the choice been greater. But amassing a substantial collection of high-end mics is financially prohibitive for all but the most wellheeled studios.
And with the ability to download new models from our web site, the Microphone Modeler will always keep you at the forefront of the microphone art. About The Technology The models employed by the Microphone Modeler are not derived from theoretical considerations. They are generated by a proprietary analysis process that is applied to each physical mic modeled.
Chapter 3: Operation Live or Mixdown? The Microphone Modeler functions equally well processing audio during its original performance or later during the mixdown process. However, if you have the choice (which you typically will for everything but a live stage performance), we strongly recommend using the Microphone Modeler as an insert effect during mixdown. This will allow you to experiment with mic choice and various mic settings while auditioning their effect in the context of the entire mix.
Controls: Input Section Output For setting the output level of the processed audio. The use of each of the individual controls is covered below. Controls Input Section The Input Gain slider, as is no doubt obvious, is used to set the level of the incoming audio. The exact amount of gain or attenuation is displayed numerically above the slider. In most instances, the input gain should be set at the highest level that does not cause the 0 dB “LED” of the graphic level meter to light.
Controls: Source Mic Section In practice, you should start out by setting the Input Gain at a bit under the optimum level. Once you’re confident that you’ve found the right mic settings for your track, you should go back and fine tune the gain for maximum level without clipping. Source Mic Section The SOURCE MIC section is where you specify the mic and the settings that were (or will be) used to capture the input sound.
Controls: Source Mic Section 2) Select another mic on the list whose characteristics are known to be similar to your mic (a similar model from the same manufacturer, for example). 3) Select another mic of the same general type as your mic, e.g., dynamic, large diaphragm condenser, etc. 4) Select Bypass from the menu It must be stressed that selecting option 2, 3 or, especially, 4, will compromise the Microphone Modeler’s ability to accurately reproduce the sound of the desired modeled mic.
Controls: Source Mic Section However, once you think about it, you will realize that this is the way it’s supposed to work. The purpose of all the controls in the Source Mic section is to neutralize the effects of the source mic. So, when you select a low-cut filter, you’re telling the Microphone Modeler that the source mic recorded the audio with that much bass attenuation and, therefore, the model must now boost the bass an equal amount to remove the source mic’s sonic coloration.
Controls: Modeled Mic Section Note: Like the Low-Cut control described above, the Source Mic Proximity control may initially seem to be working backwards (i.e., setting a shorter distance will result in an audible bass attenuation). Refer to the explanation back up in the Low-Cut section to understand why this is actually how it is supposed to work. Also note that the effect of the Proximity control is unique for each model of microphone.
Controls: Modeled Mic Section • If the correct source mic is selected in the Source Mic menu and Bypass is selected in the Modeled Mic menu, the final output of the Microphone Modeler will be stripped of the characteristics of the source mic, resulting in the signal that would have been recorded by an ideal instrumentation microphone with no proximity effect.
Controls: Modeled Mic Section If the modeled mic does include multiple patterns, select the pattern whose characteristics produce the effect you desire. Note: The purpose of the Pattern selection is to model the varying frequency characteristics that result from each of the available pattern settings, with the assumption that the audio was recorded on axis (i.e., from the front of the microphone).
Controls: Preserve Source Preserve Source The Preserve Source controls allows you to split your audio into its bass and treble ranges and process each range separately. This lets you create hybrid mics that combine the bass characteristics of one mic and the treble characteristics of another. One of the two mics will be your actual source mic and the other can be selected from any of the available models.
Controls: Tube Saturation 3) Preserve Source: Bass O Treble o This, as you’ve probably guessed, is the reverse of No. 2. With the Treble button pressed, the source mic’s bass characteristics are neutralized while the treble characteristics are allowed through unchanged. Then, at the model end, only the model’s bass characteristics are applied to the signal.
Controls: Output Level Because the maximum drive is limited to +10 dB, using the Tube Saturation model requires the original signal to be at a level greater than -10 dB. If this is not the case, you should adjust the Input Gain control to increase the level of the sound. (Be certain that Input Gain is not increased so much as to cause the 0 dB meter “LED” to light.) It may be necessary to go back and forth between Drive and Input Gain a few times to get exactly the effect you want.
Chapter 4: The Microphone Models Your copy of Microphone Modeler comes with a collection of mic models that is automatically installed along with the plug-in application. These mics will appear in the Source Mic and Modeled Mic menus. In addition, we are constantly modeling more mics. Whether new mics that have just come to market, or classics we’ve just managed to get ahold of, you should find an ever-growing collection to download from our website.
Customizing Mic Menus Note that the model files are not cross-platform compatible. When downloading new models from the Antares web site, be sure to select the files that are intended for your computer. For each new model you download from the Antares web site, you will end up with two files. As is probably obvious, you should place the model mic file in the Modeled Mics folder and the source mic file (the one with the “inv” suffix) in the Source Mics folder.
Automation Automation and the Mic Menus Many host applications provide the ability to automate the settings of plug-ins. Although the Microphone Modeler is totally automatable, you should be aware that the fact that you can add and delete items from the Source Mic and Modeled Mic menus can result in problems with some automation systems.
Chapter 5: Realistic Expectations (or, Microphone Modeler Meets the Space-Time Continuum) Although the Microphone Modeler seems in many ways to be almost magic, it is, in fact, simply very clever science. And as such, it remains subject to those pesky laws of physics. To get the maximum satisfaction out of the Microphone Modeler, it is important to have realistic expectations of exactly what it can and can’t do.
Realistic Expectations • Microphone Technique In getting the best possible recorded sound, mic technique and placement are at least as important as mic choice (if not more so). A good engineer can record a great track with an SM57 while a poor one can make a U47 sound like doo doo. If your audio is not well-recorded in the first place, the Microphone Modeler can to do very little to improve it.
Realistic Expectations • Transient Response One of the key characteristics of various types of microphones is their transient response (i.e., the way that their diaphragms respond to extremely rapid amplitude fluctuations, typically during a sound’s attack phase). Intuition would suggest that modeling changes in transient response between mics would be next to impossible — particularly changing a source mic with a slow response to a modeled mic with a fast response.
Realistic Expectations 4. Now take that processed file (which is now a model of the spike as it would have been recorded by the ATM31) and send it through the Microphone Modeler again, this time with the Source Mic set to the ATM31, and the Modeled Mic section set to Bypass. If that Source Mic model is doing its job, it should actually remove the characteristics of the ATM31, including that smeared transient. 5. Once again, examine the processed signal.
Chapter 6: Get Creative Up to this point, all of the instructions in this manual have focused on how to use the Microphone Modeler for its primary purpose: making one mic sound as accurately as possible like another. But don’t let that limit you. We’ve purposely given the controls wide ranges to allow you to move beyond what might be considered useful for strict modeling. Try some of the following: • Select a Source Mic that doesn’t match your physical mic.
Appendix Listed below are all of the mics that we have modeled as of the date this manual went to press. (Be sure to check the Antares web site frequently for additional models.) Please Note: All trademarks appearing below are the property of their respective owners.
Alesis AM61 Audio Engineering Associates R44C Audio-Technica ATM11 ATM31 AT853Rx AT3525 AT4047/SV AT4033a/SM AT4050 AT4055 AT4060 Audix D4 OM2 OM3-xb OM5 Large Diaphragm Condenser w/tube circuitry A rich warm sound ideal for vocals and instruments Large Diaphragm Boundary - Ribbon Replica of the classic RCA 44 ribbon mic Dynamic Drums Small Diaphragm Condenser General purpose Electret Condenser Hanging choir mic Large Diaphragm Condenser Vocals and general purpose Large Diaphragm Condenser Recreates t
B&K beyerdynamic Brauner CAD Coles Earthworks ElectroVoice Groove Tubes 4007 Large Diaphragm Prepolarized Condenser Close-micing drums, percussion, brass M-500 Limited Edition Classic (Silver) Large Diaphragm Condenser Vocal, instruments MC-834 Large Diaphragm Condenser Vocals , piano, strings, brass, voice-overs VM1 Large Diaphragm Tube Condenser w/Class A amp Reference recording Equitek E100 Condenser Vocal, instrument, drum overheads Equitek E200 Condenser Vocal, orchestra, acoustic guitar, kick dr
Lawson L47MP Manley Labs Reference Gold MicroTech Gefell UMT 800 Neumann U 47 Oktava RCA Rode 34 Large Diaphragm Tube Condenser Vocals, acoustic guitar, strings, piano, choir, orchestra, sax Large Diaphragm Tube Condenser Ultra high quality recording Large Diaphragm Condenser Close-miced vocals, horns, ensembles Large Diaphragm Tube Condenser A classic vocal mic. Sinatra’s first choice.
Royer R-121 Sennheiser MD421 MD441 E609 E835S Shure Beta 52 Beta 57A Beta 87A Beta 98D/S SM7A SM57 SM58 Shure SM81 SM98A KSM32 VP88 Ribbon Electric guitar, overhead drums, orchestral, choral, room micing Large Diaphragm Dynamic Drums, vocals guitar, amps Large Diaphragm Dynamic Designed to simulate the sound of a condenser mic for vocal, sax Large Diaphragm Dynamic Live performance guitar amp and drum mic Large Diaphragm Dynamic Live performance vocal Large Diaphragm Dynamic Kick drum, bass amp, ac
Sony C800G C37P C48 Telefunken U-47 Large Diaphragm Tube Condenser Vocals: studio and post-production Tube Condenser General purpose Large Diaphragm FET Condenser Vocals, guitar Large Diaphragm Tube Condenser An extremely rare vintage version of the U-47 from the days when Telefunken distributed mics for Neumann. This sample is still equipped with the original tube. Please Note: All trademarks appearing above are the property of their respective owners.
Acknowledgments As you might imagine, sourcing and modeling all of those mics was (and remains) an interesting logistical challenge. Luckily for us, we have had assistance from a variety of interested dealers, manufacturers, studios and individuals who were all willing to let us subject their precious microphones to our arcane modeling ritual.
Index Symbols F “(w)” 14, 17 Frequency boost, excessive 27 A I About the technology 11 Acknowledgments 37 Antares Audio Technologies contacting 9 Antares Microphone Modeler about the technology 11 authorizing 8 controls 13 installing 8 overview 10 what it does 11 Authorizing Antares Microphone Modeler 8 Automation and the Mic Menus 25 Input 12 Input Gain 13 Input Microphone, choice of 26 Installing Antares Microphone Modeler 8 “inv” 23 B Bypass 14, 15, 17, 18, 29, 30 C Challenge String 9 “Challeng
O Off-Axis Response 27 Operation 12 Output 13 Output Level 22 Overview 10 P Pattern 16 cardioid 16, 18 hypercardioid 16, 18 omni 16, 18 Polar pattern selection 27 Preserve Source 20 Proof of Purchase 8 Proximity 16, 17, 19 Proximity Effect 16, 19 S Serial number location of 7, 8 Signal Flow 12 Source Mic 12 Source Mic Section 14 Low-Cut Menu 15 Pattern 16 Proximity 16 Source Mic Menu 14 Spectral Shaping Tool™ 10 Submitting suggestions 23 T Technical Support 9 Transient Response 28 Tube Saturation 10, 11,
