WSDG: Architecture and Acoustics

Vocomotion: A Room of One's Own, Centered on The Human Voice

Freddie Feldman knows good A Cappella when he hears it. In fact, much of the good A Cappella he hears, he records himself. Feldman, whose studio Vocomotion just recently opened in Skokie, IL, is one of only a handful of studios in the U.S. that cater specifically towards A Cappella musicians.

A Cappella is what WSDG would term a "vest pocket" studio--but make no mistake--the SOUND is anything but vestpocket. Vocomotion has the elegance of a mastering suite and also happens to be built using sustainable woods and materials including bamboo flooring, recycled carpets, local fabric-wrapped acoustic panels and ceiling clouds. Also, it uses recycled denim for sound insulation.

Feldman and company have taken on some ambitious projects recently, including an "all-A Cappella rendition" of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon.  Check it out here and let us know what you think!

Check out the WSDG project page here.

Tangerine Mastering plans expansion, “The Analog Lab” at Tangerine.

Tangerine Mastering finishes a busy year with planed expansion of the physical facility and its capabilities. The studio is acquiring an adjacent space, which will double the actual studio footprint and improve workflow throughout the facility. The end of year workload exceeded the facilities capabilities and forced the offsite outsourcing of some non-critical production and all back office staffing and tasks.

The physical expansion will facilitate the opening of “The Analog Lab at Tangerine” which will include facilities to cut our lacquers and acetates on a newly acquired classic Neumann VMS70 lathe, with an original Neumann console. The new expansion will also include a Fisher Scientific tape baking oven and new restoration equipment. The Analog Lab will also have multiple formats of 2 track tape machines and a 17″ transcription turntable with speeds from 16 RPM to 98RPM which will allow the handling of all disk transfer including half speed mastering.

Read blog entry here

WSDG-AES Event a Hit at Le Poisson Rouge (LPR), NYC

The AES New York Section hosted a behind-the-scenes tour of Le Poisson Rouge last week, a 21st Century multimedia art cabaret at 158 Bleecker St. Since opening in September, 2008, the club has presented such eclectic artists as Lou Reed, They Might Be Giants, John Zorn, Ronnie Spector and, Monteverdi’s opera The Coronation of Poppea.

Walters-Storyk Design Group project manager Joshua Morris and consultant David Kotch described the key design elements employed at LPR, such as multiple stage and audience configurations and special acoustic treatments (e.g. studio-style sound lock construction to eliminate leakage from main performance room into lounge area). Masque Sound co-principal Geoff Shearing and consultant David Kotch also spoke about the technology selection and installation of the sound system. All in all, over 100 people were in attendance!

Stick to What You Know

How much do you know about helicopters?  Here is an interesting article that reminds that if we need to achieve something but don't really know how to get it done, we should listen to those who do--or pay the consequences. This is especially true in the world of acoustic design. 

Leo Beranek and the Helicopter Manual
"Leo Beranek is one of the most outstanding acousticians of our time (an acoustician is one who gives professional advice to architects on the geometry and finishes of auditoriums, conference rooms, conference centres, lecture halls, and so on)."

Read the entire article here.

Analysis of Low Frequency Modal Response

For analysis of low frequency modal response (one of the most critical acoustical issues in small rooms) we use a number of tools - see a sample summary here.

The first step is a basic check of the room ratios (chosing a rectangularized room shape with the same volume as the room in question). This then gets refined up to an analysis using sophisticated BEM Software (Boundary-Element-Method). With this software, loudspeaker positioning as well as listening position can be taken into consideration, and the pressure distribution in the room at different frequencies in three dimensional space can be studied. This then allows determination of the most efficient positioning of low frequency absorbers.

Automatic Tuning Systems for Recording Studios and Listening Environments

Automatic tuning systems built into the loudspeaker cabinets are one of the more recent developments in the world of room tuning. While it is still preferable to have a room tuned by an acoustically trained human being (for reasons cited below), Genelec's automatic-tuning-system is one of the better incarnations on the market. Used in conjunction with a PC, you can actually see and change what the algorithms do - this is rare.

Above image: Frequency Response Graph (Frequency vs. Amplitude) of a Studio Monitoring System.
Purple: Frequency Response pre Equalisation
Green:  Frequency Response post Equalisation (first pass)
Measurement Software used: SIA Smaart
(http://www.eaw.com/products/software/EAWSmaart/index.html)

That being said, this system, and all other automatic systems such as this, lack two critical functions in our view:

First, there is often not enough DSP power available to handle the job (the horsepower quickly dries up after setting just a few EQs)

Second (and most importantly), automatic tuning systems don't have "musicality", "golden ears" or an "understanding of the big picture" - whatever you want to call it. This becomes evident especially during the the second half of WSDG style room tuning sessions, which are driven by
what one hears, rather than what is empirically measured.

Towards the end of a successful system calibration, one often experiences a psychological "release" of the project onto the world - which is usually a very nice moment (perhaps not unlike the last mile in
a marathon); this simply does not occur with an automatic tuning system. Finally, a client can expect to achieve performance of about an 8 out of 10 if everything goes just right. However, a trained acoustician can bring this score up to a 9.5 or even 10 on a good day.

-Dirk Noy

Lykke Li Kicks Off September for Le Poisson Rouge

After a successful summer, Le Poisson Rouge kept the momentum going into September with a great show by Lykke Li. Here is an excerpt from a review by FierceNoise:

"On a raised circular platform surrounded by jubilant fans, Lykke Li, her trusty megaphone and backing band held nothing back throughout the hour long set. She danced. danced. danced her quirky trademark dances all while singing, cooing and seductively murmuring her way through her short but amazingly sweet back-catalog, including everybody's favorites, "Little Bit," "I'm Good, I'm Gone" and "Breaking It Up" - but throwing in some fun covers as well, including Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and a rousing rendition of A Tribe Called Quest's "Can I Kick It?" - which received plenty riotous bouts of "Yes you can!" from the animated audience. It was an intimate affair between concert goers and a rising young Swedish sprite, and it was certainly a night to remember. I was simply blown away."

WSDG is pleased to have handled the design for Le Poisson Rouge--a club which not only has an amazing ambiance, but also features ideal acoustic response. To view WSDG's project page for LPR, click here.

Pete Townshend on Recording Studio Design

This time last year, EQ ran a fabulous, timeless interview with The Who's Pete Townshend. The article is full of many nuggets about Who songs, such as the first Who demo (Can't Explain) Townshend did at his home studio. Even more interesting for recording aficionados was Townshend's philosophy on setting up a recording studio, which not surprisingly starts with the ROOM.  Here is an excerpt:

"So remember, start with a good sounding space. And if it sounds bad, fix that first.....Next, buy at least one truly great microphone. Next, buy at least one truly great mic preamp. If you can, buy a single module from some old board — an API, a Neve, or whatever. If not, buy a new “classic” channel, or something as good as you can afford. Next, pick your recording medium, and use your brain....

Achieving Energy Efficiency in Acoustic Design

A key parameter for achieving energy efficiency in buildings is the envelope design. Also, insulation plays a very important role helping reach high levels of “air tightness.” Most materials used for acoustic insulation have a very impressive thermal performance as well; insulation can refer to materials as well as to a range of designs and techniques employed to reduce unwanted heat loss or heat gain—which can decrease the energy demands of heating and cooling systems.

Often a material will be chosen for its ability to perform several of these functions at once whether it is acoustic insulation, fire insulation or impact insulation. In many cases, well-considered acoustic design can be achieved while making significant ecological performance gains and vice-versa.

 A holistic approach to the components of the design process, such as site design, materials and finishing, ventilation, orientation, lighting/power and heating cooling systems is necessary to get the best results.
WSDG is working to raise its design standards in a way that will improve the energy efficiency of buildings, while creating healthy and comfortable indoor environments for its occupants. We are following acoustic materials research, tracking energy usage, toxicity levels and others parameters that occur over the entire life cycle of the products. We also continually look for high performance HVAC systems and natural lighting/ventilation strategies that do not compromise the acoustic insulation--but can significantly reduce the energy demand of the buildings.

Ambient Noise Compensation in Varying High SPL Environment

An interesting approach has been used in a recently completed project, Train Station St. Gallen in Switzerland. Imagine you're standing on track 1, waiting for your train to Zurich to arrive. The track is changed from track 1 to say track 4, and an announcement is being made - how else would you know about it?  At that moment though, an incoming train on track 2 is hissing and breaking and makes all sorts of noise.

This sudden high ambient noise would make the track change announcement unintelligible, unless the volume of the announcement was increased to overcome the loud noises from track 2.

Guess what - this is exactly what is being done at St. Gallen train station - and completely automated! The announcement sound level is adjusted in real time by an ambient noise compensation algorithm (integrated in the DSP software, which "listens" to the ambient sound by specially installed listening microphones).

 As soon as the noise level drops to normal levels, the announcement is set back to regular volume. A special timing option offers abation of the volume correction at night in consideration of the quality of life of the local residents.

Sleep well!

Dirk Noy, WSDG