Meet Stephen Katz

[Mr. Afternoon]

LOL There is a very good reason I spent a lifetime behind the console.

I have so much respect for those who sing and play. My job is to capture their magic...s

Another question! What do you think about the rise of soundbars and the diminishing AVR sales?

 

[murrysdad]

Soundbars are better than just the TV speakers. A good system doesn't work for everyone price, but worse is hanging speakers. Especially if you live in an apartment.

I built immersive in our family room, it's incredible but it's not for everyone. My wife hated it until she heard it.

I am looking into ways to change that but it's not easy. Dolby did those speakers that bounce off the ceiling but I'm not sure if it, Atmos is connecting with he public. Shame. A film with great sound is a thrill ride in your living room...s

 

[murrysdad]

From what I remember they used the 6-track 70mm print masters for the 1997 Special Edition re-releases of the 3 films, digitally remastered. A couple of things were changed for Episode IV (lines of dialogues, some sound effects...)
For the 2004 DVDs they made entirely new mixes with stereo surrounds for 6.1 (I think this was the last time Ben Burt worked on these films, sadly). The stereo on the surrounds was actually accidentally reversed for Ep.4.
This was corrected for the 2011 Blu-Ray reissue along with a new remix, again, for Ep.4...

Then all films in the saga were remixed in Atmos for the latest 4K and Blu-Ray reissue.

As the only thing that was different on the 70mm print master was the L & R boom tracks, yes they were in stereo, why not.

The first time I saw the augmented version of New Hope it confused me, that happens when you see a film 100s of times. So when the original theatrical version came out I bought 5 copies. As good as the new films are the first in the original form was magical for me. Warts and all. I had some big mistakes of my own like too much echo in some parts...s

 

[DuncanS]

Another question! What do you think about the rise of soundbars and the diminishing AVR sales?

My brother told me that he has just bought a Bose sound bar for his TV and listens to music through it (or through headphones), he has no hi-fi system anymore!

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

My brother told me that he has just bought a Bose sound bar for his TV and listens to music through it (or through headphones), he has no hi-fi system anymore!

Another loss. We must mourn.

 

[murrysdad]

I think we are at a point where sound has become a second class citizen. First I blame the music the recording quality, and new films. For sound to make a comeback there needs to be something new that people want to hear on a new kind of system. For now a soundbar and headphones is fitting the needs for most people... Sound isn't cool anymore...

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

First I blame the music the recording quality, and new films.

I wouldn't blame the recording quality, but rather the mix. Most people would be appalled if they found out what equipment I used for recording The Golden Bonana. Most people these days slap a preset on and call it a day.

 

[murrysdad]

I agree the 1st class quality is built into all new equipment but the mix!!! How loud can you go?! Dynamics, what's that even mean...s

 

[ubertrout]

I agree the 1st class quality is built into all new equipment but the mix!!! How loud can you go?! Dynamics, what's that even mean...s

I think the incredible success of the Beats line and the relative disinterest in lossless streaming (even though it's coming) is jarring to those of us who care about audio. But I also think there's a lot of young people with high-end surround headsets who are a potential market that isn't being served.

 

[murrysdad]

I agree. Quality has never been an issue with most people. I have high hopes for immersive, at least that is what I'm working on. I believe once you've heard it you will never go back. Music, film, gaming, sports, etc. Hopefully ...s

 

[Electric Moo]

Agree with all of the above...

Allright, we need pt2 of C3PO

I want to know how you developed the process for the voice effects!

And did you come up with it while meditating on your couch, or did you need to experiment with some hardware/stumble onto a solution?

Thx!

 

[murrysdad]

I confounded Eventide, known then as Eventide Clock Works. We built some of the first digital delay lines and harmonizers in the 70s.

I designed our first delay line to be switched in one-millisecond (1ms) steps.

The formula is f=1/t where frequency equals, one divided by the time delay. So a one millisecond delay (.001 seconds) will phase cancel a signal at 1,000 hZ. Basically what short delays sound like is you are speaking with your head inside a old style metal garbage pail.

So when we last left young Stephen he was on the couch playing with his HP65 programmable calculator. The producer of the film Gary Kurtz came up to me to discuss a problem. A Clint Eastwood film wanted the dubbing stage and they wanted to switch the mixing of Star Wars to nights. What did i think? I told him it was filled with problems, we were on a tight schedule and the head mixer (gaffer) doesn't like the film and what if Eastwood runs late. "Let me make a call."

That is why Star Wars didn't mix at Burbank Studios.

Star Wars moved hundreds of tracks to Goldwyn Studios. We would still be working nights but the day mixer was my closest industry friend Dick Portman. He was doing by day a Scorsese film.

The mixing crew was picked by me and there was no couch.

When all the pre-mixing for reel-one was done we started on finals.

The fist line of dialog that came up was C3PO.

The dialog mixer asked George what he wanted do with his voice.

George gave me an icy stare, "You're up."

By no coincidence there was an Eventide Digital Delay Line on the console. I had been using it to spread mono effects tracks into 4.0.

There I sat, adjusting the time delay causing C3PO to sound like an old metal droid. Some things are meant to be.

I should add that the time delay that you need for the effect changes as an actors pitch changes so I had to adjust the time-delay word-for-word to get the desired effect...s

 

[Electric Moo]

Wow!!!

Adjusting it on the fly, by the word. Amazing!

I use an Eventide Timefactor & Space all the time....no pun intended. Great effects!

I'm also on their mailing list & have read some of the historical documents they send out, regarding those early delay lines. Fascinating, to hear how you not only designed, but also used it in practical applications!!

Thanks again, for posting here, this is really good stuff to read about!

 

[murrysdad]

Wow!!!

Adjusting it on the fly, by the word. Amazing!

I use an Eventide Timefactor & Space all the time....no pun intended. Great effects!

I'm also on their mailing list & have read some of the historical documents they send out, regarding those early delay lines. Fascinating, to hear how you not only designed, but also used it in practical applications!!

Thanks again, for posting here, this is really good stuff to read about!

I was just the idea guy, the GUI guy. The electronics genus is Richard Factor. I had a small studio, the Sound Exchange and many of the ideas for products came out of there. We started Eventide in the basement. Our first product was an Auto Locator for my new Ampex MM1000 16 track. It was the first to read out in real time, minutes and seconds. We sold it to Ampex to distribute. But that's another story...s

 

[citysoundman]

Thanks for sharing, it's SO enjoyable and enlightening hearing your stories! Being told to sit on the couch by the head mixer really describes the environment perfectly; I remember it well as a young recording engineer in NYC in the mid 80's. Veteran guys were real divas, they didn't want to share any secrets, or take the blame for any mistakes...I was on the receiving end of this type of lame behavior and it wasn't pleasant!

The mixing crew was picked by me and there was no couch.

Love it!

I confounded Eventide, known then as Eventide Clock Works. We built some of the first digital delay lines and harmonizers in the 70s.

As a youngster working in some studios, those beautiful black-faced Eventide processors really stood out in the racks. It was a thrill using them. Back in the day each piece of outboard gear had a very specific purpose, and the Eventide gear was up there with the best. The H910 Harmonizer was used on practically every mix to spread vocals, it was magic!

 

[Wagonmaster_91]

My brother told me that he has just bought a Bose sound bar for his TV and listens to music through it (or through headphones), he has no hi-fi system anymore!

Reminds me of when a friend of mine bragged that he had ripped all his CDs to 192kbps MP3s and got rid of them.

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

Reminds me of when a friend of mine bragged that he had ripped all his CDs to 192kbps MP3s and got rid of them.

I think I just had a stroke reading this.

 

[murrysdad]

Thanks for sharing, it's SO enjoyable and enlightening hearing your stories! Being told to sit on the couch by the head mixer really describes the environment perfectly; I remember it well as a young recording engineer in NYC in the mid 80's. Veteran guys were real divas, they didn't want to share any secrets, or take the blame for any mistakes...I was on the receiving end of this type of lame behavior and it wasn't pleasant!


Love it!


As a youngster working in some studios, those beautiful black-faced Eventide processors really stood out in the racks. It was a thrill using them. Back in the day each piece of outboard gear had a very specific purpose, and the Eventide gear was up there with the best. The H910 Harmonizer was used on practically every mix to spread vocals, it was magic!

Eventide just won a Life Time Achievement Grammy. 50 years, OMG! ...s

 

[murrysdad]

Reminds me of when a friend of mine bragged that he had ripped all his CDs to 192kbps MP3s and got rid of them.

The question is, did they sound any better? I rip CDs to 48k on pro tools but I never compared the sound to a CD player. A lot would depend on the CD player. Their biggest problems were the filters...s

 

[murrysdad]

I ripped to FLAC sounds good on the Logitech computer speakers and in the car. Not so good on my JBLs...