AUDIBILITIES

By Emmet Robinson

King Street Recording Company

Professional Audio Services for Any Purpose You Can Think Of

 Video, Photo and Editorial Too!

Quality Professional Services Since 1967

15 East King Street, Malvern, PA  19355-0402

Volume 85, Fall, 2023           610-647-4341          www.kingstreetrecording.com            kingstreetrecord@aol.com

      Blog: www.emmetrobinson.com/wp/

https://emmetrobinson.com/Reading-Room/

Expanding

Over the last fifty years this business has taken many forms. My first efforts were in recording live events as they happened. Most were coffeehouse, club and concert performances including the Academy of Music in Philly and Lincoln Center in NYC.

Then a small studio made more controlled recordings possible. A move to a larger facility allowed producing demos and albums for groups.

Expanding still further allowed video production plus restoring and preserving vintage videotapes, photos and documents.

For example, I just finished restoring an original 50-year-old audiocassette of an enjoyable combination of music and conversation. There were some technical problems.

• An intermittent microphone connection had left gaps in the audio. Sometimes the music would come from the left speaker; sometimes from the right – once in a while, both.

• The recording levels would vary suddenly.

In addition, the client wanted all of the conversation edited out – but without affecting the music.

With a little effort it all worked out well and the order was completed and delivered to the client on CD and flash drive.

Okay, moving along . . .

While this type of work has been both interesting and enjoyable, I find I’m developing a strong interest in two other creative activities.

First: I’ve been writing for publication since the 1970s, and truly love working with words. In addition to my own creative efforts, I’ve been having a wonderful time reviewing the work of other writers and suggesting those minor revisions that add impact, color, clarity and organization to their creative efforts. I’ve been trusted to tinker with materials ranging from a business card (really!) to a full-length novel (Jim McCusker’s The Edge) and everything in between.  This is my idea of a really good time!

If I can help you with something, you’ll let me know, won’t you?

Details are available at www.emmetrobinson.com.

 

Second: Audio books are becoming increasingly popular. One reason, of course, is that they allow you to be more efficient. You can listen while you’re doing something else. Narrating audio books – and other materials – is a particular pleasure for me because it allows using the acting skills acquired over a lifetime in the performing arts. I can’t just say the words; the words must have impact and meaning – I have to make it real!

Charging a flat rate per page, I can take my time and record passages as many times as I want to in order to get the most effective reading.

I also enjoy creating narrative tracks for educational and promotional video where the same principle applies: believability.

For samples, go to www.emmetrobinson.com.

 

Oh – did I mention that all the usual services will continue as … um, usual?

 

From a business card to a novel to an audio book or training program, let me know how I can help you!

Emmet

emmetsemail@aol.com

610-647-4341

AUDIBILITIES
King Street Recording Company

Professional Audio Services for Any Purpose You Can Think Of
 Video and Photo Too!
Quality Professional Services Since 1967
15 East King Street, Post Office Box 402 Malvern, PA  19355-0402

Volume 83, Winter, 2023     610-647-4341         
www.kingstreetrecording.com            kingstreetrecord@aol.com
      Blog: www.emmetrobinson.com/wp/

You Asked For It!
In the business world, being a “One-Trick Pony” can be risky, and diversification becomes necessary for continued growth. Sometimes that happens as a natural process of evolution. When someone asks me, “What do you do at your studio?” my usual answer is, “What do you want?”
• The business started in 1967 as a location recording service for musicians, capturing their performances “live” as they happened.
• Then, when someone asked about an actual studio, I had to create one.
• Requests for recording larger groups led to moving to larger quarters.
• When someone asked about a video interview with a parent, lights, camera and tripod were added.
• An advertising executive heard me emceeing at a club, liked my voice, and asked me to narrate the script for a radio commercial.

Continue reading →

AUDIBILITIES
King Street Recording Company

Professional Audio Services for Any Purpose You Can Think Of – Video and Photo Too!
Quality Professional Services Since 1967
15 East King Street, Post Office Box 402 Malvern, PA  19355-0402

Volume 82, Spring, 2022           610-647-4341          www.kingstreetrecording.com            kingstreetrecord@aol.com
      Blog: www.emmetrobinson.com/wp/

First and Best

The first and best musical instrument is the human voice. No other instrument can approach the flexibility, nuance and range of emotional expression of a voice raised in song. Singing, in fact, may predate language.

Musical Forms
Before the development of singing, there were no melodies – there were no musical instruments to create them with! So, singing must have begun with simple chants. Over the millennia, the chants naturally developed into primitive songs with words and simple, repeatable melodies. As language grew in sophistication and religious practices began to develop, special songs were created for religious ceremonies. In time, basic folksongs gradually emerged. These served both as a form of entertainment and a means of disseminating the events of the times. Now, after thousands of years, musical forms for voice range from Gregorian chants of the 9th and 10th centuries to grand opera – and everything in between.

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The Pedal Steel Guitar

The pedal steel guitar, long a staple in American country music, has been heard and enjoyed in many diverse musical forms. Where – and how – did this unique instrument come into being?

Credit for inventing the first steel guitar is generally accorded to Hawaiian Joseph Kekuku in 1885. The early versions were acoustic instruments with the strings elevated above the fingerboard. Held on the lap and played horizontally, the strings were plucked with the fingers. As the strings were already tuned to a chord, changes in pitch were made by sliding a short steel bar up and down along the strings. This, then, was the basic instrument. It wouldn’t remain so for long.
The electric guitar was invented in 1931 by George Beauchamp who added electric pickups to a standard guitar so that the instrument could be connected to an amplifier and used for larger audiences. This concept was further developed by several others including Adolph Rickenbacker, Leo Fender and Les Paul.

Continue reading →

AUDIBILITIES
By Emmet Robinson
King Street Recording Company
Professional Audio Services for Any Purpose You Can Think Of
 Video and Photo Too!
Quality Services Since 1967
Volume 74, Winter, 2020        610-647-4341      
www.kingstreetrecording.com         kingstreetrecord@aol.com
      Blog: www.emmetrobinson.com/wp/
 
Digital Audio – Fact and Fiction
 
There are a great number of popular myths and misunderstandings about the capabilities of digital audio. The fact is, most things take longer than we expect them to. There are good reasons for this.
In creating a CD from an old 78-rpm record or original tape, original recordings will only play in real time. That means that a 60-minute record or tape will actually require a full hour to play.
In that hour, using a real-time CD burner, the original recording can be transferred directly to a CD. Although that sounds simple enough, there is a downside to that method: there will be no control over either the sound quality or the recording level. Skipped grooves, unwanted noise or sudden changes in recording level on the original will become part of the CD copy. No corrections are possible. Failed tape splices will require stopping the process, repairing the tape, and starting over again
A better approach is to use that same hour to create a Digital Session File in the computer to provide full control of all of these factors. Once created, the Digital Session File can be manipulated in many different ways.

Continue reading →