My headlight! I use it all the time when I have to see what I'm doing, like going behind my workstation to plug/unplug or troubleshoot something. Keeps my hands free.
I'm gonna say something weird. I really appreciate my bluetooth keyboard and mouse, which enables me to control my DAW remotely while I sit across the room in front of my mics, with my guitar on my lap. Climbing out from behind that wall of stands and cables gets old really fast.
This is a tough one! I can narrow it down to three lol. I would say that getting gear to help with things I struggled to do well was the most important. For overall mixing I would say that my TC electronics Clarity M was a game changer. Being able to see how each move effects my overall mix at all times really helps, especially in a room that isn't letting you hear everything. As far as recording I have to say that my reactive load box was a huge help for getting great guitar tones. It eliminates the need for expensive mics and years of mic placement knowledge. The last piece of the puzzle I would say is iZotope's tonal Balance plug-in. Having assistance to help you get the type of mix you want is a very significant tool to have in a home studio. Again, it helps with mixing in a less then perfect environment. I think most of the struggle in a home studio is simply not having that professional environment to give you great mic tones and true sound for mixing. It's a terrible feeling taking a mix to your buddies and saying ''check this out" then it sounds awful through his speakers lol. All these tools help make sure we are on point, they become your eyes when you can't see and a helping hand when you don't have expensive microphones and lavishly treated acoustics. I think these are definitely the biggest hurdles for a home studio.
I saw these in use at Blackbird in Nashville when they were prepping for my tracking sessions. Very cool! But 2 things to keep in mind: a. This is really about Polarity. Yes, we all call it phase, but we're actually talking about reversing polarity. b. Even if all your cables, mics and gear are electronically in phase (same polarity) you can still have mics out of phase based on where they are in relation to each other and the sound source. For example, if I raise or lower my overheads their relative phase will change in relation to the rest of the kit - which is why I sometimes have to hit the phase button on the overhead pre's even though all the gear is correct. It's the same with room mics. That all being said, the Cricket looks like a tool to keep in the studio.
I agree but what it saves is if the “ polarity “ is reversed raising or lowering overheads what be a mess specially in a very busy rushed session. This could save tome like it did w me telling which mics were wired oldschool pin 3 hot on XLR. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the shout out, Manny and PLAP! The Cricket is a great way to know if your mics are pin 2 or 3 hot. You can also use the Cricket to see if gear is properly wired for pin 2 hot.
@@adamtaborowski Adam!!! You did a fantastic job With modeling the Avedis E27! The PSP E27 is insanely good! Best of all, I made good friends in Poland :)
Another great video with Manny! All the years I've been doing this and I think back on all the rabbit holes I went down for hours trying to fix something in the mix that was probably out of phase from the get go. I really think this is an important topic! Thanks !
Manny bringing the humility and practical tips knowledge drop! Thanks again Warren for having him on the channel! This is the nuts and bolts stuff of producing like a PRO! 🙏 🙌
Just a MINOR clarification ... OUT OF PHASE refers to comparing one signal to another.. if ALL your signals flashed red, there would be no issue, its only when one (or more) is the opposite to the others when there is a problem. What you are checking with one mic (red or green) is POLARITY. Polarity and phase are related, but not the same. Polarity is an absolute, phase is relative between 2 or more signals. ALSO.. phase can be acoustic as well as electronic .. just think top and bottom snare mics ... think about it. out of phase acoustically.. you put them back in phase by ELECTRONICALLY switching the phase of one of them (usually the bottom) .
Great video. I think JJP does a similar thing before recording drums. He lays a monitor on its back with the cone facing up, puts a coin on the speaker cone. When the drummer soundchecks the kit elements the coin should jump up as the speaker cone pushes forward on a positive polarity signal. As a cost effective way i use a metronome that has a similar knocky sound, put all the drum mics in record and hold the metrnome at each mic, then zoom in on the individual drum elements wave forms to make sure the beginning of the waveforms start in a positive phase direction.
@@gabejohnston1556 thanks for sharing Gabe. This box saves me when I have serious set ups my studio or other studios to make sure all gear in phase. I used today checking a ribbon mic and found out it’s reversed polarity Ha . Maybe it’s not for everyone but that’s cool. Use only if it helps your work flow G.
@@gabejohnston1556 Sure, but, if you have this you can determine ahead of time if there are phase issues with your mics,...before you track. So,...not worthless at all.
@@DonOblivious we use them for live audience under-seat monitors. We have to use raw wire to daisy chain speakers. The problem is the proprietary connectors don’t have plus minus labels. Sometime one gets wired in reverse and it sounds weird. The cricket resolves it.
Great video. The best thing you get from this is your time back. Think of the many hours over the years spent mixing around phase issues. Yes, you can land on your feet but now you can get the result you want in less time.
No crickets here, brother! Great content! Now I know I need to look out for those kinds of issues. Never would've known otherwise. Thank you for all the great content, Produce Like a Pro!
I can't say how much this makes sense and how much this is the original ideas of every recording engineer and live engineer (but live engineers don't have this much time lol)
It’s a service if someone wanted to take that up for sure. Appreciated the kind words ;) Warren and Crue always trying to bring useful tips even outside the Manny Realm ;)
@@mannysmiclocker and old microphones! Glad you mentioned that. Seems every old old 421 tuchel or shure unidyne with the 4 pin amphenol is wired wrong!
Honestly, I can do this exact thing with my $15 quartz metronome, which only puts out a positive pulse from both the internal speaker and audio jack. I just have to watch the pulses on my DAW's tracks. In the olden days, we'd use an oscilloscope to monitor the polarity coming off of the console. I got mine used, also for $15 :D
If you want to test phase of a Mic just plug it in and Record on your Daw. Then tap the head of your mic hard enough it nearly clips. Zoom in and look at the wavelength if it goes down before up it is out of phase. If you flip the phase on your preamp and repeat the process. You will notice it flips. Look for the first significant wave. The small ones are just air pressure. Do this a couple times and compare the results and you'll get it its easy and takes 5 min to learn how to do.
@@xkgbx im so confused by this video because i have always seen phase as relational... polarity is a binary which is what i understand to be being measured in this video. i need to re-learn some stuff that i thought i knew
awesome ! Big fan of Manny. thanks. so humble, always learning, always pushing. inspirational. Cricket is a great device. I used to have an app of some kind, where it was required to download a test tone, play it back, and then the app would measure the polarity, it's not available anymore. but the cricket wins on convenience, and versatility. it so important to make sure all your mics, cables, and devices are in phase. YES ! SOME of the older gear was pin 3 hot. lots of AKG, UREI and JBL family of products,. Stephen (PoK) from Solutions in Silverlake hipped me to this. He's out there! seek him out . He'll fuck with you, but blow your mind. or he might just blow you off, but definately audio guru status.
Great video. The first time I saw one of these devices it was at the live sound company I worked for. We had just bought tons of new EV-SX300’s, and checked their phase quickly. I figured there was no way they left the factory out of phase, EV is an awesome company, but sure enough… 2 out of 16 boxes were wired wrong.
Thanks for the great info, Manny! Can a cable tester do the same thing I wonder? Probably not? I had a speaker that was out of phase because of a wonky cable or adapter. Always sounded weird compared to my other speakers. Swapped out one cable and all was good.
I have a cool xlr tester from Dave Rat’s company Sound Tools. The cricket will do that job, but the Sound Tools one won’t make the sound and detect it on the other end the way the Cricket will. The Cricket can be used to test mic to speaker output polarity, polarity within a piece of gear or a chain of pieces, and as a cable tester.
Yeeeah, Manny is back! So effective, so simple, and phase really makes the difference, thanks for sharing! When I share the topic "Phase" with my Students, they almost can't believe the simplicity and drastic change when the tracks are in Phase haha 💪
If every time he says “Phase” you substitute “polarity” it would be correct… all green same polarity, all red same polarity… for example under snare mic facing up would capture reverse polarity of the mics facing down, so would in general practice have its polarity flipped. Just because two mics show green, they can still be wildly out of phase:) remember the 3 to 1 rule…. Placement of 2 mics with same polarity can throw you waaay out…. If you are lucky you are 180 degrees out, and flipping polarity solves it… if not…. Already recorded tracks can be helped with a tool like Little Labs IBP (in between phase) or by sliding tracks in pro tools to align waveforms
Vel, talking Frankly we did this episode on the fly to help people . I’ve been recording maybe now 25 years.if I was in a round table with some of the best producers in Los Angeles my dialog of phase aka polarity would not be misunderstood. Lastly the artist would not care neither would the studio if we found some mics or cables out of “ phase “ My studio is not in the back of my moms house and Warren was super nice to share this episode showing people a affordable way to save time during hectic session set ups. That being said I appreciate you being critical of me for a term that Pc would have been better but ! It is what it is and If anyone serious about recording can’t look past that then I wish them luck sincerely . Peace Velvetone custom shop. I dig all episode of PLAP and this format is golden to me.
Awesome video! Thanks Manny and Warren! And those Devices are fairly cheap I think I saw them for like 120 bucks for the set! Definitely worth having in the studio!
William, it is a R144 I’ve modified and use most sessions. I have started a ribbon mic company I hope to premier some mics soon. Good eye my man! Yes it’s excellent mic.
I would get a soldering station, and some tools, sit down with all these mics and modify those who have different pin polarity to the general standard.
So I don't fully understand this video. We're talking about just individual microphones being in phase with its own components? Not necessarily multiple microphones being in phase? Please explain
If you're building a studio you would use this going through your gear systematically before adding any recording device so you don't have any in built issues that are hard to find when they could be identified.
Andre, I believe there are a few options in plugins Warren and I may showcase next episode but the hardware aspect is the one for engineers super helpful . Literally is this mic wired correct or is the transformer in my 1176 wired backwards lol regardless hope you enjoyed and your are appreciated!
Great video. Not to expensive also. I would imagine there would be a DIY kit out there or at least the schematics, maybe a new project for me. Great video big thanks
It’s part of the equation on engineering and recording . Plus is. Write you record and capture wave forms you can make sure all your hardware in phase and working proper. Thanks for tuning in regardless and hope that made sense.
The front of the mic is actually negative in relation to the way the speaker cone moves. The speaker cone moves out as the front of the microphone diaphragm moves in (-)
I got called out for that in one of my videos , so I made a video about the difference between phase and polarity. Yet I keep saying phase. Hard to break a 30 habit.
Still digesting this...no bad comment so far, except for waiting to process that live click. So my balance/ on the fly' thinking brain part is still in doubt.
I made myself some 1' polarity flip cables by swapping the hot and cold wires on one end of the XLRs. But it's a bit bothersome to turn off e.g. phantom power, then plug it in, turn phantom back on and compare. The cricket wins in convenience! I once went Gyro Gearloose and tried to make this switch in a olive oil tin can. The flip cable is a guerrilla/low-budget solution if anyone is willing to try and can handle soldering... 2¢
If you've got a soldering iron, you can permanently fix it inside the mic body, no? Just remember: some screws you turn *in* to the body to loosen the shell, some you turn out. Don't force them. I open up my mics to check for shitty solder joints or leftover flux that could have the potential to cause problems down the road. I don't have many mics and they're low quality though...
Doesn't the distant from the source also affect the phase relationship. It'd probably make sense to do it on close to the mic then when you're finished maybe set it on the snare and check all the mics again?
I use time delays on rooms to make drums sound bigger but If I have a singer of bass player ahead or behind the groove I’ll use a plug-in not physical changing of file.
@@mannysmiclocker I'm specifically referring to using the time adjuster plugin to align the close mics to the overheads. I'm sorry I said the wrong plugin. In many of Warren's videos he will use time adjuster to make the snare mic positive wave match the overheads same positive excursion. He does this by delaying the close mics by a fixed number of samples to compensate for the speed of sound reaching the overheads later than the close mics. Absolute phase absolutely matters in that case. When multiple mics are picking up the same source at different distances sometimes flipping the phase on otherwise coherently phased mics will improve bass response. Of course this is totally subjective.
As i'm a newbie in mixing, i would have liked to hear what difference it make ? maybe someone can share a link of an audio exemple of this "polarity" problem ? Thanks in advance.
Well if you have a bass guitar micd up and use a DI 9 out of 10 the DI is out of phase . If you play together sound will be thin. If you on preamp or daw flip phase or polarity the sound once in phase will sound full and thick. It will be obvious
@@mannysmiclocker Well, again, if you use only one DI (for a mono -signal) it is totally of no interest if the Polarity is "right" or wrong - because *there is no absolute phase to hear*. It could be relevant if you mix that source with a bass-cab-mike - but then you will have real *phase* issues for the few milisec. the signal needs from speaker to mic - could be a good thing or not.
@@mannysmiclocker Ok thanks. I understand it better now as i experienced this a lot when i record my upright bass tuto video on my youtube channel. I use the internal XY stereo mic of my zoom recorder to capture my upright (8 inch directly front of the bridge) and mix it with the boom mic i use for my voice (placed as a boom mic). I always hear what you describe "thin sound" and when i look close to the spectrum of each tracks i often watch they are not exactly starting at the same spot. Most of the time they look almost completely reverse. After align them they finally sound way better and thick yes. So by just flip the phase i will obtain the same result i think, thanks ! I knew it can be caused by different placement of multiple microphones to record one instrument (because the sound is very slightly not capture at the same time) but i didn't know you can detect that it will be out of phase (so it will be cause the same "thin sound" problem) without even compare the result of recording with multiple mics the same instrument, but just by testing the polarity (+ -) of the chain between one mic and the speakers. Crazy ! Thousand thanks for the answer 🙏
@@hafibeat834 Yes. But many people get phase and polarity mixed up and use the terms interchangeably, including me. Both are fundamental to a good mix.
I don;t get it. A single source is always in phase. You need at least one other source for the same signal and comapare the phases to choose which one could be out of phase or with reversed polarity. Also the phase issue is more critical between 20Hz to about 2000Hz, above that it is quite impossible to make a perfect phase match.
As long as your monitor speaker you’re reading from is in the correct phase too ahe but I guess as long as your not recording between different monitors or systems you’re sweet
I believe the next episode Warren and Crue will share is dealing with that topic. I’m not checking sample but! Could be applied. Also a general rule of files in phase or out example a sound in phase the wave goes up first, out of phase wave goes down . Hope that makes sense Jon. Appreciate the comment and hope we can help you brother.
@@hafibeat834 I don’t think it’s about perfect phase just making sure there are no files totally out in a drum set or guitar set up. Things being close or even out of phase work sometime but for engineering it’s important to myself. It’s not for everyone and that’s ok. We love this diverse musically community.
@@mannysmiclocker I understand, it's always useful to watch your recording setup in detail. But the question was: "How do you know if your samples and sounds in the daw are out of phase?" - the simple answer is: NOT if it's a single signal, and if it sounds right it is right, right? And therefor, it's not reasonable to make a big think of "Polarity*, *Phase* (based on time-delay) is the real issue, notably when it comes to mono-compatibility in a mix.
Isn’t a microphone suppose to be out of phase with the speakers? As the microphone diaphragm is moving inwards due to someone making a noise , the speakers drivers reproducing that sound should be moving outwards.
I have pondered this as a newbie already and have a method: just run a take, use the optimise polarity function on Mixbus. Then flip any phase buttons on my hardware preamps that Mixbus changes on its channels. Does this not get me the same result or am I missing something?
It *probably* does, but also may not. Mixbus just does a trial-and-error of the song with every polarity switch flipped, and tells you which tracks to flip to get the loudest result. Does louder mean the polarity is correct? Generally, yes… but not always.
I made a video about the difference between phase and polarity that I put on my channel a few days ago. Check it out. But the quick answer is that because the positive and negative wires are crossed in the old mics the wave forms are reversed (when they go up or go down) in comparison to the rest of the mics. This causes the sound to be thinner than it should.
I spend a lot of time looking at phase and polarity when I'm mixing and tracking. It's really important. I just put out Part 1 of a video about it on my channel with Part 2 coming out this week.
How else to be sure you’re in phase every time? MONO THE SIGNAL AND LISTEN TO IT! That’s an old FM Radio trick. If you’re properly equipped with a MONO button on your monitor amp, and you know what you’re listening for, you’ll always know - and it costs NOTHING for someone’s little expensive box!
🤔 Interesting. It's one thing to have everything "in phase" individually; but how can this be used to make sure that each mic is in phase collectively❓ Or am I just dumb ❓🤪
I think doing it at every session is just a waste of time, i would check my gear once if its wired correctly and maybe check every new piece of gear, but in drum recording, because of all the different distances of different elements in the room, you have to mess with phases a lot anyways. having your gear wired correctly just makes it a little more predictable, but not something i would do in every session, who wants to wait and pay for that? my clients would get mad if they come and i start to check if my gear is wired correctly because its old =D
This piece of gear can make sure your Shure 58 is wired correct Thru mixing board. The cost of gear not the issue as I payed a lot $$ for some of their vintage dynamos and all out of phase pin 3 hot as pin 2 rear of the earth.
@@mannysmiclocker Thanks Manny and I agree with you and will probably invest in it. My only worry is that there will probably be another cool gear coming up soon and equally useful. I’ve already sold my car, mountain and road bikes 😃. Hopefully there are still a few things I can pawn to finance my gears before the Boss Lady throws me out with an empty suitcase 🍺🤔🤪
Oh my... Sorry, "Figure of 8" mics have absolute no cancelation at the "negative" side. A normal cardioid does that trick. Second, since you can't hear "absolute phase", checking the polarity of a source is ONLY of concern when using more than one mic at the same place - like Stereo-Setups. Even if one drummic is "polarity reversed", it isn't to be sounding worse. Third, it's absolute essential to understand the *big difference* between "polarity" and "phase". "Phase" is about time, not about polarity and can't be correctet with a "Phase"/(=Polarity)-Switch on the Preamp or DAW. In 99,9% of all cases, the sound will stay the same. You can adjust Phase with a delay. Phase-Problems between two sources could lead to sound problems as they filter a signal like an EQ.
Thanks for sharing and appreciated. My only concern was during a set up and making sure all lines through gear was in phase. It’s a hardware check basically . Thanks again.
@@mannysmiclocker Thanx for responding :-) Well, basically this hardware-check is a good idea in some situations with new/unknown gear and when *POLARITY* is of high concern. Again even if many producers confuse *Polarity* with *Phase* it's of paramount importance (well, sort of) to get these things in perspective - because you will NEVER fix phase problems - the ones that will occur in multimic-setups through delay - with a simple polarity change. Even the classic "Snare Bottom Polarity Reverse" is mostly pointless.
An, thanks for sharing and In most sessions I’ve worked in saying “ flip the phase “ as it could be polarity is understood. We did this episode on the fly and it’s not scripted ever as far as my self so I’ll except any Criticism regarding being PC. This was a cool test that anyone can do To make sure there hardware in phase. Pin 3 hot gear can mess up a drum kit. This cricket can sort that out polarity or phase ;) thanks again and we will work on improving anything Regaridng recording .
If you are recording audio then yes. However, when you're wiring your studio you won't be printing audio. This is a huge tool for checking phase throughout your whole system!
What's the most useful gear you own that everybody should know about? Please let us know below!
My headlight! I use it all the time when I have to see what I'm doing, like going behind my workstation to plug/unplug or troubleshoot something. Keeps my hands free.
The Cricket Ha!
I'm gonna say something weird. I really appreciate my bluetooth keyboard and mouse, which enables me to control my DAW remotely while I sit across the room in front of my mics, with my guitar on my lap. Climbing out from behind that wall of stands and cables gets old really fast.
Having Vahe as a friend is a most useful thing on earth :) - and I am this lucky guy to have him in my life as well. Great video.
This is a tough one! I can narrow it down to three lol. I would say that getting gear to help with things I struggled to do well was the most important. For overall mixing I would say that my TC electronics Clarity M was a game changer. Being able to see how each move effects my overall mix at all times really helps, especially in a room that isn't letting you hear everything. As far as recording I have to say that my reactive load box was a huge help for getting great guitar tones. It eliminates the need for expensive mics and years of mic placement knowledge. The last piece of the puzzle I would say is iZotope's tonal Balance plug-in. Having assistance to help you get the type of mix you want is a very significant tool to have in a home studio. Again, it helps with mixing in a less then perfect environment. I think most of the struggle in a home studio is simply not having that professional environment to give you great mic tones and true sound for mixing. It's a terrible feeling taking a mix to your buddies and saying ''check this out" then it sounds awful through his speakers lol. All these tools help make sure we are on point, they become your eyes when you can't see and a helping hand when you don't have expensive microphones and lavishly treated acoustics. I think these are definitely the biggest hurdles for a home studio.
I saw these in use at Blackbird in Nashville when they were prepping for my tracking sessions. Very cool! But 2 things to keep in mind: a. This is really about Polarity. Yes, we all call it phase, but we're actually talking about reversing polarity. b. Even if all your cables, mics and gear are electronically in phase (same polarity) you can still have mics out of phase based on where they are in relation to each other and the sound source. For example, if I raise or lower my overheads their relative phase will change in relation to the rest of the kit - which is why I sometimes have to hit the phase button on the overhead pre's even though all the gear is correct. It's the same with room mics. That all being said, the Cricket looks like a tool to keep in the studio.
I agree but what it saves is if the “ polarity “ is reversed raising or lowering overheads what be a mess specially in a very busy rushed session. This could save tome like it did w me telling which mics were wired oldschool pin 3 hot on XLR.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the shout out, Manny and PLAP! The Cricket is a great way to know if your mics are pin 2 or 3 hot. You can also use the Cricket to see if gear is properly wired for pin 2 hot.
Agreed, impressive piece of gear!
You are the Man Vahe!
Congrats Vahe ! You have always great ideas. One of the best was when you came to our booth with PSP E27 - that was a life changing idea ;)
@@adamtaborowski Adam!!! You did a fantastic job With modeling the Avedis E27! The PSP E27 is insanely good! Best of all, I made good friends in Poland :)
@@ehav
Another great video with Manny! All the years I've been doing this and I think back on all the rabbit holes I went down for hours trying to fix something in the mix that was probably out of phase from the get go. I really think this is an important topic! Thanks !
Much appreciated you sharing Paul! Aces!
Thank you Manny for your humility and your kindness to share with us. We feels less lonely :) merci !
U da best Dan!!!! PLAP always brings it.
The videos on this channel always have superior sound quality...10 15% louder than anything else on you tube
i like Manny's honesty ...nicely demo'd ..and great piece of kit.
Thanks ever so much!
King, Thank you for sharing and everyone here my self included care and will always try to give advice that helps us. Take care My Man!
I know this oone!
_Using a single microphone for everything :)_
Marvellous!
Wicked!
More like "owning a single microphone" :D
Every studio capable of recording real instruments should have one. I wish we had one back in the day… amazing!!
Thanks for sharing Paul!
Manny bringing the humility and practical tips knowledge drop! Thanks again Warren for having him on the channel! This is the nuts and bolts stuff of producing like a PRO! 🙏 🙌
Thanks for the kind words MOT ;)
Just a MINOR clarification ... OUT OF PHASE refers to comparing one signal to another.. if ALL your signals flashed red, there would be no issue, its only when one (or more) is the opposite to the others when there is a problem. What you are checking with one mic (red or green) is POLARITY. Polarity and phase are related, but not the same. Polarity is an absolute, phase is relative between 2 or more signals. ALSO.. phase can be acoustic as well as electronic .. just think top and bottom snare mics ... think about it. out of phase acoustically.. you put them back in phase by ELECTRONICALLY switching the phase of one of them (usually the bottom) .
what he said
I wonder if the vintage mics that had reversed polarity would sound different if they were re-wired?
@ Ed Evans: Well, close but not 100% on spot. Polarity and Phase are NOT related. Phase is related to time. You missed that... :-)
@@weschilton No, only if used with other mics in a Stereo-Setup.
omg thank you ive been going wild in my head because i could have sworn what Manny is talking about in this video is polarity... ?????
Awesome fast and absolutely perfect speaker moves out or it moves in. So simple I love it Thanks. Cheers from Nova Scotia.
I can’t express enough how rad it is you’re doing so much with Manny! Thank you!
Much appreciated Dan and Warren and crew super amazing to work with. Grateful always my Man Dan ;)
Yes! We love Manny!!
Great video. I think JJP does a similar thing before recording drums. He lays a monitor on its back with the cone facing up, puts a coin on the speaker cone. When the drummer soundchecks the kit elements the coin should jump up as the speaker cone pushes forward on a positive polarity signal.
As a cost effective way i use a metronome that has a similar knocky sound, put all the drum mics in record and hold the metrnome at each mic, then zoom in on the individual drum elements wave forms to make sure the beginning of the waveforms start in a positive phase direction.
great video! Got my cricket in the mail today. Looking forward to checking all my diy gear as well as using in my next session. Thanks
Perfect timing! I'm having all sorts of fits today. lol
Haha indeed Andrew!
Andrew, hope this can simplify basic set ups and it really did help me.
@@mannysmiclocker Absolutely!
This was great. Those cricket boxes don't cost much either -- I've always wondered about some of my mics. Thanks again Manny!
You are the best Billy and appreciated you sharing that! PLAP rocks!
Thanks ever so much for sharing Billy!
You can look at the waveform and determine phase without buying another box you'll use a few times in your life. This video is kind of worthless.
@@gabejohnston1556 thanks for sharing Gabe. This box saves me when I have serious set ups my studio or other studios to make sure all gear in phase. I used today checking a ribbon mic and found out it’s reversed polarity Ha . Maybe it’s not for everyone but that’s cool. Use only if it helps your work flow G.
@@gabejohnston1556 Sure, but, if you have this you can determine ahead of time if there are phase issues with your mics,...before you track. So,...not worthless at all.
I always use a phase correlation meter when setting up microphones. It takes up a little time, but so does mixing out of phase mics lol.
Perfect!
@@mannysmiclocker I am gonna have to get one of these little crickets though!!! I've never heard of them before this video! Thanks for the pro tip 😉
@@guitargod1882able I was expecting something like this used in the film industry would cost a lot more than $120
@@DonOblivious I was also expecting it to be more.
@@DonOblivious we use them for live audience under-seat monitors. We have to use raw wire to daisy chain speakers. The problem is the proprietary connectors don’t have plus minus labels. Sometime one gets wired in reverse and it sounds weird. The cricket resolves it.
Great video. The best thing you get from this is your time back. Think of the many hours over the years spent mixing around phase issues. Yes, you can land on your feet but now you can get the result you want in less time.
Bullseye Justin ;)
@@mannysmiclocker I recently tried sound radix pi , which a phase analysis et auto rotating plug in, you should check it , Mix helper as it' s best.
@@lucrougy1509 super cool I’ll check out!
No crickets here, brother! Great content! Now I know I need to look out for those kinds of issues. Never would've known otherwise. Thank you for all the great content, Produce Like a Pro!
Thanks for tuning in Yoshua. Warren and the produce like a pro team always ahead of the curve and they sincerely care.
Very humble and helpful. Thank you for posting this.
You are appreciated BBK!!!!
I can't say how much this makes sense and how much this is the original ideas of every recording engineer and live engineer (but live engineers don't have this much time lol)
Fantastic bit of kit. Ive used the cricket for this very thing for 15years or so... Mostly when setup systems and studios.
Thanks for sharing!
It’s a service if someone wanted to take that up for sure. Appreciated the kind words ;) Warren and Crue always trying to bring useful tips even outside the Manny Realm ;)
@@mannysmiclocker and old microphones! Glad you mentioned that. Seems every old old 421 tuchel or shure unidyne with the 4 pin amphenol is wired wrong!
Honestly, I can do this exact thing with my $15 quartz metronome, which only puts out a positive pulse from both the internal speaker and audio jack. I just have to watch the pulses on my DAW's tracks. In the olden days, we'd use an oscilloscope to monitor the polarity coming off of the console. I got mine used, also for $15 :D
I had one years at my old studio and may have to hunt another down ;) thanks for sharing Wado.
That's great! I just dug out my quartz metronome and tried it on my mic'd drum kit. One of my ribbon mic's was out of phase. Great advice!
If you want to test phase of a Mic just plug it in and Record on your Daw. Then tap the head of your mic hard enough it nearly clips. Zoom in and look at the wavelength if it goes down before up it is out of phase. If you flip the phase on your preamp and repeat the process. You will notice it flips. Look for the first significant wave. The small ones are just air pressure. Do this a couple times and compare the results and you'll get it its easy and takes 5 min to learn how to do.
Great tip!!! Wave form up is truth. Thanks for sharing Cory.
Polarity, not phase.
@@xkgbx im so confused by this video because i have always seen phase as relational... polarity is a binary which is what i understand to be being measured in this video. i need to re-learn some stuff that i thought i knew
Eye opening video Manny.
Thanks from a Manny to a Manny ;)
What a great video! Besides the technical part, it should be an inspiration for all of us to double check ourselves everyday!
Word ;)
awesome ! Big fan of Manny. thanks. so humble, always learning, always pushing. inspirational. Cricket is a great device. I used to have an app of some kind, where it was required to download a test tone, play it back, and then the app would measure the polarity, it's not available anymore. but the cricket wins on convenience, and versatility. it so important to make sure all your mics, cables, and devices are in phase. YES ! SOME of the older gear was pin 3 hot. lots of AKG, UREI and JBL family of products,. Stephen (PoK) from Solutions in Silverlake hipped me to this. He's out there! seek him out . He'll fuck with you, but blow your mind. or he might just blow you off, but definately audio guru status.
So cool you know Solutions man! Yeah humble is a life thing and I’m always down to learn Rico my Man!
Chavez's videos are always the best
Appreciated Tekbow S!!!!
Manny always shares Super valuable info, this was great stuff Cuz!
Thanks ever so much
Thanks Cuz!!!
Super informative stuff, Manny. Always a pleasure to watch
Thanks for the kind words ;)
Wow ! Such a great and informative video ! Thank you.
Thanks George!!
Great! And Pete Thomas is the man...must have been a joy to mix those tracks...
always diggin your drops of knowledge friend. many thanks!
Much appreciated!
Thanks for tuning in Evergreen.
Lol!! “I don’t know why I’m talking into this mic.” Good stuff Manny!
Haha Manny is the man!
Ha totally right?!
Great video. The first time I saw one of these devices it was at the live sound company I worked for. We had just bought tons of new EV-SX300’s, and checked their phase quickly.
I figured there was no way they left the factory out of phase, EV is an awesome company, but sure enough… 2 out of 16 boxes were wired wrong.
Smart Peeps ;)
I have mics ranging from the 1960s to 2022... sure would be good to check them (and my custom wired XLR cables!) Sounds like a no brainer!
Totally Priceless and saves time wondering in the middle of a session like my self Ha .
Thanks for the great info, Manny!
Can a cable tester do the same thing I wonder? Probably not?
I had a speaker that was out of phase because of a wonky cable or adapter. Always sounded weird compared to my other speakers. Swapped out one cable and all was good.
I have a cool xlr tester from Dave Rat’s company Sound Tools.
The cricket will do that job, but the Sound Tools one won’t make the sound and detect it on the other end the way the Cricket will.
The Cricket can be used to test mic to speaker output polarity, polarity within a piece of gear or a chain of pieces, and as a cable tester.
I think the Cricket could be one of a few tools handy for sure. Cable testers amazing as well.
fighting drums overheads in a mix, probably what i used to mess up most. phase really was my problem then.
This is great advice, thanks Manny!
Thanks Jay!
Appreciated J!
Yeeeah, Manny is back! So effective, so simple, and phase really makes the difference, thanks for sharing!
When I share the topic "Phase" with my Students, they almost can't believe the simplicity and drastic change when the tracks are in Phase haha 💪
Thanks My Man!
If every time he says “Phase” you substitute “polarity” it would be correct… all green same polarity, all red same polarity… for example under snare mic facing up would capture reverse polarity of the mics facing down, so would in general practice have its polarity flipped. Just because two mics show green, they can still be wildly out of phase:) remember the 3 to 1 rule…. Placement of 2 mics with same polarity can throw you waaay out…. If you are lucky you are 180 degrees out, and flipping polarity solves it… if not…. Already recorded tracks can be helped with a tool like Little Labs IBP (in between phase) or by sliding tracks in pro tools to align waveforms
I dig that little labs between phase box as it helps live bands and bass players hear lowend.
Vel, talking Frankly we did this episode on the fly to help people . I’ve been recording maybe now 25 years.if I was in a round table with some of the best producers in Los Angeles my dialog of phase aka polarity would not be misunderstood. Lastly the artist would not care neither would the studio if we found some mics or cables out of “ phase “ My studio is not in the back of my moms house and Warren was super nice to share this episode showing people a affordable way to save time during hectic session set ups. That being said I appreciate you being critical of me for a term that Pc would have been better but ! It is what it is and If anyone serious about recording can’t look past that then I wish them luck sincerely . Peace Velvetone custom shop. I dig all episode of PLAP and this format is golden to me.
thanks didn't know a device like this could exist.
Awesome video! Thanks Manny and Warren! And those Devices are fairly cheap I think I saw them for like 120 bucks for the set! Definitely worth having in the studio!
Always grateful My Man! I’ve gotta grab my own this week and totally affordable and worth it
that ribbon looks like a MXL R144 . . . I have one, love it
William, it is a R144 I’ve modified and use most sessions. I have started a ribbon mic company I hope to premier some mics soon. Good eye my man! Yes it’s excellent mic.
I would get a soldering station, and some tools, sit down with all these mics and modify those who have different pin polarity to the general standard.
So I don't fully understand this video. We're talking about just individual microphones being in phase with its own components? Not necessarily multiple microphones being in phase? Please explain
It’s the individual mic and all the mics as well. 3 mic to 16 mic set up.
Helps you get a great starting point.
16:33 Best part of video! 😂😂
Busted Ha
@@mannysmiclocker 😂😂
Man, much respect. In this video, you showed that even the pros can be humble and teachable.
Thanks for the great tips!!
🤣 classic, Manny! I'm super interested in the pin 2 and 3 "hot" issue.... research to do!
Yes!!!!!
YOU ROCK!!!
ITS MANNYYYYY YEEES
YES!! Manny!
Yes it is Conor and thanks for sharing ;)
Manny!🔊🌝
Is the man!
Thanks Rawkin J!!!!
@@mannysmiclocker😃
Very cool tool!
I think so too!
A great bit of info. Are there no plugins that do this apart from comparing waveforms ?
If you're building a studio you would use this going through your gear systematically before adding any recording device so you don't have any in built issues that are hard to find when they could be identified.
Warren you are correct! It’s one of many things that can help you at least start session even playing field .
Can we have this as a plug-in ??
Haha what Manny? Let's make it happen!
Andre, I believe there are a few options in plugins Warren and I may showcase next episode but the hardware aspect is the one for engineers super helpful . Literally is this mic wired correct or is the transformer in my 1176 wired backwards lol regardless hope you enjoyed and your are appreciated!
Great video. Not to expensive also. I would imagine there would be a DIY kit out there or at least the schematics, maybe a new project for me. Great video big thanks
Let us know and it could be improved!
Thanks Manny. I will give it a go
I usually just do a practice recording and check the waveforms. Is this thing doing something that I can’t achieve by doing that? I’m a bit confused.
It’s part of the equation on engineering and recording . Plus is. Write you record and capture wave forms you can make sure all your hardware in phase and working proper. Thanks for tuning in regardless and hope that made sense.
The front of the mic is actually negative in relation to the way the speaker cone moves. The speaker cone moves out as the front of the microphone diaphragm moves in (-)
Nice vid, nifty gadget! PS - polarity 🙂
I got called out for that in one of my videos , so I made a video about the difference between phase and polarity. Yet I keep saying phase. Hard to break a 30 habit.
the gaffers tape on a old gc box i gotta remember that shit thats mojo there giving me flashbacks like nag champa and rug stains
That’s my studio Ha ! Thanks for sharing.
A speaker that clips onto mic so its always the same distance from capsule and compare waveform just an idea ?
I liked that ;) thanks for sharing GD.
Could one record the cricket sound and use that to test signal chains without a mic, using the sound & the receiving box?
I just barely got my own from Vahe ( thank you) I’ll experiment and hit you make possible alt ways to use.
Still digesting this...no bad comment so far, except for waiting to process that live click. So my balance/ on the fly' thinking brain part is still in doubt.
I made myself some 1' polarity flip cables by swapping the hot and cold wires on one end of the XLRs. But it's a bit bothersome to turn off e.g. phantom power, then plug it in, turn phantom back on and compare. The cricket wins in convenience!
I once went Gyro Gearloose and tried to make this switch in a olive oil tin can. The flip cable is a guerrilla/low-budget solution if anyone is willing to try and can handle soldering... 2¢
If you've got a soldering iron, you can permanently fix it inside the mic body, no?
Just remember: some screws you turn *in* to the body to loosen the shell, some you turn out. Don't force them.
I open up my mics to check for shitty solder joints or leftover flux that could have the potential to cause problems down the road. I don't have many mics and they're low quality though...
Doesn't the distant from the source also affect the phase relationship. It'd probably make sense to do it on close to the mic then when you're finished maybe set it on the snare and check all the mics again?
Anybody know what that compressor (pre amp…?) is in the middle on the left side of the desk is? Looks epic
That a Highland Dynamic BG1 “ mono” SN001 ;) pretty much a Abbey Road type thick as a brick tube Compressir from Bryce Gonzales.
@@mannysmiclocker epic, thank you manny!
Do you use the time delay plugin to align your drums like Warren frequently demonstrates?
I use time delays on rooms to make drums sound bigger but If I have a singer of bass player ahead or behind the groove I’ll use a plug-in not physical changing of file.
@@mannysmiclocker I'm specifically referring to using the time adjuster plugin to align the close mics to the overheads. I'm sorry I said the wrong plugin. In many of Warren's videos he will use time adjuster to make the snare mic positive wave match the overheads same positive excursion. He does this by delaying the close mics by a fixed number of samples to compensate for the speed of sound reaching the overheads later than the close mics. Absolute phase absolutely matters in that case. When multiple mics are picking up the same source at different distances sometimes flipping the phase on otherwise coherently phased mics will improve bass response. Of course this is totally subjective.
As i'm a newbie in mixing, i would have liked to hear what difference it make ? maybe someone can share a link of an audio exemple of this "polarity" problem ? Thanks in advance.
There is *nothing* to hear except when two mics in a Stereo-Setup would cancel out.
Well if you have a bass guitar micd up and use a DI 9 out of 10 the DI is out of phase . If you play together sound will be thin. If you on preamp or daw flip phase or polarity the sound once in phase will sound full and thick. It will be obvious
@@mannysmiclocker Well, again, if you use only one DI (for a mono -signal) it is totally of no interest if the Polarity is "right" or wrong - because *there is no absolute phase to hear*.
It could be relevant if you mix that source with a bass-cab-mike - but then you will have real *phase* issues for the few milisec. the signal needs from speaker to mic - could be a good thing or not.
@@mannysmiclocker Ok thanks. I understand it better now as i experienced this a lot when i record my upright bass tuto video on my youtube channel. I use the internal XY stereo mic of my zoom recorder to capture my upright (8 inch directly front of the bridge) and mix it with the boom mic i use for my voice (placed as a boom mic). I always hear what you describe "thin sound" and when i look close to the spectrum of each tracks i often watch they are not exactly starting at the same spot. Most of the time they look almost completely reverse. After align them they finally sound way better and thick yes. So by just flip the phase i will obtain the same result i think, thanks !
I knew it can be caused by different placement of multiple microphones to record one instrument (because the sound is very slightly not capture at the same time) but i didn't know you can detect that it will be out of phase (so it will be cause the same "thin sound" problem) without even compare the result of recording with multiple mics the same instrument, but just by testing the polarity (+ -) of the chain between one mic and the speakers. Crazy !
Thousand thanks for the answer 🙏
@@jazzcontrebasse thanks for sharing and yes that’s one experience you could have regarding phase issues.
My DAW has phase flip switch on every channel, I sometimes just flip that if I suspect something's out of phase and see if it's better
I'm flipping the phase (polarity) all the time on things. Best way to start to get the sound right.
@@FreakingOutWithBillyHume You could also change the colour of your tracks in the same time. More or less the same result.
@@hafibeat834 you've got to be the first person i've heard say that phase isnt important
@@m.o.n.d.e.g.r.e.e.n Yes and no, this Video is about Polarity and NOT Phase, the later is important, Polarity only in a few cases. Ok?
@@hafibeat834 Yes. But many people get phase and polarity mixed up and use the terms interchangeably, including me. Both are fundamental to a good mix.
Could one also use a multimeter?
I’m not sure but if it works please let us here at PLAP know ;)
I don;t get it. A single source is always in phase. You need at least one other source for the same signal and comapare the phases to choose which one could be out of phase or with reversed polarity.
Also the phase issue is more critical between 20Hz to about 2000Hz, above that it is quite impossible to make a perfect phase match.
Thanks for sharing P!
so how can the receiver cricket tell its in phase? is it using spl or something?
As long as your monitor speaker you’re reading from is in the correct phase too ahe but I guess as long as your not recording between different monitors or systems you’re sweet
We did check them before test! Good eye! Totally important as well . Checked both sets
Question:How do you know if your samples and sounds in the daw are out of phase?
I believe the next episode Warren and Crue will share is dealing with that topic. I’m not checking sample but! Could be applied. Also a general rule of files in phase or out example a sound in phase the wave goes up first, out of phase wave goes down . Hope that makes sense Jon. Appreciate the comment and hope we can help you brother.
@@mannysmiclocker thank you so much. Love the way you explain things
You will simply not know! And it's irrelevant in most cases, since you can't hear absolute phase.
@@hafibeat834 I don’t think it’s about perfect phase just making sure there are no files totally out in a drum set or guitar set up. Things being close or even out of phase work sometime but for engineering it’s important to myself. It’s not for everyone and that’s ok. We love this diverse musically community.
@@mannysmiclocker I understand, it's always useful to watch your recording setup in detail.
But the question was:
"How do you know if your samples and sounds in the daw are out of phase?"
- the simple answer is: NOT if it's a single signal, and if it sounds right it is right, right?
And therefor, it's not reasonable to make a big think of "Polarity*,
*Phase* (based on time-delay)
is the real issue, notably when it comes to mono-compatibility in a mix.
It seems like a lot of extra time, hastle, and money as opposed to just making sure everything is hooked up right.
Possibly ;) Thanks for Sharing John.
Isn’t a microphone suppose to be out of phase with the speakers? As the microphone diaphragm is moving inwards due to someone making a noise , the speakers drivers reproducing that sound should be moving outwards.
This is electronic phase and not acoustic right?
I have pondered this as a newbie already and have a method: just run a take, use the optimise polarity function on Mixbus. Then flip any phase buttons on my hardware preamps that Mixbus changes on its channels. Does this not get me the same result or am I missing something?
It *probably* does, but also may not. Mixbus just does a trial-and-error of the song with every polarity switch flipped, and tells you which tracks to flip to get the loudest result. Does louder mean the polarity is correct? Generally, yes… but not always.
So out of phase means not all mics were on at recording?
Essentially?
No thats not right is it?
I made a video about the difference between phase and polarity that I put on my channel a few days ago. Check it out. But the quick answer is that because the positive and negative wires are crossed in the old mics the wave forms are reversed (when they go up or go down) in comparison to the rest of the mics. This causes the sound to be thinner than it should.
Phase is something a lot of people know very little about. Me included. I guess if you record mics you will know more
Clashing frequencies?
I spend a lot of time looking at phase and polarity when I'm mixing and tracking. It's really important. I just put out Part 1 of a video about it on my channel with Part 2 coming out this week.
@@FreakingOutWithBillyHume I’ll check out ;)
phase happens with mics but also with literally any audio file
How else to be sure you’re in phase every time? MONO THE SIGNAL AND LISTEN TO IT! That’s an old FM Radio trick. If you’re properly equipped with a MONO button on your monitor amp, and you know what you’re listening for, you’ll always know - and it costs NOTHING for someone’s little expensive box!
"hot pin cables" should be a thing
TL;DR Record in MONO :)
🤔 Interesting. It's one thing to have everything "in phase" individually; but how can this be used to make sure that each mic is in phase collectively❓ Or am I just dumb ❓🤪
😊✨
Anyone come across an app that could do this? Seems like two phones running an app could do it
Holding that ribbon mic in your hand gave me a bit of anxiety.
Ha me too but I re ribbon and customize those so if I blew it only 1 tear then I’d fix . Thanks for sharing Juni.
I think doing it at every session is just a waste of time, i would check my gear once if its wired correctly and maybe check every new piece of gear, but in drum recording, because of all the different distances of different elements in the room, you have to mess with phases a lot anyways. having your gear wired correctly just makes it a little more predictable, but not something i would do in every session, who wants to wait and pay for that? my clients would get mad if they come and i start to check if my gear is wired correctly because its old =D
Just flip your phaze polarity on.😃😆😅
Phase in this context is a misnomer. This is polarity not phase.
Cool piece of gear. But if buy every piece of gear these pros recommend everyday I will die poor, divorced and homeless 🤓🤔🍺
Not this one which will save you a huge amount of time, therefore money!
This piece of gear can make sure your Shure 58 is wired correct Thru mixing board. The cost of gear not the issue as I payed a lot $$ for some of their vintage dynamos and all out of phase pin 3 hot as pin 2 rear of the earth.
@@mannysmiclocker Thanks Manny and I agree with you and will probably invest in it. My only worry is that there will probably be another cool gear coming up soon and equally useful. I’ve already sold my car, mountain and road bikes 😃. Hopefully there are still a few things I can pawn to finance my gears before the Boss Lady throws me out with an empty suitcase 🍺🤔🤪
Uhhh… so no not really, a figure 8 mic doesn’t aid rejection of signal from the back of the mic. Sorry
Oh my...
Sorry, "Figure of 8" mics have absolute no cancelation at the "negative" side. A normal cardioid does that trick.
Second, since you can't hear "absolute phase", checking the polarity of a source is ONLY of concern when using more than one mic at the same place - like Stereo-Setups. Even if one drummic is "polarity reversed", it isn't to be sounding worse.
Third, it's absolute essential to understand the *big difference* between "polarity" and "phase".
"Phase" is about time, not about polarity and can't be correctet with a "Phase"/(=Polarity)-Switch on the Preamp or DAW. In 99,9% of all cases, the sound will stay the same.
You can adjust Phase with a delay. Phase-Problems between two sources could lead to sound problems as they filter a signal like an EQ.
Thanks for sharing and appreciated. My only concern was during a set up and making sure all lines through gear was in phase. It’s a hardware check basically . Thanks again.
@@mannysmiclocker Thanx for responding :-) Well, basically this hardware-check is a good idea in some situations with new/unknown gear and when *POLARITY* is of high concern. Again even if many producers confuse *Polarity* with *Phase* it's of paramount importance (well, sort of) to get these things in perspective - because you will NEVER fix phase problems - the ones that will occur in multimic-setups through delay - with a simple polarity change. Even the classic "Snare Bottom Polarity Reverse" is mostly pointless.
@@hafibeat834 yes that’s really the essence of trying to see if all is in order right there at the starting line ;)
its a shame such genius engineers dont know the difference between polarity and phase :(
An, thanks for sharing and In most sessions I’ve worked in saying “ flip the phase “ as it could be polarity is understood. We did this episode on the fly and it’s not scripted ever as far as my self so I’ll except any Criticism regarding being PC. This was a cool test that anyone can do
To make sure there hardware in phase. Pin 3 hot gear can mess up a drum kit. This cricket can sort that out polarity or phase ;) thanks again and we will work on improving anything Regaridng recording .
✓
Y'all are using "phase" and "polarity" interchangeably. They're not the same thing.
Isn't this device measuring polarity and not phase?
So basically this is just to find wrong wired mics. Just open them up, rewire and sell the cricket
It will find Polarity issues, which could be the mic, the mic pre, hardware compressor or ANY of the cabling involved.
can't you just look at the waveform in your session ?
Would depend on whether they are close mics or room mics etc as to how the waveforms look etc
If you are recording audio then yes. However, when you're wiring your studio you won't be printing audio. This is a huge tool for checking phase throughout your whole system!
@@thesongacademy5017 indeed.
@@thesongacademy5017 it's true, sometimes it's hard to see that on room mics !
@@a.nadeau537 yes, check out Manny's video in detail, it really helps!