Studio Go Boom with Sylvia Massy - Ep. 1 (Variac/Astral Destiny) | EarthQuaker Devices
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 มี.ค. 2021
- WARNING: The following video features stunts performed either by professionals or under the supervision of professionals. Accordingly, EarthQuaker Devices and all involved must insist that no one attempt to re-create or re-enact any stunt or activity performed on this show. Working with high voltage electricity can blow up your house and/or kill you. Please do not try this at home
Are you ready? Here we go! Sylvia Massy is an artist, adventure recording innovator, and microphone collector. She has engineered, mixed, and produced many infamous recordings over the years and is no stranger to the magic of rock n’ roll. It just so happens that a main component to that magic is FUN. Join us as we team up with Sylvia for a super fun journey into the beyondo world of sound experimentation! Episode 1 of Studio Go Boom features Sylvia and Chris giving us some examples of they accomplished with a variable transformer, a low wattage tube amp, and Astral Destiny. Stay tuned for future episodes and more creative adventures in sound!
Directed by Vice Cooler
DP: Dalton Blanco
Audio: Henri Cash
Intro Titles: Chris Tran
Studio Go Boom Theme by Sylvia Massy
Guitar: Chris Johnson
Explore all things Sylvia Massy at www.sylviamassy.com
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Thank you very much for watching Sylvia Massy's STUDIO GO BOOM! More episodes are right around the corner! Subscribe and stay tuned...
Very nice vid! They should emulate over/underpowering in modern day amp-sims
What effect will overpowering have on the tubes longevity? I suppose they'll live shorter?
Sylvia's like my favorite kooky Aunt only way smarter and cooler.
Sylvia is absolutely immense. I switch my tube amp on and wouldn’t be surprised if I electrocute myself or burn the house down, and here she is doing things like this......brilliant 😁
Yess! Sylvia Massy is great, so cool to see she's getting a recurring series on this channel. Her Show Us Your Junk episode is my favorite out of the bunch.
Sylvia has to be one of the only producers who has protective goggles as standard for sessions.
Massy Rules🔥
totally totally
I love Sylvia Massey! I couldn't be more excited about this series. Thanks, EQD and Sylvia!
Our pleasure! Thanks for watching!
Sylvia is such a subtle badass! I love it.
Missed my stop on the bus because I was soo into this video!
that's what we like to hear! (sorry/you're welcome)
@@EarthQuakerDevices keep up the great content. Big Love.
Here's Sylvia once again, thinking and going outside the box again...I really love her. A hero of mine because of her creativity.
Ever since she showed us her junk I've been enthralled with this producer. Thanks so much for this series!
Our pleasure. Thanks for watching, Daryl! Check out her site for TONS of rad stuff. Seriously.
@@EarthQuakerDevices already ahead of you! That crazy audio room at the Shure factory is 🤪 awesome
Thanks earthquaker for giving us more sylvia content! she's my fav
Please let this be a series and make like a hundred episodes
This is a series and we have more episodes to be unleashed! Stay tuned
I love all Sylvia's work!!!!
You are so awesome! I kept thinking of this movie about halfway through...IT'S ALIVE!! Sylvia's motto: everything has its own unique sound signature that can be used.
This is great! Cant wait for the rest of the series
thanks! we can't wait to release them!
Omg! How did I miss this!! YO EQD, you guys are absolute genius for recognizing the genius within Sylvia Massy and putting that genius in the most perfect musical playground!! I'm going to follow every single episode!! All of the people involved at EQD I cannot think enough for what you've been doing for the musical scientist like myself that have limited resources. By giving these all star audio magicians a soapbox to share their knowledge and generativity is an INVALUABLE TOOL. Thank you thank you and looking over what I just wrote doesn't even accurately express how much this really means to me. From "show us your junk" now this and other things you've done. It's just so great 😁
stay tuned for more episodes!
Love from Pittsburgh to our wonderful cousins just over the border. Looking forward to getting together again soon! Thanks for always putting together such excellent content.
Love Sylvia!!! Her original experimentation is so inspiring.
And she produced one of my favorites, Machines of Loving Grace-Gilt.
Man…. If I could make tea for any studio boss, it would be her.
"You should always have fun and be creative when you are recording"
Good advice!
I love Sylvia Massy, thank you
I am learning sooooo much from these! Sylvia is amazing. Would love to see a documentary on her life and career.
what a lovely lesson. thank you.
Finally, Someone used a variac with something other than a plexi. Thank you. It works! - love that 90v brown sound
If I could choose one producer to work with, it would definitely be Sylvia. What a badass!
Nice! I smell success!
This was fantastic
So great 👍
great video - interesting how different variacs and voltage can dramatically change the gain . EVH knew what was up !!
Why do you think EVH knew what he was up to?
This sort of thing was done by Ken Fischer and EVH was a customer. The difference with Ken Fischer is he used a filament transformer to maintain the 6.3Vac voltage.
Look at Grainger amps and you will find another device that lowers the voltage while maintaining the filament voltage and adjusting the bias.
I didn’t like the demonstration where she turned the voltage down and turned the amp up. It didn’t prove much as the amp would distort more as you turned it up anyway. You have to leave the volume where it is and listen for the tonal changes.
@@Mark70609 i think sylvia looks at things from an artistic point of view, not a scientific or demo one. for her it mattered that it could sound cool when you twisted knobs, not exactly what sounded cool at that point.
Way Cool!
Subbed! Ms. Massey is such a BA! Can't wait to see more!
Thanks for the sub!
SHE'S BACK YEAAAAAAAAAA
This is amazing!!! Can she do a tutorial on how she turns old telephones into a usable microphone? 🤔
Fascinating
This is excellent, thank you.
thanks for watching!
I was just rewatching Massey Videos last night, didn't realize this came out already1
this lady is nuts I love it
she's off her rocker
Holy Moly... Brrrring it ooooon!
more to come!
This was really cool.
She's So Cool. Great Producer and Experimental Sound Creator. Awesome Stuff!
Totally! Thanks for watching!
The most bad ass thing about her to me has always been that she is super cool with giving her secrets away, and it's how she survives. That says a lot about her to me and if I ever could I I would shower her in jewels to make my album lmao
Massy the Mad Scientist! I love it!
Insanely cool.
I have an amp, a Roy Blankenship Variplex that has kind of a unique design feature. It comes with a variac and you can essentially 'dime' everything and use the variac as a volume knob. It features some internal magic to protect the amp. Very cool amp from a great guy.
Heck. Yes.
the legend !!!!!
She's so cool....🤘
I genuinely appreciate how much of a chaotic genius she is. Would jump at the chance to record an album with her, in some dreamworld where that was possible!
Variac from dad...Houston, TX 🤘
Sylvia keeps looking younger every time I see her.
It's all about the journey ;)
helllllll yes
I LOVE your content... and you’re SOOO beautiful! 😻 Greetings from Costa Rica! 😊
recording with her would be amazing, like a life experience
Would loved to have seen a clip scene (like a fake blooper) of Sylvia with her hair straight up and out and maybe a little smoke and her say, "OK, we're going to work more on that variac in a later video."
My best album prod Sylvia massy is undertow
FINALLY
here it is!
Yesssss More Sylvia Massy! Anyone new to her should also check out her Recording Unhinged book, it's great!
tremeeendo
Do you have to bias the tubes often when using a variac?
Now I need a variac.
Truly a mad scientist
❤✨
Got to say ohh yeah.
now that’s what I call “high voltage rock n’ roll”
That Pro Tools widescreen display is insane.
Wow I didn't even notice that at first. It's so wide wtf
⚡️💕⚡️
Hi Sylvia, could you do the same with a tube pre-amp as well....?
greetings from Holland :)
I'm just discovering these. I watched the preview and I saw Her with a shotgun mic that I have only ever seen in Bob Paquette's microphone museum. And she said welcome to the microphone museum at the start of the video. I met Bob and took a tour back in 2008. I wish I had taken notes, he was so full of experience and knowledge. It was a seriously an amazing opportunity. Does his collection still exist in it's entirety? He claimed to have the world's largest microphone collection. Is it still possible to make a phone call and have a tour. I have so many questions!
was the astral destiny hooked up to the variac or just the amp?
between the guitar and amp just like regular
@EarthquakerDevices an you make a VarAc pedal where you can set it to break up like that? Say 130v down to 85volts? 90 was my sweet spot before she said it as well! And would love it to be full range so I could use it on my bass amp! But put it all in an easy pedal format for tube amp owners! And you can make one of course with a tube amp pedal as well... Or maybe tube pre-amp? I few there making SS amp pedals like the Seymore Duncan one... But what about a tube amp pedal with VariAc control on it? That would be amazing with your Line 6/Fractal/Kemper/NeuralDSP/all the other pedals out now!
Is it the T5 infinum?
Holy cow! How did I not know about this?? Anyone have a recommendation for a first time Variac buyer??
Reverb probably has a ton of those around :)
She is so cool thats the reason the amp does not burn 😂🤘
TL;DR, i blew up my house.
Sylvia Massy is like Ms. Frizzle if she became a producer
for some reason this video ha japanese captions on and it just made it a tad cooler :D
Sylvia!! Do you still have that picture you took of Rodman, Sage, Cheyenne and I, from when we came and recorded Art of Death? I know it’s doubtful, but if you happen to be crazy digitally organized with your band photos, let me know. Respect- Sly Baba
I wonder whether she also uses boutique amps while doing this.
Great demonstration. I've read about variacs but had no idea what they sounded like.
I always forget that she produced an incredible Tool album, if I’m not mistaken!?
True - Opiate & Undertow
Yeah she worked on Undertow! Super cool person all around :)
And System of A Down's self title. to me, this means she was probably integral in shaping the professional sound of those bands while helping to create their first albums. A real precedent setter for sure. she also worked with Prince a little back in the day. i forget which album though. she basically says in interviews that prince is prince, everything get's done his way, and he's never wrong. lol. he sounds like his own Sylvia massey in the studio from the way she describes him. I can see how having two Sylvia's in the studio wouldn't work. one would have to defer to the other for sure. waaaaaaay too much creativity and artistic determination otherwise. lol.
Am I the only one who got scared ? :D
Right!? When Sylvia puts on safety glasses, you know it's about to get real.
So, they made a death cable to plug into that variac.
Wasn‘t that the Eddie VH approach to his guitar sound .
Awesome! Increasing the voltage with a variac Is kinda like over clocking a CPU then?... So all we need now is a way to liquid cool our tubes 🤣
nota bad idea actually. a lot of all tube Bass guitar amps have fans in them. but generally fans are quieter than pumps when building overclocked computers that need to be silent as well. and generally with fan cooled computers having lots of air flow with fans on low speed is as almost as quiet as having internal sound dampening panels which restrict air flow, forcing fans to operate at higher speeds. (yet notably cooler). just things to bear in mind for cooling guitar amps for variac use!
120V was sounding the best.
That's the normal voltage...
@@GrantBrenner What a surprise!
Huh, didn't know the Hellraiser Box company also made Variacs.
👍👍💗 Eddie Van Halen RIP
i know i was thinking EVH all thu this video
EVH said his variac sweet spot for recording was 89 volts. Sylvia is serious business.
This is very cool. Buuuuuut...all the way up to 240v? Pfft, I get that out my plugs without any of your fancy shenanigans . Good ol’ UK mains.
haha. yeah, but you're amp is built for it.
"Let's not blow up the amp" . . . always sound advice.
120 volts : U.S electric grid
140 volts : Tight and strong
240 volts : Actual electricity for professional needs.
So, how do you not fry equipment doing this?
Studio go boom
Exactly, you are damaging you equipment. Here is the thing, if the amp is vintage, you may not be able to get the required transformers from an off the shelf supplier.
yeah, the repair and upkeep maintenance bills on her studio are probably twice as high as an equally well equipped studio. i bet her amps get maintenance twice as often as other studios at least, and probably need more components replaced more often as well. just a guess though. at her level, i doubt it's an issue though. it also depends on just how often she does this technique too. i assume she starts everything off at standard USA voltage 120, and if her ear tells her it can sound better, breaks out the variacs.
WTF with those ground wires flopping around the pos and neg terminals???
When she started talking about voltage that can kill you I was out.
The big variac has the terminals exposed and is definitely dangerous. I’m more worried about damage done when turning variac up and exceeding the specs of the components.
@@Mark70609 yup. i'd definitely put a well ventilated shield of some kind around that sucker. long before i put glasses on. i'd totally be the type to accidentally brush those, or absentmindedly wiggle them or something. lol.
Don’t try this at home
EVH did .... just make sure you're using one with a voltage meter .. stay within a zone
@@pjuliano9000 EVH turned the voltage down, he also had a big power resistor mounted in the amp to quieten it down further. EVH also used 6CA7 valves instead of EL-34’s. The former being more sturdy. The bias would have been set up for the predetermined rail voltage too. This isn’t an apples for apples example.
In the studio EVH didn’t use the variac, it was only used to reduce the stage volume.
But but the ground wires
Not sure how this is not grounded...?? She clearly shown that both variacs indeed have grounded power. I don't get it?
This is the brown sound Eddie Van Halen tried for.
Sylvia, you’re great, but please cut those ground wires!
I mean EVH did this with his rig so it’s really nothing new. But it’s very cool to see it at work.
True, Circle of Tone has a cool video where he traces the sound of a recording to a specific 9 volt battery that was used in a pedal. the 9 volt is some ridiculous off brand, and is notably underpowered, but sounds great for that 'brown sound'. I don't remember what band or song it was though. i've possibly watched too many of his videos. Whitesnake maybe? i dunno.