Review: Corey Hague

PATCH AT ‘EM

The 24 patch points aren’t just for show, they’re absolutely what makes the Mavis an interesting instrument. Aside from allowing you to add more modulation and movement to your sounds, they also represent something of a departure from the Moog design philosophy — wavefolding.

Found on a Moog synth for the first time, the wavefolding circuit adds a little ‘Westcoast flavour to an Eastcoast synth’. Huh? So what does that actually mean? 

Without delving into the history of synthesiser architecture, it means that some sonic options are opened up to create new sounds from this little Moog — something they should be applauded for, because the company is far more famous for not changing their recipe than for adding features.

In practice, it means that rather than simply adding an external sound source and distorting it, the new sound source can ‘fold in’ on itself, to give more complex timbres and depth, sounding a little like extreme phasing or mild FM. That’s the 101 of it — I’ve had multiple Westcoast synth aficionados try their best to explain it to me at length, and it still bamboozles me from a technical standpoint [pop your best explanation in the comments below! — Ed.]. Luckily, the impact on the sound is instantly noticeable, and it’s easy to just explore the characteristics of wavefolding, even if the intricacies are lost on you. And thankfully Moog have taken the time to put together concise videos outlining the new (for Moog) feature.

THE MAVIS SHOW

In a way, this exploration into wavefolding illustrates the appeal of Mavis, and seems to be at the heart of what makes it compelling. There’s the potential to be overwhelmed by the patch points or not understanding what every single one will do, but rather than be punished for your bewilderment you’ll be rewarded for your bravery. As you’re rewarded, your desire to push on increases, leaving you with a positive feedback loop. 

More importantly, you’re rarely stopped dead in your tracks by a bad patch — the sound either changes or it doesn’t, which is a refreshing change in the digital era. So while you may upset your pets or neighbours with the occasional wild oscillation or filter sweep, you won’t actually hit brick walls and feel frustrated by not advancing or sucessfully back tracking. And, unlike plenty of technology these days, unplugging it means just pulling the patch cables out, not forcing a reboot.

EURO FILES

In the spirit of adventure, I took the Mavis out of its powered case and installed it into a small Eurorack setup — a simple affair thanks to the built-in power header on the Mavis, complete with the all important ‘red line’ information on the PCB. This is another improvement over the Mother 32, which requires its own special adapter to be Eurorack mounted.

The fun of self-patching the Mavis is really turbocharged once other modules get involved, and I quickly found myself reaching to record the sounds coming from the little gadget. First some deep sub bass sounds, then some simple midrange arps. Finally, the wavefolder got patched in for some tearing electrical sounding accent and transition sounds. The depth and clarity of the recorded sounds were impressive, and while the Mavis may not be quite as buttery or as booming as the Mother 32 or Matriarch, they’re unmistakably Moog, and sit very well in a mix. Even more impressively, despite three sounds coming from the same synth, they don’t overlap or swamp each other, something that isn’t always true when using the same synth for a variety of sounds in one tune.

TALKING THE MOOG BROGUE

It soon becomes apparent that the Mavis is most certainly a gateway synth, and that anyone who spends some quality time with it will begin to imagine how it might sound given some extra tools and utilities to patch with. In my instance, I kept it simple — even just using some clocked LFOs and whitenoise widened the sonic and timbral horizons, and you could easily build a complex system around the Mavis as the main oscillator voice.

That’s not to say the Mavis absolutely needs a complex and expensive range of modules to work alongside, it doesn’t. However, a small and affordable range of stackable patch cables and some passive modules should be budgeted for, as they will help expand the options available without having to invest too deeply.

HAPPY BEING SINGLE 

So is it the perfect analogue monosynth? Not quite, as compromises will always have to be made to hit budgets and size restraints. Mavis’ mini pots are serviceable and, thankfully, have enough space to access properly, but they’re far from luxurious and some of the patch-point-text quickly becomes unreadable once you get busy. The dust cover is a great addition but sadly it’s impossible to use it while cables are connected. Some new users may also baulk at the lack of MIDI inputs, but it’s not a deal breaker when in use.

And perhaps the most forgivable criticism of all is that once you begin to unlock the potential of the Mavis you can’t help but wish for some added flexibility in potential routings, particularly around the impressive new wavefolder. 

But small concerns aside, Moog has delivered something small and mighty with the Mavis, and it marks them out as a company that is looking forward without sacrificing their well-earned heritage. It’s sure to introduce loads more people into the fascinating options that come with patch cables, and they’ve done so at a great price. Mavis is a marvel.

WIDE HORIZONS

Cam Trewin: “The Atmos mix canvas is big and, given the possibilities, it can be daunting. I suspect that if you go into a mix like Live From Joshua Tree with a totally clean slate, then you’ll get into trouble. Instead, I already had a stereo master that had been approved by the band, so my philosophy was: ‘this is a great place to start — let’s work outwards from there’.

“Prior to that realisation I was getting lost down a rabbit hole. I was chasing a mix in the room, moving the faders of the stems — drums, synths, vocals et al. It didn’t make sense and it wasn’t translating.

“Angus could tell I was losing the plot: ‘I think you’re digging yourself into a hole by starting to do automation moves. Instead, think about just placing it more in the room.’ And that was that. After that point, things fell into place, because the mix <is mixed>, the intent is already there.

“After all, all the fader rides have already been written within those stems. My job was to take a completed 2D mix and place it into a 3D space.”

Angus Davidson: “Typically, a mix engineer is thinking about a left and a right speaker and everything goes into those two speakers. You’re using compression, EQ, reverbs, delays and myriad tools of the trade to place elements in that stereo image in an effort to create a pleasant sound stage that showcases all the instruments and vocals. We’ve now got 14 speakers… not two. Suddenly, the two-speaker restrictions disappear. The question then is: what do we put in those additional speakers? How much do we move things around?”

STAYING GLUED

Cam Trewin: We’ve noticed that other engineers are still very much mixing with a two-track focus and then taking key elements, making them object based, and putting them in the room. That was my starting point: putting the stem faders back to unity and then identify what could be turned into objects and moved around. So rather than a fader move, I can accentuate parts by literally moving it in the space. That was the defining point for me. It helped me understand what Dolby’s done with object-based mixing in the X, Y, Z plane.

“But my advice to anyone embarking on an Atmos mix is: don’t lose the glue that traditionally holds a two-track mix together.”

Angus Davidson: “I’d echo that. I’m listening to other engineers talking about mixing in Dolby Atmos and all the advice is to keep that glue — ensure the object-based moves your making aren’t ungluing the integrity of the mix. Or, in other words, don’t just put an element of the mix somewhere for the hell of it and for the big-picture relevance of that element to be lost as a result. It’s tweaky and it’s subjective but it’s important.

Cam Trewin: “Rüfüs music has a lot of sound design it, which a lot of electronic artists are doing these days. Those elements make for an obvious candidate as an object, moved dynamically in the mix. For example, one track from the album has Blade Runner-style sound design in it — something like the sound of Deckard’s vehicle. It’s a very cinematic moment that allowed me to push that from the back of the room forward. I did a lot of experimenting with that before just going for it. I think it actually really works. There are many moments like that, but those objects aren’t messing with the overall intent of the mix.”

BINARUAL & QC

Angus Davidson: You can listen to your Atmos mix using a pair of headphones with what’s called a binaural mixdown. Binaural is an interpretation of the immersive mix that’s been  manipulated in such a way that it gives you the time-based and frequency-based information to recreate surround sound in a pair of stereo headphones. It’s quite extraordinary when it’s done really well.”

Cam Trewin: “You get there by exporting an MP4 out of Dolby Renderer, which you can save to a thumb drive or export straight to your phone. If you put it in the Files of your iPhone and pop any pair of headphones on with Dolby Atmos turned on, you can hear that binaural rendering in your headphones.”

Angus Davidson: “Dolby is keen for audio people to experience this, with a free 90-day download of the Dolby Renderer. In my opinion, to achieve high quality Dolby Atmos surround mixing, you’ve got to listen to it in an Atmos room. Sure, the vast majority of consumers will be listening to the mix on headphones but in the same way you currently monitor via the best possible stereo studio monitors you can afford, you’d do the same for an Atmos mix.

“Having said that, I’ve just recently bought a Sonos Arc Soundbar, which is also quite good. I bought it primarily as a QC tool — to check how my mixes are translating.”

Cam Trewin: “I have a domestic Atmos setup with a Marantz AVR and some PMC monitors. That was the only way I was able to QC my mix at home and that went through my Xbox — Microsoft and Windows have supported Dolby plugins and players  as part of all the PCs and Xbox.”

Angus Davidson: “If you’re mixing for Dolby Atmos, there are a set of standards that you have to meet to be able to to deliver  to Apple Music. “The minimum acceptable room is 7.1.4. While you can you can mix using Binaural, to actually get it onto Apple Music, it has to be mastered in a Atmos-certified studio.

“Mixing is, as you’d expect, very different in an Atmos environment. In the Dolby Atmos Renderer you have your 7.1.2 mix bed, then you have up to 118 objects that can be placed anywhere in the 3D virtual space — you’re not placing sound into speakers, you’re placing them virtually into space, which allows your mix to translate to much larger systems.

“The tools and the processing are naturally more processor-intensive. A 7.1.2 reverb, for example, chews through the cycles. Nugen produces lots of good tools in the space — the Paragon reverb is amazing, for example.”

A LOT TO PROCESS

Angus Davidson: “Traditionally, getting a mix complete requires the usual back and forth with the client, mix notes and revisions — attenuate the hats a bit here, boost the vocals by half a dB there. It’s about how hard you’re hitting the bus compressor, what you’re doing with the master EQ, or how much harmonic distortion you’re choosing to use on something… these are the kinds of thought processes you have with a two-track mix. With Atmos, everything changes.

“In fact, if you make good musical decisions about the way you build your mix, there’s an appreciable decrease in the need for processing. Parts that you would perhaps EQ the crap out of to make space for, you don’t need to do that. The same with compression. That was illuminating.”

Cam Trewin: “It’s more about placement than about crafting. I find I’m asking myself ‘How does this section make me feel?’ Maybe it feels like the lead synth wants to go somewhere in the room. Perhaps that percussion percussion part wants to do a circular motion — deciding where certain elements belong in the room… that was the creative process.”

AT: Does the Dolby software run on your DAW computer or on its own?

Drew Parsons: Either. You can have a standalone workstation that is only running the Dolby software and maybe something like a Focusrite RedNet PCIe card that’ll give you lots of Dante inputs into that dedicated workstation. Or you can have the Dolby software running on the same computer as your workstation and use software patching between Pro Tools and the Dolby software, and then from the output of the Dolby software to your interface for monitoring.

AT: How do you record and/or deliver an Atmos project?

Drew Parsons: You do that in the Dolby software. You would create a new master file and then you would record the master file into the Dolby software in real time. When complete, you can export your .ADM file.

I’ve just started working with a new feature in Pro Tools called Aux I/O, which allows me to add additional routing options of Core Audio devices into my I/O setup other than just my HDX system. HDX is still my playback engine, but I’m routing 128 channels out of Pro Tools into the Dolby software, and then I’m returning my surround sound re-render and my stereo re-render back onto audio tracks in Pro Tools. And while I’m recording my .ADM file, I’m also recording my other deliverables, all in one hit.

Also, using Aux I/O and the Pro Tools Audio Bridge, I’ve created a stereo output from Pro Tools which I’ve called a ‘Zoom out’, so I can actually send a binaural output to a Zoom call, and my client can hear my Atmos mix over VC.

AT: Any other hoops I need to jump through? Do I need a Dolby guy to drop by with a clipboard?

Drew Parsons: You don’t need Dolby certification. If you’re a commercial studio, of course, certification will be handy; necessary, even. But if you’re independent, then there’s more than enough info and guidelines on the web to ensure you’re set up correctly.

AT: Is the interest in getting ready for Dolby Atmos simply early adopters doing their early adoption thing?

Drew Parsons: Sure, you have early adopters but some of it is demand. There’s money to be made. Record companies are asking for it. Apple is demanding it, and all the signs suggest that Spotify is headed that way as well.

The Send and Return sockets of the effects loop have a few tricks up their sleeves. The loop functions in the traditional way, by allowing ‘time’ and ‘modulation’ based effects to be injected after the preamp for better effect definition. There’s also a ‘normalling’ switch inside the Return socket. Plugging out of the ‘Send’ side alone re-routes signal through the unit, side-stepping the cab and voicing options so that it can be run as a valve preamp in front of a physical guitar amp. While this may be a novel approach to isolating the preamp stage, it may be a hindrance to those wanting to use the effects loop as intended.

The Remote socket can interface with both analogue and digital external footswitches. This option may be beneficial to users who plan on mounting the pedal under their pedalboards in a set-and-forget fashion. The Ampster can also be run on a standard centre-negative 9V DC power supply, however this won’t provide the headroom required to run a cab, for those seeking a ‘headless’ rig solution.

Finally, there’s a three-way Voicing switch controlling the roll-off of lower end content. From the ‘performance-view’, having the switch set to the centre position produces a full-range result, which suggests that it’s bypassing the section. Switching to the right, results in a gentle low end roll-off, while switching to the left shifts this adjustment range further into the mids. This is quite an effective way to clean up overly rich, or swampy guitar tones.

CLEAN MACHINE

The Ampster behaves much like a Fender Twin, having a similar responsive interaction when picking notes. It also has enough clean headroom on the input to handle densely processed signals without sounding choked. The Presence control dials in the quack nicely, adding to the performance feedback, and the Bass, Middle, and Treble of the EQ section seem well tuned in a pleasingly additive and musical way — without clouding, or detracting from each other.

With a clean guitar tone the Gain is able to dial in a gentle grit. Carl Martin’s press release suggests a “decidedly British overdrive”, hinting at a Marshall likeness. This becomes more evident once the 12AX7 sees hotter signals from pedals that can push a bit of gain. Overall, it has a nice, round low-end response, with nothing woolly or muddy sticking out. It is responsive, with a smooth picking attack that has a bright, crisp, character that is never brittle.

CABINET RESHUFFLE

The Cabinet footswitch toggles between the 2×12 open-back, and 4×12 closed-back. The selection status of these are indicated by a solid red or green LED which flashes when the pedal is muted. In the 2×12 position, the pedal adds a bright, open responsiveness to the signal, while the 4×12 mode results in a much beefier, intense performance. 

These two options can be further tweaked by way of the Voicing switch, which is able to make subtle or bold adjustments to the overall signal. The left and right positions of this parameter colour the signal in a similar way to that of a close mic’d speaker when pointed at either the dust-cap or outer edge.

These three layers of EQ control — the three-band EQ, two cab sim options, and three-way voicing switch — have a harmonious interplay which make this simple, flexible unit an intuitive and effective piece of gear to use. Carl Martin has provided musicians with an enticing alternative in an increasingly DSP-centric world.