Marlan Barry Records Tenor Nicholas Phan at a Multi-Million Studio and then with a Metric Halo ULN-8 and Macbook Pro

This article was originally posted in Metric Halo News February 20, 2013. ​

FEBRUARY 2013: Nicholas Phan is one of the most exciting new voices in classical music today, as evidenced by the tremendous praise heaped on him from just about every media outlet in the country. He frequently records with New York-based sound engineer Marlan Barry, and the two worked together on 2011's critically-acclaimed Winter Words.

The New York Times flagged it as one of the best classical recordings of 2011. The duo joined forces to record 2012's Still Falls the Rain, which yet again made The Times' "best of" list. Of course, the talent and artistry of Phan and his fellow musicians, together with the sonic vision of Barry, deserve the credit for those critical acknowledgements, but it's interesting to note the distinction between the gear used to record those two albums. For Winter Words, Barry piloted the console at a multi-million dollar recording studio, whereas for Still Falls the Rain, he piloted a MacBook Pro interfaced with a single-rack-space Metric Halo ULN-8. Neither session was a compromise.

In celebration of the centennial of his birth, Still Falls The Rain is an album of songs and chamber pieces by composer Benjamin Britten. Philadelphia Orchestra principal horn player Jennifer Montone, pianist Myra Huang, and Harpist Sivan Magen joined the amazing young tenor, and the actor Alan Cumming complemented the music with a reading of Edith Sitwell's poetry. Avie Records released the recording, which took place within the exquisite and often-recorded acoustics of SUNY Purchase's Recital Hall C.

In contrast both to the earlier studio recording and to Barry's previous habit of lugging a studio's worth of equipment to location sessions, the engineer traveled light for the two-day engagement in Recital Hall C. A MacBook Pro coupled to a pair of Avastor external hard drive served as the recording medium, and Barry's Genelec monitors provided a familiar reference. Apart from a simple custom talkback system, the only other equipment consisted of microphones, stands, cables, and the Metric Halo ULN-8. "It was very minimal," laughed Barry. "I'm into minimal these days."

Four Sennheiser and Schoeps omni-directional microphones provided primary pickup of the musicians and their interaction with the acoustical environment. Depending on the composition and the instrumentation, Barry moved the microphones around to strike a perfect balance between direct pickup and imaging. A pair of Neumann mics covered the room's nine-foot concert grand Hamburg Steinway D piano. For one of the more essential components of the recording session, Barry also used two Gunter Wagner U-47 tube microphones to capture Phan's incomparable voice, as well as a stereo pair on the harpist.

"This was the first time I used Wagner's U-47 without an external preamp," Barry explained. "I went directly out of the power supply into the Metric Halo ULN-8. I wanted to capture the detailed sound of that mic and its unique tube saturation, without imposing any other circuitry's coloration on it. Nick's voice is so light and airy and beautiful – that mic and his voice form a magical combination. Sure, the ULN-8 has circuitry of its own, but I've found that unless I'm intentionally using Metric Halo's 'Character' algorithms, the ULN-8's signal path is refined, short, and transparent."

Barry cites the Metric Halo ULN-8's stable integration with his MacBook Pro via Metric Halo's MIO Console software as a critical component in fostering confidence in the stability of his sessions. Despite using the Metric Halo on a near daily-basis, he has never had so much as a tiny hiccup in its performance. "Conducting a recording session with the rock-solid ULN-8 not only gives me peace of mind, it affects the musicians as well," he said. "A reliable, high-quality recording setup inspires confidence. It is an amazing testament to Metric Halo that I have never had a single issue with my ULN-8 or its performance on my laptop or desktop."

When not in session, Barry uses a Metric Halo ULN-8 as the primary interface at his studio. While useful for voiceovers or overdubbing, it more commonly acts as the digital-to-analog converter that allows him to monitor his editing, mixing, and mastering work in Pyramix, Pro Tools, or Logic. "That's really the last check before a recording goes public," he said. "Truthfulness is paramount, and I've learned that I can trust what I'm hearing through the ULN-8."

Metric Halo The Choice Of Marlan Barry In Houston Grand Opera Recording

This article was originally posted in prosoundweb.com April 2011.

Those who have read the book or watched the film Dead Man Walking, about death row, may find it unlikely material on which to base an opera.

That is, unless they have their eyes on the classical art form’s vibrant and living edge. Originally commissioned by the San Francisco Opera in 2000, Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking received numerous awards and has been performed throughout the United States and around the world.

In celebration of its ten-year anniversary, EMI records will be releasing veteran classical engineer Marlan Barry’s recording of this performance with the Houston Grand Opera.

Unlike his previous remote sessions, which involved titanic computer rigs with racks of outboard ballast, Barry brought a very modest setup that centered on his recently-acquiredMetric Halo ULN-8 FireWire mic-pre/converter.

Music flows through Barry’s veins. He holds a degree in music and audio recording from the Cleveland Institute of Music (where he trained with Telarc masters Jack Renner and Michael Bishop) and a master’s degree in cello from Ohio University.

His employment history includes: audio engineer at the Spoleto Festival for several seasons; head engineer at the Breckenridge Music Festival and National Repertory Orchestra; chief recording engineer and production manager for National Public Radio station KUHF in Houston; and head engineer for the Houston Symphony and the Houston Grand Opera.

Currently freelancing from his post-production room in Brooklyn, Barry has recorded Yo-Yo Ma, Renee Fleming, Samuel Ramey, Phillip Glass, Sir Paul McCartney, and alt-pop bands Deerhoof, Jessica 6, and Redhooker.

“Although I have a lot of friends who were using the Metric Halo converters on high-profile projects and raving about the results, I never considered it as a serious option for my work,” Barry admitted.

“Metric Halo converters are FireWire, and I had it stuck in my head that FireWire interfaces were decidedly ‘pro-sumer.’ I had some preconceived notions, and my alternative was to drag huge rigs of outboard gear to my remote work.”

A demo Metric Halo ULN-8, which features eight channels of preamplification and conversion in both directions, fell into Barry’s hands… and changed his tune. “I was absolutely floored by the clarity of the pre-amps and the functionality of the unit,” he said.

“The dynamic range is huge and wonderful. The MIO Console, which runs with rock-solid stability on my MacBook Pro, is decidedly professional-grade. In short, the Metric Halo ULN-8 allows me to go on locations with just a modest FireWire interface and record at the highest possible level. I was convinced.”

For Dead Man Walking Barry brought sixteen high-end mics, including DPA 4023s for the vocals, DPA 4060s for overhead room mics, Sennheiser MKH 8020 for orchestral mics, and Neumann KM 140s for spot mics.

He also positioned two hidden DPA/Sennheiser wireless mics in the set for hard to reach moments in the opera. Not only does the ULN-8 provide eight channels of high-end microphone preamplification and conversion, it also allows eight additional digital inputs.

Barry used DAV Electronics preamps and Mytek converters for the additional inputs, and clocked the ULN-8 to the Mytek unit. Using the Metric Halo MIO Console on his MacBook Pro, Barry tracked everything to two separate drives over the course of four nights. In addition, he used the agile MIO Console to submix the orchestra for live processing through a Bricasti M7 Digital Reverb.

“I did a pretty good job with the live two-channel mix, and the MIO Console allowed me to record that submix as well as all the individual tracks,” he said.

“So if we decide the submix isn’t up to snuff, we can re-mix it later. I was impressed that over the course of the initial setup and four nights of recording, the Metric Halo system worked flawlessly, without so much as a hiccup. The disc mirroring was similarly flawless. All together, the system inspired confidence.”

Barry is also using the ULN-8 at his post-production studio in Brooklyn, where he regularly uses Pyramix, Logic 9, and Pro Tools 9. He uses the ULN-8 as the monitor output for all three platforms, and is just beginning to tap the unit’s potential as mix engine, with its onboard DSP and 80-bit summing.

In addition, for pop and rock acts, he uses Metric Halo’s ‘Character’ feature on the mic preamps. “The Character settings can make the fast, clean preamps beautifully gooey, when the situation calls for it,” he said.

“Best of all, the MIO Console will allow me to record the clean signal and the character signal so that I can save the final decision for the mix. Metric Halo really thought of everything.”