Waves Audio The King's Microphones User Guide
WAVES : ABBEY ROAD
THE KING’S MICROPHONES
USER GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 3
1.1 WELCOME ............................................................................................................................................. 3
1.2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................. 3
1.3 A FEW WORDS FROM ABBEY ROAD ...................................................................................................... 4
1.4 CONCEPT AND TERMS............................................................................................................................ 6
1.5 COMPONENTS........................................................................................................................................ 7
CHAPTER 2 – QUICK START GUIDE.................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER 3 – INTERFACE AND CONTROLS..................................................................................... 8
3.1 INTERFACE ............................................................................................................................................ 8
3.2 CONTROLS............................................................................................................................................. 9
CHAPTER 4 – THE WAVESYSTEM ..................................................................................................... 11
4.1 THE WAVESYSTEM TOOLBAR ............................................................................................................. 11
4.2 PRESET HANDLING.............................................................................................................................. 11
4.3 INTERFACE CONTROLS ........................................................................................................................ 14
4.4 WAVES PREFERENCES (PRO TOOLS ONLY).......................................................................................... 16
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Chapter 1 – Introduction
1.1 Welcome
Thank you for choosing Waves. In order to get the most out of your Waves processor,
please take the time to read through this manual.
In conjunction, we also suggest that you become familiar with www.wavesupport.net
There you will find an extensive Answer Base, the latest Tech Specs, detailed
Installation guides, new Software Updates, and current information on Authorization
and Registration.
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1.2 Product Overview
The Waves: Abbey Road – The King’s Microphones plugin is a digital audio processor,
created in concept by Abbey Road Studios and engineered by Waves. The plugin is
based on three historical microphones currently held by The EMI Archive Trust, which
belong to the royal family and were used by its members in public addresses.
The microphones are:
o King George V (circa 1925) – Carbon microphone
o King George VI (circa 1936) – Dynamic moving coil microphone
o Queen Elizabeth (circa 1936) - Dynamic moving coil microphone
These iconic microphones were used to record the score and speech dialogue for the
multi award-winning hit film The King’s Speech.
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1.3 A Few Words from Abbey Road
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is an iconic symbol in the international music industry. The studios
have been at the heart of British music for almost 80 years and been the home of
countless landmark recordings and innovative techniques, equipment and technology.
Today, Abbey Road Studios is one of the most technically advanced recording, mixing
and post-production facilities in the world. For many years the studios benefited from
EMI’s research and development division, which custom-built mixing consoles, outboard
gear and microphones to meet the needs of studio engineers and artists. Most of this
equipment was only available to EMI studios and was never sold commercially.
The Royal Microphones
In the 1920s and 1930s, EMI had the honour of crafting special microphones for the
British Royal family for use at important and significant occasions. From this extremely
rare collection, three microphones have been used as a basis for this unique plug-in.
H.M. King George V model:
This Carbon microphone was designed by Marconi–Reisz circa 1925. It is comprised of
fine carbon dust held between output electrodes, fronted by a mica diaphragm and
encased in a grand marble shell. The microphone needs a constant DC voltage which
can be achieved today with a domestic 9v battery.
Carbon microphones are rarely used today. Despite this model’s limited bandwidth and
relatively high noise floor it was one of the best microphones available at the time,
therefore this particular microphone has a wonderful coloured sound unlike any
manufactured today.
H.M. King George VI and H.M. Queen Elizabeth models:
Both of these microphones are based on the EMI CPM201 model. These moving coil
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microphones were specially built in 1936, encased in silver by G & S Co Ltd of London.
The front grill bears individual insignias of GRVI (George Rex VI) and E (Elizabeth) and
the top of the silver 'headlamp' style microphone is adorned with the Royal coat of arms.
The diaphragm is made of PVC and shaped almost like a loud speaker cone. It is
presumed these microphones were designed for outside broadcast, as they are more
robust than the more popular ribbon microphones of the time.
Use on Sessions Today
These Royal microphones and many other fascinating EMI memorabilia and equipment
are held in special storage by the EMI Archive Trust, based in Hayes. Peter Cobbin,
Abbey Road Studios’ Senior Engineer, was visiting the archives about 12 years ago
when he noticed an ornate box on one of the shelves. Upon asking, he was told that it
housed a microphone made for King George the V.
Peter thought nothing more of this until recently, when composer Alexandre Desplat
asked him to record the score for the award-winning film ‘The King’s Speech’.
Remembering what he had found over a decade earlier, Peter was keen to borrow the
King George V microphone for inspiration during the film’s recording sessions in Studio
One.
He was delighted to discover that in addition to microphones created for King George V
and Queen Elizabeth, the archives had the microphone used by King George VI, the
central character of the film.
The EMI Archive Trust kindly agreed to loan the microphones, and upon their arrival
Peter was curious to see if they could actually function. Lester Smith, Abbey Road
Studios’ legendary microphone technician, was able to get three of them working.
As three microphones were available, Peter placed these in front of the orchestra in a
Decca Tree formation – this became known on the sessions as the Royal Family Tree.
The oldest, King George V was placed in the centre position, with the two moving coil
microphones on either side. The King George V carbon microphone has a narrower
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