Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-06
''Grahar11

/ ~ UR studio "cat"-no funny re-
marks, please-nearly lost her
Job the other day. The cat"
is Gertrude Forster, contralto
| on several programs, and the
only person around the place who can
do a satisfactory cat-purr in front OF
| the mike. Miss Forster was purring
away in utter contentment in a scene
replete with peace and placidity. Sud-
denly the ears of the control operator,
who had noticed nothing untoward in
the studios, were aSsailed by what
! turned out Miss Forster had broken her
necklace, and the beads clattered
around the mike like gunfire. All peace
was ruined for that particular program.
| Those beads remind me of the time
our studio staff and the great Chaliapin
played. button, button, who's got the
button?" on studio floor. It was at
the rehearsal for the singers micro
| phone debut. He had no sooner gotten
into action than he shed his coat. Next
came his vest and his collar and tie
followed few moments later. But when
the rehearsal was over he couldn't find
his collar button. Paul Dumont, then
an announcer but now an author and
end man, began crawling under pianos
and lifting musicians feet. Chaliapin's
secretary, and then his accompanist,
Joined the hunt. Pages were called In
to help, and finally Chaliapin himself
started crawling around on his hands
and knees.
Aha! Button Is Found.
They were just getting ready to call
an electrician to wire his collar to his
shirt, when Chaliapin himself found
the button.
II win! I win!' he shouted, while
Illlmnnt cont f@y
clothes brushes and soap all around, and
thanked whatever fate presides over
radio folks deStinies that another eX-
pected spell of temperament had failed
| to develop. And speaking of losing
things, did ever mention the musician
who was always losing his bass viol and
had to hunt for it in studios where pro-
grams were being broadcast?
Well, believe 1t or not, bull fiddle
can be mislaid, and I've seen that mar
almost turn studio inside out to find
his. But he's no longer with us. One
night he forgot his bull fiddle in a
freight elevator, and he never did
catch up with it until the program in
which he was to play was half over
haven't seen him in months. I sup
pose he's a plumber by now. That
would be appropriate.
The latest advice our engineers are
giving to microphone noviceS is to "be
yourself" In other words, they tell
actors who want to know something
about microphone technique to step
back just little from the mike and to
talk in an ordinary tone of voice.
Frying" Sound Eliminated.
Back in the early days, when we used
to use carbon microphones, there was
a reason for getting close. The old
"carbons" caused faint frying sound
when much application was used, and
if person sang or spoke close to them
it was unnecessary to amplify to the
point where the frying" would be- no.
ticeable. The newer mikes do not have
this disadvantage. They work best, In
fact, when one stands a couple of feet
away-that is, of course, unless the di-
rector is looking for some trick effect
which has to be performed in an I'M
usual manner. The letter 50 is bad
actor in sound reproduction, and when
people who have a tendency to accentu-
ate this letter stand too close to the
mike it is likely to come through with
whistle.
1t was the old carbon mike that de-
veloped the crooner-that and the fact
that small voice volume was less
likely to damage the ticklish apparatus
Of the early days. The crooner is with
us still and is likely to remain, for the
technique makes 1t possible to obtain
some pleasant voice effects that woulo
otherwise be lost. But. for most pur-
poses it is now best not to try to "kic
the mike" An effect Of naturalness Is
what we want from our actors ano