Home stamp
The Burroughs Protectograph that we acquired was manufactured around the turn of the 20th century and had a single unique function – to stamp and emboss checks for banks. The Burroughs corporation has been around since 1886, and was an early force in the adding machine, check stamper and typewriter industries. This Protectograph version had an electric mechanism that would move large printheads down through a ribbon and would stamp a check hard and repeatedly for as long as the print key was held down. Our machine was acquired in perfect working condition.
Its keys have a short through but a satisfying clack, and the punch mechanism is a huge whir stamp sound than can cycle if the punch button is held down. We rolled with the case both on and off, which revealed very different sounds from the main electric mechanisms.
We ran the whole session with three perspectives miked up – front by the keys, in the back by the punch and a wide perspective perfect for bgfx placement. The front and back mics were Schoeps CMC6.MK4 and the wide mic was an AT 4050 in omni about 5 feet away. Listen to the straight examples give a clear accounting of the type of sounds we got from this machine, and the bent examples show what can really be done with those sounds and the Kontakt instrument.
Gizmo is a mechanism library for designing mechanical actions in machinery without the engines. This library covers the gambit of steam, ronks, clicks, clanks, clunks, servos and all sorts of mechanical actions from various props.
Unlike most libraries, this one was recorded at 192 with a stereo pair of Sanken CO100k microphones for extreme lossless pitching, so you can take something small like a typewriter, and make it sound like a massive printing machine.
With A Sound Effect, Asbjoern has created a web site where our international community can browse, learn, and share the vast fruits of our labors. Together we are accelerating the very real potential power of sound design as a recognized art form.
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