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The RØDECaster Pro is designed to simplify podcast production whilst delivering superb audio quality. It supports up to four presenters/guests, as well as offering easy connection to phone, USB and Bluetooth™ sources. Eight programmable pads offer instant playback of sound effects and jingles. Podcasts can be recorded directly to microSD™ card, or to a computer via USB. Ease of use is assured, with intuitive controls and large full-colour touchscreen.
The Cho oice off Toda ay’s Crea ative Ge ene erattion.™ AT 2
Editor Mark Davie mark@audiotechnology.com.au Publisher Philip Spencer philip@alchemedia.com.au Editorial Director Christopher Holder chris@audiotechnology.com.au Assistant Editor Preshan John preshan@alchemedia.com.au
Regular Contributors Martin Walker Paul Tingen Brad Watts Greg Walker Andy Szikla Andrew Bencina Jason Hearn Greg Simmons Mark Woods Ewan McDonald Guy Harrison
Art Direction Dominic Carey dominic@alchemedia.com.au Graphic Designer Daniel Howard daniel@alchemedia.com.au Advertising Philip Spencer philip@alchemedia.com.au Accounts Jaedd Asthana jaedd@alchemedia.com.au Subscriptions Sophie Spencer subscriptions@alchemedia.com.au Proofreading Andrew Bencina
AudioTechnology magazine (ISSN 1440-2432) is published by Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd (ABN 34 074 431 628). Contact +61 3 5331 4949 info@alchemedia.com.au www.audiotechnology.com PO Box 295, Ballarat VIC 3353, Australia.
All material in this magazine is copyright Š 2019 Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd. Apart from any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process with out written permission. The publishers believe all information supplied in this magazine to be correct at the time of publication. They are not in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. After investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, prices, addresses and phone numbers were up to date at the time of publication. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements appearing in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility is on the person, company or advertising agency submitting or directing the advertisement for publication. The publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions, although every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy. 25/03/2019.
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COVER STORY
22
Flight Mode: Flight Facilities Live
ISSUE 56 CONTENTS
38
Studio Focus, Big Sky Audio
Tribute to Geoff ‘Golden Ears’ Emerick
16
Native Instruments Komplete 12 Ultimate
Waldorf Quantum Unique Amongst Synths AT 6
Playing Your Role: How to Become a Game Sound Designer
44
52
Quick Mix, John Hall
Synchro Arts Revoice Pro 4 Vocal Software
28
32
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antelopeaudio.com AT 7
GENERAL NEWS
ANTELOPE STEPS INTO EDGE GO Antelope Audio hit 2019 running, launching three new products: Edge Go, a bus-powered modelling microphone; and two new flagship audio interfaces Orion32+|Gen 3, and Orion32 HD|Gen 3. Edge Go is the new portable member of the Edge family of modelling mics. A USB-C connected device, Edge Go achieves an entire processed vocal chain at the hardware level all in realtime, monitor-able via 3.5mm jack. A variety of condenser mic models are available, along with vintage compression and EQs, as well as built-in de-essing, gating/expansion, tape saturation, and reverb all controlled by a PC/Mac app. The Orion32+|Gen
3 brings the same connectivity, flexibility, and channel counts to the table the original Orion32+ made its notable name with, but with upgraded operating levels (+24dBu max), upgraded AD/ DA conversion, ultra-fast and stable custom Thunderbolt driver for Windows, and a major facelift. Orion HD|Gen 3 gets similar upgrades and facelift. Federal Audio: 0404 921 781 or sales@federalaudio.com.au
MICROFREAK IS SUPER FREAKY Nothing ‘me-too’ about this new Arturia release. Say hello to the MicroFreak, Arturia’s first digital hardware synthesizer. Combining the best of both worlds, MicroFreak includes a multi-mode digital oscillator with an Oberheim SEM-inspired analogue filter. Seven of the oscillator modes are the result of a collaboration between Arturia and Eurorack specialists Mutable Instruments, and hence let users control the sound of its Plaits module in the comfort of an all-in-one hardware synth. One of the most striking features of MicroFreak is its PCB keyboard. Despite having no moving parts, it’s pressure
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sensitive and, according to Arturia, lightning-fast, and also offers poly-aftertouch, making the ‘Freak a more than capable MIDI polyphonic expression controller when connected with USB-MIDI. At its price, MicroFreak is a worthy “my first synth” contender, as well as a ‘what the heck, I’ll take it’ 2nd, 3rd, or 15th synth for the collector or experimental sound designer. CMI Music & Audio: (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au
MORE NEWS AT www.audiotechnology.com.au
RODECASTER PRO GETS MULTITRACK RECORDING By way of a new firmware update 1.1.0, Rode Microphones has enhanced its RodeCaster Pro podcast production console with the highly requested multitrack recording feature. The update also brings a more user-friendly interface and channel selection. All existing customers will be able to update their RodeCaster Pro with multitrack recording, and all new units will feature the update. The multitrack feature will record 14 tracks; A stereo ‘live mix’ track, as featured since its release, a mono track for each of the four microphone inputs, and a stereo track each for the USB, 3.5mm TRRS, Bluetooth and sound pad channels.
Multitrack recording can be activated via the Advanced settings in the Hardware section of the touchscreen interface. From there, a single switch engages ‘Multi-Channel’ mode for multitrack recording. The 1.1.0 firmware update will be available to download this month from rode.com/rodecasterapp. Rode Microphones: (02) 9648 5855 or info@rode.com
SSL LAUNCH SIX: ULTIMATE DESKTOP MIXER? Solid State Logic announce the launch of SiX, a classic SSL design with a carefully considered feature set driven by flexibility. It carries SSL’s 40-year DNA in creative studio workflow. Listen to SiX and SSL is confident you will experience the impeccable sonic performance that is the hallmark of every SSL console. As a condensed professional console for use in the studio, in post-production, on stage, and for podcasting, SiX offers big console sound and an impressive set of utility features in a format that is small enough to stick in a bag. SiX offers two recording
channels with SuperAnalogue mic pres, an essential one knob version of the classic SSL Channel Compressor, a new two-band Channel EQ, inserts and 100mm faders. There is a two-knob version of the G-Series Bus Compressor on the main mix bus and the Listen Mic Compressor on the Talkback. In mixdown mode it is a very capable 12-channel summing system that offers analogue detail, depth and width to your mixes. Amber Technology: 1800 251 367 or www.ambertech.com.au
MORE NEWS AT www.audiotechnology.com.au
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LIVE NEWS
MARTIN GRASPS LONG BOW Martin Audio is adding to its Wavefront Precision Series with the Longbow (WPL) edition. It’s designed as a complete system with external iKON multi-channel amplifiers, automated Display optimisation software and VU-NET control platform and will be of interest to stadium concert, outdoor festivals, arenas and large house of worship installations. A three-way, bi-amped system, WPL’s high output is achieved by using Martin Audio’s horn-loading technology across all frequency bands — increasing the acoustic output of the low frequency section as well as the midrange and HF. It incorporates 2 x 12-inch drivers
with Hybrid horn/reflex loading, 2 x 6.5-inch cone drivers on a midrange horn which covers the vocal frequency range from 300Hz to 4kHz, and 3 x one-inch exit HF drivers operating from 4kHz upwards. The maximum peak outputs of the LF, Mid and HF sections are 139dB, 140dB and 145dB per enclosure at 1m and 6dB crest factor respectively. Technical Audio Group: (02) 9519 0900 or tag.com.au
NEW MICS FROM EV Electro-Voice launched new wired and wireless microphones at NAMM, producing the RE3 UHF wireless system, the RE420 cardioid and the RE520 supercardioid vocal microphones. EV claims ‘best-in-class sound quality, wireless flexibility and overall ease of use in alignment’ for its RE3 system which is available in 10 pre-packaged sets, containing a diversity receiver each with antennas, universal power supply, rack mount kit, transmitter, batteries and an input device. Additionally, the RE3 portfolio
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contains a comprehensive assortment of accessories to aid in the creation of large, multi-channel systems. The new wired RE420 and RE520 vocal microphones are the next generations of EV’s RE410 and RE510, featuring an updated design with multi-stage pop filters, selectable high-pass filters and internal shock mounts. Bosch Communications: 1300 026 724 or stsales@au.bosch.com
MORE NEWS AT www.audiotechnology.com.au
WIRED
or WIRELESS Premium Dynamics or Premium Condensers Electro-Voice ND (76, 86, 96) premium dynamic and the new RE (420, 520) premium condenser handheld microphones are available in wired or wireless models. Five wireless capsules are available for use with the handheld transmitter and the new RE3 UHF wireless system. A bodypack system and several capsule options for instrument and lavalier/headworn mic applications are also available.
Ph: 1300 026 724
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Fax: (02) 8850-2230
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Email: boschcomms@au.bosch.com
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DBTECHNOLOGIES RS16000 TOURING RACK The new RS16000 Touring Rack from dBTechnologies made its official debut at this year’s Winter NAMM. Operable within the UHF spectrum between 470-870MHz, the digital, 24-bit, true diversity microphone system offers up to 400MHz of tuning bandwidth across six channels. A total of 16,000 frequencies are available to users, which can be selected in manual mode within 25kHz increments to meet the needs of application across the globe. The RS16000 system includes six RS16000R receivers, a model AS6W antenna splitter with 9V phantom power, its own active cooling system, an RPS10 power supply, and a HUB800
network hub, which facilitates use of dBTechnologies’ proprietary Wireless Manager software via a front-panel USB port. An Ethernet port is also provided in the back panel for building and managing multiple systems, each of which can virtually support more than 60 transmitters simultaneously. Handheld and bodypack transmitters are available for use with the system. NAS: (03) 8756 2600 or sales@nas.solutions
SOUNDCRAFT Ui TURBOCHARGED Soundcraft Ui owners rejoice, there’s a significant free update to the Soundcraft Ui24R surfaceless mixer and multitrack digital recorder shown at the 2019 NAMM Show. New features include Cascading, which enables users to connect two Ui24R via Ethernet to double their mixing capability by enabling a new 32x32 bi-directional audio bus between consoles. Also new is Cue Recall, enabling saving and fast recall of mix settings. While recalling Cues, Ui24R can block any changes to routing or processor types, which enables seamless operation, an essential during low volume events, for example while mixing for theatre.
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Along with this is UDP Lighting Control: a new view in the HTML5 interface that adds simple buttons to send industrystandard UDP commands over Ethernet to external gear such as lighting software or hardware lighting controllers. Lexicon processing gets pre-delay, there is a new ‘Big Desktop’ Info view for a bird’s eye view of the entire mix environment, and expanded touchscreen support. CMI: (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au
MORE NEWS AT www.audiotechnology.com.au
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SOFTWARE NEWS
ABLETON LIVE: POINT ONE Live 10.1 is a free update for all Live 10 owners. New features include: User Wavetables, expanding the capabilities of Wavetable’s oscillator section; and Channel EQ, a flexible and simple EQ with curves and gain ranges suitable for a variety of audio material. The shape of the filters adapt based on how controls are set to ‘always provide musical results’. Also added to 10.1 is Delay, which combines Simple Delay and Ping Pong Delay and adds feature upgrades. Ping pong behaviour, as well as Jump, Fade-In and Pitch controls from those devices are all accessed from the front panel. Users will also now be able to
choose from a palette of automation shapes, stretch and skew automation and generally have greater flexibility in automation editing. Also added will be track freezing with sidechains, VST3 support and single track export with return and master effects applied. CMI Music & Audio: (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au
BITWIG STUDIO 3 Building on the Nested Device Chains of version 1 and version 2’s modulation slots, the developers of Bitwig Studio 3 have added a whole new paradigm — The Grid, allowing all-out modular routing and patch building. The Grid is broken up into three types of Grids — Poly Grid for polyphonic synthesis; Mono Grid for monophonic; and FX Grid for churning up and spitting out audio. The Grid environment is a node-based patch builder feeling like something in-between the standard NI Reaktor and its Blocks layout. You insert a Grid device and then work in the Grid environment, where you’re free to connect,
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tweak, and combine little modules to build your patch. Unlike Reaktor, where you’re either in its very plain aesthetic or its pre-determined Block paradigm, all the Bitwig modules look like part of the DAW, with all their functions on display. Innovative Music: (03) 9540 0658 or info@innovativemusic.com.au
MORE NEWS AT www.audiotechnology.com.au
iOS SYNCLAVIER! Synclavier Digital is proud to announce availability of Synclavier Go! and Synclavier Pocket! — placing a re-creation of the seminal Synclavier II Digital Synthesizer’s sound engine into the respective hands of iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch owners as iOS apps, allowing all the famed FM (Frequency Modulation) and Additive (harmonic) synthesis capabilities to be brought forward 40 years, at a fraction of the original’s prohibitive pricing thanks to today’s technology, while also effectively emulating the
instrument’s intuitive panels of easy-to-touch red backlit buttons and iconic control knob in easy-to-use user interfaces. Cameron Jones — co-inventor of the Synclavier — is behind the venture, and was borne out of the work he did with Arturia on the VSTi done of the V Collection. Synclavier Digital: www.synclavier.com
OUTPUT & BMG CREATE ‘THE CRATE’ Crate-digging has just taken a digital turn. For the first time, musicians have access to sample-coveted, royalty-free master recordings via The Crate, only available inside of Output’s music app Arcade. In partnership with Countdown Media, a subsidiary of BMG Publishing, Output will pioneer this new way for musicians to sample and manipulate classic songs in their productions, and music-makers will never have to pay a single cent back in royalties. Notable songs include the jazz classic ‘The
Entertainer’ and bluegrass ‘Rye Whiskey’, Bach’s ‘Brandenburg Concertos’, and Chopin’s ‘Preludes’, along with hundreds more. Deeper, more obscure cuts round out the collection and provide a wide range of sampling options. And by being built directly within the powerful Arcade synthesizer, users are just a touch away from adding their own spin. Output: www.output.com
MORE NEWS AT www.audiotechnology.com.au
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5 December, 1945 – 2 October, 2018
Geoff Emerick will forever go down in history as one of the greats, if not the greatest, recording engineer in history. His catalogue of work included engineering and producing records for artists including Paul McCartney, Wings, America, Jeff Beck, Art Garfunkel, Elvis Costello, Cheap Trick, Badfinger, Oasis, John McLaughlin and many more. Most famously he recorded The Beatles’ Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Abbey Road albums — three of the greatest albums of all time. At a young age he turned the EMI recording system on its head at Abbey Road, refusing to accept the status quo when the art of sound was on the line. His hearing was peerless, his taste impeccable, and his attention to the art of music and engineering was faultless.
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We were saddened to hear of Geoff ’s passing this year, and so were his friends and past colleagues. We had the privilege of hosting Geoff — alongside his good friend and Abbey Road colleague, Richard Lush — for a keynote lecture at Integrate, and interviewing him for a story. You can read the original story, A Day in the Life of Geoff Emerick, at www.audiotechnology.com to get more of an insight into this great man. With the help of Richard Lush, we’ve also collected tributes from a few of his good friends. Farewell Geoff. We will miss you.
be ill always 1965. I w me about sound. e c in s r ught mento been my en-time sons he ta erick had the countless les nk Filipetti a sev er in New m E ff o e ra v G r o F fo y t. a b im e w h d e e to th . indebted ers share this sam ngineer based all d in the business e e th rt g o ta in w s rd e o h c to say t I kno a re is g th th Geoff winnin ce had ie p e tl n ing as Grammy was because of a z it s as ama s on his m Grammy and it still sound selves — York said 0 2 r e v o y, em , who has to it toda sonics th Al Schmitt Pepper’s, “I listen the thing — the er’s is forever.” f p t. o p g d e S n P t u abou f Sgt. he so t more. T e magic o to future ever, if no tely thrills me. Th assing on lu ng and p ri tu c still abso le ter years om. e that ent his la g me onc deaf Geoff sp his words of wisd eve tellin s a N w rt e e rs h e p u e re R u engin t despite ise indeed), I’m s e audio field. a th le b in th h pra o hum He was s the best ear” (hig -breaking he was d s were no “Geoff ha uential and groun re und. The no Sgt. fl o in s w in o t h is o to on perfecti your book. The m ill stand for u were a w in Geoff, yo to a good sound chievement and y friend and a ,m shortcuts as your greatest u were a legend oad. w yR Yo Pepper’s s a work of art. erge from Abbe a m s e e r ri e v tu e n ce to engineer the best
It seemed unlikely at first, but Geoff was always destined to engineer. He grew up be a recording in a home without mu his Aunt, an opera bu ch music. He only dis covered music via ff. The two formed a warm bond over the visit after school an years. Geoff would d listen to her colle ction of mono micro she would take him groove records. In tur out to live performan n, ces. Around the age of 15, the careers master advised Geoff that aft academic performan er assessing his ce and persona with the teachers, his ad career as an accounta vice was to conside nt. Geoff explained ra that he loved music record microgroove and would much rat records for a career. her The careers master contacted the appro priate agencies, but came from EMI. It did the only response have a program, but only accepted stude private school. With nts from the local no interest from its own students that ye rang around the loc ar, the private schoo al schools and eventu l ally got on to Geoff 15, Geoff was on his ’s advisor. That year, way to Abbey Road at Studios. Geoff’s hearing was without peer and he regularly uncovered obscure faults in au design defects or dio equipment that had gone unnoticed Martin’s Air Studios, by others. At Georg Geoff had always co e mplained about some the left side main mo thing nitor. It was one of tho were so spread out, se big JBL bins, where being ‘off’ with it would have been the components almost impossible to phase anyway. One discern absolute maintenance day, the tec tweeter had been inc hnical crew discover orr ed that a super who noticed. Over the ectly wired. We decided to correct the fault and wait to see next week, there wa s not a peep. A week later, Geoff arrived. Only a few minutes into his wo the workshop, ‘Who rk da fixed the f**king sp eakers? What was wr y, Geoff storms into were never right!’ ong, I always said the y On another occasion Geoff rejected a bra nd new Neve mixing the designer, was sum desk. Rupert Neve, moned and could no t fault the desk. Ne eventually found the ve’s engineers design fault, a capaci tor that affected the two and a half times circuit at 50kHz — the normal human he aring range! At Air one day, worki ng with Geoff and the crew, Paul McArtne hear the original Re y volver master. Heari ng that was an emoti requested to certainly the greate onal moment for me st day of my working , life. Thanks Geoff for and the friendship. the wonderful work Stephen Crane
ush Richard L ve my band hn Burgess ga West Jo er uc od pr ’s when the s, in London e early in 1972 studios at Oxford Circu the engineer was m ti t rs fi e t IR for th newly built A before and it showed, bu ps to work and the I met Geoff dition at the io y am the time Patches an au ver been in a proper stud tried to get their nois at first, but by nd ne End. We had t while the guys in the ba didn’t realise who he was cked up by my first .I en d just been pi around. at was Geoff kind and pati year later I ha d Studios to have a look show ilt his kit. Th A bu e. re aw er in m y ad to oa drum e re R al m ey ho as bb w A I ne admit dam had go ok me up to he I did, I must h when he to ho took the time after A stantly and he told me it Fa m da A s manager eoff again, w rol room. We hit it off in ork together. For variou G to in d pe m nt w h d co bu it I ul d w e co an er up e 2 h w Th io tc re e in the futu was a nice surprise to ca had a e famed Stud me round th saying maybe sometim s back. I touch. It ar in ye pt e, w ic ke fe e vo a w y t ed, bu -Abbey liked m ate show never happen d Sydney for the Integr mutual friend and also ex the Q+A reasons this host visite d our to ff an d eo ff te G vi eo n in G he h rprised to be him again w er the night before wit Geoff. pleasantly su xt day with Richard and didn’t nn e wonderful di Richard Lush. I was also ne H e o. th to e n, er er and great fu as an putting on th Road engine nology were ff was always rewarding oduction shortcuts. It w ch Te io ud A pr eo G ok of to session ny ho for those w in the compa Time spent d didn’t have much time ery time I press record. ev an s m ol hi fo of er k ff in su I th s friend, and honour be hi Leo Sayer
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INTERVIEW
Dynacord TGX Power Amplifiers
AT sits down with Dynacord’s Australian design head to hear what makes the new TGX series of high-output multi-channel power amps different. Interview: Christopher Holder
TGX represents a bold assault on the touring markets by Bosch. There’s plenty of headline features, and is an impressive demonstration of a huge engineering-based multi-national like Bosch flexing its R&D muscles. This is the first point to make: the Dynacord marque is to be a thoroughbred manufacturer of power amps and DSPs. It will no longer be a European step brother to the ‘all-American’ Electro-Voice. That extra degree of separation will help the market differentiate and distinguish the offerings. No one will assume that here is a range of companion amps for Electro-Voice loudspeakers. Dynacord isn’t owned by EV, it’s owned by Bosch. Helming the design of the new range of amplifiers is an Australian. These amps are Jonathan ‘Jono’ Bailey’s babies, and it was with considerable pride that AT witnessed him reveal TGX to the marketplace at the ISE tradeshow earlier in 2018. AudioTechnology sat with Jono to find out what’s under the bonnet. We’ll let Jono do the talking from here: ROLE OF DSP
Jono Bailey: We set very high goals with these amps, and were able to achieve the industry’s highest audio quality and highest output power ever produced in a multi-channel amplifier. However, this means nothing unless you are able to do it reliably year after year under the most
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extreme conditions. Meeting those criteria requires huge amounts of processing power to ensure the amplifier is performing optimally under any mains condition or thermal situation. Features like JTM and Cycle by Cycle filtering [more later] would not be possible without processing like this. So the processing power of modern amplifiers is not only so signal processing can make things sound better, but now also plays a critical role in output reliability. DSP is here to stay. The problem with DSP is that under poor mains conditions, where there could be a drop in mains power for even a second, DSP amplifiers are essentially fragile because they’re a computer that requires time to reboot, establish network connections, and only then produce audio. This is one reason why many system designers have compromised their designs with the use of old analogue amps and centralising DSP or using lower-powered DSP amplifiers that can be backed up via UPS. This becomes extremely expensive and increases rack space. But they don’t want to take the risk of being exposed to mains powerrelated audio disaster. THE CHALLENGE FOR ME WAS TO BUILD A HIGH
WHAT WE DO IS MODEL, IN REAL-TIME, THE ACTUAL JUNCTION TEMPERATURE INSIDE THE SEMICONDUCTOR
based on the operating parameters, such as operating voltage, housing temperature, output current and output voltage. Parameters such as current and voltage are continuously measured. This approach means you get the most out of your semiconductor components — more output; more reliability. We also use Mains Circuit Breaker Protection (MCBP); algorithms to ensure a steady and safe operation range of the amplifier’s circuit breaker and prevent a false overload alert under normal operation. The circuit breaker’s primary protective role won’t be affected. With this process, Dynacord’s power amplifiers offer maximum power at highest operational safety and optimum availability. COMPONENTS,
BELOW 2 OHMS
Jono Bailey: ‘Cycle by cycle current limiting’ allows the amplifier to safely operate below two Ohms — it actually goes down well below that. In fact, we stop the amplifier from going too much below one ohm — 0.7Ω to be precise.
PERFORMANCE DSP AMPLIFIER THAT’S ABLE TO RESTART ITS
BEYOND THAT WE TELL THE AMPLIFIER TO PULSE
AUDIO INSTANTLY — JUST LIKE AN ANALOGUE AMPLIFIER.
THE POWER, AS IT’S QUITE LIKELY THAT WHATEVER’S
With TGX we achieved this. So during a short term power outage the amplifier never drops its network or DSP connectivity, as a result, there’s no long reboot times. This has been extremely well received in parts of the world where mains hand-off to a generator backup supply often requires many seconds of no power at the rack side.
CONNECTED TO THE AMP IS ON FIRE AT THAT POINT!
FULL POWER COME WHAT MAY
Jono Bailey: JTM (Junction Temperature Modeling) provides the ability for the amplifier to operate under any operating — thermal or power — conditions. Traditionally, power amps shut down or reduce the output voltage when the temperature at the heat sink exceeds a certain temperature. The idea is you have to play it safe to safeguard the electronics. AT 20
96K SWITCHING FREQUENCY
Jono Bailey: We fixed and stabilised the switching frequency at double the normal Class D frequency. That way, there’s not as many intermodulations down into the audible frequency spectrum. We’ve done blind tests with golden-eared acoustic consultants and speaker designers, they can’t believe they’re listening to a Class D amp. Class D and switch mode power supplies have known issues with reproducing really high or low frequencies and we have both those areas covered. I believe TGX represents a new era of amplification. CLASS D, UNTIL NOW, HAS HIT A PERFORMANCE CEILING AND WE’VE BROKEN THROUGH THAT.
HIGH CHANNEL COUNT
Jono Bailey: People now expect multi-channel amps. Four channels was a minimum for us. Of course, at the top end, immersive audio and a cellular approach to powering loudspeakers is driving the push for more channels. In the mid market, and in the install market especially, people want to drive more speakers with fewer channels — the market wants lower cost but a higher output. Features like the cycle-by-cycle current limiting (allowing the amplifier to drive down to 1Ω), while still utilising the full dynamic range of the amplifier… that’s attractive to installers. It allows somebody to run their PA into 2Ω or below and have four speaker boxes off one channel and really reduce the total system cost. So that mid-market is the opposite of the prevailing winds of the upper market, but I’d argue it’s a larger, more important market. Which is why WE’VE PRODUCED TECHNOLOGY THAT MEETS THE MID-MARKET WHILE STILL PROVIDING NO-HOLDS-BARRED, EIGHT-CHANNEL SYSTEMS VIA DANTE, 96KHZ, FULL GRANULARITY, FULL RESOLUTION AUDIO FOR THE TOP END. So we do both.
BOSCH BEAST MODE
Jono Bailey: I’m confident in saying this: you won’t see another amplifier like this anytime soon, because I know the engineering effort and investment required to get it to market. You need a large privately-owned multinational to underwrite a platform and technology development like this. Fortunately, we’re fully owned by Bosch which happens to also be an engineering company — Bosch understands the level of commitment required and has the thermal labs and the aerodynamic design facilities that helped us map the airflow through the amplifier. We’ve made the most of those facilities that other companies just don’t have access to. They have to guess, for us it’s all science.
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FEATURE
Flight Facilities’ hybrid touring rig combines Ableton Live sounds with tracks cued from a Pioneer CDJ2000 flight deck. Buckle up and stow those tray tables. Story: Christopher Holder Main Photo: Jordan Munns
The appeal of live music is, at least in part, about witnessing something unique. It is, by definition, a one-off, never-to-be-repeated performance. Depending on the type of music, an audience feeds off the energy created by a group of musicians doing something rehearsed but not entirely planned. It can be dangerous and exhilarating, like watching a high-wire act. Electronic music creates a problem for the performers. Some of it simply can’t be physically performed. Other parts can be performed but the nuances from the studio production are almost impossible to recreate, which could easily disappoint audiences. I recall attending a PA (personal appearance) in Melbourne of the legendary Detroit techno AT 22
pioneers, Underground Resistance. Admittedly this was the early ’90s, but the ‘performance’ entailed Underground Resistance’s designated DJ spinning their tracks while they stood in the corner nodding. Awkward. Orbital turned electronic music into a performance event, headlining Glastonbury’s main stage for a number of years in the ’90s. The Hartnoll brothers proved that live electronic music needn’t be akin to karaoke. There have been plenty of bands since that have ‘skinned’ the electronic music ‘cat’ in a number of different ways. Flight Facilities has a couple of live approaches. The recent Aussie tour used their more ‘portable’ rig. Unusually, at its heart is a full-blown Pioneer DJ rig.
MONITORS: A HEAD OF THE GAME Anto: In the US we toured with ‘Texas headphones’ — huge side fills. On this tour we’ve decided to go for the d&b E8s on stands which has really helped with getting the most out of the vocalists. Some of the vocals are quieter, and Hugo will want them in his wedge and sometimes it’ll be a struggle for FOH to get the volume up in different venues. So having the E8 speakers right next to Hugo’s head is a good thing for keeping the volume down on stage. We have a sub on stage as well, which is especially good for Jimmy when he’s playing an MS20 or System-1 bass line — he can feel it as well as hear it in his ears.
Flight Facilities — Hugo Gruzman and Jimmy Lyell — love to DJ. So when they built their live rig, it felt right to integrate that passion. Unlike most live electronic acts, where the audio is piped out of a MacBook Pro loaded with (inevitably) Ableton Live, Flight Facilities’ audio sits on the Pioneer decks as Wav files. Don’t panic, they do run Ableton Live! But only as a sound source, not for tracks. Hugo has an MPC-style pad controller which he uses to cue Ableton Live setups — loading a new song’s worth of soft synths and samples (Chain Selectors in Ableton speak). There’s no sync between the tracks residing on the Pioneer decks and the Ableton instrument scenes. They’re entirely independent. I’ll allow FOH engineer Fraser Walker to take over and talk us through his setup. DIGITAL THINKING
Fraser Walker: Anto (Anthony Pink, monitors) and I share a Digico SD rack connected via fibre. I prefer this approach to a copper split. This way you get your gains right and you’re done. We take all the tracks from the Pioneer CDJs digitally (S/PDIF) and into the rack via a Neutrik impedance converter so it can run as AES. Those tracks are a good 80 percent of the audio content and it’s all digital. Which is great. All up, I have 12 input channels running through two groups plus effects returns. It’s all manageable enough to be run from a Digico SD11, but due to availability we’re running an SD5. I’m not complaining, it’s nice to spread out and get comfortable. I’m running a desk snapshot for every song. And doing a fair bit of processing, especially on the guest vocals. [Read about Fraser’s plug-inheavy vocal chain later.] HEAVY PROCESSING
Fraser Walker: I’m not getting stems or individual backing tracks from stage — it’s a highly produced and radio-ready stereo mix which the guys perform over and the guest artists play and sing over. It means I need to carve out a space for everything that comes after the DJ tracks, to fit them in and to sound correct. For example, the vocals: you can’t squash everything together at the end because the tracks are already heavily processed. The challenge is for the instruments and vocals to match the radio-ready sound of those backing tracks. If you don’t, it sounds amateurish and badly mixed. That guitar, sax or live vocal really has to sit
in the pocket. When I explain it, it all sounds a bit overlytweaky. I mean, if I was mixing 40 channels of live band, I wouldn’t even come close to doing all this sidechain and mid-side compression, because you wouldn’t need to. You’d control the individual elements of the mix. If you’ve got a guitar in a band then you can do what you need to do to ensure it fits into a small pocket in the mix. But a guitar already mixed in a two-track production is largely beyond your control.
become familiar with the sounds a computer makes when it’s going to fail. Low voltage plug packs are everywhere but not designed for road use. Which is why we’ll design our own custom junction boxes and power supplies. Building your own cables and looms is a real asset. I’ll routinely build looms that combine a particular combination of cables, all individually assessed for length to fit the setup. The cables mean you can set up quickly and help ensure something isn’t accidentally pulled out of the back of a unit.
SURVIVING COMPUTERS ON STAGE
SOUND CHOICE
If Fraser is the guy to glue the performance together it’s Andy Alexander’s job to glue the elements of the stage together. He’s the go-to guy for Flume as well. Andy’s an expert in optimising a stage setup with a computer at its heart and then doing all he can to ensure there are no catastrophic failures. Andy Alexander: A lot of it is in keeping the show file super lean. By which I mean, keeping the file size down by refining your use of samples — lose anything that’s unnecessary. I like to keep the CPU usage ticking along at around 10% to give ourselves plenty of CPU headroom for performing. Depending on who’s playing and how percussive the playing is, you obviously need to have low latency. As you lower the latency settings you’re geometrically increasing the processing required. It’s a compromise. I’ll work on a happy medium with the player, such that they’re playing with the highest latency they can put up with — it’s not bothering them but we’re keeping the processing power lower. Hugo is clever with Ableton. Other than adjusting the buffer and cleaning out old files and samples, his show file was already pretty optimal. During the show I’m screen sharing from side of stage. If I see something going awry I’ll use a break in the set to physically swap computers. If there’s something weird happening I can control it and I’ll hopefully avert disaster via a screen share.
Andy: For a computer on stage it’s all about stability and efficiency. As playback and stage guys we try to avoid the use of third-party VSTs in a live setting. The soft synths that come with Live are low in CPU usage and they’re stable. We use built-in Ableton instruments like Analog or Tension. The vocoder is from within the Ableton Live Analog synth. Hugo doesn’t use the MicroKorg’s vocoder live, but will use it to trigger Analog as the carrier synth. Otherwise he’ll use the MicroKorg as a controller synth of bass sounds. He’ll use the other controller keyboard for another sound in another octave range.
CABLE DISCIPLINE
Andy: The second most important thing on stage for stability, is cable discipline — having redundant power and signal lines built into your looms so you can troubleshoot and fault find quickly. Experience helps. Experience allows you to quickly fault find based on your own range of experiences. For example, after a while you’ll
FINESSE & 1 PERCENTERS
To understand the job of Flight Facilities’ sound guys, you need to be thinking in terms of finesse, preparation and attention to detail, not big fader flourishes. Fraser Walker describes production rehearsals as a great opportunity to get way beyond the meat ’n’ spuds of balancing levels and to dive into the one percenters. If there is one device that best sums up Fraser’s fairy dust approach to applying the extra-extra layer of piano gloss lacquer to the Flight Facilities mix, it’s his hardware Kush Audio Clariphonic Parallel Equalizer. Fraser: The Clariphonic EQ is my secret sauce for electronic-style music. I run it over the master bus. The front panel doesn’t have frequencies marked on it — the guy who makes them doesn’t like getting hung up on frequencies, he’d rather you use your ears. But there’s detail in the manual. My ‘Focus’ control is set at about 1.4kHz. That’s addressing that ‘top of the snare’ openness. The ‘Clarity’ knob is set to around 32kHz. It’s a little like the silky ‘air’ band you’ll find on a Neve device or the Maag EQ4. I go analogue from the console (via an instance of Waves’ PuigChild compressor, which is just ticking over and an instance of Waves’ L1 limiter) into the Clariphonic, then analogue into the Lake processor and then AES out of the Lake or analogue depending on the venue. Sometimes I’ll tweak the Clariphonic mid-show when we have a full house and high humidity, just to restore some of that ‘air’ in the mix the bodies are soaking up. The Clariphonic is a luxury I’d not necessarily have in a live band situation. (Saying that, on a different show, I might put it on vocals and turn that 58 into a Neumann condenser with the Air band.) For a gig like Flight Facilities I’m not spending my time putting out fires. My job is more about getting the most out of the PA and the venue on the day, or if we’ve got noise limits then it’s about massaging the system output to retain energy in the room without being shut down. AT 23
Andy: Each Ableton Live song loads up a different kit — drums samples, rhythmic samples and effects. Fraser: I have a Transient Designer over the SPD drum trigger source. I’m just trying to get into the front end of it and give it some character to stand out. I’ll then put it through Vitamin, which is a multi-band widener. It helps push the high end out to the sides away from everything else is.
Fraser Walker: We came from production rehearsals straight into three shows in the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. I knew the FOH position was going to be tucked up under the balcony, which is less than ideal. So I brought the baby Genelecs on board as my meterbridge monitors. I time aligned the Genelecs to the main PA. It meant I could turn them on during the show and they’d give me back some of the highs I was missing under the balcony. They’re a nice sounding monitor. I actually matched the phase response to the mains as well. I’ve been using Waves InPhase as an all-pass filter and lining up the two sources, making the Genelecs a pure extension of the PA.
Andy: This is a custom-made USB loom with strain relief. It has power for the MicroKorg, power and signal for the MPC, and power and signal for the button box that launches the Ableton instrument scenes. It has a loop where you can hang it and everything is just the right length. It goes back to the computer where you have everything at just the right cable length for swapping it out.
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Andy: I can thank Fraser for programming the patches. The Pod does some nice amp modelling and mic modelling. It’s been reliable and easy to get around. We’ve been able to dial up some nice disco tones. Fraser: The Line6 Pod is doing most of the processing work that you hear in the PA. I’ll do some added compression because you need to maintain some life in what Jimmy’s hearing — I don’t want to kill the vibe for him — but I’ll compress it more heavily in the PA.
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Andy: The Roland System-1 is like a modernday take on the SH101. It has a really nice sub bass sound. Fraser: I put the System-1 through an instance of Waves R-Bass, which gives it a harmonic kick. There’s one song where I’ll ride the Intensity of R-Bass, firing up the subs as much as they’ll take.
Andy: It’s a white, limited edition Korg MS20 Mini. We retired the old black one. The MS20 is for Jimmy to wang on — crunchy bass notes, massive filter sweeps, bleeps and bloops, all through a delay pedal for dubbing out on. Fraser: Because Jimmy is doing huge filter sweeps from 20Hz to 18kHz I’m trying to keep a lid on it when it gets wild. I have a C6 multiband compressor on there and it’ll dig in harder as it rises. When you hit 18kHz you don’t want very much in the PA. At the other end, when the MS20 is in the sub range using the make up gain of the low band to give it a kick.
CUE TIP: SWITCH BETWEEN DJ’ING & PERFORMING Andy: Hugo and Jimmy love to DJ. The CDJ decks are a natural extension of who they are, so it makes sense for them to be part of their live stage setup. They’re very stable. We take an S/PDIF digital output from the decks straight into the stage box (via a Neutrik impedance box that allows it to run as AES3). The output sound quality is good and works for us. Having the stems on the CDJ decks also means Hugo and Jimmy can mix from one song to the next, as well as loop sections if they so desire — bearing in mind there’s no sequence or timecode content from Ableton Live that it needs to sync with. Fraser: Prior to taking on FOH duties I was mixing AT 26
monitors for Flight Facilities, and had to deal with a curly problem. Hugo is using booth monitors and headphones, for when he’s cueing tracks. Jimmy, on the other hand, is on in-ear monitors the whole time. But Jimmy deejays as well — using the Pioneer CDJ decks to mix between backing tracks. When he’s doing that, he wants to cue those tracks in his ears and not hear his regular mix. For example, when he’s cueing, he doesn’t want to hear the vocalist, Hugo’s samples, or anything but what he’s cueing. In rehearsal he wanted me to learn his routine and to flip his entire monitor mix when he went from
playing to cueing. It became clear really quickly that it was an unworkable approach. It meant he had no flexibility with his transitions. We thought about putting him on two packs or unplugging from his pack into a mixer... but none of it was a good solution because sometimes he’s got a guitar around his neck. Then I remembered the Digico has a GPI/O input to use as a trigger. So I connected a footswitch to the board via its quarter-inch GPI/O. We went to Billy Hydes and programmed a little macro that allows Jimmy to switch between two aux mixes on the console — live ears mix, and a cue mix. It’s an elegant solution.
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VOCAL PROCESSING SIGNAL CHAIN Fraser Walker: I rely on a Waves Soundgrid pack for my processing. I have an instance of the F6 dynamic EQ across the CDJ stereo playback channel. The F6 is side-chained to the vocal group and it’s also set to ‘midside’. I’ve got the sidechain frequency band in the mid, and I’m leaving the sides unaffected. The result is I’m carving out a middle pocket while leaving the HF on the sides alone. It’s the only way I can make this show work. It sounds natural yet at times I’m pulling almost 9dB out of the HF in that pocket. It doesn’t sound like it because you’ve still got that frequency content left untouched in the sides — psychoacoustically it doesn’t sound carved but you’ve created this pocket for the vocals right there in the centre. The F6 is amazing. You’ve got six frequency bands, you can select each band to be stereo, mid or sides, and if the source is internal or an external sidechain. It’s hugely flexible. That’s the first piece in making space for the vocal and then the second part is the compression in the vocal chain. On all the vocals I have the Primary Source Expander (PSE), which gives me the extra gain I need. Especially when I’m in a venue with wide-spaced infills rather than front fills. I’m trying
to hit the centre of the crowd barrier but at the same time I’ll have a quiet vocalist who will occasionally be in that hot zone — so I’ve got to be careful about feedback. In some venues I’ve got to ring out the mics pretty hard and then I’ll turn on the PSE on the open vocals and push the fader another 15dB. It still sounds very natural and you don’t hear it cutting in on phrases. Then I have another F6 on the vocal. You can see the settings for one of our vocalists, Brooke. I’ve set a few bands that’ll dynamically grab some notes depending on where she goes in her range. For Brooke it’s compressing some higher, more nasal notes. I can set the threshold and then when the compressor starts to dig a little bit, it smoothes the overall sound. It’s then hitting the CLA-2A relatively hard; again that’s just trying to match the compression of what’s actually on the tracks. Then it goes through vocal group EQ. That’s where I ring out the vocal mics if I need to. You can see some notches that are room specific. Finally, it’s some levelling and more compression in MaxxVolume, which is pretty clamped.
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TUTORIAL
HOW TO BECOME A GAME SOUND DESIGNER
BAFTA-winner, Adele Cutting, draws on 20 years of experience to tell us what it takes to navigate the ‘non-linear’ world of videogame sound design. Review: John Broomhall
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Adele Cutting is a BAFTA award-winning creator and producer of sound and dialogue for video games whose extensive and illustrious track record includes Dungeon Keeper 2, Theme Park World, F1, the Harry Potter franchise, The Room franchise, and Shadow of the Beast, not to mention her work in film and animation. Before founding her own sound services company Soundcuts in 2011 she was an audio head honcho for Electronic Arts. She arrived there in ’97 just as the massive worldwide video game developer and publisher was starting to take its game audio very seriously. Well ahead of the curve, EA was investing in pro-audio talent and worldclass studio facilities while other game developers were still sticking egg cartons on walls. Adele was snapped up for a rare junior position in the EA UK sound department just as she emerged from the more ‘linear’ audio training at the UK’s renowned National Film & Television School and a brief stint in film post-production. The ensuing years saw her rise through the ranks to ‘sound designer’ then ‘senior sound designer’, to ‘audio director’ then ‘senior audio director’. By 2006, she was heading up music, sound and dialogue provision for a series of Harry Potter
titles; managing a large team and cast to bring the sound of the beloved franchise to millions of games consoles across the globe. A massive deal. When it comes to the role of sound designer — and all things game audio — Adele Cutting has been around the block a dozen times. We sat down with her to find out what it takes to make it as a sound designer. John Broomhall: How was the move from linear storytelling to interactive gameplay? Adele Cutting: It was the time of Playstation 1, so things were very different. There was no middleware like Fmod or Wwise for audio implementation. I was reliant on old-school programmers. In terms of the tools used for sound creation it was exactly the same: Pro Tools, software plug-ins, regular recording gear and a massive sound library, but there were also esoteric data-compressed formats like VAGs which had to loop on a certain multiple byte boundary and super-tight memory restrictions — a lot to get my head around. Thankfully, things really changed. For games sound designers today, tools like Fabric, Fmod and Wwise make it a lot easier to plug your sounds into the game. That said, ASPIRING SOUND DESIGNERS
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Adele Cutting checking a script enquiry.
SHOULD STILL MASTER THE BASIC GAME AUDIO SKILLS: SAMPLE LOOPING, DIALOGUE FADE IN/OUT AND DE-CLICKING, AND NOT JUST RELY ON RX4! I had to learn how to break down something composite I’d track-laid in Pro Tools — say a 10-second complex explosion — and deliver it as a set of tiny component parts: one-shots and loops, with scripted replay and pitch-shifting, and re-triggering with little time lags, plus maybe a low-pass filter. It was all to be played live in kit form at run-time to re-create an interactive and much less memory-hogging version of what I had created in Pro Tools. That knowledge and approach is still very relevant; from creating sound design using components on-the-fly within a game engine for maximum flexibility and variation through to tackling the technical restrictions of a mobile phone game (memory, voice count, CPU power, etc). JB: What pro audio gear does a game sound designer need to be all over? AC: WELL, REAPER IS CURRENTLY THE TOOL OF CHOICE FOR MANY DEVELOPERS. IT’S RELATIVELY ‘GAME-FACING’ IN TERMS OF SCRIPTING. For example, we’ve been able to
do incredibly quick automated exports from huge sessions of foley recordings. But as a freelancer, I’ve been asked to use pretty much everything including Pro Tools, Nuendo, Cubase and Vegas. An absolutely key piece of kit for me is a sound recorder. We use various devices depending on the context and I always carry a little Zoom H4N. It’s far better to record something that sounds right at source than try and manipulate and shoehorn something from a sound library. I’m listening to the world all the time. I’ll be out with my kids completely away from work, hear something and think, ‘Ooh, if I pitch that down, that would really work for the creature I’m working on.’ You’re listening to the world in a particular way, which can be quite annoying for other people! It’s a fun part of the job; squidging wet pasta for gloops or tapping your tummy for funny little animal sounds. I have a ‘thing’ with door sounds and window rattles — I’ve recorded lots of my neighbours’ sheds! You can get an oddball reputation when you’re into sound. JB: So you need good ears and some natural proclivity for analysing sounds? AC: Yeah, you can teach people to implement game sound — it’s logical — but you can’t teach someone how to hear it. Some people can’t recognise what to me would be an obviously bad resonance. Or they might not be able to pinpoint and articulate it. AT 30
One very early test I was given after just starting at EA was creating the sound of a spaceship landing and taking off, strictly using sounds I’d recorded. I thought it was a terrifying challenge but went home and recorded hairspray aerosols, mouse cans, hairdryers, blenders, and metal kitchen stuff scraping and dropping onto stone. I manipulated the raw material and got the job done. It was scary but a useful test of hearing, imagination and resourcefulness which I’d recommend for anyone starting out. JB: What about artistic uses of sound for storytelling, where you’re creating or conveying emotion which isn’t a literal reflection of what you’re seeing onscreen? AC: I love doing this by manipulating sounds in the ambience track, or using ambient spots to tell more of the story not shown onscreen. One example could be a night time scene which gets progressively more tense, so you change the type and intensity of the background sound to match. Like making the sound of crickets more frenetic or completely dropping them altogether. One minute the world seems fine, then it starts to feel like something’s wrong; it’s the background sound prompting that primal response. Then, hey presto, someone else slaps a big music cue over it… great! SMALL CHANGES TO THE MIX OR SOUND OF THE CHARACTER FOLEY IS ANOTHER USEFUL TRICK. IF THE PLAYER IS EXHAUSTED HE SHOULD START TO ‘FEEL’ HEAVIER.
Sound has such great potential to change the dynamics, but you have to leave enough space for it. Many non-sound people believe the only way to manipulate people’s emotions is through music, which isn’t true. It’s tricky for a freelance service provider. You fight for your corner but it’s the client’s prerogative. You can push harder when you’re working with a team that totally trusts you and is passionate about quality and artistry in the game. If you’re reporting to a producer/dev manager who doesn’t ‘get’ audio, and who’s of the mindset ‘see a sound, hear a sound,’ you need to prove why it’s worth doing. When in-house, the development time is much longer and the audio director/narrative director will have a stronger voice leading to more ‘artistic’ and ‘narrative’ use of sound. The introduction of the term Narrative Designer has really helped this, as it binds together all disciplines towards one goal. JB: What does an in-house sound designer do day-to-day? AC: You’ll have meetings/scrums/stand-ups/ reviews to ensure everyone’s focused and knows what each other is doing across the development team and within audio. On a larger title, you’ll be responsible for creating sound for one area. Doing everything required from recording source sounds, editing and manipulating them in software, implementing them in middleware tools, mixing them and testing them in-game. It could be taking ‘ownership’ of foley/movement, environment/world sounds, weapons, music editing/implementation or dialogue post-production. On a small team, one person could be doing it all! On larger teams there’s also the role of technical sound designer. Some people have a natural
affinity for system design, integration and technical problem solving. They love creating complex patches with Max MSP scripting. They still have to be creative, but this ‘technical skill’ is a passion and strength. Conversely, a ‘creative sound designer’ needs to understand implementation. These roles aren’t mutually exclusive. You’ll also be liaising with other disciplines — art, animation, design, programming. If you want to know what’s really going on, ask a sound designer! Audio is last in the development chain (although work will have started even in pre-production) — we have a lot of dependency on other disciplines, so we need to know where they’re at. Are they going to hit their deadlines or impact ours? JB: As a senior audio director hiring sound designers, what are you looking for in a candidate? AC: With a large sound team in-house you can absorb different personalities but when it’s your company and your personal reputation on the line you have to be so careful. Aside from technical skills, good personal skills and professionalism are vital. Communication is key and it’s essential we’re working together and supporting each other as a team. NATURALLY, YOU WANT PEOPLE YOU ENJOY BEING AROUND, BUT PROFESSIONALISM IS THE KEY THING — A ‘NO PROBLEM’ ATTITUDE.
More experienced designers need to work fast — there’s no fat when you’re freelance; you need to be organised and efficient; a positive problem-solver; fun to work with; a do-er with great ears, who doesn’t moan when clients change requirements or moan to other team members. Obviously, it’s a given you must have sound design skills but it’s also these soft skills — honesty, a can-do attitude, super-hot organisation and heading off trouble at the pass, not being rude, communication — these make people successful and the kind you want to work with.
Keys to Being a Successful Game Sound Designer • Know your game audio middleware. Download it and get stuck into the tutorials; you need to know how to implement sound into the game. • Master the basic old school game audio skills; they’re still very relevant. • Become familiar with the key DAWs you’re likely to encounter; starting with Reaper, Pro Tools, Vegas and Nuendo. • Listen to the world around you and carry a recorder at all times. • Help develop your hearing and perceptive analysis of sound by challenging yourself to create an audio scene entirely from your own recorded sources. • Sound is a powerful tool for manipulating emotion — but it needs space to work. • It’s important to build trust so clients will take your artistic/narrative sound ideas seriously. • Good personal skills and professionalism are vital. Be organised and efficient, passionate and articulate about sound. • Things change and s*** happens, don’t whinge about it, stay positive with the client and the audio team.
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INTERVIEW
THE QUICK MIX
JOHN HALL
Who are you currently touring with/mixing?
I’m currently working at Novatech in Adelaide. Some of the bigger shows/projects I have mixed FOH for them are the Channel 7 ACC Carols by Candlelight, Australia Day in the City featuring Rikki Lee, the National Indigenous Music Awards, the S.A Music Awards, WOMAD, Mark Ferguson and the Marmalade Circus with the ASO, The Zep Boys with the DSO (orchestra mix), Adam Page with the ASO, ACC New Year’s Eve show at Elder Park, as well as mixing monitors for all the major festivals in SA, and a host of local and international acts that pass through. I’ve also system tech’d both FOH and monitors for major acts/tours including Neil Finn, Placebo, The Seekers, Pennywise, Midnight Oil, Angus and Julia Stone, and Elvis Presley’s The Wonder of You tour. What are some other acts/bands you have worked with?
Cut Copy, Gotye, The Presets, Bertie Blackman, Mavis Staples, Iggy Pop, Public Enemy, MC Hammer, Hilltop Hoods, The Tea Party, Kate Ceberano, Daryl Braithwaite, Pennywise, Millencolin, The Vandals, Fear Factory, and Gary Clarke Jnr are some that come to mind. Did I mention I toured with Elvis?! How long have you been doing live sound and what was your path to a career in audio engineering? AT 32
I started back in 1987, literally by accident. A good friend of mine owned a ‘production in a truck’ (big PA and light show) that was working for one of Melbourne’s big cover bands, Thunderbirds Are Go! — doing a lazy five nights a week. Glenn called me one afternoon and said he had hurt his back on the bump in and asked if I could come and bump out for him. He offered me $60, so I was there! The next day he called and told me his back was still crook, and asked if could I come and bump in? ‘By the way,’ he said. ‘You’ll have to do monitors for the band. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how.’ His instruction was a simple four-step process. Step 1 – Pull 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 2k, 4k and 8k all the way out of all graphics. Step 2 – Turn all the mid-range gain knobs fully to the left with the frequency knobs at 12 o’clock (1kHz on the old Peavey console) Step 3 – Turn all the gain knobs to 12 o’clock Step 4 – Turn up the channel send till it fed back or the band stopped yelling at you (not a binary scenario as I soon discovered). Simple! It was the fourth or fifth show I’d done when the singer, who ran the band with her stoner guitarist boyfriend, ran off stage mid-song screaming at me, and I’m quoting directly, ‘This is my f**king band, so if you don’t make me the f**king loudest ****
onstage, you can f**k right off!!!” Meanwhile, the boyfriend was grinning at me while he had his two Fender twins, which never went below nine, pointed straight at her head! Good times! I ended up doing this gig for almost two years. I was also a musician (okay, I was a drummer) so I bounced back and forth between doing sound and playing until my late ’20s. There was too much gear to lug around as a drummer so I dedicated myself to being a sound guy, and went from loading and unloading my panel van to doing the same with big trucks and bigger gear! The two crew I worked with for the band were also from my hometown of Frankston. Damien Young, who became and still is a very successful FOH engineer and business owner (Pony Music) and Matt Arthur, who now lives in London, and is an in-demand LD, working for acts like Pet Shop Boys, Bryan Ferry, System of a Down, Mark Ronson and Chemical Brothers to name a few. Not bad for some bogan lads from Franga! What is your favourite console and why?
At the moment, it’s the Avid S6L. A very handy console to have on the big shows. Being able to
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have some functions automate in real time, without timecode running, is super helpful, like having the choir mics duck on a 150-voice choir standing behind a 40-piece orchestra when they’re not singing was a lifesaver! I know the Profile software has a basic version of this, but in the S6L software, it has been greatly improved and refined. I do love all Digicos, having used the D5 when they first came out and having a couple of DS00s installed in Melbourne’s The Toff in Town (one in the studio). The SD range are all architecturally great boards, and there is the Midas/Soundtracs connection as well, so they sound great! And who can go past the lovely Midas Heritage 3k? The pinnacle of pure analogue perfection. Favourite microphone or any other piece of kit?
My personal favourite mics, that I always use on every gig, are my Sennheiser e602 (series 1), e901 and e905. You can put them on any kick and snare and, to my drummer ears, faithfully reproduce the sound of those drums. If required, you can manipulate them to work in any genre mix. You can EQ them or not, and they always sound great! My other ‘American Express’ (don’t leave home without it) bit of kit is my Antelope Isochrone OSX word clock. Takes the smear away from Profiles, and the bark out of the Yamahas (a 5D clocked to 96k is the closest digital thing to a Heritage I’ve heard). NB: my opinion only. Most memorable gig or career highlight?
The last one! But seriously folks, there have been so very many, I’m truly blessed to have the career I do. Some of the festival shows such as Lollapalooza in Chicago, Austin City Limits in Texas, any of the big European festivals, playing to crowds of 40-70,000 people are some of the biggest highlights. The tour Cut Copy did with Daft Punk through Australia was amazing! But the one that stands out for me was mixing at Red Rocks in Colorado. The venue and location are spectacular and having grown up on U2’s Under a Blood Red Sky – Live at Red Rocks, it was a huge moment for the inner-child music buff in me. Walking up the tunnel to FOH and seeing all the drawings and graffiti left by some of the pioneers and greats of our industry was totally awe-inspiring and humbling. What are three mixing techniques you regularly employ
I suppose I should reveal some big secret technique or trickery here, like parallel compression, side chaining the kick gate to an oscillator running a 50Hz tone, or a snare mic that’s 47 and a half degrees off axis to the rack tom, but really, it’s just these three things: Gain Structure! It’s not really a technique I suppose or particularly sexy, but like atoms (or quarks to those quantum mechanically inclined) are to life, it’s a fundamental that is behind almost every great mix. I say almost, as I have seen some amazing exceptions to this (Wardy and Dave AT 34
Wernham come to mind). Mic Placement, again, not sexy, but with gain structure, are 90% of my mix. The right mic in the right place will save you a bunch of time and heartache! And finally, to just get out of my own way and don’t overthink it! People payed to see and hear the band, not me (or the kick drum!). What are three pieces of gear or features that have come out and been game changers for you?
I think digital consoles are the most obvious one, for me, and the industry at large. I remember the days when people first started talking about them as being a thing. The push back was intense! Everyone was convinced they wouldn’t catch on, it was just a fad. Technology for technologies sake. But just like the CD, they quickly became (almost overnight in the scheme of things) a reality. The venerable PM5D first arrived in 2004, after its big brother the 1D (2001) was declared ‘too much mixer’ for most applications, and is still one of the most reliable and easy to use consoles out there. The first versions of the Profile (2005) were diabolical at best, and extremely unreliable at worst. I remember mixing on a Profile somewhere around 2008 and halfway through a song the PA just went berserk! The FOH graphic ceased to exist, the page was just empty! I hit the dropdown menu and inserted another EQ, and it came back with my tune on it! It was like Apple vs PC. Eventually Avid got its shit together, and as all the big American acts wanted the album reproduced live, it became the must have board for production companies. Saved on labor costs for sure, and for a while, saved on space as well. I remember laughing at an engineer carrying his Profile through the crowd at a Lollapalooza and being told there was no room at the inn as the FOH tent was full of Profiles. What was even funnier was the festival board had prime position as the headline act engineer (me) was using it, so everyone was behind me. I told them all they could use it, but they would rather carry their console out there than a USB stick! The Dolby Lake processor was a big one as well, and of course line arrays, and digital amps. These were all massive game changers. But for me personally, the TC D2 was the one bit of outboard that changed things for me. It was a small, inexpensive unit, that broke on the road all the time, but there you have it. I loved it! The Pattern Tap button was gold! On a couple of fly dates, when we were in and out on the same day, and all our limited excess weight and cabin baggage went to things like guitars and the like, I would take the D2 out of my rack, leave my word clock and two Distressors behind, and carry it on my lap if I had to! How have your working methods changed since you began live sound mixing?
The main change for me is the use of offline editors. These are by far the best part of the digital revolution. In the days of yore, you would have to nervously wait for the act before to finish, the system guy (if he was any good) to normalise the
console, patch in your processors, then madly fly over the board tweaking the channels (or at least the most important ones) while your band was pushing out and patching in before your five-minute line check, which all being well, you only had to tweak the gain because you’d done everything else. Then spend the first few songs fixing everything you missed! Being able to pre-patch your outputs, set up all your DCAs and groups, dial in EQs, comps and gates, set up your FX parameters and sends ahead of time, has made for a more civilised change over! I have found going in as the festival monitor engineer armed only with an input list and plot for 10 acts, I can have each act’s show at a point where I’m able to just open each channel, maybe tweak a bit of gain as the touring FOH guy smashes through the line check at a million miles an hour, and quickly have each player pretty comfortable without too much fuss. The musicians are on edge as it is and are nervous about your ability to deliver the mixes they need. If they sense you’re calm and got your shit together, that’s 80% of the battle. You know going in, especially on a Soundwave type festival with rock bands, what everyone is going to want, so being able to start there, makes your day a hell of a lot better! Things like Laneway are, ahh, shall we say a bit more bespoke, but the singer is always going to want to hear themselves, right? I’ve got library files for different consoles, for graphics for specific speakers and sends, which get me close to done on the set-up day, giving me more time to get myself comfortable and prepared before show day. One thing I would say about being able to create and re-use show files is that I was relying too much on the show-file I made last year, or the tour before that, or with that other act I did that time that sounded really good. First of all, it’s not doing justice to the band that’s in front of me, even if it’s the same band I made the file with. Music, especially live music, is an artistic expression and as such is greatly affected by the environment and the personalities performing it. Those two things will never be the same again, ever. So why should my mix be? Of course, I’m not going to mix my metal band dub-style, but I really feel, unless I’m in a time sensitive festival change over, I try and make a fresh mix of the band that represents who and where they are right then. I got into the ritual of just loading the last show and running with that, because it worked last night. Eventually I started to not want to make changes to it because it sounded good last night. During a long tour, I’d start to zone out a bit during the show, and that’s not good. When your mind starts to wander when your mixing in front of 50,000 people, you have a problem! I got in the habit of having a blank show file for tour shows that only had labelled channels. I knew how to mix the band with consistency and make them sound good, it just made it fun again and kept me on point. Above all else, it gave me something to do!
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Any tips/words of wisdom for someone starting out?
The best advice I can give is to look after your health; both physical and mental. Eat as healthy as you can, get as much exercise as you can and don’t party too much. Though it’s good to blow off steam every once in a while! A good health tip I got from one of Australia’s doyen of touring, Mr Jon Nelson, is to carry a box of muesli (he preferred Weet Bix) in your bag. Especially for all you vegetarians and vegans, getting any kind of real meal can be a nightmare. At least you can have a bowl of something to keep you going till the next, hopefully vego-friendly, country. Another good habit to get into is going for a walk after soundcheck to find a nice restaurant to have a good healthy meal in and have some non-work related conversations with the other crew, or locals. Eating at least one healthy meal a day will do wonders for your body, but it’s the walk that is perhaps the most important. The walk will obviously do you good, physically, but mentally, it allows you to blow the cobwebs out of your mind, release the odd endorphin and revive your spirit. This is so important. No matter how tough you think you are mentally, your mind can take you to some dark places on tour if left unchecked. Mental health has been ignored by touring professionals for far too long. Recent studies have found similarities between touring crews and soldiers, especially when it
comes to PTSD. Too many touring folk suffer from a form of this and don’t even realise it. Obviously, we’re not out there fighting a war with guns, but there is a myriad of other similarities. The mind set of being in the trenches with your squad, in a foreign country, away from your family and friends, working in what is often a high stress environment, that is relentless as it is monotonous. Failure is not an option. 22 hour days are not uncommon You’re told when to eat, when to be in the lobby, when to load in or out, when to be where you need to be, your life is essentially mapped out for the foreseeable future, by someone else and you don’t have a say in it or even have to think about it. Not having a healthy diet and some form of exercise, other than lifting heavy things, can leave you physically and mentally drained. Your mind slowly shuts down. Even though you’re surrounded by the same people who become your family every day, loneliness can set in pretty easily. The feeling of isolation, left untended, can eat you up. And the come down at the end of the tour is massive. You’re back home, there’s no food in the cupboard, you have a suitcase full of dirty washing and no one has come by to pick it up to be washed. There is no one to tell you what to do, or when. You’re so tired that you just sleep for a couple of days. You’ve lost touch with almost all your close friends because you’ve been away for a couple of years, you start to miss your tour family like crazy, and you realise you haven’t spoken a word to anyone in almost a week.
Now that’s bad enough, eventually you venture out and reconnect with your life, but then the next tour starts and off you go again. A lot of you may recognise some of these symptoms from a two or three-week lap around the country. Imagine now six months away overseas, a year, two or in some cases, three years at a time on the road, and you can see how, left unchecked, it can become a real problem. Make sure you foster an environment amongst the touring party that allows each of you to talk about any issues you or they might be having. Always make time for the others on the road with you. Check in with them regularly and make sure they’re okay. No issue is too small. Avoid selfmedicating as this just exacerbates the problem. And call your mother once in a while! A fresh mind helps keep a fresh body which helps keep a fresh mind.
REVIEW
WD MY PASSPORT WIRELESS SSD Review: Preshan John
Starts at $429 for 250GB | wd.com
Last issue, Simmo used the Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro in his transition from computer to iPad-based recording. This allowed him to wirelessly transfer audio and video between it and the iPad Pro straight from SD cards inserted into the drive. We received the more expensive My Passport Wireless SSD for review which has all the same features of the My Passport Wireless Pro — SD card reader, wireless connection to your devices, a builtin 10+ hour battery — except that it has a solid state (instead of spinning platter) drive, significantly increasing read/write speeds. It’s also constructed with a tougher, more roadworthy casing. AT 36
I used the My Passport Wireless SSD on a number of out-and-about video shoots. Its slim form factor slipped easily into my laptop bag. Bolstered by an orange rubber bumper, the drive would nonchalantly shrug off a drop or two thanks also to the lack of moving parts in an SSD. Western Digital reckons it’ll handle a drop of 1m when operational. You can set it up using the included WD software to instantly create backups of an SD card whenever one is slotted in (at 65MB/s), without needing a laptop. Alternatively the iOS/Android app lets you view and manage the transfer of files right from your smartphone using the My Passport
Wireless SSD’s own high speed Wi-Fi hotspot. When you don’t need the fancy stuff, it’ll function just fine as a typical portable hard drive via USB 3.0. Editing and exporting video right off the My Passport Wireless SSD was a breeze and all file transfers were lighting fast (up to 390MB/s). Note, because it’s formatted as an NTFS drive you’ll need mounting software like Paragon (included) to use it with a Mac computer. I had nothing but rock solid performance during my time with the WD My Passport Wireless SSD. Once this drive becomes part of your workflow, you’ll wonder how you lived without it.
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ART 7
STILL THE FIRST CHOICE OF AUDIO PROFESSIONALS THE WORLD OVER, RCF INTRODUCES THE ART 7 MK4 SERIES. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO HEAR THE DIFFERENCE FOR YOURSELF. PRODUCTION GRADE BUILD QUALITY. SEVERAL SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS (UP TO 4” VC). PROPRIETARY FIR-PHASE TECHNOLOGY. FIVE YEAR AUSTRALIAN WARRANTY. MADE IN ITALY.
TO FIND YOUR NEAREST RCF PROFESSIONAL DEALER, VISIT: WWW.RCFAUDIO.COM.AU
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REGULARS
STUDIO FOCUS:
BIG SKY AUDIO “Did you find the place alright?” Asked Neil Gray as he opened the screen door to a very unassuming suburban home in Hoppers Crossing, 30 minutes west of Melbourne. Having viewed a couple of the ‘in progress’ shots of his studio, and seen the seriousness of the undertaking, I assumed there would be more signs indicating a studio from the outside. Inside, other than a couple of talkback speakers in construction and studio memorabilia lying around, there wasn’t much to give away the studio either. Even heading out the back of the large suburban block, past the saltwater pool, the large shed at the back of the property still doesn’t belie the gem inside. It’s been about six years in the making, and a few more years planing before that, but Big Sky Audio is now a reality. While it’s technically a studio in a home, the operation inside the shed is a full commercial facility. Gray used to run True Form, a rehearsal and recording studio facility in Spotswood. For 20 years, it was a go-to spot for artists like Jim Keays (The Masters Apprentices) to pre-produce new material, while others like the The Living End, Dan Sultan, Vasco Era recorded projects there. He still works with a lot of those artists, in both the studio and live. Personal circumstances changed, and after 20 years Gray closed down True Form and started dreaming of a studio where the occupancy rate didn’t have to be close to 100%, and he wouldn’t have to worry about getting a frantic call from a client while on holiday. Slowly but surely, he’s realised that vision. AT 38
It started with a garage shed on the back of the property, which now houses the foyer, kitchen, control room, machine room, and iso booth. He poured an adjoining slab and erected another identically-coloured shed; it has the main live room, a second, larger iso booth, storage, bathroom and a long corridor Gray deigned to be an echo chamber. It snakes down the side of the building, with no parallel surfaces and a sculpted ceiling line that Gray fashioned out of plywood and plaster. While Gray has opened up the doors to the hallway to capture extra ambience for drum recordings, he’s in the middle of fitting a speaker to turn it into a dedicated reamping space. Over the years, Gray has collected some incredible instruments and outboard pieces, like a ’73 Fender Telecaster Deluxe, an untouched Ludwig snare still in its plastic case for $200, an ADR Compex F670, Kush Audio UBK Fatso, and a Neumann U87 from Richmond Recorders used on countless Australian hits. Gray also custom built and soffit-mounted his own speaker boxes for a pair of Tannoy HPD-12 dual concentric speakers that deliver pinpoint imaging. His central piece is a 1978 38-channel MCI 538B console he bought off Mick Wordley at Mix Masters, with Rob Squire giving it a good work over. It’s a legendary console, and this particular one was originally built for Devonshire Studios in North Hollywood, where it tracked artists like The Ramones, Billy Joel, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Gray is unabashedly in love with analogue recording. His gear list is long — check out the website for the full list — and his mic collection
has a substantial number of classy dynamics and esoteric ribbons to go along with his condensers. Likewise, you’re not going to want for pedals, hardware synths, guitar gear or percussion. He has Antelope Orion converters, or a Mackie 24-track hard disk recorder, depending on how you want to track, a Benchmark DAC for monitoring and an API A2D preamp/converter for the final conversion into his print rig when mixing analogue. It’s been a labour of love and thoughtful design. Owning a studio for 20 years and having 10 years to think about your next one means you focus on the details. Like not only mic, but instrument and speaker tie lines throughout; a wired up, flexible mic gooseneck in the ceiling; and sight lines through all the rooms. Gray completed a lot of the construction himself, with help from friends, including fellow in-house producer Nathan Freeman. The main room is devoid of parallel walls, with plenty of height for acoustic recordings, a painstakingly erected rock wall, skyline diffusors in the roof, cylindrical diffusors on the walls, a smattering of absorption throughout and large bass traps at one end. Parts of True Form, including the framing timber and floorboards, have been repurposed in the new studio. The walls have a thick, double leaf construction, with properly constructed windows and heavy doors; all designed to isolate Big Sky from its suburban neighbours. Just as you wouldn’t notice the studio from looking at the house, there are no giveaway noises either. www.bigskyaudio.biz
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REGULARS
PC Audio Bug hunting can be frustrating, but it can be rewarding when you finally track down the cause and get it fixed. Column: Martin Walker
Bugs in software or hardware can prove incredibly frustrating, both to the developer and to the end user. When PCs are involved the number of possible permutations of hardware, operating system, DAW, and so on, multiply alarmingly. It’s hardly surprising that occasional bugs slip through the beta testing process. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago after being asked to evaluate some on-line audio tutorials, which in themselves proved to be fine and dandy. However, I was surprised to discover a total of eight minor anomalies with the supplied video player itself after just a couple of hours; such as keyboard shortcuts that didn’t work as described, and progress readouts that didn’t always update correctly. None of these prevented you enjoying and learning from the tutorials, but were certainly a classic example of sloppy programming. Far more problematic are bugs that cause your DAW or indeed your PC to crash, or that corrupt or alter your audio in unexpected ways. I’ve been a software developer myself, so I know just how difficult it can be to totally eradicate bugs, but with my reviewing hat on I’ve also experienced the other side of the coin. Here are a few examples that have crossed my path over the years. MULTICHANNEL MISHAPS
One aspect that’s caught out a few products is forgetting to test thoroughly with both mono and stereo audio signals. So many of us record loads of mono tracks during band projects that developers can also fall into the trap of performing most of their tests with mono files. However, there are times when it’s vital to treat both channels of a stereo signal separately. For instance, I once reviewed a very effective noise reduction plug-in that incorporated a clever auto dynamics mode that altered the attack and release times of the noise reduction to retain the transients while avoiding chirpy artefacts. It worked beautifully on mono tracks, but as soon as I tried it on a stereo file the image wandered about all over the shop. Auto mode turned out to be only coded to the left hand channel, while the right hand channel still relied on the less effective manual settings of the attack/release controls, so each side of the stereo signal was unexpectedly getting different noise AT 40
reduction dynamics. I noticed a related but rather more obvious issue with a rather natty envelope-swept resonant filter plug-in. Similar to the last, it worked beautifully in mono, but the envelope code was hard-wired to the left hand channel so the filter sounded most odd with stereo loops because it completely ignored what was happening on the right channel. In this case, a mono sum of both channels should have been used to create the filter envelope. Both were easy fixes once I’d emailed their respective developers. There was no need for me to point out the bugs, as I’d received and tested the bug-fixed versions before my reviews were published. HARDWARE HICCUPS
Sometimes bug fixes aren’t so easy, especially in the case of hardware. On one audio interface I was sent to review I soon noticed a subtle lack of bass end, and my tests bore this out, the unit measuring a very poor roll-off of -3dB at 45Hz. I passed on my results to the UK distributors, who were adamant that I must have made a mistake, as several hundreds of this interface had already been bought and were out in the field, and two other positive reviews had already been published. The next day they phoned back full of apologies, confirmed my findings, and explained that the designer had inadvertently used suitable interstage capacitor values for a single electronic stage. They had forgotten that the frequency response becomes cumulative when an audio signal passes through multiple electronic stages, each one of them rolled off a little more from both the top and bottom of the spectrum. In this case, the production line had to be halted, all interstage capacitor values increased to extend the bass response, and every interface already in the field had to be recalled and replaced free of charge. Another interface arrived for review with excellent measured frequency response, but a strange high-end anomaly that was most noticeable on hi-hats. This turned out to be the interface drivers, which had inadvertently offset one side of the stereo channel by one sample compared to the other. Thankfully, this was a much easier fix, and an updated software driver arrived within a couple of days to cure the problem.
BUG REPORTING
So what should you do if you think you’ve discovered a bug in one of your PC audio software or hardware purchases? Well, if the problem occurs in your DAW, and the offending project is still running, immediately re-save it (but with a different name, such as MyProject-buggedversion), so that you have something to re-load if further investigation is needed to narrow down the cause. Even a photo of your screen showing the problem may help. The vast majority of developers will be quite happy for you to report a bug directly to them, either personally by official email, or on the most appropriate internet forums (either that pertaining to the DAW itself, or the plug-in manufacturer if you suspect that to be the cause). Do scour the forums first though, as someone else may have already experienced exactly the same problem and reported it, in which case you can confirm it and wait for a fix. Don’t go in full of anger, blame and with accounts of your wasted time — this will just put other people’s backs up, as well as putting the developer firmly on the defensive. If it seems to be a new issue, remain calm, and the most important thing to do next is note down exactly what steps you took that resulted in the bug first appearing, and try to repeat them. This is often the trickiest part, but if you can get the bug to appear in exactly the same way every time by following a list of actions, post this information so that others can try it out. This should confirm if the problem is in the software/hardware itself, or whether it only happens with your particular combination of gear. This combo also needs to be described in full; which version of Windows you’re using, which version of your DAW, and any other aspects that seem relevant. Once a repeatable bug has been confirmed, many developers manage to turn around a fix within a few days, although some may wait so they can include your bug fix within the next software update.
BRING YOUR CREATIVE PROJECT TO LIFE EARN YOUR MASTER OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ALONG THE WAY FIND OUT MORE jmc.academy/masteraudio
jmcacademy.edu.au jmcacademy AT 41
REVIEW
AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-M60X On-Ear Headphones The M60x packages up all the great bits of the M50x in a smaller broadcast-ready package. Review: Mark Davie
NEED TO KNOW
There’s still a lot of debate about exactly how much the pinna of the ear contributes to our sensation of sound, but Audio-Technica’s M50x/ M60x comparison makes for an interesting exercise. The two pairs of headphones have exactly the same low impedance 45mm driver, which provides deep bass and detailed sound over a 15Hz-28kHz frequency range. The main difference between the two is the M50x is over-ear, while the M60x is an on-ear design. Given the similarity of source, it was fascinating how different the two experiences are. In the overears, where your entire ear is part of the listening experience, widely panned sounds felt like they had a bit more space to develop and sounded like they were coming from further afield. Perhaps, simply because the pinna is helping me locate those sounds better? I do have weirdly-shaped ears for on-ear headphones — read, small ears. It turns the M60xs into slightly smaller over-ears, where they sit half over and half on. Still, the sound is less direct on the M50xs, even though the ears pads on the M60xs are technically keeping the drivers further away from my ear canals. Generally, I felt less enveloped in the sound scape of the M60xs. So, why would you want on-ears? Well, there’s a whole host of reasons we need headphones, all to do with purpose. While I love the fold-up design of the M50xs, that’s not always convenient when you need to whip them on and off in a hurry. The main benefit of on-ears is they give you a good mix of isolation and ambient sound. They don’t pump out your audio to your environment like openback headphones, and they also don’t completely close you off to it like over-ears; great for broadcast applications and checking elements in a live scenario without shutting out the mix.
PRICE $299 CONTACT TAG: (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au
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PROS Same drivers as the M50x Metal-centric headband One third of M50x weight Three detachable cables included
The build is also a little more robust than the M50s, which is saying a lot. I’ve owned a few pairs of M50s over the years that have seen tons of abuse. I’ve only lost one pair of M50 daily drivers in that time, and that was when the older plastic foldable part of the original design failed after years of being wrenched in and out of bags. The M60xs don’t fold or rotate the earcups, but the one plastic connection in an otherwise metal-centric construction is also the thickest connecting piece on the headband. It’s almost a third lighter, with a much thinner headband, and it’s a very wearable design with push-pull size adjustment that stays fixed when you want it to. Other than that, you still get all the same great features of the M50x, like three included removable coiled and straight cables, and an affordable price for the level of quality. If you need that balance of direct and ambient sound in your headphones and already appreciate the sound of the estimable M50s, look nowhere else.
BROADCAST GRADE In short order, Audio-Technica has also released the BPHS2 broadcast headset range. The standard version is based on the M60x design, but adds a hyper cardioid dynamic headset mic to the unit. It’s mounted on a rigid boom with a flexible goose neck. There’s also the BPHS2S single-ear variant,
CONS Just standard tradeoffs of on-ear designs
and the BPHS2C, which is a cardioid condenser mic version. All the models come with a 3.3m detachable cable terminated with a TA6F connector at the headset, and 3-pin XLRM and 1/4-inch connectors at the other end. Prices start at $499.
SUMMARY The M60x on-ears have all the same great features as their venerable M50x counterparts — large, efficient drivers, plenty of low end, good detail, detachable cables and an affordable price — just in a different shape.
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REVIEW
KOMPLETE 12 ULTIMATE
Virtual Instrument & Plug-in Suite Just when you think NI can’t possibly add more, Komplete 12 arrives with tonnes of useful sounds and a revamped Kontakt player. Review: Greg Walker
NEED TO KNOW
Anyone who’s recently had their email or bank website ‘revamped and improved’ will tell you that change isn’t always for the better. Along with new features, layouts and graphic design eye candy, major updates can often sabotage long-favoured ways of working, make certain workflows harder to implement and altogether delete features that you thought were irreplaceable. Audio software developers are by no means immune to the latter so it’s always with a combination of excitement and trepidation that most of us embark on major updates to our mission-critical audio programs. My version of Native Instruments’ Komplete
PRICE Select: $299 Standard: $899 Ultimate: $1799 Ultimate Collector’s Edition: $2299 CONTACT CMI Music & Audio: (03) 9315 2244 or info@cmi.com.au
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was getting pretty long in the tooth so I was happy to upgrade to the the newly-released Komplete 12 version and see what new sonic treats were in store. I chose the Ultimate version that includes some interesting new instruments and effects, as well as 20 expansion packs. SIXTH KONTAKT
Native Instruments Komplete with its Kontakt sample player and instrument library system has been the biggest platform in this sector for many years. NI’s reputation for rock-solid coding, the wide variety of great sounding instruments and large field of third-party sound library partners means any upgrade needs to be
PROS New wavetable module utilised to good effect New instruments push into diverse new territory Delay, distortion and modulation plug-ins complement existing suite of excellent signal processors Revamped Kontakt 6 player Plenty of features for instrument builders
carefully implemented, and the company errs on the conservative side in terms of tweaks to its basic platform. The new Kontakt 6 player is a subtly enhanced continuation of previous versions and operates in more or less identical fashion while maintaining the old look. I’m totally fine with this lack of new bells and whistles although the ongoing lack of a GUI re-sizing option will irritate some. While the complexity of new instruments requires ever greater processing power, Kontakt 6 has maintained quick load times and efficient DSP usage. There are improvements to routing and modulation set-ups, new time-stretching and pitch shifting algorithms and the player now
CONS Massive X not available till February 2019 Kontakt player GUI still can’t be resized
SUMMARY A solid update from Native Instruments that adds new wavetable synthesis, a range of highly useable new electronic and acoustic sample-based instruments and new modulation and distortion plug-ins to what was already a rich and deep range of music making tools.
offers a total of 92 built-in effects modules — enough to keep even the twitchiest sonic tweaker happy. Under the hood, new features for instrument builders include a tasty set of delay, reverb and wah effects modules as well as a wavetable synthesis module, script debugging and an Instrument Editor, which can load and run Lua scripts to automap samples, duplicate and batch rename groups, and copy settings from one part of an instrument to another. DIRTY DOZEN
Komplete 12 Ultimate is NI’s upper-mid level package and comes with a pretty epic array of sounds and effects. I’ll focus on the new offerings here but it’s worth noting that all my old favourites in the basic Kontakt Factory Library have survived here as well as key stand-alone compositional, sonic and beatmaking instruments such as Reaktor, Absynth, Guitar Rig, FM8, Battery and Massive. On a slightly odd note for a major upgrade, the new Massive X will not be available till February 2019 and will be a free download for Komplete 12 owners… hopefully it’ll be worth the extra wait. As well as new sample instruments and sound generators there are some new faces in the plug-in effects racks, namely the Mod and Crush Pack effects series. The Mod Pack consist of the Replika XT delay and three modulation plugs (Phasis, Flair and Choral) that offer a pandora’s box of swirling phase, chorus, flange and vibrato effects. The Crush Pack features Dirt, a classic two-stage stomp box-style distortion effect. Bit crushing and digital mangling are taken good care
of by Bite, while Freak offers a range of extreme modulation and frequency shifting effects. All these effects deliver a great degree of tweakability and many sonic possibilities. I find the NI stand-alone plugs to be extremely useful and these are no exception with some really tasty sounds on offer. The suite of audio plug-ins that come with Komplete 12 Ultimate includes EQ, dynamics, reverb, modulation and drive/ saturation plugs and they are quite a formidable set of quality tools for mixing. This probably gets overlooked a little in general discussions about the Komplete packages and is certainly something to bear in mind if you’re considering delving into the NI world for the first time. CHECK YOUR INSTRUMENTS
Amongst the other headliners for the Komplete 12 release are the three new wavetable-based instruments. These all use a simple visual interface that utilises well-curated presets and the ability to blend sounds together in a basic A+B layout. Analogue Dreams delivers pads, leads, basses and percussive tones with a distinct ’80s tinged flavour. Ethereal Earth offers synthetic flutes, gongs and other world-music instruments which have undergone various kinds of digital transformation. These sounds can veer into soundtrack territory and the combination of earthy mids and glassy digital highs is quite effective. Hybrid Keys explores non-standard tonalities based on various acoustic, electric and toy pianos and keyboards and is again an interesting and very playable instrument. These three new AT 45
COLLECT ’EM ALL With version 12 comes a ‘kompletely’ new addition, The Collector’s Edition. In Komplete 12 Ultimate, you get the Symphony Essentials collection, which gives you amazingly detailed string, brass and woodwind ensembles; solo brass and woodwind; and percussion. Each comes with a pre-mixed stereo output. The Symphony Series in the Collector’s Edition gives you full control over the Close, Mid and Far mic samples. There are a number of differences between the Symphony Essentials and Symphony Series depending on the ensemble. The String Ensemble has an Auto Divisi system that automatically distributes notes between sections, and true polyphonic legato and portamento. Brass Ensemble greatly increases the number of available articulations, and time stretches long articulations. Percussion has more than double the amount of recorded instruments.
instruments do a very good job of offering new sounds that feel distinctly modern yet vaguely familiar, while keeping the interface deceptively simple. Expect to hear these new sounds in a lot of film and tv compositions in the next few years as well as on a wide variety of contemporary music styles. String arrangers, beat makers, and keyboardists who want to make guitar sounds won’t feel left out either. Session Pro Strings 2 offers a well articulated 22-piece orchestra with the interface weighted towards rhythmic and melodic phrase looping. There’s a lot of rhythmic options on hand and it’s quite a deep toolset allowing the quick assembly of driving rhythmic beds and complex arpeggios. This is a great tool for creating pace and momentum in string arrangements and the sounds hit the spot nicely. TRK-01 helps solve the problem of getting your kick and bass to play well together. It’s a purpose-built drum and bass engine featuring two independent step sequencers that drive a plethora of kick and bass sounds. The interface offers quick and intuitive sequencing, sound dialling and modulation effects with big punchy bottom end results. This instrument excels at 808 and heavy synth bass-inspired beatmaking and will be at the heart of many a dance and electro track in the coming years. Electric Sunburst is the latest in NI’s quickly growing guitar and bass sample instrument stable AT 46
and offers electric guitar sounds that range from clean country to indie grit to full tilt metal. A bit like Session Strings Pro, there is a deep library of tempo-synced picking patterns to flesh out a rhythm track and get fresh ideas going. There’s a wide range of tweakability here with a lot of control over amp settings, pickup selection and mic placement to keep you busy. Who knew playing electric guitar on a keyboard could be so fun! The new Scarabee Rickenbacker Bass is also worth a mention, giving MIDI-based programmers another classic electric bass option alongside the existing Komplete bass offerings. Thrill also deserves a mention for its kooky X/Y interface and excellent range of atonal and downright scary sounds. Low-budget horror sound designers and soundtrack composers will drool over this, and a little Thrill dropped in under a crescendo definitely raises the stakes in many a musical context. Simply grab your X/Y marker and move it around to explore various blends of orchestral, digital and ambient textures and atonalities. ‘Playing’ the marker is a quick and easy way to generate atmospheric dynamics that would otherwise take hours to build and orchestrate. EXPANDED HORIZONS?
Finally there are the 10 expansion packs which, I have to say, I found a little underwhelming as the focus on contemporary dance, trance and R ’n’ B type sounds wasn’t up my alley. Having said
that, for those working in these specific genres, these packs will hit the spot. Those with Maschine hardware will find a bunch of extra features to unwrap and the packs are great if you want to quickly narrow down your sonic options to fit into a contemporary electronic musical niche. For more inventive writers and producers it’s probably better to assemble your own sounds, and with the Komplete 12 Ultimate package there will never be a shortage of those! The bottom line with the Komplete 12 release is that it continues a slow and steady build of instruments and features. There’s no jaw dropping new look or methodology but the sheer quality and range of sounds and sound engines remains the star attraction. From organic and digital drum kits, exotic world instruments through orchestral samples to retro keys, sampled acoustic and electric guitars, horror soundscapes and bleeding edge digital synths there is something for everyone. While the Komplete universe continues to grow, the basic nuts and bolts of the sample player and library system remain rock-solid and the addition of quick and easy animator modes in many of these instruments helps keep Native Instrument’s platform at the forefront of modern DAW-based music making technology.
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REVIEW
SYNCHRO ARTS REVOICE PRO 4 Vocal manipulation is as much about pragmatism as it is performance. Revoice Pro 4 delivers some tools to keep our vocals moving together in harmony, not just in hard tune.
NEED TO KNOW
Review: Andrew Bencina
PRICE US$599 CONTACT www.synchroarts.com
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PROS APT promotes vocal blending rather than tuning Great for those working with both dialogue & music As many creative applications as there are utilitarian May save you more time during tracking than it does in post
CONS UI lag during parameter editing Not the easiest application to master Things get complicated if you keep your options open
SUMMARY Whether you’re concerned with dialogue replacement, lip sync for music videos, or tightening up a vocal or monophonic line, Revoice Pro 4 offers a range of great sounding pitch and time related processes. For me, it’s the ability to create natural double takes, automated modulation effects, and optimise an ensemble’s blending that shouts above the competitive chorus. Fluency takes time however, and power users will likely choose to run multiple monitors — or accept a life of window hopping.
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When I received my review copy of the fourth edition of Synchro Arts Revoice Pro I must confess I thought I’d be testing a straightforward vocal tuning application. Instead what I found was a hub of time and pitch manipulation for both spoken and sung vocal recordings... along with any other monophonic instrumental sources you choose to throw at it. In the broadest terms, Revoice Pro is an editing and processing multi-track program in which mono and stereo audio tracks are either processed (Dub and Warp tracks), act as analytical sources for control parameters (Guides), or are output as the product of one of these processes. Many tracks will end up being used for dual functions, with some producing new tracks that then act as guides or dubs for another generation of outputs. Alternate audio segments can even be archived in playlists of up to four layers to allow further experimentation. Things can get pretty complicated, if you let them. STANDING ALONE
PreSonus Studio One, Logic Pro X 10.4 and now Cubase 10 users presently have the joy of using the integrated ARA 2 (Audio Random Access) plug-in version of Revoice Pro. The rest will simply experience it as a standalone application. On occasion you may run Revoice on its own during an editing session, but in musical applications it’s more common to run it synchronised alongside your preferred DAW. In standalone mode, Add audio file and Export modes perform as you would expect, along with the ability to save Revoice sessions with associated files. This is particularly convenient for later tweaks. In my case, I used the Revoice Pro Link and Pro Monitor plug-ins to transfer audio from my DAW into the multi-track layout of Revoice, then back again. While not quite automatic, configuring this connection was straightforward and worked as expected. Once a link is enabled, Revoice slaves its playback to the transport of the linked DAW, with a mix of all active tracks fed back to an auxiliary return channel in your main project. Despite the smooth setup I must confess to finding it tedious constantly switching between application windows. Of particular frustration was my instinctive use of the spacebar to stop the track while the Revoice window was in focus. On these frequent occasions the Revoice transport stopped while the rest of the project continued. A dual monitor setup may have helped but a mapped MIDI transport would have been ideal. If you’re prone to combining dense vocal arrangements with a desire for constant edit-ability, it’s worth noting that you’ll soon find yourself with two parallel mixes, running in synced applications. For those of us who fall short of the Chess grandmaster mind state, I’d recommend muting processed channels in Revoice, for necessary revisits, while dragging/exporting files back into your DAW track playlists. You’ll, of course, need to name your Revoice tracks accordingly to keep everything in order. A SHIFT IN FOCUS
If your idea of musical nirvana is a bluegrass quartet huddled around a single microphone then AT 50
I may have lost you at ‘Hello’, but I think Revoice Pro 4 offers some musical options that should appeal to even the most traditional of recordists. Its function revolves around three primary ‘Processes’, launched for configuration by a quick press of B on your keyboard. As an aside here, fluent use of Revoice demands an engagement with its keyboard shortcuts; you simply won’t develop a smooth workflow without them. Once you’ve added/ transported audio into your tracks you begin by selecting either the Audio Performance Transfer (APT), Double or Warp process and configuring the desired source and output tracks. What follows is a further settings dialogue for that specific processing instance. These settings configure either the algorithms used to analyse the pitch and timing of audio, in the case of Warp, or define the processing settings for APT and Double. All can be opened and tweaked at any time. Preset settings can be saved for different applications and shared with other users. While the factory settings were a good starting point, I preferred to refine and store my own settings. In the case of Warp particularly, much of the manual editing workload is defined by how well the algorithm analyses your audio, so it’s worth understanding how these settings are applied. Many of these adjustments result in immediate process updates and in a few cases a resultant lag in fader response was produced on all test systems. While this was described by the incredibly attentive support staff as a known trade off rather than a bug, I think it warrants further attention. The Warp process is where all of your manually applied vocal tuning will be managed. It allows for shifts in both pitch and timing, time stretching and compression, the exclusion of silence, spill and sibilant moments from processing — elements that often produce artefacts in automated processes — and more nuanced adjustment of pitch expression through note transitions, note range and tilt, and the management of vibrato regions; maintaining a singer’s natural pitch modulation in stretched audio. As a long term user of the more basic Melodyne packages I thought Warp sounded great. I did experience a significant learning curve though, and the necessity of shortcuts and key modifiers didn’t ease this transition. There’s no question that it’s these pitch and time correction processes that will most benefit from ARA 2 plug-in implementation within a wider selection of DAWs. Notwithstanding, for those who’ve only used blunt force automatic vocal tuning options I sincerely endorse the more refined control afforded by Revoice Pro. The ability to manipulate and even redraw the curves of note transitions is at times a revelation and reminds you that often what we value is not necessarily perfect pitch, but rather increased control. DOUBLE TAKE
If you invest a lot of time in vocal comping, or work with performers with limited budgets — or attention spans — it’s not uncommon to find yourself short of a suitable double track when you’re up to your neck in a mix. Not surprisingly, the Double process addresses this allowing you to create automatic double tracks by modulating the
pitch and timing of the duplicate. A randomness control adds to the natural variation while a formant shift produces further tonal variation. Extreme settings can be used to achieve a range of very effective chorus effects. Create an extra double with heavier modulation settings and then ride its level in the mix as an accent or to just keep things moving. I found the processing to be equally effective with spoken and sung vocals, and monophonic instrumental parts, and comparisons with recorded doubles were favourable, if different. I could write another entire piece on APT, alone. For me, this is the process that takes Revoice Pro to another level and perhaps more importantly makes it a useful tool for anyone working with music or dialogue. APT analyses the timing, pitch and volume energy of a Guide track and allows you to apply those control sources to a Dub. Each of the three has its own configuration settings and can be enabled or disabled. Protected areas can also be defined within a dub to prevent certain phrases from being warped, and the degree of pitch and timing control can also be automated. Sadly, the volume controls are less switchable and so if your dub has its own solo moments you’ll need to ensure both these and the corresponding guide phrases are edited into unique unprocessed regions. APT clearly owes a great deal to Synchro Arts ADR application VocALign Pro and is incredibly effective at matching spoken passages. I found a use for the Dialog mode on some double tracked rapped vocals and the result was impressive, even when the dub was soloed. While dialogue replacement is an obvious application, I can see many YouTube performers ‘dubbing’ the timing of their preferred audio performances to the guide vocals from the best visuals in order to achieve the best of both worlds. STAYING IN BLEND
When used for musical recordings APT allows you to enhance the holy grail of ensemble performance; blend. I found myself disabling the pitch processing and tightening up both the timing and volume emphasis of harmonies and doubles. Just like my experiences with the manipulation of pitch transitions, the matching of phrasing and level reveals just how important these other elements are. Time can be saved using one tuneful vocal to pitch others and it’s interesting how many interesting moments can be revealed within lesser takes when this process is applied. I also tried a number of experiments, using: poorly recorded but strangely affecting demo vocals as guides to warp later studio recordings; demo harmonies and doubles from producers as guides for a different type of lead singer dub layer; and percussive synth tracks as guides for similarly phrased vocals. I’m sure I’ve just scratched the surface here. A thorough downloadable PDF manual is available but the online help document is easier to navigate and compulsory reading if you hope to get everything out of Revoice Pro 4. I’d definitely prefer to use its tuning functions as an ARA 2 embedded plug-in but hopefully this won’t be too far away for most users. While priced at a professional level, audio demos and a free trial download have been made available to help you make up your mind.
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REVIEW
WALDORF QUANTUM Synthesizer
Waldorf takes a leap forward with a hybrid beast that artfully combines the flexibility and progressiveness of software synths, with the control and character of hardware.
NEED TO KNOW
Review: Jason Hearn
LFOS: There are six LFOs in total. The first three can be tweaked here, the others are found within the menus.
ANALOGUE FILTERS: Dual low-pass filters with 12 and 24dB/oct slope.
DIGITAL FORMER: This versatile DSP block provides drive, gain, comb filters and a comprehensive range of digital filters from Waldorf’s own PPG Wave, Nave and Largo.
OSCILLATORS: Three oscillators per voice can be chosen from four distinct oscillator types: Wavetable, Waveform, Particle and Resonator.
KOMPLEX MODULATOR: A pair of summed curves provides a versatile modulation source for evolving soundscapes.
ENVELOPE SECTION: In total, six ADSR envelopes are are available with the first three having front panel controls.
PRICE $5899 CONTACT Link Audio: (03) 8373 4817 or info@linkaudio.com.au
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PROS Highly flexible oscillators with four very different synthesis techniques Massive 40-slot modulation matrix! Flexibility approaches modular hardware synth but with full recall Most previous Waldorf filters compiled in Digital Former
CONS Some user interface interactions need improvement File management of samples is clunky Arpeggiator behaviour is nonstandard
SUMMARY While most innovations in synthesis are found in the software world, Waldorf shows it can be done in hardware, too. Quantum is a bi-timbral, eight-voice, hybrid digital/ analogue sound design beast that showcases the best of synthesis while adding Waldorf’s now-classic digital fairy dust. Unique in the hardware synth world.
In recent years, it appears hardware synth manufacturers have lost their way. While many have returned to building pure-analogue synths, others are chasing the zeitgeist of DSP emulation based on their ‘greatest hits’ of the past. As much as I love excellent sounding subtractive analogue synths (and emulations), the sound palette is a well-worn shoe. Meanwhile, in the DAW world, soft synths really push the boat out in terms of innovation and sonic variety. While Serum, Omnisphere, Absynth, Razor, and Massive are highly regarded in this sphere, they still do not offer the tactile experience of interacting with a real instrument. Simultaneously, we’ve also witnessed a stampede toward modular synth hardware — proof that musicians are seeking exotic synthesis with the tactility of hardware. The Waldorf Quantum, straddles all three worlds, and is perhaps poised to shake things up! QUANTUM LEAP
Quantum is a bi-timbral, eight-voice hybrid digital/ analogue synth powered by a quad-core ARM processor. It boasts digital oscillators with four synthesis types, sampler functionality, analogue filters and an immense modulation matrix. It has storage for up to a massive 10,000 patches. From the factory, a majority of the first 1500 locations are loaded with creations from a star-studded roster of sound designers. You can browse the memories by either bank, author or user definable attributes. Hand-assembled in Germany, nothing feels built to a price; it feels magnificent in every respect. With full metal construction, 79 chassismounted aluminium knobs (that will last the distance) and a massive colour touch screen, this machine oozes quality. The keybed is a Fatar TP-8 which feels superb to play and has velocity sensitivity and channel aftertouch. Pitch bend and modulation is provided on independent solid metal wheels. The chassis’ solid metal construction is sleek, even incorporating an underside carry handle. Aside from its recessed wooden cheeks, a thoroughly modern aesthetic is at play — it feels like a 2018 star ship has landed in the studio. SAMPLE-FUELED OSCILLATORS
Although downplayed, Quantum is actually a sampler with 4GB of flash storage. Samples can be imported from SD card, recorded from the rear stereo input or by resampling itself. Its sample playback functions are comparable with a traditional sampler with velocity/key range mapping and round-robin triggering however don’t expect to wrangle massive multi-sampled pianos and drum kits in this machine — that’s not the intention! Audio samples merely provide the fuel to be exploited by the oscillators in more creative ways. THIS OSCILLATOR UNIVERSE
The oscillator section has vast potential for creative sound design and is Quantum’s ace in the hole. A single voice has three stereo oscillators and each can employ any of four synthesis modes. Wavetable mode comes preloaded with over
80 wavetables covering a diverse range of spectral movements with the display providing a visuallyrich means of exploration. Wavetable position, travel, spectrum and brilliance can be set to static values or easily modulated. Select from six different travel modes to scrub through wavetables. To inject drive and crunchy artefacts, wavetables can play back either Harsh or Dirty. You can create your own wavetables by analysis of samples or even a speech synthesis function (type in a phrase and it will render a wavetable of synthetic speech). Build your personal wavetable library by importing and exporting via load/save functions. Waveform mode generates rich-sounding virtual analogue waveforms with sawtooth, sine, triangle, square, and noise (pink or white) on offer. These waves can be further shaped in a continuous fashion using a warp parameter. Additional virtual copies can be invoked in the form of kernels, up to eight deep, which may be detuned for massive unison sounds within a single oscillator. Pitch drift can be introduced yielding convincing emulation of wavering analogue circuits. A virtual hard sync function provides additional overtones based on the amount of transpose you set.
You won’t find another synth offering anything similar in the hardware world
If you’re a super-saw seeker, consider this. All three oscillators can each be in Waveform mode, each having eight detuned kernels. Not enough? In the Layer settings page you can invoke pure mayhem by generating a unison stack with eight detuned voices of the above, heaping up a crazy 192 simultaneous detuned kernels. Particle mode plays samples either in a traditional sampler player or Granular mode. If you’re considering a Quantum, Granular mode is of greater interest! After activating Granular mode, up to eight grains are available. Different travel modes can be engaged, and the pitch, length and amplitude shape of the grains can be tailored to an immense variety of sonic textures from even simple sample material. In particular, I found much inspiration by importing vocal stems from current DAW projects and twisting them into huge fluffy pads. The particle oscillator’s Granular mode also has a live stereo input function — it can granulate incoming audio in real-time! This can then elicit all manner of sonic fodder to capture using the resampling capability. The Resonator mode generates tones based on an exciter signal which passes through a band-pass filter bank. The exciter signal can be an impulse
noise, or any sample in memory. Resonator produces sounds ranging from basic plucky basses and strum-like sounds through to ethereal belllike pads and organic, crusty alien pianos. This oscillator type is extremely versatile and invites experimentation. From my own experiments I found it to be the gateway to adding an exotic layer of spice to my patches. My only critique of the oscillators is that the tuning range for all types is restricted to a range of only ±24 semitones. ±48 semitones would befit the creative versatility on offer elsewhere. MODULATION STATION
Armed with six LFOs capable of audio rate speeds (up to 100Hz), even the most demanding modulation freak will be satisfied. Six waveshapes, including sample-and-hold, are available. When synced to the global tempo, speeds as slow as 1024 bars are possible (sadly, very few synths do this). A local AD envelope shape can be applied providing convenient fade ins/outs. A Slew function at extreme values will turn LFOs from BiPolar to Unipolar. LFOs may be further shaped by a Warp function, with all LFO parameters available for modulation. Quantum’s six envelopes are the traditional ADSR fair supplemented with two looping modes. The first three are routed to the filters and the amp section, the remaining three, freely routable. While viewing the envelope screen, the on-screen graph shows a useful animation of each voice following the path of the envelope shape. The curve type can be altered independently for the Attack, Decay and Release stages. An EnveloperVar parameter introduces random fluctuations to the Attack and Decay times to simulate drifty analogue circuits. A delay function is provided, however, it is set only in time and thus is not syncable to the master clock. While the envelopes are fine for most purposes, it would be great if Waldorf ’s own Blofeld envelopes (most notably its famed ADSDSR mode and looping functions) were eventually included in future updates. Need a touch more chaos? Enter the Komplex Modulator. A pair of summed curves (variably crossfadable) with up to 32 steps allow you to carve shapes directly on the touch screen using your finger. These curves may have an independent number of steps, with each step having various transition modes (Linear, Step, Cosine, Saw and Curve). A Warp function can be engaged to further shape the output and Entropy adds random fluctuations (perfect for creating organic sounding soundscapes and drones). If this isn’t enough, the 32-step note sequencer within the Performance section provides four additional sources which can be freely routed throughout the synthesis engine. The expression pedal input on the rear also comes into play if you happen to have an expression pedal handy. Eurorack owners will be pleased to know this input is voltage-compatible with modulation sources in your system. Having this bounty of modulation sources on tap would be a crime without a decent modulation AT 53
EFFECTS CHAMBER
Hand-assembled in Germany, this machine oozes quality
matrix to exploit it. Press the MOD page button and you’re greeted by a massive 40 modulation slots eclipsing all expectations. Any source can be mapped to any almost any destination parameter throughout the engine. All slots can be multiplied/scaled via a secondary source providing conditional modulations which can be invoked by expression controls, however, only one per slot. Notable destinations include switching between Wavetables, most envelope parameters and even most parameters in the Effects section. My only critique is that the sheer number of sources and destinations is laborious to scroll through (#firstworldproblems) and abbreviations are not as intuitive as you’d hope. I’m hoping a hierarchical menu could be implemented in future updates. FILTER FACTORY
Quantum features a superb-sounding analogue filter section comprising dual low-pass filters with 12 and 24dB/octave slopes as well as saturated versions. These filters can run with either independent cut-off/resonance settings or in modes where they are coupled and offset in different ways. It’s worth noting that signals hitting the analogue filters are summed to mono (stereo output would require double the filter circuits). In addition to the analogue filters, there is a Digital Former block. This is the opportunity to add drive and grit (drive, gain and bitcrusher), contort sounds via comb filters or further shape sounds using a wide array of digital filters. Waldorf has a long-established reputation for coding excellent digital filters and these are no exception! These algorithms are sourced from Waldorf ’s own lineage — the virtual version of its PPG Wave, Largo (the software version of Blofeld) and the recent Nave software-based wavetable synth. Where appropriate, the full complement of pole options and HP/BP/Notch/LP are on offer. Digital Former provides stereo input/output so if you’ve coaxed substantial stereo movement from the oscillator section, the filters in the Digital Former block will preserve those effects. The Routing page allows insertion of the Digital Former block pre/post the Dual Analogue Filter block or it can run in parallel to the analogue filters. Unusually, the Routing page is where Ring Modulation is introduced into the signal path. By this point, forward-thinking sound designers should be salivating at the possibilities of ringmodulating sample-based particle cloud oscillators against each other or Wavetables. AT 54
Rather than a feature-clipped afterthought, the effects section offers reasonable sophistication. Five simultaneous effects blocks are available (with physical controls for the first three) and eight effects algorithms are on offer (phaser, chorus, flanger, delay, reverb, EQ, drive and compressor). I couldn’t find a means to change the routing of each FX block — they appear to be routed permanently in series. The delay benefits from 10 control parameters and syncs to external clock. It’s evident a tape-style algorithm is in play when tweaking times for the delay taps. Although the reverb offers only four parameters for control (gain, time, colour and pre-delay) it sounds lush and smooth without metallic ringing artefacts. With its time parameter at maximum, the reverb tail is infinite. The chorus effect sounds particularly sweet with up to eight stages, 10 parameters to tweak and a nifty onscreen animation showing the behaviour of each stage. For adventurous sound designers the news is good — modulation hooks are sprinkled everywhere throughout the effect parameters! The only missed opportunity here is modulation of the phaser’s centre-point. HANDY ADDITIONS
A local preset system is available for many of the modules within Quantum, providing useful starting points for rapid sound creation. Since you can save your own presets, you can also build your own libraries of favourite settings. In the absence of a function to copy oscillator settings from one to another, this preset function provides a useful workaround. The front panel knob LEDs have functionality beyond simple eye candy. They are colour-coded to reflect oscillator types and are used to indicate modulation sources and destinations when making assignments using the Mod button. On the Global page, a Scope tab provides a realtime waveform display or FFT analysis. The input source can be tapped from the main outputs or can probe different module outputs within the synth. The Pitch tab unlocks Quantum’s microtuning function. Various temperaments are preloaded which may be augmented by manually entering your own scale tunings or by importing SCALA files. For musicians working outside of Western scales, this feature will be very welcome. In the bottom left hand corner of the display, a series of eight meters show voice activity by default. Tapping on it reveals a menu providing options for it to display either a scope, analysers (lin/log) and even a useful MIDI monitor showing outgoing and incoming traffic. PERFORMANCE SECTION
Pressing the Perform button accesses four pages of performance features. A key feature for live performers will be the Favourites function, which provides rapid access to six sets of 20 patches with each set presented as a 4 x 5 touch-matrix. There are 31 patterns on offer on the Arpeggiator page
that extend well beyond traditional arpeggiation. The sequencer provided up to 32 steps in addition to lanes for velocity and gate, and four other parameter lanes which appear as sources within the modulation matrix. Entering notes is a doddle: activate record mode, enter the notes you want in sequence and turn it off again. The module preset function also allows you to build a library of step sequences for use in other patches. Thankfully, each patch stores step sequence data locally rather than linking to a shared library. For TB303-inspired sequences, notes can be tied or rested using the touch screen. The Modulation Pad feature provides an onscreen Kaoss-Pad inspired means of generating control data for the modulation matrix. Each axis can independently function in either BiPolar or UniPolar mode, and a momentary mode can be engaged. You can attach as many destinations as you desire to each axis. EARLY FIXES
Whilst this review was conducted with Firmware 1.2.1 installed, I have little doubt Waldorf has many refinements in store for the Quantum. Some aspects of the user interface would benefit refinement. The physical save button requires you to touch a second button onscreen. Pressing the hardware button twice would be more intuitive. The key-tops of the onscreen QWERTY keyboard used for naming entities is too thin. I found text entry to be error-prone, even when taking care. Quantum would benefit immensely from appearing as a USB mass-storage class device when attached to a computer via USB (currently, only MIDI functionality is provided). This would allow drag-n-drop import/export of files (rather than shuffling an SD card back and forth) and a better means of managing files within the internal flash storage. Editing samples on the unit is a touch primitive currently. There is no means to zoom the waveform display in and out when editing start/end points, no zero-snap function and no normalisation function. I suspect most users will perform indepth sample preparation on their DAWs first, then import them via SD Card A SOUND DESIGNER’S DREAM
Quantum is an unashamedly digital-sounding synth capable of a wide palette of sounds. If you’re looking for an inspiring instrument capable of the most esoteric sound design capabilities around, it won’t disappoint you in any respect. It’s flexible, clever and will take several years for even the most demanding sound designer to exhaust its possibilities. The fact that it doesn’t attempt to reiterate vintage designs in any way is completely refreshing. While it’s priced at the top end of the scale, you won’t find another synth offering anything similar in the hardware world. Quantum wins pole position in my ‘must buy’ list. I just have to move a few things on first.
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