Issue 24 • November 2009
LIVE • COMMERCIAL • RECORDING • BROADCAST
www.audioprointernational.com
Love Hertz Ray Staff discusses the problems of MP3s and simply being too loud
STUDIO MICS • ABLETON LIVE • JOHN SAUNDERS • POST PRODUCTION
ISSUE 24 November 2009
CONTENTS > IN THIS ISSSUE NEWS OHM’S 30TH • 6 The UK loudspeaker firm turns 30
TL AUDIO AWARDED • 6 VTC and Fatman win British Invention awards
PLASA AND ESTA • 8 UK and US trade bodies sign Letter of Intent to Merge
MPG SUPPORTS RNID • 8 The Guild signs up to save hearing
EVENTS EVENTECH IRELAND • 11 Scattered Media rents out the RDS for the second year to showcase the best of Ireland’s pro audio business
AES NYC REVIEW • 12 News and new products from the society’s 127th show
LIVE SOUND/INSTALLATION JOHN SAUNDERS • 18 A spotlight on the leading UK production company
HOT RATS • 21 Gavin McComb on his iLive-80
ABLETON LIVE • 24 What the DJ-inspired software has to offer to live and studio engineers
STUDIO/BROADCAST STUDIO MICS • 31 The latest in studio microphone technology
COVER FEATURE RAY STAFF • 39 Fighting the battle against loudness
SCOTT SOLTER • 42 The US indie engineer explains the real deal
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> Regulars: Behind the Board 45 In Session 46 People 48 Products 50 Marketplace 53 Mixdown 56
EDITORIAL
I
t is very exciting to announce the winners of the very first Audio Pro Excellence Awards (page 4). It has been a labour of love collecting the hundreds of nominations and votes, and it has opened up a rewarding dialogue with our very intelligent and passionate readers as we found out what the industry really thinks. Working on the awards reminded us of the fervour that so many in the pro audio business have for their work. It was very satisfying to talk to people who care about the quality of audio and dedicate their lives to perfecting their work, while constantly pushing the boundaries of invention and innovation. Those in the business who really care about their craft are contributing to the noble pursuit of constantly improving the audio we hear on recordings, in live venues and at concerts, and bringing joy to the ears of the world. We were also fortunate enough to interview three great engineers this month: Air Mastering’s Ray Staff (page 40), US recording engineer Scott Solter (page 42) and Hot Rats FOH man Gavin McComb – all masters of their trades and great people. Solter came from the San Francisco’s underground scene and has gone on to imprint his ideas on great American indie records, many on the legendary Merge record label. McComb cut his teeth in the Oxford scene working as a backline manager for bands such as Radiohead and Supergrass and eventually moved from the back of the stage to the front of the house and now mixes Supergrass and Hot Rats, as well as working as a production manager for Radiohead’s massive world tours. The name Ray Staff needs no introduction, as he has influenced mastering engineers the world over with his work on Black Sabbath and The Clash. It is getting to meet these types of great people and interacting with our great readers through the awards process that keeps us from bagging it all in and selling insurance for a living.
Andrew Low - Editor andrew.low@intentmedia.co.uk A bookmark us in your phone
mobile.audioprointernational.com Contacts for Audio Pro International Editorial: +44 (0)1992 535646 Ads: +44 (0)1992 535647 Fax: +44 (0) 1992 535648 Editor: Andrew Low andrew.low@intentmedia.co.uk Deputy Editor: Rob Hughes rob.hughes@intentmedia.co.uk Advertising Manager: Darrell Carter darrell.carter@intentmedia.co.uk Editorial Production: Helen French helen.french@intentmedia.co.uk Ad Production: Rosie McKeown rosie.mckeown@intentmedia.co.uk
Subscriptions Manager: Hannah Short hannah.short@intentmedia.co.uk Designer: Claire Brocklesby claire.brocklesby@intentmedia.co.uk Managing Editor: Andy Barrett mipro@intentmedia.co.uk Publisher: Dave Roberts dave.roberts@intentmedia.co.uk
> NEWS
And the winners are… The industry has spoken and the winners of the 2009 Audio Pro Industry Excellence Awards have finally been revealed… A JUDGING PANEL of over 100 industry experts and executives, including some of the most respected figures in the business, have cast their votes and Audio Pro International can now reveal the winners of its 2009 Industry Excellence Awards. (Please see separate box for a full breakdown). The 2009 Industry Excellence Awards was a virtual ceremony and, in place of a formal event, each stage of the process was covered through the pages of Audio Pro and online at www.audioprointernational.com. The awards were subject to a transparent, voluntary voting procedure and the Audio Pro International team picked five finalists per category; industry-wide voting then decided the 15 worthy winners.
Winners include U2’s monumental 360° tour handled by Clair, which scooped Best Live Sound Event. The award for Best Live Sound Engineer went to Gary Bradshaw for his work on the recent Take That tour, as well as his historic skills at FOH with Depeche Mode and Pink Floyd. Other big winners in the Live & Installed Sound category include Digico, which took the gong for Best New Live Sound Product with its ground breaking SD8, and Red Square Audio which proved to be the industry’s favourite new live sound company by some distance. In the Studio & Broadcast Sound category, Avid Digidesign stormed away with Best New Studio Product for its industry-leading DAW Pro
Tools 8, while Best New Company went to Rupert Neve Designs, which has spent its formative years developing a coveted line of gear that combines modern and classic designs. An Abbey Road engineer of 17 years, Haydn Bendall was the clear winner of Best Studio Engineer after his peers came out in force to vote for him. It was perhaps the Lifetime Achievement Award that was the most anticipated of all and it gave us great pleasure to be able to present this to the legendary musician, songwriter and engineer Peter Gabriel, whose positive influence throughout the industry has proven unrivalled. Gabriel is known for his work with Genesis in the band’s early days, as well as hugely successful records under
his own name, his involvement with Solid State Logic and Real World Studios and the pioneering of digital distribution methods for music. Audio Pro International’s editor, Andrew Low, commented: “It has been really fantastic to see the enthusiasm generated by the first Audio Pro Industry Excellence Awards. Our aim from the outset was to provide a true representation of our industry’s opinions and achievements and I think we’ve succeeded. Many thanks to all our readers for their submissions, to our judges for their votes and the heartiest of congratulations to all the winners”
The winners and what they had to say LIVE & INSTALLED SOUND Best Live Sound Event Clair for U2 360° tour Most Innovative Installation Delta Sound for The Atrium, Westfield Best New Live Sound Product Digico for SD8 Best New Installation Product Lab.gruppen for C 88:4 Best Live Sound Engineer Gary Bradshaw Best After-Sales Support Midas Consoles Best New Company Red Square Audio
STUDIO & BROADCAST SOUND Best New Studio Product Avid Digidesign for Pro Tools 8 Best Studio Engineer Haydn Bendall Best Broadcast Sound CTV Outside Broadcasts for Brit Awards 2009 Best New Studio Black Rock Studios Most Original Studio Initiative Metropolis Group Best After-Sales Support Audio-Technica Best New Company Rupert Neve Designs Lifetime Achievement Award Peter Gabriel
“
We're grateful to Joe O'Herlihy, Jake Berry and the production team and to the entire 360 audio crew for helping to make this happen. It's an honour to be associated with a group that has enjoyed a rare combination of popularity, a welldeserved longevity and a willingness to take risks technologically. It's been great to grow together. Greg Hall, senior director of touring, Clair
”
Avid is proud to have received Audio Pro International magazine’s Best New Studio Product award for Pro Tools 8. Winning this award is a great honour and we’d like to thank all of the people who have helped make Pro Tools the most powerful, advanced and innovative audio recording solution out there by using it every day. Paul Foeckler, VP, Avid Creative
NEWS <
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What can I say – it’s just really nice when the industry recognises your achievements, because very often they go unnoticed. You might get the odd competitor saying: ‘wow, they’re doing all right’, but that’s about it. We’ve had an absolutely fantastic year and, especially in the current climate with people talking doom and gloom, to have new products and lots of orders is very gratifying Dave Webster, marketing director, Digico
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We are absolutely shocked and elated at winning this coveted award, which all comes down to the passion, creativity and hard work of all involved at Metropolis; thank you to everyone who nominated and voted for us. Ian Brenchley, MD, Metropolis Group
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We were absolutely delighted to receive this award from Audio Pro International for Best Broadcast Sound. The CTV Outside Broadcasts sound team, in partnership with our friends and colleagues from Britannia Row and Richmond Studios, has continued to push the envelope with this long running and prestigious live TV event. The award is made all the more significant by the fact that it is voted for by industry sound professionals. Ian Bill Morris, Brit Awards technical manager, CTV outside broadcasts
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Miloco humbly accepts this great award in recognition of the excellence of Black Rock and we hope to see you all there soon. Richard Woodruff, Miloco Studio Group
“ ”
We were both surprised and delighted to win the Audio Pro Best New Company of the Year award. It’s been an amazing ten months establishing Red Square Audio and we’re really pleased to be working with such a great group of manufacturers and strategic partners. We’re extremely proud to be representing what we believe are the very best products in their respective categories and offering the industry true, world-class solutions. This award vindicates our strategy, so I guess we must be doing something right. Our thanks go out to everyone for their support and enthusiasm and to all the judges who voted for us. Paul Nicholson, MD, Red Square Audio
We were extremely pleased to learn of Audio Technica's award for Best After-Sales Support in the Broadcast & Studio category. It's very gratifying to have the effort that we put into staff customer service training – and initiatives like our Lifetime Warranty on the 40 series studio mics – are noticed and appreciated. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for us in the API Awards, and indeed to the magazine for instigating a wellconceived and meaningful awards competition and we look forward to the challenge of retaining the crown in future. Harvey Roberts, senior marketing manger, Audio Technica
> NEWS
PAGE 16
PAGE 40
PAGE 42
Audio Technica AT4022 review
Interview with Allen & Heath’s Glenn Rogers
Scott Solter talks sonic attitude
30 years of Ohm-grown audio Brtitish loudspeaker manufacturer looks back on three decades of sound acheivements in the industry OHM CELEBRATES 30 years in the business this year and the company has been looking back on its multitudinous achievements over the decades. The firm was started by bass player Jo Olenski, who played in numerous pro bands in the Manchester area in the 60s. Having briefly worked part-time for what Ohm refers to as a ‘citrus coloured’ amplifier manufacturer, Olenski decided to set up his own factory to produce quality speaker cabinets. Many well known companies had cabinets made for them by Ohm in those early days including Calsbro, Martin Audio, Mission, Celestion, HH, Bell and Dynacord. The 70s and early 80s saw Ohm produce some very popular backline gear, some of which still exists, commanding high prices on internet auction sites. Ohm became the first company to introduce graphic eq bi-
amp bass systems, utilising multiple ten-inch speakers, which were copied by several others. Parametric equalisers and kick-proof grills on guitar amplifiers were another first. Alan Price, the Smiths, Buzzcocks and Aerosmith are a few of the bands that toured with Ohm amps. In 1983 the company moved to a purpose built factory and its cabinet building for both backline and PA continued along with a range of 19inch rack-mounted amplifiers and the start of the production line for Ohm speaker drivers. During the late 80s the emphasis was still on live sound, with acts such as Status Quo, Paul Young and Black Sabbath using Ohm PA systems in various parts of the world. The 90s saw the onset of superclubs and the rise of the Smakstak for Ohm, which found a home in venues such as the Bizness on Blackpool’s Golden Mile, at a time when the
OHM’s Smakstak at the Bizness in 1992
seaside resort was a big pull for clubbers. An installation at the 4,300capacity Syndicate followed and in the run-up to the millennium, Ohm strove to be truly international. Today, over 25 countries have exclusive distribution and the firm has three overseas manufacturing facilities.
TLA honoured for UK Invention Show VTC wins a gold award for industrial design, while Fatman scoops a diamond award Diamonds and Gold: TLA’s Tony Larkin strikes a pose at the event, where his companies took numerous awards
THE NINTH annual British Invention Show, held in October, saw TL Audio presented with five awards. The flagship TL Audio console, the VTC, won the Gold Award for industrial design. The patented VTC design combines traditional valve circuitry with modern discrete transistor circuitry, thus providing users with low noise, wide frequency response and tube saturation for recording and mix down. 6
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The award comes ten years after it was first introduced to the market. The console is still entirely handmade at the company’s Hertfordshire factory in the UK. TLA’s sister consumer electronics brand, Fatman, won the prestigious Diamond Award. Fatman takes the hybrid philosophy (transistors and valve circuitry) and applies it to manufacturing high-end tube amplifiers, with iPod docking stations, integrated to bring warmth
Ohm now has major markets in Europe, India and the Far East, with India being a key market since 1999, under the management of Harness Overseas and many of the new hotels and nightclubs there are equipped with Ohm products. > ohm.co.uk
New APRS Sound Fellowships Six new recipients awarded at luncheon
and the analog sound back to the digital world. The designs have been acclaimed by T3, What Hifi, Stuff, and now BIS. The overall winner of the event was Chew Kean Khoon from the University Sains Malaysia for a synthetic bone replacement material that can be injected into a patient’s problem area after a break or orthopedic surgery to greatly reduce healing time to as little as a few days.
THE ANNUAL APRS Sound Fellowship Lunch, hosted by Sir George and Lady Martin in October, saw the recognition of six new APRS Sound Fellowships. Recipients of the fellowship are: Bob Clearmountain – prominent US producer and pro-audio manufacturer; Phil Dudderidge – pro-audio equipment marketer, founder of Soundcraft and developer of Focusrite/Novation; Peter Gabriel – artist, composer, innovator, studio owner and world music campaigner; Trevor Horn – label and studio owner and legendary producer of Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Seal; Robin Millar – producer, studio owner, campaigner and producer representative; Steve Lillywhite – exceptional and prolific UK producer of U2 and the Rolling Stones. The celebration also saw the inauguration of a new keynote address known as the Harewood Toast. The introduction of the toast to the proceedings is designed to provide an opportunity for a prominent member of the music, film and TV businesses to speak about the relationship they have with the studios and service providers that make their products.
> tlaudio.co.uk
> aprs.co.uk www.audioprointernational.com
> NEWS
Neutrik wins 2009 Audio Industry Regatta Evening at the Royal Southampton Yacht Club raises over £1,500 for the Elizabeth Foundation
NEUTRIK HAS won the 2009 Audio Industry Regatta, held recently at the Royal Southampton Yacht Club. This year saw a change of format for the Regatta, with a treasure hunt replacing the usual ‘round the cans’ racing. This was fortuitous, as the day was completely wind-free, with the Gemini boat registering two knots in reverse when its sails were up.
Instead of the usual physical exhaustion from sailing, it was mental exhaustion for the crews as the boats had to motor to chart coordinates and answer cryptic clues to several questions at each mark. One of the last questions was how many lifeboats are on the starboard side of the Queen Mary II, which was planned to be in port until 6pm, giving time for the competitors
to do the count on their way back to the RSYC. The photo shows the Neutrik boat chasing after Queen Mary II to count the lifeboats after the cruise liner had left the harbour an hour ahead of schedule. The evening dinner at the Royal Southampton Yacht Club raised over £1,500 for AIR's chosen charity, the Elizabeth Foundation,
PLASA proposes merger UK association signs letter of intent with American trade body PLASA AND the Entertainment Services & Technology Association (ESTA) of North America have signed a letter of intent to merge the two bodies. The merger will be aimed at uniting the pair as a single association to establish a stronger voice for their respective members, enhancing existing initiatives and expanding the range of benefits and services. The result of the merger will be an industry-wide membership network of over 1,100 dealers, manufacturers, installers, service providers and consultants operating and unified under the PLASA name. This will also include members of PERA – the Production Equipment Rental Association – whose members work across the film, video and broadcast industries and which recently merged with ESTA body. Both the ESTA board of directors and the PLASA executive committee, which voted on the proposal this summer, will formally 8
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which helps profoundly deaf children and their families. The Audio Industry Regatta (formerly the DAMMSTY weekend) is a sailing weekend held over two days for experienced and inexperienced sailors alike. The emphasis is placed firmly on having fun, with prizes awarded for winning races and doing it with style. > air-online.co.uk
MPG gives its support to the RNID Guild to hold fundraising raffle at awards
Merging: PLASA’s Matthew Griffiths and ESTA’s Lori Rubinstein
recommend the move to their respective memberships, subject to due diligence being completed successfully, during the spring/summer of 2010. If both memberships approve, the first stage of the merger will be completed by December 2010. PLASA assures members that the planned merger will not lead to any immediate changes and the direct priority for the ESTA and PLASA teams will be to continue to
best serve the joint membership. ESTA president Bill Groener and PLASA chairman Rob Lingfield both back the merger and see it as a significant and essential move for members of both organisations, who they believe will benefit from having a much strengthened representative body safeguarding their interests.
THE UK Music Producers Guild (MPG) has chosen RNID as its official charity and will be actively supporting its Don’t Lose The Music Campaign by holding a fundraising raffle at its 2010 Awards. The campaign aims to raise awareness among 4,000,000 young people in the UK who are at risk – often unknowingly – of hearing damage because they regularly listen to music at unsafe sound pressure levels. Music Producers Guild chairman Steve Levine said: “Everyone involved in the making or recording of music understands the importance of protecting their hearing, because without accurate
hearing we wouldn’t be able to do our jobs. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of many of our young people, who are putting their hearing at risk of permanent damage by listening to music that is simply too loud. “There are ways in which it can be prevented. As responsible professionals, we want to help the RNID because we think it is important to make young people aware of the issue.” Emma Harrison, RNID director of external affairs, added: “We are delighted to be associated with the Music Producers Guild. It’s great to have backing from music industry heavyweights.” > mpg.org.uk
> plasa.org > esta.org www.audioprointernational.com
EMI Music Publishing London with VTC 48 channel console
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EVENTECH EVENT PREVIEW<
EvenTech Ireland November 17th – 18th, Industries Hall, Dublin
Shamrock n roll EvenTech Ireland’s birthday cake may only boast a solitary candle, but it sure is a brightly burning one. Rob Hughes puts his party hat on for the 2009 show… s the doors to the inaugural EvenTech Ireland closed last November, there was no shortage of happy customers, with several companies, including big players RCF and Yamaha, expressing positive reactions. This month, organiser Scattered Media will be hoping for a repeat performance, which is absolutely within reach, since not only are the majority of last year’s exhibitors returning in 2009, but a host of first-timers have also signed up for space to show off their wares. So far the exhibitor list includes the likes of Audio Technica, JBL, RSS, K-array, Lab.gruppen, Crown, Sennheiser Ireland, Powersoft, Neutrik, RCF, Yamaha Commercial Audio and many more. Explaining the company’s decision to exhibit again in 2009, Yamaha’s Karl Christmas says: “For Yamaha, the first EvenTech show in Dublin was a great opportunity to meet a large number of audio professionals who wouldn't normally travel to other EU shows or events. It was refreshing to find such a
A
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It was refreshing to find such a high level of commitment towards audio technology. Karl Christmas Yamaha
high level of commitment towards audio quality and the embracing of new technologies.” Other companies such as CUK Audio and Trantec have stressed the importance of the Irish market to their businesses and noted that EvenTech has enabled them to strike deals, establish relationships and create partnerships that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. For KV2 Audio, EvenTech demonstrated the significance of the Irish market to such an extent that it prompted the firm to appoint a dealer in the region. Several key industry associations have also recognised the benefit that the regional aspect of the forum brings to the sector. The Institute of Sound and Communication Engineers, the Association of Irish Stage Technicians, the Production Services Association and the Association of Lighting Designers have all confirmed their support and involvement for the show.
Organisations such as the ISCE will be contributing to the educational aspect of the show, which this year is being treated with the utmost importance, as Scattered Media’s Darren Brechin explains: “Since the successful launch of EvenTech Ireland we have been canvassing opinions among the entire industry – from manufacturers, distributors, dealers, industry associations and the press right through to the end user – to determine how we can best improve. “One topic that continually raised its head in our discussions with the industry was that of education and, as a result of these discussions, we have now put education at the top of our priority list for ensuring EvenTech Ireland 2009 is as successful as it possibly can be in generating an allencompassing industry event that covers all aspects of the entertainment and installation technology sectors.”
> AES EVENT REVIEW Jacob K Javits Center October 9th-12th
A New York vibe The 127th AES Convention in New York City saw visitors and exhibitors begin to shed their credit crunch fears and make way for a strong and optimistic pro audio industry. Audio Pro takes a look at what went down on the Javits Center floor… LASA 09 was the beginning of a more positive vibe coming from pro audio professionals and since then the industry has reported a lift in activity and a generally positive financial forecast. Hosting 18,162 visitors, the 127th AES Convention, held at the Javits Center in NYC, had a similar vibe, with the show organiser stating the show represented a “harbinger of the return of a healthy, optimistic pro audio industry”. Piers Plaskitt, CEO of SSL, furthers: “We had a level of trepidation going to shows this year because of the world economy. The AES Convention, however, exceeded our expectations by delivering a wide range of prospects from decisionmakers to students. Our booth was busy from start to finish.” British microphone brand, Sontronics also reported a good show. “We always enjoy AES,” says Sontronics founder and MD Trevor Coley, “as it gives us a chance to meet the people behind the music. Once again, we’ve met many engineers, producers and educators who are either already using our microphones or have heard a lot about them and want to get hold of them.” Another attention grabber at the show came when Sontronics’ North American distributor, FDW Worldwide, announced that it has relaunched as a completely independent distributor. “The relaunch of FDW and the increased media interest in the company has created a lot more attention for our mics and preamps,” states Coley. “We’re now inundated
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FACT FILE Venue: Jacob K Javits Center, NYC Date: October 9th-12th Visitors: 18,162 Verdict: The US version of
the AES show remains a strong contender in the trade show calendar as over 18,000 industry professionals eagerly flocked to the Javits Center for 2009’s event.
with enquiries from studios that want to test-drive and buy the mics, and from existing users who just want to tell us how much they already enjoy our microphones.” Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems launched its ‘Rolling Showroom’ (pictured below) at the Javits, which is a 53-foot doubleexpanding trailer. The trailer will make appearances across the US and Canada at select national and regional tradeshow events and Yamaha Commercial Audio Training Sessions (YCATS). Designed with Cat6 infrastructure, to support various digital audio networks, the rolling showroom is a mobile demonstration/showroom trailer featuring Yamaha PM5D, M7CL and LS9 digital consoles, TXn amplifiers and NXAmps, DME processors, SB168-ES Stage Box units, AD8HRs, NAI48ES units, the new MY16-AUD card by Audinate, as well as other Yamaha Commercial Audio products. A separate speaker demo room has also been created in the truck to provide a listening area for products from both the Yamaha and Nexo speaker lines. “We created the truck to give Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems a large, but complete, presence at smaller events,” states Marc Lopez, the marketing manager of Yamaha Commercial Audio. “The truck has been in development for several years, and we found it especially
fitting to officially launch our new baby at this year's AES show.” Always a launching pad for new product innovations, the show saw the introduction of Soundcraft’s new Vi2 digital control surface. The company has stated that the Vi2 inherits all the basic functionality of the Vi4 and Vi6, but measures half the size of a Vi6. The Vi2 is equipped with one channel section of eight input faders and a master section, which holds eight faders. The console can handle as many inputs as a Vi4 or Vi6 (72 and 96 channels, respectively) using the standard stagebox and local rack hardware, with access to eight inputs at a time on the channel bay. By simply touching the input meters on the Vistonics screen of the master section, control of those inputs is brought onto the channel faders. All the channel functions, such as eq, auxes and groups can also be accessed from this screen. The Vi2’s show files are fully compatible with Vi4 and Vi6 consoles, and also with the Virtual Vi offline editing software. Another highlight of the show included the release of several new Tascam products, including the HSP82, an eight-track location sound recorder, the US-2000, a 16-channel USB 2.0 rackmount audio interface for multi-channel computer audio applications, the DP-008, a new eighttrack digital Pocketstudio and the portable BB-800 recorder. On top of this, there was the SS-R05 solid state and MD-02B MD recorders. Grace Design also introduced two new products at the show, the m103 channel strip and m501 mic preamp, while PMC launched the DB1S-A II and TB2S-A II high-resolution compact monitors, CAD showcased its new E 100S condenser mic and TransAudio Group introduced the Daking FET3, a new dual-channel limiter. > aes.org www.audioprointernational.com
> REVIEW SSL
Great
Xpectations Wes Maebe puts the SSL XLogic Super Analogue X-Desk through the paces on a mixdown session with tracks from the UK’s renowned Doghouse studio… ule Britannia! Solid State Logic has amazed us through the years with classic-sounding consoles like the E, G, J and K series. Now we have proof that a desk doesn’t need to be the price of the two-bedroomed flat you had to buy to house the console. The X-Desk is SSL’s answer to the in-the-box/small format/summing market segment. As a freelancer, I often get asked to do budget mixes for clients who don’t yet have the finances available to take me into a mix room. Being an analog head, I like to mix out of the box as much as possible, so I have various fader packs, but I was still on the quest for a box that would provide me with direct outs and inserts on every channel, more than two auxes, phase reverse, insert
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bypass, pan, cuts, solos and a nice fader to round it off nicely. Plenty of manufacturers out there have all this available for us, but you’re always stuck with their eq and mic pres. For those of us who have the pres we like and the outboard we swear by, it always seems a bit of a stretch to fork out for components that we’re not going to use anyway – and then SSL introduced the X-Desk. This little beast is exactly what the doctor ordered. With its 17.1 x 12.25inch footprint it can pretty much sit anywhere you like it to live in your set-up. The connections on the back further ensure that your set-up stays neat and tidy. All the line inputs, inserts, direct outs, which can be switched pre or post fader, auxes, centre section I/O and X-Desk links
are on 25-pin D-type connectors. The only other connections are the four XLRs for your main and alt monitors, a quarter-inch jack for headphones and an i-Jack for (the now ubiquitous) iPod connection. The X-Desk arrived just in time for the mix of Specimen’s new recording of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The installation couldn’t have been easier. Everything was plugged up in no time and all the input and output levels matched up nicely when we ran the test signals through it. The track was recorded in an analog and oldschool environment, namely The Doghouse Studio in Henley, so I wanted to keep that vibe and do as much as possible out of the box. We ended up bussing the drums, bass, guitars and vocals through the X-Desk. It immediately hit me that this little box has the punch and crispness of its bigger brothers, which was exactly what we were after to retain the character of the session. This was a fairly concise mix job, but on top of the eight on-the-surface inputs, each channel boasts an additional alternate input, which can be routed to the ‘cue stereo’ pot, thus providing an additional eight channels on mixdown. Add to that the two stereo FX returns and if you sum the main mix insert returns as well, the X-Desk gives you 22 channels of mixdown. Working your way down the channel strip, you’ll immediately feel as though you’re driving one of the bigger SSLs. First you’ll hit the input
trim with +/– 20dB gain and a centre detente at the zero point. The line in section also houses a phase reverse, the alt switch and (in my opinion) the X-Desk’s coolest feature, the insert switch. The aux section consists of a stereo cue with a pan and pre/post switch and this one can double up as the alt fader on mixdown. You then have two further FX sends, which can be switched pre or post globally. In addition, pan pot, brightly lit cut and solo buttons precede the smooth, long throw alps faders. I think a lot of users would agree with me in saying that the X-Desk is worth it just for the comprehensive monitor section. The in-built talkback mic works well and its function is easily accessible. The monitor level knob is big enough – and goes up to 11. Dim level and latching button is another one of those unexpected luxuries the X-Desk provides. All in all, this baby SSL is so versatile and has such a plethora of tricks up its sleeve that it is hard to believe it comes with a more than affordable price tag. Some may say that it lacks a recall function, but hey, you’re not recalling a huge 72channel J-series console. Cribbing this one equates to the good old tape rewind time, a valuable analog thinking slot in a digital world. solid-state-logic.com www.audioprointernational.com
> REVIEW AUDIO TECHNICA
From the studio to the street Audio Pro’s editor, Andrew Low puts Audio Technica’s AT4022 omnidirectional condenser mics to the test in a variety of unintended applications… aving been impressed by a variety of Audio Technica’s mics over the years, I was interested to give the AT4022 a shot when recording a new series of demo songs for a project called Heavenly Refrigerator. In order to get a true rendering of the microphone’s sonic reproduction I plugged it straight into a Digidesign preamp and recorded to Pro Tools 8 without any added outboard gear. Coming in around the £250 mark, one could argue that the AT4022 is aimed at the home recording market – and I’m sure it is, but one will find that every good recording studio will have a wide collection of mics of varying prices and quality to satisfy different applications. These mics need not only be chosen for their price tag, rather for their character and to add a touch of variety to the mic locker. Such could be the case for the AT4022. Billed as an omnidirectional condenser recording microphone, I found it provided very crisp cymbal sounds when used as a stereo pair for drum overheads. It also gave a fullbodied sound for acoustic guitars. The application that I was most excited about, however, was using it as a far mic for recording electric guitars. Although the traditional technique of shoving an SM57 directly in
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front of guitar cabinet has become common place for most studios, I have read many interviews with engineers like John Leckie (Stone Roses, Radiohead, John Lennon) who state that a variety of mics should be used in close and far distances to get an accurate electric guitar track, or one with a full range of frequencies. With the microphone hung about three feet from the ground and 10 feet away from a nice vintage 60s Selmer amp, angled upwards at 45degrees, I played a Rickenbacker 360 plugged in on the amps middle treble and bass setting. The resulting sound was very psychedelic and reminiscent of Brian Jonestown Massacre, with a good mid range character and delayed attack that gave a slight swirling character to the track. With a bit of added reverb the resulting guitar sound really satisfied my need for an ambient track with enough presence to lie nicely in the mix. OUT ON THE STREET Having a load of recording gear can sometimes be a detriment as friends and neighbours assume that you are available as a sound engineer for hire, with ‘hire’ implying free work with lots of hassle. When a street party was planned on my block in London I became the sound monkey and expected to fulfil the needs of every band booked for the event. As such, the ambient jazz band scheduled insisted that their drummer’s kit should be miked for the very casual, outdoor gig. I had just received the
AT4022 and figured that I might as well try them out as overheads in a live capacity. After some minor eq’ing, the drummer and I were very happy with the miked sound through the PA. While this was not its intended purpose, it just proves that the AT4022 can be successfully used in a wide variety of applications. I am not implying that the engineers at Abbey Road would choose the AT4022 for over head mics for its next studio sessions, it is well suited as a mid-priced condenser mic with a studio on a small budget, or as a good option to provide various sonic options while tracking. > audio-technica.com
AT4022 Tech Specs:
• Switchable 80 Hz hi-pass filter and 10 dB pad • Low-mass element for superb transient response • Frequency response: 20Hz 20kHz • Low frequency roll off: 80Hz, 12dB/octave • Open circuit sensitivity: -34dB (19.9mV) re 1V at 1 Pa • Impedance: 250 Ohms • Maximum input sound level: 146dB SPL, 1kHz at 1 per cent THD, 156dB SPL, with 10dB pad (nominal) • Dynamic range: 133dB, 1kHz at max SPL • Signal to noise ratio: 81dB, 1kHz at 1 Pa
www.audioprointernational.com
> JOHN SAUNDERS COMPANY PROFILE
Thrilling tracks John Saunders has kept ahead of the game by stocking up on gear from the biggest names in the business. His ethos of quality over cost has lead to decades servicing high-profile projects and clients. Audio Pro talks to Saunders about thinking outside the box… wenty-five years ago, John Saunders started supplying sound and lighting systems to the entertainment industry. By 2001 he had set up John Saunders Productions, building up the business by working on an array of productions from theatre shows to local authority events and radio stations. Today, his list of show credits includes The Rat Pack: Live from Las Vegas at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End, the Rat Pack Tour, which goes out at the end of October and Thriller Live, which started its latest touring production on October 20th in Helsinki. “It’s always been extremely important to me to make sure that John Saunders Productions provides something a little bit different to the norm, both in terms of the equipment we supply and the people we employ,” says Saunders. “And we’ve invested heavily in both, especially recently.” He is referring not only to his association with sound designer Chris Whybrow, but also to his recent purchase of five Digico SD8 digital mixing desks, an investment he is fairly certain makes John Saunders Productions the biggest single SD8 owner in the UK. “In the past, I used to make my purchasing decisions based purely on who could offer me the best deal, either in terms of price or who was offering the best line of credit,” recalls Saunders. “Now it’s all about quality. Sound designers have very definite ideas about what they want and they tend to stick to that, so it’s hard to compete if you don’t carry the kit they want to work with.
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“Now, our inventory comprises only well-known, reliable, superior quality products. We use d&b loudspeakers, Sennheiser in-ear monitors, Shure microphones and now we have the Digico SD8 as well – and the difference that makes is phenomenal.” This philosophy has secured John and the team the roster of well-known shows he’s now working with and also means that almost his entire inventory of equipment is out of the warehouse, an enviable position to be in. The latest touring production of Thriller Live, based on the career of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, is John Saunders Productions’ most recent project. It’s a fast moving trip, which brings together Jackson’s distinctive dance and musical styles and provides audiences with over two hours of Jackson hits, which should be enough to satisfy even the most avid of fans. Not only is the show itself fast moving, the pace of this latest tour provides the production team with a gruelling schedule of back-to-back shows across Europe as well as the challenge of providing a larger system for the UK’s arena dates, all of which meant that Chris Whybrow, who has worked on two out of the three tours as well as the West End production, was eager to update his audio design for the show. “I worked on the first touring production of Thriller, but not the second,” says Whybrow. “I came back in for the third when director Gary Lloyd came on board and that’s when I also became the show’s sound designer. The audio design has developed over the last three tours,” continues Whybrow.
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It’s always been extremely important to me to make sure that we provide something a little bit different to the norm, both in terms of the equipment we supply and the people we employ. John Saunders
www.audioprointernational.com
JOHN SAUNDERS COMPANY PROFILE <
Sin city: Saunders only uses respected gear on its shows
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“This latest European tour was when we decided to make the move to the SD8s. We’d got to the point where we couldn’t expand the desk we were using previously any further. We were using all the matrixes, groups, inputs and outputs. So I spoke to Tim [Shaxson at Digico] and had a look at an SD8. “It was the SD8’s expandability and the fact that it does so much more than the old desks used to that really turned me on to it and we can still expand it if we need to as it’s nowhere near full. Because we were going to be doing a variety of different venues – theatres, arenas, concert halls – the ability to expand was extremely important. The SD8 provided that and has proved to be a really good choice.” Two SD8s now reside, one at FOH and one at monitors and Whybrow has also recently put one onto The Rat Pack’s West End production, which, he says, is working very well. “We use them in conjunction with the John Saunders Productions standard combination of d&b, Shure and Sennheiser,” says Whybrow. “It’s a formula I put on most of the shows I’m designing now.” As well as expandability, the SD8s have also provided Whybrow with an increased level of functionality. “I’m using all the snapshots, all the global scope, so each scene can recall a completely different sound if we need it to. And with the new overdrive software’s scene specific and channel specific fade times it’s going to make it an even more valuable tool. All the onboard effects sound great and I’m using AES direct to the amps as well, which, compared with the previous system, cleans the sound up instantly. “This is such a versatile tool and it’s easy to get your head around once you’ve played with it. It didn’t take me long to be firing in scenes, copying and pasting all sorts of things throughout the desk. “We’re using the RME Madiface as well and we’re multitrack recording during rehearsals and shows. So if we need to tweak anything the following day, we can just play it straight back as if the band and cast are on the stage.
“We have an electronic band and a silent stage – they’re all on the Sennheiser IEMs – so if we use the recording, it’s as if they really are there because we don’t get any spill from the stage anyway. It allows us to make any amount of tweaks we need to and refine the programming to exactly what we want to do without having the band there.” The Thriller Live tour is nine weeks of constant back to backs, starting in Helsinki on October 20th, travelling round Scandinavia, Benelux, then to the UK for ten arena tour dates, the first of which is in Nottingham at the end of November. It then travels back to Poland, finishing at Christmas in Bratislava. “There’s a real mixture in size of venues and what they have in them,” says Whybrow. “In Germany, for example, the venues are very well equipped and we’ll be able to tie into the house PA. So instead of using the outputs we already have set up, we can add on to the output section or just edit it and we’ll have enough outputs to do whatever we want.” The SD8 will also be lend a hand with the tight timings involved in the tour. “Short production times these days mean we don’t have a long time with the band and, as I mentioned before, the ability to do multitrack recording means we can come back later and remix tracks, tweak things, or reprogramme them without the band being there. It allows us to do a lot more. “And the sound quality is like light and shade. With the SD8, the system sounds a lot cleaner, crisper, even the frequency range seems extended compared to the original show’s design. The SD8’s onboard effects are fresher and a lot smoother. Even if the comps are hard compressing, you don’t hear that; you see them working hard, but you don’t actually hear them.” “All in all, the SD8 is a great desk,” concludes Saunders. “It’s working perfectly for the productions we’re working on now and means we have the ability to take on new work in the future.” > johnsaundersproductions.co.uk
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With the SD8, the system sounds a lot cleaner, crisper, even the frequency range seems extended compared to the original show’s design. Chris Whybrow
Digico’s consoles allow RME Madiface multitrack recording during rehearsals and shows www.audioprointernational.com
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INTERVIEW GAVIN MCCOMB <
A scorching mix for Hot Rats When Supergrass members’ new project Hot Rats wanted to take their show on the road, engineer Gavin McComb reluctantly made the switch to a digital mixing system. After trying out Allen & Heath’s iLive setup he has turned into a raving convert, finding ways to use the gear that wouldn’t be possible with an analog console. Andrew Low talks rodent rock with McCombs during a recent London gig… he Oxford, UK music scene has fostered the growth of many innovative alternative artists, from international mega stars Radiohead to more obscure acts like Swervedriver. Gavin McComb was born of the same scene, but unlike the wispy-haired, scarfwearing rockers of the city he has forged a career working with and mixing some of its best acts. His latest job is FOH engineer for Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey of Supergrass’ new covers band, Hot Rats. When the band decided to take the project on the road there were new and specific requirements he needed to fulfil, which were based around their use of pre-programmed audio set to a click track, making IEMs a necessity. McComb knew he needed to make the switch to a digital to make it work. Sceptical of digital consoles, McComb set out to find the most user and analogfriendly console on the market, a search that lead him to Allen & Heath’s iLive mixing system. The band only requires 18 total inputs, which are handled by an iLive80 console combined with an iDR10 Mix Rack used as an all-in-one FOH and monitor system.
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McCombs explains: “The IDR10 holds the inputs and I am Y splitting everything internally in the desk so that I have separate FOH control for eq and dynamics, with a completely separate list of inputs for the IEM mixes that work independently of each other. Running monitor and FOH mixes from one board usually causes problems with communication, but we have gotten over that by being able to save each song as a different scene and store all the nuances for each track in the IEM set up.” Just before the Hot Rats gig at London’s Hoxton Bar and Grill the board was upgraded with Allen & Heath’s proprietary ACE card, which links the rack and surface (audio and control) over a single Cat5 cable, which can be extended up to 120m. Allen & Heath’s product manager, Leon Phillips, states: “In the beginning Ethersound was the only option, but now we can offer new formats, so if someone wants to stitch our system into something else they can, without having to worry about licensing issues. If they just want a simple link between systems they only need one format by using use ACE (Audio Control Ethernet) over one cable, so its literally just a matter
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I have been able to use the iLive 80 in an organic way and I can actually mix and be artistic. Gavin McComb
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> INTERVIEW GAVIN MCCOMB The DR10 Mix Rack hides on stage behind the band’s more static members
McComb has developed the band’s touring gear as a plug and play system
of swapping the hardware over and it is all recognised in the system’s firmware.” The board was also equipped with the new RAB2 remote audio distribution, which offers MADI, Ethersound or ACE connections and the Mini Multi Out (MMO) card to enable recording from the FOH console via an ADAT split. McCombs is very comfortable with the ILive-80 stating that it allows him to focus on being creative during the live gigs. “I quite like the creative side of mixing where you are changing things every day. That is going back to that live analog thing where you are just going for it and doing something different every night depending on the acoustics of the venue,” McCombs says. “We started with the iLive-112 and then swapped over to the 80 for smaller gigs and it was very apparent that the desk was designed with engineers in mind. The editing power is as massive as every other desk. I can access things like eq and channels very quickly and the colour coding is very easy to set up. It is well designed and they have put a lot of thought in from start to finish.” THREE SHOWS, ONE DAY, ONE DESK The hectic nature of the band’s recent tour has made McCombs use the iLive system to its full capacity. He comments: “We had to do three shows in one day on this tour, which we would never be able to do if we hadn’t gone digital because of the small footprint and the capabilities for quickly changing to adapt to different situations. We had a TV show gig and I gave them a L&R mix out of the desk. I set up a mix that went to their OB truck and they were happy because the whole process was much quicker. “Later on in the day we did a gig in a pub for about 250 drunk people as part of a Guinness 250th Anniversary. We were running late because of the TV show and when we arrived the place was packed. We loaded in, found one square metre for the iLive-80, ran a Cat5 into the stage box and we were ready to go. It sounded great because everything was all preset. If we hadn’t had such a compact system that was preprogrammed it just wouldn’t have happened. “That night we did another performance as part of a BBC Radio 2 show. We sound checked the day before so that everything was ready and then just plugged it in on the day. You often find that when you do an on-air show the in-house engineers are very precious about what they are doing because they want to be in full control and they have a deep distrust of live engineers. We explained the day before that we were bringing our own gear, mixes and IEMs and told them that they could either take a pre mixed L&R feed or take splits. I ran the band’s IEMs and set up splits off the stage box and 22
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gave them 16 channels. The studio’s engineer did his own broadcast mix on the BBC’s vintage Calrec desk and it sounded great. He gave me a line for the two interviewers that I fed into the band’s IEMs. He was chuffed because he didn’t have to worry about doing headphone mixes for the band and the band was relaxed and familiar with the system. “It’s funny because they are only a two-piece band and people ask why we have to carry so much gear with us on the road. I tell them that although it looks like a lot of gear, it cuts out so much time because the whole set up is literally ready to plug in and go. “I still have reservations about digital, but I have been able to use the iLive 80 in an organic way and I can actually mix and be artistic. In the analog days you could be creative with a lot less button pushing. I am definitely championing the iLive system because it has been a real eye opener. I don’t know if there are any similar systems, but for the price it is great and the audio quality has been excellent. I haven’t come in across any quality or preamp issue. “I will happily say to anyone that you should go with this desk. Forget about any preconceived notions that you have had about any old analog Allen & Heath desks. You can forget about that and give this system a try.”
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If we didn’t have such a compact system that was preprogrammed the show just wouldn’t have happened. McCombon playing three gigs in one day
> ilive-digital.com www.audioprointernational.com
Ver-sa-tile adj. 1. Capable of doing many things competently. 2. Having varied uses or serving many functions. 3. VQ Series loudspeaker range from Tannoy.
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tannoy.com
> PRODUCT REVIEW ABLETON LIVE
Going live Once scoffed at by many a sound engineer, Ableton Live is now maturing into a programme that is embraced by professionals and consumers alike. Rob Hughes and Wes Maebe find out exactly what the software has to offer the pro community... henever we’ve featured Ableton Live in Audio Pro International, it’s tended to raise questions to the tune of: ‘Why are you writing about consumer audio products?’ The simple answer is that, while it’s true that Live is unquestionably aimed at the consumer market, it also belongs squarely in that rare category of gear that crosses over effortlessly into the pro sector. First released in 2001, Live was designed for performers who needed a sequencer they could use ‘on the fly’ and as such it instantly found favour with electronic musicians who wanted to recreate and remix their tracks live on stage. Naturally, it was swiftly picked up by DJs who saw the potential of the software to allow them to expand the creative flair of their sets way beyond anything made possible by the standard two decks and a mixer. With several years of development under its belt, it was beginning to be recognised as a powerful sequencer in any situation and had become the DAW of choice for many studiobased musicians. Now in its eighth incarnation, the program has been refined to such a point that it provides serious competition for market-leading hardware DJ tools by the likes of Pioneer and also studio software such as Logic and Cubase. Ableton Live does not purport to compete with established pro audio products. Instead, it quietly offers a solution to a small number of situations that aren’t catered for by anything else. For example, in the studio, Live might not offer the freedom and flexibility as Pro Tools at the recording or mixing stages, but for throwing ideas together, trialling sounds and generally arranging tracks, it is unrivalled in its efficiency. The basic reason for this is Live’s ability to ‘warp’ individual tracks to a global tempo and slot them into the project in perfect sync with one another, requiring the user to do nothing more than drag and drop a file in the arrangement window. For this reason, the software is often used for ‘brainstorming’ a track, roughing up a mix, or auditioning patches and effects for the artist, before the final parts are transferred to a dedicated studio DAW.
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In a live situation, Ableton’s software provides this ability to automatically sequence a plethora of sounds with unparalleled stability. Kerry Hopwood, the live programmer/musical director for Depeche Mode, uses the programme in place of a mixer and outboard to process live drums while touring with the band. He comments: “We treat Live a bit like a mixing desk, but a desk with any plugin we want. We need to use tools that just work, because while this isn’t necessarily the most hostile environment, it certainly isn’t a studio and at nine o’clock we’ve got to do a show, so it’s got to work. We can’t go: ‘hey crowd, hold on, we’ve just got to fix something’. Live has stood up so far; it’s toured really well. We’ve tried to use desks and outboard, but so far, this has worked far better than anything else.” Rather than take Hopwood’s word for it, we decided that we’d put Ableton Live to the test ourselves and left it in the very capable hands of Wes Maebe, who, as both a live and studio engineer, is well qualified to give us a reliable verdict… ABLETON LIVE – AN ENGINEER’S POINT OF VIEW We engineers live and work in an opinionated industry. We either love or hate certain pieces of gear, only use a certain brand of CD-Rs, guitars, amps or microphones and we either swear by a software package or completely dismiss it. Ableton Live has the reputation of being liked by DJs and artists who are just starting out, so it was interesting to be asked to give my opinion on it as a studio and live engineer. Using Apple’s Logic and Avid Digidesign Pro Tools on a daily basis, I have to say that diving into Ableton Live seemed like a daunting task. Where I tend to use a sequencer more as a tape machine and therefore think in a horizontal way, Ableton Live uses blocks, loops and audio in a vertical line up. I have to admit that, even after sitting through a few of the Ableton instructional videos, I couldn’t make it do what I wanted to achieve. In the end I reeled in the help of my colleague, Jules Dickens from Abstract Source, who is well versed in Ableton Live. www.audioprointernational.com
ABLETON LIVE PRODUCT REVIEW< Rather than treating this as a ‘let’s sit down and show me’ session, we decided to have some serious fun in the process and got stuck into creating a song. First, I had to get my head around Ableton’s way of thinking and I ended up laying down some bass parts, percussion loops and pads. As Ableton Live is a grid and beat-based program, I ended up with a cool but rather repetitive track. Once Jules had introduced me to Ableton’s extensive plugin library, I found that I had many more options open to me, such as taking what was initially a bland snare track and filtering it and sending it through an arpeggiator, which had the result of turning it into a melodic component. We moved on to create different variations of the drum patterns and bass parts and then drop them into their respective channels. What started off as a boring song with eight tracks ended up being a 25-track psychedelic journey. I still went back to Logic to drop in a few live keyboard performances, but in general we stayed in the Ableton Live territory. Once the Hammond and synth pads were down, we dragged them into Ableton Live to arrange them and recorded vocals and guitars.
One of the main things I love about Ableton’s arrangement features is the ‘key’ function in the session window. This allows you to assign samples and loops to individual keys on your computer keyboard or any MIDI/USB keyboard. Within seconds I was transported back to my Akai S3000 days. Personally, I think this is Ableton’s strongest feature. In a music creation scenario, this makes for extremely fast sketching. Once your samples are in, you can then switch to the arrangement window and lay down a live performance and, of course, it needn’t stop there. You can lay down a variety of performances and then edit them together. This leads us into the live area. If you need to trigger backing tracks or individual samples, your monitor engineer, front of house engineer or anyone within the crew could set them running for you within Ableton Live. My main little annoyances with the programme are the fiddly controls, a lack of zoom control and then long export time. However, if you want a quick sketch pad to put down ideas or a powerful ‘sampler’ to run your backing tracks live, Ableton Live will do the job for you. Ableton Live is now part of my software arsenal and in constant use. > ableton.com
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In a music creation scenario Live makes for extremely fast sketching. Wes Maebe
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Live has toured really well. We’ve tried to use desks and outboard, but this has worked far better than anything else. Kerry Hopwood Musical director, Depeche Mode
www.audioprointernational.com
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INSTALLATION TANNOY VQ SERIES <
VQ tackles the sports market With two new arena installs on either side of the Atlantic and several more in the pipeline, is Tannoy’s VQ system becoming a stadium standard? Rob Hughes finds out… ince its stadium debut at California’s Selland Arena in the spring, Tannoy’s VQ series has swiftly established a reputation as one of the leading loudspeaker systems in the sports arena sector. The earliest examples of VQ arena installs came out of the US and this trend was continued in September as New Jersey’s Monmouth University cut the ribbon on its state-of-the-art, $57 million building, which is now home to Monmouth’s various ‘Hawks’ sports and athletics teams. Acoustic consultant PMK International was asked to provide a PA system for the 4,100-seat arena and wasted no time in specifying the VQ series, having had very satisfactory results with the loudspeaker range in other US sports arenas over the previous year. On the decision to spec VQ, PMK’s commissioning consultant, David H Stearns, commented: “As a firm believer in the mid-high horn, the design solution always centred on this type of device and Tannoy VQ was the clear choice in our final specification. As arenas go, this is the most acoustically behaved venue I’ve heard.” In recent months, consultants and contractors in Europe have begun to follow the American lead in recognition of the advantages of VQ in a stadium environment. Last month, AV contractor Impact Europe deployed the system as part of a significant upgrade to the Coop Arena in the northern Swedish city of Luleå. Located just 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle, the 6,000 capacity Coop is a major sports facility and has undergone a major upgrade, including an overhaul of the PA system. Impact Europe’s Swedish offices turned to specialist audio distributor Standard Audio, which designed a new system for the main hall based around the VQ series. VQ’s tight, controllable directivity coverage made it ideal for an arena such as this, where hard reflective floor (usually
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ice) and roof surfaces presented serious challenges when it came to achieving good intelligibility. As such, only 12 fullrange VQ enclosures were required to provide adequate coverage for the seating areas around the four sides of the arena. Four VQ 60 (60-degree conical dispersion) devices were flown along each long side, supplemented with a downfiring VQ 85DF mounted to the bottom of the VQ 60 cab. A pair of VQ 100 devices with a wider 100-degree beamwidth provide coverage at each end of the arena. Standard Audio’s Roger Friberg commented: “The placement of the speakers was thoroughly simulated and tested in EASE. Our main concern was to get even SPL coverage across the full public area. As this was our first installation of VQ, we had no experience of its behaviour. The result, however, was quite beyond expectations, achieving SPL within 3dB over the whole space. There was little or no difference in the tonal balance and characteristics of sound, wherever we measured. No hot spots or weak corners.” So why exactly is VQ proving so suitable for this type of installation? It would seem that due to the significant sensitivity of the speakers – particularly the VQ 60, which provides 115db for 1W/1m – very high SPLs are achievable with relatively modest levels of amplified power. One of the critical advantages of this efficiency is that it allows consultants to design a high performance system with integrated voice alarm function crucial for sports arenas. The VQ series handles this without the need for a high-powered UPS (uninterrupted power supply) and with very modest battery backup requirements. This is not to mention the low box counts and related benefits, such as reduced need for cabling. There are a now a number of stadiums across Europe that are taking the VQ route. It would appear that Tannoy is becoming a standard in the sports PA market.
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As arenas go, this is the most acoustically behaved venue I’ve heard. David H Stearns Consultant, PMK
WELL HUNG: Full range VQ 60s can be complemented by down-firing VQ 85s
> tannoy.com
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GLENN ROGERS INTERVIEW <
40 years young Allen & Heath has remained a major force in pro audio by furthering its technologies while maintaining a commitment to high-quality audio. Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, it continues to grow and expand on those core ideals. Andrew Low talks to MD Glenn Rogers about the past, present and the future… he name Allen & Heath has meant different things to different people over the years. Whether it’s Unkle spinning through Xone mixers or Pink Floyd circa 1973 using the Mod1 on the Dark Side of the Moon tour, the name has permeated all ends of the industry for the past four decades. The one constant shared between the diverse worlds the company lives in is the core technology that has kept Allen & Heath on top of its game for 40 years.
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The company celebrated its anniversary at this year’s PLASA show by throwing a big bash at the top of London’s Gherkin building, where the staff of Allen & Heath past and present traded the glare if its digital gear for the lights of London. An essential element to Allen & Heath’s continued success, as stated by MD Glenn Rogers, is its dedication to high-quality audio. He explains: “The company is really passionate about audio and improving creativity and performance. We like to talk to the users and the creative people, listen and serve them. “We have consistently picked the best bits of technology to deliver those expectations and helped adapt it into recording, live sound and the DJ market and then back into broadcasting. We have always truly responded to customers in the market.” The cross pollination that has occurred within the company’s R&D departments also enables its consumer products to house the core technology present in its high-end gear. “The skills and concepts developed in our iLive line are shared with those on, say, the Xone team which pushes up the quality and has enabled things like USB capabilities in the Zed series of analog mixers,” says Rogers. “It also allows the algorithms that have been established for iLive’s top quality effects to be integrated in those mixers.” Having been around for so long, Allen & Heath has weathered several turbulent economic storms. According to Rogers it has done so by maintaining the battleground cry of ‘never give up’. “Doom and gloom doesn’t stop the world, it just makes the situation more difficult, so you have to try even harder. The team here has seen it all and has the confidence to push through challenging times,” he calmly states. As for the future, the company is devoted to the development of innovative technologies based on the needs of its users. “It is an exciting time in the industry, certainly for large live sound events,” he says. “Digital technology has migrated from a niche segment to the mainstream market, which has created many interesting and fascinating opportunities, opening up how people work, and reducing the pricing of PA systems, rigging, effects and processing. “We have seen ten inspiring years in terms of digital processing and people have really migrated to the PC. It is happening in the live sector where DJs are exploring the full capacity of things like Ableton software and changed the outlook of the industry to the point where most people are moving towards file-based systems and how to interface while keeping the link with the audience. “We are now realising that engineers working on smaller gigs or in the AV and corporate markets may only need a laptop and a rack system to do their jobs. This is truly exciting in terms of technology because we are able to develop products that can deliver what our users have been trying to achieve while constantly raising the audio quality.” > allen-heath.com
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We are now realising that engineers working on smaller gigs or in the AV and corporate markets may only need a laptop and a rack system to do their jobs. Glen Rogers
Xone on tour with Unkle
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STUDIO MICS SECTOR SPOTLIGHT <
Mics and their mechanics Nothing demands TLC like a studio microphone, so Rob Hughes takes a look at a few models that many an engineer will lovingly read a bedtime story to before tucking them in for the night… ack in 94 when PJ and Duncan, aka Ant and Dec, threatened to mistreat a microphone in their (oddly) Brit Award-nominated single Let’s Get Ready to Rumble, all we could do was hope they were talking about an SM58, because that’s the only thing that stood a chance of surviving their dance moves, let alone abusive handling. Studio mics don’t come packaged in James Bond-esque foam lined briefcases for nothing. I remember once being handed a 1970s AKG C 414 by the Frenchman who taught me how to record a band. He stopped short of cupping his hands underneath mine as I looked at it, but it was clear that he would have felt more comfortable in doing so. These days they’re much hardier and even ribbon mics are no longer the preserve of lowdB applications. Nonetheless, as a general rule, studio mics are a fragile bunch and this isn’t without purpose; it’s directly proportionate to their sensitivity to the infinitesimal sonic nuances that barely make it past the pop filter of dynamic microphones. To the layman, it might seem that, when talking in terms of such miniscule tolerances, the resulting difference in overall sound from one high-end model to another would largely be negligible. Good engineers, however, have ears that are more responsive than the capsules in their most treasured mics. This makes buying one, as our founding editor, Andy Wood, quite astutely put it, ‘not dissimilar to choosing a life partner’. Unfortunately, there’s no microphone equivalent of match.com and those looking for their recording soul mate will have to rely on good old-fashioned trial and error. Some will be lucky enough to meet theirs at work, but for everyone else here are a few eligible candidates to get you started.
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NEUMANN Georg Neumann is best known for his celebrated U87, made popular – almost to the point of household-name status – by The Beatles (courtesy of their producer, George Martin) in
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the 1960s. Recently, it’s the company’s TLM 67 that has been garnering all the attention, albeit mainly from those in the know. It was hailed as the best studio microphone by MIPA, which furnished it with an award earlier this year. The TLM (transformerless microphone) 67 is a largediaphragm condenser microphone with a circuit design that closely reproduces the sound characteristics of the classic U 67 (another 60s classic), without the use of tubes. Like a transformer, the circuit ensures good common mode rejection, effectively suppressing interference signals that affect the balanced modulation line. The microphone can operate at sound pressure levels of up to 105dB without distortion, and has a dynamic range of 94dB (A-weighted), without the use of the preattenuation switch. The 67s three switchable directional characteristics (omnidirectional, cardioid and figure-8), selectable 10dB preattenuation and high-pass filter allow detailed adjustments to be made, depending upon the specific recording situation. Hence, the mic is suitable for a wide range of applications. In addition to its primary role as a vocal microphone for all types of music and spoken voice, in orchestral recordings the TLM 67 can be used as a main microphone and as a spot microphone for individual instruments. > neumann.com
AUDIO TECHNICA At IBC this year, Audio Technica introduced four new models to its pro 40 series, including its first ever ribbon mics, the AT4080 and AT4081. These are side address microphones with figure-of-eight polar patterns. Both are phantom-powered and use aluminium ribbons to add durability to what is easily the most delicate of mic types.
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> SECTOR SPOTLIGHT STUDIO MICS
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Crowley & Tripp designs now represent the mainstay of Shure’s studio mic offering.
The larger AT4080 features two ribbons, while the low profile ‘stick design’ AT4081 has one, but both feature Audio Technica’s innovative Micro Linear ribbon imprint, which protects the ribbons from lateral flexing and distortion. Audio Technica’s innovative ribbon transducer currently has 18 patents pending, which suggests that quite a substantial amount of A&R has gone into its design. Also new to the 40 series, is a stereo version of the popular AT4050, the AT4050ST and a multi-pattern version of the AT4047SV, the AT4047MP. The latter features the same element as its original, but offers omni and figure-8 pickup pattern options in addition to cardioid. The microphone’s transformer-coupled output and specially tuned element provide sonic characteristics reminiscent of early FET designs. With a wide dynamic range, low self-noise and high SPL capability, the mic should excel on vocals, strings, acoustic guitar, instrument ensembles, small vocal groups and voiceovers. To boot, the entire 40 series is covered by AT’s lifetime warranty. > audio-technica.com
SHURE After announcing the acquisition of of Massachusetts-based Soundwave Research Laboratories in April this year, ribbon mics have once again returned to Shure’s catalogue – and for the first time in over 20 years. The designs, formerly named Crowley & Tripp, now represent the mainstay of Shure’s studio mic offering and remain faithful to the originals, employing the patented Roswellite shape-memory acoustic ribbon material developed by Soundwave. “This new ribbon technology enables us to combine the characteristic ribbon sound with the durability for which Shure products are famous,” says Chad Wiggins, Shure’s wired microphone manager. “Our customers know they can use their Shure microphones in every conceivable scenario, from the most subtle vocal performance to high-SPL instruments, such as a kick drum.” Shure’s ribbon range comprises the KSM313 dual voice ribbon microphone and the KSM353 premium bi-directional mic. Both feature Roswellite ribbons, which provide significant resilience and durability under harsh conditions, including extreme SPLs. While neither microphone would be out of place on prestige recording sessions, it is the latter that represents the flagship of the range. Its custom ribbon motor assembly tailors bass response without attenuating the overall output for full low and mid ranges, and superior upper range presence from a 32
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rising frequency response. A double-shielded, matched, fullsize transformer minimises signal loss and maximises output, while reducing magnetic and RF interference from 90-degree placement, offset relative to the ribbon. The 353 can handle up to 146dB across the 30Hz to 15kHz frequency range, making it ideal for capturing fast transients in vocals, acoustic instruments and concert halls. > shure.com
SONTRONICS When three musical talents involved in creating the renowned sound of Queens of the Stone Age pipe up with enthusiasm for a newcomer on the studio mic scene, it’s difficult not to take notice. In recent months, this is just what has happened, with founding member and producer Josh Hommes, former guitarist, engineer and producer Alain Johannes and Justin Smith – who engineered the band’s last album Era Vulgaris – all waxing lyrical about various models in Sontronics’ studio range. The phantom-powered, multi-application ribbon mic, Sigma, seems to get most of the attention, with Smith referring to it having the ability to “handle anything from quiet, non-distorted guitar to balls-to-the-wall, amp-on-11 type stuff”. Johannes is just as convinced, remarking: “The Sigma has quickly become my favourite ribbon microphone. It has warmth and a natural open sound, yet carries enough presence to command its own space alongside hypey modern mics. On vocals it is classy and creamy sounding, with a wonderful immediacy. It excels as a room mic for drums because of its ability to balance the weight of the kit with the cymbal sizzle. I often use it to anchor the drum sound.” Also on offer from the British firm is Apollo, a stereo sister model to the Sigma, the Orpheus multi-pattern condenser, Omega valve cardioid condenser and Helios variable-pattern valve condenser. Johannes speaks highly of the latter, noting: “I love the way the Helios translates a singer's emotion even in the midst of a raging guitar track.” > sontronics.com
AVANT ELECTRONICS Working to the motto ‘affordable excellence’, Avant Electronics produces a wide range of ribbon, FET and tube mics created by pro audio consultant and scrupulous designer Ken Avant. Established models include the CR-14 dual ribbon and CK series cardioid, multi-pattern and stereo FETs, but the www.audioprointernational.com
STUDIO MICS SECTOR SPOTLIGHT <
company has recently added a brand new tube mic, the multipattern BV-1, to its range. Featuring a select low-noise Russian 6072A tube, the BV-1 can handle maximum SPLs of 134dB and is sensitive down to -35dBV levels across a frequency range of 25Hz to 20kHz. Output impedance is less than 200 Ohms and equivalent noise level, less than 18dB. Grammy award-winning producer and engineer Ray Kennedy says of the BV-1: “The sound is rich and full with incredible fat, yet tight, low end, smooth throughout the entire midrange spectrum and extremely pleasing in detail and clarity in the high frequencies. Vocals sound so real and alive, like the singer is sitting on the console during playback.”
As well as becoming a staple with the likes of Bruce Swedien and a regular on LA scoring stages, Dooley’s R44 became Les Paul’s favourite mic and its success gave way to the company’s first original design, the AEA R84, a generalpurpose mic, ideally suited to solo and accent work. More recently, with the A440, Dooley has refined the R44 design, introducing phantom power and a Lundahl transformer for a stronger signal. AEA unveiled its latest mic at AES New York last month – the A840 active studio ribbon. Also designed for accent and solo work, it offers the ‘big’ sound of the R44, but its bass proximity effect is less pronounced and the upper ten to 20kHz octave is stronger than the A440. > ribbonmics.com
> avantelectronics.com
ROYER Another relative newcomer, Royer celebrated a decade in the business in 2008, yet the rate at which it established itself as a major player cannot easily be overstated. The company was founded on the R121, the first major revision of the standard ribbon microphone design. The R-121 shunned the large, heavy and fragile character of its predecessors for something quite the opposite. It was an instant hit in 1998 and reintroduced scores of recording engineers to the benefits of ribbon mics. The R-121 remains the company’s flagship today and is widely considered as a standard for tracking electric guitar and brass. Despite this, it was an SF-12 model that was used to record what the firm believes to be the best example of what a ribbon mic is capable of: the Canadian engineer Russell Dawkins’ single stereo track recording of the Ukrainian Radio Television Orchestra. Royer is so proud of this example that it has made it available on its website and often plays it to visitors to its offices. Incidentally, every Royer design is tested on classical instruments and over full orchestras before getting a green light. > royerlabs.com
AUDIO ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES AEA, as it is more manageably (and thankfully) referred to, is the ribbon mic outlet of forensic audio expert Wes Dooley, who established the company with the re-creation of RCA’s 44 after two decades representing and servicing the BBC 4038 in the US.
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AKG With one of the longest heritages in the business, the esteemed Austrian manufacturer offers a select line-up of studio mics, many of which are based on proven – and, in some cases, legendary – designs that have been tried and tested over several decades. A good illustration of this is the C 12VR, the only tube model in the pro range, but essentially the only one of its kind that the company really needs to offer those in the market. An exact replica of one of the most famous mics ever built, the C 12, the mic was recreated at the request of countless engineers. While some components (and its self-noise levels) have been optimised in line with current standards, the nine remotely selectable polar patterns, celebrated largediaphragm capsule and original 6072A vacuum tube remain. The studio mic for which AKG is probably best known though is the C 414, used at some point by almost every studio engineer since 1971. The 414 was thrown back into the limelight last month when AKG announced that it had produced two upgraded versions, the C 414 XLS and C 414 XLII. Both models offer nine pickup patterns, peak hold LEDs to display even the shortest overload peaks, three switchable bass cut filters and three pre-attenuation levels that allow lead vocals and solo instruments to be placed in the densest of mixes. > akg.com
JTS Better known for its wireless mic systems, JTS nevertheless
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> SECTOR SPOTLIGHT STUDIO MICS
Royer mics – the studio standard for brass instruments
produces some excellent studio mics that show just what can be had in the same price range as a decent dynamic mic. Central to the range is the JS-1 with its super-thin, contoured, one-inch, 24K gold-plated diaphragm, which provides transparent reproduction of high SPL signals across the frequency range. A switchable 10dB pad is built-in to increase the SPL capabilities. A multi-pattern version of the JS-1, the JS-1T is also available, providing three selectable polar patterns: cardioid, omnidirectional and figure-8. It is the JS-1 tube, however, that is the jewel in the crown, with nine switchable polar patterns and a tube warmth to liven up any acoustic track. > jts.com.tw
BEYERDYNAMIC Alongside its ever-popular M 130 and M 160 ribbon mics, considered reliable workhorses by many engineers, Beyerdynamic has been busy in recent years, adding several mics to its studio line-up. Most notably, the MC 840 is a compact, large diaphragm model with a gold vaporised double diaphragm and five selectable polar patterns (omnidirectional, wide cardioid, cardioid, hypercardioid, figure-8). Building on the MC 740 microphone capsule, the new mic has been equipped with an improved low-noise pre-amplifier and an impedance transformer without transducer. Due to a two-stage roll-off filter (80 and 160Hz) compensating for the close miking effect and a two-stage pre-attenuation (-10 and -20dB), the MC 840 is suitable for any application, including the recording of orchestras. > beyerdynamic.de
MXL Known for many years by those in the pro audio business purely as a manufacturer of affordable mics for the musical instrument market, it wasn’t until the launch of the Genesis that MXL – the professional audio division of Marshall Electronics – also began to be recognised as a player in the high-end market. The Genesis was the first MXL mic to be priced above $500, but, like its budget-conscious siblings, comes equipped with spec list that seems to outweigh its price. Designed primarily for vocals, Genesis has been highly praised throughout the studio community for its clean highs, warm mids, and tight bottom-end, attributed, in part, to its Mullard 12AT7 tube. 34
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The Genesis also includes a 100Hz, 6dB octave roll-off switch for suppressing undesired, structure-borne sound and a-10dB pad that enables the mic to handle high SPLs. “Make no mistake, this is a high-end tube microphone with the kind of features you find in models priced thousands of dollars more,” asserts Jim Mona, MXL’s national sales manager. “Ask anyone who’s tried the Genesis and they’ll tell you it’s the most unbelievable mic at any price.” MXL has since followed up the Genesis with other high-end models such as the V89 studio condenser and Gold 35 goldplated, large-diaphragm condenser. The latter, with 35mm gold diaphragm, lownoise circuitry, fixed cardioid pickup pattern and high SPL capability, is the flagship of the range. > mxlmics.com
RØDE Based in Sydney, Røde produces an array of studio mics from the small diaphragm solid state NT5 to the large diaphragm Classic II tube (or valve as they would refer to it down under). The Classic II is Røde’s top-ofthe-line studio condenser microphone, featuring a custom spec one-inch dual diaphragm capsule, feeding a vintage twin triode General Electric JAN-6072 valve and custom Jensen output transformer. Nine polar patterns and a variable pad and filter allow adjustment for optimisation in various situations. Among all the unusual specs in this article, the satin nickel-coated, glass bead-blasted, hand-polished, solid brass body is definitely worth a mention. To add to the Classic II’s credentials, it counts itself among a select group of mics that have been given express approval from rap veteran and all-round crowd-pleaser Snoop Dogg. “My vocals get both clarity and presence,” he says. “I’ve got to have this mic.” > rodemic.com www.audioprointernational.com
> POST PRODUCTION SECTOR SPOTLIGHT
Putting your money where your mouse is The UK’s post production facilities have suffered from budgets being cut across the board. Even studios working on leading shows like Top Gear, Doctor Who and The Apprentice have seen major production cuts. Andrew Low talks to the engineers about how they need to rely on software to keep a high standard of work during these trying times… t seems as though anyone who has the money to buy an Avid Digidesign Icon or D-Command console and a full suite of plugins can compete with Soho’s leading post production studios. Major budget cuts have been made across the board from the BBC to ITV and modern production managers are now often content to have film and audio editing done under one roof. Evolutions’ dubbing mixer Richard Ashley explains: “Audio is still a major part of our business, but we also have 80 suites for video work, so our clients can nip off and do their online editing while the dubbing is going on. Anyone can buy a Pro Tools set-up, but they wouldn’t have access to all the picture work. People also have faith that if you’re a large company, you know what you’re doing. I think there is room for small business to continue, but I’m afraid to say the days of midsized companies that have a specialised focus on audio-only may be coming to an end.” Focusing mostly on those nominated for this year’s Conch Awards, it became evident that Avid Digidesign systems are found in some form in most studios, complemented by Focusrite outboard gear. The reason for the dominance of these brands is explained as a matter of ease of use, cost and familiarity within the industry.
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running picture and HD sequences. Its newly built Dolby theatre was opened in October of last year and has since expanded the company’s business by allowing it to mix Dolby digital movies. The studios are locked into the Avid Digidesign system mostly for ease of use and because it is relatively cost effective. Bang cofounder Doug Sinclair comments: “Our work occasionally involves recutting and reconforming and it just means that everything can be done in one session. We can cut the stuff on the timeline and all the mix automation and editing gets cut at the same time.” Sinclair confirms that the one-stop-shop for editing and post production is becoming the trend. He says: “I think this is due to two factors; the first being budgets because the companies can beat the budget down even further. The BBC is under strict instructions to make cuts across the board from Jonathan Ross and Terry Wogan downwards and that manifests itself right the way through the production process. The second issue is that some of the producers are so inexperienced they can’t handle working with two facilities. It is a hot potato they want to get rid of, because there are so few who can actually understand what the processes are, so they just draw up a schedule and pass it on.” > bangpostproduction.com
BANG POST PRODUCTION Located in Cardiff, UK, the bulk of Bang Post Production’s work involves processing dialogue, master sound design and location sound for the Doctor Who series. Its studios run on Pro Tools software with a 32-fader Icon control in its main dubbing theatre and a D-Command in its TV mix theatre. It also uses Pro Tools Video Satellite for 36
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ASCENT 142 Located in Soho’s post production heart, London’s Ascent 142 has two track-laying studios and three mastering studios. Recent work for the studios includes BBC dramas, while on the mixing side it sees many TV dramas and documentaries. All of Ascent’s studios feature Pro Tools systems. However,
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The BBC has made cuts across the board from Jonathan Ross downwards, and that manifests itself right the way through the production process. Doug SinclairBang Post Production
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SECTOR SPOTLIGHT POST PRODUCTION < of money to spend. Those times of having a day to work on an hour-long show are long gone. We don’t have time to run cables out to outboard gear, especially in a facility like ours, with 11 suites that are all connected by a server.” > evolutions.tv
some of the mixing studios still have Neve Libra consoles, which are used by some of its veteran engineers. Ascent’s John Hopkins explains: “Most of our studios have been updated with Icon, D-Command or C|24 consoles and all the old mixers are being phased out. “Ten years ago, Pro Tools was essentially just a hard disk recorder, but now it is an editor and a mixing system. The old suites are still 100 per cent functional; it is just a case of evolving over time. We have kids coming out of college now who all have Pro Tools systems in their bedrooms and none of them have access to a Libra, whereas we still have guys who have forged a reputation over the last 20 years and still use all the old hardware. We are in a transition stage right now and it is quite clear that the future will be dominated by Avid Digidesign systems.” > ascentmedia.com
EVOLUTIONS Winner of the 2009 Conch Award for best audio facility in London, Evolutions has eleven suites spread across four facilities in Soho, where it works on leading shows like Top Gear and The Apprentice. Its studios are equipped with Pro Tools and either Icon, D-Commands or ProControl desks. Evolutions’ dubbing mixer Richard Ashley states: “Everything is down to plugins these days and we really don’t use hardware anymore. The only outboard we use are Focusrite Red 7 preamps – apart from that there’s nothing on the output stage. “Most of the work I do on The Apprentice involves salvaging fly on the wall stuff and audio that has been recorded out in the streets. We have a very basic set-up of mostly Waves plugins and we tend to use its X-Noise plugin, compressors and limiters, as well as Focusrite plugins. It really depends on the budget allotted for the project and most don’t have a lot
THE JUNGLE GROUP The Jungle Group’s 12 studios are spread across three facilities, consisting of Jungle, Zoo and Marmlade, which specialise in audio for commercials and promos, long form and a bit of TV dubbing. The gear used in its facilities tells a fairly different story than the rest. While the company is currently in the process of choosing gear for a major overhaul of the its studios, the systems that have been in place for the past 15 years use Fairlight’s MFX workstations running QDC engines. This system is used in conjunction with Fane consoles. Jungle’s Owen Griffiths comments: “When working on advertisements and promos the most important thing for us is speed – that is why we run the QDC platform. There is a certain expectation to move to Pro Tools because it is the de facto industry standard. When choosing our new system our decision is going to be based on what is important to us, which is largely the speed of the software and track counts for networking and posting video, in addition to import and export speed.” Griffiths explains that budget cuts have also affected the advertising sector. He says: “Most ad agencies are finding that their production timescales have been heavily reduced, which is the reason for us to work as quickly as possible. They are expected to put things together at short notice, which translates to a small margin for error.”
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Those times of having a day to work on an hour-long show are long gone. Ricard Ashley Evolutions
> soho-studios.co.uk
MOLINARE London-based TV and film facilities company Molinare has a 35-year history and a list of TV and film credits including Lark Rise to Candleford, Mistresses, Silent Witness, The Damned United, Moon and Man On Wire. It has grown to become the largest privately owned post production company in the UK. Molinare is boasting that it has recently completed a revamp of its audio suites, which included Genelec monitors supplied by London’s Scrub distribution. Its edit suites are now equipped with 8030A and 8040A-based systems, while audio suites have been upgraded to 8240A and 8250A-based Genelec DSP surround systems. “At Molinare we have a range of mixing environments, most of which are surround-capable,” reports Molinare CTO Scott Holmgren. ‘With the Genelec DSP series monitoring system as our house standard, we’re able to ensure consistent, accurate monitoring, which we can recreate in any room with total precision.” > molinare.co.uk
Bang Post Production (below) is locked into Avid Digidesign systems, which are used in most of its studios
The Mighty Conch: Evolutions was awarded Conch awards for its work on hit TV shows
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buy now: tickets available for the music producers guild awards 2010 The MPG Awards ceremony will see the UK music industry coming together in one room to celebrate with the shortlisted candidates and sponsor companies. Starting with a champagne reception for all guests, the awards ceremony will be hosted by BBC 6’s Nemone Metaxes. After the awards presentation will be the after party till 1am, along with a charity raffle. The MPG is supporting the RNID’s Don’t Lose the Music campaign. There will be a limited amount of tables available on the night to sell and individual seats on these will be sold on a first come first serve basis. Balcony tables and standing tickets will also be sold – all provide a great view of the ceremony and include the champagne reception, some free drinks, food and entertainment. Early Bird Discount and Full MPG Membership costs are: • Seated Downstairs - £125.00 • Balcony Standing - £60 • Balcony Seated - £85 The Café De Paris, is located in the heart of London and accommodation can be found in many local hotels. To buy tickets visit www.mpgawards.co.uk. To reserve a ticket please email mpg@bubblesqueak.co.uk headline sponsors
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sponsored charity
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RAY STAFF INTERVIEW <
Soldier of volume Now that he’s had chance to settle into his new base at Air Studios, we decided it was high time to interview the celebrated mastering engineer, Ray Staff. Rob Hughes travelled to Lyndhurst Road to get his esteemed opinion on MP3s and the level wars… ost recording professionals know Ray Staff as the mastering engineer behind seminal albums from The Clash and Black Sabbath. Some fondly remember the first three-sided album that he created for Monty Python, while astute Muse fans might recognise his contribution to the massive Origin of Symmetry. Among hi-fi circles, however, Staff is much more familiarly known for his work on ‘audiophile’ vinyl releases – the kind of records that justify a home system worth tens of thousands of pounds. In the sphere of re-mastering and cutting such niche discs, Staff is widely considered to be one of the best in the business and features regularly in the relevant consumer publications. I’ve had Staff on my hit list of potential interviewees for some time now and I’d already googled him a few months ago when his name cropped up during a conversation with another former Trident engineer. He immediately sprang to mind once again last month as I typed up a news story about Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenwood’s advocacy of MP3s and dismissal of high fidelity audio. On arrival at Air Mastering, I pointed out the news story to Staff and waited for his reaction. Although he chuckled at Greenwood’s reference to “30-something men who lurk in hi-fi shops,” I guessed that, as someone who spends a great deal of time and effort to deliver recordings of the highest quality, the musician’s remarks might not strike a chord with him.
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If you’re using 56k MP3s, then they are going to sound awful. Ray Staff
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What do think of Greenwood’s comments about MP3s? He says MP3s add ‘crunch’ sometimes. Well, yes they do, but while that might work on his piece of music, it doesn’t mean it’s going to work on someone else’s. MP3s will have a different effect on different kinds of music, but there’s a lot of music out there that MP3s have ruined the quality of. To me, a recording format should be a case of ‘what goes in is what comes out’. If you want to add crunch, add crunch – you don’t have to rely on the format to do it. If you want something to go in clean and come out clean, you should be able to have that. A lot of us have got a problem with MP3s as they stand. Are MP3s all bad or is there at least some merit in them? It’s a digital delivery format that is portable and to me 320k is about the equivalent of what high quality cassettes would have been 20 years ago. The chap from Radiohead doesn’t tell us what sort of quality of MP3s he’s talking about. If he’s listening to 320k, then they will start to sound half decent, but if he’s using 56k then they’re going to sound absolutely awful. I’ve had an issue just recently where I did a modification to a track – just a small fade, but they didn’t have a very fast internet connection so I ran out a 128k MP3 for them to have a quick listen to and see if I was in the right place. And they rang up and said: ‘You’ve done an edit?’ I said: ‘No, I haven’t done an edit’, and they said ‘Yeah, there’s definitely an edit’.
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> INTERVIEW RAY STAFF
I’d sent it to the record company as well and they phoned up and said exactly the same thing. When we went back and double checked the MP3, it glitched and it didn’t matter how many times I made it or what software I used, it kept throwing up a glitch at that point that sounded just like an edit. So it really depends where you are at on that MP3 scale.
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Some people are saying, ‘we can hear the difference, we can pick out an MP3 just like that’.
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It was only after listening to my own tracks converted to MP3 that I realised what the format takes away. Do you think people can tell the difference? There’s always the old story where some people say that either there isn’t a difference, or that if there is, it’s okay; it’s not a problem. But some people are saying, ‘actually, we can hear the difference, we can pick out an MP3 just like that and we recognise the damage that has been done’. The people who are saying it’s not an issue are basically saying: ‘I’m all right, Jack. My music sounds okay and I don’t care about your musical experience’. I think whatever format you have, it’s got to be good for everybody. It has to accommodate everybody’s style of music and the musical experience they want to convey. That’s why we have got to come to a solution – but how we can do that now? I don’t know. The cat’s out of the bag. How on Earth are we ever going to go backwards? I just don’t see how. We need a format that will reproduce music well and a reference level that everybody involved in music will adhere to. From artists and producers to A&R to broadcasters. Then maybe we will deliver a product that people will value more. It will be interesting to hear what the new high-res MP3s sound like when they are launched. Any digital format has to creep in at its lowest possible quality and then go up and up,
but what’s so frustrating is that with video you can say to people: ‘we’ve got these great new high definition TVs that have a much better picture’, and they’ll go out and buy it. But if you tell people you can offer them much better sound quality, they’re not interested. What is it with audio that stops some people from moving forward with it? At least with video, the broadcasters get behind it; everybody gets behind it, improving the quality of the picture and everything else. You don’t always think that the music business is doing the same thing. It’s like people are saying that MP3 is actually good enough. It’s really not. You refer to the need for a ‘reference level’. The current ‘loudness wars’ are a big issue for mastering engineers. What’s your take on this? I’m one of those who would like to see everyone just back off a bit. To give you a rough idea, at the moment a rock/pop album will be anything from eight to ten, maybe even 12dB higher than it would have been ten years ago. And you don’t get that by just turning the level up, keeping it all nice and clean – damage has to be done to get it there. Sometimes you can do it reasonably well with good recording and moderate compression, but more often than not it’s actually done by introducing distortion; it’s done by sheer clipping. Whether digital or analog, that’s pure distortion and that’s what they’re selling to the public. And then they wonder why the hi-fi people don’t like it. It’s fatiguing to your ears and not enjoyable to listen to. It’s appropriate that some tracks should be compressed for a bit of level or a bit of punch or whatever, but what most mastering engineers are trying to say to people – and maybe this is where the message isn’t clear – is that if you want www.audioprointernational.com
RAY STAFF INTERVIEW <
something to be aggressive and full-on, you don’t have to have everything filled up. You don’t have to have all the bits on maximum all the time with no headroom or anything else. It is uncomfortable. You can get a much better musical result if it’s still compressed, but done at a sensible level with no clipping. What we’re doing is actually saying that some music has to be loud and aggressive and full-on and that’s the way it should be presented. But then when you play the next record that shouldn’t be presented in that way, it’s immediately at a disadvantage because most people will say: ‘I can’t hear that, it’s too quiet compared to the other one’. When actually it was the loud one that was just too loud. People use the logic the wrong way around. You’re immediately putting a whole sway of good quality music at a disadvantage just because it can’t be hyped up. The level wars are a great shame. How is the MP3 format affected by the level wars? Loudness damages the MP3s even more. For example, if you’ve got very high level CDs, which are very crunched, then sometimes, when they are converted to MP3 format, because of the way MP3 works, what seemed to be acceptable on CD suddenly becomes unacceptable as an MP3. It literally just tips it over the edge. And quite often the MP3s are made without anybody checking what they sound like and what goes out there sometimes sounds okay and other times it sounds awful. There’s got to be a quality point in the process where you can say: ‘that is where it should be – that’s what we want to deliver to the public.’ It’s a shame that when CDs came out there wasn’t a method of setting a definitive reference level that everyone had to adhere to. There just isn’t that discipline.
If there was that definitive level for us to adhere to it would make everybody’s lives easier. But it’s just a free-for-all really; anyone can do what they like. Where do we go from here? Things have to move on and if you don’t move forward then the business is going to stagnate. You have to deliver entertaining things. You can only capture a sound to a certain extent if you’re limited by its format. You’re limited as to the presentation you can give. There is an album in my studio which I cut from 96k onto vinyl, I didn’t have to compress it heavily, didn’t do anything like that, in fact it was almost cut flat and it sounded big and open. On CD, firstly you can’t deliver anything like 96k, so that reduced the quality considerably. Plus, the original mastering house lost quality by compressing it to keep up with the level wars. Anyone who listens to the vinyl just goes: ‘wow, that’s really great’. It’s just a shame we can’t do that with digital. The way the world is at the moment, the way the music business is at the moment, you can’t say: ‘Here’s a version for those that like it crunched and here’s a quality version,’ because we can’t afford to do it twice, especially if we’re being meticulous. So it would be nice just to have a new digital format that everyone can actually settle with and say, ‘I can deliver my music as it needs to be, as I’m proud of it being,’ whether that’s me as a mastering engineer, a recording engineer, artist, producer, whoever – when they play it, they’re proud of it and it sounds good when people get it at home. When music sounds good, people will go buy it and I’m sure we would sell more if it sounded better. People would get more enjoyment from it. To me, it’s always been about being proud about what you’re doing. It’s what artistry is all about. > airstudiosmastering.com
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> INTERVIEW SCOTT SOLTER
Small city Engineer and artist Scott Solter has made his mark on independent music by using a North Carolina and an impressive credits list, Solter has a strong opinion about the f you have never heard the name Scott Solter, then you’ve probably never heard of the bands Spoon, John Vanderslice or Superchunk and furthermore, you may have never heard of the North Carolina record label Merge, which has been putting out superb and influential independent records for the past 20 years. One of America’s biggest and most respected independent labels, Merge has reached a new level in the past decade due to the success of artists such as The Arcade Fire, M Ward, She and Him featuring actress Zooey Deschanel,) Spoon and the reformed Buzzcocks. Its more successful artists are courted by virtually every major label, but most bands stick with Merge, because as a band there is really no better home due to its integrity and artistic freedom and the fair deals it cuts with artists. Many have uprooted their lives and moved to Durham in hopes that its owners will happen upon them in the local scene and offer a record deal.
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Solter fled San Francisco for Durham two years ago to set up his studio and escape the hectic city life. Considering he is now engineering Merge founders and godfather indie band Superchunk’s new album, the move was well worth the effort. He began recording bands in his own studio in San Francisco, California. In the early days the recording time was free if the artists would let him imprint a bit of his own sonic attitude. His production techniques caught the interest of John Vanderslice while working at the city’s Tiny Telephone studios. After his work on Vanderslice’s Time Travel is Lonely the calls started to come in from artists requesting his unique audio shaping. When Solter first started engineering, the computer had not yet taken hold of the art and he worked his hardest to conquer the tape machine. He has tried to stick with the medium ever since because he doesn’t buy into the quick fix marketing of software companies and digital emulators. He explains: “The only thing worrying about the computer is the prosumer mentality of it. I am very punk rock in the way that I like that anyone can record music, and anyone should. I’m not a fan of class systems where the pros are the pros and the common man is just that. “For years big studios have defended themselves against home recording by saying that it is for children and stating that you need to go to a big, expensive studio to make a real www.audioprointernational.com
Solter’s move Durham has made it easier to record Merge artists such as Superchunk (pictured).
SCOTT SOLTER INTERVIEW <
doing the most esoteric thing. Some of the younger musicians have grown up with the computer as the main medium for recording and have only seen a tape machine as a dusty antique in the corner of a studio, but that is what they used to make records for over 40 years. THE MILLI VANILLI EFFECT “Digital has created the negative effect of totally approving Milli Vanilli. These days you can just move things around on a screen and give the illusion that you are executing something. I find that suspect because in some instances it appears to support performance insecurities. It is terrible in one sense that most of the world live in third world nations, yet that is where some of the best talent comes from, and they have less resources and achieve their craft through exceptional talent. “In many ways digital uses analog as a crutch to legitimise itself. This certainly is not the case with digital music made by artists like Aphex Twin or Autechre, who are developing their music inside that medium without smoke screens or equipment lore. They are shaping new music in the digital medium and it really holds up.
sounds combination of broken gear and creativity. Now with a studio in modern recording market. Andrew Low finds out why…
”
You don’t need a big, expensive studio to make a real record. Talent and imagination can surface anywhere. Scott Solter
record. I don’t think that’s the case, because talent and imagination can surface anywhere. “The problem with digital is the way it is sold. Companies try to sell you the bullshit idea of: ‘Do you want be like David Bowie? Do you want to be as hip as people were in the past? Well, you can buy this plugin package and everything is in the program’. The fact is that the interfaces look childish to me. You put the software in, the image of a Space Echo comes up on your screen and all of a sudden you are supposed to have that vintage sound. Digital should sell itself as a medium with its own image, not by trying to make people think they can sound like the Beatles for $300. EDITING “The editing capacity of DAWs is incredible, but what you can do on the computer you can also do on a tape machine. When I am editing on tape during a session some of the artists who are used to working on computers will look at me like I’m
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SMOKE AND MIRRORS “People ask me: ‘Have you heard the new Neve plugin? It sounds really Neve-ie,’ and I can’t imagine why people would care. Very few of us, myself included, who worked on tape for years, would ever be able to tell the difference between Quantegy 456 and GP9 analog tape. I was never in a situation where I had tape stocks and a laboratory set up to do A/B comparison. Furthermore, not many people are in a situation that allows them to legitimise whether a Neve plugin sounds like a Neve channel strip. I’m more concerned about whether a plugin sounds good. Your music is not going to be aided by the fact that you have Neve plugins. It’s aided by it when you are eq’ing in the computer and you should concentrate on using stuff that either sounds good or doesn’t. SOLTER’S SPACE “I set up my own studio because I’m not comfortable with time limits. I’ve always worked for as long as needed to get the best results and I like to experiment. I have an old Sony 3036 console that was made in the 80s and I just bought a Pro Tools HD2 rig with Aurora Lynx converters. I also use an MCI JH-16 and an ATR quarter-inch two-track tape machine. “My outboard is comprised of everything from really nice to really junky pieces, including a Urei LA22 and BSS compressors and Electrodyne and Ampex mic pres. “I also like filters a lot – the old passive ones rather than Pultecs. I have old Allison and ADC and an LP-24 Cinema filters from the 60s and 70s that will beautifully destroy sound. I don’t use many plugins because I haven’t wanted to spend money on something I wasn’t going to be happy with. I have a couple Massey plugins, but I still prefer the outboard. BROKEN SOUNDS “The problem with me is that I get the majority of my sound from the most interesting stuff, like broken tape machines, broken load amps or things that are being loaded incorrectly and then brought up underneath a particular sound. Sometimes I will be asked what plugin I am using and I’ll say that it is actually a Teac quarter-inch line amp that I found in the trash. The reason I started using things like that is because I’m not rich and I get bored and start sticking XLRs and quarter-inch cables into things to hear what it sounds like. You don’t need to come at it from a consumer or brand name angle. You should approach it to try and create the sound that is inside your heard and what you are trying to achieve.” > scottsolter.com
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BEHIND THE BOARD WITH…
ERIC BENNETT Eric Bennett has produced many basement punk and garage records, in addition to work with Elvin Jones, West Fjords, artists on Don Giovanni’s label and Shellshag’s latest album... Which band/project are you currently working on?
Favourite venue/festival/studio?
The Hunt Studio!
I’m working on a Noun record, which is the solo project of Marissa Paternoster, the singer/guitarist of Screaming Females. It is a really well-written and articulate record. Where are you at the moment?
I’m at The Hunt Studio in Millstone, NJ, USA. We’re surrounded by cemeteries and horses.
Best toy you take on tour or have in the studio?
I love our custom plate reverb made by Audio Technologies. That firm designs some of the most elegant pieces of gear available. I also have a Shin-ei fuzz that makes me smile. What’s been your worst professional experience to date?
What audio console are you utilising? And how many channels?
I’m using an AMR 2400, which was made by Peavey in the 90s. It is a 36x24 split deal. What decision process was behind the choice of this audio console?
Cost, features and Wu Tang did 36 Chambers on it. It’s a really under-
It wouldn’t be too professional to recount that experience here, but I’m not keen on voiceover work. What’s been your career highlight?
Being able to survive as a recordist in the trenches of underground projects. I get to do records for people looking to experiment with sound who are not trying to sell a product. It’s easier to take risks when you’re not
“I love our custom plate reverb by Audio Technologies and I have a Shin-ei fuzz that makes me smile.” Eric Bennett rated desk and it has excellent routing options.
calculating the lowest common denominator.
Do you utilise any outboard effects/eq, and if so, what are they used on and why?
What pisses you off when working?
I use mostly outboard gear as our place still runs tape 80 per cent of the time. I try to stay away from the usual suspects and track down oddball boxes like Acetone tape delays and Vestafire spring reverbs. These boxes give weight to signals passing through them. Favourite console?
I’m really enamoured with Studer consoles. They open up so nicely.
Cables, switches and knobs that only work intermittently. What makes you happy when working?
Mixing a clever, well-arranged song. With hindsight, what job would you have chosen for yourself?
I’m passionate about making records. I’m fortunate to be doing something that captivates my interest. However, I probably wouldn’t mind finding a faculty position in a history department somewhere.
Favourite PA or monitoring system?
Don’t do too much live stuff, but I really like those older Yamaha PM series boards.
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And if you weren't working now, you'd be?
Unemployed.
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> IN SESSION
Studios:
People and equipment behind studios in the UK and around the world...
Rooms: Studios A, B, C, D (music, post, multi purpose and picture editing) Console: SSL XL9080 K Series, SSL C300, Digidesign D-Command Mics: Neumann, Blue, Audio Technica, Royer, AKG, Earthworks, Coles Outboard: API, Tube-tech, Empirical Labs, Drawmer, Universal Audio, Neve Monitoring: Dynaudio, Custom Dynaudio
Rooms: Studios 1 and 2, mastering room Consoles: Neve VXS, Euphonix System 5 Mics: Neumann, Royer, Telefunken, Sony, Schoeps, AKG Outboard: API, Chandler, Summit, Chiswick, Drawmer, Daking, Valley People Monitoring: Quested, KRK, Yamaha, Adam, Blue Sky
Paragon Studios, USA
Bohus Sound, Sweden
NESTLED IN THE rolling hills of Franklin, Tennessee, just outside Nashville’s famed Music Row, is Paragon Studios, a multi-room world-class studio specialising in post-production sound, music and picture. One of the first facilities in North America to install the SSL C300 mixing console and with three state-of-the-art recording studios featuring over 6,500 square feet of sound-isolated recording spaces, Paragon Studios is equipped to handle any genre of music, with three mix rooms offering both analog and digital mixing. All three rooms feature uncompromised stereo and 5.1 monitoring environments. The entire 22,000 square foot building, owned and operated by engineer/mixer Fred Paragano, was designed by the Russ Berger Design Group. All of the technical spaces have been built on isolated slabs and wall framing that supports acoustically isolated spaces for recording. Large volumes of space within the studios were designed in order to obtain the kind of acoustic quality that Paragano wanted in a studio. Large expanses of glass play an important role in the facility’s ability to offer its
LOCATED JUST OUTSIDE the city of Gothenburg in the calm neighborhood of Kungälv, Studio Bohus offers world-class recording and mixing and mastering services with three studios including a 150 square metre live room. The studio was built in 1976 by what was, at the time, the most popular band in Sweden: Streaplers. It was designed by Tom Hidley and Eastlake Audio. Studio Bohus hosted some of the most influencial groups at the time, including Status Quo, who recorded their million selling album Rocking All Over the World there. ABBA also recorded a lot of their music at Bohus, before going on to build the famous Polar Studio in Stockholm. In recent years, Swedish movies such as Beck have been scored at Bohus, while chart-toppers Westlife, along with producers Max Martin and Rami, have mixed songs in the studio. Swedish major artists including Magnus Uggla, Björn Afzelius and a lot of Swedish schlager music has also been recorded and mixed in the studio. Bohus’ in-house engineers are Åke Linton, Tobias Lindell and Dragan Tanaskovic. Each has worked on some
users the opportunity to work in natural light and control of that light is possible through the use of ‘turbo walls’ in the studios. These walls are able to retract into a wall pocket, allowing daylight into the room, or to seal up the room and only allow the clerestory windows and a softer, more controlled lighting. Paragon’s Studio A features an 80-channel SSL XL9080 K series Super Analog music console. Studio B features a 256-input SSL C300 digital mixing console. Both studios have private lounges dedicated to the control room/studio combination. Studio C features a Digidesign 24 fader D-Command ES console with an attached sound isolated booth. Studio D is Paragon’s picture edit suite and features a Final Cut HD system. Paragon Studios has worked with an extensive list of international recording artists including Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Amy Grant, Kenny Loggins and Peter Frampton. It has also worked on several major motion pictures, including the Fox/Bazmark film Australia, the Universal film, The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie and the four-disc DVD release of The Rolling Stones: The Biggest Bang.
Large volumes of space were designed in order to obtain the kind of acoustic quality that Paragano wanted in a studio. Telephone: +1 615 778 9083 Web: www.paragon-studios.com
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of the best-selling records in Sweden and have many years of experience under their belts. Lindell has engineered international hits for the likes of Rachel Stevens, but the veteran of the three is Linton, who began to engineer in the 1970s and now specialises in jazz and high-fidelity acoustic recordings. Dragan Tanaskovic heads up the mastering department, employing a Sadie Artemis mastering system, among a host of other high end gear, to help achieve pristine recordings in all major formats, including stereo, 5.1 surround, DTS and so on. Handily for some, Bohus also has a daughter company, Bohus Entertainment, a joint venture between Studio Bohus and Tobias Lindell. Bohus Entertainment is the distributor in the west of Sweden for Sony DADC CD manufacturing, which means that the studio can supply customers with a cost effective way of mass producing CDs, DVDs, dual discs and CD ROMs. This means that the company can actually handle every stage of the process from recording through mixing, mastering and then record duplication.
The studio can handle every stage of the process, from recording, through mixing, mastering and then record duplication. Telephone: +46 (0) 303 649 05 Web: www.bohussound.com
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///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// To have your studio featured in this section, please send all details to: andrew.low@intentmedia.co.uk or call +44 1992 535646
Prism Sound’s Mark Evans offers some tips on mastering
Final flourishes
Rooms: Single mastering suite DAW: Sadie PCM8 V5 Outboard: Prism Maselec, TC Electronic, Lexicon Conversion: Prism Dream ADA-8 Monitoring: PMC, Bryston
Optimum Mastering, UK OPTIMUM MASTERING IS a state-ofthe-art mastering suite, located in the heart of the dockside city of Bristol. It was founded by engineer Shawn Joseph and the directors of seminal dance label NRK Records. Between them they identified a niche for bespoke, quality and affordable post production outside the capital. Optimum is a single room operation designed by Roger D’Arcy of Recording Architecture (whose previous clients include Abbey Road and Lenny Kravitz). The kit list was picked for function, rather than to impress. PMC Monitoring, Prism Dream converters, Maselec analog processing, TC Electronic System 6000 digital processing, Pro Tools and Sadie all feature on the inventory. The ethos of the company is allinclusive, presenting all-comers with the opportunity to have their music mastered to a professional standard. Between them, the people behind Optimum Mastering have 50 years of experience to offer their customers.
To date the blueprint has proved successful in attracting clients from project studios to major labels. Joseph prides himself in an extensive musical knowledge, which he studiously applies to mainstream and leftfield genres, including rock and metal, hip hop and jazz, dubstep and house. Recent clients include Portishead, Massive Attack, Polar Bear, Courtney Pine, John Parrish and The Automatic. Stars of the dance floor who have benefited from Optimum’s services include Franck Roger, Spiller, Martyn, Pinch and Adam Freeland. Vinyl cutting has always been an intrinsic part of the Optimum service and as such the company brought in ‘lathe veteran’ Jack ‘Jacko’ Adams. His work is some of the most respected in the vinyl world and there is not a scenario he hasn’t encountered. Remote session by ftp is a favourite of artists and producers around the world looking for the Optimum touch. In some cases, this has enabled delivery of a revised mix during a session.
The ethos of the company is all-inclusive, presenting all-comers with the opportunity to have their music mastered to a professional standard. Telephone: +44 (0) 117 971 6901 Web: www.optimum-mastering.com
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MASTERING HAS become more important than ever before. Gone are the days when projects were recorded and mixed by a highly trained engineer/producer team. Now music often arrives for mastering having been recorded and mixed in a bedroom. So, what are mastering tools? First and foremost, you need a good set of ears. Successful mastering engineers can offer good advice about a mix. It is a good idea to take the ‘best’ track from an album and discuss the mix and sound balance first. Ideally, this would need minimal treatment from the mastering engineer and will act as a reference for the other tracks on the album. You need a good monitor setup. Don’t choose a pair of monitor speakers with that typical ‘smiley face’ frequency response. They might sound cool, but if they are coloured you will end up with the exact opposite of what your speakers tell you. Don’t use too large a speaker for your room and be careful with placement – not in the corner and not against the wall. Look at the room itself and consider some acoustic treatment. Ideally, discuss listening room issues with your speaker supplier. Consider a quality set of AD and DA converters, without which you aren’t going to be hearing exactly what was recorded. A useful check for any converter is to drive it at low level. Pad down for AD or fade down with a properly dithered fader for DA. Listen carefully to the results (obviously you’ll need to boost output level to do that). Also, clocking. If changing the clock source improves the sound
of your converter, it is probably not very transparent and may be affected by jitter. A good converter is immune. Next the audio workstation. Its task is to record, play back, edit, PQ and then deliver the final master by DDP image or CD. All of this needs to be done as quickly as possible with 100 per cent reliability and bit accuracy. Any tool or function in your workstation that saves you time will be a welcome addition. We all love a nice cup of tea, but waiting with your client sitting
So, what are mastering tools? First and foremost, you need a good set of ears. Successful mastering engineers can offer good advice about a mix. there with a rapidly mounting bill, while a fade renders seems an unnecessary evil, doesn’t it? You may wish to use an analog signal chain for eq and compression. There is no hard and fast rule, it is a matter of personal preference, but many engineers work this way. Some key features of suitable analog processors are stepped controls for precision and repeatability and small step sizes. You don’t need 24dB gain in a mastering eq section. Prism Sound, Sadie and Maselec tools are used in many of the world’s leading mastering studios – such as Abbey Road and Metropolis to name but two.
Mark Evans holds the position of Sadie sales and support executive at the Prism Sound Group. He has worked for the company for two years. Previous to this (and after completing an audio course at SAE) he worked for Sadie’s former owners, Studio Audio & Video, where, among other things, he was responsible for software test and sales/support.
To contact Prism Sound Tel: +44 1353 648888 Email: sales@prismsound.com www.prismsound.com
> PEOPLE
IN BRIEF LAB.GRUPPEN HAS appointed Simeon Ludwell to the position of UK sales manager, in the wake of the formation of Lab.gruppen UK Direct, the new direct-to-market sales outlet for the company. Ludwell will be the main point of contact in the UK for Lab.gruppen and Lake products. Lab.gruppen international sales manager Claus Behrens stated: “Sim has got just the right profile for this position. He’s worked as a freelance sound engineer and has a comprehensive knowledge of the installation market.” > lab.gruppen.com RCF HAS a new European sales manager in the shape of Lars Yoshiyama, who has served as export sales executive for several important PA system manufacturers. In his new post he will focus on developing new business and expanding RCF’s commercial audio and congress systems sales in Europe. Based in the company’s head offices in Reggio Emilia, he will work closely with RCF product management and technical support. > rcf.it POWERSOFT HAS been joined by Thomas Mittelmann as business development manager. Mittelmann brings a wealth of experience to Powersoft having completed eight years with Lab.gruppen. “Thomas, with his background and experience specifically in the power amplifier business, is the perfect ambassador,” said managing director Claudio Lastrucci. “We believe that having him on our team will help elevate our penetration.” “I look forward to working with Thomas to maintain the best service for the growing base of users,” added audio sales manager Luca Giorgi. > powersoft.it 48 audioPRO November 2009
Frank Loyko named president of RCF US
Xavier Pion joins APG
EAW co-founder heads up American operations
Pion (left) with APG’s Sarah Mortier
LOKYO: Solid track record
ITALIAN LOUDSPEAKER maker, RCF has appointed Frank Loyko as president of its US arm. Lokyo is one of the founding members of the speaker manufacturer EAW and has accumulated over 30-years of pro audio sales experience. In his role as president he will be responsible for all US sales and operations for both the RCF and dB Technologies brands. Loyko joins RCF from his position as director of live sound sales for Avid Technologies and
Digidesign. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of sales at Loud Technologies. Arturo Vicari, the managing director of the RCF Group, stated: “Frank has a very solid track record for building professional audio brands and has unquestiuonably been extremely successful in leading high-performance sales teams. He has broad experience in all aspects of live sound sales, as well as extensive connections within the industry.” > rcf.it
FRENCH LOUDSPEAKER manufacturer APG has hired the former Innovason console specialist, Xavier Pion, to handle its international sales and marketing. The move follows the recent launch of a number of innovative new products, including the Uniline high power compact line array system and the SMX15 stage monitor. According to APG general manager and shareholder, Gregory Dapsanse, the move could not have come at a better time for the company. “Something we’ve always been proud of at APG is the level of personal contact we maintain with the customer. We have always been dedicated to their needs and to providing the highest quality and bestsounding products possible,” he said. > apg.tm.fr
Bosch appoints Steve Johnson Former Shure and Harman man joins audio giant as pro sound line manager BOSCH HAS announced the appointment of industry veteran Steve Johnson to the position of pro sound business line manager. The former VP of global marketing for Shure and, most recently, VP of marketing at Harman, Johnson will manage the new pro sound line. Johnson will take over global responsibilities for product management and engineering, reporting directly to Robert Mulatz, president of Bosch’s communications systems division. “Having a single responsibility for both Dynacord and Electro-Voice supports our goal to further strengthen the individual strategy and perception of both these brands,” said Mulatz. “Steve’s experience, drive and vision will prove assets to this end,
and we are thrilled to have him join the team.” “Dynacord and EV are brands with rich histories and reputations. Joining Bosch and being responsible for two brands as renowned as these is an exciting opportunity to take their substantial legacies to the next level,” said Johnson. “The engineering teams are second to none,” he added. “Coupling their theoretical and hands-on know-how with Bosch’s technological resources means that the communications systems division has unmatched capabilities in the pro sound industry. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to lead engineering and product management for the pro sound business line.” > boschcommunications.com
JOHNSON: Hired to strenghten brands www.audioprointernational.com
DISTRIBUTION <
dBTechnologies seals deals in UK and Spain New European distribution networks established by working directly with employed representatives LOUDSPEAKER manufacturer dBTechnologies has established new distribution networks in the UK and Spain by working directly with employed representatives. Dave Kelland, an industry veteran who has worked with numerous PA companies and prior as a freelance sound engineer, has managed UK sales over the past year. Kelland’s sales success, coupled with the release of the Opera digital and DVX professional speaker series this year, has led to the appointment of Richard Soper, who joined the team in October as area sales manager for the south of England. “Richard’s bright, confident demeanour and previous experience in a technical sales role at Amber
Sound stands him in good stead to present products to customers,” said Kelland, who will now be focussing his energies on the more far-flung areas of Scotland, Ireland and the north of England. Spain has also benefited from dB’s ‘direct approach’, with Juan Miguel Ramonde Martinez and Raul Ablanque Sanchez de la Morena running the sales of dBTechnologies as of August this year. Based in Madrid, the gentlemen previously held roles as product manager and sales director for a long-standing distribution company, giving them strong connections with MI and pro audio customers. Also boasting a comprehensive knowledge of dBTechnologies’ product ranges, both Martinez and de la Morena agreed: “We are thrilled to
UNIFIED: Juan Miguel, Ramonde Martinez and Harald von Falkenstein
take on a brand which is developing such a distinctive identity, reaching both here and worldwide.” European sales manager, HvF said “These guys’ experience and enthusiasm for dBTechnologies will certainly be an asset to us in both
territories. Now they’re on board with us it makes it easier to increase efficiency and streamline service and support. In these two large and demanding markets, it’s certainly proving to be the way forward.” > dbtechnologies.com
Optocore appoints SeeSound for Spanish distribution
Midas announces the formation of new international divisions
Exclusive distribution agreement signed at PLASA
Midas Consoles Italy and Japan established as the latest software for the company flagship is released
OPTOCORE HAS appointed Barcelona-based SeeSound as its new exclusive Spanish distributor. The agreement was confirmed at this year’s PLASA show in London, where Optocore launched the brand new SANE (Synchronous Audio Networking plus Ethernet) protocol into the world’s professional audio market. SeeSound’s CEO, Nacho Alberdi, not only has extensive knowledge of the Optocore system, having distributed its fibre products back in 2001 as part of AlberdiPro, but has also worked closely with Optocore’s recently appointed International sales manager, Mike Case, over the years. www.audioprointernational.com
“Having proved to be the industry leader in audio transport through fibre, with the upgrade of the Optocore system, and the ability to be linked to the new SANE system, we are delighted to be working with the brand again,” said Alberdi. “Optocore is well known in Spain, and SANE is destined to be a success in the installation market as well as the live market,” he said “It cuts down the cost to affordable prices leaving an open door for future expansion of the installation. The beauty of SANE is that it shares the same technology and can be linked to the fibre Optocore system.” > optocore.com
MIDAS AND Klark Teknik have announced the formation of Midas Consoles Japan and Midas Consoles Italy, both of which will take over as exclusive distributors within their respective countries, with immediate effect. Based in Tokyo, Midas Consoles Japan is a brand-orientated division of Bestec Audio and is dedicated to the sales and after-sales support of Midas and Klark Teknik products in the country. General manager Takayuki Ozaki joins the company from EVI Audio Japan, where he worked with Midas and Klark Teknik products for 13 years. He is joined by executive vice president Tadato Nishimura. “I encountered the Midas XL3 in
1993 when I was involved in the concert sound industry and I still remember how very much I was impressed by it back then,” he said. “I joined the EVI Audio Group to sell Midas and Klark Teknik products in 1996 and from that time on I have been the product manager for the brands in Japan. “We’ve founded Midas Consoles Japan with Bestec Audio to provide stronger support for the concert sound market. Our aim is to create great sound and impress everyone by it.” General manager Pierfranco Galeone, who previously represented the Midas and Klark Teknik at Texim Audio, heads Midas Consoles Italy. > midasconsoles.com
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November 2009 49
> PRODUCT
NEW GEAR >> Recent releases in audio technology 1
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Digico SD8-24 console
VMB TL-A220 line array lift
Grace Design m501 preamp
QSC DCS SC-424-8F cinema processor
THEY SAY: Designed with a smaller footprint for the corporate events sector, the SD8-24 features the same functionality and number of inputs and outputs as the SD8 console. SPECIFICATIONS: The SD8-24 has the fixed architecture of the SD8, employing the same smaller Super FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Features include 48/8 stage rack and 100m digital MADI snake, up to 60 mono or stereo channels with full processing (equal to 120 channels of DSP processing), 24 mono or stereo busses, plus stereo or LCR master with full processing (equal to 51 busses of DSP processing). Additional features include onboard local I/O with eight mic/line inputs, outputs and AES I/O, 25 touch sensitive faders, 16x12 Matrix with full output processing and 24x32 bands of graphic eq.
THEY SAY: The TL-A220 gives the user the chance to curve the array while not compromising the 220kg safe load. SPECIFICATIONS: The TL-A220 is capable of lifting 220kg of PA to a height of 5.5 metres. TL-A220 is well suited for quick line array set-up with a transport weight/height of 95kg/1.7m and incorporates the ALS (Auto Lock Security). The ALS automatically locks the lift in place, releases all the pressure from the cable and guarantees the load will not fall. The TL-A220 can lift the 220kg from half a metre out. It also comes with lateral support and rear support bars as standard. The outriggers have been carefully designed to add support and accommodate sub bass cabinets at ground level below the flown top cabinets. It is BGV-C1 certified.
THEY SAY: The m501 provides the sonic performance and feature set of the company’s venerable m101 preamp for customers using 500 series racks. SPECIFICATIONS: The fully balanced, transformerless m501 signal path incorporates 0.5 per cent precision metal resistors, output line driver and HPF amplifiers and RFI suppression. The 12-position rotary gain switch is gold plated and a sealed gold contact relay is used for Hi-Z input switching. There’s also a rotary trim/gain pot included that allows for fine tuning of gain settings. The m501 includes Grace’s exclusive ribbon mic mode as standard. With ribbon mode engaged, the m501 provides a wide 10-75dB gain range.
THEY SAY: The DCS SC-424-8F follows the success of the award-winning DCP 300 digital cinema processor. SPECIFICATIONS: The DCS SC-424-8F is a flyable, four way, tri-amplified speaker system for dome and large format cinemas that require suspended mounting of screen channels, or pointsource surround channels. Both the mid/high and LF enclosures are built with common dimensions for installation in vertical or horizontal arrays and are constructed of heavily braced, 15mm concert tour-grade plywood. It also features a coax HF/VHF diaphragm. The MHV-1090F midhigh/high frequency system features a high output, horn loaded ten-inch midrange cone driver and a coaxial neodymium high-frequency/very highfrequency compression driver. > qscaudio.com
> digico.biz
> gracedesign.com
> vmb.es
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Roland M-380 compact V-Mixer
Soundcraft Si1 console
Rupert Neve Designs Portico II Channel Strip
JBL MSC1 Monitor System Controller
THEY SAY: The M-380 is a 48-channel console with all of the features and benefits of the award-winning M-400, but in a compact rack-mount unit. SPECIFICATIONS: Rapid recall of setups, 100mm motorised and touch sensitive faders, an 800 x 480 colour screen and dedicated multi-function knobs for eq, pan, gain and control of dynamics. Up to 48-channel mixing capability, digital patch-bays with Roland FX including RE201 space echo and SDE3000 delay, 16 aux/mon sends, eight matrices, eight DCAs, eight mute groups, built-in stereo recording and support for LCR configurations. Converts analog to 24-bit digital streams at the stage end via mic preamps located near the source. A fully digital system, the M-380 is based on REAC, replacing analog cables with cat5e (Ethernet/LAN) cable.
THEY SAY: The Si range has already earned five industry awards for its userfriendly format and for aiding the transition from analog to digital. SPECIFICATIONS: The Si1 features 32 mic inputs mapped on 16 faders, four dedicated stereo line channels, four dedicated FX returns from the four stereo Lexicon FX processors and mixes up to 48 inputs. Comprises eight balanced insert sends and returns with eight matrix busses. Buses assigned to any of the 16 physical XLR connectors as well as the dedicated mix and monitoring output XLRs. Every bus has a dedicated 30-band BSS Audio graphic eq, permanently patched in with no additional drain on DSP resource. There are three option card slots for further expansion, such as recording of the channel direct output feeds or up the number of channels to mix.
THEY SAY Portico II rack-mounting modules based on the high voltage single-sided op-amps developed for the 5088 mixer. SPECIFICATIONS: Self-powered 2U channel module with mic preamp, four-band eq, compressor-limiter, texture control and level metering. Fully tunable de-esser, multiple VCA filtering and detection options, a transientoptimised swept HPF and parallel compression blending. The new texture section is designed to adjust the actual amount of harmonic music content from the source material to provide limitless tonal options. Silk mode reduces feedback on the output transformer and adjusts the frequency response to resemble Rupert Neve’s vintage designs. Further tools are used to craft dynamic response.
> Soundcraft.com
> rupertneve.com
THEY SAY: The MSC1 takes control of studio monitoring functions and tunes speakers to the room. SPECIFICATIONS: The MSC1 includes JBL's RMC Room Mode Correction technology that can tune any system to overcome LF problems. Monitors three two-channel input sources, and allows connection of two sets of speakers and a subwoofer. ‘A’ speaker outputs feature userdefined monitor eq and JBL RMC to tune the system to the room. Sub output level control, selectable crossover settings and RMC to blend sub with the ‘A’ speakers. ‘B’ speaker outputs allow connection of a second set of monitors. Control Center Software with adjustable settings, incl speaker eq, sub, crossover frequency, polarity and level, fine-res delay compensates speaker and sub distance relative to listening position.
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> jblpro.com www.audioprointernational.com
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17-18 November 2009 RDS, Dublin, Ireland The entertainment and installation technology showcase for Ireland evenTech Ireland is a focused networking forum for the region’s key decision-makers to keep up-to-date with the hottest technologies and latest industry trends and developments. evenTech will provide manufacturers and suppliers with a unique regional platform to make face-to-face contact with a quality audience involved in Ireland’s major entertainment and installation projects and initiatives.
Enquire NOW about exhibiting at evenTech Ireland 2009!
To find out more about evenTech Ireland and the exciting opportunities Ireland presents contact:
Email: info@eventech-ireland.com Telephone: +44 (0) 1776 703572 To register to attend for FREE as a visitor please visit www.eventech-ireland.com
Media Partner:
10-11 February 2010 Thistle Glasgow, UK The entertainment and installation technology showcase for the North of the UK evenTech Scotland is a focused networking forum for the region’s key decision-makers to keep up-to-date with the hottest technologies and latest industry trends and developments. evenTech will provide manufacturers and suppliers with a unique regional platform to make face-toface contact with a quality audience involved in the North’s major entertainment and installation projects and initiatives.
Enquire NOW about exhibiting at evenTech Scotland 2010!
To find out more about evenTech Scotland and the exciting opportunities the North of the UK presents contact:
Email: info@eventech-scotland.com Telephone: +44 (0) 1776 703572 To register to attend for FREE as a visitor please visit www.eventech-scotland.com
Media Partner:
MARKETPLACE <
SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
MARKETPLACE ADVERTISERS INDEX
SOUND MARKETING
Adam Hall
01702 613922
Gasoline
www.gasoline.co.uk
Marketing - PR - New Media
Graphic Nature
01992 558800
HME
+1858 535 6060
Hypex
+31 50 52 64 993
Leisuretec
+44 (0) 1525 850085
sales@leisuretec.co.uk
Neutrik
+44 (0) 1983 811 441
www.neutrik.com
Sound Marketing
01296 621 052
SOUND MARKETING IS where a wealth of knowledge and experience of the audio and entertainment industry are applied on behalf of clients with energy, imagination and personality. Stephanie (Lambley) Dell began her career in the entertainment industry (appearing in The Bill and Eastenders). In such an unpredictable business she thought it wise to develop a supplementary career, so after receiving a diploma in performing arts, secured an administrative position in the service department of Hayden Laboratories. Before long she was snapped up by the sales and marketing division and the actor turned marketeer. During her six years at Hayden Labs, Dell formalised her passion for marketing and obtained a Chartered Institute of Marketing diploma. On receiving a job offer from leading distributor Leisuretec Distribution, she took up a post with the company and went on to become the sales manager. Six years later, with a wide remit of responsibility, she decided it was time to set up her own company. With such strong roots in audio and entertainment and a real flair for applying her knowledge and experience
DISTRIBUTION
www.graphicnature.co.uk
sales@hypex.nl
www.soundmarketing.co.uk
DELL: Passionate to a broad range of tasks, Sound Marketing was an inevitable step. “Sound Marketing was born from a love of all things audio and a passion for the entertainments industry,” she says. “It is about traditional marketing, as well as new media, viral campaigns and digital marketing. I am committed to providing cost-effective, tailored marketing and PR services”. Clients include Global Design Solutions, Pioneer Europe, Polar Audio, Total Impact and Trantec. > soundmarketingpractice.co.uk
AUDIO MARKETPLACE CLASSIFIED RATES: Minimum 12 Months One Annual Charge Quarter Page £1,495
To advertise call
Darrell Carter on 01992 535647
LOUDSPEAKER
Your Box
Ready to Snatch 01525 850085
www.leisuretec.co.uk
Sound • Lighting • Special Effects - Established 1990 - Distribution Power Squared
>
MARKETPLACE MANUFACTURER
MANUFACTURER
“One great sounding amplifier”
All-in-One Headset or Beltpac Options
actual size: 141x110x35mm
Introducing the NEW WS200 Wireless Speaker Station
+1-858-535-6060
Highlights Flat, fully load-independent response Very low output impedance Low, frequency-independent THD Very low noise Industry best EMC Conservative thermal design
Performance meets power! The famed UcDTM sound quality is now available at over 2kW. If you must know more precisely: the UcD2kTM module delivers up to 120Vrms and up to 35Arms to the load, depending on the capabilities of the power supply. Conservative thermal design insures all parts remain well within their ratings even with the most unfavourable programme. Contact Hypex or have a look at www.hypex.nl for more information.
Kattegat 8 | 9723 JP Groningen The Netherlands | +31 50 52 64 993 sales@hypex.nl
www.HMEDX.com MANUFACTURER
now g shippin
PR
MARKETPLACE < PR
STUDIO
“You’d better hope the guy with this view knows what he’s doing” When you get up in front of your fans, you want to focus on your performance, not on what you sound like out front. You want to know that the man who’s mixing your live sound is neither deaf nor bored, knows how to get the best out of the kit he’s working with and is going to make you sound as good as you can be. Not everyone knows how to do ‘loud’ without endangering the audience’s hearing, blowing up some crucial piece of gear or alienating the local crew. Fortunately, when Wes is out front, you can relax, knowing it’s going to be great. He’s mixed live sound in over 120 venues throughout the UK and Europe on umpteen different desks, He’s mixed heavy metal at the Download Festival and Sting’s lute in the Albert Hall. He’s done Goth in Whitby and Blues in Malta. This depth of experience is priceless. Being fluent in four languages and having an encyclopedic knowledge of the cool restaurants and bars of Europe’s major cities is also an advantage of course. Wes even makes a mean quesadilla on the tour bus. So next time you want someone really great out front who’s on your side, give Wes a call. And if you visit www.wesonator.co.uk and sign up for the Sonic Cuisine newsletter, he’ll even send you his recipe for Tour Bus Quesadilla!
Wes Maebe The GHQ Sonic Cuisine, West London Freelance recording, mixing, mastering and live engineer. T: 020 8749 5654 M: 07875 401114 E: wes@wesonator.co.uk
www.wesonator.co.uk Photo of Exit 10 at Download by Wes Maebe
STUDIO
API MARKETPLACE GREAT ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
CONTACT DARRELL CARTER +44 (0)1992 535647
The Audio Pro paparazzi is infiltrating all audio events, snapping away for our monthly Mixdown, which features friendly faces of people in the business and shots from industry events. If you have any pictures from an event that you would like us to include, please send them to andrew.low@intentmedia.co.uk.
The last word in Audio Pro PIC OF THE MONTH
PUPPY PARTY These howling pictures were taken at the recent Puppy Farm Awareness Party held at the Brighton Racecourse. The event successfully raised awareness about the cruel Puppy Farming Trade in the United Kingdom through the support of celebrities such as Chris Ellison, aka DI Burnside (pictured above), BBC Radio London’s Big George (pictured below), sport celebrities and over 1,000 local dog lovers who joined forces on the day. Sound Technolgy of Letchworth, UK supplied the JBL Eon PA and AKG mic systems used on the day.
ARE YOU?
The youngest sound engineer to grace the pages of Audio Pro, Charlie Carter was born on October 7th. Weighing in at 6lb 6oz, Charlie is the son of Intent’s Media’s managing editor Lisa Foster and API’s very own ad manager Darrell Carter. Mum and dad are very happy and doing well as they get used to his constant wailing vocals. Look out Thom Yorke, this generation’s best new indie crooner has arrived!
Beyoncé is pictured above singing through a Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld mic with an MD 5235 capsule during her I Am... world tour. Horace Ward, front-of-house engineer with Beyoncé since she began touring solo, recalls that she initially used the Neumann KK 104 capsule: “Then Sennheiser came out with the 5235 capsule. I tried it out and I said, ‘that's it! That’s the one we're going to use.’”
E N O D ’S T I W HO Flaming Lips’ latest album, Embryonic, is a jammy and droning departure from the band’s more upbeat albums. Recorded with long-time engineer Dave Fridmann, most of the songs began as jams recorded on Pro Tools at member Steven Drozd’s house. The band took the ideas to Fridmann’s Tarbox Road studios, where it was tracked through an Otari Concept Elite 40 x 24 with Total Recall Eagle automation and 40 channels of dynamics, 80 inputs and Neve 24 input 5104. The band also took advantage of the Tarbox’s huge list of amazing outboard gear and mics.
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www.audioprointernational.com
AUDIO ARCHETYPES Focusrite Red 3 dual compressor/limiter
NYC’S BEST DEAD API Audio, manufacturer of some of pro audio’s most coveted analog equipment – including the 500 series modules and the Legacy and Vision consoles – turned 40 this year and hosted a killer party at AES 2009 to celebrate. Filled to capacity, the party rocked New York City's Roseland Ballroom with legendary musicians, gear giveaways and the analog sounds of API’s console roaring through the stacks at the ballroom. In addition to being an excellent party in its own right, the event punctuated a much better than anticipated AES Convention for all the vendors and API returned home with sweet memories and several awards for the new modular 527 compressor. Together with his band, slide guitar master Sonny Landreth (whose technique Eric Clapton humbly acknowledged puts his own to shame) provided blues and rock vibes that pulsed through Roseland.
The Red 3 was launched in 1994, secured a TEC award in 1995 and went on to become an industry standard worldwide. Almost every major studio owns, or has at some time hosted, a Red 3, famous for its ability to retain a natural, unobtrusive sound even when significant compression is being applied. Red 3s are frequently placed over the mix bus, applying an effect that Tom Lord-Alge describes as, ‘kissing the Focusrite’. Sadly, after 15 years, Focusrite is finally to discontinue the Red 3. The Red 3, as with all of the Red range modules, is hand-built, using the same circuit topology as the original ISA 130 module from the Focusrite Forté console. All Red products feature relays using gold-plated silver contacts, sealed in an inert gas. The precious metal means that all contacts are low resistance and the gas prevents any kind of corrosion of the surface of the contacts, creating the most pristine audio switching device ever designed – utterly passive, zerodistortion caused and no FETs required. The Red 3 features a proprietary Class A VCA design, fully discrete and balanced, offering musical harmonic characteristics. In order to separate compression and limiting, the side-chain electronics contain three VCAs in series to generate compression and limiting control voltages, which drive the main VCA.
BEHIND THE BILLBOARD
TOP TEN DRIVING SONG ENGINEERS 1. Todd Rundgren (Bat out of Hell – Meatloaf) 2. Gary Lyons (Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen) 3. Geoff Workman (Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen) 4. Mark Needham (Mr Brightside – The Killers) 5. Michael B Tretow (Dancing Queen – ABBA) 6. Jacquire King (Sex on Fire – Kings of Leon)
www.audioprointernational.com
7. Reinhold Mack (I Want to Break Free – Queen) 8. Bruce Swedien (Thriller – Michael Jackson) 9. Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero (Sweet Child of Mine – Guns ‘n Roses) 10. Al Kooper (Freebird – Lynryd Skynyrd) Source: PRS for Music
STILL DEAD
More from API Audio’s 40th party, where Audio Pro International has discovered one performance featured some pretty nifty guitar finger-work from none other than Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and slide virtuoso Sonny Landreth. Weir, clearly showing his age, patently refused to continue jamming for eight hours and (it was rumoured) no drugs were taken, either during preparation for, or wind down from the gig. How times change. audioPRO
November 2009 57
>>
AUDIO FISH OF THE MONTH
Dave Victoire, MD of Road Shows, pulled this mighty aquatic beast out of Bill’s Lake In France. The 53lb carp is either a mirror or a leather – can you help? Send your audio-fishy photos for this monthly column to: andrew.low@intentmedia.co.uk
METALISED
Pictured at AES 2009 are (l-r) METAlliance founders Phil Ramone and Frank Filipetti, SSL’s Piers Plaskitt, and METAlliance founders Chuck Ainlay, Ed Cherney and George Massenburg. (Photo by David Goggin.) SSL is a pro partner of the METAlliance, a group of globallyrecognised, award-winning audio engineers and producers who have been deeply involved in establishing techniques and technical standards that are the foundation of modern music recording.
GARDEN STUDIOS’ CRAIG SILVEY ON THE NEVE 8026 I’ve had it since 1995. Quite early on as an assistant, training on modern Neve and SSL boards, I always felt that there was something missing from the sound I was trying to get. I did some training with George Massenburg and he turned me on to the idea of keeping your signal paths as pure and clean as possible and he introduced me to vintage Neve stuff as well as his own gear. I then started using rooms that had old Neves and discovered that even the old Neves had their own level of purity. The 8026, one of the earlier ones, is one of the cleanist, because there’s really not much in there to get in the path. I jumped on this desk as soon as it was available because the monitor section is completely passive, there’s no electronics in it and it sounds amazing. At one point I had a studio in San Francisco called Toast, where REM and Neil Young recorded. Young has just released a new album called The Toast Sessions and it’s about recording at the studio through the desk. As time has gone on and people have got more into mixing in the box, I’ve started getting into the idea of the Dangerous Music-style summing mixers – that kind of thing. Then I realised that I had the perfect big desk on my hands to do exactly the same. What it doesn’t have in the way of the flexibility of modern desks, you can now get from Pro Tools anyway, but you get all the sonic purity to go with it. So I’ve got the best of both worlds – the perfect desk.
To discuss advertising contact Darrell Carter on 01992 535647 darrell.carter@intentmedia.co.uk For editorial enquiries email Andrew Low andrew.low@intentmedia.co.uk or call 01992 535646 Audio Pro International is published 11 times a year by Intent Media ~ Saxon House, 6A St. Andrew Street, Hertford SG14 1JA, England
Intent Media is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation and the Periodical Publishers Association
A
© Intent Media 2009. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners. Printed by Manson Group, AL3 6PZ
ISSN: 1755-4918
SUBSCRIPTIONS UK: Free Europe: £60 Rest of world: £90 If you or one of your colleagues would like to request a subscription to Audio Pro International, please email audio.subscriptions@c-cms.com or call 01580 883848
If you would like to receive your own copy of Audio Pro International, please email our subscriptions department on: audio.subscriptions@c-cms.com or call 01580 883848
58 audioPRO November 2009
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22â&#x20AC;?/31mm
In 2008 we ticked36.35â&#x20AC;?/923.5mm all the boxes. 0.47â&#x20AC;?/12mm In 2009 weË&#x2122;ve created some 14.09â&#x20AC;?/358m new ones... Feature
rotary assign
SD8
SD8 Overdrive
Complete with 48/8 Stage Rack with 100m Digital MADI snake.
Up to 60 mono or stereo channels with full processing (equal to 120 channels of DSP processing).
24 mono or stereo busses + Stereo Master with full processing (equal to 50 busses of DSP processing).
On Board local I/O with 8 Mic/Line inputs, 8 Line Outputs and 8 AES I/O.
Open format & platform recording.
12 x 32 Graphic Equalisers.
12x12 Matrix with full output processing.
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6 stereo ďŹ&#x201A;oating point FX processors.
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Snapshot cue control with crossfade. in in
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hpf
Full worksurface precision metering.
freq q comp
Networking and remote control.
gain
Floating point processing.
q comp
c ve cu
gain
Future proofed FPGA audio core.
freq q gate
Remote studio grade mic preâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.
gain
AW-293-00040-A
eq on
insert a
q
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MADI connection.
d dir direct
USB compatible for session saving & transfer.
dynamic automation
freq q
all record
snapshot
solo 1
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afl rtn to audio
clear
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24 x 32 Graphic Equalisers.
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all play
trim
undo selected d
freq q
S
sip p
solo 2
update
group sip FIRE
8 stereo ďŹ&#x201A;oating point FX processors (including Stealth FGPA FX imported from SD7 Mach 2).
redo 2n 2nd
op io opt option all
Snapshot Scopes and Crossfades expanded to allow per channel settings and per feature.
auto on
undo q
afl
insert new
trim
macros
clear
single g
auto
powered by
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assign
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Dynamic EQ 8 on any input or output path on each band, equivalent to 64 dynamic Eqs in DSP processing.
Multi Band Compression Available on any 8 input or output processing paths, mono or stereo. This is equivalent to 48 touch-n-turn Multi Band Compressors in DSP processing.
Snapshot List per snapshot editable text styles for Snapshot names (uses snapshot notes style).
Snapshot Timing Progress Bar.
screen assign
auxx
auxx
MIDI Machine Control this has been implemented to allow Play/Stop and Locate commands to be triggered by Snapshots.
Dedicated Talkback Channel.
Security Modes Unattended and custom Live mode with user deďŹ nable password protection.
Optical I/O Option.
master
Assign / Unassign allows the building of custom fader banks via channel functions on the worksurface. left
right
W-293-00030-A
AW-293-00034-A
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Overdrive software available for both SD8 and the new smaller footprint SD8 - 24 www.digico.org
W-293-00032-A AW 293 00036 A