Audio Pro Issue 16, February 2009

Issue 16 February 2009

LIVE • COMMERCIAL • RECORDING • BROADCAST

ISE PREVIEW: WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE FASTEST GROWING SHOW

DAWS

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TONY PLATT

UAD-2 CARD REVIEW

DANCING IN THE DARK Recession, what recession? We visit the super clubs that are beating the credit crunch

audioPRO INTERNATIONAL

CONTENTS

ISSUE 16 February 2009

REGULARS: STUDIOS 36 PEOPLE 38 DISTRIBUTION 39 PRODUCTS 40 MV recently entered into a new venture with the Mama Group to share 11 of the UK’s top venues. While this may be a saving grace for the venue owners as support from the high street record chain will help with promotion expenses and raise the profile of the venues, the fact that the company now has branding rights feels like another piece of history has been sold to a corporate entity.

The naming and branding rights given to HMV in the deal see the Hammersmith Apollo being renamed as HMV Apollo and The Forum the HMV Forum. Let’s hope that the branding of the venues does not extend past the sign on marquee and into the venue itself. I had the opportunity to visit the Nokia Theatre in Manhattan’s Times Square recently and was shocked at the amount of product placement adorned throughout the venue.

The halls of the Nokia Theatre were laden with inset display boxes showing the latest Nokia phones, while the bathrooms were plastered with advertisements and posters for the latest offers on phones for the whole family. I will admit that the colourful posters were a welcome departure from the black painted or graffiti stained walls usually found in venues, but there is a loss of the rebellious spirit and

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The branding rights given to HMV now sees the Hammersmith Apollo changed to the HMV Apollo. freedom that comes with going to see a live band when advertisements are played through the PA before and during a gig.

Brands like Jagermeister, Zig Zag and Red Bull have also been furiously fighting over who gets to sponsor the hottest new band’s tour. The problem I see with this is the fact that the bands themselves are acting as spokespeople for these companies. Not long ago a band or singer would be considered a sell out for starring in an ad campaign. Nowadays rock n roll legends like Iggy Pop have began sponsoring ads for insurance companies. I have also heard rumours that record labels are going to start inserting advertisements before songs on their band’s albums. While it is unrealistic to think that in the current economy no-one should consider corporate sponsorship to help promote their tours, I just wonder when it became ok for a rock n roller to be the poster boy for the very people they have been rebelling against for decades.

NEWS 4-6 COVER FEATURE

CLUB SYSTEMS

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A look at the massive systems providing the soundtrack to today’s hottest night clubs.

EVENTS ISE 8 EVENTECH 10 A sneak peak at February’s most promising trade shows.

FEATURES TONY PLATT 22 Legendary producer Tony Platt talks about his success with the webbased recording business model.

DAWS 26

Andrew Low Editor andrew.low@intentmedia.co.uk

A guide to the latest digital recording and editing software.

The latest

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UAD-2 NEVANA 128 31 DAVE SYSTEM 32

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Reviews of UA’s Neve simulator card and the Dave PA system.

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NEWS

NEWS

Lab.gruppen acquires Lake brand DLP and PLM technology now exclusively owned by the power amplifier company LAB.GRUPPEN has acquired the Lake trademark and the exclusive rights for use of Dolby Lake Processor (DLP) technology.

This announcement follows the recent news that Dolby Laboratories has exited the live sound business and made its final run of the DLP. Lab.gruppen is now the exclusive owner of the Lake Controller software and firmware and will make further developments to the program for inclusion in its existing products and future developments.

The Sweden-based company also owns the Lake brand name and related technologies in Lab.gruppen branded and stand-alone

products for use in the touring and permanent sound reinforcement markets. This technology forms the core DLP and its own Powered Loudspeaker Management (PLM) systems.

DLP Technology will now be known as Lake Technology or Lake Processing. Similarly, the Dolby Lake Controller PLM Edition software will now be called Lake Controller software. New versions of the software will be compatible with standalone DLP and PLM Series products.

“This is a significant step for our company,” stated Tomas Lilja, MD at Lab.gruppen.

“Lab.gruppen is extremely pleased to have acquired the very well respected Lake

demand for stand-alone processing and assessing this market is high on our agenda.

We are hoping that, through our support of the existing DLP user base – with software updates and new features – and via the increasing number of PLM customers, we can swiftly research new product development possibilities.”

John Carey, vice president, worldwide sales, products and services, Dolby Laboratories, stated: “As we pass the live sound torch to Lab.gruppen we are confident that it will continue to innovate and evolve the technology and brand many have grown to love in this industry.” labgruppen.com

Lab.gruppen is now free to develop the Lake technology

brand name. We see this as very important to the future growth of Lab.gruppen.

Although the Lake brand will be developed separately from Lab.gruppen, the technology will have its own

life within our organisation.

Lake technology will form the backbone of all future iterations of our unique Powered Loudspeaker Management systems. We are also very aware of the

Loud Technologies Chinese production stopped

TL Audio wins Remix Award

Major corporation faces big losses as Chinese production comes to a standstill

Fat Track awarded in the best effects and dynamics category

ACCORDING TO The Puget Sound Business Journal, Loud Technology has admitted its major Chinese supplier, responsible for near a third of Loud’s products, has stopped making its products, due to financial difficulties.

The report continues that the Chinese supplier has been making Loud products for eight years and that its output: “...represented 35 per cent of Loud’s net sales in 2007 and 32 per cent for the first six months of 2008.”

As a direct result, Loud is predicting a significant decline in its net sales in 2009.

The company told The Business Journal that it would try to recover tooling used for its production and switch manufacturing to other suppliers, but that this would

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take four months. If it fails to recover the tooling, that could stretch the time lag to eight months.

The news comes as the latest blow to Loud. In May it lost its CFO, who had been with the company for less than a year. In August it lost CEO and chairman Jamie Engen and in November it sold some of the brands acquired in the takeover of St Louis Music. It also admitted it had received a notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market indicating that it is not in compliance with the requirements for continued

February 2009

listing under Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(14) because it did not file its Quarterly Report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2008.

In the same month Loud announced it was laying-off 18 per cent of its workforce and had to scale its worlwide engineering resources. Its US sales were outsourced from an in-house team to a group of independent firms and reps, while part of its international sales force was consolidated and marketing teams merged. loudtechinc.com

TL AUDIO’S Fat Track Tube Production Suite won this year’s Remix Technology Award for best hardware in the effects and dynamics category.

Editors and writers of Remix Magazine, Electronic Musician and Mix Magazine voted for the winners based on the performance innovation, results and value for money of the products. The awards recognised the best products released in the past year in 20 different categories, The Fat Track was designed to offer a big desk sound in a smaller, more affordable package. TL bills the Fat Track as “the only piece of hardware to offer tracking, summing and monitoring options and

great flexibility all in one product.”

The Fat Track is no stranger to acclaim, having previously been awarded with FutureMusic's Platinum Award and a MusicTech Choice Award.

Other Remix Technology award winners include Ableton’s Live 7, Prism Sound’s Orpehus, Sony’s PCM-D50, Universal Audio’s Multi Node Filter, Trinity Audio Group’s Indamixx, Euphonix’s MC Controller, Dynaudio’s Acoustic Air 12 and Bias’ Peak Pro 6. tlaudio.co.uk

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NEWS

Allen & Heath expands iLive with T Series New products added to offer lightweight and more affordable live, digital mixing ALLEN & HEATH released the T Series of digital mixers at the NAMM 2009 show.

The T Series is the company’s latest addition to the iLive Series, which now offers new boards in a lighter and more affordable format.

The T Series includes the iLive-T80 and the iLive-T112

control surface options, Both can be used with either the I/O iDR-32 or IDR-48 MixRacks via a remote CAT5 connection. All models in the T-Series are compatible with the existing iLive products.

The T80 and T112 control surfaces feature identical channel strips as previous

iLive models, and include four layers per bank and colour assignable channel ID strips.

Allen & Heath’s 64 x 32 RackExtra DSP mix engine can be used with both TSeries models to offer 64 channels, 32 mixes and eight stereo FX processors.The Dualcore DSP technology

integrated in the T Series provides full dynamics, third octave graphic and parametric eq as well as delay on each channel.

“The T Series has been developed using proven digital technology from our flagship iLive professional range. It has flexible audio architecture, with configurable buses, patching, control and FX, and offers the same processing power, DSP algorithms and functionality. We are thrilled to be able to deliver the same stunning audio performance in a smaller footprint at a fraction of the price, and open

up digital technology to a new audience,” explained Allen & Heath managing director, Glenn Rogers.

Midi ports and a built-in network on each end of the T Series devices allows remote control with a laptop, touch tablet or MIDI device. The T Series is also compatible with the PL Series remote controllers and iLive Editor software, which can be offline with a laptop The release of the iLive-T Series coincides with Allen & Heath’s unveiling of the new Xone:22, a two-channel analog DJ mixer with a multitude of options for the entry-level market. ilive-digital.com allen-heath.co.uk

Steinberg and Yamaha join the METAlliance group

DB Technologies expands in the UK

Both companies sign up for pro partner status

Sales manager added to handle new pro audio division

STEINBERG MEDIA Technologies and Yamaha Corporation of Japan have announced at NAMM 2009 that they have joined the METAlliance network at Pro Partner level.

The Music Engineering and Technology Alliance (METAlliance) was created by renowned music producers and recording engineers Chuck Ainlay, Ed Cherney, Frank Filipetti, George Massenburg, Phil Ramone, Elliot Scheiner, and Al Schmitt. The executive team has created a supportive network and collaborative community in which producers, engineers and audio technology manufacturers work together to ensure the highest standards of audio production and delivery are maintained through the

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development of consumer formats.

The founders of METAlliance collectively represent a broad spectrum of musical accomplishments, from the recording of top albums for over 50 years to blockbuster soundtracks for major motion pictures. Their work includes virtually every form of recorded music and their contributions to technical advances have resulted in quality levels that are at the highest ever achieved in the history of recording.

"We’re very pleased to be involved with METAlliance," said Kazunori Kobayashi, Steinberg’s MD.

“With both Steinberg and Yamaha working at the highest technological standards and committed to delivering optimum quality for creative professionals, the new partnership with METAlliance is a natural step. We’ve worked with many of the founding members of METAlliance for many years on our audio and music production products, and are very pleased to work with them to push standards in the audio and music industry even further. It’s a very exciting time for the industry." metalliance.org

DB TECHNOLOGIES HAS appointed David Kelland as sales manager for its MI and pro audio products.

Kelland will continue to grow dB Technologies' business in the UK while focusing specifically on the new pro audio division.

Kelland has previously helped contribute to the expansion of several wellknown pro audio brands in the UK. “Recently launched products like the DVX and ArenaPro Series made it evident that we needed to strengthen our sales force with experienced people like David. Also, the drastically changing market situation made us restructure our whole operation for the UK,” said Harald von Falkenstein,

Sales manager, David Kelland

head of European sales.

“The company is now operating completely from its European distribution center in Cologne, Germany, with Mr Kelland as sales manager. All service related issues will be handled by the experienced team of Audio Workshop in the UK, which is also looking after RCF products, the sister company of dBTechnologies. dbtechnologies.com

February 2009

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NEWS

HMV invests in 11 top British venues Joint venture with Mama Group sees HMV sharing and renaming iconic UK venues HIGH STREET record chain HMV has announced a new venture to share 11 venues with Mama Group.

The venues included in the partnership effects the Hammersmith Apollo, The Forum, The Garage, Jazz Café, the Edinburgh Picture House, The Birmingham Institute, Heaven, G-A-Y Bar, G-A-Y Late, the Borderline and Aberdeen’s Moshulu.

The deal also gives HMV naming rights to the venues.

As such, the Hammersmith Apollo is now known as the HMV Apollo and The Forum has been changed to the HMV Forum. The Edinburgh and Birmingham venues will

also bear the shop’s name, and four more halls will be renamed as a result of the joint venture.

Simon Fox, CEO of the HMV Group, commented: “We’re very excited about it. Music’s in the DNA of HMV and this extension into live music – which is clearly the growing part of the music market – makes complete sense.

“The day-to-day management of the venues will continue to be handled

by Mama Group – which is an expert and we’re not. But we are obviously hoping to bring our label relationships to bear in terms of the artists that perform at them.

The famous Hammersmth venue will now be known as the HMV Apollo “We’ll be selling tickets to the venues through our stores and online. We’ll be selling merchandise – including CDs and digital downloads where appropriate, both at the venue

and in-store where appropriate. We’ll also be rewarding our loyalty cardholders with VIP access to certain events. We see a lot of synergies.”

HMV has also announced a deal with agency Seatem to sell tickets to the venues. This announcment also follows HMV’s recent acquisition of the Zavvi chain of stores.

Eno wins Joe Meek award Concert Sound joins Clair Group Bowie producer beats Mark Ronson and Björk Clair to maintain own identity and commercial operation LEADING EUROPEAN touring audio supplier Audio Rent Clair and UKbased Concert Sound have joined forces.

Both companies have long histories in the tour sound and contracting segments of the professional audio market and have co-operated on many events in the past, most notably on tours and one-off events with Sir Paul McCartney, Mark Knopfler and Tina Turner.

Jürg Hügin, chairman of the Audio Rent Clair board, commented: “The opportunities for both companies that became apparent when we started talking made this such an obvious move for us. Our clients have asked us for increased flexibility and we

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have been able to answer in a way that extends our inhouse skills base even further, as well as adding logistical benefits. It’s a great situation for everyone.”

Concert Sound Clair’s MD, Tim Boyle, stated: “I am excited about the new products and services we can bring to our clients and also for the new opportunities that will arise for every member of the team, both here and in Switzerland.”

Audio Rent Clair’s 90,000 sq ft warehouse in Aesch will remain the main hub for the European Clair touring inventory. Concert Sound Clair’s presence close to London gives access to proprietary Clair products and services for UK clients. concert-sound.co.uk

February 2009

THE MUSIC Producers Guild (MPG) UK has announced that Brian Eno will be the first recipient of its Joe Meek Award for Innovation in Production. The award will be one of 14 presented at the MPG Awards held at Café de Paris, London, on February 12th this year.

The MPG has campaigned for aknowledgement that, although generally viewed as a ‘behind the scenes’ role, the contribution made by recording professionals to the success of the UK’s music industry is one that should never be underestimated.

The MPG Awards are given in recognition of the talent and creativity of producers, engineers, mixers, re-mixers and mastering engineers who are often the driving forces behind the hit records.

Many nominations were received for the award and after careful consideration the MPG’s voting members

narrowed the field down to three – Björk, Brian Eno and Mark Ronson – all of whom had a strong claim to the honorary title.

Announcing Brian Eno as the winner, MPG chairman Mike Howlett said: “Eno has for a long time been at the forefront of adventurous and innovative music recording.

As a band member, his influence on the originality of Roxy Music is obvious, while as a producer, his innovative work on albums such as David Bowie’s Berlin trilogy is legendary.

“We have Eno to thank for ambient music, which he pioneered on his own albums Music for Airports, The Plateaux of Mirrors and On Land. He was also one of the first people to use samples (with David Byrne on the

album My Life In the Bush of

Ghosts) and he inspired U2 to re-invent themselves with the album The Joshua Tree.”

“Eno is an inspiration to everyone involved in record production and an even greater inspiration and mentor to those he takes under his wing.” mpgawards.co.uk

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EVENT PREVIEW ISE

Integrated Expectations This year’s ISE show is anticipating over 25,000 attendees from the European installation market. Andrew Low examines what all the buzz is about, who’s going to be there and what they’re showing off…

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ISE is set to be busier than ever this year

Event: Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) Venue: RAI centre, Amsterdam Date: February 3rd to 5th Exhibitors: 500-plus

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great amount of expectation has been generated for this years’ Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show, which will be held at the RAI Convention Centre in Amsterdam in the Netherlands from February 3rd to 5th and the buzz about the show is as much from within the industry as it is from the organiser.

Cedia and Infocomm are predicting that this year’s show will smash previous records and bring in more than 25,000 visitors. Over 80,000 euros has been spent on getting people to the show and with over 30 per cent more exhibition space than last year, ISE is certainly one of the fastest growing events in the pro audio industry. The industry has taken note of the show’s popularity, as there is a 30 per cent lift on exhibitors compared to 2008.

Alcons Audio will display a a slew of new products on booth 1I124. The most recent addition to its line of ribbon driver speaker technology is a new medium output, compact, three-way sound system for cinema and A/V sound reproduction, the CR1.

Designed for cinema theatres, screening rooms, boardrooms, dubbing stages, and use within surround sound recording and home theatres, CR1 features an ultra-shallow MDF enclosure design of only 18cm/7-inches that provides for very flexible mounting in small spaces behind the screen. It can be stacked, wall-mounted, or even flown, as it weighs 29.8kg / 65.6lb.

The company will also be showing the new LR7, its new passive two-way line-source loudspeaker system. Designed for permanent and portable installations, its frequency response is from 74Hz (-3dB) to over 20kHz. Integrated pro-ribbon technology gives the speaker non-compressed, 1:1 highoutput sound reproduction.

Another featured product will be the QR36 pro-ribbon column array system. The Q-series scalable ribbon-array

February 2009

columns were developed as a ‘cross-over product’ as it incorporates the intuitive design of a traditional point-source loudspeaker with the throw and control of a J-curved linearray system. The series has been designed to provide the proper coverage and ultimate intelligibility over longer distances in acoustically challenging environments.

Lab.gruppen will show its recent addition to the Powered Loudspeaker Management (PLM) series, the PLM 14000, on booth 10I111. The new amplifier builds on the success of the

With over 30 per cent more exhibition space than last year’s show, ISE is certainly one of the fastest growing events in the pro audio industry.

PLM 10000Q while providing a two-channel platform optimised for high-power requirements.

The PLM 14000 fetures 7,000W per channel into two Ohms and 4,350W per channel into four Ohms. It uses the Dante networked audio distribution, Dolby Lake drive processing, and load verification along with real-time performance monitoring in a single 2U unit with a unified software controller.

New features of the PLM Series were incorporated in the 14000 to address and fulfil the needs of AV system designers and meet safety code requirements for voice alarm systems. In addition, a complete third-party control protocol allows integration into systems managed by control platforms like Crestron and AMX.

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ISE EVENT PREVIEW The new four-channel C 88:4 amp will also be on display.

Housed in a lightweight (12 kg) 2U chassis, the C 88:44 supplies 8800 Watts of total output. Up to 2200 Watts per discrete channel are available at 2 ohms, 2100 Watts per channel at 4 ohms, while 4600 Watts are available through two bridged output pairs at 4 ohms.

The C 88:4 retains all other features of the C Series, including the patented Class TD amplifier topology, Regulated Switch Mode Power Supply (R.SMPS), Phoenix-type input connectors, screw terminal output connectors, Intercooler heat dissipation and a proprietary Voltage Peak Limiter for optimising each output channel for the connected load.

Innovason will be present again at the Technologies for Worship section of the show with its new Eclipse digital mixing console. The board features a brand-new deign scheme, new features, internal effects and onboard multitrack recording with the same high-quality preamps as its previous boards.

Eclipse’s DSP engine provides up to 104 inputs together into 48 mix busses, with the ability to combine up to five remote audio racks to handle 320 inputs. The board also features a SmartPanel with an extra 48 channel strips on 12 knobs in four layers, resulting in a total of 96 faders.

The new Nova GUI software has been created for Eclipse along with built-in effects developed in conjunction with VB Audio. Eclipse’s Ethersound compatibility provides 64 I/O that can extend up to 100 metres.

A new Multitrack Audio Recording System (MARS) option is also available with the board, enabling 64-track digital recording to a hard disk on the back of the console. The hard disk can be removed and used for post show mixing and editing.

Tannoy will be present on stand 5Q86 exhibiting its QFlex range of digital beam-steering array loudspeakers. A new series of self-powered, digitally steerable loudspeaker arrays using ‘beam-steering’ DSP technology, QFlex was designed to help with intelligibility in inherent to highly reverberant surroundings.

Other new products exhibited at the show will be the i9VP vandal-proof speaker system designed with innovative speaker mounting system and the new CVS4 Micro ultra compact, shallow back can ceiling speaker.

DiGiCo will show its SD7 and SD8 consoles at booth 1L114. Both the SD7 and SD8 incorporate the Tiger SHARC FX engine and Super FPGA technology. While the SD7 has established itself as a leader in large format digital consoles, the smaller SD8 includes many of the same features of the D Series and remote pre amps at a lower price point.

The SD8 features a range of built-in, effects, reverbs, dynamics and output matrix that decrease its footprint. The board’s control surface has 37 motorised faders, dedicated and multi-function control knobs and electronic labelling. It also has a 15-inch, super high resolution, touch sensitive TFT LCD backlit display. A physical fader, knob or backlit, electronically labelled button is either provided as standard for every major mix function, or can be programmed onto one of the user macro buttons.

24 main channel faders and 12 assignable aux and touch sensitive master faders are also available, while each bank of 12 faders can be instantly assigned as channels or masters,

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Alcons will be showing a variety of new products at ISE

which allows all 36 main faders to control inputs. Additionally, any bank of 12 can be assigned to the touch screen for finetuning. The SD8 also provides a 12 x 12 output matrix, its 12 busses being additional to the console’s 24 stereo, solo and master busses.

Allen & Heath, booth 9D108, will unveil its new digital In/Out expanders for the iDR digital installation series and the new iLive-T Series. The new iDR D-in and iDR D-out units offer expansion options of up to 250m on CAT5 cable using the AES/EBU protocol.

The T Series features the new iLive-T80 or iLive-T112 control surfaces and the I/O iDR-32 or IDR-48 MixRacks, which can be connected via a remote CAT5 cable, which uses the proprietary Audio Control Ethernet (ACE) link. The new range was developed to offer the same features, power and reliability as the iLive range in a lighter, more affordable format.

The T80 and T112 control surfaces offer the same fader strip as other models in the iLive range with four layers per bank and colour assignable channel ID strip. By using Allen & Heath’s 64 x 32 RackExtra DSP mix engine, both of the new T Series models can utilise 64 channels, 32 mixes and eight stereo FX processors. Dualcore DSP technology integration also provides full dynamics, third octave graphic and parametric eq, as well as delay on each channel.

Also on show will be a range of audio mixers from the iDR installation series and PL remote controllers, the iDR0 network mixrack, the GR2 and GR05 analog zone mixers and the Xone:S2 club installation DJ mixer. iseurope.org

February 2009

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SHOW PREVIEW EVENTECH SCOTLAND

Many hours of Scotland Event: evenTech Scotland Venue: SECC Date: February 25th-26th

Fresh off the heels of its Ireland event, Scattered Media is set to deliver its second evenTech Scotland trade show next month. Gary Cooper reports on Northern England’s hottest regional event…

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ollowing its successful debut at the Marriott Hotel in February 2008, evenTech Scotland 2009 has moved to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre for its second staging from February 25th-26th, ready to capitalise on the growing popularity of regional shows.

It’s not difficult to see the increasing appeal of regional exhibitions at a time when even the most successful organisations are questioning the costs involved in attending international events – if exhibitors are willing to come to you, why not take advantage of it?

A testament to the success of the first evenTech Scotland is the return of leading suppliers, like RCF Audio. The company was one of the initial supporters of the 2008 show and RCF’s intention was to work on building a solid base for its Pro Sound Products in Scotland. In doing so it was looking to appoint a new distributor for the area. After what Phil Price described as “a most successful show,” RCF officially appointed The Warehouse as its Pro Distributor for Scotland.

For 2009, RCF will again be showing off its comprehensive range of Pro products, including the new ART 7 and the NX Series, plus TT+. Phil Price comments: “We have put a lot of effort into the market in Scotland and 2008 has proved to be

a great year for us, working as we are with a professional distribution company, and we feel with the same amount of effort 2009 will be just as successful a show.”

Intelligent Lectern Systems (ILS) of the Netherlands is a market-leader in lectern-based presentation systems. This year, and for the first time, ILS will showcase its advanced systems in Scotland: these represent the latest tools in conducting efficient meetings, the company says. It adds that its systems allow users to: “Present in style, professionally and productively, with the sho-Q Presenter system that manages all presentations at a seminar or event”. Featuring auto start from a USB memory stick, with automatic-planning features, users can show any slide of any presentation in about four seconds.

On display will be microphone and room control functions, the versatile Swiss-engineered ILS16 SpeakersCorner and the all-in-one ILS14 sho-Maestro lectern to demonstrate what the firm says are “... complete and advanced pen interactive systems for higher education and training.”

Veteran UK mixer manufacturer Allen & Heath will be exhibiting two new products for 2009. Evolved from the successful flagship iLive digital range, the iLive-T Series is a

GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT THERE

EVENTECH SCOTLAND SHOW PREVIEW new compact digital mixing system with all the performance and power of the original iLive in a new, lightweight, affordable package.

The T Series comprises the fixed I/O iDR32 and iDR-48 MixRacks and iLive-T80 and iLive-T112 Surface options with remote CAT5 connection. Each rack can be used with either control surface, and all of the models will be compatible with the existing iLive units.

Allen & Heath will also unveil the Xone:22, a two channel analog DJ mixer offering high quality audio and a professional feature set at an entry level price. It’s equipped with Allen & Heath’s characteristic sound and build quality and professional grade features that would normally be found in the booth of a top-rated club.

Duran Audio UK will be exhibiting its AXYS Intellivox series of loudspeakers. The Intellivox was the first ‘beam steered’ line array back in the 1990s and, thanks to continuous product development from Duran Audio, the company says it is still the market leader in this area.

The Intellivox products are ideal for providing intelligible speech reproduction in highly reverberant spaces such as large board rooms, atriums, concourses, shopping malls, railway stations, airports and any other large space with a high reverberation time. The host of on-board surveillance features also makes it possible to use them as part of a PA/VA system.

Also on the booth will be the company’s second generation of sound reinforcement products, which boast built-in DSP and amplification. The full range cabinets are truly three-way, Duran Audio says, which has held true to its philosophy of Total Transparency: “The products really do sound like big hifi loudspeakers. The on-board DSP not only saves on outboard equipment, thanks to the built-in eq and Delay functions, but it also provides very accurate cross-overs. The products are ideally suited for theatre, conference, TV studio and other touring applications and have eight on-board memories that can be recalled remotely.”

Another major international brand exhibitor at evenTech Scotland, Sennheiser UK will be showing several new products from within its multi-branded product portfolio.

The WiCOS Wireless Conference System “... combines graceful design with incredible simplicity of use, is ideal for everyday conferencing requirements and is particularly well suited to the local authority market.”

Also on display from Sennheiser will be representative examples of industry standard products, including radio microphones and in-ear monitors, along with infrared and tour-guide systems. For the first time in Scotland, Sennheiser UK will show the new range of highly acclaimed K-Array loudspeakers and amplifiers.

APart and DAS will be represented on the Sennheiser stand too, with a selection of new products to help meet the tightest of installation budgets, offering quality audio solutions while delivering great value for money.

Fife-based AV Department is an expert in connection and specialises in both sales and hire of AV equipment. The company will be showcasing camera products from the Ikegami range, alongside Photon Beard lighting, multi VR technology from Miranda Technologies and Omnitek test and measurement equipment. The team will be on hand to discuss all the products, as well as its range of audience participation and response products and SMS services.

As the sole UK distributor for Shure, QSC, ServoReeler, Sound Devices, SKB, Phonic and Radial, SDUK will be showcasing products from its extensive portfolio, including wireless microphones and systems, amplifiers, speakers, audio network control products and mixers among many others.

“Our all-encompassing product portfolio provides hundreds of components and thousands of system combinations to our customers. All brands have been selected with care and through many years of experience, to represent the best products available in the field of pro audio,” Shure says.

Recently the subject of a profile in Audio Pro, Alcons Audio UK will be present for the second time in Scotland. The most important product news from the Dutch company is the LR7, the latest and smallest member of Alcons’ successful proribbon line arrays, described as a ‘micro pro-ribbon line array’.

Alcons Audio will also host a seminar on its pro-ribbon transducer technology. In this presentation, the main focus will be on explanation, in a popular but scientific way, of the current status of pro-ribbon mid/high frequency transducer technology, concentrating on the history, durability, reliability of the technology as well as the implementation of the technology in real-world high SPL applications. Low-SPL demos will take place on the stand, with the VR8 pro-ribbon compact monitor, driven by the ALC amplified loudspeaker controllers. And a selection of the Alcons range will be on display, too. eventech-scotland.com A variety of products will be on show, such as the Xone:22 and AXYS loudspeakers

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Techno

tweeters Although a number of illustrious nightclubs have closed their doors in recent months, the proliferation of new venues around the world shows no signs of slowdown, while those that remain afloat continue to pull in the crowds with everbigger sound systems, as Rob Hughes finds out…

Cube, Liverpool Constructed within a traditional grade-two listed building, Cube is the latest addition to Liverpool’s mushrooming nightlife scene. The nightclub section of the multi-purpose venue consists of two dancefloors, for which its owners put no constraints on the sound system budget.

Cube marks the UK’s first club install of Tannoy’s revolutionary new VQ Series – as installed in Ibiza’s legendary Es Paradis night club earlier this year – carried out by renowned local company B&S Sound & Light, headed up by Billy Gillbanks, a long time fan of Tannoy, having installed systems in several Liverpool venues including the nearby Korova.

On each of the club’s dancefloors, two VQ Net 60 cabinets are flown on their sides around the perimeter, with a pair of VS218 DR twin 18-inch subwoofer cabs providing substantial low frequency reinforcement. In addition to the VQ system, Tannoy V8s are also located around the floor as fills and a V12 deployed in the DJ booth for monitoring.

The VQ Net 60’s remarkable sensitivity means that very high SPLs are achievable with a modest amount of amplifier power. A single pair of tops and bass bins can deliver club-standard volume levels. The Net 60 will produce 138dB (144dB peak) for just 200 Watts of amplifier power. Its high level of dispersion control – made possible by its advanced point source design, which aligns the acoustical centres of the transducers providing a single coherent wavefront – is particularly advantageous at Cube, where the industrial interior and an abundance of reflective surfaces such as concrete make the ability to direct the sound onto the dancefloor crucial.

A pair of Tannoy’s TDX1 digital controllers provide crossover, eq, delay and limiting functions, while affording some protection from

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over-enthusiastic DJs. A bank of Lab.gruppen amplifiers comprising four C-series 16:4 four-channel amps, two FP6400As and a single eight-channel C20:8X provide more than enough power for the two dancefloors and the venue’s two other floors, which feature a bar and restaurant, and are both served by smaller V-series systems.

Mecca, Prague Established in 1998 in an abandoned fabric hall, Mecca is said to be a favourite venue of Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes and certainly would appeal to him in his most famous incarnation, Blade, with its black interior walls and dark, underground style.

Fittingly located in the industrial Holesovice district, Mecca is surrounded by factories and warehouses, which means it’s able to crank the volume right up without having to worry about keeping locals awake.

To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Mecca decided to treat itself and its punters to a brand new Funktion-One rig and promptly enlisted Citylight Slovakia to supply and install the system. Led by product installation manager Igor Horváth, the project took three days and began with the removal of the club’s original system, which, comprising EAW, Zeck and Crown components, was no mean setup in itself.

Brand new cable runs were laid ready for the installation and among them, three 32-amp power lines exclusively for sound – giving an early indication of the calibre of the system to come. Four Funktion-One Resolution 4s were then located at the corners of the dancefloor, with three F121 subs positioned in front of the DJ booth, providing an abundance of low end. Nearer to the club’s entrance, four more compact F81s and an MB212 bass extension box welcome

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guests with pristine yet slightly less full-on SPLs, and this is replicated in the VIP room.

Amplification is provided by Funktion-One’s OEM MC2 amps and comprises three E45s for subs and one E45, plus two E25s for Res 4s. Two E30s cover the entrance and VIP areas, while all other areas, including the chillout bar and DJ booths, are equipped with self-powered Resolution 2 cabinets.

Main loudspeaker management is by Funktion-One’s OEM XTA XO4 controller, while an XO2 makes it possible to set the delay between the sound from the main dancefloor and lower SPL areas.

Ministry of Sound, London Following the acquisition of its new signature Martin Audio six-stack system in late 2007, Ministry has further upgraded its setup with a state-of-the-art, CobraNet-enabled BSS Soundweb London network to provide site-wide digital control. By replacing its original BSS Soundweb processing with the new Soundweb London Blu series, the club will be able to operate over HiQnet, Harman Pro’s communications protocol.

The venue’s former head of production, Dave Bradshaw, now Sound Technology’s install ASM for the south of England, worked with his successor at the club, Alex Barrand, to finalise the spec, which comprised four Soundweb London Blu-800s, along with three Blu-320s and three Blu10 remotes. These are linked to Cisco Ethernet switches to provide rapid site-wide signal transport.

“Aside from the advantage of the failsafe facility, we are running the new Soundweb London set-up through CobraNet, which is now becoming the industry standard,” notes Barrand. “All audio channels are packaged into bundles for distribution around the club. This means that incoming broadcasters, such as the BBC, can literally hook into the bundles for instant audio, which makes everything a lot simpler. It was also a good opportunity to reconfigure the original Soundweb map and we now have so much more control, for example, that each speaker stack can be managed individually. Soundweb London gives us radio broadcast quality and we can push the system right up.”

The next phase for the Ministry will include replacing the amplifiers with Crown’s next generation networkable models,

Cube, in Liverpool, is inside a gradetwo listed building and has two dancefloors

Being surrounded by warehouses ensures that the music at Mecca Prague can be loud

but in the meantime it has taken delivery of a new MacroTech MAi-5000i and MAi-1200i to replace their existing Macro-Tech Vz series. Barrand also plans to create a wireless platform through the entire venue while setting up the network’s eq settings in each room via Soundweb. “This also can be integrated with some other custom controls at a later date,” he says. “Watch this space.”

La Cova, Barcelona Forty kilometres north of the Catalan city in the beach resort of Mataro, La Cova nightclub packs in an eager 800 revellers seven nights a week. Owners David Pecharroman and Coral Martínez had operated La Cova in a different location for 12 years, but when the lease ran out on their sister club, they were forced to move this spring to a nearby former industrial unit.

Within the long rectangular interior, Tony Espin masterminded the project, which was carried out by installer DJ Factory, to ensure even distribution and create a series of system presets to optimise the venue’s sound depending on whether it would be presenting live music, comedy or full-blown hard house from the high-spec DJ booth. Following a long and successful relationship with QSC, the proprietors opted for an Acoustic Design system, presented to them by Catalonia and Balearics sales manager Ezequiel Mayoral.

The all-white room has now been equipped with six flown Acoustic Design AD-S282H dual eight-inch enclosures and six ground-stacked HPR-151s as its main surround system.

Two HPR-122s on chains angled over the small performance podium provide conventional PA, while at the rear of the room a pair of AD-S82Hs provide rear infill on delays, each one providing an output comparable to speakers with 12-inch drivers and compression horns. The passive speakers are powered by QSC RMX-1450 amplifiers.

Ezequiel Mayoral’s preset speaker settings and gain structures are programmed into QSC’s DSP 322ua, operating on the company’s proprietary QSControl.net platform, and these are accessed according to mode. Controlled over an Ethernet network using QSC’s Venue Manager software, the eight-in/eight-out DSP 322ua is fully configurable with all data stored in the device memory.

Vendome, London With Vendome, founder Freddie Frampton and interiors guru Paul Daly set out to revive the disco atmosphere and bring punters back on to the dance floor. The focal point of the venue is a raised revolving DJ booth in the centre of the club, surrounded by a fully circular video interactive dance floor, the first of its kind in the UK, costing over a quarter of a million pounds and able to display film footage, graphic effects or logos – certainly not the easiest acoustic environment to design a sound system for.

London entertainment industry jack-of-all-trades, Viba Sound, undertook the complex task of installing the sound and lighting system and, from the outset, was under

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instruction from the club’s owners to specify a Nexo rig, which they asked for by name. Having Nexo systems at fellow London establishments Stringfellows and Mahiki however, Viba Sound was already very familiar with the brand and earnestly fitted feisty PS8 two-way passive, eight-Ohm fullrange cabinets, mounted horizontally at ceiling height around the edge of the circular dance floor.

“This venue was formerly operating as a Pangaea nightclub, but the redesign process has caused the ceiling to be lowered and the floor raised,” explains Viba Sound director Hugh Sadleir. “The PS8’s rotatable, constant directivity, asymmetrical dispersion horn enables it to be used in a horizontal format, which allowed us to fit them in the restricted space.”

Sadleir specified 14 PS8s, primarily encircling the dance floor, but also reaching into the bar areas and beyond. There are also four LS500 bass bins in the system, all powered by the venue’s existing stock of QSC amplifiers and controlled by a BSS Soundweb, which also acts as a limiter to ensure compliance with noise regulations. According to Sadleir: “When it’s turned up, it really does sound wonderful.”

4rest, Pereslavl Zalessky Located in the heart of Russia’s Golden Ring, 4rest opened in the summer of 2008, with a radical sound system – Void Acoustics’ Air Motion triple-horn loudspeaker and Paraflex low-frequency enclosure combination – earmarked as its major attribute.

The club’s whole design concept was subsequently based around the unmistakable aesthetics of the system, which was specified and installed by Iberi, Void’s Moscow-based distributor for the region.

Iberi became involved in the 4rest project during its construction stage, addressing all aspects of the dance floor area, including the loudspeaker and amplifier systems.

The main dancefloor rig was designed alongside the room itself and comprises four Air Motion loudspeakers, complemented by four Paraflex 360 sub-bass enclosures and two Paraflex 640 upper-bass units.

Void’s Air Series loudspeakers comprise the company’s signature, triple-horn Air Motion system with 12-inch, eightinch and 1.5-inch transducers, each loaded by a separate isometric conical horn, complemented by the Paraflex lowfrequency systems. Designed to work in pairs, for large-system coverage of the entire low-frequency spectrum, the Paraflex 640 covers the upper-bass region, with a 44cm piston, while the Paraflex 360 uses a single 18-inch driver to deliver a powerful LF performance down to 30Hz. Alex Skan, director of Void Acoustics Ltd, comments: “Iberi’s prestigious installation at 4rest is one of the first in Russia to feature our loudspeakers. This combination of our Air Motion triple-horn loudspeakers and Paraflex bass enclosures is rapidly gaining ground as the definitive specification for high-end international venues, with this announcement closely following that of Matter, the new London club at the O2, which uses the same systems.”

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Pacha has recently seen an extensive refurbishment

The owners of La Cova used QSC gear to outfit their busy nightclub

Pacha, London Multiple London venue owner Billy Reilly, known for legendary clubs such as The Cross and Canvas, recently focused his attention on the UK home of Pacha, Ibiza’s celebrated house music hotbed. With an £800,000 budget, he embarked on a wholesale refurbishment of the club, a large chunk of which involved the commissioning of Bernard Mani at Systems Etc to replace the old sound system with a new Martin Audio WT3 rig, processed via the company’s new Engineer 418 DSP. Taking a less obvious club install route, Mani eschewed the company’s consolidated dance systems for the more transparent WT3, designed for greater vocal clarity, installing the system over a period of two weeks.

“Originally the club was spec’d with Martin Audio H3s but I wanted to achieve a more theatrical and accurate sound,” he explains. “I knew all the components of the WT3, so I was confident in what a fully active system would sound like – and that is predominantly a much smoother midrange and greater warmth.”

The compact three-way trapezoidal system’s mid-range and HF are generated by sophisticated compound mid-high horn configuration, designed to have matched constant Q, 65degree horizontal dispersion patterns and bolstered by a powerful 15-inch LF driver. At Pacha the WT3s are configured in four arrayed pairs around the balcony of the

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main room, with low frequency extension provided by four ground-stacked pairs of WS218X subs.

Mani instinctively knew he wanted a more refined ‘adult’ system, sacrificing a few decibels in favour of higher definition, but at the same time had to meet club manager Alex Anderson’s brief to get a massive SPL of 120dBA on the dance floor without causing fatigue – more than sufficient to appease promoters of top nights such as Dusted and Def Mix. Billy Reilly puts this into context: “Before we got the Martin system I would come into the club and immediately want to leave; it was just too toppy and muddy. Now we achieve 120dB on the dance floor with no distortion whatsoever. Bernard has given us a system which is just as loud, half the size of the previous system and much less obtrusive.”

Vendome has Nexo PS8s extending into the bar area

Obsessions, Transylvania While Transylvania is not a place that is renowned for highspec, internationally-regarded night clubs, Obsessions is an establishment that’s put the north west Romanian city of Cluj on the superclub map. In the three years since its inception it has swiftly established itself as one of the country’s leading dance venues, attracting world class DJs such as Lee Burridge and Hernan Cattaneo.

To ensure that the club’s audio quality reflected its position as a superlative dance venue, the owners recently decided the time had come for a mammoth new Tannoy VQ sound system. The choice of brand is of some significance in a market sector that has traditionally been dominated by brands such as Martin and Funktion-One, in which Tannoy hasn’t been taken seriously in for some time, especially in

countries like Romania. This goes some way to demonstrate the impact that the company’s latest speakers have had, but what sets this installation apart from anything else is its sheer size – bigger than anything else of its kind on the continent.

Specified by Romania’s Tannoy distributor, VH Electronic, headed up by Hari Dascalu, the new Obsession sound system comprises an incredible 16 VQ 60 units, accompanied by 14 VS218 DR dual subwoofer enclosures. These are all powered by a massive bank of 16 Lab.gruppen C-series amps with four Sabine NAV 4802 processors providing system control.

The club expects such high SPLs that it has also installed a pair of Tannoy IQ10s in the DJ booth in order to provide adequate monitoring levels, giving you an idea of the sort of levels this club is expecting with the new VQ system. This represents one of the biggest and most powerful VQ installs in the world at present, and certainly the largest for a dance club venue.

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Floor Filling Sound Horn design without compromise True Point Source design from the inventors of Point Source Unrivalled directivity characteristics Extreme sensitivity for high SPLʼs ...effortlessly!

Tannoy United Kingdom Tannoy North America Tannoy Deutschland Tannoy France

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T: 00 44 (0) 1236 420199 T: 00 1 (519) 745 1158 T: 00 49 (180) 1111 881 T: 00 33 (0)1 7036 7473

E: enquiries@tannoy.com E: inquiries@tannoyna.com E: anfragen@tannoy.com E: ventes@tannoy.com

3rd-5th February 2009 Visit us at Stand 5Q86

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The sharpest tools…

Under the stewardship of distribution giant Adam Hall, Palmer Audio Tools is swiftly augmenting its presence across numerous sectors of the industry. Rob Hughes delves into the history of a company with a passion for transformers…

I

n the mid-eighties, while still in its infancy, Martin Schmitz’s Musikelectronik was already manufacturing its own transformers in-house, enabling all types of audio transmitters to be built and resulting in products such as splitter boxes and signal isolation transformers sold under the name Palmer Musical Instruments and distributed by Adam Hall.

As the ‘90s loomed, the end of Western tube production and generally poor quality of Chinese models prompted the company to cease manufacturing the valve amplifiers on which it had been founded. But by this time its portfolio of peripheral devices had developed to such an extent that the creation of a second label, Palmer Audio Tools, was necessary. The distribution of all products was taken over by Adam Hall.

“We pretty soon found out that the output transformers of tube amplifiers play a decisive role in terms of sound,” recalls Schmitz. “In order to be able to gain control over this important element, we decided to produce these transformers ourselves. The next logical step from there was the development of audio transformers for DI-Boxes and line isolation transformers. Very often these transformers are the heart of the little helpers we produce today.”

“If you use a proper transformer,” he continues, “there is no change in frequency response within the human hearing range. It is however correct, that a transformer balanced output produces a measurably higher THD at high levels, compared to electronically balanced outputs. However, the THD of a transformer behaves similar to that of a tube. The harmonics don’t suddenly kick in as is the case with semiconductors, but slowly and proportionally to the volume, which is perceived to be more natural. Apart from this, the harmonics are

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frequency-dependant and the resulting spectrum is, as it is the case with tubes, perceived to be warm-sounding and powerful.”

Perhaps the product for which Palmer is most renowned, the PDI03 speaker simulator was exhibited for the first time at Musikmesse Frankfurt in 1989. This special DI box used filters to recreate the sound of a typical guitar speaker and thanks to the company’s English distributor, Gladden Audio, was quickly and enthusiastically snapped up by several British and American studios of note. Several high profile users of the device have been noted, including Keith Richards, Van Halen and Joe Satriani. Production of the unit was to be shortlived however. Before long, a devastating blow was delivered to Palmer’s flagship device by Aspen Pitman/Groove Tubes, which swiftly and mercilessly acted upon a patent it had been granted for its own Speaker Emulator, seeing off Rocktron’s Juice Extractor, Marshall’s SE100, the H&K Redbox and, of course, the PDI03.

Happily, the company soldiered on, theorising that there was still a market for high-quality signal transmitters sold at reasonable prices.

By 1998 business was booming and as it struggled to meet demand, a merger with Adam Hall was on the cards. The comprehensive inhouse manufacturing programme, which included printed circuit board assembly, transformer production, parts of small housing production, and even screen printing continued at Adam Hall’s headquarters in Neu-Anspach.

Having been afforded the space to grow, Palmer’s operation quickly gathered pace and in its homeland of Germany, the PPB20 signal distributor for press conferences became industry standard. More than 30 of these devices were used at the Athens Olympics in 2004 – a great year for Palmer, since it also marked the expiration of Aspen

Pitman/Groove Tubes’ patent. Today, Palmer once again manufactures the PD103.

Some have expressed surprise at the device’s unwaning popularity in an age of digital signal processing, but Schmitz has a little more confidence in his device. “Let me attempt to answer with as little emotion as possible. DSP is fine for a 30-second ad.

With small budgets, guitarists can even be completely substituted by a plugin. They are also okay for a top 40 band where many different sounds are needed and where nobody wants to have to drag stacks of equipment around with them. I’m not claiming that all of the audience is even able to hear the difference. But all the musicians I have talked to say that there is an interaction that takes place between amplifier, guitar and guitarist, which greatly increases the fun-factor on stage. This interaction goes missing when you use modelling devices.”

“There’s an interaction that takes place between amplifier, guitar and guitarist, which greatly increases the fun-factor on the stage.”

Martin Schmitz As Palmer dreams again of building the amps it once did, it continues to closely observe the market, looking out for gaps it can fill with new devices, while maintaining impeccable standards of build quality (its ratio of returns is less than ten in 1,000).

As it stands however, the company has a transformer-based solution for pretty much everything – something worth bearing in mind and, as Schmitz points out, not just where the health of audio signals is concerned.

“Even if this may make you think of me as an arrogant know-it-all, it has to be said, many musicians still haven’t got it. When ground loop humming occurs, many take a piece of gaffa tape and stick it over the earth contact of the mains plug. That’s not only perilous but, of course, also forbidden, even if nothing much may ever have happened before. If you jump out of a 50-story building, nothing perilous happens either – at least for 49 stories.” palmer-germany.com

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Behind the board with...

Steven A Williams Beginning his professional career as the drummer for Midge Ure, Williams then went on to work as a session musician and producer on projects for Britney Spears, Sting, Seal and Eric Clapton. He is now the chief producer of South London’s Chapel Studios, as well as being the establishment’s proud owner.

Do you utilise any outboard effects/eq, and if so, what are they used on and why?

Ibis mix bus eq and 1176s mainly. Each give a different sound to the SSL and help to complement relevant mixes.

Favourite monitoring system?

B&K. Best toy you take on tour or have in the studio.

My bespoke built class A headphone amp. Performances are better when the headphone mix is pristine.

What’s been your career highlight?

Creatively, working on Geoff Smith productions.

Which band/project are you currently working on?

Producing Geoff Smith, a superb craftsman in the art of emotive song writing.

What makes you happy when working?

People giving their all.

What audio console are you utilising? And how many channels?

SSL Duality 48 channels

With hindsight, what job would you have chosen for yourself?

I’m sorry to be predictable, but there really is no other job for me than producing music.

What decision process was behind the choice of this audio console?

More platinum selling albums have been produced on an SSL than on any other console. This is their flagship model.

And… if you weren’t working now, you’d be?

Playing with my five-year old son, and probably giggling a lot. www.stevewilliams.org.uk www.thechapelstudios.co.uk

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Working model Fresh from his work with Sellaband artists such as Daniel Ward-Murphy, producer and MPG director Tony Platt tells Audio Pro how the web-based recording business model might just secure the future of the big studios…

I

’m not one of these people who says it used to be great in the old days. There was crap stuff going on then just as there is crap stuff going on now, but there are various aspects of what used to go on in the music industry that, frankly, we shouldn’t have thrown away in pursuit of progress.

The thing I found utterly frustrating about the way the music industry went is that it was completely brand-led. The way I’ve quite often described it, is that major record companies would conceive a marketing program and then reverse the artist into it, rather than looking at what an artist is doing and devising a marketing program that works around them and enhances what they do.

One of the dilemmas that producers have been facing is that, along with managers and publishers, we have been the only people in the music industry that have been developing artists. What you really need to do with artists is develop them from their small beginnings, into a commercial entity, rather than trying to make their third album, first time around. That development process is a costly one in some respects – certainly in terms of time and it can be costly in terms of money. The record companies have shied away from doing this, and rather, looked for instant success, instant gratification and instant returns on their investment. So it’s fallen to managers, publishers and producers to take up the mantle of artist development.

One of the problems is that during the development process, it’s very unlikely that there is an infrastructure around the artist that enables the process to be monetised in any way. People shout about how wonderful the internet is and how great it is now artists can sell their music directly to the public and so on.

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And that’s absolutely true, the distribution has been simplified and, in some respects, the promotion of the artist has been simplified and made very accessible. However, everybody seems to forget that you’ve got to make the music in the first place, which requires a certain amount of investment in order to buy the facilities and the talent necessary to do that.

It isn’t really good enough to be doing this in bedrooms because I believe that the creative quality – and I’m not necessarily talking about audio quality – of the music is enhanced greatly by being in a studio environment or a creatively encouraging environment with other creative people. Music for me is very much a social activity. For a large majority of artists, the interaction with other people in an environment that is conducive to making music, quite often produces much better performances from them.

I remember the first time I recorded in Abbey Road studio two. You can feel something there – ghosts in the walls or whatever. There’s an atmosphere those places soak up that comes out and it inspires people.

When I choose a studio, I don’t always use the same one. I choose a studio that is very specific to each project for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are to do with the technology, the space, the mics, the type of console, the recoding medium, and some of those decisions are based upon choosing an environment that is good for that artist.

Recently there have been two key Sellaband artists that I have worked with – Daniel Ward-Murphy and a girl named Ellie. Ellie is a singer-songwriter and it was her first time in the studio. I was very keen to make sure that the environment that I chose for her was exactly right, so I decided on a studio called Angelic Union near www.audioprointernational.com

Aylesbury in the Buckinghamshire countryside, which is owned by Toby Smith, formerly the keyboard player in Jamiroquai. Ellie comes from Plymouth in Devon and I didn’t think that it was going to be a good idea to just throw her straight into the middle of London. So I took her to this studio instead and she said it was one of the most wonderful experiences; it took away all the tension she had about going into the studio for the first time and made her really comfortable. She performed absolutely fantastically because she was relaxed. I think that’s a very good example of how the studio environment really contributes in a big way to creativity if you choose that environment correctly.

We recorded Daniel Ward-Murphy’s album at Westpoint studios in Acton. Daniel’s particular sound is very organic and earthy. He plays the acoustic guitar and I wanted him to be able to play and sing at the same time, while we also recorded the cello and the drums – he doesn’t have a bass player, he has a cellist – so it was a kind of a trio rhythm section. I didn’t really want to effect the sound much, I wanted good microphones, I wanted good mic preamps, and if I had to use eq, I wanted it to be something special.

Westpoint has got all this incredible vintage Neve gear that is wonderfully maintained. They’ve got fabulous microphones and a nice acoustic recording space that’s quite intimate.

In technical terms there were one or two things I needed to cover in order to do this recording of an acoustic guitarist who’s singing at the same time and get a reasonable amount of acoustic separation. I got onto Mitch at SE microphones and he sent me down one of the reflection filters and a GU10 microphone, which clamps onto the acoustic guitar. We positioned the reflection filter like a cup under Daniel’s chin, strapped the GU10 to the acoustic and used Neumann M49 on his vocal. The separation between the vocal and the guitar was fantastic and quite frankly I was amazed at the sound from the GU10. It was a remarkable experience that

“In a time of economic stringency, what you need is for things to work properly the first time around as much as possible.”

Tony Platt contributed greatly to way the session ran.

The Sellaband model means that I can go to studios and I don’t have to try to get a stupid deal out of them. I can pay them at least something close to what they are worth; I can earn a little bit of money too, so that I’m not doing it as a charitable institution and I can pay musicians as well. In the circumstances, nobody gets paid full rate, but everybody gets paid a decent amount that is reasonable and they feel like they’re contributing to something worthwhile, which I think is important. If I’ve got a budget that will allow a decent rate, that’s what I’ll pay. I won’t just negotiate the lowest rate for the sake of it. That said, I do think there are some studios out there at the moment that are trying to play a bit of an Asda game. They will undercut everyone else and that can put people out of business. I don’t think that’s a good policy.

It’s very sad for any studio of any size to have to close down, because the more alternatives we have, the better.

Some of the studios that have closed down over the last five years didn’t close down because of the economic climate, but because they weren’t particularly well run. My colleague Haydn Bendall and I were waxing lyrical to each other just before Christmas because he’d done a session at Air studios with a full live setup and I’d done the same at Livingston www.audioprointernational.com

studios. Both of us had been able to go into these facilities, get set up and hit record within about an hour and a half of arriving.

Although that used to be normal, for the last 15 to 20 years, it’s sometimes taken three, four, five hours to get just a simple session set up because microphones haven’t worked, cables couldn’t be found, stands kept falling over, channels didn’t work, patch cords didn’t work, patch bays didn’t work and so on. If a studio has got this kind of thing happening all the time, you’re not going to go back there. There is a responsibility from the studio’s point of view in terms of their survival Daniel Ward-Murphy sings as well. with reflection filter Something that contributed greatly to this was that we went through an entire period during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s where people recorded one instrument at a time with one microphone and one channel.

Of course, in this situation, there’s no real reason for a studio to have 64 channels all working at the same time. In fact, you probably wouldn’t know whether the 64 channels worked or not, because you wouldn’t get to use them.

We’re now coming back into an era where people are realising how wonderful it is to put four musicians into a studio and have them all play at the same time. And all of a sudden there’s a different technical requirement there. Now that economic stringencies have come in, virtually no studios employ engineers or assistants – they’re all freelance. There are very few studios that have constant maintenance on hand either. So you’ve got a situation that has started to develop.

I’ve got to say that this tends to be the case more in this country than in America. There’s an underlying passion that the Americans have always had, whereas the British have got this belt and braces approach: “Don’t worry, we’ll lash it together and lash ourselves to the mast and we’ll get through.”

The Americans are very much more: “Let’s not actually put the boat out until it’s absolutely pristine.” But it seems to me that, in a time of economic stringency, what you need is for things to work properly the first time as much as possible. So we might be better off coming round into a situation where we get a bit geeky about things and get a little bit more passionate

Sellaband.com IN MANY respects, Sellaband.com is similar to social networking sites, such as Myspace – users are able to upload music and develop a fanbase. Where the site differs dramatically, however, is in the ability of fans to invest financially in a featured artist. The target investment figure is $50,000USD and to achieve this, the artist must sell 5,000 shares, or ‘parts’ at ten dollars each. The money goes into an ESCROW account until it hits 50K, at which point, around $35,000 of that is handed over for the artist to make a record. The remainder goes toward mechanical copyright, CD manufacturing, artwork and delivery of the CD to investors. Until a budget reaches 50K, any investor in any artist can withdraw their money and invest it in another artist on Sellaband. The company has its own A&R department which guides successful artists through the recording process, such as helping them to find an appropriate producer.

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LEGAL

IP rights are far from child’s play Damages awarded against Bratz doll maker MGA Entertainment demonstrate the need to establish ownership of creative works, says Tahir Basheer, partner at media law firm Sheridans Unless he was an author, an architect or an actor, it’s unlikely your grandfather ever wondered who owned the rights to his labours. The old working contract was understood: companies gave employees jobs for life, and the employee handed over their best years and ideas. A legal framework was in place to govern this relationship, but it was also more implicit in the place of work in life.

As businesses have become more fluid, however, more ambiguities in both employers’ and employees’ understanding of their rights to creative output have emerged.

In a world where contracts are increasingly short-term and projects frequently consist of loose affiliations of employees, external companies and contractors, confusion can arise, especially as the value of IP rights becomes better understood by all concerned.

The legislation may seem clear-cut to some, but that doesn’t stop conflict between employers and their current or former employees. Companies can be drawn into legal action against each other too, due to the rightsinfringing actions of their employees.

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A $100 million award issued by a US federal jury against MGA Entertainment and its CEO Isaac Larian is a case in point.

Barbie 1: Bratz 0 Mattel, the company behind Barbie, challenged MGA Entertainment, which manufactures the Bratz dolls. The jury found one Carter Bryant, the designer of the first Bratz dolls, was under contract with Mattel when he first sketched out his ideas. This gave Mattel exclusive rights to his concepts and designs. As a result, Mattel owned the copyright to certain critical early drawings – not the designer or MGA. Of the $100 million award in favour of Mattel, MGA and Mr Larian were ordered to pay $90 million for interfering with Mattel’s contractual relations with Mr Bryant and helping him breach his fiduciary duty/duty of loyalty. $10 million was awarded for copyright infringement.

Mattel had actually sought $2 billion of damages based on profits generated by the Bratz dolls, but the jury found that when employing Mr Bryant the parties had not wilfully infringed Mattel’s copyright.

While the case was heard in a US court, parties suffering from a breach of contract and copyright infringement have similar remedies in the UK, including injunctions against the sale of infringing products – or even their confiscation or destruction – as well as damages.

Own goals The key lesson from the Bratz case is that simply buying a creative work does not necessarily confer legal copyright or ownership to that work. It is therefore important to establish who owns any creative work by way of a written agreement or assignment of rights.

Note, too, that in the absence of any other specific agreements, different parties can own different rights: Copyright will be owned by the author of the work – not by whoever commissioned it.

Design right will be owned by the commissioner of the work – not by its creator.

Where a work has been created by an employee in the course of their employment, the intellectual property rights will be owned by the employer unless otherwise agreed.

Employers should ensure the scope of employment contracts are sufficiently wide to cover any kind of intellectual property rights arising from creative works produced by an employee in day-to-day employment.

To avoid the problems highlighted by the Bratz case, contracts should also ensure that employees or third parties explain how their works came about. Existing or third party work should not be re-used in creating new products in the course of employment without the express agreement of the employer.

IP rights aside, employees and contractors should also expect to undertake a contractual obligation to confidentiality until their work is made public by their employer, since it can be very difficult – and costly – to prove that a competitive product arose from copying that work.

For more information, contact Tahir Basheer at Sheridans: +44 20 7079 0103 tbasheer@sheridans.co.uk sheridans.co.uk www.audioprointernational.com

Soft focus

Digital audio workstations have become the standard for studio and live recording, as well as post production and broadcast editing. Andrew Low and Rob Hughes take a good look at what is on the market‌

T

he extinction of analog tape manufacturers has forced most engineers to move to digital audio workstations. While at first sceptics complained of poor sound quality and an inherent loss of musical creativity due to endless takes and digital editing, most now agree that digital recording technology is at the point where its sonic characteristics are near, if not equal, to that of analog tape, with good DA converters only heightening the experience.

Most find that the desired analog warmth can still be retained by letting a mix hit tape at some point during tracking and the ongoing development of valve outboard gear is another worthy alternative for extra tube tone. The end result is a generation of engineers taking advantage of the versatility that DAWs offer. It has also spawned a new breed of plugins designed to match the sound of analog gear from industry standard gear from names like Neve, Fairchild, Universal Audio and Lexicon, to name a few.

DAWs are typically loaded with a handful of features that can effectively replace an entire studio control room of equipment, comprehensively enough to allow artists to compose, record, mix and engineer songs at home and with little further outlay in terms of equipment. This report will review the top end of the market and examine products from manufacturers who have designed their systems for professional studio and post production engineers.

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Digidesign Pro Tools Now on its eighth version, Pro Tools is by far one of the leaders of the digital recording and editing programs. While other programs are closing in, Pro Tools paved the way for the use of DAWs in recording studios by offering high quality hardware and software and helped bring the industry to accept digital recording and editing as a valid format.

Released in 1991, the Pro Tools format is perhaps one of the most intuitive to those used to working with analog equipment. It offers a variety of single touch edit keys, editing tools and other features offered to view organise and edits.

Digidesign boasts that Pro Tools is the easiest production environment to learn. Editing features such as automation changes to arrangements and crossfades can all be made in the edit window, with every editing function packed into the program.

Due to the popularity of Pro Tools, seemingly every high-end pro audio manufacturer has created a compatible plugin for use with the system. Instruments, dynamics and effects plugins have been created

by Digidesign and Pro Tools development partners to emulate the industry standard hardware used in studios for decades.

A newer feature added to the program allows changes to tempo and timing of loops, music, dialog and other sound files on the fly. Known as Elastic Time, the feature provides several time stretching algorithms www.audioprointernational.com

on a per track basis, timing and tempo for entire compositions can also be altered.

The newest version of Pro Tools, Version 8, incorporates an updated user interface, over 70 plugins and virtual instruments, fully integrated MIDI and score editors and an expanded array of editing features.

Pro Tools 8’s new interface has also been enhanced with a modernised colour palette, along with higher contrast text and graphics. All of the major Pro Tools functions found on old versions are still located in the same places; however, enhancements like dockable Editor windows and a configurable Edit window toolbar have been added to ease users’ navigation. Ten effects plugins can now be used on each channel, as well as the expansion of LE and M-Powered versions to allow up to 48 simultaneous mono or stereo tracks.

Ken Andrews, artist and producer for Beck, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Failure, comments: “The new PT8 has everything I’ve been looking for. The new colours make a huge difference, the new instruments sound fantastic and the comping feature is very well implemented.”

Apple Logic Pro The roots of Apple’s Logic Pro can be traced back to a program called Notator (initially Creator) by German-based C-Lab in the mid-1980s. Notator was a pattern-based sequencer, as opposed to Cubase’s linear format.

Unfortunately, the latter prevailed and Notator’s popularity decreased, until C-Lab’s chief programmers left and formed Emagic, releasing Notator Logic in 1993.

The Mac and PC versions of the software, known simply as Logic, easily kept pace with Cubase, becoming increasingly sophisticated until, in 2002, Apple acquired Emagic. Rather understandably, Apple swiftly dropped the Windows version of Logic.

In 2004 the company released version Logic Pro 7, which consolidated over 20 different Emagic programs including all of its instrument and effect plugins, along with three new instruments and nine new effect plugins including Guitar Amp Pro. This took the software’s plugin total to 70 effects and 34 instruments. Many people advocate Logic on this basis alone, though the software seems to enjoy an enviable reputation as the ultimate DAW for Mac – possibly as a result of the benefits of having hardware, operating system and sequencer designed by the same company.

Ableton Live Ableton’s Live is a DAW that has been designed as much around live performance as it has recording and producing music – a characteristic that is clearly reflected in its interface, which is intended for use on a single screen. Much younger than many of its contemporaries, Live was first released in 2001 and has since become one of the most popular pieces of music software, fervently employed by DJs and conventional composers alike.

Ableton features up to 32-bit/192kHz recording with creative MIDI sequencing of software and hardware instruments, built-in audio effects, instruments, VST www.audioprointernational.com

Ableton Live can be used to warp sound files in real time

“As a composer, I think Ableton Live has to be the software that has given me the most immediate way to write new things on a computer.”

Pete Townshend, The Who and AU features, video import and export for scoring to picture or warping picture to music.

Live is unique in the way it handles audio samples and its standout feature is its ability to time-stretch or ‘warp’ sound files in real time, while being read from the hard disk. Even long recordings with unstable tempos play in perfect sync with the current session tempo or an external clock source.

Users can record, loop, effect, resample and launch sounds without ever stopping the music.

Some of the more prolific examples of Live users include The Who’s Pete Townshend, who in a recent interview with EQ magazine commented: “As a composer, I think Ableton Live has to be the software that has given me the most immediate way to write new things on a computer, rather than tape. At the same time it allows several additional levels of creativity, including this notion of mine that finding great sounds and loops can inspire new tracks.”

Steinberg Cubase Steinberg’s Cubase started life as Cubit on the Atari ST in 1989. The successor to Steinberg’s professional sequencer Pro 24, it was widely considered to be the first software sequencer to feature a music arrangement page of the currently accepted format, which was susequently adopted by other developers.

When the Atari market waned, Cubase was redeveloped for Windows and Macintosh in the early 90s with the ability to record audio. In 1999, Steinberg introduced the VST platform, which allowed third-party developers to design virtual instrument and effect plugins to be used within its software. VST quickly became a standard for other sequencers, such as Cakewalk’s Sonar and Ableton’s Live.

Steinberg is now on version 4.5 of Cubase. It features state-of-the-art audio and MIDI recording, editing and mixing functions, a complete set of VST virtual instruments and effects, multi-channel 5.1 surround sound, seamless integration of external audio and MIDI hardware and professional music notation and score printing.

Famous producers have used Cubase’s virtual instruments for years. Tony Doogan, producer for Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, Dirty Pretty Things, The Young Knives and Super Furry Animals, states: “I run Cubase alongside another February 2009

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recording system, which I use to record audio and program in Cubase. The MIDI implementation in Cubase is far better and the virtual instruments are pretty much second to none.”

Cubase 5 features VST Sound, a new universal media management format offering 1.6 GB of new high-end sounds and instruments, including 45 new instruments for Halion One, Sonic Reality drums, basses and guitars and 250 loops

by Big Fish Audio.

Propellerhead Reason Reason is designed as an all-encompassing music production solution, combining synthesizers, samplers, a drum machine, a REX file loop player, professional mastering tools, mixer, vocoder, effects and a pattern sequencer into a single, integrated program so as to negate the requirement for additional software.

The number of instances of each component that can be employed is limited only by computer power, which the software uses sparingly.

The program’s interface is presented as a virtual studio rack, which can be flipped around with the touch of a button to reveal the connections at the rear. Components are generally patched in by Reason in the most logical way automatically when created, though dragging and dropping the virtual cables can easily alter connections.

Reason version 4 comes equipped with new sequencers, the RPG-8 monophonic arpeggiator, a new revamped sequencer and ReGroove, a real-time, 32-channel timing and groove-handling mixer.

Pyramix has a very flexible set-up

A significant attraction of Reason is its ReFill sample format. ReFills are component packages for Reason that can contain patches, samples, REX files and song files. Storing audio samples in a Refill significantly reduces the size of the files, with no loss of audio quality. This simplifies the exchange of samples and enables third party manufacturers to produce downloadable sample collections for Reason.

Propellerhead has recently launched the Reason Premium Edition bundle, which includes a full version of Reason with the four complete Hypersampled ReFills, Reason Drum kits, pianos, Abbey Road Keyboards and Electric Bass sound libraries. The Abbey Road Key boards samples were recorded on location at the studio using the vintage mics, outboard and mixing desks from its Studio Two. Sonar Cakewalk Sonar 7 Producer Edition is the latest version of Roland’s DAW. It features powerful creative tools and an open and customisable environment, high-quality instruments and effects and flexible mixing and delivery options. Cakewalk boasts the most powerful Step Sequencer found in any DAW, true linear phase mastering plugins, internal side chaining, delay compensation for external hardware through an external insert plugin, pitch to MIDI functionality with Roland V-Vocal 1.5, integrated CD burning, and numerous workflow and delivery enhancements throughout the application.

In its review of Sonar 7 Producer Edition, Musicradar.com concludes: “Trust us when we tell you that it’s improvements all round.

This new version represents a logical evolution from Version 6, and the company has done a good job of making a deep program easy to get around. We did encounter a minor graphics anomaly here and there, but had no stability issues at all.

Sonar remains – at least in its Producer Edition guise – perhaps the single most comprehensive Windows production suite money can buy.”

AMD Dual Opteron PCs. The second issue one of sound quality. Nuendo is definitely the best sounding system I have heard. A-B tests prove it and many of our top clients insist on it.”

Emerging Technologies Pyramix Emerging Technologies bills Pyramix as the most advanced digital audio workstation currently available. With a multitude of features in a flexible customisable set-up, Pyramix has quickly risen to the forefront in the post production, broadcast and mastering sectors. Pyramix is also listed as being capable of more advanced real-time processing than its competitors, therefore increasing workflow within the system.

Pyramix V6 is the latest and most powerful version of the program. It incorporates MassCore, which offers an increased level of processing and channel count.

It can be configured to receive over 380 simultaneous live input and output channels at 48kHz, 192 I/0 at 96kHz and 48 I/O in DXD (352.8kHz) and DSD (1-bit 2.8MHz sample rate)for SACD production. Pyramix Native offers the same software configurations as Masscore for Windows XP or Vista OS users.

Other advantages of V6 are an unlimited number of plugins assignable to each track, compatibility with any audio format at any bit rate, which can be mixed in the same timeline without conversion, and interchangeability with almost every third-party DAW and NLE systems.

There are myriad reasons for buying Reason...

Steinberg Nuendo Nuendo is billed as an advanced audio and post production system designed for audio professionals in the modern media, recording and film industries. Steinberg’s Nuendo 4 offers a state-of-the-art digital audio production environment providing scaleable, cross platforms that integrate with third party industry plugins and hardware manufacturers such as Yamaha, Apogee, Digital Audio Denmark, Prism Sound, DCS, Euphonix and RME. The program provides a 32-bit audio engine with full surround throughout. A complete set of VST3 surround effect plugins and a new automation system has also been integrated for total control. Steinberg stresses that Nuendo is a versatile piece of advanced technology that partners easily with any monitoring setup, multi-seat projects via LAN or WAN, as well as full project exchange with other leading audio and video editing systems.

The recently released version 4.2 has been built upon the existing version to offer several workflow enhancements and improvements in addition to extensive support for Yamaha KS and Motif XS series, as well as Steinberg’s own MR816 CSX/X Advanced Integration DSP Studio and the CC121 Advanced Integration controller.

Nuendo has also become one of the premier systems for live recording. David Hewitt, live recording engineer for The Academy Awards, the Rolling Stones, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Madonna, comments: “In live recording the first issue is reliability. Nuendo has proven to be rock solid on our www.audioprointernational.com

Sony Acid Pro Originally published by Sonic Foundry in 1998, Acid Pro was the first software of its kind that could automatically adjust the tempo of sound files dropped onto a track in its sequencer without significant deterioration in sound quality.

This groundbreaking feature helped garner popularity with those who wanted to create music loops quickly and easily without losing creative expression amid some of the more mundane tasks associated with music production.

The latest version, Acid Pro 6, has been enhanced with multitrack recording and full MIDI sequencing to transform it from a simple loop-based sequencer into a fully featured professional music workstation.

Sadie Series 5 Sadie Series 5 software offers many simplified features for recording, editing and post-production tasks, Its latest version 5.6 allows integrated exchange via OMF, AAF, AES-31 and Pro Tools as well as Mac and PC compatibility, as audio files can be recorded in WAV, BWF, AIFF and SDII onto Apple HFS and HFS+ drives.

Series 5’s open architecture allows third party DirectX and VST plug-ins to be used within the Sadie software mixer, which already includes inbuilt eq and dynamics control. An additional feature of the system sees Cedar algorithms integrated into Sadie’s EDL and mixer for fast and flexible restoration. All edits, levelling, mixing and processing created in Series 5 are performed in real time.

Series 5 can be used with Sadie’s own hardware control surfaces, as well as many digital consoles or controllers, including those from Behringer, Mackie, Yamaha and SSL and many others.

Sadie also offers Multi Track Recording (MTR) software that is compatible with its PCM-H64/128 & LRX2 for installations dedicated to multi-track recording and playback with an external mixing console. Up to 128 channels of record/playback can be utilised with the software, supported by all common sample rates up to 192khz. A custom version of MTR is also featured with Klark Teknik’s DN9696 harddisc recorder for live multitack recording.

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tickets now available This is an exciting opportunity for you to be present at the inaugural Music Producers Guild Awards.

Being held on February 12th 2009 and hosted in the historic and glamorous Cafe de Paris in London’s Piccadilly, the MPG Awards 09 promises to be an unprecedented night to appreciate and honour the producers and professionals from the recording industry. This fantastic awards evening will focus on the invaluable producers, engineers, mixers and remixers whilst also giving an opportunity for the less recognised individuals within the industry to shine through in the Best Newcomer and Unsung Hero awards.

Tickets to this unique event are proving to be highly desirable and sought after for both individuals and companies. For prices and details on how to buy tickets go to www.mpgawards.co.uk

www.mpgawards.co.uk

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Universal acclaim The UAD-2 Nevana 182 card was designed to bring the classic Neve sound to the digital domain. Wes Maebe reports on Universal Audio’s latest mind boggling card...

W

hen Audio Pro International asked me to review the new UAD-2 from Universal Audio, I accepted with alacrity. I was already a fan of the UAD-1 card, having had the opportunity to use it when mixing and mastering the Juggernaut album for Zero Cipher, an alternative metal band from Farnham in Surrey.

The album had been entirely digitally recorded, and the UAD card brought all the analog warmth to the recording we could have wished for, as you can hear when it’s released on Null/Void Records on March 30th this year.

I knew UAD-2 was on the way and it was worth the wait, exceeding even my most optimistic expectations.

The new DSP-based plugin effects processor is a massive leap forward from UAD-1 in terms of power, flexibility, ease of use and number of plugins. UAD-2 comes in single, duo or quad configurations, with the top of the range card, Nevana 128, able to run 128 channels of Neve 88RS console. The cards use Analogue Device’s newest SHARC 21369 floating-point processors, meaning the UAD-2 can have up to ten times the power of the UAD-1. UAD-2 also has a new live mode, making it possible to run the effects in a tracking situation, as well as mixing and mastering. If you’re an existing UAD-1 user, the good news is that you can use the new card side by side with the old on one system; in fact, you can use any configuration of up to four cards together.

The new card comes with a mindboggling array of plugin options, enabling you to build your own virtual mixing console, mastering console, mix side-car or effects rack from your favourite analog components – it’s enough to make you

www.audioprointernational.com

drool: the Neve 1073 and 1081, the 88RS Channel Strip, the 33609 compressor/limiter, the Pultec EQP-1A, the Fairchild 670, the EMT 140 Plate and Universal Audio’s 1176 and LA-2A to name only a few of the treasures in here. The latest software update includes two newcomers – the Harrison 32C console eq and Little Labs 1BP phase alignment tool.

I’ve been trying out the new card on a variety of mixing and mastering projects over the last few weeks, and having used most of the original units on which the plugins are modelled, I can testify to the extremely high quality of the emulations. It is exactly what you would expect from Universal Audio, given its 50 years of revered analog design and its mission to create new recording tools that retain the spirit of vintage analog technology.

Using the plugins is remarkably close to the real-life experience. I found that activating the plugin ‘in the box’ added character straight away, even without tweaking the unit, just like switching the hardware in or out in a real outboard environment. This made my ‘in the box’ mixing feel a lot more realistic and allowed me to focus more on the content rather than the mouse.

Initially I had some problems with residual noise bursts within Logic when bouncing down mixes. This has now been resolved in software version 5.2.0, which brings us the additional glad tidings that UAD-2 is now RTAS-compatible.

You still can’t beat sitting behind a real desk in a real studio, but this new tool from Universal Audio is as close as you can get. The UAD-2 brings warm analog character to what can be a sterile and cold digital environment. It’s best summed up by one of my clients who said, after I mastered his album: “Now it sounds like a record.”

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Dave’s here As business continues to get tighter, there is always the lower end of the market to consider for some added turnover. Andy Barrett discovers that Adam Hall has just the thing…

W

hile Adam Hall has established itself as a major player in the audio market over the past 30 years, it might be apparent to some that the company has also spread its many tentacles into the MI world as well. The company distributes the Wilson Brothers Ventura guitars, Arturia guitars and Traynor amps in the UK, but most significant of all over the past couple of years has been the Adam Hall owned LD Systems range of speakers, small frame mixers and, perhaps most importantly, a growing range of portable PA systems under the moniker ‘Dave’.

In a tenuous link of synchronicity, the Dave series of PAs came to the fore for Adam Hall at about the same time as channel Dave began inspiring divorce suits as male couch potatoes delighted in end-to-end Top Gear and QI. Interestingly for me is that my marriage was saved by investing in the latest Dave 15 system and promising the better half that we would start gigging.

The Dave 15 PA (named, apparently, after the original designer of the range) is a sturdy, simple, surprisingly transportable and ultimately good sounding system that has enough power to provide suitable sound for a good sized room of around 300 people, leaving plenty of headroom for the majority of pub gigging bands and performers.

The format is pretty familiar, an active 15-inch subwoofer (300 Watts RMS) and two 100-Watt satellites with main and sub level controls, but unlike many other similar, plastic, entry-level systems, Dave 15 is impressively robust and gives the performer/engineer that comfortable feeling that the speakers are coping, regardless of the achieved levels.

A good degree of this comes from the sturdy housing (the sub is plywood and the satellites MDF), but there is also the ruggedness of the all-but silent amp, 180-degree phase reverse and a frequency range of 40Hz to 19kHz. Despite being a 15-inch driver in the sub, the low end is deep and solid, quite capable of a well-defined, chest vibrating thump, and the

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12-inch/one-inch satellites also belie their diminutive size to deal with a full and transparent run up the frequencies from 150Hz upwards.

You really feel that no sound is being left out or even squeezed.

The Dave 15 is very similar in all its spec to its predecessor, the Dave 12, but that extra bit of grunt (without any loss in clarity) pushes Dave from the strictly MI sphere and into the lower echelons of the pro audio world.

Although the state of the art in portable PA is now eminently accessible to the average performer (Dave 15 has a suggested retail price of just £750), there is still a lot of room for small rental companies and resellers to take advantage of systems such as the Dave.

One element of physics that many musos (and possibly a good number of DJs) are delightfully unaware of is the fact that subwoofer technology creates non-directional sound and thus fills a performance space with sound more easily and clearly than directional low frequency cabs. This is important in the world of the pub performer, where rooms are rarely a nice angled amphitheatre as enjoyed by the big boys in the world of concerts and live sound.

To you audio experts this is a fact of little interest, perhaps, except that it is a great selling point for those looking for a system to make themselves heard – and heard clearly.

The Dave 15 system fits into the top end of the entry level perfectly.

Not only does it have exactly this sort of coverage, the clarity at even the lowest frequencies mentioned above makes it something a little special.

So, if you need either to up your sound reinforcement presence to hit the serious semi-pro or expand downwards to bring on the beginners as customers, the Dave 15 is probably the best portable PA available to fill this gap. ld-systems.com adamhall.co.uk

SCRATCHING THE PAD CLIFF RICHARD’S 50th Anniversary Time Machine tour hit seven UK arenas for 14 shows in November, using Yamaha PM5D consoles for FOH and monitors.

Five weeks of production rehearsals allowed the engineers to tweak the sound and cues to perfection and store each song as a scene on the boards, both of which were suppiied by Brit Row. “I’m mixing Cliff and the other live performers manually, but the scenes are critical because of the show’s complexity,” said Mike Warren, monitor engineer. “In addition, different musicians play different instruments, there are eight tracks of playback - a few loops, just bits of percussion and the odd orchestral fills.” yamaha.com/ca THE KAISER CHIEFS recently performed under the famous glass roof of Munich’s Olympic Stadium as part of TMobile’s series of Street Gigs.

German sound company Lleyendecker provided a Camco powered Nexo linearray sound system.

The T-Mobile series enables big name bands to perform in strange locations for winners of Street Gig’s raffle. The Kaiser Chiefs concert was one of the largest of the series, employing the entire range of Geo technology, with Nexo's newest cabinets, S1230 and RS15 subs as sidefills. PS15s were used for monitors, drumfill and nearfill. Camco Vortex amplifiers drove the entire FOH system, controlled

by Nexo NX242s. camcoaudio.com

KANYE WEST’S recent world tour used AKG’s WMS 4000 wireless system and IVM 4 in-ear monitoring system. Stage Audio Productions provided the systems for the Glow in The Dark tour, which visited 40 cities and six continents with performances by Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna, NERD and Nas. Stage Audio’s Darcy Khan said: “After searching for clean frequencies, HPF and eqs for the belt packs, I was able to save all the presets into separate folders assigned to each city we perform in.” akg.com

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Black Keys are vocal masters Midwest duo record album with the help of some heavy vintage gear

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ttack & Release, the latest album from guitar-and-drum double-act The Black Keys, was produced using an irreplaceable collection of vintage equipment, including a 40-year-old Shure Vocal Master PA. The band, which comprises guitarist/singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, worked with producer Brian ‘Danger Mouse’ Burton – the man behind Grammy winner Gnarls Barkley.

“We decided we wanted to go into the studio with a real producer,” recalled Carney. “And use really nice old equipment for once.”

Starting from scratch in the studio, the pair came armed with a catalogue of tricks learned during years of home production.

Complementing the vintage theme of The Key’s record project, Auerbach also procured a Vocal Master PA in Cleveland that the pair used onstage

while touring just before entering the studio.

Introduced in 1967, the Shure Vocal Master was touted in advertising at the time as the ‘first portable total sound system’ with an integrated amp and mixer.

“We wanted to get that kind of weird vocal sound blended in,” Auerbach recalled. “They're kind of dangerous; heavy as hell, metal-lined on the rims. If you drop one, you'll cut off your feet. Besides that, they're awesome.”

Attack & Release was recorded at Paul Hamann’s Suma Studios, outside Cleveland, Ohio. The Black Keys chose the location for its ambience as much as they did for Hamann’s engineering skills, as Carney explained on the band’s website: “The place is covered with dust, smells like a mouldy cabin and looks like a haunted house.

It was fitting for our first time in a real studio.” shure.com

Prodigy gets back to bass-ics 21-inch Martin boxes provide thunderous low end for headline gig

W

hen Prodigy’s FOH engineer Jon Burton found out the band would be headlining the second stage at 2008’s V Festival he began researching a system that would accurately reproduce the thunderous bass the band produces.

“We knew a year ahead of the event that Prodigy were likely to be headlining the second stage, but sound wise there is always an issue because of the strict noise level limits at both the festival sites,” he explained.

“We wanted to maximise the impact of the low end, but in a directional way to avoid noise propagation across the entire site. We always require more than the normal number of subs provided, in this case, by SSE, so we always intended bringing in extra.”

Chris Hill, of the band’s rental supplier, Wigwam Acoustics, recommended that Burton talk to Martin Audio as it was in the process of developing the ASX 21-inch active sub.

Burton explains: “We were trying to reinforce where the main PA would begin to roll off, below 50Hz in

order to give the audience a greater physical perception normally only associated with much higher levels.”

Martin’s Jason Baird began producing 12 enclosures, which were adapted models of the ASX design in a single 21-inch touring speaker. Due to the

noise restrictions, the 21incher had to be applied as spot effects rather then used throughout the set.

Space constraints did not allow the boxes to be set up in a physical arch, so the 12 boxes were configured in a straight line in front of the stage and digitally arranged in a curved arch using processing software. The subs were powered by six of Martin’s MA18K amps and two dedicated DX2.

“I was very pleased with the way the subs worked indoors,” explained Burton.

“I was once again looking for something to come in under the system, to add a dramatic amount of lows.

They certainly did that, and even the band commented on the sub levels in the room, a compliment indeed.” martin-audio.com

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SCRATCHING THE PAD

Lab.gruppen hits an ace in Qatar AV-Tech upgrades tennis club for Sony Ericsson WTA championships

S

ystems integrator AV–Tech has designed and implemented an AV and broadcast systems upgrade at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash complex, in time for the official year-end championships of the Sony Ericsson WTA tour.

Located in Doha in the Middle Eastern state of Qatar, the complex required the upgrade in order to host the event. The tour culminated in a first seasonending title win for Venus Williams, while Cara Black and Liezel Huber defended their doubles crown.

“This is the first time that Qatar has hosted such a world-class tennis event, and we are proud to be a part of it,” explained AVTech’s general manager, Hadi Arzouni. “The complex will be hosting the championships for the next two years, so it was imperative that we selected only the very best equipment. Our first choice

for amplification is always Lab.gruppen for its reliability and sound quality, and this installation was certainly no exception.”

AV-Tech installed comprehensive AV systems throughout the main stadium showcourt and practice courts one and two.

Five Lab.gruppen fP 6400 amplifiers powered a Community point source loudspeaker system, which

was augmented by three R6Basshorns. The versatile four-channel Lab.gruppen C 5:4X amplifier which is specifically designed for installed applications with relatively low power output requirements was selected to power the sidefill speakers and the VIP seating area system. For each of the practice courts, AV-Tech opted for four R.5HP Community

loudspeakers powered by a single Lab.gruppen C10:4X. “Lab.gruppen’s C Series are ideal for this sort of application,” continued Arzouni. “Whatever our needs, we can be sure that there is a C Series amplifier of the channel density and power rating we require. It considerably reduces the amount of rackspace we need, it’s cost-effective, and we know it will be reliable and sound good.”

AV-Tech also supplied a complete broadcast solution for the Al Jazeera Broadcasting Sports Channel so that matches could be broadcast live across several networks.

“This was a complex installation that had to be completed within a limited time-frame,” recalled Arzouni. “AV-Tech engineers worked round the clock for nearly two months, but we delivered the project on time for what was a highly successful event.” labgruppen.com

Digico plays a mean pinball SD8 goes on tour with Dutch four-piece for The Who’s rock opera

D

igico’s latest console, the SD8, has been taken on tour with popular Dutch four-piece band Di-rect, who are using it for a version of The Who’s rock opera, Tommy, being performed in Holland.

This is one of the more unusual of a wide range of tours for which the console has been specified recently.

In the vein of shows such as We Will Rock You, Di-rect Does Tommy is a combination of rock n roll and theatre, for which ticket sales have been through the roof.

Sound contractor for the tour is The Purple Group, part of the Synco Network, and has a newly acquired Digico SD8 in place at front of house.

Using Digico’s standard stage rack, the console uses

Di-rect frontman, Tim Akkerman (left) tells FOH enginner David Hol to lift his vocal in the mix

48 inputs and 16 outputs to provide the main mix.

With the addition of an RME MADI interface, the show is recorded each night to a laptop, which allows the crew to run soundchecks in each new venue, without the need for the band to be present.

“That is a really great feature,” said the Purple

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Group’s Robert de Loey. “It makes soundchecking so much easier and quicker because we can do it whenever it’s convenient.

We don’t have to wait for the band and it frees up more time for them too.”

“The SD8 is working really well,” continued de Loey. “The show is running great, the sound is great,

the desk is great.

Everything that we hoped for is there in the desk – we are so happy with it that we are already looking to purchase a second one.

Other Dutch acts are also looking to use the SD8 on their shows, so I don’t think it will get any rest for many months to come.” digico.org

RAT SOUND systems has joined L-Acoustics’ K1/Kudo pilot program with the delivery of a stadium-sized system, primarily comprised of 48 K1 enclosures, 16 K1-SB subs, 16 LA-Rak touring racks loaded with LA8 amplified controllers, and 24 SB28 subs.

Rat Sound has now joined New York’s Firehouse Productions on a short list of US touring companies to take part in the manufacturer’s K1/KUDO Pilot Program.

“K1 is the first time I have heard something as exciting as when I first heard the VDOSC,” commented founder Dave Rat. “This is the new barometer by which all sound systems will be judged.” l-acoustics.com GEARHOUSE STAGING connections has acquired a Van Damme Cables audio snake system from Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics, local distributor for VDC in the Middle East. VDC is a manufacturer of specialist audio and video cables for broadcast, studio, install and live sound applications.

“We have been partners with VDC for almost two years now,” commented Chicco Hiranandani, business development manager. “We keep a sizeable amount of cables in stock, however, this order from Gearhouse is important because we intend to support the live sound companies with more than just cable requirements.” nmkelectronics.com JIMMY DOUGLAS R&B/hip-hop producer Timbaland’s main go-to mixer/engineer has acquired a pair of A-Designs Audio EMPEQ equalisers.

Douglas, known to some as ‘Senator Jimmy D’, has engineered, mixed and/or produced an impressive roster of talent ranging from Aretha Franklin to Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z. “The EM-PEQs are great for drums, very realistic and clear, yet add a nice warmth that does, indeed, truly remind me of the Pultec, but for a fraction of the price one would pay for an original EQP-1A," he said. adesignsaudio.com

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FOCUS: IN SESSION Audio Pro International’s regular section looking at the equipment

FUSION STUDIO

F

usion Studio is guitarist and independent recording artist Mark Klock’s personally designed recording studio.

The relaxed and creative atmosphere is a main feature of the studio, which could only have been designed by a musician – it has many little touches that fellow musicians will appreciate.

Klock, who is also an engineer and producer, has years of experience recording and producing a variety of musical styles, from hard rock to jazz instrumental and world music.

Klock relocated the studio from Los Angeles in May 2006 and now has a 750 sq ft main room with a 20-ft vaulted ceiling in Washington state.

The room was created with acoustic properties to record acoustic instruments and produce a big, open drum sound. Isolation booths for amplifiers and vocalists

are also in place for proper separation during sessions.

The digitally driven studio features a Mackie HDR 24/96, 24track hard disk recorder, Central station controller with Apogee DA converters, and a Tascam DA45HR 24-bit DAT recorder.

Tannoy 800 concentric control room monitors, along with Mackie and Fostex monitors, are in place for monitoring during sessions.

A variety of outboard gear is available for effects and dynamics, including an Art Pro MPA tube (tube mod), an API pre, eq and compressor, a Focusrite ISA428 four-channel mic preamp, a Trident S20 and a Universal Audio LA-610. Fusion also has industry standard gear from Alesis, DBX, Drawmer and Empirical Labs Distressor.

A production assistant, catering and on-site lodging are also available for clients of the studio.

Rooms: Live and control Mics: AKG, Audix, Blue, Octava, Sennheiser, Shure, Studio Projects Outboard: API, Drawmer, dbx, Empirical Labs Monitoring: Tannoy, Mackie, Fostex Telephone: +1 509 685 2310 Web Address: www.fusionstudio.biz

THE BASEMENT

T

he Basement at London Recording Studios was originally part of the Trevor Horns Sarm studio group, which opened in the 1970s.

Located in the heart of London on Brick Lane – and easy to get to whether by car or public transport – The Basement features a fully air-conditioned, large live room and is equipped with the latest digital Pro Tools studio equipment, complemented by an SSL console and Studer A80 twoinch tape machine.

Due to its location, equipment and history, the studio has hosted a variety of legendary artists over the years, helping to make music including Queen albums A Night at the Opera and A Day At The Races, Madonna’s album Music and The Clash songs Pressure Drop and Complete Control.

The studio has also managed to stay current and host bands such

as The Wombats, The Envelopes and Art Brut, boasting that its engineers create a friendly and warm vibe during sessions. It claims to be competitively priced and great value for money.

The studio features top of the line outboard gear including Neve mic pres and classic pieces like LA2s, 1176s and Distressors.

Its large microphone collection features top end mics from Neumann, Electrovoice, AKG, Royer, Beyer, Shure and Sennheiser.

In addition to the large amount of recording gear it has, The Basement also has a Yamaha Birch Custom Absolute Drum Kit, Bechstein and Wurlitzer Pianos and a Hammond C3 Organ with the original Leslie Cab. Musicians are also invited to take advantage of the studio’s many effects and pedals during their sessions.

Rooms: Large live room Consoles: SSL and Digidesign Mics: Neumann, Electrovoice, AKG, Rode, Sennheiser, Shure, Beyer Outboard: Teletronix, Urie, Empirical Labs, Neve Monitoring: Yamaha, Adam, Mackie Telephone: 020 7247 5862 Web Address: www.freewebs.com/thebasementstudiosuk

If you would like your studio featured in this section, please send all 36

February 2009

www.audioprointernational.com

and the people behind studios in the UK and around the world...

ESCARPMENT STUDIOS

E

scarpment Studios of Toronto, Canada, believes that it has the best live room around. The 800 sq ft room has 25-foot high cathedral ceilings with three stonewalls, which provide a very live sound. Two isolation booths are connected to the room for good separation during sessions with good site lines designed throughout.

Established in 1986 on 23 private acres, the studio is 3,000 sq ft in total with a 400 sq ft control room. Three lounges offer clients adequate areas for listening and downtime with pool tables, satellite TV, surround sound speakers and an all important a woodstove. The third lounge has two stonewalls that can be used as a recording area.

The centrepiece of Escarpment is a 50/84 I/0 D&R Avalon console.

It is a 32-bus desk with eight sends per strip that can be

expanded to 24. It also features Optifile automation for faders and mutes, as well as a four-band sweep eq.

A Pro Tools HD 2 Accel system with three Digidesign 96 I/Os and a Genex GXA8 analog to digital converter is also in place for recordings. Fostex, Sony and Tascam analog recorders can be used for tracking and mixing.

The studio has a large collection of effects and dynamics outboard gear from top brands such as dbx, Drawmer, Summit, Urei, Lexicon and Eventide. It is also equipped with fine equalisers from Amex, Art and Daking.

A microphone collection with pieces from AKG, Bayer, Neumann, Sennheiser can also be found amongst Escarpment’s gear collection. In addition to its recording equipment, musicians can use amps, guitars, and other instruments during sessions.

Rooms: 800 sq ft live room, 400 sq ft control room Consoles: D&R Avalon Mics: AKG, Bayer, Neumann, Sennheiser, Oktava Outboard: Drawmer, dbx, Summit, Urei, Lexicon, Eventide Monitoring: JBL, Yamaha Telephone: +1 519 856 1297 Web Address: www.escarpmentsound.com

SWEETBRIAR STUDIOS

N

ashville’s Sweetbriar Studios is located five minutes from the city’s famous music row.

With an impressive gear collection and a newly refurbished Neve 55 Series console, the studio is ideal for sessions with limited budgets that do not require a giant live room.

Overdubs, demos and up to a five-piece band can be used to accommodate for tracking, mixing and editing of guitar, vocal, drum and piano tracks.

The studio’s live room has been acoustically treated to give a big room sound and its control room features a 32-channel Neve console renovated by Arthur Sloatman from Midget Electronics, an experienced company responsible for the refurbishment of Blackbird Studios’ Neve.

Sweetbriar believes that before you begin recording you need a great song and that it has the tools to bring that song to life with a

great sounding room and top of the line equipment. A Nuendo system with a Cubase DAW is in place for tracking along with 36 channel RME 96K converters and a Lucid clock.

Monitoring during tracking and mixing session is done on the studio’s Mackie HR824 speakers.

Additional analog preamps from Joe Meek, Manley, API and Grace are used by the studio to add additional warmth to tracks and complement the Neve desk with equally good eqs, compressors from Avalon, Manley, Cambridge and other brands. A variety of plugin effects and dynamics can be found in the studio’s digital editing systems, including Auto-tune, and plugins from Melodyne and UAD. A Yamaha C7 concert grand piano can be used during sessions, as well as a Hammond B3 organ with Leslie, a Wurlitzer 200 electric piano and a Fender Rhodes 88 Suitcase piano with stereo speakers.

Rooms: Live and control Consoles: Neve 55 Series Mics: AKG, Calrec, Neumann, Audio-Technica Outboard: Joe Meek, Manley, API, Avalon, Manley, and Cambridge Monitoring: Mackie Telephone: +1 615 210 2120 Web Address: www.sweetbriarrecording.com

details to andrew.low@intentmedia.co.uk, or call +44 1992 535646. www.audioprointernational.com

February 2009

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PERSONNEL

in brief SPECIALIST sound rental company, Audio Alliance, has appointed Pete Stanbank as its new warehouse manager.

Stanbank will work out of the company’s Manchester office and manage its ever growing in-house stock of pro audio equipment.

Audio Alliance has also recently formed an association with sound engineer Steve Phillips to ensure that it is well positioned to cope with the 30 per cent year-on-year growth it has seen over the last four years, a pattern which is set to continue into 2009.

These announcements coincide with the company’s continued stock expansion and recent relocation to a new facility on the outskirts of Manchester’s city centre. audioalliance.com ALEXANDER Rojas has been appointed to the newlycreated position of director of sales for Harman Pro’s intercontinental south division.

Rojas joins Harman’s continuing efforts to serve the Central and South American markets. He will help develop new and existing relationships, improve distributor relationships and join in support services for all Harman Professional brands in the region. Operating from the company’s new Intercontinental sales office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rojas will report to Jaime Albors, senior director of sales intercontinental. harmanpro.com PRISM Sound has announced the addition of Dan Foley to its sales team. Foley will now serve as its telephony solution strategist and sales representative for test and measurements solution in the Eastern US. Prism Sound’s national sales rep for the Americas, Doug Ordon recruited Foley for the position. He commented: "I was introduced to Dan through a long time business associate, and he is simply one of the best in the industry.

“It is a huge win for Prism Sound to attract someone of his caliber. His experience and passion for the industry make Dan a welcome addition to an already outstanding team.” prismsound.com

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February 2009

QSC Audio hires new senior sales manager Hartmut Reichert to represent Europe, Africa and the Middle East EX-SHURE veteran Hartmut Reichert has joined QSC Audio as its new sales manager for Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME).

Reichert has held many positions in the pro audio industry, including spending nine years with Shure Inc, where he set up and led the European sales and marketing office for the company. He also worked for Beyerdynamic, where he set up an international sales, marketing and distribution programme.

QSC feels that Reichert’s technical background, combined with his experience in the European, Middle East and African pro audio territories, makes him the perfect fit for the position.

“I am certain I will be able to use the good relationships I have created with distributors, dealers and system integrators in these areas to QSC’s advantage,” Reichert said.

Reichert will manage sales from QSC’s Hardthausen, Germany office

“In recent years I have followed the company’s development in the market and have been enormously impressed by how they have grown from being a wellknown power amplifier manufacturer to becoming one of the most innovative and expanding systems companies

in the industry, covering all applications and market sectors. I am delighted to be joining them.”

Reichert will be based in Hardthausen, Germany, and will report to Shawn Watts, QSC’s audio director for international sales. qscaudio.com

New public relations manager for Meyer Sound Chimène Stewart joins to bolster PR for community-minded firm

Stewart joins to increase Meyer’s global presence

MEYER SOUND has added Chimène Stewart to its inhouse public relations team to serve in the position of public relations manager.

Stewart will work to increase the visibility of Meyer’s product range and

help reinforce its position as an industry leader in pro audio.

She will also work with its global marketing team to develop new and existing international markets.

Stewart has 15 years’ experience in hi tech public relations, having previously served as head of product public relations for SAP and Oracle, in addition to working with numerous Silicon Valley technology companies.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Meyer Sound and look forward to working with the team to continue building a stronger presence for the company,” said Stewart. “The Meyer Sound brand has a reputation for integrity, innovation and commitment to customer service that I’ve always admired. And as a Bay Area

native and long time Berkeley resident, I’m especially excited to be able to apply my extensive corporate experience to such a respected and community-minded local company that Meyer is.”

“As Meyer Sound continues to expand into new markets and grow its global brand, I’m thrilled to have someone with Chimène’s experience join the marketing team,” said Rachel Archibald, director of marketing. “Her background and skills in crafting unified messaging and running integrated campaigns comes at the perfect time for us as we continue to grow as a company and our needs and objectives for public relations evolve.”

Chimène Stewart is based in Meyer’s Berkeley headquarters. meyersound.com

Biamp gets new sales support New appointments made to increase global sales force BIAMP RECENTLY appointed two new members to its global sales force. Ondej Sedláek has signed on as regional manager to the Eastern Europe team and T.J. Adams to the US sales divisions.

Sedláek held previous positions with Bosch Securing Systems, most recently as a project manager, managing sales and technical support of public address and congress systems in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Ondej also spent four years with AV Media as a key account manager and served as the national service manager for Robert Bosch, where he created the first GSM division in the Czech Republic.

“We are excited to welcome Ondej to our team,” stated Graeme Harrison, Biamp’s VP of international sales.

“His deep background, expertise and dedication to customers are tremendous assets for his new role. This addition is key as our company continues to grow in new markets abroad.”

Ron Camden, VP of North American sales, commented on Adams appointment by stating: “Biamp attributes much of its growth and success to our sales team and their dedication to providing groundbreaking solutions for their customers audio/visual needs. TJ will continue to push our company in this direction.” biamp.com

Sedláek manages sales in Eastern Europe

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DISTRIBUTION

Red Square Audio and Emerging UK to Tannoy partner up distribute Euphonix Red Square exclusive distributor for VQ Live

Red Square worked with Tannoy to develop VQ LIve

TANNOY HAS appointed Red Square Audio as the exclusive distributor for its brand new VQ Live range in the UK and – Ireland.

Red Square will now work with Tannoy to develop and market the new line, which is a live/touring version of the VQ Series.

Paul Nicholson of Red Square heard the new VQ series for the first time at the ABTT 2008 convention in

London and felt it had a latent potential for the live sound market. Nicholson then began consulting with Tannoy’s engineering team to modify the VQ speakers to address the needs of live sound engineers. The collaboration led to the development and recent release of the VQ Live series, dubbed by Tannoy as a ‘line array killer’. redsquareaudio.co.uk tannoy.com

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New deal sees eMerging selling and supporting EuCon controllers EMERGING UK has entered into an agreement with Euphonix to serve as a value added reseller of Euphonix products from its offices in south-west London.

The partnership is one of many new deals in a wave of expansion that Emerging UK has undergone since it took on the distribution of Switzerland’s Emerging Technologies in the UK. It will now take on sales and support for Euphonix’s new open source EuCon Ethernet control protocol systems, released last year.

“This really is one of those win-win situations you always hear about,” explained Paul Mortimer, co-founder of Emerging UK. “Euphonix control surfaces have been sold in conjunction with Merging’s

Pyramix recording systems on many of the large-scale installations we’ve worked on over the past few years, and that demand from customers is continuing. So from our point of view, it makes business sense, and the Emerging team is already familiar with installing and supporting Euphonix systems. From the Euphonix point of view, we are another known quantity that will provide an active sales conduit for their medium to large-sized control surfaces.”

Mark Hosking, sales manager for Euphonix, commented: “Merging Technologies were early adopters of EuCon and the combination has been extremely powerful.” emerginguk.com

in brief BLUE Microphones has appointed TC Electronic as the exclusive European distributor for all its entire catalogue of products and accessories. The deal encompasses all of Europe and the Russian Federation.

Blue has been manufacturing highend microphones with application specific designs for both the professional and consumer markets since 1995.

“This is a great thing for musicians and studio engineers based in Europe,” said Peter Bager, VP of marketing and sales at TC Electronic. “We are now able to complete our mix and deliver products for the entire signal chain. Now we add our world-class input with microphones that are simply in a league of their own.” bluemic.com

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NEW PRODUCT AKG ¬ LAB.GRUPPEN ¬ JZ MICROPHONES ¬ TECHNOMAD

AKG DMS 700 Digital Microphone System

Lab.gruppen PLM 14000

They say: First digital wireless that meets worldwide transmission regulations.

Specifications: The AKG DMS 700 is a wireless digital microphone system featuring over 100Mhz of bandwidth with digital transmission. The audio encryption feature of the DMS 700 was designed to allow confidential broadcast of information with a broadband frequency designed to provide extended flexibility in crowded RF environments.

The digital audio transmission of the DMS 700 was also created to eliminate distortion and significant noise levels at high audio frequencies produced from analog systems. The company says that low RF link quality provides transmission that is secure from interference or distortion.

The mic included with the DMS 700 includes AKG’s D5 dynamic microphone capsule. Its supercardiod polar pattern is accompanied by the company’s patented laminate varimotion diaphragm.

Other features include a true dynamic range of 121dB(A), a tuning range of over 100MHz, up to 40 simultaneous channels and an infrared link for an easy setup.

Harman’s HiQnet System Architect for wireless system connectivity supports all features of the DMS 700. akg.com

JZ Microphones BT-201 microphone They say: Probably the most comfortable solution for changeable capsules of different patterns.

Specifications: The BT-201 is a small diaphragm condenser microphone with changeable capsules, which offer cardioid, omni, open cardioid or open cardioid with a -20db pad options. A stereo pair set is also available for balanced stereo recordings.

The BT-201 features an all-metal body with magnetic connections that allows the capsule to be easily changed. JZ states that the mic offers low self noise and very detailed sound with smooth and transparent highs, optimal presence and natural low-end response. It also says that each of the changeable capsules is carefully tested for all parameters and measured in an anechoic chamber for premium performance.

JZ also offers the JZI-7 shock mount as an optional accessory.

The BT-201 has a five-year warranty from the date of purchase. jzmic.com

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February 2009

They say: The PLM 14000 enables even more complete and extensive system solutions built around a unique combination of technologies.

Specifications: The PLM 14000 provides 7,000W per channel into two Ohms and 4,350W per channel into four Ohms. The 14000 offers the Dante networked audio distribution, Dolby Lake drive processing (now exclusive to Lab.gruppen) and load verification with real-time performance monitoring in a single 2U hardware unit with a unified software controller.

The amplifier platform of the PLM 14000 is based on the company’s FP+ Series and includes additional enhancements to allow greater sustained output power. New circuitry integrated in the amplifier gives greater current-carrying capacity and its Regulated Switch Mode Power Supply (R.SMPS) has been augmented to provide full power during long low-frequency bursts.

Additional features of the amp include extreme power density, patented Intercooler cooling, a full suite of protection features and a Power Average Limiter (PAL) to prevent tripping of mains breakers. Parallel or redundant inputs and outputs for analog, AES digital and a sophisticated set of load verification and real-time performance monitoring tools are also integrated into the amp. lab.gruppen.com

Technomad Berlin loudspeakers They say: These new pattern control configurations are ideal for design engineers, contractors and consultants seeking a more controlled output pattern while retaining highaudio quality and rugged design.

Specifications: Technomad has released two new additions to its Berlin range of loudspeakers. The Berlin 6040 and the 9040 are both IP56 Weatherproof two-way full range speakers offering 60x40 and 90x40 dispersion patterns respectively.

Technomad has added the new models to offer more focused patterns for tightly controlled acoustic environments or for applications that require long distance projections.

The speakers are 32.9 x 20.6 x 10.5-9-inch and weigh 90lbs with a frequency response range spanning from 50Hz–18KHz (+/- 2dB) with a sensitivity of 102dB SPL (1W/1M, swept sine) and an impedance of eight Ohms (nominal).

A two-inch horn-loaded compression driver is in place for HF support with a 15-inch custom cone driver integrated for LF. Two Speak-On connectors are also included on the speakers. technomad.com

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NEW PRODUCT D&M PROFESSIONAL ¬ HEIL SOUND ¬ LEXICON ¬ BEHRINGER

Marantz PMD661 Solid State Recorder

Heil Sound HD8 Drum Mics

They say: A robust and versatile professional handheld PCM/MP3 recorder that supersedes the hugely popular PMD660.

They say: Anyone familiar with how good Heil mics are on drum kits won’t be disappointed in this latest offering from Bob.

Specifications: The PMD661 is the latest model in the Marantz Professional PMD line of solid-state recorders. It is a professional handheld PCM/MP3 recorder with an improved form factor, a superior feature-set to the PMD660 and the added use of SD Flash Media.

New design features of the PMD661 offer a smaller format with an improved top facial layout with fewer buttons and a more developed use of multi-functional operation.

The new recorder is 165 x 93 x 36mm (6.5 x 3.7 x 1.4-inch), which is a third smaller than the PMD660. The PMD661 also features improved control layout allowing single-handed operation.

The PMD661 can provide four hours of battery life and an EDL marking system for the immediate creation of new files. It also includes XLR microphone inputs with phantom power and up to 20dB attenuation. d-mpro.eu.com

Specifications: Heil Sound’s new HD8 primo Drum mic combo kit offers two of the company’s PR 22 for snare and high hat miking, three PR 28 mics for toms, two PR 38s for overheads and a PR 48 for kick drum.

The PR22 mic included with the kit features a combination of materials used for its large low mass diaphragm and a unique mixture of neodymium, iron and boron to create a special magnet structure. It uses a large 1 1/8-inch low mass voice coil assembly with an internal sorbothane suspension system designed to reduce handling noise. Heil states that the PR 22 produces a very linear cardioid pattern and reduces the proximity effect while achieving perfect articulation.

The PR 28, 38 and 48 are new microphones designed for the kit. A new HH-1 tom mount is also included with the HD8 set, which was developed in conjunction with jazz drummer, producer and studio owner Hunter Herman. heilsound.com

Lexicon I·ONIX USB 2.0 desktop recording interfaces

Behringer Eurolive B315A

They say: The I·ONIX series is meticulously crafted from the highest quality components to ensure superior recordings that live up to Lexicon’s standards of performance.

They say: The B315A offers a compact, high-power solution for live and playback applications.

Specifications: Lexicon’s new I·ONIX series is a range of USB 2.0 desktop recording interfaces that offer simultaneous use of analog and digital channels for recording on a Mac or PC. The Desktop Recording Interfaces are available in three configurations. The U22 is capable of recording two channels simultaneously with two analog combi-jack mic/line inputs, two TRS balanced line outputs, a Hi-Z instrument input, a quarter-inch headphone output and MIDI I/O. The U42S records four analog and two digital channels while the U82S can record eight analog and two digital channels. The U42S and U82S also feature four and eight analog combi-jack mic/line inputs respectively, S/PDIF I/O, two instrument inputs and two quarter-inch headphone outputs.

All the models in the I·ONIX Series include new dbx microphone preamps on all analog inputs with A/D-D/A converters that provide 24-bit/96kHz audio quality. 48V phantom power is also provided for each input pair. Each one of the units in the line ships with Steinberg Cubase LE4 multi-track PC and Mac recording software, Toontrack EZdrummer Lite virtual instrument software and the new Lexicon Pantheon II VST/AU reverb plugin.

Additional features include input signal metering via eight LEDs per channel, signal mixing and stereo bus signal metering, zero latency Direct/Playback monitoring and low latency ASIO drivers. harman.com

www.audioprointernational.com

Specifications: The Eurolive B315A loudspeaker is Behringer’s new 15inch, two-way loudspeaker with integrated sound processing offering 400 Watts of power.

The B315A features a long-excursion 15-inch woofer and 1.75-inch titanium-diaphragm compression driver with wide dispersion, exponential horn and multi-cell throat into a versatile trapezoidal enclosure.

The speaker’s rear panel features Ultra-Low Noise (ULN) balanced mic and line inputs, a balanced XLR thru connector, input level control and two-band eq.

The company is boasting that the internal sound processing of the B315A provides complete system control as well as speaker protection.

The B315A can be used as a standing unit, stacked, pole-mounted or used for floor monitor applications. behringer.com

February 2009

41

This information is believed to be correct, but potential visitors should confirm details with show organisers before making arrangements to attend...

EVENTS

FORWARD PLANNER 2009 FEBRUARY 1-13 ENTECH 2009 Sydney, Australia entech-tradeshow.com 11-13 AES UK London, UK aes.org 12 MPG Awards Café de Paris, London mpgawards.com 13-14 Afial 2009 Madrid, Spain, afial.net 17-19 Broadcast Live/Videoforum London, UK broadcastlive.co.uk 20-21 Eventech Scotland Glasgow, UK eventech-scotland.com 24-26 Show-Way 2009 Bergamo, Italy, showway.com

28 Feb – 1 March Sounds Expo London, UK sounds-expo.co.uk

26-28 PALME Middle East Dubai, UAE palmeonline.com

21-24 JHS Event 2009 Leeds, UK jhs.co.uk

JULY MARCH

MAY

3 ISCEx2009 Northampton, UK isce.org.uk

7-10 126th AES Convention Munich, Germany aes.org

3-8 CeBIT Europe Hannover, Germany cebit.de 18-21 USITT Ohio, USA usitt.org

APRIL 1-4 Prolight+Sound Frankfurt, Germany messefrankfurt.com 18-23 NAB 2009 Las Vegas, NV, USA Las Vegas Convention Center nabshow.com

28- 31 Palme Expo 2009 Beijing, China palmexpo.net

1-2 evenTech Singapore Singapore eventechsingapore.com

February 3rd-5th: ISE, Amsterdam

16-18 Palme Asia Singapore palmeonline.com

SEPTEMBER JUNE 10-11 ABTT Theatre show London, UK abtt.org.uk 13-19 Infocomm09 Orlando, FL infocommshow.org 17-19 Summer NAMM Nashville, namm.org

9-13 Cedia Expo 2009 Atlanta, US cedia.net

February 20th-21st: Eventech Scotland, Glasgow

13-16 PLASA 2009 London, UK plasashow.com 10-14 IBC 2009 Amsterdam, The Netherlands ibc.org

March 3rd: ISCEx2009

FEATURES LIST 2009 MARCH

JUNE

Power Amps/Stadium Sound ProLight Sound preview Acoustic Solutions

Personal Monitoring/ Outside Broadcast

Digital Audio Converters PLASA review AES issue

JULY/AUGUST

NOVEMBER

APRIL

Live Mics/Studio Consoles PLASA preview

Studio Mics/Post Production AES review evenTech Ireland (extra circulation)

Small Format PA/ Rigging ProLight Sound issue (extra circulation)

MAY Festival Focus/Speaker Management ProLight + Sound review

SEPTEMBER

DECEMBER Studio Outboard /Digital Snakes & Audio Transport NAMM preview All features are subject to change at Audio Pro International’s discretion

Large Format PA/Commercial Installation PLASA issue (extra circulation)

OCTOBER Digital Mixers/

42

February 2009

www.audioprointernational.com

marketplace

AUDIO MARKETPLACE TO ADVERTISE ON THESE PAGES CALL DARRELL CARTER ON 01992 535647 CLASSIFIED RATES: Minimum 12 Months - One Annual Charge Quarter Page £1,495

HYPEX

H

SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT

ypex was founded in 1996

by Jan-Peter van Amerongen as a supplier of amplifier sub-assemblies for active PA speakers. The products drew the attention of hi-fi speaker manufacturers, resulting first in a line of active subwoofer amplifiers, shortly followed by multi-channel units with active crossover filters for the studio market. 2003 saw the start of a migration of all products to class D. After reviewing many class D technologies, Hypex selected the ‘Universal Class D’ circuit from Philips. Realising the market potential of the circuit, Hypex decided not only to use the technology in completed subassemblies, but also to sell bare amplifier modules to the open market. The UcD180, UcD400 and UcD700 modules have quickly

established themselves as the new standard, both in terms of measured performance and subjective ratings.

In 2005, Hypex decided to become a source of new innovations and a major player in the OEM class D market and hired UcD’s inventor, Bruno Putzeys, formerly chief engineer, class D audio, at Philips Applied Technologies. Hypex now serves many big name audiophile brands, which previously couldn’t find class D amplifiers meeting their stringent sound quality requirements.

Standard products now span the range from 20W to 3kW and 2009 will see the introduction of a line of switch-mode power supplies to match, along with dedicated 100V systems and DSP platforms for active loudspeaker control. hypex.nl

MARKETPLACE INDEX Alcons

+31 (0) 229 28 30 90

Evi

www.alconsaudio.com

Neutrik

+44 (0) 1983 811 441

www.neutrik.com

www.electrovoice.com

Roland

+44 (0) 1792 702701

www.roland.co.uk

www.stageaccompany.com

Flightcase

+44 (0) 182 760 009 www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk

Stage Accompany +00 31 229 282930

Full Fat Audio

info@fullfataudio.com

TL Audio

+44 (0)1462 492090

Hypex

+00 31 505 264 993

Yamaha

+44 (0) 1908 366700

www.fullfataudio.com

sales@hypex.nl

To advertise call

www.tlaudio.co.uk

yamahacommercialaudio.com

DARRELL CARTER + 44 (0)1992 535647

marketplace amplification

Flight cases

TFT Monitor cases from SPECIAL Flightcase Warehouse OFFER This new range of Spider TFT flat screen monitor cases are always in stock. Fantastic value 17” £69.00 19” £79.00 21” £89.00 Excluding VAT and UK Mainland delivery Hinged Lid Heavy duty fittings Fully foam lined + foamed to suit Partition for cables etc Black laminate finish

Unit 2 Meltex House, Mariner, Lichfield Road Industrial Estate, Tamworth, Staffs, B79 7XE Tel: 01827 60009 Fax: 01827 313877 Email: sales@flightcasewarehouse.co.uk Web: www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk

loudspeakers

loudspeakers

marketplace maufacturer

maufacturer

On the largest stages

Complete Sound System Solutions

by Electro-Voice Kenny Chesney on tour with EV System Design by Phillip Scobee, Morris Leasing

maufacturer KC ad_audio pro marketplace.indd 1

14.01.2009 18:11:01 Uhr

mixing consoles

“One great sounding amplifier�

actual size: 141x110x35mm

Introducing the Highlights Flat, fully load-independent response Very low output impedance Low, frequency-independent THD Very low noise Industry best EMC Conservative thermal design

now g shippin TM

Performance meets power! The famed UcD 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

We hope we passed the audition.

CONNECT WITH EXPERIENCE

marketplace recording

pr

6,500

direct-to-desk print circulation st growing pro audio publication Monthly Audio Pro is the UK and Europe’s faste age across? Work with Audio Pro (Google Analytics) Need to get your mess Targeted online readership of 9,993 industry using our print and online services

exposure International magazine to maximise your

“We find API to be a great avenue for banner and print advertising. It is the best vehicle for generating instant awareness of our new offerings directly to the people who count.”

Paul Crognale, Marketing Manager, Shure Distribution

and reach all sectors of the

“Interesting coverage conveying a genuine enjoyment and understanding of the subject matter. The Audio Pro team are also nice, friendly and enthusiastic people to deal with.”

Ann Andrews, Funktion One “Audio Pro International’s approach to helping us promote our business has been excellent, and we always look forward to reading the magazine. Always full of good ideas and very responsive. Congratulations on a great publication.”

Dave Neal, Director of Marketing Communications, Soundcraft and Studer

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Lynn Cooper, Sales and Marketing, Neutrik “Audio Pro International has given Adam Hall the ability to provide up to minute marketing information and PR to all of our customers. It has given us cost effective, direct and productive marketing solutions that enable us to promote all areas of our business.”

Andrew Richardson, General Manager, Adam Hall

The entertainment and installation technology showcase for the North of the UK

25-26 February 2009, SECC, Glasgow, 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.

Register NOW! to attend and win a Tannoy i30 iPod docking station, visit www.eventech-scotland.com

evenTech will provide manufacturers and suppliers with a unique regional platform to make face-to-face contact with a quality audience involved in the North’s major entertainment and installation projects and initiatives.

Prize does not include iPod

To enquire about exhibiting email: info@eventech-scotland.com Media Partner:

www.eventech-scotland.com

2009 The entertainment and installation technology showcase for Ireland

24-25 November 2009, RDS, Dublin, Ireland evenTech Ireland is a focused networking forum for the region’s key decision-makers to keep upto-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:

www.eventech-ireland.com

The Audio Pro paparazzi are out every month taking pictures for our monthly section, 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.

Editor: Andrew Low andrew.low@intentmedia.co.uk

Contributing Editor: Andy Wood andy.wood@intentmedia.co.uk

Contributing Editor: Gary Cooper gary@garycooper.biz

Deputy Editor: Rob Hughes rob.hughes@intentmedia.co.uk

Associate Editor: Samantha Loveday samantha.loveday@intentmedia.co.uk

Advertising Manager: Darrell Carter darrell.carter@intentmedia.co.uk

Editorial Production Manager: Helen French helen.french@intentmedia.co.uk

Production Executive: Rosie McKeown rosie.mckeown@intentmedia.co.uk

Subscriptions Manager: Hannah Short hannah.short@intentmedia.co.uk

Designer: Claire Brocklesby Anaheim was haemmorraging eager visitors waiting to hear the news and new products debuted at the NAMM 2009 tradeshow. Clockwise from top left: Roland Corporation president Hidekazu Tenaka with company founder Ikutaro Kakehashi;

guitar noodler Steve Vai speaks on his new Legacy amp; Cookie Monster and Elmo greet NAMM visitors; Kerry King of Slayer shreding his axe; Sound Technology chairman Robert Wilson and Dolphin Music’s Tavaria flank Bob and Willy Zildjian.

claire.brocklesby@intentmedia.co.uk

Managing Editor: Andy Barrett mipro@intentmedia.co.uk

Publisher: Dave Roberts dave.roberts@intentmedia.co.uk

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CONTACTS Brian Eno – MPG Joe Meek Innovation award winner The Music Producers Guild (MPG) has awarded Brian Eno the Joe Meek Award for Innovation in Production. Eno began his influential carrer as a founding member of Roxy Music, which then spawned a solo carrer creating innovative music with releases such as Music for Airports. He has collaborated with David Bowie, U2 and, most recently, Coldplay and David Byrne. Clockwise from top left: Eno in the studio with Robert Fripp and David Bowie during the making of Bowie’s Heroes album (C Simonpietri); Eno performing with the Portsmouth Sinfonia; Eno on a chair in 1984.

February 2009

EDITORIAL: +44 (0) 1992 535646 ADVERTISING: +44 (0) 1992 535647 FAX: +44 (0) 1992 535648

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© 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

Palmer stands for 20 years in analog audio technology Our audio tools have proved themselves to be dependable and practically invaluable helpers in all fields from pro audio installations/live sound production to recording situations.

http://www.palmer-germany.com/8-1-home.html

PRESS PATCH BOX (stereo) Instead of having one microphone and one line input the stereo version has two line inputs. The first input is split on to the upper row of outputs i.e. on to the odd channels whereas the second line input is split on to the lower row of outputs, i.e. the even channels.

PRM Delta 28 The PRM-Delta 2.8 is a two-channel (stereo) distribution amplifier and can distribute two different sources to four outputs each.

PAN 04

PSB243

PAN-04 consists of a housing containing the equivalent of two PAN-01s, making it a dual channel passive DI box. This “stereo� configuration makes it ideally suited for use with certain keyboards and devices which have several outputs.

The PSB 243 is the only active 24 channel stage splitter system available that offers transformer isolated inputs and outputs for FOH and monitor mixers with an additional third output available for live recording. The PSB is a 24 input, 72 output, professional broadcast quality, stage box and splitter system all at a price far below comparable products.

www.adamhall.com Adam Hall Limited Unit 3, The Cordwainers, Temple Farm Industrial Estate, Sutton Road, Southend - on - Sea, Essex, SS2 5RU Tel: (+44) 0 17 02 61 39 22 Fax: (+44) 0 17 02 61 71 68 email: mail@adamhall.co.uk