Pro Sound News Europe December 2011 Issue

PSNE Dec P1 FCdrjr_PSNE_July_P_Front 29/11/2011 16:27 Page 1

December 2011 £4 €7 www.prosoundnewseurope.com

The business of professional audio UNITED KINGDOM

We will keep Abbey Road, says Universal Music CEO The purchaser of EMI’s recorded music division describes the studios as “a symbol of British culture” and the UK’s creative community, writes David Davies In a development that will hearten many in the UK’s recording studio sector, Vivendi subsidiary Universal Music Group – which signed an agreement to acquire EMI’s recorded music division for £1.2 billion (€1.4 billion) in November – has indicated that it will retain the Abbey Road studios business.

Speaking during a Vivendi conference call to financial analysts on 11 November, UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge commented: “It’s very much our intention to keep the Abbey Road studios. It is a symbol of EMI, it is a symbol of British culture. I think it’s a symbol for the creative community about exactly what the company is, and I think it’s very important that we are also part of it.”

News of the deal emerged in the same week as details of a Sony/ATV-led consortium’s £1. 4 billion

purchase of EMI’s music publishing division.

While widely anticipated in industry circles, the Universal deal has attracted criticism from the likes of IMPALA (Independent Music Companies Association), who are troubled by the implications of further music industry consolidation.

Subject to receiving regulatory approvals, the acquisitions promise to apply a full-stop to an uneasy few months initiated in February 2011 when private equity firm Terra Firma lost control of the music group to US banking giant Citigroup.

“It’s great news and reassuring for everybody at Abbey Road after a long period of uncertainty,” notes Malcolm Atkin, chairman of the APRS (Association of Professional Recording Services). Q Lucian Grainge: Abbey Road is “a symbol of EMI”

www.abbeyroad.com

EXCLUSIVE

GUATEMALA

Wisseloord opens for business Dave Robinson The first paying clients have begun work at the reopened Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands.

The first mixing sessions (a recording of Dutch singer Alain Clark and the Metropole Orchestra), were held at the end of October using the newly tuned PMC surround system and custom Euphonix System 5 console in the Studio 1 control room. Mastering sessions began in November.

It’s been a long journey back to full operation for Wisseloord since summer 2010, when it passed from bankruptcy into the ownership of a new team of investors including mastering and recording engineers Darcy Proper and Ronald Prent, and businessman Paul Reynolds. Neglect of the

studio’s roof guttering systems had allowed water into the foundations, destroying the acoustic isolation between the original studios. Under the supervision of Jochen Veith of Germany’s JV Acoustics, the walls were separated from the concrete floor of the building and suspended while the concrete was dug out, the damaged foundations beneath were removed and replaced, and a new concrete floor was laid. Once this had set, the walls were lowered back into position.

The restoration of Wisselord is now nearly at an end: Studio 2 and the second mastering suite will come online in the next two months.

Following tuning of the Studio 1 system by PMC’s Maurice Patist, Ronald Prent commented:

Ho, ho, ho! California-based loudspeaker manufacturer Spectr Audio has sold 190 loudspeakers to Ultra Industries, a full-service production company that describes itself as “willing to take on unusual events and applications”. The speakers, complemented by over 120 QSC amplifiers, have been installed in 26 artificial Christmas trees throughout Guatemala.

Products used include 140 Spectr SPX1228, 48 SPX118 and two SPX218T subwoofers complete with Faital HF and Eminence LF drivers.

Spectr operations director Steve Cook said: “We are delighted to be involved in this unique application of our products. It is exceedingly rare

(L-R): Veith, Proper, Prent and Patist in Studio 1

for a large number of loudspeakers to be specified and installed in outdoor Christmas trees. The

“Jochen and Maurice have excelled themselves: it is a quite extraordinary-sounding room.” Q

reaction has been highly rewarding.” Q

www.spectraudio.com

www.wisseloord.nl

To celebrate 25 years in action for our digital consoles, we’re giving you the chance to win an LS9 or one of 24 runners-up prizes in our exclusive photo competition.

For full details on how to enter, visit facebook.com/YamahaCommercialAudioEurope

CONNECT WITH EXPERIENCE | YAMAHACOMMERCIALAUDIO.COM

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PSNE Dec P3 ContentsJRdr_PSNE_Nov_P3_Contents 29/11/2011 16:27 Page 3

news & contents

December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com

NETHERLANDS

Stage Accompany back on Dutch soil Backed by a new investor, pro-audio manufacturer and distributor, Stage Accompany returns to Netherlands ownership, notes Marc Maes Stage Accompany – the Dutch loudspeaker brand that has witnessed a number of different owners over the past decade – has been relaunched once more by a former staffer working with a new investor. Gerard Vermeulen, who has served with SA for the past 30 years, has joined forces with JMR Waterworld owner Job Rijsdijk, to launch the 34-year-old brand back to the market.

It took Vermeulen two years to bring the administration of Stage Accompany to the Low Countries. “In 2007, SA was bought by a group of Korean investors, who closed down the business for six months. Meanwhile we launched Stage Acoustic, taking on repairs, service and maintenance of Stage Accompany gear. This paid off because we were able to keep close contact with our clients,” explains Vermeulen. “We relaunched Stage Accompany on 1 October 2011.”

It was Rijsdijk who decided to invest in Stage Accompany, as a complement to his activities in water entertainment. “Job knew the brand from when he was a DJ, and Stage Accompany was relaunched as a standalone unit under the JMR (L-R): Gerard Vermeulen and R&D Manager René van der Laan with the new Stage Accompany product umbrella,” continues Vermeulen, now sales manager with the company; Rijsdijk is managing director. story of Stage Accompany doesn’t end in silence – the brand deserves The first challenge since the company rebirth has been to better,” Kuipers says. “In terms of maintenance, repairs and spare upgrade the product line. “We’re currently developing a new type parts like the ribbon driver’s diaphragm, we’ve enjoyed every possiof digital amplifier, the prototype should be on display at the ble support via Stage Acoustic. The key challenge will now be to go Frankfurt Messe,” reveals Vermeulen. “We want to offer a cominto new product development because a substantial part of the prodplete new Stage Accompany package, and the amplifier is the first uct line has remained unchanged for many years.” step – we decided to start from scratch, leaving the old SA ampliStage Accompany was founded in 1977. The famous ‘blue boxes’ fiers behind us. Next is a new range of speaker enclosures; we also were widely appreciated in the sound reinforcement business both want to upgrade the current GL 20 passive line array system into in the Netherlands and abroad. However, a time of tumult beginan active configuration.” ning at the end of the ’90s saw the company hit financial troubles and Vermeulen confirms that SA’s ribbon driver technology will an uncertain future. remain the strength of the brand throughout the new product line.

Four years ago, the company’s shares were acquired by a group “It’s the best in the world,” he adds. of Korean investors who decided to shut SA down for a six month René Kuipers, owner of sound and light rental company KO sabbatical before making the brand available for another takeSound, worked with Stage Accompany between 1985 and 1996. A over, while the remaining inventory and assets were auctioned on dedicated SA user, he owns an SA AV 27 line array system, as well the internet. Q www.stageaccompany.com as 40 cabinets for assorted applications. “I’m happy to see that the

3

In this issue...

News 3 4

Stage Accompany returns to Dutch ownership Inside the UK’s National Physical Laboratory

Technology 6

Product review iZotope Ozone 5 Advanced

8

New products

Studio 9 11 12 13 14

White Mark designs two new audio suites at Wave Remastering: a new era or last hurrah?

Source sponsors APRS Lunch Amati adds new names to its roster STUDIO BOOKINGS listing

Broadcast 16 17 18 20 22

BVE to move to ExCel in 2013 Show review: BVE North Audio trade bodies: moving with the times Radio targets Facebook generation Lawo integrates Innovason

Live 25 26 28 30

Adamson’s Project Energia met with enthusiasm E-Audio co-founder starts new venture DiGiCo brings The Matrix to life at Royal Albert Hall L-Acoustic K1’s employed for Kiev Olympic Stadium opening 31 US-based Kaltman Creations eyes Europe 32 Twenty things you didn’t know about APEX Audio 33 LIVE EVENTS listing

Installation 34 35 36 37 38

Odense Theatre enters the surround age Bosch makes a splash in Basildon sports facility Piccolo Theatre goes digital with Riedel Art installation brings Chesil Beach to London Las Vegas meets Liverpool at new club venue

Business 39 Monitoring: IEMs or wedges?

41 Cinema audio: Is there a market for 3D sound?

42 2011: the year in review

Back pages 48 Hither & Dither 50 Interview: Rupert Hine

PSNE Dec P4 EditorialJR_PSNE master cover/3/4 30/11/2011 12:20 Page 4

Picture by John Tuffen

4 news & welcome

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011 UNITED KINGDOM

The science of reflection-ology

Dave Robinson

Forget being blinded by science, the Acoustics unit of the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is more likely to deafen you with silence.

Dave Robinson enters some very strange spaces

A FEW WEEKS AGO I had the pleasure of being invited to The Matrix Live event at the Royal Albert Hall. The Wachowskis’ brilliant dystopian thriller is one of my favourite sci-fi films (up there with Close Encounters, Aliens, and Dark Star). But I knew this version was going to be something else: I’d missed previous ‘cinemaplus-live-orchestra’ screenings of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, but I’m very much aware of the acclaim piled upon them.

The NDR Pops orchestra didn’t disappoint, and neither did Howard Schwark’s mix. Several times, I purposefully scanned the orchestra to make doubly sure there were instruments playing, and that I wasn’t listening to a sneaky mix of the film’s original soundtrack. The whole experience was incredibly immersive – just the effect Schwark, mixing on a DiGiCo desk through an L-Acoustics rig, was after, I was told later.

This spell was broken only once, during the Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne)/Neo (Keanu Reeves) dojo scene, where the NDR Pops percussionists – positioned at the back of the ensemble, on a riser and closest to the screen – could be viewed having a riot of a time, drumming and slapping and clapping along to the kung fu training set-piece. “Stop trying to hit me, and hit me!” commanded Morpheus, pausing between barrages of frantic tymp and snare. Fantastic! (Story, page 28.)

The Matrix, of course, is all about a delusion. Neo’s world of the normal is not what it seems: his ‘present day’ is a software construct universe set in the year 1999, while the real date, in a machine-run wasteland vision of the Earth, is actually 2199.

Back in my world, cut to a few weeks later and the APRS Sound Fellowships lunch (see page 12). This year’s event was, as always, an inimitable, heart-warming celebration of talent in the most convivial of venues.

Yet, one aspect of the day reminded me of, well, The Matrix. There we all were, sat with a glass of wine and a post-prandial glow, as Sir George Martin presented Fellowships to Rupert Hine (interview on p50) and Chris Thomas, and all three reminisced about the good old days at Abbey Road.

But that reality was in a cosy construct in the Kensington Roof Gardens; outside in the real world, a huge corporate machine called Universal is now running the studio.

In The Matrix, Neo saves the day, of course. Now, I’m not suggesting Universal CEO Lucian Grainge puts on a long black cloak and learns martial arts, but when he says he’s keeping Abbey Road as a recording studio, I do hope he really is the One. Q

Consider the limit of audibility, zero decibels (sound pressure level), or 0dB SPL. That’s the bottom of the scale, right? Well, no. SPL is measured relative to the threshold of hearing, so you can actually achieve negative values (it’s just your ears can’t detect them). Which begs the question, what is absolute silence? That would occur when particles cease to vibrate. How can you do that?

By freezing them down to absolute zero. But you couldn’t measure that, of course, because your microphone would cease to function. Which leads to a further suggestion, that outer space is not quite a vacuum, so there’s the tiniest amount of background audio out there.

PSNE is standing in the ideal place to contemplate these questions of science and wonder: the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, UK. In fact, we’re standing in the hemi-anechoic test chamber, which has an ambient noise level of 0dB SPL or lower.

“People say they come in here and feel their ears collapse,” says Ian Butterworth, Higher Research Scientist.

NPL, which first opened in 1900, is one of the leading centres for science and research in the UK, as well as being the National Measurement Institute. This is where the bouncing bomb was tested, where the first atomic clock was built, where radar was invented and – yes! – where Concorde was weighed in the ’70s before it was allowed to fly.

It also has a very active acoustics department, split into three groups – Sound and Air, Ultrasonics, and Underwater Acoustics – and many different projects and tasks running concurrently. One scientist is investigating the effect of ultrasound on tissue, for use in non-invasive surgery. “So if you are trying to target the liver, you don’t hit the kidney,” explains Butterworth. With a two-storey water tank and a pressurised vessel onsite, NPL can simulate the acoustics of the ocean. Elsewhere in the facility, audiometric equipment for hospitals and audiologists is being accurately calibrated. Ian Butterworth is researching acousto-optic visualisation – but more on that later. Quirky stuff first.

The hemi-anechoic is a large concrete box, around 6m along each edge, packed with absorbent wedges and lacking in ventilation. The box floats on springs and is surrounded by a 50cm air-conditioned ‘void’. Calibrating this void keeps the chamber at a constant temperature so the attenuation of the air does not change.

“We use the hemi for sound power measurement – say, a commercial DVD player, or a pump, or something that needs to be ‘quiet’. We place mics around the subject in a sphere, and then by integrating between measurements at each point we can calculate the total radiating power of the subject.”

Other projects undertaken here have included analysis of the performance of environmental windshields. To do that, you need wind. But if you create wind with a fan, the fan motor creates additional noise. “So we had a record player, which we stripped down, and constructed an arrangement using that – spinning the windshield, instead. The windshield

Editor’s comment

Calibration of microphones by the pressure comparison method in the reverberation chamber

The hemi-anechoic chamber

moves relative to the air, creating the same effect.”

Testing at 78rpm, anyone? “Then we upgraded to a potter’s wheel – very quick – maybe 120rpm…”

But the hemi is not ideal for testing microphones, or the phase calibration of speakers. “We have a fully anechoic room too…”

Butterworth heads off down the corridor.

NPL is roughly funded 50:50 between the government and the private sector. Recent spending cuts have meant that government backing has been maintained but frozen – in effect, this means a longterm cut as inflation takes its toll. Consequently, NPL is reaching out to industry more than ever.

“Someone comes and says, we have a siren that needs to be analysed. We’d do that, measure the output accurately and produce a report. The hemianechoic gets a lot of use for that kind of thing: companies might have the know-how, they just might not have the space.”

Through another door and we’re in the control room for the fully anechoic chamber. It’s like the hemi, but the floor is just a 2m metal grill that

retracts into the wall. A failsafe device means you can’t close the door and retract the platform together – so no one falls into the sea of absorbent wedges accidentally. Delicate, precision measurements are made here, using computer-controlled microphone positioning equipment. Tests are usually performed in the dark too – in previous experiments, low-energy lightbulbs were found to emit a high-frequency ring that affected the results. If the hemi was eerie, then being stuck in this silent space, in the dark, would soon turn you insane.

Butterworth talks of one of his current projects, which uses the chamber: measuring the acoustooptic effect. In short, it involves measuring and plotting the output of a speaker using phase differences in light from a laser-vibrometer. It’s a rapid and cutting-edge method whereby the performance of speakers, particularly at the crossover point, can be mapped without using physical microphones.

Off down the corridor again. He talks of other projects in his group. The use of MEMS (MicroElectrical-Mechanical System) microphones is high on the agenda here. These are tiny, submillimeter devices – diaphragms on microchips – the sort of thing you find in mobile phones. An NPL initiative called DREAMSys (Distributed Remote Environmental Array & Monitoring System) involves producing noise maps with MEMS mics: many hundreds of them can be distributed over a wide area, and the data collected to produce an audio ‘signature’ of that area. The system has been used to produce maps for critical regions around Heathrow and City Airport.

Butterworth says, if inexpensive test grade MEMS mics (at less than a pound a unit) can be used rather than larger, more expensive (say) B&K testing mics, then, one, the project would be a lot cheaper and, two, the mics would be less likely to be stolen while out in the field.

We’ve arrived at the third door: the reverb room.

It’s the very antithesis of an anechoic chamber: there are no parallel walls, and additional reflectors have been mounted on the ceiling in order to diffuse any sound as much as possible. The decay time to silence is around 30 seconds for low frequencies. This drops to below 10 seconds due to air absorption, (but that’s still impressive).

The room is used for absorption measuring (fire off your test signal, plot your decay time with and without sample, calculate the absorption factor) as well as mic calibration; oh yes, and for recording choirs at Christmas or for other novelty events, because it’s easy to harmonise with your own reflections.

Butterworth leaves briefly and returns with a red balloon. “Listen to this,” he says. Standing in the middle of the reverb room, he pops the balloon. It’s like a mortar exploding. Thirty or so seconds later, it’s finally silent.

“Follow me!” he says. Back into the corridor.

Who decides the study schedule at NPL? “A proportion of the money leftover from the main projects gets put back into exploratory research, and every six months they have a call for ideas. If you have something whacky that might not work, you get a small fund for maybe 30 days work; if you’re successful it might go on to a bigger project. There are 30 or 40 applications each time and maybe five go through. There’s a fair amount of stuff that never makes it. But you never know where something will lead unless you try.”

The very essence of experimentation, in fact.

We’re back inside the hemi-anechoic chamber.

Now Butterworth has a white balloon.

“Compare and contrast!” he says, popping the balloon.

Now it’s like someone breaking wind very discreetly. ºNothing like a balloon. We both laugh.

NPL does some incredible, critical and exciting research, and thrives on imagination leading to innovation, but it’s reassuring to know the scientists there have a sense of humour too. Q www.npl.co.uk http://projects.npl.co.uk/dreamsys www.npl.co.uk/acoustics

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PSNE Dec P6 Product ReviewJRDR_PSNE_Sept_P_Prodreview 29/11/2011 16:28 Page 6

6 technology

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

iZotope Ozone 5 Advanced US-based software developer iZotope places Ozone 5 Advanced in the professional mastering cupboard. Hold your breath as we give Russ Hepworth-Sawyer’s review an airing Price and Availability £999 (€738) Available from iZotope www.izotope.com

Historically iZotope’s Ozone provided a featurepacked, affordable mastering plug-in for all.

Over time it has developed incrementally, adding small, yet important, additions.

Philosophically Ozone has stuck to the ‘one plug-in many-features’ model including an Equalizer, Mastering Reverb, Multi-band Dynamics, Stereo Imaging, Harmonic Exciter and a powerful Loudness Maximizer. iZotope has now ‘split’ this philosophy, keeping Ozone 5 standard as the one plug-in, many-features format at a competitively priced $249 RRP (€184) but also releasing Ozone 5 Advanced, adding the ability to separate out component parts into individual plug-ins. This permits placement of any Ozone component right alongside any other plug-in creating increased flexibility.

Ozone’s EQ has, to my ears, a professional grace and accuracy when required and the eightband EQ here in version 5 is applicable to most tracks you’ll throw at it. With ‘soft saturation’ and non-linear phase quirks in the analogue modelled mode, there’s plenty of character to add to your tracks. Equally the digital, linearphase EQ is very precise for the most forensic applications. It’s the new Mixed Phase mode that is of most interest, revealing a separate phase control for each band. In use this leads to some very interesting and colourful results. Other new features include: the very useful ability to separate the EQs for both Left and Right channels or the normal mid/side capability; and new visual display enhancements showing the

phase delay for each band. Ozone also now adds a Post Equalizer, placed at the end of the chain, but which using the ‘Graph’ processes can be reconfigured anywhere along the signal path. iZotope has added some previously unavailable algorithms – ‘Theater’, ‘Hall’, ‘Cathedral’ and ‘Arena’ to its Mastering Reverb. Previous versions were limited to just ‘Room’ and ‘Plate’. New Early Reflection and Crossmix sliders now permit further control over the character of your mastering reverb.

These features are an improvement but you’ll instead probably reach for your cherished reverb plug-in.

Ozone’s Loudness Maximizer has always been impressive, but now incorporates a ‘Transient Recovery’ feature. iZotope says this helps retain ‘emphasis to transients’ preserving rhythmic detail when using their Intelligent Release Control (IRC) algorithms. Actually, it’s remarkable. Mastering a client’s work this week

necessitated entry into the ‘Loudness Wars’ and yet I managed to preserve some dynamic impression despite the impossibly high RMS VU level requested. iZotope has tinkered with other aspects too, such as adding new modes in the Harmonic Exciter modelling triode and dual triode circuits and adding variable knee controls for each of the bands in the multi-band compressor.

Ozone’s Stereo Imaging component has always been very useful employing multi-bands, but now incorporates a ‘Stereoize’ [Ouch! – Ed] feature that maintains mono compatibility while adjusting the stereo image. Routing through Ozone a mono track I remastered a while back was very impressive in keeping mono compatibility while creating a realistic sense of stereo.

The most notable addition in Ozone 5 Advanced is the Meter Bridge where a Spectrogram, Vectorscope and various loudness metering options appear. These include Peak & RMS; Bob Katz’s K-System and an EBU R128compliant meter. Meter Bridge can be opened as a standalone window providing all the metering you’d need. Next, enter iZotope’s Meter Tap. Placing a Meter Tap on each channel of a mix for example feeds those levels to different colours on the spectrogram within Meter Bridge. Nice touch!

Sonically, I’ve always found Ozone to be high quality and I’ve used elements of it on masters with professional results. Ozone 5 Advanced sees not only a visual enhancement, but a sonic one too. Alongside the new-found flexibility in the component plug-ins, I’m sure Ozone 5 Advanced will reach many a mastering house across Europe and beyond.

In its standard form, Ozone has always provided fantastic value for money. Yet the new Advanced, at $999 RRP, seems considerably more expensive than the sum of its parts.

Nevertheless it does offer really solid tools and features for the professional mastering and mixing studio. With Ozone 5 Advanced, you’ll be mastering in no time with impressive results and might even wonder how you ever managed without it. Q

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS f Pro Tools 7.4+ (RTAS/AudioSuite), VST, MAS, Audio Unit, DirectX f Windows (XP, x64, Vista, 7) | Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later (Intel-based Macs only) f Use of the 3D Spectrogram requires Open GL 2.0 support PROS AND CONS

Pros f High level of sound quality f Impressive mastering processors f New Meter Bridge feature and Meter Taps f Transient Recovery feature on Maximizer

Cons f Large price hike from the standard Ozone 5 plug-in for the features f Reverb now has flexibility but you may prefer to reach for your trusty reverb plug-in

Eclipse Matrix Intercom System: Capabilities Unmatched The proven solution for every communication need r Most comprehensive set of intercom capabilities r Powerful connectivity options for expanding intercom access r Unique integration with wireless and IP intercom solutions

FreeSpeak Integra Wireless W Beltpack

Optocore Intercom Interfaces

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Eclipse-Omega

www.clearcom.com Copyright © 2011. Clear-Com, LLC. All rights reserved. ® Clear-Com and Clear-Com logo are registered trademarks of HM Electronics, Inc.

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PSNE Dec p08 New Products_v1JR_D 29/11/2011 16:29 Page 9

8 technology

New products

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

Nigel Lord compiles this month’s list of hot new products

AUDIX

BEYMA

DP Quad

12P80Fe, 15P80Fe and CD1014Fe

What is it? A kit of four microphones said to be the minimum number for both live and recorded drum kit applications.

What is it? A trio of high-performance speaker drivers incorporating ceramic magnetic circuits.

Details According to Audix, the Quad pack is the simplest and most effective combination of microphones capable of capturing the depth and imaging of a full drum kit. The kit comprises an i5 snare mic, a D6 kick mic, two ADX51 overhead mics, a DVICE rim mount with an MC1 mic clip, three DCLIP mic clips and two WS81C windscreens.

The D6 and the i5 are both intended for close mic’ing to ensure that they will be present in the mix and capture the attack and percussive sound of the two drums. The use of an overhead pair reflects the ‘less is more’ approach to mic’ing, capturing the natural sound of the complete drum kit. The ADX51 is a pre-polarised condenser microphone with a 14mm gold sputtered diaphragm and offering cardioid pickup pattern, high sensitivity and a slim pencil design capable of accurate stereo imaging of the entire drum kit.

Details The 12P80Fe and 15P80Fe (pictured) low-frequency speakers are designed to deliver high efficiency with high linearity and low distortion. Both models incorporate 4” voice coils offering program power handling of 1,400W and 1,600W (respectively) and sensitivities in excess of 100dB. The units are designed to deliver optimal performance in high-efficiency multi-way systems, taking advantage of advanced materials and design elements such as the Conex spider, carbon fibre and MMSS technology. The third new model – the CD1014Fe – is a ferrite magnet version of Beyma’s CD1014Nd driver, featuring a 1.4” exit, 1.75” edge-wound aluminium coil and a PM4 polymer diaphragm offering a sensitivity of 110dB.

And another thing... With two overhead mics correctly positioned, it’s possible to capture the transients, tonality and balance of the kit in a completely phase-coherent manner. www.audixusa.com

And another thing… Treatment is applied to the cones of the 12P80Fe and 15P80Fe making them suitable for use in enclosures which may allow ingress of water. www.beyma.com

GLENSOUND

RECCE HD What is it? A voice broadcaster’s mobile phone and purpose-built portable commentator’s unit.

Details The RECCE HD is a wireless evolution of Glensound ISDN codecs such as the GS-GC5 and the GS-GC25, with Glensound HD Voice technology replacing ISDN as the link. It incorporates a three-channel mic/line mixer, 12V phantom power and a high-quality compression/limiting on each channel. A built-in headphone amp allows three commentators to monitor mixes of themselves, the return audio cue or an external input.

And another thing… RECCE HD is fully portable using two ‘D’ type cells, making it a practical solution for mobile reporting. External DC power is also available. www.glensound.co.uk

OUTLINE

GTO-DF What is it? A speaker enclosure from the GTO range designed to ‘round out’ coverage by the Outline array.

Details The GTO-DF delivers high-quality sound to the first several rows of the audience at an event, filling the sonic gap often experienced by those seated near the stage. It addresses the problem of the front rows being slightly off axis to the main FOH arrays, leading to an audible reduction in coverage. With its bottom-mounted constant directivity horn and embedded acoustic lens, the GTO-DF is positioned at the bottom of a GTO array.

And another thing… The enclosure houses four 8” mid-woofers and two 3” compression drivers and employs Outline’s acoustic lens aperture which gradually flares out downward. www.outlinearray.com

SOMMER CABLE

HICON What is it? An XLR panel socket featuring a new locking system.

Details Sommer has optimised the spring construction of the HICON panel-mounting socket to increase the number of mating cycles from 10,000 to 50,000. The guide and spring design of its previous socket design has been re-engineered to achieve this five-fold increase and improve mating reliability. The spring itself is made from hardened steel and has a special shape offering high reset forces, making coupling with compatible XLR systems easier. HICON connectors are available in silver and black in 3- and 5-pole versions.

And another thing… In tests, HICON achieved over 75,000 mating cycles without “noteworthy impact” on contact resistance, insertion loss or the coating. www.sommercable.com

PSNE Dec P9-11 studioJRDR_PSNE_Mar_P_Studio 29/11/2011 16:31 Page 9

studio 9

December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com

fstudio news UNITED KINGDOM

Making another (White) Mark in Soho suites David Davies In a further continuation of a long-term relationship between the organisations, studio and technical design consultancy White Mark has designed and installed two new audio suites at the Soho-based facility of post-production company Wave.

Established by sound designers Warren Hamilton and Johnnie Burn, Wave already had seven dubbing studios at its London-based facility, all running Soundtracs mixing consoles and 48-track Fairlight MFX3 digital workstations.

Recognising the need to expand, Wave acquired more space on the ground floor of its existing building – sufficient to construct two new audio suites as well as some additional offices and extra production capacity.

The new suites are now active, attracting work from a client base which includes leading advertising agencies and film-makers.

“This has been a major building project, but it has all come together very well and we are delighted with the work both White Mark and their builder, Oakwood, have carried out on Audio Suites 8 and 9,” says Wave general manager Tari Singh. “Both rooms are equipped with new Fairlight EVO workstations and Genelec monitoring, and have Nuendo sound design capability. As with our existing suites, these new rooms are linked to a central server giving them instant access to a sound library with over 500,000 sound effects.” Q www.wavestudios.co.uk The new suites feature Genelec monitoring and have Nuendo sound design capability

www.whitemark.com

UNITED KINGDOM

AIR Training masterclass date set David Davies In an announcement that underlines the continued diversification of the AIR Entertainment Group, the newlycreated AIR Training division has lined up a guitar recording masterclass for 26-27 November.

Open to anyone who wishes to further their knowledge of music production and professional sound recording techniques, the masterclass

will take place at AIR Studios’ Lyndhurst Hall facilities in London.

Led by Tony Platt, Rupert Coulson and Rob Kelly, the masterclass will feature input from guest lecturer Professor Dave Fisher, as well as performances, demonstrations and Q&As with celebrated guitarists including Elliott Randall, Phil Manzanera and Leo Abrahams.

Richard Boote, chairman of AIR

Entertainment Group, commented: “This is the very first time that AIR Studios has opened its doors to the general public for this type of event and we anticipate a tremendous response.”

The course costs £450 (€517) per person, which includes lunch and light refreshments, a goody bag, and a daily prize draw. Q www.airstudiotraining.com

The event will take place at AIR Studios

SOUNDBITES f There’s still time to take

advantage of Sontronics’ latest promotion: between now and the end of December, the Europe-wide deal sees the British mic brand offering free omnidirectional and hypercardioid capsules worth £40 (€47) each with every STC-1 pencil cardioid condenser mic (UK RRP £115) bought from a participating retailer. Buy an STC-1S stereo pair (UK RRP £249) and the user will get two of each capsule – worth a total of £160. In other news, the mics are now available in Russia thanks to an agreement with Moscow-based Music Team. www.sontronics.com

f Grammy-winning producer Steve Levine has taken delivery of a pair of Neumann’s latest KH 120 mid-sized monitors for his home studio. “Like everybody, when I first set them up I put a CD through them and the clarity was breathtaking.”

Levine used the KH 120s to mix the most recent episode of The Record Producers featuring Pink Floyd and broadcast on BBC Radio Two and and Radio 6 Music in October. www.neumann.com

f Jan Irhøj of Danish recording facility Irhøj Studio has donated a self-constructed guitar to a charity campaign that aims to combat breast cancer. The Brystgalla 2011 campaign will be supported by TV programmes, media activity and an online auction at www.lauritz.com. Irhøj is also auctioning time in his studio to benefit the campaign.

To see a short film about Irhøj’s latest guitar, see http://bit.ly/ujSBsw

Project2_Layout 1 30/11/2011 12:00 Page 1

You’ll know the feeling. You’re hearing an amazing sound in the studio and in your head, but somehow it’s not quite sitting right. You fiddle around adding a bit of this and a bit of that, and you think you’re there – but next morning you hit playback and it sounds like a dog’s dinner. And that’s when you realize that these golden-eared wonderboys know a thing or two.

One of the things they know is just how much spice to add, and where. Like a master chef, they don’t seek to assault the senses, but to stimulate them.

By now, you may be wondering what this has to do with Neve’s amazing new 2264ALB limiter/compressor – a recreation in LunchBox™ format of the original Neve 2264A, using identical architecture and components. Yes, you’ll say, I understand the cooking analogy, but there are lots more compressors on the market these days and lots of them do more.

True enough – but do they do it better, or even as well? Otherwise, why do you imagine that top engineers pay through the nose to get secondhand Neve units when they could pick up something new for half the price? Well here’s one theory.

Neve, wrote Mix magazine’s Fletcher back in November 1996, ‘built modules that really couldn’t be used to make things sound bad. There are generations of engineers who look like incredible geniuses because Neve wouldn’t allow us the tools to screw up our audio.’ Now far be it from us to quibble with Fletcher but we would beg to differ. We don’t think the likes of Roy Thomas Baker, Allen Sides and Al Schmitt seem like incredible geniuses because they chose Neve outboard. We think they chose Neve outboard because they actually are incredible geniuses. And as well as knowing

how much metaphorical spice to add to their creations, they also go to great lengths to source only the best ingredients.

And the best ingredients are certainly what you get with the Neve 2264ALB. Hand-wound transformers, custom-made for Neve (and no other manufacturer has access to that supply); mu-metal casing to avoid stray electromagnetic fields from external PSUs and other modules; and all hand-assembled, to the 2264A’s original specifications, at Neve’s headquarters in Burnley, UK. But tastes change, and even a classic such as the Neve 2264A can stand a little judicious uprating. You wanted a visual indication of status, so we’ve added a Signal Presence LED. And though the original 2264A’s three millisecond attack time was perfect for tracking, you kept telling us that you wanted to use it for mixing too. So we’ve fitted a Slow Attack switch, which changes the attack time to 12 milliseconds, allowing a 2264ALB (or a pair) to be used as mix bus compressors, where a slower attack time is desirable.

You also get the option to use Neve’s Audio Processing Insert to insert the 2264ALB between the input and output stages of a Neve 1073LB preamp (or even to combine it with the 1073LBEQ too, for a classic Neve channel strip in LunchBox™ format).

Enough chat – it’s time to order. Would you like something tasty to go in your LunchBox™? Or just some scraps to take home in a doggy bag?

PSNE Dec P9-11 studioJRDR_PSNE_Mar_P_Studio 29/11/2011 16:31 Page 11

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December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com

APPOINTMENTS

EUROPE

Last gasp – or new dawn?

Pink Floyd, The Smiths, REM, The Beach Boys... 2011 has witnessed some landmark, kitchen-sink-and-all remastering programmes. Is this the start of a lavish new era for the physical reissue or merely a final, glorious hurrah, wonders David Davies?

From USA Today to the New Zealand Listener, Nick Mason has certainly clocked up the media miles as the gargantuan ‘Why Pink Floyd?’ reissue campaign cranks into life. Common to many of these interviews has been the Floyd drummer’s suggestion that we might be witnessing a ‘last gasp’ for the physical release – a troubling thought, no doubt, for the band whose Storm Thorgersonmasterminded packaging is some of the most elaborate in rock music.

If this is the last chance to get it right, Mason and company have certainly seized the moment: as well as relatively straightforward ‘Discovery Edition’ remasters of the original 14 studio albums, there are several double-disc ‘Experience Editions’, and – for the truly devoted/minted – five-plusdisc versions with special artwork and collector’s books of mid-’70s classics The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here.

This late-stage decision to unleash an abundance of previously unheard studio and live material – something that the band, had hitherto stren uously resisted – would appear to give credence to the idea that the nonvirtually-oriented reissue/remaster could soon be heading into the sunset.

And certainly, there is a widespread feeling that if artists wish to take another look at the physical product, now is probably a good time.

Paint A Vulgar Picture from The Smiths’ glorious 1987 swansong album, Strangeways, Here We Come, offered a famously biting commentary on the motivations of the reissue process, but it hasn’t prevented the iconic Mancunian quarter from initiating a major remastering campaign with an eight-CD box set, to be followed by individual album releases in 2012. At the

Picture by Oded Shein

Alex Wordsworth, The Soundmasters, believes the physical reissue still has a viable future

f

Frank Arkwright was at the helm of The Smiths’ recent remastering project

helm of the remastering process are Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and engineer Frank Arkwright, who undertook the work at Metropolis Studios prior to taking up a new role at Abbey Road.

“I think we knew it was the opportunity to get them right,” Arkwright tells PSNE. “And it was exciting! We had four cases of analogue tapes which hadn’t been touched for years, and it was fascinating to play them back. They really captured the spirit and the atmosphere of the day they were recorded.”

The band’s original albums had not been remastered for CD since the original silver discs were issued in the 1980s – plenty of time in which to conclude that they were “too bright and thin sounding – not really the sound of The Smiths”. Resolved to lend the new versions “some room to breathe and some dynamics”, Arkwright and Marr set to work with a carefully selected studio configuration featuring an Ampex ATR-100 tape machine, a Prism AD2 analogue-to-digital converter, and EQs

from Sontec and Weiss. Paul Weller, Bernard Butler and Smiths coproducer Stephen Street all dropped into the sessions, which also yielded download and vinyl masters.

While Arkwright acknowledges that “the focus has been shifting towards download for a while”, approximately three-quarters of his work still ends up on a physical format – be it CD or vinyl.

The latter format appears particularly vibrant, with recent projects on behalf of Joy Division, Duran Duran and Bryan Ferry suggesting that the collector’s instinct remains undiminished: “A vinyl LP is a nice object to own, as is a box set with CDs, videos, artwork and 7-inch singles.”

Alex Wordsworth, studio manager at leading London mastering house The Soundmasters, is also firmly of the belief that the physical reissue still has a viable future. “Anything we remaster is for physical reissue as opposed to just digital, [and in fact we’ve probably] done more remastering in the past two years

than we did in the four or five years before that,” says Wordsworth, citing often lavish back catalogue projects for artists including The Cure, Simply Red, The La’s and experimental rock pioneers Can. With the exception of The Cure – still cheering up audiences worldwide after more than 30 years – none of those acts are going concerns. It therefore seems reasonable to expect the physical reissue to be further nourished by the inevitable quiet shuffle of more ageing bands into retirement over the next few years. As Wordsworth notes: “It’s not often that albums are remastered and rereleased while the band is still active or in its original form.”

In any case, he continues, mastering for download “does not affect the process we use – analogue mastering equipment and experienced ears”. But while the fundamental techniques might not change, new technologies are emerging that will allow engineers to further optimise their masters for different markets and formats.

The Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro-Codec Plug-In is a case in point. Designed for the real-time auditioning, encoding and decoding of audio signals using Fraunhofer codecs, Pro-Codec acknowledges “the huge change in trend in how music is purchased over the past few years, [meaning] that most mastering engineers’ work in producing a perfect WAV file is somewhat in vain since the file will be crushed by the aggregators and they have no control over how the end-result may sound,” says Sonnox WW sales and marketing manager Nathan Eames.

“Pro-Codec will empower mastering engineers to audition the encoded mix in real-time and optimise their work for MP3 or AAC.” The plug-in will allow engineers to produce mixes optimised towards specific target codecs, while mastering engineers will have the opportunity to audition in the final format and produce compensated masters for final encoding and distribution.

Technologies such as Pro-Codec will help to smooth the inevitable format shift as the audiences who are most closely attached to the CD – many of whom will attribute a significant portion of their music spend to back catalogue – begin to melt away. But the Money-esque ringing cash-tills that have accompanied the Floyd campaign – no fewer than five albums recharted within the official UK top 100 albums chart in their first week of reissue – confirm that many listeners are reluctant to relinquish their attachment to the physical presence. Q www.abbeyroad.com www.metropolis-group.co.uk www.sonnox.com www.soundmasters.co.uk

f Halo Post Production has

appointed Roger Beck (pictured) and David Turner to the roles of chief operating officer and director of film post production respectively.

The appointments follow Halo’s recent expansion into film audio. In his new role, Beck will be responsible for managing the integration of the new Noel Street facility into the larger Halo group. Turner, meanwhile, has previously worked at Molinare, Matrix Studios and BBC Radio. www.halopost.tv

f Moscow-based Music Team has been named as a distributor of Sontronics kit in Russia, marking the first time the British-designed range of mics, preamps and accessories has been available in the country. At the same time, Sontronics has also confirmed a partnership with Professional Audio Design in the US, who relaunched the brand Stateside at the recent New York AES Show. www.music-team.ru www.proaudiodesign.com www.sontronics.com

f Industry veteran Nicholas Stringer has joined KMR Audio as a sales specialist.

Prior to this he was Clapham branch manager at Digital Village.

Stringer’s career has also seen him working with Turnkey Solutions and Media Tools. www.kmraudio.com

f Vicoustic has appointed Susana Gaspar as the company’s new international sales manager. Prior to this she was a banking assistant at The Phone House, focusing on European markets with special responsibilities in the Spanish and Belgian sectors. In addition to managing the overall development of Vicoustic’s international sales, Gaspar will work closely with the company’s distributor network to help identify new business opportunities and develop marketing strategies in different territories. www.vicoustic.com

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www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

UNITED KINGDOM

APRS Lunch pepped up by Source Dave Robinson The APRS Sound Fellowship Awards Lunch was tastier than ever this year as Røde and Genelec, in conjunction with their UK distributor Source Distribution, became the first platinum sponsors of the event. Hosted by Sir George and Lady Judy Martin at London’s Kensington Roof Gardens Restaurant in late November, the lunch was attended by over 100 of the UK’s leading recording industry figures.

The annual Sound Fellowship Awards, originally inaugurated in 2007 to mark the 60th anniversary of the APRS, recognises individuals who have made a significant contribution to the art, science or business of sound recording. This year the awards were presented to legendary guitarist Jimmy Page, record producers Joe Boyd, Rupert Hine and Chris Thomas, console designer Clive Green and mastering engineer Bob Ludwig.

Picture by Gil Limor

g ry

Rupert Hine (left) receives his Sound Fellowship Award from Sir George Martin as Bob Geldof looks on

The duties of MC were jointly shared by APRS director Peter Filleul and Dr David Fisher, former director of Tonmeister studies at the University of Surrey. The Harewood Toast (given in recognition of the Earl of Harewood,

the founding president of the APRS) was proposed by Steven Nevin, CEO of the Music Publisher’s Association, and gave an erudite insight into the history and changing role of the publisher in today’s music industry.

As well as receiving his Sound Fellowship award from special guest Sir Bob Geldof, Rupert Hine also delivered the President’s Toast in honour of host Sir George Martin.

Commenting on the lunch, Source and HHB managing director Ian Jones said: “This is the first year that the APRS has invited platinum sponsors for the Sound Fellowship Awards Lunch, and we were delighted that our friends at Røde and Genelec agreed to help us and the APRS make the event the spectacular success that it was!” Q www2.aprs.co.uk www.sourcedistribution.co.uk

CYPRUS A Solid State Logic AWS 948 console/controller has been installed at Soundscape Studios in Limassol to service the broad range of performers and corporate clients the Cypriot facility attracts. “The AWS 948 was the perfect choice as it has a compact form to fit in our live studio control room, offers a sound quality that is unrivalled, yet possesses a very powerful DAW control engine to complement our workflow,” commented Chris Charalambides (pictured), CEO and producer/engineer/composer for Soundscape Studios. “We go from posting a commercial for a company to laying down tracks for an artist, so maintaining efficient workflow is of primary concern. The AWS 948 gives us the tools we need to work in any medium quickly and accurately, allowing us to focus on the creative process – and the creative process is what we are about.” Q

www.solidstatelogic.com

WORLD

Yamaha launches upgraded 01V96i digital mixing console David Davies Yamaha’s Virtual Circuitry Modelling technology and improved head amps with onboard 24-bit/96kHz A-D and D-A converters are among the features of the upgraded Yamaha 01V96i digital mixing console, which is available from this month.

Unveiled at Japanese trade show InterBEE, the latest version, the 01V96i, acknowledges the burgeoning demand for multi-track recording in live sound applications with the incorporation of 96kHz, 16-in/16-out USB 2.0 audio streaming. The new facility provides full, single connection integration with every major ASIO and Core Audio DAW software.

The latest version of Steinberg’s Cubase AI recording/editing/mixing software is bundled with the mixer, whose control infrastructure sports

40 mixing channels, 16 analogue and eight digital inputs, eight mix buses and eight aux buses.

Kazunori Kobayashi, general manager of Yamaha’s Pro Audio Division, said: “With this new console we are delighted to support a broader range of applications with a fully integrated, comprehensive system that meets the growing needs and requirements of our customers.”

In a separate development, Yamaha has partnered Lab.gruppen to bring Lake processing technology to Yamaha digital mixing consoles. The latest in the range of MiniYGDAI interface cards, the MY8-LAKE – due to be made available in the spring – provides up to eight inputs/eight outputs in Mesa mode (system EQ), four inputs/12 outputs in Contour mode (crossover), or a combination of both. Q www.yamahacommercialaudio.com The upgraded Yamaha 01V96i unveiled at InterBEE

www.yamahaproaudio.com

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December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com

SOUNDBITE

UNITED KINGDOM

Amati Studios expands again David Davies Fast-rising UK studio group Amati has added Artspace Studio and AlexanderSound – both situated in the south-east of England – to its roster, bringing its total number of studios to six.

Located in Brixton, London, Artspace is a multi-space studio structured around an octagon-shaped live room. Equipment includes an SSL SuperAnalogue console, PMC monitors, and outboard from API and SSL. Run by ex-Great Linford Manor engineer and producer Phil English (The Coral, Feeder, Biffy Clyro), Milton Keynes-based AlexanderSound sports a 56-channel DDA console with Uptown fader automation as well as a 24-channel Neve 5315 console.

Graeme Allen, managing director of Amati, commented: “I’m delighted

to be working with such a fantastic group of studios. It’s taken a bit of searching, but I’m really pleased to have found such high-quality facilities with day rates that would suit any recording artist.”

The London-based studio group has also expanded its roster of web-based services. In addition to online mastering and stem mixing, Amati now provides a full mixing service for £90 (€105) per track.

Allen attested to the success of the online facilities, noting that Amati had had “over 200 clients use our mastering or stem mixing services in the last two years, so the next logical step was to offer a full mixing service”. Q www.amatistudios.co.uk

David Davies The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) has followed the APRS, MPG and the UKScreen Association in announcing a partnership with JAMES (Joint Audio Media Education Support).

BASCA’s partnership with JAMES – which accredits Higher and Further Education music – and audio-related courses – is said to demonstrate the organisation’s commitment to music education of all types.

Professional songwriters Tim Fraser, Megg Nicol and David Stoll – all of whom sit on BASCA executive boards – will participate

in the forthcoming extension of the JAMES scheme to Music Performance courses.

BASCA chief operating officer Vick Bain commented: “Working with JAMES on accreditation is just the sort of activity BASCA should be doing and we welcome this opportunity to do so.

Now, more than ever, potential students in the UK need an authoritative and independent opinion on music courses out there; students need to be reassured that their £27,000 (€31,000) [tuition fees] is going to be wisely invested.” Q

Van Damme cables and connectors used to wire Abbey Road’s new Studio 52 with its SSL Duality SE console.

The installation – which follows an all-Van Damme cabling refit at Abbey Road’s Studio 2 – includes everything from single audio line cables to eight-pair DSUB looms, speaker cable, patch bays and patch cables as well as Van Damme VDM circular audio multipin connectors. Commenting, Simon Campbell, technical manager at Abbey Road Studios, said: “We have a long relationship with VDC Trading; we know that Van Damme cable and connectors perform very well over a long period and are easy to work with during and after installation.” www.vdctrading.com

AlexanderSound has been added to the Amati roster

BASCA and JAMES in accreditation scheme

f VDC Trading has supplied the

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Michael Ab Abbott bott (Sound Designer) UNITED KINGDOM Award-winning post house Hackenbacker offered a free studio team and the services of its founder, Nigel Heath, to deliver a 5.1 mix for the promo video of a new charity single penned by Katie Elliott (pictured) and Anthony Marks. Set to raise funds for homeless charity Shelter and a youth centre in Elliott’s home county of Gloucestershire, the Ian Dean-produced Meet Me in Winter was inspired by Elliott’s recent experiences with bipolar disorder. In addition to steering the 5.1 version to completion, Heath mixed and mastered the single, which is available now for iTunes download and retail purchase. Q

www.hackenbacker.com www.meetmeinwinter.org

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PSNE Dec P14-15 St BkgsJR_PSNE_April_P_StBkg 29/11/2011 16:32 Page 14

14 studio bookings

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

Studio bookings

If you want your web address to be included in the magazine AND in the digital edition of Pro Sound News Europe for just £50 a year, please email Lianne on Lianne.Davey@intentmedia.co.uk for an order form

The Studio Bookings listing is a free service. All information is provided by the companies listed and PSNE cannot be held responsible for any factual errors. To be included in the listings, please contact Lianne Davey, studio bookings editor, on +44 20 7226 7246, or email Lianne.Davey@intentmedia.co.uk ARTIST

PROJECT

CLIENT

PRODUCER

CD CD

SDR EigenArt Records

Groihs Groihs

ENGINEER

AUSTRIA Hit Fabrik Peinsipp Anna Maria

+43 2236 53006 Cejka Cejka

BELGIUM Globe Sofia Anessiadis Niels Destadsbader

Album Album

Bromo Artist

Hamilton Pierins

Studio La Chapelle HK & The Saltimbanks Raketkanon

Album Recording Album Recording

Yuma Productions Raketkanon

Louis-Henry Chambat Van Dingenen

+32 477 603 105 Jacobs Jacobs +32 485106979

DENMARK Irhoj Rumlerim Janne Aagaard

Video/Track Mixing Max Musik Alinea Irhoj/Aagaard

Rumlerim Irhoj/Aagaard

+45 563 81986 Irhoj Irhoj

FRANCE Studio Pickup Granville Deluxe

ARTIST

PROJECT

CLIENT

PRODUCER

ENGINEER

GERMANY Bauer Ernst Rejsegger Batiste Tian Sheila Cooper

www.bauerstudios.de Album Analog Winter & Winter Album Neuklang, Batiste Album Neuklang/Korthals Album Mix Sheila Cooper

Peter Brandt Remote Recording Herbert Gronemeyer Jennifer Rostock

www.remoterecording.net Radioconcert EMI Streetgigs Feschfilm

Silva 2-Bild

+49 212 254 1225 Silva Hoogenboezem

Remote Taxi GmbH Holy Ghost

Webcast

Studio Berlin

Noisey

+49 212 254 1225 Raff

Digital Pro Fot Choir Wing Fan Cheng

Mixing DVD

Private Konzerte

Gombai May

+36 1 383 2481 Matok Matok

Gramy Recording Ferenc Kovacs Arpa Attila

Music for Films Album Hunnia Album Arpa

Egerhazi Gyulai

+36 1 217 1120 Barabas Gyulai

Album Compilation

Sena Music Sena Music

Eysteinn Sena Music

+354 892 9000 Tempo Tempo

Post Production

Umachaka Media

Ashley Lazarus

+972 267 28166 Mitch Clyman

Advice Music Studio Universo Parallelo Mariotti

CD CD

Advice Music Advice Music/Edel

Boi Boi

+39 02 4580336 Boi Boi

Artesuono Bobo Stenson Trio Giovanni Guidi Trio

Album Album

ECM ECM

Eicher Eicher

Imputlevel Studio Federico Malaman Trio CartonJazz Punk Y Nada

New Album Album New Album

Maxsound Vibe Studios Terrae Motus Raffaella

Single Album

Officine Meccaniche Amor Fou Giuseppe Novelli

Mixing Session ArteVox Recording Session Novadicopens

Amor Fou Novelli

+39 2 891 59458 Cupertino Salvadori

CD Live GB Pergolesi “L’Olimpiade”

Kriminal CD Unite/sky classic/ Metis film

Sardella Metis Film

+39 335 5973004 Sardella Sardella

Spazi Sonori Rodney Bradley Modesti Choir Naked Bellies

Album Album Album

Ju Ju Artist Artist

Farao Marchiori Artist

+39 586 504116 Barbieri Barbieri Barbeiri

Studio 52 Gianni Lamagna Gio’ Siciliano Marisa Portolano Gio’ Siciliano

Album Single Album Album

Di Musica In Musica Artist Artist Artist

Paliotti Artist Rescigno Artist

+39 8 1579 2599 Rescigno Rescigno Rescigno Rescigno

+49 7141 22680 Winter Wohlleben Bauer-Oppelland, Batiste Heck Bauer-Oppelland, Korthals Heck

HUNGARY

ICELAND EP Album

www.studio-pickup.com Granville Deluxe

+33 2 50654592 Legoupil Legoupil Legoupil/Dessertenne Legoupil

Tonaljos Papar Bo Halldorsson

ISRAEL Muso Productions Ltd TJ and Pals

ITALY

Pink House Acoustic Kriminal Various

Imelda May is recording new material at Battersea’s Sphere Studios

+39 0432 570754 Amerio Amerio

+39 0422 893 080 Zambenedetti/Minniti Zambenedetti Zambenedetti Zambenedetti Molon Zambenedetti www.maxsound.it Top Records Maxsound Vibe

Nobili Carola

+39 081 509 0607 Carola Carola

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PSNE Dec P14-15 St BkgsJR_PSNE_April_P_StBkg 29/11/2011 16:33 Page 15

studio bookings 15

ARTIST

PROJECT

CLIENT

PRODUCER

Studiottanta Margaritella-Centola Reis Project

Album Album

Artist Brizzi

Margaritella Visentin

+39 141 928174 Visentin Visentin

Album Album

Artist Artist

Various Vella/Boa

+356 21 574 833 Vella Vella

Music lan SL Manolo Garcia Sopa De Cabra Soziedad Alkoholika

Recording Recording Recording

Galea Produccione The Project Music Shaktale

Garcia Xarim Madsen

Nino Josele

Mixing

Warner Music

Nilsenson

Picture by ITV Studios

December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com ENGINEER

MALTA Temple Carl Carlton P Boa and Voodooclub

SPAIN

Sonic Vista Ting Tings

+34 992 547053 Sole/Molero Sole/Molero Madsen/ Molero Sole/Molero +34 627 151117

Rehearsals/ Song Writing

Andy Taylor

Sarmiento

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Omer & Dave-ID

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Berger Artist

Artist & Schwitter Heitz

Album Tracks

Pro Rythme SA

+46 40 937678 Svensson Twedberg +46 8 730 04 00 Agate Lahti

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+41 22 800 3280 Weber Weber +41 56 631 0353 Schwitter Schwitter +41 22 796 5218 Lander Lander

UK

Busy lady: X Factor’s Tulisa is working on a new single at London’s Angelic

Abbot Street Studios Nearly People The Irish Band

www.abbotstreetstudios.co.uk Single Nearly People The Irish Band The Irish Band

Air Stereophonics Film Score for Sherlock Holmes 2

Recording Recording

The Stereophonics Ltd Arnold Remote Film Production

+44 20 7794 0660 Wollage Foster

Mastering – Love what Happened here Mastering

R&S Records

+44 20 7794 0623 Colton

Air Mastering James Blake

Sandy Lam Angelic Tulisa

Single

Artillery Studios Call Collector Hoy

Album Mix Single Mix

Assault & Battery 1 Delilah

Mixing

Assault & Battery 2 David Boone Axis Eras Enemo J Bridge Fixers

Album

EP Album

Album Mixing

Nearly People The Irish Band

Saraswati International Ltd

+44 20 7254 1133 Jim Friend Jim Friend

Staff +44 20 7232 0008 Dights

AATW

Artist

+44 20 7377 6826 Clark Rejmer +44 20 7232 0008 Hugall

Warners

David Boone Music

+44 20 7232 0008 Supple

Eras SNTD

+44 130 276 9676 Elliss Elliss

Elliss Elliss

Mercury Records

+44 20 7232 0008 Grech-Margurat +44 20 7371 5872 Sweed Venco

Britannia Row Adele Anna Calvi

Live Mix Recording

XL Domino

Bunker Sunday Girl

Demos

Machine Management

+44 20 7232 0008 Breakspear

Artist Devine Art

Deeley Sutton

+44 1463 741 829 Graeme Graeme

Digby Smith

+44 1747 824 729 Smith/Parker

Rose

+44 20 8964 8256 Rose/Jennings

Byre Rhythm and Reel Peter Seivewright Conversion Evolver Deep Littlenoise

CD CD

Tracking

Album Mixes/ Wired Strings

Artist

DM Ltd

Foel Mael Mordha Witchsorrow

Album Album

Crunch Productions Rise Above

Garden The Alpines

Album

Polydor

Gemini B-Goodes Marc Bolan

Mixing B-Tracks

N/A Wolsey Theatre

Macdonald Ellis

Fielding Fielding

+44 1938 810758 Fielding Fielding +44 20 7232 0008 Silvey

Artist John

+44 1473 272756 Grueber Grueber

ARTIST

PROJECT

CLIENT

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PSNE Dec P16 BroadcastJRdr_D 29/11/2011 16:35 Page 16

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www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

fbroadcast news SOUNDBITES f Netia has announced that

Belgium’s Sonuma – a subsidiary of RTBF – is implementing its CMS system to manage tens of thousands of hours of archive video and audio. The Netia CMS will simplify the task of preserving, managing and accessing content in Sonuma’s digital library, which in turn will support hundreds of RTBF journalists and enable delivery of archived media to the company’s partner news organisations. www.netia.com www.sonuma.be

fAtlanta, Georgia-based Turner Studios, the broadcast production division of Turner Entertainment Group, has acquired a second Lawo mc²90 production console. Residing in Audio Control Room 21, the new desk is configured with 48 channel faders, 16 central faders, 256 channels of AES I/O, 48 analogue inputs and 64 analogue outputs, as well as seven onboard DSP cards that are capable of 448 fully-processed channels. www.lawo.de www.turnerstudios.com

f New York-based OB, uplink and

soundstage facilities company All Mobile Video has purchased three SoundField UPM-1 stereoto-5.1 audio upmix processors.

While one UPM-1 will be installed at the Gateway teleport station in New Jersey to upmix audio for opera simulcasts from the New York Metropolitan, the others will be used in AMV’s uplink truck and between various OB trucks for the upmixing of VT and archive material for 5.1 transmission. www.allmobilevideo.com www.soundfield.com

UNITED KINGDOM

BVE 2013 to ExCeL David Davies The continuing uncertainty over the long-term future of their present home, Earls Court, has prompted Broadcast Video Expo (BVE) and sister event The Production Show (TPS) to arrange a change of venue for 2013.

New home ExCeL in London’s Docklands has been earmarked as the most suitable venue with which to support the planned investment in the show’s ‘content and growth’.

Event director Charlotte Wheeler commented: “BVE and TPS have grown rapidly over the past few years, and now is the perfect time to move to a bigger home. We need a venue that will allow us to offer better, state-of-the-art facilities for more exciting seminars and features.

Visitor numbers to this year’s show were up 35% year on year, [and] 70% of our exhibitors [rebooked] onsite. We have huge ambitions in growing the show, and

Henry Goodman, Calrec

EUROPE

Calrec ceases Zeta quote David Davies

Soundfox International has also installed two mc²56s in the news studios of Seoul-based Edaily TV. Also in the Korean capital, online retailer GS Home Shopping has added a 40-fader mc²66 to its latest TV production studio, thereby expanding its existing inventory of two Lawo consoles.

Other recent Korean customers of Lawo systems include MBC C&I – which replaced an analogue console in its #3 TV OB vehicle with a 32-fader mc²66 – and newly-established cable TV broadcaster jTBC. Q

In a move that reflects a customer shift towards its Bluefin-equipped products, Calrec Audio has announced a worldwide price reduction on its Omega console, and the cessation of production of the Zeta from 31 March 2012.

The manufacturer says that the Omega list price change will bring it in to line with that of the Zeta console.

Speaking to PSNE, Calrec’s head of sales and marketing, Henry Goodman, explained the background to the changes: “The decision to stop manufacturing the Zeta results from the market’s widespread adoption of Calrec’s Bluefin technology – the Zeta is its last remaining non-Bluefin console, and sales have been dropping steadily since the launch of the Bluefin platform in 2007.”

Calrec will continue to provide component spares and repair services for the Zeta for a minimum of 10 years from shipment date. In the event that original components or parts become unavailable, Calrec will offer appropriate alternatives, including hardware/ software solutions. Q

www.lawo.de

www.calrec.com

Next year’s event will remain at Earls Court before the move to ExCeL in 2013

the move to a new, purpose-built exhibition venue is just the start.”

The final edition of BVE to be staged at Earls Court will take place from

14-16 February 2012. The first ExCeLlocated BVE will run from 26-28 February 2013. Q www.bvexpo.co.uk

KOREA

Ten Korean console sales for Lawo David Davies A blend of new and established customers in Korea have acquired a grand total of 10 Lawo digital audio consoles in the past six months alone.

Privately owned broadcast stations JIBS (Jeju Island), TBC (DaeGu) and KBC (Kwang-ju) worked together to research and test new systems for their news and production studios. In conjunction with main contractor Soundfox International, all three have now purchased 32-fader mc²56s, each specified with DALLIS I/O frames and 8192x8192 routers.

MBC C&I installed a mc266 console

PSNE Dec P17 BroadcastJR_D 29/11/2011 16:35 Page 17

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December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com UNITED KINGDOM

Not grim up north for BVE The first BVE North show rode on the back of MediaCityUK and pulled in a good range of exhibitors, as Kevin Hilton reports The inaugural BVE (Broadcast Video Expo) North show took place over 16-17 November at Manchester Central in the city currently alive with TV, radio and postproduction activity. MediaCityUK (MCUK) at Salford Quays is the main focus for this but The Sharp Project, just to the north of Manchester City Centre, has also expanded an already well established media scene.

BVE has been built up in London over the past few years, attracting more technology exhibitors – including a growing number of audio companies – to take the event away from its pure production roots. A northern version divided opinion when it was announced earlier this year but the level of media activity in Manchester, with many BBC TV and radio departments already ensconced at MCUK, does give it some justification.

The influence of MCUK on the show was clear. Among the exhibitors were cable and infrastructure distributor Argosy and hire company 24-7 North, both of which have offices at The Pie Factory sound stage complex, and installation company IPE Systems, which worked on the two audio studios in The Studios block and BBC Radio 5 Live’s new broadcast centre.

A new product that owes its existence to BBC Sport’s presence at MCUK is the AVM-Tmix audio monitoring and management unit. This also offers sound mixing capability and was conceived in December 2010 for BBC Sport and systems integrator Dega Broadcast, which has already installed 80 into Quay House.

The Tmix is TSL’s first touch device, hence the ‘T’. BBC produc tion staff, including directors, PAs and editors, all have a unit at their desks, giving access to material from SDI and AES routers, as well as local analogue sources. These can be selected using an integral router and fed through a pair of 20-channel audio mixers. Also on display was the recently introduced PAM2 multichannel audio monitor.

Canford also has a wide range of equipment installed at MCUK and showed a fairly broad variety of its lines during BVE North. This included new mains power distribution units (MDUs), D’n’A (digital and analogue) cables, Tascam’s DR-40 recorder and Nevion audio and video transport and routing systems. Canford has just taken on these

f

A talk by film director Shane Meadows (24/7, This is England) was one of the big crowd-pullers of the show on the opening day

Chris Pemberton of Raycom with a Canford Audio showed devices from new brand to the stable, Nevion

products and showed the FlashLink control panel, VikinX router and the Flash Case, designed for OB work.

Microphones had a high profile during the show. Manchester distributor Wendy’s Broadcast Services gave visitors the opportunity to see and hear the leading wireless mic brands, including Shure, Wisycom, Lectrosonics, Micron, Audio Wireless, Audio Limited and Sennheiser, in A-B comparisons.

Two of these companies were at the exhibition in person, although

Sennheiser’s launches were not on the radio side. Sennheiser displayed the MKH 8060 and 8070 shotgun mics, along with the Neumann KH120 studio monitor.

Shure has not introduced any new broadcast products for a while but Shure Distribution made up for that at BVE North. On show were new shotgun mics in small, medium and large, with the cost-effective VP82 aimed at DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera

Also from Canford, the D’n’A FSJ-12 cable: digital and analogue

Wisycom MTP41 transmitter

production. On the wireless side were the UR5 UHF-R portable wireless receiver and UR3 plug-on transmitter.

Among new distributed ranges was Sound Devices’ PIX, comprising the 220 and 240 on-camera monitors with audio recording capability, including balanced mic inputs.

Both Wisycom and Lectrosonics were present on the Raycom stand. New from Wisycom was the MRK960 full diversity DSP receiver, which covers channels 21 to 66 and works with

Sennheiser, Audio and Shure transmitters as well as the manufacturer’s own.

Also on show was Wisycom’s forthcoming single battery compact transmitter, the MTP41, due to start shipping during the first quarter of 2012.

Shotgun mics were back on the agenda at the Source Distribution booth with the Røde NTG-8 extra long model, designed for video production where the crew is working at a distance from the subject.

HHB Communications had its usual wide choice of products but showcased loudness, highlighting the DK-Technologies range, Wohler’s Pandora analyser, now with iPod touch app, and the TC Electronic TM7 TouchMonitor. Among other products on show was the Roland R-1000 48-track recorder.

Getting their first UK showings were Avid’s Pro Tools 10 and Pro Tools HDX systems, new software for the SADiE 6 editing system and the recently launched Steinberg CMC modular controllers for Cubase. These were shown integrated with a Yamaha console and give control over mixing and play-back, among other features, using touch faders and USB connectivity.

There was probably more emphasis on video than audio at BVE North compared to its southern progeninator but the overall message was about integrating the two. This was neatly summed up on the Audio Developments stand with the launch of the AD 071 camera mixer. This has one or three electronically balanced mic inputs on XLRs and is designed to be mounted on DSLR cameras.

Most of those exhibiting were pleased with what they saw as a wellattended show (on the first day at least), with a pleasing layout. The early Wednesday appearance of film dir ector Shane Meadows certainly delighted a large crowd of fans and filmmakers – this was a cunning coup by the organiser.

The London version remains the principal event but overall BVE North appears to have got off to a healthy start. The only odd complaint was about the lack of BBC people doing the rounds. If that was the case, then maybe they were still putting the finishing touches to MCUK. Q www.bvenorth.co.uk

Radio producer enhancements for SADiE 6 software package

PSNE Dec P18 BroadcastJRdr_D 02/12/2011 11:31 Page 18

18 broadcast APPOINTMENTS f Clive Northen has joined ATG Broadcast as chief operating officer. He is based at the company’s administrative and engineering centre in Letchworth, reporting to managing director Graham Day. Nothen’s previous experience includes time at Worldwide Television News and Gearhouse Broadcast.

www.prosoundnewseurope.com G December 2011 EUROPE

Audio trade bodies: moving with the times

www.atgbroadcast.com

f HHB Communications has

strengthened its technical department with the addition of Conrad Blackledge as technical sales support engineer. In his new role, he will work closely with both HHB and Scrub, its Sohobased subsidiary serving the postproduction industry, providing technical support for clients, with a strong focus on Avid Pro Tools, as well as other Apple and PCbased DAWs. He will be based in the company’s west London offices, reporting to group sales director Steve Angel. www.hhb.co.uk

f Simon Browne has been promoted to the position of director of worldwide product management at ClearCom. In this new role he will oversee the product analysis, planning and lifecycle management activities across the voice communications systems company. He will also be charged with developing ClearCom’s portfolio of intercom products. As part of his new position, Browne will be relocating to Clear-Com’s Poway, California office in the next few months. www.hme.com

Simon Bishop, freelance location recordist and chairman of the IBS’s Executive Committee

Unusually, audio trade organisations have made headlines this year, with restructures, name changes and potential new additions. Kevin Hilton finds IBS becoming IPS All professions have longstanding associations that represent their members’ interests and act as a forum for technology and business matters. As times change these bodies have had to reassess their roles and what they offer, or face losing those valuable membership fees. With this in mind the Institute of Broadcast Sound (IBS) announced at the beginning of November that from January 2012 it will be known as the Institute of Professional Sound (IPS).

The IBS was established in 1971 as a representative body for TV and radio sound balancers but since then the audio and broadcast sectors have changed dramatically. The name change was prompted to recognise that audio professionals are no longer confined to one particular job or discipline, while the business itself relies more on freelancers than full-time staff.

This new working landscape has caused concern among the workforce for some time. There is the fear that people are expected to work longer hours for the same or less money in a market that has a higher ratio of available personnel compared to jobs. In the week of the IPS announcement veteran sound supervisor Eddy Joseph used Facebook to propose forming a new guild for UK sound editors and designers to give this sector a stronger voice.

f

With credits including Batman, The Killing Fields and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Joseph, who until his recent retirement headed up Soundeluxe in London, has seen first hand how the business has changed. He says he has been aware that sound editors have been given “less credence” than other techni-

pay and conditions and dealing with employers but do not feel they are in a position to ask each other for advice or help because they are rivals. The proposed guild, he says, could be a collective that would be able to assist people with questions and problems, as well as possibly acting as an employ-

information can be few and far between,” he says. “I see the place of the IBS/IPS now is to be somewhere where people can share a problem, try out an idea, ask about a new technique or similar.”

Like Joseph, Bishop has concerns over how changing attitudes and working practices in the TV and film sectors, particularly with the shift from permanent staff positions to a selfemployed, multitasking approach and the rise of the ‘runner’ or ‘researcher’ sound recordist on documentary shoots instead of employing experienced crew.

While not specifically discussing the proposed sound editors’ guild, Bishop comments: “The IBS/IPS feel that we should embrace more technicians, who work in a wider range of disciplines than our historical IBS membership.

We feel that it can’t be a bad thing to have a single, more unified, larger membership, with a far louder voice.”

The Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) has a membership that includes UK dubbing mixers, location recordists, Foley artists and sound editors working on films and TV productions but Eddy Joseph feels that its role is more as a forum.

The chairman of AMPS, Chris Roberts, responds: “AMPS is constituted to maintain, enhance and promote standards and professionalism in all areas of the production of film and television sound. However, as clearly defined in its constitution, the Association cannot act or be perceived to act as a trade union and therefore cannot engage directly in matters relating to pay or working conditions. AMPS is aware of the proposal to establish a Sound Editors Guild. In the past, AMPS has worked closely with other industry guilds and associations, such as

“Now the majority of technicians are freelance, the opportunities to meet and swap this information can be few and far between.

I see the place of the IBS/IPS now is to be somewhere where people can share a problem, try out an idea, ask about a new technique or similar” cal creatives, such as cinematographers.

“People have been saying to me they’re worried about pay and conditions,” he comments. “Looking back we were looked after better on Angel Heart, which came out in 1987.”

After talking to audio editors and designers in the UK over the past few weeks, Joseph is certain there is a need for a new representative organisation.

The Facebook post received enough positive comments for Joseph to look towards organising more formal discussions that could make the proposal a reality.

Joseph says many sound editors are having a bad time with getting work,

ment agency and a mouthpiece for its members. “The sky’s the limit,” he says, “and we need to promote what sound editors do as something that isn’t a necessary evil.”

Simon Bishop, freelance location recordist and chairman of the IBS’s Executive Committee, feels pay and conditions are matters for trade unions and that the IBS/IPS is “absolutely not a union”. He does, however, agree with the need for audio professionals to have a way of getting together with others in the business to discuss what is going on in their working lives. “Now the majority of technicians are freelance, the opportunities to meet and swap this

IBS/IPS, BKSTS and APRS. It continues to do so and would welcome the opportunity to work with and support any guild that was established to represent a particular department or sector of the sound community, assuming that it did not duplicate what AMPS already does so effectively.”

The thought of yet another trade association or guild might not be welcomed by all but more directed representation and advice could aid a relatively small group like sound editors and designers. As Eddy Joseph says: “If you shout, you will be heard.” Q www.amps.net www.ibs.org.uk

Project2_Layout 1 30/11/2011 12:04 Page 1

DiGiCo SD7 On Tour With George Michael - 2011

Simon

Hall

MONITOR ENGINEER GEORGE’S BAND AND ORCHESTRA

Andy “Baggy”

Robinson

MONITOR ENGINEER - GEORGE

MICHAEL

Gary

Bradshaw FOH - GEORGE MICHAEL

Three Engineers.

Four Consoles + 1.

SD7 The Arresting Combination The next generation of digital sound engineering is here, in the form of the stunning SD7 Live Digital Console. Featuring Super FPGA and Floating Point Stealth Technology, exclusive to DiGiCo, the performance results are exceptional. And, you don’t just have to take our word for it. On the George Michael tour no less than five SD7 consoles were ‘in the loop’ at the Royal Opera House. The four console touring package was enhanced with a 5th SD7 on record duties, simultaneously generating a live stereo mix and 48 channels of ProTools stems.

DiGiCo SD7 & George Michael’s Engineers: Criminally Good.

www.digico.biz DiGiCo UK Ltd. Unit 10 Silverglade Business Park, Leatherhead Road, Chessington, Surrey KT9 2QL. Tel: +44 (0) 1372 845600

the

Usual Suspects

PSNE Dec P20 BroadcastJRdr_D 29/11/2011 17:59 Page 20

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www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

EUROPE

Radio looks to top the Facebook generation A great strength of radio is the sense of community it creates but, as Kevin Hilton reports, broadcast sound now has to come to terms with social media and data technologies if it is to keep the position it has built over the years

Dan McQuillan, Broadcast Bionics: audiences are ahead of radio stations in exploiting social media

Connectivity is among the big technological debates in television broadcasting right now.

Getting internet access for social networking and email on TV sets, as well as connecting them to second screens like smartphones and tablets, is a priority for many broadcasters and manufacturers in an attempt to keep up with the fast pace set by new media.

Radio went digital before its visual rival but is still lagging behind in terms of how to combine traditional broadcasting with today’s increasingly computer-based world, which has

f

become a social place because of Facebook, Twitter and the like. This view was voiced in two TechCon technology conference sessions at the 2011 Radio Academy Festival, held at The Lowery in Salford, Greater Manchester in October.

Dan McQuillan, managing director of software developer and distributor Broadcast Bionics, argued in his presentation, From TOGs to the Twitterati – Connecting Old Media with the Social Media Generation, that audiences were ahead of radio stations in using and exploiting social media.

Broadcast Bionics produces a range of automation and play-out systems, one of which is PhoneBOX, a computer-controlled call manager and switcher. Listeners calling into radio stations is the most basic but still effective form of interactivity but McQuillan comments that despite now having the Radio Player and RadioDNS, the project promoting connectivity with the internet, radio is still not a completely two-way experience.

“The audience wants to interact and is ahead of us,” he says. “Surveys show that approximately 68% of 18to-24 year olds are watching TV and actively commenting on programmes with their friends using social networking. There is no longer such a thing as a passive viewer or listener.”

TOGs to the Twitterati refers to the loyal audience of the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show hosted by Terry Wogan, who retired from the slot in 2009. A core of older listeners, known as Terry’s

“We as an industry can do this social media so much better if we dare to think that radio is more than audio-only” In his session, Putting It All Together: Metadata and Interoperability, Adrian Cross, head of the development team at Unique Interactive, outlined the technologies necessary for radio to be part of a connected media landscape and not become a second- or even third-class citizen in the new broadcasting world.

Old Geezers/Gals (TOGs), provided some of the presenter’s material through email, backing up Wogan’s claim that he had been doing social broadcasting for 30 years.

McQuillan says that while radio stations and presenters are now embracing Twitter and Facebook, in addition to email, both the technical infra-

structure and proper exploitation of the platforms are still lacking. “Radio should be the most social media of all, as Terry Wogan has said, but it’s not so interactive, partly because the new media technology is so fresh,” he comments. “Radio studios are redesigned every five to 10 years but we’re now trying to get shed-loads of data from listeners into them without distracting the presenter.”

The challenge, says McQuillan, is to develop a new type of radio studio that has the bidirectional process necessary for proper social com munication “built into its DNA”.

This, he says, could be a single console with screens; Broadcast Bionics is currently working on PhoneBOX 4, which is being designed around messaging and text. “We as an industry can do this social media so much better if we dare to think that radio is more than audio-only,” McQuillan observes.

A major part of achieving this will be done in the background through the technology lots of people have heard of but few fully understand, metadata. Adrian Cross’ argument is “radio stations will be able to do better in a constantly connected world by having good quality metadata”. Cross says he wants to get across the importance of this because media in general is heading in the direction of interconnected devices and if stations don’t want to be a secondary or tertiary aspect of another developer’s device and instead be on a proper “radio button”, then metadata is the only way to make that work.

Unique is working with major radio groups like Bauer, which, comments Cross, takes metadata very seriously. But, he adds, there are “many hundreds of radio stations” that do not yet see how necessary it is today.

“We’re working in a world with companies like Amazon and Google, which run on data,” he says. “The people running the platforms radio stations need to be on, to reach the new generation of devices, will want to see that their metadata is first class.

If people want to be part of what is going now, they ignore metadata at their peril.” Q www.bionics.co.uk www.ubcmedia.com

UNITED STATES

Soaring through the cloud at the Canyon David Davies A new collaboration between Point Source Audio (PSA) and InfoGuys (IFG) Satellite Radio Network has resulted in custom remote interface software which brings cloud-based management capability to Grand Canyon’s Highway Advisory Satellite Radio System.

Originally a single-use application supporting the launch of a pilot shuttle route, the Radio Advisory

System has evolved into a broader messaging system designed to enhance services to park patrons – encompassing everything from the announcement of event times to information on weather conditions and construction delays.

The broadcast system was recently upgraded with Digigram’s PYKO IP Audio codec. Now, with the new cloud-management feature, Grand Canyon officials can update and change

message content 24/7 on the PYKO as and when required, from any internet device.

“The PYKO was an exceptional choice for IFG’s objectives,” said PSA president James Lamb, “and the friendly user controls of the customised software we collaborated on together [constitute] a great value-add to enhance the system’s usability.” Q www.digigram.com www.point-sourceaudio.com

The PYKO system allows officials to update message content as and when required

Project2_Layout 1 30/11/2011 12:06 Page 1

The Progress Tour, the biggest in UK history, 2.3 million tickets sold, 8 sold out nights at Wembley stadium, and oneThe of the productions ever put together.

U2 largest 360° tour is by far the biggest ever Sennheiser rock UKand roll touring stage Ltd, 3 Century Point, High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP12 3SL production put together. With a need for solid RF performance and detailed 01494 551551 www.sennheiser.co.uk When it came down to microphone, guitar and in 2000 ear monitoring choicethe thesolution engineers for AF response, theradio Sennheiser series provides for Adam Take That chose to continueClayton’s their association Sennheiser leveltuning of support bass radiowith system set up. ensuring Featuringaahigh 75 mhz band and a equipment that has performed the very audio highest of standards. muchtoenhanced frequency response in the bass range, the 2000 series is the perfect system for such a demanding environment.

SKM 5200-II handhelds with MD5235 heads, EM 3732-II dual receivers, G3 guitar radio systems and 2000 series IEMs used throughout the Progressyou Touralways 2011. hear the bass” Adam Clayton, U2 “With Sennheiser www.sennheiser.co.uk Sennheiser UK Ltd, 3 Century Point, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP12 3SL 01494 551551 www.sennheiser.co.uk

PSNE 245x335 indd 1

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PSNE Dec P22 BroadcastJRdr_D 30/11/2011 09:57 Page 22

22 broadcast SOUNDBITE f Red TX has been named as the preferred audio supplier for all broadcast projects undertaken by production company Kaufman. Founded in 2009, Kaufman is headed by Mike Kaufman and provides executive production and supervisory services to a range of companies including Live Nation and O2.

“I have worked with Red TX on numerous high-profile music festivals and events and have come to appreciate the quality of their work and their dedication to getting the best possible broadcast sound,” said Kaufman. In recent months Red TX has been called in to handle broadcast audio for various projects on which Kaufman has been executive producer.

These include Hard Rock Calling and the Download festival, both of which were produced by Live Nation. www.red-tx.com

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011 EUROPE

Lawo absorbs Innovason David Davies Lawo AG has confirmed the integration of the Innovason brand into its portfolio following the recent dissolution of the company Innovason SAS. The German manufacturer’s association with Innovason commenced in April 2008 when it acquired a majority shareholding in the French console maker. In the wake of a lengthy restructuring process and the liquidation of Innovason SAS on 2 November this year, Lawo AG now owns all Innovason product and trademark rights.

While the Plougoumelen offices have been closed and the Innovason brand will now be managed from Lawo HQ in Rastatt, PSNE understands that the current French team – all of whom are henceforth Lawo employees – will remain in the country “one way or another”.

Additionally, the figures most closely associated with Innovason’s development will continue to help steer the brand: Hervé

Marcel Babazadeh with the Eclipse console

de Caro will serve as product manager for the Eclipse console; Nicolas Gozdowski will continue in his role as service engineer; Benoit Quiniou will stay in R&D; and Marcel Babazadeh will continue to fill the role of international sales director.

Regarding the existing Innovason console range, support for the Eclipse

will remain unchanged, while legacy products – such as the Sy Series – will be supported “where possible”.

Reflecting on the new arrangement, Marcel Babazadeh described it as representing “the best of both worlds.

Now that the Innovason products have become part of the range offered by Lawo in Rastatt, it means that the continuity of the brand is guaranteed. At the same time it benefits from everything that Lawo has to offer with its more than 40 years of experience in professional audio technology.”

Lawo CEO Philipp Lawo highlighted the Innovason brand’s enduring potential. “I admire innovation, which has always been a driving force for the development of Innovason products,” he said.

“However, despite Lawo’s intervention in 2008, the company was still not able to realise its full potential. Now that the brand is fully integrated into the Lawo structure, I am confident that together

we can achieve success. I’m also delighted to welcome the new colleagues on board, all now key members of the Lawo team responsible for Innovason. It is the end of an era for Innovason in its former structure, but the dawning of a new chapter of innovations. We’re all looking forward to a new and promising future in the live sound market together.”

In other Lawo/Innovason news, a recent workshop held in Rastatt saw experts from Sennheiser, Neumann and Innovason presenting their latest product developments in the context of the digital workflow. Sound engineer Carsten Kümmel, Jörg Pohl (Neumann) and Heiko Mildenberger (Sennheiser) were among those to participate in an event that gave attendees the opportunity to try out the latest digital microphones and mixing consoles in a small group environment. Q www.innovason.com www.lawo.de

WORLD It was hardly a glorious Rugby World Cup for the English side, but at least one England-based audio manufacturer – Glensound – enjoyed a starring role. A total of 37 GDC 6432 digital commentary systems from the Maidstone-headquartered company were used to handle the world feed for every broadcaster requiring a fully equipped commentary booth. Gearhouse Broadcast – which provided commentary services to OSB NZ, on behalf of host broadcaster Sky NZ – also deployed Glensound mixers and break-out boxes. Kevin Moorhouse, Gearhouse Broadcast’s COO, commented: “With Glensound commentary systems, I always get what I ask for. The systems are complete, with all necessary accessories, and they just work.” Q

www.gearhousebroadcast.com www.glensound.co.uk

CZECH REPUBLIC

OB for Czech TV? Check!

Dave Robinson Systems integrator and multiscreen platform provider Visual Unity has enabled Czech TV to enhance its production capabilities by delivering the broadcaster’s fully high-definitionequipped outside broadcast vehicle.

Designed to capture mainly sporting and cultural events, the new vehicle is based on a 26-tonne MAN chassis with a single expanding side. At 12m long and nearly four high, it is the second completely HD equipped vehicle in Czech TV’s fleet and provides the entire technical infrastructure needed to deliver outside broadcast content in full HD. Visual Unity was commissioned to handle this prestigious project on the basis of its “extensive experience of designing, delivering and integrating

The HD-ready vehicle includes a Vista 8

turnkey TV systems, broadcast-IT convergent and multiscreen solutions”.

Audio equipment in the truck includes a Studer Vista 8 audio console, Genelec and Fostex audio monitoring, Dolby E encoders-decoders a ClearCom Eclipse intercom. Q www.visualunity.com

Project2_Layout 1 30/11/2011 12:10 Page 1

© 2011 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid, the Avid logo, and Pro Tools are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

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Project2_Layout 1 30/11/2011 12:12 Page 1

Low Gain, No Pain!

CXM 15 - HIGH POWER 2-WAY MONITOR CABINET

CXM 15 Thanks to the CXM 15’s very high sensitivity, you do not need to drive the monitor-mix as ’’Fullpower’’ in order to achieve impressive acoustic output up to 135 dB. The very compact lightweight 19kg DYNACORD CXM 15 coax monitor can be switched from

www.dynacord.com

full-range mode to bi-amp mode. Intelligibility of this 15” wedge is impressive. IIR- (DSP) and FIR-Presets (RCM-26/P-64) are also available as well as optional flying hardware. The lifting- structure is an integrated part of the cabinet design.

Convince yourself!

PSNE Dec P25-30 LiveJR_D 30/11/2011 09:58 Page 25

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December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com

flive news WORLD

Energised start to Adamson system launch ‘Project Energia’ worldwide line source PA testing is met with enthusiasm across Europe, the US and Asia, finds an energetic Dave Robinson Beta-testing of Adamson’s ‘semi-secret’ Energia PA system in Europe, the US and Asia has been met with much approval, reports the Canadian loudspeaker company.

Ken ‘Pooch’ Van Druten, mixing Linkin Park in Jakarta, declares the new E15 speaker in combination with Adamson’s renowned T21 sub to be “bad ass”, while Snake Newton, FOH for Duran Duran on their recent US tour, adds “the E15 delivered every time; the mid-range definition and low-mid punch is incredible”.

The Project Energia initiative was conceived after years spent analysing what Adamson Systems Engineering describes as “the inefficiencies found in sound reinforcement and with performance venue optimisation”.

Primary components of Energia include a series of new loudspeaker systems, with networkable Class D amplifier modules, DSP, cable and power distribution, AVB network hardware with software integration of control, 3D simulation and diagnostics.

Phase One of the rollout – ‘mechanical field testing’ – began in July 2011 when Adamson unveiled the E15 line source system with a series of strategic beta partners. 8th Day Sound (US), Wigwam Acoustics (UK), Fluge (Spain) and Big Daddy Productions (Indonesia) have all taken delivery of the E15.

Additional Energia Beta systems are now in place with distribution partners DV2 in France, Adamson Europe GmbH in Germany, and in Singapore with long-time partner Team 108.

AS PSNE went to press, MPM France had also been added to this list, and will be putting the E15s to work on a tour for German rock heroes The Scorpions. Adamson also confirmed talks were underway with three more hire companies in France, Australia and the US. Brock Adamson, president and CEO, comments: “Phase One of Energia is designed to ensure the highest acoustic and mechanical performance of the E15, while we simultaneously begin testing our new three-dimensional Blueprint simulation software. Once we’re finished evaluating transducers, sound chambers and the mechanical elements of the system, we will introduce our new Class D amplifier modules, Power

SOUNDBITES f AC Entertainment Technologies Ltd has supplied a Shure UHF-R radio microphone system and the latest Nexo PS R2 Series speakers to Clever Connections – a West Midlandsbased provider of technical and production management services to the corporate presentation and experiential sector. The Nexo system includes PS10 and PS15 R2 enclosures and the latest NXAMP4x1 digital amplifier and processor which was supplied by AC Audio along with Yamaha EMX5014C powered mixers and BSS FCS966EK graphic equalisers. www.ac-et.com www.nexo.fr www.shure.co.uk

f Leading London theatre

complex the Albany has purchased two JoeCo BlackBox Recorder 24-track digital AES/EBU systems. Supplied by Stage Electrics, the new acquisitions were first used on a concert by Alexander Wolfe. Fiona Greenhill, head of operations at the Albany, said: “The BlackBoxes were easy to install and use, and are already proving to be a great add-on.” www.joeco.co.uk www.stage-electrics.co.uk

f Ghent, Belgium-based rental

The Energia system during set-up in Jakarta for Linkin Park: “Bad ass” says Pooch

Distribution and Ground Control system for Phase Two. “We did not want to simply repackage our old systems and offer them as though they were something new. On the contrary, we wanted to provide something exciting that hasn’t been done. Pushing the boundaries of technology is what makes our industry great. Our team is very pleased with the feedback and support coming from our field test partners so far. We couldn’t ask for a better team of industry professionals to help us bring Project Energia to life.”

The beta-tests, across three continents, have been met with praise from engineers and crew. Duran Duran’s long-time FOH engineer, Snake Newton, and Eighth Day Sound ran with Adamson’s Project Energia for the bands recent six-week North American tour.

As the tour wrapped up, Newton commented: “When I was approached to test drive Energia in the beta phase, I had absolutely no reservations.

Eighth Day Sound provided great support on the tour and the E15 delivered every time. The mid-range definition and low-mid punch is incredible and

there was no sign of power compression at any point. This cannot be said of many other systems out there.

Adamson has always produced great speakers and I look forward to seeing the next phase completed.”

In Asia, Big Daddy productions based in Jakarta, Indonesia together with Team 108, Adamson’s distributor for south-east Asia, came together to provide a large scale E15 system for two back-to-back events: the Big Wave Festival and a major Linkin Park gig.

“In keeping with the tradition of making the best-sounding speaker boxes in the world, Adamson have outdone themselves,” said Van Druten. “The E15 combined with the T21 is a force to be reckoned with. This changes everything. Watch out, there is a new kid on the block, and he is a bad ass.”

And in Europe, Adamson’s Spanish distributor Seesound, together with sound provider Fluge, arranged the first E15 system on the continent to premiere at the Low Cost Festival in Benidorm, Spain featuring Mika and Ok Go! among many others. The festival, held at the end of July, garnered much praise from the local mainstream press which featured various

stories on the event itself, and surprisingly on Adamson’s choice of Spain for the European launch of the beta project. Now ready for a full tour, Fluge is putting the E15s to the test with the Spanish metal band Los Marea.

Meanwhile Wigwam in the UK has its beta system scheduled for forthcoming shows by girl-band The Saturdays.

For the time being, Adamson Systems Engineering is remaining fairly tight-lipped about the actual technology used in the package.

“We’re trickling Energia’s details to market as the project evolves,” comments Jesse Adamson, director of sales and marketing. “As it is much more than a new loudspeaker, we don’t want to put an emphasis on any one component. The picture is much bigger. The E15 in Phase 1 only scratches the surface of what we have coming with Phase 2 in the new year.”

Adamson has also reported that it is limiting the production of the E15 system to ensure the quality, performance and market control during Phase One. Energia Phase Two will be unveiled at Frankfurt 2012. Q www.adamsonsystems.com

company Swing has added EtherSound digital snake capability to its Yamaha M7CL-32 consoles by purchasing a host of new equipment from the manufacturer, including two SB168-ES stage boxes along with two MY16-EX and two MY16-ES64 interface cards. In addition, the company has taken delivery of an LS9-16 and a further SB168-ES and MY16ES64 for its rental stock. “The M7CL was in great demand and I knew that Ethersound could be easily added via Yamaha’s miniYGDAI interface cards,” said Swing owner Dany de Letter. www.yamahacommercialaudio.com

f Freelance live sound engineer Harry Bishop is using an XTA DP548 on tour with Beardyman.

The processor marries together the best elements from the XTAD2 dynamic EQ, C2 compression, 4 Series speaker management and a new matrix mixing function. “It’s revolutionised the show!” said Bishop. “Feedback has been a massive issue with Beard’s set-up up but with the DP548 he no longer needs to worry about it. In really extreme scenarios I have made use of the phase-related filters to move bass nodes around the room and prevent localised coupling on stage.” www.xta.co.uk

PSNE Dec P25-30 LiveJR_D 29/11/2011 18:01 Page 26

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www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

BENELUX

UNITED KINGDOM

The Audio Specialists spring from E-Audio

Butterfly arrays herald return of US football

Marc Maes Axel Nagtegaal, former partner in E-Audio Benelux, has created a new distribution venture for the Low Countries. “After a period of reflection but still at the helm of E-Audio, I thought it was appropriate to launch my own company,� explains Nagtegaal. “Under the company name The Audio Specialists BV, as of 1 November, we now distribute brands including Clair Brothers, Midas and Outline (Benelux and Germany), with Klark Teknik and TTA Stagetracker for the Benelux.�

Eleven years ago, Nagtegaal cofounded Electric Audio, which later became E-Audio Benelux – the company was the Low Countries’ distributor for Electro-Voice. In 2003, the company was named importer for Midas consoles, first in Holland (as Midas Consoles Holland), and in 2006 for the Benelux region when Midas Consoles

Axel Nagtegaal is chirpy at the start of his new business venture

Benelux saw the light as a separate operation within E-Audio.

In 2008 Nagtegaal decided to step down from the partnership and sold his shares to the remaining partners in E-Audio Benelux.

BELGIUM

QSC powers European Parliament celebration David Davies With Brussels remaining a hive of activity at press-time as politicians and economists strive to resolve the seemingly unending eurozone crisis, the Belgian capital was recently the subject of a rather more joyful event – an official concert in front of the European Parliament to mark the naming of two new landmarks.

While ‘Simone Veil Agora’ honours former EP president Simone Veil, ‘Solidarnosc 1980 Esplanade’ ack now ledges the importance of the Solidarnosc union movement in Europe’s recent history.

GSF Event provided sound and lighting, with co-founder Sammy Freh noting the need to supply “a lot of power to drive the PA and provide enough cov-

Nigel Lord

The Apeldoorn resident is well aware that economic times have changed since he launched Electric Audio in 2000. “It’s obvious that with the current brands, we are targeting the premium segment of the market – professionals who expect information, training and service when they buy a product,� says Nagtegaal. “We kick off with a team of four full-time people, and we’re negotiating with sales reps for Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. We’ve trained specialists in Benelux – these people will be happy to work for us as licensed product trainers on a freelance basis.�

The first products shipped under the The Audio Specialists BV flag will be the new Midas PRO2 and VeniceF 16 rack consoles. A new Clair Brothers speaker package plus the Outline COMPASS IMode line array system will follow. Q www.theaudiospecialists.eu

erage for [an] audience of around 3,000 assembled between the ASP building and Place du Luxembourg. For us, QSC was the logical choice.�

The resulting configuration featured 13 QSC PowerLight 3 8,000W PL380 amps to drive the PA system and monitor set-up, which included four QSC K12 active loudspeakers for front-fill.

GSF’s work on the project so impressed the parliamentary organisations that EP president Jerzy Buzek invited the company’s team to a reception at the Cabinet du PrÊsident on the 11th floor of the European Parliament, where they were officially congratulated for their work. Q www.qscaudio.com

*Please note the racing steering wheel depicted is for artistic purposes only.

Precision control at your fingertips

Britannia Row Productions deployed an extensive Outline speaker system for the fifth annual International Series American football match at Wembley Stadium in October. Twelve Butterfly arrays were each stacked four high on a pair of Outline Subtech subwoofers to handle sound reinforcement for both the entertainment provided and the inmatch commentary.

Overall control of the audio mix was handled by Roger Lindsay who has covered the event since it began in 2007. “Wembley Stadium is a difficult and reverberant acoustic space in which we have to achieve the best possible coverage across a very large area,� he said. “The Butterfly system impressed me with its smooth response – its excellent projection and even dispersion around the entire stadium.�

Britannia Row also opted for Audinate’s Dante system for audio distribution at the event. This was achieved using Dante-linked Lab.gruppen LM

Twelve Outline Butterfly arrays were installed for the October event

26 and LM 44 processors with fibre optic cabling for audio and control replacing the 2km of analogue cabling used in conduits at field level. “This was the cleanest audio distribution system we’ve ever used for an NFL game weekend,� comments Lindsay who received positive feedback from the visiting NFL production team on the smooth running of the event. Q www.audinate.com www.outline.it

QSC PowerLight 3 8000W PL380 amps were used to drive the PA system

Keeping control of high performance systems is often a complicated undertaking. No matter how large or complex the sound system however, the new LM 44 from Lake will drive it with absolute precision, and minimum effort.

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Project2_Layout 1 30/11/2011 12:13 Page 1

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© 2011 QSC Audio Products, LLC. All rights reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered trademarks of QSC Audio Products, LLCin the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries.

PSNE Dec P25-30 LiveJR_D 30/11/2011 10:01 Page 28

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www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

UNITED KINGDOM

Guns. Lots of guns DiGiCo SD7 brings wow factor to The Matrix Live at the RAH, writes Dave Robinson The Matrix Live, staged at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 23 October, was the latest in the venue’s own promoted series of classic film screenings. In what was a complex audio production, the orchestral soundtrack of the 1999 groundbreaking sci-fi thriller The Matrix was replaced by a live performance from the NDR Pops orchestra, with a DiGiCo SD7 digital mixing console employed to bring both live and pre-recorded elements together.

This sold-out performance followed three highly successful screenings of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, accompanied by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, in 2009 and 2010. However, The Matrix Live differed from the Lord of the Rings in its use of a full 5.1 surround sound system to provide a true cinematic experience, and complementing the high-definition playback of the film. And a lot more sound effects for guns and kung fu, of course…

Reading-based SFL Group supplied the audio equipment, which included the DiGiCo SD7 console used by the orchestra’s front of house engineer of choice, Holger Schwark.

“The SD7 is my favourite console for a variety of reasons,” says Schwark.

“I think it’s the most versatile, it has the most convenient mixing surface, has enough inputs and outputs and the metering is fantastic. It has all the tools I need.”

Schwark had been using an SD7 throughout Take That’s Progress Live tour this summer where, as Pet Shop Boys FOH engineer, he manned one for the band’s support set. With the 60piece orchestra to mix on The Matrix Live, as well as the other soundtrack elements, he wanted the channel count and versatility that the SD7 provided.

“The orchestral part of the film’s soundtrack was removed, which left 30 channels of the film’s dialogue, sound effects and non-orchestral music, plus a back-up soundtrack,” says SFL’s Mark Payne. “Synced to the video, these were routed through the SD7, together with the mic inputs from the orchestra. It made watching the film literally an orchestral experience.”

The PA comprised L-Acoustics line source products modelled by Payne in their proprietary SOUNDVISION 3D modelling software. The system was set up in a 5:1 format with the Left/Right part of the film source and the main orchestra being taken care of by 12 KARA per side, and the low frequencies being routed to two central hangs of four SB18 subs set in a

f

The orchestral soundtrack was replaced by a live performance from Germany’s NDR Pops orchestra

the venue. The combination of that and our experience meant that we could design the right system.”

The DiGiCo SD7 definitely helped in the ‘rightness’ of the system, allowing Schwark to concentrate on mixing the production, while his assistant took care of any niggles.

“A big advantage of the SD7 is that it is very easy to have two operators using it at the same time by duplicating layers of channels to both sides of the console,” he says. “For any show above 40 or 50 channels, it is very helpful to have a second person for things like checking signals, or listening in to certain microphones to check their sound.

We had 24 microphones for the string section alone and if I thought two or three were a little harsh, it would take a couple of minutes to listen to each one for a few seconds, in which time I would have lost contact with what was going on in the overall mix. Having an assistant who could do that for me was very useful.”

Schwark was also impressed with DiGiCo’s new SD-Racks.

“I was surprised and very pleased that using the new SD-Racks makes a notable difference in the clarity of mixing 60 open condenser mics for the orchestra. I have always liked the sound quality of the DiGiCo converters, but to

“One of the trickiest things to overcome was having the dialogue coming largely from the central speaker cluster. Ensuring that the dialogue was clear in every seat was an issue”

(L-R): Holger Schwark and Mark Payne prepare the SD7 in Reading

cardioid pattern. The centre section of the 5:1 comprised 12 small-format KIVA line source speakers positioned upstage centre above the screen. These were chosen for their natural vocal presence, seamless 100º horizontal coverage pattern and up to 15º per box inter element angle. Various other pairs of KIVA were also used on outfill and frontfill duties.

“Most of the dialogue was mixed on the central channel, but the sound effects and non-orchestral music were mixed LCR, subs and surround, as required. The orchestra itself was mixed left-right,” says Schwark.

“Sound effects are a big element in the film, so it was worth performing with a surround system. The challenge for us was that cinemas are designed expressly for showing films, so they have loudspeakers placed wherever they are needed. The Royal Albert Hall is a very different kind of space, but we achieved the same thing by placing ‘galleries’ of L-Acoustics loudspeakers at two different levels. The amount of surround sound that people experienced depended on where they were sitting, but in the majority of the seats there

was a sense of the additional space that they created in the soundtrack.”

“One of the trickiest things to overcome was having the dialogue coming largely from the central speaker cluster,” adds Payne. “Ensuring that the dialogue was clear in every seat was an issue. We did compromise with a few fills in the difficult corners, but it didn’t make any noticeable difference to the people in those seats.”

A related challenge for Schwark was that this was in essence a live classical performance, but films tend to be mixed with the dialogue at a reference level and the rest of the soundtrack accommodated around it.

“Because the audience needs to understand all the dialogue, if a character shouts it may be a little louder, but if somebody whispers it will be turned up. It means that the actual loudness of a film’s dialogue is fairly constant in the cinema. The music is often mixed in the background, to ensure the overall soundtrack stays within a certain dynamic range,” says Schwark.

“The acoustics of cinemas are as dry as possible, but in a lively concert venue

like the Albert Hall I couldn’t really turn the orchestra down – it would still be heard, without a single loudspeaker involved! So I was effectively mixing the film in reverse – ensuring that the dialogue and sound effects stayed just on top of the music enough so that they could be clearly heard, without making the overall experience a mish-mash of sound.”

“We needed to mic the orchestra to help balance all the elements of the production and add a little brightness, to give it an appropriate cinematic feel.

For this we used a range of highquality studio mics, including Neumann, Schoeps, Sennheiser and AKG.” One of the major issues faced by the audio team was that there was no chance of booking the venue for a technical rehearsal, as it is in constant use.

“I did lose a bit of sleep over that,” Payne admits. “Fortunately, as we were using the L-Acoustics system, we could model what the sound would be like in

me the new racks sound even more transparent,” he says. “I ran the session at 48k, so I am now looking forward to trying the new higher sample rates.”

He continues: “It was an enjoyable and exciting production to mix. We were making a new balance of the soundtrack without losing any of the elements, but with the emphasis on the music, because of course it was really a concert with a film.

“At the same time, people came to see it because of the film. They got sucked into the movie and tended to forget about the live performance until the end credits, when the lights came up and they all suddenly went ‘Wow!’”.

The Royal Albert Hall will next be presenting West Side Story screenings with a live orchestra as part of the films 50th anniversary celebrations between 22-24 June 2012. Q www.digiconsoles.com www.royalalberthall.com

The production was a success, despite the lack of technical rehearsal time

Project2_Layout 1 30/11/2011 12:15 Page 1

PSNE Dec P25-30 LiveJR_D 29/11/2011 18:01 Page 30

30 live APPOINTMENTS f dBTechnologies has named

Signal Audio as its distributor in Denmark, making it the first to offer the new T12 system in the country. As part of the Matrix Group, alongside Nordic Staging and Moto Audio Sales, Signal Audio has connections in the rental, installation, live and broadcast markets. www.dbtechnologies.com www.signalaudio.dk

f Jon Alkhagen has been

appointed to head both Lab.gruppen and its subsidiary Lake brand. He is now based at the company’s headquarters in Kungsbacka, Sweden. www.labgruppen.com www.lakeprocessing.com

f Thomas Mittlemann has been

named director of business development, Asia Pacific for Community Professional Loudspeakers. He previously spent eight years with the company before moving to Powersoft and Lab.gruppen. www.communitypro.com

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011 UKRAINE

K1s make it happen in Kiev Nigel Lord Fotis Sound – L-Acoustics’ Polish rental network agent – has provided a K1 WST line source system for the opening of the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, the site of the UEFA Euro 2012 Football Championship. Technical co-ordinator Vlad Voloshuk from Concert Bis in Moldova invited engineer Andrey Akhromeev to design a sound system for the event. Drawing on L-Acoustics’ SoundVision acoustic design software Akhromeev’s solution comprised 18 K1 boxes and 6 K1-SB subs per side, with side hangs of 12 K1s. “I made a few designs using different speakers and K1 seemed to be the only tool that allowed us to make this happen,” he explains.

“SOUNDVISION gave me the opportunity to prepare the system settings in advance, and L-Acoustics’ LA Network Manager afforded us very flexible control of the LA8 amplified controllers.” Infrasonic low-end content was delivered by 32 SB28 subs and the whole system was driven and powered by 16 LA-RAKs equipped with the LA8s.

“This system gave us very even coverage across the main seating area. The main hangs delivered nice, tight low-end to the very furthest seat. Vertical dispersion of the K1 is so precise that we were able to reduce unwanted reflections to a minimum, delivering a feeling of close proximity to most seats.” Q www.l-acoustics.com

The L-Acoustics system provided even coverage at the opening event

GERMANY Some 40 systems integrators and installers from Russia attended the latest Dynacord Academy, which took place in Straubing recently. With a focus on installed sound, the presentation addressed the complete mixer, loudspeaker and electronics product portfolio. The PowerMate3 was discussed with regard to its DJ function for small bar/pub installations, while DSP 600/P64 processors, DSA amplifiers and VariLine Series loudspeakers were also the subject of hands-on experience and expert advice.

“The signal-processing workshop was a highlight,” said Andreas Köstlinger, who arranged the event with Irmgard Danner. At the end of the Academy, participants visited the local beer festival. Danner said: “At the Gäubodenfest, everyone got the chance to contemplate projects with a stein of beer, some Bavarian specialties, and the sound of Cobra-4.“ Q

www.dynacord.com

On the 1st January 2012

Broadcast goes professional will be changing its name to

Institute of Professional Sound If you work in audio, sound us out at www.ips.org.uk Book now for our Training Weekend (4/5th Feb 2012 at NFTS) where we are covering OB's and comms for the Olympics, live music & PA sound with several live bands, stages and mixers.

Details on the website. Join up and get a discount.

PSNE Dec P31 LiveJRdr_D 29/11/2011 18:02 Page 31

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December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com EUROPE

Europe is on radar for Kaltman Creations Dave Robinson Kaltman Creations, the North Americabased distributor and developer of a range of RF and antenna lines, has set its sights on European and Asian markets following an “overwhelming” response to the 2011 InfoComm launch of its Invisible Waves X RF analyser.

“The exponential growth of wireless products in the US, coupled with FCC RF spectrum reallocations fuelled the need and success of the Invisible Waves RF Analyzers,” says company president Mark Kaltman. “Now, with the worldwide growth of wireless products, plus the reductions in RF spectrum due to regulatory restrictions, we find that the European and Asian pro-audio markets are gripped with the same ‘RF Space’ challenges.”

The Invisible Waves X capitalises on the successes of its predecessor by adding a suite of controls providing “world-first” RF analysis, according to Kaltmann.

Highlighting the array of new features are UFO Alert (Unidentified Frequency Objects) to warn of rogue interference, Click to Listen (listen-in to all RF space) and RF Coordinator to identify usable open RF space. Also included are RF Congestion Scale to gauge the severity of local RF, and RF Level Alert to warn when any catalogued signals fall below assigned thresholds. Other new features are an RF Event/Alarm Recorder and Logger.

“The Invisible Waves X represents a monumental leap in features and functions designed specifically for pro audio wireless,” Kaltman continues. “Where

else can you find a RF analyser that will automatically alarm with the presence of new interference, let you listen-in to your transmitters or provide a master status display of all transmissions; and still function as a true RF spectrum analyser?”

The IWx analysers are sold as complete kits which include AC adaptor/charger, antennas and a quick USB to PC connection, all enclosed in a pre-configured, laptop-sized, high-impact carrying case.

Kaltman Creations, established five years ago and based just outside Atlanta, Georgia, is the exclusive US distributor for the German manufactured test and measurement products of Aaronia. This year the company expanded its inventory by offering its own line of low-frequency antennas under the name LoWavz, as well the Invisible Waves X product. Q www.kaltmancreationsllc.com

The Invisible Waves X RF analyser ships in this rugged case

Any Stage. Any Musician. One Monitor.

EUROPE

d:fine is d:licious, say DPA winners David Davies A prize draw held during the 2011 edition of the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam saw DPA d:fine single earpiece headset mics go to sound engineers Mark Graves and Andrea Purchiaroni.

Graves – a member of the audio engineering team at St Paul’s in Ealing, London – has found the d:fine to be an ideal complement to the church’s contemporary worship style. On its first outing, he reported: “The operator was immediately able to get a very pleasing sound from it and was very enthusiastic about its ease of use and [the] quality of its output. After the service, the speaker commented that it was extremely comfortable to wear, very light, and that he hardly noticed it at all.”

Suitably impressed, the Senior Pastor has now requested to use the d:fine for his sermons.

The other d:fine headset was won

by Andrea Purchiaroni, who is chief engineer at Roman TV product company Etabeta. Q www.dpamicrophones.com

The revolutionary NEXO 45ºN12 brings all the benefits of line array technology to stage monitoring. Incorporating a number of groundbreaking technologies, the 45ºN12 provides musicians, contractors and rental companies with a single, scalable solution to all their monitoring requirements.

Alongside the obvious benefit of a ‘one box’ inventory, the 45ºN12 also delivers extraordinary directivity and consistency of coverage up to 2.5 metres back, plus very high level before feedback. And if you need more SPL and wider coverage, just lock cabinets together to create ‘monitor arrays’.

Find out more at www.nexo.fr f

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www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

BELGIUM

Twenty APEX answers As Belgium’s APEX Audio celebrates 20 years of business, PSNE presents 20 facts about the manufacturer/distributor Owner Paul Van Hees (left) and R&D director Renaud Schoonbroodt

1. APEX stands for Audio Products of Excellence.

2. APEX boss Paul Van Hees began his career in 1983 at EML Belgium (in the sales department of PA giant, EML). After three years he became sales manager and added many famous brands to the company’s product portfolio, including Nexo, Harrison Information Technology (HIT), C-audio and Amek.

3. The first APEX office was located in a former water-powered flour mill near Munsterbilzen, Belgium.

4. Paul Van Hees and Eddy Bergers started APEX NV in 1991. Eddy Bergers was an ex-employee of electrical manufacturing giant Philips Hasselt. In 1993 Paul Van Hees purchased the shares of Eddy Bergers to become the outright owner of the company.

5. Because of the questionable quality of the HIT equalisers, Van Hees and Bergers decided to design a new highquality and revolutionary equaliser for themselves, the APEX PE-133, which was the first device on the market to combine both a graphical and a parametric EQ. 6. The first PE-133s were sold to the recording studio Videaudio in

Wirtzstreet, Brussels. “It was an established company active in video and film post-production,” says Van Hees. “After a few years very prestigious customers were buying the PE-133. For example, Disneyland Paris ordered 70 PE-232 units (the stereo version of the PE-133).

It was really exciting.”

7. APEX quickly established a distribution division representing Amek mix-

ing consoles, Carver amps from the US and Mogami cables.

8. For APEX products, EMEA and Asia are now the biggest markets.

9. A most unusual success story stems from the APEX CDR-40. “It was a CD recorder from the mid-’90s, designed for recording and broadcast studios.

The Korean distributor sold a lot of them, although not for traditional recording or broadcast activities. A popular pursuit over there was/is for people to go to karaoke rooms after work and, with the CDR-40 they could take their singing efforts back home with them.

Apex sold over 500 CDR-40 devices to Korean karaoke bars.”

10. The R&D director is Renaud Schoonbroodt, who has worked for APEX since 2000. He started as a service engineer for studio, live sound and broadcast products and quickly became a project engineer on major broadcast installs in Belgium, Luxembourg and France. He has brought important broadcast features into the company’s new PA and install products: for example, synchronisable DSP cores, multiple and simultaneous PC control, and low jitter Wordclock I/O. 11. Schoonbroodt wrote his first piece of software when he was 12 years old.

12.APEX’s main product line is currently the Intelli-series. These next-generation 192kHz system management devices are designed for applications such as live sound and fixed installation.

13. “The biggest selling line in our distribution portfolio? The strength in our distribution part of APEX is the total package of brands and products we can deliver to our customers together with our service,” says Van Hees. “Our goal is to satisfy our customers’ demands and wishes in their projects. It does not matter who is the biggest.”

14. The company’s biggest single order was 30 for APEX Intelli-X processors to an Asian installation project.

15. APEX considers its greatest historical launch to be the PE-232 – the world’s first stereo paragraphic EQ. 16. Belgium is a small country in the centre of Europe, with different cultures and languages, while almost all of APEX’s customers are internationally focused.

“That makes our country very interesting to do business in,” says Van Hees.

17.Priorities for APEX in the live sound arena include improved equipment ease of use, and decrease in set-up time.

18. Seven Apex employees are actual sound engineers.

19. Budget-friendly dB-series products are made in China with a comprehensive QC system in place. Each unit undergoes further testing at the APEX premises in Belgium. The Intelli- and SL-series devices are manufactured in Belgium.

20. Belgium is famous for beer: buy APEX staff Duvel from Moortgat or the white beer Hoegaarden, and they’ll be very happy. Q www.apex-audio.be

PSNE Dec P33 Live EventsJR_D 29/11/2011 18:03 Page 33

live events 33

December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com

Live events

If you want your web address to be included in the magazine AND in the digital edition of Pro Sound News Europe for just £50 a year, please email Lianne on lianne.davey@intentmedia.co.uk for an order form

The Live Events listing is a free service. All information is provided by the companies listed and PSNE cannot be help responsible for any factual errors. To be included in the listings, please email Linda Frost at livesound@frostshome.co.uk BAND

COUNTRY MIXERS

ADLIB AUDIO Katy B Bush

UK UK

AUDIO PLUS Transmission 2011 Varsity Ski Festival Full On Ferry NYE

Czech France UK

AMP

SPEAKERS

Digidesign Profile, PM5D J Dodkin Digidesign Profile, Profile M Woodcock

-

+44 15 1486 2216 -

DiGiCo SD8, M O’Neill DiGiCo SD8, Yamaha M7CL M O’Neill DiGiCo SD8, SD8 M O’Neill

MC2 Audio MC2 Audio MC2 Audio

+44 1206 369966 Funktion One Funktion One Funktion One

BOEREMA ENGINEERING Breakfree Fesival Holland Eric Vaarzon Morel Tour Holland R&B 90’s Live Tour Holland Trinity Autumn Tour Holland Musica Argentina Tour Holland Christmas Tour Holland

M7CL, DiGiCo SD8 Yamaha, Yamaha DiGiCo SD8, DiGiCo SD8 M7CL, M7CL Yamaha, Yamaha Midas PRO2, PRO2

Delta d&b d&b MB audiosystems d&b Delta

+31 59 9671 164 Delta d&b d&b MB audiosystems d&b Delta

BRITANNIA ROW MTV European Music Bryan Adams Dave Gorman Beady Eye Will Young Kasabian High Flying Birds Jamiroquai Young Voices

Belfast Europe/UK UK Europe UK Europe UK Europe UK

XL8/Profile/PM5, PM5/Profile -,J Perpick Yamaha M7CL, T Brown - , Midas PRO6 P Hayward DiGiCo SD8, DiGiCo SD8 D Lombardi Midas XL8, Midas PRO6 P Ramsay Midas PRO6, Midas PRO6 A King Midas XL8, XL8/DiGiCo SD8 R Pope Yamaha PM1D, Midas H3000 B Bartlett

L-Acoustics LA8 L-Acoustics/LA48 L-Acoustics/LA48 d&b D12 Outline T9 d&b D12 d&b D12 d&b D12/LA8/LA48 EVP3000/Outline T9

Duran Duran

UK

Digidesign Profile, Profile K Newton

L-Acoustics LA8

+44 20 8877 3949 L-Acoustics K1/V-DOSC V-DOSC Outline Butterfly d&b M2 Outline Butterfly d&b M2 d&b M2 L-Acoustics K1 X-Line/ Outline Butterfly K1/V-DOSC

Meyer Sound Martin Audio

+44 20 8944 6777 Meyer Sound MICA Martin Audio

DiGiCo D5, Soundcraft Vi6 H Schopman Yamaha M7, Yamaha M7 I Colville Midas XL4, Midas PRO6 S Thomas Digidesign Profile, DiGiCo D5 B Bartlett Yamaha LS9, LS9 P Tame Yamaha LS9, LS9 D Roden Digidesign, Yamaha PM5D R Tombs DiGiCo SD7, Yamaha LS9 T Gilligan

Martin Audio Martin Audio Martin Audio Meyer Sound Martin Audio/Crown Martin Audio/Crown Martin Audio Martin Audio

Martin Audio W8LC Martin Audio W8LC Martin Audio W8LC Meyer Sound MICA Martin Audio Longbow Martin Audio Longbow Martin Audio W8LC Martin Audio W8LM

Yamaha LS9/32, LS9/32 Soudcraft GB8, Yamaha LS9/32, Yamaha LS9/32, Yamaha LS9/32, LS9/32 DiGiCo SD8, Yamaha PM5D

Lab.gruppen Martin Audio EV EAW EV L-Acoustics

+44 12 4382 7915 EAW/Tannoy Martin Audio EV Tour X EAW EV Tour X L-Acoustics

CAPITAL SOUND HIRE UFC 138 UK Big Reunion UK Longbow Ocean Colour Scene UK UKF Bass Culture UK Jessie J UK James UK Lee Evans UK Alan Carr UK Beverley Knight UK Imelda May UK CONCEPT AUDIO LTD Star* UK Tour Rick Parfitt Jnr Band RetrOactive Fawley Fireworks Saviours Of Soul Hooray For Hollywood EARS & EYES AB Sophie Zelmani Sarah Dawn Finer Microsoft

UK UK UK UK UK Monaco

Digidesign Profile, H3000, Yamaha PM5D

ENGINEER

T Boerema A Meijer A Meijer T Boerema A Meijer T Boerema

D Bonneau D Pringle

D Schurer M Gumbrell M Gumbrell M Gumbrell D Schurer D Schurer

Digidesign Profile, Skuggan d&b audiotechnik Digidesign Profile, DiGiCo SD9 Skuggan d&b audiotechnik Digidesign Profile, Mathias Persson d&b audiotechnik

+46 70 593 23 30 d&b audiotechnik d&b audiotechnik d&b audiotechnik

ELECTROTECH SOLUTIONS SL Herman Dune Spain RevolveR Spain Sho-Hai Spain Dorian Spain Second Spain

Yamaha M7Cl, M7CL DiGiCo D1, DiGiCo D1 Yamaha M7CL, Yamaha M7CL, M7CL DiGiCo D1, Yamaha M7CL

S Gilbert M Sena -

Amcron Amcron Amcron -

+34 96 122 0357 Martin Audio W8C Meyer Sound MICA Martin Audio W8C Martin Audio W8C Meyer Sound CQ

EXCESS BV Baroeg Open Air Bird Jazz Tour Blue Flamingo Zero Emission Racing Digital Playground

Holland Holland Holland Holland Holland

Soundcraft, Soundcraft DiGiCo, Soundcraft Soundcraft, Soundcraft Soundcraft, Soundcraft Soundcraft, Soundcraft

O de Visser O de Visser E Kin R Barnouw P Heijmen

Crown Crown Crown Crown Crown

+31 10 2012 111 JBL VRX JBL SRX JBL PRX JBL SRX JBL SRX

JOHN HENRY’S LTD BBC TV – Later With Jools Sky Arts – Jo Whiley Miss World Magic FM ITV – This Morning BBC Radio 1 T4 Music Days

UK UK UK UK UK UK UK

- , Profile/Vi6 - , PM5D/Profile Vi6, PM5D Profile, PM5D - , LS9/M7 PM5D, Profile - , M7 Profile

A Gregory D Videl A Gregory T Hammond D Chester S Panos T Hammong

QSC QSC QSC QSC QSC QSC QSC

+44 20 7609 9818 EAW/Clair Clair EAW/K-Array EAW/Clair Radian EAW/Clair Clair

KO SOUND Hammerfall Iced Earth Miami Vibes My Morning Jacket Dimmu Borgir Lacuna Coil

Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium

- , Yamaha PM5D Yamaha PM5D, H3000 DiGiCo SD9, Yamaha PM5D Midas H3000, Yamaha PM5D Midas H3000, Yamaha PM5D Soundcraft MH2, MH3

F Vandeputte F Vandeputte R Kuipers P Janssens R Kuipers P Janssens

Lab.gruppen Powersoft Lab.gruppen Lab.gruppen Powersoft Lab.gruppen

+32 14 427067 SA AV27/SA AB18 SA AV27/SA AB18 KO T12/SA AB18 SA AV27/SA AB18 SA AV27/SA AB18 SA C29/KO SB312

UK UK UK

Yamaha LS9, Soundcraft, Midas, -

N Sagar C Rawling C Rawling

QSC QSC QSC

UK

DiGiCo SD8, -

T Whittingham QSC

UK

Midas, Midas

C Rawling

MAC SOUND Jungle Book York Ensemble Season White Christmas The Musical Peter Pan The Musical The Nutcracker

Sweden Sweden Sweden

QSC

+44 16 1969 8311 Martin Audio Martin Audio Martin Audio Line Array Martin Audio Line Array Martin Audio Line Array

James are currently touring the UK with a Meyer Sound setup

BAND

COUNTRY MIXERS

ENGINEER

AMP

SPEAKERS

MAR AUDIO Lisa Ekdahl Pernilla Andersson Anna Ternheim

Europe Sweden Europe

L Nyberg L Nyberg L Nyberg

-

-

+46 70 7271 007 - , AH iLive R-77 - , AH iLive T-80 - , DiGiCo SD8-24

MILAN ACOUSTICA Hair, The Musical Spain Original Glenn Miller Orch. Spain ‘A Tu Vera’ CMTV Spain Chic Spain Lamentaciones de Jeremias Spain

Midas PRO6, Midas Venice Midas Venice, Midas Venice Cadac R-Type, Cadac R-Type Yamaha PM5D, M7CL Yamaha 02R96, LS9 -

d&b d&b -

+34 91 3801 010 d&b Q-Series Meyer Sound Meyer Sound d&b Q-Series Meyer Sound

MPM Dany Boon Scorpions

France France

-,Yamaha PM5DRH, PM5DRH -

Lab.gruppen Lab.gruppen

+33 387 343 232 Adamson Y-10/Spektrix Adamson E15

PRODUCTION HOUSE Belfast Music Week MTV Belfast Halloween Events Mrs Brown’s Boys IRFU Rugby

Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland

PRO9, D-Show -,Profile, Profile Profile, PRO9 Profilem, A&H Wizard

Lab.gruppen Lab.gruppen Lab.gruppen Meyer Sound Lab.gruppen

+44 28 9079 8999 dV-DOSC V-DOSC ARCS MILO ARCS

PUXLEY LTD Show of Hands

UK

Midas Pro2C, DiGiCo SD9 C Puxley

d&b D12

+44 1392 364900 d&b Q

RIDER AUDIO AND MEDIA Beats 010 Holland Xnoizz Flevo Festival Holland Fashion Show Holland Spijkenisse Festival Holland Auto Trek Holland Arrival Sinterklaas Holland

Yamaha M7CL-48, S Groeneveld Yamaha PM3500-48, M7CL-48 P v Baasbank Mackie CFX12 MkII, S Groeneveld Yamaha PM3500-48, M7CL48 P v Baasbank Mackie CFX12 MkII, P v Pelt Mackie CFX12 MkII, S Groeneveld

LA8 LA8 LA LA8 LA LA

+31 78 6742 919 L-AcousticsKUDO/SB218 L-AcousticsKUDO/SB218 L-Acoustics 112P L-AcousticsKUDO/SB218 L-Acoustics 112P L-Acoustics 112P

SELV GELUIDSTECHNIEK MixTuur Belgium Tricycle Belgium 30CC Belgium AppeltuinJazz Belgium Feest Don Bosco Haacht Belgium Brothers Of Mine/Intiem Belgium

Midas, Soundcraft Midas, Soundcraft Midas, Soundcraft Midas, Soundcraft Midas, Soundcraft Midas, Soundcraft

Vleugels+Deboes Vleugels+Deboes Vleugels+Deboes Vleugels+Deboes Vleugels+Deboes Vleugels+Deboes

Coda Audio Coda Audio Coda Audio Coda Audio Coda Audio Coda Audio

+32 16 4433 33 Coda Audio Coda Audio Coda Audio Coda Audio Coda Audio Coda Audio

SKAN PA HIRE LTD James Blunt Celtic Thunder Crosby & Nash James Morrison Elbow Sunseeker AGM Def Leppard

Heritage, PM5D PM5D/DSP5D, Vi6 SD7, Heritage PM5D, Profile Profile, Profile M7CL, -,-

M Hornby S MacInnes K Madigan N Ingram D Evans N Pepper R McHugh

D12 LA8 D12 D12 D12

+44 16 3552 1010 d&b J dV-DOSC d&b J d&b C/Q d&b J

DiGiCo SDTen, Yamaha M7CL Yamaha M7CL, DiGiCo SD8, DiGiCo D5T, Yamaha DM1000 DiGoCo SD8, DiGiCo SD8

R Biddulph S King R McNeil C Coxhead C Coxhead

d&b EV d&b d&b d&b

+44 18 9543 2995 d&b Crown d&b d&b d&b

ULTRASONICS AUDIO SERVICES LTD The Blues Band UK Yamaha Digital, -

P Allen

d&b

+44 14 7220 0015 d&b

YORKSHIRE AUDIO Roy Wood

K Birtwhistle

d&b D12

+44 11 3277 0952 d&b C4/B2

Europe US Europe UK Europe Madeira UK

SYSTEM SOUND UK LTD Mercedes UK Swiss Court UK Peugeot UK The Death Of Klinghoffer UK Google Sales Ireland

UK

Vi6, M7CL

Hesky Lewis Monty Willis Gillespie

PSNE Dec P34-38 InstallJRdr_D 29/11/2011 18:04 Page 34

34 installation

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

finstallation news SOUNDBITES f Community loudspeakers have been installed in the new 340-seat concert auditorium at the Korundi House of Culture, situated in the Lapland capital of Rovaniemi. The specification and installation of the auditorium’s sound system was handled by Vantaa-based Starlike Oy. The resulting design features left and right clusters of two Community iBOX iHP1566s per side, with the central cluster utilising two iHP1266s. Two 18” i118S subwoofers extend the low frequency power of the system. www.communitypro.com www.starlike.fi

DENMARK

Historic Danish theatre enters the surround age Odense Theatre opts for Meyer Sound-based system, writes David Davies One of Denmark’s oldest and most distinguished dramatic venues, Odense Theatre, has been equipped with a new Meyer Sound-based surround audio system by installation com pany Stouenborg.

The project was carried out in a rapid timescale of just 14 days in order to meet the demands of the theatre’s pre-Christmas schedule.

The new set-up utilises QLab software to mix to a maximum of 34 sends.

Audio is carried to 34 Meyer Sound MM4-XP loudspeakers, augmented by a central cluster of MINA speakers –

f Lab.gruppen has announced the winners of its Distributor of the Year Awards 2011. France’s DV2 Audio took the honour for Europe, with Rivera International of India and Hills SVL of Australia triumphing in the Far East and Asia Rim categories respectively.

also from Meyer Sound. Low-end is optimised by a trio of the US-based manufacturer’s USW-1P compact subwoofers.

Stouenborg’s other responsibilities ahead of the 7 November handover included the installation of more than 2km of cable.

Headquartered in Kastrup, Stouenborg is run by acclaimed lighting designer Kasper Stouenborg, whose team includes sound designer Anders Jørgensen and production management specialist Stine Skot. Q The new Meyer Sound setup was installed in just 14 days

www.meyersound.com www.stouenborg.dk

UNITED KINGDOM Sysco AV has been awarded the contract for installing the entire AV system at the new Mary Rose Museum currently under construction in Portsmouth’s historic dockyard. Sysco designed and developed the hardware for the AV displays which provide vivid insights into life onboard a 16th century warship. The system uses video and multichannel audio to create soundscapes and interactives designed to bring alive the stories of those who served and died on the ship. The maritime theme is continued at a second visitor attraction for which Sysco has been

www.labgruppen.com

contracted to supply the AV system. Southampton’s new Sea City (pictured) –

f Swansea-based Total Sound

opening in 2012 at a total cost of £15 million (€17.5 million) – will be home to

Solutions has provided a JBL PA system to Bluestone, a short break holiday resort in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Four JBL Control 25s suspended from a Powerdrive ceiling mount in the cafeteria provide 360º sound; and a further 10 Control 25s are mounted across the facility’s adventure room (its main attraction). Some 32 JBL8183 in-ceiling speakers relay sound to the corridors, foyer, and ancillary rooms.

three galleries, two permanent and one temporary, with Sysco responsible for the design, engineering and installation of all the AV and interactive elements.

FRANCE

www.jblpro.com

Yamaha rides out for La Rodia complex

f Good vibes in Bad Kissingen:

David Davies

Soundhouse has equipped the Max Littmann Saal concert hall in Bad Kissingen, Germany, with L-Acoustics KIVA WST modular line source technology, installing a left/right system of eight KIVAs and two KILO units per side, driven by LA8 amplified controllers. “The system is just right in size, appearance and its excellent scalability for the sophisticated ambience of the Max Littmann Hall,” said the venue’s Ulf Seyring.

The newly-opened La Rodia entertainment complex in Besançon, eastern France, features two concert halls, a lobby bar, two studios and information/multimedia resources.

The audio system in the 2,000sqm venue was designed by local company ATES Thise, which had previously worked with the site’s management team on another project.

“Despite the initial discussions about La Rodia’s audio system taking place three years ago, we advised them from the beginning to have an alldigital system,” said Pascal Lacroix of IZO, the ATES subsidiary which supplied the system.

www.l-acoustics.com www.soundhouse.com

Q

www.syscoav.co.uk

In the larger, 900-capacity hall ATES selected a Yamaha PM5D for FOH

For the larger, 900-capacity hall, ATES selected a Yamaha PM5D at front of house and an M7CL48-ES for monitors. Six pairs of AD8HR head amp/AD convertors, an NAI48-ES EtherSound interface and SB168-ES stage boxes round out a suitably versatile system.

The smaller hall possesses a capacity of 320 and features an M7CL48-ES console for both FOH and monitors, with further SB168-ES stage boxes.

Both halls include Nexo PS15 monitors, while the studios each feature an 02R96VCM mixing console.

Managed by an Auvitran AVM500ES controller, an EtherSound star topology network links all of the spaces in La Rodia, with multiple connection points located in each room.

Reflecting on the selection of Yamaha consoles, Lacroix observed: “The PM5D and M7CL are regarded as absolutely essential, so many rental companies and venues have them and virtually all sound technicians know them. They were the only choice.” Q www.yamahacommercialaudioeurope

PSNE Dec P34-38 InstallJRdr_D 30/11/2011 10:10 Page 35

December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com

installation 35

Bosch’s new LS1-OC100E Hemi-directional speaker design features in the facility

UNITED KINGDOM

Bosch makes a splash in Basildon David Davies A much-anticipated £38 million (€44.5 million) regional sports facility in Basildon, Essex, that will play host to training sessions prior to London 2012 features an extensive specification of more than 150 Bosch loudspeakers – including the manufacturer’s new Hemi-directional Loudspeaker (LS1OC100E).

PEL Services supplied and installed public address and sound equipment for a variety of locations around the Everyone Active Basildon Sporting Village site.

Five Hemi-directional Loudspeakers – each of which utilises advanced filtering and a combination of 14 drivers – were selected to provide coverage in the Sports Hall, Gym Hall and Gym Exercise Hall.

“We really liked the Hemi-directional Loudspeaker – we hadn’t used it before, but had seen demos of it in Germany and were impressed.

It is an excellent loudspeaker and very few of them are required to cover a large area,” commented PEL Services’ engineering director, Vic Swain.

Other Bosch loudspeakers to be installed across the site included 115 LBC 3086/41 recessed ceiling speakers, five LBC 3941/11 projection speakers, seven LBC 3018/00 cabinets, three LBC 3481/12 horn speakers and four LBC 3210/00 line array units – among other equipment.

Bosch MD Paul Wong said that the company was proud that its products’ “innovation and innate functionality” had made them suitable for the eagerly awaited new complex. Q www.bosch.com

UNITED KINGDOM Sound Technology recently supplied About Sound with JBL, Crown, BSS Audio and AKG components for an installation at the 14th century New College Oxford chapel. Some 100 JBL satellite speakers have been locked onto a custom bracket and mounted behind the pews on oak-stained plywood.The speakers are processed and controlled within a BSS Soundweb London digital processing environment, comprising a BLU 100 (with a fixed configuration of 12 inputs and 8 outputs), two BLU-BOB breakout boxes providing necessary output expansion, and BLU-8 wall-mount controller for selecting basic presets.

A number of task-specific microphones have been selected, including AKG C747 miniature shotgun mics (with shockmount/adapters) fixed at the lectern positions, and an AKG GN 155 Set Gooseneck Podium Mic positioned in the altar area. An AKG DMS 700 digital wireless system completes the core specification. Q

www.aboutsound.co.uk www.soundtech.co.uk

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36 installation

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

ITALY

Piccolo tunes up Prestige Italian theatre installs Riedel RockNet, Yamaha consoles and d&b sound system, writes Mike Clark Milan’s Piccolo Theatre has completed stage one of a cutting-edge audio upgrade featuring a Riedel RockNet all-digital audio distribution system, three Yamaha consoles (DM2000 VCM, DM1000 VCM and LS9-32), a DME64N and a d&b sound reinforcement system.

The Piccolo – famed for staging Italian and foreign plays – comprises three theatres: the best-known is the Strehler, which takes its name from Giorgio Strehler, one of the theatre’s 1947 founders and maestro of Italian theatre. The others are the Grassi (named after the other co-founder of the Piccolo) and the Studio.

With the exception of the LS9-32 installed in the Grassi, the Strehler hosts the entire new set-up, developed by Piccolo technicians in co-operation with technical staff from Bologna system integrator Molpass and support for audio simulation from d&b audiotechnik Italia.

Molpass audio specialist Alessandro Bertoni explains: “Using RockNet between the DM2000 and DME64 means that the entire signal path is digital – from the Riedel RN.101.IO preamps on stage, where the microphones are connected, to the RN.332.DO digital output interface that feeds an AES/EBU signal to the six d&b D6 and six D12 power amplifiers’ digital inputs.”

The realisation of a system with ring architecture guarantees digital signal transport redundancy at device and network level, thus ensuring the system’s operation, even in the event of a fault at any point in the ring.

The DM2000 is normally used on FOH chores and the DM1000 for monitor mixing, audio spatialisation or other requirements of specific productions.

The DME64N, fitted with RockNet cards, currently handles delay and routing, but will probably soon be used for its effects facilities, since routing can be done directly via RockNet’s real-time low-latency

f

in maintenance, and the system can be expanded and upgraded without modifying the basic infrastructure. Riedel’s RockNet makes it possile to add a ‘branch’ to the network for an additional console dedicated to recording or broadcast purposes, for example, or to install additional loudspeaker enclosures in other parts of the theatre for effects or particular productions (four ‘spare’ Q7 and four Q10 were supplied for this purpose).

Thanks to its Ethernet tunneling function, the RockNet infrastructure can tunnel up to 5MBit/s of external data within the system, so the hardware (amps, DME64 and RockNet) can be remote controlled from a computer connected to any of the Riedel units without a parallel Ethernet network being required.

Bertoni concludes: “I think there are very few theatres in Italy that are equipped with a sound reinforcement system that has been designed and chosen according to an accurate simulation and integrated in a set-up such as this, with an alldigital signal path.” Q www.dbaudio.com www.riedel.net

The sound reinforcement system consists of d&b audiotechnik D6 and D12 cabinets

Teenyweeny full range systems. Live.

www.dbaudio.com

network, and delay settings controlled directly on the amplifiers. Bertoni continues: “The advantages of this type of set-up include the elimination of needless signal conversions (which in the case of an all-analogue set-up would be at least six), reducing them to two, thus conserving original sonic quality, and a drastic reduction of system latency – from almost 20 milliseconds with an allanalogue set-up to slightly over five.

Routing can be modified in real time without disconnecting even one cable – with just a few clicks of a mouse – and the entire network can be monitored and problems located immediately via software.”

Integration with the Digital Mixing Engine also gave numerous advantages of a practical nature, as cabling was simplified, eliminating the use of several sections of multicore and replacing them with single runs of Cat5 cable. Being totally resistant to interference, the Cat5 also greatly streamlined installation, as existing cable ducts were used. It also eliminated the risk of faulty operation due to physical damage to multi-pin connectors being connected and disconnected with a certain frequency, as is the case with analogue set-ups.

From its position in the control room under the balcony, the console can be rapidly moved out behind the last row of stall seating when there is live music on stage, or down to the centre of the stalls for production rehearsals.

Time is saved during productions thanks to the system’s versatility and the ease with which it can be adapted to production needs, there’s also a great saving

www.yamahaproaudio.com

The E6 loudspeaker is probably as big as a laptop. A miniature all the same, it has a patented rotatable coaxial horn assembly. Intended for mobile situations as a stand-alone multifunctional full range system, or for integration into complex applications. While it sounds distinctively bigger than it is, it remains neutral, clear, transparent and intelligible even at high sound pressure levels. As with all the little systems in the d&b E-Series.

The DM2000 is one of three Yamaha consoles that has been installed in the theatre

PSNE Dec P34-38 InstallJRdr_D 30/11/2011 10:17 Page 37

installation 37

December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com UNITED KINGDOM

Hear the sea American soundscaper Bill Fontana’s latest sound installation transformed London’s Euston Road with the elemental sounds of Chesil Beach. Simon Duff takes a dip Last month noise from the traffic on Euston Road in central London was replaced by the sound of waves breaking onto pebbles.

The installation entitled White Sound: An urban seascape was a commissioned work by American sound artist Bill Fontana at the Wellcome Collection. For three weeks, a live audio feed of the Dorset shoreline at Chesil Beach was played out of loudspeakers mounted onto the façade of the Wellcome Trust building. Sounds of crashing waves enveloped the building and the surrounding public, creating a new acoustic

f

Four Neumann KMR82i rifle microphones were placed on Chesil Beach…

architecture. Autograph Sound’s Scott George worked on the engineering and realisation of the project.

To create White Sound, microphones were located on the beach; the resulting audio was then transported to the Wellcome Trust building on Euston Road, and delivered to the listening area using spatial panning to create a duet between the traffic and the sounds of the sea. This threw up a couple of challenges, mainly concerning the transport of the live audio from such a remote location.

At Chesil Beach there were four Neumann KMR82i rifle microphones – two focused at the high tide mark and two at the low – mounted on a tripod made of steel scaffold located around 2km along the beach from the Portland end. George comments: “The microphones were kitted with Rycote windjammers and duck rain covers. These do a great job of screening the massive amount of wind noise in this wild location and offer a degree of protection to the microphones.” From a position around 25m from low tide mark the microphone signal was carried on analogue cable 100m down the back of the beach to a hut used by Chesil Beach Visitors Centre for marine observation.

At this point the signal was fed into a Yamaha DME24 mix engine that allowed George remote mixing capabilities and complete control of the signal from the preamplifier stage.

From the DME24 the signal fed to a Comrex Access Rack IP codec that compressed the signals for streaming over the internet. At this point there were various routers and media converters with the result that the signal traveled 2km down the beach on single mode fibre and on to the Internet at the Chesil Beach Visitors Centre. George explains: “This also caused some problems as the visitors centre is on the edge of the Weymouth exchange which is yet to be upgraded by BT. Therefore in order to get the bandwidth required we had to bond together standard business ADSL lines which also gave us a certain amount of redundancy. The signal was then happily streamed using AAC compression across the internet.”

The microphones were installed weeks before the piece went live so George could monitor the input signal’s dynamic range with changing weather and tide conditions. “The DME 24 allowed us to address any issues with the original microphone signals before being compressed by the codec. The entire piece could be monitored and controlled remotely through a secure internet tunnel, which was essential in this type of installation. I was able to adjust the installation from my iPhone anywhere with a 3G internet connection.”

At the Wellcome Trust the system was much more straightforward. An internet

connection provided by the Wellcome Trust IT team enabled George to access the signal from Chesil Beach. This was fed directly into a Meyer Sound LCS Matrix 3 audio show control system to enable dynamics control and EQ as well as special panning from the dynamic matrix. The panning was designed to mimic the movement of the sea so the perception from the street was of a constantly changing environment.

Ten speakers were mounted on the outside of the Wellcome Collection Building all of which were Meyer Sound.

These consisted of four UPJunior-1P positioned above the main entrance, four UPJ1P in the light wells at basement level and two UPA-1P near a ventilation shaft. All of the speakers were fitted with custom rain covers manufactured by Autograph Sound and installed on custom rigging designed for listed buildings.

George adds: “The Meyer speakers have an amazingly flat frequency response that allowed the piece to accurately represent the signal from the beach. The system proved to be reliable with only one outage due to a break in and some senseless vandalism of the visitors centre. This was quickly rectified once the routers were picked up off the floor dusted off and plugged back in.”

Euston Road can be a noisy, congested uncomfortably loud environment but the hypnotic seascape sound evoked a

…While 10 Meyer Sound speakers brought the beach to Euston Road

natural activity that moves towards a deeper time, a continuous cycle carried over thousands of years. White Sound raised questions about the understanding of stillness and movement, in both urban and natural environments. Q www.autograph.co.uk www.comrex.com www.meyersound.com www.neumann.com www.resoundings.org www.rycote.com www.wellcomecollection.org www.yamahacommercialaudio.com

The man himself outside the Wellcome Collection Building

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38 installation SOUNDBITES f In conjunction with installer VCP Services and electrical contractor NG Bailey, Ateis UK has supplied an Ateis IDA VA networked PA/VA system to The American Express Community Football Stadium – the new home of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club. The 38-zone deployment is driven via Ateis SPA series amplifiers, with LAP G2 networked audio processors handling control and DSP. “We opted for Ateis due to its outstanding track record, reliability, and expert support and service back-up,” said VCP Services MD Vince Clamp. www.ateis.co.uk

f Described by its designer – AV

consultant Richard Northwood – as being “as near one can get to hi-fi in a performance space as large as this”, the newly installed PA/VA system at Rangers’ Ibrox stadium is said to deliver exactly the same SPL to every seat. The home ground of the Scottish Premier League Champions has been fitted with two clusters of Nexo GEO S12 line array modules in each of the two shorter stands and four clusters of S12 modules and RS18 sub-bass units in the two longer stands. In total, there are just over 100 Nexo speaker cabinets in the stadium. www.nexo.fr

f Audinate has announced

another licensee of its Dante networking technology. South Korea-based PA and installed sound manufacturer Inter-M – whose solutions are to be found in stadiums, performing arts centres, HoWs and more – will manufacture a line of products featuring Dante. “Inter-M is expanding rapidly around the world,” said Lee Ellison, CEO of Audinate. “Inter-M has an aggressive plan to connect its wide variety of products into an integrated system using Dante.” www.audinate.com

.

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011 UNITED KINGDOM

Allen & Heath, Void for new late-night venue David Davies A new private members’ late night venue opening this December features a sound/lighting design by Dave Parry (Fabric, Matter) and audio equipment from the likes of Allen & Heath and Void Acoustics.

Set to bring an element of Las Vegas luxury to Merseyside, the strikingly designed PlayGround occupies a 3,500-plus square foot space at the Hilton Liverpool Hotel on Thomas Steers Way. It is the brainchild of The Ability Group’s George Panayiotou, who remarked: “I’ve been coming to Liverpool for

quite some time and thought that this vibrant and cultural city needed a new late-night venue that was worthy of it.”

As well as an extensive lighting/ video spec that includes a huge 1.7m (H) x 3m (W) LCD screen and Robe intelligent scanners, the core technical infrastructure features an Allen & Heath 4D mixer, two Pioneer CDJ-2000 CD players, and a main dancefloor loudspeaker configuration from Void Acoustics (six Airtens and four subs). Q Playground will bring Las Vegas luxury to Liverpool

www.allen-heath.com www.voidaudio.com

POLAND

New audio setup for Polish university David Davies Tommex Zebrowscy Sp. J. has designed, supplied and installed new audio systems for the Kotłownia – the conference and exhibition hall of The Tadeusz Kosciuszko Cracow University of Technology (Politechnika Krakowska).

For the 220-seat conference room, the key priorities were to ensure high intelligibility and precise pattern control for the delegate area. To satisfy these requirements, Tommex installed two Community ENTASYS three-way, fullrange column line array loudspeaker systems, supplemented by a low-profile Community VLF208 subwoofer.

The system is driven by a Dynacord DSA 8410 amplifier, equipped with an RCM810 IRIS-Net module for remote control and supervision, while process-

UNITED KINGDOM “Somewhere Down the Crazy River”? Capital Pleasure Boats (CPBS) has taken an eminently logical position on the need to maintain parity with the latest developments in club sound by

ing is provided by a Dynacord DSP 600.

A high quality, wide coverage background music and speech system was the order of the day for the gallery, where Tommex installed an Audica Professional MICROseries configuration featuring a MICROzone preamp/controller, a MICROplus 4-channel power amplifier, and eight MICROline loudspeakers. An Audica IR receiver was also installed in the gallery to allow the MICROzone to be remote-controlled from within the room.

Both systems are fed by a Dynacord CMS compact mix, allowing for a common signal to both or for each system to be deployed independently. Q

upgrading three of its four River

www.audicapro.co.uk

www.lmcaudio.co.uk

Thames ‘club boats’ to include new Martin Audio loudspeakers and Yamaha amplifiers. Facilitated

by LMC Audio, the updates – which will extend to encompass CPBS’s remaining private hire boat in the new year – pair Martin Audio Blackline+ series speakers and controllers with Yamaha P series amplification. Scott Neicho, a partner at CPBS, paid tribute to the service offered by LMC and said that the boat operator was “so impressed with the difference in quality”. Q

www.cpbs.co.uk

www.communitypro.com

www.martin-audio.com

www.tommex.com.pl

www.yamahacommercialaudio.com

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technology feature 39

December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com WORLD

Monitoring the trends Stage monitoring has evolved considerably in recent years, and artists are now more demanding in terms of what they expect to hear on stage. IEMs are often at the top of the technical rider, though the past 12 months has seen the launch of several new wedges. Paul Watson looks at the options

JBL’s VRX915M floor monitor was recently used on Justin Bieber’s My World tour

Wedges or monitors? We’ve all heard that one many times before, and the answer’s still the same: it depends. And that’s not a cop-out; it’s true. Yes, a good IEM system can deliver a multitude of accurate, isolated or semi-isolated individual mixes and, depending on your moulds, can sound incredible, yet in some cases, a good old-fashioned wedge is still the preferred choice on many stages. The question is, why?

“IEMs are great, once the artist has learned mic technique, because it’s such an intimate relationship between the engineer and the artist, whereas wedges give you that bit more freedom, and provide fewer constraints,” says Fred Jackson, whose monitor career spans more than 30 years, and has seen him cross paths with acts as diverse as Bruce Springsteen and New Kids on the Block.

For the past eight years, he has worked on ITV’s The X Factor, and now project manages the live shows, which consumes around 10 months of his time each year.

“We have a pretty hostile artist environment on X Factor, and we obviously use a lot [112 channels] of IEMs, as it’s a necessary tool in that environment.

Many of the acts have never worked with them prior, of course, so it’s a brand new thing for them to deal with, and it can prove to be a steep learning curve.”

f

Jackson uses Sennheiser EM 2050 transmitters with EK 2000 receivers on X Factor, but for the most part of his career he has been a ‘wedge man’. He is a big fan of d&b’s M2 wedge, which he refers to as ‘the real deal’, and says that although passive wedges have come on in leaps and bounds, biamping is costly, and the M2 is, in his opinion, still the standard.

The M2 is a two-way actively driven stage monitor, and was designed

Nexo’s new 45˚N-12 monitor has caused quite a stir on the touring circuit with engineers and rental companies alike. Canegreen/SSE recently purchased 16 units, and Canegreen’s Yan Stile says a number of engineers have been particularly impressed.

“We find the N-12 a very versatile and adaptable piece of kit,” he says.

“People are often suspicious of new products, but Nexo is a good brand and

fours, to provide a consistent audio sound field right across the stage.

Evidently, Wibberley, who has been using two NXAMPs to drive four 45˚N12s, seems to agree.

“Because of the way the units couple, the N-12s act as a single source, and they sound absolutely fantastic,” he reveals. “The problem with a lot of wedges is that they can sound too clean and hi-fi, but these have a bark to them.

“I haven’t done a tour in the past four years where the artist hasn’t spent half the show 60ft in front of the PA; and that goes against every rule of audio in terms of getting great sound, so using in-ears has been the only way forward” to offer a realistic artist listening area, starting directly above the cabinet and reaching quite far upstage. It has a maximum SPL of 143dB, and uses both channels of the d&b D12 amplifier, which was configured for the M2.

“I don’t like wedges with heavy processing as it gets in the way – foldbacks are there to get reference on stage, but lots of processed boxes don’t do that,” Jackson insists. “I need it to cut through the room with a lot of natural bite, and the M2 does that really well.”

it’s a very good box. I need a monitor to be used in all sorts of applications, and this one’s very popular. Chris Wibberley [monitor engineer, Ray Davies] absolutely loves it, because you can walk into it and walk out of it.”

Nexo says its 45˚N-12 has been engineered to be loud, but that its linear response allows for higher gain before feedback than is often achievable with conventional monitors. Part of the attraction to engineers, the manufacturer claims, is that 45˚N-12s can be coupled in groups of twos, threes or

They’re still rock ’n’ roll, but they sound like a wedge doing what it is supposed to do.”

EAW has recently added the MW8 (8”) and MW10 (10”) to its MicroWedge Series. Both models are smaller than the existing MW12 and MW15, but, according to the manufacturer, offer volume levels and voicing that rival full-size, industry-standard, 12” and 15” monitors.

Both units pair their woofers with a 3” diaphragm coaxially-mounted HF compression driver, which provides 90º horizontal coverage.

“Our MW8 and MW10 are a direct result of feedback from our key users in the market,” explains EAW’s senior director of engineering, Jeff Rocha. “We wanted to create smaller versions of our MW12 and MW15 without sacrificing any of the performance features.”

Another new wedge on the block, so to speak, is D.A.S. Audio’s Road series, which will replace its existing SM and SML series stage monitors, the mainstays of the company’s product line for a number of years.

The Road 12A (12”) and 15A (15”) are compact and low profile, which the manufacturer says helps eliminate the visual obstruction between the audience and the artist, which is commonly caused by larger monitors. They both incorporate the latest in Class D power amplification, offering 550W for the low frequency and 220W for the highs; and signal processing is handled in the digital domain with an advanced DSP that includes FIR filters for constant phase response. Two EQ presets are also available: ‘monitor’ and ‘main’, which adjusts the frequency response for use on a pole mount as a multipurpose box.

JBL has seen its VRX, SRX and PRX series used worldwide, from music clubs and theatres, to major concerts and sports complexes. The VRX915M, which was recently used on Justin f

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40 technology feature

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

f Bieber’s My World tour, is a compact

and lightweight 15” touring-class floor monitor which is, like D.A.S.’s Road series, designed for minimal obstruction of audience sightlines. It can be biamped or used passively; and has a 4” (voice-coil) diameter compression driver with a neodymium magnet. It has a maximum SPL of 127dB and a 70Hz-20kHz frequency response.

JBL claims its SRX712M was designed with one goal: to build the lightest, smallest, loudest and clearest stage monitor possible. It has the same frequency response as the VRX915M but is a 12” monitor, with a 3” (diaphragm) neodymium magnet compression driver. The SRX712M (and JBL PRX512 monitor), is used extensively

by Detroit-based rental company, EMCEE Audio Production.

“Our JBL loudspeakers have been put through a wide series of tests in the field, and have always brought out the best in our clients,” insists co-owner Gerald Wonch. “We aren’t working with platinum-selling artists, but all musicians want to put on their best performance at a gig; with JBL speakers, we just do our thing and have fun with our clients. Providing great solutions is our business and our success is synonymous with the quality equipment that Harman offers.”

Another option So stage monitors are popular across the board, no doubt – but what about IEM usage? Matt Napier has just returned from a six-month stint working monitors for Kylie on her Aphrodite tour, and is particularly experienced in working with pop bands (other monitoring credits include Madonna, The Spice Girls and Blue). He says IEMs are the only way to go when it comes to that genre of music.

“Blue was the first boy band I worked with, and we had [d&b] M2 wedges with d&b sidefills. Because two of the band used in-ears and two didn’t, we constantly had issues with volumes on stage, because a pop band moves around so much,” he explains.

“I haven’t done a tour in the past four years where the artist hasn’t spent half the show 60ft in front of the PA; and that goes against every rule of audio in terms of getting great sound, so using in-ears has been the only way forward.”

Napier first experimented with Shure IEMs in 1998 ‘without much success’, but when working as senior sound engineer at the Millennium Dome (pre-O2 Arena days) on a massive Peter Gabriel production, he

Nexo 45°N-12 stage monitors were used at this year’s Fairport’s Cropredy Convention

which, he insists, isn’t what the artists are looking for. Sennheiser’s G3 IEMs are also proving popular, and are currently being used by Muse, The Wanted, The Saturdays, The Prodigy and N-Dubz.

“Pop artists like small slim packs that are discreet, and to be honest, pack size is everything. Sennheiser’s offering is good all round; it’s a decent pack size, nice and light, and it sounds really good – the RF is fantastic, in fact,” he adds. “Believe it or not, some pop artists would rather have a tiny pack and wouldn’t care if the RF kept coming in and out, than opt for a bigger pack with perfect RF. That’s pop for you!”

Napier has not always worked in pop, however – or solely with IEMs. He tells an interesting story of how, when working with Beverley Knight, he needed to bring the volume of the band down on stage and used wedges to boost her vocals.

“We had a situation where the band was too loud on stage and she didn’t want to go on in-ears,” he says. “We put the band on in-ears and decided

Matt Napier is a fan of Sennheiser’s 2000 Series as it’s a “good trade-off”

their current tour. It includes an integrated dbx compressor, an equaliser with EQ presets, and in-ear-optimised binaural room simulations, which AKG says provides high-performance signal processing flexibility for a more natural listening experience.

“IEMs are great, once the artist has learned mic technique, because it’s such an intimate relationship between the engineer and the artist, whereas wedges give you that bit more freedom, and provide fewer constraints” used AKG IEMs to provide mixes to 78 different performers.

These days, Napier uses Sennheiser’s 2000 Series, which is one of the most popular systems on the market – users include Take That, Black Eyed Peas, Kings of Leon and George Michael. Napier says it’s “a good trade off”, as he finds some of the other manufacturers’ packs too big and heavy,

to keep her on wedges, which is probably the opposite way to how the manufacturers pitch using them, but ultimately it gave us more control on stage. You have to be able to control what the artist wants to hear – it’s absolutely key.”

AKG’s IVM 4 IEM has been around for a few years now, and is being used

by YouTube sensation 2CELLOS on

Reinhard Mitter of AKG’s Croatian distributor AVC says the act “continues to praise the supreme performance of their IVM 4 monitoring system”.

AKG also introduced its IVM 4500 IEM system at this year’s PLASA show, and the manufacturer hopes it will be shipping by Winter NAMM in January 2012. IVM 4500 is said to offer highend radio electronic signals and a man-

ual radio signal attenuator for more RF dynamic, and will work with several new bands: 1, 3, 4, and 9. It also has an ultra-linear frequency response and dual mode option for individual mix, and the manufacturer says its quick frequency change functions makes the monitor engineer’s job easier.

“It sets a new standard in audio quality and radio performance,” says Wolfgang Fritz, product marketing manager – tour sound at AKG. “With the launch of the IVM 4500 IEM, AKG adds another wireless system to the continually growing arsenal of wireless systems on the market. It will be a groundbreaking system to the touring industry as the search for the ultimate monitoring sound continues.”

And that’s the goal all round, of course: to achieve the ultimate monitoring sound. Overall, it seems that although some of the older wedges are still proving to be some of the best, manufacturers are making headway in terms of stage monitoring technology;

and there’s no doubt that giant strides are also being made in IEM world.

Sennheiser’s Dave Wooster, who is a FOH engineer by trade and never normally works monitors, looked after Leona Lewis’ in-ear mix at the recent Michael Jackson tribute in Cardiff. He said it was easy because “it was just like mixing frontof house”; and that makes sense. It certainly ties in with what Napier said: that many artists are looking to hear all the nuances in their stage mixes that they’d never have dreamed of asking for years ago.Using in-ears, it seems, it can be done.

Napier contrasts that perfectly, in fact, as he recalls the simplicity of a saxophonist’s request some years back during a soundcheck: “He came up to me and blew the sax right in my ear, then said: ‘I want it to sound like that’.” Q www.akg.com www.dasaudio.com www.eaw.com www.jblpro.com www.nexo-sa.com www.sennheiser.co.uk

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business feature 41

December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com EUROPE

Two dimensions good, three dimensions better?

3D movies sparked the realisation that better sound was needed in cinemas. But the format has lost some of its lustre. Gez Kahan assess the implications for cinema audio

The Grand Cinema Digiplex in Bucharest, Romania, was the first Iosono-equipped commercial movie theatre in Europe

Last time we visited cinema sound, Avatar was still playing in theatres. It had landed a clutch of Oscars (and even more nominations), grossed well over $2 billion (€1.5 billion) to break nearly every box office record going, and 3D was the next big thing. Sure enough, moviegoers happily lashed out an extra couple of bucks for special glasses to get the full cinematic effect not only of Avatar but of a host of other films such as Shrek Forever After and Toy Story 3D. And post houses did a brisk trade in rendering unto 3D films which had originally been shot using conventional camera systems.

Meanwhile, even the movie moguls – who generally reach for their accountants the moment the phrase ‘sound quality’ is mentioned – had recognised that the audio wasn’t quite keeping up.

A flurry of activity began, with studios dispatching their sound departments to evaluate new systems, and audio manufacturers and software developers racing to implement the next 3Dsurround format.

After every lash, of course, comes a backlash. Critics began noticing that 2D was brighter: 3D won on effects, but delivered less visual information.

Cash-strapped punters became tired of shelling out for 3D specs, and tired of wearing them. The financial promise

f

of 3D had been that it would make more money from fewer people, but some analysts pondered whether in fact it wasn’t making less money from fewer people.

The retreat isn’t total. Movies are still being released (and filmed) in 3D, and 3D Blu-ray versions, along with the

specialises in 3D audio solutions.

Iosono operates in several markets – themed entertainment, live events, museums and sound research among them – but cinema still comes top of its list. “Cinema is pretty important for us, especially at the moment with a lot of installations coming up.”

riums. Last month the company also announced its first 3D cinema sound mix for a Hollywood motion picture.

Immortals, a 3D spectacular set in ancient Greece, was mixed for Iosono’s ‘object-based’ format – the mix being rendered in real time when played in a movie theatre with an Iosono processor

“There’s been a great leap towards 3D video. And so people say they want 3D audio too. But what is 3D audio? Nobody really knows” home cinema systems to play them, are still selling. But no one now expects 3D to become the new dominant format.

So where does that leave cinema audio?

Can you hear me over there..?

The argument for 3D audio hasn’t changed. Remember, cinema is not the only application – neither for three dimensional audio nor video. Arguably theme parks and video games, where participants want to feel they’re part of the action, are more suited to it than a genre where comedy and dramatic irony – both spectator sports – play such a large role. But anyway, just because not all movies need 3D sound doesn’t mean none do.

“We have a broad field of applications,” says Katja Lehmann, junior marketing manager for Iosono, which

Underlining its commitment, Iosono has teamed up with Ahnert Feistel Media Group (AFMG), the creator of EASE room simulation software, to help deliver the aural 3D experience to movie audiences. One of the first installations to benefit from the tie up was the Grand Cinema Digiplex in Bucharest, Romania, the first Iosono-equipped commercial movie theatre in Europe.

Not only does Iosono’s collaboration with AFMG make it easier to design systems – the Bucharest multiplex’s acoustics had been accurately simulated before building work on the auditorium had even started – but the companies also promise that it will be possible to deliver identical audio experiences across entire rooms.

Iosono is not only targeting audito-

– by Wildfire Post Production Studios.

Perhaps the most remarkable part of the whole exercise was the speed with which is was accomplished: it took fewer than five days, including time to set up a custom portable speaker system, an Iosono

Spatial Audio Workstation, and provide basic training for re-recording engineers, Leslie Shatz and Brian Slack, and Wildfire’s support staff.

2D or not 2D? Whether to push 3D or not, thinks Ted Laverty, director of worldwide licensing (broadcast) for DTS, is a question for someone else. DTS began in cinema sound (Steven Spielberg championed its process for Jurassic Park) but hived off its cinema and consumer sides to Beaufort (now known as Datasat) three years ago. The company now concentrates on its Blu-ray business – Laverty reckons that DTS’s HD Master Audio 7.1 system is used on more than 80% of Blu-ray Discs – and on its new Neo:X system. f

DTS’s Neo:X system improves the audio and enhances the viewer’s experience

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42 business feature “There’s been a great leap towards 3D video,” Laverty says. “And so people say they want 3D audio too.

But what is 3D audio? Nobody really knows what it is.”

That doesn’t overly concern him.

“We do see that there will be an appetite for height information – ie, 11.1 surround,” he says, “but the way that develops is really in the hands of the creators and the end users. We’re building motorways. It’s up to the consumers to decide where they want to go with them.” In terms of DTS’s offering, that means giving people the tools to play audio in 9.1 or 11.1 on their home cinema systems.

The Neo:X system uses a proprietary algorithm to convert stereo, 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 input into 9.1 or 11.1 for playback of movies, games or music.

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

“We need a standard that you either meet or you don’t. Not the current standard with a 10dB window – I could hit that with a dart”

f

Meyer Sound EXP has been installed in CinemaxX theatres across Germany

Whether that’s used for true 3D audio or just for a more immersive surround sound is beside the point. The important thing, Laverty believes, is that it improves the audio, which in itself will enhance the viewer’s experience.

“As the audio content becomes richer and more immersive, viewers get a much stronger emotional attachment – stronger than they’d get just from a shiny pristine picture. Audio matters – it’s better audio that gives better pictures.”

Meyer Sound is similarly placing an each-way bet. “We’re monitoring

the development in 3D audio closely,” says Steve Shurtz, technology director for Meyer Sound’s EXP systems, “and our surround loudspeakers are designed to meet the needs of 3D including superior phase coherence and wide frequency response. We’re also working closely with companies driving this movement, such as Barco and Dolby. With Meyer Sound EXP systems, we can create an ideal 3D sound field for post-production facilities and cinemas to make sure they can fully support the 3D experience.”

New experiences The company had signalled its intention to become a major player in cinema audio with the launch of its Cinema Experience line in 2009, renamed EXP a year ago. It has consistently added to its product line and its dedicated cinema team since then, the latest appointment being the engineer Miles Rogers, who has joined as applications development manager.

“Ever since we launched EXP, it’s always been a priority for us to have a dedicated team experienced in calibrating cinemas to work closely with the customers to ensure their success,” says Shurtz.

“It’s extremely important for us that each EXP installation meets SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers) standards. Our work with the customer starts with project development to define the needs of an install, and through to implementation, final tuning and verification.”

Meyer is not solely looking at cinema installations. “We’re targeting both theatres and post-production facilities,” Shurtz adds. “Post facilities that have upgraded to Meyer Sound EXP include Storm Studios in Norway, De Lane Lea in London, Skywalker Sound, 20th Century Fox, American Zoetrope, f

JBL announced its new 3730 three-way ScreenArray loudspeaker at CineEurope

Project4_Layout 1 30/11/2011 18:32 Page 1

Great dance club design begins and ends with massive, captivating sound that is felt as much as it is heard. The Marquis Dance Club Series brings the passion that JBL engineers have for sound directly to the dance floor, saturating the entire environment with high energy, irresistible movement and an unforgettable experience.

Marquis Dance Club Series comprises eight powerful multi-way systems and subwoofer models that combine JBL’s extraordinary sound, proven reliability and breakthrough technology with striking architectural design and versatile configurability. With the Marquis Dance Club Series, JBL Professional takes a giant step onto the dance floor. jblpro.com/Marquis

© 2011 Harman International Industries, Incorporated

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f Wildfire Post Production Studios,

The committee’s brief, according to the AES website, is to ‘study current audio reproduction standards for Film and Television, which may benefit from revision in the light of current knowledge, reproduction systems and listening space acoustics.’ It will also address compatibility with Blu-ray and 3D TV. “Floyd Toole wants to get to the point where the sound mix that comes out of any room is good for anything,” says McCarty. “We need to apply AES knowledge of room and system design.” It sounds simple, especially given that everything – room, seating and soundtrack – is a known entity.

“We need a standard that you either meet or you don’t,” he adds. “Not the current standard with a 10dB window – I could hit that with a dart.”

and Pianella in the US. In exhibition, CinemaxX theatres in Denmark and Germany, Solaris Kino in Estonia, and KINTEX in South Korea are just a few examples.”

Home cinema is less of a focus, though Shurtz says: “EXP equipment is certainly capable for high-end residential cinema systems.” Smaller rooms are definitely on the agenda, however, with the introduction this year of the compact Acheron Designer loudspeaker, intended for screening rooms, small commercial movie theatres, and private theatres.

“And our work continues to diversify and expand,” Shurtz says. “This year, we have worked with film festivals like the Telluride in Colorado and TIFF in Toronto, and multipurpose venues that include a cinema component in their offerings.”

Making a living The voice of experience

Ted Laverty, DTS: “What is 3D audio? Nobody really knows”

The grand old man of cinema speakers is still JBL, with a massive product line designed to cover (pun intended) any size of auditorium. At the top end, it has

recently reinforced its range with ScreenArray 5742 (four-way) and 5732 (three-way) high power speaker systems.

Steve Shurtz, Meyer Sound: smaller rooms are on the agenda

Among its users is Marcus Theatres, one of America’s top chains, whose selling point for its UltraView

cinemas is ‘a level of excitement that can never be experienced at home’.

Indeed there are few homes capable of accommodating a screen 75ft (23m) wide and 32ft (nearly 10m) tall. Nor, for that matter, would most residential properties be able to take the 5742, 9ft tall and with a maximum SPL of 136dB continuous/142dB peak. At least, not without warning the neighbours first.

It won’t be as easy as it sounds, he warns. “It will be complicated by the blockheads who run the theatre chains, who are happy to spend $600 per channel on 1930s technology.”

To be fair to the blockheads, they have a few other things on their minds – principally making a living. Just as pubs can no longer live by beer alone, and petrol stations make nothing on fuel but survive by flogging Ginsters pies and Mars Bars to the passing motorists, so popcorn sales actually

"There are various new multichannel sound options being introduced, some that are referred to as '3D sound’. Multichannel systems are not specifically designed for 3D, but these systems all have potential as a new sound experience in cinemas"

3D Sound for cinemas, events and entertainment Grand Cinema Digiplex in Bucharest, Romania

IOSONO is the most advanced multi-dimensional sound system. It greatly enhances the movie experience for our customers at Grand Cinema Digiplex and this is just what we are looking for.

Ali Ergun Ergen, CEO Baneasa Developments

www.iosono-sound.com

At the other end of the spectrum, JBL announced its new 3730 three-way ScreenArray loudspeaker at CineEurope 2011, as a cost-effective solution for small to medium-sized cinemas. And, of course, the entire range is designed to work with 3D as well as conventional screenings.

“3D has become a normal part of the cinema experience,” Chuck Goodsell, director of cinema, JBL Professional, “and 3D technology will continue to develop as a permanent element of the movie-going experience.”

And 3D sound? “There are various new multichannel sound options being introduced, some that are referred to as ‘3D sound’,” Goodsell says.

“Multichannel systems are not specifically designed for 3D, but these systems all have potential as a new sound experience in cinemas.”

Talks about talkies Sadly, the one area in which there’s been little progress made is in defining standards. SMPTE has a committee, but it has yet to give a definitive pronouncement. AES has now stepped into the frame with a new formative technical committee: Audio for Film and Television. The committee is being led

by Brian McCarty, a Hollywood sound technician, with engineering guidance being provided by acoustics consultant Dr Floyd Toole.

‘matter more to cinema owners than sound quality.

The box office grosses might boggle the mind, but so do the production budgets. In other words, people are always looking to cut costs – and ’twas ever thus.

“The 24-frame standard is the minimum for continuous viewing,” McCarty says. “That’s why it was chosen all those years ago – to save film.”

Now, though, he sees the potential for digital audio to up its game.

“Audio is currently using just 9% of the available bandwidth,” he says.

“People are now talking about increasing frame rates up to 60 and 70, which is quite achievable. That would mean we could do excellent audio, and we wouldn’t need processing any more – just a basic spec.”

In the end, no matter how good the audio coming out of the post rooms, the cinema experience will be governed by the systems in theatres. Whether their owners choose to upgrade is less likely to be driven by 3D per se than the competitive edge they’d gain from delivering better, more immersive, sound.

Otherwise they’re going to have to sell a lot more popcorn. Q www.dts.com www.iosono-sound.com www.jblpro.com www.meyersound.com www.smpte.org

PSNE Dec p45,47 feature 3JRdr_PSNE_April_P_Ribbons 30/11/2011 10:35 Page 45

review of the year 45

December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com WORLD

2011:

In like a lion, out like a quieter lion

If you hid under the duvet this year to avoid any bad news, here’s cheery old Kevin Hilton with a look back over the past 12 months of events and stories as they affected the pro-sound market

A blip in live feeds bought IP into the spotlight at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest

Being partly associated with the entertainment industry has given the pro-audio sector some insulation against the vicissitudes that take their toll on other businesses. While those in music recording, broadcasting, installation and live touring might have seen themselves as operating in a nice little bubble, economic realities were never far away. They came a great deal closer during 2011 as world markets feared double-dip recessions and the eurozone teetered on the verge.

Despite this, the 2011 PSNLive survey (as reported in PSNE July) showed a positive attitude among many of those who took part. Approximately half of the hire companies contacted were expecting the number of paid rental days each year to increase but there were the concerns and complaints common to all prosound sectors that clients expect more for the same money or less.

The fact that 95% of manufacturers specialising in live sound were confident their “activities” – although whether this does in fact mean sales is not clear – would increase is another sign there is money and some belief out there.

David Davies’ conclusion that touring companies are “upbeat about the present but slightly apprehensive about

f

the future” could apply to most of the sectors covered by PSNE, with the almost certain exception of music recording, which has been more than slightly apprehensive about times to come for a while. The revolution brought by digital downloads and subsequent decline of the established structure of the record biz – artist records album, album sells loads of

With more events in the schedule critical mass was going to be reached sometime and in the UK this year, as reported by PSNE’s sibling title Music Week, that happened with a high proportion of newer and smaller festivals being cancelled. The logical conclusion was that this would have a devastating effect on British live sound companies – who says journalists are always

system, Midas made a debut sale of its PRO3 to the Rambert Dance Company (both PSNE January) and new Italian rental firm All Access started up with a Martin Audio MLA rig (May).

Collaboration was a trend in this sector, with Belgian companies Flashlight/APR and DEE Sound & Light forming a closer working relationship to jointly offer sound, lighting,

“Live sound companies across Europe were busy and building up their stock. Peak Hire became the first UK operation to buy EAW’s KF740 system, Midas made a debut sale of its PRO3 to the Rambert Dance Company and new Italian rental firm All Access started up with a Martin Audio MLA rig” copies, artist tours to promote album and might actually make some more money from touring – has been positive for the live market.

Nowadays bands release their latest work knowing that the tour is what is going to bring in the cash. The stadium touring market is cyclical, depending on which of the bands big enough to fill gargantuan venues is active in a particular year, but festivals have become a highly successful way of showcasing name, upcoming and cult acts at one go.

looking for bad news? – but charged with the task of finding the gloom, Rob Speight did not discover any rental operations that had been affected (PSNE September). It seems not all the events would have definitely booked contractors, and if they had, the only loss would have been work. The real losers were more likely to be traders and burger flippers.

Certainly live sound companies across Europe were busy and building up their stock. Peak Hire became the first UK operation to buy EAW’s KF740

backline and rigging equipment, while manufacturers Turbosound, Lab.gruppen, Lake and Audinate agreed to develop systems based on Dante networking.

A sign of both how quickly conditions can change and how contradictory analysis can be was shown by the September edition front page carrying a story about a report warning more audiovisual companies were at the risk of failure.

Business intelligence group Plimsoll surveyed 499 companies, 141 of which it awarded ‘danger status’, with another 167 seen as prime targets for takeovers.

In the broadcast sector the thorny issue of advertising as a way of making money in a fragmented and fragmenting media world was still high on the agenda. A survey taken at NAB 2011 by the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers (IABM) showed that the recession had not gone away – certainly not in the US – with the result that broadcasters were cutting back on procurement and expecting suppliers to give maximum value for money.

Ongoing investment While this reality cannot be denied or ignored, broadcasters are continuing to invest, either refurbishing their existing centres or building new complexes. PSNE February looked at current and forthcoming big installations; Keith Watson, marketing director at Soundcraft Studer, observed that although broadcast was badly hit two years ago, worse than other audio markets, it was making a notably recovery.

Genelec notched up sales to RTL in Luxembourg, Belgian public broadcaster RTBF and Swedish TV, while Pro Sieben Sat 1 group, TV4 of Sweden, TSR in Switzerland, France 3, ORF in Austria and Germany’s ARD, SWR and ZDF were all building to lesser or greater extents. f

Project1_Layout 1 24/10/2011 09:54 Page 1

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PSNE Dec p45,47 feature 3JRdr_PSNE_April_P_Ribbons 29/11/2011 18:09 Page 47

review of the year 47

December 2011 www.prosoundnewseurope.com

f The big one as far as Britain is con-

cerned was MediaCityUK, the muchheralded self-contained broadcast and film town built on old industrial land in the Salford Quays area of Greater Manchester. The commercial studios block was handed over by systems integrator TSL at the end of July and the BBC was soon producing programmes from the HD, 5.1 TV studios, which feature Calrec Audio Apollo consoles.

Studer Vista 9 have gone into the Philharmonic and multipurpose audio studios, while the Swiss manufacturer’s OnAir 3000 desks – along with VCS automation and DELEC intercom – have been installed at the dedicated BBC buildings for Radio 5 Live and Audio & Music.

There is ambivalence about this new development. The scale and ambition cannot be denied but although private companies including ITV and SIS are a firm part of it, there is still unease over a public service broadcaster renting facilities there, with the accompanying pressure put on staff to move up from London. Still, when the sun glints on the Manchester Ship Canal, the place looks pretty good.

Networking trends The notable and noticeable trend for both TV and radio broadcasting was the increasing use of IP and RF networking for distribution, as shown by the BBC’s coverage of its Big Weekend Festival (June). Despite increased confidence in new technologies like IP, doubts remain.

These must have been reinforced by the incident during this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Germany and featured audio equipment from Stagetec and Riedel.

Intercom has been moving towards IP over the past 10 years, driven by companies like Riedel and Trilogy. For Eurovision host broadcaster NDR used Riedel commentary and comms systems, with CCP-1116 commentary control panels integrated with Artist digital matrix intercom connected to a MediorNet signal distribution processing network using MADI. Commentators’ feeds were lost during the live first semi-final; Riedel took responsibility for the fault, with a corrupted MADI interface the likely cause. Subsequent coverage was free from problems.

On the road The outside broadcast market continues to look healthy, with ever-bigger HD trucks – all sporting sizeable sound areas with digital consoles – going on the road. Among the biggest OBs of the year was the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, which gave the UK a Bank Holiday although probably did not take the population’s mind off hard economics as much as might have been hoped.

Just about every OB company in the UK was involved in some shape or form.

On the equipment front the event was notable for the involvement of Arena Television’s OB14, the first British TV scanner to feature a Lawo desk (a 56fader mc²66, as reported in PSNE April). SIS LIVE provided the main facilities for host broadcaster the BBC, with leading broadcasters from around the world on site using OB units and flyaways to tailor their own coverage.

Frustratingly for technician journalist,

The BBC moved some of its production to MediaCityUK in 2011 where its studios feature Calrec Apollo consoles

a directive from Clarence House – the office of father of the groom Prince Charles – meant that many contractors, including SIS LIVE, were not allowed to talk about what they did. So, as far as we’re concerned, the whole world imagined the wedding and were in fact staring at a blank screen for most of the day.

If it did take place, then the Royal Wedding illustrated the crucial role

The pro audio sector most used to changing fortunes and uncertainty is music recording. While record companies are still working out how to cohabit with download sites and the Digital Economy Act went under judicial review (April), those studios looked at different ways to stay in business.

Peter Gabriel’s SSL-using Real World went the consolidation route,

(Avid) System 5 console and Pro Tools 8 HD3 (January). Back in the UK the recording studio most people have heard of, Abbey Road, reached its 80th birthday and refurbished its Studio Two. And, as our lead story states, the studio remains in safe hands, so Universal tells us.

The music sector was hit particularly hard by two events that were

“The outside broadcast market continues to look healthy, with ever-bigger HD trucks – all sporting sizeable sound areas with digital consoles – going on the road” wireless technology – radio microphones, in-ear monitoring and wireless cameras – play in large-scale broadcasts these days. This only made radio mic manufacturers, hire companies and operators in the PMSE (programme makers and special events) sector across Europe even more pessimistic about what frequencies will be available to them after analogue TV spectrum is sold off and redistributed.

Some countries, such as Italy, are already dealing with new allocations, but the UK is bracing itself for what happens after the 2012 London Olympics and the final switch off.

Industry groups such as BEIRG (British Entertainment Industry Radio Group) have been wrangling with UK regulator Ofcom over this since 2006 and while some headway has been made, there is still concern that there will be insufficient spectrum for PMSE and a higher chance of interference.

The whole story took an unexpected twist during September when it was revealed that Equiniti, the company appointed by Ofcom to administer the compensation programme for owners of supposedly obsolete radio mic systems, was selling some equipment back into the market (PSNE October). The industry reacted in horror, particularly manufacturers who had been hoping that sales would pick up after two years of users not knowing what to buy for the best.

transferring equipment into its main Millside Studios and Big Room facilities, along with a new edit room, from other spaces. Olympic in west London is one of many historic UK studios that has closed but its spirit may live on now its SSL 4080G+ has been installed in Plus XXX in France (February).

Residential studios are a rare breed these days but the flame is still being carried by Op’us, which opened in Northern France, with a Euphonix

unforeseen and completely un connected with the business. The employees and production processes of Audio-Technica, Sony, D&M Holdings and Yamaha, along with other Japanese manufacturers, were seriously affected by the earthquake that struck Japan in March (reported in PSNE April). The important fact is that the majority of people working for the companies were accounted for but the repercussions on the supply

chain were still being felt as the year went on.

Sony was also affected by the London riots in August (reported September).

Sony DADC’s CD and vinyl stock was destroyed when its warehouse in Enfield was targeted by arsonists as people took to the streets. Similar losses were borne by a number of independent labels.

All of which might appear to make for a grim year at worst and a downbeat one at best. But pro audio always has its quirks and there were enough to lighten the mood. Prime among these was the flute duet between Jethro Tull’s leader and chief nutcase Ian Anderson, who was on the ground in Russia, and Colonel Catherine Coleman up in the International Space Station. They played Bach’s Bourrée in E minor, which was recorded and released as an online video, as well as featuring in Anderson’s live show in the town of Perm, both marking the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human in space on 12 April 1961.

And Anderson’s sign-off on the video probably gives us the best advice as we look with some trepidation towards 2012: “Go safely.” Q

Op’us studio opened in Northern France with a Euphonix (Avid) System 5 console and Pro Tools 8 HD3

PSNE Dec P48 HitherJRdr_PSNE_June_P_Hither 29/11/2011 18:11 Page 48

48 hither & dither EXPOS & EVENTS 2012 International CES 10-13 January Las Vegas, US

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

Hither & porker The world of grenache, gambling and gammon, through the eyes of PSNE Please send all contributions for possible publication to david.robinson@intentmedia.co.uk

www.cesweb.org

BETT 11-14 January London, UK

Astute floorplan fans will have spotted the amusing

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happenstance at last month’s BVE

CUE2012 16-18 January Rotterdam, Netherlands

North event in Manchester. As shown, SADiE

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was located next to Wendy’s

NAMM Show 19-22 January Anaheim, US

Broadcast Services. And who did PR for

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MIDEM 28 January-1 February Cannes, France www.midem.org

the show? None other than Another night of poker, organised by Oliver Morley of Bigger Boat Distribution during the Music

Bubble &

Production Show, became a truly international affair. Just like on late night telly. Overall victor

Squeak’s Sadie

this time around was Tube-Tech’s John Petersen (centre) of Denmark with Adrien Rodriguez of

and Wendy

France’s Perfect Analog (left) second and German mastering engineer Stefan Heger (right) third

Integrated Systems Europe 31 January-2 February Amsterdam, Netherlands

Aw, bless. Just when you thought iPod accessories

www.iseurope.org

couldn’t get any more inventive, along

BVE 14-16 February London, UK

comes Speakal with the – wait for it – iHog docking

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station speaker system. Available in

CABSAT MENA 28 February-1March Dubai, UAE

white as well as pink, the iHog gives you up to 10 hours of rechargeable

www.cabsat.com

The ARC Show 29 February-1 March London, UK www.thearcshow.com

45th AES Conference 1-4 March Helsinki, Finland www.aes.org

Digital Signage Expo 6-9 March Los Angeles, US www.digitalsignageexpo.net

CeBIT 6-10 March Hannover, Germany www.cebit.de

2012 Media Summit 7-8 March New York, US www.media-summit.com

battery life, over

We thought Antares made Auto-Tune software, not wine. However, reports suggest

25W of sound, and

that after a few bottles of this crispy Chilean white, everyone will be pitch-perfect.

no crackling. Oink!

Or it’ll seem that way, as you’ll be too drunk to notice

Pro Sound News Europe www.prosoundnewseurope.com vol 26 no 12 December 2011 Editor: Dave Robinson, david.robinson@intentmedia.co.uk Managing Editor: Joanne Ruddock, jo.ruddock@intentmedia.co.uk Head of Design and Production: Adam Butler Editorial Production Manager: Dawn Boultwood European Correspondents: Mike Clark (Italy), Marc Maes (Belgium/Holland), Phil Ward (UK), Mel Lambert (USA) UK Contributors: David Davies, Simon Duff, Jim Evans, Lin Frost, Kevin Hilton, Gez Kahan, Nigel Lord, Rob Speight, Francis Rumsey, Paul Watson, Russ Hepworth-Sawyer, Phil Harding, Ken Blair, Marnix Bosman, Franck Ernould Digital Content Manager: Tim Frost, tim.frost@intentmedia.co.uk Sales Manager: General Nick, nick.beck@intentmedia.co.uk Accounts Manager: Stephen O’Sullivan, stephen.osullivan@intentmedia.co.uk Classified Sales Executive: Call the team! Senior Production Executive: Alistair Taylor Studio Bookings Editor: Lianne Davey Publisher: Steve Connolly, steve.connolly@intentmedia.co.uk Managing Director: Stuart Dinsey Editorial and Advertising offices: Pro Sound News Europe, Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road London, N1 8LN. Editorial: +44 20 7226 7246 Sales: +44 20 7354 6000 Press releases to: psnenews@intentmedia.co.uk NO CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTIONS ENQUIRIES TO THIS OFFICE. Circulation and Subscription enquiries: Intent Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF, UK. Subscriptions: Tel: +44 (0)1858 438786 Subscribe online at www.subscription.co.uk/cc/pm/mag1 Pro Sound News Europe is published 12 times a year by Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House,

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Queens Road, Ashford, Kent, TN24 8HH ISSN: 0269-4735.

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products and services directory 49

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50 interview

www.prosoundnewseurope.com December 2011

He writes the songs... though Logic suggests he does otherwise Photo: Dave Robinson

Rupert Hine

own material, and they were just puppets on television. Of course The Beatles changed all that.

Today we have this extraordinary connectivity across the planet. We can listen to anything at any time. As confusing as that obviously is we do have the potential to tune into more desirous music.

Our difficulty is the management of that: how do we rise above that mass of interference, and have our music recognised as something of quality?”

Is it this sheer abundance of ‘channels’ that’s getting in the way?

“Well, in theory the internet is liberating because you don’t have to ‘convince’ anyone before you can show that you’ve got something to say. Whereas if we try to use whatever’s left of the record industry, it’s hopeless. It seems permanently tied into the idea that A&R doesn’t exist, and the choices available to find artists don’t exist. Everything on Island Records had to go before Chris Blackwell, and therefore the label was a fantastic mirror of his taste. Even if something wasn’t his cup of tea, he knew if it was important and relevant. That idea of creative filtering cannot happen in companies that are ruled by shareholders.

“You need to invest, even in acts as significant as Radiohead. Their first album, Pablo Honey, didn’t illustrate what was to come. In today’s industry, Radiohead’s career simply couldn’t have happened. The company I’ve set up, Auditorius, will try to find people who are doing something interesting and exciting.”

Can you still stretch technology to breaking point like we used to?

“Well, I definitely feel I can stretch the studio to its limits, but only because I ignore as much new

Interview by Phil Ward

f

In November, musician and co-founder of the original Record Producers Guild Rupert Hine was awarded a Sound Fellowship at the annual APRS lunch in London, adding his name to the exclusive roster of industry pioneers honoured in this way since 2007. (See story p12.)His name will forever be associated with thinking, innovative and creative rock and pop music spanning over 35 years (Kevin Ayres, Howard Jones, Tina Turner, Bob Geldof) as well as credible initiatives such as the BBC’s 1990 One World project and crucial groundwork in the establishment of record production as a recognised art form. He’s now back in the UK following heart surgery last year, having spent much time in the US, and continues to exude optimism for the industry he loves.

Are you now based in the UK? “It’s rather peculiar. I came over here a year ago on a three-week trip, and while I was here I had to undergo a quadruple heart by-pass…”

Good Lord…

“Good Lord, indeed. I’ve been the same weight and in the same good health since I was 16. It was completely out of the blue. So I wasn’t allowed to fly back to LA for several months. At the same time

various projects in Europe took off, and actually became more interesting than what I’d been doing in California. In fact, I still haven’t been back!”

But you still have property over there?

“Oh yes, there’s still the house in Hollywood, and I will go back to resolve certain things. But I’ve enjoyed being in England. Even prior to the decade in the States I was in France for 10 years, so it’s my first time in Blighty for two decades.”

And how does our music culture look to the well-travelled ex-pat record producer?

“It’s now entirely driven by television. What’s left of the record industry is peopled by those who monitor these shows. The TV is the A&R department. That’s where to find instant acts to fill this quarter’s expectations to the shareholders.

“There’s been no initiative on the industry side to explore and develop talented new writers.

Everything really worthwhile begins with writers.

That’s why I’ve begun to explore this avenue with my own publishing company.

“It’s extraordinary, but the arc of creativity over these 50 years is almost complete: it’s never felt so much like 1962. There were no acts of real interest then, just singers. Nobody wrote their

So the legacy of Steve Jobs means something to you – putting creativity at the top of the technology agenda?

“Oh yes, absolutely, a shining example. He made sure, sometimes in the face of unbelievable opposition and always in the face of massive competition, that he made the products that he most wanted to have, and that to me is the key.

Everybody should live by that.

“The software that most appeals to me is the software you can mess with in ways that you couldn’t explain in the user manual. Omnisphere would be the best current example: it’s not built to emulate things accurately, it’s there for you to play with in the sandbox. It helps you make sense out of the amount of control we have over audio.

“I made the album Immunity by giving myself just four things to use, even though by then I had my own studio and was surrounded by 50-odd sound-making things. So, one Minimoog, one Prophet V, a piano and a guitar – and I didn’t use the guitar!”

Do you think a project like One World could happen today?

“I’d like to think it could. It involved 26 countries putting out our documentary as part of a week of programmes devoted to environmental issues – One World, One Voice. We went to nearly all of them to create the music. It was non-stop, with a film crew as well as the audio crew trying to weave together a video narrative. There were 56 minutes of music. There was a lot of ‘mid’-production, not post, in transit with us in a Jumbo Jet taking up rows of seats with battery-powered DAT machines on our laps. I had a battery-powered mixer linking them all, and I’d be cueing various segments and

“You need to invest, even in acts as significant as Radiohead. Their first album, Pablo Honey, didn’t illustrate what was to come. In today’s industry, Radiohead’s career simply couldn’t have happened” stuff as possible! Although I do exist completely in the world of software, and I do take new things on, my biggest creative leap forward was in the early ’80s, during the transition from triggers to MIDI. It changed everything, and yet before that we had these delightfully clumsy ways of trying to sync everything. Most of the great sounds you got happened when all these tin cans and bits of string went wrong!

“The best song you can write is a song that only you could write, and that principle applies to recording and production too. You can’t just sit in the saddle of Apple’s Logic and do everything that Logic tells you. That said, I was always a Logic guy over Pro Tools. I felt Pro Tools came from basically an engineering mindset, whereas writers and arrangers like me belonged naturally in Logic – not least because we started in MIDI.”

trying to work out how they would intertwine.

They were created by segues from one piece to the next to give the feeling on one continuous piece, but in reality it took some ingenious continuity.”

What’s next?

“I’ve been working on the online project called YouBloom, at the original behest of Bob Geldof, to encourage songwriting. It’s about the writing, not the singing, and I’ve already signed one of the artists. It does foster the more artistic, creative side of things rather than the ‘craft’. I make a distinction between art and craft: the ‘craft’ is something you can do incredibly well, with great technical abilities but, actually, nothing to say; if you’ve got something to say you don’t have to be technically brilliant but you are the artist, you are the mind with ideas to communicate.” Q

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Project3_Layout 1 30/11/2011 15:00 Page 1

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