Audio Media November 2014

No. 287 z November 2014

www.audiomedia.com

Mastering the art The techniques and technologies to succeed in mastering p22 IN THIS ISSUE SHOW

NEWS

FINAL

CUT

The highlights from AES and PLASA London

STUDIO

PROFILE

We take a look around all four studios in London’s RAK complex

p6

Behind the scenes of new film Kingsman: The p20 Secret Service

p26

TECH

FOCUS

Headphones

p28

WELCOME

Meet the team “The monitors are an integral part of any listening room, almost as important as the ears of the engineer.”

Managing Editor – Jo Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com Deputy Editor – Jake Young jyoung@nbmedia.com Commercial Director – Darrell Carter dcarter@nbmedia.com Account Manager – Karma Bertelsen kbertelsen@nbmedia.com Production Executive – Jason Dowie jdowie@nbmedia.com Designer – Jat Garcha jgarcha@nbmedia.com Press releases to: ukpressreleases@nbmedia.com © NewBay Media 2014. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners.

Audio Media is published by NewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England.

Editorial tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6002 Sales tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6000 Audio Media ISSN number: ISSN 0960-7471 (Print) Circulation & Subscription enquiries Tel: +44 (0)1580 883848 email: audiomedia.subscriptions@c-cms.com Printed by Pensord Press Ltd

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I

t’s been another busy month for trade shows, with AES returning to LA after 12 years, and PLASA looking to build on its move to east London last year – find out about the latest product launches from both shows starting on page 6.

There seemed to be an air of positivity on both sides of the Atlantic. According to AES, the 137th gathering was ‘officially the best attended West Coast convention in AES history’, while the mood on the ExCeL show floor was decidedly more positive than in 2013. Comments were made about the quality of the visitors as well as the technology on show – and the presence of a Star Wars Convention in an adjacent hall in east London did nothing to dampen spirits!

Both shows also served to highlight the continued demand for high-quality training, education, and debate on all things audio. Over in the US, AES executive director Bob Moses highlighted “the standing-room-only crowd for Thursday’s opening ceremonies and keynote, along with popular technical programme sessions all day. The exhibitor aisles are crowded, the Project Studio Expo and Live Sound Expo Exhibits-Plus sessions are drawing attendees to their exhibits floor stages, and the technical programme sessions are still packed.”

The situation in London was similar with many audio sessions standing room only and a good level of healthy debate and discussion on a range of topics. One session that stayed in my mind was ‘Point Source. Line Array. What Do These Terms Really Mean?’ with FunktionOne and Soulsound. In what became quite an impassioned debate, the panel and the audience agreed that the only way to improve the quality

of the audio we hear – be that live or recorded – was to remind the next generation of what good audio is and encourage them to listen, rather than rely entirely on what a computer screen tells them.

Jim Evans received a similar message when he investigated the world of mastering (page 22).

Relying on a certain brand or a certain setup simply isn’t enough to achieve the sonic clarity and performance necessary. So what techniques did our experts recommend for getting the best results? Step one, according to Darius van Helfteren, owner of Amsterdam Mastering, is “to listen to, say, 20 of your favourite songs – songs that you’ve always considered to have great sound. Do most of them sound ‘right’ to you?” If they don’t sound right, that’s when you can get technical and solve the issues, be that room treatment, or even a room optimisation processor.

So trust your ears, take time to listen, and learn from those around you. And, as Abbey Road Studios’ Geoff Pesche, says, remember: “The monitors are an integral part of any listening room, almost as important as the ears of the engineer.”

Elsewhere in this issue we learn the importance of collaboration and teamwork as we go behind the scenes of Matthew Vaughn’s new film, Kingsman: The Secret Service in this month’s Final Cut feature (p20). We find out that DPA’s necklace mic is more than just a solution for reality TV stars, and Will Strauss and Colin Birch look at whether the European house of worship market will ever match that of the United States.

Joanne Ruddock, Managing editor @audiomediamag

November 2014 3

CONTENTS

MASTERING Jim Evans delves into the world of monitors for mastering and finds out how to get the most from your room p22

20

FEATURES

Pa ge

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Broadcast Focus ..................................18 Colin Birch and Will Strauss analyse the state of the European house of worship market and how it compares to its counterpart in the US

Audio-Technica debuts handbuilt mic at AES .................................................6 Harrison 32cs coming soon ............... 7 XTA brings APA to PLASA ....................8

INDUSTRY NEWS

Studio Profile ...................................... 26 Jake Young takes a trip around the RAK Studios complex and explores the RAK Singles Club

TECHNOLOGY Focus: Headphones........................................... 28 Reviews: DPA Necklace mic..................................34 Aphex USB 500 Rack............................. 36 Allen & Heath Qu-32 ........................ 38 Focusrite Saffire Pro 26 .......................40

Pa ge

BBC Music launches with God Only Knows production .................................10 Tonmeistertagung programme released ................................................... 11 First London renovation for WSDG ................................................12

14

Final Cut ............................................... 20 Jerry Ibbotsen looks at the close relationship between production and post on new Colin Firth movie Kingsman: The Secret Service

ALSO INSIDE PRO SOUND AWARDS: All the winners from the second PSAs at Ministry of Sound.....................14 GEO FOCUS: Germany.......................... 16 INTERVIEW: Anastasios Brakis, creator of game sound tool Fabric........42

ADVERTISERSINDEX AMS Neve Cedar Audio CES Genelec IBC Lawo 4 November 2014

2 9 17 13 29 39

Lynx Studio Technology Mogami NewBay Connect Nordoff Robbins Prism Sound Radial

32 11 19 37 25 43

Richmond Film Services Sennheiser Steinberg Universal Audio

27 5 44 24

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TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Handbuilt Mic Debuts on Audio-Technica Stand Audio-Technica showcased its AT5045 hand-built, large-diaphragm, stick-design side-address condenser instrument microphone in LA. The AT5045 employs a large rectangular element, crafted by Audio-Technica engineers to improve transient response and increase response bandwidth.

Discrete components were selected to maximise performance and its two-micron-thick, vapourdeposited gold diaphragm has been aged to achieve optimum sonic characteristics that are said to remain constant over years of use.

With fast transient response, low noise, high SPL handling (149dB SPL) and a dynamic range of 141dB, the AT5045 is designed to be an ideal instrument microphone, particularly suited to use on overheads, percussion, acoustic guitar, strings, and other acoustic instruments requiring the capture of dynamic, detailed sound. www.eu.audio-technica.com

Genelec Adds to SAM Range The 8351 acoustically coaxial three-way Smart Active Monitor system from Genelec was developed in response to the need for increasing audio perfection in acoustically challenging production environments.

It is the same size as Genelec’s 8050, with dimensions of 17.75in x 11.25in x 11in. The centre of the 8351’s enclosure is where a Minimum Diffraction coaxial midrange/tweeter driver evolved from the 8260 can be found. This is said to provide accurate imaging and improved

sound quality, with clear accuracy, both on and offaxis, vertically as well as horizontally. Aesthetically, the woofers are concealed beneath the Maximised Directivity Controlled Waveguide. The lips on the perimeter of the waveguide form the acoustic openings for the Genelec-designed Acoustically Concealed Woofers (ACW).

The 8351 is capable of delivering 110dB at 1m through a combination of Genelec-designed Class D amplifiers for the woofer (150W) and midrange (120W) drivers, while a discrete-components

(90W) Genelec-designed Class A-B amplifier applies power to the tweeter.

The 8351 has a system frequency response of 32Hz to 40kHz (-6dB), ±1.5dB (38Hz to 21kHz) with very low distortion. www.genelec.com

iZotope Releases New Mastering Software

Ne w Compact Live Console from SSL

at AE S

SSL has expanded its Live console range with the SSL Live.L300 and V2.5 software.

The L300 is a more compact version of the other desk in the family, the L500.

Both are said to be suitable for applications including touring, installation, and theatre. The L300 offers up to 568 input/outputs, 128 processing paths (96 full, 32 dry), a 32 x 36 matrix, 36 VCAs, and 48 FX slots.

It ships with V2.5 software, which brings advanced effects optimisation and 27 new features and updates to the SSL Live console platform. www.solidstatelogic.com

International Launch for PMC’s QB1-A The QB1 Active (QB1-A), a large-scale, ultra-highresolution main studio monitor, took centre stage on the PMC stand at AES. Designed for either soffit-mounted or free-standing use, each QB1-A incorporates analogue and digital (up to 192kHz) inputs, Class D amplification, Advanced Transmission Line (ATL) bass-loading technology, DSP control, and a quartet of 10in carbon fibre/Nomex piston bass drivers.

The unit has a maximum SPL of 132dB at 1m and each channel has an expansive 4,825W of Class D amplification at its disposal (275W on the HF driver, 550W on the midrange, and 4,000W on the four bass drivers).

“We saw that there was a gap at the high end of the market,” explained Oliver Thomas, R&D project manager at PMC. “In the main, the current products on the market don’t offer the flexibility of analogue and digital inputs, and suffer from giving listeners an insufficient sense of resolution, compared to what can now be attained with good Class D amp design and DSP-aided crossover management.” www.pmc-speakers.com

iZotope has announced Ozone 6 – the latest version of its complete mastering system. For the first time, the mastering workflow is centred around creativity: Ozone 6’s modern visual paradigm guides users of all experience levels, so they can experiment with ease – or dial in signature sounds in a few clicks. www.izotope.com

6 November 2014

www.audiomedia.com

w e N

TECHNOLOGY NEWS S E A t a First FET Mic Harrison 32cs Production

from Telefunken

With over a year and a half of development and beta testing with recording engineers, the newlydesigned M60 FET (Field Effect Transistor) smalldiaphragm microphone is Telefunken Elektroakustik’s first non-vacuum tube, FET-based solid-state condenser mic.

Components are hand-plugged into gold-plated circuit board traces to provide a Class A discrete amplifier with a frequency response of +/-2dB from 20Hz to 50KHz. The output is matched with a custom transformer that offers low self-noise and a typical THD+N of 0.015% or better.

Designed to utilise the same interchangeable TK6X capsule systems as the ELA M 260 small-diaphragm tube mic, the M60 FET is suitable for acoustic and percussive sources. www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com

Avid Extends Artist Suite Two new audio plug-ins were added to Avid’s Artist Suite in LA. Pro Multiband Dynamics and Pro Subharmonic, part of the newly expanded Pro Series, are compatible with AAX Native 64, AAX DSP 64, and AudioSuite 64 formats for Pro Tools HDX, Pro Tools Native, and other systems running Pro Tools 11 and higher.

Pro Multiband Dynamics enables quick and easy mixing by selectively compressing or expanding individual tracks or audio groups in up to four separate frequency ranges. It also offers control by applying upward expansion and downward compression only to signals that go below or above the threshold.

Pro Subharmonic is the only subharmonic synth that supports surround and the AAX DSP 64-bit format for Pro Tools HDX users, providing ultra-low latency performance to enhance low-frequency instruments and sounds while recording and mixing. Pro Subharmonic generates low-frequency signals an octave lower than the source, enabling users to punch up bass and percussive sounds for creative music applications, or add power to audio post soundtracks by feeding signals into L/R and LFE (low-frequency effects) channels. www.avid.com www.audiomedia.com

Units Coming Soon US manufacturer Harrison used the AES Convention to show its 32cs channel strip – and announced that production units will be available in December. The 32cs provides one channel of the Harrison 32-Series console sound in a 1U rackspace.

The input section offers a Lundahl input transformer and Harrison’s classic mic preamp design with more than 70dB of gain. Switchable selections include a frontpanel input jack, hi-z instrument loading, phase-invert, -20dB pad, and true 48V phantom power.

The insert switches enable the rear insert jacks for pre- or post-filter external processing. Insert sends are always active, while the switch enables the return path either pre-filter or pre-EQ. This allows the mic preamp to be used separately from the EQ. The filter section provides separate on/ off switches for the high- and low-pass filters. The filters use the wide overlapping ranges that were pioneered by Harrison in

the 32-Series consoles. The high-pass filter features a switch for Harrison’s ‘Bump’ feature, which provides a resonant boost above the selected frequency. This helps keep instruments from sounding too thin when low-end energy is rolled off.

The analogue monitoring section provides true zero-latency monitoring of the 32cs output blended with a stereo 2mix. This allows DAW users to take the 32cs on the road and track directly into their computer without an external mixer. The ‘Blend’ knob controls the mix between the 32cs output and the 2mix input. A mute switch and level knob feed the high-powered headphone amp and rear line-level speaker connections; you can work with headphones or small powered speakers. www.analog.harrisonconsoles.com

ViSi Connect Addition Aids Flexibility Soundcraft announced the MADI-USB Combo Card, a new option card in the ViSi Connect series of expansions for the Si Expression, Si Performer, and Si Compact consoles.

The card provides users of the console with a single-slot option card that has a Cat5 MADI stream for use with Soundcraft Stageboxes and other MADI devices as well as an ultra-low latency multichannel USB interface for live and studio recording to DAWs and other recording systems.

The 64 x 64 card comes configured to provide 32 x 32 via MADI and 32 x 32 via USB. The 32 MADI input channels can be fed from Soundcraft stageboxes, another console, or other MADI feeds, while the 32 MADI output channels can be used for the console’s output busses, channel direct outputs, or other feeds. The 32 USB input channels can be used for playback/monitoring from

the recording system, while the 32 USB output channels can send channel directoutputs or other outputs for multitrack recordings.

“We recognise that in addition to pristine audio quality and ease of use, flexibility is a top priority for sound engineers when it comes to their mixing consoles,” said Sean Karpowicz, product manager, Soundcraft. “The MADI-USB Combo option card gives our users great flexibility with a single slot option card that provides Stagebox connectivity via MADI and multichannel USB recording.” www.harman.com

November 2014 7

Ne wa tP LA XTA Adds APA Series SA

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Following its launch at InfoComm earlier in the year, XTA brought its APA Series of Class D amplifiers to London last month.

The first model in the APA (Adaptive Processing Amplification) family is the APA-4E8. The unit offers four channels of power totalling 20kW peak output into 4R, and continuous power available of 3,400W per channel into 4R. Four audio inputs allow all four amplifier

channels to be individually utilised if required, with a full suite of XTA’s DSP, including dynamic EQ, FIR filtering and phase linearisation, ultra-transparent limiting, and all the classic crossover and EQ components traditionally used to set up a system.

“We have included the same A-D converters that we use in the DS8000D [XTA’s Audio Distribution System], which allows us to monitor the outgoing audio

PreSonus and WorxAudio Make PLASA Debuts WorxAudio was officially welcomed into the PreSonus fold at this year’s PLASA London, on the stand of UK distributor Source.

PreSonus CEO Jim Mack said: “The acquisition of WorxAudio significantly extends our product line to provide advanced networked loudspeaker systems to a much larger audience.

Further, this acquisition brings us extremely valuable engineering system design expertise and technology, as well as loudspeaker manufacturing expertise.”

WorxAudio also used the show to announce that its new TrueLine X2i-P/D, X3iP/D and X5i-P/D (pictured) line array systems and X115iP/D and X118i-P/D subs will incorporate PreSonus’ Active Integration technology and SL-Dante-SPK card.

The TrueLine units will be the first line arrays to offer Audinate’s Dante technology with PreSonus Active Integration.

New from PreSonus, meanwhile, were cabinet versions and companion 8 November 2014

accessories designed for installation. Available in white and black, StudioLive 328i cabinets are built for flown installations without handles and pole mounts.

Internal grille cloth masks the drivers so that they blend into their environments. A companion yoke mount is also available, as is an update to PreSonus’ SL Room Control speaker-management software that allows the user to turn off the front-panel blue power-status LED. www.presonus.com

voltages and currents to the same degree of accuracy as we do when digitising incoming analogue audio prior to processing,” commented XTA technical director John Austin.

“These outgoing signals can then be fed back into the DSP [responsible for all the user adjustable EQ and protection] so that it can make adjustments to ensure that any connected speaker

driver is being utilised to the best of its abilities, without undue stress to the driver, or the amp for that matter.” www.audiocore.co.uk

d&b Shows Y-Series The Y-Series from d&b audiotechnik is said to provide flexible and configurable solutions for small to medium-sized sound reinforcement requirements. The Y7P and Y10P loudspeakers cover point source duties, while the B6-SUB provides extended frequency response, and two line source loudspeakers and a matched cardioid subwoofer, the Y8, Y12, and Y-SUB, tackle line array tasks.

The Y7P and Y10P share the same dipolar 8in driver arrangement centred on a 1.4in compression driver fitted to a rotatable CD horn, facilitating deployment horizontally or vertically.

With dispersion characteristics of 75° x 40° and 110° x 40° (h x v) respectively, the Y7P

units offer a multitude of deployment options, individually as a full range system or in combination with other elements from the Y-Series, either ground stacked or flown.

The B6-SUB complements the Y7P and Y10P, with a single 18in driver built into a bassreflex design, extending the frequency response down to 37Hz. The Y8 and Y12, which utilise the same rigging design as their bigger brothers from the J- and V-Series, share the same 80° and 120° horizontal dispersion characteristics.

They can be suspended in columns of up to 24 loudspeakers with splay angles from 0 to 14º with a 1º resolution. The Y-SUB houses a forward-facing

18in driver and a 12in driver radiating towards the rear, producing a cardioid dispersion pattern. Driven by a single amplifier channel, the compact Y-SUB can be ground stacked or flown at the top of a Y8/Y12 array. www.dbaudio.com

Shure Brings QLX-D to UK The QLX-D Digital Wireless system made its UK debut on the Shure stand. QLX-D transmits accurate audio with extended, flat frequency response. Automatic channel scan and IR sync are said to make finding and assigning an open frequency quick and easy.

According to the company: “It offers the performance of a top-end touring system packaged into a smaller system for under £1,000.”

www.shuredistribution.co.uk www.audiomedia.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

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RECORDING

Artists and Studios Collaborate for BBC Music Launch

By Kevin Hilton The BBC restated its commitment to promoting and supporting music of all kinds last month by launching a new initiative that will include television and radio shows, partnerships, and projects. BBC Music was given a high-profile launch on 7 October with the debut of a new recording of The Beach Boys’ God Only Knows on all the broadcaster’s channels, from the BBC One, Two, Three and Four TV services to its national and local radio stations, iPlayer and iPlayer Radio.

The single and video bring together a range of artists of different styles and genres – some well established, others more contemporary or on the rise. This echoes another BBC promo, the 1997 version of Lou Reed’s Perfect Day, which also pulled together seemingly disparate performers who recorded their parts individually in different studios.

God Only Knows begins with the BBC Concert Orchestra – in the video playing in the Alexandra Palace Theatre, the original home

of BBC TV – followed by an array of singers and instrumentalists, including Pharrell Williams, Emeli Sandé, Elton John (the only person to also appear on Perfect Day), Lorde, Chris Martin from Coldplay, Kylie Minogue, Stevie Wonder, Queen’s Brian May, Baaba Maal, Dave Grohl, and Sam Smith. The song’s composer, Brian Wilson, sings two lines, including the closing “God only knows what I’d be without you”.

The track was produced and mixed

by Ethan Johns – an artist in his own right, who has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Kaiser Chiefs, Tom Jones, and Kings of Leon – and Ken Nelson, whose credits include Badly Drawn Boy, The Charlatans, and Coldplay.

Explaining his reason for taking on the task, Johns said: “One of the things that interested me most about this project was the idea of bringing together so many different styles of music. To make so much diversity work within one piece of music was quite a challenge. I feel like I’ve taken a 1,000-piece puzzle and just thrown it in the air. I’m standing there trying

to grab them as they come down and put them into place.”

The tracks were recorded mainly in the UK at AIR Studios – home to a Neve 88R and AMS Neve DFC – Stockton Parish Church (for the Tees Valley Youth Choir), Abbey Road, Real World Studios, Rocket Music’s Management Offices, RAK, Olympic Studios, Sarm Studios, Reservoir Studios, and Helicon Mountain Studios, with One Direction at Doppler Studios, Atlanta, and Brian Wilson in Ocean Way Studios, Hollywood.

The video had its own sound design, put together and mixed by Munzie Thind at Grand Central post production in Soho. “I was supplied with various elements from the official mix – orchestral tracks,

choral tracks, vocal tracks – and my challenge was to create a seamless TV mix,” he explained.

God Only Knows and its array of talent is also part of this month’s Children in Need charity appeal, which takes over BBC One on the evening of 14 November. Its main purpose, though, is to promote the three objectives of the BBC Music campaign: to support emerging talent by bringing classical music into schools, offering new training initiatives for young people, and breaking more new artists; pushing further digital innovation involving BBC Music Playlister and iPlayer; and producing new programming, including the BBC Music Awards. www.ams-neve.com www.gcrs.com

RECORDING

Heard Around Town The Retreat recording studios near Brighton is now specialising in tracking, and has invested in seven bespoke EMI preamps, a stereo 1073, as well as a Neve PSM. The score for the new Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days on Earth was composed and tracked at Retreat.

It follows a day in the life of the enigmatic Bad Seeds frontman.

The film was also partly shot at La Fabrique Studio in France.

Session drummer Ash Soan has invested in two ASP880 eightchannel mic pres from Audient for his Norfolk-based studio housed in a converted windmill. “The new Rumer 10 November 2014

album due for release in November has my drums on, and I recorded the percussion at my place. I sent the tracks to the producer in New York.

I’m working on a Jeff Lorber project at the moment too.”

At Alchemy Mastering, Barry Grint has been busy with some work for Jeff Wayne and The Vamps, and in the vinyl world he cut at half speed the new Thom Yorke release and half speed masters of all the Jesus and Mary Chain studio albums.

AIR Mastering’s John Webber has been working on various audiophile vinyl releases including AIR Studios’ first ever direct-to-disc recording of

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for the Chasing the Dragon label. Other recent projects include a Clean Bandit live album and cutting the vinyl version of George Michael’s latest album Symphonica.

Also at AIR, Ray Staff has just mastered the soon-to-be-released David Bowie box set Nothing Has Changed, plus other projects.

At Abbey Road Studios, Geoff Pesche’s recent projects include Kylie Minogue’s Kiss Me Once, Katherine Jenkins’ upcoming album Home Sweet Home, plus cutting releases as part of the Back to Black Series for Universal Music.

Recorded in Abbey Road’s Studio One and Studio Two, Paul McCartney’s Hope has been confirmed for release later this year.

Produced by Giles Martin, Hope is taken from the video game Destiny.

Globe Audio Mastering’s Alexis Bardinet has remastered six albums for French band Noir Desir in highresolution (24/96) and for vinyl. He has also mastered the new LP for rock band Les Wampas.

Albums completed by Darius van Helfteren at Amsterdam Mastering include titles from Tangarine, Epica, Reverse, Wende, The Upsessions, and Alamo Race Track. www.audiomedia.com

INDUSTRY NEWS RECORDING

EVENT

From the Cutting Room

Tonmeistertagung Programme Released Verband Deutscher Tonmeister (VDT) has announced details of the 28th Tonmeistertagung seminar programme.

The VDT team has organised sessions to discuss trends such as networked audio, object-based recording, and live recording.

A series of lectures, workshops, and tutorials will examine all aspects of these subjects and more.

The programme starts on Tuesday 21 November with a themed day entitled Der gute Ton in der Trimedialität (Good Sound in Trimedia), arranged by Institut für Rundfunktechnik (IRT).

It will highlight the requirements in training, room and architectural acoustics, as well as recording

www.audiomedia.com

and playback technology in a time of cross-media production methods.

From Thursday afternoon on, there will be a live mixing workshop organised by VDT sustaining members d&b, Sennheiser, and Yamaha.

All in all, the programme consists of around 100 lectures, 30 poster presentations, 35 workshops, 10 round tables, one lecture-back series to discuss extraordinary recordings, a TMT Academy aimed at young talent, and several tutorials.

“This time our programme is particularly comprehensive, and we have gained an extraordinary number of international speakers,” said Günther Theile, who has headed programme planning

for the Tonmeistertagung for many years.

“Another area of focus is 3D audio, for which we have arranged plenty of demonstrations in rooms equipped with excellent technology. Loudness normalisation is another core topic; this year we are looking at its introduction to radio, and matters of practical implementation.”

This year’s event runs from 20-23 November at the Congress-Centrum Nord in Cologne, Germany.

In addition to the seminar programme, around 120 main and 80 sub-exhibitors will be showcasing their latest developments on the show floor. www.tonmeister.de

Phitz Hearne has been promoted to head of audio at Prime Focus. She will work alongside Katie Kemp who has taken up the new role of head of picture. Rowan Bray, managing director, post production, said: “Katie and Phitz are both award-winning creatives. We wanted to reinforce the importance of our creative teams building a closer relationship with our clients to ensure that every project enjoys a successful relationship with Prime Focus.”

It has been a busy month for the team at Jungle. Owen Griffiths designed the sound for the much-talked-about AMV BBDO ‘You’re Not You When You’re Hungry’ Snickers campaign featuring Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean, while Allan Johnston and Alex Wilson-Thame completed the casting, recording, and mix for the first 12 episodes of new Nick Jr. series Wallykazam. Native also secured a new TV commercial for Lloyds Bank, where they reworked their theme music for the ‘More From Life’ spot.

Scrub, a division of HHB Communications specialising in post production, has supplied three Avid S6 control surfaces and the latest Pro Tools systems for Smoke & Mirrors’ new London audio department.

November 2014 11

INDUSTRY NEWS

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POST PRODUCTION

RECORDING

WSDG Completes First London Renovation After an almost year-long reconstruction project, Paul Epworth has announced the completion of stage one of a massive renovation of The Church Studios.

Reconfiguring the Studio 2 Live and Control Rooms, and creating a new Writing Room engaged the design skills of the Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG) and Miloco Builds.

“After building hundreds of idiosyncratic studios around the globe over the past 45 years, The Church marks our first footprint in London,” architect/acoustician John Storyk of WSDG remarked.

“Paul Epworth’s technical expertise and design instincts are as inspired as his hit record productions. Paul also worked closely with my business (and life) partner Beth Walters on an LED mood lighting system with a vastly programmable colour palatte. Installed in the totally white Studio 2 Control Room and Studio 3 Writing Room, the system provides infinite mood enhancing colour options.

Picture: Dirk Noy

“We were especially pleased that Paul retained Miloco to supervise construction and operations. They’ve been on our radar for years, and working with them has been an extraordinary experience.”

The ultra-modern 961sqft Studio 2 features a completely recapped classic SSL 4000G console, custom WSDG/Augspurger Monitors and an array of outboard gear. The 267sqft Writing Room, meanwhile, was designed from the ground up by WSDG. It is distinguished by an Equinox summing mixer, a 20-channel Neve Sidecar, and complete access to The Church vintage gear collection.

Commenting on The Church renovation, Epworth

said: “I wanted to be the first to build a WSDG/ Augspurger room in London to meet the needs of both British and international artists, producers, and engineers. Bringing WSDG in to design two of their world-renowned rooms was the first step, and the collaboration with Miloco has been an incredibly successful team effort.

“The Church provides nearly 8,000sqft of recording space over three very different rooms, including rare and vintage recording gear married to the most modern digital and analogue equipment to give users the freedom to indulge their creative impulses instantly.” www.thechurchstudios.com

LIVE

Studiomaster Plays it Cool Studiomaster supplied a PA system for the world’s first gig on an iceberg recently.

The Studiomaster Horizon 2012 powered mixer was partnered with a pair of XPX 12 moulded cabinets on stands for the session

by UK metal band The Defiled – part of the Jägermeister Ice Cold Gig. The power-toweight ratio of the equipment was a critical consideration in not tipping the band and all their equipment into the freezing sea.

Studiomaster KM92 mics were also used.

“As far as stage backdrops go, I don’t think you’ll find anything more impressive 12 November 2014

The Importance of Diversification

than this,” commented Jägermeister’s music manager Tom Carson.

“The Studiomaster gear more than met the environmental challenges of this unique ‘venue’.” www.studiomaster.com

Over the course of his 20-year career in music mixing, Jan ‘Stan’ Kybert has worked with some of the greatest legends in the business – including Mark ‘Spike’ Stent. As Stent’s Pro Tools operator, Kybert worked on classic records

by Massive Attack, Björk and Oasis, including Oasis’ Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants (2000). Although Kybert went freelance in 1999, he spent most of the next eight years as in-house engineer at Oasis’s Wheeler End studio, where Noel Gallagher introduced him to Paul Weller. Kybert has collaborated with Weller on records including his latest, Sonik Kicks. In addition, He has worked with New Order, the Prodigy, UNKLE, the Draytones, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

He has been working as a mix engineer since the early 2000s: “I’ve seen a lot of changes in the music business and the audio technology landscape.

With the decline of the traditional studio recording model, fewer records are being made, which has led many music professionals to explore broader career options. For me, moving more into audio post production has been a natural transition and one that offers the opportunity to work with some of the most cutting-edge tools and technologies available.”

Nowadays Kybert is just as likely to be creating audio for film or television projects as making records, but when it comes to the latter he relies heavily on Stereopack from Nugen Audio. The toolset consists of three plug-ins: Stereoplacer, Steroizer, and Monofilter. “I use all three extensively when working on a music mix, and each plug-in gives me incredible automated capabilities for working with and manipulating the stereo image,” he explained.

“In many ways, audio is audio – so the mixing expertise I’ve developed through my music career translates easily to the postproduction field.”

One area that Kybert had to learn about is audio loudness. To help keep up with loudness regulations around the world, he relies on the VisLM loudness meter plug-in, which he believes “is truly head and shoulders above any other measurement tool available today; I would even go so far as to say that anyone working without VisLM in the audio post world is at a real disadvantage.

“By letting the tools do the work of making sure the mix is within correct loudness parameters, I can mix to dynamic range – infinitely more satisfying than mixing to peak loudness.” www.nugenaudio.com www.audiomedia.com

PRO SOUND AWARDS

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PROSOUND DAWARDS In association with:

Thursday, 25th September 2014, Ministry Of Sound, London

On a Roll London’s Ministry of Sound hosted the second annual Pro Sound Awards back in September, and new for this year was the Pre-Roll – two hours of questions and conversation with leading industry figures.

T

he great and the good of pro audio were out in force at Ministry of Sound in London on 25 September for the triumphant return of the Pro Sound Awards.

This year’s winners included Sound

by Design, recipient of both the Permanent Installation Project of the Year and Installed Audio Team of the Year awards; Capital Sound, recognised for its contribution to the

2013 British Summer Time concert at Hyde Park; and Andrew Dudman, who recorded the Oscar-winning score for Gravity – also a winner in the Best Sound in Post-Production category – at Abbey Road.

Paloma Faith’s A Perfect Contradiction won Best Recording Production, while Metropolis completed the list of winners in the studio category, taking home the prize

for Best Studio. Although she couldn’t be there in person, Faith showed her appreciation via a specially recorded video message.

The event also marked the debut of The Pre-Roll, which saw early attendees treated to a series of talks with legendary producers Andre Jacquemin, Ben Hillier, and Stephen Street (pictured, R–L, with host Phil Ward), before engineers Dave Swallow,

Matt Kanaris, Jon Burton, and Charles “Chicky” Reeves took to the stage for a well-received (and frequently hilarious) live sound panel session.

Other highlights were AIR Studios’ John Webber picking up the Rising Star Award before the evening’s major accolades, Lifetime Achievement and Grand Prix, were presented to John Pellowe and Miloco, respectively. www.prosoundawards.com

STUDIO Engineer of the Year Andrew Dudman

Avid’s Ben Nemes collected the Best Sound in Post-Production for the Gravity team

Metropolis’ Sam Wheat and Nina Jackson took home the Best Studio accolade

Sony A&R Nikki Affleck picked up the Best Recording Production prize on behalf of Paloma Faith for A Perfect Contradiction

14 November 2014

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PRO SOUND AWARDS

LIVE/TOURING SOUND (sponsored by Allen & Heath) Allen & Heath’s Glenn Rogers hands over the Engineer of the Year Award to Reay Grant

BROADCAST AUDIO

Paul Timmins celebrated Capital Sound winning Best Tour Sound Production for British Summer Time

Best Theatre Sound went to Chris Mace for

I Can’t Sing!

(sponsored by Sony) James Rutherford picks up the Broadcast Event of the Year gong on behalf of Channel 4 and its Sochi Paralympics broadcasting

Philip Burwell (L) and Neil Pemberton receive the Team of the Year award for the BBC Proms

INSTALLED AUDIO SPECIAL AWARD

Team of the Year went to Sound by Design for the Royal Albert Hall. Pictured L-R: Phill Chapman, Elaine Duffy, and Griff Hewis

Source Distribution/ Genelec won Best Temporary Installation Project.

Pictured: Andy Bensley of Source

SPECIAL AWARD

The Miloco team with their Grand Prix prize

SPECIAL AWARD John Pellowe was this year’s Lifetime Achievement winner

SPECIAL AWARD Paul Crognale accepted Shure’s Marketing Campaign of the Year Award

Audio Pro International editor Adam Savage presented the Rising Star Award to John Webber of AIR Studios

www.audiomedia.com

November 2014 15

GEO FOCUS GERMANY

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On the Rekord With a strong TV landscape, divided into public broadcasting and the private sector, which also reflects on the studio business, the German recording industry is pretty distinctive. Jake Young takes a look at the current situation.

POPULATION: 80.6M

T

imo Wildenhain, senior marketing manager for proaudio at Steinberg, thinks the number of professionals working ‘in the box’ is the most significant way the German studio market has changed in the past five-to-ten years.

“Apart from very rare and highquality devices, many studios have sold their outboard equipment over the past decade, as working inside a DAW is so much more comfortable and efficient,” he says. “In general, producing audio today means being able to deliver the content in several formats, in compliance with different technical standards and in various multichannel configurations. This is linked to the variety of broadcasting audio content, be it via online music portals, streaming services, classic CD, as part of a film, for TV broadcast, website animations, for computer games, or the creation of advertising spots. Broadcasters and media distributors need to service many old and new channels with tailored content, requiring studios to deliver in various formats. On the business side, audio budgets are still tremendously low compared to picture budgets.”

The market has recovered slightly, from a period where studios were forced to close, however there is no secret ingredient for success.

“Traditional music production studios now offer a broader range of services, especially in areas where

16 November 2014

picture plays a role: post-production, advertising, game audio, and ADR/ speech recording stand a better chance of coping with rapidly changing market demands, compared with those studios only offering music services,” explains Wildenhain.

“On the other hand there are also advantages for studios specialising in a certain field. Investments in modern studio infrastructures, as well as more efficient production techniques, are still happening.”

There is always a demand for studios providing quality services and modern production techniques.

Although the need for new, large commercial spaces might be limited in Germany, it’s not only real estate that makes the difference, but the people and their expertise.

Wildenhain continues: “Producing, especially in an audio-to-picture context for the various channels and industries, still offers a chance to start off well within this business. But one has to be very flexible, one has to be at the pulse of the market by understanding the latest trends and production techniques.”

Management of rights is still a major topic. “The position of collecting societies is very strong in Germany, which is good for the owners of rights, but it needs to be considered when audio is sold or distributed over the increasing number of media channels,” comments Wildenhain.

He believes industry-inherent regulations, such as the EBU standard, are affecting production techniques in the day-to-day production business much more.

According to Olaf Stepputat, director of 3D audio solutions provider Barco Audio Technologies, the market for post-production studios in Germany is in good condition. “The large public and private broadcasters are providing a healthy environment, mainly for TV post production,” he reveals.

“In terms of cinema post, Munich and Berlin are especially strong with many studios based there.”

There have been some changes to the market, though. Cost pressure has increased, for example.

“Creatives have shown strong commitment to innovation, for example in the field of surround sound or the role of sound in storytelling,” explains Stepputat.

“They had to adopt a high degree of flexibility as structures have become more decentralised.

“The role of copyright law has become more important in the past few years. Also, multi-platform compatibility has become a topic for broadcast, internet, cinema, and other fields. Broadcast is also faced with new standards for loudness regulation.”

Looking ahead, Stepputat’s goal is to make Barco Audio Technologies Barco’s portal to new sound

dimensions. “We want to further enhance and customise our objectbased immersive sound technology offerings together with Barco and our partners at Auro 3D,” he says.

“In the long term, we want to spread the use of our technologies from cinema and entertainment to other applications in which Barco is already successfully providing visualisation products.”

Recording According to Johann Scheerer, owner and producer at Clouds Hill Recordings, the market for recording studios in Germany is not so healthy.

“During the past 10 years, many studios in Germany closed down.

Just a few survived,” he reports. “As equipment is affordable for almost anyone, many small studios opened up to compete with the smaller professional studios. That isn’t possible because nowadays you can easily build your own nice studio environment while investing less than £10,000 for OK quality, which is enough for the consumers these days.”

Scheerer predicts that there will be a need for quality recording studios in the future. “The big spaces will close. Only a very special few will survive. The rest will be personal producer studios,” he predicts. “Tape and good quality will survive or come back. Like vinyl did.”

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BROADCAST FOCUS

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Spreading the Audio Word Colin Birch and Will Strauss take a look at the current state of the European house of worship market and highlight the specific requirements of religious venues.

T

o the uninitiated, supplying audio technology to a house of worship (HoW) might not seem hugely lucrative. But in the United States, amplifying the word of God is big business.

There, the larger churches and other religious meeting places have spent decades developing sophisticated AV systems to the point that now, to facilitate time-shifted rejoicing, they feature state-of-the art recording, post-production, and broadcast capabilities that would shame many a regional US TV station.

In Europe, the demand is there, but on a much smaller scale.

“The UK church market is very much still a low-end area,” says James Baker, Avid Technology’s live sound territory sales manager for Europe.

“A lot [of them] are local community churches that don’t have the budget for professional mixing consoles.

[Instead] they’re mostly using lowend desks. We do see sales into this business sector increasing, however the curve of this is not as big or as fast as you would expect.”

The majority of Baker’s business in the HoW market is for arena-sized religious events, and this is being done via rental companies.

For Caleb Hill, marketing manager of Sound Network, DPA’s UK distributor, HoW is a niche but occasionally surprising market. “It quietly ticks along,” he says. “But, through our channel partners, we probably supply more than we think.”

Of course, even today’s state-of-theart HoW installations began life as simple public address systems.

As the technology became more affordable and accessible, churches would add some lighting, cameras, a simple vision mixer, and a projector, or strategically-located monitors if the venue was particularly large.

Many of these analogue systems are still in use today, in smaller or less well-funded venues. The more cavernous, often purpose-built, multimedia-enabled houses of worship – colloquially referred to as megachurches or superchurches – are now all-digital, with wireless

18 November 2014

Aviom monitoring systems are increasingly being used in worship environments

microphone and digital loudspeaker control systems, multichannel mixing consoles, digital audio workstations, video and audio web streaming capabilities and even, in some cases, wholly-owned dedicated cable television channels.

Those British and European churches that are unable to simply continue to rely on a medieval or gothic building’s impressive acoustics are, at the very least, investing in evermore-affordable professional-quality microphones, sound reinforcement, and front-of-house systems to provide the best possible listening experience for their congregations.

Sound Considerations A house of worship is not most people’s idea of a hostile environment for a simple microphone and speaker system, but harsh surfaces, obtrusive stone pillars, pulpits, choir stalls, religious icons, and vast stained glass windows create huge challenges for systems designers and operators whose job it is to make sure churchgoers enjoy every sermon, prayer, and hymn.

Unlike theatres or music venues, which tend to stick to tried-and-tested design conventions, every church is different, from the layout of the building to the individual style of a particular ministry.

The art of audio system design and integration in this market is to understand how the building is used, and blend the technology into the way each church conducts its services.

Integrators focus a great deal of their attention on pattern control, digital signal processing and stored, optimised settings, to enhance and enrich the congregation’s experiences.

The technology must also be unobtrusive and in no way interfere with the building’s aesthetic or how services are conducted.

Ease-of-use in HoW AV systems is also really important, since many churches rely on volunteers to operate them on the day of a service. To help, suppliers and integrators have designed special workflows and simple, intuitive touchscreen interfaces to reduce the chances of operator error interfering with the delivery of a rousing sermon.

That said, the people responsible for using and maintaining these systems are quickly learning how to get the most out of them. Indeed, in many cases, volunteers nowadays are members of the congregation with a professional audio and/or video background.

Examples of technologies that have been embraced by the house of worship market include: JBL’s HiQnet Performance Manager – a software application used for configuring networked audio systems that was created to cut down on design time, simplify networking and automate the configuring of control interfaces.

The Virtual Soundcheck feature of Digidesign’s Venue console – this allows operators to use recorded

performance audio to fine-tune console settings for future use; adjust gain structure, build snapshots, and even refine PA system settings with the click of a mouse, using the next best thing to an actual service as source material.

The Aviom monitoring system – for musicians performing during a service to control their own mixes, so they don’t have to solely rely on a volunteer audio operator for what they hear, meaning they play better and sound better together.

A new entrant into the US house of worship audio market is broadcast console manufacturer Calrec Audio.

One of its Artemis consoles was used for the live online broadcast of Billy Graham’s Festival of Hope in El Paso, Texas, which was attended by more than 16,000 people. Signals were fed from sister company DiGiCo’s front of house desk to the nearby OB truck housing the Artemis using MADI over coax. Calrec is hoping its involvement in this major event will be a stepping stone into more of these large-scale projects.

To see the future of audio and video in houses of worship, perhaps the best places to visit are youth groups.

Here, musical instruments, recording technology, cameras, and lighting jostle for space with high-end computers loaded with the state-ofthe-art content-creation technology that tomorrow’s church leaders are using to create and distribute their deeply-held beliefs. www.audiomedia.com

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FEATURE FINAL CUT

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Colin Firth finds himself with a new, street-wise sidekick in the film Kingsman: The Secret Service

The Secret Service A dislike of ADR encouraged production and post to work incredibly closely on the new Matthew Vaughn film, writes Jerry Ibbotsen.

I

t speaks volumes about the relationship between a director and his team when you learn that several key members have worked with him on all his feature films.

Simon Hayes, production sound mixer, has recorded every single movie from producer and director Matthew Vaughn.

“Matthew Vaughn has a unique understanding of sound and how important it is for original performances to make it onto the screen so that the audience can connect with the characters,” says Hayes. It’s just the tip of the iceberg, as far as the amount of praise he can heap on the British director behind productions including Kick-Ass and Stardust. His latest film is action movie Kingsman: The Secret Service.

Due for release early next year, The Secret Service follows British spy agency MI5, which has decided that its Oxbridge-educated methodology of choosing operatives is old fashioned, so they find somone who’s a little bit more street wise and train him up. He’s brought into the fold and is placed with an experienced operative (Colin Firth) who teaches the new recruit how to be a proper gentleman agent.

The film is based on a graphic novel

by Scottish comic writer Mark Millar, who collaborated on Kick-Ass with Jane Goldman and one Matthew Vaughn.

20 November 2014

Celebrating Collaboration From an audio perspective, The Secret Service demonstrates a strong collaborative approach, where the lines between production and post are not so much blurred as smashed with a sledgehammer. At the heart of it lies a dislike for one particular technique.

“Matthew found out early on in his career that he doesn’t like ADR, and in fact one of the reasons why Matthew and I have collaborated for so many years is that he will not ADR anything unless it’s a line change,” Hayes explains. “When you see someone’s lips moving in a Matthew Vaughn film, that is the recording that has been made on the day, on the set with the cameras running, not six months later in a voice booth.”

That’s a pretty bold boast. So how does Vaughn do this? “He has assembled a group of production sound and post-production sound technicians around him. They have been with him since the very beginning,” Hayes reveals. “They include Arthur Fenn and Robin Johnson, my two first assistants, who swing booms and rig radio mics. But it’s also the dialogue editor Danny Sheehan who has also done every single one of Matthew’s movies.

Danny isn’t just a dialogue editor, he’s also a supervising sound editor but he cuts most of the dialogue himself – he’s a perfectionist like myself.

“His colleague is Matt Colling who’s also been with Vaughn since the beginning. We did Lock, Stock together and have also done Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass… the list goes on.

“So Matthew has assembled a sound team in production and postproduction sound who understand how to deliver his vision of a movie which focuses 100% on live performances. They’re also a sound team who don’t see each other as different parts of the engine. We collaborate from the very beginning of a movie, when we start talking about the film, all the way to the end of post production. For example, I’m talking to the post-production sound team almost every day until they finish their final mix.”

Hayes normally goes into the final mix on a Vaughn movie, although he couldn’t do this with The Secret Service due to other commitments. But he did communicate a lot with the post-team while shooting. The aim is clear – to nail problems before they become serious issues.

“If I’m having trouble on a set I may send Danny test recordings to be sure that any issues are going to be useable for him afterwards,” Hayes continues.

“For instance if I’m presented with a situation that needs a wind machine, we’ll discuss how we’re going to rig the wind machine with the special effects department. I’ll do test

recordings and send them to Danny to make sure that what we’re going to present him in the production sound track is going to be useable. It’s so he’s not going to have to commit something to ADR afterwards.

“He’s able to say, ‘That wind machine is a little bit too broadband, is there any way of giving us something lower than we can get a notch into?’

We’re evaluating problems before they happen and making sure that when we present Matthew with a solution on the set that will give him what he needs visually and be able to retain the original performances of the actors.

We know that what we are presenting him with will not lead him into an ADR booth.”

Emotional Engagement So is this all about preserving the quality of the production dialogue?

Hayes says it’s not about science or engineering. It’s about emotions.

“We all know that as human beings we’re constantly evaluating every single person we meet on a day-to-day basis to decide if we trust them or not.

So cinema audiences are constantly looking at a performance and deciding whether they detect an acoustic in a voice or a vocal performance that doesn’t match what they see. They have a subconscious alarm bell that goes off, thinking ‘I’m not sure I connected with that.’” www.audiomedia.com

FEATURE FINAL CUT The dialogue is recorded to be as powerful and emotive as possible. For this, close miking is crucial.

“It’s not just about saying we want a film that isn’t ADR’d,” he adds. “We want a film that has the rich textural quality of sound that an action movie should have, so that you can build up the music and effects. You need to have the dialogue closely miked and sounding rich so you have enough signal to noise so you can push the music and effects afterwards – to get a world-class action movie soundtrack around those original recordings.

“If you’re recording with loads of space and room acoustic, you’re backing the post-production mixer and director into a corner in the dub. If they want to start driving music and sound effects, they’ll need to turn to an ADR track which is more closely miked.”

Another technique Hayes uses, which involves liaison with the postproduction team, is to strip away other Foley noise on-set.

“I am a massive fan of original dialogue; I am not a fan of recording natural Foley on a set,” he states.

“You end up with footsteps and prop noise that can start to get in the way of building up the sound design and score. Whenever possible we will hang sound blankets in a room to get a drier acoustic. If we can’t see an actor’s feet in a shot, we will always have the whole room carpeted. If we see the floor in the wide we will have to go with the footsteps but otherwise the whole room will be carpeted.”

Hayes then relies on the talents of the sound design team to go to work, with as clean a slate as possible. And he believes the approach to recording production dialogue plays a key role.

“What that does for the audience is it gives them a huge confidence in the sound track as a whole. They recognise that the vocals are real and not rerecorded and it makes them feel the extremely well-designed sound effects are real too: which they aren’t.”

Microphone Choice To reach this end result, where the post team are handed dialogue that is spoton for the final mix, does he use booms or personal mics? Both, as it happens.

“We have multiple tracks on our Zaxcom Deva recorder so we don’t have to choose,” remarks Hayes. “A good production sound mixer now has to give his post-production sound team choices. With those choices, we need to give booms and radio mics. www.audiomedia.com

With Matthew’s support, we use two boom operators at the same time – one is doing one half of the characters, the other doing the rest. That means both booms can work tighter and get better, richer dialogue, and when we get in close to dialogue, the other boom can record the off-lines.”

The latter point is key for Hayes and the audio team, right through to post. “If there’s a syllable on a selected take with a car door slam or a dragged footstep on it, Danny Sheehan has a whole library of outtakes: completely on-mic off-lines,” he says. “That gives him a huge confidence not to have to commit a scene to ADR because of a couple of misdemeanours.

“We also radio mic everyone on every scene. With 16 tracks on a Zaxcom Deva, why wouldn’t you? It gives the director more choice.”

Having worked with Matthew Vaughn on so many features and understanding his tastes and style, Hayes tries to keep one step ahead.

“In my mix tracks, which is what the picture editor cuts with, that is what I think is best. But let’s say I think the booms sound lovely and natural, but afterwards Matthew wants an aggressive skate-rock sound design under it. He then has the ability to make that choice with the DPA and Lectrosonics radio mics.”

“Vaughn has a love of rich dialogues. He was the first director I worked with who asked me outright how I managed to record vocals with such a great bottom end. The answer to that is firstly because I use Schoeps mics, which have such an excellent low frequency response. However the really important point is that I am able to use them on the booms without having to EQ any of the bottom end or use low pass filters because of the Cinela microphone mounts we use. The Cinela’s have been a game changer and isolate so much vibration between the mic and the pole that the boom ops can work without having to temper their movements because of the fear of potential handling noise, and I don’t have to erode the dialogue quality of the Schoeps by having to use any filters or EQ.” In the quest for as perfect (and flexible) production audio as possible, he was leant a helping hand by the overall artistic direction. Hayes’ previous project was Guardians of The Galaxy (see Audio Media November), which was shot on multiple cameras.

That threw up specific challenges

for close miking. But with The Secret Service, Vaughn and director of photography George Richmond went down a different route, as Hayes explains: “While all our other big recent action movies were multicamera, Matthew and George decided that they wanted to make it look beautiful in an old school way by shooting one camera. This meant they could light the close-ups intricately.

That gave us a real positive effect when recording – when you’re shooting one camera you can always have the boom on edge of frame.

“If you’re shooting a wide while someone else is shooting a closeup (in a multiple camera shoot) that commits a lot of performances to radio mics. But this film was a step back to movies like Layer Cake and Lock, Stock. The majority of the dialogue that made its way into this film wasn’t recorded on radio mics or even the Schoeps Super Scenic Gun mics that we use a lot on action films.

We went really old school and 80% of the dialogue was recorded on a hyper-

cardoid Schoeps CMC NK41 which really has a very beautiful sound.”

This approach – of production and post audio relying on each other and working together – clearly works for Vaughn and his team. Driven by a dislike for replacing actors’ dialogue, they’ve developed a way to circumvent the ADR studio. But would it work for everyone? Hayes thinks it already is.

“I think that in the past 10 years directors have started moving away from ADR. When we started making big action movies, directors were pushed into using it. But anyone who’s had to ADR a whole movie realises the performance suffers in the end.

“I think directors have started supporting production sound teams a lot more and are expecting to have useable vocals, even in demanding environments. It means audio teams are getting more support in their quest for recording good production sound on set.” www.dpamicrophones.com www.schoeps.de www.zaxcom.com November 2014 21

FEATURE MASTERING

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PMC is the preferred monitor system at 360 Mastering

Mastering the Art Finding the monitors that work best for your room and investing in good acoustics are crucial in this demanding market, writes Jim Evans.

M

astering requires critical listening and – rightly so – has been labelled the crucial gateway between production and consumption. The various approaches to the mastering process have been debated since records began. Developments in the means of delivery – from vinyl to CD to digital downloads – have necessitated changes in the way recordings are mastered, but there remain two vital constants – accurate monitor speakers and the acoustics of the mastering environment.

Before investing not inconsiderable sums in a set of monitors – and they can run up to many thousands of pounds a pair – first get your room right.

As well as recording studios and broadcast facilities, acoustician and studio designer Andy Munro has built many mastering rooms and has forthright views on the key elements to consider when setting up a room.

“The first thing is the room format because there are two basic camps when it comes to mastering,” says

22 November 2014

Munro. “The traditional format is a large free-standing speaker system in a neutral but fairly lively room by current control room standards. I would call this the London-New York standard as that is where it evolved.

“The other and more common format these days is a dry room with either close-up monitors or a larger soffit-mounted system, which is basically an extrapolation of the West Coast-LA style of control room.

“The former was intended to represent a hi-fi living room experience, so the speakers were often from that genre, although as things got louder and rap came along the trend moved to larger, less purist systems, hence the second format becoming more prevalent.

“All monitors worthy of mastering must be essentially neutral in timbre and that rule should be followed without exception. Needless to say it is not.”

Munro continues: “The room acoustics totally dominate the low frequency response that is experienced by the mastering engineer. At two metres from a free-standing speaker

the LF wave-front is 50sqm and the ear is 0.04sqm so more than 90% of the energy hits the room and then your ears.

“The ideal mid-frequency reverberation time is nominally 0.25s for mastering, but classical and old school people prefer longer, maybe 0.35s, whereas new school goes for near zero. Each mastering engineer develops a way of working, which sometimes is difficult to rationalise in purely acoustic terms, but I am certain that absolute neutrality is the only way to go.”

Alchemy Mastering recently relocated to new premises in west London. Owner/director Barry Grint has worked in more than a few cutting rooms and mastering suites over the years and, not surprisingly, has a good idea of what’s involved in setting up a room. “There are two types of monitor – active and passive. Active monitors have the amps built in and passive speakers require a separate amp,” explains Grint. “It really is a question of preference, whether to mix and match amp to speaker, or accept the amp in-built.

“All monitors worthy of mastering must be essentially neutral in timbre and that rule should be followed without exception.

Needless to say it is not.”

Andy Munro

“There are many different makes of speakers and amps, because people prefer a different type of sound to each other. For mastering, the speakers www.audiomedia.com

FEATURE MASTERING must tell the truth. A flattering monitor system will make a large range of songs sound fantastic, even though they may have imperfections.

When mastering, those imperfections need to be heard and addressed.”

Why address them if flattering speakers disguise the faults anyway?

“Because the engineer cannot predict what the result will be across a range of speakers,” Grint comments.

“Identify the issue, manage it, and achieve a more consistent result over a larger range of speakers. One engineer may use speakers that are more punchy in the mids than another, for example, which is perfectly fine provided that engineer has a good understanding of what is being presented to him.”

As to specific marques of speaker, Grint reports: “In Matt Colton’s room he has a pair of ATC SCM150s, which are active. Physically, they are a good size for the room (cabinets) with enough power to deliver a good volume without being over-demanding on the amps. The bass driver can move the air well to deliver an accurate representation of the low frequencies.

“We are currently trying a range of different monitors in my room to decide what we feel best suits the room. Personally, I don’t believe you can make a hard and fast rule of ‘we only use blah blah monitors’. The room interacts with the monitors – find the speakers that work the best and finesse their positioning to the best result.”

At AIR Mastering, John Webber suggests: “It’s about ensuring that all supplied audio is fully represented with the lowest amount of distortion and coloration. You want a clear and detailed soundstage and not one that is smeared. It’s also important that main monitors are not fatiguing and still sound good at a lower listening level.

“You must make sure you deliver the truest sonic representation to your monitors as possible. Creating a neutral acoustic is vital. You won’t know how effective any gear is unless you’ve created an excellent listening environment. It sounds simple but we don’t live in an ideal world, the basics in terms of monitoring and acoustics are extremely tricky/expensive to achieve the standards we expect.

“We’ve taken the top-end hi-fi approach as opposed to the studio monitoring approach. We were very lucky to get Europe’s first set of TAD Reference One loudspeakers. These are biamped with Class-D Tricord www.audiomedia.com

Cutting it for the Vinyl Revival The room at AIR Mastering was originally set up for vinyl

Vinyl sales are at their highest level for 15 years, according to figures from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Official Charts Company. Just over 780,000 vinyl albums were sold in 2013 – the largest number since 817,000 were sold in 1997. The 2013 figure is likely to be overtaken when 2014’s statistics are revealed at the yearend. It’s all good news for the noble order of disc cutters.

“The upsurge in mastering vinyl is fantastic,” enthuses Barry Grint. We [at Alchemy] have recently bought a second VMS80 lathe, which is quite something as they are pretty rare – Neumann stopped making lathes in the late 80s, I think. I was a young mastering engineer when vinyl was the main release format and Matt [Colton] has won the Music Producers Guild Mastering Engineer of The Year Award for his mastering and cutting skill.

“Vinyl demands a musical approach to mastering – centring the EQ on the top end of the kit and adding gain gives a brashness that doesn’t sound good and translates poorly to vinyl. Mastering engineers with a vinyl background can always master for digital; that is not always the case the other way around.

“Phil Kinrade masters for digital here, but has a wealth of experience, so there are no issues with cutting anything he has put together. I guess vinyl sorts the men from the boys; sticking a limiter in and cranking up the gain won’t research mono blocks. The speakers were tested with different amps and cables before arriving at this combo.”

Abbey Road’s Geoff Pesche has worked in the studio industry for many years, including time at Utopia, Tape One, Masterpiece, and Townhouse Studios. In that time he has built an enviable portfolio. At Tape One, for example, he cut the vinyl lacquers for the best-selling 12in record of all time, New Order’s Blue Monday, and Dire Straits’ platinumselling Brothers In Arms.

cut it for vinyl – excuse the pun.”

John Webber comments: “Our room [at AIR Mastering] was originally built with vinyl very much in mind. Vinyl mastering is a different approach from CD/ digital mastering because often CD masters don’t translate well to vinyl.”

Alexis Bardinet at Globe Audio Mastering reports: “Actually I almost do at least one vinyl mastering per week.

I use the same monitoring system but the approach is radically different. We decided to change our mastering desk and go for a Maselec MTC-1X to better respond to the vinyl demand.”

“The mastering engineer really started to be recognised when he was able to cut vinyl discs at a higher level than his anonymous predecessors,” says David Hawkins. “When a record was played on juke-boxes or on radio programmes, if it was louder than the rest, it stood out. Levels which almost – but not quite – made the pickup needle jump out of the groove were highly prized.”

Andy Munro sums up: “Vinyl has a special requirement for groove modulation control and track capacity so there are special skills needed to cut a great disc. In my opinion a true mastering engineer should have acquired cutting expertise because it enforces habits which translate well to digital formats. Frankly, it is more skilful by a mile.”

As to choice of monitor systems, Pesche’s priorities are “sonic clarity and performance at both high and low levels”. He adds: “We use B&W Nautilus, because these suit our room characteristics. I also use Yamaha NS10s as near-fields. The three key elements are the stereo image, voicing of the room and the listening position.

There’s no point having the best monitors in the world and listening in a shed. Our rooms are all on a floating floor, with baffled acoustic treatment.

The monitors are an integral part

of any listening room – almost as important as the ears of the engineer.

Globe Audio Mastering in Bordeaux will shortly celebrate its 15th year in business and co-owner Alexis Bardinet reports that business at his south-west France complex is buoyant. Like others, he stresses the importance of “getting the room right. It’s important to have almost half of the room with absorption,” he explains. “When we first embarked on this project, our major investment – in time and money – was in the acoustics.

November 2014 23

FEATURE MASTERING And 15 years later we have no regrets – it’s one of the reasons we’re in good health in a difficult market.

“We’re always looking at new technologies – and keeping a lookout for suitable vintage gear. I’ve always been a big fan of Dynaudio and our main monitoring system is an M3 Dynaudio in 5.1 with XTA crossover and Crest amplication.”

Darius van Helfteren honed his mastering skills at Wisseloord Studios before setting up Amsterdam Mastering, where, again, the room acoustics were the key factor.

“Basically, the room is an integral part of the system,” he says. “When I listen to a song I have to master, I can decide (in a general way) within a few seconds what I need to do. Because my room isn’t foggy or clouding the issue, it’s letting me hear the music in a very pure way. When you master or mix in a great room with great monitoring, you don’t need to listen to it anywhere else – because you know exactly how it sounds.

“You can get as technical as you like when setting up speakers, but for me it has to pass the ‘enjoyment’ test

24 November 2014

first. And that test is: to listen to, say, 20 of your favourite songs – ones that you’ve always considered to have great sound. Do most of them sound ‘right’ to you? Do you like how they sound in terms of frequency response and stereo image? If not, then something needs to be tweaked. This is especially true when calibrating a subwoofer. It’s all very well to do it technically, but do your favourite bass-heavy songs sound ‘right’ to you, with enough weight or thump. Or is there too much? So, once you’ve got that sorted out, then you can start to get into the details and the technical stuff, like applying more room treating or even a room optimisation processor, for example.

“When I was in the market for new speakers (around 2005) I went to check out all the most popular speakers for mastering at the time – PMC, B&W, Dunlavy, ProAc, etc – and the ones that I felt most comfortable with were B&W Nautilus. I think it’s important that you choose a speaker you like and that fits your taste.”

Eastlake Audio has designed and built recording and mastering studios

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Alchemy Mastering has recently relocated to new premises in west London

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FEATURE MASTERING across the world – and has seen some changes. “As the independent studios emerged a generation ago, totally independent mastering facilities are now established,” states MD David Hawkins. “They generally employ highly specific mastering-related EQ and dynamic control outboard not always found in music recording environments – such as Maselec and others – and use transmission-linetype monitoring loudspeakers such as PMC, which are more biased to ‘forensic rather than visceral’ examination of the recorded material.

Remote Working “Mastering facilities now both digitally receive from – and digitally return to – their clients the work sent to them. Physical location has become almost irrelevant as client attendance has faded, and this is exemplified by Simon Heywood and Dick Beetham, who each moved central London operations to the west of England and Sussex respectively. The palette of specific mastering requirements also broadened some time ago with iTunes and other developments.

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“In Eastlake Audio’s recent design work for 360 Mastering in Hastings we were required to cater for astonishingly high sub-40Hz LF energy, as well as provide exceptional levels of sound isolation to adjoining properties at all hours of the day and night, as 360 Mastering’s clients are spread over worldwide time-zones.”

At 360, PMC is the preferred monitor system. The UK-based designer/manufacturer’s systems are found in facilities worldwide – its most recent release, the QB1-A, is already installed at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.

“Our mastering clients are extremely demanding as they look for so many attributes in a monitor, i.e. transparency, defined image placement, high level (when required), and the really tricky one, an identical balance at all levels,” remarks PMC’s Keith Tonge. “Designing a monitor to excel in every region is certainly a challenge but it comes down to having that holistic view of what is required rather than focusing on an individual aspect of performance to the detriment of everything else.

“Mastering requires an extremely natural, neutral, open balance so it’s vital that the monitors have a very wide, even dispersion so any reflected audio is as close in frequency response to that direct from the drivers. The ear/ brain is extremely clever at identifying reflections that differ in response from those direct from the drivers, and when they do vary it makes for an unnatural and fatiguing session.

“Keeping coloration to an absolute minimum is paramount so we would preclude reflex designs and horn loading, and avoid elements that could create a ‘character’. It’s also essential that all electronics and driver designs are very much audiophile quality with enormous headroom so everything is working well within their limits.” www.abbeyroad.com www.airstudiosmastering.com www.amsterdammastering.com www.alchemymastering.com www.bowers-wilkins.com www.dynaudioprofessional.com www.eastlake-audio.co.uk www.globe-audio.com www.munro.co.uk www.pmc-speakers.com

November 2014 25

FEATURE STUDIO PROFILE

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Picture: Andrew Brooks

RAK STUDIOS

RAK It Up Jake Young goes down to one of the UK’s best-known recording spots to see all four of its studios.

W

ith a selection of commercial studios, RAK Publishing and its rich back catalogue and four other companies in the St John’s Wood, London building that are renting space, RAK Studios has much to offer.

“A lot of deals that we do inside the publishing company are now predominantly involving the studios,” explains Andy Leese, general manager. “So we are essentially doing production deals using the studios we have rather than paying large advances and hoping that the record company does a great job.”

When legendary producer Mickie Most founded RAK in 1976 it consisted of Studio 1 and Studio 2.

The other part of the building that now holds Studio 3 and Studio 4 was a schoolhouse, which he subsequently purchased.

26 November 2014

Studio 1 and Studio 2 are virtually as they were; both rooms still contain the original API desks.

“The multitrack is still up and running and we still use it on occasions when demanded if we can ever find tape, which is very hard,” says Trisha Wegg, studio manager.

“Obviously we’ve added elements like Pro Tools and various bits of outboard gear that have been bought over the years.”

The machine room houses multitracks and Pro Tools rigs for both Studio 2 and Studio 3. “Something that was quite great was getting the multitracks and the Pro Tools out,” Wegg continues. “Especially in 2 because it gives a nice area for bands and relaxation.”

Studio 3 was built in 1984, and now contains a Neve that came out of Abbey Road Studio Two. The Dynaudio Acoustics M3As get

turned on occasionally to blast the place out, but people tend to monitor on the mids.

Keeping it Unique Studio 4 was built more or less for in-house. “We’re looking at that room in terms of re-tweaking because there are six areas where there’s what they call ‘acoustic chaos’,” says Leese.

“Albums have been mixed in there very successfully on nearfields. Gil Norton mixed a Gomez album in there. This room is ‘jack of all trades, master of none’. It’s not really a mix room, it’s not really a writing room, and it’s not really a tracking room. So we’re going to try to reconfigure it in certain respects.”

The SSL 4056 E desk is probably going to be replaced. “We even looked at an old API but it could be anything,” adds Leese. “The strength of RAK is the space itself and the things we have here that you just

simply can’t get in a plug-in. It’s a unique experience and we want to keep to that tradition so whatever happens with this room it’s going to be something interesting and creative, and hopefully something better than you’re going to be able to get your hands on at home. Obviously, home studios are taking large amounts of business away from every commercial studio in the world. So you have to do something differently and I think this is what we’re focused on at RAK – giving our clients a special experience.”

RAK houses two additional writing rooms and another independent music publishing company Touch Tones Music, which works as consultants to help promote and market RAK Publishing’s catalogue.

“They’re going after the syncs in the area of film, TV, games, advertisements, etc,” reports Leese.

“So we work very closely with them.” www.audiomedia.com

FEATURE STUDIO PROFILE

RAK Singles Club Launched

Picture: Andrew Brooks

The RAK Singles Club, releases set to revive the RAK Records label, are available as 7in vinyl and download. Each artist created an original A-side of their choice and a B-side cover from RAK’s back catalogue. Jake Young talks with senior engineer/producer Richard Woodcraft about his work on a new record from Beautiful Boy. Let’s talk about your session with Beautiful Boy. What project were you working on?

The session I produced was for one of the first RAK Singles Club releases, where the bands involved do an original A-side and a cover version from the RAK Publishing catalogue for the B-side (in this case Bodies

by Beautiful Boy and Kids In America originally by Kim Wilde, written by her dad Marty Wilde, and produced

by Mickie in 1981). The band’s take on it is very interesting.

The releases will be primarily on 7in vinyl and resurrect the RAK Records label with the intention of looking as original as possible.

Richard Woodcraft

Projects Highlights from the studios so far this year include Steve Fitzmaurice celebrating a number one with the Sam Smith album he recorded in Studio 1, and returning to RAK with Eliza and the Bear and Mary J Blige; along with Neil Cowley Trio’s album Touch and Flee and Labrinth recording forthcoming material.

Max Dingel has been at RAK for much of the year in Studio 4 with both Kate Boy and David Otero, following the success of the James album La

Petite Mort he made in Studio 3 last year. Royal Blood went into Studio 3 with producer Tom Dalgety to finish the album released in August, while Jerry Boys has been in multiple times with Olivia Chaney, Toumani Diabete, and Ali Farka Touré.

Instrument-wise, the studios have purchased a Black Beauty snare drum and a 1969 Ludwig Hollywood kit, while RAK’s grand piano in Studio 1 has been for a complete overhaul with David Fry at Renner. www.rakstudios.co.uk

What was the vocal chain set-up?

I used a Shure SM7 for the A-side, as that track is quite dense arrangement-wise and the SM7 sits well when there’s a lot of information to compete with. It sort of compresses itself and flattens out the nuances that can get lost when using something else that specialises in super detail. The mic pre was an original API 512b with some Blackface 1176 compression.

For the cover version it was the same chain, but using a valve 47 as there was the space in tempo and instrumentation to let it shine.

The backing vocals were mainly done by Dane (lead singer and writer) on the SM7 as they were sat a bit behind, so needed to hold their own at that level in the mix.

Were there any challenges or special technical skills you had to rely on during the session?

The challenge was mainly to get everything recorded in two days to do justice to both songs. The band had spent more time with the original so had it pretty much formatted for their sound, but there were still a few parts to get down, whereas with the cover we had more of an open-minded approach to see where it could go.

What was the atmosphere like during the session?

Fantastic. It was heads-down but good fun. The band were great – focused and ambitious. Everybody was aware of the importance and significance of the project and wanted to get it right. The cover was treated with respect too, and not just something that had to be done to order. Also, everyone was keen to make it an original version that was true to the band, held its own, and was also valid for syncing opportunities.

www.audiomedia.com

November 2014 27

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS HEADPHONES

Expert Witness Jamey Warren, CEO of specialist headphone retailer HeadRoom, gives us the whys and wherefores of headphone purchasing.

H

eadphones are an essential tool for recording studios.

Having spoken with a variety of recording engineers, producers, mastering engineers, and musicians, I’ve learned a few key aspects about headphones, and there are questions I always ask when somebody is looking for their first pair or for a pile to fit their needs. I’ll start off by covering what I consider to be the three main concerns when choosing headphones for your studio.

1. Open vs. Closed Headphones?

This is the first big question to answer and it’s a relatively simple one. If you will be using a microphone to record sounds such as an acoustic guitar, voice, or drums you’ll likely want closed headphones. Closed headphones help to keep sound from leaking out and getting into your microphone feed. If you’re recording or producing music using direct input or software-based instruments this is not an issue.

If you’re only mixing or mastering music and don’t need isolation then you can use open headphones.

It is usually easier to get more natural, accurate sound from an open headphone than from a closed headphone of similar design. This is not always the case, as we have heard a few open design headphones that sound worse than good quality closed headphones. Ultimately it depends on how much attention the manufacturer paid to sound quality versus cost/style/ comfort, etc.

as the first criteria but the truth is if your headphones don’t work or break often you’ll be making less music.

The quality of sound you get from a headphone depends on many different factors, including design and price. Once you’ve settled on your needs and budget we can narrow down your options.

Entry-level or Low-cost Headphones When outfitting a studio with headphones for the whole band it’s helpful to keep the cost per unit down.

Our best recommendation is to keep it affordable, but don’t skimp to the point where you’re buying something disposable.

The Shure SRH440’s are greatsounding headphones, providing plenty of isolation for recording with microphones. They also sound good enough to be the only headphones for those on a budget.

For a small increase in price, stepping up to the Audio-Technica M50x will get you a little more natural and accurate sound and a few extra cables included in the package.

At the higher end of entry-level headphones we often recommend the Shure SRH840, which provides more comfortable ear cups, fuller bass response and an extra set of earpads.

2. Durability Studio headphones need to be durable and repairable. Many wellrespected studio cans these days have removable cables and replaceable ear pads and headbands. Some manufacturers, such as Sennheiser, go so far as to make almost all parts replaceable. All of the headphones we have listed in this guide offer replaceable cables and parts.

Mid-priced Headphones If you’re wanting the best bang for your buck without compromising your mixing or mastering abilities we recommend the Sennheiser HD600 and HD650, as well as the AKG K712. These are open-style headphones providing very natural and accurate sound. Remember, open headphones are best used when a microphone is not in use.

A nice mid-priced closed option is the Shure SRH1540. While they leak a little more sound than your standard closed headphones, they isolate enough to be our top recommendation for tracking in the studio.

3. Sound Quality You would think I would have put this

High-end Headphones On the extreme end of the spectrum

28 November 2014

we are seeing a lot of new products from all the known manufacturers.

From Sennheiser we have the HD800, possibly the world’s best headphones – their open design with angled driver and proprietary ‘ring radiator’ driver yield the widest soundstage and precise details of anything we’ve heard.

AKG released the K812 this year, offering its signature sound in a more refined package.

A newcomer to the audio world, Audeze released its LCD-X in 2013, delivering planar magnetic headphones with a luscious, dynamic, and very linear bass response.

If you’re looking for the top of the line in closed headphones, the Fostex TH-900 and Audeze LCD-XC are sure to delight the ears of any musician or engineer.

Headphone Amps A word on headphone amps. Why would you need such a thing? Behind every headphone jack is a miniature power amplifier to drive headphones.

Sometimes the manufacturers put this in as an afterthought, or simply don’t pay much attention to the headphone output. If you’re considering investing in high-end headphones you should consider pairing them with a dedicated headphone amp.

High on our recommended list of headphone amps is the Grace Design m920. While it costs more than any headphone we’ve mentioned, this could be the centre of your production.

The m920 includes a digital-toanalogue converter with all standard connections, switchable inputs to act as the heart of your monitoring centre, and it can be used as a preamp for your main speakers. Also included with the m920 is a Crossfeed setting, which is meant to more closely simulate the sound of speakers, reducing listening fatigue.

If the idea of Crossfeed is appealing to you, also consider the SPL Phonitor, which offers a very customisable crossfeed to suit your own listening tastes.

Expert witness Jamey Warren is the CEO/president of HeadRoom, a dedicated headphone retailer for over 20 years. www.headphone.com

www.audiomedia.com

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Headphones Bring up the subject of headphones with any producer, engineer, or recording professional and you’re bound to get more than an earful back. That’s because our ears are only as good as the sound they are receiving. That’s where this Technology Focus comes in.

AKG

K712 PRO The K712 PROs are open, over-ear reference headphones for precise listening, mixing, and mastering. The over-ear design guarantees maximum wearing comfort for fatiguefree mixing and mastering, while providing spacious and airy sound without any compromise. Their precise powerful sound results from improved low-end performance by 3dB. • Over-ear design: maximum wearing comfort for long work sessions • Sophisticated open technology: for spacious and airy sound without compromise • Improved low-end performance by 3dB: for more powerful sound imaging • Flat wire voice coil: for added impulse and treble response • Equipped with a professional mini XLR connector for quick replacement of the cable www.akg.com

BEHRINGER

HPX6000

Behringer HPX6000 Professional DJ Headphones are said to deliver clear sound, comfort, and value. Users enjoy loud, clean sound with deep and powerful bass. On top of their rugged construction, these headphones have a classic look and feel, from the soft touch rubberised coating to the leather ear cushions and headband pad. The headband and ear cups are fully articulated and adjustable, as well as foldable, with a detachable cable allowing for easy carrying and storage.

AUDIO-TECHNICA

M50X

Audio-Technica’s M50x is the company’s flagship M Series model, designed for demanding professional monitoring and mixing applications. Widely praised for its full, accurate tone and comfort, the M50x is said to be ideal for critical audio situations from studio recording to location broadcast audio.

• • • •

45mm large-aperture drivers with rare earth magnets Exceptional clarity and extended frequency range 90º swivelling ear-cups for one-ear monitoring Detachable cable – 1.2m and 3m straight, and 1.2-3m coiled cables included • Circumaural design contours around the ears for excellent sound isolation www.audio-technica.com

FLARE AUDIO

REFERENCE R1

Flare Audio has launched what it believes to be the world’s first ‘fully’ open back headphones. The Reference R1, aimed at the pro-audio and audiophile market, uses Flare’s new approach to produce distortion-free sound, even at full volume, enabling true transfer and transmission of source material. Look out for our full review of the headphones in Audio Media December.

• • • • • • •

Distortion free sound, even at full volume Highlights details previously masked in tracks True transfer/transmission of source material Sonic immersion with precise stereo imaging Natural, open sound with true timbre detail Believed to reduce hearing fatigue Detail awareness may improve with continued use

• Superior sound quality with wide frequency response and enhanced bass • Ultra-high dynamic range • 50mm high-output neodymium drivers • Single-sided removable cable with 0.125in jack and 0.25in gold plated adapter • Adjustable headband with foldable, swivelling ear cups • High-quality components and rugged construction www.behringer.com

30 November 2014

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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

FOCAL

SPIRIT PROFESSIONAL Spirit Professional headphones benefit from Focal’s years of expertise, and have been designed for sound engineers and musicians. According to the company, the neutrality of the sound, combined with the dynamics of the transducers, will enable users to work with great precision.

• Acoustic transparency and ease of use • Precise and detailed sound reproduction without distortion • Excellent isolation and acoustic coupling to the ear • Total control of the audio band • Optimal comfort www.focalprofessional.com

SENNHEISER

HD 380 PRO

These collapsible, high-end headphones are ideal for professional monitoring use. The HD 380 Pros offer a closed, circumaural design, which provides excellent passive attenuation of ambient noise, while Sennheiser’s Eargonomic Acoustic Refinement (E.A.R) technology channels the audio signal directly into the user’s ears. They also provide an extended frequency response, with increased sound pressure levels (up to 110dB) for accurate sound reproduction in all types of demanding usage.

• Collapsible, high-end headphones ideal for professional monitoring • Extended frequency response for accurate, reliable sound reproduction • Increased sound pressure level (110dB) for demanding use • Closed circumaural design for passive attenuation of ambient noise (up to 32dB) • Exceptional comfort for extended listening www.sennheiser.com

SHURE

SRH1840

The SRH1840s are the flagship open-back headphones from Shure for mixing, mastering, and audiophile listening. They feature individually-matched 40mm neodymium drivers, so users can expect a detailed and honest sound, wide stereo imaging, smooth, extended highs, and accurate bass.

• Super-lightweight construction, featuring aircraft-grade aluminium alloy yoke and stainless steel grilles for enhanced durability • Lightweight, dual-frame, padded headband for hours of listening comfort • Replaceable velour ear pads with high density, slow recovery foam • Oxygen-free copper cable (OFC) with Kevlar reinforced jacket for great performance and durability • Individually tested and serialised www.shure.co.uk

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KRK SYSTEMS

KNS8400

Building on the reputation of its studio monitors, KRK Systems’ KNS Series KNS8400 Professional Headphones provide a consistent voicing philosophy and honest reproduction that is trusted by top producers, studio musicians, performers, and engineers around the globe. Along with accurate sound reproduction and wide frequency response, the KNS’ lightweight, foldable design allows for long sessions with high comfort and great isolation.

They offer large dynamic range with extremely low-distortion – ideal for mixing and mastering in the studio, or when travelling on the road.

• • • • • •

Configuration: closed back, circumaural Frequency response: 5Hz to 23kHz Sensitivity (1mW): 97dB SPL Calculated max SPL: 124dB SPL Ambient noise isolation: up to 30dBA Dimensions: 3.7in (94mm) x 10.5in (267mm) x 9.6in (244mm), 0.5lb (0.23kg) • Replaceable ear and head cushions utilise advanced memory foam www.krksys.com

FOSTEX

TH500RP

The TH500RPs are based on Fostex’s T-series studio monitor headphones, which the company claims are the first premium planar-type headphones designed for hi-fi audio listening.

Fostex has employed RP (Regular Phase) diaphragm technology in its professional studio headphones, such as the T20RPmk2 and recent T-series models. The TH500RP model now combines this RP technology with the design philosophy and flair of the TH900, resulting in a set of premium headphones which deliver an impressive highresolution sound.

• Employs the uniquely developed RP (Regular Phase) diaphragm • Newly-tuned driver unit • Proprietary gravity resin baffle plates • Soft leather ear pads • Connecting cable made of HiFC • Leather texture carrying pouch www.fostexinternational.com November 2014 31

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

SONY

MDR 7510 Said to provide optimum aural clarity and wearer comfort, the MDR Series of professional headphones is precision manufactured using the highest-grade materials.

Consisting of the MDR-7510 (pictured) and the MDR7506/1, the headphones are engineered for a combination of strength, comfort, and practicality. They are used daily in broadcast and recording studios worldwide. The headphones come complete with protective carry pouch and gold-plated UniMatch 3.5mm/6.3mm adaptor.

• 50mm driver unit with PET diaphragm • Closed-ear design • Wide frequency response • High power handling capacity 2,000mW • Stereo UniMatch plug • Gold connectors and OFC cord www.sony.co.uk

32 November 2014

TELEFUNKEN

THP-29 EXTREME ISOLATION Telefunken Elektroakustik has introduced the THP-29 Extreme Isolation headphones, designed for studio and live sound environments. Ultra high fidelity, high-input 40mm speaker drivers featuring TruSound Tonal Accuracy are integrated with 29dB of eco-friendly natural passive isolation. According to Telefunken, the headphones, which were developed in partnership with Direct Sound, are suitable for use by live mixers who need to block out monitor speakers, or by drummers who need to be able to hear the mix without setting their volume at an unreasonably high level.

• Extreme Isolation headphones come with padded adjustable headband • Ultra-high-fidelity high-input 40mm speakers • 29dB isolation • Jack adaptor • Storage pouch www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com

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The benefits of being on the wall planner include: • Unrivalled low cost, all year round exposure • Proven to raise brand awareness to the whole Pro Audio industry • Constant reminder of your company and services This large pull out calendar will be distributed in our end of year issue, with 6,000 copies being distributed to our print subscribers.

It will also be available as a pdf and will be distributed to Audio Media and Audio Pro International’s 40,000+ readership.

For more information on the available options please contact: kbertelsen@nbmedia.com or call +44 (0)20 7226 7246

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

DPA d:screet Omni Necklace NECK-WORN MICROPHONE

Alistair McGhee gets his hands on a mic that’s simple enough for reality TV contestants to use, but still offers excellent sound quality.

I

n the topsy-turvy world of global capitalism you can never take anything for granted. Take personal mics, for instance. When I was a nipper Sony ruled the roost, the ECM was the Hoover or the Kodak of the market, synonymous with the very idea of a personal mic. I spent many a happy hour fiddling with ECMs, clips and ties back in the day, and I jokingly used to say: “I wish Sony would make a tie with a built in mic, make my life much easier.” Sadly, Sony wasn’t listening and the world was spared the literal ‘tie-mic’. However, many moons later, DPA, (which is now synonymous with high-quality personal mics) has come up with an idea not a million miles away from a ‘neck-worn’ microphone. The DPA d:screet Omni Necklace – yes, a microphone as a fashion accessory.

Reality Check So what has driven this innovative new take on the

34 November 2014

personal microphone? Well, the rise of Big Brother-driven reality TV. The idea is that on some gigs you won’t have a tame SA2 to fit mics properly and your talent may not have enough experience (or indeed intelligence) to fit a mic with a clip or cage. And in reality TV there probably won’t even be a tie or handy lapel to fit it to. So you need a system that lets the talent fit their own microphones but in a way that is not as fiddly as a clip and still gets good sound, and just as important, repeatable sound.

With the necklace you have one thing to remember – the wire goes down your back. If the wire is down your front, like a tie, you have it on back to front. What could possibly go wrong?

So reality TV, or maybe radio roundtables, corporate workshops or churches spring to mind as possible markets.

The concept is simple – a well-proven DPA capsule embedded in a necklace-style fitting, which is both robust, discrete, and easy to fit.

The model I tried is a nice Bauhaus black with a silvercoloured clip. The finish is smooth black plastic of good quality. I guess you want to be able to wipe this down easily, and white and brown versions are both available.

The clip is magnetic, which helps middle-aged men fumbling behind themselves for a clasp – not something we are used to doing and an image I don’t recommend you hold on to. Once seated, a simple rotation locks it in.

It’s pretty much fool proof, until a gorilla stands on it, but then rule number one, don’t put your mics on the floor. You know that, I know that, but the talent will never remember it. Keep the gorillas off your clips and, of course, your capsules.

And talking of gorillas, I have an 18in neck and the necklace was an easy fit with an inch or so to spare. I had the 47cm version, which is notionally about 18.5in.

However if you are working on ‘The Munster front row reads the works of Louis

“There’s no doubt you’re getting top drawer audio quality when you buy a DPA miniature microphone and the necklace is no different.”

Alistair McGhee MacNeice’, you may want to check out the 53cm version that will fit collar sizes up to about 21in. Beyond that I suppose they could always wear it as a bicep mic.

Sound Quality The sound quality is – as you would expect from a DPA – excellent. Mine came with the high boost grid, which helps cut through the natural muffliness of being fitted at the neck. There’s no doubt you’re getting top drawer audio quality when you buy a DPA miniature microphone and the necklace is no different. You don’t have a huge choice of capsules – I suppose there’s no point in a directional mic given where it is fitted so it is only available with low sensitivity versions of the 4061.

If your talent is wearing something open-necked I found no problems with physical noise, though you do have to watch it doesn’t ride around a bit under exertion.

You might want to tape the ‘tail’ down to hold the capsule in the desired position (DPA also supplies a clothing clip with the product). I did try the Necklace under a buttoned-up shirt or high collar and in this position it will be prone to material rubbing and the usual compromise in sound quality depending on the fabric.

And now to the vexed question of interfacing the DPA to your radio system.

You have a few choices.

DPA supplies the mics with MicroDot connectors.

They seem to be much more reliable than their small size www.audiomedia.com

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW would indicate and because they are teeny tiny they’re ideally suited for the wide range of adapters that enable you to fit a MicroDot connector into just about any radio system.

DPA has a bucket load of converters, and if you take advantage of that approach then you can have MicroDots on all your mics and converters to fit any radio system for maximum flexibility. As you might expect the converters are not cheap but they are very well made and there is one that enables the Necklace to be plugged into a standard XLR. But what if you view tiny connectors with suspicion and consider converters as yet another connection to fail? I rang my local DPA supplier, Martyn at SoundKit, and he

assured me that you can have your Necklace supplied with a custom connector hard wired if that is what you require. And the fact that connectors get a whole paragraph just underlines the fact that we should have at most two standard fittings for radio mics, big and small. The current profusion is a joke.

Gets off hobby horse, slightly red in face.

So do you need one? Well the necklace is a one-trick pony, but it’s a good trick. You are getting the highest quality personal mic in a simple-to-fit package. If I was getting booked for 12 weeks of reality TV with eight radios and no provision for audio staff ‘on the floor’ for the whole shoot, I would be ordering mine now.

Joanne Ruddock speaks to Mikkel Nymand, DPA product manager, about the design and construction of the Necklace mic.

The Reviewer Alistair McGhee began audio life in Hi-Fi before joining the BBC as an audio engineer. After 10 years in radio and TV, he moved to production. When BBC Choice started, he pioneered personal digital production in television.

Most recently, Alistair was assistant editor, BBC Radio Wales and has been helping the UN with broadcast operations in Juba.

INFORMATION Feature Set • Includes DPA’s 4061 omnidirectional miniature capsule • Capable of handling up to 144dB peak before clipping • Available in black, white, and brown and in lengths of either 47cm or 53cm • Supplied with MicroDot connectors from TE California • RRP: €495 + VAT www.dpamicrophones.com

The clothing clip will further attach the cable to clothes. Also, the necklace is constructed in a way so that it stays in place, but if it sticks to something, it should open so it does not strangle the performer. The magnetic lock with securing twist is our solution.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of necklace mics compared with headworn/lavalier mics?

Headsets come closer to the mouth and will allow for even higher separation and gain-to-feedback ratio. Also, the position below the chin lacks quite a bit of high frequency clarity. This is why the d:screet Necklace comes pre-fitted with our high boost grid to compensate for the high frequency loss (see chart, below).

How important was it that non-technical personnel would feel comfortable using this mic? Does it require any training/skills at all to mount/remove?

Very important. It was one of the basic principles of the construction. The idea came from one of our long-term users who was producing reality shows such as Big Brother. He realised that a lot of the time the ‘actors’ should mount the mics themselves on many different clothes – or when wearing no clothes at all. Later in the pre-study we found that the mic solution was also relevant for traditional headset use, such as conference presenters, house of worship pastors, and more.

Other than ease of use, what were the primary considerations when designing the Necklace microphone?

The physical balance of the product was taken care of by the cable junction in the neck. It is www.audiomedia.com

carried out by a specially designed T-angled junction (see image, above). This part ensures that the cable out of the microphone will always go straight down the back. As long as this part is in the middle of the neck, the mic capsule is at the same time in the middle under your chin.

The mic has already been used in a reality TV setting. Is it robust enough to handle more strenuous filming environments?

The microphone is designed with a Mogami cable jacket around the miniature microphone cable. This approach has been used and fieldtested for years on numerous stages. The microphone cable inside is Kevlar-reinforced and uses our latest improvement in the microphone housing with strain reliefs.

Are any more additions to the d:screet series being planned?

We are currently doing some very interesting prestudies on flatheaded and even smaller design for concealed use.

November 2014 35

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Aphex USB 500 Rack 500 SERIES COMPUTER AUDIO INTERFACE

Sam and Dave, Morecombe and Wise, corned beef and cabbage. There are some combinations that just work. And others – Donnie and Marie, lager and lime – that make your heart sink. So now that Aphex has released its 500 USB frame combining 500 module flexibility with USB connectivity, the question on everyone’s lips is, “Lennon and McCartney or John and Yoko?” Alistair McGhee has the answer.

T

he Aphex USB 500 Rack is built into a sturdy well-finished steel frame and is made in America. The unit has slots for four 500 series devices and a frontpanel control section two slots wide. The Aphex takes an IEC mains lead and has a frontpanel power switch.

Power it up and the Aphex logo above will be illuminated in tasteful green.

Above the power section are two 0.25in jacks for headphone outputs, each with an independent volume control and at the top of the section a monitoring volume control with associated mono and dim push buttons. These buttons share the Aphex green illumination when engaged.

The twin headphone outputs carry the same signal but have independent level control, watch out as you reach to move your headphones from one socket to the other; I managed to switch the rack off while doing so. You, of course, will be more careful.

Using the 500 USB with OSX is easy – plug it into a Mac and away you go. On an ageing iPad 2, plug it in via the USB camera kit and fire up GarageBand and hey presto it works. Beware though, a couple of other iPad apps didn’t work so well. For Windows you need a driver – download it from the Aphex site, install and then plug in the rack and all should be peachy. I had two Windows systems to hand – one running 7 64-bit and the other running Windows

36 November 2014

8.1. Plugging into 7 64-bit brought an interesting issue into focus. Windows mapped the Aphex’s multiple outputs in terms of speakers, so my headphones were centre and sub. This is because the Aphex allows you to work with the main outputs separately from the headphone outputs. I also found that my foobar media player preferred using Asio.

My Windows 8 system has Pro Tools 11 on board and I was half expecting a bit of hardware wrestling to get the Aphex to work. As it turned out, reading the note in the manual about leaving your existing hardware plugged in did the trick and once the driver was loaded it worked first time without a hitch.

Routing As you have a combined USB interface and 500 rack, your routing is a little more complex and indeed more flexible than your average standalone rack.

Each module (apart from slot 1) has a choice of three inputs – the XLR on the back of the device itself, the neighbouring module to the left, or a USB input from the computer. So you plug something in to the XLR, you take the output from the previous module in the rack or you take a feed from your DAW. We’ll start with the last of those options. One of the really nice features of a 500 system is using the modules as inserts in your software mix. My USB 500 came from MSL Professional and they kindly included some of

the Aphex 500 modules to garnish the basic rack dish.

I began with the EQF 500 – a 21st century take on an Aphex classic from the 70s.

Aphex provided some basic instructions on how to do this in Pro Tools and I followed along without too much trouble. If you don’t want to bother with adding a bus then just add an aux track to your mix. Then route the output of your original track to the module input in the rack and route the module output to your Aux track. Don’t forget to switch your module to USB input, and that’s it. In Reaper why not avail yourself of the glories of ReaInsert, which allows you to do proper send and return insertion on your track without using any more screen ReaLestate. Sorry about that.

I should say that I found the EQF 500 a very musical equaliser. It’s three band and the top and bottom sections are switchable between shelf and bell functionality.

You also get sweepable high and low pass filters. The EQs offer plus and minus 12dB. It’s probably symptomatic of being a certain age but I do enjoy the physical process of fingertip processing; I know that in itself adds nothing to the result but I can’t help it, there will always be a place in my heart for the physicality of audio.

Having worked through the insert process you begin to see the power of melding your USB interface with a 500 rack. All the routing and plugging takes place down your standard USB cable. This

allows you to make the most of digital flexibility while enjoying the analogue benefits of external processing.

Of course, the other big deal is on the input side. If you can afford the choicest plums from the likes of Prism Sound or Metric Halo then maybe you don’t worry too much about the quality of your mic amps, but for the rest of us the chance to pick and choose our mic amps is an opportunity not to be missed.

I had the choice of three Aphex units: the A Pre 500; the dual RPA 500, replete with valve technology and the J Pre 500, with Cinemag and Jensen transformers on board.

My 500 preamp of choice is the Grace Design M501, but this is hardly the place to start a mic preamp punch-up beyond saying that Aphex’s 500 series gear is tidy, as we say in Wales. Hopefully we

can do them more justice when space allows, especially when the new Project 500 module arrives.

Conclusion So, in summation, the Aphex is definitely a Jagger/Richards sort of combination. In terms of convenience, flexibility, and usability it is a hard product to beat.

The boards are awash with demands for bigger models and there’s a real buzz around the product. I’m just sorry now that the French didn’t get more of a grip on the USA back in the day. Pourquoi?

Well, because losing rack screws, like death and taxes, is a certainty, and while metric options abound the 4-40 screws found in the Aphex are very hard to find. [MSL Professional assure us they would be able to source them from the factory without too much trouble - Ed].

INFORMATION Feature Set • Combines a 500 series rack and a USB 2.0 audio interface • Monitor section with Mono and Dim • High output headphone amps • Up to 96k operation • RRP: £749 www.aphex.com www.audiomedia.com

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Allen & Heath Qu-32 DIGITAL MIXER

Andy Coules takes at look at Allen & Heath’s foray into the increasingly crowded marketplace of the 32-channel self-contained digital live sound console.

A

llen & Heath’s Qu-32 desk follows fast on the heels of the Qu-16 and Qu-24 and thus benefits from a 1.5 firmware version which has already addressed most of the minor niggles in the operating system (such as the ability to name channels).

A key selling point is that it features 33 fully automated faders and thus is one of the few digital consoles, of any size, that has a fader for every input channel (with a preamp). This means fewer layers are required and thus helps prevents layeritis – that affliction which blights users of digital consoles where you get lost in layers.

My first impression of the Qu-32 is that it is functional without being flashy – the front panel is straightforward and unexciting in the way that tools should be. The body is relatively slim and curves round in a pleasing J curve, the back of which houses all the I/O. The button LEDs illuminate in a way that makes them viewable in both bright and dim light and the 16 x 10cm touchscreen is bright and responsive (a quick poke with a Sharpie suggests that it is capacitative rather than resistive).

Basic operation is very intuitive; I was able to execute all fundamental mix functions (i.e. EQ, gate, comp, FX, aux sends, DCAs, short cut keys) within minutes of first turning it on. The workflow is well thought out and quite analogue in its feel – I didn’t need to spend any time scrolling through menus or reading the manual to do what I needed to do.

38 November 2014

Taking a look around the back there are no surprises.

There are 32 mic/line inputs (on balanced XLR and 0.25in jack respectively), a talk back XLR and three stereo inputs (two 0.25in jack pairs on the back panel and a stereo mini jack on the front panel).

For outputs there are 24 XLRs (divided into L/R, Mix, Group, and Matrix), an alternate stereo main output (on 0.25in jacks with a level control on the front panel), a two-track 0.25in jack output, and an AES XLR. Then there’s the usual USB and network (RJ45) connections as well as a dSNAKE connector.

The 32 jack line inputs are a nice touch as so many desks of this size cut costs by providing only XLRs. There are no individual channel name displays, which seems a valid cost-cutting choice on a desk of this nature. There is a facility for naming channels but this is only really of use if you plan to use the Qu-Pad iPad app.

I was pleased to find that the default scene was configured very intelligently, which helped me put my mix together quickly and without any fuss. All the bus masters and FX returns are up and the busses are enabled by default, so as soon as you start sending level to effects or mixes you can hear it coming back/going through – a simple enough thing but it saves time and minimises layer flipping.

Mix, Group and FX sends can be accessed via dedicated buttons to the right of the master fader, which, when pressed, automatically put you in sends on fader mode and the master fader becomes the master bus level. The seven

mix (four mono and three stereo) and four group sends (all stereo) have 28-band graphic EQs set up and ready to go (via the GEQ button) – they’ve done away with the top and bottom 25Hz and 20kHz filters, which I doubt anyone will miss. One very neat feature of GEQ mode is that the LED channel level meters become a basic RTA showing the level at each filter – quite helpful when chasing down that elusive burst of feedback.

Despite the generous complement of faders there is still the need for layers, and the Qu-32 has three.

The primary layer is the 32 input channels; the secondary layer is all the stereo inputs, FX returns, group masters, FX sends, mix sends, matrix and DCAs – all laid out and labelled on a single layer – and the third is a custom layer, which can be configured into any combination of input or output channels (with a nifty ‘+1’ function that makes setting it up a breeze). Once the custom layer is set up it can be locked in using the ‘Custom Layer Only’ function so that it’s the only layer available.

Effects The Qu-32 boasts four stereo iLive effects engines, featuring a selection of familiar and proven effects; the only thing missing is an amp simulator (which is not something I ever missed on the iLive but I feel would be useful on a desk of this size). The FX returns are stereo but conveniently only occupy one fader.

Another feature that I’ve yet to see on any other console of this size is the Qu-Drive, which enables the recording

and playback of 18 channels of 48kHz 24-bit audio direct to a USB stick. This can be any combination of input and output channels or just the humble stereo out – you just need to ensure your USB stick supports high sustained transfer rates. And if that isn’t enough you can connect the console to a Mac or PC for 32 x 32 channel recording and playback via USB (i.e. the desk acts as a combined mixer and sound card).

So how does it sound?

The preamps are transparent without being too clean and clinical – I particularly liked

the warmth imparted by the channel compressor.

One aspect I found pleasing is that the Qu-32 is the top of its range. So often desks of this size are the bottom of the range and thus are really just scaled down versions of the desk you want to be operating.

Allen & Heath has managed to strike that difficult balance between including all the advanced features that professional engineers demand while also making it accessible for non-expert operators. Its intuitive and straightforward interface makes it a pleasure to use for all.

The Reviewer Andy Coules started his career in the music industry as a tea boy in a recording studio, working his way up to studio sound engineer before developing a taste for live music and transferring his skills to the arena of live sound. This enabled him to combine his love of travelling and hotel rooms and tour the world with a diverse array of acts, often in the dual role of sound engineer/tour manager. www.andycoules.co.uk

INFORMATION Feature Set • Thirty-two mic/line inputs (TRS + XLR) • Thirty-three motor faders • Qu-Drive direct multitrack recording/playback on USB drives • Recallable AnaLOGIQ preamps • UK SRP: £3,118.80 www.allen-heath.com

www.audiomedia.com

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Focusrite Saffire PRO 26 AUDIO INTERFACE

With the robust and solid feel expected of Focusrite interfaces, the Saffire PRO 26 FireWire/ Thunderbolt-compatible unit is suitable for both studio and live use, writes Simon Tillbrook.

W

hen it comes to portable flexible audio interfaces, Focusrite has a long and well-established reputation for being right at the top of manufacturers offering this type of device.

The Focusrite Saffire range of units are well known to us, and the latest to join this lineup is the Saffire PRO 26.

Overview This is a desktop/portable interface, not a rack mountable one, which is 319mm x 192mm x 43mm, weighing just under 3kg.

As you would expect, Focusrite has shoehorned in a comprehensive range of input/output options in this compact package.

The Focusrite Saffire PRO 26 offers 18 inputs and eight outputs with a 24-bit resolution and sample rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96kHz. Connection to your host Windows or Mac computer/ DAW is via FireWire or Thunderbolt connection, which also provides bus power to the interface, and a mains power supply is also supplied. The rear of the Focusrite Saffire PRO 26 has a single FireWire 400 port, but the unit is supplied with a FireWire 400 to 800 cable, and a FireWire 400 to Thunderbolt cable is an optional extra.

Also supplied is the Focusrite MixControl routing software, as well as a software package made up of Ableton Live Lite, Novation BassStation, and Focusrite

40 November 2014

Midnight and Scarlett plugins. You also get 1GB of Loopmaster samples to get you up and running.

The 18 inputs are made up of six analogue inputs comprising four mic/line and two additional line inputs.

We then have 10 digital inputs – eight via ADAT optical and two S/PDIF. The eight outputs comprise six balanced line outputs and an S/PDIF output.

The Ins and Outs The Focusrite Saffire PRO 26 front panel starts with two TRS sockets for inputs 1 and 2. These can accept either a line input or instrument input based on the selection switch associated with these two channel inputs. On the rear panel are the XLR sockets for mic input 1 and 2; these have associated gain controls, along with mic inputs 3 and 4, on the front panel.

Phantom power can be applied to microphone inputs by two selection buttons. This is done in pairs – one button for channels 1 and 2, and then the same for 3 and 4.

Next up we have a pad switch for channels 1 and 2 only.

Each of the six analogue input levels can be monitored in the meter section. Each channel has a five-segment LED meter -42, -18, -6, -3, and 0dBFS. A monitor output level control, along with dim and mute switches, sits next to two stereo headphone outputs, each with its socket and associated level control.

The power switch (power can come from either the

FireWire bus, or the supplied power adapter) completes the front of the Saffire PRO 26.

On the rear, alongside mic input 1 and 2 XLRs, there are mic/line XLR/ TRS combination sockets for channels 3 and 4. Line input TRS sockets for channels 5 and 6 complete the analogue input connections for the Focusrite Saffire PRO 26.

The 10 digital inputs are supplied via ADAT optical, and S/PDIF RCA. MIDI input and output are via the usual five-pin Din sockets, and the Saffire PRO 26 outputs complete the lineup – six balanced line outputs and two via S/PDIF RCA. MixControl It is worth a quick mention of the MixControl software supplied with the Focusrite Saffire PRO 26.

Users of Focusrite interfaces will be familiar with this, but in brief this is the supplied comprehensive routing system you can configure and save templates for a wide variety of scenarios and applications.

I know that some will not see the need as the routing through their chosen DAW would be all they felt they required. In live scenarios or specific recording setup situations this can save a great deal of time when you may want or need to use the Focusrite Saffire PRO 26 on another unfamiliar DAW system, for example.

This software is straightforward to configure, and I can see the value of it.

The Test I have used a number of Focusrite interfaces in the past and always found them simple to use, robust and solid in look and feel; the Saffire PRO 26 fits perfectly into the range.

The mic preamplifiers are crisp with a touch of character and with the ADAT optical input I was able to expand the input preamplifier setup for a session by connecting through a Focusrite OctoPre unit with ease, leading to great sonic results.

Metering is simple but clear, and combined with the MixControl software I was able to quickly generate multiple independentlycontrolled monitor mixes.

Like others in the range, the Saffire PRO 26 provides good flexibility, ease of use,

great sound quality, robust feel, and total dependability.

It is a portable device in my eyes – there are smaller units in the range for those who do not need such an array of connectivity and functionality, but given the capabilities of the Focusrite Saffire PRO 26, it is compact and light enough for me.

Conclusion The Saffire PRO 26 is a welcome addition to an already excellent range of FireWire audio interfaces from Focusrite.

A solid range of greatsounding and easily accessible features with excellent supporting software to use as your requirements dictate prove that it is at a very attractive price point – this should be on your shortlist of units to audition.

The Reviewer Simon Tilbrook is a freelance sound designer/engineer, and training designer working principally with US clients on music, movies, and games.

INFORMATION Feature Set • A total of 18 inputs and eight outputs • Four XLR/TRS line inputs with 48V phantom power and two optional front panel Instrument inputs • Two rear panel TRS line inputs • Eight channels of ADAT digital input provide connectivity for external multichannel preamps • Two channels of digital S/PDIF inputs enable connections to additional digital-equipped outboard equipment • Stereo ‘loopback’ allows two channels of audio to be routed from software applications directly into your DAW • RRP: £279.99 uk.focusrite.com

www.audiomedia.com

The International Audio Guide series from Audio Media Each International Audio Guide focuses on an important pro-audio product line, giving independent articles followed by in depth advertorials, covering the history and current range from the leading manufacturers in their field.

Available now: 2014 International Console Guide 2014 International DAW & plugins Guide 2014 Live Sound & Theatre Guide 2014 International Monitors & Headphone Guide 2014 International Microphone Guide 2014 Broadcast Audio Guide 2015 International Console Guide

Contact me today to discuss your requirements and to make sure your company is represented.

Darrell Carter Tel:+44 (0) 20 7226 7246 e-mail: dcarter@nbmedia.com

INTERVIEW

Sign up for your digital AM at www.audiomedia.com

Game Audio To Go John Broomhall talks to Anastasios Brakis, creator of game sound tool Fabric, about the ever-changing world of audio development for tablet and mobile games.

T

he rapid uptake of smartphone and tablet technology has led to an explosion of software development.

The term ‘app’ has slipped effortlessly into common parlance and it seems there’s one for everything. A blossoming indie games sector now pumps out mind-boggling numbers of titles, enjoying a heady mixture of publishing control and artistic autonomy. Anastasios Brakis supports multiple developers via Fabric, his smart audio plug-in for game middleware, Unity.

How would you describe the audio content of these productions?

It’s becoming increasingly sophisticated thanks to surprisingly powerful tools, technologies, greater memory storage, and sheer CPU grunt. The capability for a game audio experience on the latest Samsung or HTC smartphone in your pocket is described by some as being comparable with Playstation 3 [Sony’s only recently superceded previous generation games console].

However, you can’t store huge amounts of layered interactive music or 20,000 lines of dialogue like a big console title. Nor will you be running much run-time DSP – so forget multiple instances of filtering, and consider baking in reverb for the cavern footsteps.

Designers have to think smart with a game audio mindset, reminiscent of former days of console development – for instance you’ll want to construct complex sounds from smaller elements, which can be repurposed and recomposed on the fly to create other FX. And intelligent assessment of priorities means asking what does the player really need to hear?

What won’t be heard much? Where can you cheat and scrimp without compromising the overall wow factor while conserving your precious CPU processing power, RAM and voicecount for the really important audio elements that will give maximum bang for your buck.

42 November 2014

To be clear – are you saying that the quality of an audio experience on a games machine which sat under the HD television in my living room fewer than two years ago can now be approximated on a tablet or mobile phone in my hand on the Tube?

Basically, yes – dozens of high-fidelity sound FX and speech clips, plus fantastic-sounding music played back via a virtual digital mixer.

But there is more to it than that.

For starters, huge technical strides come with each device iteration – a Samsung S2 may appear very much the poor audio relation compared to the new S5. And that’s a real challenge for developers when deciding which hardware they’ll support and what size memory realestate footprint is acceptable for an installed game. Again, generational jumps (eg, from 16GB to 32GB) move the goalposts substantially.

What strategies are there for dealing with the wide range of speakers and ear buds people are listening on?

Because of the massive differences between, say, iPad and iPhone speakers, if you want to hear impactful audio, you’ve got to use headphones. As to mixing strategies – well, for example, Monument Valley’s audio creator Stafford Bawler says he deploys an EQ cut on his playback system and for MV, assumed the general rule ‘nothing under 600Hz or over 12kHz’. Where he did use real bass, he ensured there were higher harmonic elements to provide player feedback on small speakers. In general, he flattened dynamic range and the game also used dynamics/ side-chaining to make, for example, stings stand out.

over the wall’ with no hands-on integration by them. This often comes down to audio considerations being left way too late and insufficient budget, scheduling and technical resourcing, which invariably leads to a sub-standard aural experience. But I guess fighting the good fight for the value of audio is nothing new to game sound designers and composers – actually, evangelisation is an important part of their role.

What’s the most significant challenge audio designers face in mobile and tablet game development?

For many, I think it’s simply developer commitment. Sound people don’t like ‘throwing sounds

Presumably today’s powerful sound ‘engines’ and middleware are vital in that fight?

For sure. Where audio people are brought in sooner rather than later and given access to the right tools, it’s a different picture because hands-

“As sound designers set the bar for mobile and tablet game audio ever higher, and as games makers see their titles nominated for BAFTAs as a consequence, the future looks rosy.”

Anastasios Brakis on control of implementation allows for more creative experimentation and optimisation of resources by the designer. And where this goes arm-in-arm with artistic freedom in smaller teams where individual expression is valued and encouraged, the results can be very inspiring.

As sound designers set the bar for mobile and tablet game audio ever higher, and as games makers see their titles nominated for BAFTAs as a consequence, the future looks rosy. As with PC and console games before them, it may take time, but an appreciation of the value of high-quality sound, music, and dialogue will eventually become ubiquitous. And that can only be a good thing for both gamers and audio creators alike. www.audiomedia.com