AMI July/August 2016 Digital Edition by Future PLC

International TECHNOLOGY AND TRENDS FOR THE PRO-AUDIO PROFESSIONAL www.audiomediainternational.com

July/August 2016

UPWARDLY MOBILE The number of broadcasters investing in new future-proof OB vehicles so far this year hasn’t gone unnoticed. We take a look at some of the best recent examples p20

FINAL CUT

REVIEW

INTERVIEW

Capturing dialogue in Macau with John Casali p26

Simon Allen lifts the lid on Warm Audio’s WA-2A p32

The Radiophonic Workshop’s Mark Ayres p42

MAGDALENA | BERLIN

GS-WAVE SERIES Bringing energy back to a former power plant in Berlin, the phenomenal sound system at techno club Magdalena comprises eight 3-metre GS-WAVE stacks plus extra subs and lenses, and eight tweeter pods above the dance ďŹ&#x201A;oor. This huge installation, driven by Powersoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s K Series amps with built-in DSP, provides total coverage of a modestly sized 800-capacity room. Keeping most of its power in reserve, the system can run effortlessly when the club is open for days at a time.

Pioneerproaudio | pioneerproaudio.com | #madeintheuk

WELCOME EDITOR Adam Savage asavage@nbmedia.com

Experts in the issue

BREXIT BLUES

MANAGING EDITOR Jo Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com STAFF WRITER Colby Ramsey cramsey@nbmedia.com

David Bowles is a freelance audio engineer specialising in recordings of acoustic music in surround-sound and 3D audio. He guest lectures at New York University’s Steinhardt School Tonmeister seminar, resides near San Francisco, and likes good wine and bad puns.

ADVERTISING MANAGER Ryan O’Donnell rodonnell@nbmedia.com ACCOUNT MANAGER Rian Zoll-Khan rzoll-khan@nbmedia.com HEAD OF DESIGN Jat Garcha jgarcha@nbmedia.com DESIGNER Tom Carpenter tcarpenter@nbmedia.com PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Warren Kelly wkelly@nbmedia.com CONTENT DIRECTOR James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com

Press releases to: ukpressreleases@nbmedia.com

John Casali is a BAFTA-nominated production sound mixer known for his work on Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Into the Woods and more recently Now You See Me 2.

Audio Media International is published by NewBay, The Emerson Building, 4-8 Emerson Street, London SE1 9DU, England. Editorial tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6002 Sales tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6000 Audio Media International ISSN number: ISSN 2057-5165 (Print) Circulation & Subscription enquiries Tel: +44 (0)1580 883848 email: audiomedia.subscriptions@c-cms.com Printed by Pensord Press Ltd Front Cover: Riedel

Nuno Fonseca is a Portuguese professor and founder of Sound Particles, the new audio software that has already been used by some of Hollywood’s biggest ﬁlm studios.

’m struggling to think of a time I’ve been more shocked in recent years than when I woke on 24 June, and in my normal routine stumbled into the kitchen to make breakfast, glanced with bleary eyes at my phone as the coﬀee brewed expecting to see little more than the usual endless stream of cat videos on Facebook and instead saw what can only be described as mass panic across all corners of the interweb. In my half-awake state I’d almost forgotten that the EU Referendum verdict was imminent, and when the news came through that Leave had won, I could scarcely believe it. I don’t want to turn this into a political rant when you’ve opened this mag to read about microphones and plug-ins and you’re probably all sick to death of hearing about Brexit, but let’s just say it wasn’t the result I was expecting or hoping for. Whatever your thoughts are on the UK’s decision to break away from the EU it’s certainly been an ‘interesting’ few weeks for our country. Absolutely bloody bonkers would be more precise, actually, but there you are.

Remote Speaker Station

Adam Savage Editor Audio Media International

Master Station serves up to 24 remote stations

Connection of User Stations via LAN with PoE switches or via powered daisy chain lines Full color high-resolution displays 48 kHz / 16 bit uncompressed audio 4 Master Stations may be linked

There is a reason why I’m bringing this up: you know we do those regular GeoFocus articles looking at the state of the industry in a particular country or territory? Well, yep, you guessed it – this month it’s the turn of good old Blighty, and we couldn’t do it without sticking in a question or two about the potential impact of Brexit on various pro-audio companies. Turn to page 16 and you’ll see that even if the majority of our survey respondents aren’t exactly looking ahead with a great deal of positivity, we did manage to find some interviewees refusing to let the news dampen their optimism for the future. But enough about us Brits – a lot of good live sound work has been done on the continent since our last issue landed and we’ve got reports on some very appealing projects in this edition, including how more than 7,500 musicians – backed by a HK Audio Cohedra system – congregated at one of Germany’s largest stadiums with the aim of assembling the largest orchestra ever and how Capital Sound discovered the true capabilities of Powersoft’s new X Series on the latest Il Divo tour of Europe. You’ll also find an interview with Portuguese professor Nuno Fonseca, developer of the intriguing Sound Particles software on Page 30, so even if the world’s focus has been on the United Kingdom in recent weeks, at least there’s a real European flavour in AMI this month.

DIGITAL INTERCOM - CUE LIGHT CONTROL - GPO TRIGGER

Channels for Cue Light Control, GPO Trigger or Listen Only Full duplex intercom channels Program audio feeds over network

4-ch Master Speaker Station

2-ch Beltpack

FLEXUS is designed & manufactured by: ASL Intercom BV, Utrecht, The Netherlands www.asl-inter.com July/August 2016

CONTENTS

www.audiomediainternational.com

PRODUCT NEWS 6

Propellerhead releases Reason 9

Waves reveals new Pusher plug-in

API launches 512v mic preamp

PEOPLE 12

OPINION Andy Coules advises diplomacy when faced with a less-than-ideal PA system

David Bowles asks if we really need all of the modern mic types available today

INTERVIEW Adam Savage catches up with audio all-rounder Mark Ayres to talk restoring, remastering and The Radiophonic Workshop

TECH TALK With audio software Sound Particles already being used on a number of Hollywood blockbusters, Colby Ramsey meets developer Nuno Fonseca

ALSO INSIDE 16

GEO FOCUS: UNITED KINGDOM Following its decision to leave the European Union, we take the pulse of the UK pro-audio market and ﬁnd many players bracing themselves for an uncertain time

40 4

July/August 2016

FEATURES 20

BROADCAST FEATURE While much of the talk among broadcasters may be about 4K, audio isn’t being left behind with many upgrading OB trucks to enable IP workﬂows and greater ﬂexibility. David Davies takes a look at some of the latest vehicles on the circuit

INSTALLATION PROFILE Adam Savage drops in to Frankfurt’s CommerzbankArena to listen to the largest orchestra ever assembled – with the help of HK Audio

FINAL CUT John Casali tells Adam Savage about the audio challenges on ‘Now You See Me 2’

LIVE PROFILE How Capital Sound saved time, space and energy on the Il Divo tour with Powersoft X Series

Photo: Jay Maidment

26 REVIEWS 32 34 36 38 40

Warm Audio WA-2A McDSP 6050 Audio-Technica IEM Series Pop Audio Pop Filter AMS Neve 1073DPX

BELIEVE IT FROM ED SHEERAN TO ARIANA GRANDE TO METALLICA – TOP TOURS ARE PROVING THE POWER OF THE LEO FAMILY.

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PRODUCT NEWS

PROPELLERHEAD RELEASES REASON 9 Propellerhead’s Reason 9 builds on the award-winning platform by introducing new devices, sounds and creative tools. The software introduces three Player devices that can be used to instantly transform any MIDI input into compelling music. Note Echo creates rhythmic, pitched MIDI delays for melodies, drum rolls and more; Scales & Chords can turn simple melodies into harmonies and chords, and the aim of Dual Arpeggio is to transform chords into intricate and inspiring rhythms, from classic up-and-down to polyphonic and polyrhythmic. The new Pitch Edit mode is a tool

for fixing out-of-tune notes, adjusting vibrato, changing timing, creating new melodies from a recording, changing dynamics and more. It also comes with 1,000 new sounds, while the Reason rack has been enhanced with key workflow improvements and darker theme options. Reason now includes the popular Pulsar dual channel LFO that introduces variation to sounds, and can create entirely new ones using its advanced and flexible modulation, as well as allowing the user to load up any of the ‘masterfully crafted presets’. www.propellerheads.se

FBT INTRODUCES VERTUS CS1000 The new modular Vertus CS1000 from FBT is designed to offer a ‘no-compromise choice’ for live performers and installers. The system can be deployed on stage or integrated into the most sophisticated locations within minutes. A biamplified design, the Vertus CS1000 comprises a long excursion 12in bass reflex subwoofer and a passive mounted satellite, linked via a Neutrik SPEAKON connector equipped with six full-range neodymium 3in drivers. Onboard the subwoofer is a Class D, two-channel amplifier, complete with switch-mode power supply, delivering 600W RMS to the subwoofer and 400W RMS to the satellite, both of which are housed in birch plywood enclosures. Ease of use is exemplified by a novel mounting pole arrangement, consisting of three sections. The pole allows users

July/August 2016

to alter the height of the satellite to suit their requirements, while a custom joint provides continuous vertical adjustment to ensure precise coverage in every venue. Weighing in at 25.9kg, the Vertus CS1000 delivers 129dB continuous across 40Hz-20kHz and comes with a built-in DSP oﬀering eight presets. Control panel features include master volume, presets, satellite volume, HPF and LED status. The FBT Vertus CS1000 is available immediately. www.fbtaudio.co.uk

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YAMAHA EXPANDS EMX RANGE

Following the launch of the EMX2 earlier this year, Yamaha’s new EMX5 and EMX7 mixers add greater power and more features to the new lightweight design. Both feature high efficiency power amplifiers, which deliver 630W and 710W output respectively into each channel with an overload protection function. Both have an impactresistant metal chassis and integrated handles to ensure durability, with the versatile design easily adapting to horizontal or vertical placement in a wide variety of configurations. Both the EMX5 and EMX7 are equipped with four mono and four mono/stereo input channels, allowing up to eight microphones and line-level

input sources to be connected. Channel 4 can be used with Hi-Z inputs, allowing direct input from instruments such as electric guitars and basses. The EMX5 features Yamaha’s 1-Knob Master EQ for applying optimised Speech, Music and Bass Boost settings, while the EMX7 features a flex-type graphic equaliser (Flex9GEQ), which allows users to select up to nine bands out of a total of 31 for fine tuning ±15dB. Both mixers also feature a ‘highlyefficient’ internal universal power supply for operation in any region around the world. The EMX5 and EMX7 will be available Summer/Autumn 2016. www.yamahaproaudio.com

AUDIENT ANNOUNCES ID4 INTERFACE The new Audient iD4 compact buspowered audio interface is described as perfect for on-the-go producers and singer-songwriters. Features include one Class A Audient console mic pre, highperformance A-D/D-A converters, a discrete JFET instrument input, independent Class A/B dual headphone outputs, console-style monitor control and ScrollControl, Audient’s virtual scroll wheel technology, all housed in an ergonomic, solid steel and aluminium casing. The JFET instrument input is inspired by the input stage of a classic valve amp, allowing users to plug in their guitar, bass, keyboard or drum machine and start recording instantly. iD4 also comes with two brand new features designed to make the recording process even easier for users: Monitor Mix and Monitor Pan. “The Monitor Mix feature lets you

monitor a blend of both iD4’s inputs and your DAW playback, providing near-zero latency monitoring while recording,” Audient’s technical director Tom Waterman noted. “Also, if you’re recording an acoustic guitar and vocal, the Monitor Pan feature enables you to pan both the mic pre input and DI input from left to right, making it easy to create a balanced headphone mix that suits.” Referring to the quality of components as well as its all-metal construction, Waterman concluded: “It might be the smallest audio interface we’ve made, but it’s deﬁnitely built to last.” www.audient.com

PRODUCT NEWS

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LD SYSTEMS MAKES THE WHITE CHOICE

NEW IOS-OPTIMISED INTERFACE FROM TASCAM

The new CURV 500 AV Set portable array system from LD Systems, with its 380W of RMS power and maximum sound pressure of 122dB, is now available in Snow-White. It features a 10in bass reflex subwoofer with a Class D amplifier and four-channel mixer with 16 digital effect presets. Both satellites, measuring 12cm x 12cm x 12cm, are operated via SmartLink adapters. Thanks to LD Systems’ WaveAhead technology, the single 4in and three 1in drivers ensure coherent and extremely detailed playback with high dynamics, the firm says. Audio files can be streamed via Bluetooth. Two speaker cables are also included in the delivery of the complete package, and for additional power, a total of eight array satellites can be used for stereo playback (maximum four per side).

Tascam’s iXR USB audio/MIDI interface with iOS connectivity is described as ’a new way to bring out the power and performance of your iPad and iPhone music and recording apps.’ The iXR is a fully-featured ‘Made for iPad’ PC/Mac USB audio interface that delivers direct connectivity to iPhones and iPads via a standard iOS Lightning or 30-pin connector, without the need for special adapters or ﬂimsy mini-plugs. Featuring two of Tascam’s UltraHDDA mic preamps with phantom power, mic and instrument-level inputs, zero-latency monitoring, MIDI in and out, and supporting up to 96kHz/24-bit resolution, the iXR is an all-in-one interface in a slim, rugged, backpackapproved package that’s suited for the stage or the studio.

With the optional colour-coded mounting systems for walls and ceilings, the satellites can be securely installed ‘anywhere where good sound and unobtrusive equipment are required.’ Individual system components have now been released in white as well, including the CURV 500 S2 W satellites, CURV 500 SLA W SmartLink adapter and CURV 500 DBW distance steel rod. The new AV Set can thus grow in accordance with the speciﬁc needs of the user. www.ld-systems.com

With balanced stereo outputs, the iXR is ‘the perfect bridge’ between an iPad and a professional-quality concert sound system. Recording to iOS devices is easier too. Bundled with Cubase LE for Mac and Windows, as well as Cubasis LE for iOS, the iXR ‘can act as the centrepiece of a world-class digital recording system.’ Users can enjoy the portability of app-based recording and the power of desktop audio production in equal measure by connecting a microphone or instrument, recording vocals and live instruments directly to an iPad, iPhone, Mac or PC with zero-latency direct monitoring. The Tascam iXR will be available soon with an MSRP of $259.99 and a street price of $159.99. www.tascam.com

WAVES REVEALS INFECTED MUSHROOM PUSHER PLUG-IN Waves Audio’s new Infected Mushroom Pusher plug-in, created in collaboration with electronic music duo Infected Mushroom, is an all-inone multiband sonic enhancer and limiter/clipper that delivers Infected Mushroom’s “secret mixing sauce”. Bringing together high-end processing and Infected Mushroom’s decades of mixing experience, it gives users great possibilities for boosting frequencies, enhancing sounds and mastering full tracks for any genre or style. Users can employ Pusher to add grit to drums and brightness to instruments or push the mix to the max all in a matter of seconds. The plug-in is also low-latency, so it can be freely implemented in the studio or on stage. Pusher can be used on individual sounds, on busses/groups, or for mastering, using six easy-to-use controls: Low, Body and High, Magic, Stereo Image and Push.

July/August 2016

Infected Mushroom themselves had this to say about the plug-in: “We wanted to combine our mixing and mastering tricks that we’ve been working on for 20 years into one plug-in. Pusher will make almost anything sound better in a matter of seconds.” www.waves.com

BEHRINGER PMP2000D NOW AVAILABLE The new 14-channel PMP2000D powered mixer from Behringer oﬀers 2 x 1,000W stereo/dual mono or 2,000W bridged mono output capability. Whether used for public speaking, small band performances or demanding house of worship applications, the PMP2000D is designed to accommodate all with simplicity and ease, weighing in at less than 9kg. PMP2000D’s 14 inputs feature nine ‘premium-grade’ “Invisible” IMP mic preamps with switchable +48V phantom power for ‘superior transparency and performance’, along with four stereo channels. It also comes with dual nine-band

stereo graphic EQs and a Klark Teknik FX processor with 25 presets including reverbs, delays, a pitch shifter and various multi-eﬀects. Rounding out the feature set is the PMP2000D’s wireless-ready operation, for use with Behringer’s range of ULM digital wireless microphone systems. www.music-group.com/brand/ behringer

THE BEST SOUND, ALL AROUND

X12, MULTI-PURPOSE ENCLOSURE - L-ACOUSTICS X SERIES

In creating the X Series, we brought all of the experience gained in designing the K2 to bear on a new series of reference coaxials. Optimized design, ergonomics, acoustical performance and weight make the X Series the most advanced coaxials on the market. Four distinct enclosures with format, bandwidth, SPL and coverage angles perfectly adapted to short throw rental or install applications, the X Series offers studio monitor sound quality, compact design, consistent tonal balance, no minimum listening distance and exceptional feedback rejection. www.l-acoustics.com

PRODUCT NEWS

HK PREMIUM PR:O D ARRIVES IN UK The ﬁve latest additions to HK Audio’s range of PREMIUM PR:O modular speakers are now shipping in the UK. Known as PREMIUM PR:O D, the active full-range cabinets beneﬁt from all-new DSP-powered preamps and Class D power amps. The new models have also been designed to be an acoustic match for the existing PR:O 210 SUB A and PR:O 18 SUB A active subwoofers. The passive range of PREMIUM PR:O speakers – recently augmented by HK’s

KEY RACK 1.12 uniﬁed amping solutions package – remains unaﬀected by these new changes. Alexander Wollenberg, HK Audio product manager, said at the time of the series’ launch at Prolight + Sound: “We’re immensely proud of the fact that PREMIUM PR:O D delivers more sound pressure, noticeably more bass and a more balanced frequency response than its predecessors, and at a cheaper price too.” www.hkaudio.com

www.audiomediainternational.com

API LAUNCHES 512V MIC PREAMP

In response to seemingly high market demand for built-in signal attenuation, API has launched the new 512v microphone preamp. Incorporating every feature of the 512c, including API’s proprietary transformers and 2520 op amp, the 512v also includes a variable output level control designed to meet the needs of audio professionals using DAWs or other input level-sensitive devices in their workﬂow. The 512v oﬀers 65 dB of gain as a mic preamp, 45dB of gain as a line/ instrument preamp, and a 20dB pad switch that can be applied to the incoming signal (whether mic, line or instrument). It also features a 3:1 output transformer tap switch

that produces a lower output level, giving users the option of driving the transformer harder to achieve higher levels of saturation. Also included are front and back panel mic input access, front panel combo-style XLR + 1/4in line/ instrument input, an LED VU meter for gain level indication and a 48V phantom power switch, all built around the traditional API circuit design. The 512v is designed to eﬀectively eliminate the need for third-party attenuators, and promises ‘the same warm, analogue signal that audio professionals expect from API.’ The 512v has a US MSRP of $995, and units are now shipping. www.apiaudio.com

AUDINATE UNVEILS DANTE CONTROLLER UPDATE Audinate’s Dante Controller 3.10 brings new features for end-users, allowing them to better manage larger networks with more high channel-count devices while enabling the software to take full advantage of upcoming firmware changes. The update allows users to manage Dante networks from laptops connected via WiFi. By connecting a wireless access point to a Dante network, users can make adjustments from any location in a facility, unencumbered by cables. The Advanced Filter refines the range of devices displayed, which lets users narrow and refine views when managing large Dante networks. Filter parameters include device and channel names, sample rate, latency setting and lock status. Additionally, 3.10 supports the new Device

July/August 2016

Lock feature for Dante-enabled equipment as well as end-user applications such as Dante Virtual Soundcard and Dante Via. This feature enables users to remotely lock supporting Dante hardware and software devices using Dante Controller, employing a user-selected 4-digit PIN. When locked, a device’s conﬁguration cannot be changed until it is unlocked with the conﬁgured PIN, providing an added layer of protection against unauthorised or unintended changes to a Dante network. www.audinate.com

LAWO RELAY SOFTWARE OUT NOW The new RELAY virtual mixing software from Lawo is designed to make maximum use of today’s laptop and desktop PCs, the company says. Taking advantage of computer virtualisation technology adapted from the IT industry enables RELAY to pack a studio’s worth of broadcast gear onto a single PC. RELAY lets engineers replace physical consoles, and entire racks of accessory gear, using a single desktop or laptop PC – apparently with signiﬁcant cost savings. The software allows all mixing to be done natively on a standard Windows laptop or PC. Its multi-touch interface gives users a familiar way to mix audio; behind the scenes, software apps from RELAY partners supply virtualised codecs, phone hybrids, audio processors, cross-point routers, streaming encoders and other broadcast

tools that run entirely in software, interfacing with the mixer via standard WDM or ASIO interfaces. RELAY is ideally suited for graband-go remote kits, ﬁeld journalists, fast setup of on-location studios, webcasting, a replacement for ageing studio hardware, or as a permanent personal studio at home. Bundles include RELAY VRX4 and VRX8 (four and eight-fader mixer) software, paired with a compact Lawo OnAir 4 audio interface to supply mic, line, AES3 and Ravenna/AES67 I/O. www.lawo.com

Open & Closed The new ï¬&#x201A;agship studio headphones

ATH-R70x PROFESSIONAL OPEN-BACK REFERENCE HEADPHONES ATH-M70x PROFESSIONAL MONITOR HEADPHONES Audio-Technica introduces the new leaders in studio headphones: ATH-M70x and ATH-R70x. Both models offer extremely accurate audio reproduction along with the comfort, durability and convenient features that are bound to make them studio mainstays. So whether you prefer the sound isolation of the M70x or the spacious sound of the R70x, deciding on your next pair of studio headphones is an open and closed case.

www.audio-technica.com

OPINION

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WHEN IS IT OK TO LIE TO YOUR BOSS?

Live sound engineer Andy Coules oﬀers his advice on what to do when you’re faced with a less-than-ideal PA system at a venue and the band asks ‘that million dollar question.’

ANDY COULES

n awkward situation occurred to me recently at a festival, which raised an interesting question – when is it okay to lie to your boss? The situation was this: we arrived at the site, made contact with the stage manager and organised the logistics of getting set up and on stage. Everything was in order so I took a walk out front to check out the system while another act was playing. The sound system was a ground-stacked point source system projecting onto a long narrow field, which was only about twice as wide as the stage itself, and further back it widened out (Ed – The picture above was not taken from Andy’s gig). As I walked away from the stage the bottom end quickly dropped off and the mid and upper ranges became more uneven the further back I got, and by the time I got to the point where the field widened the sound was pretty terrible; it sounded more like a vocal PA than a full range system. There were two main problems here: firstly the point source system was poorly equipped to provide even coverage over the entire audience area – a lot of the energy was focused at the front and going off to the sides (where no one was standing); secondly there were no delay speakers to bolster the sound and improve the coverage at the back. Now I’m not one of those engineers who believes the line array is the ultimate

July/August 2016

sound system – there are clearly situations where a point source system is better suited, but this was not one of them. A line array would have delivered a much better sound for more of the audience; the full and punchy sound that the few at the front heard would have been distributed more evenly to a larger percentage of the audience. There are two main reasons why people decide to use a point source system when a line source would have been the better choice – either they don’t know better or the budget is limited. Most times it’s the latter reason. One time I turned up to a festival in Germany and the PA company had brought exactly the right amount of PA to achieve decent coverage for the stage. But then the noise police turned up and told them that because there was a hospital behind the stage area they would have to take extra steps to minimise the amount of low frequency leakage going backwards. The obvious solution was to convert the sub array to a cardioid conﬁguration but as there were no extra subs available they had to use what they had. This achieved the desired eﬀect of reducing the amount of low frequencies going backward, but it also dramatically reduced the amount of low frequencies going forward such that the PA sounded extremely bass light at the front of house position, the obvious consequence of

this being that the engineers all boosted the bottom end to compensate making it uncomfortably bass heavy at the front (where most of the audience were).

getting to the point But what does all this have to do with lying to your boss? Having realised that the sound system was underpowered and ill configured for the audience space I realised that there was nothing I could do about it at this late stage. We were due on stage in a couple of hours so kicking up a fuss was unlikely to magically transform the sound system so I would just have to go with the flow, do my best to produce a good mix and hope it translated to the whole audience. So I’m chilling out with the band in the dressing room and one of them decides to ask me that million dollar question: ‘So what’s the PA like?’ I am now faced with a difficult decision. If I tell them the truth I risk compromising their performance because if they go on stage thinking it’s going to sound bad for most of the audience, chances are they won’t give it their all. They might be able to consciously ignore the facts and go for it but subconsciously they will be thinking, “What’s the point?” However, if I lie to them, aside from the fact that I don’t like lying to my friends and colleagues, they are more likely to go on stage and perform at their usual high level, oblivious

of the shortcomings of the sound system. To make matters worse if I do lie to them and they later hear that it didn’t sound so great any attempt by me to explain the inadequacies of the sound system will be undermined by the fact that I said it was ﬁne on the day. When you’re working as a live sound engineer it doesn’t matter who hired you or who pays you, your boss is the band and their music; your job is to make them sound as good a possible. So if the band is your boss, is it OK to lie to your boss? My solution to this conundrum is to be honest but reassuring. I tell the band that the sound system is less than ideal, I explain exactly why and then I tell them I’ve dealt with this issue many times before and I’ve picked up a few tricks for getting the most of a less-than-perfect sound system. That way I don’t have to lie and I send them on stage knowing that it will sound as good as it possibly can. So now you’re thinking what are those tricks I’ve picked up over the years for getting the most out of less than ideal sound systems? That sounds like a great subject for a future article...

Andy Coules is a sound engineer and audio educator who has toured the world with a diverse array of acts in a wide range of genres. andycoules.co.uk

OPINION

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SO MANY MICS, SO LITTLE TIME

There are so many microphone types to choose from these days, it can be diﬃcult to keep up. Audio engineer David Bowles breaks down some of the latest options, and asks whether there’s a need for quite so much variety.

DAVID BOWLES

irst, the good news. In the past two decades, there have been many new microphones entering the marketplace which re-think traditional designs by taking advantage of interim research, modern materials and manufacturing processes. At the same time, analogueto-digital conversion has improved immensely and exponentially more powerful DSP has made all types of digital recording better and more reliable. There has also been a demand for reproductions of vintage studio microphones, those which depart from those designs, and the inevitable cheap knockoﬀs. However, digital microphones have not made the same quick progression for several reasons (which I’ll go into at the end of this article). There are three types of newer microphone designs to be commended: • Ribbon microphones using a combination of neodymium magnets, composite materials for the ribbon itself, modern transformers, internal shock absorption, perhaps incorporating active powering as well. • Braunmühl-Weber microphones where each element provides separate outputs, which are recorded as separate tracks and can then be manipulated in post-processing. • Short shotgun microphones, which also contain two elements, but add internal DSP to reject rear information (also recording both signals as two separate tracks for later post-processing).

July/August 2016

Back to the old There have also been several reproductions of large-diaphragm capacitor and ribbon mics of the 1940s and ’50s. These can be divided into two groups: • Boutique companies striving for exact copies – these tend to be expensive and made to order. As those vintage microphone designs went through several revisions throughout their lifespan, modern companies have a certain degree of leeway in designing these reproductions. Interestingly, they are manufactured closest to how the originals were – hand-assembled in limited quantities, with minimal parts sourced elsewhere. • Less expensive, but ‘trendy’-looking versions that strive to emulate ‘the sound’ of the originals. These might compromise via ‘streamlined’ circuitry, or offer fewer features of the original. They tend to have more parts sourced elsewhere, and might be assembled in other countries. I also question the need for those microphones with high-frequency rise when using today’s digital recording chain. In the 1950s, there were many stages involved between the microphone and the finished LP. Mic cables and line amplifiers were of lower quality. Early analogue tape had considerably different sensitivity and response than what was available by the early 1980s. Finally, the mastering process involved several generations between session tape and stamper. These resulted in an inevitable loss of high-frequency response. Could microphones of the early 1950s have been designed to ‘make up’ for these losses, by emphasising high frequencies in response and directivity? Since original valve models are no longer manufactured (and ‘B-stock’ inventory is low to non-existent), have any companies come up with a viable reproduction of the famed AC701 valve – and could this reproduction sound similar to the AC701 valve when new? It is my understanding that the frequency response curves of vintage microphones vary widely,

particularly with regard to high frequency emphasis. I would contend that for better or worse, microphone manufacturers strove for consistency, and this was what led to the abandonment of earlier schema. With today’s low-capacitance cables, pristine mic pres and high-quality A/D converters, should modern reproductions aim for a ﬂatter frequency response instead? Can one obtain ‘tube warmth’ without the brightness or hiss?

The new There have been several mid- to highprice mics that depart from the ‘vintage wannabe’ paradigm with new design concepts. Some of these models have the imprimatur of a famed designer or engineer. To keep price down, some parts and/or manufacturing are sourced in other countries and often result in less-thanideal sound. This begs the question as to whether higher quality control would result in these mics being used more widely. There have also been even more mid- to low-price microphones from manufacturers known in the past for their line of high-quality models. Is the need for these models simply to increase their market share? If so, do the inevitable compromises in design and manufacturing result in a lowering of our expectations from those companies in general? Perhaps some of these manufacturers hope users of the lower-quality models will be directed into eventually buying higherpriced microphones in the future.

Bitstream of consciousness The one area of microphone design I have mixed feelings about are AES42 digital microphones. These represent a paradigm shift with their streamlined signal ﬂow, which includes phantom powering, preampliﬁcation, EQ, compression and even polar pattern choice with dual-

element models. Few manufacturers have come out with AES42 microphones since 2002 . Two manufacturers have adapted their interchangeable capsule models by providing a digital “module” to replace the analogue body (one of those manufacturers does have two ‘all-digital’ models, however). Traditionally, we choose our sound palette via different mic pres and A/D conversion; these options do not exist under AES42 at present. All current AES42 microphones require a hardware unit to translate AES42 output into traditional AES digital signal. None of these ‘converter boxes’ take full advantage of the AES42 standard in offering 8x conversion or DXD, which is part of the AES42 specification. Similarly, none of the converter boxes available can interface directly with an AES67-compliant AoIP network (Dante, Ravenna, etc.). What if we wished to use our favoured microphones and mic pres in an AES42 environment? No manufacturer has come up with an XLR plug to enable this. Such a plug would have to transform between DPP (12V digital phantom power) and 48V phantom power and would need to provide other types of microphone power, such as dual-element and active powering (60V, 130V, 200V, etc.). Further options would be to provide different impedances, and possibly a seven-pin model for vintage studio mics. This would open up a world of possibilities for many of us, bridging the old and the new. David Bowles is a freelance audio engineer specialising in recordings of acoustic music in surround-sound and 3D audio. He guest lectures at New York University’s Steinhardt School Tonmeister seminar, resides near San Francisco, and likes good wine and bad puns.

GEOFOCUS: UNITED KINGDOM

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BEST OF BRITISH Maintaining its status as a global pro-audio market leader could prove somewhat challenging for the UK following its decision to leave the European Union. Bearing in mind that the true consequences of the vote may not materialise for some time, many British businesses are poising themselves for the worst-case scenario. Colby Ramsey reports.

or many pro-audio companies in the UK, the last decade has been particularly pivotal in terms of new technologies, changing regulations and shifting demands. While the creation, distribution and consumption of content as well as the potential of the tools used to do so ebbs and flows, the question remains as to whether the UK will preserve its reputation as one of the market’s chief innovators in the wake of Brexit. Post-production especially has changed more in the past five to ten years than at any other time since the introduction of digital platforms. This is according to Dave Cooper, director/senior sound designer at Scramble Soho Sound Design, who believes the main factor behind this is “the reduced cost of professional kit and the ease with which individuals and companies can equip themselves to provide a service.” While there are now many more college courses available as a gateway into the industry, Cooper believes this is creating “unhealthy” competition in the market, ultimately affecting the quality of the work and therefore leading to an amount of sub-standard output. Metropolis Studios’ CEO Ian Brenchley adds that this transition of consumers from physical to digital “has entirely changed the musical landscape”. Jamie Keeling at studio design and build company Studio People firmly believes that it is the best in the business that survive through a process of natural selection when

July/August 2016

the going gets tough. He has found that, despite certain projects not materialising as a result of funding issues, “companies and educational facilities are doubling down and investing in their resources and infrastructure in order to put them at the top of the pile. “We have seen educational institutions investing in their music and media courses like never before to attract students to better-thanindustry-standard facilities, as well as an ever-growing requirement for acoustic treatments, doors and glazing partitions from abnormal sources,” Keeling adds. In terms of products, the tipping point for console manufacturers such as Allen & Heath, for example, came in 2012-13 when the 65-35% split demand in favour of analogue desks completely reversed due to the influence of DSP and popularity of digital mixing. The steady growth in demand for audio plug-ins has also been evident over the past decade, as computing power increases and filebased workflows become central to many organisations. Nugen Audio’s creative and marketing director, Jon Schorah, says: “In the box production is now commonplace and hardware is becoming reserved for the more esoteric tasks with the majority of production taking place in the digital realm.” As specialists in loudness analysis and correction tools, Nugen has seen a dramatic shift in all forms of audio production due to the adoption of international loudness standards.

Loudness normalisation is becoming more widely spread in the world of music streaming services, “and is also becoming more widely used in radio, leading to a second wave of recommendations such as AES TD1004”, Schorah remarks. Cooper concurs, and explains that the introduction of loudness metering by the European Broadcast Union (EBU R128) has allowed commercials and broadcast engineers to “deliver mixes with a wider dynamic range and prevent the over-use of highly compressed audio in promotional material”. For Studio People, there is concern over the evolution of particular health and safety measures, causing the costs associated with installing studio facilities to rise. Keeling explains that the introduction of virtual reality into the marketplace is presenting a number of interesting challenges from a client’s perspective. Fire alarms are one such area. “How does an operator hear an alarm sounder, or see a ﬂashing beacon warning of ﬁre (or any other emergency) when working in a VR environment?” Keeling asks.

Business as usual? According to Allen & Heath install sector specialist Ian Thomas, seamless interoperability and integration is of high demand within various industries (AV/IT for example), which are “converging at a rapid pace with emerging standards/protocols using ﬁrmly IT-centric platforms”.

How do you think Brexit will affect your business?

‘Many of my clients tour in the EU, and sell their music there. Troubling times re. Visa’s etc, especially with things already on a shoestring’ ‘There will be more public service cuts and as a service provider that is not mandatory we will be in the firing line’ ‘Film financiers may find EU locations advantageous’

GEOFOCUS: UNITED KINGDOM How do you think Brexit will affect your business?

Population: 64.1 million

Positively

Negatively

What’s having the biggest negative effect on the market at the moment?

No change

Not sure Economic uncertainty

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Falling budgets Slow payments

Do you think your sector is performing better so far in 2016 compared with 2015?

Goverment legislation Other

Better

Worse

The same

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Nugen on the other hand has noticed an increased demand for audio post production tools and eﬃcient loudness management solutions as the UK market, often considered the proving ground for new technologies and innovation, matures. Many audio post houses are now equipping their studios with more

compact and aﬀordable kit, which can achieve the same results “with just a few faders and a more powerful DAW and CPU”, explains Cooper. “Avid has just sold its 1,000th S6 console which is completely modular, allowing a facility to purchase a bespoke console with exactly the amount of technology they need for the type of work they do.”

A noticeable trend from Studio People’s point of view is the quality of installation demanded by educational clients – a quality that is often to a higher speciﬁcation than what many industry professionals are used to. Keeling believes this is great in many ways and has massive implications, as it raises expectations which in turn

drives improvement in the industry and provides the best platform from which young audio professionals can launch their careers. This drive for improvement also poses dilemmas for certain companies however, especially manufacturers whose market is particularly competitive. Despite this, Allen &

July/August 2016

GEOFOCUS: UNITED KINGDOM Heath’s sales and marketing manager Debbie Maxted reports that sales of mixers has been steady with moderate increases but emerging markets have fuelled huge export growth. “As a manufacturer we have to try and balance the features the user expects against the ever downward pressure on price that the consumer demands,” she says. There is also far greater competition for post houses in the UK now, especially in the short form market where advertising budgets are being slashed annually and many facilities are charging the same hourly rates as they were five years ago. Knowing this, Cooper asserts that the facilities willing to step outside their comfort zone, adapting and investing in new technologies and talent, are the ones that will survive for years to come. He cites declining budgets and the reluctance of clients to spend wisely rather than cheaply as the industry’s biggest challenges. Over at Metropolis Studios, Brenchley has seen the market steadily growing over the past three years, and has witnessed more and more work coming from management companies and less from labels. “As always we benefit from a lot of international clients which I can see burgeoning while the pound is still recovering. “It’s like the Wild West at the moment,” he says, when referring to a fragmented consumer market and very low margins from consumer through to production. “The industry is dripping with opportunities but often you have to be very creative to monetise them, he continues. “Here at Metropolis we are attacking these typical problems from a number of different angles to carve out bigger margins while not compromising on the ‘artist friendly’ deal structures.” Keeling on the other hand identifies two big disruptors in the current UK marketplace – VR and podcasting. VR can reasonably be considered a game changer in terms of how content is created and delivered to the consumer, as Keeling explains: “This technological evolution must be embraced by anyone serious about being or becoming a market leader over the next ten years in order to stay ahead of the curve.” He goes on to detail a ‘broadcasting revolution’ that is occurring whereby the users wants control of on-demand 18

July/August 2016

content when it suits their busy lives, using podcasting as an example. “Why listen to a censored radio show, and suffer the constant irritating interruptions from ad breaks and promotions, when you can download or stream your favourite podcast which is uncensored and real with zero or minimal ads?” he asks. “Podcasting also allows diverse distribution of content with no oversight from big media companies who have vested interests that govern decision making and what content is created and broadcast – thus making for a much richer experience for the listener, who is able to tailor the content they consume to their individual needs.” In defiance of these market disruptors, the UK continues to be one of the biggest pioneers of pro audio across the board. Schorah believes that on both a corporate and freelance level the UK has some of the most talented audio post engineers in the world and demand for these skills remains high, as does demand for the tools of the trade. Keeling adds: “We pride ourselves in offering the best facilities, with the best teachers, teaching the best content. Where there’s a will, there’s a way - it’s principals like this that our country and its ethos has been built on.”

the Brexit effect It is these principles and ethos that are now potentially under threat as a result of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, which is likely to lead to a prolonged period of uncertainty for the whole industry at the very least.

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It remains to be seen what the effect of exiting the single market will be on product sales into and out of the EU, and will depend greatly on the conditions of the new trade arrangements. Maxted estimates that the uncertainty that the referendum vote triggered in the economy will not help investment and growth around Europe however where a large proportion of Allen & Heath’s sales occur, “causing a dampening of demand particularly in the commercial sector”. Furthermore, while the UK film industry has been very healthy and buoyant for a number of years, “we may now see a reluctance to spend and investment in all areas of the UK industry is a major concern,” Cooper explains. For those working in the advertising and commercials sector, Britain’s ad industry is facing two years of decline as a result of Brexit according to the IPA Bellwether Report, which has slashed its growth forecasts for 2016 and 2017. There are some, however, who uphold a rather positive outlook, and do not see it affecting their business or the industry as much as others seem to. Keeling finds it of utmost importance for everyone to work together to realise and manifest their national collective vision of equality, strength and leadership. “As British businesses, we have worked hard over the preceding years to build strong and meaningful relationships with our colleagues and partners in the European Union, and indeed around the rest of the world,” he remarks. “I cannot see that any of us would be willing to jeopardise that because of politics.”

Ian Brenchley even goes so far as saying that his business, one of Europe’s largest and most well revered recording studios and production facilities, will benefit enormously from a low UK exchange rate with international sales because it makes it more competitive in other territories. With these mixed attitudes in mind, there are many different predictions for the future of the UK pro-audio industry flying around. While Keeling is confident that the market will continue to grow, he says he would be surprised to see the current model of pre-programmed television and radio broadcasting survive past the next decade, and predicts that “it will fade into obsolescence over the coming years, to be fully replaced with platforms such as podcasting, Netflix and others whom are utilising the new model with great success.” Meanwhile, Allen & Heath’s Maxted believes protecting innovation will become the priority for businesses and will be achieved through a combination of IP, branding and investment. Brenchley envisages the ‘production room’ ie smaller monthly studio rentals becoming more popular in the future. “As studios have mostly become a very small margin business I think you will see more of them diversifying and getting into the rights game,” he says. Keeling concludes with this: “Change is the only thing that’s guaranteed in life – to survive we must embrace it, nurture it and grow with it and I have no doubt that we, as a nation, will be the leaders in doing so.”

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FEATURE: BROADCAST

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KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ As broadcasters prepare for TV’s UHD future with a flurry of major new OB vehicle projects, many are also taking the opportunity to upgrade their audio capabilities – including provision for IP workflows and greater flexibility. David Davies takes a look at some of the major recent launches in this sector. fter several years of intense speculation about the format’s possibilities, 2016 appears to be the year in which broadcasters and their service providers take a decisive step towards making 4K production a workable reality. In particular, a number of major sports events – not least the UEFA EURO 2016 championships – have highlighted the ability of the format to deliver a formidable new level of viewer experience. And so while 4K production isn’t exactly near to being a default production choice – there were plenty of other events, such as Wimbledon, where it didn’t play a role at all – it is not surprising that many broadcasters are moving to equip themselves with trucks

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July/August 2016

and facilities that are ‘ready’ to support the transition from HD. The result has been something of a ‘convoy’ of new OB trucks hitting the road, including vehicles from – among many others – TV Globo (Brazil), AMP VISUAL TV (France) and DB Video (Belgium). But this Audio Media International overview begins with the ﬁrst of four new trucks from NEP Visions which mark not only a step-change in its OB capabilities – but also underline a renaissance after a devastating chapter in the company’s recent history.

Phoenix rising The news that NEP UK had lost five of its OB trucks in a fire last November was the stuff of nightmares for the

leading broadcast services provider. The plentiful assistance supplied by other leading players in the broadcast community was heartening, as has been NEP UK’s resurgence in 2016 with the planned introduction of multiple new UHD OB trucks. The first vehicle, Pacific, made its major event debut at Wimbledon (albeit used for HD production only), with a further three – Aurora, Caspian and Sargasso – due to roll-out before the end of October. Similarly equipped, with audio kit supplied by HHB Communications, the four trucks will have the ability to work standalone or together in any combination. The vehicles will be able to interconnect with each other via a CWDM fibre system, and the

configuration allows for 200 shared 3GB signals to be sent between the trucks. Alongside Imagine IP3 routers, SAM Kahuna switchers, Sony HDC-4300 4K cameras, Canon UHD lenses and EVS servers, the trucks also feature notably high-end audio installations. Luke Westbury, client manager at NEP Visions, tells Audio Media International that – as with the other components of the trucks’ design – the focus was on “high quality and flexibility, as these vehicles are going to be used for a wide variety of productions. Ease of use and familiarity were also important as personnel are going to be moving between the new trucks.” Perhaps most significantly, the trucks will utilise the Audinate Dante media

FEATURE: BROADCAST NEP’s new Pacific truck made its major event debut at Wimbledon

networking capability of the 56-fader Calrec Apollo consoles that will be a feature across the fleet. Specifically, NEP is using Dante to provide the interface between the comms infrastructure and the Calrec desks. “Many of our customers are using different AoIP formats and it’s important that as a manufacturing partner we are able to help them leverage this technology, whatever the format,” says Calrec international sales manager Jim Green. “It’s vital that broadcasters and facility providers such as NEP Visions can be confident that they’ll benefit from Calrec’s knowledge and support as they move into an AoIP future.” The trucks also include Studio Technologies’ Model 41 and 47A interfaces, Wohler AMP1-16-M audio monitors and Genelec 5.1 systems comprising 8351A SAM studio monitors, 8330A SAM studio monitors and 7060B studio subwoofers. Underlining the extent to which the Bracknell-based company was conscious of being able to deal with all audio environments with its new trucks, NEP UK deputy head of sound Neville Hooper remarked that “we carried out some listening tests at HHB and settled on the 8351A SAM studio monitors. We felt they stood out head and shoulders above the Genelec 1030A studio monitors that we’d used before. Their manageable DSP means that we

can deal with what can sometimes be a challenging acoustic environment using the GLM 2.0 software.”

Virtue of versatility Indeed, it’s been something of a landmark summer for Calrec, with no fewer than three of its console models (Apollo, Artemis and Artemis Light) selected for the new AMP VISUAL

TV truck, the Millennium Signature 12 (MS12). Reported to feature the world’s largest surface area (76sqm), MS12 includes two video studios, two audio studios and 40 workstations with full 4K UHD production capabilities. The speciﬁcation of a 56-fader Apollo console, a 24-fader Artemis Light desk and a 16-fader Artemis sidecar that can be used to extend the other two allows

the audio equipment to be used in a variety of conﬁgurations – both in and out of the truck. For instance, the Artemis Light can be removed and used in another location, such as a ﬂight control room, and the Apollo can be extended by the sidecar to provide 72 faders. MS12 can operate fully equipped when needed and support two productions at once, or it can run at 50% for the smaller commitments.

The future is 'converged' Taking account of the changing nature of workﬂows, Fairlight’s converged consoles combine live and post production capabilities in a single desk with extensive communications and mix minus capabilities. The Live Line-Up range includes the QUANTUM.Live (pictured), a 12- or 24-fader table top console which is geared towards OB trucks and location productions. Features include high processing capacity, with the ability to mix 250 channels for live productions and deliver up to 1,000 tracks when switched to postproduction mode. It incorporates multi-level redundancy for continuous uptime and is supported by the modular MSX I/O range.

The modules are powered by FPGA technology so deliver low latency and a high channel count, and ‘push the boundaries’ with regards to support for the most current standards and audio formats. The QUANTUM.Live has a solid focus on IP and automation-based control and audio in a cost-eﬀective package. “Flexibility is key,” says Tino Fibaek, CTO, Fairlight. “This takes multiple forms, e.g. during a live event you can manage your remote I/O to properly capture all the action as it unfolds and then afterwards switch the OB truck from live to post applications. One investment with multiple applications.”

As featured on the DTS stand at this year’s NAB, Fairlight has also added support for advanced live production workflows for objectbased audio (OBA). This includes streaming three-dimensional MDA-based OBA live mixes over SDI and other advanced production tools such as SALSA (developed by the University of Salford, integrated by Fairlight), which automates real-time mixing and VR-style augmentation of onpitch sounds.

July/August 2016

FEATURE: BROADCAST Speaking ahead of the truck’s debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in June, Emmanuel Le Marquand, audio operating manager of AMP VISUAL TV, remarked: “With MS12, we had a unique opportunity to build the most versatile truck on the market. We wanted to be able to maximise the equipment for any size of international production. The flexibility and modularity of the Calrec desks made them a perfect fit for this vision. The consoles offer full redundancy to give us peace of mind for major events, and their plug-and-play operation simplifies productions and gives us even more versatility,”

‘Small yet robust’ While projects discussed to this point have centred upon large trucks, there is also plenty of innovation taking place around smaller facilities. For example, Belgium’s DB Video recently engaged the services of Riedel Communications and coach builder Moeyersons to develop a ‘small yet robust’ expandable truck, Unit 10, measuring just 11.65 meters long by 2.293 meters wide when closed. One of the objectives was to support all sizes and shapes of production in a project that emphasised long-term future-prooﬁng. Dimitri Beyaert, CEO and founder of DB Video, observed: “While standing at the intersection of ‘classic’ OBvan building and the introduction of IP-based broadcasting, we had to make critical and challenging decisions about how to invest in and deploy new technology. We thought about the future of the mobile TV facility and determined that Riedel’s expertise Riedel and Moeyersons recently developed Unit 10 for Belgium’s DB Video

July/August 2016

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'Plenty of demand for hybrid I/O' “In terms of new OB projects, we see a great deal of interest in single-box solutions that offer multiple I/O options,” says TSL Products audio product manager Matthew Colman. “So you see a lot of people seeking products that can cater for the new AoIP workflows – involving Dante or Ravenna, for example – while also offering backwards compatibility for MADI or analogue. “In fact, in some quarters MADI has actually had a bit of a resurgence, despite the fact that it is now 25 years old! For a lot of and equipment could help us make this vision a reality.” Incorporating Riedel’s MediorNet real-time media network, Unit 10 sports a fully redundant configuration built on a 10Gbit/s fibre network, 18 MicroN 80G media distribution network devices, two MetroN core routers, and four MediorNet external stageboxes. The result is a decentralised matrix that allows the OB van to become a cloud truck, with router elements located in what is described as the ‘ideal’ physical location for any given production or workflow. DB Video expanded the matrix through the interconnection of a router and Riedel Artist digital matrix intercom system. All MicroN units installed in the van feature a MADI connection, and all I/O in the cloud includes embedding and de-embedding options, SMPTE2022-6 support, video format conversion and timecode insertion.

applications, 64 channels can be quite sufficient. “But in terms of preparing for the future, it is clear that hybrid I/O is the way to go for many users. There is definitely more and more comfort within the industry about IP workflows, and we have seen this with the high levels of enquiries about our PAM-IP range. This series of video-over-IP (S2022-6) audio monitors makes it possible to monitor uncompressed video and AoIP, without superfluous format conversion hardware – thereby

smoothing the transition to an all-IP workflow. We are also seeing strong interest in the redesigned MPA (Monitor Plus Audio) family, which offers solutions for established I/O as well as facilitating the move to AoIP workflows with support for Dante and Ravenna. “Apart from I/O issues, I think it is clear that a lot of people are beginning to think about immersive audio and the fact that it will go hand-in-hand with UHD. That is going to lead to a lot of exciting OB projects, I believe…”

Bob Boster, Clear-Com

Olympian innovation Not surprisingly, the imminent events in Rio may serve as a showcase for a number of major new OB trucks. New to the Brazilian market is TV Globo’s 4K OB truck, with a communications infrastructure based entirely on ClearCom Eclipse HX-Omega digital matrix network technology. Among other ClearCom equipment, TV Globo will use six Eclipse frames at its main HQ and two at the IBC that will be interconnected via IVC-32-HX boards using IP technology, and deploy MADI and ﬁbre as a redundant interconnection. Speaking more generally about the current demand from the OB community, Clear-Com president Bob Boster says: “A great deal of activity for entire systems – where we are doing the comms infrastructure for the whole truck – is taking place in Europe and the Americas. But the most active area is probably Asia, where we are doing a lot of [partial comms supply projects].”

The FreeSpeak II wireless intercom remains its most popular solution in this market, although Boster reports an increasing comfort in terms of the selection of “IP overall both in terms of backhaul from the truck to studios, as well as IP as an architecture to link trucks together on-site or into the venue.” Although the ability of this new generation of OB trucks to support 4K production and delivery will inevitably dominate the industry headlines this year, the story of their audio advances should not be underplayed. Just as many of these trucks will allow users to switch seamlessly between HD and 4K, a great number will also support the ability to deliver audio anywhere, anytime as the IP revolution gathers pace. www.calrec.com www.clearcom.com www.fairlight.com.au www.hhb.co.uk www.riedel.net www.tslproducts.com

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INSTALLATION PROFILE

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SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Back at the beginning of July, thousands of amateur musicians descended on Frankfurt’s Commerzbank-Arena with the aim of uniting in concert as the largest orchestra ever assembled. Adam Savage went along to see the record attempt unfold, with the help of a specially selected sound solution. t goes without saying that any kind of live music concert at a world-class stadium requires a substantial audio system, but for what was probably the largest deployment of HK Audio loudspeakers anywhere to date, there was a lot more to think about than just the size of the setup. For around six weeks earlier this summer, the 50,000-plus-capacity Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt played host to a wide variety of public events, including mass viewings of UEFA EURO 2016 matches on the largest screen in Germany and numerous one-oﬀ shows and

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July/August 2016

performances from some of the nation’s favourite artists. This culminated in the Wir füllen das Stadion (We’re Filling the Stadium) grand ﬁnale on 9 July, where a total of 7,548 musicians came together inside the arena to successfully break the record for the world’s largest orchestra playing the same piece(s) of music in one place. The previous record was held by a group in Australia, where 7,224 instrumentalists joined forces at the 2013 Queensland Music Festival. The system in place needed to cover the vast main ﬂoor area used to accommodate football fans on match days, thousands of musicians during

the world record attempt and the crowd that gathered for the concert that brought it all to a close, with the expectation that it would be capable of distributing everything from classical to heavy rock and clear speech for the match commentary and announcements on the concluding weekend.

Tried and tested It’s no surprise then that HK Audio’s top-of-the-line solutions – Cohedra and Cohedra Compact – were brought out for the occasion. As well as having the power, HK’s big guns have proven themselves in similar scenarios in the

past, as the company’s product manager for rental and installation, Marc-Oliver Mayer, explains: “We chose these two systems because they are simply the biggest line arrays in our portfolio and such a huge venue needs a big, accurate and powerful pro-audio setup. Also, Cohedra is loved by the classical scene because of its acoustic, natural response and behaviour. Cincinnati {Symphony & Pops} Orchestra, Carmina Burana and Händel Festspiele are just a few examples of where this system has been used successfully.” “As Cohedra and Cohedra Compact aren’t brand new systems on the

INSTALLATION PROFILE Throwing Punches It wasn’t just the inside of the stadium that was equipped with HK kit; the brand’s gear, including the new Linear 5 LTS passive speakers unveiled at ISE 2016, could be seen and heard at additional performance spaces all around the venue’s exterior and in adjacent park areas on the weekend of the record-breaking concert as well. “The big stage on the one end of the green was powered by a double headstack per side of our Linear 5 LTS system, which includes our new so-called Multicell Transformer that gives LTS its name as a Long Throw System. And that’s what it

does in reality – it makes a superb real long throw with a high SPL, it has no distortions in the audible range and it is packed in a very small enclosure,” says Mayer.

In the engine room

//////////////////////////////////////////// market, we have experience of what they can deliver and how they perform in diﬀerent situations. So, as expected, they were doing their job very well.” Although there was no change in the delay arrangement throughout the ground for the duration – 36 x CDR 208 S/T and 20 x CDR 108 spread across four positions – it was necessary to make alterations to the main rig facing the inﬁeld as the Commerzbank-Arena switched from broadcasting matches to putting on the main event. Therefore, what started as 2 x 24 CDR 208 S/T hangs paired with 2 x 12 CDR 210 F sub hangs situated as far out of sight as possible was scaled down to an array of 16 208s a side that had been moved 16m further into the audience area for the second part of the job.

HK Audio also took the opportunity to introduce its next generation power engine during AMI’s visit. Designed for use with speakers across the HK range, the new Power Racks consist of PB-8 patchbays and Lab.gruppen PLM+ 12K44 amplifiers – 24 of these were utilised at the Arena – chosen for their power, sound quality, flexibility, the brand’s acceptance across the market, price point and more. HK’s PB-8 offers four analogue inputs and thrus with a separate ground lift switch, as well as two AES3 and Ethernet connections, four NL4 Speakon connectors for

the amp output channels and an NL8 for all four amp channels. The Rack comes with either one PLM+ and one PB-8 (Power Rack 8) or two of each (Power Rack 16).

Delayed response Getting the actual conﬁguration right for all situations wasn’t the only thing that the team had to really think about carefully, according to Mayer: “The biggest challenge was the large reverberation time of about eight seconds at low frequencies in the empty stadium, so we had to work with delay lines to transport as much direct sound to the listeners as possible. The lounge seats especially were important, because as usual, these are the most expensive seats. “Another challenge was the demand for high speech transmission for the soccer public viewings on the one hand, and good acoustical performance for Top 40 cover bands, club music and last but not least the orchestra on the

other. But our systems are capable of these requirements and the local rental company did a great job, so it wasn’t really a big problem.” Finding the optimal setup for any venue, let alone one of this size, is never easy, but using AFMG’s EASE Focus 2 acoustic simulation software did make the process that little bit simpler, Mayer reveals: “In general, without such a tool it would be an expensive trial and error process. That’s why it became a standard in the pro-audio world today. Our simulation in advance showed us exactly the sound pressure levels we could expect in the stadium. After the setup we only had to tweak a little bit here and there and that was about it. The ﬁnal results were very good, as previously expected.”

The celebratory concert featured several artists well known across Germany, such as Angelo Kelly, and many in attendance may have also recognised the man in charge of keeping more than 7,500 orchestra members in sync, Wolf Kerschek, who had this to say when asked to express his thoughts on the occasion after a practice session: “It’s an incredibly special day. I’ve never heard anything like this. I’ve never heard a sound like this and I’ve never had an experience like this – and we’re just talking about the rehearsal. “It’s about sharing the idea of music, playing together and really exchanging emotionally.” www.hkaudio.com

July/August 2016

FEATURE: FINAL CUT

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THE MAGIC TOUCH

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Adam Savage questions production sound mixer John Casali about obtaining difficult dialogue for the mind-bending trick flick Now You See Me 2. ilming in exotic locations can throw up challenges for the whole crew when shooting a movie, but sometimes you feel the sound department has it harder than most. Whereas a scene shot in a faraway land can lead to excellent visual results, capturing dialogue can be difficult at the best of times, especially when you throw a medley of camera tricks and unusual shot choices into the mix. Production sound mixer John Casali found himself in this situation when on set for the effects-laden globetrotting caper thriller Now You See Me 2, which sees street magician quartet the ‘Four Horsemen’ return for another stage illusion adventure centred around a plot to expose the unethical practices of a tech magnate. BAFTA nominated for carrying out the same role on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Casali has plenty of experience gathering high-quality dialogue from an all-star cast, but usually in more forgiving environments for the job.

July/August 2016

“The locations were busy, noisy and logistically challenging, in particular filming ‘walk and talk’ night scenes on the bustling streets of downtown Macau,” Casali reports. “Many of the shots were filmed on Steadicam, and covered multiple blocks of streets. “Finding a convenient place to hide me and my sound trolley, while running out radio receivers and their antennas as a mobile satellite and booming in extremely narrow crowded alleys with low washing lines and telegraph wires all added to the usual sound challenges, and made for some logistical difficulties.” As if these physical obstacles weren’t enough, when recording in highly populated urban centres, unwanted sounds off-camera are going to be a pretty unavoidable threat. Fortunately, Casali came prepared. “Many of the locations were public spaces, and subsequently we had little or no control over background noise. In these circumstances the [Schoeps] SuperCMIT really helps reduce unwanted background noise,” he

explains. ‘In other locations, however, the best you can hope for is some degree of audio isolation, take all the dialogue on radios, and make peace with the background noise, particularly when it’s featured on camera.” “We recorded lots of crowd scenes. To augment a stereo pair of [Sennheiser] MKH50’s I used my [TSL] Soundﬁeld ST350 [portable digital surround sound mic system] to record in 5.1. We often placed booms away from the action to achieve clean crowd eﬀects.

Bag of tricks So what else does Casali have up his sleeve in terms of kit? “I record to a Cantar, via an analogue Cooper CS208 mixer. I use Wisycom radio mics and a plethora of shotgun mics, both analogue and digital,” he reveals. “The gun mics I use most regularly are the MKH50, Schoeps CMIT 5U and the SuperCMIT.” He may have had control over what equipment he could bring with him, but as with all of these projects, he

didn’t have much of a say over whom he worked with, other than the other members of his four-man crew. Luckily, with actors such as Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Sir Michael Caine and Daniel Radcliffe all involved, he didn’t need to worry about inexperienced talent, and the costume team was very co-operative too when possible problems were identified. “The cast was great; they genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves on set. Lots of banter,” recalls Casali. “It was a large ensemble cast, with an established rapport, and consequently I suspected there would be a lot of adlibbing from the artists. It was essential that we made the costumes work for us, from a radio mic fitting perspective. Preparation was key. We worked closely with the costume department prior to, and throughout shooting to iron out any potential issues.” A solution was also required for the scenes where one key cast member can be seen acting out the role of his main character, Merritt McKinney, and twin brother Chase. “Another unusual aspect to the film was Woody Harrelson playing two independent characters, often interacting with one another on screen,” Casali explains. “We recorded Woody’s on-screen dialogue, then via Pro Tools we fed him his pre-recorded dialogue, with a discreet ear piece and continued shooting the scene, with Woody playing the other character.” Finally, back to the topic of teamwork, how much does Casali value the relationship between production and post on a film like this? How important is this part of the process? “I like to keep the dialogue editor and picture editor up to date as the film progresses, keeping an open dialogue with them throughout, flagging any concerns, making sure there are no audio issues, and making sure they’re aware of any wild tracks, 5:1 recordings and sweeps I’ve recorded. After filming, I keep in touch and receive updates throughout the post production phase.” With all things considered then, it appears that the characters on screen weren’t the only ones having to work some magic to make this particular film come together.

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LIVE PROFILE

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POWER PLAY

Capital Sound’s Robin Conway explains why the unusual X8 amplifier configuration on the Il Divo tour has saved a significant amount of time, space and energy.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// apital Sound may have been working with Il Divo since the classical crossover band set out 12 years ago, but they showed on the group’s latest ‘Amor & Pasion’ tour that they are unafraid to deploy new sound equipment to enhance the performance further. The multi-platinum selling artists were the first ‘classical crossover’ act to top the US Billboard 200 and in 2006 the Guinness Book of World Records listed them as the most commercially successful group of their kind in international music history, with nine album releases since 2003. Having recently acquired and configured a new stacks and processing package involving Powersoft’s flagship X series amplification to complement the Outline GTO line array, Capital’s system designer Robin Conway has made an immediate breakthrough by configuring the six networked Powersoft X8 amp racks to drive not only the FOH system but also the monitor setup. The project is also the first major tour for which the Wimbledon-based audio company is using its new Outline GTO

July/August 2016

C-12 system, covering arena shows throughout the UK, Europe and Scandinavia.

Reducing Footprint According to Conway, the flexibility of the six touring amp racks – each containing three X8s – has enabled them to cut down on real estate dramatically, while delivering just under one megawatt of sound in total. Configured with Audinate’s RU-NL4 Dante distribution network, and coupled with Powersoft’s Armonía Pro Audio Suite for advanced monitoring and remote control, Conway believes this is the way forward as it also represents a considerable saving on truck space. “Rather than assign half the amps to monitors and half to FOH we were able to bring them together and share the amp racks. The racks enabled us to drive the eight mixes of wedges, side fills and the full array,” he explains. Positioned up in the rig, the X8s could drive the wedge monitors from the Digico SD10 mixing desk via AES into the stage left amp racks and over Dante to the amp racks distributing the signal to

stage right – a maneouvre requiring just one connection from the monitors to the amp racks. “It was a real bonus to be able to create a Dante path from any physical input on the amp itself, whether analogue or AES, since by bringing all these feeds from the same location we have been able to lose multiple amp racks,” adds Conway.

Pushing Boundaries With Matteo Cifelli mixing at FOH, Mark Buckley on monitors and Micky Griffiths system teching, the setup was deployed for the first time with Il Divo – and it won’t be the last. “We are constantly looking to maximise our infrastructure for best use and we certainly achieved that with this integrated setup,” remarks Conway. In terms of the PA design, the main hangs comprised 12 Outline GTO C-12 (plus downfill) per side, with eight GTO (plus downfill) as sidefills. Four GTO subs were flown behind the main hangs on each side with eight GTO subs on the ground – all in cardioid pattern. The setup also included eight lip fills, near fills, 12

stage wedges and Mantas28 flown stage sidefills. Conway says there are many advantages with DSP amps. “Primarily you are removing the possibility of failure in the drive by dispensing with a separate rack and control system. “We have managed to dispense with a lot of waste by cutting through the mentality that FOH and monitor feeds need to be kept separate. Previously we would have dropped eight separate analogue lines to stage left and eight to stage right.” Armonia was deployed to implement the integration. “This is a great piece of excellently designed software in its ability to offer advanced control,” Conway believes. “Powersoft could simply not have not bothered with this attention to detail. “The engineers knew what was going on and were on board from the beginning – and I’m very proud of what we have achieved.” www.capital-sound.co.uk www.powersoft-audio.com www.outlinearray.com

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TECH TALK – SOUND PARTICLES

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GOLD DUST

Colby Ramsey speaks to Nuno Fonseca, the Portuguese professor and founder of Sound Particles, a new piece of audio software that has already been used by some of Hollywood’s biggest ﬁlm studios for a number of blockbuster movies. A year and a half ago I went to LA to present a paper at an AES convention. A few weeks before this I sent emails to some of the Hollywood studios explaining who I am and what kind of work I do. One of the ﬁrst studios that replied was Skywalker Sound, inviting me to go there to do a presentation to their team. In the following months I ended up going three times to both LA and San Francisco to engage in

How did Sound Particles come about? Could you tell us about the software? The idea initially started around ten years ago, when I realised the most interesting visual effects that I was seeing in the movies were using particle systems, a technique widely used in computer graphics for many years. Instead of individually animating each raindrop or grain of dust, particle systems software creates thousands or even millions of small points that together create a visual of fire or smoke or something similar. At the time I thought ‘wouldn’t it be nice if an approach like this could also be used for sound, to create thousands of small sounds that come together to make something great?’ At first it was just an idea and time passed by. Then four years ago I finished my PhD and since no one was yet using particle systems for sound, I thought ‘let’s start developing some software or a simulator that can do just that.’ It uses a lot of CGI concepts – similarly to Maya [computer animation and modelling software] but with sounds that you can position in your virtual space as desired. Instead of a virtual camera, we use a virtual microphone, which can be positioned anywhere and allows you to capture the sound from a special perspective. How did its adoption by these major studios happen so soon after release? 30

July/August 2016

talks with major Hollywood studios like Universal, Warner Brothers, Fox, Paramount Pictures and Sony. What I gather from the perception and my interaction with these sound designers is that they feel like it is something completely new – it’s a true native 3D software. Particle systems can be used to create a soundscape made up of thousands of sounds spread over a certain area – Sound Particles particularly shines when used in big budget productions with epic battle scenes for example – and then render everything in 5.1 or Dolby Atmos. In what speciﬁc ways are these studios using the software? The feedback I get from the users is that when they understand the concept they start getting ideas to create immersive, grand-scale audio experiences. People are using Sound Particles for things they never thought possible before. Most times it is being used for its ability to collect thousands of sounds together, but there are some like David Farmer (sound designer for Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit) who believe this is the best software available for Doppler, and who have shown a lot of support for it. Another ﬁeld that is currently using the software a lot is virtual reality because they need to position sound very accurately. The software allows you to import a 360º video, and simply drag and drop the sound on top of the image. This is perfect for VR because it can be a

nightmare to position sounds manually, especially when the sound sources are moving around. Keyframe animation then allows users to animate them perfectly in sync with the image. I am seeing users take several approaches to the software in order to utilise it for their own purposes. Are there any other applications that the software is aimed at? Currently, the main target audience of the software is sound designers working on big Hollywood productions, but it can also be used in other areas like theatre to create a virtual microphone with a custom speaker conﬁguration to render perfectly for a special room. There are even uses for it in theme parks where Disney is testing it to create sounds for their unconventional speaker arrangements. Game audio designers will also ﬁnd it useful, and of course, people working in virtual reality. The idea is to, within several months, create a version that will be able to work in real time. Hopefully we start to see additional people using it like rerecording mixers in the cinema who can use this just like designers do. And there is support for numerous multichannel formats? One of the interesting concepts of this 3D software is the use of a virtual microphone, because when using a digital audio workstation this is not the case. Here we can use

virtual microphones, ranging from single monophonic microphones to ambisonics, which the software can render audio in. It supports a wide range of configurations and formats including immersive formats like Dolby Atmos 9.1, Auro 11.2 and NHK 22.2. Where do you plan to take the software in the next five years? I see the software as just the first step because there are a number of fields I want to explore. One of those things is integration with CGI information, because audio people at the moment often disregard it and simply use the final video as reference when using visual effects or animated features. What I want to be able to do though is import all of this CGI information in order to co-ordinate images and sounds easier. Another thing that I want to look at is having native support for Dolby Atmos and interoperability with other software. I want to create a Windows version because it is currently only available for Mac and I also want to develop more features and support for virtual reality. There is a huge gap in the market here because there are currently no specially created post-production tools for VR, as people mostly use digital audio workstations. It’s important to start creating new solutions, new software and new options with regards to these 3D tools. www.sound-particles.com

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

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WARM AUDIO WA-2A TUBE OPTO COMPRESSOR

How does this more wallet-friendly reimagining of the legendary LA-2A Leveling Amplifier compare with UA’s reissue? Simon Allen gets his hands on both. ell that’s a familiar model name.” The excitement around the release of this product at NAMM 2016 was significant; designed to be an affordable replica of the well-known Teletronix LA-2A, I couldn’t be more intrigued to test one. If there were a list of Holy Grail pro-audio equipment, the LA-2A would certainly be up there. Warm Audio has already made replicas of other famous pieces of audio equipment, such as the EQP-WA Pultec-style tube EQ, the WA76 discrete compressor and WA-12 preamp. It doesn’t take much effort to guess the influence for these devices either. What’s important for me, however, is that Warm Audio didn’t release the WA-2A first. Now that its other devices have been well received, it should be ready to take on what is one of the ultimate pieces of hardware. The WA-2A is Warm’s most expensive product yet, which is to be expected, but equally the most anticipated.

Overview The WA-2A is a 2U rack-mountable unit, unlike the original’s 3U requirements. While this seems like a convenient space32

July/August 2016

saving benefit, Warm Audio recommends leaving 1U space above for keeping the unit cool and extending the life of the tubes. I would urge that any new owner thinks carefully if rack mounting the WA-2A as it does indeed get warm. I also assume that the 2U casing is a costsaving measure. The front of the device is as you would expect. There’s not much to say here as there isn’t anything the original units do or don’t have. The only addition they’ve made are variable indented potentiometers for the output gain and peak reduction, so that settings can be recalled when mixing. Having up to 40dB of gain on the output almost permits the WA-2A to be used as a mic preamp, or at the least offers another stage of amplification for low sensitivity mics. On the rear of the unit, besides the XLR and balanced jack connectors, there are three knobs. The pre-emphasis control and meter adjust are two settings the original units would have required a screwdriver to operate and were sometimes found on the front panel. I like the dedicated controls but in my opinion, it does mean access to the rear panel shouldn’t be restricted when installing in a studio. A range of characters can be achieved via the

pre-emphasis control, which changes the frequency weighting on the side-chain input to the compressor. Inside is where all the important decisions were made in order for the unit to stand up against such an icon. Component-wise CineMag input and output transformers were chosen and, true to form, there are four vacuum tubes. Interestingly, you can see through the grille on top a spare valve socket. According to Phil Skins at Nova Distribution, this allows the owner to swap one of the valves for one that requires a diﬀerent connection. Warm Audio says it has sourced modern valves that are as close as possible to the spec and sound of the original’s, but purists have the opportunity to replace one for an older model that might be more to their taste. I am pleased to see that they’ve thought about this. The other highly important component is the opto-cell – sometimes more commonly known as the photocell or optocoupler. This is believed to be key to the character of an LA-2A, directly aﬀecting parameters such as the attack and release times. When Universal Audio reissued the LA-2A, there was a lot of fuss made about the opto-cell and they even researched manufacturing it with

Key Features Premium grade CineMag USA transformers Kenetek opto-attenuator 2U rack-mountable unit Fully discrete signal path Socketed to allow for retro-fitting other opto-cells RRP: $899 www.warmaudio.com the old production methods. To the best of my knowledge, they still produce them in this old-school fashion. Inside the Warm unit there is an ‘oﬀ-the-shelf’ component, the Kenetek opto-cell, which is considered one of the best available today. In my eyes, even if it doesn’t match the true LA-2A sound, this would still be a very worthy addition to any studio.

In Use Living with the WA-2A for a few weeks meant that I was able to use it in several scenarios. One of these was during a vocal session where I used the U87 and 1073 that I commonly employ in that studio. The signal was then passed through the WA-2A and out to the ADC. There is a valve mic available in that studio that I have started to use more readily, but I purposely didn’t when using this tube compressor as it might have

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW over-colored or misguided any opinions. In hindsight, both the WA-2A and the valve mic aren’t overly colored, and it could have worked well. Engineering with the WA-2A is an absolute joy. Dialling in the appropriate settings on these things is straightforward and more a case of whether or not the compressor is doing what you need. Alternatively, just running audio through tools such as this can add some character without any gain reduction occurring and the WA-2A certainly added something to the very clean sound of the U87. On this particular session I had several vocalists taking it in turns on the mic and the WA-2A was perfect for the job. Instead of worrying about the levels coming off the preamp, I left the 1073 on the safe side and adjusted the peak reduction and output gain of the WA-2A. Here I found the best sound for each take and easily ensured a strong level to tape. While this isn’t strictly the preferred method of recording, in this fast-paced and dynamic session it was a quick and professional method of approaching the tracking. With the LA-2A-style compression it was often easy to adjust the parameters, sometimes mid-take, as the WA-2A was quite forgiving when delivering more than the desired level of gain reduction. If I had to find something about the operation of the WA-2A that I wasn’t keen on, it would come down to small details. Firstly, the stepped controls for the output gain and peak reduction are obviously great for recalling settings on a mix, but they are quite large steps. Perhaps I’ve just got used to the fluid movements of the classic gear. Secondly, with the pre-emphasis control located on the rear it would be virtually useless if the WA-2A were mounted in a sealed rack. I suppose they expect you to set and leave this control and it would look out of place if it were on the front panel. However, I found it very useful to have access permitting a change in color of the compression.

On to the next one For the most signiﬁcant test I had the pleasure of taking the WA-2A over to my professional contact and friend Jeﬀ Calvert. I met him at his private facility, Silverdown Studios, with its

Jeff Calvert adjusting the LA-2A reissue at his Silverdown Studios

well-maintained Neve console, Radar and Studer tape machines, a recently renovated EMT plate and U67 to mention just a few of the many highlights. He is also the proud owner of a Universal Audio LA-2A reissue. Although not a model from the ‘60s, these units are renowned for being as close as you can get, which are built by the same methods, so I was keen to hear the differences. We lined up the two units on a previous upright bass recording Jeff had and to be really honest, we found it hard to spot any difference. There are a couple of observations, however. Firstly, it was a wonderful recording, played by a world-class musician with a beautiful instrument. I also felt as if the compression on the WA-2A was slightly more active until I backed off the pre-emphasis control. Doing so led to a setting where the two units sounded almost identical. We also tried the two compressors in turn on a lead vocal. Again this was an excellent recording with Jeff’s U67 and had initially been captured on tape before being recorded onto the Radar

system. The similarities between the two units were immediately obvious, which I find astonishing. However, I found the reissue model to offer a few subtle differences, which all add up to a greater good. For example there was more ‘air’ in the sound with the UA unit and on the bolder long notes of the performance, the color from the different valves was clear. The Warm Audio unit had less character in general, and the character it presented was of a different color. There was a more apparent ‘raspiness’ of the saturation that the UA unit delivered. Obviously all the so-called ‘original’ units, including the reissues in this case each have an individual sound due to the nature of tubes and the optocoupler/photocell. In my experiment, there was a difference, but perhaps it would be less obvious with another unit.

Conclusion The WA-2A is a well-built unit utilising the best of parts commercially available today. It oﬀers a sound that’s easy to work with and a recognisable 2A

compression style. Warm Audio has achieved its goal of developing an affordable clone of one of the most famous compressors of all time. Future owners of these units won’t be disappointed and I believe they will find a use for one in any studio setup. The burning question, I guess, is how close the WA-2A is to the LA-2A. I believe it’s a case of what you pay for is what you get. Compared to the original hardware units, the WA-2A certainly sits alongside them, but I wouldn’t go as far to say that it’s a replacement. This is of course reflected in the considerable difference in price, which for some will be a very quick deciding factor.

The Reviewer Simon Allen is a freelance internationally recognised engineer/producer and pro audio professional with over a decade of experience. Working mostly in music, his reputation as a mix engineer continues to reach new heights.

July/August 2016

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

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MCDSP 6050 PLUG-IN

Alan Branch has a play around with this impressive plug-in package from the Silicon Valley-based company. he McDSP 6050 Ultimate Channel Strip has been one of the most anticipated plug-ins of 2016, coming from a highly respected lineage of sound processing wonderment. Founded by Colin McDowell, McDSP has been producing many engineers’ favourite plug-ins for years. The 6030 Ultimate Compressor and 6020 Ultimate EQ are both lunchboxstyle plug-ins that offer ten different modules, each with their own unique emulation of classic hardware. The 6050 Ultimate Channel Strip is an amalgamation of its two predecessors, including all the EQ and compressor modules alongside eight new modules incorporating signal saturation, filters, gates and expanders. These modules can be inserted into a three-slot bay placed between an I/O section to complete a quick and easy workflow.

All-in-one Channel strip-style plug-ins have often been popular, as they provide an innovative and quick solution for DAW mixer/producers, by encompassing several functions into one plug-in. However, a traditional channel strip can be limiting if it’s not versatile or all the functions are from the same design. The channel strip design with selectable modules solves these issues and the McDSP 6050 Channel Strip has one of the largest module collections resembling the workﬂow and classic sound of a custom modular lunchbox/500 series rack. But why is this condensed format popular over other plug-ins? DAWs are incredibly powerful but with a wealth of 34

July/August 2016

different plug-ins it can be cumbersome and time consuming to find which work well together, and a DAW channel can be less than helpful moving or swapping plugins around. Hence channel strips have become popular, especially in the modular lunchbox-style racks. No more battling with different-sized GUI interfaces or your eyes getting used to alternate styles of 3D rendering – the rack strip combines processors in the single module format, restricting controls into one tidy module, making them quicker to use and easier to understand. By combining dynamics, EQ and a touch of saturation the 6050 becomes a mini console, which enables you to sculpt the sound into something that fits the song quickly and easily.

In Use The 6050 supports AU, AAX DSP/Native and VST and copy protection is done via iLok. Installation was simple but you will notice straight away some of the work that has gone into creating this behemoth of a plug collection by the size of the install for the Everything Pack – over 4GB! Bear in mind these are processors not samples or reverbs. The 6050 Ultimate Channel Strip is divided into six modules, the ﬁrst

being the Module Selector. Modules are divided into collections of EQ, Comp and More. Each can be sent to a desired target module slot, while there is an Input Section, +/-24dB input gain control, input meter, key enable for sidechain and key listen for each module, a Module Section, three modules slots with dropdown module selection menu and individual bypass controls and lastly, an Output module with +/-24dB output control, a meter and phase polarity switch. Using the 6050 in a mix I quickly found how easy it was to use – it’s the simplicity that makes a control strip work. You can easily visualise the journey your audio is taking and how each process is improving the sound, quickly slotting in a compressor followed by an EQ, then a touch of saturation or maybe switching the EQ before the compressor by simply dragging the module, which can help deal with some troublesome LF. The 6050 comes with ten compressors and ten EQs emulating classic hardware. Of special interest is the trio of new saturation modules. The combination of classic-sounding EQ and compression is fantastic but the saturation really helps ﬁll in some of those digital holes with harmonic goodness. The S671 has a

Key Features More than 25 compressor, gate, expander, saturator and filter modules Easy drag-and-drop, on-the-fly module auditioning Side chain support Analogue saturation modelling Ultra low latency Available in AAX DSP/Native, AU and VST versions RRP: $229 (Native) www.mcdsp.com Fairchild type of eﬀect, providing a subtle smooth warmth to the sound, while the Moo-D comes from more of a tube angle, adding more heat, and the D-100 piles in grit and edge. McDowell informed me they have modelled over 18 pieces of classic gear but thought carefully about the three distortion modules, ensuring they complement the existing EQs and compressors. One of my favourite features of the 6050 is the ability to keep your settings while changing modules. This means if you want to compare what it’s like to switch to an alternate EQ or compressor you

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW simply change the module, the EQ gains and frequency selections or threshold and ratio settings are retained, allowing you to instantly hear your processing chain through diﬀerent styles of emulated hardware. Yes, there might be diﬀerences between a cut and boost curve or speed of compressor but that’s generally what you want to hear.

Conclusion The 6050 Ultimate Channel Strip oﬀers something unique with its large library of modules. I like to think of it as the modern day DAW channel strip. It’s a workhorse plug-in; by incorporating controls into a sympathetic GUI interface, you may miss the precision of a large plug-in with more individual parameters but what you gain is speed and focus on the essential and most used controls to quickly go through sounds. When you combine this with a huge selection of classic gear it becomes an incredibly commanding workﬂow. The

ability to hot swap an EQ or compressor because it retains its settings then add a touch of saturation while dialling in a kick drum or snare is a powerful process. I found the more I used the 6050 the more it started appearing on every channel of my mix. With ten EQ modules, ten compressors plus the new ﬁlters, saturators, gates and expanders, processing sound has never been easier or more creative. The 6050 gives you the feel of having your own custom made console at your ﬁngertips.

The Reviewer Alan Branch is a freelance engineer/ producer. His list of credits include Jamiroquai, Beverley Knight, M People, Simply Red, Depeche Mode, Shed 7, Sinead O’ Connor and Bjork. www.alanbranch.com.

“Since most of us cannot afford a room full of 19in rack stuff, the lunch box solution is a great fit – literally, figurative and financially. In the 6050 (and 6030 and 6020) we’re trying to capture some of that vibe and form factor. Not everyone can afford all the plug-ins from McDSP, but golly the 6050 is a great ‘sampling’ of what we offer. We compact the UI’s into the lunchbox-style interface, and offer a simpler set of controls but there’s still the great McDSP sound, in a variety of options, at a great price.” Colin McDowell, McDSP

Reinventing the large sound system

July/August 2016

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

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AUDIO-TECHNICA IEM SERIES IN-EAR MONITORS

Alistair McGhee gets his lugs around the two higher-end models from the manufacturer’s new range of in-ear monitors. s my old friend Donal used to say, “never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear”, but to be fair that was long before the rise of IEMs, or in-ear monitors. Now the whole business of in-ear monitors is, for me, fraught with difficulty, for the very simple reason that in-ears more than any other aspect of audio technology depend on fit. Remember we wear these suckers in a way more intimate than most items of clothing and that means that in the world of IEMs, fit is if not king, then at least Prince (RIP). And in my case the situation is complicated by, to misquote the great Frank Zappa, one of my canals is wider than the other and both of my ears are too big! Yes, I find getting IEMs to fit me properly in both ears is a bit of a drag. And in to the IEM arena Audio-Technica has now pitched three new in-ear monitor oﬀerings. Audio-Technica is on a bit of a roll at the moment in the headphone department. I’ve been a long-term user of the ATH M50’s and the new(ish) ATH-M70X model is just knock-out. So I was eagerly looking forward to trying the ATH-E50 and its bigger brother, the ATH-E70. These are the two higher-end models from the new range that A-T has released – the ATH-E40 has a good old dynamic driver, the E50’s feature a single balanced armature while the E70’s oﬀer a triple balanced armature design.

Fit for purpose And so back to the question of fit and wearability – why is this important? Well, my first experience with the E50 is a perfect example – I was distinctly underwhelmed; thin and lacking in bass was my first response. I quickly turned 36

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Key Features Three balanced armature drivers provide accurate, extended response across entire frequency range (ATH-E70) Powerful single armature drivers ensure precise, full-range response (ATH-E50) Flexible memory cable that loops over ears Specially designed housings for maximum isolation Comes with carrying case, 0.25in adapter and range of silicone eartips RRP: £140 (ATH-E50); £240 (ATH-E70) www.audio-technica.com to the E70’s. They were better, as they should be, but again I was sure that I wasn’t getting the best out of the Audio-Tehnicas. The simple thing to do at this stage is test the fit – apply some pressure on the body of the transducer – pushing them tighter into your ears – try a little rotation too and gauge the magnitude of the improvement, if any. With the E50’s and E70’s, added pressure was giving me much better audio than with the normal fit. So what I had was a ﬁtting problem rather than a quality problem per se. Now Audio-Technica provides Extra-Small, Small, Medium and Large silicone tips to suit a variety of ear sizes, but maybe my ears were just too big, or the wrong shape, or both. However, although the E50’s and E70’s come with four pairs of silicone tips, interestingly Audio-Technica also supplies the E70’s with an additional set of Comply memory foam tips, Comply being a big name in after market tips. Using memory foam technology, the idea is that the foam expands slightly due to the heat of being wedged in your ear, therefore ensuring a better ﬁt and thus better sound. As for me I tend to use INAIRS tips, which I guess are very similar products to Comply.

In Use So returning retipped to the E50 was a much more assured experience. I fitted them with the Comply tips and set about some enjoyable listening. The great strength of the E50s is their finely articulated upper mid range. It feels like an extended plateau but there’s no sense of an aggressive honk lurking in there. From just under 2k to up around 6k you feel a real sense of surgical precision. And the good news here is that the top end, although full of detail, avoids the slippery slope of overbalancing into strident brightness that is a real danger with IEMs. Remember the audio we mix is done on loudspeakers and therefore there’s always a small amount of correction for high frequency absorption going on. And of course when we stick the generator right in our ears, well there isn’t going to be a lot of HF absorbed. While I enjoyed the E50’s (and rather regretted not getting the E40’s to give them a spin) the star of the show is definitely its big brother. The E70’s are without doubt tremendous. The bottom end is authoritative but with no sense of bloom or wallowing; the mid range – smooth and capable of high resolution – runs seamlessly into a really delicate and refined top end. In pure HiFi terms the E70s are in the words of Jim Kerr, “a glittering

prize.” Both the E50’s and E70’s have ﬂexible cable loops for precise over-ear ﬁtting and the 1.6m cable (just right for reaching the receiver) is replaceable, so when the talent breaks it you can replace it. And that reminds us really that what we are looking for in an IEM might not be exactly what we’re looking for in a HiFi product. On stage some may prefer the balance of the E50’s out of the box, if they want the maximum cut through. For me, I would take the E70’s and EQ if I need it, but your mileage may vary, not to mention your budget. At any rate, Audio-Technica has produced some cracking IEMs in the new E series. To get the very best out of them you may need to consider after market tips, a small price to pay to maximise A-T’s in-ear audio engineering.

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.

year t x e n in ga a u o y e e S in Amsterdam.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

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POP AUDIO POP FILTER POP FILTER

This new brand reckons it’s solved one of the most common problems associated with this kind of mic accessory, but does Simon Allen approve? n general, pop filters aren’t a subject we spend much time thinking about. We all know we need one and why, especially when recording closely-miked vocals. So why are they one thing that can really stall a session? With so many other things to think about such as the type of microphone, mic placement, preamp choice and the recording chain, if the talent has their words and feels comfortable (which normally includes a special tea with honey and lemon, or the airconditioning set just so), the pop filter is the last thing on anyone’s mind. Then you finally get everything in place and the good takes start coming, when suddenly there’s a drooping issue. You try strategically placing a music stand, or wedging the filter against the suspension mount and almost voiding its purpose, or even resorting to ugly gaffer tape just because it won’t quite hold – we’ve all done it. Surely there has to be another way? The team at Pop Audio believe they have the answer. Not only have they tried solving the common drooping issue, but by applying some fresh thinking, their new pop filter has a few party tricks too.

Overview So you’re probably wondering what there is to say about a pop ﬁlter. Well, in the case of Pop Audio, there’s more than you can imagine. What’s more, this is one of those products that brings many obvious features neatly into an incredibly simple package. It’s so straightforward, you’re left wondering 38

July/August 2016

why we’ve been without this tool for so long. The first thing you notice is the ball joint system. It’s made of tough plastic, which doesn’t creak or groan as you move the filter but has plenty of rigidity. It gives you confidence that you can place your filter in exactly the right place and it will stay there. The filter and boom attach to a mic stand via a quick-release butterfly clamp. This might sound simple, but there’s a lot they had to get right here. Firstly, the clamp is stiff and strong, not slipping on any diameter of mic stand that I tried it with. I’ve used clips like this before that are typically designed to only work for one size of pole, but this one seems to grip onto anything. While the clamp is reassuringly strong, it isn’t difficult to use either, offering plenty of leverage with one hand. The rubber insert adds friction to aid with the grip, but also doesn’t leave any marks behind on the stand. Now for the first of two party tricks. The filter is removable via a ‘twist and click’ mechanism, much like a bayonet light bulb fi xing. This gives way to the whole unit fitting neatly in your bag for travelling. It also means that the filters can be changed in only a few seconds. Currently Pop Audio offers three types of filter: foam, fabric and metal. This is a great selection and I can’t see a need for anything else. Maybe a transparent material would be useful for filming scenarios? The second trick comes in the form of two European-style mic stand screw thread at the

top of the ball joint arm. This allows you to screw the ﬁlters directly onto a mic stand if there isn’t anything to clamp on to. What’s more exciting though is the ability to use the clamp and neck as an extra mic stand. It’s not intended to take the weight of your largest condenser mic, but I don’t think anyone would dream of placing large expensive mics on anything other than dedicated stands. However it is really useful for holding two snare mics with one stand, reducing the amount of stands on the ﬂoor, for example.

In Use Setting up the Pop Audio pop filter is quick and easy. It’s so simple in fact, that once in place you forget about it and concentrate on the other aspects of recording. I tried it in several studios where it was easy to place each time and it held the position without any trouble. Sound-wise there are three options, but to be honest they’re all very transparent. With the studio edition, I had all three of the different filter types to test. The fabric filter is recommended as the go-to option with it being similar to most pop filter designs. I believe that it’s better than most at actually preventing plosives affecting the mic. On the odd occasion, like when working with some rappers, I’ve had to experiment with two pop filters in front of a mic. I don’t see this ever being necessary with this filter. The metal filter, comprised of two thin metal discs punched with tiny holes is surprisingly

Key Features Three interchangeable filters: fabric, metal and foam ‘Twist and click’ mechanism for attachment Ball and socket joint arm Strong clamp for fixing to stands of various thicknesses RRP: £40 for Classic Edition with fabric filter only, £55 for Studio Edition with all three. www.popaudio.co.uk transparent. I was expecting this to affect the sound more than the others. The best part about the metal filter is it’s easy to clean and can withstand life on the road. At the other end of the scale there is the foam filter, which is designed to be the most transparent. While it is the one to use for those detail-critical recordings, it is less robust and needs a little more care.

Conclusion I honestly can’t find anything bad to say about this product. There are plenty of areas where the product could have quickly failed, such as the neck’s ball joint system not being stiff enough, or the clamp not gripping mic stands of certain diameters. However, Pop Audio has designed something extremely practical out of quality parts that I’m confident will last. Quite frankly I don’t think there is any other pop filter worth considering. This is the one you should buy. As for the pop filters you already own, next time they start to fail, replace them with one of these. There couldn’t be an easier answer – this is simplicity at its best.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

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AMS NEVE 1073DPX DUAL PREAMP AND EQ

’ve been enjoying Howard Massey’s The Great British Recording Studios, which contains a sufficient amount of technical information to keep the geek inside happy for hours. One of the innovators that crops up again and again in the development of the recording studio is, of course, Rupert Neve. The book has inspired me to try out some of the techniques described – a desire that coincided with the arrival of the subject of this review: the latest development of AMS Neve’s classic 1970s preamp and EQ, the 1073DPX. The trend to repackage classic equipment that was formerly only to be found in expensive consoles has allowed more musicians and engineers to take advantage of these seminal processors in a modern recording context and the 1073 and a myriad of clones has appeared in various guises over the years. So what does the 1073DPX bring to the table? The 1073DPX is a beautifully built, 2U-high, 19in rack-mountable device containing two independent Neve 1073 Marinair transformer-coupled microphone preamplifiers and EQs. First, I’d better get out of the way something that may prove controversial – the unit is powered by a separate 48V Power Supply Unit (PSU) more commonly known, rather disparagingly, as a ‘wall wart’. These are universally unpopular with studio owners and musicians but make a lot of sense for manufacturers as the suppliers of the power units become responsible for conformity to electrical regulations and the products are more easily convertible for different markets. In the studio, a power supply like this should be of little consequence, but if you are dragging the unit around for location recording, worrying about loss or breakage of the supply could be an issue as you can’t get one down the local hardware store unlike an IEC cable. The rear of the unit features microphone and line input and line output all on XLRs, signal send and return via

Claiming to oﬀer ‘the best sounding mic preampliﬁer unit with convenient extra features at an unbeatable price’, does this prime piece of kit deliver on what it promises? Stephen Bennett is on the case.

July/August 2016

0.25in jack sockets and the power input for the external PSU. An optional digital input and module is also available, which is useable in parallel with the analogue connections, but was not supplied for review. The front panel’s two ‘lines’ of controls should present no issues for those used to the 1073 in all its hardware and virtual versions, though the front panel microphone/line combination input is a useful addition and is switchable from a panel button. The two units can be powered individually while 48V of phantom power is also switchable for each unit. The impedance of the microphone inputs can be changed from 1,200 ohms to 300 ohms and there is also a separate Direct Injection (DI) input for guitars and basses, along with a ground lift button for those of you who insist on playing the Fender Stratocaster. The 20dB pad for the DI also changes the impedance of the input from around 1 mega-ohm to approximately 10 kiloohm when engaged. Gain is controlled by Neve’s traditional stepped dualpurpose potentiometer – turn one way to control the mic gain (and DI) levels, the other way to control the level of the line inputs. One of the lovely things about the 1073 channel is that the EQ settings are somewhat restricted, yet designed to be musically useful. For example, the mid frequency controls feature fixed, detented frequencies of 0.36kHz, 0.7kHz, 1.6kHz, 3.2kHz, 4.8Kh, 7.2kHz with a 18dB fixed ‘Q’ boost or cut, on dual-ganged Grayhill potentiometers. For those used to the flexibility of digital EQs, this may look like a compromise, but in reality, the settings almost always

produce useful sonic results. Similarly, the low frequency section enables the user to apply 16dB of boost or cut at 35Hz, 60Hz, 10Hz and 220Hz. The high pass filter features an 18dB per octave slope – switchable between 50Hz, 80Hz, 160Hz, 300Hz – and there’s a shelving filter that operates at 12kHz. The rear panel insert points can be used pre and post EQ in the signal chain and the 1073DPX has a phase reversal switch. The level control is in charge of the post EQ output gain, but pressing it selects which part of the signal path the sevenLED level meter reads from – pre-EQ, post-EQ, or post output stage, with a red LED indicating clipping at each point. The unit has a headphone output that can monitor both channels or Channel 1 or 2 only – all useful stuff!

In Use I’ve recorded through 1073-type units in many guises over the years and also have access to UA’s emulations, so I decided to record some drums, brass, vocals and acoustic guitars with the DPX for comparison. The preampliﬁers in my Metric Halo ULN-2 interface are superb, but extremely clean, so it was nice to hear that the Neve added that expected lovely sonic ‘colour’ to the proceedings and, with my ‘80s Neumann U87s, the results using the review unit were very similar to those made with more vintage Neve units. Predictably, pushing the gain on both microphone and DI inputs produced a useful distortion, while being able to EQ ‘on the way in’ reminded me that with a great microphone, channel strip and musician, you can capture a

Key Features Two independent, genuine Neve 1073 mic preamp circuits in one 2U 19in enclosure Exclusive Neve Marinair transformers on each input and output stage Connections for mic, line and DI inputs on front Switchable mic/line input connections at the back Independent channel output level controls RRP: £2,749 www.ams-neve.com great recording without having to ‘ﬁx it in the mix’. Having said that, the 1073DPX worked perfectly as outboard hardware using a DAW, and was especially useful with a bus compressor patched into the insert points – the stepped controls being something of a godsend when matching channels. The 1073DPX is actually pretty competitively priced compared to the many alternatives on the market and is a perfect companion for those of us who like to get out of the studio every now and again – if you can cope with the external power supply that is!

The Reviewer Stephen Bennett has been involved in music production for over 30 years. Based in Norwich he splits his time between writing books and articles on music technology, recording and touring, and lecturing at the University of East Anglia.

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INTERVIEW

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LOOK WHO’S TALKING

Composing music for one of the world’s best-loved TV series, archivist for and performer with The Radiophonic Workshop, restoring, remastering…there’s little that Mark Ayres can’t do with sound, Adam Savage realises.

appearances, which is ridiculous because you sometimes have about 15 minutes to rig. It has evolved but we use two Macs, one of which is used to run Logic and does all the prerecord stuﬀ and I also use it for a couple of soft synths, and then we have another Mac running MainStage. We realised that if we turned up to most festivals or anywhere really with the number of inputs we’ve got and sent that to FOH it was just never get mixed,

Photo: Paul Vanezis We hear you’ve been passionate about sound since you were very young. Is that true? I was always interested in electronics and of course if you were a child of the ‘60s, as I was, you would spend a lot of time at school listening to school radio programmes, a lot of which had these weird electronic Radiophonic Workshop soundtracks, and then on a Saturday night you’d have Doctor Who, and there was Blue Peter with its Bleep and Booster stories, so I just became fascinated by sounds, electronics and music. As a teenager I was playing with electronics and taking radios to bits but I was also writing music for school plays so I never really knew what I wanted to be. At school if you said you’d like to work in ﬁlms or television they’d look at you as if you were insane. After I failed my maths A Level – I fell out with the teacher – I hunted around and eventually got into Keele University, where I studied music and electronics. So how did you eventually work your way into the industry? I met Dick Mills from The Radiophonic Workshop at a Doctor Who convention – I was a big fan. He said ‘come and have a look around’ so I did, and that was it, I never really left. I was constantly haunting the place. 42

July/August 2016

I also spent five years at TVAM, the first commercial breakfast TV station, at the end of 1982 as a sound engineer. In 1987 all the technical staff got sacked so I had to find work, and wrote to everybody in the industry I’d met, which included the producer of Doctor Who at the time, John Nathan-Turner. He liked my work and offered me a job doing the show’s incidental music for two years, which was obviously an enormous break. And these days you juggle all kinds of audio-related jobs. I just do things that interest me, so restoration and cleaning stuff up, sound design, music writing. I’m lucky that I can do all of that really. All of the classic Doctor Who stuff has come through me for restoration; we’ve done everything from cleaning up mono soundtracks to doing all-new 5.1 surround sound mixes. Some of the early Doctor Who’s don’t exist any more but we do have the soundtracks so we’ve done animated versions and exactly the same thing happened with Dad’s Army; we ended up with a brand new episode. I’ve just done a load of Alan Clarke and Ken Russell remasters for DVD and Blu-ray too. Do you still get the chance to tinker with equipment?

I don’t get to do as much as I like, to be honest, because you have to make a living. As a youngster analogue was all there was so that’s what you did. I used to take old transistor radios to bits and I discovered that if you prodded around inside them you could get them to make weird noises so I was fascinated with what electronic circuits could do. I love using analogue technology live because it is so unpredictable. If you recall a patch on a digital synthesiser it goes back exactly where it was before and that’s great, but there’s something about one of my favourite instruments, the Korg MS20, which I use live – it heats up and cools down and its sound will change. Every time you use it’ll sound slightly diﬀerent – I know roughly what I’ll get but not exactly, and that’s what makes it fun. Is there a lot of analogue kit on stage with the Workshop then? We do have a digital safety blanket, so there’s always that to fall back on, but we do as much as we can live and analogue. We ﬁnd that with our audiences they expect it to be a bit homemade around the edges and if something goes wrong I might be having a heart attack but the audience loves it. We build a recording studio on stage every night, and we’re doing festival

so we use MainStage to do submixes on stage and I also use a Behringer X32, which enables me to do onstage mixing and all our own in-ear monitors. So we end up just sending 16 channels plus drums to FOH because we submix everything on stage. What are your thoughts on modern digital tools? I’ve actually been doing a mix for a film and they’ve come back and asked for a couple of changes, and it’s brilliant just to open the Nuendo file because there it is, exactly as I left it, so that’s where digital technology is absolutely fascinating. I can just tweak it, save it again and then it’s done. In the studio I use a lot of angle modelling plug-ins, but when I’m performing on an instrument I much prefer something that has a lot of knobs on it rather than something that’s virtual. Sounds like you’re being kept very busy travelling about with the Workshop and your studio work. Do you have a preference? I kind of like it all. I’ve never in my life done a 9-5 job; the live stuff is great fun and the restoration work is very satisfying – it’s all stuff that I grew up watching and it’s great to be able to pay something back and help preserve it. I’m very keen that the BBC shouldn’t be throwing stuff out, which I’m afraid they still do, so it’s a case of standing in front of the bulldozers to a large extent. This is our cultural history and I think it’s important that we preserve it.

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