AMI May/June 2016 Digital Edition

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

May/June 2016

FEELING THE LOVE John Newman on being taken seriously as a producer and why he’s proud of his Tileyard workspace p22

FEATURE

LIVE PROFILE

REVIEW

Festival season from the rental firm’s perspective p16

Going Above & Beyond at the Royal Albert Hall p20

We find out what WaveLab Pro 9 has to offer p34

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WELCOME

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EDITOR Adam Savage asavage@nbmedia.com

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Adam Liberman is technical support engineer at Audio Precision. His broad range of experience includes film and TV production and post-production sound; theatrical sound design; radio production and engineering; computer audio testing and reviewing; music and nature sound recording; and test, repair and modification of pro-audio and film editing equipment.

Matt North is a freelance audio producer, specialising in high-end corporate and branded content.

Based in Norwich, UK, he primarily offers post-production sound mixing, design and restoration services to clients internationally, but also has professional experience in location sound recording for film and TV.

Paul Timmins is general manager at London-based event company Capital Sound.

honestly thought we’d seen the last of ‘Mumblegate’ nearly two years ago when TV viewers had finally calmed down about inaudibility issues in drama series such as Jamaica Inn, but it seems I was wrong. Although a couple of months have passed since the latest outcry about dodgy dialogue in Happy Valley, more recent comments from the BBC’s director general about tackling the problem and the response to an article from the Royal Television Society’s Maggie Brown in regard to potential solutions show that with this being a worryingly recurrent problem, something does have to be done about it this time.

What’s just as frustrating as the problem itself though is the immediate assumption from some people that the sound professionals simply have to be responsible for the whole thing. Midway through the Jamaica Inn saga, the Beeb identified sound levels as the probable cause for it all, before later changing its stance and acknowledging that there was more to it than that.

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So instead of jumping to conclusions, all the possible factors need to be considered, including the methods of the actors themselves. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that so many sound technicians were disappointed when the Happy Valley backlash erupted and the decision from those in charge was to rush back into the edit suite and pull apart the the sound mix.

It really does seem to be the case now that the only time the audio professionals behind TV shows and films get any real attention from the wider public is when something goes wrong and the finger of blame is pointed at them. Very little recognition is given for good work, but when there’s a problem, all of a sudden they’re the centre of attention and often for the wrong reasons, which makes it all the more painful when a lot of the time they were doing everything they possibly could in very difficult circumstances, and when they form such a small part of a crew dominated by visual teams.

But that’s enough from me on the subject – although we do have more on this is in our Opinion section later on. To restore the balance after that slight rant, and with summer now more or less upon us, also in this issue we dive into the world of festival sound and visit a newly-upgraded post facility in (sometimes) sunny Bristol, so there’s plenty of positivity to go around this month too, honest!

Adam Savage Editor Audio Media International

May/June 2016

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CONTENTS

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PRODUCT NEWS 6

Sennheiser introduces new DSLR mic

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PreSonus unveils ULT-series active loudspeakers

PEOPLE 12

OPINION Producer Matt North gives his take on why some UK TV dramas continue to suffer similar audio issues

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The Audio Hunt’s Stephen Bartlett explains why sticking to the established ‘rules’ of music production is not always the best way

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INTERVIEW Deborah Whitfield and Patch Rowland from Final Cut Sound discuss the facility’s collaborative approach to post-production

TECHNOLOGY 26

HOW TO Adam Liberman from Audio Precision creates a fixture for testing a condenser microphone’s phantom power

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT We highlight some of the latest technologies in the studio outboard market

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FEATURES 16

FESTIVAL SOUND As we build up to another busy summer season of live sound, we talk to a few audio rental companies about the challenges they regularly face on site

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LIVE PROFILE Adam Savage visits the Royal Albert Hall to find out how engineer Tom Howat chooses to handle a tricky show from trance group Above & Beyond

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INTERVIEW UK recording artist John Newman sits down with Colby Ramsey for a chat about his influences, ambitions and habits as a producer

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STUDIO PROFILE Natural history specialist Wounded Buffalo Sound Studios unveils its new Dolby Atmosready dubbing theatre

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REVIEWS 32 34 36 38 40

Turbosound iP1000 Steinberg WaveLab Pro 9 AKG K182 Avid Pro Tools 12.5 RTW TM3-Primus

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SHOW NEWS 140th AES Convention/Develop Conference

PRODUCT NEWS

SENNHEISER INTRODUCES MKE 440 DSLR MIC Sennheiser used this year’s NAB Show to announce the MKE 440, a new stereo camera microphone designed for DSLR users which is available from June.

Two mini-shotgun microphones feature super-cardioid pick-up patterns that overlap to create a front focus, allowing the MKE 440 to record the sound from within the camera angle, unlike mini AB, MS or XY options.

The two mini-shotguns are mounted in a V-shape arrangement that predominantly picks up the sound from within the direction of filming and rejects the majority of off-axis noise from outside the camera focus.

The microphones are shock-mounted internally to reduce any handling noise and are protected against wind noise by a stainless steel micro-mesh.

For strong wind, a special hairy cover is available as an accessory.

The compact, all-metal MKE 440 attaches to standard camera shoe mounts, and features a three-level sensitivity switch to adjust to softer and louder sound sources with a switchable low-cut filter to eliminate low frequency noise such as wind. The microphone is powered by two AAA batteries, with the green LED of the on/off switch doubling as a low-battery indicator. The LED will turn red approximately four hours before the batteries run flat, ensuring sufficient time to finish shooting. www.sennheiser.com

CALREC RELEASES BRIO BOARD Calrec Audio’s new Brio console is the smallest member of its Bluefin2 range.

The console is 892mm wide with a 36 dual-layer fader surface and a 15.6in HD touchscreen UI. A bank of illuminating hardware rotary controls gives ‘fast and precise control’ over parameters displayed in the touchscreen UI. Brio is entirely self-contained, with analogue and digital I/O and GPIO built into the surface. Additional expansion I/O slots allow for further I/O integration, while fitting an available Hydra2 module makes it possible to connect to and share audio over Calrec’s Hydra2 network.

Connecting to Hydra2 allows broadcasters to take advantage of Hydra2’s management facilities for network-wide control, including interfacing with multiple video- and audio-over-IP networks such as

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SMPTE 2022, Dante, AES67, Ravenna, and SoundGrid. Multiformat support protects the system against any future formats that emerge and allows the console to sit on multiple networks simultaneously if desired.

Brio’s standard broadcast-specific features include: • 64 mono-equivalent legs that can be assigned as mono, stereo, or 5.1 input channels • 36 mono-equivalent legs that are assignable as mono, stereo, or 5.1 mains or groups (maximum of four mains and eight groups) • 24 mono-equivalent legs that can be designated as mono or stereo auxes (maximum of 24 auxes) • Complete integrated loudness metering • EQ and dynamics on every channel, group and main. www.calrec.com

FOCUSRITE REVEALS MORE REDNET GEAR

Focusrite’s A8R adds eight channels of analogue I/O to the firm’s range of Dante-based AoIP interfaces, access to which is provided by dual rear-panel DB25 connectors wired to standard AES59 specification, while two XLR connectors provide additional AES/ EBU I/O connectivity.

A8R features a ‘rugged yet elegant’ 1U enclosure, and promises highquality, network-connected analogue input and output with precision 24-bit, 192kHz A-D/D-A conversion, along with full network and power supply redundancy.

Word Clock I/O connections are made via BNC sockets and include switchable termination. Dual network connections are provided on locking etherCON connectors and the dual power supplies’ IEC power sockets include cable retaining clips.

The A8R is due to ship this summer with a US MSRP of $2,999.99.

Also new is the PCIeR card, which functions similarly to the existing RedNet PCIe, but with added network redundancy and dual RJ45 Ethernet ports allowing two networks to be connected to the card, which can switch between them automatically according to network availability.

It supports 24-bit/192kHz operation with connected interfaces, and requires a standard four-lane PCI Express card slot in a Windows or Mac computer, or Thunderbolt chassis. The card delivers 128 inputs and 128 outputs at 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96kHz with under 3ms analogue-to-analogue latency when used with RedNet A-D and D-A at any sample rate. PCIeR is available now for $1,599.99 (US MSRP). www.focusrite.com

NUGEN’S NEW HALO UPMIX 9.1 OPTION Nugen Audio has launched a 9.1 option for its Halo Upmix plug-in, which includes overhead positioning and generates a 7.1.2 (Dolby Atmos) bed track-compatible upmix.

The company says that with this extension, sound designers and postproduction engineers can bring existing stereo content more easily into the realism of a full Dolby Atmos mix, while the expanded visual interface makes overhead positioning ‘clear and intuitive.’

The Halo Upmix 9.1 option is based on frequency-domain and time-domain energy distribution and neural network artificial intelligence. Producers can target various upmix goals including full stable surrounds, exact downmix matching, or full dialogue isolation.

In addition to stem and group upmixing, producers can use Halo Upmix’s centre channel control and management to fine-tune a surround mix and to create intricate mixes when there is no access to the original stems.

Its centre channel control includes

Nugen’s proprietary neural networkbased dialogue extraction, which can be applied in all upmix cases, from stereo to 5.1/7.1 and 9.1.

Halo Upmix is available at $499 for both OS X and Windows. The 9.1 upmix extension can be purchased for $199 and is also available as a separate upgrade for existing Halo Upmix customers. www.nugenaudio.com

Vero is a large format sound system, which has been engineered for new levels of audio and operational performance. It has been designed, developed and perfected over the last six years by some of the most knowledgeable and experienced audio engineers in the world.

Its meticulously crafted proprietary waveguides and driver technology produce naturally even frequency response and coverage.

The result is uncompromised system dynamics, headroom and coherency combining to present an incredibly spacious stereo image, which is why Vero is already gaining the plaudits of sound engineers from around the world.

www.vero-system.com

T H E

N E X T

L E V E L

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T O U R

S O U N D

PRODUCT NEWS

AKG UNVEILS K872 HEADPHONES AKG’s new closed-back K872 master reference headphones feature custom components including a specially engineered 53mm transducer – said to be the largest AKG has ever built.

The headphones also have an ultra-light open-mesh headband, slow-retention foam ear pads and a carrying case/stand.

The driver was developed from the K812 transducer and employs a 1.5 Tesla magnet system, which the manufacturer claims is the strongest available today, providing ‘highly accurate imaging and pristine, natural sound.’

K872 offers a high-sensitivity coppercovered aluminium voice coil that extends sound beyond the limits of the human auditory system, spanning a full spectrum of frequencies. The ultra-lightweight two-layer voice coil also ensures an extended frequency range from 5Hz to 54kHz while delivering ‘the lowest distortion level in its class’.

The newly designed closed-back ear cups provide isolation from external sound while its 3D-shaped slowretention ear pads and new quick-lock

mechanism maintain the right size for the wearer’s head shape. The K872s also feature all-metal cardan-type hinges to ensure maximum durability and a tight ear pad seal.

The headphones come with a case that functions as both a headphone stand and a low-profile carrying bag that conveniently fits in a suitcase. www.akg.com

APOGEE ONE FOR MAC ARRIVES IN UK Apogee Electronics and distributor Sound Technology have announced UK shipping of the new Apogee ONE for Mac audio interface.

ONE for Mac is a 2-in x 2-out USB audio interface/microphone and all-inone solution for writing, recording and mixing music on a Mac. The third generation in the Apogee ONE family, and now streamlined for Mac-only use, (it does not include an iOS cable, power supply or battery operation), ONE for Mac is available for £274.80 – with an optional iOS connectivity kit sold separately.

Whether a beginner or pro, users can deploy

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ONE – with its built-in microphone, instrument and mic input and high-quality output – as the ultimate all-in-one tool for making professional recordings in a studio or on the go, according to Apogee.

Users can connect a microphone, guitar or use ONE’s built-in omnidirectional mic to easily capture their music. It can also be used to record with a microphone (built-in or external) and guitar simultaneously.

Utilising Apogee’s 24-bit/96kHz A-D/D-A conversion and mic preamp technology, ONE produces ‘pristine’ music, podcast and voice-over recordings while also delivering ‘studio quality’ sound to headphones for precision mixing or hi-fi listening.

With an intuitive controller knob and seamless compatibility with Mac OS X, ONE is designed to be easy to use and works with any Core Audio compatible software application. www.apogeedigital.com

PRESONUS ULT-SERIES NOW AVAILABLE PreSonus’ new ULT-series active loudspeakers are designed to combine ‘the widest horizontal dispersion of any loudspeaker in their class with a focused vertical dispersion for an ultra-long throw’.

Created for both mobile use and permanent installations, the series comprises the ULT12 and ULT15 full-range systems and the ULT18 subwoofer.

The full-range ULT12 and ULT15 feature the manufacturer’s rotatable Pivot X110 horn and a 12/15in, low-frequency driver with a 2.5in voice coil.

Both speakers are biamped and driven by a 1,300W (peak) Class D amplifier. The ULT12 generates up to 132dB SPL, and the ULT15 delivers up to 136dB SPL. The ULT18 subwoofer is driven by 2,000W (peak) Class D power and uses a direct radiating, ported enclosure. A proprietary 18in low-frequency transducer with a 4in voice coil provides 7mm of driver travel before over-excursion to push more air and bring more ‘thump.’

All ULT loudspeakers feature lightweight, Baltic

birch enclosures with a powder-coated steel grille, ergonomic handles, a locking IEC power connector and a defeatable front-panel powerindicator LED. The ULT12 and ULT15 offer multi-angle enclosures for use as mains or monitor wedges.

The ULT series is available at the following US street prices: $999.95 (ULT12); $1,099.95 (ULT15); and $1,299.95 (ULT18). www.presonus.com

JTS LAUNCHES SGM-14 SHOTGUN MIC The new SGM-14 shotgun microphone from JTS is now available from UK distributor FBT. Designed for ENG, outdoor recording and other specialised uses, the hypercardioid, electret-condenser SGM-14 provides the narrow acceptance angle required for these applications, and comes with both low cut and pad facilities included.

According to FBT, the mic’s extreme directivity enables it to reject or cancel unwanted signals, making it ideal for long-distance miking at sport venues,

for front of stage use picking up audience reaction as well as ambience and similar distance applications.

A 78dB signal-to-noise ratio means the JTS SGM-14 can ensure background noise is kept at a very low level, while a full 20-20,000Hz frequency response ‘guarantees audio fidelity’.

Operating on 9-48 VDC phantom power, the 366.7mm-long SGM-14 is supplied complete with a windscreen and microphone holder. www.jts.com.tw

SHOW NEWS

GATHER ROUND

With the AES’ 140th International Convention on the horizon, we take a look at what the Paris event has in store for the European audio community. ttendees can once again expect four full days of research and technology across numerous areas of interest in the professional audio spectrum when the industry heads to Paris from 4-7 June for the AES’ 140th International Convention.

Co-chaired by Michael Williams and Umberto Zanghieri at the Palais des Congrès, the event promises a busy programme of presentations and engineering brief sessions showcasing the work of over 120 researchers covering a wide range of issues – from 3D recording and reproduction to binaural listening, bluetooth technologies, digital filter design and other hot topics.

Additional workshop events will bring together panels of experts to

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discuss subjects including music production for film, wind noise in microphones, expert transfer techniques and more.

Popular at AES conventions are topical paper sessions, which provide a varied array of presentations on audio fundamentals for beginners and seasoned professionals alike.

Saturday’s sessions will offer a number of talks on the topics of audio equipment and formats, instrumentation and measurement, audio signal processing and room acoustics, while Sunday will focus on audio perception, live sound production, upmixing, audio quality, content management and applications in audio. But that’s not all.

Day three paper sessions will be steered towards perception and audio

GAME ON

The Develop Conference returns to Brighton next month for its 11th year. Focused on game audio developers, regulars will notice some interesting additions for 2016. he Develop:Brighton Conference continues to uphold its reputation as a key event in the European games development calendar. Visitors are given the opportunity to learn from renowned gurus and top indie newcomers in the industry, while keeping up-to-date with the tools and techniques that will potentially give their studio an edge.

This year’s conference has been guided by some of the industry’s leading figures. With the focus firmly on practical takeaway insights that visitors can employ once back at their desk, the threeday event is split into various ‘Tracks’: Design, Art, Coding, Business, Marketing, Audio and new for this year – VR.

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Tuesday 12 July sees the event kick off with the famed Evolve conference devoted to breakthrough technologies and game development, along with the new Games Funding Forum and Games Funding Workshop.

The Games Funding Forum offers delegates a better understanding of how to access funding, the pros and cons of the different types of funding and the latest opportunities out there, while the Games Funding Workshop is a day of practical advice and guidance on how to prepare for raising finance.

Wednesday 13 July marks the opening of the main Develop:Brighton conference.

This year sees the production track merge into business, to reflect changes in how developers are working today.

signal processing, live sound practice, rendering, human factors and interfaces, recording and production techniques and human factors and interfaces in audio.

Immersive audio paper sessions will be delivered on the final day of the convention, along with further presentations on perception and rendering, human factors and interfaces.

Sessions have been reviewed and evaluated by convention papers cochairs Thomas Goerne, Wolfgang Klippel, Bergame Periaux, Robin Reumers and Dejan Todorovic, assisted by a number

The conference continues through Thursday 14 July with the addition of Audio Track – sessions dedicated to game audio and music and geared specifically towards game developers.

Thursday also sees the return of the popular Indie Dev Day. Now into its sixth year, the Indie Day is targeted at smaller independent developers, with tailored sessions, indie networking opportunities and an Indie Dev Showcase of some of the best new projects around.

The Audio Track’s line-up features four world-class award-winning game audio productions (three out of Europe) where there is true sound design in play. In a space dominated by tech and questions of ‘how’ professionals in this sector of the business do sound, Audio Track reminds those in the industry to ask ‘why’.

These sessions will demonstrate higher level notions of true sound design – not just making individual sound effects but designing a soundscape with a sonic signature, defining a sound treatment, and learning how it can define and demarcate the game world.

of external expert reviewers from the AES audio community.

Visitors can also expect the usual student and career development events throughout the week including a career and education fair, recording competition and critiques, student delegate assemblies, and other networking opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Professional Sound Expo (PSE) makes its AES Convention debut. The expo is designed to educate and inspire attendees about what it takes to make it in the industry through special presentations from experts.

Also unique to AES 140 is a series of special events called ‘Audio Projections’, which presents visitors with the opportunity to take part in a range of listening experiences from 5pm to 7pm on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday. www.aes.org

Information What? Develop Conference Where? Hilton Brighton Metropole When? 12-14 July Attendees can also learn how to describe or give a voice to literal sounds, and how it can be used in an entirely non-realistic emotive way to drive the player’s emotional response and work with or against what’s being seen, as a truly effective story-telling device.

John Broomhall, Audio Track curator and chair, commented: “To my mind, Develop Conference in Brighton is the premier opportunity in Europe for anyone engaged in or interested in game audio to meet with their peers, network with the games industry at large and drink in the collected wisdom of a stellar line-up of speakers.” www.developconference.com

OPINION

WHO’S TO BLAME FOR THE BBC SOUND COMPLAINTS? Producer Matt North offers up a few possible reasons why some UK TV dramas continue to frustrate viewers with inaudible dialogue, and his thoughts on what can be done to prevent future controversy.

MATT NORTH

he complaints regarding the sound quality and intelligibility of BBC drama resurfaced recently with the airing of the second series of the criticallyacclaimed Happy Valley – prompting much discussion among both the general public and audio professionals. It’s the third series in a little over two years to receive a large number of similar soundrelated grievances, so why are viewers still experiencing dialogue audibility issues? Why hasn’t the cause been identified and resolved?

Actually, it’s not quite that straightforward. The audibility issues could in fact be a sum of many contributing technical and attitudinal factors coming together, rather than there being a singular source to blame.

Mike Thornton has outlined some of these potential factors in his article over at Pro Tools Expert, which I would highly recommend reading. But rather than simply repeat what has already been highlighted, I’d like to offer my thoughts on a couple of points that have arisen from these discussions.

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Look who’s talking One of the main causes lies in the performances of the talent. When the complaints over mumbling actors in 2014’s Jamaica Inn hit the media, many reports began to question the work 12

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and competency of the location sound recordist, which really angered me.

Actors’ mumbling is most certainly not a sound problem, it’s a performance problem; the sound recordist should never be held accountable for poor performance, delivery or intonation of the talent. Can you imagine trying to point the blame of an extra picking their nose on a director of photography?

As audio professionals, we know that it is the primary role of the sound recordist to obtain the cleanest recording of the dialogue as possible (usually in the face of many adversities), as well as identifying and attempting to solve any issues that will ultimately affect the quality of the soundtrack. Sadly, I can only imagine that such concerns over intelligibility are most likely dismissed by directors when they’re raised on set. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been told “we’re running behind on schedule, there’s no time for a retake” or “we’ll fix it in post” when raising a particular sound issue. While I appreciate that directors have many crucial decisions to make on set, they also have their own feed of the mix just the same as they have a video monitor to analyse the visual aspects of the performance, so they should be aware of and be able to pass judgement on any potential audio complication.

Missing the point Another angle on this is the overfamiliarity with the dialogue that could be taking place in such situations.

By the time it comes to turning over on set, the director most likely knows the script inside out and this could ultimately be a subconscious reason for any dismissals of mumbling made by the sound department. When we know what is being said, it is much easier to cognitively unpick and decipher certain intonations or slurs in the dialogue. The viewers at home however will never see a script and maybe not enough thought

Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley Picture: BBC/Red Productions/Ben Blackall

is put into how the viewer will initially perceive the dialogue of those on screen (not to mention the terrible speakers on modern flatscreen sets that it is most likely to be consumed through). Although today’s technology allows viewers to pause and rewind, forcing them to do so because they are missing key points of dialogue will severely damage or indeed break the immersion in such dramas.

When reading certain tweets about the complaints from disgruntled viewers, many complained about having to crank the volume to understand the dialogue, only then being forced to dive for the remote moments later. Some have argued that this is due to the recent changes to loudness metering and the EBU R128 broadcast specification now in place, but I would argue that this is completely untrue. While the regulations have opened up the previously out of bounds headroom for use (from -10dBFS to digital zero), in turn liberating dubbing mixers to create more dynamic mixes, the specifications still require the mixer to mix in a calibrated environment with acknowledgement of a comfortable range of listening for viewers. Indeed, the concept of loudness metering is to avoid the ‘remote diving’ (especially between programme content and advertisements) but the programme is mixed for consumption at the same listening level throughout. Therefore, I

think it’s unfair and inaccurate to blame the complaints on the recent loudness regulation implementation and rather the issues really do lie before this stage of the production process.

In conclusion There are, of course, many other technical factors and potential causes that could also be attributing to these issues but I think, overall, one thing remains clear.

A conversation needs to take place with production teams and sound professionals on how we can proceed to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future.

I know it is an unfortunate old adage that sound comes second to picture and while I don’t think these complaints are necessarily going to change that, hopefully they will initiate a more understanding attitude to both the sound production process and the challenges faced when trying to record the highest quality dialogue on set.

Matt North is a freelance audio producer, specialising in high-end corporate and branded content. Based in Norwich, UK, he primarily offers post-production sound mixing, design and restoration services to clients internationally, but also has professional experience in location sound recording for film and TV. www.mattnorthaudio.co.uk Twitter: @mattnorthaudio

“After months of planning, testing and finding the perfect sound solution for a venue, for me it’s all about that moment when a project truly comes to life.”

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From portable to professional live sound to install solutions for over 30 years, we build PA systems for those who are fascinated by the energy of sound.

Giving them a stage. Giving them a home.

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OPINION

THE CHALLENGE OF SETTING YOURSELF APART Stephen Bartlett, engineer, producer and founder of The Audio Hunt, explains why sometimes it’s necessary to break the ‘rules’ in order to become successful in this business.

STEPHEN BARTLETT

messy, it’s fun, but ultimately there is always some wrestling involved…”– a quote from the great Van Dyke Parks which has stuck with me for years.

It paints a picture of the engineer or producer getting dirty, using their hands, trying things one way and then trying them another. It’s in this tussle that creativity and breakthrough is found.

However, to its detriment, our industry has a tendency to approach innovation and new ideas with scepticism and critique. A seemingly prevalent ‘old hat’ mentality runs deep.

Breaking the Mould very year, more and more gear and famous rooms become modelled into digital plug-ins, and every year they get closer to the real thing, reducing the barriers to getting almost any sound you could want. More and more people are making music, releasing it and building careers. So in the midst of this increasing competition, and within an increasingly homogenised playground of digital plugins, how do you make your tracks – your albums – stand out? What do you do to have a career that sets you apart, and puts you in demand?

With the recent passing of Sir George Martin, I took a moment, along with many others, to appreciate the life and career of the so-called ‘Fifth Beatle’. I watched videos, listened to interviews and generally took stock of all that this genius had given us, as listeners, as producers, and marvelled at the inspiration he provided to countless engineers. What stood out most to me was the relentless pursuit of innovation, both for Martin, and for The Beatles. It’s easy to forget, among the now-immortalised classic sounds and tunes they created, that they challenged ‘rules’ and broke conventions with every single session.

From my career experience, the best records from a production standpoint are never the ones that come easily or by following the ways of the past. “Making a great record is like mud wrestling. It’s

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There’s so much to be gained when you’re willing to try new things and are prepared to fail in the pursuit of something new.

It means working together, finding partnerships, using other people’s skills, and seeing what happens when you collaborate. We have witnessed a huge growth in the EDM scene over the past ten years, and one thing that I admire them for is their never-ending desire to work together, to collaborate and to innovate.

Without slighting digital plug-ins, there’s a realm of creativity to be explored when you’re ready to think ‘outside the box’. The flip side of being in an industry that increasingly utilises plug-ins is that everyone else is doing it too. It’s easy to fall into the trap of using them the same way that everyone else does, and the result is far from setting yourself apart.

It may sound odd, but one of the reasons I far prefer working with real gear is that it breaks. Real gear breaks.

It ages. It has funky tubes, alignment issues or a range of other things that have potential to add character. The breaks and imperfections can pave the way for something special; they can be the thing that makes something musical. Like John Lennon said, “art is knowing what mistakes to keep”.

Before you go dropping your prized Neumann out of a high-rise window, here are some ways I’ve been able to break rules to make music in the past in order to stand out. Maybe you can draw some inspiration…

Once I had a singer who felt that he couldn’t get the energy and the size out of his performance while he was in the studio (not even a booth – I rarely use booths – but a nice wooden room). My reply was to move him outside – Neumann and all – and we caught some background noise – even some birds flying past chirping during a particularly emotive part of the song – but the result was musical, emotive and worth dealing with all the obstacles.

I remember working with Pat Leonard a few years back; it was our first session together and I was hired to engineer. To say it was a learning experience is a huge understatement. Watching him produce was amazing! He knew when to change and when to leave it; when a take was just right. Halfway through the second day, he asked if I’d like to mix as well, and I jumped at it! His only condition was that I left the drums exactly as I had recorded them – no more EQ, compression, verb or anything – so exactly as I had the seven mics laid down. I couldn’t believe it, I’d always started mixing by just adding EQ and compression without thinking, but since then, I’ve become much more disciplined in listen first, EQ and compress later.

Joining forces Unusual sounds, experiments, innovation, is often the combination of unusual gear and people working together. The great thing with the internet is that now we can

collaborate around the world, access any gear that you could possibly imagine, and work with people you’ve never met.

Recently I was involved in the launch of a new online service – TheAudioHunt.com – which, among other things, connects music makers from around the world and provides unprecedented access to dream audio gear through a peer-to-peer online marketplace.

I believe that this represents an incredible opportunity for those who refuse to accept convention as a limitation on creativity, and embrace working with others. You never know what they will bring or contribute to a project.

Whether it’s a Neve 1073, a Fairlight from 1980, or asking someone to play a Solina part on your track, this global connectivity can start to break boundaries and create new forms of innovation, find new sounds. I’m sure not everything will yield perfection, but the reward is for those who try.

So in any way that you can, learn the rules and break them. Innovate, and use any and all tools and people you can find to strive for something new, so that you can stand out, and live your dream career.

Stephen Bartlett is a mix engineer, producer and founder of The Audio Hunt, a peerto-peer online marketplace for the music and audio industry.

© Ralph Larmann

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FEATURE: FESTIVAL SOUND

THE GREAT OUTDOORS We all love a good festival, and although these events can present crewmembers behind the scenes with all manner of pitfalls, they would surely say the same. After hearing from a group of engineers earlier this year, it’s over to the rental firm bosses to get their thoughts on this area of the live sound business. h, festivals. For many of us, summer wouldn’t be complete without at least one trip to an indistinct field in the middle of nowhere that for one weekend a year transforms as if by magic into a wonderland of scintillating live music, good vibes, happy people and a rich medley of exquisite cuisine for when you realise you haven’t eaten for three days – all taking place under a blanket of glorious sunshine and clear skies.

At least that’s what we pray for on the drive/train down. As we all know, the reality can be quite different, and even if you’re someone who would only contemplate kipping in a posh yurt

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or one of those fancy wigwam things instead of slumming it with the rest of us, you’ll still leave for home feeling absolutely shattered at the end of it all – guaranteed.

But if hanging out in the sun (ideally), watching some of your favourite bands and drinking beer all day can be so tiring, what about the poor guys responsible for looking after all that heavy, expensive audio equipment while ensuring everything sounds great when there’s a million things that can go wrong? That’s right, last year we spoke to the manufacturers, in March we chatted to the engineers, and this time it’s the turn of the rental companies.

Road Warriors As you’d imagine, there are many challenges that these firms have to face on a regular tour let alone an unpredictable event like a festival, not least the old noise restriction dilemma – we’ll come on to that later. But one thing that can be easily overseen from an outsider’s perspective is the potential difficulty faced by those who divide their festival season between domestic and international work – a trend that seems to be becoming increasingly common. Paul Timmins, general manager at Capital Sound – which not only handles major UK shows like British Summer Time at Hyde Park but also the mammoth Sziget festival in Hungary –

knows all about this, having organised proceedings at both sites over the past few years.

“I suppose Eastern Europe tends to be a lot more demanding on the equipment – it’s a lot hotter, dustier and they generally run their festivals longer hours,” he says. “For Sziget this year they’ve added another day so we’ve got eight days consecutive and that will run from 2pm up to midnight, so it’s more heavy duty.

“If you go to Budapest in August you know that temperatures are probably going to get into the 40s, which is pretty hot for a lot of audio kit, so you’ve got to make sure that everything’s designed in a way so that it’s going to be OK. Of

www.audiomediainternational.com

course in Hungary you can get the rain as well and the difference there is that it will be unexpected and 20 minutes of really heavy rain so we’re no better off out there as we are here as when it comes in it can be fierce. I think a lot of European sites can be like that, but here in the UK generally you know what’s coming and it’s quite rare to get that extreme wind or rain in June or July.”

According to Chris Hawkes at Solution One Audio in France, which supplies the country’s Worldwide Festival but also Boom Festival in Portugal, the differences as you cross the continent amount to a lot more than just the weather.

“Across Europe conditions vary enormously – highly regulated France requires every piece of the production to conform to standards and has to be accompanied by the relevant certificate,” he reveals. “This is extremely stifling to creativity of production design so you most often see the same style of production. Portugal is the opposite – we have seen some of the most extraordinarily ambitious structures, stages and canopies in festivals there and it requires huge professionalism and energy by the designers and builders to realise these giant one-off creations.”

Adam Ward, managing director of Full Throttle Entertainment, is also familiar with hauling equipment vast distances and regularly having to operate in troublesome conditions, but he faces all these obstacles without leaving the country. Touring in Australia is not easy.

“The sheer distances that can be experienced between one event and the next can prove a logistical nightmare.

Either you carry enough inventory that you can leap frog one show to the next or you potentially risk a catastrophic cancellation if you miss a load-out deadline,” he explains. “For example if you have a large show on Friday night in Melbourne and a second show on Saturday in Sydney, the truck drive alone is ten hours point-to-point.

“Then there’s the drastic changes in temperature and conditions on some of our shows. Currently we have one in particular that bottoms out around four or five degrees at night yet during the day can be has high as 40. This creates unique issues when it comes to the survival of the gear and tuning.”

One way of aiding your ability to put on events across a massive territory is to do what North American giant Solotech has done and open multiple offices, including a new branch in Nashville headed up by Paul Owen, who says that when working across a country as large as the US, there really is no alternative.

“The main thing is being able to support festivals all over the USA, and that only can be done efficiently with companies that have multiple locations like us,” he states.

Back in Blighty, we can count ourselves lucky that we don’t have conditions like Ward has to deal with, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have problems of our own. It’s no secret that increasingly strict off-site noise limits continue to make things difficult for these companies, but now that it’s been accepted as an unavoidable necessity that won’t be going away, rental firms in the UK are simply focusing on doing the best they can under the circumstances.

“It’s been a consideration for many years now really and I think we’re all getting better and better at dealing with that both in terms of the technology that’s available and the expertise of our sound designers,” comments Bryan Grant, managing director of Britannia Row Productions, which is responsible for Radio 1 Big Weekend and Creamfields, among others. “There are a few myths out there – some people claim to have beaten physics but I’m not entirely convinced.”

Timmins has also seen a staggering rise in the number of these challenging sites in recent years, and reveals how the severity of these restrictions is one of Capital’s key considerations when deciding whether a festival is doable or not.

“Every outdoor event we’re working with now, probably 18 out of 20 will have some kind of enforcement on the off-site levels whereas five or six years ago that probably would’ve been no more than four or five out of 20,” he reports. It’s become the norm now in the UK – I think every project that comes across our desks that’s new we expect there to be.

“Over the last three years there have been two or three occasions where

FEATURE: FESTIVAL SOUND Picture credit: Duncographic (www.duncographic.com)

we’ve been approached fairly early on and we’ve had discussions with the promoters and venue people where we’ve said ‘all we can do is advise you, this is not going to work.’ That’s where rental companies can work with the clients and help.”

As is the norm in this industry, forging relationships like this will lead to repeat business and a familiarity with the festival site that will in most cases make things easier for both supplier and client in the future. But even if a rental company has done the same festival on several occasions, that doesn’t mean it can just expect to turn up and do precisely the same thing next year.

“It’s not a constant environment – even a site that you’ve done many times in the past,” Grant explains. “WOMAD [the annual world music festival in Wiltshire] for instance, although it’s the same field, the layout of the tents and

playing areas have changed so we have to look at the site again in its entirety.

There are about eight playing areas there and it’s all about how they interact with each other. The promoter has a lot to do with this as well and how they structure the bill. How are you going to contain the noise if you’re going to have a really loud, raucous act playing quite close to an act that’s very quiet and demands a lot of attention?

Go-To Gear Festivals can be full of surprises for everyone involved, but at least these companies will always have their trusty equipment, which they know will perform regardless of what’s thrown at them. For Britannia Row Productions, L-Acoustics’ K1 is the loudspeaker system it relies on above all else.

“It’s the same reason we use it for touring really. First of all the audio May/June 2016

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FEATURE: FESTIVAL SOUND

quality is superb, we can control it very well and the packaging is excellent,” he says. “It’s the new industry standard and I’ve not had anyone yet say ‘oh no we can’t use it because it’s K1.’ L-Acoustics has nailed not only the big speakers but also the smaller speakers – all the way through the K range it’s superb.

“Each festival site is always different – orientation, topography, neighbourhood, type of music you’re doing – and the L-Acoustics K Series is the most versatile that I’ve known for dealing with that.”

Being a dance music specialist but also covering a lot of mixed-genre events, Full Throttle says it only needs one loudspeaker brand in its inventory.

“At the moment we are exclusively Funktion-One. We have a direct connection with their HQ and that offers us amazing support direct from the source,” Ward reveals. “The ability to bounce concepts off Tony (Andrews) and John (Newsham) and the rest of the team is great. This is very important to us, however it is not just about the 18

May/June 2016

support we get – the gear sounds amazing. It has a marketable advantage over many other brands, the punters want to hear it, and we will support an event because it is Funktion-One.” For Hawkes – also a big user of Funktion-One – power amp reliability is key: “At Boom the main Dance Temple runs for over 50 hours without a break and the musical content is unrelenting in its demand for low frequency drive,” he explains. “Full Fat Audio is the amplifier of choice for those needing power and when one considers the architecture and build quality it is one of the most costeffective amplifiers to be found.”

Full Throttle might get everything it needs from one PA manufacturer but variety is the name of the game for Capital Sound. The big news from the firm so far this year was its decision to significantly expand what was already a pretty impressive lineup with d&b and Outline, which will no doubt be put to use at festivals in the future.

“Our desire really was to offer more choice. We’ve been very successful with

[Martin Audio] MLA because of what it can do across the summer season,” states Timmins. “We bought into d&b and Outline and of course we’ve got Meyer as well. MLA through the summer is still key for us – we still do 75% of what we do outdoors with that but we’re hoping to bolt onto it.”

Solotech is also capable of offering plenty of brand variety, and knows that it has an option for all manner of requirements: “When doing a festival you obviously are going to have to provide systems that everyone is happy with – whether it be [L-Acoustics] K1/K2 or Meyer Sound LEO, it’s very enjoyable to see all types of music perform on what you provide,” says Owen.

Looking ahead As for the way things seem to be going, Ward is seeing a rise in the number of smaller festivals, partly due to the decline of so many large-scale events in his home country.

“There has been some massive changes in the festival circuit in

Australia with the implosion of just about every large-format touring festival,” he reports. “Shows like Future Music, Stereosonic, Soundwave and Big Day Out – all these festivals have either taken an indefinite hiatus or closed permanently. The focus at the moment is quality boutique events in the 5,000-10,000-person range. The best part of this is the promoters of these events are trying to set themselves apart by focusing on quality and doing things right rather than meeting a touring budget.”

Timmins agrees that festivals that are offering “an overall experience” are the ones more likely to survive at present, while Grant also believes that the traditional spirit of the festival should remain a priority for organisers, not just turning a profit.

“Going to festivals as a young person in my mind should be an adventure and for older people it’s a reminder of their youth,” he says. “If festivals lose their soul, people will find other ways to have those experiences.”

LIVE PROFILE

THE ROYAL TREATMENT The Albert Hall might not be the sort of place you’d expect to see an acclaimed trance group, but Above & Beyond’s current Acoustic tour is no ordinary one.

Adam Savage went along to meet monitor engineer Tom Howat and his companion for these concerts – Allen & Heath’s dLive.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// f you were to picture a typical gig headlined by an electronic supergroup like Above & Beyond, surely the last image you’d conjure in your mind would be a sophisticated show at a venue like London’s Royal Albert Hall. But that’s just where a few thousand of the trance trio’s most dedicated fans found themselves for the opening leg of their Acoustic tour in early May. Following the success of the group’s first acoustic shows at Porchester Hall and The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, which allowed members Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamaki to demonstrate their artistic talents with a variety of instruments alongside an ensemble of orchestral musicians, the decision was made to take it to the next level in 2016 with a tour of some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls.

And because it’s the RAH, we’re not talking about just three blokes standing behind laptops punching the air and doing little else here – this was a setup very much fit for the venue, as monitor engineer Tom Howat explains when chatting to AMI before the gig: “We’ve got 17 people on stage, including four different singers. There are the three Above & Beyond guys, a string section, two drummers, a multi-instrumentalist, a bass player, another guitar player and even a harpist. It’s a busy gig on anyone’s terms really but it’s not horrendous – enough to keep your hands busy all the time.”

Speaking to Howat it’s clear he relishes challenges like these, but as well as giving him the chance to use the experience he’s gained working for

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the likes of Morrissey, Paolo Nutini and Franz Ferdinand to the test, the gig also gave him the chance to get those busy hands of his on Allen & Heath’s new dLive desk again – a system he has been helping to develop through the early stages of its life cycle. Being an iLive user previously, the step up to dLive was a relatively straightforward one for Howat, and after some initial trials the console turned out to be precisely that – a step up.

“I’ve had a bit of time on the iLive the last couple of years and used it on those three bands. I love the surface versatility, the fact that you can put things where you want them and change them around on a whim and the intuitive and fast nature of it. The dLive has taken that and run with it, and upped the ante in terms of sonic quality,” he says.

On the move Not only does Howat have a pretty packed stage to deal with, several of the musicians can be seen moving about and changing positions throughout the show, which of course can make things tricky for the monitor engineer, but for this one, it’s all about good preparation when in these kinds of situations.

“One of the big things is that two of the Above & Beyond guys swap places quite regularly or wander off and play something else and the four vocalists all take different turns doing lead vocals and backing vocals so it’s immediately quite a scene-intensive process for monitors and there’s not enough time to redial it all by hand,” Howat reveals. “I’m quite an old fashioned person and I tend to resist scenes but this is one of those

scenarios where there’s a scene for each song. Fortunately they’re keeping the set list the same most of the time so it’s a bit easier to navigate.”

The dLive was supplied by F1 Sound and sub-hired by Capital Sound, the audio supplier responsible for the European leg of the tour and the Martin Audio MLA system that loomed large over the audience all evening.

With 14 MLA per side for the mains, another 14 MLA-C on the sides and a slightly increased flown sub element of four MLX with a further two under the stage extension, FOH engineer Ben Findlay – equipped with Avid Profile – could be confident of no nasty surprises from the PA on offer to him. The Hall itself would’ve given him something to think about, however, according to Capital’s senior project manager Martin Connolly: “The Royal Albert Hall can be a difficult sounding venue; it can be very easy to let the acoustic qualities of the venue take over, but Ben did an amazing job and kept everything clean, in its own place and I was impressed with the mix and sound that he achieved,” he states.

The personal touch Back to the monitor control package, and another tool that has been brought in to make Howat’s life that little bit easier on this particular job is the ME-1 personal mixing system – also from Allen & Heath – which is being used by a number of musicians on stage, and there are plans to add more to the kit list when the tour moves across The Atlantic.

“It has freed me because key musicians using an ME-1 gives me the freedom to deal with the other half of

the stage. In a conceptual way I divided the side front to back and the back of the stage wasn’t going to be automated, and the front was,” Howat explains.

“The ME-1s make that possible because the two drummers and the musical director all have an ME-1 each. It gives the drummers autonomy – one of them is responsible for all the playback so he needs to be able to override his mix and he loves the fact that he doesn’t have to hassle the monitor guy for things.

“We’re also using an ME-1 with the string section. It’s giving me options – I’ve already stuffed the desk full of outputs and these ME-1s are working as an expansion to the system. We’ve got a 30-piece orchestra joining in at the Hollywood Bowl so the plan is to add more ME-1s in there with headphone distribution amplifiers on the back end of them.”

As well as the Bowl, Above & Beyond can look forward to playing in other iconic spaces like the Sydney Opera House and Waikiki Shell in Hawaii, but the RAH can certainly be considered the ideal first stop on a tour of this kind.

“We all know the Albert’s a notoriously interesting place to get a sound from and from this band’s point of view there’s a certain expectation but they have that expectation at every show – they have a very high standard – and I don’t think they would have considered doing the gig unless they had the opportunity to do something like this,” Howat concludes. “It’s a great spot for it.” www.allen-heath.com

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INTERVIEW: JOHN NEWMAN

NORTHERN STAR

Singer and producer John Newman has come a long way since his humble beginnings in the house scene.

Currently operating out of London’s Tileyard Studios, the Yorkshireman was keen to tell Colby Ramsey how he wants to be known for more than just his vocal talents when he dropped in for a chat. ince releasing his second album Revolve late last year, singer/musician/producer John Newman has refocused his ideas and has some big plans for the rest of 2016. Phase one of these plans is a new base of operations located at Tileyard Studios in London, where he has been working hard since the New Year. A successful recording artist and producer in both a collaborative and solo capacity, Newman speaks candidly about his influences, ambitions and habits in and out the studio.

S

How did you initially get into music production?

I started off producing hip-hop as a kid – taking old samples and putting hip-hop beats under them in fruity loops. The house scene was just getting big then and it’s just continued to grow since.

I started mixing and then eventually went into producing house music, which I did for a while. My first single Love Me Again was the point when I stopped producing music as a side project and basically learnt then that it was what I wanted to do as my main project.

What perhaps isn’t widely known is that you’ve done a lot of your own production on the first two albums.

How have your skills developed over this time?

One thing I’ve learnt is that you shouldn’t get too excited by the space you’re in, and should just use it for what it’s good for. Inside the box is just as important as outside the box – it’s not just about using every plug-in you can; it’s about reaching a compromise – that 50/50 meet in the middle.

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When I make music I produce at the same time as writing. I think you’re wasting your time making demos and then pumping loads of money into producing it and totally rewriting it. I made loads of demos with a certain person for my first record and then they turned around and claimed they owned the rights to all the sounds. They wouldn’t give us access to any stems or anything so we had to remake the record, which kind of threw me off liking it as much as I think I would have in the first place. With the second record I made sure that wasn’t going to happen so I was always producing towards the final thing.

While I was preparing to do Revolve, the second album, I realised that it’s often quicker to get the idea down simply with Logic on a laptop and a microphone. I tend to have a full vision of the sound as a whole and it’s quicker to just record everything on an SM57 and then put it straight into an interface, which is what I do on the road quite a lot. When you want to sit and think about that sound you can just replay your voice but on an instrument. It’s definitely the oldest technique but it’s also the closest technique to being able to put exactly what is in your head straight out as an idea.

Could you talk about your current setup at Tileyard and what you set out to achieve with the studio?

For this studio, we actually took loads of inspiration from [producer] Greg Kurstin, especially with the guitar and synth stacks – they were custom made

by Studio Creations.

I was working with Greg a lot on my second record and he does the

whole outboard/on computer thing so well. That definitely inspired this studio. Having all your instruments and outboard set up so easily and permanently wired makes it feel like it’s in your computer. The instruments are just a plug-in but you’re getting the true sound and it feels digital because it’s so quick. You’re not having to put like five plug-ins after your instrument sounds to give it any warmth or organic-ness.

I produce from the off really so that’s why everything in the studio’s set up for sheer speed. We have all mics in the live room sent through to our outboard on these little 500 series lunchboxes.

Drums and piano are ready to go at all times and I think we’re now slowly discovering what we want our sound to be; it’s difficult though because I need a drum sound that fits with almost any style of music. I’m about to set everything up as presets on my pedals so I can just fly through tones both for synths and for guitars.

We’re not trying to do anything too breakthrough, just trying to take what we know and what I’ve gathered along the way and do something with it. It’s about discovering things along the way to then finally having a base like this where I can put all these weird and wonderful things along with the standards – and then it’s the ear that creates the sound.

What kind of equipment are you running at the moment and do you have any particular favourites?

I’ve used the PMC twotwo.6 active monitors in various studios but they’re a new addition to this one. This sounds ridiculous because it’s the music that makes the music, not the speakers,

but they deliver something that’s very clear and spot on, with a little bit of excitement thrown in. Some other brands just give you too much whereas these are very true to the sound.

The speakers were in here for about three weeks on their own, then they integrated the twotwo sub 2 active sub and you still don’t know it’s there wherever you’re sat in the room. It takes the load off the speakers so the mid/ low-mids get 20-30% more power and then that deals with the rest.

I’ve got this Akai 4000D tape recorder that I bought for about 30 quid from an old charity shop when I was living in Stroud Green. When you get lazy if you’re working into the early hours of the morning it’s really cool.

You’d only run little elements through it like guitars and synths, which sound great. The Cocktail X100 is also great, as is the EDP Wasp synth – I used that loads on my first record on a song called Losing Sleep. I also like nuking things on my distressors.

In terms of mics, we’ve got a copy of the Flea 47, as well as a Peluso 22 251 and a new BX44 – a classic massiveribbon vocal mic which we use as a room mic and lots of other applications on drums and such.

Nearly all of the synths in here are getting MIDI from the computer, so you can switch between any synth in the analogue world while it’s still running on the same inputs in Pro Tools. This way, the workflow’s just continuous – you don’t have to stop the music and you can just jump between sounds to really hone in on what you want. I’ve been trying to do it for a while in the best way possible and it’s easier to just have everything permanently ready to go.

www.audiomediainternational.com

How does collaborating with other producers compare to working alone?

I always work with people. David Bowie would never do everything himself – he would have a vision and then dedicate talented people to do those jobs – like a brilliant dictator in a certain sort of way. I’m constantly looking to find people that I can get the best out of and who understand what I’m trying to do.

I’ve always sat and worked at home by myself but having this studio means I can work with other artists a lot more and really start to push that. I’ve always been quite persistent and I’ll always listen to people, but I’ll never work with someone who is telling me what to do because they don’t have to release the record and put their name on it. It’s nice having the freedom to sit and do the job alone. It’s also nice for me to take on an engineer, to have more space and more

equipment, and to put all my toys in one place, all being operated right. It kind of gives you better focus and lets you be a bit more experimental.

I co-produced my first and second album, and have been heavily involved in the work I did with Rudimental and Calvin [Harris]. It has always been a big thing to be a respected producer and I’ve always taken it seriously, so I always hope that my production will be taken seriously and continue to do so. I have a lot of love and respect for making music and I will always have a heavy creative involvement in any of the work I do.

While the new studio is a very nice place and has lots of toys, none of it makes the music.

What do you have planned for the future? We understand you’re even looking into launching a record label?

INTERVIEW: JOHN NEWMAN

I’ve been working with Sigala and Nile Rodgers on a new single called Give Me Your Love which is out on 17 June and I’ve been working with Calvin loads. I’ve got five, maybe six singles coming this year and I’ve been working on this band idea but this is going to be my base. It’s exciting because I feel like the studio’s allowed me to open up a bit more. I like the idea because I travel a lot and do a lot of work on my laptop, so it’s quite nice knowing that every time I’m sending something through I’ve got Pete Hutchings and the PMCs ready to check it sounds alright.

In the future I’m going to start a publishing company depending on how the label develops, how many records we make, and how many talented people I get on board. I want to find an old warehouse – somewhere with charm that feels like home and family

to everyone who’s involved. That’s going to take time. As soon as we had the idea for a record label, me and Tom Willers (who’s going to be running it with me) wanted the biggest and the best, looking at massive office spaces etc. I think what we’ve done here is right though because everything’s got to progress organically and find its own, which is what it’s doing here.

We’ve been making records here for two or three months now and I’m making a home studio in Kent at some point. It’s going to be a room in a converted barn and I think that’s just so I can relax, sit and do my own thing. Sometimes it’s nice to just get away and not rely on anyone. I’m trying to build an empire – an empire of music!

www.pmc-speakers.com

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STUDIO PROFILE

NATURAL EVOLUTION

Keeping up with the technological times can sometimes prove challenging in this industry, yet wildlife programme specialist Wounded Buffalo Sound Studios has recently unveiled a new addition to its headquarters that brings it bang up to speed. Colby Ramsey travelled to Bristol for a chat with the team.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ver the last 25 years, Wounded Buffalo Sound Studios’ influence as one of the UK’s leading natural history audio post specialists has gone from strength to strength, and so it comes as no surprise that the business was keen to expand since the demand for documentaries and feature films – especially the type on which it prides itself – began to gain real traction.

The building that neighbours the current premises (once a humdrum car park) was purchased ten years ago with the idea of doing just that, yet it has taken until this past year to bring those ideas to fruition what with recessions resulting in financial setbacks and the persisting lack of market confidence.

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The decision to upgrade coincided perfectly with the arrival of Dolby Atmos, presenting the ideal opportunity to get fully involved with the format from the beginning. It took a full year for Buffalo to turn its new space into a fullyfledged Dolby Atmos feature certified dubbing theatre.

“It started with a demo by Dolby in Los Angeles where they were demoing to finalists at an Emmy award event,” explains sound editor and company director Tim Owens. “They put our 5.1 tracks through to an Atmos room and it blew us away.”

It was at this point that the intention to create what is believed to be the first purpose-built Dolby Atmos-ready dubbing theatre in the UK outside of London was realised.

At one with nature Being based in the lively city of Bristol in the West of England, a BBC Centre of Excellence when it comes to natural history, Buffalo has created audio for many of the theatrical release feature films of this kind over the years and has solidified the genre as its indisputable niche.

Dubbing mixer Ben Peace, who became the principal mixer at Buffalo around ten years ago, notes that the first Dolby Atmos feature ever to be mixed in native was a BBC Earth production called Enchanted Kingdom, which was completed at Pinewood Studios.

“We do a lot of features here but we’ve always had to finish them in other larger studios because we didn’t

have a big enough theatre here in Bristol,” Peace explains. “That is until now!”

“At the moment, we’re operating a Dynaudio monitoring system in our 5.1 room. Everything else is pretty much ‘in the box’, which is extremely useful for workflow.”

Buffalo has recently handled sound design for a number of Disney Nature features, further cementing its reputation as a natural history feature film specialist. It was only very recently, however, that freelance sound mixer Andrew Wilson was tasked with premixing Disney Nature’s Born in China (Brian Leith Productions) in Atmos using Buffalo’s newly opened dubbing theatre, of which the company is quite rightfully extremely proud.

STUDIO PROFILE

www.audiomediainternational.com

goes, or we may decide to include them as part of the whole Dolby Atmos ethos and use them as track laying suites.”

Andy Allan worked to tight deadlines when designing the studio

A new era

//////////////////////// Keeping quiet Andy Allan, the chief visionary behind the design of the theatre itself, has been in the studio/live sound game for over 20 years and has built a number of music studios during his time as an acoustic designer, yet none as in-depth and significant as this particular venture.

“It took me from the start of 2011 to design the dubbing theatre,” remarks Allan, who was very hands-on with the project. “There was a deadline to get it ready for the Disney Nature film that’s being pre-mixed at the moment. Despite delays in the initial building stage we managed to bring it all together in time for the pre-mix and everyone seems to be really happy with it.”

It was the first film dubbing theatre Allan had worked on of that scale and

the specifications were quite rigid, as he explains: “We had to dig down as well as build up to meet the ideal requirements.

The original building was a pretty shabby and run-down place with an asbestos roof – we took it all apart, underpinned the walls and rebuilt it to house the theatre because we wanted to achieve an impressive ceiling height.”

The basis for the design is the Dolby criteria for dubbing theatres, which entails a specific set of parameters concerning reverberation time and background noise. It was therefore paramount for Buffalo to ensure that there was enough sound insulation from the outside world and design an air conditioning system to be as quiet as possible.

The result was a measurement of 20dB(A) with all the room’s machinery turned on, easily pipping the 25dB(A) requirement.

“The room was measured as extremely quiet, even with all the kit running, so we’re very pleased,” says Allan. “It’s nice to not have to turn the AC off especially at certain times of the year when you need it.”

“Because it’s such a quiet and acoustically accurate space, we know that it’ll be super for other aspects of audio post like Foley and ADR and we’re excited about that,” adds sound editor and company director Max Bygrave.

While the Dynaudio system in the current 5.1 room had served its purpose, the decision was eventually made to go for something different in the new theatre in the form of a complete Meyer Sound monitoring system.

“Part of our research involved

listening to several London studios and considering the choices they’ve made,” Allan explains. “Obviously there are some systems that very much hold sway when it comes to theatre sound, but we were looking for something less tiring and harsh, and not quite so baring on the ear.”

The theatre contains 30 Meyer HMS5 surround speakers managed by two X400C bass subs, while the large LFE channel comprises three of the manufacturer’s X800C subs with two 18in drivers. A whole host of studio outboard gear and a fully equipped Avid S6 console complete the theatre’s audio setup, ensuring it is fully future-proof.

“Because it’s such a quiet and acoustically accurate space, we know that it’ll be super for other aspects of audio post like Foley and ADR and we’re excited about that.”

Max Bygrave

While the dubbing theatre itself is being used to mix Dolby Atmos features already, there is also a small facility upstairs which is ready for occupation, and Allan and co have got all manner of ideas in store for this new space.

“Obviously our priority was getting the theatre up and running,” he continues.

“There are two edit suites that may be put up for dry hire depending on how business

Despite Buffalo only recently taking on the first job in its shiny new dubbing theatre, the facility and its ability to use Atmos in this way is likely to open up a glut of possibilities and opportunities for the company.

Allan expands on this by explaining that the room is also backwards compatible with other formats and could even look at operating iMax upon reconfiguration of the current speaker arrangement.

“It really makes the imagination run wild,” he says.

“There’s a high-spec projector producing bright, sharp images and it just all looks great. We’ve got a five-metre acoustically transparent screen which is the focal point and then everything is integrated around it and emanates from that.”

Despite potentially dawning a new era of business with the new dubbing theatre, Owens believes that the market for theatrical release feature films is limited, and imagines that Atmos will be gradually rolled out domestically as soundbars become ever more popular.

“In terms of an affordable Atmos theatre outside of London, I’m rather hoping that people will feel like their money will go further here in Bristol,” he says. “The room is feature film capable so we know that people will be able to get the whole job done here now, and not just when it comes to natural history.

Bygrave concludes: “It was a very exciting project and we’re really pleased, especially with what Andy was able to do acoustically.”

At the time of interview, it had been exactly a year to the day since Buffalo began construction on the theatre, yet Owens and Bygrave made the decision not to make too big a fanfare until it was in its final stages. One thing for certain was that everybody involved worked extremely hard to reach that point, with the finished product an undeniable testament to that. www.woundedbuffalo.co.uk

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TECHNOLOGY: HOW TO

MEASURING PHANTOM POWER Adam Liberman from Audio Precision shows how to create a fixture for testing the most common powering system for a condenser microphone.

Figure 1: Phantom power test fixture schematic

icrophone preamplifiers – both professional and consumer – often supply a DC voltage back over the same wires that carry the audio in order to power the circuitry in condenser microphones. Often, when testing microphone preamplifiers, this DC voltage is either just turned off or ignored. Unfortunately, this means the tests are not being done under actual operating conditions, which may obscure problems or produce inaccurate results.

This article describes a fixture you can make to enable testing of both the microphone power itself and the audio, where the power supply is given a realworld load.

M Test Fixture

Microphone preamplifiers include standalone devices, audio mixers and the input circuitry incorporated into any device that incorporates or accepts a connection to a microphone. In balanced connections, found on professional and semi-pro equipment, the most common condenser microphone powering system 26

May/June 2016

is 48V phantom power. The fixture shown in Figure 1 is designed to test this type of power. Unbalanced connections, found in consumer equipment, often use ‘Plug-in power’ or similar variations. The principles and techniques here can be adapted to that as well.

Careful attention to construction and component quality is necessary to avoid sensitivity to EMI, which could degrade the accuracy of noise measurements.

Circuit Details The test fixture has four main features: Coupling capacitors (CB) block the DC phantom voltage and prevent it from being loaded down by the generator; load resistors (RL) draw 10 mA (the minimum required to meet IEC specifications) from the phantom supply; series resistors (RC) allow the audio source impedance to be accurately set; jacks J2 and J3 allow measurement of the phantom voltage presented to the microphone.

Resistors compensate for the effect of load resistors, to maintain the rated generator output impedance, and also serve to add additional output

impedance to signal generators that do not have the desired output impedance setting. Discharge resistors (RD) are added to provide a path to ground for the phantom voltage when the generator is not connected to the fixture.

Note that CB and RL form an RC circuit, which will roll off low frequencies. The value chosen for CB is large enough to keep response extremely flat at 20Hz, and to not interact with the RC filter already internal to most microphone preamps for blocking phantom power from reaching the input stage.

Source Impedance When measuring microphone preamplifiers, the source impedance of the audio generator must be carefully set, or else the noise measurements will be invalid. This is for two reasons: the thermal noise produced across the source impedance determines the lowest noise level that can be achieved; and input circuit noise performance is affected by source impedance.

The standard source impedance for testing and producing specifications

for balanced microphone preamplifiers is 150 ohms. Many condenser microphones, however, especially those with ultra-low self-noise (3–14dB SPL), have very low output impedances on the order of 25 to 50 ohms Performing additional testing using a 50-ohm source impedance, even though it isn’t a standard, may give results that better represent actual usage.

Unbalanced microphone inputs are tested with either a 150 or 600-ohm source. With semi-pro gear, such as portable digital recorders, unbalanced inputs are normally tested at 150 ohms, while consumer grade gear such as computer sound cards are often tested at 600 ohms. If the preamplifier under test is to be used with an internal microphone then the source impedance should be set to mimic the actual operating conditions.

Measuring 48V Phantom Power Phantom power is fed onto the audio conductors through two 6.8 kiloohm resistors, which limit its current and prevent it from loading down the attached microphone. The phantom power with no load should measure 48.0 VDC (±4.0 VDC). Some budget devices are labelled as being capable of supplying phantom power, but use non-standard voltages that do not meet the IEC P48 phantom specification. These devices often derive microphone power from an available power rail inside the unit, and do not have a dedicated 48V supply.

Figures 2 and 3 show the results of testing two different microphone preamps.

The phantom voltage is measured at a spare microphone input channel (use the special cable shown in Figure 6).

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Even though we are measuring through the 6.8 kiloohm resistors, the high input impedance of the analyser ensures that the voltage drop across them will be negligible.

If the DUT has only one microphone input channel, then this measurement can be made by removing the test fixture or removing the load. As can be seen, the first preamplifier meets IEC specifications, but the second one doesn’t.

A 10 mA load is now added by connecting the test fixture. The display shows the phantom voltage measured as above, along with the voltages measured at the test fixture on the balanced audio lines of the preamplifier input channel under test. When drawing 10 mA from the phantom supply, the voltage measured on the audio lines (after the drop across the 6.8 kiloohm phantom power resistors) should be 14.0 VDC.

Figure 2

Figure 4

Figure 5 Figure 3

Phantom measured at a spare microphone input channel (no load)

Phantom measured at the spare microphone input channel, and on the audio conductors of the input channel under test

Figure 6

Again, the first DUT passes, but the second one fails. Not only is the voltage low overall, but the phantom supply itself has dropped from 37.44 to 17.96 VDC under the 10 mA load. This test also lets us check that both pin 2 (HI) and pin 3 (LO) of the audio cable are supplying the same voltage. A difference between them might indicate a fault in one of the 6.8 kiloohm resistors or its associated signal path.

Some additional measurements should be made to check if there are any changes in the phantom voltage with or without audio signal, and also if there are any changes in audio performance when the phantom power is turned on or off. These particular measurements should be done at a

high gain setting, such as 70dB, to make any differences more visible.

Now that the phantom power supply has been checked out, you can proceed with a full suite of standard mic preamp audio tests, leaving the fixture attached in order to maintain the proper phantom supply load and audio source impedance.

Adam Liberman is technical support engineer at Audio Precision. His broad range of experience includes film & TV production and post-production sound; theatrical sound design; radio production and engineering; computer audio testing and reviewing; music and nature sound recording; and test, repair, and modification of pro-audio and film editing equipment.

Reinventing the large sound system

May/June 2016

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT STUDIO OUTBOARD GEAR

GETTING PHYSICAL

Quality of sound and accelerated workflow are just two advantages to building a studio outboard arsenal instead of relying solely on digital equivalents. The surge of plug-ins coming to the market shows no sign of slowing any time soon, but there are also plenty of new hardware products that demand attention... s the mid-way point of 2016 approaches, we spoke to some manufacturers of studio outboard products to see whether there has been any change in demand for analogue gear in favour of their digital counterparts, and to find out what types of products are selling particularly well at the moment, and why that may be.

At AMS Neve, marketing officer Liz Wilkinson has noticed an increased demand for analogue gear, since everyone strives to find that certain “edge” that these types of products provide over digital plug-ins. She believes that quality of sound and ease of use is what holds analogue gear in better stead over working in the box.

“When something is designed to

A

sound good and it does so with very little input from the user, the time taken to waste time experimenting disappears,” remarks Wilkinson. “There are no load-times, no re-boots, it just sounds amazing all of the time.”

The team at Universal Audio agrees, and affirms that there will always be a place for analogue as long as users continue to appreciate the authenticity of the products, in that they continue to be made in the same way as they were in the ’60s and ’70s.

While plug-ins allow many instances in a session compared to the one or two that users may have in hardware, UA marketing officer Harris Barnard finds that younger users are learning that the “1176 on the screen” was a real thing and they eventually seek it out: “As we make plug-ins of our analogue

counterparts in recent years, it has increased the popularity of the real hardware,” he explains.

Adding to this, Radial’s Bill Whitlock is seeing users utilise the best of both when deciding whether to go analogue or digital, and has received a lot more requests for digital connectivity to analogue products. “Digital EQs and compressors keep getting better and better, but the analogue mic preamp is here to stay,” he says.

As a result, Whitlock envisages the demand for digital connectivity to analogue equipment via networking protocols like Dante or SoundGrid to persist throughout the rest of the year.

The team at AMS Neve concurs that digital control is becoming more and more important, observing that people want great sounding physical

equipment to be recalled to previously stored settings as fast as possible to cut down on the creative-sapping setup time for sessions. “Crafting the best sounding hardware with the simple workflow-accelerating features at the right price is always the challenge,” says Wilkinson.

While the analogue versus digital debate rages on and the market continues to change, manufacturers will endeavour to have one foot in the past and one foot in the future, so to speak. As companies look to integrate technologies to enhance the creative process while preserving the analogue character of their studio outboard gear, we put some of the latest gear under the spotlight to establish exactly how important they continue to be in and out of the studio.

AMS Neve 1073DPX Launched in 1970, the Neve 1073 Classic soon became the first choice mic preamp for many leading producers and artists. Designed and built in England, the modern-day 1073DPX is produced to the exact specifications of the original with matched components to ensure the sound remains true.

The 1073DPX has two channels of Neve 1073 Class A design microphone preamplifiers, each with three-band EQ (fixed HF plus two switchable bands with cut/boost capability) and high pass filter. The mic pre and EQ combination adds warmth and depth to recordings, brings out subtle ambience, maintains spatial positioning and captures a more precise image – embodying, according to many engineers and producers, the essence of the genuine Neve sound.

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Building on the 1073 classic module features, the 1073DPX introduces extra functionality with integrated DI input, phantom power, selectable insert feature, level meters, selectable headphone monitoring and I/O connectors on each channel for easy and direct connection of microphones and instruments.

The 19in rack-mount 2U unit includes an external multi-voltage PSU. www.ams-neve.com

“By re-engineering the original 1073 design, we’ve been able to reduce the price considerably by introducing modern manufacturing techniques which keeps the build costs down,” says Liz Wilkinson, marketing officer at AMS Neve. “In comparison with a pair of 1073 classic modules and the necessary rack to power them and provide I/O, the 1073DPX has the same sound, more features and is almost half the price. If the new digital I/O option is fitted to the DPX, it really does give you the ultimate and most elegant front-end for recording with digital audio workstations.”

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT STUDIO OUTBOARD GEAR

Radial Engineering Jensen Twin-Servo 500 Originally developed by industry icon Deane Jensen in 1988, the Twin-Servo 500 is an adaptation that fits the popular 500 series format. The design begins with the ‘legendary’ performance of two 100% discrete 990 op-amps cascaded in tandem to deliver 60dB of gain with less than 1/10th the distortion and twice the bandwidth of a single stage design. All capacitors have been removed from the audio signal path and replaced by two DC servo feedback circuits in order to minimise phase distortion.

To deliver the widest possible bandwidth, Jensen transformers are placed at both the input and output producing a frequency response that extends from 0.2Hz to 150kHz. The

transformers further benefit with common-mode noise rejection from offending devices such as power supplies, light dimmers and motors that may be connected to the same power service.

Features include a convenient frontpanel Neutrik combo connector with choice of XLR and ¼in inputs, a dualgang potentiometer for level adjustment along with a ten-segment LED meter for signal management. This is supplemented with a 180º polarity reverse switch that toggles the absolute phase, a gentle high-pass filter to eliminate excessive resonance, a -15dB pad to prevent overload, and a 48V phantom power activation switch.

According to Jensen’s chief technology officer Bill Whitlock: “The unique design essentially cruises along in Class A mode and then transitions to Class AB only when pushed to extremes.

In order to eliminate phase shift, all capacitors were removed from the signal path and replaced by servos. The ‘unlimited bandwidth’ enables the design to reproduce signals from DC to light. One listen and you will immediately hear a bottom end response like no other with a smooth, natural rendering that extends from 0.2Hz to 150kHz. The 100% discrete design follows Radial’s high standards with all-steel construction, rugged powder coat finish, a fully enclosed back box and dualsided gold contacts.”

www.radialeng.com

Universal Audio 4-710d mic preamp The 4-710d is a four-channel microphone/line preamplifier with unique tube and solid-state tone blending capabilities. Building upon UA’s classic analogue design approach, combined with smart modern features, the 4-710d is said to be the most flexible preamp in the UA lineup.

At the core of the 4-710d are four channels of tone-blending Twin-Finity mic preamps with true-bypass 1176-style compression, including specially tuned Fast and Slow settings. Each of the four mic preamp channels allows for

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continuously variable phase-aligned tone, between a 100% tube and 100% solid-state signal path. Send and return jacks are available for external processing or signal access.

The eight analogue inputs are digitised via ultra high-quality 24-bit A/D converters at selectable sample rates up to 192kHz. Digital output is available via dual ADAT ‘lightpipe’ or AES/EBU DB-25 connectors, facilitating integration with most popular audio interfaces. www.uaudio.com

Harris Barnard, public relations and marketing officer at Universal Audio, notes: “The 4-710d combines four of the TEC Award-winning 710 Twin-Finity preamps into a single 2U product and is great for a wide range of microphones and instruments. Uniquely, each channel can blend between the solid state and tube paths, providing a range of tones from high fidelity to aggressive (and everything in between). Each channel is complete with Hi-Z, Mic, Line inputs, and the full complement of expected preamp features (48V, Pad, Polarity, etc).”

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

TURBOSOUND IP1000 PORTABLE PA

urbosound has been a mainstay of British sound reinforcement and loudspeaker development since it was founded in the 1970s, delivering a solid catalogue of products and working with many of the top international touring acts.

The iNSPIRE series aims to address the demand for compact, portable and versatile loudspeaker systems for small to medium-sized venues and the latest additions to the range are the 800W iP500 and the 1,000W iP1000 and iP2000. Recently I was given the opportunity to put a pair of iP1000s through their paces.

The iP1000 is a powered modular column loudspeaker that comes in two pieces: a bass unit and a thin column, which is mounted on top of it. The base unit houses the amplifiers, controls and 2 x 8in woofers, the column comprises 8 x 2.75in mid range drivers and 1 x 1in tweeter. Four spikes in the base of the column ensure you connect it the right way round and prevent it from toppling over once connected, while an electrical connector slides home to provide signal to the speakers in the column.

This is a neat solution, which obviates the need for speaker stands and connecting cables.

The columns are made from aluminium and the sub from plywood – covered in a hardwearing semi matt black paint finish – which should be able to handle being thrown into the boot of a car on a regular basis. When assembled it stands just shy of two metres; the columns alone are 1.3 metres long so if you plan on transporting them in a Mini you may need to come up with a creative solution. The mid-range drivers are located in the upper half of the column with the tweeter positioned at the top; this ensures that even if they’re floormounted the sound should still carry over the heads of a standing audience.

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Andy Coules takes one of the manufacturer’s new column loudspeaker solutions out on a test run…

Some people think of column loudspeakers as the original line arrays and while they do share some properties they don’t really behave in the same way, neither do they behave like point source systems – they sit somewhere in between. The bottom end of the system behaves very much like an omnidirectional source, radiating sound equally in all directions, whereas the mid range behaves much more like a line source, radiating forward with a very wide horizontal dispersion, and the top end is a point-source horn. This gives a nominal horizontal dispersion of 120º, which Turbosound suggests make them ideal for use without monitors as the musicians can hear what they need from the iP1000 (as long as they are intelligently placed, of course).

Therefore it’s very much aimed at selfengineering musicians as well as bands, but can also be utilised by DJs and for speech reinforcement.

The iP1000 benefits from Turbosound’s fraternal association with Klark Teknik and thus uses its Class D amplifier technology to deliver up to 122dB max SPL, which is controlled by Spatial Sound Technology. It also utilises Bluetooth to enable audio streaming and facilitate remote control. There are two XLR/jack combo inputs on the back, which can cope with microphone or instrument inputs, as well as two XLR link outputs (to enable chaining of multiple units).

In control Once it’s powered up it can be operated via the control panel, which features an LCD screen, four buttons (Process, System, Exit and Enter) and a dial (which doubles up as a button) – when not in the menus the dial controls the master output level of the system. Navigation is very simple – there are two main menus (Process and System) with four sub menus, each of which has a single

Key Features

1,000W powered column loudspeaker

Dual 8in subwoofer

Nine Neodymium drivers

Klark Teknik Spatial Sound Technology

On-board digital mixer fully controllable via iPhone/iPad RRP: $599 www.turbosound.com parameter page so you can quickly get to what you need without endless scrolling or getting lost in multiple sub menus. Basic operation is very straightforward and intuitive.

The System menu gives access to Bluetooth pairing, a separate control for the subwoofer level, the Info screen (which shows model and firmware information) and the Setup menu – this allows you to adjust the LCD screen contrast and toggle its backlight as well as do a factory reset or lock the unit with a PIN (to prevent unwelcome tampering).

The Process menu is where you’ll find the digital mixer and master EQ, as well as the Mode and Positioning menus.

The mixer allows simple level control of the three inputs (i.e. the two analogue inputs and the Bluetooth stream) while the EQ gives you the ability to boost or cut the bass, middle or treble globally (i.e. it affects all channels). There are four modes available: Music, Live, Speech and Club, each of which applies a different EQ to the output. Music mode is flat, Live gives a slight bass and treble roll off, Speech has a lot of bass and treble roll off and Club boosts the bass and treble. The positioning menu is where that Klark Teknik Spatial Sound Technology comes into play with three options: Floor, Wall and Corner.

Floor sounds flat, Wall has a little bass

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of this system won’t require it but it might catch out those who are hoping to use the latest hand held condenser microphones or an active DI (although some models of microphone and DI allow the use of batteries).

In Use

roll off and Corner has a bit more bass rolled off. This makes perfect sense as bass frequencies are essentially omnidirectional so when you place a speaker near a wall the bass frequencies going out the back will reflect forward

increasing the overall level and when you place it in a corner both walls reflect to increase the level even more out front.

One obvious omission I spotted is the lack of phantom power. I understand why this was left out as most users

The first test I did was to play music through a pair of iP1000s using an iPad. The Bluetooth pairing was straightforward, as was the speaker linking (as long as you do it in the right order). The overall sound was crisp and clear, the directionality was as expected, the bottom end was firm but not overpowering and the mid range was slightly dominant. I tried the four different modes and found that I preferred listening to music in the Club mode as the smile curve it applies helped tame that slightly dominant mid range.

My next test was with a singersongwriter (i.e. voice and acoustic guitar), which I imagine is probably going to be a common configuration used with this system. First I selected the Live mode and then I plugged in an SM58 microphone. When I set the input channel level to 20dB I was able to crank up the main system output to 0dB without any feedback, regardless of whether I was in front or behind the speaker; I had to crank the input level to 30dB before it started to howl and that was a low frequency (about 80Hz), which was easily dealt with by reducing the bass by 10dB in the system EQ. I then tried the guitar and was able to get a decent level relative to the voice without further intervention; the sound of the guitar was a little muddy but that was quickly dealt with by tweaking the EQ on the instrument itself.

I found that if I got the musicians to sit between the speakers they could

hear enough of the mix to be able to play along and this worked fine for all three performers. The only issue I had was with an acoustic guitar that had a basic pick-up with no EQ settings – in the absence of any channel EQ I just had to live with the boomy and dull sound.

I then fired up the remote control app. It’s worth noting that iOS is the only platform supported so you will need an iPhone or iPad if you want to take advantage of this functionality. I was pleased to discover that the app was even easier to use than the onboard controls. The main controls are presented in a simple interface with big chunky knobs for the level controls and simple sliders for the EQ. The app gives access to all the available functions and removes the need to go to the unit itself to adjust anything which makes it brilliant if you’re self engineering.

Conclusion Overall I think Turbosound has done a great job of striking the balance between providing enough features to enable trouble-free sound reinforcement while not overwhelming the user with a feature set that requires a complex interface to operate.

Personally I would have liked individual channel EQ and access to the graphic EQ on the output but then when I remind myself it’s not really aimed at me I realise they’ve pitched it perfectly.

The Reviewer 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

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

STEINBERG WAVELAB 9 Key Features

SOFTWARE

‘Revolutionary’ new user interface

MasterRig high-end mastering plug-in suite

Full M/S support

WaveLab Project Manager

Direct exchange with Cubase and Nuendo

Alistair McGhee delves into the latest version of the audio editing and mastering software and discovers there’s a lot to take in. aveLab 7 and 8 are powerhouse programs; you know that because when you launch them, the interfaces have more bells than the top shelf of a Glasgow pub and more whistles than a ref’s convention. Now if you were brought up with that or if you used the ‘Lab every day, no problem. But for a first time user, or someone like me who uses WaveLab alongside a range of other audio software, that blizzard of options could be a little overwhelming.

Enter WaveLab Pro 9. Don’t worry, yes there are more bells to ring and whistles to blow but the Number One change is the interface. First, WaveLab Pro 9 keeps the main thing with a single window paradigm. Making this approach work, and hiding the complexity, is a ribbon and tab interface that aims to give you the options you need at the time you need them. This works best in conjunction with another new feature – file groups. Here you can corral all the files belonging to a project under one tab. At its simplest you have a montage containing individual audio files, the montage and the files in it are stored together in the file group and your ribbon tools change to match the selection of the file you want to work on. You get montage edit tools for a montage file and file edit tools for editing an individual file. Brilliant.

And there’s more: four configurable control windows to which you can assign tool sets and meters. I loaded them up with the file browser, the loudness metering, the marker window and the MasterRig (more on the MasterRig later). Then I dragged these onto the

W

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May/June 2016

RRP: €579 www.steinberg.net

second monitor, allowing me to max out my edit space and the peak metering.

All the power is still there, and more, but topically presented as you need it.

I have to say such is the magnitude of the rewrite that I struggle to believe that developer Philippe Goutier and his team have managed such a mammoth task; I’m sure elves must have been involved somewhere along the line. However they managed it, WaveLab Pro 9 has a revolutionary new interface.

Master at work Probably the next biggest deal is the MasterRig in the effects section.

MasterRig is a mastering workspace environment where you can combine a selection of processing modules to tune your audio to the peak of perfection.

In the Pro version of WaveLab you have eight plug-in slots and processing options in Dynamics, EQ (including dynamic equalisers), Saturation and Imaging. Out of these building blocks a processing chain can be quickly assembled and the quality and flexibility of the effects on offer make for a very satisfying experience. The ability to bypass not just the effect but also the source (allowing you to hear only the effect generated by your processing) is a great feature.

Using the Dynamic EQ plug-in you can apply equalisation in a level dependent way – ideal for subtle mix brightening or for easing back a hi-hat that threatens to overpower your top end. Once you have your processing package in place, MasterRig allows you to save it to a

scene, copy it to another (you have four scenes to play with) and then A/B any complex changes you want to make, all from the comfort of your own mouse.

And finally, MasterRig features one of the big changes – M/S (or Mid/Side) processing. WaveLab Pro 9 has gone all-in on M/S and it’s a feature that really makes you ask: ‘Why has no one done this before?’ Yes, some high-end DAWs allow you to work with audio that has been recorded in M/S rather than X/Y stereo, but ‘Lab 9 takes a different approach – by allowing you to treat an X/Y file as an M/S file and then allowing you to use any of your standard X/Y tools and indeed stereo plug-ins as M/S processing. In the bog standard file view, with a bog standard stereo file loaded with a single click you see the track in M/S. And now of course you can edit it in M and S. Hack something embarrassing out of the mono leaving the S to cover your tracks or dry up the mono by adjusting the gain of the S. The master section plug-ins can be inserted into just the Mid or just the Side and the returns can be limited to just the M or the S or indeed routed back to the stereo bus. The world is your oyster. The whole system is seemless as your M/S is turned back into X/Y post the montage mix, or when you render out. In fact the only thing missing is automatic ingest of M/S recorded material – something for the elves in a future update no doubt.

Process automation is something WaveLab users have been asking about for some time, and Phillipe has gone some way to meet them. Here is

the workflow, remembering it is only available for ‘Clip’ effects. First, add an effect and then head off to the routing options and change the setting from the default, which is ‘Insert (Standard)’ to ‘Blend Wet into Dry (Send)’. Now you can automate the amount of Send. In the ‘Envelope’ tab, use the drop down to select ‘Effect’ as the ‘Envelope Type’ and now the automation line controls the amount of processing.

So, in essence, what you have is an automated send level – you choose the process and then you have an automation curve, fully editable, to achieve the amount of processing at any given point in your clip. And this can be applied to left and/or right, mid and/or side. But it isn’t effects parameter automation, which I guess will have to wait for another day.

I haven’t covered everything here (Cubase interchange for instance) but to be honest the big deal is the interface. It’s no good having the biggest tool set in the world if the interface holds you back. No one has doubted the power of WaveLab and with version 9 this power is harnessed to a wonderfully effective interface.

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.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

AKG K182 HEADPHONES

Jerry Ibbotson sits down with a pair of these new monitoring headphones from the audio giant, and finds they have plenty going for them. ’ve become a bit of a beer bore over the last couple of years. I now sup hand-crafted ales from microbreweries that (in my imagination) are run by men with luxuriant beards and trousers that don’t reach their shoes. It’s a great hobby to have but one of the problems comes when trying to explain the difference between a three-hop IPA from a small brewery in Kent and a three-hop IPA from a small brewery in Cumbria. There are only so many times the words “citrus finish” can leave one’s lips.

It’s a similar thing with headphones.

I’ve been testing the AKG K182s and it’s the third time in the last year or so that I’ve put a pair of professionals cans through their paces. It’s good to have a benchmark in my head and to have something definite to compare them to, but putting that into words does risk leading me into “mellow hoppiness” territory.

The AKGs are marketed at musicians and engineers but they are essentially compact, closed-back monitoring headphones with a moderate price tag. They have an over-ear design (with replaceable pads) and swivel and fold when not in use. They also have, as I immediately spotted, a mahoosive “L” and “R” printed in each ear-cup, just to stop you getting confused.

Their presentation is top-notch, with high-grade composite materials mixed with metal. There’s a removable cable, with 0.25in adapter in place on the plug and a comfortable headband; they feel like quality headphones. I share a house with two teenagers who go through consumer grade ‘phones at a stomach

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churning (and wallet scorching) rate of knots, but I can immediately tell that these are a cut-above the norm in terms of build quality and design (as anything labelled ‘pro’ should be).

The frequency response is 10Hz to 28kHz and the drivers that do all the hard work are 50mm, which AKG says “keep it loud”. I did the majority of testing with them hooked to a Focusrite I/O on my laptop but AKG says they are equally at home on mobile devices.

In Use I actually hot-swapped between these and a pair of Pioneer headphones, to do a direct comparison. I hadn’t expected there to be a great deal of difference between the two pairs, particularly as I began by listening to some recorded speech files, played through Adobe Audition at 44.1kHz. But what I heard surprised me. The AKGs had more bass to them, while the Pioneers were a touch lighter. The voices in the AKGs sounded a little more ‘roomy’ (they were recorded on location), which may have been a true reflection of the acoustics but might also have been the way the K182s reproduced the audio. It was noticeable without being a problem.

I switched to some music, starting with a bit of Billy Bragg. The AKGs had a slightly narrower stereo field than my other headphones and that extra bass was present again. But the sound quality was excellent overall

and I flicked through a wide selection of other tracks of differing styles – all were faithfully reproduced by the K182.

My eldest daughter (one of the destroyers-of-cheap-headphones) had asked for help editing a video project for college. She’d interviewed her grandmother using a DSLR and a Røde Videomic and needed to cut it up. After overseeing her doing the initial edit in Premiere, I slipped on the AKGs and listened to the audio. Oh, DSLR audio how I loathe you. Even with a halfdecent mic in place, it’s still the noisiest thing this side of the National Museum of Hum and Hiss.

I fired up Izotope RX4 from within Adobe Audition and did a bit of clean-up (it’s always good being a sixth former when your boring old Dad is a semilapsed sound designer). That’s when decent headphones come to the fore – not when listening to pristine, mastered material but dirty, noisy raw audio that needs a good scrub. I wanted to hear what I was trying to get rid of and the AKGs dutifully obliged, reproducing the hum and fuzz left behind by the DSLR and replacing it with silence when RX4 had done its work.

Overall, these are excellent headphones. They are well made and robust and should stand up to the rigours of life both in the studio or out on the road. I would happily fold these away and stash them in a gear bag. They are quite bassy but it’s not

Key Features

High-sensitivity 50mm transducers

10Hz-28kHz frequency range

3D-axis professional folding system

Detachable cable and screw-on adapter

Replaceable ear pads RRP: £94.80 www.akg.com intrusive and I could listen to audio through them for long periods without fatigue creeping in.

One thing I have learned is that two models of headphones may appear similar on paper – in this case offerings from AKG and Pioneer – but differ in use. In fact the level of ‘difference’ took me by surprise. In the same way that buying studio monitors is often down to a matter of taste, so it is with headphones. Most of us would not go that far, but think of it as craft beer. You need to know which one has the echoes of mellow fruit, don’t you?

The Reviewer Jerry Ibbotson has worked in pro-audio for more than 20 years, first as a BBC radio journalist and then as a sound designer in the games industry. He’s now a freelance audio producer and writer.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

AVID PRO TOOLS 12.5 DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATION

Key Features

Cloud Collaboration

Export Timecode with QuickTime Bounce

Pro Tools Avid Interplay enhancement for using XDCAM MXF media with Send to Playback

Updated Avid Video Engine (AVE)

There has been much talk about the DAW’s new Cloud Collaboration feature, but does it live up to the hype?

Simon Allen finds out. ike many, I have been keeping a careful eye on the developments Avid has been making with Pro Tools. The company has seen some tough times recently and end users have been sceptical about the constant flow of updates. Plug-in and third-party soft ware manufacturers have had to play catch up, providing new 64-bit AAX versions of its products. However, there is apparently light at the end of the tunnel, and in my opinion Pro Tools has something to shout about again.

Pro Tools has now reached version 12.5, which has accumulated several small but significant updates since my last review of the soft ware.

There’s much to appreciate, which we could easily take for granted. For example, Avid has addressed moving from TDM over to HDX processing and the AAX plug-in format. Initially this also gave us off-line bouncing, but since version 12.4 this also gave us track Commit and track Freeze. These are among the best new features Pro Tools has had to offer for a while.

Pro Tools 12 introduced Avid’s new subscription payment plan, which has been a massive benefit to some of my clients. They are now working with an affordable and appropriate version of Pro Tools that can be used for sending me parts or creating guide tracks, via the same platform that we use in the studio.

However, in addition to the new features and Cloud Collaboration, the biggest reasons for moving to Pro Tools 12, in my opinion, is the quality of audio and the efficient use of system resources. This is for the most part

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RRP: Free for three Projects and 500MB storage space, up to $24.99 per month for ten projects and 60GB www.avid.com down to the 64-bit engine introduced with Pro Tools 11, but now most plug-in manufacturers are on board with the AAX format. This means we can truly harness this architecture and my own experience with Pro Tools 12.5 is that it’s even more ‘system-efficient’ and stable than its predecessor.

Cloud Collaboration for Pro Tools combines and accumulates all the new features mentioned above and many more. This is a significant new aspect of Pro Tools and is already more advanced in my opinion than similar services provided in other DAWs, despite this being the first release.

In Use I trialled the Cloud Collaboration feature with my co-producer who lives in Cyprus.

Getting set up with user accounts and experimenting with creating and sharing an online ‘project’ was fairly straightforward, but also highlighted to us the varied uses for the service.

There is an initial learning curve when working with the new Cloud Collaboration features. This isn’t like working with other cloud services; Pro Tools Cloud Collaboration is far more integrated than we expected. Due to this, we realised there are workflow choices and methods about how you might most effectively use this service.

This isn’t a criticism, if anything it highlights the flexibility that is already available. Sure enough you can share entire sessions track by track, but where the collab feature really shines is when you are looking for immediate input on your project.

Avid has obviously put some careful thought into the servers which host this new collaboration feature, as transfer times for uploading and downloading are surprisingly fast, even with average internet connection speeds. Therefore, the scenario of introducing a collaborator on a project for additional parts is made easier by sharing the same session for timebased rulers and memory locations, with a few key stems. These stems of course can be created extremely quickly using the new track Freeze and track Commit features.

On the whole, Cloud Collaboration performs extremely well and is already starting to be a part of my daily workflow. There are some minor teething problems, but this is the first release and there are bound to be functions that Avid will address in future updates.

For example, initially I thought that there might have been a concern over ownership of tracks that are shared in the cloud. This is because we experienced some conflicts if we both worked on the same track at the same time. However, I recognise that Avid has engineered the ownership rights to not feel limiting, yet to be secure. I think it is up to us as users to develop certain workflow habits, but perhaps Avid could include extra user control and add new features for managing your local copy of the shared tracks.

There are so many new features in Pro Tools that I simply cannot cover them all in this article. However, version 12.5 has truly tied together so many of

these new features, paving the way for the future of audio professionals.

I would like to see the AvidArtist Community build a following and look forward to working with my clients and network of professionals in this new virtual world. Avid does however need to address the Cloud Collaboration pricing packages, which are out of sync with current alternatives. If we are paying a premium for its servers, then surely we should be able to use the cloud for storing and backing up entire libraries?

Conclusion If you are one of the many individuals or businesses that have remained on earlier versions of Pro Tools, due to concerns over stability, complicated updates and fear for loss of support from third-party plug-in manufacturers, now is the time to upgrade. Version 12.5 is not only proving to be stable, but also extremely processor efficient while offering new features you’ll not want to live without. Now that most plug-in manufacturers are supporting the 64-bit AAX format, you will also notice a significant increase in audio quality, which is worth upgrading for alone.

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.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

RTW TM3-PRIMUS LOUDNESS METER

ologne, Germany-based RTW has produced premium metering and monitoring products for a half-century, and it’s really no longer a secret that their devices and software are attractive, accurate and fully world-class audio production tools. As its products have regularly served as OEM (original equipment manufacturer) components within many large-format consoles, for example, RTW’s software has been its only product line priced within reach of most project studios, until now.

RTW’s TouchMonitor line includes the TM3-Primus, a small (4.3in), powerful capacitive touchscreen visual audio monitor and loudness, peak and PPM meter. The TM3-Primus is a twochannel device accepting unbalanced -10dB signal input, digital I/O via SPDIF or a CPU connection via micro-USB. The unit is powered via USB or a provided ‘wall wart,’ which connects by that same micro-USB. It can be used vertically or horizontally (with a quick touchscreen swipe) and provides numerous measurements.

Its various ‘modules’ can be selected/de-selected on the touchscreen: PPM (Peak Program Meter), which is comparatively slow like a VU; True Peak (fast), with numerical displays; Moving Coil type (VU and BBC modes); Loudness with scales for CALM and EBU, among others; Loudness range and Loudness chart; a Stereo correlator; phase and amplitude measurement Vectorscope (a combination of amplitude, frequency and phase); and RTA, a real-time spectrum analyser measuring frequencies.

Some unexpected functions are to be found, too. For example, the TM3-Primus can be designated as an output device in Mac OS and take input directly from a DAW. With RTW’s complimentary USB Connect

Created with affordability, simplicity and an ultra-compact form factor in mind, this new metering solution has a lot of boxes to tick.

Strother Bullins takes a look.

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Key Features

Table-top unit with display, USB connecting cable and external USB mains adapter

PPM/TruePeak meter with analogue and digital scales

Digital two-channel stereo I/O via S/PDIF (RCA)

Micro-USB connector for digital audio inputs (stereo, 5.1) and USB power supply

4.3in capacitive touchscreen

Two-channel Audio Vectorscope

Real-time spectrum analyser

Stereo Correlator

Numerical displays RRP: $899 www.rtw.com

software, a 5.1 surround USB input source can be down-mixed to the SPDIF output. USB Connect can also remotely control Start, Stop and Reset functions of long-term, time-based loudness measurements – quite necessary to the modern broadcaster, film mixer, or volume-war combative mastering engineer.

In Use My standing control room arrangement places me in a mid-field monitoring environment, further away from the TM3-Primus than most of its intended nearfield users would be. No problem – the clarity, colour choices and contrast make for easy reading, with just a little practice, even at a distance. In particular, I like having the stereo correlation info readily at hand, whether tracking or mixing.

I also value having an RTA running, especially when tracking, overdubbing

and/or seeking out pesky frequencies.

While mastering, the TM3-Primus’ loudness measurements gave me both immediate and averaged over time.

Although I’ve done more than my share of live television audio, it hasn’t been lately and I’ve never been called on to comply with ATSC or CALM, nor am I schooled in EBU standards. That said, the TM3-Primus will provide such measures. I can easily see numerous apps for such a little yet powerful remote device for the modern broadcaster who wishes to stay informed even as they leave master control for a hot minute.

My only complaint? Like a spoiled brat (or a modern iOS consumer, even) I now find myself wishing for RTW’s TM7 or TM9, featuring larger screens so I can see even more info more readily.

In use, I have found the TM3-Primus to be quite helpful, informative and easily readable in numerous audio

production tasks that I routinely engage in. At $899 (direct from RTW’s website), the TM-3 Primus is an attractive hardware product with limited competition outside of competing software tools. For those with their room acoustics, monitoring and signal processing tools in check, mixes can be further refined via the increased phase agreement, peak level, frequency balance and long-term average refinements possible when relying upon a tool like RTW’s TM3Primus. After all, a little visible audio information goes a long way.

The Reviewer Strother Bullins is reviews editor for NewBay Media’s AV/Pro Audio Group. sbullins@nbmedia.com www.prosoundnetwork.com

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INTERVIEW

A CUT ABOVE

Soho-based Final Cut Sound has been keeping busy since its inception two years ago. We quiz newly-recruited producer Deborah Whitfield and head of audio Patch Rowland about their collaborative approach to postproduction, recent achievements and what’s next for the facility.

What kind of developments have occurred since you came on board as producer, Deborah?

Whitfield: Since joining Final Cut, my role has been split two ways. In my primary role as a producer, I am managing the studio and running the production of projects on a daily basis.

The other side of my role is to promote and develop the studio. Final Cut Sound was born from the work coming out of the edit suites, but it’s my responsibility to develop the studio in its own right, all the while ensuring that the growth and expansion of Final Cut Sound retains the company ethos of being bespoke and boutique.

Could you both describe the way in which you work alongside Final Cut Edit and the process by which you tend to work?

Whitfield: Traditionally, sound is the last point in the post-production process, but we can work alongside directors and editors from the early stages of the offline edit making sound design an integral part of the creative process from those early stages.

Rowland: Production-wise, we don’t operate in the same way as other studios. Directors/producers have the freedom to jump from the edit suite into the sound suite and back again – they can play around with ideas and by the 42

May/June 2016

time we are ready to do a final mix, the sound designer is far more prepared and knows the project inside and out, rather than coming into it cold at the end of the post process.

What are the advantages of doing everything in-house at Final Cut, and how has this impacted on those using the facilities?

Rowland: It becomes more than just a facility – just somewhere to get a voice recorded and a mix done within a restricted amount of time – and instead changes and becomes an integral part of the film-making process.

It allows editors, directors and agencies the chance to build sound design into their narrative ideas as well as to package and present both edited and developed sound as one to clients in early presentations.

Do you collaborate with the other branches in the United States, and if so, to what extent?

Rowland: Having offices in LA and New York opens up a wealth of opportunities on both sides of the pond. Specifically with audio, both sound studios in the UK and New York can connect remotely via ISDN or IP, which works great for recording voice overs.

Whitfield: From a production point of view, when our clients are working on

projects on either side of the pond we can now offer them the editor they want in the location they want and of course get the sound design developed and the soundtrack delivered – it’s a no brainer for some of our US clients.

Competition is hot in Soho, so what else is it that makes you different?

Whitfield: Creative collaboration.

Being involved from the start of the production – working in-sync with the editorial, production and agency teams from the off – has proven to really work in delivering pieces of work that all parties are happy with creatively and technically. It frees up time to test those creative boundaries!

Could you talk about the setup and overall design of the studio? Any new equipment or updates?

Whitfield: The studio is a 7.1 Dolby Licensed Suite – equipped for all aspects of audio post-production. We were an early adopter of the Avid S6 modular control surface, which has redefined audio mixing workflows and allows us to create world-class audio soundtracks a lot faster. With Pro Tools HD, Avid Media Composer and our Avid ISIS server the workflow is super fast, seamlessly and fully integrated, meaning the timeline in the edit suite can be loaded immediately in the sound

studio with no down time or creative steps back.

Rowland: We’ve always got an eye on the future of sound design and what it will mean for us. Dolby Atmos, Virtual Reality (VR) and 3D immersive audio are all being explored and embraced.

What notable projects have you undertaken lately?

Whitfield: It’s been a real mix! Primarily, Final Cut is a post facility geared towards the commercials industry. Recently we’ve worked on some great campaigns for Philips, Virgin Trains and Google. We are not always restricted by budgets, and consequently we can also select more creative content to work on such as Over, a short film recently nominated for a BAFTA, and we’ve just finished work on an excellent, independent feature film Set the Thames on Fire – due for a cinema and digital release this September.

Are there any future changes in the pipeline and could you explain the reasoning behind these plans?

Rowland: We’ve achieved a huge amount in the two years since Final Cut Sound started. Ultimately, the long-term plan is to expand and build more studios globally – we want to create an environment that attracts great talent and builds upon our already impressive creative output. www.finalcut-edit.com

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