PSNE February 2014 digi edition

PSNEUROPE FEBRUARY 2014

Hal Ritson:

Punx pop p50

www.psneurope.com

THE BUSINESS OF PROFESSIONAL AUDIO

Under Konstruktion

Setting the standard for sound in Serbia

#1 Meyer LYON for OneRepublic

NAMM review p27

p38

Got Wheels! p6

ISE review

p47

On the road with GW Studio p21

www.psneurope.com

February 2014 l 03

welcome Photo: Jake Young

EDITOR’S COMMENT

“Networks and protocols live in a scary, bamboozling place where few of us want to stick our heads”

THE LAST couple of times I’ve bumped into the Audinate boss, he’s immediately replied with a figure.

“Hi, Lee!” I hailed him at NAMM. “One hundred and thirty-eight!” he chirped back.

It’s becoming a bit of a running joke – but why shouldn’t Mr Ellison be proud of the ever-rising number of licensees of Dante technology? In November, he trilled a figure of 120 at me, when expectations at that point were for only 90.

The ISE announcement – see over the page – will no doubt make his song even sweeter.

Now, I don’t pretend to be an expert in these matters – very few people do, let’s face it, because networking and protocols live in a scary, bamboozling place where few of us want to stick our heads.

But look at recent developments. On the one hand, huge support for Dante, now strengthened by the appealing AES67. This on top of over “3.5 million channels of Dante shipped into the market” (Ellison).

On the other hand, AVB vanguard Lab X absorbed

by Biamp (see p44), and only now have we a switching unit pass the stringent AVB certification criteria.

The AVnu Alliance is around 70 members strong.

Spokesmen such as Rick Kreifeldt say it’s not a competition. But – well – it is really, isn’t it? Perhaps we’ll see a favoured protocol emerge later this year...

On another note: PSNEurope says goodbye to the brilliant Erica Basnicki this month. She’s been an absolute bloody star over the last two years. Thank you, thank you, Erica! You should hire her, no question.

Meanwhile, into the breach steps one eager Murray Stassen. Say hello to him at BVE in a few weeks...

Dave Robinson (twitter: @psneurope)

IN THIS ISSUE...

NEWS 4 Dante adopts AES67 transport 5 Studer Vista X launched in New York 12 Industry appointments 14 Events and expos

Show reviews

Pick of the new gear at NAMM ISE highlights

p6 p47

STUDIO Art of Vinyl to continue work of Sean Davies Rockfabriek looks for industry partners GW Studio takes to the road in France

16 20 21

BROADCAST Lawo at Russia’s Winter Games More funding for UK digital radio promised Post houses to take on greater QC role?

23 24 25

LIVE 27 First Meyer Sound LYON for OneRepublic 28 AED K2 demos; Flare and Orbital Sound 29 Sound Network expands and rebrands 34 25 years of Meyer Sound self-powering 38 Audio Konstruktor in Serbia 39 Norway’s Ane Brun on tour with iLive 40 FEATURE: Live vocal microphones INSTALL Biamp scoops up Lab X team Installation of last CADAC R-type

44 46

BACK PAGES 49 Hither & Dither 50 Interview: Hal Ritson of the Young Punx Cover image: Liberty Square, Novi Sad, Serbia, 13 January 2014 (credit: Darko Dozet)

04 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

For the latest news www.psneurope.com

news EUROPE

Dante makes an AES67 date The momentum behind AES67 continues with Audinate’s decision to incorporate the standard into Dante. But what – if anything – does it all mean for AVB, asks David Davies?

IN A development with potentially significant implications for the networking debate, Audinate has confirmed to PSNEurope that it will incorporate AES67 transport in its Dante media networking solution. The official announcement was scheduled to be made on the first day of ISE 2014.

Published by the Audio Engineering Society last September, AES67 is the subject of increasing excitement, especially in the integrator community. Designed specifically to ensure that various networked audio components from different companies are able to work in a unified system, AES67 provides interoperability recommendations for professional quality audio networking in the areas of synchronisation, media clock identification, network transport, encoding and streaming, and session description.

Lee Ellison, CEO of Audinate, posits the accommodation of AES67 as a logical move. Dante already implements a Layer 3 IP-based transport based on UDP (User Datagram Protocol), whilst AES67 implements RTP

(L-R): Bill Scott, Bosch Communications Systems; Lee Ellison, Audinate; Terry Holton, Yamaha Commercial Audio: AES67 support (Real-time Transport Protocol).

The addition of AES67, therefore, provides a choice of transport protocols within Dante. Moreover, since the existing Dante transport and AES67 both use routable Layer 3 IP protocols, Dante can operate in routed networks, spanning multiple IP subnets, with either protocol.

“We had been reaching out to our customers over the last nine months to get a feeling for what they wanted, because at the end of the day the aim from the Audinate perspective is to meet the requests and requirements of our customers,” says Ellison.

“One of the things we really

supporting the move from Bosch, Focusrite, SSL and Yamaha indicates a healthy level of potential interest in the option, which will be delivered as a firmware update to OEMs in the initial Dante products within 12 months.

Niall Feldman is director of new products at SSL, which launched its first Dante networked product at IBC 2013 and is currently making its debut exhibitor appearance at ISE. “Solid State Logic fully support Audinate’s plan to provide an AES67 option for Dante devices. Interoperability

outlook for the AVB initiative.

To date, all pro-audio AVB projects to reach the market have been geared towards Layer 2 transport, although as Ellison points out it would be possible for AES67 “to allow an AVB Layer 3 solution”.

Rick Kreifeldt, chairman/ president of the AVBsupporting AVnu Alliance and vice president of research and innovation at Harman International’s Corporate Technology Group, is emphatic about not regarding AES67 as a rival. “We don’t consider it as a competitor as they reference our technology,” says Kreifeldt, who also doesn’t rule out the notion of future incorporation of the new standard into the AVB specification. “It’s possible,” he allows. “I am sure if the AVnu membership finds it useful to do, we will go do it.

[As an organisation] we are very market-based.”

“We had been reaching out to our customers over the last nine months to get a feeling for what they wanted, because at the end of the day the aim from the Audinate perspective is to meet the requests and requirements of our customers” Lee Ellison, Audinate liked [about AES67] is that it uses a lot of the same kinds of things that already exist [such as] leveraging the clock synchronisation.”

Although no licensees in the manufacturer community have confirmed specific plans to implement Dante with AES67, the presence in the announcement release of quotes

was a primary decision in SSL adopting Dante for network I/O products and we are pleased the addition of AES67 will add further devices to the hundreds of compatible products already available,” says Feldman.

In a broader context, the groundswell of activity around Layer 3-oriented AES67 can only raise questions about the

Underlining Kreifeldt’s assertion that this is “an extremely busy period” for AVB, the first AVnu-certified AVB product, from Extreme Networks, was also unveiled during ISE 2014 [see page 44]. I www.aes.org/publications/standar ds/ search.cfm?docID=96 www.audinate.com www.avnu.org

February 2014 l 05

www.psneurope.com

news SWITZERLAND/UNITED KINGDOM/UNITED STATES

Vista X is giant leap for console-kind Studer showcases new flagship console and processing engine to NYC broadcast elite, writes Dave Robinson WITH A launch that the company is calling an “enormous step forward in large-scale mixing console technology for broadcast applications”, Studer introduced the Vista X (“ten”) digital console and Infinity Processing Engine to broadcast technology specialists in New York at the end of last month.

Up to 100 invited guests gathered at All Mobile Video Chelsea Television Studios as Andy Trott (VP and GM, Soundcraft Studer) and Peter Glaettli (head of Studer R&D) presented the system, which has been designed at

Studer HQ in Regensdorf, Switzerland and built in Potters Bar, UK. The Vista X, says Harmanowned Studer, offers an “unsurpassed intuitive user interface, retaining the patented Vistonics and FaderGlow user interface [seen other other Vista consoles], providing control of 800 or more audio DSP channels and more than 5,000 inputs and outputs”.

At the heart of the system is the Infinity DSP core, which uses CPU-based processors to provide huge numbers of DSP channels for large-scale, high-resolution audio processing

and mixing. Studer reports that this is the first time more than 800 audio channels have been processed in a single CPU-based board.

Eschewing current trends for SHARC or FPGA chips, Studer says its approach offers “significant advantages, as CPU processing provides a scalable system, faster development of new signal processing designs, huge channel counts, full system redundancy without a single point of failure and the possibility of running thirdparty algorithms”.

Infinity employs A-Link, a fibre-based audio protocol that

uses a 3Gbps data rate to offer 1,536 audio channels per connection with 32-bit standard AES timeslots. The Infinity DSP engine in Vista X provides 12 A-Link digital audio interfaces, providing more than 5,000 inputs and outputs. A newly designed high-density I/O system, D23m, is used to break out these A-Link connections to standard analogue, digital and video interfaces. The ALink interface also provides direct connection to the Riedel MediorNet distributed router, allowing many Infinity systems to be connected together with router

A panorama of professionals were there to see the Vista

EUROPE

InstallAwards – entry open now!

THIS JUNE sees the launch of the first InstallAwards, hosted

by PSNEurope’s sister title Installation and destined to become a major event in the industry calendar, as the industry comes together and celebrates excellence across a broad range of installation projects.

Entries for the InstallAwards are now open. To reflect the multifaceted nature of installation projects, the process will recognise five categories/ sectors: Public display/retail; Education; Sports and performing arts; Corporate and

industrial; and Residential.

Three awards are up for grabs within each sector: Best Project Award; Teamwork Award; and Star Product Award.

Any permanent or semipermanent installation may be

entered for the InstallAwards, provided it was handed over to the client between 1 March 2013 and 28 February 2014.

There is no fee to enter, and any company or individual can submit up to three entries – either in the same category or across multiple categories.

The awards will be judged by a large panel of independent experts from across the industry, drawn from as wide a range of backgrounds as possible. If you would like to offer your services as a judge, please send an email to paddy.baker@ intentmedia.co.uk.

There will be two further awards, judged by the Installation team. To coincide with the brand’s 15th anniversary this year, it will present the 15 Years of Excellence Award. This will be won by a company or organisation that has made a major contribution to the AV installation world – which could be through technology, industry education or leadership.

In addition, Installation will be awarding the 15 Years of Achievement Award. This will be presented to an individual who, during the lifetime of Installation,

Studer Vista X

capacities of 10,000 x 10,000 or more. Soundcraft and Riedel agreed to collaborate on developing MediorNet-based tools in 2012.

The Vista X console features four processors, offering complete redundancy of the control surface. Now, the Infinity Core, with a combination of CPU-based DSP and A-Link audio interfaces, offers N+1 redundancy of the DSP engine and I/O with instant switch-over between main and standby system without a break in audio transmission. Vista X with Infinity Core and D23m will ship in April 2014. I www.studer.ch www.soundcraft.com has built up a major body of work that has left a lasting impression on the industry.

There is no formal nomination process for these two awards, but suggestions are welcome for deserving companies or individuals via email or social media.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Hilton London Wembley on the evening of 12 June 2014.

Tickets for the awards are now available, price £175 (or £1,495 for a table of 10) – contact Sarah Harris (sarah.harris@intentmedia.co.uk) for more.

A wide variety of sponsorship opportunities are also available: contact Ian Graham (ian.graham@intentmedia.co.uk) for the details. I www.installawards.com

6 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

NAMM

UNITED STATES

Sound the trumpets – NAMM is here!

NAMM 2014 The Californian sun lit up NAMM this year, a welcomed improvement on last year’s event, which saw only a couple of hours of sunshine over the four days.

As expected, the new equipment on offer did not disappoint, and luckily, we were there to see and hear the latest in pro-audio technology.

TRADE SHOWS, eh?

For the most part, they just can’t stop growing – which is a good sign for all sectors of the business.

NAMM was no exception: the organiser reports a total of 1,533 exhibiting companies representing 5,010 brands (and a 6% increase in international exhibitors). Buyer numbers were up by 2% on the previous year – though, the sunshine must have kept more people outside listening to music on the live stages for longer. The final tally of registrants was 96,129, says NAMM. It was certainly busy. Here’s what we saw.

QSC Audio released the TouchMix Series compact digital mixers, including the TouchMix-8 (12 input channels) and TouchMix-16 (20 input channels). Featuring a touch screen display, the new units are completely self-contained and do not require connection to an external computer or display.

With its 4-band, fully parametric EQ with both variable hi-and lo-pass filters, as well as comprehensive dynamics processing on each input channel, the new range offers the functionality of a full size mixer in a compact, digital unit.

The TouchMix-8 carries four auxiliary output channels and the TouchMix-16 has 10 allowing for sufficient stage monitor mixing capability. Both models are also able to drive multiple, wired stereo in-ear monitors directly.

The new range also features a graphic EQ, hi- pass, lo-pass and notch filters and delay, available on both the main and

aux outputs. There are eight DCA groups with mutes as well as eight mute groups. The new QSC mixers have a library of channel pre-sets installed, designed by applying all types of instruments as well as popular microphones and pickups.

Allen & Heath announced the latest addition to its range of compact digital mixers with the Qu-16, the follow up to last year’s popular Qu-16. The new unit features 24 mic/line inputs and a fader for each mic input channel. A high resolution touchscreen featuring the ‘touch

Qu-24 digital mixer from Allen & Heath

QSC’s TouchMix Series digital mixer

channel’ gives easy access to channel processing, the FX racks and all the setup and system management controls.

The Qu-Drive multitrack recorder is integrated into the mixer, as well as the dSNAKE for remote I/O and personal monitoring, multi-channel USB streaming to Mac, Qu-Pad control app, and iLive’s renowned FX library. “Building on the key features of the hugely successful Qu-16, Qu-24 is an exciting follow up. During the design process we aimed to retain a compact format with all

M

showreview

DPA news at ProLight+Sound, stand no. 8C71.

8 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

M

The Soundcraft Realtime Rack comes loaded with UA plug-ins mic inputs on one layer, with extra matrix, groups and FX sends to suit larger applications,” says Rob Clark, A&H R&D director.

The mixer also has three stereo inputs, four FX engines with four dedicated sends and stereo returns, 20 mix outputs including two stereo matrix mix outputs and two stereo groups with full processing, patchable AES digital output with a 2-channel ALT output, dedicated talkback mic input, and 2-track output.

S oundcraft introduced the Realtime rack, with a vast library of UAD plug-ins from Universal Audio compatible with all Soundcraft Vi Series digital consoles. The Realtime Rack is a 1U (one rack unit) enclosure capable of processing up to 16 channels of a MADI data. Up to four units can also be ‘daisychained’ to process 32, 48 or 64 channels concurrently.

Saija Luontama inspects the 8010 The Realtime Rack hardware/ software combination allows users of Soundcraft Vi consoles to combine Universal Audio’s UAD Powered Plug-Ins with ultra-low latency and have full snapshot store and recall within the console’s CUE/Snapshot system.

Two versions of the Soundcraft Realtime Rack

are available, firstly, the Core – preloaded with 14 classic Harman and UAD plug-ins, while the Ultimate version carries 72 plug-ins including emulations of well-known analogue hardware from brands such as Neve, Studer, Lexicon, Manley, and others.

Audionamix showcased its ADX TRAX audio separation software. ADX TRAX can separate full audio mixes into two individual audio files, one containing the vocal track and the other containing the accompanying music track.

The user-friendly software features editing tools that will be familiar to all DAW users.

It is compatible with multiple file formats and is able to separate audio on mono and stereo recordings.

“ADX TRAX puts a piece of our innovative, melodic source separation technology into the hands of the professional music community,” says Rick Silva, VP of production and product manager at Audionamix.

Silva continues: “We’ve designed TRAX to be a user friendly tool for speeding up the labour-intensive task of creating vocal isolations and instrumental tracks. By utilising the power of cloud computing, the process is now automated for quick, high-quality results.” The software is client and cloud based, designed to be used on Mac OS 10.6 or later.

Finnish loudspeaker manufacturer Genelec brought the latest addition to its Genelec 8000 range, the Genelec 8010.

The compact 8010 is suitable for

1,533 OB vans and mobile or smaller studios and features a balanced XLR input, a 3-inch bass driver, 3/4-inch tweeter and Class D power amplifiers. It’s Universal Power Supply-ready too.

The monitor carries energy saving Intelligent Signal Sensing

The Event line array by D.A.S. Audio

number of exhibitors

(ISS) circuitry that will put the monitor to sleep when a signal hasn’t been detected for a prolonged amount of time. It will automatically be woken up when a signal is detected again, however the circuitry can be bypassed if this function is not

Kazuo Matsushita, A-T president, wearing M50x headphones

Frank Oglethorpe of Prism Media Products showcasing the Atlas audio interface

M

showreview

NAMM

10 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

96,129

M

showreview needed. Genelec’s Lars-Olof Janflod told PSNEurope the 8010 offers “twice the output and twice the power” of the older 6010.

Latvia-based JZ Microphones has put its 20 years of experience into the production of the company’s first channel strip. The JZ Track, produced

by SPL in Germany to JZ specifications, was on display.

It is a 1U mono unit pre-amplifier carrying a de-esser, compressor/limiter stage, output stage with metering and a 3-band EQ stage.

Linking the compressor to a second JZ Track compressor will allow for the coherent stereo operation of two units.

The company will also offer an optional A-D card with SPDIF and ADAT outputs.

“When JZ Microphones asked us to make a special channel strip for them we were excited and proud at the same time,” says managing director of SPL, Hermann Gier.

The Southern Californiabased analogue equipment manufacturer, Manley, has developed the Core, an all-in-one mic preamp, compressor, equaliser and limiter combo unit.

Sporting an illuminated analogue display and a 3-way meter to read compressor gain reduction, mic preamp output level, and main output audio levels, the company maintains: “The intuitive design incorporates musical and forgiving circuitry that allows the user to concentrate on performance rather than be lost in a sea of knobs.”

The Midas M32 Digital Mixing Console

Darin Leach demonstrating the ADX TRAX audio separation software

Line 6 CEO Paul Foeckler (L) with Yamaha Corporation president Takuya ‘Tak’ Nakata

EveAnna Manley, president of Manley Labs, said: “As more musicians are contributing to a project

remotely, coached by the recording engineer over the telephone, we saw the need to provide an affordable and

Gabriella Corning with the Optical Cables by Corning easy-to-use, excellent sounding recording channel for these guys. The Core is feature-laden without being confusing. Its whole purpose is to give the musician the tools he needs to turn in a great sounding track.”

Audio-Technica exhibited its new M-Series professional monitor headphones at NAMM, overhauled for 2014 and now with added ‘x’(!). The ATH-M20x, ATH-M30x and ATH-M40x feature 40mm drivers, while the ATH-M50x carries goes large with 45mm.

All the new models carry rare earth magnets, copper-clad aluminium voice coils, as well as a circum-aural design for improved sound isolation.

The M20x and M30x have been designed for studio tracking and mixing. The collapsible M40x are designed for DJ monitoring and the M50x, with its larger drivers and sound isolating ear cups, is “perfect for recording,

number of registrants

broadcast, DJ, live sound or personal listening”.

Prism Sound (exhibiting with US partner Prism Media Products) unveiled the new Atlas audio interface, the third new interface product to be released by the company in eight months. The interface has eight of Prism Sound’s mic preamps integrated as standard and is designed with the company’s acclaimed CleverClox clocking technology.

Prism Sound states that the “latest addition to the USB interface family is aimed squarely at multitrack recording applications”. Atlas features ten digitally controlled preamplifiers, eight for microphones and two for instruments, which are automatically selected when the respective sources are plugged in.

“Launching three new products in less than a year is a record for Prism Sound and indicates our determination to offer recording professionals a wide choice of the high quality, richly featured and competitive tools that they want and need,” says Graham Boswell, the company’s sales director.

D.A.S. Audio debuted the Event Series self-powered line array speakers, featuring two models, the Event 208A and the Event 210A. The Event 208A and the Event 210A are 3-way powered line arrays in double 8-inch and double 10-inch configurations respectively. Both models are powered by a three-channel Class D amplifier, which provides a peak of 360W per channel.

The loudspeaker units have been teamed up with a single M-75 compression driver and purpose-designed injected aluminium high frequency waveguide. This new range includes a twin 18-inch companion subwoofer, which makes use of D.A.S. LX series long-excursion loudspeakers.

The front-loaded system is powered by a Class D amplifier, with a peak of 3,600W, which achieves a rated maximum peak SPL of 140dB. It features a cardioid pre-set mode switch offering specific signal treatment for easy set-up of pairs of systems in cardioid subwoofer applications.

Among many releases from Uli Behringer’s Music Group was the Midas M32 Digital Mixing Console. This is a 40-input digital

February 2014 l 11

www.psneurope.com

NAMM

showreview Studiomaster Venture Series

NAMM IN BRIEF IN OTHER NAMM news, Universal Audio introduced the Apollo Twin. This Thunderbolt audio interface for Mac combines the same 24/192kHz audio conversion of UA’s Apollo series with onboard Realtime UAD SOLO or DUO Processing. With its ergonomic desktop design, rugged construction and front panel headphone and instrument connections, Apollo Twin allows Mac users to record at near-zero latency through the full range of UAD Powered Plug-Ins. Apogee Electronics released the MiC 96k, a high fidelity, studio quality cardioid condenser microphone. The MiC 96k is the follow up to the Apogee MiC, released in 2011.

Designed for vocal and acoustic instrument recording, the MiC 96k works with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Mac. Blue, known for its distinctive microphone designs, announced its headphones market debut with a preview of the Mo-Fi

PMC twotwo sub

mixer featuring the “1-million lifecycle” Midas Pro faders. It is 96kHz ready and carries 192kHz A-D/D-A converters. Featuring a design made from carbon fibre and aluminium, the device was designed by a Bentley Motors industrial designer, claims the company.

Multiple expansion cards such as Dante, MADI and ADAT are available for digital networking. An on-board 32×32 USB interface allows real-time tracking. Al Walker, senior product manager said: “We’ve been listening to our customer requests for a lightweight, durable and transportable Midas console.”

The glass and ceramics maker, Corning, made its NAMM

Apollo Twin

Apogee MiC 96k

Pebble & Bam-Bam from Unity

Eventide H9 Core

range of headphones, ahead of a Q2 launch. John Maier, CEO of Blue said: “The market is plenty crowded with lo-fi headphones for mobile devices.

But classic hi-fi headphones are too power hungry for our mobile devices.”

Chandler showcased the follow up to the TG2 pre-amp/ DI, the TG2-500.

The company writes that it “produces the same sound of the EMI TG12428 pre-amp,

used in EMI/Abbey Road recording and mastering consoles in the late ’60s and early ’70s, in the company’s 500 series module form factor.”

Following a successful crowd funding run on Indiegogo, CEntrance unveiled the MixerFace mobile recording interface. MixerFace features two studio-grade microphone pre amplifiers allowing professional recording on smartphones, laptops and tablets.

Eventide released the latest addition to the company’s H9 stomp box line, the H9 Core.

Ray Maxwell, Eventide’s VP of sales and marketing said: “The un-bundled H9 Core is the perfect add-on for an H9 owner.”

PMC unveiled the twotwo sub1 subwoofer. The built-in amplifier delivers 400W with an

debut with its Optical Cables technology. According to the company, the cables are capable of transferring data at speeds of up to 5Gbps through USB or up to 10Gbps through Thunderbolt technology and up to 20Gbps through Thunderbolt 2.

By using optical fibre technology, there is no electromagnetic interference (EMI) with the cables, ensuring a smooth and balanced audio track. The optical cables maintain high-data transfer speeds over much longer distances than copper cables.

The company’s fibre-optic cables can reach lengths of up to 60m and are 50% smaller, 80% lighter and much stronger than comparable copper

cables. The high speed data transferring and the potential to span longer distances make the cables ideal for recording studios and on location recording and editing.

Finally, the announcement was made just before the Christmas holidays but was cemented at the NAMM show, as Yamaha revealed that it had completed its acquisition of Line 6 on the first day of business. “This move is part of Yamaha’s strategic management plan to promote business growth through mergers and acquisition and serves as a driving force in creating innovation and reaching new markets. We are very excited to conclude that Yamaha has found the best

CEntrance MixerFace active frequency response from 22Hz up to 200Hz. The subwoofer can be used in a 2.1 configuration with twotwo series monitors in order to gain extra bass and headroom.

Studiomaster showcased the Venture Series cabinets, available in 1,000W active and passive models. The cabinets are described as high power, high performance and

ultra-light.

Studiomaster director of R&D, Paul Belcher, states, “The performance and quality of the Venture Series matches any 1,000W compact PA speaker currently available, and at a very competitive price.

UK equipment manufacturer, Unity Audio, launched its latest offering in the form of the active Pebble and Bam Bam studio monitors. By using the Bam Bam and Pebble together, the Pebble will be turned into a three-way system with an external bass woofer and unwanted low frequency cabinet resonance will be completely reduced.

EveAnna Manley presents the Core channel strip partner in Line 6, without question,” said Yamaha Corp president Takuya Nakata at a

busy press confidence. It begs the question: what’s next on the shopping list? I

12 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

industrymovers

Gray expectations for Source Distribution Tim Gray appointed as commercial audio sales manager for HHB’s UK-based distributor IN RESPONSE to HHB Source’s growth in the commercial audio sector, Tim Gray has been made responsible for developing and managing the company’s growing network of live sound dealers, rental companies and AV installers.

An experienced musician and FOH engineer, Gray’s career started in a technical sales role at Shuttlesound, before progressing to sound reinforcement manager at Arbiter. He later joined Tannoy as area sales manager.

Howard Jones, Source’s director of distributed brands

said: “Tim’s joining Source at a really exciting stage of our development. 2013 saw another year of double-digit growth for us, and we see Tim’s business development skills as a springboard to yet more success in a market sector that’s increasingly important to us. We feel that we’ve got a really interesting product offering for the commercial audio market, and with Tim’s experience and connections we believe that Source’s future has just got a whole lot more exciting!” www.sourcedistribution.co.uk

L-R: Juan Recouso, Jo Griffin, Nigel Brake, Polar Audio

Rick Lowenstein, Avid

Mitch Weaver, Avid

Domenico Gambino, Barix

Andrea Ippolito, Outline

Anastasia Klinushkina, Outline

Matt Ward, Brainworx

William van Druten, Audio XL

Evan MacKenzie, American Sound & Music

Avid has appointed Rick Lowenstein as senior vice president of customer success and professional services, while Mitch Weaver is appointed vice president of software development. Avid CEO, Louis Hernandez Jr said: “We welcome Rick’s experience in leading professional services for a number of premier technology organisations, while Mitch’s track record in leading technical operations will enable us to build on our heritage of building groundbreaking solutions for the most complex workflow environments.” www.avid.com

Loudspeaker manufacturer Outline has announced the appointment of Andrea Ippolito as engineer and Anastasia Klinushkina as business developer.

CEO Giorgio Biffi commented: “The team’s expansion is a further step in our development and expansion process at an international level. There are countries with a high development potential, in which our brand’s appeal could be greatly appreciated. Young people are an indispensable resource since, as well as their technical skills, they are able to communicate new ideas using many different media.” www.outline.it

Barix, the Zurich-based IP audio and control specialist, has announced the appointment of Barbara Haller-Rietschel as vice president of marketing communications while Domenico Gambino transitions to vice president of sales. “It’s my goal to sharpen sales and support focus in the short term through our current product offering, while developing a long-term roadmap in collaboration with our product marketing team to fulfill market expectations moving forward,” said Gambino. Haller-Rietschel, commented: “We are refreshing our strategy to more effectively adapt to changing customer needs across the markets we serve.” www.barix.com

Matt Ward, former president of Universal Audio, has been appointed CEO of plug-in developer Brainworx’s newly-formed US division, Brainworx USA. “Following his work with Universal Audio and beyond, he is the perfect fit for Brainworx with his widely-spread contacts and the respect he has gained for himself in the pro-audio industry,” said Brainworx Germany CEO, Dirk Ulrich. www.brainworx-music.de William van Druten has been appointed as general manager of Benelux distributor, Audio XL. Willy Günther, president of German parent company, Audio Export said: “His leadership and expertise is the perfect match for the

company. Together with the entire team of Audio XL, he will promote the ongoing success of Benelux’s leading pro-audio distributor to the next level.” www.audioxl.be www.audioxl.nl Evan MacKenzie has been named lead marketing and communications of American Music & Sound. President Lyn Martin said: “Evan’s experience brings a strong level of strategic, original thinking and expertise to the process of branding and promoting everything from entertainment to consumer products to musical instruments and pro-audio components.

His experience at discovering new and compelling marketing opportunities and then executing them successfully is a strong addition to the American Music & Sound team.” www.americanmusicandsound.com Polar Audio has welcomed five new people to their team. Nigel Brake, Alison Knight and Allison Geal will be joining the internal sales team whilst Jo Griffin has joined the accounts department. Juan Recouso has been appointed to boost the warehouse operations.

Managing director John Midgley said: “Strengthening staffing levels is vital to supporting our operation as it strives to meet the increased demand brought on by our expansion.” I www.polaraudio.co.uk

14 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

For more events news visit www.psneurope.com/events

expos&events

EDITORIAL PLANNER

SPOTLIGHT PROLIGHT+SOUND 12-15 March Frankfurt, Germany www.prolight-sound.com

MARCH f Classic Kit

PROLIGHT + SOUND broke attendance records in 2013, with over 42,000 visitors and 900 exhibitors travelling to Messe Frankfurt for the event. This year, the exhibitions takes place a full month earlier than usual, however that hasn’t stopped big name pro-audio manufacturers from confirming their attendance. To date include d&b audiotechnik, DiGiCo, L-Acoustics and Sennheiser as well as Meyer Sound and Nexo – both having sent new product announcements already.

For Prolight + Sound 2014, the hall concept has been expanded to include some interesting new facilities and services, including the chance to experience German Atmosphere’s 4K display solutions through a daily karaoke competition (yes!). For some more serious information and training, the Prolight + Sound Conference returns this year, covering event technology, media systems and the Verband Deutscher Tonmeister Academy.

What is in the studio that most engineers and producers crave?

And what can be used as a substitute? f Airport!

Delivering the information and the audio across these important travel hubs f Prolight + Sound preview Ahead of the show: what and who to see at the Messe Deadline: 14 February Distribution: 4 March

APRIL

EVENTS Your complete calendar of expos and conferences for the months ahead

f Italy Focus f Theatre Sound

Integrated Systems Europe 2014 4-6 February Amsterdam, Netherlands www.iseurope.org

Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 10 May Copenhagen, Denmark www.eurovision.tv

Roskilde Festival 28 June-6 July Roskilde, Denmark www.roskilde-festival.dk

SIEL 10-14 February Paris, France www.siel-expo.com

Rock im Park 6-9 June Nürnberg, Germany www.rock-im-park.com

Love Supreme Jazz Festival 4-6 July Sussex, UK www.lovesupremefestival.com

Music Producers Guild Awards 13 February London, UK www.mpgawards.com

Pinkpop 7-9 June Landgraaf, Netherlands www.pinkpop.nl

Montreux Jazz Festival 4-19 July Montreux, Switzerland www.montreuxjazz.com

BVE 25-27 February London, UK www.bvexpo.com

UK Music +Sound Awards 27 February London, UK www.masawards.com

PEVE Digital Entertainment 10-11 June London, UK www.screendigest.com/events/peve

IT Broadcast Workflow 8 July London, UK www.broadcastworkflow.com

ISCEx 2014 5 March Milton Keynes, UK www.isce.org.uk

PALME Middle East 15-17 April Dubai, UAE www.palme-middleeast.com

ABTT 11-12 June London, UK www.abttheatreshow.co.uk

Umbria Jazz 11-20 July Perugia, Italy www.umbriajazz.com

CeBIT 11-15 March Hanover, Germany www.cebit.de

LLB 23-25 April Stockholm, Sweden www.llb.se

Isle of Wight Festival 12-15 June Isle of Wight, UK www.isleofwightfestival.com

Exit Festival 10-13 July Novi Sad, Serbia www.exitfest.org

Prolight + Sound 12-15 March Frankfurt, Germany www.prolight-sound.com

136th AES Convention 26-29 April Berlin, Germany www.aeg.org

Download Festival 13-15 June Donington Park, UK www.downloadfestival.co.uk

Sea Dance Festival 15-17 July Budva, Montenegro www.exitfest.org

CABSAT 2014 23-25 March Dubai, UAE www.cabsat.com

PLASA Focus 30 April-1 May Leeds, UK www.plasafocus.com

InfoComm 2014 14-20 June Las Vegas, US www.infocommshow.org

Latitude Festival 17-20 July Southwold, UK www.latitudefestival.co.uk

NAB 5-10 April Las Vegas, US www.nabshow.com

The Great Escape 8-10 May Brighton, UK www.escapegreat.com

Glastonbury 25-29 June Pilton, UK www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Sziget Festival 11-18 August Budapest, Hungary www.sziget.hu

f Prolight + Sound review Deadline: 20 March Distribution: 4 April

MAY f The Radio Studio f Business in BRIC regions f AES Berlin preview Deadline: 16 April Distribution: 1 May

PSNLIVE f The annual report will be redesigned and published two months earlier this year!

JUNE f World Cup/Sound for Stadiums f Widgets and Essential Kit f On the Road (diary) f ABTT + InfoComm previews Deadline: 21 May Distribution: 4 June

JULY f The Modern Conference f Commonwealth Games preview Deadline: 30 June Distribution: 10 July

16 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

Studio SOUNDBITES Pan Acoustics, the Germanybased advanced steerable audio specialist, has named AV-Huset as the company’s new Denmark distribution partner. Jan Leerschool, Pan Acoustics international sales manager, said: ”AV-Huset has the technical resources, experience and a strong portfolio of synergetic brands, combined with excellent relationships with key integrators and consultants in the Danish area.” www.pan-acoustics.de Funky Junk has been appointed as the exclusive UK distributor for microphone manufacturer Sandhill. Riku Pasanen, Petteri Taponen and Sammy Roiha, all sound engineers, founded the Finland-based company in 2008. “Funky Junk’s catalogue is exceptional and, being a high-end studio microphone, the Sandhill 6011A fitted nicely into their product range,” said Taponen. www.proaudioeurope.com The Waves Audio Schleps 73 plug-in is now shipping.

The 3-band EQ has been developed in association with renowned mixing engineer, Andrew Scheps, modelled on the 1073 console and mic preamp module. “The 1073 is pretty much the gold standard for mic pres and EQs. This plug-in captures all of the character of the original, while adding a great extra midrange band from the 1078,” said Scheps. www.waves.com European data network, GÉANT recently converted NASA Voyager spacecraft data into a musical duet. GÉANT network services product manager, Domenico Vicinanza, who was responsible for the project, commented: “I wanted to compose a musical piece celebrating the Voyager 1 and 2.”

“Data sonification makes it possible to get information about long-range regularities and correlations that are hard to spot just by inspection.” www.geant.net

For the latest studio news www.psneurope.com/studio

WORLD

Art of Vinyl to bring longevity to lathes Art of Vinyl (AoV) is a new business created to continue the niche work of Sean Davies, namely the maintenance of high-quality disc-cutting lathes and associated equipment, writes Dave Robinson REVEALED JUST ahead of the Christmas holidays, Art of Vinyl (AoV) is a new business created by the formerMetropolis Mastering engineer Crispin Murray, and audio/video equipment repair specialist Duncan Crimmins. The duo aim to continue the niche work of Sean Davies – maintaining high quality disc-cutting lathes and equipment – as the veteran consultant looks towards retirement.

“We set up Art of Vinyl to carry on a level of maintenance, dealing with problems and repairs,” Murray told PSNEurope at the December launch event, which was attended by mastering engineers, associates and friends.

“Hopefully we will push things forward too: remember that innovation called ‘quality’…?”

Murray and Crimmins will engage the help of Audio Related Technology’s technical staff Simon Griffett and Dimuthu Seneviratne when required, while Davies will UNITED STATES

remain an active partner in the initiative for the foreseeable future. AoV knowhow is available to anyone cutting vinyl, from dance music producers to audiophiles, said Murray.

what we can. We are driven by a passion. So in that sense, it’s not like a plumber. At the end of the day, you can always get another plumber. But you can’t get another guy to fix your lathe.”

machines for years, popular models still in operation include the Neumann VMS series, plus machines from Scully (US) and Lyrec (Denmark). The AoV team may eventually look to extend their skills into Europe and beyond.

“We’ve already started making unobtainable parts for lathes – simple things like springs and nuts, bits that were made by Neumann but were incredibly over-engineered.”

Does Murray think anyone will build a brand new disccutter any time soon?

“There are people who have discussed it, but if you scale up the tools required, [a machine] would cost three or four hundred thousand pounds.”

Very little chance of that then.

And as maintaining current

(L-R) Crispin Murray, Sean Davies and Duncan Crimmins at the Art of Vinyl launch Will Art of Vinyl charge a call-out fee for its services, like a plumber might?

“It will be so much a day, and we will endeavour to fix things.

It will cost money, but we will do

Murray said there are “more than 30 but less than a 100” lathes in the UK (though Davies was quoted elsewhere, a decade ago, as saying were “about 50”).

While no one has built new

machines becomes increasingly critical, it looks like Art of Vinyl’s 2014 desk calendar will soon be crammed with appointments. I www.audiorelated.com/ art-of-vinyl

LA-based mix engineer Tony Maserati (pictured) worked on eight of the 14 tracks on the recent surprise album release Beyoncé at his own Mirrorball Studios in Burbank, California, using PMC BB5 XBD Actives at the request of the singer’s long-term A&R representative, Teresa Labarbera Whites. “I never used large monitors,” said Maserati. “I’ve always said most of them are only in studios to impress the clients. Sure, they’ll go loud, but more often than not they’re painful to listen to, especially over extended periods. But the BB5s are large speakers you can actually mix on, use as a reference, and get work done.” I www.pmc-speakers.com

www.psneurope.com

February 2014 l 17

studionews GERMANY

AES bets on Berlin

AES 136 arrives in Berlin on the 120th anniversary of the famous Reichstag building

By Murray Stassen THE 136TH AUDIO Engineering Society convention will be held at the Estrel Hotel in Berlin from 26-29 April 2014.

Formed in 1948, the AES currently has around 14,000 members around the world. This will be the third time the event has been held in Berlin (the last time was 2004) and will be co-chaired by Sascha Spors and Umberto Zanghieri.

The event will see a full programme of tutorials and workshops on different audio-related topics. There will also

be off-site technical tours and social events.

In a statement, the AES writes that there will be a “strong focus on sound for picture, recording, and broadcast aspects of audio engineering.”

The Project Studio Expo (PSE) will also make its European debut at the convention, following the successful appearance at AES events in New York and San Francisco. The PSE will feature a special technology showcase where participating companies will have the opportunity to meet with end users. I www.aes.org

UNITED KINGDOM DJ AND producer Supa Dups has become one of the first recipients of the latest offering from Prism Sound, the Titan USB multi-track audio interface. The Grammy Award-winning producer’s studio already features the Prism Sound Lyra 2. ”Prism Sound is the Rolls-Royce of converters and there’s nothing else that

sounds like it,” said Supa Dups.

“The other day I was working with a band and plugged the guitar and bass into it at the same time and used it right there on the spot.

It sounded excellent. Basically it has become the centrepiece of the studio. Everything about it is awesome.” I www.prismsound.com

18 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

studioreport AUSTRIA

Prime Studios wires a classic

By Erica Basnicki AUSTRIA’S PRIME STUDIOS has added a third control room, C, and a fourth live area to its facility in order to house its latest addition: a classic EMI TG12345 MkIV console, built originally for Abbey Road Studios. It’s one of only two in the world, with British producer Mike Hedges owning its twin.

All the cabling and connectors for the new installation is by Van Damme, specified and ordered from VDC Trading using its new online YouSpec system, now an integral part of the VDC website.

Studio C is acoustically separated from the main

building and features a customised 5.1 surround reference sound system by Surrountec.

The cabling included 24 pairs of 7m Blue EDAC90 cables male to male, 48 pairs of 1m Blue EDAC90 cables male to female and 40m of Blue series with various Neutrik connectors. The completed order was then sent to Prime Studios by international courier.

Prime studios’ Gerhard Buchbauer commented: “The YouSpec online service from VDC is more than handy to easily choose the cable type needed. We have chosen the Blue Series for Control C. It is more than great to have the ability to choose pin wiring

Prime Studios wired its new EMI TG12345 MkIV control room usingYouSpec and to even completely customise the wiring for the cables online.”

YouSpec is a relatively new application on the VDC site, allowing web visitors to

design, specify, price-up and order completely bespoke cable solutions, from simple audio leads to complex stage-boxes to tails and multi-core loom configurations.

The YouSpec functionality is also designed to support mobile working via tablet computers.

Niall Holden, VDC’s CEO said “Using YouSpec, our customers can specify the Van Damme cable, the colour, the exact length, the connectors, and so on, and VDC will manufacture the design and ship it directly to them.

“As we have already seen, this is especially invaluable to clients who are overseas and in different time zones.” I www.primestudio.at www.vdctrading.com

February 2014 l 19

www.psneurope.com

studionews UNITED KINGDOM

Horn to receive MPG Award as Sarm keeps recording PRODUCER TREVOR HORN will receive the award for “outstanding contribution to UK music” at the 2014 Music Producers Guild Awards this month.

The award, sponsored by PPL, recognises Horn’s influential career in which he has penned and produced hits for artists such as Robbie Williams, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Grace Jones.

Fran Nevrkla OBE, chairman of PPL, says: “PPL is particularly proud to be the sponsor of this award, which is bestowed on special individuals by their own community of record producers and others involved in studio production.

Trevor is one of the most uniquely talented creative individuals, having achieved international fame both as a recording artist and a producer. His enormous success over so many decades is almost without parallel and it speaks for itself.”

Trevor Horn: outstanding contributor Horn is an accomplished musician and producer, having earned himself the moniker of “the Man who Invented the Eighties” for his work with the likes of The Pet Shop Boys, Simple Minds, Seal and his production of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?

The 2013 MPG Award will be hosted at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in Vauxhall after being held at Café de Paris for five consecutive years. The decision to change the venue was made in order to accommodate more guests.

In other news, despite last summer’s announcement of the imminent shutdown of Horn’s Sarm Studios in west London, a ‘yard sale’ to clear

out redundant equipment and even a ‘goodbye’-style party, the facility continues to operate.

“The scaffolding might be up on the outside but, inside, Sarm Studios remains a hive of activity,” said a posting on

facebook. “We are pleased to let you know that we’re still up and running, taking bookings and enjoying business-as-usual from now until 31 [sic] June 2014.”

Plans to redevelop the famous Ladbroke Grove rooms into a

number of apartments above two basement studios were first revealed in May 2011, but it wasn’t until August of last year that the team began to move operations away from the Basing Street building. Asked why the

redevelopment had been delayed again, ZTT label manager Ian Peel offered, “All the plans announced last year remain in place. Just the official closing date has been changed.” I www.sarmstudios.com

20 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

studioreport BELGIUM

Rockfabriek looking for partners The Brussels studio has become a true cradle for new talent, but in order to keep pace with technology, the studio needs creative support from the audio manufacturing business, reports Marc Maes ROCKFABRIEK WAS founded some 20 years ago as a recording studio for young people in the Brussels region. An innovative project that today accounts for more than 100 low-profile but high-quality recording sessions per year. The studio, consisting of a recording room, a live room and an event hall, is part of the government funded JES (Jeugd En Stad – ‘Youth in the City’) initiative. The JES-site is the home of a large number of social youth initiatives like a youth hotel, education projects, multimedia training – a melting pot of activities under one roof, inspiring and supporting each other.

“We started out with a two-track recorder and one microphone,” explains Gorik De Smet, chief engineer at the Rockfabriek. “Year after year, we applied for investment budgets with the Flemish Community and sponsors such as the National Lottery – the latter provided the funds to invest in decent preamps and microphones.”

De Smet underlines that the Rockfabriek is not a commercial initiative, yet wants to offer high quality recording equipment.

“We want to offer a solid basis for youngsters who want to learn the job – Rockfabriek also serves as training facility for SAE students, and therefore they must be able to work with the gear used in conventional studios.”

In 2012 Rockfabriek traded their 10-year-old Allen & Heath GS3000 console for 16 pre-amps, straight into the Avid Pro Tools 8 HD2 system with Digidesign 192, offering 16 input channels.

Gorik De Smet, chief engineer

Alongside eight channels of Audient ASP008 pre-amps, De Smet opted for eight topnotch boutique pre-amps including Neve 1073 DPA, API3124+, Universal Audio Solo/610 and Twin Finity 710.

“A variety allowing studio engineers, students and musicians to get to know and appreciate the specs of these classic pre-amps,” continues De Smet.

The control room is equipped with PMC TB2s AII monitor speakers with a TLE1 sub, controlled by a Crane Song Avocet converter. “The selection of microphones (including a Neumann U 87ai, Sennheiser MD241 and a matched pair of AKG C414XLIIs) is based on industry standards – in combination with the pre-amps, the Rockfabriek provides an ideal environment to build a future as engineer or recording artist,” adds De Smet.

The idea is echoed by Stef Van Alsenoy, co-founder of the Rockfabriek and now a recording engineer at the Ancienne Belgique venue. “The idea was to cater for bands who want to record their first demos – there was a vacuum between the true amateurs and the top league artists, and Rockfabriek was filling the gap,” explains Van

Alsenoy. He notes that Rockfabriek sessions are many bands’ first experience in a studio, with individual miking – sometimes revealing imperfections that remain unheard during rehearsals.

“In that respect, Rockfabriek also plays a determinative role, a natural selection between true amateur bands and artists that manage to achieve the next level,” he says. “This experience makes musicians stand out from their peers.”

With government funding becoming more and more difficult, De Smet is now looking for ways to continue the high level of musical youth education/social work. Not the easiest of things with studio rates of €15 per hour.

“A lot of young people have gone beyond the Rockfabriek and pursued a career in music.

I think our project is a correct way to deal with youngsters – alongside the technology we bring them other social skills such as respect for equipment and deadlines, commitment…” he says. “In view of our mission, and with SAE students coming our way for training, we want to establish partnerships or

Hamady Diop, gourd (kalabash) player and Serigne Thiam, musicians of the band Soldier Hems, working with De Smet endorsement deals with leading companies in the audio industry.

Let’s face it: what we get as a government dotation is not sufficient, and any help would be welcome. And the return for the audio brands is obvious: our trainees work with their equipment and get acquainted with the material for future reference and professional use.”

Rockfabriek is involved in a wide range of music projects, developing initiatives for social work, youth education and the music industry. Bands like Black Box Revelation, Puggy, Metal Molly and singer Filip Kowlier are just a few of the artists who recorded at Rockfabriek – just like engineers Allan Muller and

Saïd. “Today, local street-kid hip-hop crews work at Rockfabriek,” concludes Van Alsenoy. “The studio really fulfils a social mission here, and some of these guys actually make it in the business.” + UPDATE: at press time, PSNEurope learned that Sennheiser Benelux had taken the decision to support the studio.

Sennheiser’s Christophe Van Den Berghe told us: “The combination of the social aspect and the technical education is unique in Belgium. This is a perfect opportunity to show our 69 years of experience in professional business to the new rising stars.” I www.derockfabriek.be

February 2014 l 21

www.psneurope.com

studioreport FRANCE

Recording and mix bus New unique mobile studio takes to theFrench roads but has Europe in its sights. Guillaume Schouker reports GW STUDIO, a new and unique mobile recording studio, hit the French roads late last year.

Built within a touring coach, GW (for ‘Guess What’) Studiois probably the country’s first itinerant recording and mixing facility (with a live room and control room, as opposed to professional OB trucks such as Le Voyageur V1).

Dorat explains: “Our structure’s key point is that, contrary to mobile facilities, we’re a full recording studio: that is to say our vehicle is not only composed of a control room to record wherever and our intention is not to go and record at someone’s place in a room that is not necessarily acoustically treated.”

A Tascam DM-4800 console with a MU-1000 24-channel meter bridge and

Thomas Dorat (left) and Johan Chauffaille: “Brainwave” GW is the creation of Johan Chauffaille (president) and Thomas Dorat (managing director), both not yet 24 years old.

Chauffaille reveals, “We always had the idea of creating [and] managing our own studio for a long time, but it’s while we were enjoying a barbecue party – I remember, on 29 July 2011! – discussing with friends that we had the brainwave to create one in a touring coach. This way, the project seemed much easier to make profitable straight away.”

GW Studio is housed inside a 12m-long, 3.8m-tall Bova Futura coach.

It includes a separate control room, an isolated recording area, plus a small kitchen and toilet amenities, all – literally – ready to roll.

IF-FW audio interface is the centrepiece of the control room. An Apple iMac 27inch 3.2GHz 16GB RAM runs Avid ProTools 10 and plug-ins.

Monitoring is through apair of Focal Chorus 816V as main and Yamaha HS-7 as secondaries. “We will soon be equipped with Focal Solo 6 BE speakers,” says Chauffaille.

A range of mics from Shure, Sennheiser, Neumann (TLM 103 and U87), Audio-Technica and AKG are available, as are a number of musical instruments. GW will rent in outboard gear on request.

Dorat says, “Even if, at the very beginning of the project,we were aiming at the French market only, we recently had

Band on the roof: Kill Franklin take a ride with GW Studio quotation requests from Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. We are considering a European tour with some French bands.”

“Honestly, what drove usto create this studio is our passion,” adds Chauffaille.“We staked all because we were convinced our structure meets needs that are different from regular

recording studios. The economic crisis is a reality indeed but, if no one tacklesit head on, who will offer artists with low budgets a solutionto record?”

First onboard at GW in 2014 will be French act Kill Franklin, recording their debut album. I www.gwstudio.fr

February 2014 l 23

www.psneurope.com

For the latest broadcast news www.psneurope.com/broadcast

broadcast SOUNDBITES

RUSSIA/BRAZIL

Lawo for Brazil and Russia 2014

Bel Digital Audio has supplied specialist broadcast monitors and digital delays to China’s Shenzhen Media Group (SMG) via Bel’s Chinese dealer Hiroshi Technologies in Hong Kong. SMG has just completed a refit of their 200sqm Shenzhen City studio, which will be used by the Shenzhen TV Company. As part of the refit, Hiroshi Technologies supplied two of Bel’s new BCR-A4-4OB in-rack monitors and two of their 7150 audio synchronisation delays.

‘High profile sporting events’ to benefit from audio and videoover-IP technology. Murray Stassen reports GLOBAL BROADCAST services provider, Bexel, has announced that it will be using Lawo’s audio and video-over-IP networking technology for high profile sporting events in Brazil and Russia this year.

Bexel was responsible for supporting CBS International’s broadcast feeds at the US open in New York and less than a month later; the company’s systems were used for the PGA Grand Slam in Bermuda.

The international stereo feed for the US open was supplied by fitting out control rooms one and two with a

48-fader Lawo mc256 MkII. For broadcasters who wanted to produce in surround sound, two additional crowd microphones were supplied.

The company says that the system configuration included “a Lawo mc256 mixing console and a DALLIS (Digital, Analog, Line Level Interface System) frame with the analogue I/O linked to the console’s HD Core using Ravenna over a single Cat-5 line.”

Bexel project manager, Johnny Pastor, says: “Operators were impressed not only with

how good the Lawo consoles sounded, but also with ease of operation, requiring only a short ramp up for those Lawo will once again play a part in delivering sport in 2014 who had never worked a Lawo console previously, and NBC Olympics, a division the ability to build custom of the NBC Sports Group, setups on the fly – tailored to during its production of the each operator’s unique 2014 Olympic Winter Games requirements and preferences.” in Sochi, Russia, from In other news, Calrec Audio 6-23 February. I www.lawo.com will provide five Artemis www.calrec.com Consoles to American-based

UNITED KINGDOM

Banner year for Broadcast Networks

By Erica Basnicki SYSTEMS INTEGRATION specialist Broadcast Networks completed a number of projects during 2013 for international organisations such as Chellomedia, News UK and the Dutch Parliament.

“2013 was a successful year for Broadcast Networks with both new and repeat business,” said managing director Tom Haye.

“As we start 2014, our new partnership with IEC gives us the investment we need to push the company to the next level, while the expansion of our team allows us to deliver the added value customers now demand.”

As the preferred SI partner for Chellomedia, Broadcast

24-channel playout system for a new Arts channel, the rebuild of Chellomedia’s master control room, an entire upgrade of the broadcaster’s automation system to ITX2 and the installation of a number of smaller playout systems.

Back in the UK, Broadcast Networks installed a Master Broadcast Networks’ 18-camera, armoured Control Room and surveillance vehicle built for the Dutch police three new television studios at News UK’s Networks completed various key headquarters in London. The infrastructure projects for the studios are now being used by international media company The Sun newspaper to create news including the installation of a content for its online editions.

Other notable projects completed during 2013 include the installation of audio and video equipment at the Dutch Parliament, enabling meetings to be streamed over the internet, and the design and build of an 18- camera surveillance vehicle for the Dutch police, which is now being regularly used to support large scale events.

“As a systems integrator with experience in the live production and playout arenas, Broadcast Networks is ideally placed to deliver the leading edge solutions our customers demand and consolidate our position as a leading international systems integrator,” concluded Haye. I www.bcnet.co.uk

Audio-Technicahas announced its recent joining of the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers (IABM). Membership of the IABM will provide benefits such as market research from within the industry and increased brand recognition. Matthias Exner, business development director for the company said: “Broadcast is becoming an ever more important industry for Audio-Technica, and with new products arriving in 2014, this is an opportune time to become involved with an industry body as active as IABM.” www.audio-technica.com Waves Audio is now shipping the second generation of the WLM Loudness Meter plug-in, the WLM Plus. The new plug-in is totally compliant with current ITU, EBU and ATSC specs. It also includes updated presets that meet ARIB TR-B32 and OP-59 requirements as well as two further presets that are useful for gaming content creators for levelling, when working on the Sony ASWG (Audio Standards Working Group) loudness scanner.

Mongolian National Public Radio (MNB) has selected an archiving solution from NOA Audio Solutionsto power the broadcaster’s move to a completely digital archive. More than 20,000 hours of audio dating from 1954 will be archived using the new system, comprising the jobDB workflow system, mediaButler transcoding engine, dual NOA Record tape ingest systems, and DBScripter for standard metadata exports. www.noa-audio.com

24 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

broadcastevent SOUNDBITES Video Europe is building a new HD/5.1 OB truck with a Calrec Omega console for light entertainment, music and sports projects. The UK-based hire company intends the new OB3 to be a ‘cross-hire’ vehicle for rental by other outside broadcast companies.

Jonathan Lyth, systems manager at C2S, comments that a major challenge was to get “a high level of equipment in a small double-expanding OB footprint whilst providing operational comfort.” www.videoeurope.co.uk Scrub has provided Absolute Radio in London with the latest Avid Pro Tools software and hardware as part of the station’s latest upgrade. Head of broadcast technology and IT, Dean Woodcock, explains why the decision was made to switch to Pro Tools: “Our producers are often expected to turn around content in minutes, so the fasterthan-real-time offline bounce is essential when they are working on the station’s branded content.” www.hhb.co.uk Evolutions, the UK-based independent post-production house, will open a new facility in the heart of Soho at 2 Sheraton Street, off Wardour Street. Evolutions’ operations director, Owen Tyler, said: “It is a pleasure to be able to build a facility from the ground up, delivering to the evolving needs of file-based television in 2014 without having to work around a baseband legacy infrastructure designed for the last decade.” www.evolutions.tv VB Audio has announced the release of its latest version of the MT128 recording software, ideal for live broadcast environments. The latest software has an integrated soundpad module, which operates completely independently of the MT128 recording and playback workflow. Developed as a sample reader, the sound pad can launch sounds in several different ways via a touch screen, MIDI keyboard or fader start and it supports all file formats. www.vb-audio.com

UNITED KINGDOM

More support for UK digital radio Backed by broadcasters, network providers and car manufacturers, the UK government is to increase efforts during 2014 to promote digital technology as the future for radio, writes Kevin Hilton PROPOSED FUNDING of £21 million and a possible second national commercial digital multiplex were the key announcements made at the Go Digital Conference held just before Christmas at the Radio Theatre in BBC New Broadcasting House.

Hosted by Digital Radio UK, the organisation that will oversee any switchover from analogue transmission, the event was attended by industry representatives from Europe as well as the UK. In opening remarks, Ed Vaizey, minister for culture, communications and the creative industries, stated the government’s commitment to a move away from analogue broadcasting by saying: “I absolutely believe the future of radio in this country is digital.”

To boost the adoption of digital radio, Vaizey announced a series of measures, including a

£21 million programme by the government, the BBC and the commercial radio sector to create local multiplexes to cover 90% of the UK population; a second national commercial multiplex

the growth of DAB+, which is being used in both Germany and the Netherlands, among other countries.

On the consumer side the retail chain Halfords, which specialises

WorldDMB is headed by president Patrick Hannon president of WorldDMB, said: “WorldDMB supports the many positive announcements made by the UK government, public and commercial broadcasters, and the UK automotive and digital radio

“WorldDMB supports the many positive announcements made by the UK government, public and commercial broadcasters, and the UK automotive and digital radio manufacturing industries” Patrick Hannon, WorldDMB licence to be offered during 2014; government backing for local stations to move to digital; and a Digital Tick mark on consumer equipment.

Vaizey also pointed to the shift towards digital on the international radio scene, with Norway and Denmark committed to switch over from analogue in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Also significant is

in equipment for cars, has announced that its range of radios will be fully digital from 2015 onwards. Auto manufacturer Ford is also committing to making DAB standard in selected commercial vehicles and is working with Radioplayer to provide streamed radio services in cars as well as vans.

Commenting on the announcements, Patrick Hannon,

manufacturing industries. The UK has shown that it is clearly committed to a digital future for radio – with generous investment and support from the UK government. I am delighted that the UK government and leading industry figures will continue to take a strong lead in the development of digital radio around the world.” I www.worlddab.org

UNITED KINGDOM

DPP compliant file processor from Wohler

By Kevin Hilton WOHLER HAS launched a filebased processing system to work specifically with new UK broadcast delivery specifications, including loudness and channel format.

It conforms to the UK Digital Production Partnership (DPP) standards for exchanging programme material from facilities and between broadcasters, which will move to completely databased operations from October this year.

WohlerDPP is described as a turnkey package that has been

Wohler RadiantGrid vice president Craig Newbury

built on the RadiantGrid Intelligent Media Transformation platform. RadiantGrid vice president Craig Newbury comments that augmentations for WohlerDPP have been added to established technologies in the existing system.

Specific audio features include a loudness controller based on Linear Acoustics’ intelligent analysis and correction technology. Newbury adds there are also functions for channel mapping, Dolby encoding and decoding, downmixing and up-mixing. “The system is able to take a variety

of files that post organisations have to deal with now,” Newbury comments. “In the past there have been thousands of permutations for audio structure as people had slightly different workflows, which was complex, but there is a move to a common structure with DPP.” Facilities and other programme suppliers are now having to consider delivering DPP AS-11 files to broadcasters, with the added requirement for post houses to perform quality control checks (see facing page). I www.wohler.com

February 2014 l 25

www.psneurope.com

broadcastnews UNITED KINGDOM

Post houses consider being the QC front end The UK DPP is recommending that the bulk of QC testing and measurement of material for Broadcast be done by post houses. Consultant Neil Hatton discusses what this might mean for facilities, writes Kevin Hilton TEST AND measurement (T&M) and quality control (QC) are necessary parts of the production chain but creativity has to be taken into account because what might appear to be a fault according to strict technological criteria could be a deliberate use of sound, such as distortion on a phone line.

The purely technical aspects of assessing whether a TV programme is within technical parameters are being

QC should be performed at the start of the production workflow by post-production houses rather than at the point of distribution by broadcasters.

Among the groups keen to implement this is the UK Digital Production Partnership (DPP), representing leading broadcasters, which has stated that manual QC is “no longer the most efficient and cost effective method to support file-based workflows”. Its aim is for

Post-production trade body UK Screen has been monitoring the situation for its members, with Neil Hatton acting as technical liaison between the association and the DPP. Hatton, who headed both Azimuth and Frontier Post facilities, comments that the new methodology will involve delivering fully checked programmes with a QC certificate, most likely as a XML file. “Most post houses have some form of QC regime from

Most post houses have some form of QC regime from the point of view of maintaining their reputations, but in the future there will have to be a formal way of doing it and reporting to the broadcaster” Neil Hatton, consultant standardised and laid out by the European Broadcasting Union in its QC Criteria (EBU Tech 3363). The Strategic Group on QC has worked through more than 500 tests submitted by member broadcasters to produce a harmonised list of 160 checks.

Even though the final version of EBU Tech 3363 is not due to be published until April or May, national broadcast standards bodies are already preparing to adopt the recommendations, including the key change that primary

facilities to use a minimum series of tests and tolerance levels to deliver a fully compliant DPP AS-11 file to broadcasters, which will then carry out a spot check of the programme file and review the QC report.

This major shift in broadcast procedures means postproduction facilities will have to re-evaluate their working practices, particularly with the DPP’s target of October this year for broadcasters to either move completely to file-based operations or, in the case of the BBC, to begin the transition.

the point of view of maintaining their reputations,” he says, “but in the future there will have to be a formal way of doing it and reporting to the broadcaster.”

Hatton explains that at this point the broadcasters will carry out spot checks on the material, including examining any accompanying metadata. “Post houses need to make sure that the client accepts responsibility for the quality of the output on both technical and editorial levels,” he says. “When something is not up to the benchmark there will be an audit

Neil Hatton, UK Screen’s chair of technology working group, and the liaison between the association and the DPP process, which could result in the programme being bounced back to the supplier.”

Under the EBU criteria, tests fall into one of four categories: regulatory, absolute, objective and subjective. Among the most critical of test procedures is loudness. The DPP is following the EBU R128 spec, which last October became the standard target in the UK. “R128 is happening now, whether on tape or in files,” Hatton observes.

“People should have the right equipment for measuring R128 and the correct skills.”

Despite the DPP’s enthusiasm for automated QC, Hatton says there is still a job for “ears and eyeballs” within the testing process, particularly when it comes to tests in the objective and subjective categories. “Things like audio clipping and signal-tonoise ratio can be measured but there are some things that need human judgement,” he explains.

“A scene featuring a walkietalkie voice might be rejected by an automated system but it is a creative choice. And if someone is wearing clunking jewellery in an interview, that needs to be considered as well.”

Moving QC to the front of the production chain is an organisational consideration as well as a technological one. As Hatton points out, broadcasters have long had dedicated QC departments but there are only “a handful” of broadcast companies in the UK, whereas there are at least 200 post-production houses and production companies with their own facilities.

“There will be people doing this who have the skills and they need to be there, it can’t be done on the cheap,” says Hatton. “But the spot checks by broadcasters will be important as well because they will be receiving material from nontrusted suppliers, who they haven’t worked with before, as well as regular, trusted sources.” I www.digitalproductionpartnership. co.uk www.ukscreenassociation.co.uk

February 2014 l 27

www.psneurope.com

For the latest live news www.psneurope.com/live

live EXCLUSIVE

First Meyer LYON system for OneRepublic tour Nashville-based VER Tour Sound brings new linear line array to Europe for leading pop-rock act MEYER SOUND’S latest line array, the recently revealed LYON, is making its world debut on the European tour by OneRepublic. The top-selling American pop-rock group has recently enjoyed a string of Top 10 singles and albums on both sides of the Atlantic. The band’s audio production is hopping across the pond as well, with the complete LYON system package – the first purchased and delivered anywhere – supplied by Nashville-based VER Tour Sound.

Unveiled only a few weeks ago, LYON is the newest member of the LEO Family of self-powered linear sound reinforcement systems. In a lighter and more compact package, LYON maintains the same design concept as LEO, with very high headroom and linear performance across all output levels. LYON comes in two variants: the LYON-M main line array loudspeaker and the LYON-W, with a wider coverage pattern for downfill applications. Both versions will be used on the OneRepublic tour.

According to Ralph Mastrangelo, director of business development at VER Tour Sound, the addition of LYON to the company’s inventory was largely prompted

by VER’s success with LEO. “With its enormous headroom and definition, the LEO system with the 1100-LFC has represented VER Tour Sound exceptionally well, as seen from the continuing

Bassnectar tour and other festivals, where fans have often come to FOH to congratulate our teams on the sound. For this reason, we’re thrilled that VER Tour Sound is the first company to provide LEO’s more compact sibling LYON on a tour. We look forward to bringing the LEO qualities to a much wider range of applications.”

The factory-fresh LYON system will support OneRepublic for 22 shows in 21 cities, stretching from Bratislava to Dublin, beginning with a 13 February booking in Graz, Austria. Well-known mix engineer Zito (Backstreet Boys, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds) is manning FOH, with Matt Manix on monitors and Brett Stec as systems tech.

Exact array configurations will vary by venue, but the LYON touring system will be

Two Earthworks QTC40s were used to record a 5,000-person choir on the first anniversary of Zach Sobiech’s release, Clouds.

The event was arranged and recorded in support of the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund at the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. Producer Karl Demer says: “Earthworks mics kept coming up in my searches for realistic symphonic recordings from a stereo pair, so I reached out to Earthworks through their website.” www.earthworksaudio.com Coda Audio has appointed Viladco as its new Benelux distributor. Head of Viladco, Hans Engelen, says: “There is a lot of interest in Coda products throughout Europe, ViRay is proving very popular and we believe there will be a lot more opportunities opening up over the coming months and years.” www.codaaudio.com www.viladco.nl

(L-R) Ralph Mastrangelo, VER Tour Sound’s director of business development, and front of house engineer Zito it can easily be adapted to a wider range of venues,” says Mastrangelo. “Its smaller form factor reduces transport costs, which get higher every year. Its self-powered advantages and well designed rigging features also make life easier for our crew.”

“With its enormous headroom and definition, the LEO system with the 1100-LFC has represented VER Tour Sound exceptionally well” Ralph Mastrangelo, VER Tour Sound anchored by the LYON-M loudspeaker, along with the LYON-W wide-coverage line array loudspeaker, the 1100-LFC low-frequency control element, and the Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system.

“LYON is a perfect fit for the OneRepublic tour because it delivers LEO’s proven sonic performance and reliability, and

SOUNDBITES

According to Mastrangelo, both the LYON investment and the OneRepublic tour underline VER Tour Sound’s long-range business goals. “At VER Tour Sound, our long-term business strategy involves building lasting relationships with clients that tour internationally. LYON supports that strategy perfectly, as it allows us to package the LEO performance and scale it to

any show, from theatres to the larger outdoor festival sites.”

The LEO Family of linear line array loudspeakers from Meyer marks a “significant shift in how sound reinforcement systems are utilised, particularly for highlevel shows”, says the company.

The loudspeakers have certainly proved popular over the last 18 months, with systems being deployed at the Way Out West Festival in Sweden, Sziget Festival in Hungary and Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, plus on tours for Peter Maffay, Michel Sardou and Rod Stewart, among other applications.

VER Tour Sound is a relatively new division of VER (Video Equipment Rentals), a diversified supplier of event production technology with 21 offices in North America, plus European offices in London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. I www.verrents.com www.meyersound.com

Oxford-based console manufacturer, Solid State Logic, have two new distribution partners for the SSL Live console. TSAMM will now act as the distributor for Austria and Audimonde will be taking care of distribution for Hungary. “Both companies’ experience and success in these territories is clear evidence that we are on the right track,” says Philippe Guerinet, director of international sales for SSL. www.solidstatelogic.com Sound reinforcement specialist Nexo hosted two workshops at the West Évènement open day, dedicated to the loudspeaker products, NS1 configuration and simulation tool and the NeMo remote monitoring app. The open day takes place every two years and the latest event was held at the Le Liberte function hall in Rennes. Concert sound specialist Val Gilbert and Nexo commercial director Jacques Vias presented the two workshops. www.nexo.fr

28 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

livenews BELGIUM

AED Group hosts major K2 line array showcase Belgian hire giant previews forthcoming L-Acoustics system to international audience ahead of the Winter Games, writes Marc Maes ON THE occasion of AED Group’s annual open days late last year (11-12 December 2013), the company’s audio rental division, AED Rent, became the first operation to present an official showcase of the new L-Acoustics K2 line array system.

While AED Group has been beta-testing the system discreetly at various events across Europe, this was the array’s debut in front of a large international audience – some 1,000 audio professionals, in fact.

“The crucial quality of the new K2 series is the weight: at only 56kg, the enclosures weight only half as much as the V-DOSC or K1 speakers,” says Piet Verstraete, head of

the sound department at AED Rent. “The speakers are fully compatible with the K1 and K1 SB low cabinets, allowing users to create flown combinations of K1,

Verstraete says AED Rent have ordered 96 units of K2, and the first batch is expected to be delivered in April. The Group’s inventory of V-DOSC

“The crucial quality of the new K2 series is the weight: at only 56kg, the enclosures weight only half as much as the V-DOSC or Piet Verstraete, AED Rent K1 speakers” K1-SB or K2. And the K2 uses a 12-inch speaker instead of a 15inch. The K2 will allow us to target a much broader client group; whereas the K1 was more for a select group of companies and assignments on big festivals, the K2 is the perfect solution for smaller events.”

will gradually be replaced by the K2 enclosures, he adds.

AED has made a number of substantial investments in L-Acoustics equipment over the last decade, and owns several thousand full-range cabinets, subwoofers, monitors and more.

UNITED KINGDOM

Flare appoints Orbital Sound as first distribution partner PRO-AUDIO SUPPLIER Orbital Sound has become the first distribution partner for Flare Audio Limited.

Chris Headlam’s south London-based sales and rental operation will represent the entire Flare portfolio of live, studio and installation loudspeakers in the UK and Irish markets.

The news emerged as the two companies co-hosted a demo day in mid-January at the Brighton Centre.

Flare Audio managing director Kristin Hanson says: “Our two companies have complementary backgrounds – live touring, entertainment installations, studios and events – making for an extremely

Flare’s Davies Roberts (left) seals the deal

AED’s Piet Verstraete (left) and Koen Conaerts Official K2 roll-out is expected in March in time for Prolight + Sound, while some 200 cabinets are reported to be earmarked for use during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

At the open days, AED Group also inaugurated its brand new 4,000sqm AED Store, offering both new products, used AED gear and customers’ secondhand equipment for sale. I www.aedrent.com

powerful combination. At Flare Audio, we are introducing what is essentially a new approach to sound reinforcement, making the choice of our first major distributor absolutely key.

We were looking for a company that would embrace new ideas and relish the prospect of bringing real innovation to the marketplace, while always putting the customer first.

Orbital Sound has an outstanding reputation on all counts, and represents the ideal match for us.”

Orbital sales director Tom Byrne continues: “Flare Audio’s innovative R&D approach has created a range that delivers high definition audio with exceptional vocal clarity. This is combined with an extremely accurate sonic footprint that is present in every Flare Audio design – from the studio monitors to large-scale stadium line arrays.

This unique blend is something that excites us from a distribution perspective.”

No stranger to controversy, Flare Audio founder Davies Roberts has raised

eyebrows in some circles with his range of designs based on the theory of Waveform Integrity, and the filing of patents for concepts including ‘Space’ enclosure structure technology and ‘Vortex’ exhaust technology.

Byrne says Orbital’s first task will be to establish a nationwide network of partner dealers for the products.

“We have a broad canvas to work on,” he notes, “with products that deliver outstanding performance whatever the application, across the live entertainment market, commercial venues, AV, houses of worship, studios, festivals and touring.

“We will also be putting in place the very best of training and application support, combined with building market awareness.”

With operations in the UK and in the US, Orbital Sound supplies professional audio solutions for sale or rental to clients worldwide, and is ISO 9001 certified in the UK. I www.flareaudio.com www.orbitalsound.co.uk

February 2014 l 29

www.psneurope.com

livenews UNITED KINGDOM

Sound Network expands ahead of 20th anniversary

By Dave Robinson

AHEAD OF this year’s November anniversary of its 20th year in business, London-based pro-audio distributor Sound Network has set about rebranding and expanding its operation.

A move to new premises in Kentish Town has been sweetened by the addition of four new members to the team and one new product range to the distribution portfolio.

Audio professionals Ralph Dunlop and Pete Wandless started Sound Network in November 1994, having conceived the idea in a “café in Crouch End”. Taking on the distribution for DPA Microphones in the UK soon afterwards, the partnership has added Linear Acoustic, Smart Research, Acoustic Energy, China Cones, Optocore and Rycote to its roster over the years.

After nearly two decades in Fitzrovia, the company required larger premises in order to grow, and so relocated to Highgate Studios, a former carpet factory in Kentish Town, but now a centre of new ventures in media, design and technology.

An expanded Sound Network team: (L-R) Caleb Hill, Rob Ramon, Ralph Dunlop, Mat Wandless, Pete Wandless, Adam Pierce and Pete Holmes.

the scenes with manufacturers we already handle, the future is looking bright. We are also looking for complementary new brands to add to the portfolio and look forward to announcing new lines in the coming months.”

Sound Network has recently welcomed new staff, to represent “a new generation of professional audio products”. These are Adam Pierce (UK sales manager), Rob Ramon (product manager), Caleb Hill (marketing manager), Mat Wandless (purchasing and administration manager) and Peter Holmes (IT and technical consultant).

Bubblebee Industries is the latest augmentation to the product portfolio. Hailing from Denmark, Bubblebee creates microphone windshields for sound professionals called ‘windbubbles’. The products were developed by location sound engineer Poul Mejer in Copenhagen and are made with “finest quality” synthetic fur in a range of sizes to accommodate all popular lavalier mics.

“Despite the recession, we have managed to grow year on year, and with all the exciting developments happening behind the scenes with manufacturers we already handle, the future is looking bright” Ralph Dunlop, Sound Network “Sound Network are now in the privileged position to expand in terms of product distribution, personnel and physical space,” says Dunlop.

“We are working very closely with professional users in a variety of market areas

endeavouring to ensure that we have the right products and innovating new and relevant advances.

“Despite the recession, we have managed to grow year on year, and with all the exciting developments happening behind

“Bubblebee lavalier windshields are proven to produce the most effective wind neutralisation, whilst, importantly, maintaining sonic transparency,” says marketing manager Caleb Hill. I www.soundnetwork.co.uk

Dave ‘Lofty’ Lockhart (centre) poses with members of The Blockheads and the Inspired Audio Optima 5 line array system UNITED KINGDOM

Codex Inspired

by Optima 5

By Murray Stassen CODEX AUDIO, the Midlands-based production and rental company, has been supplied with an Inspired Audio Optima 5 line array system by distributor LMC Audio.

Dave ‘Lofty’ Lockhart, owner of Codex Audio – and system technician, tour manager and head sound engineer for veteran punk outfit The Blockheads with whom he is deploying the Optima 5 – said: “When LMC brought Optima 5 over for me to listen to I was very impressed with how well such a small box performed.

“Scalability, flexibility and sound quality all are excellent features of this system, and along with the support I know I will receive from the LMC team it seemed like a logical step for me to take,” added Lockhart. I www.inspired-audio.co.uk

30 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

livenews GERMANY

A Nexo New Year for Silvester

By Murray Stassen BERLIN-BASED RENTAL company, Artecom Veranstaltungs, used Nexo systems for the Berlin Silvester, one of the largest New Year’s Eve parties in the world.

The event featured several stages with various performances from international artists. It took place in front of the Brandenburg Gate, attracting nearly one million people.

Over 200 Nexo cabinets were used throughout the event on the stages and in delay towers. For the largest stages, GEO D10, GEO S12 and GEO S8 main PA systems were used. Nexo PS15s were used for stage monitoring.

Artecom used the new STM series modular line array by Nexo

Nexo systems were installed on the 1.5 km ‘party mile’ at the Berlin Silvester in front of the Brandenburg Gate

for the main stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The Nexo GEO D and GEO S systems were used for the other two stages.

Twenty-four boxes of Nexo STM were used for the main stage PA, including 24 x M46 main and 24 x B112 bass cabinets

which were flown left and right, with 24 x S118 subs groundstacked below. Nexo GEO S805 were used for side fills and Nexo

Alpha cabinets for stage fills.

A full monitor system of Nexo PS15s was used on stage.

An EtherSound network was used to access the main stage PA with a secondary network incorporated for the delay lines.

All the EtherSound networks were controlled from FOH, under technical direction of Johannes Raack.

A third ES network made use of Yamaha AD8HR converters and Auvitran EtherSound mini-YGDAI cards. A common Gigabit network was used to consolidate all the different networks. Fibreglass connections were used to connect devices, some with a distance of 400m between them. I www.artecom-event.de www.nexo.fr

February 2014 l 33

www.psneurope.com

livenews

For the latest live news www.psneurope.com/live SWITZERLAND

TiMax tackles World Theatre

By Erica Basnicki

EVERY SEVEN years the small Swiss monastery town of Einsiedeln turns itself over to a large-scale open-air production of Pedro Calderón’s Welttheater (‘The World Theatre’). A modern re-work was written for the summer of 2013, and to fully support the scale and complexities of the piece, sound design was again put in the hands of award-winning Tom Strebel of Basel’s audiopool, using the TiMax2 SoundHub audio localisation matrix system from Out Board.

This year for the first time Strebel also used TiMax Tracker performer-tracking which controlled the TiMax SoundHub delay-matrix in realtime to achieve fully automated vocal localisation across the entire 2,700 capacity audience.

Strebel comments, “For me, TiMax is now indispensible for theatre production because of the great improvement to the clarity and intelligibility of the speech. You don’t hear it when it is working, but when it’s not there the difference is uncomfortable.

“In the theatre, you can work with light to pinpoint people,”

More than 300 residents committed themselves to the (very) modern rework

Certain effects helped create an air of suspense on the minimal stage

adds Strebel. “Here, the performances are in June and July and it is not yet dark.

Therefore, it is very important that actors’ voices appear to come from the right direction, otherwise it is too difficult to understand what is happening on a big stage.”

Performers wore the new Sennheiser digital wireless lavalier mics and loudspeakers were provided by Fohhn. Seven compact line arrays were positioned as anchors for the vocal localisation: one at the monastery door, two left and right at upstage centre, two left and right upstage wide and a further two at the left and right upstage very wide locations.

Out Board’s Robin Whittaker, who conceived the distributed speaker system design and was on site to assist with alignment and tuning, concluded, “TiMax worked very well. We did this with manually-cued delayimaging seven years ago and the producers loved it, so it was great to return again with the new TiMax2 SoundHub, and this time with TiMax Tracker automation to make it even better.” I www.outboard.co.uk

FRANCE

ELECTRO-VOICE SOUND reinforcement was used for the 2013 Varsity Trip in Tignes, which saw nearly 2,750 student skiers in attendance. Bristol-based production company Okoru and Bristol-based rental company Production Audio teamed up to provide the sound.

Twelve Electro-Voice XLC DVX line array elements were used for the main system. Six of each

were ground-stacked on either side of the stage. Low frequencies were managed with 12 ElectroVoice Xsubs, stacked in front of the stage.

Okoru project manager, Mark Henninger, said: “The ElectroVoice XLC handles all of our heavyduty power requirements whilst having a delicate touch to manage the finer elements.” I www.electrovoice.com

34 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

livereport

Self-power & self-belief In the 1970s, sound companies were building most of their own loudspeaker and console equipment specifically for the type of music they’re supporting. To configure a system for a show, technicians had to combine amplifiers and speakers and make all of the proper electronic settings. The degree of success depended largely on the technicians’ John Meyer at the experience, and it wasn’t TEC Awards 2014 uncommon for shows to THIS YEAR marks Meyer Sound’s be interrupted or end prematurely 35th anniversary, and also the 25th by failure of the sound system. year since the company introduced its Self-powered systems were the first self-powered loudspeaker, the solution presented by John Meyer, HD-1 studio monitor. The company Meyer Sound co-founder and CEO. It has since pioneered self-powered was a controversial move at the time, systems for concert applications, as self-powering was a brand new and has the industry’s most extensive concept in live sound. By advancing portfolio of self-powered solutions, self-contained loudspeakers with builtincluding the newest LYON linear in amplifiers for recording studios, large line array loudspeaker system, concerts and beyond, Meyer believed launched at ISE 2014 (and features self-powering would eliminate heavy, on p29). expensive amplifier

A look back at over several decades of pioneering self-powered technology

racks and large loudspeaker cables, thereby lowering costs. Without the need to calibrate gain and crossover settings, these self-powered systems would also be much easier to use.

However, the biggest motivator for Meyer to build self-powered systems was their sonic advantages, as his goal has always been to build highquality linear systems that would deliver a consistent performance show after show and reproduce a variety of materials with extremely low distortion.

The industry has come a long way since the 1970s. Self-powered systems have proven their worth and are here to stay. From palm-sized loudspeakers to large-scale arrays, self-powered systems are heard around the world, in diverse applications from theatrical tours to museums and stadiums.

Last month, John Meyer was inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame during NAMM 2014.

Here’s a look back at some of the key developments in 35 years of his work. I

1970s Glyph: The quadraphonic Glyph sound system installed in a California nightclub brought its designer John Meyer to the attention of regional McCune Sound Service (now McCune Audio/Video/Lighting), who was looking for talent to help it design better sound systems. While at McCune, Meyer realised the common variability of the equipment was a logistical nightmare for sound companies, and decided to find a better solution.

JM3: The JM3 loudspeaker was named after its designer John Meyer during his time at McCune. The

1980s 833: The 833 was the first studio monitor designed and manufactured at Meyer Sound.

Although it came with control electronics, it was not self-powered. In fact, issues surrounding proper amplification of the 833 provided more motivation for pursuing John Meyer’s vision for self-powered systems.

“We hired an agency to research how people felt about powered speakers for sound reinforcement.

They came back and said nobody wanted them” John Meyer, 1993 HD-1 (above): Meyer Sound originally developed the HD-1 studio monitor as a fully self-contained, self-powered system to be used as an in-house test source. The late Grammy-winning engineer Roger Nichols was the first engineer to use HD-1 monitors for a recording – Flying Cowboys by Rickie Lee Jones – and he inspired Meyer Sound to release the monitor as a commercial product.

The HD-1 is still used today in the most demanding live mixing and recording environments, such as the Michael Bublé tour by FOH engineer Craig Doubet.

ACD: The design of the ACD studio monitor came from John Meyer’s research at the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland. The ACD featured a rack that contained its amplifier and dedicated signal processing, all of the settings for which were factory-calibrated.

JM3 speakers, ready to go! (From the McCune archive ) three-way, tri-amped system enclosed the power amplifiers and all of the electronics associated with the loudspeakers in an equipment rack with no controls beyond an on/off switch. The settings were all calibrated at the shop.

Meyer Sound is born: The growth of touring led to the birth of new loudspeaker companies devoted to manufacturing equipment for the industry, reducing the need for sound companies to design and build it themselves. John and Helen Meyer’s formation of Meyer Sound in 1979 was a classic example of this shift. Shortly after Meyer Sound was founded, John Meyer was awarded a patent on his discovery of a horn design and the subsequent method for producing low-distortion sound.

www.psneurope.com

February 2014 l 35

livereport

1990s MSL-4 (right): The MSL-4 was the industry’s first selfpowered, high-level sound reinforcement loudspeaker. At first, some sound companies and system designers were hesitant about this new idea. After all, Meyer Sound was packing 1,240W of power into each loudspeaker cabinet. Within a year, the MSL-4 proved itself and its success prompted Meyer Sound to convert all of its full product line to self-powered. The initial 10 or 20 percent of sales that the company had expected self-powered products to constitute would quickly prove to be an underestimate.

PSW-6: The PSW-6 was another self-powered breakthrough technology from Meyer Sound with an exceptional cardioid directional control over its entire operating range of 30Hz to 125Hz. A unique six-driver enclosure (four drivers in front, two in the rear) is combined with sophisticated phase manipulation circuitry to substantially improve definition in the audience, provide greater control of sound on the stage, and decrease low-frequency reverberation.

2000 and beyond MAPP Online Pro: Self-powered systems eliminate the guesswork and surprises that come from mismatched amplifiers and cables. The MAPP Online Pro acoustical prediction program further increases performance accuracy and streamlines setup by allowing engineers to create designs with a high level of confidence that the system will perform as the coverage prediction in MAPP. M3D: The self-powered M3D was Meyer Sound’s first line array loudspeaker.

Employing the line source principle in a vertical format, the M3D is intended to be used with little or no splay between cabinets. The M3D has supported all musical genres, from Pavarotti to Pope Benedict the XVI. MILO: The 2003 release of the self-powered MILO line array loudspeaker solidified the presence of Meyer Sound products across the full spectrum of the live sound market, from MILO’s first user Norah Jones to heavy metal Metallica. The MILO family of products exposed the self-powered advantages to a much broader user base and converted many skeptics to the logistical and sonic benefits of selfpowered systems.

Son of LEO: the new LYON

RMS:

The growing LEO Family (left)º: John Meyer has devoted his career to developing products that would behave in a consistent and predictable manner at all times. He also believes that the most direct pathway to achieving this linearity is by building self-powered systems.

“With LEO and the new LYON, we can show that a linear system can be built to deliver a consistent performance, even at very high sound pressure levels,” says John.

A question that is often asked about self-powering...

With the amplifiers inside each loudspeaker flown in the air, how would we know if an amplifier was malfunctioning? To address these concerns, Meyer Sound introduced the RMS remote monitoring system. It allows system techs to monitor real-time operating status of each loudspeaker on their laptop.

February 2014 l 37

www.psneurope.com

livenews UNITED STATES

Getting luckyat the Grammys The annual Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, offers a unique challenge for audio technology serving the creative arts, writes Mel Lambert MOST YEARS there is a new item of gear that extends the technical envelope at the Grammys; this year, ATK Audiotek, which regularly supplies and operates the PA system for the ceremony’s live audience, added prototype custom subwoofers that use Powersoft M-Force subwoofer technology to extend the rig’s bass response by an octave.

Augmenting ATK’s main PA system – which this year comprised four identical hangs of JBL VerTec VT4889 linearray cabinets plus a delay ring, with VerTec VT4880A flown subwoofers – the two additional subs were placed beneath the centre of the combined A and B Stages, each one driven by a single channel of K10 amplification delivering 9kW.

“Each sub will handle 20kW, but it got plenty loud here at the Staples Center and went down to around 17Hz! We also ran the subwoofer amps from a separate power feed, so that the transients and load swing would not affect the performance of other Power-soft K10 amp racks beneath the stage used to drive the VerTec arrays,” said Jeff Peterson, ATK system-design engineer.

Unveiled last June at InfoComm, the M-Force subwoofer drive system uses fixed coils and moving magnets. Powersoft says that, eventually, the technology will be offered to other companies

FOH at the rehearsal for the Grammy Awards in OEM form.

New technology was also evident within the pair of Music Mix Mobile remote trucks used to prepare 5.1-channel music mixes for the Awards broadcast.

DiGiGrid components with Waves SoundGrid enable the two mixers – John Harris and Eric Schilling, working on Avid DControl surfaces – to use a number of critical Waves plug-ins with ultra-low latency.

This year’s event saw French electronic outfit Daft Punk bag five awards. Stevie Wonder joined Nile Rodgers, Pharrell Williams and the mysterious duo – who insist on wearing robot helmets to

conceal their identities – for a performance of Get Lucky.

In other Grammy news, Bob Ludwig, who is known to use Swiss manufacturer Merging Technologies’ Pyramix DAW at his Gateway Mastering studios, can claim a legitimate share of four of the gongs: Album of the Year and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories; Record of the Year for Get Lucky; and Best Historical Album for the Rolling Stones’ Charlie is My Darling – Ireland 1965. I www.digigrid.net www.powersoft-audio.com

All photos: Darko Dozet

38 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

livereport

No compromise: Audio Konstruktor’s Mirjana Kovacevic is committed to sound quality

Over 25,000 people filled Liberty Square for Eastern Orthodox New Year You’ll be seeing Zeljko Joksimovi representing Serbia at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest

SERBIA

Setting the standard for Serbian sound No need to wait for accession to the EU, says Audio Konstruktor. It has everything the pro-audio industry needs to put on a successful event in the region right now, writes Erica Basnicki AFTER TWO decades rife with economic crises and war, Serbia has begun formal talks to join the European Union.

Throughout that same period, Novi Sad-based event specialist Audio Konstruktor has been fighting to raise production standards within the country, in order to attract more international talent to the region.

“We were the first company to go digital for light and sound control, we have the latest digital consoles here and that is the vision for our company – to always be in touch with new technologies,” says Audio Konstruktor’s Mirjana Kovacevic.

In Serbia, however, that’s often easier said than done.

Case in point: in the summer of 2013, Audio Konstruktor, a 10-year member of the Synco network, approached long-time friend and the network’s founder Fred Heuves to assist in the purchase of a new PA system: a Synco Longbow by Martin Audio.

(After years of relative quiet, both the Synco Network and Ampco are preparing for a comeback.

Stay tuned for the March edition of PSNEurope for more).

was popular at the moment, says Sreten. “Martin Audio was one of the first rock ’n’ roll PAs in the country,” he recalls. “There was a guy who knew someone there and asked if he could copy the speakers.” The response?

Sure. “You can’t imagine how much effort was put into it… and nothing happened. I realised the technology behind producing speakers was very serious. That was a crucial moment: I vowed never again to try and make copies; you just don’t know what it’s all about.

Then I called Martin Audio, told them I wanted to buy speakers and that’s it.”

That relationship began in 1995, when Mirjana and Sreten first heard Martin Audio’s F1 and F2 systems at PLASA in London. Over the years, the company added W8C and W8LC systems to its inventory.

The sound reinforcement system comprised eight Synco W8L per side with four Synco WS318X triple subs for the main PA, three Synco W8LC compact per side for both infill and outfill, and six Synco W8LC compact on delay. Sidefills comprised one Martin Audio VDQ and one Martin Audio WS218X per side.

At FOH, Sreten mixed the event on a DiGiCo SD8, while monitor engineer Miloš Romic used a DiGiCo D1.

“It’s the first year ever that the square had complete coverage,” says Mirjana. “Every street, every corner; everyone could clearly hear everything.”

Prior to the Orthodox New Year event, Audio Konstruktor used its new system for a concert

by Serbian rock band Bajaga at SPC Vojvodina Arena, and again for the ‘regular’ New Year in Liberty Square. Like the Orthodox

“If you set those standards, then people need to follow or else they won’t be around for much longer” Mirjaana Kovacevic, Audio Konstruktor

Audio Konstruktor’s Sretan Kovacevic at FOH with a DiGiCo SD8 After an astonishingly arduous three months preparing the required documents for a bank loan, and a nearly three-week impounding of the equipment at the border (released with the help of documents sent from Martin Audio MD Anthony Taylor), Audio Konstruktor finally took delivery of its new kit. A long process, but ultimately, worth it.

“I think it’s safe to say it’s the best sounding system in Serbia, and it meets the requirements of any band visiting the country who wants to have a state-ofthe-art system,” says Heuves.

“The first few shows have been astonishing. Everyone was really

raving about the sound – not only the sound system but of course the capability of Sreten (Kovacevic) as a sound engineer.”

It was Sreten who founded the company in 1989: 10 years after his band, punk rockers Pekinška Patka (Peking Duck), rose to prominence in the former Yugoslav region and 20 years before they would reunite to perform alongside the Sex Pistols at Exit Festival – for which Audio Konstruktor is now a preferred supplier. The company was also the first privately owned pro-audio distributor in the country.

At that time, PA systems were generally copied from whatever

Today, Audio Konstruktor is also a distributor for Martin Audio, as well as DiGiCo consoles, which Mirjana describes as an “excellent business move, we are very happy.

In combination with the Martin Audio systems, it’s perfect”.

On 13 January, its Synco Longbow by Martin Audio system was deployed for just the third time in Trg Slobode (Liberty Square) in celebration of Eastern Orthodox New Year.

Headlining the free event was domestic superstar and Eurovision contender Zeljko Joksimovic. The concert was also broadcast via a satellite link from local network Novosadska TV. “People don’t have a lot of money to go to restaurants and luxury hotels for New Year’s Eve,” says Mirjana. “The city has done a very good thing to provide this event free of charge for them.”

celebration, the 31 December event drew a crowd of over 25,000.

In addition to Exit Festival, Audio Konstruktor’s regular clients include Muzicka Omladina (Music Youth Novi Sad), the Novi Sad jazz festival, the Nišville Jazz Festival and the Kombank Arena in Belgrade.

In theory, competition for these clients is fierce, with over 20 proaudio companies within the country vying for contracts, but as Mirjana explains, “You may have some guy with equipment saying ‘I will do that for half price, but you have to give me cash.’ I can’t compete with him, and I don’t want to. We are trying to raise the standard here and we will not undercut price, or quality…If you set those standards, then people need to follow or else they won’t be around for much longer.” I www.audio-konstruktor.co.rs www.synco-europe.com

February 2014 l 39

www.psneurope.com

livereport UNITED KINGDOM

It All Starts with ‘i’

The engineer for Norway’s Ane Brun explains to Dave Robinson how he transfers her powerful-but-fragile pop-folk recordings to the live stage THE LAST time Oscar Söderlund was in the Kentish Town Forum, he was mixing the support act for a 2001 Motörhead gig. More than 12 years later, he has returned, but this time it’s with the breathy, acoustic-based twilight folk of Norway’s Ane Brun. “It’s a rock’n’roll PA [here] and so it’s a bit of a struggle,” he says during the soundcheck.

This two-month European tour, celebrating ten years of Brun’s work, is travelling with mics, stage kit and an Allen & Heath iLive mixing system: “Everything except for the racks and stacks,” says Söderlund, who has worked with the songwriter since 2007. The system and the proscenium arch pose a challenge for him, because “with Ane, the sound is taken as far as possible”. In the studio, he explains, her signature sound has become somewhat reliant on spring reverbs, tape echoes and other effects (“like Phil Spector”), particular on her 2011 album release It All Starts with One. Söderlund’s challenge is to create a similar kind of ambience in the live environment.

“It comes down to physics really, about getting a show as intense and loud as it can be, but using distance mics.” About making it “airy and dark and so that it has all the different elements”: no easy task with this shape of venue and this PA, he repeats. But he likes pitting himself against the room. “I love these kind of places.”

On stage there are two drummers, backing vocalist, two keyboard players (doubling on acoustic instruments), an upright bass player with pedal board and effects, a guitarist (again doubling on other instruments) and Brun.

“It’s very dynamic, sometimes very soft and intimate and honest,” he says. Söderlund uses a combination of strategic placement of Milab microphones, particularly around the percussion, plus the addition of reverb and – especially – compression at different levels to create a “landscape”, a deeper texture, for certain songs; then,

different stereo and mono settings to fill out the sound into something “a little more threedimensional” in others.

“The iLive console, with its great reverb and compression, makes it possible for me to take It All Starts with One and present it with a live twist but pretty damn close to the recording, without close-miking and gating and so on.”

His own business, Parashoot, now keeps an inventory of three T112s, two T72s and four iDR stageboxes. Söderlund praises the lightweight construction, the easeof-use and the overall “sound” of the T112 system. “Everything is so good. It’s so light you can have it in a splitter van or in your bus trailer but you can still do pretty up-scale tours, which makes it so ideal.

“I’ve always said that they’ve made the best effect emulations in the business,” he offers. He has access to a Waves card, sure, but he still maintains “for on-board digital console effects, there is no question they are the best”.

Expanding his stock with iDR boxes meant “I can get rid of all that shitty stage cable that breaks down on you. With the iDR boxes, [it’s] perfect. Now you can just have a maximum of 10m of cable for your drum overheads; put the box on the drum-riser, and have the shortest signal path possible. If that’s the key to my sound, that I’m trying to keep and stay digital as much as possible – then I don’t know. But I feel confident that it has a great deal to do with that.”

He remarks on the stability of the platform too (“It doesn’t crash on you. It’s not like you’re [ever] stuck with an Allen & Heath”) and also his liking of remote control via the MixPad app.

“I’ve done one summer tour with a support act and their main act didn’t have any FOH position. So I used the iPhone app, I had the console on stage and took my phone out into the audience and just controlled the

DCAs. I think you have to be with the audience to see and feel their reaction so you can express that feeling a bit with your mix.”

Hang on: you mixed the gig... from your phone? “It was only a 30-minute show so I was pretty confident. I was muting the

Ane Brun and band at the Kentish Town Forum, late 2013 effects and mixing vocals. It’s got its limitations of course. I would say I did it, to an extent, to prove a point.”

He’s staying firmly ensconced behind the console tonight, though. What’s been his favourite moment on the tour so far?

“The really nice reverb and the low end in the soft songs give you time to think about the sound.”

Something that the Forum audience in 2001 wouldn’t have done during Ace of Spades. I www.parashoot.se www.allen-heath.com

40 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

livefeature

Gainafter feedback

Phil Ward examines how the mic industry is reinventing the lead vocalist’s second-greatest asset

IN THE studio, the vocal mic is a sacred cow: untouchable, shielded from spit but never short of polish. It connects with the singer only as an X-ray connects with a patient, delicate and remote, peering into the very bones of a performance from a glass cage.

On stage, well… seize it, bite it, caress it, wrap it around you like a lover and – if you’re really good – do this in a way that becomes your signature, a gait or a grasp as recognisable as the voice itself. Think of the way Elvis leaned into the stand, the way Roger Daltrey coiled the cable like a whip in a rodeo, even the way Alvin Stardust held the mic above his head in a gloved hand as if he couldn’t find a seat on the Tube. From sublime to ridiculous, the lead vocal mic is the epicentre of a production.

TWO WORLDS COLLIDE The industry has always observed an according divide. Condensers were the fragile conduits of recording, while dynamics bounced along from one venue to another with the robustness of a coach full of drunken pensioners.

They were made differently, for very different purposes. But, over the past few years, this divide has come under scrutiny and is now

showing signs of being breached – precisely because, everywhere else in the system, noise is down and quality is up.

Live sound has improved incrementally, an evolution kept in motion by a series of breakthroughs that generate the next adaptation fit for survival.

In-ear monitoring brought down on-stage SPLs, exposing signal paths elsewhere and inviting better loudspeaker solutions.

These in turn prompted greater access and control, made available by digital consoles, management systems and networks – ever more forensic analysis of the unpredictable behaviour of waveforms when exposed to a paying audience.

And so we arrive at a point where most of the major manufacturers of microphones and their ancillaries are re-examining the possibilities of the live vocal mic in the light of these gains. “I think as sound systems and monitoring systems have become more sophisticated, the choice and use of studio-type condenser microphones has opened up,” says Chris Pyne, renowned FOH engineer for Kylie Minogue, Il Divo and others and now product specialist at Martin Audio. “As well as this, the more advanced sound systems still

COMPAND FRACTURE “The Digital 9000 represents the first time in the history of wireless microphones that we can honestly claim that it sounds just like wired,” states Kevin Jungk, portfolio manager for wireless microphones at Sennheiser.

“We managed to push uncompressed audio through the air, basically – and that’s a tough requirement. It’s part of

the move towards higher sound quality on the live stage, and opens up a whole plethora of new applications.

“Monitor engineers are telling us that, with the Digital 9000, they’re running the EQ much flatter and they have less noise in the system as a whole.

It’s a slightly different approach to mixing, but quite an easy changeover.”

Chris Pyne at front of house for Kylie Minogue in Athens allow for the nuances of mics that have been around for 30plus years – like some old favourites of mine, the AKG 451 and 414 and the good old Shure SM57. Both large and small diaphragm studio-type mics have appeared more frequently on riders: the advancements in construction and materials have allowed them to become more roadworthy but still retain their quality and sensitivity.

“Radio systems and vocal mic capsules seem to be the area that’s leaped ahead over the last few years,” says Pyne, “with the advancements in signal processing and the movement into digital processing.

Sennheiser linking up with Neumann changed the game in the early 2000s. I remember trialling and testing Neumann 105s with Kylie on the Fever tour, and these mics allowed me to push that little bit extra and gain more headroom and clarity.

“As a matter of interest, my current role at Martin Audio is to train and support clients using the Martin Audio MLA array system. We believe it does allow for studio-quality sound and controls the acoustic environments in a way that helps these new, advanced microphones shine through.”

Sebastian Schmitz, Sennheiser’s portfolio manager for wired microphones, agrees.

“With our e965 vocal condenser we have made studio sound suitable for the rock’n’roll stage,” he says. “The e965 is a double-diaphragm microphone with a 1-inch capsule, and can be switched between cardioid and super-cardioid polar patterns to cater for different stage environments and voices.

But even if vocalists are not using condensers, there are highend options, for example our MD5235, which has a special aluminium/copper voice coil for a fast transient response.”

THE D FACTOR Another brand appears to have arrived at a new lead vocal solution just at the right time, building upon decades of success in theatre vocals and instrument reinforcement. Here’s Graham Pattison, FOH and recording engineer – a duality notable in itself – for singer-songwriter David Gray.

“I really noticed this trend using DPA microphones on tour with David, firstly with the instrument mics,” says Pattison.

“In his latest band, David is singing through the d:facto II with its 4011 capsule – which I

KM Chang and Eugene Chen always loved. It really feels like a serious upgrade: using as high a quality microphone as you can in a stage environment can only help. Leave it flat, and it sounds just like David. In an ideal world I’d have it on every voice in the band – it’s a very choral sound – but economics plays a factor!

You can’t hide the fact that you’re paying the going rate for an excellent product.”

As is Jon Burton, FOH for The Prodigy and, currently, Bombay Bicycle Club – also new converts to the d:facto platform.

“We tried one in rehearsals, and [lead singer] Jack [Steadman] just said: ‘This is it! – let’s get one for all the band members’. I did point out the price differential, but the enthusiasm is undeniable.”

Burton is also a pragmatic adopter of microphones to suit each purpose, and believes that the manufacturers as a whole have turned a corner. “Costs have come down,” he points out, “and people are thinking about how to make a condenser for live use. Most noticeably, they’ve become a lot more rugged.

“Not long ago, manufacturers assumed I would just use SM58s for everything. Now they’ve realised that we in live sound certainly do use other mics –

February 2014 l 41

www.psneurope.com

livefeature Danish rock god Jesper Binzer and the DPA d:facto vocal mic

the company’s SR (Sound Reinforcement) Series – especially the new SR40V vocal model – ports condenser technology into the live arena with great emphasis on flat polar response, high rejection of unwanted sound and transparency.

offerings that can effectively navigate congested airspace and operate in a 2.4GHz range, ensuring licence-free use worldwide.”

The relationship between Sennheiser and Neumann continues to push this boundary, and has paid big dividends for the group ever since the launch of the first Neumann capsule for a Sennheiser handheld transmitter in 2002. “When using a wireless link, you need to take into account that the low-cut you usually need to set on your desk is already ‘included’ in the wireless system,” says Sennheiser’s Schmitz. “With analogue systems you also have to carefully watch the compander effects… [see boxout COMPAND FRACTURE]. If it’s digital transmission, there are other, more subtle effects of data reduction to deal with – unless you’re using [2012launched] Digital 9000 and its HD mode.”

Frontman Michael Angelakos using a Shure KSM9 With more performance microphones available today than ever before, Shure is not losing sight of its heritage even as it contributes to higher standards.

“With sound systems getting better, we have seen an uptake in higher-priced, premium microphones generally, which also includes condenser mics for live performance,” says Tuomo

M

and not only that, we use them and break them.”

The diversification of New Hampshire-based manufacturer Earthworks into live microphones speaks volumes.

Dedicated to high definition recording solutions for decades,

THE DIGITAL AGE The first realistic proposition for a digital microphone was Beyerdynamic’s MCD100 as far back as 1998, a product now acknowledged by Beyerdynamic’s pro-audio business unit manager Wolfgang Ernst as being ahead of its time.

In 2010, German pioneer Schoeps contributed to a White Paper titled Digital Microphones and AES 42, a discussion of the adoption of the AES 42 standard as the protocol for a direct interface between the microphone and the next step in the signal chain. This has combined with several innovations in the wireless field, as Audix founder Cliff Castle explains: “For years UHF analogue wireless mic systems have been considered the most accurate systems, producing the strongest signal and range,” he says. “Although this remains true, there have been many advances in digital technologies allowing for new digital wireless

42 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

livefeature Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley with an Audio-Technica AEW-6100

M

Tolonen, pro-audio group manager at Shure Distribution UK. “We’ve seen uptake in Beta 87s, KSM9s and their variations.

From our point of view, it’s the core values behind all our microphone models that are still paramount: performance, reliability and consistency, in their tens of thousands.

“When you buy your KSM9, you’re still getting that tourgrade, throw-it-around toughness – a mainstay of Shure since the company was founded – but with the higher performance standards and specifications. We do it by applying absolutely rigorous standards, not only in testing but in the selection of components, materials and processes used in production.

“It’s easy to make a microphone that passes audio; it’s harder to make one that passes audio with a wide frequency response; harder than that to make one that does it with high SPL output – and the hierarchy goes up and up.

There’s good reason why the SM58 has been around since 1966. A lot of work goes into making these products.”

“The market is changing thanks to IEM,” concurs Agni Akkitham, Audio-Technica’s European product manager for wired products. “Feedback was always one of the major issues, but no longer. More and more

engineers are buying their own mics, rather than renting. They want the reliability that comes with ownership, as opposed to using 10-year old rental stock. And with IEM they can choose a microphone for its sound, instead of just its resistance to feedback, and of course that introduces condensers into the mix.

“Even so, they work best for low-SPL productions. With rock music, the condenser can still be over-sensitive. But if the band is using in-ears it becomes an option, under the right conditions. Our Artist Elite live condensers are really getting noticed, especially the AE5400 cardioid capacitor and the AE3300 cardioid condenser for vocals. With things like Pro Tools, Avid’s Venue and more and more plug-ins being used, engineers are using on stage the tools that they’ve been using in the studio.

Everything in the PA is more precise, so having a high-quality mic makes a big difference.”

ASIAN ANGLE This is not a product realm in which Asian protagonists can all be dismissed as budget options at best or, at worst, blatant pirates.

Two brands in Taiwan prove the point: Mipro is distinctively high end; and JTS has enjoyed a growing reputation since its foundation in 1982, achieving

ISO-9002 certification for its Taiwan factory in 1996. “After considering transportation efficiency and making sure that you’re using this country’s good infrastructure to its best effect, Taiwan is still OK for high end product,” comments Dowson Yu, vice general manager at JTS. “We make advertising, we hold seminars, we write press releases and we attend exhibitions. Our challenge is to achieve a higher technology platform. This is the level we must attain to develop new products and to achieve higher brand awareness.”

Mipro was founded in the same spirit as many Western brands, with a driven and honest search for solutions and improvements at the heart of it ethos. Nineteen years ago, art and design teacher KC Chang consolidated his enthusiasm for RF technology by starting up a manufacturing company specialising in wireless microphones.

The business now has a registered capital of US $3 million,

February 2014 l 43

www.psneurope.com

livefeature and has the highest classification as a member of Taiwan’s Electronics Association as well as ISO-9001 certification.

Every component of every product is designed – and made – in Taiwan.

“This is an engineering-based company,” says Chang. “The fact that I am a design engineer means I know every facet of every product, and I can personally apply what I know to the business. And the important goal has been to make products that are different, products that are innovative. There are many others out there in this field, and we are not interested in ‘me-too’ solutions.”

This bodes well for the Europeans and the Americans, as well as the Taiwanese. Provided latter-day rockers like Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 and Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos continue to find new ways of cracking the Daltrey whip, the vocal mic should keep its cool as the battle for better sound heats up. I

DPA D:FACTO II WIRELESS EXPERIMENT MIKKEL NYMAND, DPA product manager, Tonmeister and something of an authority on high-fidelity recording, recently conducted an experiment with the d:facto II vocal microphone. The updated mic head is now available with a number of high quality adapters, enabling it to be used in conjunction with bodies and wireless systems from many brands, as well as in its straightforward ‘wired’ form.

“The adapters are not solely mechanical fittings; they are indeed an electronic masterpiece in their own right,” claims Nymand. “They provide a clearer and powerful sound with lots of energy and dynamics over a wide palette of both affordable and expensive wireless systems.

We decided to carry out a session to prove this.”

Nymand obtained 15 set-ups (some of which are pictured),

including those from Sennheiser, Shure, Sony, Lectrosonics, Line 6 and Wisycom.

A number of identical capsules were produced and selected to be equal within ±05dB in sensitivity and frequency response across the entire frequency range (hence no requirement to change capsules between A-B comparisons).

Then, a professional singer was hired and instructed to sing the same verse and bridge over and over with as identical dynamic, phrasing and expression as possible (as no one can sing into 15 vocal mics at the same time!) With the ‘control capsules’ and ‘control singer’ in place, Nymand recorded each performance with Pyramix and listened back to the performances.

“The first and clearest conclusion is the importance of

The ‘Nymand Experiment’... the quality of the mic capsule,” reports Nymand. “This was most obvious when replacing the enclosed mic capsule heads on some of the more inexpensive systems with the DPA d:facto II capsule. This was like night and day and suddenly lifted the performance up among the best.”

The second, and more surprising discovery, was that the resulting audio quality “is pretty close” between makers.

“Different series within one

brand performed almost identically and with the same timbre with the DPA capsule,” he says. “We see this as an interesting way to upgrade the performance of budget systems; while the more expensive systems come even closer to the quality of a wired connection.”

“The biggest sonic differences are actually between wired and wireless.”

For more on Mikkel Nymand’s conclusions, email him on min@dpamicrophones.com.

44 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

For the latest installation news www.psneurope.com/installation

installation SOUNDBITES Revolabshas named Midwich as the new UK distributor for the company’s wireless audio systems for unified communications. CEO Marc Cremer said: “Partnering with the Midwich Group is an important milestone in our UK distribution strategy. Midwich is perfectly positioned to help us reach new customers there and expand our presence in new and established vertical markets.” www.revolabs.com Upstage Theatre Supplies has installed a Soundcraft Si Expression 2 mixing desk and JBLCBT70J-1 loudspeakers at the Brooke Weston Academy in Northamptonshire. AV and theatre technician Peter Jackson said: “I was requested to update a system that had become tired after 20 years – and the look and the style were almost as important as the sound quality and flexibility. Upstage proposed the JBL solution and Sound Technology gave a fantastic onsite demonstration.” www.soundtech.co.uk

WORLD

Lab X team switches to Biamp Also during an uncharacteristically eventful month in Switch World: Extreme Networks receives the inaugural AVnu Alliance AVB certification for its Summit X440 switch, writes David Davies IN A development that looks likely to take its eminence in all things AVB to the next level, Biamp has hired Lab X’s founder/president Lee Minich, his complete engineering team and “a few” of the connectivity specialist’s assets.

The announcement coincides with the decision to close Lab X as a contract engineering firm.

Established in 1996 and based out of Rochester, New York, Lab X had lately been a flag-waver for Audio/Video Bridging (AVB)based networking with its Xavity platform and specific products such as the Titanium 411 1GB AVB Ethernet Switch. Minich himself became particularly closely identified with the AVB movement, serving as the marketing work group chairperson of the AVB-promoting AVnu Alliance for four years.

Lee Minich: AVB flag-waver But as Biamp president/CEO Steve Metzger now informs PSNEurope, Lab X opted to “discontinue development and maintenance of Xavity” in 2013.

Simultaneously, “Lab X began offering tools for the ongoing maintenance and development of Xavity technology to Lab X customers”.

Steve Metzger: evolving AVB The addition of the Lab X founder and all of his engineering staff will undoubtedly strengthen Biamp’s AVB-related product offering, which is currently headlined by the Tesira scalable media system for digital audio networking. Metzger confirms that Minich – whom he describes as “a visible cheerleader” for AVB

– will continue to be involved in AVB’s “evolution as an active participant, as will other members of Biamp.”

Now reporting to Biamp’s executive vice-president of operations, Matt Czyzewski, Minich praised his new employer as “a trailblazer in the development of media systems for installation of all sizes around the globe, and has shown true commitment and dedication to evolving our industry. Our team is very excited about becoming part of the Biamp family, and we’re looking forward to contributing to future product development in important and exciting directions.”

Although long-term impact on the Biamp AVB range was unclear at press time, what was certain was that Extreme Networks had become the first

February 2014 l 45

www.psneurope.com

installationnews company to successfully complete the AVnu Alliance’s muchpublicised AVB certification scheme. The company timed the official announcement about its Summit X440 switch to coincide with ISE 2014.

Operated in conjunction with the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL) – whose client roster has also included OpenFabrics Alliance and Wi-Fi Alliance – the AVB scheme was devised to assure end-users that certified products comply with every aspect of the relevant IEEE standards.

The Summit X440’s capabilities are said to support the large-scale rollout of converged network devices such as IP telephones, wireless access points, and physical devices including video cameras.

Todd Acree, director of product management at Extreme Networks – which has a presence at ISE 2014 via the AVnu Alliance Pavilion – remarks that the company is “absolutely delighted” to have achieved the inaugural AVB certification. “The present momentum behind AVB is undeniable, and the arrival of certified products feels like a significant step forward,” he says.

Rick Kreifeldt – chairman/ president of the AVB-supporting AVnu Alliance and vice-president of research and innovation at Harman International’s Corporate Technology Group – welcomed the inaugural certification and praised the energy of the Extreme Networks’ team: “They have been fantastic about jumping headlong into the process.”

Highlighting the recent addition of residential technology giant Crestron to the AVnu ranks and the overall increase in membership over the last year from 50 to 65 companies, Kreifeldt strenuously rejects suggestions that the AVB movement has lost some of its former momentum: “In fact, we are growing faster than ever.”

Looking ahead, he expects the typical business cycle to address the current price issue surrounding AVB switches – “as a pure capitalist I assume the free market will take care of that” – and confidently predicts more products to emerge from the certification process in the nearfuture. “The pipeline is filling up,” he says, “and I would expect to see more announcements [regarding certification] in the coming months.” I www.avnu.org www.biamp.com www.extremenetworks.com

The Ingensteds stage with custom white VUE a-15 and a-8 two-way systems and dual soffit-mounted as-215 subwoofers NORWAY

A venue with a VUE

By Murray Stassen

THE INGENSTEDS is gaining popularity as one of the most versatile live music venues in Oslo.

Its doors were re-opened last summer after a refurbishment which saw new VUE Audiotechnik i- and a-Class loudspeakers installed by AV experts from Oslobased installation company, Avon.

Mixing is handled with a Presonus StudioLive 24.4.2 digital desk and power is supplied to the system with Lab.gruppen IPD 2400 and IPD 1200 series amplifiers. VUE a-15 and a-8 two-way systems with custom paintwork have been installed above the stage with specifically designed flying hardware.

The FOH and monitor system is

also comprised entirely of VUE Audiotechnik a-Class loudspeakers.

Dual as-215s subwoofers take care of the low frequencies and four VUE a-10 two-way systems are installed as monitors.

Avon owner, Edgar Lien, says: “The VUE a-Class sounds absolutely amazing and provides extremely consistent voicing from the 8-inch all the way up to the 15inch cabinets. This venue hosts a varied mix of music performances and special events, so we needed an extremely flexible system that would look clean and blend with the aesthetic.”

“We couldn’t be happier with how easily the system came together and how capable the VUE loudspeakers are,” concludes Lien. I www.vueaudio.com

ROMANIA

BUCHAREST’S LARGEST brewery, Re:public, secured the services of HSA Audio to install a Dynacord audio system.

The new system is based around 17 Dynacord VL262 loudspeakers, two VL112 two-way full range cabinets, four A 112A powered 12-inch two-way full-range speakers and nine Dynacord Sub 1.18 and one Sub 1.15 bass.

“We installed separate wires for each speaker from the beginning and manufactured individual mountings on which to hang them according to the particularities of each speaker position,” says Cristian Gheliuc, technical manager at HSA Audio.

“The installed system is easy to use and is prepared for future upgrades and modification,” he added. I www.dynacord.ro

46 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

installationreport UNITED KINGDOM/GREECE

The last R-type of its kind The rise of the digital console has CADAC expecting it has built ‘the last R-type ever,’ writes Dave Robinson ATHENS-BASED THEATRE sound specialist Telmaco SA has installed what is expected to be the last CADAC R-type console ever built into the Concert Hall in Thessaloniki.

The desk was specified for the main 500-seat Amphitheatron Hall in the landmark Concert Hall’s M2 building, as part of a major turnkey project that included sound reinforcement, conference, intercom and stage management systems. “The client requirement was for a console of the highest audio quality and reliability that was quick to install.

The CADAC R-type fulfilled these demands,” says Telmaco sales engineer, George Regginiotis.

Telmaco previously installed a CADAC S-type console in the M2 building when it opened in 2010. The replacement bespoke R-type is configured with 48 mono and three stereo input channels, 16 dual groups, one monitor group, 16 DC masters and one VCA master.

Final test engineer for the job was Tony Waldren;

Tony Waldren (right) carries out final testing on the R-type while James Godbehear looks on appropriately enough, this was the design veteran’s final project for CADAC, as he retires after almost 30 years with the company.

Newly appointed CADAC marketing manager James Godbehear agreed that the inexorable rise of the digital console in the touring market had contributed to the decline

in demand for the all-analogue R-type.

However, considering the wider portfolio, brand development manager Richard Ferriday commented: “There are still applications for large-format analogue consoles… For these specialist applications, CADAC

is the only manufacturer still committed to providing uncompromising, professional large-format analogue audio consoles. From the legendary 256-input J-type, through the modular S-type to the latest compact LIVE1, CADAC continues to offer a full range of mixing solutions employing

the latest in both analogue and digital technology.”

Godbehear added that, although the Athens order was ostensibly ‘the last R-type ever’, he was not ruling out the possibility of future models being built should there be sufficient demand – although he thought it unlikely. I www.cadac-sound.com

UNITED KINGDOM

Clear-Com expands CCT distribution deal

By Murray Stassen

PROFESSIONAL VOICE communications provider Clear-Com has extended its distribution agreement with Tyrell into the live performance market.

The agreement will give Tyrell, a creative technology solutions provider, the opportunity to progress in the live performance and installation market.

“Tyrell has been an excellent partner in the UK broadcast market since 2010,” says Dan Muchmore, regional sales manager at Clear-Com. “Given their solid and proven approach to market

development, we believe Tyrell will serve the live performance partners and customers well with their deep knowledge and experience in Clear-Com’s full range of intercom products.”

As part of the new deal, Tyrell and Clear-Com have also appointed three wellknown resellers, Amber Sound, Orbital Sales and Autograph Sales. With these authorised resellers on board, Tyrell will be able to commence distribution for Clear-Com effectively.

“The opportunity for Tyrell to expand the Clear-Com

The Clear-Com Tempest 2400 Wireless System

distribution into live performance and install market allows us to build on the success we have developed in the broadcast market,” explains Martin Bennett, commercial director at Tyrell Group.

“I firmly believe that having a ‘neutral’ distribution partner in this market, whose only goal is to develop a strong channel and expand the Clear-Com brand and services, will strongly benefit all partners and customers going forward.” I www.clearcom.com www.tyrellcct.com

February 2014 l 47

www.psneurope.com

ISE 2014

showreview

NETHERLANDS

Introduced at ISE...

New releases from Yamaha, Focusrite, d&b and Roland highlight the three-day AV expo in Amsterdam, writes Erica Basnicki…

WITH BARELY d&b audiotechnik booth unveiled enough time to its xC-Series column recover from loudspeakers, the latest addition NAMM-induced jetlag, to the White range Integrated Systems Europe 2014 kept the new product announcement train running starting with F ocusrite, who launched its RedNet D16 AES: a 1U, 19-inch rack-mount Dante interface featuring 16 channels of AES/EBU connectivity to and from the Dante audio network.

The RedNet D16 has sample rate conversion on each input pair allowing plug-and-play operation with any AES3 source.

Word clock I/O and Digital Audio Reference Signal (DARS) connections allow DARS sync source for the synchronisation with a wide Dante system, or as an AES3 range of external sources and audio source.

Yamaha launched several hardware, while S/PDIF I/O new products, including a allows the integration of new generation of MG Series equipment such as CD or solid mixing consoles that made state recorders/players. their European debut, Two DB25 connectors each following an American launch provide eight channels of at NAMM 2014. combined I/O to the AES59 With 10 models in total, the standard, allowing speedy MG line-up has been completely interconnection with other redesigned, and ranges from DB25-connected or XLRsix to 20 input channels in size. based equipment by use of As well as the standard version, standard DB25 to XLR cables. each new MG console also has The rear-panel XLR female an XU variant (X variant in the input can be used either as a

case of the MG06), which features onboard SPX effect processing.

The show also saw the launch of additions to Yamaha’s Commercial Installation Solutions (CIS) series in the form of EN5424 certified versions of the VXC and VXS loudspeaker ranges, which are specifically designed for use in PA/VA voice alarm systems.

Over at the d&b audiotechnik booth, the company unveiled its xC-Series column loudspeakers, the latest addition to the White range that features the same sonic qualities as the xS-Series and xA-Series.

The xC-Series comprises three loudspeakers, the 16C, 24C and 24C-E, all designed for any installation requiring high speech intelligibility as well as being visually appealing.

The xC-Series is the first column loudspeaker design developed by d&b.

White range product manager Marcus Bäumler commented: “When looking at the typical applications where these types of products are being used, the determination was to provide a simpler solution for (sometimes) complicated issues, by improving

Focusrite launched its RedNet D16 AES Roland Systems Group’s newest of ‘all in one’ mixer, the VR-3EX

(Left): The RR12 point-source array

by Alcons Audio

column loudspeaker design in a d&b way.”

Roland Systems Group introduced the VR-3EX – the latest addition to the company’s VR Series of ‘all in one’ AV mixers – incorporating a video switcher, audio mixer, touchscreen preview monitor and streaming-ready USB output all in a single unit.

The VR-3EX features audio embedding from its four HDMI inputs while the built-in audio mixer has delay settings on each input allowing ‘lip sync’ adjustments to be made to match the video source.

The 18-channel audio mixer is made up of four XLR/TRS with phantom power, stereo RCA, mini-stereo and built-in stereo mics as well as stereo audio from the HDMI inputs. EQ, gate, and compression can be applied to each balanced audio channel enhancing the audio and live production quality. The built-in stereo microphone enables the operator to narrate or add ambient audio from the audience into the broadcast mix.

Aside from the new product launches, K-array previewed its new Tornado active micro loudspeaker designed for point source applications and high quality distributed systems.

“The Tornado series once comprised eight speaker models,” said Francesco Maffei, K-array’s product specialist.

“We’ve decided to incorporate their unique features in streamlined versions. With its ability to effortlessly reproduce both speech and music, the Tornado makes an excellent choice for fixed applications such as theatre, museum displays, restaurants, portable systems for corporate AV presentations, department stores, and in hidden locations such as chancel steps in houses of worship.”

ISE 2014 marked the European debut of Yamaha’s redesigned MG Series of mixing consoles The new KA24 and the KA84 amplifiers – simplified and upgraded with an integrated DSP touch panel – were also on show.

Dutch audio specialist Alcons Audio showcased its RR12 point-source array, which extends Alcons’ line-source technology into different applications. By implementing the features of Alcons’ pro-ribbon transducers in a modular concept, the RR12 has been developed as “building block” to create tight-packed (horizontal or vertical) arrays for controlled sound coverage in the widest variety of audience areas.

Visitors to ISE were also able to get hands-on experience with the Lawo mc256 mixing console. The compact mixer features Ravenna audio-over-IP integration for the real-time distribution of media content in IP-based network environments, and comprises all central requirements of the new industry standard AES67 (see page 4).

Finally, Funktion-One made its fourth appearance at ISE in Amsterdam, featuring its MST Horns, currently playing a crucial role at the bobsleigh track at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. The project picked up Permanent Installation Project of the Year at the Pro Sound Awards 2013 and the Bolshoy Ice Dome, home to the hockey competition, features the largest MST deployment to date. I www.iseurope.org www.alconsaudio.com www.dbaudio.com www.focusrite.com www.funktion-one.com www.k-array.com www.lawo.de www.rolandsystemsgroup.co.uk www.yamahaproaudio.com

Date: Tuesday, June 3rd 2014 Venue: BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London

Next in the series of Beyond HD Masters events for TVBEurope If high definition is the new standard definition, then what’s beyond HD? Is 4K the next target for high-end TV production, broadcast and display - or 8K? What is going to drive the European television technology industry into the future?

WHO SHOULD ATTEND Directors of Technology, Heads of Production at independent production companies, Directors of equipment rental or hire, Heads of Outside Broadcasts, Production Managers, Senior Directors, Heads of Cameras, Chief Engineers, Programme Operations Managers, Stereographers, Producers, Directors of Broadcasting, Studio Directors, Technical Consultants, Research Engineers TARGET AUDIENCE ORGANISATION Public broadcaster, commercial broadcaster, production company, niche channel provider, playout provider, post production and facilities, rental and hire, outside broadcast and events service, freelance professional, business television, broadcast equipment vendor, broadcast equipment channel provider

SAVE £10th0e !

by booking d rate ly bir incredible ear

£149 plus VAT

WHY ATTEND? Discover the media eco-chain for ultra-HD Hear from the world standardisation leaders Case studies from high-profile production trials Find out the future for 3D TV in Europe Tech insights into frame rates, codecs, formats Meet the key market influencers and vendors Network with technology & production colleagues Know what the Beyond HD roadmap looks like PREVIOUS ATTENDEES INCLUDE Orange, ITV, Sony Pictures, Arqiva, 20th Century Fox, Telenor, Panavision Europe, BBC, S4C, Discovery Networks Europe, Sky, Pro TV, Siemens, MTV International, Dolby, EDU, Digital TV Group, Deluxe, Cambridge Research Systems Ltd, BKSTS, Bath University, Atlantic Productions, Finnish Broadcasting Co.,Fountain Studios, France Telecom/Orange Labs A TVBEurope event

Follow us on Twitter

@BeyondHDMasters

To book your tickets visit: www.beyondhdmasters.com or call Sarah Harris on +44 (0)207 354 6001 For details on sponsorship opportunities, please contact: Ben Ewles on +44 (0)207 354 6000 or ben.ewles@intentmedia.co.uk Steve Connolly on +44 (0)207 354 6000 or steve.connolly@intentmedia.co.uk Richard Carr on +44 (0)207 354 6000 or richard.carr@intentmedia.co.uk

CONTACTS

www.psneurope.com

February 2014 l 49

Editor Dave ‘Steven’ Robinson (thank you, Udi!) david.robinson@intentmedia.co.uk

hither&dither

Acting Deputy Editor Erica Basnicki erica.basnicki@intentmedia.co.uk Staff Writer Murray Stassen murray.stassen@intentmedia.co.uk Advertising Manager Ryan O’Donnell ryan.odonnell@intentmedia.co.uk Sales Executive Rian Zoll-Khan rian.zoll-khan@intentmedia.co.uk Head of Design and Production Adam Butler adam.butler@intentmedia.co.uk

Hither and sinners A cult came to NAMM 2014. (The Blue Oyster kind was there, too.)

Editorial Production Manager Dawn Boultwood dawn.boultwood@intentmedia.co.uk Production Executive Evan Graham evan.graham@intentmedia.co.uk Digital Content Manager Tim Frost tim.frost@intentmedia.co.uk Office Manager Lianne Davey lianne.davey@intentmedia.co.uk Publisher Steve Connolly steve.connolly@intentmedia.co.uk Correspondents: Mike Clark (Italy), Marc Maes (Belgium/Holland), Phil Ward (UK), Mel Lambert (USA) Contributors: David Davies, Kevin Hilton, Nigel Lord

PSNEurope Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London, N1 8LN. Editorial: +44 20 7354 6002 Sales: +44 20 7354 6000 Press releases to: pressreleases@intentmedia.co.uk

Blue Oyster Cult! On the NAMM Peavey stage! But was there any cowbell? NO THERE WAS NOT! Despite there being a drumkit clearly visible. SHAME ON YOU!

Number of registrants at NAMM 2014: 96, 129.

Number of converts to Christianity at NAMM 2014: TBC

(Right) Star turn at the NAMM Yamaha booth was Michael Winslow, AKA Sgt Jones in Police Academy. The ‘Man of 10,000 Sound Effects’ does a mean 808 snare, along with the sirens and machine-guns

Subscribe by email to: psne.subscriptions@c-cms.com Subscriptions Tel: +44 1580 883848

PSNEurope is published 12 times a year by Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England. © Intent Media, 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the copyright owners. The contents of PSNEurope are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems. Intent Media is now the Data Controller under the Data Protection Act 1998 in respect of your personal data. Intent Media London will only use your data for the purposes originally notified and your rights under the Data Protection Act 1998 are not affected by this change. PSNEurope is published once a month.

The publishers reserve the right to refuse subscription applications considered inappropriate and to restrict the number of free copies sent to a company or organisation. 2013 subscription rates for non-industry/non-European readers are: UK, £39/€62; Europe, £54/€86; other countries, US$106/170.

CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTION Intent Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, LE16 7BR, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1858 438786 . Refunds on cancelled subscriptions will only be provided at the publisher’s discretion, unless specifically guaranteed within the terms of the subscription offer. Intent Media may pass suitable reader addresses to other relevant suppliers. If you do not wish to receive sales information from other companies, please write to Circulations and Subscriptions, Intent Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, LE16 7BR, UK. ISSN: 0269-4735 (print); 2052-238X (digital).

Printing by Pensord Press, Tram Road, Pontlanfraith, Blackwood NP12 2YA

Not from NAMM, but from a wall in south London: PWL-era graffiti. The top line reads ‘I heart Jason 4 ever 100%’. Just in case you doubted their devotion Everyone has at least one picture of this guy wandering around NAMM, right?

Slightly unsettling but hugely practical: hang your BC Rich on a Guitargrip (www.guitargrip.com). Very handy. Literally

Please send all contributions for possible publication to david.robinson@intentmedia.co.uk

50 l February 2014

www.psneurope.com

I think we’re in a technology gap at the moment, where the old technologies have run their course, and the new ones are here, but they aren’t quite good enough Hal Ritson

industrytalk THE GRAFFITI on the exterior of the building says “I love you Jason”, “Siobhan forever” and – with perhaps a little too much vehemence – “I HATE STEPS”.

Where else can this be but the Hit Factory, the former home of PWL, where producers Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman (SAW) formulated the careers of Kylie, Banarama, Rick Astley and – yes! – The Reynolds Girls.

Now known as Vineyard Studios, its current tenants include one Hal Ritson, composer, musician, and head of MofoHifi Records. “I have some paperwork that says the booth was for vocals and ‘Where Pete Sleeps’,” he reveals. Ritson has been credited as the “performer who has played on the most electronica genre records”, mainly through his line in replicating samples for dance producers. He never received formal training, learning the tools of the performance trade from being in a covers band at university. “I would like to say I can play everything apart from double reed instruments at least badly.”

With Nathan Taylor, he’s also one half of pop culture-mocking dance outfit Young Punx, who have a new CD out this month.

When you arrive at your studio, do you ever stop and think, “Wow, this is where Kylie and Jason recorded?”

Not so specifically, but places do have souls. I like to think there is some continuity over the decades of ‘pop’ here.

If you listen to those early SAW records, they might now be mocked as lightweight, but at the time they were a masterstroke: edgy electronic production from American gay clubs, the most underground dance beats, and someone famous singing a simple hook over the top. It’s the formula that the KLF wrote about in that book The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way). Pete Waterman nailed that. And it’s still going on today, be it a pop song over a Disclosure backing or in a commercial dubstep track.

Your new Young Punx album includes the centrepiece All These Things Are Gone, a 14-minute work-out referencing 60 items which have ‘disappeared’.

Concorde, DDT, Spangles, cigarettes at work…

They are only associated by the fact they are gone: personal,

Was the album worth going to all that effort, or do you think, “I could have done all this with Omnisphere and Cubase”?

Commercially I don’t think the people in the street will give a damn, but when you get to your third album like us, you can go, fuck it, I’m doing this for me.

So was it worth it? Yes! Your day job is playing keys and recreating samples for others, including Dizzee Rascal, Black Eyed Peas, Rudimental, Rizzle Kicks, Avicii and Gotye Outside of the Young Punx, which is my pressure-free vehicle for fun, I tend to perform a bridge between ‘real musicians’ and the world of electronic producers, who don’t really speak the same language.

They have great production skills: they’ll know they want a string quartet, say, but they have no idea how to work with one, so they end up sampling it.

Busy rascal When he’s not replicating samples for star producers, he’s carving out his own niche in witty, flamboyant dance music. Dave Robinson talks to Hal Ritson trivial, massively historical or philosophical things. The Crazy Frog next to Miles Davis next to The Cold War, for instance.

The rest of the album is the same theme explored a different way. We go to an era in musical history and record a song based on the game rules of that point, trying to be as genuine to the spirit of the original/influential tracks, as much as possible: correct instruments, arrangements, recording equipment and playing styles.

For instance, Heart Of The Night has a 1980s vibes and uses an ’80s SSL 4000E desk and early Lexicon digital reverb 4080L. Harlem Breakdown (’70s horn funk sound) uses a Coles ribbon mic.

Detonate (jungle-style live drums combining a ’60s breakdown texture with more modern production) employs a Telefunken U47 from 1960, one

that had been used on many a session by The Beatles.

The barrier for music production is now very low, as is the barrier for releasing music, because of things like SoundCloud – hence a lot of music-making has become very homogenous. So what we wanted to do is, find these things that ‘have gone’, revisit former methodologies, and work with them in a modern studio.

How much were you able to maintain the authenticity on the tracks?

Certainly for mic selection, EQing, mic positioning, the physicality of playing, how you would hold the drum sticks and so on.

Where was it recorded?

Equipment is expensive and hard to maintain. I have a friend, Steve Honest, who runs a studio called Rock of London,

he basically collects all sort of vintage stuff. I did a first session with live musicians there, telling them, ‘The year is 1972, the location is New York. How would they have done it that day?’ Steve’s got an SSL and a Neve room, and we just plugged into whatever felt appropriate. I must mention Kowloon Kickback which uses a Federal AM-864/U Compressor from the ’40s for drums and horns, and a single early P48 mic from the ’60s for a raw ‘Gene Krupa’ drum feel.

A 1940s compressor?

Yes. The Federal is a real hunk of a compressor, too. Now, a compressed audio signal could travel further than an uncompressed one while maintaining intelligibility. So the second point in the Federal manual is how to destroy it in case it might be captured by the Germans.

Then the record company commissions you to reproduce an authentic facsimile of the sample, without incurring expensive fees from the original recording.

Precisely.

Are there any samples that are really hard to replicate?

We get wound up by [dramatic pause] fucking dub, because all the records have a woolly, mushy sound. When it’s just a big, gorgeous modge, there’s no way to differentiate what is coming from where.

What is the most pressing issue facing the recording world at the moment?

The things that we sell, no one buys. And everyone’s trying to monetise a career.

I think we’re in a technology gap at the moment, where the old technologies have run their course, and the new ones are here, but they aren’t quite good enough.

Everything can be done, but not quite well enough to be compelling.

We need to get to a point where you have access to every track you might want, but it’s of the quality of sound like it used to be – not an MP3 – and you have some kind of tangible association with the music [like buying vinyl].

Image some kind of William Gibson future where we’re all operating in cyberspace, where you can own a record in the virtual world and it’s as compelling as it is in the real world… But at the moment, we’re kind of in a shit cyberspace. I www.theyoungpunx.com