PSNE June 2015 Digital

June 2015

www.psneurope.com

Boxing clever

Software and hardware in combination: it’s a knockout! P48 P28

P18

P58

GOING DEEP

FRANKFURT REVIEW 2

STRICTLY DAVE

DJ SPYDABROWN OPENS NEW LONDON STUDIO

THE BEST OF THE REST FROM THE MESSE

TV’S FAVOURITE BAND LEADER AND HIS NEW PROJECT

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Welcome

PSNEUROPE Editor Dave Robinson drobinson@nbmedia.com

Commercial director Darrell Carter dcarter@nbmedia.com

Deputy editor Jon Chapple jchapple@nbmedia.com

Account manager Rian Zoll-Khan rzoll-khan@nbmedia.com

Managing editor Jo Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com

Head of design Jat Garcha jgarcha@nbmedia.com

Advertising manager Ryan O’Donnell rodonnell@nbmedia.com

Production executive Jason Dowie jdowie@nbmedia.com

Contributors: Marc Maes, Mike Clark, Kevin Hilton, Erica Basnicki, Simon Duff, Frank Wells, Mel Lambert, Dave Wiggins, Ian Shepherd

PSNEurope NewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18–26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN Editorial: +44 20 7354 6002 Sales: +44 20 7354 6000 Press releases to: ukpressreleases@nbmedia.com Circulation and subscription: Refunds on cancelled subscriptions will only be provided at the publisher’s discretion, unless specifically guaranteed within the terms of the subscription offer. NewBay 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, NewBay Media, Curwood CMS Ltd, The Barn, Abbey Mews, Robertsbridge TN32 5AD

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Cover image: Maroon 5, on tour with EAW’s Anya/Otto Adaptive Performance system

P3 JUNE 2015

DAVE ROBINSON Editor

@PSNEurope

B

righton’s The Great Escape festival has become a regular mustattend on my calendar. I head down on the train on a Friday night, meet up with one of my oldest pals and spend the evening buzzing around as many venues as possible. We don’t care what or who we see, it’s just become a ‘thing’ to squeeze in the maximum number of new and upcoming acts (and an equivalent number of pints, naturally).

This year, however, on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, I think TGE just got a little bit too successful for its own good. The press pass allocation was cut by a third, for starters. (Yes, that’s just my little beef.) Far more significantly, one look at the queues outside certain venues told you straight away: no way are you getting in, pal. Brighton’s always popular, but the streets around the Dome were heaving with hipsters and liggers. It was, all told, just a little bit suffocating. What can MAMA Events do, though? Music biz people like it, and, no doubt, will continue to flock to it – as frustrating as it is to actually see any live music any more...

Thanks, then, to Jonny Goodwillie of Traction Sound who afforded us access to a couple of seafront haunts this time around: and enlightened us about the ‘alternative’ Alternative Escape that takes place alongside the main event. We chat to him on p44.

Please, also, check out the interview with Zach Brown-Smith aka Spydabrown on p28: he’s burning with ambition and I’m sure he will succeed with his new London studio.

Finally, a sad note to end: the day before press day, 21 May 2015, the dearly loved and admired Max-Lindsay Johnson, latterly of Community but for many years with Harman, was taken from us quite suddenly. I sat next to him on the Frankfurt plane and we laughed and joked our way to Germany. That is how I will always remember him: simply the best company you could possibly wish for.

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Contents

P4 JUNE 2015

In this issue...

P42 SAFE AS (WARE)HOUSES SCOTTISH SUPPLIER STRONGER THAN EVER AT 35

P18 FRANKFURT ALERT EVERYTHING WE COULDN’T GET IN LAST MONTH!

P28 DEEP DEEP DOWN A NEW STUDIO FOR SPYDABROWN IN LONDON

Studio 26 28

P38 ALPHA PAPA GETTING THE WORD HEARD

Broadcast 30 32

Business 6 7 8 10 12 14 24

AES finds its niche in Warsaw Alchemea closes after 23 years Pro Sound Awards 2015: The judges decide Vocal channel: Erica Basnicki and David Wiggins Movers and shakers PSNTraining The strategic position: Mark Loughman, BAE Audio

Technology 16 18 34 48

New products Show review: Prolight + Sound Feature: Semiconductors Feature: PA 2.0

New-look Raygun sets its sights on film Spydabrown plays deep in King’s Cross

UK broadcasters go to the polls ‘Innovation in broadcasting’ at BBC’s Sound: Now and Next

Live 38 40 42

Outline likes the Pope (the Pope smokes dope) ‘You learn, we teach’: RITS’ Gert Vreys opens Audioschool The Warehouse: Still raving at 35

Installation 52 54

EV is zen in Milan Cadogan Hall goes digital with Autograph

Back pages 57 58

Hither & dither Backtalk: Dave Arch

www.psneurope.com

P6

Business

JUNE 2015

A packed audience during an AES Warsaw papers session

Poland

AES Warsaw: A roaring success Mel Lambert profiles the recent AES Convention, which alighted in Poland for the first time

T

he 138th AES Convention, held at Warsaw’s elegant Sofitel Victoria Hotel in early May, was an outstanding achievement for all involved. The interesting and highly varied programme of papers, workshops, tutorials, poster sessions, technical tours and related sessions was ably coordinated by cochairs Bozena Kostek and Umberto Zanghieri, together a splendid crew of volunteers.

With a reported 1,600 registrants, including more than 700 full-pass attendees – a slightly better turnout than last year’s gathering in Berlin – the organisers, led by

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executive director Bob Moses, are to be congratulated for their efforts in reaching out to the northern European audio community and securing such a positive reaction from students, researchers and end users. The success of the convention was down to “such a combination of great minds”, according to Moses.

Manufacturers and product distributors responded well, with wares from more 70 pro-audio brands being displayed on over 30 stands. Visitor traffic was brisk throughout most of the convention – the exhibition running for three of its four days – with large audiences to be seen during the companion Project Studio Expo (PSE), which was held adjacent to the primary stands. Whereas during previous conventions the PSE audience had been provided with wireless headphones, the PA system used in Warsaw was more than up to the job, without proving too distracting to adjacent exhibitors; if anything it drew in attendees that were passing along an adjacent corridor to the various meeting rooms.

As David Josephson, president of Josephson Engineering, a US-based microphone manufacturer, told PSNEurope: “Here in Warsaw the attendance […] matches what we enjoyed in Berlin last year. Was it worthwhile? Always!”

Graham Boswell, commercial director with Prism Media Products, which offers recorders, converters and test equipment, was equally enthusiastic. “In addition to meeting old friends at these exhibitions, we see several new faces, and make important new sales contacts. As expected, Warsaw has been a positive experience for us. The AES is finding its niche for these European exhibitions, which we will continue to support as a sustaining member.”

As Florian Camerer from ORF/Austrian TV said during his keynote speech, (whimsically entitled Zen and the Art of Listening), sound is more than just hearing.

“We need to listen and connect with an event; it’s all about successful storytelling,” he considered. “The essence of communication is making somebody care. We need to use sound creatively,” he concluded. AES president Andres Mayo also stated that the highly successful Student Delegate Assembly “sows the seeds for what the next generation of audio engineers will be doing in the future.”

One of the standout presentations proved to be a workshop session entitled Mixing Meets Mastering: Where the Line Becomes Blurred. Chaired by Rob Toulson from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, participants included producer George Massenburg, Mandy Parnell from Black Saloon Studios, London, and Ronald Prent and Darcy Proper from Wisseloord Studio in the Netherlands. Directly addressing the subject of over-compressed and normalised files that seem to be the norm for today’s music releases, Proper stated that “we need to receive an uncompressed, well-balanced mix that we can master for the targeted release medium,” be it MP3 at variable data rates or one of the newer high-definition offerings, Regarding the growing use of stems during mastering, Proper advised that “Mixing is a very different talent to mastering,” while Parnell considered that “we work on the emotional content of a track.” “The mastering engineer is the last advocate for the listener,” Massenburg concluded. www.aes.org © Mel Lambert. All rights reserved.

www.psneurope.com/business

P7 JUNE 2015

United Kingdom

SSR London to take on Alchemea students Much sympathy on social media as the Islington college shuts down, write Dave Robinson and Jon Chapple

A

lchemea College, the music technology/ pro-audio teaching school set up in 1992, ceased trading on 1 May. School of Sound Recording (SSR) London, a similar institution based in Camden, north London, has agreed to take on current Alchemea students “without cost”, while those who have paid a deposit for a course will have the chance to move to SSR. An announcement posted on the door of the Windsor Centre building in Islington (right) – also in north London, just around the corner from the PSNEurope office – explains that the building’s lease is due to expire in March 2016, and that while the directors had been working “flat out to attract investment to facilitate” funding a new lease, all efforts have “proved unsuccessful”. The directors took professional advice and were told to put the business into administration, says the note.

PSNEurope contributor Erica Basnicki, a graduate of the school, told the magazine she was “devastated” by the news. “It is so hard to express the sense of loss I feel,” writes Basnicki (Dip. Studio Sound 2008).

“Alchemea College was the physical and spiritual home of a massive family of audio professionals.

That’s how it was run: you became part of a family from day one.

“You were also brought up to be a professional – the guys who ran it made sure of that. That’s why everyone who studied there loves that place so much and why there are so many tears right now. The family home is gone, and it’s a devastating loss for anyone who ever

Darryn de la Soul, now of Soulsound, and tutor Justin Grealy with Alchemea students in happier times. (Below): The announcement

had the privilege to be a part of it.”

On 15 May, two weeks after its closure, the college began to sell off its studio equipment, including microphones, headphones, monitors, amplifiers, desks, consoles and musical instruments, as well as computers, software, projectors and screens.

A full list of everything for sale is available at www.alchemea.com/alchemea-studio-sale.

Former college principal Christian Huant posted an impassioned eulogy on his Facebook page on Wednesday 6 May: “So […] Alchemea College is no more.

The company I have spent 17 years with, and put all my

www.psneurope.com/business

energies and passion into, is gone. It is very sad, and the love that has rippled around the globe since the news broke has been truly moving.”

The Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford also sent its condolences, writing: “Sorry to hear the news, Alchemea College. As a fellow music academy, we can only imagine what you’re all facing at the moment.

Wishing all the staff and students well with future endeavours.”

“A lot of people want to know what happened,” wrote Christian Huant. “It’s hard to put it simply, but the underlying reason, I think, is that the world has changed, the audio industry has been changing for years – and one could say we are yet another victim.” www.alchemea.com

P8 JUNE 2015

Pro Sound Awards

And now we wait

The EM Acoustics team, PSA 2014

With the nomination period for the 2015 awards closed, it’s over to the judges to choose our finalists

AWARDS CATEGORIES Live/touring sound • Engineer of the year • Best tour/production sound • Best theatre sound

There are plenty of networking opportunities during the evening

Studio sound (sponsored by • Engineer of the year • Best studio • Best sound in post-production Shure’s Peter James and industry legend Bob Kelly share a joke, PSA 2014

T

he lobbying period for the 2015 Pro Sound Awards closed on 22 May, and our independent panel of industry experts are now hard at work going through your entries to create a definitive list of finalists for the big night in September.

Early signs point to the best permanent installation category once again proving especially popular, with other strong showings from marketing initiative of the year, best tour/production sound and best studio. Check back next month for a full list of finalists!

Recognising outstanding achievement in professional audio, PSNEurope’s Pro Sound Awards return to the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London for the third time on Thursday 24 September.

Leading studio equipment manufacturer Focusrite, which sponsored March’s PSNPresents event at the

Ham Yard Hotel in Soho, is already confirmed as the first event partner, lending its support to the studio category. Focusrite has had a successful start to 2015, showcasing four new products in its RedNet range of Dante-based interfaces at the NAMM Show and at Prolight + Sound/Musikmesse (see p18) after its successful float on the London Stock Exchange late last year.

A range of other sponsorship opportunities – from headline sponsor to category, photobooth, redcarpet and afterparty sponsorship – are also available; contact PSNEurope ad manager Ryan O’Donnell (rodonnell@nbmedia.com) or account manager Rian Zoll-Khan (rzoll-khan@nbmedia.com) for more details.

For ticket information, email Jess Farnan at jfarnan@nbmedia.com. www.prosoundawards.com www.focusrite.com

www.psneurope.com/business

)

Installed sound • Best temporary installation project • Best permanent installation project • Team of the year Broadcast sound • Best facility • Broadcast event of the year • Team of the year Achievement • Marketing initiative of the year • Rising star (chosen by Audio Media International) • Lifetime achievement (chosen by the Pro Sound Awards team) • Grand prix (chosen by the Pro Sound Awards team)

Tickets are available now for £49, which includes drinks reception, food, the awards and the afterparty.

And a splendid social occasion!

More information at www.prosoundawards.com

P10 JUNE 2015

Vocal channel

Bring on the audio police

D ERICA BASNICKI is a writer and sound designer

id you submit a nomination for this year’s Pro Sound Awards?

If you answered “yes”, well done. If you answered “no”, I have a bone to pick with you...

I know, from reading it in other trade mags, that not everyone sees the value of award shows. Especially those geared towards the music industry. How can you put Beck and Beyoncé up against each other for the same award? How can you convince Kanye to keep his mouth shut about the results? Are the Grammys even about the music anymore?

Awards, then: Who needs ‘em?

Well... if you’ve ever had to negotiate the placement of your PA system for a live-to-broadcast event, then you need them. If you’ve endured the pain of listening to an over-compressed, completely distorted album and wondered how the hell anyone thought it was okay to commit that rubbish to CD, then you need them. If your experience of an exhibit or a theatrical

performance was ruined by horribly muddied audio, then guess what – you also need them.

Last year the Tony committee suddenly decided to drop its sound design awards because no one really knew what sound designers do or how to determine the merit of a their work. This year, the Tony Awards has enlisted Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour as fashion consultant to make sure nominees don’t look like a train wreck on the red carpet. I say what the audio world needs is to unleash its own equivalent of Anna Wintour: an engineer with attitude to elevate sound to its rightful place of Utmost Importance.

Imagine: millions of viewers of The Big Award Show waiting with bated breath to see what systems have been deployed.

How many boxes are there? How many woofers? In a matter of minutes it’s all over Twitter because those hangs aren’t just front and centre – there are bloody spotlights on them. Never mind who’s

hosting, people want to know who’s at FOH and what console they’re using.

Then, after seeing what microphone was used to announce the best biceps award, the manufacturer’s website keels over from the sheer number of orders pouring in from around the globe.

Meanwhile, system designers are sitting at the VIP tables because sure, tonight is about actors or shoes or something but damn – doesn’t the show sound good?

Reality check: If you have time to moan about how awful something sounds, then you have time to recognise when someone within the industry has done an outstanding job. It’s not that we need convince each other. However, if we can inflate someone’s ego enough for a diva or two to emerge, fly the flag for audio in everyone’s face and make my wildest mainstream acceptance of superior fantasies come true, then maybe we won’t have to work so hard convincing others of the value of our craft.

The Empire strikes… again

W

DAVE WIGGINS is a freelance marketeer and pro-audio pundit

hile much of the pro-audio industry collectively throws its arms up in horror as Uli Behringer’s Music Group acquires TC Group (including Tannoy, Lab.gruppen, Lake and TC Electronic), let’s look at this from an outsider’s perspective.

A corporate buyer has acquired a smaller group, because said buyer saw an opportunity to grow its business by adding a number of brands that complement its existing portfolio in terms of technology, IP, market share and operational coverage.

It happens that the purchaser also owns and operates a vast, state-of-the-art manufacturing complex in China which already produces products for this market that are, arguably, of comparable quality to its contemporaries. Thus it seems likely that, following the model applied to previouslyacquired brands, manufacturing of the new brands will be moved from their present European bases to China. This would reduce the manufactured cost significantly, adding

profit potential to the owner and their sales partners, and also possibly allowing greater flexibility in end-user prices whilst retaining appropriate product quality.

This is likely to have a human cost in terms of lost European manufacturing jobs but that is, sadly for those affected, hardly a new phenomenon. Many thousands of European jobs, and many more from the US and elsewhere, have already relocated to China, driven by the irresistible lure of low labour costs that, at least for the moment, cannot be approached elsewhere. It’s just a fact of economic life: very unpleasant for those ex-employees, but unavoidable.

It’s also safe to assume that when one is investing this kind of money (undisclosed at present but the TC buy is rumoured to be in the region of $120m), one would do so on the basis of not only recouping that investment in due course but with the intention of expanding one’s profits. That can only be achieved by continuing to develop, manufacture, sell and support products that are competitive, relevant to their markets, of

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professional quality and which make a valid contribution to their purchasers and users.

As it happens, the buyer already has a track record in this regard, having at least tripled the turnover of a previous acquisition within five years by investing millions in R&D and manufacturing to massively expand the product portfolio and thus the customer base.

They wouldn’t be spending millions more unless they thought they could do it again.

From a dispassionate, commercial viewpoint it’s hard to see a downside.

Both corporate hegemony and Pacific Rim manufacturing are already part of the business. This is just another sign that pro audio is growing up as it moves from a collection of cottage industries to a group of major corporates expanding by acquisition, because that’s what happens when there is enough money in an industry to fund growth. Growth is good. Growth produces new products and new opportunities. A brilliantly successful business is reinvesting heavily in our industry. What’s not to like?

X-LINE ADVANCE Forward-thinking line-array design starts here.

The result of rigorous R&D, the introduction of the new X-Line Advance family sees Electro-Voice push the parameters of line-array performance to the next level.

X-Line Advance utilizes state-of-the-art EVengineered components and incorporates a range of innovative new features, all of which work together to surpass the capabilities of other line arrays, and all in a significantly more compact, flexible, and quickerto-set-up package.

KEY FEATURES: An unprecedented performance-to-size ratio for installed and concert sound applications.

Advanced audio quality and control via a host of new and exclusive EVengineered technologies, including next-generation Hydra wave-shaping devices, high-output transducers, and proprietary FIR-Drive optimization.

New-look EV industrial design and new Integrated Rigging System combine streamlined appearance with simplified setup.

The first wave of X-Line Advance products includes two full-range elements (X1-212/90 & X2-212/90) and the X12-128 — the most powerful subwoofer EV has ever developed.

Designed, engineered, and tested for ultimate reliability by Electro-Voice in the USA. Learn more at: www.electrovoice.com/X-LineAdvance

P12

Movers and shakers

JUNE 2015

Board remixed at MPG Dan Cox, Bruno Ellingham, Cameron Craig, Andrew Hunt and Mick Glossop are new directors

T

he Music Producers Guild (MPG) has revealed changes to its executive board structure.

After having completed their constituted ďŹ ve-year term, members of the board – including chairman Steve Levine – have stepped down.

Award-winning producer Levine, elected in 2009, will remain involved with the MPG in an ambassadorial role,

as will Mark Rose and Richard Lightman, the former vicechairman and CEO, respectively.

At the MPG’s members’ conference at Strongroom Studios in Shoreditch, London, MPG members Dan Cox, Bruno Ellingham, Cameron Craig, Andrew Hunt and Mick Glossop (L–R) were elected as new executive board directors. www.mpg.org.uk

DEALER NETWORK

Galician loudspeaker manufacturer Idea has named Joan La Roda as its senior loudspeaker designer. “It’s the enthusiasm [‌] of everybody at Idea that encouraged me to join in,â€? he comments. www.ideaproaudio.com

Martin Audio has boosted its UK sales force with the recruitment of Richard Van Nairn, formerly of LMC Audio Systems, as account manager, working alongside Al Brown. www.martin-audio.com

Nexo has announced the appointment of Alain Boone (left) who joins as European sales director. Boone previously spent 18 years as account manager at Belgian Nexo distributor Audio XL. www.nexo-sa.com

UK HarmanSound Technology has appointed Stuart Strachan to the newly created role of live sound project engineer. Strachan has a remit to develop awareness of Harman live sound products. www.soundtech.co.uk

RenĂŠ Harder has been appointed a member of the board of Stagetec.

He succeeds Dr Klaus-Peter Scholz, one of the founders of the Berlin-based digital audio technology manufacturer. www.stagetec.com

Munich-based live engineer BjĂśrn Seeländer has been named live sound product specialist for Waves Audio. Seeländer will demonstrate the “huge quality and value beneďŹ ts of using Waves in live soundâ€?. www.waves.com

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Audica Professional has announced Audiologic as its new distributor for the UK. “We have always been impressed by Audica’s combination of impressive sound quality and superb styling,â€? says Simon Stoll, Audiologic’s MD, “and are delighted to be able to bring this to our installation customers.â€? www.audicapro.co.uk www.audiologic.uk HD Pro Audio has been named as a main UK dealer for the new Avid VENUE S6L console, launched at Prolight + Sound in April. HD Pro Audio’s Andy Huffer comments: “Having been with VENUE since its inception over 10 years ago, we’re primed and ready to go for supply and support of this superb new console. It uses the same workow and accepts original VENUE show ďŹ les, making it immediately familiar to engineers who know VENUE already.â€? www.avid.com www.hdproaudio.co.uk American mic specialist Earthworks has appointed SEA Vertrieb & Consulting as the its new distributor for Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Founded in 2000 by veteran pro-audio engineer Uwe Kirchfeld, SEA Vertrieb & Consulting employs 30 staff with expertise in studio/ recording, live, broadcast and installed sound. www.earthworksaudio.com www.sea-vertrieb.de

P14 JUNE 2015

A day with Adrian Sherwood

BY SOULSOUND

In a new video from PSNTraining partner Soulsound, acclaimed dub/dance producer Adrian Sherwood shows us round his studio, On-U, and talks us through his fabulous racks of gear – including old favourites that may only make one sound, but a sound so good it’s worth trying to keep the machine alive.

Sherwood also runs through a warm-up mix of Soon Come by his daughter, Denise Sherwood, where he decides where to incorporate effects and get the rhythm swinging properly.

Watch the video at www.psneurope.com/adrian-sherwood

Shure Academy: Wireless Workbench Masterclass Waltham Abbey, UK www.shure-academy.co.uk

9–10 June

BY JON CHAPPLE

BY MARC MAES

(pictured, fourth from right, with Lacksman [orange shirt] and the other participants). www.synsound.be

Midas: CMDU/CMDSE training Manchester, UK www.midasconsoles.com

20 June Adlib: Soundcraft Vi training Potters Bar, UK www.adlib.co.uk

THE ESSENTIALS: TAYLOR SWIFT VS THE LOUDNESS WARS

Photo: David Shankbone

system that can mix both FOH and monitors and record a live performance in one simple, integrated package. It purchased six GLD-80 mixers fitted with Dante network cards, AR2412 and AR84 remote IO racks and a ME-U hub with four ME-1 personal monitor mixers – a system which, connected via the Dante network, allows six students to mix and record simultaneously.

“Before the Allen & Heath gear was installed, setup times for classes was taking a long time as there were multiple systems that needed to talk to each other,” says the school’s owner, Frans Ockeloen.

“The new system e and enables students to perform various tasks as a group. It’s the perfect system for teaching,” The AR racks are connected to the primary GLD mixer, which supplies gain and routing to the other five mixers. Stereo PFLs from each GLD can be sent to the teacher’s iMac, where he or she can listen to individual mixes and analyse with the whole class at the end of each session. A 32-channel multi-track can be streamed from a DAW to all the GLDs for multitrack training sessions, while the ME system is used to monitor the band. A GLD and the ME system are also used for any live performances outside of the classroom. www.allen-heath.com www.iabopleidingen.nl

Brussels’ SynSound hosts synth workshops On 25 and 28 April Dan Lacksman, sound engineer, synthesiser afficionado and the owner of SynSound, hosted two days of ‘analog synthesis masterclasses’ at the Brussels recording studio.

SynSound, on the Rue de la Chanterelle, is home to a dizzying array of analogue and digital synthesisers, samplers, sequencers, vocoders and drum machines.

On the 28th, Lacksman recorded a fully analogue rhythm section and sent the audio files to his ‘students’ as ‘homework’. “The idea is that they add one or two analogue tracks for me to include in a Pro Tools session and mix down,” he says. “A new hit is in the making.”

Among those in attendance was Alex Callier, bassist with Flemish trip-hop group Hooverphonic

d&b audiotechnik: Electoacoustics seminar Nailsworth, UK www.dbaudio.com

3 June

IAB Utrecht is GLD all over

The Institute of Audio and Lighting Technology (Instituut voor Audio- en Belichtingstechniek; IAB) in Utrecht has selected Allen & Heath’s GLD mixers and ME personal monitoring system for its audio training courses.

The IAB, which celebrated the 20th anniversary of its founding this year, required an up-to-date audio

2 June

... and the simple secret to getting your music to stand out, by Ian Shepherd At the end of April, a meme I made for Dynamic Range Day went viral and I ended up being interviewed by Billboard and The Times about it.

The title of the post was: So Taylor Swift is louder than Motorhead, AC/DC and the Sex Pistols… – wait, WHAT? Well then: is Taylor REALLY louder than all these acts?

Read the full article at www.psneurope.com/taylorswift-vs-loudness-wars

www.psneurope.com/training

P16 JUNE 2015

New products

FLARE AUDIO R2PRO

What is it?

The premium titanium edition of Flare Audio’s first in-ear headphones.

Details: The West Sussex-based manufacturer launched the distortionfree, pressure-balanced R2PROs – each manufactured from a solid bar of grade-5 titanium with professional-grade Comply Isolation memory foam tips – with a campaign on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, which at press time had raised an impressive £28,652 with 13 days to go.

And another thing…

Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley are both fans. “[The R2PROs are] truly flat – and I mean that in the most positive way – without being in any way dull,” says singer-songwriter Hawley.

“I’m once again enjoying pieces of music I thought I was over-familiar with because I can hear new stuff in there,” adds Cocker. “Listening is a pleasure again. Whoopee! Thank you, Flare.” www.flareaudio.com

AKG

LAB.GRUPPEN

MERGING TECHNOLOGIES

What is it?

AKG’s latest reference digital wireless microphone system, available now in the UK and ROI from Sound Technology.

What is it?

The latest update for the Lake Controller software – now with recallable EQ overlays.

What is it?

The world’s first network-attached DAC.

DMS800

Details: Building on the success of the DMS700 V2, the DMS800 features two digital audio outputs for Dante and AES EBU, improved design and mechanics for the DHT800 handheld transmitter and interchangeable microphone heads.

And another thing…

Boasting a 150MHz ultra-wide frequency range, the DMS800 is targeted at worldwide touring applications in frequency-crowded environments. www.soundtech.co.uk

LAKE CONTROLLER V6.4

Details: “Users can store and recall individual EQ overlays to modules in Lake Controller,” says Lab.gruppen’s Martin Andersson. “Now any given speaker preset can consist of a single base preset which then can be augmented with EQ overlay additions.”

And another thing…

The new software release also includes a comprehensive implementation of Lab.gruppen’s RPM (Ration Power Management) technology. www labgruppen.com

www.psneurope.com/technology

NADAC

Details: Derived from Merging’s Horus and Hapi family of RAVENNA-enabled networked audio interfaces, the NADAC is available in stereo or eight-channel versions.

And another thing…

According to Merging, the AES67-compliant RAVENNA technology “remains the only logical choice for the professional and the audiophile”. www.merging.com

P17 JUNE 2015

PRESONUS

ROYER LABS

SHURE

What is it?

A significant update to PreSonus’ Studio One DAW.

What is it?

A phantom-powered ribbon microphone.

What is it?

A dual-sided broadcast headset, first seen at the NAB Show.

Details: Studio One 3 Professional introduces the ‘arranger track’, which enables the user to copy or move entire song sections using drag and drop.

Details: A high output level and -15dB pad make the versatile R-122 MKII suited for micing acoustic instruments and other sources with low SPL characteristics.

And another thing…

Extended FX chains provide new ways to build multidimensional sounds by chaining and combining effects plug-ins in serial, in parallel by channel or by frequency with up to five splits. www.royerlabs.com

And another thing…

The new mic is essentially an R-122 with two additional features: a switchable -15 dBpad and switchable bass cut filter. www.royerlabs.com

STUDIO ONE 3

R-122 MKII

BRH50M

Details: The lightweight, comfortable, durable BRH50M is constructed to meet “the demanding needs of pro users throughout the broadcast industry”.

And another thing…

The BRH50M’s microphone features a cardioid polar pattern and frequency response optimised for natural, intelligible voice reproduction. www.shure.eu

UNITY AUDIO

UNTERLASS

WARM AUDIO

What is it?

Unity Audio’s new flagship near-/mid-field monitor.

What is it?

A new line of high-end studio furniture by Austrian designer Arno Unterlass.

What is it?

A ‘careful recreation’ of the Pultec EQP-1A, “the most renowned tube equaliser in studio history”.

Details: SINGLEDESK 40 furniture is available in two models: the SINGLEDESK 40A (pictured), with angled side panels, and SINGLEDESK 40R, with rounded side panels.

Details: The EQP-WA matches both the look and sound of the original Pultec unit, featuring CineMag transformers and premium-grade valves.

THE SUPER ROCK

Details: Heading up the Essex manufacturer’s multi-awardwinning The Rock range of reference two-way active monitors, The Super Rock “starts out as a Rock MkII and turns every detail up to 11!”.

And another thing…

Unity Audio MD Kevin Walker describes The Super Rock as “a beautifully and brutally honest monitor that’s perfectly suited for either demanding tracking or critical mixing”. www.unityaudioproducts.co.uk

SINGLEDESK 40

And another thing…

The SINGLEDESK 40 series is available in a choice of black, satin white and ‘deluxe’ (wooden) finishes. www.unterlass.info

www.psneurope.com/technology

EQP-WA

And another thing…

At £649 (€890), the EQ epitomises “the Warm Audio philosophy of affordability available to everyone”, says distributor Nova. www.nova-distribution.co.uk

P18

Show review

JUNE 2015

Germany

No Messe-ing around!

2015’s PL+S was another record-breaker. In part two of our show review, Jon Chapple scoops up everything we couldn’t squeeze in first time around

Up close and personal on the Eighteen Sound stand

W

hen the 20th Prolight + Sound and Musikmesse shows closed their doors on the evening of 18 April, over 108,000 visitors from 146 countries had passed through the Messe Frankfurt’s sprawling halls. Exhibitor numbers, too, were equally impressive: a record 928 companies from 41 countries attended, with the organisers hailing the four-day trade fairs’ “excellent trade–visitor standard, good propensity to order and high level of internationality”.

However, 2015 was the sister shows’ last hurrah in their current forms: As of 2016 PL+S and Musikmesse will switch halls (PL+S moving from its existing home in Halls 8 and 9 to Halls 1, 3, 4 and 5 and the Congress Centre) and no longer run concurrently, with Prolight + Sound taking place from Tuesday 5 to Friday 8 April and Musikmesse from Thursday 7 to Sunday 10 April.

Musikmesse will also open its doors to consumers on all four days.

“We are acting from a position of strength and want to expand Prolight + Sound hand in hand with the sector and for the sector,” explains Stephan Kurzawski, senior vice-president of Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH. “To this end, we need more space, which the eastern section of the exhibition centre offers.”

In total, the new Prolight + Sound will comprise six exhibition halls, two outdoor arenas, a new indoor arena and a larger area of outdoor exhibition space.

This change in arrangements certainly surprised some exhibitors PSNEurope spoke to as they have become comfortable and familiar with the layout of (in

particular) Halls 8.0 and 5.1. Who knows what pros and cons next year’s changes will bring?

But that’s more than enough about 2016 for now – especially when there’s still so much left to review from this year. Shall we get started?

Harman’s AKG debuted a double dose of new mics in Frankfurt. The dual-diaphragm C314 condenser microphone – the latest addition to the family comprising the best-selling C214, C414 B-XL II and C414 B-TL II, among others – offers “a best-in-class self-noise and dynamic range, flat, high linear frequency response

and neutral sound”, while the D112 MkII (below left), the successor to one of the most popular kick-drum microphones ever made, improves upon its predecessor with an integrated flexible mount.

A familiar face received a makeover at the Allen & Heath stand as the Cornish console-maker launched ‘Chrome Editions’ of its GLD-series mixers (below).

The GLD Chrome firmware adds auto mic mixing (AMM) capability and further additions to the its processing suite, including new FX and channel-based compressor emulations. The redesigned Chrome Edition GLD-80 and GLD-112 mixers feature a new, metallic livery, while the AR84 and AR2412 AudioRacks are equipped with a sleek black finish.

The AMM can be configured to work across all 44 microphone sources, allowing the user to select which inputs should be auto-mixed without the usual restrictions of a 16-channel insert-based system.

www.psneurope.com

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P20 JUNE 2015

Show review

The Chrome firmware also includes a ‘DEEP Plug-In architecture’ that allows users to select from different processing units on every input and mix channel.

In the first of two anniversary celebrations, veteran German audio, video, lighting and comms supplier Amptown System Company (ASC) celebrated 25 years in business, just edging out the 20-year-old whippersnappers at Powersoft. ASC’s managing director, Leif Witte, said it “want[ed] to take this opportunity to thank all our customers and see out the end of the first day of the trade fair together – since it’s our customers we have to thank for being able to celebrate the occasion”.

Dutch manufacturer ASL Intercom showcased a

The BP40, a dynamic vocal microphone with a rich condenser-like sound, features a hypercardioid polar pattern which provides isolation of the desired sound source and maximum off-axis rejection when working in a production environment. The AT202USBi (left) is the successor to the popular AT2020 and includes a 24bit/96kHz A–D converter, making it suitable for studio recording, field recording, podcasting and voiceover use.

Visitors to the Coda Audio stand caught the first glimpses of the company’s new AiRAY three-way, full-range line array system, High Output Point Source HOPS8 passive two-way system and Linus5-C and Linus10-C four-channel amplifiers.

selection of its digital intercom systems, including the DS 4000 M Master Matrix, DS 1640 19- rack mount speaker station, DS 290 two-channel beltpack and DS 830 and DS 230 (below) tabletop speaker stations, as well as a range of its well-established analogue solutions.

The DS 4000 M, beltpacks and DS 1640 began shipping in mid-April, followed by the tabletop speaker stations in May.

More mics over at Audio-Technica: the Japanese manufacturer also made it a double with the launch of the BP40 large-diaphragm dynamic microphone and AT2020USBi USB condenser mic, the latter with iOS compatibility.

Set for a full launch this summer, the AiRAY (above) addresses what Coda calls the “‘holy grail’ of exceptional output and intelligibility” yet is half the size, weight and transport dimensions of conventional 2 x 12” systems.

Hall 8 hosted the world premiere of DAS Audio’s Sound Force line. Designed for nightclubs and initially offered in four models, the distinctive, powerful Sound Force range (top right) includes the powered SF-30A subwoofer with 30” speaker and 15,000Wpeak amp.

Other DAS debutantes included the Vantec series – “ideal for live music venues, rental companies, musicians and DJs, as well as installation in all types of venues where outstanding sound quality is a must”, says the Spanish manufacturer – the HQ series, for medium-to-large facilities such as halls and stadiums; and the latest additions to its Aero-series line array

www.psneurope.com

range, including the Aero 20A and matching subwoofer, LX-118A and UX-221A sub with 21” speaker.

The newest products in Focusrite’s RedNet range of Dante-based interfaces – the MP8R eight-channel, remote-controlled mic preamp, D16R AES/EBU interface, HD32R Pro Tools bridge and D64R MADI bridge (below) – saw their first public outing in Frankfurt following their announcement late last year.

The British company, which part-floated on AIM last year, also showcased the ‘Ultimate Stage Rack’, comprising 64 channels of remote-controlled premium mic pres with gain compensation interconnecting with MADI, AES3, analogue line and other Dante equipment.

A promised “exclusive new product announcement”

by Genelec arrived at 4pm on Thursday in the form of the ultra-compact 7040A subwoofer. Designed to complement the company’s 8010, 8020 and M030 active monitors, the 7040A is intended for for use in music creation and sound design applications, audio and video production work in small rooms and improvised monitoring environments.

“In recent years, we have observed an explosion in small-scale, audio and video production work,” said Lars-Olof Janflod, marketing and PR director at Genelec.

“These smaller productions, while often more limited in scope than larger works, still demand the highest levels of equipment performance and we have addressed this need with our 8010, 8020 and M030 active monitors.

The 7040A joins this family, […] creat[ing] a professional, reliable, low-frequency reproduction subwoofer in a transportable package.”

At last year’s show Inspired Audio announced its

intention to broaden its traditionally live sound-focussed offering to encompass portable sound and fixed installation, and PL+S 2015 saw it make good on its promise with a raft of production-ready new product launches.

Portable products aimed at all aspects of live performance were represented in the form of the

P21 JUNE 2015

A characteristically busy Meyer Sound booth

Martin Audio demoes the CDD at Frankfurt’s Kap Europa

RCF’s array of arrays

MQ series, comprising three full-range enclosures.

The MQ12 and MQ15 feature mid/bass cone drivers with 3.5” aluminium voice coils, neodymium magnet structures and 1.4” exit compression drivers mounted on CD waveguides, while the three-way MQL makes use of a 15” cone driver for the 55–400Hz pass band combined with a horn-loaded 8” midrange unit and 1” exit high-frequency driver on CD waveguide.

Fixed install was represented by the new iQ series (the iQ8, iQ10, iQ12 and iQ15), which features a full complement of insert and bracket points and are finished in a textured, water-based finish, with the eFlex Q20 amplifier a new addition to Inspired’s touring range.

Calling the 2015 show its “most positive Frankfurt Prolight + Sound experience in recent memory”, Martin Audio made a splash with the introduction of the CDD loudspeaker range, described as bringing “MLA-like consistency” to the install market.

The speakers combine distinctive curved enclosures with the eponymous ‘Coaxial Differential Dispersion’ technology to deliver “ultimate coverage consistency to venues requiring cutting-edge technology from a stylish enclosure”, says Martin Audio.

The CDD series, introduced at a press conference at the company’s stand on Wednesday morning, was demoed to more than 175 guests (including PSNEurope) that evening in the Kap Europa conference centre. A presentation by Martin Audio’s R&D director, Jason Baird, was followed by an invitation to the audience to walk the coverage pattern of a singular CDD12 and the opportunity to listen to the larger CDD15 and double 18 subs (CSX218) in a specially constructed nightclub zone.

Also launched in Frankfurt was v2.1.10 of Martin Audio’s Display software. Display remains the only

www.psneurope.com

sound-design software that offers a ‘hard avoid’ feature, enabling sound to be directed appropriately “without sacrifice to the audience experience”.

Powersoft marked the 20th anniversary of its founding with a well-attended birthday bash at the APT-Apartment nightclub – featuring a performance by the robotic Lego Toa Mata Band – and a new-look stand designed around two ‘X’ motifs; an allusion to both its X Series power amps, launched at PL+S 2014, and two decades in business.

In addition to the X Series (below), products on display included the Ottocanali DSP+D, M Series and K Series amplifiers and M-Force moving-magnet linear motor transducer.

P22 JUNE 2015

Show review

The Italian stallions at RCF continued their gallop into the realm of digital mixing with the launch of the M18 (above) and M08, the first mixers in the company’s new M series line-up. Designed as a practical, fader-free, portable enclosure, the tablet-controlled, wi-fi enabled M18 (previously known as the TM18) incorporates four-band EQs on each channel and a mixing engine populated with eight mic inputs, 10 line inputs, six aux outs, headphones out and two XLRs for main out.

RCF launched its first mixing solution, the analogue L-PAD, at PL+S 2014.

Not content with attending just one exhibition, the ever-ambitious Studiomaster (last seen bestriding a Siberian iceberg with metal band The Defiled) launched the ultra-compact digiLIVE digital audio mixer simultaneously at both its Musikmesse and Prolight + Sound stands.

Described as “a hybrid concept marrying the advantages of hardware/touchscreen control surface

and remote tablet operation”, the digiLIVE (right) – which has an anticipated price point of under £1,000/€1,500 – is targeted at both the pro-audio and MI sectors, including gigging musicians, small venues, dry hire and installation companies. The 16-input/16-bus/8-output digiLiVE 16 sports a control surface incorporating a 7” high-resolution Android touchscreen and eight motorised 100mm faders alongside fully remote tablet operation (iOS and Android).

No less than 10 (!) brand-new products adorned the Void Acoustics stand at PL+S 2015, including the DMS large-format and SDM small-format DJ monitors; Nexus Q upper bass enclosure; Nexus X lower bass enclosure; Arcline 218 touring LF enclosure; Arcline Bass arrayable LF enclosure; Cyclone Bass LF enclosure; and Bias VQ, V3 and V9 power amplifiers.

Void Acoustics’ creative director – and PSNEurope Genius! – Rog Mogale said: “Prolight + Sound was the perfect platform to introduce the next generation of Void

www.psneurope.com

products to our customers. This year’s show was the busiest we’ve ever experienced. We were very pleased with the feedback we received from everyone who visited us.” pls.messefrankfurt.com

P24

The strategic position

JUNE 2015

United States

Student becomes master

Frank Wells discovers how BAE Audio president Mark Loughman was transformed from student musician to ‘being a tech’

I

t’s not an uncommon scenario: student gets internship, finds he’s learning more on-the-job than in school, makes himself valuable enough to be hired full-time and he never looks back. It’s significantly less common for the student to end up owning the company.

Two months into his tenure as an audio student at the Los Angeles Recording Workshop, Mark Loughman – originally from Manchester, UK – followed a message board lead to an internship at Brent Averill Enterprises, a company which once repackaged vintage Neve console modules into rack-ready units before becoming the first operation to replicate the venerated Neve 1073 preamp/EQ. Realising the learning opportunity he’d discovered, he left the school. “I started on minimum wage and worked 40 hours a week,” Loughman recalls.

“I was basically learning how to be a tech under the guidance of [design engineer] Avedis Kifedjian [now of Avedis Audio]. I did that for about seven or eight years.”

From his perspective as a life-long guitarist, Loughman says he developed an interest in what went on inside the gear. “I learned all about signal flow, and the basic building blocks of analogue technology.”

While opining that “you never finished learning”, Loughman says he got to the point where he’d learned “the capabilities of what we were building, and realised that there was a lot more that we could be doing with certain circuits.” As Loughman prepared to start his own company in 2009, to be dubbed UK Sound, Brent Averill decided to retire and Loughman bought him out. The name BAE Audio is a nod to Brent Averill Enterprises and British Audio Engineering.

“At BAE Audio, we had a fantastic sounding preamplifier that was designed years ago and because it became abandoned technology, we were legally able to recreate the design and get creative in enhancing the circuit for today’s applications,” Loughman recalls.

“For example, nobody was putting 20 and 24kHz on a product because they thought people couldn’t hear these frequencies. Of course, we can’t hear 24kHz, but we can hear the curve leading up to it. The first unit I did with Avedis was called the 1023 and was essentially a deluxe 1073 with extended frequencies.”

BAE is committed to building products to the highest possible standard, says Loughman, both in terms of parts and labour. “As a child of the ‘60s and ‘70s – the gear that was built back then is still around today and will be around long after we’ve gone – I wanted to adopt that philosophy as well.”

BAE is based in North Hollywood, California, with two

We want to build gear that we would use in the studio ourselves

Mark Loughman

assembly houses nearby. “We do all the construction and manufacturing at our assembly locations,” says Loughman, “and then we do the final testing in our location in North Hollywood.”

Tech support and customer service are taken very seriously. “We realise that if a piece of equipment ever goes down, we need to be available to address this appropriately,” Loughman elaborates. “Because our equipment is modular and not on a single circuit board, we can troubleshoot any issues quite easily.” Support is available to walk customers through diagnostics for owner servicing, for local onsite repair for nearby customers, or through fast turnaround of gear returned to the factory. “I am on the test bench and I am answering email,” says Loughman. “If someone wants to speak to me on the phone, I will make myself available.”

www.psneurope.com/business

“We want to build gear that we would use in the studio ourselves,” says Loughman, when asked to further elaborate on BAE’s corporate philosophy.

“When we design something, we don’t do it from a cost standpoint.” Loughman says that the best techniques are the vintage techniques: “We adhere to philosophies of old: hand-wiring and using all discrete components.

We don’t cut corners here and always build things the best way they can be built. People can’t expect anything more than that.”

BAE has enjoyed an “organic and steady growth,” according to Loughman. “We’ve never spiked in any given year or had a severe trough – it’s always been constant. I believe this is how a business should be run.

You want to grow it steadily so things like QC do not suffer and you maintain a good direction.” The company

has a number of distributors in Europe, notably Funky Junk in the UK, Sonus for Croatia and its neighbouring provinces,Reflexion Arts in Spain and MS-MAX in Russia.

Only a modest number of new products have been introduced over the years of BAE’s existence. “We don’t want to diversify our product line too much,” explains Loughman. “Rather, we want to complement our existing product line.

We are a small firm, and our resources limited to a degree, so we have to be pragmatic in our product planning and projections.” That said, within a few weeks, a 500 series 1073-type mic-pre is on the cards. “We have other things in the pipeline,” Loughman cautiously reveals, “but conception to the finished article can be a long and arduous journey.” At least three new products are expected to be ready by the October Audio Engineering Society Convention in New York.

Though the microphone preamp market is crowded, Loughman welcomes competition. “Any company worth its salt welcomes competition,” he opines. “If it’s a product that people want, they will choose the company that builds the best version. BAE Audio stands alone because we don’t compromise. There are many ways of building this circuit,

and other companies trying to do similar things. But we are very transparent about how we do it through online videos and such, and I will put our gear up against anything.”

BAE welcomes, even encourages, user comparisons of vintage 1073s to BAE’s circuits. One major aspect of BAE’s fidelity to the original design is the transformers used. “There are a few companies that build a 1073,” Loughman elaborates, “but if you build it without Carnhill/St. Ives transformers, it’s like building a luxury car and putting a lawnmower engine in it. In fact if you are looking to buy a 1073 from us, or anyone, you should enquire as to whether or not it has Carnhill/St Ives transformers. If it doesn’t, you should ask ‘why not?’”

“We are not salesmen here,” he adds.

“If a customer is asking about something we don’t make, or a particular flavour, we refer them to another company who make such preamps.”

In conclusion, Loughman notes a milestone in BAE’s history: “Because this year is our 15-year anniversary of building the 1073, which is consecutively longer than any other company in history, we are looking at what else we can produce with this circuit. Watch this space!” ww.baeaudio.com

Loughman’s BAE-filled red phonebox is a trade show favourite

www.psneurope.com/business

P26 JUNE 2015

Studio Peter Baert in Studio Music

Belgium

All guns blazing Last month saw the opening of the new-look Raygun Music Sound Radio, making people feel at home while offering top-notch quality, reports Marc Maes

R

aygun studio, catering for the production of radio commercials, was founded in 2006 by Peter Baert. A year ago the studio changed management – with Baert and former DDB art director Liesbeth Demolder jointly taking the helm – and today holds a leading position in its market, with further diversification into composing and recording music for commercials and film scores ongoing. Moving to a new building was the next logical step.

When entering the 500sqm (5,381sqft) facility in Brussels’ Hooikaai, one may be surprised to discover a spacious hotel lobby rather than recording studios.

“This has to do with the clients we work for: advertising agencies, creatives, communications consultants,” explains Liesbeth Demolder, managing partner of Raygun. “They find a cosy atmosphere, plenty of daylight and carefully picked furniture […] with a high quality studio under the hood.”

Hidden behind wooden walls are Raygun’s recording studios. “The studios were designed and built as floating box-in-box studios,” says Peter Baert, who is taking on music production at Raygun. “With the recording booths for studio one and studio two located between the control rooms, the see-through concept establishes direct contact between actors, musicians, singers and engineers…

“The control rooms are designed more like a living room rather than a high tech studio – our clients may have to wait, and we want to make them feel at ease.

That’s why we invested in positive energy, [in] daylight and oxygen, [in] space.”

Baert and Demolder realised that moving to a new location meant a new step in Raygun’s growth; a substantial investment in studio quality was essential.

“We opted for two Avid S6 M10 consoles, with two DAD X32 interfaces, as the technical core of the studios,” explains Baert. “Studios one and two use the same interface – the DADX32 allows working with two Pro Tools systems.

“We designed the whole floor from scratch and installed a complete network, both in analogue and Dante ethernet – the three studios and recording booths can work in any possible combination. Today, we see studio two as a recording and post-production facility, offering a 5.1 surround system, while studio 1 is a specific recording and editing studio. Radio is a fast medium, so speed is crucial, and studio one’s mission is to finalise a 30-second commercial as quickly as

possible. Engineers mix directly in Pro Tools 11 HD.” A third studio, Studio Music, with the second S6 M10 and DADX32, is a combination live room/recording area.

Baert uses it to compose, arrange and record music for commercials, trailers and scores. The studio offers room for a string quartet or jazz trio, with a wide variety of synths and keyboards available, including a Roli Seaboard and baby grand piano with ‘silent mode’ MIDI keyboard.

All studios are equipped with Genelec monitors, with Studio Music equipped with additional ADAM Audio A8X and A5X monitors in a surround set-up. The recording booths mainly use Neumann U87 microphones, but Raygun’s collection also includes Neumann 107s, TLM 193s, AKGs, DPAs, AKG pick-ups and a Soundman binaural microphone set.

Dutch company Mutrox Soundproof Solutions designed and built the studios. “The opening deadline for the studio was a challenge,” continues Demolder.

“Mutrox did the job in six weeks; they also demonstrated how acoustic panels, carpets and the furniture – tailormade by Walnutsgroove – offer sufficient absorption to allow huge glass windows.”

The Avid S6 and DADX32 interfaces were supplied and installed by Belgian distributor Amptec.

Raygun’s radio department generates the bulk of the business. “We’re the only radio studio specialised in music composing and recording for commercials,” comments Demolder. “With Peter holding a Berklee masters in arranging and orchestration, this aspect of our business is rapidly growing.”

According to Liesbeth Demolder, the challenge is to find the balance between project and budget – or, as she says, between tartine et vitrine: “We have grown in our niche, and this commitment also involves a substantial investment in human capital. Today we employ eight people.

“Maintaining the balance between work and play has its price, but we get [lots of] positive feedback in return.

And sometimes we take on an assignments that bring along so much warmth and energy – but less euros.

Craftsmanship and job satisfaction are crucial.”

With Raygun Music Sound Radio already a major player in Belgian radio, Baert and Demolder are now looking further afield: London and Paris are two hours away from the studio, and Peter Baert was invited to the Cannes Lions 2015 radio awards event in June, generating a number of new opportunities for Raygun.

www.psneurope.com/studio

The ‘living room’ in studio one

In the vocal booth

“We strongly believe in what we do, and get much energy from it, both on a people and product level,” he concludes. “We have a creative story to tell and are prepared to go that extra mile when necessary. Raygun makes a difference with our production values, human capital and passion.” www.raygun.be

And then there’s the internet…

Peter Baert recently composed and arranged the score, recorded by the Macedonian Radio Symphony Orchestra, for a worldwide ad campaign by luggage manufacturer Samsonite – without either party ever leaving their own studio. He explains: “I used Skype to communicate with the conductor in Skopje, and received a live audio link.

Voice-overs came in from London using SourceConnect. With advertising budgets continuously under pressure this was a competitive solution to have a score played by professional musicians.”

The Café D’Anvers installation comprises the GS-WAVE series 3-metre dance floor stack with GSA technology, and the XY Series in-fill speakers. All powered by Powersoft’s high performance K Series amps with built-in DSP. This comprehensive line-up guarantees versatile installations that deliver superb sound and complete coverage throughout venues of every shape and size.

cafe d’anvers | antwerp | belgium

visit www.pioneerproaudio.com to learn more about our installations at ibiza venues BOOOM!, ushuaÏa, pikes and km5

Pioneerproaudio

P28 JUNE 2015

Studio

United Kingdom

Playing for keeps DJ and label entrepreneur Spydabrown has opened a three-room facility in the last place you’d expect. Dave Robinson reveals all

139

TH

AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK J ACOB J AVITS C ENTER CONFERENCE: OCT 29 – NOV 1, 2015 EXHIBITS: OCT 30 – NOV 1, 2015

If It’s About LIVE SOUND, It’s At AES139!

LIVE SOUND EXPO comes to New York City this fall at the 139th AES Convention.

With three days of exhibits, the Live Sound Track, and the Live Sound Expo, plus four days of workshops, technical papers and program content tailored to the current audio and communications landscape, once again, the AES Convention will be THE audio event of the year and cannot be missed.

Our Live Sound Expo at the 139th Convention offers expert advice for the broad spectrum of live sound engineers (some 25% of Convention attendees) with an emphasis on the practical, bringing professionals with decades of experience to the stage to inspire and educate attendees.

AES139 Live Sound Expo itinerary and areas of focus: , Friday, October 30 – Broadway/Theater , Saturday, October 31 – Worship & Install , Sunday, November 1 – Touring Admission to the Live Sound Expo is included with your FREE Exhibits-Plus advance registration.

The Live Sound Expo sponsors are:

For AES sponsor opportunities contact Graham Kirk: graham.kirk@aes.org

If It’s About AUDIO, It’s At AES! For more information visit our website at:

www.aesconvention.com/139

www.psneurope.com/studio

A

re you paying attention? Because this is important.

This is big. This is, if you will, deep.

Someone has opened a studio in central London.

I know, right?

It’s called Play Deep. But the owner isn’t playing games.

“You can’t go the bank to ask for a loan to build a music studio!

Well, you could try…” begins Zach Spider Brown-Smith, aka DJ and engineer Spydabrown, who owns the chic multi-room boutique facility just a few streets away from King’s Cross station.

The 31-year-old Canadian-British entrepreneur has been heavily involved in the dance music industry since the ’90s, when he co-founded Play Records in Toronto. The label discovered DJ superstar deadmau5 and put out his first five albums. “Big moves for a little indie label!” says Spydabrown.

The success of the imprint led the DJ to decamp to the UK. “In the process of putting out all the albums we built up a network of people over here,” he says. And, as he puts it, he came over for the ADE conference in Amsterdam and “decided not to go home”.

He initially rented a 680sqft space in north-west London (the Saga Centre); it was small and of limited ambition, but it demonstrated what might be possible. “It was a good writing facility. And it showed me there was still a market for writing rooms.” Then, in June 2012 he bought a building a couple of streets away from King’s Cross “for a steal”, gutted it and built a whole new studio inside it, as well as offices to run his management company and label.

Play Deep comprises three studios – two writing/recording rooms, one recording/mixing room – but at nearly four times the size (2,500sqft) and 30 months of building time, it affords everything the previous premises could not.

It was his design, too. “I was here every day, with the builders from 7am till God knows what time…” he laughs. “A lot of [the design] came out of necessity – there are things you need, no questions asked, and when you have gone through all the ‘doing it right’ sort of things, you are left with little space on the walls and little to choose from in terms of style. So [the décor is] ‘necessity with industrial chic’, but I aim for what I imagine to be five-star treatment: iPads in every room – they control the lights, and you can order drinks, cabs, get phone calls, without it disturbing any of the sessions.”

Is there daylight? “I made sure of that! I’ve got two skylights, one in the live floor and one in studio 3, and then the other two rooms have front-facing winnows, eight foot by four foot, and I’ve triple layered those [for isolation].”

The proximity of the traffic-heavy roads around King’s Cross has not been an issue, he says. “I was more concerned about unknown tube lines underneath” Spydabrown installed three layers of Trim Acoustics’ Defender 35 soundproofing on top of two

Industrial chic is the chosen style at Play Deep

P29 JUNE 2015

Spydabrown, aka Zach Brown-Smith

underlay layers. “There’s about 50mm of cushioning on top of the floor. So far so good!”

The DJ chose Van Damme cabling throughout, using a variety of types, all supplied by VDC Trading. “I was recommended Van Damme cable, with everyone saying it is the best, and I must say I have not been disappointed. The team at VDC Trading did a great job.”

The key feature of the main mixing room is an Otari Series 54 32-channel fully automated inline desk from 1989, built for Casablanca Studios in Toronto, shipped and reassembled over here.

Spydabrown is a self-confessed gear addict and his studios boast an enviable array of kit: Neve 1064 channel strips; Cranesong Avocet discrete monitor

controllers; and rare Ward-Beck mic pres and EQ (“pulled from CBC broadcast desks”). He’s running PMC TB2A, Yamaha HS80 and NS-10m monitors in two of the rooms, Focal SM9 and Focal Twin 6 monitors in the third. All three carry Pro Tools HD3 Accel rigs.

“We are a commercial facility,” he emphasises. “The studio has to stand on its own two feet for it to be useful to us as a label.”

Although he says long-term lets are absolutely not the plan, Spydabrown does have a tenant in one room: Jonny Coffer, who has worked with Gorgon City and Sam Smith. “Emeli Sandé has been here working with him – it’s exciting to have a big name in a studio that’s so new!”

www.psneurope.com/studio

The headline could read ‘Enthusiastic music biz mover and shaker opens London studio without going cap-in-hand to the bank’. Spydabrown realises what an unusual occurrence this has become.

“I left school when I was 16 and I’m now I’m 31, so in those years I’ve had a chance to build up a network of people. I feel – without sounding arrogant – I feel I’m in a position where I can make money and live and keep this place running. It’s not for the faint of heart – it’s an investment, that’s for sure – but I believe in it. I know it’s going to work.”

Play Deep. Aim high. www.playrecords.net/playdeep www.vdctrading.com

P30 JUNE 2015

Broadcast

United Kingdom

BBC swings one way, Sky the other Elections are always a logistical challenge, and each UK broadcaster has its own methods to get the big stories. Kevin Hilton reports

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ast month’s British general election was even more of a media event than its recent predecessors, with opinion polls and political commentators predicting it would be too close to call. With the political careers of several high-profile figures in the balance and many marginal seats, the main broadcasters, including the BBC and Sky, set out to capture the key events as they happened but went about it in different ways.

The BBC’s coverage was more involved and elaborate.

The main presentation came from studio D at the BBC’s studio centre in Elstree. This was divided into three different areas on the night: Core presentation came from a central area, where two of the broadcaster’s heavyweight news and current affairs presenters, David Dimbleby and Huw Edwards, shared hosting duties. They were joined by BBC political editor Nick Robinson and a number of experts throughout the evening. Laura Kuenssberg handled social media, while Emily Maitlis was in charge of the giant touchscreen with information on key constituencies. Above the studio floor was a mezzanine area where Andrew Neil and up to three guests discussed unfolding events.

Graphical representations of how each party was doing came from a virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) ‘studio within a studio’. Andrew Breaks, election resource manager for BBC S&PP, explains that this area had its own audio and visual mixers so segments could be prepared for news bulletins while the main programme continued.

This component posed technical challenges for the audio production because all cameras in the studio had to be delayed by seven frames to match the VR/AR output.

“A delay was put on the finished sound mix as it left the studio to match the delayed pictures,” Breaks comments.

“We couldn’t do that within the studio because it would have caused spill on to the audio resulting in an echo, which would have driven everybody nuts.” He adds that nondelayed sound was also needed in other parts of the chain, such as talkback. “If audio was going anywhere that needed a talkback panel it couldn’t be delayed, because anyone speaking over it would get a double effect.” Audio delay was applied through the Studer Vista 8 console in studio D’s sound control room.

Incoming lines arrived at a handling/routing area known

A veteran of countless political broadcasts, David Dimbleby led the BBC team at Elstree

Look closely: it’s the top of Jeremy Vine’s head!

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P31 JUNE 2015

Globecast OB trucks were on duty during the night

BBC Election studio audio systems

11 Sennheiser ECM77 bodypack radio mics 1 Sennheiser handheld radio mic 10 Lectrosonics IEM systems 8 Sony ECM 77 cabled mics as MCX, set up next door to studio D. This was arranged in a series of six sub-hubs, each looking after approximately five OBs. “These would be active at different times depending on when declarations were made,” says Breaks. “The inputs were filtered down to ten lines, with two each from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The producer in charge would then switch to what was of interest.”

On the ground, teams of a director–producer and a presenter were sent to selected seats with the aim of getting a story before votes were declared. Breaks says arrangements for the declaration itself depended on what individual returning officers would allow: “You can’t run cables to the stage because people might trip over them.

Some returning officers are happy for a radio mic to be put on a lectern, in some cases you might get a feed from the PA or just have to make do with an open mic in the room.”

At chosen locations the BBC used a mixture of its own regional news vans and satellite vehicles provided by Globecast and SIS LIVE, which also worked for Sky, ITV/ITN, Channel 4 and Scottish TV.

Sky full of stars Sky News’ coverage was more stripped down in terms of presentation (compared to both the BBC this year and its own production at the last general election in 2010) but had the ambition of showing as many declarations as possible.

Tom Pidsley, production specialist for sound with Sky News, explains there were three main categories of contribution. The first group contained the top six seats, including prime minister David Cameron, deputy PM Nick Clegg, leader of the opposition Ed Miliband and Ukip’s Nigel Farage, which were covered by key presenters. Pidsley

describes this as a fuller broadcast set-up with “standard local communications on a four-wire circuit” for two-way talkback with the studio.

The second category comprised approximately 40 seats that were still key declarations, especially in marginal constituencies. A reporter with a satellite van was on site but there was only a one-way, non-return interruptible foldback (IFB) mix-minus link from the control gallery to the location for cueing purposes. Reporters would call the studio from their mobiles when a result looked imminent.

Group three took in 150 locations where students with iPads and a basic audio-camera system – but no return channel – provided coverage over streamed links. “The idea was to keep everything as simple as possible,” Pidsley explains.

He adds that the presentation divided into two distinct halves: “In the early part of the evening we were trying to focus on pre-analysis, with summaries from the 40 to 50 reporters out there. We got through most of that in the first hour and once the first declarations started coming in we focused on the results, getting as many on air as possible.”

Incoming circuits were dealt with in unit 1, which Pidsley describes as a combination of an operational set-up and a master control room, which offered between 40 and 50 possible sources. Main presentation came from the Sky News studio, working in conjunction with an usually empty neighbouring studio where cameras, computers and desks were set up. The evening was anchored by Sky News Tonight presenter Adam Boulton, who wore two radio mics. There was support from Sky News’ political editor Faisal Islam, polling expert Michael Thrasher, a journalist/presenter in front of a video wall (all also on a radio mics) and guests using a hardwired Sony ECM 77.

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6 beyerdynamic BM32W white standby mics Nexo PS8 PA system Cedar DNS 8 Live (to reduce noise from projectors and screens) These audio feeds, plus the outside sources (OS) came into the Calrec Alpha. “It’s an older desk and we were bringing in nearly 200 sources,” says Pidsley. “We had to get these down to 12 OS lines for two-ways, and then four for the main two-way interviews. There was a lot of subbing to get that on air but it was a beautifully simple set-up because there wasn’t much going on in the studio. The whole theory was to have a hierarchy of feeds into the gallery, so we didn’t have to cope with hundreds of inputs – just a few.”

Pidsley acknowledges that there are new technologies “to make this job easier” but says that other than the iPads issued to the students, Sky’s approach was deliberately straightforward. “For me, as a traditional communications specialist, I feel that we had a better balance for this year of what was achievable in getting what we wanted to get on air.”

There were blips for some broadcasters at different points, but considering the scale of the task that is hardly surprising. The unsung hero of the broadcast election campaign, however, must be the sound engineer working on the comedy documentary The Pub Landlord v Nigel Farage. When the South Thanet result was declared and the Ukip leader finally came face-to-face with his nemesis – comedian Al Murray, who ran against him in the constituency – the false jollity was palpable.

P32 JUNE 2015

Broadcast There is still the attitude that sound comes at the end of a production,but there is so much power that comes from audio

United Kingdom

Frank Melchior

Now and Next for the BBC BBC R&D audio head Frank Melchior talks to Kevin Hilton about the broadcaster’s sound showcase

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hat is heard and seen on television and radio is the direct result of hours of research and development (R&D) by specialist engineers and researchers in the rarefied confines of laboratories and research centres. Traditionally there has been a divide between these institutions and the people who actually use what they produce, but the speed of progress and implementation is pulling down some of the barriers. “We need to get a feel for the real world and a sense of where things might go,” observes Frank Melchior, head of the audio research team and the Audio Research Partnership at BBC R&D. He was speaking on the first day of the ‘Sound: Now and Next’ event held at New Broadcasting House in London on 19 and 20 May. The aim was to highlight “innovation in sound production and broadcasting”, allowing delegates – including sound engineers in TV, radio, music and games production from across Europe – to see current technologies and discuss where they might go in the future.

The event included sessions on live broadcast sound, immersive audio, responsive and interactive content and a well-received presentation by wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, who shared recordings of his work in the Antarctic. There was also a mini-trade fair featuring Fairlight Fraunhofer and the University of Southampton, among other academic centres. (A full report will appear in the July edition of PSNEurope.)

Melchior says the aim was to get input and reaction from those attending as much as show the fruits of research.

“We have to get over to technologists and researchers things like where to put microphones for some of these new technologies because there is no reference point and they need to know about the constraints of the real world,” he explains.

“Research engineers can make a product perfect [in

technological terms] but it also needs to be small enough to take to the Antarctic.”

A recurring subject during the two-day event was immersive audio, which BBC R&D, the other participants in the BBC Audio Research Partnership and institutions such as Fraunhofer have been working on for several years. This research has seen the re-emergence of older technologies like binaural and Ambisonics to satisfy a growing requirement for a more realistic sound experience to go with gaming, virtual reality systems and ultra-HD TV. “There is no standard for immersive as yet,” says Melchior, “so we are working with universities on that as well as pushing binaural through tests with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, where listeners can be in front of the brass section.”

Melchior adds that consumer trends are creating an almost ready-made audience for immsersive sound: “People using earbuds and headphones is one of the biggest opportunities for this technology.

That’s why we’re putting so much into binaural. It’s not new but it is groundbreaking, especially now that headphone wearing is almost a cool thing rather than weird, as it was 30 years ago.”

Being at a predominantly sound oriented event understandably gave a sense that this was a medium in the ascendant but Melchior agreed that there was now more awareness and understanding of audio.

“There is still the attitude that sound comes at the end of a production,” he says, “but there is so much power that comes from audio. There are now objectbased and immsersive technologies. I remember when 5.1 was new, but now there is so much more that can be done.”

Melchior does not see old formats being left behind. BBC R&D is working on stereo to address the needs of the established audience, with new technologies like object-based adding more in the way of foreground and background to improve intelligibility and speech levels.

www.psneurope.com/broadcast

BBC R&D Audio Research Partnership head Frank Melchior

Sound: Now and Next was held at New Broadcasting House last month

While Melchior says the Now and Next event would give a sense of what was coming from the BBC, he wouldn’t be drawn into any speculation on future sound. “I don’t get into projection,” he concluded, “there might be a surprise coming round the corner.” www.bbc.co.uk/rd/events/sound2015

P34 JUNE 2015

Feature: Semiconductors

Under the bonnet Semiconductors are essential building blocks of most modern electronics, with the progression from discrete transistors to integrated circuits largely universal. By Simon Duff and Frank Wells

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ast year, according to the Washington, DC-based Semiconductor Industry Association, the semiconductor market made revenues of nearly $340bn.

The contribution of the audio market makes up a tiny proportion of that figure.

Semiconductors particularly relevant to pro audio include digital signal processors (DSPs) for audio processing, digital integrated circuits for specific functions such as USB, converters from analogue to digital and vice versa, op-amps and other analogue ICs for applications such as microphone pre-amps and filters and power semiconductors used in amplifiers and power supplies. The amount of research and development work in a significant new chip can be similar to that of a large audio console, and is typically in design for several years. It’s often the availability of a new chip which dramatically lowers an audio company’s development and production costs and can be the catalyst for a market to blossom Design engineers in pro audio often have a choice of whether to use generic parts designed for high volume applications, such as smart phones, or to use a part optimised for the job. In deciding which parts to use, the engineers must consider many trade-offs, such as price, performance, design effort and expected component lifetime.

Profusion plc, is a leading European distributor for audio semiconductors and components. Based in Essex, the company has built a solid reputation for knowing which components will be of interest to audio design engineers, of maintaining open communication with their customers and vendors, of staying knowledgeable about the components they sell, and of informing customers of any significant issues with documentation or performance. Keith Persin, managing director, comments on the current upsurge in marketplace

Canaan Semiconductor Limited amplifier IC CS6A4983

I would also expect wireless speakers to become more popular now, as there’s a reliable and low-cost semiconductor solution that does not degrade in busy public places

Keith Persin, Profusion plc activity. “Just recently, I have seen many new pro-audio ICs enter production, and many more are in the pipeline – far more than I can remember in the last 15 years. ICs are typically in design for between two to four years, but it’s at least another year, usually two or three, before they find their way into pro-audio gear. So, I would expect a bumper few years of new product releases that boast either lower cost, better performance or new functionality. For example, ethernet AVB has been talked about for many years but will only start to appear in more products now that there are several ICs

www.psneurope.com

supporting it.

“I would also expect wireless speakers to become more popular now,” he continues, “as there’s a reliable and low-cost semiconductor solution from Summit Semiconductor that does not degrade in busy public places.

On the flip side, the pro-audio industry is too small to keep semiconductors, originally developed for a consumer application, in production. “This poses an on-going headache for many companies in our industry,” remarks Persin, as product designs implementing these chips generally remain in production “for far longer than consumer ones”.

THAT Corporation designs and manufactures high-quality audio technology in the form of analogue and mixed signal integrated circuits. Based in Massachusetts, with offices in Tokyo and Silicon Valley, the company is well known for its line of integrated circuit voltage-controlled amplifiers (VCAs). Ken Nevard, IC marketing manager, points out that the company has recently released a new range of digitally programmable

P35 JUNE 2015

Lucas van der Mee, senior design engineer at Apogee Digital

Keith Persin, managing director of Profusion plc

microphone preamp controllers, called the 1500 Series.

“These ICs allow mixing and matching with integrated mic pre-amps and discrete front ends,” he says. “This flexibility enables a wide range of price and performance options. These are essential system building blocks that help with space constraints while offering power savings and improving time to market, all without compromising performance.”

Mic-pre switchers are the only modular analogue parts that Lucas van der Mee, senior design engineer at Apogee Digital, the California-based interface specialist, says he employs. “THAT’s 5171 is at the heart of most of my mic-

pre design gain switching,” he says. “It is a great part as it allows for your implementation/configuration.” The THAT 5171 “allows digital gain control of an analogue signal, and it works well”, echoes Crane Song’s president Dave Hill.

Great River Electronics, based in Mississippi, designs and builds a range of recording equipment. Project engineer Dan Kennedy also looks to THAT for line receivers and drivers (balanced input and output circuits on a chip), and also uses programmable gain amplifiers. “Otherwise, generally, dualop amps and CMOS switches make up the bulk of the ICs in our audio products,” says Kennedy.

Hill is seeing some interesting component

New Japan Radio’s MUSES8832 op-amp

KEY POINTS • In 2014 the semiconductor industry worldwide comprised a $335.8bn market • Design engineers in pro audio have a choice of whether to use generic parts designed for high volume applications, such as smartphones, or to use a part optimised for pro audio • The amount of research and development work in a significant new chip can be similar to that of a large audio console, and is typically in design for three to four years • The use of surface mount device (SMD) components dominates modern circuit design • FPGA (field-programmable gate arrays) continue to gain in popularity. They are flexible devices that can be programmed to perform a broad range of audio applications

introductions, noting: “AKM has some new devices coming to market that look promising on paper.” He points to AKM’s AK4490 specifically as a DAC chip with “better filters and linearity”. Cirrus Logic parts had “been my choice for a decade”, says van der Mee, but that Cirrus “seemed to have lost interest in our side of the market”. He says he’s employed an AKM chip into an ADC for the first time – the AKM AK5388, a “good, affordable, solid performer”. He adds that chip-maker ESS “pulled it off again” with its ES9018K2M Reference DAC, describing the DSD/PCM, two-channel DAC with integral volume control as “even smaller and even more efficient, giving unrivalled performance. The chips are great sounding.”

Other recent product launches include offerings from Canaan Semiconductor Limited, a Hong Kongbased mixed-signal fabless integrated circuit design

www.psneurope.com

P36 JUNE 2015

Feature: Semiconductors

Ted Kok, executive director of Canaan Semiconductor Limited

company founded in 2010. It has recently released an amplifier, IC CS6A4983, using patented current-assisted class-A technology (they were on display at this year’s Profusion plc Prolight + Sound stand), Ted Kok, Canaan’s executive director summarises. “Similar to the class-K amplifier the core of the technology is a high quality class-A amplifier to ensure the best audio quality.

The improvement that Canaan has introduced into it’s amplifier is replacing the switching mode amplifier in class K amplifier by a linear current driver to provide the necessary boost to satisfy the power requirement in an energy efficient manner.” New Japan Radio (NJR) from Tokyo have some 50 years of semiconductor design experience that includes extensive work in high fidelity audio. One of the company’s latest op-amp ranges is called MUSES, Distributed by Profusion, NJR claims this defies the usual trade-off of low noise versus low power, as it does both.

For getting digital audio in and out of devices ranging from DAWs to loudspeakers, a broad array of interface standards are deployed. Crane Song is sticking with AES3 and ADAT optical for now, while Lynx Studio Technology co founder and chief hardware engineer Bob Bauman, based in Californian making products for PC, notes that he has added a Thunderbolt card to its converter options. He adds that “Most of our products are based on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA).

We can do lots of stuff in one chip and can continue to add features in the field via firmware updates.”

At Metric Halo, the German software, hardware interface company and FireWire pioneer, BJ Buchalter VP R&D says that USB, Thunderbolt, MADI and Ethernet are in use. On Ethernet he says, “we have implemented MHLink, which is an exceptionally low-latency (1 sample), high-bandwidth (128 channels/direction/port @ 192 kHz) point-to-point link over GigE. Our use of GigE is soft, however, so we have left open the possibility of implementing one or more of the more generic networking protocols (ethernet AVB, AES67, Dante).” For Apogee Digital, Thunderbolt and USB are the interfaces of choice, being “universal and standardised”, says van der Mee. “[AVB] has our attention, but we haven’t

Ken Nevard, THAT Corporation

The new 1580 is the front end (amplifier) to THAT’s two-chip mic-pre solution, and acts just like the 1570

Metric Halo’s BJ Buchalter and Stefan Bahr

included it yet for the lack of a true universal standard for audio (and video) application.”

The use of surface-mount device (SMD) components either completely dominates modern circuit design, or is on the rise, as for Hill and Kennedy. These tiny, robotically placed parts don’t have the ‘legs’ of chips of old and are closer to the size needed by the circuitry internal to the chip rather than the size being dictated by the traditional packaging and the need for leads that can extend through printed circuit board holes. SMD parts, allowing for far greater circuit board densities and thus, smaller size, have all but replaced through-hole design chips.

Those interviewed agreed that they largely do not fall back on favoured legacy ICs. “It is way too risky and new parts are simply too good to ignore,” offers van der Mee. Integrated circuits do not operate in isolation. Discrete semiconductors and components like capacitors and resistors are necessary in electronic designs. Kennedy reports that film caps and junction gate field effect transistors (JGFETs),” are tougher to find.” Hill adds conventional transistors to the “big problem” list, saying that “some through hole transistors are not longer made and there are no SMD versions.” van der Mee also laments the rapidly declining availability of transistors and JGFETs, “I guess as a result of the shrinking market.

It is a shame, as I still like to do some discrete design

www.psneurope.com

here and there.”

The final word goes to van der Mee at Apogee Digital.

“The even further miniaturization of parts is great but also a challenging development. It is wonderful as you can put so much circuitry on small footprint, but for debugging it is a nightmare. The number of new power management parts is astounding. As a result our units have very elaborate power designs. Which is very important. As I like to say: ask an athlete about their secret? The food they eat, will always be part of their answer.” www.akm.com www.apogeedigital.com www.canaan-semi.com www.cranesong.com www.greweb.com www.lynxstudio.com www.mhsecure.com www.njr.com www.profusionplc.com www.semiconductors.org www.summitsemi.com www.thatcorp.com Elements of this piece have appeared on www.prosoundnetwork.com. Thanks to Frank Wells for his assistance

P38 JUNE 2015

Live

Italy

Spreading the word Pope Francis preaches to 60,000 in Naples with an Outline sound system. Mike Clark reflects and genuflects

D

uring a recent pastoral visit to Naples, His Holiness Pope Francis celebrated mass in Piazza del Plebiscito, the city’s main square, with a reported “congregation” of 60,000.

Sound reinforcement for the Pope’s sermon, during which he spoke out against crime and corruption, and the rest of the celebration (which featured a 200-strong choir and a 35-member orchestra) was provided by Dee Jay Service and featured an all-Outline rig.

The system comprised 40 Butterfly modules (a main system of two eight-module hangs and two delay towers each with twelve enclosures). Two DBS 18-2 subwoofers were installed under each of the four hangs, and four Doppia systems were deployed on frontfill and outfill chores. On stage, two DVS8 were positioned alongside the Pope’s chair and a H.A.R.D. 115 used on sidefill duty at each of the four corners of the stage. The audio contractor, from Rende, Cosenza, had already worked on several events with the Pope in the past and also provides audio, lighting and backline facilities to clients in the concert, theatre, broadcast, conference and corporate event fields. The firm, which also has an installation division, fielded a four-man team for the event in Naples, led by company owner Remo Florio; PA manager and FOH engineer Francesco Spadaccino; and PA men Gianfranco Mastroianni and Perri Paolino (the latter also responsible for the monitors).

Before flying off to Canada after the event for a concert by Albano and Romina Power – with whom he is regular FOH engineer – Spadaccino gave an insight into the project and how Dee Jay Service and Vatican Radio got the word over loud and clear to the huge crowd.

“The square is a pedestrian zone, so move-in and set-up proceeded smoothly two days before the event, as did calibration, fine-tuning and soundchecks the following day,” says Spadaccino. “Almost completely surrounded by buildings, Piazza del Plebiscito is in fact an oval ‘square’, and is 180m long and 250m wide.

Using Outline’s OpenArray 3D simulation software,

Il Papa cruising in the Popemobile

The thrillingly named Piazza del Plebiscito

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P39 JUNE 2015

we managed to solve the problem of coverage and reflections from the buildings and ensure the intelligibility of the sermon, obviously of fundamental importance for events of this nature.

“The console was a Yamaha CL5, which we manned two-up; Vatican Radio sound engineer Masssimiliano D’Angelo was responsible for the speech mics and I mixed the orchestra and choir. After completing the system configuration to ensure optimum audience coverage, I went onstage and personally fine-tuned the stage monitors for the Pope.”

As well as broadcasting in 39 languages, serving pilgrims and visitors to Rome from all over the world, Vatican Radio’s medium- and short-wave transmissions are heard worldwide. The broadcaster is always involved in events in which the Pope participates, but relies on the support of the rental companies involved.

“The person in charge of the technical aspects in Naples on behalf of Vatican Radio was Roberto Bellino,” Spadaccino continues, “with whom I interact on these events, and with whom we have an excellent working relationship.”

As well as having been a sound engineer with Vatican Radio for over 37 years, Bellino is assistant director of the radio’s ceremony section.

He explains exactly what this role involves: “In Italy, my work consists of organising all the technical aspects of the Pope’s journeys. This includes the press room for Vatican Radio, collaboration with the rental companies involved in the coverage and amplification of the events such as the Masses celebrated by the Pope. Things are organised differently abroad, when we travel with the Pope’s entourage to the events, collaborate with the local rental companies and record the events.”As well as Bellino and D’Angelo, the Vatican Radio audio team in Naples was made up of the broadcaster’s team of microphone techs and second sound engineer Vittorio Rossi.

Bellini adds: “For the liturgical part of this type of event, the Pope and other celebrants normally have from six to eight microphones at their disposal: these include three on the altar, one for the ambone and two portable mics: one for the Pope and one for the local Bishop, for greeting speeches, etc. We carry the mics and silver-coloured flexible stands with us. In the Piazza del

Plebiscito, we used Shure Beta 58 mics and Sennheiser MEG 14-40 B gooseneck models.” After the event, Bellino stated: “We’ve worked with Francesco Spadaccini for a long time and on a lot of events, and I’ve always appreciated the work he and the Dee Jay Service team put into ensuring a good sound. The Naples event was another excellent experience, with great audio quality and intelligibility.”

Spadaccino was also enthusiastic: “A lot of ‘experts’ are sceptical when they discover we intend to use the Butterfly system, which they imagine to be too small, with its four 8” mid-range speakers, expecting to see twin 12” or twin 16” to ensure good coverage of large areas – they expect heavyweight systems and are always surprised by the results.”

Luigi Lombardi of Outline’s Italian distributor, Mods

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Art, adds: “Dee Jay Service was one of the first rental firms to believe in the idea of a network formed to facilitate the process of ‘pooling’ hardware, in order to enable companies to handle events that require more equipment than they normally have in stock or in the event of some of their equipment being out on other gigs. The network’s technicians also have the advantage of being able to participate in our regular training courses for PA techs and other specialist skills.” www.outlinearray.com www.deejayservice.it www.radiovaticana.va www.sennheiser.com www.shure.com www.yamahaproaudio.com

P40 JUNE 2015

Live

Belgium

Audioschool cool

Under the banner ‘You learn, we teach’, Audioschool runs an extensive variety of courses and classes for the benefit of the live music and studio business, notes Marc Maes

T

he audio industry is an interesting domain; the new technology makes it very exciting, and I want to contribute to building a solid working basis for everybody involved. Passing on my knowledge is a passion.” That’s how Gert Vreys, director and coordinator of Audioschool in Sint-Niklaas, summarises his mission.

Vreys, who studied sound, image and editing at RITS School of Arts, specialised as an audio engineer while working as system tech with rental company ALC. “I grew a passion for both audio and teaching, passing on my knowledge,” explains Vreys. “There weren’t too many specialised classes or training sessions.”

Last December, Vreys – after six years of teaching at the Light and Audio Academy (Licht en Geluid Opleidingen; LGO), a private initiative offering specific training for live staffers – launched Audioschool as education and training centre.

“LGO remains a main partner in the project, but I wanted to broaden my horizon,” says Vreys, adding that, in comparison with the three-year academic courses at local high school PXL Limburg, Audioschool wants to offer an alternative by focussing on specific aspects of live and studio audio.

“Classes on monitor mixing or Ableton Live are quite specialised – and, although some PXL teachers are trained sound engineers who also teach at Audioschool, we eye a different target group,” he adds. “We’re an alternative and complement rather than competition to PXL.” Audioschool’s courses include a wide range of workshops – for “absolute beginners” to professional system engineers – on topics such as wireless audio, studio engineering, electronics and maintenance and a

Beo (right) speaks on monitors, phantom testing and Rat/SoundTools sniffers

Audioschool founder Gert Vreys in the theory classroom

crash course on the the aforementioned Ableton Live.

Each course, with objectives, a detailed description and the required skills, is promoted via the school’s regular e-newsletter and on social media.

Audioschool students are offered a comprehensive syllabus and the opportunity to train on hardware in practical classes. Through its partnership with LGO, and collaboration with audio distributors, Audioschool enjoys logistical backup in terms of equipment. “In addition, we work together with Syntra, a government-funded education network with 24 campuses in Flanders,” continues Vreys.

“They provide the classrooms in their Sint-Niklaas campus for both theory and practical courses.”

For specific training, like the recent five-day course on PA System optimisation, Vreys found a valuable partner in audio company Face: their demo room was the perfect environment for the masterclass, with speakers, line arrays and consoles. “But as Audioschool, we want to remain as independent as possible,” underlines Vreys. “Many brands also offer dedicated training for their products, [but] we

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focus on the practical use of the equipment.”

Keeping the classes affordable was one of the challenges for Audioschool – working without subsidies or ‘employment cheques’ urges Vreys to carefully calculate the courses. A transparent system, with the bulk of the expenses split by the number of participants, keeps the project financially viable.

At press time, Audioschool was offering the course ‘Monitors with Beo’ at Syntra’s Sint-Niklaas campus. (Audio engineer Beo is a professional monitor mixer with over 20 years’ experience. ) Today, Audioschool employs seven instructors, including Vreys, specialising in audio, software and studio classes.

Courses are in Dutch, but French classes can be provided on demand. Vreys concludes: “Plans are to substantially expand the course package, but finding the best teachers is the challenge: they must combine the ability and motivation to bring their craftsmanship to the class with thorough knowledge of the equipment. www.audioschool.be

P42 JUNE 2015

Live

United Kingdom

Crosby, fills and Bush: The Warehouse at 35 Jon Chapple catches up with new The Warehouse Sound Services MD Derek Blair as the Edinburgh sales and hire company celebrates 35 years in business

N

ot many companies can lay claim to having supplied audio equipment to Muse, Walt Disney Studios, the Edinburgh International Festival and Her Majesty The Queen – but then

Leith-based The Warehouse Sound Services is not many companies.

The Warehouse was founded in February 1980 by Cameron Crosby – a veteran of the

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Grateful Dead’s 1978 shows at the pyramids of Giza and Kate Bush’s The Tour of Life, for which he designed her nowfamous headset mic – and Allan Brereton – a freelancer, along with Crosby, for The Who’s ML Executives hire company. The business, reportedly the largest supplier of pro-audio equipment in Scotland and the north of England, turned 35 last month – a remarkable achievement, says new owner Derek Blair, especially considering it still has “quite a few customers that have been with us from the [very] start”.

Sales director-turned-managing director Blair, who completed a management buyout in March, has been with the company since 1994 (although “I had known Cameron since my school days as I used to hire equipment from The Warehouse for school shows,” he explains) and plans now “to boost turnover with expansion into new market sectors and the addition of a third branch in the near future”.

“About five years ago Cameron, Allan and myself sat down and looked at how the company would go forward when they both retired,” he says, commenting on the background to the acquisition. “At this point I said that I would like to buy them out, as I didn’t want to work for anyone else. Over the next three years we started to look at how the three of us would devolve our roles to other people within the business, as well as look at any skills shortages [that might occur following their retirement].”

Comprising sales and hire businesses, as well as The Justin Case [flightcase] Company, The Warehouse is – along with SSE – one of only two British d&b sales partners, and was responsible for the UK’s first d&b install, at the Eden Court Theatre in Inverness, in 1993.

Outlining the relationship between the two companies, Blair explains: “About 25 years ago Simon Johnston, who is a friend of Cameron’s, came to see him to demo some loudspeakers he’d never heard of. At this time we had Meyer, Turbosound, EAW and Bose in our hire stock. Three years later Cameron designed the new sound system at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness with d&b loudspeakers and amplifiers – the first installation of d&b in the UK. “When I joined The Warehouse in 1994 I was presented with d&b, as we were a dealer. I had very little knowledge of this brand and products – I thought it would be very difficult to sell because you had to sell a system with d&b amplifiers.

Up to this point I had been selling Bose and Turbosound using different brands of amplifiers [and] felt that the mass

P43 JUNE 2015

Cameron Crosby, Allan Brereton and new owner Derek Blair (L–R)

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market wouldn’t take to being told they had to buy d&b amplifiers as well as loudspeakers, especially as most hire companies would already have an existing inventory of other amplifiers. How wrong I was: d&b is by far our largestselling brand and has been for more than 15 years.”

Like Amber Sound’s Graham Paddon (‘Amber gambler’, PSNEurope May 2015), The Warehouse wound down the installation side of its business when it realised it was competing with its customers. “Now we offer design, sales and sometimes commissioning services to these companies without competing against them for the same contracts. The same goes for other hire companies – we sell and hire equipment to some of the largest rental companies in the UK – again, we aren’t competing against them.”

Other equipment for sale (“one of the best product portfolios in the UK”, says Blair) includes products by Avid, Audio-Technica, EM Acoustics, RCF, Midas, Yamaha, Shure, Sennheiser, König & Meyer and Klotz, while non-d&b hire stock comes in the form of L-Acoustics, RCF, Bose and EM Acoustics loudspeakers, Avid, DiGiCo, Midas and Yamaha digital desks and “over 1,500” Shure, Sennheiser, AudioTechnica, Neumann, Coles and DPA wired mics. (When asked for his opinion on the most exciting new products on the market, Blair chooses the Avid VENUE S6L and Yamaha

P44 JUNE 2015

Live

TF Series mixers, d&b Y-Series speakers and Shure PSM300 IEM system.)

The company also specialises in high-end radio mic and communications systems – over 250 channels of Shure UHF-R are complemented by additional channels of Shure Axient, Lectrosonics and Wisycom and Sennheiser EW300, Shure PSM900 and Shure PSM1000 IEM systems.

The Warehouse’s sales department, comprising “more than 50 per cent” of The Warehouse’s turnover, sells nationwide to hire companies, installers and broadcasters, with the hire business focussing on dry hire and operator hire into to the broadcast, theatre, corporate and live sound markets. The company also has a royal warrant – as a sound equipment provider to HM The Queen – and a storied history in TV and film, including as a supplier to the BBC for over a quarter of a century.

Blair comments: “As a company we have always been heavily involved in film and television. Allan has worked on many feature films including Gregory’s Girl, Local Hero, The Godfather Part III, and The Commitments... the Shure 55SH microphone used in [Good Morning, Vietnam] and on the publicity material is owned by The Warehouse, as the prop department needed a microphone to use in the radio studio – [and] Cameron has worked on […] BBC Hogmanay Live, Dr

A young Cameron Crosby takes cover behind a Nagra recorder

Finlay’s Casebook and Tonight’s the Night, to name a few.”

Although Blair admits that pro audio, especially in Scotland, is a “mature” industry. “When we started there were only about four [Scottish sales/hire] companies,” he says. “Now there are now over 30.” The new managing director has big plans for his 21st year at the business, including a new branch in England and expansion into the education/training sector and nightclub installs.

“We are looking very closely at the education market,” he explains, “in terms of supplying equipment and services to aid the next generation of people who want to work in our industry. Another growing market is supplying the club installation market – not directly, but via the specialist companies that service this sector. We are currently in talks

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www.audio-technica.com

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with some manufacturers who have products specifically targeted at this market.”

“I think our success is very much down to having the right staff – some of whom have been with us for more than 20 years – [and] constantly look[ing] at what we offer our customers in terms of equipment and service,” Blair concludes, when PSNEurope asks him for the secret to The Warehouse’s success.

“We have grown organically, we’ve never overstretched ourselves in terms of resources – including financially – and have over the last 35 years built the business bit by bit by carefully developing client and supplier relationships.”

Here’s to the next 35 years. www.warehousesound.co.uk

P46 JUNE 2015

Live

United Kingdom

Beach bump Traction’s Jonny Goodwillie talks to Dave Robinson about his involvement with Brighton’s annual talentfest

D

usk, down the seafront at Brighton’s annual Great Escape. The familiar late afternoon mix of beery students, cheeky seagulls and families gobbling chips has been dispersed by a chilly breeze and an unpredictable sky. How’s the festival been so far for Traction Sound’s Jonny Goodwillie?

“I got soaked yesterday,” he begins. “After loading in two venues in the rain, I got drenched by a taxi hitting a pothole.

A good way to round off the morning!”

Things could be a lot worse for the former DJ. After all, this is the first year Brighton Sound System (BSS), the PA hire he co-runs alongside his loudspeaker business Traction, has been asked to participate in the annual musicshowcasing, town-spanning, sleep-prohibiting event.

PSNEurope readers may recall interviews with head of production Jon Crawley, of C3 Productions, last year and three years ago. Crawley oversees three days and nights of The Great Escape (TGE), whereby dozens of venues host hundreds of upcoming bands, while record label execs flitter between them in attempt to spot bankable talent.

For the 2015 edition, Crawley has engaged Goodwillie’s crew to supply a sound system for the ‘BBC Introducing’ stage at beachside club Shooshh and Carousel’s fish and chip shop next door; BSS is also engineering the sound for nearby subterranean hangout The Hub. The chip shop job is a one-night-only ‘pop-up’ venue – an increasingly common occurrence at TGE, says Goodwillie.

“There’s the Alternative Escape – fringe events which are mostly free – but there are also ‘alternative’ Alternative events popping up too! It reminds me of the first time I went to SxSW [South by Southwest, another talent showcase], where people were setting up on the corner of the street, using any venue they could. It’s getting more exciting!”

Traction Sound launched four years ago at PLASA. “That’s how it started, by making speakers for our little hire company, Brighton Sound System,” explains Goodwillie.

“That’s a great way of marketing and road-testing our speakers: using them hard, lifting them, seeing if they’ve got enough handles and in the right places. There’s no better way of testing a product than putting it on the road for six months before we take it to market.

“But, almost accidentally, we seem to be quite good at it!

The hire company is rapidly expanding and people love the speakers.”

Goodwillie notes how, ahead of the interview, the head of FatCat Records had been in Shooshh a few minutes previously, listening to his new signing C Duncan, and had remarked how both the speakers and the engineering were “amazing” and couldn’t have come at a more important time. “So that’s a big tick!” smiles Goodwillie.

Hooton Tennis Club headline the BBC Introducing stage (Photo: Tony Ackroyd)

The Traction rig for the Introducing stage comprises two single 18s per side, plus two 12” mid-tops per side, each with the SDS (soft dome source) tweeter, “which is what Traction’s all about,” adds Goodwillie. “A pretty simple set-up, but we have to rig and de-rig every day because it opens as a club after the last band.”

Powersoft amps power the Traction speakers; there’s a Yamaha LS9-32 console in the mix position and Traction Kodiak 12” monitors around the stage.

The ‘chip shop’ rig is smaller: two single 18s per side but only one pair of 12” mid-tops. “And our new Allen & Heath Qu desk. We bought a 24 and a 16, and we love ’em! Fresh out of the box, it’s a really nice-sounding desk [...] perfect for a lot of the jobs we do. We don’t need 32 channels and super expensive tech-spec stuff: we hire that in if we need it.”

Along the shingle at The Hub, BSS are only on engineering duties, though Goodwillie reckons he spotted an old Traction Zeus bass bin alongside the battered Funktion One Res 2s.

Maybe next year, Traction will be supplying more systems to TGE? “We’re investing heavily in our Traction Raptor rig, that’s three new boxes: the twin 21” ‘Harpia’, a twin 18” called ‘Torgos’ and a new three-way biamped midtop, ‘Aquila’ – we could doing 5,000-6,000 capacity venues with a point source system by the end of the summer.”

Raptor employs six Powersoft K10s, “which are beasts.

We love them, we use their Class-D modules through all of the active systems.” Goodwillie notes how the Italian company has been supportive of Traction from the start.

“They saw that we were trying to innovate with the horn and the soft domes. And they are independent like us.”

Social media watchers may be aware that the last time

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Jonny Goodwillie outside seafront club Shooshh at TGE 2015

PSNEurope met with Goodwillie, it was when he’d invited to participate in an infrasonic installation at Tate Britain.

Traction delivered three ‘Hades’ and ‘Zeus’ bass bins for the event, only to find that certain frequencies, played at any kind of volume, made the windows rattle. “There was a weird 40Hz shockwave went down the gallery while we were setting up, and the Tate were a bit worried about it.

“Still, we didn’t destroy any priceless works of art.” Things really could have been much, much worse for the former DJ, then… www.brightonsoundsystem.co.uk www.tractionsound.com www.greatescapefestival.com

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P48 JUNE 2015

Feature: Sound reinforcement

EAW’s Adaptive Performance system (which employs Resolution software control) on a recent Maroon 5 tour

PA 2.0?

Sound reinforcement and software have had a long history together, but are they the best of partners?

Erica Basnicki finds out

P

rotests against digital tools in the live sound arena don’t seem nearly as loud as those that came from recording engineers when digital technology first started nosing its way into studios.

Maybe live sound – and specifically sound reinforcement – isn’t quite at the same spot on the evolutionary scale as studio sound was when DAWs took over. Maybe digital tools are just too damned useful for anyone to complain about them. Maybe most digital sound quality issues have been worked out already, leaving little to complain about.

More probably, the relatively easy relationship is due to the fact that unlike DAWs total takeover from tape, software cannot (yet) make a PA system completely redundant. With no threat of obsolescence, software and hardware have been able to grow from casual acquaintances to far more intimate partners.

As PA manufacturers evaluate their future alliance with the ‘soft’ side of sound systems, time for a look back on how far hardware and software have come...

design and analysis program by Bose.

“Prior to the introduction of Modeler, and other computer-aided sound system design tools (EASE, AcoustiCAD, SMAART, PHd, etc.), sound system design was performed using pencil, paper and a calculator,”

says Rob Kosman, product manager, engineered sound, tools and electronics, at Bose Corporation. “In many cases the selection and arrangement of components was based on an educated guess of how well the system would perform. With the introduction of the personal

Bose’s Modeler package was one of the first acoustic modelling packages

A helping hand As early as the 1980s, software-based acoustic modelling has been helping system designers create and configure an ideal setup within a specified venue. One of the earliest to enter the market was Modeler, an acoustic

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P49 JUNE 2015

computer many felt it would be far more efficient for the computer to do the calculations, allowing the engineer to explore various scenarios and ‘what if’ explorations.”

Modeler’s capabilites was been extended with the introduction of Auditioner in 1994, a sound system auralisation environment that gave system designers the ability to hear the system’s performance within a virtual representation of the room.

Meanwhile, modelling software in general has since been widely embraced by other PA manufacturers, and continues to play an important role in system design.

Among them is L-Acoustics, who recently announced an update to its Soundvision software to version 3.0. The new version is fully re-designed on a new architectural platform and is reportedly up to 40 times faster than its predecessor.

At the time of its launch in 2004, Soundvision was the first 3D sound system design package capable of operating in real time, a feat we take for granted now. In fact, it’s safe to say there aren’t many system designers who remember (or want to remember) the pen and paper calculation days. Access to modelling software is a given and, according to Florent Bernard, director of application, touring, at L-Acoustics, it’s possibly the only software you really need.

“The reality is that good sound still relies majorly on physics – choosing the right cabinets for the job and optimising them in placement and design. Design your system well – with a tool like Soundvision – and you shouldn’t have to worry about performance issues. Its unique ability to model in 3D and in real time allows designers to account for both horizontal and vertical coverage, taking into account cluster interaction, room geometry, etc., giving them the full picture of a complex sound design.”

This year has also seen Martin Audio upgrade its Display modelling software, the brains behind the company’s 2010-launched MLA Series system. Display now supports all MLA products including Compact and Mini, and has added a host of new options such as ‘ground stack’ or ‘flown’ to the design process. The principles of good system design are still there, but MLA does take the hardware/software relationship that one step further...

Doting on DSP That next step was the partnering of hardware and DSP – specifically to give audiences the “same sound in every seat” experience that arguably can’t be achieved without a little digital help.

“The development of sophisticated modelling, the marriage of software and hardware and ultimately the ability to focus on delivering sound at the audience ears rather than what was exiting the loudspeaker grille, has meant a sea change for the industry,” says Martin Audio marketing director James King.

The MLA way of achieving this relies on multiple cells within an enclosure, each with its own DSP, and

Jon Burton mixed the Prodigy through a Martin Audio MLA system, supplied by Complete Audio Berlin, at the Berlin Velodrom recently

processed using optimisation software. It was a big shift in line array technology and for rental houses; it did mean an initial outlay for a new system. The upside, according to King, is that it’s a solution that can be developed for a number of years to come at a minimal cost: “Our willingness to challenge ourselves will always mean we will seek improvements, and because we are dealing with software, it’s not necessarily the case that there has to be a hardware upgrade too. Just think about smartphones and how the latest software doesn’t always mean a hardware upgrade is required, but at the same time that software can deliver significant enhancements.

“Moreover, we believe that our solution is still the benchmark for the industry and a more complete solution, and with our recent significant upgrade to Display it has been taken a stage further yet again.”

As reported in PSNEurope last month, d&b audiotechnik has also stepped up to the challenge of providing consistent sound throughout a venue in a major way. The d&b solution centres around ArrayProcessing – a major new feature included in the recent update to the company’s ArrayCalc simulation software. Using complex algorithms, ArrayProcessing redistributes peaks and troughs in both SPL and tonal balance.

Each cabinet in an array must be driven individually, and so for any large-scale system there would be an investment required for the additional amplifier channels. However, here is no new system involved; ArrayProcessing is backwards compatible with d&b’s J-, V- and Y-Series line array systems and the software itself is free of charge.

“ArrayProcessing refines the performance of d&b line arrays, which, in turn, leads to a direct and audible improvement in overall sonic results,” said Sabina Berloffa, director of marketing and product management

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The development of sophisticated modelling, the marriage of software and hardware and ultimately the ability to focus on delivering sound at the audience ears rather than what was exiting the loudspeaker grille, has meant a sea change for the industry

James King, Martin Audio at d&b audiotechnik. “This is impressive in its own right. But I’m equally convinced that it demonstrates, once again, our ongoing commitment to continually improve and add value for existing customers. In this case, because ArrayProcessing fully integrates into the existing d&b workflow, all of our line array customers secure their investment by achieving even better sound quality from their existing systems, whether permanently installed or for mobile applications.”

“We use LAPS (Line Array Prediction Software),” Guillermo Wabi, global product manager for ElectroVoice line arrays, told PSNEurope at the launch of the X-Line Advance earlier this year.” LAPS III employs the Optimizer, a completely new acoustic and mechanical computation engine, which eliminates the need for a person to bring ‘all the angles’ into the equation when setting up the PA: feed in the information, height, number of channels, number of boxes, push one button.

It gives you the coverage.

P50 JUNE 2015

Feature: Sound reinforcement

Wabi hints that software development is a path of pursuit for EV: “We are deďŹ nitely working on that, but I can’t tell you about it yet! But basically, it will allow the engineer to become better and faster at [setting up the system], and given them points of veriďŹ cation and interfaces across multiple platforms of technology, all under one software package. So you will be able to do the prediction, the planning, the design, the alignment, plus control and monitoring, all through one software package. Maybe‌!â€?

Irreconcilable differences So why aren’t all companies scrambling to enhance their current system with additional software and/or DSP? Dave Croxton, sales director at KV2 Audio, explains

his company’s position: “At KV2 we have one simple and clear rule. Software will never replace hardware when it comes to sound quality. You cannot ďŹ x poor speaker design or bad circuitry with DSP. At KV2 we focus on getting every aspect of a system’s design electronically and acoustically right so that there is no need for digital correction. As soon as DSP is introduced into the signal path a ceiling is put on a system as far as resolution and clarity goes. Today the majority of manufacturers limit the resolution and clarity of their technology with DSP.â€?

Eschewing the popular notion that line array technology is best, KV2 launched its VHD5.0 constant power point-source array in Frankfurt last April.

Instead of DSP, KV2 utilises ‘20MHz digital delays for time alignment, trans-coil speakers for greater control and superfast electronics for far lower non-harmonic

Electro-Voice’s new X-Line Advance line array

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distortion’ to provide an audience (and that’s a much bigger audience than what VHD2.0 was built for) with the best possible sound.

Croxton doesn’t see it as bucking the trend so much as an anticipation of the live sound equivalent of the current vinyl resurgence. “It will take time, but just as we have seen in the recording industry, the cycle will eventually come full circle. Artists and audiences will demand higher levels of sound quality. The most important thing is we don’t lose the emotion in the musical art form to technology.�

It’s also worth noting that many of the above mentioned manufacturers have also deployed systems in the installation market, where features such as on-the-y adjustment are less critical. As Bose’s Kosman explains, “For installed systems getting the design correct the ďŹ rst time is critical, as most venues purchase a new system every 7–10 years and, on average, go through three systems before they ďŹ nd one which works for their space. In the installed market, our approach has been to optimise the acoustic performance of the product or array by optimising the acoustic design with the application of minimal signal processing rather than relying upon signal processing to solve acoustic problems within the products themselves.â€? The RoomMatch PA (with PowerMatch amps) is Bose’s current high-end offering in the installation space.

You Otto give me wedding rings The counter-argument to the ‘hardware ďŹ rst’ approach is best explained by Jeff Rocha, president at EAW: “Fundamentally, the industry has been doing things the same way and using the same basic tool (a

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This Bryan Adams anniversary tour uses d&b J-Series and V-Series boxes: ArrayProcessing software is backwards compatible with both systems

curved line array) for about 20 years.

All products in the market are variations on that theme. After launching Anya and Otto into that space it has become clear that engineers have been waiting for ‘the next thing’. The universal expectation has been that it would heavily involve digital processing and control which would yield substantial benefits in terms of performance, control and workflow.”

EAW’s Anya arrays and Otto subs rely entirely on the Resolution software control – no downfill or long throw modules required – to deliver consistent coverage throughout a venue. The benefits are that the system itself is smaller therefore can be flown faster, uses fewer motors, etc., while also providing the same instantaneous adjustments as any system modified or controlled digitally.

To be clear, it’s not that hardware development isn’t still a crucial part of EAW’s Adaptive Systems. “It is critical to start with an acoustical system that is as optimal as it can be in the absence of processing,” explains Rocha.

“The power of digital technologies lies in their ability to take things further by incrementally solving otherwise unsolvable problems – allowing us to optimise even further. That said, the most profound change in the development of our Adaptive Systems lies in the way that the systems were architected.

“Prior to Anya,” he continues, “digital processing and software control were largely viewed as tools that were layered on top of an otherwise conventional design. Anya

was conceptualised as a completely integrated system that would natively embed tremendous digital hardware and software capability. On paper, that held the promise of profoundly changing the way that a sound system is deployed and delivers audio to an audience. But the only way to achieve that vision was to radically change the acoustical design of the system so that we could maximise the benefit of the digital technologies and software control.”

Many manufacturers claim they’ve launched ‘the next big thing’. Most – but not all – rely on a deepening partnership between hardware and software.

Maybe it’s just a trend. Or maybe, as L-Acoustics’ Bernard concludes, “the ‘next big thing’ is really about getting the best out of both hardware and software – ensuring that we are optimising how they work together. Software is useful, and even essential, when it’s conceived with the user in mind and really allows a sound designer to lay out his objectives, using the software as guidance to achieve them.

“In the everyday life of a sound engineer, who has to live with not only the constraints not only of each night’s venue but also of tour budgets, the breakthroughs that really matter are SPL efficiency, great directivity control in both vertical and horizontal planes and all of that in a system that is lighter and easier to rig.” www.bose.co.uk www.dbaudio.com www.eaw.com www.kv2audio.com www.l-acoustics.com www.martin-audio.com

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P52 JUNE 2015

Installation

The Soka Gakkai Italian Buddhist Centre overlooks a lake and wood of cherry trees

Italy

Nothing Buddha G thang … G for the golden carp, of course – the inspiration for the exterior of this contemplative EV installation near Milan. Mike Clark was at one with the temple specifications

F

inding an impeccably renovated country residence built by the Visconti – the nobility ruling Milan in the Middle Ages – on the Naviglio canal, designed by Leonardo da Vinci and just a stone’s throw from the centre of Milan, Italy’s business hub, is a surprise in itself. But discovering the complex also hosts Europe’s largest Buddhist centre – the new home of the Soka Gakkai Italian Buddhist Institute (SGI), with a temple combining high-tech AV systems and Buddhist roots – makes it quite unique.

As well as optimising available space, the layout of the seating in the main, 1,000-capacity temple/ auditorium takes the form of a Lotus Sutra scripture parchment, and the building’s gold-coloured metal exterior is inspired by the golden carp, an eastern symbol of courage and determination.

Another unusual aspect (from a technical point of view, at least in Italy) is that the hall, which overlooks a lake and a small wood of cherry trees, was built taking into consideration sound reinforcement requirements to ensure the utmost listening comfort and intelligibility.

Milanese architect Peia Associati was responsible for the entire project, and, in the main room, avoided structures that could cause reflections for almost the entire length of the hall. Its design enables the “sacred” part of the stage to be separated from the “lay” area with sliding partitions. It also deployed wood acoustic treatment panels to optimise listening conditions for congregations and audiences.

Rome-based Italian Buddhist Institute member Marco Lecci coordinated the audio, video and lighting systems.

He explains: “The Electro-Voice system features a main PA with 6+6 XLD hangs and a four-XLD mono delay to ‘refresh’ the mid/high frequencies. The rig is processed via a pair of EV DX4 digital units and [powered by] a rack of nine Electro-Voice Q1212 amps.”

Lecci is a true personification of the adjective

EV XLD hangs in the main auditorium

“eclectic”: record producer; sound engineer for rock, pop and classical studio recording and mastering sessions, as well as for high-profile live events and TV broadcasts; producer and technical director of festivals; and a frequent university lecturer. He also finds time to hone his guitar-playing talent.

“This project is a perfect demonstration of the fact that when all professionals involved – from the architects who design the building to the hardware specifier – work harmoniously on achieving the best possible results from an acoustic point of view, good results are ensured,” he continues. “This obviously has to be combined with a careful choice of equipment, but even top technology can’t work miracles in a venue with terrible acoustics.”

Working alongside Lecci was audio engineer and

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designer Mario Di Cola, founder and senior systems engineer at Audio Labs Systems (ALS), a Chieti-based firm providing audio/acoustic consultancy services for professional sound reinforcement.

Along with Lecci and the ALS team, Di Cola handled the design of the system and aspects of the venue’s acoustics, mainly using EASE prediction software and carrying out fine-tuning and final EQ once the system was installed. The delay system was positioned in such a way as to cover the seating but not reach the huge glazed end wall.

He concludes: “The fact that the acoustics were taken into serious consideration by the architects right from the outset, and the use of quality hardware, ensured very satisfactory end results.” www.electrovoice.com

P54 JUNE 2015

Installation

United Kingdom

Cadogan begin again The restigious Chelsea venue received a digital upgrade from the Autograph Sales team

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riginally a New Christian Science Church opened in 1907, the Cadogan Hall near Sloane Square in London’s fashionable Chelsea reopened as a concert venue in 2004 following major refurbishment. Ten years later, and hosting over 300 shows annually to an audience of over 1,000, the hall is also the permanent home of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1946 by Sir Thomas Beecham. But it’s not just classical music that receives an airing here: it’s jazz, world music, pop – you name it. (PSNEurope was last here to hear an Albert Lee tribute concert, no less.) A true diversity of talent then: and so, the in-house sound system has to be endlessly adaptable. Autograph Sales & Installations has recently completed a major upgrade, in consultation with the in-house technical team, to fit that remit. At the core are QSC Q-SYS digital audio networking products including an Core 500i hub and a single I/O Frame connected to four Yamaha Rio-series digital in/out modules, providing a series of network points from where the audio system can be accessed. The settings for the house PA (a Meyer Sound system, installed in 2006 and comprising 14 M1D cabinets as main L/R with various supplementary Meyer modules) are stored securely in the Core 500i

which gives the many visiting engineers a balanced and well-tuned starting point on which they can base their own mixes.

It should be noted that all parties agreed that a requirement to upgrade the Meyer M1D boxes was not necessary. But the upgrade does include a new FOH position on a purpose-built balcony, now the location of a Yamaha CL3 mixing console, also supplied by Autograph.

The new venue-wide audio network allows the FOH console to be relocated within the hall if the event demands, whilst still accessing the full complement of I/O via the Dante network.

“We had the first PM1D to be installed in a UK venue,” waxes Cadogan Hall production manager Harry Spillett on Yamaha’s original digital large-format digital console.

“I always liked the logical and intuitive way it worked. But it wasn’t suitable for being moved on a regular basis. We needed an alternative that gave us all the functionality we required, but in a more compact form that was quick and easy to set up.”

A new control booth has been built at the back of gallery, above the new seating, which was “a big improvement for lighting but not suitable for mixing sound,” says Spillett. “We needed to reposition the mixing

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The approach to the hall from Sloane Square in Chelsea

P55 JUNE 2015

Inside the newly digital Cadogan Hall

reasonable cost. Cadogan Hall is one of many projects with whom Autograph has long-standing relationships, and our ability to provide continuous improvement and refinement of installed systems is one of the key benefits of those relationships.”

As well as supplying, programming and installing the new QSC and Yamaha products, Mallozzi’s team rebuilt the equipment rack, relocated their existing wireless systems (somewhat closer to the stage, in a new rack) and replaced and expanded the connectivity between the rack room and the main PA system with new cabling. “The result is a robust and accessible audio infrastructure that allows both the house technical team and visiting engineer a lot of flexibility in how they use the room,” he claims.

“The Dante network is great,” affirms Spillett. “You can plug the desk into a power socket, two pieces of Cat-5 cable and you have access to the whole system in minutes.

It is so flexible and allows me to work with visiting engineers to quickly achieve what they need, ranging from What the Ladybird Heard for a children’s audience to the BBC Proms… and everything else in between.” www.autographsales.co.uk

console at the back of the stalls for contemporary shows, but be able to easily remove it to regain the seats for classical performances.”

He continues: “I wanted to stay with Yamaha so that the transition from old to new was as painless as possible. The CL3 operates in a similar manner to the PM1D; it’s easy to configure for different types of show and the Dante network allowed us to create a very flexible system that was quick to install and use.”

Autograph’s Peppe Mallozzi project-managed and designed the re-fit, while technical sales manager Chris Austin programmed the QSC Q-SYS units and freelancer Paul Johnson managed the installation on-site. Mallozzi says: “This type of project is not uncommon for us, where a venue has a system that is fundamentally sound but can be improved and brought up-to-date - with an understanding of the needs of the venue it can be improved beyond recognition at The Yamaha CL3 sits in a new FOH position on the balcony

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P57 JUNE 2015

Hither & PLASA

Please send all contributions for possible publication to drobinson@nbmedia.com

Focus in focus from Leeds... and a brief return to THAT Powersoft XX party

KV2’ Audio’s Jonathan Reece in the green room (that is, KV2’s demo room)

Pro Audio Systems’ Tom Macklin, Meyer Sound’s Roger Harpum and a lesser-spotted LEOPARD

Giuseppe Acito’s robotic Lego Toa Mata Band were the star attraction at Powersoft’s PL+S party – far more interesting than all those scantily clad ladies. Thanks to Giuseppe and Powersoft for the photos!

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Martin Audio’s Al Brown and Robin Dibble get all up in CDD’s grille

P58 JUNE 2015

Backtalk

Dave Arch The Strictly band leader has been busy composing, he tells Dave Robinson

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f Strictly Come Dancing is the flagship of the BBC’s Saturday night viewing, then Dave Arch and his band are the engine room. Arch has been the show’s musical director since 2006; he’s also an arranger and composer in his own right, and a talented pianist/keyboard player to boot, having played with Paul McCartney and Greg Lake and on the soundtrack of many a Hollywood blockbuster. Then, last year, he decided to scratch a long-time itch, and penned an album of jazzoriented instrumentals. PSNEurope caught up with him as he set about the final mixdowns at Strongroom, with producer Haydn Bendall at the controls...

What’s with the album then, Dave?

I spend so much of my career making other people sound good, and I’ve wanted to make my own album for years.

So I came off Strictly last year after I set up the [early 2014] tour, and I just sat down and wrote some music, just for me. Then I called Haydn up and surprisingly he was equally interested, and it just sort of hatched. It’s a bit of fun, but I’m lucky enough to know the best players. I rang them up and asked them to come and play.

How did you end up with the Strictly gig?

By accident. I played in sessions for years. [In 2004] the BBC were looking for a younger outlook for a show called Strictly Dance Fever, a spin-off but very much in the same format – and my name came up.

the production team and the professional dancers. Songs for the first two weeks of the show are mapped out in advance, as are the big ensemble numbers – but then are decided on a weekly basis because we don’t know who is going to get knocked out. On the Thursday, nine days before the show goes out, we’ll have an edit of the chosen track.

We do the live show on the Saturday; on the Sunday, the dancers will listen to and agree on the edit, and I will start taking all the tracks down. From the Monday morning, I’m arranging solidly.

With Avid’s Sibelius?

For Strictly, I get pencil and paper and write it out! I then send it to a copyist. I’m writing for four days, fielding phone calls for changes etc, then we get ready for the live show.

The singers don’t generally read music so they are sent the tracks and lyrics in advance.

We start at 8am on a Saturday with the band. They are incredible session musicians – you can put the music in front of them and they will generally play it first time – the second time through it will be perfect, as long as I’ve done my job and written it out correctly! For the last two series, the singers, rhythm section and the sound crew have had rehearsals on a Friday night for three hours. That’s why we feel more prepared and hopefully the sound has got better!

You took over from original band leader Laurie Holloway in 2006. How surprised are you at how successful the show has become?

There’s a huge gap for a family entertainment show, and it’s got everything for the young and old!

There are occasionally some programmed tracks…

I’ve had a computer fail on me on more than one occasion in a live situation, so I will never totally rely on it on live television. So we might have a laptop with some claps on it, or a little sequence thing – something to bolster the band – but if it didn’t happen, the band would still sound fine. I’ve found little ways, with keyboards, to play virtually everything.

We can’t have things ‘not happening’ on the show.

Take us through the process, from the first suggestion of a song to the Saturday night performance.

The choices of material are made by agreement between

What’s been the worst thing that’s happened?

We’ve had someone trip over a lead… singers nearly losing their voices ahead of singing again on the results show

[filmed on the Saturday after the main show] so it’s been a bit croaky in the ‘dance-off’. [But], touch wood, never any serious mistakes.

You have a home studio?

Yes, based around a Mac running Logic and Pro Tools; when I’m doing the Strictly take-downs I tend to use Logic as a tape recorder, playing tracks back and forth. It’s more of a writing room: the piano is my main writing tool. I have PMC twotwo.6 monitors,which I love – I can hear everything. It’s like a reciprocal role for Strictly – you’re trying to hear the parts to write them out, rather than mixing to make it all gel.

That mid-range reveal is very good with those.

For your album, where are you pulling ideas from?

It’s just what I felt really. I haven’t played this stuff to anyone because I don’t want their opinion! [Laughs] Every track is a different animal, so I asked different musicians to play on them – three different drummers, four bass players and so on. We went into EMI 2 – sorry, Abbey Road 2! – Air Studio 1, Rak for a couple of days for brass and percussion, then Ralph Salmins’ Bunker studio [in Welwyn].

And when Haydn has finished mixing it on Pro Tools at Strongroom, then what happens?

I don’t know yet. I don’t expect to make money from it, but it’s hopefully something I can be proud of.

In the meantime…

Well, today I have a session for a film – playing piano for [Oscar winner] Alexander Desplat at Abbey Road. I played the piano solos in The King’s Speech for him. I’m doing some pick-ups for a film called Suffragette today.

And the Strictly machine kicks in…?

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August – if I get the call! [UPDATE: He DID get the call some weeks after this interview, we are pleased to report – Ed] www.dave-arch.com