PSNE March 2014 digital edition

PSNEUROPE Frank ’n’ Steinberg p66

MARCH 2014

www.psneurope.com

THE BUSINESS OF PROFESSIONAL AUDIO

The only way is SX

Powersoft and D.A.S. Audio boost Supercross to new heights p52 Tonmeister course upgrades with an 88D p28

Frankfurt preview p14

How pro audio is taking off at the airportp60

www.psneurope.com

March 2014 l 03

welcome Photo: Jake Young

EDITOR’S COMMENT

“Team BEIRG needs a solid support network to make sure it can finish the race”

FRANKFURT IS upon us – as you read this, in fact.

But I’m writing this editorial two weeks beforehand.

And – whisper it – this is the first time I can remember in many a season when I haven’t been able to write: “Wow! Amazing! Wait until you see the blah!”

Last year it was the SSL Live desk; in 2012, the Meyer Sound low-end box. For PL+S 2014, as of 27 February, 5pm – I’m still waiting for my exclusive heads-up on the newest shiny box. Sigh.

However. Frankfurt NEVER lets us down, and I know there’s some killer kit on the way. Powersoft, for one, has made me a big promise: let’s see if they can – literally – change the game this year. (We love that phrase at PSNEurope. But we’d like to use it properly for once...)

There is a game I know of where the goalposts are constantly shifting, and where the referee keeps altering the rules of play. That game is called Selling Off The Spectrum. Fortunately, the UK has a very strong competitor in this game: Team BEIRG. And like the greatest of marathon runners, Team BEIRG needs a solid support network to make sure it can stay in the race and make it to the finishing line.

Especially as the race organiser has turned a road race into a steeplechase, and thrown another raft of hurdles into the way.

Over the page, one of BEIRG’s anchormen, Alan March, explains the challenges looming on the course ahead. If you have ANY link with wireless microphone or IEM technology, you should be cheering them on.

Even better, jogging alongside them, plying them with energy drinks. Or cash. They’ll accept that too.

Dave Robinson (twitter: @psneurope)

IN THIS ISSUE...

NEWS Organisational restructure at PLASA Avid delists from NASDAQ Industry appointments Events and expos New products

4 6 8 10 12

Prolight + Sound Preview

p14

STUDIO MPG Awards: the winners The Church Studio: story so far Teatro delle Voci Studios opens in Italy University of Surrey unveils new studio Feature: Replicating classic kit

18 20 24 28 31

BROADCAST Broadcasting sound from the Winter Olympics Lectrosonics kit used for Johansson thriller New audio suites at Birmingham City University Cast BlackTrax expands into 3D Audio

38 39 40 44

LIVE VUE opens European HQ in Berlin Indochine tour with Adamson Soundart facilitates sound for German Supercross Yamaha desk used on arena dance tour

46 47 48 54

INSTALL 58 Inytium installs Adamson in Namur 59 ArtSpaceHotel boasts Aviom Pro64 network 60 Feature: high spec audio for airports BACK PAGES Hither & Dither: MPG special Industry talk: Frank Simmerlein of Steinberg

65 66

04 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

For the latest news www.psneurope.com

news WORLD

Organisational restructure completed at PLASA Professional Lighting and Sound Association finish realigning the transatlantic structure, finds Erica Basnicki THE PLASA boards and staff have recently completed new strategic and operating plans to guide the organisation through the next years of its development.

Fundamental to the successful implementation of both plans is a revised senior management structure comprising three executive directors (CEO, CFO and COO), plus six divisional

directors – of membership, international programmes, sales, marketing, events and media.

Matthew Griffiths and Shane McGreevy currently fill the positions of CEO and CFO respectively. The COO post will be recruited in the first part of 2014 and will be based out of PLASA’s New York office. Lori Rubinstein will retain her

executive director responsibilities in North America during this transitional period until the new COO is fully in place.

“Assuming we can find the right person we hope to have them in the post by the summer of this year,” Griffiths tells PSNEurope.

“The point is that it’s a global organisational change, so by default does involve Europe. In

terms of senior management changes, we did them last year,” Griffiths adds in reference to Chris Toulmin’s appointment to PLASA director of events in 2013.

Toulmin will be joined by a new director of marketing and director of media, who will join the PLASA organisation within the next 12-18 months, says Griffiths.

EUROPE/UNITED STATES

New faces at NewBay

By Dave Robinson PUBLISHING GIANT NewBay Media – whose portfolio includes PSNEurope – has appointed Mark Burton to the post of managing director of NewBay Media Europe/Intent Media.

Burton, who most recently led Incisive Media’s Insurance Group as its group publishing director and was responsible for a wide portfolio of branded media products and events, took up his

Burton: new MD for Intent Media

new post on 17 February.

“Mark is an accomplished media executive with an impressive track record,” states Steve Palm, CEO, NewBay Media. “He is the right person to further develop our magazine, digital, and event capabilities and aggressively grow our European business. I am excited to have him join our team.”

Burton’s most recent stable of brands at Incisive Media included Post, Insurance Age and Insurance Hound. During his time there he

Charles Weiss: coordinating US and European titles was instrumental in launching data-driven digital products, expanding the insurance events portfolio into new territories, and gaining substantial subscription growth through digital corporate licenses.

Burton has also served as publisher of Incisive’s Computer Reseller News (CRN), Accountancy Age and Financial

PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths with Lori Rubinstein, director of international programmes These initial staff changes are part of a wider reorganisational structure and according to PLASA it will take two to three years to assemble the full staff highlighted in the operational plan. I www.plasa.org

Director. Earlier experience includes executive positions at VNU Business Media. He takes over the position from Stuart Dinsey, the Intent founder who left the company in October 2013.

In other NewBay news, Charles Weiss has joined the company as a publisher in the US-based AV/Pro Audio Group where he will have responsibility for titles including Pro Sound News, Music Festival Business, and the AES Daily.

Additionally, Weiss has been charged with increasing the editorial and sales coordination between NewBay US and European AV/Pro Audio brands, including PSNEurope, Installation and Audio Media. I www.newbaymedia.com

March 2014 l 05

www.psneurope.com

news EUROPE

BEIRG issues further call for industry support The work of BEIRG, the award-winning partnership of pro-audio protagonists formed to manage and safeguard the long-term future of the radio spectrum, has never been more critical. Alan March explains why it’s important for more industry businesses to take heed THE PRO Sound Award was nice, but the RF struggle is far from over.

Formed nearly a decade ago, the British Entertainment Industry Radio Group (BEIRG) recognised early on that changes were on the way with regards to the usage and allocation of the frequencies that our industry uses for the deployment of wireless systems. To that end, BEIRG set out to engage with our regulator to ensure that Ofcom UK were fully informed as to what our industry does, how it does it and what our requirements will be for the future. And we’ve been successful: helping Ofcom to understand that we could not, as an industry, bid for spectrum in an open auction process, and securing the funding to assist with the migration from Channel 69, are just two examples.

BEIRG was presented with the inaugural Grand Prix trophy at the Pro Sound Awards 2013 for its unwavering commitment to the spectrum crusade. Now, our current level of engagement has never been at a higher level, as there are still many hurdles ahead. This year will prove to be a definitive one for

The now-familiar site of the 2012 Olympics: but without suitable spectrum provisos and the lobbying efforts of BEIRG and Ranelagh, the smooth running of the comms during the event could have been very different the PMSE (Programme Makers and Special Events) sector’s future, for three reasons.

One, there is likely to be a re-allocation of the 700MHz band for new mobile broadband services (4G and beyond).

BEIRG must ensure that suitable mitigation is on offer: principally, the assignment of new frequencies for PMSE (wireless microphone and IEM) use.

Two, White Space Devices (WSD) are likely to be introduced into any remaining interleaved UHF frequencies soon. Here,

interference to wireless microphones and in-ear monitor systems must be prevented.

And three, we must fully engage in a new project that is set to explore future use of the whole of the UHF TV band (that’s the majority of all the frequencies in use for professional wireless systems).

But fighting the cause for the pro-audio industry requires time and financial support.

Do not underestimate the power of the mobile sector’s ability to lobby – the telecoms

giants are pressing their case (a highly questionable one, as far as BEIRG is concerned) for the allocation of greater chunks of spectrum to deliver their services at every level. Meanwhile, this year has seen the beginning of the first live testing of WSD. Developers such as Microsoft and Google are now coordinating related projects. BEIRG continues to resist the introduction of these unlicensed devices unless absolute guarantees can be given that they will not result in interference for our industry. This can only be achieved by fully engaging with the testing programme, which BEIRG is doing.

BEIRG, in conjunction with Ranelagh International (political consultants), continues to engage with UK-based (and international) politicians in order to further the cause of our industry. This work is essential if we are to secure a satisfactory outcome for our industry sector in light of pressure from other industries.

In 2013, BEIRG responded to many of HM Government’s consultation documents (‘condocs’) on behalf of the industry.

UNITED KINGDOM

Baftas submit to the force of Gravity

By Dave Robinson THE GROUNDBREAKING space drama Gravity was the runaway victor at the Bafta Awards in London last month. The sci-fi thriller, starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, won six Baftas, including Best Sound and Best Original Music.

The victory for audio was well deserved by the team from Sound 24, Glenn Freemantle’s post-production service based at Pinewood Studios, who began working on Gravity in late 2010.

Freemantle, in the role of sound designer and supervising sound editor, led the Best Sound Bafta-winning team of Niv Adiri

(sound design editor/sound rerecording mixer), Skip Lievsay (sound re-recording mixer), Christopher Benstead (music editor and sound re-recording mixer) and Chris Munro (production sound mixer).

“There’s no sound in space… but there you go, we’re all right!” joked Freemantle on receiving the award. Munro, Freemantle and Lievsay have already won the inaugural AMPS award for excellence in the craft of sound for their work on Gravity.

The team used mainly DPA microphones for gathering material for the project.

Steven Price won the Best Original Music award for the

Gravity soundtrack, recorded in part at Abbey Road (through the AMS Neve 88RS console) and British Grove (also AMS Neve).

“Thank you to my Mum and Dad for having such a great record collection and starting this whole thing off,” said Price at the podium.

While some mixing for 5.1 and 7.1 was performed at De Lane Lea Studios in Soho before the final Dolby Atmos mix, other work was undertaken in Chiswick: “Although we are only credited as ‘Recorded at’ – as we did a couple of days of string and other pick-ups – we actually did the 7.1 music mix here over 17 days,” David Stewart of British Grove told PSNEurope.

“[This was] a quite extraordinary and complex feat involving three MADI-linked Pro Tools, hundreds of audio tracks, Apogee and Prism Audio I/O analogue interfaces, four

Examples are: Multiple consultations on the operation of WSD in TV white space Award of the 600MHz band Future use of 700MHz band Ofcom’s long-term spectrum management strategy This involved written responses in addition to ongoing high-level face-to-face meetings, in an effort to ensure that our industry has a wireless future. In 2014, there will be even more.

We’d like to express a big ‘thank you’ to all those organisations that recognise and continue to support the work of BEIRG: radio mic manufacturers, audio rental companies, theatre producers, trade associations and so on.

However, there are many, many names missing from the list at a time when BEIRG’s work is paramount.

With increased help from the PMSE community, BEIRG can represent and protect the best interests of the pro-audio ecosystem that it serves.

For more info, please drop BEIRG man Duncan a line... I duncan@autograph.co.uk offline suites and a direct ISDN link to Los Angeles.”

During the Bafta Awards, held at the Royal Opera House on Sunday 16 February, audio pioneer Ray Dolby and sound editor David Campling (The Terminator, Platoon) were remembered in a tribute to leading lights of cinema who passed away in the last 12 months. I www.bafta.org www.sound24.co.uk

(L-R): Olga Kurylenko, Niv Adiri, Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro and actor Richard E Grant, for Best Sound

06 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

For the latest news www.psnseurope.com

news EUROPE

UNITED KINGDOM/WORLD

The only way is S6... but Avid delists

By Erica Basnicki and Dave Robinson THE FIRST Avid S6 control surface has been delivered in the UK. However, news of the inaugural shipment, heralded ahead of the BVE show at ExCeL last month, was somewhat tempered hours later by a report stating that shares in the company had been delisted from the NASDAQ. Bristol-based Films at 59 has the honour of being recipient of the first S6 as part of a company switch to a fully integrated Avid content creation initiative.

Gina Fucci, managing director of Films at 59, says, “With everdecreasing budgets, faster turnaround times and the need for producers to find money across territories to fund a project, we needed an agile workflow based on open and tightly integrated solutions.”

Films at 59’s new audio production infrastructure combines Avid Pro Tools and the S6 console into its existing Media Composer and ISIS shared storage video content creation workflow.

“With shared storage, the ability for productions to share audio and vision, and the

Revealed at IBC2013, Avid’s S6 control surface has arrived in the UK flexibility to pick up a mix in any room to accommodate schedule changes are tremendous benefits,” adds Fucci.

“Films at 59 was the first UK facility to adopt our ISIS 5000 shared storage solution, and is once again leading the way with its investment in our S6 modular and customisable control surface,” says Tim Hurrell, director of EMEA Audio at Avid.

Purchased through Avid Elite reseller, Digital Garage, Films at 59 plans to add additional S6 consoles to its workflow later.

News of the sale came just ahead of Avid reporting that, “as expected”, its shares had been delisted from the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.

“Following the suspension of

trading of Avid’s common stock on NASDAQ, the shares will begin trading on the OTC Markets [OTC Pink Tier] under the trading symbol AVID,” said the company.

Avid says it intends to “complete the restatement and regain compliance with its SEC filing requirements as soon as practicable”, setting itself a target of mid-2014.

Avid’s financial woes were spotlighted this time last year, when it announced that it had postponed the release of its Q4 and full year 2012 financial results in order “to provide additional time... to evaluate its current and historical accounting”.

The share price hit an all-time low of just under $5 before the delisting on 25 February. I www.avid.com

Yamaha steps up with shake up

By Erica Basnicki YAMAHA MUSIC Europe has recently undertaken changes to its marketing, sales and technical support within the European Commercial Audio organisation, which sees the creation of new positions the company says will “underpin Yamaha’s strengthening position in the installed and live sound markets”.

At ISE this year, the company launched several major additions to its Commercial Installation Solutions (CIS) series – EN5424 certified versions of the VXC and VXS loudspeaker lines, which are designed primarily for PA/VA voice alarm systems.

Supporting Yamaha’s expansion are dedicated commercial installed sound specialists who have been added to its commercial audio sales teams in France and Germany.

Commercial installed sound specialists are also being recruited in the UK, complementing the recent appointment of new staff to the UK commercial audio sales force.

A completely new position, based in London, has also been created to strengthen its global PA application engineering capability.

Meanwhile, following the recent decision by Nick Cook to leave Yamaha to form his own strategic marketing company, the role of the marketing director commercial audio will be assumed by the current

Nils-Peter Keller: commercial intent European marketing director pro music & pro audio, NilsPeter Keller.

“The latest creation of new positions for global PA application engineering and commercial installed sound underlines Yamaha’s strategy to boost its position as a high quality pro-audio manufacturer across decisive fields of technology within the industry,” says Ryo Kasai, senior director at Yamaha Music Europe.

“We are more than pleased to have been able to assume the responsibility for global PA training content and application engineering for the most complex audio network applications from the London R&D office location. The restructuring allows us at the same time to focus staff competence onto the installed sound market more locally, which is a prerequisite for achieving the best service level in the European installation markets.” I www.yamahacommercialaudio.com

08 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

industrymovers

Industry movers is sponsored by

Simon Kerr NUGEN Audio

John Holmes The Studio People

Malcolm Wall MediaCity UK

Patrick Malone Goldcrest Post

Andreas Weingaertner Martin Audio

Ignazio Vagnone PreSonus

Klaus Hausherr K-array

Noel Larson Harman Professional

NUGEN Audio has announced the appointment of Simon Kerr as chief marketing officer. Kerr served as director of marketing communications for Canon USA previously, achieving top market share for the Cinema EOS line of cameras within two years after leading the launch and marketing campaign. Kerr will oversee the NUGEN Audio’s global marketing strategy and manage the North American Office. www.nugenaudio.com

Community Professional claims Max benefit Loudspeaker manufacturer appoints industry veteran Lindsay-Johnson as international sales manager MAX LINDSAY-JOHNSON has been made responsible for ensuring the continued growth of international sales for Community. Lindsay-Johnson’s previous roles have included international sales and marketing manager for Duran Audio BV, and managing director of Harman Pro UK. “I am thrilled to be joining the Community team at such an incredible time of innovation and growth within the

company,” says LindsayJohnson. “Community is a world leader in outdoor loudspeaker technology and its engineering excellence continues to drive expansion in its established position in the installed/engineered sound market. I look forward to being part of the team that brings this broad spectrum of solutions to the forefront of the pro audio business,” he adds. www.communitypro.com

John Holmes joins recording facility design team, The Studio People, filling the role of technical sales manager. Holmes’ experience lies in the sales, support and education sectors and he will now be overseeing the expansion of the company’s acoustic products and furniture ranges.

As well as exploring new business avenues as the company expands into new markets. www.studiopeople.com Malcolm Wall has joined MediaCityUK-based media service provider dock10 as the company’s new non-executive chairman. The appointment was made following David Holdgate’s retirement from the MediaCityUK board. Wall has enjoyed a long career in the global media sector, acting as CEO of Abu Dhabi Media and most recently leading a

joint venture in China for Pinewood Studios. www.dock10.co.uk/ Patrick Malone has been appointed as managing director at market leading supplier of Academy Award and BAFTA winning post-production services, Goldcrest Post. The job will require Malone to oversee the growth of the company’s digital intermediate department as well as strengthening the executive management of the existing award winning sound facility. The company’s extensive list of credits include Les Miserables, Twilight and Harry Potter. Malone says ‘I can’t wait to get started.’ www.goldcrestfilms.com Martin Audio has appointed Andreas Weingaertner as its new international account manager. Weingaertner comments: “I had been approached in recent years by other loudspeaker manufacturers, but the opportunity to work for such a pioneering manufacturer as Martin Audio was a prospect too good to pass by.” Bremen-based Weingaertner has over 26 years of sales and marketing experience in the pro-audio industry ranging from MI and rental to fixed installations. www.martin-audio.com Ignazio Vagnone has joined PreSonus as sales manager for Europe, the Middle

East and Africa. Vagnone has over ten years of industry experience, runs a personal studio and is a dedicated guitar and bass player, designer and assembler. “It is a great honour and an equally great challenge to join one of this market’s most forward looking companies, where excellence is the only standard,” comments Vagnone. www.presonus.com K-array has appointed Klaus Hausherr as product specialist for its concert series.

Hausherr will now be responsible for identifying key customer needs, and as well as the analysis of market trends. ‘I was drawn to K-array’s concert line when I heard its long serving KH4 at a trade fair. I was blown away by the performance and sound/size ratio,” comments Hausherr. www.k-array.com Harman Professional has announced the appointment of Noel Larson as director of marketing for the Signal Processing Business Unit.

Larson is responsible for marketing the BSS Audio, dbx, Lexicon and DigiTech brands.

Harman senior director, TJ Smith says: “Noel’s extensive experience and deep understanding of our brands and the markets we serve make him uniquely equipped to have an immediate impact leading marketing for the Signal Processing Business Unit.” www.harman.com

10 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

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

expos&events

EDITORIAL PLANNER

SPOTLIGHT NAB 2014 5-10 April Las Vegas, Nevada, USA www.nabshow.com

APRIL f Italy Focus

NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters show) attracts over 93,000 media and entertainment professionals from over 150 countries. There are around 1,550 companies represented at NAB, all spread over 81,600sqm. Visitors will be able to attend speeches, workshops, conferences and training sessions ranging from broadcast engineering to media management on the cloud. Pro-audio manufacturers that have already confirmed their attendance at NAB 2014 include Avid, DPA Microphones, K-array, Merging Technologies, Focusrite, Lectrosonics, Calrec Audio, CEntrance and Cedar Audio.

The show takes place in three venues, the Las Vegas Convention Center where the main exhibition space is located and the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, where the show’s opening keynote speech will be held. The Las Vegas Hotel and Casino is also home to the Broadcast Education Association, the NAB Show’s largest conference partner. Finally, the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Hotel will host the Content Market, which features executive meeting spaces where content buyers and sellers can conduct business.

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

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

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

PSNLIVE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

f On the Road (diary)

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

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

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

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

Distribution: 4 June

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

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

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

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

Inside the Reichstag...

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

JUNE f World Cup/Sound for Stadiums f Widgets and Essential Kit f ABTT + InfoComm previews Deadline: 21 May

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

12 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

technologynew products Erica Basnicki compiles this month’s list of hot new products D&B AUDIOTECHNIK

loudspeakers, such as CUT (Cut mode), CPL (Coupling), HFC (High Frequency Compensation) and CSA (Cardioid Sub Array) are included.

D80 What is it? A 4-channel high power density 2RU amplifier that incorporates digital signal processing to provide configurations for the entire d&b loudspeaker range.

Details: Each of the four channels integrated into the D80 features a signal delay of up to 10 seconds and two 16-band equalisers, providing parametric, notch, shelving and asymmetric filters. Additionally, specific functions for d&b

And another thing: All four outputs can deliver up to 4,000 Watts into 4 ohms and are distributed through either the single NL8 connector, or the individual loudspeaker outputs.

The LoadMatch function electronically compensates for loudspeaker cable properties, without the need for an extra conductor. This is said to result in increased accuracy of audio reproduction over a bandwidth of up to 20kHz, preserving the tonal balance when using cable lengths of up to 70m. www.dbaudio.com

RTW

BBE

LQL

SM500 What is it? The BBE SM500 Sonic Maximizer is a modular single-channel signal processor designed to be used specifically with 500 series racks.

Details: The single-channel BBE SM500 is engineered to brighten, clarify and add fullness by adjusting phase relationships and augmenting high and low frequencies, revealing more of the sound’s natural texture and detail. Features include +23dBu headroom and a bypass switch for comparison of processed to unprocessed signals.

And another thing: The SM500 uses the same processing engine as

BBE’s 882i model, and the same process that has enhanced recordings for recording engineers and producers from Ryan Hewitt (Avett Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flogging Molly) to Ed Cherney (Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt) to Tony Visconti (T. Rex, David Bowie, Alejandro Escoveda). www.bbesound.com

What is it? LQL, or Loudness Quality Logger is software developed for logging, true-peak data analysis and reporting compatible with RTW’s TM7, TMR7 and TM9 TouchMonitor line of products running with Logging Data Server license (SW20014).

Details: Once activated, LQL enables measured loudness and TruePeak data to be derived directly via an IP-connection from a capable TouchMonitor audio meter, as well as from external storage media such as a USB stick. The software also includes dual limit weighting, status information, marker and various other

reporting features. The software is free of charge to users; however the SW20014 Logging Data Server license is required to enable a TM7, TMR7 or TM9 series meter to be compatible with data export and additional display functions.

And another thing: The TM7 visualises up to 40 sources at the same time, while the TM9 visualises up to 48 and the TMR7, specifically designed for radio broadcasting, visualises up to four. www.rtw.com

14 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

showpreview

Prolight + Sound 2014

When?

12-15 March 2014

GERMANY

Allen & Heath Xone:23: DJ skills with style

Prolight + Sound 2014 A round-up of the finest new gear in all of Frankfurt PROLIGHT + SOUND 2014 is finally here, and will undoubtedly attract all the leading industry professionals, hankering to get a first glimpse of the latest pro-audio technology. PSNEurope will be covering the event in full, so keep your eye on our Twitter feed and the PSNEurope website for all pro-audio related announcements from Frankfurt.

Here, in alphabetical order, is what we know about…

Australian-based designer and manufacturer of digital and

ARX Blue DI: from the front! analogue interface and signal processing products, ARX Systems, will show the Blue DI Bluetooth Direct Box at Prolight + Sound. This product is the

latest addition to the company’s AudiBox range of precision tools for audio professionals.

ARX’s managing director, Colin Park says: “ARX’s engineering

team developed the Blue DI to fulfil the demand for a truly professional wireless Active Direct Box interface allowing users to connect today’s and tomorrow’s Bluetooth enabled devices to the pro audio world of balanced signals and XLR connectors via a robust wireless connection of over 12m range.”

The Blue DI is compatible with Bluetooth Version V2.1 EDR, 3.0 and 4.0 and can be powered by +48VDC phantom power from a mixing console, or an external DC PSU and features industry standard balanced left & right line level XLR outputs.

Allen & Heath will debut the latest addition to its Xone DJ range, as well as the recently launched Qu-24 compact digital mixer and Xone:23 DJ mixer.

Also on display: the ME personal monitoring system, Qu-16 rack mount digital mixer, GLD and iLive digital systems and analogue mixers from the MixWizard4 and ZED series.

Oregon-based Audio Precision will be making its first appearance at Prolight + Sound this year. The company will be demonstrating its APx Converged Audio Test, which provides a single platform that covers all aspects of audio testing, allowing rapid sharing of projects and data between design and production. The company will also present the APx Electroacoustic software suites that provide acoustic measurements for loudspeaker drivers and enclosures. President of Audio Precision, David Schmoldt, says: “With the new Electro-acoustic test suites, AP has a solution that covers every aspect of audio product creation. We are excited to expand our offerings to reflect the changing needs of our customers, who continue to rely upon AP to provide the last word in audio test.”

Audient will showcase its new 8-channel mic pre. The ASP880 is the first product to be released under the new directorship of Simon

Blackwood.

Chief technical officer Tom Waterman explains: “Listening to feedback from Audient users has been essential. As a result, we worked closely with David Dearden to develop the PSU cooling system for absolutely silent, fan-less operation, and invested in new, improved Burr-Brown converter technology to ensure even better sound quality and each channel has insert points for enhanced flexibility or direct converter access.” Apart from improved sound quality, the front panel of the ASP880 has also benefited from a redesign.

Waterman says: “Each channel of ASP880 is now clearly defined, facilitating visibility and functionality in a busy rack – great for touring rigs or dimly lit control rooms. On top of all that we made the construction even more bombproof!”

DPA Microphones d:facto grids DPA Microphones will be showing off its d:facto vocal microphone featuring new grids with gold and nickel finishes.

CEO of DPA Microphones Christian Poulsen says: “We saw a demand in the market to attain the d:facto sound with more than just the traditional black grids.”

The company will also use Prolight + Sound to showcase its range of d:vote 4099 instrument microphones and d:dicate recording microphone range.

16 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

showpreview

Prolight + Sound 2014

Pan Acoustics Powerline control unit Fohhn Audio Focus

“Our d:vote microphones have always been popular with classical musicians because they deliver such fantastic sound and allow musicians to capture the true sound of their instruments,” says Poulsen. “However, in recent years we’ve noticed a steady increase in sales to rock bands such as Metallica, D-A-D and Paramore, who have experienced how the DPA sound enhances their performance. With our

Rock Touring Kits we are making the sound engineer’s task so much easier.”

Nürtingen-based Fohhn Audio will unveil the latest addition to its Focus Series range of steerable line array systems.

Focus Venue is a new series for large live sound applications. It is designed to complement the loudspeaker models currently available in the manufacturer’s Linea Focus and Focus Modular series. The new loudspeakers offer all the standard elements of Fohhn beam steering technology, including real-time remote control and monitoring via Fohhn Audio Soft software. The company’s Airea-Series compact, fully digital, networkable loudspeaker will also be making its first tradeshow appearance The new loudspeakers will offer all the standard elements of Fohhn beam steering technology,

John Perry demonstrates Neutrik Xirium

NEUTRIK XIRIUM BRINGS WIRELESS AUDIO NEUTRIK HAS announced that several products will be featured, including Xirium, the DWA (digital wireless audio) plug’n’play system that removes the need for trailing cables. The company says: “Xirium combines digital reception and transmission routes in a bidirectional network and delivers uncompromising audio quality at the highest level.”

Neutrik sales executive John Perry further revealed to PSNEurope that he has used Xirium at a Brit Award after-show party connecting to Meyer MINA and Subs across a marble floor and around two bars “where cable runs would have been difficult,

unsightly and time-consuming”.

Perry says his team has built up a number of similar reference projects, which PSNEurope will be discussing in a future article.

Neutrik will also demonstrate the new spring-loaded sealing cover SCCD-W, which shuts automatically after unplugging the cable connector, will also be on show. It seals the chassis connectors against dust and water according to IP65. The range of Neutrik powerCON equipment connectors will also be on display, including the powerCON TRUE1, powerCON 32 A and powerCON 20 A.

including real-time remote control and monitoring via Fohhn Audio Soft software.

British loudspeaker manufacturer Funktion-One will showcase several new products at Prolight + Sound this year. Visitors will have the opportunity to try out the new products and talk to designers Tony Andrews and John Newsham. Firstly, the PSM318 DJ Monitor will be on display, which has already been installed in several venues and festivals around the globe, including Space in Ibiza, Sound in LA, Output in New York, Miami’s Ultra Music Festival and Serbia’s Exit Festival. DJ Carl Cox comments: “Just as you thought Funktion-One couldn’t get any better, they designed the best monitors I have ever worked on.” In addition to the PSM318, the Resolution 3 SH Evo and EH Evo loudspeakers will also be on show. The Resolution 3 SH Evo and EH Evo have been installed in Space, Moscow, where the main room, main terrace, VIP terrace and VIP Lounge are all equipped with Funktion-One sound systems.

Denmark-based sound reinforcement company, Mach Audio is making its tradeshow comeback after being mothballed for some time. Mach will be demonstrating its DSP driven loudspeaker system and light weight power amplifier for mobile and fixed applications.

The company has also announced the new MELA series line array speaker series, the multipurpose CX12 and CX15 loudspeakers and lastly the Shine Series plug and play small column speaker cabinets.

MXL Microphones has announced that it will be showcasing its CR77 Live Stage Dynamic Vocal Microphone.

The CR77 is the latest addition to the CR Series microphones.

The grill has smaller holes to eliminate feedback onstage and a foam windscreen is built behind the grill to further filter out background noise. The mic also features a built-in shockmount to reduce handling noise. Head of product development for the

Where?

CR77 Scott Krueckeberg, says: “This is an ambitious project for us to move out of the studio, where we’re comfortable, and move into the live stage world and provide a high quality, dynamic microphone. We tested and perfected this capsule over many months to come up with the exact tonality we wanted. It’s a modern, brighter tonality mic housed in a vintage body, and great for performers looking for a stage mic with character.”

Pan Acoustics has announced that its new product, the Pan Powerline, will make its tradeshow debut. The new technology allows the installation of the active digital Pan Beam loudspeaker systems using only two wires (I.e. YSTI wired existing old 100V-systems) providing audio, steering data and power. Installation of Pan Beam’s new product is incredibly simple; as there is only the central control Unit and the corresponding Pan Beam PPL that needs to be connected to an existing two-wire cable.

Universal Audio is showcasing the UA 610 Tube Preamp & EQ Plug-In Collection for the UAD Powered Plug-Ins platform and Apollo audio interfaces.

The 610 plug-in collection includes both the classic 610-A model and modern 610-B hardware, and represents the first comprehensive modelling of this hallowed preamp design – including its tube and transformer components and unique distortion characteristics. The company has also recently unveiled the UAD Powered Plug-Ins Software v7.5, which is UA’s new Unison technology to Apollo QUAD and Apollo DUO interfaces having added several key features for Mac users. The Dangerous BAX EQ Plug-In Collection will also be featured.

Dangerous BAX is the first and only authentic plug-in emulation of the hardware studio staple, available exclusively for UAD-2 DSP Accelerators and Apolloequipped workstations. President of Dangerous Music, Bob Muller says: “We wanted to do something special and unique, more of a tone control-style finishing EQ that would not alter the essential character of the audio. The Bax EQ plug-in is a wonderful rendering of the essential characteristics of the hardware design. The guys at Brainworx did a fantastic job!”

Messe Frankfurt

QSC is bringing a range of new products, including the new CXD-Q Network Amplifiers.

The CXD-Q is designed for use with the Q-Sys Network Audio Platform. QSC senior product manager Dale Sandberg, says: “As Q-Sys products, they operate like other Q-Sys peripherals utilising the same standard Layer 3 networking technology for audio streaming, control and monitoring.” The QSC TouchMix Series Compact Digital Mixer will also be demonstrated, following its European tradeshow debut at ISE in Amsterdam. The company will also be showcasing the next generation of Q-Sys Enterprise Cores. The new models, the Core 1100 and the Core 3100 are capable of double the processing

Funktion One DJ Monitor speed of the preceding models.

QSC install DSP product manager, TJ Adams says: “These next-generation server cores are uniquely suited to manage the extensive audio processing needs in larger deployments such as convention centres, entertainment venues, hospitality settings and transportation facilities.” I www.audient.com www.ap.com www.arx.com.au www.allen-heath.com www.dpamicrophones.com www.fohhn.com www.funktion-one.com www.mach-audio.com www.mxlmics.com www.neutrik.com www.pan-acoustics.de www.qsc.com www.uaudio.com

18 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

Studio SOUNDBITES The Soho-based subsidiary of Scrub, HHB Communications has supplied equipment and services to Real World Studios for upgrades to Avid Pro Tools HDX and version 11 software. Real World recording engineer Patrick Phillips comments: ”These Pro Tools upgrades ensure that we are at the leading-edge of audio technology, and the enhanced sound quality and efficiency of the equipment will be passed onto our clients.” www.hhb.co.uk/scrub AKG reports that sound engineer Donal Hodgson (Sting, Jeff Beck, Primal Scream) has recently upgraded his recording set-up to include a pair of AKG K812s, the top-of-the-line reference headphones with a £1,000 price-tag introduced in October last year. Hodgson recorded Ronnie Wood’s performance at BluesFest at the Royal Albert Hall last year with the ‘phones, and will be using them on his next Sting project. “The K812s are amazing,” he says. “They’re incredibly comfortable, and although they felt quite heavy when compared to my long-standing headphones, wearing them is a different story.

I hardly noticed I had them on.” www.akg.com Focusrite Audio Engineeringhas announced the release of a new documentary about the history of its consoles and the people that use them, featuring the company’s first recording console, the Focusrite Forté, the predecessor to the streamlined Studio Console. Only 10 Studio Consoles were ever made and six remain in operation to this day. www.focusrite.com Amadeus Audiorevamped the interior acoustical and architectural design for each of the ten studios at Creative Sound in Paris. Owner of Creative, Cristinel Sirli, says: “I encountered Amadeus designer Michel Deluc following the recommendation of Philippe Guerinet, director of international sales at SSL. Michel’s philosophy, passion and approach about sound, acquired through his work with musical and electroacoustical fields, seduced me.” www.amadeusaudio.fr

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

UNITED KINGDOM

One Flood we don’t mind…

The sixth outing of the MPG Awards saw the Foals producer share the big award of the night, and the Brit Award, with his collaborator Alan Moulder.

Meanwhile, Seal shone on stage with Trevor Horn. Dave Robinson reports

(L-R): Flood and Alan Moulder with Foals’ Edwin Congreave THE MUSIC Producers Guild raised the bar to a whole new level at the sixth edition of its annual Awards ceremony, held last month at the Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London.

The now must-attend evening of trophy-giving in recognition of outstanding work in professional recording was trumped by a live performance by Trevor Horn and his band, with a rare appearance by singer Seal.

This year’s top Producer of the Year accolade – and automatically the winner of the 2014 Brit Award for Best Producer – was clinched by partnership Flood (Mark Ellis) and Alan Moulder for their work on Foals album Holy Fire.

When PSNEurope suggested to Flood that it was “about time he won the award”, he was quick to refute the idea. “No.

Genelec’s Jarmo Masko handed David Bowie’s Award to Tony Visconti (right)

Show-stealers Seal and Trevor Horn (centre) with Fran Nevrkla of the PPL

No. It’s not about time we won it, it’s about time more people were recognised for the work that they do. There’s not a single black or R’n’B producer here, and I find that very difficult.

“This man [Alan Moulder] is my best friend,” he continued, “and I’ve worked with him for 30-odd years, and we sit there every day, and do our job, and are totally passionate about it.

But there are so many people, in the same position, that don’t get recognised at these awards. I think more people should be.”

The UK Album of the Year gong, sponsored by Universal Audio, was also bagged by Holy Fire. Everything Everything claimed the Shure-sponsored UK Single Song Release of the Year for Kemosabe – the four-piece were nominated for album of the year two years ago, but missed out to Adele’s all-conquering 21.

The MPG Innovation Award, sponsored by Genelec, was awarded to style maverick David Bowie, and accepted on his behalf by long-time producercohort Tony Visconti.

The Special Recognition Award, sponsored by Protape and Transco Blanx, was presented to vinyl-cutting veteran Sean Davies by Bill Wyman: the former Rolling Stone recalled how the first ever acetate of a Stones song had been cut by Davies in the ’60s.

Davies admitted to having kept a copy of the cut – which would now have an estimated worth of “£15,000” – but gave it away “to a girl I hardly knew”.

Rak Studios was victorious in the Studio of the Year stakes, with Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood presenting the trophy to Rak’s Trisha Wegg.

“It’s an OMG moment!” said the elated studio manager.

Breakthrough Producer of the Year, sponsored by Focusrite/Novation, went to Disclosure (Lawrence brothers

March 2014 l 19

www.psneurope.com

studionews Guy and Howard), while Breakthrough Engineer of the Year, sponsored by Prism Sound, was secured by Dan Cox. Producer Trevor Horn was honoured for his Outstanding Contribution to UK Music – and he brought his band The Producers along, as if to reinforce the point. After the ceremony, composer Anne Dudley joined Horn, Lol Crème, Ash Soan and co on stage for a joyous jaunt through the exBuggles’ pop portfolio, including Two Tribes (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) and Video Killed the Radio Star. The audience of 400 were thrilled as guest vocalist Seal stepped up to sing Grace Jones’ Slave to the Rhythm, Yes’ Owner of a Lonely Heart his own Horn-produced hits, Kiss From A Rose and Crazy. 10CC’s Eric Stewart further guested on a rendition of I’m Not In Love.

Now in its sixth year, the Music Producers Guild Awards

recognises the contribution made by recording professionals to the success of the UK’s music industry. This year’s event, sporting a new host (comedian Rich Hall) and a new venue after five years at the Café de Paris, once again highlighted the essential relationship between artist and recording professional, with many artists attending the ceremony to present their producer with an award.

Steve Levine, chairman of the Music Producers Guild, said: “Our winners highlight the creativity that is inherent in UK music production, and when you look at the amazing work these recording professionals have done in the past 12 months it is no surprise that Britain’s recording talent remains the envy of the rest of the world.”

The complete list of winners and sponsors for the 2014 Awards is available on the MPG Awards’ website. I www.mpgawards.com

Disclosure: Breakthrough Producer

Trisha Wegg (centre) and the RAK Studios crew: Best Studio

Sean Davies with Bill Wyman (right): Special Recognition Awad

Comedian Rich Hall was the host

20 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

studioreport UNITED KINGDOM

The Church Studios rises again Saved from redevelopment into flats by Adele producer Paul Epworth, The Church Studios is born again as a Miloco-run recording space. Erica Basnicki reports NORTH LONDON’S Church Studios has been undergoing its first test sessions, born again as producer Paul Epworth’s newest recording facility.

In October 2012, approved development plans to convert the studio (then owned by musician David Gray) into flats appeared to have put the final nail in the coffin

Engineer Matt Wiggins checks out the vintage Neve, while a celebratory bottle of champagne awaits some ice… for the facility, first converted into a studio by the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart in 1984.

A year later, producer Paul Epworth bought the historic facility following a proposal by

Gray. At the time, Epworth told PSNEurope: “David approached me as a last call to see if he could keep the building as a studio rather than let it go to residential. It’s a fantastic place and I intend to refurbish the studio to make it a viable commercial business. I hope we can keep it as a recording studio for the next 10-20 years with a bit of luck.”

Redesign of the studio was done by New York’s WaltersStoryk Design Group, with Miloco Builds carrying out the construction. Once open, the studio will be managed and booked by Miloco.

Last month, engineer Matt Wiggins put the main live space and the studio’s 72-channel vintage EMI Neve (reportedly the only such

console in London) through its paces, in preparation for the first sessions proper.

The desk comprises two sections: one once belonging to Abbey Road Studios, the other from the famed Pathé Marconi studios in Paris. Renown studio technician and vintage Neve specialist Blake Devitt assembled the console.

Miloco MD Nick Young says: “We are close to completing Phase One of Paul’s vision for The Church. It is incredible that he bought the studio and the more we work on the building the more exciting the project has become.

“The arrival of the vintage EMI Neve was one of those ‘Eureka!’ moments.

We are now busy preparing for the first session starting next week with a test session today.

Meanwhile the SSL mix room and the writing studio are well under way. The Church is and will be an incredible studio complex.” I www.miloco.co.uk

22 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

studionews UNITED KINGDOM

UNITED KINGDOM

Luck is in the Air

The UK’s newest residential studio

By Erica Basnicki DESIGN agency The Studio People Ltd has designed and constructed a new fully residential music studio in Warwickshire called Vada Recording Studios.

Producer and studio owner Matt Terry (Noisettes, One Night Only, Ocean Colour Scene), contacted Studio People MD Peter Keeling back in April 2012 with a view to purchasing a property that included old barns ideal for the new facility.

“Initially I planned for a building company to take care of the residential build while Studio People handled the

studio side of things,” says Terry. “You watch [the Channel Four’s] Grand Designs and you see all these disasters and contractors who can’t work with each other, so it was a relief when Peter agreed to take on the whole project.”

The facility includes a fivebedroom residential section alongside the main barn, which houses the large live room, a 48-channel SSL control room, drum booth, machine room and edit suite.

“The finish is superb throughout the whole place,” says Terry. “Someone asked me if there was anything I would change about the new Vada,

By Murray Stassen

Matt Terry with his 48-channel SSL at the new Vada Recording Studios but after 17 years of working in studios I knew exactly what I didn’t want to see in a studio, so this is the culmination of all that experience. I wouldn’t

change anything about this place. Everything is just perfect as it is.” I www.studiopeople.com www.vadarecordingstudios.com

FOCUSRITE AUDIO Engineering has announced a recording competition to coincide with the company’s 25th Anniversary and 29 years since the creation of the Focusrite brand.

The winners of this once-in-alife time recording opportunity will record a track with Grammy and MPG award-winning producer Guy Massey at the worldrenowned Air Studios in London.

Massey has worked with stars ranging from the Manic Street Preachers to Ed Sheeran. The completed song will then be sent to one of London’s leading mastering engineers.

The prize includes an all expenses paid weekend at Air Studios for the winner and three band mates. Air is home to Focusrite’s original Rupert Nevedesigned recording consoles.I www.focusrite.com

24 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

studionews ITALY

Giving voice to the performing arts their ability to add a variety of sonic ‘colours’ to our projects and enable us to concentrate further on mastering work… these include the Chandler Germanium pre-amp, Comp and Curve Bender, Daking Mic Pre/EQ and FET compressor II, Empirical Lab Fatso EL7, Maselec MEA-2 mastering EQ and MCA-2 mastering

Mike Clark reports on a new Italian facility for classical music, dance, theatre and TV LOCATED JUST a short distance from the airport of Treviso, a town in north-eastern Italy’s Veneto region, Teatro delle Voci (The Theatre of Voices) Studios is an incredibly flexible structure offering a wide range of facilities for artists and performers. The recording studio component, although only running since last year, has recently embarked on an upgrade, with new main monitors and numerous other additions to its already wide assortment of outboards and effects.

The multi-function philosophy took shape at the drawing board stage, when the architects and structural designers working on a new project for what once the site of a cinema were joined by John Flynn and Claudio Belletti of Acoustics Design Group, whose brief was not only to ensure that all the structural aspects regarding the acoustic treatment of the various areas were designed and constructed in such a way as to obtain optimum insulation between rooms and prevent sound

Acoustic flexibility is paramount transmission outside the building, but also to provide clients using the main (450sqm) room an infinite choice of acoustic conditions.

ADG’s solution was a variable acoustic set-up that, by changing the configuration of the motorised wall panels all round the room (on floor and mezzanine level), and lowering other huge panels flown from the 12m high ceiling, enables virtually any requirement to be met: from hard rock to symphonic music and everything between, as far as recording is concerned, but also allows to host live shows (there is a stage, seating for a 300-strong audience and a grid and fly facilities for lighting and scenery).

Located on the mezzanine at opposite ends of the room, the

two control rooms are cabled with all the other rooms and Control Room A, which hosts a 32-channel Solid State Logic 6000 E, brought in from facility manager and sound engineer Emiliano Maggiotto’s previous studio, also features Pro Tools HD, Alesis Masterlink ML-9600 HD, Tascam DA-30 MkII Pro and HHB CDR-830 recorders.

Here, Maggiotto gives an insight on the latest upgrade: “Three months ago, we took delivery of a pair of ATC SCM150ASL main monitors and six weeks ago the latest additions to our selection of outboards arrived, chosen for

SSL 6000E in the control room compressor, plus Thermionic Culture’s Phoenix mastering PLUS and a new brand for us – Cartec Audio – we’ve now got their EQ-Pre 2.”

The company called in for the complex acoustic work aimed at guaranteeing musicians and engineers optimum recording conditions, ADG, is an international practice specialised in designing broadcast studios, performance spaces, music recording studios, film post production and mix studios and other acoustically demanding spaces, and its wide experience is

UNITED KINGDOM

Alchemy celebrates new Hammersmith HQ

By Dave Robinson A NEW home for London’s Alchemy Mastering officially opened its door at the end of last month. Clients, associates and friends were invited to the renowned studio’s new mews HQ in Brook Green, near Hammersmith in west London, to view the facilities and meet the team.

Alchemy Mastering first opened its doors 17 years ago in London’s Fitzrovia, with Barry Grint (Abbey Road) and Rowan Laxton (West End Music) at the helm. In 2003, Alchemy made a dramatic expansion to a stunning

location atop the Centre Point tower in central London. It wasn’t to last: five years later, a dispute with the incumbent landlord led to a sudden closure of the studio and a period of regrouping by the directors.

Grint recalls a difficult time: “The closure was terribly sad, as the company was very well respected and profitable. For a period afterwards we managed to find some temporary space, before settling in Smithfield East London. Despite having brand new studios, it soon became clear that the location would not work for our mastering clients.

“It was a difficult decision to

separate into two companies, but it made commercial sense,” he continues. “Fellow director Phil Kinrade – who joined the company in 2000 from Chop ‘Em Out – Rowan and I were known for the Alchemy name so, the voice-over element has become Alchemy Post still in Smithfield and our new company remains Alchemy Mastering.”

Former Alchemy and Air Studios mastering engineer Matt Colton has re-joined Grint and Kinrade as a director and equal partner. Colton says: “The move to Brook Green came at a point where I felt I wanted to move on from being an employee and

working with Phil and Barry was an excellent way to pursue that. Together, we have created a

Let’s play master and service: Alchemy is ready to go in Brook Green

based on more than 250 prestige projects worldwide.

Partner Claudio Belletti explains “All the systems (air conditioning, electrical, security, lighting, scenery, AV cabling, etc) had to meet precise acoustic criteria and, after installation, the components for the treatment of the various areas (main room, control rooms and vocal booths) underwent strict overall tests. Each wall and ceiling panel has an absorbent side and a reflective one, so effectively there are endless acoustic combinations.”

Recording projects completed to date that have taken advantage of the variable acoustics have ranged from rock bands to the ninety-piece Orchestra Ritmico Sinfonica Italiana, and, apart from the room’s great flexibility, not many other studios are also able to provide theatre, dance and concert rehearsal facilities and areas equipped for holding AV training courses as well as hosting (and recording) live events, showcases and TV shows.

Maggiotto enthusiastically concludes with the latest equipment news, “Negotiations are under way for the purchase of a Neve VR60 console with moving faders, which should be going into Control Room A and the SSL moved to Control Room B.” I www.teatrodellevoci.com fantastic boutique facility in a wonderful Mews property on the doorstep of the Major Record Labels”.

Recent projects include James Blake’s Overgrown (Colton) and Gabrielle Aplin’s English Rain (Grint). I www.alchemymastering.com

www.psneurope.com

March 2014 l 27

studionews UNITED KINGDOM

BBC training boost

By Tanyel Gumushan CREATIVE SKILLSET has announced that the BBC Academy will be offering five new Creative Skillset-funded initiatives for freelancers in the UK. The five-day studio courses are aimed at improving key industry skills for freelance Creative Skillset and the BBC Academy: improving key skills practitioners in studio sound, studio lighting, studio camera or to develop new skills where we have craft and vision mixing. identified a shortage.”

Courses on offer include ‘high-end “The BBC Academy will deliver world-class training and by supporting craft training’ and ‘comedy studio craft skills,’ the latter of which will be hosted these initiatives we are developing a diverse and skilled freelance community, in partnership with a leading European media provider, Dock10. which in turn will contribute to the growth and success of TV production The course will run in different in the UK as a whole,” she adds. locations around the country in order The BBC Academy’s head of business to create a wider pool of talent with development, Andrew Carmichael says: different key skills so as to improve “We are delighted that these initiatives, overall employability in the industry.

Kate O’Connor from Creative with funding from Creative Skillset, will make our training available and Skillset says: “The TV Skills Fund affordable to broadcast freelancers exists to ensure that freelancers are supported by offering heavily subsidised working across the UK.” I www.bbc.co.uk/academy training to take up new opportunities

Findlay: Shaping it up in his Sonnox world

UNITED KINGDOM

Big time help from Sonnox

By Murray Stassen GRAMMY-NOMINATED sound engineer Ben Findlay is mixing the audio for two Peter Gabriel concerts filmed at the O2 Arena in London in October 2013, ahead of their release as a cinema feature and DVD. According to Findlay, Sonnox Oxford plug-ins are playing a fundamental role in the mixing of the project: “Most of the EQs in this mix are Oxfords, and the Inflator is my

secret weapon. I use it primarily on Peter’s vocal channel, to give it a presence that dominates the mix. It’s proved extremely effective in bringing extra life to the drum bus as well.

“When we played the show mix back to Peter we put the ‘Warmth Function’ on the Dynamics plug-in across the entire mix, which he loved. The whole show has that process added to it in varying degrees. That made the sign-off process much easier!” I www.sonnox.com

28 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

studionews UNITED KINGDOM

Studio 3.2 for Surrey sound students Refurbished recording facilities have been unveiled at The University of Surrey, keeper of the acclaimed Tonmeister course, reports Murray Stassen THE UNIVERSITY of Surrey, home to the revered Tonmeister sound recording degree, unveiled its revamped Studio 3 in January.

The four-year Tonmeister course is taught at the multi-studio recording complex on the university’s Guildford campus.

“The first in-take was in 1970 – I think this will be our 40th year of graduates,” says Tonmeister programme director, Dr Russell Mason.

Studio 3 was built in 1999, the initial purpose being to increase the number of students that could be enrolled on the course. The room has now undergone a major refurbishment in terms of both acoustic design and layout. The 96-channel Sony Oxford console from that era has now been replaced by an AMS Neve 88D. Mason explains that the need for a new console was a deciding factor for the refurbishment: “The main reason was to replace the Oxford,” he says. “We took it as an opportunity to redo the acoustics in here – to turn the room around to make the space much more flexible so we can have listening seminars in here as well and to do it up.”

John Flynn and acoustician Sam Toyoshima of Acoustics Design Group carried out the redesign work. The partnership has undertaken projects at legendary facilities such as Abbey Road and Sarm West, an indicator of the quality of work that was sought by the

A close up of the AMS Neve 88 D which will be used by Tonmeister students The refurbished Studio 3 features ATC SCM100

Tonmeister sound academics from L-R: Alan Haigh; Michael Price; Prof. Tony Myatt; Dr Russell Mason Tonmeister academics.

The new AMS Neve 88D features a classic analogue frontend with up to 1,000 channels at 24-bit/96kHz. Tutor in sound recording and studio support engineer, Alan Haigh, adds: “It’s got the same back-end as the

DFC (AMS-Neve DFC Gemini), the big film console, so they can learn the software from that, and its got Encore Automation which is the same across all Neves like the 88RS, so [the 88D] sort of ticks every box, really.”

Due the multi-disciplined

nature of the Tonmeister course, it was important to the course administrators that students have access to a desk that would prepare them for highend studios and dubbing theatres. “We looked at a lot of desks and actually visited a lot

of manufacturers and tried them out,” explains professor Tony Myatt.

“We were looking for something that was a music mixing desk but also a desk that people could mix to picture — something that you would find in that sort of environment. The Neve sits in the middle of those two worlds,” says Myatt. The new console carries two quad MADI cards and runs on two DSP engines of 500 channels each.

“The reason we’ve done that is that if anything goes down we can carry on while we’re getting the other one replaced without losing the room,” explains Haigh.

“We’ve got 56 in and outs of Pro Tools and also Pyramix here as well because we use that in the classical studio, and you can mix from that in here equally well.”

The refurbished studio is now equipped for mixing in stereo and 5.1 surround sound.

Monitoring is courtesy of a 5channel ATC system, while a Genelec subwoofer handles low frequencies. “The monitor speakers are the same as before, ATC 100s,” says Haigh. “We had them in the year 2000 and we’ve got them in the other studio as well. If the place burned down we’d buy them again. The design hasn’t changed, its one of these great things, they cost a lot to start with, but once you’ve got, you’ve got them forever.” I www.surrey.ac.uk www.ams-neve.com

ITALY

First Italian Dolby Atmos mixing room inaugurated

By Mike Clark ROME-BASED STUDIO designer Dino D’Ambrosio recently completed work on Italy’s first cinema mixing facility catering for Dolby Atmos, at Margutta Digital International A/V post house.

The facility, which works on Italian productions and Italian versions of foreign films, is in Via Margutta – a few yards from Piazza di Spagna – in a

building hosting cinema sound facilities since the days of Federico Fellini. Work has already begun on the first Atmos projects – the new film 300 – Rise of an Empire, followed by the latest Spiderman adventure and the new Godzilla movie.

D’Ambrosio, describing Dolby Atmos as the “audio equivalent of 3D” explains: “Sounds in this case are identified from a spatial point of

view by their polar coordinates, so my job, after a few small changes to the 15 x 11m room’s tuning, was to design the Atmos-compliant JBL system, guaranteeing its coverage angles by precise positioning of the 18 SCS 12 THX and 22 8350 THX effects speakers.”

Since the buildings in this area of Rome are classified, the forty FX speakers are installed on a special Litec truss structure, designed by HSE, who

also customised the rig to eliminate vibration. The room has a main JBL screen system comprising three 4675 and a SW 4181 sub, plus a pair of 3635 rear subs, and the all-Crown DSi powerhouse has 12 2000 and 14 1000 models. Processors include the all-important Dolby Atmos RMU (Rendering and Mastering Unit) while the console is a 48-fader Avant Plus.

The seal of approval for the Rome room was not

Dino D’Ambrosio: Atmos fearless granted by Dolby Europe’s certification team, led by James Seddon. D’Ambrosio has since announced that he has been commissioned to upgrade three more Rome studio, with a fourth project being negotiated. I www.dinodambrosio.com

12th June 2014 • Hilton London Wembley

Celebrating excellence

within the AV industry We are inviting project entries in the following categories: • Public display/retail • Education • Sports and performing arts • Corporate and industrial • Residential For entry form please visit:

www.installawards.com/categories

For tickets & tables reservation: contact Sarah Harris – sarah.harris@intentmedia.co.uk +44 (0)20 7354 6001

For sponsorship opportunities: contact Ian Graham – ian.graham@intentmedia.co.uk +44 (0)20 7354 6000

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

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

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

SAVE £10th0e !

by booking d rate ly bir incredible ear

£149 plus VAT

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

Follow us on Twitter

@BeyondHDMasters

To book your tickets visit: www.beyondhdmasters.com or call Sara Mather +44 (0) 20 7354 6001 For details on sponsorship opportunities, please contact: Ben Ewles on +44 (0)207 354 6000 or ben.ewles@intentmedia.co.uk Steve Connolly on +44 (0)207 354 6000 or steve.connolly@intentmedia.co.uk Richard Carr on +44 (0)207 354 6000 or richard.carr@intentmedia.co.uk

March 2014 l 31

www.psneurope.com

studiofeature

Re-make/ re-model Phil Ward examines attitudes towards replica classics, and finds that there may be a market for classic replicas…

Immediately you see a perceived gap between the “real deal” and anything else, whether that be a software emulation or one of a growing inventory of hardware replicas reproduced with varying degrees of faith, hope and charity. Faith, because technical accuracy is at the mercy of your sources; hope, because success is at the mercy of your technical accuracy; and charity, because many replicas are built with no commercial intentions at all. A small community of followers share their enthusiasm like a secret sect.

PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE Take Keith Andrews, who cut his technical teeth in the heyday of Amazon Studios in Liverpool and is now technical engineer at Full Sail University in Florida.

“I’ve concentrated on building some ‘replicas’ of

A ReFill plug-in for Propellerhead users: can you think of a reason why not?

Say “Snap!” if you spot a box you already own

“Chandler has worked with original TG gear for years, so that has dictated our initial push into hardware” Mirek Styles my own,” he says. “I have a couple of processing racks with the usual suspects in them and, when [producer] Mick Glossop came to Florida a couple of years ago, I happily loaned him whatever he wanted, since we go back a bit and I always enjoyed working with him.”

More recently Andrews has been toying with a couple of hybrid ideas, combining the best of more than one unit in a way that sidesteps the issues of

Intellectual Property – not unlike creative sampling in music. The other challenge, he says, is consistency. “One problem is that there’s a wide range of standards of re-creation. Some builders aren’t perhaps as diligent or knowledgeable as the original creators, so you sometimes have to build a few of them to play with and discover where the shortfalls are. Some builders will only build one, for personal use.

The most common motivation is just to have a rare piece of kit without spending ‘genuine rarity’ dollars. For that reason even the same schematic can be built to many different standards by different people.”

But despite the insularity of some corners of the replica scene, the commercial potential of reinvented racks is beginning to make itself felt. Andrews himself has partnered with fellow Brit Dafydd Roche to create Expat Audio, a going concern that supplies PCBs based on popular classics, while even ‘in-the-box’ pop producer Hal Ritson is attracted by the combination of retro outboard and new-build reliability.

“I’m not averse to the concept of re-makes,” he reveals. “If I was to buy a second microphone today

M

THE BLOGS are agog with classic gear. Here’s a recent sample from Gearslutz.com: “My brother [is] about to shop for some real nice gear-candy, such as a Teletronix LA-2A, Urei 1176, TubeTech CL1B, Avalon M5, Avalon 737-SP and a Sony C800G. Can anyone tell me where to find this stuff ? This guy wants the real deal!”

March 2014 l 33

www.psneurope.com

I’d be quite interested in a classic model – but one that doesn’t have all the maintenance problems of something 40 years old. I’d be tempted by that idea. Otherwise I run with one microphone, doing huge numbers of vocal sessions that end up on chart records and, for all you might want to get into gear porn, no one ever comes in and asks what microphone we’re using. It’s a mid-range Neumann, and it does

virtually everything. Occasionally, if we’re mic’ing up a drum kit in a certain way, then we’ll track down something in detail.

“This stuff is so delicate, people don’t tend to let it out of their hands – so it’s not rentable in that sense. It gives a case for a specialist commercial niche, a reason for certain recording studios to still exist. Having a well-curated, well-maintained collection of old equipment is

Curve Bender close up: Blunt or Med Blunt..?

one USP – the other being a large, unique acoustic space.

The studio has to answer the question: what can it do that you can’t do at home?”

PURPLE HAYES Some studios can answer that question easily – and give you something for home, too. Abbey Road’s replica hardware partner is Chandler Ltd, based in Iowa and founded by Wade Chandler.

“Wade is doing TG-inspired hardware, based on our TG compressors, EQ units and preamps,” explains Mirek Stiles, Abbey Road’s head of audio products and an experienced session recording engineer here. “It complements our software plug-in partnership with Waves. Software is more popular in terms of numbers, because it’s cheaper, more accessible and more convenient for people to use, but there is still a market out there for hardware. The units sell in steady numbers every month – not huge, but steady. It’s quite surprising, in a way.”

THE (FLIGHT) CASE AGAINST “I try to avoid collecting huge amounts of hardware,” admits pop producer and Young Punx co-founder Hal Ritson. “It takes up a lot of space and it sucks up all your money. I have a Moog Voyager, a reinvention of the Mini-Moog; I use all the software plug-in versions – keyboards, desks, EQs and so on; and I use Line 6 Variax guitars to model vintage tones.

“I mostly stay working in the box, then if I need the real thing I use the studio of a friend who collects all this gear. He tends to collect the real, vintage originals. He wouldn’t complain about buying a new remake, but he tends to hunt down the Propellerheads’ ‘Abbey Road Keyboards’ software bundle was clearly branded and marketed to make the most of association with the name, and the TG modules are no different. “Absolutely, Chandler markets the Abbey Road Range, including our logo,” Stiles confirms. “We fully endorse the products.” And what makes the studio decide which elements

actual one The Beatles used, or whoever. If you’ve got one sound that you’re after, then get the gear for that one sound. If you need a lot of variety, you’d end up with hundreds of racks to maintain and hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of equipment to use on a song once a year. It’s a better economic model to have one guy who collects it all and has people come to him to rent it, while everyone else has a lighter Hal Ritson: package for use avoiding every day.” of its own signal paths to offer up? replies Stiles. “We sit down with Wade and the schematics and try to work out what would be popular, what is needed by the recording community. It’s important to us to release what people will be excited by.”

Before sending test signals to Chandler or Waves, Stiles has the privilege of being able to

M

M

studiofeature

34 l June 2013

www.psneurope.com

studiofeature Kevin Walker of Unity M 251 microphones – and ended up buying the rights to the name from Germany and manufacturing the whole mics all over again. They are superb: at one comparison with the originals at British Grove they were indistinguishable. Geoff Foster at Air Lyndhurst – one of the greatest collections of mics in the world – recently bought three of them from us.”

Guy Davie, Electric Mastering: “I started using the EAR 822Q EQ, a Pultec copy, then managed to get a couple of originals – and went back to the EAR! I actually prefer the replicas: they have a sweeter top end. Old Pultecs, old Fairchilds, old anything else… they vary quite a lot, and recapping the valves can go either way.”

visit the EMI archives in Hayes, Middlesex and relay any notes and schematics he can find that represent each chosen piece of equipment. “Over in Hayes is what used to be EMI’s factory where the records were all pressed – along with television sets, radios and gramophones,” he continues. “You name it, they did it! It has slowly dwindled and there’s no original manufacturing any more, but the archives are still there. All the tapes are there, all of our paperwork and the EMI Archive Trust is based there, with a small museum showing TVs, microphones, tape machines and so on. It’s an amazing building, very well preserved and curated by the Trust, which is a registered charity. Luckily, I can go down there and I’m allowed to dig my nose in and see what I can find! Notes, scribbles, bits of paperwork… blow the dust of a box, and it might be something related to any one of those classic recordings.”

Tube Equipment Corporation Blackbird: “Not a straight replica of the Fairchild 6570 but a development of it” The association between Abbey Road and Chandler Ltd has, so far, resulted in the TG Channel MkII, a re-creation of several vintage circuits; the TG1 Abbey Road Special Edition Compressor, hewn from the legendary EMI TG12345 mixing console; the very popular TG12345 Curve Bender (see boxout TOP FOUR); and the TG12413 Zener Limiter.

DEMOGRAPHIC EQ A generation or two raised on laptops may raise a painted eyebrow at all this, but Mirek Stiles detects a natural evolution.

“There’s a market for people of

any age wanting something that’s a bit unusual,” he points out.

“Obviously a young producer or engineer gets his first laptop or DAW with a basic set of plugins, but as you get to learn those you get curious about what else is out there. There’s plenty of information in the media about classic gear and the producers who love them, word gets around and you get inspired to experiment and explore. It’s like an adventure. Once you start chipping away here and digging there, before you know it you’ve opened yourself up to this entire world of possibilities. I think

M

Mirek Stiles, Abbey Road: “The one that Wade, myself and many of the engineers at Abbey Road would pick out is the one we’ve called the Curve Bender, a TG EQ unit. It’s a beautiful sounding EQ, very creative and very musical with a huge amount of options. It crops up on tracking notes everywhere.”

Keith Andrews, Expat Audio: “A guy called Larry Janus in Southern Florida founded the Tube Equipment Corporation, and he makes the Blackbird – not a straight replica of the Fairchild 670 but a development of it. For him, it’s not just about cloning. I like this saying: there’s two types of fool in the world: one that says something is good because it’s old; and one that says something is better because it’s new. Age itself is not the criterion.”

Kevin Walker, Unity Audio: “Toni Fishman in Connecticut started by simply making replacement polar-pattern selector switches for the old Telefunken ELA

M

TOP FOUR BOXES

March 2014 l 37

www.psneurope.com

M

studiofeature there’s a genuine interest out there. It’s like someone discovering a band from the ’60s or ’70s – but you wouldn’t have been able to try this equipment up until about five years ago when this all began to kick off.”

Just as sampling quickly grew out of trying to be authentic and became an exciting departure for something new, re-modelled signal processing can – and perhaps should – be a different kind of path: one to new horizons rather than ancient landscapes. “It’s also a chance for Abbey Road to keep the legacy alive,” adds Stiles, “otherwise this equipment might well be completely forgotten about.”

NAMM saw a joint announcement with Waves that Abbey Road’s fabled Artificial Double Tracking (ADT), a technique so favoured by John Lennon, is to appear as the Reel ADT plug-in. “It’s never really been done before,” says Stiles, “firstly because nobody’s had access to the gear and secondly because nobody’s had access to the definitive guide to how Abbey Road used to do it.

It’s such an important effect that Abbey Road created – Ken Townsend, of course – and it’s finally going to be available to everyone. I’m really excited about that because it’s been misunderstood so many times over the years.”

Abbey Road clients might be forgiven for asking to try the original units so well preserved in the racks and walls of the building, as opposed to enquiring about copies. This market is not about providing studios with attractive replicas – at least not yet. But could a mid-range market open up if the replicas become alluring enough to justify populating a room with a rentable brace? The originals won’t last forever and, if their legacy is indeed secured, it’s the replicas that will have to carry the market.

“It could be a more efficient use of studio space,” adds Keith Andrews, “if it was for signal processing only. The traditional recording space is essentially redundant, once you’ve finished the overdubs.”

No wonder one ‘Nils F’ recently posted on the US-based Vintage King web site: “Guys, I wish you had an office here in Europe.

We also deserve a Vintage King! Looking forward to all future business with you guys.

Thumbs up! ” Like I said, the blogs are agog. I

SNAP DECISIONS According to Marco Pasquariello, engineer-manager at London’s Snap Studios (right), theres a real case for the re-make that adds something new rather than simply replacing something old. “I’d say they were modern re-creations as opposed to replicas,” he says. “Our Retro Instruments 176 is a new take on the

UA 176, and I think it does something quite unique. Plus the originals are so hard to come by and quite hard to maintain, so it made sense. We also recently got a modern version of the Urei 1176 the WesAudio Beta76 and I think it’s great. It sits next to an original Revision D and Revision F but it offers something different. It’s

a lot smoother and it’s cheap – we’re not snobs!

“The people who use our studio are familiar with this gear and expect it, especially the older generation of engineer. But the guys who come from computer backgrounds can be introduced to something that’s a similar take on the vintage gear but

Marco Pasquariello with a modern twist different functionality. The originals have been developed, not just copied.”

38 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

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

broadcast SOUNDBITES

Sirius XM Radio in New York recently took delivery of two ChaterOak SCL-1 Discrete Compressors for use on the live music broadcast mix at Howard Stern’s 60th Birthday Bash, held in the Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center in New York.

Chris Gibbons, senior manager of studio operations for Sirius XM says: “Mixing a number of different style performances makes live sound for broadcast challenging, the CharterOak SCL1’s worked perfectly and the sound was spectacular.”

TSL Productsreports that BBC Sport has implemented the TSL SoundField X-1 Upmix/Downmix Processor as an integral part of its production process at MediaCityUK in Salford. The X-1 takes stereo content within the production process and converts this into phase coherent 5.1 for HD transmissions.

“We recognise the need to have a high-quality upmix system in our arsenal of equipment to ensure that we offer consistency of image to our surround sound viewers,” says Dave Lee, lead sound supervisor for BBC Sport. www.tslproducts.com HHB Communicationsintroduced three new products last month at BVE, held at London’s ExCeL Centre: the new TC Electronic Reverb 8 algorithm for the System 6000 audio processing platform, an unbalanced AES I/O option for the DB6 Broadcast Audio Processor and a new Loudness Quality Logger (LQL) for the TM7 and TM9 TouchMonitors. www.hhb.co.uk

The icing on the Olympics Riedel, Stagetec, CEDAR and Lawo all added to the broadcasting of the Games, says Murray Stassen Photo courtesy OB specialist Panorama

NHK is using a new media file extraction and re-formatting system to add audio description tracks to archive programmes.

The work is an extension of the Japanese public broadcaster’s project to make its library of material on P2 solid state digital video cards compliant with loudness regulations. This began in late 2012 using UK developer Emotion Systems’ eFF (Emotion File Finish) system to bring the data-based programmes in line with the TR-B32 standard. www.emotion-systems.com

RUSSIA

Russia won the highest number of medals during the Games THE 2014 WINTER Olympics has come and gone, with the Paralympics quickly approaching. An ostentatious opening ceremony in the Russian city of Sochi saw one of the Olympic rings fail to deploy, with an equally grand closing ceremony making reference to the mishap, treating viewers to some knowing Russian humour.

The broadcast operation at Sochi was no laughing matter though, as various leading manufacturers made the coverage of this large-scale event possible.

At the start of the Games, PSNEurope reported on what brands were to be featured at the Olympics with the little information that was available at that time, but we are now finally able to provide you with a much more detailed overview of who facilitated the sound of Sochi.

Mediagroup announced that its Stagetec Aurus, Auratus and Crescendo mixing consoles, Nexus audio network equipment and Delec commentary systems

featured in the newly built stadiums, OB trucks of participating broadcasters as well as in a major installation for Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR. Managing director at Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup Stephan Salzbrenner, says: “The demand for high-quality mixing equipment and reliable audio networks is so high that we have sent a number of additional components to Sochi to extend the existing set-up temporarily.”

American-based NBC Olympics used Merging Technologies’ Horus and Ovation systems to manage content play out from Sochi.

NBC also used Artemis consoles that were provided by Calrec Audio. Ovation and Horus systems were connected to the Artemis consoles via AES/EBU. Ovation was used to cue music and stings as well as bumpers in and out of commercial breaks with a live voice over channel cued up for any live announcements.

NBC Olympics also purchased multiple CEDAR DNS 8 Live dialogue noise suppressors. CEDAR sales director Clive Osborn says: “We have removed crowd noise, equipment noise, studio noise, and even vuvuzelas to help ensure the highest quality broadcasts from all of these events. NBC Olympics first purchased several DNS1000s from us in 2003 for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and we are delighted that they have now added these DNS 8 Lives to their arsenal in 2014.”

Global broadcast services provider Bexel announced that it used Lawo’s audio and videoover-IP networking technology.

The system configuration included a Lawo mc256 mixing console and a DALLIS (Digital, Analogue, Line Level Interface System) frame with the analogue I/O linked to the console’s HD Core using Ravenna over a single Cat-5 line. Bexel project manager Johnny Pastor, says: “Operators

were impressed not only with how good the Lawo consoles sounded, but also with ease of operation.”

Riedel Communications’ MediorNet fibre-based network supported the transport of HD video and audio signals, data, and Riedel Artist intercom signals throughout the event.

A Riedel Mass Cast deployment including 14 transmitters and thousands of receivers and earpieces provided support during the opening and closing ceremonies. Riedel supplied and coordinated the installation of 90 discreet radio channels and more than 1,300 radios and 1,000 headsets.

German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF chose Fairlight audio post-production systems for their coverage. Both broadcasters offered their viewers extensive coverage of the games in HD from the International Broadcast Centre and the Mountain Broadcast Centre, using ARD and ZDF’s mobile production unit.

The surround-sound audio post production for this event was completely based on Fairlight’s Crystal Core Media Engine technology.

Broadcast rental specialist Presteigne Broadcast Hire supported broadcasters from around the world such as Japan’s Nippon Television Network (NTV) as they sent coverage back from the Sochi slopes. NTV rented a number of XDCam decks for recording, editing and ingest. Technical director of NTV Yujin Suzuki says: “As Olympic coverage is not an everyday event, we need to supplement our own equipment with rented kit. We have been working with Presteigne Broadcast Hire for some years now to cover a number of events.” I www.sochi2014.com

March 2014 l 39

www.psneurope.com

Scarlett Johansonn on the set of Under the Skin, adapted from Michel Faber’s 2000 novel

broadcastnews

UNITED KINGDOM

Lectrosonics thrills on Scarlett’s chiller

By Murray Stassen UNDER THE Skin was adapted from Michel Faber’s 2000 novel of the same name, and is about an alien (played by Scarlett Johansson) sent by an intergalactic corporation to prey on unwary hitchhikers in Scotland. The film was well received at the Toronto and Venice film festivals in 2013 and is set for release in the UK on 14 March 2014.

Location sound expert Nigel Albermaniche, who has over 50 feature film credits to his name, acted as the film’s production sound mixer.

Albermaniche utilised Digital

Hybrid Wireless equipment made by Lectrosonics to capture much of the sound for the film.

The equipment that was used includes two Octopack portable multicouplers outfitted with SRb dual channel slot mount ENG receivers, multiple SMQV and UM400a transmitters, UCR411a receivers, two T4 IFB transmitters, and 22 R1a IFB receivers – all of which was augmented by the use of four ALP500 log periodic dipole array antennas.

Albermaniche explains: “The quality of audio of this equipment is phenomenal and, no matter how difficult the circumstances were, everything

UNITED KINGDOM

Belden to purchase Grass Valley BELDEN, THE cable and networking giant, has submitted a binding offer to purchase Grass Valley for $220 million (€160.6 million). Belden intends to combine broadcast products maker/technology developer Grass Valley with its own Miranda Technologies business, which last year was awarded a patent for a new process to reduce audio delay on its range of NVISION 8500 series hybrid routers. Grass Valley’s name will remain.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval in the US and elsewhere and is to consult with Grass Valley’s foreign labour works council, after which Belden will enter into a definitive agreement. “We are extremely excited to have Grass Valley join the Belden family.

By combining Grass Valley and Miranda, we will create the broadcast industry’s largest and most complete portfolio,” said John Stroup, president and CEO of Belden.

“Market demand appears to be stable in the majority of our endmarkets,” added Stroup. “Even after completing the acquisition of Grass Valley, our funnel and balance sheet will remain strong.

We are confident that these initiatives position us to perform well, and we remain comfortable with our previously announced earnings outlook for 2014.”

Belden will continue to promote the Grass Valley brand under the leadership of Miranda president Marco Lopez Belden believes that the ability to purchase an end-to-end solution from the combined businesses will reduce complexity and increase functionality, ease-of-setup, and maintenance and operability. The company aims to provide access to the most comprehensive, innovative products in the broadcast infrastructure industry through one organisation. I www.miranda.com www.grassvalley.com

worked without a hitch. In one case, Jonathan (Glazer) was in a building close to the street where we were shooting and I was at the traffic light – the midpoint between the director and the action – while Scarlett was another building away getting ready to come around a corner.

Using the IFBs, he managed to communicate to her without any dropouts. All the while, I was in the middle getting perfect range on her SMQV.

“The ALP500s where squashed in a sports bag and yet, they performed just as they should. The audio quality, range… everything, it all worked beautifully. Simply sensational! I’ve never been happier! I have the utmost trust in this equipment.” I www.lectrosonics.com

Nigel Albermaniche with the Lectrosonics wireless equipment

40 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

broadcastreport UNITED KINGDOM

Bolstering broadcast at Birmingham City University

By Kevin Hilton BIRMINGHAM CITY University has opened a new five-studio media centre, featuring audio suites, a radio studio and wireless microphone capability.

The project was brought about by the relocation and modernisation of three departments within the university; the Faculty of Performance, Media and English, the Faculty of Technology, Engineering and

the Environment and the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design.

All three now have access to five studios and supporting facilities, as opposed to the previous single studio set-up.

The new media centre was

Studer Vista 5 is the centrepiece of Studio A. Top: media ahoy! installed by CVP, which selected a range of technology and equipment, including Sony cameras, OLED monitors and wireless microphones and Avid Pro Tools.

Of the five TV studios, which are all acoustically isolated, three have control areas with audio capability. The largest of them, Studio A, has a gallery area with a separate sound control room based round a 152 IO Studer Vista 5 console with a Pro Tools system working on Mac Pro featuring a selection of plug-ins.

Studio C also features Pro Tools and a Vista 5 but with 64 inputs and 72 outputs. Studio D is a dedicated news area with a combined vision and audio control area, featuring a Soundcraft Si Compact 16 mixer, plus Pro Tools.

Wall boxes in each studio provide sources for the galleries.

Microphone selection includes Sony UWP-X8 handheld wireless mic units and UWP-X7 lavaliers, with Sanken Cos 11 mic heads, Sennheiser E840s and RØDE shotguns. Presenter talkback is carried over Sennheiser EK200 in-ear monitors. All studios communications are through a networked Trilogy Gemini intercom.

The media centre houses four craft editing suites, one of which is a dedicated Pro Tools room. This has a C24 controller and a 5.1 loudspeaker system based on Genelec 8030s, which also feature in the audio areas of Studios A and C, along with 8020 nearfield monitors.

Studio D’s control room has 8020s only.

There is also a generalpurpose audio studio with a voice booth. The control room is set up for 5.1 and features Pro Tools with C24, a Pioneer DJ submixer and Technics turntables.

Radio is catered for with six studios each with three Axia desks. CVP’s head of systems integration, Philip Hatch, explains that these can be used for self-operation or one studio can act as the control area for another. Other equipment includes Sonifex HY-03 telephone hybrids.

“The facilities were designed to full broadcast standards because the University is aiming to hire them out commercially as well as use them for teaching and training,” comments Hatch.

CVP is also providing technical support and consultancy on a two-year contract. I www.bcu.ac.uk

All Images courtesy of the Business Design Centre

4th September 2014

Business Design Centre - London

Fast Track your entrance

REGISTER today Only dedicated UK event for systems integrators/ pro-AV installer /AV consultants and end users

Only UK pro-AV conference to be supported by a technical exhibition and training breakout sessions

Only pro-AV event to be led by the main stakeholders within the key verticals

A new one-day conference and expo brought to you by

Education

Retail

Entertainment and hospitality

Transportation

AV/broadcast convergence

AV/IT Networking

For further information and sponsorship opportunities contact: Ian Graham - Sales Manager - ian.graham@intentmedia.co.uk or Tel: +44 (0)207 354 6000

42 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

broadcastreport The Studer Vista 1 at the new Coronation Street set

UNITED KINGDOM

BroaMan, Optocore and Studer key for Corrie

By Murray Stassen THE UK’S longest running soap opera, Coronation Street, was recently relocated from Manchester’s Quay Street Studios to the eight-acre studio and production facility on the Trafford side of MediaCityUK. BroaMan and Optocore fibre distribution devices are playing a key role in the automation system at the new location.

The relocation has also seen the installation of Harman’s digital Studer Vista 1 – the first Studer sale to an ITV facility.

The show’s technical manager, Stan Robinson, conceived the audio, video and data transport

solution. System integration specialist TSL carried out the installation, testing and commissioning of the new system. TSL deployed 10 Optocore DD2FR-FX devices to transport native MADI over the fibre network.

TSL project engineer Phil Cooper, says: “The broad design was based on the previous set-up in Quay Street with the intention of streamlining, and improving wherever possible. This was carried out using a combination of contemporary technology solutions and TSL’s industry experience, along with the vision of Stan.”

Cooper continues: “We knew that the ‘automatic homing’ of the Optocore system, whereby stage boxes will find their home gallery from any live connection point, would be a valuable benefit. However, the main USP of this Optocore system is the ability to plug a stage box in anywhere and be connected automatically to the correct gallery or OB van.”

“I needed a solution that was not too taxing for the operational crew – little more than plug and play. I also wanted a box that when connected by fibre and all the level signals would be there,” says Robinson.

He explains that compatibility

with the fibre network was crucial when choosing the new mixing platform.

Following a demonstration of Studer’s Vista 5, the team opted for the 22-fader Studer Vista 1.

“We realised the Vista 1 would offer more or less the same facilities and also that it was compatible with Optocore fibre distribution. We have all been extremely happy with the decision to back the Studer platform, and it has been extremely well received,” adds Robinson.

Production on the new Coronation Street set started in early January. “We were given a short lead time of just one week of rehearsals at the new site, so everything had to work first time and be operationally easy to use,” concludes Robinson.

“We are delighted with BroaMan and Optocore solution, which has offered us an incredibly flexible solution.” I www.broaman.com www.harman.com www.optocore.com

44 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

broadcastnews SOUNDBITES RadioDNS has announced that RadioDNS Hybrid Radio is now integrated into three Samsung Galaxy smartphones. Chair of RadioDNS, Nick Piggott, said: “This is an exceptional opportunity for radio broadcasters.” radiodns.org Presteigne Broadcast Hire supplied around 55 Sennheiser wireless mic systems for the audition phases of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, which is due to air in spring 2014. Systems engineer David Handley says that BGT “can’t get much bigger” because of changes in frequency allocation. www.sennheiser.com

CANADA

CAST BlackTrax attacks 3D audio market

By Kevin Hilton BLACKTRAX, PART of the CAST group of lighting design and video imaging software developers, has appointed Christopher Jenkins (pictured) to run its new audio operation.

Jenkins is president and chief executive of US sound postproduction facility BISBY Corporation and has worked as a re-recording mixer as well as having been an executive at Universal Studios and Todd-AO.

The stated aim of BlackTrax Audio is to adapt its parent company’s 3D image positioning and tracking technology for the sound domain to produce spatial systems for television and film production, as well as live events.

Bruce Freeman, chairman of the CAST Group, comments that with 3D already being done for visuals, new audio technology combined with BlackTrax’s live data streaming system can do the same for sound.

BlackTrax Audio’s Chris Jenkins “BlackTrax delivers the data which pinpoints the 6D precise target information to bring ‘live’ alive and life into playback,” he says. “While 3D audio is the Holy Grail for sound engineers

and scientists, it’s audiences that are the big winners.”

Speaking about his new role, Christopher Jenkins says, “BlackTrax is a beautiful creative tool that will transform the way that we experience audio integrated with lighting, visuals and performers to engage, thrill and immerse audiences.

Taking advantage of developments in audio digital signal processing technology, we’ll be actively embracing opportunities for BlackTrax in Europe and the Americas.”

BlackTrax states that it will “accelerate and increase its international presence over the next few months in the audio world.” I www.blacktrax.ca

UNITED KINGDOM

BVE 2014: in short!

By Murray Stassen A NUMBER of new products and features were launched at the BVE tradeshow in London last month, which took place from 25-27 February at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre.

Included were HHB Communication’s new TC Electronic Reverb 8 algorithm for the System 6000 audio processing platform, the unbalanced AES I/O option for the DB6 Broadcast Audio Processor and a new Loudness Quality Logger (LQL) for TouchMonitors.

Sennheiser showcased several new products, including the RF Over Fibre system, which extends radio microphone remote receiving aerials to distances of up to 25km from their associated receivers. New studio-monitoring equipment was exhibited too, such as the Neumann KH 310 and KH 120 monitor loudspeakers along with their associated sub, the KH 810, the Sennheiser HD 26 Pro headphones and the HMD Mk II Series broadcast headsets and LimitEar HDM Pro. German-based Broadcast Technologies exhibited its Virtual Studio Manager (VSM)

system. VSM provides users with tools for 4K, remote production, streaming, signal path visualisation and multichannel broadcasting. VSM provides users with tools for 4K, remote production, streaming, signal path visualisation and multi-channel broadcasting. It can be used to manage On Air and rehearsal requests as well as monitoring the signals and devices in the MCR environment.

Professional voice communications provider ClearCom, unveiled the new Eclipse HX-Delta Digital Matrix System, the extended HelixNet Partyline Intercom System and the upgraded Tempest 2400 Wireless Intercom System at BVE. TSL Products demonstrated its SoundField surround sound microphones, control units and upmix/downmix processors.

The microphones that were on display were the battery powered ST450 portable microphone system and the DSF-1 digital performance microphone. I www.bvexpo.com www.l-s-b.de www.clearcom.com www.hhb.co.uk www.sennheiser.com www.tslproducts.com

46 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

live SOUNDBITES APG equipment has been used for the third season of the French version of BBC TV hit The Voice. The equipment was specified by Paris-based audio suppliers, Silence! APG application support engineer, Mathieu Delquignies explains: “The Voice is a fantastic reference for APG and a testament to the quality of the products and the flexibility of the solutions that we can provide.” www.apg.tm.fr Capital Sound is supplying a Martin Audio MLA system, comprising MLA, MLAc and WS218x subs with LM front fills for the Australian Pink Floyd tribute band’s European tour.Capital Sound’s general manager Paul Timmins, says: “We’re delighted to be working with such a phenomenon.

It’s a demanding tour and as always, audio quality is at the forefront of their requirements.

We’re looking forward to a great tour.” www.martin-audio.com Rental and production company DB Audio invested in a pair of Midas PRO6 digital consoles for two ‘secret’ Prince gigsthat took place at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London at the beginning of February. The consoles were supplied by LMC Audio for front-of-house and monitor duties. Fineline Media Finance, an asset finance specialist, helped to fund the new equipment. www.lmcaudio.co.uk Liverpool-based rental specialist Adlib supplied lighting, sound and expertise for the reunion tour of Scottish alt-rockers Del Amitri. The sound system comprised of 12 Coda LA12 speakers for each side with eight Coda SCP subs. Coda ViRay cabinets were used for balconies, in and out-fills. The mix was managed from an analogue Midas H3000 console. www.adlib.co.uk

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

Recent VUE installation in Oslo

EXCLUSIVE

VUE looks to European HQ Loudspeaker company establishes base in Berlin’s Media City. By Phil Ward TWO-YEAR OLD manufacturing start-up VUE Audiotechnik, the sound reinforcement loudspeaker specialist founded by US-based industry veterans Ken Berger and Jim Sides, is to open a wholly owned European base in Berlin. VUE Audiotechnik Europa GmbH (VUE Europe, for short) is to be located in Berlin’s Media City in the south-east of the city, and represents a serious consolidation of VUE’s ambitions to showcase groundbreaking audio technology worldwide.

Speaking exclusively to PSNEurope, Berger explains the scope of this latest dimension to his company. “VUE Europe will serve both as a technical support, sales and marketing organisation for the whole of Europe and as a distributor for Germany, Switzerland and Austria,” he says. “The new structure allows more people to access and experience our products, and will help in establishing distribution to all points of the continent. We will be building and training a support team that will allow us to provide application and engineering support, product support and service throughout Europe.”

At the helm of the European venture is managing director Holger de Buhr, who a year ago bought into the VUE franchise by securing distribution of its portfolio in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for Media Logic, the company he founded in Berlin in 2006. Now making a full-time commitment to the brand, de Buhr will continue to guide VUE’s expanding range of loudspeaker products into those territories as VUE Europe takes over their distribution from Media Logic. Holger de Buhr has also joined VUE Audotechnik’s board.

Jim Sides (left) with Holger de Buhr: “Very helpful to establish a subsidiary” Before founding Media Logic de Buhr worked for German MI retailer Just Music with a special interest in music technology and studio sales, while in the 1990s his company AudioSonic handled regional distribution for d&b audiotechnik as well as inheriting Neumann’s mixing console business from Sennheiser – a telling combination of live and studio experience. His three-tiered role encompasses membership of the Board; product management, especially as required by the European fixed installation market; and setting up distribution partnerships.

“The requirements for big touring systems are very similar all over the world, but the permanent installation markets vary,” he says. “In Germanspeaking countries, especially, you won’t find many active speakers installed in theatres, for example: the Tonmeister ‘best practice’ is to keep amps and speakers separate, particularly for maintenance. That’s not to say that tightly integrated electronics are not important;

they are, but in a rack rather than within the speaker cabinet.”

“For setting up the new partnerships I will be frequently joined by Jim Sides, who’s experience here is invaluable.

I’ve known Jim for quite some time, especially since his time spent working in Germany, and immediately became aware of VUE Audiotechnik when it was launched at Frankfurt two years ago. I went over to the US to listen to the systems in the late summer of 2012, and after 10 seconds I was completely won over – especially by the performance of the beryllium compression driver in the h-12 and the new ACM (Active Compliance Management) bass technology.

“After Jim’s visit to Berlin in late 2012 we started doing some work in the German-speaking territories, and by early in the following year I knew that the financing was in place for some serious investment in Europe.”

Under the auspices of Media Logic de Buhr was able to gauge the necessary adjustments to the

American model needed for multi-lingual and cross-border distribution of VUE products on this side of the Atlantic, notwithstanding the vicissitudes of EU trading. By November last year he had decided to invest in the brand himself and secure a senior management footing.

“We decided it would be very helpful to establish a subsidiary,” continues de Buhr, “given the issues of structure, language and the different behaviour of the European market – especially in permanent installation. There are lots of small countries without major distribution, so it’s important to establish a full line of demo stock and make it available. We’re currently building a fantastic, acoustically high-end demo room in Berlin that will attract people from all over Europe. Their listening experience here will be the proof of what VUE Audiotechnik is doing.

“Berlin is culturally rich and diverse enough to supply a wide range of performance styles that we can use to showcase the versatility of the portfolio, from techno to theatre and from opera to rock festivals, and has a great population of engineers who can support us with projects and system designs.”

This includes EASE pioneer Dr Wolfgang Ahnert, who’s Berlin-based Acoustic Design Anhert (ADA) is now working with VUE Audiotechnik on new beam steering technology.

“We want to emphasise that it is not our intention to go direct in territories beyond Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and that we will be supporting our existing distributors,” adds Berger. “It will also be VUE Audiotechnik Europe’s mission to establish independent distribution in all remaining European territories as quickly as possible.” I www.vueaudio.com

March 2013 l 47

www.psneurope.com

livenews FRANCE

Yorkville Sound picks Pickering, Ontario

By Dave Robertson YORKVILLE SOUND has begun a campaign to relocate the manufacturing of its products back to its native soil.

The company is moving the production of most of the active and passive loudspeakers in its YX Series back to the Canadian manufacturing facility in Pickering Ontario from factories in Asia.

Vice president Jeff Cowling, said: “We’re very happy to

Jeff Shorthouse, Yorkville product development, with PS15P and PS12P portable speakers

re-shore this popular and costeffective PA series for a variety of reasons. It keeps our North American facility busy, it provides us with an improved time-to-market factor, and gives us more control over quality and performance.”

“The YX series is still a budget oriented series, but the sound and build quality we can provide is extraordinary,” adds Cowling.

Yorkville made the announcement just after the

NAMM show in January, where the company presented additions to its ParaSource Active loudspeaker range.

Jeff Shorthouse, Yorkville has also confirmed its plans to seek out and engage with more distribution partners in Europe and beyond in 2014.

The company celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and currently employs over 250 staff at its HQ in a suburb of Toronto. I www.yorkville.com

FRANCE

Indochine tour with Adamson

By Murray Stassen FRENCH NEW wave rock band Indochine is using Adamson Systems Engineering sound reinforcement on its Black City Tour of France, Belgium and Switzerland, with a final performance planned for the Stade de France in June.

The band’s sound engineer Phillipe Dubich specified the

Adamson Energía system, and engineer Julien Poirot designed the installation layout, with assistance from Wilfried Lasbleiz.

Dubich and Lasbleiz have flown 12 E15 enclosures for the main PA. For outfill, left and right arrays consisting of nine E12 enclosures were flown. In addition to the E15 and E12 units, 20 T21 subwoofers have

been installed in two columns of ten units each for adequate low frequency delivery.

The second part of the venue is blanketed by two more E12 arrays, made up of six enclosures each. Two more downfill arrays of four E12s each were installed in the scenic grill.

Poirot explains: “The E15 is a system that combines powerful dynamics, clarity and

precision. I love this system; it would be ideal for many different projects. Indo on the E15/T21/E12 combination works well and gives us an impressive sound homogeneity throughout the venues. The result is top-notch.” I

Indochine front man Nicolas Sirkis sings his heart out with sound reinforcement provided by Adamson Systems

48 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

livereport UNITED KINGDOM

Marlow magic Sennheiser UK has found a new home in a new town. Dave Robinson packed his picnic basket and went for a peep SENNHEISER UK and High Wycombe. While not quite as inseparable as Hansel and Gretel, there’s certainly been a ‘bond’ between the German headphone/microphone brand and the Buckinghamshire town.

Until recently.

The UK operation has, after 15 years, relocated into new premises. It might just be a few miles down the road but – if you will – it’s like being in a fairytale in comparison.

Goodbye, cramped corridors of the 6,000sqft Century Point unit.

Hello, stylish, 15,000sqft open-plan HQ in a tree-lined corner of Marlow.

“We were looking around, and this building came along,” general manager, Phil Massey, tells PSNEurope. “It fits where Sennheiser needs to go. It’s bigger than we need, but offers us the ability to expand.”

Now all the management, support, ordering, after-service and back office tasks are performed in the new surroundings – with hot desks for the sales guys, just to keep them on their toes, of course. “No one has an ‘office’,” confirms Massey.

“Transparency is key.”

There’s lots of glass walls, certainly, but there’s still plenty of identity, as the management agreed the new home deserved a splash of character. Hence the company enlisted the artistic talents of students from nearby Buckinghamshire New University (where Sennheiser has already established links) to design the wall designs, the table-tops and so on. Rooms are named after musical styles: Rock, Classical, Jazz, Pop. The decor propagates the theme: hence there’s a picture of famous Sennheiser user Kylie Minogue on the wall of the Pop room, and so on.

With room to grow then, what is the expectation?

“We will grow 5% this year, and next year a little bit more,” says Massey. “We’re not a company that wants to make leaps and bounds. Our two strategic areas will be the Middle East and telecoms; pro audio as well.” Financially, Sennheiser is doing very well, thank you: global revenues are up 51% from 2008-2012, to somewhere near the €600 million mark.

Gerry Forde, director of sales and marketing, backs this up: “Sennheiser is strategic and

Gerry Forde (left) and Phil Massey in the new Marlow HQ methodical, ” he says, strategically and methodically. “Changes won’t be made without good reason.”

He references the HD25 headphone, which is, appropriately, around 25 years old: “We’re still selling that,” says Forde. “Selling products that have life.”

Massey pays a backhanded compliment to the Beats brand: “They showed the market that you could pay more for headphones... and so we are doing better in that [segment].”

“We reckon we’re the second or third time around,” quips Forde with a smile. “You buy a pair of headphones, then maybe another pair, but eventually you realise, you need something of a quality, when the others have broken. That’s when they you come to Sennheiser: when you’re a little bit older….”

While the first big change for SE (Sennheiser Electronics) UK has been the office move, the second is a focus on

15,000sqft gives room to expand integrated systems. Hence the recent creation of an Integrated Systems division (lining up next to Professional Audio and MI); the November appointment of Nick Pemberton to a market development manager role; and the launch of TeamConnect, an ‘all-in-one solution for meeting rooms’ at ISE. “It’s not an indication that we’re going to become an integrated systems solutions company,” remarks Forde. “We will remain an audio company.”

Sennheiser will also take a

“bigger picture view” and work with third parties where required, says Forde. “Rather than being known as ‘installed sound’, speakers on a wall and so on, we will begin to work more in the IT area. IT people understand what that ‘Integrated Systems’ means, more than ‘Installed Sound’ or ‘Audio Visual’. We’ve changed the terminology for the market we’re addressing.”

Other “headlines” this year, says Forde, will be the strengthening and expansion of the Sound Academy training programme, as well as active participation in whatever the next round of radio spectrum development brings forth.

The shift to Marlow happened at around the same time last year as Sennheiser HQ in Germany expanded its factory. Is there an increased empathy with the Hanover parent for the UK arm?

“We were in a tin shed, basically,” reviews Massey, “and now we’re in a proper office that suits the Sennheiser brand and environment.

“We were proud to do the move, and for [Sennheiser Germany] to allow us to do it when they were making the changes, in difficult times, was good for everyone.

“Mind you,” he shrugs, “agreeing a move seemed quite easy. On the day you move a company that’s been in place for 15 years, you find out what you’ve been carrying. How do put all that stuff into a new space? We had to throw a lot of stuff away…”

Sshhh, Phil, you’ll ruin the fairytale. I http://en-uk.sennheiser.com

March 2014 l 49

www.psneurope.com

Photo: Chris Toulmin

livereport UNITED KINGDOM

Learning in Leeds

By Erica Basnicki PLASA Focus: Leeds 2014 has revealed details of the first audio sessions of its Professional Development Programme. The show takes place at the Royal Armouries Museum on 29-30 April, 2014.

According to the exhibition website, “all seminars and discussion sessions are designed to give you an insight into the technology, techniques and talent that will boost your business prospects in the year ahead”.

Audio highlights include: What Does Good Sound Sound Like?

A trio of audio experts will examine what we perceive as “good sound”. Tony Andrews and John Newsham of Funktion-One, and the legendary sound engineer Roger Lindsay, will demonstrate the influence of individual links in the audio chain and an interactive discussion of individual perception will take place. Questions will then be taken from the audience.

Getting a Foot in the Door – How To Make Your Way In The Live Sound Industry Darryn de la Soul will provide aspiring sound engineers with advice on how to approach potential employers and how to get a response to your CV. The principles that will be discussed are equally applicable to those trying to get into other parts of the entertainment technology industry.

An Insight into the World of RF – Is it a Dark Art? Tuomo Tolonen of Shure Distribution UK will unravel the mysteries of RF, enabling engineers to be confident in their dealings with radio mics and IEMs which are now an integral, yet often misunderstood, part of the proaudio skill base.

Live Drum Micing Techniques Veteran sound engineer Justin Grealy will demonstrate a variety of drum micing

techniques to help you get the best out of any situation, whether it be your local pub with a low budget, or a massive gig where money is no object.

Free registration for PLASA Focus: Leeds is now open, with more session announcements expected soon. I www.plasafocus.com/leeds

Xxx A captive audience at a session from last year’s Professional Development Programme

50 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

livenews AUSTRIA

UNITED KINGDOM

AKG shines at 125th anniversary bash

By Murray Stassen AUSTRIAN-BASED ENGINEERING and manufacturing company Pollmann recently held its 125th anniversary celebration in the sports hall in Waidhofen an der Thaya in Austria.

The event saw over 800 guests in attendance and Austrian rental company, Stagesound Event Technology, supplied the sound equipment.

Stagesound used two AKG GN30 gooseneck microphones with CK31 high-performance condenser microphone capsules for each speaker.

System engineer at Stagesound, Markus Kouba says: ”Although the majority of speakers were professional presenters, the event also featured several untrained speakers. For these inexperienced speakers we wanted to make the system as easy to use as possible while still providing a clear sound to the audience. The AKG microphones more than met that requirement.”

Two AKG C414 B-ULS condenser microphones were

The AKG mics can be seen onstage at Pollman’s 125th anniversary party

used for drum overheads and several D112 microphones were used for the kick drum and bass amplifiers. Stagesound also used four C518 M miniature clampon microphones on the toms and snares.

“The AKG microphones impressed, with clear sound and simple handling,” adds Kouba. “We are very satisfied

with the performance and with AKG in general for all of our events around Austria.

It is important as a rental company to have equipment that will withstand the unique technical riders for each event, as well as the transportation and wear and tear during each project.” I www.akg.com

KV2 for Albert Lee’s birthday celebration

By Murray Stassen THE WORLD famous country-rock guitarist, Albert Lee, performed two concerts at the Cadogan Hall in London at the beginning of March, in celebration of his 70th birthday.

Hall and his band performed with various high profile guest musicians – Joe Brown, Chas & Dave, Marty Wilde, Bruce Welch, , Andy Fairweather Low Legendary country-rock guitarist, Albert Lee, at 70 and Ralph McTell to name just a few – and the concerts In addition to the FOH and the build-up were filmed for system, the monitoring system a forthcoming documentary. also consisted of KV2 products: Concert producer David eight ESM 12 and ESM 26 Mann decided to use KV2 speakers as well as KV2 Audio Audio’s “Very High Definition” ESP amplification.

VHD System, instead of Yamaha was an official Cadogan Hall’s in-house system. partner for the anniversary gigs, The VHD System, built and so a CL5 mixing console around the VHD 2.0 Mid/High was chosen by Mann for FOH unit, features a large format sound. Yamaha instruments at 3-inch compression driver, two the show included PHX Phoenix 8-inch transcoil mid-range Drums and N3 AvantGrand drivers and two 12-inch low/mid hybrid piano, plus two CP1 drivers accompanied by VHD Stage Pianos, a Motif XF8 2.16 double 15-inch subwoofers synthesizer and a Yamaha and associated VHD 2000 and SLB-200 Silent Upright Bass. I www.kv2audio.com VHD 3200 amplifiers.

52 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

livereport UNITED KINGDOM

Muddy tracks, crystal sound

ADAC Supercross is the sport’s biggest event in Germany

A pairing of Powersoft with D.A.S. Audio provided a breakthrough for supplier Soundart at the biggest German Supercross event. Dave Robinson reports THE WESTFALENHALLEN in Dortmund has a history of staging major rock concerts and sporting events, including the traditional motorsport season opener when Supercross (SX) offers the audience a unique blend of action, sport and entertainment within a 4,700sqm oval arena.

In order to host the largest such event in Germany – the ADAC Supercross, with its dedicated fanbase of some 9,000 -10,000 each day – the interior of the hall is converted into 300m-long courses with 200 truckloads of dirt shipped so that riders can compete in the SX1 and SX2 categories (with the grand finale on Sunday).

The Red Bull Freestyle finale, when two-wheeled daredevils defy the laws of physics with

Hold on tight for thrills and spills ...

Left: D.A.S. Aero 50 and 40-A line arrays flown in the arena

their stunts and jumps, then raises the background cacophony to new heights.

Local pro audio company (and D.A.S. Audio network partner) Soundart GmbH, who first became involved in the event three years ago, is used to balancing the necessary SPL to overcome the sound of throttling bikes and even louder audience horns within the tight thresholds imposed by the German authorities. The rental house is also familiar with the compromises involved in flying a 360° rig around an existing infrastructure, with no floor space and minimal rigging points.

This year, D.A.S. Audio’s business development manager, Claus Behrens, chose to partner with electronics specialists Powersoft for his amplifier needs. The Italian company’s K6

touring switch-mode amps, providing power of up to 3,600W per channel at 2 ohms, would drive the 24-box Aero 50s (divided into four hangs) for the long axis of the hall. Soundart also trialled 24 of the smaller Aero 40-A three-way powered systems for the first time (also in four hangs). While the Aero 50 needed to fire over distances of 35-40m, the Aero 40-A projected around 26m across the shorter wings.

Connectivity to the Powersoft control environment enabled remote system monitoring and control to be carried out via its proprietary Armonía Pro Audio Suite software.

Benjamin Hartmann, CEO of Soundart, says the decision to switch to Powersoft was “inspired”, noting that in “slimming down” for the first time while driving the Aero 50, it had offered the best weight-toefficiency ratio on the market.

“The analogue amplifiers we were using previously were non-intelligent, quite heavy and old fashioned. Also the processing we were running it with was being discontinued so there would be no further software updates.

March 2014 l 53

www.psneurope.com

livereport

“The short, medium and long-throw presets were impressive and we were easily able to recall and EQ these directly via the Armonía software on the PC. It’s very user friendly” Benjamin Hartmann, Soundart “Claus looked around and Powersoft offered the best solution. The Aero 50 is a passive system which needed powerful amps, and we were aware just how much Powersoft had grown.”

In fact two amp racks, each containing six of the K6 amps, were deployed to drive different elements of the open three-way system. “The K-series is brilliant – digital, very lightweight, compact and powerful, with processing on the amp. It occupies far less truck space and having the whole processing and monitoring [with AESOP Ethernet interface] is a big advantage,” says Hartmann.

Claus Behrens had also recommended Powersoft because he favoured their presets, which he knew would bring a new optimisation to the Aero 50. “The short, medium and long-throw presets were impressive and we were easily able to recall and EQ these directly via the Armonía software on the PC,” notes Hartmann. “It’s very user friendly.

“D.A.S. had recommended this solution as being stable and efficient – this is the first try-out for us at this event and we have had nothing but a good reaction.”

The challenges faced were not only in providing even pattern control through a 360° venue, so that everyone in the house could benefit from the same experience, but when handing over to the broadcaster (Wiege) the sponsors’ commercials could be played in seamlessly.

There were no issues with obstructing sightlines, either.

“With D.A.S., we have been able to present the whole 360° solution in a much better way, as the Aero 50 and 40-A enclosures have 90° coverage, so with four clusters we can achieve the full 360°.”

To complete the coverage, another rental stager, HWS Veranstaltungstechnik placed a further 20 Variant 25A speakers, from D.A.S.’ installation portfolio, on the balcony upper level for infills.

The source feeds include live pitch commentary from two mics, commercials and music play-ins, provided by the broadcaster, from line devices.

The spectacle would not be complete without a dynamic visual and special effects presentation.

This year flames (machines firing up to 12m high at the start of each day), strobes, fog machines on special rigging, and other special effects, lasers (16 separate RGB lasers), lighting and video all featured in the mix.

Benjamin Hartmann shares his belief that from a technical perspective, things couldn’t have been better.

“When the sound is loud, the intelligibility is good and the system works, then everyone is happy,” he says. I www.soundart.de www.powersoft.com

Six Powersoft K6 amps powered the main system

54 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

livenews UNITED KINGDOM

By Murray Stassen THE POPULAR BBC1 programme Strictly Come Dancing has just completed a 21-date live arena tour, where fans had the chance to watch the celebrity participants and their professional dance partners strut it up on stage.

South Wales-based Sonalyst has designed the sound for the Strictly tour for several years. Managing director Rory Madden chose a pair of Yamaha PM5Ds, an M7CL and an LS9 to mix the 2014 production.

Fab-U-Lous! It might be Studer desks in the studio, but Yamaha takes the Strictly experience to the masses, darling...

GERMANY

d&b buoys heavy metal cruise

By Murray Stassen

IT HAS been revealed that d&b audiotechnik systems provided the sound for the Mein Schiff 1, a heavy metal themed cruise liner conceived by Wacken Festival founders, Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen.

The 30,000 tonne luxury ship set off from Hamburg and made stops in the UK, France and the Netherlands, collecting around 2,000 metal fans along the way.

There were three live venues on board and the ship’s theatre, casino and pool deck were kitted out with over 100 tonnes of lighting and sound systems

supplied and crewed by Karlsruhe-based Crystal Sound.

Crystal Sound project manager André Ballweg, explains: “Some people think metal music is a blunt instrument and any PA will do but you might be interested to learn that metallers, more than many music fans, have learned that good quality sound, undistorted at high volumes, enables them to listen more and for louder and longer.

“That’s why we installed only d&b audiotechnik systems on board, specifically V-Series and J-Series,” says Ballweg.

More than 20 bands provided

Head of audio, Gareth Lewis explains that one of the biggest challenges of the show is mixing the monitors. Lewis mixes monitors on a second PM5D, with an LS9-32 acting as switcher for two playback machines, dealing with presenter talkback, some overall show relay and as a line driver for the ‘voice of god’.

“I love mixing on the PM5D. It’s really comfortable to use, you can do everything on the surface and wherever you are you can see everything that’s going on,” explains Lewis. I www.yamahacommercialaudio.com Photo: Anna Dave Bertram

Photo: Diana Johnson

Strictly Yamaha on arena dance tour

WORLD

a slab of everything metal on the cruise, even, reports d&b, a “rusty sea shanty version of the classic Death Spunk Explosion from those funsters from Frankfurt, Infested Intestines”.

“Of course people will wonder why we didn’t all disembark with bleeding ears,” observed Tungsten Torstein, a fan from Tanhaus, “But, then we don’t share the secret of good sound with just anyone; d&b doesn’t just stand for decibels you know? Das ist Artze, as we say in the brotherhood.” I www.dbaudio.com www.crystal-sound.de

It might look like a normal cruise ship. But onboard, it’s pure “MEEETTTTAAAALLLL!”

SWEDISH HEAVY metal band Sabaton are preparing for the Worldwide Plagues tour, during which they will perform with a full complement of Sennheiser microphones and wireless systems. Monitor engineer Otto Kroymann comments: “Joakim Brodén, our lead singer (above), has such a wide dynamic range that we have had real problems

finding a suitable microphone.

However, when we had the chance to test the Sennheiser SKM 2000 wireless system combined with the MMD 945 capsule, we knew that our search was over.” The band returns to European soil at the end of May where they will be headlining at some of Europe’s biggest heavy metal festivals. www.sennheiser.com

56 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

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

installation SOUNDBITES An early Victorian church in Essex, St John’s, has had a new Harman professional sound system installed by New Day Audio. The speakers comprise four CBT70-J line array columns, four CBT70-JE bass extenders and four JBL Control 25s. Two Crown XTi 14002a and two XLS 2000s provide amplification. “Everyone has been hugely impressed with the sound system,” says New Day director Derek Clare. www.newdayaudio.co.uk www.harman.com Alliances Integrated Systems (AIS) has carried out the design and installation of an Audica Professional audio system for the first McDonald’s restaurant in Vietnam. Business development manager of AIS, Vu Viet Tung, explains: “Our team proposed a solution providing the coverage, zoning and functionality the restaurant required, but the decision was only made after we gave a demonstration to show the system’s capability and audio quality.” www.audicapro.com ArtAV has installed VUE Audiotechnik’s i-Class i-2x4.5 loudspeakers at the Victoria Miro Gallery in London, for the premiere of video artist Isaac Julien’s seven-screen installation, Playtime. ArtAV’s Lez Barker says: “We have been searching for several years to find a high performance loudspeaker line that would fulfill our strict sound requirements, at a cost that more of our customers would find more affordable without sacrificing quality. We have found that with VUE.” www.vueaudio.com Belfast-based A/V presentation specialist Niavac has upgraded its rental inventory by investing in AKG’s CS3 conference system.

Managing director James Conlon says: “ I did a complete trawl and then contacted distributor Sound Technology, placing an order for a 30-station system.” www.akg.com

NETHERLANDS

TM Audio feisty with de Foew at forefront

By Dave Robinson TM AUDIO has reported two significant installation “wins” as Peter de Foew returns to the Dutch distribution company as managing director. In the role of distributor for (among others) Powersoft, Martin Audio, Renkus-Heinz, DiGiCo and Allen & Heath, TM has closed 2013 in “excellent shape”, says the company head, back with the Ampco Flashlight Group (AFG, parent of TM Audio) after 12 years.

“Because of the European economical crisis in the past few years, we decided to operate our businesses with great care and to return to our core business with the strongest possible team,” says AFG CEO Dick van Berkum, who invited de Foew back to the fold after him serving as a director at rival (Harman) distributor Audio XL for over a decade. De Foew was previously responsible for sales at Ampco Audio Products; he

Peter de Foew: back with TM Audio after 12 years away fills the MD role vacated last summer by Marc Kocks.

The installation “wins” include the tender for music venue ‘De Nobel’ in Leiden, Netherlands, in December 2013.

The installation incorporates a Martin Audio W8LCi line array system for the main room and a H3+ system for the second room, all powered by Powersoft

amps. Processing is managed by XTA DC1048 and DP424 units.

Piloting the systems are three DiGiCo consoles (SD8s with new D2 Racks as FOH in both rooms, plus an SD9 on monitors which can be moved between the rooms). An Allen & Heath ZED420 serves the café space, and all cabling and stagebox infrastructure

UNITED KINGDOM

A first for Flare Audio

By Murray Stassen

ONE OF London’s longest running independent live music venues, the Half Moon in Putney, has installed a new Flare Audio sound system.

Last month, PSNEurope revealed that pro-audio supplier Orbital Sound has become the first distribution partner anywhere for Flare Audio Limited.

The installation includes the brand new SM15 stage

SM15 stage monitors debut in Putney

will be completed with Link/Eurocable gear.

TM also reports a second win: the sale of five DiGiCo desks by product specialist Jaap Pronk to the new five-hall Tivoli Vredenburg muziekpaleis in the city of Utrecht. The biggest space within the complex is capable of hosting an audience of 2,000.

De Foew adds: “Allen & Heath’s Q16 has shown record sales numbers where at the same time we managed to close a good quantity of high profile installs with Martin Audio’s MLA Minis.

“Now that the organisation is back on track and healthy, we can start looking forward.”

De Foew’s appointment coincides with Ampco Flashlight Rental becoming the latest Adamson Energia partner.

Ampco has added 32 E15 and 16 E12 line array loudspeaker enclosures to its inventory.

“We have been looking for an additional line array system that enables us to complete our current growth,” says van Berkum. “The starting point has always been based on the best possible specifications that will provide more efficient solutions and outstanding performance.

Purchasing the new Adamson Energia system helps us achieve this goal.” I www.tmaudio.nl www.ampco-flashlight.com

monitors and V15C 15-inch high SPL point source loudspeakers, making the Half Moon the first venue to have these installed. Q218 ultra sub cabinets and the flat panel SB21 deliver the low frequencies.

Chief engineer at the Half Moon, Stevie Wyatt, comments: “Having seen various PA systems come through the Half Moon in my 15 years here, this is the first rig I can run virtually flat – it just sounds right… Everyone is really complimentary about the rig.

There’s some very clever design going on here, I’m definitely now a Flare convert and I look forward to seeing what else they bring out in the future.” I www.flareaudio.com

58 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

installationreport

The Namur of the game

French rocker Axel Bauer plays at the Cultural Centre in Namur

With Adamson’s Metrix, the Namur Cultural Centre offers a high quality standard fixed audio kit for a broad range of events, notes Marc Maes

THE MAISON de la Culture de la Province de Namu is a cultural centre in the French-speaking south of Belgium – with an average of four events per week, the centre is a popular venue for concerts, theatre, dance, cinema and other events.

For the installation of the in-house sound reinforcement system, Benelux Adamson distributors Inytium won the tender to supply and install equipment for the 460-capacity, two-level main venue.

In the past, the Province de Namur’s ‘central dispatch service’ has

on either side of the stage plus two MDC2 sub bass cabinets, powered by Lab C484 SP4000 and FP7000 amplifiers.

The FOH mixer is a Yamaha LS 9/32.

By using slightly more powerful amplifiers in combination with the Metrix’s 16 ohm impedance, we managed to hook more speakers to one amp, making the installation for the upper balconies less expensive,” continues Vandegoor. “Just recently, the centre bought two extra Metrix install speakers – they could be connected without problems thanks to the Lab.gruppen’s auto-adjusted output impedance.”

Eight Nexo PS 15, two LS1200 sub bass and four PS 10 speakers are being used as monitoring system, controlled by a Soundcraft JP4 desk.

Spagna admits that the sound on the upper balconies was quite difficult to optimise – two additional Adamson Metrix were put in place last November, substantially improving the listening comfort “The general idea with the many external sound engineers that work on productions here is very positive about the configuration – the audio on the balconies will certainly add to the result,” concludes Spagna. I www.inytium.com

“The Metrix speakers are very discrete in terms of visibility, they are compact and yet powerful, and their 5˚ vertical coverage pattern is exactly what the venue needs.

We’ve dealt with part of the acoustical problem by adjusting the alignment of the arrays” Ludovic Vandegoor, Inytium supplied the audio system for the centre’s activities. Now, with a fixed installation, the centre can operate more independently from the province’s services. “In doing so, we can offer a standard technical rider and a pool of skilled in-house engineers – a trend that was initiated two years ago,” explains Bruno Spagna, audio engineer with the Maison de la Culture.

Since 2006, the former congress centre has been gradually acoustically adapted to become a concert and theatre venue. Spagna says the acoustics are still being upgraded.

“In view of the hall’s acoustic specifications, and the great variety of events, the choice for Adamson Metrix was quite obvious,” opines Ludovic Vandegoor, distribution director of Inytium. “The Metrix speakers are very discrete in terms of visibility, they are compact and yet very powerful, and their 5˚ vertical coverage pattern is exactly what the venue needs. We’ve dealt with part of the acoustical problem by adjusting the alignment of the arrays.”

The FOH system in the venue consists of a flown Adamson Metrix array

Adamson stack featuring Metrix cabs

March 2014 l 59

www.psneurope.com

installationnews PORTUGAL

Art anywhere with Aviom Pro64 Any and every kind of guest is welcome, but the ArtSpaceHotel in Portugal has something special set-up for musicians, writes Erica Basnicki AN AVIOM Pro64 audio network allows artists to rehearse and record anywhere they are comfortable at the ArtSpaceHotel: a unique resort in the Alentejo Litoral region on the south-west coast of Portugal.

Director Kai Vieweg’s background in the recording industry led him to create this space that is ideal for musicians.

The audio network that connects the creative spaces throughout the ArtSpaceHotel was designed by Ray Finkenberger-Lewin, with the help of Aviom distribution partner S.E.A. Vertrieb & Consulting.

Director Kai Vieweg shows off some of the technology available at ArtSpaceHotel

The FOH console used in the space is a Yamaha DM2000 with two Aviom 6416Y2 A-Net Cards. These two cards send and receive 32 channels of audio from the Aviom Pro64 audio network. The cards are connected to two MH10 Merger Hubs, installed at either end of the resort. The MH10s are connected to one another and to 10 other locations throughout the facility. A rack containing two 6416m Mic Input Modules, one ASI A-Net Interface, one A-16R Rackmounted Personal Mixer, and an A-16D Pro A-Net Distributor can be connected at any one of these locations.

Hooking up A-16II Personal Mixers means musicians can create their own monitor mixes.

The A-16R Personal Mixer sends a stereo signal to the resort’s PA system so that the performance or session can be shared around the space.

While the ArtSpaceHotel has not officially opened its doors to the public, the resort has already welcomed some talented groups to test the equipment and facilities: Brazilian guitarist Zélia Fonesca, German jazz artist Wolfgang Haffner, and Portuguese percussion project Tocá Rufar Orquestra, who hosted a workshop at the resort.

Vieweg says, “The emotional response of guests and participants has surpassed our expectations. Artists feel comfortable and free to do what they want at any time. The Aviom system has helped to make this possible.” I www.aviom.com www.artspacehotel.com www.deli-studio.de

60 l March 2014

installationfeature Question is, will she have the chicken or the beef?

High-spec sound cleared for take-off Regulatory changes have had a significant impact on audio system design, but equally compelling has been the desire to create an inviting sonic landscape that encourages passengers to spend more time – and money – in the airport space, writes David Davies NEW AND emerging safety requirements such as EN 54-25 – a mandatory standard affecting fire detection and fire alarm systems – have been a

major driver of A/V upgrade work in airports over the last few years, as regular readers of PSNEurope sister title Installation will be acutely

aware. But aside from this specific spur to action, it seems that airport audio has also been the subject of a more subtle shift.

MANY OF the manufacturers who contributed to this piece also have notable stakes in other areas of the transport market, but contrary to what the casual observer might expect, there are actually plenty of differences in system design between airports and, say, hub-status railway stations.

“Train stations have fewer zones than airports, but each zone is usually larger so you need a more powerful system with fewer zones,” says Graeme Harrison, executive vice-president of marketing, Biamp Systems. “They also need the capability of paging between stations, whether it’s the next stop down or at the end of the line.”

Sonically and operationally, railway stations can also prove to be a tougher challenge than airports. “Train stations are also more of an open-air environment, whereas airports are closed environments within structures.

Messages could bleed into surrounding

Photo: Courtesy of Tannoy

TRAIN IN VAIN...?

Tannoy speakers were installed in Glasgow Central : railway travellers’ needs can be different to the provision for air passengers areas and could negatively impact residential areas around train stations,” remarks Harrison, who points to the ANC (ambient noise compensation) technology in Biamp’s Vocia system as one method of addressing the problem.

Xavier Meynial, technical director of Active Audio, also highlights some

more specific challenges inherent to this environment – but makes it clear that there are compensating factors: “The environment is harsher in railway stations, both in terms of air pollution and electromagnetic pollution. On the other hand, visual integration is often more demanding in airports.”

With transport hubs deriving more money than ever before from non-aeronautical sources such as retail, a significant part of the emphasis has been on generating a more appealing sonic landscape – in terms of both messaging and music – for travellers to pass through on their way to the gates. Max Lindsay-Johnson, international sales manager for Community Professional Loudspeakers (and, until recently, with Duran Audio), says: “Over the past few years there has been a mindshift [with regard to] airport installations with clients demanding a far more performance-based product to enhance the travel retail experience whilst also complying with VA requirements.”

Given the penchant of the post-Norman Foster generation of architects for incorporating huge swathes of glass and concrete into their designs, this can be easier said than done.

Beam-based speaker technologies that allow precise directivity of sound have done much to address the resulting acoustical issues, and many manufacturers now offer one variation or other of these approaches. But such solutions are not necessarily inexpensive, so with clients no less moneyconscious than they ever were, audio suppliers have had to be highly conscious of the “performance and ease/speed of

“A futureproofed system provides an airport with the ability to reconfigure around construction, and add onto the system as construction is completed” Graeme Harrison, Biamp Systems installation” balance observed

by Lindsay-Johnson.

To match every one of Heathrow’s quintet of terminals, PSNEurope has selected five current trends which indicate that although they might not quite match the last two decades’ progress in

Photo: Shutterstock

www.psneurope.com

March 2014 l 61

www.psneurope.com

installationfeature

Active Audio RayON R100 column in Paris

1. There are more airports… and they are getting bigger Most suppliers report growing business in the airport sector, and no wonder given that the CAPA Airport Construction and Capex website currently lists over US$385 billion worth of projects globally – with 69 regional airports on the books in China alone.

Not only are more airports being constructed, they are also “in a constant state of expansion and upgrade,” says Biamp Systems’ executive vice-president of marketing, Graeme Harrison. “These regular changes translate into a need for an audio system to be expandable – specifically, flexible expandability. A future-proofed system provides an airport with the ability to reconfigure around construction, and add onto the system as construction is completed.”

So a reasonable level of redundancy in a system and some sophisticated DSP are pretty much obligatory if one is to create “a truly futureproofed system [that] can be employed and grow as needs change and develop.”

2. Airports are also busier than ever… so effective zoning is essential Larger spaces and more activity – ticketing, security checks and so forth – “naturally increase the level of stress travellers experience. So more airports are looking for inexpensive ways to decrease traveller and employee

stress, increase efficiencies, and improve the overall environment,” says Harrison.

Translated to technical means, this spells a greater focus on “controlling and better management of the audio throughout the airport via easily reconfigurable, zoned paging areas” that can help to reduce “the aural clutter and provide a quieter environment”. In particular, Harrison – who points to Biamp’s own Vocia DSPs and Tesira scalable audio system as popular choices for airport installs – hails the benefits of “granular zoning, [which] allows for the spaces to be addressed as large combined zones, or drilled down into very specific, smaller spaces, all dependent upon the need and the message being communciated.”

3. Effective intelligibility and subtle soundscaping are vital As Lindsay-Johnson has already indicated, sound also has a role to play in encouraging retail sales. Hence some airports need speakers able to deliver subtle ambient soundscapes.

And this capability can deliver real results, with a three-month pilot trial at Glasgow Airport using an ambient soundscape played in busy walkways helping to generate a 10% increase in sales for airport retailers (source: Biamp Building in Sound, white paper 2012/The Sound Agency).

But with new regulations such as the latest additions to EN 54 and, in the US, NFPA 72 coming through, ensuring perfect intelligibility of the spoken word is even more crucial. “As regards loudspeakers, compliance with

LAS VEGAS MCCARRAN REVAMPS TERMINAL 1 WITH RENKUS-HEINZ ICONYX ALONGSIDE THE recent opening of its new 1.9 million sqft Terminal 3, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas has also revamped and renovated the original Terminal 1 – a programme of work that included the installation of an updated sound system featuring dozens of Renkus-Heinz Iconyx digitally steerable array loudspeakers.

Kansas-based Coffeen Fricke & Associates, Inc (CFA) designed the system, which includes 32 Iconyx IC16-R-II arrays to cover the expansive baggage claim area, as well

as 22 more IC16-R-II columns mounted every 50 feet overlooking the main ticketing lobby.

Robert Ledo, CFA’s senior vicepresident, comments: “The Iconyx system actually enabled us to provide better intelligibility than an overhead distribution scheme. It can concentrate the energy right at the people and cut through the background noise.”

Eduoard Charland, VP of CFA, also emphasises the ability of the Iconyx system to deliver audio precisely where it is required. “The Iconyx systems

“With increasing bandwidth and speed available, and with the emergence of trusted standards, the IP backbone has transformed into a way of delivering incremental services while saving costs” David Gostick, Barix EN54-24 in European airports is often mandatory, including obtaining correct speech intelligibility,” says Xavier Meynial, technical director of Active Audio.

Making reference to the company’s own Iconyx Digitally Steerable Column Arrays, Renkus-Heinz VP sales and marketing Rik Kirby describes steerable columns as “natural solutions” to ensure intelligibility. “They allow intelligible sound to be aimed directly at the passengers,

while avoiding the predominantly hard surfaces, like glass and concrete, that create reflections and make announcements harder to understand,” says Kirby.

A manufacturer’s attainment of compliance with ISO 9000 – a series of quality assurance standards developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation – can also play an important role, “especially in developing countries where there may not be specific government regulations around

enabled us to create customised coverage patterns to fit each space, and afforded us a degree of control and monitoring over the systems that a facility like McCarran International Airport demands,” he says.

The entire system is linked via Renkus-Heinz RHAON networking technology, allowing for complex DSP programming to custom-steer each array independently using multiple beams. The RHAON software and onboard contact closures also monitor each array for proper operation.

safety and quality,” says Harrison. “Safety and reliability are things everyone expects, but may not think of how they would be provided until you begin discussing their needs in detail.”

4. IP-based intercoms and paging continue to become more prevalent David Gostick, product manager at Barix, observes that the company has been producing audio-over-IP hardware for more than a decade, with its current offer including the Annuncicom IP intercom range. There has, he says, been a steadily increasing acceptance of this approach.

“With increasing bandwidth and speed available, and with the emergence of trusted standards, the IP backbone has transformed into a way of delivering incremental services while saving costs,” he says.

Now we should also anticipate the introduction of more IP-based Help Points that enable customers to contact

M

architectural design for sheer sensory impact, airport audio is witnessing something of a quiet revolution…

62 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

M

installationfeature their airline’s central help desk without incurring roaming fees.

“Recent research by the EU revealed that more than a quarter of travellers turn off their phones when travelling to avoid high charges,” says Gostick. “Opening up spare bandwidth to provide centralised customer service frees local staff at the airport and provides the customer with help when they need it, at no cost to themselves.”

5. Full networking is increasingly visible on airport radars The quickening page of airport expansion means that, as Harrison remarks, “massive analogue cabling infrastructure” is no longer an ideal solution given the obvious scaling limitations. Digital networking is therefore rising up the priority list – not least because it can also deliver “cost savings [with] data, audio and video [able to] be put on one network; ease of use for both the end-users and

meeting point between different networking technologies – could have real potential. But as Kirby observes, networking remains subject to a “state of flux”, so the onus is on manufacturers to accept all protocols. Of Renkus, Kirby says “we are designing our products to handle multiple audio protocols. As the final link in the signal chain, we need to be able to receive whatever the system is sending us.”

Dante and CobraNet remain popular choices for airport installs the system managers; system redundancy using standard network protocols; and systemwide monitoring, both locally and remotely,” he continues.

Dante and CobraNet are popular choices for airport

installs, whilst Harrison suggests that AVB could have “a profound impact” in the near-future. It also looks like the new AES67 standard – which was very much the toast of ISE last month and will provide a Layer 3-based

ACTIVE AUDIO is the only company to venture a specific contribution made by airports to its overall business (“approximately 10%,” says technical director Xavier Meynial, who cites the deployment of Active’s RayOn R100 columns at Paris Roissy Airport Terminal 2 among its recent project-stack), but all suppliers cite it as a growing market.

The recent project list described

by Biamp alone for installations featuring Tesira, Audia, Nexia or Vocia systems traverses

Copenhagen, Malmo, Hong Kong, Kazan, Canberra and New Delhi, among many others. And given the scope of current airport building programmes, one can expect the BRIC and MINT nations (the latter a more recently-coined neologism referring to the economies of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) to loom ever-larger on manufacturers’ order books.

But above and beyond its obvious growth potential, it may be the sheer scale and profile of these projects that confirms why the airport market should never be underestimated. Concludes Meynial: “The market often involves rather large orders, and then there is the fact that airports are frequently quite prestigious places” – meaning, in short, that they can provide an audio system showcase par excellence. I www.activeaudio.fr www.barix.com www.biamp.com www.communitypro.com www.renkus-heinz.com

PROSOUND

AWARDS

Thursday 25th September 2014

COMING SOON SAVE THE DATE! www.prosoundawards.com

CONTACTS

www.psneurope.com

March 2014 l 65

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

hither&dither

Staff Writer Murray Stassen murray.stassen@intentmedia.co.uk Advertising Manager Ryan O’Donnell ryan.odonnell@intentmedia.co.uk Sales Executive Rian Zoll-Khan rian.zoll-khan@intentmedia.co.uk Head of Design and Production Adam Butler adam.butler@intentmedia.co.uk Editorial Production Manager Dawn Boultwood dawn.boultwood@intentmedia.co.uk

Hither and Trevor The MPG Awards: this year, with a live band. How do they follow that?

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

PSNEurope Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London, N1 8LN. Editorial: +44 20 7354 6002 Sales: +44 20 7354 6000 Press releases to: pressreleases@intentmedia.co.uk Subscribe by email to: psne.subscriptions@c-cms.com Subscriptions Tel: +44 1580 883848

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

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

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

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

A special edition of Hither & Dither this month, as we celebrate the extraordinary evening that was the MPG Awards 2014. You saw the winners with their gongs back on page 18: now see who you can spot in the audience. (No prizes for members of 10CC though.) And yes, there is at least one member of Radiohead here... swoon!

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

66 l March 2014

www.psneurope.com

industrytalk WITH MORE than a little help from marketing director Frank Simmerlein, audio software pioneer Steinberg has come a long way from the days of geeky computer mavericks. And like Apple, the company is celebrating its 30th birthday this year: a good parallel, because the world has adapted to the lifestyles and techniques prompted by both organisations in a way unimaginable in 1984. But this is no Orwellian dystopia. Steinberg’s partnership with Yamaha since 2005 has provided audio professionals with an ever expanding box of tools to which there seems no limit, as over 1.5 million users worldwide will testify.

When, why and how did you join the company?

I started out my relationship with Steinberg more than 25 years ago. At the time I was working at an advertising agency; I was also an active musician using Steinberg’s first sequencer, the Pro16. It so happened that I spotted a Steinberg advert in a German music magazine and I remember being appalled by the entire campaign. This made me reach out to Steinberg and from then on I was commissioned with creating their ads. Soon after, I left the agency and co-founder Manfred Ruerup asked me to join Steinberg. And that’s when I joined the company in 1989.

What was the flagship product at the time, and what was the next big breakthrough after that?

The second release, the Pro24 sequencer sporting 24 MIDI tracks, was the bestseller back then, although soon after the initial version of Cubase running on the Atari was released to great acclaim. After introducing the world to sequencing software I personally believe the next big breakthrough was our Virtual Studio Technology, finally giving users the freedom to connect effects and so on, similar to a real-life studio environment.

What was your educational background and which other companies have you worked for?

My interests have always revolved around the creative arts. While my educational background was in art, which I studied here in Hamburg, I had been taking piano lessons and playing in bands. Soon after I became a composer for jingles and industrial films. I also worked for smaller and larger

similar business models, and we can respect this.

Should used software be re-saleable, like second-hand hardware?

Software licenses offered through Steinberg are re-saleable like any other product you own.

Ravenna, Dante, AVB... what works for you?

In my opinion, networking is the next big thing. Nuendo already supports Ethernet collaboration in the same network. And with our VST Connect technology we’re opening up a whole new world to our users where distances no longer exist and recordings between continents are milliseconds away. I’ve made intensive use of this tool and I’m completely blown away by the possibilities that it has to offer.

Cubist master Frank Simmerlein has been associated with Steinberg and Cubase for over 25 years. On a (piano) roll: Phil Ward agencies, with tenures as art director and ‘FFF’ (film, radio and television) producer.

Steinberg-Yamaha, SonarRoland, Soundscape-SSL... what are the advantages of owning both the software and the hardware?

Usually, every company has a special qualification in its business field. One would hope that bringing both worlds together results in providing best solutions to the market. This is certainly easier in theory than in practice. Take Yamaha and Steinberg’s collaboration for instance: both software and hardware have entirely different development cycles, a completely different approach. It’s not an easy accomplishment but the advantage lies with those that are able to align the differences.

How does Nuage benefit?

Nuage is a good example of the potential for co-operative research: decades of experience

VST: how did you do it? How did you overcome the pitfalls that seem to hold back other ‘universal’ standards?

From today’s perspective, it’s indeed a bit baffling. It was 1996, which I’d still refer to as the ‘the early days’, and everything was possible: Charlie Steinberg was writing the code and I was contributing the interface. We developed software that we wanted to see in our own small studios. It was that simple. So introducing this technology to the world was easy, there was no real alternative to VST. And as we’ve always been open-minded

“Networking is the next big thing. Nuendo already supports Ethernet collaboration in the same network.

And with our VST Connect technology we’re opening up a whole new world to our users” Frank Simmerlein in building rock-solid hardware on one side and the flexibility of software integration on the other. The Nuage system with Nuendo integration has perfectly turned the theoretical possibilities into a reality.

Thinking of DiGiCo-Waves SoundGrid (another hardware/software project), what potential does Steinberg have in the live touring market?

Alongside the thousands of sold Yamaha live-mixing consoles that come with our Nuendo Live software, our company looks back on a long tradition in the field of live touring. Over the years Steinberg software has been used for recording or

playback at many shows, such as at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden.

What kind of piracy solutions have you considered? For example, both Adobe and Microsoft are now ‘leasing’ their packages like subscriptions, rather than sales...

We listen closely to our customers’ demands, and this is one of the reasons we hosted a user survey. The results left no room for doubt: the large majority of our customer base does not favour a subscription model. This may change in the future but for the time being there’s no demand in our market, no need for us to offer

at Steinberg, we decided not to hold back with this beautiful technology. Manfred always called it “die Demokratisierung der Mittel” – the democratisation of the means.

There’s Cubase in Stade de France, Nuendo in the National Space Centre museum, UK: what potential does Steinberg have in the install/AV market?

We’re open to any market relevant to audio and music. This is our domain, and our customers can benefit from our many years of experience. And with Yamaha as our parent company, we are able to respond to a very wide variety of situations. I www.steinberg.net