November 2016
www.psneurope.com
Diary of a madman Dave Arcari takes his National guitars (and a banjo!) on a whisky-fuelled tour of psycho-blues mayhem p44 P28
P40
P58
HUNT THE MIC
NO NO, NO, N-NO NO
MURPHY’S LAW
VINTAGE TECH STILL POPULAR AMONG THE DOUBLE DIAPHRAGM BRIGADE
BEHIND THE SOUND OF BECKETT FOR NO’S KNIFE AT THE OLD VIC
PRO SOUND AWARDS RISING STAR ON WHAT IT TAKES TO ASCEND
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Expanding the Rivage family with RPio222
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21/10/2016 11:59
ULTRA-COMPACT MODULAR LINE SOURCE Packing a 138 dB wallop, Kiva II breaks the SPL record for an ultra-compact 14 kg/31 lb line source. Kiva II features L-Acoustics’ patented DOSC technology enhanced with an L-Fins waveguide for ultimate precise and smooth horizontal directivity. WSTŽ gives Kiva II long throw and even SPL, from the front row to the back, making it the perfect choice for venues and special events that require power and clarity with minimal visual obtrusion. Add to that a 16 ohm impedance for maximized amplifier density and a new sturdy IP45 rated cabinet, and you get power, efficiency and ruggedness in the most elegant package. www.l-acoustics.com
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Welcome
PSNEUROPE Editor Dave Robinson drobinson@nbmedia.com
Advertising manager Ryan O’Donnell rodonnell@nbmedia.com
Deputy Editor Sarah Sharples ssharples@nbmedia.com
Account manager Rian Zoll-Khan rzoll-khan@nbmedia.com
Group managing editor Jo Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com
Head of design Jat Garcha jgarcha@nbmedia.com
Content director James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com
Production executive Jason Dowie jdowie@nbmedia.com
Contributors: Kevin Hilton, Marc Maes, Dave Wiggins, Mike Clark, Phil Ward, Erica Basnicki, David Davies, Marc Miller
PSNEurope NewBay Media, Emerson Studios 4th Floor, 4-8 Emerson Street London SE1 9DU Editorial: +44 20 7354 6002 Sales: +44 20 7354 6000 Press releases to: ukpressreleases@nbmedia.com Circulation and subscription: Refunds on cancelled subscriptions will only be provided at the publisher’s discretion, unless specifically guaranteed within the terms of the subscription offer. NewBay Media may pass suitable reader addresses to other relevant suppliers. If you do not wish to receive sales information from other companies, please write to Circulations and Subscriptions, NewBay Media, Curwood CMS Ltd, The Barn, Abbey Mews, Robertsbridge TN32 5AD Subscribe by email to: psne.subscriptions@c-cms.com Subscriptions tel: +44 1580 883 848
PSNEurope is published 12 times a year by NewBay Media, Emerson Studios 4th Floor, 4-8 Emerson Street London SE1 9DU ISSN: 0269-4735 (print) 2052-238X (digital)
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P3 NOVEMBER 2016
DAVE ROBINSON Editor
@PSNEurope
L
ast month, Rian ZK from the advertising team and myself had the pleasure of attending the AES Convention in Los Angeles. Well, I say ‘the pleasure’. Actually, it was all a bit of an adventure into the unknown and the slightly precarious. Rather than just attending the expo in the usual journalist/ reporter capacity, RZK and myself had set ourselves the onerous task of organising, hosting and documenting a workshop session, entitled ‘Genius! Live’, to tie in with recent publication of the QSC-sponsored Genius!2 annual supplement at the end of September (we’re drip-feeding pages of it online over the next weeks. It’s all very well setting up an event a couple of miles down the road – at say, ooh, I don’t know, the Ministry of Sound, for instance – when you can nip round at lunchtime, check the technical facilities, make sure it’s all going to run smoothly on the night. It’s a completely different matter, speculating as to how a presentation in a conference centre you don’t know with guests you don’t know in a city you don’t know, 5,000 miles away... And, yes, I can safely say, RZK and myself managed to stage, and video, a panel event on the Saturday morning, without any major catastrophe happening upon us. (You’ll be able to see my chats with Pat Quilter, Dave Gunness and Joe Bull of JoeCo, online soon.) So, this is a roundabout way of saying thanks so much to the AES’ Frank Wells and Graham Kirk for helping set up the session. Here’s to next year (....!) Another big thank you this issue to Dave Arcari, the one-and-only drinking diablo dangerzone (and guitarist, of course), who kindly kept a blog through his touring days last summer. Reading through Dave’s notes, it was strange to think, there are people all over the world who regularly do this: who, every night, turn up to a venue, have to make do with the kit they’re supplied with, put on the best performance of their lives for that crowd, then stick around long enough – still smiling, even though they might be totally knackered and desperate to go to bed – to sell some merch. Hats off to you brave adventurers! n
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P4 NOVEMBER 2016
Contents
In this issue... P38 CHEERS AND BEERS DYNACORD REVELS AT OKTOBERFEST
P22 PARR-FECT TIMING LIVERPOOL’S PARR ST STUDIOS CELEBRATES MILESTONE
P52 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR IS THIS THE DEMISE OF THE NIGHTCLUB SCENE?
P34 VROOOOOOOM! RACING SOUND AT 24 HOURS OF LE MANS
Business 6 7 8 10 12
Bose’s new ShowMatch Delta Q loudspeakers ICMP opens new studio with Alchemea Movers and shakers: industry appointments PSNTraining: what’s on PSNTraining extra: AES67 white paper
Technology 14 16 18 28 52
New products Strategic position: Resurface Virtual reality and more at AES FEATURE: Studio Mics FEATURE: Nightclubs
Studio 20 24
A quarter of a century for Parr St Studios New to the UK – The Anexe Studio
Broadcast 32
Racy new truck and 24 hours of Le Mans
Live 38 40 42 44
Prost to Dynacord at Oktoberfest! Mic Pool’s sound design for No’s Knife L-Acoustics at Hellfest Dave Arcari’s rocking tour diary
Back pages
57 58
Hither and dither Q&A: George Murphy
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THE LEO FAMILY TRUE SOUND IN LINE ARRAYS.
The LEO Family provides power and clarity for nearly every application, from intimate performance spaces to the world’s largest outdoor festivals. LEOPARD, the smallest in the family, is gaining a following for being the most lightweight and versatile line array in its class. From small to midsize to large-scale, this family of line arrays has you covered.
meyersound.com/believeit
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P6 NOVEMBER 2016
Business
UNITED KINGDOM
Taking the array beyond the traditional After 10 years of research, Bose’s new ShowMatch Delta Q loudspeakers range aims to provide great sound in every seat, writes Sarah Sharples
B
ose Professional demonstrated the company’s ShowMatch DeltaQ array loudspeakers at the Millennium Studios in Bedford, UK, last month, showcasing the new technology, which offers the ability to vary directivity among the modules, as well as use traditional j-array or constant curvature. DeltaQ originates from the ability to change directivity (Q) for each array module to provide even coverage across the audience, avoiding reflections off walls. This means acoustic energy can be targeted at the audience, Bose says, unlike traditional line arrays, which typically have significantly less pattern control. ShowMatch arrays are capable of generating a maximum SPL of up to 145dB. Speaking at the launch event in the UK last month, which was part of a global tour, Fuat Koro, Bose Professional’s global sales and marketing director, says the company believes the DeltaQ is the next generation of array technology. “We do believe that we offer a value proposition that is different than perhaps a traditional approach to live music or fixed install – in this case we give designers, consultants and system integrators an additional level of flexibility whether it comes to coverage control, the consistent tonal balance or being able to vary the coverage independent of SPL,” he says. ShowMatch full-range loudspeakers are available in three models –5/10/20-degree vertical – and feature a compact two-way design, including four Bose EMB2S compression drivers and two Bose eight-inch
A live band played at the demonstration event at the Millennium Studios in Bedford
neodymium woofers. During the demonstration, senior field engineer Jorgen Allen says Bose’s mission was to get “great sound in every seat” with the EMB2S HF compression driver responsible for vocal clarity. Each model ships with two sets of field-changeable horizontal waveguides for narrow or wide pattern control, which can be varied between 55 and 120 degrees, and it produces 4dB more then the previous model. On the SM5, the coverage overlap can be varied from 0 to five degrees in increments of one degree. Koro says 10 years was spent on researching the technology used in the new array loudspeakers. “This is really a crossover product for us. It’s really great for fixed installed, but its also great for the rental and touring market as well,” he says. “The rental market has not seen this type of technology in many years, it’s a step change in technology, so we do believe that if sound engineers and rental companies adopt this technology, they are going to be using it more frequently for their live music performances.” Mark Payne, technical director at audio visual hire supplier, SFL Group, was also at the UK event, encouraging people to play on the console and listen to the sound through a set-up of two arravs of seven DeltaQ modules, three SM5 and four SM10 each side. Having done some testing with the loudspeakers, he
says he is impressed. “So far the low end performance of this system is the best I’ve heard and one of the problems when we go to compact line arrays is that we lose low end input and I’m not just talking about the subwoofer – I’m talking about the warmth of the rock and roll experience. The compact line arrays have stolen that away from us, until you get to quite a long line length, but I’m getting that energy from this system.” A companion subwoofer houses a single high-output 18” driver and includes integrated four-point rigging that may be deployed forward or rear-facing. Bose Professional will also release Modeler sound system software version 6.9, which can be used for acoustic designing using specific room dimensions to optimise the loudspeaker’s coverage, as well as ensuring the rigging is within safe working limits. The loudspeakers and software are scheduled to begin shipping to dealers in November. n pro.bose.com
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Business
P7 NOVEMBER 2016
UNITED KINGDOM
Chemistry fizzes again for Alchemea at Kilburn’s ICMP
North London music performance teaching school opens studio and welcomes renewed initiatives, froths Dave Robinson
T
he ICMP (Institute of Contemporary Music Performance) celebrated the opening of a new studio facility, and the successful launch of its Creative Music Production courses, with a gathering of friends, clients and press at its north-west London HQ at the beginning of October. Mike Sinnott – former director of the much-regarded but ill-fated Alchemea College in Islington, and now facilities manager for ICMP – was on hand to praise the operation. “I was very lucky, after Alchemea closed, to have the opportunity to join ICMP, and help and develop and share the same ideals, and to create an environment that looks great and feels great and be involved with the right people,” said Sinnott. “Alchemea was a success because the place had a vibe: the tutors and the commitment to quality.
Hopefully a little bit of Alchemea can come through and affect the whole of ICMP ... We’ve got a great team here.” Steely Dan producer Gary Katz sent a short video message for the launch: “I was there last month, had a great time at the masterclass, I think you will too. Enjoy the day!’ (ICMP director Pete Whittard explained the link with Katz: “One of our songwriting module leaders, Julian Marshall, was produced by Gary in the 1980s, and we got to know him through that. He’s a patron to the school and he does masterclasses here.”) The studio build was a 12-month project, managed and designed by Tony English of Slow Glass Creative studio build (English also built Urchin Studios for Dan Cox in north London). ICMP says it worked closely with their partners to provide students with the
“very best equipment” as they begin their careers in production at ICMP. The Institute was the first customer for Audient’s latest ASP8024 (Heritage Edition) large format console. This was configured especially with two producer panels in order to mount Avid’s S3 digital control surface. Outboard available at the studio includes a UAD 6176 Vintage Channel Strip and a Lexicon PCM 92 FX processor. Need a DAW? Pro Tools, Logic Pro X and Ableton Live are all installed. Monitoring includes Focal SM6 Trio6 Be 3-way monitors. ICMP – established around 30 years ago - has invested nearly £250k in facilities in the last 12 months. It moved to its current Kilburn address, from Acton, around ten years ago. n icmp.ac.uk Tony English (in the cap) designed the studio
ICMP director Pete Whittard (left) and former Alchemea director Mike Sinnott in front of the specially configured Audient analogue desk
The banner says it all…
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P8 NOVEMBER 2016
Movers and shakers
Genuine joy for Jones as he joins Genelec His responsibilities includes overseeing the first Genelec Experience Centre
G
enelec has added to its sales and marketing team by appointing Howard Jones to the role of international project manager. Based in Cambridge, UK, Jones joins the Finnish high-end loudspeaker manufacturer from an 11-year stint as director of distributed brands with Source Distribution. He now has responsibility for consulting with the Genelec team on their global sales and marketing strategy. “It’s a thrill to be working as part of the Genelec team – I have a genuine fondness for the brand and the people behind it,” he says. One of Jones’ first responsibilities is overseeing the world’s first Genelec Experience Centre in central London. His aim is to make it a major hub for pro audio activity in London, by co-ordinating a regular program of
Sound Devices hires Hermann Heide as the new business manager of its European Service Centre located in Berlin, Germany. Heide comes with years of experience in different roles, including IT management, international trade, risk management, and business development. www.soundevices.com
Meyer Sound hired audio veteran Wolfgang Leute as sales director in Germany. Most recently, he was head of international sales and distribution at beyerdynamic GmbH. Previously he held positions at Shure Europe and at Harman Germany as product manager for JBL Professional. www.meyersound.com
clinics and seminars that bring professionals together to network and learn more about the latest in audio technologies. Siamäk Naghian, Genelec managing director, comments: “Having worked with Howard for many years, we realised the significant benefit that he could bring us through his long experience of distribution and his understanding of the opportunities and challenges that it presents. Under Howard’s guidance, the UK has been a consistently outstanding performer for Genelec.” Jones adds: “If the knowledge I’ve gained over the years here in the UK can help Genelec better understand and satisfy the needs of the market globally, then I’ll be absolutely delighted.”n genelec.com
The Media Networking Alliance has appointed two new co-chairs of its Marketing Working Group. Angi Roberson, director of marketing at The Telos Alliance, and Martin Barbour, product manager of installed systems at QSC Audio, will jointly hold the position next year, taking over from Will Hoult from Focusrite. medianetworkingalliance.com
MUSIC, parent company of Tannoy, has appointed James Bradbury as the new vice president to lead its Lifestyle Division. “My priority is to reinvigorate Tannoy into a 21st century business by leveraging the incredible capability of MUSIC’s organisation...” he says. www.music-group.com
CUK Audio recruits Rob Duerden to manage the newly created installed sound sales channel as part of a larger corporate restructure which saw four distinct business sectors established (MI, Installed Sound, Live and AV/Conferencing). Duerden previously worked at RW Salt (now Midwich). www.cuk-audio.com
Henrik Lorensen, previously of Bang & Olufsen, joined controller keyboard innovator ROLI as chief operating officer. CEO Roland Lamb says: “His experience will be hugely valuable as we expand our Connected Music ecosystem and provide a new experience to anyone who loves music.” roli.com
Howard Jones
DEALER NETWORK CUK Audio has entered an exclusive partnership with PVS nv of Belgium for the distribution in the UK of three brands, AUDAC, Caymon and Procab. CUK Audio MD Stuart Thomson says: “To cater for this highly competitive part of the market, more often than not manufacturers simply buy a Chinese product off the shelf, modify it a bit and then brand it as their own. While that may work for loudspeakers, in our experience it’s not a good approach for electronics as they are usually designed for Europe. Consequently they are often unable to handle the higher mains voltage in the UK which makes them inherently unreliable. “Our visit to their Belgian premises was a real eye-opener. We were completely bowled over by the range and scope of their services, not to mention ... their products.” www.cuk-audio.com audac.eu RTW will exclusively distribute hardware and software products and systems from Listen in the German and Swiss markets. RTW will be delivering complete test systems, as well as individual components for audio test and measurement, including microphones, power supplies, amplifiers, and audio interfaces. Andreas Tweitmann, CEO of RTW says: “Listen holds all the company values that RTW appreciates. The company’s knowledgeable audio and software engineers are experts in their field and solicit feedback from their customers to better serve their needs.” www.rtw.com www.listeninc.com Prism Sound has appointed Joystick Audio as its exclusive distributor in Benelux – Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The company will represent Prism’s recording and post production portfolio, including its ADA-8XR multichannel converter and audio interfaces such as Lyra, Titan and Atlas and SADiE products. Mark Evans, channel sales manager for Prism Sound and SADiE, says: “The company shares our no compromise approach to customer support and we feel that, with Joystick, our products and our brand are in safe hands.” www.joystick.be www.prismsound.com
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P10 NOVEMBER 2016
Live Sound Day at NAMM 2017 BY SARAH SHARPLES
November 8
Audio-Technica Apart Audio roadshow Booths Hall, Manchester UK www.audio-technica.com
November 10
How to maximise Powersoft amps technology on tour Online www.powersoft-audio.com
November 15-17
Reproduced Sound Holiday Inn, Southampton, UK www.ioa.org.uk
December 5 A range of seminars, panels and education focusing on the world of touring audio, will be held at the 2017 NAMM Show, which is running from 19-22 January. The conference features the TEC Tracks programming, including the Live Sound Day on Thursday, January 19, which will bring together the industry’s top engineers, thought-leaders and brands in sound reinforcement to discuss key industry topics, offer advice and deliver training in a series of educational sessions. Curating the Live Sound Day is monitor engineer and industry veteran Mark Frink, who has toured with dozens of artists including Tony Bennett, k.d. lang, Crystal Gayle, 10,000 Maniacs, the Three Tenors, Dr John and Joni Mitchell. Frink says: “Pro audio makes NAMM its winter home each third week in January. This year we’re opening the show with a day of special events dedicated to live sound’s best people, practices and products.” A keynote panel will be hosted by Frink, featuring TEC Awardwinning front-of-house engineers, each sharing their experience and advice. There will also be sessions for live sound professionals, including Audio-Over-IP; Future-Proofing Wireless Microphone Inventory; Best use of DSP in Amplification; Tips for Easy Live Recording; Virtual Soundcheck; and How to Prepare for Multi-Act Festivals. Training will
also be offered on Rational Acoustics’ SMAART DI software with a look at two-channel interfaces. Zach Phillips, NAMM’s director of professional development, says: “We have very big plans for how we’re going to accommodate the growing live sound side of The NAMM show and it all starts in 2017 wih the TEC Tracks Live Sound Day. With the hottest industry topics, leading experts in the space and the entire signal chain in products represented across the NAMM show floor, there’s something for everyone involved in live sound.” David Schwartz, TEC Tracks producer and industry veteran, adds: “More and more live sound professionals are seeing NAMM as an important place to be. I’m thrilled to be able to bring many of the industry’s top professionals together in a day long intensive to advance the live sound community at NAMM.” TEC Tracks takes place annually as part of The NAMM show, which is held at the Anaheim Convention Centre. Companies attending the show include Meyer Sound, Midas, Yamaha Pro Audio Products, Renkus Heinz, JBL, Soundcraft, DiGiCo and Electro-Voice. NAMM is a not-for-profit association for the music products industry. n
Prism Sound: Mic to Monitor Westminister School of Media, Arts and Design, London, UK www.prismsound.eventbrite.com
Voice alarm systems fundamentals BY SARAH SHARPLES
www.namm.org
Dante certification course heads online BY SARAH SHARPLES Audinate have made available online Level 1 of the Dante Certification programme, allowing customers the opportunity to become certified any time, any place, without the need to attend in-person events. The Dante Certification programme provides an easy way for system designers, engineers and others in the industry to learn about Dante with in-depth training., as well as allowing them to demonstrate Dante expertise to potential employers and clients. Level 1 Certification tests proficiency of basic Dante audio networking concepts, covering audio networking fundamentals, basic networking concepts, creating a small-scale Dante network, and using Dante Controller and Dante Virtual Soundcard. The course consists of five videos and a 40 question test, and can be completed in less than two hours. Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a certificate and the use of the Dante Certification logo for their website and business cards. They will also be registered in Audinate’s internal database of certified professionals that tracks the levels of certification completed. “The in-person Dante Certification programme was very well received when it was launched at InfoComm in June,” says Joshua Rush, vice president of marketing and product at Audinate. “We are excited to now offer the Level 1 programme available online so anyone can get certified, regardless of their location.” n
The ISCE is holding a course on November 3 to introduce engineers to the requirements of BS5839-8:2013, which will detail the requirements for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of voice alarm systems, along with practical advice and examples. Voice alarm systems form the sounder circuits for a fire detection system and are not just an expensive public address system, the ISCE says. For the systems to operate in the intended manner – saving lives – they must be designed and installed correctly. The course deals with the concepts involved, standards requirements, equipment and the duties of those during the implementation. Course presenter Bob Howard has a wealth of experience in both the commercial and professional side of the audio industry. This course takes place at Production Park, Leeds. n
www.isce.org.uk
www.audinate.com/cert-info
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35 Years xy
d&b is 35. Sara is d&b. Sara Sowah is Head of Marketing Communications at d&b. She’s been on board since 2014. “Being part of the d&b team is like being surrounded by your brothers and sisters – they’re annoying, they’re fun, they’re determined. It’s a big passionate family totally obsessed with sound. I feel like it’s where I belong.” In 35 years d&b has evolved from a small garage venture to a worldwide standard in professional sound systems. It’s people like Sara who make this story possible, and just that bit different from the rest.
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P12 NOVEMBER 2016
PSNTraining extra: White paper
AES67, networked audio, and the impulse towards interoperability Earlier this year, Audinate, the developer of Dante, commissioned a white paper to, in the word’s of the company’s Josh Rush, “clear up the rampant confusion about what AES67 is, and what it isn’t, for the [pro-audio] industry”. Here, we present the opening sections of the paper, ultimately providing an insight into the objectives, benefits and limitations of this emerging AoIP networked audio standard
L
et’s begin with context. While the core principles of IP-based networking have been in existence for much longer thanks to their early adoption in the IT world, it is only in the last 15 years that they have begun to be deployed extensively in professional audio applications such as fixed install, live sound and broadcast. With each passing year, Audio over IP (AoIP) and its ability to deliver fast and flexible networked audio over existing infrastructures has resonated more strongly with customers seeking to work efficiently and cost-effectively. The result has been a gradual expansion of the variety and availability of networked audio technologies and solutions. Developed in the 1990s but still prevalent today, CobraNet and EtherSound were the trailblazers for digital audio networking. More recently, the practicality of audio over IP networking has in many cases outpaced the marketing efforts of the AVB manufacturers. Technologies built on IP have taken centre stage since they are able to operate over existing networked infrastructures and therefore do not require substantial investment to be realised. In particular, Audinate’s Dante is now by some distance the world’s fastest growing media networking technology. To a lesser extent, ALC NetworX’s Ravenna has also achieved traction, although primarily in broadcast at the present time. Inevitably, given the existence of multiple protocols, one result of the last decade’s worth of development has been the creation of ‘islands’ of products that support the use of one or more AoIP technology. In
fixed install, where one protocol-based solutions are more common, this has been less of an issue. But in broadcast and live, where a greater variety of products is likely to be required to work together seamlessly, there has been a more obvious need for interoperability. As well as removing any lingering doubt on the part of the end-user that product A will work with product B and so on, despite which networking technologies are being used, there has also been a growing awareness that proven interoperability would help encourage the overall move towards IP. Published in 2013 after several years in development, the AES67 standard is a response to these issues and is designed to provide a guaranteed level of interoperability between existing AoIP technologies. Dante and Ravenna both now offer compatibility with the standard. In 2016, it is increasingly evident that AES67 is contributing usefully to the accelerating adoption of IP-based audio. AES67 is not a networking solution in and of itself, but rather a group of interoperability specifications for connecting the lower level media streams. and therefore has many limitations when it comes to implementation in complex networked environments. Some existing AoIP solutions already provide a level of functionality and features that is above the transport layers and beyond those of AES67 – and is also likely to surpass those offered by future prospective related standards. In addition to outlining the strengths and limitations of AES67, this white paper will consider the future of standards more generally in pro-audio as one or two
established media technologies continue to grow their market presence.
Part II: The objectives and benefits of AES67 Whereas the pricing and availability of dedicated switches has undoubtedly slowed the adoption of AVBbased solutions, and the rather limited interoperability between various AVB implementations, the rise of IP-centric networked audio has progressed largely without interruption for more than a decade now. The ability for end-users to deploy AoIP via existing IT infrastructures has an obvious positive implication for end-users in terms of set-up costs and subsequent support and maintenance. Simultaneously, there has been a gradual awakening – particularly within the broadcast community – of AoIP’s potential to enable faster and more efficient delivery and production of audio in OB facilities and broadcast centres, as well as the opportunities it can provide for monetised content-sharing. Fixed installation has been another notable beneficiary, especially for venues such as conference centres and entertainment complexes, where flexible distribution of audio between different rooms and external facilities is increasingly essential. With Dante, in particular, achieving sustained market growth, AoIP has now moved emphatically from “the invention stage to be big enough to create ecosystems”, as RH Consulting wrote in its January 2015 paper, The Death of Analogue and the Rise of Audio Networking. n + Read the rest of the white paper at www.psneurope. com/aes67whitepaper
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official audio partner of
MAGDALENA | BERLIN
GS-WAVE SERIES Bringing energy back to a former power plant in Berlin, the phenomenal sound system at techno club Magdalena comprises eight 3-metre GS-WAVE stacks plus extra subs and lenses, and eight tweeter pods above the dance floor. This huge installation, driven by Powersoft’s K Series amps with built-in DSP, provides total coverage of a modestly sized 800-capacity room. Keeping most of its power in reserve, the system can run effortlessly when the club is open for days at a time.
Pioneerproaudio | pioneerproaudio.com | #madeintheuk
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P14 NOVEMBER 2016
New products
MACKIE XR SERIES
What is it? Aimed at professional and project studios, the XR Series monitors are available in two models, the 8” XR824 and the 6.5” XR624. Details: Features include a smart logarithmic waveguide, providing acoustic alignment to deliver precision balance between articulate highs and midrange clarity, a 160W power amplifier and transducers, including a Kevlar LF driver and the new ELP Bass Reflex System, which utilises an extended-length, internally curved port for bass response and increased output capability. And another thing…. The studio monitors can be sonically optimised to the specific mix environment, featuring user-controllable acoustic space tuning controls. There are three different acoustic space settings that adjust for monitor placements close to walls and in corners. www.mackie.com
SHURE
TC ELECTRONIC
B&C SPEAKERS
What is it? Sound isolating earphones designed for music enthusiasts using Apple iOS devices, which blocks up to 37dB of outside noise.
What is it? An audio toolbox for music production, film and drama and studio environments, with a stereo and 5.1 audio meter for mixing, mastering and post-production.
What is it? The MBX mid-bass woofers offer acoustic designers a new range of high efficiency and wide bandwidth alternatives that are not currently available in the product range.
Details: A 7” high-resolution display and metering options, including the loudness radar, true-peak meter, down-mix compliance meters, a real time analyser and correlation meters for stereo and surround tasks.
Details: These full-featured transducers incorporate lightweight neodymium motors, inside/outside wound copper clad aluminum wire voice coils, weatherproof hydrophobic paper cones and a symmetrical inductance profile.
And another thing… The plug-in metering lets you measure anywhere in your DAW and enjoy the pristine readout on your device. www.tcelectronic.com
And another thing… Available in 6”, 8”, and 10” frame sizes, the MBX Series is suited for two-way loudspeaker enclosures. www.bcspeakers.com
SE215M+
Details: A single dynamic MicroDriver for detailed sound and enhanced bass extension, featuring an acoustic network tuned for extended bass performance. Plus, it features a sleek, threebutton communication pod that enables users to control device playback, volume and sending/ receiving of calls. And another thing… It ships with a detachable and replaceable remote and mic accessory cable. www.shure.com
CLARITY M
MBX SERIES
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CRANE SONG SOLARIS
What is it? The 5th generation Quantum Technology 19” D-A Converter is a standalone digital to analogue converter. Details: There are three analogue outputs, including two stereo balanced outputs and a headphone amp output. Digital input sections include AES, S/PDIF, Optical and USB all
the way to 32-bit/192kHz. An LCD function displays input source, sample rates and works as a level meter. And another thing… The Solaris delivers impressive performance with the lowest jitter reduction in the industry with less than 1pS, the company says. www.kmaudio.com
COURT ACOUSTICS
JTS
SN70 BI-AMP
TC-22
What is it? The studio recording/playback monitor system is hand built in the UK to commemorate the 40th anniversary of music recording in the 1970s.
What is it? The TC-22 replacement condenser capsule for professional wireless mic systems. It offers an extremely wide dynamic range and very low touch noise, making it suitable for stage applications where the highest quality reproduction is required, the company says.
Details: Based on the 70s classic JBL L65 by two of the world’s leading speaker designers Walter Dick and Ed May, Court took their system – doubled the enclosure size and changed the 12” driver for a new 15” 27 Hz driver for even more bass. The 5” driver was then changed to a unique polished fibre cone 8” mid unit in its own sealed sub enclosure for improved midrange clarity. Finally, Court’s own version of the JBL 077 slot loaded ring radiator with aluminium diaphragm and edgewound voice coil was added. And another thing… The system is bi-amped between 90-110Hz for reduced distortion with greater control, and the mid/ HF is independently controlled on the front panel as part of the internal 18dB/octave network using hand wound coils and hand matched polyester capacitors. www.courtacoustics.com
FLARE AUDIO ISOLATE
Details: Available in two models – one to fit JTS and Shure wireless systems and one to fit Sennheiser systems. It offers a frequency response of 50-18,000Hz and a sensitivity of -68±3 dB* (0.4mV) *0dB=1V /µbar and it weighs 143 grams. And another thing… It comes with a gold plated PC board connector and is available through FBT Audio in the UK. www.jts.com.tw
What is it? Earplugs that are designed for life long use by music and events professionals, who work in loud sound environments. The plugs block low frequencies and reduce sound without muffling or distortion. Details: Traditional earplugs rely on absorption to attenuate sound, which rapidly meets its limit particularly with bass frequencies. Isolate protectors reflect sound away from the ears and therefore achieve much greater attenuation, as they do not accept sound into the ear canal, the company says. And another thing… Launched through crowd-funding site Kickstarter, the campaign to get the earplugs to move from innovation to production, achieved its £25,000 target within 44 hours. www.flareaudio.com
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The strategic position
United Kingdom
Resurface surfaces! Familiar ex-Avid audio sales duo create new online marketplace for trading digital consoles and control surfaces, writes Dave Robinson
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aunching this month is a new venture from two faces that will be familiar to many in the post-production equipment world, Tim Hurrell and Ben Nemes. Following their departure from Avid earlier this year in yet another round of job cuts at the company, Hurrell (then EMEA sales director, audio) and Nemes (pro audio sales northern EMEA) have created resurface.audio, an online platform for the trading of digital consoles in the recording and post segments. “There are buyers and there are sellers out there, but they are not very joined up,” says Hurrell. “Say there are two guys in London, who want to get rid of their (Avid) ICON and put an S6 in… and maybe there’s a guy in Germany who wants an ICON because he doesn’t want an S6 right now… how do you connect those guys?” “Plus, with these consoles and control surfaces, no one knows what anything is worth.” Though he’s reluctant to use the analogy, Hurrell points out there’s no console equivalent to Parker’s Car Price Guide. “This is one of the most common themes we saw as sales people at Avid. Analogue stuff has moved into this buying and selling world. Digital hasn’t.” Nemes suggests some studio owners find themselves asking the question, is a particular console worth more to me on the open market than it is sitting in an underused editing suite? These are the sort of dilemmas that resurface aims to provide answers to. The pair insist that the site is a classifieds forum first and foremost; though, they will act as a broker if the need arises. Nemes: “If you had, say, an [AMS Neve] DFC for sale, and you found someone who might want it, but you had no interest in getting involved, in taking it apart, shipping it, then reinstalling it in its new home – you know there are people out there who do that, but how do you find them?” This is when the brokering would come into play, he says. But, he notes, brokerage is not the big plan here – while he suggests there are something like 6,000 ICONs globally, there are much smaller numbers of large-format Harrison MPC or AMS Neve DFC consoles. Resurface, then is a resource, a portal connecting souls in this high-end console world. Will it succeed? Well, between them, the entrepreneurial pair have clocked up some 50 years of experience in these markets. Hurrell started out in Manchester at Spirit Studios (the original School of Sound Recording) before
Resurface home page
Tim Hurrell (left) and Ben Nemes: new venture
taking up roles at the now defunct Turnkey/Mediatools in London’s Denmark Street, then joining Digidesign/Avid. Nemes was a founder/director of HHB Scrub in Soho; before that, head of sales and marketing at AV reseller Tyrell. And since the split from Avid, they’ve been busy spreading word of their new initiative. “We know quite a few people who we hope will want us to represent them,” says Nemes. The website goes live this month, with digital recording and audio post consoles being the key focus. (Expansion into other sectors seems inevitable, if the first phase is a success.) The top tier classified ad will cost you $200. “And we don’t discourage people from communicating outside the website,” says Nemes. If classified traders are heading to the portal, then
Resurface hopes to attract a certain amount of advertisers who think, as Nemes puts it, “this is where people who do this for a living hang out, let’s stick an ad on there too”. Along with this will be a newsfeed of sorts, though it will only be delivering curated content relevant to the console market. And there will be a services section for freelance trainers, repair specialist, logistics companies and so on. “We think we can justify making this a proper business,” says Nemes. “We’ve spoken to a lot of people who’ve backed us up – they’re on the site because they are thinking of opening/ closing/refurbing/moving a studio, and they need to buy and sell consoles – and they are in agreement that it’s just not happening effectively at the moment.” n resurface.audio
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Inspiring Every Moment Audio-Technica’s In-Ear Monitor Headphones Bringing the worldwide critically acclaimed sonic signature of the M-Series to an in-ear design, the Audio-Technica in-ear monitor headphones have been designed to fully answer the needs of demanding sound professionals and musicians from the studio to the stage and the DJ Booth.
ATH-E70
ATH-E50
ATH-E40
www.audio-technica.com
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Business
UNITED STATES
AES 2016 convention delivers A range of brands on the exhibition floor, plus a focus on audio for virtual and augmented reality made the show a success, writes Mel Lambert
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or a number of reasons – not least being the outstanding work done behind the scenes by its volunteer planning committee – the 141st AES Convention, which ended at the Los Angeles Convention Center, delivered on its promise. The four-day attendance was outstanding, with a good representation of overseas visitors, while a wide cross section of brands showed their wares on the exhibition floor and companion demonstration rooms. The icing on the cake was the co-located Audio for Virtual and Augmented Conference, which drew standing-room-only attendance in a lecture theatre and companion paper room. The inaugural two-day event was expected to attract some 290 attendees; aggressive marketing to the VR and AR communities proved so successful that pre-registration had to be closed at just over 400, with sponsorship by such companies as Dolby, DTS, Gaudio, Audiokinetic, Dysonics, Occulus, Source Sound, Nokia, VisiSonics and Sennheiser. This groundbreaking conference was aimed at the fast-growing field of virtual/augmented reality audio, with content that focused on the AR/VR creative process, applications workflow and product development. “Film director George Lucas once stated that sound represents 50 per cent of the motion-picture experience,” states conference co-chair Andres Mayo.
Registration area at Los Angeles Convention Center
“This conference demonstrates that convincing VR and AR productions require audio that follows the motions of the subject, and produces a realistic immersive experience.” The event was bookended by two fascinating keynote speeches. The first, presented by Philip Lelyveld, virtual reality/augmented reality initiative program manager Exhibition area for AES 141st AES Convention
at the USC Entertainment Technology Center, Los Angeles, defined how virtual, augmented, and mixed reality will impact entertainment, learning and social interaction. “Just as TV programming progressed from live broadcasts of staged performances to today’s very complex language of multi-thread long-form content,” Lelyveld stresses, “so such media will progress from Audio for Virtual and Augmented Conference/AVAR; co-chairs Linda Gedemer and Andres Mayo
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projecting existing media language into a headset experience, to a new VR/AR/MR-specific language that both the creatives and the audience understand.” The closing keynote from George Sanger, director of sonic arts at Magic Leap, attempted to gauge where VR/AR/MR will be in two decades. “Two decades of progress can change how we live and think in ways that boggle the mind,” Sanger acknowledges. “Twenty years ago, the PC had rudimentary sound cards; now the entire ‘multitrack recording studio’ lives on our computers. By 2036 we will be wearing lightweight portable devices all day. Our media experience will seamlessly merge the digital and physical worlds; how we listen to music will change dramatically. We live in the Revolution of Possibilities.” During the convention’s opening ceremonies, AES president John Krivit, who is also associate professor at the New England Institute of Art and a faculty member at Bay State College and Emerson Colleges, Boston, paid tribute to Norman C. Pickering, a well-respected inventor, educator and the Society’s first secretary. “In March 2014, I came across a letter published in the AES Journal of the Audio Engineering Society written by the 97-year-old Mr. Pickering,” Krivit says. “In his letter, he recounted the very first days of the AES, taking us back to 1948 when a group of ten audio engineers sought a viable forum for the exchange of new discovery and best practices; on 17 February 1948, a group gathered at the RCA Victor studios in New York to discuss the need for a professional organisation to foster the growth of audio engineering. A motion was carried to form the Audio Engineering Society.” The Opening Ceremonies keynote speaker was composer Ron Jones who, in his talk explored the implications of technical advances for listeners. The owner of SkyMuse Studios and a Grammy and Emmy-
GENIUS! live At AES This year, for the first time during an AES Convention – in Los Angeles or anywhere else, for that matter – PSNEurope hosted its own ‘workshop session’. Entitled ‘Genius! Live’, the Saturday morning session saw QSC’s Pat Quilter, Fulcrum Acoustic’s Dave Gunness and JoeCo’s Joe Bull joined PSNEurope editor Dave Robinson on stage to discuss the lightbulb moments in their careers – those magic sparks of understanding and clarity which paved set the course for their future business and success. Quilter talked about handling power in amplifiers (as well as how he effectively created a boombox, years before they became fashionable); Gunness related how he could see the need for DSP in loudspeaker design, even before such DSPs existed; and Joe Bull emphasised how important it was to have a universal file transfer format before you even nominated composer for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Family Guy, Superman and other feature films, said his vision of audio’s future was clear, but warned “everyone in this rapidly changing time to not lose sight of what all this technology is for: To engage peoples’ emotions using the art and craft of music.” Instrument designer Dave Smith gave the convention’s Richard C. Heyser Memorial Lecture with a talk that explored the instrument’s 50-year history and its musical impact. Smith is an instrument designer and founder of Sequential Circuits where, in 1977, he designed the Prophet-5, the first world’s polyphonic and fully programmable synthesiser; he was the driving force behind the MIDI specification. In a concerted move towards the adoption of non-proprietary networking and control protocols,
attempt to create a meaningful and useful digital recording system. The event coincided with the publication of Genius!2 – “a second celebration of inventions and innovators that fashioned the pro-audio industry” – pages of which are available to read at psneurope.com
Dave Robinson discusses the ‘lightbulb moment’ with the founder of QSC, Pat Quilter
two companies demonstrated an AES67 and AES70compatible integrated platform for audio, control and connection management. Archwave released an AudioLAN 2.0 series of networking modules that are AES67 compliant and also support the Ravenna protocol; working together with Bosch, the two firms have integrated existing audio industry standards into what they describe as a fully-fledged solution for audio networking. The AES67 is the industry standard that allows different audio networking protocols to send and receive audio data. Also known as Open Control Architecture or OCA, AES70 is an industry-supported architecture for system discovery, control and connection management across media networks. n www.aes.org
Attendee replaying VR images with Dolby Atmos soundtrack that follows head orientations
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Studio
People were in tears when a 30-piece string ensemble recorded a charity single for the Hillsborough disaster
UNITED KINGDOM
Parr for the course
Liverpool’s Parr St Studios reflects on 25 years of memories and reveals plans to mark the anniversary, writes Sarah Sharples
T
he UK’s biggest recording studio outside of London, Liverpool-based Parr Street, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Interestingly, the seed for the studio was planted in the 1970s when two ex policemen, Harold Collins and Eddie Hunt, set up a studio called Liverpool Sound Enterprises to record local artists. This was then taken over by a man named Jeremy Lewis in 1973, who wanted to record his band, as well as running the studio as a commercial enterprise. He renamed it Amazon studios and business boomed. But with a slew of British bands enjoying overseas success in the 1980s and the growing demand for use of the studio, the isolated location in the northern suburb of Kirby – outside the city centre – started to present problems. A decision was made to relocate the studio to the city centre, but the move created financial problems for Lewis and by 1991 his major investor took over the company, liquidating the assets, but continuing the studio under the name Parr St Studios. Current studio manager, Chris Taylor, says this has given the studio a rich historical background. “The Smith’s album Meat is Murder, Echo and the Bunnyman’s Ocean Rain and New Order’s album Brotherhood were made at Amazon. All of these great, classic records were made there, so when the studio moved into the city centre it was this big entity.” Today, Parr St can boast its part in the creation of several high-profile albums, such as Coldplay’s first and second albums Parachutes and Rush of Blood to
The view from the street
the Head, Sterephonics’ Word Gets Around and Black Sabbath’s Forbidden. The range of people who have used the studio are broad from: Doves, Paolo Nutini, Elbow and Gomez, as well as Drake and (swoon!) Justin Bieber. But for Taylor, who has worked at Parr St in some form since the early 2000s before taking over as manager in 2010, it’s not just the big names of music that have created the memories. One session that
has really stuck in his mind was a song done with The Justice Collective – a group of musicians and celebrities spearheaded by Peter Hooton of The Farm – set up in 2012 to raise money for charities associated with the Hillsborough Disaster. “It’s been a long time to get justice for them, but the Collective recorded a song as a charity single and I remember the control room being full of 50 to 60 dignitaries, footballers and people from the Liverpool Club, and we were recording
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a 30-piece string ensemble and everyone was in tears in the room,” he says. With so much history having been created at Parr St, Taylor wanted to find a way of telling the stories from the studio to mark the milestone and has decided to record a series of documentaries over the next 12 months. “The thing for me is people don’t buy records anymore. When I was growing up I brought the Stereophonics’ first album and I could see inside it was produced at Parr St. In the digital age no one can find out where stuff is made; I wanted an ability to shout out about what we are doing in a neat way. I thought, 25 short films – about 25 groups that have come through and used the studio – and it was a way of shouting about it for a period of time, rather than a one-off event.” The first documentary was released in October and focused on a live performance of minimalist classical composer Steve Reich’s three movement piece for string and tape, Different Trains. Rob Ames and Hugh Brunt from the London Contemporary Orchestra collaborated with the band Metal Culture on the project, with the documentary charting the recording of the soundtrack, along with a visual accompaniment to
Manager Chris Taylor at the desk
“We are really busy for our studio work – we have 28 or 29 days per month occupancy in all three rooms – in the current climate that’s great”
CHRIS TAYLOR
the performance by artist and filmmaker Bill Morrison. Taylor is tight-lipped on what else is planned for the other documentaries, but does say it will be a broad scope from tech specific ones, to live sessions and a
couple of new works commissioned through musicians that have met in the studio kitchen. “It’s really 25 diverse projects and just to highlight the differences. The big thing about this complex is
吀䠀䔀 䐀䔀䘀䤀一䤀吀䤀嘀䔀 䴀䤀䌀 倀刀䔀⼀䔀儀
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眀眀眀⸀愀洀猀-渀攀瘀攀⸀挀漀洀
一攀瘀攀 㜀㌀䐀倀堀 愀瘀愀椀氀愀戀氀攀 渀漀眀⸀ 嘀椀猀椀琀 愀洀猀-渀攀瘀攀⸀挀漀洀⼀搀攀愀氀攀爀猀 琀漀 昀椀渀搀 礀漀甀爀 氀漀挀愀氀 一攀瘀攀 搀攀愀氀攀爀
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Studio
THE STUDIO’S KIT With three studios, there is a mixture of analogue and digital equipment. Studio A includes a Neve VR60 Legend, while monitoring consists of Quested HM415, Genelec 1031A and Yamaha NS10 boxes, plus beyerdynamic DT100 and DT150 headphones. For recording, there is the Studer A827 24-track 2” tape machine, Pro Tools 10 HD system and Apogee Rosetta 800 A-D and D-A conversion. Studio B has an Audient ASP 8024-24. Microphones are from beyer, Coles, Crown, DPA, Earthworks, Neumann, Sennheiser and Shure. Taylor says that while technology has changed, the studios have a nice blend of old and new. “We’ve got options to record to 2-inch machines and they are still in good condition and also to record to Pro Tools. We’ve got lots of old outboard reverbs and compressors and we’ve also got new ones. We’ve got old brand mics with Amazon printed on the side and new mics that are less then 12 months – so we’ve got a collection of heritage and also new stuff as well.” it has produced so much work, this week we have Hollywood A listers in the studio doing TV work … we do a lot of music at different levels, local, national and international musicians and also do film and TV, so we are set up for all of those things,” he comments. “I think that’s part of what keeps this place going. No two days are the same for our staff. We are really busy for our studio work – we have 28 or 29 days occupancy per month in all three rooms and in the current climate that’s great. We are not doing the documentaries as a promo piece – we’ve already got too much work – and it’s a headache just trying to get the maintenance guys in and I don’t want to get any busier. It’s about this great artistic hub that is unheard of and I’m trying to reposition the north a little bit.” Taylor gushes about Liverpool, describing it as a vibrant city with a massive music scene. “So much music is being made here, we see everything from major international superstars all the way through to just local bands, so it keeps people really grounded as they get to work on massive bands and then other local bands,” he says. “We get loads of people moving to Liverpool because of its cultural integrity and cultural qualities, so producer Steve Levine (whose credits include Culture Club and The Beach Boys) moved up here because he wanted to be where music is happening and he found that difficult in London and he wanted to be where the thrust of new music is coming from.” But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing over the past 25 years, with Taylor citing budgets as one of the current challenges the studio faces. He says over the last
Electrafixion – drummer Tony McGuigan and former Echo & the Bunnymen members Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant – take a photo inside the studio’s lift
Blues singer Delta Maid in the control room
six years he has seen budgets diminish and people expecting more for their money. “We’ve got a strong team of assistants so that really helps people get the most out of the space in a relatively short amount of time … and the biggest positive is that Protools is so fast we get so much more done and it means we can be creative in such a short space of time, which means we get to work on a bunch of projects,” he comments. A great example, says Taylor, is a band called The Coral, who did their last record in about 28 days, which compared to years ago would have taken two or three months. He adds that the studio prides itself on meeting these types of challenges. Taylor also admits that the studio experienced a “bit of a blip” – a quiet period in 2007 and 2008 – when technology changed and people were recording at
home. But now the studio is booked out and he thinks people have realised that great spaces and great people make great records. “Parr St has those in abundance and the reason why is I don’t think gear makes great records – I’m a firm believer that it isn’t the equipment, it’s the people using it – and the vibe and acoustic nature of the place. I think the industry is coming back to realise this,” he says. As for the future, Taylor likes to think that Parr St will go on for at least another 25 years. “There are so many studios closing in London – getting to 25 years is such an achievement – so I would like to see how the next 10 years goes. But we are an anomaly, so many studios are closing, but we are going strong.” n www.parrstreetstudios.com
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P24 NOVEMBER 2016
Studio
The Anexe Studio owners, Steve and Lindsey Troughton
UNITED KINGDOM
Escaping the rat race The Anexe Studio is a recently opened recording facility, built in the rolling UK countryside. Sarah Sharples unwinds and finds out what’s on offer
I
ncreasingly, new studios are foregoing London to set up elsewhere in the UK. The Anexe Studio is another commercial facility that has gone down this path. Married couple Steve and Lindsey Troughton returned from a stint in New York to set up The Anexe in Exeter, UK – the small Devonshire cathedral city in the south-west, between the Dartmoor National Park and the Blackdown Hills. As Steve explains, apart from avoiding the expense of London, the beautiful, rolling countryside that Exeter offers was part of the appeal of setting up shop there. “London is all hustle and bustle, and some people might prefer to work in that environment. We offer a place to escape, a place to create; there is a lot of inspiration here,” he says. “If, say, you’re a punk band it might not be for you, but if you are looking for something atmospheric, this is something we have to offer – brilliant countryside, and Exeter is a thriving young city with lots to do.” Exeter is a two-hour train journey from London and there is a local airport with flights to Europe, adds Lindsey. When it came to constructing the studio, the couple – literally – carved it out of the ground. It started with a 2.6m hole so the building could be partially submerged into the landscape, giving them 4m-high ceilings in the live room, without imposing too much on the skyline. UK studio design and installation specialist, Studio
Creations, came up with the architectural, acoustic, and technical plans for The Anexe, and completed the construction, internal finishes and technical installation. “They have a fantastic eye for style and were very clear on their preferences,” says Mark Russell, Studio Creations director. “It’s not a ‘typical’ or ordinary studio. There’s a great mixture of materials used inside, including the cedar panelling taken from the original
building, the New York-inspired brick work, the fabric panels…” Steve is proud of the studio feel. “You walk into our studio and it’s so relaxed. It’s not a harsh Starship Enterprise studio, its quite vintage looking and warm and welcoming, and that’s what we wanted to achieve,” he comments. Both Steve and Lindsey also have a lot of experience
The control room includes the SSL AWS 948
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M-5000 & M-5000C LIVE MIXING CONSOLES
A NEW ERA IN LIVE MIXING CONSOLES MAD I In a rapidly changing world, the ability to adapt is needed to excel. OHRCA brings the power of adaptability to the world of live audio mixing. It conforms to the needs of both the application and the operator by delivering 128 freely definable audio paths, flexible user interface and workflow, expandable protocols, and multi-format I/O choices -all delivered at a pristine 24-bit / 96kHz sound quality.
roland.proav.com
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23/05/2016 16:37
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Studio
The rhythm, the rhythm: a DW Collectors Series Drum Kit
The bathroom sink is pretty special ¬– a one-off moulded concrete basin created from the body of a Telecastor guitar
with studios having come from musical backgrounds. Steve is a trumpeter, bass player, and vocalist, and has been in many bands from the age of 12. Lindsey is a vocalist, has trained in stage performance, and spent time in studios as a session vocalist and vocal director. Lindsey comments that their backgrounds and relationship have helped when it came to setting up the studio. “Our strength is that we are a married couple, we are a team. I have been in and out of studies a lot and I found them intimidating, so we are hoping to provide a relaxed environment,” she says. Adds Steve: “It’s quite a male driven industry, the studio side of things, so if you’re a young girl and want to do some recording, it would be nice to have Lindsey there and have the more feminine touch.” Lindsey interjects, laughing: “Don’t worry, there won’t be doilies on the toilet.” Anexe comprises a control room, a main live room with three isolation booths, and a recreational room with kitchen facilities. There’s also independent air conditioning in every space, plenty of parking and a handy ramp to the studio for easy load-in. “So its all very accessible. It can be a pain in the ass when musicians are travelling with gear to some studios in the heart of town and they might have to keep putting money in the meter out there, but we don’t have that problem here,” Steve adds. Even the bathroom sink is special – described by Lindsey as Steve’s pride and joy – it’s a one-off moulded concrete basin created from the body of one of his Fender Telecaster guitars. In terms of gear, they choose the SSL AWS 948, which uses a dual path channel design to fit 48 channels into a 24-channel frame, and offers three versatile operating modes, selectable per channel.
“It’s got 4-band EQ on every channel, selectable between E and G-Series,” continues Steve. “...And SSL dynamics, and of course the Master Bus Compressor from the G-Series console… I love that! The hybrid nature of the AWS is another aspect that Steve and Lindsey find suits their purposes. The console’s Focus button selects Analogue and DAW Focus modes, allowing fast switching between an analogue and DAW operator focus, with reassigned meter, fader, Select switch and V-Pots. “Even when we’re tracking we’re on that Focus button doing the rough mix,” explains Steve. “Which is pretty much ready to go when the band has finished a take. That workflow is incredible.” They have two Avid 16 x 16 analogue HD I/O, a pair of Genelec 8260A Compact DSP 3-way active monitors and a pair of Neumann KH 120A active studio monitors. In terms of microphones they have a broad (and comprehensive) selection: there is the AKG C414 XLS Stereo Pair, three Shure SM57, two Shure SM58 and one Shure 55SH Series II. They have also purchased an AKG C214, AKG D12 VR, AKG C451b, four AKG D40, one Neumann U87 Ai Stereo Set, Coles 4038 Studio Ribbon Microphones, an Electro Voice RE-20, one Sterling Audio ST66 Tube and one Sennheiser MK 4. For the couple this is just the beginning. Steve says: “Top studios in the world, started with a basic set-up and built it as they grew. I’m a bit of a fan of the vintage sound, so would love to get more vintage equipment, but it’s so expensive and maintenance is quite a lot. Plug-ins are amazing, rather than spending £4,000 on a piece of analogue equipment, you can buy plug-ins and maintain a small footprint as you just download it.”
Before setting up the studio, Steve and Lindsey wanted to get experience on the recording side of the industry and spent time in New York completing a course at the SAE Institute. Lindsey says: “Personally, being a singer I always wanted to know how it all worked, I wanted to have more control over my process, so I loved it. I think it was always a dream of mine to work with other singers and to be on the other side...” To start with the couple are aiming to work with local bands, but are open to everything, Lindsey says. “We’ve had some interest from producers that are looking to hire our studio out as a whole and without us having a say in it, they just hire it and use it like that, as well as single artists. We would like to do voiceover work and we’re had enquiries about audio books.” But the long term vision is to create a mini independent label and find some young talent locally and put them on the right path, comments Steve. “Obviously with a studio like ours, we can only take them so far and they will be snapped off us by a bigger label, but it’s the nurturing side of things – to give them opportunities that bands I was in didn’t have – we tried to do it mostly on own, so it would have been handy to have someone like us to nurture and help us out.” With planning and construction, the studio took over two years to complete, so the couple are excited to finally be in there. Steve sums it up. “It was a long time coming, we built it from the ground up – the building is three quarters underground. From the idea to the completion it was a labour of love, so to finally have it up and running and getting clients in, it’s something we are really proud of.” n www.theanexestudio.com
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Designed for Perfection
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P28 NOVEMBER 2016
Technology feature
WORLD
Modern microphones and vintage favourites Nostalgia reins when it comes to older microphones, which remain popular among engineers despite their expense, yet new technology is contributing some interesting changes to the hardware, writes Mike Hillier
W
hile Shure Inc celebrated the 50th year of the SM series – which stands for “studio microphone”, incidentally – in 2015, the celebrations continued into 2016 with the golden anniversary of the SM58 – the “world’s most popular microphone”. The 58, and the SM57, which preceded it, remain the dynamic microphones to beat for many applications, and are still considered studio essentials by many engineers. Tuomo Tolonen, Shure’s Pro-Audio Group manager, believes this popularity is as much down to the technology of the SM series, as the versatility and durability of the microphone. “The Unidyne 55 [which was introduced in 1939] was a breakthrough in dynamic mic technology that ultimately led to the development of the SM58 and SM57; the technology was so successful, it ultimately became the blueprint for all unidirectional dynamic mics on the market today.” Despite the success of the SM Series, Shure isn’t resting on its laurels, and earlier this year launched the KSM8, a dual-diaphragm dynamic microphone, which the company believes improves the microphone response by eliminating the ‘proximity effect’. “The second diaphragm sits within the rear-entry airflow, which enables us to tune and control proximity effect in a way that’s never been done before. This unique diaphragm placement – combined with reverse airflow – is what sets the KSM8 Dualdyne apart from other dual-diaphragm mics.” Heil Sound (based, like Shure, in Illinois in the US) has a different approach to improving the sound of its microphones, using large diameter dynamic capsules, as opposed to the more traditional large-diaphragm condenser capsule. According to the company’s founder, Bob Heil: “Heil Sound has brought new technology to the microphone industry with our large diameter dynamic microphones. We figured out how to ‘tame’ the large diaphragm with wide frequency response and … brought that design into our PR series. Bringing superior sounding wide response microphones exhibiting perfect vocal articulation. On top of that, we have designed microphones with -40 dB of rear and side rejection.”
The ‘world’s most popular microphone – Shure’s SM58
Whereas the SM57 is famed for its ability to be placed in front of nearly any instrument, UK-based Sontronics has been working on microphones designed for specific tasks. Trevor Coley, managing director of Sontronics, sees that “there is an overwhelming need for microphones that deliver great results quickly and with as little post-processing as possible. Over the past six or so years, we have been developing microphones
that are application-specific – models such as Delta and Halo for guitar amps and the DM-series condenser mics for drums – and this has been a revelation. These mics deliver instant gratification and allow the engineer/ producer/artist to get on with making music rather than finding the ‘right’ sound.” Other manufacturers have also voiced microphones for specific tasks, particularly drums and percussion. Audio-Technica’s new ATM230 is a hyper-cardioid dynamic microphone voiced for tom/drum-miking applications, while the AE2300 is a cardioid dynamic microphone, with a more generic “instrument” voicing, but has a low-pass roll-off which has been specifically designed to remove the harsh fizz at the top-end of an electric guitar cabinet. Despite the plethora of new microphones, vintage microphones and their clones continue to be popular among engineers. Shuta Shinoda (Ghostpoet, Alexis Taylor) has a particular love of unusual vintage microphones. “My favourite is the RCA 44BX, it has a strong mid-to-low end character, and while it doesn’t sound great for every voice, it seems to choose the singers by its own will, and that’s why I love it. I also have an STC [4021] ‘ball and biscuit’ mic, which has only one real use. I place it 10-inches from a wall and crank up the mic pre and compression for a crunchy drum room sound”. In fact all the engineers PSNEurope questioned picked out a vintage microphone as their favourite. Brendon Harding, studio manager at Red Bull Studios, London, chose his Neumann U 47 FET because “you can use it on everything from kick drums, to vocals to trombones”, while Slau Halatyn, owner of Be Sharp Studios, New York, picked out his Microtech Gefell UM-70 collection: “I have five of them and, if I were starting over again, I’d buy as many as I could find. The fact that it’s multipattern makes it versatile in the studio. The M7 capsule in the UM-70 is not at all hyped and some would probably consider it fairly dark in comparison to what’s typically found on the market these days.” There is a lot of appeal for vintage microphones, but the price and scarcity, especially of some of the more famous models, is enough to push them out of the
Heil Sound mics uses large diameter dynamic capsules
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league of many studios. To fill this potential gap, many clones of popular vintage microphones are available, and engineers seem very happy to use them alongside or instead of the originals. James Aparicio (These New Puritans, Factory Floor) says: “I do love a tube U 47 and the modern remakes of it, like the Wunder Audio CM7 and Flea47, they sound great too me on almost anything.” Brendon Harding also has a Flea47: “I have never A-B’d my Flea47 with a U 47 but I know that the Flea sounds great, even if it’s not necessarily the same as the original. If a mic has a nice story and is a decent price I don’t mind paying for an old mic, but I’m happy with a new equivalent if not.”
signals to not only change the voicing of the mic, but also the pickup pattern after the fact. And while these two hybrid hardware/software systems represent the cutting edge of microphone modelling, it’s worth noting that Antares first launched their Microphone Modeler in 2000, and have recently brought it up to date with the Mic Mod EFX plug-in. This software only package does not require a specific microphone for the input, but instead asks you to select which microphone you are using, and uses spectral shaping to make that sound like the microphone you wish. Slate Digital founder, Stephen Slate believes these types of systems will one Sound engineer Tony Draper likes to know the sound the microphone will give him before he uses it day replace conventional microphones. “Today, people have become accustomed The Telefunken ELAM to exploiting digital technology which can Aston startin’ 251 exhibits a natural compression, says Draper offer more possibilities, and this is what James Young, managing director of newly the VMS tech accomplishes. If one has the launched Aston Microphones, believes that option to use a microphone with one sound one of the reasons we remain so obsessed versus a microphone with limitless sounds, with vintage microphones is the character the option seems obvious. It’s similar in they exhibit. “Old mics are not always better my opinion to the recording process going by any means, but what they DO have in from tape machines to DAWs.” spades is character,” says Young. “Even This has obvious benefits for some within a model, say, a [Neumann] U 67 engineers, but isn’t a view shared by all for example, you won’t find two the same, engineers. Tony Draper (Rival Bones, because the capsules age differently, the Natalie McCool) likes to know the sound mics have been repaired and refurbished the microphone will give him beforehand. several times.” “I like to use the [Telefunken] ELAM 251 Sontronics’ Coley notes that “whilst because it exhibits a natural compression. in many cases vintage mics do sound That means I need to spend less time wonderful, they can often be quite a fiddling with compressors. You could handful in terms of self-noise and ongoing Abbey Road Studios, and has also been previewed at a probably make other microphones sound like an ELAM, [upkeep]”, and that maintenance is getting harder as couple of recent music shows and the response from but it would require significant amounts of time. I’d parts become obsolete or even prohibited. “Many of the everyone who’s used it has been absolutely incredible. much rather throw it up knowing that the sound that materials used to make them, such as lead solder and It’s a big step up for us, as it has been created using the cadmium, became outlawed in Europe by the RoHS (Removal of Harmful Substances) legislation in 2006.” Having split from a long association with sE Electronics, James Young brings two major Aston Microphone offerings to the party: the Origin fixedcardioid large-diaphragm condenser and the Spirit multi-pattern large-diaphragm condenser. To ensure these microphones have their own unique character Aston worked with a hand-picked selection of British engineers. “We used the novel approach of working with 33 top producers and engineers from the UK on designing the sound of our mics right from day one,” explains Young. “By working [this way] we were able to get a sound no amount of engineering geeks could.” Sontronics is also taking the British home-grown approach with its microphone, the Mercury, a variablepattern large-diaphragm valve condenser microphone, designed and developed in the UK. Trevor Coley: “The mic has been through rigorous testing and development with top producers and engineers, including several at
highest grade components available”.
Systematic approach The Slate Virtual Microphone System is an attempt to offer all of these different mic flavours within a single microphone. This system comes with two microphones, the ML1 large diaphragm condenser and the ML2 small-diaphragm condenser, as well as a two-input microphone preamp with it’s own A-D convertor. The signal is then manipulated by the VMS plug-in after the fact to enable you to quickly switch from one microphone model to another, and from one preamp model to another. The Slate Virtual Microphone System is not alone in providing this kind of a microphone system. The Townsend Labs Sphere L22 is a dual-channel large diaphragm condenser microphone, to be used with any third-party preamp and interface combination. The L22 differs in that it always records a stereo signal, enabling the software to combine the two
Audio-Technica’s new ATM230 is voiced for tom/ drum-miking applications
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Technology feature
The Flea47
comes out the first time I open the channel is the exact sound I want to record”. Every studio’s microphone collection is different, and every engineer has a different favourite for almost every task, which helps to show the variety of tools. Slau Halatyn comments: “I open the mic closet virtually every day and reach for the same mics. Rather than thinking of brand names and models, I’d sooner consider breaking things down into types of mics. For me, it’s essential to have a few multi-pattern condensers for general use primarily for vocals. I’d certainly prefer to have a couple of small diaphragm condensers for instrument miking, like guitars and percussion. A good pair of ribbons, in my opinion, are indispensable for drum overheads and guitar amps. Finally, a few rugged moving coil dynamics come in handy in all kinds of situations. All of us would love to own as many of each type of mic as we can afford ... But, I believe it’s more important to have a balance of microphone types before acquiring too many of one type.” n www.shure.com www.heilsound.com www.sontronics.com www.audio-technica.com
The Townsend Labs Sphere L22 always records a stereo signal
www.neumann.com www.astonmics.com slatedigital.com townsendlabs.com
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P32 NOVEMBER 2016
Broadcast
FRANCE
Driving sound endurance Xavier Fontaine, audio engineer for French outside broadcast specialist AMP, explains the challenges involved in delivering 24 hours of Le Mans – and working with Calrec desks in a racy new truck
Xavier Fontaine
Can you give us an overview of the audio topology at this year’s Le Mans? There are 70 mics covering the race, most of them placed directly on cameras. There are 27 around the track, 19 on the pit lane (on cameras or hidden in front of garages), and 14 onboard in cars. The other mics are ambient mics used to catch crowd noise and ‘air’ to fill the gaps in the general mix. Depending on the focal length of each camera, we use short or long shotgun microphones. The handheld cameras are equipped with M-S stereo mics, and the garages with hidden lavalier mics, heavily protected against rain and moisture.
We use 130 channels in total; some mics are patched to several different channels, which are parts of different mixes. The pit lane is an independent signal (with its own mix), which is integrated in the main signal when needed. Can you describe the signal path from trackside to broadcast? A monomode optical fibre mesh is shared by audio and video across the site. Most microphones are plugged into cameras, so their signal is embedded in the video from the camera. As the OB van video router is fully processed, there is no need of external
de-embedders. Cameras can be either wired or wireless. In the first case, they are plugged into monomode fibre links; in the second, they are received by our RF MCR (with the use of remote antennas dispatched around the track, also using fibre links). The garage mics are connected to local preamps and embedded in each covered garage. Preamps and embedders are located in an underground gallery which runs under the garages to allow the technicians access in case of problem. Non-embedded audio and intercoms are routed through a Dante Network with I/O devices placed
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21/10/2016 13:58
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P34 NOVEMBER 2016
Broadcast
Different teams were sent to cover a local area of the circuit for the 24 hour race
wherever signal transport is needed, or in one of our three Calrec Hydra2 stage boxes, all connected via monomode optical fibre links. Motorsport is a fast-paced, high-energy sport. What techniques do you use to relay this to the viewer at home? The most important thing is that audio always follows the picture, hence the choice of mics placed on cameras. They give depth to the picture by accentuating the distance between the car and the camera. The on-board RF cameras and mics are very immersive and give the driver’s point of view, which can be very spectacular, especially in cases of accidents or a battle between two cars. They also allow the most passionate viewers to hear and recognise the sound of the engines running at high speed. We also receive radio communications from 18 teams, as well as the race director’s announcements, which are pre-selected and replayed by a specific operator. They shed light on the race events and explain the main teams’ strategies.
The most important thing is that audio always follows the picture
Xavier Fontaine
What challenges did you encounter and how did you overcome them? Setup is huge in terms of quantities of signals, but there are three main challenges: the distances, the weather conditions and the duration of the event. This meant having to divide staff into different teams dedicated to one specific task, or to one local area of the circuit. Due to the rain and the duration, there was a real need for servicing (such as replacing a wet microphone or an intercom device’s battery), and the distances meant having a multiple local teams to solve any problems quickly. It was also a big task for the RF team to operate so many RF links (cameras, microphones and intercom systems), over such a distance and in an overcrowded RF environment.
This was the first outing of the Millenium Signature 12 truck, the first AMP Visual TV truck built with Calrec desks. Which features on the desks made your job easier? The relationship between the picture and the sound is very important. As there are a large number of sources, we needed to automate the mixing. We used the auto-faders feature a lot, combined with the Ember+ virtual GPIO. This last feature was very useful to avoid the need of a large number of GPO from the video router, and GPI in the console system. The auto-fader interface is very user friendly. During the first qualification session we were able to easily fine-tune levels and timing for each channel in order to guarantee smooth transitions. Was this your first time mixing on a Calrec console? How did it compare with other audio consoles you have used? The system is very powerful; the ability of merging two routers via a Hydra2 link brings power and convenience; it is very easy to set up and allows the sharing of physical resources between the OB’s two consoles. In fact, the final user doesn’t really need to
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P36 NOVEMBER 2016
Broadcast
There were 19 mics on the pit lane, including ones hidden on the front of garages
know which console core a resource is attached to. This feature is new for us, and it has really simplified the OB van’s engineering. The Apollo interface is very easy to use. I appreciate the ability to arrange the surface layout as I want. As there are lots of physical controls it is possible to have a layout where everything is in direct access, which is very convenient. The Artemis is more compact, but the big TFT touchscreens bring added visibility. We used the second console - the Artemis – to premix and monitor the commentary positions given to different broadcasters. This was mixed by a colleague who was not part of the engineering project, and therefore didn’t know the Calrec consoles at all. After a two-hour explanation about the system philosophy and the desk ergonomics, he was able to do his task; it shows that the console is easy to understand and operate. Audio networking is prevalent in modern large scale sporting events. Have you utilised highdensity signal transports? Yes, we have used high-density signal transport. Firstly, inside the OB van we have four MADI tie-lines (256 I/O channels) with the processed video router.
The system is very powerful; the ability of merging two routers via a hydra2 link brings power and convenience
Xavier Fontaine
All the audio from and to video equipment (mics on cameras, EVS and VTRs, embedded feeds etc.) pass through these tie-lines. They are totally transparent for the user since we pilot the consoles and the video router with VSM. All the tie-lines between the console and the intercom matrix (transiting IFB’s PGMs, commentary position’s ‘on air’ etc.) are made with a Dante network. There is also the Hydra2 link between the two consoles’ cores. Outside the OB Van, in the Le Mans set-up, we have built a Dante network using part of the fibre mesh to transit the audio and intercom signals from different points of the race circuit. This is managed by an audio MCR built aside the OB van, which was in charge of routing these signals to the proper destinations. The Millenium 12, being part of this network, had a Dante
link set up between the Apollo core and the MCR. We also used three Calrec stage boxes on Calrec’s Hydra2 transport, linked by monomode optical fibre to the Apollo core positioned in different locations in the pit lane. When our video colleagues had to transmit or receive signals and were using their video stageboxes (the video router is a Riedel Mediornet system). We added “Rocknet” I/O modules to avoid using a pure audio stagebox. We received the audio from the RF and on-board cameras embedded in the video, so we exchanged a MADI link with the RF MCR in order to transit backup and ancillary audio. Of course, the race runs for 24 hours: how did you cover all of it? We were four audio people inside the OB van, two mixers, a guarantee and an intercom operator. In fact, we relayed at the consoles every two hours in order to stay focused. During the night, from 11pm to 6am, a dedicated team came as reinforcement allowing us to sleep a little bit more than two hours! n calrec.com A version of this report featured in the October issue of TVBEurope
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P38 NOVEMBER 2016
Live
The Schottenhamel Marquee looks like a real-life ’Where’s Wally?’ illustration
GERMANY
Cheers! Another Oktoberfest triumph for Dynacord Drink-a-drink-a-drink-a-drink-a-drink! And then drink some more! Dave Robinson is thirsty for PA knowledge in Munich
W
ith 5.6 million visitors, whiteknuckle rides galore and a morethan-convivial atmosphere in the gigantic beer tents strewn out over the vast Theresienwiese (Meadow of Therese), the Munich Beer Festival or to use its more familiar name, the Oktoberfest – lived up to its reputation once again this year as the most spectacular festival in the world. The 17-day event kicked off with the broaching of the first barrel in the largest tent in the whole meadow: the Schottenhamel Marquee. Broadcast live on television throughout Germany, this ritual is the starting gun for the two-week festival. No less important for the atmosphere in the Schottenhamel is the sound reinforcement for the 10,000-odd revellers – which, for the eighth year running was the responsibility of Straubing-based StereoMike Veranstaltungstechnik. “Given the worldwide fame of the Oktoberfest, expectations are extremely high,” says Michael Wittenzellner, StereoMike’s managing director, adding: “On the one hand, the sound within needs to be homogeneous – that is, neither too loud in front of the stage nor too quiet near the perimeter of the tent. On the other hand, care has to be taken not to exceed the decibel limits imposed by Munich’s District Administration Authority,” – the levels in question being an average of 85dB during the day and 90dB from 6pm onwards. To ensure strict compliance with the legal guidelines and provide even coverage throughout the Schottenhamel tent, Wittenzellner and his team opted for a sound system from Dynacord. “Each year, we review the loudspeaker system and possible improvements; we have even considered using a
different system,” says Wittenzellner. However, he maintains, no system has been able to match the Dynacord Cobra-4 compact line array when it comes to reliability and sound pressure. To the right and left of the main aisle, Wittenzellner and his team opted for four Cobra-4 tops and four Cobra Subs as line arrays for this year’s event. “With the matching flown subwoofers and the 15’’ speaker tops, the Cobra-4 system simply combines the best pressure with a minimum of equipment”, comments Wittenzellner. “This configuration is even superior to a typical 8’’ line array.” Especially the Dynacord Cobra-4 system’s
15’’ tops continue to convince Wittenzellner: “They provide a great pressure level in the lower mids, while also achieving an excellent coverage thanks to their opening angle of 120 degrees.” While the Dynacord Cobra-4 provided sound reinforcement for the main area, 14 Dynacord CXM 15 wedges and four Dynacord VL 122 loudspeakers, which were distributed evenly throughout the marquee, provided the sound for aisles as delay lines. “The CXM 15 is exceptionally versatile,” explains Wittenzellner. “It can be used as a monitor, stand-mounted, or flown, as was the case here. With
Entrance to the largest tent at the beerfest
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Given the worldwide fame of the oktoberfest, expectations are extremely high
Michael Wittenzellner
a radial coverage pattern of 60 degrees and 135dB maximum SPL, it fitted the bill perfectly!” Sixteen Dynacord D8 loudspeakers, 12 Electro-Voice ZX1 and six Electro-Voice EVID 4.2 loudspeakers covered the balconies, open-air beer garden and the restrooms. The requisite power in the XXL marquee was provided by Dynacord and EV amplifiers: eight Dynacord LX3000, five DSA 8410, two Dynacord SL 2400 and one Electro-Voice Q44 amplifier guaranteed plenty of headroom. Four Dynacord DSP 600 controllers and two Electro-Voice NetMax N8000 digital matrices with auxiliary outputs for loudspeakers, emergency announcements and the media ensured that the manifold components of this impressive setup functioned as one. An individually configured IRIS-Net user interface offered a bird’seye view of the entire installation from a PC, as well as full remote supervision and control. Despite a slight drop in visitor numbers in contrast to 2015, this year’s Oktoberfest was one of the most laid-back in the festival’s history. Wittenzellner’s assessment was upbeat: “Our customer, the Schottenhamel guests and musicians were extremely satisfied as were the officials from
CXM cabs deliver the oomph and the oompah!
the District Administration Authority. They told us they had received no complaints ... with the sound reinforcement never exceeding the authority’s limits – throughout the entire 17 days of the festival!” n dynacord.com
Audio showcontrol Dynamic delay-matrix Moving 3D surround TimeLine and PanSpace
Spatial wizardry 3D performer tracking for real-time vocal localisation
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P40 NOVEMBER 2016
Live
UNITED KINGDOM
Stripping away the superfluous for No’s Knife An interpretation of Samuel Beckett’s Texts for Nothing by acclaimed performer and director Lisa Dwan has been given the sound design treatment by award-winner Mic Pool, Simon Duff reports
M
ic Pool is a sound designer who won a Tony Award for Best Sound Design on the Broadway production of The 39 Steps. His recent credits include Sherlock The Best Kept Secret, The Captain of Kopenick, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Kings Speech. Pool started his career as a chorister at Magdalen College, Oxford before training in theatre sound at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London. Once assigned No’s Knife – which gives piercing insight into gender identity and the human condition – Pool set about designing a sound system that would allow the production to apply a whole range of electro-acoustic reinforcement and transformation methods, utilising a seven-zone multi-channel loudspeaker system at the The Old Vic near London’s Waterloo. Effectively, he created a 7.1 surround sound design with all loudspeakers delayed individually to all seven zones. He explains: “The performance combines recordings of Beckett’s text with live treatments in various permutations. It is a very minimal design, but very detailed in some aspects needing, at times, live timing down to one syllable within a word. The intention is that there is an imperceptible reinforcement of (performer) Lisa Dwan’s voice, which travels through a range of acoustic environments. The main thrust of the design work has been developing the most transparent and accurate vocal reinforcement system achievable and a complex and reliable system for the vocal treatments.” Coincidently just prior to the show’s two week run in late September, The Old Vic upgraded its permanent installation PA system to a d&b
Sound designer Mic Pool
audiotechnik Y Series, which was supplied by Autograph Sound and installed by Michael Paver, deputy head of sound at The Old Vic, who also mixed Pool’s No’s Knife design. The main hang system comprises six Y7Ps (two per level) and two Y Subs, powered by two d&b D80 amps. Pool says: “The Y series loudspeakers give perfect coverage for 90 per cent of the house. To ensure that there are no seats where the experience of the sound design is anything less than optimal, some seats, primarily at the extreme ends of rows and at the back under overhangs, are covered by additional time aligned loudspeaker systems utilising d&b E3s and E0s.”
It is a very minimal design, but very detailed in some aspects needing, at times, live timing down to one syllable within a word Mic Pool
Martin Audio Effect 3Rs are used as surrounds and are also part of the permanent installation. There are side and rear surrounds on each of the three audience levels. A Yamaha QL1 was Pool’s console of choice, supplied by Autograph, with all 32 input channels used. Unusually for a show with one radio microphone and back up for Dwan, both a Sony DWX Wireless systems was used with a DPA 4061 head, for minimal playback and effects. Commenting on the suitability of the DWX, Pool adds: “Lisa’s performing voice is the most musically spoken word instrument I have ever heard. When she speaks loudly it’s as loud as an opera singer singing fortissimo with no hint of shouting, and at her quietest and most intimate her voice is close to the noise floor of the analogue microphone electronics used in the recordings. The Sony DWX preserves every nuance of her performance and combined with the DPA 4061 head is one of the cleanest microphone signal paths I have heard – cabled or wireless.” Pool used the Rupert Neve Portico 5033 EQ emulations on the QL1, as his main vocal channel equalisers. He comments: “These are surgically precise and musical EQs for vocal use. The output of the EQ fed seven channels were used to route the vocal microphones to one of seven Yamaha DME64N mix processor inputs, depending on where the actor was standing on the stage, which generated individual delay times and levels for each zone to every speaker in the house. That allowed us to precisely image vocal reinforcement to the actor’s mouth for each of the 700 seats in the theatre.” n www.micp.tv
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www.apg.audio Performer Lisa Dwan conceived the idea for No’s Knife from Samuel Beckett’s work. Credit: Manuel Harlan
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Live
FRANCE
Hell of a noise Melpomen brings its big L-Acoustics rig for devilish rock festival
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stablished ten years ago, France’s three-day Hellfest is one of Europe’s leading hard rock and heavy metal festivals. Twin main stages with alternating performances provide a challenge for audio company Melpomen, but this year’s use of L-Acoustics K-series systems meant that every metal fan got head banging volume, but without missing a single note of the many guitar solos! Melpomen has been involved with Hellfest since it began and its predecessor, Furyfest, before that. This is the first year that the company chose to use L-Acoustics for the main stage, which featured performances by contemporary bands, including Rammstein, Volbeat and Within Temptation, alongside elder statesmen of the genre like Black Sabbath, Foreigner and Slayer. “We decided to move to L-Acoustics because it is a very well-known brand and very popular with artists
Hellfest is one of Europe’s leading heavy metal festivals
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Two stages – and enough noise to wake the dead
The common front of house position is in the centre of two stages, so deciding a common rule for stereo isn’t easy
would have been impossible to design the system,” notes Thierry. “Once we had established the design, I asked Fred Bailly, application engineer, touring at L-Acoustics to check it and give us his opinion. As usual he was very friendly and gave a lot of attention to the project. In just two phone calls, our design was agreed... “The festival has a sound level limit of 105dBA Leq(10) at any point on the public area, so the coverage needs to be very even. It was perfect, with less than 1dBA of delta between the barriers at the front of the stage and the FOH position, and never more than 3dBA of difference anywhere in the audience arena ... The coverage was what we expected, the system was powerful, the tonal ‘colour’ of the sound perfect, with the low frequencies really coherent.” n www.l-acoustics.com
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Thierry Tranchant
and rental companies throughout the world,” says Melpomen president Thierry Tranchant. The adjacent twin stages were set up with a PA system each and both were in use all the time, regardless of which stage an act was performing on. Working alongside Thierry were Pierre Tranchant, Samuel Birais and Cédric Bernard, who managed the project using L-Acoutics Soundivison and LA Network Manager and designed the audio network. The system featured four main arrays of 12 K1, 6 K1 Sub and 2 K2 each for each stage, two further arrays of 20 K2 to cover the extreme left and right of the arena, with four V-DOSC delay towers of 20 V-DOSC and 24 KARA for infills and a VIP delay system of 8 Kara. The system was powered and controlled by 90 LA8 amplifiers. Melpomen also provided two additional sidefills per stage, comprising a total of 24 K2 and eight KS28 subs, powered by 12 LA12X amplifiers. “We needed to be sure that the sound was loud and even enough for the main stage audience, but contained within the arena,” says Thierry. “The arena itself presents a challenge, because it isn’t level and so we had to find the ideal flying height for the PA. On top of that, the common front of house position is in the centre of the two stages, so deciding a common rule for the stereo isn’t easy!” Despite the challenges, with the assistance of Soundvision, Thierry and his team were able to design a system which overcame them all. “Soundvision was an essential tool. Without it, it
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Live
EUROPE
No regrets, and whisky, and wild, wild strummin’… A month on the road with everyone’s favourite snarling Scottish wildman (and sometime PSNEurope contributor) Dave Arcari – in his own words
D
ave Arcari is a full-time touring solo musician and songwriter based on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. A 100 per cent independent artist and control freak, Arcari and his wife Margaret – who is his full-time tour manager, booker, merchandiser and production liaison – manage and run all aspects of life on the road. Playing venues across the UK, Europe and the USA with capacities from 50 to 500 or more, Arcari is faced with facilities and production from the sublime to the ridiculous. Here’s a month of the ups and downs of life on the road as an independent musician…
FRIDAY 1 JULY 2016 First show of the month tonight in Dundee… and the first of a series of four shows for the city’s Almost Blue festival. Tonight’s 6pm slot at a wee pub in Broughty Ferry (like a suburb of your typical provincial town) was a lastminute request from the festival organisers. Having been assured there was a PA at The Gunners pub, we reckon a 4.30pm load-in will offer plenty set-up time for a 6pm kick off. After all, it’s just me on stage – armed with three National Resophonic guitars and a… erm…banjo. Actually, most engineers are impressed with the sound of the humbucker pickup built into the Kavanjo head. Everything’s DI’d though a pedalboard and augmented with a footstomp via a Wazinator stompbox. We get to the venue and the PA is two unbranded tiny (10” driver) powered speakers balanced on bar stools, an M-Audio DJ mixer (or excuse for one) and a plastic
Live at Von Krahl. Credit: Leif Laaksonen
mic with a four-foot long captive cable. Oh dear. To cut a long story short, I write down what I think we’ll need to make a noise… some kind of mixer, XLR cables, a mic stand… and the manager goes to pick it up from somewhere. Luckily, I’ve got a couple of DI boxes and an SM58 in my bag in case of such emergencies. By 6pm the place is rammed – luckily a lot of diehard fans from Dundee who’re happy to buy me beer and chat until a Mackie mixer and other stuff we need arrives. We get some kind of excuse for sound going and kick off the show. Somehow the distortion enhances my sound and the place goes nuts for the next hour-anda-half. I’m fuelled by a steady stream of whisky from the floor. We have a great time, the crowd’s right behind me, Margaret shifts a ton of merch and the pub/venue manager’s delighted! Not sure these speakers will ever be the same again though…
SATURDAY 2 JULY 2016 OOOFT! I feel like I’ve been hit by a big stick. I blame the hard mattress rather than the shit-load of beer and
whisky… not to mention the wine when we met friends after the show! We load in to this evening’s venue – Clarks – at 5pm,
Live at Clarks. Credit: M McDonald
and the place is empty. Booker and engineer Kit is on hand to help us with the gear and we’re set up and sound checked in no-time. Quite a contrast to last night – a much bigger venue, nice stage and not only a good house rig – a pair of Yamaha DXR12s with matching subs and a PreSonus
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Studio Live 16-channel desk – and an excellent engineer too. The place has been filling up steadily and by the time soundcheck’s done, the place is full. I hit the stage and am immediately buoyed by the crowd’s enthusiasm. Magic! I have an excellent time playing and, again, Margaret sells a load of CDs, shorts and other merch from her wee table by the door… make no mistake, the merch sales make a pretty crucial contribution to us making a living from all this. Once the stage is cleared and everything landed out, we’re fed, then say cheerio and go off to meet some more Dundee pals for a drink in more relaxed – and quieter – surroundings. For want of a better term, I’m pretty puggled! [No, me neither – Ed]
turnout for 9pm on a Sunday night after folks have been out on the razz for three days solid. The “shiny” (technical name for the custom National Style O!) works flawlessly. After two sweat-soaked, whisky-driven 45-minute sets, we pack up and make our way to the Redd Suite, a downstairs club venue we’ve never been to before. Thankfully I only have to play a 40-minute spot as a ‘special guest’. A fairly big house rig with old-style stacks and a self-op 24-channel desk delivers more than enough juice and the place is jam-packed when I take the stage around midnight. We bale soon after my set and return to the hotel for a large dram.
there’s no sound/linecheck ’til just before the gig starts… The house rig is two Martin Audio AQ8 cabs and a Martin Audio AQ215 dual subwoofer driven by a pair of QSC RMX2450s and the mix courtesy of a Soundcraft GB2. Soundman Kostas’ work on treating the stage area enhances the system’s projection into the room and makes a big difference to the stage sound too. The combination of a good rig, a well-treated space and a great engineer makes for first class sound and a hassle-free show. The gig goes great – there’s a good crowd in with plenty enthusiasm (and whisky!)… and time after the show to chat with folks round the merch table.
WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 SUNDAY 10 JULY 2016 Although the first gig of the English leg of the Hellhound Train tour isn’t ’til Tuesday, we head south tomorrow so all the gear needs to be checked and packed… as does the merch. In between times, I do a bit more pushing of this week’s upcoming shows and happily note the reach of yesterday’s Facebook Live stream has broken 160,000. Amazing! We get all the gear and merch packed in the car for an early getaway in the morning. Hope to hit the road by 8.30am… we’ll see…
An early start today – load-in at The Cluny in Newcastle is 4pm – and it’s a fairly long drive… especially the first few miles getting out of London. We make good time though and roll up at The Cluny just after 4pm. It’s always nice when the engineer has everything
SUNDAY 3 JULY I feel marginally better than yesterday morning. Possibly, due to the fact that although I exerted myself a fair bit playing last night’s show, I didn’t kick the arse out of it drink-wise… We have a lazy morning doing some last minute online promo for tonight’s two shows and stuff for the forthcoming England dates – London, Newcastle, York and Reading. Not so much of a hurry today as the first show isn’t until 9pm, and the other 11.30pm. After some more grub we head to the first venue, Buskers – a nice mid-sized venue that I’ve played many times over the years. It’s typically rock’n’roll with a big house rig. The FOH desk has moved from out front, to stage left which initially installs a feeling of trepidation – until soundman Jamie wanders out front with an iPad. Phew. Jamie’s done my sound before and knows the drill – bottom end boost and some top end rolled off the guitars, no compression… Margaret ensures all’s good out front. If there’s one thing that really pisses me off it’s engineers that wanna make me sound like some kind of lame-assed singer/songwriter. I can – and expect to – make as much noise as Motorhead… and I like a moshpit. So bring it on. No worries here, though. Jamie, as usual, delivers: and although the crowd isn’t as strong as last night at Clark’s, there’s a pretty good
MONDAY 11 JULY 2016 …Just a few things left to get in the car and we’re off. On time! En route, we stop off at Newtone Strings in Matlock – they’ve been making my custom (extra heavy gauge) strings for years and owner Neil Silverman contacted me a few months ago to see if we could work some kinda string endorsement. The result is the ‘Dave Arcari Signature Strings’ that are launching today! After a photo stop at Newtone, the strings officially going on sale and collecting a big box of ‘em, we carry on our journey to London.
TUESDAY 13 JULY 2016 We make our way into Camden and load in at The Blues Kitchen for tonight’s show. Showtime’s not ’til around 10pm and generally,
ready… and even better when it’s someone who’s done your sound before. The Cluny is one of our favourite UK venues – they’ve booked me right from the start. Starting with wellchosen support slots and developing the audience to the point where I can do my own headline shows there… and I still get invited to supports/double-headers with other acts too. I must’ve played a good dozen shows at The Cluny and the sound has always been spectacular – the house rig is based around two Turbosound Floodlight mid/ hi cabs and two 18” bins serviced by Crown amps, a LMS700 system processor and 44-channel Midas Heritage H3000 desk. On stage, four Martin bi-amped monitors provide sound for performers. There’s time to go and check into our hotel, then back to the venue to eat – support band Swampcandy are set up and ready for a quick soundcheck, before firing straight into their set soon after doors open. There’s an amazing crowd in and we all have a blast…
THURSDAY 14 JULY 2016 Not far to go – York is only a couple of hours away…
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We load in and set up the Woolpack pub’s PA – a Mackie 408m mixer amp and a pair of Mackie C300s on stands. Luckily, Swampcandy is preprepared for this kind of thing and saves the day by adding a QSC TouchMix 8, a nice big bass bin and a bag of XLRs. I have two DI boxes and my own mic... so we’re good to go. The QSC TouchMix is a great compact mixer which has iOS control – so Margaret and Ruben can work the sound remotely (and wirelessly) from out front, which turns out to be a lifesaver in the busy pub. We have a great show and a good crowd which, by pure chance, includes two radio DJs from Scotland who are there independently of each other and just happened to be in York and see I was playing!
a problem, they’ll check them at the gate. Our bags are checked all the way to Helsinki, so when we transfer at Schipol we only have to lug the guitars, my effects case and Margaret’s bag. We just have an hour to get off the plane, find the gate for the Helsinki flight and hot foot it. It’s a long walk... The Helsinki flight’s full, so the guitars are checked at the gate, so at least we know they’re on the right plane. Sure enough, when we go to baggage reclaim, the guitars show up – but our two big bags don’t. A train to Helsinki centre, a cab to the port , a walk to the boat then we collapse in a seat with a beer. When we arrive in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, a taxi takes us to the bus station. From
there, a two-hour bus ride to Parnu, then another taxi to the Yacht Club where we check in and enjoy dinner and drinks outside as the sun goes down.
TUESDAY 26 JULY 2016 We’re pretty gubbed [Again, nope – Ed] when we wake up… and we’ve slept in a bit. Not to worry, we’re soon up, dressed and on our way to check out Versus – ‘the blues cafe’ – the venue for today’s kick off shows for the Parnu Blues Festival. It’s a nice 120-or-so capacity room with a basic, but adequate PA for the job – a pair of powered FBT ProMaxx 14a full-range cabs (flown…but with rope!), an unknown sub and a tiny Alesis MultiMix 8 mixer. FBT is an unknown quantity to me, so I’ll be interested to see how the sound is.
F��ed��.
FRIDAY 15 JULY 2016 We have to check out of our hotel room at 11am and I still have a bit of routine stuff to do online – the daily blog on my website, extra ‘day of show’ promo for tonight’s show plus dealing with emails, online merch orders and stuff.. Luckily our swanky hotel foyer has good Wi-fi, so I can get everything done before we jump in the car for the 200-odd mile, four-hour drive to Reading for the last show of this wee run. Last time I played a show for the Reading promoter, it was at the local arts centre, but it’s closed for refurbishment, so he’s using Smokin’ Billy’s BBQ as an alternative venue. When we arrive, promoter Dave is setting up a small vocal PA. It’s old school – a 6-channel Peavey 600F mixer at the heart of it. Basic, but enough for the room, and the speakers are big enough to take my footstomp (a Wazinator contraption from Australia that’s like a tin can with piezo and a flat ‘tongue’ for me to stomp on). Much easier than trying a normal stompbox which, while suitable for folks that sit down when playing, is nigh impossible to use standing up. Quite a few familiar faces in the crowd and it’s nice to chat over a few drinks before we load out and make our way back to the hotel.
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MONDAY 25 JULY 2016 The alarm goes off just before 2am. Three hours’ sleep… uuuurgh. After a quick shower we pack the car, drive to Glasgow airport and check in with KLM – looks like we’re good to get the guitars in the cabin… if there’s
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Live totally up for a good time and the whisky dulls the pain.
THURSDAY 28 JULY 2016
It’s blisteringly hot and sweaty… my show’s not ’til later this evening, so there’s time to go back to the Yacht Club for a rest before heading back to Versus with the gear. My show isn’t ’til 9pm but we need to get there in time for loading in and changeovers. There’s a capacity crowd in the room – and a lot of folks we know from previous Estonian trips. At the front there’s two guys filming the whole thing with about eight cameras, a few photographers and it’s boiling hot…. I’m soaking before I even hit the first note! The crowd is fantastic, the PA seems to handle my onslaught with relative ease and I have a real blast… plenty of whisky keeps me going until the end when I collapse in a heap backstage.
A lazy day – just one show today on the Yacht Club stage. First band is scheduled for 5pm, with subsequent acts at 6, 7, 8, 9pm (myself) and 10… each playing 50-minute sets. The programme runs late right from the start, but eventually I get on stage and have another good show. Lots of folks have travelled a long way to see me here. Once I’m done we’re about to settle down for a drink when, on her way to the bar, Margaret takes a nose-dive and comes back covered in blood with a handful of teeth. She tripped over the remains of an old metal pole in a poorly lit part of the path. The Yacht Club staff are great. And it’s only minutes before the ambulance, and five paramedics arrive. Next stop, the emergency room at the local hospital where Margaret’s mouth is cleaned and stitched up. Thank goodness for the European health card/insurance… all this costs is five euros! There’s no dentist there, though, so the next phase of repairs will need to wait ’til tomorrow.
The place is rammed and the booker and owner are delighted – busiest show they’ve ever had, they say :-) Although still hurting from last night’s accident, Margaret works the merch table with a smile on her face and keeps all our customers happy with T-shirts, CDs, bottlenecks and other merch. The merch sales are an important income stream on every tour.
SATURDAY 30 JULY 2016 Thankfully Margaret’s feeling a lot better today as we embark on a two-hour bus ride to Tallinn. Tonight’s show is at Von Krahl – probably Tallin’s best small venue – but first I’m doing a “meet and greet” and instore performance at the World Clinic record store. Von Krahl’s KV2 Audio ES system with two ES1.0 and
FRIDAY 29 JULY 2016 WEDNESDAY 27 JULY 2016 The temperature’s through the roof again today and I
have two shows. One at 3pm at Versus, then a main stage show at the Yacht Club tonight. We watch the opening acts, then I take the stage for a 45-minute set, trying to play a different set from the one I played last night. I hadn’t been expecting many folks at a mid-week afternoon show and although not as busy as last night, the place is still full and I have a great show. We chill for the rest of the afternoon while the Yacht Club main stage is rigged for the show. Not quite what we’re used to for an outdoor show in the UK but adequate for the space – there’s two Studiomaster 450W JX12A active cabs and a 750W JX18SA active sub per side with out front control via an Allen & Heath GL2200 desk. There’s just myself and a local support act tonight – the ‘big’ show is tomorrow night – but the crowd’s
It’s after 2am when we get back from the hospital… and we’re up early to get to the local dentist by 7.30am to see what can be done about poor Margaret’s teeth and mouth. She gets a temporary fix, then we drive a couple of hours to Tartu for tonight’s show. The promoter’s put us in a great hotel and Margaret gets the chance to rest up for the afternoon. At Baar Edison, a small PA is set up and ready to go in a big courtyard at the back… it’s surrounded by high walls and could be a bit of a challenge sound wise, but a quick soundcheck doesn’t throw up any problems four ES1.8 cabs and outboard EPAK active electronics/ amplification provides a fantastic front of house sound – and onstage the four powered JBL PRX612M monitors make sure I not only hear myself onstage, but get decent sound too! A Yamaha 01V 96 desk controls FOH and monitor mixes.
and the system – a pair of FBT Lightforce full-range 500W cabs driven by a Yamaha EMX512S 2 x 500w powered mixer – manages to cope with my footstomp. I said before, I’ve never come across Italian-made FBT cabs before, yet here in Estonia I’ve come across them in two venues and been pleasantly surprised by their performance.
There’s a great turnout, good merch sales and we’re delighted with the ‘last night of the tour’ show. Tomorrow we head to Finland for a couple of days, rest in Helsinki, then back home to prepare for more UK tour dates in September, a USA tour in October/ November… Oh, and I’m meant to be finishing writing/recording a new album! n All pix: Dave Arcari, except where indicated. davearcari.com
Instore outdoors. Credit. M McDonald
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Feature: Nightclubs
Martin Audio installation at the legendary Ministry of Sound
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Crossing the (dance)floor
The recent closure of Fabric in London and a number of other iconic venues has raised questions about the future of the nightclub sector. But whilst the UK market is undoubtedly facing challenges, the outlook is brighter in continental Europe and Asia-Pacific, writes David Davies
I
t wasn’t only the iconic nature of the venue that saw the September 2016 closure of Fabric hit the headlines worldwide. Following a string of major-name losses, the demise of the muchloved London venue was always destined to raise questions about the long-term future of the nightclub industry. While the closures have not been restricted to the UK capital, its tally of losses certainly makes for fairly downbeat reading. The Fridge, Turnmills and Cable are just a few of the venues to have fallen foul of various factors in the last few years, whilst the London Mayor’s office recently estimated that 50 per cent of London’s clubs have closed in the last five years alone. An ongoing and strongly supported public campaign calling for the restoration of Fabric’s licence – which was revoked after two drug-related deaths earlier this year – holds at least some hope that the venue could rise again. But soaring property prices, rampant gentrification and increasingly stringent local authority regulations mean that the outlook for London club scene is less than rosy. The same can be said of many other UK cities. But while some other European countries – most prominently the Netherlands – have suffered notable losses, the outlook elsewhere is rather brighter. The Berlin scene is felt to be particularly vibrant, while China and India appear to be on the cusp of a
major explosion in nightclub numbers. All of which means that although the geographical concentration of venues might be in the process of a sizeable shift, this is still a market rich in opportunities for manufacturers, designers and installers.
Buoyant market Indeed, among vendors, the feeling about the sector is almost universally positive. Martin Audio is a case in point, with its buoyant sales in the market attributed in part to the capabilities of its CDD passive loudspeakers and CDD-Live! active point source loudspeakers. “The UK nightclub sector is obviously under pressure right now, but thanks to our CDD line we have done notable installs within Ministry of Sound and Tiger, Tiger,” says Martin Audio product support engineer Robin Dibble. Further afield, “the club business has always been an important part of our portfolio, and we continue to perform well in China and Vietnam. We’re seeing some potential in developing economies in Eastern Europe, [while] we have just done a flurry of nightclub installs in Italy.” The latest project at London’s Ministry of Sound is particularly notable. Announced in January this year, it saw the venue continue its long association with Martin Audio by installing 16 of the company’s CDD15 (Coaxial Differential Dispersion) installation speakers in the ceiling of premier dance room
The uk is such a small scene now and has shrunk so much in the last ten years that club operators are really wary of doing a good job and going the full distance
Dave Parry
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Feature: Nightclubs
Funktion-One speakers at Lux Frágil in Lisbon
The Box. As a result the club is now able to deploy Dolby Atmos immersive audio as part of a setup incorporating the existing ring of six bespoke Martin Audio ground stacks, positioned around the dancefloor. Funktion-One’s Ann Andrews highlights the transitional nature of the sector, but notes that even the UK capital isn’t without its major new projects. “Clubs always seem to come and go, and London venues seem to be having a particularly hard time at the moment, which is a shame,” she says. “Having said this, we are also seeing an increase in multi-use venues, such as Studio Spaces in London with their highly regarded Hydra events. This is a photography studio that transforms into a nightclub and back in 24 hours. Our systems are perfect for this because of their fast deployment.” The outcry over the closure of Fabric has prompted some calls for formal recognition of clubs’ cultural importance – but it appears this has already occurred in some other major markets. Andrews points to one of Berlin’s – and Europe’s – most celebrated techno institutions: “By way of contrast to London, Berghain in Berlin – which has had a Funktion-One system for 13 years – has just been given the same tax status as museums and theatres in recognition of its cultural significance.” Mixing technology stalwart Allen & Heath also continues to derive significant business from the
clubs always seem to come and go, and london venues seem to be having a particularly hard time at the moment Ann Andrews Ann
festivals appear on the market appealing to a younger audience. Similarly, new venues and events are on the increase in LATAM, where DJs such as John Digweed tour extensively and sell out every time.” Nonetheless, a shift in favour of greater attendance for dance events as part of festivals does appear to be in progress. “Whilst the nightclub sector has had various closures and adaptations, the festival market has exploded and become [more of a] ‘go to’ choice,” says Ibbotson. “The frequency of weekly club attendance has dropped off, particularly in the UK, suggesting special events or festivals offer a more entertaining or unique music experience.”
Fast and flexible
sector, with Greg Ibbotson – marketing specialist for the company’s XONE series – noting that demand across Europe “has remained strong. [Also] we see Asia Pacific having renewed interest as more
Although the quantities of projects in individual territories might vary, it appears that the requirements of new audio technology are universally exacting. For loudspeakers the priorities include reliability, ease of installation, optimisation of coverage and aesthetic unobtrusiveness; for amplifiers the list features multiple connectivity options and high power outputs in small form factors; and for mixers top factors are flexibility and ease of use. Martin Audio’s Dibble notes that “each [territory] has different ideas of what their main requirements are. Reliability under extreme usage is always a key issue across the board, though. Certainly, in some
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Feature: Nightclubs
Dave Parry’s company, Most Technical, put this little number together
territories, sound pressure levels are the main consideration. The requirement is to achieve levels that may be considered exceptionally high [whilst] still achieving the best possible sonic quality.” As indicated, the Martin Audio offer in the club space is led by the CDD technology, which is available in both the CDD dedicated installation range, and the CDD-LIVE! CDD-LIVE – a Danteenabled, bi-amp system with 8, 12 or 15” drivers. “CDD technology has brought a whole new way to optimise sound coverage across any space – be that the dancefloor, stage or ancillary rooms of a club. By achieving exceptionally even coverage across a space, [it is possible to ensure that] all club-goers get the same sonic experience across a venue,” says the representative. Visual requirements can also be very specific, with some venues calling for “special finishes to give a great-looking as well as a fantastic-sounding system. This is something we can happily accommodate and are pleased to discuss with our customers.” For Ann Andrews, “sonic quality is the most important thing that our clients look for, which is the reason they contact us. Each venue gets a carefully designed and specified system. It isn’t about trends, but about the correct system configuration for the space.” In terms of fresh product developments, FunktionOne is continuing to accommodate a wide range of venue sizes and types. “For the larger venues we have introduced some new high-power bass technology (BR132 and F132) to fulfil the demands for lower and lower bass frequencies,” says Andrews. “We have also made significant advances with our full-range systems, which give clubgoers the immersive sound experience they are looking
for. The PSM318 DJ monitors have been setting the standard for booth sound and appear on the riders of many leading DJs. “At the other end of the scale we have recently released a small powered system, which gives the sought-after Funktion-One sound in a small package. This is proving very popular. We also collaborate closely with other leading audio manufacturers to ensure that the entire signal path is of the highest quality. Our latest collaboration (with Formula Sound) saw the release of the FF6.2 DJ mixer.” In terms of clubs’ DJ booth requirements, Ibbotson says that “for larger or super clubs we find that the days of a permanent DJ installation are over, and in general clubs have a flexible booth space to cater for individual riders and custom setups. In terms of an all-in-one controller vs. DJ mixer and separate components, the mixer still remains a pro-level choice with controllers still not regarded as ‘fully professional’ by a lot of artists and tech managers. At the smaller club/bar level, contract DJs tend to opt for the all-in-one controller solution, but permanent resident DJs usually prefer at least a mixer and media players to be included.”
Fresh horizons While some high-end manufacturers continue to cite good business in the UK, some of the industry’s leading lights are now concentrating their energies elsewhere. Sound and lighting designer Dave Parry has played an instrumental role in the development of countless legendary venues – including the Camden Palace, Ministry of Sound and Fabric in London alone – but is now focused on more nascent markets such as China and India. “I don’t really bother with the UK anymore,” he
says, citing the “loss of mystique” and a lack of exciting new music as being among the primary factors behind the stagnation of his home market. “It is such a small scene now and has shrunk so much in the last ten years that club operators are really wary of doing a good job and going the full distance. And then there is the fact that you tend to have 30 other people who will undercut everybody… “There are also many other things that young people can do with their time. Many bars stay open til three in the morning, while the whole festival scene has also taken off over the last decade. Plus, I have to say that I think that the music has got a bit boring and the mystique has gone. Back in the ‘80s when I started working in clubs, there was a slight frisson of danger and an element of glamour too – you felt like you were stepping into a different world – but that’s gone now. I would love there to be a resurgence but I think it will require a new musical form for it to happen.” So instead his current roster of projects with his company Most Technical includes venues in Ghana, India and China – not that these markets are exactly without their challenges. China, in particular, “really is a very different kettle of fish. Their idea of a nightclub contrasts a lot with what I would consider to be a nightclub; there is never any dancefloor and the sound system tends to beggar belief. For example, one 400-capacity club we did wanted 60 subs installed so it was full volume everywhere… it was completely mental!” The fact that a significant percentage of the Chinese population derives from the Han Dynasty – which has no tradition of musical dancing – is inevitably a significant factor behind the unusual configuration of the country’s nightclubs. But the ongoing social transformation of China – “we are seeing a huge opening up of culture and people being able to be more individual” – will ultimately see this change, suggests Parry, while in terms of audio quality there are already signs of a demand for “greater sophistication. The present situation won’t last forever, although I think it could be ten years before things have shifted significantly.” Simon Reynolds’ seminal history of rave and dance culture, Energy Flash, made it clear that the nightclub sector is hugely cyclical and primarily driven by exciting new musical mutations. Whether or not these do eventually occur in techno’s ‘home’ markets of Western Europe and the US, it is evident that plenty of other countries are still in a growth phase when it comes to this particular musical tradition. So, there are likely to be fresh opportunities in new clubs for manufacturers, designers and integrators to explore over the next decade. n www.martin-audio.com www.funktion-one.com www.allen-heath.com
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Hither & clobber
They didn’t want you to see the waistcoats. But there was no way you could have stopped us...
They didn’t think we were going to print this, but how could we not? Yes, it’s Calrec’s Kevin (left) and Ian sporting the haute couture that is the (award winning!) Calrec Periodic Table waistcoat!
The somewhat bizarre moment when legendary Public Enemy producer Hank Shocklee photobombed PSNEurope at a studio party during AES. Well, he is the ‘Bombsquad’ mainman I suppose…
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NLW4000 family from our hands to yours 21”&18” Neo Subwoofers. 4 inch Voice Coil
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Backtalk
On the rise
Sarah Sharples talks to PSAwards 2016 Rising Star winner George Murphy about his biggest influences, the bands he has worked with, his favourite kit and how the industry isn’t as cut-throat as it seems…
W
hile studying music and sound recording at the University of Surrey, George Murphy did a placement year at Ignition Studios in North London. This was the first time he got to see how records were made by professionals and the idea of spending time in the studio with a band, trying to make their music sound the best it can, seemed like the perfect job for him. He then went on to work as a freelance assistant at a few different London studios before eventually being offered a full-time position at Eastcote Studios. Described as “the fastest Pro Tools operator in the West”, Murphy has worked on a wide range of projects at Eastcote with artists including Adele, Ellie Goulding, Mark Ronson and Mumford & Sons. He is looking forward to the day he can open his own studio space…
What made you want to work in the industry? I’ve always been a huge music fan and a bit of a tech geek, so music production was the perfect blend of the two.
How did you get started? I was in a band in school, and eventually we got to the point where we wanted to get some demos done, so I bought a cheap Tascam interface and hooked it up to a PC running Sonar. We ended up recording everything in the spare room at my parent’s house. The results weren’t really anything to brag about, but I enjoyed the process so much that I kept it going and ended up recording a bunch of other local bands. After I left school, I went to study music and sound recording at the University of Surrey.
What was your big break? It’s hard to pinpoint any specific moment that really accelerated my career, it’s all been kind of a gradual build. I guess I would say getting a position at Eastcote, as that has allowed me to work on so many amazing records.
What’s it like to work at Eastcote Studios? It’s a fantastic space. The gear is amazing, but most importantly, the vibe is perfect. It has this incredibly relaxed atmosphere – musicians tend to feel right at home there. Nothing feels too formal, so it’s really easy to get the best out of musicians when you record there. For me, the most important aspect of a studio is that everybody feels comfortable and at home there.
What are you currently working on? I’ve been working with a band called HMLTD, their first track has just been released, it’s really exciting stuff and so far has got a really good reaction. I’m also working with singers Molly Warburton and Noah Francis as well as engineering for a couple of film projects.
Can you tell us about the three bits of kit that you couldn’t do without and why? An RCA44 ribbon microphone: a classic sounding mic. Everything you record with this comes out with bags of character. Second, a Urei 1178 compressor: super fast for squeezing maximum amount of life out of sounds. Finally, a Roland Space Echo: amazingly grungy, the perfect bit of kit for stopping anything from sounding too clinical!
Who are your biggest influences? On a personal level, Eastcote owner Philip Bagenal has taught me an extraordinary amount about working in recording. He has been a part of every conceivable type of session and knows more about the technological and psychological aspects of a successful recording session than anyone I’ve ever met. I’ve also been lucky enough to engineer records for producers Chris Kimsey and Eliot James, who’ve both been responsible for some of my favourite albums. Chris worked on a bunch of the Rolling Stones’ albums and he engineered Sticky Finger, which I’ve always thought
sounded amazing. Eliot produced the Two Door Cinema Club album, Tourist History, which for me is the perfect blend of rock and electronic production. Seeing both their approaches to recording and how they get their sounds has taught me a huge amount. In a more general sense Jerry Finn, Rick Rubin and Alan Moulder pretty much produced the soundtrack to my teenage years, (bands like AFI, Rage Against the Machine, Rancid, Bloc Party) so I’m always striving to capture the sound of a band with as much energy as their records. I’m also really interested in anyone that’s creating sounds that I’ve never heard before, especially in the dance world, so producers like Feed Me, Noisia and Delta Heavy.
What have you learned about the pro-audio industry during your career so far? That it is incredibly interconnected. Being a small industry everyone knows everyone and it’s a lot less cut-throat than people imagine. In my experience everyone’s usually willing to help each other out.
What advice would you give to youngsters working in the industry? I can only speak for the recording studio part of the proaudio world, but try your hardest to work for someone who can teach you the realities of a recording session, there’s a lot more to in than what you learn at school. Also be aware that it can be a fairly stressful world to be in so you’ve got to really want to be a part of it. A lot of stuff happens at the last minute and planning ahead can be difficult. That said when everything comes together it’s incredibly rewarding.
Where would you like to see your career go? Carry on producing records for exciting bands and hopefully some day end up with my own studio space with big giant windows and a great view! n www.georgemurphyaudio.co.uk
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