AUDIO FOR BROADCAST, POST, RECORDING AND MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION
V8.5 July/August 2009
£5
The Stephen Street interview
Reviews
CEDAR Retouch at Abbey Rd on The Beatles
Millennia HV3-R
The Pure Audio Blu-ray Disc explained
Maggot Conformalizer
Resolution Awards 2009 Winners The high cost of free music n Small Room Supplement n
Klark Teknik DN530 & DN540
SSL Mynx & E Series Modules Focusrite Liquid Mix HD Plug-in JZ Microphones BT-201
AUDIO FOR BROADCAST, POST, RECORDING AND MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION
V8.5 July/August 2009 ISSN 1477-4216
News & Analysis
4 Leader
14
Products
4
65
Broadcast aside
66
Headroom
32
Big principles for a small room
40 Stephen Street
Britpop sonic architect and all-round good bloke reveals some of the secrets of his continuing success.
44
James Loughrey
48 Simon Gibson
The pivotal use of CEDAR Retouch at Abbey Rd for The Beatles back catalogue remastering and The Beatles Rock Band game.
50
Resolution Awards 2009 Winners
56 Ten
64 Your business
62 Slaying Dragons
News
Sales, contracts, appointments and biz bites.
New introductions and announcements. Baxter says he’s unlocked the devil in the black box.
Craft
21 Why size is important
Expecting too much from a small room? The problems and limitations explained.
26
Optimisation is just part of the equation
28
Should loudspeaker/room optimisation be used to improve sound reproduction? Trinnov answers the questions based on practical experience.
A studio at home
You’ve chosen your space; Neil Grant suggests you remember that it’s a creative space first and a technical exercise second.
30 Loudspeaker placement in small rooms
Getting the speaker position absolutely right for any room geometry is the best start you can make for your monitoring.
The acoustic issues relevant to setting up a smaller production space are the same whatever the size of a monitoring environment.
Having fun and getting artists to believe it was their idea in the first place.
Musical islands.
Business
52 The high cost of free music
The music industry might be about to turn a corner and start an economic renaissance.
Daley investigates why some producerartist pairs seem to mate for life.
Technology
59 Pure Audio Blu-ray Disc
The Pure Audio BD, developed by Munich’s msm-studios explained.
People worry about the life of media, Watkinson says it’s all about machines.
Reviews
17 35 36
Klark Teknik DN530 & DN540 Millennia HV3-R Maggot Software Conformalizer
Editorial Editorial Director: Zenon Schoepe Tel: +44 1444 410675 Email: zen@resolutionmag.com Editorial office: PO Box 531, Haywards Heath RH16 4WD, UK Contributors: Rob James, George Shilling, Jon Thornton, Keith Holland, Jim Betteridge, Neil Hillman, Nigel Jopson, Andy Day, Philip Newell, Jim Evans, Dan Daley, John Watkinson
37 SSL Mynx and E Series Modules 38 Focusrite Liquid Mix HD Plug-in 39 JZ Microphones BT-201
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Home of the Resolution Awards
NEWS
Appointments
Grace Design has signed Sound-Link Marketing as its full line distributor for the UK. ‘Sound-Link specialises exclusively in the supply of best-in-class equipment for acquisition of sound and critical professional monitoring systems, and we’ve been searching for products that will truly complement our range of Gefell microphones, Geithain reference monitors and Trinnov room correction products. We are delighted to say that Grace Design more than meets our exacting requirements,’ said SoundLink’s Roger Clemo.
Chris Allen, Prism Sound; Tom Osborne, Absolute Music.
Prism Sound has appointed music retailer Absolute Music as a main UK dealer for all of its recording products. Rag Time has been appointed distributor for Prism Sound in the Lebanon. Prism Sound in the US has appointed Dan Foley as telephony solution strategist and sales representative for Test and Measurement solutions in the Eastern US. Calrec has strengthened its sales push in Asia Pacific with the appointment of Graham Murray as regional sales m a n a g e r. B a s e d i n Singapore, he has more than 20 years’ experience with consoles, including 15 years with AMS-Neve and three years with Fairlight UK. Universal Audio has appointed Erik Hanson as director of marketing. Most recently he headed Seattle-based ad and web agenc y 3dB Creative but he was previously creative direc tor for the Mackie, Ampeg and EAW brands and before that communications manager at Roland Corporation US.
Leader
To me, the only thing t h a t ’s w o r s e t h a n something that’s stopped working is something that works occasionally. I can’t be doing with temperamental nonsense that wastes my time and energy and possibly gives me a result at the end; possibly not. It’s an indication of how things have moved on that I am suddenly reminded that it was precisely this sort of temperamental nonsense that was everyday fayre for audio folk not too long ago. Frustration and occasional desperation went with the territory; you saw it as part of the price of ownership. And it’s those words ‘price’ and ‘ownership’ that got me thinking down this particular route in the first place. I was never much of a vinyl bloke — the format always ticked too many bad idea boxes for me. I always liked tape; even cassette. While mouthfuls of tea are being spat out at the very mention of the Compact Cassette, I’d argue that in its day, on a great machine and with a nice bit of tape, it could be very respectable as a consumer format. I even bought prerecorded albums — there was a period when they were actually quite good — but what has been hacking me off recently is that I’ve started to discover that most of these now won’t play. Or they’ll play for a bit and then they won’t. I know exactly what’s wrong with the cassettes (spools sticking) and I know how to ‘fix’ them but I can’t be bothered. What annoys me is that I bought these at considerable cost; they mattered to me, I valued them. I bought a product at well above its true market value, everyone got their points, percentages and living out of it, and now it doesn’t work. I didn’t lease it for a weekend, I bought it for life so I could play it to the younger generation one day so they could mock me openly. Except it doesn’t work. Somewhere along the line the consumer of music went from being a loyal buyer of premium products — that’s what music was, a premium product, it was expensive and you really had to want it — to someone who believes it should be free and is surprised when it isn’t. And the record industry went down market without really having to. When we had ‘formats’ we had a proper market; now we have a car boot sale and a free for all. The real hard task is to re-establish music again as a premium product and that has nothing to do with how it is delivered to the consumer. Zenon Schoepe
Radial buys Komit from Burgin-McDaniel Vancouver leading audio BC-based Radial designers join Engineering our team was an has acquired opportunity we the Komit could not resist,’ Compressor added Janis. ‘So from boutique as part of the manufacturer deal, we agreed B u r g i n to purchase McDaniel. the Komit (L-R) Drake Williams, Kevin Burgin, Peter Janis. ‘This is much design and roll more than the simple acquisition of an it into our soon to be released LunchBox exceptional product design… this strategic series. Kevin and Drake are already hard at move includes our adding two of the industry’s work developing a complete range that will top design engineers to our team,’ said Radial compliment API’s popular 500 series and you president Peter Janis. can be sure that we will add a bit of “Radial Before leaving Rupert Neve Designs to start spice” to bring it to another level.’ Burgin-McDaniel, Kevin Burgin worked under The Komit Compressor is currently going the stewardship of Rupert Neve as primary through a redesign to integrate switches, LEDs, circuit designer. During this period, Drake and connectors that are used in the Radial Williams was a circuit layout and mechanical production line. This will make it easier and designer for Rupert Neve Designs. cheaper to produce which will make it more ‘The opportunity to have two of the world’s affordable for the end user, according to Janis.
IBC2009 — investing in knowledge
IBC believes this is the year to invest in knowledge and says it is investing heavily in new and enhanced visitor attractions for IBC2009 held 11-15 September at the RAI in Amsterdam. There are specialist zones covering digital signage, IPTV and mobile TV, along with free business briefing sessions associated with them. This gives visitors a quick start in the market, thanks to informed comment from suppliers and early adopters. Brand-new for 2009 is the IBC Production Village, which features a comprehensive display of broadcast and digital cinema cameras and a hands-on studio where you can touch and experience the technology. And the IBC Training Zone is expanding — there’ll be more training venues, with the scope extending to include production techniques and technology as well as desktop finishing tools. As always, all sessions are free. The organisers have also revamped the IBC Conference programme for 2009 to include streams on technological advancements, content creation and innovation, and the business of broadcasting. Meanwhile, the new Innovation Arena opens doors for smaller companies to showcase new content, services, applications and products. According to the organisers, IBC2009 is the must-attend date in the media industry’s diary. They claim it has a conference that genuinely drives debate in the industry while providing a chance to meet and talk to your peers from around the world. Registration is now open www.ibc.org
Telefunken USA now Telefunken Elektroakustik Telefunken USA has been named the Elektroakustik arm of Telefunken and awarded the exclusive rights to manufacture a wide variety of professional audio products and vacuum tubes bearing the Telefunken name in more than 27 countries worldwide. Telefunken Elektroakustik can now use the Telefunken trademarks for professional audio equipment in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company has plans to expand its microphone product line in 2009 to offer outboard signal processing equipment, vacuum tubes, and other ancillary recording and professional audio products.
NEWS
Alvernia is Dolby Premier certified
Alvernia technical installation manager Piotr Witkowski.
Alvernia Studios in Krakow, Poland (Resolution V8.1) has achieved Dolby Premier certification for its K07 film dubbing theatre, designed by Munro Acoustics. Alvernia is Poland’s only Dolby Premier facility and one of only a few studios worldwide to be certificated. ‘Film mixing at the top level is all about meeting Dolby’s exacting standards for mixing and playback,’ said Andy Munro. ‘We had to spend a long time on analysis and modelling to meet the requirements for such a huge domed room but the results have been terrific.’
Bosch adopts Dante networking Bosch Communications Systems has entered into a company-wide license agreement to implement the Audinate Dante audio networking solution into its products. The agreement allows Bosch brands, including Electro-Voice, Dynacord, Telex, Midas, Klark Teknik and Bosch, to incorporate Dante. ‘Dante will become the foundation of our Common Audio Protocol (CAP) communications solution across the Bosch Communication Systems companies,’ said Bill Scott, VP of engineering and technology, Bosch Communications Systems. ‘We selected Dante because of its ease-of-use, lower latency and scalability.’ Audinate’s Dante provides a selfconfiguring, plug-and-play digital audio network that uses standard internet protocols. It is scalable and works on 100Mbits and 1Gigabit Ethernet.
MediorNet in German election
German public television network ZDF ordered a Riedel MediorNet network to broadcast the election of the German president in May; only weeks after the product was launched at NAB in April. As part of the installation, eight different locations around the Reichstag were connected through fibre. To integrate the frames, about 5km of fibre were installed. The setup consisted of 17 MediorNet mainframes equipped with 77 SDI-O media cards; 32 MN SD12I input and 45 MN SDO output cards provided 92 inputs and 90 outputs for SD signals. Riedel provided connections to integrate the digital video router of the OB trucks and one of the SNG trucks via RS422 interfaces. The MediorNet network connected two OB trucks, two DGN trucks as well as several locations within the Reichstag including the plenary chamber. ZDF’s control room and the stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate were also integrated into the network. MediorNet’s point-to-multipoint functionality made any video signal available at any point of the installation. This allowed the videowall production and the live broadcast of the election to use the same signals, which were made available through the same infrastructure. ‘The amount of time needed for setup using MediorNet was reduced significantly — a crucial factor in such a complicated and time-sensitive installation as the broadcast of an election. So it was clear to us, that we want to use MediorNet for the event. We were really pleased to use tomorrow’s technology today,’ said Rolf Decker, chief technician at ZDF.
Digilab updates and upgrades Started in 1992 in Lugano as an audio postproduction facility for the Italian part of Switzerland, D i g i l a b Recording S t u d i o s has grown into a facility that offers complete audio and video solutions for international clients. The studios offer two Pro Tools HD control rooms plus an edit suite and two recording studios. All control rooms and studios are networked and accessible worldwide via ISDN (APT and CCS) codecs. Studio 2 was recently upgraded with a
24-fader Icon D-Command ES HD 3 and is used mainly for editing and mixing. The new room is part of a bigger refit that started l a s t y e a r. The studio’s R o b e r t o Leuzinger said the new addition had streamlined workflow with much more flexibility from the control room section of the D-Command while custom faders allow them to navigate much more quickly in big sessions. ‘The dedicated EQ and Dynamics sections let you use plug-ins very efficiently without looking all the time at your screens,’ he said.
Appointments Chris Hollebone has been appointed op er ations direc tor at Euphonix, Mar k Hosking has been promoted to director of sales, and Devin Wor k man has b een hired as a full-time product specialist for Euphonix Europe Ltd. Hollebone will focus on sales development i n R u s s i a a n d C I S, Baltic States, Poland, Hungary, Romania and the former Yugoslavian countries and retain responsibility for Italy and France. ‘The increase in business triggered all these appointments,’ explained Hollebone. ‘As my managerial responsibilities increased, it made sense to appoint Mark to take a strategic view of the total sales operation in our region.’ Robert Caputo has been appointed president of ADAM Audio USA. He joins from the jWIN Electronics Corporation and has also worked for Casio Inc., Samson Technologies Corp., Sam Ash Professional, and Atlantic Records. S h e i l a Sy nnot t has joined UK distributor Source as sales adminis trator. She graduated from London Metropolitan University’s Music Technology degree course and is a fully qualified luthier. KMR Audio Ltd is distributing the Peluso Microphone range, featuring a line up of tube, ribbon and solid state models from the US, in the UK. Sound Technology has been appointed UK distributor for the JoeCo Blackbox Recorder. Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup has appointed V innie Macri as VP, broadcast solutions in the US. He was previously part owner of his own rep firm.
NEWS
Appointments
WSDG Truetone relocation
Neutrik USA has appointed Thomas Chudyk as distribution manager. He previously worked at Panasonic Industrial and Arrow Electronics. Ted Keffalo, president of Equator Audio; Matthias Aerts of Ideal Audio.
Belgian company iDeal Audio have been named Benelux distributor for Equator studio monitors.
Kim Poh Tan and David Chan.
Jünger Audio has appointed the Salzbrenner Stagetec Media Group as its distributor for Malaysia.
Dusty Wakeman and Dave Christenson of Audio Agent.
Mojave Audio has appointed Audio Agent to represent it in key territories of the US. Clear-Com Communication Systems has appointed Shure Distribution Germany as its distributor for Germany’s live performance market.
Showtime IBC, Amsterdam.........11-15 September Plasa, London..............13-16 September AES US, New York ............9-12 October SIEL/SATIS, Paris..............19-22 October Broadcast India, Mumbai ..........................27–31 October SBES, Birmingham ............ 3 November InterBee, Tokyo ...........18-20 November NAMM, Anaheim... 14-17 January 2010 ISE, Amsterdam.................. 2-4 February Cabsat, Dubai..........................2-4 March ProLight + Sound, Frankfurt...............................24-27 March
Carl Rowatti, owner of Trutone Mastering Labs, veteran mastering engineer and master of lacquer-cutting, has opened a new studio in his suburban 4400sq.ft Orangeburg, NY home. Created by Walters-Storyk Design Group architect/acoustician John Storyk, the facility features the same technology that earned Carl, Adrianna (his wife and partner) and Trutone Mastering Labs midtown studios recognition as one of NY’s most prestigious mastering complexes. ‘Last year when Sony BMG Music went looking for a new location for their mastering studios, they offered to buy out our lease,’ said Carl. ‘After serious contemplation we decided that their offer was simply too attractive to dismiss.’ ‘The opportunity to transfer our NYC studio lease to Sony BMG, enabling them to move in and begin mastering with minimal downtime, was testament to the merits of our original WSDG-designed studios,’ added Adrianna. In 2003, when the Rowatti’s acquired the historic former Record Plant space at 321 West 44St, they consulted with John Storyk to reconfigure the dated control room and live studio into two state-of-the-art mastering suites with accommodation for Neumann VMS-70 lathes. As soon as the Sony deal was finalised, Carl again consulted with Storyk. ‘Our engineers and clients were so pleased with the look, sound and functionality of our midtown studios, that we wanted John to recreate the same ambience for our new home studio.’ ‘Trutone is a casebook example of the mushrooming trend of established engineers moving their pro studios “in house”,’ said Storyk. ‘This is the second residential studio we’ve completed this year. The logic behind these investments is irrefutable. Recording studios represent the ideal neighbourhood business. Low traffic, low noise, zero pollution… When properly designed, these facilities are totally transparent to the surrounding residents. By employing decoupled floors, fully floating room design, IAC doors, diffusers, absorption and the latest sound insulation treatments, we guaranteed Carl the freedom to work at whatever dB level his clients require without compromising sound transmission to the rest of the residence.’
Creative installs C300 Creative Sound in Paris has installed a 56-fader SSL C300 HD console in its new Le Grand Pavois facility and now has SSLs in four of its suites. It additionally has a 24-fader C300 HD, a film-mix Avant Plus and an AWS900+SE for dubbing and post mixing. The new two-operator C300 HD is 4.7m wide with 448 automated channels and 472 I-Os.
‘The C300 HD c l e a r l y p ro v i d e s the best balance of reliability, build quality and sonic integrity, and its multiple DAW control capabilities make it absolutely future-proof,’ said Creative Sound owner Cristinel Sirli. ‘The C300 HD is an astonishingly powerful piece of digital audio processing technology.’
First Apollo to Fountain London-based Fountain Studios has bought the first Calrec Apollo console. The 72-fader desk will be installed as the final part of a complete HD studio investment programme in July. ‘After an extensive review of the options for 5.1 sound we believe that the new Apollo console best fulfils our broadcast requirements for the future,’ said Fountain Studios MD Mariana Spater. Fountain is behind some of the biggest live entertainment programming in the UK, including Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor. Launched at NAB in April, Apollo employs Bluefin2 processing, which gives up to 1020 channel processing paths, 128 program buses, 96 IFB/track outputs and 48 auxiliaries at 48kHz. Apollo has an integrated router so its I-O functions can be performed by Calrec’s networking system Hydra2 and console routers can be connected together to form large networks.
Portable PT for hire Freelance engineer and audio consultant S t u a r t Gillan has designed and built a portable, flight-cased Pro Tools system for hire using M A D I interfaces from SSL and RME. Using minimal Digidesign gear, i.e. circuit boards and a sync I-O for easy system control under Pro Tools, the system fits into a 12u rack. Standard configuration is 64 inputs and outputs on MADI (fibre or BNC) or AES3 (DB25 or XLR) and 64 analogue mic/ line inputs using an optional 12u rack with 64 channels of RME preamp. Inputs can be acquired from analogue or digital console, stagebox or splitter. ‘The entire system is 192kHz compatible and has timecode I-O,’ said Gillan. ‘Maximum track count is 128 tracks at 48kHz, recorded on rackmount Seagate FireWire drives. An RME ADI-8QS convertor in the MADI stream provides 8 x analogue outputs for monitors or headphone mixes and a Presonus Central Station provides headphone/monitor control.’ www.soundscape-audio.co.uk
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July/August 2009
NEWS
Biz Bites L o r d C a r t e r ’s Digital Britain repor t drew a mixed response on release writes N i g e l J o p s o n, if a lit tle more positive than the interim version covered in Resolution V8.2. Key points were: a high-speed broadband fund financed by a £0.50/ month levy on copper telephone wires; a ‘Framework to encourage legal downloads’ with Ofcom tasked with reducing piracy — no three strikes — but a provision for ‘intermediate technical measures by ISPs, such as bandwidth reduction or protocol blocking’; DAB switchover more serious than previously reported, with BBC tasked with extending national coverage and manufacturers asked to make sets cheaper than £20. To the consternation of traditional publishers, there’s no relaxation of cross-media ownership rules. The games industry were tossed a crumb with tax breaks for ‘culturally British video games’ (?), and a promise to review evidence for tax reliefs that developers have long sought to reach parity with Canada. BBC Trust Chairman Michael Lyons opposed top-slicing of the license fee to fund ‘other interests, including regional news organisations.’ He claimed it would: ‘damage BBC output, reduce accountability and compromise independence. The license fee must not become a slush fund to be dipped into at will ... to help fund the political or commercial concerns of the day,’ he fumed. ITN CEO John Hardie said: ‘ITN has a key role to play in the new architecture ... to provide enriched broadcast and multi-platform content and to ensure a true competitive alternative to the BBC. Those who are shielded from commercial realities should not be allowed to delay this funding intervention.’ Lord Carter is leaving his government job, and is rumoured to be set to take a new job at ITN. Universal Music and UK ISP Virgin Media announced the launch of an unlimited MP3 subscription service. It’s a ground-breaking deal, with each party showing that — given the will — internet providers and music labels can work together. The service is delivered in two tiers: a premium level that is the
Cowan completes Ironman Nick Cowan, owner of Modern World Studios in Tetbury, UK, completed the Ironman Lanzarote challenge in May in a time of 14 hours, 38 minutes and 25 seconds. Nick was one of 1,300 taking part in the 3.8km open sea swim followed by a 180km bike ride followed by a full marathon. It is regarded as the world’s toughest course. Congratulations to Nick for raising money for Hope For Tomorrow charity, which provides mobile chemotherapy units, enabling cancer patients to be treated closer to their homes (www. justgiving.com/nickcowan1). Nick started training for the event 20 months ago and lost 65lbs, which is a bit careless. ‘To complete the Ironman in a decent time, I knew I needed to be incredibly fit and lean,’ said Nick. ‘As of July 2007 I weighed 18 stone, had a 42-inch waist, a 28% fat count and had smoked 20 a day for 25 years. Game on!’ So much for living the rock ‘n’ roll studio dream then … Talking of which, and staying on the charity theme, Resolution’s Zenon Schoepe is cycling London to Paris twice in the first fortnight of July. The first time is to raise money for The Children’s Country Holidays Fund (www. justgiving.com/zenonschoepe), which provides severely disadvantaged children and young people aged 7-11 with a range of residential activity and respite breaks — many of the children have experienced or witnessed some form of abuse and some are young carers. When he gets back he’ll turn around and then do it all again for Macmillan Cancer Support (www.justgiving.com/zenonschoepe1), which improves the lives of people affected by cancer. While Zenon’s challenge pales into insignificance compared to the Herculean task performed by ‘racing’ Cowan, he does get to wear a far more fetching outfit with generous sponsorship support provided by Focusrite, Euphonix, Midas/Klark Teknik, Audio-Technica, Tannoy and HHB.
AE22 monitor of choice at NFTS
The UK’s National Film and Television School has chosen ten pairs of Acoustic Energy AE22 passive monitors, supplied by Sound Network, for its recently refurbished editing suites. ‘In postproduction, operators are often exposed to continuous sound over long
periods of time so we were looking for nearfield monitors that were easy to listen to as well as providing the desired accuracy,’ explained chief sound technician at NFTS, Ian Steel. ‘We found the AE22s fitted the bill perfectly.’
DPA shotguns for NRK
Norwegian broadcaster NRK has bought three DPA 4017 shotgun microphones from Norwegian distributor Lyd-Systemer. The broadcaster needed a small and lightweight shotgun for recording dialogue on drama productions. ‘Everyone noticed that material recorded with the 4017 had a greater tolerance for manipulation after recording, such as compression, than the other mics we tested,’ said NRK’s Are Andreassen, the project’s team leader. ‘It gave us more substance to work with, and the off-axis response was particularly good. When working with high frequencies, it doesn’t sound hard or metallic and handles sibilance issues particularly well.’
NTG-3 passes endurance test F r e e l a n c e location recordist Chris Bruce was commissioned to make a programme that put his Røde NTG-3 shotgun microphone and Bruce (left) and m a t c h i n g R ø d e cameraman John McDowell. BLIMP windshield through an endurance test. The seven-week job was a programme for UK Channel 4 entitled ‘Ultimate Gap Year’, which follows six backpackers around South East Asia. ‘I was familiar with the [Sennheiser] 416, it’s a solid and reliable workhorse that can handle most environments. But I’d read some rave reviews of the NTG-3, and was intrigued to find out how well a mic costing half as much would measure up to the old standard,’ he said. ‘It’s difficult to overstate exactly how unfriendly the conditions were. We were in tropical environments, in the jungle, on sand, near water, on water — you name it. Temperatures ranged from near freezing on the side of a volcano to the more normal 35 degrees plus, accompanied by 100% humidity and frequent tropical rain storms. Jakarta is a very densely populated city in a part of the world where, dare I say it, RF restrictions on electrical equipment probably aren’t quite so stringent as they are in Europe. In all situations the NTG-3 performed outstandingly well.’
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resolution
July/August 2009
“I was looking for a console that was not only functional, but was inspirational as well.... I found it!” Richard McNamara - Embrace “The desk is in use from 10 till 10 every day and the students can’t get enough of it... [they] are all very impressed with the sound.” Bruce - Head Lecturer - SAE Amsterdam
VTC. ‘INSPIRING’. The TL Audio VTC (Valve Technology Console) is simply without competition. Nothing comes remotely close to providing the flexibility, the features and above all the impeccable sound that only real valves can create. Use the desk clean for a low noise, high quality signal path or drive the valves harder to produce luscious warm tones and rich sounding even harmonic distortion. But don’t just take our word for it, Producers, Artists and Engineers the world over refuse to track and mix on anything else. Read more about the VTC and their comments at : www.tlaudio.co.uk Prices start at just £9995 ex VAT
TELEPHONE +44 (0)1462 492090 // EMAIL info@tlaudio.co.uk // PASSIONATE ABOUT TUBES
“I just fell in love with it - I’ve never achieved a sound as warm and luscious as I’m currently getting, and having this vibe at the early stages of writing and recording is really spurring me on. The VTC is an absolutely inspiring desk to work with!” Kipper - Producer, Sting “When we saw the console we knew instantly that we had to have it. The EQ on the VTC is really detailed, making it easy to pick out what you want… It really is a monster piece of kit.” EMI Music Publishing “The quality of preamps on the VTC really attracted us. We needed the highest quality front end and wanted to keep the signal path as simple as possible with only one A/D stage. The VTC allows us to do that and it gives us that high quality valve sound.” Joe Bennett - Bath Spa University “We were immediately impressed by the quiet noise floor of the VTC - and the sound of the EQ is unreal. I only wish I could take it on tour with us!” Rick Smith - Underworld
www.tlaudio.co.uk
NEWS
Biz Bites unlimited MP3 offering (Universal have bravely foregone any DRM) in return for a one-year broadband bundle commitment, and a second tier that has limited MP3s. Unlimited streaming is available on both. In return for the non-DRM songs, Virgin has committed to a graduated response to penalise music filesharers (three strikes). This is a compelling offering, proving that ISPs can work with labels, and is cleverly targeted at ho us e hol d s rather than individuals. A recent BPI survey found 23% of people between the ages of 16 to 54 use illegal file sharing networks, with two-thirds using these services on a monthly basis. UK internet traffic to video websites was up 40.7% in a year, according to statistics from Hitwise/Experian, with one in every 35 internet visits going to a specialist video site. YouTube picked up 62.9% of video visits, and was also the second most popular site for music searches after Wikipedia. ‘YouTube has become a major source for online music, and in the UK it now receives more than twice as much traffic from the top music searches as MySpace,’ said Robin Goad, director of research for Hitwise. Traffic
Todd-AO adds two System 5s
Todd-AO in Hollywood has installed two dual-operator Euphonix System 5s, bringing their total of Euphonix consoles to eight. Both of the new System 5s have 80 faders, include more than 400 DSP channels and come with EuCon Hybrid to control the Pro Tools HD DAWs that are installed on Stage 1 and Stage 2. Three-time Academy Award-winning rerecording mixer Michael Minkler will move to the freshly upgraded Stage 1. ‘One way Todd-AO maintains a dominant position in Hollywood’s high-end feature film market is by being able to respond decisively to the evolving needs of our clients. Euphonix consoles help us to do that,’ said Bill Johnston, SVP engineering CSSStudios. ‘Euphonix consoles’ combination of integrated DSP and native workstation control gives us a unique edge.’
Studer OnAir in Zurich radio Having obtained licences for Radio 105 and R a d i o M o n t e Carlo, the Music First Network has opened all-new production and broadcast studios in the World Trade Center in Zurich. The main on-air studios are equipped with two Studer OnAir 2500 modulos. The D21m I-O units are located in the master control room and each studio boasts two seats for the DJs with 12 and 6 fader units. All mixing desks are connected via the Studer ReLink I-O sharing system, which provides high efficiency in accessing the shared I-O capacities. The infrastructure serves the production of three nationwide cable radio programmes, two FM stations and four web-radios. The DigiMedia5 broadcast system handles all processes for live and recorded programmes. Tele Südostschweiz, located in South East Switzerland, has installed a Studer OnAir 3000 console into its broadcast control room, where it is responsible for broadcasting Swiss newscasts, weather reports and talk shows.
Audient analogue mixing technology with DAW powered moving fader automation. Zen is a thoroughly modern, yet classic analogue mixing console combining DAW I/O integration with moving fader automation, transport control and the sonically pure signal path you would expect from Audient. Designed for today’s studio environments and in a compact frame, Zen features 2 inputs per channel, DAW record output on each channel, L/R mix bus, 2 stereo buses, 2 mono buses, 4 auxiliaries and 2 cue sends, plus a stereo compressor. And that’s just the start. To get the full picture hit www.audient.com/zen
Distributed in the UK by SCV London. Tel: 020 8418 1470 www.scvlondon.co.uk
NEWS
Stirling department opts for Marantz Flash
The Department of Film, Media & Journalism Studies at the University of Stirling has bought 12 Marantz PMD661 recorders from D&M Pro dealer ScotAudio. The department had been seeking a replacement for its MiniDisc portable recorders and various media and products had been evaluated. ‘Most other solid state units were either too flimsy or too fiddly, or both. Straight out of the box, however, the PMD661 impressed us with its good quality construction, neat design and good ergonomics,’ said department technician, Michael McDonald. ‘It has excellent sound quality and looks robust enough for prolonged student use. We especially like the ease of use and the availability of XLR inputs and ¼-inch headphone socket.’ Film, Media & Journalism Studies at the University is one of the oldest established degree courses of its kind in the UK and includes practical modules in audio and radio production, for which portable recorders are required for use in the studio and in the field.
BT Media upgrades audio
BT Media and Broadcast has employed supplier Scrub for an upgrade to its live and postproduction facilities based in London’s BT Tower. A new 5.1 dubbing theatre joins the existing line-up of HD/SD sports galleries and Avid/FCP suites. The package included 5.1 monitoring, Dolby E and Dolby Digital codecs and DK metering, while a Pro Tools HD with Icon D-Control ES console will connect to the Avid Isis storage at BT Media and Broadcast for media integration. Workflow efficiency is enhanced by the Pro Tools Video Satellite option. ‘We’ll be using the new dubbing theatre for the BBC’s Football League Highlights Show which launches in August, along with a host of other content for BT Vision Sports and other clients,’ said Andy Beale, BT Media and Broadcast head of engineering. ‘Scrub were very knowledgeable and helpful throughout the process. It’s fair to say that we would not have achieved the installation within the tight timescales required if they had not facilitated and expedited the delivery of the Icon console.’
Biz Bites to iPlayer has increased 152% over the last year, the BBC’s c atch up TV site came second to YouTube, with 11.2% of video visits. ‘The BBC has been promoting iPlayer on TV and through its other websites, and this has clearly been a successful strategy,’ commented Goad. ‘UK internet searches for “iPlayer” have trebled over the last 12 months, while 40% of the site’s traffic comes from other BBC properties.’
Sony Ericsson will launch its flagship Walkman branded W995 smartphone, users will be able to download BBC content using Media Go software. PlayNow Arena includes video content from Sony Music videos and TV. It will be supported by a £4.5m campaign that aims to reassert the company as a ‘multimedia powerhouse’.
GEAR
Products Equipment introductions and announcements.
Unity Audio Rock Unity Audio is designing and manufacturing its own range of professional monitors after assembling a team of professionals with ‘impeccable credentials’ in the areas required to produce what Unity describes as ‘a new standard of monitoring’. The first model is called The Rock. The front baffle and cabinet were designed by studio designer Kevin Van Green. To add density, mass and rigidity to the design, the front baffle is manufactured from Corian and is then bonded to a plywood baffle. It’s a closed cabinet design made from 12mm, 9-ply Baltic Birch with a bracing system that stops cabinet flexing. A folded ribbon tweeter has been designed that has a neodymium magnet system, giving higher efficiency, superior linear frequency and phase response along with the smoother ‘less fatiguing results associated with the use of ribbon tweeters’. The frequency response of the tweeter goes to 50kHz. A 180mm woofer with a 0.2mm aluminium foil is chemically bonded to a rigid pulp fibre cone that is said to reduce harmonic anomalies and permits +/-15mm of woofer travel. The use of aluminium bound to a pulp fibre is said to ensure that the woofer cone remains symmetrical at all frequencies. Esoteric Audio Research designer Tim de Paravicini created the amp for the monitor. It is a 100W discrete bi-polar, low feedback design with custom wound transformers and dedicated LF and HF sections with overload/clip protection. www.unityaudio.co.uk
Stagetec enhancements
Software release 3.6 for the Aurus and Auratus consoles improves functionality for live production applications. Highlights include an aux-to-fader, or mix-minus-to-fader, function. Easera SysTune software is designed to analyse room frequency and impulse responses in real-time and is integrated into Aurus; the software was previously only available as a standalone application. SysTune constantly returns room frequency and impulse responses, enabling corrections to be made even during a show. Vivace offers electroacoustic room-enhancement as either an integrated solution for Aurus and Nexus systems or as standalone application and allows for adapting room acoustics to any kind of performance from the FOH desk. Stagetec has introduced an interface for VST plug-ins, implemented on the large Aurus digital console. This host is connected to the Aurus/Nexus system and is addressed directly like any other audio I-O. Thus, effects produced by VST plug-ins can be inserted into any audio channel and be routed globally within Nexus. www.stagetec.com
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Spotlight: Schoeps Schoeps has introduced the VSR 5 studio microphone preamp. The preamp is said to have a wide dynamic range and extremely low distortion. It has a dual mono arrangement with two independent knobs to set gain in 3dB steps. Two amplifier modules form the heart of the VSR 5, which for a number of years have been the in-house reference for testing microphones. It was inspired by the ‘TransAmp LZ’ modules from Valley People. The VSR 5 is Schoeps’ first 19-inch rackmount unit and has switches for phantom, polarity reverse and mute, plus three low-cut filters. The RCMR microphone extension tube from Schoeps is identical in appearance to its well-known RC extension tubes from the Colette mic series. The RCMR becomes a complete microphone when combined with any Schoeps capsule, of which some 20 different types are available. While the original RC series requires a microphone amplifier, such as the phantom-powered Schoeps CMC 6–, the RCMR is designed for direct connection to pocket transmitters and can be used for wireless microphones. The CCM series mics now have an elastic suspension to do them justice. Combined with a CCM 41 L supercardioid and the special B 5 D windscreen, the mini-suspension developed by Schoeps and Cinela is a small, lightweight, yet highly effective system for boom operation. The OSIX CCM LU is an accessory for CCM_L compact microphones and dampens boom noises. Each model is designed to fit perfectly on a specific mic model. A compatible basket-type windscreen will also be available soon for use on shotgun mics. The OSIX CCM LU can be expanded into an MS stereo arrangement using an additional fig-8 mic (CCM 8) and the KMSC double clip. The K EMC is the company’s newest cable and offers particularly good immunity to electromagnetic interference. It is only 4mm in diameter yet is robust due to multiple bundles of Kevlar fibre in its jacket. It uses Neutrik XLR-3 EMC-type connectors. Its star-quad construction is especially effective in resisting magnetic interference and has no tendency to twist or untwist once installed; if you suspend a microphone from this type of cable the microphone’s orientation will be preserved. It is available in 10, 20 and 30m lengths. www.schoeps.de
SSL C10 HD desk The C10 HD broadcast console integrates all DSP signal processing and operating hardware into a convection-cooled control surface. Full processing redundancy, also within the console surface, is available as an option. The console comes in two frame sizes — 24+8 and 32+8 — with scalable DSP and I-O options. The control surface is complimented by a graphical overview of all signals, augmented with SSL’s Eyeconix feature that presents thumbnail pictures of sources for fast visual recognition and navigation. The C10 offers four access levels to the console’s features to provide the appropriate functionality to engineers and staff with different skill levels. It also offers a dialogue ‘auto-mix’ engine that automatically balances individual voices, overall volume and ambient noise of a ‘talking heads’ discussion, with minimal operator setup or intervention. It provides the same 5.1 mixing as the C100 HD along with a new 5.1 UpMix algorithm. The C100 HD-S is the latest generation of the C100 console and employs the Blackrock processor core as a miniaturised version of the established Centuri core. The B-RIO is a modular ‘local’ I-O housed in a space efficient 7U enclosure while the Morse Stagebox provides fibre connected modular remote I-O. S S L’s X - D e s k combines a 16-channel SuperAnalogue summing mixer with a compact analogue audio hub with 100mm faders, artist and studio monitoring with Dim and Cut buttons, stereo and mono aux sends, channel and master bus inserts and bargraph
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level metering. It comes with rack ears and several X-Desks can be cascaded via D-Sub connection to expand up to 150 inputs on mixdown. MX4 combines a high channel count/high quality audio interface, a versatile software mixer, and DSP powered plug-ins. The 128-channel MADI I-O can be combined with SSL Alpha-Link audio format convertors connected directly to suitably equipped consoles or integrated with broadcast routers. The MX4 mixer architecture, multiclient operation and ‘near zero’ latency creates a powerful system with the versatility to create multiple (or duplicate) multichannel record feeds, to create multiple headphone/artist monitor feeds or to build Mix Minus monitor feeds in broadcast applications. On-board plug-ins include SSL Channel EQ, Channel Dynamics and Stereo Bus Compressor and the VST2.0 architecture supports third party plug-ins. With the release of Duende Studio Packs SSL brought the SSL Duende Plug-in collection to a new level of affordability. Duende V3 doubles the power that the Duende platform can be upgraded to with the introduction of a new audio engine. Duende’s Hybrid Core Processing engine combines the advantages of dedicated DSP with use of your computer’s CPU. V3 enables users to upgrade Duende Mini to 64 channels and Duende PCIe to 128 channels. Duende V3 requires Intel Core 2 or equivalent for PC or Intel Mac based computers to run. T h e X - Ve r b plug-in by SSL is a reverberation generator based on SSL algorithms. www.solid-state-logic.com
July/August 2009
GEAR
Euphonix Core and router
Euphonix has introduced the DF70 DSP SuperCore for System 5 consoles that require extra large DSP channel counts for music and audio post applications. The DF70 can support more than 450 channels at 48kHz or 220 at 96kHz. The current DF66 DSP SuperCore is a DSP engine for those that require no more than 334 channels; it also supports dual DSP SuperCore 100% redundancy system for broadcasters and can handle up to six of the same DSP SP663 cards as the DF70. The DF70 supports up to eight SP663 cards for the highest channel count applications. The DF70 also includes 32 MADI I-O for a total of 2048 x 2048 inputs managed by the console’s PatchNet routing software. Broadcast updates for the System 5-B/BP and Max Air systems include a 1536 x 1536 broadcast router, and new software that includes a remote diagnostic logging feature.
The SH624 router can integrate System 5 and Max Air systems with facility routers, using the ES-Switch Protocol, including Harris-Leitch, Nvision, Pro-Bel, QuStream, Sony, Thompson-Grass Valley and Utah Scientific systems. Software version 4.1.5 includes a remote logging system that logs every action on the control surface in real time so that engineers can trace technical and operator errors. www.euphonix.com
Saffire PRO 24
Fostex LM16
Focusrite’s Saffire PRO 24 interface has two preamps that combine with mix control software and FireWire interfacing. I-Os include two additional analogue inputs, six analogue outputs, ADAT inputs (for expanding the interface with Focusrite’s OctoPre), stereo SPDIF I-O and two virtual ‘loopback’ inputs for routing digital audio between software applications. There is also 5-LED metering for each analogue input. Saffire Mix Control is ‘zero-latency’ 18 x 8 DSP mixer/router software. The Focusrite Plug-in Suite, with compression, reverb, gating and EQ, is included along with the Xcite+ bundle of Ableton Live Lite, Novation’s Bass Station and 1Gb of royalty-free samples from Loopmasters. www.focusrite.com
The LM16 from Fostex is a 16:4:2 digital live mixer that features the same technology as the LR16 live recording mixer (without the recorder) and looks like a conventional analogue mixer. Like the LR16, the I-O box and controller box can be separated allowing the stage box to be linked to the mixer section by a single Cat5E cable, up to 50m long. Features include digitally controlled trim and a limiter on all channels along with 3-band EQ and built-in master reverb/ delay effects. www.fostexinternational.com
Millennia Analog to Digital Conversion for your Millennia HV-3D and HV-3R preamp
Oktava updates Oktava has launched extensions to its MK-012 modular system, allowing the use of different capsules with the same microphone preamp. There are three large diaphragm, one medium diaphragm and four small diaphragm condenser capsules available. In addition to cardioid, hypercardioid and omnidirectional small diaphragm capsules a fig-8 has also been added. A new fig-8 adapter allows the use of two standard cardioid capsules for a fig-8 characteristic. Accessories include shockmounting suspensions and swivel joints for different stereo recording techniques. The MK-012 microphone preamplifier is available with three options: standard transformerless FET circuit; as a small valve option; or as a miniature preamp with extension cable (up to 5m) to the capsule. A new edition of the MK-319 large diaphragm condenser, called the MK-419, has transformerless electronics and a raised capsule voltage that increases the sensitivity from 11 to 34 mV/ Pa and with lower self noise level. The maximum SPL is now 135dB. www.oktava-online.com
July/August 2009
Jack Vad, award winning producer/engineer for the San Francisco Symphony recently upgraded his recording/broadcast chain at Davies Symphony Hall. " I had Millennia install the AD-D96 analog to digital converter in our HV-3D. I was using some excellent high-end converters before." ”When I changed over to the AD-D96 there was a very noticeable improvement in clarity. So much so that both my staff and musicians noticed the improvement."
http://www.mil-media.com/distributors-inter.html
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D&R Axum
Antares Auto-Tune EFX
The Axum f ro m D & R is its newest d i g i t a l broadcast system. It’s modular with an input matrix of 1280 x 1280. It can have 4 to 128 faders with up to 128 processing channels and 32 mixing buses and 16 stereo monitor buses. A choice of I-O cards is available for the rack I-O unit. All switches are freely assignable by the user and Axum works with an internal web server for configuration while Resolution Jakobare Adbased 04/06/09 control interconnections on Ethernet.10:31 Side www.d-r.nl
sound engineering
Antares Auto-Tune EFX is an affordable and easy-to-use plug-in for real-time pitch correction. Powered by the same Evo Voice Processing Technology as Auto-Tune Evo, Auto-Tune EFX is designed to make almost everything automatic. It provides two different flavours of the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect as well as realtime pitch correction. You select your desired effect type, set the key and scale of your 1 track, and Auto-Tune EFX does the rest. www.antarestech.com
YOUNG TALENT AND CLASSIC QUALITY ...hear the difference
KMS for female singers The KMS 104 Plus cardioid is an addition to Neumann’s stage microphone series. In comparison to the KMS 104 and KMS 105, the acoustic properties of the bass range have been redefined in the KMS 104 Plus and ‘optimised for the requirements of female voices in the rock and pop field.’ The KMS 104 plus is supplied with a padded nylon case and the appropriate stand clamp. www.neumann.com
MXL R77 MXL Microphones has released the R77 ‘classic ribbon’ microphone. Said to be reminiscent of RCA ribbon mics of the 1930s it has a classic body design with gold and chrome metal finish. It has a Fig-8 pattern and employs a 1.8-micron aluminium ribbon. The R77 comes with a wooden case, desktop stand, 25ft Mogami XLR cable, manual, application guide and cleaning cloth. It has 3-year warranty. The V89 studio condenser microphone is said to have a custom body design that minimises resonance as well as a tuned grill cavity that helps eliminate standing waves and reduces harmonic distortion. A cardioid, the V89 boasts a gold-sputtered diaphragm, high sensitivity and low noise circuitry. It comes in a wood case with shockmount and a 3-year warranty. www.MXLmics.com
More Shure PGs
JAKOB WINTHER
MP1A Mic Pre/DI
Vibe Factory | Copenhagen Studio Owner & Engineer
“
CL1B Compessor Whenever I'm mixing or recording, my TUBE-TECH gear is in use constantly. These blue machines gives me everything I want from analog equipment; warmth, fatness and character. This is modern equipment combined with the beloved quality of the classics! Already at an age of 17 I learned from the internet, that these units were the ones to get hold of for professional production, and I have never regretted that decision.
”
ME1B Midrange EQ PE1C Program EQ
TUBE-TECH VALVE QUALITY FOR SOUND LOVERS
LYDKRAFT 14
NEW WEBSITE | WWW.TUBE-TECH.COM
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The Shure PG27 and PG42 are large diaphragm microphones. The PG27 is said to be multipurpose with a flat frequency response and a switchable -20dB attenuator while the PG42 is engineered for vocal applications with high sensitivity, a voice-tailored frequency response and a switchable high pass filter and -15dB attenuator. The PG27 comes with a stand adapter, the PG42 with a shockmount and a carrying case. The PG27USB and PG42USB are the USB counterparts to the XLR models and offer the same basic features and plug into a computer USB port. They have built-in headphone monitoring and monitor mix control. Both microphones have an integrated preamp with gain control. The X2u XLR-to-USB signal adapter allows connection of any XLR mic to a computer USB port. The integrated preamp has a tri-colour peak level indicator, a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack with zero-latency monitoring and a monitor mix control. Shure has taken the iconic 55SH body, which has been in production almost continuously since 1951, dropped in a new motor with a supercardioid cartridge and added some vibrant blue colouring. The resulting hot rod is called the Super 55 Deluxe. www.shure.com
July/August 2009
GEAR
Camcorder mount The Rycote for Video system is a combined microphone shockmount/suspension and compact windscreen aimed at camcorder microphones. At the heart of the suspension is Rycote’s Lyre technology. A light but hardwearing noise-reducing clamp designed for microphones between 19 and 25mm in diameter and up to 300mm in length, is suspended in two low-noise W-shaped Lyre webs fixed to a mounting bar. The bar may then be connected to a camcorder via two further adaptor accessories that allow the mounting bar and any connected microphone to be rotated 360 degrees around the camera mounting point. Rycote has begun production of a range of foam microphone windshields that are available in a variety of shapes and sizes and are designed for use with small and large diaphragm mics, hand-helds and shotguns. The windshields offer up to 20dB of pop and wind attenuation without high-frequency loss. The foam can be custom-printed with company logos if required. www.rycote.com
R-44 recorder updated
KLOTZ ais OptoLink
V1.05 software for the Edirol’s R-44 compact field recorder enables users to add effects in Pre Record mode, and also includes updates for the BWF marker format. Other improvements include quicker shutdown times in some modes with SD cards, and a smoother overall workflow helped by minor bug fixes. www.edirol.co.uk
The OptoLink series from KLOTZ ais currently comprises two types of fibre optic convertor. OptoLink HD-SDI is for digital video and HDTV (SMPTE compliant up to 1.5Gb/s) and OptoLink DVI is for DVI-D interfaces featuring additional stereo audio over one fibre. www.klotz-ais.com
Model shown CMS 50
AKG digital wireless AKG’s DMS 700 digital wireless microphone system offers digital audio encryption, ultra wide tuning range and high channel count in a simple to use 19-inch chassis. It operates with two frequency bands with each band providing a tuning range of up to 155MHz of receivers and transmitters. Featuring the ability to operate on up to 100 channels simultaneously, the digital audio transmission system provides better resistance to interference from other transmissions and an infrared link between receiver and transmitter offers quick setup. The DHT700 Transmitter has a rugged metal housing, a built-in helical antenna and 50mW RF output power. It has AKG’s D5 dynamic microphone capsule. The DPT 700 Bodypack transmitter accepts both microphone and line-level input signals with no need to adjust the input sensitivity. The C 3000 condenser has been redesigned. It has a 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response, low noise electronics, high SPL capability and an internal shockmount. There’s a switchable 10dB pad and a switchable 500Hz filter. A metal carrying case and a spider-type shockmount are standard. AKG has redesigned its C 747 ‘pencil microphone’ to better cope with installed sound issues. The updated C 747 V11 is capable of handling a range of instruments and positions, and eliminates interference with an integrated RFi shield. With an enhanced hypercardioid polar pattern, it has a switchable LF roll-off filter and the low impedance preamp operates on 9 to 52V phantom power without a transformer. The C747 V11 ships with a shockmount/adapter, mini gooseneck, stand adapter, mounting clamp, thread link and windscreen. The Perception 820 Tube joins the Perception Series family, which includes the P 120, P 170, P 220 and P 420. The dual 1-inch diaphragm capsule combines with ECC 83 dual-triode valve circuitry and an output transformer. A remote control unit allows selection of nine different pickup patterns from omni to cardioid to fig-8. www.akg.com
July/August 2009
“In a class of its own.” - Audio Media Review - April 2009
CMS Active Nearfield Monitors Clean. Transparent. Smooth. Getting rave reviews and winning awards world over and based upon Focal proprietary driver technology, the CMS 65 and CMS 50 monitors deal out supreme performance and exceptional versatility in equal measure. From the superbly finished aluminium die-cast cabinets which offer total rigidity, the internal damping and bracing which banishes unwanted colorations and on to the unique Al/Mg (aluminium/magnesium) inverted dome tweeter which easily extends up to 28kHz at -3dB, with a close to perfection pulse response, nothing can touch them. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Sound on Sound, Audio Media and the M.I.P.A. panel are all in agreement. These professional monitors are winners all the way.
in the monitor st studio 0 audio 22 Voted Be er ov awards by M.I.P.A. globe. e th ss es acro magazin ) (April 09 - M.I.P.A
I would personally choo se the CMS65 monitor for day-to-day use without hesitation. For me, the Focal CMS65 is in a class of its own. - Audio Media (April 09) I can honestly say I foun d nothing about thei r performance to dislike. ...they have to count as some of the sweetest and most natural-sounding desktop monitors I’ve heard in the price range. Highly reco mmended - SOS (April 09)
Distributed by SCV London: Call 020 8418 1470 for your nearest dealer
www.scvlondon.co.uk
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GEAR
LAN-enabled power switch F o l l o w i n g o n f ro m i t s rackmounted LAN enabled mains distribution unit, Audionics has developed a standalone single power switch. The ePS LAN enabled power switch has an embedded web server to control AC power on any device via LAN/WAN/ Internet. It is said to be suited for equipment rebooting or for energy saving applications. Remote control of the ePS is via username and password which enables the user to switch the power output on/off or cycle. The user can also be notified of fuse failure and cold boot events via email alerts. A LED gives indication of output and fuse status. www.audionics.co.uk
Trantec Cube
2000 Series
Trantec’s latest addition to its Racked’n’Ready range, the S5.3 Cube, is compact, rugged, and user-friendly. The 1/2u system comes ready installed with four UHF channels of Trantec S5.3 that can operate up to 12 simultaneous channels within an 11MHz window (854-865MHz). An antenna distribution unit is included, and built-in mains distribution provides power to each receiver and the ADU. For larger events a remote antenna kit is also available. Handheld and beltpack transmitters operate for up to 10 hours on a single AA battery, and computer monitoring software means that users get real-time system status. www.trantec.co.uk
Sennheiser’s entry-level wireless 2000 Series includes handheld and bodypack transmitters with single or twin receivers. For monitoring, users can combine the diversity receivers of the series with single or twin monitor transmitters. The professional accessories of the 3000 and 5000 Series — clip-on microphones, antennas, boosters, combiners — are also compatible with the 2000 Series. Depending on the UHF range, the units have a switching bandwidth of up to 75MHz, in which up to 64 compatible frequency presets are available for microphones and up to 32 for monitoring systems. The rackmount units can transmit their frequency data, name, sensitivity, low cut, etc. to the corresponding portable transmitters or receivers via an infrared interface. An antenna loop-through socket and an integrated active splitter allow up to eight rack receivers to be daisy-chained. The systems can be monitored and controlled by a PC and all rackmount transmitters and receivers are equipped with an Ethernet socket. To focus on maximum operational reliability for multichannel applications or on a greater range, depending on the application, the transmitter output power can be switched between 10, 30 and 50mW; a special US version also has an output power of 100mW. The filter module for the MKH 8000 series, the MZF 8000, suppresses handling noise and wind noise. The signal level can be lowered via a pad, thus allowing it to be optimally adapted to the recording equipment. HD 380 pro headphones are said to be able to deliver high sound pressure levels. Audio signals are reproduced at up to 110dB and the closed-back design ensures that external noise is attenuated by 32dB. Weighing 220g with soft padding on the ear cups and headband the headphones are said to remain comfortable even after lengthy sessions. They also have a space-saving fold-away design. The headphones come with a one-sided detachable coiled cable with a 3.5mm jack plug and a 6.3mm screw-on adapter and the ear pads and cables are easily replaced. www.sennheiser.co.uk
JBL entry level monitors JBL’s LSR2300 series monitor includes the LSR2328P bi-amplified 8-inch studio monitor with 160W of amplification, the LSR2325P bi-amplified 5-inch with 85W of amplification, and the LSR2310SP 10-inch subwoofer with an integrated 180W amplifier. The LSR2300 design has a large waveguide and elliptical tweeter aperture that work in conjunction with a 1-inch silksubstrate tweeter. The LSR2328P 8-inch model claims low frequency extension to 37Hz, the LSR2325P 5-inch to 43Hz, and the LSR2310SP sub provides low frequency performance below 29Hz. The LSR2328P bi-amplified 8-inch 2-way claims a maximum peak SPL of 117dB. All models have balanced XLR, ¼-inch, and phono inputs. The LSR2310SP sub has 2-channel bass management with selectable crossover settings. www.jblpro.com
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REVIEW
Klark Teknik DN530 & DN540 The march of digital has not conquered all before it as analogue boxes have made the outboard rack their stronghold. ZENON SCHOEPE looks at two new quad channel dynamics units with a live production slant but equal appeal to the studio.
D
espite the fact that we can get all sorts of digital dynamic control options in the box, in the desk or in the platform of your choice there are still a stubborn list of realworld applications where a good old analogue box is going to ring the appropriate bell. Going digital in part on an analogue rig is potentially still as problematic as going analogue in part on a digital rig. Without getting too tied up with the underlying reasoning, politics, and propaganda the fact remains that the equipment rack remains a central item in any production system and these racks seem to be populated increasingly these days with just analogue gear. The digital stuff gets dealt with elsewhere. High up in there among the prestige brands, the Klark Teknik moniker has always imparted feelings of dependable performance. It’s maybe not the most exiting breed of the rackmount variety or one that users remain undecided on — KT is the brand you buy if you can afford it and if it’s important to you to be able to forget about a box and just know that it will work. Of course, the sort of boxes that KT produces will not light the touchpapers of hard-core analogue outboard recording aficionados of the valve and discrete inclination, the analogue units that KT produces are workhorses. Things have indeed moved on for analogue outboard and in the market that KT tends to occupy there’s not nearly the sort of competition at all price points that there used to be. In the live production sector the groupies are increasingly chasing the digital but if you have a catalogue of analogue outboard that is still in demand and still being speced you have to feed the chain. Many of you will know the DN514 Quad Gate and DN504 Quad Compressor and it’s against this background that Klark Teknik has introduced the DNS530 Creative Quad Gate and the DNS540 Creative Quad compressor. I have always been a big fan of multichannel dynamics boxes for a number of reasons. The first is that when I need a gate I never need just the one, I’ll probably need a minimum of three and if I need more than four then I can always scrape together a 2-channel device from somewhere. The second is that I just don’t believe that two channels of gate warrant a full 1u of rack width because there is little ergonomic benefit to having the gate controls in line — it’s not like we’re talking about a channel strip. I like multichannel compressors for different reasons. We all need gain reduction in quantity but compression is used as a flavouring and you don’t always want to be tying up your best six channels July/August 2009
of compression on stuff that only really requires a clamping down and controlling influence. I like to have a quantity of jobbing compressors that I can apply in a variety of different ways. That’s not to say that they need to be ordinary, I don’t like ordinary, but one of my favourite bulk compressors is the excellent KT SquareOne Dynamics. That box actually combines compression with gating — I actually prefer for the sake of flexibility to have these processes separated — which is exactly what the DN530 and DN540 offer. These are handsome looking quad boxes with an impeccable finish and a wonderful colour scheme. They are heavier than I thought they’d be. A look around the back reveals that there’s a certain amount of shared metal work with the two holes blanked off on the compressor being employed for the side chain solo circuit on the gate. Other than that both units have balanced XLR I-Os for each channel and TRS jack sockets for the sidechain access. Let’s start with the DNS530 gate which is made up of four identical and independent gate sections. You get six knobs, two switches and a some LED metering. There’s fully variable Threshold (-50 to +25), Attack (30µs to 10ms), Release (2ms to 2s), Hold (2ms to 2s), and Range (infinity to 0dB). The final knob pertains to the DNS530’s unique selling point that KT terms ‘Accent’ but you may recognise the principle by a different name on other brand units. Accent allows you to add up to 12dB of level effectively to the leading edge of the attack envelope — it’s a type of gate overshoot with extra wellie. The activity of Accent is marked by the glowing of a blue LED on the left hand ladder, which conveniently is next to the Clip LED which you can light without too much trouble on Accented signals if you’re not careful. Accent is really only for percussion applications and serves as a good way of spicing up a lacklustre snare or kick, or making a great snare (and drummer) sound marvellous. However, you’ve got to remind yourself that it can be turned off as it’s a little addictive. Use with moderation. There are also LEDs for Gate Shut, Release status, Hold status and the all-important over Threshold light. This is a very informative metering arrangement that took me a while to appreciate initially as it’s different to what I am used to. A switch for Ducking turns the gating resolution
process on its head and there’s a Bypass Switch; both have accompanying LEDs. Next to each gate section is a small Sidechain panel that contains a switchable bandpass Frequency pot that is sweepable from 40Hz to 16kHz. There are switches for activating the external sidechain input and one that Solos the section. This is a gate that is hard to trip up and it has enough variability to cover all bases. I like to test gates on spoken word as you get an immediate intelligibility measure of what the thing can do. Accent is a handy percussion feature but I might have preferred a lower maximum level as I found it hard to apply anywhere near full throttle on any signals I was using. A lower maximum would also theoretically give you finer resolution on the Accent pot’s travel. Good gate though, highly tuneable and professionally presented with great LED indication. The DN540 compressor is arranged in a broadly similar manner and again each of the four channel sections has six knobs. You get Threshold (-50 to +25), Attack (0.1ms to 20ms), Release (50ms to 2s), Ratio (1:1 to infinity) and 18dB of makeup Gain. The Compressor’s unique selling point is the inclusion of a Presence pot that when applied reduces gain reduction of the mid-highs while leaving the rest of the spectrum compression in tact. It’s a bit like a de-esser in reverse and is targeted clearly at vocal processing so you can retain some of the intelligibility when you’re needing to compress more than a little. You have to apply it carefully because the more compression you’re using on a signal the more relatively dramatic is the effect of bringing out the upper mids on the Presence pot — particularly as upper mids is where you’ll also find any noise in the signal. I think the best results are achieved on lower ratio settings as you’ll get to use more of the full travel of the Presence pot. It can be subtle and is certainly applicable in this manner to studio work. It’s interesting that this effect can also be used on stereo programme (a Link switch couples the channel to the one one the right) to give a tad of brightness to a mix. Now all I need is for the Presence pot to be tuneable for frequency and bandwidth.. Metering shows gain reduction to the left and output (switchable to input) on the right. Curve characteristic can be switched from soft to hard knee, 17
REVIEW shines though. Again, as with the Accent maybe the maximum value of the Presence pot is a little too high for most applications although you are of course not obliged to use it all. All told these are remarkably able boxes. Of the two, the compressor gets me a little more excited but then it’s hard to get wound up about a fancy electronic switch at my age. Both deliver exceptionally solid performance in a fuss-free manner using pots and switches that feel good and are well arranged. I am even more convinced that two-channel gates makes no operational sense when you can get such simple and approachable access to all the controls you would ever need in double the density. People will inevitably make comparisons between the DN530 and DN540 and the DN500 series units, which I am not familiar with. However, to me it is clear that these new units are a far more modern and immediate presentation of these audio essentials. Things have moved on quite substantially in user’s expectations of dynamic control and these ‘creative’ units better reflect that. They each have an interesting feature twist of their own and you know that you won’t have to worry about them once they’re in your rack; they’ll run and run. A good investment in my book, I’m impressed. n
there’s a Bypass and a button that asks the sidechain to look to the rear panel socket. Finally there’s a button for a rather intelligent Auto mode that does what you’d expect with the attack and release times while referencing to your threshold and ratio settings. Auto performance is frequently the best indicator of a
well sorted compressor. There’s plenty to be playing with on the DN540 and the performance is good. It’s not steeped in compression character but it is certainly able to do a passable impression of the needles flat trick. It’s best at low to medium ratio restraint where its class
PROS
Solid performance from both units; build quality and looks; Accent control on the DN530; Presence control on the DN540.
CONS
Accent can make signals very hot; Presence needs sympathetic use.
Contact klark teknik, uk: Website: www.klarkteknik.com
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July/August 2009
S M A L L
R O O M
S U P P L E M E N T
July/August 2009
All you need to know to build a small studio Why size is important Optimisation is just part of the equation Putting the ‘home’ in studio Loudspeaker placement in small rooms Big studio principles for the smaller space
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SMALL ROOM SUPPLEMENT
Size is important The prospect of embarking on the acoustic build of a small room is daunting. PHILIP NEWELL discusses some of the problems encountered and explains some of the limitations to be anticipated when too much is expected from a small space.
I
am writing this during a day off in Barcelona where I will be for about three months overseeing the construction of two rooms for compliance with the specifications for mixing in Dolby Digital. One room, the new Fig Tree studio, will be certified to Dolby Premier standard while the other is a rebuild for Audio Projects of an existing room in the ex-Duy studio complex. The first room is in a shell of about 85sqm, with a height of about 4m while the second occupies about 35sqm and has a height of only around 2.5m. This room cannot receive certification for mixing feature-film soundtracks, basically because acoustics and audio perception will not scale despite the fact that both rooms will be equalised precisely to exhibit the same ‘frequency’ response at the working positions. The acoustic differences are tied to distances and wavelengths. The smaller room will necessarily be restricted to the mixing of cinema commercials and trailers, although the premixing of the stems of dialogue, music and effects is a possible further use. I have written several articles for Resolution, (V7.3, V8.4) outlining why these size differences give rise to such perceptual differences, even though the rooms may be quite precisely equalised to the standard cinema ‘X-Curve’ and may even use the same loudspeaker systems. I am building this big room big in Barcelona because it cannot be built small; at least not without sacrificing a great deal of its performance. These are big rooms and we are here to talk about small rooms. I first met Pablo Sanchez, the co-owner of Producciones Peligrosas in Peligros, near Granada, Spain, in 1994 when he and his partners wanted a recording studio. They had contacted a ‘general acoustics and sound isolation’ company to ask for a design, but before it was finished it became apparent to the owners that neither the isolation nor the internal acoustics were going to be adequate. I was asked to take a look at the situation. The control room was miniscule, and the studio (performing room) was rather uninspiring. What was more, although the isolation work was still not finished, a bass guitar and a drum kit playing in the designated area was producing 83dBC in the bedroom of the neighbour. There was just no way that it was going to be cut to 30dBA by the proposed isolation measures. Something drastic needed to be done. The studio owners decided on a redesign so I pushed for a 30sqm control room and sacrificed much of the performing space. To allow the neighbours to sleep peacefully I had to insist on the subsequent triple shell construction, which consumed even more space. Initially, the owners were very worried that their available working area was shrinking so much, but the resulting control room was very neutral and the variable acoustics in the studio allowed much flexibility. Fifteen years later they are still in business, they are still on excellent terms with the neighbours, and they have a client list that they are very proud of. Unfortunately though, none of this could be achieved in a starting space the size of a shoe-box. The amount of space consumed can be seen in Figure 1. In the studio in Peligros there were two saving graces that made it possible to make a good studio. First, the site for the studio was on solid ground so the weight of isolation materials was not a problem. Second, they had a height of almost 4m, which allowed the installation of 20cm of floated floor, and an adequate amount of wideband absorption in the ceilings to neutralise the room problems, even at low frequencies. Pablo had called me to speak about some musicians with whom he was working who had just paid more than €15,000 to a ‘general acoustics’ company to design and build a studio in their home. The sound inside the rooms was said to be awful, the isolation between the rooms was poor, and the foot-falls of the people walking on the floor above could still clearly be heard. They asked me to travel down to see what could be salvaged. The rooms, when finished, were tiny, only about 3m by 3m, with a height of just 2.2m. The basic layout is shown in Figure 2. If I had been asked to make a studio in such a small space from scratch I would have refused, because I would know that I could never build what they were expecting in a space so small. But I felt obliged to try to help his friends out of their situation. I work for satisfaction as much as for financial survival, so if I cannot walk away from a room with the feeling of a job well done, then I prefer not to undertake the work. There is a definite trend, however, to go for marginally acceptable rooms and small rooms in general only tend to give satisfactory results July/August 2009
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Cover shot: TMP Media Group (www.tmp.se). Located in Sweden with five recording studios in Gothenburg (pictured) and Stockholm, TMP produces audio for product launches, games, corporate presentations, voice recognition systems, language dubbing and educational programmes as well as for Radio and TV. It has a library of more than 800 Scandinavian voice talents. The rooms are small but well-equipped and have 5.1 Genelec monitoring in sympathetically acoustically designed spaces.
INTRODUCTION Whether you’re working in your own space, thinking of making a room of your own or repurposing an area in your facility to add to your workflow and revenue stream, chances are that room will be small. It’s not just budgets that have made audio work areas smaller, it’s the shrinking of the technology that has allowed a smaller than traditionally accepted area to be employed as a viable ‘room’. But there are issues that have to be acknowledged and confronted when pressing a small space into sound duties. This supplement looks at the problems and realities of small control rooms, explores the solutions, and puts them into the practical context of what is likely to work for you. Not all the opinions agree but when you’re talking about acoustic and monitoring issues they rarely do. What you get is a definitive guide to the things you need to think about and what you might need to do to make your small room as good as it can be. Zenon Schoepe
CONTENTS
Size is important.............................................................................iii/21 Optimisation is just part of the equation.......................................vii/26 The home studio ............................................................................ix/28 Loudspeaker placement in small rooms..........................................xi/30 Big principles for a small room.....................................................xiii/32 Editorial Editorial Director: Zenon Schoepe. Tel: +44 1444 410675, Email: zen@resolutionmag.com Editorial office: PO Box 531, Haywards Heath RH16 4WD, UK Advertisement Sales EUROPE: Clare Sturzaker, tel: +44 1342 717459, Email: clare@resolutionmag.com EUROPE: Lynn Neil, tel: +44 208 123 5040, Email: lynn@resolutionmag.com US: Jeff Turner, tel: +1 415 455 8301, Email: jeff@resolutionmag.com PRODUCTION AND LAYOUT Dean Cook, The Magazine Production Company, Tel: +44 1273 467579 Email: dean@resolutionmag.com
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Fig. 1. This drawing of the triple isolation and acoustic control structure in Peligros shows the extent to which space can be lost when it is necessary to put a studio in a residential building. The control room, to the right of the room shown, has a somewhat lighter construction.
if the standards that the owners are aiming for are not very high. Poor rooms and poor performances often go hand-in-hand. Poor sounds are rarely musically inspiring, and uninspired music rarely leads people to look for the highest quality of sound. You don’t do anyone any favours by making mediocre rooms, even if they are ‘workable’. In the case of Pablo’s friends there was just not the necessary space to make rooms that are as flexible as Pablo’s rooms, so the only possibility is to tailor the tiny rooms to a limited range of recording styles. The current situation consists of suspended or floated sandwiches of plasterboard, with a dead-sheet damping layer in-between. The wall sandwiches are mounted on metal studs, and 70kg/cubic metre mineral wool has been placed in the cavities. There are also ‘acoustic’ doors and multiglazed windows. This type of isolation is great for most types of industrial noise as there are few processes outside the music business that regularly generate levels of 115dBC at low frequencies in small spaces, as do drum kits and bass guitars, for example. Conversely, there are few industries that are as sensitive to the ingress of noise as music recording studios. This is why designing to standard noise ratings/criteria is rarely appropriate in music studios. In fact, most isolation figures for doors and wall systems are only published down to around 125Hz, or sometimes 63Hz, and at these frequencies the isolation is usually diminishing. Unfortunately, it is exactly in this region where the musical power is frequently most potent. The only real options for isolating these frequencies are mass (weight) and distance. When faced with a studio in an office or light industrial building, the ability to load
a lot of weight on the floors is often very restricted, and rarely, also, do people want to lose floor area ‘just’ for isolation. So, if the space is small and the floors are weak, good low frequency isolation is probably not an available option. Fortunately, in the case of the two small rooms in question, the owners of the studio are also the owners of the floor above and the purpose of the studio is to record, almost exclusively, Flamenco music. This type of music consists principally of voices, Spanish guitars, and the odd cajón. Generally, there is not much low frequency content in this music so high LF isolation between the rooms is not likely to be very necessary. Nevertheless, this would not make a good Rock studio as the LF leakage between the rooms would interfere with the LF from the loudspeakers during a recording. Achieving good low frequency isolation in small spaces in domestic buildings is not always practicable. What is more, the possibilities for a Rock band playing together in such a small space would be limited but then small spaces do tend to be very limited in what they can do well. In terms of the general low frequency isolation in this studio, if low frequency noise were to enter from the outside of the studio it would clearly disturb the recordings. Acoustic solutions to this problem are not easy to find. In such circumstances many sound engineers would resort to the use of high pass filters but the filters affect the time response accuracy of the transients and can definitely affect the timing and the rhythm, and also the tonal quality of the wanted bass. Unhappily, though, these changes are often unnoticeable in rooms with LF resonance problems and inadequate loudspeakers. In the case in question, the
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July/August 2009
SMALL ROOM SUPPLEMENT
Fig. 2. The basic layout of the tiny rooms.
best solution to the LF noise ingress problem is to control it at source; the occupants of the house would need to be conscious of not making too many thumps when recordings are in progress. As the upper floor is also owned by the studio owners, the noises from foot-falls can probably be reduced by the installation of a floated floor on the upper level, but the low frequency ‘thuds’ from children jumping about would be very difficult to isolate. With a starting height of only 2.6m, isolating these noises from inside the room is simply a non-starter. With regard to the internal acoustics of the rooms, the plasterboard structure will provide a considerable amount of low frequency absorption, but the middle and high frequencies will be quite reflective. Hence the boxy sound in the rooms and the bass-light characteristic. These characteristics are not useful for control rooms or for studio performing spaces and sticking bits of foam on the wall is only likely to make the response even less flat. In Resolution V6.5, I wrote an article about rooms for voice-overs. The same technique explained there can deal with the middle and high frequency reflections — to mount a wood/cement/air, composite board, either glued over an open-cell polyurethane foam or screwed to studs with a fibrous infill. Along with the LF absorption due to the plasterboard sandwiches, this does go a long way to killing the entire acoustic of the room, but at least the colouration goes with it. For the live, acoustic performance of Flamenco music this would be awful but in the case of recordings, if they are made while wearing headphones, the necessary reverberation for the performance can be added artificially, and at least a clean, uncoloured sound can be recorded ready for whatever postprocessing is deemed appropriate. Any sense of excessive deadness in a room can often be alleviated by the use of a hard floor, which does not affect what is captured by microphones very much. You’ll hear a lot of criticism about rooms, such as those being described here, as being oppressive, but, in reality, musicians very soon become accustomed to them. After a couple of weeks they won’t remember what it was that they found so initially disturbing. Obviously, such rooms do not 24/vi
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make inspiring performing spaces, but as already mentioned this can be assisted by the foldback. The crucial point is that spaces like these can yield very good quality recorded sounds, and they are also capable of allowing microphones to be placed at appropriate distances from sources without the risk of colouration from the rooms. In the case of Flamenco singers, who tend to move about very much during the emotion of a performance, and who can produce 125dB SPL or more at the microphones if they are too close to them, such rooms are very useful. When a studio, limited as it may be, begins to work in a consistent and predictable manner and achieves good quality recordings of good performances, then despite its small size it can still be considered to be professional. Small rooms, by their very nature, return whatever reflected energy there exists very rapidly, and this also goes for the reflections of the reflections, leading to a high reflection density and a characteristically ‘closed’ and ‘thick’ sound. Diffusion will not deal with this because it will still return the energy to the microphone, just in a different form. In my opinion, diffusers at close distances can lead to very unnatural sounds and in small rooms I would never use them. The only reliable way to achieve clean recordings is via wide-band absorption. I have removed many diffusers from small rooms, where people were complaining about undesirable colouration, and after replacing them with absorbers none of my clients has ever wished to put back the diffusers. Internet chat rooms are full of a lot of dross on this subject; the practical realities tend to tell a different story. Of course, whether all this struggle to achieve the best attainable quality matters or not will depend largely on your attitude. Is the studio a professional studio or merely a business? If it is a business then the optimum point on the price/quality/profit scales will determine the levels of performance. If the studio is professional, then all efforts will be made to achieve the best recordings, even if doing it more cheaply could yield a bit more profit. The big commercial studios, which are July/August 2009
SMALL ROOM SUPPLEMENT to lose more space than would be taken up by a coat of paint. Hopefully, what has been discussed here will serve to highlight some of the problems and explain some of the limitations to be expected when too much is expected from small rooms. The large and small cinema rooms in Barcelona and the two recording studios in Granada highlight some of the differences of scale. Finally, I am reminded of another situation that involved a domestic studio in the house of a famous musician. His vocal room had an undesirable sound so I was asked for solutions. I proposed an acoustic treatment costing about €5,000 for design, materials and labour, but this was considered to be too expensive. Perversely, the owner’s solution was to buy different microphones, costing, in total, even more than the proposed acoustic work, but these ‘solutions’ still only worked at very short distances. As soon as the singer moved slightly away from the microphone (as they tend to do when performing) the room sound problem returned. I have never been able to understand how the relatively subtle differences between microphones could be expected to solve the non-subtle problem Fig. 3. The general acoustic construction. The difference between this treatment and that shown in Figure 1 is of the boxy sound of a resonant room. After all, clearly apparent. In no way could the two treatments lead to similar results. As the treatment in Figure 1 could any high quality microphone would not be worth not possibly fit in the small space shown in the above figure, it follows that the small room could never expect its reputation if it could not capture accurately the to attain the same degree of isolation from the upper floor. room sound. Nevertheless, nowadays, there is a great tendency to believe that more equipment is disappearing, have the size necessary to be good at many things; they are truly always the answer. In reality, good acoustics tend to trump an entire truckload of multifunctional. When we deal with much smaller spaces we need to think more microphones and preamplifiers. about specialisation if we are to keep the quality level high. The unavoidable The moral of this story is that you cannot expect too much from small rooms reality is that acoustic control measures take space and they also need to without risking disappointment. They cannot be all things to all people, and be tailored to their circumstances of use. In my experience, especially in the there are no electronic miracles to perfect them. I am building the aforementioned multimedia industries, not only do people want to use whatever space is available, Dolby Digital soundtrack mixing room in a 340 cubic metre shell because the but they also, often and quite unrealistically, want it to be multifunctional. They requirements for achieving the most neutral acoustics and the best compatibility rarely want to spend any significant amount of money on acoustic treatment or with public cinemas cannot be achieved in much less. Yes; size is important. n
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Optimisation is just part of the equation
We then turned towards postproduction studios and found that the methodology and tools used to calibrate mixing theatres hadn’t changed for more than 30 years and pink noise and 1/3-octave graphic EQs were still being used. With version 2.0 of the Optimizer software we addressed these issues. Mixing theatres are different environments to broadcast control rooms. Target Curves were added to provide an automatic tool that helps studios meet the X-Curve SMPTE standard with accuracy. Automatic Crossover Alignment was added to fully integrate monitor controller/ compensation with complex speaker arrays. Should loudspeaker/room optimisation be used to improve Our technology has also been applied to the home and is available in the latest sound reproduction? In which situations can it help? What are Sherwood R-972 AV receiver and once the system is setup, the listener can be confident that he’s never been closer to the sound that was produced in the studio. its limitations? How does it work? Does it work? Trinnov’s As can be seen, optimisation can be used in a variety of acoustical situations. FELIPE AVILA-REYES answers these questions based on the Its benefits range from alleviating the problematic bass response of a small room to improving further a good sounding room. In fact, you can look at loudspeaker/room experience of installing Trinnov loudspeaker processors in studios. EQ in two almost opposite ways: as a problem solver; or as a tool that can turn a an room equalisation help to improve the sound of the control room? Is good control room into an outstanding control room. acoustic treatment the only real solution to acoustical problems? Trinnov’s Most engineers have a list of rooms where they would prefer not to work in, and experience shows that the best results can be achieved by combining a good portion of them are probably small rooms. To mix in a small room, you need all the three approaches: acoustic treatment, loudspeaker placement and to feel confident that your mixes will translate well and a combination of acoustic optimisation. Most of the top acoustic designers today use some form of equalisation treatment and carefully applied EQ can truly improve the response in the low and to complement the work done by acoustic panels and loudspeaker placement. mid ranges. Certainly acoustic treatment and loudspeaker placement come first, and On the other hand, you could build a great sounding room and wonder whether optimisation comes next. Optimisation is an integral part of the holistic sound there is anything left to be improved. Group delay compensation of the speaker system design process, which includes acoustic treatment and loudspeaker drivers is one possibility for improvement and will dramatically improve the phase placement as essential steps. response of the loudspeakers, resulting in a more defined stereo image and more The first industry that started to use equalisation was motion picture: all cinemas focused phantom sources between the loudspeakers. Many sound engineers have around the world are equalised according to SMPTE standards. Most of them use found that phase optimisation is a worthwhile improvement to their monitoring 31-band graphic equalisers whose settings are based on pink-noise measurements system. of the loudspeakers’ frequency response in the room. This amplitude-only based You can make your own evaluation of optimisation by doing a mix in a nontechnology is at least 30 years old. When digital processors became available equalised room, doing the mix again with the Trinnov activated and finally listening roughly 10 years ago, the analogue equalisers were replaced with digital 31-band and comparing the two versions of your mix in different rooms. Our experience graphics, using exactly the same methodology to set them up. shows that users will find that the Trinnov mix translates better in a majority of While cinema continues to rely on 31-band graphics, studios have recently other rooms. started to integrate digital parametric equalisers, which can be set automatically Let’s talk about the specifics and what makes loudspeaker/room optimisation so based on acoustic measurements. complex and why is it such a subject of controversy. A lot of it’s to do with the lure We can see loudspeaker/room of the ‘flat response’. If you focus on only one point in optimisation is gradually becoming a the room, for example at the engineer’s mixing position, widely available technology for pro and it is theoretically possible to achieve a flat frequency consumer applications. Automated EQ is response within 1dB. However, instead of making any nonetheless a great scientific challenge improvement, this approach creates several problems. that has been addressed with very While the sweet spot measures flat, it will sound terrible. different approaches and mixed results, This is due to the fact that such correction can only work which explain why sound engineers and on one cubic centimetre around the measurement point end users have such mixed opinions and all other points, even 5cm from the measurement about it. point, will sound worse and since the ears are at least When we first released the Optimizer 15cm apart this approach simply does not work. we offered some unique features valuable What are you measuring and what does ‘flat to sound engineers and producers: response’ mean? This concept is closely related to the automatic sound system alignment, measurement technique that you use. Usually ‘flat based on our findings in acoustics and 3D response’ assumes that if you send pink noise to the acoustic fields processing. As a pioneer in loudspeaker, your 1/3-octave analyser will display surround sound recording and mixing, a flat curve. However, pink noise has one major the first user of the Trinnov was Florian limitation: it can’t differentiate the difference between the Camerer at Austrian broadcaster ORF. Fig. 1. Wavelet transform of the impulse response of loudspeaker’s sound and the room’s response. Does ‘flat’ Florian needed to solve a non-trivial a loudspeaker before. mean that your loudspeaker’s response is problem to ensure that his 5.1 mixes would translate flat or that the room’s response is flat? In well for a majority of viewers and listeners. fact, it may well be that your loudspeaker The goal was to follow the ITU R-775 recommendation has a 3 to 6dB dip in the overlapping for 5.1 sound reproduction. This paper defines with region of its crossover and that your great detail how the loudspeakers should be positioned, pink noise measurement will read flat. In although it doesn’t explain how to achieve such a other words, if you only use pink noise positioning in practice. Furthermore, it is quickly you can’t really tell where the acoustic apparent to any engineer wanting to mix in 5.1 that problems come from. You need a more achieving a consistent timbre from every loudspeaker powerful measurement technique that is a real challenge, as well as attaining a proper stereo differentiates between the loudspeaker image between each pair of loudspeakers. and the room. After many listening tests in different control rooms Impulse response is an acoustic and OB trucks conducted by Florian and leading measurement technique that provides acoustic designer Peter Willensdorfer, it became clear the time behaviour of your loudspeaker/ that our automatic equalisation algorithms were suited to room. However, measuring the time professional use. With the unique ability to measure in 3D behaviour is one thing, and analysing it the position of each loudspeaker, the Optimizer is the only in a meaningful way is another challenge. tool that can align delays and levels for the whole system Fig. 2. Wavelet transform of the impulse response of An important portion of our research effort in minutes. Florian used these features to his advantage. a loudspeaker after. has been put into time-frequency analysis
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SMALL ROOM SUPPLEMENT techniques that can tell the difference between the done its job, it automatically computes FIR and IIR loudspeaker and the room. Once you manage to do filters to improve the consistency of direct sound this you are already half way to the solution. Wavelet against late reverberation. A selectable feature of transforms are a powerful representation to better the Optimizer is to compensate the loudspeaker’s explain loudspeaker/room interaction. group delay and very early reflections by applying Figure 1 shows a wavelet transform of the impulse full-phase, time domain techniques (deconvolution). response of a loudspeaker in a control room. An early However, later reflections are left untouched. reflection is clearly visible at 2ms. There is also a The last step is to use the integrated acoustic strong cancellation above 100Hz, due to a standing analysis tools and make listening tests. This allows wave. The ‘L’ shape of the impulse (at 0ms) is the pinpointing of certain frequencies that require evidence of the group delay of the loudspeaker: each additional equalisation to meet target curves, personal driver produces higher frequencies first and lower or project requirements. The fine-tuning may be frequencies later. Also notice the large amount of performed within the Trinnov with manual FIR, energy in the mid range, from 3ms to 6ms. parametric and graphic EQs. Figure 2 shows the same loudspeaker with Trinnov Given the big acoustical problems encountered in correction. The mid range is greatly improved: most most small rooms and the limited improvement that of the energy comes from the loudspeaker, not from acoustic treatment can offer within the constraints of the room. This will make a huge difference for the the space, loudspeaker/room equalisation can make translatability of the mixes done in that room. all the difference in making a small room into an Also, the group delay of the loudspeaker has been acceptable mixing environment. compensated. This will greatly improve the stereo Let’s take a look at one of our recent projects: the image that the monitors are able to render. However, audio room of ORF’s Ü1D OB truck, which we recently the early reflection is not touched in the high range updated in collaboration with Peter Willensdorfer. It is because it arrives too late, so the algorithms don’t a typical small room: the dimensions of the empty even try to compensate for it. space are 4m depth x 2.80m width, but once filled The design philosophy of the Trinnov is to offer a with the equipment the depth is reduced to about loudspeaker processor that complies with and goes 3m. Also very typical for an OB truck, it uses Genelec beyond current audio reproduction standards and 1031 and 1029 monitors. industry practices. It combines automatic processes For this particularly difficult environment we with fine-tuning tools that allow the sound system decided to try our latest multipoint algorithms. We designer to reach the best results, while making the measured five different points: the central mixing whole process easier and faster. position of the sound engineer sweet spot; 20cm We have built a database of impulse response towards the front of the sweet spot; 20cm to the right; measurements of hundreds of rooms, 20cm to the rear; and ranging from ultra small audio rooms 20cm to the left. in OB trucks to some of the largest To make the postproduction studios in the world. reading of the curves This has allowed us to continuously easier, only the first improve our algorithms and to develop three points are a methodology that covers impulse displayed in Figure response measurement of every 3. The centre point is loudspeaker from one or more listening shown in green, the points, automatic time-frequency front is in red, and the analysis of the measurements, and right is in blue. The computation of the automatic EQ for low range has strong every loudspeaker, and manual finepeaks of as much as Fig. 3. ORF OB audio room before. tuning with FIR, parametric and graphic +5dB at more or less EQs, based on listening tests and human 45Hz and 100Hz and analysis of the measurements before/ strong cancellations after automatic EQ. In some cases, the of as much as -10dB sound engineers will suggest additional occur at 60Hz, fine-tuning after a few weeks of working 300Hz, 700Hz and on their new system. 1800Hz. Instead of using pink noise the The point 20cm to Optimizer uses MLS signals to measure the right is the one the full impulse response of every that has more issues, loudspeaker in the room. This adds and the point to the the time dimension to the frequency left (not displayed) response and enables the Optimizer to looks very similar. see the full picture of the loudspeakers’ Therefore the main Fig. 4. ORF OB audio room after. behaviour in the room. In multichannel problem in this room setups the Trinnov’s cal mic identifies the real positions is the strong variation in tonal balance when the of the loudspeakers in 3D. engineer moves his head only 10cm to the left or to While many other measurement tools can perform the right. impulse response measurements, none tell you As discussed earlier, the goal of optimisation is not how to analyse the measurements. This is where to make a flat response but to reduce the inconsistency we have focused our research and come up with when the engineer moves sideways. As you can see time-frequency analysis algorithms to identify room in Figure 4, our algorithms manage to reduce the modes, first reflections and late reverberation. Every peaks and dips by 3 to 6dB on all the three points. acoustic aspect is analysed and compensated for with This will make a huge improvement to the quality a specific technique. The subtlety of our Optimizer of the mixes produced in this small room. And it’s a resides in knowing which defects can be corrected result that an experienced engineer will probably not with acoustic transparency. be able to achieve even after many hours of repeated Once the Trinnov’s acoustic analysis engine has measurements and manual equalisation. n July/August 2009
Professional standard. Affordable price. In Black & White. Simple. Designed by Roger Quested to the same uncompromising principles as our world class studio monitors, the S-Series offers an entry point to the world of Quested professional monitoring. S-Series comprises S6R, S7R, S8R, SB10R. A full range of affordable active monitor speakers, phase coherent and with a consistent sound for use in pairs or as part of larger systems. S6R – Ideal for DAW users and small studios where space is at a premium, the sonic performance of the S6R belies its size. Delivering 110 Watts, the low frequency response is more than adequate for many applications. When an extended bass response is required, the design allows for perfect integration with the SB10R sub-woofer – extending the frequency response down to 25Hz. SB10R – Designed to complement all of the full-range monitors in the S-Series. The SB10R will extend the system frequency response down to 25Hz and increase the system’s maximum SPL. Tradition is broken in that the matched 215 Watts RMS amplifier and 2-channel controller are housed in a separate, 1U rack unit.
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The home studio So you’ve chosen your space and want to turn it in to a miniature recording emporium. NEIL GRANT of HGA suggests you remember that it’s a creative space first and a technical exercise second.
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ince 1984, in fact, since 11 September 1984, it has been possible to assemble the components of a control room design — reliably and repeatedly — for those willing to undertake some basic research in the archives. Unusually for the acoustics of control rooms and studios of the time, papers became available based on competent scientific method as a development of the experimental work of Don Davis, who had hypothesised in 1979, correctly, that the then current generation of control rooms and critical listening rooms were being designed and built back to front. Davis had argued that the early recombination with the direct signal of specular reflections from side walls, ceiling soffits and console surfaces, and the slightly later recombination of rear wall lateral and contra-lateral reflections, superimposed artificial listening cues on the information being monitored. This had led to the design development of the LEDE Control Room, an approach refined by D’Antonio in his September Nashville presentation as the RFZ, or ‘reflection free zone’ approach to monitoring. With the reliable mechanics of design set in place, it needed only the inexpensive availability of computer-based measurement equipment to allow the analysis of these small (non-statistical) acoustic spaces, to encourage the repetition of standard 28/x
design concepts. With hindsight, this commoditisation of control rooms was almost as bad a thing for the recording industry as the design hegemony that had existed in the previous decade. These had not been the most creative of spaces; these were technical, mechanical, sharp, angled, masculine areas, with client and artist segregation built in as part of their structure. Despite deconstructing the acoustical mechanics of these spaces, many remained dominated by the technology, with players isolated in lifeless, dead, fabric wrapped booths, and a feeling that any lack of a creative or analytical process would be fixed — after the event — through brute force. What happened was that rooms were built and designed with technology in mind first and foremost. Rooms were quite deliberately built to accommodate ever more intrusive hardware, and much of the creative process was abandoned in the process. Twenty years ago, it took an exceptional artist to break out of this framework and demonstrate that the studio facility was only an incidental tool in a creative process that could involve a group of people, including the engineering and production staff, absolutely including the artist and players, and re-establishing that the creative process was an ensemble joint effort. Returning the studio facility to the control of the artist as an integral part of this process was a major step at that time. Nowadays with the accessibility of demonstrably powerful recording equipment with a tiny footprint, it seems extraordinary to consider the process in any other light. Recording has moved from large purpose-built facilities to rooms and venues where the business of creation and collaboration assume a more realistic proportion of the budget available. How come so many extraordinary records have been made in so many poor rooms with such technology? It is much more because the engineers and producers working in conjunction with the artists have been brilliant at their jobs, and in themselves immensely creative musicians, than they were helped and aided as they should have been by their environment. How much more successful they would have been if they had worked within a more supportive environment instead of battling with inadequate monitoring, cramped and acoustically dead spaces, no large ensemble space, and the truly extraordinary invention of the 1970s, the drum booth. It has been despite, rather than because. There will always be a necessity for larger recording facilities, because there will be a requirement to deal with larger groups of people and larger genuinely competent acoustic spaces. It is just that the recording industry has found it hard to balance supply and demand, and establish what the point of the exercise actually is. Since so much can be accomplished within the size of a room that we would once have regarded as merely adequate as a ‘writing room’, it is worth looking anew at the priorities for working in smaller spaces. What are the genuinely important issues in working in small rooms, and do we need to have recourse to the conventional building block methodology of the last quarter century? More powerful computers have given us access to surface optimisation, and it is at least possible for us to specify a diffusion coefficient in a plane, and optimise room surfaces to provide the response required. This at least moves the aesthetic and architectural design of rooms back out into the open, and it is no longer sufficient to rely on standard modules and stretched fabric. Is it genuinely necessary to go to great lengths to provide a space to write and record in? I believe that what is required is the development of a space that can be worked in creatively, a living room that has a technical capability, rather than the other way round. I am writing in a room of approximately thirty-two cubic metres, what do we need to do to work within this space? There are three key issues that we need to consider.
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SMALL ROOM SUPPLEMENT The room decay time — a room of this volume fails the Cremer-Müller criteria, there is insufficient reflection density to generate a statistical sound field. Simply put, the T60 decay of the room will be position dependent and will need to be measured at multiple locations to be considered valid. The natural decay of the room should be compared with a notional ideal, and treatment assessed. The room modal response — since it is unlikely that most people will re-build the rooms available to them to optimise the room’s low frequency response, the modal response must be accommodated with loudspeaker positioning. The room early reflections — as noted previously, early specular reflections can corrupt the cues that provide localisation, image, and upper mid frequency balance. Monitor speaker selection and location could be used to mitigate this. Let’s briefly look at this room’s details — one door, one window, carpeted floor, plastered board on timber frame walls and ceiling. What is the predicted decay of this room? A T60 of 0.39 seconds, comfortably below the BB93 criteria of <0.5 seconds Tmf with no further absorption than a fitted carpet on the floor. What of the room response? What you listen to is the convolution of the loudspeaker response and the room, and it is not possible to separate them. It is possible to optimise the location of the stereo pair to minimise fluctuations in the magnitude of the frequency response, and at the same time provide a recommendation for the listening position, using a proprietary computer program. This models the room’s modal response and seeks a best fit for criteria in the low frequency response of the cabinet as far as 300Hz, while predicting an optimal location for listening. The model predicts a listening position on the centre line of the room in plan, elevated 1.14 metres from the floor level. Speakers are located symmetrically about the centre axis, 0.67 metres from the forward wall, 0.86 metres from the side walls, and lifted 0.33 metres from the floor. The predicted response is very reasonable, and we have yet to place any acoustic treatment in the room, merely optimise location.
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An appropriate loudspeaker choice is important; clearly there is little sense in looking to mount a cabinet in half space. Given the inconsistencies in the decay field in the room itself, it seems essential that the on-axis response is as nearly identical to the direct field as is practicable. In other words, the device should be omnidirectional. What of low frequency absorption? The room itself will provide the best low frequency absorption in the space available to us. In the office used thus far as an example, low frequency energy leaves by the single two square metre window and does not return. Similarly, this is a timber frame building, and once low frequency energy has left the room, it will not come back to us. There is no room for largescale absorption and there is little necessity. When a room is this small, real world considerations outweigh conventional acoustic treatment, which would otherwise take over, and there are better choices in search of a workable environment. Sometimes it may well be better to invest in artwork for the wall and not a diffuser. Perhaps spending the money on a Velux should be considered before buying another rack of outboard equipment? It would not be the first time that rain on the roof or bird song complemented an impeccable recording. n
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Monitor placement in small rooms The increasing use of small rooms as audio production environments needs careful consideration of the acoustic behaviour as well as correct loudspeaker placement. Genelec’s CHRISTOPHE ANET outlines the impacts of using a small room (a typical 3m x 4m) and the challenges of setting up a 5.1 monitoring system.
space remains sufficiently low. The exact distribution of the modes also depends on the relative proportions of the room dimensions. The worst case is a cubical room. There the identical dimensions lead to a coincidence of the three axial sets of modes, and the mode resonances along the three axes of the room amplify each other. As a general rule, you should avoid precise integer ratios in room dimension proportions. We are already beginning to see that using small rooms involves some acoustical compromise. Radiation space boosts bass level at low frequencies — A loudspeaker or subwoofer produces a certain volume flow and at low frequencies this volume flow spreads in all directions. If we limit the space by walls while keeping the sound output power identical, the energy density (also called intensity) in the limited radiation space increases. Every halving of the radiation space doubles the sound pressure level.
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very room (with the exception of a perfect anechoic chamber) has a set of resonant frequencies. These frequencies and how much they are boosted are defined by the room geometry and the surface materials. In rectangular rooms, as well as most other rooms, the mode density increases rapidly with increasing frequency. The colouration of sound caused by the modal resonance depends on the spacing of the modes in frequency and how much the modes are excited by loudspeakers. Only if the room dimensions are smaller than half the sound wavelength no mode can exist, and sound pressure in the room depends only on the loudspeaker output capability. Frequencies below about 300Hz are the most critical as the density of modes is fairly small with wide spacing between the modes. This makes the modes audible because they do not overlap and absorbing the resonant energy is difficult at low frequencies. Also, large rooms have a higher mode density than small rooms. This favours using a larger space as long as the reverberation time of the
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Fig. 2. Loudspeaker bass boost is influenced by the radiation space size.
At high frequencies the loudspeaker no longer radiates in all directions because the higher the frequencies the more directional they become. Placing the loudspeaker on the wall doesn’t increase the high frequency sound level but low frequencies are boosted and the frequency response of the loudspeaker is no longer flat. The loudspeaker sounds boomy or bass-heavy. It is important to correct this problem in the loudspeaker or subwoofer response to keep the frequency response flat in the room. RESONANT MODES (AXIAL ONLY)
RESONANT MODES (AXIAL ONLY)
Fig. 1. Modal density can be increased by selecting the right proportions for the room dimensions. Top: 27m3 room with 1:1:1 ratio. Middle: 27m3 room with 1.54:1.28:1 ratio. Bottom: 200m3 room with 1.54:1.28:1 ratio. 30/xii
The wall behind the loudspeaker can cause cancellations — Two signals with the same level but in anti-phase (180 degrees out of phase) can cancel each other out, resulting in silence. If the loudspeaker is placed a quarter sound wavelength away from a sound reflecting wall the wave reflected off the wall arrives back at the loudspeaker drivers in anti-phase. This totally or partially cancels the signal radiated by the loudspeaker at that particular frequency. How complete the cancellation is depends on the distance of the wall and the ability of the wall to reflect sound. The sound level dips down at the frequencies where the reflected sound is in anti-phase. The depth and width of a cancellation dip varies but in most cases such dips are audible. No loudspeaker equalisation cures this problem; increasing the level of the loudspeaker at the dip frequency also boosts the reflection and their sum remains low. The dip is not removed. The best cure to cancellations is to flush-mount the loudspeakers in a hard wall. This places the loudspeaker in an infinite baffle. This can totally eliminate the dipping phenomena as no reflections are present. In our small-room case we must place the loudspeaker very close to the walls in order to raise the frequencies where cancellations occur. Free standing loudspeakers are affected by nearby walls — Using a subwoofer with a crossover filter (typically at 85Hz) between the loudspeakers and the subwoofer can improve the monitoring system. The high-passed loudspeakers (sometimes called satellites) do not reproduce low frequencies. They can now be placed at the walls more freely at distances where low frequency notching does not occur in their pass-bands. The ‘acceptable’ distance extends now out to 1.1m. The loudspeakers can be placed even further away (1.1m-2m) without seriously compromising the sound quality. The satellite loudspeakers should not be placed too far from the subwoofer (a maximum distance 2m). If the distances are larger the tonal balance between the various loudspeakers playing with the subwoofer may differ considerably due to differing excitation of the room modes. In practice freestanding loudspeakers resolution
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SMALL ROOM SUPPLEMENT always suffer from some This allows two sources to be positioned at irregularities in their slightly different heights without the brain frequency responses, being disturbed by the height difference. usually caused by This useful human hearing limitation cancellations. can be exploited when placing the often One common location compromised centre channel loudspeaker. for the subwoofer is in The centre loudspeaker should be placed the front middle of the above video screens or TV monitors. Ensure room, equidistant from the that the centre loudspeaker does not suffer sidewalls. This position from a first order ceiling reflection. If the is often problematic ceiling is low some absorbing material and compromises the should be placed over the ceiling surface acoustical performance. near that centre loudspeaker. The subwoofer sits in the Left and right loudspeakers should also first pressure minimum of be raised ideally to the same level as the lateral standing wave. the centre loudspeaker to maintain a The frequency response for stable sound stage image. If this is done a subwoofer in that location the loudspeakers should be tilted down will most likely display towards the listening position. serious irregularities. Early reflections can colour the sound The recommended if the level of the early reflection is close positions for subwoofer(s) to the level of the direct sound. Early are on the floor close to Fig. 3. Distances from a single wall to the front baffle of the reflections can also smear the coherence the front wall (maximum loudspeakers combined with subwoofer(s). Correct (green), acceptable of sound images and compromise the distance from a wall is (orange) and avoid (red). localisation of sound sources in the space 60cm) and slightly offset from the middle of the room to avoid the first pressure minima between loudspeakers. To avoid this all reflective surfaces between the loudspeakers position, or in a corner close to the front and side walls. The latter position maximises and the listening position should be minimised. the subwoofer efficiency due to corner loading but may also excite strongly the axial Loudspeakers should be placed as far as possible from reflective surfaces. modes in the room. Both solutions eliminate the most likely sources of cancellation Increasing the reflecting surface distance moves the reflection-related problems to low dips in the subwoofer response. frequencies and also improves imaging. In the presence of many reflecting surfaces Remember that the adjustments of gain (input sensitivity) and frequency response (such as tables, computer screens, etc) loudspeakers can be placed slightly above the (Bass Roll-off) in a subwoofer are necessary during the final in-situ calibration. The listening level and tilted down towards the listener. acoustical loading must be compensated for. Crossover phase adjustment is also important to achieve and maintain flat frequency response across the crossover High frequency response is sensitive to loudspeaker orientation — region. High frequency information is of the utmost importance for the listener to evaluate subtle movements and variations in the audio stage. If room reflections are too high Basic choices for loudspeaker placement and room setup — The compared to the direct sound the imaging becomes poor. Loudspeakers should have majority of audible problems in monitoring quality are due to the effects of the room well controlled directivity. It leads to a high direct-to-reflected sound level ratio and on the sound radiated by the loudspeakers and subwoofers. Proper placement of the reduces the effects of nearby sound-reflecting boundaries. This helps the engineer to loudspeakers and subwoofer in the room is critical. Let’s return to our small room hear the programme material content and reduces the room effects. The purpose of example. the Genelec Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW) is to control the radiation angle First, the longest room dimension should be the axis for the sound system of the tweeter and midrange drivers such that diffractions from the loudspeaker front-back orientation. This maximises the delay of the rear wall reflections at the enclosure and room surfaces are minimised. Localisation, imaging, and flatness of the mix position. frequency response are improved irrespective of the loudspeaker location. Symmetrical positioning of loudspeakers and all other equipment reflecting sound is essential. If we follow this rule the frequency responses of the loudspeakers working Calibration improves quality and consistency — To provide the best as stereo pairs will be similar. Even after this has been done, there will be some possible reproduction quality every monitoring system should be calibrated in its differences in reflections. Everything possible should be done to remove reflective final installation (as already specified in the N12 Nordic Broadcast recommendation surfaces in the vicinity of the acoustic path. Also, the smaller the loudspeaker is of the 1970s). Today DSP processing is integrated in monitoring loudspeakers. physically the less directional it is and the more the loudspeaker is influenced by its The most important benefit of this technology is the possibility for automated surroundings. calibration of a loudspeaker system within a given room. Calibration tools like To provide proper loading for each loudspeaker as explained above place all Genelec AutoCal, featured in GLM and GLM.SE, measure and determine the system loudspeakers at an equal distance from the listening position at the walls (ITU response and calculate all the correct acoustical compensations and correction alignment circle). This implies placing loudspeakers against or very close to walls, parameter settings for each and every loudspeaker and subwoofer. The automatic as well as placing the subwoofer on the floor and against system determines acoustical settings to give a flat the front wall (you have a quarter space radiation then) frequency response at the listening position (or over an or possibly in a front corner (1/8th space). area using spatial averaging) using notch and shelving With such guidelines applied to our small room filters available in each loudspeaker and subwoofer. It the monitoring setup circle radius (listening distance) also aligns loudspeakers in time for an equal delay from becomes 1.38 m with a recommended listening area of all loudspeakers to the primary listening position, aligns 1.4m x 0.6m (hatched area). Note that the desk on the output levels of loudspeakers and sets the subwoofer drawing is 1.2m wide and 0.6m deep. crossover phase. The entire calibration process takes less than five minutes for a full 5.1 system. Placement of equipment influences sound As more small rectangular rooms with strong modal quality — The vertical positioning of the loudspeakers resonances at low and midrange frequencies, low ceiling is also important, but less critical than the horizontal heights, and non-symmetrical equipment layouts are positioning. Ideally, the three front loudspeakers should used as audio production rooms, the need for proper be positioned at the same height. The brain has a loudspeaker placement and consistent system calibration high capability to localise information on the horizontal is more essential than ever. A well engineered monitoring plane. In the vertical plane the precision is (zenith system, containing DSP equalisation and supported by an angle) about 3 degrees above ear level horizon and automated equalisation method, can bring these difficult 3 to 10 degrees below ear level horizon (azimuth and challenging environments close to the quality of angle). Because of the behaviour of the ear/brain, Fig. 4. 5.1 monitoring system in a 3m x 4m properly designed control rooms. In all cases correct human vertical localisation tolerance is about 7 degrees. rectangular room without any acoustic treatment. loudspeakers and subwoofer placement is essential. n July/August 2009
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Big principles for a small room DAVID BELL of White Mark Limited considers the acoustic issues relevant to setting up a smaller project studio or production space and shows that the same principles apply to the choices that need to be made, whatever the size of a monitoring environment.
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he basic guidelines of any design process should be to assess what is required, understand the constraints on achieving this requirement and then produce a solution that produces the best balance between these influences that is possible. The simple aim in designing a monitoring environment is to produce a listening space that allows the user to hear what is recorded, via the loudspeakers, with as little distortion or colouration as possible. The influences that any enclosing space has on the reproduction of sound are based on the same science whether the space is a vast auditorium, a state of the art recording studio or a small preproduction room or home theatre and whether the budget for dealing with the problems is high or low. The differences lie principally in what methods are practical and affordable to employ in the minimisation of the adverse effects that are inevitably produced by the chosen room. The design of acoustic monitoring environments can be divided into two fundamentally different areas — those of isolation of the space and those of its internal acoustic treatment. The absorption existing in a room will reduce the overall sound level in the space by a small amount but, if the monitoring system has sufficient headroom, this will usually result in the operator merely advancing the volume control to compensate. Acoustic treatment has no significant part to play in increasing a room’s isolation performance. When choosing a room for use as a project studio or small mixing environment, consideration should be given to the way that the layout of the building in which it is housed can offer assistance in creating sound locks or other separation from its neighbours. Where space is small and budgets are tight it is often impractical to significantly increase isolation by adding sufficient mass to walls or by the creation of a separate isolation shell. The practical approach is to look for ways in which the space can be separated from its neighbours by using corridors or other rooms as buffer spaces. Significant improvement can also be achieved by ensuring that there are no weak points within the room walls through which sound can pass easily. Such features as mains power sockets let into the wall are breaches of the walls integrity and can easily be replaced by surface-mounted units allowing the recessing hole to be filled and the wall thereby improved.
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Care should be taken that walls pass from floor slab to ceiling slab and that elements such as drop ceilings or decorative plaster ceilings do not mask significant gaps over the top of walls through which significant sound passage could be achieved. Similarly, floor voids will also create paths through which sound can leak bypassing the wall structures. All such voids should be closed off by extending the walls to the floor or ceiling slabs or by copious use of mineral wool slabs (60kg/m3) or similar. Doors should be solid core where possible and sealed with proprietary seals to render them as airtight as possible. Where possible, the room should be separated from other spaces by corridor space or other, outer room space and the same care should be taken with the walls and doors in these areas. Where ventilation is required to the now sealed space, care should also be taken with the route taken by any fresh air ducting. This should be boxed in, where it passes through other spaces, or be routed directly into the space directly from outside. Where it has to pass through walls within the building, consideration should be given to fitting silencers at each point of wall penetration. Having achieved the best level of separation for the proposed monitoring room, consideration needs to be given to the acoustic treatment of the space. Sound is coloured by its interaction with its environment and the measures taken to treat a room should minimise this as much as possible. Principal among these destructive colourations are the effects of standing waves and the interference effects generated by the many paths the sound can take from the monitors to the ears. The basic dimensions of the room and the position chosen for the loudspeakers can be fundamental. The room I am sitting in currently, is a typical domestic size being 2.5m(h) x 4.1m(l) x 2.9m(w) and has a good chance of being reasonably neutral as a basic space because of the ratio of its principal dimensions not being a simple one. The room discussed in the brief for this article was suggested as 3m x 3m in plan with a height of around 2.5m. This is significantly less likely to be a good monitoring environment because of the simple ratio between its principal dimensions. This is further exacerbated by the practicalities of a standard equipment layout. Consider a workstation with nearfield loudspeakers set on stands each placed, say, 250mm from the front wall of the room. This arrangement would, almost inevitably, put the listener in the centre of such a space where standing wave effects would be at their maximum. When you consider that a normal chair puts the listener’s ears at around 1.2m from the floor this means that the listening point is in the dead centre of the space. The choice of a room to be used for monitoring should be influenced by its shape with the complex relationship between the principal dimensions exhibited by my office being much preferable to the near cubic dimensions of the second space discussed. Thus far the design of the small listening environment has centred on choosing rooms of the correct position within a building and of a suitable shape to offer the best basis for treatment to be applied. Nothing so far has been suggested that reduces the size or significantly increases the cost of the creation of the room. The interference between differing paths that the sound can take from loudspeaker to ear is the next aspect that must be considered. To understand the mechanism let’s consider a sound that is fed to the loudspeaker being mixed with a sound that has been delayed a short time. As the time delay of the second sound is increased from zero the two sounds will interfere with each other. At any given delay period there will be a frequency at which the original sound and the delayed sound are out of phase and the one will totally cancel out the other. At frequencies above and below this exact figure the cancellation will be partial. At frequencies that are a multiple of this exact frequency there will also be total cancellation. Thus, it can be seen that one delayed signal of equal size will cause a harmonically related series of cancellations when mixed with an equal undelayed version of itself. If the two signals are not of equal size then the cancellations will not be total. When a sound reflects off a room wall and finds its way to the ear of a listener, this is exactly the effect that takes place when it is mixed in the ear with the direct sound from the loudspeaker. The delay of one sound with respect to the other is
resolution
July/August 2009
SMALL ROOM SUPPLEMENT set by the difference in path lengths and the nature of the reflections off wall surfaces is important if the listener is to hear a good representation of the original signal when seated in the monitoring position of the room. It should be understood that all spaces will affect the sound in some way but what is very important, in design terms, is the way in which the reflections relate to each other and to the sound being monitored and the extent to which their interference is destructive. Rooms are evaluated by listeners based on the way the many reflections that occur within them add up in cumulative effect. A room in which many reflection paths have similar or identical delays would result in the effects of each path being closely spaced in the frequency domain and the monitoring quality being badly affected by deep holes in the frequency response. This is further evidence in favour of a room with irregularly related dimensions. The way the room is driven by the loudspeakers and the methods used to suppress the most direct reflection paths can have fundamental effects on the quality of the listening experience. In a high-end studio design, the monitors are often flush-mounted which, effectively, places the front surface of the loudspeakers into the wall. Care should be taken to minimise radiation from the other surfaces of the loudspeaker but when this is done the front wall is eliminated from early reflection consideration and the side walls, floor and ceiling become the main sources. Early reflection is an important consideration because the path length differences have effects in the crucial areas of the frequency range and the relative intensity of the sound waves is most equal (and thus their interference capabilities with the direct sound path are maximised). A high-end studio design would suppress the early reflections off the ceiling and side walls by the introduction of deep treatments to attenuate them and the geometry of the monitor placement. These deep acoustic treatments would also reduce room standing waves by offering low frequency absorption in all three principal planes of the room. Further, they would offer broadband absorption to reduce the reverberation time of the space by suppressing multiple reflections off the walls. Excessive absorption of high and mid frequencies would be countered by the addition of diffusion elements at the rear of the room to bring the high frequency reverberation time up to match the other areas of the frequency range and prevent colouration by uneven decay times. Where the room size is small (and the budget matches) there is neither the space nor the funds to treat the room in this way. The principles, however, remain identical and should be addressed systematically in the same way. It is not usually practical to flush-mount monitors and so these are usually on stands in free space. This has two principal effects. First, and of benefit, the nearer the monitors are to the listener
the higher the ratio of direct radiated sound to reflected sound from the boundaries. This means that the room will have less effect on the sound heard because the reflected sounds will be lower in level. Second, and disadvantageously, the sound radiated from the rear and sides of the loudspeakers will have an early interaction with the nearest boundary and thus be delayed by a short period and mix with the direct sound at the listening position. This often results in a strong change to the sound heard at bass and low mid frequencies. This can best be minimised by moving the speakers to positions where the effects are spread throughout the spectrum and have a less noticeable effect. This can be done by listening or by using measurement software to illustrate what is going on. The use of absorption in the corners of the room behind the loudspeakers can also help to attenuate the reflections from the rear and side walls behind the monitors. Suppression of early reflections from the side walls and ceiling can be achieved by the use of absorptive panels. Consideration of the mechanism of absorption illustrates why absorptive panels should be at least 100mm thick with some claiming that treatment should be a minimum of 150mm thick to have an acceptable effect. The absorber should have a high density absorptive material (mineral wool or fibreglass at 60kg/m3) of a thickness around 50mm set off the wall with an air gap behind it. Space constraints often influence these elements to be sloped with a deeper air gap towards the front wall of the space when used on walls and ceilings. It’s my opinion that the gluing of thin acoustic foam panels directly to walls has limited application to monitoring environments based on the limited frequency range over which these have absorptive properties. Where budget allows, the addition of diffuser panels at the rear of the room can be very beneficial, particularly those based on quadratic residue theory whose bass absorptive characteristics will further enhance the room. In conclusion, it should be noted the principals that govern acoustic design apply whatever the size of room or budget and the aim should always be to perform meaningful treatment that is targeted at the room’s specific shortfalls. No one method or solution will work in all rooms and so treatments should be aimed at broadband effect and tuned devices should not be employed. Where possible, measure the room and adjust its performance based on the results obtained. If measurement is not possible then listen to known programme material and only make changes one at a time, noting the effect of each alteration and noting whether it improves matters or not. Fundamental changes can be wrought by moving free-standing monitors and finding the best position for these should usually be the first step towards setting up a listening environment. n
Disney Hall L.A.
The sound you can’t forget... Because you’ve always known it
Find great spaces to place your music
The M7 Sterero Reverb Processor www.bricasti.com
The M10 Remote Console
Some Questions are Easy to Answer “Where do these lumps in the lower midrange come from? Should I move my furniture or get a smaller display?”
“How can I add more bass trapping in my small room to avoid this boominess?”
“All this with a 5.1 system! How am I supposed to find the time to calibrate my system accurately?”
“I should just get a Genelec DSP system!”
When you are building or fine-tuning your audio monitoring environment there are many aspects to consider: the design and geometry of the room, loudspeaker placement, acoustical treatments, the type of equipment to use and making sure everything works well together. When it comes to optimized audio reproduction and proper adjustments of your response curves, the decision is easy. Genelec DSP systems with AutoCal™ automatic calibration can attack common problems in your room response with just a few mouse clicks. Get familiar with our DSP systems at www.genelecDSP.com
Genelec DSP Series
REVIEW
Millennia HV3-R The HV3-R is the latest in the range of Millennia Media microphone preamplifiers to use the company’s highly rated HV-3 circuit. The ‘R’ suffix refers to the fact that this eight-channel device is the first to offer remote control — via MIDI or over Ethernet. JON THORNTON explores.
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nternally, the HV3-R employs the same design philosophy and exacting construction methods as the other models in the HV-3 series — no transformers in the audio path, a matched highspeed discrete transistor octet for each channel, the highest quality audio and power wiring, and a hefty toroidal power supply. Externally, though, the HV3-R is something of a departure from the nuclear blastproof aesthetic of the HV3-C and HV3-D. Gone are the mil-spec switches and buttons and those wonderfully weighty, tactile knobs. They’re replaced by a couple of small LCD displays, a rotary encoder, and a matrix of illuminated buttons with associated status LEDs. Powering the unit up and doing some exploratory poking around in local control mode proves that this arrangement is straightforward and self-explanatory. A channel is selected by pressing one of a row of eight select buttons — the currently selected channel button illuminates to confirm this. The rotary encoder is then used to set the gain for that channel. Gain level is indicated above the selected channel on the larger of the two LCD displays. Gain range is normally +8 to +69dB in 1dB steps, although a range of +8 to +80dB is available on request as a no-charge option. A column of function switches to the right hand side of the rotary encoder allows phantom power, polarity reverse and a -14dB pad to be applied to the selected channel with status LEDs above each channel clearly showing these modes. A link function allows any permutation of the eight channels to be ganged together in terms of gain and mute. Altering the gain on linked channels applies upwards or downwards offsets to whatever gain level was set prior to the link being set — meaning that a group of linked channels can maintain a particular set of gain offsets, or can be locked together with identical gain settings, depending on the application. Turning attention to the rear panel shows eight XLRs for signal input, and another eight XLRs for signal output. A number of options are available, including an expansion card that offers two more sets of buffered, balanced outputs on DB-25 connectors. Setting links on this card can also determine whether either of the two additional sets of outputs follow the main outputs in terms of polarity or pad switching (i.e. follow the front panel settings) or not. Other options include DPA 130V powered inputs, and the ADR-96 option card, which offers eight channels of A-D conversion and was fitted to the review unit. The ADR-96 can work at sample rates of 44.1, 48, July/August 2009
88.2 or 96kHz and can use its own internal clock or slave to an external one (AES sync or TTL Word clock). Somewhat annoyingly, changing the sample rate and clock source can only be achieved by setting jumpers on the expansion card, which involves removing it from the main unit. Digital output consists of four channel pairs of AES3 on a DB25 connector. As a standalone unit, the HV3-R works well enough from an ergonomic point of view. My only criticism is the rather convoluted menu system that accesses setup and utility functions via the smaller LCD display and the usual up/down/left/right cursor and Enter keys — doing anything via this really does feel like you’re trying to wallpaper your hallway from outside through the letterbox. And signal level metering on the unit itself is pretty basic, with a tiny seven-segment bargraph icon displayed on the main LCD display for each of the eight channels. But in some ways these aren’t entirely fair criticisms, as the whole point of the unit is to be remotely controlled in most applications and here you have two options. The first is to control the unit over MIDI, the protocol for which it is designed to work out of the box with Pro Tools, as the HV3-R emulates a Digidesign PRE in this respect. Setup for this is straightforward and easy from the Pro Tools end and simply involves navigating the setup menu of the HV3-R to switch to MIDI Remote mode and specify a MIDI channel. Once this is done everything works as advertised. In common with some other (non-Digidesign) remote preamplifiers that offer similar functionality, there are some caveats. For example, some of the functions on the Pro Tools GUI that relate specifically to the Digidesign PRE (impedance switching, HPF) simply aren’t supported, so clicking them has no effect. And the gain range on the Pro Tools GUI starts at 0dB, whereas the minimum gain of the HV3-R is 8dB, so the first few gain steps have no effect on the unit. Multiple HV3-Rs can be addressed in this fashion, subject to appropriate MIDI interfacing capabilities, up to a maximum of nine units. The other option is to use the supplied AE Logic software (PC only) to communicate with the HV3-R over Ethernet. With the use of standard routers/ switches, this software can control up to 48 HVR3s simultaneously. Each unit under control has its own unique IP address set using the onboard menu system, and appears in a status window on the PC when the software is running. Different colours represent different states (on-line, off-line, conflicting resolution
IP addresses, etc.) Each unit has its own control GUI offering control over all parameters, but with the added advantage of clearer metering, on-screen faders to set gain, and the ability to name channels with meaningful text. Seeing more than two units on a normal size screen gets a little cluttered, and so an overview mode is also provided of all units with less detail on offer but still eminently useable. Add to this the facility to set up named link groups and scenes, which can nearly instantly recall entire setups for multiple units, and you get an incredibly powerful front-end for remote control — although one that is probably slightly overblown for control of a single unit. Sonically the unit is just fabulous, sounding exactly like my HV3-C. Open, quiet, transparent — what I’ve come to think of as an almost aggressive neutrality to its sound. Listen hard at the very extremes of the gain range and you occasionally hear a tiny ‘mute’ to the signal as the gain range is stepped but this is only really apparent at the extremes with no signal present, and certainly doesn’t ever start to near the zipper effect that you get on some other remote preamplifiers. As a standalone 8-channel preamplifier the HV3-R is deeply impressive enough. When you add to that the flexibility of two different types of remote control operation, the sheer scalability of the system to deliver a whopping 384 channels of operation (if your pockets are deep enough), and Millennia Media has succeeded in delivering a product that will integrate seamlessly into a variety of modern production scenarios, while remaining true to the core values of that pristine audio path. n
PROS
No compromise approach to sound quality; range of remote control options; hugely scalable.
CONS
Fiddly on-board menu system; need to remove A-D card to set clock and sample rate options; on-board metering pretty basic.
EXTRAS
The TD-1 Twin Direct DI box includes advanced ReAmp technology for sending recorded DI guitars to amplifiers and the HV-3 hybrid solid state microphone preamplifier.
Contact millennia media, us Website: www.mil-media.com UK, SCVLondon: +44 20 8418 1470
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REVIEW
Maggot Conformalizer Despite sounding like yet another Terminator movie spin-off, the Conformalizer is actually a niche, but very useful, software package from New Zealand-based developer Maggot software. ANDY DAY dips into his chum bucket…
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onforming is probably one of the most tedious tasks a dubbing mixer has to endure. In an ideal world we would be working with the final cut of the pictures, we mix the audio and lay it back to the master. However, in reality there are always last minute changes; whether that is actual shot changes or VFX inserts, at some point you are going to have to move stuff around. Back in the dark ages before OMFI, conforming was more commonplace (Many might argue that at least you knew what you were dealing with. Ed). Often the Avid captured audio was of inferior quality, so it either had to be recaptured from the master tapes or from an alternative source such as DAT. But with the stabilisation of the OMF standard and improved DAW support all this went away and for a whole new generation conforming was a thing of the past. However, there are still many uses for conforming in today’s postproduction environment. Examples include feature films (where virtually everything is rebuilt audio-wise) and live music shows, where the audio may be provided in a separate multitrack format for further remixing. Also for licensed TV shows there are usually several deliverables, including cut downs, extended versions, international versions, etc. While it is possible to chop up your DAW audio and move it around manually, it can be tricky to manage on large sessions where you have multiple tracks and
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lots of automation. That’s where the Conformalizer comes in... It’s basically a standalone piece of software (Mac OSX only) that can automatically conform Pro Tools sessions, FX lists and ADR databases to match a changed picture cut. The main benefits are for Pro Tools users but it can work on file-based workflows too by using tab or comma delimited text files. The process compares two picture EDLs, XML, cut lists or Avid change notes and creates a new ‘change EDL’ that reflects the difference between two versions of the picture. The cool bit for Pro Tools users is that it can then make all the changes to your source Pro Tools session (including whichever tracks you want to include) at the click of a button. Installation is as simple as it gets using the self running installer. As a bonus you can even download a demo version, which runs without limitation for six days, after which it is limited to five edits only. This gives you the perfect opportunity to try it on realworld projects before you purchase — that’s a rarity for demo versions these days. There is just a single window with a couple of panels that contain Movies and a timeline/block display of the two EDLs. There are four tabs within the main window titled Old, New, Change and Setup. These are pretty self explanatory when you know the basic workflow through Conformalizer — which is to import the old list, import the new list, check the changes, and finally conform your Pro Tools session. So here goes… resolution
I started by just using a few clips from Final Cut Pro, exported an EDL (and OMF to get the source audio), then I made several ‘tricky’ changes to the edit by chopping up the clips and moving them around. Over in Pro Tools I loaded the original OMF from the first cut and added some SFX, music, plus a few audiosuite adjustments on the sync audio. Then I did a rough mix. Now the clever stuff. In order to get all my changes to track the new cut, all I had to do was load the old and new EDLs into Conformalizer and by clicking on the Change tab I got a list of all the changes. Plus by clicking on each change in the list, the corresponding clips are highlighted in the block panel to give an overview of both timelines. An added bonus is the Movie panel, which allows QuickTime movies of each cut to be imported and compared shot by shot. You can even play both movies in perfect sync to watch the changes in real-time. Before hitting the magic conform button, it’s important to make sure you target the new conformed version to another place on the timeline. In my case the edit was at 1hr, so by setting the paste hour to 2hrs in Conformalizer, I created a new version starting at 2hrs in my Pro Tools timeline. You also have the option to select which tracks in Pro Tools you want to conform, using the ibeam tool. Then press Conform and bingo — you can actually watch the changes happen step by step in Pro Tools, while sipping a Gin and Tonic (at least I did). A couple of sips later everything was done. Just import the new cut QuickTime, spot it to 2hrs and as I had selected my newly added Fx tracks, even the Fx moved with the changes. It works. This could save you hours of messing about shifting large groups of tracks around on a full dub or multitracked instruments in a concert remix session. On long-form material or large sessions the conform process can take a while. The developer recommends you actually set the conform speed to slow, meaning a longish wait, but a more accurate conform result (And half a bottle of gin. Ed) As you can probably guess, the resultant changes still need tweaking with crossfades and level matches, but that is to be expected in any reconform process. I’ve only given you a basic overview here of Conformalizer’s capabilities, but I thoroughly recommend you check out the website and download a demo version. Check out the demo movies too for other file-based applications of Conformalizer. Priced at just US$799 it’s significantly cheaper than the competition and may even make your life a little easier (Gin and Tonic not included). n
PROS
Easy to use (useful demo videos on website); very reasonable demo version; good price point.
CONS
Will be slower on large projects; still needs usual audio tweaks to new Pro Tools session (not really a con, but I couldn’t fault anything else).
EXTRAS
Version 3.1.2 of Conformalizer, which has just been released, includes support for Pro Tools 8.
Contact maggot software, new zealand: Website: www.maggot.co.nz
July/August 2009
REVIEW
SSL Mynx & E Series Modules SSL has been expanding its range of XLogic modules for it X-Rack system but the arrival of the Mynx makes the choice available in a smaller and more affordable package. GEORGE SHILLING gets to grips with modules that are a blast from his past.
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SL’s XLogic X-Rack system is now well established with a wide range of modules with the flexibility to cater for all kinds of application, and boasting the major attractions of mixer configuration possibilities, Total Recall, and the excellent sonics of SSL’s SuperAnalogue circuitry. The Mynx opens the door to some of this processing for those on a lower budget, or for situations where only one or two modules and no recall are required. The unit itself is a lightweight aluminium housing, made from 4mm extruded aluminium, with space at the front for slotting in two XLogic modules. Rubber feet are supplied for table-top use, and I can’t think why you wouldn’t want to attach these. There is a window in the rear to access connections, and modules are each secured by two countersunk hex screws on the front, and a further two hex screws that secure the rear through the rear panel. Fitting is straightforward and once secured, there is no play, and little risk of modules becoming unseated. The rear power connector is a DIN socket; I’m not a fan of these, for the simple fear of some twonk connecting it to a MIDI device. There is also no power switch, which while it is no disaster is perhaps further evidence of costsaving. To this socket you connect the flying lead from the external power supply box which includes an IEC mains socket. The cheeky little Mynx may lack the recall facilities of its big brother, but this fuss-free, solid and goodlooking box does exactly what it is supposed to do. The review model was supplied with new E Series recreations of Dynamics and EQ, introduced following the discontinuation of the E Signature Channel. There have been few years since their introduction when there haven’t been E Series designs in the SSL catalogue, so you wouldn’t think much archaeology would be required, but the blurb that comes with the unit states that the archives were extensively researched to accurately recreate the sound of early SL 4000 E desks, which now date back some 30 years. These July/August 2009
two new modules continue the family tree, but are not strict replicas of the original strip sections as we shall see. The Dynamics module comprises the familiar Gate and Compressor sections. The light-grey capped knobs relate to the compressor/limiter. This simple to use section defined the sound of the 80s, with engineers happily squashing every signal on the tape without reaching for a single patch cord. In normal release mode this reissue has all the ‘booffdaff’ I remember for compressing drums, adding attack, but in a smooth and controlled manner. I instinctively tried to pull the Release knob out for fast attack, but that function has now been moved to a little grey pushbutton, no doubt to facilitate the way that Recall works on the larger X-Rack frame. This extremely fast attack mode was always useful for taming overly aggressive transients and the auto gain make-up meant that this was a quick and easy way of giving certain signals some lift without resorting to automation rides. It all sounds reassuringly familiar, but this module also features brand new Linear Release (as opposed to logarithmic) mode and Peak Sensing (as opposed to over-easy) mode buttons. This hard-knee setting sounds great, far more aggressive for really punchy drums — how different might the hits of the 80s have sounded if consoles had had this button? It takes away some of the rubberiness of the normal soft-knee mode and allows for far wider use, with a more contemporary sound. No doubt due to the new compressor features, the Link button is relocated to the bottom of the gate section, although it relates only to the compressor section. For gate linking there is a key input on the rear. On the old consoles, the Link button worked by chaining to the adjacent channel, but here any modules in a rack with Link buttons engaged will have their compressor/limiter control resolution
voltages connected. The excellent Expander/Gate was mainly responsible for cleaning up 1980s tape hiss in Expander mode, but it was also handy for closing down drum mics (in Gate mode) and eliminating any of that undesirable room spill, to make way for the huge digital gated reverbs that became popular. On the console, Expander mode was default and a Gate button enabled more extreme processing, but curiously the tables are turned here, with Gate mode the default and an Expander button switching to that mode. An interesting feature of the EQ module is the provision of a black knob/brown knob mode button, effectively providing two distinctly different EQ types. One thing that particularly defined the success of SSL in the 1980s was the company’s willingness to listen to customer comments and requests. E Series desks became popular because of their recall facilities, fantastic automation, supreme clarity of status and ease of operation; these attributes seemed to take priority over sonic excellence. I thought perhaps the balance later went the other way with the J Series. Soon after I landed my first job in 1984 at Livingston Studios, studio manager Jerry Boys and owner Nic Kinsey ordered a 4000 E but suggested to SSL that the EQ might be improved and, as it happened, SSL was canvassing opinions on this and redesigning the circuitry. Livingston measured the curves of its MCI JH500 console and suggested these narrower bell-curves to be incorporated, and the first ‘Black knob’ desk went in to Livingston in prototype form. Subsequent production versions had slightly broader bell curves, and the unique Livingston console remains in situ, much loved by clients. The original ‘brown’ mode is perceivably smoother and warmer due to wider bandwidth and slightly less range on the boost and cut knobs, so although I’m a dyed-in-the-wool ‘black knob’ man, the ‘brown’ can sometimes have its uses. Perhaps the easiest way to describe the difference is that you can’t do such convincing pretend wah-wah with ‘brown’. The upper-mid green section adds or subtracts those pokey aggressive frequencies with great effectiveness, while the blue low-mid section’s gain is usually turned anti-clockwise, removing woofy clogging frequencies. I sometimes wished it would go lower than the indicated 200Hz, and that setting was often where the sweep stayed, while the low frequency would be boosting in Bell mode (as opposed to shelving) for a tight bottom end. However, there is some overlap between the bands, and this EQ is powerful and effective. But where are the high and low pass filters on this reissue? The filters were never particularly aggressive but were a useful part of the E Series strip, and part of the sound. Regrettably they are missing from this module. However, it’s lovely to reacquaint yourself with these old E Series chums, and I do like the new Peak compressor mode. n
PROS
Mynx makes owning SSL modules more affordable; authentic E Series sonics; new compressor Peak mode sounds great.
CONS
Fast attack no longer on pull-knobs; dynamics defaults to Gate rather than Expander; more small grey buttons detract slightly from the ease of use and elegance of the original desk and confuse ageing Luddites; no High and Low Pass Filters.
Contact solid state logic, uk Website: www.solid-state-logic.com
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REVIEW
Focusrite Liquid Mix HD Focusrite has ported the technology used in its FireWire Liquid Mix processor to a TDM plug-in with the same bundled collection of 40 compressor emulations and 20 EQ emulations. GEORGE SHILLING mouses around.
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ince Focusrite impressed everyone with its remarkable hybrid digital and analogue Liquid Channel microphone preamp (using a clever combination of convolution software and emulation hardware), it has brought its ‘Liquid’ technology to a popular audience with the compressor and EQ emulating Liquid Mix, a FireWire DSP processor with an attractive controller unit, and the cheaper Liquid Mix 16. Meanwhile, the mic preamp technology continues to inspire further products such as the Liquid Saffire interface and the Liquid4Pre. While Digidesign’s AIR department only provided native RTAS plug-ins to bundle with Pro Tools 8, despairing HD owners will be encouraged to find that there are still third party developers who consider TDM processing a useful and viable platform. Focusrite has ported the technology used in the FireWire Liquid Mix processor to a TDM plug-in with the same bundled collection of 40 compressor emulations and 20 EQ emulations. Installation of the plug-in was simple enough, but does involve up to four separate additional installations of the emulations, one for each different sample rate required. Instantiating the plug-in (there is only one, in mono or multichannel flavours), you are presented with Input metering and Trim at the far left, Output metering and Trim at the far right, with the main left section dedicated to the Compressor and that on the right to the EQ. Further metering labelled Mid shows the signal as it flows from one section to the other. Graphically, the plugin window seems rather old-fashioned -– there is a hotchpotch of fonts and lettering sizes, and EQ Shape selector buttons look rather ‘Windows 95’. But there are useful large graphs for both sections along with the large meters, and functionality is not impaired. The fact that there are no separate plug-ins for EQ and Compressor means that there is no DSP saving when only using one section. But the plug-in is no CPU hog and considering the amount of flexibility offered it actually seems rather frugal, with five mono instances available on an Accel chip at 44.1kHz. Latency is an impressive 12 samples. There are no Pro Tools library presets but the provision instead to load separate Compressor and EQ emulation files, which dictate the controls available for each section and load the convolutions. There is also an in-built Snapshot librarian menu with the possibility to load snapshots of either section or combinations of both, saving always saves both, and you can also rename Snapshots from here. Meanwhile, back at the Emulation drop-down lists, you encounter names such as Acme 1: US Modern Tube 3 and London: Brit Boutique Tube 1 in the list of compressors, while EQs are similarly named, for example Brit Desk 5: Brit Modern Desk 3 and Zebra 2: US Zebra Discrete Desk Copy 2. All completely meaningless. The exception is, of course, models 38
of Focusrite’s own analogue processors, which are correctly named. Of course, for all emulations, all you really want to see is the name of the actual modelled product instead of all this gobbledygook. Hidden away on the Focusrite website (I had to enquire twice to find it) is a not very clear or well-ordered crib sheet. Thankfully an enterprising person has made available (on the internet) a bank of Snapshots named with the modelled units, so loading these will load the appropriate emulation. The Compressor section includes a useful graph showing the ratio and threshold relationship with input and output levels varying depending on settings and the emulation chosen. It’s a useful guide to what’s happening, although it could have been even better with a superimposition of the Input and Gain Reduction displays (which are separate here). Emulations are generally successful, although there were one or two that seemed less convincing, like the Fairchild, which seemed rather hard of knee and lacking in warmth. I liked the different SSL models though, these definitely capturing the essence of channel and buss processors. Clicking the Free button releases you from the constraints of the modelled settings to enable fully variable Threshold, Ratio, Attack and Release controls with a wide range on each, while still modelling the sonic foibles of a particular device. Clicking Sidechain Monitor enables the setting of an EQ band in the sidechain, but there is no possibility of an external sidechain input. However, it is possible to reverse the processing chain so the Compressor comes after the EQ. The EQ section can have up to seven bands with the prospect of full parametric control (depending on the model; there is no ‘Free’ mode for the EQ). When loading EQ presets you have the choice of loading all bands or just a particular single band, which can be loaded into a particular slot by clicking it first. This enables near-infinite choices of all sorts of hybrid EQ mongrels, although getting heavily into this and keeping track of it will require pen and paper, as the only on-screen clue is the displayed message ‘Mixed Equaliser’ as opposed to ‘Single Equaliser’. Oddly, all EQ bands seem to be disabled resolution
by default when loading emulations, and this briefly baffled me. Separate band-enabled LEDs are set out at the base of each band’s controls, with an overall EQ On at the right. To the right of this in the corner is a Bypass that actually links to and toggles the Pro Tools Bypass. There is a section on the Focusrite website for downloading additions to the emulation library, and although recent additions are minimal (and it’s difficult to work out which ones you’ve already got) there was a particularly good new version of a Chandler EMI EQ which sounded absolutely superb. But there is plenty to be getting on with just using the included settings. I did find that Liquid Mix HD slowed down the workflow slightly because not only do you have to instantiate the plug-in, but you also then have to decide what type of EQ and/or compressor you want to use, before getting anywhere near actual controls that change the sound. It’s impossible to tell how accurate any particular emulation is without a strict A/B comparative listening session, but during my brief review period I found that settings for gear I am familiar with mostly sounded convincing. Of course, the experience of mousing around a grey knob in a plug-in window is rather removed from cranking bakelite knobs on a Pultec, and on a few emulations there were missing or different controls, such as a threshold knob to adjust an 1176, which just seemed slightly wrong. However, where an original EQ band includes a choice of, say, shelf or bell, these are both available by clicking and selecting. This application of this technology is unquestionably gobsmacking and wonderful. In the real world of mixing, the workflow is not ideal, but this is truly an extraordinary addition to the sonic arsenal. n
PROS
A whole world of processors available to the user; downloadable updates.
CONS
No AudioSuite processing; no separate EQ and Compressor plug-ins; uninspired graphics.
EXTRAS
Focusrite has integrated Liquid preamp technology with Saffire PRO audio interfacing. Liquid Saffire 56 is Focusrite’s flagship 2U multichannel FireWire audio interface. Two of Liquid Saffire 56’s eight preamps use the third generation of Focusrite’s Liquid Preamp for a choice of ten different preamp emulations. A harmonics dial allows the user to compensate for variance in vintage originals or to add levels of 2nd, 3rd and 5th harmonic distortion.
Alongside the two Liquid and six Saffire preamps are ten analogue outputs, 16 channels of ADAT I-O, stereo SPDIF or AES I-O, MIDI and two virtual ‘loopback’ inputs for routing digital audio between software applications.
Contact focusrite, uk: Website: www.focusrite.com
July/August 2009
REVIEW
JZ Microphones BT-201 You can rely on the Latvians to think slightly radically when it comes to defining a concept for a new microphone. JON THORNTON finds himself magnetically drawn to the interchangeable capsules of this stick mic.
T
he folks at JZ microphones have never been, shall we say, conservative when it comes to the physical appearance of their microphones. The Black Hole, for example, is memorable for being about the only large diaphragm capacitor microphone whose body you can see straight through. It was perhaps inevitable then, that when Juris Zarins’ (The JZ. Ed) company turned its attention to the small diaphragm stick design, they would come up with something that stood out from the crowd. That’s harder than you might think after all, there doesn’t seem to be that much you can play around with in terms of physical form, but the BT-201 somehow manages it. A small diaphragm capacitor design, featuring a range of swappable capsules, the BT201’s body tapers down to a narrow point before widening out again at the capsule end. There was something vaguely familiar about the shape that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, until I watched a video on the company website. Hold it by the capsule end and it looks like a baseball bat — hence, allegedly, the BT designation. But there’s more to this design approach than simply a strange shape, there’s some genuine innovation here in the way in which the capsules are interchanged. Rather than the more conventional screw-on or bayonet arrangement, the capsules are held in place magnetically. Swapping them is simply a matter of pulling one off and putting another in its place — and this arrangement is a lot more secure than it sounds. As well as speeding up operations, it also means no possibility of accidentally crossing (and ruining) a thread. The tapering body also means that the capsule assembly is potentially more immune to any masking effects by the body –- so perhaps there’s function to accompany the form in this case. Discrete components are employed in the microphone’s electronics, and the output is transformerless. Quoted specs are a sensitivity of 11mV/Pa, with self-noise weighing in at 12dBA. Four capsules are on offer — an omni, cardioid, wide-cardioid and a wide cardioid with an integral -20dB pad. It’s available singly or as a stereo pair with three of these capsules included in each case (omni, cardioid and wide cardioid). The fourth capsule option (wide cardioid with -20dB pad) is available at additional cost. The stereo pair supplied for review ships in
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a very compact wooden case with two of the BT201s plus three capsules for each but strangely no mic clips are included. There is an optional elastic suspension, which from the pictures on the website looks like one of those clever Rycote InVision mounts. Generally the microphone feels well put together in terms of build quality with a solid metal body and lack of any internal switch-gear keeps things simple and rugged looking. With a price point of Euro 1059 for the stereo pair, it’s hard to see where exactly the BT-201 is positioning itself in the market. It’s not at the lower end, but is priced somewhat below the established high-end competition of Neumann, Schoeps and DPA. But there’s nothing like a really tough test to begin with, and with this in mind the omni capsule was loaded on and compared with a DPA 4006. First impressions are that the BT-201 is somewhat noisier than the DPA, and that its tonality is a good deal sharper, with quite an obvious lift in the high frequencies. On acoustic guitar this isn’t entirely unpleasant, but when set on a cello things start to sound scratchy rather than bright. You also notice a little more murkiness around the low-mids with the BT-201 compared to the DPA although both microphones deliver a nice solid low end, the DPA has more definition to the fundamentals and harmonics. Switching over to the wide cardioid capsule, and switching the comparison microphone to a Schoeps CCM-22, and if anything these sonic characteristics are slightly magnified. Slightly more forward, less LF extension — nowhere near as smooth as the Schoeps — particularly on the cello. It doesn’t suffer, though, from a terrifically aggressive proximity bump, which means that you can get things quite close to source without too much of a ‘scooped’ sound in the mid range. Moving on to a drum kit with a pair of BT-201s fitted with the standard cardioid capsule and set up as a spaced overhead pair and the JZ offering fared much better. There’s a good sense of detail and transient response here and the slight increase in working distance seems to suit these microphones better. Cymbal sounds and the initial ‘thwack’ of the snare keep a life-like detail without sounding smeared or thrashy and I actually preferred the sound here to the CCM-22s, which sounded a little softer resolution
overall. If anything, they sound like a pair of AKG C451s with a little more solidity in the low-mids. The final outing was in the recording of a brass band — this time as a coincident pair using the wide cardioid capsule, and again using the Schoeps as a comparison. This confirmed that if you give these microphones a little distance, and you can live with the self-noise (not really an issue with a brass band, quite honestly), they are capable of giving some very good results indeed. That slight sharpness to the sound when used close-up now translates to a nice ‘reach’ to the sound, with good levels of HF detail. Yes, they still struggle a little in comparison with the Schoeps in terms of resolving that low-mid complexity, although this is less obvious with brass than with strings. All of this makes reaching a judgement quite difficult. If the BT201 occupied the same price point as the DPAs and Schoeps, then there would be no contest — but it is significantly cheaper. A fairer comparison might be a Neumann KM184, but the BT201s offer the added flexibility of interchangeable capsules that the Neumann doesn’t for a similar price. If you need that added flexibility, then the BT-201 is a worthy competitor. n
PRoS
Very neat and quick capsule change arrangement; flexibility in capsule choice; nicely balanced sound at a distance; price.
ConS
Quite noisy in comparison to others; no clips supplied; can sound a little too forward and bright when used close to source.
exTRAS
The JZ pop filter offers a distinctive ‘curved cone’ shape and employs two screens. The main benefit of this design is claimed to be reduced reverberations and, therefore, improved fidelity. The new accessory comes with the new Black Hole microphone shockmount. The pop filter and shockmount are patent pending and are available at a suggested retail price of euro 339.
Contact JZ MICRoPHoneS, lATVIA Website: www.jzmic.com
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Stephen Street The Britpop sonic architect and all-round good bloke reveals some of the secrets of his continuing success to NIGEL JOPSON.
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ew producers have defined a national sound across three decades in quite the way Stephen Street has. He started as a musician, playing bass with ska band BIM, before training as an engineer at Island Records’ Fallout Shelter studio. Stephen recorded acts like Amazulu and Black Uhuru, and formed a strong relationship with The Smiths’ while engineering their Meat Is Murder and genre-defining The Queen Is Dead albums. Street engineered and produced on two albums for Stephen Duffy (The Ups & Downs and Because We Love You), produced post-punk Factory Records outfit The Durutti Column, and took the producer’s chair for the final Smith’s album Strangeways Here We Come. After the Smiths broke up, Stephen became producer and co-songwriter for Morrissey’s influential (and #1) 1988 solo debut Viva Hate. Street also played bass and guitar on the album, and went on to produce and co-write two more top ten singles and the Bona Drag album for Morrissey. In the 1990s he produced a string of hit albums for Blur, The Cranberries, Catatonia, The Pretenders, Sleeper and Shed Seven. Stephen produced five Blur albums, including the best-selling Park Life and Oasis-trouncing (the media-fueled Battle for Britpop) The Great Escape. The Street-produced Cranberries album No Need To Argue achieved multiplatinum status in the US and Europe, and has sold around 17 million CDs worldwide. In our current decade, a new wave of guitar-toting British bands have benefited from his touch — the list is bewildering (how does he have time?) — and comprehensive (how many neo-Britpop tunes can we list?) He’s produced two albums for The Ordinary Boys, two for the Kaiser Chiefs (Employment and Yours Truly, Angry Mob), one each for The Zutons, The Maccabees and Babyshambles. Stephen has also produced three solo albums for former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, and tracks for Suede, Feeder and New Order. It’s hard to listen to UK radio without encountering an anthem produced by Street — the Pigeon Detectives (Emergency) and Courteeners (Not Nineteen Forever) have been much in evidence over the last year. Street has a knack of producing commercially viable, radio-friendly music without destroying a band’s originality: the elusive talent of adding a sympathetic polish to the proverbial diamond-in-the-rough. When Resolution met him, he’d just completed a series of shows with Pete Doherty, playing live for the first time in years after producing Doherty’s Grace/Wastelands solo album. (photos www.recordproduction.com)
How did you end up on-stage with Pete Doherty? Peter asked me to be musical director for the tour, I got Graham Coxon to play on the album and fortunately he was around to be part of the live line-up initially. I
think the last gig I had played was back in 1981, before I quit being a musician to get into engineering. We’ve got some festival dates coming up, Glastonbury and T in the Park, Graham can’t be around for those because he’s busy with the Blur reunion, so I’ve been practicing hard to fill in for him!
There was a moment around 1987, after the Smiths broke up, when the press were building you up to be Morrissey’s new musical alter ego. It never quite happened. When the Smiths split up I really thought they were going to reform, I thought it was just a bit of a tiff and they’d get back together again. I sent some ideas over to Morrissey on a cassette, much in the same way as Johnny used to, Morrissey came back to me and said: ‘Actually I want to do a solo record, would you like to work on it?’ I dropped everything, I didn’t work on any other productions, I just concentrated on writing. It doesn’t come easy to me, I’m not the sort of person who is constantly writing songs, so I have to get into that mode. I think over the 18 months we worked together we made some really good music, I’m very proud of Viva Hate, and the subsequent singles which came out afterwards. In a way you’re a prototype for the current breed of more musical production pros: when you started your career most engineers were not musos, or at least not songwriters. I think there was more of a distinction between musicians and engineers. At the beginning of the 80s, I was aware that all these good young engineers were becoming producers, people like Steve Lillywhite, Martin Rushent and Martin Hannett. They were making great records with post-punk new wave bands. I thought: that’s what I’ve got to do, if I want to be one of this new breed of producers, I mustn’t be so focused on being a musician. I wrote a lot of letters to studios, but eventually got a job through Jeremy Green, who’d engineered The Clash. My band had done a session with Jeremy so I phoned him for advice, he told me Island were looking for an assistant engineer. Island was an inspiring place to work. You were quite adventurous as an engineer, on The Smiths’ That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore there’s lots of backwards reverb and a huge snare sample ... It wasn’t a sample, actually. Reverb was king, it was a Lexicon 240. To make it inspirational for the band I would try and find a reverb I thought was appropriate for the song. I used to print the reverb as well, even if I didn’t use it on the final mix, I liked to have it for reference. Nine times out of ten I did actually use it, but
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CRAFT if I ran out of tracks and had to erase the reverb, at least I’d be able to note what it was and recreate it in the mix. Backwards reverb was a big thing for me at the time, and the ‘infinite’ reverb: I’d trap a note from Morrissey or Johnny and then play it on the desk, shifting it to different notes. People sometimes think it’s strings on the Smiths’ albums, but back then they were very against having strings or other musicians on their records, they wanted to have everything done using their own instruments.
Is that reverb on the Cranberries records as well? Yes, my two main toys then were the Lexicon 240 and the AMS reverb, I loved the Ambience program on the AMS RMX-16, it had a lovely frosty top end to it — of course, everyone was using the AMS NonLin program. Reverb was a fashion thing in the 80s, everyone got obsessed with how big a snare sound could be. Engineers would go around with their little DAT of snare samples and guard them jealously: they’d load a sound into an AMS DDL and then make sure to get rid of it at the end of the session so no-one could find out what it was. Everyone got a little bit too hung up on that. When it came to working with Blur, to me it naturally seemed right that the guitar and vocals had a little more sway. The sound changed a lot for Blur’s second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, which seemed to be the album that generated so much interest in the band. Although it was critically well received, at the time it was released it didn’t sell in huge numbers, it was a necessary step to get to where we got to with Park Life. It was never really a conscious decision for me to use less reverb ... but even compared to that, what we ended up with, post-Strokes from 2000 onwards ... mixes got even drier! Just about now, we seem to be going back the other way a little, with Fleet Foxes and so on you can hear great use of wonderful reverbs again. Do you work with an engineer now or do you run the session yourself? I’ve worked with some great engineers over the last few years. I worked with John Smith back in the 90s on the Blur stuff, I’ve worked with Cenzo Townshend (Resolution V4.6) a lot over the years — he’s now a top mixer of alternative guitar-based bands, doing really well. Tom Stanley, a former Townhouse engineer, has been working with me a fair bit. If there’s the budget it’s nice to have a good engineer, but I do still like to get hands-on, and if the budget isn’t there I’m quite prepared to dig in myself.
I was surprised to see a Digidesign manual on your desk — I thought your colours were firmly nailed to the Otari Radar mast! When Pro Tools first came out back in the 90s I was not part of the fan club at all, my route was Radar, I loved the sound. But Pro Tools has become the industry standard, for better or worse, and I must admit it does sound a lot better now. The reason I used to resist Pro Tools was because, when it first came out, people were getting very hung up on chopping everything up and quantising audio to make it ‘perfect’. That didn’t really figure, for me. But now it’s enabling me to let bands play even more live than in the 80s and 90s, when we were concerned with making the song fit a certain piece of tape we’d allocated. You’d be working on a particular bit of tape with a click track and SMPTE code, if the take wasn’t good enough it was: ‘Do it again, from the top ...’. I can now use different playlists to cut to different parts, I don’t get so hung up about making sure everything is played perfectly. Now I tend to be recording all the time, even while the band are running through a song. Sometimes you can go back to the very first run-through, take a few chunks out of it and they’re really good. It might not be good from beginning to end, but there’s something about the relaxed vibe. You still need pen and paper — some people have countless playlists — but there’s no point. You’ve got to limit yourself a little and make notes about takes, like they used to do in the 60s: why was the take good? Nice intro? Steady second verse? When it comes to editing you’ve got your notes, you make a playlist — bang — let’s do it! You’re capturing little bits of magic that happen. Do you intentionally limit yourself in other ways to keep the production in shape? I still like to bring a session back on the desk and have every track visible on a mixer; it’s old school. I still think about how many tracks there are. If I look at the track list and there’s too many, I feel it’s cumbersome and the session is out of control. Even with Pro Tools, I’m not a believer in infinite tracks. I try and get a session in shape so it will all fit on an analogue desk, 36 channels or whatever, I don’t like to go too much past that. Is there a piece of equipment you couldn’t do without? I’ve recently acquired an API lunchbox from KMR audio, I’m very, very impressed with the sound of the mic amps and EQ. I did a session last year with Graham Coxon for his solo album and the engineer, Mike Pelanconi had some APIs; the acoustic guitar sounded great straight away through the mic amp, there was something about it that sounded much more present and open. I also always take some guitars around with me: it’s nice to be able to say ‘Why don’t you try this, Graham played it on ...’ Do some of the young bands you’ve produced reference your earlier work? I’ve been very, very fortunate. I’ve worked with two of the major British guitar-type pop bands of the post-Beatles/Stones era: The Smiths and Blur. Most young bands I’ve worked with have asked a few questions and are keen to hear a few stories, they were stunning acts, and very inspirational. I don’t have a set way of working with musicians, I just try to bring out the best of them and their sound. All I’m keen on doing is making the band shine, making them show their true colours. The band are, ultimately, paying for the record — something which labels sometimes forget. Your approach must work, because many bands have asked you back ... Well, that’s the proof of the pudding, if you get asked to do another record then hopefully you’ve done something right as a producer. A lot of production, a huge amount of it, is man-management. There’s a Youtube video of you re-assuring Peter Doherty, in a thoughtful way, about the dates for his song 1939, it’s called ‘history lessons with Stephen Street’ ... That’s Peter! He loves to leave his laptop open and record video, you’ve got to be on your toes because next thing you know, the world is watching! You were quoted (in the NME) as saying: ‘I want to prove to those people he can make a decent record.’ I wouldn’t want anybody to misconstrue that, he’s made great records before, but I did want to prove that he was still capable of making one, perhaps without having a band around him. Peter had done an earlier session for some of these songs, which had been put on ice: there was a thing going around in the industry ... it’s messed up, not happening ... blah, blah. There is that gentler side of Peter, but a lot of people had been writing him off because of his welldocumented drug problems. Doherty’s solo album has an acoustic mood, you seem quite fond of the British-minstrel vibe, the songs you wrote with Morrissey on Bona Drag also had that feel ... One of my favourite Jam songs is English Rose from the All Mod Cons album,
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CRAFT just Paul with his acoustic guitar. I do like that kind of thing. I felt Peter’s songs were very strong, although when he first gave them to me to listen to they were very basic sketches. But that left a certain openness to see what we could do with it. That’s why I wanted Graham Coxon on board, because he’s such a wonderful player. You could just give Graham the basic chords of A, G and C — he would make it come alive in the way he plays. I wanted to take it very low key, so the idea was to just have Graham and Peter with acoustic guitars playing through the songs. Things started happening straight away, because Peter was very inspired to have Graham there. For a couple of songs, I gave them some drum loops, because I didn’t want it to be all guitars on their own. Graham started playing choppy 60s rhythms and that immediately showed where we could go with it.
When you make a drum loop, is there a particular box of tricks you use to program the beat? No, I just got Logic Pro up and mixed together a couple of loops. I never use one loop on its own, I’ll always put a few together, perhaps put a delay on one, to try and create a feel and bounce that is different. Do you get involved in artist development beyond production work? This year I’ve worked with some excellent new bands who, two or three years ago, would have already had record deals. I think it’s indicative of what’s going on in the industry at the moment. I’m doing sessions with these bands because I believe in them, I’m hoping that if they do get a good deal, I’ll get the invitation to make the album. I believe there’s a lot of great talent out there, the unfortunate thing is they’re not getting their dues, they’re not getting paid for the music they make. Are you tempted to start your own label again? No ... Back in the late 80s when I started the Foundation label, at least when you put a record out if people wanted it they had to go and buy the bloody thing! There was a recession back then as well, though — Rough Trade, who did our distribution, went under — so the money we were due from sales didn’t arrive. I was funding the whole thing myself ... what I should have done was go to a major label and say ‘give me some money’. It got to the point, after we’d released around 13 singles and three albums, where I thought I just couldn’t do it anymore. It’s tough out there at the moment today, the downloading thing has given the industry a big kick in the teeth. It’s a global problem, from Moscow to Beijing there’s people with their iPods plugged in, listening to music, but are they paying for it? The government and the industry itself has got to somehow come in and police it, otherwise the industry won’t survive. Which new acts have you been producing recently? I’ve been working with three excellent new bands: Your Twenties (the lead singer used to be in a band called Metronomy), I’m also working with a band called Ex-Lovers, who I met on one of Peter’s solo dates. I’ve done an EP for them, which is going to come out on a small label associated with Geffen called Chess Club. Then there’s a band called Kurran and the Wolf Notes, their music is slightly West-Coast influenced with an interesting use of vocal harmonies, I’m hoping that will get SummitResAd2:27.pdf 2/27/09 10:41:12 AM released sometime this summer. n
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Meet me at the Summit! Al Schmitt “ It’s been about 25 years now... My vocal chain has ALWAYS got the Summit in it” -Al Schmitt
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( Barbara Streisand, Steely dan, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones)
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James Loughrey Still searching for bands, James Loughrey imparts his tips for having fun, recording the mighty glock, and getting artists to believe it was their idea to GEORGE SHILLING
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ames Loughrey grew up in South Africa and was a drummer in a thrash metal band before landing his first recording gigs. Initially working with a variety of clients including choirs, death metal and Zulu traditional music at Bop Recording, a huge studio complex with SSL, Focusrite and Neve consoles in Bophuthatswana, he headed to the UK with ambitions for working with bands. He got work as a freelance assistant, initially at Metropolis and Eden Studios, and an early project was with Bruce Dickinson where Loughrey relished the Iron Maiden stories between takes. Still in pursuit of bands, Loughrey took a job at Britannia Row when it was in Islington and owned by Pink Floyd. He engineered in the demo studio where Warner Chappell Publishing sent their signings where he demoed a band called Don who went off to work with Mike Hedges. Hedges thought the demos were great and invited Loughrey to his Normandy studio with the EMI TG desk. At Britannia Row Loughrey encountered Eddie Reader, Bjork and The Longpigs among many others. When he went freelance in the late 1990s he discovered pop 44
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and R&B and worked with the Sugababes, Atomic Kitten, and most of the Spice Girls individually. He also worked at Strongroom, mixing a number of 5.1 projects for film and SACD with Ronan Keating, Manic Street Preachers and Super Furry Animals. After engineering Hope Of The States with Ken Thomas producing, James more recently produced the former singer Sam Herlihy’s new band The Northwestern. He has also completed several projects with My Vitriol. An album with Italian band Hana-B was recently mixed in New York, and James has achieved a number one in Beirut with Jad Choueiri’s Funky Arabs. He still mixes film work at Strongroom and was about to return there to mix Psych 9 in 5.1 for cinema release, and has his own setup at home. He’s regularly frequenting the ‘new’ Britannia Row in south London, which is where Resolution spoke to him while he was working with Hermione Ross. Loughrey also worked with her late father Christie Hennessey (achieving No.1 in Ireland), and James is now mixing further material for posthumous release. (photos www.recordproduction.com)
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to bounce back to my mixes now. I think the days of doing a mix a day, printing it off, not coming back to it, or coming back for a recall — I don’t like that, I find that very stressful. So now I can put a mix on and come back to it in two days, A/B it. The recall doesn’t have to be totally perfect because I’ll listen to it and do a few changes, make it sound better, print it again. Then at the end of the album listen down — if there’s any that stick out, get them back on the board again.
How do you cope with producing and engineering at the same time? It’s a bit difficult, I think when you’re engineering you can just get on with the engineering, and you can have a lot of fun and get on with everybody. With producing and still doing the engineering, you have to sit back and think to yourself, is it sounding any good? When you’re engineering, you’ve got someone that can give you some direction. When I’m mixing I find I have to think about it a lot more. Did you mix The Northwestern album straight after recording it? Yeah, and then we came back a month or two later and did a few different mixes, because I found that mixing straight after recording, it maybe didn’t sound as awesome as I wanted it to. And also we mixed them quite fast. So when we came back I was able to listen to it with a lot more referencing. My mixing has changed, because it’s all up on the desk, but it’s all through Pro Tools as well, because I like July/August 2009
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So what’s going on on the board? I bring everything out the same channels, then put all the old boxes on and some EQ, then do all my mixing in Pro Tools, so when I recall it, it’s all in the same ball park. If you A/B something you can hear if it’s too loud and drop it back down. I find as my mixes go on they tend to get better because you discover things. So as the [desk and outboard] settings change, it means the first mixes I did don’t suffer, because when you get it back you get it with the new settings. How was Page and Plant? It was produced by Ahmet Ertegun, they came in and it was all live. Jimmy Page is playing guitar, and I’m putting a mic up in front of him, and he says to me, ‘Oh I’m not really very good at this!’ He was playing an acoustic guitar, all these blues riffs, and it sounded like there were three guitarists in the room. They were doing a tribute to Sun Records, I didn’t really know what they wanted, but as the session developed I realised that they actually wanted it to sound like it was recorded at Sun Studios, so by the end of the mix I had everything going through the plate, the plate through the Bel delay, the whole session. And it sounded great, they loved it.
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What do you do at home? I do a lot more pop music, I work with another guy who’s from New York and he sends [tracks] and I mix them, and we get all sorts of people to sing on them. I also do mastering at home, I tend to use the Isotope Ozone, and I’ve got the Massey plug-ins, and some Sony Oxford stuff. I use my [KRK] V6s. I was in Sterling Sound last week and it sounded amazing, but they do squash it a lot and put it through
the L2, so what I tend to do now is master stuff myself, because unless you do go somewhere like that you don’t know what you’re going to get.
Have you got a fader controller? I haven’t, because whenever I have one in front of me, I never use it. I always think you sit there with one hand on the keyboard and one hand on the mouse, so why
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do I then want a fader? On a desk, you just get on with it, you don’t really think about it. Saying that, I mix differently on desks now than I used to, because I do far more in Pro Tools and use the desk as a big summing amp, which is a bit sad, but kind of how it is nowadays.
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Do you check mixes on headphones? Yeah, quite often. I’ll download it to the iPod and listen to it on the way in, because I find I’m so used to listening to other records on the iPod I can tell instantly what’s missing. And when I’m at home I only listen to music on my iPod and in my car. I don’t actually really listen to music any more, I don’t know who goes home and listens to music any more in that way, that they set up a pair of speakers and a hifi. I remember getting Pink Floyd records and doing things like that. But I think that’s all gone now, you download it, put it on your iPod or your phone, and enjoy it. And who is ever going to plug in six speakers? That’s the funny thing about 5.1, I think the only person who’s ever going to listen to the mix how I’ve done it is me. Once it leaves, everyone’s speaker systems are crazy. I don’t have 5.1 at home, too many wires. How do you cope with phase coherence in 5.1? That’s the problem, you get this weird hole in the middle as well. You sit in the middle when you’re mixing and it sounds great, then you move to the right and suddenly everything’s out of phase. But you just get on with it, try not to put the drums in too many speakers, but everything else is cool. The problem is, when you convert it, you suddenly wish they’d done a bit more music, because you’ve got the drums and guitar, and maybe you can sling some backing vocals in the back or something, lots of delays… I did a Sugababes one, the song Round Round, and I just made lots of things go round and round! Got any good miking tips? My favourite thing is, I like to build a drum tunnel for the bass drum, and if I can get two bass drums and whack them together, I like doing that, because you get this big booming bass drum sound.
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What do you use if there isn’t a second bass drum? Guitar cases, get two down the sides and put something on top, you get the feeling of depth. How do you mic the tunnel? I always put one at the front, the old D12, just to get the click. The second bass drum will have no skins, and I’d use a FET 47 at the front. Here they’ve bought lots of old mics, they’ve got loads of them and some sound really interesting. What other miking tricks do you use? I’ve got a little trick for glock, I’m never satisfied about recording that. Now I mic it up and put it through an amp, and put some reverb on it. It gives it a bit more depth, because they sound so small and in the mix everyone says ‘Turn up the glock, put loads of reverb on it!’ And you put loads of reverb on, and nothing happens. The amp just opens it up, makes it sound dirty and gives it some depth. I also like the fact that you’ve got the two sources. I like doing that with acoustic guitar if it’s got a DI, getting them to play in the room and plug it through an amp. You don’t even have to mic up the amp, you get this weird acousticky amp sound. And if you get a big Chet Atkins type guitar, use that as an acoustic and just mic that up and it just sounds great, because on most acoustics you get a funny top end — when you do a mix it flutters at the top. When you work with people, I like to do stuff that’s a bit funny that they’ll remember — they want to have a good time. I always like getting the band to do backing vocals all at the same time, because then you just have a laugh. Handclaps are the best. You just put it in cycle and go and have a cup of tea! How do you coax an artist to do what you want? Make them think it’s their idea! The biggest thing I ever learnt working in studios is that you have to get on with people, and you have to make people feel comfortable, and you just have to let people do their thing. You sit there and record them, and you laugh and have fun, and things just naturally happen. I also think when anyone has an idea, no matter how bad you think it is, just go and do it. Because you’ll often be surprised that it actually turns out to be really good. When you work with bands there are so many different dynamics. I was working with a band and every time we finished a mix the drummer would say, ‘Can I hear the drums a little bit more’, the bass player: ‘Can I hear the bass a little bit more.’ It’s the old stereotype, but you just turn round and go, ‘No, sorry.’ And it’s good fun, they know you don’t really mean it, you’re just connecting with people. It’s good to let people try stuff out. How cool is it that you’re trying out different amps, that’s where the fun is and the excitement of it. Like, turn the drums upside down and put tambourines on them or something. Just have fun — what’s the worst that can happen? n July/August 2009
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CRAFT a kind of roving high frequency whistle that goes on for 30 or 40 seconds. Simply by doing small chunks and copying and pasting over, it was possible wipe that out. Before Retouch that would have been impossible. Let me put some context on this, this is a recording from about 1977; a live piano recording in a French Chateau. You can clearly hear the phone ringing in the background. This is something I remastered a few years before Retouch came out and the CD went out with the telephone ring still in it. Obviously, it can now be removed. You could zoom in and do each line, each harmonic absolutely precisely, but frankly though it isn’t critical. The next thing to do would maybe be to get rid of the phone when the piano starts again.
Any other examples? If you have a church recording or something and a car goes past outside and honks its horn or in a studio environment where somebody’s banged a chair with a violin, the same applies, but I often come back to this one because it’s quite a useful example. Of course, it is also very useful when you are working on multichannel material to be able to home in on just a single channel. If you’re working on a 5.1 and you’ve got something in the left surround and left front you can just do those.
Simon Gibson The Beatles back catalogue is undergoing a definitive remastering and The Beatles Rock Band game is in the works. ROB JAMES talks to Simon Gibson about the pivotal use of CEDAR Retouch at Abbey Rd.
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hen evaluating audio hardware and software I always try to spend as much time as possible using the product. This is still a far cry from everyday use in anger. When I wrote about CEDAR Retouch originally I was very impressed, but aware that much more would become possible with everyday experience. I was therefore delighted to have the opportunity to talk to Simon Gibson, surround mastering and restoration engineer at Abbey Road Studios. Simon is a master in the art of Retouch and showed me how he uses it to deal with some real world problems and introduced me to some revolutionary applications you may never have thought of. Simon has been working with Giles Martin and Paul Hicks on the digital remastering of the entire Beatles catalogue due for release in September 2009 along with the Beatles Rock Band game. ‘The first thing I’d say is that since we’ve had Retouch, and we all have them on our Sadie’s in the postproduction rooms, we’ve changed the way we work. It does that. It enables you to fix things that you might have had a solution for in the past, but it would have been rather convoluted and faffy. So, for instance when we do analogue tape remastering and you get a short little analogue drop-out on the tape at the beginning of a piece where there has been a splice and the next cycle round you get a small drop-out. You could probably fix that with a small edit or a bit of reverb or something. With Retouch, it’s 10 seconds. You just bring it up and you can instantly see the drop-out — one click, gone, 100% of the time. Simple little things like that and then the obvious things like little acoustical or electrical clicks or distortion. Because it’s there and not a separate box, it’s integrated inside your workstation, you can use it whenever and as many times as you want.’
How did The Beatles Rock Band game come about? The albums have been ongoing for the last four years whereas Rock Band has only been on the cards for the past 18 months. The way we got into the game was that because of the work that I was doing in terms of audio restoration on The Beatles catalogue we realised the variety of uses you could put Retouch to and then the question came from Apple, ‘We want to do this and we’ve got to come up with a demo to try and prove that we can do it.’ The techniques we explored and used to clean up the albums and led us to think we could probably use them for the Rock Band game. So we tried a couple of tracks and then Paul took it and recreated the songs. The guys from Apple came in and listened to it and we went from there really. It’s been the last 18 months working steadily through the songs. As we’ve done it, I’ve discovered different ways of making it work, not least with some of the tracks having to do two, maybe three, passes across the track, which means effectively going second-by-second through the song. The first Retouch pass being, say, taking out the kick drum, the second pass maybe taking out the hi-hat and the third pass the vocals. I found different ways of working particularly on the high frequency stuff. I realised that the best way was to do a broad brush copy and paste, finding the border frequency below which it sounded crap and above which it was acceptable. So I could remove what’s above in the sense of finding a clean bit of ambience and copying and pasting that across, almost like painting it out. How does this works in the game context? As Giles said earlier, there is no way that Rock Band could happen or would he have been able to offer the front half of the catalogue without Retouch, so it’s critical. Paul Hicks and Giles Martin worked together on the Love Album which was different in the sense that it was taking Beatles catalogue and all the Beatles tapes and just mixing and recreating, whereas, for The Beatles Rock Band game the remit was to come up with a way for the player to play along and recreate Beatles songs. So what was required was a way of pulling apart the elements that make up the music. A chunk of the catalogue has more tracks to play with, but even there you find two or three musical lines within a track pair and it’s those that presented the problem of how do we get them separated. For instance, this is Paperback Writer and it’s a guitar, bass and backing vocal track. So you say, OK, remove those vocals. (The result is uncannily good.) You lose a little bit of the transients on the bass and a few of the harmonics.
Are you also using the CEDAR workstation? Here I’m using a Sadie with Retouch as a plug-in but we also have the CEDAR Cambridge system. We pass audio out through CEDAR and back into Sadie for a real-time process like de-noising and stuff or via the CEDAR Cambridge on the way in from the analogue domain and then capture it on Sadie.
But you could paste those back in? Life’s just too short [laughs]. So that’s one clear example. Taxman here is working from a file that I’d already done. I’d taken out a guitar and now he wanted me to take out the drums and stuff. Fortunately there’s a reasonable gap between one instrument and the next. Some work better than others. As you can see here in I’m Looking Through You I’m taking out claps. It’s nice and sharp but laborious in the sense that you’ve literally just got to go through them one by one and knock them out. You do them 10 seconds at time. [Simon showed me several more examples for illustration. The results are little short of miraculous. Once Simon has worked his magic the results are further tweaked by Giles and Paul to make them fit back together as complete tracks.]
What else do you use Retouch for? On an every day level Retouch gets used for all sorts of things. Some of the things that I’ve ended up using it for over the years are acoustic noises. I’ll play you an example in a minute. I also remember using it on a Maria Callas recording that had
Are they using multiple versions? I’m not completely sure how it works in every scenario but it’s something like this. If the game player gets it right you get the whole line but if they don’t they will just get a percentage, so each line has to be able to be set at 0-100% independently. So
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CRAFT it’s incredibly complex, which is why they need as much control as possible. Effectively, there is a multilayer process going on so that, when everything comes together, the track plays back as the original should sound. Some of the tracks needed filtering as well but for the vast majority of things we found we could get what we wanted with Retouch. I think there were less than a handful where we couldn’t do what they wanted so one or two tracks have had to be shelved.
What was the limiting factor? The obvious one is where things were too close-nit frequency wise. For example where you have a vocal mixed up with a rhythm guitar and the harmonics are overlapping and so on. How do you approach restoration? It isn’t a question of varnishing everything beautifully clean at all, it’s a question of assessing whether something just gets in the way a bit too much. Like the low end pops that give a low frequency thump. Because Retouch gives you the possibility of synthesising less than 100%, so instead of obliterating 100% of what you’ve gated [selected] you can use, say, 50% and then it’s a level reduction. It’s like taking the top off a click and leaving the low end but that’s acceptable because it’s just the high-end attack on something like that. Predominantly it’s the normal noises you’d expect but then at the sub-atomic level there are the things that Guy and Paul heard through incessant listening on headphones which sometimes completely defeated me. They’d come in and say ‘there’s a noise just on the third syllable there’ and I’d listen to it ten times and say, ‘I still can’t hear it.’ But then you bring it up on Retouch and you can be forensic. You just zoom in and zoom in and then you’d see a little grey sort of shadow, ‘OK, got it’. Well, funnily enough, you’d do that then play it and think, ‘Ah, now I can hear it.’ So, between several pairs of ears you sort of get it. This isn’t so much the coal-face as the diamond face! (laughs). Somebody rang up once when I was working with
© Apple Corps Ltd.
Guy Massey and said, ‘What are you doing’ and he said, ‘Fiddling with the crown jewels.’ But with everything in the EMI world, in the EMI archive, working here, you feel a huge sense of responsibility. It’s not to be treated lightly. You don’t own it, you’re just looking after it and what we are doing in this scenario is representing it for another generation. I often liken audio restoration to picture restoration. It’s trying to remove the accumulated dirt and that’s often introduced by the From everything I heard and saw it is clear that, in the hands of somebody as experienced and media that are used, whether it’s vinyl, 78 or tape — things have skilled as Simon, Retouch has become an indispensable restoration tool. It is also becoming been introduced that weren’t actually there in the studio when they apparent that there are many more creative possibilities waiting to be explored. performed it. You’re getting back as close as possible to what was There are two versions of Retouch in existence, the version for the Cambridge system and heard in the studio without the intervening layers and if you’re the plug-ins. The Cambridge version includes some facilities that are not available on the Sadie using CEDAR Cambridge to de-click and de-hiss, that’s an obvious and other plug-in versions. For example, the biggest difference is the ability to draw complex way of demonstrating this. With Retouch it’s a little more fine-tooth shapes that can have holes in the middle rather than simple rectangles. So you can have a complex comb, more archaeological. But, interestingly with the comparison sound and retain it while changing everything around it. In topological terms it’s like a doughnut of the catalogue remasters of the albums where it’s plain and simple or torus, although it can be much more complicated than that with multiple ‘holes’. Although the removing, we weren’t dismembering; moving on to the Rock Band graphic of the ‘wings’, which contain the material that will be used to synthesise the replacement we switched it round so we were dissecting it, if you like, and finding for what is removed or diminished is still rectangular, the actual processing takes account of the a way to use Retouch on a much bigger level and it works. shape of the doughnut. For example, where you have a splat of noise that is irregularly shaped As I said at the beginning Retouch has changed the way we work, and you’ve got stuff that is very close to it you can draw much closer to it. You can create a much not necessarily the way we approach things, but it has given us a more accurate envelope. quicker and easier way of fixing things and a more successful way. It covers so many different problems. n
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RESOLUTION AWARDS 2009
DAW
Resolution Award 2009 winners
Merging Pyramix 6 MassCore
The votes are in and counted and we are happy to be able to present the winners of the 2009 Resolution Awards. The process was entirely democratic and drew exclusively on the readership of Resolution magazine. Starting with the eleven product categories found on Resolution’s on-line Product Reviews Archive, a Nominations Panel created a shortlist of products of note that shipped in 2008. The Nominations Panel was made up of a select group of international end-users and represented the full breadth of the Resolution readership coming from broadcast, postproduction, music, multimedia and mastering disciplines. Voting was conducted on-line and only Resolution readers were eligible to vote after logging in to the voting mechanism with their reader details. Significantly, readers could only vote on products in maximum
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RESOLUTION AWARDS 2009 of seven of the eleven available categories. This encouraged readers to vote carefully and meaningfully rather than ticking boxes on product categories that they were not familiar with just because they could. This simple voting limitation removed the masking effect that would have occurred otherwise and allowed the products that readers genuinely wanted to recognise to rise to the top.
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We started the Resolution Awards in response to requests from readers and manufacturers to ‘rubber stamp’ equipment for ‘the right reasons’ and to credit excellence where it is due. We set out to recognise Quality and Innovation in professional audio equipment and no one can dispute that the 2009 winners represent precisely these values among the many other assets that they offer. The organisation and administration of the Awards has been a surprisingly intense experience for us but we feel satisfied that our original goals have been met. We look forward to the rollout of the 2010 Awards — or reWards as they are consistently being called now — at the beginning of next year. The winner of the superb SE RNR1 microphone, drawn from the voting readership, will be announced in the next issue.
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SOUND DEVICES 788T Resolution V7.7
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business
The high cost of free music Pan-European licensing headed the EC agenda recently, and with PRS for Music reducing streaming royalty rates, positive announcements from Pandora and Spotify, plus a conviction for Pirate Bay, could the music industry be about to turn the next corner? NIGEL JOPSON investigates
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he EU took a step towards creating a pan-European licensing system at the end of May, after French collection society SACEM agreed to drop territorial restrictions and allow national counterparts to license its catalogue. Apple had said it would offer music downloads to all European customers if it were able to license pan-EU rights. Steve Jobs, iTunes VP Eddy Cue, EMI Music Publishing CEO Roger Faxon and representatives from other companies such a Which? compiled a report after September and December meetings with EC competition commissioner Neelie Kroes. Media commissioner Viviane Reding and Kroes are looking for ways to harmonise Europe’s IP licensing framework. ‘The overwhelming number of negotiation partners and the lack of information as to who owns which rights are the biggest problems for iTunes ... If the conditions for clearing rights are substantially improved, in particular iTunes would agree to consider making its offering available to all European consumers, including those from the Eastern European countries where iTunes is currently not available.’ After the SACEM decision Ms Kroes released a statement that was greeted in a cautiously optimistic manner by leading European broadcasters including RTL, which has been complaining for nearly a decade about territorial restrictions. The same week, UK collection society PRS For Music reduced its royalty rates for on-demand streaming from 0.22p to 0.085p, which should stimulate increased growth in the online music streaming/ purchasing sector. This welcome gesture of encouragement comes at a time when both the PRS and US songwriters’ agency ASCAP have been engaged in bitter rows and legal challenges with Google-owned video site YouTube. Nevertheless, the gap between IP owners/licensors and YouTube remains large: ASCAP asked for $12m, YouTube offered $79,500, and a judge subsequently ordered YouTube to pay $1.6m in a recent court case. Regular readers will know that we have championed music discovery — intelligent versions of ‘if you like that, then listen to this’ — as a key driver for digital music sales, and one of our favourites is Pandora, which uses a database of songs individually analysed by musicians, rather than depending on the playlists of other listeners. Pandora has always proceeded strictly by the licensing
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rules, to the extent that it was forced to cut its UK listeners off after early PRS fees made the service uneconomic. For a while, Pandora’s future looked doubtful, but a streaming app designed for the Apple iPhone proved popular, and now a version for the BlackBerry and an ad-free $36 annual subscription desktop application are increasing revenue. A sharper focus on revenue generation brought listenerappropriate audio adverts to the free version, and now founder Tim Westergren has revealed that income may double this year to nearly $40m, and Pandora will most likely be profitable next year. This is important as a proof of concept, as nearly all the ad-funded services that made the listener select individual songs to stream have gone to the wall. Meanwhile the label-loved (and 30% owned) service Spotify has launched a mobile phone version, currently for the Android platform and planned for the iPhone, which includes an ‘offline mode’ that caches playlists and turns your mobile into a music player. Sometimes new systems for selling digital content fail — not because they are bad systems but because the packaging and delivery is too hard a sell, and does not take into account a changed marketplace. ‘When imagination paints a picture of the future,’ Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert explains in his book Stumbling on Happiness, ‘many of the details are necessarily missing, and imagination solves this problem by filling in the gaps with details that it borrows from the present’. Despite, or perhaps because, I know quite a bit about content businesses, I was initially stumped as to why US mega-store chain Best Buy had purchased Napster, then lowered the subscription price to $5 per month. Was it a loss leader? No, the customer acquisition cost for Napster had just fallen — to zero. Napster is now just another box-tick on the weekly Best Buy circular, another scratch card dangling at every till. If an independent service had to pay for all that promotion, there’d be no profits left. See also the recently announced Sky and Virgin Media music subscription bundles, both in conjunction with Universal Music Group. Reducing digital music to a tick box on a utility’s sign-up form may stick in the craw of a music exec who once lovingly coveted 12-inch LPs in a record shop, but it sure is a cheap way of getting customers: broadband, digital TV, online storage? Photo printing? Music? Yes please. The Nokia Comes With Music mobile phone is another example of reducing the cost of acquiring customers, in this case the cost of music is hidden in the price of a hardware device, with the sales agents benefiting from the ongoing service element. The only hill left to climb, and the vital discussion worth having, is the content licensing cost. Many production pros may have retracted their business-message receiving antennae somewhere around the development of 2nd generation file sharing networks (such as Kazaa) in 2003, after the shutdown of the original illegal Napster in 2001 — ‘That’s it, music sales are stuffed and everyone knows it.’ Quite a few financial analysts not directly involved in e-commerce adopted a similar attitude. But the landscape has changed considerably since then: installing P2P software and a bucket of spyware on your parents’ PC merely to get a boring old mp3 file no longer has quite the same allure for youngsters, with new social networking playlists and legal online streaming of flavour-of-the-minute grooves direct to your desktop or mobile phone. P2P seems positively old fashioned. And with Pirate Bay founders Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundström and Peter Sunde set to lose their appeal in Sweden, the outlook for the most popular BitTorrent — aka ‘get the band’s entire discography overnight’ — website looks bleak. Attitudes are changing, even the Swedish government announced in April that it would implement an Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED), which would greatly simplify processes for copyright holders to identify individuals infringing copyright via file sharing. Most of the headline grabbing legal ad-supported music services have now blown through their venture capital funding, the business plans assuming rather skeletal looks after the recent global banking crisis. Some analysts predict the second half of 2009 will see an advertising bounce, but accountancy firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers foresees a bleaker immediate future.
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business Digital spending in the US will be 25% of the total industry revenue by 2013, compared with 17% last year, according to the PWC report, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2009-13. But advertising spending will actually decline during the next five years, according to the report, which forecasts a total of $174bn in 2013 compared with $189bn in 2008. While online allows for better targeting, it also allows advertisers to be more efficient, spending less. The now defunct but much-touted advertising (un)-supported free music service SpiralFrog blew millions after it went live in 2006: $12m in VC funding and $34m in debt. The most popular surviving social/music streaming services have been integrated into the mainstream of digital music sales — LastFm purchased by CBS, imeem.com subsumed by WMG, MySpace music with click-though mp3 purchases. So who does that leave? It leaves YouTube, repository of a superabundance of music videos and, increasingly, just plain music (the video component being a still picture of the artist or album art). Youtube is the new Napster, Kazaa and Limewire with one easy interface. Music-related search terms dominated YouTube’s top 50 queries in December 2008, according to research firm Hitwise. This custom data, available publicly in January for the first time, reveals the majority of searches on the Google-owned video site are for bands, artists or songs. Searches for the rapper Lil Wayne ranked No. 1 in December 2008. The top 50 search terms on YouTube accounted for 20% of the site’s total search volume in December 2008, and 18 of the top 20 search terms in December were for music. Behind music searches, internet personalities were the next most popular search, followed by miscellaneous searches and then TV searches. YouTube fanboys would have us believe the deep-pockets of Google will sustain the video tower of Babel for ever but, given the lack of user-generated content in the top viewing lists I’ve seen, how long can users be indulged with free bandwidth for their skateboarding dogs? According to YouTube, the hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute has been growing exponentially since mid-2007, when it was a meagre six hours per minute. According to the YouTube blog, in ‘January of this year, it became 15 hours Calrec Resolution Ads 7/8/08 17:46 Page 1 of video uploaded every minute, the equivalent of Hollywood releasing over 86,000
new full-length movies into theaters each week.’ Just a few months later and we’ve clocked the 20 hour per minute milestone, which means that every day 28,800 hours of video are uploaded in total. Some back-of-the-envelope calculations I made with incomplete numbers (mentioned in Resolution V7.7) suggested Google might be losing $325m annually on YouTube. Now Credit Suisse analysts have handily done my work for me, with more recent numbers. They calculate YouTube will manage to make about $240m in ad revenue during 2009, against operating costs of roughly $711m, leading to a shortfall of just over $470m. This half-billion dollar loss will come after two years of frantic experimentation with different types of advertising, cross-product embedding, licensing and partnership deals. Unlike creators, who have already suffered for their art, there’s always a finite limit to the amount of pain shareholders can take. Hugely popular as it is, the YouTube experience is dulled by its roots in populist, difficult-to-navigate provender which occasionally goes viral. Even when a user-generated video hits the mother-lode, there’s no way to plan for ways of monetising the resulting traffic spike. Google seems to be finding cashing-
WHEREVER THERE’S SPORT CALREC AUDIO IS THE BIG PLAYER
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business in on video considerably harder than internet search. What are Google’s options? They seems unlikely to sustain a near billiondollar annual experiment with no path to revenue, no matter how much they paid for the original asset ($1.65bn in shares/stock). In a company feeling the sting of redundancies, is this really where Google wants to spend money? The heaving morass of user-generated content could be axed, YouTube could go up-market with proprietary content and become You-Hulu. Alternatively, YouTube could implement a subscription structure, monetising subscriber-only content, or perhaps make users pay to upload video. There are several possibilities, but it strikes me that maintaining the current course is not one of them. This can only strengthen the hand of content providers, given the current economic climate. The supply side of the digital music business has a choice as to whether music is to be free or not. If business cannot find a way to deliver it for free, it need not be free — no matter what some silicon-alley twit who has never composed a song says at a conference. The movie and video games industries — both of which depend quite heavily on music as a component of their businesses — are not considering free models. Listeners nowadays are prepared to forgo physical ownership, as long as delivery is transparent. In the future, all our downloading and side-loading may seem like drudgery. If music is going to be paid for, much of it will be licensed globally rather than sold to the listener, so an unambiguous ‘one-stop’ source to license from would be an advantage. If a simpler and more strategic licensing policy means slightly less short-term income, it seems a fair trade. But when a new global service threatens to destroy existing business — as YouTube does — licensing turns into risk management and so needs to be priced
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appropriately. It is the new service provider that needs to find a viable business model, and if that model can’t be created, then the new service can’t afford the license. How well Mary Evans/ George Eliot (1819-1880) understood modern life: ‘Life is measured by the rapidity of change, the succession of influences that modify the being.’ But in times like these, I prefer to be guided by the man who advised: ‘If you want to steal some money, don’t rob a bank, open one.’ Playwright and theatrical guru Bertolt Brecht also said: ‘Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.’ Just when everyone has informed us that the content we generate is worthless, I sense an appropriate moment to force a revaluation. n
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TEN
Musical Islands As Island Records celebrates its 50th anniversary, and what passes for summer drips off the edges of umbrellas, JIM EVANS selects ten islands that have played significant roles in popular music history. Rock Island — Rock Island is the country seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, USA. The original Rock Island, from which the city gets its name, is the largest island in the Mississippi River and is now known as Arsenal Island. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad was founded here in 1851 and was known as the Rock Island Line, the title of a blues/folk song performed and first recorded by Lead Belly in the 1930s. Lonnie Donegan’s recording of the song, released in 1955, signalled the start of the UK skiffle craze. It was a major hit, selling millions, but ironically, because it was a band recording, Donegan made no money from it beyond his original session fee. It was the first debut record to go gold in Britain, and reached the top ten in the United States. Eel Pie Island — Located in the River Thames at Twickenham in London, the island was the site of the now legendary Eel Pie Hotel which was a genteel 19th Century building that hosted ballroom dancing during the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1950s, it became a venue for jazz and, in the 1960s, for rock and R&B. Many famous names performed at the hotel between 1962 and 1967 including Long John Baldry’s Hoochie Coochie Men, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Pink Floyd, The Who and The Rolling Stones. In 1967, the Eel Pie Island Hotel was forced to close because the owner could not meet the £200,000 cost of repairs demanded by police. In 1969, the venue briefly reopened as Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden, with bands like Black Sabbath, The Edgar Broughton Band, and Led Zeppelin. In 1971, the Eel Pie Island Hotel burned down in a mysterious fire. The nearby Eel Pie Studios, owned by Pete Townshend, were the location of several significant pop and rock recordings. 56
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The Isle of Wight — The Isle of Wight Festival takes place annually on the Isle of Wight, just off the south coast of England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970 with the 1970 event being by far the largest and most famous of these early festivals. It was said at the time to be one of the largest human gatherings in the world, surpassing the attendance at Woodstock. Included in the lineup of more than 50 performers were The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, The Doors, Ten Years After, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Joni Mitchell and Tiny Tim. The unexpectedly high attendance levels (mostly non-tickets holders — tickets for the four days cost £3) meant that local authorities and the festival organisers could not supply adequate amenities and guarantee public safety for all in attendance. Such concerns led, in 1971, to Parliament passing the Isle of Wight Act preventing gatherings of more than 5,000 people on the island without a special licence.
Island in the sun — A 1955 novel by Alec Waugh, the film of the same name featured the title track performed by Harry Belafonte, a Jamaican American musician, actor and social activist and one of the most successful popular singers in history. He was dubbed the ‘King of Calypso’, a title which he was very reluctant to accept. Other significant ‘island recordings’ include The Springfields’ Island of Dreams (1962) and Elton John’s US No.1 Island Girl (1975) — the first single taken from the album Rock of the Westies. The lyrics are about a prostitute, and a man who wants to take her back to Jamaica. resolution
Jamaica — Studio One in Kingston is one of Jamaica’s most renowned record labels and recording studios. Having been described as ‘the Motown of Jamaica’, Studio One was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall. The label was founded by Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd in 1954, and the first recordings were cut in 1957 on Brentford Road in Kingston. Tuff Gong is a record label that was formed by the reggae group The Wailers in 1970 and named after Bob Marley’s nickname, which was in turn an echo of that given to founder of the Rastafari movement, Leonard ‘The Gong’ Howell. The first single on the label was Run For Cover by The Wailers. The Tuff Gong headquarters were located at 56 Hope Road, in Kingston, Bob Marley’s home. The location is now home to the Bob Marley Museum. Barbados — The title of a 1975 No.1 hit song for British band Typically Tropical, but more importantly, the home of Eddy Grant’s Blue Wave Studios. A shrewd businessman, in 1972 Grant set up the first black-owned recording studio in Europe, Coach House, and began recording his own music on his Ice Records. He relocated to Barbados in 1981 and has since amassed the largest catalogue of Calypso music in the world including the earliest works of the Calypso greats, Atilla, Roaring Lion, Sparrow, Kitchener, Spoiler, King Fighter and Mighty Terror. Cuba — Havana’s once thriving nightlife came to an end after 1959 when Fidel Castro and Che Guevara led their revolutionary guerrillas into Havana and took power. The Castro regime introduced a system of music training schools and state-controlled venues and made all musicians state employees with a guaranteed wage in return for performing a minimum number of gigs per month. All recordings were made by the Havana-based state-owned company Egrem. When its ally the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989, the Cuban government had to look elsewhere for foreign economic support, and it encouraged tourism from Europe and Latin America. The rise of world music and the success of the Buena Vista Social Club albums has made music tourism an important part of the city’s economy. The old Egrem studios where Buena Vista recorded, is now a national heritage monument. A new Egrem studio complex was designed and built by Eastlake Audio in Havana’s seaside resort suburb of Miramar. July/August 2009
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TEN Montserrat — For those with recording aspirations in the 1980s, few studios held the same rock star appeal as AIR Montserrat. A who’s who of major artists, from The Police to Dire Straits and The Rolling Stones recorded at Sir George Martin’s residential studio complex until a hurricane in 1989, and the eruption of a volcano in 1995, destroyed not only the studio but also the heart of the Island community. In response to the catastrophic events, the Montserrat Cultural Centre was built between 2005 and 2006 using funds raised by Sir George and Lady Martin. Allaire Studios in New York’s Catskill Mountains, acquired the Neve AIR Montserrat console in 2007, one of only three ever made. The 58-input console was created by Rupert Neve with input from Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick and producer Sir George Martin. It is one of three desks specified by Martin for AIR Studios, which hold the distinction of being the last ones created by Rupert Neve for the Neve Company.
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The Bahamas — Compass Point Studios in Nassau were founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, owner of Island Records. In the late 70s and mid 80s, Compass Point was one of the major destination recording studios of the world. Many leading producers used the facilities, including Chris Blackwell himself, and the resulting records sold in many millions worldwide. In the early 90s, following a downturn in business, Blackwell took action to save the studio. He brought in Terry and Sherrie Manning, owners and operators of a successful recording studio and video production house in the US, to oversee all aspects of the operation. Compass Point is still very much in business.
Iceland — A thriving music industry exists in and around Reykjavik including a handful of top class recording studios. A number of Icelandic artists and bands have had success internationally, most notably The Sugarcubes, Björk and Sigur. The Iceland Airwaves music festival is an annual event where Icelandic bands along with international acts occupy the clubs of Reykjavík for a week. The Sugarcubes, fronted by Björk, dissolved in 1992 as different members of the band had realised they all had different ambitions. In 2006, the band had a one-off reunion concert at Laugardalshöll sport arena in Reykjavík to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut single with all profits going to the non-profit Smekkleysa SM to promote Icelandic music. n
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en
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TEChNOLOgY
navigation
oPeRATIon WITH A TV SCReen • DVD style • Displays info on the TV • Nicer than CD-Text • On-screen navigation • Menu during playback • Cursor navigation • OK/Enter key
Pure Audio Blu-ray Disc ‘Matchless audio’ quality, the same ease-of-use as a conventional CD — the Pure Audio Blu-ray Disc (Pure Audio BD), developed by Munich’s msm-studios, promises the best of both worlds and is an attractive alternative for the sound storage market. STEFAN BOCK, MD of msm-studios, explains the format and why he believes it is the sound storage medium of the future.
T
he Pure Audio Blu-ray Disc could become the sound storage medium of the future. Its credentials, at any rate, are outstanding as it combines the requisite storage capacity for surround and high resolution sound (24-bit/192kHz) with the uncomplicated handling of a standard compact disc. Programmers at msm-studios have succeeded in configuring a Blu-ray disc in such a way that it can be played back with the simple functionality of a CD on any Blu-ray player. At the same time, we were able to exploit the high storage capacity of the Blu-ray disc to reproduce music of unsurpassed audio quality. The user can
take advantage of the visual options (screen menu) but he is not obliged to. In other words, the Pure Audio Blu-ray Disc is an autonomous medium — no TV is required to use it. The functionality is as easy as with CD: the user can navigate with the remote control and push the dedicated buttons for Play, Stop, Skip and all other functions. The numeric keys directly access the corresponding track number and the desired audio stream can be selected by the coloured keys on the remote control. For example, press the red button for 5.1 DTS HD Master or yellow for 2.0 linear PCM. The SACD failed to achieve its hoped-for success as a
oPeRATIon WITH no TV SCReen • Simple CD-like operation • Just your remote control • Dedicated buttons • Play, Pause, Stop • Skip, FF, REW • Numeric keys • Four coloured keys for audio stream selection BlU-RAY FACTS: • 120mm/1.2mm • Blue Laser 405nm • Single Layer 25Gb • Dual Layer 50Gb • max. 40Mbit/s • H-264, MPEG-4, VC1, MPEG-2 video • 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) • Linear PCM 2.0 and 5.1 • DTS 5.1 Master HD audio (lossless) • Dolby 5.1 True HD audio (lossless) • Up to 192kHz, 24-bit • Menu integrated into programme • Pop-up Menu • Menu floats on top of programme
A Legend In His Own Time
D
irk Brauner has been perfecting the art of microphones for over a decade. Hand crafted in Germany with a passion, it’s no wonder Brauner mics are coveted by the world’s most famous studios and producers. For artists that deserve the best, Brauner is the only choice. Now Brauner offers a range of mics to suit a wide variety of budgets, all with the legendary sound that has made Brauner a name synonymous with quality. “ Never before did I come across a microphone of this caliber. The VMA is the best microphone I have ever worked with. “ Elliot Scheiner : Steely Dan, Toto, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Sting, ... “ I got a call from a friend of mine who was working on a Janet Jackson mix that we had recorded vocals on and the producer, Rodney Jerkins, kept asking about the vocal sound, what mic we used, if it was a vintage mic. I had to smile when I told him it was not a vintage mic but a Brauner VMA! I LOVE my mic! “ John Horesco IV: Jermaine Dupri, Janet Jackson, Usher, Mariah Carey, ...
In the UK: The Home Service T: 020 8943 4949 E: sales@louisaustin.com
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theartofmicrophones.com
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TEChNOLOgY
Introducing RNDigital’s
NEW
Dynamics Processing Plug-in
D4 Compress or Expand The Right Way
medium, so this innovation has come along at just the right time and it’s a view that was corroborated by the encouraging reception the new medium got from audio specialists attending the Midem show in Cannes in January. We demonstrated the Pure Audio BD to a hand-selected group of visitors and the response was overwhelmingly positive. In May, we presented it to a large hifi audience at the HighEnd show in Munich with the same reaction. It’s the ease of use and the sound quality that is appreciated along with the observation that as the sales of Blu-ray players continue to rise so too are the number of potential customers for Pure Audio BD. For the sound recording and storage medium industry — and the entire hifi industry — this format has powerful potential and it has already been seized on by record labels. Morten Lindberg of the 2L label and Hans-Jörg Maucksch of Stockfisch Records have produced the first Pure Audio BD releases in co-operation with msm-studios. ‘Blu-ray is the first domestic format in history that unites theatre movies and music sound in equally high quality,’ says Lindberg. ‘The musical advantage of Blu-ray is the high resolution for audio, and the convenience for the audience as one single player will handle music, films, their DVD-collection and their old library of traditional CD. ‘What we are seeing is a completely new conception of the musical experience. Recorded music is no longer
a matter of a fixed two-dimensional setting, but rather a three-dimensional enveloping situation. Stereo can be described as a flat canvas, while surround sound is a sculpture that you can literally move around and relate to spatially; with surround you can move about in the aural space and choose angles, vantage points and positions. ‘By developing one common format the surround technology that we have been working with for years finally becomes accessible to the general public. Fairly soon almost all disc players will be Blu-ray devices, and already now a majority of the sound systems that come off the shelf are 5.1 surround systems. People buy the equipment for the sake of film entertainment, but with it they get access to the unique musical experience that we are offering. Stereo is still possible of course, but the fact is that the resistance towards surround is mostly based on ignorance. People just don’t know what they are missing out on.’ ‘Double the investment in your stereo playback system and you might experience a subjective increase in performance in the range from 10 to 20%. Then spread the same investment over a 5.1 surround sound system and you get an objective 300% increase of resolution and perspective!’ says Lindberg. ‘The fact that makes the above balance not materialise is that very few labels up to now have produced content that brings out the full potential of multichannel.’ n
Making a Pure Audio BD
How about an audio dynamics processor that sets you free from the rigid parameters set by traditional compressors and expanders? Think about it for a moment. Until now n you had to live with the very limited dynamic compression or expansion capabilities of either hardware or software devices available. With D4’s technology it is now possible to alter the dynamics of audio material in almost any way and form you wish. ...Ah, freedom! ...Ah
Learn more at:
www.rndigital.org 60
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Blu-ray can handle high resolution audio (up to 192kHz and up to 24-bit) even in 5.1. This can go directly on the disc or a lossless codec can be used of which there are two options — DTS HD master audio and Dolby True HD. Both these are backwards compatible with their ‘vintage’ decoders so people could at least listen to the compressed surround sound if they have to keep their legacy equipment. As the disc has a capacity of 25Gb (or 50Gb for dual layer BDs) there is enough disc space to allow for very long content to go on one disc. The lossless codecs use a variable bit rate, so running time can’t be predicted exactly but two hours of music is not an issue. For the authoring of a Pure Audio Blu-ray several assets have to be prepared. Audio mastering and encoding — Some of our clients supply already mastered audio files so we just have to encode them. This can be done using software based encoders from DTS or Dolby. Stereo files stay in linear PCM, a 5.1 linear PCM could optionally be added as a third audio stream. The Pure Audio Bluray concept allows up to four audio streams in parallel — this is to correspond to the four coloured buttons on the remote control that are used to select the audio streams. As with the mastering of a CD, a track listing with exact timings has to be created and these are employed in the authoring process. Creating the visuals — All the menu screens for the Pure Audio Blu-ray have to be created and msm-studios offers this service to the labels and studios. This part is crucial to the functionality of the disc and has to interact directly with the authoring stage. Blu-ray authoring — As the Pure Audio functionality is not available in the standard HDMV (movie mode) mode, Java programming has to be applied and this is the very special part of the process. This code was developed over the last year and has gone through different stages of format verification to make sure all Pure Audio Blu-rays play back on all generations of BD players — even the first generation models. It was developed by msm-studios and is not available as a standalone application. This code has to be integrated into a Blu-ray authoring tool, such as Sonic Scenarist BD along with the track listing, the menu screens and the encoded audio files. At this stage, the disc gets its functionality, data has to be multiplexed, and a master image can be created. This will be burned on a BD-R for reference and approval before the master file is sent to the replication plant. As the whole process is very streamlined and standardised, only small modifications to the code are necessary to adapt for each production. This helps to keep turn-around times quick (a Pure Audio BD master can be created in less than a week) and prices affordable. Most of our clients supply the audio files and the artwork of the cover via file transfer. We then create the menus according to the artwork, perform the encoding and authoring, send a BD-R for approval and prepare the master image to be sent to the plant.
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SLAYING dragons
The archival of formats A lot of valuable material exists on legacy formats. People worry about the life of media, but that’s not the real issue. JOHN WATKINSON looks at the archiving problem.
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wouldn’t like to guess how many audio recording formats have come and gone since the first cylinder recorder. Cylinders and discs having grooves are well known in a wide range of sizes, but there have also been gramophone-like recordings that used grooves in endless plastic belts. Analogue magnetic recording has been performed on metal wire and on tape varying in width from the minute to the unbelievably large, with any number of track layouts and any number of different EQ standards on open reels and in cassettes. We have also seen analogue magnetic discs, which were grooved for the purpose of guiding the head. That’s just the audio-only formats. When audio is to be recorded along with pictures, then we have even more variety in film and video-tape soundtrack formats, both consumer and professional. The strangest format I ever met was a hybrid cassette containing a 16mm film loop and an eight-track tape loop. The tape carried an educational commentary and tones on the tape advanced the film one frame at a time. I learned how a PDP-11 worked watching one of those things. It must have been effective, because I can still remember a lot of it. Ampex used to make an analogue instrumentation recorder that had sufficient bandwidth that it could record the whole of the medium wave band. You just tuned in the station you wanted off-tape. Then, of course the digital computer came into being and practically any phenomenon that could result in two distinguishable states was explored as a medium. Paper tape and 80-column punch cards were early data storage media, but lacked the performance needed for digital audio. In fact early digital audio recorders exceeded the performance of computer media of the day and some 62
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were adapted for computer use. That’s an eye opener for today’s geeks who think IT is the be all and end all of technology. The most common worry I hear is about the life of these recordings. We have had some issues with certain types of magnetic tape, but generally media last a long, long time. The storage requirements for media are now well understood and are not significantly different from the requirements for preservation of any historic artefact. Basically the greatest damage is mechanical and the strongest mechanism is temperature and humidity cycling. Stabilise these parameters, keep stuff in the dark and hermetically sealed to stop plasticisers evaporating and that’s it. The only medium that has a serious life problem is nitrate film stock. It’s a bit like having a ferret up your nose. It’s not too bad until it explodes. In those days projectors had carbon dioxide extinguisher bottles, blast proof doors and flame traps in the reel boxes. You tell that to the kids of today… But the worry about the life of the medium is not the real issue. The actual problem with replaying historic recordings is to locate a serviceable machine that can replay the format. I cannot stress sufficiently that the recorder and the medium form a closely interacting system and the one without the other is about as much use as a submarine in Riyadh. Thus a serious media archive will have a collection of machines and a means to keep them in working order. While I wouldn’t regard myself as a serious archivist, I have kept all of the computers I have ever used, right back to 1983, along with the disks. They mostly still work and so in principle I can recover anything I have written over the years. In modern machines it is only necessary to keep the hard drive. From a security standpoint, I wouldn’t be seen dead throwing away a computer because of the information it contains. Being from Yorkshire, I never learned how to throw things away. It can thus be said to be the birthplace of environmentalism. While it is easy to say that an archive must maintain a machine collection, it is non-trivial to carry out. Most recorders were made for normal commercial purposes and their performance reflected the available technology. As a result the next generation of recorder would offer higher performance and/or reduced running cost and would render its predecessor obsolete, before it in turn became obsolete. The rate of development of recording media has been spectacular and obsolescence is an inevitable consequence. As formats become more sophisticated, the difficulty experienced in obtaining spare parts for obsolete recorders increases. Wearing parts like heads may not be available. Special integrated circuits, developed especially for that product, may simply not exist. A good example is the PCM F1, an early unit that allowed stereo digital audio recordings to be made using a Betamax video recorder. Owing to its relatively low cost, this unit was the first digital audio recorder a lot of people ever had. Today Betamax is history and if your F1 or the deck stops working, you have a problem. In my view the archiving problem can be neatly divided into two quite distinct approaches, based upon whether the original recording was analogue or digital. My reason for making this distinction is that an analogue recording suffers generation loss and its resolution
imperfections are a function of the medium, whereas a digital recording does not suffer generation loss and its imperfections are a function of the parameters and quality of the original A-DC. Looked at another way, we can all distinguish a 78rpm disc from a vinyl disc by the repetition rate of the scratches and we can tell both from a Compact Cassette or a ¼-inch tape because the defects sound different. On the other hand a digital recording having adequate error correction can be copied through 20 generations, emailed to San Francisco via Chipping Sodbury and Irkutsk and on arrival, provided the samples are presented with the original time base, the sound quality will not have been impaired in the slightest. These characteristics make the archiving problem completely different for the two cases. In the case of an analogue recording, the original medium is an historic artefact in its own right, including the scratches, because they teach future generations what the listening experience was. Accordingly the problem is one of preserving the original. A suitable approach might therefore be to play the original once and make a digital copy for repeated use. A further version with noise reduction applied might be useful, but the original must be retained. In the case of a digital recording, the ability to copy without generation loss or error means that the data have a life independent of the medium. In this case the priority is to preserve the data rather than the medium, because the latter cannot tell us anything. Accordingly the lifetime of the medium is no longer a major concern, because we can transfer the data without loss to another medium at any time before the capability of the error correction strategy is overwhelmed by deterioration. The difficulty then becomes that of organising the periodic re-copying and verifying that will allow the data to survive indefinitely. The use of random access or robotic equipment means that such copying would ideally take place without manual intervention, thereby minimising cost. The last time I replaced my computer, I had every file copied from the old computer and put onto the new one. It took a little while, but I have instant access to the old files as well as a back-up. Given that the capacity of computer drives keeps going up, the contents of the old disk fitted into one corner of the new one, or it would have if disks had corners. With a self-replicating archive of this kind, the only eventuality that cannot be handled is catastrophic destruction. The solution here is to combine storage and communications technology. Using RAID systems, files are stored across a series of hard drives such that the loss of a single drive remains within the capability of the error correction strategy to reconstruct the data. There is nothing to stop a RAID system being built in which the different drives are in geographically different locations connected by a network. In this way even the complete destruction of one location does not cause loss of data. The security aspects of the communications network need adequately to be addressed. The other way of archiving information is to publish it. Once it has been replicated and spread far and wide, the probability of a copy surviving is quite good. I recall an audio engineer who was mastering a compilation album and one of the tapes he had been sent had un-correctable errors. He just went out and bought a CD containing the same track and finished the job. If I were to lose my own work, it also exists at various publishers and in libraries. So probably the hardest problem is maintaining an archive of secret information. On the other hand, if it is lost, no-one knows. n July/August 2009
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Mating for life Why do some producer-artist pairs seem to work for the long run, and how does that fit with these interesting times? Match-making DAN DALEY casts an eye over the available talent…
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hil Ramone and Billy Joel made over a dozen records together. Bill Szymcyck stayed with the Eagles for at least as many. Glyn Johns and The Who worked together for about a decade. Peter Asher and Linda Ronstadt kept it together for nearly a dozen albums. (Asher, whose sister Jane was Paul McCartney’s main squeeze for much of the 60s, also managed her.) Why do some producer-artist relationships last years, even decades, when the vast majority of them are the equivalent of expensive one-night stands? Genre may have something to do with it. Keith Stegall made every record of Alan Jackson’s career save the one the country troubadour co-produced with Allison Krause, so perhaps Jackson can be forgiven his one dalliance in what has otherwise been a long and faithful relationship. The fact that country music has a geographical nexus by way of Nashville probably contributes to the fact that producers and artists there often mate for life, the apotheosis of that effect being producer Billy Sherrill’s many records with ‘the queen of country music’ Tammy Wynette, a tradition carried on for nearly as long by W y n e t t e ’s heir to the throne Reba McEntire and producer Tony Brown. On the pop side, these kinds of sustainable relationships are harder to come by, a fact that likely simply reflects the protean nature of the music itself. Despite recent country records that sound like slick 80s pop (Rascal Flatts: yeah, that’s country; Taylor Swift in a hoodie on stage at the The SBES continues to be THE show for Grammy’s: yee-hah), sound broadcasting in the UK. every one of them has multiple counterparts If you are serious about radio, community that are not ashamed to feature pedal steel guitars broadcasting, webcasting or any form of and fiddles. (Thank you, internet radio you MUST visit SBES to Alan Jackson.) ensure you are up to date on the My friend David Z equipment and services in your industry. could be the producer version of 1940’s bigband leader Artie Shaw, who was married eight times. Z takes twisted pleasure in the fact that he has often done an
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artist’s first record but has rarely done the second. As he likes to say, ‘I did the ones with the hits,’ and you can’t argue that with some of them, like Fine Young Cannibals’ first LP, which spawned She Drives Me Crazy and Good Thing, both chart toppers, followed by an eerie silence broken only by the occasional cricket. But it’s not always so pat and Z acknowledges that –- the number-one hit Shine from Collective Soul’s Hints, Allegations And Things Left Unsaid was followed by quite a few more over the next several Z-less years. ‘Pop has always been “every man for himself,”’ says Z. ‘Country music changes every ten years; pop music changes every ten minutes. That’s why long-term relationships between producers and artists are so rare outside of country music.’ John Boylan is one producer who’s had a few long-term musical liaisons, starting with Charlie Daniels and continuing with the Little River Band and, to this day, Linda Ronstadt. Boylan characterises these kinds of connections in endearing terms — ‘We finish each other’s sentences,’ he says of his and Ronstadt’s working relationship — but he acknowledges the coarser mechanics of them: one of the reasons that Daniels stayed with Boylan for several LPs after the producer, in his own words, ‘…took him from selling 300,000 to selling 3 million’, with the single The Devil Went Down To Georgia was that Boylan, didn’t require a producer’s advance for each record since he was then a salaried executive at Epic Records. That meant that Daniels recouped that much sooner. That changed when Sony bought parent company Columbia Records in 1988, and so did Boylan’s status as Daniels’ producer when he left the company’s employ to go freelance. But in a business putatively intended to make money for all involved, there was nothing crass about this; Boylan and Daniels remain friends and both had plenty of success after parting ways professionally. Boylan has an easygoing personality, one that belies his intensity in the studio. But he’s good at making friends with people and then staying friends with them. However, he also makes a point of agreeing to leave the personal aspects of relationships on the doorstep upon entering the studio, leaving space only for the creative and economic components. It’s not as simple as it sounds, obviously. ‘Some people do find that difficult to do, but not me,’ he told me. ‘Al Kooper once asked me how to do that and I said I don’t know, I just do it. But I think I learned early on that the more I suppressed my own ego in the studio, the better I was doing creatively and financially. It July/August 2009
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BROADCAST ASIDE was like, duh — the artist’s name is on the front of the record and the producer’s name is on the back. I’m not there to compete with the artist. I’m the obstetrician — I deliver the brain child.’ Elliot Scheiner has managed to stay friends with many clients, long-term and otherwise. But as the relationships deepen over the course of a few records, he cautions that expectations of where it’s going in the future should be kept in check. ‘There’s always the expectation that you’ll work on the next record but I’ve grown to understand that you can’t take that for granted,’ he says. ‘Sometimes things need to change up a bit for one reason or another.’ Garth Fundis is a leading Nashville producer who has rarely sought the limelight, with the kind of low-key personality that’s conferred a trait that often goes unheralded in record production — a sense of neutrality and objectivity that certain artists, like Trisha Yearwood and Don Williams, have found irresistible for decades. You don’t go to Fundis for his opinions; you go to give your own a reality a check. The early days of his work with Yearwood weren’t completely smooth, but its resolution reads like a Hollywood happy ending. ‘When our initial demo session together wasn’t as rewarding as either of us expected, she reminded me of what it was about me and the records I had made that lead her to choose me as her partner in the studio, Fundis told me. ‘She pointed out Linda Ronstadt’s valued relationship with Peter Asher as the model she expected us to emulate. With that kind of support and confidence I quickly rallied from our misstep and from then on we always checked in with each other on a regular basis to ensure we were both on the same page. Eventually we could just look at each other through the glass separating the studio and control room and read each other’s thoughts. We laughed often and others around us were envious that we could carry on a conversation without even speaking. Even when Trisha decided she needed to reach out to other producers, we were never not friends. [But] I was always invited back for another project. We like to think we discovered each other.’ Understanding — for that matter, tolerating —silence is also a useful ability in long-term relationships, as Fundis relates about his work with Don Williams. ‘I always admired Don’s easy manner but working with him could sometimes be challenging because he would sometimes just stop everyone, leaving these long quiet moments that felt like minutes,’ Fundis recalls. ‘He was sometimes slow to communicate his ideas or thoughts because he was just sitting there thinking. But eventually he would begin to speak. Even when I didn’t necessarily agree with him at first, I was patient and listened to where he took us, and more often than not, I ended up learning something from him and more often than not, he was right.’ Starting with the inarguable premise that nothing lasts forever, looking at each new artistproducer relationships as a potential long-term one accomplishes a couple of things. It pushes away the idea of the quick dollar, which in and of itself widens the potential for creativity. That’s easier said than done these days when a producer with a couple of successes might be tempted to grab all the money being waved at him from hopeful musical suitors. It also grounds you, the producer, reminding you — hopefully early enough in your career — that being in this business for the long run means recognising that it is, at its core, a business of relationships. The longer you can keep each one going, the bigger the support base you build for own career. n July/August 2009
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The devil in the black box From its inception, the polyphonic keyboard sampler was the answer to the musician’s quest for sonic purity. Some of his TV brothers would say it is the devil in the black box and that DENNIS BAXTER has sold his soul at the crossroads.
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encountered the first generation of analogue sampler called a Mellotron in a recording studio. This was a keyboard that played back spools of tape with prerecorded sounds as musical notes. You may remember the unforgettable flute solo in Stairway to Heaven … it was famously (and incorrectly) attributed to a Mellotron flute sample and it is one of the first times that real instrumentation was mistaken for sonic deception. Truthfully, John Paul Jones did use Mellotron flutes on the recording The Song Remains the Same later in 1973. One day, while working in the studio, I had a revelation when I loaded the sound effect loops on the Mellotron. It changed my perception of music, orchestral noise — and sound -– but not about money. Recently I saw a Mellotron in a music store and they still want a bloody fortune for the damn thing. Years later when I was new to Outside Broadcast audio work, I learnt quickly that microphones and wires have problems in the rain and television directors can be unforgiving. I admit I was from a recording studio and definitely in a new league, but pride drives one blindly. Horse racing was my first cognizant experience of sound supplementation, but it was my experience with car racing that drove me back to my studio days. I first played with NAB continuous loop carts with mediocre results and, after a season of pouring rain, I vowed to never get caught in that situation again. Just in the nick of time, the Japanese electronic manufacturer Akai introduced the first digital sampler that I could afford. It became so obvious to me: we add a little pit, gear shift and tyre squeal to enhance the excitement. We are here to entertain I thought. What’s the problem? The North Americans are very anal about sound supplementation and I have been told that if I can’t do it ‘live’ I should not be in an OB van. I was told I was cheating. Well, after defending the practice for 20 years, I thought I would give an honest, resolution
practical and creative argument for samplers. First, advanced cameras and optics put additional pressure on audio. I have often used a rule of thumb that for every lens power of 20 you have to add another microphone. A handheld camera would have an 18:1 lens and usually needs just a single (stereo) microphone. With a 100:1 lens, the camera can see hundreds and hundreds of meters and a good camera operator can keep the focus for the entire run which could require four or five or six microphones and even microphone operators. I have used samples for rowing, sailing, cross country and biathlon skiing as well as motor sports and could easily see its use in many other applications but there is a broadcast bias against this. Borrowing an old computer term, WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) is the perfect description for televised sports playback. Perfect because that’s all there is. No sound. Just dead air. Producers and directors need to think like sports fans and bring the whole experience back in replay, not just the visual action. The playback sequence screams for something besides dead air. Sound augmentation solves the silence during the replay sequence. The broadcast bias against sample sound augmentation is short-sighted at best. Consider this: is the camera zoom cheating? A viewer could never be so close to the action in reality (And he certainly wouldn’t see it the same with the distortion of the lens. Ed). Only through production technology can you experience the close-up of the outfielder climbing the wall to glove the ball or the filly blowing away the boys as she wins the Preakness. Like camera magnification, sound augmentation brings the experience to life for the viewer … and to me, it is a creative and production embellishment and should have merit. Finally, the audience expectations are incredibly high because of the entertainment influence of video games, car stereos and movies. The audience standards for television are no different. Purist producers should not underestimate the need to entertain the audience. Just take a look at the wooshes and swooshes that accompany every graphic displaying the stats and scores — indicating that maybe something here is interesting. So it’s hats off to the Kentucky Derby. As a sound man, it’s hard not to be critical when watching televised sports but I want to close this column by saluting the audio crew of the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Sitting in my favourite chair by the window with Otis (my sound hound), I watched (listened) to the Derby and must acknowledge that I think that the Derby sounded wonderful for the fastest sporting event in television — and no second chance. There was no broadcast bias in this race. They did it right. I had recorded the Derby and replayed it in slow motion, counting what I believed to be the microphones. I factored in the number of days to set up the venue, the degree of difficulty, the animal factor, and of course, the weather. The sound was excellent. The production did not cut corners on the audio. Every whinny, every brush of the whip, every hoof beat, It was all there. The result? For the fastest two minutes in television, the entertainment experience will last a long, long time. n 65
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hEADROOm listening up Thanks John for another interesting article (Slaying dragons V8.4). One crucial hurdle for me was the realisation many years ago that the key to developing my hearing acuity was to stop ‘listening’ and allow myself to ‘hear’. Sounds paradoxical, but I had found that as soon as I focussed my attention on some particular facet of the sound, I was liable to overlook some other aspect. The solution was to open my ears wide, and allow the sound to speak to me. However, that does presuppose that one’s hearing has been calibrated, as it were, by exposure to real live sound (by which I mean acoustically generated, not amplified, sound). I agree totally with John about ported speakers, and am dismayed that such a tiny proportion of compact monitors have sealed enclosures. I have sealed up the ports in mine, and extended the LF with carefully tailored EQ (the manufacturers kindly provided me with curves!). When monitoring on location, typically in acoustically dubious environments, coincident drivers such as the KEF UNI-Q series seem to give more reliably consistent performance, presumably due to reduced anomalies in the off-axis radiation. However, John, please will you elaborate on your remark regarding the ‘characteristic colour of a cardioid microphone’? I’ve used quite a few cardioids over the years, and whilst they all sound different, I can’t honestly say that there’s a common ‘colour’ which I can ascribe to their cardioid pattern. Do you consider this ‘colour’ to be inherent in the pattern, however ideal the technical realisation, or is it a matter of design compromises in real-world mics? For what it’s worth, I consider that a stereo pair of coincident figure-8s has a distinctive sound which might be termed ‘colour’, and which is less pleasing in many situations (to my ears at least!) than hypercardioids. David Wright, Gemini Sound, UK Thank you David for these kind words. You are absolutely right that hearing and listening are different things. Regarding loudspeakers, my experience is the same. Ports destroy timing information and are an economy measure. Philip Newell and I have been making this clear for a while now and it is slowly sinking in. And yes, the better the directivity performance of a loudspeaker, the more tolerant it is of the acoustic environment. Dead control rooms follow from poor speakers.
Regarding microphones, I have had a few private emails agreeing with my views, so it seems that there is a phenomenon, but that is not the same as understanding it. I don’t have a categorical answer, but I do have some theories. A lot of cardioid microphones obtain their directivity using some form of acoustic delay and of course, while that works beautifully for a sine wave, it can’t work on a transient. Thus the lack of realism may be down to a phase linearity issue. More research is needed on this one. John Watkinson
Air guitars
euphonix MC update Following the review of the Euphonix Artist Series MC (V8.3) Euphonix has asked us to draw readers’ attention to EuControl Software Package Version 1.3. This is described as a significant software and firmware update and offers performance improvements that include a doubling in the speed of the touchscreen. It is available for free download at www.euphonix.com Euphonix also began shipping MC Control with an improved, higher profile, jog wheel in early 2009. ZS
Nice pic and nice idea (Free Air Guitar — please take one. Headroom V8.3) but how do you know that all the air guitars haven’t just been stolen? Mark Caverner, Nantes, France That’s simple, because the supply is constantly being replenished by the Air Guitar Techs who are busy changing the strings and setting up the Floyd Roses. ZS
More streets Greatly enjoyed the stroll down Soho lanes by Jim Evans (Ten Significant Streets of London, V8.2). It brought back not only memories of those studios, but also others such as Star Sound Studios, near Baker St, the studio in Bond Street, and others. Could Jim get his A-Z out again please? John Johnson, London I’ll have a word with the Rev. Evans. Other Street themes are in planning. ZS
Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Lord Mandelson, recently visited APTX in Belfast along with Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster. Pictured in between them in the ‘apt-X sound booth’ is Noel McKenna, CEO of APTX. Intriguing photo isn’t it? A Resolution pencil to the best picture caption we receive.
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