BY KELLEIGH WELCH

A
June 11 court rul-
ing that deemed Fox
Searchlight in viola-
tion of labor laws by not pay-
ing two interns has brought
the validity of unpaid intern-
ships under the microscope,
causing companies in numer-
ous entertainment industries
to reexamine their programs.
While the ruling was in ref-
erence to a film company,
it does not mean that other
fields are in the clear. In the
audio industry, where many
recording studios and sound
companies have internship
programs already in place,
the future of internships
specifically ones that are
unpaidis uncertain.
The so-cal l ed Bl ack
Swan Ruling found that
Fox Searchlight was in vio-
lation of labor laws by giv-
ing Alex Footman and Eric
Glatt remedial duties such
as making photocopies and
fetching coffee during their
internships on the 2010 film,
Black Swan. The argument,
according to New York Judge
William H. Pauley III, was
that the two interns were
there to learn about film pro-
duction, but the tasks they
were given had little educa-
tional value and were meant
for a paid employee on the
set. He ruled that these tasks
given to the interns classified
Central
Parking
The New York Philharmonics annual
Concert In The Park series brings clas-
sical music to an atypically large audi-
ence. The Philharmonics FOH engineer,
Larry Rock, was tasked with recreating
a symphonic performance experience
while also blending in the band and
voice of singer Mariah Carey. The sound
system deployed by Yonkers, NYs Sound
Associates incorporated a Meyer Sound
Leo array at the stage, with Milo and
M3D cabinets on the delay towers.
Links In
The Chain
Audio starts and ends as analog, even
in a digital recording chain. Rich Tozzoli
looks at the tried and true hardware
bookending his bit manipulation to see
which tools are essential to his process
and why.
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www.prosoundnetwork.com
Volume 35 No. 8
FLEETWOOD MAC REUNI ON TOURPAGE 44
BY STEVE HARVEY
H
umans deep-seated psy-
chological resistance to
change is a challenge
that software developers must
face every time they release a
new version of a product. And,
the more popular the product,
the louder users appear to com-
plain.
Unless you were living un-
der the proverbial rock, you
could not have missed Avids
announcement in early April
that it was introducing Pro
Tools 11, the latest version of
what has become a de facto
standard platform in the indus-
try. Built on an all-new, 64-bit
audio engine, featuring an in-
tegrated Avid Media Compos-
er video engine, and with new
(continued on page 57)
DAW Upgrades
And Options
(continued on page 20)
26
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Beyond Black Swan: The Future of Internships
GRADING EDUCATIONAt the 50th AES International Conference on
Audio Education, held in Murfreesboro, TN, the panel Audio Education
Report Card sought to assess the efficacy of audio programs. Included
(L-R) was Chase Trombley, Blackbird Audio Rentals, representing the
freshly graduated new hire; educators Douglass Bielmeier of MTSU, Mark
Rubel of The Blackbird Academy, and David Tough of Belmont University;
and Kirk Immamura of Avatar Studios and SPARS (see page 5 for more
coverage of the Conference).
NEWS
ANALYSIS
[ 5 ]
[ August 2013 ]
soundBUSINESS
BY FRANK WELLS
MURFREESBORO, TNArt, science and
business become the three pillars of
the education of someone who wants
to find a good, meaningful, profes-
sional career-level job, commented
David Scheirman as he set the stage
in the lead presentation of three days
of workshops, panel discussions and
paper presentations at the 50th AES
International ConferenceAudio
Education, held in late July at Middle
Tennessee State University, southeast
of Nashville.
While education is a primary fo-
cus of the Audio Engineering Society,
the conference was the first of the
Societys long-running, subject-spe-
cific conference series to focus spe-
cifically on education. More than 140
educators and industry professionals
attended the event, near triple the
minimum hoped-for registrants, evi-
dencing interest in the topic. Along-
side attendees from 25 U.S. states,
multiple countries were represented,
including Japan, the UK, the UAE,
Norway and Australia.
Presentations ran the gamut of
education issues, from instructional
infrastructure and techniques for ele-
ments such as ear training to intern-
ships and outcome evaluation. Scheir-
man, director of Knowledge Resources
for Harman Professional, offered an
industry perspective on audio training
and course design, noting in part that,
Keeping up with new technologies
is difficult and criticalWorking pro-
fessionals have to constantly upgrade
their skills. That means the programs
that train the entry-level personnel will
be doing the same thing.
The event was co-chaired by
MTSU educators Michael Fleming
and Bill Crabtree. At the events close,
Fleming stated, Our goals with this
conference were to stimulate dialogue
among member s of the audi o
teaching community and between the
pro-audio industry and academia, so
that there might be a greater sense of
understanding and confidence in our
respective missions. In many ways,
the profession of teaching professional
audio from an academic and practical
point of view is very young, and we
think this conference was a giant
step toward helping establishing
a sense of community, as well as
shared standards and awareness of
the different directions and emphases
these programs can have. Clearly
there are three sets of beneficiaries
from this work: audio students, audio
faculty and our peers in industry.
In a panel discussion titled Audio
Education Report Card, moderated
by veteran audio educator Mark Ru-
bel, the discussions focused on student
preparedness for the working world.
David Tough of Belmont University
outlined his doctoral research involving
a broad range of audio experts in the
development of a list of critical skills
that would equip students for their first
jobs in audio. Competencies needed
by future AT graduates are multidis-
ciplinary, said Tough, including not
just core audio engineering skills but
also physics, music and business. Un-
surprisingly perhaps, for professionals
BY KELLEIGH WELCH
DETROIT, MIUnited Sound should
be preserved for its history, accord-
ing to Ed Wolfrum, former engineer
at the Detroit studio. That may not
happen, however; United Sound
Systems buildinga spot famous
for helping found the citys
famed music sceneis in
jeopardy of disappearing as
part of a proposed project to
expand the nearby I-94 high-
way with more traffic lanes on
both sides. At least 100 struc-
tures could be demolished as
part of the project, including
the United Sound Systems
studio building, located on
2nd Ave in Detroit, just north
of I-94.
Wolfrum, United Sounds
chief engineer from 1969
to 1973, feels the building
should be preserved based
on its historical significance
in the regions music scene.
Every major artist in Detroit came
through there, he recalled. While the
studio has hosted recordings for ma-
ny of musics greats, including Aretha
Franklin, Berry Gordy Jr., George
Clinton, Miles Davis, the Dramatics,
John Lee Hooker, Luther Vandross
and Eminem, and was at the fore-
front of the age of Motown, it does
not have any official historical status
that could protect it from demolition.
United Sound Systems Recording
Studio was established in the 1930s
when owner and founder Jimmy Sir-
acuse saw an opportunity to join the
flourishing Detroit music scene. He
originally opened a music store be-
fore purchasing the building on Sec-
ond Avenue and creating a record-
ing studio that is believed to be the
first independent recording studio
in the United States. In the 1950s,
Siracuse added Studio A to the back
of the building, creating a space large
enough to record an entire orchestra.
Additionally, the facility was a re-
cording technology greenhouse, ac-
cording to Wolfrum, who noted Unit-
ed Sound had engineers constantly
building their own recording equip-
ment for the studio, and improving
on existing gear. Most of the equip-
ment was homebrewed, Wolfrum
said. We didnt buy much. United
was really on the forefront of
all this stuff and had this rep-
utation as a hot shot technical
studio.
The Detroit Sound Con-
servancy, a non-profit organi-
zation dedicated to preserving
the music history of Detroit, is
working to find a compromise
that would extend the highway
without destroying the studio.
Preserving it is going to take
a lot of money and a lot of
imagination and a lot of peo-
ple, Detroit Sound Conser-
vancy founder Charles Gholz
told the Detroit Free Press.
Luckily, there is still hope.
MDOT spokesman Rob Mo-
rosi said that no plans are in place
yet, and that demolishing the studio
is a worst-case-scenario.
Even with the costs of keeping the
studio standing, former engineer Wol-
frum said it should be preserved: It
was the mothership of Detroit.
Detroit Sound Conservancy
www.detroitsoundconservancy.org
AES Audio Education Conference Examines Training
Detroit Studio Destined For Destruction?
RDE Mics
Buys FiRe
sydney, australiaRDE (rodemic.
com) has announced its purchase
of the FiRe audio recording appli-
cation for Apple iOS devices, a
product from Audiofile Engineering.
Taking complete ownership of
the code, the company intends to
release improved versions of its
RDE Rec app based on the FiRe
platform, and is working on new,
advanced hardware.
Icon Digital
Lands In US
madison, wiEuropean-based
instrument/musical device
manufacturer/e-retailer Icon (icon-
digitalusa.com) has broadened its
scope to the U.S. with the arrival
of Wisconsin-based Icon Digital
USA, LLC. The US distributor of Icon
music-creation products intends
to provide one stop solutions for
musicians, media/audio enthusiasts
and engineers, with a focus on
working with educational institu-
tions.
Calrec Debuts
Free Training
new york, nyCalrec Audio (cal-
rec.com) has announced that it will
launch a series of free U.S. training
sessions. The program, offering
operational training on Calrecs
Bluefin2 range of consoles, includ-
ing Apollo and Artemis, is aimed
at freelance audio engineers and
employees at broadcast facilities
who have had no formal training on
the platform, as well as those who
want to brush up their skills.
briefs
Engineer Ed Wolfrum (at console) with producer Fred Bridges at
United Sound Systems Studio in an undated photo from the early
1970s.
Setting The Stage: Harman Professionals
David Scheirman presented his paper Are
Audio Education Programs Keeping Pace With
New Developments In Industry? to open
the 50th AES International Conference on
Audio Education (left) and Meyer Sounds
Bob McCarthy (right) delivered the keynote
address.
(continued on page 12)
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DEPARTMENTS
Sound Business 5
Classifieds 55
Sound People 54
Advertiser Index 55
Company Index 55
CHARTS
Tracks 28
Centerstage 48
Soundcheck 50
COLUMNS/REVIEWS
softwaretech . . . . . . . . . 26
Craig Anderton finds the ancient
Mac Vs. PC debate has been
rendered null and void.
viewfromthetop. . . . . . . 56
Lee Ellison, CEO of Audinate,
relates how he connected with
the company, and how its Dante
media network system connects
with everything else.
music,etc. . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Jaques Sonyieux focuses in on
Camera Obscura and the Scottish
indie bands new album, Desire
Lines.
SOUNDRECORDING
Building On Bedrock . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Bedrock.LA is expanding into the MacArthur
Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, creating a
50,000-square-foot, multi-story complex that will
house a creative community involved in a variety
of media and technologies.
Studio Showcase: Neptone Studios . . 24
Located in the heart of old Destin Harbor on
Floridas most beautiful beaches, Neptone
Recording Studio is a full service recording facility
founded in 2005.
SOUNDPOST/BROADCAST
DTS Turns 20 Still Looking Ahead . . 33
DTS celebrates 20 years since the companys
launch, coinciding with the release of Jurassic Park.
CEO Jon Kirchner points out some company mile-
stones and takes a look forward.
Innovative Isolation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
French company Audionamix has made inroads
into the post production and music communities
with its ADX technology, which isolates key ele-
ments of a mixed master audio track where indi-
vidual tracks are not available.
SOUNDTECHNOLOGY
Sound Innovations: The Audibility Of
Clock Jitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
In the course of developing a new DAC, renowned
audio gear designer Dave Hill found himself on an
investigation of jitter and its impact on sonics. Hill
documents the quest and offers lab-created files to
let PSN readers share his experiences.
Field Reports: Product Profiles . . . . . . .
35, 37, 39
Genelec M Series M030 Bi-amplified Active
Monitors; Millennia HV-37 Two-Channel
Preamplifier; Shure KSM9HS Dual-Pattern
Handheld Condenser Microphone
SOUNDPRODUCTS
Studio Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
SR Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
SOUNDREINFORCEMENT
The Sound of Tarrytown . . . . . . . . . . 42
How do you handle audio for modern concerts
in an 1885, landmark status-protected, 860-seat
theater? Just ask Boulevard Pro, which has tackled
audio at the Tarrytown Music Hall for everyone
from Smokey Robinson to Fountains of Wayne.
Live Sound Showcase:
Fleetwood Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
The perennial purveyors of that 70s So-Cal Sound
are back and making the rounds. We go behind the
scenes to check out the audio and clear up all the
Rumours.
[42]
[44]
NEWS ANALYSIS
DAW Upgrades
and Options . . . . . . . 1, 57
They say change is good, but
DAW manufacturers often have
a hard time convincing custom-
ers that the truism is true. Steve
Harvey analyzes the current state
of flux in the DAW marketplace.
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ProSoundNews
CONTENTS
vol. 35 no. 8 August 2013
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This summers 50th AES Interna-
tional ConferenceAudio Education
(see page 5) focused on one of the
key aspects of the Audio Engineering
Societys mission. Entry-level train-
ing, continuing education for working
professionals, the dissemination of
information on breaking and even ex-
perimental technologies, the sharing
of techniques by audio practitioners
and the hands-on exposure to new
tools of the trade are each important
to that mission. These elements are
also key components of the Societys
conventions.
In October, the 135th AES Con-
vention will be held at the Jacob Javits
Convention Center in Manhattan.
The fall conventions are the most vis-
ible event in the Societys annual cal-
endar for good reason. Theres simply
no other audio event on the planet
that covers as much territory. Though
focused solely on audio, the AES is
a broad-based organization and its
range is fully represented in the Con-
ventions. There is more packed into
four days of program content than
any one individual can experience.
While the surfeit of content can be
daunting, the breadth of the Conven-
tion program assures an abundance
of content available for all comers,
regardless of their level of expertise or
their primary area of specialty.
The planning of this falls program
has long been in development, with
experts in all aspects of audio in-
volved in the gathering of their peers,
the best minds in the business, as-
sembled at the Convention to ensure
that the most relevant and timely in-
formation is available for attendees.
As I write, the program elements are
going online for attendees to plan
their Convention experience.
New to last years convention was
the Project Studio Expo, two days
of training adjacent to the exhibition
floor, designed to aid home studio
owners in maximizing the quality of
their recordings. PSE returns this year,
and the same stage will be used for
an additional day of training in the
growth field of installed sound. This
Systems Sound Symposium, will fea-
ture content developed by PSN sister
publication, Systems Contractor News.
Meanwhile, the DTV Audio Group
will bring high-level participants for a
day of dialog covering the most critical
issues in television audio. This DT-
VAG event, the SSS, the PSE and a
number of additional special events
are available to all convention attend-
ees. The former Exhibits Only at-
tendee category is being rebadged
Exhibits Plus, the Plus being these
educational and information sessions,
which also include the Platinum Pro-
ducer and Engineer sessions and the
Grammy Sound Table produced by
the Producers & Engineers Wing of
The Recording Academy.
If youve read PSN over the years,
you may have noticed that I return
annually to the AES Convention as
a topic for this space at this time of
year, to encourage you to make your
plans to attend the fall convention.
I confess to being an AES true be-
liever, as evidenced by my involve-
ment for over two decades, first as a
Convention attendee, then also on
the local level as my local section re-
built itself into one of the strongest
sections in the Society and, in recent
years, as part of the Societys inter-
national governing board. The AES
has been key to my own professional
growth, both in terms of knowledge
and through the interaction with the
Societys membership and the Con-
ventions participants.
As with many things in life, the
benefits of AES Convention atten-
dance are in direct proportion to the
level at which you commit yourself
to making the most of your participa-
tion. From my own perspective, the
more I pored over the program and
plotted out a plan to fully utilize the
available time, the more I benefited.
The more time I spent in the com-
pany of leading audio professionals
as they shared their knowledge and
experience, the more professional I
became myself.
I encourage you to join us in New
York in October. I cant imagine that
you would regret the experience.
[ August 2013 ]
[ 8 ]
vol. 35 no. 8 August 2013
http://www.prosoundnetwork.com
FRANK WELLS
fwells@nbmedia.com
n
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prosound
fromtheEDITOR
Get In A New York State Of Mind
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FRANK WELLS, editor
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CLIVE YOUNG, managing editor/web editor
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212-378-0423, kwelch@nbmedia.com
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[ August 2013 ]
[ 10 ]
soundBUSINESS
BY STEVE HARVEY
LOS ANGELES, CAWith the entire
country in the grip of a heatwave,
Pensados Place and Vintage King
presented Gear Expo 2013 on Satur-
day, July 20. Hosted by Vintage King
at its VKLA showroom in Los An-
geles, the expo offered the capacity
crowd an opportunity to demo gear,
speak with manufacturer reps, watch
live interviews and mingle with celeb-
rity guests from the world of music
production.
Representatives were on hand
from A-Designs Audio, Apogee Elec-
tronics, Auralex Acoustics, Blue Mi-
crophone, Chandler Limited, Even-
tide, Focal, Lynx Studio Technology,
Maag Audio, Mojave Audio, SPL/
Brauner, Overstayer, Phoenix Audio,
Rascal Audio, Royer Labs, Standard
Audio, Tree Audio, Wave Distribution
and numerous other companies. Pen-
sado, Vintage King Audio and VKLA,
Ableton, Bedrock-LA, Avid, Infrason-
ic Mastering, iZotope, Gobbler, The
Recording Academy Producers & En-
gineers Wing, Dorado Music Pack-
aging, SAE Institute, Womens Au-
dio Mission, MsDSP and Echopark
sponsored the event.
Vintage King
vintageking.com
Gear Expo Packs Em In
Riverside
Acquires Blue
Microphones
BY CLIVE YOUNG
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA Blue Mi-
crophones has been acquired by
global private equity firm The
Riverside Company. Purchased
for an undisclosed amount, the
pro audio manufacturer stated
aggressive growth plans would
be a part of its future, but added
that no changes are planned in
Blues team.
Hillary Money of Blue Mics
told Pro Sound News, This will
not affect any upcoming prod-
uct schedules. At the same time,
the investment by The Riverside
Company gives us resources to
pump up the areas where we are
already thriving, like product de-
velopment.
In the statement, Blue Mi-
crophones CEO John Maier
noted, Over the past five years,
Blue Microphones has launched
a whirlwind of innovative new
products and expanded distribu-
tion globally. Looking forward,
Riverside is the ideal partner for
Blue to achieve our ambitious
expansion goals, both interna-
tionally and into new market
segments, and I could not be
happier to be joining such an ac-
complished team.
Blue Microphones
bluemic.com
L-R: Dave Pensado, host, and Herb Trawick,
co-host and executive producer, Pensados
Place, spoke with various guests throughout
the day, including songwriter, producer
and musician Rodney Jerkins, and Colin
McDowell, founder of McDSP.
[ August 2013 ]
[ 12 ]
soundBUSINESS
NEW YORK, NYMike Shi-
pley, Grammy-winning stu-
dio engineer and producer,
known for working with
a diverse range of artists
such as Queen, Aerosmith,
Keith Urban and AC/DC,
died on July 26. His age
and cause of death have not
been made public.
Shipley was born in Aus-
tralia and moved to Eng-
land as a teenager, where he
started working as an assis-
tant at the Wessex Studios.
His first recording session
was with the Sex Pistols,
and Shipley would later on
work with producer Mutt Lange for
two decades on numerous hit albums
by Def Leppard, The Corrs, Shania
Twain and Maroon 5.
In 1984, Shipley relocated to Los
Angeles while working with The Cars,
and remained there until his death.
According to The Recording Acad-
emy, Shipley was nominated for eight
Grammy awards during his career,
and won three awards, including Best
Engineered Album, Non-Classical,
and Best Bluegrass Album in 2011
for Alison Krauss & Union Stations
Paper Airplane.
In a statement, Def Leppard sing-
er Joe Elliott recalled the engineer,
noting, Im devastated to hear of
the passing of Mike Shipley. He was
a fantastic engineer and a good guy.
Nothing got past him if it wasnt up
to scratch, hence Leppards nickname
for him, bat ears. From
the High N Dry album in
1981 to the last thing we
did together, 1993s Two
Steps Behind, he was a
joy to work with. RIP
Shippers.
Thomas Dolby, who
collaborated with Shi-
pley both as an artist on
his second album and as
a producer on Pref ab
Sprouts debut, Steve Mc-
Queen, said on Twitter,
Very shocked and sad to
hear that Mike Shipley,
mix engineer on The Flat
Earth and Steve McQueen
was found dead yesterday.
Also, Kip Winger, leader of the
eponymous 80s pop-metal act Wing-
er, remembered the engineer on
Facebook, recalling, He was a dear
friend. Mike was a kind, generous,
funny, supremely talented and skilled
person. He taught me how to really
make a record... This is a tragic loss
to the world to say the least. Ill miss
you Mike.
FRAMINGHAM, MADr. Amar Bose,
founder of the audio company Bose
Corporation, passed away on Friday,
July 12, at the age of 83.
In a statement, Bose Corporation
President Bob Maresca said, It is
impossible to put into words what
Dr. Bose meant to each of us, and to
Bose. He was more than our Chair-
man. He was our teacheralways
encouraging us, always believing that
we could do great things, and that
anything was possible. Maresca also
extended sympathies to Boses fam-
ily in his statement.
Dr. Amar Bose started the com-
pany in the 1950s while he was a
grad student the Massachusetts In-
stitute of Technology. After purchas-
ing a home stereo system, he realized
the sound did not meet the expecta-
tions he had, and decided to start
developing his own speaker systems.
Now, the company produces speaker
systems for private homes as well as
commercial systems
The company will remain pri-
vately held, according to the Bose
website. Dr. Bose was an incred-
ible mentor and inspiration to Bose
employees around the world. Today,
and every day going forward, our
hearts are with him and our work
will honor him, Maresca said.
Bose Corporation
bose.com
Rock Engineer Mike Shipley Passes
Amar Bose Dies at 83
Community
CEO Dorwart
Passes
CHESTER, PATimothy Dorwart,
CEO of Community Profession-
al Loudspeakers and long-time
leader in the Pro Audio industry,
passed away on Monday, July
15, 203, due to illness.
We are deeply saddened by
Tims death, said Bruce How-
ze, Community Loudspeakers
President, in a statement. We
mourn the loss of our chief ex-
ecutive and a good friend, and
we extend our most sincere con-
dolences to his wife and family.
Dorwart became CEO of
Community in March, 2013,
leading the company through its
introduction of several new prod-
ucts at InfoComm. Dorwart has
previously served in positions as
director and VP with Bose Cor-
poration and DMX Music. Since
2007, he had led the Stanton
Group through a successful turn-
around as its CEO. Dorwart came
to Community from Gibson Gui-
tar Corporation where he held the
position of General Manager, Pro
Audio and guided the integration
of Stanton Group assets to form
Gibsons new Pro Audio Division.
Community Professional Loudspeakers
communitypro.com
Legendary recording engineer Mike Shipley
D
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working with new hires, Tough noted
that, Out of the top 20 competen-
cies, 19 were communications/lead-
ership-oriented. While students also
needed to balance theory and prac-
tice, professionalism and the ability to
communicate effectively were deemed
the most critical skills.
Panelist Kirk Imamura, owner
of New York Citys Avatar Studios,
agreed, Because the interperson-
al skills are so important, I think it
overshadows a lot of the technical.
Douglass Bielmeier, newly added to
the staff at MTSU, built on Toughs
work for his own thesis efforts. Bile-
meier surveyed new hires and em-
ployers to determine if students had
the skills needed. Students tended to
rate their preparedness higher than
did their employees.
Scheirman also pointed out that
while recording is a primary focus of
most higher education audio courses,
Sound reinforcement jobs, which
support performance and event-based
audio, are growing rapidly. He sug-
gested that live sound training may be
necessary for the jobs of the future,
asking, What industry are you pre-
paring your students to enter?
In further acknowledgement of the
need for live sound education, the
Conferences keynote address was de-
livered by Bob McCarthy, senior edu-
cation consultant at Meyer Sound.
McCarthy detailed his role in man-
ufacturer-driven education, which is
a significant element in continuing
education for live sound in particu-
lar. Audio is a challenging field to
educate in, said McCarthy, because
its a moving field, and its a challeng-
ing thing to educate on stuff that you
just learned yesterday. And if youre
not just learning something yesterday,
youre not really paying attention too
much to whats going on in this field,
because its a moving target.
Proceedings of the AES 50th
International ConferenceAudio
Education are available through the
AES e-library at aes.org.
AES
aes.org
Audio Education
(continued from page 5)
Dr. Amar Bose, founder of Bose Corporation
Tim Dorwart, CEO,
Community
[ August 2013 ]
[ 14 ]
soundBUSINESS
WENNEBOSTEL, GERMANYDr. Andreas
Sennheiser and Daniel Sennheiser
recently held a groundbreaking cer-
emony to mark the beginning of con-
struction of the Innovation Campus at
company headquarters in Wennebostel.
The 20-million Euro Innovation Cam-
pus project will provide Sennheiser
employees with 7,000 square meters
of workspace to develop new products.
On behalf of all shareholders and
accompanied by family members
Karin, Daniel, Alannah and Dinah
Sennheiser, Dr. Andreas Sennheiser
welcomed the guests to the ceremo-
ny. Attendees included the Mayor of
the borough of Wedemark Tjark Bar-
tels, the project manager Hhlich &
Schmotz, other political and business
representatives and local residents.
As the third generation, it is a great
pleasure for us to be able to build
on our grandfathers legacy. Today,
we are laying the foundation for the
Innovation Campus, which marks a
new milestone in our development
plan, said Dr. Andreas Sennheiser.
For the laying of the foundation
stone, the group filled a time-cap-
sule with documents and products
which symbolize the importance
of Sennheisers company culture.
The contents included a photo-
graph of the three generations of the
Sennheiser family, a current annual
report, new Euro coins and a daily
newspaper. Also included were the
classic microphone MD 421, the IE
800 ear canal phones and a digital
handheld transmitter SKM 9000
from the Digital9000 system.
We will be welcoming visitors
here from all over the world, An-
dreas Sennheiser said. With our cli-
entsartists such as P!NKwe will
be able to try out the microphones
that we have developed specifically
for them in the theatre. Further-
more, a Sennheiser Flagship Store is
also planned, where visitors will be
able to learn about and purchase the
latest products.
Sennheiser
sennheiser.com
Sennheiser Breaks Ground
TNDV
Supports
Twister
Relief
NASHVILLE, TNNashville-based
mobile TV production company
TNDV donated its talent, time
and equipment to capture au-
dio from Toby Keiths Oklahoma
Twister Relief Concert.
The all-day festival-held July
6 at the University of Oklahomas
Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Me-
morial Stadium in Norman, OK-
featured non-stop performances
by a lineup that included Toby
Keith, Garth Brooks, Trisha Year-
wood, Willie Nelson, Carrie Un-
derwood, Sammy Hagar, Ronnie
Dunn and Mel Tillis.
At the request of long-time
client High Five Entertainment,
an Emmy Award-winning video
production company in Nashville,
TNDV provided its new audio
truck Vibration for audio multi-
tracking and music mixing. TNDV
donated its talent, time, and equip-
ment to the cause of helping vic-
tims of the May 2013 tornadoes
that struck the Moore, OK area.
It was an honor and pleasure
to be associated with this mo-
mentous benefit concert, said
Nic Dugger, TNDVs owner.
This was also the first project of
significance for Vibration and it
performed exceptionally well un-
der very demanding circumstanc-
es. Since the eight-hour concert
came together in a relatively short
time, our crew had to make swift
creative and technical decisions
and respond on-the-fly as the
fast-paced production unfolded.
The TNDV crew included Nic
Dugger, who served as on-site
technical manager; Adam Ellis,
TNDV engineer-in-charge of Vi-
bration; and Mills Logan, a free-
lance audio mixer and recording
engineer who has worked closely
with Toby Keith on all his records
and two movie soundtracks since
2005. The crew devoted four days,
including set-up and show days,
to support their High Five Enter-
tainment clients. Executive pro-
ducers Edie Lynn Hoback and
Martin Fischer, and production
coordinators Ashlee Locke and
Catherine Melvin represented
High Five on-site.
TNDV Television
tndv.com
An artists rendering of Sennheisers new Innovation Campus, now under construction.
[ August 2013 ]
sound
[ 16 ]
INTERNATIONAL
WEE WAA, AUSTRALIAAn Adamson
Energia E15 system supported a re-
cent premier of Daft Punks newest
album, Random Access Memories, at
the Wee Waa Showground in Wee
Waa, Australia.
Norwest Productions, headquar-
tered in Sydney, was tasked with de-
signing and implementing a sound
reinforcement system that would sur-
round a circular LED dance floor
located in the middle of the show-
ground show ring. The dance floor
constructed for the eventwas ap-
proximately 85 feet in diameter.
The idea was that the audio on
the dance floor would sound like
a nightclub with four hangs of PA
outside each quadrant of the dance
floor, explained Scott Harrison,
Norwest Productions FOH engineer
and system designer. We knew the
Adamson Energia E15 system was
perfect for the job.
Each of the four arrays consisted
of eight Energia E15s with six T21
subwoofers. The line arrays were
flown from inside of towers con-
structed of scaffolding located in the
four corners of the dance floor. The
T21s were ground stacked (2x3) in
front of each tower.
Norwest Productions deployed a
DiGiCo SD 8 at FOH to bring in
both the main and backup replay ma-
chines on MADI, the backup CD on
AES3, with analog backups for each
of those devices.
Daft Punks final track from the al-
bum, Contact, contains a sweep from
around 80 Hz all the way through to
15k or so, Harrison said. To hear that
sound, hear it smoothly make its way
through that entire range, without be-
coming harsh or sharp or overwhelm-
ing, really is a beautiful thing.
Adamson Systems Engineering
adamsonsystems.com
LONDON, UKMembers of the BBC
Radiophonic Workshop (RWS)
have regrouped for a series of elec-
tronic music events this year, in-
cluding the recent BBC Proms,
which celebrated the 50th anni-
versary of the science fiction TV
series, Doctor Who. For the events,
the RWS has been making use of a
Behringer X32 Digital Mixer and
EuroLive Active Loudspeakers.
Established in 1958 to provide
sound effects and original music
for BBC radio, the RWS went on
to create music and soundscapes
for some of the BBCs radio and
TV programming, including Doctor
Who. Although the BBC decom-
missioned RWS in 1998, original
members Paddy Kingsland, Peter
Howell, Roger Limb, Dick Mills
and Mark Ayres are working to-
gether again on a new album and a
series of live events. The project will
include collaborations with popular
musicians who have all drawn from
the RWS work over the years.
RWSs current rig features a
Behringer X32v Digital Mixing
Console, two S16 Digital Snakes,
the Powerplay P16 Personal Moni-
toring System, Eurolive B812NEO
Active Loudspeakers and B1800-
PRO Active 18 subs.
To celebrate the return of RWS
and the anniversary of Doctor Who,
the RWS joined a 200-strong cast
of musicians for the BBC Proms at
Londons Royal Albert Hall on July
13. The concert, broadcast live on
BBC Radio 3, will also be shown
on BBC television in November as
part of the Doctor Who anniversary
celebrations.
Behringer
behringer.com
LONDON, UKPerformances by Bon
Jovi and The Rolling Stones kicked
off this years AEG-Barclaycard
British Summer Time festival at
Londons Hyde Park, with Martin
Audios Multi Cellular Loudspeak-
er Array (MLA) delivering sound
to crowds of over 65,000.
Historically, Hyde Park concerts
have been dogged by offsite noise
pollution leading to neighborhood
complaints and the need to reduce
sound levels on site, meaning that
the audience couldnt hear the per-
formances. The new tenants, AEG/
Loud Sound, chose to use Martin
Audios MLA system to help solve
this issue.
The MLA system is capable of
maintaining an offsite level beneath
the 75 dB threshold, according to
Capital Sound technical manag-
er Ian Colville, who designed and
supplied the audio infrastructure
for the festival. And, as a result of
the audio design, complaints from
the neighbors were few.
Another key factor in the sound
threshold increase was the reori-
entation of the Hyde Park stage by
around 30 from north facing to
northwest (directing it away from
Park Lane). The result
is that fans positioned
out at the perimeter
have been able to enjoy
an identical sound ex-
perience to those at the
front of the stage, said
Capital Sound general
manager, Paul Timmins.
But walk five yards
outside the soundfield
and it will vanish.
Martin Audio
martin-audio.com
Adamson Aids Aussie Daft Punk Event
RWS Ftes Doctor Who
MLA System Rocks
Hyde Park
The Wee Waa Showground used an Adamson Energia E15 system for the Australian debut of Daft Punks global hit album, Random Access Memories.
The RWS was mixed on a Behringer X32 mixer during its recent performance at the BBC
Doctor Who Proms in London.
It would appear that Bon Jovi is wanted, dead or alive,
by the audience at this years AEG-Barclaycard British
Summer Time festival at Londons Hyde Park
[ August 2013 ]
[ 18 ]
soundBUSINESS
DIGGING INTO
DESPACIO
If you read the Despacio
article in our July, 2013
issue of Pro Sound
News, you know about
the thoroughly over-
the-top system that
James Murphy of LCD
Soundsystem and John Klett put together for Despacio, a
three-day event held in July during the biennial Manchester
International Festival. Now theres a short video documentary
of the system, with plenty of input from Murphy, fellow hip
spinners Soulwax (AKA 2ManyDJs) and a tour of the system
from Klett himself.
T.C. AND THE
CURLY SHUFFLE
T.C. Furlong has been a
well-known name in pro
audio for 40 years, but
few realize that he was the
producer and pedal steel
guitarist of the Jump N
The Saddle Band, which
had a 1980s hit, The Curly Shuffe, a goofy tribute to The
Three Stooges. We asked how the novelty song came about, and
the result is a quintessential tale of one-hit wonderdom.
Find these blog posts and more at
prosoundnetwork.com/aug2013
BLOGGINGS
1970S STUDIOS EDITION

Pro Sound News shares links to interesting audio articles
every month via @prosoundnews on Twitter; heres just a
samplingwhich by coincidence, all involve 1970s studios
changing with the times. Get the links at prosoundnetwork.com/aug2013
4French destination studio (AKA Honky Chateau) used by Bowie,
Elton, Fleetwood Mac, T Rex is for sale: $1.7m.
4Londons famed (and closed) Olympic Studios to be converted into a
cinema...and a recording studio.
4Kate Bushs former studio to be converted back into a residential
house.
4Caribou Ranch, the 1,600-acre, Boulder, CO destination studio is up
for sale. Price tag: $45 million
[prosoundnetwork.com]
On the Pro Sound News blog, readers
recently spoke out about the potential
demise of Detroits United Sound Systems
(see page 5). Some notable comments:
Every single time I am in Detroit, I drive by
United Sound in hopes that it is still stand-
ing. It has been vacant, like so many build-
ings in Detroit, for far too long.Ron Skinner
Didnt the main room originally have a brick fireplace in the corner and one
of the echo chambers was the bathroom? Cut my first tracks there in 61
with the Five Teenbeats.Fred Nesbitt
Detroit was and is an integral part of the USA music explosion which cata-
pulted US as a dominant music region of the world. What an influence on
the entire world. Tear it down? Ha! I will chain myself to the front of the
building! lolSteve Wills
If this was a museum of static art (statues, pictures), there would be no
debate on preserving it. Motowns music was art.Bill Price
Find more reader comments at prosoundnetwork.com/aug2013
video vault
Were Not In
Hollywood Anymore
Music videos set in recording
studios never get it right, but
rocker John Vanderslice set out to
capture the reality of recording
in the video for How The West
Was Won from his new album,
Dagger Beach. If anyone knows
about real life in the studio, its
Vanderslice, who founded San
Franciscos resolutely analog Tiny
Telephone Studio in 1997. Catch
the cool clip and commentary at
prosoundnetwork.com/aug2013
content comments
sweet tweet links
[ 20 ]
soundBUSINESS
them as employees, placing the in-
terns under minimum wage laws.
In my opinion, the company
screwed up, said Dan Pfeifer, In-
tern Coordinator and professor in the
Department of Recording Industry
at the Middle Tennessee State Uni-
versity in Murfreesboro, TN. The
kids were doing remedial work that
should have been done by a regular
employee. Whether the interns were
getting trained or not, the court said
they worked to the immediate advan-
tage of the employer, which requires
compensation.
Perhaps so, but Paul Christensen,
executive director of the Society of
Professional Audio Recording Ser-
vices (SPARS), said the audio indus-
try has been affected in the wake of
the ruling: The concern we have is
that theres no doubt that its going to
become harder for kids to get intern-
ships, paid or not. This now shows
us that we need a workable template
that could be exchanged and tweaked
to be used by people as an acceptable
example of doing (an internship).
Some companies have stopped offer-
ing internship programs out of fear of
legal repercussions, he added.
Since the Black Swan ruling,
Pfeifer said, he has received a num-
ber of calls from internship provid-
ers looking for advice. Providers
want to make sure they are not in
violation of the law and that they
are doing things appropriately. Most
of them want to do the right thing.
I tell providers to make sure the
student is enrolled in an actual in-
ternship class and to make sure he
or she has more to the course than
just showing up and getting a good
grade, Pfeifer said.
With fewer internships available,
however, it may become more dif-
ficult for students to get involved in
the pro audio field. In this kind of
industry, it is hard to pick up by read-
ing books. Its difficult to develop
your skills unless you work side-by-
side with someone with those skills,
Christensen said.
Traditionally, internships are
meant to provide students with the
necessary experience and training to
get into an industry, as well as con-
tacts for when they start their job
searchbut if more studios and com-
panies cut their intern programs, it
will make finding a job that much
harder. The kids are the ones that
suffer, Christensen said. This is
a time when we have more players
than ever and education pressures are
greater than ever.
At MTSU, Pfeifer said he moni-
tors his students progress through-
out their internships, having them
keep a log and write a reflection
paper once the internship is com-
plete. The internship has to have
a pathway to learning, Pfeifer said.
If there is not a way to learn, then
its not something I can award col-
lege credit.
Pfeifer also evaluates studios,
sound companies, manufacturers
and other audio-based companies
to make sure the programs will pro-
vide students with the education
and experience they need. As an
intern coordinator, I think intern-
ships are a good thing, but some
students arent ready or dont want
to do it yet, and they shouldnt be
forced to, he said. I think anybody
not doing an internship is crazy. The
business is not just what you know
in your head; its a relationship busi-
ness. You have to go out there and
build relationships.
However, if the legal ramifica-
tions of offering unpaid internships
keep companies from continuing
their programs, students will have
to find alternate ways to break into
the industry. SPARS, for instance,
offers mentoring programs, where au-
dio industry veterans offer advice to
younger generations looking to start
a career in audio. Mentoring wont
take the place of internships, but its
a good opportunity for students to
ask questions, said Kirk Imamura,
SPARS Board President.
From the other side, Jim Jordan of
Starstruck Studios in Nashville, TN,
said the facility only accepts interns
that are working for college credit.
We have a steady stream of in-
terns applying for positions, so theres
no lack of people who want to work
for free, Jordan said. We stick with
the accredited thing, because I think
it works for everybody.
Any studio that isnt paying them
and not giving them an opportuni-
ty to sit in on a recording session, I
think thats wrong. We try to really
give exposure, he added.
As long as providers follow the law,
Pfeifer said they have nothing to wor-
ry about. This isnt anything new,
Pfeifer said. The law has been the
law, and if people are doing their pro-
grams right, if the internship is done
well and has a teaching mindset, then
I dont think theres a problem with
the law in audio internships.
Internships
(continued from page 1)
[ August 2013 ]
Building On
Bedrock
BY STEVE HARVEY
LOS ANGELES, CAMusic production
workflows have changed significantly
over recent years, an evolution that has
been recognized in the floor plans for
Bedrock.LAs forthcoming expansion
into the MacArthur Park neighbor-
hood just northwest of downtown Los
Angeles. But while the initial build-out
phase, due to start in October, en-
compasses numerous music produc-
tion spaces, the overall vision is for
the 50,000-square-foot, multi-story
complex to eventually house a collab-
orative creative community involved
in a variety of media and technologies.
Ten years ago, this wouldnt
have worked, says KamranV, co-
founder of the Bedrock.LA rehearsal
and recording facility in Echo Park.
We noticed at Bedrock that peo-
ple were asking for a writing room,
a mix room, a production room, he
continues, but with the majority of
the rooms constructed for rehears-
al2,500 musicians pass through the
building each week, he says, and have
included the likes of Atoms for Peace,
At the Drive-In and Divine Fitsthe
environment wasnt exactly condu-
cive to production.
Those requests came from people
ready to take a step up from their
home-based production rooms as
well as those at the opposite end of
the spectrum who are working in big
commercial facilities but simply dont
need that much space all of the time,
he says. Now, theyre looking for
this [sort of facility] and it doesnt
exist, and its too expensive to create
yourself.
The opportunity to expand first
presented itself when the owners of
Bedrock.LAs building, the Standard
Oil Investment Group, offered the
company its basement, a raw space of
approximately 10,000 sq. ft. Rather
than simply construct more rehearsal
rooms, however, KamranV and his
CyKik consulting company began
to formulate a more ambitious plan
that would accommodate present-day
production workflows.
The layout for the basement,
which will include acoustical design
input from Vincent van Haaff of Wa-
terland Design, includes 10 or so pro-
duction rooms plus a tracking space
of approximately 1,200 square feet
and three iso rooms. [Tenants] can
go and track, then pull it back into
their room, or, with all the audio-
over-Ethernet technologies available,
stay in their room and record in the
iso rooms, or in multiple rooms. The
level of flexibility that has changed
the workflow makes something like
this work, he says.
The social element is also impor-
tant: They want to have someone
sound
[ 22 ]
RECORDING
BY STEVE HARVEY
HOLLYWOOD HILLS, CAMarsh Mas-
tering recently relocated, moving
out of Hollywood and into a house
in the Hollywood Hills. The move
not only shortens the commute
for newly married owner Stephen
Marshdown a flight of stairs to a
lower floorbut also offers a more
relaxed environment with, refresh-
ingly, plenty of daylight.
This is my fourth studio with
more or less this equipment since
I left Threshold, says Marsh, who
struck out on his own in 2007 af-
ter five years at Threshold Sound
+ Vision, and six-plus years at So-
ny Music Studios before that. He
works alongside mastering engineers
Stephanie Villa and Fernando Lee at
Marsh Mastering.
Happily, the layout of the new
facility, which is located on the
ground floor of a house built by
Depeche Modes Dave Gahan, is
similar enough to Marshs previous
studios that no modification to his
mastering set-up was required, he
reports. Nothing has changed; we
bagged and tagged everything. Every
cable is now where it was previously,
with the exception of three digital
cables that we needed to lengthen.
The noise floor is actually 4 dB
better than his previous facility, he
adds. We ran a dedicated feed with
isolated grounds before we moved
in and we augmented our existing
balancing transformer with voltage
regulation.
Signal integrity and noise per-
formance are important, as Marsh
Mastering has a long history of
working with audiophile clients such
as Steve Hoffman and label Audio
Fidelity. Indeed, apart from the ad-
dition of DSD capability last year,
he says, his equipment complement
has remained unchanged for some
time.
On the audiophile side, we shift-
ed from doing 24-Karat gold CDs,
as gold has gotten insanely expen-
sive, into doing dual-layerCD and
DSDhybrid SACDs. We have a
new DSD converter and a new DSD
recorder to facilitate that.
Marsh recently remastered a
number of reissues for Audio Fidel-
ity, including albums from Yes, Bob
Dylan and Nat King Cole. Next up
Pictured in the lobby at the 50,000
sq. ft. building to house the new
BedRock music studio center are (l-r)
Standard Oils CEO Marc Bohbot,
studio designer Vincent van Haaff,
Mirrorball Entertainment COO Tony
Maserati and Creative Director Stefan
Skarbek, Bedrock.LA co-founder
KamranV and Standard Oil COO
Michael Bitton.
D
A
V
I
D

G
O
G
G
I
N
Marsh Mastering: Moving On Up
Stephen Marsh has relocated Marsh Mastering to the ground floor of a Hollywood Hills
house built by Depeche Modes Dave Gahan.
(continued on page 32)
(continued on page 30)
[ August 2013 ]
BY JACQUES SONYIEUX
Located in Destin Harbor, Nep-
tone Studios is set amidst what
some consider to be one of the nic-
est beaches along Floridas Emer-
ald Coast. A true destination studio
that offers on-site lodging within
both the on-site facility and a near-
by beach house, Neptone attracts
clients from all over the U.S.but
is particularly popular among New
Orleans and Nashville-based clients,
according to owner and studio man-
ager Donnie Sundal.
Our studio is a fantastic place
where clients can get away and not
only get a lot of work done, but also
enjoy all the great things you can do
in a coastal area, says Sundal. You
can go fishing, go to the beach, go
boating or even take a waterside nap
after a long session. Needless to
say, this chill vibe can be a welcome
departure from working in the stu-
dio hours on end, which can be all-
consuming and stressful for many
artists.
The comment we get all the
time is that folks feel comfortable
in here, and this is the main thing
we are shooting for, Sundal says.
People do tend to be stressed out,
even if they have experience record-
ing in the studio. And if they dont
have experience, a recording studio
can be an absolutely terrifying place
to be for a lot of people.
The facility, originally founded
in 2005 and currently undergoing a
restoration of sorts, consists of two
discrete 2,500-square-foot studio
environments: the main studio (A),
which features a newly acquired vin-
tage Quad Eight Criodisca 24 x 24 8
custom console; and a second room
(B), which is centered on an SSL
6000 48-channel mixing desk. Both
rooms are served by 32 channels of
Apogee converters and are running
Avid Pro Tools software.
Prior to acquiring the Quad
Eight, studio A relied on a control
surface for tracking and mixing, in
combination with a vast collection of
vintage and modern preamps. Sun-
dal says that the studios primary
focus over the last few months has
been on refurbishing and restoring
the console to its original condition,
and of course installing and wiring
it.
According to Sundal, while the
studio has never had trouble attract-
ing clients, the Quad Eight puts the
facility on a new plateau: We were
still mixing in the box, and I wanted
to get out of it, he says. I looked
at some summing and sidecar op-
tions, but at the end of the day, after
speaking to other people we trusted
like Pepper Denny of Peppers Pro
Shop, we ended up looking for a
console. Denny was able to locate
the Quad Eight in Venezuela and
arranged to transport it to the U.S.,
where it is in the process of being
meticulously recapped and restored.
A console is the crowning piece
to any studio, and this was certainly
the most important link we needed,
according to Sundal. You can get
away without having a console, but
for us, it was important. The 24 mic
pres, along with the ones we already
have, mean that we dont have to
pick and choose between good pres
and medium ones; we have an am-
ple amount of them to handle all of
our tracking needs.
In addition to a live room with
14 ceilings that is surrounded on
all sides by iso rooms, Studio A fea-
tures a spacious control room as
well as pinewood floors throughout.
There are two separate closets in
addition to the iso booths, which
are frequently used for amplifiers
for electric guitar amplifiers; a Leslie
cabinet; or for re-amping purposes.
We made the whole studio fairly
dry, with just a bit of ambience,
explains Sundal. While Neptone re-
cords many different genres of mu-
sic, he says that the acoustics and
room arrangement works particu-
larly well for bluegrass and acoustic
instruments.
Studio B, which has been given
some acoustic upgrades of late, is
located in the same building and
was acquired by Neptone just nine
months ago. It features a similarly
large control room, but as opposed to
Studio A, the iso rooms are in front
of the room rather than in the rear.
Sundal says the acoustics in Studio B
are a little wetter, making the overall
facility very flexible depending on the
genre of music being recorded.
We did quite a bit of sound
treatment to Studio B recently, and
did it all pretty much ourselves,
says Sundal. We added soffits and
bass trapping, and also made a lot of
the panels that hang on the wall and
on the ceiling. The result is a more
acoustically balanced room, he adds.
With the Studio B now up and
running, Sundal decided to put all
his outboard units into movable
racks so they can move seamlessly
between both studios; this not only
brings greater cohesion to sessions
working between Neptones dif-
ferent rooms, but also helps fortify
and complement situations where a
special piece of rack gear might be
called on. Say an artist comes into
Studio B, which has the SSL. I can
complement this by bringing in my
API and Brent Averill 1073 preamps
in a rack, Sundal explains.
Neptones doors are open to just
about any genre or type of project,
and clients appreciate the studios
flexibility, says Sundal: It could be
recording a band that is self-con-
tained, where we just rent the room
out and they bring their own engi-
neer, right down to some projects
that we actually produce and pro-
vide session musicians on.
Of all the improvements Neptone
has made over the years, Sundal be-
lieves bringing in the new Quad Eight
console was among his best decisions.
People would always ask me What
kind of mixing board do you have?
he recalls. I would always have to do
a little side step that question; it was
the obvious piece that we were miss-
ing. Our new console is one-of-a-kind
and has its own little mystique to it.
Jacques Sonyieux is a devout explorer of
recording studios and the artists that in-
habit them. Please send any tips or feed-
back to Jacques at: jacquessonyieux@
gmail.com.
Neptone Studios
Neptonerecording.com
STUDIO: NEPTONE STUDIOS OWNER: DONNIE
SUNDAL LOCATION: DESTIN HARBOR, FL
Theres more 4 For a video tour of Neptone
Recording, visit prosoundnetwork.com/apr2013
showcase
[ 24 ]
STUDIO
Sounding Off on the Emerald Coast
Founded in 2005, Neptone Studios is undergoing a refurbishment of sorts with the addition of a vintage Quad Eight Criodisca console.
[ August 2013 ]
On his Continuing Adventures
In Software, Rich Tozzoli takes a
step back to consider the gear that
bookends his bit manipulation.
W
e all love new gear. Be
it software or hardware,
we still get a rush when
researching a new device that will
hopefully help us improve our craft.
But sometimes, its worthwhile to step
back and think about the things that
are most used, why they are used and
how long youve had them. In doing
so recently, I learned a few interest-
ing lessons Id like to share about my
hardware and hopefully inspire you to
examine your own setup.
To begin with, Ive used the same
monitors for almost 10 years now.
My little NHT PRO M-00s and the
accompanying sub have gotten me
through countless stereo and 5.1
mixes. I remember buying them off
the floor at a Surround Conference
in Beverly Hills after Alan Parsons
listened to them and liked what he
heard (thanks Alan!). I thought, Good
enough for him? Good enough for
me. And wow, have they lasted. Since
they dont make them anymore, I have
a full backup set in the closet. They are
not the most revealing speakers, but to
me, they are a common man setup
that lets me mix for the masses. In ad-
dition though, I also turn to my Adams
A5Xs and sub, which are more in
your face and detailed. I can also take
those out with my Universal Audio
Apollo mobile rig on location.
The monitors are connected to a
Grace m906 controller, which is an-
other piece of gear Ive had for many
years. Its clean, crystal clear, easy to
use, and can run multiple stereo and
5.1 setups. It was a pricey investment,
but well worth it (a theme Im hitting
on). Its also my headphone amp, so
it serves multiple purposes. The 906
is connected digitally (optically and
XLR) to my Avid HD I/O (I run Pro
Tools HDX), as well as optically to my
Mac. That way, I can quickly switch be-
tween sources and hear back mixes and
files from iTunes and online, etc. I like
different headphones for various pur-
poses, and use Sony MDR7520s, Beyer
DT770s and Ultrasone Pro 750s.
Since my room is more of a per-
sonal production/composing/mixing
room, I dont need too much out-
board gear. In my rack above my HD
I/O sits a Korg rack tuner, plugged
into a Creation Audio Labs MW1a
high-quality guitar DI/amp splitter.
Above that sits a single channel of
Grace m103 channel strip, which I
turn to for acoustic guitar and vocal
recording. In the rack off to the side,
I also have some other good preamps,
including a Focusrite ISA 428 (which
I can connect optically), Universal Au-
dio LA-610, Earthworks 1024 and
a Groove Tubes Vipre. In addition, I
have a Manley Massive Passive EQ,
which hooks in analog to my HD I/O.
All of these Ive had for years, and
they all get used as needed. My only
recent addition to this collection is a
Millennia HV-37 preamp, which also
goes out with my Apollo mobile setup.
I dont own that many mics, as
most of my recording of larger proj-
ects is done at bigger studiosbut
the mics I own, I use the #$)* out
of. My Earthworks QTC1s and DPA
2011s are in high use on acoustic in-
struments, as well as my Royer 121,
Beyer M160 and Sennheiser 421 for
guitar amps. For vocals, I turn to my
Miktek cv4 and C7. I dont even own
an SM57 (shame on me). But hey,
I use what I have. Clean and lean in
that department.
Being that a large portion of my TV
composing is guitar-related, I have a
variety of amps, including a Mesa Boo-
gie MKIV head which I bought new in
1992. I also have vintage Gibson and
Magnatone amps, all of which Ive had
for many years. I like them because
they are different, nasty and have clas-
sic old tone. The only new amp is a
Fender Blues Deluxe, heavily modified
[ August 2013 ]
[ 26 ]
soundRECORDING
I
n my satirical Craigs List col-
umn in Electronic Musician mag-
azine, I wrote about a fictional
article, supposedly from the mid-
80s, that described how wonderful
computers would be for music. The
comment that received the most
reader attention was There are
tons of computer options for music.
Atari, Mac, Amiga, PC, Yamahas
CX5M, and if youre on a budget,
even the Commodore-64 or Timex
Sinclair 1000 will do the job. So
dont worry! Youre never going to
be forced to choose solely between
a boring PC or an overpriced Mac.
Well here we are, with PCs that
arent as boring and Macs that
arent as expensive, but the bottom
line is that for desktop computers,
were down to two platforms. Then
again, does the platform still matter?
Both platforms rely on Intels
family of processors (although
some Windows computers use
AMD). While different models for
different platforms favor different
ports, most other components are
commodities and common periph-
erals have cross-platform drivers
(Apogee remains an exception).
The expansion card slots are also
the same, and Thunderboltini-
tially available only for the Macis
becoming more common on Win-
dows, even though ubiquity is still
not assured. Furthermore, most
DAWs are cross-platform; besides,
once you open your program of
choice, the operating system drops
into the background anyway.
By all outward appearances, it
seems like the Mac vs. PC debate
has been reduced to it doesnt real-
ly matter. Sure, some people might
prefer one OS over the other, but
Apple and Microsoft have borrowed
so much from each other there are
more similarities than differences;
and yes, the cost issue is still rel-
evantfor a given price, youll al-
most always get more power with
a Windows machine than a Mac,
especially if you construct your own.
However, we havent yet reached
an egalitarian utopia for pro audio.
Differences remain, and there are
definite reasons for choosing one
platform over another. If you really
need to use both Mac and Windows
in your work and dont want two
computers, then the Mac is your
only choice because of its ability to
run Boot Camp. Although you cant
run Mac and Windows programs
simultaneously (which Parallels and
VMware can do for the Mac), Boot
Camp essentially turns your Mac
hardware into Windows hardware so
performance is superior compared
to creating virtual machines. Run-
ning OS X as a virtual machine
inside Windows is more difficult,
complicated and degrades perfor-
mance too much for pro audio.
If you need to aggregate multi-
ple audio interfaces, again, the Mac
comes out ahead. Apples Core
Audio has an elegant implementa-
tion, and while you can aggregate
interfaces under Windows WDM
protocol, its more difficult under
ASIOwhich is the usual low-la-
tency driver choice for Windows.
Another consideration is that
some programs are designed for
a particular platform. If you use
Logic, then the Mac is a given be-
cause there hasnt been a Windows
version since Logic 4. Windows-
only programs, like Cakewalk So-
nar, Magix Samplitude/Sequoia
and Acoustic Mixcraft arent re-
ally Windows-only if you run Boot
Camp; still, most users prefer to
run Windows programs on Win-
dows machines.
And while Mac fans often over-
rate the ease of use and reliabil-
ity, and Windows machines have
generally left their glitchy perfor-
mance in the past, Macs still have
a more tightly controlled hardware/
software relationship. Updating is
usually simpler, as is installation
of peripherals and drivers. To get
the most from Windows machines,
softwaretech
Do Platforms Matter
Any More?
CRAIG ANDERTON
Getting In and Out
By all outward appearances, it seems
like the Mac vs. PC debate has been
reduced to it doesnt really matter.
[ ]
(continued on page 30)
Rich Tozzolis clean
and lean workspace
(continued on page 30)
[ August 2013 ]
API Sails
Into
University
winter park, flFull Sail
University has installed a
64-channel API (apiaudio.
com) Vision console in Studio
B where it has become the
centerpiece of the universi-
tys Recording Arts Academic
Program.
Volant
Launches
with SSL
new york, nyVolant
Studios has installed an SSL
(solidstatelogic.com) AWS
948 hybrid console/con-
troller at its newly rebuilt,
Horacio Malvicino-designed
space in Manhattan. The
A Room will eventually be
joined by three other rooms
on another floor to provide
music recording and produc-
tion, plus post production for
video and film services.
Wood
Liaises with
D-Box
edmeston, nyMastering
engineer and musician
Nate Wood has outfitted
Kerseboom Mastering,
his studio in Greenpoint,
Brooklyn, with the
Dangerous Music (danger-
ousmusic.com) D-Box sum-
ming mixer and talkback
and monitor controller and
Dangerous Liaison program-
mable analog router.
Mazur Plays
with Radial
vancouver, canadaSteve
Mazur, guitar player with Our
Lady Peace, is using Radial
Engineerings (radialeng.
com) EXTC 500 guitar effects
interface module during the
writing of the bands new
album. Mazur also uses a
Radial Tonebone Switchbone
AB-Y guitar amp switcher
and Tonebone Twin-City
buffered AB-Y with Drag load
correction.
notes
tracks
ARTIST: COSMIC
SUCKERPUNCH
ALBUM: GOOD MORNING
LABEL: MY INNER ANIMAL
PERSONNEL:
Produced by: Steve
Welkom
Engineered by: Stu Heydon
Studios: Carmel Recording
(Carmel, CA)
Mastered by: John
Hernandez (Oakland, CA)
EQUIPMENT NOTES: Avid
Pro Tools HD; True Systems,
Universal Audio Mic
Preamps; Peluso, Brauner,
Sennheiser and Neumann
Microphones
ARTIST: CAPSULA
ALBUM: SOLAR SECRETS
LABEL: KRIAN MUSIC
GROUP
PERSONNEL:
Produced by: Tony Visconti
Engineered by: Tim Price
Assistant Engineer: Cailon
Williams
Studios: Saint Claire Studio
(Lexington, KY)
Mastered by: Dave McNair
EQUIPMENT NOTES: SSL
9000J console; Avid Pro
Tools HD3; Digidesign 192
recording interface; API,
Neve, Calrec, Chandler
pre amps; Chandler, dbx,
Empirical Labs, Universal
Audio, Neve compressors;
Maxelle Pilchner-Q8
Schoustal, Genelec 8050,
Yamaha NS-10 studio
monitors
ARTIST: THESE ANIMALS
ALBUM: PAGES
LABEL: SELF-RELEASED
PERSONNEL:
Produced by: These
Animals
Engineered by: These
Animals
Studios: The Rick Room
(Greenwich, CT), Finger
Music (Brooklyn, NY)
Mastered by: Peter
Denenberg (ACME Studios,
Mamaroneck, NY)
EQUIPMENT NOTES:
Black Lion Digi 003 Mod
console; Avid Pro Tools
10; TubeTech CL-1B
compressor; Miktek CV4
tube condenser; Daking mic
pre; Chandler Limited TG
MKII EQ; Swarmatron, Mini
Moog, Prophet 5, Wurlitzer,
Rhodes, Roland VP-330
Vocoder Plus synthesizers;
KRK RP-8, Dunlavy Iva
studio monitors
ARTIST: FOY VANCE
ALBUM: JOY OF NOTHING
LABEL: GLASSNOTE
RECORDS
PERSONNEL:
Produced by: Michael
Keeney
Engineered by: Thomas
McLaughlin, Michael
Keeney, and Ian McNulty
Assistant Engineer: Orri
McBrearty
Mix Assitant: Daniel Moyler
Studios: Attica Audio Co.
(Donegal, Ireland)
Mastered by: Vlado Meller
(Masterdisk Studios, New
York)
EQUIPMENT NOTES:
Harrison 32B console; Avid
Pro Tools HD; ATC SCM25a,
Yamaha NS-10, Dynaudio
BM15A studio monitors
ARTIST: COACHWHIPS
ALBUM: HANDS ON THE
CONTROLS
LABEL: CASTLEFACE
PERSONNEL:
Produced by: George
Patterson, Chris Dixon
Engineered by: George
Patterson, Chris Dixon
Assistant Engineer: Chris
Dixon
Studios: Georges House
(San Francisco, CA)
Mastered by: Patrick
Haight
EQUIPMENT NOTES:
Tascam 388 console;
Quantegy 911 tape reels;
Avid Pro Tools
ARTIST: MEGAN BONNELL
ALBUM: HUNT AND CHASE
LABEL: NEVADO RECORDS
PERSONNEL:
Produced by: Chris Stringer,
Joshua Van Tassel
Engineered by: Chris
Stringer, Joshua Van Tassel
Studios: Verge Music Lab
Underground (Toronto,
Canada), The Cereal Loft
(Toronto, Canada)
Mastered by: Jeff Elliot
(Fedge Mastering)
EQUIPMENT NOTES: SSL
X-Desk console; Apple Logic
9; Neve 1073LB, API 512
mic pres; API 550, 560 EQs;
Apogee Ensemble; Genelec
8030, 8040 studio monitors
ARTIST: IAMEVE
ALBUM: THE
EVERYTHING NOTHING
LABEL: INDEPENDENT
PERSONNEL:
Produced by: James Marr,
Wendy Page
Engineered by: James Marr,
Wendy Page
Studios: Rrampage
Productions Studios (Los
Angeles, CA)
Mastered by: Joel Soyffer
(Coney Island Studios)
EQUIPMENT NOTES:
Apple Logic; TC Electronic
PowerCore Firewire;
PreSonus Central Station;
Yamaha NS-10, KRK Rokit 8
studio monitors
ARTIST: JAKE BELLOWS
ALBUM: NEW OCEAN
LABEL: SADDLE CREEK
PERSONNEL:
Produced by: Ben Brodin
Engineered by: Ben Brodin
Assistant Engineer: Bobby
Rubalcava
Studios: ARC Studios
(Omaha, NE)
Mastered by: Carl Saff (Saff
Mastering)
EQUIPMENT NOTES:
1970s API 24x16 console;
Avid Pro Tools; ATR;
Soundelux 251, Electro-
Voice 635, Royer 1R-21
microphones; Tannoy
System 215DMT, Dynaudio
BM15 studio monitors
ARTIST: JEFF GOLUB
WITH BRIAN AUGER
ALBUM: TRAIN KEEPS A
ROLLING
LABEL: EONE MUSIC
PERSONNEL:
Produced by: Jeff Golub,
Brad Harner
Engineered by: Steve
Sykes, Rupert House, Mark
Casselman
Assistant Engineer:
Spencer Guerra, Eric
Lebowitz
Studios: LAFX (North
Hollywood, CA), The Maids
Room (New York, NY),
EQUIPMENT NOTES:
Vintage API console; Avid
Pro Tools 8; TAD, Dynaudio
BM15A, Yamaha NS-10M,
Genelec 1031A and Tannoy
SGM studio monitors
ARTIST: BELLE ADAIR
ALBUM: THE BRAVE AND
THE BLUE
LABEL: SINGLE LOCK
RECORDS
PERSONNEL:
Produced by: Ben Tanner
Engineered by: Ben Tanner
Studios: The Nutthouse
(Sheffield, AL)
Mastered by: JJ Golden
EQUIPMENT NOTES: Avid
Pro Tools HD3; MCI JH24
2 tape; Apogee AD16x
converters; Digidesign
192 interface; Benchmark
DAC1; Genelec 1031A,
1094A, Tannoy Reveal, KRK
K-Rok studio monitors
[ 28 ]
LOOK AT THE RECORDING SCENE
computer savvy is pretty much es-
sential. The flip side is that Windows
computers are easier to hot rod and
tweak, so with a little bit of know-
how, you can get spectacular perfor-
mance at a relatively low cost.
Finally, theres project compati-
bilityif you live in the Los Angeles
film world, you need a Mac in order
to swap files seamlessly from one
platform to the other. End of story.
So ultimately, the platform still
matters, but theres a silver lining. I
know several people who needed to
switch platforms for work- or proj-
ect-related reasons, and the process
has never been easier. You can use
almost all the same peripherals, and
even customize the OS for a familiar
environment. My Mac Dock is set
up like the Windows Taskbar, and
on Windows, the Recycle Bin sits
in the lower rightas it has since
the days of my first Mac Plus. As
the French say, Plus a change,
plus cest la mme chose.
Craig Anderton is Editor in Chief Emeritus
of Harmony Central; check out some of his
music at www.youtube.com/thecraigan-
derton.
by Vincent Miraglia at Analog Design
Group. While I have many guitars
(and the likes), I still often turn to the
same tobacco burst Les Paul Stan-
dard Ive had since I was 16, and I
still use the same 69 Fender Preci-
sion bass I picked up in the mid-90s.
What I learned from my setup ex-
amination is that I prefer high-quali-
ty pieces of gear that do a particular
task very well. Most of it Ive owned
for many years. Sure, most of its
also pricey, but hey, this is what I do
every day. Ive never regretted buy-
ing any of it, and without question,
its money well-spent. This is my
profession and the sounds I get, Im
proud of. If it doesnt sound good,
its not my gears fault, so Ill look in-
ward and work harder on it. The big
picture is that I dont have a lot of
hardware, but the pieces I do have, I
know what they sound like, and how
they can help me get results. But its
not like I dont buy new gear; I do
if it offers me something special.
So step back and take a look at
your setup. Do you need it all? Does
it deliver? I mean, really deliver? If
not, then consider making a change.
Invest in yourself.
[ August 2013 ]
[ 30 ]
soundRECORDING
down the hall that can put togeth-
er a beat, do some vocal editing or
shred on guitarto be around other
creative people.
Tenants will not be expected to
spend money on a build-out that
would then have to be left behind
when they move out, he stresses.
Were putting up the capital invest-
ment and building the walls. What
they put in are things they can take
out again.
The basement is currently sched-
uled for a January 2014 opening.
Meanwhile, construction will begin
on a west coast facility for record
producer, engineer and mixer Tony
Maseratis Mirrorball Entertainment
production group. Located on the
first floor, the complex will comprise
seven modular production rooms de-
vised by Maserati in collaboration
with studio designer and acoustician
Martin Pilchner, in addition to the
expected client amenities.
A loading dock with roller shut-
ter door offers Mirrorballs high-end
clients secure access to the studios,
notes KamranV. The dock also pro-
vides access to a freight elevator that
opens next to the tracking and iso
spaces one floor below. All the ele-
ments are here, he says.
KamranV is eyeing the first floors
street access as an ideal location for
a coffee and juice outlet: Theres
some interesting stuff around here,
but theres not a good coffee shop.
The building already houses the
offices of fashion company Bisou
Bisou as well as filmmakers, soft-
ware developers and equipment
manufacturers. But there is plenty
of second-floor office space avail-
able, he reports. Downstairs, you
pay X dollars per square foot, but
you dont need that for your admin-
istrative assistant or the guy thats
pitching your songs. The second
floor has a lower cost-per-square-
foot; theyre offices, and relatively
inexpensive. Once were full, well
start to look at our options for the
third and fourth floors.
Beyond those initial plans, well,
the skys the limit. Artist showcases,
webcasts, manufacturer and local re-
tailer demos and other events could
all be easily accommodated, he says.
Location may be everything in
real estate, but so is timing. The
neighborhood appears to be turn-
ing around, and a collaborative arts
complex would only help that pro-
cess, KamranV believes.
What makes a neighborhood
turn into Echo Park or Brooklyn is
its arts culture, founded in music.
And whats great about doing it with
the arts is that it doesnt push people
out; it embraces the neighborhood.
So were putting our stake in the
ground.
Bedrock.LA
bedrock.la
CyKik
cykik.com
Mirrorball Entertainment
mirrorballentertainment.com
NEW YORK, NYThe New Black 7
may play country music, but theres
more than a touch of rock to be
found in its recent sophomore al-
bum, Hangovers & Heartbreak. While
that came from the songwriting and
guitar playing of vocalist/guitarist
Tory Stoffregen and lead guitarist
Jason K. Herman, it was bolstered
during the recording process by gear
from Chandler Limited, particularly
the Little Devil Pre Amp.
Stoffregen engineered the CD
with co-engineering by Chandler
Limiteds Wade Goeke, and addi-
tional assistance from Grammy-
winning producer Ryan Hewitt.
The CD was mixed by Cedrick
Courtois of Praxxis Media at The
Castle studio in Oceanside, CA.
We used a lot of Chandler Lim-
ited gear on this project, said Stof-
fregen. The color and character
that Little Devil Pre Amp adds to
every different instrument is noth-
ing short of amazing. The Feedback/
Bias controlused with the Output
controlis a really great tool to add
or subtract color to any instrument
and its especially useful when re-
cording vocals. It really adds life to
the tracks, making this processor
an extremely versatile studio tool.
Chandler Limiteds GAV19T guitar
amplifier also assumed a prominent
role in the production.
The New Black 7
thenewblack7.com
Chandler Limited
chandlerlimited.com
Bedrock
(continued from page 22)
Jason K. Herman (left) and Tory Stoffregen of
The New Black 7 used a variety of Chandler
Limited gear on the bands new album.
Anderton
(continued from page 26)
Tozzoli
(continued from page 26)
The New Black 7
Worship Little Devil
[ August 2013 ]
[ 32 ]
soundRECORDING
is a Poco classic, Pickin Up the Pieces.
He comments, Half the time,
the job is just getting it through a
modern A-to-D converter, not using
converters from 20 years ago. But
its not unusual for masters from the
1960s and 70s to be edited together
from multiple mix sessions and tape
types, he also reports. You put up
the tones and the alignment will be
good for half the song, then you have
to stop, adjust the azimuth and cap-
ture the next chunk. We go to great
lengths to make sure that its perfect.
The audiophile market particular-
ly suits him, says Marsh. I like work-
ing on album material; its prefer-
able to singles. Thats why I like doing
soundtracks, scores, reissuestheyre
inherently albums. I prefer that pace.
I like to sink my teeth into a project.
I want to understand it; I like to peek
around every corner.
The main mastering console, built
in collaboration with Steve Firlotte of
Inward Connections, is outfitted with
EAR, GML, Maselec and Weiss EQ,
with Apogee, Burl and Prism convert-
ers. For the DSD projects, we split
the feeds. We capture on the same
pass out of the console to both DSD
and PCM, he says.
When Gahan built the house,
what is now the mastering studio
was intended as a performance
space, and was used by the interven-
ing owner as a home theater. At the
recommendation of acoustical con-
sultant Bryan Pape of GIK Acous-
tics, Marsh installed a wall to tune
the rooms depth, creating space for
a client lounge behind it. Visitors
also have access to an outdoor area
and a gym.
A rectangular room with an eight-
foot ceiling might not seem like the
ideal environment for a master-
ing room, but with some acousti-
cal treatment, its working very well,
says Marsh. Taking a cue from his
friend, engineer, producer and mixer
John Paterno, he chose a modular
approach, installing diffusor pan-
els at the first and second reflection
points and on the back wall, along
with numerous bass traps and tuned
resonators.
I expected to have huge problems
because of the lower ceilings, but the
bottom end is really consistent. It was
really refreshing to learn that once
you control the big things effectively
and efficiently, the little stuff doesnt
make any difference.
Having spent so much mon-
ey acoustically treating other peo-
ples buildings in the past, hes very
pleased with his new freestanding so-
lution. Not only do I get to take it
with me from an ease-of-use stand-
point, but also a sonic standpoint. At
least Ill have an idea of what my next
room will sound like or, if it changes,
Ill have a reference point, which Ive
never had before.
Marsh Mastering
marshmastering.com
Marsh
(continued from page 22)
I like working on album material; its preferable to singles. Thats
why I like doing soundtracks, scores, reissuestheyre inherently
albums. I prefer that pace. I like to sink my teeth into a project.
I want to understand it; I like to peek around every corner.
Stephen Marsh
[ ]
BY STEVE HARVEY
CALABASAS, CADTS, Inc. celebrated
its 20th anniversary on July 1, the date
declared a holidayDTS 7.1 Day
by the state of California. Although
the audio codec that was destined to
become a standard in movie theaters,
on optical discs and now in mobile
devices, had been in development for
several years prior, the company traces
its public debut to June 11, 1993the
release date of Stephen Spielbergs
blockbuster, Jurassic Park.
According to reports, Spielberg be-
lieved that theatrical sound was ripe
for improvement, putting his money
into the new technology alongside
funding from Universal, the films dis-
tributor, and releasing Jurassic Park in
876 theaters outfitted with DTS play-
back. From that humble beginning,
DTS can now boast of licensing over
two billion consumer electronics prod-
ucts, taking into account both its co-
dec and post processing solutions, and
including contributions from SRS, the
company DTS acquired in 2012, ac-
cording to Jon Kirchner, chairman
and CEO at DTS.
We exist because we believe
sound matters; we exist in part be-
cause we believe sound drives the pri-
mary emotion in most entertainment
experiences, says Kirchner. And the
artistic community both appreciates
and understands that.
Spielberg, he says, wanted to
bring more emotion and realism to
film-going audiences with the re-
lease of that movie, which catapulted
us into a significant position in the
cinema industry. We later launched
our consumer audio technology, Co-
herent Acoustics, believing that the
home entertainment world at the
time, which was laserdisc and soon
to become DVD, was lacking in terms
of forward-looking technology that
would deliver a far more compelling
and immersive sound entertainment
experience. And that then parlayed
into the DVD standard and the Blu-
ray standard.
Two decades into its life, DTS is
now poised on the threshold of an
evolution as mobile devices prolifer-
ate. Three years ago, we had basi-
cally no network-connected revenue.
In 2009, it was pretty much all about
[ August 2013 ]
Digital Arts
Installs Meyer
new york, nyManhattans Digital
Arts has installed a new Meyer
Sound (meyersound.com) 7.1 cinema
monitoring system comprising three
Acheron Studio screen channel speak-
ers, three X-800C cinema subs and 12
HMS-10 cinema surround loudspeak-
ers with Galileo processing in its new
post production theatre.
Ocean Way
Kicks Off Cup
hollywood, caESPN recorded
theme music at Ocean Way (ocean-
wayrecording.com) featuring trum-
peter Wayne Bergeron and percus-
sionist Alex Acuna, with Lisle Moore,
composer/producer, for its coverage
of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
SonicPool
Opens in NOLA
new orleans, laHollywood post
production house SonicPool (son-
icpool.com) has teamed up with
New Orleans-based Maison Post to
provide audio and video post services
at its new location in the historic
Garden District, across the street
from Second Line Studios.
Cotton Hill
Acquired
saratoga springs, nyStrategic
advertising agency Fingerpaint (fin-
gerpaintmarketing.com) has acquired
Cotton Hill, which provides full-
service audio and video production
at its John Storyk-designed facilities
in Albany, NY. Cotton Hill will be
rebranded as a Fingerpaint office.
CBC Upgrades
with Studer
montreal, canadaNational public
broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada is
upgrading its Montreal facility with
four Studer (harman.com) Vista 1
consoles, a Route 6000 routing and
signal processing system, three Vista
Compact Remote Bays and interfacing
equipment.
MediaHorse
Shook Up
los angeles, caMediaHorse (medi-
ahorse.net) has placed its artist Avilas
cover of the classic Elvis Presley hit,
All Shook Up, in a national cam-
paign promoting Trojan lubricant
products as a result of new formal
arrangements with various music
publishers and copyright holders.
briefs
sound
[ 33 ]
POST
|
BROADCAST
Innovative
Isolation
BY STEVE HARVEY
LOS ANGELES, CAFrench technol-
ogy company Audionamix has quietly
been making inroads into the post
production and music communities
since working on its first major proj-
ect, director Olivier Dahans Edith
Piaf biopic, La Vie en Rose, in 2007.
Momentum has since been building
for the companys ADX technology,
which at its essence enables content
owners to monetize their assets by
isolating key elements of a mixed
master audio track where the indi-
vidual tracks are not available.
The technology was born out of
the desire to identify the DNA of au-
dio so that, instead of transferring a
music file, youd transfer the DNA
and recompose it at the other end,
explains Arnaud Dudemaine, VP op-
erations of the companys U.S. office.
In the process, we discovered this
way of being able to differentiate and
isolate and basically teach a computer
to listen to music and emulate how
we can do this naturally in our mind.
By enabling a computer to rep-
licate what is known as the cock-
tail party effect, whereby humans
can focus on a conversation across
a crowded room while ignoring any
other noise, Audionamix is able to
isolate vocals and individual instru-
ments from any mixed format, from
mono to stereo and beyond. For La
Vie en Rose, the company created vo-
cal and instrument stems from both
mono and stereo sources that allowed
the filmmaker to reposition them in
the soundtrack mix.
This is not phase-based technology.
Its a non-destructive process where
the sum of the parts is exactly equal to
the original. So what a layman might
hear as an artifact is actually not an
artifact, its impure separation. We
get to 98, 99 percent separation, and
then that last percent, we cant quite
get automatically, so we have to go in
and try and manipulate it. But its not
about cleanup; its about perfecting
the separation, says Dudemaine.
Audionamix is hands-off with re-
gard to the creative process. Its a
very deliberate choice on our behalf
that we dont manipulate the audio
or enhance the audio. We provide a
raw track which is the separation of
the original content, but the creative
decisions to enhance with EQ, delay
and time stretch and make it sound
better according to that creative vi-
sion is not one we take on.
Audionamix divides its services in-
to five basic areas: music dissociation,
where music licensed for a specific
territory, for example, is removed,
leaving dialog and effects intact, al-
lowing new licensed music to be laid
in; dialog isolation, where dialog is
removed from content or isolated for
use elsewhere; vocal/instrument isola-
tion, isolating and preserving musi-
cal elements similarly to dialog; sync
track/instrumental creation, where
lead vocals are removed or replaced;
and stem creation, where individual
elements are isolated for remixing.
Composer Hans Zimmer also had
Audionamix extract stems from Piaf s
La Vie en Rose, remixing it for 5.1 pre-
sentation and manipulating the horns
into a repeating motif throughout
Christopher Nolans film, Inception.
That inspired the company to further
develop its tools for music dissocia-
tion, says Dudemaine.
There was a request from CBS
for the treatment of foreign versions
DTS Turns 20 Still Looking Ahead
(continued on page 34)
(continued on page 34)
ADDING COLOR TO THE MIXMargarita Mix Hollywood has become a one-stop audio/
video finishing shop with the addition of two color suites and an upgraded hub for media
management. The new color suites are integrated with the existing audio bays, utilizing
Nucoda Film Master color grading systems to ensure Avid integration with direct connectivity
to the ISIS and Avocent network. As part of the expansion, Margarita Mix has added colorists
Troy Smith and Michael Mintz, and online editor Adam St. Clair.
[ August 2013 ]
[ 34 ]
soundPOST/BROADCAST
of TV shows where the original ele-
ments, the foreign dubs, had never
been preserved. So when they came
to re-negotiate the music licensing
rights, the cost was too expensive for
the return on investment for those
territories, so they decided to change
the music. Changing the music do-
mestically was very easy because they
had the separate elements, but in
these foreign territories, they didnt.
Another early driver of the technol-
ogy was a 50th anniversary surround
remix of Psycho in 2010, where the di-
alog was replaced with French actors,
and a French language release of The
Blues Brothers. The voice actors there
are just as iconic as our actors are
here, so to pull out that dialog and put
it into a new surround mix enhances
the product for those international ter-
ritories, Dudemaine explains.
In the U.S., demand has recently
increased for music-only projects.
Rod Stewart sang a duet with an
ADX-extracted Ella Fitzgerald vocal
on his Christmas 2012 album. In Jan-
uary 2013, Andrea Bocelli released a
duet with Piaf using her ADX-isolat-
ed vocal.
The company is now anticipating
public reaction to Verve Remixed: The
First Ladies, an album released July
9 by the jazz label that is wholly de-
pendent on ADX. The clear artistic
direction was, We want to use this
technology to see if we can broaden
the audience of our classic Verve cata-
log and bring it to younger genera-
tions, reports Dudemaine.
For now, Audionamix performs
the ADX work, pricing each project
according to complexity and the de-
sired quality level. But the potential
for partnerships and software prod-
ucts is significant.
Were really on that cusp of tran-
sitioning from being a research labora-
tory into a technology company, ob-
serves Dudemaine. By the end of the
year, Im sure were going to have some
pretty exciting things to talk about.
Audionamix
audionamix.com
Audionamix
(continued from page 33)
Its a
non-destructive
process where the
sum of the parts
is exactly equal
to the original.
Arnaud Dudemain
[ ]
the home optical AV receivers. This
year, around half of our revenue
will come from network-connected
devices. So in three short years, we
basically repositioned the business,
he says.
There will be more entertain-
ment consumed on mobile and
portable devices in the future than
has ever been consumed before, in
more environments. When you think
about the physical challenge from
an audio delivery perspective pre-
sented by smaller, thinner devices
no room for speakers, low power
and so onwe believe theres a tre-
mendous opportunity to enhance
the audio quality in that space.
As a supporter of multichannel
surround music even before DVD-
Audio had its brief moment in the
sun, the company released numer-
ous 5.1 titles on its audiophile DTS
Entertainment label. Although
quantity eventually trumped quality
with the massive consumer uptake
of Apples various iDevices, DTS
believes its in a position to reverse
that trend.
You have an oppor tuni ty
through the cloud, and through
portable devices, to re-inspire that
experience, and re-educate an en-
tire generation of consumers around
the idea that you can have quality
and convenience and portability in
a way that you never could before.
Increases in computing and
processing power, he says, really
allow you to deliver phenomenal
experiences via, say, headphones,
through our recent product called
Headphone:X, which can deliver
11.1 surround through headphones.
Headphone:X, Kirchner believes,
is going to be pretty impactful in
the marketplace as people discover
that they can have an out-of-head
entertainment experience with mu-
sic that is simply far more pleasing
and compelling than what theyve
historically been able to get.
But DTS is not just promoting
surround technology: It ultimately
is about enhancing stereo, as well.
Consequently, DTS has been hard
at work for some time making the
transition from optical media into
cloud-based entertainment delivery
and connected devices, which are ex-
pected to be selling at the rate of 1.5
to 2 billion annually in a few years
time, says Kirchner. So theres a
phenomenal business opportunity,
and a great need to work with artists
and content distributors, as well as
device makers, to deliver a very, very
high-quality entertainment experi-
ence across these platforms.
As content producers look for
a universal standard codec, DTS
believes it has the solution with its
DTS-HD Layered Audio technol-
ogy, introduced at NAB this year,
which enables any consumer device
to optimize playback from a single
encode. You can basically realize
the promise of what originally was
talked about in scaleable video, but
you can do it in an audio world with
very, very little overhead, delivering
the best possible experience for a
consumer in a volatile bandwidth
situation, says Kirchner.
DTS is also promoting its SRS
MDA (Multi-Dimensional Au-
dio) object-based spatial audio co-
dec as an open standard for film
soundtrack playback. Theres a
huge opportunity for us to play a
big part in not only setting the stan-
dard but ultimately providing the
most flexible delivery system to be
able to do that.
DTS, Inc.
dts.com
DTS
(continued from page 33)
Three years ago, we had basically no network-connected revenue. In
2009, it was pretty much all about the home optical AV receivers. This
year, around half of our revenue will come from network-connected
devices. So in three short years, we basically repositioned the business.
Jon Kirchner
[ ]
BY DAVE HILL
I
n the course of developing gear,
one sometimes does experiments
that do not work as planned. The
resulting issues include why are things
working the way they are and why the
device or algorithm sounds the way
it does. In the process of developing
a new Digital to Analog converter
(D/A), such questions arose.
The only changes being made at
the time that questions were raised
about were in the clocking circuits;
the analog circuits were not changed.
The clock jitter decreased from
around 13 ps to about 2 ps. To put
picoseconds in prospective, light trav-
els approximately 12 inches in 1000
ps; in 1pS of time, light travels 0.012
inches.
The measurements indicated that
the D/A was working correctly. The
first listening test did not go as one
expected. On the first listen, the old
circuit sounded better. After listen-
ing for a short time, with ones ears
learning what the sounds are, the ob-
servation changed. The old circuit
was not warmer; it was muddier, less
clear and did not image as well. This
raised a large number of questions
(some are technical and some have to
do with ear training):
What is the threshold point
where lower jitter no longer offers
performance improvement?
What does jitter sound like, can
mixes be influenced by a D/A with
higher than threshold jitter and how
do different frequency ranges of jitter
influence performance?
Can we be fooled into thinking
that a device which has poorer per-
formance is the better converter? If
so, there is an ear education problem
that needs to be addressed.
What are the limits of technology
and the level of audible artifacts?
An experiment was designed that
allowed making recordings with jit-
ter that was controlled and repeat-
able. An important part
of the experiment was
to be able to record
the files so they would,
when time aligned and
subtracted, result in an
audio file in which we
can hear only the jittered
component. The experi-
ment produced a set of
five files (the reference
and the files with in-
duced jitter) that can be
listened to with the set
of four difference-only
files.
The test was set up
with an Avid Pro Tools system using
digital I/O. The D/A used an ASRC
to remove any jitter in the audio be-
fore feeding it to an A/D and back
into Pro Tools.
The A/D was built so that lab
equipment could be used as the clock
source and this equipment could be
frequency modulated to produce jit-
ter. There were a great many prob-
lems in making this work, and once
the first audio files were recorded and
listened to, there was a new problem:
If one did not hear what was expect-
ed, was the experiment valid? It took
a fair amount of time and effort to be
able to state that the experiment was
[ August 2013 ]
BY STROTHER BULLINS
I
f youre a musician
which is the customer
Genelec envisions for its
new Music Creation series
the M030 is built more like
your engineers speakers
than your current monitors.
To my eyes, Genelecs seem
to be used by more profes-
sional studios and engineers
than any other recognizable
studio monitor. That means
something to me, especially
in an industry where theyre
not the top seller. Fellow
musicians will empathize
here, as I havent owned the
brand of most of my favorite
engineers or studios before,
though I can consider it now.
Genelec has approached its
new M Series in an admira-
bly attractive way for artist-level end
users ($695 each).
Starting with unique aesthet-
ics and physicality, the M030
and bigger sibling M040features
cabinetry that is not only green
but which also saves in manufac-
turing over the long term, based
upon Genelecs manufacturing de-
tails for the M Series, which
is a benefit ultimately passed
onto both the customer and
our Earths ecological future.
The companys trademarked
Natural Composite Enclosure
(NCE) material is made of
wood fiber and recyclable ma-
terial, which Genelec reports
is 50 percent wood fiber, 50
percent polymer/recycled ma-
terials, and also doesnt re-
quire a lot of handling during
manufacturing, which is done
in Finland.
Genelec provides addition-
al value in the M Series, like
efficient, cooler running (90
percent more efficient) Class
D amps, paired with a core
set of response-shaping con-
trols (sans the expansive and
expensive DSP of the 8200
line). The aluminum housing
of a flagship Genelec lineimag-
inably more durable for a studio-
hopping pro and offering a certain
aestheticisnt something M Series
customers will pay for. Now, they
dont have to with the styling of the
M Series molded enclosures. Here
are Genelecs own provided specs:
The M030 bi-amplified active
monitor utilizes a five-inch woofer
and 0.75-inch metal dome tweeter,
powered by 50 W and 30 W ampli-
fiers respectively. The free-field fre-
quency response is 58 Hz to 21 kHz
(+/-3 dB), while peak SPL is 103 dB
at one meter. The M030 measures
10 3/4 inches H x 7 1/2 inches W
x 7 1/2 inches D and weighs 8.8
lbs. The M040 bi-amplified active
monitor employs a 6.5-inch woofer
with a one-inch metal dome tweeter,
powered by 80 W and 50 W ampli-
fiers, respectively. The free-field fre-
quency response is 48 Hz to 21 kHz
(+/-3 dB), while peak SPL is 107 dB
at one meter. The M040 measures
13 1/4 inches H x 9 1/4 inches W x
9 inches D and weighs 15.4 lbs.
I used the M030s for hours
most days for two months, sitting
both on my studio desk, and in
innovations: the manufacturers view
inthefield
tech@
psn
[ 35 ]
soundTECHNOLOGY
A Matter Of Time
THE AUDIBILITY OF CLOCK JITTER
Genelec M Series M030 Bi-amplified Active Monitors
Genelec M Series Bi-amplified Active Monitors
(continued on page 38)
Dave Hill
(continued on page 39)
[ August 2013 ]
[ 36 ]
soundTECHNOLOGY
BY RICH TOZZOLI
S
ome reviews are easier than
others. Luckily, we get to use
a lot of what Ive previous-
ly referred to as the good stuff,
and Millennias HV-37 preamp fits
squarely into the good stuff catego-
ry. In my extensive use of the HV-37
in various acoustic recording applica-
tions, it gave me everything I needed.
Incorporating a pair of HV-35 500
series module preamps into a fully
self-contained single space rack unit,
the HV-37s layout is quite simple.
Included is a quarter-inch Hi-Z in-
strument input with a small gain
knob (15- 60 dB), followed by but-
tons for instrument input, 80 Hz roll-
off filter (3 dB per octave), DC cou-
pled ribbon mic mode (with 10 dB
gain boost), +48 VDC phantom pow-
er, polarity switch and 15 dB pad. Fi-
nally, there is a signal present light in-
dicating signal at -46 dB (green) or a
+22 dB peak (red). Double the above
description, add in a power switch
and a small power-on light, and thats
the front panel. On the rear, there is
XLR I/O per channel and the IEC
power cable connection for the in-
ternal power supply (120 240 VAC
operation) completes the package.
With its transformerless input and
ultra clean design, it provides just
what youd expect it to: an uncolored
and accurate signal path. When re-
cording, I use different preamps for
different purposes; it has to do with
the player, instrument, mic, room
and purpose. Sometimes a colored
preamp is just whats called for, and
other times invisible is needed. The
HV-37, in my opinion, is invisible: It
steps out of the way of the mic and
allows recording like no amplifier was
there. I like that.
Ive had a handful of projects re-
cently that called for an almost clas-
sical approach in purity of sound,
even though it wasnt classical music.
I broke out some of my favorite go-to
mics, including an Earthworks QTC-
1 matched pair and DPA 2011C
matched pair. Working in both my
Pro Tools HDX and UA Apollo mo-
bile rigs, I used the HV-37 on cello,
violin, overheads, acoustic guitars,
vibes, shakers, percussion and even
voice.
The noise floor of the HV-37 is
hardly even there; it is low enough to
use in super delicate recording situ-
ations. Sure, I used very good mi-
crophones and very good Mogami
cable (for both my HDX and Apollo
rigs) with fine players and exceptional
instrumentsthat never hurtsyet
the beautiful thing is those instru-
ments translated to the end recording
almost like I was standing in front of
them. This is thanks in large part to
the HV-37.
I realize I was probably supposed
to use the DI to make it official, but
heyIm focusing on the real-world
use of this preamp. Honestly, I didnt
need the Hi-Z input, so this applica-
tion would have been forced.
One suggestion for Millennia:
How about making the power-on
light a little bigger, or brighter? If you
arent standing directly in front of the
unit, its very hard to tell if this guy
is on until you hear the mics go live.
Its a minor issue, and if any sound
degradation was a trade-off, Ill just
look closer.
Overall, for a street price of under
$750 per channel, HV-37 buyers get
a high-end preamp that excels at cap-
turing acoustic music. The HV-37 de-
livers on all the adjectives you might
expect to hear; its clean, pure, invis-
ible and musical. It helps me make
great music and is now a valuable
part of my acoustic recording rig.
Millennia
mil-media.com
BY STROTHER BULLINS
Shures new KSM9HS handheld vo-
cal microphone offers users the de-
tailed, smooth and balanced sound
of the original KSM9, but with a
different pair of polar pattern selec-
tions, which I found to increase its
usefulness substantially. With the
KSM9s well-deserved status as a
premium handheld vocal condenser,
the primary question I had about the
KSM9HS was, are subcardioid and
hypercardioid patterns more useful
than super- and standard cardioid?
With solid dynamic cardioids (and
most likely SM57s) almost always
within reach, I believe so.
I used the KSM9HS in a variety
of common live applications: main-
ly lead male and female vocals, plus
close-miked acoustic guitars, guitar
amp cabinet, snare drum and percus-
sion (djembe and tambourine).
Especially in less dense, acoustic
instrument mixes, I really appreciated
the increased environmental air in
the signal from the subcardioid set-
ting. For a more crowded and ampli-
fied stage, the hypercardioid allowed
me to simply click a switch instead of
swapping in a different mic for more
gain before feedback. From a pure
flexibility standpoint, the KSM9HS
is an incredibly useful main live
microphone.
Vocalists generally seemed to like
their voices via the KSM9HS, and
it seemed to encourage confidence
at the mic. Most commented on the
crispness and detail it brought to
their performancesoverall, a full
and rich bottom with no overt boom-
iness, thanks to very little proximity
effect, and a notably open top end.
The KSM9HS ($874) is a great
tool for a first-grab live microphone
kit, and likely the premium live hand-
held condenser choice for the most
important artist on stage. I really like
the subcardioid pattern, which makes
the KSM9HS unique in the wide
range of common live condensers in
the marketplace. Paired with a half-
dozen SM57s, KSM9HS users will
have a solid collection of transducers
for most any gig, at any professional
level.
Shure
shure.com
Millennia HV-37 Two-Channel Preamplifier
Shure KSM9HS Dual-Pattern Handheld Condenser
Microphone
[in the field]
Millennia HV-37 Two-Channel Preamplifier
Shure KSM9HS Microphone
The HV-37, in my opinion, is invisible: It steps
out of the way of the mic and allows recording
like no amplifier was there. I like that.
[ ]
[ August 2013 ]
[ 38 ]
soundTECHNOLOGY
a variety of different locations, ap-
plying the corner and desktop EQ
settings when appropriate, with no
sub. Ive given them a full range of
input, too, from iPod and MacBook
headphone outs to high-quality bal-
anced analog summing of tracks Ive
recorded and am intimately familiar
with. I felt very comfortable with
these monitors all along, growing
more fond of them all the time.
Whether recording and mixing,
or editing, composing and writ-
ing, these small boxes offer all the
creative appeal needed for music
creation. I listened to them for en-
joyment, with a range of carefully
produced material, toofrom ear-
ly Beatles to Yeezus. I started with
common rock references, first be-
lieving with AC/DCs Shoot To
Thrill at 90 dB; the bottom end
is controlled, tight, powerful and
real. From there up, its what I recall
hearing in Genelec nearfields (they
definitely resemble their 8000 kin):
in general, detail in reverb tails and
the snare drum buzz that I almost
forgot was there. Basically, whatever
is in the mix, I felt I was hearing
more than usual using the M030s.
Genelecs new bass port design
the trademarked Laminar Integrated
Port (LIP, actually integrated into
the cabinet mold and utilizing its legs
and the gap between them)works
well; I was surprised that I didnt long
for a subwoofer using a speaker this
size. M Series design is neat-looking,
too: efficient and beautifully modern
European to its core. In our musician
= IKEA world, this appealing design
goes a long way.
Ive never used DSP monitors be-
yond the audition and review period.
Primarily as a self-recording musi-
cian, I never felt compelled to spring
for the feature, though I would al-
ways try to spend a bit extra on get-
ting sufficient response tailoring and
a more powerfuland hopefully bet-
ter overallmonitor for the money.
With the M030, Genelec includes a
substantial 80 W of Class D ampli-
ficationa more powerful Genelec
than I could have afforded before.
In that way, this particular Genelec
completely fits my bill, as I get the
attributes I can most appreciate and
more comfortably afford.
These M030 monitors look good
and feel substantialwith notably
tight cabinetsand the switches feel
high quality and sure. They seem
to be quite scratch resistant, too (a
pleasant benefit of new cabinetry ma-
terial) and the material allows the
M030 to be a Genelec with its trade-
mark neutral character. I expect the
cabinet material alone will be a topic
discussed in some circles, as these
speakers burgeon in the marketplace.
If these monitors set new trends,
and I expect they will, this Music
Creation Series mentality will influ-
ence more use of eco-friendly com-
posite materials, if not even the de-
velopment of similarly designed, and
similar-looking, cabinetry in our in-
dustry. I think thats a good thing.
Further, I appreciate the effort of
Genelec to provide, for lack of a bet-
ter phrase, a stripped down Gennie
Series for the guys in the band that
do know what the good monitors
sound like.
Genelec
genelec.com
Genelec
(continued from page 35)
If these monitors set new trends, and
I expect they will, this Music Creation
Series mentality will influence more use
of eco-friendly composite materials.
[ ]
[ August 2013 ]
[ 39 ]
soundTECHNOLOGY
valid.
Jitter can be caused by many
things in clock circuits. To keep this
relatively simple, we are not look-
ing at PLLs used in word clocks and
elsewherejust oscillator circuits,
the source of the clock. There are
many types of oscillators and a large
amount of information on the net, in
books and papers that a circuit de-
signer can make use of when develop-
ing a clock circuit. Some of the best
sources of information come from
amateur radio work, and in micro-
wave and space communication. Jit-
ter in clocking is not a new problem;
technical information exists showing
that since the earliest days of radio
and computing circuits, many very
good engineers have worked to inves-
tigate the sources and effects of jitter.
Looking at all of the data, you
learn many things that are surprising.
A pendulum clock is more accurate
than a quartz watch. It is possible
to make a quartz crystal oscillator
that will outperform most other types
of oscillators, including rubidium
and other atomic clocks, for short-
term accuracy (and the problem with
clocking for audio is short-term ac-
curacy). Rubidium is great if you
need to be remain within 10 ps in
10 daysa change that no one could
hear.
Digital audio clock variations (jit-
ter) on the order of a few picoseconds
or greater in a short time window,
like 10 ms or 100 ms, will be audible.
The largest cause of jitter is noise,
which can affect any clock, no mat-
ter the type of clock base (crystal,
atomic and so on). Noise increases as
frequency goes down, thus LF jitter is
the hardest to work with. A common
example is power supply noise; in
clock generation, power supply noise
is more critical than for mic-pres or
tape-head playback electronics.
The next problem is turning the
oscillator output to a clock waveform;
all approaches to this have issues. The
basic problem is the need to turn a
slow-moving sine wave into a very
fast, sharp, vertical-edged square
wave. Once we have a square wave
clock, the next thing to overcome is
jitter induced by logic circuits. Jitter
in logic circuits, depending on the
type of logic, can be very large. If you
are trying to achieve sub-picosecond
jitter, there are very few logic choices
and the better parts are very power
hungry and costly.
If the jitter is low-enough level, it
will not be audible, but it is a level
versus frequency relationship.
The five jittered audio files have
been online since June. The phase-
canceled (subtractive) files are now
available. Some were played at Audio
Days in Paris and the AES Conven-
tion in Rome. Listen to the source
files to form an opinion first, then lis-
ten to the phase-canceled files. Think
of what you might feel compelled to
do with an EQ to change the sound
of the jittered source. What is the re-
sult of playback on a very low jitter
playback system? The effect of jitter
does not sound like what most people
think. If one can draw any conclusion
from these experiments, it is that we
all need ear training when it comes to
recognizing new problems; education
will help everyone.
Innovations
(continued from page 35)
What is the threshold
point where lower
jitter no longer
offers performance
improvement?
Dave Hill
[ ]
THERES MORE4Hear the audio
files via prosoundnetwork.com/
aug2013.
[ August 2013 ]
Focusrite iTrack Studio
Focusrite has announced the iTrack Stu-
dio kit, which combines the companys
iTrack Solo computer audio interface
with closed-back monitor headphones,
condenser microphone, XLR mic cable,
and a long 30-pin device link cable.
Designed for recording
music on the Apple iPad,
the iTrack Studio in-
cludes a CM25S studio
condenser mic, XLR
cable and HP60S closed-
back studio headphones. It re-
cords 24 bit, 96 kHz, and features Focusrites digital conversion technology.
The 1.2m Device Link cable connects directly to the iPad with a 30 pin cable,
and can also connect to the iPad 4 and iPad mini via a lightning adapter.
Apple Logic Pro X
Apples long-awaited Logic Pro X features a new
interface, as well as a number of new creative tools
for musicians and an expandable collection of instru-
ments and effects. Among the new features is Drum-
mer, a virtual session player that automatically plays
along with a song in a variety of drum-
ming styles and techniques; and
Flex Pitch, an integrated
pitch editing feature for
audio recordings. Apple
also introduced the new
Logic Remote, a new way to play and
control Logic Pro X from an iPad.
Drummer is powered by the performances and sounds of session play-
ers and recording engineers, including mixer/producer Bob Clearmountain
(Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Simple Minds, Crowded House, David
Bowie). Flex Pitch helps users fix out-of-tune vocals and change the melodies
of recorded audio by manipulating individual notes within an audio waveform.
Track Stacks lets users organize and collapse multiple tracks into one, or can
be used to create layered instruments. Smart Controls allow users to manipu-
late multiple plug-ins and parameters at once.
Sony Sound Forge Pro 11, SpectraLayers
Pro 2
Sony Creative Software
has upgraded its Sound
Forge Pro 11 and Spec-
traLayers Pro 2 soft-
ware applications.
Sound Forge Pro 11
has received additional
new elements includ-
ing reportedly more ef-
ficient recording and
processing workflows
and new signal and effects processing plug-ins. SpectraLayers Pro 2 offers new
spectral casting and molding for layering, a new shape tool to extract drum
sounds, frequency range display options, new looping features for playback,
and new resampling and remixing options. Also, while Sound Forge Pro 11
and SpectraLayers Pro 2 are separate applications, they are now configured to
work with each other.
McDSP AAX Plug-ins
McDSP has released 64-bit AAX plug-ins (Native and DSP) for Pro Tools 11.
The Mac-only release (a Windows version will debut in the near future) re-
quires the iLok2, and is a free upgrade for McDSP v5 customers.
McDSP will continue to provide 32/64-bit AAX Native and AAX DSP
plug-in format support for Pro Tools 10 and Pro Tools 11 customers. Installers
will contain both 32 and 64-bit versions of the plug-ins. McDSP v5 plug-ins
include support for Intel-Mac systems running Mac OS 10.5.x (Leopard),
10.6.x (Snow Leopard), 10.7.x (Lion), and 10.8.x (Mountain Lion). The AAX
format is only supported in Pro Tools 10.2 and later versions (including Pro
Tools 11), on Mac OS X 10.7.4 and later versions.
MXL Revelation Solo Tube
Microphone
MXL has unveiled its new Revelation Solo Fixed Cardioid
Pattern Tube Microphone. The Revelation Solo mic is in-
tended to create a vintage tube sound, and features a cardi-
oid pattern, a 32 mm Gold sputtered capsule and an EF86
tube. This design is aimed for vocalists, and comes with an
aluminum flight case, shock mount, Mogami cables and
custom power supply.
The MXL Revelation Solo is available starting July 11,
2013. This is the third microphone in MXLs Revelation
family and will be on display during Summer NAMM at
booth #800, Hall A.
iZ RADAR, ADA II Power Supply
i Z Technol ogy has an-
nounced a new power supply
for its hard disk multi-track
recorder, RADAR 6, and its
standalone converter, ADA
II. This new power source is
said to be environmentally
friendly and reduce thermal energy waste.
Sonic Farm Creamliner, Silkwork
Sonic Farm Audio is now shipping two new products: the Creamliner and
Silkwork. The Creamliner is a stereo line signal conditioner, intended to im-
prove the sound of digital stereo busses and digital PA boards by running
the signal through a pentode, and, if selected, also the output transformer.
The result is said to be a warmer and somewhat glued stereo image, with a
smoother sound.
The Silkworm is a 500 solid state microphone and instrument preamp said
to provide a discrete, low-distortion, servo-controlled gain stage and trans-
former on both input and output. The output can be switched to a solid state,
balanced line driver, bypassing the transformer.
sound
[ 40 ]
PRODUCTS
Theres more information on all the products
featured at prosoundnetwork.com/aug2013.
Universal Audio Pultec Passive
EQ Plug-In Collection
Universal Audio and
Apollo Audio Interfaces
have announced the
Pultec Passive EQ Plug-In
Collection, which revisits
the Pultec EQP-1A and
MEQ-5, and adds the HLF-
3C filter.
The EQP-1A Program EQ
aims to bring out individual
frequency ranges without
significantly altering neigh-
boring frequencies. With the companion MEQ-5 Mid-Range Equalizer, users can tweak
the mid-range with band overlap and unique filter interactions. Finally, the HLF-3C adds
12 dB per octave low and high cut filters, providing retro-flavored tone sculpting.
The Pultec Passive EQ Plug-In Collection is available on the Universal Audio Online
Store. It is part of the new UAD Software 7.1, which also includes the Millenia NSEQ-2
Plug-In and new Flex Routing for the Apollo and Apollo 16 Audio Interfaces.
firstlook
[
studio
]
[ August 2013 ]
Yamaha StageMix 4.0 iPad App
Yamaha has released StageMix 4.0, an
update of its digital mixer control app
for the Apple iPad. StageMix allows
engineers to adjust console param-
eters and sound levels by wireless con-
trol, rather than at the mix position.
Designed for use with its Yamaha
CL, M7CL, and LS9 digital consoles,
the update includes new features such
as Dynamics Parameter Editing, Out-
put Port Delay Editing, Output Port Levels (Gain/Attenuation), PEQ Copy
and Paste, Phantom Power Switching, Mix Send Pre/Post Switching, HPF
Slope Parameter (CL V1.5 only), Retina Display Support, and other enhance-
ments. The App also provides features such as Mute Group Masters; Channel
Naming; Channel Pan; Send Levels in Meter Bridge; Tap Tempo; Selectable
Input and Output Meter Positions; and DCA Faders (CL and M7CL only).
Allen & Heath GLD-112 Mixer
Allen & Heath has introduced the GLD-
112, a larger version of its GLD-
80 mixer, with an extra bank
comprising eight control
strips, increasing the chan-
nel count to 28 fader strips
in four layers. The GLD-112 is in-
tended for applications where visibility of
more channels in a single layer is required and also
offers a dedicated shelf to hold an iPad running the free
GLD remote app which allows extended processing and custom views.
GLD-112 retains the same analogue-style channel processing control sec-
tion complemented by a graphical 8.4 inch touch screen as the GLD-80. Four
additional soft keys are included next to the faders for scene-controls and
other user defined functions. A fully-customizable drag n drop layout allows
assignment of inputs and mixes to fader strips. There are 28 fader strips in 4
layers, each with motorized fader, a channel LCD display which can be named
and color-coded, plus a rotary control for direct access to gain, pan and aux/
FX sends.
Line 6 Relay V75-SC Wireless System
Li ne 6 has rel eased
its new Relay V75-SC
14-channel digital wire-
l ess handhel d mi cro-
phone/transmitter with
super-cardioid dynamic
capsule. Designed for use with the XD-V75 digital wireless system, Relay V75-
SC is designed to isolate vocals while rejecting stage noise. The V75-SC is the
first Line 6 vocal wireless solution to be released under the Relay brand. The
XD-V75, XD-V55 and XD-V35 vocal wireless systems will also join G-series
instrument wireless solutions as part of the Relay family.
The V75-SC features 24-bit audio, 10 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response
and a dynamic range of up to 118 dB (A weighted). Relay V75-SC also offers
four microphone models, including three based on popular super-cardioid live
micas, allowing vocalists to choose a sound to match their voice, performance
style and venue.
Powersoft Ottocanali 4K4, 8K4, 12K4
Amplifiers
Powersoft has expanded its Ottocanali
series with the addition of three new
8-channel power amplifiers for fixed in-
stallationsOttocanali 4K4, Ottocanali
8K4 and Ottocanali 12K4. The three
amplifiers have been designed to work
at low or high impedance, can run at 2
ohms as a standard operational param-
eter and can power 70V and 100V dis-
tributed lines without the need for external transformers. Powersofts approach
to class D amplification gives the amplifiers high output power, up to 12000W
over eight channels for the largest model.
Every amplifier in this series has two universal switch mode power supplies
with PFC (Power Factor Correction) each independently powering a set of
four channels. In addition, patented SRM (Smart Rails Management) tech-
nology reportedly maximizes the efficiency of the system, reducing the power
consumption at any load and usage condition.
Meyer Sound Compass 3.0
Meyer Sound has released Compass
3.0, the newest version of its central-
ized platform for controlling the new
Compass RMS remote monitoring
system, in addition to the Galileo and
Galileo Callisto loudspeaker manage-
ment system and CAL column array
loudspeakers. Compass 3.0 is available
for free download from the Meyer
Sound website.
Compass 3.0 sports a newly streamlined remote monitoring control inter-
face that allows users to perform mute, solo and wink ID functions and moni-
tor more than a dozen loudspeaker performance parameters. Compass RMS
supports both Windows and Mac operating systems and is backwards compat-
ible with all Meyer Sound loudspeakers equipped with an RMS module. Use
of Compass RMS with the Compass 3.0 software requires RMServer, the new
purpose-built network hardware that hosts the loudspeaker status reporting
functions.
Ashly Audio Compass Control Processors
Ashly Audio has made all its processors and amplifiers with Ethernet or RS-
232 control capability compatible with Key Digitals Compass Control Tech-
nology. This addition allows end users to control the Ashly products from an
iPad, iPad Mini, iPhone or iPod Touch wireless device.
The Ashly Audio products that integrate with Compass Control include the
ne24.24M modular matrix processor; the ne4400, ne4800, and ne8800 pro-
cessors; the Protea 3.6SP and 4.8SP processors; the ne800, ne1600, ne2400,
ne4250, and ne8250 amplifiers; the nXe and nXp amplifiers; and all Pema
integrated processor/amplifiers.
RCF SUB 8004-AS Subwoofer
RCF has debuted the SUB
8004-AS subwoofer, featuring a
high power, hypervented 18-inch
woofer with four-inch inside/
outside voice coils. The unit is
powered by a 2,500 watt digi-
tal amplifier module loaded in
a separate chamber in the rear
of the box. It is capable of pro-
ducing 136 dB max SPL and the input board includes volume control, signal,
power and limiter LEDs, deep/punch switch, high pass, phase, and cardioids
switches and delay control.
[ 41 ]
soundPRODUCTS
Vue Audiotechnik al-8 Line
Array
Vue Audiotechnik has unveiled its new al-8 Compact
Line Array System, available starting this fall. The al-8 is
the second member of Vues al-Class, and joins the al-4
Subcompact Line Array System introduced earlier this year.
Like its smaller sibling, the al-8 utilizes beryllium compres-
sion drivers, Kevlar/Neodymium transducers, onboard net-
working, and full compatibility with VuePoint beam steering
technology and SPL and coverage control.
The al-8 system components include flying, transport and
handling accessories, the al-8 acoustic element, and the rack-
mount V6 Systems Engine, which provides system amplification, DSP and networking
capabilities via the SystemVUE control software. The al-8 acoustic element houses
a pair of proprietary 8-inch LF transducers with large 3-inch voice coils. The 2U rack-
mount V6 Systems Engine will tri-amp up to four al-8 acoustic elements. The V6 also
houses a 64-bit DSP engine.
firstlook
[
sound reinforcement
]
[ August 2013 ]
QSC KLAs
Revitalize
Church
elkhart, inRestored after a fire, the
First Baptist Church of Elkhart, IN now
houses a QSC (qsc.com) system of 13
KLA12s, a pair of KLA181 subwoofers,
four KW181 subs and a pair of K8
front fills in its sanctuary, installed by
CSD Group Inc. of Ft. Wayne, IN.
JBL Energizes
Emporium
Festival
nijmegen, netherlandsDutch
rental company Story Sound
recently provided audio for the
Emporium Festival in Nijmegen, The
Netherlands, fielding JBL (jblpro.com)
VTX Systems throughout the nine
stages on site, with 24 V25 line array
elements for the main stage, and 16
for each smaller stage.
Renkus-Heinz
Parks At Parker
Church
anniston, alOxford, AL-based
Sound Solutions has installed Renkus-
Heinz (renkus-heinz.com) Iconyx
digitally steerable column arrays in
the 300-seat sanctuary of the Parker
Memorial Baptist Church, with a
single pair of IC24-R-II columns cover-
ing the space.
D.A.S. Is Off To
The Races
yonkers, nyThe new Dan Rooneys
Caf & Bar restaurant at the Empire
City Casino at Yonkers Raceway was
recently outfitted with one D.A.S. Audio
(dasaudio.com) LX-212A sub bass sys-
tem, four Convert 12A array enclosures,
and two Road 12A stage monitors.
Crown Goes To
The Movies
struer, denmarkThe Danish Cinema
Apollon in the town of Struer recently
upgraded its sound system by installing
a Dolby Atmos surround sound system,
powered by Crown (crownaudio.com)
DriveCore Install (DCi) Series amplifiers.
SpectraFoo for
Rascal Flatts
new york, nyRascal Flatts FOH
engineer Jonathan Loeser has been
using Metric Halo (mhlabs.com)
sound analysis software, SpectraFoo,
paired with a Metric Halo LI0-8 inter-
face, at each stop on Rascal Flatts
current arena tour.
briefs
sound
[ 42 ]
REINFORCEMENT
BY KELLEIGH WELCH
NEW YORK, NYEach summer, New
York Citys classical music enthusiasts
eagerly await the start of the New York
Philharmonics annual Concerts in the
Parks, a free concert series that brings
the talents of the orchestra to each of
New York Citys five boroughs.
Started in 1965, Concerts in the
Parks transforms the outdoor setting
of Central Park in Manhattan for two
nights, and for one night each in Pros-
pect Park in Brooklyn and Van Cort-
landt Park in the Bronx, into a full out-
door concert venue. On hand mixing
at Front of House is New York Philhar-
monics FOH engineer, Larry Rock.
One of Rocks greatest challenges
when mixing the orchestra is ampli-
fying the sound so that the shows
60,000 spectators get as close to
the acoustic experience a possible.
In my case, I need to be sensitive
to what the sound of the orchestra
should be, Rock said. The stage
area provides no acoustical support,
so generating it artificially in terms of
balance is a challenge.
For these outdoor shows, the phil-
harmonic performs on a flat stage
with no amphitheater setup. For
large audiences and especially in this
area where people are accustomed to
amplified sound, I have to create the
sound of the symphony orchestra; its
not just reinforcing, said Rock.
To help project the sound across
Central Park, Yonkers, NY-based
Sound Associates provided two hangs
of Meyer Sound Leo line array loud-
speakers for the sides of the stage,
along with delay towers set up every
200 feet, each equipped with Meyer
M3D and Milo speakers.
The idea is that if youre way
back in the field, youre hearing one
sound; each speaker is time aligned
BY CLIVE YOUNG
TARRYTOWN, NYWhen it comes to
colorful local history, Tarrytown has
plenty to spare. Located an hour north
of New York City, the small Hudson
River town at one end of the Tappan
Zee Bridge was the site of a major Rev-
olutionary War incident, when Ma-
jor John Andre was arrested as a spy;
was the village Ichabod Crane rode
through in the fictional Legend of Sleepy
Hollow; and has been called home by
the likes of John D. Rockefeller, Bruce
Jenner, Mark Twain and Cab Calloway.
It also happens to be where I grew
up, and for a media-obsessed kid,
one of the most interesting remnants
of Tarrytowns history was the Mu-
sic Hall, an 860-seat venue built in
1885 that a century later was a rarely
used rental house. Built by chocolate
manufacturer William Wallace, the
imposing building with its beautiful
Queen Anne brick faade had hosted
the likes of Mae West and Woodrow
Wilson in decades past, but had been
converted into a movie theater that
closed in the mid-Seventies, when it
was nearly turned into a parking lot.
Placed on the National Register
for Historic Places in 1980 and envi-
sioned as a potential cultural destina-
tion, the Music Hall initially struggled
to come back (and indeed continues to
be restored to this day, thanks to dona-
tions), but now hosts a robust, eclectic
line-up of artists year-round. Just one
recent month saw the Music Hall pres-
ent no less than 16 shows, with acts
like singer/songwriter Aimee Mann, in-
die rockers Fountains of Wayne, kiddie
songstress Laurie Berkner, maverick
film director John Waters, R&B legend
Smokey Robinson, The Daily Shows
John Oliver, jazz master Gato Barbieri
and others. To say it offers something
for everyone is an understatement.
Providing sound for all those
events is Boulevard Pro (Ridgefield
Park, NJ), the Music Halls first-call
audio vendor, which brings in a va-
riety of control gear and backline for
each show, running sound through the
house PA. The biggest consideration
was that everything had to be self-
powered because theres no room,
said Bjrn Olsson, executive direc-
tor of the Music Hall. We installed
a Meyer Sound rig, and we bring in
a L-Acoustics self-powered monitor
system most times because theres no
place for amp racks in the wings. Its
a very good system; theyre pretty du-
rable because theyve had every kind
of show possible go through them, 200
shows a year, and Ive never seen them
fail.
The Meyer system in question
is an M2D compact curvilinear ar-
ray, backed up by HP-700 subs and
M1Ds, purchased through Sound
Associates in Yonkers, NY. Because
the aging venue cant support a
flown system, the M2Ds are ground-
stacked, with five placed upon a sin-
gle sub on each side of the stage. The
bottom three boxes per side fill the
orchestra, the top boxes fill the bal-
cony seating, and its all been tuned
with Meyer Galileo software.
While the wood-and-plaster venue
was built in a time before electric am-
plification, Anthony Cioffi, Boulevard
Pros owner and director of produc-
tion, suspects thats part of why its
such a good-sounding room: Back
then, it was vaudeville and com-
munity gatherings, and all that was
Classical Concert at the Center of it All
The Sound of Tarrytown
Thousands flocked to Central Park in July to hear Mariah Carey perform with the New York
Philharmonic. Audio provider Sound Associates fielded a sizable Meyer Sound system for the
main PA and delay towers.
(continued on page 52)
(continued on page 57)
Boulevard Pros Anthony Cioffi mans a
Yamaha PM5D at the Tarrytown Music Hall.
[ August 2013 ]
Fleetwood
Mac
Doesnt
Stop
BY LARRY JAFFEE
At a November 1979 New York
press conference, attended by this
reporter, to promote the release of
Fleetwood Macs then new album,
Tusk, bassist John McVie refuted
a rumor that the band was on the
verge of breaking up: Were doing
all right, but I dont see Fleetwood
Mac in wheelchairs playing Rhian-
non.
Theyre not getti ng car ted
around yet, but over 30 years later,
Fleetwood Mac remains a major-
league concert draw for Baby Boom-
ers, and as such, the band had so
much gear that the 49-city U.S. leg,
which began in April and ended in
July, required a dozen 53-foot trail-
ers to carry equipment for every
stop, including the June 22 show at
the Jones Beach Amphitheatre in
Wantagh, NY. As it has for decades,
Clair [Lititz, PA] provided audio for
the bands journey.
The 2013 tours FOH engineer
was Dave Kob, who was a system
engineer on Fleetwood Macs Ru-
mours tour in 1978. The main moni-
tor engineer was Dave Coyle, who
found invaluable having at his dis-
posal Kobs deep-rooted knowledge
of the bands live sound tastes. Coyle
mixed on stage for the girls, mean-
ing Stevie Nicks, but also backup
singers Sharon Celani and Lori
Nicks. He says Nicks directed him
to listen to the bands studio al-
bums to hear what it should sound
like. Coyle worked one Fleetwood
Mac show in 2009 as a fill-in moni-
tor engineer, and then was asked to
work a Nicks solo tour. Hes been on
the 2013 Fleetwood Mac tour from
its start.
The other monitor engineer,
Ed Dracoules, handled the bands
main guys, including Bucking-
ham, Fleetwood, and McVie, while
Coyle also mixed the bands two also
male backline musicians: keyboard-
ist Brett Tuggle and second guitarist
Neale Heywood. The twin monitor
boards were both DiGiCo SD10s.
The monitor set-up used a com-
bination of in-ear monitors and
wedges. Nicks has been using Fu-
ture Sonics MG5Pros for a little
over a year. Stevie likes how the
Future Sonics have a real driver, a
real speaker, while Mick and Lind-
sey like loud wedges, Coyle ex-
plained, adding that the lead vocalist
also pays a lot of attention to the
FOH mix. He characterized the ef-
fects as being pretty simple. Luckily
in the 1970s, they didnt have a lot
of effects, Coyle quipped. Theyre
a straight-forward rock band.
The Jones Beach show was one of
three outdoor shows on the 49-date
tour, the others being Comcast Are-
na in Mansfield, MA, and the Hol-
lywood Bowl. The change, however,
was welcomed by Kob at the FOH
position.
Everything changes for an out-
door show, said Kob. Indoors
shows are way more reverberant.
I use my effects a lot more when
Im outside. Still, he said the end
goal was the same: Translate out
here what theyre playing on stage.
This is such a different band than
what recorded Rumours 35 years ago.
Theres no comparison. They were
basically folk-rock then and a little
left-over blues from the old Fleet-
wood Mac/Peter Green days. Now
its louder, a different feel. It rocks
more now than in 1978. Thats what
it evolved into.
Kob explained his involvement
with the band when it was at its re-
cord-selling peak. Richard Dashut,
who was the engineer on Rumours,
mixed their first two tours [with the
Buckingham/Nicks lineup], and I
was a system engineer. It was a very
long tour. My first tour mixing for
them was Mirage (1982). Then I had
a long hiatus with them, and I was
doing other stuff [including tour-
ing with Madonna, The Eagles, The
Who, and Page & Plant, among other
notables]. I didnt work with Fleet-
wood Mac again until The Dance in
1997. I didnt hear from them again
until 09, when I did the tour with
them four years ago. And here we are
again. So its only been four tours,
but spanning over 32 years.
Did all that historical knowl-
edge help with anything that might
come up in 2013? You know what
youre getting into in advance, Kob
laughed. I know them all individ-
ually, so that always helpsfamil-
iar face and all that. I do most of
Stevies solo stuff and have done so
for years, including Nickss Jones
Beach show last year in the rain.
Crew chief Dave Moncrieffe
commented, Working with Dave
Kob is always a pleasure, not only
for his Old School view on system
alignment and equalization, but also
for his ability to mix his artists true
to their sound. Plus Dave is a blast
to be around and a very accom-
plished fisherman.
In the 32 years that Kob has
worked with Fleetwood Mac, have
both the FOH engineer and the
band kept up with technological
advancements in live sound? Ko-
bs laughed again, noting that while
he had a digital Avid Venue Profile
sidecar, his focus was the Yamaha
PM5000 desk. Im using an analog
board; Im an endangered species
out here, but I much prefer analog.
Digital takes the fun out of mixing;
its more like operating a lighting
desk. Its a disconnect that prefer
not to do if I can help it, but I can
mix shows on digital boards.
[ 44 ]
LIVESOUNDshowcase
On the recent Fleetwood Mac tour, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham sang into Beyerdynamic TGX-80 and Audio-Technica AE6100 vocal
mics, respectively.
P
H
O
T
O
B
Y

G
R
E
G

C
R
I
S
T
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(continued on page 46)
Dave Kob, FOH engineer on the recent Fleetwood Mac tour, first toured with the band as its
system engineer on the Rumours tour in 1978.
P
H
O
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O

B
Y

L
A
R
R
Y

J
A
F
F
E
E
The vocalists were not using
wireless mics, which Kob noted was
a rarity these days. Nicks and the
backup vocalists used Beyerdynamic
TGX-80 handhelds, while Buck-
inghams voice was captured via an
Audio-Technica AE6100. It came
from his solo tours, and I didnt
change it; changing things with Ste-
vie takes a while, too. It took me a
year and a half to get her to try the
TGX-80 and like it.
The 16-speaker full PA system,
based around Clair i-5 line array
boxes and supplemented by side
hangs, didnt require any ground
subs. The one thing I really like
about i-5 is the low-end cabinet that
hangs right with the array, said
Kob, who added that he likes to
tune the PA to Roxy Musics Avalon.
Those Bob Clearmountain [mixed]
tracks are absolute classics.
Preparing for the tour involved
a month of band rehearsals, includ-
ing two weeks of full production re-
hearsals in LA at a Sony soundstage
in Culver City. Generally, the tour
had been going quite smoothly. Its
a much better vibe than it was four
years ago for lots of reasons, said
the engineer. Theyre selling more
tickets, theyre playing better, theyre
getting along better. It comes down
to everybody else.
Moncrieffe points out that after
the final U.S. date on July 6 in Sacra-
mento, the tour takes off some time
before hitting Europe and then Aus-
tralia; the first European date is Sept.
20 in Dublin. Its all a long way from
the rambling, 7-minutes-plus tale
Nicks told the audience that evening
(and indeed, every night of the tour)
about how she and Buckingham
joined Fleetwood Mac. At Jones
Beach, Nicks ended by asking the
guitarist if she got the story right,
and he pointed out shed omitted a
key element to the story: Fleetwood
called Buckingham to join them,
and it was Buckingham who said the
two of them were a package deal.
Nicks offered a belated thank
you to her former boyfriend for in-
sisting that they take your hippie
girlfriend too, but not wanting John
McVie to be the forgotten man, add-
ed the bass player suggested back in
75 gruffly that they keep the girl.
And the rest is history, as they say.
Clair
clairglobal.com
Caption 3: On the Fleetwood Mac audio crew were (l-r): Ricky Avila (PA tech), Hope Stuemke (PA tech), Donovan Friedman (systems
engineer), Meg Tempio (monitor tech), Dave Coyle (monitor engineer) and Dave Moncrieffe (crew chief).
[ August 2013 ]
[ 46 ]
LIVESOUNDshowcase
Fleetwood Mac
Clair (Lititz, PA)
VITALstats
FOH Engineer:
Dave Kob
Monitor Engineer:
Ed Dracoules, Dave Coyle
Crew Chief:
Dave Moncrieffe
Systems Engineer:
Donavan Friedman
Techs:
Ricky Avilia, Meg Tempio, Hope
Stuemke
FOH Console:
Yamaha PM5000; Avid Venue Profile
Monitor Console:
DiGiCo SD10; Avid Venue Profile
House Speakers:
Clair i-5, i-5b, BT-218 subs, iMicro
front fill, i-DL
Monitor Speakers:
Clair 12AM, ML-18, R-4III sidefill
Personal Monitors:
Shure PSM 1000
House Amplifiers:
Crown MA3600VZ
Monitor Amplifiers:
Crown MA3600VZ
FOH Equipment/Plug-Ins:
Summit TLA-100A; Yamaha SPX2000;
Lexicon 480L; Bricasti M7; Eventide
Eclipse; Aphex 612; Tube Tech CL-2A
Monitor Equipment/Plug-
Ins:
Crane Song Phoenix; TC Electronic
6000; Yamaha SPX990, SPX1000;
Summit TLA-100A
Microphones:
AKG 414, 451; Audix D4, SCX25A;
Audio-Technica AE6100; Shure
SM58, SM57, Beta 91A, Beta 98AMP,
KSM313/NE, UR Series; Beyerdynamic
TG-X 80, TG D52d; Countryman DI
Fleetwood Mac
(continued from page 44)
Im using an analog board; Im an
endangered species out here, but
I much prefer analog. Digital takes
the fun out of mixing; its more
like operating a lighting desk.
Dave Kob, FOH engineer, Fleetwood Mac
[ ]
P
H
O
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O
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D
I
T
:

T
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Y
A

M
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R
O
THERES MORE 5 See fan-
shot video of Fleetwood Mac
drifting through Sara at
Jones Beach Amphitheatre at
prosoundnetwork.com/aug2013.
[ 48 ]
centerSTAGE
TOP 10 TOURS OF THE MONTH
LEGEND: (he) house engineer. (ahe) asst house engineer. (be) bands house engineer. (me) monitor engineer. (ame) asst monitoring engineer. (bme) bands monitor
engineer. (se) systems engineer. (ae) asst engineer. (tech) technician. (cc) crew chief. HC: house console. MC: monitor console. HS: house speakers. PMS:personal
monitor systems. MS: monitor speakers. HA: house amplifiers. MA: monitor amplifiers.
Top 10 grossing tours according to Billboard. Some tours did not report grosses for all shows; rankings may be affected as a result. Equipment and crew information
are provided by the respective sound reinforcement companies.
ACT / STATISTICS CREW EQUIPMENT
3 KENNY CHESNEY |
MORRIS LIGHT AND
SOUND INC.
John Mills (cc/se); Chris Rabold (be); Bryan
Baxley (bme); Phill Robinson (me-Chesney);
Justin Meeks, Phil Spina, Kyle Fletcher,
Tanner Freese, Preston Grey (techs); Jamison
Beck (patch)
HC: Midas Pro9; MC: (2) Midas Pro9; HS: 100+ Nexo STM; IEM: Shure PSM 1000 (Chesney), Sennheiser (band); HA: Nexo NUAR Universal
Amp Racks; HARDWIRED MICS: Heil; Shure SM57, Beta52, SM58; Sennheiser; Audio-Technica; WIRELESS MICS: Shure Axient with
KSM9HS capsule
5 JUSTIN BEIBER | CLAIR Gordon Mack III (be); Alex Macleod (me);
Arnie Hernandez (cc/se); Joel Merrill (mse);
Niall Slevin (rfe), Hank Fury, Banjamin Turner
(tech)
HC: Avid Venue Profile; MC: DiGiCo SD10; HS: Clair i-5, i-5b, i-3; MS: Clair SRM; IEM: Shure PSM 1000; HA: Lab.gruppen PLM
20000Q; MA: Lab.gruppen PLM 20000Q; HARDWIRED MICS: Shure; Sennheiser; Radial J-48; WIRELESS MICS: Shure UHF-R; Heil PR 30;
Crown CM-311; FOH EQUIPMENT: Waves Mercury
7 JASON ALDEAN |
SPECTRUM SOUND
Chris Stephens (he); Evan Richner (me);
Joseph Lloyd (pm); Jeremy Seawell (se); Ryan
Stotts (mtech); Bob Campbell (tech)
HC: Avid Venue; Midas 431 preamps; MC: Avid Venue; Midas 431 preamps; HS: d&b audiotechnik (64) J8, (8) J12, (16) J Sub, (24) B2, (8)
Q10; IEM: Shure PSM 1000; Ultimate Ears UE-7, UE-11; HA: d&b audiotechnik D12; HARDWIRED MICS: Audio-Technica AE6100, AE2500,
ATM350, ATM450, AT4050, AT4081; Shure SM57; WIRELESS MICS: Audio-Technica Artist Elite 5000 series wireless with T6100, T1000
transmitters; FOH EQUIPMENT: Lake LM44; ATI DDA 212XLR; Waves Platinum Bundle; Crane Song Phoenix; SPL Transient Designer;
Massey De:Esser, vt3; MONITOR EQUIPMENT: Massey L2007, vt3, De:Esser
9 BRUNO MARS | SOUND
COMPANY
Derek Brener (be); James Berry (bme); Erik
Rodstol (me/mtech); Jeff Hargrove (cc/se);
Mike Gamble, Austin Dudley (techs)
HC: DiGiCo SD7 with SD Racks; MC: DiGiCo SD7 with SD and Mini Racks; HS: Clair i-5, BT 218, i-micro; MS: Clair BT 218, CM-22,
BT 118; IEM: Sennheiser SK 2000, AC 3200 combiner; Clair antenna combiner, Helicals; HA: Lab.gruppen PLM 20000Q; MA: Lab.
gruppen PLM 20000Q; HARDWIRED MICS: Earthworks KP1, SR30, SR 40, DP30/C; Beyer M88, Opus 88; Shure SM 57, Beta 57a, Beta
91; Sennheiser e 945, e 602, MKH 416; Heil PR 30; Radial JDI; Audio-Technica ATM25; WIRELESS MICS: Sennheiser SK 2000; FOH
EQUIPMENT: Waves Mercury; MONITOR EQUIPMENT: Waves Mercury
2 THE ROLLING STONES
| CLAIR
Dave Natale (he); Robert Bull (me); Jo
Ravitch (se); Steve Carter, Robert Taylor (mon
techs), Thomas Huntington (PA cc); Matt
Patterson (RF/mon tech), Brandon Schuette,
Tim Joyce, Kory Lutes (PA techs)
HC: (2) Yamaha PM4000; MC: Midas Heritage 3000, Avid Venue Profile; HS: Clair i-5, i-5b, P-2; MS: Clair 12AM, R-4, i-5b; IEM:
Shure PSM 1000; HA: Crown MA-3600VZ; MA: Lab.gruppen PLM; HARDWIRED MICS: AKG; Shure; Neumann; Sennheiser; Beyer;
Countryman; WIRELESS MICS: Shure UR series; FOH EQUIPMENT: Aphex 612; Yamaha SPX-990; Manley EL-OP; iO processor, Alesis
ML-9600; Tascam CD-RW2000; Apogee Rosetta 200; Smart Research C2; TC Electronic 1128; MONITOR EQUIPMENT: TC Electronic 1128;
dbx 160a; Aphex 622; Dolby LM 44
4 BOB SEGER | CLAIR Bruce Knight (be); Peter Thompson (me);
Chris Nichols (cc/se); Matt Moser (ae), Tom
Ford (tech)
HC: Avid Venue D-Show; MC: Soundcraft Vi6; HS: Clair i-5, i-5B, i-3, i-DL, P-2, FF-II; MS: Clair 12AM; IEM: Shure PSM 900; HA: Crown
MA3600VZ; Lab.gruppen; MA: Lab.gruppen; HARDWIRED MICS: Shure SM91, Beta 57A, SM57; Audio-Technica AT4060, AT4047; Audix
D6; Sennheiser MD 421, E-904; Earthworks DP 25, DP 30; AKG C414; WIRELESS MICS: Shure UR; FOH PLUG-INS: Crane Song Phoenix;
Waves Live Bundle
6 ONE DIRECTION |
EIGHTH DAY SOUND
Mark Littlewood (be); David Martell (me);
Vince Buller; Chris Hall; Chris Delucian
(techs)
HC: Yamaha PM5D; MC: Yamaha PM5D; HS: d&b Audiotechnik J8, J12, B2; V8, V12; IEM: d&b Audiotechnik M4, Q Sub; HA: d&b
Audiotechnik; MA: d&b Audiotechnik; WIRELESS MICS: Shure
8 FLEETWOOD MAC |
CLAIR
David Kob (he); Ed Dracoules, Dave Coyle
(me); Dave Moncrieffe (cc); Donavan
Friedman (se); Ricky Avilia, Meg Tempio,
Hope Stuemke (tech)
HC: Yamaha PM5000; Avid Venue Profile; MC: DiGiCo SD10; Avid Venue Profile; HS: Clair i-5, i-5b, BT-218 subs, iMicro front fill, i-DL; MS:
Clair 12AM, ML-18, R-4III sidefill; IEM: Shure PSM 1000; HA: Crown MA3600VZ; MA: Crown MA3600VZ; HARDWIRED MICS: AKG
414, 451; Audix D4, SCX25A; Audio-Technica 6100; Shure SM58, SM57, Beta 91A, Beta 98AMP, KSM313/NE; Beyer TG-X 80, TG D52d,
Countryman DI; WIRELESS MICS: Shure UR Series; FOH EQUIPMENT: Summit TLA-100A; Yamaha SPX2000; Lexicon 480L; Bricasti M7;
Eventide Eclipse; Aphex 612; Tube Tech CL-2A; MONITOR EQUIPMENT: Crane Song Phoenix; TC Electronic 6000; Yamaha SPX990,
SPX1000; Summit TLA-100A
10 BLAKE SHELTON |
CLAIR
Jeff Pig Parsons (he); Brad Baisley (me);
Tim Holder (cc/se); Jared Lawrie (mse),
James Higgins (tech), Art Rich (pm)
HC: Avid Venue Profile (96 Ch.); MC: Avid Venue Profile (96 Ch.); HS: Clair i-5, i-5b, BT-218, i-dl, i-micro; MS: Clair SRM; IEM: Sennheiser
G3; JH Audio JH-13, JH-16; Aurisonics; HA: Lab.gruppen PLM 20000Q; MA: Crown; HARDWIRED MICS: Sennheiser e-901, e-902,
e904, e905, e906, e614, e602, e914, e935, 421; WIRELESS MICS: Sennheiser em2050 receivers with SKM2000XT, e535 capsule; FOH
EQUIPMENT: Avid VenuePack 3; Rane Serrato; MONITOR EQUIPMENT: Avid VenuePack 3; Crane Song Phoenix; McDSP MC2000; Flux EQ
1 TAYLOR SWIFT |
EIGHTH DAY SOUND
No audio information available due to press blackout
soundCHECK
[ 50 ]
A SAMPLING OF REINFORCEMENT
LEGEND: (he) house engineer. (be) bands house engineer. (me) monitor engineer. (bme) bands monitor engineer. (se) systems engineer. (ae) asst. engineer. (tech) technician. HC:
house console. MC: monitor console. HS: house speakers. MS: monitor speakers. HA: house amplifiers. MA: monitor amplifiers.
To be included in Soundcheck, fax, mail or email a current, typed list of acts, venues, personnel and equipment each following the above format. E-mail is strongly preferred. E-mail to
kwelch@nbmedia.com, fax: (212) 378-0470, or send to: Soundcheck, Pro Sound News, 28 E 28th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10016.
Bonnaroo Music and Arts
Festival
CROSSROADS AUDIO
Dallas, TX
WHICH STAGE, CAF WHERE, NEW
MUSIC ON TAP LOUNGE, SONIC
STAGE, PERIPHERAL STAGES
Manchester, TN
Chris Williams (he), Dave Bell (he), Philip
Opie Odom (he), James Magruder
(he), Moose Vanlerberghe (me), Bill
Larmour (me), Ed Spoto (se), Brandon
Bowman (ae), Brian Mace (tech)
HC: Avid Venue Mix Rack, Profile, Yamaha M7CL48, LS9-
32, LS9-16; MC: Avid Venue Mix Rack, Profile; HS: Meyer
Milo, Mica, Mina, UPQ-1P, UPJ-1P, 700-HP, 600-HP; MS:
JBL VP7212MDP, VRX915M, Sennheiser G3; HA: Meyer;
MA: QSC, Crown
Flatwater Music Festival DYNASAUR SOUND AND LIGHT
Hastings, NE
PRAIRIE LOFT CENTER FOR
OUTDOOR LEARNING
Hastings, NE
Don Robertson (he), Neil Brunkhorst
(me), Doc Ivo (se), Robby Collins (tech),
Heather Wenske (tech), Tim McNally
(tech)
HC: Midas Pro4; MC: Soundcraft 400B; HS: Bronto Boxes
with Triceratops; MS: IVO Studios, FTB-15; HA: Crown
Macro-Tech; MA: IVO Quadralux
Kings of the Mic Tour IRONMAN SOUND
St. Louis, MO
SCOTTRADE CENTER
St. Louis, MO
Bob Horner (he), Rusty Shaw (me), Kevin
Hayden (se), Ian Goodman (ae)
HC: Midas Heritage 3000; MC: Midas Heritage 3000; HS:
Martin Audio W8LC, W8LM, WSX; MS: Martin Audio
LE1500, WS218X, WS18X; HA: Lab.gruppen; MA: Crown
MA 36x12
Marshall Tucker Band B&K PRO AUDIO AND LIGHTING
Rock Hill, SC
SPRINGS PARK, SC Keith Ludlam (he), Butch Bailey (me), Bill
Orr (se), Christian Lopez (tech)
HC: Yamaha M7CL; MC: Yamaha LS9-32; HS: EAW KF730,
OAP Dual 18 Subs; MS: Radian Microwedges; HA: QSC
PLX3602, PL380, 3602
Raquel Rodriguez, Kimberly
Caldwell, Peaches & Herb
SPIDER RANCH PRODUCTIONS
Pescadero, CA
CIVIC CENTER PLAZA
San Francisco, CA
Pat Mckeown (he), Alex Moran (se),
Welmerink (me), Duane Klose (se)
HC: DiGiCo SD8, Yamaha PM5D; MC: Yamaha M7CL, Avid
Venue SC48; HS: McCauley MLA6, M88; MS: Adamson
M15; HA: Lab.gruppen; MA: Lab.gruppen
Rock on the Range LOGIC SYSTEMS SOUND &
LIGHTING
St. Louis, MO
COLUMBUS CREW STADIUM
Columbus, OH
James Ziggy Stull (me, ae), Chip Self (se) HC: Avid Venue SC48; MC: Yamaha PM5D-RH; HS: Nexo
STM M46, B112, S118, NUAR, Geo-T, CD-18
Southside Johnny & The
Asbury
BOULEVARD PRO
Ridgefield Park, NJ
SUGARLOAF PAC
Sugarloaf, NY
Anthony Cioffi (he), Joe Prinzo (bhe),
Larry Sharkey (me), Daryl Moore (se),
Vernon Perrone (se)
HC: Yamaha CL5; MC: Yamaha CL5; HS: L-Acoustics
dV-Dosc, dV subs, SB218, 108P; MS: L-Acoustics 112P,
SB15P; HA: Lab.gruppen; MA: L-Acoustics
Tony Bennett/JFK Profile in
Courage Awards
ALL TECH SOUND & PRODUCTION
SERVICES
Avon, MA
JOHN F. KENNEDY PRESIDENTIAL
LIBRARY
Boston, MA
Chris Rando (he), Tom Young (be), Rob
Gil (me), Carol Furguson (se)
HC: Yamaha CL5; HS: JBL VRX 932, SRX 718; MS: JBL STX
812M; HA: Crest 8200, 9200; MA: Crest 8200, 9200
Center of the Universe
Festival with One Republic
and Neon Trees
AXIOM AUDIO
Tulsa, OK
COX MEDIA STAGE
Tulsa, OK
Ben Bruce (he), Seth Weeks (ae), Jared
Breen (tech), Chris Loyd (tech)
HC: Avid Venue Profile; MC: Yamaha PM5D-RH; HS:
Meyer Milo; MS: JBL, Shure; MA: Crown XTi 6000
The Grand Del Mar Summer
Concert Series
MORNINGSTAR PRODUCTIONS
LLC.
Murrieta, CA
THE GRAND DEL MAR
Del Mar, CA
Jake Hendricksen (he), Michael Ruiz
(me), Alan Morgenstern (se)
HC: Avid Venue SC48; MC: Yamaha M7-48; HS: JBL
VRX 932LA, VRX918S, Radian RCS-218; MS: Radian
Microwedge; HA: Crown I-Tech; MA: QSC
Marshall Tucker Band PRIME TIME ENTERTAINMENT
Livermore, CA
CAPITOL THEATER
Sacramento, CA
Michael Oliver (he), Michael Grass (me),
Dave (bme)
HC: Allen & Heath GL4000; MC: Yamaha M7CL; HS: EAW
KF 750; MS: JBL SRX812M; HA: QSC; MA: QSC
Nathan Osmond PEARL PRO AUDIO
Godfrey, IL
TOWN AND COUNTRY FAIR
Bushnel, IL
Don Lanier (he), Steven Lanier (me),
Wynn Headbanger (se)
HC: Soundcraft Expression 3; MC: Crest HPW 44; HS:
Peavey QW 2, VR218; MS: JBL, Peavey QW, MR, ML; HA:
Peavey IPR 7500, CS 4080, CS 4000, CS 3000, CS 1400;
MA: Peavey IPR, CS 3000, CS 1400
Riverside Symphonia SKYLANDS PROFESSIONAL AUDIO
LLC
Blairstown, NJ
TINICUM PARK
Erwinna, PA
Mark Clifford (he), Greg McGrath (be),
Marc McCarthy (se), James Bellando
(ae), Taylor Clifford (tech), John Danaher
(tech), Nick Baughman (tech)
HC: Allen & Heath iLive T112, iDR-48; HS: EAW KF 730,
SB 730; MS: EAW LA-212, JFX88; HA: QSC PL380; MA:
QSC PL380
Solid Brass Band,
Independence Day Ignite
the Nite
GARY BUTLER PRO SOUND
SERVICES
West Palm Beach, FL
GREENACRES COMMUNITY PARK
Greenacres City, FL
Gary Butler (he), Mike Cherry (me), John
Eddins (tech), John Kerrison (tech)
HC: Roland VM-C7200; MC: Roland VM-C7100; HS:
Electro-Voice T-Series; MS: Electro-Voice Eliminator E; HA:
Mackie FR; Samson S1000
TGT and Fantasia RMB AUDIO
Raleigh, NC
RED HAT AMPHITHEATRE
Raleigh, NC
Robert Weddings (me), Roger Dennis
(se), Matt Johnson (ae), Cooper Cannady
(tech), Gaither Hawkins (tech), Wayne
Sowder (tech)
HC: Yamaha PM5D-RH; MC: Yamaha PM5D-RH; HS:
Martin Audio MLA Compact, DSX, W8LMD; MS: Martin
Audio LE1200, WS218X, W8T, WS18X, Sennheiser EW G2,
G3; HA: Martin Audio, Lab.gruppen; MA: Lab.gruppen
ACT SOUND CO VENUE CREW EQUIPMENT
[ 52 ]
soundREINFORCEMENT
so it all reaches the points at the
same time, Rock explained. Were
creating an illusion. Its an illusion
of sound reproduction and we try
to make it as realistic as possible.
Theres a notion that we have with
the orchestra to make it audible and
pleasing to the audience.
Simon Matthews, a system spe-
cialist with Meyer Sound, remarked,
Using the Meyer Leo system at the
Philharmonic was a unique experi-
ence for it, and it turned out to be a
great opportunity. In an environment
with that range (Central Park), we
were able to reproduce the frequency
with great clarity.
The miking of the philharmonic
also played a big factor for the perfor-
mances. Rock noted that every instru-
ment did not get its own mic; instead
he staggered the mics along each sec-
tion to pick up an even sound from
the orchestra: We put a mic on the
first stand where the principle player
is, and put a couple behind that one.
Also, because we dont have isolation,
there is bleed from every section into
every mic. So part of it is to work with
that and make it as organic as possible.
Balancing the strings versus the wood-
winds and creating a proper balance (is
also a challenge).
For the July 13, 2013 concert in
Central Park, Rock was tasked to mix
another performer on top of creating
an organic sound for the orchestra
pop sensation Mariah Carey. To ac-
tually have that kind of performer is
very unusual. The sound from her
band was more isolated, and we man-
aged fairly well, Rock said.
Unfortunately, because the show
took place outdoors, Rock had to
cancel soundcheck the day before be-
cause of rain, which made it more
difficult to prepare for the concert
with Carey. The orchestra accom-
panied her with arrangements made
specifically for this event to embel-
lish her sound, Rock said. Its an
unusual event for the orchestra to
accompany her, which is all the more
reason to have a rehearsal.
At FOH, Rock used a Studer
Vista console and recorded the per-
formance using a JoeCo BlackBox
recorder. For playback synths for
Carey, he used Avid Pro Tools.
As far as set up is concerned, the
key factor is how the system is put to-
gether. We have a stage box, a central
preamp rack with multiple mic pres
and analog to digital converters right
under the stage, Rock said.
Ultimately, Rock said his main
goal for the Philharmonic is to create
the natural orchestra sound without
overwhelming the audience. Todays
systems are powerful tools. Perhaps
in some situations, the high sound
pressure is desirable, but we dont
really want it to be painful, and it
shouldnt be. Part of my goal is to use
the best equipment and use it well
within its limits, rather than pushing
it too hard, Rock said.
Over the years, just given the kind
of society and culture we live with,
the level of amplification has gone
up. So were amplifying considerably
more than we did a couple of decades
ago, but the challenge is to represent
(the sound) without it coming out too
overwhelming and unnatural.
New York Philharmonic
Nyphil.org
Meyer Sound
www.meyersound.com
NY Philharmonic
(continued from page 42)
FOH/Recording Engineer:
Larry Rock
Systems Engineer:
Bob Hanlon
Techs:
Rob Gordon, David Bullard
FOH Console:
Studer Vista 8
House Speakers:
Meyer Sound Leo, 1100-LFC, Milo,
Mica
Monitor Speakers:
Meyer Sound Melodie
FOH Equipment/Plug-Ins:
Lexicon 300L
Microphones:
Schoeps MK 4, MK 4V, MK 21;
Neumann KM 184
VITALstats
THERES MORE 5 See fan-shot video
of Mariah Carey performing Looking
In with the New York Philharmonic in
Central Park at prosoundnetwork.com/
aug2013.
[ August 2013 ]
Universal Audio
has hired David
Lenat as Direc-
tor of U.S. Sales.
Lenat brings with
hi m nearl y 10
years of experi-
ence as Line 6s
Director of Sales,
where he special-
ized in E-Commerce. In his new posi-
tion, Lenat will manage all U.S. sales
representatives as well as spearhead the
domestic channel marketing activities
for Universal Audio. Were looking
forward to having David represent UA
in such an important capacity, says
Greg Westall, Vice President of Sales
and Marketing. His years of experi-
ence with dealers and customers make
him an incredible asset to the UA
team, and his expertise and leadership
in both sales and technology is a strong
combination that will help position us
for future growth and opportunity.
CADAC has named Richard Fez
Ferriday to lead its brand develop-
ment team. Ferriday brings years of
experience in the live sound produc-
tion industry to the position, hav-
ing more than 10 years with Midas/
Klark Teknik in the same role. Pat-
rick Almond, who was previously
responsible for CADAC marketing,
as Soundking Europe Marketing
Manager, is now appointed Assistant
General Manager for Studiomaster
and Carlsbro, focusing on the rees-
tablishment of the UK and Eire sales
and distribution of these brands and
their marketing activities.
TC Electronic has named Thomas
Lund CTO for Business & Produc-
tion, and Thomas Valter VP of Busi-
ness Management for Broadcast &
Production. Lund formerly held the
position of HD Development Manag-
er with TC Electronic. He was among
the first to document the sonic con-
sequences of the loudness wars in
music production, and for more than
a decade, has presented papers on
loudness and true-peak level at rel-
evant audio conferences around the
globe. Valter was formerly the HD
Business Manager at TC Electronics,
and in his new role, will be able to
focus entirely on developing business
strategies for the broadcast and pro-
duction segment.
RCF has added
Ken Voss as its
Manager of In-
st al l ed Sound
products. In his
new rol e, Voss
will also lead the
Media Relations
for RCFs U.S.
distribution. He
will work to help grow the RCF busi-
ness in contracting and installation
areas and develop go-to-market strat-
egies, increase product knowledge
and awareness and improve compa-
ny communications. Prior to joining
RCF, Voss served as an independent
manufacturer representative with Sta-
rin. He has represented RCF for 10
years now, and during his tenure he
was honored with numerous factory
awards.
Ger man audi o
console special-
ist Lawo AG has
hired Andreas
Hilmer as Di-
rector of Mar-
keting & Com-
mu n i c a t i o n s .
In his new role,
Hilmer will di-
rect all marketing
and communications strategies for
the Lawo group of companies. Prior
to joining Lawo, Hilmer led Rie-
dels Communications Marketing
& Communications department for
nine years.
Sensaphonics re-
cently hired Dr.
Heather Malyuk
as the companys
new audiologist.
Dr. Malyuk has
worked at Sensa-
phonics as a clini-
cal extern for the
past year, earning
doctoral student
of the year honors in audiology from
Kent State University. She is also an
accomplished fiddle and guitar player
who still gigs and teaches profession-
ally, specializing in Old Time Appala-
chian music. In her new position, Dr.
Malyuk will be running the Musicians
Hearing Clinic, seeing music clients
at local venues, and also seeing other
audiology patients.
Williams Sound has appointed Kent
Peterson to the position of Techni-
cal Sales Specialist. Peterson brings
more than 20 years of experience
in the audio and acoustics indus-
try, including recording studio man-
agement/engi neeri ng, i ndustri al
intercom systems design, and high-
performance audio system design
specification and installation.
David Lenat Ken Voss
Andreas Hilmer
Dr. Heather Malyuk
Thomas Lund Thomas Valter
Q: What is your new position, and what does it
entail?
A: My new position is Marketing Manager for
Cadac. My role is to help develop and build up-
on the brand identity and positioning of Cadac
with the pro audio market.
Q: How has your background prepared you for your new role?
A: I have spent the past 15 years with Midas, starting off as the Marketing Co-
ordinator working with Webby (David Webster) before he and Bob Doyle left
to start DiGiCo. It was during this time that we launched the Heritage series,
which included the Heritage 3000, the industry standard for concert touring.
During my time at Midas, we went through the hard transition from being
the market leader in analogue, to arriving quite late into digital world with
the launch of the XL8. So I am fully aware of the problems of moving into the
world of digital and the efforts that are required to convince people that our
way of doing things is the best way! Hopefully, between Fez (Richard Ferriday,
Cadac Brand Development Manager) and myself, we can bring the benefits
of hindsight gained from Midas, so Cadac can avoid a lot of the potential
problems.
Q: What new marketing initiatives are we likely to see from the company?
A: We want to become closer to our end users and listen to what they want.
This has always been a core value at Cadac and we intend to build upon this
philosophy. To help with this, we are currently looking for suitable premises
for a second office and demo facility in the middle of the country, to increase
our geographical coverage in the UK beyond the south east of England, and
the opportunities for international visitors to experience Cadac products.
We are also planning an end user training program for our distributors, and
improvements in technical support, with both Fez and Ben Millson (Cadac
International Sales Manager) working on that. We are also developing our
website and better exploiting all the marketing tools available to us.
Q: What are your short- and long-term goals?
A: In the short term, we intend to raise the awareness of the brand and get a
firmer foothold in the concert touring market. With the CDC four now ship-
ping and the flagship CDC eight scheduled to do so in September, we will
have the products to achieve this. In the longer term, we want to continue to
build up a strong and highly motivated distributor network, as we see this as
a vital way of growing and supporting the brand. It is crucial that the personal
relationships between Cadac and the end user are strong within each terri-
tory, and we see the distributor as key to this.
Our overall aim is for Cadac to become the driving force at the top end
of the pro audio mixing console market in all segmentsincluding theatre,
Cadacs traditional core business. Everyone at Cadac is extremely passionate
about the brand and what it stands for, and this has resulted in some radical
product concepts which will have a major impact on the market. To help with
this goal, the incredibly talented R&D team has been bolstered by an addi-
tional nine engineers since I have joined the company!
Q: What is the greatest challenge that you face?
A: The main challenge is going to be reminding people of Cadac and how
great these beautifully engineered consoles sound. The little Live1 analogue
desk sounds just like the J Type, and that is a phenomenal sounding desk. We
want people to try the consoles; the CDC eight has a unique user interface
which is incredibly easy to use and sounds fantastic. It is going to be an in-
teresting challenge, but because of all the people and passion involved, the
future is looking very bright for Cadac
60SECONDS
James Godbehear
Cadac
sound
[ 54 ]
PEOPLE
n Williams Sound has appointed Audio Gear as the companys new
representative for Southern California. Audio Gear will promote Wil-
liams Sounds full line of wireless communication technology from its
three offices in Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas.
n Bexels Technical Sales & Solutions business segment is now the first
authorized U.S. reseller of Lawo products. Lawo products will also be
incorporated Bexels Engineered Systems & Solutions business segment,
which designs and implements solutions for the broadcast industry.
nMiddle Atlantic Products awarded BC Electronic Sales as Commer-
cial AV Rep of the Year at a sales meeting held before InfoComm 2013.
BC Electronics represents Middle Atlantic for the Commercial AV mar-
ket in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Southern Illinois.
soundREPS
[ August 2013 ]
[ 55 ]
soundCLASSIFIEDS
recruitment
acoustical products
studio furnishings
To advertise in the classified section of
PRO SOUND NEWS
Contact Doug Ausejo at
(650) 238-0298 or dausejo@nbmedia.com
equipment for sale
For the latest news,
visit us online at
prosoundnetwork.com
Help Wanted - Director of Sales
Kaltman Creations LLC, the leader in RF solutions for pro-audio wireless is seeking a person to fill the newly
created position of Director of Sales.
The candidate for this position must have sales management experience in the professional audio equipment
markets and/or sales management experience in the test & measurement equipment fields.
As the Director of Sales, the hired individual will be required to develop and manage global resellers, reps, and
house accounts who address the concert and industrial productions markets, worship and theater markets, and
commercial install markets. The position requires an individual that can take charge and advance our Invisible
Waves pro-audio wireless solutions brand to the next level.
Position located at the main office near Atlanta, GA.
Please visit www.kaltmancreationsllc.com to view the Invisible Waves product line and then call Mark Kaltman
(678-714-2000 or email mark@kaltmancreationsllc.com) to discuss this opportunity.
Director of Sales, Canada
Meyer Sound Laboratories, Inc., a global leader in
loudspeaker innovation is seeking a senior level
Pro Audio Sales Director to oversee all Canadian
sales activities.
The successful candidate will have 7-10 years
of prior pro audio sales experience & strong
knowledge of Meyer Sound products.
To learn more about this exciting
position please visit
www.meyersound.com/about/careers/?id=281
ADVERTISER PAGE ADVERTISER PAGE
Pro Sound News (ISSN# 0164-6338) is published monthly by NewBay Media, L.L.C., 28 E 28th Street - 12th Fl, NewYork, NY 10016. Pro Sound News is available without charge in
the USA to qualified professionals engaged in sound recording, broadcast, video recording, audio-visual, sound reinforcement and associated business. The publisher reserves the
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Copyright 2013 by NewBay Media, L.L.C. PRINTED INU.S.A.
Acoustics First 8
Applied Electronics 1,47
Argosy Consoles 6
Audio-Technica 19
Audix 32
B & H 53
Bosch Communications 9
D&B Audiotechnik 38
DBX 27
Ebtech 30
Electro-Voice 9
Focusrite 13
Full Compass 18
Genelec 4
Kaltman Creations 43
Lectrosonics 10
Meyer Sound 59
Neumann USA 11
QSC 60
Radial Engineering 21,49
RCF USA Inc. 14
Sennheiser 11
Shure 7
Sony Creative Software 23
Sweetwater 17
Sweetwave Audio 46
Vintage King 20,25,52
Yamaha Commercial Audio 2,3
Yamaha Corporation of America 45
Yorkville 15
advertiserINDEX companyINDEX
The following companies are mentioned in this edition of
PRO SOUND NEWS. Use this index to reference your copy.
Ableton10; A-Designs...10; ADAM26; Adamson...16; ADX33;
AKG46; Allen & Heath...41; Amiga26; Analog Design Group30;
Aphex...46; API...24, 28, 30; Apogee10, 24, 32; Apple...5, 26,
30, 34, 38, 40, 41, 57; Argosy47; Ashly Audio41; Atari26;
Audinate...56; Audionamix33, 34; Audio-Technica...44, 46;
Audix46; Auralex Acoustics10; Avid...10, 24, 26, 33, 35, 36, 44,
46, 52, 57 Behringer...16; Bexel54; Beyerdynamic26, 44, 46;
Blue Microphones10; Bose12; Brent Averil24; Bricasti46;
Burl32; Cadac54; Cakewalk26; Calrec Audio5; Chandler
Limited10, 30; Clair46; Coherent Acoustics33; Community
Professional Loudspeakers12; Cotton Hill33; Countryman46;
Crane Song46; Creation Audio Labs26; Crown...42, 46;
Dangerous Music28; D.A.S.42; DiGiCo...16, 44, 46, 54;
Digidesign57; DTS Inc33, 34; EAR32; Earthworks26, 28;
Eventide...10, 46; Fairlight57; FiRe5; Focal10; Focusrite...26,
40; Genelec35, 38; Gibson Guitar12, 26; GML32; Gobbler10;
Grace Design26; Future Sonics44; Groovy Tubes26; Harman
Pro Group...5, 33; Icon Digital5; iZotope10; iZ Technology40;
JBL...42; JoeCo52; Klark Teknik54; Korg26; L-Acoustics...42;
Lawo54; Lexicon46, 52; Line 641, 54; Lynx Studio
Technology10; Maag Audio10; Magix26; Manley Labs...26;
Martin Audio...16; Maselec32; Mesa Boogie26; Metric
Halo....42; Meyer Sound Labs...1, 5, 33, 41, 42, 52; Microsoft...26,
30; Midas...54, 57; Middle Atlantic Products54; Miktek26;
Millennia Media...26, 36; Mojave10; Mogami36; MsDSP10,
40; MXL40; Neumann...52; NHT26; Overstayer10; Peavey...;
Pensados Place10; Phoenix Audio10; Powersoft41; Prism
Sound32; Quad Eight Electronics24; QSC...42; Radial...28;
Rascal Audio10; RCF41, 54; Renkus-Heinz...42; Riedel...54;
Riverside10; Rocket Shells; RODE Mics5; Royer26;
Schoeps52; Sennheiser...14, 26; Sensaphonics54; Shure...36, 46;
Sonic Farm40; Sony...26, 40, 46; Soundking54; SPL10; SSL24,
28; Stanton Group12; Starin54; Steinberg57; Studer33,
52; Summit...46; TC Electronic...46, 54; Tree Audio10; Tube
Tech46; Ultrasone Pro26; Universal Audio...26, 36, 40, 54;
Vintage King10; Vue Audiotechnik41; Waterland Design22;
Wave Distribution10; Waves...; Weiss32; Williams Sound54;
Yamaha...26, 41, 42, 46, 57
[ August 2013 ]
viewfromthe
[ 56 ]
TOP
BY KELLEIGH WELCH
W
hen the opportunity to join
Audinate as its CEO came
up in 2008, Lee Ellison
knew the company was good fit.
Audinate had already released Dante,
its patented media network solution
that has been adopted by numerous
audio manufacturers, and combining
that effort with the companys team
of designers made Ellisons decision
an easy one.
I had previously worked with Da-
vid Myers (co-founder of Audinate)
at another Australia-based company.
David and Aidan Williams, our other
co-founder, met me in Portland and
mentioned they needed a CEO, and
described what Audinate was doing.
Immediately, it became apparent that
the company had something special:
a team of incredibly bright people
with significant expertise over a broad
spectrum of IP technologies, Ellison
said. So when I considered the op-
portunity to join Audinate, we had
great people and great technology,
combined with a solution that solved
customer problems. It seemed like
the perfect ingredients for success.
As the developer of the digital
media network system Dante, Au-
dinate has grown as a well-known
collaborator with many equipment
manufacturers in the industry. Its
fantastic to see Dante installed with
our partners in major stadiums,
universities, hotels, the Olympic
Games, courtrooms and shopping
centers, Ellison said. Having said
that, I get just as much satisfac-
tion when I see a forum post from a
sound engineer who expresses how
great Dante is to use.
Prior to joining Audinate, Ellison
had worked in telecom and IT tech-
nology companies for 30 years, but
had little exposure to the pro audio
world. It wasnt until he was hired at
Audinate that he was fully introduced
to the industry.
I was indoctrinated into the
market. First, there was the annual
NAMM show, then ISE, and then
45 days later, ProLight & Sound. Af-
ter meeting hundreds of companies,
it was apparent that past network-
ing technologies were too complex to
setup and had limitations. Pro audio
companies developed legacy audio
networks. Audinate is a networking
company, not a pro audio company,
and that ties nicely with my past ex-
periences.
Based in Sydney, Australia, Au-
dinate was founded in 2006 and
stemmed from the Australian compa-
ny National ICT Australia (NICTA).
It has operations in Portland, OR and
in the United Kingdom, which pro-
vide sales, marketing and technical
support for those regions.
Being globally dispersed causes
some pretty horrific times for confer-
ence calls, Ellison said, but we have
a very committed team. We have 30
people in the company with one of
the industrys largest teams dedicated
solely to A/V media networking.
Since Ellisons induction to the
company, the company has released
new products hes particularly proud
of, including the end-point chip, Ul-
timo.
This will expand the market
for network audio, Ellison said. It
has been a lot of hard work by all
of us, but I am fortunate to be part
of the market success and to work
with our OEMs to build a recog-
nized Dante brand. There are about
150 Dante-enabled OEM products
now available, with hundreds in the
development pipelinesome pretty
significant brands who have yet to
be announced, that recognize Dante
meets their use cases across all mar-
ket segments.
Audinates initial focus was on
live sound, and in 2006, Dante was
used for the first time at a Barbara
Streisand concert, Ellison said. Since
then, the company has grown to ac-
commodate the commercial installa-
tion and broadcast markets.
We are also active with partners
in the emergency communications
and public address markets. In the
future, there will be the need for a
wide area A/V systems that are rout-
ed over Layer 3 IP networks. This is
why we are spending a great deal of
time in the IETF standards bodie
to make sure we can use RTP-based
standards in the future, Ellison ex-
plained.
Ellison noted that the company
keeps it focus on customers rather
than its competition, making sure to
constantly improve the companys
services.
Our attention is on our customer
needs and how to create and feature
rich capabilities in Dante. We con-
tinually get feedback from customers
who have implemented other net-
working technologies, that Dante was
the easiest integration they have ever
had, said Ellison. Our customers
realize that they cant do everything
in-house, and it is strategically better
to concentrate on where they can in-
novate and create value in their own
products.
Audinate is also constantly grow-
ing in its research and development
department. New capabilities are
being added to Dante to monitor net-
work status and performance, said
Ellison. Advanced technologies are
always being created, new standards
are constantly evolving and Audinate
will continue to enhance Dantes
toolkit.
Audinae
www.audinate.com
Making The Connection
LEE ELLISON, CEO, AUDINATE
Lee Ellison
Immediately, it became apparent
that Audinate had something special:
a team of incredibly bright people
with significant expertise over a broad
spectrum of IP technologies.
Lee Ellison, CEO Audinate
[ ]
AUDINATE PARTNERS
LICENSEES
Allen & Heath www.allen-heath.com
Ashly Audio www.ashly.com
ASL www.asl-control.co.uk
Atero Tech www.aterotech.com
Auvitran www.auvitran.com
Aviom www.aviom.com
Bitner Audio www.bitner-audio.com
Bosch www.boschcommunicatons.com
Bose global.bose.com
BSS www.bss.co.uk
Crest Audio www.crestaudio.com
Delec www.delec.de
DHD dhd-audio.de
Digico www.digico.biz
Electro Voice www.electrovoice.com
ESS www.essaudio.cn
Extron Electronics www.extron.com
Focusrite global.focusrite.com
Four Audio www.fouraudio.com
Harman www.harman.com
Inter-M www.inter-m.com
Jato www.jato.co.jp
JoeCo joeco.co.uk
Klark Teknik www.klarkteknik.com
Lab.gruppen AB labgruppen.com
Lake lake.labgruppen.com
Lectrosonics www.lectrosonics.com
Linea Research www.linea-research.co.uk
Link SRL www.linkusa-inc.com
Midas www.midasconsoles.com
Nexo nexo-sa.com
NTP www.ntp.dk
Open Access www.oa.com.au
Peavey www.peaveycommercialaudio.com
Peavey MediaMatrix mediamatrix.peavey.com
Powersof www.powersof-audio.com
PreSonus www.presonus.com
RTS www.rtsintercoms.com/rts/line
Sierra Automated Systems www.sasaudio.com
Shure www.shure.com
Solidyne www.solidynepro.com
Sound Devices www.sounddevices.com
Soundcraf www.soundcraf.com
Stagetec www.stagetec.com
Stewart Audio www.stewartaudio.com
Symetrix www.symetrix.co
Televic Conference www.televic-conference.com
TEQSAS www.teqsas.de
VUE Audiotechnik www.vueaudio.com
Xilica xilica.com
Yamaha www.yamahaproaudio.com
AUTHORISED IMPLEMENTERS
Atero Design www.aterodesign.com
ZP Engineering www.zpeng.com
done without amplification. Now
you have those natural acoustics and
they work to your benefit if youre
an engineer who knows not over-
power the room. We have the chal-
lenge of a small stage, so the moni-
tors can sometimes overwhelm the
front of house, but in general, most
people love our sound.
Sharing its walls with a number
of stores, restaurants and apart-
ments, the venue has a 100 dB limit
at FOH, which is appropriate for
the room, as well as most of the acts
that play there. We know that if
we book Todd Rundgren again, its
going to be a loud night, Olsson
laughed, but it should be in a way,
because thats what he does and
weve come to accept that. Still, we
try to keep it within 100 decibels,
not only for the neighbors but for
the integrity of the building; every-
thing starts shaking loose!
Because of the variety of shows
and events at the Music Hall, ranging
from rock concerts to dance school
recitals, the venue has its own mix-
ersa Midas Venice 320 and a Ya-
maha M7CLbut it still brings in
whatever a rider requires, such as
the Fountains of Wayne show, which
found Boulevard Pro fielding a Yama-
ha PM5D at the FOH position and a
CL5 for monitors.
Bringing in gear is no picnic,
however, since the load-in door
isnt at stage level; instead, its at
the back house left of the orchestra,
three steps above street level (theres
no nearby parking lot). Thus once
gear is rolled or lifted in, it has to be
rolled between irreplaceable antique
glass partitions, then down a 4-foot-
wide orchestra aisle to another ramp
to get it on stage. Once gear is up
there, it needs to be taken out of
cases and off wheels ASAPoth-
erwise its liable to roll right off the
traditionally raked stage.
Despite the Music Halls oddities,
its become a standard tour stop for
many acts, and that popularity has
only grown over time. In the 10 years
since Olsson came aboard, its budget
has grown from $130,000 to roughly
$3 million today and the number of
annual visitors has risen from 15,000
to 85,000. That influx of visitors has
in turn helped revitalize the towns
Main Street, as the venue generates
more than $1 million annually for the
community, in recent times helping
attract art galleries, restaurants and
even a high-end guitar boutique to
the area.
The good vibes that have extend-
ed out to the community, however,
are mirrored inside the Hall, too.
We work in a lot of venues, said
Boulevard Pros Cioffi, and this
place? Its quirky and nothing is ex-
actly perfect, but I like it. This is our
favorite theater!
Tarrytown Music Hall
Tarrytownmusichall.org
Boulevard pro
Blvdpro.com
flexible offline bounce functionality,
low-latency input buffering, dynamic
host processing and GUI enhance-
ments, including expanded metering
selectionswell, whats not to like?
As Rich Holmes, director of prod-
uct management for Pro Tools at Avid
Technology, stated during a roll-out
of version 11 to the press, Its hard
to keep technology thats 12 years old
moving forward. He was referring to
the lack of support in Pro Tools 11
for the 32-bit fixed-point architecture
of HD Accel, TDM and the Pro Con-
trol and Control|24 surfaces.
The online forums are currently
sagging under the weight of com-
ments being posted about that lack of
backward compatibility with its obvi-
ously popular worksurfaces. Accord-
ing to Neil Hester, one of the team
behind the Pro Tools Expert web site,
in an article posted in early August,
A thread was started on the DUC
[Avids online Pro Audio Community
site] by users to air their views (at
what has been dubbed a short-sight-
ed decision by Avid) that has now
turned into one of the biggest threads
Ive ever seen on the forum. It is now
pushing some 84 pages.
As Hughes notes, Pro Tools 11 has
discontinued support for what is now
considered a large format console for
the first time. But as he also notes,
these units were the first that Digide-
sign/Avid produced. And theres the
rub; how many software manufactur-
ers are able to support everything the
company has ever produced, forever?
For those willing to change, Avid
still makes plenty of control surfaces,
including a number originally devel-
oped by Euphonix, which the com-
pany acquired in April 2011, that are
arguably superioralthough obvious-
ly not, for some usersthan the older
Pro Control and Control|24 surfaces.
Meanwhile, other manufacturers are
releasing new products and new ver-
sions of software that could well chal-
lenge Avids primacy. Yamahas Nuage
is a case in point. Officially launched at
the end of 2012, Nuage, a modular and
expandable system, cleverly avoids ma-
ny of the challenges associated with the
release of any new product by combin-
ing components from a variety of sourc-
es. The control surface is new, to be
sure, but the system leverages the power
of software from Steinberg, networking
from Audinate, computer power from
Hewlett Packard and even a chassis as-
sembly from Argosy Console to create a
powerful platform for post, especially, as
well as recording applications.
Increasingly, software developers
have unleashed their platforms from
specific hardware and allowed them
to be used natively. The computer on
which the DAW resides is therefore
typically a significant factor in the
power available to the user. Yamaha
has removed that variable in Nuage,
however, by standardizing on HPs
Z280 workstation.
If they let the user choose what-
ever PC they want, maybe they even
build it from parts and pieces from
one of the online vendors, then Ya-
maha doesnt know for sure that PC is
going to work, flawlessly, for audio for
months and years at a time delivering
the production workflow thats needed
in these studios, observed HP work-
station engineer and demo specialist
Dan Bennett at a trade show earlier
this year. As a known quantityand
with a three-year warrantythe Z280
removes at least one source of doubt
from the users mind.
Steinberg, acquired by Yamaha in
2004, once threatened to give Pro
Tools a run for its money, signing up
a veritable whos who of record pro-
ducers and engineers to help market
its Nuendo software platform. Nuage
is off to a rather more sedate start,
with Yamaha Commercial Audio log-
ging its first installation only recently.
To be fair, Yamaha has been busy
setting up retail partners around the
globe for the new product. The first
fruits of those efforts are an installa-
tion at Temple of Tune, a post house
in Belgium, closely followed by The
Institut National de Laudiovisuel
(INA), a noted multimedia and train-
ing organization in France.
The collaboration between Ya-
maha and Steinberg is reminiscent
of the Fairlight FAME, which, back
in 1996, integrated Fairlights MFX
hard disk recorder/editor with a con-
sole work surface manufactured by
Amek. But FAME, contrary to the
song, did not live forever.
Fairlight, too, did not live for-
everin that particular incarna-
tion, anywaybut now resurrected
(again), it is once again collaborating,
this time with DTS. The company
launched a new software product,
Fairlight 3DAW, earlier this year. The
new multichannel 3D production
platform supports the MDA (Multi-
Dimensional Audio) object-based
mixing and playback system (devel-
oped by SRS, now a part of DTS).
If any platform is giving Pro Tools
a run for its money these days, espe-
cially among musicians and compos-
ers, its Apples Logic Pro. The ever-
secretive company took everyone by
surprise on July 16 with the introduc-
tion of Apple Logic Pro X, following
months of online scuttlebutt regarding
the platforms demise. Having seem-
ingly learned a lesson from its disas-
trous launch of the Final Cut Pro X
video platform, Apple appears to have
actually improved the user experience.
For its end-users, MOTU has
just introduced a Windows version
of its Digital Performer 8 platform,
nearly half a year after launching the
Mac version. A program that offers
a highly customizable interface, DP
may not be for everyoneas it really
is unlike most other platforms in its
operation and even nomenclature
yet its longtime fans are no doubt
pleased with the major upgrade.
Alternately, for those who can op-
erate without the convenience of di-
rect file compatibility with the most
ubiquitous DAW, Sound Forge, Cake-
walk, Pyramix, Samplitude, Studio
One, MixBus and other platforms
have unique capabilities that have gar-
nered them their own loyal user bases.
[ August 2013 ]
[ 57 ]
soundBUSINESS
Music Hall
(continued from page 42)
Analysis: DAWs
(continued from page 1)
Fountains of Wayne, performing to a sold-
out crowd at the Tarrytown Music Hall,
built in 1885.
Reaction to change is a challenge that
software developers must face every time
they release a new version of a product.
[ ]
[ August 2013 ]
MUSIC
[ 58 ]
etc.
ON PREPARATION:
Preparation for us is pretty much
the same for every record. This usu-
ally involves writing the songs, getting
together and working on them so we
can play them live, doing some pre-
production with the producer, and
then recording them. You have to be
as prepared as you can, because its
not a rehearsal and going into the
studio costs money. For basic tracks,
its all in there and we do overdubs
later on. I know our music doesnt
sound live to a lot of people, par-
ticularly our last two records; some
people think weve layered a mass of
stuff on there. This isnt the caseits
just five people playing in a room.
For this record, it was the first
time that the whole band demoed
the record together. Usually, I just
demo myself, then we will go and
record. We did this in Glasgow with
a guy called Paul Savage, who owns
Chem19 Studios, part of the Chemi-
kal Underground record label. Hes
a very good engineer and also the
drummer the band Delgados. He
helped us get the songs into reason-
able shape for moving forward and
making this album.
ON BEING UNCOMFORTABLE:
To a certain extent, being slightly
uncomfortable can actually be very
beneficial to making music and to
recording. This time, we spent more
time tracking than we did in the past.
On a typical tracking day, we would
choose one of the songs and when
we felt that weve got a good take
and the drums were solid, wed move
on or we would try it again until we
got it. If nobody felt comfortable, we
might try changing the speed to cre-
ate a better foundation before moving
on. Other times, if we were uncom-
fortable, we might try changing the
soundsfor instance a snare, or a
guitar or keyboard.
ON CHANGING IT UP:
We definitely didnt want to repeat
ourselves on this record, even though
we love the last two records that we
made. We wanted this one to sound
fairly different, and we didnt want a
big wall of sound or to hide behind
all the reverb. We wanted to sound
exposed and more in control. It was
important for us to hear the indi-
vidual instruments, so listeners could
tune into whatever they wanted, rath-
er than having them wonder what a
particular sound was. It just felt that
it was time to get a wee bit more up
front, rather than hiding in the back
behind all this reverb.
ON RECORDING IN PORTLAND:
We recorded the record with Tuck-
er Martine in Flora Studios in Port-
land. It was beautiful and probably
the nicest studio Ive ever been in.
It was very comfortable, stylish, and
homely. Tucker created this wonder-
ful atmosphere and youd think that it
has been there 20 or 30 years, but is
actually quite a new studio. It was re-
ally conducive to us making the best
record that we possibly could.
To be honest, we went to Port-
land with very little gear; there was
just this whole array of guitars, and
drums, keyboards and pianos. Kenny
obviously took his Jazzmaster guitar
because he cant create the sound
that he makes with any other guitar.
But we used a lot of instruments that
were in the studio, such as a Mel-
lotron. We also used a lot of differ-
ent snare sounds, and tried to use a
different snare on each track, which
made it sound very exciting. I used a
Telecaster, which Ive never used on
previous records, and we experiment-
ed with a few Gibson guitars, which
maybe we wouldnt have used before.
ON TRUSTING A PRODUCER:
I think youve got to try and learn
to trust a producer. You cant just
trust somebody because youre sup-
posed to, but when youre making a
record, youve got to go into it think-
ing that you are putting all your ef-
fort and art in someones hands, and
youve really got to try and be open-
minded. At the end of the day, you
have a producer because you want
them to be in charge and you want
their wealth of experience. To a cer-
tain extent, youve got to listen to
them. Tucker was a very good lis-
tener; if there was something I liked
or didnt like, he was there to listen. A
lot of times, he would spend the time
mixing the song and we would come
back later in the day and we would
explain what we liked or what we
didnt like, then would take it from
there.
ON GROWING:
Our growth has been very organic.
I think the whole music business is
hard; theres never a point where you
say, Oh, weve made it, because fi-
nancially, its very difficult. I dont
think a lot of people realize that. Its
always been a struggle, and I think
its always going to be a struggle.
Jacques Sonyieux is a devout explorer of
recording studios and the artists that oc-
casionally inhabit them. Please send any
tips or feedback to Jacques at: jacquesso-
nyieux@gmail.com.
Exposed and In Control
BY JAQUES SONYIEUX
Camera Obscura has just released its third album, Desire Lines,
recorded at producer Tucker Martines Flora Studios in Portland,
OR. The Glasgow, Scotland-based quintet, which was recently
picked up by major indie label 4AD, still churns out catchy songs
that are best characterized as indie pop, but the arrangements
are more sophisticated and the production more refined. Desire
Lines is marked by its transparency and clear view into each of
the parts. Guitarist Kenny McKeeves Jazzmaster parts are crisp,
while singer Tracyanne Campbells vocals are exposed and up
front in the mix. The drums are more defined as well. Pro Sound
News spoke to Tracyanne about how the bands production val-
ues shifted and the struggles of getting by in an industry that is
reporting fewer and fewer record sales.
Im an
AES
member.
Are you?
www.aes.org/join
Join me
IRENE TRUDEL
Technical Director,
WNYCs Soundcheck
Scottish indie popsters Camera Obscura recorded its latest album, Desire Lines, with producer
Tucker Martine in Portland, ORs Flora Studios.
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