AUDIO FOR BROADCAST, POST, RECORDING AND MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION
V8.1 January/February 2009
Alvernia: the film super-facility Arctic Monkeys and Razorlight with Mike Crossey Mike Hedges: The Priests and A&R at Sony BMG Digital wireless: nailing a band on the run Dennis Baxter starts his broadcast column Meet your maker: Paul Wolff — Tonelux
£5
Reviews Neumann TLM103D & TLM67 RME HDSPe MADIFace Schoeps CCM22 AnaMod ATS-1 Quested S6 VoiceQ ADR & Dub Waves Dorrough Meters iZ ADA Tascam DR-1
AUDIO FOR BROADCAST, POST, RECORDING AND MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION
V8.1 January/February 2009 ISSN 1477-4216
News & Analysis
4 Leader
18
4 News
61 Broadcast aside
Sound man Dennis Baxter starts his regular column in Resolution.
61
Headroom
Karl Groom
Sales, contracts, appointments and biz bites.
Products
New introductions and announcements.
Craft
14 Alvernia Studios
It’s the biggest and most sophisticated film facility build anywhere in recent years and it’s in Poland.
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Mike Crossey
50 Sweet spot
Always a measure of a recordist’s skill and the reproduction chain’s integrity, dynamic range now seems severely under attack.
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Mike Hedges
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Meet your maker
55 Ten
The rising production star talks about the Arctic Monkeys and producing the latest Razorlight album. Still enjoying production success, most recently with The Priests, and now gainfully employed in A&R in classical crossover at Sony BMG.
Guitarist, producer and mixer on full metal mayhem and producing Guitar Hero-stars DragonForce.
Paul Wolff — The founder and brains behind the Tonelux brand tells all. Independent UK labels.
Business
47 Remixed by the fanbase
We investigate the phnomenon of remix competitions, Radiohead’s promo secrets, and richer digital audio content.
60 Your business
Bets are on for the switchover in the US, Daley studies the odds in the battle for white space.
Technology
56 Nailing a band on the run
A look at digital wireless systems offering greater channel capacity without the latency and lip-sync issues associated with compression and Bluetooth.
58 Slaying Dragons
32 VoiceQ ADR & Dub 33 RME HDSPe MADIFace 34 Schoeps CCM22 35 Waves Dorrough Meters Collection
Axe issues. Fettling that Strat and explaining the different sonic qualities of guitar construction methods.
Reviews
24 Neumann TLM103D & TLM67 26 iZ ADA 28 Tascam DR-1 29 AnaMod ATS-1 30 Quested S6
Editorial Editorial Director: Zenon Schoepe Tel: +44 1444 410675 Email: zen@resolutionmag.com Editorial office: PO Box 531, Haywards Heath RH16 4WD, UK Contributors: Rob James, George Shilling, Jon Thornton, Keith Holland, Jim Betteridge, Nigel Jopson, Andy Day, Philip Newell, Jim Evans, Dan Daley, John Watkinson, Dennis Baxter
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NEWS
Appointments TransAudio Group has been appointed distributor for TubeTech products in the US and Canada. The move coincides with the appointment of sales engineer Jesper Bo Nielsen to focus on supporting the US market for Tube-Tech. Net work Pro Marketing Inc, aka Brauner USA, has been appointed North and South American distributor for Brauner Microphones.
Berlin-based studio monitor manufacturer ADAM Audio GmbH has opened a subsidiary in the UK. ADAM Audio Inc will be headed by director Kevin Bent, located north of London and will be responsible for distribution, marketing, and public relations for all ADAM products in the UK. ‘2008 has been another very successful year for ADAM, especially in the UK,’ said Bent. ‘To cope with the growing demand, this subsidiary is a reaction to the success in the English market and a clear sign to our customers that we would like to improve the service they are already accustomed to.’ The D&M Management Team has appointed Bob Goleniowski as MD of the Business and Professional Group ( Europe), which includes Denon Professional, Marantz Professional, Denon Professional DJ, Allen & Heath and Calrec. Goleniowski is to lead the Business and Professional brands into a new era of expansion and growth in Europe. Having worked for Harman International and recently Allen & Heath in various executive level roles, Goleniowski has more than 25 years of experience.
©2009 S2 Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Great care is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this publication, but neither
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Leader
I feel heartened that our industry’s obsession with technological gizmos and finding excuses to use them has parallels in other walks of life. The computer-based toolbox has touched-up us all and the desire to just ‘try it out to see how it goes’ has wasted afternoons and evenings in all disciplines. While the wise words of the most well-informed engineers and producers ring loud and strong that capturing a great performance as well as you possibly can is always the basis for a great recording, so you will also hear that mumbling backdrop of ‘you can fix that by … here’s a good way of getting around this … and the first thing I always do is this across ALL the tracks.’ So take photography. Once the composition and posing process would inflict rigour mortis on the happy expressions of the group family portrait while the shooter waited for that elusive single frame moment. With a digital camera you shoot lots and hope that one of them has got to be good (loop record). Then there’s the handling of the picture itself in the manner so well-favoured by PR companies. Because big must be better you create a larger file from a small picture (upsampling to 192) or you supply a ridiculously small pic (the MP3). Alternatively you could go for the super high resolution pic (the SACD) that is only appropriate if you want to print it on the side of a London bus. Then we get into the world of manipulation and editing and the Photoshop addict that is revealed by an over-sharpening in certain areas (quantisation and Beat Detective) and over-ambitious colour grading in others (the loudness plugs). For all this, it can’t make a good photograph out of a bad one. You can make a bad photograph better but you can’t overcome blurred focus, no depth of field, blitz flash or, my particular favourite, the greasy hand mark illuminated and frozen for posterity on the studio glass. Like everything else in life it comes down to a matter of performance and getting as many of the variables working for you as possible. More often than not, that means employing a professional who knows how to stack the odds in his favour. Someone who can take a dependably good photograph or capture as good a performance as there was as well as possible. I’m not averse to diamond polishing but I can’t see the point of polishing coal, yet it seems this is increasingly what people are doing. What’s most peculiar is that it is now accepted as part of ‘the method’ — be that sharpening of an image or pitch tuning a take. And it’s the polishing skills that operators are becoming more and more proficient in rather than concentrating their energy on the initial acquisition. Am I alone in thinking it strange that we have an industry so full of tools and devices that are dedicated to putting things right? Zenon Schoepe
NTP Technology acquires Digital Audio Denmark NTP Technology A/S for its range of high(NTP) has acquired specification audio convertor manufacturer interface equipment Digital Audio Denmark and for its very (DAD). DAD becomes a competitive pricing. wholly-owned business DAD’s founder, Mikael unit and brand within Vest joined us recently NTP following the as sales director and transfer of key sales is ideally placed to and engineering staff ensure sustained to NTP. promotion and support ‘This is a very for our respective positive development product families. DAD’s which will benefit technical director existing and future Jeppe Sorensen has customers of both Vest and Kjaergaard-Hansen. joined our engineering DAD and NTP,’ said NTP’s MD Hans-Christian team and is already making significant Kjaergaard-Hansen. ‘Since its formation eight contributions to the engineering effort at years ago, DAD has won very wide respect NTP.’
S2 Publications Ltd or the editor can be held responsible for its contents. The views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Publishers. Printed by The Grange Press, Butts Rd, Southwick, West Sussex, BN42 4EJ.
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resolution
Steinberg acquires Syncrosoft eLicenser technology Steinberg Media Technologies has acquired the eLicenser technology of crypto and security solutions provider Syncrosoft Hardund Software GmbH for an undisclosed sum. The assets acquired include the development team and know-how behind the USB and Soft-eLicenser products used by Steinberg and several other companies. Steinberg will offer the eLicenser solutions to third parties, which will continue to use the MCFACT technology.
More than 95% booked for Frankfurt Frankfurt ProLight + Sound 2009 will be held 1-4 April and the organisers report that more than 95% of the exhibition space is already booked. This year’s event will be the last to be held in the usual exhibition halls as with the completion of a new Hall 11 the fair will have a new look for 2010. For the first time, the Media Systems Congress will include a Manufacturers’ Forum where companies can present their products and solutions. The Congress will be held from 09.45 to 17.15hrs on all four days of the fair.
Hockey team upgrades intercom General Motors Place, home of t h e Va n c o u v e r Canucks NHL hockey team, has replaced its existing intercom with a multinode Riedel Artist digital matrix as part of a major audio and communication upgrade. The Artist system includes two Artist 32 frames linked via fibre, a variety of intercom control panels, plus several Performer C3 digital beltpacks and interfaces for existing analogue 2-wire beltpacks. ‘What really made our decision was the Director configuration software,’ said Fred Michael, president of installers Rocky Mountain. ‘It’s particularly easy to make changes on the fly.’
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January/February 2009
NEWS
Lab.gruppen acquires DLP technology and Lake Brand
Post expands in Barcelona
(l-r)Lab.gruppen’s Carl Rohdell, project manager; Håkan Gustafsson, product engineering manager; Tomas Lilja, CEO; Emil Tirén, software engineer; Klas Dalbjörn, product research manager.
Swedish equipment designer and manufacturer Lab.gruppen has announced its acquisition of the Lake trademarks and the exclusive rights for use of Dolby Lake Processor (DLP) technology for touring and permanent sound reinforcement markets from Dolby Laboratories. The technology currently referred to as ‘DLP technology’ as used in the PLM Series will, in the future, be called Lake technology or Lake Processing. The Dolby Lake Controller (DLC) PLM Edition software will be known as ‘Lake Controller software’ as new versions of the software are expected to be compatible with the standalone DLPs and the PLM Series products. ‘This is a significant step for our company,’ said Tomas Lilja, MD at Lab.gruppen. ‘Having the exclusive rights to the Lake technology in these markets allows Lab.gruppen to continue developing the Lake software and firmware for use in our own products and all the thousands of DLPs out there.’
Film and television postproduction facility Audioprojects in Barcelona has expanded its business by taking over the Barcelona studio complex formerly owned by DUY. Audioprojects already operates five studios and four mixing theatres at its main complex housed in a 19th Century manor house outside the city. The former DUY facility, which consists of three studios and a small Dolby certified dubbing theatre for film commercials and trailers, is currently being refurbished and re-equipped with two Fairlight Xynergi media production systems, powered by Fairlight’s Crystal Core engines. ‘We placed an order for two Xynergi MPC96 systems after demoing the equipment at the AES exhibition in Amsterdam,’ said Andrew Galletly (pictured), Audioprojects owner. ‘We were very impressed by the simplicity of the control surface and the fact that Xynergi’s fast editing and mixing interface delivers all the tools we need for high-end audio for video production.’ The systems Audioprojects has installed are being used for voice recording for lip sync, which forms the bulk of its business. ‘Our main facility has been running with Fairlight Pyxis for some time,’ Galletly adds. ‘We now have 11 systems in operation and have always been very happy with their performance.’ Audioprojects opened its new studios in Barcelona in September and is also building a Dolby Digital dubbing studio designed by acoustician Philip Newell in the new 22 district of Barcelona.
Appointments London-based sales and suppor t company eMerging has been appointed UK and Ireland distributor for conver tor manufacturer Digital Audio Denmark (DAD). e M e rg i n g h a s a l s o b e c o m e a Euphonix value-added reseller in a deal that will see it selling and supporting Euphonix control surfaces equipped with EuCon. Harris, Grant Associates, UK-based specialists in acoustic design a n d a r c h i t e c t u r e, te c hnic al s y s te ms and installations, has appointed Richard Abraham as a nonexecutive director. He is an accountant and MBA with more 30 years experience in international banking.
Audiowerk’s Uwe Grundei, Steve Phillips, AE.
Acoustic Energy Pro has appointed Audiowerk of Hargesheim to act as its distributor in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
SBES 2009 date announced Point Promotions has announced that SBES 2009 will be a one-day event held at the NEC Pavilion, Birmingham on 3 November. The event claims reduced costs for exhibitors and that beer will be available again in the bar. There will also be an Exhibitor’s Reception on the evening of build-up. The Sound Broadcasting Equipment Show has been organised by Point Promotions for the last 30 three years. It grew from the IBS chief engineers’ conference which was held annually in Winchester, and moved to Birmingham and eventually to the NEC.
(l-r): Tom Schlum, director, head of technology; Steve Genewick, Capitol staff engineer; Paula Salvatore, senor director, Studio; Al Schmitt; John Jennings, VP sales Royer; Greg Parkin, director of operations, Studio & Mastering.
Capitol Studios has added four Royer R-122V vacuum tube ribbon mics to its mic locker. ‘Many of the leading engineers in our industry, such as Al Schmitt, have been using Royer microphones for years,’ explained Greg Parkin, senior director of operations for Capitol Studios and Mastering. ‘We’ve also been involved in the testing of Royer’s prototype microphones. Our engineering staff regularly uses Royer microphones in their work, and when the opportunity to acquire additional Royer mics arose, they overwhelmingly requested the R-122Vs.’
Furman has signed on with a new dis tr ib ution centre in Moerdijk, The Netherlands to better serve its European customers. Through a thirdparty logistics partnership with DSV Solutions BV, Furman gains access to a state-of-the-art, ISO9001-certified warehouse facility and leverages DSV’s logistics expertise to deliver faster turn-around time for fulfilment of customer orders coupled with reduced tr ans p or t ation cos t s to Europ e. Furman will begin operations at the distribution centre in February.
www.sbes.com
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January/February 2009
resolution
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NEWS
Appointments L a b.g r u p p e n has appointed TC Electronic Switzerland as its Swiss distributor.
Ebdon tours with D5/RME
Universal Audio has appointed Greg Westall as VP of product marketing. He was previously hardware marketing manager for Digidesign and director of online services at Line 6. UA is to receive a Technical Grammy Award in February at The Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony for Universal Audio’s technical contributions to the Recording Industry. This is the second Technical GRAMMY Award associated with UA as Bill Putnam Sr, the original founder of the company, was personally awarded a Technical GRAMMY Award in 2000 for his pioneering achievements, including the first use of artificial reverberation.
John Lancken, Fairlight’s; Michael Miller, MD SoundWorks.
Fa i r l i g h t has ap p ointe d Danis h company SoundWorks as its distributor for the whole of Scandinavia. Loud Technologies has announced a reorganisation of its marketing, sales and engineering functions. Product strategy, development and marketing for the company’s MI and Pro businesses will be managed by separate, dedicated product management teams, while marketing communications for all Loud brands will be consolidated and managed by a shared marketing s u p p o r t t e a m . T h e C o m p a ny ’s worldwide engineering resources will be scaled accordingly and Loud will also move North American sales from its current captive sales force to a group of independent sales representation firms and consolidate por tions of it s international sales force. The restructuring is expected to generate a net reduction of approximately 90 fulltime positions. Loud has sold its SLM Marketplace catalogue and accessories distribution business and proprietary St Louis Stage Gear brand, along with the Austin guitar and Knilling Instruments brands to St. Louis-based US Band & Orchestra Supplies Inc.
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On world tour with Maroon 5, engineer Jim Ebdon found he was able to turn his DiGiCo D5 and Apple PowerBook into a powerful and flexible mobile workstation with RME’s HDSPe MADIFace 128-Channel 192kHz MADI PCI ExpressCard. ‘With this setup, I’m able to have a fully functioning recording studio on the road,’ said Ebdon. ‘The MADIFace card takes up virtually no space and I can get it in my computer bag. With that, along with the D5’s fantastic functionality and very small footprint — I’ve got one small rack at FOH and one on stage with one thin cable linking it all — I can get great results. ‘I’ve spent a lot of money on previous tours setting up a Pro Tools system just to archive a show,’ he added, ‘which a lot of bands seem to want to do these days. Fifty thousand dollars in the grand scheme of things, to a major artist, is sort of nothing. But it’s kind of a headache because it’s another whole big rack. It’s quite a lot of time to get it set up every day and make sure it’s working properly. The MADIFace is basically two cables and I can record and play back up to 56 straight, pre-EQ, pre-compressors, pre-mute, straight from the mic preamp right into the computer,’ he said. ‘It was so easy to set up for the first time, and the recordings sound great. We also have 6-7 cameras shooting the show every night on this tour, so we can easily sync up to the video, too. So for next to no money, a band could easily release a DVD from this as well.’
BBC World Service airs with Pharos Mediator
Complete Bach captured with 4006s
German specialist classical recording company Aeolus has been recording Johann Sebastian Bach’s complete organ works in surround and stereo for Hybrid Super Audio CD. Played by Dutch organist and Bach expert Ewald Kooiman, the performances have been captured using DPA 4006 omni mics. All the organs are located in historic churches in the Alsace and built in the 18th Century by father and son team Andreas and Johann Andreas Silbermann. ‘There is no complete Bach Organ Works recording in Surround Sound played on historic organs on the market,’ said Aeolus producer and recording engineer Christoph Frommen. ‘For our recordings we use two completely independent setups: one surround setup with five discrete channels, and an additional two-channel stereo setup. We sometimes use two or four more channels for capturing additional ambience. The microphones we use are all DPA’s famous 4006 omnis, of which we own 13, with three of them being the transformerless version.’ Frommen uses a Polyhymnia pentagon for the surround mics, which draws on the proportions of the surround pentagon defined for loudspeaker installation, while an AB setup is used for stereo.
APRS honours six fellows
Bellies forth (l-r): Dave Harries, Ken Townsend, Rick Wakeman, Peter Filleul.
Pharos has completed a major contract for BBC World Service in which it supplied content management and automation for 68 channels of radio programming together with automation for live and time-shifted content playout. Central to the project is a Pharos Mediator content management platform which has been chosen to integrate the
network’s ingest, media workflow, transfer management, router control and playout. World Service workflows are prioritised and resources managed by Mediator based on the demands of an integrated programme schedule. A total of 32 channels are configured as complete playout-capable subsystems, each safeguarded by a fully mirrored channel.
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For the second year running, the APRS honoured six industry individuals with APRS Sound Fellowships in recognition of their special contribution to the art, science and industry of sound recording. They were presented at the Association’s Sound Fellowships Lunch at The Roof Gardens, Kensington, London in November. This year’s recipients were George Massenburg, Geoff Emerick, Ray Dolby, Rupert Neve, the late Mickie Most and Sir George Martin. The lunch ended with an entertaining speech and musical performance by musician Rick Wakeman.
January/February 2009
NEWS
Appointments
Irish studio is Fundamental
AKA ‘pimps’ for charity
(l-r) Paul Van Hees (MD Apex); Rik Hoerée (sales director Apex); Matthew Fletcher (export sales HHB); Laurent Laignel
HHB Communications has appointed APEX France as exclusive distributor of HHB professional audio products in France. London recording s t udio Metrop olis has appointed Ian Bre nc hley as MD. He joins from the Universal Music Group where he was director of audiovisual. There have been a number of recent appointments. Richard Osborn, formerly of Abbey Road, has joined Digital Media as head of department and Sophie Colombier has arrived f ro m D D B t o b o l s t e r Digital Media sales. Earlier in the year Katy Samwell joined Metropolis from Soho Studios as studio manager and engineer John Davis has also joined the team. K l o t z D ig i t al h a s a p p o i n t e d Tr e vo r Spielmann as sales manager for E u r o p e. H e j o i n s f ro m Digi t al v id e o Computing where he was sales manager and has also worked for War ner Music Manufac turing Europe.
Fundamental Studios owner Robin Ball is celebrating his first anniversary running a commercial studio and believes that diversification is a key to survival. A drummer, Ball went to SAE after leaving school, worked in a studio in Dublin, and then went to Berklee to do performance and synthesis. On returning he did session work as a drummer in London followed by a tour as a computer technician for U2 returning in 2007 and realising that he really should just build a studio. His first attempt was in Dublin but when suitable premises with enough room for a large control room and two live rooms became available on a farm in Newcastle, County Wicklow, he jumped at it. ‘I’m serving people who are probably financing their own thing, doing development with them, helping them out with their instruments,’ he said. ‘What I do here is good enough for release quality and where the studio sits in the market is about right — it’s not a chap with Pro Tools LE in a shed but it’s also not a purpose-built facility.’ He runs a Euphonix System 5 and the move to the new studio coincided with a major upgrading of his equipment inventory, which was co-ordinated and supplied by North London dealer KMR Audio. ‘KMR always had a reputation that I liked and I went and had a chat with them and I liked them. Keith [Malin] was attentive, for a start, and he even called me back!’ he said. The upgrade included a selection of mics (u87, TLM103, Brauner Phantom, Crowley & Trip ribbon, Earthworks drum kit mic set and a stack of dynamics), K+H monitors, DAWs, and a good representative selection of choice outboard. ‘The thing I’m looking forward to is developing my own artists and releasing them as a partnership with the studio,’ said Robin who believes that producers have become the talent scouts and the developers who have to take it upon themselves to take a punt on an act and bring it on. ‘That is the future especially as music delivery has become very convoluted but it’s also a very interesting time and I will make a living from it,’ he said. ‘But you have to be diverse — I have my drumming, my production and the studio to work in.’
AKA Design, the UK specialist in the design and construction of studio interiors and technical furniture, was approached by MTV to design and supply a fully functioning recording studio for a charity special of Pimp my Ride UK in an ex- police riot-van. The project had to take place within four weeks and was revealed by Tim Westwood, the show’s host, to a selection of the youth group XLP. ‘We wanted to create a practical studio that could be used by five people and to give it some “pimp” style,’ said AKA’s MD Guy Wilson. Wilson contacted Digidesign for its expertise and equipment and they generously donated equipment, advice and an install team. As space was an issue, a Digidesign 003 Factory was chosen and the system was speced with all the AIR virtual instruments so that complete tracks could be created within the van. ‘We saw that our colleagues at M-Audio could also be of assistance,’ said Tim Hurrel from Digidesign. ‘With their range of products, we could provide all the equipment the charity would need to set up a working studio. They kindly donated a selection of microphones and headphones, an Axiom 25 keyboard, a Torq Xponent digital DJ system and a pair of Studiophile BX8a Deluxe Monitors with BX10s Subwoofer.’ ‘This has been one of the most challenging interiors I have ever had to do, as it was like putting a studio inside … a van!’ said Wilson.
Ela M12 for Germano Studios
Turbosound has appointed Eurosell SpA to handle distribution in the Italian market.
Showtime ISE, Amsterdam............... 3-5 February CabSat, Dubai...................... 3-5 March Prolight + Sound, Frankfurt ...1-4 April NAB, Las Vegas..................17-23 April AES Europe, Munich.............8-10 May IBC, Amsterdam......11-15 September Plasa, London..........13-16 September AES US, New York .........9-12 October SIEL/SATIS, Paris . ........19-22 October Broadcast India, Mumbai . .....................27–31 October SBES, Birmingham ......... 3 November InterBee, Tokyo.........18-20 November
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(l-r) Germano and staff engineer Neo Tanusakdi.
Troy Germano, owner of recently opened Germano Studios in New York, has purchased a Telefunken|USA Ela M12 large diaphragm tube mic as the fifth Telefunken|USA mic in his collection.
Germano Studios, launched in June of 2008, has two control rooms and recording spaces both with SSL Duality 48-input consoles, 32-input X-Rack monitor mixers and Digidesign Pro Tools HD3 Accel.
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London-based sound design company Sample Magic recently installed a pair of Focal Twin 6s in its studios where it creates ‘cutting-edge’ copyright-free samples in 24-bit. ‘The definition in the bottom-end and the stereo imaging are unlike anything I’ve heard before — add to that the fact that you can really drive these units make it a clear winner for me!’ said Sample Magic partner Sharooz Raoofi.
January/February 2009
Put Your Project in
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Established in 2006, the IBC Innovation Awards have already had a tremendous impact on the electronic content industry. The reason is simple – they celebrate not just technical innovation but the application of that technology: how suppliers and their customers work together to create something that adds value to an enterprise’s operations
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• Showcase your innovation and excellence to the industry at large, international media and a global audience • Enjoy press coverage from the IBC Daily News, IBC TV News, IBC Website plus the world’s top technology magazines • A nomination is a clear sign your company delivers successful solutions • Form a closer business relationship with your customers and clients • It could be you and your partners accepting an Award at IBC2009! • Plus, it's FREE to enter! Be ahead of the game and enter your project now at www.ibc.org before the deadline of 20 February 2009
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the content experience
NEWS
Biz Bites T h e to p s elling ar tis t in the UK for 2008 was Welsh newcomer D u f f y, w h o s e d e b u t Gr a m my nominated album Rockferr y sold 1.69m copies, writes Nigel Jopson. The UK’s final weekly charts of 2008 saw X- Fac tor winner Alexandra Burke a n d Ta k e T h a t retain their single and album crowns as sales powered ahead. Hallelujah sold 888,0 0 0 in a mere 2 weeks, while Take That proved music fans c an remain loyal longer than mar keteer s give credit for, making The Circus the fastest million-seller in UK chart history (1m in 19 days). ‘We haven’t done the full analysis yet, but anecdotally the album market is down by about 5% [in 2008],’ said Martin Talbot, MD of the Official Charts Company. In 2007, UK album sales fell by 11% according to BPI figures. The 2008 UK singles market actually grew by around 30%, Talbot revealed, boosted by digital downloads. In the US, the last week of 2008 set a new record for digital track sales with 47.7m downloads purchased according to Nielson Soundscan. Christmas generated a 126% sales spike from the previous week, likely driven by download gift cards and new music players. Total US digital track sales in 2008 topped 1,070m, up 27% from 2007. This is good news, considering that global single track downloads grew an incredible 53% in 2007 compared to 2006. With global figures not yet available, I predict digital may now represent around 24% of the overall recorded music market, up from 11% in 2006. There are conflicting indicators concerning the viability of YouTube’s new revenue-sharing arrangements with content partners. Rio Caraeff, VP of Universal Music Group’s eLabs, said UMG was earning ‘tens of millions of dollars’ from YouTube. Caraeff was shy on specifics, but said: ‘It’s growing tremendously. It’s up almost 80% for us year-over-year in the US in terms of our revenue from this category.’ Meanwhile Madonna, James Blunt and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers began disappearing from YouTube as a dispute developed with Warner Music. A spokesman for WMG, the first major to ink a deal with YouTube, complained: ‘We simply cannot accept terms that fail
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Alchemea upgrades with UAD-2
Alchemea College in London has just refitted its entire suite of main workstations with new 2.8GHz 8-core Mac Pro computers, new Apple screens and Mboxes. Each computer is also equipped with a Universal Audio UAD-2 Solo card. The Quad Mac Pro in the Programming Room is also to benefit from a Solo card. Along with the UAD-2 hardware installations, Alchemea has installed the entire range of UA plug-ins, including all the Neve compressors and EQs, the Roland and Boss effects, and the brand new Moog Multimode Filter plug-in. A UA 6176 channel strip is also being installed in the Euphonix mixing room. Alchemea’s marketing director Mike Sinnott explained that the UAD-2s were partly inspired by his own experience with a MacBook equipped with a UAD Xpander. ‘I use all of the plug-ins. Of all the competition, it’s by far the best overall solution, partly because of the partnerships they have with manufacturers. The Roland stuff is just awesome, and the Neve 33609 is one of the best-sounding compressor plug-ins I’ve ever heard,’ he said.
Students discover the analogue sound
The New England School of Communications in the US has installed a 16-channel API 1608 small-frame console with a 16-channel expander alongside several racks of outboard gear and a 24-track RADAR system in its Control Room A. The school’s facility has seven control rooms in addition to a live truck and a new 500-seat theatre complex. ‘These days, most of our students come into the program with ears that are accustomed to the crisp, clear sound of digital audio,’ explained Dave MacLaughlin, executive director of audio. ‘They read stories written by people of my generation that discuss the “analogue sound”, but they don’t really get it. Why
use analogue when digital is so much more convenient? It takes hearing the sound of a real high-end console for them to truly understand.’ In Brooklyn, New York, engineer, producer and musician Marc Allen Goodman has chosen a 32-input 1608 console for Strange Weather Studio, a partnership between him and Joel Hamilton and Tony Maimone, co-owners of Studio G located in nearby Williamsburg. ‘Essentially it’s a B room for the studio I work out of — Studio G,’ explained Goodman. ‘Joel, Tony and I decided it was time to find somewhere to go work when one of us is in Studio G and the other two are sitting around twiddling their thumbs.’
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NEWS
Biz Bites to appropriately and fairly compensate recording artists, songwriters, labels and publishers for the value they provide.’ The damning revelation was that WMG earned less than 1% of its annual digital revenue from the Google-owned video site. This would put the amount WMG earned somewhere around US$6.4m for last year. Are UMG’s artists more popular ... or did Universal strike a more lucrative deal with Google? In Resolution V7.5 I asked why directto-consumer (D2C) sales have always been such a taboo in recorded music. If software companies can sell direct, why not music? Now EMI has launched a new D2C website, styled as a ‘learning lab’ to avoid ruffling retail feathers. ‘It will help us gain even more knowledge about consumers’ preferences and choices. Those insights will be invaluable to our artists, helping them respond to fans in a more relevant way,’ announced Alex Haar, VP of digital at the label. Streaming music is supplied as full songs in the UK, and 30s clips in the US. This is an essential first step to reclaim the brand image of a record label, in recent times rendered practically invisible to consumers. The new EMI A&R team of Nick Gatfield and Billy Mann have also been busy, signing over 20 new artists in the last three months. There’s a live album from Van Morrison and a new global deal with Depeche Mode (snitched from Warner in the US), plus new acts like snowboarder/musician Trouble Andrew and US band Hockey. How many mass market TV channels can the UK sustain? Channel Four’s prestigious position as the provider of an edgier public service looks shaky. Commercial revenues are slated to fall 5-10% in 2009, and C4’s own predictions put the annual deficit at £150m by 2012. In January 2009, reports from Ofcom and Communications Minister Lord Carter will lay out options for how the future might look. Several solutions are being considered: privatising C4; approving a merger with Channel Five; giving a greater public subsidy; and a business tie-up with BBC Worldwide, the successful commercial subsidiary that sells programmes and spino ff s a b ro a d . Leaks from discussions have indicated the BBC Worldwide link is the favoured solution. The trouble is, C4 doesn’t seem to own many globallysaleable rights of its own — so won’t have a lot to bring to the party with BBC Worldwide — which is joined-at-the-hip to BBC creative production. The fact that the BBC has abrogated controversial programme-making means we do need C4 to fill the gap. It makes good, if expensive and UK-centric, programmes.
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Pinewood Group’s four S5s
Microtech Gefell celebrates 80 years
Monument to Microtech founder Georg Neumann. (l-r) Jochem Kühnast, general manger; Christian Drechsler, general manger; Elisabeth Kühnast, sales and marketing; Thomas Reinhardt, ambassador for the town of Gefell.
The Pinewood Group has installed two further Euphonix System 5s bringing its total to four at the world-class film facility. A 24-foot, 64-fader System 5 dual-operator console in the Powell Theatre and a 16-foot, 48-fader System 5 dual-operator console in the Pressburger Theatre completes the renovation and upgrade of the film studio that started with System 5 dual-operator consoles previously installed in the Korda Theatre and in Theatre 1 on the Shepperton Lot. All four theatres have the most up-to-date Euphonix specifications possible, including six-card DSP SuperCores, and each console has EuCon Hybrid. ‘The ability to call up on the desk any track of the workstation is remarkable,’ said Mike Dowson, Pinewood sound mixer. ‘What EuCon allows me to do is to mix facing forward instead of mix facing to the side where a workstation controller would be placed.’ Russian private TV Company, NTV, has installed a 48-fader System 5-B console at its Moscow broadcast facility. ‘We consider the Euphonix System 5-B as the basis for future modernisations of our studios as we transition to fully digital broadcasting,’ said Lyudmila Anisina, head of the NTV Broadcasting Department. ‘Our audio engineers have quickly mastered the Euphonix console, and they look forward to the wide range of possibilities it offers, especially the numerous analogue and digital I-O interfaces, controls and resources.’ Wave Amsterdam has opened as the second purpose-built post facility for business partners Warren Hamilton and Johnnie Burn, who also own Wave postproduction London. Located on a second floor with canal views of Herengracht, Wave Amsterdam has two surround studios, one Dolby EX Certified, and a separate preproduction suite. Each studio is equipped with a 16-fader System 5-MC in a 9-foot frame with two producer desks while the preproduction suite features a standalone MC Pro DAW controller. The facility integrates into Wave’s London network, allowing project interchange between London and Amsterdam. ‘ We ’ v e u s e d Nuendo for a while because of its versatility with plugins, the way it’s selfcontained and its friendly interface,’ explained Warren Hamilton. ‘Once we decided that Nuendo was going to be our main recording and edit machine; it was just a matter of finding the ideal platform for control. That’s where Johnnie (Burn) did his research and came up with the Euphonix System 5-MC. When we saw the system for the first time, we were instantly taken with what it could do.’
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Ger man microphone manufacturer Microtech Gefell celebrated its 80th anniversary in a two-day event at the end of October with its sales partners and guests and unveiled a monument to the founder of the company Georg Neumann. Guests were introduced to the company’s marketing policy and got the chance to have product training and presentations and a tour of the factory. A sightseeing tour covered the local area and a visit to the small village of Mödlareuth near Gefell to see the old border ‘Klein Berlin’.
LIPA Pyramix upgrade
eMerging in the UK has supplied a Merging MassCore mix engine and V6 software upgrade for the Pyramix DAW at the Liverpool Institute of the Recording Arts (LIPA). The Pyramix was installed last year, providing another DAW on which students can gain vocation-orientated recording experience, and to complement the Institute’s existing RADAR and Pro Tools recording systems. ‘LIPA aims to provide its students with experience of as wide a variety of recording equipment as possible, so that they’re best prepared for a career in recording, live sound or postproduction after college,’ said Jon Thornton, LIPA’s head of sound. ‘We needed to replace an Akai DD1500, which was well-used in post circles when LIPA opened, but was coming to the end of its useful life,’ added Jon. ‘We could have opted for another Pro Tools system, but when we looked into it, it seemed to us that Pyramix was making large in-roads in the world of film and TV postproduction, and because we like to provide equipment that our students can reasonably expect to find in the world of work after they graduate, Pyramix seemed like a good choice.’
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Alvernia Studios It’s the biggest new ground-up build film facility anywhere in the world and it sets a new economic and technological standard for what can now be achieved. ZENON SCHOEPE travels to Poland to be truly amazed.
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ocated mid-way between Krakow and Katowice, and 15 minutes from Krakow airport, the name of Alvernia Studios in Poland is about to be permanently fixed in the minds of anyone who is involved with film production. It’s not just the scale of the technical services being offered here or indeed the leading edge technology that has been implemented, more than anything else it’s the way it looks that will blow your mind. I had seen pictures and mention of this fabulous film complex being constructed under a veil of some secrecy in Southern Poland but when seeing the place from the sweeping road that takes you into the compound you find yourself smiling and muttering some expletive. Not only does it look like some lunar ‘podscape’ but it is also the size of the pods that is breathtaking. And they don’t get any smaller as you approach them but then, of all the things you need to make films in this day and age, space is still very important. It’s the brainchild of entrepreneur Stanislaw Tyczynski, latterly owner and founder of RMF FM — Poland’s first independent private radio station (Resolution V4.6, p14). Stan sold out his interests in radio some years ago but he had constructed his ‘escape pods’ some years previously although they had stood empty while he hatched an idea. He identified the fact that there weren’t any film production facilities in Poland that could sit comfortably on the international market so he collected together a core team of specialists and experts to help him build it and then, in his characteristic fashion, he did the big thing. ‘For Poland the film business is not very big and this facility would be too much for just that market. We have an eye on international business and our own projects,’ says Piotr Witkowski, who is in charge of the technical installation at the facility assisted by Piotr Krasny. ‘It was Stan’s idea to make something that looked different,’ he says. ‘You see it throughout the facility starting with the doors [they open sidewards like lift doors], the fittings and things like the window shades — we have round windows and shades operate like an iris in a camera lens. Things like the furniture, everything is handmade here.’ Acoustic design also had to be factored in because while the pods had been completed they were largely empty inside aside from some floor levels. The pods are created by pouring cement around a massive internal balloon that is contained by an outer rubber ‘skin’. Within the dome that’s created you can either subdivide it with floors or just leave it empty. ‘With the acoustic design it all had to follow what had already been done. So Andy [Munro] was involved from the beginning to make good acoustics based on a design that we proposed.’ Andy got involved in early 2005 when he visited the site with Piotr and Stan. ‘We did some isolation tests and determined the background levels for each area and then designed the acoustics accordingly. Quite a lot of work had been done prior to our involvement but Piotr realised that things were not as they should be 14
and he called me to give an initial appraisal. Given that all the audio rooms are in domes we had our work cut out to come up with workable acoustic solutions,’ says Andy who adds that the intrinsic isolation was excellent. ‘The domes are both heavy and rigid and that makes for good isolation. Ironically, lighter constructions need to be limp and floppy to work at low frequencies whereas heavy ones should be as stiff as possible. It’s all in the mechanics of materials.’ I can’t begin to give a room by room description of Alvernia because there is simply too much and even the side panel that outlines each pod’s purpose and equipment has been abbreviated. However, from an audio standpoint there are rooms for music recording rooms, post rooms, an enormous mixing stage and numerous other suites for sound effects recording, sound design, Foley and voice replacement — all with associated live areas. The massive and memorable dubbing theatre also doubles for colour correction and grading use. ‘All of the workflow in the facility for film is 4k — all of the scanners, all of the printers, the 35mm projection,’ states Piotr. ‘Film mixing is all about meeting Dolby standards for acoustics and playback so we just measured the dome and analysed the data,’ explains Andy. ‘From that we could construct a model that gave us the requirements for damping the dome resonances and for the construction of bass absorbers with the seating tiers and side areas. I don’t want to make it sound easy as it wasn’t — Phil Pyatt and Chris Walls at MA did some really good work on this one.’ The same theatre is big enough to house a stage in it should anyone want to use it for a performance and there are tielines for cameras and audio. On the video side there is video restoration, film printing, editing suites, suites for film conforming and domes are dedicated to blue and green screens complete with all the associated camera, lighting and tracking paraphernalia. One of the big domes is dedicated to stage building but there are plans for more, according to Piotr. ‘We are prepared for digital creation here but later on we will build another two domes that will be four times bigger than the biggest one we have. They’re going to be 200m wide, and these will be used for more typical stage building. The next step will also be to build a hotel on the plot but we have to get everything else finished here first!’ There are also 16 trailers and six trucks equipped with apartments, changing rooms, toilets, showers, power generators, lighting and crane storage for film location filming. Equipment choices were relatively easy according to Piotr as they had done their market research with facility owners and manufacturers well in advance. However, they indulged themselves with the sound rooms as Stan and Piotr are audio men at heart. The music recording dome is quite special even by Alvernia standards. The live area has been optimised for music for film and can comfortably accommodate 100 musicians. They have created one of the world’s greatest recording spaces. A
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January/February 2009
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Krasny and Witkowski.
centrally hung ‘death star’ provides variable acoustics for the enormous space by opening out motorised absorber panels like some giant pine comb. ‘Stan doesn’t do prosaic so the final design for the main diffuser was always going to be a statement!’ says Andy. ‘We tried various alternatives but what we ended up with was somehow in keeping with the nature of the buildings. When I first saw the dome interiors they reminded me of a Flash Gordon film with the doors and even the architraves straight out of Metropolis. The mechanicals were quite something and Stan’s engineering background gave him the courage to go for it. Acoustically the effect of opening the panels is quite subtle and time will tell as to the embellishments it can offer in recording sessions.’ There are also large rooms off this main recording space with mechanically operated rotating wall panels that can be changed in sections from absorbent surfaces to hard stone. Combine all this with a fantastically spacious and comfortable control room and you have all the ingredients to do good work. One dome is dedicated to a machine room and is a work of art and science with 60 racks of audio, video and networking equipment. ‘All the transmission of audio, video, HD video, 4k video, controls, are all through fibre and convertors at both sides,’ says Piotr. ‘This way we don’t have to worry about problems with electricity, magnetic fields, and so on. There is only one dome that is analogue and that is the music recording studio where the Pro Tools systems are in the control room but they’re also networked.’ The trunking scheme was designed by Piotr in two days — the fitters were booked before the plan was drawn out — and has 50% spare capacity. It employs something like 20km of multimode fibre, 3km of single mode, 50km of Cat6 and 30km of audio and video cable. Central storage is Hitachi AMS500 for video and AMS1000 for audio. ‘The thing today is that to run a studio you need an IT man,’ he adds. ‘Everything has Ethernet … so we can even run it from home!’ January/February 2009
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facility The pipework and trunking is not so much hidden as made a feature of and you can see it all beneath you as you walk on the metal grid floors. And the space ‘theme’ is maintained throughout on the fittings and cappings and the integration of the lighting into the ceilings and panels. There are those massive acoustic damping ‘pipes’ hanging from the ceiling in the mixing theatre and light trunking that looks like veins. But it’s the little touches that make it. An in-house architect knocks up the design and it’s built in-house, so if you have an air con return that is deemed unsightly it can be quickly transformed instead into something that adds to the room. There’s staff-only fingerprint access control to certain sections and areas of the complex and silent air conditioning throughout, which is quite an achievement given the size of the spaces. As you walk around you discover some positively amazing views across the massive complex and its incredible pods. Alvernia has completed testing and is open for business offering part or complete packages of film production facilities to film makers. However, it’s clear that there is a strong desire to make their own productions from inception to completion — all on the premises, using all the equipment, the operators and to complete, release and distribute it themselves. Anyone who follows the film industry will know that there are many Polish film makers and technicians working on the world stage. I’ll square with you and say that the scale of Alvernia is quite simply breathtaking. It is massive: the pods are massive, the rooms and spaces within the pods are massive, and plot it is all placed on is massive. There’s also a massive level of technological investment here. I’m not talking about flash trophy technology here but choice technology that spans boundaries between disciplines and is in many cases extremely new — technology that enables the creation of workflows and levels of efficiency that we are all aware of but just never actually see implemented. If you were to spend a long time researching all the gear that is available and had enough vision to construct the necessary infrastructure beneath it with a very farsighted view of future trends and directions, and you had the money and you
had the space and the buildings, and, most importantly of all, you had absolutely no baggage from a previous film facility to accommodate; if you were fortunate enough to build a film facility from scratch then it would probably be a lot like Alvernia. Probably wouldn’t look like it though. It is a life’s work to create something of this scale and ambition. n
Contact alvernia studios, poland Website: www.digicinema.com
K-04 — Film studio 2000m2 film studio with maximum height of 16m for film set construction.
K-05 — Film studio 120m2 film studio. Studio accommodates 18m wide and 6.5m high green screen (chroma key).
K-06 — Film studio 120m2 film studio. Studio accommodates 18m wide and 6.5m high blue screen (chroma key).
K-07 — Film dubbing and colour grading theatre
K-01 — Music scoring studio Scoring stage that easily accommodates a 100-piece symphony orchestra. Large private lounge for rehearsals and relaxation. Control Room 50m 2 ; Studio A 365m 2 (height 11m) with variable acoustics; Studio B 40m 2 with variable acoustics; Studio C 7m2. 72-input Neve 88R console with Encore; Munro Acoustics LTD custom M4+P on Dynaudio Acoustic drivers (5.1 system); Westlake BBSM-6 (5.1 system); power amps by MC2, Hafler. Studer A 827 Gold Edition with Dolby SR, Pro Tools HD 3 Accel with Massive Pack (96 tracks on Apogee convertors), Pro Tools HD 3 Accel with Massive Pack Pro PCI X for editing
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and recording (8 tracks on Prism ADA-8XR convertor) with 4Gb fibre link to shared storage. Selection of microphones and outboard preamps, effects, and dynamics.
Film dubbing theatre: 300m 2 area with AMS Neve DFC Gemini, 96 channel strips and faders; 7.1 JBL 5000 Series monitoring; two Pro Tools HD 3 Accel (96 tracks) two Pro Tools HD 3 Accel system (48 tracks); Sony SRX-R110 SXRD 4k; Telecine Sondor ALTRA V1 35mm HD. Film Suite A for scanning/printing/film Restoration: Northlight 2; Celco Fury. Film Suite B for colour grading: Baselight Eight; Cinetal Cinemage HD Reference LCD; Astro DM-3400 56-inch LCD monitor. Conference hall and dressing room.
K-02 — Reception, cafeteria
K-08 — AV Machine room
Dining Room and kitchen for up to 90 people.
Sound and picture can be digitally routed from the central machine room to any room in the facility through fibre. 20 audio machine racks; 20 video machine/video transfer racks; 20 networking/storage racks with multimode and singlemode fibre patchbays and tie lines between all facilities; shared storage system; fibre channel Brocade switch (4Gb); Ethernet Sisco switch (1Gb); Think Logical F/O
K-03 — Film studio 2000m2 film studio with maximum height of 16m. Studio accommodates 70m wide and 15m high blue screen (chroma key). Motorised, motion controlled Technodolly; numerous cameras and lightning; Cine-tal Cinemage Reference LCDs.
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KVM switch; Mac Xserves; Dell/SUN supporting servers.
K-09 — Film editing and visual SFX facility Film Editing Suite A 30m2; Film Editing Suite B 30m2; graphic suites and machine room.Two DVS station Clipster4k; Dynaudio AIR 15 5.1 monitoring; Cine-tal Cinemage HD Reference LCDs; Astro DM-3400 56-inch LCD monitors; ten Final Cut/Graphic Stations.
K-10 — Casting and rehearsal facility Motion Capture, casting and rehearsal facility.
K-11 — Audio postproduction facility Surround control rooms with adjoining studios and natural daylight for film audio production, sound design and editorial, ADR and music recording and mixing. Control Room A 30m 2; Studio A 47m 2; Control Room B 26m 2; Studio B 20m 2; machines rooms and rehearsal room. AMS Neve MMC300 with Encore; Genelec 1037 stereo monitoring; Dynaudio AIR 15 5.1 monitoring; two Pro Tools HD 3 Accel system (96 tracks); Toshiba 50-inch LCD.
K-12 — Office facility Space for production offices.
K-13 — Power generators UPS and power generators systems (2 x 1.2MW).
Future expansion Two 6,361m2 film studios with maximum height of 28m for film set construction.
January/February 2009
It’s back...
The Lowest Prices... The Fastest Delivery... The Biggest Catalogue...
www.studiospares.com Tel: 08456 441020
GEAR
Products
Spotlight: Focusrite
Equipment introductions and announcements.
Bull is back with Blackbox
JoeCo Limited, founded by original SADiE founder Joe Bull, has previewed its Blackbox Recorder as a high performance multitrack device designed for live music recording that records 24 tracks directly to USB2 drive. It can be plugged directly into the insert points on a console and records in Broadcast WAV file for 24 channels of 24-bit/96kHz in a 1U. It has extensive synchronisation facilities and a keyboard interface for naming recordings. Clocks can be synchronised to an incoming AES-EBU or SPDIF signal while LTC provides a time stamp. The MIDI input can serve for synchronisation (MTC) and MIDI machine control purposes. The unit can accept 9-pin commands as well as Sony PII protocol. A footswitch can be used to mark intervals between songs in a live set and creating separate recordings for each song. There’s also a headphone output for monitoring of each input and confidence checking while eight of the analogue inputs are looped through to aux insert points allowing external equipment to be placed into the signal chain. It has 24 channels of metering and a colour LCD and front panel touch-sensitive controls are supplemented by a data wheel that doubles as a scrub wheel. The box is expected to be available in April. www.capturingperformance.com
Virtual Audio-Technica catalogue An on-line, interactive version of Audio-Technica’s 2008-2009 product catalogue is available at www.audio-technica.com/ catalogue T h e U K re t a i l p r i n t catalogue has been recreated in electronic form to make it easy for dealers to find product information and to email colleagues. Everything within the hard copy catalogue, from product images to technical specifications and UK retail pricing information, is present in the interactive version, which is searchable. www.audio-technica.com/catalogue
More portable eyebrows Rycote has added five miniature windshields to its range of Mini Windjammers, all designed for portable recorders. To the models for the Nagra AresM, Olympus LS10 and Sony PCMD50 have come Mini Windjammers for the Edirol R-09HR, Marantz PMD620, Tascam DR-1 and Zoom H2 and H4. www.rycote.com
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Focusrite has integrated Liquid preamp technology with Saffire PRO audio interfacing. Liquid Saffire 56 is Focusrite’s new flagship 2U multichannel FireWire audio interface. Two of Liquid Saffire 56’s eight preamps use the third generation of Focusrite’s Liquid Preamp for a choice of ten different preamp emulations, including Neve 1073, Pultec MB-1 and Telefunken V72. A harmonics dial allows the user to compensate for variance in vintage originals or to add levels of 2nd, 3rd and 5th harmonic distortion. Alongside the two Liquid and six Saffire preamps are ten analogue outputs, 16 channels of ADAT I-O, stereo SPDIF or AES I-O, MIDI and two virtual ‘loopback’ inputs for routing digital audio between software applications. Mic, line and instrument inputs all have independent connectors and Word clock I-O is provided on BNC. Each channel has independent phantom power and a high pass filter with the two instrument channels also featuring -9dB pads. There’s also 5-LED metering for all inputs and two independent headphone buses together with a main monitor dial with dim and mute switches. Saffire Mix Control is ‘zero-latency’ 18 x 16 DSP Mixer/ Router software provided with Liquid Saffire 56, which also comes bundled with the Focusrite plug-in suite. The Focusrite Plug-in Suite has a collection of EQ, Compression, Reverb and Gating VST/AU plug-ins for tracking and mixing. The Compressor and Gate have been modelled on Focusrite hardware devices. The EQ module delivers a similar signature to the ISA EQ curves with the control layout also mirroring that of the original. The Focusrite Guitar FX Suite provides 11 VST/AU plug-ins that include five guitar amp models and four distortion pedal effects, all courtesy of Italian software company Overloud. A Hot Tuna guitar tuner and Smart Hum Remover are also provided. The amp models are based on the Vox AC30, Marshall JCM900, Fender Twin, Mesa Boogie Rectifier and Fender Bassman while the pedals are based on the Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Electro Harmonix Big Muff and Dunlop Fuzz Face. www.focusrite.com
Violet Garnet and filter The Garnet from Violet offers nine variable polar patterns and circuitry that is ‘warmed’ by a tube and output transformer. It employs a specially made large dualdiaphragm shockmounted into a square head-grille where a multilayer brass mesh grille is said to keep frequency response and sound details close to unaffected. The ‘massive’ body construction provides low mechanical noise and a solid bass response and the Gar net comes with an external elastic suspension shockmount. It is powered by a soft-starting PSU and has a class-A internal tube preamplifier based on a fully discrete linear circuit for high output, low impedance and ultra low distortion and noise. A large humbucker-type customwound audio transformer balances the microphone’s output. The latest addition to Violet Design’s accessories range is the metal mesh Pop Filter. It is constructed from dual layers of fine mesh screen that are housed in a holder and
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are attached to the microphone via a locking mounting ring. Unlike other filters, the mesh screens are conical and this lack of parallel surfaces is very effective at removing offending plosives while at the same time leaving the remainder of the signal intact and uncoloured. A consequence of this efficiency means the filter can be positioned very close to the microphone. The Pop Filter is available in black, brown and nickel finishes while the mounting ring comes in 42mm and 60mm diameter sizes to accommodate different microphone girths. www.violet-design.com
Upmix and centre-channel control The UM225 and U M 2 2 6 S t e re o to-Surround Processors use Waves’ patented centre and rear channel extraction processes, together with an LFE channel enrichment process. The UM225 (for
January/February 2009
GEAR 5.0) and UM226 (for 5.1) deliver improved surround imaging for a wider soundscape with better separation. The UM225 and U M 2 2 6 f e a t u re superior channel de-correlation and ambience, enhanced clarity and separation of frontal centre, profile modes for film and music, advanced LFE channel LoAir enrichment with cutoff-frequency control, adjustable rear channel ambience, and an intuitive surround graph. Waves’ Center p r o c e s s o r separates phantom centre audio from side (L/R panned) content. Suited to final mixes and mastering, Center lets users zero in on the phantom centre and bring out or bring down the vocals without affecting everything else. Perfect for p o s t p ro d u c t i o n engineers and DJs as well, Center allows users to reposition, isolate and even eliminate elements of a mix. Its engine considers the amplitude, frequency and time envelope of stereo sources, and the user has controls for punch and high and low frequency. www.waves.com
Zaxcom Fusion 12 Zaxcom Fusion 12 audio mixer/ recorder offers 12 balanced analogue inputs and dual Compact Flash recording. It is said to achieve low weight and superior power efficiency by eliminating the use of a hard drive. It will record up to 12 tracks and has eight balanced mic/line level inputs with phantom power on XLRs with the remaining four balanced line level inputs using a 10-pin connector. These extra four inputs may be used to feed any mix track without limitation or as a fourchannel monitor return. Each of the four inputs additionally may be used to feed the headphone bus in any combination and may be instantly switched with a dedicated monitor switch or routed via the Fusion’s touchscreen.
Eight output mix buses are available as analogue and AES digital while 16 meters show the level of the input channels and the output mix buses used to feed cameras and external devices. It includes a soft knee compressor on each of its 12 internal record buses and each of the eight output buses. www.zaxcom.com
www.schoeps.de/showroom/
Multicapsule stick condenser
The BT-201 from JZ Microphones is a small diaphragm condenser with different changeable capsules offering patterns of cardioid, omni, open cardioid and open cardioid with -20dB pad. A stereo pair set is also available. The mic has easily changeable capsules based on magnetic connection, an all-metal body, low self noise and a detailed sound with smooth and transparent highs, presence and a natural low-end response. As with previous JZ models the mic has a fiveyear warranty. A package, with one microphone and three changeable heads, will be available at Euro 499 while the capsule with -20dB open cardioid will be available at an extra cost of Euro 99. A JZI-7 shockmount is available at Euro 79 and a matched stereo pair will cost Euro 1059. The JZ pop filter offers a distinctive ‘curved cone’ shape and employs two screens. The main benefit of this design is claimed to be reduced reverberations and, therefore, improved fidelity. The new accessory comes with the new Black Hole microphone shockmount. The pop filter and shockmount are patent pending and will be available at a suggested retail price of Euro 339. www.jzmic.com
January/February 2009
Unrivalled innovation Excerpt from a contribution to an Internet forum:
“Wow, one of the best online presentations I've ever seen.”
SCHOEPS GmbH Spitalstr. 20 D-76227 Karlsruhe resolution
a practical comparison of recording techniques
www.schoeps.de mailbox@schoeps.de Tel. +49 721 943 200 19
GEAR
Trinity master clock
A n t e l o p e ’s Trinity master clock is based on the same Oven Controlled C r y s t a l technology used in its OCX and OCX-V master clocks. New features include three independent audio generators up to 384kHz with varispeed control, three independent SD generators, simultaneously offering PAL and NTSC, three independent HD generators, presenting a choice of 16 formats, and Antelope’s 4th generation of Acoustically Focused Clocking (AFC), which now employs 64-bit DSP. A triple display shows the frequencies for the independent
MOTU integrates EuCon a u d i o generators. Tr i n i t y maintains a l l t h e features from A n t e l o p e ’s current OCX-V Audio/Video Master Clock, such as its jitter management module, black burst generator, and full audio and video gearboxing with simultaneous 0.1 and 4% pullups/pull-downs. As with the OCX and OCX-V, Trinity can accept input from the 10M Rubidium Atomic Clock and using this will bypass the Oven Controlled Crystal in these devices and resolve to Atomic for their reference. www.antelopeaudio.com
Euphonix’s EuCon control protocol has been integrated into MOTU’s Digital Performer 6. From h i g h - re s o l u t i o n fader and plug-in control to a d v a n c e d
programming features, Euphonix’s MC Control and MC Mix offer Digital Performer users tactile control over almost all DAW functions. The 1.4 software update for the MC Pro and System 5-MC controllers offers enhancements to operation with Pro Tools, Logic Pro 8, Nuendo, Pyramix and Mackie Control applications such as Final Cut Pro and Soundtrack Pro. The new software also includes 96kHz support and a touch-screen GUI interface for Studio Monitor Express, the surround monitoring application that is included with MC Pro and System 5-MC. www.euphonix.com
New AP interface
Audio Precision’s Digital Serial I-O for APx audio analysers provides multichannel, chip-level connectivity for designers of HDMI receiver/ transmitter chips, A-D and D-A convertors, codecs, and other audio ICs. Innovations include eight channels of simultaneous audio data, multiple data line and TDM support, independent clocks, buffered oscilloscope monitors, and built-in support for left or right justified, I2S and DSP formats. www.ap.com
Ribbon preamp with Curve
Colourless. Clean. Transparent. Smooth. CMS Active Nearfield Monitors from Focal Professional Based upon Focal proprietary driver technology, the new CMS 65 and CMS 50 simply offer outstanding performance and exceptional versatility. We could bore you with the superbly finished aluminium die-cast cabinets which offer unconditional rigidity, the internal damping and bracing which banishes unwanted colorations, or the unique Al/Mg (aluminium/magnesium) inverted dome tweeter which easily extends up to 28kHz at -3dB, with a close to perfection pulse response. But you probably just want to know how they perform. And how much they cost. Brilliantly. And less than you think.
Focal Professional Users
Distributed by SCV London: Call 020 8418 1470 for your nearest dealer
www.scvlondon.co.uk
20Focal CMS Resol Jnr 30-10-08.indd
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Del Palmer
Chris Tsangarides
Sean Genockey
Kate Bush
Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Tom Jones
Manic Street Preachers, Kula Shaker, Tom McRae
- uses the Twin 6BE
-uses the Solo 6BE
- uses the Solo 6BE
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The AEA RPQ preamp with Curve Shaping and P48 power puts all the controls for ribbon mics at your fingertips: 80dB of JFET gain, P48 phantom power for active studio ribbons such as AEA’s A440, and LF trim and HF boost controls that are tuneable and defeatable so you can tame proximity problems and/or add a little more to the top. The RPQ also sounds good with condenser and moving coil mics and the DC-coupled JFET topology delivers the dynamics, subwoofer bass and fast transients that ribbon and other mics are capable of. Its Low-Energy-Storage (LES) circuitry recovers instantly from overloads, an advantage with unpredictable dynamics, and its No Load input impedance of over 10,000Ohm makes it an ideal active mic splitter as mic splitters usually load down, changing a mic’s sound, but not the RPQ. www.ribbonmics.com
January/February 2009
GEAR
DAV Electronics BG7
Røde M1 dynamic
The BG7 is known as The DAV Channel Strip — a microphone preamp and limiter/compressor that includes, in channel 1, a mic amp with DI, switched gain controls for high accuracy level setting (4dB steps), DI Input (high impedance), level indication, high pass filter (switchable), 26dB pads (switchable), phase reversal and 48v phantom supply (switchable). The mic amp can be linked to the limiter/compressor in channel 2 that features switched recovery time (1s and 0.3s), threshold, LED metering and limiter/compressor on/ off switch. www.kmraudio.com
Pearl fig-8 Pearl has a new f i g - 8 c o n d e n s e r, the CB 22, which uses the well known Pearl rectangular capsules. The sound of the microphones is enhanced by the use of a 48V transformerless preamp circuit and the CB 22 completes a ‘family’ of mics together with CC 22 (cardioid) and CO 22 (omni). The microphone is finished in PianoBlack ED-lacquer with gold, white or red ring and engraved model numbers. www.pearl.se
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eight
With vast headroom and ultra-wide bandwidth, the m801 is detailed, musical,
HD-SDI and power for cameras
The Røde M1 has a solid die-cast body and sturdy dynamic capsule targeted at vocalists and has a lifetime warranty. It has Gold-plated XLR connectors, an internal pop-filter, a feedback rejecting pattern, low handling noise and is manufactured in Australia. www.rodemic.com
Blackmer Sound Tube E
Blackmer Sound’s Tube E is a valve channel strip that allows the user to push a signal up against any of several saturation or overload points. It uses no global feedback and instead uses multiple Class A gain stages feeding a DC-coupled balanced H bridge output stage. There is lots of gain and no electrolytic caps in the signal path. It has a Photonic Compressor with a low cut filter with selectable frequencies on the detector to avoid pumping, and a detector sidechain so you can modify compression from outside of the box. ‘Dynamic Audio Display’ shows clipping, gain reduction and the overall signal all in one place. A high pass filter near the input removes sub-sonics and there are two pads: an Iron Pad before the input transformer and a Tube Pad after it but before the first tube gain stage. Shaping filters include a Presence contour for ‘shimmer’, a Mid Scoop tuneable to cover the entire audio range, and a ‘Phat’ function that adds punch. www.blackmersound.com
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HD-PowerLink, from Klotz AIS, is a transmission system that significantly expands the range of professional applications for camcorders. In new-generation HD camcorders, such as the Sony models PMW-EX1 and PMW-EX3, an SDI output for HD signal transmission is a standard feature. It delivers the optimum preconditions for secure transmission of SD or HD signals across distances of up to 100m during live broadcasting. The new HD-PowerLink system features a rugged cable that transmits video and embedded audio and also incorporates a secure power supply. There’s no need for a power pack on the camera itself — the power supply is located on the mixer side of the cable. The HD-PowerLink system guarantees rapid and consistent transmission of signals in mobile and stationary applications, requiring only a single cable between the vision mixer/recording device and camera. Multiple cameras can be linked up in minutes — even over long distances. www.klotz-ais.com
New pro PRO can The Ultrasone PRO Series quartet of headphones has expanded to a quintet with the addition of the first headphone in the PRO Series with S-Logic Plus technology. The closed-back PRO 900 headphone is in a black design with velvet covered black and silver ear pads and a diamond-cut logo insignia. The headphone has a new 40mm titan-covered driver and comes standard with MU-Metal shielding (ULE technology). An extremely soft cable with Neutrik connectors completes the package. They come in a hard-sided carrying case with two removable cables and spare ear pads. www.ultrasone.com
mplif ier
open and pure. It will effortlessly resolve even the lowest level ambient information, resulting in recordings of astonishing clarity and realism, which reveal the essence of the music being recorded. Regardless of genre, source or application, the m801 faithfully captures what the microphone hears, allowing you to focus on the sound.
fully balanced, transformerless design / ribbon mic mode / precision gold contact gain controls / no electrolytic capacitors in the signal path / sealed gold contact relays for all signal switching / regulated linear power supply with custom wound toroidal transformer / highest quality components used throughout / five year warranty on parts and labor
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January/February 2009
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GEAR
Daking’s Mic-Pre One Daking’s Mic-Pre One singlechannel microphone/instrument preamplifier shares the gain structure and Class A, fullydiscrete transistor circuitry design of the popular Daking MicPre IV and additionally has a variable high-pass filter. It ships in a freestanding steel enclosure with switchable phase, 20dB mic input pad and +48V phantom power, plus a selectable 1/4-inch line/hi-z instrument input. All use relays with gold contacts. Two large knurled aluminium knobs control the variable highpass filter and continuously variable 70dB of input gain, which is complemented by a 20-segment bi-colour LED meter. The rear of the unit offers a Jensen transformer-isolated mic input and fully-balanced XLR output, plus a 1/4-inch line output. www.transaudiogroup.com
AKM D-AC chip AKM’s AK4373 is a 24-bit stereo D-AC with advanced digital signal processing and integrated speaker and headphone drivers that is designed for portable multimedia applications including Bluetooth headphones and personal navigation devices. It is the latest addition to the Audio2go product family. A h e a d p h o n e o u t p u t c a n b e c o n f i g u re d f o r conventional single-end, fully-differential or pseudo capless drive. This option enables designers to determine the most appropriate headphone system to optimise sound quality, board-space saving, and to take advantage of possible part/cost savings. The on-chip advanced digital signal processing performs hi-pass/low-pass filter, 3-D enhancement, 5-band EQ, volume and automatic level control and limiter. www.akm.com
Marantz hand-held The PMD620 hand-held digital compact recorder from Marantz offers direct-to-MP3 recording in three quality levels, as well as 44.1/48kHz WAV in 16- or 24-bit. It includes two condenser mics as well as line and external mic inputs. It uses SD flash memory cards for storage and has one-touch record, a thumb-operated scroll wheel, a vivid OLED screen and is powered by two AA batteries. Included in the firmware is Copy Segment editing, which uses non-destructive cut and paste-style editing to create a new sound file, which can be up/downloaded via the built-in USB port. Another menu feature, ‘Skip-back’, allows transcribers to review recorded audio from 1 to 60 previous seconds. A USB 2.0 port allows drag-and-drop transfer of files to a PC. The PMD661 solid state recorder is a robust professional handheld PCM/MP3 recorder that supersedes the PMD660 with an improved form factor, a superior feature set, and the use of SD media. It has a significantly smaller footprint than the PMD660 and has an improved top facia layout with fewer buttons and a more highly developed use of multifunctional operation. It includes an integrated stereo condenser mic, a 128 x 64 OLED and features balanced mic and line XLR inputs, as well as phono outputs and a secondary unbalanced line-in on 3.5mm jack. It has a 24-bit/96 kHz recording option and Mark Editor software allows the marker points made on the recorded file to be adjusted post-recording, and a new file created, meaning basic editing can be carried out on a laptop and files posted for immediate distribution.
The Denon Professional DN-C620 CD player has auto cue, instant start, fader start control and index tallying. The slot-in CD mechanism reads CD-DA audio data from CD and CD-R/RW discs, with decoding of .cda, .wav, and .mp3 files from CD-R/RW discs. Playback features include a Finish mode function, with a selectable preset option of either Stop/Cue of the following track or Recue of the current track, when the unit is in single play mode. RS-232 control can output ISRC and POS codes from commercial CD releases as well as CD-Text and ID-3 tag information. A 25-pin GPIO parallel control port facilitates integration within broadcast systems. www.d-mpro.com
DK Dolby E Decoding D K - Te c h n o l o g i e s h a s incorporated Dolby E technology into its PT0760M HD/SD multichannel video waveform monitor, which can now handle Dolby E decoding, from embedded audio within HD/SD video or through separate AES inputs via Dolby’s Cat. No. 552 OEM decoder module. The PT0760M can also provide analogue or AES audio outputs with integral level control, which allows it to manage and monitor Dolby Digital 5.1 coded audio signals. www.dk-technologies.com
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January/February 2009
GEAR
Pocketrak CX While the Pocketrak 2G was an ultra-slim recorder with an omnidirectional mic, Yamaha’s Pocketrak CX adds an upgraded stereo microphone and expandability. Like its predecessor, the CX supports 16-bit/44.1 .wav files to MP3, has an onboard speaker, stand adapter, and Cubase AI DAW software. The CX adds a larger AA rechargeable battery for up to 40 hours of continuous recording and playback, a 90° X-Y microphone and microSD cards (2Gb card included). There’s also a peak limiter and variable speed playback. www.yamahasynth.com
1 – 4. 4. 2009 creating emotions
RSS extends M-400 warranty to 3 years
DU: 09.01.2009 GB
Roland Systems Group has extended the warranty support for its M-400 V-Mixer digital console to 3 years. Roland UK Ltd will now provide three-year warranty and technical support for any M-400 mixer purchased from an authorised dealer. All software upgrades for the console will be available free of charge. The V1.5 update includes increased flexibility in Compressor and Gate assignment, the addition of 8 matrices, Direct Channel Output Assignment for increased flexibility when using personal mixing systems and recording splits, Tap Tempo for delay settings, more shortcuts for faster access and setup, and interface enhancements for accelerated workflow and ease of use. www.v-mixingsystem.com
V-Machine VST player
Electro-Voice PL Series Inspired by the PL legacy from the 1970s, the new 2008 PL Series from EV is a comprehensive family of vocal and instrument microphones. Featuring seven vocal models and three instrument models, all PL Series mics have a non-reflective textured satin finish, high-quality fine mesh Memraflex grills, and shockmounted capsules for low handling noise. The entry-level dynamic supercardioid PL24 and PL24S (switched version) offer clarity. The PL44 is a dynamic supercardioid, while the dynamic supercardioid PL80a is accompanied by the PL80c, which maintains the sonic characteristics of the PL80a but with the ‘classic’ PL finish reminiscent of the legacy PL80 from years ago. The PL84 and PL84S (switched version) are condenser cardioids. The dynamic supercardioid PL33 is a kick drum and low frequency instrument mic while the dynamic supercardioid PL35 is designed and voiced for tom and snare miking with a design that eliminates the need for right-angle XLR connectors. Rounding-out the instrument line-up, the PL37 small diaphragm condenser cardioid is designed for overheads. www.electrovoice.com
January/February 2009
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52126-011 • Messe FFM • PLS • Image • Resolution (1. Schaltung) • 102x253mm/ssp • CD-ROM • ISO CMYK • jh: 11.12.2008
SM Pro Audio is now shipping its V-Machine VST player. The V-Machine is a compact VST/VSTi hardware playback module designed to take plug-ins on the road or into the studio and access them directly without a computer. Multiple plug-ins can be loaded into bank/preset memories of V-Machine for immediate access and combined into chains, splits, and layers. Full external MIDI controller support allows users access to plug-in parameter controls. Audio is handled by stereo inputs and outputs and a headphone output with dedicated volume control. Three USB connections handle computer transfers of VST applications, streaming of sample content from external hard drives, connection of USB controllers, and copy protection dongles. A MIDI-in jack is also included for the connection of standard MIDI controllers. The SM Pro Audio V-Machine will ship with control configuration software compatible with Windows and Mac OS X as well as IK Multimedia’s Sample Tank SE and a set of sound samples. Users can load up VST/VSTi plug-ins on their computer for auditioning, sound-set creation, and bank/preset memory assignment prior to transferring to the V-Machine for standalone use. Transferring plug-ins to the V-Machine via USB transfer takes care of all user data and program memories. www.smproaudio.com
Prolight + Sound is the leading international trade fair for event and communications technology, AV production and entertainment. Come to Frankfurt am Main from 1 – 4 April 2009 and find out about the most important new industry trends. Only here will you discover key inspirations for your business as well as technological innovations that will open up radically new opportunities. Give free rein to your creativity and exploit the huge potentials offered by Prolight + Sound. Tel. +44 (0) 17 84 41 59 50 info@uk.messefrankfurt.com www.prolight-sound.com Supported by VPLT – The Professional Lighting & Sound Association of Germany, and EVVC – European Association of Event Centers
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REVIEW
Neumann TLM103D & TLM67 These two new microphones from Neumann are very different propositions, yet they have one thing in common — they are both updated versions of older designs. JON THORNTON puts a foot in both domains.
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he TLM103D is yet another addition to the growing range of the company’s Solution-D digital microphones and the TLM67 is a modern take on the venerable U67. Starting with the TLM103D, and externally it appears almost identical to its wholly analogue stable mate — save for a small indent scooped out of the casework’s lip to accommodate a single blue LED, and the blue Neumann badge that indicates it is part of the Solution-D family. Using the same fixed pattern cardioid capsule as the TLM103, the big difference here is that the output is digital with the A-D process occurring immediately after the capsule output. The usual XLR output on the base carries an AES42 digital signal, a standard that is still not commonly found on other studio equipment, so some additional interfacing is required to generate a more universally accepted digital signal. There are many options here — a simple ‘starter kit’ includes the microphone and a SPDIF or AESEBU connection kit (TLM 103D Euro 1280, Starter Set Euro 1595 both plus VAT). Each of these comprises a small black box with an accompanying external PSU. Connecting the interface to the TLM103D via an XLR cable
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supplies the microphone with the requisite digital phantom power, and outputs either an SPDIF or AESEBU signal at the interface, depending on the option chosen. While the starter kits are the obvious choice for a single microphone feeding a single source, they do have a number of limitations. The most obvious, and perhaps the most significant one, is that the sample rate of the microphone’s A-D convertor is preset and fixed at either 44.1 or 48kHz. So working at different sample rates, or indeed using anything other than the digital output of the microphone as a sample clock source for the recording system is going to require using some form of sample rate convertor. The second, and less immediately obvious limitation, is that these simple connection solutions really don’t exploit the true power of AES42 as a duplex connection for remote control purposes, or the fairly significant amount of DSP available onboard the microphone itself to precondition the signal in a number of ways. The solution to both of these problems is to use the rather more sophisticated (and costly) DMI-2 interface unit as was supplied with the review unit. A single DMI-2 can operate up to two microphones from the Solution-D range, and multiple units can be cascaded together for control purposes using the supplied RCS software on Mac or PC. Again, the hardware interface connects over AES42 to the microphone(s), and then outputs an AES-EBU signal. The difference here is that the microphone can be
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set to effectively clock using its own internal clock or an external source at sample rates up to 192kHz. These settings are made using the supplied software, together with a number of other DSP-based functions. These include setting the digital gain of the device, a low-cut filter at 40Hz and a built-in peak limiter with an adjustable threshold set at some point below 0dBFS to provide an additional safety net when recording. It’s clear that Neumann has continued to develop the RCS software on a continuous basis. Since I last looked at it, they have made some notable improvements to the GUI — it just looks and feels a little less prototypical than the earlier versions, and they have also beefed up the compressor/limiter functions available in the microphone’s DSP. In addition to the peak limiter function, there is now an additional compressor/limiter with fully variable threshold, ratio and time constants and the ability to work in broadband mode or to restrict its action to frequencies above 1k, 2k or 4k — making it quite useful as a de-essing tool. All in all, it’s a clear intuitive interface; if a little susceptible to lag on the on-screen metering, at least on my ageing G4 PowerBook. It’s also worth pointing out that all settings are retained by the microphone itself, rather than by the interface unit or the software. Whichever interfacing option you choose it’s clear that the quest for moving the A-D process as far up the signal chain as possible comes at a price. And this is not an economic one, but rather the quantity of cables, boxes, power supplies and computers that seem to be needed simply to get the microphone up and running — at least until AES42 becomes more widely adopted by other equipment manufacturers. From this perspective, there’s a lot to be said for Neumann’s other new offering, the TLM67. Billed as a modern take on the venerable U67, the TLM67 is a large diaphragm, multipattern condenser that features the same twin K67 capsule as the original U67. The significant difference is that the original U67 featured valve-based electronics with the associated external power supplies while the new version uses solid-state electronics and a transformerless output stage, but these electronics are tweaked to give a ‘valvelike’ sound quality — an approach that worked surprisingly well with the fixed pattern TLM49. Externally, the TLM67 (Euro 1680 + VAT) has the familiar shape of the original, shared with the later U87, although this version acts as something of a commemorative edition celebrating 80 years of the company and so has a distinctive two-tone colour scheme and a three-dimensional metal badge on the front with a rather stern looking portrait of founder Georg Neumann. Three polar patterns are on offer — cardioid, omni and fig-8, selected by a slide switch on the front of the microphone, and a switchable -10dB pad and high-pass filter are also in evidence on the rear of the microphone. The net result is that setting these two new offerings up side by side was a little like history repeating itself, albeit in reverse — the Neumann TLM67 neatly plugged in via a single XLR and powered by phantom and the latest TLM103 festooned with interface boxes and external power supplies. The sonic qualities of the two microphones are also markedly different. I was able to compare the TLM103D directly with its analogue stable mate. The 103D sounds immediately much brighter and more present than the TLM103 no doubt partly due to the January/February 2009
REVIEW aging of the diaphragm in my TLM103. But there’s also an element of what I’ve come to recognise as the ‘Solution-D Sound’, which is best described as putting you one step closer to the original source. You have to remember that the A-D stage happens immediately after the capsule, and any artefacts introduced by the non-linear network employed at this stage are inherently cancelled out. What this amounts to is that you’re never hearing the effects of microphone electronics and/or transformers, something that we’ve got used to. You’ve also not got the added effects of the interplay between microphone and preamplifier — so choosing a mic/pre combination becomes a thing of the past. And it’s for all of these reasons that I’m never really sure whether the ‘Solution-D Sound’ is really something I like. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s best seen as simply another choice — there are always going to be occasions when a favoured analogue mic/pre combination is going to be the better, if less technically accurate choice. But as one choice, the TLM103D has much to offer. On speech it sounds forward and detailed with an obvious very wide presence boost above 4kHz and a fairly steep roll-off from 15kHz upwards. This suits male and female speech well, although it can sound a little too forward on some sung vocals. The published specs place it almost exactly on a level with the normal TLM103 in terms of equivalent noise and frequency response and, observations about the relative age of the diaphragms aside, this seems to be very much the case. Where the 103D seems to differ is in its ability to resolve transient detail, particularly in the high-mid range. On acoustic guitar this is very noticeable, as it seems to bring the instrument right out of the speakers in a way that the normal 103 simply doesn’t. What you do realise, though, is that AdShotGun(216x125mm)Resolution.qxd:Mise en it’s very much a one trick pony — it has an overall
tonality that is quite bright and slightly edgy that even miking off-axis doesn’t change too much. The TLM67 is almost the complete opposite tonally. I can’t compare it with the original U67, but comparisons with the ubiquitous U87 are somewhat inevitable and it’s a very different sounding microphone. With the cardioid pattern selected the TLM67 sounds remarkably neutral, with an early HF roll-off that sounds natural rather than dull. Compared with the HF presence bump on the U87, the TLM67 sounds rather understated but that is really the point. Yes, there’s a hint of ‘valveness’ in the mid range, but this is a wonderfully un-hyped microphone, which for a large diaphragm design is somewhat unusual in this day and age. On male and female vocals it sounds completely unflustered — there’s never a hint of edginess to the sound or overly hyped HF. And while this slightly mellow sound may not suit every production, the TLM67 seems to work well with most singers. Changing polar patterns actually changes the tonality of the microphone quite markedly. The fig-8 pattern seems to introduce a definite tilt towards the HF, while the omni pattern introduces a little more air to the sound while leaving the LF response untouched. Remembering that the TLM49 proved to be a stonking microphone for recording bass cabs, I tried the TLM67 in the same application. With page 1 18/12/08 15:26 Page 1 the cardioid pattern selected it didn’t really deliver
the sound I was after, but with the omni and fig-8 patterns it sounded very useful indeed — deeper and fuller set to omni, a little more bite set to fig-8. Both of these microphones are worthy additions to the Neumann range but they are as different as chalk and cheese. With all its associated paraphernalia, the TLM103D is an impressive performer with a very distinctive sound but that is really all it does. If you like the sound, or if utter repeatability is important in your workflow (ADR or voiceovers, for example), it is a good choice and offers a relatively affordable step into the world of digital microphones and minimum signal path. The TLM67, on the other hand, is a flexible, multifaceted performer that delivers an understated but hugely competent performance in a variety of different applications. It’s great to see Neumann continue its drive towards making the choice of microphone, both analogue and digital, wider and more affordable. Yet I can’t help but feel that the rather stern looking bust of Georg Neumann is sitting on the right microphone of the two. n
PROS
TLM 103D is a competent, relatively affordable entry to the Solution-D range; TLM67 is a versatile, neutral and honest sounding microphone.
CONS
TLM103D very much a one-trick pony; a lot of paraphernalia needed to get the microphone up and running; expensive DMI-2 needed to fully exploit capabilities; TLM67 might sound a little too mellow for some production styles especially on vocals.
Contact neumann, germany: Website: www.neumann.com
Audio-Technica shotgun microphones, great for Games but not for kids.
BP4027 BP4029
Did you know that no fewer than 960 Audio-Technica shotgun microphones were in use during the recent Summer Games? Would you like to know how it was done? Olympic sound designer, Dennis Baxter, is our very special guest at the Broadcast Video Expo 2009. Visit Audio-Technica on stand F44 to learn more. Register here: www.broadcastvideoexpo.co.uk/audio-technica
January/February 2009
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REVIEW
iZ ADA A crucial part of the tapeless revolution, RADAR developed a reputation for reliability, performance and sound. JON THORNTON plays with a box that allows you to apply that sound to any DAW.
B
ased in Vancouver Canada, iZ has a longer history in the field of digital recording than many might realise. Initially known as Creation Technologies, it was formed in 1991 to develop ‘visionary audio products’. Perhaps its best-known product was the original RADAR hard disk recorder, launched in 1994. The original RADAR and its successor, the RADAR II, were badged and distributed internationally by the Otari corporation leading many people to (wrongly) surmise that the product had been developed by Otari. During this time, Creation Technologies formed a new company — iZ Technology Corporation — and after a five-year partnership with Otari repatriated the RADAR brand and technology and started shipping its own, further improved version, the iZ RADAR 24, in 2000. Since then, there have been a significant number of enhancements to the RADAR hardware and software with new hardware variants (RADAR V) and a range of A-D and D-A conversion options for the systems. You have to remember that during this period, the world of tapeless recording was undergoing some seismic shifts. The computer based DAW was still in its very early stages, and many transitional products emerged that sought to bridge the gap between digital tape-based multitracks and the DAW as we know it today. Against this backdrop, RADAR systems have always exhibited three key advantages over the competition — most of which have now fallen by the wayside. The first was ease of use — if you could use a tape machine you could use a RADAR. 24-track punch-ins? No problem. Latency-free monitoring? Sure. The second is first-rate reliability and technical support. As something of a late adopter of RADAR, I remember being hugely impressed when I found an esoteric bug caused by mounting the record drive on 26
a Mac and then back on RADAR. Emailing the debug log to Vancouver resulted in an interim OS fix being delivered to my InBox within 24 hours — now that’s what I call customer service. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, there was the sound. It’s a widely held opinion that the A-D and D-A conversion used in RADAR systems is some of the best in the business, attributable largely to the unwillingness of iZ chairman and CEO Barry Henderson to cut corners in this important area to reduce costs. Yet despite all of this, as fully fledged DAWs have matured and proliferated, it’s clear that RADAR is fundamentally a recording system rather than a DAW. Yes, you can edit with it but it doesn’t have the pointand-click simplicity or sophisticated editing modes of something like Pro Tools let alone the in-the-box mixing and processing capabilities of such systems. And while you can employ workflows that use RADAR for tracking, and then fly files into a DAW for editing and back again for mixing, this all takes valuable time. So it’s unsurprising that an increasingly common sight in studios was to see a RADAR hooked up to a DAW via digital I-O — effectively relegating it to acting as an A-D/D-A convertor. This state of affairs obviously didn’t escape the attention of the folks at iZ, who recognised the opportunity to leverage the experience in building and developing A-D and D-A convertors to address a new market. The result is the ADA. Housed in a 4u, the family resemblance to the RADAR CPU is evident although thankfully the chassis is nowhere near as deep as a RADAR. The front panel is an exercise in minimalism, finished in glossy black, and simply has a momentary action push switch for power, and a 7-inch TFT touchscreen that provides all status resolution
indications and user interaction with the unit. Like the RADAR, ADA is effectively built around a ruggedised PC, and is designed from the ground up to be modular, which is evident when you inspect the rear panel. The only standard-fit item is a MADI interface, with input and output on both coaxial and optical connectors. Indeed, it soon becomes clear that this MADI interface is really the native I-O of the unit — at least on the digital side of things. Analogue to digital and digital to analogue conversion is taken care of by option cards, each of which gives you 8 channels of analogue input and output on DB25 connectors. There are three flavours of A-D/D-A card on offer — Classic, Nyquist and Super Nyquist. The Classic offers sample rates of between 44.1kHz and 48kHz, the Nyquist extends this to 96kHz, while the Super Nyquist goes the whole hog up to 192kHz. Having chosen your analogue I-O flavours and channel counts, iZ will make your ADA to order although reconfiguration at a later date is a relatively straightforward affair. And for Logic, Nuendo or other native DAW users, the simplest way to hook the ADA up is via MADI with a suitable MADI interface card in the host computer. Other (extra cost) alternatives include a 24-channel ADAT digital I-O card although this is limited to 48kHz operation. And for Pro Tools HD users there is a PTHD interface option. Although this option, when installed, appears on the back panel, it seems to be effectively a standalone format conversion device. To use it, you need to connect the ADA’s own MADI I-O to the card using optical interconnects, and then connect the interface card to the HD core card using a DigiLink connector. Reading through the section of the ADA manual that dealt with setting up Pro Tools to work with the ADA using this option brought about a strange feeling of déjà vu — confirmed when I checked the manual for SSL’s Delta-Link MADI to HD interface — the sections are pretty much word for word, which leads me to think that there’s some sort of cross-licensing deal going on here. What this means is that the ADA suffers the same problem as SSL’s box, namely that understanding what is going on in the Pro Tools interface and Word clock dialogues is pretty confusing. The ADA presents itself in the same way as Delta-Link — as two Digidesign 192 interfaces. Whatever the inputs and outputs are set to in the Hardware Setup dialog (a combination of analogue and digital inputs and outputs — as per the 192 specification) is completely arbitrary — the 16 inputs and outputs of the first 192 and the first 8 inputs and outputs of the second 192 are in fact the 24 channels of the ADA unit. Once you understand this, this isn’t a huge problem, as you can re-label the physical inputs correctly in I-O setup. A bigger issue is that the process cards in a Pro Tools HD system are designed to work as clock slaves. Connecting them to the MADI interface effectively makes a single device that acts as a clock slave, so the MADI unit requires a valid clock to work with. The ADA can provide this, either by using its own internal clock, or an external reference provided as Word clock or embedded clock from an AES or SPDIF signal. But because there is no longer any control signal between the Pro Tools software and the interface, as there is when using a Digidesign unit, you have to manually check that the sample rate of the reference clock and the Pro Tools session are the same — and there’s no visual confirmation on either unit if it isn’t. That said, once you understand these issues, working with the ADA is straightforward. The review unit shipped with 24 channels of Super-Nyquist A-D/D-A cards, the ADAT interface option and the PTHD option. Powering the unit up brings up a boot January/February 2009
REVIEW screen on the TFT touchscreen, and after a short boot process the system is ready to roll. All setup is done via the front panel touchscreen, which has a number of menu levels. The home screen is where the majority of business is undertaken, as it’s here where you select the ADA’s sync reference source and sample rate. Also on this screen is a button showing the currently selected digital I-O format. Pressing this jumps to the relevant section of the Setup menu and allows any installed digital I-O card to be selected — for the purposes of the review this was set to PT HD via MADI. The top third of the home screen shows 24 signal level meters — from the home screen these can be set to either show A-D (input) or D-A (output) – a further button on the home screen allows a full meter view to be displayed showing both inputs and outputs. Just how these meters relate their full scale indication to analogue signal level is configurable via the setup button — this also brings into play a number of other menus that allow some detailed configuration of digital I-O formats, sync reference settings, and whether or not the Word clock output on the rear of the unit acts as a thru or an output. Finally, a routing button on the home screen allows the physical analogue inputs and outputs to be mapped to any of the digital I-O channels in any order, although I suspect most people will simply go with the default 1:1 configuration. For the test, the ADA was hooked up to a Pro Tools HD rig, together with a Digidesign 192 as a comparison. Signals were then recorded simultaneously through both interfaces to separate tracks, and then output to both interfaces for comparison purposes. This threw up an interesting issue straight away, as even though the 192 was clocked externally from ADA’s internal sync reference, audio recorded simultaneously through both interfaces wasn’t synchronous in Pro Tools. Despite
January/February 2009
trying a number of clocking options, with ADA as both clock master and clock slave, this wouldn’t go away — which I put down to some inherent latency in the MADI to HD conversion process. Not a problem if the ADA is your only interface, but potentially problematic if you were hoping to run a mixed economy of convertors. This didn’t get in the way of doing a straight A/B comparison though, which showed some marked differences in the sound. The ADA sounded very definitely warmer than the 192. There was something about the mid range in particular being slightly less forward, although with plenty of LF guts and highend sparkle. Playing around with track mappings and playback settings seemed to indicate that this was mostly attributable to the D-A process — recordings made via the 192 also seemed to exhibit this characteristic when played back through the ADA. Flipping things around, and playing back recordings made by both A-D stages through the 192 also showed some differences, but these were not quite as marked. Here the ADA seems just that touch smoother at the extremes of the frequency response with a little more clarity in the very bottom octave and some better apparent detail in the very high frequencies. Switching between all possible permutations of A-D
resolution
and D-A gave some mixed responses from the small panel of listeners I managed to assemble. The majority preferred the sound of the ADA’s A-D stage compared with the 192, while the jury was fairly evenly split on the sound of the D-A stage and this tended to be based on source type, as the 192 sounds that little bit more ‘in your face’ than the ADA. In summary, if you like the sound of the RADAR convertors you’ll love the ADA, although this comes at a price. Depending on the number of channels, type of ADA cards and digital I-O options, the unit can quite easily head north of UK£10k, which opens up a variety of other possibilities from some well established competitors. In its favour, though, are its compactness (one rackmount device rather than several), and the provision of MADI as standard, which might make a whole bunch of sense for native DAW users. Add to this a very clear and intuitive interface on the box itself, and it has to be in contention with the very best out there. n
PROS
Great sounding A-D and D-A convertors; good user interface with touchscreen; MADI as standard; highly configurable; should interface to most DAWs without a problem
CONS
PTHD interfacing a little clunky from the Pro Tools end; lack of clarity re sample rate and clock source when working with PTHD; some issues with MADI/ HD conversion delay may make using ADA with other convertors slightly problematic.
Contact iz, canada: Website: www.izcorp.com UK, SCV London: +44 208 418 1470
27
REVIEW
Tascam DR-1 Joining an increasingly crowded market comes Tascam’s latest contender for the small and perfectly formed. ROB JAMES feels strangely drawn…
H
ighly portable recorders hold a lasting fascination. Leaving aside the utilitarian aspects for a moment, there is all the romance of cold war spy covert recording. Throw solid-state recording into the mix, science-fiction when I had my first recorder, and it is not hard to see why small and relatively cheap devices are popping up everywhere. But there is an optimum size for such a device — too small and it becomes difficult to operate, too big and you leave it at home. T a s c a m ’ s UK£210 (plus VAT) DR-1 has the size issue beaten. Just about small enough for a capacious pocket and plenty big enough to provide a generous selection of sockets and a decent user interface. The LCD screen is monochrome orange when lit. Tiny silicon rubber feet on the back give some isolation when the unit is placed on a table, evidencing thoughtful design. The DR-1 feels pretty robust and the only question mark is over the SD card/ USB door which will not tolerate heavy handling. Power is provided by an 1800mAh lithiumion battery pack that is recharged via USB or an external 5V DC supply (not included). I prefer to see standard pen cells in these applications but I found that the battery supplied gives around three hours continuous use with WAV recording or a claimed 7 hours of MP3 recording. Extra batteries can be obtained if you are contemplating more extensive use away from the mains. SD cards of between 64Mb and 2Gb are supported along with the higher capacity 4-32Gb SD HC cards. As with other flash memory, all SD cards are not created equal and the Tascam website offers a list of tested and approved examples. The DR-1 records at 44.1/48kHz sampling rates in 16- or 24-bit WAV files or to MP3 files from 32–320kbps. VBR MP3 files are supported for playback only. The unit is powered on or off by pressing and holding a small button on the left side for three seconds or so. A sliding Hold lock switch next to the power button prevents inadvertent powering up in transit or interruption to a recording. Also on this side are the door to the SD card and USB socket compartment and a standard DC power socket. The right-hand side has Output Volume and Mix Balance plus and minus buttons, the Setting button, mic input level pot (the line input is fixed and line inputs must therefore be adjusted at source), and the headphones/line out 3.5mm jack. The Setting button opens the Input Setting Screen where you can select the input, change Int/Mic1 in settings and turn the Monitor On or Off. At the top of the unit the built-in microphones can 28
be rotated using a metal bar to accommodate recording with the unit flat on a table or held vertically, or anywhere in between for that matter. Line in and Mic1 3.5mm stereo jacks sit on the end between the mics. At the other end the Mic2 ¼-inch mono jack enables convenient connection of, for example, a stick mic for interviews. However, there is not a lot of gain available on the external inputs so you need to choose the mics carefully to keep the hiss in check. The screen is a decent size and manages to impart a lot of information without becoming too cluttered, although I would have liked to see some numbers on the meter scale. To the right two LEDs indicate Peak and Battery Charging. The Menu button does what it says while the Stop/Home button works as expected in menus and Record but only pauses in playback. Loop repeats a section of a recording ad infinitum between in and out points set with the I-O button. The |<< button jumps to the beginning of the current file and to the previous file if already at the start and the >>| button jumps to the next file. PB Control can be a mite dangerous in certain circumstances because a quick press invokes the playback speed/pitch change set in the Playback Control screen, which a longer press accesses. Here you can set speed or pitch variation. A long press on the Fx button takes you to the effects set-up screen while a short press toggles the currently selected effect on or off. Effects include a variety of Reverb presets, Emphasis, which is just treble boost, Detune, Autopan and Lo-Fi. I remain to be convinced that effects add any real value to this type of device and although the reverb is OKish I wouldn’t contemplate using any of them for anything serious. Rec/Pause is the biggest button on the panel and a single press activates record standby so you can set levels. A second press initiates recording proper and a third pauses. Below this lies a rather nice data Wheel with a button in the middle. When a setting screen is open, the Wheel is used to change the setting of the resolution
selected item. When the Home Screen is open, the Wheel can be used to adjust the file playback position. Similarly, when the Home Screen is displayed and playback is stopped, the button initiates or pauses playback. In a setting screen it is used to confirm selections, advance a level in a menu, and answer ‘Yes’ to a confirmation message. A 40, 80 or 120Hz filter can be applied to the Mic1/internal inputs and automatic level control or limiting is available. For musicians on the move there are Overdub, Monitoring, Metronome, Tuner and oscillator functions. I used the DR-1 to record some outdoor effects with the internal mics and unsurprisingly found that wind noise is a problem, but not insuperable with a little ingenuity. I also used it as a backup recorder when filming a performance of Toad of Toad Hall. This highlighted one omission; there is no tripod screw receptacle as standard. Fortunately there was a suitable flat surface. Despite the extremely wide dynamic range the compromise record level I chose worked very well with the limiter to give results with no distortion and no noticeable noise. In a crowded market, the DR-1 certainly deserves consideration. The internal mics are not bad and connectivity is good. SD cards are the current way to go and the recording quality belies the price. n
PROS
Nice balance of features and size; good real-world recording performance; comparatively simple to use.
CONS
Non standard size battery; SD/USB door is fragile; at the price, not much else
EXTRAS
Tascam offers an accessory kit, the UK£38 plus VAT AK-DR1 that addresses the mounting and wind noise issues by adding a desktop tripod mic stand with swivel joint, a snap on cradle clip that includes a mic stand adapter, and a windscreen.
Contact tascam, japan: Website: www.tascam.co.uk
January/February 2009
REVIEW
AnaMod ATS-1 Many manufacturers have modelled tape machine characteristics in plug-ins but relatively few have attempted it in analogue without using tape. GEORGE SHILLING harks back to the time when track counts were finite and editing involved some sticky.
A
naMod was founded in 2006 by two industry veterans: Dave Amels (formerly of Bomb Factory, Voce and others) and Greg Gualtieri who is currently president of Pendulum Audio. The company has a unique ethos and a fascinating approach to design. Products are entirely analogue, yet use similar modelling techniques to those used for developing digital plug-ins. Analogue ‘building blocks’ are created to model specific aspects of audio processes using mathematical procedures, much like early analogue computers. The ATS-1 (UK£2750 + VAT) models the effects of analogue tape with two channels sharing all controls apart from level. Interestingly, Amels developed Digidesign’s Reel Tape plug-in but claims that as no digital processing is used here, any inherent problems with digital audio conversion and processing are circumvented entirely. Others have developed tape simulation hardware, for example Rupert Neve Designs’ Portico unit and Empirical Labs’ Fatso, the latter a unit I own. However, as great as the Fatso is, it is arguably rather removed from the experience of tape both sonically and operationally having little in common with the tape machine experience. By contrast, the (stereo) ATS-1 copies some of the controls of a tape recorder, with Record and Stop buttons serving as bypass selectors, and controls for Speed, Bias, LF Record and HF Repro curve adjustments. The retro look of the front panel (with two very brightly lit circular VUs) creates something of an impression of a long lost tape machine. One important aspect to point out is the provision for expansion and customisation by virtue of plug-in circuits for the modelling of different Machine Types and Tape Formulations. There are four possible settings for each, with corresponding slots on the main circuit board when you take the top off. As standard, it seems that the unit comes with settings for Ampex GP9 and 456 tapes, and M79 and A800 recorders. The review unit also had a card for the Ampex 351, an early 60s mono machine. The largest controls are (sensibly) Input and Output levels. Input acts as a ‘drive’ control, governing the amount of effect in a similar way to recording at different levels onto analogue tape, while the Output knob allows you to compensate. It would have been marvellous if the unit could somehow separate ‘drive’ from ‘gain’, so that unity gain was always possible, to make meaningful comparisons easier (Reel Tape offers this). January/February 2009
The two large VUs indicate level, and there are five different reference levels switchable for the meters, allowing for increased drive and accommodation of real world digital levels. Top centre is the Speed control with settings for 7.5, 15 and 30ips, with accurate modelling of the EQ curves pertaining to the relevant setting, including the LF bump. The Bias, LF Rec and HF Repro add and subtract effectively and for broad adjustments these are extremely useful. Zero is at the centre of each knob but there are no détentes. The Hiss knob allows addition of tape hiss and this adds to the authenticity and sometimes really does make things sound a little sweeter. That’s not something I have found with the digital equivalent as it often seems like a good idea but I end up winding it back down, which was not the case here. I was pleasantly surprised by the remarkable airiness this added. In use, the differences between this and the Fatso are immediately apparent. This is a far more realistic recreation of what a tape machine sounds like and how it behaves in action. The sonic changes are generally rather more subtle — across the mix, flipping from Record to Stop mode is much more like flipping between repro from a half-inch machine and the input signal. The M79 and A800 are obviously quite different from each other, with the M79 a little warmer and thicker. However, the Ampex 351 is another world, with some wonderful valve-type warmth and juice really enhancing a mix, but rapidly becoming too much in some circumstances. Turning the input gain up starts to impart a softening of the transients and pretty much exactly the sound you’d expect from pushing the level onto tape. The juicier 456 tends to warm things up and round off the transients more than the more modern GP9, and tape speed selection is critical also, affecting high the frequency response and the low frequency bump as you would encounter with a real machine. At 7.5ips, programme material is often a little too dulled, but for low end enhancement of certain signals this setting is useful. Of course, in the real world, sometimes the input sound is better than what comes back from tape, and that certainly still applies here for some signals. Initially I got carried away with what seemed like subtle enhancement during noisy tracking and overdubbing with a band, only to find things were just a tiny bit more squashed than I would have liked when soloing them during mixing! But the resolution
low-end shaping and tightening was most welcome. Tweaking the tiny Bias and EQ knobs adds to the tape experience, and the knobs are nicely damped. There is something very convincing about the meter ballistics too, although I’d like to have seen more meaningful and accurate calibration of levels in terms of recording level reference with nWb/m figures, even though the input and output level knobs are vaguely calibrated. In practice the empirical approach works fine. With general consensus on internet fora that the ATS-1’s audio processing was subtle, I half expected there to be some ‘emperor’s new clothes’ aspect to this device. But this is absolutely not the case. Of course, using a tape machine is not just about the sonics — you can turn tape backwards, have fun with razor blades, and the multitrack recording process limited you to a certain number of tracks (That’s the real big one. Ed). But sonically, I think AnaMod has achieved a terrific balance of features, omitting wow and flutter and ‘bias rocks’, adding convincing hiss, and offering useful ranges of adjustment in all of the knobs to create a sometimes magical enhancement with a big sound (But no smell, right? Ed). The build is excellent and the knobs are a joy to twiddle. It’s difficult to know the kind of importance to lend to a device like this — it’s probably more vital to have great mics, preamps, EQs, compressors, monitors and so on, but for icing on the cake this is difficult to beat. It genuinely reminded me of the sound ‘off-tape’, and that is a remarkable achievement. n
PROS
Very convincing tape machine sonics; enhancement is generally desirable and enjoyable; all analogue (in the best possible way).
CONS
Expensive; no razor blades or varispeed and doesn’t stop you recording 164 tracks of ‘ideas’!
EXTRAS
The AM660 is a recreation of the sound and compression profile of the Fairchild 660, using the AnaMod process to model the tube circuitry entirely in the analogue domain. It features the classic variable-Mu compression profile and vintage tone, six 660 time constants plus two vocal-friendly variations and a singlespace 500 series rack format.
Contact anamod. us: Website: www.anamodaudio.com UK, KMR Audio: +44 208 445 2446
29
monitor benchtest
Quested S6 KEITH HOLLAND
T
he Quested S6 is a small, 2-way, active loudspeaker and as such represents a departure from the large, high-powered monitors for which Quested is best known. It consists of a 5-inch (127mm) woofer and a 1.1-inch (28mm) dome tweeter housed in a sealed cabinet. The power amplifier, crossover and equalisation electronics are all housed within the cabinet, which has outside dimensions of 170mm wide by 282mm high by 240mm deep and a weight of 7.5kg. Quested specifies power output capabilities of 65W RMS for the low frequencies and 45W RMS for the high frequencies, giving a single loudspeaker a claimed maximum output capability of 104dBC at 1m using a pink noise signal and 116dBC for a pair of loudspeakers with music. The crossover frequency is specified as 1.19kHz and incorporates low-frequency (45Hz) and high-frequency (75kHz) protection filters. Both drivers have magnetic shielding. The rear panel has a combined XLR/¼-inch jack input along with a control for input sensitivity (-12 to +6dBu for 96dB SPL at 1m) and 3-position DIP switches for LF EQ (0, -2, -4dB at 80Hz) and HF EQ (+2, 0, -2dB at 10kHz). This review was conducted with both EQ controls set to 0dB. Figure 1 shows the on-axis frequency response for the S6. The response is somewhat uneven but is held within ±3dB limits from 75Hz to 2.5kHz, above which it is seen to fall gradually to about -6dB at 15kHz. This ‘inverted V‘ shaped frequency response is common to many small monitors and may sometimes be preferred to a flat response when the loudspeaker
Fig. 1. On-axis frequency response and harmonic distortion.
is mounted on a meterbridge, for example. The lowfrequency roll-off appears to be 5th- or 6th-order, due to the LF protection filter, with -10dB at around 60Hz; a respectable figure for a loudspeaker of this size. Also shown on Figure 1 is the harmonic distortion produced by the loudspeaker while generating 90dB at 1m distance. The 2nd and 3rd harmonics are seen to reach levels of greater than -25dB (6%) at frequencies
below about 80Hz, which are high compared with similar loudspeakers. The 2nd harmonic falls below -40dB (1%) for all frequencies above 200Hz and the 3rd above 120Hz. The relatively high levels of distortion at low frequencies are due in part to the use of a sealed cabinet. Many similarly-sized loudspeakers incorporate a reflex port that serves to reduce cone excursion, and hence distortion, at low frequencies often at the expense of some phase response accuracy. Figures 2 and 3 show the horizontal and vertical offaxis response. The directivity is seen to be very wide, extending out to 60 degrees at all frequencies up to about 8kHz, with no evidence of lobing and only subtle evidence of a crossover-related notch at 30 degrees down. The time-domain response of the S6 is demonstrated in the step response (Figure 4), the acoustic source position (Figure 5) and the power cepstrum (Figure 6). The step response shows that the high frequency part of the step occurs around 500 microseconds
ASP8024
One analogue world ...hundreds of studios ...thousands of users
Prices start from around £12,000 plus VAT and Delivery. Options include DAW control bay and patchbay. Distributed in the UK by SCV London. Tel: 020 8418 1470 www.scvlondon.co.uk
monitor benchtest
Fig. 2. Horizontal off-axis response.
Fig. 4. Step response.
Fig. 6. Power cepstrum.
Fig. 3. Vertical off-axis response.
Fig. 5. Acoustic source position.
Fig. 7. Waterfall plot.
before the mid frequency part. This is due to the crossover and is typical of many 2-way loudspeakers. The acoustic source position is seen to effectively shift as far as 4m behind the loudspeaker at low frequencies due to the rapid low-frequency roll-off. This may compromise the accuracy of reproduction of transient signals. The power cepstrum shows up any echoes or reflections in the response and may therefore be useful for determining the cause of response irregularities. There is some evidence of an echo after about
150 microseconds and to a lesser degree after 400 and 700 microseconds which may be cabinet edge diffraction effects. The waterfall plot (Figure 7) gives a view of the combined time/frequency response of the loudspeaker. Apart from some evidence of low-level resonances between 180Hz and 600Hz, the response is seen to decay evenly and rapidly. Of particular note is the fast decay at low frequencies, which is unusual with a 6th-order roll-off. To sum up, the Quested S6 is a very good performer for a small loudspeaker. The choice of a sealed
cabinet may compromise the low-frequency distortion performance but it does result in a well-behaved phase response so the speaker does not exhibit the low-frequency ringing that characterises many of the more common ported designs. The frequency response is not particularly flat or smooth, but it is very well-controlled at all angles off-axis. n
Contact quested, uk: Website: www.quested.com
www.audient.com
REVIEW
VoiceQ ADR & Dub ADR is a necessary evil and if you do it for a living then you’ll be interested in any means to lessen the chore. ANDY DAY uncovers an innovative set of tools for streamlining the process and also throws in a foreign language dubbing program from the same manufacturer.
L
iving on the other side of the world in New Zealand may seem to be last place you’d expect to find innovative specialist software companies, but there are more here than you’d expect. Serato, Virtual Katy and Shiny Box to name a few but I recently came across another such company called Kiwa. Kiwa has developed a suite of software products aimed at revolutionising the way ADR or foreign dubbing is achieved by using VoiceQ ADR, VoiceQ Dub, QML and SIM. These names won’t make a lot of sense to you at the moment but by the end of this review, if you’re involved in ADR or foreign language dubbing you’ll be downloading a demo. For anyone not familiar with ADR, it’s the process of replacing original dialogue with new studio performances from the actor concerned. ADR actually stands for automatic dialogue replacement, but it’s far from automatic. In fact it’s a time-consuming process that actors generally hate doing. Therefore any tool to make the process more streamlined is very welcome and that’s where Voice Q ADR comes in. VoiceQ isn’t just another DAW and, in fact, it doesn’t record audio at all. Instead it works alongside your existing DAW as long as it supports MTC and MMC. While other ADR tools on the market have focussed on creating new audio monitoring systems for recording ADR, including count down pips and streamers, VoiceQ concentrates on making the job easier for the actor by superimposing the actual lines of dialogue over a QuickTime movie, in sync with the original lines of dialogue. This makes ADR easier for everyone, the actor can just read the lines, the recording engineer can concentrate on recording the dialogue and the sound supervisor or director can concentrate on the quality of the delivery. Another side benefit is that everyone uses lines of dialogue from the script as a reference, that way no-one gets lost and most importantly nothing gets missed. To get the script into VoiceQ, Kiwa provides a software tool called SIM. You could type each line of dialogue into VoiceQ but as most scripts are already in file form, an easier way is to just import the text. Any tab delimited file can be used, but given the huge range of different script formats out there, the SIM (Script Import Manager) is the easiest option. It uses some very clever format extraction technology to reformat your script into the correct format for VoiceQ ADR, even timecodes are recognised, formatted and used to spot lines. Then the whole script appears in VoiceQ ADR complete with timecode information for each line. You can adjust each individual word to match up with the original so it’s just a case of going from scene to scene and recording everything. Streamers and pips are commonly used in normal ADR sessions as a visual or audio cue for the actor to get ready to repeat the line and these are also available in VoiceQ where they get superimposed on the QuickTime along with the scrolling text in real-time, giving the actors another tool to get the job done perfectly. VoiceQ is not just limited to ADR though because you can also use it for spotting effects or Foley on a scene-by-scene basis. It’s relatively easy to import a spotting list using SIM and then locate your DAW to 32
This offers a way for translators to collaborate on ‘dry’ translations, which can be directly imported and used in VoiceQ Dub. While it can be used as a standalone, there are also translation services that Kiwa can provide using a worldwide network of translators that is available via subscription. The purchased version requires an iLok for authorisation, but if you already have Pro Tools then you can use the same iLok for both. Once you have the script imported correctly, the script interface of VoiceQ is very well laid out with each line of dialogue and columns containing line number, character name and timecode start/end. There’s even a summary of the number of words in each line. Each field is completely editable for instances where original script changes are made at the session. Clicking on any line will locate to that line, move Pro Tools to the correct place on the timeline, and thus cue everything ready to record. There are selectors that let you decide what information you want overlaid onto the QuickTime, such as timecode, cue streamers and even a text preview of the line being recorded. Although you can run VoiceQ on the same machine as your Pro Tools, a second machine is recommended, especially if you’re outputting video to an external monitor. Ideally you need an external transport controller for your Pro Tools as well, to streamline the recording of each take. Below the script window is the timeline, which has a guide waveform display and each line of dialogue clearly displayed with each word visible. Individual words can be manipulated to perfect timing and help improve the actor’s timing for the translation. A filter allows each character to be isolated to help reduce the number of lines on screen to just the character being recorded. As with most things, the best way to experience it is to try it yourself. I recommend you download the demo version as it’ll give you a great overview of what is possible with VoiceQ. There are plenty of other creative applications for VoiceQ too. Kiwa has come up with a totally original way to deal with voice-led recording to picture. By concentrating on the basics of the script and pictures it has succeeded in making a necessary ‘chore’ more enjoyable for all concerned. It’s not cheap, but the productivity benefits will soon be recouped and decreasing the likelihood of hissy fits from stroppy actors makes it a worthwhile investment. n
PROS
Unique approach to ADR/dubbing; clear and easy to use interface; foolproof way to foreign language dubbing.
CONS
Only works with MTC and MMC DAWs; best results with a second Mac for VoiceQ.
EXTRAS each effect or Foley section. VoiceQ Dub is similar to VoiceQ ADR but is optimised for foreign language dubbing. In this version, multiple language scripts can be imported and then switched on as overlays onto the QuickTime movie. This will make life so much easier for studios that record groups of foreign language versions for the same title. Each script is input using either of the methods mentioned above, then the operator can switch between the languages and have the lines of dialogue change on the QuickTime and the script layout page. It is therefore easy for operators who are not familiar with the language being recorded to switch back and forth to the English version for reference, for example. The final part of the puzzle is QML (cue my lips). resolution
VoiceQ ADR US$2,495; VoiceQ Dub US$3,995; Special prices for Resolution subscribers only, if purchased before 1 March 2009; VoiceQ ADR US$2,095; VoiceQ DUB US$3,395
Contact kiwa international, new zealand: Website: www.voiceq.com Email: sales@voiceq.com New Zealand: +64 9 375 2865 US: +1 800 371 2792
January/February 2009
REVIEW
RME HDSPe MADIFace Audio on the move is a growth area as witnessed by the wealth of affordable and effective pocket recorders and the rise of the laptop. ROB JAMES encounters an interface that takes a portable computer to a completely different level.
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or people wanting more than simple stereo in a mobile package, a laptop with a suitable audio interface is an increasingly popular choice. Laptops are now more than powerful enough to run mainstream DAW and sequencer software and hard drives are becoming larger, faster and cheaper. The question is, just how far can you push this particular envelope? German manufacturer RME makes some of the best interface cards and convertors in the business including a number of MADI devices. Despite the fact that a single, conventional AES3 link can carry two channels, the multicore cables required to transport high channel counts are still unwieldy, fragile and expensive. MADI is one of the great digital interface protocols, AES10, AKA the Serial Multichannel Audio Digital Interface to give it its full title, and promises long distance communications for up to 64 (extended mode) bi-directional channels over just two copper coaxial BNC or optical fibre cables. The only obstacle to wider acceptance used to be interface cost and RME has set out to change that. The idea of a recording laptop with this number of channels of I-O is highly seductive and the HDSPe MADIface brings all this MADI goodness to laptops via the ExpressCard slot. For UK£765.11 (+ VAT) RME supplies a compact ExpressCard/34 device, an I-O box and software. The connection between the hardware devices uses a standard 6-pin FireWire cable, however, RME employs its own protocol and FireWire machinery should emphatically not be connected. RME also suggests limiting the length of the connection to 1m. Many PC laptops have an ExpressCard 54/34 slot. Unfortunately, the ExpressCard slot mechanical design is not especially clever. There is no locking mechanism and a 34 card in a 34/54 dual slot is an accident waiting to happen because it can wobble about and disconnect. Therefore RME recommends taping the card to the laptop to prevent inadvertent disconnection. Alternatively there are plastic spacers available from Expansys and probably other suppliers. Even if you have one I would still add a bit of tape for security. The breakout box is built like a tank. On the rear panel there are two heavy wire hooks for cable strain relief or for fixing the unit in position. These are threaded into place and can be turned as required or removed and the captive nuts used as fixings. The 6-pin FireWire socket is also on the back panel. On the front, optical and coaxial sockets are present for connection to MADI I-O boxes or a mixing console. MADI coax uses standard 75Ohm cables with BNC connectors. MADI optical cables are borrowed from professional networking and are made from very fine glass fibres in a protective sheath with SC type connectors and are most decidedly not compatible with the familiar Toslink cables. Also, unlike Toslink, the wavelength used (1300nm) is invisible to the human eye. Multimode transmission is employed and this supports cable distances spanning up to nearly 2km. January/February 2009
I am not a huge fan of laptops for professional audio use, due principally to the difficulty of selecting a suitable model (I think we realised that in your Ten, V7.7. Ed). In particular this concerns which FireWire/ ExpressCard chipset is employed and the one to have is Texas Instruments (TI). Although other chipsets will usually work up to a point, there are frequently snags when it comes to low latency and high track counts. (Mac users shouldn’t be feeling too smug at this point since for some months from late 2007 Macbooks were fitted with a non TI chipset). As a result, it has taken me some months to decide on a suitable purchase. The good news is that suitable laptops don’t have to cost a fortune. You are more likely to find the right chipset in middle of the road models — I eventually found one for just over UK£300. OK, it needed a RAM, and maybe a processor, upgrade but an extra gig of RAM cost me less than £15 and I haven’t felt the need to upgrade the processor yet, given that I’m able to record 64 tracks SD (i.e. 44.1kHz or 48kHz) without a problem. 32 tracks of 96kHz or 16 tracks of 192kHz are also possible. This is more than a simple I-O interface. The DSP elements controlled by the excellent RME TotalMix application enable the HDSPe MADIface to behave as a free patchbay and/or mixer for up to 64 inputs and outputs. It can distribute inputs to several outputs simultaneously and up to 32 stereo independent submixes can be set up for such things as headphone feeds. External devices can be inserted in record or playback paths. The ASIO multiclient driver supports the use of several different programs at the same time, but only with different playback channels. TotalMix enables these different program outputs to be mixed and monitored on a single stereo output. MIDI control of mixing functions is included and the HUI remote control protocol is supported. TotalMix is a deceptively powerful application and the learning curve reflects this. After a while it all clicks into place and you don’t think about it. resolution
DigiCheck, RME’s Windows digital audio analysis tool, now in version 5 is a free download. It is based on a rewritten ASIO audio engine, which supports single channel selection and simultaneous use of multiple cards in all functions for test, measurement and analysis of digital audio. Tools include a 30-band spectrum analyser, a correlation meter and goniometer. These can be displayed individually or all together. There is also an integrated recording program, Global Record. This stripped down recorder imposes very little system overhead and can be used for acquisition in a low power laptop. The brand new Surround Audio Scope is a scalable 6-channel surround display with multicorrelation meters and combined Peak/RMS level meters. Installation of Merging Technologies Pyramix Native took but a few minutes, setting it up to talk to the MADIFace took even less. I chose to use a multitrack recording template for the first recording without modifying it. This gives 56 tracks with all the I-O automatically configured. My expectations were not high but, lo and behold, after arming all the tracks and hitting record, a ribbon of recording appeared on all 56 tracks (at 48kHz) without the rather feeble laptop processor even breaking a sweat. Subsequently, I extended the track count to 64 with similar results. Obviously, if I was going to make a habit of this, a larger or external hard disk would be required. For better security, RAID should be considered. RME’s MADIFace represents a major paradigm shift in music recording, enabling a very serious multitrack recorder to be implemented in a notebook PC. n
PROS
With a pretty basic laptop and external storage you can have a very high quality 64-track recorder; excellent audio quality; the included software.
CONS
Not RME’s fault but the ExpressCard interface is mechanically fragile; the difficulty of selecting a suitable notebook PC; TotalMix takes a while to learn.
EXTRAS
DigiCheck 5 is based on a rewritten ASIO audio engine, supporting single channel selection and simultaneous use of multiple cards in all functions. For example, it is now possible to record 192 channels at the same time using Global Record via three MADI cards, or to display the phase relations from any channels even from different cards.
Contact RME, germany: Website: www.rme-audio.com
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REVIEW
Schoeps CCM22 It’s the latest in a series of microphones that together make one the most complete collections available. JON THORNTON discovers more to the ‘open’ cardioid than meets the eye and many more applications than just the obvious ones.
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he CCM 22 from Schoeps is the latest addition to its range of compact microphones. These differ from the Colette modular range of interchangeable capsules and amplifiers in that each microphone has a capsule and a miniaturised amplifier combined in an exceedingly small package, but there is no option to change capsules. Two variants of the CCM microphone range are available. The ‘L’ variant, as supplied for the review, features a detachable cable that mates with the microphone via a locking Lemo connector, with a standard XLR connector on the other end of a 5m cable. The Lemo connector, when mated to the microphone, also serves as a pivotal part of a mounting system that works in conjunction with a plethora of available accessories — more of which later. The alternative ‘U’ version is physically smaller and lighter than the L variant (7mm shorter than the equivalent L version) and has a thicker, more rugged captive cable. Both variants are capable of working with phantom power supplied at 12 or 48V. The CCM 22 is a small diaphragm, fixed pattern capacitor microphone whose pickup pattern is designed to be something between the very wide cardioid pattern of the CCM21 and the more traditional cardioid pattern of the CCM4. This has been introduced at the request of end users, who liked the sonic character of the CCM21, with its minimal proximity effect and very neutral, uncoloured sound off-axis, but desired a little more in the way of rear suppression than the CCM21 offered. The result was the new capsule featured in the CCM22, which is also available as the MK22 capsule for the Schoeps Colette series, and is dubbed the Open Cardioid. Published specifications show a frequency response that is fairly flat between 50Hz and 20kHz with a very slight but broad HF lift between 7 and 15kHz and a gentle roll-off below about 200Hz to 1dB down at 50Hz. Quoted sensitivity is 14mV/Pa and equivalent noise a respectable (for a small diaphragm capacitor) 14dB A-weighted. A quick test with a single CCM22 on speech shows a nice, neutral sound with just a hint of HF emphasis that adds clarity rather than harshness to the sound. Proximity effect isn’t entirely dialled out, but it is very slight and actually quite pleasant in its effect, resulting in a sound that is simply a little fuller rather than overly ‘lumpy’ in the low frequencies. Off-axis response is incredibly smooth and consistent across a broad frequency range. Overall response is quoted as being only 5dB down at the 90 degree point, and
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this is borne out in testing — there’s slight HF dulling at this point but nothing truly objectionable, giving the microphone an extremely wide, almost hemispherical pickup. This isn’t at the expense of directionality though as there’s still a healthy 16dB of suppression of rear incident sound. Each CCM22 is supplied with a fixed clip that allows it to be mounted on a conventional microphone stand. The clip itself actually snaps on to the body of the Lemo connector and is quite a snug fit. This can cause some concern, particularly when removing it. It’s not that it’s a difficult job, but you do feel slightly twitchy about exerting force on such a critical part of the microphone. The pair of CCM22s supplied for review also came with an STC22 mounting bar. This allows the microphones to be spaced 21cm apart and at an angle of 110 degrees for ORTFstyle stereo recording. With no supplied instructions, fixing the microphones in place proved a little perplexing at first, as the bar simply has a couple of indented channels at either end. Again, it relies on you taking a deep breath and pushing the LEMO connector firmly into position, at which point it clicks into place, giving a very sturdy but compact stereo bar with a central spigot for attaching to a microphone stand.
Although possibly not what the folks at Schoeps had most clearly in mind for the unit, the first real task was as an overhead pair on a drum kit using this STC22 ORTF bar. The result was a very focussed sound, with a nice wide image that didn’t suffer at all from the fizziness on cymbals that small diaphragm designs sometimes do. Granted, there wasn’t quite the LF extension of a pair of 414s in similar positions, but the overall sound was much more defined and instantly useable. A different day and a different venue saw the same stereo bar put to good use as the main stereo pair for a gospel choir. Here the width of the pickup pattern, coupled with good rear rejection, really helped in making sure that a fairly wide stage was picked up with extremely good left/right separation, and good rejection of what was quite a splashy hall. Finally, the CCM22s were set up as two spot microphones on an upright piano, for high and low strings respectively. Their small size makes positioning in such a situation very easy, but their size is only half the story. Rarely have I found a microphone that makes this, one of the trickiest of instruments to record, so utterly straightforward. It’s partly to do with that very broad directionality, and partly to do with the very gentle proximity effect, but in this application more than any of the others I tried, the CCM22s really stepped up to the plate and delivered. Their overall tonality when used close up is slightly brighter, although not unpleasantly so, and without sounding at all voiced — just a nicely detailed sound to the top end. Any perceived lack of weight at the low end also disappears smoothly when the microphone is nudged that little bit closer to source, but without ever sounding woolly or overblown. As an addition to what is already an extensive range, the CCM22 or MK22 capsule is unusual in that it fills a very distinctive niche. By simply reading the description, this might not be a niche that you initially feel the need to fill. But once you use start using them, you realise that it’s not so much of a niche as a gaping chasm in your microphone arsenal. For me, they definitely fall into the category of ‘hard to give back’. n
PROS
Eminently useful microphone with good balance of wide pickup and rear rejection; can use the vast range of mounting accessories offered by Schoeps; equally good at close and distant work.
CONS
I’m still a little nervous about the mounting system using the connector…
Contact schoeps, germany: Website: www.schoeps.de
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January/February 2009
REVIEW
Waves Dorrough Meters Collection The modelling of ‘classic’ hardware metering may be a seen as a step too far in the bounds of plug-ins but good and accurate metering is often lacking in the DAW environment. These catch ROB JAMES’s eye in peripheral vision.
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ne of my earliest audio memories is of watching the converging green meter bars on my first tape recorder, a Stella (Philips) 4-track. Excursions into the red optically filtered area meant you were getting dangerously close to distortion and overlapping bars guaranteed it. When I subsequently encountered a VU meter the experience was frustrating since this did not provide a reliable means of assessing whether a recording would distort or not. I also discovered Studio Sound magazine which introduced me to the concept of the PPM. Broadcasters needed a reliable means of measuring peaks to avoid knocking transmitters off the air and the PPM provided this. Fast forward a few years to a BBC training course at Wood Norton and my most abiding recollection is of lining up a valve PPM. If you’ve never encountered one, these used a movement with a right-hand mechanical zero so the rise time was determined by the spring and needle inertia. Anyway, the PPM was a revelation and I’ve been arguing about the relative merits of VUs and PPMs ever since. Both have shortcomings and neither is fast enough to display the short transients that can play havoc with a digital recording or give any real indication of perceived loudness. Nowadays, fast accurate peak metering is commonplace but loudness is much more difficult due to the response curve of human hearing. For example, if 1/3-octave noise signals are band-limited at 100Hz and 10kHz they can be almost 15dB higher in level than noise centred on 4kHz but all will sound just as loud. The BBC used to try to get around this PPM limitation by issuing sound balancers with a list of audio sources and the levels they should be allowed to peak to. E.g. an announcer should peak no more than PPM 5, harpsichord — PPM 3-4, and so on. In the early 1960s Mike Dorrough worked as a sound mixer for a recording company and during this time developed a multiband (or ‘Discriminate’) audio processing system. This technology was effective in making things louder for a given peak level without excessive damage to fidelity. Needless to say this was something advertisers and producers found highly desirable. On the other hand, Broadcasters had problems at programme junctions with commercials sounding louder than the programmes. In a classic
January/February 2009
case of ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’, Dorrough designed a new ‘loudness meter’ combining the best features of PPM and VU with improvements to ballistics made possible by LED displays and microprocessors. The Dorrough meter’s Peak measurement is represented by a single LED, usually to be found ahead of the rest, with a ballistic roughly analogous to a momentary oscilloscope trace peak. The effective integration time is around 100 times faster than a PPM. Damping is added to avoid oscillation and persistence of vision means that this speed is useable with an LED display. Meanwhile, the Average or ‘Persistence’ bargraph has an integration time roughly double that of a VU. Average reference level is set at 65% of full scale with the individual Peak reading LED at full-scale. Thus the meter combines the peak and quasi-average value of the composite waveform, relative to the effective loudness of the programme material in a single display. The Dorrough meter quickly established itself in many audio fields and is a common sight in TV sound galleries, radio control rooms and recording studios. Modelled in association with Dorrough, Waves has now brought a faithful reproduction of hardware metering to the desktop in the shape of the Dorrough Collection (US$500 Native). The Collection includes models of the Dorrough 280D/240D, 380D/340D, and 40AES/EBU. They are useful in many situations: as input meters for setting optimal recording levels, in group and auxiliary masters meters to optimise loudness, and as master output meters where the relationship between peak and loudness is perhaps most important. Buttons at top-left of the plug-in, not present on the hardware units, offer three different display styles, Horizontal (280D/240D), Vertical (380D/340D), and Arc (40AES/EBU) in three selectable sizes each; resolution
small, large and extra large (well, it is a model of an American meter…) The scale covers a 40dB range in 1dB steps. Three reference levels are button selectable -14dB, -18db (EBU) or -20dB (AES) although the accuracy of these obviously depends on meticulous alignment of your studio hardware. To compensate for audio output delays in certain DAWs, delay can be added up to 50,000 samples in 500 sample steps. Mimicking the hardware units, three groups of buttons control operational behaviour. The buttons have internal ‘LEDs’ and two further LEDs indicate Overs, when more than three consecutive samples are above 0dBFs, and Phase when an excessive phase error is detected. Three Peak buttons determine the Peak LED behaviour: Auto holds the highest value for three seconds; Hold retains the highest peak for an indefinite period; and Reset resets to the current value. In the next block, Overs, Display switches the display to show the number of Overs detected, counting from right to left — so -6dB means 6 Overs detected. Reset returns the count to zero. The last three buttons, Meter Mode, select between Phase, Sum/Diff and Left/Right. On stereo material there is much to be said for using Sum and Difference since this gives a clear indication of stereo content and mono compatibility and is also useful for diagnosing out-ofphase elements in the mix. Phase can also be used for this but Sum and Diff is more versatile. I would love to have seen the ‘Dorrough Window’ mode included, which expands the scale to 0.1dB increments for precision alignment purposes, and also the 60dB scale option. In operation I soon learned to interpret the display in terms of what I was hearing and by the end of the review period the Dorrough had achieved the essential trick of catching my eye in peripheral vision. A bit like the rear view mirror in a car, you don’t notice how much you use it until it is suddenly not there. Although I used all three shapes, the arc is definitely my favourite. Waves has done a fine job of reproducing the look and feel of the Dorrough. Metering isn’t the be-all and end-all of level control and ears remain the most important arbiters but, and it’s a big but, this kind of metering is essential to get the best out of current delivery systems. Since you get as many iterations as your DSP will run for a reasonable price, the Dorrough Collection is something of a no-brainer. n
PROS
Classic hardware metering as plug-in; maximise loudness while keeping record levels under control; objective loudness comparison.
CONS
Uses valuable screen real-estate; no ‘Dorrough Window’; no 60dB scale version.
Contact waves, israel: Website: www.waves.com
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CRAFT
Mike Crossey The rising production star talks about the Arctic Monkeys, his love of tape, and producing the latest Razorlight album to NIGEL JOPSON
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ike Crossey’s career trajectory has been almost as expeditious as that of the Arctic Monkeys themselves. Just as impressive has been his determination to stick to his principles, not take the easy money, and to produce albums likely to stand the test of time. At the age of 15 he set up a 4-track studio in a caravan, and then progressed to running band nights in his native Belfast. He won himself a place on the BA Sound Technology course at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, from which he graduated a mere seven years ago. Then followed a four-year stint as engineer at OMD singer Andy McCluskey’s Liverpool studio. He has engineered for a host of Liverpool’s finest, including The Zutons, The Dead 60s, Monotaxi, The Relatives and Echo & The Bunnymen. His production work for the Arctic Monkeys includes their debut 5 Minutes With, Who The Fuck Are The Arctic Monkeys and Favourite Worst Nightmare. Mike has produced albums for The Black Velvets, The 747s (Zampano), The Foals (Antidotes), Brendan Campbell (Burgers & Murders), Blood Red Shoes (Box Of Secrets), Tommy Sparks (I’m A Rope) and The Kooks. Resolution met up with him at AIR studios, where he recorded and produced the recently released Razorlight album Slipway Fires. Mike is currently producing The Enemy’s new album. (Photos: www.recordproduction.com)
Your career has taken off very quickly; did you have a master plan to begin with? I was very motivated to try and get going quickly. When I was at LIPA I was always going to check out local bands and taking them into the studio. Some of them went on to do well: I met The Dead 60s when I was a college, and we even had an early incarnation of the Kaiser Chiefs in. The great thing about LIPA is that there are six studios and only 30 people, so you get a lot more actual studio time than you would at some colleges. This allows you to just go up to a band at a gig and say ‘I’m learning, let’s go and try something in the studio. Maybe it will work, maybe not, but it won’t cost you anything.’ It certainly helped the local studio managers get to know who I was; they were hearing my demos all the time. In the end it was Andy McCluskey, who owns The Motor Museum, who called me up and got me in to do some bits and pieces while I was still a student, and thankfully that evolved into a more permanent position. Is actively seeking out bands part of being a producer these days? I think from my background it is, because when I was just starting as a house engineer in Liverpool that was how I managed to break away and go freelance. It’s easy to get comfortable if you’re doing what you enjoy and getting paid a
January/February 2009
regular wage as an engineer ... it was quite tough to make the jump, to actually go freelance. It’s fiercely competitive, so I do think you have to be pretty motivated, know what you want to do, and go after it.
Was that how you got together with The Arctic Monkeys? Yes, there had been a little bit of hype about them already, and a guy called Gordon Charlton tipped me off. I went up to Manchester, saw them play and met them afterwards. I suggested we record something, which turned into the 5 Minutes with Arctic Monkeys EP. I was blown away by the live show so I set them up in the studio like a gig: we had the drum kit with the bass amp right by the bass drum and the guitar amps all projecting forward. They had never really worked in the studio so I took headphones out of the equation, I got them to play literally everything live to 2-inch. I think it captured the spirit and real energy of the band. After that ... I’ve never seen something blow up so quickly. People became a lot more aware of me because every A&R person in the country was listening to it! You said ‘straight to 2-inch’ but you’re not from a generation known for their use of tape. That’s true, but I’ve got a real soft spot for it, I like the glue it gives everything. When I came out of college I was pretty Pro Tools based, but at the Motor Museum studio I was working with an engineer called Pat O’Shaughnessy who was pure old school, he’d never really used computers. He was showing me all the old-school stuff and I was showing him a bit about Pro Tools, it was really like a continuation of what I’d been learning. I like the idea of having a real human element, I think music can get messed up when recorded to computer, it can sound too perfect and I like making the band work a bit harder. There are lots of recording shortcuts you can take now but I don’t necessarily think that’s all for the best. Do you transfer the tape recording to digital for editing and mixing? I do transfer to digital and use the two mediums combined, but I’ve also done albums purely on tape. You can run Pro Tools in punch-mode while recording and monitoring from tape — if it was a great take just save it at the end, it’s already transferred. If it’s not good just hit stop and it’ll be gone. We did a couple of tracks on The Arctic Monkey’s album like that, the song 505 was recorded that way. I suppose it’s down to the aesthetic of the band and what’s going to work best for them. There’s a band signed to Deltasonic called The Basement, who have a very classic Dylan-esque sort of sound, we kept that project on tape. I think at the
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CRAFT time we had the 888 convertors on Pro Tools, and you really felt a big drop in quality whenever you transferred through them. I did some of the 747’s album at this great studio in North London called The Fish Market, there’s this crazy Italian recording enthusiast who’s equipped the room with a 16-track Studer and an API mixer. The layout is almost like Abbey Road 2, with the control room looking down over quite a large space. I later transferred the 16-track to digital through a Radar system, which I believe sounded a lot better than the alternatives at the time.
It’s a big room at AIR — where did you set the drums up? We set the drums up right at the back of the room to get lots of space, then we also set up a little trashy kit right in the corner [by the control room glass]. The trashy kit sounded so good that we ended up using that for most of the album, which was a happy accident. We built a booth for the piano, then I used the screens to divide the room in two to make a guitar corner with all Björn’s toys. I like to use a lot of room mics and I like ribbon mics, I find it gives the sound real character, it’s nice to feel you were in the room with the band as they recorded.
Was it your decision to use tape to record the Slipway Fires album for Razorlight? I talked about it with the band before we went in, it was the first time they had worked to tape, I think they were quite keen to make a record that sounded a bit more timeless, without really dating it to ‘now’. They’re good players and Johnny is a great vocalist, so I didn’t think it was necessary to record any other way, and it’s a great room at AIR for recording as a band. I did transfer it later through Prism convertors, which helped to retain the sound. We worked at 15ips with no noise reduction, so you can still really hear the tape!
Which ribbon mics do you prefer? I’ve been using some of the new R44s [by AEA, a re-creation of the classic RCA ribbon], it’s my new favourite mic, since I used them here at AIR! I own a few of the R84s and I like Coles mics as well. There’s a great mic that AEA have recently brought out, specifically for guitar amps, the R92. You’re never going to listen to a guitar amp like that [with your ear to the speaker] and yet that’s the way we mic them. So I always find it’s nice to get a bit of room mic in there, to get a feel of standing in the room with the amp, rather than having it shoved in your face. How did you find the 1977-vintage ‘Montserrat’ Neve in control room 1 at AIR? It’s phenomenal. The mic pres are really special, they have a thick character to them, compared to a VR. With the EQ, a tiny bit goes a long way, it’s very broad and musical, although you couldn’t really do that much corrective equalisation on this board, it’s not narrow enough on the Q. I loved it though, it’s very rare you get a chance to work with a piece of equipment like that. I did use a few bits and pieces of my own, mic pres and so on. I had APIs on the toms, and my Thermionic Culture Rooster on the snare. I love the sound of the Rooster on the snare, it always puts a bit of drive on it. Did you use the Rooster with the Pullet passive EQ add-on as well? Yes, I used a little bit of Pullet! One of the great things about the Pullet is you can use different mic pres with it if you want, I use it with Neve 1073s quite a lot to make the gain up afterwards. The Thermionic Culture equipment just has its own fingerprint, I really love the sound. Did you mix the Razorlight album through an analogue console? I mixed it on a Neve VR at The Engine Room, it’s just a studio I’m very familiar with because I’ve used it a lot over the last four or five years. I find the automation on the VR very simple, it takes away having to think too much. If you are having to think too much about the complexities of a system, or if you’re sat in front of Pro Tools all the time, you can start to think from the wrong side of your mind; the creative bit can shut down. I tend to work on getting a good basic balance for about half the day, I’ll do a lot of rehearsals of the rides and I’ll use a chinagraph to mark where it all goes. When I switch the moving fader automation on I’ve got a pretty good idea of where I’m going. I’ll do broad brush strokes, a full pass of each ride so it’s basically there. Then I’ll put it into Snap so I can just grab any channel and trim it, then let go and it will go back, I tend to stay in that
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CRAFT XLogic G series compressor because I do tend to work on Neve boards quite a lot, it adds a different colour to the sound.
mode from there on. I’ll sometimes use an offline trim if I just want to turn a track up or down all the way through, and obviously at the end when I’m doing vocal up and down mixes.
Do you use any of the many performanceimproving plug-ins available for Pro Tools, like Beat Detective? It’s rather overused, you don’t hear a real musician playing when the take is all chopped up: the process of perfection kills off the personality of the musician playing, although it sounds sonically impressive at first. I think you can have a record made like that and go ‘Wow, it sounds great’, but I’m not sure it lasts with you, there’s nothing really human to latch onto. I’m very aware of not falling into the trap of getting into the trend of how things are being done now.
Your mixes often feature a very short room on the vocals. I always prefer a bit of slapback instead of reverb on vocals because it keeps it sitting forward, but still glues it into the track. I do sometimes like to split the vocal across a few channels via a mult and give one channel an aggressive character, then bus them all to a mono group and compress them together. If you’ve got one with quite a large midrange boost on it then you can push that fader up in the chorus if the guitars are getting loud, to give that extra bit of bite to the vocal. It’s rather nice to have the chance to do an EQ ride rather than just a volume ride. Is that a technique you developed yourself? I’m sure there are plenty of people who do something similar. I sat in with Alan Moulder when he was mixing the Arctic Monkey’s Favourite Worst Nightmare album and he had all kinds of stuff like that going on. It springs ideas into your head when you see someone working so meticulously with so many mults and so on, it just makes a light go on and shows there are other ways of achieving things. When I’m mixing I often have a parallel compression group for the drums, I might send a little bit of the bass to it as well, but from the small fader independent of the mix. I also always have a Thermionic Culture Vulture on a send, like you would have for a reverb but in mono, so I’ll also often send a little bit of bass, kick and snare to that for a slightly driven sound. I tend to have a Pultec or similar EQ with a decent bottom-end boost, quite heavily compressed, fed from the bass mult as well. Do you compress the overall stereo mix? If I’m using a compressor on the main mix, I like to have a sidechain with a 100Hz high-pass filter to stop the bass from driving it. The stereo comp might be an SSL or Resolution Half Page 7/12/06 17:13 Page 2 a Thermionic Phoenix with just a gentle amount of compression, I bought an SSL
So did you use a click track when you produced The Blood Red Shoes? We only used a click on the song I Wish I Was Someone Better, because it’s just so fast! What about You Bring Me Down? No, it’s just pure playing. It takes a bit more effort from the musicians, but at the end of the process, when they know it’s just them playing ... it’s a representation of their personality and their character ... they will always be more proud of the result, I think. It’s too easy to just get a drummer to play to a click. Even with drum mics, I think a lot of young engineers will just replace all the individual drums with samples as a default. You then hear this ‘perfect’ drum sound which is all very loud and aggressive. For me personally, there’s something about that sound which doesn’t endure, there’s nothing to love later. It’s also musicians playing together: I think you’re always going to get a better bass take when they’re in the room together because they’re reacting off each other. That’s why I like to record pretty live to start with because sometimes you just catch something that’s really magical — if you take that away you lose the opportunity for that to happen. I like the idea of those records where you can really feel like you’re in the room with the band. It’s like a glimpse into their personalities. Would you have Beat Detectived John Bonham or Keith Moon? n
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January/February 2009
Putting Sound in the Picture
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Mike Hedges Now gainfully employed in an A&R role in the classical crossover department of Sony BMG, producer Mike Hedges is still enjoying success most recently with The Priests. He talks technique and Prism preamps and convertors with GEORGE SHILLING
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M
ike Hedges got a job as a tea-boy at Morgan Studios due to a chance meeting in his previous job as a squash coach in Haywards Heath. His musical interests at the time centred on what he claims were limited skills as a drummer. On a session with Brand X he was promoted to tape op after the female tape-op left following a dalliance with the band’s drummer. He operated the 3M machine at the back (no counter, no remote) and obviously had a natural aptitude for this. Good tape-ops were ‘the ones that concentrated hard on not making a mistake, and never said a word.’ At Morgan, Martin Levan — ‘a genius engineer’ — taught Mike to mic up a drum kit and a band so ‘you could hear the size of the tom toms, it was that clear’. He subsequently set up his own facility in Camden Town, The Playground, where squash court plaster created an incredibly bright and loud room sound that required the bulk purchasing of 10dB pads to insert before the Harrison console. There Hedges produced The Cure, all The Associates’ recordings, Siouxsie And The Banshees and The Creatures. Subsequently he worked at Abbey Road for 10 years, acquiring a quantity of vintage equipment that was otherwise to be thrown on the skip, including his treasured EMI TG Mark IV desk. For a period this was installed in his house in Normandy, Chateau de la Rouge Motte, where he recorded acts like The Manic Street Preachers (your humble interviewer engineered a couple of projects there) but he later returned to the UK and now resides in London, with the Mark IV installed in his front room. Other successes include Dido, Texas and Travis, but recently he has taken on an A&R role in the classical crossover department of Sony BMG. His first signing was The Priests, whose debut album Hedges produced. This has quickly broken sales records for the genre. Resolution interviewed him at splendid Alpha Centauri in the former Battery Studios, adjacent to the original Morgan Studios. (Photos: www.recordproduction.com)
What tips did you learn from Martin Levan? Listen incredibly carefully to the instruments, and EQ as little as possible. Balance it as well as you can first, move the mics before you touch any EQ, then very carefully add any processing afterwards. In those days the tricks of the trade were fantastic, you know, from analogue. It’s completely different these days — very sad. It’s nothing like as much fun, you don’t have to turn the tape over backwards, or pull a fuse out the front of the capstan, or line the machine up badly on purpose, which I used to do all the time; switch Dolbys in and out. But you were an early adopter of Pro Tools… I was, but up until fairly recently I would always have used it in conjunction with an analogue machine, usually a 16-track as a front end, then put it in Pro Tools for messing about. Pro Tools is brilliant. You can do anything — you can do too much, therefore you don’t tend to do enough. Even the effects are not as interesting, because you haven’t had to cut a piece out of the tape, or do a crossfade on multitrack that’s 20 feet long. You should try it! Where’s all your vintage gear since you came back from France? Some of it is in storage. I’ve still got the EMI Mark IV, it’s a nice piece of furniture. I love the smell of it, there’s something about that — everything smells plastic now; that smells more like wood. When you switch it on at home, you don’t need scented candles!
Curious?
Why did you stop producing bands? I got too old, quite honestly. I was sitting in the studio listening to another drummer playing the drums badly, and I thought, what the hell am I doing this for? Because he came in and said, Ooh, I’m not sure about the drum sound, can you make me sound like John Bonham? I just thought, No. I worked with a lot of really great bands, especially rhythm sections like Manics and Travis, amazing, you do all the takes in two days and they’re done, fantastic. All of them play, they really know what they’re doing. Bands these days have got quite lazy. They don’t rehearse very much. While I was still producing bands, you’d usually go into the rehearsal room for a week or two, maybe sometimes even longer. These days when you suggest rehearsal, some of them are horrified about it. Then they start playing, and it’s not very good, and they just want to fix it. To me, that’s not very good, it’s not entertainment, and it’s not entertaining to do, either. So you’ve taken on an A&R role at Sony BMG… I’ve been employed to develop classical crossover acts.
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CRAFT What do you know about that? Nothing! I know about entertainment, I know about music, that’s the one thing I have going for me, I do know what’s entertaining. It’s really MOR, it’s music that’s very easy to listen to and that everyone wants to buy. I think it’s a huge part of the population that’s been forgotten about for a long time. People who want to put something on that they enjoy listening to when they get home. A lot of people are doing it, but knowing people who can arrange it better, record it better, and play it better — I know those people, and it’s so satisfying to hear it back. Even though it’s crossover, we’re not just rehashing more classical songs everyone’s heard before, some of it is actually called crossover because it doesn’t fit with anything else, and it is amazingly adventurous, especially when you’re working with unusual instruments. It’s quite different from bass, guitar and drums with someone shouting over it. Apart from The Priests, what have you been doing? That’s the first one, and we then have 18 things in various stages of development. How do they come to you? It’s exactly by talking to people like yourself, everyone I’ve worked with, I just spread the word. Obviously I’m not producing all of them, it’s producers and engineers I’ve worked with. They’ll come up with people, and I’ll give them a budget to come up with a couple of tracks and we can play it to Sony. I know what people can do, and I can also make suggestions, putting different people together to get a really good combination. How did The Priests come about? One of the things we’re doing is a Latin Mass. While we were looking for people we discovered the three priests and looked at a mobile phone video of them singing with a view to stealing one of them for the project, and all three were amazing singers. How did you choose repertoire? I’d gone through hundreds of versions of the different Ave Marias, Kyries, Benedictuses and Pie Jesus for the requiem, so we had quite a few songs we’d chosen as possibles for the first project that didn’t necessarily fit together. So they were discarded and we had a whole list of those songs. And the three Priests came up with lists of their favourites. So we had 50 songs, and it was left to me, Jo Charrington and Nick Raphael at Epic to go through the list and suggest what songs might fit together.
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Were you brought up in the Catholic Church? I was actually, in central Africa, northern Rhodesia which became Zambia when I was 10, and the best school was Jesuit. I heard all the church songs as a kid, and I was a choirboy. The first song on The Priests’ album, the Schubert Ave Maria I used to sing when I was 11 or 12 years old, so I had some background in that. What was the first stage of recording? Jo went through the list of songs, we discussed them with The Priests, we went in with an accompanist and played through them to see what was going to work and what they liked to sing. From there we worked out arrangements with Sally Herbert who was co-producing. Sally and I worked on arrangements for the songs we’d chosen — a lot more than went on the album. We programmed them in MIDI, up to a very, very high standard — the MIDI version of the album’s great! We used two or three really good programmers, one of whom had worked on Harry Potter, so the MIDI stage was great, very filmy. Sally did the arrangements, if you hear an arpeggio that might be my idea — either it was my idea, or she knows I like arpeggios so she’ll stick one in! We then had the three priests sing to the MIDI versions, recorded by Michael Keeney at Amberville Studios in Cullybackey in Northern Ireland, it’s a fantastic studio, a very relaxed atmosphere. They were a little tense at first, amazingly, a bit nervous, and they were surprised how hard they had to work — ‘but we sang it five times!’ And did they sing together? Absolutely, all vocals were done with them singing together at all times. We wanted a blend and a bit of spill really helped. We used three 87s, and Prism mic amps, the four channel MMA ones, they’re fantastic. And Prism convertors? Yes. And did you compress at all? As little as possible, we used 1176s, to keep it under control. There are some amazing compressors around, but most of them are effects. 1176s — you’re so familiar with the sound you almost can’t hear it. I remember when I first heard them, there would be a guy doing this [twiddling the knobs] and all I could hear was it getting louder and quieter, I couldn’t tell! It must have taken 10 years before I could definitely hear what it was doing! We then went into Windmill Lane with Haydn Bendall and recorded the orchestra. The scores had been written out from the MIDI, and all the MIDI parts were
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CRAFT played by an orchestra in two days, all the MIDI was dumped that we’d spent four months on, amazing! And then we re-did the vocals. By that time they were fluent, they were just fantastic. The final vocal session was just a couple of days.
And you went to Rome… We didn’t have any Spanish songs, so Ricardo Fernandez of the International Department at Sony phoned his wife’s godfather, Pablo Colino, who has been choirmaster at the Vatican for 50 years — of all the people I have worked with over the years, he totally blew my mind with his knowledge of music, totally incredible. He can sing and play thousands of songs. He offered to arrange the choir and suggested we record it in one of the chapels there. So we did, in the Capella Giulia just off the main Basilica at St Peters. It was the most uncontrollable reverb I’ve ever heard. We took all the Prisms with us. The orchestra at Windmill Lane, the vocals, and the choir at the Basilica was all done through the Prisms. Once we really got into them, we loved the transparency, we loved the fact that we just knew they were going to work — there was never going to be a distortion problem, there’s no crackles, you can move the switches and they don’t click, the gains don’t make any crunching of any sort, so you can change gain while you’re recording, lovely to be able to do that. You wait for the gap and go [mimes silent click!]. And the convertors sound better than 888s… They do. But you happily made records on those for years. Of course, and if we hadn’t been going for a very high quality recording… One of the things with Pablo Colino was we had to persuade him to do it for the right reasons. And one of the things we said to him was, we’ll use the best equipment in the world, and the best engineer; we’re going to do a recording of the best possible standard. And also I never imagined the record would be listened to on MP3s; it’s not that sort of music. None of the records we’re doing, even though they are easy listening, were designed to be listened to as MP3s. They’re all designed to have that larger than life sound to them. You don’t hear it any more. And when you do hear it, you think, wow, that’s great. It moves you. So all done at 96k, mixed back into Pro Tools? Absolutely. All through the Prism convertors obviously. The final mixing was done at [Forum] Music Village in Rome, which is actually under a church. That was a matter of laying the orchestra back over the choir we had in multitrack. And trying to control the reverb! Will there be a surround version? No. I think if you’re an engineer you can’t really listen to 5.1. I bought a very expensive Sony 5.1 system for the TV, and the absolute truth is I had it on for two days and never used it since. I watched two films, and I kept turning round thinking someone was at the door. And the bloody bass on it, the sub-bass just gets tiring. Every single piece of music goes, Boomff! What’s your greatest achievement as a producer? My greatest achievement is to be still doing it after 30 years, and still enjoying it. n
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Karl Groom Guitarist, producer and mixer Karl Groom talks to NIGEL JOPSON about his techniques for mixing full-on metal mayhem, and how he produced Guitar Hero-stars DragonForce.
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arl Groom is the guitarist and founder of British progressive metal band Threshold. Signed to Nuclear Blast Records, Threshold has recorded eight studio albums and is a well respected act that can be seen headlining gatherings like Progpower and Metal Inferno, or playing on the same bill as Motörhead and Cradle of Filth at larger European festivals like Earthshaker. Karl also played with neo-prog band Shadowland, with Geoff Mann’s one-off Casino project, and produced John Wetton’s Rock Of Faith album. He cut his teeth recording with a Fostex 8-track system, then combined his equipment with that of Pendragon keyboard player Clive Nolan and built a studio. Karl made a name for himself recording and producing progressive acts like Arena, Pendragon and Edenbridge. Today he co-owns a recording facility equipped with a Pro Tools HD3 rig: Thin Ice studio has become a magnet for acts from specialist labels like Rising Records, Napalm and Roadrunner. Karl has engineered and produced all the albums from power metal band DragonForce, who shot to fame recently after featuring in the video game Guitar Hero III, breaking into the top 20 mainstream US and UK album charts and crashing in at number 9 in Japan. The band is known for frenetic and extended guitar solos, their song Through the Fire and Flames is considered the hardest track in Guitar Hero and developers Activision famously used it to demonstrate the game at the E3 Entertainment Expo. Of late, Groom has had success as a producer and mixer of heavy metal acts. Recent clients include Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2008 nominees Trigger The Bloodshed, thrash outfit Mendeed, screamo lads Many Things Untold and power metal band Intense. When Resolution visited, Karl had just finished mixing some game elements for DragonForce and was busy mixing Rising Records act Seven Year Kismet.
Are the projects you mix self-funded by bands or management, or have the acts got budgets from labels? Most of the projects I work on are funded by labels. Some bands, like DragonForce, 44
have larger budgets and my own band Threshold gets a reasonable budget from Nuclear Blast — we don’t make albums every year now, maybe every two. A lot of the acts who now come to me from labels I originally worked with when they were just doing demos. It’s very satisfying to take them on, help them get a deal, and now see how they’ve progressed. I don’t actually record a lot of these bands, I just get a stream of albums sent to me by Rising Records for mixing. I try and sort out any problems with the drums — if they’ve not been organised properly — or if they’ve been over-edited. After that, I’ll maybe Reamp the guitars to get a better sound, and then do the mix. A lot of those projects are straight through, very quickly in a couple of weeks.
You mention Reamping as if that’s one of your regular mix tricks? I think when bands come here they expect some sort of magic. If they’ve recorded their album on a budget, sometimes they’ve used amp simulators, or they might just not understand how to mic a guitar amp. If you try to EQ 15dB of top end into a guitar sound that isn’t there, all it does is make the sound brittle. I think microphone positioning and understanding how to record instruments is a little bit of a lost art. I have a few amplifiers here: I’ve got a JMP-1, a Rocktron, a Peavey and an ENGL, plus I occasionally bring a few others in. A lot of metal bands really depend on a wall of guitars, they might have four guitar parts, panned two on each side, and these need to be right if you’re going to get the size of sound you need. In a mix I’ve just done they’d recorded Marshalls in the belief that some of the bands they admired were using JCM 800s ... but they probably weren’t stock JCM 800s! The tracks I received had a really nasal, middley kind of noise going on: they needed to sound a lot bigger, so in that case I used my ENGL Fireball. They’d tried to record the Marshalls with a lot of different mics and it just ended up sounding all phasey, none of the mics were any good on their own. I spent about an hour working on the guitar amp, and then just Reamped all four guitar parts all the way through the album. The mix came together instantly once I’d done that work. You spoke of ‘sorting out’ drum problems before mixing, do you use Beat Detective a lot? It’s something no band really admits to, but I think everybody uses a certain amount of Beat Detective; the skill is in using it so that you save the band time, but still keep a natural sound. You’re looking to achieve a sound that would maybe indicate the drummer had spent a month here, and done his absolute best performance! You’re looking for a percentage increase in the accuracy of the timing, and finding ways to naturally make it edited, rather than getting into too much detail. If the band
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CRAFT comes here, I’ll maybe sit down and do it with the drummer. If it’s their first album, they’ll all be sitting along the back there behind me, if it’s the second album or later they’ll all be at home! I just try and use any of those tools, like VocAlign or Autotune, as naturally as possible. You end up using them because record companies want to cut costs and want things through fairly quickly. The problem with some of the albums I receive for mixing is they have been over-edited, some of the natural elements from the playing have already been lost. It’s very difficult to go back once that’s been done — unless you have the original files and a decent sized budget you can’t really start all over again.
Is sound replacement with samples a necessary part of the drum sound for metal albums? I seem to have carved out some sort of niche in death metal and hardcore just recently! It’s very hard to get the drums to cut through with those sorts of bands without using a certain amount of samples. I really prefer to try and mix a sample with the real snare if possible, but the kick more than likely is going to end up mostly a sample, it just depends on what level of realism you are looking for. Some bands really do want a mechanical-sounding kick, in certain genres, it’s almost part of the sound. Which software do you use for triggering samples? I use TL Drum ReHab. It’s fantastic, because if someone sends you a song where the bass drum has been one-sound-triggered, with this plug-in you can load four or five different samples and get it to randomly trigger them or cycle through. You need some variation, otherwise if the drummer is playing a really fast pattern it can sound just like one noise. Even taking one sample and de-tuning or making a variation on it is going to bring a bit of reality to the sound. Drum ReHab is the only plug-in I’ve used that’s really sample accurate, it understands the tempo map and so on. I tried Drumagog, but it didn’t seem to get the triggers correct. I use ReHab mainly because I get a lot of albums to mix that have already been triggered: quite often I haven’t got the original, maybe there wasn’t even a real kick in the first place, I’m just trying to put a bit of life back into it. You always find a good slot for the bass guitar in your mixes, sometimes when I listen to heavier US acts like Dream Theatre I feel the songs are really lacking at the bottom end ... Have they got a bass player? I know a lot of people are complaining about the mastering on the recent Metallica album, but for me ... I just can’t hear the bass! I would say that getting the bass right is probably the hardest part of the mix, and the key to making it sound really good. Getting the frequencies between 100 and 300Hz right is crucial to adding some sort of definition and power to the mix, but not clogging up the low end. It’s so, so difficult to get that right. There’s never a quick fix. If you save a good bass guitar EQ setting you might think you could just apply it to the next track on the album, but the difference in the overall mix and whatever else is going on causes trouble. I always find that going to the low end of the guitars and the lower mids of the bass is the key to getting a mix right. Have you got any special plug-ins you use for guitar and bass? For the heavier guitars I use the McDSP MC2000, rather than EQing out the low
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end. If you EQ out the lower mids, you’ll end up with a thin guitar sound when the player moves up the neck. So I use frequency-conscious compression somewhere between 100-300Hz, I’ll just compress that certain frequency. The compression won’t be active for most of the mix, but when the guitarist plays some low end stuff at the bottom which you really want to tame, it will do the job more seamlessly than an equaliser. For the bass, it’s just a question of EQ. I check it in my car, and also on a Bose SoundDock. These devices have a false bass end, just to make them sound impressive, and a lot of people listen on such things. You’ve got to keep the definition of the bass so you can hear what he’s doing, but without bloating the mix at the lower end ... it’s just a constant analysis really.
Do you use your Soundcraft desk as a summing mixer for Pro Tools or are you mixing in-the-box? I just use the Soundcraft Ghost for tracking drums. When I’ve got time I’ll reorganise the control room and move it out of the centre. I mix completely in-the-box now: having four or five projects on the go at once, I just need complete control over them from the point of returning to each project. In the case of DragonForce and their Guitar Hero songs, they came back to me after a month and said ‘we’ve just got five days, we need these stem mixes for Activision.’ Starting all over again with songs containing 130 tracks would not be feasible, you’ve got to be able to delve straight back in. What’s involved in preparing a track for the Guitar Hero game? It’s getting more and more complex. I did Through The Fire And Flames for the Playstation 2, of course they’ve changed the game recently for the PS3, we have to provide a lot of stem mixes. It used to be one stereo stem for the drum kit, then every guitar part separately. Now every element of the drum kit has to be provided
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CRAFT as well. The last one I did was for Heroes Of Our Time, it was something like 60 stereo stem mixes, they all have to have their own compression, EQ and effects like reverb or delay. When the game is in use, if a player misses a note or a hit the programmers will write code to mute the stem in the game. When all those separate stem elements are lined up at zero, they have to sum to match the original stereo mix. You can’t really master it in any way, if you put the sort of processing mastering engineers use today on the individual stems, it would imbalance the overall mix. I have to be careful to put a very soft amount of limiting on to just bring the levels up a reasonable amount.
Sixty stems is quite a lot ... You should see the upload, it’s over 3Gb just for one track — it took me the best part of a night just to send it to them! Is Activision a good company to have as a client, as a producer or studio? I would say so, they’re the people who’ve paid their bills quickest! I’d say games are doing better than the rest of the music industry. Record companies are claiming very hard times ... that might or might not be right, but sometimes it almost feels like they’re using the downloading culture to their own ends. I hear from young bands that labels are demanding various things when they sign new contracts, saying: ‘Well, we can’t give you that sort of percentage because of ... ’ whatever. I’m not sure that really works, does it? A percentage is a cut of what you sell, it shouldn’t make a lot of difference. With the more progressive acts like Edenbridge or DragonForce, is there a lot of studio time involved in producing their albums? With DragonForce, the first couple of albums were all recorded here [at Thin Ice Studios] and the record company were horrified, we spent six weeks playing guitar solos! The solution was to get a couple of Digidesign 002 LE systems and do a lot of the solos at Herman Li’s house. I used to go there and set up a sound for them, now it’s more straightforward to bring it here and just do the Reamp thing. He records a DI, plus the output from his Rocktron so there’s a distorted sound for reference. I just leave them to it now, then when they come here we can all choose what sound we want and mic it up nicely. It does take a bit of time because there are so many tracks of solos. Sam Totman tends to triple-track everything, he’ll have at least two harmonies running, so there’s a lot to do — it takes quite a while but not as long as the actual playing. They play the notes so fast they’ve got to have twice as many ideas as a normal band to complete an album!
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Did being featured in the video game allow DragonForce to break into the mainstream charts? Guitar Hero seems to have helped and made a big impact. The game is so huge on the Playstation, it seems to have done more for them in terms of promotion than all those gigs they do! DragonForce were one of the first metal bands who ever came to this studio. I was really pleased that they did well: when they first came and did their demos, the sort of music they were playing seemed really out-of-date, we were doing eight minute songs of which four minutes were guitar solos! But they had a driving ambition to make this type of music and were totally convinced it would be successful. I did enjoy doing it because it was so different from everything else at the time, it’s really great they have been so successful and followed that belief. n
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Remixed by the fanbase Selling the multitrack — NIGEL JOPSON investigates the phenomenon of remix competitions, discovers Radiohead’s promo secrets, and asks for richer digital audio content.
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promotional idea gained extra traction in 2008 when Radiohead propelled themselves to their second highest single entry ever in the US Billboard charts with a remix competition for the song Nude. The idea of releasing digital multitracks for fans to remix had already been pioneered by Nine Inch Nails man Trent Reznor and evergreen technology-evangelist Peter Gabriel, but the new twist for Radiohead (after garnering plenty of publicity for briefly releasing their album as a pay-what-you-like download) was charging punters for each stem. David Emery, head of
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web development for Beggars Group, who release Radiohead’s physical product now the band has left EMI, reveals this was the band’s idea: ‘We came up with the idea of doing the remix competition, but the funny thing is that when we pitched it to the band they said — Oh, you mean sell the parts on iTunes? We went ... yeah, we guess so!’ In the UK, only the vocal stem was eligible for the chart because of OCC rules, but it still got to No. 21. In the US, all the stem sales were aggregated, so Nude entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 37, instantly becoming Radiohead’s biggest hit since Creep made No. 34 in 1993. Stephen Hallowes, digital sales and marketing manager for Beggars Group, insists the US chart position was an amusing side effect of the competition, which nevertheless brought in useful press attention. In week one the original song sold just under 13,000 copies, and each of the five stems sold between about 9,200 and 9,800. Total sales for all six pieces combined were just short of 60,000. If the original song, without stems, were to chart alone, it would have only made No. 96 on the digital sales chart and most likely would have missed the Hot 100 altogether. The idea of publicly downloadable digital stems was successfully pioneered by Trent Reznor shortly after the release of the Alan Moulder-produced NIN album White Teeth, in 2005. While staying in a hotel to do press for the album, Reznor fired up Garage Band (released by Apple the year before) and realised it as a cutdown version of Logic. ‘Just as an experiment — I happened to have the multitracks with me — I loaded up Hand That Feeds in GarageBand. It worked — I gave it to the crew and they had fun messing around with it,’ explained Reznor. ‘Unlike Pro Tools, it’s hard to make it sound bad. You can speed it up and slow it down, make it sound like a Country & Western song effortlessly, I thought it would be cool to give this out to people. We put it out ... it generated a lot of interest and people had fun.’ Indeed, an entire NIN mix cult has grown up, with nearly all subsequent Nine Inch Nails releases having the WAV multitracks available online. To make remixing even easier, the bonus DVD-ROM with the 2007 NIN CD Year Zero Remixed contained both GarageBand and Ableton Live songs of all the cuts on the album, along with the 44.1k WAVs and a demo version of Ableton’s software. Trent’s casual comment: ‘I’m finished with this music, I’m done with it — if you can have fun remixing it and messing around with it — that’s cool with me,’ is slightly disingenuous: a lot of preparation and thought (plus a fair amount of internet bandwidth) have gone into supplying these offerings, and he’s been rewarded with a loyal following who’ve built a community around his song writing. In 2006 Peter Gabriel posted a ‘sample pack’ of his 1982 hit Shock The Monkey at www. realworldremixed.com, and invited users to register, download the stems, make their own mix, and upload the resulting MP3. Visitors could listen, comment and vote for their favourite fan remixes. There were 700 entries, Gabriel picked the winner from the top 12 chosen by listeners. Sonically, the remixes encompassed a huge diversity of styles and musical ability: ranging from predictable amateur attempts at distorted pretentiousness, through surf music, melodic
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business creations, an amalgamation with the opera Carmen (!), to a piece apparently composed by a Django Reinhardt fan! The effect on Real World’s site traffic was impressive. In the first two weeks of October 2006, the contest generated 33,000 unique users. Some 13,600 people listened to the winning remix by ‘Multiman’, a 38-year-old composer and animator from New Zealand, who won an SSL Duende. ‘One of the major issues with in-house promotional websites is getting enough content,’ said York Tillyer, interactive director at Real World. ‘We were looking around for something that would generate its own momentum and that would reach out beyond our traditional audience.’ The Realworldremixed site has continued with songs from artists signed to Real World Records, there’s now a Top Twenty of remixes so far and a user forum with over 7,000 posts. The competition winners receive worthwhile but not over-generous prizes — the winner of a recent Sima Edy contest won a Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin iPod music system. The real agenda of Gabriel’s idea becomes clear: Real World has a fantastic roster of accomplished World recording artists like Eliza Carthy, Sevara Nazarkhan, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, RizwanMuazzam Qawwali and Sheila Chandra. Many of these artists sing in their native language, and perhaps for chillout listeners the ethnicity and intense performances are a little too worthy and too ... real! The remixed site turns a spotlight on performers in a new manner and is generating a useful buzz with a more casual and possibly younger community. ‘Much of the music on labels like Real World is easily bypassed by traditional media outlets,’ says Tillyer. ‘This gets people talking about the work.’ It’s this community-building aspect that other artists have picked up on and are starting to exploit. House legend Danny Tenaglia decided to give punters the chance to remix his ten-year-old dance hit Music Is The Answer; in June 2008 a 15-part premium bundle was up for sale on dance music portal Beatport. Native Instrument’s Traktor Skratch software and a Pioneer DJ mixer were awarded to the winner, as the ageing superstar DJ gave weekend deck-jockeys the chance to makelike-Ibiza in suburbia with all the parts from his old anthem. Franz Ferdinand have also recently used Beatport for a remix competition — in advance of the debut of their actual single Ulysses — taken from the Dan Carey-produced album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, scheduled for release on 19 January. Kanye West has been at it as well, posting stems of his single Love Lockdown — including the heavily autotuned and shamelessly distorted vocal — on his blog in September 2008. The Radiohead remix was such a success that a new competition was put up with a slightly more remix-friendly song, Reckoner. The marketing angle was a big driver for Beggars Group, as Emery explains: ‘We started working with Radiohead approximately two weeks after they had released the album, and even though Radiohead are a big act, they’ve never had a Radio 2 playlist.’ The band have an even lower profile on US airwaves. In the week in which iTunes sales of stems helped Nude to chart, the song received a grand total of six terrestrial US radio plays. ‘We know the Radiohead fans make a really great fanbase, and they would be interested in doing this sort of stuff,’ says Stephen Hallowes, ‘we wanted to open up Radiohead to new listeners and make their fans ambassadors for them.’
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As a brand new label tasked with marketing physical product by a big-name but mainstream-media-unfriendly act, Beggars also faced the tricky task of hitting the ground running. They had no database of fans from past campaigns to market to, and although Beggars are a big label in indie terms, they clearly donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a major-sized budget to spend on an international advertising campaign. Apart from the actual remix submission process, the competition had a clever way of collecting fan data: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This was actually a key thing for us, what we were getting was access to our customers again,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; explains David, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;customers go to iTunes, buy the stems, then they get an email that directs them to our website, where they can download a GarageBand file set up for the stems. Then we have the contact email details for all our customers, a very valuable resource.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Indeed, Beggars were not the only label acquiring customer information this way. Ben Watt â&#x20AC;&#x201D; formerly in duo Everything But The Girl, now owner of underground house and techno label Buzzinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Fly Records â&#x20AC;&#x201D; exploited the fact that Radiohead cleared Justin Martin (signed to Buzzinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Fly) to use their samples on a mix album. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We thought weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d make a big thing about it. Basically what Justin had done was what every other fan had done, which was to buy the parts and do a remix. We came up with a competition around this idea, we invited fans to download one of Justinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own tracks, which they could then remix. We used a track from last year, called The Fugitive. 500 people downloaded the parts, and it certainly generated a lot of interest. We found two very good remixes, and the prize is that their mixes are going to go on Justinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next digital release.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Watt explains that, although the parts were given away, downloaders had to enter their contact details in a web form to get them. The Radiohead remix was a wonderful exercise in viral marketing because remixers were given a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;widgetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to place on their MySpace or Facebook profile or webpage. The widget encouraged people to visit the Beggars website to vote for their mix, and advertised the In Rainbows album release (the physical CD had sold 1.75m by October 2008.) The Nude remix gathered 29,090,134 page views, 58,340,512 web hits, there were 2,252 remixes submitted, 1,745,304 track listens, 461,090 votes. So how much did the campaign cost Beggars? â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve spent ÂŁ1,000 to do the entire campaign,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; reveals Emery. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;That was to build the Facebook application and the widget, because we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do that in house. Everything else, we built ourselves. We got all of this exposure for the band, including a US and UK chart position, millions of people using our images and branding.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Of course thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
the 10.6 terabytes of data served, but those costs are insignificant compared to the hundreds of thousands labels often spend on conventional TV and billboard advertising, or even the thousands a full page ad in Q magazine would have cost. So selling â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or giving away â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the multitracks can be a useful (and cheap) marketing tool, a clever way of building a fanbase, and a means of customer data acquisition. But thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s another aspect to this that interests me. For years, our industry has used the concept of albums as the organising principle for music but, lets face it, the concept started to break down with the invention of the CD. The tangible package lost its size, retail presence, artistic glory and readability. With remote control track access the imperative of listening to up to 20 minutes of music at a time receded, and without the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sidesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the artist had a less defined canvas to create for. If the CD album was never as good, the digital album is surely just a joke. And yet, music fans retain an interest in collecting several different digital mixes of a song thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s touched their hearts. A new video, or a new remix, can still revitalise sales for a popular tune. For the tune they love, fans still want the dance remix and the radio edit, and they want the lyrics as well. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take a multimedia scientist to see where this is heading, and a couple of far-sighted artist types may have had some thoughts on this already. At the October 2008 London launch for Nokiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new 5800 XpressMusic (aka â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tubeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mobile phone) Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas said: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Just pressing play and hearing a song from zero to four minutes? Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yesterday! Now I can write a song that when I sing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Where is the love?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; you can click on that and find much more information. There could be songs within songs. Your imagination can go as far as you want.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; In my imagination, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talking about a new digital distribution format for a song, where the listener can morph audio between different mixes at the touch of a button, maybe remix it a little themselves, view the lyrics and so on. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a French technology company called Musinaut who think theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve produced a new audio format to do this called MXP4, that allows content owners to embed different â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;skinsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for a song ... I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve cracked it completely, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a step in the right direction. The music industry is crying out for a premiumvalue bundle â&#x20AC;&#x201D; why not base it around the ever-popular hit song? As David Emery of Beggars says: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;There is a lot to be said for extra content, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a demand from the fans for deluxe packages. Things like very high quality audio and stems is an interesting road to go down. Even for a band with a lower profile than Radiohead, you may be able to monetise these bits as part of a great package.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; n
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January/February 2009
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What’s happening to dynamic range? Always a measure of a recordist’s skill and the reproduction chain’s integrity and performance, dynamic range now seems severely under attack in a lot of popular music. PHILIP NEWELL has been coming up against new attitudes to mixing and monitoring and he doesn’t much like the sound of either…
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n a recent letter to Resolution (V7.6), I outlined one of the many difficulties that are beginning to face me in my work as a studio designer. I realise that the world changes, that fashions change, that cultures change, but nevertheless certain standards of excellence seem still to remain worthwhile. For example, there was always a basic tenet that implied that people would endeavour to make recordings that would reflect the quality of the equipment through which they were being reproduced. In other words, high fidelity reproduction systems would give what would be generally considered to be superior sound compared to reproduction on cheaper systems. The situation which provoked the letter in the October issue was an argument I had with the principal engineer of a studio I had just designed, who wanted me to equalise the main monitor system to mimic the extremely un-flat response of his favourite (and not very widely used) close-field monitors. I refused. For this engineer all that mattered was ‘the sound in the street’ and for that he meant MP3 encoded music, reproduced on headphones in the open air. He had absolutely no interest in the reproduction of music via ‘hi-fi’ domestic systems. He felt that the people who bought the type of music he usually recorded would not be listening on such systems. Therefore, he wanted to optimise all the studio for compatibility with the sound ‘in the street’, and he had already found a pair of close-field monitors that he thought suited the purpose. The studio owner finally came to my rescue
because he wanted a multipurpose studio. Let us look at where we are with music and soundtrack mixing at present and the compatibility issues that already exist. Figure 1 shows the dynamic ranges that can be expected from various types of reproduction equipment and circumstances. Cinemas are generally quiet places, where a background noise level of 35dB(A) is easily achievable. Dolby permits soundtracks to reach 105dB(C), so in the midrange (where the dB(A) and (C) curves are reasonably similar [see Figure 2]), and allowing for a minimum level of soundtrack as 10dB above the theatre noise floor, we have a useable range of 45 to 105, or 60dB. This dynamic range can allow some very exciting cinema presentations and contributes to why many people prefer to watch films in a cinema rather than at home. Comparing dynamic ranges can be a difficult subject because of the non-linear sensitivity of the ear. At 3kHz, the difference between the threshold of hearing and the threshold of pain is about 120dB, whereas at 40Hz it is about 60dB. Also, at around the 40 phon level (see Figure 3) the dB(A) curve shown in Figure 2 tends to be an approximation to the inverse of the sensitivity curve. Above about 80 phons, the dB(C) curve is more representative of the inverse. Consequently, low levels tend to be measured in dB(A), and higher levels in dB(C), even though the two cannot be directly compared — except in the mid range, between around 500 and 5000Hz. Anyhow, if we then transfer a cinema soundtrack
Figure 1. Approximate dynamic ranges of some performance and reproduction environments. 50
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directly to a DVD for domestic use the listeners would hardly be able to use levels of 105dB(C) without disturbing the neighbours or receiving a visit from the police, but reducing the overall level would probably render the lower level sounds inaudible. Perhaps 90dB(C) would be a reasonable upper limit for domestic reproduction, and even 85dB(C) may be more realistic. Many domestic dwellings have background noise levels of 50dB(A) or so therefore at least 60dB(A)/(C) mid-band level would seem to be appropriate. However, we are now only speaking of a useable dynamic range of about 25dB. Straight copies of cinema soundtracks may therefore be unuseable in the home, but soundtracks with domestic dynamics may be very uninspiring in the cinemas. Still, the picture tells much of the story, so reduced dynamics for domestic use can still work quite well; but what about music-only? Orchestral concert halls tend towards the same dynamic range as cinemas, and orchestral performances can take advantage of the full range. On the other hand, when we make a recording of an orchestra for domestic use, we may need to squash a 60dB dynamic range into, at the most, 35 or 40dB. This is still greater than the range a film soundtrack for domestic consumption may use, because many people listening seriously to classical music tend to be prepared to go to considerable lengths to quieten their listening environment, whereas films mostly sell to the domestic market as family entertainment for use in ‘normal’ rooms. What is more, DVDs are often heard via loudspeakers that would be considered inadequate for classical music enjoyment. There is therefore considerable pressure to restrict dynamic range, except for use in special environments, but nonetheless a 25dB dynamic range can still be very realistic, especially if the dynamics are controlled by hand and ear, and not by compressors. There are a considerable number of hifi enthusiasts who select and treat the rooms they use for ‘serious’ listening and who pay a lot for their sound reproduction equipment. Likewise, there are people who construct home, mini-cinemas. These people may be able to enjoy the full dynamics of an orchestra or cinema soundtrack, but they tend to be such a minority in overall domestic sales of music and films that they may only rarely be considered by the mixing and production personnel dealing with mass-sale productions. However, it has generally tended to be the case that even a dynamically compromised mix would still sound significantly better on ‘highend’ equipment and in acoustically treated rooms than would be the case if heard in more modest circumstances. For hifi enthusiasts improving their listening conditions has generally been considered to be worthwhile. Traditionally, rock, pop, jazz and other forms of nonclassical music have been mixed with dynamic ranges that have been musically satisfying yet reasonably compatible with domestic acoustics. This has usually not been difficult to achieve because of the old adage that all music benefits from a certain degree of compression. Even classical recordings have been able to take advantage of this process, though usually to a lesser degree as in classical music the dynamics are written on the score, from ppp to fff, and are as much a part of the music as the notation. Recording engineers and music producers have usually tended to decide upon the overall range of the dynamics of a piece while still carefully respecting their relationships. In fact, in all of the descriptions in the previous paragraphs, the tendency has been to use to the full the available dynamic range, because dynamics are an important characteristic of music and sounds in general. January/February 2009
sweet spot Yet, despite the decades of respect for the dynamic nature of music, as well as its intonation, music fidelity seems in danger of being relegated to a minority interest. Nowadays, people expect to hear what they want, when they want, where they want and it seems they are often not very concerned about â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;goodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sound quality. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re often listening on Walkman-style headphones or computer speakers. When walking down a noisy street wearing headphones, the background level may be 70dB(A), or so. For comfort, and awareness of warnings, probably an equivalent of around 80dB(C) would be the maximum advisable SPL (peaks excepted), and, as many headphones provide almost no isolation, 75dB(A)/(C) may be needed for the lower level sounds to avoid being lost in the background noise. Somewhat alarmingly, this gives us a useful dynamic range of only 5dB! Computers, when used with small loudspeakers as music reproduction systems, may be generating 55dB(A) at the listening position and the mini loudspeakers may not be able to deliver more than around 80dB(C). Here, a 15dB dynamic range would be about the limit for programme material. So, let us compromise for the street, and set a generous 10dB dynamic range. Many recording people now see the ear-buds/ workstations as the predominant reproduction systems of their music and they are compressing (often digitally) the master mixes down to a 5 or 10dB dynamic range. Traditionally, master mixes have been of relatively high dynamic range and what was necessary was done with the individual production masters to deliver the optimal range for each different media (vinyl, CD, cassette, etc). TV and radio also did what was necessary at their delivery stages. Now, many master mixes are optimised for that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sound in the streetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and there is no way that it can later be undone for reproduction on better reproduction systems. Despite the blame usually being placed on the shoulders of insensitive A&R departments of record companies, it now seems that many mixers are themselves only concerned with the bulk market and have no consideration for those who may want to hear dynamics in a mix. I am now encountering (principally younger) recording engineers who are only concerned with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the sound in the streetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and who have no concern for the traditional concepts of high fidelity because, to them, high fidelity is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;not realâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. And if the reproduction systems â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;in the streetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are incapable of exhibiting a flat response, then alternative studio monitors are being chosen that reflect the responses of the lo-fi reproduction systems in common use, rather than any traditional standard. A studio owner, now in his 40s, said to me the other day: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;My own daughter is putting me out of business. She wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t spend a cent on music. If she canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t download it free, then she doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want it.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He also added that although she was impressed by the sound of music in his studio, she considered the sound via the small loudspeakers of her computer to be adequate. I suspect that one aspect of this is that if the recordings have almost no dynamics, then the dynamics of the reproduction systems become less important. It becomes a vicious circle! Until recently, when I designed and built studios for people below the age of 25, they usually asked for something equating to an attempt at copying the big, professional studio practices and standards, and they were enthusiastic to do so. Now I am being faced with people who see the culture of professional recording as a dinosaur. Often, they have never used a patchbay and their recording system design is limited to what they already understand. Musicians are then forced to January/February 2009
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Figure 3. Equal loudness contours (from ISO 226 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2003 revision). The original ISO standard for 40 phons is shown in blue, which relates more closely to the (now very old) dB(A) curve.
play in a way that fits the recording system, which is often not conducive to getting the best performances out of them, and so the music itself is being adapted to styles of playing that are amenable to these newer ways of recording. Whether this is the opening of new creative pathways or a dumbing down is open to debate. If this continues then we will witness a reversal of the traditional concept of monitoring. Monitoring has always been orientated towards a generally accepted reference, to which domestic equipment has aspired. We now seem to have a situation where it has become commercially convenient to develop end-user reproduction devices that cannot reach these goals, but they can be made to be more exciting by using different, non-typical, mixing and monitoring techniques. The industry, or at least part of it, is being asked to change itself into a form that is only appropriate to get the most out of equipment from which not much can be got out of anyway â&#x20AC;&#x201D; at least not quality-wise. In other words, mixes are being made that only sound good on low-fidelity systems and this idea is now even putting pressure on studio design. The concept of doing a single mix and an album mix was a great idea, but there often now seems to not be the money, the time, or the inclination to do anything other than the download mix. So, I have to ask; whereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s monitoring going? n resolution
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meet your maker for such ‘new’ acts as Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Dire Straits, and others. ‘Of course nowadays, any of what we all did would land us in jail with some of the new patriot laws...’ he says. This led him into the recording studio end of the industry and he moved into DC studio No Evil Multimedia, which had bought the Studio One console from Sunset Sound. He did a lot of records and during a Synclavier seminar at the studio he was introduced to a fellow that worked at a company called Datatronix that had just acquired API. Wolff left the studio for his official beginning in the console business at the new company and after working at this for several years, the audio portion (API) of the company was put up for sale. Paul purchased the assets after leaving the company in 1985, ran it for 15 years, sold it, worked for the new owners for four years, then left and started Tonelux Designs Limited. Seeing a major shift in the recording industry, Paul says he realised that the way to succeed was to gear the Tonelux product line towards the ‘new studio model’ where more of the production work is done in the DAW and a large frame console is not essential. To date, Tonelux has sold 1000 mix modules into many different console configurations, from small racks systems to large frame consoles.
What is special about Tonelux products? My goal with the Tonelux line was to make available a product that could be used by anyone at any level of recording, from the guy that needed two mic pres to the guy that needed a whole console. When the industry shifted away from large format consoles, the console makers continued to make what they knew but in smaller formats and with the same inflexibility that a closed system had. My concept was to be able to build a system that could provide a solution to the engineer that wanted to track with one mic pre, one EQ, and one compressor, then mix it down into 4 or 8 channels, all within a portable rack, to the guy that wanted a 32-channel console with sends, buses and meters. We have built hundreds of mini consoles that fit into a 19-inch rack, with 16 inputs, sends, a stereo master and a control room monitor system. Now, let’s say that guy wants to expand it to have more channels. He adds another rack, links them and the console is now bigger. This allowed him to buy what he needed or could afford, without having a huge block of blank panels staring him in the face and without wasting the money on an empty chassis. After he expands it, he then decides that it would serve him better to be smaller, he can take the expanded half, add the master section to it and now he has two systems. Now, take that and the fact that the tone is unequalled and you have quite a system that is affordable, custom tailored and is one of the most desirable sounds in the industry.
Paul Wolff The founder and brains behind the Tonelux brand tells ZENON SCHOEPE about squaring up to and supplying the ‘new studio model’.
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aul Wolff was born in Traverse City, Michigan to musician parents who had both played in big bands during WWII. In later years, his mother was an artist and his father raced cars and was an engineer. Influenced by all the creativity, and after being a very young pit crew member, Paul began his desire to blow things up, from changing water into hydrogen and oxygen and back again in a 4th grade school project, to building small explosives to go fishing with. He went on the road with a few bands, settled in Washington DC, and claims he got into the recording/audio business originally to get laid. While that worked for a while he then got good at recording, designing and mixing. He ended up as the house sound man at DC night club, The Bayou,
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How have modern production processes changed the nature of the ‘console’? The natural path of progression has changed recording and production forever, the same way it has always done, moving from one track to many, having noise reduction, echo chambers, plate reverbs, digital effects, the Harmonizer, digital tape recording, hard disk recording, marginal sample rates progressing to spectacular sample rates, DAWs, etc. Most inventions throughout history were great when they came out, but took many years before the ability to implement them was available. Many times, we jumped onto a format before it was ready, which will always be remembered as an ‘oops’, but at the same time a stepping stone. Personally, I think the death of analogue tape happened too quickly, before digital was capable of matching it. This caused a period of recording and archiving that will never sound any better than the poor A-D/D-A/sample rate/bit depth that we had. Analogue could always be extracted and put onto another format, over and over, with improvements every time. Many of the early 16- bit/44.1 recordings will never sound better than they are. We have finally moved beyond that.
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January/February 2009
meet your maker What concessions and modifications are encouraged by knowing that the recording medium will be digital rather than analogue? The digital recording format is now considered a medium that is supposed to record what was put into it without changing it. We now rely on the outboard equipment to add/subtract/change the tone. We can do just about anything to the recorded signal, good or bad, to arrive at the place we want it to be, then mix it into what we want it to be. This opens the door to many opportunities for creative manufacturers to invent products to enhance and alter the recordings. This, like anything that progresses, also weeds out the non-innovative and they fade into history. My concessions in the Tonelux line were few; I rather looked at it more as fitting it into a product that would serve the user. Concessions, I think, are more of a comparison to what was, which is what I stayed away from. There were obvious things that will always remain — panning, levels, sends, returns, level indication, comfort, etc. I tried to re-arrange what was required into a format that could be bent into whatever someone ‘thought’ they needed. I really wanted to make something that would work for any application, without doing anything custom. Why wouldn’t you want to build a big console? Well, both Rupert and I, at one time, said that we wouldn’t.... There is a picture of us saying that at a show… of course, we were enticed into doing it again, and again, and again... What we both realised is that neither of us wanted to do what we had done. Aside from bleeding one of life, it was just not a reality. I have built many large format Tonelux consoles, from 32 to 48 channels, with sends, EQs, mic pres, sends, fader automation, meters, etc. My design format allows a large system to be built with little effort compared to the past, where the frame itself cost as much as some of our current systems. That in itself is shocking.
Today, there is really no excuse for a crappy mic pre, though there are many. EQs would be second, as it is still a relatively static device. There are a limited number of equalisation circuits, such as Twin T, Gyrator, State Variable, etc. that can be used, so it depends on how you put it all together and what kind of tone you desire. Both the Pre and EQ are cloned over and over so many times with drastically different results, so you can choose just about anything from pure crap to pure tone... The compressor is a different dog all together. I have always looked at compression differently to many, as I want to provide a compressor that can fit any application, from the fastest feed-forward modern sound to the undetectable smooth feedback style of yesteryear. It is quite simple to divide the dynamic range at some threshold and call it a compressor, of which there are many. My theories on compression are different. What’s funny is that I never used much compression when I made records in the old days, as I didn’t like most of them. That’s not to say that there weren’t any good ones, but they were too into one direction for me. When I was asked to do a compressor 7-8 years ago when I was API, I came up with the 2500, which I did from what I wanted in a compressor, with little input from anyone except Shelly Yakus, who I really liked as his view on production was
How real is the choice available with boutique outboard? There are a few of us that understand what the implications of ‘boutique’ bring, and we are doing a great job retaining the love of the past with the changes/ advantages/limitations of what we have to work with, as far as parts, market, and price go. Of course there is a lot of crap out there that uses a dirty looking box with some old switches so it looks old, but still sounds like crap. A boutique usually implies a place where you can go to get something that is not mainstream, but will draw a lot of attention when it is heard. The key is to be able to mass produce it without making so many compromises that it becomes just another memory in the history of modern recording. What’s hardest to design: a good preamp, a good EQ, or a good compressor? With the available tools, a mic pre can be easier than the other two, as it is pretty much a static device, which is why there are a million to choose from. With a good input transformer, a good op-amp and maybe an output transformer, a fairly good sounding pre can be made.
NEW WEBSITE: January/February 2009
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meet your maker are not really the cost, but the ability to be able to design a product with good tone versus the ones that are not tonal based. You find few real top end-products that don’t add something, but find almost no low-end products that add something tonally different and appealing.
unusual. I discussed many things with him because he was able to say what would be a nice feature for everyone instead of just what he wanted. Fast forward a few years and a company later, I decided to do the TXC, I had to out-do myself, which was no easy task as the popularity of the 2500 was broad. I also had to look at doing it in a different way, as copying what I had done was not an option, as it was no longer my product. Um, so to answer the question, a compressor...
What difference have modern components made to your products and design options? For me, it has allowed me to do exactly what I wanted to do. For those that are trying to resurrect or continue to build classic designs, it is getting harder for them. One reason I started Tonelux was to get away from the restrictions of being cornered into a sound that I always had to maintain in every product. With Tonelux, I can do what I want, and it sounds like what I want it to sound like. I look at the parts available and decide on something that I can use in multiple products so I can maximise the quantities and keep the custom parts count low. This ensures flexibility and assures the customer that in the future he won’t have to hunt down custom parts to repair something. How big is the gap in ‘quality’ now between cheaper mass market products and the more expensive pro end? There is a range of real crap, but for the most part quality is improving across the board. I don’t qualify a product by its tone so much as how bad it destroys the tone. There are many more products that don’t attempt to colour the sound, which in my opinion is safer and easier to do. There are not that many tonal directions that sound good, or add to the quality of the sound with the tone they add (or subtract). I was very fortunate that the direction I chose for Tonelux was a good one as you really have only a few tonal directions with colour that are liked by many. For the most part, it has been API and Neve, and now you have API, New Neve, Old Neve, and Tonelux. I am limiting the list to people that actually make consoles. I have never considered SSL a console that improved the tone of a recording like the classic consoles. They earned their place in history with automation, recall and features that made recording easier. When you go into the top end of recording, you are generally looking for a tonal signature, which pretty much eliminates most anything that doesn’t ‘add the love’. So the real differences
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How would you quantify ‘classic’ analogue status in electronic and design terms? One of the things I have learnt with my designs is that some of the old ways were done that way for a reason. With the invention of the op-amp, for instance, it’s way too easy to throw an op-amp anywhere you need one rather than minimise the amp count and design accordingly. My gain amp is a low gain op-amp, and my output amp is just a driver with no gain. Doing this allowed me to eliminate many problems associated with op-amps. The resulting designs are more like older ones, where if a buffer was needed, it isn’t a high gain op-amp running at unity, rather a no gain buffer that sounds more transparent. People also need to remember that much of what has become classic was not designed with us in mind, but for a specific purpose, but because it was designed by real engineers, the quality is there and the fidelity was as good as they could design. What is missing from the modern recording production chain? The smell of 456.... We have lost and gained much. In the old days, you did a rough demo, took it to some dickhead at a record company to ‘approve’ it and give you money, then they would change it and sell it, then eventually screw you out of most of it. All the while, you learnt about women, drugs and fast cars. This was also a very expensive venture, as studios were not cheap to build or operate. With the hunger of the artist, most screwed themselves technically but always with the dream of getting their art to the public. Nowadays, you can make a pretty damn good recording for a couple of grand, and the opportunities for artists are a million-fold greater, but the possibility of making it really big isn’t there. The biggest difference is that you can make (money) anything between nothing and everything, instead of making either a little or a lot, like it used to be. The record company as we know it has pretty much become irrelevant in the process now. The producer, to me, was and still is the most valuable, as a good producer could take a good idea and bend and mould it into something great. That came at a price, so that would be the most important part of the chain that is missing. Of course, music also goes in cycles and we are in the early stages of a complete industry-wide, artistic-wide rebirth of the style, the techniques and the delivery and all during a time when just about everything we are used to is also changing or going to change. It’s like the changing of the guard to not only a new generation but a new way of just about everything. In the past, the technology changed, but maybe not the music, then the music would change without other things changing. Now you have the music changing, the technique changing, the delivery changing, the economy changing, the consumer changing, all at once, so who the hell knows what’s around the corner! I know that I am more open-minded to change than ever, which to me is what will define the future and the past. As I’ve said many times, you are either on the train or on the tracks. n
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January/February 2009
TEN
Independent UK labels During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, the major record companies in the UK had so much power that independent labels struggled to become established. Several producers launched independents as outlets for their work, Joe Meek (Triumph), Andrew Oldham (Immediate), and Larry Page (Page One), but the punk rock era of the 70s brought about a turning point for the independent label. All independents are unified in the passion for their music and an eye for the main chance. JIM EVANS selects his key players. Track Records — The brainchild of feted aristocratic hothead Kit Lambert and his street-wise partner, Chris (brother of actor, Terence) Stamp. Its first release in 1967 was Purple Haze by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, followed by early Who recordings and the Hendrix album Are You Experienced. ‘Our policy is to sign people who we consider to be unstoppable. Only artistes of the highest quality and Top Ten potential,’ stated Lambert in the company’s first press release. Immediate Records — founded in 1965 by Rolling Stones manager/producer/self proclaimed ‘Godfather of Hype’ Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder. Not quite at the level of Track but from 1965 until it was dissolved in 1970 Immediate was the home of late 60s luminaries such as the Small Faces, The Nice, Billy Nicholls, Chris Farlowe, P.P. Arnold, The McCoys, John Mayall, and Humble Pie to name just a few. On top of that, Rod Stewart and the original line-up of Fleetwood Mac released their first singles on Immediate. Charisma Records — Tony Stratton Smith, a former sports journalist — equally at home in the Marquee Bar or the member’s enclosure at Royal Ascot — was managing The Nice and the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band in the late 60s. He was so frustrated dealing with record companies that he decided to start his own. So, in November 1969, with tongue firmly in cheek he launched The Famous Charisma label. The first single — Sympathy by Rare Bird –- was also the first hit and Charisma went on to become one of the most influential record companies of the 1970s. Its most successful acts were Genesis, Peter Gabriel and the Monty Python comedy team. ‘Strat’ died in 1987 and the UK record industry has an annual award in his memory. Island Records — Chris Blackwell founded the Island label in Kingston, Jamaica in 1959 with capital of just £1000. Relocating to London in the early 60s, Blackwell built the most diverse and enviable back catalogue of any independent record label in history. From Island’s early Jamaican roots in ska and rock-steady, through January/February 2009
the label’s expansion to become the cutting edge of progressive rock in the late 60s, and then on to the signing of such international superstars as Bob Marley and U2, Blackwell brought to Island a certain vision and passion.
RAK Records — Founded by record producer Mickie Most. He had a number one success with The Animals’ House Of The Rising Sun, followed by a succession of international hits with artists such as Brenda Lee, Jeff Beck, Lulu, The Yardbirds, Terry Reid, CCS, Cozy Powell, Nancy Sinatra, Mary Hopkin and Donovan. In 1969 he formed the RAK label where artistes like Mud, Suzi Quatro, Smokie, Hot Chocolate, Racey and Kim Wilde were signed and had considerable success. Most died in 2003; London’s Rak Studios continues as a commercial facility. Chrysalis Records — The Chrysalis Group’s origins date to the late 1960s . Chris Wright and Terry Ellis were young managers and bookers of music groups who decided to found a talent agency in 1967, which they called Ellis Wright. Two of the bands represented by Ellis Wright were Ten Years After and the more eccentric Jethro Tull. Seeking recording opportunities for the groups, Ellis and Wright hit on the idea of forming their own label. They arranged to license the initial discs by the bands to Island Records, which agreed to give Wright and Ellis their own label if the early releases were hits. The idea worked, and Chrysalis Records was formed within a year. Stiff Records — Stiff was formed in 1976 by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera on the back of a £400 loan from Dr Feelgood’s Lee Brilleaux. The first release was a £40 publishers demo by Nick Lowe. So It Goes/ Heart Of The City captured resolution
the spirit of the times and was followed by high class singles and albums from Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and The Damned. The label enjoyed considerable success in the Eighties with Madness, The Pogues, Kirsty McColl and Jona Lewie. Robinson once famously said: ‘Accountants running record labels just don’t work.’ Cherry Red Records — Cherry Red — which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary — grew from the rock promotion company (named after The Groundhogs song) founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens. In the wake of the independent record boom that followed the advent of punk rock, founders Iain McNay (who remains company chairman) and Richard Jones released the label’s first single, Bad Hearts by local punk band The Tights, in 1978. Factory Records — Begun as a club in 1978, started by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, it released its first EP, A Factory Sampler, featuring acts that had played at their club, in 1979. The first album was Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division in 1979. The label was at the centre of a music scene of its own making centred on the Hacienda club. Wilson is widely regarded as the man who put Manchester on the map for its music and vibrant nightlife and he remained active on the city scene until his death in 2007.
Rough Trade Records — Geoff Travis was travelling in North America and amassed a huge record collection. He shipped these records back to the UK which became the basis of the Rough Trade Shop. The label grew out of this shop in 1978 and the operation also went into the distribution business. It became independent from the shop in 1982, then went bankrupt in 1991. Rough Trade was relaunched in 2000. Virgin Records — Founded by entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. Branson and Powell had initially run a small record shop called Virgin Records and Tapes on Notting Hill Gate, London, specialising particularly in ‘krautrock’ imports and offering bean bags and free vegetarian food for the benefit of customers listening to the music on offer. After making the shop into a success, they turned their business into a fully-fledged record label. The first release was Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield in 1973. n 55
technology
Digital wireless: nailing a band on the run The coming upheaval in channel allocations in the UHF-TV band for Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE) could spell curtains for older wireless microphones with more limelight for digital wireless systems offering greater channel capacity without the latency and lipsync issues associated with compression and Bluetooth. DAVID MANN from APT digs into the digital scene.
Line 6 X2 MIPRO ACT-8H
Sennheiser
Sabine 2.4GHz digital wireless mic
Zaxcom TRX900 Trantec SD7000
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ireless microphone users of all creeds across the USA are stewing over imminent plans to reallocate channels within the precious UHF radio spectrum in favour of digital TV multiplexes and new mobile telephony and wireless internet services. For on 17 February 2009 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the US government agency responsible for that invisible yet invaluable resource known as the radio spectrum, outlaws analogue TV transmissions and mandates DTV only in a severely downsized section of the UHF band. And come 2012 — around the time of the London 2012 Olympics — Ofcom, the British equivalent of the FCC, expects the completion of the Digital Switch-Over (DSO) project. From then on, spectrum-hungry broadcast of the UK’s five analogue (PAL) terrestrial TV stations (BBC 1 and 2, ITV, Channel 4 and Five) ceases, and glorious multichannel digital terrestrial TV multiplexes will service the whole kingdom. As Barry Fox reported in a recent edition of Resolution (V7.8), the implications of the DSO for licensed (and many more unlicensed) users of older wireless microphones (not to mention wireless in-ear monitoring and talkback systems) could be a significantly disruptive event. The impact of decimating the already limited number of 8MHz channels in the UHF-TV band for secondary use by wireless microphones is bound to severely restrict the number of wireless microphones that can be deployed at any time within a venue in a particular town or city. West End shows, major outdoor events and touring concerts typically demand scores of wireless microphones and the potential impact of yet fewer UHF-TV channels for PMSE use could have catastrophic consequences on event viability. Given the impending spectrum crunch for PMSE, is there a viable technology fix? How are the numerous manufacturers of wireless microphone systems preparing the professional audio market for the post-DSO landscape? There appear to be two strategies playing out: either abandon the UHF-TV band for PMSE altogether and migrate the operating frequencies of wireless microphone systems upwards into the microwave bands above 1GHz; or leverage digital communications technology to multiply channel capacity in the remaining fragments of the downsized UHF-TV band. Both these approaches — band migration and increasing spectrum efficiency — present non-trivial yet surmountable design challenges to the makers of digital wireless audio systems. Before moving on, it’s worth noting that Ofcom has set aside a 600kHz-wide slice of radio spectrum in the microwave region of the UHF band (300MHz-3GHz) for low-power (50mW) ‘digital radio microphones’, although this meagre allocation (1.785GHz–1.800GHz) is not currently available in Northern Ireland. Critically, for makers of FM-based wireless microphones, in this special PMSE band digital means digital modulation only. Like AM, FM is a relatively spectrum-inefficient, although attractively simple, form of analogue transmission. At the time of writing, it appears that no commercially available wireless microphones exploit this quirky band. Moving higher up the electromagnetic spectrum towards the SHF band (3GHz–300GHz), the globally available ISM band around 2.4GHz for general
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license-free use by industrial, scientific and medical applications, is congested with WiFi wireless broadband internet connectivity systems, and populated worldwide by more than 2 billion radio-squawking Bluetooth enabled consumer electronics devices, from mobile phones, PCs and games consoles to wireless headphones and intercoms. Few wireless microphone makers have ventured into this ‘electrosmog’. But one, Florida based Sabine, has been developing professional wireless microphone systems that operate entirely outside the UHF-TV band since the FCC first announced spectrum plans for DTV about 6 years ago. Since 2003, Sabine marketed a wireless microphone system that operates in the broadcasterfree 2400MHz–2483.5MHz ISM band. Sabine claims that its ‘Smart Spectrum’ SWM7000 series supports up to 70 simultaneous audio channels and provides flat microphone response from 20Hz-20kHz. Sound engineers have been using commercially available wireless microphones since the early 1960s — Beyerdynamic claims first-to-market status with its Transitophone — but only an elite few manufacturers design and market digital wireless microphone systems. The audio industry has been quick to embrace digital electronics technology for the generation, recording and distribution (downloading) of music. So why has there been a slower uptake of digital technology, and specifically, digital modulation methods to maximise spectrum-efficiency, by the wireless microphone industry? This mysterious absence of digital product might be due to some commercially motivated wait-and-see response to the uncertainty surrounding the ownership and landscape of the UHF-TV spectrum after the DSO, and the proposed auctioning of chunks of the highly valuable UHF spectrum to other parties. However, spectrum issues are only part of the problem: the other contributing factor could be the design complexity of digital wireless audio systems in general. Wireless microphone system design has come a long way in the last 40 years. It’s a blend of multiple engineering disciplines: linear electronics, signal processing, RF design, power management, battery technology, software, ergonomics, and industrial design. Entry-level wireless audio systems (licensed and unlicensed) typically use narrowband FM to transmit high-quality audio across a fixedfrequency channel. This channel is usually one and the same as an unused 8MHz analogue (PAL/NTSC) TV channel in the highly-controlled UHF-TV band. More sophisticated FM based analogue systems and so-called ‘hybrid’ systems, which might incorporate a DSP processor chip, use companding to improve dynamic range or eradicate feedback. In addition, phase-locked loops and digital frequency synthesis can be employed to more precisely control frequency or affect some form of intelligent ‘channel-hopping’ to avoid interference on the same or a neighbouring channel. But what really defines and differentiates a digital wireless microphone system from conventional analogue/hybrid types is the use of some form of digital modulation scheme (e.g. PSK, QPSK, or QAM) for more spectrum-efficient radio transmission and consequently the need for analogue-to-digital conversion (A-DC) and real-time digital signal processing (for the implementation of two key functions: the audio codec and channel coder). Note that going digital obviates the need for conventional companding schemes (compressor/expander) that can give rise to sometimes audible, unwanted artefacts. Digital modulation systems can be designed to be much less susceptible to RF interference, multipath effects, and SNR issues. But importantly, digital wireless systems have the potential to break-through the channel capacity constraints of analogue, and permit a greater number of wireless microphones to operate simultaneously in a given slice of spectrum. Let’s have a closer look at how digital methods can offer increased microphone capacity without the need for more UHF-TV channels. Note the distinction between microphone capacity (the number of discreet wireless audio links that a fixed bandwidth channel can accommodate) and the number of channels available within the approved band of the radio spectrum (the UHF-TV band in this case). The transmit side of a digital wireless microphone system (e.g. encased in the handheld microphone-transmitter or embedded in a body-pack transmitter) can be broken down into several key functional sub-systems [see block diagram]. The amplified audio signal from the acoustic transducer (condenser, dynamic, etc) is sampled at a frequency (e.g. 48kHz) and resolution (e.g. 24-bit) determined by an A-DC to yield the desired native audio resolution and quality. The audio codec takes the digital audio stream from the A-DC and applies a data reduction algorithm — a process also known as audio compression — to produce a lower bit-rate digital
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January/February 2009
technology DIGITAL WIRELESS MICROPHONE SYSTEM – TRANSMIT SIDE
Gain
ADC
AUDIO 24bit ENCODER 48kHz (e.g. apt-X Live)
CHANNEL CODER
(e.g. encryption)
DIGITAL MODULATOR
UHF
RF Gain
(e.g. QPSK)
stream. An error-correction scheme modifies this digital stream to make it more resilient to bit-errors (noise) during transmission; an optional encryption scheme adds a layer of security to the digital stream to protect the intercepted digital transmission from unwanted eavesdroppers. The digital modulator excites the RF amplifier to produce a strong enough UHF radio signal for the physically distant receiver-side of the digital wireless system. In professional systems, the desired benchmark for studio-grade digital audio is 24-bit audio at a sampling rate of 48kHz — a bit rate of 1152kb/s. High-quality audio applications demand a dynamic range of at least 100dB. In addition, because of the synchronous nature of digital signal processing systems, digital wireless microphone designers must strive to keep audio delay (i.e. latency) to an absolute minimum. For practical applications, such as 2-way communications and sound reinforcement, ‘low latency’ implies an overall time delay — from sound origin to audio reproduction — of the order of 2ms. Intelligent design of the audio codec and channel coding schemes ensures that sufficient data reduction of the audio data-stream is attained, while sufficient redundancy is added to preserve the integrity of the (encoded) audio datastream in the presence of various forms of interference, including noise. Here’s an aside: have you ever wondered how rich data from deep-space probes can be radioed back to Earth over such astronomical distances? The answer lies in the use of advanced data reduction techniques and clever channel coding schemes to preserve and accurately reconstruct the original data — even when the signal received from the probe is so faint that it’s barely detectable above the background noise floor. Without digital signal processing (data reduction, channel coding, and digital modulation) deep-space communications would be quite impossible. The same holds true for low-power digital wireless audio systems on the surface of this third rock from the Sun. There is a modern myth in circulation that digital wireless audio systems are prone to latency effects and sometimes introduce an unworkable lip sync delay. It’s true that audio latency has been an issue with older-generation Bluetooth audio headsets, and certain types of frame-based audio codecs (e.g. MP3, AAC) that introduce a perceptible audio delay (about 20ms or more) owing to the need to buffer long samples of audio. But a well-engineered, low latency audio codec (used to compress or reduce the volume or rate of data required to reconstruct the original audio) that is designed specifically for real-time applications should only introduce a (humanly imperceptible) audio delay of the order of 2ms; this fleeting instant equates to a physical distance of about 60cm in the spatial dimension. (Interestingly, the inter-neuron propagation delay in the human brain is of about the same duration — 2ms). By analogy with video codec design and picture quality, the sonic performance of an audio codec design can be measured in terms of dynamic
range (dB), frequency response, transient response, and latency. Audio codecs fall into two general classes, namely perceptual and predictive types. The former, such as MP3 and AAC, offer a high degree of data reduction by exploiting the basic inadequacies of human psychoacoustics, but only at the expense of a significant inherent processing delay. That’s why MP3 and AAC are good for high-speed download and compact storage but are not fit-forpurpose in real-time applications: live, simulcast, Bluetooth, etc. Predictive type audio codecs have emerged from the world of fixed-line and mobile telephony, where the absolute need for instantaneous transmission of intelligible speech trumps the requirement for raw data reduction. Low-delay predictive audio coding technology is used in broadcast applications, where, for example, high-quality audio is distributed over dedicated lines (ISDN), microwave radio links, and IP based networks (including the public internet). It’s maybe no surprise then that Sony, given its engineering heritage in broadcast and professional A/V, offers a high-end digital wireless microphone system for integration with Sony HD camcorders for Electronic News Gathering. The company’s DWT transmitter and DWR receiver attain a dynamic range of 106dB (A-weighted, THD = 1%) using an undisclosed design of low-latency audio codec that attains a 6:1 compression ratio. (With a specified total audio delay of 3.6ms, one can reasonably presume that Sony deploys a predictive audio codec in this system). Zaxcom, another player in wireless audio for ENG, offers a digital system with microphone latency of 3ms. For other aspiring digital wireless microphone manufacturers, the challenge is to deploy an audio codec that delivers wireless audio quality on a par with wired, with sufficiently low latency, and to address the emerging issue of spectrum-efficiency, a degree of data reduction that permits a greater number of microphones to operate simultaneously within any designated channel. There are at least two other proprietary although licensable audio codec designs aimed at digital audio applications, including wireless microphones and 2-way radio systems. Fraunhofer IIS, the inventor of AAC and other advanced codecs for A/V, has produced both Low-Delay and Enhanced Low Delay hybrid derivatives of AAC. LD-AAC has an algorithmic delay of 20ms. APT licenses a higher compression variant of its broadcast-grade apt-X audio codec. The apt-X Live codec offers up to 8:1 data reduction yet claims to keep latency less than 2ms (1.8ms at 48kHz sampling). Is there light at the end of the tunnel for users of wireless microphones? Yes. Expect the coming DTV transition to further stimulate the launch of new wireless microphones products, some, like the SD7000 Digital Wireless Microphone System from Trantec, promising to double the number of microphones that can be simultaneously operated within an 8MHz UHF-TV channel. And innovation is alive and well: in a recent press release, Sennheiser claims to have developed an innovative high-quality digital wireless microphone system in association with the Technical-University of Hamburg-Harburg. Interestingly, Sennheiser has eschewed data compression to preserve the original quality of the audio, and has developed a single receiver that operates over the entire UHF band. It’s reasonable to speculate that Sennheiser gains spectrum-efficiency — twice as many microphones within available UHF-TV channels — using an advanced high bit rate digital modulation scheme to compensate for the lack of audio compression. There is life after the spectrum crunch and PMSE lives in interesting (digital) times. n
A Legend In His Own Time
D
irk Brauner has been perfecting the art of microphones for over a decade. Hand crafted in Germany with a passion, it’s no wonder Brauner mics are coveted by the world’s most famous studios and producers. For artists that deserve the best, Brauner is the only choice. Now Brauner offers a range of mics to suit a wide variety of budgets, all with the legendary sound that has made Brauner a name synonymous with quality.
“ Never before did I come across a microphone of this caliber. The VMA is the best microphone I have ever worked with. “ Elliot Scheiner : Steeley Dan, Toto, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Sting, ... “ I got a call from a friend of mine who was working on a Janet Jackson mix that we had recorded vocals on and the producer, Rodney Jerkins, kept asking about the vocal sound, what mic we used, if it was a vintage mic. I had to smile when I told him it was not a vintage mic but a Brauner VMA! I LOVE my mic! “ John Horesco IV: Jermaine Dupri, Janet Jackson, Usher, Mariah Carey, ...
In the UK: The Home Service T: 020 8943 4949 E: sales@louisaustin.com
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slaying dragons
Axe issues In this issue, JOHN WATKINSON responds to reader questions that have a distinctly musical slant. All questions for John to the Editor, please.
How do I get rid of hum on my 25 year anniversary Fender Stratocaster? It is troublesome always having to find the best angle to the amplifier, to minimise hum to an acceptable level, and when I use distortion, the hum amplifies to an annoying level. Why is there almost always hum on even good electric guitars? Practically all electric guitars pick up hum and a significant number of guitar amplifiers radiate hum fields, with obvious audible consequences. There is often quite good radio reception on an electric guitar. However, there is absolutely no reason why a properly engineered guitar, or any other piece of electric band gear, should hum or pick up taxis in normal use. I have fixed a number of humming guitars, including a Stratocaster, and in every case the cause was exactly the o u n d same. It appears that guitar manufacturers cannot even spell electromagnetic compatibility, let alone understand what it means. As a result the wiring inside a guitar is usually somewhere between suboptimal and botched, almost irrespective of price. Many guitar amplifiers use cheap transformers that radiate magnetic fields put in wooden boxes that have no screening effect. While it is possible to replace the transformer with a toroidal one and/or to fit screening, this is hard work and fixing the guitar is easier. Once the cover plate is removed, the most obvious evidence to look for is that one end of the capacitors that form part of the tone controls is soldered to the metal body of the controls. This is the hallmark of EMC ignorance and the www.m a n g e r- p ro . d e sign that the wiring needs Tel: +49- 9776- 9816 to be re-built.
M A NGER P r e c i s i o n
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it’s simply a question of time
STUDIO M ONIT OR MSM c 1
www.man g er-audio.c o.uk U K tel : 01 6 1 -304- 0099
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The electric guitar speaks to the world down a single coaxial cable. The voltage between the centre conductor and the screen should result from the movement of the strings over the pickup alone, and not from any other source. However, the screen of the coaxial cable is also used to ground the metal parts of the guitar, both for safety and to convert them from antennae to screens. On the subject of safety, make sure the amplifier is properly grounded to the building wiring. If it isn’t, a fault could cause the guitar strings to become live. The un-planned wiring of a typical guitar passes some of the stray currents that circulate in the metal parts through impedances that are common with the signal path. As a result the hum-induced currents add voltages to the signal. The solution is to convert the guitar to a proper star-point grounding system. The star point, which is typically the screen terminal of the jack socket is the only point at which the screening/grounding circuitry connects to the pickup circuitry. Start by making a drawing of the guitar circuitry and take some photographs as a reference. I prefer to completely dismantle the wiring and to start again, but that’s not for the faint hearted. The plan is that every metal part that is not carrying signals should be grounded once to the screen terminal of the jack socket. Such parts include the bridge and tremolo arm, the truss rod, the metal cans of the pickups and the metal bodies of the controls and the switch. Grounding the bridge should ground the machine heads via the strings. Using an Ohm meter, check each part for grounding then temporarily remove the ground wire to check if it is still grounded in some other way. We don’t want double grounds anywhere, because this forms hum loops and creates circulating currents. With a single ground connection, there is no complete circuit and there can be no current. The control panel is often plastic and has a sheet of aluminium foil on the inside to act as a screen. This usually connects to the bushes and metal cans of the volume and tone controls and grounds them. If the controls are grounded in this way, no further grounding is needed. With the grounding and screening done, the signal wiring can be replaced. The theoretical circuit should be identical, but the physical details will differ because the common connection of the signal path, to which the bottom end of the volume pot track, one end of each pickup coil and the common ends of the tone capacitors connect, must be kept isolated from the screening. An extra insulated tag may have to be installed to support wiring in the vicinity of the controls. Once this is done, the common point of the signal wiring should be connected once to the screen contact of the jack. Before making the connection, check with a meter that there is no other connection. Fixing the hum problem of an electric guitar is worth doing, not just because it stops the hum, but because it improves the resolution of the guitar and makes it sound better.
How does the body influence the sound and sustain of a solid body electric guitar? The simple explanation of how a taut string vibrates
January/February 2009
slaying dragons assumes that the ends of the strings are mounted with perfect rigidity. If this were possible, the end of the string would see infinite mechanical impedance and all energy arriving would be reflected back into the string. The only way energy could be lost from the string is by air resistance and by the internal damping of the string material, both of which eclipse the energy extracted by the pickup. Plucking the string results in a series of resonant modes whose relationship depends, among other things, upon the bending stiffness of the string and where the string was plucked. However, the very resonance of the string causes tension changes. In the case of fundamental-only resonance the string would take the form of an arch at its maximum deflection and to do so it would have to be under more tension than in the neutral condition when it is straight. Thus the tension is modulated by the string deflection. In one cycle of string movement, the tension varies twice; once as the string moves up and once as it goes down. Some of the fundamental energy of the string is slowly turned into second harmonic mode. As a result the harmonic structure changes as the note progresses. In a real solid guitar, the body and neck cannot have infinite mass or stiffness, so the string sees a finite impedance into which it can deliver some power, thereby reducing the length of the sustain. The body and neck system are excited by various frequencies and will not respond equally to each. At some frequencies more energy will be extracted than at others. As a result the way the harmonic structure of the string changes during the sustain period is
affected by the guitar construction. To obtain long sustain the guitar needs to be heavy and rigid. There is a practical limit to the weight. The conventional construction can suffer energy loss at the joint between the neck and the body. This can be circumvented by using the so-called neck-through construction in which the bridge and machine heads are on the same part. The ‘body’ is in two halves, one each side of the neck. Clearly if the neck material is not suitable, the benefits of neck-through construction will not be realised.
Why does a semi acoustic (hollow body) electric guitar sound halfway acoustical when played back through an amplifier even when the pick-ups are the same as on a solid body guitar? There are many types of semi-acoustic guitar, but if we consider the arch-top type, this is effectively built like a beefed-up violin, where the sound board is intended
to be excited by vibrations from the bridge and has f-holes to allow it to move. If the pickup is mounted on the sound board, it will be moved physically by these vibrations, so that the pickup output voltage will be the sum of the string vibrations and the sound board vibrations. In this way the richness of tone due to the body resonances is transmitted to the amplifier. The location of the pickup is chosen carefully. The only drawback of such guitars is that they are more prone to feedback. Obviously electric guitars need ferrous strings that can interact with the magnetic field from a conventional variable reluctance pickup. However, as it is the vibrations caused by the strings that we are interested in, we can pick those up using an accelerometer placed near the bridge. This still works if the strings are non-ferrous. In this way any stringed instrument can artificially be amplified. This is a good way to amplify a Dobro as it picks up the response of the resonator. A conventional pickup on a Dobro has to go near the end of the neck and may result in the amplified instrument sounding more like a conventional guitar. n Thanks to Peter Riis-Vestergaard at DR Byen, Denmark for these questions. Got a problem? Puzzled by a technology? Confused by seemingly contradictory ‘facts’? Or simply always wondered why something happens the way it does? John is willing to have a go at explaining it for you in his usual self-effacing manner. Send your questions via the editor at zen@resolutionmag.com
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January/February 2009
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YOUR BUSINESS
Battle for white space Bets are on for the switchover in the US. DAN DALEY hopes that the next sound you hear won’t be some twit interrupting the aria…
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n 17 February 2009 American television stations will stop broadcasting in the analogue spectrum and switch to digital only. (What the UK started to do in 2005.) The unused space between current broadcast channels is known as ‘white space’, and in that space the Battle of Hastings, technology-style, has been fought. Who won, however, is less apparent to us than it was to William in his day.
American history — The white spaces, in the States at least, had evolved over the last 30 or so years into a kind of opposite of The Lord of the Flies, in which relatively unregulated and sometimesless-than-mature people actually succeeded in organising themselves around a common goal for the common good. Frequency charts were created, maintained and disseminated by a community of professionals, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the pro audio business. That was disrupted by the announcement that the white spaces would become less predicatively available after the shift to DTV. Furthermore, the auction sale of the spectral band above 700MHz last year (where little-used UHF stations resided) to several mobile phone carriers will crowd more wireless users near the space. Pro audio users of the white spaces are nervous, and should be: in New York City alone on any given night (well, except Wednesday) Broadway theatres are running hundreds of channels of wireless microphones, along with perhaps a dozen major concerts at venues like Madison Square Garden and the Hammerstein Ballroom. Imagine these performances loudly interrupted by the squeaks and squeals of hundreds of wireless devices that were suddenly intruding into the same frequency bands. That fear has been motivating the pro audio business in general, and wireless systems manufacturers and their clients in particular, for the last four years. 60
Their concern is not misplaced. Once the sale of the spectrum was announced, some very large names in the electronics and internet industries made it clear that they wanted in on it. A consortium dubbed the White Spaces Coalition comprised of power players including Microsoft, Google, Dell, HP, Intel, Philips, Earthlink, and Samsung began bidding on the airwaves, intending to create a new bazaar for wireless internet connectivity. But that wasn’t all. Yet another contingent of megacorporations vied for the prized airspace: mobile phone companies like Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile planned to use them for WiFi access to the internet that can bypass the commercially controlled access. Against these potential interlopers, the broadcast business hastily organised itself into something called the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV) which proclaimed itself a ‘liaison between the broadcast industry and the consumer electronics, professional video and other technology industries,’ whose board is made up almost solely of broadcasters, who are already finding their advertisers migrating to the internet and who don’t want the white-space cushion between channels challenged. As soon as Microsoft presented the FCC with new technology it said could operate in the white spaces without interfering with entertainment and broadcast users, the MSTV group staged a protest saying the proposal to open up all that unused air didn’t go far enough to protect digital television users from bleeding signals. Several tests of various versions of the Microsoft technology were conducted, including one during a nationally televised NFL football game last September. All were judged failures to one extent or another. Meanwhile, the pro audio industry did a good job of providing all interested parties with solid data from its own research, with a special mention for Shure, which took a leadership position in terms of systems testing and in communicating the issues to the industry and to the general public (with a slight but understandable bias.) There was no shortage of data to distribute: over 50 members of Congress, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and personalities as noted and diverse as Dolly Parton, Guns ‘N’ Roses, mega-church pastor Rick Warren, the Shubert Theater Organisation, Harrah’s Entertainment, the Country Music Association, The Recording Academy, the NFL and other major sports leagues, to name just a few and all big-time users of RF, made statements in support of giving entertainment users continued secure access to the white spaces. Adding their signatures to FCC petitions were tour and production managers and FOH and monitor mixers for artists including Keith Urban, Dave Matthews, Brian Wilson, and Dashboard Confessional. You could not ask for a better all-star cast at any kind of benefit. In a sense, the mobilisation the wireless community undertook for the last two years or so helped it deal with what would be, prima facie, an adverse ruling. On 4 November FCC chairman Kevin Martin ruled that the white spaces would be open to new media. Fiat electro-lux. The decision — CE technology companies cheered. Martin’s own words reflected their sentiments: ‘Opening the white spaces will allow for the creation resolution
of a Wi-Fi on steroids. It has the potential to improve wireless broadband connectivity and inspire an everwidening array of new internet based products and services for consumers… in TV white spaces.’ Wireless users were disappointed, particularly at a time when prerecorded music sales continue to decline and live performances are becoming the bread and butter of the evolving music industry. Also of particular concern was the fact that one of the key elements of the order stipulated that wireless users would have to vacate the 700MHz part of the spectrum (more precisely, 698MHz to 806MHz), where most of the music and theatrical wireless systems operate. The good news, however, is that thanks to that long mobilisation effort there are, on paper, at least, significant allowances and protections are part of the FCC order opening the white spaces. For instance, all new devices will be required to incorporate spectrum sensing. And since sensing alone might not keep devices from interfering with the signal, the FCC order also stipulates the establishment of an RF database to document what channels are in use in specific areas around the country (though who will compile, maintain and manage it is still undetermined). All white space devices will need to be able to geolocate (through GPS, for example) and access this database over the internet. Venues where wireless microphones are in use can be registered in the database, limiting white space devices in those areas, making the devices network-dependent: they cannot connect with other devices in the area until they access the internet and geolocation system. Finally, white-space devices cannot use channels directly adjacent to ones that are being used by a fixed broadcaster, and mobile devices must avoid channels 14 through 20 altogether. Major metropolitan areas have yet another layer of wireless protection. In 13 key media cities, including New York and Los Angeles, where public safety radios use channels 14 to 20 (470 to 512MHz), the FCC will block CE devices from an additional two channels between 21 and 51 (512 to 806MHz) in the UHF spectrum. And the FCC doesn’t want white space devices operating on VHF channels 3 or 4, in case they might interfere with DVD players and video game consoles that connect to the TV on those channels. So now what? In the last three decades, wireless has mushroomed into a significant part of the professional audio revenue stream. With most systems operating in the 700MHz range using frequency modulation (FM), virtually every manufacturer’s products are affected. The strategy at Shure, which had taken the point position early in the controversy, involves adding more frequency selections to its existing wireless product lines, and the company will enhance its existing frequency-finding software to show more precisely which the best open channels available are for a given time, place and anticipated local whitespace device usage. Lectrosonics, another large wireless player, offers a plan by which users of their 700MHz products can have them reset, for a fee, to a useable frequency block in a lower range. Sennheiser says the protections built into the FCC rulings could allow professional wireless users to stay in the UHF range successfully with a few tweaks, such as retuning frequencies below 698MHz and employing tactics such as sharp filtering of antenna systems, distance and power management techniques, zone isolation with enhanced shielding, and time multiplexing. At Audio-Technica, the strategy is to leave the MHz range behind almost all together with their new January/February 2009
BROADCAST ASIDE
Confessions of a sound man His name is DENNIS BAXTER. He is part broadcast engineer, part sound innovator, part audio advocate. In other words, he’s a sound man and he now writes a regular column in Resolution.
t probably all started as a baby. My mother, only a girl of 16, would lull me to sleep with a stack of 45rpm records and the sweet sounds of Elvis and Buddy Holly. It was 1954 and everything was electrified, amplified and televised — and so was I although I didn’t know it yet. I’ve always been in love with sound. A 2-track Sony tape recorder in High School actually captured some interesting tracks, but that recorder certainly inspired a lifetime of fascination with sound. I still own that recorder and six-channel mixer. You’ll never see those on eBay. In my journeys working as the Senior Audio Engineer/Designer for the last eight Olympic Games, I was often asked what prepares a person for a life of sound. So what does? Lots of bands, PAs and broken cables. A recording studio, mountains of debt and the reality of the studio business. Dealing with pissy producers, long hours (damn night games) and gruelling travel schedules. It is often hard to realise these are life experiences when you are living it. But preparation it is. Be ready for opportunities. Know when you have the chance and how to benefit from the experience. My opportunity in television came when an American Cable Broadcaster needed a sound man and I was all that was left to choose from. It was not a particularly pleasant experience, but the pay was good and consistent. During these early gigs, my quickest revelation about sound and television was the second-class treatment from some video engineers. I guess they were happy and sometimes surprised we got a consistent picture with the announcers on air. Live television was often driven by getting to air no matter what. There were so many technical challenges compounded by more cameras, more holes of golf, more POV — point of views, more! You might
say TV by the pound! I’m no purist. Years in NASCAR taught me that sound is entertainment. Think about it: why would thousands watch a few cars making a left turn for hours? The answer is the auditory thrill — the roar of engines, the squeal of tyres sliding sideways at 200kmh, the sound of danger and imminent metal on metal contact. The sound man becomes a producer in this environment, making sound richer and more vibrant than mere reproduction. As an Olympic host broadcast engineer, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in a revolution of sorts. Television production people from Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Torino and Beijing have experienced a revelation that sound — surround sound — is a key ingredient of high definition. They recognise that good sound is the experiential component of the broadcast. It adds the sensory value to the event. Yapping announcers aren’t necessary when the listening audience can hear the swoosh of the snow in bobsledding, the feet land on the balance beam, the winning stroke slap the finish line in the 50m freestyle, and the excited roar of the crowd. I’m also an advocate for audio as a career. The reality is that there isn’t a direct path to becoming a sound man. Just ask one. Odds are the answer will be through recording bands. Or sports. Or posting an original song on the internet. Where can a young person go to get the hands-on technical experience of live broadcast sound before their first gig? Here’s where the teacher part of me comes in … I’m passionate about making sound a career — not a job. Broadcast technicians need training and creative counsel. They want to understand how to make sound really great. Along the way I’ve learnt a little about sound and developed some different ideas and approaches. Some have been shot down, some well accepted, a few have earned a couple of Emmys. But the most important thing I’ve learnt is to try. New ideas are not just the domain of the picture. Think like you’re in the pit at Indy or Monte Carlo. Or waxing your snowboard in Austria. Or curling your toes over the edge of the pool in Beijing. What do you hear? How can you deliver that experience to your audience? Make it feel so real it’s like being there? At the end of the day, I’m just a sound man. But a vast amount of untapped creativity and innovation in this field keeps me inspired and passionate about the future of audio broadcast. I hope to share with you some of the best — and rant on the worst — in my upcoming columns. In the meantime, listen well. n
SpectraPulse system, a purely digital system that does not use a carrier like FM or SpreadSpectrum, but rather operates in the 6.35GHz range, far above conventional RF frequencies and actually closer to that of microwaves. This stratospheric frequency range is not as straightforward or stable an RF environment as the 700MHz or even the increasingly common 2.4GHz range has been, but the company asserts it’s rock-solid and completely unaffected by white-space issues when you get it right. (Enough so that it was used on the third
and final presidential debate broadcast in October.) But SpectraPulse’s cost — twice that of other highend professional wireless systems and about 10 times that of the 700MHz ones of the sort used by garden-variety rock concerts — means most pro white-space users will have to deal with an oftenstrange new world for the immediate future, once that Big Switch in the Sky gets flipped for good and the white spaces go from being a somewhat-shadybut-chummy little club to a massive CE acropolis where white space and MySpace collide. n
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January/February 2009
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HEADROOM Miking A Chorus Line In his article The Now, The Next and the Risk, V7.8, Barry Fox mentioned that Autograph rewrote the rules of theatre miking with A Chorus Line. The subject of the article insinuates wrongly that the original production used radio microphones. It did not. In fact it was choreographed so cleverly that each word was picked up on shotgun mics — the head movements were very complicated. It was pretty hard work chasing the dancers round the stage — if you missed a mic pick up you blew it for the audience. I operated a tour of the show which used the same original Broadway choreography and it was very exiting to mix. When we came to add radio mics to the show in Paris there was a lot of resistance from the dancers because at that time, 1987, the transmitters were still quite big and uncomfortable for them to hide in leotards. By the end of a 6-week run we still had not got all 19 main characters on radio mic let alone the other six speaking parts. We were also struggling for frequency bandwidth and it didn’t help that a lot of the transmitters were fixed frequency. Graham Robinson, UK
670 clones
I recently read your article about the new 670 copy Analogue Tube AT-101 (V7.8) and wanted to point out that I produced my version back in 2001. My 670 copy is in accordance with the original except for the power supply which I converted to all regulated so as to eliminate any noise; I also kept the lat/vert switch. I had the pleasure of meeting Simon at the last AES and felt that he was a great guy and a wealth of knowledge regarding the 670. Please take a look at my unit and perhaps sometime soon you may consider doing a review of it. Anthony DeMaria, NY, USA Just a quick note. I was surprised to see the Analogue Tube recreation of the Fairchild 670 reviewed in this latest issue considered the ‘first authentic’ recreation of the great 670. Should not that award go to the Anthony DeMaria Labs 670 which has been out for about 5 years now? Just curious, thanks! Chad Kelly, Baton Rouge, USA Thank you for your attention. We didn’t say it was the first authentic recreation. It is the latest in a line of 670 recreations that George had actually listed in his review but which I had cut from the article and this had included mention of Anthony’s unit, among others. Incidentally, I encountered a Fairman TMC before 1997. ZS
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HEADROOM Ringing synths While I find John Watkinson’s article on synthesisers (Slaying Dragons, V7.8) interesting as a good overview on the subject, I don’t fully share some of his views. He writes ‘The amount of odd harmonics was usually greater than in conventional instruments and resulted in the distinctive sound of the first synthesisers’. This is only partially true. The distinctive sound of the so-called ‘analogue synthesiser’ essentially comes from the great simplicity of its sound production. Both the volume envelopes and spectrum dynamics are much simpler than those of acoustic instruments. About the VCF, it would be important to mention that this is the way dynamic spectrums are achieved in many sound synthesis structures, both in analogue synthesisers and in many other synthesis architectures. And while some of its implementations allow to get high Q settings, after being a short term oscillator, when increasing Q, the filter can be driven into self oscillation. In which case it becomes a true sinus oscillator. Moreover, when such a resonant filter with an adequate Q setting is fed by the note trigger, it actually rings, but doesn’t produce a bell or triangle sound, which both require using a ring modulator. Only a damped sinus wave can be obtained in using the filter output alone. Michel Geiss, sound programmer on Jean-Michel Jarre’s Oxygene and Equinoxe, France P.S. Congratulations to the Resolution editorial staff for such an excellent magazine! I had hoped the text I wrote made it clear that the dominance of odd harmonics was a consequence of the use of a square wave tone generator. This can be verified by listening, by the use of a spectrum analyser, or by study of the works of Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier. To suggest that this is only partially true is an interesting interpretation that I cannot grasp. My elderly Roland Juno can manage a passable impression of finger bells by using the VCF as a damped oscillator. As Mr Geiss suggests, early synthesisers are too simple to recreate some of the nuances of real instruments, so church bells are outside its capabilities. John Watkinson
Educashun, educashion, edukation Thank you for another superb leader (V7.8). Having done a bit of training in the past I thoroughly endorse your feelings on the content of the current spate of ‘audio-related’ courses. I have always felt that the only people who benefit from these are the organisers or owners of those dubious private establishments who now seem to be able to get accreditation for their output just because some tin-pot uni wants to increase its grant funding. David Grinsted, Chipping Norton, UK Though in general I agree with your comments about how education should be responding to the needs of the industry and just how complex those needs are (Leader, V7.8), I do think the whole subject is talked about by the industry in rather simplistic terms. Often when the industry talks about (and usually criticises!) education they really seem to think that education is merely about training the lucky and determined few who will go on to make a career in the industry. A typical intake of further education students onto any music/media course will include a very significant percentage who, though they will benefit from the course in many ways, will not go on to pursue a career in the music/media industries. This is the same for all industries. Check how many hairdressers get trained in every college in the land!
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This does not mean that the course is at fault or even teaching the wrong skills to those students. It just highlights that education is there to serve many purposes in society only one of which is creating potential material for the various industries to ‘feed on’. As you rightly say in your article, personal betterment is about much more than ‘getting rich quick’. At dBs we have a large and very mixed student cohort both on our FE and HE courses. At one end of the scale we have those students who have gone on to work directly in the industry. At the other we have students that learnt how to turn up on time, improve their maths and literacy skills and importantly gained in personal confidence. Some of these softer skills are so easy to dismiss if we already have them ourselves but so hard to do without if we don’t. At dBs we think both sides of our provision are important. David Louis Puttick, Deep Blue Sound, Plymouth, UK
Further terminological errors Having just read Philip Newell’s article on Common Terminological errors (Ten, V7.8), the subject of XLR connectors needs a bit of correcting. The Cannon Electric Company of Los Angeles launched in an advert in the American Radio Amateurs Handbook of 1955 of amongst their various products: The New XLR series as an addition the XL as to quote ‘New streamlined shell design with new quiet, noise proof RESILIENT insulator in the socket assembly XLR-331’ with three 15amp contacts. Originally, X series was for Audio and then XL added, the L is for locking. So adding together the X series plus Locking plus Resilient equals XLR. Nothing to do with stereo. Incidentally, Pin 1 was Ground and had a longer socket to mate first, hence noise proof and Ampex and other US companies assigned pin 3 as plus phase and pin 2 as negative phase. Studer and other European companies not knowing this choose pin 2 as plus phase hence confusion. I know that the AES decided to standardise pin 2 plus in the 1980s. Sorry I do not have the AES paper to hand for accurate dates. Secondly, about MOSFET. Since the late 60s it always stood for Metal Oxide Silicon Field Effect Transistor. End of story! Let’s keep the Resolution going. Tim de Paravicini, EAR/ Yoshino Ltd, UK Tim seems to have misunderstood what I was trying to explain. I was, in fact, saying that the R in XLR stood for Resilient, and that the references to Left/Right and Low Resistance were erroneous explanations, although unfortunately not uncommon ones. Nonetheless, his expansion of the XLR history helps to clarify the explanation even further. He also seemed to be a little shocked by the point that I was making about the meaning of MOSFET, implying that this error was somehow imagined. If he wishes, I will point him in the direction of certain text books which do indeed give the ‘Semiconductor’ explanation. Philip Newell
Ribbons for the road With all the interest in ribbon microphones at the present time (Headroom, V7.8 and V7.7) and in particular those made by RCA, I thought that you might find the enclosed information on the model 6203 Varacoustic Microphone of interest. Shortly after I co-founded Esquire Records I realised that we
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would need some mobile equipment for recording live jazz concerts and to this end I purchased a Presto two-speed disc recorder, which also had a threeinput mixer supplied with it. In looking for suitable microphones I settled on the RCA models because of their extreme Directional Characteristics versatility. On the back of the microphone case there was a multiway slider which could select the desired directional response from non-directional to uni-directional and bi-directional. I purchased three of these from RCA at Sunbury and used them on all our location recordings with John Dankworth, Ronnie Scott and Victor Feldman and many other well known jazz artists. The microphones were extremely robust and required no maintenance, in fact when you consider they were purchased in 1949 and finally sold just a few weeks ago — what more can one say? I have enclosed a photograph of the microphone and also a diagram illustrating the directional characteristics which I hope you will find of interest. Peter Newbrook, Norwich, UK
Advertiser Index Al.So................................................... Classified 59 Api.........................................................................7 Audient.......................................................... 30-31 Audio Pro............................................................49 Audio Technica....................................................25 Brauner................................................................57 Cabsat.................................................................46 Calrec..................................................................39 Genelec...............................................................64 Grace...................................................................21 Ibc.........................................................................9 Jz Microphones..................................................37 KmR.................................................... Classified 59 Lydkraft...............................................................53 Manger Audio.....................................................58 Mcdsp...................................... inside Front Cover Merging Technology...........................................42 Music Messe.......................................................23 Mytek..................................................................48 Radial...................................................................13 Reidel.........................................................41 & 43 Resolution Awards.................... Inside Back Cover Rnd.....................................................................51 Schoeps...............................................................19 Scv London........................................................20 Sonic Distribution / SE...............................22 & 38 Studio Spares......................................................17 Synthax/RME................................................. 10-11 TL Commerce..................................... Classified 59 Vertigo................................................ Classified 59 Vintage King........................................................45 Violet...................................................................27 WSDG..................................................................54 January/February 2009
AUDIO FOR BROADCAST, POST, RECORDING AND MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION
The Resolution Awards 2009 Rewarding Quality and Innovation in professional equipment.
March issue Resolution Award Nominations will be made by a panel of experts in eleven product categories to reflect the eleven categories in the new Product Review Archive on the website. Only Resolution readers will be eligible to vote. Each reader can vote in only seven categories. Awards will be announced in the May/June issue.
www.resolutionmag.com
The Engine Room
No other tool in the professional recording chain has more stringent requirements than the audio monitor – it is the last piece of a complicated chain of events. At Genelec our goal is to deliver sound experiences to you as it is intended by the original performer. Genelec core technologies, including active crossovers and optimized amplifiers with protection circuitry for each driver, offer you an undistorted, dynamic and natural sound without adding to or removing anything from the electronic signal. No matter how hard you drive your monitors, there is always a Genelec system that suits your needs. www.genelec.com
8000-Series Features
Active Crossovers Dedicated Amplifiers for Each Driver MDE™ - Minimum Diffraction Enclosure DCW™ - Directivity Control Waveguide Drive Unit Protection Circuitry Room Response Controls Iso-Pod™ - Isolation Positioner/Decoupler™ High Performance Reflex Port