AudioTechnology Issue #96

BALANCE ENGINEER Nick DiDia reflects on Karnivool’s Asymmetry

A WHOLE NEW WAY OF WERKING Kraftwerk In Surround: Like Never Before

FRONT TO BACK STUDIO DESIGN

PROTOOLS BOUNCES BACK WITH 11 64-bit, AAX, and Faster-ThanReal-Time Bounce Reviewed

With Thomas Jouanjean

MIX MASTERS: CRAIG SILVEY & Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Mosquito

THE NEW MAC PRO A Few Cards Short Of A Full Deck?

HOLDING TO RESOLUTIONS Recording Jazz in DXD

SUBSCRIBE & WIN A PRISM SOUND LYRA 1 WORTH $2350

ISSUE 96

96

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AT 5

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REGULARS

Editor Mark Davie mark@audiotechnology.com.au

ED SPACE

Publisher Philip Spencer philip@alchemedia.com.au Editorial Director Christopher Holder chris@audiotechnology.com.au

Revenue all AMOK

Graphic Designer Leigh Ericksen leigh@alchemedia.com.au

Column: Mark Davie

Art Director Dominic Carey dominic@alchemedia.com.au Advertising Philip Spencer philip@alchemedia.com.au

It seems like two formats ago when Radiohead sidestepped typical distribution models for their Pay-What-You-Want model. It was a democratic release for all budgets, offering In Rainbows in ‘good faith’. You were no longer a criminal for downloading music for free, just a dedicated fan… even more dedicated if you shelled out for it.

Impeccable music business sense, acute awareness of fan psychology, a ‘heart on the sleeve’ social conscience, undeniable artistry, and a fan base with similar values is why Radiohead can lead the charge towards new business models from the safety of major label backing.

This time it wasn’t Radiohead. Just singer, Thom Yorke, and long-time producer, Nigel Godrich, taking a stab at changing the digital tide from the deck of their side project, Atoms For Peace.

Abruptly throwing the Radiohead aircraft carrier into a U-turn is harder these days, with its churning wake of back catalogue to contend with, so Yorke used another vehicle to make a statement.

What am I talking about?

Yorke and Godrich pulled Atoms For Peace’s album AMOK from Spotify for the good of all small-time independent artists who will never make a buck from streaming services. Godrich called it a “small meaningless rebellion”, and “someone’s gotta say something. It’s bad for new music.”

The outrage over Spotify centres around the minuscule royalty rates for streaming. I’m not going to do the sums for you. They’re out there. And on face value, yes, they look mighty skint compared to flogging a $20 compact disc (remember those?).

But according to Forbes contributor, Tim Worstall’s calculations — who we should probably trust over sums provided by outraged indie musicians — royalty rates on Spotify are better than radio. And the services are roughly similar: Listen ‘anywhere’, ad-supported (except for subscriptions), and no physical copy or download to own.

The issue is really about access. Historically, independent musicians had limited access to radio, maybe a bit of joy from local radio and public broadcasters, but zilch chance of scoring airtime on commercial stations. But with Spotify? Well, just sign up to any number of aggregators, and hey presto, you’re playing in the big leagues. The AT 8

problem is… you’re playing in the big leagues. And while having your name on the ticket is a start, the air gets thinner the higher you go, and most asphyxiate. Popularity = sales. No matter how you get there, the equation remains the same.

The Spotify case gets messier, now we know the major labels — as well as Merlin Network, the rights agency for independent labels — each have a stake in the streaming business. But can we begrudge the record business for trying to snaffle crumbs of the pie after Apple’s gorged itself?

But back to Yorke and Godrich. Two days after jumping the Spotify ship in protest, they boarded another: Soundhalo. Co-founded by none other than Barry Palmer from Hunters & Collectors, Soundhalo is a live concert film and audio, production and distribution platform. For the price of an iTunes album, you can download or stream an exquisitely shot, recorded and mixed version of events minutes after the real thing. The latest test pilots throwing their weight behind the beta are Atoms For Peace.

While it might seem like a win to have a big player stick up for the little guy, they’ve merely jumped from a low-paying ‘open’ system, to a very closed one only available to artists with enough of a fan base to warrant rolling out an entire film production team.

But is there something else here? If we’ve followed Yorke et al down the rabbit hole of letting punters decide what music is worth, should we be trailing them down the video-on-demand route too?

The part that got my attention was the parity of cost and accessibility between Soundhalo and iTunes. The difference here is the recorded output isn’t a studio album, it’s a live gig. Everyone’s been saying live shows are the only way any artist makes money these days, but does this signal a wholesale conversion to the live arena (where instead of slaving away in the studio for months just to release a promotional teaser for the live show, an artist sells a copy of the live show instead)?

Not saying you need to throw away your ‘day’ job, but when streams of revenue for artists are shifting more to the live arena, maybe studio engineers will have to get a ‘night’ job too. On the plus side, at least it will be easier to get a performance out of the artist.

Accounts Jaedd Asthana jaedd@alchemedia.com.au Subscriptions Miriam Mulcahy mim@alchemedia.com.au Proofreading Andrew Bencina Regular Contributors Martin Walker Michael Stavrou Harry Irvine Paul Tingen Graeme Hague Guy Harrison Greg Walker James Roche Greg Simmons Tom Flint Robin Gist Blair Joscelyne Mark Woods Andrew Bencina Jason Fernandez Brent Heber Gareth Stuckey Cover Photo Kane Hibberd

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AudioTechnology magazine (ISSN 1440-2432) is published by Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd (ABN 34 074 431 628).

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E: info@alchemedia.com.au W: www.audiotechnology.com.au All material in this magazine is copyright © 2013 Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd. Apart from any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process with out written permission. The publishers believe all information supplied in this magazine to be correct at the time of publication. They are not in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. After investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, prices, addresses and phone numbers were up to date at the time of publication. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements appearing in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974.

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CONTENTS96

Timeless Beauty In Asymmetry

Producer Nick DiDia records Karnivool’s latest album, finding pleasure in the abnormal.

36

FEATURES A Whole New Way Of Werking Kraftwerk takes surround sound performance to a new level.

42

26

30 48

54

58

68 72

Take Me Out To The Ball Game: ANZ Stadium Bringing Records To Live: Laura Escude Holding Onto Resolutions: Recording Jazz in DXD Mix Masters: Yeah Yeah Yeahs with Craig Silvey On The Wavelength: Making Music in Swaziland A Little Synthi Hearing Double: Studio Design with Thomas Jouanjean

REGULARS ProTools 11

Faster-Than-Real-Time bounce isn’t the only thing that’s faster.

80

SUBSCRIBE & WIN! A PRISM SOUND LYRA 1 AUDIO INTERFACE WORTH $2350!

SEE PAGE 97

14 16 64 66 98

Your Word What’s On PC Audio Mac Notes Last Word

REVIEWS 84 Focusrite RedNet Networked Interfaces 88 Audio-Technica System 10 Wireless 92 Prism Lyra Interfaces AT 11

“We just plug it in anywhere, and it just works. it sounds great too!” John Crossley – University of Derby

“Set up time is tiny, and the bottom line is that it works and it sounds great. They’re the only things that matter.”

Matthew Weiner – Sound recordist

New flexible studio across an existing network SySTem DeTailS: 2 x RedNet 1 (8 Channel A-D / D-A) 1 x RedNet 2 (16 Channel A-D / D-A) 3 x RedNet 4 (8 Channel Mic Pre) 2 x RedNet 5 (32 Channel HD Bridge) 2 x RedNet PCIe Cards

RedNet’s rapid penetration into the audio industry has been far-reaching, and some of the earliest adopters have been educational facilities. The University of Derby, UK, chose RedNet in their impressive new recording studio facility. Using their existing Cat 6 networking infrastructure and a mixture of RedNet 1, 2, and 4 units, they’re able to record 24 channels of audio from anywhere within the Arts, Design and Technology building, straight into Pro Tools HD* with RedNet 5. From their ground-floor auditorium, for example, students can track a live concert from their fully-equipped control room on the second floor. All they need to do is to connect their microphones to the portable RedNet 4 preamp rack, and patch a single Ethernet cable to an RJ45 socket in the wall.

laptop concert recording 238 feet away SySTem DeTailS: 1 x RedNet 2 (16 Channel A-D / D-A) Dante Virtual Soundcard (Direct to laptop Ethernet)

It’s not just in large-scale applications that RedNet shines. Matthew Weiner is a freelance sound recordist from New Jersey, USA who records lots of jazz and classical concerts, and uses a RedNet 2 to capture high-quality audio on his laptop recording system. Matthew’s rig consists of a rolling rack case with some ADAT-enabled eight-channel mic preamps, a selection of mics, and a 238-foot reel of Cat 6 cable, enabling him to be a long distance from the stage if necessary. “The weight of that reel versus the 75-foot snake I used to rent is fractional, and it’s more than three times as long and has almost double the capacity!”

To get in touch with a RedNet specialist today, head to www.elfa.com.au AT 12

Pro Tools® is a trademark or registered trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.

The Focusrite Sound. Networked.

For Focusrite, Sound is Everything. Over the past four decades, the Focusrite sound has influenced countless hit records. Focusrite mic preamplifiers and converters rest pride of place in many of the world’s finest audio facilities. A relentless pursuit for sound excellence has fuelled Focusrite to become the audio interface company of choice for discerning ears across the globe.

RedNet continues this proud tradition of placing sound first – with one twist – RedNet is entirely networked. An Ethernet-based professional audio networking system, RedNet features a full range of remote-controlled, high-quality input/output devices for microphone, line-level analogue and digital audio signals. RedNet interfaces to any DAW and is entirely modular. You can expand the network as your needs demand, with a single system linking multiple workstations and multiple rooms with near-zero latency.

Build a system today knowing it can grow for tomorrow.

RedNet is based on industry-standard DanteTM ‘audio over IP’ architecture. This proven, robust system employs economical, standard Ethernet cabling and standard managed gigabit Ethernet switches – minimising costs and maximising flexibility.

Eliminate the downsides of traditional audio wiring, while enjoying superb Focusrite quality sound anywhere you need it.

Because it combines the best in sound with unmatched flexibility, Focusrite’s RedNet technology is being implemented in a diverse range of applications. From single-unit laptop recording setups to multi-room studio environments, RedNet is proving to be a hugely popular audio interface system.

“i was blown away. The preamp is flat, and the phase coherence is perfect.” Philip Reynolds – Systems Engineer

Optimising ‘The Killers’ sound, live

SySTem DeTailS: 1 x RedNet 4 (8 Channel Mic Pre) 1 x RedNet 1 (8 Channel A-D / D-A)

For the front of house rig of The Killers’ world tour, a RedNet 1 and RedNet 4 perform a number of duties for Systems Engineer Philip Reynolds.

His key responsibility is to set up the tour’s state-ofthe-art sound system to perform as well as possible in venues across the globe. In order to do this, he uses audio analysis software coupled with a reference mic, to match the sound system response as closely as possible to the output of the front-of-house desk.

RedNet handles all his inputs and outputs to facilitate that process, including the mic preamps for his highly sensitive audio test mic.

Whether you’re in the studio, an auditorium, school or out on the road, there’s a RedNet system for your application and a way to wire your future with RedNet.

POWereD by DaNTe

Focusrite is Distributed, Serviced & supported by Electric Factory Pty Ltd 188 Plenty Road Preston VIC 3072 Tel. (03) 9474 1000 AT 13

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YOUR WORD Readers Letters

CYCLING THROUGH THE MATHS

I was a bit disappointed to read on your Mac Notes by Anthony Gavin (Issue 95) a negative view of solid state hard disks. I have heard this argument before and I don’t agree with it. I have many customers running MacBook Airs and database servers running SSDs — and over a two-year period I have had zero issues. I have had lots of issues with conventional hard disks in that time. I personally have an SSD in my main workhorse — a MacBook Pro. A bit of background…

As you maybe aware of the last Apple Xserve servers shipping with a solid state drive and all MacBook Air/MacBook Pro/iMacs, all have options for running an SSD for storage. One issue solid state drives have is that each cell has a maximum number of write cycles. Once the write cycle is reached — the cell is unable to retain any data. Most of the SSDs available on the market have a 100,000 write cycle lifetime.

According to Michael Yang, flash marketing manager at Samsung, a flash device rated at 100,000 write cycles can write 100,000 times “to every single (memory) cell within the device,” and of course, it won’t continuously write to the same cell over and over thanks to a process dubbed ‘wear levelling’. He also stated that, “a pattern could be perpetually repeated in which a 64GB SSD is completely filled with data, erased, filled again, then erased again every hour of every day for years, and the user still wouldn’t reach the theoretical write limit.”

Basic Maths: Lets look at a 64GB SSD with 100,000 write cycles. Assuming you write 1GB worth of data each day, it will take 64 days to fill the disk. So one (‘1’) write cycle = 64 days. A 100,000 write cycle will take 100,000 x 64 = 6.4 million days of usage at 1GB per day before the limit is reached.

This is the equivalent of 6,400,000/365.25 = 17,522 years of usage. That means you can leave your iPhoto library for your great great great grand kids.

With the issue of lots of small files being written like system logs and memory page allocation on a boot disk within Mac OS X — wear levelling (aka TRIM or Garbage Collection) prevents any one sector of the drive being written to significantly more than any other. This creates an even amount of write cycles to every part of the disk.

AT 14

With conventional disks having a 3-5 year lifetime, I think SSDs have a great advantage over conventional hard disks with their lifetime being longer and no moving parts. As the solid state disks become bigger you will see more and more SSDs installed into computers of all shapes and sizes.

Two other things: IBM announced it will be migrating its server farms to use SSDs — betanews.com/2013/07/04/ ibm-bets-the-server-farm-on-flash/ Also Seagate has announced it will halt production of 7200rpm laptop hard drives by the end of 2013 — www.pcworld.com/ article/2029993/seagate-to-halt-production-of7200-rpm-laptop-hard-drives.html — Matt Egan Hi Matt, Thanks for putting a figure forward on the limit to the number of write cycles, that was something I was unable to find at the time of writing. As I have been using my new SSDequipped laptop more and more, the advantages do definitely outweigh the disadvantages — in recent tests I’ve seen quite large recording sessions running on an SSD, which is also running the OS, quite comfortably. With the improvements in the new Mac Pro I’m sure this will become even better (see my article in this issue).

However, I do want to clarify that my example in the article was a worst-case ‘jury-is-stillout’ example in reference to SSD technology. I also feel that your assumption of 1GB per day is quite small… I’ve just looked on our Studio 1 computer at 301 and the smallest ProTools session files we have is 3GB for one day’s work, through to 380GB for 14 day’s work = an average of 25.53 GB per day. For practical use, 380GB of data won’t fit on a 64GB capacity SSD, meaning numerous write-delete-write processes are required to actually handle the ProTools files, multiplying the ‘daily’ figure even more.

Having said that, perhaps the person I was referring to had an unfortunate series of dud drives, and we can be confident our ProTools sessions will be safe for our great great grandkids to peruse. Thanks for reading the column!

THE REAL RIBBON EFFECT

That Stav is a clever bugger.

I’ve just about completed a rebuild in my home studio. As part of that rebuild I decided to give Stav’s methods of speaker placement a go.

I stood in the middle of the room (it’s not a big room!) and my wife walked around the edges carrying a Genelec 6010a playing Peter Gabriel’s So CD. After half an hour of this, I’d marked a number of prospective speaker positions and my wife was bored witless! The upshot is that I turned my mix position through 180 degrees. I’m now facing out what was once the back window. My old mix position, by the way, sounded woolly and dull in comparison to the new position.

Then I went through the other ‘Stav-approved’ steps. Got the ‘ribbon’ right, resulting in my Event Opals way closer together than I would have expected, with speakers sitting on 40mmthick marine ply. I’m a little closer to the ‘flame’ than I would like, but it’s pretty close to optimal.

Last night I fired the full system up for the first time. Jumped around and laughed a lot. Damn, it’s good. Tiny little bit of bass build-up in the back of the room, but apart from that, it sounds the same everywhere in the room: clear, bright and punchy as hell.

Virtually no acoustic treatment, and the whole room is a sweet spot.

Mark, you’ve gotta tell people about this method of speaker setup. Urge them to buy Stav’s book.

Had I bit the bullet and done this rebuild years ago, I could have saved countless hours of mix frustration.

— Dean Morris You heard the man. Go grab Mixing With Your Mind and have your mind blown like Dean — Ed Dean, that’s brilliant. Love the part about your ‘bored witless’ wife. What a team! She must love you a lot! So glad the system worked for you because you performed it to the letter. Wish I was there to jump up and down with you.

— Stav

— Anthony Garvin Got something you want to get off your chest? Get cathartic on facebook.com/audiotechnology or go direct to mark@audiotechnology.com.au

OPINIONS ON OPINIONS

I’ve just received Issue 95 of AT in print (read: ‘analogue’) form, always a cause for celebration and several coffees. And as always, Ed Space is my first port of call; a taste of what’s to come in the rest of the rag.

As soon as I began reading your perspective on Sound City, I felt like I was reading my own thoughts. I went to see the film with a friend of mine at Event Cinemas in Westfield Chermside, Brisbane — reportedly the only day of cinematic screening in all of Queensland. Black shirts crowded the lobby. Although entertaining from a rock fan’s perspective, I was largely disappointed until the Rupert Neve interview. From then onwards, I was disgusted. Spoiler alert: Butch Vig, Joe Barresi, Nick Raskulinecz and Dave Grohl sitting around whinging about how the Good Ol’ Days aren’t the Better New Days. Analogue is God, Digital is The Devil, and anyone who prefers/utilises digital is wrong. Except Trent Reznor because he’s been playing classical piano since he was five (nothing wrong with that, mind). Grohl purchases the legendary console and the old guard record an album. Buy the soundtrack! Rock ’n’ Roll!

To put this rant into perspective, I am a 20-something HECS debtor with a casual hospitality job and an even more casual audio pastime that occasionally pays. I’m currently mixing an album for a young blues and roots singer/songwriter in my spare time. I also produced and engineered the recordings — it will be my first credit for any of the above and, although greatly flawed, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. Neither the talent nor myself had much money for the budget (and a crowdfunding campaign was largely fruitless), so we’ve recorded wherever our time and pocket change would allow. Including in my averagesounding bedroom, where I’m mixing at present.

I’m not writing this response for sympathy from anyone; I’ve had a ton of fun and have learnt so much. All limitations will contribute to the sound of this album, hopefully enhancing the performances and the spirit of the whole. If there are any cringe moments, I will only have myself to blame (the same guy I regularly blame for not attaining more audio work).

Everything is a lesson.

Peter Ryan won the AudioTechnology subscription prize from Issue 90 & 91. It was the awesome Sonic Frog guitar bundle, with the Palmer DREI head, Sonodyne SM100ak monitors, and a Palmer cable tester. Here’s what he had to say: I’d like to say a very big thanks to Greg and the folks at Sonic Frog for providing such a brilliant subscriber prize. Also a very big thanks to Mark and co. at AudioTechnology magazine for putting on the competition. I am a long time reader and subscriber to the magazine, and like many others, love getting it in the mail, then reading it from cover to cover.

I’ve been a semi-pro musician, audio engineer, songwriter; but most importantly, a life long lover of music. I love discovering new music (and old music), and I love the fact that keen makers of music will never get to the end of the creative pot when it comes to innovation or doing the tried and tested even better.

I feel very lucky to have won this prize because I (and my community of musicians) will use these high quality items constantly.

Here’s my impression of the prizes: The Sonodyne SM100ak monitors — Firstly, I appreciate the care taken in packaging and protecting the speakers in transit, including the drawstring fabric bags covering each unit! The monitors are rock solid and heavy.

I’m writing this because Nick Raskulinecz has produced an album each for Alice In Chains and Deftones in the past 12 months, two of my alltime favourite hard rock acts. Nevertheless, this is not the first time I’ve heard/read Raskulinecz gripe about the state of an industry he seems to be doing bloody well in (I should have picked a harder target, Nick publicly gripes a lot for a producer). The old guard should be thankful for what they’ve achieved and the position that they’re in — they’ve worked hard and deserve it, absolutely — instead of sitting atop golden thrones whining about what they see as the follies of the future. They have contributed to the zeitgeist of a bygone era and shared experiences that most of us young folk will only ever read of and hear on 33rpm.

Thankfully, I also have your words to read, as well as the wisdom of guys like Dax Liniere (looking forward to more of his TOTB series). I learn by using techniques/tools that I can implement/access. The rest is just white noise. Love your work and the work of all at AT, keep it up!

— Declan Roche Thanks for reading Declan. I’ve been reading a few of Raskulinecz’s interviews since, and my take on his rants is of a man waging war for all engineers, producers and musicians to be able to access budgets worthy of the music they’re trying to make. An honourable quest, but a difficult sell these days. He has, as you say, earned the right to his opinion, and has a perspective worth listening to. Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with a couple of older gentlemen who were kind enough to walk me through some Australian audio history over dinner. They, as most engineers, had opinions about sound and technique. Though in this case, forged over much time and deep technical understanding — they built most of the gear they worked on. When discussing recording methodology, one said, “I don’t care whether I record on tape or digital, it’s all the same to me. It’s all about the microphones and the source.” Not exactly a blow for Neo-Luddism, but no one was sitting on a golden throne, and lumping people together means you might miss the good bits.

— Ed

They sound great across the spectrum, sparkly mids and highs. Bottom end, I will be relying much less on my sub because the bass extends very low, without being hyped.

Feature wise, they also have useful adjustments for room compensation. But the wow factor for me was when I played my favourite reference CDs and heard things I hadn’t heard before! In detail and depth. I can’t wait to get stuck into my projects with these monitors to guide my sonic decision making.

The Palmer Drei — This thing is a tone goldmine!

I plugged my Fender Telecaster ’62 reissue into my new Palmer Drei and instantly sounded like a better guitar player. Without a pedal in sight, I could dial up ringing, bell-like clean tones, all the way through to fat heavy crunch, and everything in between.

No menus, nothing digital — just tactile, turnthe-knob(s)-and-see-what-it-does magic. My main cabinet is a custom built semi-open backed box with a single Lorantz 12-inch, and it sounded great. I’m also looking forward to playing it through another (closed) cab with two vintage Plessey Rola 12’s.

The Drei is heavy and built like a tank, and it looks like it will last forever. My mid sixties Electravox BR60 head looks positively fragile next to this industrial, all valve, big transformered, powerhouse.

The DREI will be well used and well loved inside and outside my studio.

The Palmer AHMTCXL Pro cable tester — This a well built, highly useful utility that will save me time and provide accuracy in lead fault testing.

Thanks again to Sonic Frog and AudioTechnology magazine.

— Peter Ryan

AT 15

REGULARS

WHAT’S ON All the latest from around the studio traps.

Black Pearl Studios has recently played host to James Blake, Chris Stockley, Joe Creighton and John Watson, as well as recording the Monash Jazz Orchestra, and a jazz trio comprising Phillip Gelbach, Scott Lamby and Enzo Ruberto. And Jeff Barnes, who has toured with the Grease, Hair and Cats musicals, was in laying down some drum tracks.

In the Studios 301 mastering rooms Leon Zervos has been working on singles for Andy Bull, Stan Walker, Jessica Mauboy and Emma Birdsall as well as a brand new record for The Cairos (produced and recorded by Nick DiDia at Studios 301 Byron Bay). Steve Smart worked on projects for Diana Corcoran, Beasts of Bourbon and Diesel as well as re-mastering the entire catalogue of releases from Australian alternative rockers, You Am I. Andrew Edgson mastered tracks for indie bands Bloods and SURES, along with remixes for the Stafford Brothers who just won the title of the #1 DJs in Australia by In The Mix. Ben Feggans finished up albums for Ngaiire and Suburban Dark, and Sameer Sengupta has been working on tracks for Dirty Cheap (Ministry of Sound) as well as remixes for Clubfeet.

In the Sydney studios, The Voice Season 2 has wrapped and after another very busy four months, producer Eric J Dubowsky (with the help of 301 engineers Simon Cohen and Jonathon Baker) successfully finished up a winners album and three runners up albums in Studio 2. Other projects in the 301 rooms included an EP for singer-songwriter Kate Leahy (produced by Tim Carr and engineered

by Simon Todkill) in Studio 1, a new single for Andy Bull (mixed by Paul McKercher) in Studio 2 and Canyons were in recording with Tim Whitten in Studio 1. She Can DJ winner Leah Mencel has also been around the studio quite a bit lately, working on her new album in Studio 6 with producer Klaus Hill. Mark Vincent was also working in Studio 1 for a string session with Chong Lim (Michael Morgan engineering) and last but not least, 11-piece reggae outfit VTribe spent a day in the studio recording a new track with Simon Todkill (who also just finished up producing and mixing Eleanor Dunlop’s new solo record, due out soon).

WHAT’S HAPPENING? Got any news about the happenings in your studio or venue? Be sure to let us know at whatson@audiotechnology.com.au AT 16

And 301 was proud to be the hosts of Avid’s Sydney launch event for ProTools 11, which drew a full house in Studio 1!

The Cairos with producer Nick DiDia and assistant Sean Astill at Studios 301 Byron Bay.

At Deluxe Mastering Tony ‘Jack the Bear’ Mantz has been keeping out of mischief mastering the latest releases for Ash Grunwald (featuring Scott and Andy from The Living End), Amba Shepherd, Red Remedy, Lakoda Burn, Lester the Fierce, Chris Arnott, Dave Winnel, Jimi Frew, Anthony Young, tyDi, Siren Sun, Nicholas Futcher and continuing to raise money for charity through the monthly Jack the Bear Foundation mastering drives. Adam Dempsey has been mastering new releases for Halcyon Drive, Les Thomas, The Orbweavers, Hoodlem, Kate Rae (mixed by Roger Bergodaz), Rad Navajo, The General Assembly, Dru Chen, Vague Cuts (tracked and mixed by Jez Giddings at Hothouse), and a 7-inch single for Jack On Fire.

Andrei Eremin has mastered tracks for Oscar Key Sung, Sons et al., Milwaukee Banks, Banoffee, Naomi Keyte, Onix, Klipspringer, Sirens, Shunya, and given the all clear for production of the Rat & Co debut album on French-pressed vinyl.

Up in Brisbane at Lush Studios house engineer Miro has been busy mixing the new Major Leagues single Endless Drain, which has since been added to Triple J high rotation. The band also had an artist feature spot on Triple J Unearthed Radio. Miro has also finished tweaking the mix of Teenager by Go Violets, which picked up a US sync with Kellogg’s.

Brisbane band The Iron Eye have just finished up a nine-day tracking and mixing stint for an upcoming EP. The sessions were tracked ‘old school’ straight to 2-inch tape on an Otari MTR90 Mk II at 15ips, there were no additional touch-ups or edits whatsoever in ProTools! The

band used a classic ’60s Ludwig kit, which was recorded with a mixture of classic Neumann U47s (3) and AKG C12s (2) — vintage heaven!

Also at Lush Studios, Ric Parker has just spent seven days tracking and mixing the very talented Kiara Rodrigues, Kiara was the winner of ‘Voice of Urban Country’, at the recent Urban Country Music Festival, with the sessions being produced

by Vaughan Jones (Troy Cassar-Daley, Busby Marou). When the time came to recording her vocals, there was a shoot-out between a vintage AKG C12, Neumann M49 and a Wagner U47.

The U47 won top honours, going into a vintage Neve 1081 preamp into a Teletronix LA2A. Kiara will receive airplay on various country radio stations Australia-wide, with video clips to follow.

Ric also tracked and mixed Wish for Wings, with the track Erase recently going Number 1 on the Australian iTunes metal chart. Finally the list of esoteric equipment at Lush Studios just keeps getting better, with the recent addition of a rare and funky Dytronics Cyclosonic panner (this box will give you head spins) and a rack of two very cool MXR Flangers and two Phasers.

Vaughan Jones (producer) and Kiara Rodrigues

MXR Flangers and Phasers

Pony Music in Melbourne’s South East has been busy with Engineer Troy McCosker completing tracking and mixing of two singles for Tom Henshaw and two singles for The Vitriols. Troy also assisted James Lugo (Hemisphere Recordings, SSLmixonline, Gearslutz Moderator, etc) who was flown in from the USA to produce Melbourne rockers Dead City Ruins’ second album (complete with 18-inch hi-hats!). Mark Seymour and The Undertow returned to the live room to shoot a couple of video clips for tracks they had recorded previously at Pony. Pony has added a bunch more great guitar and bass amplifiers to the studio’s already extensive collection including a Bogner Uberschall and Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket taking its amp collection to well over 30 and counting. Pony has also rounded out the studio’s drum collection with a couple of classic Ludwig Snares, a ’66 Supraphonic, ’70s Acrolite and ’80s Black Beauty.

Going digital ain’t so bad...

Adam Cal at Toyland Studio in Northcote had been producing a new album for Wendy Rule, a more stripped back production versus the epic sound on the previous albums Adam has produced for Wendy.

Adam is also producing an album with Joe Mandica featuring many different singers including Tony Pantano, Grace Marino, Fortunato Isgro, Martin and Taylor Penrose. On a totally different note, metal band Adamus Exul have recorded and mixed an album, sludge rockers Clagg recorded basic tracks for their album, country artist Cooper West has begun his album, Melbourne power pop trio Honeybone have recorded several songs for their new album, and finally prog rockers Mushroom Giant have returned to complete their next opus.

King Willy Sound has been mastering a long list of albums for The Trouble With Templeton (mixed by the effervescent Matt Redlich), Horrorshow, Sister Jane (mixed by Liam ‘Judders’ Judson), Nunchukka Superfly, Zeahorse, Bobby Alu, Nic Danta, Caravana Sun (mixed by Govinda ‘Neve Stage’ Doyle), Face Command, All Systems Dread, Dubmarine, CC The Cat, Atticus, Scott Bagnall, Boys Boys Boys!

(Mixed by Magoo), and Jordan Ireland (ex-The Middle East). EPs include: The Rudeheads, The Vernons, Sista Burley, EMPRA, Kimberly Bowden, Larissa McKay, Footsie & The Psychos, Bec Sandridge, Mo Wilson, Mercians, and The Villainettes. Singles include: Salmonella Dub, Mezzanine, Fall Electric, Luke Arundel, Avaberee, The Ghost Hotel, L-Fresh The Lion, Oh White Mare, and Junior Bowles. But the big news is that King Willy Sound is relocating to Launceston in Tasmania, with a new studio overlooking the Tamar River. By the time you read this William will be packing up his Stanmore studio and saying a fond farewell to the Inner West and preparing for a whole new location — hey you only live once! He expects to be up and running again in the New Year or sooner… stay tuned.

Nick Frankin at NF Audio has just wrapped up recording and mixing an album for Sydney’s Unity Floors, which is coming out through Popfrenzy. He used Linear Recording Studios for the project and was assisted by Wade Keighran. Nick also finished two days tracking an album for Ted Danson With Wolves. Other projects of the last couple of months include two songs for Sydney metalheads Everything Handed Down, slowly getting through an album for Making, and mixing a record for Loose Pills (band comprised of ex-Lemonheads, Scruffs, Wake Ups members). Recent additions to his kit include two ADM EQ modules, a Smart C1 compressor, some API preamp clones and a pair of Telefunken V74s in a gorgeous wooden box crafted by Rick O’Neil.

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AT 17

GENERAL NEWS SHAKEUP YIELDS SAME DIVIDENDS With all the recent shenanigans in Canberra nobody can be blamed for turning away from the whole mess. But ACETA (Australian Commercial and Entertainment Technologies Association) is pointing out we’ve got a new minister — albeit maybe briefly — responsible for the Digital Dividend process and it’s a fresh opportunity to pursue what ACETA sees as serious issues with the government’s plan. Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is now the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, and ACETA wants to explain to ‘Albo’ that the government plan for the transition to digital spectrum will not work unless they address the issue of wireless audio

users — something the previous minister apparently didn’t understand — odd for a politician. There is potential for the whole digital switchover to turn into a crisis when less industry-savvy users of wireless equipment (teachers, fitness instructors, etc) become unintended criminals under the Radiocommunications Act 1992 after December 2014. ACETA has produced a submission for the ACMA (Australia Communications and Media Authority) and will launch a petition calling for, among other things, greater control over let’s say less scrupulous retailers flogging gear that will be made obsolete and illegal by The Dividend. You’ll find all the info at www.aceta.org.au/awag

BEHRINGER FIRES UP behringer.com

The Behringer factory has come back to life again — things have been almost quiet from the manufacturing behemoth since NAMM, when Behringer pretty much backed up a truck of new gear every day. The latest release is the Firepower FCA610, a half-rack sized sixinput/10-output audio interface that offers the handy choice of either Firewire or USB 2.0 connectivity.

Also, the firewire port is six-pin, but the FCA610 comes with an external power supply catering for laptops with four-pin firewire or USB ports lacking enough juice.

The reality of those six inputs is two Midas-designed pre-amps with combo connectors, two balanced

Professional Audio Technology has recently supplied and configured 10 x Lawo Crystal On-Air consoles, three voice booth Crystal frames, a Nova73 HD Core router and a large VSM system to SBS in Sydney. The new system has been supplied, configured and commissioned in two phases with the first completed and the VSM system and the Lawo Nova73 Core router commissioned earlier this year. Now all focus has shifted to the commissioning of all on-air studios and voice booths in Sydney. A crucial and so far successful element of the project was to not interrupt the 24/7 on-air operation of SBS while cutting over to the new system.

Professional Audio Technology: (02) 94761272 or sales@proaudiotechnology.com.au AT 18

Perhaps getting slightly ahead of itself, Tascam has announced the upcoming UH-7000 standalone mic preamp/ USB audio interface, currently in development. Price and official launch date are yet to be figured, but we can say the UH 7000 is based on the design and circuitry of TEAC’s High Definition DACS and Audio Components and will include “two ultra high performing mic preamps designed in an instrumentation amplifier structure.” A standalone mode allows the unit to be used as a mic preamp without the need for a PC and the UH-7000 will have an on-board DSP mixer. www.tascam.com

The JMC Academy has acquired a SSL Duality console for the exclusive use of its students. In choosing SSL, JMC wanted its students to have access to cutting edge, 21st century technology that is industry relevant now and in the foreesable future. Just so no one has missed out on the fun, a group of JMC Academy Alumni were recently invited back to test out the SSL Duality in an intensive music production workshop.

Over the two days they had the chance to produce a single for Sydney band, ‘No Art’ and at the completion of the workshop the band were ecstatic with the results.

CMI Music & Audio: (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au

JMC Academy: www.jmcacademy.edu.au Amber Technology (SSL): 1800 251 367 or www.ambertech.com.au

line inputs on the rear and optical/ SPDIF digital ports. Eight balanced TRS line outputs on the rear with the stereo digital out give you the 10 outs. Two separate headphone outs are switchable between the various inputs. Between the switching and possible patching, the FCA610 allows some good flexibility for your headphone or output mixes. You get access to freebie DAW software and 150 effects or instruments from Behringer’s website. If the FCA610 I/O falls short for you, the FCA1616 version has been available for a while, but is a full-width rack-mount and not so portable.

Galactic Music: (08) 9204 7555 or www.galacticmusic.com.au

Chandler Limited has announced a milestone in the company’s history and to mark the occasion it is… not doing much at all. It’s the 10th anniversary of Chandler’s TG2 Pre Amp/DI, a recreation of the rare EMI TG12428 preamp used in EMI recording and mastering consoles, and developed for use in Abbey Road Studios in the late ’60s and early ’70s. The Chandler TG2 Pre Amp/ DI has become one of the company’s bestselling products and is routinely used by leading artists and recording engineers worldwide, so okay – a heartfelt rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ is warranted. But what about a limited edition release? Signatured units? Just a cake? www.chandlerlimited.com Mixmasters: (08) 8278 8506 or www.mixmasters.com.au

A HANDFUL OF ZOOM OPTIONS $679 | zoom.co.jp

Zoom first announced the H6 Handy Recorder at Musikmesse and we’re getting a closer look now. You’ve got to give Zoom a heap of points for gadget-coolness. The H6 comes with interchangeable input capsules with a choice of an X/Y head, a true Mid-Side microphone (with two elements to achieve the M/S effect), shotgun mic or a pair of extra XLR/TRS inputs.

These last two are optional extras; the X/Y and M/S mics are included. The H6 already has four XLR/TRS inputs squeezed onto the chassis, while each of the attached capsules always uses

two channels of recording, so the H6 is capable of capturing six simultaneous tracks at any time. Each channel has an independent gain control via a ‘real knob’, -20dB pad and the four chassis-mounted XLRs can be phantom powered. If it all sounds a bit much just to wave under someone’s nose at Parliament House, the H6 can also be used as a USB audio interface for Mac/ PC/iPad. The USB port doubles as an output providing an internal mixdown to a stereo signal or you can keep all six channels separate.

Dynamic Music: (02) 9939 1299 or www.dynamicmusic.com.au

iTRACK STUDIO FOR iPAD $220 | focusrite.com

Manufacturers of dedicated iOS audio interfaces should be packing up the offices soon. Focusrite has announced the launch of iTrack Studio, a complete system for recording music on the Apple iPad or any desktop Mac/Windows computer.

Based around Focusrite’s iTrack Solo — a 2-in, 2-out computer audio interface featuring Focusrite’s mic preamp technology — the iTrack Studio kit includes closed-back monitor headphones, a studio-quality condenser microphone with included XLR mic cable, and a long 30-pin device link cable to connect the interface to the iPad. You can record both channels to Tape by Focusrite,

a free new app that will be available from the App Store — you can also use any number of existing iPad recording apps. Release of iTrack Studio and the app is slated around September. Dual outputs on the iTrack Solo will drive monitors and the included headphones. The 30-pin cable can be connected to iPad 4 and iPad mini via a Lightning adaptor. The iTrack Solo can also link via USB to a Windows or Mac computer. iTrack Studio is designed as a one-box solution for recording on the iPad and as an affordable introduction to recording on the PC too. Price in Australia is $220 less haggling.

Electric Factory: 03 9474 1000 or www.elfa.com.au

APOGEE BUILDING BRIDGES $1395 | apogeedigital.com

Apogee Electronics has announced the Symphony 64 ThunderBridge, a 64-channel interface for connecting Apogee’s Symphony I/O to any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac computer.

Now available worldwide, this is the first device pairing Symphony I/O with Intel’s ThunderBolt technology.

Capable of up to 64 channels of input and output at sample rates up to 192k, Symphony 64 ThunderBridge features two Thunderbolt ports for taking advantage of the protocol’s ability to daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt devices. This allows for devices such as hard drives

and DisplayPort monitors to be connected in series with Symphony 64 ThunderBridge to the Mac via a single port. Symphony 64 ThunderBridge will also connect Apogee’s X-Symphony-equipped AD-16X, DA-16X and Rosetta Series converters to Thunderbolt Macs for legacy compatibility. However, note that users of these devices will need to update to the most current software/firmware available on Apogee’s website before connecting to Symphony 64 ThunderBridge.

Sound Distribution: (02) 8007 3327 or ww.sounddistribution.com.au

AT 19

SOFTWARE NEWS X MARKS THE LOGICAL SPOT $199 | apple.com

Apple has released Logic Pro X, which is, Roman-numerically speaking, the natural progression from the previous Logic 9. But using an ‘X’ instead of a ‘10’ may also be a subtle means to announce that Logic has been given a significant make-over. First, similar to another well-known DAW (we won’t mention names except to say it rhymes with ‘Pro Tools’) Logic Pro X has migrated to 64-bit and will not support 32-bit plug-ins, although it will still open projects created in earlier versions of Logic back to Logic 5. Apple no doubt plans weathering any backlash and hopes the included new instruments, effects

and improved GUI features will assuage any outrage. Logic Pro X has shifted even closer to GarageBand in appearance and workflow with the intention of making the transition easier for GarageBand users, yet still maintain Logic as a professional DAW. There is a free Logic Remote app that lets you control the software from your iPad — there would have been a virtual riot if Apple hadn’t done this. You can only buy Logic Pro X from the Mac App store for a flat $199. There’s no upgrade pricing or concessions to existing Logic users, and you’ll need 35GB on your computer for the full Logic Pro X experience.

WAVES GOES AROUND THE BEND waves.com

Waves has once again plundered the dusty cupboards at Abbey Road for some classic audio inspiration. Recognised as a passive equaliser with powerful soundshaping capabilities, the RS56 Universal Tone Control was originally introduced in the early 1950s and used in Abbey Road Studios to prepare recordings for the record lathe, as part of the process we now know as mastering. Later, Abbey Road’s pop engineers began using the RS56 for studio recordings because of its ability to dramatically manipulate sound — unlike the basic treble and bass EQs found on the mixing consoles of the time. This earned it the nickname ‘The Curve Bender’. Waves and Abbey Road Studios have recreated the

Three new offerings from Universal Audio (UA) included in the latest UAD v7.1 version software: Flex Routing for the Apollo Audio Interface allows — no prizes for guessing — greater flexibility in signal routing. Also packaged in UAD 7.1 (and available separately) are the new Millennia NSEQ-2 plug-in and Pultec Passive EQ Collection. The Pultec collection revisits two Pultec EQs — the EQP-1A and MEQ-5 — and adds the HLF-3C filter which gives you 12dB per octave low and high cut filters, providing broad, retro-flavoured tone sculpting. www.uaudio.com CMI Music & Audio: (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au

AT 20

RS56 using circuit modelling techniques based on the original schematics. Like its hardware predecessor, Waves’ Abbey Road RS56 passive EQ plug-in features three bands with four selectable centre frequencies for each, and six different filter types, plus independent or linked control over the left and right channels.

The promised result is an equaliser that is as effective today as it was when it was created over half a century ago.

Introductory prices of $99 for Native and $149 for the SoundGrid versions are available (normally $200 and $300 respectively). The RS56 is not currently available in any Waves bundles.

Sound & Music: (03) 9555 8083 or www.sound-music.com

Good news for people who prefer buying their software in a sealed box and on a nice, shiny DVD. Melbourne-based Electric Factory (Elfa) has been appointed the exclusive Australian distributor for iZotope, the software developer we’re all familiar with for products like Iris, Ozone 5 and the more recent Nectar Vocal suite. www.izotope.com Elfa: (03) 9474 1000 or www.elfa.com.au

Native Instruments has added the Abbey Road 50s Drummer to its catalogue of Abbey Road Drummer expansion packs. The two kits recorded were an early-50s Gretsch Cadillac Green Nitron and a late-50s WFL (William F Ludwig) kit. Both have a choice of three interchangeable snares.

In all, you end up with 20GB of samples.

The sampler needs to run inside the free Kontakt 5 player or the full version of Kontakt.

CMI Music & Audio: (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au

Slate Digital’s three Virtual Buss Compressors (VBC) model the nonlinear characteristics of three analogue compressors. The FG-GREY promises a model of the SSL 4000 series bus compressor; FG-RED is a compressor based on the classic Focusrite RED; and FG-MU emulates the classic tube circuitry behind units such as the Fairchild 670 and Manley Vari-Mu. Available as separate plug-ins in your DAW, you can also use them in Slate’s Virtual Buss Compressors Rack plug-in, in which they can be chained, reordered via drag-and-drop of the rack handles, and soloed independently. All three compressors can be had for US$199.

Slate Digital: www.slatedigital.com

SENNHEISER’S WIRELESS MASTERPIECE RODE IS ON FIRE RØDE Microphones has purchased the acclaimed FiRe audio recording application for Apple iOS devices, from US-based developer Audiofile Engineering. Audiofile is considered one of the world’s best audio software development studios across all iOS platforms and by Peter Freedman writing out the cheque this acquisition now puts Rode right in the box seat for iOS-based audio recording innovation and expertise.

Under the terms of the agreement, Rode has taken complete ownership of the app as well as the fundamental code to continue to refine new and innovative software. First job on the whiteboard? Over the next few months Rode will release improved versions of its existing app based on the FiRe platform, RØDE Rec, and is “working on new, advanced hardware.” That prompted us to ask if there was any progress towards an iPhone 5-compatible iXY microphone and got the reply that a Lightning connector-compatible iXY was “in development.” No doubt, lots of other interesting things will be in the pipeline with this amalgamation and we’ll be keeping a close watch on Rode’s iOS department. Audiofile Engineering will continue to support FiRE customers while the transition is occurring.

DIGITAL 9000

Rode: (02) 9648 5855 or www.rodemic.com.au

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Apparently it’s been a while coming, but the Live iPad controller from Liine and ST8 is finally here. Built on what Liine learned from making Mu, Griid, Kapture Pad and Lemur, LiveControl 2 promises to give you every single feature you need to jam, produce and perform with Ableton Live.

The interface is divided across four pages: Launch, Modulate, Play and Sequencer. Each page is deep and feature-rich, while the layout is clear and intuitive. LiveControl 2 is completely free for all Lemur users. Lemur?

Lemur is Liine’s professional iOS controller app with a decent price tag (in the scheme of iPad apps). Any software or hardware that receives MIDI or OSC can be controlled by Lemur. Control DJ software, live electronic music performance software, studio production software (DAWs), VJ software, visual synthesis software, stage lighting and more… you name it, Lemur is a powerful app and may come in handy for a bunch of other things you’ll want to do. Regardless, it’s the price you’ll pay for the free LiveControl2 app. Cost: AU$49.99 for Lemur, LiveControl 2 is free.

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Lemur www.jazzmutant.com AT 21

LIVE NEWS YOU CALL THAT LINEAR? k-array.com

Is it a bird? Is a plane? Obviously not, but gratuitous Superman references are briefly okay with the Man Of Steel back on the big screen. The point is you won’t figure what this thing really is, because it’s a speaker — a flexible one at that.

The Anakonda KAN200 by K-Array is designed for any distributed sound application, but obvious applications are low-profile or awkward locations such stage fronts. The KAN200s can operate either standalone or combined with K-array subwoofers.

Each KAN200 module is two

metres long, and up to 32 modules can be interconnected, creating a continuous sound line 64m in length thanks to a high-impedance design.

Integrated male and female speakon NL4 connectors hide all connections inside the body of the speaker, which creates a seamless line. Each KAN200 includes two fabric socks, one black and one white, which can be used to cover and protect the speaker or to quickly change the system’s colour to suit the application.

Syntec: 1800 648 628 or sales@syntec.com.au

EIGHT MORE FOR GLD allen-heath.com

Allen & Heath has introduced the GLD-112, a larger version of the GLD-80 mixer providing an extra bank with a further eight control strips.

This increases the channel count to 28 fader strips in four layers, each with a motorised fader, channel LCD display that can be named and colour-coded, plus a rotary control for access to gain, pan and aux/FX sends. The GLD-112 keeps the same channel processing control section as the smaller version, complemented by a 214mm-diagonal touch screen.

Four additional soft keys are included next to the faders for scene-controls and other user-defined functions. The

Roger Hodgson is touring worldwide for audiences keen to hear a blend of his solo material and the classics that he recorded with Supertramp. The band uses a Pivitec personal monitoring system controlled from FOH (it can also be individually controlled via iOS apps on stage), and to better accommodate the extra outputs this required, Front of House engineer Howard Heckers has switched to a Digico SD8 console.

Heckers also carries a 150m Optocore in case they stick him at the back of the room. Sound all right? Bloody well right! www.digico.biz Group Technologies (Digico): (03) 9354 9133 or www.grouptechnologies.com.au

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mixer’s local I/O is four XLR mic/line inputs, four XLR line outs, four RCA inputs, two RCA outputs, and digital outputs in S/PDIF and AES3 formats or, of course, the GLD-112 connects to a range of A&H I/O racks. Standard iLive audio I/O option cards for Dante, MADI, Waves and Allen & Heath’s ACE protocols can be fitted, too. The larger GLD is scene-compatible with the existing GLD-80 mixer, using the same audio core. A GLD firmware update version 1.2 has been released, which along with various tweaks includes four new plug-in effects.

Technical Audio Group: (02) 9519 0900 or www.tag.com.au

MXL, which has made its name mostly with affordable studio microphones, has branched out into live performance microphones with the MXL CR77.

However, while the CR77 is a dynamic microphone expected to withstand the rigours of stage, the industrial design is a near-replica of the RCA 77C Ribbon microphone to provide that retro look for vocalists. Should be good for a laugh — find a studio with an RCA 77C in its inventory and start throwing the MXL CR77 around. You’ll have to wait until later in the year. www.mxlmics.com Innovative Music: (03) 9540 0658 or www.innovativemusic.com.au

Not so cheap Trick: Cheap Trick has announced it’s sueing the organisers of the Ottawa Bluesfest for the staging collapse in 2011 that had the band fleeing for their lives.

On an otherwise still, warm day, a freak wind gust wreaked havoc. After (no doubt) much careful deliberation and precise bean-counting the band has come up with the neat damages figure of $1 million dollars (in best Dr. Evil voice). That’s $400,000 for ruined gear (that’s a hell of a backline) and $600,000 for “special damages”.

Very special, we’d say. (Source: Classic Rock Magazine online.)

BlackBox manufacturer JoeCo has released JoeCoRemote for iPad. The new software app, together with a specially developed hardware interface, enables remote control of both 24-channel and 64-channel BlackBox Recorders and BlackBox Players via iPad. The interface allows all transport functions (Play, Stop, Record) to be remotely controlled from the iPad, as well as providing access to the BlackBox menu structure. The app is free, but you need to buy that required hardware interface. www.joeco.co.uk National Audio Systems: 1800 441 440 or sales@nationalaudio.com.au

SOUNDCRAFT EXPANSION CARD soundcraft.com

Soundcraft has announced a new option card in the ViSi Connect series of expansions for the Si Expression, Si Compact and Si Performer consoles, providing users with a multi-channel, multi-format interface for live and studio recording to DAWs and other recording systems. Called the Multi Digital card, it provides 32 output channels (fed from the console channel direct outputs or other feeds) and 32 input channels for playback/ monitoring from the recording system. The card has connections

for USB and FireWire, plus another eight channels of ADAT interface on TOSLINK optical connectors. A second Firewire port allows the connection of an external hard disk, rather than using the computer’s internal hard drive. The card also allows expansion of inputs and outputs to the console as any of the ports can be used to connect external equipment such as multichannel mic preamps or audio interfaces which have USB, FireWire or ADAT connections.

Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or info@jands.com.au

Play. Capture. Stream LINE6 MODELS MICS TOO line6.com

Line6 has made improvements to its XD-V75 digital wireless system by introducing the new Relay V75SC digital wireless handheld microphone/transmitter with super-cardioid capsule, plus Line6 released updates to the XD-V55HS, Relay G90, Relay G50 and Relay G30 digital wireless systems. Featuring 24-bit audio quality, 10Hz–20kHz frequency response and a wide dynamic range of up to 118dB (A-weighted), the Relay V75-SC promises a performance as close to a wired microphone as is possible at the moment. Line6 is also sticking with offering microphone modelling — a concept that everyone else thought kind of faded away a few years back — with four microphone models available at the press of a button including the Shure Beta 58A, Electro-Voice N/D767, AKG D5 and… the ‘original’ Line 6 super-cardioid microphone (that last one feels like a bit of a cheat). Regardless of whether they sound like the real thing, the instant switch could allow you to choose the mode to match your voice, performance style and venue. Updates for the XD-V55HS digital wireless system include a tan headset option. The Relay G90, Relay G50 and Relay G30 get a free version 2 firmware update with various performance tweaks.

Australis Music Group: (02) 9698 4444 or www.australismusic.com.au

Mid Mic

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Side Mic Right

Zoom brought brilliant HD video and sound to your movies with the Q3HD. Now, with the Q2HD Handy Video Recorder, there’s only one handheld camcorder with both onboard Mid-Side stereo recording and live streaming capabilities. In addition, the Q2HD features an upgraded camera sensor, enhanced user interface and much more for capturing and sharing great looking videos that sound better than ever. 1080P HD • 4x digital zoom • Onboard editing • 24-bit/96 kHz linear PCM sound • Analogue mic gain • Compatible with 64GB SDXC cards • HandyShare software included • Two Year Warranty when purchased from Authorised Australian dealers

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REVIEW

AKAI PRO SYNTHSTATION 49 IPAD KEYBOARD CONTROLLER Controller keyboards are a dime a dozen these days, but with the iPad becoming a valid synth platform, we’re starting to see some more serious accessories come out of the woodwork.

Akai is a big believer in portable power, the MPC line is built on exactly that — power and control you can take anywhere. So when the iPad came along, it was a no-brainer platform for some of Akai’s accessory and programming nous. The Synthstation 49 Keyboard Controller packs a lot of both. It’s a 49-key keyboard controller you can slot your iPad into, with nine MPC-style pads, transport control and a handful of dedicated selection buttons.

The other side of the iPad sandwich is Akai’s Synthstation app. It’s a simple sequencer with a drum machine set out over a nine-pad interface that corresponds directly with the hardware pads, one polyphonic synth, and two monophonic synths, each with their own arpeggiators.

The hardware and software combo is designed

to exist together. As well as the transport and drum pads, there are dedicated buttons to select which synth you’re controlling with the keys, Previous and Next buttons for Program, Song and Sequence, and shifting Up or Down octaves.

On the iPad, the instruments are displayed side-by-side in a single Performance view, complete with a mixer, and choice of either an XY pad or ‘joystick’ for quick synth manipulations. Out back, there’s a simple sequencer that makes it easy to create electronic tracks within the app.

You’re not restricted to the Synthstation app though. Workstation apps like Retronyms’ Tabletop have a simple MIDI learn function, so you can easily assign keys to specific functions, and synth apps like Korg’s Polysix pick up on the keyboard, pitch and mod wheels, and octave shifting straight away.

Best of all, the USB connection allows the Synthstation 49 to act as a MIDI hub for iPad

VESTAX VMIDI If you’ve already got a glut of USB keyboard controllers, but want the iPad to MIDI interface with a quality headphone controller built-in, check out this simple device. VMIDI is a USB1.1 host, so USB 2.0 devices won’t work. But on Vestax’s VMIDI page there’s a bunch of supported keyboard controllers and DJ devices from Akai, Korg, Vestax, Denon, Arturia, Numark, Presonus, Alesis, and there would be literally thousands more. Slapping the Akai Synthstation 49 (not on the list) into the VMIDI posed

AT 24

no issue either — every single control on the keyboard worked instantaneously with no issues.

It also doesn’t do straight MIDI over a standard 5-pin DIN cable, but most modern controllers output MIDI over USB anyway. It ships with a power supply, a cable for splitting the output to both headphones and speakers (so no separate line level output), and a USB to 6-pin Mini-DIN cable for connecting devices to the VMIDI. Price: $299.99 Innovative Music: (03) 9540 0658 or info@innovativemusic.com.au

synth apps. So you can send MIDI data to the synth via USB. And you can always just use the Synthstation 49 as a MIDI controller itself.

You can export both WAV and MIDI files from the app at once. Once you enable the Record button in the Utility screen (different to the Song Record button you use to record parts into your sequence) you can then go and play your sequence, adjusting modulation on the fly.

All audio on the iPad is recorded into a stereo WAV. At the same time it logs a MIDI file of the song. While the WAV file begins at the point you hit record, the MIDI file kicks off as soon as the first event is triggered, making it easy to sync up. The only caveat is that it records all the MIDI notes into one long roll, so recording the drum and synth parts separately may be the best bet — easily done by switching each module off as you go. Street price is $369, but ask for a deal. Synthstation app is $1.99.

Elfa: (03) 9474 1000 or www.elfa.com.au

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TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME Story: Christopher Holder Images: Scott Willsallen

ANZ Stadium was built for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and has just enjoyed its first house PA upgrade since a Bose system was installed in 1999. The new $2m d&b V Series system is interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, it represents d&b’s big debut into the stadium market, normally dominated by the big US brands who do it so well in the stadium-heavy States.

Secondly, the manner in which it was installed, thriftily/savvily using the existing copper count and hang points. Thirdly, it’s interesting for the industry, in the manner in which the integrators/ installers were side-lined from the design process (and the resulting cut from the sale of the loudspeakers). Unsurprisingly, it’s a job that’s got tongues wagging around the world. And the man of the moment is Scott Willsallen, whose company Auditoria managed the process.

MULTI-OLYMPIAN

Many readers will know Scott Willsallen (aka SWA) for his work as audio director on a bunch of opening/closing ceremonies — Olympics (Summer AT 26

and Winter), Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Rugby World Cups, etc. And it’s this pedigree that made him so attractive to the ANZ Stadium management, who were looking to emulate that big event experience on game day.

SWA: “It’s pretty clear that expectations are on the increase. Not just from the event producers but the audience. The battle between TV keeping people in their homes and venues trying to get them out, is fierce. The venues need to keep offering something more. Many people think we’ve gone further than anyone else here, at ANZ Stadium. But I’d counter that by saying: all we’ve done is catch up.”

CHOICE & PRAGMATISM

AT: How did the procurement process play out?

SWA: The goal was to present the stadium with options, based on their current and future presentation needs. It would be very easy to spend a load of money dragging extra cable through the building so we could have more

loudspeakers. Our goal was never to spend money on copper cabling, there’s already a bunch of it in there. I’m really pleased with the fact we’ve managed to deliver a PA that has twice the box count yet we’ve not run any more copper from the amp room to the catwalks. Not a single strand.

We’ve used all the existing copper, and all the existing loudspeaker positions.

AT: So what were the main challenges in attaining an even coverage?

SWA: Some seats are 30m away from the array and others are as much as 50m away. So what you’re trying to achieve is only ever going to be a spatial average. The d&b D12 amps address the V Series array in two-box increments. Within that constraint we can do some adjustments from the mids up, but in the low/mids and lows the array works as a single point source. The configuration naturally has lobes dictated by the spacing and timing difference between the boxes. If you try to take one frequency lobe away, it’ll just reappear

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“

We’ve managed to deliver a PA that has twice the box count yet we’ve not run any more copper from the amp room to the catwalks

”

somewhere else. The line length isn’t long enough to control the lows.

Meanwhile, the subs (arrayed as pairs either side of the main hang) are 2.5m apart, so we have some pattern control there, which is really useful. But we have pattern control at only one frequency because of that spacing. The length of the line is as much about the circuits we have available and our budget as it is about good electroacoustic practice. So it really is, a juggling act, a balance of many things.

AT: Okay, so ideally, you’d have more boxes in each array to address that 130-degree vertical chunk of air?

SWA: That’s right. Ideally, you’d use inter-cabinet spacing to optimise your amplitude coverage (getting the same level to every seat). But with so few elements (because of the scarcity of circuits) we had to use some amplitude shading — which effectively means adjusting the amplifier levels to those two-box pairs.

AT: How did final tuning go?

WATCH ONLINE See our video with Scott Willsallen on YouTube — tinyurl.com/nvhhbjq AT 28

SWA: We had three clear days available and that time we measured each array 14 times from the lower bowl, 14 from the middle bowl and 14 from the upper bowl — 42 measurements in all for each. We then averaged out the measurements in WaveCapture and EQ’d the array to meet a consistent target curve.

The curve wasn’t an absolute frequency response target that we devised beforehand. We did the measurements on Arrays 1 and 2 for each of the four quadrants (which collectively accounts for about a third of the audience area), and took an average of all those. Effectively, we picked a curve that sounded good and was achievable using the four parametric filters on the d&b D12 amplifiers.

CROWD RAW

Prior to the system being commissioned I was able to get along to ANZ Stadium for the first rugby State of Origin match. The stadium was full, the crowd in full voice, and so was the sound. It’s truly an experience, and certainly not one that can be replicated in the rumpus room regardless of how big the telly is.

Will the average punter immediately apprehend the sonic differences of the V Series PA over the 14-year-old Bose system it replaced? No. But the PA is a key piece of the event puzzle. The cold beer, the hot pie, the comfy seat, the ease of transport in/out, the big Panasonic LED screens, and the game-day pyrotechnics all contribute to getting people out of the living room and into the venue.

Oh, and the Blues won. And I think that’s what the marketing department of Mastercard might call… ‘priceless’.

Check out the full story behind the procurement process and shootout in AV Magazine www.av.net.au

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AT 30

FEATURE

BRING RECORDS TO

In 2008, Laura Escudé became one of the first Ableton Certified Trainers. It wasn’t by accident that Escudé began proselytising on behalf of the progressive software. She’s an early adopter who has made a business of putting the ‘live’ into Ableton Live. Electronic Creatives, Escudé’s music technology consultancy, employs six people that design, build and operate custom live show solutions for a client list that includes Kanye West, Herbie Hancock, Garbage, Bon Iver and Cirque Du Soleil — the kind of clientele with large demands and no room for compromise.

Suffice to say, she’s a doyen of her craft.

Laura is a performer herself. As a violinist — her main instrument — she writes and performs cinematic, textural music, as heard on her 2010 album Pororoca. She also leant her violin to Kanye West and Jay-Z’s album Watch The Throne, and played live on West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy tour. Escudé, the producer, remixes artists like M83. And, performing as Alluxe, crafts uptempo hiphop with EDM-influenced music. It doubles as a technical testbed for her day job — using Ableton Live and a range of controllers and triggers to loop, treat and tweak live violin, samples and synths, combined with video and lasers controlled via Ableton. Then, of course, there’s that day job — CEO and Creative Director of a consultancy that implements the newest technologies and techniques in electronic music performance for premier artists. Escudé has a lot of strings to her bow.

KEEPING ON TOP

Escudé’s hatful of roles keep her away from her native L.A. much of the year. When I catch her, she’s in New York working on her new live show and PR schedule for Alluxe’s upcoming EP and music video. The video was filmed in Prague, with art direction and choreography by Czech-born Yemi A.D. She and Yemi met working on Kanye West’s live show, which Yemi choreographed, along with Kanye’s video for Runaway. In an artistic quid pro quo, the two are trading expertise: “I produced Yemi’s EP,” explained Laura. “So he choreographed and art directed my music video. We had an amazing time in Prague breaking into some abandoned warehouses and buildings. The landscape is very beautiful. I think people will be very surprised but engaged because this video has amazing dancing and aesthetics. It’s an innovative piece of art.”

The theatricality of the video plays on Escudé’s mind as she dreams up yet more technical solutions to creative problems. She’s already working towards running video from Ableton, and controlling lighting and lasers from her Ableton Live Sets, and she’s always thinking of ways to expand: “DMX conversion is on the top of my list of things I want to accomplish in the next couple of months,” she says.

Artistic goals and physical practicalities both influence Alluxe’s current live rig. Livid Instruments gear features heavily in the mix, including an OhmRGB controller customised by Electronic Creatives collaborator Henry Strange.

“Henry is a genius and he is always coming up with these ideas for cool controllers,” said Laura. “He had the idea to incorporate coloured LED strips in the sides of the OhmRGB, then he upgraded it and made them addressable. So I now have MIDI clips in Ableton Live that are triggering the lights around it.”

Laura has incorporated a lot of dummy clips for control of internal and external devices into her Live Sets. “I have a million different MIDI clips in my Live set that look really strange,” she said. “For example, note-in velocities correlate to either the colour or the position of the LEDs around the OhmRGB. If you want them to change really fast, you have a lot of notes dialled into one lane and have that looping, morphing and changing.”

Livid Instruments Base is also making regular appearances on Laura’s stage. It’s a 32-pad, nine touch-sensitive slider, eight-button controller with extensive control over its internal coloured LEDs. “It has pressure sensitivity and I can do some really cool programming with it for the lights. It’s got those great slider strips, which look and feel fun live because you can bring up five faders with one hand. I’m a big fan of all the Livid Instruments gear.”

FEET COME IN HANDY

Playing violin, however, takes both hands, so Laura has employed a couple of different options for foot control. The Pok foot controller by X-Tempo Designs is wireless, keyboard mappable AT 31

VOX FX IN A BOX

Real-time vocal effects control is one of Laura’s specialities, which she often carries out with a Wii remote connected to an Ableton signal chain.

How does this fit in with a traditional live vocal signal chain? “Typically, the signal comes to me, then goes to the monitor console and then to FOH,” Laura elaborated. “The idea behind what I’m doing is to get the sound the artist wants into their ears. It’s taking a bit of control away from FOH and monitors, but it helps everyone because I’m paying attention to details they might not have time for while they’re mixing. To be there and manipulate things in real time adds a very cool element to the show.”

There are a variety of effects that Laura will apply to an artist’s vocal, sometimes replicating an effect from an album and often developed closely with the artist for the show. “Sometimes I’ll use AutoTune, sometimes delay, distortion, pitch shifting or slapback. I’ll do delays on a certain syllable or improvise with the artist a little bit.”

A glimpse into an Alluxe Live Set

and runs on batteries. “It’s like having a qwerty keyboard for your feet — it’s a great controller,” enthused Laura. “I’ve recommended it to many people. I worked with Herbie Hancock last year and now he’s using a Pok and an OhmRGB.” Laura has also used the SoftStep from Keith McMillen Instruments. It’s USB-powered, weighs just 1.3 pounds [just over half a kilogram – Ed], and has 10 pressure- and touchsensitive buttons that can send out either MIDI or OSC. The buttons don’t provide the reassuring ‘clunk’ that other pedals do, but it’s loosely the equivalent of having the more well-known QuNeo at your feet.

The practicalities of airline travel have also weighed in on Laura’s rig: “As a travelling musician I’m always trying to keep my baggage weight under 50 pounds [22kg], so I’ve given up my foot controller when I’m travelling. I have a custom script on the OhmRGB that changes button colour according to the Ableton Looper state. If I’m in Record mode the button turns red, if I’m in Overdub it turns orange and if I’m in Playback it turns green.”

ELECTRONIC CREATIVES

The artistic possibilities created by the tech of Laura’s live performances has captured the attention of a broad range of artists. As more of them sought her advice and knowledge to enhance their own shows, the Electronic Creatives consultancy was born. Based out of L.A, the team’s six programmers, producers, engineers and all-round creative geniuses, including Laura, are bringing the new generation of performance possibilities to major tours and cutting-edge cult artists alike. Laura is passionate and articulate in her vision for the new artistic possibilities afforded by programs such as Ableton Live.

Escudé: “There’s been a ProTools-style playback operator on a lot of major tours for the last 20 years.

It’s a left-to-right style of playback with backing tracks being played and not much else. Now, with the advent of Ableton Live and more ‘on-the-fly’ types of technology, I’m trying to show different artists in the touring industry what can be done. It doesn’t have to be the way it was before. You can do it — you can loop your vocals, you can tweak a filter and change audio effects in real time. It’s my mission with the company to bring a more creative live show to the touring industry.”

Electronic Creatives has worked with the world’s biggest touring acts, Lady Gaga and Jay-Z are also clients. Able to understand music, tech, performance and operation, the crew offer a personal service far beyond ‘playback technician’ and almost become an extension of the artist themselves.

HANDING HERBIE A HAND POK

It’s not just the over-the-top arena spectaculars of a Kanye or a Gaga that benefit from this kind of technology. Laura has had the pleasure of working with living legend and 14-time Grammy winner Herbie Hancock. How did she approach working with the maestro? “I showed him my live set to begin with — violin and live looping. He got some ideas from that based on my techniques. So we built on what I do, ideas that he had previously and the controllers that he already owned. I then introduced him to the Ohm and the Pok. He’s so open to technology.

He’s very hip to everything that’s going on now.”

Laura went on to help Herbie build a new setup for his dynamic live shows: “He moves around a lot during his shows, so he has two stations. He has a keytar, he’s doing live vocoding, he’s doing looping; there’s so many different elements.

He also likes to change keys in the middle of a song sometimes. We went with one setup front and centre of the stage and another further back. It was challenging to program but very cool — wherever he was on stage, everything was always synced, even if there were different controllers being used. Wherever Herbie went on stage, he immediately knew where he was in the Ableton Live Set.”

“When it came time to take my solo live set to the next level I was referred to Ableton Live sonic scientist Laura Escudé.

Since she is a musician and producer herself, we started with her showing me some of her techniques and then I brainstormed and built upon those. This lead to a brand new way of performing for me, utilising all kinds of new controllers and software, allowing me to be very improvisational. It was very easy to work with Laura because she gets what I do from an artistic perspective and has the technical knowledge to pull off my unconventional ideas. It was a pleasure for me to work with her and I will again as my live set continues to evolve.” — Herbie Hancock

AT 32

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Just don’t expect good mixes.©2013, PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc, All Rights Reserved. Eris is a trademark of PreSonus Audio Inc. ATElectronics, 33

“

T here’s been a left-to-right ProTools-style playback operator on major tours for the last 20 years… It doesn’t have to be the way it was before.

”

CIRCUS TRICKS

BACKGROUND IN CHECK

Outside of the realm of straight concert performance, global circus phenomenon Cirque Du Soliel brought Laura to Las Vegas for tech design and music programming on Viva Elvis and Iris. Cirque playback engineer Mike Atwood had developed a simplified graphic interface for Ableton called ‘Mat4Live’, intended to provide a straightforward overview of a whole show for musical directors.

‘Craziness in the background’ has become Laura and Electronic Creatives’ speciality. This summer touring season in the US, Laura and her team have been doing shows with Solange, Kanye, The Weekend and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Not to rest on their laurels, Laura is constantly drumming up new business: “I’m pitching designs to different tours. I’m really looking for artists and organisations that want to do something different. It’s happening with the smaller, more experimental artists but I feel like at a very high level these big tours aren’t hip yet to what can be done. Some of them want to do regular playback and that’s fine, but my passion is the more experimental side of things. I want to work with artists to create something that’s more interesting and engaging on stage.”

“In the kind of massive Live Sets that Cirque Du Soliel run, there can be 64 tracks, all these transitions, fade outs, and a lot of different things that need to be programmed in case something happens in the show,” said Laura. “There are a lot of elements you’re worried about — if something doesn’t move in time or a performer doesn’t make their trick. You need to be able to hold and loop what’s happening in the music.”

Mat4Live translates all of the in-depth programming that’s happening in an Ableton set of this complexity and condenses it into a simple user-defined graphic that displays the name of the song, and different parts of the song as specified.

Control of each song and section can be mapped to a MIDI keyboard note or any other MIDI controller. Laura: “This is great for any musical director new to Ableton Live. And even if they aren’t, it’s a great way to deal with a show. You can be looking at just the song or section name and control it via your interface without seeing all the craziness that goes on in the background.”

Electronic Creatives also builds shows that don’t need its specialised talents to operate. Justin Vernon’s Bon Iver, known for his achingly beautiful acoustic ballads, doesn’t come to mind when you think of electronic music. Laura helped Justin and his live band build an Ableton Set that incorporated their keyboard patches to be played via MIDI controller, and song-by-song vocal effects for Justin’s voice. The rig went out designed to be operated by a crew member pressing a single button at the start of each song, changing both vocal and synth presets.

Similarly Garbage, which counts production heavyweight Butch Vig in its number, employed Laura to help translate their detailed album work to the live arena. “I set up different MIDI program changes in Ableton Live so all their Line6 guitar processors would change settings in different parts of the song, which they thought was really cool. I ended up opening for a couple of their shows in L.A.” The band took the setup out on the road, operated and maintained by their crew.

Being an expert in the program, it seemed timely to asks her impression of the new features in Ableton Live 9. “I love the audio-to-MIDI conversion, but the Glue compressor is my favourite,” she said. The community of Max For Live developers releasing patches has also become a treasure trove for her experimentations: “A lot of the Max For Live effects and instruments people are coming up with are brilliant. I’m getting more and more into digging for that stuff on the internet. There’s a lot there; it’s a great program.”

Alluxe’s new EP is due out August 8: www.alluxemusic.com

After years of baulking at the use of computers in our live show, the Ableton system Laura designed for us has completely changed my opinion. Ableton handles everything we need it to and we’re still just scratching the surface of what it can do. As opposed to our old setup, I actually get excited about making changes to our live show now! It has left the hardware samplers we’d been using in the dust on every level. It’s more flexible, more usable, and way more enjoyable!”

— Joe Lester, Silversun Pickups Photo: Michael Walsh

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AT 35

FEATURE

TIMELESS BEAUTY IN

ASYMMETRY Karnivool and producer Nick DiDia embrace each other’s differences to stay off the beaten track on new album Asymmetry.

Story: Mark Davie Photos: Kane Hibberd

AT 36

Guitar tabs are notorious for containing little more timing information than the odd bar break, but tabs for Western Australian prog rock band Karnivool’s tunes reach a new level of ambiguity: Strings of numbers, squiggles and slashes, with no time signatures, breaks, or points of reference in sight. One ‘helpful’ guitarist posted a string of riffs with just a couple of minute:second signposts along the way, while another blazed away a non-descript wiggle of numbers till there was a definitive 4/4 to latch on to, then promptly went wild again.

It’s a hallmark of the band: Their ability to switch in and out of complex, compound, even irrational time signatures without so much as breaking a sweat. But for guitarist Mark Hosking, it’s completely natural. So much so, he couldn’t even tell you what he’s playing in. “We just don’t think in time signatures,” said Hosking. “When we released We Are, there was quite a bit of internet talk around whether it was in 12/8, 6/8, 4/4, or if it changed halfway through, and were the verses

different to the chorus? That blew me away when I heard that. I just don’t hear it like that, it seems very straight to me.

“Feel is way more important than what time signature it’s in. 4/4 is the most obvious, and easily grasped by humans, but it doesn’t always convey what you want to convey. If you’re doing something in 7’s, you feel it in 7’s for a while, and then it starts to feel normal. If you go back to 4/4 or something straighter, it feels jarring.”

Karnivool’s recent album Asymmetry celebrates this kind of left of centre beauty. And complex time signatures are just one the abnormal forces Karnivool rubs against common ideas to create something entirely new.

NAILING IT FIRST TIME

Asymmetry was recorded with producer/engineer Nick DiDia at Studio 301’s Byron Bay digs. But prior to arriving there, the band had wrangled together four or five songs in their Perth demo studio. It’s the first time the band has had their

own place, a slice of factory space they’ve divvied up between a control room and medium-sized live room. Based around an iMac, ProTools, a couple of 002s, and some outboard preamps, it allows the band to lay down ideas in what amounts to a process of trial and error. “We have preproduction sessions where we pull songs together,” said Hosking. “Then turn them around on their heads, completely disintegrate them, scratch them up and find the best parts that we like.” Mining for gems can be a painful process, and Karnivool records are an ordeal, in the way that great records often are. “It’s a shitload of fun, but when you’re in the middle of it, it’s very challenging,” said Hosking. “We just don’t leave anything undone.”

Over in Byron, the band settled in for more pre-production with DiDia, building the songs up piece by piece. It can take a while for even the band to reach a consensus as to what makes a good Karnivool song because there’s no consistent structure. “I guess the only prototypical thing that always happens is someone has an idea,” said

AT 37

EVOLVING ARRANGEMENT

Karnivool’s rolling approach to arrangements was different to how DiDia usually likes to work.

“Arrangement-wise, I try to have the songs way more together when we’re tracking it,” he said.

“But it was a conscious decision by everybody to do it this way. There were some songs we worked out as we tracked them.”

Hosking. “It could be an atmospheric sound, could be a bass line, could be a drum line. A lot of it stems from drum and bass lines that Steve and Jon [Stockman, bassist] have rapped out together and then either Drew [Goddard, guitarist] or myself add an idea to that.

“Once you’ve got those three elements — drums, bass and something else — that generally starts the evolution of a song and from that point on it builds quickly. Then you stop, look at it and go, ‘That’s terrible!’ And it starts at zero again. That may happen five or six times before you start to get something you like.”

Inevitably, the litmus test for a ‘good’ Karnivool song is consensus. Whatever makes the people involved in the project happy goes, even if it takes years to get there. Hosking: “Some of our songs have taken two years to like, some have come together in two or three months. Every song is different and every song has a different key motif or starting point.”

One of the benefits of setting up in preproduction mode at 301, was it allowed DiDia the freedom to nail down his sounds very early on. With Karnivool, the process revolves around inspiration, so being able to capture material as it was being formed allowed the band to hear what was and wasn’t working in a close proxy of how it would sound on the record. “We weren’t really keeping anything,” said DiDia. “But we had the ability to listen to everything in a much better atmosphere than your typical rehearsal hall.”

AT 38

The rule became: Record everything. If something good came out, DiDia would mark it and keep rolling. “The guys were really present too,” said DiDia. “After a take, they’d yell into the mics, ‘Hey can you mark that thing I did halfway through?’

It might have been something unexpected they would incorporate later into their main parts, or we’d just use the one we caught at that moment.”

A byproduct of piecing the songs together live was some atmospheric material, a lot of which ended up as neatly connecting ambience between Assymetry tracks in the grand prog tradition.

DiDia calls them happy accidents. “In some cases,” he said. “Not everyone knew exactly what they were doing, so they’d be searching a little bit, and there would be noises and sounds happening while we were tracking the song.”

Once the beds were down, most of the guitars were overdubbed again, as the songs slowly started to bed down. Despite this free-flowing approach to arrangements, there wasn’t a lot of minute editing in post. DiDia just kept it to what he calls ‘tape edits’. “Because it’s the way we used to edit on tape,” he explained. “If you like a section, you copy it onto another bit of tape and use it twice. As opposed to getting in and moving snares and kicks around.”

DIFFERENCE MAKER

The means of getting to an arrangement wasn’t the only way DiDia and Karnivool differed.

DiDia also likes to set project time limits for efficiency’s sake. “Some of the guys in the band would continue working and changing things whether they had five weeks or 50. It’s just in their nature to do that, whereas I’m not that way.

I’m more, ‘hey, we’ve got this long to do it, let’s get it done!’ It’s not necessarily rushing — still taking time to experiment — it’s just being efficient and not wasting any time.”

The third difference was a more live approach.

Not that Karnivool had specifically gone away

from live sounds, but DiDia felt the new record could definitely lean more that way. DiDia: “I suggested the record be a little more live sounding, more of them in the room. I thought Sound Awake was really great, but after hearing them as a band, it wasn’t enough of ‘them’. It may have been one of the reasons they wanted to work with me because generally I track bands live and it carries that sort of vibe when it’s all done.”

The partnership between band and producer wasn’t entirely contrasting, but the force of a few opposing ideals certainly helped shape Asymmetry, capturing the spirit of the album in its process; that two differing ideas rubbing against each other can produce something better than sticking to the middle.

BARE BONES

The layers of a Karnivool record, and really, any prog rock record, would seem to suggest there’s excess to be found in every corner of the recording process. But in reality, DiDia started out with a bare bones version of his normal recording setup. “Maybe five mics on the drums, which are an old AKG D30 on the kick, Neumann KM184s on the overheads, a Shure SM57 on the snare,” said DiDia. “I start there and

“

4/4 is the most obvious, and easily grasped by humans, but it doesn’t always convey what you want to convey

”

EDGE OF AGGRESSION

DiDia has done a lot of records in his time, but his engineering of hard rock records by Rage Against The Machine, Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam demonstrate an uncanny ability to capture a band’s aggressive edge.

“It’s the way I was taught to make those kind of records,” said DiDia. “The drums are a good example. If you listen to the drum tracks by themselves after the mix, they sound really over the top and roomy. I was taught a lot of that room was going to get sucked up and that distortion is going to be calmed down by anything that’s thrown on top of it.

“So there are two things. One, you try to make your arrangements as sparse as you can in order to make those elements stick out. But at the same time you have to overcompensate. I learned on tape. And a lot of the time you didn’t have the luxury of unlimited tracks so you had to bounce things together knowing they’d be used that way in the mix. It was important to always overemphasise any reverb or aggressive tones, because when other things get piled on top in the mix stage it all inevitably gets toned down. If you have tones you think are good but aren’t over-hyped or aggressive, when you get to the end stage it all sounds a little dull and not as exciting as you want it to be.”

AT: And have you hit on key sounds or pieces of gear that give you that tone in the first place?

add tom mics and things as we go. The guitars are always SM57s and Neumann KM86s on the cabinets. All pretty normal. I tend to find that those things tend to capture what’s going on in the room really well so it doesn’t always sound the same. It depends on the sound that’s coming out of the room. And that depends on the players and what they’re playing more than anything else, especially drums.

“I try to end up with the drums sounding like a single instrument, rather than a collection of 10 or 12 different things he’s hitting. And that usually starts with the overheads — sometimes it’s the room mics — to try to capture the instrument as a single piece. You add other mics as you need, just to make sure things are loud enough in the balance.

“Like most great drummers, Steve was really good at balancing himself. You use that to your advantage and add little things here and there, sometimes you need to turn up individual instruments within the drum kit to make them present enough. But in general, if you just listen to the drum tracks by themselves, it sounds like a drummer in a room. That’s generally what I try to go for.”

Nick DiDia: I’ve discovered that I’ve become a bit of a pedal snob. I have a bunch of amps and guitars, but they always have their own pedals.

We’ll get a sound through a pedal board and listen to it, then bypass the pedals entirely and plug it into the amp and nine times out of 10, the amp sound without the pedals has a lot more depth to it. It sounds more present, deeper and warmer sounding — more like you’re standing in front of an amplifier.

Most guitarists hear that difference, so then it becomes a matter of figuring out what pedals you need for the sound you’re trying to get. And if you can get it without the pedals you do that.

With Karnivool, we experimented using pedals either in different orders or different places in the amp, because some of the newer amps have effects loops in the back of them as opposed to just putting it before the preamp. But generally, the less pedals the better. Even if it’s a ‘true bypass’ pedal, it’s not the same as plugging right into the amp.

AT: Do you re-amp and double those guitars?

ND: I’m more into getting it right when you track it, and recording all delays and reverbs. We have this old AKG BX20 spring reverb up in the ceiling of 301 that really sounds great on guitars and sometimes we would just print that along with the guitars. I generally use it on the microphone side before it went to tape or ProTools. I remember reading an interview with Brian Wilson where he said they would always print the reverbs because there was something different about how the microphone hit the reverb as opposed to coming back off tape.

The reason we used to do it that way was because we didn’t have enough tracks. Now that we have so many tracks available it’s really easy to do and you can sort it out later if you need to.

JUST PRINT IT

AT: How far do you take the ‘just print it’ philosophy?

ND: Generally, if I have two mics on a guitar cabinet or even two amps running one sound, unless it’s a specific stereo sound I’ll always print the combination on one track, not the separate microphones.

But a lot of the sounds ended up stereo. We would use one track for whatever microphones were on the cabinet, so if there was an SM57 and a KM86 on a cabinet, they would go to one track. And the track on the other side would be the room mic.

If you’re standing in the room and you hear the sounds bouncing off the walls, that gets lost on the close mics. But there is a certain sound you get from the room that people are used to, because that’s the way a lot of microphones have been used on guitar amps over the years. I like the idea of having a separate room mic that you can move around in the stereo field to make the guitars seem like they have more depth.

AT: In the same way as the drums, are you using a lot of that room sound?

ND: I try to record everything the way the console is set up in Byron: it’s an old Neve that has a 24-track monitor section, which would have been your returns in the old days. I try to leave those at zero and print all my levels so I don’t have to move those. That way, when it comes to mixing time, you set everything at zero and it should sound like the record with a just a few little adjustments here and there.

So a lot of times I’ll just print the room mics really low, because I know I only want a little bit, and print them in the stereo field where I want them to be.

AT: And does this train of thought carry over into how you record the other instruments?

ND: John had a couple of different cabinets we went through. And I have an old Fearn VT3 DI. It’s a big tube DI that just works really well with bass. So we would record a clean DI before all his effects; and then his amplifier, which would be effected; and then a separate amp that would have amp distortion. He could either use it throughout the entire song or turn it on and off in certain parts with a line switcher.

We mainly used a Neumann U47 and he would just sing out in the room. Ian [Kenny] is such a great singer. When we were tracking he’d sing into a Shure SM7 in the control room, because it was easier to get isolation. We used some of those vocals, but he didn’t necessarily have all the finished lyrics when we were tracking, so he’d have to re-sing them. But had the lyrics been together, we could have easily used his tracking stuff. Just one of those guys.

AT 39

“

It was important to always over-emphasise any reverb or aggressive tones, because when other things get piled on top in the mix stage it all inevitably gets toned down

”

CHASING THE VIBE

AT: Do you use many effects to exaggerate the live vibe?

ND: Other than the AKG spring reverb, I also used an EMT plate, and a Lexicon PCM60, which is a really simple reverb Lexicon made prior to the PCM70, which is more of an overall effects unit that has delays and all kinds of stuff in it.

The 60 is really simple, it has plate and room in a couple of sizes and I used that pretty exclusively on the drums, but occasionally on vocals too.

For delay we have an old Ampex machine we use as slap and tape delay. I also have a Watkins Copycat which is basically an Echoplex with four or five tape heads and different selectors on it. For longer delays I used the UAD plug-ins version of the Lexicon 224. And then I have a bunch of old crappy digital delays I’ll use occasionally.

AT: How big a part does compression play in drawing out the vibe?

ND: I’ll compress a little going in to tape, usually just a pair of Universal Audio 1176s on the rooms, Teletronix LA3As on overheads and I’ll use an Empirical Labs Fatso on the stereo sub where I send all the drums and parallel compress them. There’s compression on vocals going in and a little bit coming out. And then I have a two-mix compressor from an SSL. It’s not compressed as much as we used to do it, but there’s some in there. I try to record most of it to tape so it sounds the way I want it to sound without having a bunch of outboard running all the time.

AT 40

AT: Is it only out of necessity that you compress on the way in?

ND: It used to be out of necessity as you only had a certain number of compressors so you had to do it on the way in. But when you print it as you go, it informs all your other decisions about how everything else is supposed to sound.

The benefit is two-fold really. For one, the band hear what they have down, and the other reason is, it’s hard for me to know what the drums are supposed to sound like if I don’t know what the bass and guitars are sounding like. So I don’t really record in a vacuum, recording the drums by themselves and then figuring out what the guitars and bass are supposed to sound like over that.

Which is why I guess it sounds like a band when it’s done. Because the idea is, it sounds like a band when we start.

SIGNATURE MIX

AT: Do you have to mix any differently given there’s often not a typical verse/ chorus/bridge structure?

ND: It’s just a case of doing several passes as an entire song and then going back and zeroing in on certain sections. I was taught that those initial mixes — like the first time a band plays a song — can have spontaneous things you may not do if you think about it too much.

Sometimes there’s a roughness to them that suits the song and the style. So we captured all of the rough mixes, and instead of trying to copy them, I would sometimes actually use the instrumental

monitor mixes, or parts of them, or it might be half and half, or even just using it as a guide. It was different song to song.

AT: With them jumping in and out of different time signatures, is it important for you to know exactly what meter they’re playing in?

ND: I grew up with Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd and King Crimson. It seems very natural to me. It’s funny, I’ve been reading some of the comments about We Are, and everyone is talking about the time signature and discussing where the ‘one’ is.

And I don’t have any problem bopping my head to that song.

It’s a tribute to Steve, but also to how the band writes, that it’s easy to listen to without thinking about time signatures. That’s one of the things the great prog drummers had; Bill Bruford, Phil Collins, Allan White, they could play something intricate and difficult, but it would have a groove to it.

I remember reading Bill Bruford say he didn’t think of anything in time signatures, he’d just follow the song and the lyric. It’s that way with Steve. I’m sure he knows, because if something came up he’d instantly say, ‘No, that’s a bar of 15 and then it goes back to 7,” but when he’s playing he’s just playing.

He played to a click, just not a time signaturedependent one. But occasionally we would need the meter to set delays and things like that. Most of the time I could figure it out, but sometimes I just had no clue and would have to ask, ‘That’s a what? Count that for us.’

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www.rolandsystemsgroup.com.au AT 41

FEATURE

A

WHOLE

NEW

WAY

OF

Kraftwerk has been gigging in surround for decades. But never anything like this.

Story: Christopher Holder

AT 42

This isn’t so much a story about a Kraftwerk gig, as it is a story about an entirely new way of mixing.

Love ’em or hate ’em; whether you care if Ralf and Florian have broken up or not; or whether you thought Tour de France was better than their ’70s output, it doesn’t matter; Kraftwerk are, in some ways, simply the hosts… the carriers… the ones with the nerve and the music to give this new way of presenting live sound a red hot go.

Back in Issue 89 Robert Clark wrote a rather excellent article for AT. It was how a new immersive surround sound processor called Iosono was used at the Sydney Opera House to virtually replicate the sound of a huge ensemble in an orchestra pit… when the musicians were actually playing in another room of the building.

Iosono used a process licensed from the Fraunhofer Institute called wave-field synthesis (WFS) to take a whole bunch of sources (56 microphones in the case of the Die Tote Stadt opera) and then route them, after passing through its algorithms, to a whole bunch of speakers to produce a stunningly authentic replication of how the orchestra would sound if it was actually there.

It was an awesomely clever trick. But in one respect, a tad regressive. A little like those ‘real dolls’ Clive James would carry on about. Why spend so much time and energy on attempting to replicate the look and feel of a real human, when an actual human is superior in every regard?

The Die Tote Stadt opera [and I urge you to go and have a look at the Issue 89 story again] had a perfectly legitimate excuse: they couldn’t shoe-horn the outsized orchestra required for the performance into the Joan Sutherland Theatre pit. But it did pose the question: what could you do with the Iosono system if your aim wasn’t to recreate an acoustic space? What if you could let the imagination run wild and, erm… let rip?

OUT OF STEP WITH LEFT/RIGHT

Well, it turns out that d&b’s Ralf Zuleeg is way ahead of us. Ralf (d&b’s Head of Education and Application Support) has been an enthusiastic advocate of Wave-Field Synthesis (WFS), and for some time has been exploring the rock ’n’ roll possibilities for its application.

Ralf Zuleeg: “System design with a classic left/ right PA has gone as far as it can. It’s very good compared to what we had even 10 years ago, but sound engineers are becoming frustrated with its limitations. The dilemma is this: the sound engineer can only mix to stereo, and move the musical ingredients forward and backward, and side to side.”

Ralf enlisted the cooperation of a nightclub in Stuttgart as a crash test dummy, fitting it out with the surround speaker system and Iosono brain, and has invited bands in to see and hear what it might be like to mix their live sound in a totally different way.

One of those bands was Kraftwerk.

With the Stuttgart club as a testing ground, Kraftwerk’s FOH Engineer, Serge Gräef, immediately grasped the possibilities. Using an iPad interface, Serge could grab a source and move it around the space. Or he could introduce reverb through the system in a dynamic manner; rolling it up and down the hall. As Serge Gräef said: “This is not surround sound; it’s something far more sophisticated that immerses the audience within the performance.”

“

It’s another level of creativity; it’s a big playground and lot of fun to work with it

”

Subsequently, Kraftwerk has been working its way around the globe performing a show that combines 3D images with immersive surround

AT 43

Kraftwerk’s front truss, packing a left/right d&b V Series array with a further four T Series arrays.

MORE THAN ‘SURROUND’ Wave Field Synthesis (WFS) was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute (possibly best known for developing MP3 compression). The Fraunhofer algorithms are licensed to Iosono and run on its IPC100 processor. The key difference here is: 5:1, 7:1 and the like, work best with the listener in the proverbial sweet spot. With WFS, however, every listening position within the audience can be a sweet spot.

sound. It’s a heady blend of art and music that’s just as popular with festival goers as it is chardonnay sippers.

Which all gives you some context as to what was recently achieved at the Sydney Opera House, where Kraftwerk played to packed houses during the Vivid Festival. But spare a thought for the Sydney Opera House tech staff, Jeremy Christian, and Rich Fenton, who were a little blind-sided by an initial Kraftwerk technical rider that vaguely referred to a ‘surround system’. Suffice it to say, they had little idea as to the rabbit hole they were about to jump down.

A call was put through to d&b’s Australian reps, NAS, which came to the party in a big way, and as Head of Sound AV Services Jeremy Christian puts it: “That’s when the craziness started.”

FAT LADY SINGS (WITH PA)

The Sydney Opera House’s Joan Sutherland theatre is predominantly for opera and ballet. The theatre packs a ‘vocal’ PA comprising a Meyer Sound M1D proscenium array. It was about to have an extreme PA makeover.

After sending Ralf Zuleeg a CAD file, a system design was devised comprising left/right arrays of d&b V Series either side of the stage with no less that four additional T Series arrays in between — forming a formidable curtain of PA above the stage. At stage level Q10s matched AT 44

the array positions above as ground fill. From there a d&b T10 speaker was positioned every three metres around the theatre — 24 in all.

Four additional T10s were employed as extra fill, amounting to 28 individual sends of T boxes in the venue.

No, the theatre isn’t built for this type of retrofit.

Jeremy describes how finding speaker points for the stalls wasn’t too difficult but the dress circle was more of a challenge: “We had to pull lights out of the ceiling, drop steel rope through the cavity and hang speakers from the roof. It was ‘interesting’, shall we say.”

Seven V Subs were also ground stacked under the Kraftwerk riser and an additional d&b InfraSub were positioned left and right of stage. It’s a low-profile design masterminded by Production Manager, Winfried Blank

Felix has programmed a Midi Bridge for the Iosono system so Serge and the musicians are able to control the position and type of the sound source. It’s the vital link in making dynamic mixing in WFS surround a reality.

In addition to what the musicians are doing from stage, Serge has three possibilities available to him: for some songs the position information is supplied by a timecode-synced computer with Cubase running automation tracks. For the other songs Serge has programmed the position information as MIDI commands into snapshots in the Avid Profile console. Finally, he has two iPads running Lemur software connected to the system to allow him to control any and all positions live, and to monitor the data sent by the musicians.

On stage, the four Kraftwerk musicians have computers loaded with virtual synths. The artists control the positions of the sound sources via a massive MIDI network.

So what’s it like to ‘pan’ with the iPads? Well, if you were to manipulate the GUI you’d notice the multiple loudspeaker sources are all distributed well outside the ‘four’ walls of the theatre. In effect, you’re panning around ‘virtual’ sources set back from the speakers. Felix: “The tighter curve of a closer wavefront is what gives us precise positional information, by pushing it further out, it arrives flat like a plain [distant] wavefront.”

Why MIDI? That’s where Felix Einsiedel comes in. Felix was hired as the ‘WFS guy’ and has been working with Ralf Zuleeg extensively in making WFS more than a set ’n’ forget spatial emulator.

The Lemur iOS has been heavily customised by Serge — it has been a long process of exploring what Lemur could do and Felix programming the MIDI bridge to make it happen.

MUSIQUE NON STOP

So that’s the PA. Now it was time for the band to load in. Let’s run through the setup:

IN THE MIX

Mixing with Iosono is clearly a lot of fun. Observers note that Serge took his job of screwing with the audience’s heads very seriously indeed.

AT: It sounds like the possibilities are limitless, but I’m guessing there are some mixing no-nos?

Serge: You can’t have sounds flying around the room all the time — or you’ll lose the impact of the big moves. And there are some things you simply can’t move around the room without losing focus or the mix falling apart. For example, you can’t move percussion around in the general course of the song — as you’ll lose the focus to stage. Similarly, you can’t have the beat in the back and the bassline at the front. It won’t sync, thanks to the speed of sound through the air — it’ll throw the timing out.

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AT: How has your approach to dynamics and effects changed?

Serge: Traditionally I’m doing a lot of bus compression with the Waves L3 Multimaximiser. But now I control the dynamics on a channel-by-channel basis with C6 multi-band compression. I’m using many more plugs now than I did before.

From an effects perspective, I have a bus out of the Profile for all the effects, which I position in normal stereo, and occasionally I’ll send a reverb to the Upmix as well.

AT: What’s Upmix?

Serg: Upmix, is an Iosono function that allows you to route reverb into the processor and Upmix makes that reverb work in your room given its acoustic properties and the number of speakers you have in the space. For example, Fritz [Hilpert, of the band] is often sending snare reverbs into the Upmix and the reverb comes from every speaker in the system. But it’s not just playing back the reverb, there’s an algorithm in the box that’s analysing all the room info — the pre-delay and other parameters along with timing delays on each speaker that controls the imaging in the room. It also means you can move that reverb around the room.

AT: What reverb and delays are you using?

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WHAT FREQUENCY CAN I USE ?

Serge: I’m working with TC’s VSS3 as my reverb. For delays I’m using H-Delay from Waves, or I’m using Native Instruments’ Reaktor.

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AT: Reaktor? Okay, this sounds like it could be interesting!

FREQUENCY RANGE

Serge: Right! I program eight tap delays and every tap has its own signal output to Iosono. I’ve built a control interface for Lemur to decide whether the delay is in 4ths, 8ths or 16ths of a bar via a tap tempo button. My song’s tempo is always set in the console’s scene automation but I can switch it manually on my interface to decide if it’s controlled from the desk or via tap speed on the iPad. I have a ‘multi-ball’ element in the delay, with eight balls, and I control every position of every repeat on the delay. I’ve got a high-pass and low-pass filter available for each tap and I have built in feedback of 200–300%.

AT: Sounds insane.

Serge: Well, unfortunately, there’s no song where it fits! I’m using it on Planet of Visions for one move around. But I built it because I can and it’s good to explore what’s possible.

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AT: Sounds like the system has got your creative juices flowing?

SOUND TEAM Sound engineer Kraftwerk: Stefan ‘Serge’ Graefe Application Engineer d&b: Ralf Zuleeg, Iosono & Interface Programming: Felix Einsiedel Sydney Opera House Audio Supervisor: Rich Fenton Sydney Opera House Production Manager: Chris Burn Sydney Opera House Head of Sound AV Services: Jeremy Christian Sydney Opera House Audio Technician: Jan Rosenthal

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AT 45

Hanging with Lemur: Sydney was the first time Serge used his Avid Profile automation to trigger all the start positions for each song. The console snapshot contains all the audio settings for the song (as per usual) and then a further three snapshots to describe X/Y positions (via MIDI control change messages) and a fourth to call up the correct Lemur interface for the iPads. Serge would probably take the MIDI control further here, but there’s a limitation on how many MIDI commands can be saved into one snapshot. Practically, what this means is, when the Next button is hit on the automation it automatically links the four additional MIDI snapshots via the Profile’s Events feature.

Serge: It’s another level of creativity; it’s a big playground and lot of fun to work with it.

IOSONO: AT A PUB NEAR YOU?

AT: Does a system like Iosono have a more mainstream future?

Serge: If you’re talking about regular stereo panning, with Iosono the image is much clearer — because of the discrete nature of the outputs there are no masking effects from the electronic summing on the desk.

AT: Okay, so take a vocal sound as an example: how would Iosono make life easier on a regular gig.

Serge: I put Ralf ’s [Hütter] vocals right where he’s standing on stage. But it’s more than that.

If I want to localise Ralf precisely to that spot his wavefield position is discretely in the corresponding speaker above his head. But that’s obviously a bit restrictive for a vocal. So I will push his vocal back further and that’s where more speakers get involved…

AT: … closer to what’s referred to as a ‘flat’ wavefront — ie. from an infinity point?

Serge: Yes, a flat wavefront describes a sound source that is far, far away, with more speakers involved. So for vocals I pick a point source then move it back a little to get more speakers involved.

AT 46

AT: So you’d suggest a system like Iosono matched with more speaker positions above the stage would have wider application?

KRAFTWERK’S TRUST IN QUAD’

Serge: I think so. Having a row of speakers on the front truss — just for stereo panning — would improve many shows. Take theatre as an example.

You can’t do conventional stereo panning so much in theatres. But with Iosono you could. You have the stereo position, but it’s not just about level it’s the use of delay that pulls the image to one side or the other.

Long-time technical accomplice and current Production Manager, Winfried Blank, describes Kraftwerk’s fascination with concert surround: “We started in the late ’80s with a quad sound system, which effectively meant adding two stacks in the rear of a venue for some sound effects. The music of Kraftwerk is perfect because there were many sound samples — think of the car moving off in Autobahn or the bicycle sounds in Tour de France — that benefitted from being panned through the room. It put the audience in the thick of the song.

“Over the years we added more elements to the show including video and now 3D video. The current setup entails four musicians, four keyboards with control equipment and four screens in the back of the stage.

“Of course, Kraftwerk hasn’t been the only band to pioneer concert surround. The Who’s Quadrophenia is one notable early example, while Pink Floyd has also used quad surround speakers for many years.

“In combination with a good sound system and well designed placement of the speaker in the room there’s little doubt this ‘surround sound’ adds a higher quality of emotion and feeling. For example, the sound of a train arriving in the back of the room will grab your attention, or the sounds pushing up the Pyrenees on a bike will leave you breathing more heavily.”

LEAD MYSELF INTO THE FUTURE?

It’s worth noting that manipulating the panning isn’t totally instantaneous. There’s a 41ms latency, as the Iosono brain frantically does the maths.

This means panning moves need to be made smoothly and methodically, not like a scratch DJ. Felix Einseidel points out that 41ms represent 12m of travel time for sound, which is more than workable in a large performance venue such as the Joan Sutherland Theatre.

The result is an unnaturally natural immersive sound. Audiences note that the audio is simply ‘there’ without any discernible source. You’re actually in the mix, and surely there can be nothing more exciting for a FOH mix engineer than that.

AT 47

FEATURE

Having the right stuff to attract a client can amount to any number of things: A body of past work, word-of-mouth references, chance meetings… they might just like the way you dress. But being able to pinpoint the brand of mics and system used to record their favourite album? Priceless.

Ben Gurton, professional trombone player and lecturer at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM), was on the hunt for the right engineer to record an album of Euro Jazz when he sought a fellow lecturer’s advice. Catching up with Greg Simmons (AIM Audio Engineering lecturer and founding AT editor) in the student lounge, Gurton played him a 24-bit/96k version of The Hoff Ensemble’s A Quiet Winter Night. Simmons donned a good pair of headphones and took a listen. When he was done, Gurton asked him if he could make an album that sounded just like it. “Sure,” said Simmons. “But you’d need DPA microphones and a Pyramix system recording in DSD or DXD.” Gurton laughed and flipped to the album’s liner notes, which read, “Recorded with DPA microphones and Pyramix DXD.” BUILDING THE PYRAMIX

The next step was attaining a Pyramix system, which aren’t in as ready supply as the average ProTools rig. When the first option fell through, they got in contact with Ross A’Hern, which was a bit of a double-whammy. Not only did he own a 24-channel Pyramix system, but he’s also one of the pre-eminent jazz recording engineers in the country. The team was really starting to take shape. Next: finding somewhere to record.

HOLDING ONTO RESOLUTIONS Ultra-high resolution can be more than purist boffinry; it can inspire performance. Greg Simmons and Ross A’Hern discovered this little surprise when recording Ben Gurton’s Euro Jazz album.

Story: Mark Davie Photos: Alan Le & Conan Tran

AT 48

Gurton had written a lot of the pieces for Prelude To A Scene with a specific reverb in mind.

Namely, the rich, long reverb of Australian Hall at AIM. “Music that would work in it would have to be of a slower tempo and also the dynamics/ volume of the music needed to be relatively soft,” said Gurton.

But as it turned out, he couldn’t get access to the hall anyway, and had to look for a second option.

“The reverb was fantastic,” said Gurton. “I would have loved to record there — maybe next time.

I spent a few weeks trying to find a completely silent church with a Steinway; it seems they don’t exist!” After a tour of the sanctuaries, he ended up at Studios 301 in Sydney. It fulfilled the requirements for rich reverb, just a tad drier, and also had a grand piano that scored the tick of approval from the album’s pianist Brendan St Ledger. Gurton was sold.

THE PRICE OF INSPIRATION

The album was tracked using the ultra-high resolution DXD format at 24-bit/352.8k, which is a high-resolution version of PCM, and a close approximation of DSD without the processing hassles (see Downstream From PCM sidebar).

It was all recorded through the preamps on

THE ROOM The main stereo pair were two DPA 4006TLs with nose cones fitted to make them almost text-book perfect omnis.

A’Hern’s 24-channel Merging Technologies’ Horus interface, which sat on top of the formidable Neve 88R console at 301 — itself relegated to an enormous monitor controller and headphone system.

Opting for the higher resolution offered by DXD was more than simply an exercise in technological purists patting themselves on the back. What became obvious to Simmons, was the positive affect higher fidelity had on the players.

The impact on the recording experience was undeniable, even for a bunch of old-hand session musicians who’ve heard it all.

Simmons: “The very high resolution sound offered an unexpected surprise: The motivation it gave the musicians every time they came into the control room to listen. The quality and ‘reality’ of the sound was a regular talking point among them. It raises an interesting question: regardless of whether there is enough demand in the market to justify investing in such high-resolution technology, what price will you pay for inspired and motivated performances?

“It doesn’t matter if the recording is played back on a high resolution format or not; an inspired performance is an inspired performance. You can have that on a wax cylinder! The trick is creating an inspired performance in the first place.”

Gurton concurred: “When the musicians came into the control room to listen to takes they were universally very happy with the sound. To their ears, the captured sound was what they hear from their own instruments acoustically day in, day out; year in, year out. We weren’t looking to record hyper-realism, we were merely trying to capture everything that happened in that space at that moment.

“The difference between standard resolution and DXD became very obvious in the mixing stage at Ross A’Hern’s Chapel Of Sound studio.

Ross had set up an option to listen to a downsampled 44.1k stream on his desktop monitor send. We referenced this throughout the mixing process. The difference was quite amazing; the soundstage collapsed in and the instruments became less tangible in their presence. I found it especially noticeable in the cymbal decay and top end of the piano.”

TEXTBOOK PERFECTION

With ‘reverb’ and ‘honest capture’ the catchcries of the session, room mic choice was a big consideration. Simmons opted for a pair of spaced DPA 4006TL omni microphones fitted with nose cones (a DPA option for the mic), placed high and between the five musicians. He chose an omni polar pattern because he wanted to retain all the low frequency information in the ambience; the 4006TLs with nose cones fitted are almost textbook perfect omnis throughout their frequency response and at any distance.

PIANO The piano lid was removed to help it excite the room’s reverberant field. Taking the lid off changes the tuning, a little sharp in this case according to the piano tuner, who corrected it. Getting rid of the lid also results in a cleaner close-miked sound, free of pesky lid reflections, which can produce comb filtering and a kind of ‘munchy’ sound in the midrange if you’re not careful.

Two DPA 4041s were placed above the hammers.

The 4041 is a large diaphragm omni with a very distinct and focused HF boost on axis. Due to the large diaphragm (a genuine B&K capsule, by the way) it has a relatively poor off-axis response.

Collectively, these traits make it excellent for close-miking acoustic instruments. The focused HF boost on axis allows it to be placed further away than most other mics, to capture a fuller sound of the instrument with good LF response, but the on-axis HF boost makes it sound much closer. Any closer than this, and the HF boost on axis would create two ‘hot spots’ in the sound, leaving a dull sound for the keys in the middle.

A DPA 4011 cardioid was placed in the crook of the piano, to capture a solid, warmer monophonic sound in case it was required later.

“

We weren’t looking to record hyper-realism, we were merely trying to capture everything that happened in that space at that moment

”

AT 49

SAXOPHONE Julian Gough tries not to sway too much around this combination of a Neumann M149 in cardioid and a Royer R122 active ribbon.

TROMBONE Composer Ben Gurton plays his trombone into a combination of a Coles 4038 ribbon and DPA 4011 cardioid.

DRUMS The drum kit was mainly captured using a Royer SF24 stereo Blumlein ribbon overhead, supplemented by a Neumann U47FET on kick. That was the original setup, but after a listen, Simmons added a large diaphragm DPA 4041 tube mic to help clarify the snare and hats. Baffles were used to surround the back and sides of the kit in order to ‘focus’ the drums towards the main stereo pair.

Directional mics, on the other hand, typically start to roll off the low end response at distances more than 30cm from the source.

The compositions also demanded more focus on the reverb than the sound stage. “If I’m trying to capture a small ensemble such as a string quartet — where there are only a handful of sound sources to spread across the stereo soundstage — I’ll use a coincident pair such as MS or Blumlein, because those techniques excel at pinpoint imaging,” explained Simmons.

“But when I’m trying to capture the feeling of the space itself, I’ll go for spaced omnis every time; the subtle low frequency phase differences between the channels creates a sense of immersion within the space.”

It also afforded Simmons the ability to place the musicians so they had direct sight lines, but still create the stereo impression of a jazz band playing in front of you. “A spaced pair of omnis has no front or rear side, which means you can place an ensemble on either side of the pair and get a stereo image,” said Simmons. “So we placed the piano, drums and bass on one side of the spaced pair, and placed the trombone and sax on the other side but a bit closer. To the listener, the effects is as if the ensemble is playing live with the piano, bass and drums forming the backline, and the trombone and sax standing in front.”

AT 50

DPA, ALL THE WAY

“I’m a big fan of DPA microphones because they’re very clean, very clear and very accurate,” said Simmons. “They have an excellent off-axis response, which means they maintain their polar response across a wide bandwidth. Most mics are true to their polar response at 1kHz but not at other frequencies, so sounds arriving off-axis don’t have the same tonality as those arriving on-axis — they’re usually duller. That makes the captured sound appear to be roomier and perhaps even muddier. DPAs don’t do that due to their excellent off-axis response; it’s one of things you pay bigger money for when buying good microphones.”

He isn’t a complete snob though, occasionally you’ll catch him ‘schlepping’ it with the likes of Neumann and Coles. On trombone he paired a DPA 4011 cardioid with a Coles 4038 ribbon to get a tonal blend, while the saxophone didn’t have a DPA on it at all — opting for a blend of Neumann M149 in cardioid and a Royer 122 active ribbon. Blending the two different microphone flavours on each instrument helped achieve unique tone blends without any EQ. NEVE HEADPHONE MIXER

Simmons collected a variety of open back headphones to run out of the gargantuan Neve headphone mixer. Jazz musicians will often

DOWNSTREAM FROM PCM Simmons: “PCM is the form of digital audio we use every day. WAV and AIFF files use PCM, as does CD and the defunct DVD-A. DSD, on the other hand, is an entirely different method of encoding audio signals. It is not compatible with PCM systems; you cannot load a DSD file into ProTools and expect to work on it. It requires very different (and somewhat more difficult) signal processing mathematics to work with DSD — which is one of the reasons it has not taken off sooner.

“Prelude To A Scene was recorded and mixed in 24-bit/352.8k DXD, which although it is sonically similar to DSD, is actually linear PCM. “Until this project I was never a believer in using sampling rates above 96k. I had read and understood Dan Lavry’s paper about this some years ago, and I regularly use it in my Audio Technology 5 classes at the Australian Institute of Music. Lavry’s argument that there was no sonic benefit sampling higher than 96k made perfect sense to me, and, as Lavry pointed out, sound quality could in fact go downhill when sampling above 96k.

“The newer converter technologies used in the Horus have changed my mind. It really has to be heard to be believed; tinkling piano sounds remain crystal clear, cymbals are smooth and airy, and double bass is remarkably solid and ‘grounded’.

“As I understand it, PCM converter technology has come a long way since Lavry’s paper and have it on good authority that the problems he described have been tackled and overcome.”

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Ross A’hern (middle) and Greg Simmons (right) zen out listening to the superlative quality of A’hern’s Pyramix system running DXD at 24-bit/384k.

DOUBLE BASS Double mics for double bass: The DPA 4011 cardioid gave a lovely sound, but was perhaps a little ‘light’ at this distance (about 30cm). The DPA 4015 wide cardioid, being halfway between an omni and cardioid, had a much warmer sound but without the articulation of the 4011. Although not usually part of Greg’s minimalist aesthetic, the combination sounded ‘wonderful’.

record as an ensemble without headphones.

Simmons still wanted the musicians to primarily hear the sound of the space — which would bleed through the open-back cans — reinforced for extra focus with a mix of close mics when required. While not for everyone, it had its advantages for Hamish on drums. “As soon as he put the headphones on, he could hear Brendan on bass a lot better and the whole rhythm section snapped in,” said Simmons. “And towards the end, Julian, the sax player started wearing headphones as well. When saxophonists play, they tend to swing backwards and forwards more than a lot of other instruments, so being on mic is quite important. Once he started wearing headphones, he was able to keep his own distance under control.”

ALL IN THE BALANCE

At the end of the 301 session, Simmons rigged up a ‘reamping’ system for the horns. He had a suspicion their directionality hadn’t excited the ambience in the room mics as much as the drums and piano, especially on a few key tom sections. So he wanted to capture a replay of each from their position in the soundstage. The idea was sound, but in the mix, A’Hern’s TC Electronic reverb made it easier to achieve the ambience Gurton was after.

“We used very little processing in the mix,” said A’Hern. “And there was no processing used on the recording at all: Mics straight to Pyramix via Merging Technology’s Horus I/O. For mixing, I sent analogue auxiliary feeds to my TC Electronic 6000 reverb (running at a relatively low-res 96k) and back again, for a small amount of extra reverb, but other than that, there was little if any processing used on the tracks. We did EQ the

AT 52

room mics a bit (a dip at around 300Hz) to reduce the resonant frequency of Studios 301’s main room, and added a little bottom to the Neumann U47 FET kick spot mic, but that was about all.”

There wasn’t much processing going on, but critical to the mix, as always, was a good balance.

For Simmons, A’Hern and Gurton, balancing such high resolution recordings was an eyeopener.

Simmons: “We were talking about changing levels between instruments of 0.25 of a dB. And the three of us were agreeing unanimously — it was quite clear. It wasn’t about moving a single fader by that much and hearing the difference. It was things like balancing the two trombone mics — a quarter of a dB difference between them made a big difference to the tone. A lot of the parts are played in unison by two players, and you could also hear a big difference in a quarter of a dB when balancing the trombone up against the sax.

“People will probably laugh about 0.25dB difference, ‘As if! I’d like to do a blind test on that.’ Well all I can say is, there were three of us there making very clear decisions as to which one was better…”

Prelude To A Scene will be available from www.bengurton.com

MIXING WITH PYRAMIX Ross A’Hern: “Having worked with DXD on this project, there is no doubt in my mind that working at such a high resolution makes a positive difference. However, with this system, you are starting from a very high base, and the differences between resolutions are not immediately apparent. There is certainly something unusually satisfying and nourishing about what you are listening to, but it is hard to quantify what those differences are until, after listening for a while, you switch back to a lower resolution version.

“We deliberately set up two monitoring paths during the mix session for this purpose: feeding the analogue output of the DXD session and a split of it through my second Pyramix system via Studer I/O running at 44.1k, to two inputs of my Grace 906 monitor controller with levels of the two mixes carefully matched. It’s when you compare the two directly that you really notice the difference. At the lower sample rate, the soundstage snaps to a smaller frame size (literally like looking at a picture that suddenly shrinks), and everything flattens and hardens slightly.

“Of course, resolution isn’t everything. But with all other things equal, I would prefer to work at this resolution all the time. From a practical standpoint, there is also the issue of how to deliver music recorded at this resolution to the consumer. Apart from SACD, which has a limited following, and is perhaps struggling as a format, I am not sure whether there is any widespread interest in DXD as a download format, especially as it takes up eight times the space of a CD resolution file.

“Reassuringly though, after several years of embracing mp3 convenience, there seems to be a growing awareness, at least in some enthusiastic circles, that high resolution is needed if you want to get realism and emotion (other than anger) from your music. The NBN and faster streaming rates will facilitate this, as will the growing proliferation of media players with decent converters, which are geared for a broad variety of file formats. There are already numerous online music providers, offering high resolution file downloads. If there is interest (and therefore a buck) in it, someone will provide it.”

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AT 53

TUTORIAL

Born in the California Bay Area, Craig Silvey cut his engineering teeth working in local studios and doing an internship with George Massenburg. Silvey went on to become chief engineer at George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound scoring studio from 1992-95, during which time he worked with a number of legendary producers, among them Massenburg, as well as Phil Ramone and Walter Afanasieff. According to Silvey, this meant that a lot of his education came from “guys who had their training in the ’60s and ’70s.” He became a self-declared “obsessive gear nut” and “analogue freak,” and after leaving Skywalker, put the extensive collection of gear he had gathered to good use in a San Francisco studio he called Toast.

He’s been based in London since 2002 and calls himself, “some kind of weird hybrid now: half-American, half-British.”

During 2009-12, Silvey worked at a studio in London called The Garden, but he recently moved to a studio in West London, also named Toast.

It’s filled to the brim with antique and vintage gear that he has collected over two decades. Pride of place goes to his 40-input Neve 8026, which is loaded with 1084 and 1076 modules and has 40 inputs and a 24-channel monitor section.

There’s also a Neve BCM10 sidecar, and a wealth of outboard, including EQs by Helios and John Hardy, compressors such as the Thermionic Culture Phoenix, Universal Audio 1176 and Urei LA4A, mic preamps by Telefunken (V76, V72), Summit and Tube-Tech, a whole posse of vintage mics, and his beloved Mastering Labs monitors, the legendary ML10s. Recent additions include a couple of Pye compressors, several Neve 32254 modules, Cartec EQP1A units, and the Dramastic Audio Obsidian TX10 bus compressor.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Sacrilege AT 54

Some would argue Craig Silvey’s attachment to analogue is motivated by nostalgia rather common sense, but he continues to be one of today’s most successful, and fashionable, mixers

as is demonstrated by recent credits that include Goldfrapp, Florence + the Machine, Anna Calvi, Frightened Rabbit and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Going further back in time he’s also worked with REM, Santana, Ray Davies, Nine Inch Nails, Linda Ronstadt, Aaron Neville, Pearl Jam, The Coral, Portishead, The Magic Numbers, and Arcade Fire. Silvey’s working methods clearly remain relevant, well illustrated by his mix, while still at The Garden, of most of the recent Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, Mosquito — including the album’s opening track and first single Sacrilege.

All but one of the 11 songs on the New York art punk trio’s fourth album were co-produced by Nick Launay, and David Andrew Sitek of the band TV On The Radio. Both have rather opposing backgrounds and methods. The former has worked with Public Image Ltd, Killing Joke, Kate Bush, David Byrne, INXS, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, and Arcade Fire, and the latter with Liars, Foals, and Beady Eye. “Probably the most difficult thing for me in mixing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was trying to balance Launay’s and Sitek’s very different approaches and make them sound consistent,” notes Silvey. “The tension between their approaches is part of what makes that record really good. Sacrilege is a good example.

The bare bones, gritty, lo-fi live element that starts the song comes from Launay, and it then builds up with a disco bass, jazzy guitar and some delayed drums that come in halfway, which are more Sitek’s direction. His stuff is more polished and wider in the stereo field. And then two thirds into the song there’s a totally unexpected introduction of a choir, which turns it into a pure gospel tune.

During the recordings Sitek and Launay were each in a different studio, doing their thing at the same time. They were bouncing stuff back and forth and the band decided what they liked about what the producers were doing. I think I was brought in as an extra opinion, to draw it all together.”

1. A MOMENT IN TIME SAVES NINE

“When you mix in the box, you can do recalls of several different songs on any given day, weeks after you mixed them.

But my equipment and my brain don’t work that way. And in my opinion, music suffers from that approach. Music is a moment in time, and the same regard should be kept while mixing. When you mix a song for the first time, you should focus on how it makes you feel rather than how to achieve perfection. If you enjoy it, and it makes you dance around the room, it’s great. But when you hear it two weeks later and start wondering whether the volume of the hi-hat is correct or not, you have to stop yourself and wonder whether it’s relevant. It may not be. Sadly, perfectionism is becoming the norm now, so it was really refreshing for me to do something like Arctic Monkeys’ Suck It And See (2011), which was recorded entirely to analogue tape, and I mixed from 24-track tape. There was no ProTools in the room and without a screen to look at we had to use our ears again, and learn the music to be able ride the vocals effectively!”

2. THE BUILD UP

“I mix in waves. The first time I speed through a mix, trying to get a sense of what’s there and a direction for the song. I then will start on the drums, but won’t spend a lot of time on them. I may get them to 50% of where I want them, and then quickly move on to the bass, and then the guitars, keyboards, vocal, and so on. I’ll then listen to the whole and do individual tweaks. I’ll then go back to the drums in solo, the bass in solo, and so on, and I may repeat that process two or three times.

From that point onwards I’ll listen only to the complete mix. In the case of Sacrilege, I tried to get the vocal sound right from the get-go. I built the track up gradually, getting everything up to 30%, then 60%, and then to 90% in terms of effects and quality. You can’t really decide what the drum sound is going to be until you know what all the other things sound like.

Plus a track like Sacrilege really has to have the right dynamic shape from beginning to end, because it changes so much. So there was a lot of listening to it right from the beginning with everything in, and making sure it grew in the right way. I’d work on something, and after pressing stop, I’d go right back to the beginning again.”

3. DON’T DISCOUNT PLUG-INS

“I obviously prefer to use outboard, but there are two plug-ins that I couldn’t live without. If there’s a scene change on a track, like a kick drum that changes sound, I may do that in the box, and if I have seven kick drums or so, I’ll do a global kick drum on the desk, and may adjust individual kick drums with a plug-in. I had a Massey TapeHead tape simulator plug-in on the hi-hat and on several of the percussion tracks in the Sacrilege session. It is super cheap, but actually achieves the closest approximation of what tape does. It really does that thing of smoothing out the harmonics on instruments like tambourine and hi-hat that are difficult to get to sound both loud and pleasant in digital. Plus I had the Massenburg Design Works EQ5 parametric EQ plug-in on the drum loops, used correctively. On the desk the drums were grouped together and sent to a bus compressor, the GML 8900 — used for parallel compression.

I used Neve EQ on the desk, and also a reverb called the Great British Spring, which is very cheap and looks like a drainpipe. I like it a lot. Plus I had the Yamaha SPX90 for early reflections to give some more spread and thickness.”

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4. WHEN ALL THE OUTBOARD IN THE WORLD...

“The main bass track is called ‘Nakamichi bass’.

Launay and Sitek had used one of those old, high-end Nakamichi cassette decks, which is six rack-units high.

They didn’t actually run the sound through a cassette, but just overloaded the front end, so the distortion you hear is in the Nakamichi preamps. The producers also used the Nakamichi to heavily distort the lead vocal. I put the bass through a little bit of LA2A compression for some warmth to add to that distortion, and used EQ on the desk. I also at times probably added a little bit of sub harmonic synthesiser from a dbx 120A.

“

Probably the most difficult thing… trying to balance Launay’s and Sitek’s very different approaches and make them sound consistent

”

5. NASTY VOICES

“There are two main vocal tracks, the top one, in brown, called ‘Chico’, was recorded through a Roland Chorus Echo tape delay, and this is the clean vocal. Below that is the ‘Nakamichi’ vocal. The Nakamichi vocal track was only occasionally used, and I had to make sure the clean vocal didn’t sound dramatically different, so in certain places I added the SoundToys Decapitator plug-in to the clean vocal to make sure it had some edge to it . I also used outboard on the vocal, like the Empirical Labs Distressor to help bring her vocal forward, some Cartec EQ to add some presence, and a small room sound from the Ursa Major Space Station for early reflections and to create some three-dimensionality. I also wanted to give the choir a nastier sound to make it fit with the song, so I added more mid-range using desk EQ, and I cut out some of the low end so it would not sound as full as a choir normally would. I then applied the Lexicon Super Prime Time to the choir, to blur it a little bit, and a Decapitator, so it wasn’t as in your face and hi-fi as on a gospel record.”

6. MASTERING TO VINYL

“Mastering to vinyl involves EQ-ing as one would do for digital mastering, and then pressing a 12-inch, 45rpm lacquer for each song, with maximum groove width, so you get the best-sounding vinyl possible. Then you do a single playback and record it back into the computer. It’s really hard to explain what it does, but somehow the low end surrounds you more. It also adds some harmonic distortion at the top that gives a very comforting character

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— certainly for my generation, which has grown up with vinyl. Many mixers run things to a tape machine before or after mastering, and I have tried that as well, but in my opinion you lose more than you gain. I’ve used vinyl mastering for several records I’ve mixed recently, including Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The National and Goldfrapp. The former two were mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound in New York, while the Goldfrapp album was mastered by John Dent at Loud in Cornwall, in England.”

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FEATURE

Melbourne producer, Myles Mumford, has been helping Swazi artists have a voice on the issues killing their nation.

Story: Mark Davie

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The prototypical Western ‘struggling artist’ has nothing on the Swazi musician.

In Swaziland, getting airtime isn’t the issue, having enough fuel to get to the studio is.

And lusting after esoteric gear isn’t a luxury enjoyed when you have to rent a guitar to play.

But there are bigger fish to fry in Swaziland, and musicians are playing a key role in getting the message out.

IT’S INFECTIOUS

The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small country bordered on three sides by South Africa. Its other neighbour, Mozambique, is over the Lebombo Mountains to the West. The waistline of the country is relatively slim, at 130km, holding a population over a million. It’s one of the few remaining absolute monarchies in the world, in the company of Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the Vatican City. It means that King Mswati III has a hand in choosing not only the prime minister, but a portion of legislators in both chambers of parliament, the Senate, the House of Assembly, and a number of Special Interest parliamentary positions designed to balance views that can deliver conflicting messages. While the Education Minister declares a moratorium on talking about sex in schools, the Minister for Health is handing out condoms to children.

Which exacerbates another defining characteristic of Swaziland — the unfortunate distinction of having the highest percentage of HIV infection in the world. The United Nations and UNICEF quote the overall infection rate between ages 15-49 as 26%, putting it at the top of their list of infected countries worldwide. It’s a big number, but when you look at the more sexually active bracket of 18-49, the official infection rate for women is 39%, and 32% for men. Made all the more staggering based on the fact that only 40.1% of the population actually know their HIV status.

There are all kinds of disastrous statistics that could be laid out here, but the message is clear.

HIV is literally killing Swaziland. It ranks right at the bottom of most life expectancy lists — CIA, World Health Organisation — at around 47 years of age.

POVERTY SPREAD

It’s not helped by incredible poverty. Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, which are very good at controlling the effects of HIV infection, are available free of charge in Swaziland. But poverty makes a simple thing extremely difficult. It makes travel to get the drugs an impossibility for many, and even if they could, having the food necessary to take with the drugs is far from guaranteed. An article in the

Guardian quoted a Swazi MP claiming he’d witnessed impoverished patients mixing cow dung with water just to get the ARVs down.

The problem is exacerbated by a long history of polygamy. King Mswati III has 14 wives, and his father King Sobhuza II, had over 125 wives during his 61-year reign. Likewise, traditional Swazi men aspire to having more than one wife, and now there are a lot of informal partnerships. It’s common to not be married, but have four or five partners. And because of poverty, those women also have multiple partners, often to help pay the bills. All the while, safe sex and condom use are seen as only for people that are — for lack of a better word — sluts, resulting in an enormous amount of young pregnancies.

You can quickly see how the spread of HIV is out of control.

A REAL DAY JOB

For socially-minded musicians, there’s no greater issue to sing about than the one that’s tearing down their nation. And Myles Mumford is helping their voices to be heard. The Melbournebased producer has been living in Swaziland for almost a year with his wife Tegan, working with Australian Volunteers International (AVI) for the local Lusweti Institute for Health Development Communication.

“Tegan and I were both thinking about living overseas,” said Myles. “She wanted to go and do development work, and I thought I’d have a year-long holiday for the first time in 15 years. Sit around, make music and have a good time!”

Tegan is a social worker whose work on early onset of psychosis with Orygen Youth Health meant she was a little more acclimatised to her role with Save The Children, but Myles’ new lifestyle was a real culture shock — for the first time in his life he had a 9 to 5. “For somebody who has worked their entire life as a freelance musician/producer,” said Myles. “Getting up at 7:30 to go to work five days a week is killing me!”

Not that he’s complaining too much: AVI has set he and Tegan up in the relative luxury of a decked-out thatched roof cottage; the Italian embassy is really an Italian restaurant run by the ambassador; and he’s bumped into the US ambassador at a concert, who had no security staff and was happy to riff on radio and the country’s prospects of vertical change. On the flipside, getting a good coffee is downright impossible.

RIDING THE WAVES

Initially, Myles’ role was to help set up the first community radio station in Swaziland, but he soon found that was a misnomer. Mainly because it’s illegal. Legislation has been in front of the government for the past 13 years to open up the licensing process. It’s happening, he says, but not on his watch. Luckily there is already a community radio initiative he’s been lucky to work with: the Lubombo radio project has been granted just four one-day licenses to broadcast the King’s birthday celebrations in 13 years of trying for permanency, but the people are dedicated to make it a long-term reality. “They’ve just put through the Electronic Communications Bill, which has been discussed for the past 13 years,” explained Myles. “Once it’s actually gazetted, becomes law and discussed exactly how it’s going to operate, then community radio will be possible. You’ll be able to apply for a community radio licence, you’ll be able to be rejected for a community radio licence, and you’ll be able to appeal and have scope for legal recourse to it.”

In other words, even when it becomes law, getting a license isn’t going to be a walk in the park.

It may seem unconscionable to sucker someone halfway across the world to dump them into an impossible situation. But there’s a reason pushing for radio licensing is so important to Lusweti, Lubombo, and others trying to get a message out. In Swaziland, radio is the only way to do it.

There are two nationally broadcasted stations, one in English, the other in the native siSwati tongue. “Swaziland is a bilingual country,” explains Myles. “Most people speak both siSwati and English and oddly you’ll get people who speak more English than siSwati, especially the youth.”

Both national broadcasts are 100% government controlled, and serve as its mouthpiece.

The only other radio station with special leave to operate is the Voice of the Church, which broadcasts entirely Christian content for the over 90% of Swaziland who identify as Christians.

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Other than that, news sources are limited. Both major papers are in English, so if you have low literacy skills and no money, you’re not going to read it. The only Swazi TV channel is broadcast via South African cable, but it’s low quality means hardly anyone watches it.

Everyone listens to radio because it’s affordable and batteries make it accessible even in remote regions. If you’re on radio, you have the ear of the people.

NO ROLE, TO ON A ROLL

For the first couple of months, the reality of not having a defined role set in for Myles. After contemplating leaving, things started to fall into place.

There are two categories of volunteers with the broader AVID (add ‘Development’ to the end): AYAD is for young professionals under 30, while AVI recruits experienced professionals to fill specific key roles. Myles is with AVI. It means Myles is one of the top five producers/ engineers in the country, quite possibly the most experienced at this point. But any sense of ego, dangerous colonialist ideas, or grand Nelson Mandela-scale reform are met swiftly with reality.

“It takes you about 10 minutes to have that kicked out of you,” said Myles. “Because as soon as you get here you realise that they’re intelligent AT 60

people, their culture is diverse and while there’s plenty of stuff that really shits me about this country, there’s also stuff that is fantastic and I’m going to really miss. Only then you begin to realise, ‘There is stuff I can do here.’”

ONLINE LIFELINE

Myles has just wrapped a three-month-long, weekly radio show in English called Wize Up, and has a siSwati one running until November. Both are youth-targeted talkshows about sexual issues. And later in the year Myles will help create 32 x 15-minute episodes of a radio drama targeted at adults. He’s also been recording local artists for the Lubombo community radio initiative to not only spread the message, but give local bands exposure and hopefully raise some funds.

“Lubombo has all these local musicians in bands and no way to record them,” said Myles. “Or if there is a way to record them, it’s really expensive. So I went out there for a weekend and recorded nine of their local bands, doing two tracks each. It was a blast. It was something they could never afford and the likelihood of them having someone come out and do that is really low.”

The recordings will be made available on Bandcamp, to hopefully generate a bit of income for the musicians. Myles: “They earn very little, and don’t get paid anything for playing music. They have to rent their instruments to play them. It’s crazy!

“If we sell the albums online for $10 and 50 people buy them in Australia, that’s 5000 of the local currency — a month’s salary for a good job over here… huge for them! They’d be able to buy some of the instruments rather than borrow them all the time.”

And it’s not as though they’re renting a Stradivarius either. Myles: “Those instruments were so bad — every cymbal was cracked, nobody had a drum key, and the drums were recorded in a circular hut with the weirdest resonances.”

The limitations didn’t hamper his enjoyment though. “If anything,” said Myles, “it benefits our current musical practices. Go out there and see how a guy plays the cheapest bass with the shittiest strings and makes that thing absolutely rock. I would never see that kind of playing in Melbourne.

“Nothing is going to hone your skills like doing completely live recordings in that environment and still make them sound listenable… all without any editing. The only things that are overdubbed are vocals and some electric guitar.”

“

They don’t earn anything and they don’t get paid for playing music. They have to rent their instruments to play them. It’s crazy!

”

Myles found he also needed a completely different microphone technique when recording siSwati because the language uses consonants foreign to English. Myles: “‘C’ is a ‘tik’ sound, ‘Q’ is like a click sound, and there are some shockers —‘Mgc’ makes a consonant that is like a lip smacking sound. There’s this big dynamic range because the pops really stand out. A lot of it I have to correct in post because trying to discuss microphone technique through a technical language barrier is kind of difficult. One of the things I do is put the microphone at a 45 degree angle, facing up at the person, and they sing over the top of it. That seems to work okay.”

SWAZI STUDIO

Also on his list of to-dos has been to build a studio. The Australian High Commission’s direct action program sent over about $13,000 to build what will be the nicest studio in Swaziland, bar the national radio station’s — which has a ’70s Studer 900 series in a cupboard and a single AKG C12 reissue, neither of which anyone can access.

Myles: “The musicians walk in and they’re stunned. They haven’t seen anything like it in Swaziland. I’m training a bunch of people, so when I go they’re going to be making music for Swaziland, by Swazis. At the moment, if you want a good album, you have to go somewhere else.

“I think the nicest microphones I’ve seen are Samson C01 condensers or Behringer B2s. I brought two Rode NT5s with me, two SE 4400A large diaphragms, and my UAD Apollo. And when I got here and saw how poor the equipment was, Cris Stevens from Federal Audio graciously sent out a Miktek C7 large diaphragm condenser and two of the handheld PM9 dynamic microphones, which were a massive boost to the studio.”

GONE RURAL

Another of Myles’ projects, his first, was to record a CD for Gone Rural — an organisation working with women who weave baskets that are sold internationally. It’s a for-profit organisation with an NGO arm helping those same women with health, income generation and management, and a variety of other research projects.

According to Myles, everyone sings in Swaziland. “I’ll be sitting at my desk in the office and somebody will swing into song for five minutes. It’s beautiful. I went out there and recorded these groups of women with just a portable recorder and my little Rode NT5 stereo recording setup, which my AT 61

father-in-law helped me build. I did all the recording sessions for free. Now they have an asset they can keep selling.”

OFF THE CHARTS

One of the artists Myles works with is Bholoja.

Bholoja is one of the most famous musicians in Swaziland, a local hero, the Swazi John Farnham.

People constantly stop him on the street to thank him for his music. But can you imagine John Farnham not being able to afford some of life’s necessities, let alone studio time? “Poverty is something everybody experiences,” said Myles.

“But there aren’t any real strategies for dealing with it.”

organisation he’s been working for, Lusweti. The album will lyrically address the issues surrounding the HIV epidemic; including the intergenerational gap. Previously, older generations used to counsel the younger about sexual issues, and Lusweti wants to see that happen again. “It will be local artists addressing these issues, so it’s not so preachy. Swazi’s love music, so music is a great medium for getting out our message.

“A couple of the artists are already creating material around these messages. What I’ve been doing is discussing the issues with them and allowing them to ferment their own ideas around it. Specifically sharing some of Lusweti’s research so they can actually see the realities of the situation rather than just making stuff on their own projection of what society is like.

“It’s one thing to say HIV is a bad thing in this country, but it’s another thing to say, ‘What are the numbers? How badly does it actually affect people long term?’”

Hole in Her Heart

by Qibho and Sandsizo Beautiful woman and a mother of two

In 2007, Alliance Française paid for Bholoja to record a seven-track album of his signature Swazi Soul in Paris. It’s a beautiful recording downloadable from his website (www.bholoja. com), but it hasn’t provided him with any real income. Myles: “Sadly, we have no copyright control in Swaziland. So Bholoja gets played on air craploads, but makes no money from it.”

Finds no life or love, finds pleasure in a bottle of beer Who takes care of her children coz she’s gone everynight?

Trades her body to every rich man that she finds at the bar

Bholoja’s predicament became even clearer for Myles when they were building the studio. One of Bholoja’s tunes came on the radio while Myles was talking to one of the builders about how Bholoja would be recording there. Myles: “He said, ‘Oh great, I really love his music.’ But when I asked him if he owned Bholoja’s album, he said, ‘Oh no, I can’t afford it.’ It’s 10 dollars, and he can’t afford the music he loves…”

While the financial reward is low, chart success is there for the taking. Myles has got a track charting at number seven with a local hip-hop group called The Prodigal Sons. “That’s my first actual Top 20 success,” said Myles. “On radio stations I’ve had Album of the Week, Showcase Album of the Week, E.P. of the Week, Track of the Week, you name it. But I’ve never had anything in the Top 20. Not only did I have to come to Swaziland to get a 9 to 5, I had to come to Swaziland to get a Top 20 hit!”

LYRICAL LICENSE

One of the last things Myles plans to finish before he heads home is another album for the AT 62

She’s got a hole in her heart She’s got a hole in her heart She’s got a hole in her heart (and let the people say) God save her please Yesterday I caught a glimpse of her Said a prayer as she passed, “let her peace occur.”

Coz what I glanced at was a piece of her Shattered, ashamed and the pain can’t release your curse.

She’s been everywhere trying to find the missing pieces of her heart She’s travelled everywhere trying to find more love more love more love PRESSURE CHANGE

“Someone hilariously said once that I change the pressure in the air,” said Myles. “That’s what I do for a living.” It’s true, that’s what he does. That’s all any of us musicians, engineers, producers, really do. Push air around. But when you think about it, that’s what Swaziland needs right now, people to put the pressure on.

And Swazi art, music, lyrics… they can all help pressure Swazi culture to change.

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AT 63

REGULARS

PC AUDIO Why not fill your audio toolbox with a set of free utilities?

We root out some of the most useful for the PC engineer.

Column: Martin Walker

Over the years I’ve collected quite a few PC audio tools and utilities that have been sporadically useful, at other times, proved invaluable, and occasionally become firm friends that I end up relying on every day. Some are now many years old, yet carry on proving their worth, but many are free or donation-ware. Here’s a short list of some that I’ve found particularly useful.

MixMeister’s BPM Analyzer (www.mixmeister. com/download-bpmanalyzer.php) is a utility that displays the tempo of any audio track you drag and drop onto its interface, it can even list the tempos of an entire folder of audio files. I can’t understand why every audio editor doesn’t include something similar. It provides readouts to two decimal places, can export its results to other applications, and has never let me down.

If you want a more mathematically-based tempo utility, try Thomas Wolf ’s DelayTimeCalculator (twodev.at), which lets you type in a tempo, frequency, or note length and see all the related data, but also has a tap tempo button so you can click along with a track.

Another incredibly handy tool from Thomas is PluGView, billed as ‘a little insight into your DAW projects’. Originally starting life as a basic utility that displayed what VST plug-ins and how many instances of each you’d used in any Steinberg Cubase/Nuendo project (including any that were now missing from your computer), it’s since added compatibility with projects created with Ableton Live and Cockos Reaper. You don’t need the original DAW to be installed (just explore the project file you’re interested in with PluGView), so it’s also a great way to find out what plug-ins you used on an ancient project when you no longer have that DAW installed on your latest computer. It even runs off a USB stick, making an ideal companion when you’re visiting other studios!

While on the subject of VST plug-ins, developers do get occasional complaints from users if they don’t provide a standalone version of their software instruments as well as the plug-in

AT 64

version, but there’s really no need for them to take the time, trouble and expense of creating their own standalone application when there are simple host utilities already available that let you run any VST instrument in standalone mode.

My favourite is Herman Seib’s Savihost (www. hermannseib.com/english/savihost.htm), which is probably the simplest to use of all, and created for the sole purpose of automatically loading exactly one VSTi. It’s extremely quick to load and light on system resources, is available in both 32bit and 64-bit versions to suit whichever format of softsynth you’re using, and also supports ASIO drivers for low latency during performance.

You just unzip the Savihost file into the same folder as the DLL file for your VST Instrument (for example Omnisphere.dll), then rename the file Savihost.exe to the name of your instrument (so for this particular example it would become Omnisphere.exe). Finally, double-click on this renamed file and your instrument will appear in all its glory. Just use Savihost’s Devices menu to choose your MIDI input device and audio output device and you can start playing, but even if you don’t have a keyboard controller on hand you can download a different version of Savihost that includes its own software keyboard that you can play with your mouse. I’ve used Savihost on quite a few occasions over the years, and not only for playing softsynths as standalone applications. It’s also a very useful tool if you have any problems running a particular softsynth in a DAW, since you can use it to check that the synth is installed and running correctly without all the extra paraphernalia associated with sequencers, editors, and so on. As before, Just drop the Savihost file into the same folder as the problem synth DLL, rename it and then double-click on it.

If the synth works properly in Savihost then any problem is most likely to be with your DAW. The other advantage of its renaming process is that you can have multiple instances of Savihost in one vstplugins folder, each launching a different standalone synth.

Finally, MIDI-OX (midiox.com) is a utility that I’ve used every day for many years, and one I couldn’t imagine being without. Described as ‘the world’s greatest all-purpose MIDI utility’, the latest version is 7.0.2, but its development started way back in 1991 as a much simpler program named Midimon — the name changed once none of its original code remained intact.

MIDI-OX is an essential tool if you run into any MIDI problems, since its comprehensive displays of MIDI data to and from any of your MIDI ports can reveal many otherwise inscrutable issues such as data being sent/received on the wrong MIDI channel, or the most common error — no MIDI data at all! You can also use it to filter out extraneous data from MIDI streams such as timing clock and active sensing that can otherwise clog the system. It’s a great way to load/save banks of sysex data (even on ‘tricky’ hardware synths such as Korg’s Wavestation that require large buffers to avoid data corruption).

However, for me its most important feature is as a makeshift MIDI patchbay, intercepting incoming data streams from my MIDI controller keyboards and modifying them in various ways, such as massaging velocity information so each keyboard ends up with similar ‘feel’ and velocity/aftertouch values, and merging data from one keyboard into the stream of another so I end up with one single combined MIDI stream that can be accessed from my various DAWs. The final ingredient for this MIDI smorgasbord is a virtual MIDI driver. Some have fallen by the wayside in recent times, but one that still runs beautifully under Windows 7 and 8 is LoopBe1 (www.nerds.de/en/loopbe1.html). Just install this and you’ll find an extra MIDI in and MIDI out port when you reboot, so you can route the combined output emerging from MIDI-OX to your sequencer or softsynth. Perfect!

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As for brawn, the two amplifier models come with: • 4 channels of 220 W or 125 W • Ability to bridge outputs (1–2, 3–4) • 4 ohm/8 ohm/70 V/100 V impedance/ voltage per output • 8 EQ filters, Dynamic Bass and 120 ms delay per channel All of this, and more at prices we are really having trouble describing.

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MAC NOTES Is the new Mac Pro’s reliance on Thunderbolt a shock to the system?

Column: Anthony Garvin

Causing quite a buzz amongst professional Apple users, the new Mac Pro announced at the June Worldwide Developers Conference seems to have opinions divided — not least over the svelte gloss-black, undeniably dustbinlooking enclosure.

Apple has taken quite a leap with the reincarnation of its flagship computer, requiring many users to upgrade more than just their computer if they buy in. But is Apple’s approach any surprise? Apple has a history of taking plunges like this — moving to Intel from PowerPC processors in 2005-6 and rather controversially dropping the serial and ADB buses in favour of USB in 1999. Hmm, life without USB nowadays would be unthinkable…

Here are some pros and cons of the new machine from a DAW user’s perspective: THE CONS

In dramatically reducing the size of the computer, Apple has dropped capability for any second, or third, or fourth, internal storage drives. The lack of these extra drive bays in the machine means that external storage will most likely be necessary, upsetting in particular the Mac Pro users who currently travel with an all-in-one tower setup.

For those not travelling with their computer, it is also a pain, as who wants a sexy looking computer surrounded by a plethora of external hard drives, cables and wall wart power supplies?

Further to the internal expansion capabilities — or lack of — PCIe slots have been dropped altogether. Quite painful for ProTools HDX users (and Avid) to speak of one large group.

THE PROS

On paper, the increased processing power of the new Mac Pro is a good step forward. With up to two times faster processing and similar memory bandwidth boosts, the machine should be significantly faster than current Mac Pros.

Also on the topic of performance, the internal storage in the machine has been re-engineered.

Firstly, we have SSD storage, which is already

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much faster than HDD storage (albeit more expensive per gigabyte — is that a Con?).

Secondly, this SSD storage now interfaces with the computer directly via the PCIe bus, rather than via SATA, which opens up a much, much wider pipeline for data transfer. I’m imagining that any DAW project, regardless of track count, plug-in or video use, will be able to run off this internal drive at the same time as the OS, without issue — a big no-no in the past.

Despite the lack of PCIe slots, the machine is going to be greatly expandable, due to the provisioning of four USB 3.0 and six new Thunderbolt 2 ports (allowing for six devices to be attached to each port, totalling 36 devices).

MORE ON THUNDERBOLT 2

Following on from my previous rants about Thunderbolt’s potential, I’ve been very happy to see that Apple and Intel have been developing this further. And in some ways, I’m optimistic about PCIe expansion slots being dropped in the Mac Pro, as it should force hardware developers to come on board with Thunderbolt very promptly.

The Thunderbolt 2 spec boosts the capability of the interface significantly — well, at first glance anyway. How it actually works is the total bandwidth across the interface is now one upstream and one downstream channel of 20Gbps each, whereas Thunderbolt 1 was two upstream and two downstream channels of 10Gbps each. So, there is no bandwidth gain overall, but one device can now have up to 20Gbps of bandwidth solely available to it — both to and from the computer.

Let’s put that into perspective. Early tests from Intel have shown that a drive array can transfer data via Thunderbolt 2 at 1100MB per second. That is 1100 megabytes per second! To simplify, you could push the data for about 3000 24-bit/96k audio tracks in real-time across this and not hit the maximum bandwidth (OK, I know it’s not that simple in the real world with audio interfaces and the like, but you get the

idea). Intel also claims that these are early days for the specification and it expects to push that up significantly by the time it is released.

So, coming back to my point about the expandability of the Mac Pro, with the six ports of seemingly limitless bandwidth, and a technical capability for six devices to be attached per port, that is the capability for many, many audio I/O interfaces, DSP boxes, working drives, backup drives, backup-of-backup drives, video interfaces, iPhone chargers, desk lamps, etc.

The only problem here — and perhaps this should go back to a Con, is that we are missing a few pieces of Thunderbolt kit at this point: • ProTools HDX ‘Thunderbolt’ (Avid has only released a HD Native Thunderbolt option to date).

• RME HDSP ‘Thunderbolt’ (for everyone needing large numbers of I/O but not using ’Tools).

• A variety of reasonably-priced Thunderbolt hard drives (like the current variety of Firewire options available).

So, having said all this… I think the success of the new Mac Pro, from the public’s point of view, comes down to the price Apple will sell it for. To this point, it has been tight lipped — hopefully because it is still too early to finalise — but my prediction (and hope) is it will match the price of the current Mac Pro, starting at $3000 for the base model.

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FEATURE

A little Mathew Watson’s classic EMS Synthi AKS synthesiser unearths a whole generation of Dalek nightmares and Other Places.

Story & Photos: Jason Allen

If you’ve heard Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, you’ve heard an EMS Synthi AKS. It was used by David Gilmour and producer Alan Parsons to create the classic synth track On The Run. And if you’ve had nightmares about Doctor Who’s Daleks, they’ve probably been soundtracked by an EMS synth.

The London company’s synths powered the BBC Radiophonic Workshop into the ’70s; Brian Eno, Yes and David Bowie were all EMS fans; and the company led the world in the production of affordable synthesisers for gigging musicians.

EMS was the UK’s answer to Moog.

Following on from the successes of EMS’s original design — the affordable VCS3 synth — and the portable Synthi A version, EMS released the Synthi AKS. Positioned as an expanded version of the Synthi A, the AKS included a membrane keyboard and sequencer mounted in the lid of its Spartanite case, hence the ‘KS’.

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In 1972, at a time when a modular synth could be the size and price of a small house, the Synthi AKS sold for around £450 — the equivalent of around £5000 today.

Compared to the processing power available now, the AKS was a relatively simple beast — three oscillators, noise generator, ring modulator, lowpass filter and a spring reverb. It has two control voltage sources, including an envelope generator, accessed through a joystick and a trigger button respectively. Two mic inputs and two line inputs allowed you to use the Synthi as a powerful sound processor, and, due to the difficulty musicians not versed in synthesis had using EMS products as melodic sources, a lot of units ended up not doing much more than that.

THE AKS PALETTE

One of these legendary synths has found its way to Melbourne’s Mathew Watson, who is about to release his second AKS-based album as Other Places. Mathew’s Synthi AKS has an impressive

“

If you’ve had nightmares about Doctor Who’s Daleks, they’ve probably been soundtracked by an EMS synth

”

lineage — it has passed through the hands of famous TB-303 circuit bender Robin Whittle to Mathew’s mentor, electronic music pioneer Ollie Olsen. Mathew was first captivated by the possibilities of the AKS when Ollie temporarily expanded his duo Fading Fires. For a time, the live ensemble became a trio with Ollie building rich soundscapes via his AKS and a loop pedal around Chris Rainier’s treated lap steel, and Mathew on drums and Roland SH-09.

with it look at the AKS, they think it looks like a game of Battleship. It may look complex, but it’s actually quite simple when broken down.

Creating sounds with the AKS is similar to mixing paint on an artist’s palette — from the selection of six or so carefully chosen paints the artist knows they can make thousands of colours.

The AKS is so raw and brutal. It’s stepping back in time to before electronics were refined. The sounds it makes are just so exciting.”

That AKS now has pride of place at Mathew’s studio. “I never asked to buy it, not once. I always saw it as a part of Ollie,” explained Mathew. “A mutual friend mentioned to Ollie that I was really inspired by and in awe of it. Ollie then offered it to me (for a price!) with the instruction that I should never sell it. I feel the synth will always truly belong to Ollie but I am the caretaker.” Its abstract, physical nature took Mathew a lot of experimentation to come to terms with, but this has led to an almost poetic understanding of its character. “When people who aren’t familiar

MELODY MODULE

The history of EMS synths shows a general skewing towards out-there cosmic soundscapes.

Probably because of the brand’s close ties to The BBC Radiophonic Workshop (EMS co-founder Peter Zinovieff played in Unit Delta Plus with Workshop alumni Brian Hodgson and Delia Darbyshire), which used re-rigged test oscillators and the Wobbulator for sound generation before EMS came along. And many of the German Kosmische and Krautrock artists of the ’70s — including Faust and Klaus Schulze — embraced

the chaos of the VCS3, Synthi A and Synthi AKS to execute their psychedelic visions. Composer Tristram Cary’s (also an EMS co-founder) sci-fi soundtracks like Hammer’s 1967 Quatermass and The Pit featured EMS synths, as well as a long run of Doctor Who credits — including those devilish Daleks.

Mathew was smitten by “the mystical, otherworldy nature of what their music was about and in turn, the instruments they made that music on”. But when he added an EMS DK-1 monophonic keyboard controller, the EMS world of sound opened up far beyond those cosmic expositions… into melody. The DK-1 was originally released in 1969 as an interface for the VCS3, and gives the player 37 keys, an extra oscillator and two control voltage outputs.

“Other Places started the moment I got the DK-1,” said Mathew. “The AKS is not generally used as a monosynth. The more I was told it was purely for sound effects and processing, the more determined I became to extract melodic AT 69

ENTER THE MATRIX The true power and flexibility of the Synthi, along with its perceived complexity, come from EMS’s revolutionary 16x16 patch matrix. It effectively condenses the wall-sized patch bays of full-sized modular synths into just a few square centimetres. Connections are made with tiny colour-coded pins, which are actually resistors — white for 2.7kΩ with 5% tolerance, red for 2.7kΩ with 1-2% tolerance and green for attenuation with 68kΩ of resistance. This means you can patch anything to anything else; control a filter with an oscillator, an oscillator with the envelope generator, feed the result into the reverb and feed the reverb back into itself. The results are raw, rich and complex, and, due to the variability in the resistance between patch pins, the temperature of the unit and the crosstalk between circuits, sometimes unreproducible. Over the years, this unpredictability has fuelled the mystique surrounding EMS products, making them one of the most sought-after brands in the retro and vintage market.

behaviour from it.” Mathew doggedly pursued his contrarian line, learning to make the AKS produce soaring leads and dirty bass sounds.

“The quality of its sound is so unique, but as soon as I had a means of playing melodic music, it opened everything right up.”

COSMIC CUT ’N’ PASTE

Inspired by, but not limited to the technology of the ’70s, Mathew procured a laptop and a copy of Ableton Live and got to work. “The first album eventuated out of six months of trial and error.

I’d play a line in from the AKS, which would then inspire a drum pattern or rhythm. Sometimes I’d start by setting up something simple in Ableton using a Drum Rack with a Roland TR-808 or 606 emulation and then come up with a textural or melodic idea.” Mathew laid down idea after idea, filling his hard drive with drones, leads, basses and grooves. The narrative of the album began to take shape. “I liked the idea of something futuristic and cosmic. I wanted it to sound like the BBC Radiophonic Workshop with Keith Moon playing drums,” Mathew explained. Luckily for his inner-city Melbourne neighbours, Mathew retired to his hometown of Stawell in western Victoria to work on his drum parts: “My uncle offered me his garage. I’d take all my drums and mics and my laptop and just experiment with different drum ideas.” The drums for the album were then tracked with engineer Nick Treweek (Augie March, Glen Richards) at his Fairfield studio.

Mastered by Byron Scullin at Deluxe Mastering, the self-titled Other Places dropped in November 2011. It garnered strong support from Australian independent radio, a feature interview on Germany’s national broadcaster Deutsch Welle and landed Mathew a support slot for New York math-rockers Battles. The critical acclaim didn’t hurt Mathew’s career as a drummer, either. As the album hit the airwaves, Mathew was helping lead 110 other drummers in the 111BoaDrum AT 70

astronomical happening conducted by Japanese experimental legends Boredoms in Byron Bay. In 2012, Mathew performed as part of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s guitarist Nick Zinner’s 41 Strings/IIII project at Sydney Opera House for the Sydney Festival, a piece inspired by Earth Day and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

TAKE TWO

Mathew has now gone back into the studio and is completing his second Other Places album. From the album’s inception, Mathew has thoughtfully tackled one of the central questions facing all musicians now working with synthesisers and computers — what is the best and most productive way to create music when you are faced with infinite possibilities? And Mathew is conscientiously applying the lessons learnt from album one.

“The thing I took away from the first album was that I wanted to develop my process,” continues Mathew. “How do I set up my studio so I can sit down, turn everything on and make music?”

A time-honoured strategy composers have found for the problem of too much freedom is to selfimpose limitations. Stravinsky summed up the problem nicely in Poetics of Music: “I experience a sort of terror when, at the moment of setting to work and finding myself before the infinitude of possibilities that present themselves, I have the feeling that everything is permissible to me… My freedom thus consists in my moving about within the narrow frame that I have assigned myself for each one of my undertakings.”

Mathew’s ‘narrow frame’ is a setup with the AKS at the core, Ableton as drum synth and recording medium, a Line 6 loop pedal to facilitate a live performance-based workflow and a Dave Smith Instruments Poly Evolver synth for extra processing and textures. The key is having everything patched to everything else — modular, flexible and ready to perform at a moment’s notice. “I now have a constant setup,” said Mathew. “I always have everything connected. If I’m getting stuck creatively I can just feed a signal into the looper, or send a line out of Ableton into the AKS. If I feed a drum machine from Ableton into the AKS and patch it though a filter while I’m also playing a melodic line, it just explodes. I wanted to get more into an organic way of creating electronic music. I’m responding to what I’m hearing, not a static mix.”

By holding himself to this discipline, the act of writing becomes easier, but most importantly each session nets useful music. “You can noodle for years on end, have a hard drive filled with sounds, and build music by layering those sounds, but the music you make like that sounds a certain way — it’s cut and paste,” said Mathew. “I’ve found that the best creative moments are born out of mistakes and fleeting moments of weirdness.” www.otherplaces.co www.soundcloud.com/other-places www.otherplaces.bandcamp.com

Mathew Watson runs AudioTechnology through the EMS Synthi AKS and what it can do. youtu.be/wc8r_3OC1qk

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FEATURE

HEARING DOUBL E When Matthew Gray is mastering in his new studio, he’ll hear a different room to what his speakers do. It’s all from the mind of next-gen acoustician/studio designer Thomas Jouanjean.

Story: Mark Davie

Thomas Jouanjaen’s studio design philosophy is relatively simple: Make two rooms in one. Okay, it sounds simple.

He separates the ‘church’ and ‘state’ of engineer and loudspeaker, and never the twain shall meet.

Mull on this: If you could design a space where you were absolutely sure every sound emanating from your speakers was exactly as their designer intended, what would that room look like? There would be no outside noises to contend with for one, and no surfaces to reflect the initial sound back into that room. It would look like boundary-less space, without the vacuum. Dead as a doornail.

But plop your ears in the same situation, and you’ll go batty in minutes. Walk down the corridors of a concert hall, or strap two pieces of foam an inch from your ears if you’re having trouble conjuring up the image. It’s disorienting to be in an environment that dead. Your brain feels uneasy when it’s not receiving feedback your body is actually in the room, like a horseman with his head cut off.

We feel most comfortable in environments somewhere between acoustically dead and riotously loud. For instance, a loungeroom has a combination of hard surfaces, bookshelves lined with gloriously diffusing literature, and sound absorbing sofas covered in throw pillows. You can easily hold a conversation without feeling like AT 72

you’re in a padded cell, you might even have a nice B&O stereo… but it’s useless for critical listening.

Thomas’ contention is, to get the best performance out of the speakers and the engineer, they each need to effectively ‘see’, or hear, different rooms. His Front To Back (FTB) mastering suites and control rooms are the outworking of this philosophy.

HEADING NORTHWA RD

Thomas’ practice, Northward Acoustics, has grown busier as audio professionals have cottoned on to his way of thinking. Like most inventors/ designers he started out as a frustrated musician and sound engineer, who always had an interest in acoustics.

He eventually studied business at university, but the bug bit him again and he dropped his MBA for a degree in acoustics and vibration engineering, immersing himself in the science of psychoacoustics and Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTF), and starting his own company in Brussels, Belgium.

At first, he was designing rooms by the book, swallowing the paradigm of reflection-free zones hook, line and sinker. But the more he thought about it and ran into problems he couldn’t overcome, he began to realise studio designs that didn’t treat the source and the listener differently were fundamentally flawed. Hence, the development of the FTB protocol.

Since 2001, Thomas has managed over 100 projects around the world, some of his latest jobs include mastering suites for Dave Collins in Los Angeles, and coincidentally, Manley Labs’ listening room in the same facility, Red Bull Studios in Paris, and the Noisia Studios in The Netherlands. Probably his biggest breakthrough moment was the Amsterdam Mastering room in 2009, which was his first official, fully-certified FTB, ground-up studio design.

The FTB certification is a set of rules Northward created that each of its designs has to meet.

Thomas: “We have a minimal frequency response standard. We have to be within certain boundaries, especially in the low frequencies. We must have an Energy Time Curve that shows a certain slope and a certain decay of the energy in time. It needs to show that both the speaker to room response, and engineer to room response are what they’re supposed to be. And we give a guarantee on that.”

THE FRONT TO BACK PROPOSIT ION

More importantly, though, is the result of these calculations, and their affect on the mix. Thomas: “To prevent any colouration occurring in the speaker-to-engineer relationship, we work with the equivalent of a non-environment — the speakers don’t see a room. It’s a very dead room in that sense. But you don’t want that for the engineer because it’s uncomfortable. You need to

a bed of care fully io bun ker was cast on are the old fitout, the stud Obeche wood diff usors (lef t) After ripping out the e tim the By ve) am. (abo tment in here. calculated BSW Reg ufo out . There’s a lot of trea king stic ely bar y’re the ts, hanging off these pos

put the brain of an engineer at rest, not in ‘stress mode’. When you go into auditory ‘stress mode’, which is an unconscious and automated process, your brain will substantially influence the way you hear — you will emphasise environmental cues, perception of high frequencies, low frequencies, delay and reverb. Hence, you need to feed the brain the right amount of information about the environment, so we can put our hearing system in its ‘neutral mode’ — a bit like selecting our flattest ‘internal EQ’ setting.

“To do that, we use self-noises — the noises that you make while working or talking in the room.

We basically use surfaces that are not seen by the speaker to feed back interaction and artificial cues, triggered by these ‘self-noises’. That’s why the front wall is always reflective in our design so your brain gets some environmental data out of your interaction with it.

“The diffusers in the ceiling and at the rear do the exact same thing. They are meant to interact with you and not the speakers. Everything is built around the fact that, for the speakers, there’s one room, and for the engineers there’s another.

GRAND DESIGN

Matthew Gray Mastering commissioned Thomas to bring his brand of studio design to Australia for a completely new mastering suite in Brisbane.

“His whole design principle attracted me because the room I’m in at the moment is a little bit on the dead side,” said Matt. “And if you’re not careful, you can overcompensate by adding more liveliness in the high frequencies of the mix.

Thomas’ designs have ambience that sounds natural, but also very well controlled.”

Francis Manzella, who designed the extremely well-respected Sterling Sound Studios, was also on Matt’s radar. But Thomas’ enthusiasm for pushing boundaries fit well with Matt, not to mention Thomas worked to fit within the budget. Though as anyone that’s watched Grand Designs will know, having a locked-in budget or time frame is only setting yourself up for disappointment — especially when the designer has to translate his ideas into prices, materials, and labour he’s never worked with before.

“We did some numbers and had an idea of roughly how much it would cost, but in

Diffusion Reduces Confusion

them almost invisible to the speaker — Thomas: “The way the diffusers are placed and designed makes just enough to the engineer when he k feedbac we can barely see them in the Energy Time Curve. They brain just enough information that he primal the feeding You’re . process ious unconsc very a it’s but talks, d and is at rest.” absorbe ely complet not it’s that feeling, the of e acknowledges the presenc

reality it has cost a lot more!” said Matt. Basic construction timber was in odd sizes for Thomas but workable, and Rockwool was in ready supply.

However, there were other materials completely unavailable in Australia. “The main insulation that Thomas likes to use is called Homatherm,” said Matt. “We had to get nine pallets of that sent over from Europe in a container because there wasn’t a product sold in Australia that came close. I’m glad we did, because once the walls were lined with it I could straight away hear the difference between listening to the previous Rockwool layer, and the final Homatherm layer.

It doesn’t sound as dead as Rockwool.”

Another hard to source material was the diffusor wood. Thomas likes to use Ayous wood, known as Obeche in Australia, because it is lightweight and stable. It’s pretty scarce, and an alternative could have been Jelutong, but Matt managed to track down some Obeche in Melbourne — enough to laser cut 874 blocks’ worth. Also, the studio bunker was decoupled using another European product called BSW Regufoam, which Thomas used because he’s more acquainted with its performance and confident of the final results.

One of the biggest hurdles was the labour. Matt found himself the right builder for the job, but problems occurred when Matt brought anyone else in to lighten the load: The standards invariably dropped, and the builder had to go AT 73

(above) Stu dio de sig ner Th omas Jou anjean is pre tty hap py abo ut the result s, bu t noone is hap pier tha n Ma tt Gray about his new dig s, even without the im pe nding fab ric coveri ng (le ft).

back and fix issues, which inevitably cost more.

Matt eventually just stuck with the original builder, and the whole project has simply taken longer (the builder equated it to one man building a six-bedroom house with a couple of labourers).

In the end, Matt said, “I just wanted it to be right, to be built as best as possible and we certainly got the right builder for that. He’s done an amazing job. The building’s within ±4mm of square, and that’s at eight metres diagonally across. It’s a very accurate build.”

REAL-W ORLD RATIOS

Thomas doesn’t have any strict ratios he works within, his designs are never copy/paste. He would rather get the most out of a building’s floor plan, and finds golden ratios tend to be of limited use in the real world. Thomas: “In theory you want the room to have a certain ratio but once you start to put treatment in it and work on the inner shell geometry, those ratios go out the window.” He does however have a few considerations for studio owners to consider, and helped Matt find the right building.

Matt: “Different properties would come up and I’d send the details to Thomas — dimensions of the space, what it’s made out of — and he’d give me feedback. We kept doing that until we found the right property and he could say, ‘This is perfect. It AT 74

calculates very well. There are no compromises in the design I can do for you in this space.’”

Thomas: “There are minimal dimensions required for us to fit a room in, because of the amount of treatment that comes in and the geometry we need to fit. Another factor was the loadbearing capacity of the building. These rooms are extremely heavy — a floating control room is anywhere between 60 and 70 tonnes!”

The final choice was an industrial unit with 6.5m ceilings, dual slab, reinforced concrete walls, and dimensions that would happily contain what Thomas classifies a medium-sized room.

FALLING INTO A BIG TRAP

The first step to achieving a room that measures flat is to eliminate modal response — in the case of studios, the modal response is the way the dimensions of the room willl influence its frequency response due to interaction of sound with the room’s boundaries — in a way, its dynamic properties. A floating studio bunker is a must. Thomas always uses a floating concrete slab that also supports the rest of the structure.

If the budget can stretch to it, he’ll use a custom spring setup, but in the case of Matt’s studio it was a calculated amount of BSW Regufoam that under load would give the floor a natural resonant frequency under 10Hz (he estimates 7Hz). The

reason for that very low natural frequency is, you don’t want the floor to resonate at any frequency played back by the speakers.

Once the outer and inner shells are built, you need to manage the low frequencies in the room. In the case of Matt’s studio, there’s a total of eight layers of different absorbing materials and membranes that make up the rear wall, forming a massive bass trap, with nothing coming back at the speakers.

Thomas: “It’s not only the back wall. It’s the side walls, the ceiling — everything is a massive bass trap. We use geometry to redirect the energy a certain way so we don’t have to use side walls that are a metre thick as well; they can be reduced to about half a metre. We tend to force the energy towards the back wall and absorb the bulk of it there. The side wall absorption will cut off at about 50–60Hz, then the back wall is the one that will go all the way to around 20Hz. “The order of treatment differs with every project.

It’ll depend on where the pressure zones are, and what kind of frequency we need to treat — some will have the Rockwool visible first, others Homatherm. Homatherm is interesting because it bridges the gap between the efficiency of Rockwool and the efficiency of membranes, which are very low frequency systems. Even thought it has a rather high resistance to flow, it’ll still absorb

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“We get all the data we can from the manufacturer,” said Thomas. “In the case of Duntech, it was difficult. But I spoke to other engineers who had used them and could help me understand how they function — for example, they have specific dispersion characteristics. Then we estimate how the speaker is going to behave, though we can’t foresee freak behaviours. We’re pretty open to every brand, and we’ve worked with just about everything, but we also have a black list of those that do exhibit freak behaviours.

down to about 100Hz without any problems, but will have a hole at one point where Rockwool will keep absorbing. It will pick up again where the Rockwool stops being efficient enough, but it is its mechanical behaviour that picks up, not the resistance to flow anymore. It starts to behanve like a membrane.”

SPEA K UP ON CHOIC E

Speaker choice is a big deal for a mastering studio and because they are the belle of the ball Thomas must get intimately acquainted with each set.

Thomas has a longstanding relationship with ATC speakers, he has them in his own studio and designs with them when he can. But he knows that the engineer’s frame of reference is the most important consideration. So he’s happy to work with most high-end speaker manufacturers, including the Australian-made Duntechs that six part of10:46 working on for the EMA_AT94_HR.pdf 1 better 10/04/13 Matt’s been iour. behav their l mode to has he first, years. But

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“When flush-mounting speakers, we have spring the in them g holdin decoupled nacelles systems front wall, which effectively stops any mechanical transmission from the speakers to the walls and structure around. It cleans up the bass response in no subtle manner. In this configuration, dispersion is also optimised. Flush-mounting is the best you can get.

“In Matthew’s room we used what we call ‘quasiflush-mounting’, with the free-standing speakers sitting right up against the wall on decoupled platforms. We need to keep the environmental cue of the front wall intact, so we must keep it reflective. But we don’t want the bass build-up and we don’t want the energy right at the back of the speaker to interact with the wall and bounce back into the room. So the wall has a density that varies, and the area right behind the speaker is a complex membrane. It will absorb the energy right at the back of the speaker and let the rest of the lower frequencies go through to the big bass trap behind.

“Whatever residual low frequency interaction or build up you have with the front wall will be quasi-minimum phase. The variation is so small, you can barely measure it. All in all, you have a behaviour that is quite close to in-wall mounting with only a few variations in it, keeping the front

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The view of the fro

nt wall

aining the necessary wall effectively invisible to the speakers, while maint environmental cues. away from the front wall “Though if I were to pull the speaker two metres wall’s membrane and bass front then I’d have a serious problem, because the the waves would bounce and re, anymo ed trap would not function as plann metres. There would be four that’s back, and wall, a couple of metres to the heavy cancellation.”

AHEA D OF THE CURV E

success is the Energy One of the main measuring sticks of a Front To Back n and from where the positio er speak Time Curve (ETC) response from the engineer sits. you how energy behaves Thomas: “Energy Time Curve is a graph that shows will see the original burst of in in the room — in amplitude against time. You out reflections that were not point energy and how it decays, which helps you or wall, we can see it in ceiling a from ion planned. If there is a freak reflect be in. might ion reflect the range ncy freque time and see what n, the time it takes for the “If I shoot the room from the main speaker positio size — it’s very short. And that sound to decay 60dB is about 120ms in a room they’re all under -30dB. y usuall — the first reflection will be, at worst, -25dB placed at a sweet spot “If I instead use a Dodecahedron omni speaker letely different. There comp look will ETC the again, and shoot the room : The dodecahedron one will be absolutely no similarities with the ETCs g diffusors, front wall — ceilin will show me environmental cues from the ers — which will still diffus wall back the which will be pretty sharp, and triggered by our cues tal nmen enviro the all lly be quite discrete. Basica the speaker to in self-noises in the room — none of these being visible room ETC measurement” is the first certified FTB Matt’s room passed the tests with flying colours, and he’s just got to finish d, chuffe pretty is Matt ally, room in the country. Natur stress. no ring… maste start and in gear his load dressing it up,

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REVIEW

PROTOOLS 11

Avid has made its final migration to 64-bit, with faster everything, including faster-than-real-time bounce. And while there are huge upsides to upgrading, there are some tradeoffs to trading up.

NEED TO KNOW

Review: Brent Heber

PRICE ProTools 11 software (full version): $769 ProTools 10 to 11 upgrade: $329 ProTools 9 to 11 upgrade : $439 ProTools Express to Pro Tools 11 cross grade: $549 ProTools HD 10 to 11 upgrade: $659 ProTools HD 9 to 11 upgrade: $1099

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CONTACT Avid: 1300 734 454 or www.avid.com

PROS Faster-than-real-time Offline Bounce Improved visual feedback in Mix window More powerful and efficient Native engine Headroom inside plug-in processing Avid MXF video can be played back without video hardware

CONS No longer supports HD TDM, Control 24, Pro Control, blue interfaces Dropping Complete Production Toolkit Some plug-ins won’t be available immediately, if ever No loudness or True Peak metering built in (yet?)

SUMMARY There are genuine advances across the board in ProTools version 11 as Avid completes its move to 64-bit. Faster-thanreal-time offline bounce, internal plug-in headroom, and a new engine that has ’Tools motoring faster than ever. ProTools 11 is an easy decision for adopters of the new Avid hardware — but owners of older Digidesign gear have a harder decision to make.

Late 2011, Avid released ProTools version 10 and with it a statement that it would be the last version to support the ageing TDM architecture, some control surfaces and older ‘blue’ generation interfaces. Many studios around the world have quite a bit of that gear and raised their fists in ire at the pro audio giant for ‘rendering their hardware obsolete overnight’. But more reasonable folk could see the writing had been on the wall for some time. Operating systems were moving to 64-bit, and host-based audio systems and plug-ins were transitioning to 64-bit float audio paths, neither of which would co-habit easily with the older DSP used on TDM rigs. Still, the overriding sentiment from ’Tools incumbents losing an old system was that the new one better be worth it.

So, why is 64-bit a big deal? 64-bit can refer to two different things — the operating system and the applications it hosts, and/or an audio path’s summing mechanism. ProTools has had a 64-bit floating point audio mixer since version 9, but TDM rigs couldn’t take advantage of it, only hostbased systems. The 64-bit headline for ProTools 11 is the migration to a 64-bit application, and with that transition we should expect large gains in processing speed and power.

In order to take advantage of this new architecture, lots of other preliminary work had to be done. New DSP cards needed to be developed that were 64-bit audio and processing compliant (the new HDX cards) and plug-ins ported from existing 24-bit versions to 32-bit float for ease of processing (the new AAX native and DSP plug-ins).

Consequently, version 10 was a transition period.

It gave developers a chance to program for AAX before D-day, and allowed studios to stage their upgrades if they felt the need. All this was setting the stage for ProTools 11 and its new Avid Audio Engine — AAE, as opposed to the now legacy ‘Digidesign’ DAE. STEAMING ON

The rub? The new Avid Audio Engine brings with it some major advances over TDM. For one, plug-ins have headroom, as they are now 32-bit float. Say you wanted to push TDM faders up a skerrick and then pull the signal back into line at your sub master. But just as you achieved the balance you’re after, your EQ plug-in clips.

You may have had 12dB of headroom over 0 on those faders, but the problem is, you can’t push over 0 inside 24-bit plug-ins. With the increased headroom of floating point, this ceiling goes away and with it a new way of reading clipping inside plug-ins — they now show orange, not red, which is reserved for real clipping.

AAE also brings all your RAM into the mix.

Version 10 introduced a new RAM cache — a 64-bit chunk of hidden code running alongside ProTools — to house audio for playback.

It dramatically decreased seek time while increasing system responsiveness — similar to playing data off an SSD. Under the new AAE regime, those internal limitations have been completely removed, giving plug-ins access to

plenty more RAM than the 4GB limit of 32-bit applications. This means virtual instruments hosted inside ProTools can access a much larger chunk of memory for sample storage and/or calculations, which no doubt makes composers much happier. ProTools 11 also increased the number of instrument tracks available to composers from 64 to 128 on the non-HD version, and 256 on HD. AAE introduces one other very smart piece of system design: If there’s no audio on the timeline feeding a native plug-in, then that plug-in is deemed inactive and removed from the hostbased processing pool. Often on a large mix, you have chunks of major activity interspersed with less busy sections. In earlier versions you would have to lock in processing power for the busiest times throughout your mix, as the inactive state of a plug-in couldn’t be automated. Watching the system usage window in version 11, you can clearly see the flux as tracks come online for processing and then drop away again as they fall silent, leaving you with extra processing headroom across the board. System usage also now shows all the host-based processors (real and virtual/hyper-threaded) on your machine for improved monitoring of the system’s available native power.

Another change is the automatic delay compensation (ADC) engine in AAE is fixed at the 16,000 sample setting, the ‘Maximum’ on previous versions — there isn’t a short or long choice in your playback engine panel anymore.

There is a new option for ADC on side chains as well. Also, Playback Buffer settings no longer need to be juggled as often: all record armed tracks or MIDI tracks now operate permanently in the ‘ultra low latency’ domain designated, as before, by the playback buffer. The key difference here is that all other tracks will run at a 1024 sample buffer all the time, even when tracking. It will provide more grunt, with ProTools 11 doing all the CPU juggling within its ADC engine for you (this is not to be confused with the ‘Low Latency Monitoring’ mode, where plug-ins are automatically bypassed during tracking).

“

All this work; new DSP cards, new audio engine and new plug-in format, leads to one of the biggest feature requests Avid ever heard — faster-thanreal-time bounce… a reality in version 11

”

LET’S GET REAL TIME

With ProTools audio now being processed at 32- and 64-bit float, the application being 64-bit float and the OS being 64-bit as well, can you see the ducks lining up? All this work, new DSP cards, new audio engine and new plug-in format leads to one of the biggest feature requests Avid ever heard — faster than real-time bounce. A reality in version 11, you can now bounce your mixes in less time than it takes to play them out — significantly so — and more importantly they will nearly phase cancel with a real-time play out. Why nearly? Many reverbs and effects rely on a certain element of randomisation to generate their sound, so depending on processing choices, even two real-time bounces rarely cancel out completely.

In real world terms, a ProTools 11 ‘faster-thanreal-time bounce’ is identical to a legacy real-time play out, with no quality loss. Not only that,

Faster-than-real-time bounce is now a reality in ProTools 11, and you can even bounce straight from any bus.

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but the HD version will allow multiple bounces simultaneously, great for exporting stems. Both HD and non-HD versions have a new tick box in the bounce window to generate an MP3 at the same time as your mix (which is a thoughtful addition for client approvals) and the bounce menu can now be accessed by right clicking on any bus you want to bounce out. The speed of the ‘offline’ bounce is dependent on CPU speed and the amount of the session loaded into RAM also has a distinct effect. From what I’ve seen, a feature film mix and its adjoining stems took about five minutes on a Nehalem Mac Pro with plenty of RAM, as opposed to 90 minutes real-time — a massive time saver!

COMPOSED PLAYBACK

Aside from these dramatic changes in the audio engine, Avid has also integrated its Media Composer-developed video engine directly into ProTools 11. This means that in addition to opening all the Quicktime file formats you’re used to, you can open a video editor’s MXF files directly, speeding up handovers. Overall, sync with the new video engine is much tighter than previous versions that relied on Apple Quicktime for playback and MXF files look great both on the desktop and using video hardware from Avid, Black Magic Designs and the newly supported AJA. If you’re running low on host power, you can even switch your picture quality down to ‘best performance’ to get that little bit more from your system.

Avid is also doing its level best to mix-nmatch Media Composer and ProTools in other ways, with a consistency in jargon and visual appearance that renders version 11 a bit darker than previous versions. I’m not sure if I’m a fan of the new look, it could prove a bit harder on the eyes long term, but in a dark environment it may be gentler — hard to know without solid use.

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ProTools 11’s new look metering includes VU, K-system, and a variety of PPM standards, and the new gain reduction meter can show the total gain reduction of each channel.

METERS JUST SHY OF TRUE PEAK

The biggest visual differences are in the Mix window. The faders now throw 30% longer and the meters are strikingly updated with a bunch of different metering standards implemented to suit the various geographies and industries that use the DAW. PPM meters of all flavours are there and VUs of various iterations also. I quite like the feel of the Bob Katz K-Metering formats, showing both peaks and RMS values simultaneously, and comprehensive preferences allow you to customise settings like where the colour breaks reside. You can also get to your metering preferences simply by right-clicking on them in the mix window. Options noticeably absent, however, are the ‘new’ True Peak and loudness standards. Given Avid’s reliance on the broadcast sector in Europe and the US (both requiring stringent loudness compliance) I’m scratching my head as to why it would overlook such a fundamental requirement, especially since Nuendo has had these features for some time and Avid’s own Pro Limiter has comprehensive loudness metering built in. While this seems like an oversight, the overall meter upgrades are very welcome, and the specific varieties seem to have been chosen based on what might be required per channel, not bus.

Keeping with the metering trend, sends now have tiny meters built in, too small for any real use, but useful as a ‘signal present’ indicator. They also more easily expand to show faders, pre/post state, slightly larger metering and a bypass button without stealing access to other sends.

ProTools 11 HD has the biggest metering change however, in that any compressors or expanders on a channel can now show their gain reduction on a full size permanent meter alongside the main channel meter in the mix window. This is a fantastic change for the better and I’m sure many engineers will find it hard to move back to earlier versions after working with this visual feedback for a few hours. Of course, this is dependent on the plug-in manufacturer implementing support for it, so if you have a favourite third party dynamics plug-in be sure to chase the manufacturer about it before it releases its AAX 64-bit version (McDSP and Plugin Alliance have it working nicely).

ProTools 11 allows automation to be recorded while recording audio.

WORKMANLIKE FEATURES

Although the flagship features of version 11 are the offline bounce, 64bit power and metering overhaul there are a bunch of other workflow enhancements. One of the long-standing limitations of ProTools when recording was disabled automation. It’s now removed, which is particularly useful when recording concerts or for new Dolby Atmos workflows.

Automation is also now sample accurate, whereas in the past it may have slipped around a little as your CPU was pushed. It’s also one of the reasons Avid can achieve true phase-cancelling faster-than-real-time bounce, and consequently, why ProTools doesn’t cater for VST or AudioUnits. The AAX code was written to include sample accurate automation tracking, something VST and AU hosts are still grappling with.

If you monitor your mixes quite loud, there’s also a new Fade In pref to set an automatic fade up duration on starting playback — avoiding full scale instant woofer excursion.

The Workspace browser has also had a major upgrade. The multiplicity of similar-looking browsers has been merged into a single browser window, unifying all the previously separated functions into an overhauled database engine that runs quicker and with more stability.

Importantly, with the end of RTAS and TDM plug-ins and Waves choosing not to develop AAX DSP, there are many of us who may want to delay upgrading our hardware. To make this dilemma less of an issue, ProTools 11 is the first version that can be co-installed alongside a working version 10 build — that’s right, you can run 10 and 11 on the same operating system (because they are such different applications). The demo HDX rig I was working on happily shut down 10, opened 11, and then reopened 10 without a stumble, making adoption much easier as you don’t lose easy access to any RTAS plug-ins that have yet to migrate over to AAX.

MAKING THE AAX CUT Considering making the jump but unsure of which plug-ins have made the AAX leap? Avid has compiled a list of those already migrated to the new format at www.avid.com/plugins. Version 10 was supposed to be a transition period for plug-in developers, but there are still many playing catch up. For instance, Steven Massey of Massey Plugins has been working on AAX versions, but no release date has been set.

The native system usage in ProTools 11 is dramatically lower on the same computer compared to version 10.

ARE WE COMPATIBLE?

ProTools 11 works in the .ptx document format, same as version 10, and projects can be moved between the two without loss of data for the most part: plug-in settings, however, may not always carry between the two versions so be very careful! Some developers have to re-code from the ground up for AAX making totally new plug-ins, so their TDM/RTAS settings files cannot be opened in the newer versions. Double check this workflow before relying on it. Avid is a culprit of this as well, with its Mod Delay III AAX not opening presets from the dropped Digirack delay plugins, breaking backwards compatibility.

AAX plug-ins are also confusingly different in version 10 and 11, due to the 32- vs 64-bit disparity. So even though you may have plug-ins ported to AAX for version 10, they won’t work in 11 unless they are 64-bit capable, something many developers are furiously working on right now. Some of Avid’s own plug-ins haven’t made it over to 11 either, notably its TCE and Pitch plug-ins, which are hinted still to come. Avid’s TL Space and Revibe reverbs, and Phasescope/Surroundscope are also yet to port to 11.

THE LEAP OF FAITH

ProTools 11 is certainly a big step forward for Avid, as far as system architecture goes. How optimised this new engine is and how well it performs is difficult to say without more third party plug-ins in the 64-bit AAX format. Certainly, comparing strictly Avid plug-in sessions between versions 10 and 11 you see a dramatic drop in host-based system usage in the newer version. A film premix on my old native rig opened at 24% on version 10, yet shows around 8% CPU usage on 11. Given Apple’s decision to drop PCIe cards from its new Mac Pro design, these sorts of numbers tell me that by upgrading to version 11 I can get a few more years from my current Mac Pro, an important factor in the current economy especially given how the

media production landscape is changing and budgets keep shrinking. However, that only makes sense if your plug-ins of choice make the transition to the new 64-bit AAX format (see AAX breakout boxes for more info).

Looking at performance across the application, it seems strange that some aspects of processing haven’t been sped up by the transition to 64-bit. Rendering Audiosuite plug-ins seems just as lethargic on version 11 as it does on 10, and sample rate conversion of files also didn’t seem to benefit from the change either — both processes steal significant chunks of my studio time and I was hoping to see some improvements. Hopefully it’s just a sign of further 64-bit optimisation to come.

Whilst some parts of ProTools seem untouched, the vast majority of the system feels significantly fresher on 11; the new darker GUI, the metering enhancements and the snappy performance of the new engine make for an impressive update that is much more than simply offline bounce capability.

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REVIEW

FOCUSRITE REDNET

ETHERNET AUDIO INTERFACE SYSTEM Next time your corporate mates suggest your studio business might benefit from some time spent networking you’ll be able to tell them you’ve got it covered. Thanks RedNet!

NEED TO KNOW

Review: Andrew Bencina

PRICE RedNet units range in price between around $1900 and $3000. Contact your local RedNet dealer for a competitive quote.

PROS Turns any networked facility into a potential recording complex.

CONTACT Electric Factory: (03) 9474 1000 or www.elfa.com.au

Dante core makes any RedNet system highly expandable.

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Seamless integration with existing ProTools HD systems and other digital interface formats.

SUMMARY RedNet doubly hacks away at expensive analogue multicore and obsolescence plaguing audio devices reliant on endangered on-board and external data interfaces. While RedNet’s driver and control software features fall short of its No portable ultra-low-latency Dante non-networked rivals, seamless integration with ProTools HD interface for laptops, tablets... and and other digital audio formats means you can still explore new Mac Pro RedNet without giving up your existing platform. A neutrality Dante limitation on intra-device of tone and commitment to depth and reality make the RedNet routing reduces flexibility of RedNet 3 preamps and converters a perfect all-round performer. The only trick will be working out how to integrate your treasured collection of audio colours with this audio web that reaches out to every corner of your studio, home or office.

CONS Software and driver integration currently lacks features and flexibility of many popular audio interfaces.

Focusrite’s RedNet product line is the first ethernet audio interface system based on the Dante protocol to make a significant play for the recording studio market. Dante is an IP and ethernet-based digital AV network technology designed to eliminate the bulky point to point wiring requirements of analogue systems. The product of Australian company Audinate, Dante has become a popular standard in live sound and AV installations and the protocol is licensed by over 60 companies for use within digital mixers, stage boxes, loudspeaker processors, wireless microphone systems, amplifiers and matrix systems. RedNet relies on Dante, incorporating their hardware within each interface, so you’re not just buying into audio over ethernet but rather a specific protocol for achieving this end.

Dante imposes no limit on the total number of channels that can be present within a system — this will be restricted by the capacity and stability of the network. Any one Dante device, or link, is limited to 128 I/O at 192k (256 at 96k, 512 at 48k) over a gigabit connection. Over fast ethernet (100Mbps) the available channel count per link is reduced by over 90% (12/24/48).

RedNet however doesn’t seek to push these limits and even the lowlatency PCIe card has only a maximum 64 I/O channels at 192k. Multiple interconnected gigabit devices can stably achieve latencies of well under one millisecond if all devices and the network are configured correctly.

CISCO INFERNO

Not surprisingly, if you want to get the most from any ethernet audio system you’ll need to ensure that your network is in order. While not particularly demanding, the network spec required for the stable use of RedNet devices is a step above general home and office use. Minimum requirements include a managed gigabit switch and the use of Cat5e or Cat6 (preferred) cabling. To quote the Focusrite FAQ, “Dante makes use of standard Voice over IP (VoIP) protocols and utilises Quality of Service (QoS) switch features, to prioritise clock sync and audio traffic over other network traffic.” Don’t worry if this is all a little over your head — I myself am a network dwarf — just check the network specifications for RedNet before you buy. In my experience, any gigabit switch classified as smart (read ‘affordable managed solution’) or managed will do the trick.

To be safe, I stuck with one of the models specifically approved on the Focusrite website, picking up a ‘smart’ eight port Cisco SG-200 for about $140 new. With my desktop taking up two ports (one for RedNet control and the other for low-latency audio) I’m left with room for six other RedNet/Dante devices or gigabit links. A modular installation may choose to install a switch in every rack/room and then interconnect them at another central switch or in series. With each individual cable having a maximum limit of 100m, the breadth of any network will be gamechanging for many in music production. I did read one warning against the use of switches relying on external plug pack power supplies (the SG200 is one of these) as they may be responsible for audio artefacts or clicks.

I did not have these problems but that’s not to say it won’t be an issue.

SWITCHING OVER

Setting up your network for Dante is easy — with a few provisos. The beauty of the protocol is that it can happily operate over the same network on which your file transfers and internet traffic are humming. In practice you’ll need to make sure you get your switch and other network hardware (routers, firewall etc) correctly configured in order to avoid incorrect prioritisation of data streams. Setting up the Cisco switch was simple enough; with a few configuration notes gleaned from the RedNet FAQ. In the case of my home studio it was then just a case of connecting everything into the switch and voila! I also tried to replicate a quick daily setup in a friend’s facility and the process wasn’t quite so stress free. In this case however, removing the modem/wireless router from the network conversation settled things immediately so we could get on with work until we had time to tweak the configuration. Focusrite does recommend that, where possible, you use a dedicated audio network and this will certainly

RedNet 1 (top) and RedNet 2 (bottom), let you choose between 16 and 32 I/O.

make life easier. Dante is not compatible with wireless networks but I did manage to transmit a steady stereo audio stream over a particularly shonky ethernet over power setup. Latencies were blown all the way out to maintain audio stability at sample rates above 44.1k but for non-critical remote monitoring requirements (a green room or lounge) it was a pleasant surprise.

RedNet makes use of Apple’s Bonjour ‘zero-configuration’ service for automatic device discovery and identification. If you’re on Windows, iTunes will have generously installed Bonjour for you. I have noted online discussion of some conflicts between Bonjour and Windows 8 systems so this may be something you’ll need to resolve before moving forward.

Following network configuration all that remains is to install the Dante controller and RedNet Control software on any computer that will be managing the system, and Dante’s virtual soundcard (DVS) on any computer that will be transmitting/receiving audio without the aid of the RedNet/Dante PCIe card. Theoretically, installing the PCIe card is just as easy. If you’re looking to achieve sub-3ms latencies you’ll definitely need it (which may be a problem for those based on a laptop or looking seriously at the new ‘slotless’ Mac Pro). Requiring at least a PCIe x4 slot, Focusrite does recommend using your first x16 slot if it’s available. On my Windows 7 system, this slot was already take by my graphics processor. Configuring other slots for high speed performance via the motherboard BIOS was straightforward but achieving stable operation less-so. It did take some card movement and reconfiguration before I achieved peak performance.

When you’re not quite there you’ll know about it; with audio drop outs and driver instability an issue.

There are six devices that currently make up the RedNet family, here’s a countdown: SIX...

Is a MADI bridge offering a single optical or coaxial MADI I/O in a 1RU rackmount chassis. It adds 16 channels of digital I/O at 192k (32 at 96k, 64 at 48k), Word Clock I/O, and sample rate conversion.

FIVE...

Offers similar digital connectivity (both 96k and 48k max out at 32 I/O) in the standard 2RU RedNet chassis; this time to a ProTools HD system via DigiLink.

FOUR...

RedNet 4 is really the key to any RedNet system. An eight-channel remotecontrolled mic pre, it can go anywhere in your network, or even side of stage, to return your analogue sources to the recording hub. For most, this will be the first taste of RedNet you sample. Mic inputs are via XLR only, while line inputs are made available via d-sub (DB25) connector — unfortunately you don’t get to make your own choice between them. Two front-panel DI inputs are also selectable on the first two channels. Gain is adjustable in 1dB steps between 8-63dB. Front panel controls offer perchannel editing of 48V phantom power, gain, input source and analogue high-pass filters (-6dB at 65±3Hz, 12dB/octave). All of these controls being replicated in the RedNet Control software for remote adjustment.

Disappointingly, for such an ample front panel, metering on both the hardware and software interface is limited to a single multi-colour LED/indicator per channel. Also, all buttons are a little clicky, so even if you’re in the room with performers you may choose to edit things AT 85

from software. At present, RedNet Control provides no option for external MIDI control so you will be stuck using the mouse. They have however, employed digital-controlled gain change using zero-crossings to make any adjustments sound as smooth as possible.

You’ll notice I haven’t made mention of any outputs; because there aren’t any — not even a headphone send! While frustrating, I suspect this is entirely due to Dante’s restriction on intra-device patching (even if they were available you couldn’t configure the box with direct outputs). This places RedNet uptown in the studio interface market as most tasks will require multiple components.

They do sound pretty damn good though.

Using transformer-isolated microphone splits I compared the RedNet 4’s preamps and DI inputs to those of a Universal Audio 2108, Phoenix DRS-1 and a channel of Quad Eight MM-312.

On a range of sources (Fender Precision Bass DI, classical guitar, electric guitar and baritone male voice) the RedNet was always in the running.

Unlike many interface preamps, it had a relaxed sound, avoiding hype in the upper mid range and any fizzy air. In contrast, the bottom end was solid. When it came to select tracks for a quick mix, the RedNet got the nod for the nylon string guitar. While never sounding cloaked, the fingerpicked performance was captured truthfully without instant demand for EQ to attenuate the stringy-ness that can often prevail. If I had to use only the RedNet, I would feel like I was trading off some depth and dimension offered through the combination but I wouldn’t be let down.

THREE...

RedNet 3 is a 32 I/O digital audio interface featuring eight ADAT I/O (ports 5-8 mirror 1-4 at sample rates 48k and below, becoming active for SMUX operation at 96k and 192k), eight-channel AES/EBU via DB25 connector, two-channel coaxial SPDIF and word clock I/O. I experimented with the RedNet 3 in between my existing RME PCIe interface and ADAT converters as a means of integrating audio over ethernet into my current system. While this was largely successful, again the intra-device patch limitations of Dante do restrict some interesting possibilities. While recording tests under full RedNet operation showed solid syncing of my external converters over ADAT, there was a sample offset between the RedNet and RME channels (as you’d expect) so this is worth keeping in mind if you intend to mix and match.

TWO...ONE...

The RedNet 1 (eight I/O) and 2 (16 I/O) are the workhorse ADC/DAC components of the RedNet system. Delivering Focusrite’s most advanced 24-bit/192k audio conversion to date. It’s difficult for me to go into too much detail in this overview but further information is available here (global.focusrite.com/thesound-of-rednet) for those interested. Analogue line I/O is again catered for by eight-channel DB25 connectors. Particularly in the case of the RedNet 1, this seems a little short-sighted, as AT 86

Choose your poison: digital or analogue. The rear of the RedNet 3 (top) and RedNet 4 (bottom).

the 2RU chassis would seem to provide ample panel real estate for some XLR, TRS or combo connectors. In an install situation when boxes may be shifted around on a regular basis there is certainly an advantage to the inclusion of dsubs, but the omission of more commonly used connectors will probably cause frustration for some. Two global calibration levels are switchable via software (+18dBu or +24dBu) but there were times where I would have loved independent control over the calibration for A-D and D-A and indeed some form of fine level trimming to match other devices or analogue meter calibrations. Again, like RedNet 4, the metering is limited; but this is unlikely to bother you if all of your converters live in a machine room. I thought all of the converters used in the RedNet components sounded classy. In blind ABX testing with a few different converters of comparable expense they performed well without standing out. Indeed, a commitment to transparency rather than any particular aesthetic of analogue enhancement was a key tenet of RedNet’s design philosophy and on this front they’ve succeeded.

REDNET IS GO

Configuring your RedNet system for use in your DAW, or as a standalone signal transfer system, is as simple as colouring in squares on the Dante Controller’s matrix to connect Dante transceivers and receivers. There is no signal monitoring incorporated so at times tracking down that input can get a little confusing (especially when ADAT SMUX is involved!). Using the PCIe card, I found that only channels patched in the controller appeared as available I/O in my DAW. The Dante Virtual Soundcard driver can be easily enabled or disabled when required and in its ASIO mode I found it to be really solid.

My own studio machine has gigabit ethernet on-board, and I was able to achieve stable multichannel performance and relatively low latencies even without resorting to the PCIe card.

Channel count is limited however and while, to me, the latency felt far tighter than the supposed 4ms limit it’s possibly not a viable permanent solution where live monitoring is critical.

With my PCIe configuration sorted, I was able to record 24 channels of 96k audio with stable monitoring at well below 1ms latency. Sample rate, buffer settings and clock assignments are all located in the RedNet Control panel and you’ll probably want to keep this open most of the time. Running RedNet under ASIO, it

wasn’t possible to just jump around between programs using different sample rates willy nilly as I normally do and occasionally this caused short term confusion. I found the lack of Dante matrix metering, intra-device patching and any software mixer meant that ultimately my preferred method was to continue using my everyday interface and driver with RedNet integrated via RedNet 3’s digital interface. If you’re a ProTools HD user or already have a MADI interface this is what I’d currently recommend. In a perfect world, I’d love to see a new Focusrite Saffire Pro Thunderbolt/ USB 3 interface that included a Dante link.

Alternately a new custom RedNet Thunderbolt/ USB 3 interface (RedNet 7? aka ‘Brains’) with expanded driver functionality, word clock I/O, MIDI, eight channel ADC/DAC, two mic pre/ DIs, headphone output and critically dual Dante links for sends and returns. With two of these you’d be ready to rock and roll tape anywhere.

I SEE RED

For those committed to the Dante digital media networking platform Focusrite’s RedNet range is an obvious choice to augment your work flow.

From painless live recording to concert mixing in the box; RedNet and Dante expand the options for mobile musicians. Check out the case studies (global.focusrite.com/rednet-case-studies) for more ideas. For everyone else, RedNet opens up new possibilities for the flexible use of existing networked spaces and a more efficient way to access currently installed resources. If you’re based in-the-box, your existing audio interface’s software may still offer greater flexibility and functionality but with RedNet components designed for direct integration with ProTools HD, MADI, ADAT and AES/EBU systems there’s no reason why you can’t have it both ways. If you’re going to tape, RedNet can be used to connect any room with an ethernet link to your main studio, allowing the use of your primary recording hardware for capture of sources in distant performance and rehearsal spaces. For institutions looking to break ground on or upgrade a large installation, the connection of performance, recording and broadcast facilities through existing network infrastructure may be temptation enough. For smaller studios the current requirement for additional units to create a flexible set-up may make RedNet a little less attractive/affordable. Either way, you’ll need to be particularly fond of the colour red.

JULY 23-25

Sydney Convention REGISTER NOW & Exhibition Centre entechshow.com.au

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FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT Stephen Dallimore, Event Manager on +61 2 9556 7988 or email sdallimore@etf.com.au /EntechShow

ALIA

AT 87

REVIEW

AUDIO-TECHNICA SYSTEM 10 DIGITAL WIRELESS SYSTEM Audio-Technica’s System 10 plays out in the Wild West of the radio spectrum, but has the diversity to handle the tough situations.

NEED TO KNOW

Review: Mark Woods

PRICE Starting at $399 for a standard bodypack or handheld system CONTACT Technical Audio Group: (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au AT 88

PROS Easy to use

CONS Noticeable latency

Works internationally

Not real strong

Well priced

High handling noise with mic

SUMMARY Audio-Technica’s System 10 digital wireless system manages to overcome the pitfalls of operating in the 2.4GHz band with plenty of diversity, making it a costeffective, easy-to-use contender.

Audio-Technica’s new System 10 digital wireless system operates in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific & Medical) 2.4GHz range of radio frequencies. The advantages of working in this range include international compatibility, lack of government regulation and freedom from interference from TV and DTV signals. On the flipside, the same band hosts a wide range of devices including Wi-Fi routers, wireless phones and mouses, Bluetooth, microwave ovens and cardiac pacemakers. This makes it a very crowded frequency range, which creates its own issues (see ‘Everybody’s Favourite Band’ sidebar).

Designed as an easy-to-use, eight-channel, entry-level wireless system the System 10 range starts with the ATW-R1100 receiver and a range of body-pack and handheld transmitters. Unlike analogue-based UHF, System 10 is a digital system. It operates at 24-bit/48k resolution with a quoted 20Hz-20kHz frequency response, 109dB dynamic range and better than 0.05%THD. The in-line, switching power supply works with voltages between 100-250V. ON THE RECEIVING END

The ATW-R1100 receiver is housed in a stylish plastic case that doesn’t feel very strong, but receivers usually sit somewhere out of the way, so you wouldn’t expect it to cop much rough treatment. It’s a familiar size, lightweight, and designed so multiple units can be securely stacked on top of each other (despite a warning in the manual to keep receivers at least 1m apart from each other for best performance).

Connections are made on the rear panel with a balanced XLR and an unbalanced ¼-inch jack socket for output to a mixing console, and a small but easy-to-use rotary volume control. A handy summary of how to pair the receiver to a transmitters is on the bottom of the receiver.

The adjustable antennas are mounted on the front panel that also contains a small window displaying the system ID number, and two buttons that are used to change the channel or pair the receiver to a transmitter. One of the main features of the System 10 is its ease of operation; straight out of the box the transmitter is paired to the receiver and the exact operating frequency is selected automatically. If multiple units are being used each unit will select a clear frequency as it is powered up.

DIVERSITY IS THE KEY

As the possibility of interference from other devices is quite high, the System 10 plays a sophisticated game of cat and mouse to dance around any potential problems. To maintain signal integrity, it employs three different measures to avoid dropouts between transmitter and receiver; frequency, time and space diversity. Frequency diversity uses two different frequencies to send the data, Time diversity sends packets of data at different times and Space diversity uses two antennas on each transmitter.

If the unit is experiencing interference and runs short of error-correction while being used, it

can change the operating frequencies of the transmitter and the receiver on-the-fly. The frequency shifting is silent so the user is unaware of any of this backstage processing.

During my testing I didn’t hear any interference and couldn’t induce any audible artefacts by simultaneously using the System 10 in close proximity to mobile phones, Wi-Fi, or setting the receiver on top of a microwave oven. The only clue that there is some time-consuming processing going on is the inherent latency of the system. Testing with a round trip latency program revealed a consistent latency of around 4ms. This is quite high for a fairly simple device (it’s higher than most digital consoles) and while it’s not an unmanageable length of time on its own, when combined with the latency of a digital console and/or other digital processors it could result in a total latency long enough to be audible and distracting for a performer using in-ear-monitors.

There are two transmitter devices in the System 10 range; the ATW-T1001 UniPak belt-mounted transmitter and the ATW-1102 handheld microphone. The ATW-1001 UniPak has a locking 4-pin connector with a short lead that accepts either a guitar (or instrument) cable, a headset microphone, a black or beige over-ear microphone or a clip-on lavalier microphone. It’s a pleasing shape with the stuff you need handily placed on the top of the unit. The antenna is short, the four-pin connector is recessed, the off/ on/standby soft-touch button is easy to feel and the multi-colour battery level indicator light is easy to see.

The front cover slides off to reveal the battery compartment and a small button used to activate the pairing function. Also included, in its own little holder, is a small plastic screwdriver that can be used to access the recessed level control. Any small screwdriver will do when/if the supplied one gets lost. A good-sized and strong metal clip secures the unit to the user’s belt. The UniPak transmitter is made from the same plastic as the receiver and at 100gm without batteries it’s light enough, but doesn’t feel impenetrable… I suspect it would survive being dropped, but not stood on.

SWITCHING TO HANDHELD

The ATW-1102 handheld microphone is probably the same. The long body is light and while it’s comfortable to hold, it’s not very well balanced with the weight biased towards the capsule end. To turn the mic on you hold down an unlabelled soft-touch button on the bottom of the mic body for a couple of seconds. A small screen on the side of the mic body indicates the channel number and a green light lets you know it’s on (it turns red in standby). Once it’s on, pressing the button on the bottom instantly toggles between on and standby… which is handy as the handling noise is quite pronounced.

It’s not a problem when you’re using the mic as you tend to hold it quite firmly but it is noticeable moving it around in your hands when you’re holding the mic in-between singing or

“

The System 10 plays a sophisticated game of cat and mouse to dance around any potential problems

”

talking. Wireless mics are often turned off, or muted, when not being used and this switching arrangement works well. It requires a definite action to turn the mic on or off. And when it’s on, the instant switching to get to and from standby means you’ll only miss a couple of words if you forget to release it from standby mode… rather than half a sentence while you wait for the unit to turn on.

The ATW-1102 handheld microphone uses a dynamic capsule with a cardioid pattern. The voicing is well-suited to vocal use, especially spoken word. The high-frequency response is not exaggerated and it doesn’t emphasise sibilance.

A frequency response plot is not included but it sounds like there’s a gentle presence lift in the high-mids and a roll-off of the low frequencies.

It works best when you’re right on the mic where the proximity effect helps to give some body to the sound. The proximity effect is wellcontrolled, it’s not boomy, and the mic is very good at stopping plosives. The response pattern is wide across the front of the capsule with sudden deep nulls at 90 degrees off-axis. Even though it’s pretty much an omni pattern at low frequencies it’s resistant to feedback with no particular frequencies wanting to take off easily when used with loud stage monitors. It also felt very stable; I used the mic in several busy locations and didn’t encounter any drop-outs or glitching.

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SOLID RANGE

Output power from the transmitters is 10mW and it provides for an operating range quoted at 30m if there are no interfering signals. I tested it at further than that, and through walls, and found no loss in quality until the signal drops out completely when it reaches the end of its range, rather than gradually getting softer or cutting in and out. This is plenty of range for most shows although some of the outdoor shows in rural settings that I do sometimes see the MC wander to the other end of the football field or further.

The System 10 is not aimed at the top end of the music market (where latency is most likely to cause problems) but it’s great value for money and will appeal to users who want a simple-to-use system that can simultaneously run up to eight signals. It would be perfect for corporate presentations or public meetings where there might be a few people on stage taking questions from the audience. The 24-bit/48k converters provide sufficient fidelity for most music acts and the UniPak beltpack transmitters would provide a reasonably-priced entry into the world of wireless stage instruments. The triple-checking diversity system should ensure stable transmission in the increasingly crowded 2.4GHz frequency range.

EVERYBODY’S FAVOURITE BAND Wireless guru, Steve Caldwell, gives the skinny on what to be aware of when using the 2.4GHz band for real-time audio: The 2.4GHz ISM band is essentially a non-licensed, self-managed block of spectrum. And there are three main differences that set using this band apart from the other class licence bands (such as the traditional <700MHz band).

RELIABIILITY With the increase in popularity of this band, along with the complete absence of proactive spectrum management (all collisions are avoided or more likely ‘corrected’ with retro-active measures) comes the very low reliability aspect. As just about every mobile phone and laptop computer is using this band to search for active SSIDs (Wi-Fi access points), the band is very noisy.

This makes for quite an unreliable ‘real time’ connection, as is expected of a radio microphone. Internet connections are a completely different matter, no-one really cares, or even knows if their browser takes an extra 20ms to download something. Also, some units that use this ISM band are incompatible with, or unaware of other digital packet service protocols also being used, so either take hits to themselves, or even adversely affect other services in the band.

PROPOGATION Wavelengths in this band are very short and extremely directional (consider that a microwave oven uses 2.45GHz), only penetrating less dense objects.

This also makes for an extremely poor realtime connection. Even in the 500800MHz band where radio mics are traditionally used, there are propagation and multipath issues, however as equipment in this band is mainly analogue, and real-time in its transmission nature, steps such as diversity systems can be instigated to maintain much more consistent coverage. Propagation in the 2.4GHz band is a lot poorer from a physics point of view, coupled with the fact that the radio microphone systems used in this band would be of a digital packetised nature, and would be a lot more expensive to manufacture with any sort of diversity system that didn’t add too much latency.

LATENCY This is the killer of the modern professional radio microphone and wireless inear monitor systems. Most artists cannot deal with any more than about 5ms of latency between what they vocalise into their microphone, and what they monitor in their ears. Notably, this is a lot less than what is acceptable with a standard stage wedge system (as 5ms is equivalent to about only five feet), possibly due to the extremely isolated nature of the IEM system. Considering that most systems these days use some form of digital desk, and maybe a digital audio transport that both add latency, any extra latency added on top of this from a digital radio microphone can bring the overall delay up by at least a factor of two. Until the technology exists whereby the latency of the transmission is reduced to sub-millisecond levels, I don’t foresee widespread adoption of 2.4GHz systems in the high-end professional sector.

That said, the three things that systems using this ISM band have going for them are cost, ease of setup, and, being digital, there is no compansion after the AD conversion.

AT 90

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@KorgAU AT 91

REVIEW

CLEAN CONTROL The face of the Lyra 2 is a very clean and uncluttered layout, with two high impedance instrument inputs, headphone output with a dedicated level control alongside a larger master output level control pot. This continuously variable pot includes a surround of green LEDs to let you quickly see where the level control is set, and with a push-click, mutes the main outputs. Other than that, there’s simply some metering for analogue outputs one and two, metering for the digital I/O, and a power button.

BUILD OF QUALITY Physically the unit is a two-thirds width, single rackmount footprint.

Construction is remarkably sturdy with solid sheet steel and hex head screws used throughout. Power is supplied to the unit directly via an IEC cable with the power transformer being built in.

PRISM SOUND LYRA 2 Singing the virtues of Prism Sound conversion isn’t hard. But as it becomes more affordable, it’s worth everyone listening up.

NEED TO KNOW

Review: Brad Watts

PRICE Lyra 1: $2140+GST Lyra 2: $2935+GST CONTACT CDA Pro Audio: (02) 9330 1750 or www.cda-proaudio.com

AT 92

PROS Astounding audio quality.

Fantastic microphone preamps.

Expansive feature set.

USB 2.0 connectivity works with all platforms.

CONS Software requires some fine-tuning.

SUMMARY Prism Sound’s Lyra brings superlative conversion and sound quality even closer.

Well worth a look if you’re in the market to upgrade.

USB GOES ANYWHERE The USB port connects to pretty much any computer. At present, software support extends to fully fledged desktop and laptop systems, with ASIO drivers for Windows (32– and 64–bit), and Native Core Audio on Mac OS X, with Windows WDM drivers for Vista and later becoming available soon. Being natively compliant with OS X, I simply plugged the Lyra 2 into my Mac systems and the Lyra appeared as a sound I/O option in 10.5.7, 10.6.8, and 10.8.3. In fact, being a USB Audio Class 2 interface, the Lyra devices are also supported natively in Linux and Android operating systems — pure compatibility. Being USB-based (rather than Firewire like the Orpheus) I see no reason why Prism Sound wouldn’t venture into strapping Lyra up to iOS in the future.

BRIDGING DIGITAL The rear of the Lyra 2 is far more indicative of the unit’s resources, with wordclock BNC connectors, RCA S/PDIF I/O, the ADAT/TOSlink ports, and a somewhat mysterious ethernet port — Prism Sound plans to release support for Audio Video Bridging in the future, but for the moment it’s non-operational. For the uninitiated, Audio Video Bridging, or ‘AVB’, is an emerging IEEE 802.1 networking standard for time–synchronised, low–latency streaming of both audio and video over ethernet. This ethernet port is absent from the Lyra 1 in case you’re wondering.

ANALOGUE INS AND OUTS Analogue I/O includes four 6.5mm balanced jack outputs, two 6.5mm jack inputs for inputs one and two, which can also be accessed via two XLR microphone inputs.

Prism Sound is a name synonymous with high-end audio reproduction. For years the company’s audio test and analysis products such as dScope, and the Sadie DAW application and hardware, have been go-to systems for audio recording and production specialists the world over. In more recent years, Prism Sound’s Dream range of AD and DA convertors, and Maselec analogue mastering processors have also risen to the top shelf of the recording and mastering chain hierarchy. However, access to this world of high– end capture and reproduction isn’t cheap, and in recent years the company has managed to squeeze its technology into more affordable units such as the much acclaimed Orpheus Firewire-based recording interface.

For review purposes I’ve been furnished with the Lyra 2, which would certainly be my pick of the two as it offers eight-channel optical ADAT/ TOSlink ports with SMUX support for four channels of up to 96k, as opposed to the Lyra 1 only supporting stereo via the TOSlink port. The Lyra 2 also offers RCA S/PDIF and the option to output this signal as AES3 using an RCA to XLR adaptor, and dedicated wordclock BNC ports.

For the extra $800 or so I’d advise shooting for the Lyra 2 for expandability’s sake — especially if you intend to integrate the unit into a mastering setup.

The Lyra 2 also offers two mic preamps whereas the Lyra 1 only offers a single microphone pre. The same applies for instrument inputs. Again, go for the Lyra 2 if recording is your game.

–108dB at –0.1dBFS (0.00040%). Gain ranges from 10dB to 65dB in 1dB steps, and unlike the Orpheus, the Lyra units include switchable –20dB pads on the mic preamps. In an era where microphone output levels are continually increasing, this addition is advantageous to say the least. No more resorting to in-line pads with additional connectors and components.

Incidentally, the Lyra 2 includes an M-S matrix for direct connection of mid-side mics or non-matrix endowed mic preamps. And of course, there’s 48V switchable phantom power.

CONVERTING UP

TO THE NTH PERCENTILE

When it comes to output of the analogue variety, THD+N is –106dB (0.00050%, -0.1dBFS) and a dynamic range of 115dB with the same high and low frequency roll-off characteristics as the line inputs.

This year, Prism Sound has upped the affordability ante with the Lyra family of devices — two USB-based interfaces exhibiting the top-notch conversion abilities you’d expect from Prism Sound. In fact, the Lyra devices sport the same front- and back-end audio conversion quality as found in the Orpheus. Not bad when you consider you can jump in with the Lyra 1 for about half the price of the Orpheus, and the Lyra 2 for a couple of grand less (the Orpheus retails for around $4800).

Being the highbrow set of convertors it is, it’s worth recounting the specifications for the Lyra 2. Firstly, the analogue line inputs offer THD of –111dB and an astounding noise/distortion level of 0.00028% at –0.1dBFS. That’s 28 tenthousandths of a percent people. Like I said, an astounding figure. LF roll-off is –0.05dB at 8Hz, and HF roll-off is –0.05dB at 21.1kHz. Dynamic Range is 116dB. The microphone preamps are equally impressive, and are no doubt derived from the Maselec heritage. THD+N at +10dB gain:

Lyra uses the same CleverClox dual digital phase-locked loop (DPLL) circuitry as the Orpheus so you could feasibly use Lyra 2 as a high-quality master clock for the rest of your digital gear. Analogue inputs also offer individually-selectable Prism Sound ‘Overkiller’ peak limiters — the same system employed as on the ADA-8XR and Orpheus. The Overkiller threshold automatically follows the operating line-up level selection (+4dBu or -10dBV). These are ideal when recording drums. Unlike many AT 93

audio manufacturers, Prism Sound aren’t shy with specifications, and you can soak up further technical information on the Prism Sound website.

“

Quite a leap considering the pygmy steps made in audio quality these days

”

AT 94

Monitoring and routing is comprehensive. With Mac and Windows operating systems, a mixer control panel is provided. Apart from zero latency monitoring for recording scenarios, the mixer also allows instigation of the transient smoothing Overkiller, as well as some tasty features on the input channels such as channel phase, 80Hz high-pass filters and the ability to instigate an RIAA EQ curve for turntables. There’s no stone left unturned here — the Lyra 2 provides all the professional recording and playback features you’d expect from such a device. My only annoyance with the mixer control panel is with operation of the on-screen knobs. These require ‘rotational’ movement of your mouse pointer rather than linear movement, and there’s no preference box to change this. To my way of thinking this is a highly unprofessional mode of operation, requiring the operator to look at the screen while making panning or balance adjustments. I’d proffer Prism Sound change this as soon as possible.

SOUNDER THAN A POUND

Without question, the Lyra 2 sounds astoundingly good. And I really mean astounding. As much as I didn’t want it to, the Lyra 2 sounded lightyears better than my ageing Benchmark DAC1.

Obviously this is to be expected as the Benchmark is getting quite long in the tooth now — it’s been

eight or nine years in the market. The thing is, I wasn’t expecting such a dramatic difference.

I was expecting a subjective 5% betterment in reproduction, but to my ears the Lyra 2 goes a good 10-15% improvement in audio quality.

That’s quite a leap considering the pygmy steps made in audio quality these days. The Lyra 2 positively shines, with clear, un-smeared and startlingly tangible top-end. The bottom end is resoundingly solid and forthright, and dare I suggest, warm. Consequently, the depth of stereo image is undeniably ‘real’ and I honestly heard more in some very familiar recordings than I’d experienced before. Snares were far more cohesive, without the ‘grain’ I now hear from the Benchmark, and vocals appeared far more ‘in-front’ of me. Oh, and cymbals, so much more detail. I was hearing anomalies in commercial recordings I’d never been aware of previously. In all honesty, you must hear the Lyra to appreciate just how much better audio reproduction can be.

To be fair, at this price point, the Lyra devices won’t suit everyone’s budget. But I believe Prism Sound has managed an extraordinary feat in bringing such high-end technology to this pricepoint. For those chasing a pristine recording chain, sublime reproduction for mixing and mastering and arguably the upper echelon of audio interfaces, the Lyra 2 should be placed at the top of your list. Audition immediately. You won’t be disappointed.

AT 95

Mid-Side recording means total control Mid-Side recording allows independent adjustment of all parameters of direct and ambient sound offering exceptional control over the stereo field width. The first handheld recorder to offer Mid-Side stereo recording, the H2n features our best microphones yet and is the only portable recorder with five mic capsules onboard. Isolate mid and side tracks for adjusting, affecting and individual processing at any time after recording. Convert to mono for broadcast without phase cancellation. Get great recordings instantly by capturing 360째 sound without monitoring and refine your recordings into finished works with the included WaveLab LE software or your choice of digital audio workstation.

The H2n offers four unique recording modes: Mid-Side (MS) stereo, 90째 X/Y stereo, 2-channel and 4-channel surround sound. USB 2.0 interface.

Analog Mic Gain for precision volume control. Edit audio onboard. Onboard reference speaker and stereo output. New data recovery function. 20 hours of battery life. Linear PCM recording at up to 24bit/96kHz quality. Broadcast Wave Format support. 32GB SDHC card support. WaveLab LE software included for editing and mastering. Two Year Warranty when purchased from Authorised Australian dealers

AT 96

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SUBSCRIBE & WIN A PRISM SOUND LYRA 1 AUDIO INTERFACE WORTH $2350!

The affordable entry point into Prism Sound’s superlative converter range can be yours! A Lyra 1 will be taken home by one lucky subscriber (or re-subscriber) to AudioTechnology’s print edition. The Lyra might be the first step on a highway to audio heaven, but in the Prism Sound way, there are no shortcuts here. Lyra 1 is a premium stereo AD/DA converter with analogue and digital I/O. You can use it as a top-notch monitor controller, running S/PDIF stereo into benchmark-level D/A conversion to hear all the detail and depth you’ve been missing, or use the Prism Sound sample rate conversion and noise shapers to cross check what a 16-bit CD will sound like. The Lyra 1 also sports a high-quality onboard mic preamp, and a high

impedance instrument input, making for convenient high-quality recording — with the helpful addition of the same Prism Sound ‘Overkiller’ limiters found in the top-flight ADA-8XR and Orpheus interfaces. There’s plenty more to this box, so be sure to check out Brad Watts’ review in this issue, and head to www.prismsound.com or www.cda-proaudio.com for more info. Thanks to CDA Pro Audio for supplying this amazing prize.

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AT 97

REGULARS

LAST WORD with

Bruce Johnston

Way back when I was in a band in school — like most sound guys I had a bit of the muso in me.

I built a rehearsal studio and a little recording studio out in Moorabbin, called the Jam Tin [coincidentally with AT’s Founding Editor, Greg Simmons].

In 1980, this band from St Kilda called The Ears came in [the famously disastrous band in Lowenstein’s movie, Dogs In Space].

They asked if we knew who could mix their gig: “I’ll do it”.

Melbourne sound engineer and international live mix legend, Bruce Johnston, has seen it all. He’s mixed most of the biggest bands in Australia for decades but found real fame as the FOH mix engineer for Oasis. Johnston Audio has been a mainstay of the Aussie rental scene for years and more recently merged with Jands Production Services to form JPJ.

I was a naïve suburban kid from Oakleigh, and St Kilda was pretty foreign to me. I was just a long-haired surfie that stumbled into the new wave punk world.

So that was the hook-up. And I’d never mixed a live band before.

Backstage after the gig, people were coming up and saying, “Man that’s the best sound we’ve ever heard.” They even paid me 20 or 30 bucks, and I thought, ‘This is alright’.

The band’s next gig, literally two days later, was supporting INXS in front of 2500 people. Collin Ellis, who’s still going strong, was mixing INXS, and he started telling me, “This is your cue button, these are your buttons to your groups, this is…”

“I just want to mix, I don’t know what any of this stuff means.”

That night the band told me they were going on tour for six weeks and I said, “okay”.

The live industry was huge back then. My live mixing record back then was 14 bands in one week.

For about six years I mixed just about every band there was in Melbourne. After that I mixed Big Pig, along with the likes of Boom Crash Opera and Real Life.

In the early days, my wife came with me on these tours and we slept two up on a bunk in a bus. If anyone has ever been on a tour bus then you know how skinny we must have been! I got married on tour. It makes for a good long-term relationship I’d say, if you’ve got a good woman that understands what you do and you’re not in each other’s face 24/7.

Come the ’90s I knew I needed some rock ’n’ roll cred to break into the big Australia scene. So I started hounding the Divinyls… like really hounding them. And, sure enough, as soon as I got the Divinyls, I secured the Hoodoo Gurus gig and Diesel – Diesel got really huge in ’91; we were carrying a semi trailer on pub tours.

I also got the Crowded House gig through sheer persistence. A lot of people think that gigs just come to you. But if you want to mix a band, you’ve got to go and get them.

After Crowded House pulled the pin I mixed Midnight Oil. I had all the Midnight Oil albums and my mixing vision for them was massive drums and loud vocals. It was the only band that I really struggled with, because I was a fan.

After the Oil had finished I started to mope. I’d done all the big Aussie bands, and I thought I was toast! Then the phone rang

AT 98

at 3:30am one night. “Oasis has just sacked their sound guy and they need someone on the 9am to Auckland tomorrow!” “Oasis, Oasis?!” It was a total bolt out of the blue. “What number am I on that list, tenth?” “No, I rang you first”.

The Oasis setup was totally out of control, the guy had about nine microphones on Noel’s guitar rig — one on every amplifier.

Everything was out of phase. But they were telling me not to rock the boat, just finish the tour.

My first gig with Oasis was in front of 20,000 people outdoors and everyone came up to me after the gig saying they’d never heard the band sound like that, ever. They’d never even heard Guigsy (rhythm guitarist) play, let alone the keyboards.

After a year’s break their first gig back was in Japan and it sounded terrible. I went backstage and of course Noel inevitably asked, “How did it sound?” And I thought, ‘oh well, here’s my test’. “Look it sounded crap mate. I think it was the worst sound I’ve ever done.” To my surprise, he said, “we were so jetlagged, it was probably our fault. Here, have a beer.”

I remember thinking at the time that I was probably the first guy to ever tell him the truth. And from that moment on I’ve gotten on really well with them.

The Oasis gig is probably responsible for the main growth in Johnston Audio. Because I’d been mixing bands over the years I’d slowly built up a little PA. I started with a JBL Modular system and then bought a Meyer MSL3 rig from Troy Balance.

But because I was mixing bigger bands my PA was never good enough to use on the tours I was mixing.

I finally borrowed a heap of dough and bought a PA. I got to meet a lot of international sound engineers on tour with Oasis.

They’d catch up while in Australia and they’d use my PA. That paved the way for Johnston Audio to expand massively.

My next big idea was to start another company putting PAs into venues and asking them to pay on a pay-as-you-use basis. I approached the Enmore in Sydney and offered to leave my best PA in there. It went from there, and it worked.

During that time I also built Hothouse recording studio in Melbourne. We built it, wired it, and opened it without telling anyone.

I really liked Hothouse. I’d mix bands in there all day and then run down to The Corner and mix three bands live, then head back to the studio and mix down. I was way better in the studio than I was live. But the live gigs were paying my bills, and I ended up shifting away from it.

I know it’s a weird thing to say, but I actually never did it for the money back then. I mean, you want to get paid for what you do now, but when you’re 20 and you’re on the road with the band, it doesn’t matter what money you’re getting if you’re having a good time.

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