Resolution V3.7 October 2004

Resolution 3.7 October 2004

OCTOBER 2004 V3.7

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THE NEXT GENERATION AUDIO PRODUCTION MAGAZINE

Youth

Getting it right Dan Swift on recording live bands with mics Post: Leslie Shatz talks technique Broadcast: Radio and TV output from the V Festival Alchemy creates rooms with views Bob Katz’s common audio dilemma Meet your maker: Martin Kloiber — Euphonix

REVIEWS • Mackie digitalXbus • Dolby 585

• SE Electronics SE1a, SE2a, SE3

• Sony Vegas +DVD

• Toft Audio Designs ATC-2

• PSP Prozilla

• Sony Oxford Dynamics/EQ

• Manifold Labs Plugzilla • AKG WMS 40 Microtools

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Resolution 3.7 October 2004

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ISSN 1477-4216 THE NEXT GENERATION AUDIO PRODUCTION MAGAZINE

News & Analysis 4 4

Leader News

65

Headroom Opinions on a ‘good room’; SACD replies.

Sales, contracts, appointments and the bigger picture

16

Products

57

Craft 14

Alchemy

54

London combined mastering and postproduction aims high and creates rooms with views.

38

Youth Bass player turned remixer, writer and producer talks about the mystery of getting it right and his new studio in Spain.

42

Dan Swift Recording live bands with mics is back in; we talk to a man who can and does.

46

Sweet Spot A room at a price. After the building comes the finishing: speakers, garnish and trim.

52

Post

Win SE Electronics mics Your chance to win a superb pack of three studio condensers.

New introductions and announcements plus Digidesign, Steinberg and Logic platform news.

Broadcast The annual V Festival now combines radio and TV output as part of its remit.

Our man is in the thick of it.

56

Katz’s column Mastering engineer Bob Katz introduces us to Becky and Fred who have a common audio dilemma.

58

Power You have the power but is it clean and reliable? We look at solutions.

59

Ten Most influential albums.

60

Meet your maker Martin Kloiber — Euphonix executive VP of technology talks interfaces, back-ends and relationships.

From dialogue editing to the final mix, Leslie Shatz has done it all and shares insights and working methods.

Business 50

Indies

64

Independent labels look increasingly like a fig leaf for the majors’ A&R inadequacies.

Your business Daley says that there are people out there who want to organise you.

So let them.

Technology 48

The matter of Metadata

62

Slaying Dragons Don’t abandon your own standards, get some test and measurement equipment instead.

The business of moving data around between disciplines has technological and economic implications for all involved.

Reviews 22 24 26 28 29

Mackie digitalXbus Dolby Model 585 SE Electronics SE1a. SE2a, SE3 Manifold Labs Plugzilla PSP Prozilla

30

Toft Audio Designs ATC-2

32

Sony Oxford Dynamics and R3 EQ

34

AKG WMS 40 Microtools

36

Sony Vegas +DVD

EDITORIAL Editorial Director: Zenon Schoepe Tel: +44 1444 410675 Email: zen@resolutionmag.com Editorial office: PO Box 531, Haywards Heath RH16 4WD, UK

ADVERTISEMENT SALES European Sales Clare Sturzaker Tel: +44 1342 717459 Email: clare_s@tiscali.co.uk

Contributors: Rob James, George Shilling, Keith Spencer-Allen, Terry Nelson, Jon Thornton, Neil Hillman, Nigel Jopson, Andy Day, Kevin Hilton, Dan Daley, John Watkinson

US Sales Jeff Turner Tel: +1 415 455 8301 Email: turnermarketing@comcast.net

PRODUCTION AND LAYOUT Dean Cook Dean Cook Productions Tel: +44 1273 236681 Email: dean@deancookproductions.co.uk

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news APPOINTMENTS Smart AV has appointed Patrick Woolcocks as European sales manager responsible for Europe, Middle East and Africa. He has many years’ experience in sales and business management in the broadcast market, recently with Clear-Com Communications Systems where he was responsible for Europe, Middle East and Africa and previously as Regional Sales Manager with Leitch.

DK-Technologies has appointed Dorte Ibsen as personal assistant to CEO Karsten Hansen. She joins from a Danish telecommunications company where she held a similar position. She has extensive management and marketing skills and a background as an export engineer.

DK-Technologies has boosted its international sales team with the appointment of Lars Beyer as sales manager for Europe and Asia. He has nearly 20 years’ experience in the audio and broadcast industries having previously held senior sales and project management positions at NTP Elektronik and AEQ. Frank Rocco has joined Wohler Technologies as director of marketing. His initial projects include marketing initiatives to promote wider recognition of Wohler Technologies.

He previously managed a full-service marketing agency in New York, which had many clients in the broadcasting and production industry. He replaces Cian de Buitléir who is leaving Wohler to concentrate on his new Web Hosting business HOSTING.io.

DPA Microphones has promoted one of its German dealers, Mega Audio, to the status of sole importer and exclusive distributor for the country.

©2004 S2 Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Great care is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this publication, but neither

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Jose and Steve win

Leader As an industry we have come a long way. I recently had the pleasure of listening to what I regard as a couple of stonking old albums in an absolutely superb control room on absolutely superb monitors. The experience was enlightening. While the immediacy of the albums was not lost, nor their appeal, I have to concede that they were lacking in a number of areas. The performance caught the band in question at their naive freshest and it was well recorded and mixed to the good standards of the late 1960s (I won’t embarrass myself by naming them) but it lacked the low end, the spacial info, top end and clarity that the room could clearly reproduce. Still sounded good mind, just not stonking. It was as if I was listening through a ‘window’.

I recently also had the opportunity to compare a variety of popular compression algorithms directly against originals and quite frankly the results were frightening.

I would encourage anyone with the remotest interest in high-quality audio to engineer the opportunity to do the same and to witness precisely what the compact, convenient and compressed generation is making do with. The amount of information that they are missing out on beggars belief.

One thing about the great old days that you cannot dispute is that progress was driven by a concern to make things sound better. Sure there were ‘business’ forces at work, but engineers in all disciplines were aware of, and were frustrated by, the limitations that they had to work with. They used their skill and craft to squeeze the absolute best out of what they had. We arrive at the present day with a selection of high quality, wider and faster formats driven by very powerful equipment, which is generally used well within its absolute capabilities, only to deliver product that is then distributed over the air waves or the web in a form that is only a pale shadow of what hit the 1/2-inch, CD-R, or the output bus.

The biggest danger we face as a production industry is that we will become irrelevant and that our best efforts at output will no longer be appropriate. I can’t help thinking that if the energy and boundless technical experience that has gone into trying to establish new high-end formats and broadcasting methods had been applied to improving the quality of popular current delivery methods perhaps we could all be concentrating on getting the best out of what we have.

Zenon Schoepe

DK-Technologies relaunches brand Karsten Hansen, founder and CEO of Danish audio and video manufacturer DKTechnologies, has unveiled the company’s new name and logo, a re-branding exercise that marks its transition from DK-Audio to DK-Technologies (abbreviated to DK for general use).

‘We have changed our name and image to reflect the direction in which DK is moving and to remove any uncertainty over our product range,’ Hansen explained. ‘Having both DK-Audio and PTV branding was confusing for our customers. Our aim is to consolidate all our products — whether they are destined for audio or video application — under a simple DK tag. This will allow us to concentrate on providing conceptual solutions, not just product, which we believe is what the industry wants.

‘There is a general move within the

S2 Publications Ltd or the editor can be held responsible for its contents. The views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Publishers.

industry towards products that can handle both audio and video,’ Hansen added. ‘We have the technology to create these products and we aim to position ourselves as a modern, progressive company that can adapt to the demands of it customers.’

S2 Publications Ltd. Registered in England and Wales.

Company number: 4375084.

Jose Rosillo (pictured) from Madrid is already enjoying the TL Audio 5060 compressor he won in the Resolution magazine competition a few issues ago.

We can also announce the winner of our Audix SCX25 competition.

The lucky recipient is Steve Nelson from Ellington, UK. Our thanks go to Audix and distributor Sterling Audio for making this happen.

You have a chance to win a fabulous set of SE Electronics mics in this issue on page 57.

Management buy out of Netia The management team and employees have bought out Netia from its existing shareholder EVS Broadcast Equipment. The move has the support of investors I-Source Gestion (France) and Mangrove Capital Partners (Luxembourg).

‘The years 1990 to 2000 were marked in the audiovisual sector by the passage from analogue to digital. We are now experiencing a new revolution in this sector by the overwhelming arrival of IT (IP technologies).

Our wish is to make Netia a major international player in this field,’ said Christophe Carniel and Pierre Keiflin the founders and Directors of Netia. In parallel to the MBO, a European project with several partners including RTL in Belgium is in the process of being registered.

ANVAR (National council for the promotion of research in industry) has already confirmed that it will finance the project.

• French software company Manreo has joined the Netia group. The new entity will be able to offer simple, innovative and competitive solutions to major players in the IP Media market.

(L-R) Lundgaard’s Dave Hyatt, Sayer, Heyworth and Lundgaard’s Ebbe Ravn.

Following Resolution’s report on Danish Lundgaard studios, Leo Sayer has since taken his DVD project to Simon Heyworth’s Super Audio Mastering facility in Devon, UK for some stereo mastering to ATR AriaAmpeg 1/2-inch.

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resolution

October 2004

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news A&H hits 35

Meta installs first Dutch Icon

(l-r) Debbie Maxted, Bob Goleniowski, Andrew Sterling, Ivor Taylor and Glenn Rogers.

Allen & Heath hosted a party during the PLASA exhibition on London’s Tower Bridge to celebrate its 35th anniversary. ‘For anyone in the manufacturing industry to survive 35 years and to still be continually expanding is a phenomenal success,’ said Allen & Heath MD Glenn Rogers. ‘Allen & Heath has an extraordinarily innovative past and we are heading towards a bright and exciting future. Here’s to the next 35 years!’

Guests from the company’s network of distributors attended a dinner with special guest speakers from the original management team — Andrew Sterling and Ivor Taylor — who joined the company in 1969.

Daking console takes Manhattan

Meta Sound studios in Amsterdam has installed a 32 fader DigiDesign Icon. The largest film mix theatre in Holland is the only one with high-speed film projection, JBL 3-way monitoring and Dolby DMU mastering. Meta is now an all-Pro Tools facility as it employs the system at all stages of production.

• London’s first Icon D-Control console has been installed at Scrub, HHB’s specialist postproduction division based in Soho. The console will be used for private demonstrations and training at Scrub’s Berwick Street demo suite with sessions conducted by the UK’s only Icon certified specialist — Scrub product specialist Niels Stevens.

APPOINTMENTS Industry veteran Joe Desmond has formed Joe Desmond and Associates (JDA) to specialise in the distribution, as well as Northern CA representation, of professional audio, home theatre, sound contracting and AV integration products. He is already handling US distribution for Apex, Equi=Tech Corporation, Kling and Freitag Sound Systems, Powercom USA and Pragmatic Communications Systems. Joe previously held the position of VP of sales and marketing with Furman Sound.

Ross McFarlane has joined the sales team of Audient Group as product specialist for Audient and LA Audio.

He recently graduated from LIPA in the UK, just two years after UK sales manager Nick Pemberton.

Anne Liversidge has rejoined the Audient marketing team to handle press and distributor communications on a part time basis for Audient and LA Audio.

Rupert Neve trades as Rupert Neve Designs Engineer and musician Jack McKeever has installed a Daking 1112 Custom Console at his project facility in Manhattan. The desk is configured with 32 inputs, 8 buses, and Daking’s multitrack monitor mixer, which returns 24 tracks into the desk.

‘I think what drew me to this console was that in this group there was so little to choose from,’ said McKeever. ‘The nice thing was that the audio dealer told me about Geoff Daking. I had no idea who he was. I called Geoff and out of the blue he sent me a couple of mic pres and said, “Try them for a while and see what you think”.’

Daking’s 1112 combines classic audio designs with modern manufacturing methods to recreate the sound quality and performance of vintage consoles without the maintenance headaches.

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October 2004

Rupert Neve has announced the expansion of his company ARN Consultants LLC — the corporate operating company — and is now trading as Rupert Neve Designs. Drake Williams has joined the technical design team of Kevin Burgin and Michael Glass and Sandra Kuhns has joined the management team. This follows the ending of a 15-year relationship between Rupert Neve and Amek, which saw the launch of a number of Super Analogue consoles and several ranges of outboard gear in collaboration with Amek co-founder Graham Langley.

R&D designs, now in production by Taylor Guitars, have encouraged Rupert to go into new areas. After three years of R&D in close collaboration with Billy Stull of Masterpiece Mastering, a product focused on mastering, The Masterpiece, will be unveiled at AES San Francisco.

The company has acquired new premises in Flite Acres, Wimberley, Texas and plans to

Valter, Oestergaard and Munch.

(L-R) Kevin Burgin, Drake Williams, Michael Glass and Rupert Neve. expand the facility shortly to handle predicted increasing demand. Rupert Neve Designs will also be announcing three new ranges of outboard equipment manufactured in Wimberley.

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TC Electronic in Denmark has added two new staff and promoted another. Michael Munch and Thomas Valter are new product managers and Valter’s former position as international PR manager has been succeeded by Troels Oestergaard.

Thomas will concentrate on the PowerCore platform while Michael will concentrate on PA and installation products.

Beyerdynamic has been appointed distributor in the UK & Eire for German company ProdyTel, a developer of ISDN audio streaming solutions.

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news BBC R&M adopts Dynaudio standard

APPOINTMENTS Tascam has appointed Marsh Gooch to the position of national marketing manager in the US. He has been involved in marketing at Mackie Designs, Spirit

by Soundcraft, Line 6, SWR Sound Corporation and, most recently, The ESP Guitar Company.

Tascam is distributing Nomad Factory plug-ins in the US and has also taken on the distribution of Kamesan location mixers in the US.

Dynaudio Acoustics AIR Series and BM Series have been selected as the preferred monitor choice for BBC Radio & Music though TC Electronic and HHB. The speakers had to pass technical evaluations, extensive blind listening tests, and factory inspections. During 2005, much of BBC Radio & Music will move to a new facility as part of the redevelopment of Broadcasting House. New studios and production areas are being built that will include multichannel working.

Brauner for PRS FAR has finished the design and installation of the acoustics in Alfacam’s OB 17 sound van.

The acoustic specifications were designed by Jean-Philippe Ovaert who wanted to achieve recording studio quality in the small space of the OB van as well as incorporating 5.1 capability. FAR achieved this by reducing the first reflections from the speakers down to 150Hz, diffusing all rear reflections above 150Hz and absorbing frequencies below and reducing furniture effects. FAR MD Pierre Thomas said that the project was a success and that the company has now added the acoustic design of OB vans to its list of skills.

A-T at the Olympics Guitar builder Paul Reed Smith of PRS fame has bought a Brauner VM1 mic for his Riverhouse recording studio. ‘It’s the best all-round mic I’ve ever heard — period,’ he said. ‘You can use it on anything and it will sound musical. Our constant question about a track is how musical does it sound? The Brauner sounds musical on just about anything that you put it on, and it needs very little EQ. It’s exceptionally versatile with extraordinary performance on acoustic guitars, drum overheads, hi-hats, electric guitars and vocals. It’s just a ridiculously good microphone.’ Smith has also bought a Soundelux 195.

Pure Distribution, a division of Stirling Audio, has been appointed UK distributor for Ashly’s range of power amplifiers, equalisers and crossovers.

DTS has hired Rodney Orpheus as business development manager, DTS Entertainment, Europe, which is an entertainment label that licenses, produces and markets DVD-Audio and 5.1 music discs featuring DTS sound. He is responsible for signing new artists, releasing surround music titles, and managing promotion and sales of the catalogue. Most recently, he served as technology evangelist for Steinberg Digital Audio in Germany and prior to that he was manager of the Original Artists record label.

DTS has appointed consumer electronics industry veteran Ronald Stone to its board of directors. A top executive at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. for 28 years, his appointment as an independent director brings the company’s board of directors to eight members.

Pharos Communications has appointed Tony Bellamy as international sales manager. He joins from Quantel where he was global product manager – graphics.

6

Audio-Technica microphones were once again used by the host broadcast organisation at a major international sporting event — the Olympic Games in Athens.

Following similar support at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics and the Manchester Commonwealth Games, Athens Olympic Broadcasting (AOB) used Audio-Technica microphones and wireless microphones throughout the 41 venues over the entire duration of the event, including the opening and closing ceremonies.

More than 5000 A-T mics and wireless mics in 25 different models were used to provide the audio soundtrack. ‘Microphone selection and placement is a key to the quality of the broadcast,’ said Dennis Baxter, sound designer for AOB. ‘You need to hear the athletes running, the bat cracking the ball. You should be able to close your eyes and know what sport is on TV, whether it is gymnastics, track and field, badminton, whatever.

‘Coming from a studio background I believe in using a lot of mics, aggressively when necessary. The quality of their

diaphragm technology has been critical in designing very successful shotgun models, which has helped me tremendously in my job,’ he said.

• RTS/Telex Zeus matrices were used for the communications systems of broadcasters from Denmark (DRDK), Korea (NBC), Japan (TV Asahi and Japan Consortium) and the USA (NBC).

The Athens Olympic Broadcasting was using two 256 x 256 ADAM matrices — one to liaise with the various competition venues, the other providing communication in CD quality with the International Broadcasting Centre, which was relaying the images to networks all over the world. NBC also used ADAM-based systems comprising three 136-port matrices and a fiveframe matrix with 600 x 600 connections.

resolution

Finnish National Broadcaster YLE co-operated with Lawo for its Olympic Games coverage in hiring diamond consoles for the event to use in a production capacity. All events of the Olympic Games that took place in the Olympic Stadium — the opening and closing ceremony as well as the athletics contests — were produced by production company Alfacam. Five OB vans with Lawo technology were used for the large Olympic Stadium with four vehicles producing a programme for the individual sports and one central OB van generating the Olympic Stadium programme via a Lawo mc282. The distribution between the units was performed via Lawo Nova73 HD routing systems.

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news APPOINTMENTS APT has promoted Kevin Campbell to hardware sales engineer with particular responsibility for the postproduction and broadcast sectors in Southern and Eastern Europe and the Broadcast Sector in the US. He joined APT in 2003 as customer support engineer.

APT has appointed Broadcast Services Australia Limited as its new distributor in Australia.

The FX Group has restructured its technical department following the Pope and Rogerson. departure of technical director Frank Oglethorpe, who has relocated to the US. Adam Pope, who has worked in a technical capacity for FX, has been promoted to technical manager. He previously worked as an audio engineer in Prague and in Soundcraft’s R&D department. Graeme Rogerson, previously a freelancer at FX’s repairs and service arm Cimple Solutions, has been recruited to assist Pope in maintenance of FX’s own equipment.

Nick Burkingyoung has been promoted to manager of the Pro Tools department.

US based Jimmy Kawalek has been hired as worldwide business development manager for the licensing program of Digigram’s patented EtherSound technology. He joins from Peak Audio where he was in charge of business development for Peak’s CobraNet technology and has also worked for Group One, dbx, Allen & Heath, Crest Audio, QSC Audio, EAW, and Renkus-Heinz.

Steve Jordan and Christian Kraska, director SDS Music Factory Pro Audio Division. Also pictured SDS Music Factory Ltd’s Stefano Pagani.

Mission Professional has appointed SDS Music Factory Ltd in Switzerland to distribute its Pro Audio products.

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Mackie celebrates 15 years Loud held a ‘Loud A Palooza’ gathering at its Woodinville HQ over a weekend in September to celebrate Mackie’s 15th anniversary and to gather international distributors for hands-on training on new products and to give a taster of where the Loud companies are heading.

Aside from the launch of new products, the event saw the return to the fold of Greg Mackie. Taking a break from the day-to-day operations of the business, Greg Mackie stepped down as Mackie’s CEO in 2000. Since then he has been focused on product development although the company says that he has never stopped being a guiding hand for the product development team at Mackie. It was announced that Greg will once again take an active role in the product development group at Loud Technologies and we were told to expect news on a new line of products, unlike anything ever before offered by the Mackie brand, in the coming months.

A lot has changed since Mackie arrived on the scene with its individual take on high quality and affordable analogue mixers, and the brand’s progress has mapped the industry’s shift over 15 years. The flip to digital, the purchase and launch of other brands, some business difficulties followed by outside investment, major restructuring, and a shift to manufacturing of the mass market lines to the Far East has resulted in a group of brands operating under the Loud umbrella that is now in increasingly good shape. There is a strong sense of optimism at Woodinville that it is building on the brand’s core strengths and market position while also setting standards with trailblazing products like the digitalXbus. The sense of fun that has always been synonymous with the Mackie brand has also been retained. As senior VP marketing Ken Berger said: ‘We’re back to what Mackie has always done best, which is creating new markets and changing expectations through technical innovation. It’s not just about price, it’s about innovation.’ ZS

Forty years of firsts from Calrec Calrec was UK console acquired by manufacturer AMS Industries Calrec Audio is in 1986 and its celebrating its d i g i t a l 40th anniverdevelopment sary. Formed in programme was an attic in merged with Hebden Bridge AMS, eventually in 1956 by Ken launched as the Farrar, Clem Beaumont, Ken (l-r) Engineering director George Waddington, finan- AMS Logic 1. years Ellis, Howard cial director Graham Warren, Steve Jagger, sales Three Smith and Percy director John Gluck, technical director Patrick later, following a management Hopwood to Warrington. develop hi-fi amps, by the 1960s they had buy out by several original Calrec staff progressed to cardioid mic design as the members, Calrec moved back to Hebden Calder Valley Sound Recording Group (later Bridge. Ken Farrar became chairman with shortened to Calrec). It became a limited Stephen Jagger as MD, George company in 1964 building mics for Fi-Cord Waddington as technical director and and servicing them for Beyer, before Graham Warren as finance director. Ken launching a range of Calrec mics sold remained chief design engineer until his death in 2002. alongside Beyer.

Concentrating exclusively on broadcast, By 1970 Calrec was making broadcastspecific mixing consoles for the BBC and Calrec focused on analogue design ITV with the first-ever stereo broadcast until the launch of the Alpha 100 in 1999 console in 1977. It launched the Soundfield and the company has 100 digital mic in 1978 and was developing digitally TVconsoles on air across the world. The assignable consoles by the turn of the Alpha was followed by the medium decade — the VCS — and had started work format Sigma 100 in 2002 and the Zeta 100 a year later. on an all-digital product.

resolution

AC/DC in 5.1 Aria When asked to mix the 5.1 surround soundtrack for DVD release of AC/DC’s 1991 concert film, Live at Donington, engineer Mike Fraser expressed his preference for mixing to analogue and used a Studer A827 transport equipped with Aria Reference Series Electronics and a custom 2-inch 8-track headblock from ATR Services.

‘I was totally blown away,’ said Fraser of the first mix playbacks. ‘It had very nice definition, with crisp, clear highs, while the bottom end didn’t get murky as it sometimes does.’

The project was mixed at New York’s Quad Studios and mastered by Darcy Proper at Sony Studios, also in New York. The same Aria electronics and headblock used for the mix at Quad were also used for mastering.

Four Constellations Four Fairlight Constellation consoles have been installed in facilities in France and Belgium. One Constellation has just been installed and another is on its way to France 3 TV in Orleans while Francais Des Images, which produces TV shows and long form programming, has upgraded from an MFX to a Constellation. In Belgium, Option Studios, which works in advertising and DVD mastering, has also gone from MFX Plus to Constellation and will be adding Pyxis.

London facility Strongroom Studios has adopted Pyramix in conjunction with DCS convertors as a DSD mastering device — the final masters are printed to the system (at the mastering stage), and then any final level adjustments and fades are performed.

QC points are then established to produce an Edit Master that is sent for authoring and manufacture. ‘We use Pyramix predominantly for Super Audio CD production,’ explained Strongroom postproduction manager Rob Kelly. ‘As one of Europe’s leading centres for 5.1 mixing, we have produced several Super Audio titles using Pyramix for artists such as Ronan Keating, Groove Armada, Snow Patrol and Kinobe.’

October 2004

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news THE BIG PICTURE

• Compression technology specialists Coding Technologies has shown the world’s first USB receiver for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) digital broadcasting in the long, medium/AM, and short-wave bands. The little box, which is called the Digital World Traveller, is connected to the USB port of a PC and comes with Digital World Traveller Radio Software, which can receive DRM, FM and AM radio programmes. It is the third DRM receiver from Coding and will be sold at a ‘competitive’ price.

‘We are convinced that this ambitious project will contribute to the success of Digital Radio Mondiale by giving an easier access to the technology for a broader community,’ said Stefan Meltzer, VP business development at Coding.

The DVD Forum has selected Coding’s High-Efficiency AAC (HE AAC) codec as the mandatory format for the new Compressed Audio Zone in DVD Audio. Known in the market as MPEG-4 aacPlus and fully standardized by MPEG, HE AAC enables the inclusion of high-quality pre-compressed audio on DVD Audio discs.

These tracks can be easily transferred directly to portable music players and jukeboxes in a protected format without the complexity of ‘ripping’ the disc. It supports stereo and 5.1 at sampling rates up to 96kHz. Via Licensing has announced that patent licenses for Coding Technologies’ HE AAC are now available through the MPEG-4 Audio patent pool.

America Online has licensed the aacPlus v2 audio codec for use with its media delivery platform and the NSV file format.

• At the Digital Radio Mondiale consortium’s first board meetings in Russia, Voice of Russia announced the implementation and planned expansion of its DRM broadcasts on shortwave and medium-wave. ‘Now is the right time to introduce digital broadcasting standards in Russia,’ said Voice of Russia head Armen Oganisyan. ‘We have modified our existing transmitter network so that it has DRM capability, and we plan to expand the current broadcast schedule to serve even more listeners in the coming months.’

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DPA jazz in Oporto recording DPA Microphones’ Portuguese distributor AudioPro played a major role in the recording of an album for jazz pianist Rodrigo Goncalves. The Lisbon-based company provided funding, technical knowledge and equipment, including a range of DPA microphones, for the sessions.

Tribology, released on CD by Portuguese jazz label Capella Blue Series, was recorded at MB Studios in Oporto with the project co-produced by the artist and AudioPro co-owner and sound engineer Paulo Ferreira, who supervised all technical aspects.

DPA microphones were used for the entire recording. A pair of 4003s as overhead drum mics were complemented by a 4007 for the bass drum and a pair of 4012s to emphasise the toms. The double bass was handled by a 4061 miniature mic under the bridge using DPA’s microphone holder for strings, and a similar setup was used for the guitarist. The piano was miked with a pair of 4041s and 4006s were used for the saxophones.

‘These leading jazz musicians play music which can, at times, be very delicate or really energetic, and the fact they never do more than two or three takes means there’s little margin for error,’ said Ferreira. ‘With DPA you can’t go wrong.

As we own the original recordings, they make first class material to demonstrate the excellence of the microphones.’

CBC chooses Innovason for broadcast programming

CBC’s new Radio and TV building in Quebec has installed three Innovason consoles for its TV and radio programming.

Two Sy40s are at the heart of two new On Air radio studios; each Sy40 is equipped with a remote stage box, 48 inputs and 32 outputs. An Sy80, equipped with 80 inputs and 80 mixed analogue and digital outputs, has been installed in the audio control room of a new On Air TV studio. All three studios are in use around the clock, broadcasting public affairs, cultural and musical programming, as well as newscasting across the national French network.

‘We looked at many different brands of digital,’ said Jacques André Thibeault, senior sound engineer at CBC Radio (pictured). ‘On the wish list was to have as many faders as possible on the work surface; as many output

buses as possible; rapid reboot; as short a propagation delay as possible; sample rate convertors for AES-EBU inputs; flexibility in selecting the hardware configuration (digital or analogue inputs and outputs); physical size; ease of transition from an analogue mixer when training operators; redundancy of power supplies; ease of maintenance; modular construction; flexibility to do a radio show with live musicians’ monitor mixes; no multilayer operation; and last but not least, price. Our trust in Sennheiser Canada as Innovason’s local representative also greatly influenced our final decision to invest in the brand.’

‘This is a trend we are seeing more and more, and Innovason desks with their proven reliability for live mixing are a natural choice for live to air broadcast applications,’ said Innovason sales and marketing director Nick Cook.

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Lake EQ crosses over into mastering Following the implementation of the Lake Contour digital speaker processor in touring and installed sound, the arrival of Lake Mesa Quad EQ has seen the company’s asymmetrical Mesa Filter and EQ filter being adopted in studio mastering.

Mastering engineer Bill Wolf from Wolf Productions in Alexandria, VA is one of the first to take it on having been introduced to Lake Mesa EQ Parametric Overlays and Ideal Graphic EQ by sound engineer Greg Lukens who had used it in live work.

‘I noticed that the equaliser did things sonically that I had only previously heard in the mastering studio,’ said Lukens. ‘But the style and quality of the equaliser and its interface far surpasses anything currently available for the mastering studio.’

‘The thing that gets you right away is the sound,’ added Wolf. ‘The unit has a very solid sound and yet is capable of really opening the treble.’

‘Having the full bandwidth at high resolution up to 40kHz gives a new meaning to putting a little air on the mix,’ he said.

‘It’s just a sweet sound that really does hold up when you down-sample to 44.1.’

The asymmetrical filtering of the Lake EQ provides the ability to separate the sides of a parametric section, change centre frequencies, and adjust slopes independently. With EQ Overlay processing a virtually unlimited number of EQ filters may be implemented.

College Sports Television, the fastest-growing independent US cable network, is now using a Soundcraft Series Five as the main on-air audio production console at its new headquarters and broadcast centre on Manhattan’s West Side. The 32-channel desk has a customised configuration of 24 mono and eight stereo inputs and is mixing all of CSTV’s original programming. CSTV, the first 24-hour college sports network, is available to more than 20 million homes nationally on cable and satellite.

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THE PERFECT MATCH

The DPA 3521 stereo kit. Two DPA 4021 compact cardioid microphones matched within 2 dB on frequency response, sensitivity and self noise.

Supplied in a robust carrying case with an XY/ORTF holder, two gooseneck mounts and two magnet bases, the DPA 3521 is designed for low profile mounting inside pianos. It's also the perfect stereo pair for drums, horn and string sections and choirs, and a spot pair for acoustic ensembles.

The DPA 3521 stereo kit - the perfect partner for your instruments.

For more information call +45 4814 2828 or visit www.dpamicrophones.com DPA Microphones A/S info@dpamicrophones.com

JUST ADD TALENT

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news THE BIG PICTURE • The UK’s Capital Radio and GWR have merged to create the UK’s largest commercial radio group, with one national (Classic FM) radio station, 55 local analogue radio stations and 93 digital radio stations.

Capital shareholders will hold 52% and GWR 48%. It will have a combined reach of around 18 million listeners (36% of the UK commercial radio audience) and an annual turnover of UK£243 million and pretax profits of UK£40 million.

According to researchers and the Digital Radio Development Bureau, digital radio will reach a million UK households by the end of the year.

• Thomson has signed a manufacturing agreement with BSkyB to produce its newest version of the Sky+ digital satellite receiver and integrated digital video recorder (DVR). Sky+ 160 is the first box in the Sky+ family to offer increased storage capacity with a 160Gb drive for some 80 hours of recording. It also has USB 2.0 for future applications.

• More than one in five UK households has a broadband connection, according to a study, making the UK one of the fastest growing markets for high-speed Internet access. The market broke 5 million subscribers last month and is expected to grow 64% over the next 15 months, according to research firm Baskerville.

The UK and French broadband markets are the fastest growing in Western Europe and are expected to surpass Germany as Europe’s biggest broadband market in the next year.

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Biz bites

If you could invest for a 6.3% average growth rate, would you put money into our recording business? asks Nigel Jopson.

PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts the global entertainment and media industry will grow to US$1.7 trillion in 2008, up from US$1.2 trillion in 2003. In the US, digital music sales increased from $13 million in 2002 to $71 million in 2003, and are projected to swell to a massive $2.2 billion in 2008. That’s a compound rate of more than 700%! If these figures are near the mark, there must be commensurate erosion of physical sales in mature markets, although CD sales are predicted to rise in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Microsoft intends to muscle in on this digital media bonanza, and has launched MSN Music, its much anticipated online music store. Far more significant was Windows Media Player 10, the Janus digital-rights management software (to be built into portable music players) and the forthcoming Portable Media Centre device (a multimedia Pocket PC). ‘This idea of consuming and using music on your desktop is becoming a significant part of what people do on their computers, and Microsoft doesn’t want to be left out,’ said Josh Bernoff, principal analyst with Forrester Research. However: ‘... it is far more important that Windows media becomes standard than their music store becomes the leader, because controlling the future of digital media ... is probably one of the top forwardlooking objectives of the Microsoft Corporation.’

September 1st saw the launch of the UK official download chart, trailered in Resolution V2.6. Contrary to hopeful predictions from enlightened pundits that it would give alternative music a chance, the top spots were occupied by teen bands Westlife and Blazin’ Squad.

Most of the downloads came from the bands own websites — reinforcing the crucial role artist sites will play. The UK’s top spandex-rockers The Darkness started selling digital songs at 99p from their website. In an echo of veteran prog-rockers Marillion (Resolution V2.4), The Darkness will initially be marketing to it’s mailing list of 100,000 fans.

Having read the Resolution business column last month, Darkness manager Sue Whitehouse said, ‘Downloading and mobile phones are the future. There’s no getting away from it and we have to embrace it.’ Reinforcing the Biz bites scorn for CD copy protection, she went on to reveal: ‘When we first released the album we had it copy-protected, which I didn’t want. I really argued that you hear terrible things about CDs not working and messing up computers, but the record company talked me into it, saying there was new technology that had proved to be problem-free. And, of course, the album came out and we were flooded with complaints about it not working!’

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Nordic Rentals doubles up on KT splits Nordic Rentals A/S, one of Denmark’s leading rental and production companies, has taken delivery of a further five Klark Teknik DN1248 Plus active signal splitters and now has a total of ten units.

‘We used to buy our splitters from another manufacturer, but the problem was that they just didn’t have the capacity to accept high input levels without distorting or clipping,’ explained Nordic’s chief engineer and head of sound, Jens Elsborg (pictured). ‘For example, signal from, say, a high-hat or a condenser mic, just used to send them off the scale. We would then have to reduce the gain by as much as 10dB so that the split could handle the signal safely, but of course, in a festival situation when the next monitor guy comes and plugs his gear in... it’s very frustrating.

‘However, with the KT device, you can just plug it in and walk away. It has sufficient headroom to handle pretty much anything we throw at it up to +21dBu without clipping or distorting, and of course it sounds great,’ he said.

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Alchemy Take established mastering and postproduction operations, double the capacity and move the lot to the 29th floor of one of London’s landmark buildings and you have a recipe for an interesting setup.

T

HE FACILITY IN question is Alchemy and the building is Centre Point, which when it was built in the 1960s towered out of place of New Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road but now appears pleasingly retro and right on the London skyline.

The move to these new premises was necessitated by the growth of Alchemy’s business and coincided with some major shifts in the London mastering and post scenes and created a timely home for some heavyweight engineers. Ray Staff, John Davis, and Chris Potter (all exSony Whitfield Street) joined Alchemy mastering engineers Martin Giles (ex-CTS) and Alchemy cofounder Barry Grint; Tim Lofts (ex-Saunders & Gordon) headed up the postproduction wing with Alchemy cofounder Rowan Laxton. The new site has two mastering rooms with lathes, two post rooms, CD duplication, a digital transfer room, an e-copy room, a machine room, plus a kitchen and a reception area not far off the size of many small Soho post facilities.

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ZENON SCHOEPE I feel I need to get the issue of Alchemy’s panoramic view of London out of the way now so I don’t keep referring to it later. It is truly incredible. Perched at the North West corner of the Soho boundary you get uninterrupted views across the city in all directions — Alchemy has the whole of the 29th floor — and control rooms have vistas that rival those of any studio in the world. Certainly beats a Soho basement.

Master mastering engineer Ray Staff had taught Barry Grint to cut records at Trident and when Trident was bought by Tape One and became Audio One, Rowan Laxton was recruited for his background in commercials and music mixing. Barry and Rowan started Alchemy eight years ago on £15,000 in a little building in Goodge Place. During the day Rowan was doing his voice work with Barry as teaboy and in the evenings Barry mastered CDs with Rowan as teaboy.

One control room, one voice booth, one reception, 450sqft and two client bases. resolution

They borrowed £30,000 for a cutting lathe to build on Barry’s mastering work and got the use of the Hidley mastering room at the old Tape One building, which was not being used by its new owners but was still fully functional. They were a successful ‘twocentre’ operation but ‘a logistical nightmare’, according to Rowan, and were soon on the look out for premises that would allow them to combine it under one roof.

‘We started looking around Soho about four years ago, we wanted something with a Wow factor and if we did find a nice building it wasn’t suitable enough to put mastering and recording studios in next to each other, and there were generally pillars all over the place,’ says Rowan. ‘Barry had this bright idea about Centre Point but I thought it would be way out of our league. We looked at it and at the time they were trying to encourage media associated companies into the building. We were looking at the 16th floor — it gets more expensive the higher you go. We managed to do a good deal on the rent but then realised that we wouldn’t be able to run the air conditioning from the top or the bottom so we went back to the landlords and cut the same deal with them for the 29th floor, which we knew was available.’

After all the glitz and glory of its opening as a new London landmark that typified the era that saw it built, Centre Point went from flash and brash to trash as the building stood empty for a good many years and its environs became popular with down and outs and October 2004

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facility winos. Today it is imposingly plush with masses spent on smartening up the building and its surroundings.

‘There were always plans to have two mastering and two recording areas,’ explains Rowan. ‘What changed was that we became aware that Sony (Whitfield Street) studios was closing [Now fully operational again as Whitfield Street under the auspices of Robin Millar, Resolution V3.4]. We had already been speaking to Ray (Staff) who looked like he would come and join us, and when Sony pulled the plug we approached the mastering engineers and John Davis and Chris Potter said they would come over too.

We also took on Emily for bookings.

‘We were still looking for an engineer to run the recording side, I’d done it in the past but knew I needed time to run the business,’ he continues. ‘We approached Tim (Lofts) who was at Saunders & Gordon [now closed] who said he was interested.

‘We thought that we would only be able get a No. 2 engineer but Tim joining changed things because we’d actually managed to get a No.1 engineer and that upped things because he has serious clients — it all had to look nice, we were now going for the top clients, not a lower price bracket.’

Just as developers’ plans to build a piazza type area outside Centre Point were scuppered by the revelation that the awful fountain outside the building (once a premium-dare place for drunk males to empty their bladders ‘of a night out’) was Grade 2 listed, so were Alchemy’s need-for-speed building plans.

‘Not only is the fountain Grade 2 listed, so is the external view of Centre Point,’ explains Barry. ‘That means you have to get listed building consent if you want to put up any partitions that are near the windows.’ They couldn’t take so much as a bag of nails into the empty shell of the 29th floor without the building consent and predictably it was very slow in coming. As it happened it’s all worked out rather well; later than intended but the mastering rooms opened at the beginning of March with postproduction kicking in a month later.

Acoustic design was by Sean Davis. ‘The biggest challenge was that they need to have roaring dance music here in a mastering room and voice overs across the corridor in post,’ he says. ‘That’s been solved and the isolation is excellent. The other challenge was to avoid a “padded crash helmet” feeling in a room with a low ceiling structure. The rooms are floating but we were very constrained by the ceiling height.’ The rooms sound light and comfortable and not in the slightest bit oppressive (maybe the view has something to do with that too).

The view is one thing but there is a downside if you need to build up there. The lift could take three sheets of plasterboard at a time and the build required 800 boards. The wooden joists were far too long for the lifts so these were hauled up the stairwell with rope.

A kit list had been combined for all four rooms from input of all the engineers and Total Audio Solutions got involved and became the principle supplier for the project. The mastering rooms run Sadie while the postproduction rooms run Merging Pyramix. No Pro Tools? ‘It’s a great system and I won’t knock it but it originated as a music package and is a perfect tool for musicians,’ states Rowan. ‘Unfortunately it doesn’t do mastering and that’s the reason Alchemy adopted Sadie in the first place, it was a mastering tool and an audio postproduction tool. We’ve moved to Pyramix in the post here because it also is a mastering tool and post tool. They are the two systems that do both those things equally well.’

October 2004

Both post rooms run Soundtracs DS-00 consoles and permit projects to move with demand. ‘That’s the whole point of having Soundtracs desks, we can interchange the data and as they’re both running Pyramix that also helps,’ says Tim Lofts. ‘With commercials people it’s all very last minute and very fast turnaround and we can use the same desk no matter which room the job goes in to. Clients won’t wait a day or two just so they can come back into the same room when its empty, they’ll wait an hour or two and we have to have that flexibility to move things around.’

Barry adds that they have paid particular attention to future expandability. All rooms are 5.1 ready and even the DK meters can be upgraded to surround when required.

While Tim concentrates on radio and TV commercials his previous experience says there’s also the cinema trailers market to address. This will be accommodated in a proposed Phase 2 build, expected later next year, which will see the opening of a large multichannel Dolby room in the ample space of the massive reception area. This will allow cinema trailers to be done well while also doubling as a 5.1 mastering room.

The mastering engineers share rooms on a day on, day off rota. ‘The Maselec is the heart of the control room for me, I used it at Sony and it’s really good,’ explains Ray. ‘It’s definitely the best mastering room I’ve ever had, you can always want more but I’m really happy with it and it’s getting great results. The rooms sound good, Sean’s done a great job on the acoustics, they’re much better than the ones we had at Sony.’

Rumours of vinyl’s demise are greatly exaggerated according to Ray who says that 80% of Alchemy’s mastering output is vinyl. ‘From the mastering point of view it has always been consistent business,’ he says adding that he is cutting more vinyl now than he was ten years ago and that the UK remains something of a lathe capital of the world.

Ray doesn’t believe that a generation has been lost to the importance of mastering with the empowerment of modern technology. ‘I think we went through a slightly negative phase where the attitude was: why give it to a mastering engineer when you can do it yourself,’ he says. ‘It doesn’t matter how many software tools they have at home, they can’t get it right and now they are coming back to people who know what they’re doing. And they can hear the difference.’ resolution

‘Vinyl led that to a certain extent,’ adds Barry.

‘People thought they could do the mastering at home and then they decided to do it on vinyl so it had to come in somewhere where a guy has some experience. They then realise that the vinyl sounds better than what they’ve done. They come back for the CD too.

‘Clients find it relaxing up here because you are detached from all the hurly-burly,’ explains Barry. It looks like London out of the window, but it doesn’t feel like it. The two that started it all remain excited by the project but similarly realistic and cautious. ‘The danger is that you try and take on too much and you don’t quite deliver on anything,’ says Barry. ‘We’re being sensible, we’ve got the rooms open and working well.

Then we can think about 5.1 as the next stage.’

‘We had to move because we were at full capacity,’ adds Rowan. ‘I’m really glad that we’ve done it because it really is a most prestigious setup and we want to encourage people to just come and look at it.’

I’ve seen it, you should too. Oh, that view... ■

Contact ALCHEMY SOHO, UK: 29th Floor, Centre Point, 103 New Oxford Street, London. WC1A 1DD Tel: +44 207 420 8000 E-mail: info@alchemysoho.com

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gear

Products Equipment introductions and announcements plus news on Digidesign, Steinberg and Logic.

FIREWIRE, PHONES AMPS AND TAPCO SUB Mackie’s Onyx 400F is a 10-channel, 192kHz-capable FireWire audio interface that features the flagship Onyx microphone preamps as well as on-board DSP matrix mixing for latency free headphone mixing and routing independent of the DAW software.

Front panel controls include control room output level, dual independent headphone outputs with dedicated level control, dual instrument inputs, and four-segment metering for the mic inputs. The rear panel includes four combo mic/line inputs, balanced TRS sends and returns for the first two mic inputs, four line inputs, 8 line outputs, control room outputs, Wordclock I-O, MIDI I-O, SPDIF I-O and two FireWire ports.

The HM54 4-channel headphone amplifier and the HMX56 tabletop matrix mixer/amplifier offer robust steel construction and high sonic quality.

Designed to complement the Tapco Sï5 and Sï8 active studio monitors, the SWï10 active subwoofer has a 10-inch woofer with a 120W amp. Connections include a pair of XLR balanced inputs and a pair of RCA unbalanced inputs.

Stereo high-pass outputs are provided on XLR balanced and RCA unbalanced. Input sensitivity and polarity controls combine with a 4th-order, 24dB/octive Linkwitz-Riley crossover that is variable independently from 55-110Hz. Mackie’s SRM350 active loudspeaker incorporates a 10-inch LF woofer and a wave-guide-loaded 1-inch HF driver with an on-board amplifier that supplies 165W to the LF driver and 30W for the HF. Active Protection Management System employs limiting and variable thermal response circuitry to limit high input signals levels while Dynamic Bass Boost boosts low-end frequencies as volume levels are reduced. www.mackie.com

SMART DAW CONTROLLER

Smart AV’s Smart Console DAW mixing control surface incorporates ARC technology, which uses a physical ‘arc’ to present and unify the functions of interrogation and channel selection into a spatially fixed array providing instant access to any channel or combination of channels. You touch the strip, the desired channel and the channels surrounding

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Platform news: Digidesign Digidesign Venue is a live sound mixing and processing environment that was designed with input from live sound professionals. It has a host of expandable hardware subsystems and software components. These include the D-Show mixing console with expandable digital mix engine and control software, mix position analogue and digital I-O, remote-controlled mic/line preamps, a multichannel digital snake, and Personal Q artist-controlled monitor mixing option. Venue also supports DSP effects plug-in processing and features an integrated recording and playback option for Pro Tools systems.

Internal 48-bit processing provides every channel of the D-Show console with delay, 4-band parametric EQ (including additional 4th order HPF) and two dynamics processors. D-Show’s EQ algorithms have four fully overlapping 20Hz-20kHz bands with +/-18dB and a separate analogue EQ emulation mode. D-Show’s remotecontrolled mic/line preamps and convertors use a digital snake system.

Multiple redundant subsystems ensure that audio continues to pass through to the speakers in the event of a system restart and operators retain complete control over channel mutes and faders during a restart.

Get the most out of your Pro Tools|24 MIX system with new feature enhancements offered in free Pro Tools TDM 6.4.1 software — the final software release to support the Pro Tools|24 MIX product line. The update enables Pro Tools|24 MIX owners to add new features and to maintain session compatibility with current Pro Tools|HD-series systems with features like +12dB fader gain. For Mac OS X users, it adds Panther support and a subset of the new features found in Pro Tools TDM 6.4 software (now shipping with Pro Tools|HD) along with some Pro Tools|24 MIX-specific bug fixes.

Through November 30, 2004, Pro Tools users can visit the DigiStore on the Digidesign website and browse through Pro Tools-related learning media, and purchase any number of items at 30% off list pricing. www.digidesign.com

it immediately appear in front of the operator. Even handwritten channel descriptions are transferred to the strips in front of the user.

The Smart Console claims to be the first console design to reduce the number of knobs on a panel and reduce the number of actions required to gain access to out of reach controls.

Designed as an open platform controller of DAWs, it works in conjunction with Logic Pro 6, The VADIS system from Klotz Digital, Pyramix, the QDC engine from Fairlight, and the DME64N and DME24N from Yamaha.

Smart AV, Europe: +44 7866 314181

headroom by at least 10dB. The signal path is completely transformerless, allowing a frequency range from 10Hz to 100kHz (-1dB).

The HMA5000 can be used to power DPA’s high-voltage mics like the 4003 and 4004 omnis, 4012 cardioid, 4016 wide cardioid, and 4041-S omni solid state and 4041-T omni tube mics. It supplies 130V to a mic’s preamp and features low-noise Analog Devices amplifiers in the input stages and independently switchable gain in 10dB increments on each channel input corresponding to a maximum input voltage of 0.5 -160V peak. The phase can be reversed on both channels individually, and crosstalk attenuation is better than 90dB. www.dpamicrophones.com

DPA PIANO SET AND HIGH-V AMP DPA’s Compact Cardioid Stereo Kit, the DPA 3521, is the company’s solution for professional piano miking but can also be used with other instruments.

The 3521 is a stereo kit with two 4021 compact cardioid mics matched within 2dB on frequency response, sensitivity and self-noise.

Complete with accessories, this kit is designed for low profile mounting directly inside a piano. With the XY/ORTF holder, the kit can also work as a compact stereo pair for overheads.

The kit is supplied in a carrying case and includes two gooseneck mounts and two magnet bases for mounting on metal surfaces.

The HMA5000 2-channel, high-voltage mic amp builds on the established HMA4000 and extends dynamic

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CEDAR CAMBRIDGE V2

CEDAR Cambridge V2 adds numerous new modules and features to versions 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2. The earlier versions are now obsolete because V2.0 extends the system’s capabilities in significant ways.

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gear PYRAMIX V4.3

V2.0 File Processing capabilities allow users to analyse and process selected parts of, or whole, WAV and AIFF files rendering the results back to hard disk (disk-to-disk) in a fraction of the time needed to process audio in real-time. It also allows passing WAV and AIFF files through the processing chain and outputting the results so you can monitor them in real-time.

The 64-bit Dynamics Processor contains three new modules: a compressor, an upward expander and a downward expander. Each offers eight audio channels and you can use any combination of processes simultaneously.

All three processes offer precise envelope control and sidechain linking and processing with IIR Precision EQ. The Cambridge Limiter also offers eight channels of processing. www.cedaraudio.com

Merging Technologies has launched Pyramix V4.3 with new features for film dubbing and editing environments. Support for the AAF is available as an option and new Re-conform features include ‘Re-link To New Media’.

This allows a complex edited file imported from a video editing station referencing 16 bits stereo files to properly relink the 24 bits multichannel original location recording media with all edits seamlessly extended to whatever number of tracks the original media was recorded to. For multitrack source destination music editing, Pyramix can reassign a stereo edited mix of a multitrack project to the original multitrack media instantly recreating the edits across all tracks. The ability to relink sessions transferred to Pyramix through EDL and

through OMF or AAF solves the sync issues that are common with CMX EDLs. V4.3 also offers Virtual Tape Mode — a true BWF file destructive record punch-in, punch-out mode. Quick Mount dramatically reduces the time taken to mount media files by creating a specific cache file of the mounted media. Pyramix’s CD mastering allows the system to modify the CD image, PQ editing, CD Text, and track names without having to regenerate a new image.

Dayang Technology Development in collaboration with Merging has unveiled its D3-Edit NLE video workstation, which uses Merging’s Mykerinos DSP hardware and synchronisation features. www.merging.com

VTC PRICE CUT Streamlining of TL Audio’s VTC console production process has resulted in price reductions of up to 30%. The VTC-16 is now available from UK£9995 (+ VAT). Frames are produced in 16, 24, 32, 40, 48 and 56 input formats, with additional metering and a floor stand available as options.

TL Audio has upgraded its Ivory-2 digital output cards to operate at 44.1, 48 or 96kHz complete with an external Wordclock input. Available factory fitted as an option for mono and stereo Ivory-2 processors, the upgrade card can also be retrofitted. www.tlaudio.co.uk

POWERCORE COMPACT TC’s PowerCore Compact is a lightweight and portable hardware platform with FireWire ports for easy laptop connection. Price is Euro 760.

It comes with nine standard plug-ins — two reverbs, two compressors/limiters, a chorus/delay, a parametric EQ, a synthesiser, a complete voice channel and a guitar amp simulator — it also has the Character plug-in from Noveltech, the dual ‘analogue’ filter bank Filtroid, and the Master X3 incarnation of the Finalizer.

PowerCore Compact supports any VST or Audio Unit based DAW and runs a 266MHz PowerPC and two 150MHz Motorola DSPs each with 512k RAM. TC now offers PowerCore in three hardware configurations with a differentiated number of plug-ins included: PowerCore Element still comes with 9 plug-ins; PowerCore Compact features 12 plug-ins; and PowerCore FireWire includes 14 plug-ins in total. www.tcelectronic.com

October 2004

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gear PORTADISC BATTERY AND CHARGER The MDPBP is a robust NiMH battery pack that powers HHB’s Portadisc for around three and a half hours. It is short circuit and temperature protected, with all internal metal contacts securely welded for long-term reliability.

The ACS110 is a microprocessor-controlled charger specifically developed for the MDPBP battery pack, providing intelligent monitoring and controlled charging. At just 3 hours to fully charge an MDPBP battery pack, the ACS110 includes a Discharge function and comprehensive LED metering of the charging functions.

HHB has introduced the DVD-R4.7GB-G 1X-4X Generaltype DVD-R disc, which uses a custom recording dye to ensure compatibility with computers, DAWs and standalone DVD recorders. The new disc is registered with major hardware manufacturers, so it is recognised by the drive and the signal characteristics of the laser optimised for errorfree recording. This also ensures that the recorded disc is compatible with a wide range of players. www.hhb.co.uk

X-LOGIC PRICE CUT Due to the low dollar, SSL and KMR Audio have brought the UK prices for the X-Logic series of outboard in line with those in the US. All prices plus VAT: 5.1 Compressor £3900; 4-Way SuperAnalogue Mic-Pre £2400; 8-Channel Mic-Pre Remote Control £830; Channel Strip £2000; G-Series Compressor £1900; and ADC board for Channel Strip £300. www.kmraudio.com

DYNAUDIO SUBS AND MONITORS Dynaudio Acoustics’ BM 5A is a 2-way active speaker powered by two 50W amps.

Employing a 170mm woofer and 26mm soft dome tweeter, its small footprint is said to make it well suited to project studios, edit suites, and OB vans. 5.1 systems can be built with the BM 10S and BM 12S subwoofers.

AIR Base 12 and AIR Base 24 active subwoofers feature a 12-inch driver specifically designed for low frequency reproduction. AIR Base 12 has a 500W amp and a single driver while the AIR Base 24 uses two drivers and a 700W amp.

Both subs sport AIR Series networking, advanced bass management, extensive calibration, preset handling and the ability to control parameters from a remote or PC editor. www.tcelectronic.com

DRAWMER DYNAMICS The DSL424 TwoPlusTwo combined dynamics processor includes two frequency conscious noise gates and two soft/hard knee compressors with variable threshold limiting. The channels may be front panel configured as four individual standalone processors or a stereo linked pair of compressor/limiters with

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Platform news: Steinberg Cubase SX3 is described as ‘a quantum leap forward in music production’ on PC and Mac and offers new facilities for composition and songwriting. Audio Warp, a real-time time stretching and pitchshifting tool, has new audio and processing capabilities, including ACID file support. Combined with the new Play Order Track, a new tool for pattern-style composition, Cubase SX3 offers ‘a fresh approach to loop-based composing and arranging’. A new Inplace Editing system allows convenient editing of MIDI data directly within the Project Window in context with audio and video data.

Users have new user-definable workspaces to create virtual desktops, with a separate work area for each step of the production process, and can switch between them with a key command. The Freeze functionality introduced in Cubase SX 2.0 to free up CPU resources has been extended to include audio tracks and insert effects, and is now faster and more effective.

MIDI Device Maps and panels permit direct, user-customisable access to outboard MIDI hardware and External FX plug-ins allow direct integration of external effect processors, such as reverbs and compressors, into the VST mixing environment with automatic latency compensation.

The first fruits of the development alliance between Steinberg and Yamaha, Studio Connections technology has been incorporated into SX3 with total system Recall functionality. It integrates Yamaha’s Studio Manager 2 software as a link between the sequencer and hardware editing components. www.steinberg.net

CHEAPER DIGICO D1 a stereo linked pair of gates. Alternatively, any combination of processing can be achieved by rear panel patching.

Drawmer has announced an all new product from its ongoing collaboration with Mercenary Audio. The Drawmer 1968 Mercenary Edition is a 1U valve/FET stereo bus compressor designed to deliver ‘a transparent wide open sound even during periods of heavy compression’ in true stereo or dual mono mode. Each channel has a switchable ‘Big’ mode that applies less processing to the fundamental low frequency but still controls the upward associated harmonics.

Selecting Big mode results in a solid bottom end, enhanced sub-bass and a smoother, wider frequency response overall.

The DMS-2 D-Clock is a dual input/20-output Wordclock distributor with a 16-character LCD that provides reference measurement of the incoming sample rate. AES-EBU and BNC Word clock inputs feature a zero latency loop-through output with switchable high impedance to maintain the correct level of the digital signal for onward distribution. www.drawmer.com

The DiGiCo D1 Live has all the features of the D5 Live in a smaller, lighter package. A new MADI card gives a dramatic price reduction by providing a fully digital link on up to 100m of coax cable as opposed to the 50m maximum run on expensive optical fibre. The console is supplied in four main feature configurations as a direct replacement for analogue consoles: D1 Live 40, D1 Live 48DP (dual purpose), D1 Live 48DR (dual rack), and the fully enabled D1 Live 56EX.

APHEX UPGRADES 1788

Aphex has upgraded its 1788 8-channel remote controlled mic preamp. The upgrade includes Ethernet connection, which has increased the speed of the system by a factor of 16, making it simpler to operate. The new model will supersede the original 1788 and upgrade kits for existing units will be available.

The software and hardware upgrades allow instant access to all 128 channels and full display of all these channels at a glance. www.aphex.com

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Highlights include a 25 layered fader worksurface, grouped in blocks of eight user-definable banks per section, with meterbridge and 40 bus DSP engine, configurable for stereo, LCR(S) and 5.1 operations, 64 to 160 input processing channels and 8 user configurable macro buttons.

V3 software for the D5 Live adds comprehensive control over console and rack connections; enhanced system redundancy; revised Optocore firmware support of further Optocore devices (DD32); and enhanced networking capability for use of a hub or switch to allow simultaneous mirroring (D5-RE – Redundant Engine) and remote control (D5-RC or laptop PCs). www.digiconsoles.com

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gear SOUNDSCAPE MIXPANDER GOES NATIVE Soundscape’s Mixpander Power Pak allows users of Native based systems to enjoy the same benefits as Soundscape DAW users when recording and mixing. The Mixpander Power Pak combines the power of DSP mixing on the Mixpander 9 with the new iBox 48-TA or the iBox 64-MADI/TA I-O interfaces, which are configurable with up to 128 analogue and digital I-Os. Prices start from UK£2499 (inc. VAT) for the Mixpander Power Pak 48 supporting 48 tracks of simultaneous I-O. www.aspromedia.com

AT PRO HAS STEREO CONDENSER The reengineered Pro Series range of performance and general production mics features three new models, three updated models and improves still further on competitive

miking kick drums and grand pianos, while the frequency response of the e902 has been optimised for very low frequencies, making this cardioid dynamic good for kick drums, bass guitar amps, and tuba.

The compact cardioid e904 is designed specially for drums, the dynamic e905 is described as an all-rounder suitable for a wide range of instruments, and the supercardioid e906 is designed specially for guitar amps. The e908 condenser comes in two variants — the e908B for brass instruments and the e908D has all the features of the B variant but is supplied with a dedicated clip for use with drums and percussion.

The e914 condenser microphone is designed for cymbals, hi-hats, and overhead miking.

Sennheiser is also showcasing a new professional headmic range, the HSP Series. The omnidirectional HSP 2 and the cardioid HSP 4 headmics are unobtrusive yet rugged and are available in black or beige. The boom is adjustable for length and angle while the HSP 4 additionally features a flexible gooseneck. www.sennheiser.co.uk

NOISE REDUCTION HEADSETS

The Telex PH-100 and PH-200 headsets are medium-weight, noise reduction headsets with dynamic microphones. Both have noise attenuation of 21+dB and feature a headband design that distributes ear cushion pressure evenly.

The dynamic mic arm has a sealed ball-and-socket joint and flexible boom for precise placement. www.rtsintercoms.com

API DAW MONITOR RACKS Essentially a mini API console in a 19-inch rack, the DSM (Discrete Summing Mixer) workstation monitor rack is

pricing. The 11 different models include, dynamic and condenser capsules, handheld, headset, clip mic and specialist instrument designs plus a high quality stereo condenser mic. The PRO24 stereo small condenser has a X/Y configured capsule and is said to be suited to ‘fixed’ stereo reinforcement, recording, or for camera mounting. www.audio-technica.co.uk

E900 SERIES AND HEADMICS Sennheiser has introduced its complete evolution e900 Series of wired stage microphones and the HSP headmic line. The e900 Series microphones include two professional vocal mics, the e935 and the e945, plus a wide range of instrument microphones for the complete backline.

The cardioid e935 and super-cardioid e945 are vocal mics, the e901 condenser boundary mic is said to be ideal for

designed to work with DAWs by providing analogue summing, mixing, control room switching/monitoring, patchbay facilities, and studio I-O connections. Versions are available to accommodate 24, 48 and 72-output channel DAWs. www.apiaudio.com

TASCAM VL-S21

PC DSD FILE PLAYBACK Following the all-in-one SACD Creator application, which also contains an embedded DSD playback feature, Philips-ProTECH has released a standalone solution for playback and listening to DSD files, DST files or SACD Disc image files.

The Playback application consists of a small hardware PCI card that can be installed in a PC and a software application to control the listening application. The PCI card provides real-time decoding of the SACD disc image or DST data into DSD data. The 6-channel DSD data is available via six small SMB connectors (SDIF3 format) and can be connected to external D-ACs. The card also contains a Clock input and Clock output to synchronise the DSD data to a studio clock. Cables and connectors to connect the card to the D-ACs are included.

The software supports Windows 2000 and Windows XP and gives track selection, search forward/backwards, and SA-CD Text display. protech@philips.com

HEBDEN SOUND MIC SERIES

Tascam’s low-cost VL-S21 satellite speaker system pairs two NXT technology thin speakers with a powered subwoofer. www.tascam.com

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The HS3000 series is a fully interchangeable microphone capsule system. It consists of omni (HS3010), cardioid (HS3020), hypercardioid (HS3030) and subcardioid (HS3040) directivity options available singly or as matched stereo pairs. All four polar pattern options can be built around a single preamp and each mic comes with a 23mm clip and an antivibration mount in a studio case. www.hebdensound.co.uk

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gear METACORDER FIELD RECORDER FOR YOUR MAC The Metacorder is described as an ‘open architecture’ Mac OS X based field recorder that works with any Core Audio Interface (44.1kHz-192kHz, 16-24 bit, 2-48 channels). It

writes and mirrors to any Mac compatible media, internal IDE, FireWire, USB/USB2, PCMCIA, Flash, and DVD-RAM with full network support via Ethernet/802.11.

No modal windows means that you can press Record at any time (1-30 second prerecord buffer) and it includes powerful Metadata functionality, including Project, SoundRoll, scene, take, track labels and indexes, and recording notes. It automatically updates scene and take using US, UK or generic slating systems. Metadata can be edited before, during or after recording. Metadata is stored in several formats including bext and iXML for seamless postproduction.

A background SoundRoll Mirror (non real-time) automatically mirrors current soundroll to slower media as recordings are made (e.g. for Compact Flash, networked, or DVD-RAM for high track counts, where real-time record is not possible).

It writes Metadata rich Broadcast WAVE, AIFF or SD2 files, has 128-segment level meters on all inputs, and writes AES31 ADLs, Pro Tools sessions, ALE and Final Cut Pro XML lists for workstation import. sales@gallery.co.uk

AEON RADIO CONSOLE Klotz Digital’s AEON radio console has an integrated router and is based on the company’s ‘Air Board’ concept.

Graphic configuration software allows users to configure the system to fit their requirements and the desk is available in 8, 12 and 16fader consoles.

Each 4-fader module is in its own housing and each channel strip has a 100mm fader and an alphanumeric display with 16 digits in two lines, as well as large On/Off buttons, PFL, TB, free assignable routing keys and status indication LEDs for the most important parameters and functions. www.klotzdigital.com

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Platform news: Logic Apple has introduced Logic Pro 7 and Logic Express 7. Logic Pro 7 includes new software instruments such as Sculpture, a component-modelling based synthesiser; the UltraBeat drum machine; and new plug-ins including Guitar Amp Pro, a full-featured guitar amplifier simulator. Along with over 100 workflow enhancements, new mastering plug-ins and support for Apple Loops, Logic Pro 7 debuts distributed audio processing, a technology that allows audio pros to tap into a virtually unlimited number of Macs to expand available DSP power. The result is described as ‘an audio and music production system with processing power previously unimaginable for native based systems’.

Workflow in Logic Pro 7 is improved with more than 100 productivity enhancement features including song templates, channel strip save and recall, shuffle and auto crossfade edit modes that are directly accessible from the arrange window. Users can compile and burn CDs to Red Book with WaveBurner, which is included with Logic Pro 7.

Logic Express 7, a streamlined version of Logic, provides a basic set of professional tools for students, educators and hobbyists at an affordable price. Both products come with support for projects from GarageBand, Apple’s consumer music creation software. www.apple.com

BM-A1SD provides analogue and AES-3 outputs of the selected SDI Group.

The new 2U audio and video broadcast monitors incorporate a 4-inch TFT video display. The BM-AV2 can accept three composite (auto PAL/NTSC) video inputs while audio input sources can be selected from four analogue or two AES-EBU inputs. The BM-AV2S allows selection from two SDI and one composite video feeds plus four analogue, two AES-EBU stereo pairs and one of four embedded SDI Groups. The BM-AV2SL also provides active, or reclocked loop-through outputs of AES, SDI and composite inputs while the selected audio source is also provided as four analogue and two AES-EBU stereo pair outputs. www.beldigital.com

INNOVASON SY48

Innovason’s Sy48 packages the feature sets from the large format Sy80 digital mixing console in a compact and lightweight standalone surface.

With the capability of mixing up to 64 mic/line sources to 32 buses, it can be fitted with up to six 8-channel audio cards.

A typical configuration could provide 32 mic/line to 16 processed outputs, plus 16 line inputs and outputs for bus inserts or aux sends and returns. With the optional digital stage box connected via coaxial or optical fibre, up to 64 inputs can be mixed.

For those who want to run their I-O modules and DSP externally to the console control surface, e.g. OB trucks, a 7U Local External Mix box containing up to eight I-O cards can be connected to the rear of the console via a 5m Jaeger cable. www.innovason.com

BEL EXPANDS MONITOR SOLUTIONS The BEL Broadcast Monitor series offers a choice of three 2U audio/video monitors and three 1U audio only monitors.

The BEL BM-A1 is a 4-channel audio only monitor and input sources can be selected from four analogue or two AES-EBU stereo pairs. The BM-A1S provides an additional SDI input allowing selection of one of the four embedded SDI Groups in addition to the I-O found on the base model.

A composite video output of the SDI source is also provided.

In addition to the functionality found on the BM-A1S, the

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SPEAKER RE-FURB Wembley Loudspeaker is offering a refurbishment service of hi-fi speakers and claims it can re-furb virtually any model to its original sound.

With more than 32 years experience in repairing cabinets, Wembley Loudspeaker is able to identify the cause of a problem and re-cone, re-coil or re-foam damaged drivers, returning them to their original high quality.

‘It is often the case that owners of classic speakers think that as soon as they begin losing some of their attributes, it is time for a modern pair of speakers,’ said Paul MacCallum, Wembley Loudspeaker MD. ‘However, they can be re-furbed for less than the cost of a new set and to a higher quality of sound than today’s speakers.’

Wembley Loudspeaker: +44 208 743 4567

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Mackie digitalXbus 200 It is one of the most eagerly awaited digital consoles of recent times and repositions Mackie as a contender. ROB JAMES believes it is revolutionary and that it will redefine expectations of the digital 8-bus sector.

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ESIGNING A RADICAL NEW console is a complex business, requiring artistic and scientific rigour. But this is not sufficient, there has to be lateral thinking and a dash of luck in the brew. Get it right and once potential customers take the time to investigate, they will experience that ‘lightbulb’ moment as suddenly it all seems so obvious.

This will be followed by, ‘Why didn’t somebody think of this before?’ as they reach for their credit cards.

When I first saw this console, at a trade show back in February, I was distinctly underwhelmed. Two pretty screens, each with 24 Penny and Giles motor faders, 24 V-Pot rotary encoders with 4 x 24 buttons underneath, a master strip, monitor section, the usual transport controls and a few other blocks of buttons and knobs. But where were the rest of the forest of knobs and the usual minefield of buttons? There is no hardware ‘fat channel’, one of the defining features of the d8b. OK, so the screens are touch sensitive, but I don’t really like touch screens on the grounds that if you’re touching them, you can’t see them. So, when the big cardboard box arrived, my expectations were not especially high.

I have always been a great believer in the old adage of ‘When all else fails, open the manual’. In other words, the first test with any new piece of kit is to see how far you can get without having to resort to the book of rules. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating ignoring the technical author’s art, but this approach gives a much better idea of the likely learning curve.

Diving in recklessly, the digitalXbus turns out to be amazingly intuitive, at least for me. Far more so than any digital console I have ever previously encountered. (Of course, you have to take into account all the hard won learning that has gone before...)(You’re being modest but the point is a fair one. Ed) There could be a downside to this, lack of depth. But, as I was delighted to discover, nothing could be further from the truth.

Mackie has learnt a lot from the d8b experience.

The d8b was always slightly quirky but ultimately close to being just another ‘me too’ console and I was never a great fan. The digitalXbus is a horse of a completely different colour. At the asking price of

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UK£8932 plus VAT, with all the optional interface cards at UK£297 plus VAT, apart from the 8-channel mic/line at UK£510, I believe it will redefine our expectations in this 8-bus segment. Its up-market sibling, the digitalXbus 400, may well do more than that and frighten some much bigger fish. (It’s worth pointing out that the desk when originally announced was called the dXb but the owners of the dbx brand name complained and claimed it was too similar to dbx. Mackie refers to the desk now as the digitalXbus. Ed) The digitalXbus is unashamedly built on a PC platform, as was the d8b before it, but here the PC is in the control surface, a lot more convenient than separate units, but with the disadvantage, at least on the one I had, of being very noisy. I have six PCs in my studio/office (not all on at any one time) and the digitalXbus is noisier than any of them apart from the one the children use. Making a quiet PC power supply is no longer ‘rocket science’ or even especially expensive in components so I’m sure Mackie can do better in this area (Mackie says that a retrofittable ‘ducting’ silencer will sort this issue. Ed).

Unlike the d8b this console is running Windows XP which brings many benefits such as easier porting of third party plug-ins, for example, the estimable

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Waves plug-ins will soon be available. Just one illustration of where the ‘depth’ comes in. This is a comparatively ‘open’ system. You can install any well-behaved VST plug-in. A ‘first’ to the best of my knowledge and most welcome.

The on-board DSP available for plug-ins is, of course, finite, as is the DSP for more basic functions.

At 44.1kHz I managed to activate 64 iterations of four band EQ, compressors and gates plus 28 iterations of the SaneWave reverb. At higher sampling rates (up to 192kHz) you get proportionately less. If and when you run out, up to four of the excellent UAD powered plug-ins are already supported and, PC permitting, there is no obvious reason why support for other proprietary hardware plug-in accelerators should not follow.

Functionally, the digitalXbus 200 is a 72-input console with 8 buses plus a master stereo bus and 12 aux sends arranged as three input layers, master and ‘VCA’ group layers, and a MIDI control bank/layer. By using its Universal Control as a starting point, Mackie has been able to provide software control of the following workstations: Adobe Audition, Apple/Emagic Logic, Cakewalk Sonar, Digidesign Pro Tools, Sony Vegas, Steinberg Cubase SX/SL and Nuendo. In the future, the list will no doubt grow and there is no reason why alternative surface ‘skins’ should not be provided.

This console is revolutionary because it successfully combines the discipline of a traditional, fixed architecture, analogue desk with the almost anarchic flexibility of the WIMP interface and the workstation.

This means 4-band parametric EQ and compressor/expander dynamics on each channel plus 8 aux and 2 stereo cue sends, inserts and direct outs.

You also get surround panners and effects slots.

Channel strips are consistent with EQ, dynamics, auxes, etc. in the same place every time.

The touchscreens are used to maximum effect. A single touch on any element block in a strip opens up an expanded window for the function. Another touch moves to the same parameters for the channel before or after. In the EQ window there is the choice of altering parameters by using the encoders under the screen/above the faders or touching and dragging directly on the graphic EQ curve nodes. Seventy two input channels plus masters and DAW control means bank or layer switching to access then all and, yes, you can hold or lock channels on the surface when you switch.

One really clever bit is translating familiar PC conventions to the hardware surface. For example, lots of useful and semi-intuitive double-click functions

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review on the buttons — the Shift key, when double-clicked, selects all strips in the current bank. Double-clicking a channel Select key opens the EQ and Dynamics windows for the selected strip, one on each screen, giving near instant access and a further double-click closes them again. Leaving your finger on a channel select for a couple of seconds opens the Channel Settings window.

The V-Pots above the faders are ‘soft’. When a window is open with adjustable parameters, for example EQ, the V-pots below become controls for the window. Otherwise the block of buttons to the right of the screens governs their global function. LR pan, FB pan aux sends 1-8, digital level trim, level to tape or cue send 1&2 level or pan. This is far more intuitive in practice than in description. The same logic applies to the programmable Macro keys. By default Macro 1 opens the Effects Rack window; another press on the key closes it. When opened, plug-in effects can be added, removed, routed and controlled from a combination of pull down menus, the touchscreens

and the surface controls. Again, this is all arranged in an intuitive and logical manner with operational controls mapped to the surface and set-up options relegated to pull down menus. Routing to the main stereo bus can be made directly from the surface although curiously, routing to the 8 buses has to be done via a pop-up. I suspect this will soon change.

All this translates into a fast, productive interface, often with several ways of achieving the same result.

I found myself using the touch screens much more than I would have expected. Of course, you can connect a standard mouse or trackerball and QWERTY keyboard as well if you prefer.

As ever, the devil is in the detail. The V-Pots or shaft encoders are inferior in feel to those found on the d8b and lack the concentric circle of LEDs. The fader motors retain the curious ‘damped’ action found on the d8b. This gives the illusion that the faders are slow. They aren’t, but when a fader moves automatically from, say, unity to infinity, the last centimetre or so takes significantly longer than

I-Os

On the rear panel are two USB ports, an Ethernet port, MIDI I-O, two footswitch jacks and a serial 9-pin socket. The digitalXbus is a 9-pin controller (but not synchroniser). Lurking underneath a metal plate are the normal motherboard connectors.

The digitalXbus comes with a Mix card and a Sync card already installed. The card cage has a dedicated slot for the included sync card, (which has BNCs for Wordclock I-O and Jacks for SMPTE I-O) plus three A slots, three B, three C and a single D slot.

One C slot is occupied by the Mix out card which has 8 analogue balanced jack outputs for stereo speakers A and B, phones 1 and 2 and mix out and two XLRs for stereo AES-EBU I-O and two phonos for SPDIF I-O. There is only one digital stereo input, software switched between AES-EBU and SPDIF.

OPTIONAL I-O CARDS Mic/Line 4 Card: 4 XLR balanced analogue mic/line inputs; 4 TRS balanced analogue line level inputs; digitally remote-controlled mic preamps; independent (+48v) phantom power per mic input channel.

Mic/Line 8 Card: 8 balanced analogue mic/line inputs; 8 balanced analogue line level outputs; independent phantom power (+48v) per input channel; digitally remote-controlled mic preamps; two female 25-pin D-Sub connectors.

Line Card: 8 channels of balanced analogue line level inputs and outputs; +4dBU/-10dBV jumpers for each channel; two female 25-pin D-Sub connectors.

Digital Card: 8 channels of ADAT optical digital audio input and output at 96kHz (4 channels at 192kHz); up to 8 channels of TDIF digital audio input and output at 96kHz; direct digital connection between digitalXbus and external digital devices; female 25-pin D-Sub connector (TDIF) and four TOSlink optical connectors (ADAT x 2).

AES Card: 8 channels of AES-EBU digital audio input and output at 96kHz; direct digital connection between digital X bus and other AES-EBU compliant equipment; uses one female 25-pin D-Sub connector.

FireWire Card: direct digital audio streaming between digitalXbus and any compatible computer running Windows XP or Mac OSX; ASIO 2.0 or OSX Core Audio compliant; 2 IEEE 1394a FireWire ports.

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the rest of the move. I think this may be done to avoid fader jitter or hunting, but it is unsettling until you become accustomed to it. Needless to say, audio transitions happen exactly as they were originally made, it is just the faders that lag behind. The automation needs a bit of work. It could use more options and the editing is a bit clunky in practice, although the theory looks good. A method of quickly zeroing pans and EQs would be nice. All this and a great deal more is eminently possible thanks to the PC software nature of the beast.

At present, the digitalXbus is something of a work in progress and to some extent, it probably always will be. This goes with the territory when there is a PC involved and should be seen as a virtue rather than a vice. Throughout the product’s life it can be updated, improved and extended and this includes the PC hardware and the DSP accelerator(s) should this become necessary or desirable. To judge from Mackie’s previous form, this will undoubtedly be the case. The hardware is sleek and good looking, the buttons and faders all feel positive and the jog-wheel is superb.

SMPTE generation is built in and the digitalXbus is also a 9-pin controller. Throw in a scrolling automation display and editing, VST plug-ins, surround in formats up to 7.1 and, whether used with digital multitracks or workstations, the fluidity of the interface offers a considerable enhancement to productivity.

What we have here is a glimpse of the future, a hardware audio mixer/controller for the Playstation generation, with a seriously powerful DSP engine underneath, supported by flexible I-O options. Where others have sought to disguise the PC basis of their consoles so far as is possible, the digitalXbus celebrates this fact and exploits it to maximum effect. Best of all, anyone who is PC literate and knows what an audio mixer is supposed to do, can operate this console without spending a ridiculous amount of time learning how the designer’s mind works. Check it out. ■

PROS

First of its kind; shallow learning curve; Huge potential.

CONS

Noisy power supply fan; automation needs work; LP and HP filters in addition to the 4-band EQ would have been nice.

Contact MACKIE, US: Website: www.mackie.com

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Dolby Model 585 The ability to shrink, stretch and alter the pitch of programme is a routine requirement in front-line postproduction. There are a number of ways to achieve it and now Dolby has released a one box solution.

ROB JAMES checks out its time scaling processor.

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VER HAD THE FEELING that your favourite juve lead isn’t sounding quite as butch as you remembered? Or that the leading lady is even more shrill than she was in the cinema? Or if you are blessed/cursed with perfect pitch, does the music sound wrong? If you are watching a film on TV in any country with 50Hz mains, or come to that a VHS or even DVD, chances are you’re right. Not only that, the film will finish sooner and it isn’t the censors at work.

The sad truth is that films are shot and seen in the cinema at 24FPS but telecined at 25FPS, which means they run 4.16 recurring percent faster than they should and are pitched up by the same amount unless steps are taken to ameliorate the problem.

You may already be thinking, ‘so why don’t they just pitch-change by a reciprocal amount?’ Well, sometimes ‘they’ do. But pitch-changing introduces artefacts and, truth to tell, I’ve only ever come across one stereo pitchchanger I would even consider using on an entire movie in real time. (I don’t intend to embarrass other manufacturers by naming it...) The emphasis should be on the word ‘stereo’ because up to this point I have not heard any pitch-changer I would even think about using on an entire 5.1 movie. (And I’m quite prepared to be convinced otherwise, if other manufacturers are feeling slighted.) One problem is phase coherence between channels. Phase shifts are undesirable in any case, but can be catastrophic when the ‘extra’ channels are downmixed for poor unfortunates listening in mono or stereo.

Movies are not by any means the only application for a time-scaling processor. Adverts are another obvious target since they are frequently made for the cinema but used for TV or vice-versa and here time really is money. A 30-second slot is just that. Broadcast is another rich seam.

As schedules become ever more inflexible, programmes are stretched or shrunk to fit. If programmes can be scaled with few audio artefacts this is likely to prove a better and less expensive solution than editing them.

There are three groups of time-scaling technologies available, frequency-domain, time-domain and modelling.

The first practical device for restoring correct pitch to a speeded up or slowed down tape was time-domain based and employed a rotating playback head on a conventional analogue tape transport. This repeated or discarded sections of material to achieve its results. At best this could be described as ‘lo-fi’, but I well remember using an EMI ‘Eltro’ tape machine equipped with just such a system in the early 1970s to convert TV film rushes tapes from 24FPS to 25FPS in the absence of any viable alternative.

A frequency domain solution proposed by Schroeder in 1967 produced characteristic artefacts including phase and loss of transient definition and frequency domain processes have never taken off.

Later time-domain solutions are, unsurprisingly, digital variations on the original rotating head splicing technique using circular memory buffers with algorithms looking for zero crossing points to make the joins less audible. More sophisticated versions analyse the signal content in an attempt to minimise artefacts such as echoes, stuttering and loss of definition.

Modelling emerged as a bright hope in the 1980s, but only proved to be applicable to less complex material and each model tended to be highly specific to a few types of audio. Processing time is significant so this is not an obvious choice for a near real-time solution.

The best chance has always seemed to be a sophisticated analysis engine controlling a timedomain process and this is substantially what the Dolby 585 offer is, but in an interesting package and at a competitive price of UK£4450 plus VAT. Psychoacoustic analysis and processing techniques similar to those employed in data-reduction audio coding schemes are used to minimise artefacts. The unit has a fair claim to the title ‘Time Scaling Processor’ rather than simply pitch-shifter, partly because of the way information is presented but also because it can record

a limited amount of material and play it back timescaled by up to 15%. (23 minutes 11 seconds of mono, pro-rata for multichannel formats.)

The 585 is housed in a 2U with a sculpted alloy front panel in keeping with other recent Dolby products. In the same vein, it interfaces with the rest of the world via BNCs for audio at a nominal 48kHz sampling rate. In, Loop-through and Out connections are provided for the four pairs of AES-EBU channels along with AES reference In and Loop-through. 9-pin D-sub connectors allow for remote RS232 updating of the software and GP I-O for remote reporting the 585’s status. Four further ports, not currently active, service Metadata to and from Dolby E devices and Remote (9pin) in and out.

Around the front, the oval screen is backlit in orange and accompanied by six buttons, a knob and three indicator LEDs. There is no immediate indication as to the health of reference or audio input signals on the front panel or the main status menu, you have to use the cursor keys to get to the Digital In or Reference screens.

Twenty four different Program Configuration permutations of the eight channels range from 5.1 + 2 through every practical combination up to 7.1. Display Mode allows the choice of units for pitch shifting, frames, cents or percent. The display conveniently tells you when the percentage is appropriate for the common 24FPS to 25FPS and vice-versa conversions.

As with any pitch shifting device, latency is an issue. The 585 allows the user to choose a value between 400 and 480mS. With the lower value still approaching half a second, real-time time-scaling will either require separate video and audio passes, the introduction of a significant video delay or separate video and audio sources with a timecode offset.

The oval screen, reminiscent of a thousand sci-fi images, is not as informative as it could be. Operation in a hurry with a mere six buttons and a knob isn’t too much fun either. In Transport mode, all the buttons take on new functions, not entirely intuitive.

None of this would matter a jot if the unit actually achieved its goal — i.e. Time Scaling/Pitch changing without audible artefacts. Even on short acquaintance and with not especially challenging material I could hear it in action. Playing with the sensitivity setting helps, but artefacts are still audible and the requirement to adjust the process sensitivity to suit the material takes it out of the ‘plug-and-forget’ category.

This should not be taken as a negative verdict. The 585 finishes a considerable distance ahead of the rest of the pack. The artefacts are less objectionable than usual and, in the absence of the other leading contenders for direct comparison, I believe the 585 is at least as good in multichannel as it’s nearest rival is in stereo only. The 585 is certainly the best option I’ve come across for the function it is most obviously optimised for — adverts. I would still think carefully about routinely applying it to entire movies in real-time. ■

PROS

Phase synchronous pitch shifting/time scaling; this is as good as it gets.

CONS

Artefacts still audible; not the most intuitive user interface; only 48kHz nominal sampling rate.

Contact DOLBY: Website: www.dolby.com

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The neXt generation C 414

C 414 B-XLS

C 414 B-XL II

• Choose between the ultra linear C 414 B-XLS

• Two-color LEDs provide quick visual

• Higher sensitivity than on earlier models

• Five switchable polar patterns including a

and transformerless C 414 B-XL II. and extremely low self noise.

• High sound pressure level capability, wide dynamic range, and low impedance over the entire audio spectrum.

• Special gold-sputtered plastic foil

diaphragm to prevent short circuiting if strong blasts of air are applied.

• Elastic capsule suspension greatly

minimizes structurally-transmitted noise from chassis vibration.

• All switchable components operate in low

impedance circuits for ultra-high reliability even in extremely humid conditions.

indication of selected polar pattern. new generation wide cardioid for placement and application flexibility.

• Green to red LED change to give an

overload warning when the output signal is distorted.

• Complete immunity to electrostatic and

electro-magnetic interference from digital gear, computer monitors, etc. due to solid metal housing and transformerless output stage.

• Available in stereo pairs factory-matched for response and sensitivity.

• Complete with hard-shell carrying case,

• Three switchable bass cut filters and three

professional shock mount/stand adapter, external pop filter and windscreen. Stereo pairs include stereo bar for X/Y configuration and single stand placement.

• 3-pin XLR-type connector with gold-plated

• Optional remote control unit (available by

pre-attenuation pads with LEDs for quick visual indication.

contacts for loss-free signal connection to the associated equipment.

end 2004) offers full control of all switchable parameters via standard microphone cable and 3-pin XLR-type connectors.

15 new features combined with the legendary classic sound.

Distributed in UK and Eire by: Harman Pro UK, Cranborne House, Cranborne Road, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, EN6 3JN

t: 01707 668222 f: 01707 668010 e: info@harmanprouk.com w: www.harmanprouk.com

www.akg.com

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review

SE Electronics SE1a, SE2a and SE3 While the emphasis on large diaphragm mics remains fairly constant, it’s a peculiar fact that the interest in the altogether more versatile ‘stick’ mic enjoys regular cyclical invigoration as manufacturers release new models in clumps. JON THORNTON test-drives three spectacular offerings from China’s premium brand.

A

S THE LANDSCAPE of microphone manufacture has shifted in recent years with newer, low cost manufacturers entering the picture, most attention has been paid to the increasing number of low cost large diaphragm studio capacitors entering the market. Sure, the large diaphragm tool has always had a certain prestige associated with it, but let’s not forget the need for small diaphragm designs. One company that hasn’t forgotten is SE Electronics — indeed it has been producing small diaphragm capacitor microphones for some time. But alongside recent changes in manufacturing and worldwide distribution, it has also taken the opportunity to update and expand its range.

Logically, if rather unimaginatively titled the SE1a, SE2a and SE3, all three of these microphones are small diaphragm, pencil type devices. Least expensive in the pecking order is the SE1a, a development of the company’s original SE1. Even at a recommended retail price point of UK£69 (inc. VAT), the SE1a has a capsule that is a true, externally polarised capacitor design rather than a back-electret.

While the capsule is the same fixed pattern cardioid design found in the original SE1, the electronics have been overhauled to reduce self-noise and improve sensitivity slightly. This has all been packaged in a new enclosure that is a great improvement on the original, and whose overall dimensions are slightly thicker and longer than, say an AKG SE300. In fact, in looks it’s probably more like a longer version of a Neumann KM184 than anything else. Looks are one thing, though — sounds are quite another — and so in deference to its pricing as much as anything else, I put it up against an AKG SE300 with a CK91 cardioid capsule, and a Beyer Opus 83.

In purely operational terms, the SE1a lacks some of the features of the comparison microphones as it possesses no high pass filter or pad. In sonic terms though, it turns in a fairly creditable performance. To my ears it has the edge over the (back-electret) Opus 83, as it seemed to resolve low level detail that little bit better. Overall sound of the SE1a is bright but not forward — although on some sound sources, particularly vocals, it can start to sound a little brittle at times. Extension at the top and bottom end is fairly good, and overall response seems smooth with just a little lift around 10kHz. In the final analysis, the AKG SE300 manages to sound more convincing and generally more natural and open.

For those wanting more flexibility in the polarpattern department, the next microphone in the range is the SE2a. Featuring the same electronics and body as the SE1a, for UK£149 (inc. VAT) you get three interchangeable capsules in cardioid, hypercardioid and omni flavours. Also for the price, the microphone comes in a wooden box together with a fairly crude 26

looking, but perfectly functional shockmount. This is in comparison to the cardboard packaging and plastic clip that accompany the SE1a.

Actually, if you delve under the hood a little bit deeper, you find that economies of scale do come into play here. Although the SE1a is sold as a fixed pattern capacitor, the capsule will actually unscrew, and will happily accept the capsules that ship with the SE2a — which could prove a very cost-effective way to mix and match capsules and bodies. Sonically, the cardioid and hypercardioid capsule sound very similar to the stock capsule on the SE1a — although predictably the hypercardioid’s off axis response is a lot lumpier and coloured.

The pick of the capsules is probably the omni, which manages to sound less ‘closed-in’ than the other two sometimes can — and did a nice job on acoustic guitar.

At the top of the food chain is the SE3, which is a much weightier proposition in more ways than one. Physically longer and thicker than the SE1a or SE2a, the SE3 uses an entirely different capsule design to that employed in its smaller siblings. Higher specification components in the electronics and an improved PCB design further up the ante, as does the provision of a -10dB pad and a high pass filter. All of this puts on a bit of weight, and it’s only when you pick it up that you really appreciate just how big it actually is, and realise that those circular side entry ports give the microphone a curiously retro, almost 1970s look.

All this, another one of those utilitarian shockmounts and a nice wooden box, can be yours for UK£129 (inc. VAT) — almost double the price of the SE1a. And, I have to say, sonically it also represents a big jump. Initial auditioning of the SE3 gave the impression that somehow all of the little quibbles you can point to in the sound of the SE1 and SE2 have just been ironed out. And while each one marks an incremental step — the lows seem to just have that touch more authority, the sense of brittleness to the high mids has been softened slightly, the HF extension seems better and more open — collectively they add up to a very impressive sounding mic. It still sounds that little bit brighter and more forward than the AKG SE300 does, but now it seems to have the bottle to back up that slight brashness.

Admittedly, the SE3 might not be the first choice on vocals, but on electric and acoustic guitar, percussion, snare, overheads and even viola it delivered resolution

consistently good results.

While manufacturers like DPA are not exactly going to be quaking in their boots as a result of SE Electronics’ small diaphragm offerings, there’s no doubt that the SE1a and SE2a are useful tools that represent terrific value for money. In my opinion, the pick of the bunch is definitely the SE3. For the price, it’s more than capable of delivering a natural, but slightly larger than life sound — and it does so in a very fuss free manner. And while it would be overstating things to say that it is nipping at the heels of the likes of Neumann’s KM184 — it’s closer than it’s pricing might have led you to believe. The folks at Sonic Distribution also tell me that an SE4 is in the offing, which will effectively be an SE3 with interchangeable capsules. I’m looking forward to it. ■

PROS

Cheap as chips — particularly SE1a; true condensers for back-electret money; SE3 a versatile and classy performer.

CONS

SE1a and SE2a can sound a touch brittle at times; SE3 not as compact as some of its competitors; supplied shockmounts look a little ‘industrial’.

EXTRAS

As mentioned in the review, SE has an interchangeable capsule version of the SE3 on the cards, which will emerge as the SE4. SE3s will also be available as matched stereo pairs for UK£349 (inc. VAT).

Incredibly, you can win an SE1a, 2a and 3 as a complete package by entering our competition on page 57.

Contact SE MICROPHONES, CHINA: Website: www.sonic-distribution.com Worldwide: +44 1525 840400 US: +1 617 623 5581

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review

Manifold Labs Plugzilla It’s one of those boxes that really caught the imagination when it was first announced. Effectively a way to run plug-ins in a dedicated rack unit it’ll find friends among those who want to sideline their computer. GEORGE SHILLING squares up to Plugzilla.

P

LUGZILLA IS A STANDALONE plug-in host, designed to run plug-ins that would normally run in a computer DAW. Designed by digital boffin Tony Agnello and built by Eventide, it presently loads and runs Steinberg Windows format VSTs and VSTis, compatibility mainly dependent on copy protection systems. It will also soon support Linux Audio Developer’s Simple Plug-in API (LADPSA) format.

The box itself is a deep, heavy, wider than normal 2U rackmounter, containing much of the innards of a PC, running Linux on a Celeron processor, complete with whirring hard drive and fans. There is, as yet, no monitor support, but you can plug in a USB keyboard for entering text when saving settings.

The architecture has been designed with two ‘machines’, each of which can simultaneously load four plug-ins. An extremely flexible routing system allows for instrument plug-ins to merge their output with incoming audio, and each machine may be routed in series or parallel with the other machine, or sent to any desired outputs. Individual plug-in slots can also derive input and send output to any separate single analogue or digital connection. A large number of setup presets are available for different routing combinations including M-S and 4-channel settings using different clock rates.

On the rear are XLRs for four analogue inputs and outputs. XLRs are also provided for stereo AES-EBU I-O, along with a pair of Wordclock connectors for operation up to 96kHz plus SPDIF on phonos. There are two TRS footswitch sockets, MIDI 1 In, Out and Thru, plus a MIDI 2 In/Out on a single 5-pin DIN plug.

There is a power rocker by the IEC socket, and computer connectivity in the shape of two USB A sockets, a USB B, and an Ethernet connector. The unit can directly access system updates from the Internet and PZView software for Windows provides file management using a networked PC. The USB sockets can be used to connect external drives, and there are a further two USB A connectors on the front.

Another Power button on the front panel boots the machine and it takes about 85 seconds before relays click to switch on the audio signal connections. The front panel has been neatly designed with rows of buttons and eight continuous clicking rotary encoders with surrounding LEDs for pointers or metering; these are officially known as the Knobs.

Functions and values are displayed on a pair of tworow LED displays. The bottom row displays the function of the knob underneath, while the top row shows related information. Above each display is a row of four buttons, one for each plug-in slot, that

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are used to access and bypass each plug-in. In the centre are overall machine bypass buttons, page scroll buttons and primitive meters.

Five illuminating buttons on the right select main modes. Snapshot is a quick way of saving and loading the entire setup of the unit into one of 8 locations. Load/Save takes you into menus for more specific file functions for individual plug-ins, machines, plug-in settings, system setups and more.

In Knobs mode you can access the parameters for the plug-in, usually spread across multiple pages.

Each screen’s page up/down buttons can be pressed simultaneously to enter Zoom mode where you can use all eight knobs for a single plug-in.

Knobs can be pushed for coarse editing, and also, for example, to Load settings or display parameter values. By pressing Knobs again you enter a Hot Knobs page where you can assign the most useful functions for immediate access to essential settings, using the knobs and buttons above. It is also possible to set ranges, and control parameters via MIDI controllers and even USB joysticks.

Confusingly, this is referred to as Automation, although unless recorded as MIDI in a sequencer, nothing is automated about it. Meters mode handles many pages of possible points to monitor signal levels and these are displayed on-screen numerically; useful but not especially clear to read. Finally, Setup mode provides MIDI and audio connection configurations, CPU usage indicators, and all the other configuration setups, such as sample rate.

A huge number of plug-ins is included preloaded

with accompanying preset programs, although the quality of these effects and instruments is variable. A large proportion of available VSTs are compatible and can be installed; Challenge/Response authorisation can be activated from the front panel. Plug-ins are listed alphabetically by Name, Vendor or Type through the simple menu system, making finding and loading plug-ins very straightforward.

As a VSTi host Plugzilla works extremely efficiently — MIDI and audio latency is extremely low, probably considerably lower than would normally be achieved by the average DAW software instrument plug-in running on a normal computer. This is where Plugzilla excels, and would prove extremely useful for onstage use of software synths and sample-based instruments. With VST studio effects, the convertors sound excellent, and the knobs tweak very effectively, although in some instances missing GUI detail slightly mars the experience.

In theory Plugzilla should eliminate some of the stability problems normally associated with running any DAW on a PC or Mac. However, I overloaded the CPU and crashed it with (an admittedly ridiculous) six instantiations of PSP MasterQ at 96kHz, and I was unable to make any kind of Save function work. This caused an error message, and ‘unloaded’ the plug-in I was trying to save.

But Plugzilla is fairly straightforward to use, and for VSTi live use Plugzilla is undoubtedly preferable and more robust than a laptop, and the low latency is very welcome for musicians. The physical whirring noise of the unit is irritating in a studio situation, but for sheer flexibility of function Plugzilla is hard to beat. ■

Contact MANIFOLD LABS, US: Website: www.manifoldlabs.com Website: www.plugzilla.com

PROS

Great VSTi host for live keyboard performance; ultimate flexible effects unit.

CONS

Noisy HD and fans; problems saving settings.

EXTRAS

Manifold Labs consists of veterans of the pro audio and telecoms industries. (L-R) Marc Lindahl (went from dbx to co founding Sonorus and doing design work for Avid, Mackie, TC Works, Swissonic, Midiman, Event, and others before joining Eventide as VP of marketing & strategy and moving to Manifold Labs); Jim Sieniki (lead software engineer with AT&T Bell Labs, Ariel, and UTStarcomm); Don Elwell (started at Ariel Corp as a hardware engineer, eventually led the department as VP Engineering); Tony Agnello (while at Eventide invented the Harmonizer and SP2016 effects processor, has been involved in DSP since the 1970s, including cofounding Ariel Corp); Joe Waltz (veteran of Lexicon and Eventide, worked on JamMan, Lexicon 300, Eclipse and Orville among others); Todd Mizenko (musician and senior software engineer with Ariel, General Atronics, and Dot4).

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PSP Prozilla Plugzilla currently ships with an evaluation version of this suite of VST plug-ins that will not run on any other host than this machine. After 25 uses you are encouraged to buy the plug-ins from the PSP website. GEORGE SHILLING goes from Plugzilla to Prozilla.

T

HERE ARE NINE DIFFERENT plug-ins included in this comprehensive suite from Polish company PSP, mostly useful as mastering processors (Euro 512).

AutoComp is designed to emulate classic optoelectronic compression. Ratio is apparently fixed, while Knee is available as a percentage setting for the range below the threshold level, and there is an option between RMS and Peak operation — both modes sound great. With Plugzilla ‘zoomed’, all parameters are available on one page, with two knobs’ LEDs used for metering of Gain Reduction and Peak Level. A Time knob adjusts attack and release simultaneously, and there is an element of automatic adjustment. Gain is automatically made up — the make-up seems a little over-generous at times, although there is a knob to trim this! AutoComp sounds remarkably analoguelike, and is quick to set up.

EasyLimit is a brick wall limiter with just four knobs for two variable controls, plus bypass and a meter. The controls are Input level and Release time. The threshold is fixed — level coming out appears to remain below -6dBfs. Release time is oddly shown as a percentage, and again there is an automatic element to this. It sounds good, and by tweaking the release you can vary the degree of pumping. The sound remains pleasantly crunchy at fast settings.

MasterQ comprises parametric EQ with high and low filters (12 or 24dB/octave), high and low shelving bands, and three parametric bell curves with slightly

limiting algorithms (or thru). All bands include bypass knobs, and the only downside of this great sounding and incredibly powerful EQ is all the page-scrolling necessary on Plugzilla’s front panel, although this is probably no more of a nuisance than mousecontrolling the DAW equivalent.

MixPressor includes more possibilities than the aforementioned AutoComp, but apparently works on

broadly similar principles. The Compress knob seems to operate much like a threshold knob. Make-up starts with Auto then moves into a 0 to 47dB range, but there seems to be a slight software glitch that makes the Auto mode display ‘Auto’ when in fact there is 0dB gain.

This plug includes a sidechain filter with a listen facility, and separate Attack, Hold and Release settings, the Hold setting effectively providing LA-2A-style dual release times. A Delay setting (on or off) seems to act as a look-ahead and contains transients more effectively, and there is a Limit or Saturate option before output that stops things getting nasty. It sounds much like the AutoComp but the extra knobs give the user a few more options to tweak.

MixSaturator adds distortion and enriching harmonics to mixes or individual instruments. There are three Valve settings, three Tape settings, and one

a Gain knob and channel swapping options.

StereoController comprises a bunch of tools for corrective mastering, such as phase reversal, L-R swap and Balance correction. The Sides setting cleverly uses the differential signal to balance the stereo signals without influencing centrally panned signals, and similarly Center moves the central elements without affecting the sides. Correlation and Balance meters are included on two of the knobs, and another knob controls a very accurate short delay for corrections between the channels.

StereoEnhancer uses differential signal adjustment and comb-filtering to enhance stereo width. There are several different modes and a comprehensive set of controls for tweaking the exact effect, including selection of the base frequency for the comb filtering and an Emphasis setting to use a high pass filter, reducing the effect of spatial enhancement on lower frequencies. A correlation meter is included, and there is also a mode for making mono signals into spatial stereo effects. This plug-in is great fun and works really well.

VintageWarmer is yet another compressor/limiter, this one including a 3-band multiband mode, and tape saturation effects. In single band mode, a three-band

EQ is available. The multiple bands are fully editable with individual settings for crossover frequencies, saturation effects and release times. ■ different ranges, although these all cover almost all of the audio spectrum. Default frequencies and Q settings are sensibly chosen though.

Q settings for the shelves changes the slope and includes overshoot and undershoot settings. In-built 192kHz capability (although Plugzilla is presently only 96kHz capable) ensures accurate EQ with ranges up to 30kHz. Bands have ranges of +/-24dB and there is an optional FAT mode that uses double sampling technology for higher accuracy HF filtrations at the expense of slightly increased latency.

Extremely small boosts and cuts are easy to achieve accurately with Plugzilla’s knobs. There is even a LimSat setting with a choice of seven soft-clipping and October 2004

Clip setting — a surprisingly gentle emulation of digital clipping. There are also separate Low and High Frequency bands where you can select frequencies and then drive these bands separately; you can then compensate for level differences of these bands with gain trims. Overall Drive level plus Input and Output trims are provided, along with a Mix setting. The analogue distortions are remarkably convincing, creating some juicy rich sounds... I still long for a good tape-hiss plug-in though!

MS is a simple XY to MS and MS to XY codec with resolution

PROS

Simple to operate; powerful and great sounding plug-ins; 96kHz.

CONS

Plugzilla metering is poor; Prozilla won’t run on any other VST host; Plugzilla’s physical noise too loud for mastering rooms.

Contact PSP, POLAND: Website: www.pspaudioware.com

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Toft Audio Designs ATC-2 Malcolm Toft returns after a short absence with a new line of outboard with his name on.

ZENON SCHOEPE attempts to resist a dual-channel mic preamp, compressor, and EQ that has real character.

M

ALCOLM TOFT’S NAME is so strongly and immediately associated with the Trident brand that is has largely overshadowed much of his other work. While many would want to keep him firmly back in the days of that limited short run of first A series desks, allowing him perhaps to venture as far forward as the Series 80 and TSM, I like to look as his work over a much broader period. For me, his days at MTA did epitomise much of what was good about what Malcolm does. Well thought out desks that were stacked full of features, that were well laid out, and that sounded great on pretty much all fronts. They looked a tad sudden with their light back colour and bright red switches but they’ve probably aged more gracefully than some of the cosmetic atrocities that were hitting us at around the same time. Most importantly they were always extremely good value and still represent a great second hand buy today for those who want a proper desk.

The MTA days also saw the release of the desk EQ as a Signature series rack unit and it remains one of my favourite EQs simply because it is so usable and so effective. An all to brief association with the TridentMTA brand and Fletcher Electroacoustics did, however, produce the rather superb and very underrated A Series EQ mic preamp that I regard as among the finest ever built. After a another quiet period, it’s great to see Malcolm back again with a range of boxes with his name on.

The ATC-2 breaks no immediate ground with what has become a fairly standard list of features but because it has the Toft name on it we can expect something a little special. We have a dual channel mic preamp, with line and instrument inputs, FET compressor and EQ housed in a stylish case with nicely sculpted recesses for the switchgear. It’s built in the Far East but you really wouldn’t think it as it’s chunky, tight and well screwed together with smooth pots, which are centre detented where appropriate, positive switches and good hardware. Most significantly it’s UK£699 (inc. VAT).

The rear panel has XLR connectors for mic and line balanced inputs and outputs plus unbalanced jack IOs. The front panel adds instrument level inputs to both channels.

I’ll say straight away that the compressor has a Stereo Link switch that merely links the control voltages and leaves each channel’s individual controls fully independent. So there is no master channel allocation just like in those old desirable FET designs.

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To quote the rather poor manual, which really should have a front panel layout with pot by pot and switch by switch descriptions, the box’s mic pres are derived from his earlier desks and the EQ and compressor sections ‘borrow heavily from vintage Trident designs’. The EQ, in particular, will stir Series 80 fans.

Starting with the equaliser then, you get a switchable 12dB/octave 50Hz rolloff and +/-15dB on all for four bands. LF and HF are shelving with switchable 60/120Hz and 8/12kHz frequencies. The mids are peaking and seem to sweep (there are no figures in the manual) 100Hz-1.5kHz and 1-15kHz. This is a great design and I love it. It might not read like much but believe me that it has a subtlety that is now increasingly lacking in modern designs. It’s pure sweetener, whether in boost or cut, generous and full bodied. You can pile it in with enthusiasm but I found I ended up using little bits of each band and used it lots.

To my mind when you get a tracking EQ you want to be using it, the special occasion EQs are all well and good but they do tend to spend a disproportionate amount of time On and unplugged. This circuit is a high usage design that I love to death. Admittedly you’re not going to be pulling out mains hum with this thing but you will very quickly find it can improve and correct with ease.

Now the compressor is a different sort of proposition mostly because its action is quite different from the more common VCA-type designs. It’s

certainly fast but its squash factor has much more in common with ‘classic’ designs than its modern presentation would suggest. There are fully variable Attack and Release pots (marked only as fast and slow at their extremes), Ratio (apparently unity to 12:1) and the essential Gain Make Up (-50 to +20).

VU-style meters can follow output level or gain reduction. The former could really do with a Peak LED, to my mind, and the latter could do with a means of desensitising the meters when hammering hard as mine spent most of their time twitching on the hard left end stop.

But it’s really very good, I can’t knock it.

There’s a creamy quality to what it does that is immediately flattering and very refined. It’s very similar in quality to boxes costing very much more that have those funny plastic controls on the front.

This is a good mix compressor, excellent on drum subgroups if you want to get that sucky room mic sound, and very handy on snares. It’s also fabulous on a quality vocal mic because it can be remarkably transparent and doesn’t have to overpower and stamp its mark on the singer. I’m fumbling for a word here and ‘smooth’ probably gets closest and will mean most to you.

It goes without saying that the mic preamp is damn fine — very quiet and responsive — and surprisingly unfussy about what mic it is being fed.

EQs and compressors can be bypassed individually.

EQ is fixed before the compressor which is OK for most things but there are times when I like to run things the other way around.

The ATC-2 is very hard to fault in any major way and amounts to a quality unit of remarkable character — again that’s something that is starting to be lacking in a lot of ‘affordable’ outboard. I love the EQ, the compressor and the mic pre. I’ve think I’ve just added another box to my list of favourites. ■

Contact TOFT AUDIO DESIGNS, UK: Tel: +44 1803 215111 Website: www.toftaudio.com US, PMI Audio: +1 877 563 6335

PROS

Quality, characterful processing; ultimately usable EQ; real retro compression; a great box.

CONS

Could do with a Peak LED and the ability to desensitise the VU for gain reduction extremes; no switchable EQ-compressor order; poor manual.

EXTRAS

Other products in the Toft range include the AFC dual channel equaliser and mic preamp, the EC-1 mono channel compressor, EQ and mic preamp and the DC-2 dual channel mono/stereo compressor.

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‘ My investigation into the many facets of the SCX-25 has proved to be most rewarding!’

David Grisman Legendary Mandolinist

You don't have to be a sleuth to figure out that the SCX-25 is one of the most original and best sounding microphones to hit the pro audio market in recent times.

Uniquely shock mounted within an intricately machined brass housing, the SCX25's patented shock mount design completely isolates the capsule from the mic body and the electronics. By successfully minimizing acoustic reflections and diffractions, the SCX-25 delivers a pure, open-air sound unlike any other microphone.

SCX-25 Condenser Microphone

Track down a pair of SCX25's for your next recording. David Grisman did and you can hear the results on his latest releases.

For more information about David Grisman and his music go to www.dawgnet.com.

For a dealer near you call: 800-966-8261 TEL: 503-682-6933 FAX: 503-682-7114 www.audixusa.com

Audix Corporation, PO Box 4010, Wilsonville, OR 97070. In Canada, C-Tec, Tel 604-942-1001, Fax 604-942-1010 ®Audix Corp 2003. All rights reserved. Audix and the Audix logo are trademarks of Audix Corporation.

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review

Sony Oxford Dynamics and R3 EQ They’ve been around for a while but sport impeccable lineage and an individual twist on tonal shaping and gain reduction.

GEORGE SHILLING returns to Oxford.

T

HE SONY OXFORD R3 EQ and Dynamics plug-ins are directly modelled on the Oxford OXFR3 console’s respective sections, and are available for Pro Tools LE and TDM, as well as for TC Powercore.

The EQ comprises five bands of fully parametric EQ, with top and bottom bands switchable to shelving function, plus high- and low-pass filters. There are four types of EQ available, mysteriously labelled Type 1, Type 2, etc. Everything else about the appearance makes the function fairly obvious, with each band including conventional Cut/Boost, Frequency and Q controls. As soon as the mouse is hovered over a control, the value appears as a ‘tooltip’ in text form.

There is an option for these numeric values to display on all knobs at all times, and with the rather shallow

32

plot graph, I preferred this, despite the semiobliteration of the pointers.

Unfortunately there is no way to enter numbers directly. When the plug-in is instantiated, twiddling the knobs does absolutely nothing initially: each band includes an ‘In’ button that must be clicked first — the default is bypass. In the centre are A and B buttons for storing two different overall EQ setups for comparison, although there was no way I could copy settings from A to B or B to A, even using copy and paste, as that copied the A or B setting too.

An overall level attenuation knob is useful for avoiding clipping when boosting loud signals. Here also is the Type selector, where you can nudge up and down the list before clicking the In button to activate.

resolution

The bands have big 20dB ranges, and enormous frequency overlaps. Type 1 is the most clinical, with minimal ‘Gain/Q dependency’ — this does what it says on the tin, seeming similar in character to Waves Renaissance EQ or McDSP FilterBank.

Type 2 has a similar boost characteristic, but in cut retains constant Q, useful for more precise notching out, particularly when tweaking drums. Type 3 makes the Q narrower at higher cut/boost levels, and so sounds more ‘musical’, and Type 4 takes this even further, where when increasing gain it’s more akin to the Waves Paragraphic plug-ins. Shelf bands use the Q knob to vary the undershoot/overshoot at the turnover frequency, and are unaffected by the Type selected. Filters are variable from 6dB/octave up to

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review 36dB/octave. With more gain/cut available than the competition, and the sheer range of available characteristics, the package is extremely flexible, and sonically excellent, if a little ergonomically lacking.

The Dynamics plug-in includes simultaneous Gate, Expander, Compresser, Limiter, Sidechain EQ and Warmth sections, each with their own dedicated control page and bypass button. The compressor section in particular is comprehensively featured, with five different knee settings where you can lower the onset of compression below the threshold point in steps of 5dB. Another interesting feature is the implementation of a Hold knob, which delays the release part of the compressor effect, enabling some very smooth programme compression.

The Limiter section features similar timing controls that have large ranges — for example, Release goes right down to 0.005S and up to over 3S. These timings can be controlled by three different modes. Normal generates logarithmic timings and the Classic mode is similar but fixes time settings to emulate the dbx 160.

There is also a Linear mode that provides a constant rate of gain change, which can generate dynamic sound effects.

The Compressor’s Ratio control also boasts enormous range, but sensibly the 2:1 position is half way round.

The Compressor is extremely versatile, and in some ways similar to an analogue dbx in its precision. Perhaps slightly bland compared to vintage models, this deficiency is partially addressed by the Warmth section where a variable control adds some pseudo-valve richness and depth which is particularly enjoyable on vocals.

The Limiter is astonishingly good with a built-in look-ahead function that keeps things very well tamed without any unpleasant artefacts. The very effective Gate and Expander sections both include Threshold, Attack, Hold, Release and Range knobs, with the Expander additionally providing a Ratio. The SideChain EQ is a powerful 2-band parametric/shelving section that can by switched to the dynamics side chain or even into the main signal path.

An enormous graph shows very clearly the combined theoretical effect of all active sections on the gain curve. This is a fixed display, while virtual LED meters show input and output levels, plus gain reduction separately for each section. These meters are small and could have benefited from a little more resolution. The Dynamics plug-in additionally offers a 16-bit dithering mode for mastering situations — normal audio resolution is 24 bit, of course.

In conclusion, both plug-ins are extremely versatile, thoroughly designed and boast supreme sonic integrity (TDM EQ: UK550 + VAT; TDM Dynamics: UK£550 + VAT). These are Rolls-Royce models, and the downside of their powerful performance and flexibility is that they use slightly more processing power than some of the competition. There are no ‘cut-down’ options of, say, instantiating just the Compressor section of the Dynamics plug-in, although there are versions of the EQ with fewer bands in the TDM version. It could be argued that the GUI designs of both are a little fiddly — precision mouse-work is required. Their overall sonic character is refined, dry and slightly bland compared to vintage valve outboard. However, these are plug-ins and sonically the best of their kind. ■

PROS

Fantastic sound quality and flexibility.

CONS

CPU load can be high; fiddly graphics.

EXTRAS

Sony Oxford has launched its Oxford Reverb plug-in. Designed as a flexible stereo reverberation generator it has presets and complete control of its many parameters, including a comprehensive early reflections section and integrated 5-band EQ. It is compatible with ProTools HD and ProTools LE.

Contact SONY OXFORD, UK: Website: www.sonyplugins.com

October 2004

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review

AKG WMS 40 Microtools system The WMS 40 Wireless Microphone system represents an impressive range of UHF transmitters and receivers, with a selection of compatible accessories and complimentary applications, that together AKG calls Microtools. NEIL HILLMAN goes small.

M

ICRO. FROM THE GREEK ‘mikros’ meaning small. So far so good. An adjective: extremely small in scope or capability; trivial.

But as far as those definitions are concerned: no, no and, well, no. The only thing small or trivial in this range is the attractive semi-professional price tag that accompanies each item.

Designed expressly by AKG to be entry-level, the WMS 40 range has succeeded in lowering the pricepoint for such-specified kit, while simultaneously providing a quality that will have other manufacturers of serious systems pausing awhile to maybe consider their own offerings. Yes, the casings are plastic, yes, the battery compartments will need the respect that only a freelance owner would afford them; but given the finances faced by the jobbing recordists servicing today’s television (the micro-economy, in microcosm), or if you were just embarking on a road-career, it suddenly becomes less of a compromise to consider these products as a low-cost and flexible way to toolup. However, one of the proviso’s is, inevitably, the obligatory licensing arrangement with JFMG in the UK. The WMS 40 range operates in the 710-865MHz band, which neatly spans the allocated bands for UK Channel 69 ‘specific locations’: indoors (854.250862.000MHz) or outdoors (854.250-858.750MHz and 859.750-862.000MHz), or ‘free-roaming’ (854.900-860.400MHz): all of which require an annual license fee to be paid to operate legally; although some of the WMS 40’s channels are in the license-free (863-865MHz) smash-and-grab zone of the bingo hall and aerobic instructor. However, the fixed, preset, frequencies of the transmitters and receivers let the system be set-up quickly and easily, and ensure that a recordist need never inadvertently slip across the wrong side of the tracks. Either way, I would assume that any AKG supplier would take the time and trouble to determine which preset frequencies

were best suited to each purchaser.

There are three receivers in the WMS 40 range; one is a portable diversity, the PR 40, for location use and two stationary models: the SR 40 and the SR 40 Diversity. Both of the stationary SR 40 receivers — which may be rack-mounted or free-standing — carry a balanced XLR output along with an unbalanced 1/4inch jack-socket, provide an adjustable squelch, and

offer an output level control that allows adjustment of the receiver’s output between -30dB, 0dB and +6dB. RF and Power levels are displayed on the front indicator panel. The audio bandwidth for the whole WMS 40 range is stated to be 40Hz-20kHz; THD as 0.8% and a claimed signal-to-noise ratio greater than 108dB. Reasonable then, even if only 4 channels may run together inter-mod free.

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The DAC1 offers just about the finest analog conversion available right up to 192-kHz, plus all sample rates playback with a 52-kHz analog bandwidth. Performance is unrivaled. THD+N is an astonishing low -106 dB (0.0005%) measured at 0 dBFS, at any playback frequency, at any sample rate, with any degree of input jitter, and it just gets better from there.

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review The PR 40 diversity portable receiver is specifically designed for location recordists — as a mixer-bag pocket item — or for camera-persons, fixed to the camera of their one-man-band crew. It carries two folding antennae, an on/off switch and indicator, and, in an easily scanned row of three: a battery level LED, an RF level LED and an audio level LED. There are two conjoined outputs: a combined line-level and headphone arrangement on a 2.5mm TRS jack socket; the fixed line-level signal appears on the tip, whilst the adjustable headphone feed is carried by the ring.

The unit is powered by two AAA batteries, giving a useful life of 8 hours; or by an optional Powering Adaptor (PA 40) which fits neatly into the battery compartment of the unit and takes power from a suitable camcorder supply outlet operating between 5-18V; or by rechargeable cells, replenished via an optional drop-in, walkie-talkie type charger (CU 40) that conducts through an array of contacts located on the bottom of the receiver. This highly convenient feature is common to all of the transmitters in the WMS 40 range, too, with a recycle time of around just 1 hour. Comforting.

Users are spoilt for choice with the transmitters on offer. My favourite in a moment; first there is the HT 40 handheld transmitter. Designed as a robust vocal microphone — with a bright edge to its output — the transmission technology is housed within the body of an AKG D880, a dynamic cardioid microphone whose rugged body hides the integral antenna.

The transmitter is operated by a silent on/off switch, and there is a low-battery indicator; although with around 35 hours of operational life from two AA batteries, that could amount to an awesome 700 renditions of My Way; or a spine-tingling combination of 350 each of I Will Survive and Hey, Big Spender before it starts to glow. Staggering.

The PT 40 bodypack transmitter is, surprisingly, quite large, though light, and may be worn in the traditional manner of either a presenter’s pocket or belt, and may be coupled to a selection of suitable lavalier microphones. Simplicity itself in ergonomics and controls, it carries a mini-XLR connector, an on/off switch, a Mute slider-switch and a low-battery indicator. A small display window provides an LCD showing Carrier Frequency or sub-channel of a Frequency Group, audio input level, battery level and remaining operating time, error messages and the setup menus for Frequency, Preset and Gain.

A jog switch on the side of the unit is used to alter variable parameters and activates the screen’s backlight for 10 seconds when momentarily pushed.

The key to the inherent quality of any transmitter is its compander, or more precisely its ability to process HF transients; and its here, probably for the first time, that a cognoscenti will pause and reconsider the merits of the performance-cost ratio in the WMS 40; in particular the critical coupling of a PT 40 with a PR 40, processing a variety of male and female voices.

But my favourite of the WMS 40’s Microtools is, without a doubt, the delightful SO 40 ‘Snap On’ transmitter. It is tactile and elegant, efficient and effective, and the cheapest way I know to instantly transform any cabled dynamic microphone into a hand-held transmitter. The SO 40 is so small and light, it weighs less than the cable and XLR it replaces.

Sturdily made in a light, reinforced glass-fibre case that houses an integral antenna, there is a silent on/off switch with a centre mute position, yet retains the power to the device while it continues to transmit the 5mW RF carrier. A recessed rotary pot allows the input gain of the SO 40 to be optimised for the outputs of October 2004

various dynamic microphones. Its single AAA battery power should last for up to 8 hours; but even this little device is designed to sit comfortably in the CU 40 ‘drop-in’ charger.

The Microtools range also includes a guitar-jack transmitter (the ‘Guitar Bug’ GB 40) for musicians, and for lecturers, a lavalier microphone with a detachable head; worn like a ball-point pen in a breast pocket (the ‘Micropen’ MP 40). This whole AKG WMS 40 system shows a considerable, and pleasing, Ikeaesque style; combined with a satisfying sense of ergonomic flair and economic prudence.

In a world where there’s no such thing as a free lunch, the AKG WMS 40 certainly makes for a tempting finger-buffet. ■

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PROS

A brilliant bangs-for-bucks price-point coupled with a refreshing sense of style, class and quality.

CONS

While the WMS 40 is disrespectful to its peers by blurring the boundary of where it ought to stand given its price, you do — ultimately — get what you pay for.

Contact AKG, AUSTRIA: Website: www.akg.com UK, HARMAN PRO: www.harmanprouk.com

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review

Sony Vegas +DVD Production Suite Audio’s standard-bearing package for the video world has changed hands and undergone a number of refinements. ROB JAMES looks at Vegas V5 and DVD Architect 2 Plus AC-3 Encoder and judges it a costeffective way to get a postproduction suite.

T

HE MIDDLE GROUND nonlinear editing market is moving on apace. Neatly mirroring the DAW experience, prices are falling and the feature count is rising. Although necessarily there are common factors to all the big players’ packages, there is one wild card that has always managed to go its own way. Adobe’s Premiere, Pinnacle’s Liquid Edition and even the new Canopus Edius all follow the model set down by the phenomenally successful Avid Media Composer to a greater or lesser extent. Vegas Video, on the other hand, began life as Vegas Audio, developed by Sonic Foundry, and these audio roots arguably make for an easier transition to video for people who are more used to audio workstations. For example, there is no twin-screen source-edit window but there is an excellent trimmer.

When Sony Pictures Digital Networks bought Sonic Foundry, it was the cause of some consternation among the existing user base because of worries about the future development directions that Sony might impose. This is the first major release since the take-over and should successfully allay any remaining fears and win plenty of new adopters.

The standalone editing part of the package, Vegas 5 is now priced at a very reasonable UK£424.68 (+VAT) and includes Boris Graffiti 3.0 LTD for 2D titling. But the real steal is the whole package, complete with DVD Architect 2 and 5.1 Dolby licensed AC-3 encoder for a mere UK£638.30 (+VAT).

To put this into perspective, a few years back, when I reviewed Sonic Foundry’s earlier AC-3 encoder, Soft Encode, the price was the same or more than this complete package.

Vegas 5 has been given on-the-fly, punch-in recording. This will be useful for recording commentary to picture and, of course, ADR as well as

music. It has also gained envelope automation recording. This can be written using the on-screen faders for audio and further adjusted using the usual

‘rubber-band’ technique. Vegas also has support for a single Mackie Control Universal or up to five generic MIDI controllers. Continuing with the audio

the daddy.

2 channel JFET/tube stereo bus compressor .

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C

O

M

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review improvements, the already useful collection of plug-ins has been augmented with three new, 5.1, effects — Track EQ, dither and Wave Hammer (a surround compressor).

Bus to bus routing now allows sub-grouping and there is film-style surround panning with support for panning between adjacent pairs of speakers using a constant power pan law. Real-time downmixing from 5.1 to stereo should help improve efficiency.

On the media management front it is now possible to create subclips, which reference a section of a media file. These can be defined in either the Trimmer window or directly in the Vegas timeline.

These subclips are added to the project’s media pool and are used in exactly the same way as ‘normal’ clips. The ‘bin’ architecture has been improved to help housekeeping on long-form projects but could still be better.

As an aid to workflow for projects destined for DVD, frame accurate subtitles can be entered in Vegas and exported to DVD Architect by creating named regions in Vegas. These are exported as a text file using a script then imported into DVD Architect to create frame-accurate subtitles in a DVD project.

Unique on a product at this price point, the provision of networked rendering is a big advance.

Vegas comes complete with two additional renderonly ‘service packs’. If these are installed on networked PCs, Vegas can break down a project into smaller chunks and, from the users point of view, transparently manage the rendering and reassembly process.

Vegas uses the popular MainConcept MPEG encoder. There is now a twin pass option that certainly enhances the picture quality but, on a modest system, at the expense of very long render times.

DVD Architect has been comprehensively revamped with a new Project Overview Window, Real Time External Monitor preview via FireWire, 24p DVD encoding, Fit To Disk Compression, programmable end actions for menus and media, multiple audio track support, subtitle creation and import support, enhanced optimisation tools and asset behaviour control. These features and others, such as audio track waveforms and up to 32 subtitle streams (16 in widescreen) add up to make DVD Architect 2 arguably the most comprehensive solution available at anywhere near this price point.

However, there are some omissions, which will appear glaring to some and irrelevant to others.

There is no support for multiple angles and Architect cannot import complete menus in Adobe PSD format.

However, Architect’s own design tools are very good.

Anyone contemplating commercial duplication will have a problem because DLT is not currently supported and, there is no provision of CSS or Macrovision copy protection, although the stable door has long been flapping in the breeze where these are concerned. Leaving these minor concerns aside, Vegas +DVD makes a compelling argument for itself as a finishing package.

Despite, or perhaps because of, its unusual approach, the user interface is relatively quick to learn and works well on a single screen, unlike many others. Subjectively, many common tasks need fewer keystrokes and/or menu delving to achieve. You can do pretty much anything with Vegas that is possible with its rivals but it might take a while to work out how if you are already used to an alternative approach. Those who have persisted are vocal in their October 2004

support and I am inclined to agree with them. One of the joys of native processing with a standard soundcard and OHCI compliant FireWire is that you can have several packages installed on a machine and do various parts of a project using the most appropriate one or just the one you are most comfortable with.

This is a cost-effective and relatively painless way of acquiring a complete postproduction suite. Vegas itself is an unconventional but very seductive editor. I find it works more naturally than most. The surround sound tools and DVD authoring are intuitive and quick to use and can give highly impressive results. It doesn’t condescend and it doesn’t feel rigid. I liked the previous incarnations; it’s a whole lot better now. ■

PROS CONS

Cost effective all in one package; network rendering; doesn’t follow the herd; intuitive user interface.

DVD Architect lacks DLT support and CSS/Macrovision; may seem alien to people used to other editors; 2D only titling seems a bit mean.

Contact SONY MEDIASOFTWARE, US: Website: www.mediasoftware.sonypictures.com UK, SCV London: +44 208 418 0778

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alongside his dream recording studio based around a TL Audio VTC console, complete with views of snowcapped mountains, and a floor-plan loosely based on Olympic Studio 2.

Youth He’s a bass player turned remixer, writer and producer with a string of hits that support his particular approach. He talks to GEORGE SHILLING about production methods, staying focused, the mystery of getting it right and his new studio in Spain.

I

For some years he ran his own Butterfly Studios in Brixton, along with a bunch of record labels — he currently runs Dragonfly, Liquid Sound Design and Kamaflage — through which he releases development projects, remixes, and his own work under pseudonyms. He is presently resurrecting the Butterfly label for a project featuring folk-based artists, and he continues to write and co-write material. Recently he’s been working on a classical crossover project with Mel Bush and a Croatian pianist, writing and arranging with an orchestra, and has completed albums with String Cheese Incident, Howie Day and Keith Flint. I interviewed him in his garden summerhouse studio in London while he worked on a remix for Juno Reactor, who featured in The Matrix movies. However, after 30 years in London, he is planning a move to Spain and is currently constructing a self-designed house

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FIRST MET YOUTH at Livingston Studios in 1988 when we were both working on the Yazz album for Big Life. He was at that point best known as the former bass player in Killing Joke (they have since sporadically reformed, with Youth producing their latter-day output). He had also been a member of the Stock, Aitken & Waterman produced Brilliant (alongside KLF’s Jimmy Cauty), but by now was building a reputation as a remixer, writer and producer.

He was associated with the burgeoning post-Acid House UK dance, trance and chill-out scene, contrasting dramatically with the art-punk leanings of Killing Joke. Since then he has developed an exceptional CV as a producer, including the monumentally successful Urban Hymns by The Verve, plus Crowded House, Tom Jones, James, Dido and Embrace’s recent number one album.

Why did you choose the TLA VTC console for the new studio?

Because studios are going through such a radical reevaluation at the moment, because of the technology and the state of the industry. When you think, okay I want to build my ideal studio, you’re not going to spend hundreds of grand on it like you would in the old days. And even if you did, making it commercially viable would be ridiculous. I didn’t want to get into a situation where I’d invested so much I’d have to make it commercial — which is kind of what happened in the 1990s when I had Butterfly Studios in Brixton.

And also the technology’s changed — it’s so good now with Logic and Pro Tools, it’s as good as, if not better than tape ever was. So what we decided to do is have more of a mastering studio centred around a big HD system, and really the TLA desk — at one point I really didn’t want a desk. Maybe 12 channels of old Neve, that was one idea. When I saw the TLA, apart from this being a great desk it has great mic inputs; I’ve got to get those anyway, so it seemed like a really good solution.

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craft So it’s mostly for band recording?

I think so, but what we’ve also done when we start mixing from Logic is bringing the mix up like stems, so the whole mix covers 8 tracks, and bringing that up through the TLA and cranking it a little bit, just to give it a bit of analogue compression and warmth and a little bit more spread. We’ll have a minimal amount of outboard, a couple of Ureis and an SSL compressor, a few delays and stuff, but not much, because the plugins are so good now, it’s kind of pointless.

Who is involved with building the new studio?

I’ve had Terry Otley and Ian Davidson who both refurbished Olympic and Abbey Road and come highly recommended as the best in the business. It’s a fresh build; I’ve designed the house and the studio myself with Terry. It’s loosely based on Studio 2 at Olympic, which is my favourite room, with a few other ideas — lots of floor-to-ceiling glass and long views, which is unusual for a studio. To get the acoustics right with all that glass was a little bit tricky, but Terry’s an absolute genius and knows where all the sweet spots are. I’ve got a pair of 1035 Genelecs and the TLA. I’ve got quite a big collection of guitars and old vintage amps, I’m looking for some old BBC compressors and a few toys to take down there, and I want to go over with an unsigned rock band and see how she runs. And from that point on, do album projects there.

Do you have any special convertors or gizmos?

Just 888s. If I’m doing a big production I’ll use HD at Olympic, but here I’ve got one 24-bit interface and two 16-bit.

So you’re not too fussy about all that?

If you record low-res you can make anything sound like whatever you want today. You can make it sound like vinyl or tape, if you record with an 87 you can make it sound like it was recorded on a transistor builtin mic. You can almost make one of those mics sound like an 87. It’s more to do with proportion and perspective, and things like authenticity that make something work. It’s great having all the processing power, but none of that’s ever going to give you those insights that make something really work and give something magic and soul, and that’s what you really want out of a record. I get fascinated by the technology, but I’m not a techno buff. I suppose it’s relative — I’m not a techno buff compared to my assistant Adam, or great programmers and engineerproducers like Gareth Jones, or great engineers I work with like Clive Goddard — but to friends of my wife I’m a total techno buff.

How do you approach band recording?

Pretty traditional really, I preproduce and rehearse, go through arrangements and selections of songs.

Choosing the songs is the most important choice of the whole album. Once you’ve picked the contenders, then routining them and working with the band on arrangements and direction. And that’s a really good fun part of it, because it’s really instant. The band’s there and you can just try something completely different in seconds, you don’t need any of this technology, you just plug in and do it.

Generally I only do two or three days and go through 15 songs, sometimes it’s a week. It depends on their circumstances — if they’ve been on the road for 18 months, or writing for two years. Try out a few ideas in the arrangements, and put the songs in the ring a bit October 2004

and really try the fast ones really slow, try the ballads really fast, and different keys and totally different approaches, just to see the parameters of the song.

After the routining, into the studio and it’s focusing on great performances, which means not doing too many takes, keeping the band fresh and focused. Trying out the different arrangements to see which ones work. And we might record jams in the evening, and then we might do things like take the lyric and melody from a properly worked out song and put that over the jam in a different key and really play around with it. The main responsibility of the producer is to create a space and a team that really allows the band to go into lots of different areas and at the same time keep it really focused. The dynamic between those two things is what creates the magic, I think. It sounds pretty straightforward and easy, and it can be, but at the same time it can be incredibly traumatic for a band because it involves vast reserves of bravery and confidence to really commit to those ideas with the same amount of intensity and emotion as the one they’ve been rehearsing at home for the last six months before I came along. And to have someone who’s a relative stranger come along and critique their technique and style and suggest other things, it’s a bit like having a sex therapist come in and tell you how to make love to your wife, because it’s a very intimate thing.

So in that sense, it’s very, very sensitive. But I’m pretty frank and very honest in the studio, and I think that’s something that’s valuable as well, it’s no good pussyfooting about with an artist, because that will make them feel twice as bad and they won’t know where they are. Generally, after the first couple of weeks the band settles into a new kind of confidence once they start hearing what they’ve achieved and once they can hear where they can go with the songs.

At that point things start changing gear, we’ll have got the rhythm tracks, but we’re going for rhythm tracks with great performances, and once we’ve got the rhythm track we can do anything. I think that’s the way most of my favourite classic records have been made, from Dark Side of the Moon to Never Mind The Bollocks, it’s the same kind of philosophy. I’ve spent years experimenting with lots of different ways of working with bands, and there are no absolutes or dogma to it, but that particular approach seems to be consistently successful. resolution

Do you get your engineer to set up for a mix?

Yeah, I let them at it, and even if they’ve recorded it, they’ll generally reinvent it in a way I haven’t expected. And I think it’s the same with the recording thing, you go in with expectations and ideals and a certain vision, and really you want to have that superceded and smashed with fantastic surprises, and that’s the best thing that can happen, and that often happens in the mix. I think there’s a certain amount of performance to a mix as well. The best mixers I’ve worked with, from Bob Clearmountain to Mark Spike Stent to Clive Goddard, they’ll get a mix in three or four hours. If you haven’t got it happening in three or four hours, it’s probably not going to happen, unfortunately.

No matter how big the mix is, because especially if it’s a really big mix, you have to be able to translate that into a simple thing that people can understand. And it’s also reducing it down to bass, middle and treble.

What I love is the kind of weird crazy side of all this, the fact that you’re taking moments of time and manipulating them, and turning them into things that have soul — actually give people soul, make people cry, and they’re outside of time, they’re there regardless. That can really happen in a mix. Everything in a studio goes into that recording, I believe. You are making these weird fetishes, weird magical little moments. The whole process of doing that is a bit of a weird thing, when you sit down and think about it.

And I think a lot of engineers and musicians do think about it, because they’re there for hours, ‘What is this?

What are we actually doing?’ That’s one whole side of it, and the other side of it is just bass, middle and treble, and totally mundane and practical.

How hung up do you get about how it’ll sound on the radio?

It always sounds better on the radio. But you never really hear that in the studio. So you have to guess that when you get that little stop and the guitars are revving up you have that ‘whoooor’ sucking air sort of thing. And you’ll never hear that on the album, you’ll only have that on the radio, and of course different radio stations sound different. If you go to LA it’ll sound even better there than it ever does here, I think they use more powerful signals or something but it definitely sounds much, much better. It probably has something to do with the geographic altitude of a place, and how many water molecules are in the air, 39

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craft and things like that. I’ve heard people say that studios that are by the sea are very good because of that. It’s a bit far-fetched, but there could be a lot to it!

There’s all this other stuff that no-one knows anything about as to why something clicks and works, I suppose that’s why I’m quite superstitious, because I’m aware that there’s a lot of other stuff that goes into it. And I think it’s balancing all that other stuff with the practical, rational, functional side of recording a song that makes something great. On one

hand, you’re trying to get the technology out of the way of that stuff, so that stuff can really fly around.

On the other you’re really trying to keep that stuff well under rein, so it doesn’t spin everybody out, make everybody freak out, and get what you’re playing and all that emotion recorded so it actually sounds good.

Have you done anything in 5.1?

I’ve experimented a little bit, but the only thing I’ve heard that I liked was Metallica and that sounded

awesome, but it only sounds awesome when you’re in a 5.1 studio and you stand right in the middle.

Anywhere to the left or right, it’s awful. I’ve heard some terrible ones where you stand at the back and it’s just the guitars, all the drums are at the front, it’s like, where are you supposed to be? Under the stage?

I think it’s great for movies, but generally in movies they want a stereo image up the front with the odd effect flying around. When you split the band up, you lose a lot of the weight, and also you lose a lot of the illusion a recording gives you, because, don’t forget, it is an illusion, it’s not live.

And like any good illusionist, as soon as you start showing how it’s done, it doesn’t have any kind of magic to it. I think I preferred Quadraphonic! I think it’s funny because a lot of studios have invested in 5.1 rooms and they’re not being used very much. It remains to see anyone using it as a creative tool other than for sound design. I haven’t heard music work that’s been specifically recorded for that, and only works in that context, in the way that stereo was when it first happened.

Do you think the technology gives us too much choice?

Well yeah, but that’s why you need focus. But I think you’ve always had a problem with choice in the studio; even with just a band, you’ve always had that freedom, and that can be a major problem in trying to get a focused piece of work. But getting focused is a pretty straightforward thing to do — none of it is rocket science. However, getting it right, getting a great performance and making it sound brilliant is a mystery still. ■

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Dan Swift Recording live bands with microphones is a skill that’s suddenly back in demand as A&R departments jump to sign real music.

NIGEL JOPSON talks to a man with the skill and the demand who is busy redefining his role.

D

AN SWIFT IS THE ENGINEER capturing the vibe for chart-storming and Mercury Prizelisted act Snow Patrol. He engineered Aqualung’s critically acclaimed album Still Life and has also recorded The Datsuns, The Thrills, Clay Hill, The Libertines, Nickelback, The Delays and Kasabian. Dan is one of the UK’s up and coming production talents, having recently produced well-received albums for The Futureheads, Winnebago Deal and Help She Can’t Swim, he’s currently working on tracks with All Saints singer Melanie Blatt and Ikara Colt.

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craft Snow Patrol may have been awarded 4 stars by Q magazine for their ‘Simmering, sophisticated cool,’ but they also got the coveted 4Ks and a rave review in rock/metal mag Kerrang! How did you record the energetic rock sound that whips in between the cool bits?

There’s a lot of overdrive in the drum sounds. The bulk of the sound was an RE20 gaffa-taped to the bass drum, pointing at the shell of the snare drum, and an AKG C414 placed roughly underneath the snare, driven to hell on the desk. A lot of the sound on the album grew from this one C414, the whole kit was present there, you can hear it prominently on Tiny Little Fractures. Britannia Row is not a huge studio, so I had a couple of U87s as far away as I could get them, an SPL Transient Designer with release on full exaggerated the sound of these room mics. When Garrret (Lee, Snow Patrol’s producer) mixed it he chose those tracks —- in fact, once you are using those mics all the other mics aren’t delivering any sort of noise that can compete anyway!

Did you record to Pro Tools or tape?

We started off going to tape —- at that time everyone had heard about the idea of recording to tape and then going to Pro Tools — but I don’t think anyone really knew why! I do love tape, but these days I can’t face the heartache of the whole process. I don’t use it anymore for tracking, although I mix to half inch as a preference, and I recorded Winnebago Deal to tape as it was right for their music. I’ve struggled to hear the difference in the end, by the time you get it back from mastering. You have to weigh up the advantages of not using it — the total flexibility of being able to turn a song on its head in five minutes — against the pain generated and the enormous amount of transferring involved.

Were a lot of songs turned on their heads for Snow Patrol’s album?

There is quite a lot of ‘post’ in there. Garret made his name as a DJ and remixer, and he has a background as a fantastic musician in his own right. When we started recording I wasn’t sure if we were going to record blinding live tracks, or if we were recording fodder to be remixed. As I hadn’t worked with Garret on an album project before, I think I only properly understood the process after it was all finished, when I actually had an album with artwork. But I’m still working that one out — if you’re going to edit, and almost remix someone’s music — how much of the spirit of the music and the energy of the initial playing survives that process? I like the idea of an album with a sound that is its identity — like Bowie’s Low album. It came through with Snow Patrol: Garret remixed all of the tracks, moved things around, but with a band sensitivity. It’s certainly true that if you start with a really dull sounding piece of music you can remix it all day... and still the dullness manages to float on through!

Do you use Pro Tools or Logic as your DAW? I use both. I have Logic in my home studio because I’m running 48 outputs — to do that in Pro Tools I’d have to re-mortgage the house! I work in Pro Tools in commercial studios because it’s not worth trying to swim against the tide. A lot of studios do have Logic as well, but they haven’t really invested in it, it’s quite common to find Logic not working properly.

October 2004

Did you use Logic with the TDM Bridge to record Snow Patrol?

I think most engineers agree it’s a bit of a pain using Logic in TDM. With Snow Patrol, we moved to Pro Tools because it just wasn’t working, we were having a horrible time with synchronisation. I tried to get Garret’s laptop to talk to the studio G4, and run both at the same time, but it was wandering. The Pro Tools rig with a USD unit and tape machine all worked fine ... it’s still a problem we’re trying to crack as Garret wants to work straight into Logic. If you’re working with someone like Garret, he wants to jump in and do his thing — if we’re in Pro Tools he can’t — because all his toys aren’t there!

In the late 1990s, the recording engineer’s role seemed past it’s sell-by date as musicians made electronic music on their own ... do you think engineers have regained an important position as a sort of system integrator?

Electronic technologies are finally taking their place in proportion to their worth, they’re no longer seen as the heaven-sent answer to everything. It was very noticeable to me yesterday with a band I’m producing called Dorp, I walked in and there was a beaten up old PC with a sequencer — it just looked like a load of band gear — it was no longer: ‘This is our new computer — we don’t need you anymore!’ Now you’ll see a drum kit, an AC30 and a laptop with gaffa tape all over it. Computers are not favoured over guitars as

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craft they would have been six years ago. However musicians choose to generate their music, today there’s a sense returning that somebody has to do something to help them deliver. Enablers and helpers — people like myself — have had our roles redefined.

It used to be that the recording engineer held the keys to the studio, and if you were nice to him, he’d let you in. It’s possible that in the 1980s, people who worked in studios had too much power and became too arrogant. I don’t think the recording process itself is such a mystery anymore, so musicians are not shoved around as easily. Bands that recorded in the 1980s have described their studio experiences to me ... ‘you’ve played your bit, now get lost and I’ll sit here rolling the wheel of the

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sampler, running up a huge budget, until it’s the way I want it to be!’ I think it’s not so easy to do that with young bands now, because they are better educated about the whole process.

How did you acquire and hone your own recording skills?

I come from a background where you just thunder into producing records, then about five or six years in you realise you are rubbish! When I realised I was rubbish I busted myself back to assistant and asked Blackwing if I could work there. I assisted there for a few years with the objective of learning how to do it properly. Eric (Radcliffe) would listen to my mixes and talk to me about it. I also learnt a lot from producer Hugh Jones, he has a wonderful way of making people feel they are getting better at what they do. He has a brilliant ear for balance, I quickly learnt I was just overdoing everything! After I’d worked with Hugh the quality of what I was doing went right up. You can learn a lot from people who’ve been recording successfully for a long time.

It sounds like you put that experience to good use on Still Life, the Aqualung album.

That’s some of the best work I’ve done. Matt Hales is very clear about what he wants and is a great musician. It was recorded at Jacobs, a lovely studio, I had a lot of fun recording slightly unusual drum sounds, we did percussion with huge orchestral drums ... and maybe the odd crisp packet on the floor!

There’s some very subtle dynamics to the sound...

I’ve become so fond of Waves compressors I find I’m almost not using hardware compressors anymore. I’m using the C4 multiband compressor on all sorts of things; on guitars it’s just incredible. In some respects they’re quite boring pieces of software, because they don’t have any character, but with acoustic guitars it’s such a benefit to be able to compress just the lumpy bit, leaving the top alone. Using multiband compressors I’m getting results that just weren’t available before. I’ve just got the new Waves L3 Multimaximizer, once your ears get used to that level of precision ... I’ve started to notice the drawbacks of analogue compressors!

Do you mix ‘in the box’ with Pro Tools and Logic, or do you take separate outs to an analogue mixer?

You need to have a D-A convertor for each individual track. Even if you just insert a delay on the individual track, it will not sound as good. The concept for my home studio was actually based on Spike Stent’s facility at Olympic (on a slightly lower budget!) after I’d been there when he was mixing the Aqualung single. I’ve got 48 outputs from two MOTU HD192s so there’s a convertor for each of my Mackie’s 32 faders, then I use the effects returns for the remaining 8 convertors. If I’m using a software reverb on a track, the reverb is returned through it’s own convertors, through its own bit of multicore, to its own channel.

The difference in sound is very pronounced, I wouldn’t ask a convertor to work on two sounds. Mixing in software involves a lot of calculations, and I think it probably delivers the mix in an acceptable time frame by turning a blind eye to most of the music.

So where do you adjust the mix levels?

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craft I use my hands to get all the basic levels and when I get to the bit where I’d normally turn the Flying Faders on, I just go into Logic and do the final trims. The rest of it is completely within the computer, the more I work like that, the more I don’t want to do it any other way.

You start to get a frighteningly good sound out of that kind of equipment if you play the analogue game and give every track its own bit of electronics.

Software EQs still seem a little weak, though. I’ve tried doing mixes just using software EQ, the Waves and Logic plugs, but I found I just couldn’t get there. The Mackie EQ is not the best in the world, but you just lean in and turn the bass up and you get ... bass! The marriage of an analogue desk and digital audio seems to be increasingly where it’s at now.

Do you use Space Designer (the new Logic convolution reverb)?

Just recently there’s been a huge improvement in the quality of plug-in reverbs, which initially were astonishingly awful! I’ve flicked through the 500 presets ... I changed my mind about software reverbs when I found some settings that really do work on voices. I’m a big fan of EMT plates and if you like plates you are probably totally unimpressed by digital reverbs! Inside Altiverb (a convolution reverb for Pro Tools RTAS and TDM) the Wendy Carlos 140 plate is pretty good, and the Cello Studios echo rooms are amazing. The transparency is there and once you get used to having as many as you want wherever you want, and being able to change them if you feel like it, it’s quite hard to let go of that.

Do you see recording engineers, at the top level, becoming almost like Second Unit Directors in film making?

Officially you have artists, producers and engineers — but I think if you don’t allow a free discourse and a flow of ideas between everybody, it’s not going to work — you can’t just sit there and say ‘all right, what do you want to do next?’ But for each member of the team, there’s only a few other individuals they can work with in this manner. I’ve produced albums myself so I’ve got an appreciation of what it involves, hopefully that means I know when to offer something and when not to. For example, on the Snow Patrol album at the end of Spitting Games you hear Gary singing on the stairs. That was born out of the fact that I really wanted to record the acoustic guitar on the stairs — if you want something to sound distant then put it in a distant space! He started to play and sing as well — I think that’s a good example of ideas coming together and growing into something good.

Do you miss following a production all the way through as an engineer, trying different techniques out on overdubs or rough mixes as the opportunity arises?

The work I do as a specialist recording engineer — like with Snow Patrol — is informed by the other work I do on productions of my own. For example, when I produced Help She Can’t Swim, there was something I wanted to try on guitar, similar to Tony Visconti’s trick of recording extra room microphones with noise gates, opening dynamically on Bowie’s voice: the louder Bowie sang on Heroes, the more room mics opened up. I wanted to make a small guitar part very important, so I placed stereo pairs down the full length of the studio — I didn’t need to use gates of course — I could just snip it around in Pro Tools. Every time the guitarist played this part it would be recorded across several mics, then in Pro Tools I could swap between the mics and make the sound appear to change location. Something like that takes a bit of time to set up.

If, as an engineer, you throw a wild idea you’ve only thought of in the bath last night at a producer — ‘I’ll just need an hour to build a tunnel and put mics everywhere’ — you’re being quite presumptuous, it might not work! I need to be doing my own productions so that if I go back and engineer in a recording scenario, I’ve got recent experience of having done something experimental (to me, anyway.) Then I can suggest ideas with authority and even play people what it sounds like. If I only ever worked as an engineer, there’d come a point where I wasn’t sticking my neck out enough ... so I need to do both! ■

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sweet spot

Finishing Touches Having discussed the basic physical structure of his new facility in the last issue, JIM BETTERIDGE now turns his attention to kit, caboodle and the studio within in his room-at-a-price project.

The control room before the final finishes or final front speakers.

U

NTIL RECENTLY, QUIET AIR conditioning has required a fully ducted system with vast airways and plenum chambers to reduce sound transmission, all rather impractical unless you have a large, industrial space and a matching budget. To my surprise there are now wall-mounted (split system) units that will produce a constant draft of chilled air at as low as 24dB which, with some careful mic placement, is fine for just about any practical application. We got a single Daikin roof-mounted condenser to power four wall-mounted units, and even the condenser is so quiet you have to strain to hear it above the general London hum. The experts at Purified Air persuaded me that with an opening roof light in the central kitchen area (we’re on the top floor) and opened windows at either end of the building there would be sufficient air exchange when people opened and closed doors as they moved through.

Thankfully they were right and it’s a very pleasant working environment.

With regard to acoustic treatment, we did end up using quite a lot of Rockwool but only between the skins of stud walls where it would be sealed-in and not allow particles into the breathable air of the studio.

Elsewhere Roger Quested used a combination of profiled acoustic foam, carpet under felt and lamb’s wool batts for the general treatment. The lamb’s wool is quite new to Roger’s list of materials but he favours it because it’s all-natural, non-irritating and provides excellent linear absorption.

To fix these materials to the walls and ceilings we used a pneumatic stapler. The treatment was installed within a 2-inch x 2-inch stud frame except on the rear wall of the control room where a 4-inch x 2-inch frame was erected either side of the window into which was built the bass trapping. Here a piece of under felt was hung 25mm from the wall and then 50mm in front of that we used a piece of 1060 Revac

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barrier matt. The felt and the matt were cut so as to hang freely inside their frame. The booth was treated similarly but it was made more dead because when doing Foley or ADR work you really don’t want any reflections or colouration.

power at a price. It’s extremely flexible in terms of ins and outs and is capable of handling multiple 5.1 stems for film work. Using a combination of ADAT cards on the desk, an RME ADAT to MADI convertor and a MADI card in the computer, I can have 56 channels of Pyramix, plus amazing flexibility to connect any other digital equipment that may need to be incorporated.

I’ve also got a couple of 16-channel AES cards for my existing 32-channels of Akai DD1500.

I chose Pyramix because I’d seen some very impressive demos and have heard nothing but good from the various big facilities houses that have taken it on over the past year or so: De Lane Lea, Shepperton, Twickenham and Videosonics to name but a few. It’s an excellent system, very solid and comes with dedicated and attentive support. To house the desk I had built a 3m long modular metal

Desk frame.

framework that would be strong and rigid but offer flexibility for the future. Designer, Mike Stallion, came up with the idea of using recycled plastics for the cladding. In the event we used recycled CDs for the sides (the most astonishing translucent blue with specs of red, gold and silver) and recycled coffee cups for the tops. It looks beautiful and it’s Right On. Although DLP technology is newer and sexier than LCD especially in terms of contrast ratio, a combination of optical neutrality and operational flexibility led me to chose an LCD projector, the Sanyo PLV-Z2. We housed the projector in an 18mm MDF

Frames awaiting material.

To cover the treatment we made open frames of 9mm MDF over which we stretched acoustically transparent material. The frames were fixed to the studs using a system of plastic sockets (attached to the studs) and plungers (attached to the frames). These allow the frames to be removed and accurately replaced should we decide to change the treatment or someone throws some red wine up the wall. (Your clients do that sort of thing regularly then? Ed) A system of three trunkings was built into the 2inch x 2-inch studwork to allow cables to run freely and to allow mains cabling to be kept as separate as possible from signal cables. The lower run, holding exclusively mains cabling was sealed behind an upstand of carpet while the other two remain accessible behind dado rails.

I went for a Yamaha DM2000 console and a Pyramix DAW. After the 02R I believe the DM2000 offers another quantum leap in terms of production resolution

Projector housing.

box, lined with under felt and acoustic foam and with a 10mm optically neutral glass front. This was connected to the machine room with a similarly lined 18mm MDF boxing containing a 110mm pipe which was connected using flexible trunking to the projector exhaust at one end and to a specially acoustically housed extractor fan inside the machine room. As the hot air is pulled out, cold air is pulled into the boxing and through a port at the back of the projector box into the projector’s air intake. In practice it works like a dream with no noise and adequate cooling.

One of the great shocks of this project was the price of acoustically transparent projection screens. Where ever I looked in professional facilities around the world October 2004

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sweet spot I found Stewart screens are pre-eminent. They go to extraordinary lengths to fill their screen with tiny perforations that allow the sound through with minimal effect on the picture. However, for the size of screen I wanted, around the 80-inch mark, I was looking at about UK£4,500 — ouch. Of course you can put your speakers below the screen level or go for a phantom centre, but I just didn’t want to settle for that.

Then I happened upon a new kind of projection screen called Clear Pix, from French company Screen Research, which had recently been awarded THX certification and was being installed in various West Coast American facilities. I quickly got a sample of the screen material to Roger and amazingly he found it to be considerably more transparent than the Stewart at about two-thirds the price. Okay, it’s still not exactly cheap, but it’s considerably cheaper and offers superior aural performance; so that’s what we went for.

When last I used Quested speakers in the early 1990s I only needed a couple of them and so price was not such an issue. When I upgraded to a 5.1 system in the mid 1990s, though, unit cost had more of an impact and I’d opted for a less expensive option — a decision I regretted, but you’ve got to draw a line somewhere. It’s worth remembering, incidentally, that it generally costs more than three times as much to install a 5.1 system compared to a similar one in stereo.

Happily, when I phoned Roger I discovered that he was in the process of developing a less expensive, though no less high fidelity, range of powered monitors with a matching sub bass aimed at just my kind of set-up. It’s unlikely that Quested will ever compete merely on price or be a really mass-market product and there’s no doubt you can get cheaper systems that call themselves professional. But ask around and see if you find a single (unbiased) person with a bad word to say about them — I never have.

Roger supplied me with three Quested metal section speaker stands for the front three units. These had holes at the top matching the tapped mounting holes in the base of the speakers, and at the bottom to screw down to the floor. There were also holes through which to fill the stands with sand to kill them acoustically. Initially I tried three F5 Quested powered monitors containing a soft dome tweeter and a 5-inch cone driver in conjunction with a pair of 12-inch F19 Quested powered subwoofers. The F5 is the forerunner to the recently released S6, which features a new cabinet design and a superior HF driver. I’d always liked the sound of the F5 but after hearing the S6s I decided to use them for the four surround speakers and wait for the 6.5-inch versions, the S7s, for the front three.

When working in stereo the system works as a traditional 3-way left/right array, with the subs acting independently. Because the subs become progressively more directional at higher frequencies it’s better to have two, one beneath each of the main speakers.

Having two smaller subs, rather than one large, also makes it easier to get a balanced bass response in the room. When I switch the DM2000 to 5.1 its bass management comes into play and the bass from all five channels is monoed below 80Hz into the two subwoofers along with any actual sub bass sent from the sixth output. The crossover frequency can, of course, be altered to match different systems.

Roger spent some time with pink noise and a spectrum analyser making sure the main system was in phase with the subs, tweaking the levels, the various HPFs and LPFs and getting the angle of the surrounds right. The results sound excellent to my ears and I’ve had nothing but praise from clients and colleagues.

October 2004

In the past I’ve seen several top professional engineers sit with a graphic EQ, noise generator and analyser pushing and pulling sliders trying to get a perfectly flat response and the results have been invariably horrible. The effects of phase shift thus introduced are generally as bad or worse than the original deficiencies of the room. Better by far to try and tackle the problem acoustically and allow some slight variation around an ideal curve.

Like so many other projects of any size, this one ran over time (more than seven months from lifting the first board to the first paying session) and over budget (well, if you amortise it over 28 years and blue sky the cashflow...) and it often felt like pulling a tiger backwards through a thorn bush. But that’s

largely because we didn’t allow anything shoddy to slip through: if it was wrong we’d redo it and we’d always go for the better quality ingredients. With an excellent acoustician, an excellent designer and a dedicated work force we’ve managed to produce a beautiful looking and sounding studio. My thanks to them all. ■

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technology

On the matter of Metadata The business of moving data around between disciplines within a production has technological and economic implications for all the parties involved. NEIL HILLMAN attends the AES Conference on Metadata for Audio and says he has glimpsed the future.

I

F THERE IS ONE area where profitability can trickle unrecognised or unchecked through a postproduction facility’s fingers, it is the integral and inescapable process of data transfer; specifically getting the raw material from an originating picture suite into an audio-post’s chosen DAW before work can begin. In fact, only in studio downtime can the data-transfer be considered lossless; keeping payingpunters off the equipment for a few hours each week amounts to a sizeable loss of cash over the course of a year. You do the maths...insert your rate-card hourlyrate and allow one hour for each of the 200 days the average facility would conservatively expect to be operational on; then read on.

Avid’s temperamental and imperfect, but none-theless industry-wide, Open Media Framework (OMF) system was the first of the file formats that hinted at such oil and water, picture and sound, interchangeability; and this only recently became more viable as a working practice through third-party software applications such as the more reliable and robust AV Transfer. What the Holy Grail has become for postproduction disciples is the comprehensive ability to transfer data and content, across a range of manufacturer’s platforms and devices, coupled with a way of readily describing those bundles of information: the data about the data; more simply described as Metadata. Actually, what we hanker after is an IT solution: cheap, universal, reliable, robust. And why not? The ones and zeros differentiate not one jot between home, office or professional applications.

Here’s the good news: we’re getting there; and as members of the sonic fraternity, we are there and we benefit, in this instance, from sound leading pictures.

With the relative file sizes and the complexity being proportionally less for audio than for video applications, a great deal of development has already enabled manufacturers to be at a point where we truly should see open file exchange, irrespective of our

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preferred workstations, in the immediate future. This pleasing promise of a panacea occurs as the crowninghour approaches for AAF and MXF; so let me introduce you to our two, new, best friends.

We’ve been waiting 10 years for this. Through AAF and MXF we have the ability to cut a picture sequence, move it to the dubbing suite, mix it and then return it to the picture editor, complete with all the visual and

audio information available to any of the workstations en-route. And if your favourite manufacturer is not offering you this ability, now is the time to be asking the very pointed question ‘why not?’

Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) is a project format. It contains edit data such as events, transitions or effects, along with the reference to the source material. Media Exchange Format (MXF) is a media

Synchronicity, substance and information The basis of all audio-visual file transfer centres around the delivery of synchronicity, substance and information. Back in the mists of time, two planks of wood painted with converging black and white chevrons were brought before a camera lens. Bells rang and cries of ‘Turnover!’ culminated in a sharp crack, as wooden strips were banged together to make a noise that the film camera could see, and a sound recordist could hear. This was ‘synchronicity’ between pictures and sound. The sound’s ‘substance’ was recorded onto a 1/4-inch magnetic tape recorder. At the end of each take, the recordist would place onto tape a short burst of 1kHz tone from the in-built oscillator of his tape recorder. This was the ‘information’: the clapper at the head showed the start, the pip at the tail indicated the end of the recording. Basic; but a start.

Film and television postproduction technologies converged in the 1980s, coinciding with the introduction of nonlinear editing devices such as Lightworks and Avid. Video came to replace magnetic and film stock — irrespective of the final delivery media — with timecode as the life-blood of the system. When an editor digitised sound into these new systems, either from separate rolls or from audio recorded straight to the picture recorder, and then created a cut, the editing device could automatically generate a telephone directory’s worth of numbers, addressing where the original picture and sound material had come from, and where they were located in the cut version. This Edit Decision List was passed via floppy disk to the dubbing mixer, allowing the audio import process to be repeated again through an auto-conform process.

But why, you ask, take the sound into the system twice?

With Avid’s OMFI process, sound tracks loaded onto their range of editing devices could be exported as a file to media such as a Jaz disk and then be recognised by many audio DAWs. In theory, anyway; until the intervention of dedicated software from AVTransfer, the OMFI process was desperately unreliable between various machines.

MXF and AAF place a robust structure around the essence of Avid’s OMFI process. The substance, synchronicity and information are packaged, are freely available to the picture editor, and importantly from an audio perspective, pass transparently through the picture editing stage, untouched from disk to dub.

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technology format. It contains the actual video and audio for the project. Think of them this way — material is ingested and played-out via MXF files; AAF files are the work in progress on your system.

MXF ‘wraps’ the media inside its openly-defined structure, allowing professional applications to access and understand its contents, and crucially, join in partnership with AAF compositions. While AAF works with a variety of media types such as Windows Media, QuickTime and MXF itself, the MXF standard allows for the inclusion of any kind of raw media format such as WAV, MPEG or AVI; making it a useful and a powerful format. AAF and MXF share the same internal structure to handle the data and both use the SMPTE Metadata dictionary as a standard for high-level data and workflow information. And, of course, they are platform independent working equally effectively on Windows, Mac, Linux or Unix.

Both AAF and MXF are descendents of Avid’s OMF system and retain the spirit of it — somewhat redesigned and updated however — along with inheriting the task of resolving the issues that weakened the OMF. Things like audio-editing decisions, such as panning and level information, EQ and complex fades.

These could not be adequately defined in OMF; and projects without this Metadata are simply incomplete.

Coupled with the tantalising differences in architecture of existing DAWs and their various algorithms used to achieve, for instance, a complex fade, and the high expectations of AAF become a little clearer.

What the AAF designers chose to do in the example of the fade was to simply map the attenuation of the signal over time rather than attempt to provide the actual details of each DAWs algorithms for playback.

In this way, the Metadata for the effect is maintained as closely as possible to the original, while allowing transparent exchange and interchange across different manufacturer’s tools at various stages along the production process.

The AAF file-format, by being adopted by manufacturers of video and audio equipment, provides a bridge between the two halves of an audio-visual equation that until now has had too many variables.

In contrast to the ‘new’ audio-only exchange formats such as AES31-2 (Broadcast WAV), video and audio may be embedded in an AAF file. MXF and AAF not only define the codecs required for playback, they can indicate object parameters such as ‘audio’ or ‘video’, frame-rate or picture size — in fact, almost all that might be needed to uniquely describe a particular item.

The days of labouriously ploughing through an EDL manually should be well and truly over now that the ability to transfer files between MXF and AAF-aware devices is here.

But audio-only file exchange development continues too, alongside the progress achieved by MXF and AAF in promoting harmony between the sound and picture communities. The Audio Engineering Society (AES) has defined, and is continuing to develop, its File-Transfer Format standard, AES-31. This set of technical specifications when enabled on a DAW will allow disk drives, digital audio media and EDLs to be transferred from one AES-31-compliant device to another. The four tiers of AES-31 make it a multi-part standard: AES31-1 defines Physical Data Transport — the way in which files move from one system to another as FAT32-compliant data.

AES31-2 defines the Audio File Format — the way in which Broadcast Wave files should be arranged on removable media or travel on a network.

October 2004

AES31-3 defines a Simple Project Structure — based on a sample-accurate Audio Decision List (ADL).

AES31-4 is an Object Oriented Project Structure — as yet undefined, but possibly based on an extensible object model capable of describing a much wider range of parameters.

The Broadcast WAV (BWF) epitomises this proposal of marriage between professional audio and IT solutions. The now large-scale use of BWF is due in no small way to the deceptive ease and simplicity of its use, combined with its ability to convey useful information. A BWF’s data bits can define the audio format, describe the sound sequence, its originator, plus an EBU timecode reference. It time-stamps each audio file with its proper location in a project, and adds

useful ID information that incorporates the SMPTE’s Unique Material Modifier (UMID). This UMID associates external metadata with the audio files, useful for tracking the source or ownership of AES31compliant data within a library system.

And here’s the best part: Broadcast Wave files can be played on any humble, home, PC capable of replaying conventional WAVE files. Welcome to the future of pro audio. ■

Contact The AAF association www.aafassociation.org Pro-MPEG implementation group www.mxf.tv The Audio Engineering Society www.aes.org

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Indies: scouting and management As a new generation of young, gig playing bands wielding traditional music-making instruments hit the charts, indie labels look increasingly

Alan Wills

‘I

DON’T THINK THEY’RE weak at A&R — I don’t even think it’s on their radar any more!’ says Alan Wills, head of Liverpool label Deltasonic. His theory is that arty A&R types lost their corporate clout with the introduction of the CD, as marketing men and lawyers suddenly found themselves able to make a bigger impact on bottom lines selling back catalogue. ‘Dumb and R is the best way to describe it. When someone takes a polaroid photograph, it’s just a blank — the game is all about — at what stage can you guess it’s going to be a great photograph? Most A&R people today need that polaroid fully developed, in a frame, and on someone else’s mantelpiece before they can tell it’s a good picture ... really you have to be able to look at the shadows and say: That’s going to be great!’ What Alan is actually talking about is talent scouting — and he’s canny enough to recognise that scouting and management are his forté — and play them to the hilt.

Deltasonic, perhaps one of the most visible of UK

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Picture by Claire Wood

like a fig leaf for the majors’ A&R inadequacies.

NIGEL JOPSON

Darrin Robson

talent gatherers currently, is not the only indie playing this game.

Darrin Robson is the boss of a smaller label who likes music so much he actually reserves time for listening to demos. ‘We get between 6 to 10 demos a day. In a few weeks time I’ll sit down with a couple of hundred demos and listen to them. A lot of times it’s just by word of mouth, though ...’

As a record shop owner, Darrin knew the retail market well, and started his Fantastic Plastic label doing one-off vinyl EPs for bands he liked. ‘We generally split the profit with the band — and of course they’re free contractually — a major would want to have a band tied up for much longer. That can work both ways, but sometimes it can be good for an indie to have that association of doing a first record with a band who then go on to great things.’ Since Sanctuary took a stake in his label, Darrin’s been able to focus on albums. ‘Ikara Colt would be our biggest selling band to date, we licensed that in other countries and they’ve resolution

sold about 30,000 globally. We generally pay for all recording costs, then it will be a royalty in the UK and it’s always a 50:50 split with the band when we license overseas. If we’re on a second album with a band that’s starting to move, we do advances and so forth, it just depends where the band’s at.’

Darrin has an incremental approach to spending money on bands. ‘It’s a case of gauge-it-as-we-go. I think a lot of record labels are stupid to force the issue with advertising and huge promotions, sometimes that money is better spent elsewhere.’ And as a retailer himself, Darrin is aware of high-street realities. ‘Inevitably these days you are buying your way into the shops with racking and campaigns and co-op ads. But a lot of indies forget that you can have 10,000 records come back six weeks later: you’ve had to pay to get them in, and then you have to pay again to get them out! From my point of view you should be as realistic as possible and respect what the market needs.’

At Deltasonic, Alan pursues a cautious financial strategy as well. ‘The biggest advance we’ve ever given a band is UK£2000. When we re-negotiate and take them to a second level, then bands get bigger deals. The Dead 60s are still on level 1, but with their single going into the top 40, we’re about to sign them up to level 2.’ There’s a policy at Deltasonic of putting bands into the Top 40 before risking the full weight of Deltasonic — and Sony — resources. ‘I think it takes roughly 18 months to break a band, if you’re good and you work hard. I don’t believe in luck,’ declares Wills, ‘I believe preparation meets opportunity — that’s luck! It’s a lot of hard work, and the only time you can really test whether you’re right or wrong is when you put the band in front of an audience.’

Neither of these labels, at contrasting ends of the indie spectrum, are totally independent in the true (not music industry) meaning of the word. They’ve both, in October 2004

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business different manners, taken the shilling of a major in the form of a so-called Label Deal. Anyone who bought a Coral album will realise Deltasonic is globally distributed (and 49% owned) by Sony, and Fantastic Plastic has sold a chunk of equity to Sanctuary Group.

Darrin explained to me: ‘It came about through Joe Cokell (now CEO of Sanctuary records) who I’d known because he was interested in one of our bands when he was head of MCA. He went on to buy Castle Communications when he left MCA, and then Castle were bought by Sanctuary Group. Sanctuary let us develop and do our own thing, but they’re in the background if we need.’ This arrangement is analogous to a large pharmaceutical group like Glaxo buying an interest in a small science research lab in Cambridge ... just in case the boffins come up with something!

Sony’s arrangement with Deltasonic is more comparable to NBC Universal’s stake in British film production company Working Title (Four Weddings & A Funeral, Bridget Jones, etc). Indeed, the name Deltasonic is nowhere to be seen next to Zutons or Coral tracks on Apple’s iTunes online store. Alan explained to me the thinking behind his association with Sony: ‘Everyone was telling me not to do the deal — saying “you’ve got to hold on, you’ve got to own your company” — but not one of them had a good reason for remaining independent. I was saying “Show me one successful indie in the world that is privately owned!” They’d all go — “Beggars — they’re privately owned and independent” — but as soon as Beggars Banquet get a band that’s big, they license it to majors worldwide, they’re only independent in Britain!’

In his forthright way, Alan gives voice to the hip independent sector’s dirty secret: you cannot break a band worldwide independently — you certainly can’t in America. ‘In order to get to the position where I’d be licensing acts worldwide I’d be dealing with bank managers or a venture capitalist from the city. They’re only interested in profit, they aren’t music people.’

There was another pressing aspect to the deal, for Wills. ‘My house was about 10 days away from being repossessed! I was putting every penny that I had into the label. I knew that if we didn’t have Rob Stringer and Muff Winwood coming in, the bank would have foreclosed on us. I’m very confident ... and very stupid as well! You don’t really put your entire house on a music venture unless you’re a bit stupid!’

A great deal of discussion, time and energy in the music industry is spent finding new or improved ways of selling more records. But Darrin Robson would rather leave the ins and outs of online sales to Sanctuary, and Alan Wills is not in the slightest bit interested: ‘Every week there’s another way of selling records, but I’m not interested in any of it, I’m interested in making records.’

It’s this focus on music that renders indie labels like these so attractive to young musicians. ‘All I know is that it’s about individuals,’ explains Alan. ‘You need to be making seminal records, then your label becomes a top label, therefore young creative artists want to be involved with you. You’re building up your imprint, your brand.

That is why you can’t screw your artists over, that’s why, when times are hard, you’ve got to put your arms around your artists and help them work through it.’

At a major label, A&R executives are employed on three-year contracts and have set budgets and sales targets. The temptation is to throw the entire budget at everything in sight and hope something sticks, knowing you’ll be sacked in three years anyway, or if there’s a corporate take-over. Quarterly appraisals and sales targets are appropriate for selling finished product, but probably not for nursing potentially creative young October 2004

musos. Perhaps it will soon be time to drop the conceit that major labels can and should A&R acts all the way from inception. After all, no one seriously expects commercial TV networks to produce all their own content — they commission from independent producers and assign an executive to manage it. Nourishing a bunch of creative 20-somethings is possibly best left to someone who was once a creative 20-something themselves.

Perhaps this is part of a new model for the future: majors consolidate into distribution conglomerates, independent talent-gatherers are responsibly managed through more intelligently structured label deals.

As new genres of music develop, or old genres become newly fashionable, new generations of entrepreneurs are needed to manage the business of

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bringing musician’s songs to the public. Which is not to say that these entrepreneurs should be ‘businessmen’: in 1983 I’d been mixing an album by The Go-Betweens, a band who — as the fashion wheel swings — might not seem out of place today.

When I went to see them play a gig in Brixton, they were supported by a young group from Liverpool called The Room, who were receiving quite a bit of press interest at the time. Livening up the earnest presentation of this post-punk outfit from behind the drums was ... Alan Wills. Actually he’s better known as the skinsman for psychedelic scousers Shack, but my point is that Alan has been a musician, and Darrin has been a maverick music fan, since The Bunnymen found their Echo. ■

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Leslie Shatz Leslie Shatz has a list of mixing and sound design credits to die for. His career goes back to dialogue editing on Apocalypse Now and before. Unlike many of his contemporaries he works on an international stage and was recently in the UK leading up a British team to finish the final mix at Twickenham of the US production Sahara. ROB JAMES caught up with him.

How do you maintain objectivity?

I don’t think I’m really capable of being objective. You tend to look upon the entire music contingent as the enemy unless the music is really good. But, because I wouldn’t want to be accused of being partisan to my work, oftentimes it has the opposite effect so I end up making the music much louder than my sound.

Something I have done is not to mix my own sound design in the final mix. I give it to the effects mixer, like on this film with Craig (Irving). I take the lead and do the music and the dialogue. That way it’s easier because people are communicating with somebody else and Craig is more objective. I really trust him and it works when you trust the people you’re working with.

But there’s a tension and a compromise?

If you look at the film that won the Academy Award last year, Master and Commander, there were wonderful scenes with very little music. The director wasn’t trying to hedge his bets, you know, ‘let’s see what the music guys come up with and see what the sound guys come up with and then kind of mush them both together.’ He was confident enough to say, ‘I don’t want music and sound effects colliding’.

Your work is very eclectic. Do you have a preference?

I like having the span. To the art film people I’m the action film guy; to the action film people I’m the art film guy. I like to do horror films like Dracula or even The Mummy because they deal with the idea of being able to use purely sound to create visceral emotions, to scare people. You can use space a lot in horror films and you can use abstract sounds and feelings. Maybe it’s just my character. When my daughters were young I used to like to scare them and chase them round the house. Maybe it’s just an extension of that.

How did you get into this business?

I actually wanted to be in rock ‘n’ roll and unfortunately I was not successful in that endeavour. As a final fallback I took a job mixing at the American Film Institute. I’m very happy, as it turns out, because when I see my colleagues in the record industry, they’re not getting paid that well and they’re working gruesome hours.

At first I really found it hard to make a move at a precise footage. Finally I learned that the thing all mixers have is that you go into almost a trance and let the whole situation go inside of you. I know it sounds kinda high-falutin’, but you actually become a part of the mixing console.

I used to liken it to playing pinball.

I have the same experience and it’s pertinent because now I take great pride in being able to hit those marks, repeatably, under pressured circumstances. Like with pinball, if you have that confidence going into it, you know you can do no wrong.

I compare it to being a professional athlete. Even though I don’t build any muscles doing it, it’s training; reaction time and getting into the head-state that means you can put it all together.

In Los Angeles mixing was just unattainable, so I went into editorial. The union had a very strong hold on mixing, still does in LA. You had to have been doing it for ten years and be related to someone to get in the union in the first place. But it was always a frustration for me in the mix when I sat next to these guys who were considerably older and not really interested in expanding their horizons. Now that I’m that generation, it’s interesting seeing how it all sort of comes around. But I was convinced that if I could cut the sound and mix it I’d be able to do a much better job.

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How did you get into that?

I knew it was possible from Walter Murch, and I worked with a guy called Alan Splet who did Elephant Man and Eraserhead who started doing it at a studio in Philadelphia. I never considered myself a sound designer until Tom Luddy hired me for a film called Mishima.

I thought, well, it’s Japanese and the Yamaha DX7 synthesiser had just come out, maybe there’s a way I can get that to work. It was a nightmare to programme. I sat in a room for a month and came up with literally one sound. Every day I thought, ‘I’m a failure, I’m an impostor,’ eventually, I figured it out, almost idiotically. It’s a trial and error thing, but you have to be able to recognise when you get onto a sound that you like. I found the first sound, then I got another and then I started to come up with all these sounds. I had a nightingale, wind, temple bells and a car. They pleased me but I didn’t know if anyone else was going to be interested.

I still have this problem when I play something for the director for the first time on a film. I put it off and put it off and finally I can’t put it off any longer and I feel like I’m going to the firing squad.

Anyway, I played these sounds for Paul Schrader, the director, and sure enough, he hated them. He said, ‘This is ridiculous, I don’t understand it’.

They were going to have a screening for George Lucas and they had nothing else to put in, so Paul said, ‘Well put some of those things in for temporary.’ Then George and Francis saw it and after the screening said, ‘ Wow those sounds are really great, you need to put more of that in there.’ resolution

You’ve also worked in France?

I mixed a Merchant Ivory picture there a couple of years ago, The Divorce. The French are no slouches when it comes to sound, they’ve done some excellent ‘sound’ movies and a Frenchman pioneered music concrete. So I go there with respect. The French have a way of talking about sound that’s very mysterious and makes me feel very American.

I would jokingly say, ‘Well, does that mean you want it louder or you want it softer?’ Because they would start to discuss the texture of the sound, the indescribable aspects, and go on about it at great length. The French go out to cafés and talk about this stuff for hours and I enjoy it too.

What are the differences working in Europe?

Even in England you still have to decode the methods, the cultural differences. I’m the outsider so I feel it’s incumbent upon me to understand and be amenable to the ways things are done here. On the other hand, I find that people here are interested in my way of doing things. Particularly working at Twickenham, it’s great to have that kind of exchange and certain things I’ve learned here I take back to the US and there are also people here I’d love to take back.

When I work in France and England the American working mentality seems almost shockingly extreme.

In America, creating the product is the number one priority and people almost totally put their lives aside.

Here in England and France this is not unthinkable, but it is not necessarily considered to be a good thing.

Unfortunately people in England are coming round to that way of working because the Americans have October 2004

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come over here. I don’t think it’s a good thing at all.

In England and France, sound design in the modern sense is a more recent arrival and as a result, people are taking bigger strides. Twickenham is better equipped in many ways than studios in the US. Just having Pyramix, some kind of master recorder that makes sense, in the US we’re still using MR-8s. This is a better-integrated solution.

What are your must haves?

The Lexicon 960, a superior device. Another is the Behringer single-ended de-noiser. I just can’t work without it. And Lafont’s dip filter, but with digital consoles now... a really excellent cup of coffee is at the top of the list.

How about workstations?

Unfortunately, I have to. Maybe I sound like an old fogey, but I’ve spent so much time perfecting my ability to operate a console in real time, that the whole Pro Tools experience is kind of sad for me. You can do a lot of stuff and it’s powerful, but you have to listen to the final result. It’s not interesting for me that I can get 150 plug-ins to turn on and off at different times.

You can mix in Pro Tools, but I don’t find it’s as accurate. I still feel I can do a much better job on a good console.

Working in the ‘digital dubber’ sense?

It’s more appealing and reliable. Pyramix has a very robust feeling to it. So far it’s just been in the background when I’ve been working, but I like its appearance and that it’s on a PC. It’s funny because it’s like I’m becoming a reverse snob now everybody’s got a Mac! What do you like or hate?

I like intuitive equipment. I love the AMS harmoniser, but it was so unintuitive it would drive me crazy although it’s still the best there is. The AMS Neve console was a real head-scratcher for everybody, now we’re very casual about it.

All consoles have their strengths and weaknesses, but I really like the Harrison. The AMS Neve is now the industry standard and it’s got a lot of great things, but it’s infuriating on various simple, stupid things. One thing that really does bug me is this idea that it’s the equipment that matters. It’s the people who make the decisions, who have the aesthetic control, that matter.

October 2004

What gets you into trouble?

There’s this moment on every mix where I’m overwhelmed by the situation. You could solve the problem by just pushing the Stop button and saying, ‘I’m sorry but we just have to start all over again.’ But nobody really wants to do that.

Or when the director asks me for something and I don’t really understand what he wants and he’s insisting on it. I keep trying things and they don’t work and that’s when I have to let go and get into that mental state where you can move around without constricting yourself so much. It’s hard to do under pressure and it’s frightening for me.

You have to stop and re-evaluate what you’re doing. Just take the time to get it right.

How about tools?

There’s no panacea. I rate tools in this order of effectiveness; fader, equaliser, then all the outboard gear. Don’t forget your fader is still the most effective tool. That’s the organic approach, maybe the ‘green’ approach. EQ is next because it’s not that invasive if used properly, then the outboard gear. I always try to set it the way I like it, then back it off a notch, because in the heat of the moment you feel like you’re working miracles and then when you get back later it sounds like crap. If you just back it off a little bit you get a nice compromise between thinking you’re getting rid of everything and making it sound acceptable.

Where’s this business going?

I think it’s going straight to the toilet. It’s all 12 or 14-hour days, seven-day weeks, high alert, stress, picture changes. We all appreciate computers but I think we are all aware of the negative side, making too many choices possible, postponing final choices until very late in the game. Since Dolby Digital made it possible, there’s been a big creative gluttony where we just threw everything we could at the screen and that was good for then. I hope, I believe, we are entering a new period where people are taking a more selective approach, more minimal. There’s a new style of filmmaking that’s going to be more specific in the integration of sound and picture. I was talking with the director of Aeon Flux about films that we loved and we both landed on Alien, very sparse but brilliant. ■ resolution

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Broadcasting from V Festival Occupying a regular slot in the event calendar, the V Festival now also combines radio and TV output as part of its remit. GEORGE SHILLING was in the thick of it and doing his bit.

W

ILL SHAPLAND WORKED with Manor Mobiles for 14 years, and his name became synonymous with its fleet of recording trucks. He was associated with Manor throughout its expansion — it bought an ex-Fleetwood trailer when that company ran into difficulties, and fitted it with the ex-Manor Studios SSL desk. Then it acquired another truck, which it fitted with the SSL MT digital console. Ultimately, like Fleetwood, Manor was swallowed up by the Sanctuary Group, but for the last year Will has been freelancing and his new venture effectively reinvents the spirit of Manor Mobiles, now under the banner of Will Shapland Mobiles. He and his partner in the venture, Zoe Fawcett-Eustace (also ex-Manor) have entered into an arrangement with classical specialists Floating Earth to share two trucks, the main one boasting the first UK installation of an SSL C200 digital console. The other truck houses a Sony DMX100.

The annual V Festival in Chelmsford has been a regular gig for Shapland, and this year was the first

occasion where he covered the event with his new company. Will’s operations covered four stages — all for Virgin Radio, with feeds also provided for TV from the two main stages. Will manned the SSL truck and provided stereo mixes for all bands from the main V Stage over the two-day event including sets from The Pixies, Dido, Pink, Jamie Cullum and Muse.

Will is a fan of SSL digital desks and he is particularly

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enamoured of the C200. ‘For what we do, the combination of facilities and ease of use, they’re way better than anything else you could use,’ he says. ‘You don’t want a desk you have to configure for every job, because you haven’t got time. It’s all the things I liked about the MT, but it’s fast, it boots from scratch in 25 seconds instead of 5 minutes.’ This is evidentially true, as the truck arrived directly from a job in Edinburgh on the setup day, and was ready to rock when the festival started at noon the following day.

The C200’s first festival outing had been the Isle of Wight Festival, having been tested on a classical job before that. The SSL mic amps were onstage with a fibre system connecting back to the truck. The only band multitracking was The Strokes, so four rifles, Sennheiser 416s, pointed out from stage was enough.

Will: ‘There’s not much else you can do outdoors. 816s I find are too pointy and close, but 416s are just the right balance for getting the right audience reaction on an outdoors stage — two looking fairly close at the mosh pit, and two looking halfway back to the PA desk — any further back and you don’t really get anything.’

For processing, all the dynamics requirements were satisfied by the C200 according to Will. ‘The mix bus compressor is like the old Quad Compressor, and much better than the MT one.’ For effects he employed a Lexicon 480L with TC M5000, M3000 and two D-Two’s.

The Sony DMX truck was put to work at the Virgin VIP-guest tent, where Virgin Radio staged acoustic sets and their own Mark Robinson bravely mixed for Radio while simultaneously balancing not only the PA, but also onstage wedge monitoring, all from the truck’s Sony DMX100, something Mark described as ‘in retrospect a stupid move! We were pushing the DMX100 to its limits, using every input and output.’

The Virgin tent had in previous years used the old Manor Raindirk and analogue SSL trucks. Last year it used one of the Sanctuary Euphonix trucks. ‘We figured Virgin have Sony DMX desks, so Mark Robinson was more than capable of using that, but we hadn’t got a vehicle to put it in,’ explained Will. ‘Steve Williams (Sound Moves) had a half-built truck so we bought that and finished the build, so we have a truck now to house the gear that was originally in the SSL Floating Earth truck.’

This truck was the only one of the four to run analogue multicores. Here, all outboard duties were performed by a Lexicon 960L with compression and EQ provided by the desk. Mark used a pair of Beyer shotguns mounted on the lighting rig for audience.

Many of the acts appearing on the larger stages dropped in to perform acoustic sets to entertain Virgin Radio VIP guests, including Badly Drawn Boy, Starsailor, The Thrills, Easyworld and Snow Patrol.

For the other two stages, Will engaged the services of Steve Williams’ Sound Moves operation. His two trucks both house Soundtracs DPCII consoles. The larger of

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craft these was stationed behind the NME-sponsored second stage, where ex-BBC engineer Paul Nickson mixed sets for TV and Radio including Scissor Sisters, Starsailor, Keane, The Killers and Kings Of Leon.

Having been employed in the past for events with Manor Mobiles and Sound Moves, your intrepid reporter manfully braved the mixing duties for radio at the Music Choice stage, housed in a marquee, where highlights for me included The Bees, Hope Of The States, Longview, South, Rooster and The Delays.

In all the trucks, stereo mixes were recorded live onto two simultaneously recording CD-R machines for safety, and on the two TV stages also recorded onto timecode DAT. Will explains: ‘Primarily our stereo mix was plugged into the TV truck and recorded onto their VTs, but we were recording timecode DATs as a backup, especially as the TV trucks were a long way from the NME stage [behind the V stage.] We weren’t being paid to multitrack, except on the main stage where we knew the Strokes wanted to take multitrack away, but Pyramix systems were available just in case.’

Following each set, Virgin Radio staff would whizz around in golf buggies to round up the CD-Rs for almost immediate broadcast of selected tracks from the Portakabin radio studio that had been assembled just behind the Virgin VIP stage tent. If we were very lucky, these same golf-buggy riders would also deliver food!

Apart from the slightly unusual setup in the Virgin VIP tent, splits were taken from the PA monitor desk onstage to the respective trucks, while two pairs of audience mics were rigged near the front of the stage.

A generous complement of assistant engineers were on hand in the trucks and at the NME stage including ex-Manor staffers Alex Goodison and Sven Hertens, Floating Earth’s Hugh Walker, ex-SSL man Chris Goddard and Sound Moves regular Robin Delwiche. I was lucky enough to have assistance from Floating Earth’s expert engineer Limo Hearn, as well as the experienced Steve Williams, and his newest recruit Ben Uren.

At the Music Choice Stage we ran MADI links from the truck to the DPCII’s onstage inputs over a run of about 40m. We were equipped with a UPS, so after running power from stage to truck, Steve sent the UPS output back to stage to supply power to the desk inputs to safeguard against loss of power.

The Soundtracs is fast to use, with excellent visual feedback on the surface screens, and a very flexible and responsive channel EQ. The onboard compressors worked well for individual compression of vocals and instruments where necessary, while overall mix compression was provided by a TC System 6000, where I also notched a tiny bit of mid EQ out of the

overall mix. Another three of the TC engines were pressed into service to provide a couple of different reverb spaces and a delay effect, although the Soundtracs does in fact include onboard reverb and delay effects.

Most of the bands played 25 minute sets, and soundchecking was minimal, usually consisting of a brief check of each mic or instrument, then it was a case of bringing the balance into shape as quickly as possible during the opening number of each set. The V and NME stages enjoyed the live TV pictures piped into their trucks. Music Choice recording was for radio, so we set up a camera at the side of the stage to see onstage activities from the truck, and Limo, my onstage assistant, advised me via his comms headset of any changes and instrument swapping. Following each set he would procure a set-list so we could correctly label the CDs. Meanwhile, in the truck, assistant Ben handled writing Start IDs onto the CDs during the applause between songs.

At the NME stage there were environmental issues

to deal as Will explains. ‘Paul Nickson is an ex-BBC engineer, I’ve used him for the B-stage at V for several years. I thought he did a really good job, because he was stationed right behind the stage [with the nearby PA pretty loud], but he had ATCs [SCM100As] which I think are really fantastic mixing speakers, they tell you what’s happening.’ The Virgin VIP tent’s truck used Genelec 1031As, but everywhere else used ATCs. I was lucky enough to have a pair of {personal favourites) SCM100As in my truck at the Music Choice stage, where with the advantage of a fairly enclosed tent I was able to use a pair of KM84s in addition to the shotguns for the audience, giving a nice mixture of audience reactions spread across the stereo.

De-rigging was successfully completed within a couple of hours of the last band leaving the stage.

Despite this summer’s weather, we had thankfully stayed almost completely dry for three days — until my car journey home at which point it absolutely pelted down with rain and I was glad I didn’t have an HGV licence. ■

no words – ask your ears...

BRAUNER.THE ART OF MICROPHONES www.brauner-microphones.com

October 2004

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katz’s column

Becky and Fred – never on the same level Mastering engineer, audiofile guru and author BOB KATZ introduces us to Becky and Fred, two audio professionals with a common audio dilemma.

A

UDIO ENGINEERS SEEM to have some trouble communicating. Let me present Becky and Fred, two friendly engineers who live in different towns and collaborate on music production through the Internet. Last week Fred sent Becky a new mix for her

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opinion. Let’s listen in on their phone conversation...

‘Hey,’ says Becky, ‘I like your mix, it really punches. I just got this new monitor controller — my technician calibrated it. It’s marked in SPL from 65 to 95, and 83 is the new Dolby level standard. So, now I can listen at the same level as you! Just tell me what level you’re listening at!’

‘Great,’ replies Fred, ‘I’ll call you back after I measure with my little sound level meter.’ [Five minutes later] ‘OK, Becky, I played the loudest passage, and it measures 90dB, so I must be mixing at 90.’

‘All right,’ says Becky, ‘let me set my knob to 90 and check it out... Ouch!’ she screams. ‘You must be going deaf. If I turn mine past 80 I’ll blow my speakers, or my ears. For me it sounds loud enough at 77.’

‘What the hey!’ replies Fred. ‘Mine is just cooking when I set the loud passage to 90 on my meter. This can’t be right — your technician must have miscalibrated your controller.’

So Becky calls her technician, Bob, who explains how it all worked. ‘Beck, the problem is that your monitor controller isn’t really marked in output SPL. It’s marked in the SPL it would produce if you fed it a calibrated pink noise level, and 83 is the reference point.’

‘Bob, that’s the biggest pile of geek talk I’ve ever heard. Try again in plain English.’

‘Well, if you turn it up to 90, it means that you’re turning your monitor gain up by 7dB above the standard reference of 83. You would go deaf at that setting!’

‘You mean the control is somehow marked in gain and not in SPL?’ [We must not confuse gain with level] ‘That’s right.

We mustn’t confuse gain with level, and this monitor controller’s language doesn’t help a bit. With a hot resolution

enough mix, you can end up at 90dB SPL in your room even with the controller set to 77. I know that sounds contradictory, but think of the monitor controller like a water tap (sound = water); if there’s more pressure coming into the tap, you don’t have to open it up as much to get high pressure out.

‘In other words, Fred was measuring SPL, not gain, but you’re measuring gain. At 77 setting, your gain is 6dB below the standard gain which is marked as 83.

You’re probably both listening at the same level.’

‘Huh?’ says Becky. ‘So why don’t they just mark the control with a zero at the calibration point, so you can know exactly what you’re using relative to that gain?’

[Monitor controllers should not be labelled in SPL] ‘That would be too smart,’ explains Bob, ‘this manufacturer seems to have a smart-alec idea that marking the control with SPL numbers is an impressive thing to do. A couple of manufacturers are doing this and I agree that it is really confusing. In reality, the numbers on your controller have no absolute relationship to the SPL you are listening at, only a relative relationship! It stands to reason that to play a loud, compressed recording you have to turn the monitor down, and vice versa. If you’re playing a compressed piece of music, it can end up producing 90dB SPL even if you turn the monitor down to the so-called 77 position.’

‘That’s just too crazy,’ exclaims Becky. ‘Is there any way that I can ever label the control so I can know my SPL?’ ‘Never. But you can get an excellent idea of how compressed or how dynamic a recording is by how much monitor gain you have to use. So having a calibrated monitor control can be a very important tool for mixing (and mastering) engineers.’

‘I’m going to re-label my controls right away. It makes so much sense to label the monitor pot with relative gains,’ says Becky.

[Making better-sounding music] Yes, folks, it turns out that both Fred and Becky were listening at exactly the same intensity, but speaking completely different languages! Fred was speaking the language of SPL and Becky was struggling with the language of gain. This very confusion causes fights between engineers. Just like other attenuators, monitor gain controls should be marked in decibels relative to a zero reference.

If every 21st Century engineer installs a calibrated monitor controller on their console we will end up making better-sounding musical productions.

Visit the CD Honour Roll at www.digido.com, where you’ll see some examples of ‘honourable’ compact discs and how they relate to monitor control position in my listening room. If we all learn about calibrated monitor gains and their relation to compression and loudness, we’ll progress towards a better way of thinking. Write me and tell me what you think! ■

Contact Resolution recommends Bob Katz’s book Mastering Audio—the art and the science as an essential source of information for every pro audio enthusiast who cares about sound.

You can buy it on line at www.digido.com

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know how

Do you have the power?

Those who believe that lightning never strikes twice are not so secure in their trust of clean and continuous electrical mains power. ROB JAMES says that the problems exist but so do the solutions.

I

T DOESN’T TAKE A GENIUS to notice power cuts and thunderstorms.

It may be less obvious that it doesn’t take a direct hit to do damage ranging from immediate destruction to insidious over-stressing of vulnerable components. Induced spikes from nearby lightning can run to many thousands of volts. A recent lightning strike near here demolished a chimneystack and destroyed the electrical installation. It also took out 14 PCs in a travel agent’s more than 200m away.

Lightning is not the only source of spikes. Any contact generating a spark is a potential source of trouble, as are fast transients generated by switching appliances such as refrigerators, fluorescent tube starters, and thermostats.

Longer supply voltage variations, surges and sags, cause more subtle effects. Years ago, we experienced a digital console crashing at the same time every day. Monitoring revealed a supply spike of several kV. We never found out the cause, but an On-line UPS solved the problem.

‘Switch-mode’ power supplies, ubiquitous in computers and many other devices, are a rich source of harmonics. Unless filtered, induced noise and harmonics spread throughout the building and back to the grid substation. Then there is the matter of power factor and power factor correction. Manufacturers often use this as a marketing tool but few people know what it is. Power factor indicates the effect of a load on power supply system efficiency, i.e. the ratio between the actual power draw of a circuit (kW) and the apparent power (kVA). Poor power factor results from high harmonic content, phase differences between voltage and current or distorted current waveform. In essence,

Sources Here are a few manufacturers with products especially applicable to pro audio/video.

Applied Research and Technology (ART) has a range of models with various features. The 400 series all offer surge/spike protection, EMI/RFI filtering, front-mount circuit breaker, 1,800W capacity, and eight rear AC outlets.

ETA Systems offers a range of models including conditioners, regulators and sequencers.

Furman Sound has a wide range of products.

Furman uses MOVs and gas-discharge tubes to control voltage spikes allowing the larger units to cope with as much as 11,000A. All Furman units have high-voltage shutdown protection.

For more ‘industrial’ scale problems the Claude Lyons Group have a variety of solutions.

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power factor correction (PFC) makes a complex AC load look like a simple load such as a light bulb.

Just switching on can be a problem. Audio and video devices, including computers, often require a very high current when first switched on, known as the ‘inrush’ current. When several devices are switched on together, this inrush current can trip circuit breakers.

Using a Furman power conditioner as a meter, I’ve been keeping an eye on the mains voltage here. It varies from 228V to 245V, well within tolerance but not confidence inspiring. We also experience shortterm variations that cause the lights to flicker in stormy weather. Despite this, I have few problems.

Switch-mode supplies, especially universal voltage types, are quite good at dealing with surges and sags.

However, it is obvious that expensive and/or mission — critical equipment needs at least some protection beyond conventional circuit breakers and fuses. The level of protection you choose will depend on local conditions and the level of risk you are prepared to tolerate. If you are seriously obsessed, Furman offers a balanced mains supply. This confers immunity from induced noise, which would otherwise appear on conventional, unbalanced, power rails. To put this in perspective, UK 230V mains is a mere 49dB or so above zero level.

A power regulator/conditioner for audio/video use will

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ideally combine spike and over-voltage protection with RF filtering and voltage regulation.

Spikes can be dealt with by using MOVs (Metal Oxide Varistors). The better examples are robust, fast acting (15nS) and reliable. Cheap ones are, in effect, sacrificial. Zener or avalanche diodes can offer a quicker response to fast transients but not as fast as 1nS gas-discharge tubes. The better designs use a combination of technologies.

For surges and sags, a power conditioner with a toroidal transformer and big capacitors can smooth out longer-term voltage variations. The transformer has multiple output taps and a sensing/control circuit that monitors voltage and automatically switches to the appropriate output tap.

In cheaper designs the output may step between taps producing spikes. More sophisticated solutions employ solidstate switching to smooth out the steps.

A more ‘industrial’ answer will employ a servo-mechanical voltage stabiliser with a sensing circuit driving a motorised variable transformer or ‘Variac’.

‘Inrush’ problems can be avoided with a sequencer. This simply turns on a number of sockets in a defined order with a delay between each, and does the opposite when turning off.

It is often assumed a so-called UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) regulates, conditions and removes spikes with the added bonus of protection against power cuts. In fact, there are three classes of UPS and only the most expensive is any substitute for proper regulation and conditioning.

In the cheaper SBS or Stand By power Supply the output is effectively a pass through of the input until the input power fails, then it switches over to a battery-powered inverter. Inverters are very variable in quality and most cheap ones output stepped or square waveforms that are unlikely to be appreciated by audio/video devices.

Next up the food chain is the Line Interactive UPS. This combines at least some degree of voltage regulation with standby backup. Then comes the true, On-line, UPS that produces a stable, accurate voltage output and waveform at all times. In effect, the load is isolated from mains borne effects.

We all tend to think ‘It will never happen to me’, but after two near misses, I’m now in the market for some insurance. Every rented workstation rig I’ve seen recently comes with a conditioner in the rack. Hire companies don’t invest without good reason. Effective spike and surge protection costs a tiny fraction of even a modest studio set-up.

Can you afford the risk? ■

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ten

Most influential albums Another impossible job as it depends on all the usual caveats. There were many candidates that were argued over so you’ll almost certainly disagree with the choice. However, the game is to name ten albums that significantly influenced the music and recording that followed.

KEITH SPENCER-ALLEN

ABBA / GREATEST HITS VOLS 1&2 (1976/79) — Strong melodies, predominantly meaningful lyrics, outstanding arrangements, tasteful production and skilled recording. Superior pop music that set new standards despite the fact that it may have taken the passing of the years for this to become so universally apparent. Represented by the Hits album but this could be replaced by any of their later albums, which showed enhanced sophistication.

ABBA set the standards for chart music that few had the energy or ability to equal — and English wasn’t even their first language!

BEACH BOYS — SURF’S UP (1971) — Most name Pet Sounds as the definitive Beach Boys work but why isn’t clear.

True there are some good songs and carefully sculpted arrangements but those same elements are also present in Surf’s Up together with a Wilson-inspired realisation of his own quirkiness expressed through songs, recording style, arrangements and vocal gymnastics.

The album marked a collective return to form by a band that had been desperately trying to creatively match Sgt Pepper, and here they did it on their own terms. Layered dry vocals and unpredictable directions are echoed in later work by others, while the treatment of introspective emotion of the title track is unique.

THE BEATLES — SGT PEPPER (1967) — The recipe is simple — some great songs, virtually definitive interpretation and immaculate production and a physical presentation that was in a different league. Freed from the need to consider physical performance of the tracks, and the money to support the project, this album transcended ordinary critical judgements. Other Beatles albums such as Revolver may be more musically satisfying and have better songs but this was a gauntlet, realised by skill, talent and technology, that was thrown down as a marker that left their competitors floundering to equal.

JAMES BROWN — LIVE AT THE APOLLO (1962) — This simple 30-minute live album recorded live at New York’s Harlem Apollo Theater enabled James Brown to break out of playing to just black audiences where hit records and constant October 2004

gigging had made him a major R&B attraction. This album made #2 in the mainstream charts, was released outside the US, and made him a star by capturing the energy and musicianship of a band that excelled in live performance. With the assistance given by this success Brown was influential in the development of soul music and later funk. Certainly the first live album that ever made any impact on the charts and ironically was funded by Brown himself because his label didn’t think it would sell.

MICHAEL JACKSON — THRILLER (1982) — One of those albums that was hugely influential through the 1980s but listen now and much sounds almost quaint. Jackson was one of the first to embrace the ‘new’ music technologies of sampling and synthesis in mainstream pop. The vast success of this album largely defined how pop music would use the new tools for the next decade.

Unfortunately much of it now sounds wooden and stilted relying purely on Jackson’s vocals and songs — such are the dangers of pioneering before the paint is dry.

LED ZEPPELIN — II (1969) — While their first album set the tone, II realised the promise. It focused years of rock recording experience to refine the elements that would transfer live excitement to vinyl — dynamics, ambient drums with power, guitars that sounded live but controlled, four musicians entering the zenith of their skills, and a disregard of musical noise (e.g. amplifier buzz, drum rattle) in preference to performance.

While II’s songs display more derivation than originality, this was powerful rock music that sounded the way we’d imagined it should. Later albums refined the elements but were never as consistently energetic as this.

MIKE OLDFIELD — TUBULAR BELLS (1973) — The one-man-band school of recording was not new when this album arrived — Les Paul, Emmit Rhodes, Terry Riley and others had preceded but here was something that was an immediately accessible single minded vision full of repeated melodies that defied the listener to ignore.

Clearly made with love and dedication, and despite the imperfections of limited track recording, this resolution

album wins prizes for most remixed — even available in all four original quadraphonic formats. To many this represents garden party easy listening, to musicians it was the realisation that if 19-year-old Oldfield’s doodling could sell... For Mr Branson, the key to an empire.

PINK FLOYD — DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (1973) — Any album that sells as many as this has over 30 years will influence.

Beautifully recorded at Abbey Road, it showcases a band working in harmony, rather than the eclectic mix of earlier albums, taking intelligent themes to create a concept album with minimal cringe factor. There was something to listen to, and yet, could play low without intrusion over dinner party chat — it marked the arrival of superior easy-listening — with credibility.

RUN DMC — RAISING HELL (1986) — Some albums seem to kick-off on the wrong premise but they capture the public imagination. The idea of crossing rap, still largely just New York black street culture at that time, with heavy metal riffs would not seem a predictable success. But this album did it in a big way. Although their previous two albums had sold well, this went multi-platinum, broke down a lot of barriers and brought rap/hip-hop culture into the mainstream of popular music. It was melodic, relatively innocent, and with a sense of fun that had a broad appeal, and the collaboration with Aerosmith instantly drew a new audience. Their appeal waned as an alternative side of rap emerged but by then their job was done.

STEELY DAN — CAN’T BUY A THRILL (1972) — Formed as a vehicle for the songs of Fagen and Becker, this album expressed them by drawing a wide range of musical styles into a rock context, blending them with elaborate harmonies and skilled musicianship. This was their first album and although the songs developed in later recordings, the variety of stylings decreased with a move towards a jazzier base. This album showed how rock music could draw on wider influences, embrace technical perfection without being sanitised, and address a more adult audience.

Others watched and learnt but didn’t always get the balance right. ■ 59

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meet your maker

Martin Kloiber He’s a classic example of a poacher turned gamekeeper — a customer who ends up working for the manufacturer. As executive VP of technology at Euphonix he talks about the interface issue, the acceptance of assignability, the back-end and relationships with other manufacturers team helping to refine the systems, so it was natural for me to move to a full-time role.

‘I think it is very important for product development to have connections to the real world, and that is my main goal, to provide a link between what we do in development, the client and other companies that have complementary technology,’ he says. As executive vice president of technology, and a member of the Euphonix board of directors, Martin oversees technical development inside Euphonix for its current and future products.

W

ITH A DEGREE IN Music and Electronics, Martin Kloiber has been working as an independent music producer and engineer since 1984 and has had a stint at Austrian broadcaster ORF as an engineer from 1989 to 1991. He has worked with Terence Trent D’Arby, Baka Boyz, 98 Degrees, Yello and Norman Brown and has also been involved in film scoring, sound design and dubbing. In 1992, Martin co-founded, designed and acted as studio manager and chief engineer for Soundproof Studios in Los Angeles — home to the European music duo, Yello (one half of which is Euphonix chairman Dieter Meier).

The studio now includes a Euphonix System 5 and R-1 recorder but Martin first became familiar with Euphonix in 1991 when the studio installed a CSII. ‘This was during the early days of the company, but I was totally blown away by the power and sound of the digitally controlled analogue mixer. Since then, I have been a big fan. As a client, I spent a lot of time working with their product development and sales

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What is special about Euphonix technology?

We have focused on perfecting digital control surfaces ever since we introduced the CS series in the early 1990s and followed up with the all-digital System 5 in 1999 and the Max Air in 2002. We are passionate about producing the best professional console designs in the world and providing unrivalled personal customer support. Ask any of our users. If you look at our client lists they include some of the top audio facilities in the world in all markets. We have worked very hard over the years to get to this position and we feel we are at the cutting edge of the technology that includes the option to integrate with third party applications and the art of console design. Euphonix deployed nonproprietary computer technology from Silicon Valley, and has architected a scalable and very flexible hardware platform. To communicate within this networked computer environment, we had to develop a control protocol — EuCon. We have now expanded this protocol, so we are able to control and integrate third party DAWs into our environment, therefore offering an end-to-end production solution from a workstation up to a fullfeatured production console.

How has the dynamic of manufacturing cost and R&D effort changed over the transitions from all analogue to digitally controlled analogue to all digital desks?

When we introduced the CS Series digitally controlled analogue console in 1991, we basically halved the price of a 96-channel console by separating the digital surface from the analogue processing racks. The System 5 range introduced a digital surface with a fully digital back-end.

Obviously the surface design uses completely different technology from analogue but still is constrained by the physical hardware necessary to provide a superior surface. Now we have a great surface, and we will stick with it in various forms in the future to maintain operational compatibility. resolution

The big changes are happening in the back-end where costs are being reduced and new technology allows us to provide more for less and to connect with DAWs, for example. The big challenge now for us is to form relationships with the DAW manufactures such as Steinberg and Merging Technologies as their products will form an integral part of our new System 5-MC console range. I have always felt that as digital products can communicate with each other the time has come for manufacturers to start working together to allow their products to integrate with each other over networks. Just look at what’s happening in the computer market. The big buzz is networking. A lot of people use networks in their home, so it is a logical step for us to apply this technology also in our products. We made a substantial effort in engineering for interconnectivity in the digital domain. For us, the move to all digital has improved manufacturability and reliability.

If the proliferation of digital workstations has taught us anything, it is the importance of the analogue end. Against such a backdrop it would seem that a digitally controlled analogue desk represents the practical ideal, why then has Euphonix gone all digital?

One of the things that has emerged over the last 10 years is that there is a place for analogue mixers, all-digital mixers, digitally controlled analogue mixers and workstation control surfaces. Each has its place and is ideal for a specific application. We don’t build analogue consoles because we feel that this is a specialised declining market, well covered by companies such as SSL and AMS/Neve.

However, we do address the other three mixer product areas and also manufacture high-quality analogue convertors.

I think it’s best to look at this from a market perspective, as the requirements are different for each market. The last few years we have concentrated on the broadcast and long-form audio post markets as there is a growing demand for high-quality digital consoles that we can satisfy with the System 5 and Max Air products. In music and short-form post, all projects involve workstations and there is a need for integration between the workstation and console. That is why we are introducing the MC DAW controller and the System 5-MC mixing control surface that directly integrates with DAWs such as Steinberg’s Nuendo and Merging’s Pyramix via our high-speed EuCon protocol. Therefore we can offer the user best of class products in an integrated environment.

How have end-user attitudes to ‘assignability’ altered and are there still operational principles in which desk designers still have to play safe?

Early digital consoles took the analogue route, laying out channels in a linear fashion — 1-48, 49-96 — and paging between them. Engineers initially felt comfortable with that but soon found that it is not the best way for an operator to mix. It’s clumsy, slow, requires a large surface, and does not take advantage of one of the most exiting operational improvements you get with an assignable console: freedom to put any channel anywhere on the surface.

Euphonix took this a stage further with System 5, allowing any source to be placed in any position on the console and saving that as a ‘layout’ for easy recall. It is possible to do standard 1-48 linear ‘layouts’ with a System 5 for beginners but anyone October 2004

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meet your maker who works on a System 5 soon figures out how easy it is to lay out the channels you need in logical positions close to the sweet spot and swap between ‘layouts’ when moving from mixing one set of sources to another. Early designs also forced the operator to do many channel functions from a central assignable set of channel controls. We know now that it is much better if the engineer can have control from the channel strip as well as from the centre — that’s why System 5 has 8 knobs per channel that can be switched to control all channel functions.

Are console users really as conservative as modern console designs would suggest they are or could they embrace far more radical control technologies? What could the desks of 20 years’ time look like?

Consoles have evolved over the years constantly improving the way an engineer can control and mix sources. In some ways a modern design like System 5 is conservative as it has faders, channel strips, knobs and meters but in many ways it is a radical change from an analogue console that is confined and constrained by the mechanics of the electronics.

Separating the control surface from the ‘engine’, analogue or digital, has profound implications in size, layout and flexibility of the mixing surface, plus everything can be automated and recalled.

This separation also allows a surface such as System 5 to directly control a DAW such as Nuendo as its engine with the bonus of recording and editing integration. So, in some respects, it is conservative but at the same time quite radical. I think in a professional environment it is important to provide a practical solution that really does speed up operation and allow for more creative flexibility, and basing some of the design on proven mixing principles is a good thing. Since cars still have a steering wheel, despite some experiments, I believe that in 20 years there will still be a pro mixing surface with faders and knobs, there will be more touchscreens but definitely there will be one or more PCs at the back end. In order to create a good product, you have to solve a problem for the customer. In our case, we provide a tactile, ergonomic and comfortable tool to get the work done.

Would you agree that with computer processing power continuing to increase, as an industry we are shifting our attentions away from harnessing that power to the business of controlling it — it’s now all about the interface again, just as it was in analogue’s heyday, and it’s what differentiates different manufacturers’ approaches because the processing is now largely similar?

I definitely agree that computer processing power will continue to increase. Everybody now accepts the fact that you can cut and edit a movie on your laptop computer, something that would have been impossible a couple of years ago. The same revolution is now starting in the audio business and the border between audio and video production is very blurred. As a manufacturer we have to harness the power of commercial computer development, since we simply can’t keep up with technical progress if we have to reinvent the wheel constantly and also try to accommodate the need of users in video production.

On the other hand, DAW developers have long acknowledged the limitations of a point-and-click mouse interface for sound mixing. Therefore I believe October 2004

that the most important and difficult aspect of the design is the surface — its what the engineer sees and feels and connects with to produce an artistically stunning mix.

The best analogue consoles always had the most ergonomically effective surface and that is still true today for all-digital consoles. The back-end has changed from analogue to digital processing core to DAW, but the art of designing the surface always remains the ultimate challenge and separates the men from the boys. At Euphonix our design philosophy with digital is to concentrate on designing the best surface and to allow it to control any back end via our EuCon protocol, which even supports a single surface controlling a combination of DAWs and our own DSP processing core.

What do you see as the main differences between the worksurface requirements in music recording, post and broadcast?

There are a lot of similarities between music and post requirements and both these markets are DAWbased so integration of DAWs is important. The high-end post console requires a more sophisticated monitor matrix and panel and there is the issue of multiple operator film consoles, but other than that they can have very similar surfaces especially now that surround is important in each market. The broadcast console is different in that reliability is critical and there is no DAW integration. There are also many applications where the surface can be much smaller and simpler with fewer controls such as in a local news environment — hence the Euphonix Max Air surface designed specifically for this type of market.

However, there are many broadcast applications where the console has to handle hundreds of sources that include music as well as dialogue — such as a variety show, or a complex sports event — and in this case a surface such as System 5, with the redundancy options, is perfectly suitable for on-air broadcast.

Would the adoption and standardisation of a particular ‘digital interconnect’ make your life and that of end-users simpler?

Yes, of course, standardisation helps in a big way but it is important to remember that no one digital standard can work for all applications, especially in the high-end professional market where the requirements are totally different from the consumer or project studio. In many cases there is no standard to solve some of the problems we face as console designers. There are many open standards that console manufactures can adopt, such as AES10 MADI, AES31, etc.

Also I can see the industry going down a path using a protocol like Sony’s Super-Mac and Hyper-Mac, which solves the problem of combining a highchannel count of digital audio signals with control and sync information.

However, there are also instances, such as console connectivity to DAWs, that are so cutting edge and complex, for which no standard exists yet. In this case a company like Euphonix, with a great deal of experience in surface networking, has to further develop a protocol such as EuCon to bridge this gap. resolution

What are the popular misconceptions about digital desks?

That they are difficult to operate, unreliable and don’t sound very good. Its 20 years since pro digital consoles came on the market and back in those early days these fears were justified. However, I think in the past five years all those issues have been addressed, certainly in the case of System 5, and any engineer who has spent time on a good digital console knows that it can match what analogue has to offer with the bonus of assignability, full automation, recallability, greater flexibility and integration with DAWs. The pressure to be price competitive in large-scale desk design is apparent, but where can compromises be made to accommodate this and where can they not be tolerated? What frustrates you as a designer?

To produce a good console surface design that looks and feels professional and that speeds up operation and allows the engineer effortless creative control costs money — it’s simply a matter of the cost of components that go into the design. The back-end is obviously getting cheaper and we have embraced that with our integration of the System 5-MC with DAWs, such as Nuendo, which greatly brings down the cost of a system.

For some markets, such as broadcast, reliability and modularity are more important than cost so these systems will continue to be more expensive than a surface/DAW solution. At Euphonix we actually offer two different surface designs for broadcast to match control surface needs of different areas such as live production (System 5) and local news (Max Air). I think that right now is an extremely exciting time to be in the console business especially with the integration of console and DAW. One big caveat I see in the above-presented concepts is that we want and need collaboration with other manufacturers. We have to work together and not against each other. But not all manufacturers believe in this concept. Some more than others would like to keep their users in a proprietary and very controlled environment. It is hard for some companies to understand and support an open architecture, but Euphonix can and will lead the way. ■

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slaying dragons

Test equipment: why you need it Ultimately the final output of most audio production is for the entertainment of a largely undiscerning audience listening through indifferent equipment frequently fed by indifferent channels. As a consequence of the undemanding market, the quality of a significant amount of production is also indifferent. JOHN WATKINSON argues that this is no reason to abandon standards and that, in fact, new ones are needed.

T

ESTING FALLS INTO a number of categories.

Testing for fire safety or likelihood of electrocution isn’t unique to audio and I don’t plan to discuss it beyond saying it’s important. In audio, testing generally is taken to mean sound quality testing. In electronic devices it’s a lot easier than in transducers.

In a generic device under test, the waveform coming out won’t be identical to the waveform that went in. There are three sources of difference: signals that are added from elsewhere, such as noise and interference, signals that result from the original signal passing through a non-linear process, and lack of phase linearity. Most general-purpose audio test sets can measure all of this. When measuring distortion, the input signal is nulled at the output, and what is left is measured. What is left, however, cannot exclude the noise the device has added, so in practice, to be precise we quote THD + N — total harmonic distortion plus noise. I have a small gripe, which is that some processes produce anharmonic distortion so the term THD is not strictly correct. Total Non-linear Distortion would be better.

In principle anything that can be heard can be measured objectively, but the audio industry is one of the few in which measurements of key parameters still have no agreed test method. Thus we have a situation where lack of comprehensive test procedures allows the situation where equipments having identical test results can sound different.

Another difficulty is to relate the quantity measured to what is acceptable.

The finest array of test equipment on earth is of no benefit if the user has insufficient knowledge to interpret the results, or lacks the authority to have something done about it.

For many years the figure of 0.1% was considered good enough for audio power amplifiers. Given the kind of distortion product spectrum a valve amplifier produces, this is reasonable.

However, when transistorised amplifiers were introduced, they were designed to the same figure, yet many sounded dreadful. There are a couple of reasons for that. Valve amplifiers work in Class A and don’t have crossover distortion.

The distortion gets worse as level increases and so they are tested at full power. Transistor amplifiers working in Class B produce distortion at low levels, as indeed did early A-DCs. The distortion product spectrum is different and the human auditory system is more sensitive to it.

When we sell stereo recordings, we

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are purveyors of images, yet we don’t have a standard for image accuracy. Instead we have equipment that varies wildly in its imaging ability. The majority of traditional loudspeakers are hopeless in this respect.

Lacking comprehensive test procedures, the best we can do is to combine listening tests with objective tests.

The listening test is a kind of catch-all, because if there is anything wrong, we ought to hear it whether or not there is an objective test for it. Unfortunately, we can only listen through loudspeakers and if these are imperfect, other defects will be concealed.

One of the most obvious artefacts of bit-rate reduction is damage to the imaging, yet if we listen through traditional speakers we don’t hear it, whereas on high-resolution speakers we do. As a result audio compression has entered wide service on the

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misleading assumption that it is inaudible. DAB should have been wonderful and it is advertised as such, but it isn’t. It reached the market based on flawed listening tests. How much better would it have been if the testers could have heard the damage? Perhaps there would have been a decision to wait for AAC. Although easy to measure, phase linearity doesn’t get considered often enough, probably because of the well-known myth that the ear is phase deaf. The ear is phase deaf on continuous sounds, but unfortunately it isn’t on transients and lack of phase linearity is a common cause of poor realism.

Probably as a result of poor loudspeakers we have any number of incompatible spaced microphone techniques for stereo recording, none of which has a valid theory of operation and none of which produces a recognisable image. Instead they display an effect by which sound is spread around. The only microphone technique that can produce an image, and for which a theory of operation exists, is the coincident microphone, and this is obvious when heard on loudspeakers of appropriate specification.

However, there are many who won’t use coincident microphones because they don’t like the sound. Maybe it’s the tricks the microphones employ to achieve directivity, maybe it’s the directivity itself.

Maybe it’s subjective nonsense. If we had imaging accuracy measurement we could resolve all of this, perhaps by seeing the need to invent new types of microphone that don’t presently exist. But we don’t, so we stay stuck in the mud and professional audio slides inexorably towards the oxymoronic.

The distinction between accurate reproduction and the creation of an effect isn’t difficult to grasp, and I have long stressed the importance of knowing which is the goal before entering any debate. However, it appears that a lot of equipment is chosen because it gives an effect that someone finds desirable under certain conditions. Unfortunately this effect is an inherent colouration that cannot be turned off and thus for other applications this equipment is not good enough. Thus we have one piece of kit that’s good for this, one piece of kit that’s good for that, and the users erect a wall of mystique regarding the principles by which the appropriate item is selected.

How much easier it would be to have neutral equipment and put in the effects in a controlled process. I recall recently reading a review of a microphone in which it was judged to be ‘perhaps too neutral’. I would have thought it axiomatic that it is not possible for a October 2004

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slaying dragons

showcase To advertiser here call +44 (0)1273 236681

microphone to be too neutral either from a linguistic standpoint or from an electro-acoustic standpoint. As I already owned a pair of these microphones, I was relieved and patted them fondly.

Another problem is that good test equipment is expensive. With the explosion of consumer computing, a PC or Mac based home studio can be put together at incredibly low cost. Chances are there won’t be any test gear at all because it would cost more than the rest of the system. Another problem is that if testing revealed a deficiency, there wouldn’t be anything that could be done about it. The knowledge of audio in the local computer superstore could probably be written on a grain of rice with a six-inch brush, so the best you could hope for is a refund, which isn’t a solution. The commoditised hardware is made by the thousand in the Far East and isn’t going to be changed because you don’t like it.

Most audio installations consist of a significant number of boxes connected together. Testing each box individually is fine as far as it goes, but even if each box passes, it doesn’t mean the system is good. I have seen too many examples of low-resolution systems that were the result of poor installation practice.

Screens on analogue cables disconnected at one end to stop hum, instead of fixing it properly; Pin 1 of XLRs not going direct to chassis; and various other insults to EMC compliance. Poor quality clock distribution can have a disastrous effect in digital systems as jitter gets into convertors.

Today we have MP3 and DAB that use bit rate reduction and give me no pleasure. Analogue FM radio has its dynamic range modified. Modern equipment needs next to no maintenance. It’s no longer important to have someone who understands how it works and it’s cheaper to hire employees that don’t. In this context it’s hardly surprising that quality is going to go down.

One could be forgiven for wondering if it’s worth trying to uphold any standards. I would argue that it is. Whatever the industry, the mass market products will always be mediocre, yet there is always space for a smaller number of higher quality products for the base of discerning customers that won’t go away. The only difference between the two markets is that in one, test equipment is used to make sure the specification isn’t exceeded as this raises cost, whereas in the other test equipment is used to move the state of the art forwards. ■

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Buy neutral sounding, uncoloured equipment and add the effects later.

Combine the use of test equipment with listening tests on high-resolution speakers.

Remember to test the system, not just the components.

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Try to learn something about the theory so you know what the test does and why.

DON’T

Assume that testing tests everything that can be heard.

Confuse self-indulgence with professionalism.

Test equipment by listening to the output on poor speakers.

Assume that acceptability criteria are universal.

October 2004

Resolution classified section To advertise here call: +44(0)1273 236681

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your business

Herding cats Perhaps music folks are hard to organise. That’s fine, since there seems like more than enough others out there willing to do it for them. But will producers get lost in the organisational shuffle? asks DAN DALEY

W

E’VE TALKED ABOUT organising producers, and it’s been done, more or less successfully, at various stages of the industry’s history, in the UK and the US. But the emerging and stillevolving vista of the music business in the digital age seems to have created a byproduct in the form of many, many, many organisations, formal, ad hoc or blog-like in nature, centred around the Internet and directly or tangentially useful to record producers.

The Internet has always seemed a poor surrogate for actually interacting with people, whether you want to hire them or date them.

But it’s that same ability to broach vast distances that, while making it less intimate, makes it far more efficient. “Efficient’ is not a word I’ve used often in writing about the process of making records. Imagine: ‘Leonardo Da Vinci was extremely efficient in his use of colour in his work.’

But it’s telling that efficiency is one of the criteria by which many producers are judged these days, by their employers if not by those who buy the records they produce.

Thus, the plethora of organisations out there becomes a bit like the way religion is approached by many in the 21st Century: pick a bit from this one and a bit from that one and assemble to suit your needs du jour. And I say that without a trace of condescension.

To expect to pull all of your information from one or two sources these days is limiting.

There’s not a lot out there dedicated strictly to producers, though there are a number of engineering threads. I’m more of a fan of actual websites than I am of threads and blogs, though the last two are great for detecting pulses and trends.

The Music Producers Guild (www.mpg.org.uk) is about as official a site as you’ll find. Andy East and company have kept it up well and it’s the one I’d recommend for authoritative insights on legal and certain business issues.

Recordproduction.com is probably the most innovative and technically advanced. The online video interviews with engineers and producers, such as Al Schmitt, are fun and informative, as are the virtual tours of recording studios in the US and the UK (where the site is based). There are also links to tons of stuff, some as useless as a subscription to Rolling Stone, some as useful as information on insurance, a topic on which I have been, I’m sure, as boring as I have been relentless. (But for the benefit of our US readers, get some damned health insurance, as miserable as it is in the States. I’ve had it for 25 years and had virtually never used it until this year, and the US$25,000 or so it just saved me was worth all those premium payments. UK readers: Rant about national Health all you want, but we’ll take it!)

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Dave Mellor’s www.record-producer.com is thick with stuff that most novice producers will find useful. Mellor uses the site to sell his books and a distance-learning curriculum whose content I cannot comment on but I love the idea simply because it takes something he’s good at and finds another way to make it earn money.

You can get a lot of studio news at www.rpmdirect.com, a subscription site whose front free section is always worth a look, especially for the ‘missing persons’ section, an appeal to update the whereabouts of producers who have dropped off industry (and airport) radars. I rather like that since this is a business in which you’re only as good as your next record, let alone your last one.

The frenetic look of www.breakingartists.com is the template for what we’ll be seeing a lot more of: central commercial enterprises selling books and tip sheets with numerous links to a myriad of independent producers and producer management and related organisations.

Websites like www.taxi.com have been around a while and have attained a certain amount of credibility via features in papers like the New York Times. Still, they play to the American Idol/Pop Idol crowd more than anything else. However, sites like these are fairly resolution

good for linking to more exotic and unique sites, such as www.vocalist.org.uk, which itself has one of the most eclectic and interesting link assemblies I’ve run into. www.hungrybands.com, indeed.

One of the sites I like is the National Association of Record Industry Professionals (NARIP) (www.narip.com), run out of LA by a seemingly tireless Tess Taylor. The site represents the vocation of the organisation — which last year opened a chapter in London — which is about the changing nature of the larger entertainment industry. It will encompass a lot of things that might not seem directly germane to record producers. But in that is its virtue, since everything is directly related to just about everything else these days.

A recent conclave made these points about how music might be monetised in the future, suggesting a form of compulsory licensing in which the creator of a recording (often also the producer) would register it with the appropriate government copyright agency, which would grant it a unique file identifier as well as copyright, which would be used to track Internet transmissions of the file (song). A company called Big Champagne in the US is already experimenting with this.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and the makers of media and hardware used in file sharing would then be charged accordingly. These firms would, in turn, charge their users. Some say this is analogous to the way you are now charged only for the amount of water that flows out of your tap. Use more, pay more; use less, pay less.

Of course, Taylor continues, there is the possibility that there might not be a one-to-one ratio between downloading and fees. ‘Recording artist Asha Corpas, an event attendee, likened it to the now-accepted payments most households make to cable television providers. “You receive 500 channels, but you don’t watch all of them, yet the fee includes the cost of providing all of the programming.”’

Taylor believes that record labels are hiring again, which bodes well for them remaining as players in a rearranged music industry landscape. However, as with most other industries, they’re being hired at lower wages, commensurate with lower operating costs across the board, including record budgets. (The producer connection becomes clearer now.)

NARIP’s website also has a few producer interviews, useful in that they don’t take a technical tone for granted. An interview with producer team The Underdogs — Damon Thomas and Harvey Mason, Jr, who have written and produced records for artists including Brandy, Faith Evans, Dru Hill, Pink, Tyrese, Justin Timberlake, Toni Braxton and Mariah Carey — asks those sorts of questions that make the technically savvy cringe but which result in useful answers.

Here’s an excerpt: Q: What do two of the top producers in the record business look for in an artist?

A: ‘What helps make great artists is a story in their songs,’ said Damon Thomas. ‘It also helps if they seem to be about a lifestyle.’

On the subject of equipment, Thomas replies, ‘It’s not the gear that matters, it’s the song. You can give us an old beat-up 8-track and we’ll make you a record.’ Mason: ‘Technology is a tool, but it’s not the main thing.’

For career advice, Thomas suggests, ‘It’s not about how much you charge for your work. It’s about being October 2004

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your business able to charge something fair for doing great work.’

Mason adds, ‘If you focus on the money, you’re going to hurt your career. Be in it for the love of music and the money will find you.’

Then there’s the individual producer websites.

Understandably, most of these are by younger producers. But there are a few by established producer engineers, like Bryan Carlstrom (www.bryancarlstrom.com), who coproduced Rob Zombie and has recorded bands including Alice In Chains and Offspring. I’d call his about perfect for the purpose: good, stylised photo up front with a menu of just-the-facts — bio, discography, gear list, links to interviews done on him in magazines, and a product recommendation link that subtly hypes his preferences and doesn’t duck product endorsements.

Most of what’s on the web for producers is pretty basic stuff, but there’s enough of it, and enough variety, to give producers and engineers some ideas as to how they best can fit themselves and their careers into the marketing engine that is the Web. Troll a bit and use links randomly, sort of like closing your eyes and hitting a patch on a DSP box just to see what you get. At the very least, you’ll get an idea. ■

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headroom A GOOD SPACE

Resolution is indeed a great magazine and I can’t help but look regularly in my mail box in the hope that my issue is sitting there. One of the main reasons, apart from the many excellent features and articles (such as Thomas Lund’s on digital levels V3.2 and V3.3), has always been reading John Watkinson’s Slaying Dragons, where he normally touches the wound with incredible objectivity.

This time, however, I think that he has overstretched himself by attempting to write during his sleep (Defining a good acoustic space, V3.5).

Obviously this is a guess, and maybe he had only fallen asleep half way to the end of his article. Then he started dreaming about reverberant controlrooms with a good sound definition, perfect loudspeakers and other strange issues. Maybe in his nightmare he dreamt he was a studio ‘near-field’ salesman (do we need another one?)

One curious thing is that John starts his article saying that ‘no one has ever heard what a musical instrument sounds like’. Well, this is the reason why I think that in close to hemi-anechoic conditions (read NonEnvironment control-rooms) we can hear exactly how our ‘monitors’ sound, and hence what’s on the mix, furthermore avoiding big surprises in the tonal balance of our songs when played anywhere else. All this because we simply sent our room out of the equation. Reverberation belongs in the recording space. The control-room needs a highly damped acoustic to allow the recording personnel to hear the true reverberation that has been recorded — in other words, the reverberation that has been ‘locked into’ the recording.

Then John goes on with an extensive analysis on the interferences between different types of music for the different types of acoustic spaces, or on what has been lost with modern multitrack technologies — superb. But then the truth becomes a dream... And no, not all big monitors are a pain in the ear. And when they are, in many cases it is a function of the room, hence rooms and monitors are not totally independent. In fact, I am persuaded that they cannot survive without each other.

In the remote case that it has not been a dream, my only suggestion to John would be to have the experience of a good set of loudspeakers in a well designed ‘Non-Environment’ highly damped control room. Nothing special or esoteric about it — not even secret — and all well scientifically documented.

In the end, who cares about the real sound of an instrument? Instruments are used to produce a form of art, known as music, and in Art all (almost?) is valid. On the other hand, when it comes to deciding how you want to ‘pack’ your form of art, you really ought to have the ‘microscope’ type facility of a well defined, fast transient, phase accurate system inside a room that remains innocuous to your programme material.

In a studio, diffusion is a great help for recording, but simply not commendable for monitoring purposes. Diffusion in the control room can, with room decays beyond about 0.25 seconds, mask and confuse the reverberant sound on the recording, and make its assessment difficult. But, to understand that, you need to experience it. And also this emphasis on stereo imaging. Once set it is

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the least variable aspect of the recording — especially if we consider modern Pop and Rock recordings that create stereo out of over-panned instruments. Why colour the tonal balance, which excessive diffusion can do, just for the sake of everybody in the room having the stereo imaging?

While working on the balance of a mix, the stereo imaging for all in the room is usually a rather low priority. And I could also give you a few good examples where owners of such types of control room have had to buy some resonant, flattering near or mid-field speakers — which they refer to as ‘the bad ones’ — only to please their recording customers. At the end of the day, and as soon as the customer goes, the main monitors are the ones to rely upon.

One last thing is that I really don’t think that the continuous drop in the price of studio gear justifies anything at all or that it is something that we should feel proud of, and I especially cannot accept that it drags acoustics down to the same level. In reality it is economically impossible. On the other hand, and unfortunately for this industry, this price drop goes along with a quality drop and, believe me, I know what I am talking about as I sell some of it.

Anyhow, I cannot wait for the next issue of Resolution because I really enjoy reading John, even when I do not agree (partially) with his ‘presentation’.

Sergio Castro, AMIOA, Vigo, Spain The audio industry is an easy target and sometimes I feel as if I could bring the axe down in my sleep much as Sergio suggests. However entertaining, such cheap shots are not my style because they are destructive and at odds with my own creativity. Thus, whenever I take a swipe at something, I try to soak up the blood by suggesting a better alternative.

If there is any difference between our views, it must be that Sergio is focussed on pan-potted mixes for commercial stereo recordings. These are an art form that cannot be wrong any more than a painting can be wrong.

I am concerned with broader horizons, including realistic reproduction of natural sounds, not necessarily musical and not necessarily for entertainment. I am comfortable with the fact that Sergio and his colleagues have perfected the traditional dead control room and speaker combination and I don’t need to hear it because I have already moved on.

In a sense Sergio is right that I have been dreaming, but he was out with the time scale. The dreams took place some time ago and since then they have been replaced by actual hardware that performs exactly as I have described. I have used omnidirectional speakers to relay live classical music into highly reverberant spaces such as the Tate Modern with highly acclaimed results. The reverberant glass control room is a reality; it’s under design right now. I’m looking forward to integrating linear phase omnidirectional speakers into it. Then the points I have been making all this time will be transparently obvious.

John Watkinson While I agreed with much of what John Watkinson said in his article in the July/August issue (Defining a good acoustic space, V3.5), I feel that he made a great mistake when he began to discuss control rooms. He seems to be confusing control rooms with listening rooms. Certainly in my opinion, a control room has a quality-control function that far exceeds the simple enjoyment of the music with a nice stereo image. A control room should facilitate the recognition of problems in the recordings — processing artefacts, bad edits, timing errors (where relevant), noises. etc. This is all better achieved in rooms with much lower decay times than those for optimal listening for pleasure.

Furthermore, this is not the pseudoscience that John claims it to be. As John is not an acoustician by profession, his lack of knowledge of the science is probably just a result of his unfamiliarity with this type of work. [For example, see Fazenda, Avis, Davies, Difference Limes for the Q-factor of Room Modes, AES Convention paper, New York, October

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headroom 2003; which also makes a clear distinction between listening rooms and control rooms. And these are people from Salford University, UK, quite well-known for its work on diffusers.] In fact, David Bell, of White Mark, is a great user of diffusion, but in a contribution which he kindly made on the subject of LEDE control rooms in a recent book that I wrote, he clearly stated that ‘Modern control rooms are built to impose huge amounts of acoustic control, and their acoustics have to be robust to the way in which they are used....It is important to note the difference between the listening and the monitoring processes, here. “Monitoring” is not consistently possible in many [listening] environments as these artefacts [of a listening acoustic] may conceal aspects of the programme or modify them in ways that make objectivity impossible.’

So there you have it, both a loser (absorber) and a diffuser in general agreement about short decay time requirements in control rooms. And what does John mean when he says ‘It’s simply not possible to mix surround sound in a dead room because there won’t be any sound at all from the side loudspeakers’? As far as I am aware, the surround systems with indirect side/rear loudspeakers are only for domestic use.

Professional systems do not use dipole loudspeakers at the sides because they produce a sound that is too arbitrary and room dependent to be any serious reference to anything.

I also know from direct conversation with John that he refutes the need for high-level monitoring, but in practical circumstances this can be very necessary to animate musicians during a creative process; thus powerful loudspeakers can be very necessary. It therefore follows that rooms may need to be designed to take this into account. Recording can be a very complex process, so to make over-simplistic statements about it can tend to do more harm than good.

However, at least John has precipitated a debate.

Philip Newell, Moana, Spain I should make it clear that Philip Newell and I are seldom in any real conflict. After all, we have both been critical of the deficiencies of ported loudspeakers and that message is slowly getting across.

All I have done is to move on to another deficiency to which I have also found a solution. Quite simply, the traditional loudspeaker cannot radiate sound of identical quality in every horizontal direction and the ear’s own abilities to isolate the direct sound from the reverberant are compromised. As a direct consequence different conditions are needed in a control room and a listening room having traditional loudspeakers.

I assure Philip that I never confuse traditional control rooms and listening rooms. I can tell them apart blindfold because the acoustic in a traditional control room makes me feel like a bird in a cage. They are oppressive, I find them damaging to my serenity and I refuse to get used to them.

But never mind my subjective feelings. It is simple physics that loudspeakers designed to work in dead rooms must be more powerful and must therefore have higher distortion and worse directivity and Philip must accept it.

The point I am making is that when loudspeakers of adequate directivity specification are used, the distinction between control room and listening room vanishes. All of the problems that Philip lists are easily discernible, possibly more easily. In fact I have written at length about measuring loudspeaker performance by the ability to reveal compression artefacts.

On the subject of surround monitoring, I regret that Philip has misquoted me. I did not say ‘there won’t be any sound from the side loudspeakers’. What I said was ‘there won’t be any sound from the side’. In a four or five channel surround system with a centrally placed forward facing listener in anechoic conditions, there is a stereo image at the front, a stereo image at the rear and nothing is perceived from the sides at all. Sound can only be received from the sides if there is reverberation.

Traditional control room design isn’t appropriate for surround sound working. New loudspeaker technology allows a different and better room acoustic. One of the

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occupational hazards in dragon slaying is that sometimes the dragon turns out to be a brontosaurus.

John Watkinson

THE SACD RESPONSE Before I begin I’ll nail my colours firmly to the mast, I work for Sony, one of the co-developers of SACD, and I’ve been working with DSD since 1991. I’ll start with my main message and append a few comments on recently published letters and articles.

It is actually quite simple to make a recording for release on SACD, and there are multiple ways to do this.

The golden rule is to retain as much sound quality as you can all through the chain. You can start with an analogue tape or a digital recording, if you’re using a digital recording go for the highest sample rate you can achieve and if at all possible don’t then reduce the sample rate only to raise it again for final release on SACD. If you can start with a DSD recording then do so, with presently available recorders, editors and processing you can stay at the full DSD sampling rate all the way to release, and don’t let anybody tell you it can’t be done, there are hundreds of workstations in the field doing it every day.

If DSD recording isn’t available for some reason then DXD, as outlined in Mikael Vest’s article in the July/August edition, is your next best choice, especially if you can stay at its 8fs PCM sample rate through all of production. If this 8fs system isn’t available, then 4fs is better than 2fs and 2fs is better than fs. It really is that simple to understand and to do, try to keep the sound quality, and the sample rate as high as you can all through the chain.

In an amicable spirit I’d like to address some of the points Mikael Vest’s made in his article on his new 8fs 24-bit PCM A-DCs and D-ACs. This is a very high quality format, it certainly should be, requiring 12 times the CD data rate or three times the SACD data rate.

Mr Vest says in his article, ‘Since DXD is a PCM-like signal, editing can be made using conventional lossless digital processing.’ I’ve two points to make here. First, DXD is not just ‘PCM-like’ it is PCM. Secondly no digital processing is lossless. While I agree that digital transmission and storage are lossless, digital processing, i.e. gain control, cross-fade, filtering, etc. is not. At whatever sample rate it is done, 1 or 2fs for traditional PCM, 8fs for DXD, or 64fs for DSD, all processing involves the creation of long multibit words each time a multiplication by a coefficient is executed and also involves the correct addition of dither, used to reduce the bit-width from that generated in the processing back to that used for interconnection or storage.

Mr Vest mentions at several points in his article that he believes that no editing or processing can be done on the DSD signal without converting it to PCM. Clearly ALL digital processing is done via multibit internal representations, but it is not necessary to down convert the DSD signal to the traditional PCM sample rates of 1 or 2fs in order to process it. Commercially available solutions exist using moderate down conversion to the 8fs sample rate of DXD and using no sample rate conversion at the full 64fs sample rate of DSD. Despite these minor niggles Mikael Vest’s article presents an effective method of recording for release on SACD. Most unusually for the good Mr Watkinson his amusing article in the September edition contained a few factual errors.

The number of combinations per second for CD is (216)44100not (216) * 44100 and the number of combinations per second for SACD is (21)2822400 not 2 * 2822400. Thus the figures he gives, ‘2900 million combinations per second’ for CD and ‘5.6 million combinations per second’ for SACD are incorrect. The correct numbers are 10212407 for CD and 10849627 for SACD showing, not surprisingly, that there are 10637220 times as many combinations in one second of SACD than in one second of CD. There is indeed four times as much information in the SACD channel.

John says that SACD has ‘a practical bandwidth of 22kHz’ and that ‘any signal above that frequency in

resolution

DSD64 will be dwarfed by noise’. I can assure him, as someone who has been working with this signal for the last 13 years, that there is indeed audio above 22kHz, and that although the S/N ratio does get less as the frequency rises it certainly isn’t dwarfed by noise.

I’m sorry to read John saying that ‘to perform production steps with DSD it has to be converted to PCM and then back again’. There exist commercial and Sony in-house workstations that retain the full DSD sample rate throughout their processing and recording.

You do not have to convert DSD down to 8fs PCM or even lower in order to perform recording, mixing, equalisation or dynamics processing.

I’m saddened by Richard Elen’s letter in the September edition, in which the whole of the first two paragraphs are directed at ‘partisan authors’. He spends the rest of his letter attacking Mr Vest and SACD. May I remind your readers that Richard Elen is Head of Creative Services at Meridian Audio Ltd, the patent holder of MLP, a key technology in, you’ve guessed it …

DVD-A. Pot, kettle?

To end on a happier note, with over 2400 SACDs released so far it can’t be that difficult. It is also probable that just about every possible chain of recording, editing and processing equipment has been used at least once to create recordings that have satisfied musicians and listeners alike. Just remember, keep the sound quality and the sample rate UP! Peter Eastty, chief consultant engineer, Sony Pro-Audio Lab, Oxford.

Proving that romance is alive and well and living in Shoreham-by-Sea, Resolution's very own Dean Cook recently married Claire, the love of his life. The honeymoon in the Dominican Republic was apparently frustrated by single beds in the hotel. (picture by Georgia Gargett, age 6)

Sonic Distribution's two-wheeled petrolhead Warren Stean has forsaken his tricked-up Ducati in favour of more sedate transport as a result of his numerous trips to SE Electronics' manufacturing base in Shanghai. Said Warren: 'I've come to realise that acceleration and mid range grunt isn't everything and there's a lot to be said for the out and out handling and extra load carrying capacity that an extra wheel can give you. Frankly, it's also more of chick magnet and it's much easier to park.'

A new slim-line and svelte Greg Mackie graced the recent Mackie 15-year celebrations in Woodinville and allowed himself a momentary dietary lapse.

October 2004

Resolution 3.7 October 2004

12/10/04

11:00 PM

Page 67

Resolution 3.7 October 2004

12/10/04

11:01 PM

Page 68

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