May 1, 2001 12:00 PM, Dan Daley

The latest addition to CSP Mobile Productions' remote recording fleet is Unit Six, a cutting-edge, dedicated audio truck. This state-of-the-art studio on wheels is crafted around Yamaha's new PM1-D digital console, already widely acclaimed for a design that performs excellently in both live and studio settings. The 96-input Yamaha console is supported by 48 tracks of Tascam DA-78 MDMs, 48 tracks of hard disk recording/editing capability and a Macintosh G4 editing front end with MOTU interface. Also integrated into the original design is 5.1 surround monitoring and mixing capability, with monitoring provided by Genelec self-powered units.

The truck also offers a full complement of analog processing gear and a wide array of microphone choices. CSP VP/operations manager Len Chase designed the tight and remarkably accurate acoustical environment, which features diffusion in the control room's ceiling and bass traps in the corners. Two 43-inch plasma display monitors are easily visible, both from the engineering position and from the client lounge, features that make Unit Six one of the most comfortable remote units on the road.

CSP's two remote video trucks were also designed by Chase and his engineering team and constructed at CSP's Maine headquarters by New England craftsmen. That design combination of comfort and cutting-edge technology is part of a strategic plan to position Unit Six as a leader in remote music production and mixing.

“With our emphasis on 5.1 surround, Unit Six was designed to be as close to a recording studio as feasible in a remote facility,” explains CSP Mobile Productions president Nat Thompson. “Our aim is to make recording artists, producers and visiting engineers as comfortable as possible.” Adds Lance Vardis, the mixing engineer who helped significantly in the design of Unit Six, “It's as close as you can get to being in the club or the arena for a performance. But going one step further, what we're doing here is basically bringing the surround capability out of the studio and right to the venue. What we hope is that when broadcasters and concert promoters hear how much surround adds to a music broadcast, it'll encourage them to pursue more and more music broadcasts in surround.” Thompson also says that DVD is rapidly becoming the format of choice for in-concert music videos — such as the one that Unit Six recorded for the Foo Fighters recently — and that DVD-A will create further demand for surround capability in remote recording operations.

CSP Mobile Productions is a division of Maine Radio and Television Company, an icon of American broadcasting since 1925, and still owned and operated by members of the founding family.

CSP offers an entire package of audio- and video-remote capability, along with a technical and creative team that underscores the company's long heritage. “And we offer one more thing,” adds Thompson, “and that's a vision of the future of remote music recording.”

SPEC SHEET

Company Name: CSP Mobile Productions. Services Offered: Full-service remote audio and video recording, mixing and editing; discrete 5.1 surround audio monitoring and mixing; production services, including scripting, directing and post-production in conjunction with Tupelo Honey Productions. Main Technology Platforms: 96-input Yamaha PM1-D digital console; Tascam DA-78 and hard disk multitrack recording; Genelec monitoring; processing includes Lexicon, Drawmer, Eventide, TC Electronic; 42-inch plasma displays (2); control room: 8'6×13; lounge: 8'6×9; engineering area: 8'6×6. Truck Information: 1996 Chevy W7, 6-cylinder/270-h.p. w/a 2,000 28-foot Morgan box. Partial Client List: Foo Fighters, Allman Brothers, Barenaked Ladies, Tibetan Freedom Concert, Woodstock.com, Aerosmith, Stone Temple Pilots, Third Eye Blind, Wynton Marsalis. (Many of these performances were distributed by Spring Communications.) CSP also provided facilities for a long list of major league sports, corporate and network broadcast productions.

CSP Mobile Productions
One Delta Drive
Westbrook, ME 04092-4745
Tel.: 207/375-6052
Fax: 207/856-2861
Website: www.cspmobile.com
E-mail: go@cspmobile.com

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