Weeks of September 2-13
FirstCom Music Adds New Acoustic Underscores Category
FirstCom Music Inc. (Dallas), a provider of production music via CDand the Web, announced OneMusic Library’s exclusive, long-termagreement with Solid Air Records to offer recordings from itsaward-winning group of guitarist/composers for the OneMusic productionlibrary.
Artists such as Grammy winner Laurence Juber, Doug Smith, DavidCullen, William Coulter and many others will contribute to a newproduction music category, Acoustic Underscores, with a series ofreleases titled Naked Guitar. Nine titles are currently in developmentfor release in the series; each title features 20 to 25 tracks ofvarying tempos in a specific style or mood to provide maximum emotionalsupport for voice-over and audio/visual productions. Current NakedGuitar titles in production include Positive, Positive 2,Determination, Emotions, Novelty, Blues,Country and Christmas.
Additionally, the Acoustic Underscores category will featuremulti-instrument acoustic releases by Michael Davis, Danny Pelfry,Nickoley & Dunlap and others for background usage.
To learn more, visit FirstCom Music Inc. online at www.firstcom.com.
Napster Is Denied Proposed Sale
A Delaware bankruptcy court today has denied the bankrupt, RedwoodCity, Calif.-based Napster its $92 million proposed sale to BertelsmannAG.
Chief Judge Peter J. Walsh of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court inWilmington refused to allow the sale after Bertelsmann could not comeup with enough evidence to show that its investment was made in goodfaith and not as an equity stake in Napster.
Blocking the sale means that currently offline Napster does not haveany revenue streams and there does not seem to be any other buyerspresent. The company said that it would most likely be forced intoChapter 7 liquidation. “Napster is disappointed with the bankruptcycourt’s decision not to approve the sale of the company’s assets toBertelsmann,” Napster CEO Konrad Hilbers issued in a statement. “Aswith most start-up technology businesses, Napster’s technology is oflittle value without the talented team that created it, so it is anoccasion of loss on many levels.”
Napster CFO Carolyn Jensen was quoted Friday as saying that thecompany would terminate its employees and cease operations if thebankruptcy court failed to approve the sale.
Todd/Soundelux Upgrades to Pro Tools|HD
Todd/Soundelux announced that it has upgraded 22 Pro Tools|24 MIXsystems to Pro Tools|HD workstations and will be installing the newsystems this fall.
Todd/Soundelux supports two major music studios, Todd AO Scoring andSignet Sound, which specialize in scoring and score mixing. “Thesefacilities have many clients who are beginning to insist on using ProTools|HD,” said Bill Johnston, Todd/Soundelux VP of engineering. “Weare upgrading now in order to ensure that our facilities are offeringthe most current, best-sounding and technically advancedtechnology.”
Todd/Soundelux said that its main reasons for moving to Pro Tools|HDwere the increased power and audio track count. Currently,Todd/Soundelux has four TV post-production rooms that use five ProTools systems with custom Pro Control and Control|24 consoleconfigurations.
“Our engineers did some comparisons and were quite impressed withthe sound quality of the 192 I/O — especially at the higher samplingrates,” commented Johnston. “It’s a serious improvement over the 888|24I/O.” Johnston cited the increased time slots, machine control from theSync I/O, increase in DSP power per PCI card, increased number oftracks available and increased number of outputs available via optioncards on the 192 I/O as other attractive features.
Upcoming projects using Pro Tools|HD will include CSI Miami,CSI Las Vegas, Without a Trace, Hack, TheDistrict, King of the Hill, The O’Keefes and variousfeature films.
For more, visit www.digidesign.com.
Dave Moulton Returns to Teach Courses at Parsons Audio
Noted educator Dave Moulton will once again offer a series ofintense, short courses in audio for musicians and audio professionalsthroughout New England, beginning September 26. The courses aresponsored by Parsons Audio in Wellesley, Mass.
“We want to offer some really decent college-level courses forpeople who just don’t have the time or money to deal with traditionalcolleges,” said Moulton. “I designed these courses to give immensebang-for-the-buck, with a minimum of hassle and bureaucraticintrusion. We’ve kept the class size way down, and thanks toParsons’ access to current equipment and the quality of my studio, wehave terrific class/lab facilities!” These facilities include Moulton’sstudio, Digital Media Services (Groton, Mass). DMS is a 24-track,automated, post-production room that features TEF Analysis and discrete6-channel surround sound monitoring. About half of the classes ineach course will take place there, while the remaining classes willmeet in the Parsons Audio demonstration room in Wellesley, Mass.
Beginning on Wednesday, September 26th, Moulton will teach SignalProcessing I, an introductory course on audio signal-processingequipment such as equalizers, compressors and reverbs. There will besix three-hour classes on successive six and 12 students, and those whocomplete the course will receive a certificate.
Following this, Moulton will offer a class on critical listening,which will begin on Thursday, October 2, and run for five successiveThursday evenings. Later in the fall, a more advanced signal-processingcourse, Signal Processing II, will begin on Wednesday, November 2,while “A Wine Tasting of Audio Gear” course will begin on Thursday,November 3. “‘Wine Tasting’ will be a detailed listening course, usingan array of blind and sighted listening tests to evaluate microphones,loudspeakers, microphone preamps and whatever the class would beinterested in. This is the perfect opportunity for anybody who’sinterested in finding out for themselves just how important differentmicrophones are, for instance, or to help them choose the rightloudspeaker,” Moulton commented.
Beginning in January, Fundamentals of Audio and Principles ofAcoustics will be offered.
“We’re delighted to be able to sponsor somebody with the teachingcredentials and experience that Dave has,” said Mark Parsons. “A keyaspect of our business is educational outreach. We like to do all thatwe can to help our customers learn, and we know of no one better ableto provide that education than Dave Moulton. Anyone who has taken hiscourses or read his articles in Recording magazine and TVTechnology would agree. Dave’s course evaluations have always beenjust fabulous, and we expect these new classes to be even better!”
For more information, call Parsons Audio at 617/431-8708 or visit www.paudio.com.
Taiyo Yuden Media Certified for 48x Record Speed
Taiyo Yuden (Chanhassen, Minn.) announced that it has receivedcertification for 48x speed recording for its high-quality CD-R Medialine. Taiyo Yuden, the inventor of the CD-R disc and a patent holder inCD-R technology, has long been recognized as the premium disc forrecording and high-demand duplication environments.
“Taiyo Yuden is pleased to continue to provide the highest grade ofmedia for the recordable media industry,” said Takaya Matsumoto,director of sales for North America.
“The onset of 40x, and soon 48x, duplication products makes this awelcome announcement for high-volume applications,” said Mitch Ackmann,president and COO of Microboards Technology. “Our long-standingrelationship with Taiyo Yuden is one of our most-valued assets. We arepleased that they continue to lead the market.”
Taiyo Yuden is available through Microboards Technology. Furtherinformation is available by visiting its Website at www.microboards.com.
Sara Griggs Launches Media Company
Sara Griggs announced that she has formed Los Angeles- based SaraGriggs Media, a full-service shop that focuses on PR, media buying,marketing campaigns, trade shows and special events.
Sara Griggs Media launched with clients PMI Audio Group and TiltedWorld Music. PMI Audio Group distributes Joe Meek and Groove Doctorsand manufactures Studio Projects, Stephen Paul Audio and Toft Audio.”PMI Audio Group has some amazing products debuting in the next fewmonths and I’m thrilled to be its media representative,” said Griggs.In addition to PR efforts, Sara Griggs Media will handle PMI AudioGroups’ media buying and various marketing and trade show projects.
Tilted World Music is a music supervision company that specializesin film and television; credits include films such as, Mr. Holland’sOpus, Wing Commander, The Alarmist and the upcomingScorched (starring Woody Harrelson, Alicia Silverstone and JohnCleese). Television credits include Chris Carter’s The LoneGunman and Mike White’s Pasadena. “Signing Tilted WorldMusic enables my company to be involved in different facets of themusic industry where there will inevitably be some synergy,” saidGriggs.
Contact Sara Griggs Media at 742 Milwood Ave., Venice, CA 90291;310/821-0801; [email protected].
Big Sound in Little Nashville
The Little Nashville Opry (Nashville, Ind.) has installed a56-channel Soundcraft SM20 console to run its monitor system. The newdesk replaces a 48-channel board from a different manufacturer.
“With so many acts currently using in-ear monitor systems, we neededa board with quiet and dependable monitor sends,” said Little NashvilleOpry monitor engineer Gary Weidner. “We had also outgrown our48-channel frame size. Since a stereo ear mix uses twice as many mixesas a mono wedge mix, workable mixes quickly became in short supply.With the SM20, we can now stage up to 15 powered mixes, plus cue wedgeand five more in-ear monitor mixes.”
The venue operates a 39-week performance schedule from March throughNovember, and has staged more than 3,000 shows ranging from its houseband, Little Nashville Express, to country music legends like WaylonJennings, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Conway Twitty and WayneNewton.
Little Nashville Opry production manager Larry Bemis’ company, SoundAdvice Consulting, sold the Little Nashville Opry the board.
For more, visit www.soundcraft.com.
Allen&Heath Changes U.S. Distribution
Allen&Heath is now represented in the U.S. by a new company,North American Pro Audio (NAPA), ending the company’s businessrelationship with Utah-based Harman Music Group.
Allen&Heath left Harman International Industries Limited Groupfollowing a management buyout in June 2001, but had continued todistribute its products through Harman Music Group until July 31,2002.
“This change in distribution,” according to Allen&Heath’smanaging director Glenn Rogers, “is the final step on the journey tofull independence, which we embarked on with the buyout last year.We’re grateful to the Harman Music Group team in Utah for all of thework that they have done over the years to support the brand. Thanks tothem, we and NAPA have a very strong base from which to grow ourbusiness in the future.”
NAPA was founded by Lynn P. Martin. Allan Nichols continues asdirector of sales. NAPA will retaining all of the existing rep network,and will be based out of Agoura Hills, Calif., with Nichols operating asatellite facility in Nashville.
For more, contact NAPA at www.allen-heath.co.uk/allen_heath_usa.asp.
Henninger Media Services Unveils Second Composition Suite
Arlington, Va.,-based Henninger Media Services (www.henninger.com)has installed a second music composition suite at Henninger Arlingtonfor resident composers Todd Hahn and Mike Wolpe of Invisible PlayersInc.
The new suite features Pro Tools Version 5.1.3recording/editing/mixing system and an extensive library of musicsamples and sounds, ranging from orchestral to electronic and liveinstrument recordings.
“The creative capabilities of our second music composition suite aresecond to none,” said Hahn. “The suite is particularly handy to have aswe look ahead at the frenetic pace of the upcoming political seasonwith its increasingly tight production deadlines.”
“The new suite is a wonderful addition to the Arlington facility,”said Kathy Weidman, president of Henninger Media Services. “Todd andMike are nationally respected, award-winning composers of both short-and long-form programs, and this new suite will provide them andHenninger with greater flexibility in meeting the needs of, andexceeding, the expectations of our clients.”
Kid Rock Back Out With Evolution Wireless
Independent monitor engineer Doug Deems is once again takingSennheiser Evolution Wireless 500 Series microphone and in-ear monitorsystems on the road with Kid Rock and his Twisted Brown Trucker Band,who are touring with Aerosmith. Deems has been mixing Kid Rock for thepast three years.
According to Deems, the Evolution Wireless IEM System really helpsto deliver the larger arena atmosphere to the band’s in-ear monitors.”I want to make it sound like a big rock show,” Deems said, “and to dothat, I need to achieve that big stereo separation.” Deems alsoreported that Kid Rock and DJ Kracker are on Evolution 535 wirelessmics: “It just sounds right for his voice. His mic technique varies,but the mic doesn’t change the sound, whether he’s singing six inchesoff it or he’s screaming into it with his hands cupping the mic.
“During one show,” Deems continued, “Kid Rock dropped it off thestage. The whole bottom part cracked wide open, but it was stillrunning. He did the second-half of the show with the guts hanging out.Now that’s a bulletproof mic.
“I spend a fair amount of time trying to dirty up the mix. On eitherside of the stage, about 20 feet off-center, I’m using Sennheiser 416microphones. They’re pointing into the audience and up a little. Then,there are two short condensers pointing down toward the middle. As youblend them together, you start to get that arena crowd sound. Plus, Ihave two more 416s pointing back toward the stage at the guitar rigs.Then I add on three or four reverbs to give a sense of space and mixthat I want.”
For more, visit Sennheiser online at www.sennheiserusa.com.
Skywalker Sound Invests in Neve 88R
Skywalker Sound (Marin County, Calif.) will be installing a Neve 88Rconsole on the Scoring Stage for both film scoring and musicrecording/mixing projects. Skywalker Sound will debut the console inOctober.
The 72-fader 88R offers Skywalker Sound a scoring panel, 48 remotemic preamps, a great EQ package and surface controls, high-performanceautomation and processing, as well as extensive routing and recallflexibility.
“We are very excited to have the 88R,” said Leslie Ann Jones,recording engineer and director of music recording and scoring atSkywalker Sound. “It is truly the next level of aural quality andconsole flexibility that we have been waiting for. Remote mic preampsand true LCR panning are just two of the many new features we arelooking forward to using. It has the routing and the automationfeatures that we need, as well as the ability to switch between stereo,5.1 and film surround at the press of a button. The sonic quality ofthe console is unbelievable.”
For more, visit www.ams-neve.com or www.skysound.com.
And the Emmy Goes to: Apple’s Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro, Apple’s (Cupertino, Calif.) professional video andfilm-editing software was awarded a 2002 Primetime Emmy EngineeringAward for its impact on the television industry by the Academy ofTelevision Arts & Sciences.
“Final Cut Pro has democratized professional video editing bybringing the capabilities of a $50,000 editing bay to everyone forunder $1,000,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We are honored andexcited to be receiving Apple’s second Emmy Award.” Apple won its firstEmmy last year for its FireWire.
For more, visit Apple online at www.apple.com/finalcutpro/.
Weeks of September 14-30
Listen Up Donates Sennheiser Mics to KUVO Denver
Denver-based professional audio dealer Listen Up has donated threeSennheiser MKH 800 variable-pattern condenser microphones to localpublic radio broadcaster KUVO 89.3 FM. They will be used on KUVO’sregular live broadcasts from its performance studio, as well as remotelocations.
“The reason we went with MKH 800s over a myriad potentialpossibilities was because we’ve had so much success with the first pairthat we wanted to add more to our microphone locker,” explained MikePappas, chief engineer at KUVO. “That now gives us five, allowing us touse all five for surround projects.”
Pappas is a champion of the ultra-high-resolution Direct StreamDigital format and relies on the Sennheiser and Neumann microphones’reproduction and resolution almost exclusively when recording live jazzperformances for broadcast and 5.1-channel Super Audio CD release.KUVO’s microphone complement also includes pairs of Neumann U87ai,M147, TLM 103, KM 184 and multiple KMS 105 microphones, as well asSennheiser MKH 20s, MKH 40s, MKH 70s and the newly added MKH 800s.
“When we sat down with KUVO,” explained Listen Up VP Phil Murray,”one of the things they talked about was getting out and doing livebroadcasts from a number of venues around town, so it gets us back intothe heritage of our company. Most of the gear we provided will enablethem to go out and do live broadcasts of national and local acts.”
For more on the Sennheiser MKH 800s, visit the company on the Web atwww.sennheiserusa.com.
Fits & Starts Begins Fourth Season of Surround Sound RoadTours
Fits & Starts Productions announced its fourth season of audioeducation seminar and workshop tours. The company has scheduled a newseason of road tours that will feature audio engineer and surround guruMike Sokol.
This tour season will provide a new look at 5.1 sound with itsfeature on “5.1 Advanced Techniques.” Students and professionals willbe treated to hands-on techniques including speaker positioning, laseralignment, bass-management crossover points, level calibration andreal-time 5.1 microphone techniques.
The tours will visit recording schools and music colleges, as wellas AES and Recording Academy chapters coast to coast. Scheduled are sixregional tours in the northeast, Midwest, Texas-Southwest, southeast,West Coast and Mountain states. Each tour visits six separate sites.Tours start September 16, 2002, and continue every four to six weeksuntil May 2003. Admittance is free to participating attendees.
Please call the sites directly for directions. If you have anyquestions, contact Fits & Starts at 732/741-1275.
• September 16, 2002, Pittsburgh at Carnegie MellonUniversity/AES chapter, 7 p.m.
• September 17, 2002, New York City at Institute of AudioResearch/AES chapter, 7 p.m.
• September 18, 2002, Hartford, Conn., at Hartt School ofMusic/University of Hartford, 6 p.m.
• September 20, 2002, Boston at Berklee School of Music, 2p.m.
• September 24, 2002, Winchester, Va., at Shenandoah University,7 p.m.
• September 26, 2002, Phoenix (Baltimore), Md., at SheffieldRecording, 7 p.m.
Road Tour sponsors include Digital Theater Systems (DTS),Tannoy-TGI, Lake Technology, Radikal Technologies and ShureIncorporated.
DMOD Delivers “American Idol” In Record Time
DMOD Inc., a provider of secure digital media workflow anddistribution solutions for the media and communications industry,announced that RCA Records and eight business partners used the DMODWorkSpace to reduce production time for the two singles from the TVshow American Idol, will hits stores today. DMOD was also usedto streamline production of the Top 10 finalist compilation CD, set forrelease October 1.
The DMOD WorkSpace allowed RCA and project team members dispersedacross seven cities on two continents to securely share pristine,uncompressed audio files via Internet during mixing, mastering,manufacturing and radio distribution — in nine days. This helpedsignificantly reduce overall project costs by eliminating delivery andcourier fees and reducing travel expenses.
“Quick and secure turnaround was pivotal in positioning us toconvert American Idol‘s popularity into actual CD sales, and wecouldn’t have done it without DMOD,” said Steve Ferrera, VP of A&Rfor RCA Records and producer of the American Idol music. “Movingfrom mixing to manufacturing in nine days is unprecedented. For RCA,this is the first example of a secure, end-to-end digital workflowbecause media was transferred digitally, not only during production,but to manufacturing, duplication and distribution to radio, aswell.”
“The American Idol project exemplifies DMOD’s value instreamlining the entire production and distribution process in additionto the A&R review process,” said Christa Haussler, VP of newtechnology for BMG. “The DMOD WorkSpace offers the potential tooptimize our workflow and drive significant time and cost savings,while controlling access to our content.”
RCA’s American Idol production team had to wait along withthe rest of the nation until 9:50 p.m. ET on September 4 to discoverwho would be voted the show’s winner and signed to a recordingcontract. Over the course of Labor Day weekend, 15 tracks for thecompilation CD were DMOD’ed from London to New York and to L.A., asthey moved through the review and approval cycle.
From Saturday, August 31, through Wednesday, September 4, tracks ofthe two finalist singles were DMOD’ed from city to city repeatedly asvarious partners mixed, reviewed and delivered tracks to New York-basedSterling Sound for final mastering. In one instance, Sterling Sound wasable to begin the mastering of one single just 15 minutes after the mixwas completed in Miami.
On Thursday, September 5, at 10 a.m., Sterling Sound began finalmastering on the winner’s CD. By 2:00 p.m., the master was complete andthe files were DMOD’ed to the Sonipress manufacturing plant. By closeof business on Friday, two days after the winner was declared, 500,000copies of winner’s single were ready for distribution to retailoutlets.
Collaborators who used DMOD to produce American Idol musicincluded Nearly Perfect Productions, a recording facility in London,that mixed the compilation album; 19 Entertainment, co-producer of theAmerican Idol TV program, based in London; Westlake Audio in LosAngeles that mixed finalist Justin Guarini’s single; DestinEntertainment, a recording studio in Miami, that mixed winner KellyClarkson’s single; Sterling Sound in New York City; Broadcast DataSystems (BDS), a digital fingerprinting and monitoring service inKansas City, Mo.; DG Systems, a radio distribution firm in Dallas; andSonipress, a CD-manufacturing facility in Weaverville, N.C., thatproduced the two singles.
For more information on DMOD, visit www.dmod.com.
Sennheiser Kicks off With the NFL in Times Square
A mid-week, late-afternoon concert event in New York City’s TimesSquare that kicked off the NFL’s 83rd season had RF guru Kevin Sanfordof Wireless First reaching for his Sennheiser equipment.
“I wanted to make sure I used all Sennheiser stuff to give me that50 milliwatts,” said Sanford. Wireless First supplied two dozenSennheiser wireless handheld and lavalier microphones, as well aswireless in-ear monitoring (IEM) and intercom systems, to thenationally televised NFL Kickoff Live from Times Square show.The event featured headliners Bon Jovi, plus Enrique Iglesias, Eve,Alicia Keys and the cast of Rent with Joey Fatone (‘N Sync);portions of the three-and-a-half-hour event, which attracted anestimated crowd of 500,000 to Times Square, were televised live ortape-delayed on VH-1, MTV, CBS and ESPN. The show culminated in a”Countdown to Kickoff” of the season’s first game at Meadowland GiantsStadium (New Jersey), where Bon Jovi also played at halftime.
“The stage in Times Square was on the island where Seventh andBroadway meet,” Sanford explained, “so we were smack-dab in the middleof everything. My frequency list for just what exists in that area wasnine pages long. You’ve got Broadway shows like 42nd Street,Lion King and Thoroughly Modern Millie; then there’s CBS,ABC, MTV, ESPN and WWF, all with wireless stuff that was going to becooking, because this was mid-week. It’s a big parabolic dish in there- you’re totally enclosed by big, tall buildings, all of them full ofRF and electronics.”
Coordinating 32 channels of wireless microphones and providinguninterrupted coverage of the artists and presenters, Sanford “usedSennheiser mics for my portion,” he said. All handheld mics comprisedSennheiser SKM 5000 transmitters and ME 5005 capsules with SK 50s onMKE 2 lavaliers. Out of the 32, the other eight were mics that someartists brought with them. Presenters for the special NFL eventincluded host Dion Sanders, plus Phil Simms, Dan Marino and BoomerEsiason all using Sennheiser wireless systems.
“The one thing I had no control over was the ENG camera crews,”continued Sanford. “Every five minutes I changed frequencies. My mainconcern was not with handhelds, but the lavaliers for the Rentcast — They’re much more susceptible to interference. With handhelds,the antenna is out there, and the antenna at the transmitter is alwayslooking right at the receiver antenna. Even though they were only 50feet away, even handhelds were dancing pretty heavy on the meters.
Sanford also coordinated the wireless in-ear monitoring systems forthe artists and presenters, as well as the wireless productionintercom. In addition to the mic and monitoring rigs, he said, “I had10 RF PL systems, so that’s 70 drops of wireless intercom to make work.Because I was doing production elements that weren’t necessarilyonstage, their home base was across the street on a remote scaffold,where the hosts would stand and ‘throw’ to the stage. I was a busyboy!”
For more, check out www.sennheiserusa.com.
Angel Mountain Installs SSL Console
Angel Mountain Studios (Bethlehem, Pa.) recently purchased a SolidState Logic XL 9000 K Series SuperAnalogue Console for its newlydesigned Studio A.
“When we sat down to discuss the expansion of the facility,” saidGary Sloyer, owner of Angel Mountain, “we had to find a formula thattook into consideration the two areas of our business. We designed thefacility from the ground up to be 5.1 in all of the control rooms, andthat led us to purchasing the XL. We are located between New York Cityand Philadelphia and we went the extra mile in our design and equipmentpurchases to attract clients from both markets.
“The XL was installed primarily to address music tracking andmixing,” Sloyer continued. “The research that we did told us thatanyone coming to this facility would want an SSL, and with the fastcomputer, incredible sound and built-in 5.1 mixing, the XL was reallythe only choice. With the advent of SACD and DVD-A, we wanted to have aconsole that can meet the demands of those release formats today andinto the future. The XL puts us in a position of strength in ourmarket, so we see the XL from a business standpoint as a great sellingpoint for potential clients. The XL puts us on the cutting edge of thenew technical advances in the industry.”
For further information on Angel Mountain, please contact MikeHorvath or Kim Fallon at 610/691-5056. For more information on the SSLXL 9000 K Series SuperAnalogue Console, visit www.solid-state-logic.com.
Free Hearing Tests at AES
The AES and the House Ear Institute will co-sponsor free hearingscreenings for attendees during the 113th AES Convention, which runsfrom October 5-8 in the Los Angeles Convention Center. The free hearingscreenings will be offered on all four days of the convention, and willbe open one hour before the show opens each day. Four people can bescreened simultaneously in the mobile audiological screening unitlocated at the House Ear Institute’s booth #1881.
Individuals who wish to make advance reservations can do so by usingthe sign-up sheets posted at the unit. For more information on thescreenings, attendees can visit the House Ear Institute’s booth orrefer to the convention program, which will be available at theregistration area located in the South Hall lobby of the conventioncenter.
The convention will also offer a hearing-protection workshop on”Protecting Your Hearing Against Loss: Assessment of Functional HearingAbility in Noise.” This special workshop (W8) presented by HEI staffwill be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, October 6. It willpresent music and audio-production professionals with methods to reduceexposure to noise-induced hearing loss and assess their functionalhearing abilities. Featured speakers are Dilys Jones and Sigfrid Soli,Ph.D., director of Human Communication Sciences and Devices at theHouse Ear Institute.
For more information, please call 213/483-4431 or visit the Websiteat www.hei.org.
NMT to Manage Two New Trucks
National Mobile Television (NMT) has entered into a joint-ventureagreement with Location Solutions by Keslow Television that gives NMTexclusive access to and management responsibility for thecompany’s twin 53-foot edit and transmission mobile units, LS-1and LS-2.
“This partnership allows us to offer an extremely wide range ofservices now that we were not able to offer in-house previously,” saidJerry Gepner, president of NMT. “We did not own any dedicated editingsystems or transmission facilities. This is the latest step in ourcontinuing efforts to be a full-service provider for our customers.
“For our customers,” Gepner continues, “we can now maintain a muchgreater degree of control over an entire production process, managingit much more effectively from an engineering and cost perspective.”
“NMT benefits from being able to leverage these units, whichrepresent new areas of technology and business for them,” said JimPalmer, VP and general manager for Keslow Television. “And we’reable to tap into NMT’s wide range of clientele. Just through thesheer volume of work they do, the capacity and utilization of ourtrucks goes up 10-fold.”
Palmer describes LS-1 and LS-2 as “nontraditional” mobile unitsbecause they are multistandard, multiformat edit facilities that canserve as complete broadcast centers. “Our clients will now be able tolook to the NMT-Location Solutions relationship as a ‘one-stopsolution’ to manage large events,” Palmer said, “as opposed to,say, engaging NMT for just the production end and a company like oursto provide the added facilities of a broadcast center. They can alsostreamline their remote production needs. Previously, a large eventmight have required three or four mobile units, all handling differentfunctions. Now, in some cases, we can bring in just two mobile units,but actually be giving clients more services.”
The Location Solutions brand will remain as a separate entity, evenas it joins the NMT family. For more on these trucks, visit NMT on theWeb at www.nmtv.com.
Shepard to Head CRC New Music Division
Alan Kubicka, owner of Chicago Recording Company (CRC), hasappointed Chris Shepard as the new manager of CRC’s music department.Shepard replaces Hank Neuberger, who is now working on special projectsfor Kubicka.
Shepard joined CRC in 1987, and has since worked as a music engineerand mixer on projects for KMFDM, Wilco, Buddy Guy and the SmashingPumpkins. Shepard also formed his own mobile studio company two yearsago.
“This is an exciting time to be in music business,” said Shepard.”The changes are coming fact and furious. CRC is in a unique positionof having both the depth of 25 years of experience and veteran staff torespond to the changes.” Shepard has already converted Studio 10 into aPro Tools hybrid room: “We want to offer our clients the best of boththe analog and digital world. We have just about every high-end analogand digital format made.”
For more, visit www.chicagorecording.com/.
Hans Zimmer Joins Euphonix Board
Oscar-winning film composer Hans Zimmer has joined Euphonix’s (PaloAlto, Calif.) Board of Directors. Zimmer is also an active board memberfor Steinberg Media Technologies AG.
“Although my primary focus is on composition,” Zimmer said, “Iappreciate the contribution of technology in the creative process andhave closely watched Euphonix become a leading player in digital audio.Its experience in mixing technologies for music and post applicationsis second to none, and I can see some very exciting opportunities inthe future for its technology that I want to be a part of andcontribute my ideas toward. I am also searching out new ways to pushthe boundaries of the art when composing music. Euphonix has helped medo that in the past, and I believe that there is much more tocollaborate on in the future.”
Zimmer, who won the Best Original Score for The Lion King(1984) and a Grammy for both The Lion King and CrimsonTide, has scored dozens of movies as varied as Black HawkDown, Gladiator, Thin Red Line, Rain Man,Driving Miss Daisy, and Thelma and Louise. He is alsohead of music for Dreamworks SKG and co-owner with Jay Rifkin of theMedia Ventures film-scoring facility in Santa Monica, Calif.
For more, visit Euphonix online at www.euphonix.com.
IFPI Proposes Logo for Copy-Control CDs
The IFPI announced the introduction of a new, optional logo thatrecord companies can use to inform consumers that a CD containstechnology to control illegal copying. Visit www.ifpi.org to view thenew logo.
The logo is available for use by record companies internationally;options include featuring the logo on the CD’s artwork or as a sticker,and may be accompanied by additional information about the technologybeing used.
Lucy Cronin, director of the Global Entertainment Retail Association(GERA) Europe, said that GERA-Europe welcomes the new logo and urgesfor a global acceptance to eliminate consumer confusion: “Ifimplemented across the board, [the logo] should provide theend-customer with enough information to know what they can and cannotdo with the music they are purchasing. Properly informing the customershould always be a goal of the entertainment industry.”
The logo complements labeling guidelines that were published by theIFPI earlier this year.
Advanced Technology and Systems Invests In mSoft Inc.
Advanced Technology and Systems Co. (Yokohama, Japan), amass-storage manufacturer, has completed an initial investment in theprivately held mSoft Inc. (Woodland Hills, Calif.), developers oflibrary search and retrieval engines.
According to Naresh Chadha, ADTX senior VP and U.S. general manager,the investment was based on a predicted volume of market penetrationfor the coming year. “ADTX placed this strategic investment becausemSoft’s volume of terabytes delivered this year grew 500 percentcompared to last year. Their strategic partners in the musicindustry…and the partnership with the digital audio workstationmanufacturers convinced ADTX’s board of directors that mSoft’spotential of delivering 100,000 terabytes of production music systemsworldwide can be realized with our help.”
For more on mSoft, visit www.msoftinc.com.
Paragon Studios Purchases SSL XL 9000 K Console
Paragon Studios, which opened its doors this summer in Nashville,has just brought in a Solid State Logic XL 9000 K Series SuperAnalogueConsole, which is being used for tracking and mixing.
According to studio owner Fred Paragano, “The XL console broughtanalog warmth and integrity back to my sound while retaining thetechnological advances, like surround sound, I need to stay ahead ofthe curve.”
The console lives in a room designed by Russ Berger Design Group.Orchestral sessions for Kenny Loggin’s new album, produced by GrammyAward-winning producer/songwriter Tommy Simms, were among the firstsessions held in the room.
Contact Paragon Studios at 615/771-2549. Check out the SSL XL 9000 Kconsole at www.solid-state-logic.com.
Le Mobile Tracks Pearl Jam Live Shoot
Pearl Jam was recently in Seattle’s Chop Suey club for two days inSeptember and brought in Le Mobile to record the live music synchedwith a 35mm film shoot for the band’s first full-fledged video in nineyears.
According to Brett Eliason, longtime live and studio mixing engineerfor Pearl Jam, working with Le Mobile was a wonderful experience: “LeMobile has a personable and very professional crew. It’s also wonderfulto have a great Class-A analog console like Le Mobile’s vintage Neve,especially for a band like Pearl Jam. It fits their sound verywell.”
The band performed six songs, including the slated single “I AmMine” from their forthcoming studio album Riot Act (Sony).According to Eliason, all six songs will be edited, with tentativeplans to release a promo video in Europe.
Eliason was assisted by Le Mobile chief engineer Charlie Bouis, withSeattle freelance engineer John Burton operating the Pro Tools|HD rig.The tracks were recorded simultaneously by Le Mobile’s Studio D827DASH-format digital recorder and Pro Tools-compatible Tascam MX-2424hard disk recorder. Inside the club, Le Mobile techs Ian Charbonneauand Ted Barela handled the stage-end details of the recording.Production company for the project was Rockfight, with the shootproduced by Kathleen Kennedy and directed by James Frost.
Visit Le Mobile on the Web at www.lemobile.com.
Pioneer Intros DVD-R Firmware Update
As the DVD Forum (www.dvdforum.org) released the specs for newhigh-speed discs for DVD recording, Pioneer announced that many of itsDVD-R/-RW computer drives and DVD recorders will require a firmwareupdate in order to avoid potential damage to the units and thediscs.
The following drives and recorders may be affected: Pioneer DVR-7000DVD recorder; Pioneer PRV-9000 Professional DVD recorder; PioneerDVR-A03 computer drive; Pioneer DVR-103 computer drive; Pioneer DVR-A04computer drive; and Pioneer DVR-104 computer drive. In addition,certain OEM computer systems that contain Pioneer-manufacturedDVD-R/-RW drives are affected.
According to Pioneer, the update is free and should be relativelysimple; the company also urged owners of these products to make surethat the update is complete before using any new high-speed discs forrecording.
Via Internet download (to update computer drives only): Log on to www.pioneerelectronics.com/hs/ and click on theappropriate DVD-R/-RW update utility icon.
Via disc (for both computer drives and stand-alone video recorders):An update disc for either product type can be obtained via the Websiteor by calling toll-free 800/421-1623. For computer drives, the updatedisc can be run on the host computer to complete the update. The updatedisc for stand-alone DVD recorders can be inserted into the DVDrecorder to automatically complete the update.
For more on this issue, visit the Website or contact Pioneer at thetoll-free number listed above.
Al Schmitt, James Guthrie Showcase Unreleased 5.1Projects
On Saturday, September 7, the San Francisco Chapter of the RecordingAcademy presented a Producers & Engineers Wing ProfessionalEducation Event entitled “5.1/The Future is Now,” at Ex’pression Centerfor New Media (Emeryville, Calif.). Designed to provide the SanFrancisco Bay Area music community with an in-depth look at thetechnology behind 5.1 surround sound format, Al Schmitt, James Guthrieand Joel Jaffe came together to discuss and present some of theirvarious 5.1 projects.
Featured clips included works by Diana Krall, Ringo Starr, DavidGray, DJ QBert and Roger Waters. The audience also experienced a firsttaste of unreleased work by Natalie Cole, and James Guthrie gave asneak preview of his latest project, a live performance DVD for PinkFloyd’s Pulse, currently a work in progress.
For more on this chapter’s events, visit http://grammy.aol.com/sanfrancisco.html.
Future Media Concepts Opens Miami, Orlando Locations
Future Media Concepts, a manufacturer-authorized digital mediatraining center, recently opened new locations in Miami and Orlando,joining FMC’s other locations in New York, Philadelphia, Boston andWashington, D.C.
FMC chose to open these locations because of Florida’s growth intelevision and film production, as well as becoming a potential sourceof new business from production professionals in South Americancountries. FMC plans on offering Spanish-speaking instructors andSpanish-language classroom materials. Classes in these two newlocations are slated to begin this November.
These branches will offer a similar curriculum as the otherlocations, including leading technologies from Avid, Apple, Macromedia,Adobe, NewTek and Boris.
Amanda MacFadgen has joined the FMC company to direct and manage thetwo Florida locations. She will also be working with local high schooland junior high school students and teaching them about the video andbroadcast-production industries.
For more on FMC, visit www.FMCtraining.com.
Daniel Lanois to Present Les Paul Award to RobbieRobertson
Renowned record producer Daniel Lanois will present the coveted LesPaul Award to musician/composer Robbie Robertson at the 18th AnnualTechnical Excellence and Creativity (TEC) Awards, to be held Monday,October 7, at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Los Angeles. The charityevent, to be hosted by actor and comedian Harry Shearer, recognizesoutstanding achievement in music and audio production and productdesign.
Lanois, a musician/producer whose deeply stirring, sonically puresoundscapes helped create some of the most groundbreaking works byartists such as U2, Bob Dylan and Peter Gabriel, and whose soloperformances have drawn a devoted following, has worked with fellowCanadian Robertson since he produced his first self-titled solo albumin 1987. The Les Paul Award, sponsored by Gibson Musical Instruments,is presented to artists and others whose body of work exemplifies thecreative application of audio technology.
Also being honored is legendary engineer/producer Geoff Emerick,famous for his innovative work with The Beatles, Paul McCartney andElvis Costello, among numerous others. Emerick will be inducted intothe TEC Awards Hall of Fame by fellow engineer Al Schmitt, winner of 11Grammy Awards, and producer/engineers George Massenburg (LindaRondstadt, Little Feat, Frank Sinatra) and Elliot Scheiner (The Eagles,Billy Joel, George Benson).
Presenters in 24 categories of technical and creative achievementcomprise an all-star lineup of accomplished artists, arrangers,producers and engineers, including: Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb, DJMuggs (Cypress Hill), Ken Jordan (Crystal Method), Damon Elliot(Destiny’s Child), Ron Fair (Christina Aguilera), John Neff (DavidLynch), Ed Cherney (Rolling Stones), Allen Sides (Aerosmith, Goo GooDolls), Frank Filipetti (Celine Dion, James Taylor), Nathaniel Kunkel(Lyle Lovett), Angela Piva (Mary J. Blige), Don Was and David Was ofWas (Not Was), and live sound engineer extraordinaire and past TECAward winner Dave Morgan.
Proceeds from the awards ceremony support hearing-conservationprograms of the House Ear Institute of Los Angeles and HearingEducation Awareness for Rockers (H.E.A.R.) of San Francisco, as well asnumerous audio scholarship programs.
Bill Halverson Honors Recording Workshop
Commemorating 20 years of sharing his knowledge with RecordingWorkshop (Chillicothe, Ohio) students, legendary recordproducer/recording engineer Bill Halverson (Eric Clapton, CrosbyStills, Nash & Young, REO Speedwagon) presented the RecordingWorkshop with the generous gift of his first Gold Record Award (CrosbyStills and Nash debut in 1969).
For more on Recording Workshop, visit www.recordingworkshop.com.
