FEATURES

Sound on Sound Studios
Mike Levine. By 2016, Dave Amlen had finally had it. He’d been a studio owner in New York since 1987, starting with Sound on Sound Recording, which later became Legacy in partnership with Right Track Recording and ended up as MSR after that partnership was dissolved. Amlen had certainly prospered during the boom years of the recording business in the 1990s and early 2000s; he also had witnessed the decline from up close after 9/11, dropping further after the 2008 financial meltdown.

Two Consoles, One Surface: Frozen Fish Design Integrates Avid S6, Neve DFC and Euphonix System 5 Surfaces
Jennifer Walden. Studios tend to hold onto their large-format digital mixing consoles for a while because upgrading a big-ticket item every two years or so can be expensive. But facilities still need to keep pace with technology, whether to improve workflow for mix engineers or to support emergent sound formats—or to simply have tools that are a cut above the competition. How can a studio stay current while still holding onto their boards?

Scott Gershin and the Meaning of Sound
Tom Kenny. On October 13, at the fifth annual Mix Presents Sound for Film & Television event at Sony Pictures Studios, Scott Gershin will kick the day off by delivering the keynote speech. His name might not be on the nominee list for Best Sound Editing at the Oscars each year, but his sounds have appeared across hundreds of films, a few of them nominees, since he entered the world of sound design in the early 1980s. He was a rock and roll musician out of Berklee College of Music with a deep understanding of the emerging MIDI standard, a great love of tone and an open, conceptual approach to storytelling.

MUSIC

“Lean on Me”: Students Have a Ringside Seat as José James Pays Tribute to Bill Withers
Barbara Schultz. Back in 1985, a young engineer named Ed Cherney got the call to work on Bill Withers’ Watching Me Watching You. For Cherney, that was hundreds of records ago, but the memories of hang time with the great singer/songwriter, who turns 80 this year, have stayed with him.

Classic Track: Blondie, “Denis”
Barbara Schultz. “From the minute they started playing, I was thinking, ‘I know this song,’” recalls engineer/producer Rob Freeman. He was behind the board at Plaza Sound Studios for Richard Gottehrer’s production of the first two albums by then-up-and-coming band Blondie.

Capitol Studios Honors Ron McMaster
Matt Hurwitz. You don’t hear much about retirement parties these days, and it’s rare for someone to spend an entire career with a single company, but after 35 years at Capitol Mastering, veteran mastering engineer Ron McMaster has hung up his lacquers. As a testament to his talent and the respect he has garnered, the appropriately named and much-loved disc cutter was given a warm sendoff at the studio earlier in the summer.

Aretha’s Timeless, Amazing Grace
David McGee. On the sunny morning of August 16, word came early of Aretha Franklin’s passing. Awakening to this news broadcast on New York City’s classical station, WQXR, followed by the sound of Aretha rolling out her stunning rendition of Puccini’s “Nessun dorma” live at the 40th Grammy Awards, I immediately sent a text to my son on the West Coast, stating simply, “Aretha RIP.”

Studer at 70
Sarah Jones. Studer’s story is a testament to time and technology. From its beginnings as a tape recorder manufacturer, the company built a reputation in consoles, and in the 1990s pivoted to digital technology.

TECHNOLOGY

Review: Hafler P3100 Studio Power Amplifier
Michael Cooper. For almost 20 years now, I’ve used the discontinued Hafler P3000 amplifier to power my Yamaha NS10M Studio and DAS Monitor-8 passive nearfields, nervously watching suitable replacement amps exit the market as active monitors became de rigueur. So I was thrilled when Radial Engineering bought the dormant Hafler brand in 2014 and soon thereafter announced the Hafler P3100.

Review: Leapwing Audio DynOne Version 2
Barry Rudolph. Co-founded by Belgian mastering engineer Robin Reumers, coder Jeroen Dreessen and technical engineer Emiliano Caballero, Leapwing Audio has released DynOne version 2, a 64-bit multiband parallel processor mastering plug-in. It is the company’s second plug-in, joining CenterOne Spatial.

AES NEW YORK 2018 PREVIEW

New Products for October 2018: AES New York Preview
New studio and live sound products from Universal Audio, Waves, iZotope, Vienna Symphonic Library, Neutrik, TASCAM, Prism Sound, Audio-Technica, Genelec, Sommer Cable, Soundtheory, Steinberg, Lectrosonics, Sanken, Zaxcom and Dan Dugan Sound Design.

The Mix Guide to Education at AES New York
AES has always been a great place to meet your peers, see all the new gear and learn from the best in the business. This year is no different, and the educational program is comprehensive and massive. To help you navigate your way, we’ve highlighted a few select panels that are of interest either because of the topic or the presenters (or both).

DEPARTMENTS

From the Editor What Makes a Brand?
Tom Kenny. I’ve said many times that the smartest thing that Mix co-founders David Schwartz, Penny Riker Jacob and Bill Laski ever did was name it Mix.

News: Panelists Announced for Sound Editing, Mixing Series at Mix Presents Sound for Film & Television Event

News: Thomas Dolby to Deliver AES New York Keynote

News: Sugar Studios Adds Dolby Atmos Mix Stage

Back Page Blog: October 2018
Mike Levine and Steve La Cerra. Notes on DI guitar and mobile recording.