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Back Page Blog: August 2018

Notes on Control, Survival and Networked Audio

Mike Levine, Mix Technology Editor—Studio

The Creative Control Conundrum: Early in my studio career, when I was not particularly savvy about dealing with clients, I lost my temper with one after many attempts to logically explain why I thought certain suggestions were ruining the song. Although I don’t remember precisely what the disagreement was, my subsequent firing clued me in that being confrontational was probably not a wise tactic.

Subtle persuasion is almost always the best way to go. Play back the part in question, first with your client’s approach and then yours, and hope they’ll hear your point.

The Creative-Control Conundrum, by Mike Levine, June 19, 2018

Product of the Week: Arturia Three-Pre Bundle: Arturia has a proven track record of making accurate software emulations of hardware. In the past, the company mostly modeled synthesizers, but it recently branched out with a trio of vintage preamp emulation plug-ins offered as a bundle. The 1973-Pre models a Neve preamp, the TridA-Pre models a Trident A-Range preamp, and the V76-Pre models a Telefunken V76. Each provides multiple bands of EQ, phase switches and input and output knobs. They all support L/R and mid-side operation and offer a MIDI learn feature for external control mapping.

The Studio Survival Strategy—Move to the ’Burbs: Some have tried a new strategy: moving to the suburbs. Here in the New York area, Sound on Sound Studios, which was in midtown Manhattan in several locations and incarnations over the years (including Legacy Studios and MSR Studios), has moved to Montclair, N.J., a fashionable suburb of New York that’s within easy commuting distance of the city.

I had the opportunity to visit Sound on Sound for the first time last week and wow, was I impressed! It’s a first-class facility that has already attracted high-profile clientele. Owner David Amlen and studio manager Tony Drootin are seasoned veterans of the NYC studio scene, and they’ve brought a big-city-studio vibe to this suburban location. When I walked out the door at the end of my visit, I half expected to find myself on Broadway or Sixth Avenue.

Mix Blog Studio: Survival Strategy—Move to the Suburbs, by Mike Levine, June 26, 2018

Steve La Cerra, Mix Technology Editor—Live

What’s All the Hub-bub?: Will there come a time when the XLR panels in recording studios and on stages will be replaced with Cat 5 panels? I doubt they’ll be replaced (especially in the studio, where we love our vintage mics), but anyone who is building a studio would be a fool not to wire the rooms with plenty of Cat 5/6 connectivity. I don’t think it will be that long before we are plugging those vintage microphones into preamp/A-Ds with network outputs, and routing those signals into our DAW interfaces.

There’s going to be some growing pains while we figure out how to get 30 microphone channels from the studio into the control room if those mics must ultimately reach a single DAW interface that has, for example, two Cat 5 ports. I guess we’re going to need to start thinking more carefully about network switches because we’re gonna need a ton of them.

Call your broker. Buy into network hardware.

Mix Blog Live: What’s All the Hub-bub?, by Steve La Cerra, June 21, 2018

Product of the Week: Audinate Dante AVIO Adapters: There’s that word again: Dante. Audinate has announced the availability of a series of network adapters that allow legacy analog and digital audio gear to interface with a Dante network. AVIO adapters are compact audio adapters available in a variety of configurations, including 2-channel analog input, 2-channel analog output, AES3 I/O or USB I/O. All are designed as an easy way to port existing gear, including mixers, mic preamps and powered speakers onto a Dante network.

Working Without a Net Is Becoming Passe, by Mike Levine, June 5, 2018

If You’re Not 15 Minutes Early…: 8:15 p.m. (show starts at 8:30 p.m.) I load my memory card, recall the show, and guess what? None of my channel EQs, comp or gate settings are loaded. Super! I’m too flustered to notice that the DCA assignments haven’t been recalled, so when the band starts, the entire mix is screwed up. As I check channels frantically, I go into Guerrilla Mix Mode: Get a balance and worry about everything else later!

If You’re Not 15 Minutes Early…, by Steve La Cerra, July 12, 2018

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