Moscone Center, site of the 129th AES Convention
San Francisco, CA (November 2, 2010)—-This year’s AES Convention already sports a number of Tech Tours, but with an eye on providing more for visitors to experience, more tours have been added, and some are now providing onsite learning seminars as well.
Tours co-chair Jessica Livingston noted, “One thing unique about some of this year’s tours is that a few are doing onsite learning/seminars, rather than just a quick walkthrough of the space.” For instance, at Studio D, Joel Jaffe will present a demo is on surround sound mixing and different ways to mix a track. Meanwhile, at Outpost Studio, Dave Nelson talking about Foley and post production sound. Notably, Studio 880 will host a discussion on the ambience and aesthetics of studio design, with John Lucasey, whose previous Studio 880 (before the Victorian Mansion) was the award winning studio (now called) Jingletown, which is most famous for the references in and setting of Green Day’s Tony winning show American Idiot.
Other innovations include the creation of 2-for-1 tours, where visitors essentially do two tours for one price, such as the Dolby tour, which will visit the Potreto St headquarters and the Brisbane factory. “In past years it was one building or the other, and it’s been quite awhile since we went to the Brisbane factory,” said Livingston. Other 2-for-1s include Loudville/Studio D; Berkeley Rep/Freight and Salvage; Polarity Post/Crescendo!; and Tiny Telephone/Women’s Audio Mission.
Recently added Technical Tours include:
1) Fantasy Studios
Fantasy Studios at the Zaentz Media Center is one of the Bay Area’s largest recording and post-production facilities, with a rich history in their nearly 50 years at this location. Noted artists ranging from Creedence Clearwater Revival to Will.i.Am have recorded acclaimed albums at Fantasy Studios: sound and scores for Oscar-winning films like Ratatouille and The English Patient have been produced in this landmark building. The studio manager will lead this tour, featuring all three recording studios and one of the building’s theaters.
2) CBS Interactive
CBS Interactive is the digital division of CBS Corporation and includes CNET, TV.com, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, MetaCritic.com, GameSpot, Chow, The Insider.com, Money Watch, and BNET. Located in the heart of San Francisco’s SOMA district, their headquarters includes media production and distribution facilities for the entire content distribution network.
3) Studio Trilogy
Designed by John Storyk of WSDG, Studio Trilogy (StudioTrilogy.com) includes three state-of-the-art control rooms, four integrated isolation booths, and one of San Francisco’s most versatile large tracking rooms. The facility, located in the creative heart of San Francisco’s SOMA district, features the only commissioned SSL 9000K console in Northern California, Pro Tools|HD 3 systems, classic Studer analog 2″ tape, and a full complement of vintage and modern instruments and gear. The newly re-opened studio is owned and staffed by veterans of the Bay Area studio scene, having held positions at Different Fur, SF Soundworks, Crescendo! Studios, Russian Hill Recording, Nu-tone, Studio 880 and Talking House.
4) Studio D Recording and Loudville
Studio D Recording
The 5.1 surround sound enabled Pro Tools HD|3 Accel system and collection of classic preamps, compressors and eq’s makes Studio D a perfect balance of cutting edge and vintage, attracting artists like Carlos Santana, Train and Kenny Wayne Shephard. During the tour, studio owner and head engineer Joel Jaffe will conduct an on-site demonstration of surround mixing and different ways to mix a track, examining placement, mics used and overall mix results.
Loudville
Loudville is a step in the future, with combined professional audio and video for live-streaming or archival and editing. With an oversized audio control room which can double as a live performance sound stage, and robotic HD video cameras from every angle, this world class recording studio is able to stream live at any time. The Avid D-Command console is wired to talk to the video control room for smooth sound-to-picture integration. Loudville plans to stream their portion of this technical tour live through their website.
5) Hyde Street Studios
Hyde Street Studios (HydeStreet.com) will open their doors for a tour of this historic location. Recording studios at 245 Hyde Street in San Francisco have been capturing music by seminal recording artists such as Jefferson Airplane, the Dead Kennedys, Tupac Shakur, and George Clinton since 1969, when Wally Heider helped create San Francisco’s early music scene. Shortly after Wally Heider left in 1979, Hyde Street Studios took over as one of San Francisco’s premier recording studios, and is still going strong as they enter their third decade. The tour will begin in Studio A with its vintage Neve 8038, continue to Studio D with its AMEK APC1000, and end at FreqLab Recording (FreqLabRecording.com), which recently installed a SSL 9064J console.
A list of all technical tours: http://www.aes.org/events/129/tours/?displayall
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