August 1, 2008

Features

Mixing Outside the Lines

Jul 30, 2008 2:05 PM, By Janice Brown

It’s a fact that lower budgets mean shorter production cycles and, ultimately, more no-nonsense mixing, but engineers working with experimentally inclined artists find ample opportunity in the mixing process…

Hybrid Console/Controllers

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By John Murray Hill

Because many pro studios use computer-based DAWs, operators are quickly seeing the benefits of total system control from their analog I/O devices. For…

Olympics Audio: Wider, Better, More

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Blair Jackson

It goes without saying that televising the Olympics winter or summer is a mammoth undertaking, and the complexity of the job has only increased as more…

2008 TEC Sponsors

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

FRONT OF HOUSE Gibson Foundation Official Sponsor Les Paul Award Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted…

Technology

Tools of the Trade, August 2008

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

NEUMANN TLM 67 MICROPHONE Based on Neumann’s (www.neumannusa.com) own workhorse mic from the ’60s, the TLM 67 incorporates the same K 67 capsule used…

Field Test: Cakewalk SONAR 7 Producer Edition

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Tony Nunes

Cakewalk has been consistent about upgrading SONAR annually, and the improvements have been significant. For instance, SONAR 5 pushed the envelope by…

Field Test: Sonic Reality Ocean Way Drums Library

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Robert Brock

The first world-class studio I ever set foot in was Ocean Way in Hollywood. The Gold and Platinum albums lining the walls beamed an aura of the immense…

Field Test: Minnetonka Audio Workflow Engine (AWE)

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Kevin Becka

Before the boom of digital audio, managing your resources meant keeping your work well-documented and your tape reels in a cool, dry place. Today, knowing…

Field Test: Avant Electronics Avantone CK-40 Stereo Mic

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Barry Rudolph

Topping Avant Electronics’ line of C Series condenser mics, the Avantone CK-40 uses two 35mm, center-terminated gold-sputtered capsules mounted in separate…

Power Tools: Steinberg Cubase 4

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Jim Aikin

I’ve been using Cubase for many years not because it’s necessarily superior to any other program, but because I’m fast on it. Even so, the software has…

Sound for Picture

Mamma Mia!

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Blair Jackson

Even though 1970s pop titans ABBA have sold more than 250 million records worldwide, they were never huge in the U.S. (just four Top 10 hits), and it…

Composer Spotlight: Bear McCreary

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Bryan Reesman

He helps choreograph spectacular intergalactic dogfights and provides emotional support to a powerful woman fending off robot attacks from the future….

Live Mix

Soundcheck: R.E.M.

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Photos and Text by Steve Jennings

R.E.M. have released their 15th album, Accelerate, and are in the midst of a world tour. Mix caught up with front-of-house mixer Brett Eliason and monitor…

FixIt: Philip J. Harvey

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

PilotLight Audio Inc./White Stripes front-of-house engineer Philip J. Harvey recently multitracked the band’s 10th-anniversary tour in 2007 in 40 channels…

Sound Reinforcement News, August 2008

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

The Black Crowes are currently touring in support of their latest album. The outing sees Scott Scherban at FOH and Drew Consalvo at monitors. Mics are…

On the Road: Dolly Parton

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

At Mix Nashville, we got the chance to sit down and chat with Dolly Parton’s longtime front-of-house engineer/production manager, Mike Fechner. The Backwoods…

Now Playing: Tom Waits, Avril Lavigne

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Tom Waits Sound Company: Rat Sound (Oxnard, Calif.) FOH Engineer/Board: Karl Derfler/Digidesign VENUE Monitor Engineer/Board: Deanne Franklin/Midas Venice…

‘Acoustic Cloaking’: A Reality?

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

According to a study published by the Institute of Physics, researchers in Spain have proven that metamaterials materials defined by their unusual man-made…

Tour Profile: Michael Buble

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By David John Farinella

Michael Bubl is just about to step on the stage at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., for his 115th (or so) show during his Call Me Irresponsible tour,…

All Access: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Text by Sarah Benzuly

It’s exciting enough to have Robert Plant and Alison Krauss sharing one stage performing a bunch of tunes from their critically acclaimed duets album,…

New Sound Reinforcement Products, August 2008

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

YAMAHA IM8 ANALOG MIXERS Designed for rentals or installs, Yamaha’s (www.yamahaca.com) IM8 Series 8-bus analog mixers come in 24/32/40-channel frames,…

Recording Notes

“Miles From India”

Aug 7, 2008 1:26 PM, By Blair Jackson

In many ways, Miles From India—a two-CD set of Indian musicians and a host of Miles Davis alumni interpreting a number of the jazz great’s works…

Phantom Planet

Aug 7, 2008 1:31 PM, By Blair Jackson

Like a lot of people, I first heard the L.A. band Phantom Planet when their irresistible pop anthem “California” was selected to be the theme song for the excellent Fox teen dramedy The O.C….

Classic Tracks: The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Do You Believe in Magic”

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Gary Eskow

Fortunately, nice guys don’t always finish last. Sometimes they reach the top of the hill and stay there for quite some time. One such nice guy is John…

Coast to Coast

L.A. Grapevine, August 2008

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Bud Scoppa

In 1978, Larrabee Studios owner Kevin Mills asked mix engineer Dave Way, his friend and colleague, to check out Andora Studios in the Cahuenga Pass, which…

Nashville Skyline, August 2008

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Peter Cooper

In Nashville, celebrities are often treated just like other human beings. Lyle Lovett can eat among the Pancake Pantry proletariat without being hassled…

NEW YORK METRO

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, by David Weiss

A new world-class recording/mixing studio has just touched down in New York City. But exactly what could make Troy Germano want to launch Germano Studios…

Recording Reckless Kelly’s Bulletproof

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Barbara Schultz

Rocking Americana band Reckless Kelly tracked their latest release, Bulletproof, in Pedernales Studio (Lake Travis, Texas), and they have to be happy…

311 At Ocean

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Compiled By Barbara Schultz

The band 311 began recording a new album at Ocean Studios (Burbank, Calif.) with producer Bob Rock, engineer Eric Helmkamp and assistant engineer Albert…

Night Ranger Returns

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Compiled By Barbara Schultz

Night Ranger recorded some of the tracks for their first studio album in 10 years, Hole in the Sun, at Camp Studios (Mill Valley, Calif.) this summer….

Track Sheet, August 2008

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Compiled By Barbara Schultz

SOUTHEAST Montgomery Gentry recorded their new album, Back When I Knew It All, at Ardent Studios (Memphis) with producer Blake Chancey, engineer Tony…

Profile: Sweetwater Productions

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Barbara Schultz

Before Sweetwater became an audio household name, Chuck Surack’s mega-successful retail business began as an offshoot of the studio business he started…

Project Studio

Project Studio: Vel Records

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Janice Brown

The newly formed Vel Records (www.myspace.com/velrecords) and its Brooklyn, N.Y.-based studio began as the private studio of EMI songwriter/producer Camus…

Tech’s Files

Tech’s Files: The Discipline of Obstacles

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Eddie Ciletti

Earlier this year, I interviewed engineer Richard Dodd (see Tech’s Files in the May 2008 issue), who reminded me that on many a revered recording, signal…

From the Editor

From the Editor: The Sound of Music

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Sarah Jones, Editor

Bruce Swedien has engineered for Count Basie and Michael Jackson, Herbie Hancock and J Lo. When he speaks to students, he often will ask how they learn…

Feedback

Letters to Mix, August 2008

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM

DOES EQ MEASURE UP? As an acoustician who specializes in small rooms, Bob Hodas’ article (Room Tuning In the Box) and Michael Cooper’s roundup of auto-EQ…

On the Cover

On the Cover: Skywalker Sound

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Blair Jackson

On a warm, late-June day, Skywalker Ranch, in the rustic wilds of West Marin County, Calif., is buzzing with activity. Seventh Moon, the latest film from…