December 1, 2006

Features

Issues in Modern Mastering

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Blair Jackson

Despite the much-publicized malaise afflicting the record industry in general, these are pretty good times for most mastering engineers. After all, even…

Tools for That Finishing Touch

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Michael Cooper

Equalization is one of the two most-common processes employed in mastering (the other being dynamics processing) to put the finishing touch on a recording…

Women at the Piano

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Heather Johnson

Imagine a musician who spent most of her childhood practicing her craft, then most of her adult life studying at a prestigious music conservatory under…

2006 TEC Awards

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

A record 750 people attended the 22nd Annual TEC Awards at the Hilton San Francisco to honor Hall of Fame inductee David Hewitt, Les Paul Award recipient…

Vocals on the Road

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Steve La Cerra

What do disparate styles of music such as R&B, country, rap, rock and opera have in common? The money channel is always the vocal. To be a successful…

Technology

Tools of the Trade

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

MOTU 8PRE INTERFACE Field recordists will want to check out the single-rackspace 8pre FireWire audio interface from MOTU (www.motu.com, $595). The unit…

Field Test: Sonic Studio PreMaster CD Software

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Erik Zobler

Sonic Studio began as the audio division of workstation pioneer Sonic Solutions. Today, Sonic Studio makes hardware interfaces and Mac software for PCM…

Field Test: Mojave MA-200 Tube Condenser Microphone

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Kevin Becka

A few trade shows ago, I had a meeting with David Royer and John Jennings in the Royer booth and saw a work in progress the large-capsule MA-200 cardioid…

Field Test: Rupert Neve Portico 5032 Mic Pre/EQ

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Barry Rudolph

One of the four half-rackspace modules offered in Rupert Neve’s expanding Portico Series is the 5032 Mic Pre/EQ. Like all of the Portico gear, the 5032…

Field Test: Sony Cinescore Soundtrack Software

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Rick Spence

Cinescore from Sony Media Software helps both musicians and non-musicians quickly create music, stingers and effects for video and other projects. One…

Field Test: LaChapell Audio Model 992 Tube Preamp

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Michael Cooper

When inventor Scott LaChapell set out to design the LaChapell Audio Model 992 tube preamplifier, his primary goal was to highlight the sonic character…

Field Test: TC Electronic VSS3 Stereo Source Reverb

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By K.K. Proffitt

Although my TC Electronic System 6000 remains one of my favorite audio toys, it’s sometimes maxed out in a film mix. Other times, I want to get sounds…

Field Test: Steinberg Virtual Bassist, Virtual Guitarist 2

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Robert Brock

Steinberg’s Virtual Bassist and Virtual Guitarist II plug-ins are useful tools if you’ve got a musical blueprint in your head, want some inspiration to…

Apple DVD Studio Pro

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Kevin Monahan

Now that DVD Studio Pro is part of Apple’s Final Cut Studio bundle, professional DVD authoring is available to most production pros. Having worked with…

Sound for Picture

Stage to Screen

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Blair Jackson

Nearly 25 years to the day after the musical Dreamgirls opened on Broadway and began a triumphant four-year run, a film version is finally hitting theaters….

American Hardcore

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Iain Blair

In our current era of safe, blow-dried, corporate rap and rock, and super-bland pop, the snarling, spitting, angry punk acts profiled in the new film,…

Romus Studio

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Mike Clark

Rome-born musician, composer, arranger, conductor and producer Romano Musumarra quickly showed his musical flair when, at the age of nine, he entered…

Live Mix

She Wants Revenge

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Photos and Text by Steve Jennings

Out on tour with Placebo, She Wants Revenge (Justin Warfield and Adam Adam 12 Bravin) are playing to sold-out theaters across the U.S. According to the…

FixIt: Ramon Morales

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Monitor engineer Ramon Morales is currently out with hip hop artist Mary J. Blige and a five-piece band. Blige sings through the Neumann capsule paired…

News

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Completed just in time for the 2006/’07 football season, Stanford Stadium at Stanford University sports a brand-new audio system, integrated by Pro Media/Ultrasound….

On the Road: Megadeth

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Megadeth As the headliner on Gigantour 2006, Megadeth has been performing in North America, Japan and Australia, with sound companies Thunder Audio, Clair…

Now Playing: Keb’ Mo’, Children of Bodom, Particle

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Keb’ Mo’ Sound Company: Schubert Systems FOH Engineer/Console: Carlos Novais/Yamaha PM5DRH Monitor Engineer/Console: Steve Bumbera (also systems tech)/Yamaha…

Late Late Show Boosts Monitor Offerings

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Any touring act and their engineers will find a new, larger performance area at The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, which recently completed a renovation…

Tour Profile: Mariah Carey

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By David John Farinella

With 30-plus-years’ experience as a front-of-house engineer, including outings with Sting, James Taylor and Paul Simon, it’s safe to say that Howard Page…

New Sound Reinforcement Products

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

DIGIDESIGN D-SHOW PROFILE Digidesign’s (www.digidesign.com) D-Show Profile offers a size-conscious alternative to the D-Show flagship console/controller…

All Access: Massive Attack

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Photos and Text by Steve Jennings

Complete with a smoke-filled stage and pulsing LED lighting behind the band, the sold-out crowd at the Greek Theater (Berkeley, Calif.) for trip-hop threesome…

Local Crew: Stewart Sound

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Rick Clark

It may not seem big-time compared to the high-profile regions (New York City, L.A. and such) that are locally contracted for top-name tours and installs,…

Recording Notes

Janet Jackson

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Matt Gallagher

As Janet Jackson and her longtime collaborators, star producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, were recording Jackson’s latest release, 20 Y.O. (Virgin Records),…

Sting With Edin Karamazov

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Heather Johnson

During the course of nine Top 10 solo albums and nearly a dozen Grammys, Sting has proven himself a consummate artist, one who crafts winning pop melodies,…

Classic Tracks: The Romantics’ “What I Like About You”

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Gary Eskow

Sometimes the rock ‘n’ roll myth you know, a group of working-class kids harness their passion for music and use it to escape factory jobs, Popov Vodka…

Cool Spins

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Weather Report Forecast: Tomorrow(Columbia/Legacy) Jazz/rock/world music fusion pioneers Weather Report were so forward-looking in their approach and…

Coast to Coast

L.A. Grapevine

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Bud Scoppa

No matter where one stands on the controversy surrounding the hit album Ray Sings, Basie Swings, which marries vocals from a 1973 Ray Charles live performance…

Nashville Skyline

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Rick Clark

Recently, I was at a pub called Bosco’s in Nashville’s Hillsboro Village area with Neal Cappellino, a friend who is also a highly regarded engineer (Joan…

New York Metro

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By David Weiss

Sometimes when you listen to the music on a kids’ show, you wonder if kids were in charge of making it, too. While there are always a few gems for the…

One-Stop Master House

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Barbara Schultz

Jose Blanco’s Pilchner Schoustal designed Master House Studios (www.masterhousestudios.com) appeared on our cover when it opened in 2000, and since then,…