December 1, 2007

Features

Critical Listening

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By George Petersen

Talking about listening and the listening process is one of those seemingly impossible tasks, like writing a book on how to compose music or paint a masterpiece….

Dedicated Digital Converters

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By the Mix Editors

Analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters are processors the superaccurate portals that pros rely on in digital audio production. In the studio,…

2007 TEC Awards Highlights

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Almost 700 people attended the 23rd Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, held on Saturday, October 6, at the New York Marriott Marquis. Hosted…

The WoW Factor

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Michel Henein

World of Warcraft, simply known as WoW in the game industry, is more than just a game; it’s an international phenomenon. WoW is an MMORPG (massively multiplayer…

Technology

Tools of the Trade

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

M-AUDIO IE-40 EARPHONES Good things come in threes when it comes to in-ear listening devices from M-Audio (www.m-audio.com). The company’s IE-40 ($499.95)…

Field Test: Propellerhead Software Reason 4

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jim Aikin

If you’d rather record all-electronic instrumentals than eat or sleep, then the release of Reason 4 ($499, $129 upgrade) will make your life complete….

Field Test: Audient Black Series Vertical Rack Processor

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Bobby Frasier

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Audient name, it originated with the founding partners of the DDA console line David Dearden and Gareth Davies….

Field Test: Dangerous Music Master

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Andrew Mendelson

Dangerous Music changed the very concept of mixing in the box by introducing the Dangerous 2-Bus, the first stand-alone, line-level summing mixer. Dangerous…

Field Test: M-Audio NRV10 FireWire Mixer, Interface

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jason Scott Alexander

Not every musician has made the leap into the world of mixing in the box. Many of us still have keyboards, sound modules and outboard processors that…

Field Test: Groove Tubes SuPRE Tube Preamp

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Joe Hannigan

From the mind of tube guru Aspen Pittman comes the Groove Tubes SuPRE ($1,999), a 2-channel stereo tube mic preamp that puts a lot of features into a…

Field Test: Apple Soundtrack Pro 2 Software

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By George Petersen

Apple’s Soundtrack Pro 2 (SP2) workstation software for audio-for-video production has morphed into an entirely new program with each release. What began…

EAW Smaart Version 6

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Harry Brill Jr.

Over the years, SIA Smaart has revolutionized the pro audio industry, offering dual-channel FFT analysis at an affordable price. Now in Version 6, EAW…

Sound for Picture

The Golden Compass

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Blair Jackson

These are great times for fantasy films. CG technology has gotten to the point where almost anything can be realistically depicted onscreen, so the floodgates…

Live Mix

All Access: The Shins

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Photos and text by Steve Jennings

The Shins are currently out in support of their latest release, Wincing the Night Away (see Recording Notes, May 2007), an album that debuted at Billboard’s…

Local Crew: XL5 Productions

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Sarah Benzuly

In this space, regional sound companies get a chance to shine, talking about recent contracted gigs, latest installs, providing a one-stop shop, etc….

Soundcheck: Annie Lennox

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Photos and Text by Steve Jennings

For Annie Lennox’s Songs of Mass Destruction tour, Clair Bros. is providing 10 i3 speakers flown per side, four ground-stacked Clair BT subs a side and…

FixIt: Jeffrey Luge Holdip

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Currently mixing FOH for Nelly Furtado, Jeffrey Luge Holdip has also mixed Citizen Cope, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Santos & Pecadores, as well as numerous…

News

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Stock Audio & Light (Geleen, The Netherlands) provided dual EAW UX8800 digital processors with EAW KF760 Series line arrays for a memorial concert by…

On the Road: Thievery Corporation

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Thievery Corporation Mix caught up with Thievery Corporation’s front-of-house engineer John Branon when the band stopped at the San Francisco Treasure…

Now Playing: Apocalyptica, Afuso Takako, Serj Tankian

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Apocalyptica FOH Engineer/Board: Michael Bauer/DiGiCo D5 Monitor Engineer/Board: DiGiCo D1 P.A./Amps: L-Acoustics dV-DOSC and local Outboard Gear: Dolby…

Kaufman Center Gets Audio Face Lift

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

New York City’s Kaufman Center will unveil its new look on January 8, 2008. The facility’s Merkin Concert Hall, a 449-seat performance space, received…

Tour Profile: Dave Matthews Band

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Heather Johnson

For more than a dozen years, the Dave Matthews Band has consistently ranked as one of the top-grossing touring acts in the U.S. Mix caught up with the…

New Sound Reinforcement Products

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

MACKIE TT SYSTEM32 Slated for Q4 2007 release, the TT System32 ($12,999) digital live mixing system from Mackie (www.mackie.com) comprises the TT24 digital…

Recording Notes

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Blair Jackson

That whipping sound you all heard a few months ago was a million heads doing a fast double-take at the announcement that former Led Zeppelin belter Robert…

Zap Mama

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Chris J. Walker

One of the most successful African pop bands in Europe (and, increasingly, America), Zap Mama is largely the alter-ego of its founder and lead vocalist…

Classic Tracks: Motley Crue’s “Girls, Girls, Girls”

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Heather Johnson

Aquanet hairspray flew off the shelves when the new wave synth-pop acts of the early 1980s gave way to an onslaught of glam rock a few years later. Hair…

Cool Spins

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Various Artists Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino(Vanguard) As one who has groused occasionally about the plethora of lame CDs in recent years, I have…

Coast to Coast

L.A. Grapevine

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Bud Scoppa

Weekends at Bernie’s have been lively indeed since mastering legend Bernie Grundman and veteran producer Stewart Levine launched Straight Ahead Records…

Nashville Skyline

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Barbara Schultz

Not long ago in this space, we reported that Masterfonics studios had closed, a casualty of the Emerald Entertainment Group’s bankruptcy. As Mix has since…

New York Metro

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By David Weiss

In the seething maelstrom known as New York City’s audio post industry, one of the keys for facilities is to keep their eyes (literally) on the bottom…

New Mastering Studios Launch

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Barbara Schultz

After two years in the building, Puget Sound Studios (Issaquah, Wash.; www.pugetsoundstudios.com) opened for business this past October, offering diverse…

Not Just a Hobby

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Compiled by Barbara Schultz

Bassist Tommy Lockett completed tracking a new album at The Hobby Shop (L.A.) this fall. Ai Fujisaki and Andrew Murdock co-engineered the Heat Records…

Absolutely Fabulous

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Compiled by Barbara Schultz

Tempest Recording (Tempe, Ariz.) owner/engineer Clarke Rigsby tracked a live performance by the Fabulous Thunderbirds at The Rhythm Room club (Phoenix)….

Ultimate Sessions

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Compiled by Barbara Schultz

Carlos Santana visited Laughing Tiger Studios (San Rafael, Calif.) to lay tracks for an upcoming album. The sessions included a collaboration with Jennifer…

Echo Upgrade

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Compiled by Barbara Schultz

Hip hop artist/actor/producer T.I. has added a Digidesign ICON console to the George Augspurger-designed Studio A of his Echo Recording Studios (Atlanta)….

Track Sheet

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

SOUTHEAST Projects mixed and/or mastered at owner Jose Blanco’s Master House Studios (Miami) received six Latin Grammy nominations this year. Currently,…

Insider Audio

You and Me and HDTV

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Paul D. Lehrman

Which is the more important sense: sight or sound? Those of us who spend our waking lives working with audio have little doubt that the aural dimensions…

Producer’s Desk

Mike McCarthy

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By David John Farinella

Mike McCarthy landed in Austin just as the city’s music scene started to blow up. It was 1994, and in short order he worked with indie darlings Spoon,…

AudioNext

Roll Your Own Level

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Alexander Brandon

A lot of audio issues have been covered in this space lately, from facility design to education programs. But for many of you, the actual process of integrating…

Project Studio

Wally Sound

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Barbara Schultz

You’ve heard of the wall of sound? Well, this is the Wally Sound (www.wallysound.com). This project studio is owned and operated by musician/engineer…

Tech’s Files

Bring Back the Good Ol’ Days

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Eddie Ciletti

Craftsmanship typically comes to mind when describing the work involved with creating a physical object such as how a luthier fashions a fine musical…

From the Editor

The Reluctant Mastering Engineer

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, George Petersen, Executive Editor

Not far from the Mix offices is a busy facility called Infinite Studios that’s been run by engineer/producer Michael Denten for more than two decades….

Feedback

Letters to Mix

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM

MORE ON QUINCY JONES, PLEASE I always love picking up your excellent magazine. The 30th-anniversary special (October 2007) was a real treat. The only…

On the Cover

Lurssen Mastering

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Barbara Schultz

Two years ago in this space, Mix reported on veteran Mastering Lab owner/engineer Doug Sax’s move to Ojai, Calif., near Santa Barbara, where he started…