July 1, 2010
Features
Building Out a Powerhouse PC
Jul 9, 2010 1:12 PM, By Gary Eskow
Thinking about putting together a PC-based DAW? If so, what kind of numbers did you have in mind, and unless you’re a geek, have you thought about where you’ll go to have your workstation built? …
Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’
Jul 9, 2010 2:36 PM, By Blair Jackson
Because of the overwhelming success of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan is viewed in popular circles as a premier “popcorn movie” director, delivering crowd-pleasing action flicks for summer crowds. …
Studio Plug-Ins | Cool Software, Hot Sounds
Jun 24, 2010 5:43 PM, By George Petersen
To say that recent years have brought an explosion of third-party DSP plug-ins is an understatement. A range of companies both new and old have released dozens of products, feeding the industry’s unquenchable thirst for new sounds and effects. At the same time, the number of high-quality plug-ins bundled with DAWs continues to rise. As the new saying goes, “You can never have too many plug-ins.” …
Product Reviews
DPA 5100 Mobile Surround Microphone Review
Jun 24, 2010 6:23 PM, By Joe Hannigan
New from DPA Microphones is the 5100 Mobile Surround Microphone, a multicapsule, self-contained mic for surround recording. The 5100 has five 48-volt, phantom-powered microphone elements in a handsome (yet vaguely bicycle seat–shaped) array…
Mackie Onyx 1640i Review
Jun 24, 2010 6:35 PM, By George Petersen
Last fall, Mackie created a stir by announcing that its Onyx 820i console could interface with Pro Tools M-Powered 8 software via a simple driver download. Since then, the entire line of Onyx-i consoles is shipping; Avid and Mackie have formalized a licensing deal; and the PT MP-8 driver is offered as a free download to Onyx-i owners….
QSC K Series Loudspeakers Review
Jun 24, 2010 6:40 PM, By George Petersen
I’ve used QSC’s HPR 122i powered speakers for several years in portable P.A. applications and have been impressed with their performance. So last year, when QSC debuted its K Series lightweight powered speakers, I was curious to hear them. …
Little Labs VOG Bass Resonance Tool Review
Jun 24, 2010 6:43 PM, By Kevin Becka
Jonathan Little, the brains behind Little Labs, has a knack for creating sonic tools that solve problems in unique ways—such as his IBP Phase-Alignment Tool, the PCP Instrument Distro and the Lmnopre mic preamp—and provide engineers with better ways of doing high-quality work. …
Tech’s Files: Need Tubes?
Jul 9, 2010 4:11 PM, By Eddie Ciletti
Tube replacement is so physically easy that it’s often the first solution when something goes wrong. If a new tube doesn’t improve the sound, reduce the noise or eliminate the funky distortion, you’ll know to dig deeper into the circuitry…
Music
Music: Stone Temple Pilots
Jul 9, 2010 4:00 PM, By Sarah Benzuly
In 2003, most Stone Temple Pilots fans thought the band was kaput: Lead singer Scott Weiland continued to battle his heroin addiction and took center stage with super-group Velvet Revolver, while the rest of the bandmembers continued to make music under the name Army of Anyone. …
Classic Tracks: Bobby McFerrin “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”
Jun 24, 2010 5:36 PM, By Blair Jackson
In the context of what usually gets played on the radio and goes on to become a hit, Bobby McFerrin’s 1988 smash, “Don’t Worry Be Happy” is definitely an anomaly; even, dare we use the word, a “novelty.” After all, it’s one singer, performing all the parts a cappella, on a lilting, vaguely Caribbean-sounding song with an uplifting message as simple as its title. …
Music: Bobby McFerrin
Jul 9, 2010 1:01 PM, By Blair Jackson
Where do you go artistically as a singer when you’ve seemingly covered every base there is, from solo voice to intricate vocal ensembles, jazz to pop to classical, and earned 10 Grammys and a Billboard Number One single along the way?…
Daywood Drive Records
Jul 9, 2010 2:10 PM, By Tom Kenny
Daywood Drive Records company profiled in Mix magazine July 2010 issue…
John Greenham Q&A
Jul 9, 2010 2:53 PM, By Matt Gallagher
San Francisco–based mastering engineer John Greenham has quietly amassed a wealth of album credits for artists in numerous musical genres. He earned Grammy recognition in 2006 and 2007 for his mastering work with Mexico’s Los Tigres Del Norte…
New Label, New Album for Social Distortion
Jul 9, 2010 3:58 PM, By Barbara Schultz
L.A. punk band Social Distortion announced a new deal with Epitaph and a new album-in-the-making in the same breath this summer. The forthcoming sixth release will be the band’s first studio album in six years, and engineer Duane Barron …
Tim Palmer Moves 62 Studios From L.A. to Austin
Jul 9, 2010 4:17 PM, By Barbara Schultz
Producer/engineer Tim Palmer—well-known for his work with Robert Plant, Bowie’s Tin Machine, Tears for Fears, Pearl Jam, H.I.M. and many others—recently relocated from L.A. to Austin….
Live Sound
Vampire Weekend Tour Profile
Jul 9, 2010 4:26 PM, By Sarah Benzuly
Considering the band’s calypso-esque, Afro-Cuban leanings, it was a bit odd to hear DJ Kool’s “Let Me Clear My Throat” played as background music as Vampire Weekend walked onstage at Oakland, Calif.’s Paramount Theater…
Gaelic Storm Tour Log
Jul 9, 2010 4:20 PM, By Sarah Benzuly
Gaelic Storm is out in support of their release Cabbage (Lost Again). Mix caught up with FOH engineer/production manager Pete Wildermuth. …
Road-Worthy Gear: New Sound Reinforcement Products, July 2010
Jul 9, 2010 3:52 PM
Mix magazine new sound reinforcement products column in the July 2010 issue of Mix magazine live sound products section article …
Mixing With SAC
Jul 9, 2010 3:47 PM, By Sarah Benzuly
Composer Michel Legrand was recently honored in a star-studded tribute held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena (Las Vegas). The event was filmed for a PBS concert special and featured a 66-piece orchestra…
Meyer Believes in Linux
Jul 9, 2010 3:27 PM, Compiled by Sarah Benzuly
Meyer Sound joins Linux Foundation news article in Mix July 2010 issue …
Load In: Sound Reinforcement News, July 2010
Jul 9, 2010 3:24 PM
Read Mix News For the Concert Touring Professional In the July 2010 Issue of Mix …
FixIt: Penn & Teller FOH Engineer Wayne Willard
Jul 9, 2010 2:29 PM
Even though we have only two cast members, one of whom [Teller] never speaks, we engage 20 mic/receiver sets over three band splits. Penn Jillette is double-miked with one transmitter in a low-band split and one transmitter in a high-band split. …
All Access: Norah Jones
Jul 9, 2010 12:38 PM, Photos and Text By Steve Jennings
Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Norah Jones is back on the road to support The Fall. Accompanied by a stellar backing band, this usually mellow artist brought an energetic, riveting and incredible-sounding show to San Francisco’s Fillmore. …
Gear Stories
Gear Stories With Sylvia Massy: Cockroaches and SM58s
Jun 24, 2010 5:26 PM, By Sylvia Massy
In order to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, you must be prepared. You must pack the essentials: water, matches and, of course, an SM58. Forget the Swiss Army knife. The Shure SM58 is a hammer, a weapon, a spoon, a pestle, a dildo, a scepter—and a damn good mic on just about everything….
Current
Industry News, July 2010
Jul 9, 2010 2:45 PM, Compiled by Sarah Benzuly
Read Mix July 2010 Coverage on New Hires, Promotions, Distribution Deals in Pro Audio …
An Instrumental History Lesson
Jul 9, 2010 2:47 PM, Compiled by Sarah Benzuly
The recently opened Musical Instrument Museum (Phoenix) comprises a 190,000-square-foot building with two floors of galleries and a collection of more than 10,000 instruments and associated objects from around the world. …
On the Move: Jason Carson
Jul 9, 2010 3:49 PM, Compiled by Sarah Benzuly
Read Mix profile on Record Plant Vice President of Operations Jason Carson …
Departments
Editor’s Note: Mixing and Matching in L.A.
Jul 9, 2010 2:13 PM, By Tom Kenny, Editorial Director
Things really do come together in Los Angeles. New York has broadcast and Broadway and music and energy. Nashville has the players, the studios, the tradition and the soul. But Los Angeles has everything in entertainment like no other place on Earth. …
Tech: New Products, July 2010
Jun 24, 2010 6:03 PM
Mix magazine July 2010 tools of the trade article features new pro audio products in May Mix magazine pro audio product section…
Bil VornDick Q&A
Jul 9, 2010 12:51 PM, By Barbara Schultz
Bluegrass recording legend offers an engineer’s view of the Nashville floods and recovery….
On the Cover: Universal Mastering Studios West
Jul 9, 2010 2:15 PM, By Tom Kenny
Former L.A. editor, Bud Scoppa, dropped in on Universal Mastering Studios West in the old Hanna-Barbera building on Cahuenga. What he described for the two main rooms—the sound, the physics, the dimensions—sounded simply too good to be true: a spacious, rectangular room, with a client-friendly producers couch and unlimited listening spot. For mastering?…
TalkBack | Letters to Mix, July 2010
Jul 9, 2010 4:07 PM
Read Mix Readers Letters to the Editor, July 2010 issue …