Mix News for May 2004

APM, YMF Create New Music Business Fellowship

Associated Production Music, a library music services for media and
entertainment production, joins the Young Musicians Foundation to offer
a fellowship program that will expose upstart musicians to the various
business opportunities available in film and television music
production, supervision and licensing.

One fellow will be selected to participate in 16 four-hour sessions
including a one-on-one meeting with a film composer, attending a live
TV or movie sound mix, a debut orchestra rehearsal and meetings with
the L.A. Philharmonic’s librarian and top APM executives involved in
music direction, marketing and copyright, and licensing.

The inaugural fellowship begins in summer 2004, and a stipend will
be provided. Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 25, be
familiar with standard orchestral score notation, have reliable
transportation, be eligible for U.S. employment and able to provide
relevant references upon request. The application deadline is May 19,
2004.

For more information, please visit www.apmmusic.com or www.ymf.org. To apply online, visit www.ipressroom.com/pr/apm/info/fellowship.asp.

Native Instruments Introduces Elektrik Piano
Native Instruments recently introduced Elektrik Piano, a sample-based
instrument that delivers the sounds of the Fender Rhodes MK ITM and MK
IITM, Hohner Clavinet E7TM and Wurlitzer A 200. The E-piano features a
wide selection of ready-to-play presets, which can be grouped into
individual performance sets for quick recall of presets during live
performance using the computer function keys or a MIDI controller.
Altered sound settings can be saved as new presets.

Depending on the instrument, Elektrik Piano offers various effects
for creating instrument-specific effect sounds, including chorus,
reverb, phaser and tremolo.

The Elektrik Piano is available through authorized dealers worldwide
and in the NI Online Shop at www.native-instruments.com.

Gefen Releases New Extension Modules
Gefen Inc. recently announced the availability of three small-size
extension modules that connect computer devices at long distances using
interface formats such as PS/2, RS-232 and stereo audio, effectively
spanning hundreds of feet between computer and device. Each extension
solution operates through small sender-and-receiver units that are
connected by network-wiring Cat-5 cable and run on a 5-volt power
supply.

The PS/2 Extender is designed to extend a PS/2 keyboard/mouse or
projector/mouse combination, and works with an RS-232 touchscreen or
tablet. The Audio Extender is designed to extend audio devices such as
personal CD players, speakers and microphones. All extended devices
will function in any range up to 1,000 feet from the computer.

All three extension modules come with Gefen’s one-year warranty and
lifetime technical support. Each product is available through Gefen
dealers worldwide or online at www.gefen.com.

Waves Creates Berklee Bundle of Joy
Beginning with the fall 2003 semester, Berklee College of Music’s
Professional Writing and Music Technology majors not only had a bundle
of required textbooks to purchase, they also had to show up with a
Macintosh G4 computer equipped with Waves; new Berklee Bundle. The
specially designed package comprises five plug-in processors:
Renaissance Reverb, EQ and Compressor; the C1 Parametric Compander; and
S1 Stereo Imager.

The decision to choose Waves DSP plug-ins was made by Berklee as
part of a comprehensive plan to require all students to acquire certain
critical technology platforms. All incoming students must now purchase
Apple G4 laptop computers equipped with certain software packages. As
part of an academic initiative, students are asked to add other
specific platforms upon choosing certain majors. Those who choose one
of five majors from the Professional Writing and Music Technology
divisions—including the departments of Contemporary Writing and
Production, Film Scoring, Songwriting, Music Synthesis, and Music
Production and Engineering—must own the Waves Berklee Bundle as
part of their academic toolset.

For more information on Waves plug-ins, visit the company’s newly
redesigned Website at www.waves.com.

House Ear Institute Reports Noise’s Impact on Hearing
House Ear Institute researchers recently presented data compiled since
1997 indicating that high-frequency hearing loss from noise-induced
inner-ear damage is evident in individuals repeatedly exposed to high
levels of sound (i.e., musicians, music industry professionals, audio
engineers and systems contractors). The report results from thousands
of hearing screenings conducted at trade shows attended by such audio
professionals.

Even when thresholds were within normal limits, all groups shared a
characteristic “noise-notch,” or loss of hearing sensitivity around the
4 to 6kHz frequency range. Further, compared to the general population,
both men and women in music and sound careers show more hearing loss
across all age groups.

“This is the first study of this scope to assess hearing loss among
professionals in the music and audio industries,” says Rachel Cruz,
M.A., CCC-A/FAAA, a research audiologist at the House Ear Institute.
“Study results confirm what we’ve suspected for a long time: These
groups not only have high-frequency hearing damage from over exposure
to loud sounds, they also acquire it earlier than individuals in the
general population, who may experience a high-frequency hearing loss as
they age.”

When assessing hearing damage for these groups, HEI researchers also
considered exposure to noise sources outside of the work environment
that might contribute to hearing loss. These additional noise sources
included recreational activities and hobbies, home and yard maintenance
with power equipment, and commuter noise (car/train/bus). Comparative
studies were included to determine contributing factors such as gender,
age and history of vocational noise exposure to loud sounds.

HEI researchers emphasize that noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is
the one type of hearing loss that is preventable and encourage all
music and audio professionals to wear appropriate hearing protection
where sound levels exceed the 85dB SPL for extended periods of
time.

For specific sound exposure guidelines, please visit the Sound
Partners page on the HEI Website at www.hei.org.

Little Kids Rock Manhattan Center Studios
Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit music education program that provides
free instruments and instruction to children in public schools,
announced the completion of another celebrity recording session for its
upcoming project, Little Kids, Big Fans: Stars United for Music
Education. Two tracks, “”Little Dinosaur” and “Everyone Loves
the Rainbow,” were recorded at Manhattan Center Studios.

The new CD features high-profile artists covering versions of songs
written by Little Kids Rock students. Artists already onboard include
Billy Joel’s percussionist, Liberty DeVitto; Public Enemy’s Brian
Hardgroove; Victor Burks of the Fine Arts Militia; Tom Johnson (Doobie
Brothers); Jason Newsted, (Voivod); blues guitarist Roy Rogers; Zigaboo
Modaliste (The Meters); and singer Austin Willacy.

Future stages of the production will include several more recording
sessions, post-production/mixing/mastering, art production, CD
duplication, distribution, marketing and several benefit concerts. In
the coming months, both Manhattan Center Studios in New York and the
Plant in Sausalito, Calif., will be donating their time and services to
Little Kids Rock. The CD is slated for release in December 2004.

In other Manhattan Center News, its sister company, Manhattan Center
Productions, recently signed an agreement with NewYorkDVD to be the
preferred in-house provider of expert-level DVD authoring and project
development for MCP clients, including live music and performance acts
booked in both the Grand Ballroom and the Hammerstein Ballroom, which
are operated by Manhattan Center Studios.

For more information, please visit www.mcp-studios.com.

New Release: Tassman 4
Tassman recently announced the new Tassman 4 modular sound synthesis
studio, which arrives with an expanded library, audio input processing
capability and other upgraded features.

Tassman 4’s new Performance mode provides instant access to sounds
by combining a synth, a preset, effects and MIDI maps. Users can
organize performances by style, type or venues.

Output Stage includes sync-to-host capability, tempo-synched
ping-pong delay, reverb and audio recorder. While providing instant
control over playback and recording of your performances, the Output
Stage also adds depth, warmth and dimension to any synth.

The Tassman 4’s expanded library is a collection of synthesizers and
“usable” effects created by noted sound designers.

With the Audio Input Processing feature, the Tassman can now be used
as a real-time audio effects processor. Acoustic resonators can be used
to add different textures to your sound.

Based on Applied Acoustics Systems’ physical-modeling technology,
the Tassman offers a wide range of synths, ranging from emulations of
acoustic instruments, analog and FM synthesizers, and loop processors
to unique hybrid creations.

For more information, visit www.applied-acoustics.com/tassman.htm.

Dolby Inducted Into National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame inducted Ray Dolby last week in
recognition of his invention of the Dolby noise-reduction system.

“”Ray Dolby changed the face of the recording industry with
his noise-reduction system. The multitrack recording techniques that
blossomed in the late 1960s and early 1970s would have been impossible
without Dolby’s invention because the tape hiss would have been
intolerable,” said Fred Allen, head of the selection committee for the
National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation. “And today, applied to
consumer formats and motion picture sound, the results are even more
far-reaching. With the removal of tape noise, cinema sound became
higher fidelity and paved the way for even more sophisticated surround
sound formats like Dolby Stereo.”

At a ceremony at the National Inventors Hall of Fame headquarters in
Akron, Ohio, Dolby and 19 other inventors joined such historic figures
as Alexander Graham Bell, Eli Whitney and Thomas Edison in the National
Inventors Hall of Fame. To qualify for this distinction, an inductee’s
invention must have contributed to the welfare of society and have
promoted the progress of science and the useful arts. All nominations
are reviewed by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Selection
Committee, which comprises representatives from national science and
technology organizations.

Read about Dolby’s latest developments at www.dolby.com.

VOX Takes the Stage at Florida Grammy Showcase
VOX Amplification was chosen as an equipment sponsor for the first
Florida Grammy® Showcase held in Miami Beach this past March.

VOX AC30s were used throughout the show, which comprised live
performances from six unsigned acts selected from more than 250
entries.

For more information on VOX and the AC30, visit www.voxamps.co.uk.

Musictech Opens American Pop Music College in Europe
Musictech College announced plans to open its first college of American
popular music in Europe this fall. McNally Smith College of Music,
named for Musictech co-founders Jack McNally and Doug Smith, will be
located at the Media Docks in Lübeck, Germany, and will offer
coursework ranging from contract law and entrepreneurship to recording,
music production, applied music and songwriting through its
International Music Business program.

Students at McNally Smith Europe will also have the opportunity to
study at the U.S. Musictech College. In addition, Musictech College
U.S. students will have the opportunity to study in Lübeck for one
or more semesters.

Musictech College specializes in the study of music performance,
music business, recording technology and multimedia arts. More than 400
students are currently enrolled at the U.S. college, which features a
state-of-the-art recording studio complex in addition to music
performance, music business and recording technology coursework.

For more information about McNally Smith College, visit www.mcnallysmith.com. For more information about
Musictech College, visit www.musictech.edu.

New Audio Training Course Makes Waves
Audio software plug-in manufacturer Waves Ltd. has introduced a
CD-based interactive course titled Production-Mixing-Mastering With
Waves, written by Anthony Egizii. The course includes seven CDs
(for either Mac or PC) and contains audio sessions files for use on all
popular audio editing software. The course teaches digital audio
workstation users how to master the signal processing tools that shape
the sound of hit songs, films and shows. In addition, there is a 14-day
complimentary Waves software demo set of programs for the user to
install on their system.

End-users can listen to and experiment with five professionally
mixed tracks using Waves proprietary plug-ins and browse the settings
of each individual instrument used in the songs. Also included is a
comprehensive demonstration of how Waves plug-ins function within a
mix, covering everything from equalizers, compressors, reverbs, delays,
choruses and creative effects to vintage modeled EQs, compressors and
reverbs. The CD guides the user through the process of how the songs
were arranged and produced, while explaining various techniques used in
the production process.

MSRP: $40; available at authorized Waves dealers or at www.waves.com.

Sacred Heart Touched By SADiE Cedar
St. Louis-based Sacred Heart/Contact Radio recently acquired a SADiE
digital workstation with CEDAR Retouch to clean up productions dating
back to the 1950s and to present new productions. The Retouch system
will be used with the company s SADiE RADiA workstation.

SADiE users since 1993, the Contact program, produced by
Sacred Heart Program and syndicated to more t han 300 stations
nationwide, portrays stories of real people meeting and surmounting
real-life challenges.

“”Some of the productions in our archives go back as far as
the 1950s,” says Jim Hone, production director at Sacred Heart Radio.
“They were produced at a time when broadcast technology was at one
stage. Today, we’re at a completely different stage, one in which any
artifacts that the older productions have will be magnified
considerably. But with the Retouch system, we can make them sound as
good and new as they did 30 years ago.”

Contemporary productions also receive treatment from Retouch. Sonic
artifacts that occur while doing voice-overs and other open-microphone
recording for the show are located and eliminated using Retouch
algorithms and the SADiE workstation.

For more information on CEDAR, visit www.sadie.com.

Fox Station Chooses Two Euphonix Max Airs
Fox-owned and -operated WOFL-TV has purchased two Euphonix Max Air
digital audio consoles. The decision was made after the Euphonix Max
Air Broadcast Tour vehicle rolled into WOFL’s Orlando, Fla.,
headquarters for an in-depth demonstration.

A 24-fader Max Air was scheduled for installation in the station’s
new control room in April 2004 and a 16-fader board will be installed
in WOFL’s existing control room in June. Both consoles will be used for
broadcasting news throughout central Florida.

The Max Air Broadcast Tour is a specially commissioned truck
outfitted with a 96-channel Max Air mixing system set up to simulate a
local TV station digital audio control room. It is currently touring
throughout the U.S.

To find out more about the Max Air, visit www.euphonix.com.

Izotope Releases Full Plug-in Line
Izotope Inc. has announced OS X support for its entire line of
professional audio plug-ins and has released its entire line in Pro
Tools, VST and DirectX formats. The release includes iZotope Ozone, a
64-bit analog modeled mastering system; iZotope Trash, a 64-bit classic
amp, distortion, delay and filter simulator; and isotope Spectron, a
versatile spectral-based effect.

iZotope Ozone features proprietary MBIT+ wordlength reduction
technology, tube-modeled multiband dynamics with analog and
linear-phase crossover modes, RMS and peak detection, tube-modeled EQ
with linear phase mode for digitally transparent equalization and an
intelligent matching function for spectrum matching 64-bit acoustically
modeled reverb.

Trash features a wide range of 64-bit box, cabinet and speaker
models, multiband distortion algorithms, fully sweepable and
triggerable filters and unique delay module. The distortion, delay and
filter simulator offers realistic modeling of 85 amp cabinets and
speakers, 36 filters and 48 distortion types.

Catering to sound designers, Spectron is designed around the
Spectron Engine, a core processing module that decomposes audio into
thousands of frequency bands for spectral processing. Features include
a Morph module with frequency-selective amount control, filter module,
smear module and an innovative interface that allows for virtually
unlimited sweeping and triggering options.

All plug-ins are available for purchase as a download or on CD from
the iZotope Website. MSRPs include Ozone 3, $299 to new customers and
$49 to current Ozone 3 DirectX customers; Trash, $199 for new customers
and $39 to current Trash DirectX customers; and Spectron, $99 to new
customers and $29 to current Spectron DirectX customers. All plug-ins
ship on CDs with extra content for an additional $29. Updates to the
DirectX version for existing DirectX customers are provided free of
charge.

For more information, visit www.izotope.com.

Martin Audio Reigns in NC State Fair
When the concrete, glass and steel frame of the Dorton Arena—home
to the North Carolina State Fair—produced reverb times greater
than six seconds, Raleigh-based RMB Audio brought in a Martin Audio
W8LC Compact Line Array to help solve the problem. “We pulled the
system up as high as we could to try and hit the audience floor before
the first reflection got back to the crowd,” says RMB Audio head Cooper
Cannady.

For the arena’s two audio systems, RMB Audio chose 24 Martin Audio
W8LC Compact three-way line array cabinets for front of house, along
with eight W8C cabinets for side seating and eight W8S bass cabinets
mounted on the floor.

The front-of-house system for the fair included Chevin Research
A6000, A2500 and Quad 900 amplifiers, a Soundcraft SM20 48-channel
mixer, eight Ashly GQX3102 stereo 1/3-octave EQs, a Quad gate Drawmer
404, Sony R7 reverbs and dbx 166 stereo comp/limiters for processing,
along with 16 Martin Audio LE700 bi-amped wedges, two Martin Audio
tri-amped drum fills and two Martin Audio W8/WS sidefills, along with a
selection of Shure, Beyer, Sennheiser and Crown microphones.

Engineers worked on a Midas Heritage 2000 console augmented by two
Brooke Siren 960 stereo 1/3-octave EQs, a Drawmer DL241B stereo
compressor limiter, two Brook Siren FDS-388 Omnidrives, two XTA DP200s,
two Drawmer DS404 4-channel noise gates, three Drawmer DS441 quad
compressor limiters, an Eventide H3000, TC Electronic D-2 Delay and two
Yamaha SPX-990s.

For more information on Martin Audio products, please visit www.martin-audio.com.

Gustavo Celis Expands Studio, Adds Genelec
Grammy® Award–winning producer/engineer Gustavo Celis has
purchased two complete Genelec monitoring systems for the expansion of
his Miami-based recording facility, Supersonic Studios.

The new expansion, which was designed by the Toronto-based firm
Pilchner Schoustal International Inc., doubles Supersonic’s size to
four studios. One of the two new rooms, Studio 1, employs as its main
monitoring system a pair of Genelec 1034Bs and a 7073A sub, as well as
5.1 surround playback that use five Genelec 1031As with a Genelec 7070A
sub. The modern-designed room also includes a mix of vintage and
contemporary equipment, including the Universal Audio LA-2A compressor,
Neve 1073 mic pre and Lexicon 960L digital reverb, complemented by a
Digidesign Pro Tools|HD hard disk recording system.

Celis has won three Grammy Awards for his recording work on the
musical numbers for the film Chicago.

For more information on Celis, visit www.gustavocelis.com. For the latest Genelec info,
visit www.genelecusa.com.

Behringer Unleashes the V-AMPIRE
Behringer recently announced the release of V-AMPIRE LX1200H, its first
modeling guitar amplifier head.

The 2×60-watt stereo or 120-watt mono operation amplifier features
32 authentic amp models, 15 speaker cabinet simulations and a 24-bit
multi-effects processor.

The LX1200H offers a variety of effects and tones, along with
Behringer’s amp modeling technology and a classic, tube-like sound. The
LX1200H’s 32 amp models are based on further improvements and
refinement of the V-AMP 2 modeling technology. Behringer’s proprietary
switchable ULTRA-G speaker simulation facilitates direct recording or
feeding live sound to a P.A., while an adjustable stereo aux input for
line-level signals such as CD or sound cards fits many monitoring
applications.

The V-AMPIRE LX1200H also features 16 top-notch effect models,
including analog delays, compressor, wah-wah, reverb, flanger and
rotary speakers, among others. The 15 speaker cabinet models can be
mixed and matched with any of the amp models and effects.

The amplifier package includes a pre-DSP send/return for dry
recording and wet monitoring, while a low-noise instrument input
ensures guitar signal integrity. Balanced stereo XLR DI Out with ground
lift is also provided, and 15 rear panel connectors allow routing for
any application, plus full MIDI compatibility. A Windows editor is
downloadable from the Behringer Website free of charge.

It will begin shipping in the third quarter 2004. For more
information, visit www.behringer.com.

New Release: Avid Xpress Studio
Avid Technology Inc. recently introduced the Avid Xpress Studio system,
an all-in-one content creation suite for DV professionals. The package
includes integrated video editing, audio production, 3-D animation,
compositing and titling, and DVD authoring software products combined
with professional video and audio production hardware. All of the
applications in the Avid Xpress Studio system interoperate together on
the same computer, allowing individual content creators to work across
multiple media disciplines in a single production environment.

The five software applications included in the Avid Xpress Studio
system, which are also available for individual purchase, include Avid
Xpress Pro, Avid Pro Tools LE, Avid 3D, Avid FX and Avid DVD by
Sonic.

Avid Xpress Studio will be available in two versions: Avid Xpress
Studio Essentials, which includes a Digidesign Mbox, and Avid Xpress
Studio Complete, which includes the Digi 002 and Avid Mojo Digital
Nonlinear Accelerator.

Avid Xpress Studio Essentials has a MSRP of $3,995 U.S. and Avid
Xpress Studio Complete is offered for $6,995. Both are slated to be
available this quarter.

For more information about the Avid Xpress Studio, visit www.avid.com.

Lynn Martin Turns the Big 5-0!
Fifty years ago today, on May 7, 1954, the headlines were filled with
amazing stories from around the world. The U.S., Great Britain and
France rejected a Russian bid for membership in NATO; and Roger
Bannister, an Oxford medical student shattered track and field’s most
famed barrier, running a mile course in three minutes and 59 seconds.
Looking off the newspaper front pages—meaning way off—you
might have noticed a tiny birth announcement for future pro audio
magnate Lynn Martin.

One of those guys who shrugged off the notion that he’d ever reach
30—much less 50—Martin lived the ultimate dream rock ‘n’
roll lifestyle of playing screaming electric violin solos in a long
string of bands that ultimately went nowhere. However, the years of
road life, filthy roadside bathrooms, late-night gigs in sleazy clubs
and an existence on cheap cigarettes and cold morning-after pizza took
their toll, and Martin gave up his wandering ways for a real daytime
gig.

Of course, as a musician, the ultimate fantasy job is to work in a
music store, selling gear to other people who somehow think they can
make money in this biz. It’s always been this way, so he signed on at
K&K Music in the bustling metropolis of Sacramento, Calif. After
working there long enough to get all of the gear he needed at an
employee discount, Martin quit and became a manufacturers rep for Brian
Trankle & Associates, calling on local stores and dealers and
wholesaling them gear that they could sell to musicians who thought
they could make money in this biz.

Martin’s friendly smile and easy-going nature helped him in his new
career, but also led to a stumble or two, according to Skip Maggiora of
leading Sacramento retailer Skip’s Music: “I always enjoyed giving Lynn
a hard time and he made it very easy since he could be pretty gullible.
Even before he heard the news, I already knew he would be offered the
rep job. This was a perfect opportunity pull a fast one on my good
friend Lynn. Knowing he’d be my new rep for Audio-Technica and
Digitech, I sat in my office and waited for his call, which came later
that day. Lynn was excited and said, ‘I have some good news for you,’
but before he could say anything else, I said, ‘I’ve got some news for
you: You don’t have to worry about losing any of those A-T or Digitech
sales [from K&K] to Skip’s anymore, because I just discontinued
both lines!’ There was a long silence on the other end of the phone and
with a whole lot less excitement in his voice, Lynn asked, ‘You’re not
doing business with A-T or Digitech anymore?’ I quickly said, ‘No,
never again. Why?’ I let him stew on it as long as I could. I knew that
he had probably already seen just how much business we were doing in
his new territory and had calculated those numbers into his new
paycheck. Of course, I was just kidding him and went on to do a lot of
business with Lynn.”

Turning his back on the Golden State, Martin pulled up stakes and
moved to Salt Lake City in 1991, beginning a long stint with the Harman
Music Group, helping to develop the Allen & Heath and dbx brands.
In a November 2002 interview in Mix magazine, he was quoted as saying,
“I knew I was in the right profession when I found myself developing,
marketing and selling products for the brands and the type of gear that
I used to dream of owning.” However, what he really meant to say was
that as a manufacturer, he could use rep firms to sell gear to dealers
who’d sell gear to musicians who thought they could make money in this
biz. And after eight years of that (and a long, unfulfilled yearning
for decent local sushi), he returned to California as the VP of
merchandising for Guitar Center’s technology division.

Allen & Heath left the Harman group in 2001, and Martin saw an
opportunity. Some months later, he left Guitar Center to form NAPA
(North American Pro Audio), an Agoura Hills, Calif.-based consortium
that handles U.S. distribution of A&H and other brands, including
the famed Swedish Hagstrom guitars, again putting Lynn ever-closer to
that lifelong dream of selling gear to people who think they can make
money in this biz.

So today, May 7, 2004, marks Lynn Martin’s first half-century. If
you know Martin, drop a note or call to wish him a couple
more…half-centuries, that is. He’ll appreciate it.

Mix correspondent George Petersen also runs www.crazycampsongs.com, a Website offering wacky
children’s music books to people who think there’s money to be made in
the music biz.

Queen Teams With Waves for Video Reissue
The band Queen remains an icon of glamorous, orchestral rock ’’n’
roll, having carved a lasting place in music history with an indelible
catalog of rousing anthems and compelling ballads. Queen’s huge fan
base continues to devour a steady stream of reissues of the group’s
classic recordings. The use of Waves’ digital signal processing
plug-ins has allowed the band’s recordings to stay as true as possible
to the originals.

Queen’s Greatest Video Hits 2, a compilation of Queen music
videos with audio remixed in 5.1, is the latest release in a series
that includes Live At Wembley Stadium, The Game and
Greatest Video Hits 1. The new project was remixed by Justin
Shirley-Smith, Kris Fredriksson and Josh Macrae with Queen bandmates
Roger Taylor and Brian May. Members of the team worked in two different
studios in the UK on two identical Digidesign Pro Tools|HD systems,
both of which are equipped with Waves’ Renaissance DSP tools as part of
the Gold Bundle of plug-ins. This setup allows Macrae and Shirley-Smith
to work on the same piece of music in identical digital environments
and trade sound files back and forth.

“”The Waves plug-ins have been critical to making these Queen
reissue projects sound as good as they do,” remarked Macrae. “The
processing in the Renaissance bundle is remarkable and we use it on
virtually every aspect of the project. I’ll start with the Waves EQ as
the primary equalization for everything. I’ll also have the Renaissance
compression on individual tracks and then across the entire mix. In
between, I’ll apply various other Waves processors, such as the
flangers and the delays. All of them are incredible-sounding as digital
signal processors, but they go a step further. Only Waves plug-ins are
capable of making tracks that are, in some cases, 20 years old sound
like new, yet still leave in the analog warmth of the original
recordings. It’s actually quite amazing: The Renaissance processors
color the sound but in such a way that’s sympathetic to the original
recordings. That’s not a quality I have found in any other plug-ins,
ever. The success of the Queen reissues also tells us that the Waves
plug-ins are the only tool for this job. Simply put, they are
remarkable.”

For more information about the latest Queen projects, please visit
www.queenonline.com. For information about Waves
products, refer to its Website at www.waves.com.

Gefen Offers New HDTV Extender Cable
A new method of high-definition video extension from Gefen transmits
audio and video data up to 150 feet over Cat-5 cable.

Multiple resolutions up to 1,080i and multichannel digital audio are
effective at distances up to 150 feet, making the HDTV Extender an
alternative to fiber optics or copper cables for medium-length
installations, ideal when upgrading audio/video systems from analog to
digital.

The HDTV Extender is available in two models that work with HD’s two
interfaces: DVI (digital visual interface) and HDMI (high-definition
multimedia interface). DVI, often the preferred format for professional
A/V applications, transmits high-resolution uncompressed digital video
data from source to display. HDMI, geared toward the consumer market,
transmits high-resolution uncompressed digital video and multichannel
digital audio from source to display. When used with computer-based
systems, DDC control signals are sent in addition to HDTV video on
their own dedicated Cat-5 cable.

The HDTV Extender is HDCP-compliant, retails for $499 and is
available to order at www.gefen.com. Shipping should begin within six to
eight weeks. The HDTV Extender comes with its own sender and receiver
units, both powered by a single 5-volt external supply and connection
cables.

Soundelux Debuts the E250 Cardioid Tube Mic
Conceived and designed purely as a vocal microphone, the Soundelux E250
cardioid tube condenser rethinks classic tube microphone design to
address the inherent problems with the modern practice of close-miking
loud vocals. Classic tube condenser microphones were never meant to be
placed within six inches of loud vocalists, yet producers and engineers
love the presence, size and low-frequency boost this adds to their
artist’s sound. However the proximity effect’s low-frequency buildup
and the upper midrange/treble tilt of many old classic cardioid
microphones can also work counterproductively, causing problems
requiring extensive outboard signal processing.

Designer David Bock remarks, “I started out designing a more
affordable and mellow version of the ELUX 251 while still retaining all
the 251’s meat and sound something you can’t get from a 47 or any of
the other vintage mics. The E250 is not as bright as the 251 with its
pronounced high-frequency peak. The 250 is mellowed down a bit, and I
sculpted the proximity effect more toward the middle of the vocal range
than down below it where it usually lives. Basically, the 250 is a
condenser version of the 251 optimized for close vocals and includes
all our modern enhancements with lower noise and distortion specs.”

Another problem with close-miking vocals is high-frequency
directionality, or the “beaming effect.” This is where any slight head
movement by the singer can produce a big change in the high-frequency
content. Bock continues, “The new E250 has a broader cardioid polar
pattern than our standard 251, which is fairly directional up close,
and that makes it much more forgiving in these cases.”

The E250 is similar-looking to the ELUX 251 with the same color
scheme but with a one-piece body and without a chromed windscreen. The
E250 is delivered in a wood box, comes with a custom shock-mount and
the P251 power supply (same as ELUX 251).

Derived from the 251, the capsules are hand-picked and individually
tested. They have a 1-inch diameter with a 6-micron-thick
gold-vapor-deposited diaphragm. Like the 251, the entire capsule is
mounted in a brass holder. Bock also chose a different tube and output
transformer than the ELUX 251 and kept Soundelux’s Stable Bias
circuitry design to prevent the sound of the mic changing with
dynamics. The mic’s frequency response stays constant whether the
vocalist is singing loud or soft.

For more information, go to Soundelux’s U.S. distributor,
Transamerica Audio Group, at www.transaudiogroup.com.

TC-Helicon Rebate Extended
Anyone who is interested in TC-Helicon’s vocal processor Quintet should
act now, as the $100 rebate, which began February 1 and was scheduled
to end May 1, has now been extended to June 1, 2004. Details about
qualifying for the rebate and the rebate coupon can be downloaded at www.quintetrebate.com.

Quintet ($595 MSRP) can be used for live performances or in the
studio to create four-part intelligent harmonies. In addition to
harmony, Quintet includes built-in lead voice double-tracking,
TC-quality reverb and a high-quality mic preamp.

For an audio demo CD of Quintet and its companion product
VoiceWorks, visit www.TC-Helicon.com and select “”Order Demo
CD” from the left side of the Quintet product page.

Shure, DRF Work to Prevent Hearing Loss
Shure Incorporated announced that the company has joined the board of
the Deafness Research Foundation’s World Council on Hearing Health, an
international nonprofit organization whose mission is to make a
lifetime of hearing possible for all people through quality research,
public education and advocacy.

“”We are excited to join the Deafness Research Foundation in
their effort,” said Sandy LaMantia, Shure’s president and CEO. “When
they approached us about joining their board, it seemed like a natural
fit for us. Two years ago, Shure adopted hearing conservation as our
corporate cause because we feel it’s important to educate people about
the risks of hearing loss. That’s why we created the Shure Bid for
Hearing program.”

The Shure Bid for Hearing program is dedicated to educating
musicians, audio professionals and consumers on how to enjoy sound
responsibly. The program also raises money for hearing conservation
charities to underwrite the cost of providing free hearing screenings,
creating educational publications and films and funding hearing
research studies.

“”We’re thrilled that Shure has agreed to join our board and
we look forward to a lasting partnership,” said Sue Greco, executive
director of the Deafness Research Foundation. “Having Shure involved
gives us great inroads with an audience of musicians, music fans and
audio industry professionals whose hearing health is critical to their
professional and personal pursuits.”

For more information about the Shure Bid for Hearing Program, please
visit www.shure.com/hearing. For more information about
the Deafness Research Foundation, go to its Websites at www.drf.org.

Chicago Recording Company Sessions to Benefit
Foundation
The following sessions at Chicago Recording Company were in support of
Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation. Director Steven Soderbergh and
producer Jerry Weintraub transformed Studio 4 to shoot scenes for the
upcoming film Ocean’s Twelve. Actors Don Cheadle and Andy Garcia
starred in the scene, while engineers Dennis Tousana and Mat Lejeune
had their 30 seconds of fame as extras in the scene.

Engineer Chris Shepard and assistant Davey Rieley packed up the
mobile rig and headed to Mississippi for three weeks to record a new
record with Elvis Costello and producer Dennis Herring; Costello’s
recorded is slated for release later this year. Chris Steinmetz has
been producing and recording songs with the Chicago rock band the
Musical Outfits in Studio 5; Todd Brodie assisted. Britney Spears and
her band were in Studio 4 for a long weekend, working on some new songs
with engineer Jeff Lane, and assistants Derek Downing and Azuolas
Sinkevicius. Chris Sabold recorded an album with trumpeter Rob Parton
and his 18-piece big band; Mike Pierce assisted. Steve Weeder and
Stuart Holverson loaded the mobile rig into the legendary Chess Records
to record Styx, featuring various Chicago blues legends.

For more information, go to the Chicago Recording Company Website at
www.chicagorecording.com.

Native Instruments NI Komplete 2 Upgrade Offer
From now until May 31, 2004, Native Instruments is offering deals on
the upcoming NI Komplete 2 bundle. Anyone who owns at least one product
from the NI Komplete 2 spectrum can take advantage of the special
pre-launch upgrade offer: Upgrade from one NI product to 11 for only
$1,149.

NI Komplete 2 is an extensive collection of sound generators and
effects by Native Instruments. This massive complete bundle combines 11
instruments on two DVDs with just one installer: Absynth 2, Reaktor 4,
B4 organ, FM7, Pro-53, Kontakt 1.5, Kompakt, Intakt, Battery, Vokator
and NI-Spektral Delay.

Note that the availability of the pre-launch offer varies according
to the country in which you live: Europe (except France), April 23 to
May 31; North America, France and international, May 3 to 31; and
Japan, May 14 to June 20.

You can find authorized dealers at www.native-instruments.com or
shop Native Instruments online at www.native-instruments.com.

The Systems Group Introduces MasterPlan for Digital TV
The Systems Group (TSG), a systems design and integration firm
specializing in advanced technology applications for digital broadcast
facilities, has introduced the MasterPlan Master Control Program.
Designed to provide a simpler, more sensible approach to Master Control
for DTV, MasterPlan contains all of the equipment, logistics and
documentation to solve any station’s needs.

The MasterPlan program identifies the best solutions for stations or
origination centers by analyzing cost-effective industry trends and
opportunities. By working closely with dozens of the industry’s top
manufacturers such as Sundance, Pinnacle, General Instruments and Dolby
Labs, TSG carefully matches features and functions that target an
organization’s immediate needs, future plans and budgetary goals.

TSG has been involved in the recent design and implementation of
vital facilities for major broadcasters such as a 4-channel regional
master control for Tribune Broadcasting; an eight-room, coordinated
control room facility for NFL and NCAA sports feeds for CBS Sports; a
multitime-zone broadcast operations center for MSNBC; and a
10-room/30-channel HD/surround sports network origination Center for
ESPN.

The MasterPlan’s options include older videotape assets can now
interface to the new system without conversion to disk; automation
systems that provide for unattended automatic recordings of specific
lines, control inserts, playback, backup, monitoring, control antenna
selection and positioning; integration of existing routing
switchers—even analog—into new MCR suite; premier switching
and control systems that feature 2-D/3-D/DVE, multiple keyers, A/V
breakaway, serial/parallel tally, GPIO and full internal redundancy;
up-conversion gear allows local productions to be featured in HDTV,
even when HD material is unavailable; devices with multiple key layers,
FTP-based image file transfer allow for product branding; ATSC
Multiplexer with five inputs for each channel or service, upgradeable
to meet future information delivery need; monitoring and control via
consolidated viewing; and annunciation systems for IT and broadcast
system health are displayed via TCP/IP and SNMP management.

For more information on The Systems Group, please visit its Website
at www.tsg-hoboken.com.

Klark Teknik Launches PC Remote Control for Helix
Klark Teknik announced the launch of PC remote control for its Helix
DN9340 digital equalization system. This is the latest add-in to the
ELGAR software control shell that has been developed for Klark Teknik
and Midas products.

The PC controller mirrors the operation of the units themselves,
allowing instant and simultaneous online control of up to 64 channels
of EQ from a laptop, tablet computer or compatible device. The unique
FastNav feature allows access to any function of any channel with just
two button-clicks. The software has been extensively beta-tested on
numerous events and tours.

The graphical interface is intuitive and straightforward to use. The
homepage provides a composite view of the overall operation of any
channel, and full real-time metering is provided for all channels. The
software is available now as a free download from www.klarkteknik.com.

Endless Noise Gives Lexus Spots “Simple, Unique” Sound
Endless Noise, an original music production company specializing in
commercials, TV programs, films and multimedia projects, has completed
original music composition for two new 30-second Lexus spots.

For client Team One Advertising and executive producer Jack Epsteen,
Endless Noise composed original music for two new spots entitled
“Custom Fit,” promoting the Lexus ES 330, and “One Percent,” promoting
the Lexus RX 330. Elmassian and Andy Rehfeldt were composers of the new
music, along with sound designers Jeremy Zuckerman and Scott Friedman,
and executive producer Celia Williams. The spots will break in
mid-May.

Regarding Endless Noise’s work, Epsteen said, “We loved the
simplicity and uniqueness that Endless Noise historically has brought
to many of its projects. For these two new spots, they gave us some
nice, simple tracks that didn’t compete with the visuals, which was
exactly what we needed. They were a joy to work with and a lot of
fun.”

To view the spots, please visit www.endlessnoise.com. Click on “Reels,” and then
click on the top two color images in the center column. To play each
one, click one and then click on “view spot” at the right. Please note
that if the prompt asks for a “username” and “password,” simply click
“cancel.”

Sales Manager Black Joins Tannoy
Tannoy North America has expanded its sales development efforts with
the addition of veteran sales manager Derek Black.

“”With a proven track record and an extensive systems
background, Derek’s skill set is an excellent fit with our
organization,” said VP sales Marc Bertrand. “As part of our commercial
and professional sales team, Black will help Tannoy to gain market
share and win product categories.”

Black joins Tannoy with more than 15 years of industry experience as
a pro and commercial division manager for Canada, regional sales
manager, MIDI specialist, programmer, producer, engineer and
composer.

For more information about Tannoy, go to its Website at www.tannoy.com.

Disc Makers Offers Complimentary UV Coating on CD/DVD
Projects
Disc Makers, an independent media manufacturer, is now offering UV
coating, a high-gloss premium finish, free with all orders that use
board packaging, such as CD jackets and Digipaks.

The protective UV coating adds durability, bright color
presentation, a smooth glossy feel and ability to seal in the ink used
during the printing process. In addition to the standard UV coating,
Disc Makers is now offering uncoated “matte” stock printing for its
board products as an option available at no extra change.

For more information on Disc Makers, please visit www.discmakers.com.

Minilyzer Supports AFILS Measurements
NTI AG announces the release of the Minilyzer firmware release Version
3.10, supporting induction loop measurements and extended individual
harmonic distortion analysis from 2nd to the 5th harmonic. The new
firmware 3.10 is available now. All Minilyzer users can upgrade their
instruments using the MiniLINK PC software to download the firmware
from the NTI Website.

The AFILS (Induction Loop Systems) mode is an extension of the
standard firmware functionality, and is available free of charge for
all Minilyzer users with the MiniLINK USB interface installed. The
Minilyzer supports all calibrated AFIL sensors and displays the
actually measured field strength in A/m and in dB relative to the
standardized reference of 400 mA/m. Following the AFILS IEC 60118
standard, 3.10 supports level quasi peak, 10ms integration time, level
RMS, fast and slow integration time, frequency sweeps, THD+N
measurements, 1/3-octave spectral analysis and oscilloscope mode.

For technical or product-related questions please go to NTI’s
Website at www.nt-instruments.com/.

Fire Destroys Much of Sennheiser’s Ireland-Based Plant
A Sennheiser headphone production facility in Tullamore, Ireland, was
badly damaged by fire in the early hours of May 3. No one was injured
in the fire. In spite of the substantial damage to the factory, Peter
Callan, general manager of Sennheiser Ireland, is confident that
operations will resume in a relatively short period of time. Adjacent
facilities have already been secured and the rebuilding process has
begun. The cause of the fire is as yet unknown.

For more information about this and other Sennheiser news and
products, please go to www.sennheiserusa.com.

L.A.’s Chace Audio Celebrates Two Decades
Chace Audio celebrated its 20th anniversary in April 2004, marking an
important milestone for the Los Angeles-area facility. Chace Audio
continued to be one of the leading independent providers of stereo
remastering for film soundtracks. The facility is regularly called upon
by leading studios to resurrect and transform film soundtracks damaged
by the effects of time into stunning 5.1 or 6.1 multichannel stereo for
DVD or theatrical re-release.

During the previous 20 years, Chace has restored, preserved or
remastered cinema masterpieces that include Gone With the Wind,
The Wizard of Oz, Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The
Director’s Cut, Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Seven,
Singin’ In the Rain, Easy Rider and The Godfather
trilogy.

A big part of the remastering process incorporates the proprietary
Chace Digital Stereo® processor (CDS), first conceived and
invented by Chace in the 1980s. The CDS processor is a patented,
programmable, workstation-based system for making true directional
stereo with stereo surrounds from monaural sources. No sounds are added
and none are removed.

During the past two decades, Chace Productions has expanded from its
original 7,900-square-foot building to a four-building complex,
encompassing more than 26,000 square feet. Dubbing capabilities in its
THX-certified Rick Chace Theatre, ADR/Foley and optical sound recording
(in SR-D and DTS) are located in the Rick Chace Film Center—a
separate 7,000-square-foot complex around the corner from the main
compound. Chace’s two newest buildings include a 5,000-square-foot
short-term storage vault with segregated storage for severely
deteriorated elements and a 6,800-square-foot administrative and
R&D building.

“”The last two decades have seen tremendous changes in both
the film and audio industries, and we are extremely pleased to still be
a leading service provider to the entertainment community,” states Bob
Heiber, president of Chace Audio. “Within the last five years, the
growth of home theater has powerfully demonstrated the capabilities of
the multichannel stereo format. As a facility with the longest legacy
working in this medium, we look forward to the next 20 years.”

For more information about Chace, go to its Website at www.chace.com.

TC Electronic Announces Upgrades and New Products
TC Electronic announces a new version of its Restoration Suite, a set
of audio restoration tools for PowerCore, and the debut of the
Mastering 6000 to the System 6000 family of products.

Restoration Suite Version 1.5 adds a new DeCrackle plug-in and
processing improvements to the three existing audio restoration tools:
DeClick, DeNoise and DeScratch. Restoration Suite 1.5 will begin
shipping in June with prices at $1,495. A free upgrade will be
downloadable from the TC Website for existing Restoration Suite
users.

Like DeScratch, the DeCrackle algorithm was developed by Noveltech
in Finland. It is specifically designed to remove artifacts ranging
from one to 20 samples long. As with all plug-ins in the suite,
DeCrackle has an Audition feature, which can be used to play back only
the noise that has been removed from the signal.

The DeNoise plug-in has been updated with an Auto mode that makes it
possible to remove noise from material where it is not possible to take
a fingerprint; for instance, if there are no parts with noise only.
Fingerprints can now be adjusted independently for left and right
channels. The DeScratch plug-in’s high-quality mode has been improved
significantly with new interpolation algorithm,s and the DeClick
plug-in features enhanced detection algorithms.

The Mastering 6000 is a four-engine mastering processor based on the
company’s multichannel processing platform, System 6000. Mastering 6000
is a custom set of precise timing and high-resolution digital signal
processing tools designed specifically for mastering engineers
producing high-quality audio for CD, DVD, SACD and film. Mastering 6000
has a license-based structure, which enables it to be augmented with
optional processing tools. Mastering 6000 ($7,995) will be available in
June.

New limiting and compression algorithms in Mastering 6000 include
MD4, featuring a 5-band stereo and MS processor with linear phase split
filter topology, an updated brickwall limiter that prevents listening
fatigue and distortion using internal sample rates of up to 480 kHz (5x
the upsampling) and new custom AD/DA conversion filters. For
multichannel productions, Mastering 6000 also includes 5.1 multiband
compressor/expander, 5.1 limiter and 5.1/stereo monitor matrix. The
Mastering 6000 hardware features jitter rejection, the ability to
handle analog inputs of up to +30 dBu, the capability to deal with hot
digital level without distorting and 48-bit internal resolution.

For more information on any of these products, please go the TC
Electronic Website at www.tcelectronic.com.

PowerFX Unleashes Miracle Free, Miracle Beat
PowerFX, a provider and digital distributor of loops, sound effects and
music samples, released Miracle Beats, a sample CD and VST/AudioUnits
instrument combination that includes the award-winning LoopMorph
technology. With more than 500 killer beats and a unique integrated
VST/AU instrument interface, Miracle Beats allows for complete
creation, control and manipulation of beat loops.

Users can download and work with fully functioning Miracle Beats
Free version that contains the first 19 loops of Miracle Beats at www.powerfx.com.

The Miracle Beats VST/AU instrument can rearrange, split, morph and
turn the 500 loops into an infinite number of possibilities within any
VST host application. Miracle Beats key features include LoopMorph
technology, which creates millions of musical-sounding loops by
combining the sounds and patterns of different loops; Autostretch loops
to any bpm; preview loops in sync with the host software; sampler mode,
including more than 5,000 individual, ready-to-use samples from
500-plus full drum loops; four stereo outputs, including bass drum,
snare, hi-hat and percussion; and a slew of additional features.

Digigram Issues Replacement LCM220v2 Sound Card
Digigram launched the LCM220v2 sound card with 2/2 balanced analog
I/Os, which replaces the LCM220. The new board is targeted at broadcast
automation, permanent playback, logging and other pro audio
applications.

By offering a more specific set of functions, the LCM220v2 provides
Digigram onboard audio processing and features at a lower price point
than comparable cards in Digigram’s PCX range. Full-duplex, the card
offers simultaneous and independent record and playback capabilities,
as well as real-time, simultaneous MPEG Layer I and Layer II
compression and decompression during record and playback.

New features include 24-bit converters, analog and digital level
control on the outputs, short-length PCI format (175 mm or 6.875 inches
and Universal PCI bus (5-volt, 5V+3.3V or 3.3V) and PCI-X-bus
compatibility. Additionally, the LCM220v2 is compliant with Digigram’s
recently launched PC codec MP3.

When used with applications based on the Digigram np SDK, real-time
mixing of multiple sound files, level adjustment, panning, cross-fade,
punch-in/punch-out, scrubbing, and format and frequency conversions are
performed by the card’s DSP.

For more information about Digigram products, go to its Website at
www.digigram.com.

Mickel Joins Audio Biz Sales Staff
Manufacturers’ representative Audio Biz Inc. of Wauconda, Ill., has
expanded its staff once again, appointing Beth Mickel to its sales
staff.

“We are happy to welcome Beth to our staff,” Stenson said. “Her
strong background in the audio industry comes from 15 years in the
manufacturer’s rep business, making her a real asset for both us and
the manufacturers we represent.”

For more information about Audio Biz, go to its Website at www.audiobiz.com.

Mix News May 15-31

API Audio Adds Nine European Dealers

API Audio has recently appointed nine new dealers across Europe.

The new API European dealers include Stirling Syco and KMR Audio (London), Mille et un Sons (Paris), M2M (Charlevoix, Belgium), Mac Digital (Madrid, Spain), Flyline Music AG (Switzerland), Steel Productions (Norway), Lucky Music (Italy) and Binar Pro Light and Sound (Russia and Italy).

For more information on API’s analog consoles, including the recently launched API Vision surround mixing console, visit www.apiaudio.com.

O.C. Performing Arts Center Reopens With Meyer, XTA
The Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, Calif., will reopen with a newly renovated audio system. The venue’s new P.A. includes a Meyer speaker system with components controlled by an XTA DP6i audio installation controller, which was chosen by audio consultant G. Thomas Clark of Artec Consultants in New York City. The installation was handled by Thomas Gregor Associates of El Segundo, Calif.

The new self-powered Meyer system includes Meyer’s MILO and M2D line arrays, MSL-4, CQ-1, UPA and UPM enclosures.

For more information on XTA, visit www.xta.co.uk. For more on Meyer Sound, visit www.meyersound.com.

HP Audio Van Installs Studer OnAir
Freelance radio outside broadcast operator Henri Paes, who primarily works for the station Antenne Niederrhein, has purchased a Studer OnAir 500 digital radio console for HP Audio’s OB van, which is based near Düesseldorf, Germany.

The van is fully equipped for various radio projects, including sports, special events and news reports via Internet streaming or ISDN using Mayah’s Centauri 3001.

For more information on the OnAir, please visit www.studer.ch.

Inon Zur Brings Men of Valor to Eastwood Stage
Award-winning composer Inon Zur has recorded the original music soundtrack for Men of Valor, the upcoming historical first-person shooter developed by 2015 and published by Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games). The soundtrack was recorded at Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, Calif., on the Eastwood Scoring Stage.

Men of Valor is an historical action experience that portrays infantry combat during the Vietnam War. The game combines the latest Unreal technology with the gameplay of 2015 (developers of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault) and will ship to North American stores in October 2004.

Zur’s game credits include SOCOM II: U.S. Navy Seals, Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal and Shadow Ops: Red Mercury. Read more about him at www.inonzur.com.

Balsys Technology Becomes Axia Integrator
Axia Audio, the new subsidiary of Telos Systems, announced that Balsys Technology Group Inc. is now an authorized integrator of Axia broadcast products.

As an Axia partner, Balsys, a full-service broadcast systems integrator based in Orlando, Fla., is now authorized to provide systems integration services for Axia clients in need of end-to-end installed solutions. The company joins Enco, Radio Systems and Scott Studios as Axia’s newest technology partners.

Axia president Michael Dosch states, “Our association will allow Axia clients to choose between DIY studios, fully installed turnkey systems or anything between.”

For more information, visit www.axiaaudio.com or www.balsys.com.

Sacred Noise’s Michael Montes “Scores” Again
Michael Montes, the award-winning composer/creative director/co-founder of music/sound design house Sacred Noise, recently scored two new independent films: America Brown and Belle, both of which premiered at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival, held May 1 through May 9, 2004.

Written and directed by filmmaker Paul Black and starring Michael Rappaport, Natasha Lyonne, Karen Black and newcomer Ryan Kwante, America Brown is described as a coming-of-age drama filled with “emotional, dreamy tinged” music. “It’s not dark, but there is a sense of sadness in it,” says Montes, who worked closely with the director on the sound and placement of the music. Montes used a string ensemble, piano and acoustic guitar. “The challenge for me was doing a lot of musical experimenting. I wrote a lot of pieces—more than we would ever use—played them for Paul and after detailed discussions, I moved forward from there.”

Belle, a short film directed by New York filmmaker Ruth Sergel, features Klezmer-style compositions recorded live using tuba, clarinet, cello, violin and trombone. “Klezmer music is filled with a lot of spirituality and joy,” says Montes. “I did a lot of research and was able to find some early recordings made in the 1900s. Listening to those records helped me understand the tonality, instrumentation and the spirit of it all.”

For more information on Sacred Noise, visit www.sacrednoise.com.

Ableton Offers New Web Bundles
The Ableton Webshop now offers Live 3 bundled with seven other products, including Live FireWire Audiophile, Live Indigo DJ bundle, Live Hammerfall bundle, Live FW-410 bundle, Live Ozone bundle, Live X-Session bundle and Live UC-33e bundle.

All bundles come with an Ableton T-Shirt, an exclusive Ableton mousepad and free shipping charges. These bundled products are also available for purchase separately for already registered live users.

Visit www.ableton.com for details.

Korean Methodist Church Installs Sound Physics System
dB Audio and Video, along with Marietta, Ga.-based architect CDH Partners, joined forces to design a multipurpose building and sound system for Korean United Methodist Church in Duluth, Ga.

For the 900-seat facility’s audio system, dB Audio president Mike Hedden chose the SPL-triktrap speakers from Sound Physics Labs.

“In a big, live, multipurpose room like this one, there’s a big challenge in maintaining pattern control and getting as low a frequency as possible on the seats without exciting the walls and ceilings,” Hedden says. “You can’t put stadium-sized horns in there. You need something smaller while still maintaining the necessary pattern control.

“With the triks’ four 8-inch direct-radiating low-frequency drivers, four 5-inch midrange drivers and a 1-inch high-frequency driver, and the contribution of the two SPL-runts, we were able to put the sound right on the audience, maintaining intelligibility down to a low frequency.”

Two clustered triktraps were suspended from the ceiling 30 feet over the middle of the platform. To that cluster’s left and right, dB Audio personnel installed SPL-Runt speakers as lateral fills that were localized back to the center with the help of a Shure P4800 signal processor.

The front of the stage features two BASS 118 subwoofers from Belisle Acoustics.
In addition, one two-way, passive full-range loudspeaker was employed, as were
four Yamaha floor monitors. Other key equipment included two Crown CTS2000 and
two CTS3000 amplifiers, a Yamaha 01V 96-CA digital mixing console, a Yamaha
AD 824 mic preamp and a selection of Sennheiser microphones.

Dave Fortman to Produce New Mudvayne Album
Mudvayne has tapped Dave Fortman (Superjoint Ritual, Evanescence) to produce their third album for Epic Records, slated for release this fall. Singer Chad Gray, guitarist Greg Tribbett, bassist Ryan Martinie and drummer Matt McDonough chose Fortman because they felt he could combine the band’s more extreme elements.

But before heading to The Plant in Sausalito, Calif., Fortman will spend time with Mudvayne in pre-production. “I’ve found that those first few days are the most important when it comes to setting the album’s tone, challenging the band about their goals and fine-tuning the arrangements for maximum emotional impact,” he says.

“We’ve been extremely fortunate to work with some amazing producers,” says Gray. “Garth Richardson captured the band’s raw energy on the first record and David Bottrill gave our music a three-dimensional quality on the second record. For this record, we asked Dave Fortman to produce because we wanted someone who can bring both of those elements together into a sound that’s brutal and beautiful.”

The upcoming album follows L.D. 50 and The End of All Things to Come—both of which were certified Gold.

For more info, visit www.mudvayne.com.

Manhattan Center Hosts Hip Hop Summit
Manhattan Center Productions recently hosted Power 105.1 FM’s 2004 Hip Hop Summit, a series of panels and discussions surrounding the hip hop industry featuring such speakers as producer/Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons and artist Fat Joe, among others. The facility also donated a full day of recording studio time—with an engineer— to 10 summit attendees.

The Hip Hop Summit attracted artists, producers, managers, attorneys, label owners and other industry professionals to speak on a variety of topics that affect the industry, including radio airplay, getting signed to a record deal, live show promotions and the overall business of hip hop.

To find out more about Manhattan Center Productions, visit www.mcstudios.com.

Kyle Lehning Leaves Home With Soundelux
Although Nashville-based producer Kyle Lehning frequently works in fully stocked high-end studios, he usually arrives with his personal Soundelux E47 and U99 microphones in tow.

“I record lots of overdubs in my own studio, which I built in my home in the Nashville area,” Lehning says. “I also take these mics into the big rooms in Nashville: Seventeen Grand, Cartee Day and Emerald Studios, in particular,—where I like to track, even though they have extensive mic cabinets of their own.”

Upon moving to Nashville from Cairo, Ill., in 1971, Lehning quickly established himself as an in-demand producer, working with such acts as Waylon Jennings, Jimmy Buffett, Ronnie Milsap, Dan Seals and Kinky Friedman, among others. As the former president of Asylum Records, Lehning worked closely with artists such as Mandy Barnett and Randy Travis. He is currently in pre-production on Travis’ next album and has just finished projects for singer/songwriter Joy Lynn White and local Hammond B3 whiz Moe Denham.

For more information on Soundelux, dist. by Transamerica Audio Group, visit www.transaudiogroup.com.

Hal Winer Opens BiCoastal Music
Grammy Award-nominee Hal Winer recently opened BiCoastal Music, a new 1,700-square-foot facility featuring an SSL C200 digital production console.

Winer brought in Dallas-based Russ Berger Design Group to design the comfortable space, located in a converted house on several acres in Ossining, N.Y. In addition to the 96 analog, 128 digital input C200, the studio’s wedge-shaped control room also features Pro Tools|HD. The live room, affectionately named “The Living Room,” measures 25×30 feet and has a 22-foot cathedral ceiling. The studio also offers three iso rooms adjacent to the live room and a floor-to-ceiling 8x 8-foot glass window between the studio and the control room.

“There are a great number of fine engineers living in this area that commute to the city every day to work,” Winer explains. “We built a facility that allows these engineers to work near home and still produce world-class results.”

“This is a really great example of a significant trend where people are building more high-quality studios in rural settings,” adds Russ Berger, president of RBDG. “If I were going to build another studio for myself, this would be it.”

For more information on BiCoastal Music’s design, visit www.rbdg.com.

FirstCom Music Launches NoisePump Library
FirstCom Music Inc. recently announced the launch of NoisePump Music Ltd. The series was produced entirely in London by UK music vet Aaron Henry.

NoisePump features a variety of musical styles from orchestral to electronica in a user-friendly layout that includes long-form titles, commercial-length edits and submix versions. The initial 10-CD release, launched this week, will be followed by 10 more CD volumes in the fall of 2004. All music will be released on FirstCom’s Website for downloading at www.firstcom.com.

Allen & Heath to Feature iDR Series at InfoComm 2004
Allen & Heath USA will focus on the iDR Series of DSP mixing and control products at this year’s InfoComm 2004, held at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center, June 9 to 11, 2004. The company will also hold four blue-level certified training sessions at the show, providing an overview of the iDR product series and imparting the foundational skills needed to learn and function within its audio mix processing environment.

The Allen & Heath iDR digital audio system is a set of hardware, control and signal processing components suited to many installed, live sound and special project applications. Two core units, the iDR-8 (eight I/O) and the iDR-4 (six I/O), may be combined with PL Series wall plates, fader panels and handheld remotes, plus a range of push switch, indicator LED, rotary encoder, infrared receiver and audio fader controllers. The base systems are scaleable up to a maximum 16×16 audio matrix through the addition of add-on I/O expander units.

iDR attendees interested in attending the training series can reserve a spot by calling 800/431-2609 or visiting the recently launched www.idrseries.com.

Hartley Peavey Receives Honorary Doctorate from Alma Mater
Mississippi State University honored Peavey Electronics Corp. founder Hartley Peavey with an honorary doctorate during its commencement ceremony on May 8, 2004. Peavey also delivered the keynote address to 2,000-plus graduates.

As a tribute to the global success Peavey has achieved with his musical instrument and sound equipment company—which he founded in 1965, the same year he graduated from MSU—the state’s largest university presented him with an honorary Doctor of Creative and Performing Arts degree.

For more information, visit www.peavey.com.

New Dynaudio BM Subwoofers Now Shipping
Dynaudio Acoustics is now shipping two new active subwoofers in its BM Series: the BM 10S and BM 12S. With 10-inch and 12-inch woofers, respectively, the subwoofers are suited to either stereo or multichannel setups in smaller editing suites and recording and mixing studios. The BM 10S is powered by a 200-watt amplifier, while the BM 12S is powered by a 250W amp.

Both subwoofers include the DSC 1M remote controller. In addition to subwoofer level control, the remote was designed for frequency range adjustment, storage and recall of presets, and tuning the phase settings without leaving the sweet spot.

MSRPs: BM 10S, $1,595; BM 12S, $2,195.

For more information on Dynaudio’’s BM Series, distributed by TC Electronic, visit www.dynaudioacoustics.com.

SYPHA Launches New Edition of ‘NLE Buyers Guide’
SYPHA has just launched a new edition of The NLE Buyers Guide, which includes updated entries on more than 200 different hardware and software products.

Catering to professional nonlinear video editing—from DV editing and content creation for DVD/Web to finishing for HDTV/film. The guide reportedly includes all applicable turnkey systems, stand-alone appliances, video I/O hardware and NLE software packages, and also covers disk recorders and servers aimed at post-production.

The NLE Buyers Guide is designed to help professionals quickly locate the most suitable products via a search page. The search criteria now includes application, system type, operating system, video I/O type, AAF support, tapeless camera media support, cost range, manufacturer and product name.

A basic listing with costs and URL is provided for each product and, in some cases, the guide provides fuller specification with a product shot and e-mail/Web links.

The guide can be accessed free of charge at http://SYPHAonline.com.

Sonic Network Releases Symphonic Brass
Sonic Network has released Symphonic Brass, the newest addition to Sonic Implants’ Symphonic line. The three-DVD set features solo and ensemble french horns, yrombones, yrumpets and yubas and was recorded in the same hall as Symphonic Strings with the same engineers and Boston Pops musicians.

Features include multiple section sizes (first chair, second and third chair, first through third chair, and first through fourth chair), up to four alternate takes on select articulations, release samples and looped sustains.

Produced by sound designer Jennifer Hruska, Symphonic Brass was recorded by Emmy and RIAA Award-winning engineers Antonio Oliart and John Bono at Sonic Temple Studios using B&K 4011 microphones.

Visit www.sonicimplants.com for details.

Katz Embrace SpectraFoo
Digital Domain owner Bob Katz reports that Metric Halo’s SpectraFoo signal analysis and metering software has been an “indispensable tool” in his work as a recording and mastering engineer.

“I’ve used SpectraFoo for acoustic analysis of my room to align my subwoofers,” says Katz, whose studio is based in the Orlando, Fla., area. “SpectraFoo generates a pulsed pink-noise signal and, using its Transfer function, can correlate the signal with what comes out of the loudspeakers and produce a near-anechoic measurement. I can align the subwoofers by the time delay or do a simple RTA analysis.

“I can use SpectraFoo to look at the noise floor of my mastering system, see the shape of the dither in real time and make sure the dither generator is operating properly, and even get an indication of the distortion in the system. I’ve used it to measure jitter, as well as distortion.”

Metric Halo’s SpectraFoo incorporates a metering system invented by Katz, called K-System metering. K-System metering offers a standard, integrated approach to monitoring, leveling practices, metering and metadata to bring objectivity back into the perception of loudness. Mixing and mastering processes are standardized through the K-System by aligning monitor calibrations with metering calibrations and making subjective loudness reflect different program material and listening environments.

Visit Katz’s www.digido.com Website for information and technical articles on mastering and digital audio. For more information on SpectraFoo, visit www.mhlabs.com.

Steinberg’s WaveLab 5 Now Shipping
Steinberg Media Technologies recently announced that WaveLab 5, the latest version of its WaveLab software, is now shipping worldwide. The audio editing and mastering application offers full multichannel surround support, a video track and DVD-Audio mastering and authoring.

WaveLab 5 encompasses a full set of DVD=Audio mastering and authoring tools, supporting both CD-Audio and DVD=Audio formats within a unified interface. WaveLab 5 also combines all aspects of stereo and multichannel high-resolution audio editing, processing, mastering and DVD-Audio authoring/burning.

MSRP: $699.99 U.S.

For more information, visit www.steinberg.net.

Black Eyed Peas, PS 260 Editing Featured in NBA Campaign
Wieden + Kennedy producer Jesse Wann and Smuggler director Brian Beletic called upon PS 260 editor Maury Loeb and BRANDNAME Flame artist Colin Stackpole to craft an effects-intensive campaign heralding the NBA Playoffs on ESPN and finals on ABC. The Black Eyed Peas front these high-energy, music video-styled spots, which feature Carlos Santana and a roster of NBA legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell and Bill Walton.

Each of the four spots headlines a different member of The Black Eyed Peas’ crew performing custom-composed tracks with a refrain made popular by their song “Let’s Get It Started.” The first spot opens with will.i.am’s rap,”Twenty-four seconds to live and 200 percent is what I gotta give.”Multilayered images of will.i.am., a choir, dancers, Jumbotron game footage, the NBA legends and guitar great Santana appear and disappear, as if peeled away like the layers of an onion.

“Maintaining a sense of realism was key to the effects-heavy production. We didn’t want the spots to look like an assembled bunch of greenscreen shots; it was our goal to make it appear as if everyone was really living and performing together in the space,” Loeb emphasizes. “Architecturally, these spots are a real house of cards: Every element delicately relates to every other element in terms of performance and sharing screen real estate.”

Just as the ESPN campaign arrived at PS 260, the Flatiron District edit house was completing installation of five Avid Media Composer Adrenalines with 2.8 terabytes of Avid Unity centralized storage.

QuickTime previews of these spots and images can be found at www.ps260.com/pr.

Northern Lights Post Partners With Beastie Boys on New Video
For the Beastie Boys’ new music video, Ch-Check It Out, off of their forthcoming CD, To the 5 Boroughs, director Nathaniel Hornblower turned to Northern Lights Post (www.northernlightspost.com) and HD editor/effects artist Ross Shain to both finish the clip in HD and handle the extensive visual effects compositing.

“It was important to the Beastie Boys to have a 24p HD master because they are not only interested in the technology, they have interest in preserving their work for years to come,” explains Shain. “The historic Beastie Anthology DVD released in 2000 maximizes the format’s capabilities with unreleased remixes, rare footage and even user-selectable camera angles. If footage from 20 years ago is being re-released, it only makes sense to finish new projects on HD. To their credit, they realized whether it’s for HD broadcasting, creating a PAL version for European broadcast, progressive streaming on the Web or for a future DVD release, having a 16×9 24p master is the way to go.”

The song “Ch-Check It Out” is a blast from the past, with Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA mugging for the mic and weaving through a rumbling bed of throwback breakdance beats and a distinct old-school feel. In typical Beastie Boys fashion, the video is a bizarre mixture of hip hop humor and visual nonsequitors. The clip begins with a parody of TV show Star Trek with the Beastie Boys dressed as Captain Kirk, Spock and Dr. McCoy, beamed into the streets of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

“Ch-Check It Out” isn’t the first time Shain has worked with Beastie Boys. In fact, his relationship with the band goes as back to the early ’90s when Shain had his first editing job. “My first job after graduating college was editing a New York public access show called Rappin With the Rickster, which was hosted by Ricky Powell, an old friend and roadie for the Beastie Boys,” recalls Shain. “Through my work for the show, I met Adam and ended up editing ‘Slow and Low,’ a song filmed in concert that was featured on their 1992 video compilation called Skills to Pay the Bills. It’s funny when I look back on it because back then, we were using the most primitive editing systems and now here I am some 12 years later working with the Beastie Boys again, only this time in high def.”

Propellerheads’ ElectroMechanical ReFill Offered Free for Reason Users
Propellerhead Software announced that the ElectroMechanical ReFill loops collection would be included in every Reason package from May 12 forward. Registered Reason 2.5 users can download the ElectroMechanical ReFill collection for free from the Propellerhead Software Website at www.propellerheads.se.

The bonus ElectroMechanical ReFill is a collection of high-quality and previously unreleased multisampled keyboard instruments: Rhodes mkI and mkII, Wurlitzer ep100 and ep200, Hammond Model A organ, Hohner Clavinet D6 and Hohner Pianet. Each instrument is represented in five to 10 patches. The ElectroMechanical ReFill will come with documentation and demo songs on the CD.

“We found that our users are constantly thirsty for new sounds. With Reason’s advanced sampling technology, it is easy to come up with a solution for them with highly sought-after vintage sounds that broaden Reason’s sonic palette,” commented Ernst Nathorst-Böös, CEO of Propellerhead Software. “The high-quality sample patches are very convenient to use, easy on processor resources, sound absolutely great and make Reason even more versatile than ever.”

The ReFill-format packs instrument patches, samples, audio files and REX material in one compact file; the combined size of all material packed in a ReFill is reduced by up to 50 percent through nonlossy compression. The ElectroMechanical ReFill content update can either be downloaded for free from the Propellerhead Website or a CD is available for a small shipping fee.

Apple Features FinalScratch During In-Store Events
Stanton’s FinalScratch system is being showcased at the flagship Apple Store in Chicago during a series of DJ-oriented events. Held in its Apple Store Product Theater from April through June, the weekly events feature guest DJs and producers lecturing and performing with Apple’s PowerMac and PowerBook computers, Garage Band software and iPod along with Stanton’s FinalScratch. A separate program held at the Apple Store called “Hit the Decks” helps expose inner-city children to new DJ’ing technologies from Apple and Stanton.

“The Apple PowerBook and FinalScratch have quickly become standards for evolutionary DJs and electronic music producers,” says Henri Cohen, Stanton’s VP of sales and marketing. “We’re proud that an innovative company like Apple recognized Stanton’s role in furthering the advancement of DJ technology with FinalScratch.”

In addition to a FinalScratch system, Stanton has also placed two STR8-150 turntables and an SMX-301 mixer in the store to facilitate the seminars and events.

For more information on the Apple Store and its events, visit www.apple.com; for more information on the products in this article, please go to their Websites at www.stantondj.com and www.finalscratch.com.

Neutrik Donates Products to Aid Inmate Rehabilitation
Fifteen miles off Highway 17 in south central Florida is the Hardee Correctional Institution (HCI), home to more than 1,700 inmates. In light of past funding cut-backs that have forced the institution to eliminate its educational programs, members of the Chaplain’s office at HCI have introduced positive teaching and instruction alternatives to help occupy and stimulate the inmates’ minds on the road to rehabilitation. Through the donation of top-quality audio equipment by surrounding community members and Neutrik, most of these positive techniques are delivered through music.

For more information about Neutrik products, go to its Website at www.neutrikusa.com.

The Underdogs Participate in L.A.’s NARIP Panel
Producers, artists, studio owners, publishers, managers and songwriters crowded into the Beverly Garland Theater in Los Angeles on May 10, 2004, to hear The Underdogs, Damon Thomas and Harvey Mason Jr. discuss what it takes to succeed in the music business today. The program was sponsored by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals (NARIP, www.narip.com) and drew attendees from as far away as Arizona, San Diego and San Francisco.

“When the marketplace responds and makes your creative work successful, it’s the best reward and the best indicator of the ability to sustain a career over time,” said Tess Taylor, president of NARIP and panel moderator, introducing the pair. “Damon and Harvey are a bright part of the present and future of our industry, and we thought it would be a good time to talk to them about how they are flourishing outside the major-label model and how they have managed their business to success and profitability.”

During the course of the program, The Underdogs offered their take on the industry’s current state. Said Thomas, “I’m optimistic about the future. I think there’s better music in all genres right now and sales are up for the first time in a long time.” His partner, Harvey Mason Jr., echoed that sentiment, saying, “This is a great time to be in music. And the best way to act is to just be grateful if you can be in the music business. This is just such a dream.”

In a spirited Q&A segment, The Underdogs answered what top producers in the record business look for in an artist: “What helps make great artists is a story in their songs,” said Damon Thomas. “[I look for] someone who can sing in a way that is convincing,” added Harvey Mason Jr, “They need to deliver from the heart so that when they sing, you believe them. It’s not always something you can say, it’s something you can feel.”

The discussion centered on music’s future, technology and gear, artist development, producing and owning a record label, and more.

McCartney Remix Album Uses Eventide Clockworks Legacy Plug-Ins
Demonstrating the versatility and ease-of-use of the company’s Clockworks Legacy plug-ins, Eventide announced that accomplished recording, mixing and production engineer Peter McCabe has successfully used the plug-ins on a recently released Paul McCartney remixed track for the Inlaws soundtrack. According to McCabe, the Clockworks Legacy plug-ins are a faithful re-creation of Eventide’s industry-leading hardware products.

“Eventide has done a fantastic job pulling gear from the past that many of us have been familiar with and adjusting them to fit a changing time,” McCabe said. “The hardware products were simple to use back then and Eventide was successfully able to keep their integrity into the new digital domain.”

In addition to the McCartney track, McCabe has also used the Clockworks Legacy plug-ins on numerous projects spanning across different musical genres, including Alien Ant Farm, Eve6, the Violent Femmes, Mark Wills, Tracy Bird, Billy Currington and the soul rock band Big Red Button. Among the plug-ins that McCabe found most valuable was the Eventide Omnipressor®. “Although I use all of the plug-ins to different degrees, the Omnipressor is my best friend,” McCabe explained. “Whereas other plug-ins tend to be more specific to certain instances, the Omnipressor is such a great compressor in that it can do all your normal stuff but can also do what others can not. This makes it part of your creative process. I find it so versatile that it can be used across the board in different musical forms and applications.”

For more information about the Omnipressor and other Eventide products, go to the company’s Website at www.eventide.com.

San Diego-Based Maranatha Chapel Installs TC Electronic EQ Stations
As soon as the first TC Electronic EQ Stations arrived in the U.S., Dave Shadoan’s production company Sound Image took delivery of two units for Maranatha Chapel in Rancho Bernardo, Calif., located near San Diego. Sound Image configured the two 8-channel EQ Stations to handle both the front-of-house and monitor EQ for the sanctuary.

According to Scott Fannon, senior sound engineer at Marantha Chapel, TC-quality processing was the major factor in the decision to go with EQ Station. “After turning them on, it was as if we had installed a new sound system in the sanctuary. The dynamics were better and the overall fidelity was much more open-sounding,” said Fannon. “I heard things in the system I wasn’t able to hear before, from the chest-pounding punch of the bottom end to the sizzle of the cymbal along with the cymbals bell sound.

“The first Sunday the EQ Stations were operational, I had people coming to the sound booth wondering what I had done to make the system sound so good,” he enthused. Another important feature Fannon was looking for in a live EQ was the ease of use. “I think I had the sanctuary, front of house and monitors dialed in within the first 30 minutes,” commented Fannon.

For more information, go to the TC Electronic Website at www.tcelectronic.com. For more information on Sound Image, visit www.sound-image.com.

VTG Holdings Introduces New A/V Bulk Wire

VTG Holdings, an audio interfacing and cable equipment manufacturer,
is now making its entry into the video and broadcast markets with its new A/V
bulk wire and AES/EBU digital bulk wire, which will be on display at InfoComm
2004 (June 3-5, 2004) at booth #4565. Both wires are available in completely custom
specifications. The A/V bulk wire and the AES/EBU digital bulk wire are distributed
by the VTG Broadcast Group and are available through Rapco International and Horizon
Music Inc. Both wires are California Proposition 65-compliant and are lead- and
cadmium-free.

“The Electronic News Gathering wire is designed to run onstage or in the field, for live broadcasts or any other application requiring a high level of confidence and dependable audio/video transmission,” said Cody May, director of engineering at VTG Corporation. “The ENG wire comes standard with four audio pairs and six video coaxial cables that are all color-coded and contained within one jacket. However, clients can also custom-design this cable to have 10 audio and 10 video or any other combination; we can build it to their specification.

“The AES/EBU digital wire was designed to meet the AES3 PHY standard,” continues May. “Manufacturing the cables, plugs and terminating it all in-house provides us with significant advantages. This allows us to control the levels of attenuation, crosstalk, resistance, product life and other metrics detrimental for high-quality audio performance. The end result is a superior cable assembly. The wire is for AES/EBU digital audio applications where you need to connect a console or router to any other source or destination, such as a digital recorder. It is a 24-gauge cable that comes in two, four, six, eight, 12 or 16 pairs, so regardless of the application, we have a cable that meets nearly every requirement.”

For more information about this product, contact VTG Holdings at [email protected].

Mixer/Producer Steve Kempster Uses ATC Monitors

The list of film credits that scoring mixer/record producer Steve Kempster
has worked on continues to expand; current projects include Ghost Soldiers,
Exorcist: The Beginning and John Water’s indie film, Dirty Shame.
Films currently running that credit Kempster as mixer include Brother Bear,
The Haunted Mansion, Mean Girls and New York Minute. Kempster
has also recently finished producing new songs for the rock band Sky Farm.

Kempster’s diverse work as a recording engineer, film score mixer and record producer led him on a quest to find a great mid-field monitor system that would sound great for his film scoring dates, commercial sessions and record production work. Kempster explains: “For my work, I’m a studio on wheels. My racks of gear and I are in a different room from project to project. My dream was a system that could handle a lot of gain with loads of headroom and could still survive the abuse loudspeakers take during a tracking date. I needed something that was tough and great-sounding. The design and idea behind the ATCs is that they are the gold standard. I can depend on them in any situation.” After many auditions, trials and extensive consultations with a number of manufacturers, he purchased an LCR set of ATC SCM100ASL Pro and an CM0.1/15 Pro subwoofer.

Kempster continues, “I produced Sky Farm, mixed three films and a number of commercials all on the ATCs and everything has translated beautifully. So my confidence level is extremely high! With the 100s, I find the imaging is breathtaking. The soundfield is so defined and exactly the way it is on the soundstage. I also find the sweet spot is wide both vertically and horizontally, making it great for my clients and artists to also enjoy the sound equally over a fairly wide area. These speakers somehow maintain the same relationship between low, mid and high frequencies at all volumes better than any speaker I’ve worked on. If I was mixing a record, the vocal sound, characteristic and position in the mix stays exactly the same—dead on from quiet to earthshaking room volumes.”

Another big consideration is the transition from film work to record work. There is a big jump for monitoring because most film score mixing is done through the X Curve, a deliberate roll-off of high frequencies (in the monitor path) to simulate the speaker playback systems in movie theaters. Kempster says, “What ATC is doing now is developing and building multistage X Curve filters for my 100s. Being able to accommodate this change for me and build a filter to the high standards of ATC was a significant reason for me to go with them.”

Mixing for film, with much its bigger dynamic range, a speaker’s ability to exhibit detail and resolution are tested. Kempster finds that “in film work, what’s important is the basic resolution of the speaker. How well are you hearing detail? I find the resolution of the ATCs as good as I’ve ever heard. I can track the detail of the foreground information and still hear the quality of the ambient decay. This is crucial to what I do, but even more important is that the ATCs are so damn much fun to listen to!”

ATC is distributed in the U.S. by the Transamerica Audio Group. For more information, visit www.transaudiogroup.com.

Now Available: Cycling ’74 Second Audio Source Library
Cycling ’74, a software company based in San Francisco, announced the release of Unnatural Rhythm, the second volume in the Cycles Series of audio source libraries.

Produced and edited by Ron MacLeod, Unnatural Rhythm comprises organic, extended-form grooves that provide an alternative to the drum loop genre. The sounds in this volume range from rhythmic undulations of Cyclic Waves to heavily processed Found Sound, industrial gamelan of Back Alley Tribal to the mechanical pounding of Contraptions. There is also a huge collection of syncopated vintage electronics culled from the Columbia University Computer Music Center collection of ’70s-era Buchla and Serge modular synth systems.

These seamless end-to-end loops are prepared for direct import into any DAW program, playback in loop sequencers (such as Live, Acid, GarageBand and Cycling ’74’s Radial software) or manipulation by any sampler, vintage to virtual. These 24-bit .WAV files are provided in 48 kHz for ease-of-use in film, DV and multimedia productions, as well as 44.1kHz versions for direct compatibility with music composition tools. This release also includes 24-bit REX-formatted versions of all applicable loops for use within Reason or any 24-bit REX-compatible audio sequencer. Unnatural Rhythm is packaged as a dual-disc release created with the audio post-professional in mind, a high-capacity DVD-ROM and a standard audio CD for an easy auditioning alternative.

Unnatural Rhythm is now available directly from Cycling ’74 for $99. For more information, go to Cycling ’74’s Website at www.cycling74.com.

Busy San Francisco Project Studio Equipped With 1-inch Analog

According to a San Francisco-based recording artist and producer, wide-track
analog mastering is the perfect companion for Pro Tools|HD, even in a relatively
modest project studio setting. “It’s a great machine, as I knew it would be,”
says Joel Dech (who records under the name Infa Red), referring to his newly
restored 1-inch Ampex ATR-102. “I’ve used it on a number of projects already
and it really makes a huge difference in the sound.”

Dech operates a residential project studio inside two rooms of his first-floor flat in San Francisco’s Ingleside District. Dech’s new ATR-102 was remanufactured by Michael Spitz of ATR Services in York, Pa. The vintage recorder was restored to original operating specifications and modified to accept the new 1-inch 2-track recording format.

After years of mixing to analog half-inch at other studios, Dech decided to take the plunge and invest in his own machine after calculating the long-term costs. “I added up the costs of the studio time and realized that if I got my own machine, it would pay off long before I die! And that was just on my own work. When I added my clients into that, I realized it could pay off very quickly.”

In addition to handling the stereo mixdown, the new ATR also serves as an effects device on individual tracks prior to mixing, according to Dech. “Sometimes I will take an individual track out of Pro Tools, record it onto the tape, bounce it back into Pro Tools and I have what I call my magic Neve-like sound without having to buy a big analog console.”

In addition to mixing and editing, Dech uses his own studio for keyboard recording, sampling and vocal overdubbing. For the latter chores, his other prized piece of gear is a Sony C-800G tube condenser microphone.

In addition to recording his own music as Infa Red, Dech produces several noted San Francisco Bay Area rap/hip hop/soul artists such as the Conscious Daughters. Several of the CD releases are on his own Roulette Records, a new enterprise not related (except perhaps in spirit) to the defunct East Coast label of the same name. Dech may be contacted at 415/334-8742 or via [email protected].

For more information on ATR Services, visit www.atrservice.com.

Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences Chooses Pro Tools|HD

The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences recently upgraded its Pro Tools
labs, studios and mobile rigs to Pro Tools|HD. In addition, the school has created
eight mobile Pro Tools LE rigs using the new Digi 002 Rack FireWire Interface.

“Having 26 Pro Tools rigs on campus enables us to give our students maximum hands-on time with this world-class digital audio workstation,” says conservatory administrator Kirt Hamm. The Conservatory teaches the Digidesign 101, 201 and 210M programs and certifies all students as Pro Tools Operators. In addition to offering students Digidesign’s Operator certification, the Conservatory offers its own certificate giving students the extra skills necessary to find employment in the audio marketplace.

The school’s Pro Tools floater rigs are used by students for classes in post-production, commercial production and various tracking sessions in the Conservatory’s eight professional-level recording studios. Students also track live bands to HD as they perform in the 150,000-cubic-foot live sound classroom at the Conservatory’s Gilbert, Ariz., location.

For more about the Conservatory’s Pro Tools program was go to their Website at www.cras.org.

The Beatles Arrive at Stax Museum, Memphis

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music announced that on June 12, 2004,
84 behind-the-scenes, never-before-published photographs of The Beatles will go
on display at the museum, marking only the third American venue to host the show,
which runs through Sept. 12. The exhibition is being shown with Memphis’ international
50th Anniversary of Rock-and-Roll Celebration and the 40th anniversary of The
Beatles’ first North American appearance and tour in 1964.

“The Beatles! Backstage and Behind the Scenes” is the latest traveling exhibit from the CBS Television Photo Archive. Shown previously in Washington, D.C.. at the Smithsonian Museum and in New York City’s Museum of News and Radio, the exhibit is a fine art photography show chronicling The Beatles’ North American debut on the CBS Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and on their first train journey that same year from New York City to Washington, D.C. The exhibition is curated by John Filo, Pulitzer Prize-winning director of photo operations at CBS, who currently assigns, edits and distributes photo coverage of CBS’ current programming and is responsible for the marketing of the 30 million image CBS photo archive.

An opening-night reception is planned for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., June 12 at the museum. Photographer Bill Epperidge will be on hand to sign copies of the exhibition’s accompanying book while supply lasts. Live Beatles music will be performed and cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

During the exhibition, the Stax Museum will carry The Beatles! Backstage and Behind the Scenes hand-printed commemorative exhibition poster containing five exhibition photographs. The retail cost is $64 and measures 20×28 inches.

For more information, visit the Web at www.staxmuseum.com.

BAFTA’s David Lean Lecture Recorded on HHB Portadrive

Sound for this year’s David Lean Lecture at BAFTA (British Academy of
Film and Television Arts) was recorded on the HHB Portadrive. Entitled “Forty
Years of Change” and given by British director John Boorman (Point Blank,
Deliverance, Hope and Glory), the lecture was captured in a three
camera shoot by the National Film and Television School (NFTS), with HHB’s location
sound recorder handling virtually all the audio tasks.

As head of sound production at the NFTS, Andrew Boulton explains that the decision to use the Portadrive paid considerable dividends during the shoot and later in post-production. “The Portadrive allowed us to rationalize our equipment setup and produce a much more sophisticated result. We were able to capture both microphone clean feeds and a stereo mix, as well as outputting a separate feed to the cameras. Our students found the Portadrive to be operationally intuitive and the unit’s headphone section allowed us to keep on top of all of the various audio signals. As we synched the Portadrive to house timecode and the session was saved as AES-31 files, the audio recording could be transferred directly into our post systems.”

Speaking for HHB, Portadrive product manager Paul Isaacs says, “The Portadrive packs a lot of creative options into a single compact package while maintaining logical and intuitive operation at the heart of the system. The NFTS were able to achieve an ambitious sound recording design easily and reliably, and that’s what the Portadrive is really all about.”

With the project at BAFTA now successfully completed, Boulton concludes, “The Portadrive’s creative flexibility and technical performance have made a big impression at the school and we are eager to further explore its capabilities as our students produce their graduate fiction films over the summer.”

HHB products are distributed exclusively in the United States, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean by Sennheiser Electronic Corporation. For more information, go to www.sennheiserusa.com.

Now Shipping: Apogee’s AD and DA-16X

Apogee Electronics Corporation announced that its AD-16X and DA-16X converters
are now available worldwide through authorized dealers and distributors. The AD
and DA-16X are designed for digital audio conversion and offer 192k sampling rates,
the C777 clocking technology from Apogee’s Big Ben, a redesigned power supply
and analog section, and direct connectivity to Pro Tools|HD with the X-HD card.
FireWire-enabled computers can be connect directly to Apogee’s optional X-FireWire
card.

The C777 clocking technology uses an all-digital process to generate stable clock signals that result in undetectable jitter and an enhancement to the sound quality that can be easily detected. The new power system of the AD-16X and DA-16X incorporates a specially designed synchronous switching power supply that works with the C777 clock and Apogee’s filtering technology to provide transient response, low heat and noise performance.

For more information, visit www.apogeedigital.com.