October 1, 2011 Mix Issue Table of Contents
ON THE COVER
On the Cover: 25th Street Recording
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Tom Kenny
Dave Lichtenstein is an avid surfer, so it’s not really in his nature to feel the pressure to do anything too quickly. But he’s also an artist, so he knows what he wants and he cares about quality sound. After nearly 30 years in and around the recording industry—as an engineer, writer and performer, with various sidetracks along the way—Lichtenstein knew he wanted to build a big room that was comfortable for musicians, a place where a band or a small orchestra could come together to play. Now he’s got one, and it’s a beauty. …
FEATURES
GC Pro Celebrates 10 Years
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Mix Editors
Guitar Center Professional is celebrating its 10-year anniversary throughout 2011. As part of its development, the company has expanded its system design, integration and installation division, which has been rapidly expanding across the U.S. through regional centers. We look at 10 of the more notable facility build-outs to come from the GC Pro family of studio services….
Asset Management | So Many Files
Oct 1, 2011 10:00 AM, By Mel Lambert
It’s a common scenario. It has been decided to move forward by 10 days the final sound-editorial sessions so that the composite dialog, effects and music tracks will be ready for the first day of predubs. So the supervising sound editor brings on a swing gang of eight more editors. Where are the Pro Tools and Logic Pro sessions on the in-house server; and which interconnected WAN holds the re-edited Foley elements from Vancouver, and the last-minute ADR tracks voiced yesterday in England? Wrangling such a large number of digital audio and video files needs a steady hand, and one more vital component: a well-implemented media asset–management strategy that allows everything to be tagged and labeled, and then stored where the editorial and mixing teams can quickly find them….
Live Music Challenges ‘Today Show’ Mixer
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Blair Jackson
The Today Showon NBC has been the ruler of the morning network airwaves for most of the past 59 years, an incredible feat given the fickle nature of TV viewers. The show regularly attracts an audience of more than 5 million weekdays, and sometimes millions more depending on news events or the star wattage of the day’s guests. So it’s no surprise that The Today Showhas long been a coveted destination for show-business personalities, from actors wanting to promote their films to musicians pushing their latest project. …
Evanescence
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Blair Jackson
It’s been five years since Evanescence put out its last album, The Open Door, which was also the hard-rockers’ first Number One album. Since then, there have been changes in the group: In the middle of a year-long world tour to support that disc, rhythm guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray departed and were replaced by two members of Dark New Day—guitarist Troy McLawhorn and drummer Will Hunt. Both drifted in and out of the band over a period of a couple of years before ultimately joining Evanescence for good. The core of singer/songwriter/keyboardist Amy Lee, lead guitarist Terry Balsamo and bassist Tim McCord remained intact. …
Phish Tour Profile
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Joanne Zola
If you’re going to change things up, you might as well go all out. For legendary jam-band Phish’s summer tour, not only is front-of-house engineer Garry Brown manning a new console, but his mixes are heard through a new P.A. provided by a change in sound company providers—Clair Global. Mix caught up with the tour-de-force at their three-day SuperBall IX festival in Watkins Glen, N.Y., over the Fourth of July weekend. …
TECHNOLOGY
Tech: New Products, October 2011
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM
The new H-EQ ($99, Native; $149, TDM) plug-in from Waves is a slick-looking EQ inspired by the finest British and American consoles. It includes seven different filter types per band—U.S. Vintage, UK Vintage 1, UK Vintage 2, U.S. Modern, UK Modern, Digital 1 and Digital 2—in addition to a newly developed, one-of-a-kind asymmetrical bell filter. A keyboard graphic lets users choose frequencies by clicking on notes, and an exclusive M/S mode allows users to apply different EQ to mid and sde content. There is also a flexible real-time frequency spectrum analyzer with multiple display options. Other features include a real-time analyzer with a real-time graphical display of the input signal, output signal or both, as well as the EQ curve….
TechTalk: The Score: Consumers 10, Pros 0
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Kevin Becka
Of all the great gear we use to record and play back sound, the only non-audio product in the signal chain is the personal computer. We’ve come to rely on either an Apple or a Windows-based hardware manufacturer to provide the goods. And while audio companies are varied—offering a range of flavors, prices and options—the computer side offers more narrowly focused products targeted at a broader audience. We have always been able to get what we need, but this is changing. …
Ask Eddie: From the Ground Up
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Eddie Ciletti
While you are browsing the AES Convention aisles later this month, keep the foundation of your audio facility in mind, and by that I mean the power and ground distribution (P&GD). A humble project studio can be pretty much plug-and-play, but as it gradually morphs into a “facility,” the P&GD infrastructure becomes critical. …
Sonodyne SM 100Ak Monitors Review
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Bobby Frasier
In the 1960s, engineering student Ashoke Mukherjee launched Sonodyne with the idea of bringing stereo sound to India; ever since then, he has been providing both consumer and professional audio solutions out of the company’s manufacturing facilities in Kolkata, India. I had heard rumors of Sonodyne for many years but never had the chance to hear their professional audio products. They now have distribution in the United States through the TransAudio Group out of Las Vegas, which gave me the opportunity to review their SM 100Ak Active Monitors. I found a range of pleasant surprises. …
PSPaudioware oldTimerME Review
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Michael Cooper
When PSPaudioware’s oldTimer was introduced a couple of years ago, I thought it was the best-sounding compressor plug-in for the price—a rock-bottom $99. But while its idiot-proof control layout and chameleon-like personality made it a user-friendly and versatile processor for basic mixing duties, oldTimer lacked certain features needed for jockeying advanced mixing techniques and mastering….
Focusrite Control 2802 Dual-Layer Mixing Console Review
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Barry Rudolph
In April 2011, Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd. and Audient Ltd. agreed to have Focusrite start the production and sale of certain Audient products. The dual-layer, small-format Focusrite Control 2802 is the first product created by both companies. Except for the new branding on the metal work and improved DAW integration, it is identical to the Audient ASP2802. …
Slate Pro Audio Fox Preamp Review
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Kevin Becka
Steven Slate produces both software and hardware in his product line. The Trigger Drum Replacer and Virtual Console Collection, the former reviewed in Mix (January 2011), plus its FG-X Mastering Processor fall under the Slate Digital moniker, while hardware—including the Dragon Dynamic Processor and Fox preamp reviewed here—sit under the Slate Pro Audio division. The Fox preamp ($1,799) is a solidly built unit with a hefty linear power supply. Its price and features put it squarely in the boutique realm, giving you a welcome range of choices when recording. …
Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro-Codec Review
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Brandon Hickey
In this era of ever-changing and ever-increasing Web-based media distribution, many of us have become accustomed to a workflow that involves bouncing a mix or a mastering job, encoding it to MP3 or AAC, hearing the result and then going back to apply changes due to deficiencies of the perceived outcome. This can be an irritating and time-consuming dance. The idea of instantiating a plug-in across the master fader during mixing or mastering, which could allow you to monitor the effects of encoding, is an obvious solution, and that is precisely what the Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro-Codec does: …
LIVE
The Decemberists Tour Profile
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Sarah Benzuly
Out in support of their sixth studio release, The King Is Dead, folk/pop artists The Decemberists made a pit stop at the annual Outside Lands festival, San Francisco, playing to sold-out crowds near the end of the last day. For the festival date, the crew—including front-of-house engineer Rich Hipp and monitor engineer Marcel Cacdac—brought in all their normal touring gear except for the Meyer speaker system, which was provided by UltraSound. For the rest of their recently wrapped 2011 tour, Portland, Ore.–based Horne Audio provided all equipment. …
All Access: Adele
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, Photos and Text By Steve Jennings
You could hear the sigh of discontent across the San Francisco Bay Area when Adele cancelled her North American tour mid-run due to laryngitis. Fortunately, just a few months later, this songstress sensation was back on the road, resuming where she left off. Mix caught up with the tour at the Los Angeles Greek Theater. …
Aviom to the Symphony
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Sarah Benzuly
Not only home to the New World Symphony, Miami Beach’s New World Center also offers Pulse, a spin on the traditional orchestral experience within a nightclub setting. Pro Sound and Video (Miami) brought in Aviom Pro16 personal mixing systems for each of the performers. “In a symphonic building, with such a long RT60, the sound that engineers hear from a reference monitor is going to be vastly different from what the musicians are hearing onstage,” says the installer’s managing director, Brad Gallagher. …
Danley Plays In BeatBox
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Sarah Benzuly
New San Francisco live music venue BeatBox is the first club on the West Coast to feature Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers and subwoofers. The 30×10-foot stage can move to different locations and take on different configurations. Matt Long, principal of A/V integration firm Sonic Sustenance, installed four Danley SH-60 full-range loudspeakers and four Danley TH-118 subwoofers. On each side of the stage, paired SH-60s deliver a combined 120 degrees of coverage horizontally and 60 degrees of coverage vertically. Powersoft amplifiers with integrated DSP and network accessibility serve as a front end for the system. …
FixIt: Eighth Day Sound Systems Engineer/Crew Chief Edgardo “Verta” Vertanessian on Juanes Tour
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM
Juanes is particularly big in South America, where he plays at big outdoor soccer stadiums pretty much all the time. The challenge at those locations is to have a powerful yet crystal-clear P.A. response even when many times we have to supplement what we carry with us with local P.A. add-ons. We would have mains and side arrays, maybe a 270-degree hang, flown subs, four to five main ground sub stacks, and two to six delay towers with distributed sub stacks, depending on the venue. …
Music In the Park
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Sarah Benzuly
Walking through Madison Square Park this past summer, you would have heard the sounds from concert series “The Oval Lawn Series.” The New York branch consulting firm SIA Acoustics designs and implements the portable P.A. system each year. The audio crew comprises SIA’s Adam Shulman, Gino Pellicano and Chris Greco. The system employs two Danley SH-96 full-range boxes in a stereo configuration, with two SM-60F compact molded horns for the audience areas on the sides of the stage….
MUSIC
Anthrax
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Sarah Benzuly
Fans of heavy-metal pioneers Anthrax have been holding their breath, unsure of where their band would land next. Their last studio album, We’ve Come for You All, was released in 2003, followed by the shocking announcement that original vocalist Joey Belladonna was returning to the fold—albeit only in stage form—for their ‘80s-era reunion tour. Then, nothing. The tour ended. They still needed a singer….
Julie Feeney
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By David Weiss
Prepare to meet one of Ireland’s most audacious exports in some time, but first a little history—or rather, a lot of history when you’re talking about singer, composer and orchestrator Julie Feeney. Of course, you could simply absorb her most recent album, Pages (2009, mittens), without knowing any history about Feeney, and that alone would be sufficient. A 12-song collection, Pages instantly hooks listeners with its remarkably adept merging of influences classical to thoroughly modern. …
Classic Tracks: Country Joe & The Fish “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag”
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Blair Jackson
In the public mind, the most famous version of Country Joe McDonald’s Vietnam War protest song, “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin-to-Die Rag,” is the one in the film Woodstock. Asked by festival promoters to kill some time between sets that afternoon in August 1969, McDonald picked up an acoustic guitar that was lying backstage and went out and played a solo set, closing with the already-famous obscene variation on “The Fish Cheer” (“Gimme an F…”) and then going into his anthem. The song galvanized a large swath of the massive crowd and, when the movie came out in the spring of 1970, became one of the most-loved parts of that epic film as a follow-the-bouncing-ball sing-along. …
Red Hot Chili Peppers In Three Parts
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Sarah Benzuly
It makes sense. As most listeners will check out a new album on iTunes—or at least the first single from a long-awaited I’m With You release—the Red Hot Chili Peppers and producer Rick Rubin opted to provide the album in three different formats: iTunes’ AAC, CD and vinyl. While creating three different versions from the final mixes may not seem too daunting, for mastering engineer Vlado Meller (pictured), pinpointing the most current AAC encoder proved tricky. …
Into the Bunker
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Sarah Benzuly
Miloco Studio’s new programming/writing room The Bunker (London), in association with producer Stephen Street, was custom-built by Miloco’s recently launched Miloco Builds studio design/construction company. When Street is not in session, the room is available for outside producers, engineers and artists, who can use it as an editing room or employ the additional vocal booth. Select gear includes an Audient Zen console, Pro Tools|HD3, and Focal Twin and KRK monitors. A wide selection of outboard gear, backline and microphones provide Street and outside clients with a wide swath of recording selections. …
Mathien Brings the Fun(k)
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Tom Kenny
Produced by Chris “Wolfdog” Schneider and recorded and mixed at Pressure Point Recording (Chicago) by Steve Kovacs, The Night I Was an Alpha Male from Chris Mathien (lead vocals, guitar, programming) and band—bassist Mike Schiff, drummer Aaron Bouslog and keyboardist Peter Wilkkins—provides a full-blown album experience. A regular resident of Pressure Point, Mathien has crafted a sound that is old-school and thoroughly world-beat modern. …
Noble Street StudiosNoble Street Studios
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Sarah Benzuly
Studio owner Henry Gooderham has opened the doors to his 800-square-foot, purpose-built Noble Street Studios (Toronto), hoping to attract local and international music projects, as well as film and TV clients with its 5.1 surround system. Acoustic engineering was handled by Terry Medwedyk of Group One Acoustics, while Athos Zaghi (AZA and Theatre Consultants Collaborative, LLC) and Robert Kastelic (AKB Inc.) handled the facility design. …
Shatner and Hamilton
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Matt Gallagher
Los Angeles–based producer/composer/musician Adam Hamilton christened his new home studio by producing a new release for William Shatner titled Seeking Major Tom, a “concept record” inspired by David Bowie’s astronaut character and 19 cover songs. …
CURRENT
Jerry Leiber, 1933-2011
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, Compiled by Sarah Benzuly
Co-songwriter (with Mike Stoller) of “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Yakety Yak,” “Stand By Me” and countless others, Jerry Leiber died unexpectedly of cardiopulmonary failure. The songwriting duo chronicled their success—including induction in the Non-Performer category of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987—in a 2009 memoir, Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography. …
API 2011 Scholarship Winners
Oct 1, 2011 10:00 AM, Compiled by Sarah Benzuly
Each year, API awards scholarship funds to students enrolled in audio engineering programs that use API Vision, Legacy Plus or 1608 consoles. Applicants must submit a completed questionnaire and essay, and are also encouraged to provide a personal recording that they have created. This year’s winners of the API Visionary Scholarship (which are worth up to $2,000 each) are Elton Charles (Berklee College of Music), Nicholas Nagurka (University of Michigan), Jeff Braun (Middle Tennessee State University), Eva Imber (New York University), Denial Mesanovic (University of Michigan) and Timothy Harris (New England School of Communications)….
Institute for the Music Arts Girls Wanna Rock
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, Compiled by Sarah Benzuly
For 10 days in August, 14 girls checked into the Institute for the Musical Arts’ (Goshen, Mass.) Rock and Roll Camp for Girls, a program where they were given an intensive how-to in the recording production arts. Famed mixer Leslie Ann Jones (assisted by Dan Tinen) began with an orientation and dived right into terminology and signal path, where the students checked out mics and mic pre’s, different setup for drums/baby grand/vocals/etc., and began work on recording…
Poetic License: Ode to the Equalizer
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Michael Golub
Recording Engineer Michael Golub Poem About Equalizers in Mix magazine October 2011 Issue…
SPARS SoundBite | The Future In Numbers
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Kirk Imamura
Every organization related to pro audio has been affected by the democratization of content creation. New, powerful tools that aid songwriting, music creation/production and audio recording have opened the doors to many, many more individuals, whether in music, sound design or post. To illustrate the macro effects of this type of explosive growth, let’s look at the recent experience of ASCAP. …
DEPARTMENTS
Editor’s Note: Being a Good Stewart? What Does That Mean?
Oct 1, 2011 9:00 AM, By Tom Kenny, Editorial Director
I was on the phone with Kirk Imamura, president of Avatar Studios in New York City, talking about his SPARS column for this month’s issue. He said, “It’s the issue that’s going to AES, right? I thought I would talk about being a good steward of the industry, you know, in how you run your business and how you help promote the industry at large.” “Good,” I said. “I like it.” We talked a little more, hung up and a bit later in the day I thought, “Huh. Steward. That’s a word you don’t hear very often. Do I need to go to Wikipedia?” It got me thinking: What does it mean to be a good steward today, one who helps take care of things, both at home and as part of an industry? …
