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“BRAZIL” ON DVD: Criterion reintroduces the 1985 cult favorite
Big-time recording artists receive the box-set treatment from record labels, but it takes quite a movie to receive the same level of attention. The...
Profiles
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Support Yourself!: MAKING YOUR CALLS FOR HELP COUNT
Last month, I decried the problems of dealing with tech support lines at companies whose hardware and software we expect-often unrealistically-to work
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Alan Moulder: FROM TRIDENT TO NINE INCH NAILS
An ochre harvest moon rises over the eastern rim of New Orleans. It rotates smoothly across the black sky, and just before it sinks...
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PRACTICAL ART OF MOTION PICTuRE SOuND
Film sound is not quite a Black Art, but it can feel that way sometimes when you read the magazines or are introduced to...
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INVENTOR OF STEREO: THE LIFE AND WORKS OF ALAN DOWER BLuMLEIN
Don't let the title fool you into thinking this is a dry textbook about arcane microphone facts. On the contrary, Inventor of Stereo: The...
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Facility Spotlight: GOOD MORNING, TIMES SQUARE!
If you were looking to broadcast your morning news show from a location that registers "center of the world" to millions of people around...
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COMPOSER spotlight: ANNE DUDLEY
Anne Dudley, the Oscar-winning composer of the score for The Full Monty, took a cue from the title of the standard English hymnal when...
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THE MIXING ENGINEER’S HANDBOOK
Throughout his 30 years of experience in studios, Bobby Owsinski interviewed many well-known engineers, from Bruce Swedien to George Massenburg, and the
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SOUND CONSTRUCTION AND SUPPLY
ISO BOX Computers have added a great deal to my studio: creative control, new capabilities and copious quantities of...fan noise. Thanks to the Iso...
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Why Louder Sounds Better
All too often we hear complaints that the sound is too loud at concerts. Further, widespread enactment of sound control regulations often requires concert
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STAN RIDGWAY THE MuSIC IS THE MoVIE
Stan Ridgway has always been a keen observer of modern life. From his days as the frontman of the unusual but always compelling Los...
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PROJECT STuDIO PROJECTS
The tip-off that Marshall Crenshaw recorded his latest CD, enigmatically titled #447, in his own project room is the name of the studio in...
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Dolly Parton: The Grass Is Blue (Sugar Hill)
It's no surprise that Dolly Parton could make a fine album of acoustic string band music; the wonder is that it's taken her so...
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The Foo Fighters Rock in Ol’ Virginny
The state of Virginia probably didn't know what hit it when Dave Grohl moved there recently, but for Grohl and his band, the Foo...
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Four Engineers Talk About The Challenge
Q: How many engineers does it take to mike a drum kit?A: One, assuming the drummer shows up.With all due respect to drummers-having endured...
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On Hold, Waiting for a Callback
Tech support. Two words that strike terror in the hearts of studio personnel and manufacturing executives alike. The former because they know that once
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Jason Miles Pays Tribute To Weather Report
Professional associations with the likes of Miles Davis, The Crusaders, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Brian Setzer would tame the ambition of many
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The State of the 8-Bus
First came the Alesis ADAT and Tascam DA-88, which started the whole democratization of the audio industry by making good-sounding equipment available
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Iggy Pop: Avenue B (Virgin)
Sometimes you can judge a book, or a CD, by its cover. This is the case with Iggy Pop's new one, "adorned" with a...
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PROJECT STUDIO SPOTLIGHT
MIXER JAMEY STAuB AND BLuES EXPLoSIoN'S RuSSELL SIMINS FIND BALANCE AT ASToRIA LouNGE Artists and engineers often talk how important a tight relationship
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Brauner Valvet
It's easy to get jaded about microphones today. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting another new condenser mic. And the constant din...
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The Virtual Studio
It's been more than 30 years since multitrack tape machines radically changed the nature of recording. In most cases, a recording of a given...
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Songs and Stories From Moby Dick
Songs and Stories from Moby Dick," the latest touring show by Laurie Anderson, is a one-and-a-half-hour theatrical presentation that makes extensive use
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The 1999 Bridge School Benefit Concerts
Organized and hosted by Pegi and Neil Young, the annual all-acoustic benefit concert for the Bridge School has become one of the most anticipated...
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Bryan Ferry: As Time Goes By (Virgin)
This latest collection of covers is perhaps Bryan Ferry's most audacious artistic statement since his genre-busting solo debut, 1973's These Foolish Things.
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Angelo Badalamenti: Music From the Motion Picture Soundtrack “The Straight Story” (Windham Hill)
An everyday story of a man and his lawn mower, The Straight Story is a surprisingly involving film, a gift both for film aficionados...
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WaveFrame Version 6.5
From its inception, WaveFrame was primarily designed to serve the post market. The major strengths of the WaveFrame system have been file management and
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Requisite Audio PAL
In the past decade, the substantial demand for tube-based outboard gear has driven prices in the vintage gear market steadily upward. As a result,...
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The Glass Elevator
Walking into Dave Kershaw's project studio, The Glass Elevator, is a bit like walking onto an Austin Powers set: colorful surroundings and an assortment
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Bryan Adams The Warehouse
Bryan Adams really pisses me off! That's because he's usually right. He was right when he said he could get Tina Turner to sing...
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THE 15th ANNUNAL TEC AWARDS
Sting, one of the music industry's most popular and creative talents, was presented with the coveted Les Paul Award, and Tom Dowd, who engineered...
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Avalon Design VT-747sp: STEREO OPTO-COMPRESSOR/PROGRAM EQUALIZER
A clear case of "more than the sum of its parts," the VT-747sp from Avalon Design combines a tube-based, opto-stereo compressor, sidechain processor and
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Chris Blackwell: FROM LP TO DVD, STILL LIVING THE ISLAND LIFE
As a "glamour profession," the recording industry is full of people whose names and faces are familiar to the general public. Yet for the...
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Year-End Tax Tips
A few lucky road dogs are going to get a little something extra in a few months. Their money back. From the Government.If you've...
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ELLIOT SCHEINER SINGS THE PRAISES OF 5.1
In the last couple of years, veteran engineer Elliot Scheiner has become one of the recording world's most passionate and articulate advocates of 5.1
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On)”
Though many American rock fans are familiar with T. Rex's "Bang A Gong (Get It On)," which made it to Number Ten in the...
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PRECiSION MASTERING: TWO DECADES IN HOLLYWOOD
Precision Mastering, based in Hollywood, Calif., is celebrating 20 years as one of the top mastering houses in the industry. Founded in 1979 as...
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CLINT BLACK : UNPLUGGED WITH A DIFFERENCE
To Clint Black, challenge is the name of the game. "You gotta have some of that going or you're just going to go through...
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Getting Elemental with Eric Ambel
Eric "Roscoe" Ambel is regarded by many fans of Americana and roots-influenced rock music to be one of the most inspirational and sensitive producers
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I Came, I Saw, IRCAM: A VISIT TO FRANCE’S PREMIER MUSIC TECHNOLOGY THINK TANK
Keeping on last month's topic of travel, the great thing about getting out of your own country for a while is that you realize...
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Brian Malouf: SHARING THE SECRETS OF HIS CROSSOVER SUCCESS
There's a real art to making successful transitions, whether in a career or in a life. Brian Malouf has managed to gracefully make more...
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COMPOSER SPOTLIGHT : IRWIN FISCH
Growing up in Queens, N.Y., Irwin Fisch gave little thought to a career in music. After high school, he earned a degree in journalism...