CHARLOTTE, NC — When Rack-N-Roll, Nashville’s most comprehensive professional audio rental and sales company, set out to do a live recording of The Cure’s recent performance in North Carolina for HDnet’s concert series, Rack-N-Roll crew members Rob Dennis, Jack Clarke, and Mike Phenix knew that Holophone’s H2-PRO surround microphone would be a part of its recording gear.
HDnet provides viewers with the best in original high-definition comedy, drama, news, sports and music programming. Having used the H2-PRO in the past for such high-profile live concert recordings as Lynard Skynard and Wyclef Jean, the mic has become Rack-N-Roll’s mic of choice when recording live concerts in 5.1 surround due to its ease of setup and quality sound.
“The Holophone H2-PRO, I would say, is the sound of our surround projects,� says Rob Dennis, president of Rack-N-Roll. “It’s just absolutely amazing to have a phase coherent 5.1 source. That’s the beauty of this microphone, all of your source points are already positioned so there is no phase issues. You don’t have to move tracks around to create a fake surround perspective, you’re getting true 5.1 surround sound. In the case of HDnet, they broadcast everything in 5.1. That’s why the network loves working with us because we give them a true 5.1 perspective through Holophone’s H2-PRO.�
With the patented arrangement of the H2-PRO’s eight mic elements, it is able to capture an ultra-realistic surround recording with no signal manipulation required. The mic was simply placed at the front of house position and was ready to record. For The Cure project, the H2-PRO was used with 24 channels of API Pre’s and 24 channels of vintage Neve Pre’s. Lead singer Robert Smith’s vocal channel used a Groove Tubes Vipre preamp and vintage Teletronix LA-2a compressor. All tracks were recorded to a Radar multi-track recorder and then recorded back to Pro Tools. Another asset in using the H2-PRO for Rack-N-Roll’s live projects is the minimal amount of changes that have to be made in post.
“After recording a concert, we typically go back and make sure the audio is right for broadcast,� Dennis continues. “But 95% of what you are hearing, it’s all live. There are no fixes. The only thing we have to do is to edit the audio and get the mix to where everyone is happy with it.�
The program entitled, “The Cure – 4play in Charlotte,� will premiere on HDnet this Sunday, October 26 at 8:00 PM ET (5:00PT). For more information on Holophone’s microphones visit, www.holophone.com. For more information on Rack-N-Roll’s products and services, visit www.racknrollaudio.com .
