audio media may 2014

IN THIS ISSUE

Inside the Brit and Grammy award-winning

producer’s new Liverpool lair p22

In the Studio With Steve Levine

No. 282 May 2014 www.audiomedia.com

NOAH

Geoff Foster on the fi rst Dolby Atmos-specifi c music mix

p10

LIVE SOUND

Behind the scenes on the latest Broken Bells tour

p20

POWERPLAY

What’s new at the recently refurbished Swiss studio

p28

TECH FOCUS

A look at the current studio microphone off ering

p32

www.audiomedia.com May 2014 03

Since moving to London almost

two years ago there are a few

things about English culture that

have slowly seeped into my life: I

can now drink a pint of warm, flat ale without

spitting it all over the place, I’ve come to terms

with the fact that a ‘pie’ does not necessarily

have to be a sweet pastry filled with some type

of fruit, and I now bring up the weather at

every available opportunity.

With those confessions out of the way, let’s

talk about the weather (it is Spring, after all).

Over the past few months the temperature

has slowly crept higher, the sun has begun to

peak through the grey canopy of clouds that

seems to always hang over the UK’s capital, and

signs of Spring and maybe even Summer are

starting to make themselves known. It’s a time

of change and rebirth.

Ten months ago when I joined Audio Media

I spoke about refurbishment and refreshment,

and since then we have striven to do just that

with every issue, finessing the editorial focus

of the magazine while constantly working to

make it easier, more informative, and more

enjoyable to read. I’ve never been one to relax

in contentment and this month is no different.

Beyond the immediately apparent change

in design we’ve included a number of great

features this month focusing on the varied

sectors of pro audio:

On the topic of refreshment,

we sat down with renowned

producer Steve Levine to talk about moving

his studio to Liverpool, the importance

of industry groups like the MPG, and, of

course, his work with Culture Club. Steve has

constantly been at the forefront of recording

technology, embracing the latest and greatest

kit as it comes out, and I’m incredibly pleased

to be able to feature him this month.

In the broadcast sector, video is going

through a major change with the adoption of

4K, but what about audio? We talked to BBC

R&D media technologist Tony Churnside

to find out what might be next for broadcast

audio (in case you’re wondering, no, it isn’t

Dolby Atmos in your living room).

We also spoke with the people behind

the newly refurbished Powerplay Studios in

Switzerland and picked the brain of chief

engineer Reto Muggli about working with

Wu-Tang Clan, Xzibit, and Prince. This month

we even got a few minutes with one man who

is constantly trying to redefine and refresh the

pro-audio sector – Steven Slate.

All in all it has been one hell of a month and

I hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as

we enjoyed putting it together.

Jory MacKay, Editor

WELCOME

Meet the team

“Ten months ago when I joined

Audio Media I spoke about

refurbishment and refreshment,

and since then we have striven to do

just that with every issue.”

Editor – Jory [email protected]

Deputy Editor – Jake [email protected]

Managing Editor – Jo [email protected]

Commercial Director – Darrell [email protected]

Group Head of Design & Production – Adam [email protected]

Production Executive – Jason [email protected]

Designer – Jat [email protected]

Managing Director – Mark Burton

Press releases to:[email protected]

© Intent Media 2014. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners.

Audio Media is published by Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England. Editorial tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6002 Sales tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6000

Audio Media ISSN number: ISSN 0960-7471 (Print)

Circulation & Subscription enquiries Tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6001 email: [email protected]

Printed by Stephen & George, Wales

CONTENTS

04 May 2014 www.audiomedia.com

ADVERTISERSINDEXAudio-Technica 35Blue Microphones 48DiGiCo 2DPA Microphones 25Dynaudio Professional 19Earthworks 24Genelec 5IBC 43

IT Broadcast Workflow 33Mogami 8Presonus 27Prism Sound 9Pro Sound Awards 41Radial Engineering 47Richmond Film Services 39RØDE Microphones 37

Sennheiser 7Stagetec 11Studioking 21TC Electronic 3Universal Audio 13Zaxcom 29

FEATUREJake Young explores

the recently reinvigorated

Powerplay Studios

near Zurich p28

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Consoles from Fairlight, SSL, DiGiCo ........... 6

Cedar Audio reveals Studio 6 .......................8

Sennheiser supports Dante ..........................9

INDUSTRY NEWS

Geoff Foster on mixing music in

Dolby Atmos ..................................................... 10

BMC Show review ........................................12

MPG introduces BWAV initiative ................13

FEATURES

Live and Loud ...............................................20

Jory MacKay speaks with veteran FOH

engineer Dave McDonald during his recent tour

with Broken Bells

Steve Levine .................................................. 22

Thirty years since his work with

Culture Club put him on the map Jim Evans sits

down with the producer and MPG boss

Bioshock Infinite .......................................... 26

John Broomhall speaks with the

BAFTA-winning sound and music teams behind

the latest Bioshock title

In the Studio with Reto Muggli ................30

Powerplay’s chief engineer runs us

through his studio tricks and techniques

TECHNOLOGY

FOCUS:

Studio Microphones .................................... 32

REVIEWS:

Featured: Prism Sound Lyra 2 & Titan ..... 38

Schoeps V4 ....................................................40

Genelec 8010 ................................................42

Moog Analog Delay and Ladder ...............44

Exponential Audio R2 and

PhoneixVerb ................................................. 45

ALSO INSIDE

SHOW REVIEWS: NAB & PLASA Focus ..... 14

GEO FOCUS: France ..................................... 16

BROADCAST FOCUS: Next-gen audio .... 18

INTERVIEW: Steven Slate ...........................46

Page 32

Page 22

TECHNOLOGY NEWS


At NAB 2014, Fairlight introduced

its latest console, EVO.Live – a new

generation digital audio mixing system for

on-air and live productions.

The mixing console’s compact, modular

design is said to be ideal for OB trucks,

performing arts venues, house of worship,

and broadcast facilities. It is available

in different chassis or table-mount

configurations from 12 to 60 faders. The

ergonomic control surface design with

touch TFT monitors offers immediate

access to all critical live functions with

detailed visualisation. The system maintains

full redundancy with automatic takeover on

any component failure.

Fairlight’s interactive control surface

includes Picture Keys, which self-label

instantly for each task performed,

displaying the right commands and

functions at the right time. In addition,

Fairlight’s new iCan

(Integrated Control Across

Network) technology provides

the operator with an easy-to-use editor to

design fully customised layouts.

The console incorporates complete Dual-

Operator functionality allowing each audio

engineer to independently access their own

set of faders, solos, channel selections, and

monitoring controls.

Audio processing takes place in

Fairlight’s FPGA-based Crystal Core

audio engine ensuring very high channel

and bus counts.

www.fairlight.com.au

Fairlight Launches EVO.LiveMaking its debut

at this year’s NAB

Show was Sound

Devices’ 970, the

company’s first

audio-only rack-

mountable recorder

boasting 64 channels of Dante and MADI. The half-rack,

2U device is designed to simplify applications requiring high-

quality, high-track count audio recording, such as drama and

reality production, and live concert recording.

The 970 records 64 channels of monophonic or polyphonic

24-bit WAV files from any of its 144 inputs. Inputs available

include 64 channels of Ethernet-based Dante, 64 channels

of optical or coaxial MADI, eight channels of line-level

analogue, and eight channels of AES digital. Any input can

be assigned to any track. In addition, 32-track recording at

96kHz is supported.

www.sounddevices.com

Sound Devices Introduces the 970

TC Electronic announced three new

loudness meter plug-ins for audio and

video editing systems at NAB. The LM2n

and LM6n meters offer new features plus

Radar View, while the LM1n plug-in

provides the basics in loudness metering

while only creating a small footprint on

the screen.

All three support the major plug-in

formats, including AAX, VST, and

Audio Units, and offer faster than real

time off-line measuring in Pro Tools.

They comply with all major broadcast

standards, including BS.1770, A/85,

R128, TR-B32, and OP-59, and will

remain compliant via updates whenever

revisions of these standards are released.

For large facilities, TC Electronic offers

LM1n, LM2n, and LM6n in a bulk

version that allows installation of a large

number of meters on Macs and PCs, with

no need for iLok USB keys or licences

stored on individual computers.

www.tcelectronic.com

Trio of Loudness Meter Plug-ins from TC

Debuted at the NAB Show

in Las Vegas was RTW’s

new Masterclass Plug-in

series, which provides the

company’s metering tools

in standard formats for

Windows and Mac OS.

Scheduled for availability

in May, the RTW

Loudness Tools will be

the first of the company’s

monitoring products

available as part of

the range.

Each RTW Loudness

Tools Masterclass plug-

in visually depicts

audio with all relevant

level and loudness

values as specified by

international standards.

It conforms to the

EBU R128 loudness

standard, as well as

SPL, ITU-R BS.1770-

3/1771-1, ATSC A/85,

ARIB, and custom (to set

OP-59, AGCOM)).

The RTW Loudness

Tools support all standard

sampling rates up to 96kHz

and offer plug-in operation

in mono, stereo, and

surround formats (eight

channels maximum). The

plug-in includes RTW’s

Peak Program Meter,

TruePeak, and Spot

Correlator instruments.

www.rtw.com

New RTW Masterclass Plug-ins

Riedel Communications showcased the new

functionality enabled by its MediorNet 2.0

update at the 2014 NAB Show. Benefits

include full video router functionality,

interoperability with Studer consoles,

EMBER+ implementation, and extended

integration of the ProBel protocol.

“MediorNet 2.0 gives MediorNet users

a flexible, easy-to-operate alternative to

conventional video routers,” said Karsten

Schragmann, product manager at Riedel

Communications. “By incorporating

tremendous routing capabilities right into

the MediorNet frame, this firmware update

enables users to lower their operations costs

while reducing the volume and complexity

of cabling required for audio and video

signal transport.”

The MediorNet 2.0 update includes video

router functionality with switching delays of

less than 40 milliseconds, as well as high-

speed rerouting that allows as many as 1,000

connections to be rerouted in less than a

second. The firmware update also supports

more than 65,000 ProBel crosspoints.

MediorNet 2.0 introduces Studer

A-Link compatibility, which enables the

MediorNet Modular frame to act as a

decentralised audio router with a matrix

size larger than 25,000² and fully redundant

interfaces. At the same time, MediorNet

fully supports EMBER+ for integration

with other common control systems, such

as VSM and KSC Commander.

www.riedel.net

Riedel Enhances MediorNet

NEW AT NAB

Solid State Logic launched its C100 HD PLUS and C10 HD PLUS digital broadcast consoles in Las Vegas. The new PLUS versions of the C100 and C10 consoles bring together new features and SSL Production Assistant software to offer users a powerful and flexible system.

The C100 HD PLUS large-format console is designed to offer a complete production solution for news and sports in a single standard high-power configuration. The new standard processing configuration at the heart of the console delivers more processing than ever before in an SSL broadcast console. Redundant Blackrock processor cards in a compact 2U rack process 588 audio mix paths, with 256 channels of six-band EQ, and 284 channels of dynamics with 512 channels of integrated MADI I/O.

With frame sizes from 16 to 48 faders, the self-contained fan-less C10 HD PLUS console can be built into vans for ENG operations, specified for network scale sports productions, or is said to be ideal for all-round production demands in mid-scale broadcast facilities. www.solidstatelogic.com

New SSL Broadcast Consoles

TECHNOLOGY NEWS


Cedar Audio has announced Studio 6, which is both AAX Native and VST compatible and includes a number of new processes for improving sound quality.

New for Studio 6 is Auto Dehiss, an advanced algorithm that enables the software to determine the broadband noise content and remove it without the introduction of unwanted side-effects or artefacts. A manual mode is also offered

for fine-tuning results.Also new is Declick, an

impulsive noise detection and interpolator, as well as Decrackle. The latter is

based on the technology that underpinned the Cedar CR-1 and is able to dig into a damaged signal to identify and remove ground-in and grungy crackle without damaging the wanted audio. It also removes many forms of buzz and some amplitude distortions from material as diverse as cylinder recordings and current broadcasts contaminated with lighting buzz.www.cedaraudio.com

Cedar Audio Launches Studio 6

The Hapi small-format networked audio interface, Merging Technologies’ latest product, was demonstrated at NAB.

Hapi provides the same Ravenna/AES67 connectivity as Horus, and can act as the perfect primary interface for smaller systems as well as an accessary for a system using

Horus where control room I/O is required.www.merging.com

Hapi on the Merging Stand

New at NaB


TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DiGiCo Adds Broadcast-specific Features to SD Consoles

Lectrosonics has

introduced the new

Digital Secure Wireless

system, which features

AES-256-CTR

(Advanced Encryption

Standard) encryption

technology for use in

environments where

privacy is paramount, such

as in theatres, touring, and

film making.

The system consists of

the DR digital wireless

receiver frame, the

individual DRM digital

receiver modules, and

the DB digital wireless

beltpack transmitter.

The system is slated to

be available in Q3 2014.

www.lectrosonics.com

Digital Secure Wireless from Lectrosonics

Sennheiser has announced

support of the Dante

networking standard.

“By joining this standard,

we will be able to optimally

cater to our customers in

the broadcasting and live

sound worlds,” said Claus

Menke, head of portfolio

management pro for

Sennheiser’s Professional

Division (pictured).

“We see the digital

distribution of audio and

control signals becoming

more and more widespread

in all areas of production.”

The first product to

make use of the networking

technology will be the

company’s Digital 9000

wireless mic system, with a

Dante-enabled expansion

card for the receiver

launching in summer 2014.

Lee Ellison, CEO

of Audinate, said: “The

Sennheiser Digital 9000

microphone receiver

combined with Dante

networking further enriches

the suite of Dante products

available for audio over

IP networks in broadcast,

live sound, theatre, and

professional audio markets.”

Sennheiser signed the

Dante License Agreement

at the end of March. In

2013, it signed the Ravenna

Partnership Agreement

with ALC NetworX. The

company has also been

a member of the AVnu

Alliance since 2010.

www.sennheiser.com

www.audinate.com

Sennheiser Supports Dante

At last year’s NAB, DiGiCo

revealed its broadcast-specific

SD9B console and building

on that momentum has

continued to push into the

broadcast market. Recently,

companies such as NEP

and Sure Shot have relied

on DiGiCo’s products for

events including the Winter

Olympics in Sochi.

At this year’s show,

DiGiCo presented more

broadcast-specific features for

its SD range. This includes

eight additional Flexi busses

for the SD9 and eight Flexi

channels for the SD11i and

SD11B; support for Optocore

DD2, DD4, and X6 R-series

interfaces; Post Fade insert

for support of the new Waves

Dugan plug-in; the ability to

bring AES output into the

matrix; and the availability of

aux sends on sub-groups on

live software.

On show were the top-of-

the-line SD7B; the SD10B

(featuring multichannel

‘folding’ under a single fader,

among other features); the

new SD9B, which adds

surround capabilities to the

standard SD9 ‘live’ system;

the compact and powerful

SD11B; and the newest

addition to the range, the

SD5B.

www.digico.biz

NEW AT NAB

INDUSTRY NEWS Sign up for your digital AM at www.audiomedia.com


Grammy award-winning engineer

Geoff Foster recently completed the

first-ever Dolby Atmos-specific music

mix for Darren Aronofsky’s biblical

epic Noah with the mix of the 60-piece

triple tracked orchestra taking place at

the Manhattan Music Centre’s Log

Cabin studio. Audio Media chatted

with the man himself about the

challenges and rewards of bringing

Atmos to the world of film music.

First off, tell me how you got involved in the project.Clint Mansell [composer for Noah]

and I have worked together for a good

10 years now and we’ve done most of

Aronofsky’s films together, so when

this one came up I got the call.

What were the main challenges of doing a music mix in Atmos?The most obvious thing is that there’s

not yet an established ‘here’s how you

do it’ kind of thing. Because Atmos

can be up to 60-odd speakers, we had

to find a way to hang a meaningful

number of speakers above the console.

I had the guys from Dolby come in

and I’ve been to see a few Atmos

demos in London and New York with

a view to working out what it might

entail and how the algorithm works.

Having established a mechanism

for hanging the speakers above the

console, it was then a matter of voicing

them to make sure they were at a

suitable volume and would translate to

an Atmos system.

What did you end up using for your monitoring system?I ended up getting some Unity Audio

Rocks and suspending them because

they are self-powered, I like the way

they sound, and they’re relatively small

and light so it wasn’t a huge drama

coming up with a way to actually hang

them above me.

So how did you end up utilising Atmos during the actual mix process?One of the things that I was very

aware of was that a lot of theatres

don’t yet have Dolby Atmos so we

had to come up with a way of either

folding it down into a 5.1 in a way

that didn’t upset the balance too

much, or making sure anything that

went up into Atmos was not crucial

if it did get lost when it was folded

down. We spent a couple of days just

mucking about with volumes and

trying different levels and listening to

it in surround and then stereo and just

generally trying to find a relationship

between the Atmos and what I was

doing that made a valid working

compromise between all the working

formats. We settled on basically a

10dB fold down front back and into

the surrounds which actually worked

really well so the material that went up

there was generally more ambience and

then we did a few special effects for

special moments.

Were there any concerns with fitting the music with sound effects or dialogue?After the first few mixes I went down

to the dubbing stage, which had been

specifically constructed for this project

at Deluxe in New York, to listen

with the music mixer Skip [Livesay].

We mucked around with positioning

and what sounded closest to what I

thought it should sound like. Having

done that they were then able to weave

that into the sound effects.

One of the things about Atmos

is that it assumes each element can

be panned around and that panning

information is included in the Atmos

metadata whereas what I actually did

was I said ‘right, that front left Atmos

will always be front left Atmos’, so any

clever panning I did, as you would in

a stereo environment, within my four

Atmos channels. With Dolby Atmos

itself, in theory, the sound effects move

in their own right and the software

pans them when you get to the theatre.

I said ‘you know what, let’s assume my

speakers are fixed and there will always

be at least four and we will work a

relationship around that’ and that

worked very well.

I think music and sound effects are

very different in that sound effects tend

to be very short term – they are very

see-it-hear-it. You rarely get a sound

effect that lasts 4:30, but you do quite

often get music that lasts that long.

That difference makes sense to me to

just say pan it here and leave it here.

Were there any other special considerations you had to address?[During recording] we hung specific

mics way, way above the orchestra, far

higher than one would normally hang

them with the sole purpose of them

being atmosphere mics. Darren had

said from the start that he wanted this

to be an Atmos music mix.

I wanted to present something

to the dubbing stage that I felt was

another notch up from what most

other scores are and I think we did a

fantastic job. Certainly when I

heard the score in Atmos it sounded

very special.

Dolby Atmos for Noah Music MixPOST PRODUCTION

Audio companies are well

represented across all six

categories at the inaugural

InstallAwards, to be held

on 12 June at the Hilton

London Wembley.

Meyer Sound and Renkus-

Heinz are both up for

best project in the Sports/

Performing Arts category,

for the The Golden Hall,

Musikverein and De Grote

Post, respectively, while

Sennheiser is the sole

representative in the Public

Display/Retail section for its

involvement in the David

Bowie Is exhibition at

London’s V&A.

Meyer Sound is shortlisted

once again in the Education

category for its work on

The Louisiana Digital

Media Center at Louisiana

State University in Baton

Rouge. The manufacturer is

up against Stage Electrics’

Guildhall School of Music

& Drama project and

Biamp’s Purdue University

installation, among others.

Lawo’s involvement in

the National Public Radio’s

new production centre in

Washington, DC has been

shortlisted for Best Project

in the Corporate/Industrial

sector, while Stealth

Acoustics and Waterfall

are up for the Star Product

Award in the Residential

category.

www.installawards.com

InstallAwards Finalists named

EVENT

We y

Tickets for the awards

are available, priced £199

(or £1,795 for a table

of 10). The ticket price

includes pre-dinner drinks

reception, entry to the

awards, a three-course

meal, entry to the after-

party, and much more.

Contact sara.mather@

intentmedia.co.uk for

more details


INDUSTRY NEWS

In a new monthly column we run through some of the

latest happenings from studios around the world. Want

your studio featured? Send your news to jory.mackay@

intentmedia.co.uk.

It’s been a busy start to the year at London’s Snap

Studios with clients including Rich Cooper producing and

mixing Lucy Rose’s new album, Jerry Boys producing tracks

with Boris Grebenschikov, and Twilight Circus mixing

with Arcade Fire, Jimmy Somerville, and producer Andy

Green.

On the equipment front, Marco Pasquariello, studio

manager, said: “We’ve got a lovely new (old) VF14

Telefunken U47 – as once used to record the great Miles

Davis, a BBC/Marconi AXBT 1940’s ribbon mic, original

Mellotron, Yamaha CS80, and a pair of original Decca

limiters. There’s also a beautiful Studer A827 multi-track

tape recorder with 24 or 16 track heads – a gem!”

“The most exciting session I’ve had recently has been one

with the Swedish progressive rock band The Flower Kings,”

reported Sweden-based Fenix Recording owner/producer

Lars Hallback.

“They are extremely talented musicians and they rented

the studio for nine days without any pre-written material

bar a few ‘sketches’. And when they were finished they had

enough recorded material to release a double CD.

“We added the B&W 800 monitors, some new

instruments, the Tama Japanese handmade Star kit, and

changed our Grand Piano to the new Yamaha C7x, with

Disklavier so we can, for example, record fusion or jazz

bands when everyone is in the same room without leakage.”

The score to Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall was

composed by Stephen Barton and recorded by Abbey

Road’s Jonathan Allen in Studio One and Studio Two.

In the game players choose between two factions; this

was reflected in the recording process, as Barton explains:

“Studio One lent its warmth, richness and larger-than-life

sound to the music for the Interstellar Mining Corporation,

and the unmistakable clarity and depth of Studio Two

brings a grittier, organic texture to the Militia sound.”

Jimi Wheelwright is now looking after the recording

studios at Brighton Electric and reports: “We had The

Cure in the studio in preparation for their Teenage Cancer

Trust show at the Royal Albert Hall and over the last

month we have had some other fantastic clients – Royal

Blood, The Acid, and Marika Hackman to name a few.”

“Gear-wise, our engineers trialled a couple of new Shoeps

V4 microphones recently, which sounded very nice. We

have also restored our 3314a desk compressors and re-valved

our LA2A, other than that we are rocking the usual gear.”

Eastlake Audio MD David Hawkins reported: “The two

recent projects which have kept us busy were in the first

case, helping Andreas Georgallis the Cypriot musician and

songwriter move his formerly Cyprus-based recording and

dubbing complex City Studios to a new Athens location

which retains the same City Studios trading name.

“Eastlake has completed designs for an independent FM

radio station and music recording facility in one of the (few)

Gulf states that the studio designer and constructor has –

until now – not yet worked in. Construction is planned to

commence in late May for inauguration in late August.”

Heard Around TownRECORDING

The Develop conference returns to Brighton on

8-10 July, providing a forum for the exposition

and discussion of all matters relating to the

development of videogames – from creative

and technical issues through to business affairs;

more than 1,600 developers are expected to

attend.

Featuring key industry figures, Develop

stages dozens of conference sessions via a series

of themed ‘tracks’ including the one-day audio

track on 10 July, which will appeal to anyone

interested in the music, sound, dialogue and

audio technology of videogames.

Hosted by regular Audio Media contributor

and Bafta awards chair John Broomhall, this

year’s audio offering will cover a wide range

of content from console game production and

indie game development to mobile/tablet audio.

Sessions include ‘Tearaway: Penny Drops

and Paper Cuts’, ‘Total Immersion: Music

and Sound in The Chinese Room’, and ‘AAA

Audio Attitude for Tablet and Mobile’.

Event director, Andy Lane, told Audio

Media: “The sound and music components of

today’s videogames are a vitally important part

of the entertainment experience. Our delegates

can expect to sit back and absorb the collective

wisdom of a diverse range of top game audio

talent once again this year – as well as enjoy

networking with the industry at large, right

beside the seaside in buzzing Brighton.”

www.developconference.com

Develop Conference Announces Audio Track

EVENT

INDUSTRY NEWS Sign up for your digital AM at www.audiomedia.com


In a new monthly column we run down the latest work,

appointments, and upgrades in the world of audio post

production. Want your news featured here? Send any

relevant information to [email protected].

Scotland-based Savalas Sound recently completed the

fi nal mix and Foley for the second series of BBC Scotland/

ITV Studios’ crime drama Shetland, which involved six days

touring the remote islands recording environment and the

local dialect.

In New York, Oscar-winner Skip Livesay and Craig

Henighan completed the mixing of Darren Aronofsky’s

epic feature Noah, taking advantage of Deluxe’s new Dolby

Atmos stage at 435 Hudson Street. Th e fi lm also included

the fi rst Dolby Atmos-specifi c music mix by Geoff Foster at

the Manhattan Music Centre’s Log Cabin Studio.

On the other coast, Todd-Soundelux has been keeping

busy and has added to its creative team. Th e company

has just announced the appointment of supervising sound

editor/re-recording mixer Joe Dzuban and supervising sound

editor/designer Darren ‘Sunny’ Warkentin. Recent work

includes TV shows such as AMC’s Turn and Halt and Catch

Fire, TNT’s Murder in the First, and Starz’ new series Black

Sails (produced by Michael Bay).

In London it has been a busy month for award-winning

sound design studio Jungle. Chris Turner completed the

mix on the new L’Oréal Paris Feria campaign featuring

Cheryl Cole; Culum Simpson worked on a viral spot for

sustainable childrenswear brand Th e Fableist; and the team

mixed audio for the CollectPlus ad created by the newly

formed agency Dawson Pickering.

Pinewood Studios Group has recently upgraded all its

Avid Pro Tools systems to the new HDX Platform. All

post-production facilities at both Pinewood and Shepperton

Studios are now fully equipped for HDX including both of

the Dolby Atmos mixing theatres. Th e Powell and Korda

theatres are currently the only Atmos mixing theatres in the

UK, and were recently used for BBC Earth Film’s up and

coming Enchanted Kingdom.

Speaking of Atmos, Elstree-based Point1Post is getting

ready to unveil its new Dolby Atmos mixing stage this

month. Watch this space for more information.

From the Cutting Room

UMG Demos HD Audio at Metropolis

POST PRODUCTION

Th e fi rst ever Brighton Music Conference

(BMC) took place last month drawing more

than 5,000 visitors to the Brighton Dome

and various venues around the city. Hailed as

‘the UK’s answer to the Miami Winter Music

Conference’, the two-day event featured an

expo, masterclasses, Q&As, and a conference

focusing on the business of the music industry.

“Th e show was pretty good and had

impressive attendance considering it was a

brand new event,” commented Polar Audio

marketing manager Max Shuter. “It seemed

to be very well received by both punters and

exhibitors so we were glad to be a part of it.”

A few manufacturers used the show as

an opportunity to debut products to the

UK audience with Funktion One demoing

the new PSM318 DJ monitor and Roland

showing off its entire AIRA line including

the new System 1. Other exhibitors

included Ableton, PMC Speakers, and SCV

Distribution.

During the show a number of masterclasses

and Q&As took place on the exhibition fl oor

including a talk from Funktion One founder

Tony Andrews titled ‘Th e Importance of

Audio Quality’. During the talk, Andrews

argued that the general quality of audio, from

live to in the studio, has decreased in the past

decade with the biggest culprits including

digital standards such as AES and over-

reliance on EQ and eff ects.

“It’s not about how many eff ects, it’s about

fundamentals,” he said. “Th e rule for good

audio has always been to have a minimum

[amount of eff ects] as possible. Less is

defi nitely more. Audio is a very fragile thing

and every time you put it through a process,

unless those processes are of incredibly high

quality, every single one of them brings it

down [in quality].

“When audio quality is where it should

be there’s just more to it than the noise,

it’s a whole dimension. It’s the diff erence

between looking at a picture that is just two

dimensional and being actually in the scene

itself.”

www.brightonmusicconference.co.uk

Industry Supports Inaugural Brighton Music Conference

EVENT

EVENT

At an event held at London’s Metropolis

Studios Universal Music Group (UMG)

showcased its new physical HD Blu-ray audio

format, High Fidelity Pure Audio.

UMG chose Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road

to show off the technology, inviting a select

group of listeners to experience the brand new

remaster delivered in stereo and 5.1. Other

playbacks also included classic tracks from Th e

Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, and more.

During the event, Metropolis mastering

engineer Mazen Murad (pictured) also

gave technical insight into the functionality

of High Fidelity Pure Audio and the

importance of audio quality.

“We have been thrilled with the buzz

generated among consumers and retailers

worldwide following our Pure Audio

releases,” said High Fidelity Pure Audio

group head chairman Oliver Robert-Murphy.

“I’m seeing fi rst-hand the excitement created

across the whole music industry sectors as

well as among those involved in Blu-ray.

Companies are now recognising the format’s

potential and the opportunity this represents.”

www.universalmusic.com


INDUSTRY NEWS

At an event at London’s Hospital

Club, which was also streamed online,

the Music Producer’s Guild put forth

its initiative to replace the standard

WAV format with the Broadcast

WAV (BWAV) format.

Hosted by Barry Grint from

Alchemy Mastering and supported

by some of the top mastering

DAW manufacturers including

Magix (Sequioa), Merging

Technologies (Pyramix), and Prism

Sound (SADiE), the event was an

opportunity for mastering engineers

to get a firsthand look at how to

implement the BWAV file format

into their workflow.

“The start of this [initiative] was

borne out of working as a mastering

engineer and having to do projects

more than once because I’d been

supplied with the wrong mix,”

commented Grint.

“You know how it is, sometimes

there’s a clean version and an explicit

version – same artist, same title, same

duration – and they’ve sent you the

wrong one and the only way you really

get to know is by looking at the label

copy and checking the ISRC that’s

put on it. If you could only see that in

the track they’ve sent you, you’d know

straight away whether you’ve got the

right version or not.

“It was from that that it occurred to

me that broadcast WAV uses this and

they carry lots of other information so

why not carry a unique identifier?”

The BWAV format was developed

by the European Broadcast Union

(EBU) and offers the opportunity to

embed ISRC information – a unique

code that is allocated to each track

and then registered with royalty

payment

agencies

ensuring that

recording

artists and

copyright holders are properly

remunerated when their work is

played on radio or TV.

While the implementation of the

BWAV format in modern DAWs

is relatively straightforward (along

with the presenting companies Grint

stated that it is available in Steniberg’s

WaveLab as well as Sonic Studio), the

ability to enter and, more importantly,

change existing ISRC information

raises a few ethical concerns. Because

ISRC codes directly affect royalty

payments, there is the opportunity

to change the information for

personal gains.

Despite the concerns, Grint and the

MPG are confident that BWAV is

the right choice moving forward and

have already received support from

the BPI and AIM.

“There are many more stages we

need to go through before this is

anywhere near a complete project.

But we need your support and the

software manufacturers need your

feedback,” said Grint.

“The next stage is to let all of you,

mastering engineers, know about

it and how it effects your workflow

every day so that when the record

companies start asking about an ISRC

in a Broadcast WAV you know how

to deliver it to them.”

www.mpg.org.uk

MPG Introduces BWAV Format to Mastering Community

MASTERINGBarry Grint at London’s Hospital Club

Sign up for your digital AM at www.audiomedia.com


SHOW NEWS

NAB Show Shoots for 100kThe 2014 NAB Show in Las Vegas

hit another milestone this year as

total registered attendance came in at

98,015, an uptick of more than four

percent from 2013 and another sign

of the continuing growth and strength

of the broadcast sector. Exhibit space

was also up more than seven percent

from the previous year, with the

event comprising 1,746 exhibiting

companies spanning 945,000 net

square feet of exhibit space.

“NAB Show continues to

reign supreme as the leading

global showcase for cutting-edge

technologies covering all stages of

media and entertainment production,”

said NAB executive vice president of

communications Dennis Wharton.

“We are elated that so many

communications and entertainment

professionals from around the world

have made NAB Show their yearly

destination to grow their talents and

operations.”

Although the majority of the

show’s focus was on new ultra-HD

video formats like 4K, there was

still a strong showing of pro-audio

companies and products. Once again,

Audio Media’s sister titles in the

US, Pro Sound News and Pro Audio

Review, hit the show floor to hand

out their own Best of Show awards.

Among the winners were Cedar

Audio for its newly launched Studio

6 Suite, which is now available as a

range of AAX and VST plug-ins for

Mac and PC; DPA Microphones’

d:screet necklace microphone; the new

Masterclass Plug-in series from RTW;

and Sennheiser’s MK 8 multi-pattern

condenser microphone.

Showing the continued interest in

AOIP and networked audio, awards

were also given to Linear Acoustic’s

AERO.x IP-audio interface and

Merging Technologies Hapi small-

format networked audio interface,

while Lectrosonics’ Digital Secure

Wireless System won a Best of Show,

illustrating broadcasters’ need for safe

and secure wireless transmissions.

Console manufacturers were also

out in full force with the new Fairlight

EVO.Live mixing system, Solid State

Logic’s C10 HD PLUS Compact

digital broadcast console, Souncraft’s

Vi3000 digital live sound console, and

the Yamaha QL Series digital consoles

all picking up awards as well.

The 2014 NAB Show also

coincided with the inaugural Avid

Customer Association event, Avid

Connect, where the company revealed

details of its much-anticipated Avid

Everywhere strategic plan. The event

was attended by over 1,000 broadcast,

pro-audio, and video professionals

from 43 countries around the world,

who eagerly awaited the future plans

of one of the most important media

technology companies.

In a nutshell, Avid Everywhere is

a content sharing and distribution

platform that centres on the Avid

MediaCentral Platform, previously

known as Interplay Central, which

Avid CEO Louis Hernandez Jr

describes as “the foundation that

enables our customers to streamline

their entire media workflow, from

creation to monetisation, with greater

flexibility and the utmost security and

protection”.

For full details from the launch visit

www.audiomedia.com

www.nabshow.com

In Focus in LeedsPLASA’s series of regional gatherings

and events continued last month

with PLASA Focus: Leeds 2014,

which attracted a healthy attendance

both for the exhibition and for the

education programme.

Chris Toulmin, director of PLASA

Events, commented: “As well as

the extensive seminar programme,

the show is known for its vibrant

atmosphere and with such a strong

line-up of exhibitors, showcasing

so many innovative products, we’re

certain that legacy will continue.”

With the show landing in the

month after Prolight + Sound in

Frankfurt, PLASA Focus: Leeds was

witness to a host of UK debuts and

product launches.

d&b audiotechnik showcased the

next generation of its ‘system reality’,

including an update to the d&b

ArrayCalc simulation software. The

show also saw the first public outing

in the UK for the D80 amplifier, plus

an addition to the d&b product range

in the xC-Series column speakers.

Roland Systems Group exhibited

the VR-3EX AV mixer, the M-480

and M-200i digital mixing consoles,

the VR-50HD high-definition AV

mixer, V-800HD live video switcher

and S-2416 digital snake.

As Meyer Sound’s official partner

for the north of England, the

centrepiece of the Pro Audio Systems

(PAS) stand was the manufacturer’s

latest loudspeaker technology – the

MJF-210 stage monitor.

Highlite UK unveiled a new era

of products from DAP Audio. The

CX range of amplifiers will add

“affordability and reliability to the

company’s catalogue”.

Orbital Sound featured

its portfolio of sound and

communication systems. Among the

‘firsts’ on show were Flare Audio’s

SM15 Stage Monitor and X5

Vertical Point Source Array system.

RCF introduced a number of

products to the UK market for the

first time, including the compact

HDL10-A, as well as the ART 745 –

an active two-way speaker.

Liverpool-based Adlib Audio

exhibited at PLASA Focus: Leeds,

fresh from being appointed as a UK

distributor for Coda Audio’s ViRAY

and TiRAY product ranges. Its stand

was dedicated to ViRAY.

In response to growing industry

demand, PLASA Events has

announced that two new PLASA

Focus events will take place in

Europe during 2014. PLASA Focus:

Brussels will take place on 1-2 July,

while a new event will be held in

Scotland towards the end of 2014.

www.plasafocus.com


OPINION

In the Summertime & In the Classroom

LIVE ON THE LAKE – AT A PRICETh e live sound sector is gearing up for

a full programme of summer festivals.

Among the longer established is the

Montreux Jazz Festival, which has

reinvented itself a number of times

since its inception in 1967 and now

features a diversifi ed programme

covering a broad spectrum of musical

genres.

Stevie Wonder will be joined by

Pharrell Williams and Damon Albarn

when he headlines the 48th Montreux

Jazz Festival later this year. Th e full

line-up for the 4-19 July festival

includes Van Morrison, Massive

Attack, Outkast, and Jamie Cullum.

Wonder’s appearance fulfi ls a long-

held wish of the festival’s late founder

Claude Nobs, who died in 2013. “We

tried to get Stevie many times,” said

festival director Mathieu Jaton. Th e

veteran star will play at the Swiss

resort’s Stravinsky Auditorium on 16

July, with seats priced at 450 Swiss

francs (£304). Plus one on the door?

LIVE AND KICKINGTickets for Kate Bush’s fi rst live

shows in 35 years sold out in less

than 15 minutes. Th e singer said she

was “completely overwhelmed by

the response”. Th e Before the Dawn

concerts, which take place this August

and September, mark the singer’s fi rst

return to the stage since Th e Tour Of

Life in 1979. Demand was so high

that the singer’s own website, as well

as some ticket-selling sites, crashed as

people tried to log on.

TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAs the number of university/college

courses covering recording and

associated technologies continues

to proliferate, the debate as to their

true worth and validity in the real

world remains very much alive. It’s

always going to be a thorny topic.

Th ose looking to sign up for a course

should check out Th e 2013-14 Music

Education Directory which tracks

over 1,200 courses throughout the

UK and Ireland. Th e data is divided

by geographical region and then by

level of qualifi cation to make course

hunting more straightforward. Th e

compilers recommend that once you

have identifi ed possible courses you

contact the establishments directly to

ask the most relevant questions.

Training ‘on the job’ is held by

many – both from the old guard

and the new – to be the best way

to learn in this business. Sadly,

there aren’t that many openings for

the would-be George Martins and

Bob Clearmountains of tomorrow.

Warmly welcomed therefore is

London’s Strongroom Studios’

inaugural intake of the new Sound

Recording, Engineering, and Studio

Facilities Apprenticeship. Launched

at Metropolis last summer by JAMES

and in collaboration with Creative &

Cultural Skills and City & Guilds,

the apprenticeship scheme has been

set up to off er young people wishing

to enter the UK recording sector a

viable alternative to expensive degree

courses and private colleges, with a

greater focus on industry connections,

and consequently improved chances of

gaining relevant employment.

Strongroom commented: “Our fi rst

apprentice is 17-year-old David Jones;

he has some experience within other

reputable London studios under his

belt, as well as a stint with songwriter

Steve Robson. David is a dedicated

and passionate music fan with a

great attitude, and we’re delighted to

welcome him to the team!”

And as an increasing number

of facilities host ‘masterclasses’, a

mention for Th e Premises in east

London which next month (June)

hosts its four-day Songwriting and

Recording Workshop which promises

‘a packed timetable of workshops,

recording sessions with a pro band,

and masterclasses from some of the

most experienced people in the music

industry. Whether you need advice on

shaping your lyrics, structuring your

songs, enhancing your melodies, are

excited by the prospect of making a

recording with a professional band,

or simply want to join a group of

songwriters focused on creating

a strong personal songwriting

identity, this course off ers a variety of

techniques to enable you to achieve

your personal best as a songwriter.”

DIGITAL MEDIA INITIATIVETh e BBC was ‘far too complacent’

in its handling of a failed IT project

that cost licence fee payers £98.4

million. Th e Digital Media Initiative

(DMI) was intended to move the

BBC away from using and storing

videotape, but it was scrapped, with

almost no results, after fi ve years of

development. After investigating

the demise of the project, the Public

Accounts Committee has branded the

programme ‘a complete failure’.

Th e BBC originally approved DMI

in 2006. It was supposed to produce

new editing tools, an online archive

of the BBC’s programmes, and a

new database. Siemens was hired to

develop the project in February 2008,

and it was expected to be completed

the following year. However, after

a series of delays, the project was

brought in-house. Th ere it fl oundered

until last May when the BBC’s

incoming director general, Tony

Hall, admitted it had “wasted a huge

amount of licence fee payers’ money”.

Th e BBC’s technology chief, John

Linwood, was sacked in July 2013

over the project’s demise.

Meanwhile, the Gravy Train is

stocking up the buff et car and is

about to leave for Rio and the FIFA

World Cup. Taking their seats

on the trip are no fewer than 280

BBC operatives, commentators and

pundits. All aboard!

Audio Media consulting editor Jim Evans rounds up

the events that have caught his eye this month

Stevie Wonder will head to Montreux for the 48th annual Jazz Festival later this year

Policies protecting against an infl ux of

foreign fi lm and television have helped

France maintain its identity and remain

one of the most celebrated cultural

capitals of the world.

Exceptional Culture

It’s hard not to talk about a country

like France without mentioning its

long cultural history. Renowned

around the world for its contribution

to the arts, France has shaped the way

we think about everything from art,

architecture, food, and literature, to

fashion, music, and cinema.

From the classic music revival

of the 19th and 20th century,

French music has remained fi rmly

in the international spotlight with

contemporary artists such as Serge

Gainsbourg leading the way for pop

acts like Phoenix, and, more recently,

electronic superstars Air, Justice,

David Guetta, and Daft Punk.

Within the country, however,

French pop music (or chanson

française) has remained popular with

the most successful French recording

artist of all time, Mylène Farmer,

maintaining some seriously reputable

stats – 30 million records sold and 13

number one hits, eight of which were

consecutive. Th is trend seems to be

continuing as 17 of the top 20 selling

albums of 2013 were local repertoire.

Looking at the recording industry

as a whole, it seems to slowly be

bouncing back with a 2.3% rise in

recorded music revenues last year to

€603.2 million. Digital revenues rose

by just 0.6% with physical sales up

1%. Following the trend worldwide,

streaming has become increasingly

popular, claiming 43% of the digital

market with revenues up 4% last year.

Streaming has become the preferred

method of delivery for digital music

with Paris-based streaming service

Deezer leading the way within the

country and now boasting 12 million

monthly active users and 5 million

paid subscribers. According to the

IFPI’s latest Digital Music Report,

France is behind only Sweden for

percentage of internet users with

music subscription services at 36%.

Looking at the fi lm sector reveals

a similarly strong industry with a

respected history. Two Frenchmen,

Auguste and Louis Lumière (known

as the Lumière brothers), are widely

recognised at having created cinema

with their fi rst fi lm, Sortie de l’usine

Lumière de Lyon, shot in 1894,

considered the fi rst real motion

picture. Since those early days France

has remained a leader in fi lmmaking,

and as of 2006, produces more fi lms

than any other European country

(not to mention hosting respected

industry events such as the annual

Cannes Festival).

While the domestic fi lm market is

dominated by Hollywood, France is

the only nation in the world where

American fi lms make up the smallest

share of total fi lm revenues, at 50%,

compared with 77% in Germany,

and 69% in Japan. Similar to the

success of local music, French fi lms

also account for 35% of the total

fi lm revenue in the country, which

is the highest percentage of national

fi lm revenues in the developed world

outside of the United States.

Much of this is thanks to the

country’s advocacy of ‘cultural

exception’, which allows the

government to maintain quotas and

subsidies to protect its cultural market

from other nations’ cultural products,

especially those from America. Th e

French government has implemented

various measures aimed at helping

to support local fi lm production,

such as levying taxes on movies and

TV channels for use as production

subsidies along with tax breaks.

Th ese strong cultural institutions

have helped support the market

for high-quality studios and post-

production facilities within the

country. Recording studios such

as Studios de la Chine (read more

below), Question de Son, and Studios

La Fabrique regularly host major

artists, while the new Creative Sound

post-production facility recently

became the fi rst mixing studio in

the country to be fi tted with Dolby

Atmos technology.


MICHEL DELUC, director of research and development at Amadeus Labs:Th e recording world in France is

really changing, evolving towards

very ‘premium’ home studios,

sometimes directly concurrent to

professional recording studios.

We are more and more led to

design extremely complex and high-

quality solutions for professional

musicians, producers, and artists

who want to fi nd at home the same

working conditions as in the best

professional recording studios.

HUBERT MONTOYA, owner and co-founder of Studios de la Chine, Paris: Everyone has seen how deep the

recording and production world has

evolved in the last few years. Home

studios appeared in the 90s, focusing

on computer-assisted music, and

these production techniques deeply

changed the way music is created.

Obviously, this evolution brought

and favoured a creative renewal for

many musical styles, but too often,

the technology became the main

focus, in my opinion detracting from

a real sound signature. Now we are at

a turning point.

Word on the Street - The Studio SituationHead of Amadeus Labs Michel Deluc and Studios de la Chine

owner Hubert Montoya discuss the state of studios in France.

GEO FOCUS FRANCE


GEO FOCUS FRANCE

Tell me about your working relationship with Michel Deluc.Th e Amadeus brand cannot be

separated from Michel Deluc, from

his knowledge, his history, his

experiences and his skills, which are

part of the Amadeus brand.

As a director of research and

technical development at Amadeus,

Michel was trained as an acoustical

engineer. He is above all a fantastic

musician who learned upright bass

and electric bass during many years

with Jean-François Jenny-Clark,

a French double bass player who

was one of the most important bass

players of European jazz.

Th is is also part of the reason why

Amadeus speakers catch people’s

attention. Every nuance, dynamic,

even the tiniest details of a piece are

reproduced without any colouration,

embellishment, or bias, because they

are co-developed by a musician, not

‘simply’ a scientist.

You recently completed an Atmos room for Creative Sound in Paris. Can you tell me a bit more about this project?We used and enhanced many of our

techniques at Creative Sound that

we have experimented with over the

past 20 years, especially in the fi eld

of music recording, working with

world-renowned studios such as La

Fabrique, Twin, Masterdisk Europe,

Soyuz, Question de Son, Schmooze,

and others.

According to the technical

requirements for Creative Sound

to obtain the Dolby Atmos

Certifi cation, the reference mixing

position has to correspond to a

position two-thirds of the distance

back from the screen to the rear

wall, on the centre line of the screen.

Th is diff erent sweet spot position

– compared to control rooms in

the musical fi elds – imply the need

to optimise the overall acoustic

treatment – LCR-based – in order

to minimise local eff ects of the

diff use-fi eld and other refl exives

problems, without infl uencing

the rendering of the additional

surround-speakers.

We recreated a micro-acoustical

environment for each of the

additional speaker sources, in

order that each one would not be

infl uenced by the main acoustic

treatment, using multiple custom

acoustic cells (modules). By using

these techniques, we provide

fi lmmakers and recording artists

with a faithful reproduction of

their works, matching the

Dolby Atmos criteria.

Do you have any upcoming projects or product releases you can tell us about?We are bullish about the future. Our

overseas expansion debuted recently

and the market’s responses are more

than hopeful. Some wonderful

things are happening in China,

Brazil, and Korea.

We are in the process of installing

a huge speaker system in a world

famous museum in Paris, and just

fi nished designing and equipping

another ‘premium’ home studio for

French artist Yodelice.

At the recent Prolight + Sound

event we released the smallest of

our PMX Series speakers, the PMX

4, and the ML 8 compact 8in

subwoofer, both designed for the

installation market.

www.amadeus-audio.com

Launched in 1992 as the

commercial arm of Atelier 33,

Amadeus Audio was borne out of

collaboration between company

founder and CEO Bernard Byk

(pictured)and acoustician and

musician Michel Deluc. Th e

company is now recognised

worldwide for its specialisation

in sound architecture, which ties

architectural fundamentals to

acoustic research to off er products

and installations perfectly adapted to

the spaces they’re in.

What is the core ethos of Amadeus Audio?Th e Amadeus brand was initially

thought of as an alternative to the

so-called ‘sound reinforcement’

products. Willing to think about

the sound diff erently, rather than

just achieving the loudest sound

pressure level, Amadeus focused on

developing architectural, musical,

and technological dimensions in

its products to off er better sound

quality and more functional

installation capabilities.

How has your personal background shaped the company?I have been trained as an architect,

and this training strongly infl uences

both the products we develop and

the projects we work on.

I think that for an architect,

the starting point is to decrypt the

space and to think of the way to put

one’s work in a cultural, social or

environmental context. Th at’s the

way we design our sound systems.

We think about their integration in

diff erent places, and we supervise

this integration.

Each space has its own acoustical

characteristics and above all its own

architectural properties. Our work

is to take these phenomena into

account to increase the transparency

of our sound systems.

In such a crowded market what makes an Amadeus product special?Willing to preserve the quality of

our products, many parts of our

products are built and fi nished

entirely by hand, thanks to the

savoir-faire of our cabinet makers,

joiners and fi nishers, according to

proprietary processes, some of which

are patented, which guarantee the

optimum quality required to market

any products claiming to be high-

end and ‘Made in France’.

We are also the sole French

manufacturer able to off er unique

and optional fi nishes for most of our

sound systems, varnish polyester,

titanium coatings, bronze or gold

stitched leather, and others.

We take great pride in using

the fi nest materials and components

throughout every loudspeaker

we build, including air inductances,

oversized non-inductive

resistors, low-loss polypropylene

capacitors, to bring out the fi nest

timbral nuances and the subtlest

tonal distinctions.

Amadeus Audio – Made in France

MANUFACTURER

Studios de la ChineWe welcome more and more

customers who wish to come back

to the essential, to work in spaces

specifi cally designed in accordance

with their expectations, off ering

exceptional tools and unique

production opportunities. Our

desire has always been to serve the

music.

Th e philosophy of Studios de

la Chine was largely inspired by

Chinese philosophy. It is based on

this concept, unique to the Oriental

way of thinking, that tends to

consider duality as complementary.

It is this particular idea we wanted

to express in an essentially ‘mixed

creation’ space, refl ecting a perfect

balance between the best aspects of

two worlds: analogue and digital.

Studios de la Chine is built

around three main components.

Th e unique acoustical properties

of the spaces, notably the 46sqm

control room. Th e famous SSL

9072 J mixing console, which is

the only one in France, and last but

most importantly, the Amadeus

monitoring system, that was

custom-made for the Studios.



While I am sure that I am

preaching to the choir when

I say this, great pictures are

nothing without great sound. And

never has that been more apparent

than with the current move in the

direction of Ultra High Definition.

With picture resolution quadrupling

in size, viewers will benefit from

greater image detail than they have

ever had before while producers will

potentially be offered further creative

choices (plus the odd logistical

headache). But unless the quality of

the audio experience matches it, they

might as well not bother.

“It is very challenging to unpick

the visual experience from the audio,”

details Tony Churnside, media

technologist at BBC Research and

Development (R&D). “One thing

depends on the other. If you make the

sound worse, it has a negative impact

on people’s perception of the picture.

In terms of the audience experience

the two things should be tied up.”

So, in this next audio step change,

what will sound, well, sound like?

In an effort to be more immersive,

will it be an extension of the familiar

channel-based approach that requires

complicated speaker configurations

in 5.1, 7.2, or even 22.2 that make

the listener’s living room look like the

bridge of the Starship Enterprise?

With TV now increasingly being

consumed across multiple platforms

and devices, this seems unlikely.

“Realistically not all of the audience

can, or wants to experience TV sound

that way,” says Churnside. “It’s no

longer right to see this as one-size-

fits-all. Now, we are looking at the

development of a system agnostic

environment or format that is

object based.”

How does that work then? Well,

rather than broadcasting the stereo

loudspeaker signals and their pre-

mixed combination of dialogue,

narration, sound effects, music, and

background atmospheres, each of

those sounds is sent as a separate

audio object with associated metadata.

The viewing device or system at the

other end then reassembles the objects

into an output that can be slightly

different for each listener by locally

changing the metadata.

BUILDING BLOCKSIt works in a similar way to

responsive website design, where a

set of associated style parameters

control how the content should look

depending on the size, shape, and

type of browser it is being viewed

on. Churnside has a better analogy

though: “When you buy a Lego set

it comes with a load of bricks and

instructions for how you can assemble

those bricks,” he explains. “Sometimes

those instructions can provide for the

creation for more than one thing.

That is what we’re doing with TV or

radio programmes.”

Whether you prefer the responsive

design comparison, or the Lego one,

the key is that this agnostic approach

means the listener gets the best

possible audio experience for the

situation they are in whether that is

sat at home in front of a big plasma

TV or watching on the move via their

tablet computer.

BBC R&D carried out a test to

this effect last year. A radio drama,

Pinocchio, was able to be rendered in

stereo for Radio 4 listeners but in

surround sound for those listening

online: and it was done so via a single

production process.

Object-based audio can go

further than simply adapting to

the end-user device. Using what is

termed ‘perceptive media’, where

the programme knows

something about its

audience, content can

be tailored to, say,

a geographical

location. A

TV drama, for

example, could

have different,

automated,

dialogue feeds

depending on

the city that it

is being

viewed in.

It can afford

elements of

personalisation

and

interactivity

too. Because

an object can

be any bit of audio in a

programme, the listeners could be

given the choice to reduce or increase

the levels of the commentary or the

crowd noise during coverage of a

football match, or even choose which

set of supporters they hear.

A BBC R&D test with BBC Radio

5 Live at Wembley Stadium last

year, where the audio was streamed

as a set of objects, allowed listeners

to effectively ‘change where they sat

in the ground’, an experience that

Churnside’s research suggested gave

the audience an experience that was

‘more like being there’.

It’s certainly an exciting

development, but is it realistic,

affordable and practical?

“We’re not there yet, other industries

are moving in this direction,” says

Churnside, citing the emergence of

Dolby Atmos in the feature

film market, but “there are

challenges to be solved in design,

production, and distribution,

particularly what sits on your set-

top-box at home”.

There is already support for

object-based audio though.

At this year’s NAB Dolby

demonstrated a prototype of

its object-based multichannel-

mixing approach, while DTS,

Fraunhofer, Fairlight, Calrec, and

more all unveiled or discussed

developments in this field. The EBU

is also looking at incorporating

object-based representations into the

burgeoning BWAV format.

Clearly, further research is required

before we can fully understand the

impact that object-based sound would

have on production, post production,

and broadcast and what benefit it

would provide for the audience. But if

BBC R&D has anything to do with

it, it will be mere child’s play.

“We don’t want to double the cost

of production, the aim is to be able

to create the audio bricks once,” says

Churnside. “You don’t have to buy a

new Lego set if you want to build a

new thing. You just re-use the existing

bricks to do it. That is what we’re

trying to emulate.”

Audio: The Next Generation

BROADCAST FOCUS

In an object-based world, television sound will not only be more immersive it

could also become personalised and interactive, as Will Strauss discovers.

TV sound could take a

building block approach

to create a more

personalised experience

for the viewer

For regular updates on the broadcast audio industry sign up for Audio Media’s Broadcast Audio Newsletter at www.audiomedia.com/newslettersignup



Comprised of former Th e Shin’s

frontman, James Mercer, and

producer-of-the-moment

Brian Burton (better known by his

moniker Danger Mouse), Broken

Bells fi rst came to attention in 2010

after the release of their self-titled

debut album. With the release of their

second studio album, After the Disco,

earlier in the year, the duo hit the road

accompanied by Dan Elkan (guitars/

keys/backing vocals) and Jon Sortland

(drums/bass/backing vocals).

Beginning in North America,

with shows from Montreal through

to Louisiana, the band’s sole UK

appearance on this world tour took

place in west London at the O2

Shepherd’s Bush Empire with veteran

live sound engineer Dave McDonald

manning the helm at FOH.

After an introduction to the world

of sound through a government-

sponsored theatre company

(“something to keep you off the street

so you wouldn’t cause any trouble”,

he recalls) McDonald cut his teeth

touring with Portishead, moving onto

acts such as Air, Sigur Rós, Florence

and the Machine, and most recently,

breakthrough American singer-

songwriter and rapper Frank Ocean.

At FOH, next to the formidable

Midas PRO6 house board, sits

McDonald’s relatively compact Allen

& Heath iLive 112, which has been

a staple for the veteran engineer for

a number of years. McDonald is

running 42 channels through the desk

on the night, complemented by an

iDR-48 MixRack.

“All the rental stuff like the

stageboxes run into our split onstage

and from there they run into my

Allen & Heath rack and over to Steve

[Versaw, monitor engineer] with one

section left over for if there are any

broadcasters or anything like that. It

means it’s easy for me; it’s just one Cat5

cable in. Th e amount of stuff you can

put through that thing is incredible.”

Th e night of the show, McDonald

is running into the house system, an

EAW set-up comprised of 14 KF850s,

eight SB850s, four SB1000s, two

JF560s, four JF260s, with three UB42s

for rear stall delays, and four JF260s

for top balcony delays, all powered by

Lab.gruppen amps.

ON STAGETh e band’s two-hour set kicks off with

the song Perfect World, highlighting

the dual nature of the band by

showcasing Mercer’s somewhat

delicate vocals over electronic drums

and massive layered synth lines.

McDonald describes the tour’s

stage set-up as similarly two-sided:

there’s the bare-bones microphone

set-up including mics from Sennheiser

and Shure (with a few Neumann

condensers “for a little bit of sparkle

on the overhead”) matched with an

elaborate stage set-up including four

customised keyboard rigs.

“We’re running Ableton on stage,”

explains McDonald. “It’s locked to

a grid so we’ve got four keyboard

stations on stage and the drummer has

a selector, so as he selects a song it sets

all the diff erent keyboard sounds for

each station.

“Not only that, but because it’s all

locked in, when it gets to a certain

part of a song it will change the sound

for just say a verse or a chorus. Th ey’re

all playing but they don’t have to do

any fi ddling about with presets, which

is great, but it also can be a real recipe

for things to go wrong. It really has to

behave itself.”

Like any good production, however,

they’ve planned for the worst, with

a dual MacBook set-up with two

Universal Audio Apollo I/Os kept

in check by engineer and Ableton

specialist Omar Kamran.

“It’s an expensive bit of kit but it’s

worth it,” expresses McDonald.

With any major production, staying

as self-sustainable as possible is key

to ensuring a smooth transition from

venue to venue and this is refl ected in

the set-up at monitor world.

“We got rid of wedges very early

on, which I’m happy about,” explains

McDonald. “You never know what

you’re going to get building-to-

building so it’s key to keep the stage

volume down.”

Monitor engineer Steve Versaw

opted to go strictly in-ears for the

tour with four band mixes and three

tech mixes running out of an Avid

Profi le desk.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER“Th ere are two very diff erent kinds

of engineers – there’s the technical

engineers and there’s the more artistic

engineers,” explains McDonald.

“Technically I’m dead in the water

but when it comes to the more artistic

side, that’s where I get excited.”

A big part of McDonald’s creativity

comes through the use of his iLive

112, which he describes as being the

closest thing to the feel and fl ow of an

analogue desk.

McDonald: “It’s all about mix speed

for me. When it comes to mixing

artistically it’s the speed of being able

to think of something you want to try

and just being able to do it. I’m using

it as a mixing desk with eff ects. I’m

not doing anything fancy. What goes

into patch one comes up on [channel]

one on the desk. It’s traditional.”

“What’s in this box is very

powerful,” he adds when asked about

his decision to forgo any outboard

gear. “You can tailor some of these old

classic chorus eff ects, which do sound

like the old choruses, or things like

automatic double-tracking in stereo,

which we’re running on some of these

old disco-y tracks.”

Along with the chorus and ADT

Doubler, McDonald is utilising the

iLive’s EMT plate and slapback eff ects.

“People ask if we can do a gig

on another board and I don’t think

I could. I’ve got everything here.

You’d have to have racks and racks of

outboard to get the same sound.”

www.allen-heath.com

Jory MacKay catches up with front of house veteran Dave McDonald to talk kit

and technique during his latest run with American indie rock group Broken Bells.

FEATURE LIVE SOUND

Ring the Bells

Dave McDonald



The old cliché of having many strings to the proverbial bow is regularly overused, whoever

the subject, but in Steve Levine’s case it’s most appropriate. From his early days as a tape op at CBS Studios (now sadly an office block) and at Red Bus Studios, through his own various studio projects and a spell working out of Los Angeles, he has forged a successful career as record producer, songwriter, radio show presenter, and industry agent provocateur. Levine is a director of PRS for music and a member of the MU executive committee. He also happens to be chairman of The Music Producers Guild.

“As a producer, I’m as busy now as at any time over the past 30 years,” says Levine, whose past credits include the Beach Boys, Motörhead, and China Crisis – and of course, three multi-platinum albums for Culture Club. “With the changing market, so many bands want several things from a producer now. In some instances,

they want 25 years of experience shoehorned into a single session. They want the Sam Philips approach. He was record producer, studio owner, record company boss, mentor, and in many ways an innovator. The role of the record producer has gone absolutely full-circle.”

His broadcasting career took off with the Radio 2 series The Record Producers, while his company also produced the Stephen Fry-narrated Third Reich & Roll for Radio 2, which looked at how Hitler’s Germany pioneered many – if not most – of the recording techniques that made later music possible.

And then there are the industry associations: “Working at the audio coalface, I believe I have much to bring to the table,” he says. “I think there’s going to be a tremendous amount of overlapping, which can only be of benefit to all.”

One of Levine’s key reasons for being involved with so many industry organisations is to get the voice of

the producer heard, to shout the producer’s corner in an ever-changing music and entertainment industry. “We are all involved in the same business of making and selling music. The various organisations all have their corners to fight, but generally everyone now appreciates that from the inception of the song through to the finished record quite a lot of people are involved in the chain. And it’s only right and proper that all those people are compensated. It’s the same in the film world, but for too long the music industry has been the poor cousin. We need to elevate our position.”

As well as increasing the MPG’s

membership and profile, Levine wants the organisation to encourage excellence and lobby for the industry at the highest levels. “The rise of Swedish pop in the 90s was due primarily to the Swedish government allowing Pro Tools systems and other equipment to be tax deductable and you got all these fantastically equipped studios. We need a government that understands the hardware costs. Maybe there needs to be some form of different business rate for something that is a creative space – theatres, studios, rehearsal rooms – just so there’s a chance of survival for the creative community.”

Levine has little time for some of the executives within the major record companies and how they land the jobs they get. “Many of them seem to have no passion, love, or understanding of music, or even the creative process,” he suggests: “Perhaps we need to get back to the era when the person in charge of a record company was a passionate music maker, like Chris

Thirty years since his work on Culture Club’s Colour by Numbers record garnered him the Music Week Top Singles Producer award, producer and songwriter Steve Levine talks to Jim Evans about his near 40-year career, moving his studio to Liverpool, and what’s next on his plate.

FEaturE ReCoRdiNg

“For too long the music industry has been the

poor cousin. We need to elevate our position.”

Steve Levine

Steve Levine in his new studio space at Liverpool’s Baltic Creative CIC

In the Studio:Steve Levine


FEATURE RECORDING

Blackwell at Island Records or Ahmet

Ertegun at Atlantic. And Berry Gordy

at Motown – he might have been a

money man, but alongside his shrewd

business sense he had soul and a

passion for music.

LEVELLING OFF“The UK has a proud music tradition

– and music has never been more

popular than it is today – yet we

don’t have enough proper outlets. On

the main TV channels everyone is

scrambling for the occasional spot on

the Jools Holland show. There’s little

else. Somehow we’ve got to make the

playing field a little bit more level.”

Aside from a period working out

of California, Levine has spent the

majority of his career living and

working out of London. He has

had a number of his own studios,

which were noted for embracing new

technologies, most notably the latest

digital developments, equipment, and

working methods. Now, he has upped

sticks and moved lock stock and

studio to Liverpool, where his new

space is based in the Baltic Creative

CIC, a rapidly expanding media and

arts centre. So why did he make the

move north?

“I’ve been going to Liverpool

for well over 10 years, initially as

part of the Yamaha Make It Break

It competition which was hosted

up there, then I was made a LIPA

companion, essentially working

with Jon Thornton. I found myself

travelling up and down to Liverpool

more and more frequently and

eventually my wife and I thought

there were so many things we loved up

here, we should move.

“Another factor was the BBC

moving many of its operations to

Salford; a lot of our BBC friends had

moved up here, so all in all it was an

easy decision. I got rid of the studio in

west London, took the equipment up

the motorway, and here we are. Now

I have a lovely new studio, which I

really think is the best studio I’ve had

to date – a hybrid of all the studios

I’ve ever owned.

“My first studio in Farm Lane

[Fulham], if truth be told, was

probably too far ahead of its time – it

was so technically advanced. I loved it,

and wouldn’t have got my Grammy if

I hadn’t been there. But it didn’t have a

proper recording room. Then I moved

to California and set the studio up

there. It was only really a shared facility

and for various reasons didn’t work out.

“It came to a head when working

with Carl Wilson and Carl was

outside tuning up one of my guitars

and one day my then business partner

had these advertising clients come

in and asked ‘that guitarist’ to tune

up elsewhere as his client wasn’t very

happy. That was the final straw. How

dare they. There were other factors

involved which contributed to my

returning to the UK and setting up

the studio in Fulham which worked

out really well. It represented – in

terms of work – the best bang for buck

I’ve had to date. Though to the casual

observer it was just a glorified garden

shed, it had a brilliant vibe and worked

well. We did many albums and radio

shows there.”

Once Levine had decided to

move north, he began the search for

suitable studio premises. “We looked

at various potential sites before we

met the people at Baltic Creative. It’s

an area similar to what Shoreditch

was before it became trendy. Once an

industrial wasteland, it’s now home to

many new businesses, the majority of

which are media based. I’m the only

recording studio so far, but in our little

area at the end of the road is Elevator

Studios, which is like Nomis once was

– full of creative spaces and rehearsal

studios. The vibe is wonderful on so

many levels. It’s like Los Angeles once

was – and Nashville probably still is.

You have access to everything you

need on your doorstep.”

COMMUNITY SPIRITThe studio is now up and running and

Levine has already recorded a number

of bands and conducted masterclasses

in conjunction with LIPA. He’s

currently working with around six acts

including The Lottery Winners for

whom he has great expectations. He’s

also working, in association with the

Mayor of Liverpool, on projects with

disadvantaged and underprivileged

youngsters: “They’re all as keen as

mustard,” he adds. “They’re dead keen

to get a hands-on feel of a studio and

learn. It’s the community spirit I love.”

With regard to the studio itself,

its shell is constructed largely

of OSB board, which the Baltic

Creative architects used for much

of the centre’s inner construction.

“It works surprisingly well,” says

Levine. “It turns out to be one of

the best materials I’ve experienced

in terms of studio builds. All the

musicians who have been here so

far have commented on how live it

In the UK, Culture Club amassed 12

Top 40 hit singles between 1982 and

1999, including the number ones

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me and

Karma Chameleon, the latter being

the biggest selling single of 1983,

and topped the US Billboard Hot

100 in 1984. Ten of their singles

reached the US Top 40, where they

are associated with the Second

British Invasion of British new wave

groups that became popular in the

United States due to the cable music

channel MTV.

How does Levine account for the

band’s success? “Great songs that

still stand the test of time. I think

because we pushed the technology at

the time our records have a certain

quality. I heard Do You Really Want

To Hurt Me on the radio the other

day and it stands alone in that

it could have been recorded last

week. It does sound timeless. The

production and quality of that song

is quite unusual.

“As it does with Duran Duran,

and Spandau Ballet. With any of

those bands of the 80s you know

exactly what it is and where you

were when you first heard it. Of all

those groups George was by head

and shoulders the star of the day,

loved by all ages and demographics.

Although he had a terrible fall from

grace everybody still loved him. He’s

in a really good place at the moment,

healthy and happy in his work and

his personal life.”

As to recording the band in the

1980s, Levine recalls: “We had a

great work method. The Linn [drum

machine] formed the backbone of

a lot of the tracks. Today, a lot of

bands now record a take then spend

ages overdubbing, trying to sort the

arrangements out, whereas one of

the good things about the older way

of working with the Linn was that it

forced you to really concentrate

on the arrangement, not like working

with a computer where you cut

and paste.”

Culture Club



FEATURE RECORDING

sounds. Somewhere between the old

Townhouse and a 1970s Westlake

room. I guess it’s to do with the way

the board is put together; it breathes a

bit and gives a crisp, punchy

drum sound.”

KIT LISTThe studio is home to Levine’s

considerable collection of

microphones old and new which

get used regularly. “It’s good to

show young bands alternative ways

of mic’ing,” he adds. The desk is a

Yamaha DM 2000 – “It more than

suits my need at present, though I

might upgrade to a larger format

console in the future.”

Levine records ‘almost exclusively’

into Logic. “I have Pro Tools and

have also recently been using Ableton.

There’s quite a nice electronic scene

up here and lots of those artists use

Live. You have to have Pro Tools as it

is pretty much a universal standard.

When it comes to the mixing end,

you need the touch and feel of old-

school mixing. The fact you’re working

in a digital environment is almost

irrelevant as long as it feels creative. I

wouldn’t change that way of mixing.

With the occasional exception, I don’t

like mixing in the box with mice

and faders.”

And so to the inevitable question:

Is there going to be a new Culture

Club album and will Levine be

involved? “I’ve always had a close

relationship with George. We’ve done

some songwriting together and there’s

a lot of love between all of us. George

has his solo career, which is doing

very well – and currently getting

amazing reviews. There’s a lot of will

to do another record, how far I will

be involved is uncertain, maybe just

a couple of tracks. I am doing some

separate things with George anyway.

I’m doing a really big thing with

George in August, it’s a big deal, but

the paperwork is not signed yet...

“If the band want to do studio

recordings I’d love to be involved.

There are various possibilities in the

pipeline. What’s good now is that

Jazz Summers is managing them. I

have met with Jazz a couple of times.

There’s a lot of good will and we all

get on well, but if they want another

producer that’s fine. It has to be the

right producer to work with them.

There’s only a few that probably

could stand it, because it’s not quite

a normal session. I’d be happy to

do one track or no tracks, whatever.

There were no hard feelings. When

they were recording with Arif in

Switzerland, I was working with

Quarterflash at Miravel Studios in

Provence. Whatever happens, it’s all

going to be down to having the

right material.

“George’s voice is much deeper and

richer now. And he could always sing

in tune. Look at all that X Factor stuff.

None of them have got the presence

of a proper artist. George is one of a

handful of artists that has that level of

showmanship backed up with quality

performance. If something does come

off it will be amazing, after all it is our

anniversary year – 20 years ago we all

got our Brits.”

www.stevelevine.co.uk

Starting as a trainee tape-op at

CBS studios in 1975, Steve Levine

progressed to in-house engineer

and worked with many now classic

new wave and punk acts such as

The Clash, The Jags, The Vibrators,

and XTC, as well as many of CBS

records’ pop acts, including Sailor.

Beach Boy, Bruce Johnson was to

play an important part in Levine’s

early career, culminating with Levine

producing an album for the Beach

Boys several years later. Levine

produced all of Culture Club’s classic

hits and the band’s three multi-

platinum albums.

Since then he has worked with

a wide spectrum of artists and

composed a number of film scores.

Artist collaborations include

Honeyz, China Crisis, Gary Moore,

Ziggy Marley, Louise, The Creatures,

Lemmy & Motörhead, David Grant,

Westworld, Mis-teeq, Alsou, 911,

and Grief Never Grows Old (the

official DEC Tsunami record).

Levine’s radio production

company Magnum Opus

Broadcasting produces several

shows for the BBC; in particular,

The Record Producers – a radio

documentary series for BBC Radio

2. This acclaimed series focuses on

the art of record production from

the producer’s perspective. Shows

aired so far have featured producers

Trevor Horn, Arif Mardin, Nile

Rodgers, Bob Clearmountain &

Tony Visconti, and Hugh Padgham.

As a direct result of the success

of this initial series, the BBC

commissioned a second series,

Production Teams; Swain & Jolley,

Langer & Winstanley, Holland

Dozier & Holland, Gamble & Huff,

Stock, Aitken & Waterman, and Jam

& Lewis were featured in this series.

A third series included Mick Jones,

Brian Wilson, Roy Wood, and 10cc.

More are on the way.

In The Studio & On The Radio

For regular updates on the Studio sector sign up to receive Audio Media’s Studio Newsletter at www.audiomedia.com/newslettersignup

Patrick Balthrop and Garry

Schyman are in a good place.

As Balthrop starts a new

journey, launching his company

Interactive Sound & Fury, and

Schyman continues scoring apace on

his current gig for a title TBA, they can

both reflect on a great job, well done.

Amid the critical acclaim their

sound and music has received, came

a double whammy at this year’s

Game Baftas with BioShock Infinite

winning both a nomination for Audio

Accomplishment, and taking home the

coveted mask for Original Music.

Balthrop, who was on the original

BioShock in-house audio team covering

sound design and VO editing duties,

talks about his role this time out: “I was

audio director with a six-strong team in

Boston, as well as the numerous audio

scripters implementing VO, so if you

can hear it, I was responsible for it! I

had to concept characters, audio direct

sound designers, concept systems,

sound design many of the assets in

the game build, collaborate inter-

departmentally. At all times, I had to

maintain the creative quality of the

latest game build. Fortunately, I had a

very strong team supporting me.

“BioShock Infinite’s audio direction

evolved as we continued to ship demos

and hit milestones. We went down the

wrong path a couple of times but had

the experience to pull back quickly and

iterate until we knew we were on the

right one. From selling ‘time period’ by

designing authentic-sounding Foley

(using a 1912 Edison gramophone I

bought especially) to creating a highly

immersive ambient world – the audio

direction really unlocked when we

began to support the story in every

decision we made. Everything you

hear is coloured by the emotional

perspective of the characters that drive

the narrative – we were helping tell the

story Ken Levine [creative director and

writer] was creating.”

CHARACTER LEDFor Los Angeles-based composer,

Garry Schyman, the crystallisation

of the game’s musical signature can

be pin-pointed quite clearly, as he

explains: “It was interesting – originally,

the Elizabeth character was not nearly

as significant. At E3, when they were

showing some early in-game stuff,

there was so much reaction to this

character that it began affecting how

things were structured – a moving

target from the composer’s standpoint –

because things did change significantly.

This was a seminal moment in how the

score evolved. I remember realising,

okay, Elizabeth is very significant and

I said to music director, Jim Bonney,

I have an idea for a theme for her

and I think it’s important. I want to

record it with live musicians before

I present it. I knew that Ken Levine

really responded to live players and the

emotion they brought to the table, so

I didn’t want to use samples, especially

as it involved solo instruments. I also

knew there wasn’t any budget for this

‘experiment’ so I said, you know what?

I don’t care. I’m just going to pay for it

myself. (Along with most of the score,

this was recorded at Martin Sound in

LA.) When Ken heard it, he was very

moved and it affected his view of how

the music would work and how crucial

it would be. The simplicity of that

raw emotional music led us to realise

that small string ensembles would be

the direction for the score. They did

reimburse me, by the way!”

Meanwhile, at the implementation

coalface, Balthrop and his team looked

to Audiokinetic’s Wwise as their audio

middleware solution. Balthrop: “I find

technology simultaneously constraining

and inspiring. We always want more

streams, more memory, more CPU, and

more space on the disc to realise our

audio ambitions, but on the other hand,

sometimes having restraints can focus

your creative pursuits. Numerous times

on the project Ken would say to me,

‘Audio is at least half of the experience

– audio can really manipulate the

audience to feel or colour a scene in a

powerful way’.”

AUTHENTIC AUDIOOne particularly delightful aspect of

the game’s soundtrack is the inclusion

of ‘licensed music tracks’, lyrically

meaningful to the game narrative

which have been lovingly re-recorded

in music styles from the game’s time

period. The results are testament to the

passion and authenticity that pervades

BioShock’s sound and music.

Reflecting on the game’s strong

showing at the Baftas, Balthrop

comments: “The overall creative

vibrancy of the game is really due to

every member of the team that tested

it, created assets for it, designed,

animated, modelled, concepted,

programmed, wrote, acted, and

directed it. It was a large, talented

team working hard for a long time

to bring the world to life… On a

personal note, I’m very grateful for

the attention the audio has received.

It was a long, hard development cycle

with passionate professionals working

their hardest to create this amazing

work that speaks for itself.”

Schyman adds: “In general, the most

creative music I’ve ever been asked

to write has been on videogames and

I think what people like about this

score is that it’s different from typical

game music – and that’s not just about

the composing, it’s also the fact that

BioShock Infinite is such an unusual

game. It’s also down to the fantastic

creative partnerships I have with

Ken Levine, Jim Bonney, and Patrick

Balthrop. They generated an amazingly

interesting and bizarre, crazy, super-

creative world and then asked me to

do very unusual stuff. I was moved and

it moved other people – and that’s very

satisfying.”

www.irrationalgames.com



IRRATIONAL GAMES

BioShock Tactics

FEATURE GAME AUDIO

John Broomhall talks to audio director Patrick Balthrop and composer

Garry Schyman about their multi-award winning sound and music work for

Irrational Games’ latest title in the iconic BioShock series.

Audio director Patrick Balthrop



Located in Maur, Switzerland,

Powerplay Studios reinvented

itself last summer after 30 years

as one of the country’s top recording

facilities. The studio has been in

operation since 1983, but it had been

operating on a small level and without

all the residential services in recent

years. A decision was made that all

the rooms were needed to return the

facility to its heyday of the 1980s.

Powerplay now has four studios,

between five and seven beds to offer,

a lounge with a new pool table, and a

totally new kitchen.

In January the refurbishment of the

MCI JH-500 Series desk in Studio

B was finished. Replacing it with an

API console was a possibility, however

the facility stuck to the concept of

the house.

“Everybody has an API console,

but keeping this MCI console is

quite interesting,” says Christian

Müller, studio manager, who joined

Powerplay in 1997 as a runner,

grew as an engineer, quit in 2000 to

study jazz piano, and came back last

summer. “We have an MCI console

and an SSL console. We stick to

that because that’s what the house is,

that’s what we are, and that’s what we

learned here.”

Also new to the facilities, Studio

D is a mastering, pre-production,

vocal, post-production, radio, and

mixing suite. Christian Beusch, the

co-founder of audio post facility

Magnetix Studio, designed it. Studio

C is kept by mastering engineer

Ursli Weber, who is also Powerplay’s

analogue technician. The studio is

used for digitisation most of the time.

“Studio C looks a bit trashy,” says

Müller. “But it sounds great so at the

end of the day that doesn’t matter.”

Powerplay is owned by Jurghe

Peterhans who, together with UK

guitarist Jim Duncombe, launched

the whole facility in 1983 after the

duo had outgrown their previous

MCI-equipped studio in Horgen,

Switzerland. The situation now is that

Müller and Reto Muggli, the studio’s

chief engineer, are running the facility

in the name of the Powerplay Music

& Studios association.

“Jurghe had acquired a parcel of

land in Maur, an attractive lakeside

(Lake Greifensee) then-rural location

outside Zurich and he wanted to build

– from the ground-up – a combined

multi-room studio facility as well as

an apartment for himself,” says David

Hawkins of Eastlake Audio, who

designed and built Powerplay.

“The Maur location’s only drawback

was its proximity to a Swiss air force

base from which appallingly noisy

F15 or similar jets overflew frequently

on exercises. The construction of

the new Powerplay building shell

therefore required much more built-in

isolation than would have been the

case in another location. Ironically, as

the city of Zurich’s boundaries have

marched outwards over the years since

Powerplay’s construction, the air force

base has had to cease to operate its

noisy planes around Maur. Eastlake’s

involvement was principally with the

two main recording rooms A and B.

The construction material for the fit-

out of the two studios was sent from

the UK by road together with the

four-man Eastlake expat crew who

completed the construction on-site

well within the allocated timeframe.”

RAISING THE ROOFEastlake refurbished Studio A in

2008, lifting the ceiling and removing

the windows between the live room

and the dry room. The live room is

now one big space, but drums can

still be moved for wet or dry sounds.

It has a rig with lights and a PA

system where live sessions can be

recorded.

“Following Jurghe’s recent (and

quite inspired) idea to make the

Studio A space a combined live

performance/recording facility,

Eastlake returned two operatives to

Jake Young looks into an 80s facility that has undergone refurbishment and

reinvention to bring its facilities up to scratch for modern users.

FEATURE STUDIO PROFILE

POWERPLAY STUDIOS

Back to the Beginning

The 130sqm Studio A was remodelled in 2008


site to open out the studio space and slightly increase the RT60

(reverberation time),” says Hawkins. “Once again, the work

went ahead without any problems. As well as the opening out of

Studio A, in both A and B, acoustically transparent fabrics were

replaced, as these needed refreshing.”

Studio A has a Steinway & Sons B-211 grand piano, a Fender

Rhodes, and a Hammond B3 organ with a Leslie 251. In the

control room is a Studer A800 DASH machine and a recently

maintained Solid State Logic SL 4000 E desk with computer,

which has Studer preamps.

Most of Powerplay’s clients like to mix in the box here,

however in-house engineers try to work with outboard gear.

Recently Tommy Henriksen, guitarist for Alice Cooper, mixed a

band in the box but with the desk.

The control room of Studio B is almost the same size, but the

live room is smaller. Studio B has an additional Studer A800,

and Pro Tools rigs can be found in every studio. The facility can

mixdown to 0.5in tape for a compression feeling, and is trying

to bring back a live concept. “If I’m listening to recordings

today I really feel if the band is playing live or not,” says Müller.

“That stands out in all the productions we have. We really fight

for this old sound. An R&B production from the States can

afford a good production by editing and composing in the box

without a band. If you don’t have this money, spend [what you

have] on a real musician and you’re going to stand out too.

With no digital development in the 90s it was quite difficult to

run the studio for all the people here.

“A lot of people in Switzerland have a tape machine, a good

analogue desk, or both, but they’re not running a studio with a

daily service.”

Powerplay is offering a lot of new services including online

mastering; a sample of string recordings; 5.1 mixing for small

films; and Powerplay Academy, which comprises numerous

educational concepts: “We want to have young producers back

in the studio to teach them how to work on an inline desk,”

says Müller.

The facility is also setting up a small label: “We’re not waiting

for a lot of demos, if they come, they come. We’re going to

have a really small catalogue of one or two productions a year,”

he adds.

According to Müller, Muggli is up for working with clients

all night long. “That’s why we are sharing this job,” he laughs.

“You need a man who likes to talk and likes to sell and you

need a guy who’s working continuously at the desk and has an

ear for it. There’s always someone around who can help you out

in the studio. Even if you’re just renting the studio without an

engineer we’re going to provide you with permanent assistance

all day long and all night long.”

Müller and Muggli just had B-Real (Cypress Hill) and Xzibit

in the studio and Wu-Tang Clan last summer. “It happens quite

a lot that a big selling artist is joining in because they are touring

in Europe,” says Müller. “If they are in Switzerland and they

need a studio to continue working we can provide the services,

the studios, and the workflow.

www.powerplaystudio.ch

FEATURE STUDIO PROFILE

“A lot of people in Switzerland have

a tape machine, a good analogue desk, or

both, but they’re not running a

studio with a daily service.”

Christian Müller

Studio D is small and intimate with

acoustics designed by Christian Beusch



As the ‘technical brain’ of

Switzerland-based Powerplay

Studios (read our full studio

review on page 28), Reto Muggli is

responsible for being the go-to man

on almost all of the studio’s sessions,

which in the last few years has

included artists ranging from Prince

to Wu-Tang Clan.

Reto began his career at Powerplay

in 1988 and in 2004 branched out into

the world of live sound by working on

shows at a club in Zurich. In 2007 he

moved to LA and worked on tracks

for Frank Ocean, Matt Goss, Coolio,

Claire Fisher, and Ya Boy. A year later

he was back at Powerplay, taking over

studios A, C, and D, with a partner. In

2013, along with now studio manager

Christian Müller, they began to

restore the studio to its former glory.

Now, with the studio back in full

swing, Reto gives us insight into his

process and techniques…

You’ve had quite the range of artists through the doors at Powerplay in the last few years, where do you start when you’re working with an artist?First of all, I try to make the artist feel

like they’re at home in the studio. This

is half of the business. Then we talk a

lot about the sound and feeling and

try to figure out their/our common

goal, asking where could the journey

end? I never push an artist or give

them a feeling of hurry. If something

doesn’t work, we’ll skip it for

tomorrow. The artist defines the speed

of the session – I just help to keep the

time frame (the budget) in mind.

What’s the first step when you’re setting up your vocal chain?I start by placing about six different

mics that I think might fit the artist’s

style. Then we test the mics with

the same chorus part making sure

to maintain the same energy before

doing a blind test.

After a decision has been made for

one or sometimes two mics, I’ll get the

artist to also sing some verses while

we try some compressors – outboard

ones, no plug-ins. The ones we like, we

choose. I always use a pure channel,

however, without EQ or any effects

for sure.

Do you have an ideal gear set-up for recording vocals?My personal favourite set-up would

have to be a U47 feti through the

Studer preamps in our customised

SSL board (on channels 1–39), and a

Tube Tech compressor CL1A direct

to either tape or Pro Tools.

You’ve worked with a number of rap artists from Wu-Tang Clan to most recently, Xzibit and B Real, what are some of the technical considerations when recording a rapper?Normally I’ll start with a U47 feti

because we don’t have any time to play

around with the setup (it has to work

right away for sure!). Such sessions are

always busy because of the crowd they

bring in so it is important to have a

relaxed and smooth environment going

on in the session. The artists normally

don’t like to talk about technical issues

– they just want to flow.

For gear, I use just the SSL internal

compressor to have control about the

peaks. Sometimes they want to have

a bit of delay and reverb – mostly

slap-delay – and I prefer to use the

EMT140 plate (the real ones not the

plug-in version).

How is that different to when you’re working with a more traditional singer?First, you have to move the mic stand

quite a lot – up and down – because

of the different rappers. Writing and

recording often takes place at the

same time so there is a longer writing

period and then the recording is done

quite fast. Melody- and harmony-wise

a rapper has a lot more freedom than

a traditional singer so as the engineer

you have to listen deeper into timing

and flow (because the melody is so

personal and not related to chords and

tuning like with a traditional singer).

Let’s talk about your session with the Wu-Tang Clan, what project were they working on?We were doing pre-production for the

20th Anniversary album during their

tour in Europe. They always came in

around 8pm and left the studio at 10am.

What was the vocal chain set-up? Did it vary from member to member? Were there any challenges or special technical skills you had to rely on during the sessions?It was pretty much the same set-up

as I described above. When you are

dealing with six to eight rappers in the

same session you have to be safe with

the set-up – no technical problems are

welcome at all.

When I mix I prefer to mix down

to 0.5in tape to get some ‘bum’ in the

low end and to have a real compact

sound instead of using just the master

compressor.

What was the atmosphere like during the sessions?When we started the session RZA said

to me ‘Please, stop working so fast!’

After that we all settled down and had

some relaxed hours together. Wu-Tang

is one of my favourite crews and I was

so pleased to work with them.

Lastly, do you have any studio techniques that are unique or personal to you?I think I’m not the only one, but I love

to use the old Dolby 361 as an effect

on snare or HH, which gives a nice

colour in the high frequencies. I also

use Space Echo on every song.

Drum recording is my passion

and I definitely use more then eight

tracks. I could go up to 32, which has

been my limit so far (I’ll try to break

it next time). If the song calls for

stereo mic’ing I love to do so as well.

Acoustic guitar is always mic’ed with

a Neumann SM69, 90º stereo, 40cm

from the body.

Moving through the ranks from studio runner to engineer, Powerplay Studio’s chief engineer Reto Muggli

runs us through his day-to-day of capturing the sounds of some of the world’s biggest musicians.

In the Power SeatFEATURE STUDIO

Reto Muggli (left) with studio

manager Christian Müller


We all knew it would happen;

it was just a matter of when.

Growing up through the

80s and salivating over a Neumann

U87 or AKG C414 to record with,

these industry heavyweights stood

out like a shining beacon in an

industry dominated by just a handful

of post-Cold War era microphone

manufacturers.

Fast-forward 30 years and the

landscape looks very different. Yes,

those same standard-bearers remain,

but lower manufacturing costs have

shaken things up never to go back.

Yet, in an audio world dominated by

LEDs and plug-ins, with microphones,

craft wins over newness. Microphone

choice remains a deeply personal

thing, and rightly so: without them,

unless you are producing the next Jean

Michel Jarre protégé, everything starts

with a microphone. Get this choice

wrong and you can forget the rest.

So let’s start by isolating some of

the different types available and a few

options of each.

The vast majority of studio

microphones are known as condenser

microphones. These mics have a

diaphragm (think of this as the

equivalent of your ear) that is made

from a very thin layer of metal,

which picks up sound waves hitting

the surface. It is this lightweight

diaphragm that makes a condenser

mic able to capture nuances

when recording.

We further break down condenser

mics into three areas: large-diaphragm

condensers (or LDCs) primarily used

for solo voice and instruments; small-

diaphragm condensers (or SDCs) for

general instrumental recording; and

tube condensers, which use a valve

within their construction.

Large-diaphragm condenser

microphones are usually addressed

from the side, and represent the iconic

studio-recording mic. They are mostly

used for vocal recordings, but not

exclusively. Owing to a phenomenon

known as proximity effect, which

causes lower frequencies to be

accentuated as the sound source gets

closer, LDCs can appear to colour

the sound. This is why they are used

mostly on solo vocals and instruments

that need to cut through the mix.

With so many models on the

market, it can be daunting to choose

the right one. Here’s some you may

want to consider…

The MXL 2003A is an excellent

entry-level vocal option but is slightly

noisy owing to its lower-grade

components. Next up is the Audio-

Technica AT4040SM. This model

is an excellent all-rounder although

its accuracy can feel slightly clinical

at times. For greater accuracy and

versatility, the 9-pattern AKG C414B

XLS is hard to beat for instrumental

use. Vocalists may prefer the XLII

version, however, due to its built-in

presence lift. Arguably the best vocal

mic on the market is the Neumann

U 87 Ai. Its noticeable presence lift

leads to an iconic sound response

favoured by many engineers.

Small-diaphragm condenser

microphones by comparison,

are usually end-addressed. Their

diaphragm is normally less than

0.5in in diameter and importantly

does not suffer from proximity issues.

This makes SDCs perfect for general

instrumental recordings as they will

more faithfully reproduce the sound

of the subject. These mics are also

regularly used as a stereo pair for

ensemble recordings. Here are some

models to consider...

The Sontronics STC1 is a stunning

example of British design, offering

unbelievable quality at a level of

affordability thanks to low-cost

Chinese manufacturing, while the

RØDE NT55 has a lower noise floor

through higher-quality manufacturing.

Both offer the advantage of

interchangeable capsules.

With its low noise and near-perfect

pickup characteristics, the Earthworks

SR25 is highly accurate and built to

last. Top of the tree is DPA’s 4006A.

It’s the most accurate SDC we’ve

come across with an unmatched level

of detail and accuracy.

Tube condenser microphones

arguably fit within the two above

categories, given that the only change

is a valve placed within the signal

chain. You should be aware however

that this will add three things: warmth

to the tonal response; noise to the

signal path; and cost! Most engineers

would consider these optional rather

than your main recording mic.

For buyers looking to add warmth

to their recordings on a budget, the

RØDE K2 is the least noisy of the

entry-level models. Stepping up a level

you can get the Lewitt LCT940. It’s

the newest tube mic in this category

but is already winning awards for its

capability, sound quality, and versatility.

US manufacturer Blue offers the

Blue Bottle – a personal favourite

– providing the option to change

capsules for different applications. It’s

the ultimate valve workhorse. But if

you just need the best-quality valve

mic, the Brauner VMA manages to

retain low-noise and accuracy. Beware

though this does come at a price!

No discussion on studio

microphones would be complete

without at least mentioning the two

other primary mic types: dynamic

and ribbon.

Dynamic microphones are most

often associated with on-stage use

due to their rugged build quality. This

does not, however, prevent them from

being used in the studio. Guitar cabs,

percussion, brass/wind, and even vocals

can benefit from using a dynamic

mic. While they are less sensitive,

sometimes the sense of urgency a

dynamic can capture is just what

is required. Models worthy of note

here include the Sennheiser MD441,

Electrovoice RE20, or Shure SM7B.

Ribbon microphones have a unique

construction type resulting in a

smoothness unparalleled by any other

type. Think luscious 1950s Hollywood

strings, or crooning vocals. Here are a

few of our favourites.

The Avantone CR14 must be the

best budget ribbon mic, period. It

manages to include a very usable

shockmount and carry case, but you

may need a preamp to amplify the

output. Next up is the Audio-Technica

AT4080. It’s a high-quality ribbon

mic with active circuitry, which helps

to reduce noise and provide a higher

output. If you’re after clear results

and an open, detailed sound, the

Sontronics Sigma is hard to beat. Its

unique design looks great and sounds

amazing on brass and strings. Our

premium choice here though, almost

in a category of its own, is the sE

Electronics RNR1. It is unusually

accurate for a ribbon mic while

retaining smooth characteristics. It

really is the best on the market.

Finally, I should mention a couple

of models that don’t neatly fall into

any of the above categories: DPA

miniatures such as the IMK4060

kit can solve a wealth of problems

getting a mic in exactly the right spot,

and don’t forget a boundary mic for

ambience recording such as the AKG

CBL99. As with any of the above, your

own experimentation will ultimately

guide you.

TheMicStore’s Matt Lawless discusses the importance of studio microphones

and takes a look at some of the most compelling options on the market today.

Expert WitnessTECHNOLOGY FOCUS STUDIO MICROPHONES

Expert witnessMatt Lawless is co-owner at TheMicStore, a specialist UK retailer of microphone solutions. Offering a consultative approach, they work with professional end-users on projects as varied as school performance areas, audio for video, broadcasting, and voting systems for council chambers. www.themicstore.co.uk

Matt Lawless

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS


Studio MicrophonesAUDIO-TECHNICAAT4060A

Audio-Technica’s AT4060a is a tube-powered cardioid condenser mic

(originally released in the late 1990s and now back by popular demand)

with a warm, round vintage tone. Coupled to its high SPL capabilities, it is

capable of capturing everything from the subtlest nuances of vocal and

instrumental performances to high-powered guitar cabinets. The new

version of the mic also benefi ts from a newly designed power supply unit

(AT8560), engineered for improved performance and lower noise.

www.audio-technica.com

AUDIXSCX25A

The Audix SCX25A is a studio condenser microphone with an

elegant design and a capsule suspension system. Shock-mounted in

a machined brass ring, the capsule is completely isolated from the mic

body and electronics. By minimising acoustic refl ections and diff ractions,

the SCX25A delivers a pure, open-air sound with detail and realism.

www.audixusa.com

BLUE MICROPHONESBOTTLE ROCKET

STAGE ONE

Bottle Rocket Stage One is Blue’s

versatile solid-state studio microphone

in the Interchangeable Capsule Series.

Featuring a transformer-less Class A discrete

amplifi er circuit, Bottle Rocket Stage One

ensures crystal clear sound quality and

excellent detail for a wide range of recording

applications.

The Stage One ships with the versatile B8

capsule, but features a bayonet-mount

design for use with any of Blue’s nine

interchangeable capsules.

www.bluemic.com

EARTHWORKSQTC40

There’s no plug-in for clean sound, so start with the right tool

in your arsenal that gives you ultimate control over sculpting

your recording. With its 9Hz-40kHz fl at frequency response,

near-perfect polar response, and ultra-fast impulse

response, the Earthworks QTC40 provides a true

representation of sonic events as they happen in the air.

www.earthworksaudio.com

DPA MICROPHONES4006A OMNI

The d:dicate 4006A Omni is one of the most versatile

microphones in the company’s d:dicate recording

microphone range. The 4006A Omni is able to pick up detail

and depth of sound across a wide range of instruments.

Said to be ideal for A-B stereo pairs for symphonic concert

hall recordings, the 4006A also excels on vocals and close

mic’ing situations, especially when recording grand piano,

guitar, double bass, and percussion.

www.dpamicrophones.com

Cardioid condenser, ribbon, or large diaphragm? These are just some of the considerations when looking

for the perfect studio mic. We take a look at the specifi c qualities of the market’s latest off erings.

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS


MANLEYREFERENCE GOLD

Both artists and

engineers around

the world have

acclaimed Manley

Labs’ Reference

Gold multi-pattern

microphone. High

build quality with

many proprietary

components

has resulted in a

mic with superb

natural sounding

characteristics. One

of the ‘go-to’ mics

when getting the

vocal just right is

critical.

www.manley.com

LEWITTLCT 550

Thanks to its 0dB-A

self-noise caused by

electronics and circuitry

(3dB-A according to IEC

60268-1 due to Brownian

motion) the LCT 550

large-diaphragm studio

microphone is able to

capture even extremely

weak signals with precision

and detail. Manufacturing

tolerances have been

minimised thanks to highly

precise calibration of the

capsule and the electronics

– which means that any two

LCT 550s will always form a

matched pair at +/-0dB.

www.lewitt-audio.com

NEUMANNTLM 107

Multi-faceted versatility, no-compromise

sound, and innovative operation: with

five directional characteristics and a

novel operating concept, the TLM 107

provides sound without any coloration.

www.neumann.com


TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

SONTRONICSARIA

This cardioid condenser with a hand-picked

European 12AX7 vacuum tube has been

developed with the help of several Abbey Road

engineers, and is already being compared to

vintage valve mics costing many times more. ARIA

is designed to give silky smooth results on sung

and spoken vocals, as well as on piano and cello.

www.sontronics.com

RØDE MICROPHONESNT1

The NT1 is a new vintage-voiced cardioid studio microphone

made in Sydney by Australian microphone designer and

manufacturer RØDE. Similar only in shape to the company’s

NT1-A, it features lower-noise electronics and is the fi rst

outing of its smooth, classic sounding new HF6 capsule.

The NT1 is supplied with a dust cover, available either as a kit

with a new SMR Rycote shockmount, or with RM2 clip.

www.rodemic.com

SE ELECTRONICSSE X1 USB

With a 24-bit, 192kHz performance in a USB mic, the sE Electronics X1 USB combines the

sound, performance, and handcrafted quality of the sE X1 model with the convenience

and portability of ultra-high-quality USB technology. The result? A professional studio

condenser microphone that you can use almost anywhere and achieve professional

results. Optional accessories for the X1 USB include the new Isolation Pack custom

shock-mount and pop-shield set as well as the sE Refl exion Filter range.

www.seelectronics.com

SENNHEISERMK 8The MK 8 is a refi ned tool for the recording engineer

seeking added control options. The true condenser,

double-diaphragm MK 8 features fi ve selectable polar

patterns (omni-directional, wide cardioid, cardioid,

super-cardioid, fi gure-of-eight) to optimally adapt to

the recording situation at

hand, and is fi tted with

a low cut/roll-off fi lter

and pad switch. The MK

8 comes complete with

a microphone clip and

a protective pouch.

Optional accessories

include an elastic

suspension, a foam

windshield, a popshield

and a hardcase. The

microphone will be

available from

late summer.

www.sennheiser.com

SHUREKSM44A The Shure KSM44A is a new version of the KSM44

microphone, and includes Prethos Advanced Preamplfi er

Technology for a threshold minimum of self-noise

(with just 4dB of self-noise). As a multi-pattern

condenser microphone, it is designed for a wide

variety of applications.

www.shure.co.uk


TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

SCHOEPSV4

The V4 is the studio vocal mic by Schoeps, which unites the

technical characteristics typical of the manufacturer with a

classic design. The look of the V4 is based on the Schoeps

CM 51/3 from 1951 but the V4 is a thoroughly modern

studio microphone. Its capsule, circuitry, and mechanical

construction are the result of extensive new development.

www.schoeps.de

TELEFUNKENELA M 250/251

Vintage ELA M

250/251 [both ‘E’ and

‘non E’] microphones

have become rare and

highly sought after,

commanding tens of

thousands of dollars

on the vintage market.

The manufacturer

says the Telefunken

Elektroakustik

recreations exemplify

the best qualities of

the best examples

of these legendary

beasts, and while

more expensive

than most modern

microphones, they are

true to the heritage

of their 40+ year-old

brethren.

www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com


Simon Allen tests two of Prism Sound’s latest releases and finds them powerful, clean, and futureproof.

Prism Sound Titan and Lyra 2USB AUDIO INTERFACES

Whenever Prism

Sound releases

a new product

it’s taken very seriously and

recently, the company has

launched a trio of interfaces

to expand the well-known

Orpheus family.

I was given the opportunity

to try out two of these new

interfaces – Lyra 2 and

Titan – and having used an

Orpheus before, I was keen to

see how these units compared.

OVERVIEWLyra is the smallest unit

Prism offers and has exactly

the same look and feel as the

Orpheus. Like Orpheus, it

is 1U in height, but is only

just over half a rack-slot

in width. Even though it

has optional ears for rack

mounting it is clearly intended

for desktop use in smaller

facilities. Using the same front

panel controls, alongside the

colourful metering display and

nameplate, Lyra looks like a

shrunken Orpheus.

There are actually two

versions of Lyra available,

imaginatively named Lyra 1

and Lyra 2. Both use exactly

the same converters, preamps,

and clocking as their well-

respected big brother, Orpheus.

The primary goal with Lyra’s

release is to provide the same

high level of A-D/D-A

conversion and clean Prism

mic preamps in a more

affordable and accessible unit.

The most significant change,

opening up new markets for

Lyra, is the USB interface.

This can be connected to

either a USB 2.0 socket, or

USB 3.0. Neither Lyra 1 nor 2

can be bus powered however,

and both contain their own

power supply.

The differences between

Lyra 1 and Lyra 2 are simply

their I/O capabilities and

consequently their pricing

points. Lyra 1 appropriately

offers one electronically

controlled mic preamp

with XLR phantom

mic connectivity or jack

instrument input, one stereo

pair line inputs and one

stereo pair line outputs. Lyra

2, however, gives you two mic

preamps with two instrument

inputs, a stereo pair of line

inputs and two stereo pairs of

line outputs.

Both versions also have

digital connectivity with an

optical TOSLINK stereo

connection. Lyra 2 takes this

one step further with the

optical port also capable of

ADAT. Additionally there are

SPDIF connections, which

give you AES connectivity

via a supplied XLR converter.

Lyra 2 also comes equipped

with an AVB

Ethernet port,

which is unavailable

via the current version of

software but clearly Prism has

developments in progress. The

only other connections, found

only on Lyra 2, are wordclock

BNC connections for

external syncing and making

best usage of the famous

CleverClox DPLL clock,

lifted straight from Orpheus.

A slight change to the

physical layout of the inputs

on Lyra compared to Orpheus

however, is that they have

done away with the combined

XLR and TRS connections

so that you are able to have

multiple devices connected

permanently to your interface,

which then just electronically

switch, rather than always

messing around with cables.

Titan, which is in many

respects an updated Orpheus,

is the first interface to receive

a facelift. Still retaining the

classic format and layout of

Orpheus, the new lacquer

finish on Titan is simply

stunning. You get an instant

impression that this is a

refinement of Orpheus the

moment you look at it with

its sparkly champagne finish.

Titan is also the same size as

Orpheus taking up just 1U in

a 19in rack.

Titan’s I/O is very similar

to Orpheus, offering eight

analogue line inputs and

outputs

with four of

the inputs doubling

up with Prism’s excellent

mic pres. Two of the inputs

also offer separate instrument

inputs accessed from the

front panel. Full digital I/O

is available as found on Lyra

2 including that interesting

AVB port for future firmware

developments.

DEVELOPMENTSSo I’ve mentioned that Lyra

units have USB connectivity,

but this is the new selling

point for Titan too, as it

is now also hooked-up via

USB. It has been possible for

Prism to move away from the

security of FireWire as used

on Orpheus thanks to its new

ARM processor core.

This is a huge development,

as the market is now much

wider with USB being both

more readily available and

hopefully futureproof. Couple

this with the control software

able to run on both Windows

and Mac across a huge range

of operating systems and not

many of us will find it hard to

get set-up. I certainly didn’t, in

fact I can’t report any running

or set-up issues, provided I

was using a computer with

the correct specification.

The next most significant

development with Titan is its

new MDIO expansion slot.

Here, users

can optionally

specify an expansion

card, of which, I believe, we

could see many more variants

available, but currently they

offer only a Pro Tools HDX

expansion card or eight-way

AES card. This is a really

neat way for Pro Tools users

to incorporate the Prism

interface on the host side,

within the DAW.

Prism has also responded

to feedback regarding the

Orpheus product on a few

notable points, which apply

to both Lyra and Titan.

Firstly, there is now a -20dB

pad on the mic preamps, as

users of Orpheus found the

mic pres to be very sensitive

and therefore it was difficult

when working with loud

sources. The headphone

output amplifiers have been

given some more power

to boost performance. The

main volume encoder knob,

which can be programmed

to control any of the outputs,

now supports the push switch

movement to activate the

relative output mute.

The control software, which

accesses its own internal

digital low-latency mixer, now

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

The Lyra is the smallest unit offered by Prism Sound

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW


includes the ADAT channels

in the mixers capabilities. As

with Orpheus, in addition

to configuration settings and

gain control of mic preamps

via the control software,

users can also create separate

mixes from any of the inputs

(including the DAW) to

any output (including the

headphones), for low-latency

tracking and overdubbing.

PRECISION AUDIOLet’s be clear: these are

two great new solutions

for interfacing, with some

refinement upon what is

already a highly respected

product. But why buy Prism

when, let’s be honest, there are

so many others to choose from

and these carry a heavy price

tag? The answer is audible.

Any DAW or system

will only ever be as good as

its clock source and then

consequently its A-D/D-A

converters. These are the

two primary considerations

that make up the backbone

of quality in any modern

studio. Prism built its name

with, what many consider

to be, unsurpassed clocking

and A-D/D-A converters,

which the Orpheus reputation

carries. Lyra and Titan have

exactly the same clocks and

converters and you can hear

it. I carried out a listening test

against my preferred mixing

facility, Woodbury Studios’

Lynx I/O, which I rate highly.

I was not surprised when I

enjoyed the result, as they were

very close and if there was any

difference, the Prism interfaces

were just slightly less coloured

and more natural. Importantly,

I could not tell any difference

between Titan and its little

brother, Lyra.

The Prism interfaces carry

other digital benefits, which

shouldn’t be overlooked in

any professional environment.

Prism has some of the best

results when it comes to

sampling and interface jitter.

These interfaces can even

handle external jittery clocks

with ultra-fast lock-up and

regeneration clocking. Other

powerful uses are sample

rate conversion and noise

shaping on any digital output.

Therefore, within a 96kHz

session, for example, you can

provide a 44.1kHz output

with high-quality bit depth

reductions. All this, and the

latency for these interfaces is

remarkably low.

CONCLUSIONSound is a journey. Each

step in an analogue chain for

example, has an impact on the

sound and this is also the case

when entering and leaving

the digital domain. Therefore,

your choice of converters

and clock source should

never be overlooked as we

all strive for transparent, true

representation. Prism’s tried

and tested pedigree converters

are now here, beautifully

managed, from within these

more accessible solutions.

I also believe that interfaces

should be something that

once in place, should never

interfere with workflow and

both the Lyra and Titan do

exactly that. They’re easy to

set up and will reliably keep

your audio locked and synced.

I love Prism’s ‘no fuss’ attitude,

and praise these fan-less audio

‘rocks’ which are fit for any

professional, but don’t expect

to pick up these Rolls-Royce’s

of interfaces for a bargain.

“[Lyra and Titan are] easy to set up and

configure, and will reliably keep your

audio locked and synced.”

Simon Allen

Titan features a new MDIO expansion slot

Feature SetLyra 2

www.prismsound.com

INFORMATION

The ReviewerSimon Allen is a full-time sound engineer and record producer. After a stint as senior engineer at City Studios in Cyprus where he headed up the new music studio, he can now mostly be found at Woodbury Studios in Hertfordshire.

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW


The V4 is a secret weapon in any good engineer’s

arsenal of microphones, writes Andrew Graeme.

Schoeps V4 CARDIOID VOCAL MIC

I have always taken the view

that good microphones

are an engineer’s secret

weapons. If that is true, then

the V4 from Schoeps is a very

effective weapon indeed!

The V4 is based around

a Schoeps design from the

early 50s and a valve/tube mic

called the CM51. Back then it

was considered to be modern

and daring – today, I suppose

you would have to call it retro!

Despite looking like a LDC,

it stays true to the Schoeps

tradition of using a small

diaphragm but set in a larger

internal 33mm housing to give

it a warm proximity effect.

This is a new development by

Schoeps to combine this effect

with the advantages of a small

diaphragm.

The microphone is

beautifully finished and

comes in a wooden box; it

is available with an optional

made-to-measure cradle from

Rycote as part of its USM

series. The top capsule is not

removable, but can be tilted

back and forth by 20°.

FOUR YEARS OF DEVELOPMENTAccording to Schoeps, the

V4 is the result of four years

of R&D, not only into the

new capsule, but also the

internal transformer-less

electronics, including an

18dB/octave HP filter below

40Hz to prevent pops and

other low-frequency nastiness.

Schoeps is particularly proud

of the precisely matched

and balanced electronics. I

can remember speaking to

company founder Dr Karl

Schoeps back in the 80s

and even then he stressed

the importance of perfectly

balanced electronics for

distortion-free reproduction.

AT THE ROCK-FACEThe V4 is advertised as a

cardioid vocal mic, so the first

thing I tried it on was drums

and then later on acoustic

guitar and piano. As an over-

head it sounded smooth and

even. Placed on high-hat it

had a surprisingly silky sound

that allowed for plenty of EQ

on mix-down without the

edgy sound one can get from

some SDCs. But it was on

acoustic guitar and piano that

it really came into its own. On

both, it sounded rich and full

with a pleasingly complex top

end with plenty of overtones.

For vocals and drums

the V4 did not get a nose-

bleed with extremely loud

noises. It was quite happy

to be placed at snare-top, or

to be screamed into by the

local rock ’n’ roll wannabees,

or yodelled at by a classical

soprano going at full welly!

On vocals the sound had a

certain hi-fi quality that gave

one the impression that the

voice was closer than the

speakers. The proximity effect

was smooth and even. If the

singer moved off base there

was no discernible change in

characteristic, and on mix-

down we could not tell if the

singer had shifted to the side.

In the vocal booth turning

the mic to face the other way

gave an overall drop in level

of -18dB.

On vocals, we set up the V4

together with an AKG C414

BTLII and a Neumann M149

and I would place the overall

sound at somewhere between

these two. It was not as open

and sensitive to room sound

as the valve mic, but nowhere

nearly as tight and dry as the

414. It was also noticeably less

prone to sibilance problems,

though, like the M149 and

the U87, it does not like

being blown or ‘popped’

at and a pop-filter has to

be used.

IN THE LABThe frequency response of

this microphone is very linear!

Between 100Hz and 4.5kHz I

measured just 0.5dB deviation

– which could just as easily

come from measurement error

than the mic itself. There is

a slight presence peak of a

couple of dB at around 5kHz

and it is pretty much linear

up to 22kHz. The frequency

response drops off smoothly

after that and I was still able

to measure useful response up

to 30kHz.

When testing some mics

and LDCs in particular, I

usually find that, although

they can have useful response

up to 25kHz and higher,

the drop-off does not come

smoothly. There are, so to

speak, ‘holes’ in the response

that can lead to a lack of

transparency for some

instruments. Even some of the

more expensive microphones

can have certain frequencies

in the mid-range where

distortion or dampening sets

in. These aberrations lead

to what some might call

character and make other

users hate them. No such

holes or distortions exist

with the V4. As the sig-gen

climbed, the oscilloscope

showed a constant sine wave

that dropped evenly and

smoothly between 20kHz

and 30kHz. There was no

sign of the microphone doing

anything other than faithfully

reproducing all sounds

coming its way.

One of the more startling

aspects of the V4 is the

off-axis response. At a 90°

angle it is a few decibels

down, but is, within a decibel

or two, almost as linear as

the on-axis response, which

explained why we did not

hear any difference when a

singer moved to one side.

CONCLUSIONSDr Karl would have been

proud! The V4 proves that

there is place for new ideas in

the SDC market. The concept

of a SDC mic for vocals, but

with a smooth and warm

proximity effect, combined

with the extreme fidelity of

a Schoeps small diaphragm

capsule that can also take on

most other tasks in the studio,

I find most appealing.

The price of the V4 places

it eyeball-to-eyeball with a

whole range of first-class mics

from the likes of Neumann,

Brauner, and many others.

The V4 is different, in that

it has a small diaphragm

and that brings with it the

advantages of low distortion,

lack of coloration, and smooth

off-axis frequency response.

The full bottom end

also shows that SDCs

are perfectly capable of

reproducing low-frequency

sounds without difficulty.

With everybody and their

mothers-in-law crowding into

the LDC market (some with

rather doubtful products) it is

refreshing to see a company

with Schoeps’ pedigree

producing an SDC mic that

is not only of such absolute

quality, but is also just that

little important bit different

that could make it one of

your secret weapons!

Feature Set

beveled collar for controlling the polar response

www.schoeps.de

INFORMATION

The ReviewerAndrew Graemehas been in the audio business since he was 16. He began his first studio, music shop, and PA company in Germany in 1979 and continues to have business interests in Germany while running The Byre recording studio in the Scottish Highlands.

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW


Jerry Ibbotson tests the latest offering from Genelec and finds that

sometimes big sound can come from a small package.

Genelec 8010STUDIO MONITORS

It’s not every day I start

a review by mentioning

waxy deposits but the day

the Genelec 8010s arrived at

my door I’d gone temporarily

deaf in one ear. Not the best

start to a test of some new

monitors, especially ones

as small and neat as these.

They’re among the smallest

speakers in the Genelec

stable and, in keeping with

the horsey metaphor, are

like Shetland ponies to the

stallions further up the range.

You get a clue to their

diminutive stature when you

unpack them, an experience

that combines pass the

parcel with playing with

Russian stacking dolls. From

courier crate to main box to

individual packaging, they

just get smaller and smaller.

What you end up with are

two speakers that each fit

in the palm of one hand.

They have the same solid

construction that goes with

all Genelec speakers but

are an awful lot smaller. I’ve

owned a set of 8020s for years

and love them to bits but

even they look big compared

to the newcomers.

FIRST IMPRESSIONSThe 8010s are capable of

pumping out 96dB and have

a 25W 3in woofer and 25W

0.75in tweeter. The overall

frequency response is 74Hz

to 20kHz and each speaker

has an XLR input. Oh, and

they weigh 1.5kg.

The front fascia of each

unit is devoid of controls.

The on/off button is round

the back and there’s no

volume dial – that job is left

to the input device. There is

Intelligent Signal Sensing

(ISS), which puts the speakers

into sleep mode if an audio

signal is missing for a while

(automatically powering the

8010s back up when a fresh

signal is received).

Around the back is a set

of dipswitches, accessible

with a jewellers’ screwdriver

or similar. These control

disabling the ISS, dipping

the output volume by 10dB, a

-2dB and -4dB bass tilt, and

a Desktop Control. The latter

compensates for the monitors

being put on a desk by

attenuating bass frequencies

by 4dB at 200Hz. Finally,

on the base of each 8010 are

Genelec’s Iso-Pod adjustable

rubber feet.

Technical blurb can

only tell you so much with

speakers of this size. The laws

of physics dictate that they

should be embarrassed by

bigger monitors. But is that

the case in practice?

IN USEI unplugged my 8020s and

dropped the 8010s into place,

hooked up to my Focusrite

Scarlett audio device and a

Windows laptop. To me, this

would be a typical set up for

the baby ‘Gennies’ – compact

and capable of being stuffed

in a bag.

Thankfully a visit to a

nurse with a clever aural-jet-

washing-machine had cured

my ear blockage and I started

by playing a bit of music I

often use for a test of this

kind. I know these aren’t hi-fi

speakers but I like to have a

benchmark and in this case

it’s a bit of old school metal:

AC/DC’s Back in Black.

Pardon me for a moment

while I stoop to retrieve

my jaw from the floor. The

sound coming out of the

8010s was… wrong. In the

sense that speakers this small

should not be pouring out a

wave of music this rich and

deep. It should be small and

poorly defined. It should

sound slightly ‘mushy’ in

places. It should not sound

sharp and detailed and easy

to listen to for long periods.

I should not be transported

back to the earlier 80s when

my big brother first bought

the album from Knights

record store in Reading.

You get the idea. The 8010s

produce sound way beyond

their size.

I then moved onto

something approaching work:

playing back some interview

audio that I was editing. I’d

been part way through when

I’d switched speakers so I

already had one experience of

what the interviewee sounded

like. Once again, the 8010s

did not disappoint. I can’t say

they didn’t sound ‘different’

to the bigger 8020s but

that’s not a criticism. They

still reproduced the voice

perfectly, down to each breath

and swallow.

They even caught perfectly

the background noise, which

I’d been working on removing

through noise reduction.

This was, believe it or not,

the subtle trickling of an

oxygen tank feeding air to

the interviewee (for health

reasons). It had seemed rude

to ask them to turn it off, so

I’d been working on removing

it from the recording. The

Genelecs reproduced the

sound accurately, enabling me

to run it through Audition’s

Noise Reduction process.

This is the kind of scenario

where you’d rather spend

more money on speakers than

cut corners and be left with

something that simply doesn’t

let you do the job. I think

the phrase is ‘buy cheap, buy

twice’. If you’re going to have

small speakers that can fit in

your luggage, they still need

to be up to the task at hand

and, believe me, the 8010s

were right on the ball.

CONCLUSIONOkay, so these are small

speakers. I once tested a pair

of Genelec’s brilliant 8250s.

These are true behemoths that

wouldn’t even fit on my studio

speaker stands. They left

me gawping in amazement

at their massive but subtle

power and pin-sharp level

of details. The 8010s could

never compete with them

nor are they meant to. But in

a small set up, in a confined

space, or on the road they are

mind blowing. I’ve been to

radio stations that use bigger

Genelecs virtually everywhere.

They should try a pair of these

instead. They are beautifully

made and feel like they will

last a lifetime. I have to

confess I am more than a little

bit in love with the 8010s.

The ReviewerJerry Ibbotson has worked in pro audio for more than 20 years, first as a BBC radio journalist and then as a sound designer in the games industry. He’s now a freelance audio producer and writer.

Feature Set

www.genelec.com

INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW


Russ Long explores Moog’s foray into the world of 500 series.

Moog Analog Delay and Moog Ladder

500 SERIES MODULES

I interact with dozens of

pro-audio businesses in my

endeavours, and it’s always

refreshing when I encounter

a company that consistently

does things right. Moog is one

of those companies.

Both the Analog Delay and

the Ladder are beautifully

designed, blending a modern

look with a classy Moog vibe.

The modules accept signals

ranging from -10 to +4dB,

making them easy to interface

with both pro and consumer

gear; a pair of either model

can be stereo linked using the

included jumper cable.

For this review, I had a pair

of each model and, having

utilised them both in stereo, I

highly recommend getting a

pair as their stereo integration

adds a whole new layer of

sonic manipulability. Both

models are equipped with a

relay-based and hardwired

true bypass. Most importantly,

both the Analog Delay and

the Ladder have the uncanny

ability to infuse life into even

the deadest sound.

THE ANALOG DELAYAs a standalone unit, the

Analog Delay is impressive,

though not a jaw dropper.

However, once you implement

the plug-in or standalone

editor and begin to utilise the

additional features it provides,

its true power rapidly

becomes apparent.

As the name suggests, the

Moog 500 Series Analog

Delay is a delay with a

fully analogue signal path.

It provides up to 800ms of

smooth, natural, and warm

delay, adding an entirely

new musical dimension

to recording and mixing.

The ability to control the

device with Tap Tempo,

CV, or MIDI gives the

user significant control

possibilities and the software

editor plug-in provides the

same recall and automation

flexibility typically only found

in plug-ins.

The plug-in provides a

selection of various LFO

wave shapes including Sine,

Triangle, Square, Ramp,

Sawtooth, Sample, and Hold,

plus Smooth Sample and

Hold modulations. There is

control over the LFO rate as

well as the amount the LFO

modulates the delay line.

Tempo sync is added as well

as increased control of the

modulation settings and delay

time. There is even a Slew

Rate control that determines

the transition time from one

delay setting to another and a

pull-down menu that selects

the behaviour of the CV/Tap

input.

Initially, I thought, ‘Why

do I need an outboard delay

when I mix?’ I have several

delay plug-ins that I love

and some of them give me

an abundance of convincing

analogue tonality. Yet after

spending time with the Moog

I realised that it offers much

more than any plug-in can.

It’s both a delay and tonal

shaping tool. Using it along

with its plug-in provides

all of the recallability and

automation functionality

that’s available in the box but

with a true analogue device

that can’t be equalled by a

digital algorithm.

Over the past three months

I’ve run lots of sound sources

through the module and

had wonderful results. As

is the case with even the

best plug-ins, sometimes

the module isn’t the right

choice; and unlike a plug-

in, when the Analog Delay

works, there’s nothing else

that can even come close.

Just using the box to subtly

overdrive a lead vocal can

be amazing and automating

the Drive control for more

aggressiveness in the chorus

is a wonderful thing. I found

the module can translate thin,

sterile synth pads into massive

sounds that I’d swear were

analogue; it can even work

wonders on electric guitar

and bass.

THE MOOG LADDERThe Ladder is based on the

classic ladder filter design on

which Bob Moog filed a US

patent in 1966. It’s arguably

the backbone to the classic

Moog sound. This Dynamic

Transistor Ladder Filter

packs the sonic bliss of the

original ladder filter into a

500 series module.

As with the Analog Delay,

the Ladder can work its

magic on virtually any sound

source. I’ve implemented it

on the same standard audio

fare as the Analog Delay

and had fabulous results.

After spending so much time

utilising the MIDI controls on

the Analog Delay, I wish the

Ladder had the same MIDI

implementation. Since there is

no way to automate parameter

adjustment, I typically route

my source sound through the

Ladder onto another track so

I can record my performance.

Besides capturing the sound

of the Ladder, it eliminates

the need to document any of

my settings for recall.

When working with

drums, I insert a stereo pair of

Ladders into a parallel drum

bus and push the Resonance

control slightly beyond the

point of self-oscillation which

adds a powerful dimension

to the sound. The module

easily transforms a flat, dull

bass into the punchiest bass

I’ve ever heard and it works

wonders on synths and

electric guitar. To convert a

mono keyboard into stereo,

I’ve had great results multing

the mono signal into two

stereo-linked Ladders

each with slightly different

Resonance settings. The

resulting stereo image is huge.

Unfortunately, the

Ladder is void of CV/gate

connectivity; beyond this (and

its lack of MIDI), it’s a near

perfect device.

The ReviewerRuss Longis a native of Boulder, Colorado. His credits include the hit singles Kiss Me and There She Goes by Sixpence None The Richer alongside albums by Wilco, Newsboys, Dolly Parton, and Jim Brickman.

Feature SetAnalog Delay

Ladder Filter

www.moogmusic.com

INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW


It may be new in the plug-in market but Exponential Audio’s reverbs

are already making a name for themselves, writes Mike Aiton.

Exponential Audio R2 and PhoenixVerb SURROUND REVERB PLUG-INS

T hese two surround

reverbs plug-ins (also

available in stereo-only

versions) are from a brand

new company, founded by

audio legend Michael Carnes,

the man who programmed

Lexicon Reverbs from the

PCM 90 upwards.

I grew up with a Lexicon

300 and loved its lush sound

and post-friendly small room

presets, so when I heard these

plugs were in development

my ears pricked up.

Both reverbs are available

in a multiple of flavours,

as Mac format (AU, VST,

RTAS, and AAX Native) and

as Windows 7 upwards (VST,

RTAS, and AAX Native).

Both 32- and 64-bit versions

are supported using iLok2

authorisation. Sample rates

up to 352.8kHz (DSD) can

be enjoyed and a plethora of

DAWs are supported too.

Best of all, each plug-in is

available not only as a big fat

juicy surround version with

support of all formats up

to 7.1, but also as a stereo-

only version. The surround

versions not only have more

channels, but much more

extensive control of early

reflections and different ways

of distributing them, which

are vital in post.

SPECIFICATIONSR2 and PhoenixVerb are very

different souls. Phoenix is

very transparent and naturally

vanilla in its character and

can suit applications such

as classical music or jazz;

whereas R2 is more ‘Lexicon

like’ with a deliberate

character, and can feature a

gate (driven by the reverb

input) and pitch modulation

on its tails, to give a more

pronounced flavour.

These reverbs have been

designed with a very smart

interface and operational

features that make them a

total joy.

The CPU efficiency is

very impressive and even

further helped by its own

custom user-controllable

dynamic processing where

they will shut themselves off

to conserve CPU cycles if

nothing is happening below

a certain user controllable

threshold. When presented

with a new input signal, they

will start up again without

missing a sample.

Careful consideration

has been given to presets

and their use. The surround

versions for instance have

over 900 presets each (and

growing), so Exponential

has wisely chosen to bypass

the Pro Tools preset user

interface and use its own

preset manager.

Hardware reverbs have

banks, so in the old days you

had to remember or randomly

find the bank that a preset

lived in, but Exponential

presets have keywords. A

preset can live in many

different keywords, so you can

find it in multiple ways.

If you get into editing

presets you can create your

own preset and your own

keywords. Grab a hall, edit

it, and when you save your

new preset you can assign it

to various keywords such as

Music, Interior, Halls, My

Best Kept Secret Reverbs, etc.

One of my favourite

features is that auditioning

presets is so easy. Clicking

anywhere on the plug-in

preset manager will make

it active, and then pressing

the up or down arrow will

change the keyword. Once

you are in the right keyword

area, pressing the left or right

arrow will scroll through the

presets. How easy is that?

The GUI has also been

carefully thought out, and

all of the most often used

controls such as Mix, Pre

Delay, Reverb Time, Early

Reflection Level, and their

EQ controls are at the front

of the GUI. Deep editing is

available for other parameters

in another panel. It is very

clear, logical, and fast to use.

For plug-in control, Eucon

is fully supported and for

me, as a disciple of the Slate

Raven, I am in plug-in

heaven, as there is a ‘+’ button

that zooms the plug-in GUI

to twice normal size (if your

display is big enough to allow

it). This makes touch control

a total joy as my Raven MTi

27in touchscreen is totally

filled by the reverb GUI!

Another nifty touch is that

should you have a problem

or need the manual (really?),

just click the Exponential icon

and you get a new page where

you can open the manual,

link to the website, or email

support. The email will rather

handily include a log of the

plug-in’s recent activity and

version numbers and all the

techie stuff (other developers

please take note!).

IN USEThe use of early reflections

in the surround version really

shows how much homework

has been done by Exponential

within the post and surround

community. It’s what really

separates the wheat from

the chaff! Early reflections

can be controlled with the

‘early distribution’ knob and

be made to appear in many

different planes or locations:

1) In MONO – i.e the same

location as the original source,

which is great for dialogue

and centre channel stuff.

2) In WIDE MONO – the

reflections come from the

adjacent channels too. i.e if

the origin is in the C channel,

the early reflections will also

come out from the L and R.

3) In LR – i.e. if the origin

is in the C channel, the early

reflections will come out of

LR front plane.

4) In FB – if the origin is

for example in the L channel,

the early reflections will come

out of L and L’s front to back

plane.

5) Full Surround – the early

reflections will come out of

all speakers and be much

denser. Great for music.

This control applies to the

early reflections only and the

reverb always comes from all

speakers in totally full and

natural surround.

CONCLUSIONThe final analysis for any

audio product, and where

the final buck stops, is with

its sound, so let me start by

concluding that these reverbs,

to my ears, demonstrate

their designer’s pedigree and

are the best that I have ever

heard. Even better, they have

the unique combination of

the efficiency, reliability, ease,

and depth of sophistication

and capability that make

them the new gold reference

standard for reverberation –

in surround or in stereo.

Feature Set

www.exponentialaudio.com

INFORMATION

The ReviewerMike Aiton was weaned at the BBC. But after breaking free nearly 20 years ago and becoming one of London’s busiest freelance dubbing mixers, he can mostly be found in his Twickenham dubbing suite, mikerophonics. In his spare time he takes therapy for his poor jazz guitar playing and his addiction to skiing and Nikon lenses.

“These reverbs,

to my ears,

demonstrate their

designer’s pedigree

and are the best

that I have

ever heard.”

Mike Aiton



From humble beginnings as a studio coffee boy to the face and name of one of pro audio’s most pioneering

brands, Steven Slate tells Jory MacKay about his life in audio.

Mr Disruption INTERVIEW

I’ve read a few things about how you got started in the industry – playing live and doing session work as well as interning in a studio – but what is the definitive Steven Slate origin story?I began as a musician who started

writing songs and simply needed to

record them. My first studio was a

cassette four track and an SM57.

When I was closer to 15, I took

the train into Manhattan and tracked

down some studios and became a

coffee boy. I later became an assistant

engineer at various studios on the east

coast before starting my own studio in

a warehouse in Roxbury, Mass.

I became pretty obsessed with

recreating the drum sound from

Nirvana’s Nevermind album so I

studied drums quite extensively and

began recording drum samples to a

2in MCI JH-24 Machine. When I

moved to Los Angeles in the early

2000s, I handed out the drum samples

to famous mixers and producers

in the hope that the attention

would lead to me getting a job as a

protégé. This strategy failed, as they

simply demanded that I make them

more drum samples and none were

interested in me assisting them.

So from there, where did the idea for Slate Pro Audio and Slate Digital come from?They always start from me being

in the studio and saying to myself

‘Wouldn’t it be cool if….’ So in the

case of the [Slate Pro Audio] Raven

it was: ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if there

was a way to increase the efficiency of

using the DAW?’

With Slate Digital it was: ‘Wouldn’t

it be cool if I could get the sound of a

vintage console or tape machine in a

plug-in?’ Then once the idea is there,

the end game is set, and thus starts

the complex cycle of development.

Let’s talk about the Virtual Microphone System – is this product a direct response to the recording industry moving more into the home studio?

There were a few things that defined

the decision, one was simply having

access to these microphones and being

in the scenario where I can listen

to all these great microphones and

understand their character and their

beauty, but also the lack of a product

that can represent those mics now.

Why shouldn’t everyone be allowed to

have the sound of these amazing mics?

The other thing that really spurred

the decision was I was doing a mic

shoot out and I was singing through

an [AKG] C12 and then through a

[Neumann] U47. What I noticed was

that even though I sang the same line

through each microphone when I got

on the C12 I sang it really smooth

and silky and sexy but when I sang

through the U47 that brought out all

the midrange rasp in my voice – the

guts and the balls – and I sung it

much more aggressively. I listened and

said ‘my god, there’s such a different

influence from these two things’, but

imagine all the people who don’t get

to experience the differences between

microphones and the different

performances that come out?

The response to the launch seems to be quite two-sided with a lot of people critical that it can accurately model classic mics and pres. Are those valid concerns or just traditionalist prattle? If you asked me what I thought of

the Pyramids in Egypt, I couldn’t tell

you. The reason is simple. I’ve never

been to Egypt and I’ve not seen the

pyramids in person. And the same can

be said for the VMS. You can’t judge

whether it is an effective tool unless

you try it.

The pros that we have demo’d it for,

including some of the top engineers

at Abbey Road, have been extremely

impressed. The technology works

and I am certain it will be a massive

success that will help many engineers

in their creation process.

You said in another interview that people still don’t totally trust plug-ins. Is this something you think will change some day?Absolutely. We see it happening right

now, in fact. We’ve done blind A/Bs

of our plug-ins vs hardware in front

of major engineers who have not been

able to hear the difference. There

is still some nostalgia and glamour

connected to hardware but the appeal

diminishes when you experience the

modern workflow that can be had

with virtual processors. In an industry

that is seeing the increasing need for

speed, cost, collaboration, and recall,

it’s a no brainer.

It seems like you’re more than happy to disrupt the current market for studio gear.You know, disrupt is my favourite

word because I want things to be

the best for the consumer, for the

customer, and if that means disrupting

how things usually happen, that’s a

good thing. You know, disrupting

is what makes the world better.

Everything is improved because of

disruption. So yeah, I like to disrupt,

I’m very proud to disrupt, but only if

how I’m doing it makes people feel

better about creating. That to me is

my goal.

You’re really good at responding personally to people in online forums. How important is it to be the name and face of the company?It’s essential. I am extremely

fortunate that our industry thrives

on communicating on online forums

where I can interact with customers

and potential customers. Most often I

am learning from them. I find it very

useful to be able to have that type of

communication, and it has greatly

aided in our development and growth.

Lastly, anything in the pipeline you can talk about?We’ve got so many cool things in

development that will help people

create in new and innovative ways.

The goal is always to help people

make art in the most fun and efficient

way possible. So that’s a long winded

way of saying… no I can’t talk about

anything just yet!

www.slatedigital.com

“I like to disrupt, I’m very proud to disrupt but

only if how I’m doing it makes people feel better

about creating.”

DRAGONFLY Silky, extended topend with a low bump

“…the best mic I’ve heard for recording

a guitar amp. Ever.”

—Recording Magazine

BLUEBERRY Detailed highs with mid presence to sit up front in mix

“…its performance is definitely high-end.”

—Mix Magazine

BOTTLE Stunning classic tube with interchangeable capsules

“You gotta hear this microphone!”

—Pro Audio Review

KIWI Renowned multi-pattern mic with superior detail

“…it was never less than sublime.”

—Sound On Sound

Hand-built in California.

bluemic.com

audio media may 2014

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