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IN THIS ISSUE The techniques and technologies to succeed in mastering p22 Mastering the art No. 287 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com TECH FOCUS Headphones p28 SHOW NEWS The highlights from AES and PLASA London p6 FINAL CUT Behind the scenes of new film Kingsman: The Secret Service p20 STUDIO PROFILE We take a look around all four studios in London’s RAK complex p26

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Page 1: Audio Media November 2014

IN THIS ISSUE

The techniques and technologies

to succeed in mastering p22

Mastering the art

No. 287 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

TECH FOCUS

Headphones

p28

SHOW NEWS

The highlights from AES and PLASA London

p6

FINAL CUT

Behind the scenes of new fi lm Kingsman: The Secret Service p20

STUDIO PROFILE

We take a look around all four studios in London’s RAK complex

p26

Page 2: Audio Media November 2014
Page 3: Audio Media November 2014

www.audiomedia.com November 2014 3

It’s been another busy month for trade

shows, with AES returning to LA after 12

years, and PLASA looking to build on its

move to east London last year – find out

about the latest product launches from

both shows starting on page 6.

There seemed to be an air of positivity on

both sides of the Atlantic. According to AES, the

137th gathering was ‘officially the best attended

West Coast convention in AES history’, while the

mood on the ExCeL show floor was decidedly

more positive than in 2013. Comments were

made about the quality of the visitors as well as

the technology on show – and the presence of a

Star Wars Convention in an adjacent hall in east

London did nothing to dampen spirits!

Both shows also served to highlight the

continued demand for high-quality training,

education, and debate on all things audio. Over

in the US, AES executive director Bob Moses

highlighted “the standing-room-only crowd for

Thursday’s opening ceremonies and keynote,

along with popular technical programme

sessions all day. The exhibitor aisles are crowded,

the Project Studio Expo and Live Sound Expo

Exhibits-Plus sessions are drawing attendees

to their exhibits floor stages, and the technical

programme sessions are still packed.”

The situation in London was similar with

many audio sessions standing room only and

a good level of healthy debate and discussion

on a range of topics. One session that stayed in

my mind was ‘Point Source. Line Array. What

Do These Terms Really Mean?’ with Funktion-

One and Soulsound. In what became quite an

impassioned debate, the panel and the audience

agreed that the only way to improve the quality

of the audio we hear – be that live or recorded –

was to remind the next generation of what good

audio is and encourage them to listen, rather

than rely entirely on what a computer screen

tells them.

Jim Evans received a similar message when he

investigated the world of mastering (page 22).

Relying on a certain brand or a certain setup

simply isn’t enough to achieve the sonic clarity

and performance necessary. So what techniques

did our experts recommend for getting the

best results? Step one, according to Darius van

Helfteren, owner of Amsterdam Mastering,

is “to listen to, say, 20 of your favourite songs

– songs that you’ve always considered to have

great sound. Do most of them sound ‘right’ to

you?” If they don’t sound right, that’s when

you can get technical and solve the issues,

be that room treatment, or even a room

optimisation processor.

So trust your ears, take time to listen, and

learn from those around you. And, as Abbey

Road Studios’ Geoff Pesche, says, remember:

“The monitors are an integral part of any

listening room, almost as important as the ears

of the engineer.”

Elsewhere in this issue we learn the

importance of collaboration and teamwork as

we go behind the scenes of Matthew Vaughn’s

new film, Kingsman: The Secret Service in this

month’s Final Cut feature (p20). We find out that

DPA’s necklace mic is more than just a solution

for reality TV stars, and Will Strauss and Colin

Birch look at whether the European house of

worship market will ever match that of the

United States.

Joanne Ruddock, Managing editor@audiomediamag

WELCOME

Meet the team

Managing Editor – Jo Ruddock

[email protected]

Deputy Editor – Jake Young

[email protected]

Commercial Director – Darrell Carter

[email protected]

Account Manager – Karma Bertelsen

[email protected]

Production Executive – Jason Dowie

[email protected]

Designer – Jat Garcha

[email protected]

Press releases to:

[email protected]

© NewBay 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 NewBay Media,

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)1580 883848

email: [email protected]

Printed by

Pensord Press Ltd

“The monitors are an integral part of any listening room, almost as important as the

ears of the engineer.”

Page 4: Audio Media November 2014

CONTENTS

4 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

ADVERTISERSINDEXAMS Neve 2Cedar Audio 9CES 17Genelec 13IBC 29Lawo 39

Lynx Studio Technology 32Mogami 11NewBay Connect 19Nordoff Robbins 37Prism Sound 25Radial 43

Richmond Film Services 27Sennheiser 5Steinberg 44Universal Audio 24

Page 20TECHNOLOGY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS

BBC Music launches with God Only

Knows production .................................10

Tonmeistertagung programme

released ................................................... 11

First London renovation

for WSDG ................................................12

Audio-Technica debuts handbuilt

mic at AES .................................................6

Harrison 32cs coming soon ...............7

XTA brings APA to PLASA ....................8

MASTERING Jim Evans delves into the world

of monitors for mastering and

finds out how to get the most

from your room p22

TECHNOLOGY

Focus:

Headphones........................................... 28

Reviews:

DPA Necklace mic.................................. 34

Aphex USB 500 Rack............................. 36

Allen & Heath Qu-32 ........................ 38

Focusrite Saffire Pro 26 ....................... 40

Page 14

FEATURES

Broadcast Focus ..................................18

Colin Birch and Will Strauss analyse the

state of the European house of worship

market and how it compares to its

counterpart in the US

Final Cut ............................................... 20

Jerry Ibbotsen looks at the close

relationship between production and post

on new Colin Firth movie Kingsman: The

Secret Service

Studio Profile ...................................... 26

Jake Young takes a trip around the

RAK Studios complex and explores the RAK

Singles Club

ALSO INSIDE

PRO SOUND AWARDS:

All the winners from the second

PSAs at Ministry of Sound.....................14

GEO FOCUS: Germany.......................... 16

INTERVIEW: Anastasios Brakis,

creator of game sound tool Fabric........42

Page 5: Audio Media November 2014
Page 6: Audio Media November 2014

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

6 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

Audio-Technica showcased its AT5045 hand-built,

large-diaphragm, stick-design side-address condenser

instrument microphone in LA.

The AT5045 employs a large rectangular element,

crafted by Audio-Technica engineers to improve

transient response and increase response bandwidth.

Discrete components were selected to maximise

performance and its two-micron-thick, vapour-

deposited gold diaphragm has been aged to achieve

optimum sonic characteristics that are said to remain

constant over years of use.

With fast transient response, low noise, high SPL

handling (149dB SPL) and a dynamic range of

141dB, the AT5045 is designed to be an ideal

instrument microphone, particularly suited to use on

overheads, percussion, acoustic guitar, strings, and

other acoustic instruments requiring the capture of

dynamic, detailed sound.

www.eu.audio-technica.com

Handbuilt Mic Debuts on Audio-Technica Stand

The 8351 acoustically

coaxial three-way Smart

Active Monitor system

from Genelec was

developed in response to

the need for increasing

audio perfection in

acoustically challenging

production environments.

It is the same size as

Genelec’s 8050, with

dimensions of 17.75in

x 11.25in x 11in. The

centre of the 8351’s

enclosure is where a

Minimum Diffraction

coaxial midrange/tweeter

driver evolved from the

8260 can be found. This

is said to provide accurate

imaging and improved

sound quality, with clear

accuracy, both on and off-

axis, vertically as well as

horizontally. Aesthetically,

the woofers are concealed

beneath the Maximised

Directivity Controlled

Waveguide. The lips on the

perimeter of the waveguide

form the acoustic openings

for the Genelec-designed

Acoustically Concealed

Woofers (ACW).

The 8351 is capable of

delivering 110dB at 1m

through a combination of

Genelec-designed Class D

amplifiers for the woofer

(150W) and midrange

(120W) drivers, while

a discrete-components

(90W) Genelec-designed

Class A-B amplifier applies

power to the tweeter.

The 8351 has a system

frequency response of

32Hz to 40kHz (-6dB),

±1.5dB (38Hz to 21kHz)

with very low distortion.

www.genelec.com

Genelec Adds to SAM Range

SSL has expanded its Live console range

with the SSL Live.L300 and V2.5 software.

The L300 is a more compact version of the other

desk in the family, the L500.

Both are said to be suitable for applications including

touring, installation, and theatre. The L300 offers up to

568 input/outputs, 128 processing paths (96 full, 32 dry), a

32 x 36 matrix, 36 VCAs, and 48 FX slots.

It ships with V2.5 software, which brings advanced

effects optimisation and 27 new features and updates to the

SSL Live console platform.

www.solidstatelogic.com

Compact Live Console from SSL

New at AES

The QB1 Active (QB1-A), a large-scale, ultra-high-

resolution main studio monitor, took centre stage on the

PMC stand at AES.

Designed for either soffit-mounted or free-standing

use, each QB1-A incorporates analogue and digital (up

to 192kHz) inputs, Class D amplification, Advanced

Transmission Line (ATL) bass-loading technology, DSP

control, and a quartet of 10in carbon fibre/Nomex piston

bass drivers.

The unit has a maximum SPL of 132dB at 1m and each

channel has an expansive 4,825W of Class D amplification

at its disposal (275W on the HF driver, 550W on the mid-

range, and 4,000W on the four bass drivers).

“We saw that there was a gap at the high end of the

market,” explained Oliver Thomas, R&D project manager

at PMC. “In the main, the current products on the market

don’t offer the flexibility of analogue and digital inputs, and

suffer from giving listeners an insufficient sense of resolution,

compared to what can now be attained with good Class D

amp design and DSP-aided crossover management.”

www.pmc-speakers.com

International Launch for PMC’s QB1-A

iZotope has announced Ozone 6 – the latest version of its complete mastering system. For

the first time, the mastering workflow is centred around creativity: Ozone 6’s modern visual

paradigm guides users of all experience levels, so they can experiment with ease – or dial in

signature sounds in a few clicks.

www.izotope.com

iZotope Releases New Mastering Software

Page 7: Audio Media November 2014

www.audiomedia.com November 2014 7

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

New at AES

US manufacturer Harrison used the AES

Convention to show its 32cs channel strip

– and announced that production units will

be available in December. Th e 32cs provides

one channel of the Harrison 32-Series

console sound in a 1U rackspace.

Th e input section off ers a Lundahl input

transformer and Harrison’s classic mic

preamp design with more than 70dB of

gain. Switchable selections include a front-

panel input jack, hi-z instrument loading,

phase-invert, -20dB pad, and true 48V

phantom power.

Th e insert switches enable the rear

insert jacks for pre- or post-fi lter external

processing. Insert sends are always active,

while the switch enables the return path either

pre-fi lter or pre-EQ. Th is allows the mic

preamp to be used separately from the EQ.

Th e fi lter section provides separate on/

off switches for the high- and low-pass

fi lters. Th e fi lters use the wide overlapping

ranges that were pioneered by Harrison in

the 32-Series consoles. Th e high-pass fi lter

features a switch for Harrison’s ‘Bump’

feature, which provides a resonant boost

above the selected frequency. Th is helps

keep instruments from sounding too thin

when low-end energy is rolled off .

Th e analogue monitoring section provides

true zero-latency monitoring of the 32cs

output blended with a stereo 2mix. Th is

allows DAW users to take the 32cs on the

road and track directly into their computer

without an external mixer. Th e ‘Blend’ knob

controls the mix between the 32cs output

and the 2mix input. A mute switch and level

knob feed the high-powered headphone

amp and rear line-level speaker connections;

you can work with headphones or small

powered speakers.

www.analog.harrisonconsoles.com

Harrison 32cs Production Units Coming Soon

With over a year and a half of development and

beta testing with recording engineers, the newly-

designed M60 FET (Field Eff ect Transistor) small-

diaphragm microphone is Telefunken Elektroakustik’s fi rst

non-vacuum tube, FET-based solid-state condenser mic.

Components are hand-plugged into gold-plated circuit

board traces to provide a Class A discrete amplifi er with a

frequency response of +/-2dB from 20Hz to 50KHz.

Th e output is matched with a custom transformer

that off ers low self-noise and a typical THD+N of 0.015%

or better.

Designed to utilise the same interchangeable TK6X

capsule systems as the ELA M 260 small-diaphragm

tube mic, the M60 FET is suitable for acoustic and

percussive sources.

www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com

First FET Mic from Telefunken

Two new audio plug-ins were added to Avid’s Artist

Suite in LA.

Pro Multiband Dynamics and Pro Subharmonic, part of the

newly expanded Pro Series, are compatible with AAX Native

64, AAX DSP 64, and AudioSuite 64 formats for Pro Tools

HDX, Pro Tools Native, and other systems running Pro Tools

11 and higher.

Pro Multiband Dynamics enables quick and easy mixing

by selectively compressing or expanding individual tracks or

audio groups in up to four separate frequency ranges. It also

off ers control by applying upward expansion and downward

compression only to signals that go below or above the

threshold.

Pro Subharmonic is the only subharmonic synth that

supports surround and the AAX DSP 64-bit format for Pro

Tools HDX users, providing ultra-low latency performance to

enhance low-frequency instruments and sounds while recording

and mixing. Pro Subharmonic generates low-frequency signals

an octave lower than the source, enabling users to punch up

bass and percussive sounds for creative music applications, or

add power to audio post soundtracks by feeding signals into

L/R and LFE (low-frequency eff ects) channels.

www.avid.com

Avid Extends Artist Suite Soundcraft announced the MADI-USB

Combo Card, a new option card in the

ViSi Connect series of expansions for the Si

Expression, Si Performer, and Si Compact

consoles.

Th e card provides users of the console

with a single-slot option card that has a

Cat5 MADI stream for use with Soundcraft

Stageboxes and other MADI devices as well

as an ultra-low latency multichannel USB

interface for live and studio recording to

DAWs and other recording systems.

Th e 64 x 64 card comes confi gured to

provide 32 x 32 via MADI and 32 x 32 via

USB. Th e 32 MADI input channels can

be fed from Soundcraft

stageboxes, another

console, or other MADI

feeds, while the 32 MADI

output channels can be

used for the console’s

output busses, channel

direct outputs, or other

feeds. Th e 32 USB input

channels can be used for

playback/monitoring from

the recording system, while the 32 USB

output channels can send channel direct-

outputs or other outputs for multitrack

recordings.

“We recognise that in addition to

pristine audio quality and ease of use,

fl exibility is a top priority for sound

engineers when it comes to their mixing

consoles,” said Sean Karpowicz, product

manager, Soundcraft. “Th e MADI-USB

Combo option card gives our users great

fl exibility with a single slot option card that

provides Stagebox connectivity via MADI

and multichannel USB recording.”

www.harman.com

ViSi Connect Addition Aids Flexibility

Page 8: Audio Media November 2014

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

8 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

WorxAudio was officially

welcomed into the PreSonus

fold at this year’s PLASA

London, on the stand of UK

distributor Source.

PreSonus CEO Jim Mack

said: “The acquisition of

WorxAudio significantly

extends our product line to

provide advanced networked

loudspeaker systems to

a much larger audience.

Further, this acquisition

brings us extremely valuable

engineering system design

expertise and technology,

as well as loudspeaker

manufacturing expertise.”

WorxAudio also used the

show to announce that its

new TrueLine X2i-P/D, X3i-

P/D and X5i-P/D (pictured)

line array systems and X115i-

P/D and X118i-P/D subs

will incorporate PreSonus’

Active Integration technology

and SL-Dante-SPK card.

The TrueLine units will be

the first line arrays to offer

Audinate’s Dante technology

with PreSonus Active

Integration.

New from PreSonus,

meanwhile, were cabinet

versions and companion

accessories designed for

installation. Available in

white and black, StudioLive

328i cabinets are built for

flown installations without

handles and pole mounts.

Internal grille cloth masks

the drivers so that they blend

into their environments. A

companion yoke mount is

also available, as is an update

to PreSonus’ SL Room

Control speaker-management

software that allows the user

to turn off the front-panel

blue power-status LED.

www.presonus.com

PreSonus and WorxAudio Make PLASA Debuts

Following its launch at InfoComm

earlier in the year, XTA brought its

APA Series of Class D amplifiers to

London last month.

The first model in the APA

(Adaptive Processing Amplification)

family is the APA-4E8. The unit

offers four channels of power

totalling 20kW peak output into 4R,

and continuous power available of

3,400W per channel into 4R. Four

audio inputs allow all four amplifier

channels to be individually utilised if

required, with a full suite of XTA’s

DSP, including dynamic EQ, FIR

filtering and phase linearisation,

ultra-transparent limiting, and all the

classic crossover and EQ components

traditionally used to set up a system.

“We have included the same

A-D converters that we use in

the DS8000D [XTA’s Audio

Distribution System], which allows

us to monitor the outgoing audio

voltages and currents to the same

degree of accuracy as we do when

digitising incoming analogue audio

prior to processing,” commented

XTA technical director John Austin.

“These outgoing signals can

then be fed back into the

DSP [responsible for all

the user adjustable EQ and

protection] so that it can

make adjustments to ensure

that any connected speaker

driver is being utilised

to the best of its abilities,

without undue stress to the driver,

or the amp for that matter.”

www.audiocore.co.uk

XTA Adds APA SeriesNew at PLASA

The Y-Series from d&b

audiotechnik is said

to provide flexible and

configurable solutions for

small to medium-sized

sound reinforcement

requirements. The Y7P

and Y10P loudspeakers

cover point source duties,

while the B6-SUB provides

extended frequency response,

and two line source

loudspeakers and a matched

cardioid subwoofer, the Y8,

Y12, and Y-SUB, tackle line

array tasks.

The Y7P and Y10P share

the same dipolar 8in driver

arrangement centred on a

1.4in compression driver

fitted to a rotatable CD

horn, facilitating deployment

horizontally or vertically.

With dispersion

characteristics of 75° x

40° and 110° x 40° (h x

v) respectively, the Y7P

units offer a multitude

of deployment options,

individually as a full range

system or in combination

with other elements from

the Y-Series, either ground

stacked or flown.

The B6-SUB

complements the Y7P and

Y10P, with a single 18in

driver built into a bass-

reflex design, extending the

frequency response down to

37Hz.

The Y8 and Y12, which

utilise the same rigging

design as their bigger

brothers from the J- and

V-Series, share the same

80° and 120° horizontal

dispersion characteristics.

They can be suspended

in columns of up to 24

loudspeakers with splay

angles from 0 to 14º with a

1º resolution. The Y-SUB

houses a forward-facing

18in driver and a 12in

driver radiating towards the

rear, producing a cardioid

dispersion pattern. Driven

by a single amplifier channel,

the compact Y-SUB can be

ground stacked or flown at

the top of a Y8/Y12 array.

www.dbaudio.com

d&b Shows Y-Series

The QLX-D Digital Wireless system made

its UK debut on the Shure stand. QLX-D

transmits accurate audio with extended, flat

frequency response. Automatic channel scan

and IR sync are said to make finding and

assigning an open frequency quick and easy.

According to the company: “It offers the

performance of a top-end touring system

packaged into a smaller system for under

£1,000.” www.shuredistribution.co.uk

Shure Brings QLX-D to UK

Page 9: Audio Media November 2014
Page 10: Audio Media November 2014

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

10 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

By Kevin HiltonThe BBC restated its commitment

to promoting and supporting

music of all kinds last month by

launching a new initiative that will

include television and radio shows,

partnerships, and projects. BBC

Music was given a high-profile

launch on 7 October with the debut

of a new recording of The Beach

Boys’ God Only Knows on all the

broadcaster’s channels, from the

BBC One, Two, Three and Four TV

services to its national and local radio

stations, iPlayer and iPlayer Radio.

The single and video bring

together a range of artists of

different styles and genres – some

well established, others more

contemporary or on the rise. This

echoes another BBC promo, the

1997 version of Lou Reed’s Perfect

Day, which also pulled together

seemingly disparate performers who

recorded their parts individually in

different studios.

God Only Knows begins with

the BBC Concert Orchestra – in

the video playing in the Alexandra

Palace Theatre, the original home

of BBC TV – followed by an array

of singers and instrumentalists,

including Pharrell Williams, Emeli

Sandé, Elton John (the only person

to also appear on Perfect Day),

Lorde, Chris Martin from Coldplay,

Kylie Minogue, Stevie Wonder,

Queen’s Brian May, Baaba Maal,

Dave Grohl, and Sam Smith. The

song’s composer, Brian Wilson, sings

two lines, including the closing “God

only knows what I’d be without you”.

The track was produced and mixed

by Ethan Johns – an artist in his own

right, who has worked with the likes

of Paul McCartney, Kaiser Chiefs,

Tom Jones, and Kings of Leon – and

Ken Nelson, whose credits include

Badly Drawn Boy, The Charlatans,

and Coldplay.

Explaining his reason for taking

on the task, Johns said: “One of the

things that interested me most about

this project was the idea of bringing

together so many different styles of

music. To make so much diversity

work within one piece of music was

quite a challenge. I feel like I’ve taken

a 1,000-piece puzzle and just thrown

it in the air. I’m standing there trying

to grab them as they come down and

put them into place.”

The tracks were recorded mainly

in the UK at AIR Studios – home

to a Neve 88R and AMS Neve

DFC – Stockton Parish Church

(for the Tees Valley Youth Choir),

Abbey Road, Real World Studios,

Rocket Music’s Management

Offices, RAK, Olympic Studios,

Sarm Studios, Reservoir Studios,

and Helicon Mountain Studios, with

One Direction at Doppler Studios,

Atlanta, and Brian Wilson in Ocean

Way Studios, Hollywood.

The video had its own sound

design, put together and mixed by

Munzie Thind at Grand Central

post production in Soho. “I was

supplied with various elements from

the official mix – orchestral tracks,

choral tracks, vocal tracks – and my

challenge was to create a seamless

TV mix,” he explained.

God Only Knows and its array of

talent is also part of this month’s

Children in Need charity appeal,

which takes over BBC One on the

evening of 14 November. Its main

purpose, though, is to promote the

three objectives of the BBC Music

campaign: to support emerging

talent by bringing classical music

into schools, offering new training

initiatives for young people, and

breaking more new artists; pushing

further digital innovation involving

BBC Music Playlister and iPlayer;

and producing new programming,

including the BBC Music Awards.

www.ams-neve.comwww.gcrs.com

Artists and Studios Collaborate for BBC Music Launch

RECORDING

The Retreat recording studios near

Brighton is now specialising in

tracking, and has invested in seven

bespoke EMI preamps, a stereo 1073,

as well as a Neve PSM.

The score for the new Nick Cave

documentary 20,000 Days on Earth

was composed and tracked at Retreat.

It follows a day in the life of the

enigmatic Bad Seeds frontman.

The film was also partly shot at La Fabrique Studio in France.

Session drummer Ash Soan has

invested in two ASP880 eight-

channel mic pres from Audient for

his Norfolk-based studio housed in a

converted windmill. “The new Rumer

album due for release in November

has my drums on, and I recorded the

percussion at my place. I sent the

tracks to the producer in New York.

I’m working on a Jeff Lorber project

at the moment too.”

At Alchemy Mastering, Barry

Grint has been busy with some work

for Jeff Wayne and The Vamps, and

in the vinyl world he cut at half speed

the new Thom Yorke release and half

speed masters of all the Jesus and

Mary Chain studio albums.

AIR Mastering’s John Webber has

been working on various audiophile

vinyl releases including AIR Studios’

first ever direct-to-disc recording of

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for the Chasing

the Dragon label. Other recent

projects include a Clean Bandit live

album and cutting the vinyl version

of George Michael’s latest album

Symphonica.

Also at AIR, Ray Staff has just

mastered the soon-to-be-released

David Bowie box set Nothing Has

Changed, plus other projects.

At Abbey Road Studios, Geoff

Pesche’s recent projects include Kylie

Minogue’s Kiss Me Once, Katherine

Jenkins’ upcoming album Home Sweet

Home, plus cutting releases as part of

the Back to Black Series for

Universal Music.

Recorded in Abbey Road’s

Studio One and Studio Two,

Paul McCartney’s Hope has been

confirmed for release later this year.

Produced by Giles Martin, Hope is

taken from the video game Destiny.

Globe Audio Mastering’s Alexis

Bardinet has remastered six albums

for French band Noir Desir in high-

resolution (24/96) and for vinyl. He

has also mastered the new LP for

rock band Les Wampas.

Albums completed by Darius van

Helfteren at Amsterdam Mastering include titles from Tangarine, Epica,

Reverse, Wende, The Upsessions, and

Alamo Race Track.

Heard Around TownRECORDING

Page 11: Audio Media November 2014

www.audiomedia.com November 2014 11

INDUSTRY NEWS

Verband Deutscher

Tonmeister (VDT) has

announced details of the

28th Tonmeistertagung

seminar programme.

Th e VDT team has

organised sessions to discuss

trends such as networked

audio, object-based

recording, and live recording.

A series of lectures,

workshops, and tutorials will

examine all aspects of these

subjects and more.

Th e programme starts on

Tuesday 21 November with

a themed day entitled Der gute Ton in der Trimedialität (Good Sound in Trimedia),

arranged by Institut für

Rundfunktechnik (IRT).

It will highlight the

requirements in training,

room and architectural

acoustics, as well as recording

and playback technology

in a time of cross-media

production methods.

From Th ursday afternoon

on, there will be a live mixing

workshop organised by VDT

sustaining members d&b,

Sennheiser, and Yamaha.

All in all, the programme

consists of around 100

lectures, 30 poster

presentations, 35

workshops, 10 round tables,

one lecture-back series

to discuss extraordinary

recordings, a TMT Academy

aimed at young talent, and

several tutorials.

“Th is time our programme

is particularly comprehensive,

and we have gained an

extraordinary number of

international speakers,” said

Günther Th eile, who has

headed programme planning

for the Tonmeistertagung for

many years.

“Another area of focus

is 3D audio, for which we

have arranged plenty of

demonstrations in rooms

equipped with excellent

technology. Loudness

normalisation is another

core topic; this year we are

looking at its introduction

to radio, and matters of

practical implementation.”

Th is year’s event runs

from 20-23 November at

the Congress-Centrum

Nord in Cologne, Germany.

In addition to the seminar

programme, around 120

main and 80 sub-exhibitors

will be showcasing their

latest developments on the

show fl oor.

www.tonmeister.de

Tonmeistertagung Programme Released

EVENT

Phitz Hearne has been promoted to head of audio at Prime Focus. She will work alongside Katie Kemp who has taken

up the new role of head of picture. Rowan Bray, managing

director, post production, said: “Katie and Phitz are both

award-winning creatives. We wanted to reinforce the

importance of our creative teams building a closer relationship

with our clients to ensure that every project enjoys a successful

relationship with Prime Focus.”

It has been a busy month for the team at Jungle. Owen

Griffi ths designed the sound for the much-talked-about AMV

BBDO ‘You’re Not You When You’re Hungry’ Snickers

campaign featuring Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean, while Allan

Johnston and Alex Wilson-Th ame completed the casting,

recording, and mix for the fi rst 12 episodes of new Nick Jr.

series Wallykazam. Native also secured a new TV commercial

for Lloyds Bank, where they reworked their theme music for

the ‘More From Life’ spot.

Scrub, a division of HHB Communications specialising in

post production, has supplied three Avid S6 control surfaces

and the latest Pro Tools systems for Smoke & Mirrors’ new

London audio department.

From the Cutting Room

RECORDING

Page 12: Audio Media November 2014

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12 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

Studiomaster supplied a PA system for the

world’s first gig on an iceberg recently.

The Studiomaster Horizon 2012 powered

mixer was partnered with a pair of XPX 12

moulded cabinets on stands for the session

by UK metal band The Defiled – part of the

Jägermeister Ice Cold Gig. The power-to-

weight ratio of the equipment was a critical

consideration in not tipping the band and

all their equipment into the freezing sea.

Studiomaster KM92 mics were also used.

“As far as stage backdrops go, I don’t

think you’ll find anything more impressive

than this,” commented Jägermeister’s

music manager Tom Carson.

“The Studiomaster gear more than

met the environmental challenges of

this unique ‘venue’.”

www.studiomaster.com

Studiomaster Plays it CoolLIVE

Over the course of his

20-year career in music

mixing, Jan ‘Stan’ Kybert

has worked with some of

the greatest legends in the

business – including Mark

‘Spike’ Stent. As Stent’s

Pro Tools operator, Kybert

worked on classic records

by Massive Attack, Björk

and Oasis, including Oasis’

Standing On The Shoulder

Of Giants (2000). Although

Kybert went freelance in

1999, he spent most of the

next eight years as in-house

engineer at Oasis’s Wheeler

End studio, where Noel

Gallagher introduced him

to Paul Weller. Kybert has

collaborated with Weller on

records including his latest,

Sonik Kicks. In addition,

He has worked with

New Order, the Prodigy,

UNKLE, the Draytones,

and Noel Gallagher’s High

Flying Birds.

He has been working as

a mix engineer since the

early 2000s: “I’ve seen a

lot of changes in the music

business and the audio

technology landscape.

With the decline of the

traditional studio recording

model, fewer records are

being made, which has led

many music professionals

to explore broader career

options. For me, moving

more into audio post

production has been a

natural transition and one

that offers the opportunity

to work with some of the

most cutting-edge tools and

technologies available.”

Nowadays Kybert is

just as likely to be creating

audio for film or television

projects as making records,

but when it comes to the

latter he relies heavily

on Stereopack from

Nugen Audio. The toolset

consists of three plug-ins:

Stereoplacer, Steroizer, and

Monofilter. “I use all three

extensively when working

on a music mix, and each

plug-in gives me incredible

automated capabilities

for working with and

manipulating the stereo

image,” he explained.

“In many ways, audio

is audio – so the mixing

expertise I’ve developed

through my music career

translates easily to the post-

production field.”

One area that Kybert

had to learn about is audio

loudness. To help keep up

with loudness regulations

around the world, he relies

on the VisLM loudness

meter plug-in, which he

believes “is truly head and

shoulders above any other

measurement tool available

today; I would even go so

far as to say that anyone

working without VisLM in

the audio post world is at a

real disadvantage.

“By letting the tools do

the work of making sure

the mix is within correct

loudness parameters,

I can mix to dynamic

range – infinitely more

satisfying than mixing to

peak loudness.”

www.nugenaudio.com

The Importance of Diversification

POST PRODUCTION

After an almost year-long

reconstruction project, Paul

Epworth has announced the

completion of stage one of

a massive renovation of The

Church Studios.

Reconfiguring the Studio 2

Live and Control Rooms, and

creating a new Writing

Room engaged the design

skills of the Walters-Storyk

Design Group (WSDG) and

Miloco Builds.

“After building hundreds of

idiosyncratic studios around

the globe over the past 45

years, The Church marks our

first footprint in London,”

architect/acoustician John

Storyk of WSDG remarked.

“Paul Epworth’s technical

expertise and design instincts

are as inspired as his hit

record productions. Paul

also worked closely with my

business (and life) partner

Beth Walters on an LED

mood lighting system with a

vastly programmable colour

palatte. Installed in the totally

white Studio 2 Control

Room and Studio 3 Writing

Room, the system provides

infinite mood enhancing

colour options.

“We were especially pleased

that Paul retained Miloco to

supervise construction and

operations. They’ve been

on our radar for years, and

working with them has been

an extraordinary experience.”

The ultra-modern 961sqft

Studio 2 features a

completely recapped classic

SSL 4000G console,

custom WSDG/Augspurger

Monitors and an array of

outboard gear. The 267sqft

Writing Room, meanwhile,

was designed from the

ground up by WSDG. It is

distinguished by an Equinox

summing mixer, a 20-channel

Neve Sidecar, and complete

access to The Church vintage

gear collection.

Commenting on The

Church renovation, Epworth

said: “I wanted to be the

first to build a WSDG/

Augspurger room in London

to meet the needs of both

British and international

artists, producers, and

engineers. Bringing WSDG

in to design two of their

world-renowned rooms

was the first step, and the

collaboration with Miloco has

been an incredibly successful

team effort.

“The Church provides

nearly 8,000sqft of recording

space over three very

different rooms, including

rare and vintage recording

gear married to the most

modern digital and analogue

equipment to give users the

freedom to indulge their

creative impulses instantly.”

www.thechurchstudios.com

WSDG Completes First London Renovation

RECORDING

Picture: Dirk Noy

Page 13: Audio Media November 2014
Page 14: Audio Media November 2014

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14 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

PRO SOUND AWARDS

The great and the good of pro

audio were out in force at

Ministry of Sound in London

on 25 September for the triumphant

return of the Pro Sound Awards.

Th is year’s winners included Sound

by Design, recipient of both the

Permanent Installation Project of

the Year and Installed Audio Team

of the Year awards; Capital Sound,

recognised for its contribution to the

2013 British Summer Time concert

at Hyde Park; and Andrew Dudman,

who recorded the Oscar-winning

score for Gravity – also a winner in

the Best Sound in Post-Production

category – at Abbey Road.

Paloma Faith’s A Perfect

Contradiction won Best Recording

Production, while Metropolis

completed the list of winners in the

studio category, taking home the prize

for Best Studio. Although she couldn’t

be there in person, Faith showed her

appreciation via a specially recorded

video message.

Th e event also marked the debut

of Th e Pre-Roll, which saw early

attendees treated to a series of talks

with legendary producers Andre

Jacquemin, Ben Hillier, and Stephen

Street (pictured, R–L, with host Phil

Ward), before engineers Dave Swallow,

Matt Kanaris, Jon Burton, and Charles

“Chicky” Reeves took to the stage for a

well-received (and frequently hilarious)

live sound panel session.

Other highlights were AIR Studios’

John Webber picking up the Rising

Star Award before the evening’s major

accolades, Lifetime Achievement and

Grand Prix, were presented to John

Pellowe and Miloco, respectively.

www.prosoundawards.com

London’s Ministry of Sound hosted the second annual Pro Sound Awards back in September, and new for this year

was the Pre-Roll – two hours of questions and conversation with leading industry fi gures.

STUDIOEngineer of the Year Andrew Dudman

Sony A&R Nikki Affl eck picked

up the Best Recording Production

prize on behalf of Paloma Faith for

A Perfect Contradiction

Avid’s Ben Nemes collected the

Best Sound in Post-Production for

the Gravity team

Metropolis’ Sam Wheat and

Nina Jackson took home the

Best Studio accolade

AWARDSPROSOUNDAWARDSDIn association with:

Thursday, 25th September 2014, Ministry Of Sound, London

On a Roll

Page 15: Audio Media November 2014

www.audiomedia.com November 2014 15

PRO SOUND AWARDS

LIVE/TOURING SOUND (sponsored by Allen & Heath)

Allen & Heath’s Glenn

Rogers hands over the

Engineer of the Year

Award to Reay Grant

Paul Timmins celebrated Capital

Sound winning Best Tour Sound

Production for British Summer Time

Best Theatre

Sound went to

Chris Mace for

I Can’t Sing!

BROADCAST AUDIO (sponsored by Sony)

Philip Burwell (L) and Neil Pemberton

receive the Team of the Year award for

the BBC Proms

James Rutherford picks

up the Broadcast Event of

the Year gong on behalf of

Channel 4 and its Sochi

Paralympics broadcasting

INSTALLED AUDIO

Team of the Year went to

Sound by Design for the Royal

Albert Hall. Pictured L-R:

Phill Chapman, Elaine Duffy,

and Griff Hewis

Source Distribution/

Genelec won

Best Temporary

Installation Project.

Pictured: Andy

Bensley of Source

Paul Crognale

accepted Shure’s

Marketing

Campaign of the

Year Award

Audio Pro International editor Adam Savage

presented the Rising

Star Award to John

Webber of AIR Studios

John Pellowe was

this year’s Lifetime

Achievement winner

The Miloco team

with their Grand

Prix prize

SPECIAL AWARD

SPECIAL AWARD SPECIAL AWARDSPECIAL AWARD

Page 16: Audio Media November 2014

Timo Wildenhain, senior

marketing manager for pro-

audio at Steinberg, thinks

the number of professionals working

‘in the box’ is the most signifi cant

way the German studio market has

changed in the past fi ve-to-ten years.

“Apart from very rare and high-

quality devices, many studios have

sold their outboard equipment over

the past decade, as working inside a

DAW is so much more comfortable

and effi cient,” he says. “In general,

producing audio today means being

able to deliver the content in several

formats, in compliance with diff erent

technical standards and in various

multichannel confi gurations. Th is is

linked to the variety of broadcasting

audio content, be it via online

music portals, streaming services,

classic CD, as part of a fi lm, for TV

broadcast, website animations, for

computer games, or the creation of

advertising spots. Broadcasters and

media distributors need to service

many old and new channels with

tailored content, requiring studios

to deliver in various formats. On

the business side, audio budgets are

still tremendously low compared to

picture budgets.”

Th e market has recovered slightly,

from a period where studios were

forced to close, however there is

no secret ingredient for success.

“Traditional music production

studios now off er a broader range

of services, especially in areas where

picture plays a role: post-production,

advertising, game audio, and ADR/

speech recording stand a better

chance of coping with rapidly

changing market demands, compared

with those studios only off ering

music services,” explains Wildenhain.

“On the other hand there are also

advantages for studios specialising

in a certain fi eld. Investments in

modern studio infrastructures, as

well as more effi cient production

techniques, are still happening.”

Th ere is always a demand for

studios providing quality services

and modern production techniques.

Although the need for new, large

commercial spaces might be limited in

Germany, it’s not only real estate that

makes the diff erence, but the people

and their expertise.

Wildenhain continues: “Producing,

especially in an audio-to-picture

context for the various channels and

industries, still off ers a chance to start

off well within this business. But

one has to be very fl exible, one has

to be at the pulse of the market by

understanding the latest trends and

production techniques.”

Management of rights is still

a major topic. “Th e position of

collecting societies is very strong

in Germany, which is good for the

owners of rights, but it needs to

be considered when audio is sold

or distributed over the increasing

number of media channels,”

comments Wildenhain.

He believes industry-inherent

regulations, such as the EBU

standard, are aff ecting production

techniques in the day-to-day

production business much more.

According to Olaf Stepputat,

director of 3D audio solutions

provider Barco Audio Technologies,

the market for post-production

studios in Germany is in good

condition. “Th e large public and

private broadcasters are providing

a healthy environment, mainly for

TV post production,” he reveals.

“In terms of cinema post, Munich

and Berlin are especially strong with

many studios based there.”

Th ere have been some changes

to the market, though. Cost

pressure has increased, for example.

“Creatives have shown strong

commitment to innovation, for

example in the fi eld of surround

sound or the role of sound in

storytelling,” explains Stepputat.

“Th ey had to adopt a high degree of

fl exibility as structures have become

more decentralised.

“Th e role of copyright law has

become more important in the past

few years. Also, multi-platform

compatibility has become a topic for

broadcast, internet, cinema,

and other fi elds. Broadcast is

also faced with new standards for

loudness regulation.”

Looking ahead, Stepputat’s goal is

to make Barco Audio Technologies

Barco’s portal to new sound

dimensions. “We want to further

enhance and customise our object-

based immersive sound technology

off erings together with Barco and

our partners at Auro 3D,” he says.

“In the long term, we want to

spread the use of our technologies

from cinema and entertainment to

other applications in which Barco

is already successfully providing

visualisation products.”

RecordingAccording to Johann Scheerer,

owner and producer at Clouds

Hill Recordings, the market for

recording studios in Germany is not

so healthy.

“During the past 10 years, many

studios in Germany closed down.

Just a few survived,” he reports. “As

equipment is aff ordable for almost

anyone, many small studios opened

up to compete with the smaller

professional studios. Th at isn’t

possible because nowadays you can

easily build your own nice studio

environment while investing less

than £10,000 for OK quality,

which is enough for the consumers

these days.”

Scheerer predicts that there will be

a need for quality recording studios

in the future. “Th e big spaces will

close. Only a very special few will

survive. Th e rest will be personal

producer studios,” he predicts. “Tape

and good quality will survive or come

back. Like vinyl did.”

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16 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

With a strong TV landscape, divided into public broadcasting and the private

sector, which also refl ects on the studio business, the German recording

industry is pretty distinctive. Jake Young takes a look at the current situation.

On the Rekord GEO FOCUS GERMANY

POPULATION: 80.6M

Page 17: Audio Media November 2014
Page 18: Audio Media November 2014

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18 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

BROADCAST FOCUS

Colin Birch and Will Strauss take a look at the current state of the European house of worship market

and highlight the specific requirements of religious venues.

Spreading the Audio Word

To the uninitiated, supplying

audio technology to a house

of worship (HoW) might

not seem hugely lucrative. But in the

United States, amplifying the word of

God is big business.

There, the larger churches and other

religious meeting places have spent

decades developing sophisticated

AV systems to the point that now, to

facilitate time-shifted rejoicing, they

feature state-of-the art recording,

post-production, and broadcast

capabilities that would shame many a

regional US TV station.

In Europe, the demand is there, but

on a much smaller scale.

“The UK church market is very

much still a low-end area,” says James

Baker, Avid Technology’s live sound

territory sales manager for Europe.

“A lot [of them] are local community

churches that don’t have the budget

for professional mixing consoles.

[Instead] they’re mostly using low-

end desks. We do see sales into this

business sector increasing, however the

curve of this is not as big or as fast as

you would expect.”

The majority of Baker’s business in

the HoW market is for arena-sized

religious events, and this is being done

via rental companies.

For Caleb Hill, marketing manager

of Sound Network, DPA’s UK

distributor, HoW is a niche but

occasionally surprising market. “It

quietly ticks along,” he says. “But,

through our channel partners, we

probably supply more than we think.”

Of course, even today’s state-of-the-

art HoW installations began life as

simple public address systems.

As the technology became more

affordable and accessible, churches

would add some lighting, cameras, a

simple vision mixer, and a projector, or

strategically-located monitors if the

venue was particularly large.

Many of these analogue systems

are still in use today, in smaller or

less well-funded venues. The more

cavernous, often purpose-built,

multimedia-enabled houses of

worship – colloquially referred to

as megachurches or superchurches

– are now all-digital, with wireless

microphone and digital loudspeaker

control systems, multichannel mixing

consoles, digital audio workstations,

video and audio web streaming

capabilities and even, in some cases,

wholly-owned dedicated cable

television channels.

Those British and European

churches that are unable to simply

continue to rely on a medieval or

gothic building’s impressive acoustics

are, at the very least, investing in ever-

more-affordable professional-quality

microphones, sound reinforcement,

and front-of-house systems to provide

the best possible listening experience

for their congregations.

Sound ConsiderationsA house of worship is not most

people’s idea of a hostile environment

for a simple microphone and speaker

system, but harsh surfaces, obtrusive

stone pillars, pulpits, choir stalls,

religious icons, and vast stained glass

windows create huge challenges for

systems designers and operators whose

job it is to make sure churchgoers

enjoy every sermon, prayer, and hymn.

Unlike theatres or music venues,

which tend to stick to tried-and-tested

design conventions, every church

is different, from the layout of the

building to the individual style of a

particular ministry.

The art of audio system design

and integration in this market is to

understand how the building is used,

and blend the technology into the way

each church conducts its services.

Integrators focus a great deal of

their attention on pattern control,

digital signal processing and stored,

optimised settings, to enhance and

enrich the congregation’s experiences.

The technology must also be

unobtrusive and in no way interfere

with the building’s aesthetic or how

services are conducted.

Ease-of-use in HoW AV systems

is also really important, since many

churches rely on volunteers to operate

them on the day of a service. To

help, suppliers and integrators have

designed special workflows and

simple, intuitive touchscreen interfaces

to reduce the chances of operator

error interfering with the delivery of a

rousing sermon.

That said, the people responsible

for using and maintaining these

systems are quickly learning how to

get the most out of them. Indeed, in

many cases, volunteers nowadays are

members of the congregation

with a professional audio and/or

video background.

Examples of technologies that

have been embraced by the house of

worship market include:

JBL’s HiQnet Performance

Manager – a software application

used for configuring networked audio

systems that was created to cut down

on design time, simplify networking

and automate the configuring of

control interfaces.

The Virtual Soundcheck feature

of Digidesign’s Venue console – this

allows operators to use recorded

performance audio to fine-tune

console settings for future use; adjust

gain structure, build snapshots, and

even refine PA system settings with

the click of a mouse, using the next

best thing to an actual service as

source material.

The Aviom monitoring system – for

musicians performing during a service

to control their own mixes, so they

don’t have to solely rely on a volunteer

audio operator for what they hear,

meaning they play better and sound

better together.

A new entrant into the US house

of worship audio market is broadcast

console manufacturer Calrec Audio.

One of its Artemis consoles was used

for the live online broadcast of Billy

Graham’s Festival of Hope in El Paso,

Texas, which was attended by more

than 16,000 people. Signals were

fed from sister company DiGiCo’s

front of house desk to the nearby

OB truck housing the Artemis using

MADI over coax. Calrec is hoping its

involvement in this major event will

be a stepping stone into more of these

large-scale projects.

To see the future of audio and video

in houses of worship, perhaps the best

places to visit are youth groups.

Here, musical instruments,

recording technology, cameras, and

lighting jostle for space with high-end

computers loaded with the state-of-

the-art content-creation technology

that tomorrow’s church leaders are

using to create and distribute their

deeply-held beliefs.

Aviom monitoring systems

are increasingly being used

in worship environments

Page 19: Audio Media November 2014

The Global Broadcast, AV and Pro Audio Resource Library

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20 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

It speaks volumes about the

relationship between a director

and his team when you learn that

several key members have worked

with him on all his feature films.

Simon Hayes, production sound mixer,

has recorded every single

movie from producer and director

Matthew Vaughn.

“Matthew Vaughn has a unique

understanding of sound and

how important it is for original

performances to make it onto the

screen so that the audience can

connect with the characters,” says

Hayes. It’s just the tip of the iceberg,

as far as the amount of praise he can

heap on the British director behind

productions including Kick-Ass and

Stardust. His latest film is action

movie Kingsman: The Secret Service.

Due for release early next year,

The Secret Service follows British spy

agency MI5, which has decided that

its Oxbridge-educated methodology

of choosing operatives is old fashioned,

so they find somone who’s a little bit

more street wise and train him up. He’s

brought into the fold and is placed

with an experienced operative (Colin

Firth) who teaches the new recruit

how to be a proper gentleman agent.

The film is based on a graphic novel

by Scottish comic writer Mark Millar,

who collaborated on Kick-Ass with Jane

Goldman and one Matthew Vaughn.

Celebrating CollaborationFrom an audio perspective, The

Secret Service demonstrates a strong

collaborative approach, where the lines

between production and post are not

so much blurred as smashed with a

sledgehammer. At the heart of it lies a

dislike for one particular technique.

“Matthew found out early on in

his career that he doesn’t like ADR,

and in fact one of the reasons why

Matthew and I have collaborated for

so many years is that he will not ADR

anything unless it’s a line change,”

Hayes explains. “When you see

someone’s lips moving in a Matthew

Vaughn film, that is the recording

that has been made on the day, on the

set with the cameras running, not six

months later in a voice booth.”

That’s a pretty bold boast. So

how does Vaughn do this? “He has

assembled a group of production

sound and post-production sound

technicians around him. They

have been with him since the very

beginning,” Hayes reveals. “They

include Arthur Fenn and Robin

Johnson, my two first assistants, who

swing booms and rig radio mics. But

it’s also the dialogue editor Danny

Sheehan who has also done every

single one of Matthew’s movies.

Danny isn’t just a dialogue editor, he’s

also a supervising sound editor but he

cuts most of the dialogue himself –

he’s a perfectionist like myself.

“His colleague is Matt Colling

who’s also been with Vaughn since the

beginning. We did Lock, Stock together

and have also done Layer Cake,

Stardust, Kick-Ass… the list goes on.

“So Matthew has assembled a

sound team in production and post-

production sound who understand

how to deliver his vision of a

movie which focuses 100% on live

performances. They’re also a sound

team who don’t see each other as

different parts of the engine. We

collaborate from the very beginning of

a movie, when we start talking about

the film, all the way to the end of post

production. For example, I’m talking

to the post-production sound team

almost every day until they finish their

final mix.”

Hayes normally goes into the final

mix on a Vaughn movie, although he

couldn’t do this with The Secret Service

due to other commitments. But he did

communicate a lot with the post-team

while shooting. The aim is clear – to

nail problems before they become

serious issues.

“If I’m having trouble on a set I may

send Danny test recordings to be sure

that any issues are going to be useable

for him afterwards,” Hayes continues.

“For instance if I’m presented with a

situation that needs a wind machine,

we’ll discuss how we’re going to rig

the wind machine with the special

effects department. I’ll do test

recordings and send them to Danny

to make sure that what we’re going

to present him in the production

sound track is going to be useable. It’s

so he’s not going to have to commit

something to ADR afterwards.

“He’s able to say, ‘That wind

machine is a little bit too broadband, is

there any way of giving us something

lower than we can get a notch into?’

We’re evaluating problems before they

happen and making sure that when

we present Matthew with a solution

on the set that will give him what he

needs visually and be able to retain the

original performances of the actors.

We know that what we are presenting

him with will not lead him into an

ADR booth.”

Emotional EngagementSo is this all about preserving the

quality of the production dialogue?

Hayes says it’s not about science or

engineering. It’s about emotions.

“We all know that as human beings

we’re constantly evaluating every

single person we meet on a day-to-day

basis to decide if we trust them or not.

So cinema audiences are constantly

looking at a performance and deciding

whether they detect an acoustic in

a voice or a vocal performance that

doesn’t match what they see. They

have a subconscious alarm bell that

goes off, thinking ‘I’m not sure I

connected with that.’”

The Secret Service

FEATURE FINAL CUT

A dislike of ADR encouraged production and post to work incredibly

closely on the new Matthew Vaughn film, writes Jerry Ibbotsen.

Colin Firth finds

himself with a new,

street-wise sidekick

in the film Kingsman: The Secret Service

Page 21: Audio Media November 2014

www.audiomedia.com November 2014 21

FEATURE FINAL CUT

The dialogue is recorded to be as

powerful and emotive as possible. For

this, close miking is crucial.

“It’s not just about saying we want

a film that isn’t ADR’d,” he adds. “We

want a film that has the rich textural

quality of sound that an action movie

should have, so that you can build up

the music and effects. You need to

have the dialogue closely miked and

sounding rich so you have enough

signal to noise so you can push the

music and effects afterwards – to get

a world-class action movie soundtrack

around those original recordings.

“If you’re recording with loads of

space and room acoustic, you’re backing

the post-production mixer and director

into a corner in the dub. If they want to

start driving music and sound effects,

they’ll need to turn to an ADR track

which is more closely miked.”

Another technique Hayes uses,

which involves liaison with the post-

production team, is to strip away other

Foley noise on-set.

“I am a massive fan of original

dialogue; I am not a fan of recording

natural Foley on a set,” he states.

“You end up with footsteps and prop

noise that can start to get in the way

of building up the sound design and

score. Whenever possible we will hang

sound blankets in a room to get a

drier acoustic. If we can’t see an actor’s

feet in a shot, we will always have the

whole room carpeted. If we see the

floor in the wide we will have to go

with the footsteps but otherwise the

whole room will be carpeted.”

Hayes then relies on the talents of

the sound design team to go to work,

with as clean a slate as possible. And

he believes the approach to recording

production dialogue plays a key role.

“What that does for the audience is

it gives them a huge confidence in the

sound track as a whole. They recognise

that the vocals are real and not re-

recorded and it makes them feel the

extremely well-designed sound effects

are real too: which they aren’t.”

Microphone ChoiceTo reach this end result, where the post

team are handed dialogue that is spot-

on for the final mix, does he use booms

or personal mics? Both, as it happens.

“We have multiple tracks on our

Zaxcom Deva recorder so we don’t

have to choose,” remarks Hayes. “A

good production sound mixer now

has to give his post-production sound

team choices. With those choices, we

need to give booms and radio mics.

With Matthew’s support, we use two

boom operators at the same time –

one is doing one half of the characters,

the other doing the rest. That means

both booms can work tighter and

get better, richer dialogue, and when

we get in close to dialogue, the other

boom can record the off-lines.”

The latter point is key for Hayes

and the audio team, right through to

post. “If there’s a syllable on a selected

take with a car door slam or a dragged

footstep on it, Danny Sheehan has a

whole library of outtakes: completely

on-mic off-lines,” he says. “That gives

him a huge confidence not to have to

commit a scene to ADR because of a

couple of misdemeanours.

“We also radio mic everyone on

every scene. With 16 tracks on a

Zaxcom Deva, why wouldn’t you? It

gives the director more choice.”

Having worked with Matthew

Vaughn on so many features and

understanding his tastes and style,

Hayes tries to keep one step ahead.

“In my mix tracks, which is what the

picture editor cuts with, that is what

I think is best. But let’s say I think

the booms sound lovely and natural,

but afterwards Matthew wants an

aggressive skate-rock sound design

under it. He then has the ability to

make that choice with the DPA and

Lectrosonics radio mics.”

“Vaughn has a love of rich

dialogues. He was the first director I

worked with who asked me outright

how I managed to record vocals with

such a great bottom end. The answer

to that is firstly because I use Schoeps

mics, which have such an excellent

low frequency response. However the

really important point is that I am able

to use them on the booms without

having to EQ any of the bottom

end or use low pass filters because of

the Cinela microphone mounts we

use. The Cinela’s have been a game

changer and isolate so much vibration

between the mic and the pole that the

boom ops can work without having to

temper their movements because of

the fear of potential handling noise,

and I don’t have to erode the dialogue

quality of the Schoeps by having to

use any filters or EQ.”

In the quest for as perfect (and

flexible) production audio as possible,

he was leant a helping hand by the

overall artistic direction. Hayes’

previous project was Guardians of The

Galaxy (see Audio Media November),

which was shot on multiple cameras.

That threw up specific challenges

for close miking. But with The

Secret Service, Vaughn and director

of photography George Richmond

went down a different route, as Hayes

explains: “While all our other big

recent action movies were multi-

camera, Matthew and George decided

that they wanted to make it look

beautiful in an old school way by

shooting one camera. This meant they

could light the close-ups intricately.

That gave us a real positive effect when

recording – when you’re shooting one

camera you can always have the boom

on edge of frame.

“If you’re shooting a wide while

someone else is shooting a close-

up (in a multiple camera shoot)

that commits a lot of performances

to radio mics. But this film was a

step back to movies like Layer Cake

and Lock, Stock. The majority of the

dialogue that made its way into this

film wasn’t recorded on radio mics or

even the Schoeps Super Scenic Gun

mics that we use a lot on action films.

We went really old school and 80% of

the dialogue was recorded on a hyper-

cardoid Schoeps CMC NK41 which

really has a very beautiful sound.”

This approach – of production and

post audio relying on each other and

working together – clearly works for

Vaughn and his team. Driven by a

dislike for replacing actors’ dialogue,

they’ve developed a way to circumvent

the ADR studio. But would it work for

everyone? Hayes thinks it already is.

“I think that in the past 10 years

directors have started moving away

from ADR. When we started making

big action movies, directors were

pushed into using it. But anyone who’s

had to ADR a whole movie realises

the performance suffers in the end.

“I think directors have started

supporting production sound teams

a lot more and are expecting to have

useable vocals, even in demanding

environments. It means audio teams

are getting more support in their quest

for recording good production sound

on set.”

www.dpamicrophones.comwww.schoeps.dewww.zaxcom.com

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22 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

Mastering requires critical

listening and – rightly

so – has been labelled the

crucial gateway between production

and consumption. The various

approaches to the mastering process

have been debated since records

began. Developments in the means

of delivery – from vinyl to CD to

digital downloads – have necessitated

changes in the way recordings are

mastered, but there remain two vital

constants – accurate monitor

speakers and the acoustics of the

mastering environment.

Before investing not

inconsiderable sums in a set of

monitors – and they can run up to

many thousands of pounds a pair –

first get your room right.

As well as recording studios and

broadcast facilities, acoustician and

studio designer Andy Munro has

built many mastering rooms and has

forthright views on the key elements to

consider when setting up a room.

“The first thing is the room format

because there are two basic camps

when it comes to mastering,” says

Munro. “The traditional format is a

large free-standing speaker system

in a neutral but fairly lively room by

current control room standards. I

would call this the London-New York

standard as that is where it evolved.

“The other and more common

format these days is a dry room with

either close-up monitors or a larger

soffit-mounted system, which is

basically an extrapolation of the West

Coast-LA style of control room.

“The former was intended

to represent a hi-fi living room

experience, so the speakers were often

from that genre, although as things

got louder and rap came along the

trend moved to larger, less purist

systems, hence the second format

becoming more prevalent.

“All monitors worthy of mastering

must be essentially neutral in timbre

and that rule should be followed

without exception. Needless to say it

is not.”

Munro continues: “The room

acoustics totally dominate the low

frequency response that is experienced

by the mastering engineer. At two

metres from a free-standing speaker

the LF wave-front is 50sqm and the

ear is 0.04sqm so more than 90% of

the energy hits the room and then

your ears.

“The ideal mid-frequency

reverberation time is nominally 0.25s

for mastering, but classical and old

school people prefer longer, maybe

0.35s, whereas new school goes for

near zero. Each mastering engineer

develops a way of working, which

sometimes is difficult to rationalise in

purely acoustic terms, but I am certain

that absolute neutrality is the only way

to go.”

Alchemy Mastering recently

relocated to new premises in west

London. Owner/director Barry Grint

has worked in more than a few cutting

rooms and mastering suites over the

years and, not surprisingly, has a good

idea of what’s involved in setting up a

room. “There are two types of monitor

– active and passive. Active monitors

have the amps built in and passive

speakers require a separate amp,”

explains Grint. “It really is a question

of preference, whether to mix and

match amp to speaker, or accept the

amp in-built.

“There are many different makes

of speakers and amps, because people

prefer a different type of sound to

each other. For mastering, the speakers

Mastering the Art

FEATURE MASTERING

Finding the monitors that work best for your room and investing in good

acoustics are crucial in this demanding market, writes Jim Evans.

“All monitors worthy

of mastering must be

essentially neutral in

timbre and that rule

should be followed

without exception.

Needless to say it is not.”

Andy Munro

PMC is the preferred monitor

system at 360 Mastering

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www.audiomedia.com November 2014 23

FEATURE MASTERING

must tell the truth. A flattering

monitor system will make a large

range of songs sound fantastic, even

though they may have imperfections.

When mastering, those imperfections

need to be heard and addressed.”

Why address them if flattering

speakers disguise the faults anyway?

“Because the engineer cannot predict

what the result will be across a

range of speakers,” Grint comments.

“Identify the issue, manage it, and

achieve a more consistent result over a

larger range of speakers. One engineer

may use speakers that are more

punchy in the mids than another,

for example, which is perfectly fine

provided that engineer has a good

understanding of what is being

presented to him.”

As to specific marques of speaker,

Grint reports: “In Matt Colton’s room

he has a pair of ATC SCM150s,

which are active. Physically, they are

a good size for the room (cabinets)

with enough power to deliver a good

volume without being over-demanding

on the amps. The bass driver can move

the air well to deliver an accurate

representation of the low frequencies.

“We are currently trying a range

of different monitors in my room to

decide what we feel best suits the

room. Personally, I don’t believe you

can make a hard and fast rule of ‘we

only use blah blah monitors’. The room

interacts with the monitors – find the

speakers that work the best and finesse

their positioning to the best result.”

At AIR Mastering, John Webber

suggests: “It’s about ensuring that all

supplied audio is fully represented

with the lowest amount of distortion

and coloration. You want a clear and

detailed soundstage and not one that is

smeared. It’s also important that main

monitors are not fatiguing and still

sound good at a lower listening level.

“You must make sure you deliver

the truest sonic representation to

your monitors as possible. Creating

a neutral acoustic is vital. You won’t

know how effective any gear is unless

you’ve created an excellent listening

environment. It sounds simple but we

don’t live in an ideal world, the basics

in terms of monitoring and acoustics

are extremely tricky/expensive to

achieve the standards we expect.

“We’ve taken the top-end hi-fi

approach as opposed to the studio

monitoring approach. We were very

lucky to get Europe’s first set of TAD

Reference One loudspeakers. These

are biamped with Class-D Tricord

research mono blocks. The speakers

were tested with different amps and

cables before arriving at this combo.”

Abbey Road’s Geoff Pesche

has worked in the studio industry

for many years, including time at

Utopia, Tape One, Masterpiece, and

Townhouse Studios. In that time he

has built an enviable portfolio. At

Tape One, for example, he cut the

vinyl lacquers for the best-selling 12in

record of all time, New Order’s Blue

Monday, and Dire Straits’ platinum-

selling Brothers In Arms.

As to choice of monitor systems,

Pesche’s priorities are “sonic clarity

and performance at both high and

low levels”. He adds: “We use B&W

Nautilus, because these suit our room

characteristics. I also use Yamaha

NS10s as near-fields. The three key

elements are the stereo image, voicing

of the room and the listening position.

There’s no point having the best

monitors in the world and listening in

a shed. Our rooms are all on a floating

floor, with baffled acoustic treatment.

The monitors are an integral part

of any listening room – almost as

important as the ears of the engineer.

Globe Audio Mastering in

Bordeaux will shortly celebrate its

15th year in business and co-owner

Alexis Bardinet reports that business

at his south-west France complex

is buoyant. Like others, he stresses

the importance of “getting the room

right. It’s important to have almost

half of the room with absorption,” he

explains. “When we first embarked on

this project, our major investment – in

time and money – was in the acoustics.

Vinyl sales are at their highest level for 15 years, according

to figures from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)

and the Official Charts Company. Just over 780,000 vinyl

albums were sold in 2013 – the largest number since

817,000 were sold in 1997. The 2013 figure is likely to be

overtaken when 2014’s statistics are revealed at the year-

end. It’s all good news for the noble order of disc cutters.

“The upsurge in mastering vinyl is fantastic,” enthuses

Barry Grint. We [at Alchemy] have recently bought a

second VMS80 lathe, which is quite something as they are

pretty rare – Neumann stopped making lathes in the late

80s, I think. I was a young mastering engineer when vinyl

was the main release format and Matt [Colton] has won

the Music Producers Guild Mastering Engineer of The

Year Award for his mastering and cutting skill.

“Vinyl demands a musical approach to mastering –

centring the EQ on the top end of the kit and adding

gain gives a brashness that doesn’t sound good and

translates poorly to vinyl. Mastering engineers with a

vinyl background can always master for digital; that is not

always the case the other way around.

“Phil Kinrade masters for digital here, but has a wealth

of experience, so there are no issues with cutting anything

he has put together. I guess vinyl sorts the men from the

boys; sticking a limiter in and cranking up the gain won’t

cut it for vinyl – excuse the pun.”

John Webber comments: “Our room [at AIR

Mastering] was originally built with vinyl very much in

mind. Vinyl mastering is a different approach from CD/

digital mastering because often CD masters don’t translate

well to vinyl.”

Alexis Bardinet at Globe Audio Mastering reports:

“Actually I almost do at least one vinyl mastering per week.

I use the same monitoring system but the approach is

radically different. We decided to change our mastering

desk and go for a Maselec MTC-1X to better respond to

the vinyl demand.”

“The mastering engineer really started to be recognised

when he was able to cut vinyl discs at a higher level than

his anonymous predecessors,” says David Hawkins. “When

a record was played on juke-boxes or on radio programmes,

if it was louder than the rest, it stood out. Levels which

almost – but not quite – made the pickup needle jump out

of the groove were highly prized.”

Andy Munro sums up: “Vinyl has a special requirement

for groove modulation control and track capacity so there

are special skills needed to cut a great disc. In my opinion

a true mastering engineer should have acquired cutting

expertise because it enforces habits which translate well to

digital formats. Frankly, it is more skilful by a mile.”

Cutting it for the Vinyl RevivalThe room at AIR Mastering

was originally set up for vinyl

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24 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

FEATURE MASTERING

Alchemy Mastering has

recently relocated to new

premises in west London

And 15 years later we have no regrets

– it’s one of the reasons we’re in good

health in a difficult market.

“We’re always looking at new

technologies – and keeping a lookout

for suitable vintage gear. I’ve always

been a big fan of Dynaudio and our

main monitoring system is an M3

Dynaudio in 5.1 with XTA crossover

and Crest amplication.”

Darius van Helfteren honed

his mastering skills at Wisseloord

Studios before setting up Amsterdam

Mastering, where, again, the room

acoustics were the key factor.

“Basically, the room is an integral

part of the system,” he says. “When I

listen to a song I have to master, I can

decide (in a general way) within a few

seconds what I need to do. Because

my room isn’t foggy or clouding the

issue, it’s letting me hear the music

in a very pure way. When you master

or mix in a great room with great

monitoring, you don’t need to listen to

it anywhere else – because you know

exactly how it sounds.

“You can get as technical as you

like when setting up speakers, but for

me it has to pass the ‘enjoyment’ test

first. And that test is: to listen to, say,

20 of your favourite songs – ones that

you’ve always considered to have great

sound. Do most of them sound ‘right’

to you? Do you like how they sound in

terms of frequency response and stereo

image? If not, then something needs

to be tweaked. This is especially true

when calibrating a subwoofer. It’s all

very well to do it technically, but do

your favourite bass-heavy songs sound

‘right’ to you, with enough weight

or thump. Or is there too much? So,

once you’ve got that sorted out, then

you can start to get into the details

and the technical stuff, like applying

more room treating or even a room

optimisation processor, for example.

“When I was in the market

for new speakers (around 2005)

I went to check out all the most

popular speakers for mastering at

the time – PMC, B&W, Dunlavy,

ProAc, etc – and the ones that I felt

most comfortable with were B&W

Nautilus. I think it’s important that

you choose a speaker you like and that

fits your taste.”

Eastlake Audio has designed and

built recording and mastering studios

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www.audiomedia.com November 2014 25

FEATURE MASTERING

across the world – and has seen some

changes. “As the independent studios

emerged a generation ago, totally

independent mastering facilities are

now established,” states MD David

Hawkins. “They generally employ

highly specific mastering-related

EQ and dynamic control outboard

not always found in music recording

environments – such as Maselec and

others – and use transmission-line-

type monitoring loudspeakers such

as PMC, which are more biased

to ‘forensic rather than visceral’

examination of the recorded material.

Remote Working“Mastering facilities now both

digitally receive from – and digitally

return to – their clients the work sent

to them. Physical location has become

almost irrelevant as client attendance

has faded, and this is exemplified by

Simon Heywood and Dick Beetham,

who each moved central London

operations to the west of England

and Sussex respectively. The palette of

specific mastering requirements also

broadened some time ago with iTunes

and other developments.

“In Eastlake Audio’s recent

design work for 360 Mastering in

Hastings we were required to cater

for astonishingly high sub-40Hz LF

energy, as well as provide exceptional

levels of sound isolation to adjoining

properties at all hours of the day and

night, as 360 Mastering’s clients are

spread over worldwide time-zones.”

At 360, PMC is the preferred

monitor system. The UK-based

designer/manufacturer’s systems are

found in facilities worldwide – its

most recent release, the QB1-A, is

already installed at Capitol Studios in

Los Angeles.

“Our mastering clients are

extremely demanding as they look for

so many attributes in a monitor, i.e.

transparency, defined image placement,

high level (when required), and the

really tricky one, an identical balance

at all levels,” remarks PMC’s Keith

Tonge. “Designing a monitor to excel

in every region is certainly a challenge

but it comes down to having that

holistic view of what is required rather

than focusing on an individual aspect

of performance to the detriment of

everything else.

“Mastering requires an extremely

natural, neutral, open balance so it’s

vital that the monitors have a very

wide, even dispersion so any reflected

audio is as close in frequency response

to that direct from the drivers. The ear/

brain is extremely clever at identifying

reflections that differ in response from

those direct from the drivers, and when

they do vary it makes for an unnatural

and fatiguing session.

“Keeping coloration to an absolute

minimum is paramount so we would

preclude reflex designs and horn

loading, and avoid elements that could

create a ‘character’. It’s also essential

that all electronics and driver designs

are very much audiophile quality with

enormous headroom so everything is

working well within their limits.”

www.abbeyroad.com www.airstudiosmastering.comwww.amsterdammastering.comwww.alchemymastering.com www.bowers-wilkins.comwww.dynaudioprofessional.comwww.eastlake-audio.co.ukwww.globe-audio.comwww.munro.co.ukwww.pmc-speakers.com

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26 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

With a selection of

commercial studios,

RAK Publishing and

its rich back catalogue and four other

companies in the St John’s Wood,

London building that are renting

space, RAK Studios has much to offer.

“A lot of deals that we do inside

the publishing company are now

predominantly involving the studios,”

explains Andy Leese, general

manager. “So we are essentially doing

production deals using the studios we

have rather than paying large advances

and hoping that the record company

does a great job.”

When legendary producer Mickie

Most founded RAK in 1976 it

consisted of Studio 1 and Studio 2.

The other part of the building that

now holds Studio 3 and Studio 4 was

a schoolhouse, which he subsequently

purchased.

Studio 1 and Studio 2 are virtually

as they were; both rooms still contain

the original API desks.

“The multitrack is still up and

running and we still use it on

occasions when demanded if we can

ever find tape, which is very hard,”

says Trisha Wegg, studio manager.

“Obviously we’ve added elements

like Pro Tools and various bits of

outboard gear that have been bought

over the years.”

The machine room houses

multitracks and Pro Tools rigs for both

Studio 2 and Studio 3. “Something

that was quite great was getting the

multitracks and the Pro Tools out,”

Wegg continues. “Especially in 2

because it gives a nice area for bands

and relaxation.”

Studio 3 was built in 1984, and

now contains a Neve that came out

of Abbey Road Studio Two. The

Dynaudio Acoustics M3As get

turned on occasionally to blast the

place out, but people tend to monitor

on the mids.

Keeping it UniqueStudio 4 was built more or less for

in-house. “We’re looking at that

room in terms of re-tweaking because

there are six areas where there’s what

they call ‘acoustic chaos’,” says Leese.

“Albums have been mixed in there very

successfully on nearfields. Gil Norton

mixed a Gomez album in there. This

room is ‘jack of all trades, master of

none’. It’s not really a mix room, it’s not

really a writing room, and it’s not really

a tracking room. So we’re going to try

to reconfigure it in certain respects.”

The SSL 4056 E desk is probably

going to be replaced. “We even

looked at an old API but it could be

anything,” adds Leese. “The strength

of RAK is the space itself and the

things we have here that you just

simply can’t get in a plug-in. It’s a

unique experience and we want to

keep to that tradition so whatever

happens with this room it’s going to

be something interesting and creative,

and hopefully something better than

you’re going to be able to get your

hands on at home. Obviously, home

studios are taking large amounts of

business away from every commercial

studio in the world. So you have to do

something differently and I think this

is what we’re focused on at RAK –

giving our clients a special experience.”

RAK houses two additional writing

rooms and another independent

music publishing company Touch

Tones Music, which works as

consultants to help promote and

market RAK Publishing’s catalogue.

“They’re going after the syncs

in the area of film, TV, games,

advertisements, etc,” reports Leese.

“So we work very closely with them.”

RAK It Up

FEATURE STUDIO PROFILE

Jake Young goes down to one of the UK’s best-known recording spots to see all four of its studios.

Picture: Andrew Brooks

RAK STUDIOS

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www.audiomedia.com November 2014 27

FEATURE STUDIO PROFILE

Let’s talk about your session with Beautiful Boy. What project were you working on?The session I produced was for

one of the first RAK Singles

Club releases, where the bands

involved do an original A-side

and a cover version from the

RAK Publishing catalogue for

the B-side (in this case Bodies

by Beautiful Boy and Kids

In America originally by Kim

Wilde, written by her dad

Marty Wilde, and produced

by Mickie in 1981). The band’s

take on it is very interesting.

The releases will be primarily

on 7in vinyl and resurrect

the RAK Records label with

the intention of looking as

original as possible.

What was the vocal chain set-up?I used a Shure SM7 for

the A-side, as that track is quite dense arrangement-wise and the SM7

sits well when there’s a lot of information to compete with. It sort of

compresses itself and flattens out the nuances that can get lost when using

something else that specialises in super detail. The mic pre was an original

API 512b with some Blackface 1176 compression.

For the cover version it was the same chain, but using a valve 47 as there

was the space in tempo and instrumentation to let it shine.

The backing vocals were mainly done by Dane (lead singer and writer)

on the SM7 as they were sat a bit behind, so needed to hold their own at

that level in the mix.

Were there any challenges or special technical skills you had to rely on during the session?The challenge was mainly to get everything recorded in two days to do

justice to both songs. The band had spent more time with the original so

had it pretty much formatted for their sound, but there were still a few

parts to get down, whereas with the cover we had more of an open-minded

approach to see where it could go.

What was the atmosphere like during the session?Fantastic. It was heads-down but good fun. The band were great – focused

and ambitious. Everybody was aware of the importance and significance of

the project and wanted to get it right. The cover was treated with respect

too, and not just something that had to be done to order. Also, everyone

was keen to make it an original version that was true to the band, held its

own, and was also valid for syncing opportunities.

RAK Singles Club LaunchedThe RAK Singles Club, releases set to revive the

RAK Records label, are available as 7in vinyl and

download. Each artist created an original A-side

of their choice and a B-side cover from RAK’s

back catalogue. Jake Young talks with senior

engineer/producer Richard Woodcraft about his

work on a new record from Beautiful Boy.

Richard Woodcraft

Picture: Andrew Brooks

ProjectsHighlights from the studios so far

this year include Steve Fitzmaurice

celebrating a number one with the

Sam Smith album he recorded in

Studio 1, and returning to RAK with

Eliza and the Bear and Mary J Blige;

along with Neil Cowley Trio’s album

Touch and Flee and Labrinth recording

forthcoming material.

Max Dingel has been at RAK for

much of the year in Studio 4 with both

Kate Boy and David Otero, following

the success of the James album La

Petite Mort he made in Studio 3 last

year. Royal Blood went into Studio 3

with producer Tom Dalgety to finish

the album released in August, while

Jerry Boys has been in multiple times

with Olivia Chaney, Toumani Diabete,

and Ali Farka Touré.

Instrument-wise, the studios have

purchased a Black Beauty snare drum

and a 1969 Ludwig Hollywood kit,

while RAK’s grand piano in Studio 1

has been for a complete overhaul with

David Fry at Renner.

www.rakstudios.co.uk

Page 28: Audio Media November 2014

28 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

H eadphones are an essential

tool for recording studios.

Having spoken with a variety

of recording engineers, producers,

mastering engineers, and musicians,

I’ve learned a few key aspects about

headphones, and there are questions I

always ask when somebody is looking

for their first pair or for a pile to fit

their needs. I’ll start off by covering

what I consider to be the three main

concerns when choosing headphones

for your studio.

1. Open vs. Closed Headphones?This is the first big question to answer

and it’s a relatively simple one. If

you will be using a microphone to

record sounds such as an acoustic

guitar, voice, or drums you’ll likely

want closed headphones. Closed

headphones help to keep sound from

leaking out and getting into your

microphone feed. If you’re recording

or producing music using direct input

or software-based instruments this is

not an issue.

If you’re only mixing or mastering

music and don’t need isolation

then you can use open headphones.

It is usually easier to get more

natural, accurate sound from an

open headphone than from a closed

headphone of similar design. This is

not always the case, as we have heard

a few open design headphones that

sound worse than good quality closed

headphones. Ultimately it depends on

how much attention the manufacturer

paid to sound quality versus cost/style/

comfort, etc.

2. DurabilityStudio headphones need to be

durable and repairable. Many well-

respected studio cans these days have

removable cables and replaceable

ear pads and headbands. Some

manufacturers, such as Sennheiser,

go so far as to make almost all parts

replaceable. All of the headphones

we have listed in this guide offer

replaceable cables and parts.

3. Sound QualityYou would think I would have put this

as the first criteria but the truth is if

your headphones don’t work or break

often you’ll be making less music.

The quality of sound you get from a

headphone depends on many

different factors, including design

and price. Once you’ve settled on

your needs and budget we can narrow

down your options.

Entry-level or Low-cost HeadphonesWhen outfitting a studio with

headphones for the whole band it’s

helpful to keep the cost per unit down.

Our best recommendation is to keep

it affordable, but don’t skimp to the

point where you’re buying something

disposable.

The Shure SRH440’s are great-

sounding headphones, providing

plenty of isolation for recording with

microphones. They also sound good

enough to be the only headphones for

those on a budget.

For a small increase in price,

stepping up to the Audio-Technica

M50x will get you a little more natural

and accurate sound and a few extra

cables included in the package.

At the higher end of entry-level

headphones we often recommend

the Shure SRH840, which provides

more comfortable ear cups, fuller bass

response and an extra set of earpads.

Mid-priced HeadphonesIf you’re wanting the best bang for

your buck without compromising

your mixing or mastering abilities

we recommend the Sennheiser

HD600 and HD650, as well as the

AKG K712. These are open-style

headphones providing very natural

and accurate sound. Remember, open

headphones are best used when a

microphone is not in use.

A nice mid-priced closed option is

the Shure SRH1540. While they leak

a little more sound than your standard

closed headphones, they isolate

enough to be our top recommendation

for tracking in the studio.

High-end HeadphonesOn the extreme end of the spectrum

we are seeing a lot of new products

from all the known manufacturers.

From Sennheiser we have the HD800,

possibly the world’s best headphones

– their open design with angled driver

and proprietary ‘ring radiator’ driver

yield the widest soundstage and

precise details of anything we’ve heard.

AKG released the K812 this year,

offering its signature sound in a more

refined package.

A newcomer to the audio world,

Audeze released its LCD-X in

2013, delivering planar magnetic

headphones with a luscious, dynamic,

and very linear bass response.

If you’re looking for the top of the

line in closed headphones, the Fostex

TH-900 and Audeze LCD-XC

are sure to delight the ears of any

musician or engineer.

Headphone AmpsA word on headphone amps. Why

would you need such a thing? Behind

every headphone jack is a miniature

power amplifier to drive headphones.

Sometimes the manufacturers put this

in as an afterthought, or simply don’t

pay much attention to the headphone

output. If you’re considering investing

in high-end headphones you should

consider pairing them with a

dedicated headphone amp.

High on our recommended list of

headphone amps is the Grace Design

m920. While it costs more than any

headphone we’ve mentioned, this

could be the centre of your production.

The m920 includes a digital-to-

analogue converter with all standard

connections, switchable inputs to act

as the heart of your monitoring centre,

and it can be used as a preamp for

your main speakers. Also included

with the m920 is a Crossfeed setting,

which is meant to more closely

simulate the sound of speakers,

reducing listening fatigue.

If the idea of Crossfeed is

appealing to you, also consider the

SPL Phonitor, which offers a very

customisable crossfeed to suit your

own listening tastes.

Expert WitnessTECHNOLOGY FOCUS HEADPHONES

Jamey Warren, CEO of specialist headphone retailer HeadRoom,

gives us the whys and wherefores of headphone purchasing.

Expert witnessJamey Warren is the CEO/president of HeadRoom, a dedicated headphone retailer for over 20 years.www.headphone.com

Page 29: Audio Media November 2014
Page 30: Audio Media November 2014

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

30 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

HeadphonesBring up the subject of headphones with any producer, engineer, or recording professional and you’re

bound to get more than an earful back. That’s because our ears are only as good as the sound they are

receiving. That’s where this Technology Focus comes in.

AKG K712 PRO

The K712 PROs are open, over-ear reference headphones

for precise listening, mixing, and mastering. The over-ear

design guarantees maximum wearing comfort for fatigue-

free mixing and mastering, while providing spacious and

airy sound without any compromise. Their precise powerful

sound results from improved low-end performance by 3dB.

• Over-ear design: maximum wearing

comfort for long work sessions

• Sophisticated open technology:

for spacious and airy sound

without compromise

• Improved low-end performance

by 3dB: for more powerful

sound imaging

• Flat wire voice coil:

for added impulse and

treble response

• Equipped with a professional

mini XLR connector for

quick replacement of

the cable

www.akg.com

AUDIO-TECHNICAM50X

Audio-Technica’s M50x is the company’s fl agship M

Series model, designed for demanding professional

monitoring and mixing applications. Widely praised

for its full, accurate tone and comfort, the M50x is

said to be ideal for critical audio situations from studio

recording to location broadcast audio.

• 45mm large-aperture drivers with rare earth magnets

• Exceptional clarity and extended frequency range

• 90º swivelling ear-cups for one-ear monitoring

• Detachable cable – 1.2m and 3m straight, and

1.2-3m coiled cables included

• Circumaural design contours around the ears for

excellent sound isolation

www.audio-technica.com

BEHRINGERHPX6000

Behringer HPX6000

Professional DJ

Headphones are said

to deliver clear sound,

comfort, and value. Users

enjoy loud, clean sound

with deep and powerful

bass. On top of their

rugged construction,

these headphones have a

classic look and feel, from

the soft touch rubberised

coating to the leather ear

cushions and headband

pad. The headband and ear cups are fully articulated and

adjustable, as well as foldable, with a detachable cable

allowing for easy carrying and storage.

• Superior sound quality with wide frequency

response and enhanced bass

• Ultra-high dynamic range

• 50mm high-output neodymium drivers

• Single-sided removable cable with 0.125in jack and

0.25in gold plated adapter

• Adjustable headband with foldable, swivelling ear cups

• High-quality components and rugged construction

www.behringer.com

FLARE AUDIOREFERENCE R1

Flare Audio has launched what it believes to be the world’s fi rst ‘fully’ open back

headphones. The Reference R1, aimed at the pro-audio and audiophile market, uses

Flare’s new approach to produce distortion-free sound, even at full volume, enabling

true transfer and transmission of source material. Look out for our full review of the

headphones in Audio Media December.

• Distortion free sound, even at full volume

• Highlights details previously masked in tracks

• True transfer/transmission of source material

• Sonic immersion with precise stereo imaging

• Natural, open sound with true timbre detail

• Believed to reduce hearing fatigue

• Detail awareness may improve with continued use

Page 31: Audio Media November 2014

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

www.audiomedia.com November 2014 31

FOCALSPIRIT PROFESSIONAL

Spirit Professional headphones benefit from Focal’s

years of expertise, and have been designed for sound

engineers and musicians. According to the company,

the neutrality of the sound, combined with the dynamics

of the transducers, will enable users to work with

great precision.

• Acoustic transparency and ease of use

• Precise and detailed sound reproduction

without distortion

• Excellent isolation and acoustic coupling to

the ear

• Total control of the audio band

• Optimal comfort

www.focalprofessional.com

FOSTEXTH500RP

The TH500RPs are

based on Fostex’s

T-series studio

monitor headphones,

which the company

claims are the first

premium planar-type

headphones designed

for hi-fi audio listening.

Fostex has employed

RP (Regular Phase)

diaphragm technology

in its professional

studio headphones,

such as the T20RPmk2

and recent T-series

models. The TH500RP

model now combines

this RP technology with the design philosophy and

flair of the TH900, resulting in a set of premium

headphones which deliver an impressive high-

resolution sound.

• Employs the uniquely developed RP (Regular Phase)

diaphragm

• Newly-tuned driver unit

• Proprietary gravity resin baffle plates

• Soft leather ear pads

• Connecting cable made of HiFC

• Leather texture carrying pouch

www.fostexinternational.com

KRK SYSTEMSKNS8400

Building on the reputation

of its studio monitors,

KRK Systems’ KNS Series

KNS8400 Professional

Headphones provide

a consistent voicing

philosophy and

honest reproduction

that is trusted by top

producers, studio

musicians, performers,

and engineers around

the globe. Along

with accurate sound

reproduction and wide

frequency response,

the KNS’ lightweight,

foldable design allows

for long sessions with high

comfort and great isolation.

They offer large dynamic range

with extremely low-distortion – ideal for

mixing and mastering in the studio, or

when travelling on the road.

• Configuration: closed back, circumaural

• Frequency response: 5Hz to 23kHz

• Sensitivity (1mW): 97dB SPL

• Calculated max SPL: 124dB SPL

• Ambient noise isolation: up to 30dBA

• Dimensions: 3.7in (94mm) x 10.5in (267mm) x 9.6in

(244mm), 0.5lb (0.23kg)

• Replaceable ear and head cushions utilise advanced

memory foam

www.krksys.com

SENNHEISERHD 380 PRO

These collapsible, high-end headphones are

ideal for professional monitoring use. The HD

380 Pros offer a closed, circumaural design,

which provides excellent passive attenuation of

ambient noise, while Sennheiser’s Eargonomic

Acoustic Refinement (E.A.R) technology channels

the audio signal directly into the user’s ears. They

also provide an extended frequency response,

with increased sound pressure levels (up to

110dB) for accurate sound reproduction in all

types of demanding usage.

• Collapsible, high-end headphones ideal for

professional monitoring

• Extended frequency response for accurate,

reliable sound reproduction

• Increased sound pressure level (110dB) for

demanding use

• Closed circumaural design for passive

attenuation of ambient noise (up to 32dB)

• Exceptional comfort for extended listening

www.sennheiser.com

SHURESRH1840

The SRH1840s are the flagship open-back

headphones from Shure for mixing, mastering,

and audiophile listening. They feature

individually-matched 40mm neodymium drivers,

so users can expect a detailed and honest sound,

wide stereo imaging, smooth, extended highs,

and accurate bass.

• Super-lightweight construction, featuring

aircraft-grade aluminium alloy yoke and stainless

steel grilles for enhanced durability

• Lightweight, dual-frame, padded headband for

hours of listening comfort

• Replaceable velour ear pads with high density,

slow recovery foam

• Oxygen-free copper cable (OFC) with Kevlar

reinforced jacket for great performance

and durability

• Individually tested and serialised

www.shure.co.uk

Page 32: Audio Media November 2014

32 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

SONYMDR 7510

Said to provide optimum

aural clarity and wearer

comfort, the MDR Series of

professional headphones is

precision manufactured using

the highest-grade materials.

Consisting of the MDR-7510

(pictured) and the MDR-

7506/1, the headphones are

engineered for a

combination of strength,

comfort, and practicality. They

are used daily in broadcast

and recording studios

worldwide. The headphones

come complete with

protective carry pouch

and gold-plated UniMatch

3.5mm/6.3mm adaptor.

• 50mm driver unit with PET

diaphragm

• Closed-ear design

• Wide frequency response

• High power handling

capacity 2,000mW

• Stereo UniMatch plug

• Gold connectors and

OFC cord

www.sony.co.uk

Telefunken Elektroakustik

has introduced the THP-29

Extreme Isolation headphones,

designed for studio and live

sound environments. Ultra high

fidelity, high-input 40mm speaker

drivers featuring TruSound Tonal

Accuracy are integrated with

29dB of eco-friendly natural

passive isolation. According to

Telefunken, the headphones,

which were developed in

partnership with Direct Sound,

are suitable for use by live mixers

who need to block out monitor

speakers, or by drummers who

need to be able to hear the mix

without setting their volume at

an unreasonably high level.

• Extreme Isolation headphones

come with padded adjustable

headband

• Ultra-high-fidelity high-input

40mm speakers

• 29dB isolation

• Jack adaptor

• Storage pouch

www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com

TELEFUNKENTHP-29 EXTREME

ISOLATION

Page 33: Audio Media November 2014

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Page 34: Audio Media November 2014

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

34 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

DPA d:screet Omni NecklaceNECK-WORN MICROPHONE

In the topsy-turvy world

of global capitalism you

can never take anything

for granted. Take personal

mics, for instance. When

I was a nipper Sony ruled

the roost, the ECM was the

Hoover or the Kodak of the

market, synonymous with

the very idea of a personal

mic. I spent many a happy

hour fiddling with ECMs,

clips and ties back in the day,

and I jokingly used to say:

“I wish Sony would make a

tie with a built in mic, make

my life much easier.” Sadly,

Sony wasn’t listening and the

world was spared the literal

‘tie-mic’. However, many

moons later, DPA, (which

is now synonymous with

high-quality personal mics)

has come up with an idea not

a million miles away from a

‘neck-worn’ microphone. The

DPA d:screet Omni Necklace

– yes, a microphone as a

fashion accessory.

Reality CheckSo what has driven this

innovative new take on the

personal microphone? Well,

the rise of Big Brother-driven

reality TV. The idea is that on

some gigs you won’t have a

tame SA2 to fit mics properly

and your talent may not have

enough experience (or indeed

intelligence) to fit a mic with

a clip or cage. And in reality

TV there probably won’t even

be a tie or handy lapel to fit it

to. So you need a system that

lets the talent fit their own

microphones but in a way

that is not as fiddly as a clip

and still gets good sound,

and just as important,

repeatable sound.

With the necklace you

have one thing to remember

– the wire goes down your

back. If the wire is down your

front, like a tie, you have it

on back to front. What could

possibly go wrong?

So reality TV, or maybe

radio roundtables, corporate

workshops or churches spring

to mind as possible markets.

The concept is simple – a

well-proven DPA capsule

embedded in a necklace-style

fitting, which is both robust,

discrete, and easy to fit.

The model I tried is a nice

Bauhaus black with a silver-

coloured clip. The finish is

smooth black plastic of good

quality. I guess you want to

be able to wipe this down

easily, and white and brown

versions are both available.

The clip is magnetic, which

helps middle-aged men

fumbling behind themselves

for a clasp – not something

we are used to doing and an

image I don’t recommend

you hold on to. Once seated,

a simple rotation locks it in.

It’s pretty much fool proof,

until a gorilla stands on it,

but then rule number one,

don’t put your mics on the

floor. You know that, I know

that, but the talent will

never remember it. Keep the

gorillas off your clips and, of

course, your capsules.

And talking of gorillas, I

have an 18in neck and the

necklace was an easy fit with

an inch or so to spare. I had

the 47cm version, which

is notionally about 18.5in.

However if you are working

on ‘The Munster front row

reads the works of Louis

MacNeice’, you may want to

check out the 53cm version

that will fit collar sizes up

to about 21in. Beyond that

I suppose they could always

wear it as a bicep mic.

Sound QualityThe sound quality is – as

you would expect from a

DPA – excellent. Mine came

with the high boost grid,

which helps cut through the

natural muffliness of being

fitted at the neck. There’s

no doubt you’re getting top

drawer audio quality when

you buy a DPA miniature

microphone and the necklace

is no different. You don’t have

a huge choice of capsules – I

suppose there’s no point in a

directional mic given where it

is fitted so it is only available

with low sensitivity versions

of the 4061.

If your talent is wearing

something open-necked I

found no problems with

physical noise, though you do

have to watch it doesn’t ride

around a bit under exertion.

You might want to tape the

‘tail’ down to hold the capsule

in the desired position (DPA

also supplies a clothing clip

with the product). I did

try the Necklace under a

buttoned-up shirt or high

collar and in this position

it will be prone to material

rubbing and the usual

compromise in sound quality

depending on the fabric.

And now to the vexed

question of interfacing the

DPA to your radio system.

You have a few choices.

DPA supplies the mics

with MicroDot connectors.

They seem to be much more

reliable than their small size

Alistair McGhee gets his hands on a mic that’s simple enough for

reality TV contestants to use, but still offers excellent sound quality.

“There’s no doubt you’re getting top

drawer audio quality when you buy a DPA

miniature microphone and the necklace is

no different.”

Alistair McGhee

Page 35: Audio Media November 2014

www.audiomedia.com November 2014 35

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

The ReviewerAlistair McGheebegan audio life in Hi-Fi before joining the BBC as an audio engineer. After 10 years in radio and TV, he moved to production. When BBC Choice started, he pioneered personal digital production in television. Most recently, Alistair was assistant editor, BBC Radio Wales and has been helping the UN with broadcast operations in Juba.

would indicate and because they are teeny

tiny they’re ideally suited for the wide range

of adapters that enable you to fit a MicroDot

connector into just about any radio system.

DPA has a bucket load of converters, and

if you take advantage of that approach then

you can have MicroDots on all your mics

and converters to fit any radio system for

maximum flexibility. As you might expect the

converters are not cheap but they are very

well made and there is one that enables the

Necklace to be plugged into a standard XLR.

But what if you view tiny connectors with

suspicion and consider converters as yet

another connection to fail? I rang my local

DPA supplier, Martyn at SoundKit, and he

assured me that you can have your Necklace

supplied with a custom connector hard wired

if that is what you require. And the fact

that connectors get a whole paragraph just

underlines the fact that we should have at

most two standard fittings for radio mics, big

and small. The current profusion is a joke.

Gets off hobby horse, slightly red in face.

So do you need one? Well the necklace is a

one-trick pony, but it’s a good trick. You are

getting the highest quality personal mic in a

simple-to-fit package. If I was getting booked

for 12 weeks of reality TV with eight radios

and no provision for audio staff ‘on the floor’

for the whole shoot, I would be ordering

mine now.

Joanne Ruddock speaks to Mikkel Nymand, DPA

product manager, about the design and construction

of the Necklace mic.

How important was it that non-technical personnel would feel comfortable using this mic? Does it require any training/skills at all to mount/remove?Very important. It was one of the basic principles

of the construction. The idea came from one of

our long-term users who was producing reality

shows such as Big Brother. He realised that a lot

of the time the ‘actors’ should mount the mics

themselves on many different clothes – or when

wearing no clothes at all. Later in the pre-study

we found that the mic solution was also relevant

for traditional headset use, such as conference

presenters, house of worship pastors, and more.

Other than ease of use, what were the primary considerations when designing the Necklace microphone?The physical balance of the product was taken

care of by the cable junction in the neck. It is

carried out by a specially designed T-angled

junction (see image, above). This part ensures

that the cable out of the microphone will always

go straight down the back. As long as this part

is in the middle of the neck, the mic capsule is

at the same time in the middle under your chin.

The clothing clip will further attach the cable

to clothes. Also, the necklace is constructed in

a way so that it stays in place, but if it sticks to

something, it should open so it does not strangle

the performer. The magnetic lock with securing

twist is our solution.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of necklace mics compared with headworn/lavalier mics?Headsets come closer to the mouth and will allow

for even higher separation and gain-to-feedback

ratio. Also, the position below the chin lacks quite

a bit of high frequency clarity. This is why the

d:screet Necklace comes pre-fitted with our high

boost grid to compensate for the high frequency

loss (see chart, below).

The mic has already been used in a reality TV setting. Is it robust enough to handle more strenuous filming environments?The microphone is designed with a Mogami

cable jacket around the miniature microphone

cable. This approach has been used and field-

tested for years on numerous stages. The

microphone cable inside is Kevlar-reinforced and

uses our latest improvement in the microphone

housing with strain

reliefs.

Are any more additions to the d:screet series being planned?We are currently

doing some very

interesting pre-

studies on flat-

headed and even

smaller design for

concealed use.

Feature Set• Includes DPA’s 4061 omnidirectional

miniature capsule

• Capable of handling up to 144dB peak before clipping

• Available in black, white, and brown and in lengths of

either 47cm or 53cm

• Supplied with MicroDot connectors from TE California

• RRP: €495 + VAT

www.dpamicrophones.com

INFORMATION

Page 36: Audio Media November 2014

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

36 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

Aphex USB 500 Rack500 SERIES COMPUTER AUDIO INTERFACE

The Aphex USB 500

Rack is built into a

sturdy well-finished

steel frame and is made in

America. The unit has slots

for four 500 series devices and

a frontpanel control section

two slots wide. The Aphex

takes an IEC mains lead and

has a frontpanel power switch.

Power it up and the Aphex

logo above will be illuminated

in tasteful green.

Above the power section

are two 0.25in jacks for

headphone outputs, each

with an independent volume

control and at the top of the

section a monitoring volume

control with associated mono

and dim push buttons. These

buttons share the Aphex green

illumination when engaged.

The twin headphone

outputs carry the same

signal but have independent

level control, watch out as

you reach to move your

headphones from one socket

to the other; I managed to

switch the rack off while

doing so. You, of course, will

be more careful.

Using the 500 USB with

OSX is easy – plug it into a

Mac and away you go. On

an ageing iPad 2, plug it in

via the USB camera kit and

fire up GarageBand and

hey presto it works. Beware

though, a couple of other

iPad apps didn’t work so

well. For Windows you need

a driver – download it from

the Aphex site, install and

then plug in the rack and all

should be peachy. I had two

Windows systems to hand

– one running 7 64-bit and

the other running Windows

8.1. Plugging into 7 64-bit

brought an interesting issue

into focus. Windows mapped

the Aphex’s multiple outputs

in terms of speakers, so my

headphones were centre and

sub. This is because the Aphex

allows you to work with the

main outputs separately from

the headphone outputs. I also

found that my foobar media

player preferred using Asio.

My Windows 8 system has

Pro Tools 11 on board and

I was half expecting a bit of

hardware wrestling to get the

Aphex to work. As it turned

out, reading the note in the

manual about leaving your

existing hardware plugged

in did the trick and once the

driver was loaded it worked

first time without a hitch.

RoutingAs you have a combined

USB interface and 500 rack,

your routing is a little more

complex and indeed more

flexible than your average

standalone rack.

Each module (apart from

slot 1) has a choice of three

inputs – the XLR on the

back of the device itself, the

neighbouring module to the

left, or a USB input from

the computer. So you plug

something in to the XLR,

you take the output from

the previous module in the

rack or you take a feed from

your DAW.

We’ll start with the last

of those options. One of the

really nice features of a 500

system is using the modules

as inserts in your software

mix. My USB 500 came

from MSL Professional and

they kindly included some of

the Aphex 500 modules to

garnish the basic rack dish.

I began with the EQF 500

– a 21st century take on an

Aphex classic from the 70s.

Aphex provided some basic

instructions on how to do this

in Pro Tools and I followed

along without too much

trouble. If you don’t want to

bother with adding a bus then

just add an aux track to your

mix. Then route the output

of your original track to the

module input in the rack and

route the module output to

your Aux track. Don’t forget

to switch your module to

USB input, and that’s it. In

Reaper why not avail yourself

of the glories of ReaInsert,

which allows you to do proper

send and return insertion on

your track without using any

more screen ReaLestate. Sorry

about that.

I should say that I found

the EQF 500 a very musical

equaliser. It’s three band and

the top and bottom sections

are switchable between shelf

and bell functionality.

You also get sweepable high

and low pass filters. The EQs

offer plus and minus 12dB.

It’s probably symptomatic of

being a certain age but I do

enjoy the physical process of

fingertip processing; I know

that in itself adds nothing to

the result but I can’t help it,

there will always be a place in

my heart for the physicality

of audio.

Having worked through

the insert process you begin

to see the power of melding

your USB interface with a

500 rack. All the routing and

plugging takes place down

your standard USB cable. This

allows you to make the most

of digital flexibility while

enjoying the analogue benefits

of external processing.

Of course, the other big

deal is on the input side. If

you can afford the choicest

plums from the likes of

Prism Sound or Metric Halo

then maybe you don’t worry

too much about the quality of

your mic amps, but for

the rest of us the chance to

pick and choose our mic

amps is an opportunity not to

be missed.

I had the choice of three

Aphex units: the A Pre 500;

the dual RPA 500, replete

with valve technology and the

J Pre 500, with Cinemag and

Jensen transformers on board.

My 500 preamp of choice

is the Grace Design M501,

but this is hardly the place to

start a mic preamp punch-up

beyond saying that Aphex’s

500 series gear is tidy, as we

say in Wales. Hopefully we

can do them more justice

when space allows, especially

when the new Project 500

module arrives.

ConclusionSo, in summation, the Aphex

is definitely a Jagger/Richards

sort of combination. In terms

of convenience, flexibility, and

usability it is a hard product

to beat.

The boards are awash with

demands for bigger models

and there’s a real buzz around

the product. I’m just sorry

now that the French didn’t get

more of a grip on the USA

back in the day. Pourquoi?

Well, because losing rack

screws, like death and taxes, is

a certainty, and while metric

options abound the 4-40

screws found in the Aphex

are very hard to find. [MSL

Professional assure us they

would be able to source them

from the factory without too

much trouble - Ed].

Sam and Dave, Morecombe and Wise, corned beef and cabbage. There are some combinations that just

work. And others – Donnie and Marie, lager and lime – that make your heart sink. So now that Aphex

has released its 500 USB frame combining 500 module flexibility with USB connectivity, the question on

everyone’s lips is, “Lennon and McCartney or John and Yoko?” Alistair McGhee has the answer.

Feature Set• Combines a 500 series rack and a USB 2.0 audio interface

• Monitor section with Mono and Dim

• High output headphone amps

• Up to 96k operation

• RRP: £749

www.aphex.com

INFORMATION

Page 37: Audio Media November 2014
Page 38: Audio Media November 2014

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

38 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

Allen & Heath Qu-32DIGITAL MIXER

Allen & Heath’s

Qu-32 desk

follows fast on

the heels of the Qu-16 and

Qu-24 and thus benefits from

a 1.5 firmware version which

has already addressed most

of the minor niggles in the

operating system (such as the

ability to name channels).

A key selling point is that

it features 33 fully automated

faders and thus is one of

the few digital consoles, of

any size, that has a fader for

every input channel (with a

preamp). This means fewer

layers are required and thus

helps prevents layeritis – that

affliction which blights users

of digital consoles where you

get lost in layers.

My first impression of the

Qu-32 is that it is functional

without being flashy – the

front panel is straightforward

and unexciting in the way

that tools should be. The body

is relatively slim and curves

round in a pleasing J curve,

the back of which houses all

the I/O. The button LEDs

illuminate in a way that

makes them viewable in both

bright and dim light and the

16 x 10cm touchscreen is

bright and responsive (a quick

poke with a Sharpie suggests

that it is capacitative rather

than resistive).

Basic operation is very

intuitive; I was able to execute

all fundamental mix functions

(i.e. EQ, gate, comp, FX,

aux sends, DCAs, short cut

keys) within minutes of first

turning it on. The workflow

is well thought out and quite

analogue in its feel – I didn’t

need to spend any time

scrolling through menus or

reading the manual to do

what I needed to do.

Taking a look around the

back there are no surprises.

There are 32 mic/line inputs

(on balanced XLR and 0.25in

jack respectively), a talk back

XLR and three stereo inputs

(two 0.25in jack pairs on

the back panel and a stereo

mini jack on the front panel).

For outputs there are 24

XLRs (divided into L/R,

Mix, Group, and Matrix), an

alternate stereo main output

(on 0.25in jacks with a level

control on the front panel), a

two-track 0.25in jack output,

and an AES XLR. Then

there’s the usual USB and

network (RJ45) connections as

well as a dSNAKE connector.

The 32 jack line inputs are a

nice touch as so many desks of

this size cut costs by providing

only XLRs.

There are no individual

channel name displays, which

seems a valid cost-cutting

choice on a desk of this

nature. There is a facility for

naming channels but this is

only really of use if you plan

to use the Qu-Pad iPad app.

I was pleased to find

that the default scene was

configured very intelligently,

which helped me put my mix

together quickly and without

any fuss. All the bus masters

and FX returns are up and the

busses are enabled by default,

so as soon as you start sending

level to effects or mixes you

can hear it coming back/going

through – a simple enough

thing but it saves time and

minimises layer flipping.

Mix, Group and FX sends

can be accessed via dedicated

buttons to the right of the

master fader, which, when

pressed, automatically put you

in sends on fader mode and

the master fader becomes the

master bus level. The seven

mix (four mono and three

stereo) and four group sends

(all stereo) have 28-band

graphic EQs set up and ready

to go (via the GEQ button)

– they’ve done away with the

top and bottom 25Hz and

20kHz filters, which I doubt

anyone will miss. One very

neat feature of GEQ mode is

that the LED channel level

meters become a basic RTA

showing the level at each

filter – quite helpful when

chasing down that elusive

burst of feedback.

Despite the generous

complement of faders there

is still the need for layers,

and the Qu-32 has three.

The primary layer is the 32

input channels; the secondary

layer is all the stereo inputs,

FX returns, group masters,

FX sends, mix sends, matrix

and DCAs – all laid out and

labelled on a single layer – and

the third is a custom layer,

which can be configured into

any combination of input or

output channels (with a nifty

‘+1’ function that makes setting

it up a breeze). Once the

custom layer is set up it can be

locked in using the ‘Custom

Layer Only’ function so that

it’s the only layer available.

EffectsThe Qu-32 boasts four stereo

iLive effects engines, featuring

a selection of familiar and

proven effects; the only thing

missing is an amp simulator

(which is not something I

ever missed on the iLive but I

feel would be useful on a desk

of this size). The FX returns

are stereo but conveniently

only occupy one fader.

Another feature that I’ve

yet to see on any other console

of this size is the Qu-Drive,

which enables the recording

and playback of 18 channels

of 48kHz 24-bit audio direct

to a USB stick. This can be

any combination of input

and output channels or just

the humble stereo out – you

just need to ensure your USB

stick supports high sustained

transfer rates. And if that isn’t

enough you can connect the

console to a Mac or PC for

32 x 32 channel recording

and playback via USB (i.e. the

desk acts as a combined mixer

and sound card).

So how does it sound?

The preamps are transparent

without being too clean and

clinical – I particularly liked

the warmth imparted by the

channel compressor.

One aspect I found pleasing

is that the Qu-32 is the top

of its range. So often desks of

this size are the bottom of the

range and thus are really just

scaled down versions of the

desk you want to be operating.

Allen & Heath has

managed to strike that difficult

balance between including

all the advanced features that

professional engineers demand

while also making it accessible

for non-expert operators. Its

intuitive and straightforward

interface makes it a pleasure to

use for all.

The ReviewerAndy Coules started his career in the music industry as a tea boy in a recording studio, working his way up to studio sound engineer before developing a taste for live music and transferring his skills to the arena of live sound. This enabled him to combine his love of travelling and hotel rooms and tour the world with a diverse array of acts, often in the dual role of sound engineer/tour manager.www.andycoules.co.uk

Feature Set• Thirty-two mic/line inputs (TRS + XLR)

• Thirty-three motor faders

• Qu-Drive direct multitrack recording/playback

on USB drives

• Recallable AnaLOGIQ preamps

• UK SRP: £3,118.80

www.allen-heath.com

INFORMATION

Andy Coules takes at look at Allen & Heath’s foray into the increasingly crowded

marketplace of the 32-channel self-contained digital live sound console.

Page 39: Audio Media November 2014
Page 40: Audio Media November 2014

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

40 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

Focusrite Saffire PRO 26AUDIO INTERFACE

When it comes to

portable flexible

audio interfaces,

Focusrite has a long and

well-established reputation

for being right at the top of

manufacturers offering this

type of device.

The Focusrite Saffire range

of units are well known to us,

and the latest to join this line-

up is the Saffire PRO 26.

OverviewThis is a desktop/portable

interface, not a rack

mountable one, which is

319mm x 192mm x 43mm,

weighing just under 3kg.

As you would expect,

Focusrite has shoehorned

in a comprehensive range of

input/output options in this

compact package.

The Focusrite Saffire PRO

26 offers 18 inputs and

eight outputs with a 24-bit

resolution and sample rates of

44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96kHz.

Connection to your host

Windows or Mac computer/

DAW is via FireWire or

Thunderbolt connection,

which also provides bus

power to the interface, and

a mains power supply is also

supplied. The rear of the

Focusrite Saffire PRO 26

has a single FireWire 400

port, but the unit is supplied

with a FireWire 400 to 800

cable, and a FireWire 400

to Thunderbolt cable is an

optional extra.

Also supplied is the

Focusrite MixControl

routing software, as well as a

software package made up of

Ableton Live Lite, Novation

BassStation, and Focusrite

Midnight and Scarlett plug-

ins. You also get 1GB of

Loopmaster samples to get

you up and running.

The 18 inputs are made

up of six analogue inputs

comprising four mic/line and

two additional line inputs.

We then have 10 digital

inputs – eight via ADAT

optical and two S/PDIF. The

eight outputs comprise six

balanced line outputs and an

S/PDIF output.

The Ins and OutsThe Focusrite Saffire PRO

26 front panel starts with two

TRS sockets for inputs 1 and

2. These can accept either a

line input or instrument input

based on the selection switch

associated with these two

channel inputs. On the rear

panel are the XLR sockets for

mic input 1 and 2; these have

associated gain controls, along

with mic inputs 3 and 4, on

the front panel.

Phantom power can be

applied to microphone inputs

by two selection buttons. This

is done in pairs – one button

for channels 1 and 2, and

then the same for 3 and 4.

Next up we have a pad switch

for channels 1 and 2 only.

Each of the six analogue

input levels can be monitored

in the meter section. Each

channel has a five-segment

LED meter -42, -18, -6, -3,

and 0dBFS.

A monitor output level

control, along with dim

and mute switches, sits next

to two stereo headphone

outputs, each with its socket

and associated level control.

The power switch (power

can come from either the

FireWire bus, or the supplied

power adapter) completes the

front of the Saffire PRO 26.

On the rear, alongside

mic input 1 and 2 XLRs,

there are mic/line XLR/

TRS combination sockets for

channels 3 and 4. Line input

TRS sockets for channels 5

and 6 complete the analogue

input connections for the

Focusrite Saffire PRO 26.

The 10 digital inputs are

supplied via ADAT optical,

and S/PDIF RCA. MIDI

input and output are via the

usual five-pin Din sockets,

and the Saffire PRO 26

outputs complete the line-

up – six balanced line outputs

and two via S/PDIF RCA.

MixControlIt is worth a quick mention

of the MixControl software

supplied with the Focusrite

Saffire PRO 26.

Users of Focusrite

interfaces will be familiar

with this, but in brief this is

the supplied comprehensive

routing system you can

configure and save templates

for a wide variety of scenarios

and applications.

I know that some will not

see the need as the routing

through their chosen DAW

would be all they felt they

required. In live scenarios

or specific recording setup

situations this can save a

great deal of time when you

may want or need to use the

Focusrite Saffire PRO 26 on

another unfamiliar DAW

system, for example.

This software is

straightforward to configure,

and I can see the value

of it.

The TestI have used a number of

Focusrite interfaces in the

past and always found them

simple to use, robust and

solid in look and feel; the

Saffire PRO 26 fits perfectly

into the range.

The mic preamplifiers

are crisp with a touch of

character and with the

ADAT optical input I was

able to expand the input

preamplifier setup for a

session by connecting

through a Focusrite OctoPre

unit with ease, leading to

great sonic results.

Metering is simple but

clear, and combined with

the MixControl software I

was able to quickly generate

multiple independently-

controlled monitor mixes.

Like others in the range,

the Saffire PRO 26 provides

good flexibility, ease of use,

great sound quality, robust

feel, and total dependability.

It is a portable device in my

eyes – there are smaller units

in the range for those who

do not need such an array of

connectivity and functionality,

but given the capabilities of

the Focusrite Saffire PRO

26, it is compact and light

enough for me.

ConclusionThe Saffire PRO 26 is a

welcome addition to an

already excellent range of

FireWire audio interfaces

from Focusrite.

A solid range of great-

sounding and easily accessible

features with excellent

supporting software to use

as your requirements dictate

prove that it is at a very

attractive price point – this

should be on your shortlist of

units to audition.

With the robust and solid feel expected of

Focusrite interfaces, the Saffire PRO 26 FireWire/

Thunderbolt-compatible unit is suitable for both

studio and live use, writes Simon Tillbrook.

The ReviewerSimon Tilbrookis a freelance sound designer/engineer, and training designer working principally with US clients on music, movies, and games.

Feature Set• A total of 18 inputs and eight outputs

• Four XLR/TRS line inputs with 48V phantom power

and two optional front panel Instrument inputs

• Two rear panel TRS line inputs

• Eight channels of ADAT digital input provide

connectivity for external multichannel preamps

• Two channels of digital S/PDIF inputs enable

connections to additional digital-equipped

outboard equipment

• Stereo ‘loopback’ allows two channels of audio to be

routed from software applications directly into

your DAW

• RRP: £279.99

uk.focusrite.com

INFORMATION

Page 41: Audio Media November 2014

The International Audio Guide seriesfrom Audio Media

Each International Audio Guide focuses on an important pro-audio product line, giving independent articles followed

by in depth advertorials, covering the history and current range from the leading manufacturers in their field.

Available now:2014 International Console Guide

2014 International DAW & plugins Guide

2014 Live Sound & Theatre Guide

2014 International Monitors & Headphone Guide

2014 International Microphone Guide

2014 Broadcast Audio Guide

2015 International Console Guide

Contact me today to discuss

your requirements and to make

sure your company is represented.

Darrell CarterTel:+44 (0) 20 7226 7246

e-mail: [email protected]

Page 42: Audio Media November 2014

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

42 November 2014 www.audiomedia.com

John Broomhall talks to Anastasios Brakis, creator of game sound tool Fabric, about the ever-changing

world of audio development for tablet and mobile games.

Game Audio To GoINTERVIEW

The rapid uptake of

smartphone and tablet

technology has led to an

explosion of software development.

The term ‘app’ has slipped effortlessly

into common parlance and it

seems there’s one for everything. A

blossoming indie games sector now

pumps out mind-boggling numbers

of titles, enjoying a heady mixture

of publishing control and artistic

autonomy. Anastasios Brakis supports

multiple developers via Fabric,

his smart audio plug-in for game

middleware, Unity.

How would you describe the audio content of these productions?It’s becoming increasingly

sophisticated thanks to surprisingly

powerful tools, technologies, greater

memory storage, and sheer CPU

grunt. The capability for a game audio

experience on the latest Samsung or

HTC smartphone in your pocket

is described by some as being

comparable with Playstation 3

[Sony’s only recently superceded

previous generation games console].

However, you can’t store huge

amounts of layered interactive music

or 20,000 lines of dialogue like a

big console title. Nor will you be

running much run-time DSP – so

forget multiple instances of filtering,

and consider baking in reverb for the

cavern footsteps.

Designers have to think smart with

a game audio mindset, reminiscent of

former days of console development

– for instance you’ll want to construct

complex sounds from smaller

elements, which can be repurposed

and recomposed on the fly to create

other FX. And intelligent assessment

of priorities means asking what

does the player really need to hear?

What won’t be heard much? Where

can you cheat and scrimp without

compromising the overall wow factor

while conserving your precious CPU

processing power, RAM and voice-

count for the really important audio

elements that will give maximum

bang for your buck.

To be clear – are you saying that the quality of an audio experience on a games machine which sat under the HD television in my living room fewer than two years ago can now be approximated on a tablet or mobile phone in my hand on the Tube? Basically, yes – dozens of high-fidelity

sound FX and speech clips, plus

fantastic-sounding music played back

via a virtual digital mixer.

But there is more to it than that.

For starters, huge technical strides

come with each device iteration – a

Samsung S2 may appear very much

the poor audio relation compared

to the new S5. And that’s a real

challenge for developers when

deciding which hardware they’ll

support and what size memory real-

estate footprint is acceptable for an

installed game. Again, generational

jumps (eg, from 16GB to 32GB)

move the goalposts substantially.

What strategies are there for dealing with the wide range of speakers and ear buds people are listening on?Because of the massive differences

between, say, iPad and iPhone

speakers, if you want to hear

impactful audio, you’ve got to use

headphones. As to mixing strategies –

well, for example, Monument Valley’s

audio creator Stafford Bawler says he

deploys an EQ cut on his playback

system and for MV, assumed the

general rule ‘nothing under 600Hz

or over 12kHz’. Where he did use

real bass, he ensured there were

higher harmonic elements to provide

player feedback on small speakers. In

general, he flattened dynamic range

and the game also used dynamics/

side-chaining to make, for example,

stings stand out.

What’s the most significant challenge audio designers face in mobile and tablet game development?For many, I think it’s simply

developer commitment. Sound

people don’t like ‘throwing sounds

over the wall’ with no hands-on

integration by them. This often

comes down to audio considerations

being left way too late and

insufficient budget, scheduling

and technical resourcing, which

invariably leads to a sub-standard

aural experience. But I guess fighting

the good fight for the value of audio

is nothing new to game sound

designers and composers – actually,

evangelisation is an important part of

their role.

Presumably today’s powerful sound ‘engines’ and middleware are vital in that fight? For sure. Where audio people are

brought in sooner rather than later

and given access to the right tools,

it’s a different picture because hands-

on control of implementation allows

for more creative experimentation

and optimisation of resources by

the designer. And where this goes

arm-in-arm with artistic freedom

in smaller teams where individual

expression is valued and encouraged,

the results can be very inspiring.

As sound designers set the bar

for mobile and tablet game audio

ever higher, and as games makers see

their titles nominated for BAFTAs as

a consequence, the future looks

rosy. As with PC and console games

before them, it may take time, but an

appreciation of the value of

high-quality sound, music, and

dialogue will eventually become

ubiquitous. And that can only be a

good thing for both gamers and audio

creators alike.

“As sound designers set the bar for mobile and tablet

game audio ever higher, and as games makers see

their titles nominated for BAFTAs as a consequence,

the future looks rosy.”

Anastasios Brakis

Page 43: Audio Media November 2014
Page 44: Audio Media November 2014