April 2012 - PSNEurope

Transcription

PSNEUROPE
APRIL 2012
www.prosoundnewseurope.com
THE BUSINESS OF PROFESSIONAL AUDIO
Wisseloord
it’s a
Proper studio
p23
Get the Full-HD
On location
with the
smartphone
p40
Boom
NAB preview
PL+S review
Box!
Twin
turbo
Nexo hits back
with the STM p15
Flaming hot!
Rodrigo y Gabriela on tour
The standards stay,
but innovation never ends.
CONNECT WITH EXPERIENCE
| YAMAHACOMMERCIALAUDIO.COM
CONNECT
WITH EXPERIENCE | YAMAHACOMMERCIALAUDIO.COM
p49
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April 2012 l 03
welcome
Photo: Jake Young
EDITOR’S COMMENT
“It was Yamaha that
stole the show: I
don’t think I’ve seen
that many people at a
Frankfurt press
conference before”
I WONDER HOW many people, like me, find
themselves once a year standing on the travelators of
the Messe, thinking to themselves, “Here we are
again. Frankfurt. How many times is that? 1994, 1998,
1999... 2011, 2012. Wow, am I that old already?”
I don’t relish the annual schlep to Germany, and it’s
not just because it reminds me of my own mortality.
There are easier events to navigate – and you can
interpret that as you will.
However, this year was a genuine surprise and a real
thrill. Of course, we had our new-look publication to
wave around, and I would like to thank everyone who
has sent me words of congratulations and other
practical observations on the look and feel of
PSNEurope. We’re taking it all on-board.
It was Yamaha that stole the show: I don’t think I’ve
seen that many people at a Frankfurt press conference
before. The CL range (p5) will certainly have rival
compact desk manufacturers looking at their price
points. And well done to DiGiCo for a suitably
irreverent press call immediately after!
Another headliner was Nexo with the STM launch
(p15) plus the raft of MLA sales announced by Martin
Audio (p4). More subtly, Audinate announced an
unprecedented number of products adopting Dante...
while we await news of Ravenna at NAB this month
(p42) and AVB at InfoComm in June (p50).
What you won’t find in this issue is an AES preview,
I’m afraid. Three weeks to go before Budapest, and I
have nothing but a calendar of events to show for it.
And I thought they were going to fix things in Europe.
Dave Robinson
Twitter: @psneurope
IN THIS ISSUE...
NEWS
Martin Audio, Yamaha at PL+S
Industry appointments
Key pro-audio events and expos
4-5
6
8
TECHNOLOGY
10 Product review: SoundField ST450
12 New products
Prolight + Sound review
Highlights from another busy show
p15
STUDIO
COVER: Wisseloord official opening
Yoad Nevo moves to online mastering
dizplay: Riding the economic downturn in Lisbon
Feature: Classic outboard and modern versions
23
27
28
31
BROADCAST
4G bandwidth auction delayed until Q4
Commentary: Analogue and digital together
COVER: Live reporting embraces HD Voice
NAB 2012: Show preview
35
39
40
42
LIVE
JBL’s VTX flying high across Europe
Audio Alliance celebrates 10 years
Saturday Night Fever kicks off with L-Acoustics
COVER: iLive on tour with Rodrigo y Gabriela
44
45
47
49
INSTALL
Audio-Video Bridging back on the radar
London office for Incus AV
Fountain installation for World Water Day
Feature: Hotels
50
54
56
60
BACK PAGES
Hither & Dither
Interview: Burkhard Elsner, Mega Audio
65
66
04 l April 2012
For the latest news
news
EUROPE
Compact launch, big
sales for Martin Audio
DM Audio, RG Jones and VME among those signing up for MLA platform at PL+S
By Dave Robinson
THE SALES STORY of
Prolight + Sound seems to
belong to Martin Audio, as the
High Wycombe-based company
revealed a triumvirate of
European customers for its
MLA multi-cellular loudspeaker
array technology, as well as
its first MLA sale to the
Philippines. Total orders taken
during the show are reported to
top £1.9 million (€2.3 million).
MLA Compact made its
debut in February in London,
and in Frankfurt Martin Audio
was able to confirm the first
system sale worldwide to DM
Audio of Stockholm. The rental
house, part of the EM Nordic
Group, has invested in a System
36 (24 MLA Compact cabinets
and 12 DSX subs).
DM Audio’s Lars Wern was at
the London launch. “I think we
were all very impressed,” he
states. “The system is very
powerful for its size and sounds
great. However the predictability
and controllability is totally
outstanding and puts it in a
class of its own.
“I believe we will be able to
use it in scenarios where it will
help keep down the SPL for
neighbours while maintaining a
good punch for the spectators.”
The package has already been
delivered and used in anger:
after shipping from the UK, it
was sub-hired to Norwegian
rental company Rubicon for use
as an outfill system on a
(L-R): Ben Hyman (VME sales manager), Anthony Taylor (Martin Audio MD),
Andre and Dion Davie (VME directors), Simon Bull (Martin Audio, director of sales)
comedy show in the 9,700capacity Oslo Spektrum.
Martin Audio – part of the
Loud Technologies group –
followed this up with news of
orders of total MLA systems
worth in excess of £1.9 million.
RG Jones became the first
UK company to invest in a
System 36 (24 x MLA top boxes
and 12 MLX subs) following
successful trials at both the
Royal Albert Hall and on Jeff
Wayne’s Musical Version of The
War of the Worlds.
The company placed the order
on the opening day of Frankfurt
and joint MD Andrew
Williamson said: “We needed a
large-format system and this will
be our first self-powered rig. It
provides an excellent truck-pack
solution because you don’t need
to deploy a lot of amp racks,
and the degree of control it
offers is a major plus point.”
Manchester-based events
production outfit VME Ltd
wasn’t far behind. The company,
which offers a wide range of
equipment and services to the
entertainment, touring, corporate
and broadcast industries,
confirmed the purchase of a
System 30 on day two of PL+S.
DM Audio’s Lars Wern, the first
customer for the MLA Compact
In committing the company to
the large-format rig, VME
directors, Dion and Andre Davie,
declared their intent to add largescale concert touring to a busy
work roster. The MLA purchase,
consisting of 18 MLA full-range
elements, two MLD downfills
and 10 MLX subs, will debut on
“high-profile shows which are
still under wraps but which will
put us on the map”, promises
Dion Davie. “MLA is the
direction we shall be taking as it
represents the future of audio.”
VME has recently acquired a
26,000sqft facility – “twice the
size of our existing property” – in
a prime location next to six acres
of woodland in the south of
Manchester; one of its first
commitments is to host three
days of MLA induction training,
provided by Martin Audio, in the
new dedicated training room.
Finally, Philippines-based JB
Music & Sports finalised an
order during the show,
confirming the purchase of the
country’s first MLA system,
consisting of a System 36 MLA
and System 24 of the newlylaunched MLA Compact.
After the show, Martin Audio
director of sales Simon Bull told
PSNEurope: “Prolight + Sound
2012 was by far and away the
most successful in the company’s
history. Martin Audio doesn’t
pursue orders at exhibitions [but]
the continued excitement over
MLA has translated into an
amazing reception for MLA
Compact and this is reflected in
the take-up of both systems.”
www.martin-audio.com
April 2012 l 05
Yamaha CL3 compact
live digital console
news
EUROPE
Yamaha CL-ebrates 25 years of digital
Trio of compact live consoles launched at
Prolight + Sound, writes Erica Basnicki
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS ago,
Yamaha stepped into the world
of digital mixing with the
launch of the DMP7 console. At
Prolight + Sound 2012, Yamaha
celebrated its silver anniversary
by launching the new CL series
of consoles.
At a packed press conference
announcing the launch,
Yamaha Commercial Audio’s
European marketing director
Nick Cook stated that the CL
series was Yamaha’s reaction to
the current economic
circumstances. Many observers
were anticipating a higher
specified, large-format mixing
we have looked long and hard
at what type of products we
should bring to market at this
time,” explained Cook.
He continued: “Yamaha has
always strived to look at what
the market needs at any time
and deliver the audio solution
that not only fits the
application requirements,
but does so at an affordable –
and in some cases game
changing – price.”
The line-up comprises three
consoles, the CL1, CL3 and CL5,
founded on the Centralogic user
interface first introduced in the
M7CL. The series is scalable,
“The recession has lasted
longer and is hitting harder
than was foreseeable in
all spheres of business.
The pro-audio sector is
not immune ”
Nick Cook, Yamaha Commercial Audio
system from the Japanese
innovator, rather than a
compact range.
“The recession has lasted
longer and is hitting harder
than was foreseeable in all
spheres of business. The proaudio sector is not immune, so
4 Series
ranging from 48 to 72 mono and
eight stereo inputs. Up to eight of
the two new rack-mountable I/O
units, the Rio3224-D and
Rio1608-D, can be used in a
variety of configurations,
communicating via a scalable
Audinate Dante digital audio
network. Multiple CL series
consoles can share control of the
same I/O rack unit. Reportedly,
the CL consoles are the first
to feature built-in Dante
networking as a standard feature.
Every CL console customer
will also receive a copy of
Steinberg’s Nuendo Live, a new
multitrack live sound recording
software based on the Nuendo
audio workstation.
It features 32-bit floatingpoint resolution, up to 192kHz
recording sample rates, a
single-window user interface, a
60-second pre-record buffer, an
unlimited number of recording
channels, multitrack output
option for virtual soundchecks,
and auto-save. Additionally,
tracks are created on startup and
armed simultaneously while easy
marker track management helps
to create markers on the fly.
As PSNEurope April went to
press, Yamaha revealed that preorders of the series had
“massively surpassed”
expectations. “Pre-orders for the
CL5 had outstripped projections
by two to one on the first day
of the show alone,” revealed
Karl Christmas, Yamaha senior
manager, Commercial Audio
(UK). Over 50 high-profile sales
and rental companies have made
an early investment in the series,
including Orbital in the UK and
Neumann & Muller in Germany.
www.steinberg.net
www.yamahacommercialaudio.com
Interest was high during the launch of
the CL series in Frankfurt
DP448 Audio Management System
Loudspeakers, meet the Management.
Designed to meet the needs of the largest and most complex sound systems, the DP448 provides a no-compromise solution to
audio management, with multiple I/O (inc. digital), 24-bit/96kHz converters and masses of DSP power for complete flexibility.
Ready to show your system who’s boss? Visit www.xta.co.uk to find out more.
www.xta.co.uk
06 l April 2012
industrymovers
Fred Taieb
Technicolor
Riedel adds to team
New UK sales manager joins the team at the
communications solutions provider
FOLLOWING THE growing
demands in the UK, Riedel
Communications has
announced that Nick Williams
has joined the Riedel UK
office as UK sales manager. In
his new position, Williams will
spearhead the UK sales efforts
in the live and install markets
for the entire Riedel range,
including intercom, fibre,
audio and rental solutions.
“I’m looking forward to
developing new markets and
business opportunities for
Riedel here in the UK. Riedel
is one of the most forwardthinking manufacturers in the
broadcast and event
production market. I’m excited
to be on-board”, says Williams.
Williams has 28 years sales
experience in the pro-audio
industry. He owned his own
pro-audio dealership and has
spent the past 11 years as
international sales director at
Tascam, Harman Pro and
more recently at Aviom.
www.riedel.net
Andy Davies
Martin Audio
Technicolor has
announced the
appointment of Fred Taieb as
director of its new audio
dubbing studio in Saint-Cloud,
near Paris. His responsibilities
include development of the
company’s audio dubbing
business in France as well as
artistic direction of all client
productions. Taieb created
Dubbing Brothers in 1988,
where he first served as director
of production for France, Italy,
Germany and Spain before
becoming director of creation
and technique for the company’s
US subsidiary, based in
Hollywood.
www.technicolor.com
Andy Davies has joined
Martin Audio’s support
team to boost awareness of
the MLA family. He joins
from rental company Concert
Sound Clair, taking up the new
role of application support
(touring). The appointment
mirrors a similar move in
the US, where touring and
rental company veteran Jim
Jorgensen recently took up a
position to support
the growing network across
the Atlantic.
Jotham Jackson
LMC Audio
David Conway
BBC
Paul Watson
Line 6
Jotham Jackson has
joined the Birmingham,
UK sales team of LMC Audio.
He joins from a sales position at
HSBC. In his spare time,
Jackson engineers for a number
of bands in his local area, and
plays the bass and electric guitar.
www.lmcaudio.co.uk
digital media services to the
media industry. He will be
responsible for managing
business support functions,
including finance, HR, business
systems and procurement and
report into the CEO.
www.bbcstudiosandpostproduction
.com
Matrix Group has
appointed Kenneth
Bremer to the position of CEO.
He joins from RCF where he has
worked in the Reggio Emilia
office since 2009. “The close cooperation Kenneth and I had in
the ’90s and some years into the
new millennium still stands as
something very special for me. It
was a fantastic and dynamic time.
So, with the possibility to get
‘Mr Red Shoes Are Faster’ in as
captain on the brige at Matrix
Group, we can now take a second
stint together in close co-operation,
and I am very happy for that,”
said Claus Reher-Langberg,
Matrix Group chairman.
www.matrixgroup.dk
Regular PSNEurope and
PSNEurope-Live
newsletter writer Paul Watson
has joined Line 6 as European
PR specialist. Watson, a former
touring musician and vocalist,
joins the music technology and
pro-audio innovator as the
company enters a period of
realignment in the UK.
www.line6.com
David Conway has been
named chief operating
officer for BBC Studios and Post
Production, a commercial
subsidiary of the BBC, providing
studios, postproduction and
Ken Bremer, Matrix Group
Kenton’s
90s Hair
08 l April 2012
For more events news visit
www.prosoundnewseurope.com/events
expos&events
SPOTLIGHT
Ted Cockle (left) and Darcus
Beese, co-presidents of Island,
with the 2011 International
Achievement award
MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2012
26 April
The Brewery, London, UK
www.musicweekawards.com
MAY
Germany focus
How’s the marketplace in the
European powerhouse?
More than 300 industry luminaries are set
to descend on the Brewery in central
London for the 35th annual Music Week
Awards ceremony.
Organised by PSNEurope sister title Music
Week, categories include Live Music Venue,
Publisher of the Year, Record Company of the
Year and the prestigious Strat Award, given
to an industry exec whose career has reshaped
the music business.
For more information contact Darrell
Carter on [email protected].
Field recording/ENG
Capturing audio for news and
documentaries has never been
so important
NAB review
All the news from Las Vegas
AES review
A look back at the 132nd AES
Convention, held in Budapest
EVENTS Your complete events calendar for the months ahead
NAB
14-19 April
Las Vegas, US
www.nabshow.com
High End
3-6 May
Munich, Germany
www.highendsociety.de
Screenmedia Expo
16-17 May
London, UK
www.screenevents.co.uk
Light & Building
15-20 April
Frankfurt, Germany
www.light-building.messefrankfurt.com
ShowWay Bergamo
5-7 May
Bergamo, Italy
www.showway.com
Eurovision Song Contest
22-26 May
Baku, Azerbaijan
www.eurovision.tv
PLASA Focus
17-18 April
Leeds, UK
www.plasafocus.com/leeds
The Great Escape
10-12 May
Brighton, UK
www.escapegreat.com
Pinkpop, Landgraaf,
26-28 May
Netherlands
www.pinkpop.nl
Music Week Awards
26 April
London
www.musicweekawards.com
IFSEC
14-17 May
Birmingham, UK
www.ifsec.co.uk
Rock im Park,
1-3 June
Nürnberg, Germany
www.rock-im-park.com
Streaming Media East 2012
15-16 May
New York, US
www.streamingmedia.com
Download Festival
8-10 June
Donington Park, UK
www.downloadfestival.co.uk
132nd AES Convention
26-29 April
Budapest, Hungary
www.aes.org
EDITORIAL
PLANNER
PALME Middle East
1-3 May
Dubai, UAE
www.palme-middleeast.com
Submission deadline: 20 April
Distribution: 9 May
JUNE
Line arrays
2012 is an important year for
next-generation PA systems
Nordic focus
From Iceland to Denmark: the
brands and the business
ABTT preview
Ahead of its move to London’s Old
Truman Brewery, we look at what the
show will offer in its 34th year
InfoComm preview
Focusing on the largest pro-AV
communications show in the world
Deadline: 18 May
Distribution: 1 June
THE BESTT SEA
AT IN THE HOUSE
...EVERYWHERE
Photograph courtesy of Raymond Gubbay Ltd
Classical Spectacular at the Royal Albert Hall, London
With the engineer’s balance set at the mix position, achieving exactly this sound at every
seat is practically impossible using conventional array technology.
To solve this, our award-winning MLA Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array adopts a radical
new approach. With independent control of up to 144 cells in a 24-box array, MLA combines
breakthrough cellular array design with fast, automated, intelligent optimisation software
to make every seat a VIP seat. Walking the room is a revelation, with both SPL and frequency
response held within a very tight window - from the front rows to the rear balconies.
Acclaimed on tours in Europe and the US, MLA delivers unprecedented precision,
consistency and repeatability – gig after gig, night after night.
MLA: The Cellular Revolution
For more information on the revolutionary MLA, visit www
.martin-audio.com
®
All information is Copyright © 2012 Martin Audio Ltd. Martin Audio is a registered trademark of Martin Audio Limited in the UK, US and other countries.
10 l April 2012
technologyreview
SoundField ST450 portable mic system
SoundField updates its popular portable mic system
with a redesign of the control box. Russ HepworthSawyer went on location with the ST450
SOUNDFIELD has built a
reputation for being a leader in
surround sound capture. The
ST450 is the company’s portable
solution for location sound
specialists, weighing in at 290g for
the microphone and 580g for the
control box. These values are
extremely respectable given what
is on offer. It should be noted
that battery kit is an additional
extra and adds more weight.
Despite its portability, the
ST450 microphone is still very
much a SoundField product. The
microphone itself is physically
large but well built and sports the
usual four capsules arranged in a
tetrahedral fashion to deliver the
B-Format output. The ST450
comes with SoundField’s own
suspension mount that employs
four clamps to secure the mic.
With this you can be sure of a
very solid connection, but I
wonder whether these could be
tightened a little too far?
SoundField says the control
box has been redesigned taking
into account component advances
since the release of the ST350
resulting in lower noise. This
rugged small unit provides lugs,
presumably for a shoulder strap,
and arranges the controls on the
front face. The side face, neatly at
90º, contains the breakout sockets
and DC power in (PSU supplied).
The control laden front face
hosts an input gain control and
an eight-LED input meter
ranging from -30dB to +12dB.
Typical SoundField controls
can be found here too such as
‘End Fire’, should you wish
to angle the microphone more
like a dynamic vocal mic
rather than its traditional
upright position.
A high pass filter set at 100Hz
is included which works across
both stereo and B-Format
outputs. The ‘stereo’ section
includes ‘Pattern’ and ‘Width’.
‘Pattern’ permits sweepable
polar pattern responses from
omnidirectional to cardioid to
figure-of-eight. Meanwhile
‘Width’ flexibly permits
adjustment from literally mono
to wide stereo. Below this is the
‘M/S’ switch altering the stereo
output of the ST450 to change
to Mid-Side for later balancing
in the studio. Finally the
‘Monitor’ section provides a
headphone level and socket. The
ST450 certainly packs more
controls into its small frame
than its predecessor.
The side face houses the 12-pin
Lemo connector for the ST450’s
supplied 5m cable, and three
five-pin XLR-style breakout
connections for Stereo and
SoundField’s B-Format W, X
and Y, Z outputs. Short cables
are provided to split each five-pin
XLRs to two female standard
XLR sockets. Having all this
hanging off the unit might not be
to everyone’s taste, but it is a neat
solution given the portability.
The SoundField mic arrived
as I had a number of live
performances to
record. Carting the
mic system around
with me was easy
as the company
provides a rugged
case made by Peli
which snugly
protects the mic,
control box and
output live, there and then for
those who may need it.
Decoding the B-Format
output can be done using
SoundField’s bundled software
plug-in ‘Surround Zone’. Using
Surround Zone I was able to
fully decode the B-Format signal
recorded at the concerts and
make excellent 5.1 and stereo
mixes for clients from within
Logic Pro. Surround Zone also
works with most DAWs
including Pro Tools, Sadie,
Audio Unit and VST.
SoundField mics have always
been high quality, and the ST450
is no different. Its capture is
clean, yet not clinical, with a
natural degree of
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
The ST450 comes in three
kit varieties:
f Kit 1 (tested here)
£3,750/€4,500 (ex VAT), inc
ST450 mic, control unit,
shockmount, cables, case
f Kit 2 £4,300 (ex VAT) - Kit 1
plus Compact Rycote kit
f Kit 3 £4,560 (ex VAT) - Kit 2
plus rechargeable battery kit
f Available from SoundField
www.soundfield.com
TECH SPECS
f Frequency range 20Hz-20kHz
f Equivalent self noise, IEC 179
(cardioid): 13dBA SPL
f Maximum output levels: 22dBu
f Powering DC 9/18V
PROS
f Lightweight B-Format mic
capture wherever you need it
f Feature-laden small control unit
SoundField’s portable solution for location sound specialists
associated cabling. Setting up the
mic too was very simple.
What I’ve always loved about
the traditional Mid-Side
technique, and here,
SoundField’s B-Format, is the
ability to make alterations to the
field of the recording (stereo or
surround) once you’re back in
the studio and all in phase
alignment too. The ST450 is
brilliant at this, permitting you
the opportunity to track a stereo
warmth that is not hyped – if you
like, ‘what you hear is what you
get’, but then again with all those
to manipulate the output from
near mono, stereo, Mid Side
through to 5.1, you can present
your recordings in any output
format you choose! There is no
denying that if you’re recording
surround sound, then you need a
SoundField and if portability is a
criteria, you have no choice but
to invest in an ST450. I would.
f Impressive and natural sound
f Bundled Surround Zone
decoding software for your DAW
f Excellent carry case
CONS
f Battery kit is not standard
f 5m Lemo cable might be too
short for some
f Twist grips for securing mic
in shockmount
f The necessary breakout cables
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© 2011 QSC Audio Products, LLC. All rights reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered trademarks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries.
Q-Sys is a trademark of QSC Audio Products, LLC.
12 l April 2012
technologynew products
PSNEurope compiles this month’s list of hot new products
L-ACOUSTICS
ARCS WIDE, ARCS FOCUS
What is it: A pair of line source enclosures
intended for medium-throw applications in
rental productions and fixed install.
Details: ARCS WIDE and ARCS FOCUS
systems are based on two constant
curvature enclosures holding distinct
directivity pattern and SPL capabilities. The
pair are suited to a range of applications,
including FOH L/R systems, central
clusters, side-fill monitors, distributed
systems and complementary fills.
ARCS WIDE (H x V: 30º x 90º) is said
to achieve extensive coverage with few
elements thus preserving sightlines. The
total coverage angle of an ARCS WIDE line
source is proportional to the number (N)
of enclosures in the array, i.e. N x 30°.
ARCS Focus (H x V: 15º x 90º) focuses the
same acoustic energy within half of the
coverage angle; it is therefore suited to
achieving a narrower coverage, offering a
higher SPL with a more extended throw
than its sibling.
For installations, the systems’ coverage
can be tailored to fit installation budgets,
and the dual directivity pattern can provide
effective solutions for challenging room
acoustics. The units also meet the IP45
enclosure rating making them viable for
outdoor installations.
And another thing: Both systems can
be deployed as either a horizontal or
vertical array.
www.l-acoustics.com
PEAVEY
DAVE HILL DESIGNS
IMPULSE
261
What is it? A wide-range highoutput permanent install two-way
loudspeaker system designed for
bars and restaurants where music
clarity and aesthetics are crucial.
Details: With two 6.5” woofers and
1” titanium dome tweeter mounted
on a waveguide, the system is
capable of controlled coverage, with a
hifi sound character. It is protected
from overload by independent
overload protection for the woofer
and the tweeter. This, coupled with
an advanced design crossover
network, is said to provide smooth,
yet clear sound with low distortion
and excellent reliability. Connection is
TITAN
via a
locking
Euro (Phoenix
type) connector with screw terminals.
Other features include a weatherresistant design; vented cabinet; a
black injection-molded plastic
enclosure; and a perforated powdercoated metal grille. A wide aiming
mounting bracket is included, and the
transformer is equipped with 70.7V
and 100V taps and an 8-ohm ‘thru’.
What is it? An analogue compressorlimiter with a large range of colour and
control choices along with recall.
Details: The Titan’s main audio path
is a discrete Class A design. Resetability is attained by using stepped
controls and encoders that have their
values displayed on the device’s
colour LCD display. It is digitally
controlled analogue with a high-speed
What is it? A new range of highpower subwoofers starting with the
21PW1400Fe and 18PW1400Fe.
DVM120 and 194 Series
Details: The DVM120 Series consists
of seven problem fixers and audio
tools for professional live and studio
applications. It consists of the
DVM-120-TDI tube direct box;
HZDI high-impedance dual direct box;
DDI dual direct box; DLI dual line
box; HPA variable phones amp;
SPS remote controlled speaker
And another thing… Titan is 100V to
240V (50-60Hz) switchable.
www.kmraudio.com
PW FAMILY
And another thing: The smooth,
rounded design and choice of black or
white cabinet ensures the system
blends into a variety of environments.
www.peavey-eu.com
selector; and DVM-120-SPR remote
monitor controller.
All devices feature a housing
design made of a solid 3mm
extruded profile. Due to the front
and connection plates being
recessed by 18mm all controls and
connectors – including the active
components – are protected. All
active devices are equipped with an
internal power supply, suitable for
operating voltages between 90 and
240V (50/60Hz).
the LCD to allow the user to see the
knee’s shape. The graphical display
updates with the changing of the
Threshold and Shape controls. When
stereo linked, the unit selected as
control master will control all
functions on the second channel.
BEYMA
SOMMER CABLE
What is it? Two new ‘accessory’
ranges released under the Cardinal
DVM brand.
DSP side chain allowing it to enhance
what is normally possible with an
analogue side chain.
The compressor-limiter controls
are as normal – Threshold, Attack,
Release, Shape, Bypass-In-Link,
Meter Select, and make up Gain;
settings are displayed on a colour LCD
display. The Shape control shows the
knee of the compressor with its
characteristic graphically drawn on
The DVM194 Series comprises
components for installation, live and
studio. It is made up of the DVM-19/4MIX, the DVM-19/4-HPA phones amp
and the DVM-19/4-AMP power amp.
And another thing… Further additions
are planned to the DVM194 Series,
including a keyboard submixer (with
volume pedal connection), a 100V
transformer unit for ELA technology
and an iPod interface.
www.sommercable.com
Details: Launched at Prolight +
Sound, the 21PW1400Fe and
18PW1400Fe are extended
low-frequency transducers
designed for vented
configurations. Both units feature
Beyma’s Malt Cross advanced
cooling system, which allows the
speakers to handle up to 2800
program power; losses due to power
compression are reduced using a 4”
double layer inner/outer voice coil.
A high, accurate and stable SPL is
said to have been achieved thanks
to a carefully designed motor and
suspension system featuring
Beyma’s MMSS (mechanical mirror
suspension system) technology.
The result is extremely controlled
transient response and low distortion.
And another thing: Other features
include high thermal and mechanical
stability, high durability and a
consistent performance throughout
the working period of these
subwoofer loudspeakers.
www.beyma.com
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33 - 35, ESC. A 1º, 08005 BARCELONA, SPAIN
T: + 34 93 493-9117 / WWW.RSGEMEA .COM
© 2012 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid, the Avid logo, and
Pro Tools are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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April 2012 l 15
120
Countries represented at
Prolight + Sound 2012
showreview
Celebrating 10 years of DiGiCo (L-R) are Michael Biwer
(director, Prolight + Sound), James Gordon (MD DiGiCo),
Cordelia von Gymnich (vice president, Messe Frankfurt)
and David Webster (marketing director at DiGiCo)
Prolight + Sound
celebrates
GERMANY
Frankfurt served up a feast of pro-audio solutions and celebrations
this year, say Dave Robinson and Erica Basnicki
“We’ve evolved a lot over the
past decade, both in terms of the
way we use the available
technology and our understanding
of what our customers really want
and need,” said Gordon. “SD5 is
the culmination of that combined
knowledge, so we want to make it
the next generation D5 Live.”
DiGiCo also announced it will
“supercharge” all SD consoles
free of charge (for a limited time)
for existing customers. A new
software suite will be available,
which will not only provide
expanded channel counts and new
effects but gives SD consoles
super-charged new names: SD11i
(for injection), SD9 Supercharged,
SD8 OverDrive2, SD10 Nitrous,
and the SD7 Mach 3. EM Acoustics also celebrates
10 years of business this year. The
company introduced its first selfpowered products (MSE-159SP
medium-Q full range speaker and
MSE-218SP self-powered
subwoofer), as well as the AD and
AQ Series amps, designed and
manufactured by MC2 in the UK.
t
AROUND
110,000 VISITORS
from 120 countries
descended on Messe Frankfurt
for the 2012 edition of Prolight
+ Sound and Musikmesse. There
was much to see in what may
turn out to be a vintage year for
the event, with compact console
technology, large-format PA and
networking technology very
much in the frame.
The show hosted celebrations
for several pro-audio names.
DiGiCo kicked things off with a
10th anniversary (and 40 years
since the original DiGiCo
incarnation of Soundtracs) – plus
a cake from Messe to boot!
With the words “We’re
reclaiming the number five!” MD
James Gordon launched the SD5,
a reworking of the DiGiCo D5
Live product based around
Stealth Digital Processing. The
SD5 sits between the flagship SD7
and last year’s SD10 consoles and
although it effectively replaces the
D5, outstanding orders for that
model will be fulfilled.
SCALING UP: NEXO REVEALS THE LARGER-FORMAT STM
Frankfurt gave the pro-audio audience
the first sighting of Nexo’s new
large-format PA proposition, the
STM Series (as revealed first in
PSNEurope February 2012).
STM (Scale Through Modularity)
Series claims to be the “first scalable
modular line array on the market” and
combines the Nexo Alpha functionality
with the technical innovation of Nexo
GEO waveguide designs to deliver a
system that is both “super-powerful,
super-flexible and easy to use”.
Speaking after the show, Nexo’s
concert sound specialist Stuart
Kerrison told PSNEurope: “This was
one of the best shows any of the Nexo
team can remember! We weren’t
technically launching a product, but
sharing the new STM Scale Through
Modularity concept. We had heavy
traffic for all three trade days, and
were pleased to see many top-flight
hire companies not just from Europe
but all over the world. We found that
there was a real appetite not just for
our technology but for our ideas on
how to make largeformat PA systems
pay their way in the
rental business. In fact, Nexo’s
experience in
Frankfurt proved that,
although everyone is being careful
with their money, they are still
willing to spend it when there is a
value offer.”
www.nexo-sa.com
Above top: Nexo’s Stuart Kerrison
introduces the STM Series
Above bottom: The new
large-format PA system
16 l April 2012
Prolight +
Sound 2012
showreview
AT A GLANCE
ADAMSON: PROJECT ENERGIA BETA II
t
power. Patented Lab.gruppen
technology provides the
efficiency of Class D
amplification with the sonic
qualities of Class B designs.
Slightly longer in the tooth,
(25 years in business this year),
Link announced an expanded
range of DGLink Media
Connectivity Products in
Frankfurt. New components
include: DGLink Protocol
Convertor (MADI,
The Midas XL48 traces
its heritage to the
classic Midas XL42
EtherSound, Dante);
DGLink Redundant
Gigabit Media Switch for
Touring; DGLink CWDM
Optical Interface System, which
is can transport up to 18 distinct
networks via one redundant fibre
backbone; and the DGLink
AES-EBU Drive Module.
Audinate had a celebration of
a different kind at the show. The
networking technology developer
reports that no fewer than eight
t
t
t
Mark Parkhouse, now running FBT’s
UK office, with export co-ordinator
Sara Montironi and the Archon range
Doubling that with a 20th
anniversary, Dynaudio Professional
(the upgraded name for the
Dynaudio brand) announced the
M3XE, a “significant upgrade
from its predecessor”, the M3A
three-way monitor.
The M3XE speakers are
powered by two Lab.gruppen
PLM10000Q amplifiers –
based on technology from
Lab.gruppen’s FP+ series, and
delivers 4 x 2,300W of output
New MD Dave Froker (left) joins
Focusrite’s Phil Dudderidge to launch
the ISA Two
Adamson previewed the next
phase of the company’s Project
Energia at Prolight + Sound this
year. The company is in the
early stages of Beta II, which
will see a Class D amplifier
module shock-mounted to
the inside of the hub of the
e-Capsule – the centre of the
E15 line source system launched
in July 2011.
Brock Adamson told PSNEurope:
“The scope of Energia is far greater
than just the E15 system. Energia is
the future of our technology at
Adamson, and it will be scaled into
our products throughout the range.”
On display at Frankfurt was
Adamson’s red-hot master Ground
Control system. The unit features a
built in UPS – which will slave
multiple distribution panels – and
will provide advanced diagnostics on
angular data of every enclosure,
voltage and current monitoring,
voice coil temperature, amp
temperature, and individual band
control in every cabinet.
Phase Two roll-out of Project
Energia: the amp rack
A new subwoofer – the T18 – is also
part of the Beta II roll-out – a prototype
of which was on display, and Adamson
is promising more products to come:
“We are scheduled to release two
additional loudspeakers in Beta II with
power, ground control and distribution
over the next six months,” said
Adamson. “The response to our sneak
peak of this technology at Frankfurt was
received with incredible enthusiasm.”
Beta II field-testing with clients will
begin in May.
www.adamsonsystems.com
size + sound = ESM26
tiny size big sound exceptional quality
Compact in size, the ESM26 Stage Monitor
delivers incredible clarity and high output that
defies its small dimensions. Quite simply, the twin
six-and-horn configuration of the ESM26 provides
superb vocal reproduction.
The ESM26 incorporates KV2’s unique analog
delay line technology, incorporated into the
speaker’s crossover network.
With perfect time alignment and phase correction
built-in, there is now no need for expensive
external processors and bi-amping - reducing
your amp requirements.
Through innovative engineering with realworld applications in mind, KV2 has produced a
world-class stage monitor at an affordable and
accessible price.
for more information or to find your nearest
kv2 dealer visit www.kv2audio.com
Frequency
Response: 70Hz to 16kHz -3dB
_____________________
Maximum
SPL: 126dB
_____________________
Dimensions:
H340mm x W374mm x D455mm
_____________________
Weight: 15Kgs
DPA takes center stage
Building on the legendary DPA 4011, DPA brings studio sound to
the live stage.
With the new supercardioid d:facto™ vocal mic, DPA has raised the
bar for vocal mics. Expect the unexpected.
Key features
&%$#"! %% %%%
&%" %!" "%!
&%
! %%%
&% %!%! %
&%! % "%!%% !%!"
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The perfect curve
The most linear sound to reach the highest level before feedback without equalizing.
w w w. d p a m i c r o p h o n e s . c o m / d f a c t o
18 l April 2012
showreview
The single malt, certainly a precision component! Toasting TC
(L-R): Andrzej Sosna (MD, Tannoy); Michael Munch (VP, product developments, all
brands); Jon Alkkagen (MD, Lab.gruppen); and Anders Fauerskov (CEO, TC Group)
Audinate OEM partners
announced a total of 13 Danteenabled products at this year’s
Prolight + Sound. Yamaha,
TEQSAS, Symetrix, Nexo,
JoeCo, Harman, Four Audio
and Auvitran all announced
Dante-compatible kit.
“What is truly amazing is the
wide range of Dante products that
were launched at the show,” said
Lee Ellison, Audinate CEO. “It
seems that no matter what you are
looking for, there is now a Danteenabled product on the market.”
The BBR64-Dante is the result
of JoeCo’s collaboration with
Audinate. The original BBR-Dante
system was able to record up to
32 channels of audio from a Dante
network. The BBR64-Dante
doubles that track count to 64,
while still occupying just one rack
unit of space.
Nearly 20 years after its initial
launch in 1993, AKG’s workhorse
microphone the C3000 is back,
along with the rest of AKG’s
Project Studio Line. The line is
focused on the home
recording/project studio market,
but the mics are said to perform
just as well on stage.
The new designs of the C2000,
3000, 4000 and 4500 BC maintain
many of the technical aspects of
10
Years of business
celebrated by DiGiCo and
EM Acoustics
the earlier models, but are now
encased in a more sleek design.
Just seven months after
unveiling its CDC Eight digital
production console at PLASA
2011, Cadac launched a complete
CDC8 series production system at
Prolight + Sound. The series
features the addition of an ultracompact 16-channel variant of
the original 32-fader CDC Eight,
the CDC8-16, with identical
processing, channel count and
I/O capabilities. An Ethernet
connected 16-fader sidecar
expander module – the CDC816S – can expand the control
surfaces of the CDC8 console, or
dedicate I/O channels on the desk
to sub mixing, monitor mixing or
other discrete applications.
Described as the combination
of qualities from the J- and QSeries, the V-Series from d&b
audio is a mid-sized line array
comprising V8 and V12
loudspeakers supported by a
V-subwoofer.
Each of the V8 and V12
speakers are three-way passive
designs housing two 10” LF
drivers, one horn-loaded 8” MF
ADAM CEO
CREATES EVE
Eve Audio is a new monitoring
speaker manufacturer from Berlin,
Germany, founded by Roland Stenz –
CEO at ADAM Audio from its
inception in 1999 till late June 2010.
The company officially launched at
Prolight + Sound 2012.
“We had some good interest
before Musikmesse opened their
doors – but I can clearly say what
happened during these four days
was definitely far beyond all
expectations,” said Eve Audio’s
Kerstin Mischke (who left ADAM
last summer). “The interest in the
products and the company was huge
and we made contact with more than
80 seriously interested distribution
companies from 35 countries
worldwide. Such huge interest in
Roland Stenz launched
his new project
the product line after doing all this
R&D work behind closed doors
for such a long time comes as a
great relief.”
Eve Audio’s initial product line
includes eight different speaker
models – four two-way systems, two
three-way systems and two four-way
systems as well as four subwoofers.
All monitors use proprietary tweeter
technology based on a unique revised
air motion transformer, and feature
glass fibre honeycomb woofers and
PWM amplifiers that are directly
wired to a DSP-based filter section
with no additional converters between
the filters and power amps.
www.eve-audio.com
April 2012 l 19
Prolight +
Sound 2012
APG REACHES
NEW HEIGHTS
As well as launching the DX8 compact
speaker and Uniline-D downfill box (and
then plying press conference attendees with
the trademark fine wines and paté), French
loudspeaker developer APG welcomed
Wayne ‘Heights’ Gittens to Frankfurt.
Heights, a well-known monitor engineer on
the German touring scene (Naidoo, Lena,
Bruno Meier) spoke enthusiastically of the
APG SMX15 monitor, launched in 2010. “A
simple box, it’s punchy, transparent and
extremely light. It’s the best sounding
monitor I’ve heard in 40 years.” Heights is
pictured here with APG’s Xavier Pion (left)
and his wedge of choice.
www.apg.tm.fr
ARCS FOCUS (H x V: 15° x 90°) elements
(see page 12 for more). LA Network
Manager 2 upgrades L-Acoustics’ network
and tuning software package.
Midas launched the XL48 ‘digi-log’ mic
preamp. Recognising the legacy of the
much-vaunted (analogue) XL42 dual
channel strip, the XL48 features eight XL4
mic pres in a 1U box, swept high and low
pass filters, eight Midas XL8 96kHz 24-bit
A-D converters and a low-jitter 1º clock.
In other Midas news, the company
launched Generation-ll software for all
Midas digital consoles, encapsulating the
user feedback Midas has been gathering
for the past five years. The upgrade brings
the advanced navigation features pioneered
on the Midas PRO2, and retrofits this into
the entire range of digital consoles, along
with a clutch of new FX plugs.
PreSonus used this year’s event to
announce updates to the StudioLive range
of digital mixers. New for 2012 is QMix,
which enables up to 10 musicians to
simultaneously control their monitor
mixes using an iPhone or iPod touch and
the free QMix app. According to
PreSonus, QMix is the only solution that
allows multiple users to control their own
aux from separate iDevices.
Sony launched the updated DWX-Series
digital wireless microphone system. To
broaden options available to operators,
Sony has released the DWM-02, CU-C31,
CU-F31, CU-F32 and industry major
third-party microphone capsules. The
t
driver and two 1.4” exit HF compression
drivers, with 2.5” voicecoils mounted to a
dedicated waveshaping device.
Incorporated into the V-SUB is an
actively driven cardioid subwoofer
powered by a single amplifier channel
housing two long excursion neodymium
drivers in an integrated cardioid setup.
Dynacord presented the TS 400, a fullrange vertical array cabinet for mobile
applications and fixed installations.
TS-400 can be used either full-range
or in active two-way systems for
applications requiring subwoofers (also
launched at PL+S), and is designed to
provide even coverage over a very wide
bandwidth by using spaced and filtered
woofers as array elements.
DPA unveiled the d:vote range of
microphones – an upgrade to the 4099
series – and the new d:facto vocal mic.
New VP of sales and marketing,
Susanne Seidel, was also at the show.
Bridging the gap between live
performance and studio recording,
d:facto is said to offer natural sound, high
separation and extreme SPL handling. It is
equally at home in sound reinforcement
and recording applications.
The d:vote range, meanwhile, builds on
the success of the 4099 instrument clip mic
series: d:vote has been enhanced with a
new shockmount to provide better
absorption, and an upgraded cable
available in a heavy duty 2.2mm and a
1.55mm diameter version, which can be
detached from the end of the gooseneck.
FBT revealed the Archon series of
full-range and biamped speaker systems.
The series includes three two-way full
range/biamp models and three two-way
full-range compact models; in addition,
two low-profile subwoofers (2 x 8” and 2 x
15”) increase the low-frequency extension
of the desired systems.
Focusrite Novation introduced the ISA
Two, a dual-mono, transformer-based
microphone preamplifier that features two
of Focusrite’s classic premium ISA-range
mic/line/instrument preamps, each capable
of providing +80dB of clean gain.
Meeting and greeting on the Focusrite
booth was new managing director,
ex-Digidesign mainman Dave Froker. His
appointment will see owner and incumbent
managing director Phil Dudderidge remain
fully engaged with the company as
executive chairman, “focusing on corporate
and business development matters”. Spatial audio expert Iosono released
Anymix – a ‘first of its kind’ up- and
downmix plug-in with integrated panning
capabilities. Anymix not only creates
realistic surround mixes by using the
Iosono upmix engine, but gives the mixing
engineer full control over a multitude of
adjustable parameters such as Ambience,
Stage Width and Dry/Wet signal, enabling
a “peerless natural flair of the surround
mix”, says the German company.
L-Acoustics, meanwhile, launched
additions to its ARCS range: the ARCS
WIDE (H x V: 30° x 90°) element, and the
The limited edition PuigChild compressor brings the incomparable vintage sound of the Fairchild 670 to your live
rig. MaxxBCL delivers the unmatched power & punch of
the renowned Renaissance Compressor and legendary
L2 Ultramaximizer™ plus the earthshaking lows of
MaxxBass®. Together, they’re quite an impressive pair.
www.waveslive.com
20 l April 2012
Prolight +
Sound 2012
showreview
full range is capable of recording
both intimate and bold, clear vocal
expression in loud environments,
and interview and speech
gathering from variable distances.
Neumann presented the capsule
heads KK 204 (cardioid) and KK
205 (supercardioid) for the
Sennheiser 2000 Series wireless
system. The acoustic features of
the heads are derived from the
wired Neumann stage
microphones KMS 104 and KMS
Void designer Rog Mogale presented the
beautiful but sinister Incubus dance system
105. The KK 204, with a cardioid
directional characteristic, ensures
the best possible suppression of
sound originating from 180° to
the rear, while the supercardioid
KK 205 has greater directivity,
and maximises incident sound
from the front as compared to
sound from the rear.
Rupert Neve Designs
introduced the 5059 16 x 2+2
Satellite summing mixer, featuring
16 channels with individual level,
Greater than
the sum of its parts
Image depicts components from 6.2 litre V8 engine from a 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.
Not included with PLM Series, unsurprisingly.
*Output into 2.2 3.3 ohms; 4400 W into 4 ohms. Software-controlled bridging also enabled in the PLM 14000 and PLM 10000Q.
CEO Christian Poulsen demonstrates
the DPA d:facto vocal mic
pan, inserts, stereo-2 sends, and
master texture controls.
Many of the Class A topologies
and transformers in the 5059 are
the same as in the 5088 mixer, and
have been fine-tuned to virtually
eliminate cross-over distortion.
The 5099 features continuously
variable Texture controls with Silk
and Silk+ modes allowing
engineers to fine-tune the
harmonic ratio and tonality of
each stereo send of the 5059.
Solid State Logic’s LiveRecorder combines Soundscape
V6.2 DAW recorder/player
software and a MadiXtreme or
MX4 PCIe audio interface, with
an “industrial-strength, highperformance” 1U rack-mounting
PC. The system provides a
solution for high-channel-count
live, location or broadcast
recording. It can connect directly
to MADI-equipped digital mixing
consoles, venue audio distribution
infrastructure or broadcast routers.
Salzbrenner Stagetec
Mediagroup introduced Polaris
Touch – a mixing console with a
modular design and a touch-
Stagetec Polaris: touch-sensitive
control surface
sensitive control surface. The user
interface is based on a single
multifunctional panel equipped
with a touch-sensitive display and
16 physical rotary encoders. Used
horizontally, it acts as a control
surface for direct access to the
channel strips. Positioned upright,
it is the meterbridge. There are
no physical controls, apart from
the encoders.
Polaris Touch is integrated
with Salzbrenner Stagetec Media
Control, enabling the desk to
address playback devices,
lighting control, intercom
BRUNKE LAUNCHES
BROAMAN
Marc Brunke presented BroaMan
(Broadcast Manufactur GmbH)
which sees his Optocore’s worldleading network fibre-based
technology ported to the broadcast
and video post-production
industries. It delivers audio and
video and can be interfaced to other
data systems… So is Brunke taking
on the AVB crowd?
systems, DAWs or
stage-management functions.
Looking somewhat forbidding
on the Void Acoustics booth
was the Incubus system, designed,
according to Void, with “the
sole purpose of being the
ultimate dance club system”.
Incubus incorporates Void’s Air
Array, Hyperfold and Incubus
Sub designs.
Smaart Technology was a
feature for Lake, who launched
version 6 of the Lake Controller
software. Version 6 includes
full integration with Rational
Acoustic’s Smaart 7 and
WaveCapture’s Live-Capture. In
addition to the plug-in integration
and support, V6 includes support
for the forthcoming Yamaha
MY8-LAKE card, bringing Lake
Processing to Yamaha’s digital
audio mixing desks. The TC
Group brands (Lab.gruppen,
Tannoy and Lake) celebrated
during the show with a VIP
whisky tasting session for
journalists and friends, which
proved to be extremely popular…
www.prolight-sound.com
Built for serious driving, the flagship
PLM 20000Q Powered Loudspeaker
Management system is a classic example of a
whole that far exceeds the entirety of its parts.
It starts with sheer muscle power combined with
Lab.gruppens latest efficient innovations in power supply
topology. Four bridgeable 5000 W* output channels, pack
two Lake Processing modules. And everything is precisely
managed by the industry renowned Lake Controller interface.
Take to the road with PLM Series.
WWW.LABGRUPPEN.COM
%$#"!
)J½GMIRG]ERHVIPMEFMPMX][MXLXLI
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®
April 2012 l 23
For the latest studio news
www.prosoundnewseurope.com/studio
Studio
Ronald Prent,
Wisseloord
NETHERLANDS
Wisseloord back in the room
Studio holds open day to celebrate return to full
operationsal capacity, writes Phil Ward
THE SUN SHONE, the Leffe
flowed… and the biggest story in
European recording for years
completed its first chapter. In
Hilversum, a town synonymous
with audio broadcast heritage,
Wisseloord Studios held an open
day last month to celebrate full
operational capacity following a
14-month renaissance. For once,
the dream had come true.
Among the guests were
representatives of all the
technology suppliers and
infrastructure designers behind
the re-bored interior. These were
the teams that had contributed to
the vision: the creation of, above
all, a music recording studio that
combined the finest in analogue
acoustics and signal processing
with the very latest in digital
control. Avid, api, PMC, Prism
Sound, Krell, EgglestonWorks,
SPL, JV Acoustics, Grimm Audio
for custom cabling, Media
Furniture and even Antelope –
for the atomic clocks – duly took
their bows as leading acolytes
Ronald Prent, Darcy Proper and
Paul Reynolds greeted the
plaudits and congratulations of
an admiring crowd.
During some emotional
speeches, as the scale of the
achievement came into perspective
and the relief of fruition welled,
Reynolds, Wisseloord’s commercial
director, acknowledged the staff,
office management, financial
controllers and catering support so
14
months spent bringing
Wisseloord back to life
essential to a successful studio. He
then thanked the families of all
those involved in the
reconstruction of Wisseloord,
adding: “We promise we’ll come
home in a couple of days…”
Introducing the media
department, in which the studio’s
musical credentials are applied to
all forms of web, disc and on-air
content, Reynolds continued:
“This studio isn’t just about
(L-R): Bart Sloothaak, former
Wisseloord studio manager;
commercial director Paul Reynolds;
director of mastering, Darcy Proper;
and Ronald Prent, creative director
recording and mixing. We’re
about music in all its forms,
including mastering and the
placement of music in all media.”
Reynolds also acknowledged the
unique role played by one
supplier in this giant gateway
between two physical words. “You
will see Prism Sound converters
all throughout this studio,” he
said. “And we believe that this is
the highest concentration of
Prism’s conversion technology
anywhere in the world.”
A special mention was also
made of German acoustician
Jochen Veith, who oversaw the
complete acoustic refit of the
mastering rooms and the studio
control rooms with molecular
attention to detail. “Jochen
developed each control room
together with PMC,” Reynolds
pointed out, “which is a very
rare opportunity. As soon as we
switched on the systems in each
room we knew that this
combination was something
very special.”
Pointing out wryly that a
mastering engineer with a
microphone was a “very bad
combination”, director of
mastering Darcy Proper went on to
pay tribute not only to the original
architect of the building erected in
1978, who was present, but also to
every individual designer, builder,
craftsman and contractor who had
sculpted the new interior “with
their bare hands”.
www.wisseloord.nl
SOUNDBITES
Halo Post Production has
announced that Dolby has awarded
Premier Certification for its large
dubbing theatre. This sees Halo join
a list of only 18 facilities worldwide
with the certification. The Dolby
Premier certification process is a
measure of technical excellence at
every aspect of a studio’s
operation. Room acoustics,
monitoring standards, equipment
selection, installation standards,
synchronisation accuracy, mixing
competence, and technical
experience are all evaluated before
the certificate is awarded.
www.dolby.com
www.halopost.tv
UK studio and acoustic design
consultancy White Mark has
completed two audio production
studios in Singapore for
advertising implementation agency
Hogarth Worldwide. The studios
have a fully isolated control room
and voice recording booths and are
equipped with Pro Tools HD
Native, Avid ICON D-Command
consoles and Exigy 7.1 surround
sound systems. “The studios will
mainly be used for broadcast audio
recording and mixing, but there is
also the possibility that they will be
used for video as well,” said Alex
Buchanan, technical operations
director for Hogarth Worldwide.
www.whitemark.com
audio solutions
Whatever your requirement, Audio-Technica’s innovative range of integrated audio equipment is
designed with your install needs in mind.
Our ATCS-60 Infrared Conference System overcomes both security and congestion worries
associated with 2.4GHz technology and our wireless systems are available in a choice of bands
not affected by Ofcom’s frequency sell off.
To find out how we can help, contact us on 0113 277 1441 or email [email protected]
Visit us at Plasa Focus 2011
Stand: S-A24
24 l April 2012
Howard Massey,
planning new book
studionews
SOUNDBITES
Starting October 2012, west
London’s Tech Music School will
offer three new BA (Hons)
Degrees in Music Business, Music
Production, and Songwriting.
Each three-year degree will offer
students an opportunity to learn
from a team of professionals, all
of whom work in the industry
across a range of disciplines, in a
learning environment that mixes
academic study with practical,
real world application and
collaboration.
www.techmusicschool.co.uk
Blip Drums has announced the
release of its latest electronic
drum sample collection, Platinum.
One year in the making, the
24-bit Platinum collection is an
assortment of “pounding
eccentric bass drums, crisp
textural snares, pulse driven hats,
future funked toms and more”,
designed from the company’s own
handmade analogue circuits. www.blipdrums.com
UNITED KINGDOM
New APRS book
of British studios
By Erica Basnicki
THE APRS has announced a
new project in collaboration
with veteran music journalist,
Howard Massey – best known
as the author of the Behind
The Glass series of books. The
result will be the publication of
The Great British Recording
Studios, in 2013.
Each chapter of the book will
focus on a well-known British
studio of the 1960s and 1970s
(including Abbey Road,
Olympic, Trident, IBC, Decca,
Pye, RAK and more than a
dozen others), and will provide
comprehensive descriptions of
physical facilities, equipment
and recording techniques, and
technical innovations developed
at each studio.
Equally important will be
the ‘people’ side: listings of
key personnel, dozens of
photographs and anecdotal
‘stories from the studio’ that
reveal the inner workings behind
many of Britain’s best-loved and
most enduring recordings.
Anyone who worked at a
British recording studio in the
1960s or 1970s and would like to
participate in the project are
urged to contact Howard
Massey at [email protected] or
by post c/o APRS, PO Box 22,
Totnes, Devon TQ9 7YZ, UK.
www2.aprs.co.uk/gbrs
UNITED KINGDOM
The majority of Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto
album was recorded in their very own
Beehive studios. During the process,
producer/engineer Rik Simpson
(pictured) tried out the Solid State
Logic (SSL) Matrix “and kept it”,
reports SSL. According to Simpson,
the speed at which the band record was
a major factor in the decision-making.
“Technically, any hiccup or time
wasted is a bit of a nightmare
because they are so eager to
record,” he says. “There isn’t a
great deal of time to set stuff up. So
any time I can save through having
something as easy to use as the
Matrix is a great thing.”
www.solidstatelogic.com
April 2012 l 25
£30m
studionews
cost of new Theatre, Film and
Television dept at York University
UNITED KINGDOM
York Uni studio has the
edge after Knife film win
By Erica Basnicki
HESLINGTON STUDIOS – the
commercial arm of the University
of York’s Department of Theatre,
Film and Television launched
earlier this year – has chalked up
an early success by partnering
with Green Screen Productions’
first feature, The Knife That
Killed Me. The film is at the late
pre-production stage and will be
distributed by Universal Pictures
in the UK at the end of 2012.
The partnership involves
Heslington Studios providing
post-production facilities, as well
as recent York graduates
working alongside industry
professionals at Green Screen
Productions. These include
John Mateer, head of film and
television production at York Uni
Oscar-winning producer
Stephen Evans (Henry V, The
Madness of King George).
The partnership grew out of
an earlier collaboration between
the university and Green Screen
principals Kit Monkman, Alan
Latham and Tom Mattinson on
UNITED KINGDOM
the 2006 film The Christmas
Miracle of Jonathan Toomey:
York students carried out a
significant portion of the visual
effects work for that feature.
Head of film and television
production at the university,
John Mateer, is the driving force
behind the new business model.
“Although general industry
collaborations in other
disciplines are not uncommon at
universities, they are rare in film
and TV. The Knife That Killed
Me is particularly unusual in
that it has the backing of a
major studio,” he says.
Post-production work will be
carried out on a further four films
at the university’s new £30 million
facilities over the coming year.
The Theatre, Film and
Television building boasts two
HD broadcast TV studios, a
140-seat preview cinema, a
sound stage, and state-of-the-art
audio and video postproduction facilities.
www.heslingtonstudios.com
www.york.ac.uk/tftv
Specialist pro-audio outlet KMR
Audio recently supplied a pair of
Barefoot MicroMain27 monitors to
producer Jarrad ‘Jaz’ Rogers for his
south London Studio where he has
been working with rising star Pixie
Lott on her album for Mercury.
Rogers, pictured here with Lott, said:
“[The Barefoots] are very, very good.
When I first heard them they didn’t
seem to make my music sound
amazing, in fact it sounded flatter.
But then I realised I could hear stuff
which I hadn’t heard before. I could
hear below 50Hz, clearly and all the
way down and I wasn’t trying to
compensate by adding stuff. It was
sounding fuller which I think is key
for a producer.”
www.kmraudio.com
Evolution
9
9
9
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26 l April 2012
“We wanted to offer audio as part
of a bigger package and service
clients who needed a larger space
for sound”
Ben Hooper, Prime Focus
studioreport
UNITED KINGDOM
Applying acoustic science
Ben Hooper, UK head of audio at Prime Focus, talks to
Kevin Hilton about the room optimisation for the
flagship Studio 4 to make it ready for cinema projects
COMPANIES ADAPT to meet
the changing demands of their
clients and ensure they are still
competitive in an ever more
aggressive market. The
expectations and priorities of new
owners also have an influence. It
was a combination of these two
that led London post-production
house Prime Focus to install a
Trinnov 5.1 MC Optimizer
system in its Studio 4.
Before being bought by Indian
facilities group Prime Focus in
2006, the audio department of
the VTR Group, based at post
house Blue, concentrated on
advertisements and broadcast
documentaries. By contrast the
new owner had a pedigree of
visual effects and big-budget
feature film work.
Ben Hooper, UK head of
audio for Prime Focus, says the
company was being approached
by lower budget filmmakers, who
were usually looking for a deal.
“Because of all this we wanted to
offer audio as part of a bigger
package and service clients who
needed a larger space for sound,”
he says.
Studio 4 was opened in
November 2009 to meet this
demand. Equipped with Avid
(Digidesign) Pro Tools 9, a
32-fader ICON desk, ATC
loudspeakers, Dolby E decoders
and encoders, and Waves and
Focusrite plug-ins, the suite was
initially aimed at HDTV and 5.1
post, as well as general TV work.
“It sounded brilliant,” says
Hooper, “but when we started
mixing features we noticed that
what we had done in Studio 4 was
not translating into the bigger
outside theatres we were using to
Dolby master the mixes.”
He says the size of Studio 4 was
a factor in this: “Because it’s a
smaller space than where the
mastering is done there is more
wash from the left and right front
monitors, which makes it harder
to judge what is acceptable and
what isn’t. In the cinema and big
mixing theatres the centre channel
at Prime Focus
The addition of a Trinnov 5.1 MC Optimizer
system in Studio 4 has expanded the range
of productions Prime Focus can handle
is so very isolated that you can’t
cover up anything by playing it
through the other speakers. When
you mix for TV you can mix the
music in the left and right into the
dialogue in the centre and it’s
more forgiving. Suddenly going
into these huge environments the
sound of the centre speaker was
completely naked.”
To deal with the problem
acoustic room treatments and
optimisation software systems
were tried, including IK
Multimedia ARC (Advanced
Room Correction), which Hooper
says did not give a true translation
because it is a stereo program.
After Prime Focus signed a new
deal to work on a feature film he
began looking for another
solution and at BVE 2011 saw a
presentation of the Trinnov MC
processor and Optimizer software.
A demonstration of a twochannel set-up was arranged at
Prime Focus in March that year
by Trinnov’s UK distributor,
eMerging. A surround sound
version was installed later, with
Studio 4’s acoustics calibrated to
work with it by Trinnov’s director
of business development, Jacques
Di Giovanni. The MC and
Optimizer system has been a
permanent installation at Prime
Focus since January this year and
has been used for what Hooper
calls “a lot of mastering work”.
Much of this involves taking
mixes from other London studios
and committing them to HD tape,
making international versions,
stereo M&Es and doing quality
control. Hooper says this work is
now being done with more
confidence that it will sound good
at the mastering facility: “The
before and after difference was
remarkable, both tonally and in
terms of the relative balances in
the mixes we produced and their
stereo imaging.”
www.primefocusworld.com
www.trinnov.com
April 2012 l 27
studioreport
UNITED KINGDOM/ONLINE
Nevo Mastering is centred
around a Neve 5116
A new master
London-based engineer Yoad Nevo has moved into
the online mastering game from his Nevo Sound
Studios base, writes Erica Basnicki
NEVO MASTERING, owned
by head mastering engineer
Yoad Nevo, recently opened its
virtual doors. Based out of
Nevo Sound Studios in
London, the new online
mastering service prides itself
on offering major-label quality
at indie label prices.
“Until today, if an
independent musician on the
other side of the globe wanted
to have their music mastered by
the same mastering engineer
who mastered their favourite
album, odds are, it was only a
dream,” said Nevo.
“People put their heart and
soul into making a record, so it’s a
great responsibility to be the
person adding the finishing touch.
High-quality mastering services
have always been available to
artists working with major labels.
We are proud to offer that same
finishing touch to talented
musicians all over the world.”
Nevo, who has 20 years
mastering experience under
his belt, is also a senior
consultant and plug-in designer
for Waves Audio.
He has an extensive
discography, including albums
by Pet Shop Boys, Duran
Duran, Girls Aloud,
Sugababes, Morcheeba, Ronan
Keating and Bryan Adams.
Opening Nevo Mastering was a
natural extension of both the
remote mastering work he has
some other techniques, which
are in the pipeline, and haven’t
been released as products yet.”
“People put their heart and
soul into making a record,
so it’s a great responsibility
to be the person adding the
finishing touch” Yoad Nevo, Nevo Mastering
already done, and his work with
Waves, which, he admits gives
him “an edge”.
“Obviously I use a lot of
Waves plug-ins, being part of
the design team. But I also use
Outside the box, Nevo’s
studio centres around a Neve
5116 console. “In there I have
the best of both worlds because
I have an amazing classic
analogue Neve desk from the
early ’80s and I have digital
equipment and some analogue
outboard equipment. I feel so
confident and so happy with the
results I get there, it’s great.”
Although there are several
online mastering services
available – Abbey Road,
Metropolis, and eMastering
immediately come to mind –
Nevo is staking his business
success on his reputation.
“What’s unique about us is
that I am actually doing the
mastering as opposed to some
other services where you have a
big studio name but you don’t
have a face; you don’t actually
know who’s doing the
mastering,” he explains.
20
Nexo’s years of
mastering experience
“That’s our selling point,
really; it’s all based on my
personal experience, knowledge
and taste, and I think a
potential client that browses
through the thousands of
online mastering businesses
would be happy to know there’s
a specific person who is going
to do the mastering.”
www.nevomastering.com
28 l April 2012
“We are in a very peculiar financial place. No
one knows what exactly is going to happen in
Portugal – but the advertising guys will keep
working whatever” João Moura, dizplay soundlab
studioreport
PORTUGAL
Say it, play it
Audio post-house dizplay soundlab in Lisbon is
not short of work, though the nature of the
business has shifted. Dave Robinson finds out
if the team are still lovin’ it
EMBARKING ON a search for
European success stories from
the post-production industry,
you’d be wary of heading out on
a south-westerly bearing. Lisbon,
in these uncertain economic
times? Surely nothing to be
found there…
Or maybe so. João Moura, one
of the partners at Portugal’s
dizplay soundlab audio postproduction house, says the work
hasn’t stopped – it’s just the nature
of the projects that has changed.
“I’m not seeing the advertising
channels growing,” he says.
“We just have more work from a
smaller number of clients, for the
same revenue. We have several
big customers: supermarkets,
banks and telecoms… they are
so big that they can come to our
studio and say, ‘We’ll do
everything with you but the rates
have to stay the same’.”
Portugal, along with Greece
and Spain, was one of the
territories highlighted in last
year’s euro crisis, of course. “We
are in a very peculiar financial
place. No one knows what exactly
is going to happen in Portugal –
but the advertising guys will keep
working whatever.”
The partners at dizplay (it’s a
Portuguese pun on ‘say play’)
have known each other for over
20 years, but only formed this
operation in 2005. Moura worked
“We don’t have anything out
of the ordinary – apart from the
Grace Design M906 monitoring
controller, which is very good
and spectacular sounding.
“We’re based around Nuendo,
which was kind of funny, because
when we began, all the guys
wanted Pro Tools. But I wanted
to build MADI into the design,
and at that time building
anything with MADI and Pro
Tools was impossible.”
So from the outset Moura
chose the Steinberg package on
Apple Macs and RME MADI
Bridge interfaces. “MADI was
easier to connect, just two
cables – and it was me that did all
the wiring! Cost-wise, the price is
not high compared with other
solutions, and it’s easy to build
and maintain.”
But it’s the ADAM Audio
monitors that he enthuses over.
These were purchased through
Lisbon’s André Toscano of
Audio:log, whom Moura has
known for 10 years.
“ADAM was a huge surprise
for me. In the beginning, I fell for
the tweeters on the S3s, the sound
was remarkable – it was so
different from everything else. I
was used to Genelecs and – my
favourite at the time – ATC, and
PMC as I was doing some
mastering. But ADAM was a
breath of fresh air.”
Main room featuring ADAM
Audio A8X monitors
(L-R) dizplay’s João Moura, Suzanna
Roseiro and Pedro Rego
in post-production before this, as
well as running a distribution
company (Euphonix, Sonic
Solutions) and designing studios.
When old pals João Rola, Pedro
Rego, and Rui Miguel suggested
the formation of a new business,
they recruited Suzanna Roseiro
as head of production, and
dizplay was born.
Dizplay is a compact facility
in the west of Lisbon. “It’s not
that much cheaper than in the
centre,” says Moura, “it’s just
that most production companies
we work with are just across the
hill, and it’s very easy for them
to come here.”
Dizplay’s main control room is
based around Steinberg’s
Nuendo, with a simple Euphonix
controller to pilot it, and ADAM
A8X monitors. There’s a live
room for a small group of voice
artists off this; then a second
room which can double as a
live room if need be, but is
currently being used as a preproduction suite. (On the day of
PSNEurope’s visit, Pedro Rego
was in the second room, recording
a choice of musical idents for
McDonald’s latest Portuguese
‘I’m Lovin’ It’ campaign,
monitoring on ADAM P-11As.)
The main room (where today
it’s post work on a Toyota Yaris
ad) is Moura’s handiwork.
C L E A R
A S
"! """ "" At Hansa Studios in Germany,
the engineer remarked how
ADAM speakers were easier to
work with over a sustained period
of listening. Moura agrees.
“Oh, it is remarkable, yes. It is
the complete opposite to the
Yamaha NS10s for instance: easy
to listen to all day; we don’t even
get tired.
“We used to have P-11As rather
than the A8Xs – these new ones
have much better mid-range and
imaging than the P-11s. It seems
like the amplifiers are much faster
working with the drivers and
tweeters in the A8X, because the
image is so much better.
Oddly, though, there’s only one
set of monitors in the control
room. Moura finds himself using
the output of the TV monitors
instead. Is that wise? “I don’t
trust them… but the clients do,”
he smiles.
And despite the earlier talk of
the market being “flat”, Moura
hints at an expansion for dizplay,
with an extension of the facility
into a bigger space. But should
they buy some more ADAM
monitors first – some midfields
for the control room, perhaps?
Or is there something else on the
shopping list first?
Without hesitating, Moura
deadpans: “A BMW for everyone.”
Now that’s optimism.
www.dizplay.pt
April 2012 l 29
studionews
Start The Show, was recorded
entirely on an iPhone 3GS
WORLD
There’s an app for that
By Erica Basnicki
“GRAB THE MIC and Let the
haters know/Make them sing
along to the words you wrote/They
won’t know/Now were making
records/In the studio…”
You have to challenge
Stephen Poff on his choice of
lyrics. Poff, from Alabama-based
band One Like Son, chuckles
and admits a certain irony; One
Like Son’s latest album, Start
The Show, was recorded entirely
on an iPhone 3GS – and not in
a studio at all.
“Anything we could do on the
iPhone, we did with the iPhone,”
said Poff. This included the
bulk of the mix as well (minus
two singles).
Although the tracks
themselves were loaded into
Cubase for mixing, Poff used
One mic + one
phone = one album
$
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Saitara Software’s AC-7 Core to
control the DAW via the phone.
In fact, the only piece of
professional studio gear used on
Start The Show was a Shure
SM57 microphone, used in
conjunction with IK
Multimedia’s iRig.
Although Poff admits he knew
recording an entire album on an
iPhone would draw some media
attention, his goal was to enjoy
the process of experimenting
with unconventional recording
technology, as well as the
challenge of using it to make an
album that sounds good.
“I’m certainly not comparing
myself to the Beatles, but if the
Beatles can record an album on
a four-track, I can record an
album on the iPhone.”
It would be unfair to compare
just about any album to the
Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely
Hearts Club Bands – which Poff
is referring to – however, two
singles from Start The Show did
get professional mixing
treatment by engineer Will
Kennedy at Studio P in Los
Angeles. Here’s what he heard:
“In all honesty, if I didn’t
know in advance that it had
been recorded on an iPhone, I
wouldn’t have guessed,” he said.
“That said, it was clear that the
guitars were tracked with amp
modelers, and that the drums
were samples. But those tools are
common in modern recording, so
their use wasn’t a giveaway. The
amp models in particular weren’t
quite as good as others I’ve
used/heard – they were a little
two-dimensional in nature, which
is common with all modelers, but
it was a little more noticeable on
these tunes. Certainly not bad
though. I’ve mixed other songs
that were recorded on a DAW in
a similar manner, and I’d say the
quality was comparable.”
Although reportedly the first
commercial album to be recorded
this way, One Like Son isn’t alone
in using iDevices to record
material. R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe
used his iPhone heavily on
Collapse Into Now released last
March, and Gorillaz’s The Fall
was recorded entirely on an iPad.
www.onelikeson.bandcamp.com
www.willkennedyproducer.com
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For more inform ation c all Unity Audio on 01440 785843
f: 01440 785845
e: sales @ unityaudio.co.uk
www.unityaudioproducts.co.uk
April 2012 l 31
studiofeature
The search for authentic signal paths goes
on... Solid State Logic, if you will, “sliced up”
the EQ of the 9000 J console (shown here)
and the SuperAnalogue mic preamps and
repackaged them in the XLogic range
Solid air
IN THEIR own way, they are
The Beatles, The Stones, Dylan
and Elvis: evergreen favourites
that keep their audiences
coming back for more, again
and again. Except these
audiences are made up of
obsessive sound engineers, and
the objects of their adulation
make far more subtle noises. In
fact, the world of classic and
vintage outboard commands
even greater religious fervour.
The search for authentic
signal paths of yore is an odd
phenomenon. In purely
technical terms, the impurities
of the past might seem
undesirable. Surely, as in all
science, audio signals are
making progress? Shouldn’t we
be leaving the earlier
experiments behind?
Well, maybe. But audio
engineering is like mechanical
engineering: for every new twist
of ergonomics, there is nostalgia
for previous heights. Just like
classic cars, items of rackmount
rarity are collectable, even
fetishistic. But unlike classic cars
they can be brought back to
working life and born again into
a competitive modern
environment.
When it first began to dawn
on us that old recordings no
longer sounded poor but
actually, well, kind of cool,
many of the tools used to make
them were falling into disrepair
or simply disappearing
altogether. Meanwhile the
studio itself was changing into
something that men in white
coats wouldn’t recognise, but
fortunately the new digital
technology had a neat trick up
its sleeve that would be its saving
7
The number of unique
spatial effects in the
Lexicom PCM Native
Reverb plug-in
grace. And so, just like
photographing rural Norfolk
before it becomes a shopping
centre, the industry set about
generating the plug-in versions
of all the old favourites and
creating software bundles that
promised rarefied slices of audio
heaven at the click of a mouse.
This sector of the market
remains in rude health. In some
corners, very popular hardware
originals have been completely
replaced by the manufacturer’s
in-house plug-in version – with
all the usual economic viability
rationale. Most notably, Lexicon
hardware reverbs have been
phased out in favour of software
versions marketed by ‘Lexicon
by Harman’, despite the high
value of hardware originals
sustained by the used gear
sector. Some legacy products are
supported, like the 960L/LARC2
and the PCM91, but not the
original LARC, ALEX, LARES,
LXP-1, M224XL and a host of
others including the rest of the
PCM range.
Instead the Lexicon PCM
Native Reverb plug-in is based
on those algorithms, offering
seven unique spatial effects.
Another route to these sounds is
provided by Universal Audio –
along with Waves a powerhouse
of classic remodelling – via the
‘official’ Lexicon 224 Digital
Reverb Emulation for the
UAD-2 platform, recreating the
first and most celebrated of
Lexicon’s digital reverbs from
1978. For UA, of course, it
doesn’t stop there. Emulations
abound, from the Fairchild 670
compressor to the Pultec Pro
EQ plug-in – a combination of
the Pultec MEQ-5 Midrange
Equalizer and the Pultec EQP1A Program Equalizer.
In signal processing, the first wave of software
emulation has been succeeded by a cult of
hardware replicas. Phil Ward patches in…
Waves has developed its own
Fairchild and Pultec plug-ins,
faithfully reproduced in a
collaboration with the father of
the Fairchild 670 himself: Jack
Joseph Puig, leading to the
epithet PuigChild 660 and 670
for the software. Avid also
supplies a Pultec Bundle made
by Bomb Factory, and what all
of these clones share is a tough
challenge to give the product
something of the idiosyncracies
of the originals. Tough, because
no two hardware units with the
same marque and model
number on them ever sounded
identical: the precise blend of
tubes and capacitors conspired
with sheer mileage to make them
as personal as a guitar,
consigning the software plug-ins
to at least some form of
insurmountable compromise.
SCRATCHING THE SURFACE
The same thing can be said of
any area of emulation, but
despite this there has been a
sharp rise in the popularity of
those plug-ins that attempt to
reintroduce some sense of
32 l April 2012
studiofeature
analogue tape saturation or even
vinyl noise. No doubt these are
iPod-busters, or at least a reaction
to the brittle, antiseptic
cleanliness of digital audio
generally, but they work. Crane
Song’s Phoenix is a big hit: it’s
a TDM plug-in suite for Pro
Tools HD designed to inject
‘analogue colour’ into the digital
domain by increasing apparent
loudness without increasing gain.
The five individual
plug-ins aim for various tape
characteristics: a fairly neutral
Luminescent; Iridescent,
described as ‘magnetic’ with a
fatter bottom and midrange;
Radiant, with a steeper
compression curve; Dark
Essence, offering the effect of a
wider frequency range to sink
troublesome vocal artefacts into
a more saturated background
mix; and Luster, providing
a range from gentle to
aggressive saturation.
The SSL E-Channel
iZotope’s Vinyl is described as an “authentic lo-fi vinyl simulation for Pro Tools,
VST, MAS, Audio Unit and DirectX audio applications”
Emulating the wear, tear,
crackles and warps of a record,
iZotope’s Vinyl is hailed as
“authentic lo-fi vinyl simulation
for Pro Tools, VST, MAS, Audio
Unit and DirectX audio
applications”. With 64-bit
processing, filtering, modelling
and resampling, Vinyl’s various
parameters introduce turntable
motor rumble and noise; a
sweep from brand new to played
to hell; electrical noise, like timehonoured 60Hz grounding hum;
the amount of dust on the
record; the number and depth of
scratches on the record; and the
amount of warping and warp
edges. So if at some point in
tracking, mixing or mastering
you feel the urge to make it feel
as though you left the recording
on the back shelf of the car one
day in July, this is your plug-in.
Such geek heaven continues
with BRB’s Hummer, which puts
general analogue hum and noise
onto the incoming signal, and a
dizzying array of sonic spoilers
including Sxcratch (sic), Nebula’s
R2R, TapeBooster, Massey Tape
Head Saturator (for RTAS),
URS Saturation, Reel Tape,
Roundtone’s Tape Emulation
(for AU/VST), Airwindows’
ToTape and ToVinyl, Wave Arts’
Tube Saturator, Duy Tape,
Decapitator from Sound Toys,
Analog Channel by McDSP,
Ozone, Tapehead and Ferric
TDS (Tape Dynamics Simulator)
by Variety Of Sound.
Not to be outdone, both
Universal Audio and Waves chip
in with their own forensic
emulations of specific tape
machines: UA’s Ampex ATR-102
Mastering Tape Recorder and
Studer A800 multitrack; and the
Kramer Master Tape plug-in
from Waves, reconstructing the
rare combination of an Ampex
350 transport and 351
electronics. Eddie Kramer
himself adds authentication here,
along with undisclosed Studer
endorsees found under a
sarcophagus somewhere between
one Swiss canton and another.
CONVOLUTED PROCESS
Just as was once attempted with
plug-ins, during a flurry of
‘shoot-outs’ and canapés on the
London studio circuit,
Focusrite’s unique Liquid
Channel concept has been under
scrutiny recently – pitted against
various hardware originals in a
series of blind tests at Snap!
Studios. Liquid Channel has
been around since 2003 and is
enormously successful. As well
as sampling it uses ‘dynamic
convolution’ to add realism and
flexibility to the countless
corridors of borrowed sound
within it, and impartial
engineers Guy Massey and
Marco Pasquariello were invited
to pick between signals. Mostly
they actively preferred Liquid
Channel for certain guitar and
vocal takes, while remaining
loyal to the hardware when it
came to the percussive
brightness of a tambourine.
Tests like this show how far
emulation has come. If you have
HARD FACTS
But that’s not the only
renaissance in town. While two
of the most revered names of
yore continue to supply their
hardware in bite-size chunks,
elsewhere a grass roots industry
is emerging in which lovingly
crafted replicas attempt to bring
the past back to 3D, touchyfeely life.
AMS Neve’s Classic Series
takes most of the early 1970s
limiter-compressor, EQ and
channel strip repertoire and
presents it as modular units: the
2264A and the 1073 stand out.
More or less the same marketing
technique has been adopted by
SSL, whose XLogic concept
slices up the classic consoles so
that more people can have some
of the cake. It should be said,
however, that neither brand
literally builds from the same
“There has been a sharp rise in the
popularity of those plug-ins that
attempt to reintroduce some sense
of analogue tape saturation or
even vinyl noise”
the choice – and studios like
Snap! certainly do – it might be
assumed that original is always
best. But clearly the advantages
of Liquid Channel go beyond
ergonomics and economics, so if
you add those factors too the
future is beyond doubt
convoluted. At the very least,
packages like this one from
Focusrite – itself a revered name
in signal processing – will keep
the legacy of specific models
alive and, more than that,
encourage new generations to
find out exactly where these
reputations come from.
blocks that they used to, and
while SuperAnalogue and
AMS-driven updates do take
things to the next level, they
are not genetically identical to
their forebears.
The only person who might
come close to genealogical
veracity is UA’s Bill Putnam Jnr.
Many of UA’s hardware replicas
do have the same DNA as the
originals thanks to the
company’s access to Putnam
Snr’s blueprints, surely the most
accurate schematics of the 1176
available. In fact, the 1176LN
replica that UA sells draws upon
t
AT A GLANCE
t
t
Waves’ Jack Joseph Puig Collection, produced in
collaboration with the father of the Fairchild 670
t
The ‘official’ Lexicon 224
Digital Reverb Emulation for
the UAD-2 platform, recreates
the first of Lexicon’s digital
reverbs from 1978
t
Focusrite’s Liquid Channel proved
popular in tests at Snap! Studios
Cartec Audio EQ-Pre-2A
with a second amplifier for
greater mic gain
April 2012 l 33
Bundles of fun
HISTORY IN A BOX
studiofeature
The Kramer Master Tape plug-in
reconstructs the rare combination of an
Ampex 350 transport and 351 electronics
further enhancements made by
UREI engineer Bill Plunkett to
create the ‘Low Noise’ version,
so the archaeology is good.
UA has also been encouraged
to rebuild the LA-2A levelling
amplifier, patented by Jim
Lawrence for Teletronix in
Pasadena, California circa 1962.
Again the family tree of circuitry
has been thoroughly explored by
UA, not least because Putnam
Snr acquired Teletronix in 1967,
and a careful selection has been
made of the best versions,
re-issues and iterations.
Various independent Fairchild
remakes exist, most notably
from Vintage King Audio,
Mode Machines and Drip
Electronics, although Drip
specialises in the PCBs only:
Pultec, Altec and others are also
available. The DIY ethic is
gathering pace, with schematics
for building your own Urei 1176
available from Gyraf Audio,
among many other web-based
enthusiasts. Think of it as social
networking for people who wear
socks with sandals. Meanwhile
the actual company behind
Pultec in the US has been
revived: Pulse Techniques is now
shipping the new EQP-1A3,
based on Eugene Shenk’s 1951
original. This uses original
supplier components wherever
possible, with no modifications
whatsoever: a true labour of
love in a world of disposable
audio. In the UK, Manchesterbased Cartec Audio has its own
EQP-1A, joined now by the
‘EQ-Pre-2A’ with a second
amplifier for greater mic gain.
These and other vintage
modules are distributed from
the UK internationally by
Unity Audio.
But sometimes you have to
adopt the Trojan Horse method
The A800 multitrack from Studer
– and smuggle the classic
circuitry aboard via a new
chassis. The JDK Audio R22
dual-channel compressor is said
to contain two channels of
API’s classic compressor
circuitry in a rackmount unit
with internal power supply –
the very compressor on board
ATI’s Paragon console range.
Well, they did say pop will
eat itself…
www.cartecaudio.com
www.focusrite.com
www.solid-state-logic.com
www.uaudio.com
www.waves.com
History comes in a box, nowadays.
The expanses of air that fogged the
Greatest Recordings Ever Made can
be picked up in one hand, and a
console with two postcodes can fit
through the eye of a needle. These
software bundles are available to
apply a second coat of heritage to
modern recordings, packaged in a
way to give the youngest
whippersnapper the vintage tingle.
Waves has the Studio Classics
Collection, featuring plug-ins from
various other packages such as the
SSL 4000 Collection (pictured), the
V-Series and the API Collection.
Consoles – and bits of consoles –
covered include the API 550A, 550B,
560 and 2500; the Neve V-EQ3,
V-EQ4 and V-Comp; and the SSL
G-Channel, G-Equalizer, G-Master
Buss Compressor and E-Channel.
Universal Audio’s bundles
concentrate on outboard as well as
desks. They are: Classic
Compressors; Precision Mastering;
EMT Classic Reverb; SSL 4000
Series Console; Classic EQ; Roland
Classic FX; Neve Classic Console; and
Neve Complete. Meanwhile Nomad
Factory has come up with the Analog
Signature Pack, sporting three plugins of classic processors for Audio
Units, VST and RTAS. EQ is covered
by the Program Equalizer EQP-4, a
stereo unit with low and high cut, low
and high frequency boost and
attenuation and two overlapping
bands. Limiting is addressed by the
LM-662 Dual Limiting Amplifier,
based on the Fairchild 670 limiter.
And compression is provided by the
Studio Channel SC-226, another
stereo plug-in with 4-band EQ, optical
compressor and, at the heart of the
shelving and bell filters, a tube
simulator and Brick-Wall peak limiter.
StudioLive
Compact format. Endless possibilities.
StudioLive
24.4.2
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Now you can tweak your mix from every
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Remote – the free iPad App that gives
you wireless control of every parameter
of the StudioLive mixer. Control
channels, auxes and effects. Create
monitor mixes from the stage.
StudioLive Remote sets you free!
NEW
StudioLive
16.0.2
QMix™
Up to 10 musicians can
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using an iPhone or
iPod touch.
Record your performance
With the included Capture™ and Studio
One Artist™ software – seamlessly
integrated recording and production
software for Mac or PC.
Scan with a QR reader to watch a video
overview of the new StudioLive 16.0.2
With a choice of models to fit every budget and
application, PreSonus StudioLive mixers pack a lot of
features into a limited space. Powerful digital mixing,
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flexible performance control facilities and seamlessly
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Find out more at presonus.com
Exclusively distributed in the UK & Ireland by Source • www.sourcedistribution.co.uk/presonus • T: 020 8962 5080
facebook.com/sourcedistribution
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StudioLive™, Studio One Artist ™ and Capture™ are registered trademarks of PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc. All other product and company names are property of the respective owners.
April 2012 l 35
For the latest broadcast news
www.prosoundnewseurope.com/broadcast
broadcast
UNITED KINGDOM
SOUNDBITES
Spectrum auction delay
gives PMSE more time
4G space auctions put back until Q4 2012 at the earliest, writes Kevin Hilton
Alan March, BEIRG: “One of many delays”
BY Kevin Hilton
says Alan March from BEIRG.
“It gives wireless microphone
and in-ear monitor users more
time to access the 800MHz
band and channel 69 but there
has already been a huge switch
with people buying new
equipment. And there is also
the situation of systems that
had been handed in being sold
back into the market.”
www.ofcom.org.uk
THE SAGA surrounding the
reallocation of frequency
spectrum in the UK has taken
yet another turn with regulator
Ofcom putting back the auctions
for 4G space until at least the
fourth quarter of 2012.
This is likely to prolong the
uncertainty for PMSE
(programme makers and special
events) users, although they will
be able to continue using the
800MHz band, including channel
69, until the end of this year.
In a statement Ofcom said the
consultation on the Everything
Everywhere (Orange and
T-Mobile) 1,800MHz spectrum
licences to allow use of LTE
(long term evolution) and
WiMAX technologies had been
extended from 17 April to 8
UNITED KINGDOM
New owner for Sound-Link
By Dave Robinson
IN AN agreement signed during
Prolight + Sound, veteran sound
engineer and classical music
recordist John Willett has
acquired UK pro-audio
distribution company Sound-
Link. Roger Clemo, founder of
Sound-Link some 20 years ago,
is selling his business for personal
reasons, he told PSNEurope.
Willett says: “I have always
considered Sound-Link’s product
range to be in my top five list of
the best on the market, and when
May 2012. The regulator said
this had been done “following
requests from stakeholders for
more time to respond”.
The feeling among the PMSE
community is that this means the
other major mobile phone
companies, which are seen as the
main bidders for the spectrum, are
trying to protect their interests.
“This is just another one of
many delays in the process,”
the opportunity arose to
purchase the business from
Roger I jumped at the chance.”
Sound-Link is the exclusive
UK distributor for brands
including Microtech Gefell,
Håkan, Grace Design and
Musikelectronic Geithain.
Clemo comments: “I am
delighted to see the business I
have built up pass into such a
capable pair of hands.” He will
remain with Sound-Link for a
Roger Clemo (left) with Doug Wood of
Grace Design (centre) and John Willett
period to ensure a smooth
transition to Willett’s ownership.
www.sound-link.co.uk
US-based mix engineer Jonathan
Freed used SoundField’s DSF-2
microphone and DSF-3 digital
surround processor to capture
audio for the National Football
League (NFL). “The SoundField
capsules have an extraordinarily
smooth and wide response, at least
equal to the very best mics I have
heard in 40 years of mixing, with a
tremendous sense of detail, and the
sonic illusion of being located inside
the stadium,”said Freed.
www.soundfield.com
Wireless audio specialist Raycom
has completed a major deal with
Gearhouse Broadcast to supply
Wisycom radio microphone systems
for the new Sky Sports F1 HD
channel. “Raycom provides some
of the best wireless microphone
systems available today. Their
products are well designed and they
fulfill the requirements we have for
this prestigious project for Sky which
is why we chose them,” said
Gearhouse’s Kevin Moorhouse.
www.raycom.co.uk
German audio production company
Echo Park Studios has installed
NTP Technology’s Digital Audio
Denmark (DAD) AX24 analogue/
digital/analogue converters at its
Essen headquarters.
www.echopark.de
www.ntp.dk
36 l April 2012
broadcastevent
SOUNDBITES
Canford Audio has been
appointed as a Roland distributor
in the UK. The official
announcement will be made at
PLASA Focus later this month
where Canford will be presenting
selected products from Roland,
including the VC-30HD
multi-input video converter and
encoder, the VR-3 audio mixer
and video switcher, and two USB
audio interfaces.
www.canford.co.uk
MMC studios in Cologne has
acquired two more Soundcraft
Vi4s. The Vi4s join the company’s
collection of mid-range mixing
systems under its flagship mixer,
the Yamaha PM1D. A Soundcraft
Vi1 and smaller Yamaha desks
complete the collection.
Additional RockNet audio
interfaces were also added to
MMC’s stock with plans
to further extend audio
network capacities.
www.mmc.de
UNITED KINGDOM
BAFTA venue for fourth ITBW event
New central London location for IT Broadcast Workflow in 2012
The fourth IT Broadcast
Workflow (ITBW) conference
produced by sister publication
TVBEurope will move to the
prestigious BAFTA venue in
central London when it returns
in the summer. Taking place
on 13 June, ITBW is Europe’s
premier event charting the
development and adaptation
of file-based operations in
European broadcasting
organisations.
Chaired by Jeremy Bancroft
from Media Asset Capital, the
event’s programme is already
building momentum. Of note is
Steve Luck, senior team leader
at ITN, who will present a case
study exploring ‘Integrating
People, Operations and IT for
enhanced business planning &
reporting at ITN’. Additional
high-profile user case studies
from around Europe examining
the file-based broadcast
journey are currently being
developed by key Workflow
experts – more details will be
announced shortly.
Confirmed Gold sponsors
include AmberFin, EVS and
Symbox, while Silver sponsors
committed to the event are Blue
Lucy, Pebble Beach and SGL.
Bruce Devlin, chief
technology officer at
AmberFin, reported: “The IT
Broadcast Workflow 2011
conference was excellent
(again). The presentations were
of high quality and much of
the post-presentation
discussion was excellent. There
were enough users, vendors
and industry heavyweights in
TVBEurope editor Fergal Ringrose addresses attendees at the 2011 event
the room to cope with most
ITBW topics.”
To attend this year’s ITBW
conference and take advantage
of the special early bird price
visit the website below before
1 May.
www.broadcastworkflow.com
Vertical Array Systems
IT`S NOT A STICK!
DSP 260
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www.dynacord.com
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The DYNACORD Vertical Array Systems
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pressure levels, outstanding
audio quality, wide coverage and
exemplary intelligibility.
Shure are synonymous with quality, durability
and reliability. Shure offer a number of
different microphones for various speech
applications including handheld, headset
or installed microphones with very high
speech intelligibility. Plus premium wireless
transmitters and receivers that guarantee
reliability and unsurpassed sound quality.
2012
DIGITAL
SWITCHOVER
COMPLIANT
www.shure.co.uk
© 2012 Shure Incorporated
ON STAGE.
IN THE STUDIO.
ON LOCATION.
VP89
UR5
UR3
Premium Modular
Shotgun Microphones
Portable UHF-R
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UHF-R Microphone
Plug-on Transmitter
April 2012 l 39
broadcastreport
WORLD
A dual format w rld
Commentary is a major part of sports broadcasting. In some technological respects it
has changed very little but in others it has changed a great deal. Kevin Hilton reports
IN TV AND radio commentary
analogue has not been pushed to
the sidelines by digital, unlike
other areas of broadcast audio.
The two formats have settled
into a co-existence, giving
operators the choice of what
suits their needs.
This is true for the three subdivisions of commentary systems:
ISDN, POTS/PSTN (plain old
telephone service/public switched
telephone network) or IP codecs
for single reporter use; standalone units with more features
but which are still run by the
commentary team; and larger,
more sophisticated systems
controlled by an engineer.
Marc Wilson, sales and
marketing manager at
Glensound, acknowledges that
IP is now “the most popular
codec option” but says the
company is “disillusioned” with
the technology due to the lack of
“robust, simple standards”. He
adds: “Where ISDN is available
it is still the reliable choice.”
While not embracing IP,
Glensound has adopted HD
Voice (see page 40), the
wideband internet telephony
standard, and offers a reporter’s
mobile phone based on this. It
has produced the RECCE HD,
a three-channel mobile phone
and commentary unit that works
on 3G HD Voice networks.
At its most basic the standalone
commentary system has inputs for
two microphones and outputs for
two headphones, one each for the
commentator and the ‘pundit’. In
recent years this configuration has
been expanded to offer positions
for two or three commentators
and one guest.
Sonifex has recently moved
into the standalone commentary
system market with its CMCU21, an analogue desk with
two commentator positions and
one for a pundit, while CTP
Systems offers the DC2012. CTP
established itself in commentary
with the DC99-II, which was
succeeded by the two-position
DC2012, which is analogue but
digitally controlled.
CTP managing director Chris
Thorpe observes that OB
companies want something “that
will work wherever”. In a strange
quirk of the industry, Thorpe
says there was some initial
resistance to the DCS2012
because it has digital control and
a LCD display: “People are
happy with digital routers for
OBs but they were more
concerned about LCDs on a
commentary unit.” An analogue
single commentator/voice-over
booth unit is set to appear from
CTP this year.
Fully digital commentary
systems were greeted with
suspicion when they first
began to come on the market
around 12 years ago. Spanish
manufacturer AEQ led the field
with the DCS-10, which became
the preferred commentators’
system for the Olympic Games.
AEQ’s director of
international sales, Gustavo
Robles, says: “At larger events,
the digital domain is becoming
more and more important,”
he says. “Complexity and what
is demanded from the overall
system solution is having
greater importance than 10
years ago. This is where digital
becomes advantageous.”
Klotz entered this niche
market in 2003 with the Voice
but later withdrew it due to lack
of demand. Glensound joined
the fray in 2008 with its
GDC-6432, which can run on
coax, copper or fibre Ethernet.
Big events such as the Olympic
and Commonwealth Games are
now more likely to feature digital
commentary systems due to the
need for central control and
scalability. “Digital enables us to
increase or decrease the number
of commentary systems offered
to the client broadcasters without
redesigning the system,” explains
Andy James at SIS LIVE.
Riedel now produces the
CCP-1116 commentary unit to
work alongside its intercom
systems, while Delec takes a
similar approach with the oratis
commentary and talkback range.
Last year Finnish public
broadcaster YLE started to move
from ISDN to IP and introduced
digital commentary systems, with
Riedel DSC-16 panels with
modified mic preamps or
CCP-1116 commentary units
connected to the manufacturer's
intercom system.
While all this goes on in the
background, there is still doubt
whether integrated thinking goes
on for the commentators and
pundits that use the equipment.
www.aeqbroadcast.com
www.glensound.co.uk
www.riedel.net
www.sislive.tv
www.sonifex.co.uk
AEQ is planning a full launch
for its new NCS digital
system during NAB
40 l April 2012
broadcastreport
EUROPE
Broadcast phones and the
Full-HD audio treatment
THE HISTORY of technology
rests on ongoing development
and improvement. This
traditionally happened over
considerable periods of time but
in the digital age it can take only
a few years before something
new comes along to replace a
pioneering system.
The next example of this
could be HD Voice, the
wideband telephony technology
that has brought better clarity
and audio quality to voice over
IP (VoIP) communications. As
well as finding favour in general
telecoms, broadcasters are now
adopting HD Voice for talkback
and live reporting.
HD Voice is based on adaptive
multi-rate wide-band (AMRWB) codecs delivering 7kHz or
3.5kHz audio bandwidth on 3G
networks. This is considered
good enough quality for voice
only but new coding technologies
are being used to push it further.
German research institute
Fraunhofer IIS has added its
AAC-ELD (Advanced Audio
Coding enhanced low delay)
codec to the basic system to
produce Full-HD Voice, offering
a full spectrum up to 20kHz.
While Full-HD Voice has been
adopted by Apple and Android,
use of the original HD Voice
system, and the number of
countries where it is available,
are increasing. According to a
list published during February
by the Global mobile Suppliers
Association (GSA), territories
now offering commercial HD
Voice services include: Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Canada, the
Czech Republic, Denmark,
France, Germany, Italy, Poland,
Russia and the UK.
Among the professional
broadcast manufacturers
marketing equipment based on
HD Voice is Glensound
Electronics, which produces the
GS-MPI004HD broadcasters’
portable mobile phone and GSMPI005HD rackmount unit. UK
broadcasters using HD Voice
include London commercial
station Capital Radio, which uses
it for live reporting, and BBC
Bristol, where all sports reports
are now based on it.
Glensound sales and
marketing manager, Marc
Wilson, says the company
initially regarded talkback in
outside broadcast trucks as the
main application for
HD Voice but reporters had
other ideas. “I think of HD
Voice in terms of the iPad,” he
comments. “People didn’t know
they needed it until they got one.
Full-HD Voice has been
adopted by Android
Wilson does not view HD
Voice as a replacement for
ISDN, saying it is something else
entirely. “It’s a single channel
mono service and as the
applications we’re dealing with
are just based on voice, then
7kHz is fine. The people who
have been using our systems have
been able to make HD Voice
work in situations where nothing
else was getting through.”
Research engineers at
Fraunhofer, however, did see the
7kHz bandwidth as a limitation.
Stefanie Frank of the audio and
multimedia real-time systems
division says that because the
full range of human hearing
extends to 20kHz, what HD
Voice produces is barely half of
what can be heard.
Fraunhofer IIS’s AAC-ELD
algorithm has a lower delay than
the original AAC technology,
which, says Frank’s colleague
Matthias Rose, makes it better
suited to communications work.
Full-HD Voice is already used
for videoconferencing and has
been adopted for the Apple
iPhone, iPad and Mac
computers but Fraunhofer
wanted to push it further into
the mobile sector.
“Mobile World Congress
seemed the place to start
bringing this technology to the
telephony world and Android is
one of the two most used
platforms for mobile phones,”
Frank comments, explaining the
New technologies could
make the ubiquitous
mobile the only thing
needed for general
communications and
live location reporting,
writes Kevin Hilton
demonstrations of Full-HD
Voice on Android phones using
a LTE (long term evolution) 4G
network at the recent Mobile
World Congress.
Broadcasting is seen as a
major area for Full-HD Voice,
with manufacturers including
Telos incorporating it into
systems. “Contributions and live
reporting are applications that
can take advantage of the high
audio quality it produces,”
observes Frank, “and we do see
it as a replacement for other
technologies where IP-based
connections are being used.”
Wilson does not rule out
Glensound producing Full-HD
Voice systems but says there are
no plans for this. “The situation
is quite fluid and we are
responding to what broadcasters
are asking for,” he says. “All this
is still quite new and the existing
HD Voice on 3G is solving
problems right now.”
Wilson does not view HD
Voice as a replacement for
ISDN, saying it is something
else entirely. “It’s a single
channel mono service and as the
applications we’re dealing with
are just based on voice, then
7kHz is fine.
www.full-hd-voice.com
www.glensound.com
Lawo AG | Rastatt / Germany
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6 energy bars
1 goal
Focus on functionality — the mc² 66 MKII.
Inspired by your needs — the mc² 66 MKII. Not only does this much developed
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the latest touch screen displays, a revised layout and totally reliable control
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which will continue to inspire audio engineers in OB trucks, studios and theatres.
For more information visit www.lawo.de
Visit Lawo at NAB 2012 in Las Vegas
April 16 – 19, Hall C2, Booth C2046
42 l April 2012
Where?
showpreview
Las Vegas Convention
Centre, US
UNITED STATES
NAB 2012
PSNEurope and sister title TVBEurope round up
some expected highlights of this year’s NAB show
The Express Box two-position
commentary box from Glensound
WITH CONFERENCES
from 14-19 April and
exhibits from 16-19,
NAB will once again showcase
information, education and
product launches covering the
whole content lifecycle.
New for 2012 is the Cloud
Computing Pavilion, which will
provide information on Cloud
applications, platform structure
security and more, and the
StartUp Loft where
participating companies
will showcase ‘the next
big thing’.
In Post|Production
World registrants can
enjoy workshops
covering DSLR TimeLapse Video Workshop
& Field Trip, Mobile
apps, and more.
Meanwhile, back on
the showfloor… Barix
is coming to NAB with
new audio over IP
broadcast solutions –
including its first twoway audio application
Bringing content
to life
for the TV and video production
space. The Annuncicom PS1
doubles as an IP paging and
intercom device, with a compact
design said to be ideal for use in
fast-paced video production
environments. A push-to-talk
button allows technical directors
to facilitate camera movements
and communicate with
production personnel while
remaining mobile. Camera
operators can mount a simple
belt clip to the back of the
device for on-cable attachments.
The Artemis Light, the newest
member of Calrec’s Artemis
family, will be demonstrated at
NAB. The audio console
introduces a new compact
processing rack, dedicated to
delivering digital signal
processing (DSP) and routing
capabilities in a 4U enclosure.
Like all Artemis consoles,
Artemis Light incorporates
Bluefin2 high-density signal
processing and Hydra2
networking technologies.
Employing the same hardware
and software architecture, the
Artemis Light can be fully
integrated with any existing
Hydra2 network.
Visitors are again expected to pack the floors of the Las Vegas Convention Center
Calrec will also highlight its
Hydra2 Operator (H2O), a
remotely accessible management
system that enhances the
flexibility of the Hydra2
network router.
CEDAR Audio is set to
showcase its Academy
Award-winning dialogue noise
suppressors, both in hardware
form and as part of the CEDAR
Studio suite of plug-ins for
Pro Tools on the Mac and PC.
The company will also be
demonstrating its flagship
CEDAR Cambridge V7
workstation as well as the
CEDAR Duo rackmount
restoration modules.
Glensound will unveil two
products at this year’s event,
the Express Box commentary
system and a digital hybrid and
mobile unit.
The Express Box is a twoposition commentary box.
Each box has its own mic
inputs with selectable 48V
phantom power and
compressor/limiter. There are
two common talkback circuits
available to each commentator
along with four common inputs
and a sidetone control for
headphone monitoring.
Also new is the GS-MPITBU,
a 1U 19” rack featuring a digital
POTS hybrid alongside a GSMPI005 Broadcasters’ Mobile
Phone. There is a single input
and output on the rear panel
that is switched via a front panel
toggle switch to use either the
phone or the hybrid.
April 2012 l 43
NAB 2012
The GS-MPI005 part of the
system is a quad band 2G GSM
phone enabling broadcasting
specification interfacing to
the mobile phone network.
The audio is RF shielded
so is unaffected by the RF of
the antenna.
Dynamics specialist Jünger
Audio will present two new
additions to its *AP family of
loudness control processors.
These units are designed to help
US broadcasters stay within the
parameters of the newly
introduced CALM legislation.
The two additions, which will be
on show for the first time in the
US, are the D*AP LM4 – a fourchannel digital audio processor
incorporating Version II of
Jünger Audio’s LEVEL MAGIC
algorithm – and its two-channel
counterpart, the D*AP LM2.
Also responding to CALM
legislation, Linear Acoustic is
introducing the AERO.Lite. “With
the implementation of the CALM
Act, US broadcasters want to
make sure they’re compliant,” says
Tim Carroll, president of Linear
Acoustic. “They were asking for
an essentials-only AERO
loudness controller. We also saw
a need in the global market –
where multichannel audio isn’t
as prevalent.”
AERO.lite comes in a
compact 1-RU package and
offers HD/SD-SDI, AES, and
analogue inputs and outputs.
Audio can be extracted from any
HD/SD-SDI pair for processing,
and the processed audio can be
re-embedded into any or all
SDI pairs.
The Horus Networked
Audio Converter will make its
NAB debut on the Merging
Technologies booth. Horus is
a high-quality audio converter
in a small form factor with
extremely low power
consumption. Digital audio
input connections are MADI
and AES/EBU with optional
analogue mic and line inputs;
for outputs there are MADI,
AES/EBU and optional
analogue line. Additionally there
are connections for LTC, MIDI,
RS-422 and GPIO. The final
showpreview
Linear’s AERO.lite is responding the demands of the CALM Act
socket is the RJ-45 that connects
the Ravenna IP audio stream.
Riedel Communications
presents its range of AVB
solutions at this year’s show. Said
to overcome AVB issues such as
latency, reliability and missing
synchronization, the Riedel suite
distribution of digital partylines.
Highlights on the AETA
Audio stand will include Scoop
4IP, a rackmount codec focused
on IP links, designed for
broadcasters (STL users) or
others who wish to do live
transmissions over IP; 4MinX,
90,000+
Media and entertainment professionals from over
150 countries expected to attend in 2012
of AVB products includes the
AVB-108 G2 Client, the Connect
AVB and Connect AVBx8 panel
interfaces. They offer intercom
applications over LAN
infrastructures such as matrix-tocontrol panel connections, audio
distribution, matrix-to-matrix
trunking connections or
the first fully integrated multitrack digital recorder and mixer;
and Scoop 5, an updated version
of Scoop 4 complete with
ergonomically improved design.
New from Wohler is the
DVM-2443 MPEG video
monitor – a cost-effective fourscreen monitoring system that
DVA T12. The Networker.
Fully remote configurable and controllable
via RDnet
Works anywhere
with 90-265 volts operating range
Fully scalable and DVA T4 inline compatible
with almost 20.000 T4 units sold worldwide
The dBTechnologies DVA T12 is a fully-powered 3-way
speaker system with a high-end digital controller (DSP) on
board, 1.500 W Class-D power amps and 12“/ 2x6.5“/ 3x1“
neodymium transducers.
Join the network, no matter where you are.
Visit us at the
2012
21/03 - 24/03 2012, Frankfurt, Germany
Hall 8.0, Booth G70
DVA T12. Sounds like an excellent investment.
offers broadcasters advanced test
and measurement features in a
standalone 2RU configuration.
The DVM-2443 MPEG video
monitor incorporates four
4.3” 16:9 ratio LED backlit
displays for flexible and at-aglance monitoring of
programme content from
MPEG-2/4 ASI streams, as well
as PID table metadata,
waveform, and vectorscope
overlays, and audio-level meters.
Wohler will also debut a new
dual-input SDI audio monitor
that offers high-performance
monitoring of embedded
audio in 3G/HD or SD-SDI
streams. The 1-RU unit
de-embeds and provides
metering and monitoring of
any or all of the 16 audio
channels in the selected 3G/HD
or SD-SDI stream.
www.nabshow.com
44 l April 2012
For the latest live news
www.prosoundnewseurope.com/live
live
SOUNDBITES
TC Showtechnik assumed sound
reinforcement duties once again for
World Cup skiing in GarmischPartenkirchen, Germany. The
concept this year was based on
multiple line arrays of different
sizes united by an Electro-Voice
N8000-1500 controller matrix.
www.electrovoice.com
Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein at
London’s National Theatre – which
features Funktion One
loudpseakers – has been nominated
for an Olivier Award for Best Sound
Design. Production sound was
designed by Underworld and Ed
Clarke, and includes Funktion One’s
Res3SH, F221, Res4 and F218.
www.funktion-one.com
GERMANY/BELGIUM
VTX flying in Europe
First public show for
JBL rig after Belgium
listening shoot-out,
writes Dave Robinson
Production Resource Group
(PRG) and Harman Pro recently
collaborated on the first public
outing of the NAMM-launched
JBL VTX line array. PRG chose
Harman components for the Live
Entertainment Awards which took
place in the Festhalle at Prolight +
Sound on 20 March. Comprising
Soundcraft Vi Series digital
consoles and Crown’s V-Racks,
the event served as the European
launch of the new technology,
which features the “revolutionary”
D2 compression driver.
featured comparative listening
tests between 12 deep hangs of
VTX V25, VerTec VT4889 and
L-Acoustics K1 enclosures.
Big Mick is reported to have
asked for a private session testing
the system, without press or
guests: “I have Metallica in the
box,” he was overheard to say,
pointing at the Midas console he
had brought with him.
Following the Belgium event,
the VTX enclosures were
shipped to Frankfurt.
www.jblpro.com
A JBL VTX V25 system was
deployed in the Festhalle
Veteran soundman Gert
Sanner, a recent addition to the
Harman team, was the FOH
engineer in charge for the event.
The Frankfurt showcase fell
only a few days after the VTX
System Listening Experience at
AED Rent’s Belgium HQ. As
PSNEurope revealed earlier this
year, AED Rent was the first
customer for the JBL system.
More than 240 professionals,
including Metallica engineer ‘Big’
Mick Hughes, attended the event
on 16 March. Afternoon sessions
E100. More power 2U.
4 x 2.5 kW, 12 kg, Class D Power Amplifier
7654325410/411021056.4-0/41101,+*4)))56.40,6(4.)0'4/2&4.2%$0#2$#0,6(4.4"!01 ,4.26.016 %"2%$0+5,/22*+326%02%0+0*65,+*3
6.5+3!00$ +.+%344104*4,326%+/016 %"0 +/230+%"0 356130.4/2+2/2302%03#4056130"45+%"2%$0*6%"2326%1)0 .0+"&+%*4"
042*24%30/+110'06 3, 3013+$40. %10*66/0+%"0".+(10/4110,6(4.0.6503#405+2%1)0
+*4"00+004+.0(+..+%3!0$43056.4!06.0/411)0Find the full specs at www.mc2-audio.co.uk.
"2600%2310
02%$1$+34004+3#,+.0%" 13.2+/013+34006%236%!0'4&6%00000%$/+%"001+/415*
+ "26)*6) April 2012 l 45
livereport
UNITED KINGDOM
Ten years on and Oliver
Driver’s company can still
find reasons to party
Audio Alliance
ROCKNET
still flying high
As the rental company celebrates its 10th anniversary, managing director Oliver Driver talks
to Erica Basnicki about the past decade and preparing for the future
AUDIO ALLIANCE – a sound
rental company specialising in
corporate productions – is
celebrating its 10th anniversary
this year. The past decade has
certainly been an interesting
one, says Oliver Driver, Audio
Alliance’s managing director.
“The unusual projects are
always memorable – flying to a
job in Turkey when all flights
had been grounded due to the
ash cloud was interesting. Two
thousand Russian delegates
were flying to Turkey as they, of
course, hadn’t been affected,”
he recalls. “There was no
option but to get there, and our
client managed to persuade a
private jet company to fly us
out of UK airspace at 4,000ft,
refuel in France and take off to
Turkey. I understand that they
got a severe talking to from the
Civil Aviation Authority for
that – but it was great fun,
especially knowing that no-one
else was flying!”
These are tricky economic
times, there’s no denying that,
but Driver is feeling robust.
The company employs five fulltime staff but often calls upon
five or six ‘regular’ freelance
engineers. “2012 has brought a
raft of top brands to us, via
our production company
clients, with work for
Santander, Proctor & Gamble,
Wella, Clarks, The Cooperative, AstraZeneca and
many more,” he says. “Venues
and this year alone has spent
close to £250,000 (€300,000) on
new stock. Further investment
was made in Yamaha consoles,
choosing the M7CL-48 and
PM5D. Sticking to the same
reliable brand was essential for
Audio Alliance, as it’s what its
engineers, and most importantly
its clients, have become
accustomed to.
“The future is exciting –
we’re seeing a constant
evolution of technology and
we’re very eager to keep at
the forefront of that”
Oliver Driver
have ranged from Earls Court,
and The Roundhouse to venues
in Venice, Ghana and Nice.
Our production company
clients are busy and very loyal
to Audio Alliance and the
security of service we provide.”
To keep up with the
increased workload, Audio
Alliance has continued to
invest in the latest technology
“We’re very brand loyal and
work closely with
manufacturers to provide
feedback and real-world
testing – which in turn gives us
insight into their product cycle
and direct access to service and
support we need,” says Driver.
Audio Alliance has also
acquired more EtherSound
digital multicore systems and
d&b M4 wedges. With the
changes in frequency laws the
Sennheiser 3000 series radio
mics were chosen as
replacements, using DPA
headset mics. More Sennheiser
MKH series mics, and AKG
C414s have also been added.
The congested radio
frequency spectrum is just one
of the subjects Driver reflects on
when I ask him about what the
future might hold for Audio
Alliance and the pro-audio
industry in general. He’s an
optimist though: “We’re seeing a
constant evolution of
technology and we’re very eager
to keep at the forefront of that.
The market for our level of
quality and service will continue.
I think it’s important to stay
focused; keeping direction and
keeping the attention to detail
high. Minutiae matter and you
build your quality from the base
up. I predict a steady expansion
putting the right people in place
to keep up the level of service
our clients expect.”
www.audioalliance.com
The Digital Audio Network
160 channels via locking
EtherCon RJ45 cables
Network redundancy
Simple user interface no
computer required
Unlimited lossless splits
Superb audio quality
www.riedel.net
46 l April 2012
livenews
SOUNDBITE
dBTechnologies has announced
two new distribution agreements in
Eastern Europe. In Lithuania,
Tamsta Audio has been signed up
to handle the full dB product range,
while in Slovenia retail giant Music
Max has been appointed to look
after the distribution of its MI
loudspeaker ranges in the territory.
www.dbtechnologies.com
www.musicmax.si
www.tamsta.lt
UNITED KINGDOM/EUROPE
LPN set for April 2013 launch
By Erica Basnicki
EXHIBITION AND conference
organiser Informa has
announced Live Production
Network (LPN) – a new
conference and exhibition for the
live production industry taking
Save the date? More details on the O2 event to come
place 28-30 April 2013 at The O2
Arena, alongside PALME
Europe. Tickets to the event will
be free of charge; exhibitors and
presenters will be selected via
invitation, though specific details
have yet to be announced.
PSNEurope was keen to
discover what Live Production
Network is offering, in light of
the continued presence of
established events such as
PLASA. In a statement issued
ahead of the appointment of an
event director, LPN said: “The
ethos of Live Production
Network is to engage people
through relevant content and
bring the live event production
industry together under one
roof. The conference programme
will be a major focus of the
event and the thought
leadership elements will set it
apart from any other event in
the industry so far. PALME
Europe will champion
entertainment technology to
encompass venue installation.”
www.liveproductionnetwork.com
CZECH REPUBLIC
KV2 cruises
to 10 years
By Erica Basnicki
COINCIDING WITH the
company’s 10th birthday
celebrations, 70 distributors
from around the world
attended KV2 Audio’s
first international
distributor meeting in the
Czech Republic.
Finland’s Noretron won
the 2011 Distributor of the
Year Award for Northern
Europe, with Switzerland’s
Plusmusic AG receiving the
honour for Southern Europe.
Other winners included
Triangle Sound & Image
(Middle East and Africa), and
Sindo Exports (Asia Pacific).
An award for commitment,
consistency and unwavering
loyalty was given to David
Willams of KV2 Asia Pacific,
who was named Distributor
of the Decade for 2002–2012.
Dave Croxton, KV2
director of sales and
marketing, said: “Our
inaugural distributor meeting
has been a huge success!
The experience has been
extremely positive.”
www.kv2audio.com
April 2012 l 47
livereport
NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands reaches
fever pitch
Photo: Roy Beusker, copyright Stage Entertainment NL
New Saturday Night Fever Tour gets the crowds
dancing with L-Acoustics package
The tour will take in
13 of the Netherlands’
largest theatres
DUTCH PRODUCTION
company Joop van den Ende
recently kicked off a massive
new touring production of
Saturday Night Fever, which
opened in February at the
Carré Theatre in Amsterdam.
Sound design is by acclaimed
Dutch designer Jeroen ten
Brinke, who selected a sizeable
L-Acoustics loudspeaker
system for the tour, which also
features a number of technical
innovations backstage. Sound
equipment and support is
courtesy of London-based
Orbital Sound.
Ten Brinke specified a
combination of 18 L-Acoustics
KARA loudspeakers for the
main left and right arrays,
supported by two SB28 subs,
with six L-Acoustics KIVA
cabinets forming the centre
cluster. These are powered by
five LA8 amplifiers, which
incorporate the LA network
control for remote control
access and processing via the
Meyer Sound Galileo system.
The Dutchman explained his
approach: “SNF is playing 13 of
the Netherlands’ largest theatres,
with minimal load in time at
each venue. We have designed
the whole system to fit into two
trucks, keeping everything in the
digital domain from start to
finish – we can simply roll out all
the kit and plug it up really fast.
I needed lots of gain, with the
show transitioning from being
very quiet and soft to very loud,
and the L-Acoustics system was
an obvious choice. The speakers
are quite linear, maintaining a
very consistent frequency
response – and the system is
18
right for the job. The Orbital
crew has been very co-operative
and given us excellent support,
as well as coming up with a lot
of great theatre solutions.”
Behind the scenes, the sound
team identified a number of
innovative ways to streamline
the tour logistics from the
technical perspective, including
commissioning a specially
designed set of flight cases that
L-Acoustics
KARA
speakers are used for the main arrays
quite simply the best I have ever
heard. It is the first time that I
have used the KARA and KIVA
cabinets, and the result is great –
they really are very ‘grateful’
speakers! It’s a simple
configuration but also a very
efficient one, with two
conventional Meyer Sound
UPAs bottom left and right
giving us a bit of extra coverage
up to row 10. At FOH, we have a
relatively small Digidesign
VENUE console, which is just
enable the KARA speakers to
be securely stacked three-high
for transportation. In addition,
the KIVA speakers and main
hanging brackets remain
pinned together for shipping –
all contributing to saving time
on arrival at a new venue,
and on breakdown. Orbital’s
task from the outset was to
focus on how to streamline
each and every part of the
technical process, requiring
some major ingenuity.
David Bartholomeusz,
Orbital’s project manager/
production engineer for
Saturday Night Fever, explains
what was involved: “Given the
scale of the show, we knew that
we faced a mammoth task to
get the show designed, built
and the equipment tested – not
helped by Christmas and New
Year falling right in the middle
of the build period. Everyone
stepped up to the mark, and it
shipped to Holland on time,
ready for the first day of loadin at the Theater Aan De Schie
in Schiedam. We were very
fortunate to have Stage
Entertainments’ Bas Arets, the
sound No 1 for the show, come
over from Holland for four
days during the build. His
knowledge and assistance
certainly helped us to ship the
show on time.
“We were keen to try to
streamline as much of the
technical process as possible,
and introduced a number of
measures to achieve this,”
Bartholomeusz continues. “The
first involved using Orbital’s
proprietary Guff cable, which
combines six audio lines, four
BNC video lines, Cat5 and
power into a single cable. This
makes a big difference to loadin times, as you only need to
run one cable to accommodate
all the production aspects. We
are also using our FOH
Digimult cable, which consists
of four BNC, four audio lines,
two Cat5 and Power, to cover
all necessary requirements to
make the Digidesign system,
and other components, go
together as quickly and
seamlessly as possible. This,
coupled with our integrated
RacPac racking system that
incorporates in-built lighting,
power and easy stackability,
makes it possible to wheel the
large amp racks and radio
racks into place, ready to plug
and play.”
www.l-acoustics.com
www.orbitalsound.co.uk
www.riedel.net
48 l April 2012
livenews
SOUNDBITES
UNITED KINGDOM
Glasgow jazz
for Roland
John Digweed has adopted the new
Xone:DB4 digital FX mixer as his
mixer of choice for all tours and
gigs. “I’ve been using Allen & Heath
mixers since the Xone:62 came out
and I’ve always been a fan, insisting
on A&H at every gig,” he explained.
“The DB4 is stable, well built, with
excellent, warm sound – it just
delivers.” Digweed – who’s setup
comprises the Xone:DB4 and three
CDJs – has been using the mixer for
several months, road-testing it
while touring internationally.
www.allen-heath.com
Turbosound demonstrated its new
Flashline large-scale line array over
two days in March at Oberhausen’s
König Pilsener Arena, Germany.
Over 100 audio professionals were
in attendance for the event.
Turbosound MD Simon Blackwood
said: “With five Flashline systems
already shipped, this event revealed
to over 100 more decision makers
that we really have the class-leading
product in all aspects of ownership.”
www.turbosound.com
By Erica Basnicki
Small footprint set-up
captures big jazz sound
THE SCOTTISH National Jazz
Orchestra (SNJO) has purchased
a Roland M-480 Live Mixing
Console and R-1000 48 Track
Recorder as well as two
S-1608 Digital Snakes for use on
their tour across Scotland.
Glasgow-based hire company
Sono Vie supplied the M-480,
R-1000 and S-1608s, which were
put to the test at the Music Hall
in Aberdeen, the Queens Hall in
Edinburgh and the Royal Scottish
Conservatoire of Music in
Glasgow. Chief engineer for the
Kling & Freitag in tune with sound engineers all over the world
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SNJO, Mark McKellen, wanted to
find a flexible system with a small
footprint that was simple to set up,
portable and, most importantly,
could record the performances.
The R-1000 in combination with
the M-480 allowed for this,
requiring only a Cat5 cable.
“Being able to run Cat5 from A
to B is just amazing because
lugging around metres of multicore is a nightmare. It’s pretty
revolutionary to be able to
connect to the mixer so easily,”
said McKellen.
www.rolandsystemsgroup.co.uk
www.snjo.co.uk
SEQUENZA 10
April 2012 l 49
64
livereport
Channels of audio
mixed per show
EUROPE
The Area 52 tour is the
first time the pair have
toured with a band
RyG Area 52
demystified by iLive
Allen & Heath’s iLive console handled sound duties for Rodrigo y Gabriela’s
salsa-tinged Area 52 tour with the C.U.B.A. orchestra, writes Erica Basnicki
ALLEN & HEATH has once
again teamed up with Rodrigo
y Gabriela to bring the duo’s
latest album, Area 52, to stages
all over Europe.
The Mexican guitarists’ latest
album features nine previously
released songs, reworked into
salsa-flavoured instrumental
pieces by pianist/arranger Alex
Wilson, with a 13-piece Cuban
band (called, um, C.U.B.A.)
added to the mix.
David Marchant, FOH
engineer for Rodrigo y Gabriela,
explained the album’s sound:
“This guy [Wilson] did amazing
salsa arrangements: the same
songs by Rodrigo y Gabriela,
but in pure salsa, with three
percussionists, strings, horns –
lots of horns – a huge set-up.”
After recording the orchestra
in Havana, Cuba, Rodrigo and
Gabriela added guitars in their
home studio in Mexico. The
Area 52 tour would be the first
time the pair toured with a
band, and compromise was
necessary in order to make the
sound work on the road.
“We knew that to bring the
whole band would be too
expensive. Rod and Gab aren’t
used to that; they’re only two
people! So we cut the band as
much as possible; we have one
guy doing percussion instead of
three, two horns instead of seven,
and that makes the salsa change
a little bit. We’re not really salsa,
we’re not really Cuban; we are a
little bit rock, a little bit Latin,
and a little bit Rodrigo y
Gabriela,” Marchant said.
At the centre of the
production are two Allen &
Heath iLive T-112 consoles;
one for Marchant, and the
other for monitor engineer
Mike McGrath. An iDR-64
MixRack handles all 60 inputs
from the stage – a combination
of Sennheiser mics and Radial
DI boxes – while a 60-channel
Dante link sends the audio to
Marchant’s laptop, who records
each show using MOTU’s
Digital Performer.
Marchant takes his gain
structure from McGrath, which
frees him to concentrate on the
live show, rather than having to
worry about peaking recording
levels. He certainly can’t afford to
split his attention; despite a
stripped-down band, Marchant is
still mixing 64 channels of audio
each show, 26 of which are
reserved exclusively for percussion.
“If we were to walk in to a
club with a normal house board
like a (Yamaha) PM5D or
something like that, we don’t
physically have enough inputs
to do this show,” said McGrath.
“I don’t think we’d be able to
do the show without them (the
iLives) and that’s not a sales
pitch. Literally, that’s true.”
On stage during soundcheck
for their February gig at the O2
Academy in Brixton, Rodrigo,
Gabriela, and C.U.B.A, rehearse
Hanuman a loud, rocking,
Santana-inspired piece blowing
out of the PA system provided
by APR Audio. The main FOH
system consists mainly of
Electro-Voice X-Line and Xlvc
components; eight Xvls
elements per side flown for
Brixton’s balcony and stalls, 10
XLD281s across the front of the
stage and lower stalls, and a
total of 12 X-Subs – six per side.
The side fill system included
two XDS sub bass cabs,
four XB bass cabs and four
XCN MB/HF from ElectroVoice’s X-Array system.
Finishing off the system are
12 HK CT115 monitor wedges
coupled with two HK
CTA118 powered subs.
According to APR Audio’s
Matt Gunter, the system used
at the O2 Academy Brixton is
about two-thirds of the kit
that they’d normally use at
Glastonbury. In a word: loud.
Marchant credits the iLive for
easily being able to keep track
of the incredible sound
bursting from the stage.
“The advantage of the iLive
when you’re mixing this show is
that you can easily see what’s
going on in each channel.
Because the dynamic range of
this music is so huge, you need
to be able to see everything in
a glance. I don’t want to be
looking at a little screen. With
the iLive, I can just look quickly,
see everything, and keep my eye
on the stage. Everything is
colourful, everything is handy,
everything is right there.”
McGrath added that the
consoles are also helping the
musicians on-stage, who are
using in-ear monitors –
Sennheiser G3s – and many for
the first time: “There’s a lot of
jazz players in the band, and
they’ve never really gone near
in-ears before. It’s always been
smoky jazz club gigs. With this
desk I have so many effects
I can make it sound ‘live’ rather
than really dead, dry sounding,
like it normally would. I can
add little reverbs, little ambiances
on them that make it sound
real, it really helps.”
The Area 52 tour continues
in North America this April,
followed by a summer festival
tour this summer.
www.allen-heath.com
www.riedel.net
50 l April 2012
For the latest installation news
www.prosoundnewseurope.com/installation
installation
SOUNDBITES
Aviom’s AllFrame MultiModular I/O System made its
debut recently on a production of
the Life of Galileo at the revamped
Allen Theatre at
PlayhouseSquare, Cleveland,
Ohio. Part of the theatre’s Pro64
Audio Network, there are three
AllFrames installed throughout
the venue, including the orchestra
pit and stage, and two that can be
placed anywhere required.
www.aviom.com
Panamax/Furman has
announced its integration into
the AMX InConcert Partner
Program to bring AMX
automation to its BlueBOLT
and UPS products. The
company can provide dealers
with a set of two-way TCP/IP
and RS-232 driver modules for
Panamax/Furman BlueBOLT.
www.mybluebolt.com/partners/
Barix is exclusively providing IP
audio decoding solutions
(Exstreamer units) to Music in
Brands for the delivery of music
programming to retail stories
and other public areas. The
company uses Barix for both
direct audio streaming and
store-and-forward solutions in
businesses around Sweden,
providing playout solutions for
in-store campaigns.
www.barix.com
WORLD
AVB ups its game
By Dave Robinson &
David Davies
THE PROFILE of the AVB
standard and the work of the
AVnu Alliance appears to be
firmly in the ascendant as the
Las Vegas InfoComm event
approaches (9-15 June).
Last month, the Alliance
announced a link up to the
University of New Hampshire, a
certification timeline, and
welcomed three more
technology partners to its
family. Furthermore, the AVB
Networking Conference 2012 is
due to be held coincident with
InfoComm at the Renaissance
Hotel, Las Vegas, on 12 June.
The University of New
Hampshire InterOperability
Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an
independent networking and
data communications testing
provider, has been named by the
AVnu Alliance as the first test
house for the AVB devices
certification programme. This
agreement is reported to be
“a significant step forward in
advancing the IEEE 802.1 AVB
John McMahon, Meyer Sound
standards and bringing certified
AVB networking products to
the market”.
UNH-IOL is a neutral,
third-party testing service
provider that works with other
industry consortia including the
Ethernet Alliance, Wi-Fi
Alliance and IPv6 Forum.
A timeline for the certification
programme has also been
established. Starting August
2012, Alliance members can
submit AVB-enabled bridges to
UNH-IOL to begin testing. For
professional audio products, the
testing process will begin in Q1
of 2013. Products by alliance
members Avid, Biamp, Extreme
Networks, Harman, Meyer
Sound, Riedel Communications,
and others are expected to be in
the first wave of devices
submitted for full AVnu
interoperability certification. Meyer Sound – which last
month launched the 1100-LFC,
a new ‘low-end frequency
control element’ in Frankfurt –
has made an early commitment
to certification.
44
AVnu Alliance members
John McMahon, executive
director – digital products, Meyer
Sound, tells PSNEurope: “Meyer
Sound is committed to submitting
its AVB-capable products for
compliance and interoperability
testing as soon as the certification
programme for professional
audio products begins for AVnu
Alliance member companies in
Audio-Video Bridging
is back on the
radar as a summer of
networking technology
approaches
Q1 of 2013. A number of
Meyer Sound loudspeaker and
digital audio systems are in the
development pipeline and will be
certified to ensure interoperability
with other AVnu-certified
AVB technologies.”
The link-up between the
AVnu Alliance and UNH-IOL
underlines the continuing sense
of momentum behind the AVB
project, whose standardisation
process is now in its closing stages.
Shortly before press time, the
Alliance revealed the addition
of three new members:
AudioScience, a US-based
manufacturer specialising in digital
audio peripherals; beyerdynamic,
a German developer of
conferencing systems, headphones,
and microphones; and OnTime
Networks AS, a Scandinavian
supplier of industrial data
communication products. The
AVnu Alliance is now represented
by more than 40 companies
representing automotive, pro AV,
and consumer electronics.
www.avnu.org
www.iol.unh.edu
www.meyersound.com
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April 2012 l 53
installationnews
Space was a key issue at
the opera house
GERMANY
d&b fits Opera
House to a T
By Erica Basnicki
Choosing a PA system to be
installed at the Oper Frankfurt
(Frankfurt Opera House)
involved a great deal of time,
care and painstaking accuracy,
according to head of the live
sound and CD production
team Peter Tobiasch. A d&b
system ended up fitting the
tight area to a ‘T’. “Two centimetres more of
dimensions would have stopped
the project, and this was the
only mid-sized line array system
with the required quality level
which could fit at all,” he
commented. “When we came
to bring in a new d&b
audiotechnik PA system behind
the panels that flank the
proscenium, the view from the
audience had to remain
totally unaltered.”
The opera house’s new
system – installed by Nies
electronic GmbH – comprises
d&b T10 loudspeakers
behind the panels, with T-SUB
and B4-SUB arrays below,
and required modifications
to the standard T-Series
mounts to fit in the small
space, as well as adhere to
engineering regulations.
UNITED KINGDOM
Tannoy’s digital beam steering QFlex loudspeakers have been installed by
Audio Light Systems at Edinburgh’s historic Royal Commonwealth pool as
part of a £37 million (€44 million) renovation project.
Steve Aitchison, project engineer for Audio Light Systems, said:
“The original design put forward was for a series of large speakers pointing
downwards. But this type of system design was what they had there before,
and it caused some problems with intelligibility due to the reflective nature
of the space.”
The solution was two QFlex 48s close coupled facing 90˚ from each other,
mounted 6m high. Just two units are able to provide total coverage of the pool area.
“The intuitive BeamEngine GUI allows the designer to specify target areas.
It meant we were able to visualise the coverage of each loudspeaker in the
system and create steering files to suit the specific space,” Aitchison said.
www.audiolightsystems.com
www.tannoy.com
www.thecommiepool.co.uk
Despite the technical challenges,
Tobiasch reported “no hearable
interference and phasing, no
frequency peaks and dips. It is for
me the most important quality
aspect that the d&b loudspeakers
do not make ‘sound’ on their
own; you just hear voices and
instruments. That means music or
speech and not ‘loudspeakers.’”
www.dbaudio.com
www.oper-frankfurt.de
54 l April 2012
installationnews
UNITED KINGDOM
New London office for Incus AV
INCUS AV, a provider of
audiovisual consultancy, design,
manufacture, installation,
commissioning and support, has
expanded its UK operations
with the opening of a new office
in Canary Wharf, London. With a growing number of
support and maintenance
contracts in the city and the
surrounding areas, the new site,
located in Skylines Village, will
provide a central hub from
which the company can respond
rapidly to clients.
The new office comes during a
busy period for Incus. Recent
projects include the design and
installation of upgraded Baldwin
Boxall voice alarm routing
matrices at the National
Exhibition Centre, Birmingham;
and consultancy to Egis Road
and Tunnel Operation Ireland in
preparation for an inspection
report for the Dublin Port
Tunnel, where an audio
distribution system based on
Peavey MediaMatrix processors
is used for safety announcements.
The company is currently
working on the design of
audiovisual systems for St
Catharine’s College, Cambridge
with acoustic consultant
Tim Lewers and architects
RHP Partnership. Installation
will begin on a new college
centre, including systems
fora 160-seat auditorium
with retractable seating, and
an all-new basement bar, in
the summer. Incus has also announced the
appointment of Mark Butler,
who will be based at the London
office. He will be responsible for
support and maintenance
contracts across the country,
and brings with him over 20
years of audiovisual experience,
ranging from bench repairs to
account management.
Butler said: “I feel extremely
proud and excited to be part of
Incus AV as they have achieved
so much in their first year. With
the opening of our London
office, I see great things ahead
for the business.”
Mark Butler: new face at the new office
The address of the new office
is: 41 Skyline Village, London,
E14 9TS.
www.incusav.com
ITALY
Teenyweeny tweeters and woofers. Live.
Larger rooms feature QSC AD-S52 loudspeakers,
with all audio and video co-ordinated via Q-Sys
Rock solid Q-Sys kit at
historic museum site
PERCHED ON a rocky
promontory high above the small
northern Italian town of Bard,
Forte di Bard (Fort Bard) has
been a site of significance since
the pre-Roman era. The latest
step in its on-going development
– completely restored in 2006 – is
the new museum dedicated to the
history of the site. It features an
interactive multimedia exhibition
with synchronised audiovisual
presentations delivered via
conventional video screen,
interactive touchscreens and
video projection.
IBR Sistemi of Genoa handled
the design and installation of the
new museum, and with the help
of AudioLink, QSC’s exclusive
distributor in Italy, selected QSys for control.
Every element of the Forte di
Bard exhibition is controlled by
Q-Sys. At the centre of the
network, a Q-Sys Core 3000 unit
handles 68 channels of audio and
controls 125 peripheral devices,
ranging from touchscreens and
their computers to video players,
video screens and projectors.
Additional Q-Sys I/O frames
equipped with DataPort I/O
cards allow centralised control of
the CX Series amplifiers located
all around the exhibition.
Meanwhile, the I/O frames’ GPIO
ports allow the Q-Sys Core to
directly control the lighting
system and the motorised screens
used for larger video projections.
AcousticDesign Series ADS32T and AD-S52 loudspeakers
have also been integrated into
the solution; their compact size
meant they could be mounted
on lightweight frames suspended
from the ceiling. Where further
sound reinforcement was
required, AD-S28Tw subwoofers
were also deployed.
Claudio Donato of IBR
Sistemi said: “We’ve found QSys to be an extremely powerful
and flexible platform – easy to
integrate into our interactive
system and very innovative.”
www.qscaudio.com
The E4 loudspeaker is just a tad bigger than a compact disc. A miniature
made for mobile applications, such as a stand-alone system or supported by
the E12X subwoofer. While it sounds distinctively bigger than it is, it remains
neutral, clear, transparent and intelligible even at high sound pressure levels.
As with all the little systems in the d&b E-Series.
April 2012 l 55
installationnews
FINLAND
A Constellation of configurations
for Finnish venue
The Hall can be configured
for a huge variety of events
IN TURKU, Finland, the
flexible Logomo Hall assumes
whatever size or shape is suited
to the event of the evening, its
physical versatility made
possible by a massive seating
stand that glides back and
forth on compressed air
cushions. Its permanently
installed Meyer Sound
Constellation acoustic system
optimises acoustical responses
for both the current room
configuration and the event at
hand, whether a concert,
conference, play, or opera.
“Constellation’s effect is
extremely realistic,” observes
Janne Auvinen, events and venue
director for Logomo. “People
don’t actually notice the system
because it is just so natural.”
www.dbaudio.com
By Erica Basnicki
The Logomo development
team specified Constellation
early in the project timeline, with
Akukon acoustical consultants
of Helsinki designing
complementary physical
acoustics for the implementation
of Constellation. Studiotec
Oy of Espoo supplied and
installed the hardware
components, with facilitation
by CEO Peter Stråhlman and
onsite project operations
management by Uli Jetzinger.
“Constellation is a crucial part
of our public profile as a diverse
arts and entertainment venue,”
Auvinen says. “We can stage
operas, concerts, theatre,
conferences, and even films without
having to accept compromises in
acoustics. That’s what makes the
venue truly different.”
www.meyersound.com
IRAN
dBTechnologies’ DVA T12 and DVA T4 were chosen for the Hazrat
Masoomeh mosque last month; the first ever line array to be installed at a
religious site in Iran. A total of 6 DVA T12 and 10 DVA T4 units made up the
two arrays.
Installation was completed in just 12 hours by local dBTechnologies
distributor Kish Pishgaman Co’s technical team, headed by Meysam
Khorasani. “They were so easy to install, almost clip on, plug and play,” he
said of the DVA speakers.
www.dbtechnologies.com
56 l April 2012
installationreport
Water music
ITALY
AKG C414 B-ULS
microphones were
initially used to record
the spouts
Italian engineers’ record an ancient fountain
for art installation, writes Mike Clark
fountain: “Make harmony with
the different falls of water, as I
saw in the fountain in Rimini”.
The main circular drum on
which the pinecone that gives
the fountain its name stands
dates back to Roman times and
the basins under the 15 spouts
are 15th century. Until 1912, the
fountain was the city’s only
source of drinking water and is
still a thirst-quenching stopping
point on hot summer days.
Felli was fascinated by
the inscription and often
considered creating an audio
installation dedicated to it: “I
finally decided to proceed with
t
ON THE OCCASION of
March’s World Water Day and
the centenary of the
inauguration of Rimini’s
aqueduct, events organised by
Consorzio dei Saperi included a
unique audio installation
entitled The harmony of ancient
and modern waters by sound
engineers Andrea Felli and
Francesco Penolazzi.
Michelangelo visited Rimini
in the 16th century and his
comment regarding the beauty
of the town’s Pigna fountain and
the possibility of creating music
with water falling into various
sized vessels is inscribed on the
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for optimum performance
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to run up to 12 systems simultaneously
I 32 MHz bandwidth / 1280 switchable frequencies allowing users
to run up to 24 systems simultaneously
I Frequency bank management with up to 12 frequencies per bank
I Frequency bank management with up to 24 frequencies per bank
I Wireless synchronization of transmitters via infrared interface
I Wireless synchronization of transmitters via infrared interface
I Computer monitoring software for all aspects of performance
I Interactive computer control and monitoring software for all
aspects of performance
I Integral triple tone grip/noise and signal strength mute circuit for
protection against external interference
I Heaphone monitoring function
I Single AA operation of transmitters with battery life of over 10 hours
I 3-level charge indicator for transmitter battery life
I Clear and intuitive LCD displays on both transmitters and receivers
I Professional metal enclosures for both transmitter and receiver
I Optional rack mount kits available.
Call our Channel 38 HOTLINE
07500 787 755
www.trantec.co.uk
TOA Corporation (UK) Limited
HQ3 Unit 2, Hook Rise South, Surbiton, Surrey, KT6 7LD, England
I Integral triple tone grip/noise and signal strength mute circuit for
protection against external interference
I Heaphone monitoring function
I Single AA operation of transmitters with battery life of over 10 hours
I 3-level charge indicator for transmitter battery life
I Clear and intuitive LCD displays on both transmitters and receivers
I Professional metal enclosures for both transmitter and receiver
I Rack mount kit included for all S5.5 models.
58 l April 2012
installationreport
detailed recordings of the
fountain, in order to reproduce
the sound’s effect indoors as
accurately as possible.”
Veteran FOH and monitor
engineer Penolazzi also has a
microphone rental company and
explains: “This was the first time
I’d mic’d a fountain, so we
decided to do several sessions to
test the sound. The initial set-up
consisted of eight AKG C414
B-ULS large-diaphragm
condenser microphones recording
the spouts in pairs, and two more
in omnidirectional configuration
to record the sound of the square.
We then repeated the sessions
using Sennheiser MKH 40s and
lastly used four AKG C451 mics
with CK8 capsules to record the
details of each spout, such as the
water starting and stopping, and
the gurgles as it ran off.”
Recordings were made from
1am to sunrise, when the
pedestrian-only square was at its
quietest, using a Millennia
Media HV-3D eight-channel
mic preamp, RME Fireface 800
and Pro Tools 9.
Francesco Penolazzi at
work in the studio, with
Andrea Felli (behind)
“Running Logic Pro 9.1.6 on a Mac
Pro, we used the effects bank on
the Native Instruments Absynth 5,
Roger Linn’s Adrenalinn Sync and
Waves Renaissance Reverb”
Francesco Penolazzi
At Felli’s Farmhouse
Recording Studio on the
outskirts of Rimini, without
adding any musical
instruments, the pair processed
the sounds to create the
harmony Michaelangelo
referred to. “Running Logic
Pro 9.1.6 on a Mac Pro, we
used the effects bank on the
Native Instruments Absynth 5,
Roger Linn’s Adrenalinn Sync
and Waves Renaissance
Reverb,” he explains.
The high-impact installation
featured 14 Sound Advance
System BT82i omni-directional
enclosures powered by four
Proel HP-D 3000 four-channel
digital power amplifiers. Eight
formed the octagonal ‘virtual
fountain’ in the centre of the
(blacked out) room, while four
others were flown from the
ceiling round the room,
recreating the square’s
environment, and two at the
entrance. The signals were
routed and controlled via
Yamaha DME64 and playback
with Logic Pro 9.1.6 and an
M-Audio ProFire Lightbridge
audio interface. After the event,
Felli said: “Knowing of
Michelangelo’s love for all
things technical, I’d like to think
he’d have appreciated the
harmonies we created with
digital technology.”
www.akg.com
www.farmhouse-audio.com
60 l April 2012
installationfeature
Shelter
storm
from the
After an unsurprisingly shaky 2008-2010, the hotel sector
is bouncing back with a host of major construction projects.
Pleasingly, demand for sophisticated and integrated audio
systems is also on the rise, writes David Davies
IF, AS US Senator Hiram
Warren Johnson is reported to
have claimed, truth is the first
casualty of war, then there is a
compelling case to be made for
disposable income being the
inaugural victim of economic
turmoil. Leisure/tourism spend is
inevitably prone to being struck
from the shopping list, as
consumers in fear for their jobs
batten down the hatches.
Businesses, too, will be moved to
review travel expenses and ask the
dreaded question ‘is this really
necessary?’ As readers of
PSNEurope sister title Installation
Europe will be aware, the
evolution of videoconferencing
and telepresencing technology
means that the answer, more than
ever, can be ‘no’.
The recent collapse of several
major holiday firms and national
airlines (Spanair and Hungary’s
Malév both called it quits in
February) confirms that this
sector is still being hit in 2012.
Nonetheless, the overall pattern
for travel and tourism is one of
improvement: following two
years of decline in 2008-2009, the
European tourist/accommodation
sector began a modest recovery in
2010 that strengthened last year.
To illustrate, EU Eurostat
“Many hotels
are embracing
IPTV and digital
signage”
Chris Gunton,
CGA Integration
SAME GREAT
SHOW AT A
GREAT NEW
VENUE!
figures reveal that the total
number of nights spent in hotels
and similar establishments rose
by 3.8% in 2011.
A drop in new builds was one
of the most prominent
symptoms of the malaise
affecting the construction
industry. The health of the
market in some specific
destinations was highlighted by
a report issued last summer by
tophotelprojects.com: rather
surprisingly given the scale of its
recession, Dubai headed the
roll-call, with 97 hotels under
development. Meanwhile, in
London, more than a dozen
hotels are under construction,
with PricewaterhouseCoopers
suggesting that the Olympics
could help the capital to achieve
its highest annual occupancy
figures since the 1970s.
Lab.gruppen is a sound solution
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for 2012. Everything for technical
theatre is now under one roof, at the
Old Truman Brewery, London.
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With many higher-end
facilities hosting conference/
performance facilities with
specifications equal to those of
superlative standalone venues,
the recent upturn is encouraging
news for manufacturers,
specifiers and installers. Indeed,
many of those who spoke to
PSNEurope reported buoyant
levels of activity, with interest
from emerging or previously
untapped markets adding to the
high spirits.
Tannoy’s success in the premium
hotel market during recent years –
with “robust growth” particularly
evident in the Far East and the
Middle East – has been
complemented by some notable
victories for this and other TC Group
brands in projects onboard cruise
vessels: a sector which, with its
inclination towards sizeable
performance spaces and high-spec
systems, possesses more than a few
parallels with the hotel market.
One of TC’s most productive
associations has been between
Lab.gruppen amplification and Viking
Line, a Finnish shipping company that
runs a fleet of cruise liners and ferries
between Finland, the Åland Islands,
Sweden and Estonia. The operator
currently has Lab.gruppen devices
on a total of seven ships and has used
the brand almost exclusively for its
amplification needs for the last 18 years.
Discussing a combined
Lab.gruppen inventory of between
120 and 140 units, Viking Line AV
manager Jouni Sironen tells
PSNEurope that the amplifier brand is
distinguished by its “sound quality,
durability, lightness, low power
consumption, good service and long
guarantees. Recently, the C-Series
amplifiers have made our lives a lot
simpler with up to eight channels per
unit yielding opportunities to run
two channels to 4 ohms and six with
70V lines. The result is that less rack
space is needed.”
Invited to highlight other offshore
audio trends, Sironen says that
“remote access is becoming more and
more important. The ships are
growing larger but the amount of
technical staff is remaining the same –
commonly, one or two per ship.”
April 2012 l 61
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The Marriott Portsmouth was equipped with
a Bose loudspeaker system divided into two
zones and controlled by the bar manager.
Fit-out was undertaken by Bose Pro Partner,
Marquee Installations
COVERING ALL BASES
Clive Kinton from UK
loudspeaker manufacturer Ohm
is among those to confirm that
audio now tends to be near the
top of the priority list for new
hotel projects. Suppliers, he says,
are asked to provide “piped music
in the lobbies and background
in the bars, while function suites
are being fitted with PA systems
to accommodate DJs, bands
and conferencing”.
For hotel facilities that may be
hosting a major conference one
day and a name band or
wedding reception with live
performance the next, versatility
is pivotal. Sue Harrison, business
development manager at Bose
Professional Systems, pinpoints
an “increased recognition of
the importance of quality sound
in public areas as hotels
recognise the need to expand
their reach to attract conferences
3.8%
Increase in
number of
LARI>Oø
PQ>DB?LUøPVPQBJP
nights spent in hotels, 2011
and other high-profile events.
Having a highly flexible
multipurpose sound system with
DSP, built-in reliability and ease
of use is a massive selling point
for hotels that are looking to
increase revenue streams outside
of room occupancy.”
Increasingly, suggests Lund,
the call is for “evermore
intelligent audio solutions. The
venue managers need an audio
system to have the flexibility to
adapt to any given event enabling
tight integration with other parts
of the hotel’s AV system, but with
intuitive user interfaces that any
member of staff can operate.”
So what kind of systems are
being requested? Well, for
performance areas in the larger
hotels, digital mixing technology
and sophisticated point source
and line array specifications are
increasingly ubiquitous. “Those
hotel clients who understand the
costs of high-quality systems
and are willing to include this in
their budgets will want the best
possible systems. I have seen full
line arrays in hotel basement
nightclubs and these are of
stadium size,” says Kinton.
Performance issues must
necessarily be balanced with
other considerations in public
areas of a hotel. Kinton
highlights “a more pragmatic
approach to sound as the
operators want to network the
system, control and play music
from a PC and, most
importantly, comply with safety
and voice evacuation conditions.
Sound quality may not be their
first concern in these areas, but if
they can achieve that as well as
providing the system
requirements so much the better.”
Despite the contrasting
requirements of different hotel
spaces, there is a general feeling
that the sector’s propensity for
networked solutions is now on a
par with that in many other
high-end markets. “Networked
audio is becoming almost
standard in large hotel chains,
although smaller hotels still rely
on standalone systems,” says
Harrison, adding that Bose’s
ControlSpace DSP and new
PowerMatch amplifier can be
integrated into a network.
CGA Integration is a leading
UK-based integrator specialising
t
“Naturally, the recent
economic fluctuations have
affected some of this sector’s
projects, but that’s not to say
that it has been ‘flat’,” says
Virgil Lund, Peavey Commercial
Audio Division UK sales
development representative. “All
through the recession, we have
been in talks with installers and
integrators regarding hotel and
leisure projects, and many of
these are planned to take place
this year and next, or have
already been completed.”
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62 l April 2012
installationfeature
RCF speakers are used throughout
the Double Tree Hotel, Kuala
Lumpur, including in the gym,
walkways and conference areas
in the hotel and hospitality
sectors. The capacity for remote
checking and maintenance is
among the requirements cited as
part of an all-encompassing
approach now taken by many
leading operators. “While some
hotels still have a very
compartmentalised view and
purchasing policy, we are finding
the bigger groups are starting to
embrace a larger infrastructure
with AV,” says CGA Integration’s
Chris Gunton. “In the same way
they use BMS to monitor other
infrastructure variables, a
centralised and networked AV
system can deliver flexibility in
usage, greater up-time and better
fault reporting. Moreover, many
hotels are embracing IPTV and
digital signage, and the mindset
97
installation of CMS (Ceiling
Monitor System) premium grade
loudspeakers in the Atlantis,
Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, and
more than 5,000 units in the Burj
Khalifa’s Armani Hotel – also in
Dubai. Mark Millar, media
executive at Tannoy, confirms the
importance of discreet
installation in modern hotel
projects, many of which are
“particularly-design led”.
Accordingly, “it is sometimes
important to have the
loudspeakers hidden, and that is
where our commercial install
offering such as CMS and CVS
can be the ideal solution.
Architects and installers have
responded well to these products,
as they are by design ‘sensitive to
aesthetics’ with minimal impact
Number of
hotels
under development in Dubai
behind these networked solutions
is then easily transferred to AV
for management to understand.”
HEARD – BUT NOT SEEN
RCF’s head of marketing, Gioia
Molinari, also recognises the full
integration trend – “we see more
and more integration of the
audio system with video” – as
well as pinpointing the ever more
discerning aesthetic requirements
of hotel clients. There is, says
Molinari, greater attention given
to those solutions “privileging
limited visual impact and [the
overall] architectural context”.
Tannoy has racked up a
prestigious roll-call of hotel
projects, including the
on the space and yet still offer
the same sonic presence and
performance that people expect
from larger, surface mount sound
reinforcement solutions. This is
especially true in larger
‘performance’ applications
within the hotel sector, such as
grand ballrooms.”
And while the focus is
necessarily on the major
multipurpose areas of a hotel,
many operators are recognising
that guests “expect high-quality
technology when they are in a
hotel room, especially within the
4- and 5-star hotels – something
either similar or better than what
they have at home. Many
customers travel with
Four Seasons, 42 zones
MEDIAMATRIX SYSTEM FOR LONDON HOTEL
Illustrating the extent to which
sophisticated networking solutions
are increasingly de rigueur in the hotel
sector, the Four Seasons Hotel in
Mayfair, London, has been equipped
with a Peavey NION by MediaMatrix
system to help satisfy an elaborate
three-floor infrastructure.
A stalwart of London’s luxury hotel
landscape, the Four Seasons has been
redesigned by Pierre-Yves Rochon
and modernised to the tune of £125
million (€150 million) during a project
that included the creation of a new
restaurant and cocktail bar.
The Peavey technology was
installed by AT&C alongside AMX
digital signage, 24 DMX ports and
Netgear audio network switches in a
configuration that allows the coverage
of 42 audio and video zones. Meeting
room audio and general background
music are among the many tasks
assigned to the new system, whose
installation was overseen by AT&C
engineer Dermot McGee.
“The larger AMX screens in the AV
rooms allow the user to control the
NION, but we’ve also put little AMX
touchscreens into every room, which
gives the engineers a more complex
control of the system,” said McGee.
“The NION’s integration with AMX
really is a major stand-out point; it’s
very quick, and it allows you to open up
lots of communication ports and fire
commands to the NION, which has
worked extremely efficiently.”
April 2012 l 63
installationfeature
“Networked
audio is
becoming
almost standard
in large hotel
chains”
Sue Harrison, Bose
smartphones, laptops and MP3
devices, and like [to have access
to] the technology to deliver
plug-and-play facilities, as well
as Bluetooth, alarm clock and
docking capabilities.”
REGIONAL
REQUIREMENTS
Local or national design trends
inevitably have an influence on
the expectations of hotel audio
– not to mention the size and
scale of deployments. As
Kinton observes: “There are
large hotel developments going
on in India, and when they
build a high-rise hotel they put
in shopping malls, function
suites and nightclubs.” Wellspecified karaoke facilities in
countries including China and
Vietnam are also adding to the
workload, with Kinton
revealing that “we are currently
looking at a hotel in Vietnam
which will have over 100
karaoke rooms”. Quite frankly,
the mind boggles.
While the aforementioned
tophotelprojects.com statistics
indicate a rallying in Dubai and
other UAE markets, Kinton
suggests that “the Middle East
seems to be slowing down over
the last few years, but India,
China and their nearneighbours are still on the up.”
Inevitably, it is these territories
that will afford the most strident
growth in the near-future, but a
general rallying in construction
and tourism bodes well for the
entire hotel market. In tandem
with this upturn, a move towards
higher-spec and more integrated
solutions suggests that the sector
can serve as both technology
showcase and rewarding revenue
generator for audio suppliers
across the board.
www.bose.co.uk
www.cga-integration.co.uk
www.labgruppen.com
www.ohm.co.uk
www.peavey.com
www.rcf.it
www.tannoy.com
www.vikingline.fi
Key points
l
The hotel sector is rallying after a
challenging 2008-2010
l Many facilities are now taking an
holistic approach to audio
encompassing multiple zones,
applications and usage patterns
l High-spec line array systems and
digital mixers are increasingly
common in performance/
conference areas of larger hotels
More than 60 rooms at the Yu Da hotel in FoShan, China, have been
equipped with Ohm loudspeakers. The Ohm spec includes 114 BR-12,
12 BR-15, 175 LB-3 and 60 CLEO mkII
Contact Stephen O’Sullivan
email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6000
directory
AUDIO SHOW CONTROL
outboard
+44 (0)1223 871015 PR CONSULTANCY
3D location tracking
for live voice and
effects automation
+44 (0)1372 471472
Gasoline Media
Expert PR for the entertainment technology industry
www.gasolinemedia.com
Raymon Gubbay Ltd The King & I
Photo: Tristram Kenton
STUDIO DESIGN
Gasoline Media
www.outboard.co.uk
The Studio People
+44 (0)1763 885244 STUDIO FURNITURE & DESIGN
AKA Design
+44 (0)20 8829 9100
CONTACTS
April 2012 l 65
Editor
Dave Robinson
[email protected]
hither&dither
Staff Writer
Erica Basnicki
[email protected]
Managing Editor
Joanne Ruddock
[email protected]
Sales Manager
Nick Beck
[email protected]
Account Manager
Stephen O’Sullivan
[email protected]
Head of Design and Production
Adam Butler
[email protected]
Editorial Production Manager
Dawn Boultwood
[email protected]
Hither & Gunther
A slab of some of the more memorable images from Frankfurt…
Gunther,
spotted on the
APG booth, is
something of a
musical
psychic...
Stone me: anyone lost half
a polystyrene Napoleon?
Senior Production Executive
Alistair Taylor
[email protected]
Digital Content Manager
Tim Frost
[email protected]
Office Manager
Lianne Davey
[email protected]
Publisher
Steve Connolly
[email protected]
Managing Director
Stuart Dinsey
[email protected]
Correspondents: Mike Clark (Italy),
Marc Maes (Belgium/Holland), Phil Ward (UK),
Mel Lambert (USA)
Contributors: David Davies, Jim Evans, Kevin
Hilton, Nigel Lord, Russ Hepworth-Sawyer
PSNEurope
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Editorial: +44 20 7226 7246
Sales: +44 20 7354 6000
Keyboard maestro
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become CEDAR's
managing director for the
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The Eyetones from Berlin once again dazzled guests
at the Sennheiser party with their a cappella
gymnastics and beatboxing. This year, comedy cello
duo Carrington-Brown joined in the fun
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66 l April 2012
industrytalk
“There are very few large-scale production studios today, and
everyone is battling for those that do exist – so it doesn’t make much
sense to build a business around that sector” Burkhard Elsner, Mega Audio
ON THE BANKS of Europe’s
ninth-longest river, just west of
Frankfurt, distributor Mega
Audio is the very embodiment
of the pro-audio industry. Its
23-year history describes a
defining trajectory: every point
on it is in perfect keeping with
trends, because every decision
made in that time has been the
right one. Originally with
partners who have since
departed, founder Burkhard
Elsner might once have been a
geography teacher, occasionally
still plays the guitar and
definitely runs one of Europe’s
most successful distributorships –
not least because he has always
resisted the temptation to turn
the company into anything else…
What kind of pro-audio world
did you launch the company into
in 1989?
It was a studio business. We
planned, built and equipped
studios, but the company was
also founded as a business
partner and distributor for
Amek – remember them? – and
TAC. Before that I’d worked at
Thum+Mahr for a few years.
What was the game plan?
I felt there was room for another
professional audio company in
Germany. I guess I’m a mixture
of entrepreneur, salesman and
business manager – you have to
have all of these attributes to
make it work for any length of
time. It’s been over 20 years, so
we’re getting something right…
What have been the big changes
in Germany?
The same as everywhere else:
during the ’90s the studio
business was eroded by the
internet and the availability of
easy-to-copy digital recordings.
The record companies didn’t
create the budgets any more, the
studios were suffering and by
the end of the decade there were
hardly any rental studios left in
Germany. And then, after 9/11,
the business just dropped
completely. The phone stopped
ringing, and we had about a
year to last on back orders.
musicians and producers, but the
budgets are small. There are very
few large-scale production studios
today, and everyone is battling for
those that do exist – so it doesn’t
make much sense to build a
business around that sector.
How have the Midas
machinations affected you?
Well, it’s been nearly three years
now and things just keep getting
better. We first got the brand
because Bosch was letting go, with
a view to selling it, and enabled
Midas to set up its own
distribution. I took advantage of
that situation, and in fact the
Behringer takeover has really
boosted that business. Now it can
happen for real. Behringer hasn’t
changed anything within the
distribution channels – at least not
in terms of how each country has
a sole distributor who looks after
that market. Other things have
changed – like manufacturing,
which is much better quality;
product concepts; and pricing,
which is much more competitive.
Rhine air,
business class
Mega Audio founder Burkhard Elsner is one of the most recognisable faces
in the German distribution business. Phil Ward met him in Frankfurt
Why do you think 9/11 had such
a direct effect on our business?
Our experience was that, after
that date, people didn’t call us.
They were not interested in
investing any money.
International tours were
cancelled, people were trying to
save their businesses… and the
studio business was suffering
anyway. International artists
were not coming to record in
Germany any more. Basically,
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we sat down and said, ‘What are
we going to do next?’
And the answer was…?
We decided to build up the
distribution side of the business.
We’d always had some of that
business, pushing some of the
rackmount and console products
through to the dealers, but it was
only a foot in the door. We
expanded it dramatically, and we
were lucky to pick up brands that
were actually feeding that
business – like Fostex, for
instance. We also got back into
the live touring sector, which had
stopped when Amek stopped,
basically. We picked up
Innovason around 2003, had
Digidesign for a while and then
settled on Midas.
Touring and distribution have
really grown, while the studio side
sits quietly in the middle! There’s
always private studios, owned by
Hand Held Audio ...........................35
HHB Communcations....................34
HK Audio ......................................56
Kling & Frietag..............................48
KV2 Audio................................16,33
L-Acoustics ...................................51
Lawo .............................................41
Line 6...........................................IFC
Martin Audio...................................9
MC2 Audio....................................44
Midas ...........................................68
MIPRO..........................................53
NTP Technology...........................40
Outline .........................................62
PALM Expo Mumbai .....................59
Powersoft SRL ..............................21
Prism ...........................................28
QSC Audio......................................11
Radial Systems Engineering......4,IBC
Renkus-Heinz................................18
Riedel Communications .....45,47,49
Roland...........................................13
Shure............................................38
Sommer Cable ...............................61
Which brands that you distribute
are you really pleased with?
DPA is consistently reliable and
has been growing rapidly –
between 60% and 80% per year
over the past two years.
Expensive, maybe, but still
competitive – and they are the
best you can buy. They take us
into broadcast, too. Obviously
we’re expecting extraordinary
growth with Midas and Klark
Teknik this year, as well.
Are you doing more and more in
fixed installation?
I’ve always resisted that
temptation. We are a
distribution company; we do not
intend to become a competitor
to our own customers. They are
installers and rental companies.
Can Angela Merkel save Europe…?
Maybe! The euro is a good
thing, but there has to be a
common economic policy rather
than national economic agendas.
But hey – I’m not a politician.
I just sell pro-audio gear.
www.megaaudio.de
SSL .........................................26,27
Studiomaster................................39
Tannoy .........................................20
TOA/Trantec ................................57
Unity Audio ..................................30
Void Acoustics..............................50
Waves Audio .................................19
XTA................................................5
Yamaha Commercial Audio ...........FC
Now...
affordable
everyone
Digital Goes Midas
Goes Compact
• 56 mic/line inputs
• 64 input channels
• 27 sample-synchronous phase-coherent buses
• 6 multi-channel FX Engines
• 28 KT DN370 31-band GEQ’s
• 6 POPulation groups
• 8 VCA groups
• 192 MCA groups
• Daylight-viewable full colour TFT display screen
• Midas latency compensation system
midasconsoles.com
© 2011 MUSIC Group IP Ltd. Technical specifications and appearances are subject to change without notice and accuracy is not guaranteed.
MIDAS and KLARK TEKNIK are part of the MUSIC Group (music-group.com).

April 2012 - PSNEurope

Transcription

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