Article

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Powersoft Amplifiers Bring Big Broadway Sound To Moonlight Amphitheatre

The sound system, designed by Acoustic Dimensions, covers the 900 permanent seats and the 1,200-capacity lawn area with separate vocal and music systems.

The recent re-construction of the Moonlight Amphitheatre, a city-owned, city-run outdoor facility presenting Broadway musical productions, featured a new sound system powered by 34 Powersoft amplifiers.

The sound system, designed by Acoustic Dimensions, covers the 900 permanent seats and the 1,200-capacity lawn area with separate vocal and music systems.

The choice of Powersoft was based on sound quality, on-board DSP and space considerations with resulting electric service and cooling equipment savings.

“We needed to power an extensive system, in terms of number of speakers and speaker locations, with a very minimal number of amplifiers that had to fit in a space constrained area,” says Jeff Miller, LEED accredited senior design consultant for Acoustic Dimensions.

“As Powersoft amplifiers take up only a single rack space, our amplifier racks only needed 34 spaces to accommodate them as opposed to 68 or 102 spaces for traditional amplifiers.

“This allowed us to have additional space for future expansion. Powersoft amps are also extremely efficient so they draw far less power and transmit far less heat than a traditional power amplifier.

“As a result we had to supply fewer electrical circuits on installation and greatly reduced the cooling capacity to the room by somewhere between 50 to 100 percent. These installation cost savings alone justified the investment in Powersoft and the operating savings over the long term are a real bottom line bonus.

“So, from a green standpoint, we’re making a double reduction in terms of energy usage – both between the amps and the cooling systems.”

As this system was the facility’s first permanent installation, a primary consideration was sound quality. According to Miller, extensive tests were run on many amplifiers with Powersoft consistently running at or near the top in terms of sound quality.

The final vocal system featured six Powersoft Q4004 powering a weather-treated JBL system with five AC18/95, five PD5322/64, seven PD5322/43 and 14 AC18/99 speakers.

The JBL sub-bass system consisted of 12 Vertec VT4882 speakers electronically steered by six Powersoft K6 DSP amplifiers. The music system featured 16 JBL Vertec VT4888 speakers powered by eight Powersoft K3 DSP and eight Powersoft K6 DSP amplifiers.

The system for the upper lawn seating area used 12 JBL VRX932LA-1 speakers driven by four Powersoft Q4004 amplifiers, while the monitor/effects system consisted of eight JBL AM6212/00-WRX with yoke mounts, four JBL AM6212/00 with yoke mounts, six JBL AC16 and four JBL SRX-712M speakers driven by two Powersoft Q4004 amplifiers.

“Powersoft K-Series amps also give us the advantage of having built-in DSP processing for both the music and sub-bass speakers,” states Miller.

“As we could do all of our processing settings for EQ, cross over, delay and our subwoofer steering all inside the amplifiers, we didn’t need to add a separate processing system for those functions.

“As the industry is moving towards green designed components to help save on operating costs, Powersoft amplifiers really shine for this installation.”

Powersoft
Acoustic Dimensions

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BIAS Debuts PitchCraft EZ Instrument & Voice Processing Software

New instrument and voice processing software delivers pro-quality pitch correction and popular effects at competitive price.

Berkley Integrated Audio Software, Inc. (“BIAS”) has debuted PitchCraft EZ — a powerful alternative to the popular pitch correction and special effects tool popularized by many of today’s leading musical artists.

As a plug-in for popular audio host applications on Mac and Windows computing platforms, PitchCraft EZ is both easy to use and highly effective. At a price point well below competing solutions, PitchCraft EZ delivers impressive results easily — without compromising sonic quality.

“The popularity of automatic vocal tuning and processing software these days is undeniable”, said Jason E. Davies, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for BIAS.
“Whether utilized in songs by leading music artists or in various popular videos circulating the internet, pitch processing has evolved considerably from its original ‘behind-the-scenes’ application to compensate for an out of tune vocalist.

“By maximizing the correction values, or conforming spoken words to musical scales, the technology is often employed specifically for the special effect by which some artists are now defined.

“PitchCraft EZ employs state-of-the-art algorithms in an easy user interface to deliver this very effect at a breakthrough price.”

BIAS first developed advanced pitch correction and modification technologies for their highly acclaimed Master Perfection Suite — a professional plug-in suite for Mac and PC that includes PitchCraft (also available in the company’s flagship Peak Pro XT audio editing, processing, mastering, and delivery software application exclusive for Mac).

Using essential algorithms from PitchCraft, PitchCraft EZ offers many core features while focusing on ease of use and quick, pro-quality results.

The pitch, transposition, and formant preservation DSP algorithms employed ensure natural sounding pitch correction and transposition, while offering additional options not found in other low priced solutions.

True to its name, PitchCraft EZ minimizes the learning curve typically associated with advanced solutions at higher price points. Rather than dominating the user interface with analysis graphs and a plethora of parameters, PitchCraft EZ maximizes accessibility with a greatly streamlined — and highly attractive “sports car red” interface.

That said, BIAS chose carefully to include important features normally reserved for solutions priced several times higher. In addition to pitch correction and scale conformation, PitchCraft EZ offers a variety of scale types with customization (via mouse or MIDI keyboard input), as well as independent formant and transposition control (offering control over the “cavity size” as well as pitch shifting intervals).

The addition of independent transposition and formant control offers the ability to create both natural and “super-natural” effects such as “gender-changing” (transforming a male voice to female or vice versa) as well as “aging” (transforming an adult voice to a child or vice versa), and “resizing” (making a smaller person’s voice sound bigger or vice versa).

While many will acquire PitchCraft EZ for musical applications, the additional transposition and formant controls can be easily employed by sound designers for creating “alien” sounding voices, “chipmunks”, and other more bizarre sounding special effects.

Video and film makers can also employ PitchCraft EZ to help disguise a subject’s voice in cases where anonymity is preferred.

PitchCraft EZ is an audio plug-in designed for every major plug-in host for Mac and PC. The roster includes Peak (VST/Audio Units), Pro Tools (RTAS/AS) Logic/SoundTrack/GarageBand/Digital Performer (Audio Units), Nuendo/Cubase/Sonar/SoundForge/Audition/Premiere/Vegas (VST), and many other compatible hosts.

PitchCraft EZ is scheduled for release in Q4 2009. BIAS is now accepting pre-orders through the worldwide network of authorized BIAS resellers and distributors as well as directly from BIAS at an introductory suggested retail price of $99 US — contact an authorized BIAS reseller to obtain actual sale price. The standard edition of PitchCraft is currently available for $149 US and is also included with the Master Perfection Suite ($599 US).

BIAS

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From The Recent AES Panel Session: “Practical Advice for Wireless Microphone Users”

Veteran panel addresses key wireless and RF issues for "typical" users

During the recent AES Convention in New York, I attended a panel discussion entitled “Practical Advice for Wireless Microphone Users,” chaired by James Stoffo.

The panel included representatives of three top wireless microphone system manufacturers, including Joe Ciaudelli of Sennheiser, Karl Winkler of Lectrosonics, and Douglas Totel of Shure.

Stoffo has previously chaired panel discussions at AES that concentrated on large-scale wireless mic installations and applications such as the Super Bowl, but this year the focus was on the “typical” wireless user -  a good move.

The discussion began with a look at determining operational requirements and expectations, such as how many channels might be needed, the form factor of transmitters, RF power, etc.

Some smart comments were offered by the panelists about providing a reality check to potential clients or customers about their expectations, with Ciaudelli making the point that “if it doesn’t need to be wireless, use a hard line” in addressing an example of a drummer requesting an in-ear system.

Focus then shifted to antenna types, including dipole and directional types, with Stoffo also noting helical antennas can help in avoiding the problem of antenna orientation, since performers tend to move around and hold transmitters in various positions.

The designs of Sennheiser and Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) helical antennas were compared, with a general conclusion that the Sennheiser unit is better suited for wider coverage applications while the PWS unit is better suited for longer range applications due to it’s narrower angle of coverage.

The need, or not, for RF amplifiers and/or amplified antennas was also covered, with the clear point made that boosters are needed only to overcome long cable runs rather than to “get a stronger signal”.

Coaxial cable loss was discussed in this context as well, with the recommendation to lean toward low-loss coax cables like RG213 and 9913F. It was also recommended to keep IEM transmitter antennas as far away as possible from rack receiver antennas to avoid overloading the receivers.

Of course, frequency coordination and band planning were on the docket as well, and specifically, preparation for multiple channels of wireless systems. Frequency coordination techniques mentioned include having pre-calculated backup frequencies at the ready. Totel showed an example of band planning where there was no overlap between IFB, IEM, beltpack and handheld groups.

Winkler also brought up the importance of proper audio gain staging to achieve optimum results, not only to keep the audio optimized but also because wireless mic transmitters need a healthy signal in order to modulate the RF carrier to get a good signal at the receiver.

Some of the tools available for wireless mic planning, including spectrum analyzers of various cost ranges, software tools, and resource web sites were covered.

The summary statements from each of the panelists centered on a common theme: planning is key to success, and having backup frequencies and other fallback plans help prevent problems.

I enjoyed the panel’s discussion, and the 60 or so in the audience appeared appreciative. In fact, many of them stayed afterward to ask further questions.

It looks like AES has found a good formula and excellent panelists for this topic, and I hope to see them continue with it in years to come.

Signing off for now…
Mike Wireless

Mike Wireless is the nom de plume of a long-time RF geek devoted to better entertainment wireless system practices the world over.

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More posts by Mike Wireless:
Summary Of Spectrum Changes For Church Sound Wireless Users
Upcoming AES Presents Opportunities To Learn More About Wireless
Latest Wireless Series #5: Inside The Shure UHF-R Series
The Myths of Wireless System Transmitter Power
Latest Wireless Series #4: Inside the Sennheiser 2000 Series
The RF Spectrum Before & After The “Big Day”
Latest Wireless Series #3: Inside The Lectrosonics D4
Latest Wireless Series #2: Inside The MIPRO ACT Digital
Latest Wireless Series #1: Inside The AKG DMS 700
Is The UHF Spectrum Going To Ease Up After June 12?
Change The Only Constant In Marketplace For Wireless System Spectrum

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Focal Professional Introduces CMS SUB

The 11" Polyglass cone woofer used in the CMS SUB is both very light and extremely rigid for a neutral and distortion-free response.

Focal Professional recently introduced the CMS SUB, an active bass enclosure dedicated to the CMS line of professional monitoring systems.

The 11” Polyglass cone woofer used in the CMS SUB is both very light and extremely rigid for a neutral and distortion-free response. This incredible weight-to-rigidity ratio is obtained by applying a thin layer of hollow glass spheres on top of a cellulose-based cone. The high excursion capabilities of the CMS SUB woofer offer tight and controlled bass, able to reproduce even the most minute detail.

The CMS SUB woofer was designed to be extremely efficient, to make the most out of amplifier headroom, making sure that you can hear the slightest changes to compression settings.

Measuring 17.1” x 14.4"x 17.3” (435.5mm x 366mm x 440mm), the CMS SUB has a frequency response (+/-3dB) of 30Hz - 250Hz and a maximum SPL of 113dB (peak @ 1 m).

Focal Professional

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Merging Technologies Announces Maintenance Releases for Pyramix, Vcube and Ovation

These maintenance release versions are compatible with each other and include additional fixes to the previously available Pyramix 6.1 version.

Merging Technologies has announced the release of Pyramix v6.1 MR1, the maintenance releases for Pyramix, Vcube and Ovation.

These maintenance release versions are compatible with each other and include additional fixes to the previously available Pyramix 6.1 version. The MR1 addresses some important issues and regressions.

Merging Technologies

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Monday, November 02, 2009

New GrooveMaker Electro And Drums ’n’ Bass Released For iPhone/iPod Touch

Completes the range of eight loop-remixing applications

IK Multimedia has released two new applications for the iPhone/iPod touch: GrooveMaker Electro and Drum ’n’ Bass (D’n’B). These complete the range of available GrooveMaker applications with two new style-based apps that allow anyone to create and share non-stop Electro and D’n’B tracks for DJing, remixing, multimedia and movie soundtrack compositions on the go, in real-time.

With over 350,000 downloads since its August release, GrooveMaker has quickly become the top loop remixing application for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing any user to create professional, full-length songs in minutes, with its unique combination of advanced remixing software and high-quality included loops’ sound content.

GrooveMaker allows for instantaneous control over 8 stereo loop tracks, making it possible to remix the included massive loop library of drums, bass, bass drums, lines, pads, percussion and effects. Its unique and patented randomization feature allows musicians to generate a vast number of remixes on the fly, with one touch, to produce millions of possible groove combinations.

Loops made in GrooveMaker can be manipulated in real-time (pan, volume, mute, solo, group and tempo) and grooves can be arranged easily by dragging and dropping to create full-length tracks. These tracks can then be saved, previewed and recalled on the iPhone/iPod touch devices or exported as hi-quality .WAV files to any computer using a Wi-Fi network.

GrooveMaker Electro provides mechanical and aggressive uptempo beats, weird and chemically altered sounds. A huge collection of “phreaked out” bass lines and alien noises. Includes four songs, plus one FREE song by registering, and a total of 315 loops in 85-98-100-120-135 BPM ranges for 215 MB of samples.

GrooveMaker Drums ’n’ Bass sports nocturnal and soulful 2-step bass lines, psycho-trance, enormous environments and irresistible tribal grooves. Get ready for the rewind! An incredible collection of radical soundscapes! Includes 4 songs, plus 1 FREE song by registering, and a total of 315 loops in 150-160-170-180 BPM for 127 MB of samples.

The new GrooveMaker Electro and GrooveMaker D’n’B are available at the Apple iTunes App Store for $9.99 each.

GrooveMaker Website

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Rational Acoustics Appoints Woods Engineering As Official Smaart Instructors

Rational Acoustics teams up with Madrid-based Woods Engineering to offer Smaart Training Classes throughout Europe

Rational Acoustics has appointed Woods Engineering Services and Technologies, S.L. as official providers of Smaart Training Classes for Europe. 

Founded in 1999 by James Woods and expanded in 2008 with the addition of José Manuel Martin and Javier Isequilla, Woods Engineering provides audio system design, operation and analysis services for a wide variety of clients throughout Europe. 

Prior to founding Woods Engineering, Woods was Senior Project Manager with MAVCO, Miami; Technical Director at Twin Cam Audio in Barcelona, Meyer Sound product specialist at CYP International, audio engineer at Berenice Concert Systems in Madrid, Spain, and a freelance FOH mix and system engineer.

“We are extremely excited about the addition of James and the folks at Woods Engineering to our worldwide Smaart training network.” says Karen Anderson, Rational Acoustics COO.  “Not only is James an excellent instructor and incredibly talented audio engineer, but he can also teach fluently in both Spanish and English, allowing us to provide an even greater variety of regional, local-language training classes in Europe.”

“We have always felt that it is fundamental to be active in sharing what we have learned with others, which is why becoming part of the Rational Acoustics Smaart training network is so important to us.” says James Woods, CEO of Woods Engineering. “It grants us the opportunity to reach out further and not only promote the correct use of this valuable tool, but give users new insights on how to look at the response of their system designs. We will make a difference.”

Rational Acoustics Website

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Waves Announces Introduction Of New Version 7; Available Now

V7 is available at no additional charge to all Waves products covered by Waves Update Plan

Waves has announced the release of new Version 7, offering improved compatibility across the board, enhanced DAW and OS support, and a host of new features.

Highlights:
* Snow Leopard Support
* Windows 7 Support (32-bit)
* New VST3 Features in Cubase, Nuendo & Studio One
—Side-chain support
—Near-zero scan time on Mac & reduced scan time on PC
—Real plug-in parameter units displayed in automation lanes
—Plug-in menus sorted into categories

Bonus Plug-ins:
* PuigTec EQP-1A & PuigTec MEQ-5 added to Platinum and Diamond
* V-Comp added to Diamond
* Vocal Rider added to Mercury

ICON Meter Support for Additional Plug-ins:
* C1 Parametric Compander
* DeEsser
* Doubler
* L1 Ultramaximizer
* Q10 Equalizer
* Q-Clone
* Renaissance Axx
* Renaissance Compressor
* Renaissance Equalizer
* Renaissance Reverb
* Renaissance Vox
* S1 Stereo Imager
* TrueVerb

Improvements and Bug Fixes:
* Reduced memory consumption during plug-in scan.
* Windows Vista and Windows 7 UAC (User Account Control) compliance.
* New Pro Tools DAE preference: Plug-in parameter single-click text entry.
* Fixed bug: In Pro Tools, pressing keys on the keyboard will no longer erase previously written Automation in Latch or Touch mode.
* Fixed bug: In Pro Tools, automation is no longer overwritten on second pass while using latch with latch prime enabled.
* Fixed bug: In Waves SoundShifter, AudioSuite processing of fragmented regions is now distortion-free.

Important Notes:
* V7 and V6 can run concurrently on the same computer. However, V7 and Waves versions V4 and V5 cannot. Exception: V7 is compatible with all versions of The JJP Collection and GTR3.
* All previous versions of products that you update will be removed from your iLok and replaced by V7. After updating to V7, you will not be able to use these versions again.
* To ensure your system is compatible with Waves V7, check our Tech Specs page

V7 is available at no additional charge to all Waves products covered by Waves Update Plan.

Go to the Waves Support Page for more information.

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Alice in Chains Touring With Heil Sound Microphones

Numerous Heil models utilized throughout the stage for instruments and vocals

Alice in Chains, which has re-formed with new singer William DuVall replacing the late Layne Staley, did a promotional concert circuit for its new album “Black Gives Way To Blue” throughout September, with front of house engineer Tom Abraham deploying Heil Sound microphones for the band.

“Switching to Heil mics has allowed me to get the greatest gain before feedback of any other microphone that I have ever used, ” explains Abraham.

Heil Sound PR 30 microphones are housed in off-stage guitar isolation boxes for Jerry Cantrell and DuVall’s guitar rigs, while drummer Sean Kinney’s custom DW kit utilizes the Heil HDK-8 drum mic kit with additional PR 30s used for “underhead” cymbal micing use.

According to Abraham, “The PR 48, PR 20, and PR 22 kick, snare top, snare bottom combo is just awesome. I mean, perfect, really. And I am amazed by the PR 30s on the cymbals. Such separation and clarity.”

With the addition of DuVall, the band has two lead singers who, according to Abraham, are radically different in terms of style. Cantrell likes to sing from different fixed positions on stage while DuVall prefers to move about freely with the use of a handheld wireless.

To accommodate this line-up, two Heil PR 35s on stands are positioned at stage left and stage right and a RC 35 wireless capsule is used with a transmitter for DuVall’s “roaming.” The wireless also gets used center stage on a stand for portions of Cantrell’s featured songs.

To minimize problems and still utilize one wireless mic, a two-channel receiver is used with both channels set to the single microphone’s frequency. The outputs are then sent as two channels to the house and monitor consoles, allowing Abraham and monitor mixer Scott Tatter to easily control each singer’s equalization and fader settings separately.

Alice in Chains will also begin a European tour this month that will last until just before Christmas, with a U.S. tour planned for 2010.

Heil Sound Website

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French TV-Film Post House Installs Multiple Euphonix Consoles

CMC-Digimage opens new facility for four Euphonix System 5 consoles

French media group CMC-Digimage has installed four Euphonix System 5 consoles in a newly opened TV-film post production facility located in the south of Paris. A division of CMC- Digimage, Digimage-Cinema will offer hi-end HD as well as the biggest color grading room in Europe.

The new facility consists of two large stages each equipped with 56 faders Euphonix System 5 Hybrids dedicated to feature film mixing and two smaller stages each equipped with 32 faders Euphonix System 5 Hybrids to be used to for TV projects or to start film projects.

Serge Arthus, Director of this project for Digimage designed the facility’s specifications, while systems integrator, 44.1, delivered a complete turnkey installation. Identical A/V equipment and cabling as well as a network of workstations including Pro Tools, Pyramix, and VCube and the four Hybrid consoles allow projects to be easy moved between rooms.

“The majority of French film mixers enjoy working on the System 5 finding the control surface and automation extremely intuitive and easy-to-use so it just made sense to equip the new facility with four Euphonix System 5’s,” explained Arthus. “And from a business point of view, I find the reliability of the system and the level of customer support unrivaled.”

The Euphonix System 5 has become the industry standard for the French feature film mixing community. As an all-in-one packaged audio mixing system the System 5 is designed to meet the needs and budgets of modern mixing facilities that require a professional mixing console that can handle a large number of tracks with the quality and reliability of DSP channels, professional monitoring, plus the ability to control DAW tracks directly from the console surface.

Additionally the System 5 hybrid option features EuCon, a high-speed Ethernet control protocol designed by Euphonix to allow control of any software application. The System 5 also features a new expandable DSP SuperCore which provides DSP channels, each with EQ and dynamics processing, delay, and surround panning to multi-format mix, group and aux buses.

“We are proud that Digimage Cinema has chosen Euphonix and 44.1 to provide them with the product, support and expertise they require to get everything online,” said Paul-Henri Wagner, 44.1 systems integrator manager.

Euphonix Website

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Focusrite Introduces Scarlett Plug-in Suite For Tracking & Mixing

Each plug-in has a host of fast and easy-to-use presets, providing a great starting point for processing

Focusrite has introduced Scarlett, a professional software suite that provides a definitive collection of compression, gating, EQ, and reverb plug-ins for tracking and mixing.

Not only does it sound great, the Scarlett user interface features a Red anodized aluminum look featuring intricately modeled, life-like VU meters, setting the standard for gorgeous plug-ins.

Each plug-in has a host of fast and easy-to-use presets, providing a great starting point for processing everything from vocals and guitars to synth bass and percussion.

In addition, every plug-in parameter can be finely tuned to achieve the desired sound.

Scarlett works under VST, AU and RTAS (Pro Tools) hosts, and runs on Macs and PCs.

Key Features:
- Unmatched sonic quality from the team behind the Forté Suite and the famous Focusrite hardware line.
- Faithful recreation of classic compressors and gates, modeled on original ear-tuned hardware optical compressors, exclusive to Focusrite, Scarlett’s dynamics modules deliver that authentic 1960s Opto sound.
- Multi-modes that enable creative gating techniques. The gate can operate in stereo mode and, in different dual mono configurations, one signal can be used to trigger the gate of another. Ideal for tightening up a bass line, for example.
- Classic Focusrite EQ curves and controls. Scarlett uses the same Focusrite six-band EQ approach as the Red 2 and ISA EQs, with filters, parametric mids and shelving, all modeled to offer an authentic response across the entire audible frequency spectrum.
- Professional reverb with concise controls. Based on classic algorithmic studio reverb designs to deliver a remarkable level of sonic quality. Easy to use controls help in attaining ideal reverb sound in seconds.
- Stunning GUI with life-like port-hole VU meters. Scarlett features a red anodized aluminum look, extremely detailed metering and other visual elements from Focusrite’s illustrious recording history, making Scarlett look as good as it sounds.

The Scarlett from Focusrite plug-in suite is now available at select dealers in the U.S. at the MAP price of $99.

Focusrite Website

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