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Thursday, March 04, 2010

Legendary Producer Butch Vig Turns To The Bock 507 Microphone

The 507 offered an incredible option as a go-to vocal mic.

Contemporary producer Butch Vig recently worked with Against Me! and Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson, using a newly-acquired Bock 507 microphone

“I’m spoiled,” laughed Vig. “I have a vintage ELAM 250 and my engineer, Billy Bush, has a Brauner VM1 Klaus Heyne Edition. Both of those mics are absolutely amazing on vocals.”

“I was looking for something equally amazing, but different, and I knew David Bock had a reputation for building sweet sounding mics.” At that time, Vig was beginning work with Against Me! for their April 2010 release White Crosses.

Vig used the Bock 507 on Against Me! lead singer Tom Gabel, together with a Chandler LTD-1 preamp and a Summit LTA-100A compressor. “Gabel is tremendously dynamic,” said Vig. “The Bock 507 captured his performance with a transparency that made me feel like I was still standing in the room with him. It has a lush bottom and nice definition on top.”

Vig and Shirley Manson, both recent transplants to Los Angeles, have been working on new songs for a possible future Garbage release. “Although Shirley’s vocal range and style is completely different from Tom’s, the Bock 507 does a wonderful job with her as well,” said Vig.

“It really captures her persona. I can hear all of the breathiness in her voice. I’ve found that I really like mics that work well with vocalists singing in a high register or a low register, or whether they’re singing softly or loudly. The 507 is that kind of mic.”

Concluded Vig. “Of course, you choose a mic to create a certain vibe within the larger context of a recording…The Bock has given me another option for a go-to vocal mic. David Bock has made an incredible sounding microphone. The only question now is… should I buy a second one? It did so well on individual instruments that I’d love to hear a piano with a pair of 507s… or a stereo pair for room mics on drums. That would be amazing!”

Bock Website

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German Band PUR Tours With DiGiCo SD7 Consoles

Well known for their live performances, only the most versatile digital live console would do.

German band PUR, well-known for their live performances, rely on Showequipment AG for their tour planning and production. For the Wünsche tour, PA and system engineers Frank Müller, Patrick Eckerlin and Dirk Happel chose DiGiCo SD7 consoles to provide the perfect mix for both front of house and monitors.

Müller developed the audio design for the tour alongside Happel and Eckerlin, the latter having worked with the SD7 since the console’s launch.

“The SD7 was the linchpin for everything and was an essential component for PUR’s system,” says Eckerlin. ”Dirk and I used two stage racks with 56 inputs each, with all relevant inputs for the band patched on the first stage rack. We recorded every show with Concert Online, which was the reason I sent a MADI stream of all the important ‘hand-made’ stage signals and all dry and effect sum signals from my SD7 to an outside broadcast vehicle. The live recording that was made was immediately available for sale to PUR’s fans on a USB stick at the end of the show.

“Additional channels such as clicks, talkback, remote replay to the pyro technics, etc, were patched on the second stage rack. I connected further remote re-players like my Mac, cd player or AV by cable directly to the internal inputs and outputs of the SD7. In total, I could handle approximately 80 input channels.”

Dirk Happel adds: “DiGiCo´s decision to use MADI is brilliant. There is a lot of hardware, which works as standard, and intercom systems can be included easily.“

“Internally,” said Eckerlin, “I use 12 of the SD7’s internal effects, which I augmented with four Lexicon 960Ls. I digitally integrated the last one with an AES/EBU interface into the console.“

From a monitoring perspective, Happel finds mixing on the SD7 easy because of the intuitive program operation: “You can place all channels on the user interface exactly where you need them for the work-flow, it does not matter which ones – inputs, outputs, effects, DCA. Once installed, channels stay the same, even if they are removed from the worksurface, which is simply fantastic.”

“For me, the multiband compressors are an important characteristic of the SD7, as are the dynamic EQs and the tube simulation in every channel, IN and OUT. Together with 31 bands of EQ, they obviate the need for external equipment.”

Frank Müller, SIRIUS project manager, is already planning the PUR’s next project. “We are already working on the technical details of the rigging, lighting and sound equipment for the open air events that are scheduled and we will once again be relying on the all round excellence of the DiGiCo SD7.”

DiGiCo Website

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The Ultimate Paleo Adventure Made Possible By Tannoy And Lab Gruppen

Reliable equipment helps to create an extraordinary experience.

San Antonio event production company World Audio & Lights recently teamed up with “Dinosaur George”, George Blasing to create a traveling dinosaur exhibit.

“Our objective was to create and launch a touring concept from ground up,” states CEO of World Audio & Lights Bob Doiron.

Stepping outside the usual event production duties, World Audio & Lights provided sound and lights, visual setting, operations, ticketing, marketing and sponsorships for the tour.

Doiron with assistance from World Audio & Lights Marketing and Sales Director Xavier Villalon, worked closely with Blasing and team to create Dinosaur George’s Ultimate Paleo-Adventure.

The exhibit features 25 full size dinosaurs and a T-Rex surround theater. “Our main goal was to create an educational yet very entertaining event that could be taken anywhere in the country,” explains Villalon.

Doiron knew it was imperative that the loudspeakers used for the individual dinosaur exhibits be accurate, controllable and discreet. These stipulations led him determine that Tannoy Di5A loudspeakers would be ideal.

Their discrete footprint would allow them to be heard more than seen in each of the dinosaur displays. “The Di5As keep the audio precisely focused on the audience area for each exhibit. The volume can be low, minimizing overlap with other displays,” explains Doiron. “Because they are self-powered, it eliminates the need for additional wiring. It was a perfect fit.”

The Ultimate Paleo-Adventure also features a T-Rex theater including 5.1 surround sound. The system consists of five Tannoy V12 loudspeakers and two VS18DR subwoofers. The theater system is powered by single 2-channel and 4-channel Lab Gruppen amplifiers.

“I typically work on the premise of the less equipment the better,” Doiron concludes. “In this particular situation we needed to put together a sound system that would provide a realistic, high quality dinosaur experience for attendees while also being easy to pack up and move to another location. The Tannoy loudspeakers were ideal on all counts.”

Tannoy Website

Lab Gruppen Website

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Middle Atlantic Appoints Decker Director of Customer and Sales Resources

Bringing attention to unique products and customer service in a competitive marketplace.

Middle Atlantic Products has announced that Craig Decker has been promoted to Director of Customer and Sales Resources.

In his new position, Decker will increase the support of customers’ needs, ensuring the company delivers on its promise that they can “Expect More” from Middle Atlantic.

“One of the reasons I came to Middle Atlantic was the company’s commitment to its customers,” he said. “We intend to bring that attention to a whole new level with unique products and programs to help them succeed in a fiercely competitive marketplace.”

With 15 years of experience in sales for Middle Atlantic, Decker is uniquely qualified to share knowledge from the field internally to establish meaningful products and services, relevant to the individual challenges faced by engineers, specifiers and installers. 

Company President Mike Baker stressed the importance of the position: “The best way we can bring value to our customers is by aligning ourselves internally so their needs are the driving force behind everything we do from product development through successful installation.  Craig’s experience makes him a perfect fit for this new challenge.”

Decker added, “These are unprecedented economic times. The competitive landscape has changed such that our leadership position is challenged every day.  My personal objective is to reinforce the sense of urgency and responsiveness in the internal workings of our organization and turn up the volume.”

Middle Atlantic Products Website

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Condoleezza Rice Delivers Keynote Speech Using The AKG Podium Microphone

The CK-80 capsule chosen by Tennessee Concert Sound was the perfect fit.

This past December, former Secretary of State was keynote speaker for Union University’s Annual Scholarship banquet; a yearly event that consistently attracts leading international diplomats.

Tennessee Concert Sound in Brownsville, Tennessee led by Stewart Tritt turned to AKG to ensure that every word of Condoleezza Rice’s speech was heard throughout all of the Carl Perkins Civic Center.

For the past 12 years, Tennessee Concert Sound has handled sound reinforcement and production management for each event, and they have built a large inventory of AKG products in the process.

“We trust AKG to deliver excellent quality sound, dependability, and versatility without interruption in all of our most critical applications,” said Stewart Tritt, owner of Tennessee Concert Sound.

“We cannot run up and replace a microphone during these events; they simply must work. AKG’s frequency agile products also give us the consistency we need.”

For this event, in addition to the podium microphone using the CK-80 capsule, Union University President Dr. Dockery used the AKG 4000 frequency agile wireless system with CK 77 lavalier microphone to deliver the opening and closing presentations. In addition to the speeches, choral and classical music selections were performed leading up to the main event, and Tennessee Concert Sound used a dbx Drive Rack 4800 to drive the system.

“We pride ourselves in fulfilling our client’s goal of pristine sound quality at every corner of the auditorium,” said Tritt. “Feedback control, intelligibility, excellent signal-to-noise ratio, and immunity to dropouts are critical at this event, and with the AKG microphones, we get all of that and more.”

AKG Website

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