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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Al Di Meola Show Utilizes D&B and Yamaha Equipment

ACIR Professional provided d&b loudspeakers and Yamaha PM5Ds.

Al Di Meola has been recognized over the past 30 years as a prolific composer and respected artist with over 20 recordings.

A native of New Jersey, Di Meola performed in late January at the 2,000-seat Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ to a standing-room-only crowd.

ACIR Professional was hired to handle sound production for the Di Meola show that included d&b audiotechnik’s Q-1 line array, Q subs, d12 amps, and K-Array Red Line 200s for side fills.

The band’s front of house engineer mixed on a Yamaha PM5D-RH digital console while ACIR’s Ed DiBona mixed monitors using a second PM5D-RH.

“The band was very happy with our ACIR 152 wedges, and everyone was impressed with the new K-Array Red Line 200 speakers used for side fills,” states ACIR’s DiBona. “It was a great night and the audience thoroughly enjoyed it.”

ACIR Professional Webpage

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Propellerhead Software Micro Tutorial And Interview Videos

Video content from Propellerhead Software showcasing the program Record.

Propellerhead Software has released a new video tutorial and interview, both embeded below.

The latest Propellerhead Micro Tutorial shows how Record works in a ReWire setting, coupled to various DAWs is now available.

It takes a close look at how to set up ReWire inputs in Logic andhow to patch separate audio outputs in Record.

The interview by Propellerhead features LA producer/songwriter Chaka “ChakFather” Blackmon and details his use of Reason, Record and Logic in his day-to-day work with artists and clients such as Christina Aguilera, Disney, Will Smith and many more.

 
Propellerhead Software Website

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Audinate Joins AVnu Alliance As Promoter Member

Audinate aims to make the next major release of Dante compliant with the standards emerging from the IEEE 802.1 Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) grou

Audinate announced that it has joined the AVnu Alliance as a Promoter Member.

The AVnu Alliance is an industry organization that is dedicated to the advancement of professional quality audio and video networking via the adoption of the emerging IEEE Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) standards.

AVB is a developing standard for media networking that employs elements such as IEEE 802.1as Clock Synchronization, IEEE 802.1Qav quality of service, and 802.1Qat traffic shaping, to improve the transport performance of audio and video across standard Ethernet networks.

The AVnu Alliance is leading efforts to promote and support the creation and implementation of compliance test procedures and processes that provide interoperability of AVB-enabled networked products for the professional A/V, automotive, and consumer electronics markets

“Since our inception, Audinate has used standards to develop a complete IP based media networking solution,” said Audinate COO David Myers. “AVnu’s goal for promoting interoperability and openness between A/V equipment vendors across the industry, will give customers greater flexibility in implementing A/V networked systems.”

“Audinate will include AVB support in our Dante solution” stated Dr. Chris Ware, Audinate VP of Engineering. “Customers will continue to take advantage of feature capabilities offered today, like automatic discovery of devices, descriptive text-based labeling, audio channel routing, and control & monitoring. “

Audinate aims to make the next major release of Dante compliant with the standards emerging from the IEEE 802.1 Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) group. It will also make AVB compliant firmware upgrades available for many of its current products.

Audinate Website

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Megadeth FOH Engineer Rocks In Digital With Midas

Pro6 converts staunch analog mixer Doug Short to Midas digital.

A major dividing line between ‘old school’ and modern touring is the use of digital audio.

Insistence on an analog desk is a mark of particular kind of commitment, denoted by a forbidding “NO DIGITAL DESK” notation on the band’s rider.

Many engineers for bands in these situations rely on Midas mixing consoles, including Doug Short.

“Nothing but a Midas will do,” declares Doug Short, FOH engineer for Megadeth.

“I’ve tried just about every digital console on the market, and they just don’t measure up sonically.”

So, why did Short opt for a Midas PRO6 digital desk for the first leg of the band’s promotional tour for the new “Endgame” album?

“I had done some training on Midas digital up in Minnesota over a year ago. But when Megadeth started up, my bid list required a Midas XL4 at front of house,” relates Short. “The plan was to carry control gear from Thunder Audio – consoles and processing.”

“Basically, Paul Owen, Thunder Audio principal, saw my bid list, called me and said tempted me to give the PRO6 a shot. I figured a five-week promotional tour was the perfect opportunity. As Paul says, ‘Hey, instead of taking out 1,168 pounds of XL4, why not give the Pro6 a shot?’ I mean, it is a Midas, right?”

Short found his transition fairly painless. “With Erik [Rogers] there to show me the ropes, I was up and running in no time,” he says. “By the third gig, I was really comfortable. There was none of that ‘alien planet’ vibe you get on some digital desks. In fact, it’s really just like mixing on a (Midas) Heritage. That’s exactly how it feels as a layout. But even more important, it sounds like a Midas!”

Short was initially concerned about relying on the Midas internal effects engine. “I must admit, I did take a couple external rack effects, but that was because I didn’t have the prep time I would normally prefer. But no boutique stuff, no plug-ins,” he admits. “And I used everything on board for mic preamps, compressors, reverb and gates. That’s the heart of the system and it sounds fantastic.”

For the same reason, the tour utilized a traditional copper snake connecting the stage to the control surface. “I just didn’t know enough about Cat5 yet,” short explains, “so it’s nice that you have the option to use copper with the PRO6. Since I was also acting as system tech, I wanted all the patching to be familiar to me.”

Asked how the band reacted to having a digital console at FOH, Short replied, “before the first show, Dave Mustaine came out, saw the console and said, ‘It sure looks pretty. Hope it sounds good, too.’ So he was aware. And every night, I would give him a live two-track mix of the show that we listen to for reference, and he never said a thing. With Dave, that’s practically an endorsement.”

Short concluded, stating,  “I can see now why Midas waited to go digital until they got it right,” he says. “By about the third gig, the PRO6 just blew me away. It’s so easy to mix on, and the sound is pure Midas. I guess that says it all.”

Midas Website

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Turbosound Aspect Helps Southern U Stadium Recover from Hurricane Gustav

With less than two weeks to replace its scoreboard sound system in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, it was Turbosound to the rescue.

After Hurricane Gustav hit Baton Rouge in September of 2008, the city was shut down for several days due to damage.

At Southern University and A&M College, damage to 29,500-seat A.W. Mumford Stadium was significant but manageable.

“It seems like a pretty minor issue but the truth is, losing the revenue generated by a home football game is significant,” notes Henry L. Thurman III, Director of the Physical Plant for Southern.

“We had lost the entire sound system from our scoreboard as a result of the storm, and had to get it replaced inside of two weeks’ time.”

Thurman contacted Tim Landry Sound Construction of nearby Mandeville, LA. “Mumford Stadium is a classic horseshoe shape,” notes Tim Landry.

“The scoreboard is at the open end and has to cover the entire stadium. That’s a throw of over 400 feet to the far end.

The first speakers I thought of were the Turbosound Aspect line.”

Working with the physical frame in which the old system was mounted, Landry designed a system consisting of ten speakers, designed to cover the stadium in three zones.

For both mid and long throws, Landry specified the TA-880H, a 3-way mid/high, narrow-dispersion (25x15 degrees).

For the “near” seats on either side close to the scoreboard, Landry selected the Aspect TA-500, a full-range design which features a wider 50 degree dispersion and produces 141 dB peak SPL. To cover the need for a big low end, four Turbosound TSW-218 subwoofers were mounted in the center of the array.

The cluster is mounted in a large steel frame, with the subwoofers bolted together in the center, flanked by two TA-800H speakers on either side, splayed as needed. On the far outside edges of the cluster are TA-500s, aimed about 75 degrees off center to either side.

“It’s not a cluster in the traditional sense,” Everything is bolted on frames and then bolted to the structure, which is actually bolted to the floor of the scoreboard. The whole thing is nearly 35 feet wide.”

The system is powered by Crown amplifiers and controlled with an Ashly 24.24M processor. “To cover a 29,000-seat stadium from a single cluster, you’ve got to use DSP,” notes Landry. “If you lose your DSP, you’re out of business. That’s why we install two of them, programmed identically.”

While the speakers are somewhat protected within the scoreboard, Landry had them weatherproofed and placed behind a grille. “They can still get wet in a hard-driven rain, but the Turbosounds can take it,” declares Landry. “

From design to installation, the Southern University scoreboard installation took twelve days. “That was some fast action,” Landry recalls. “We had an 85-foot lift to get to the scoreboard. To get the crane, the amps and the speakers on site and installed in that timeframe, especially after an event like Hurricane Gustav, was remarkable.”

Thurman, who also is the PA announcer, agrees. “With our old system, I would spend all day Monday handling complaints about the sound. Couldn’t hear it, couldn’t understand the announcer, you name it,” he recalls. “It’s been a year since we put in the Turbosound system, and I’m still waiting for my first complaint. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Turbosound Website

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Renkus-Heinz Clarifies the Issues at Montreal City Hall

Iconyx chosen for this historic venue because of their clear, intelligible sound.

In a city renowned for its architecture, the Montreal City Hall still stands out.

When the city government recently decided to modernize its conference systems they adopted a “no compromises” policy toward the building’s distinctive and historic style.

Re-built in 1922 within the shell of its original walls after the structure was destroyed by fire, the Montreal City Hall is designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

These contradictory objectives of modernization and preservation were reconciled thanks to the efforts of Contact Distribution, who demonstrated Iconyx IC7 Steerable Arrays from Renkus-Heinz to the building’s engineering staff.

The City of Montreal acquired six IC7’s for use in the Hall of Honour, an ante-room that is used for ceremonial occasions.

The IC7s have delivered natural, intelligible speech and music, satisfying all concerned.

These speakers were highlighted during a visit from a Japanese delegation, which featured a performance on the koto. “Once the microphone was in place,” a City of Montreal technician reports, “we received a ‘thumbs up’ from a member of the delegation. He told us that it is extremely rare to hear this instrument properly represented by a PA system.”

Renkus-Heinz Website

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Austin’s Yellow Dog Studios Goes Analog With API

Yellow Dog outfitted Studio 1 with an API 1608 console and API 500-Series modules.

Austin’s yellow DOG Studios, home to independent producer and engineer David Percefull, recently outfitted Studio 1 with a 32-channel API 1608 console, including API 500-Series modules.

When purchased, Studio 1 came with no console at all, just outboard gear stitched together to work with virtual mixes. Among the studio’s plethora of mic preamps were twelve channels of API 3124s.

“I’ve worked on a lot of large-format consoles, but I had very little experience with API,” said Percefull. “When we decided we wanted to purchase a small-frame console for Studio 1, we surveyed our fairly limited options.”

“But I kept coming back to the sound of the 3124s, which I had fallen in love with.

That, together with the adamant recommendation of my friend and fellow engineer Chris Bauer and the API 1608’s ability to accept 500-Series modules from any VPR manufacturer, sealed the deal.”

In the short time that yellow DOG has had the 1608, Percefull has already recorded half an album with Brandon Jenkins, an EP for Calling Matthew, started a new project with Phil Marshall and is mixing an album for Mike Kelly.

The API 1608 interfaces with Pro Tools HD, with AD/DA conversion and clocking by Apogee, and a restored MCI two-inch, 24-track analog tape machine.

“If I had to summarize the 1608 in one word, it would be punch! – with the exclamation mark,” laughed Percefull. “It’s the real deal. It’s a modern classic as far as I can tell. I can turn every preamp and fader all the way up and there is no noise at all. It has tons of punch and openness at the same time. I know I’m not a Grammy-winning engineer, but I’ve recorded literally hundreds of albums on a ton of gear, and the 1608 is an absolute gem.”

API Website

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