Audio Engineering Associates

WebExpo 2001

TAG AND AEA TIE THE KNOT WITH A RIBBON

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Expanding its offerings to the professional recording market, Transamerica AG has signed on to distribute AEA's (Audio Engineering Associates) R44 Studio Ribbon Microphone. The handmade R44 is very close to a "re-issue" of its namesake, the venerated RCA 44 Ribbon Microphone that defined "High Fidelity" in the 1930s.

Wes Dooley, president of AEA, has long been the insider's source of ribbon microphones and classic ribbon microphone repair. In the process they've become intimately acquainted with the subtleties of ribbon mics of all types, and witness to the dwindling supply of the most important ribbon mic of all time, the RCA 44. Dooley felt it was time to return this one of a kind microphone to prominence in the studio. To accomplish this, he undertook a multi-year quest to track down the people and their secrets that were behind the original RCA 44. Today AEA produces the R44 by hand in their shop in California, and seeks to offer studios what was impossible only a few years ago - delivery of a microphone that possesses every strength of a 1936 RCA 44 without its weaknesses.

When asked why he gave the line to Transamerica AG, Dooley replied, "Brad Lunde, president of Transamerica, knows more about microphones than most other national representatives. The twelve years he spent working with EV gave rise to his impressive technical expertise, and his experience with Brauner and SoundField Microphones honed his understanding of the high-end mic market. On top of his able representation, he's simply a great guy to work with: a class act!"

"AEA's R44 is a one-of-a-kind microphone," observed Lunde, "and studio engineers have been rediscovering a ribbon's virtues. AEA's R44 is so good, it exceeds expectations for a ribbon mic, even to those who own original RCA 44's. Every detail has been nailed down. The RCA 44 has the same ribbon material RCA used in the original version. AEA and the R44 are a perfect fit with Transamerica AG's mission to find the best quality gear available - gear built with a passion and personal commitment, and then bring that gear to the national marketplace."

CONTACT:
Toni Flosi, AAdvert International Inc.
Phone (847)998 0600 • Fax (847)998 0260 • e-mail tflosi@aadvert.com
Brad Lunde, Transamerica Audio Group, Inc.
Phone (702)365-5155 • Fax (702)365-5145 • e-mail brad@transaudiogroup.com
Wes Dooley, Audio Engineering Associates
Phone (626)798-9128 • Fax (626)798-2378 • Website: www.wesdooley.com