A Metric Halo ULN-2 +DSP FireWire interface with mic-pre, A/D/A converter, and digital signal processing capabilities, forms the basis of the home vocal production studio of female vocalist JES, singer of Motorcycle’s “As the Rush Comes,” which held the number one position on Billboard’s “Hot Dance Airplay” chart and is the fourth most-played dance song of the decade.
The Metric Halo ULN-2 +DSP played a big role on the upcoming new release from JES entitled “High Glow” (Black Hole Recordings, Ultra Records), as well as for her live performances.
Tom Fritze, long-time Hit Factory engineer, serves as the manager of JES’s production company and also advises the songwriter about the gear and techniques in her production studio, in addition to serving as her mix engineer for live engagements.
Before he tenured at Hit Factory, Fritze spent many years at NYC’s Sync Sound post-production facility, which was then at the pioneering edge of Digital’s Manifest Destiny with the early technology 3M and Sony machines. “At those sorts of high-end studios, I had exposure to all the really good gear that’s out there,” he said. “I was able to experiment, and over time I came to expect a certain kind of ‘reality’ out of the equipment I used.”
He continued, “We tried all manner of mics, mic pres, and converters to get JES’s vocals into the computer with that same sense of ‘reality.’ We wanted to record some vocals and feel like she was still singing live on playback. The Metric Halo ULN-2 +DSP gave us both the mic pre and the converter, and no combination of separate units could match the purity of that signal.
“Moreover, it has enough clean headroom to allow us to record with no EQ and no dynamics processing.” The rig is completed with a Neumann TLM 49 large diaphragm condenser and a Mac running Logic.
For live performances, Fritze always brings along the Metric Halo ULN-2 +DSP with an Apple MacBook and Sennheiser wireless microphones and personal monitors in a self-contained setup that travels easily while guaranteeing consistency from venue to venue.
“The fact that our ULN-2 has onboard DSP is the key to its usefulness in live situations,” said Fritze. “We use it as the mic preamp and then rely on the DSP for no latency EQ, compression, and, if needed, live feedback filters. From there, I add Logic Pro for additional effects and reverb. The MIO Console lets me create separate mixes for front of house and the personal monitors.
“Most of the time, all I have to work with is a DJ mixer, so I’ll use a CD for the music and, on a separate fader, JES’s vocal mix.” We also like the Metric Halo “Character Processing,” which transforms the otherwise utterly transparent mic pre into something akin to various classic front-ends. I particularly like the “American” API emulation and also the “British” and “Tube” models.
Based New York’s Hudson Valley, Metric Halo provides the world with high-resolution metering, analysis, recording and processing solutions with award-winning software and hardware.
• www.planetjes.com
