New Distribution Model Provides Dramatic User Savings

Equator Q8 Monitor

San Diego, California February, 2012 …. Equator Audio Research, recognized globally as a leading manufacturer of highly accurate studio reference monitors for mission critical recording applications has announced a new pricing and distribution model for the Q8, digitally-controlled, bi-amplified, coaxial designed reference monitor.

Measuring 13in x 13in x 13in and featuring an 8” woofer coupled with a high-powered 1” compression horn driver, the Q8 delivers the power and accuracy of Equator’s larger Q Series models in a more compact form factor. A two-way active system, the Q8 enclosure is constructed of 13-ply Baltic birch, heavily braced for cabinet rigidity. It features 800w of peak power (400 watts continuous), Max SPL 110 dB, Frequency response of 38Hz-22kHz.
All Equator monitors feature a Zero-Point Reference™ coaxial design with Digitally-Controlled Transducers™. A CPU resides inside each monitor to handle such tasks as matching the transducers and incorporating the crossover.

The Q Series monitors use DSP technology for room optimization as well. Included MAC/PC software enables the engineer to manually compensate for acoustic anomalies in addition to issues created by placement/boundary and secondary reflections within the listening environment. Along with the environmental compensation, the software provides control over the monitors, including equalization, mute, solo and phase.

Equator Audio has experienced a dramatic upswing in internet activity and internet sales. With the introduction of the D5 (a new small coaxial monitor sold direct for $299 per pair) the online sales model has proven to be quite effective. Requests for an 8” version of the D5 have been pouring in. Equator is able to address those requests through the rechanneling of the existing Q8. The Q8, through normal sales channels (distributor, rep, and dealer) had previously cost the end user $3000 per pair ($1500 ea). Offering it direct eliminates the middle man and by reducing margins Equator is able to deliver this highly developed, feature laden product for $499 each. The big winner here is the end-user who will be to able to purchase a high-quality product for a price well below its normal market value.

The Q8s are available directly from the Equator online store.

About Equator Audio Research

Equator Audio Research is committed to delivering studio reference monitor solutions that overcome the myriad of challenges faced in today’s production environment. From our phase and time accurate coaxial designs to our matched transducer manufacturing to our sophisticated Q Series Room Analysis and compensation software; our products meticulously provide solutions to existing sonic obstacles. Equator products are used daily in mission-critical applications at many of the world’s finest recording studios. For additional information on all Equator Audio products, visit the company online at www.equatoraudio.com.

Wilkins’ Extensive Experience in Broadcast and Pro Audio Sales will Bring Continuous Development of RTW’s Presence in the US and International Markets

COLOGNE, GERMANY, 2 February 2012 — RTW, a leading manufacturer and distributor of professional audio metering and control devices for studio recording and radio and TV broadcast applications, , has appointed Anthony Wilkins as the company’s new International Sales Manager. Wilkins is an English native speaker and has lived and worked in Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany and Ireland. His main role will be to control and coordinate RTW’s international sales from the corporate headquarters at Cologne.

Wilkins has more than 25 years of experience in the Pro Audio industry and is currently completing his MBA. He has previously worked for Sony, Analog Devices, DTS and most recently for Linear Acoustic. He is also a member of the EBU P/Loud group, which is in charge of developing the R128 loudness standard; the AES and the IEEE.

“We are very glad that Anthony Wilkins has joined our team and proud to have gained a sales expert with an in-depth understanding of the international broadcast and pro-audio markets,” says Mahmoud Chatah, RTW director of marketing and sales. “Wilkins will significantly increase our brand visibility in the international key markets. In taking over those critical tasks, he will allow me to focus on strategic alignment of RTW’s marketing.”

“I am determined to strengthen RTW’s global sales with effective measures and extensive travel,” adds Wilkins. “Further development of the important US market is my primary objective.”

About RTW
RTW, based in Cologne (Germany), has more than 40 years of experience in designing, producing, and marketing advanced recording-studio systems. The company focuses its business on peak meters and audio vectorscopes that are in use in the leading recording studios as well as by radio and TV broadcasters worldwide. The current product portfolio includes the TouchMonitor range, a new series of tools for visual signal analysis, loudness metering, and more. TouchMonitors combine highest flexibility and modularity with an intuitive user interface and touchscreen-based multichannel-analysis features, integrating exceptional surround-signal visualization using the unique and groundbreaking Surround Sound Analyzer. In June 2008, RTW was certified for the internationally accepted DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 quality-management standard.

For more information, visit www.rtw.de or www.facebook.com/rtw.de, or call +49 221 709130.

— After a successful songwriting retreat with the Courtyard Hounds, the launch of a new album that includes duets with Jason Mraz and Jason Reeves and an appearance at Carnegie Hall, the New York-based singer/songwriter is back at Studio b. for Valentine’s Day —

SANTA ROSA BEACH, February 2, 2012 — Bring your honey to a romantic evening of the pitch-perfect sultry sound of Amber Rubarth, whose recent album, A Common Case of Disappearing, debuted in early October 2011 at #13 on the iTunes Singer-Songwriter charts. Of her performances, The Boston Globe wrote, “You will leave with a crush on her.” Amber’s lyrics, sometimes quirky but always on the mark, coupled with a voice that ranges from crisp and sweet to melancholic and sensual, makes Valentine’s Day the perfect evening for an intimate concert with Rubarth. While The New York Times may have described her as an “Up-and-coming singer-songwriter,” anyone who has seen and heard Amber perform knows that she has arrived.

The Valentine’s Day evening will feature an intimate concert with limited seating, handmade chocolates by visiting Studio b. chef Jason Palin, owner of Gourmet Gusto, and Champagne, wine and beer. Tickets are $20.00 in advance and $25.00 at the door. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Amber Rubarth first came to Studio b. when she wrote and performed with Emily Robison and Martie Maguire of the Courtyard Hounds last year when the band chose the salon-style venue for its songwriting retreat. Steve Springer, a Studio b. member and the owner of Target Capital Management, was bowled over by the evening. He said, “Amber’s voice is spellbinding, and the lyrics are dead-on about life and love. The evening reminded me of concerts at Joe’s Pub in New York, which is where I moved from two years ago.”

For further information about an evening with Amber Rubarth or Studio b., contact: (214) 415-0476 or e-mail scoop@studiobthebeach.com .

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 2, 2012 Middle Atlantic Products, in conjunction with Extron Electronics, is initiating and supporting the establishment of a new standard for half-width rack systems for AV integration.

Working in cooperation with the Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA), Extron and Middle Atlantic are seeking to establish and maintain a specific ECIA standard for what has typically been offered as a custom rack offering until now. To further strengthen the quality and application of the standard, the two companies are inviting manufacturers of compact-format devices to join a communication and working group for this effort.

Both manufacturers have recently developed product families – the Extron Half Rack Shelf System and Middle Atlantic’s new HR Series Half Racks – which, respectively, fit within and incorporate the proposed 10 5/8” overall width defined in the proposed new standard.

Commenting on the introduction and standard effort, Middle Atlantic Director of Marketing Kevin Handerson stated, “We are pleased to be working with device manufacturing partners to seize the initiative for establishing an ECIA standard for AV half rack systems. Having a workable, clear standard will greatly facilitate the installation of half rack products in useful applications.”

Dave Pincek, Vice President of Product Development for Extron Electronics, stated “Extron has long advocated the use of standard, rack-mount enclosure dimensions as a means of improving AV system designs and integration. With this proposed new standard for a compact mounting system, key AV equipment can now be more easily integrated into lecterns, columns, table legs, and similar spaces without sacrificing system functionality, thermal management, or room aesthetics.”

Device manufacturers that would like to participate in the working group should contact Mark Tracy, Director of Product and Business Development at Middle Atlantic Products, using the email address Standards@MiddleAtlantic.com.

For more information on the Extron Half Rack Shelf System, please visit: www.extron.com/halfracksystem. For more information on the Middle Atlantic HR Series Half Rack click to www.MiddleAtlantic.com.

Middle Atlantic Products manufactures exceptional support and protection products to mount Commercial and Professional AV and other electronics systems including racks, AV furniture, thermal and cable management and power distribution & protection. All products are designed from the installer’s point of view to save time and simplify the job.

Extron Electronics is a leading manufacturer of professional AV system integration products including AV control systems, computer-video interfaces, switchers, matrix switchers, distribution amplifiers, audio amplifiers, speakers, twisted pair and fiber optic equipment, video scalers, AV signal processors, AV streaming products, classroom sound field systems, and high resolution cable.

Chicago, IL – February 2012… While the overhead boom mic will always have its rightful place for TV and film audio production, there’s nothing quite like a well-hidden subminiature microphone buried on the talent to capture one’s lines. That’s precisely why Bruno Strapko CAS, an independent location sound recordist and owner of Strapko Recorders, has become an ardent fan over the years of the various lavaliere and earset microphones from Menlo Park, CA-based Countryman Associates.

With over twenty-five years’ experience in the location sound business, Strapko has worked on TV shows, commercials, documentaries—you name it. He lists his work with American Express, the Chicago Black Hawks and the City of Chicago’s Olympic bid among his favorite projects. For the better part of the past ten years, he’s been working with a variety of Countryman microphones, including the B6 Omni 0.1 inch Diameter Lavaliere, the B3 Omni Round Lavaliere, the E6 Omni Earset Microphone, as well as the EMW Omni Classic Lavaliere. more…

Grunge is more than just a genre. As any singer knows, grunge (along with dirt, grime, and sludge) is what happens to a vocal microphone, especially when it’s shared among different performers. With their latest video, Audio-Technica humorously illustrates this phenomenon and urges singers to “Get Your Own Mic” – it should be a basic right for singers.

Please take a look at this clever, irreverent clip, and feel free to post to your website, share on facebook, add to newsletters, tweet or pass along to friends.

— Engineer for The Beatles and producer/engineer for Jeff Beck, David Bowie and Supertramp has monitoring epiphany with Carl Tatz Design’s PhantomFocus™ System tuning protocol —

Nashville, TN: “For the longest time I would espouse the use of the 7-foot-tall, half-ton behemoths, known as Cadac speakers. I had doubts whether I would ever again hear the clarity and power from those speakers that I used to mix albums like Supertramp’s Crime of the Century or Stanley Clarke’s Journey to Love et al. Those doubts have finally been erased after hearing the near field PhantomFocus™ System (PFS) from Carl Tatz Design. At last, something new that compares to the best of the past,” comments engineer/producer Ken Scott about the new-generation PFS.

Engineer and prolific author Bobby Owsinski , who was also on hand and who is co-writing the soon-to-be-released book Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust with Scott, explains, “This is high praise indeed. Ken is not impressed with ANY speaker system. He always uses the main soffit monitors in any room he works in and NEVER uses near fields. To have him so satisfied with the PFS is significant.”

“The PhantomFocus System is a new genre in monitoring where near fields become mains. In other words, you have the intimacy of your choice of near fields but the frequency response of mains – the best of both worlds,” says Carl Tatz, principal of Carl Tatz Design LLC and creator of the PhantomFocus System. “It was a real thrill for me to throw up the Beatles’ ‘Blackbird,’ which Ken had mixed and I had downloaded for the occasion, and be able to listen to it microscopically with him on the PhantomFocus System – hard to explain what that was like.”

Both Ken And Bobby had lots of questions about the system that longtime PFS user and iconic Nashville engineer Bob Bullock , who was also in attendance, was happy to answer. “Carl’s work is clearly beyond what anyone else has done or is doing. I’ve been spoiled for a long time, and I’m looking forward to upgrading to the latest PFS technology in my home mix room soon.”

Owsinski sums up his experience by admitting, “After hearing so much about the PFS from people whose ears I trust, I was eager to hear the system for myself. Sure enough, the PFS was so far beyond my expectations that it’s difficult to express. It has unparalleled pinpoint stereo imagery and a depth of field that has to be heard to be believed in both the near field and mid field PFSs. Finally, it’s now possible to really hear all those sonic layers that you take so much time building.”

In related news, Ken Scott has recently released EpiK DrumS EDU, a double DVD set of instructional videos and world-class drum samples from some of the world’s top rock and jazz drummers.

Audio Industry Leaders Support Fifth Annual GRAMMY® Week Celebration at The Village Studios in West Los Angeles

P&E Wing’s Annual Gathering Recognizes the Music Industry Production Community’s Achievements and Contributions

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (January 31, 2012) — The Producers & Engineers Wing® of The Recording Academy® will celebrate its fifth annual GRAMMY® Week event, this year honoring legendary music producer and entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine for his commitment to excellence and ongoing support for the art and craft of recorded music. The event will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012, at The Village Studios in West Los Angeles, with Bono and Dr. Dre serving as honorary event co-chairs. GRAMMY Week culminates with the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards® on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, airing live on the CBS Television Network, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. (www.grammy.com)

The event is being held with the support of leading companies within the Professional Audio and Musical Instrument market sectors. Presenting sponsors are The Village Studios, West L.A. Music and Westlake Professional Sales. Co-sponsors include such leading professional audio manufacturers/institutions and other corporate support as Harman International brands AKG Acoustics, JBL, and Lexicon; Iron Mountain; Avid; Musician’s Institute; Music Marketing; Shure Incorporated; Beats Electronics; Ultimate Ears; Focusrite Novation; Prism Media Products; Apogee Electronics Corporation; Full Sail University; Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro); Lurssen Mastering; Sennheiser Electronic Corporation; SoundExchange. Eco-friendly cocktails will be provided by VeeV. Additional sponsors will be announced soon.
“There is no way we could present an event of this magnitude without the support of our loyal sponsors.” states Maureen Droney, Senior Executive Director of the P&E Wing. “Our sponsors make this evening possible. This year’s honoree, Jimmy Iovine, has a career that spans the breadth of the music industry, from his roles as an engineer, producer, and co-founder of Interscope Records, to his current position as chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records and his founding of Beats Electronics with Dr. Dre. Throughout all of these endeavors he has continued to be an outspoken evangelist for high quality audio. He shares common goals with the P&E Wing in supporting the art and craft of recorded music, and we are thrilled to be honoring him at this year’s P&E Wing GRAMMY Week Celebration.”

Jimmy Iovine began his career in the ’70s as a recording engineer for artists including John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen. He then made the transition to producer, working on classic albums with artists including Dire Straits, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Patti Smith and U2. In 1990, Iovine co-founded Interscope Records with partner Ted Field. He is now chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, a unit of Universal Music Group, and recently celebrated 20 years commitment as a label head to diverse and gifted artists including the Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Nelly Furtado, Lady Gaga, No Doubt and U2. Furthering his interest in and commitment to sound quality, in 2008 Iovine co-founded the high-performance headphone and sound transmission company Beats Electronics with GRAMMY-winning artist Dr. Dre, and he continues to passionately advocate for reversal of the degradation of sound quality in music that has resulted from the recording industry’s transition to digital distribution.

Auralex Acoustical Treatments Installed into New Studio Space

GLEN SPEY, NY — Auralex Acoustics, Inc., the industry leader in innovative sound control solutions, made a generous contribution to Camp Simcha, a summer camp for children and teens with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, serious chronic conditions or disabilities, located in Glen Spey, NY. The camp recently built a recording workshop in an unused cabin and Auralex donated several of its acoustic products to outfit the new studio space. more…

SSL creates new senior marketing role

OXFORD, UK – Solid State Logic is pleased to announce that Bella McAvoy has joined the company as Marketing Communications Manager. McAvoy brings a multitude of experience to the table from her varied work in communications, as a broadcast journalist and as composer and songwriter.

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