Distributed in 94 countries, Mix is the world's leading magazine for the professional recording and sound production technology industry. Mix covers a wide range of topics including: recording, live sound and production, broadcast production, audio for film and video, and music technology.
Daly City, CA — On April 23, 2008, Digidesign will launch the first in a series of live sound webinars hosted by Digidesign‘s live sound manager Robert Scovill. Each 30-minute presentation will offer valuable insight into specific Digidesign® VENUE products, helpful workflow overviews, and practical tips, plus a 15-minute viewer-interactive Q & A session.
The first Live Sound Webinar–“Introduction to VENUE and Mix Rack”–debuts on April 23, 2008 at 10 a.m. (PST). This presentation will provide an overview of the VENUE concept, show how Mix Rack™ fits into the line, and how it perfectly complements a variety of applications and workflows.
Upcoming Live Sound Webinar topics include integrating VENUE with Pro Tools|HD® and Pro Tools LE® recording systems; using Virtual Soundcheck, a groundbreaking feature that gives engineers a path to quickly and efficiently modify and improve settings and mixes; determining which VENUE control surface, D-Show® or D-Show Profile™, is right for customers and/or clients; the advantages of native TDM plug-ins; and choosing the right personal monitoring system.
Robert Scovill is a veteran sound engineer with over 3,000 live show mixing credits, including tours with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Rush, Matchbox Twenty, and Def Leppard.
For the complete Live Sound Webinar schedule and presentation details, and to register to watch the presentation, please visit the Digidesign VENUE website at www.digidesign.com/livesoundwebinars.
About VENUE
Digidesign‘s VENUE live sound environment is revolutionizing the art and profession of live sound mixing with studio-quality sound, TDM plug-in effects processing, and direct connectivity to industry-standard Pro Tools® recording and playback systems. For more information about the VENUE line of products, visit www.digidesign.com/venue.
About Digidesign
Digidesign is a worldwide leading manufacturer of digital audio production systems and the winner of the 2001 Technical Grammy® Award and 2003 Oscar® statuette representing the Academy Scientific and Technical Award for the design, development, and implementation of the Pro Tools® digital audio workstation. Digidesign provides the professional music, film, video, multimedia, and radio broadcast industries with tools for digital recording, MIDI sequencing, editing, signal processing, and surround mixing. Digidesign products are marketed in more than 40 countries worldwide through a distribution network of value-added dealers, distributors, and OEM relationships. Digidesign is a part of Avid Technology, Inc. For more information, visit www.digidesign.com.
About Avid Technology, Inc.
Avid (Nasdaq: AVID) is a worldwide leader in tools for film, video, audio, 3D animation, gaming and broadcast professionals - as well as for home audio and video enthusiasts. Avid professional and consumer brands include Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, Pinnacle Systems, Sibelius, Softimage and Sundance Digital. The vast majority of primetime television shows, feature films, commercials and chart-topping music hits are made using one or more Avid products. Whether used by seasoned professionals or beginning students, Avid‘s products and services enable customers to work more efficiently, productively and creatively. Avid received an Oscar statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Avid® Film Composer® system for motion picture editing. For more information about the company‘s Oscar, Grammy and Emmy® award-winning products and services, visit www.avid.com.
Daly City, CA — Anyone who claims things move slowly in the South hasn‘t been to Birmingham, Alabama‘s Shades Mountain Baptist Church. The church‘s 20-year-old sanctuary is at the forefront of technology with a state-of-the-art production system based around a 96-input Digidesign® VENUE D-Show® live sound console and Pro Tools|HD® system.
The 3,000-seat sanctuary recently underwent an extensive audio makeover, with the church replacing its aging analog console with the D-Show and adding a powerful Meyer Sound PA system. Rob Searcy, the church‘s director of technical services, explains that their long-term goals for the new system include podcasting, web streaming, and full CD production.
“We‘ve got another Pro Tools|HD system in our post-production room downstairs with a [Digidesign] C|24 control surface,” he says. “We typically capture the entire Sunday service, running 74 inputs. We take the Glyph drives downstairs, and do post production and sweetening.”
Rick Shimer of Blackhawk Audio, the company behind the church‘s system design, admires the church‘s progressive direction: “These guys have really gone the extra mile to put together a system that gives them great sound, the best production tools, and the ability to create the best worship experience possible.”
And the system has greatly rewarded the church and its congregation with dramatic improvements to the sound and workflow. “Evaluating our recordings throughout the year gives us the opportunity to really refine things,” Searcy explains. “We can try out different plug-ins for different songs, and really get the best out of our recordings. That, in turn, helps us be more cognizant of our live performance, which helps us to better connect with our congregation.”
The system‘s FOH Rack is loaded with additional DSP Mix Engine cards for added processing power, and an assortment of VENUEPack plug-ins. “The plug-ins are just amazing,” says Searcy. “The more I play with them, the more impressed I am. Reverb One, ReVibe, and the Line 6 echo [Echo Farm] get a lot of use.” Searcy also says he‘s a big fan of Digidesign‘s Smack!™ dynamics plug-in. “I put that on a lead vocal, and it just really punches through the mix.”
Searcy says the new VENUE system also offers a dimension of flexibility in the church‘s services. “One of the coolest things is being able to take tracks from a previous session and, feeding a click track to the band, use those tracks to supplement a live performance.”
“Another important advantage for me is the training perspective,” Searcy continues. “Most of our staff are volunteers, and the ability to use VENUE‘s Virtual Soundcheck to train them on a previously recorded session, rather thaduring the stress of a live service, is just priceless.”
Searcy admits to some initial trepidation in going with a VENUE system. “We debated for some time about the decision,” he reflects. “I cut my teeth on a [Yamaha] PM1D, and I originally thought that would be the way to go. But the more I looked at the potential behind this system, the more it made sense. And the bottom line is the board sounds great; it‘s really changed my mind about digital consoles. Now when I get on a different desk, I wish I had my VENUE. The sound, the user interface — so much about it makes sense. I was almost a bit mad at myself for not looking into it sooner.”
For more on Shades Mountain Baptist Church, visit www.shades.org.
About VENUE
Digidesign‘s VENUE live sound environment is revolutionizing the art and profession of live sound mixing with studio-quality sound, TDM plug-in effects processing, and direct connectivity to industry-standard Pro Tools® recording and playback systems. For more information about the VENUE line of products, visit www.digidesign.com/venue.
About Digidesign
Digidesign is a worldwide leading manufacturer of digital audio production systems and the winner of the 2001 Technical Grammy® Award and 2003 Oscar® statuette representing the Academy Scientific and Technical Award for the design, development, and implementation of the Pro Tools® digital audio workstation. Digidesign provides the professional music, film, video, multimedia, and radio broadcast industries with tools for digital recording, MIDI sequencing, editing, signal processing, and surround mixing. Digidesign products are marketed in more than 40 countries worldwide through a distribution network of value-added dealers, distributors, and OEM relationships. Digidesign is a part of Avid Technology, Inc. For more information, visit www.digidesign.com.
About Avid Technology, Inc.
Avid (Nasdaq: AVID) is a worldwide leader in tools for film, video, audio, 3D animation, gaming and broadcast professionals - as well as for home audio and video enthusiasts. Avid professional and consumer brands include Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, Pinnacle Systems, Sibelius, Softimage and Sundance Digital. The vast majority of primetime television shows, feature films, commercials and chart-topping music hits are made using one or more Avid products. Whether used by seasoned professionals or beginning students, Avid‘s products and services enable customers to work more efficiently, productively and creatively. Avid received an Oscar statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Avid® Film Composer® system for motion picture editing. For more information about the company‘s Oscar, Grammy and Emmy® award-winning products and services, visit www.avid.com.
Daly City, CA — Digidesign’s eagerly-anticipated Mix Rack option for its award-winning VENUE live sound systems made its U.S. debut last month as a part of the Adore Worship Tour. When combined with a D-Show Profile™ system, Mix Rack offers a compact and more affordable entry into the VENUE family that is ideal for small- to mid-sized venues, houses of worship, corporate A/V applications, and regional tours.
FOH Engineer Jayme Braun, whose live credits include Switchfoot, Israel and New Breed, Bryan White, and American Idol winners The Clark Brothers, selected a D-Show Profile Mix Rack system for the tour, which played college theaters from Arizona to Louisiana throughout February. A veteran of numerous live Pro Tools® recordings, Braun had nothing but praise for the Mix Rack.
“It‘s just been a dream come true,” he remarks. “I‘ve used VENUE since it first came out, and I‘ve always been a fan of its sound and its functionality. Adding the Mix Rack makes it hands down the most efficient and portable rig I‘ve ever worked with. Just take two lids off, plug in two cables, and you‘re ready to go. I would love to take this with me wherever I go.”
Mix Rack combines all stage, local audio I/O, and DSP into a single, compact 11-space rack enclosure, offering an affordable alternative to VENUE systems that utilize the more expansive and separate FOH Rack and Stage Rack systems. Mix Rack offers much of the same functionality of the dual VENUE I/O and processing components with a smaller footprint and easy portability.
With three powerful Mix Engine cards and a host of Pro Tools TDM plug-ins, the Adore Worship Tour is packing one of the most powerful and compact digital live systems available. “I‘ve worked on lots of digital consoles,” says Braun, “and the VENUE system is more intuitive than anything I‘ve ever used. And being able to choose from the full range of Pro Tools plug-ins, it‘s really like being a kid in a candy store.”
Braun also loves the compactness of the tour‘s D-Show Profile console. “I‘m a big fan of VENUE in all its forms,” he says. “I love the ability to run so many high-end plug-ins, I love the user interface, and I love the tight integration with Pro Tools. I also really like the smaller footprint of the Profile console. I can have all my channels at my fingertips with just a press of the banking buttons. And for a lot of the smaller tours we do, the Profile is really ideal. You only need two guys to load and unload it, so between that and the Mix Rack, it makes loading in and setting up so much easier.”
While it‘s fully compatible with both the D-Show® and D-Show Profile consoles, Mix Rack is currently only available as part of the D-Show Profile Mix Rack System, which includes a D-Show Profile console, Mix Rack, VENUEPack 3.0 software bundle, iLok USB Smart Key (pre-authorized with all factory-installed and VENUEPack 3.0 plug-ins), video monitor mounting bracket (monitor not included), trackball mounting bracket (trackball not included), FOH Link cable, and all necessary software (including D-Show® 2.7 software).
About VENUE
Digidesign‘s VENUE live sound environment is revolutionizing the art and profession of live sound mixing with studio-quality sound, TDM plug-in effects processing, and direct connectivity to industry-standard Pro Tools recording and playback systems. For more information about the VENUE line of products, visit www.digidesign.com/venue.
About Digidesign
Digidesign is a worldwide leading manufacturer of digital audio production systems and the winner of the 2001 Technical Grammy® Award and 2003 Oscar® statuette representing the Academy Scientific and Technical Award for the design, development, and implementation of the Pro Tools® digital audio workstation. Digidesign provides the professional music, film, video, multimedia, and radio broadcast industries with tools for digital recording, MIDI sequencing, editing, signal processing, and surround mixing. Digidesign products are marketed in more than 40 countries worldwide through a distribution network of value-added dealers, distributors, and OEM relationships. Digidesign is a part of Avid Technology, Inc. For more information, visit www.digidesign.com.
About Avid Technology, Inc.
Avid (Nasdaq: AVID) is a worldwide leader in tools for film, video, audio, 3D animation, gaming and broadcast professionals - as well as for home audio and video enthusiasts. Avid professional and consumer brands include Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, Pinnacle Systems, Sibelius, Softimage and Sundance Digital. The vast majority of primetime television shows, feature films, commercials and chart-topping music hits are made using one or more Avid products. Whether used by seasoned professionals or beginning students, Avid‘s products and services enable customers to work more efficiently, productively and creatively. Avid received an Oscar statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Avid® Film Composer® system for motion picture editing. For more information about the company‘s Oscar, Grammy and Emmy® award-winning products and services, visit www.avid.com.
GARDENA, Calif.–It would be almost accurate to say, he never leaves home without it. Tony Lindsay, vocalist for Santana and independent artist, isn‘t packing his Studio Projects T3 mic on the current tour with Santana (April 4 - May 4). But whenever he‘s in the studio, the T3 is with him.
“I use it as much as I can,” says Lindsay, who prior to his touring engagement recorded with the T3 on a number of independent sessions, including vocals for video game projects and for an “American Idol” song submission. Lindsay first used the T3 while recording his own album, “Tony Lindsay” (Gruve Records Inc.). Since then, he‘s used the mic to record his vocals almost exclusively, “unless somebody insists on me using something else,” he adds.
“The T3 is so well-balanced that it sounds great on me, and on other vocalists, both male and female. I‘ve used it miking instruments too in the omni mode.”
The Studio Projects T3 is a very affordable “high-end” tube mic with a dedicated AC power supply offering completely variable polar patterns. Users find that it is capable of achieving results comparable to microphones priced nearly 10 times as much.
“I was in a session recently where we put the T3 up against two well-known mics,” says Lindsay, “and a $5,000 mic that the producer specifically rented for the session and wanted to use. “We eliminated the two other mics right away; didn‘t even get close to the T3. The engineer and I couldn‘t tell the difference between the T3 and the expensive mic.
Tony Lindsay has appeared on Santana albums since 1991, including: “Milagro,” “Shaman,” “Ceremony,” and “Supernatural.” He will also be appearing with Santana at two special concert dates in late May at the Fillmore, and touring internationally with the group, June 20 - July 20.
-END-
Image Caption:
Tony Lindsay with the Studio Projects T3 microphone at Coast Recorders,
San Francisco.
About PMI Audio Group:
Established in 1995, PMI Audio Group is a professional audio distribution company located in Gardena, California specializing in the distribution of professional audio products for recording, video, post, film, broadcast, and the fixed installation markets. Current brands of distribution include Studio Projects, Joemeek, Toft Audio Designs, and Stephen Paul Audio.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada - April 28, 2008 … Lawo, recognized globally as a leading manufacturer of digital audio networking and console systems for production, post production, broadcast, and related applications, today announced that it has acquired a majority shareholding in French digital mixing console manufacturer INNOVASON. The move officially terminates the receivership period for INNOVASON and provides a strong partner for future development. more
CAMBRIDGE, UK, APRIL, 28, 2008–Clear-Com® Communication Systems, the global leader of professional communication solutions for broadcast, live performance, military, government and commercial markets, has selected TILTS INTEGRATION as its new distributor for Latvia. Clear-Com‘s move to broaden its reach into the Baltic region and TILTS‘ effort to expand its intercom product distribution among Latvia‘s broadcast, studio, live film, production and post-production industries will strengthen both companies‘ presence in Europe. more
HOLLYWOOD - EASTWEST‘sunprecedented 20th Anniversary Promotion will be coming to a close on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008. Users visiting the EASTWEST website, www.soundsonline.com, still have time to purchase select virtual instruments at greatly reduced prices.
With their “Buy One Get One” promotion, EASTWEST users are able to purchase any from a selection of the company‘s elite virtual libraries and will automatically receive an additional collection of equal or lesser value for free - no promotional code necessary. With no limit on the amount of virtual instruments that can be purchased through this limited time offer, one can easily and cost effectively amass a comprehensive virtual instruments collection. Virtual instruments eligible for this discount are some of the most popular the company has to offer. They include:
FAB FOUR: A faithfully executed, incredibly accurate comprehensive collection of the same kind of musical instruments and recording equipment the Beatles used to record their music.
GYPSY: A virtual instrument of intimate European sounds with unprecedented detail.
MINISTRY OF ROCK: A huge virtual instrument of rock drums, basses and guitars that provides a true all-in-one solution for rock productions.
VOICES OF PASSION: An assortment of ethereal, passionate, flowing, mysterious, wailing and whispering alto and soprano voices of female vocalists from Wales, Syria, India, Bulgaria and America.
COLOSSUS: A massive 32 Gigabyte virtual instrument that covers all of the basic musical genres. Some of the sounds offered here include drums, guitars, pianos/electric pianos, organs, brass, orchestral, choirs, keyboards/mallet instruments, ethnic instruments, New Age ensembles, stormdrones, synth basses, synth leads, and synth pads.
SYMPHONIC CHOIRS: With Symphonic Choirs users can control the words, language and key of a world-class symphonic choir from their keyboard controller. In addition, this is the first 24-bit choir virtual instrument to include three simultaneous stereo mic setups (close, stage and hall), so users can mix any combination of mic positions.
QUANTUM LEAP RA: One of the largest and most detailed virtual instrument of ethnic instruments from six areas of the world: Africa, Americas and Australia; Europe, Far East, Middle East and the Turkish Empire; and India. Every instrument and ensemble was sampled extensively so that the character of each instrument is preserved.
PLATINUM ORCHESTRA BUNDLE (EW/QL Symphonic Orchestra Platinum and Platinum PRO XP) and GOLD ORCHESTRA BUNDLE (EW/QL Symphonic Orchestra Gold and Gold PRO XP): Recorded in a 125 million dollar concert hall by Grammy winning classical recording engineer Prof. Keith O. Johnson, these virtual instruments eclipse all others with the highest level of fidelity and realism. Beyond the orchestra’s phenomenal recording quality is its ability to breathe life into the virtual world, creating a real space and filling it with sound.
PLATINUM PRO XP and GOLD PRO XP: Platinum PRO XP and Gold PRO XP double the size of the original award-winning Symphonic Orchestra Platinum and Gold versions.
SILVER ORCHESTRA: The most cost-effective, high-quality virtual orchestra. The collection includes all sections of the orchestra plus solo instruments, organs, choirs, and an incredible Steinway Grand piano.
STORMDRUM: A massive 6 Gigabyte collection of loops and multi-samples from three world-class percussionists. The content is classic film score stuff: big fat booming drums, smaller ethnic hand percussion, enough metallic hits to make a steelworker feel at home, and a range of acoustic kits.
PERCUSSIVE ADVENTURES 2: The sequel to the multi-award winning Percussive Adventures. Designed for film, TV, game and music composers, Percussive Adventures 2 goes further than PA1 with lengthy and evolving rhythmic terrains. All samples are edited into loop segments, alternate mixes and completely isolated layers.
HARDCORE BASS XP: The only Electric Bass virtual instrument that delivers (with the included XPansion) an authentic set of electric basses suitable for most genres, from Jazz to Hip Hop, R&B to Pop, Dance to Hard Rock. Included in the collection are seven different highly sought-after electric basses at different pick-up and amp settings with over 6 Gigabytes of multisamples.
ADRENALINE: Adrenaline is a distinctive cross section of all current musical styles with only one common theme - the ability to inject vital energy into anything it touches. It features pumping raw multi-track construction kits of dark, heavy, violent moments injected with raging melodies.
STORMBREAKZ: Features two of the six loop categories included in Stormdrum - Big Beats (mid tempo with a bad attitude) and Fastbreaks (fast, furious and frequently wicked). It also includes loops from the Film Tech category of Stormdrum and multi-sampled electronic drum kits and tech hits, created by processing live drum sounds.
PERCUSSIVE ADVENTURES 2 LE: A collection of all the loops featured in Percussive Adventures 2.
EASTWEST/PMI Bösendorfer 290: A pristine piano library that finally captures all of the beauty of this piano. Up to 16 velocity layers, true release samples, true repedalling and two different microphone positions (close and ambient) for ultimate ambience control.
“Our customers have been extremely generous and supportive of us over the past 20 years,” says EASTWEST Founder Doug Rogers. “Giving them the opportunity to own some of our finest virtual instrument libraries at a reduced cost is our way of saying thank you for their loyalty.”
VAN NUYS, CA — Gepco cables are helping Sweetwater Digital Productions expand its remote HD production options as it adds a second HD production truck to its fleet. Sweetwater’s newest HD truck, named Cobalt, is using Gepco cables for both its audio and video needs. more
Attention game sound developers: We're guessing you didn't always work in videogames; we know a lot of you have roots in music and post. Tell us why you made the switch to the game world, and the name of the first title you worked on by e-mailing mixeditorial@mixonline.com.
