PWS Provides Wireless Clarity For Legendary Artist

ORLANDO, FLA: On the road in support of “Home Before Dark,� his 29th studio album, Neil Diamond has embarked on a major U.S. tour. A consummate professional, Diamond has retained many of the veteran technicians who have traveled with him throughout his career. Among those are monitor mix/live recording engineer Bernie Becker and sound designer/FOH mixer Stan Miller, who hasn’t missed a tour or a show in 41 years!

Miller and Becker are committed to insuring the highest quality sound possible for any Neil Diamond tour. “I first encountered Professional Wireless Systems’ GX-8 and GX-4 Amplifier/Combiner about five years ago on a TV project in NY,� says Becker, a successful mastering engineer when he’s off road. “I noticed one in the rack and asked the engineer what it was. He said ‘watch this,’ flipped the switch, and the sound improved by about 30%.�

Miller also saw the potential for PWS gear to enhance the sound quality for Diamond’s show and it marked the first time Neil went wireless. Taking a PWS GX-8 on that 2003 tour proved to be a revelation. “The RF signal improvement was impressive,� he says. The GX-8 combines up to eight transmitters into a single antenna, and provides flawless coverage in large and small venues. Everyone noticed the difference immediately.�

“The essential inputs and outputs for our show are Neil’s wireless mics, wireless GTR and the wireless feed for his IEM.,� Becker adds. “Our policy has always been to listen to what each manufacturer has to offer at the beginning of each tour to see what works best. Prior to this current 2008/2009 tour Neil used a Shure Beta 87 with an “A� style head and a Sennheiser Evolution belt pack. This time around we tried the new AKG systems and the new D5 Dynamic head and IEM System. We are committed to providing the fans with the best wireless sound. To help deliver the goods we hired PWS GM Carl Cordes to train our sound team on getting the most benefit from the system.�

“In addition to the GX-8, Stan and Bernie added three PWS Helical Antennas to the package,� Cordes says. “These units more than double the range of other antennas, and they guarantee drop-out-free performance for wireless mics and in-ear monitor systems.
The Helicals rotate RF energy through 360 degrees of polarization to assure the artist of flawless reception whatever the energy level of their performance. We also recommended that they take the PWS Intermodulation Analysis System along,� Cordes adds. “This innovative software program has eliminated hours of setup time, by dramatically simplifying multi-city RF coordination.�

“Everyone on the sound team, from crew chief/wireless engineer Greg “Chico� Lopez to systems engineer, John Drane; monitor setup/wireless technician Fumihiko Okazaki; stage set up engineer, Lonnie Wayne; systems setup engineer Art Issacs and FOH setup engineer Jonathan Melton to Bernie Becker and I appreciate the impact PWS technology has made on this Neil Diamond tour,� Stan Miller concludes. “Interestingly enough, this is Jonathan Melton’s first time on the road. Between the old-world work ethic of Neil’s long-term road warriors and the state-of –art gear we’re employing to maximize sound quality and time efficiency, he’s getting a terrific real-world education.�

Limited Time “Auditory Stimulus” for New Purchases

Chicago, IL – August 6, 2008 – CEntrance, Inc., for years a leading pro audio design consultancy, and manufacturer of the USB mic preamp, MicPort(r) Pro and upcoming AxePort(r) Pro USB Direct Box, today announced a $15 mail-in rebate on all units of MicPort Pro purchased in the U.S. between August 6 and September 15, 2008. more

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA — From New York City to Indonesia, the Charlie Hall Band has been on a world tour that’s brought them to a variety of venues including large outdoor festival stages, high school and college auditoriums, and a number of churches. While there are five members of this Christian rock group visible onstage, Aviom’s Personal Monitor Mixing System has clearly become a vital part of the band. more

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ, AUGUST 7, 2008 – Twenty-four year microwave industry veteran Stephen W. Shpock has recently joined The Vitec Group RF Systems (VGRFS) as the company’s new president and managing director. VGRFS is a business unit of the Broadcast Systems Division of The Vitec Group, plc. It is comprised of the leading wireless link companies Microwave Services Corporation (MSC), a leading microwave repair facility; Nucomm, a major global provider of fixed and wireless links; and RF Central, a leading distributor and integrator of microwave products. In his new position, Shpock will oversee all three of these prestigious U.S.-based companies and be responsible for their operations worldwide. more

Stage & Studio Mic First in New Dynamic Line

Pictured is the new Telefunken | USA M 80 Dynamic Microphone.

Award-winning Telefunken | USA has introduced the new Ela M 80 dynamic cardioid microphone. The extremely rugged M 80 is designed for both stage and studio, performance and recording. Its directional pickup pattern and wide frequency response yield a microphone that provides an ideal blend of functionality, isolation, and a distinctively pleasing tone. The M 80 is sonically open, requiring little or no EQ to fit into a live or recorded mix. Minimal proximity effect gives the microphone a smooth, balanced presence that is neither boomy nor overpowering.

The M 80 combines a low-mass voice coil with an extremely thin Mylar membrane and a high quality step-up output transformer from AMI/TAB-FunkenwerkR. Its extremely rugged design is built to withstand severe performance abuse, while its black rubberized finish, recessed Telefunken badge, and chromed head grill give it the classic Telefunken look.

The M 80 exhibits superior feedback rejection in a live environment. On vocals, the response is clear and controlled, capturing the nuances of a performance with great detail while keeping sibilance and handling noise to a minimum. On drums, the M 80 is tight, punchy and open, with emphasis on the initial attack. Guitars respond with richness and clarity, horns position effortlessly in the mix, and percussion is projected with straightforward presence.

The M 80 dynamic microphone ships with a leather pouch, microphone clip and chrome headgrill for $239. Telefunken | USA is also offering the M 80 in a limited edition Studio Set package that ships with an additional black headgrill and wooden mic box for $269.

For more information about the Ela M 80 visit the dedicated website:
http://www.m80mic.com

For more information about Telefunken | USA, visit:
http://www.telefunkenusa.com
or call 860.882.5919

BUENA PARK, Calif.─Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. invites all Atlantic City and Southern New Jersey dealers, consultants and end users to attend a NEXO S12 Series Line Array Showcase on Wednesday, August 20 between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm to be held in the Superstar Theater at Resorts International located at 1133 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Very flexible and array-able in vertical as well as horizontal configurations, the NEXO GEO S12 Series is ideal for venue, corporate, churches, schools, clubs, and theatrical installations. The GEO S 1210 and S 1230 have a 10° and 30° horn dispersion difference and are intended to be a scalable building block that can be stacked or positioned in a horizontal or vertical array. When positioned in a vertical array, the two models have a higher SPL output then standard GEO S boxes, perfect for high traffic walking areas such as train platforms, airport corridors or anywhere that high SPL paging is required.

For more information and to confirm your attendance, contact Bob Quinones, District Manager, Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. at 201-398-0505 or e-mail bquinones@yamaha.com.

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Buena Park, CA – August 2008… Hosa Technology, the leading innovator of analog and digital connectivity solutions for the modern musician, is proud to introduce the new Elite Series guitar cable. Available with both straight and right-angle plugs, the new Elite Series takes advantage of the latest technological advances and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes to deliver performance attributes comparable to those of far more costly boutique cables—but at a price that is well within reach of a typical musician’s budget. more

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 2008: Despite the cliché of programs burdened by stodgy talking heads droning on about highfalutin subjects, the bulk of programs aired by PBS use engaging, colorful formats to educate and entertain about compelling subjects. Nevertheless, no previous program has approached the raw and visceral intensity of PBS’s ten part miniseries, “Carrier.” A documentary of life aboard the USS Nimitz, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the show balances the real life struggles and triumphs of the 5000-plus sailors who spend their every moment on the ship with enough roaring take-offs and high technology to have viewers with bona fide home theaters rumbling in their seats! As “Carrier” is the very first program produced by PBS in 5.1 surround sound, Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) revamped their soundstage with a full complement of musically accurate and high SPL Danley loudspeakers and subwoofers. This improved soundstage was used to preview the first two episodes of “Carrier” for the show’s producers, the upper management at PBS, and the station’s highest-tier donors.

The soundstage seats some 270 viewers in what amounts to a large silo with a true eighty-foot ceiling far above a false rigging ceiling at thirty feet With such challenging acoustics, it was no easy task to deliver convincing 5.1 surround sound with bass that could be felt and fidelity that would transport audience members from their seats inside a building in Georgia to the deck of the Nimitz in the middle of a seemingly infinite Pacific. GPB’s Bill Burson, challenged Neil Philpott, systems advisor for the Gainesville, Georgia-based A/V designer and installer, dB Audio and Video, to transform their humdrum sound system into one worthy of “Carrier.”

“The sound systems that were built into rooms just like this one, as few as five or ten years ago, are fast becoming obsolete,” commented Mike Hedden, president of Danley Sound Labs. “They’re woefully inadequate for sound in the digital age. In a way, the renovation at GPB is something of a demo for the way such systems can sound with the right speakers, the right supporting equipment, and the right system design. And with sound effects that would absolutely bury the 80s-vintage sound effects of “Top Gun,” “Carrier” was just the program to showcase a Danley-centered system.”

dB Audio & Video’s design was straightforward yet highly effective. Philpott flew three Danley SH-100Bs for the main LCR system and two Danley SH-100s for the rear L/R channels. The SH-100 uses Danley’s patented Synergy Horn technology to deliver unprecedented fidelity, even at high SPLs, and unusually sharp pattern control, even at lower frequencies. It was this unique pattern control that allowed Neil to focus energy on the crowd and away from the ninety-foot ceilings. The variant SH-100B adds a subwoofer for smooth response down to 50Hz. In addition to these speakers, Philpott included four Danley TH-115 subwoofers to drive the response down to an amazingly low 36Hz with SPLs to spare. All of the speakers are powered by all new Danley brand amplifiers. “No one else makes subwoofers like Danley,” commented Hedden. “No one creates something with so much accurate output in such a small package. At GPB’s soundstage, the challenge was to not only build in a terrific bass response, but to keep the higher frequency sounds off of the walls and away from the huge open ceiling! The tight pattern control on the SH-100 and 100Bs is amazing and does a fabulous job of energizing nothing but the crowd.”

After the very successful screening, GPB and PBS have gained enormous respect for dB Audio and Video and the potential of a Danley-centered system. With plans to make the Danley system a permanent fixture of the room, GPB looks forward to screening everything with absolutely stellar audio. “Once they got a taste of it, they were ruined to go back to anything else,” laughed Hedden. “For those that question the necessity of such upgrades – after all, their original sound system was still functioning – I liken the improvement to upgrading from a Commodore 64 to the very latest PC or Mac. It’s not a subtle difference. And once you understand what the new system is capable of, you’d never dream of going back!”

Tom Danley is one of the most innovative loudspeaker designers in the industry today and is recognized worldwide as a pioneer for “outside the box” thinking in professional audio technology. His legendary designs have been utilized in projects ranging from ground zero bombing simulation, jet engine active noise cancellation, and sonic boom generators to critical listening mastering studios, high-end home theatre, and houses of worship around the world.

Danley Sound Labs • www.danleysoundlabs.com

HOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 2008: Solange Knowles has hit the road for a six-week string of shows in theaters and club venues to promote her second album, “SoL-AngeL and the Hadley St. Dreams.” Opening for co-headliners Raheem DeVaughan and Chrisette Michele on the “Art of Love Tour,” Solange and her two background singers/dancers are equipped with Sennheiser RF microphones and wireless monitor systems, while her four-piece band relies almost exclusively on wired Sennheiser evolution 900 Series microphones.

“On Solange’s vocals I use the EM 3532 receiver with an MD 5235 capsule,” says front-of-house engineer James Berry, a veteran of tours with Solange’s older sister, Beyoncé. “The reason I chose that capsule is that the venues we’re playing are smaller clubs and theaters. For the size of the stage the 5235 capsule delivers great quality, and its tight pickup pattern gives me only her vocals and not everything else on stage. It’s a great capsule. We switched Beyoncé over to it toward the end of the tour last year as well.”

But Berry is ready for any eventuality on the tour, he continues: “I’m traveling with two Neumann KK 105-S capsules and two MD 5235 capsules. If I’m in a bigger venue or on a bigger stage I can swap Solange over to the 105, but for the most part I’m keeping her on the 5235. I have the two background vocalists on EM 550 G2 receivers and SKM 935 G2 handheld mics.”

Solange and her singers are using ew 300 IEM wireless personal monitors, he continues. “I’m a huge fan of the 300s. They have a great warm sound. Plus, the small size of the belt pack always helps because of the dancing.”

Berry, who was responsible for the RF systems on the road with Beyoncé, still likes to keep an eye on things from front-of-house on this tour. “The backbone of the whole system is the NET 1,” he says of Sennheiser’s real-time monitoring and remote control system. “I use it a little differently as I view my wireless “wirelessly” at front-of-house. I have a wireless router in the back of the rack, so I can see it out front. Then I let NET 1 do its thing and do my syncing when I come into the venue.”

Berry shares that he is also a fan of Sennheiser’s 900 Series wired microphones. “I put the whole band on the 900 Series when I have the choice.” For the “Art of Love Tour,” he says, “I use a combination of the e 901 and the e 902 on the kick drum. I do something a little different. I don’t use the e 904 on the toms. Instead I use the e 906. It’s a little bit crisper and it has a little tighter pickup pattern. I also use a 906 on the snare bottom, and e 914 condensers on the hi-hat and overheads. And I use an MD 421 II on the guitar amp. I kind of go old school with that.”

Solange’s sophomore album, “SoL-AngeL and the Hadley St. Dreams,” a collaboration with an all-star line-up of producers and songwriters that include Grammy-winner Mark Ronson, The Neptunes, Lamont Dozier, SoulShock & Karlin, Cee-Lo, Jack Splash, Boards of Canada, Bilal, and Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry, will be released August 26th on Music World Entertainment/Geffen Records. Solange is also an accomplished songwriter penning hits for her sister, Beyoncé (“Upgrade You” “Get Me Bodied” “Flaws and All”), Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, and gospel act, Trin-i-tee 5:7, to name a few. She has also written or co-written every song on her upcoming album. The “Art of Love Tour” ran through the end of June.

SENNHEISER Sennheiser is a world-leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is now a global brand represented in 60 countries around the world with U.S. headquarters in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Sennheiser’s pioneering excellence in technology has rewarded the company with numerous awards and accolades including an Emmy, a Grammy, and the Scientific and Engineering Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

For more information, please visit www.sennheiserusa.com

(PHOTO CAPTION) Following in the footsteps of her famous sibling, Solange Knowles favors the Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld wireless with the rugged MD 5235 dynamic capsule that easily cuts through high on-stage levels while delivering great sound. (PHOTO CREDIT (c) Film Magic 2008)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 2008: Brett Cookingham and Matt Pavolaitis, founders, owners, and operators of 251 Music, are remarkably busy. In only a few short years, they have placed over 3,000 pieces of original, high-quality music, of every conceivable genre, on network television. On one day, they may be writing and recording a country tune and the next a blazing loud rock anthem, with some folk or jazz in the evening to break things up! They wear the many hats of producer, recording engineer, composer, musician, mix engineer, and mastering engineer – often simultaneously. Ardently opposed to using pre-recorded loops or samples, Cookingham and Pavolaitis record everything themselves in their well-appointed live room/control room/mastering suite. They recently received a significant leg up in that process with a pair of “relentlessly truthful” ATC SCM50ASL powered reference monitors.

“I guess if you’re just using loops, you could get away with some mediocre speakers, but when you’re creating your own content, it’s essential that you hear what’s happening,” explained Cookingham. “We need speakers that translate well and sound impressive across the spectrum of acoustical, orchestral, electronic, and rock styles of music. The difference between ATCs and other monitors is that the ATCs are undeniably neutral. There is no harmonic trickery to make up for deficiencies, and as a result we hear every nuance as we’re tracking or mixing.”

Their ATCs recently revealed an unpleasant surprise lurking in their otherwise pristine signal chain while recording a piece for a Lovelace Health Systems commercial. “We were recording drums,” recalled Pavolaitis. “Drums are always hard – where else but in an orchestra do you have so many instruments packed together? The ATCs let me do phase alignments clearly so everything sits well in the mix. I had been fooled for years by other speakers, but when you can actually hear what’s going on, it all makes sense.”

During playback, Pavolaitis noticed that one of the toms sounded vastly better than the other two. After a bit of experimentation, they determined that it wasn’t the mics, it wasn’t the placement, and it wasn’t anything in the mix. It was the mic pres they had used! The mic pres were supposed reissues of an historically important and proven design, but in actuality they only looked like the original and were sonically inferior to the original.

“It was a milky haze,” stated Cookingham. “The frequency response was chopped on both ends and sonically unimportant. Look’s can be deceiving. These days there is a lot of “re-issue” stuff that looks like the original. With the ATCs it is easy to examine the sound quality of these components and not be fooled by their visual appearance. If you have speakers that make everything sound good you will never know that you are capturing feeble sounds, until you hear your tracks elsewhere!”

Apart from isolating weak links, the ATCs make A/B comparisons during tracking much more effective. “There’s no question with the ATCs whether something is right or wrong,” said Pavolaitis. “That’s the battle I’m constantly fighting – is it right or not? And how do you tell? You bring in all of the elements and see how it sits. But that’s not so easy if you’re not hearing the definition between the tracks.”

“Some would say these speakers are relentless in showing you the truth,” added Cookingham. “But that’s what you have to have to get it right, reliably.”

The Lovelace mix benefited from the monitors as well. After a year with them, Pavolaitis can hear and understand things in the mix that elude most of the other engineers he speaks with. “We had four violin parts in that song, and I was able to place them not just left to right, but front to back. The violins sat about seventeen feet from the listener,” he explains, “with the drums just in front of them. Acoustic guitars went wide, with bass guitar sitting low in the middle. Even though there are only two speakers, I’m able to hear the mix in three dimensions.”

The last stage in their process is just as challenging as those that came before it. The team must prepare their song for broadcast by creating +12 and +20-wide mixes. “But how do you get this huge sound in the studio to translate to a tiny TV speaker or a home theater or a boom box or anything else?” asked Pavolaitis. “The beauty of the ATC neutrality is that if you get it sounding right on the ATCs – which is much harder than getting it to sound right on other high-end monitors – you can be assured it will sound right everywhere else. That’s critical.”

ATC’s drivers are manufactured in-house to exacting tolerances and are legendary for their many design innovations, such as the innovative SL magnet system and the company’s renowned Soft Dome mid-range driver, which achieves exceptionally broad and even dispersion to produce a flat response anywhere in the room. Situated in Aston Down in rural Gloucestershire, England, ATC was established in London in 1974 by acoustics engineer and musician, Bill Woodman.

LasVegasProAudio.com, a division of TransAudio Group, provides customers with unique equipment, useful information and long-term support.

www.lasvegasproaudio.com (702) 307-2700 • www.atc.gb.net

(PHOTO CAPTION) Brett Cookingham, one of owners of 251 Music, along with Matt Pavolaitis, selected ATC SCM50ASL powered reference monitors for their busy and well-appointed 251 Music Studio located in their L.A. dwelling.