OLD LYME, CONNECTICUT – FEBRUARY 2009: Sennheiser will kick off the 2009 Sound Academy seminar schedule with its popular RF wireless course on March 2nd at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Sennheiser’s Sound Academy is a traveling series of one-day seminars that have become requisites for professionals and students with keen interests in broadcast, theater, film and music. Focusing on both RF wireless techniques and studio recording practices, the Sound Academy sessions have visited over twenty cities throughout the U.S. thus far, with more on the way for 2009.

Hosted in conjunction with Live Sound International magazine, the first RF wireless seminar of the year will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The course is designed to teach attendees how to plan for trouble-free operation of multi-channel wireless microphone and wireless personal monitoring systems, in even the toughest of environments. It will be hosted by two of Sennheiser’s RF experts, Joe Ciaudelli and David Missall.

Ciaudelli, the industry team manager for professional products, is a fifteen-year Sennheiser veteran. Throughout his career, Ciaudelli has provided frequency coordination for large multi-channel wireless microphone systems used by Broadway productions, major theme parks, and broadcast networks, including the frequency plan used for NFL football games. Ciaudelli is Sennheiser Electronic Corporation’s spokesperson for the “White Space” topic and is the inventor of the narrow angle hologram.

Missall, Sennheiser’s eastern regional market development manager, provides RF wireless solutions and support to prominent news and sports broadcasters, theaters and live music stages. Missall is also a member of Sennheiser’s Global RF Expert Program, which is a company-wide network of Sennheiser RF application engineers that support customers throughout the world.

Registration for the Sound Academy seminars is just $149 and includes lunch, workshop materials and complimentary giveaways. With paid registration, you’ll also receive a $50 coupon toward the purchase of any Sennheiser product. Plus, register by February 16th and get $20 off your registration fee, just for signing up early!

The full Sound Academy schedule will be available soon. For updates and registration information, please visit www.sennheiserusa.com/SECEvents.

ABOUT 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

Burbank, CA… Mojave Audio, recognized as a leading manufacturer of professional studio microphones, has added two new retail outlets. The award winning microphones are now available at www.musiciansfriend.com and www.guitarcenter.com. The agreement—completed in January 2009—will make it easier than ever for audio professionals and enthusiasts to readily purchase some of the industry’s most highly respected recording and performance tools. more

Burbank, CA… Royer Labs, the leading manufacturer of high quality ribbon microphones for the audio professional, is pleased to announce that the company and Musician’s Friend, one of music and professional audio’s leading online destinations for a wide range of musical equipment, have reached agreement whereby Musician’s Friend is now an authorized dealer of Royer products. The agreement—completed in January 2009—will make it easier than ever for audio professionals and enthusiasts to readily purchase some of the industry’s most highly respected recording and performance tools. more

ORLANDO, FL – After three years and more than 300 audio broadcasts, NewMediaGear.com, producer of gear-related weekly audio Podcasts, is integrating HD video production along with its audio Podcasts, for a mix of rich media content development and distribution. Neutrik USA has donated several products to ease the company’s transition to HD video.

“Video gives us a tremendous advantage because now we are able to show products in great detail,� says Mark Jensen, General Manager and Host of NewMediaGear.com. “When we decided to make the transition to HD, Neutrik was the natural choice, as they contributed to the audio connectivity of Studio1A a few years back. Since then we have branded Studio1A as a Neutrik-only studio.� more

Sacramento, CA––An annual worship event held at the Memorial Auditorium, the Northern California/Nevada Assemblies of God Youth Convention featured a powerful musical lineup that included hometown favorites Method Echo, Nashville Tennessee’s Grits, and worship bands Worth Dying For and the Doug Reid Band, from Modesto and Sacramento respectively.

Put on once a year by the Northern California Assemblies of God Youth Department, the convention brings the youth of the district together for a weekend to get a bigger picture of what their organization is doing.

Every year the students are encouraged to save up and contribute to the organization’s Speed The Light ministry to buy cars and trucks for foreign missionaries who need transportation to deliver food clothes to the less fortunate among us.

Because the very best technology is a must for the event, Sacramento Production Services once again provided sound production support with a crew that included Keith Wackford (Monitor Engineer & Production Manager), Dwaine Wise (FOH Engineer) and josh Sumpter (Systems Tech).

The loudspeaker array had to accommodate the need for clarity and presence for speeches and presentations while providing the smooth, coherent musicality and coverage to effectively showcase the bands.

To best accomplish this, the production crew chose 24 Martin Audio W8LC Line array enclosures for Mains along with 16 Martin Audio WSX Subs stacked in the pit as a center cluster. Front fill consisted of four Martin Audio W8C and three Martin Audio WT2 passive 12� two way boxes.

According to Wackford, “This is a very difficult room, with lots of hard surfaces and RT60 times in some frequencies reaching the 2-second mark. Pointing sound directly at the audience and keeping it off the negative surfaces is a must. The Martin W8LC’s warm, smooth sound kept any harshness away and has been the box of choice in this venue for many clients. They are just so easy to make this room sound great.

“We also used Martin Audio’s Viewpoint program to help predict where to aim the top box,� Keith continues. “The top seating rows are just concrete with hard walls behind and it’s just so important to keep sound under control up there and not let it hit those hard surfaces and bounce around.�

The rest of the system included a Yamaha PM5D FOH console with XTA graphs and crossovers. Monitors were mixed through a Yamaha M7CL Digital desk with twelve Martin Audio LE1200J wedges, and a Martin Audio WT3 run bi-amped for drum fill. Amplification was handled with QSC PL2 and PL3 amps. We used Xcilica for monitor processing.�

Asked about the reactions of musicians and techs to the loudspeakers, Keith concludes, “I would say about a significant percentage of visiting engineers and bands had not heard Martin Audio. But when they did, they quickly fell in love, it doesn’t take much tweaking to get them to sound great, which gives you more time to build a great-sounding mix and make the audience, client and artist happy.�

Photo Caption: Doug Reid of the Doug Reid Band

For more information, please contact Rob Hofkamp, Director of North American Operations at 519.747.5853 and rhofkamp@martin-audio.com, or visit http://www.martin-audio.com.

Boston, MA, February 10, 2009--Professional Audio Design, Inc., (PAD) the audio sales and installation experts, have become a “go-to” source for customized monitor solutions for some of the most successful producers, artists and commercial recording studios in the country, including Alicia Keys, R. Kelly, Jay Z, and many others. Among PAD’s popular solutions are monitors designed by George Augspurger, built to PAD’s exacting specifications using custom electronics, power amplifiers and speaker components.

PAD’s broad experience in equipment, consoles, studio integration and maintenance has led to the expansion of its studio monitor business. Since then, PAD has created dozens of powerful and attractive monitor systems–each one unique–helping clients capture both new and repeated business.

As an organization, PAD is comprised of technicians, engineers, equipment design experts and integration specialists. This wide-ranging expertise gives PAD an advantage in helping customers choose the appropriate monitor solution, based on each businesses’ environment and music application.

“Our monitors provide high output, high accuracy and reliability,” commented Dave Malekpour, President of PAD. “They also look great–we can create custom finishes to suit each environment. Finally, each monitor is installed and calibrated to work symbiotically with the room. These combined elements help clients make a unique statement about their facility that clients will remember.”

PAD’s monitors–such as its GA215V–are constructed, assembled and inspected by hand, from the initial cabinet construction all the way to the high-gloss, customized paint finishes that are available. Monitors are then installed, tested and measured for acoustic response and accuracy. Parameters such as timing, phase and frequency response are all adjusted to meet the specific requirements of the room.

A range of monitor solutions are available, starting with a 1 x 15″ plus horn, all the way up to 4 x 15″ and custom combinations of tweeters and subwoofers. PAD’s monitors are known for their power and ability to handle high sound pressure levels, which are often in excess of 130 decibels.

Frank Hendler, Owner of New York-based Blast Off Productions, Inc. commented: “We chose to work with Dave Malekpour at PAD to outfit our brand new Blast Off Studios, because we knew we would get an extremely powerful and accurate system that would compete with all of the major “A rooms” in New York. We chose the custom jet-black vertical Augspurger cabinets, with 15″ TAD drivers, and a pair of 18″ JBL powered subwoofers. When the boxes came, we were convinced it wouldn’t all fit, but PAD had great success installing this incredible monitoring system in a space that is private, up-close and personal.”

“In our world, monitoring is 99% of the battle, and so far, our clients have been very impressed with both the performance of our monitors as well as their commanding visual appeal,” Hendler continued. “They are the launch pad at Blast Off Studios, and have already proven to comfortably withstand the colossal decibel levels of recording sessions with the likes of Atlantic Records’ Maino, and Derrty/Universal Records’ Avery Storm.”

To learn more about PAD’s monitor offerings, please send an email to davem@proaudiodesign.com, or call +1 (877) 223-8858 for a personalized evaluation.

About Professional Audio Design
Professional Audio Design (PAD) is a U.S.-based technical services company specializing in sales, specification, installation, maintenance and support of high-end audio equipment. Founded in 1992 by Dave Malekpour, PAD has provided sales and services to world-class recording studios, artists, producers, engineers and studio designers.

NEW YORK, NY – Auralex Acoustics, Inc. is creating performance art of its own in the Blue Man Groups’ newest rehearsal space with its best-selling acoustical treatment products. The internationally successful group recently moved into its new NYC recording and rehearsal facility and immediately recognized the need to balance the acoustics of the space, specifically the voice over booth and the live performance room.

Blue Man Group, which is best known for its wildly popular theatrical shows and concerts which combine music, comedy and multimedia theatrics to produce a totally unique form of entertainment, has also been involved in a wide variety of other creative projects, including the recording of several albums. As a result, Blue Man Group does an extensive amount of voiceover recording for a variety of applications including main stage productions, albums and touring shows. The quality and character of the voiceover has become a major part of the Blue Man experience so getting the right sound in their rehearsal space was essential. more