Asterope president Dariush Rad at Nashville Audio Engineer Week

In support of Nashville Audio Engineer Week, Asterope and Fishman sponsored the 4th annual Nashville Recording Workshop + Expo 2013, held recently at the Rocketown Event Center in Nashville. The event included many of the industry’s most notable audio engineers and producers and introduced the attendees to Asterope’s game-changing technology.

To help attendees hear the “Asterope difference,” the company created a listening environment at the event where attendees compared Asterope with competitive products in a one-on-one demonstration, using an electric guitar, acoustic guitar, or a vocal microphone. Participants were able to hear first-hand Asterope’s greater clarity, bandwidth, spectral balance and harmonic response. Designed and manufactured in the USA, Asterope products are ideal for the most demanding music environments and the cable of choice among leading professional musicians. Asterope’s core line of music instrument products is also used in recording and live sound environments. The company plans to continue expanding into the pro audio market.

Later in the week, Asterope lent its support to the 16th Annual AudioMasters Benefit Golf Tournament held at the Harpeth Hills Golf Course in Nashville. The tournament is the primary fund-raiser benefiting the Nashville Engineer Relief Fund (NERF) and is a cooperative effort of the Audio Engineering Society Nashville Section and NERF, Inc.

“Both Asterope and Fishman have long-standing ties to the Nashville music industry,” said Dariush Rad, president of Asterope. “We were honored to be able to participate in the week’s events and introduce our products to such noted industry professionals.”

About Asterope:
Asterope, LLC is an innovative audio cable technology company specializing in products designed for the music, pro audio and high-end audio markets. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the company offers unique products using breakthrough technology for musicians, engineers and audio enthusiasts. Asterope products are distributed worldwide by Fishman. For more information on purchasing Asterope, call 800.FISHMAN or visit www.fishman.com/asterope
The company can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and at www.asterope.com.

Asterope… The Signal of a New Era

Mike Wells in his Dangerous Music Equipped LA Mastering Room

Edmeston, NY – May 23, 2013 – Mastering engineer Mike Wells recently completed a project for producer Billie Joe Armstrong, the new “Emily’s Army” album titled Lost at Seventeen (Adeline Records). The sophomore album release will debut June 11, 2013 and features the drumming of Armstrong’s son Joey; Wells also mastered the band’s first album. Engineer Chris Dugan recorded the album and worked with mixer Chris Lord-Alge and producer Armstrong to coordinate the mastering at Wells’ LA mastering studio which is all based around a Dangerous Music equipment. “Without question the centerpiece of my studio is the Dangerous ‘mastering console’ – which comprises the Dangerous Master transfer console, the Dangerous Monitor, and the Dangerous MQ for metering,” says Wells. “I bought this system right when it became available. Until that time, there wasn’t a commercial mastering console on the market, only hand-built custom-consoles. The cost of a custom console was just out of my financial reach, so when these three Dangerous Music tools were released it was fantastic. I rely on them every day.” Wells setup also features the Dangerous Liaison and BAX EQ. more

On the heels of mixing the powerful documentary In God We Trust and the feature film Lily for their Tribeca Film Festival debuts, Heard City Mixer Cory Melious has collaborated with Director Jeremy Saulnier on a stirring feature film that premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Blue Ruin is the tale of a mysterious beach bum who performs a botched act of vengeance in an effort to stand up for his estranged family. Saulnier approached Melious with the incredible task of creating a mix and complete sound design in just two weeks. Heard City’s elaborate production pipeline was equal to the task, systematically working its way through the mix and edit.

“I was instantly captivated when Jeremy sent me a screener of the film,” noted Melious. “While I knew the production schedule was tight, I was confident Heard City could handle it, and I knew I wanted to be part of this project.” After premiering to enthusiastic response, Blue Ruin was promptly acquired by RADiUS-TWC, which called the film “one of the most exceptional discoveries [in] years.”

About Heard City:

Heard City is a boutique audio post-production company located in New York’s Flatiron district servicing the advertising, motion picture and television industries.

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“We wanted a console backed by a manufacturer with a solid reputation and years of broadcast experience”

TULSA, OK – KOTV and KQCW, owned by Griffin Communications as CBS and CW affiliate stations respectively, recently opened a new 57,000-square-foot, broadcast facility that relies on a Solid State Logic C10 HD Compact Broadcast Console to cover audio for news, weather and specialty programming. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based production facility houses both stations, but also has dedicated fiber lines between it and sister station KWTV in Oklahoma City to streamline production resources for statewide news coverage. The C10 HD was chosen for its advanced features, compact size and sound quality, in addition to SSL’s industry reputation for building high-quality products.

“For our new production facility, we wanted a console that was very capable, but was also cost-effective and backed by a manufacturer with a solid reputation and years of broadcast experience. That led us to the C10,” says John Quesnel, director of production for KOTV and KQCW. “Several of our engineers have had good experiences freelancing with the larger C100 HDS and we even had the SSL C10 Broadcast Equipment Demonstration Vehicle visit our facility for an extensive hands-on session. We are an HD, AES-embedded house and the C10 gives us the kind of flexibility and capability that we need to support a large news set.”

The new production facility has one large 5,525-square-foot studio with associated production and audio control rooms. The expansive news set in the studio is broken down into subsets to accommodate different programming needs. For example, one of the largest subsets is for weather forecasting. Additionally, the studio features a large news anchor area, three smaller news presentations sets, an interview set and speciality sets for entertainment presentations or commercial production. The C10 is used to produce over seven hours of news and speciality programming per day.

“We use the one-touch setup recall on the C10 to streamline our workflow through the different news and non-newscast programs we produce,” continues Quesnel. “Because we are located in tornado alley, weather is a very important element for us, so that particular area of the set is very large and comprehensive. We have a standard microphone setup for the area that we can easily call up for breaking emergency weather coverage. Beyond news programming, we also have a full kitchen set for cooking segments and a stage set for presentations ranging from live music and fashion to the DIY hardware guy. The C10 has been an excellent choice to handle audio for this type of multitasking facility.”

The compact design of the C10 was also a factor as the console is essentially self-contained, without the need for a mainframe in a climate-controlled machine room. The C10 is supported by three Alpha-Link 8RMP remote mic-pre units and five Alpha-link Live-R I/O units and was ordered with the Dialogue Automix option. As the station relies on many people to run the console, having a user levels system that tailors the features available for control to the skill set of individual operators is a key component for the team.

“We have engineers operating the console that have varying degrees of experience, so the C10 offers us the opportunity to lock out certain features when a less experienced person is scheduled to run a preset program,” concludes Quesnel. “This console gives us big board power at a reasonable price.”

Solid State Logic is the world’s leading manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for music, broadcast and post production professionals. For more information about our award-winning products, please visit: www.solidstatelogic.com.

Pat McConnell New VP of Sales, Ed Capp Named Global Sales Director

REEDSBURG, WI, MAY 21, 2013 — Sound Devices, experts in audio and video products for field production, is pleased to announce two internal promotions. As the company continues to evolve in the professional audio and video markets, it has named Pat McConnell Vice President of Sales and Ed Capp Global Sales Director.

At a time when the level of technical expertise required for successful sales is paramount, the pair has demonstrated leadership in the specialized audio and video production markets. In their new roles, Pat and Ed will oversee the Sound Devices sales team to further promote the company’s entire range of products globally, while continuing to strengthen the Sound Devices reseller and distributor network.

Pat, who joined the company last year, brings his deep experience in audio, systems sales, and sales management to the company. He also continues on with the tradition of single-syllable first names for Sound Devices officers. Ed, a 10-year veteran of the Sound Devices sales team, has been instrumental in significantly expanding the reach of Sound Devices throughout the world. Ed has developed Sound Devices strength in Asia as well as the important Southern California markets.

“Ed and Pat are a great sales team and together they manage Sound Devices presence throughout the world,” says Matt Anderson, President of Sound Devices. “As the Sound Devices product lines become more and more technical, it is critical that our sales team is led by knowledgeable individuals who are immersed in the changing audio and video technology landscape. We are very excited to continue to grow our sales force and look forward to both Ed and Pat’s future contributions to the company.”

Sound Devices, LLC designs and manufactures portable audio mixers, digital audio recorders, and digital video recorders and related equipment for feature film, episodic television, documentary, news-gathering, and acoustical test and measurement applications. The fourteen-year old company designs and manufactures from their Reedsburg, Wisconsin headquarters with additional offices in Madison, WI and Highland Park, IL. For more information, visit the Sound Devices website, www.sounddevices.com.

The new Amadeus UDX Series Speakers

Paris, France – May 21, 2013 – Amadeus, based in France, one of the premiere manufacturers of high-end sound reinforcement systems and custom studio speakers, has announced the re-launch of its famed UDX Series passive speakers – 30 years after originally releasing their first edition. Including four different models, the UDX Series is perfectly adapted to sound reinforcement applications in concert halls, auditoriums, conference rooms, and theaters. Designed to be included within fixed or long-lasting installations, each UDX speaker system can also be used in touring applications as a stage monitor when fitted with optional accessories. The newly redesigned UDX Series are now available from licensed Amadeus distributors and dealers throughout Europe and Asia, from € 1090.00 to € 1990.00 (VAT excluded), depending on the model. more

Out on the road serving as an opening act for the Luke Bryan Tour, Thompson Square is using PixelFLEX’s unique, flexible and lightweight LED Curtains to enhance and simplify their live musical performances. The husband and wife duo was searching for an efficient way to add video components to their show and PixelFLEX was able to bring the band’s vision to life with its industry-leading video curtain walls.

As the middle act on the Tour, Thompson Square has a relatively quick window to set up and take down their entire set – 13 minutes to be exact. Still, the tour and production manager, Christian Easterling, was determined to figure out how the band could deliver the type of show desired in the amount of time allotted. Easterling soon came across PixelFLEX LED Curtains, which allowed for high-quality visuals without the worry of time constraints.

“We tour with four crew people,” said Easterling. “Everything is done in such a quick manner; there is no way we could have performed the show with any other screen out there. It’s just amazing to see how the entire set moves away in a matter of minutes and is completely gone.”

For the Luke Bryan Tour, Thompson Square is using 16 20mm curtains flown off trusses for use as a backdrop to further enhance the audience’s live experience. The screens are used to deliver static images, color changes and video footage to add some depth and dimension to the live shows, according to Easterling.

Easy to operate and set up – videos and images can be sent to the screen using any computer with a DVI-D connection – PixelFLEX LED Curtains are available from low resolution to high resolution, allowing users to demonstrate simple effects or elaborate videos. Flexible in all directions, PixelFLEX LED Curtains are able to bend and shape around structures for a more creative display.

“The benefits (of the PixelFLEX LED Curtains) are that you can manipulate it and move it around to different areas if you need to,” said Easterling. “Sometimes, we have been in venues where our trim height is not that great, so we can take the screen and move it to a different location, put in front of risers and it’s very flexible. It has a tremendous impact on the show and that is just such a cool thing.”

Easterling has been on tour with Thompson Square for almost two years and this is the first tour in which they have used the PixelFLEX solution. The additional support, thus far, has been well received.

“I hear on a regular basis that the walls truly enhance the performance; the feeling is that it looks like a headliner’s set,” Easterling remarked. “It’s been easy in, easy up, which is extremely important out on tour. Just as important, the product delivers exceptional results at an affordable cost.”

For more information on PixelFLEX and its growing line of lightweight LED video screens, visit www.LEDCurtain.com. Follow PixelFLEX at www.Facebook.com/PixelFLEXUSA and @LEDCurtain.

Originally founded in 2012 to handle post-production on two feature film projects, Prodigi House in Jakarta soon acquired additional clients – including Samsung and Honda – seeking support with TV commercials. With additional projects and tighter deadlines, the company installed a Titanium16 shared storage system from Small Tree, the leader in simple, affordable and powerful Ethernet-based shared storage solutions for professionals engaging in the creation, management and delivery of electronic media and entertainment content.

Featuring suites for offline and online editing, color grading and motion graphics, Prodigi House needed a centralized storage system with enough capacity, to allow the editing team to work on feature films and TV commercial projects simultaneously. Using Small Tree’s Titanium16, featuring 32TB of storage, and six 10GbE cards, Prodigi House’s editors are able to access media files quickly and easily from anywhere in the facility without experiencing the typical delays associated with multiple users accessing the storage server at the same time.

As a startup company, one of the greatest benefits of using Small Tree’s robust shared storage technology for Prodigi House was affordability.

“Titanium gives us a solid, dependable and affordable system that we can trust without sacrificing performance,” said Tijoe Yauw Leng (a.k.a. Oleng), technical director for the Indonesia-based company. “Given the short time and tight budget we had, Small Tree’s easy-to-install, cost-friendly system was the ideal solution for Prodigi House.”

Utilizing popular industry applications such as Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Studio 3, Adobe Creative Suite 6, FilmLight Baselight and Smoke Advanced Linux across the studio’s Mac Pro and iMac workstations, Prodigi House looked to Small Tree for its expertise with Mac 10Gb Ethernet networks. With an eye toward the future, the company was interested in a scalable storage solution that would grow along with them.

“With the immediate growth we experienced, we needed to know that we could upgrade the storage and add more workstations to handle more projects,” Oleng continued. “The ease in which storage can be added to the Titanium system played a substantial part in our decision to move forward with Small Tree. We know that we can add drives at any time to the Titanium to provide our editors with the storage capacity they need to complete client projects.”

For more information about Small Tree and its growing line of shared storage and networking products, visit www.small-tree.com. Follow Small Tree on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SmallTreeComm or on Twitter @SmallTreeComm.

Nearly 10 years after its initial launch, Fishman’s Loudbox family continues to enjoy widespread acceptance and the leading position in acoustic guitar amp sales for 2012 based on an impressive feature set, superlative sound and exceptional value in terms of quality and build for the money.

According to MI SalesTrak, Loudbox, spurred by the popular Mini and Artist models, continued its No. 1 overall position in the acoustic guitar amp category by a wide margin with a 27.5% share of unit sales––nearly 20% more than the next brand. The Loudbox Mini also maintained its lead as top selling acoustic amp model with a 19% unit share while the Loudbox line led all category unit sales by price point as well. Loudbox Artist ranked #2 best selling amp at over 7%.

The Loudbox Mini and Artist amps are currently being used by Chris Traynor of Bush, Trampled by Turtles, Jerry Douglas, Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, Wolf Marshall, The Decemberists, Monte Pittman and folk legend Happy Traum, to name a few.

Discussing Fishman’s leadership in the acoustic amplifier category, Chief Operating Officer Jason Cambra stated, “We are very pleased with the ongoing acceptance and popularity of Loudbox by artists and players at every level, reflected in the dominant sales figures for the line over the last few years.

“From the Loudbox Mini to the Artist and new Performer models, the line continues to evolve in terms of features and performance, all of which explains why it is the industry leader in acoustic guitar amps and a major component in the growth and success of the Fishman brand.”

For more information about Fishman, call 978.988.9199 or click to www.fishman.com

Prism Sound has released two new versions of its SADiE 6 software, which was recently nominated for a TEC Award in the Workstation Technology category.

SADiE 6 Professional and SADiE 6 Lite are designed to bring this ground-breaking audio production and recording software to a much wider audience by allowing users to access the software at a lower price point.

Graham Boswell, Sales Director of Prism Sound, says: “SADiE has always excelled in roles where the most sophisticated editing capabilities are required and where reliability and robustness are paramount. However, we have recognised that not every user needs a full complement of features and functionality, so we have tailored specific versions of SADiE 6 software to suite different budgets and applications. SADiE Professional and SADiE Lite are the latest additions to our product suite.”

SADiE 6 Lite presents the core capabilities of SADiE in an entry level package, while SADiE 6 Professional can handle unlimited tracks and incorporates one year’s free support including all major updates. Both SADiE Lite and SADiE Professional include SADiE’s unique and streamlined array of flexible and non-destructive editing tools such as the Playlist, Trim and Region editors. They also provide a slimmed down core set of iZotope VST plug-ins and the well-established palette of SADiE channel strip processing.

“SADiE Professional and SADiE Lite are designed to appeal to radio producers who want the core functionality of SADiE 6 so that they can edit on their own lap-tops,” Boswell adds.  “These versions are ideal for users who don’t need integration with networked radio automation or facilities to master or restore audio.”

SADiE Professional retails at £949 plus VAT, while SADiE Lite retails at £450 plus VAT. Both versions are available now as a download or on a dongle.

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About Prism Sound
Founded in 1987, Prism Sound manufacture high-quality professional digital audio equipment for the International broadcast, film, music production, manufacturing and telecommunications sectors. The range now includes SADiE digital audio workstations and location recorders. Prism Sound also manufactures audio test and measurement products such as the DSA-1 and the dScope Series III audio analyzer.

For more information please visit www.sadie.com or www.prismsound.com