Audio Media July 2014

IN THIS ISSUE

We do the legwork to fi nd out how

best to invest in secondhand kit p20

Vintage Gear Guide

No. 284 July 2014 www.audiomedia.com

ARTISTS FOR PEACE

A look behind the scenes at this high-quality Haitian studio

p8

GAME AUDIO

Everything you need to know about setting up a game audio facility

p22

DEAN ST STUDIO

Inside one of London’s most storied studio complexes

p24

TECH FOCUS

Double feature: plug-ins and audio interfaces

p26

www.audiomedia.com July 2014 3

Ican still remember the first time I realised

the power of a stereo mix. I was 13 and had

just begun playing guitar when my cousin

lent me a CD featuring a pretty famous left-

handed guitar player. The ‘experience’ was eye

opening on a number of levels. Not only did I

hear the guitar being used in a way I had never

imagined, but with a set of proper Sennheiser

cans (stolen from my dad’s studio) strapped

tightly to my ears I heard sounds move from

left to right, seemingly flying around and

swirling through my head.

I had a similar experience recently

when I visited a well-known microphone

manufacturer and was treated to a performance

of the New York Philharmonic recorded in

DSD and played back over a 5.1 system. I

performed in orchestras when I was younger

and the depth and richness of this recording

made me feel like I was once again surrounded

by sections of violins, cellos, woodwinds,

and brass, the notes taking their time and

lingering in the air before naturally receding

into the background.

The appeal of immersive audio experiences

is obvious. Sound in the real world moves in

more than two directions, and even a 5.1 or 7.1

home stereo system can’t recreate the feeling of

being inside of the action.

There’s why we love live music. The whole

appeal of the venue, the way sound moves

around and envelops us is just an amazing

and raw experience. Yet it’s not just music that

benefits from an immersive format. Look at

Dolby Atmos, or Auro3D, or in the games

world, the rise of VR headsets from Oculus

and Sony.

We’re entering a period where the general

public is starting to look at audio as something

more than just the sidekick to visuals. Quality

and believability matter again, and it’s an

exciting time to be in the industry.

But can it all be a bit too much? The first

time I tried the Oculus Rift system I almost

hurled up my lunch (I’ve never been any good

on rollercoasters). And will creating these

near-realistic audio and visual environments

deaden our senses in the boring old real world?

Will the audio technologies of the future

make that life-changing stereo mix as outdated

as a black and white TV? Or will they become

just another gimmick like 3D movies – a way

for cinema owners to squeeze those last few

pounds from your already light wallet?

If you’re lucky enough to be at this year’s

Develop conference, you’ll get a few answers

from Sony Computer Entertainment’s Garry

Taylor (see interview on page 42) who will be

talking about what 3D audio over headphones

or VR means for the games industry during his

keynote. If not, you and the rest of us will just

have to wait and see.

Jory MacKay, Editor

WELCOME

Meet the team“We’re entering a period where the general public is starting to look at

audio as something more than just the sidekick to visuals.”Editor – Jory MacKay

[email protected]

Deputy Editor – Jake [email protected]

Managing Editor – Jo [email protected]

Commercial Director – Darrell [email protected]

Production Executive – Jason [email protected]

Designer – Jat [email protected]

Press releases to:[email protected]

© Intent Media 2014. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners.

Audio Media is published by Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England. Editorial tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6002 Sales tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6000

Audio Media ISSN number: ISSN 0960-7471 (Print)

Circulation & Subscription enquiries Tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6001 email: [email protected]

Printed by Printed by Pensord Press Ltd

CONTENTS

4 July 2014 www.audiomedia.com

ADVERTISERSINDEXBlue Microphones 9Cadac 2DPA Microphones 44Dynaudio Professional 17Genelec 19IBC 39IT Broadcast Workflow 37

Mogami 29Neumann 5PLASA 15PMC Loudspeakers 21Prism Sound 10Pro Sound Awards 35Radial Engineering 43

Richmond Film Services 12RØDE Microphones 25Sony 27Studiomaster 13TC Electronic 3Universal Audio 11Waves 33

FEATUREJohn Broomhall finds out

what it takes to build a

proper game audio facility

p22

Page 18

Page 26

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Telefunken debuts mic .................................. 6

Flare Audio fills out line-up ............................7

Audinate announces Dante Via .....................7

INDUSTRY NEWS

New Haitian studio build ............................... 8

Pro Sound Awards gears up........................ 10

Dolby does theatre .......................................11

FEATURES

DPP Prep List ............................................... 16

Will Strauss investigates what broadcast

facilities should expect after the upcoming

switch to file-based delivery

Vintage Gear Guide ................................... 18

Jory MacKay talks to the top resellers

and brokers about best practices when buying

secondhand kit

Dean St. Studios .......................................... 24

Jake Young visits one of the most historic

studio complexes in London

TECHNOLOGY

Focus:

Plug-ins and Audio Interfaces .................. 26

Reviews:

Featured: Sontronics Aria .......................... 32

Warm Audio WA76 ....................................... 36

PreSonus Sceptre S8 ................................... 38

Zoom H6 .........................................................40

ALSO INSIDE

GEO FOCUS: Japan ...................................... 14

INTERVIEW: Garry Taylor ...........................42

TECHNOLOGY NEWS Sign up for your digital AM at www.audiomedia.com


Telefunken showcased its new M82

dynamic cardioid broadcast microphone at

this year’s InfoComm exhibition in

Las Vegas.

Hand-assembled and tested in the

company’s facilities in Connecticut, US, the

M82 features a 35mm diaphragm specially

designed to capture low frequencies.

The M82 is an end-address microphone,

meaning that the top portion of the

headgrille is pointed at the sound source,

and features two separate EQ switches:

High Boost and Kick EQ. These two

switches function independently of each

other, providing four different settings.

The High Boost switch tilts the upper

mid-range and high frequencies (starting

around 2kHz with a 6dB boost by 10kHz).

For a source such as an announcer’s voice,

the high boost provides further articulation

and airiness in the upper register. Also

valuable as a music microphone in addition

to broadcast voice, the M82’s Kick EQ

switch engages a passive filter that reduces

some of the lower mid-range frequencies

(centred around 350Hz).

The construction of the M82 borrows

heavily from the U47 body style by

employing a head grille of similar

architecture and is finished in a durable

smooth black finish.

www.t-funk.com

Telefunken Debuts M82 Broadcast Mic at InfoComm

Eventide has announced the availability of

its new UltraChannel 64-bit native plug-in

for AU, VST, and AAX64 for Mac and PC.

The plug-in is a full channel strip and

includes micro pitch functionality from

Eventide’s flagship H8000, stereo delays

with variable feedback paths, plus two stages

of compression, gating, and five bands of

parametric EQ.

UltraChannel features a pair of dynamics

processors – the O-Pressor, capable

of extreme compression (this is the compressor section of the Omnipressor), and a

conventional compressor with de-essing and side-chain capability.

The plug-in also offers Soft-Saturation and Transformer emulation, which recreates

transformer core saturation, while its FlexiPath routing allows drag and drop for reordering

the signal path of the top level components (O-Pressor, compressor/de-esser, EQ, Gate).

Eventide is offering the plug-in free of charge until midnight on 8 July. To download

UltraChannel go to http://bit.ly/UltraChannel and use access code 0AA225EC.

www.eventide.com

Eventide Releases Ultrachannel

Abbey Road Studios and Chandler have announced the release of the TG2-500

microphone preamp. Building on the popularity of the TG2 preamp, the TG2-500 delivers

the classic sound of Abbey Road’s TG12428 preamp, used in the studio’s recording and

mastering consoles in the late 60s and early 70s, in the 500 series format.

The Chandler TG2-500 delivers frequency response identical to the TG2 and has

the same high frequency bump and mid forward tone, along with the warmth-inducing

distortion which contributes to its sound. The end result is said to be a creamy, smooth

tone with an open, clear top end.

www.chandlerlimited.com

Chandler Captures the Sound of Abbey Road

Steinberg has announced the forthcoming release of

Nuendo 6.5, a purchasable update to its post-production

software. Nuendo 6.5 features enhanced loudness

processing, bass frequency management, and an improved

Automatic Dialog Replacement (ADR) taker system.

The optional Nuendo Expansion Pack (NEK) also

receives a version increment, extending Nuendo’s tool

set through a range of features previously introduced to

Cubase 7.5, such as the Groove Agent SE 4 drum sampler

and HALion Sonic SE 2 sample player.

This latest update to the audio post-production

environment now offers an automatic loudness-processing

feature that renders loudness-based mixes on export at

user-defined loudness levels, such as -23 LUFS. Enhanced

support for Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) files

ensures a smooth exchange between Nuendo and Pro

Tools or Media Composer, while TrackVersions, track

visibility management and automatic detection of waveform

transients for skipping between transient peaks add to the

many workflow optimisations. Others updates include a

redesigned Control Room and metering section for a better

overview, the re-record mode feature for instant record

restart at the original position, and Track Quick Control

assignments that are saved and loaded as presets and

applied to different track types. Additional highlights are

VST Connect SE 2 for recording audio and MIDI via the

internet, as well as the Steinberg Hub, a multifunctional

platform that comprises a news section and the convenience

to call up frequently used folders and recent projects.

www.steinberg.net

Steinberg Updates Nuendo

The newest, and largest, addition to Allen & Heath’s

Qu series of digital consoles, Qu-32, made its debut

at this year’s InfoComm exhibition. Qu-32 is a

32-fader, 38-in/28-out digital mixer, which joins the

rackmountable Qu-16 (see our review in AM January

page 44) and the compact Qu-24. The new unit shares

the series’ key features such as total recall of settings,

Qu-Drive integrated multi-track recorder, dSNAKE for

remote I/O and personal monitoring, multichannel USH

stream, Qu-Pad control app, and the iLive FX Library,

but comes with a larger, 7in touchscreen.

The mixer was designed to double up as a studio mixer

with its 32 x 32 audio interface for streaming to/from

a Mac or PC, and MIDI strips dedicated to control of

DAW track levels, selection, mutes, and solos.

www.allen-heath.com

Allen & Heath Adds to Qu Family


TECHNOLOGY NEWS

British loudspeaker

manufacturer Flare Audio

has announced a new,

smaller compact vertical

point source system – the

X2A.

The X2A system,

comprising the X2A

Compact Vertical Point

Source Array, the Q12

bass, and the X0A Mini

Compact Vertical Point

Source Array speaker,

is designed to bring the

same studio reference

quality using Vortex and Space technologies (from the

X5A) to smaller installations and live events.

Using the company’s Space, Vortex, and Nanoflow

technologies, the X2A allows sound to be produced

with a minimum of interference from box pressure and

resonance with the aim that the purity of sound will

provide a platform for expression allowing engineers

to work with the sound created by the artist, not the

loudspeaker.

The X0A can be used as a low-level installation

speaker, arrayed in a vertical point source, or used

as a delay

www.flareaudio.com

Flare Audio Launches X2A at ABTT 2014

Awesome Transistor Amplifier Company (AwTAC) has introduced

the Channel Compressor, a brand new FET Compressor for the 500

series format.

Reminiscent of classic sounding compressors, the Channel

Compressor behaves like channel compression does on a console,

builds up well in a mix, and is quick and easy to set.

Transformer balanced input and output help deliver a big iron

sound with its associated weight, while carefully tuned discrete

transistor amplifiers are used in the audio and side-chain circuit.

The FET side-chain affects the gain of the input amp and can

be thought of as an ‘auto-fader’ offering very smooth sounding

compression akin to optical compressors.

www.kmraudio.com

AwTAC Releases Channel Compressor

The Wireless Systems Manager 4.1 is available now for either PC or Mac as a free

download. Version 4.1 has a function that protects any selected frequency settings before

the software calculates a new plan.

The software indicates the spacing between a microphone frequency and its neighbouring

frequencies to the ‘left’ and the ‘right’, whether this is another carrier or an intermodulation

product. This provides a better idea about how reliable a frequency is. If not all of your

microphone and monitoring channels can be accommodated within a given spectrum

window, the software will go below the recommended spacing but indicate this by marking

the frequency red. In this case you could consider making this frequency a spare one or

assigning it to a less important wireless link – or decide to move to another part of the

spectrum altogether if possible.

Additionally, version 4.1 allows users to set their own individual noise threshold. If the

power of an interfering source is below the selected threshold, the frequency it is on would

still be good to use; if the interfering source is more powerful (i.e. above the threshold), its

frequency will automatically be disregarded for the set-up.

www.sennheiser.co.uk

V4.1 for Sennheiser Wireless Systems

Audinate started this year’s InfoComm with a bang,

announcing its 150th Dante licensee, Kramer Electronics,

as well as launching its Dante Via technology.

According to the company, Via transforms Macs and

PCs into networked I/O devices, allowing users to build

a complete, standalone audio system of networked PCs

without the need for any dedicated Dante-enabled hardware

to be present on the network. In essence, any computer

instantly becomes a networked audio I/O device.

“Audinate’s mission is to revolutionise the way AV

systems are connected to allow people to thrive in a

networked world,” stated Lee Ellison, CEO of Audinate.

“Dante Via is another example of Audinate pioneering

innovation, driving the convergence of audio with an IT

world. Dante Via naturally complements the vast ecosystem

of Dante-enabled products developed by our 150 OEMs.”

Via can be used to create a flexible audio bridge for a

computer to connect with legacy USB, FireWire, and

Thunderbolt audio interfaces and transform them into

networked devices. Without the need for additional

hardware, Dante Via transmits and receives professional

quality audio via an Ethernet port to and from such

endpoints.

Via can also be used to distribute or loopback audio via

the network from any application such as Cubase, Pro

Tools, Nuendo, Logic, Reaper, or even Skype.

www.audinate.com

Audinate Announces Dante Via

Audio-Technica introduced its System 10

camera-mount wireless microphone system

at InfoComm 2014.

The lightweight hot or cold-shoe

mountable ATW-R1700 receiver is

compact (8.9cm x 5.7cm x 2.8cm) and

features an independent headphone

monitor output and selectable balanced or

unbalanced audio output on 3.5mm mini-

jack connectors. Powered by an internal

rechargeable (via micro-USB and included

adaptor) Li-Ion battery, the System 10

camera mount unit has both receiver and

transmitter battery life indicators and can

be used with Audio-Technica’s System

10 beltpack or dynamic handheld digital

wireless microphone transmitters.

System 10 operates in the 2.4GHz range,

immune to TV and DTV interference,

and is said to offer accurate sound and

easy operation with instantaneous channel

selection, sync, and set-up.

The system ensures clear communications

by providing three levels of diversity

assurance: frequency, time, and space.

Frequency Diversity sends the signal on

two dynamically allocated frequencies for

interference-free communication. Time

Diversity sends the signal in multiple time

slots to maximise immunity to multipath

interference. Finally, Space Diversity uses

two antennas on each transmitter and

receiver to maximise signal integrity.

The ATW-R1700 camera-mount

receiver will be available in September.

www.audio-technica.com

System 10 New from Audio-Technica

INDUSTRY NEWS Sign up for your digital AM at www.audiomedia.com


Evolutions post production has opened a

13,000sqft purpose-built HQ in the heart of Soho.

Th e facility features 33 light and spacious suites

including two fully equipped Pro Tools audio suites

with 5.1/Dolby E capability and HD monitoring.

At London’s Factory sound design studio,

engineers Anthony Moore, Jon Clarke, and Tom

Joyce provided the naturalistic soundscape for the

feature fi lm Downhill. Th e Factory team worked

across sound design, sfx editing, dialogue editing,

ADR, plus stereo and 5.1 mixes.

With the World Cup taking centre stage this

summer Grand Central Recording Studios worked

on a TV spot created by Saatchi & Saatchi for

Visa Europe called ‘Bolt To Brazil’, which features

Usain Bolt as he travels from Jamaica to Brazil.

ENVY recently completed a project for Minnow

Films called My Granny Th e Escort, which was

self shot by director Charlie Russell and mixed

by ENVY’s Bob Jackson. Th e team, which also

included a fi nal mix by Matt Skilton, said that the

audio was particularly challenging and required

much use of noise reduction and enhancement

techniques using iZotope RX and Cedar software.

Jungle has been busy this month with Chris

Turner completing the sound design on a cinema

ad for charity Adot and mixing the titles for the

BBC’s World Cup coverage. Jim Griffi n and

Dominic Dew worked on M&C Saatchi’s online

BeatBullying campaign with Dew also picking up

some new projects for Low Cost Holidays.

From the Cutting RoomPOST PRODUCTION

Audio Institute: We Are the World School of

Music and Audio Engineering is the fi rst institution

of its kind in Haiti and the newest division of

Artists Institute, a free professional college for

art and technology in Jacmel. It features a world-

class recording studio, Pro Tools-enabled writing

rooms, and a technical curriculum based on the use

of tablets developed with some of the top audio

engineering programmes in the world. Jake Young

talks to David Belle, CEO of Artists for Peace

and Justice, the non-profi t organisation behind

Audio Institute, about what the organisation, its

partners WSDG and Nimbus School of Recording

Arts, and supporters Vintage King, SSL, Genelec,

Sennheiser, and more are doing for the youth of the

poorest nation in the Americas.

Who’s backing Audio Institute? I see Arcade Fire are on your advisory board.Th e seed funding for the initiative comes from

the We Are Th e World Foundation and that was

money raised from the We Are Th e World 25

For Haiti rerecording song and music video that

Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie produced. Jackson

Browne was there recently with us and Arcade

Fire have been a supporter from the beginning.

What were the main challenges of turning traditional Haitian buildings into studios?It was all built from scratch. Th ey have a design

inspiration from traditional rural Haitian

architecture and they have the guts of great

modern sound studios and recording spaces. We

brought in WSDG so that they could take our

design vision and campus structure – and most

importantly the use of local materials and local

builders – and adapt it into something that would

meet what was locally feasible and at the same

time meet international standards.

Tell me about your working relationship with WSDG.John [Storyk, principal, designer] was introduced

to us via an introduction from Arcade Fire to

Electric Lady Studios. He’s been an extraordinary

supporter from the beginning. Th ey were brought

in to do all of the acoustic engineering and

technical layout and electrical plans. All of the

guts of the buildings as I refer to it.

And your technology supporters.I think every person involved in this project

has committed to getting it done with the best

resources possible on a minimal budget. Everyone

involved has cut their fees, reduced fees, donated

things at cost or below cost, and that’s what’s

enabled us to build and create a really quality

programme with really quality people and gear

for not a lot of money. All of those companies

provided gear to outfi t all these diff erent studios

at really discounted prices and they did it all at

the drop of a hat. Th ere was no arm-twisting.

What rooms does Audio Institute feature?Th ere’s a very generous, beautiful live room

overlooking the ocean and a large control room,

purposefully large so that we can hold classes in

there in addition to it being a great big room for

studio sessions. Th en there’s another building

that has a smaller recording room and four other

rooms feed off that in a honeycomb eff ect so

you can have workshops going on. You can have

four student groups recording the same thing

simultaneously. Th en two other mix rooms and

two really big, beautiful classrooms.

What is Audio Institute up to now?It’s the end of the school year so everyone’s in

year-end projects, which are thesis projects.

One of the things that’s really important

philosophically about the education is that we’re

teaching people how to work with very simple,

locally available resources and tools in addition

to learning the A to Z of what a big room

looks like. I’d like to have graduates come out

of there who can record a voodoo ceremony at

the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere

with a laptop and a microphone and be equally

comfortable at a big board in the studio.

www.audioinstitute.org

Industry Comes Together for HaitiRECORDING

Th e Audio Institute recording studio is designed and certifi ed by WSDG

Want your audio post news featured here? Send any relevant stories to [email protected]

DRAGONFLY Silky, extended topend with a low bump

“…the best mic I’ve heard for recording

a guitar amp. Ever.”

—Recording Magazine

BLUEBERRY Detailed highs with mid presence to sit up front in mix

“…its performance is definitely high-end.”

—Mix Magazine

BOTTLE Stunning classic tube with interchangeable capsules

“You gotta hear this microphone!”

—Pro Audio Review

KIWI Renowned multi-pattern mic with superior detail

“…it was never less than sublime.”

—Sound On Sound

Hand-built in California.

bluemic.com

INDUSTRY NEWS Sign up for your digital AM at www.audiomedia.com


At Studios La Fabrique, recent

clients include Herbert Grönemeyer

recording his new album produced by

Alex Silva and engineered by Michael

Ilbert. The Gipsy Del Mundo have

recorded some new songs with

Patrick Jauneaud, while Morrissey

recorded his forthcoming album

World Peace is None Of Your Business.

Britannia Row Studios has been

humming with sessions from Ed

Sheeran with Guy Massey and Jasper

Dent, Little Mix with Troy Boy with

Jasper engineering, and Rhodes with

Tim Bran and Roy Kerr and Jasper.

String quartet Escala have also

been in with Youth producing and

Michael Randall engineering.

At Kore Studios in West London,

House of Lions were back recently,

while Rebecca Lander and her band

booked in for a day of live tracking.

Notable projects at Angel Studios

include the soundtrack to the West

End production of Charlie and the

Chocolate Factory, engineered by

Niall Acott with assistant engineer

Joshua Thomas in Studio One.

Busy days at Manchester’s Bigtone Studios where Tim Gray reports:

“Highlights have been sessions with

Ginger Wildheart (singer with The

Wildhearts), the tracks of which

include collaborations with a number

of very famous special guests which

I unfortunately can’t announce until

the tracks are released.”

Congratulations to EGREM Studios (Empresa de Grabaciones

y Ediciones Musicales) in Havana,

Cuba. The home of Buena Vista

Social Club and much more is

celebrating 50 years in business.

Heard Around TownRECORDING

The lobbying period for the 2014

Pro Sound Awards closed on

31 May, and the awards team

are currently hard at work going

through your entries to create a

definitive list of finalists for the

big night at Ministry of Sound,

London, on 25 September.

Early signs point to exceptionally

strong showings in the Marketing

Initiative, Best Theatre Sound,

and Best Permanent Installation

categories, with competition also

particularly fierce for the Best

Studio and Live/Touring Engineer

of the Year gongs.

Stay tuned for the finalists!

Early bird tickets are still available

for £79 + VAT, and include access

to the Pro Sound Awards Pre-Roll,

an early evening session of lively

panel-style discussion, new for

this year.

www.prosoundawards.com

Pro Sound Awards: Over to the Judges…

EVENT

Want your studio news featured here? Send details to [email protected]

Last year’s inaugural Pro Sound Awards


INDUSTRY NEWS

David Abraham, Channel 4 CEO since

his appointment in 2010, has been

confirmed as Thursday’s IBC Conference

keynote speaker in the agenda-setting

panel ‘Assessing the Health of Broadcast

TV’.

Since being appointed, Abraham has

been focused on preparing Channel 4 for

the growth of connected television. His

success to date has led to over 10 million

registered viewers, an industry-leading

Big Data initiative, and an historic high

of over £1.03 billion in revenue in 2013.

The opening keynote session will

deliver a high-powered panel discussion

with Abraham alongside two other

broadcast industry players. Attendees will

gain insights that will inform and shape

business strategy as IBC takes the pulse

of broadcasting and asks where it fits

in an increasingly on-demand and

IP-based world.

www.ibc.org

Channel 4’s Abraham to give IBC keynote

EVENTS

The third title in the West End

Theatre Series, captured live

in high definition by Digital

Theatre and distributed by

CinemaLive, Ghosts was the first

ever live production captured on

film with audio using Dolby’s

Atmos technology. Audio Media

was invited to experience the

production at the Dolby

London Office.

The preview started with

an explanation from Melissa

Keeping, chairman, Event

Cinema Association, about

how Dolby and Digital Theatre

worked together to mix and

produce Ghosts in Atmos.

“Dolby’s endorsement of

event cinema by producing

this in Atmos is a wonderful

sign and we’re all really excited

about it,” she said. “I can’t even

imagine where this will lead.

The harnessing of a theatrical

production in Atmos is really

exciting as well because we’re

going to hear the full strength of

what this product has to offer:

things off the wings, sound

effects, forward and backwards,

and so on.”

“Digital Theatre and

CinemaLive are transforming

how we watch performances

that are traditionally reserved

for theatre,” said Andy Dowell,

regional director for northern

Europe, Dolby. “For the first

time, a theatre production

has been captured in Dolby

Atmos. This brings a unique

and extraordinary experience to

the cinema, making it feel as

if you are sitting in the theatre

itself and watching the original

performance of the play.”

www.dolby.com

Theatre First for AtmosPOST PRODUCTION

By Jake Young

Sign up for your digital AM at www.audiomedia.com


Consulting editor Jim Evans on the Tony Awards

audio controversy, sound problems for World Cup

broadcasters, and a fond farewell for Monty Python.

Supporting Sound DesignOPINION

ASD hits back over Tony AwardsGood news that Th e Association of

Sound Designers (ASD) has issued an

offi cial response to the announcement

that the Tony Awards is to drop the

two Sound Design Awards from its

future programme.

Th e ASD said: “We were

disappointed to hear of the decision

by the Tony Award Administration

Committee to remove the categories

of Best Sound Design of a Play and

Best Sound Design of a Musical from

their roster.

“In 2008, Howard Sherman spoke

on behalf of the American Th eatre

Wing and Broadway League to

introduce the inclusion of these new

categories, saying ‘We want to refl ect

an evolution of the understanding of

the sound designer’s role, both among

artists and in the community at large.

Th is is not an award for placing a

microphone somewhere. It’s about

the creation of an aural environment

that impacts our relationship to a

production, just like any other design’.

“Sound design has evolved further

since 2008 and now is an integral,

if not utterly essential, part of every

show playing on Broadway. To absent

sound designers and their work from

the awards is a failure to respect the

contribution that sound designers

make as core members of a show’s

creative team and the artistry that

they bring to a show.

“We strongly encourage the Tony

Awards Administration Committee to

reconsider their decision.” An online

petition to reinstate the Tony Awards

for Best Sound Design, started by

Tony-nominated sound designer John

Gromada, has already attracted over

27,000 signatures and can be found

here bit.ly/1hUseIR. Get writing!

World Cup Audio Own-GoalMaybe we should rephrase this item

as ‘Been Th ere Before’. Th e World

Cup got off to a faltering start when

poor sound quality left many television

viewers unable to enjoy the opening

ceremony. When Jennifer Lopez took

to the stage to sing the offi cial FIFA

song We Are One (Ole Ola) those inside

the stadium were able to enjoy her

singing, but the experience of many

at home was hampered by ‘appalling’

sound quality. Th e voices of Lopez

and fellow singers Pitbull, the US

rapper, and Claudia Leitte, a Brazilian

pop star, sounding faint and ‘tinny’,

according to the Daily Telegraph.

A source at ITV, which broadcast

the ceremony in the UK, said that

it had ‘no control’ over audio levels

because a single feed was distributed

around the world. An ITV spokesman

said: “Th e sound problem... was

caused by a technical issue with the

host broadcaster, which provides the

coverage of all the action at this year’s

World Cup.”

Older readers may care to ease

back 28 years to June 1986 and the

World Cup Finals in Mexico, noted

more for the fi rst appearance of the

phenomenon dubbed the Mexican

wave than for the quality of the

football. It was, however, the poor

TV sound quality that attracted

the attention of both the national

and trade press. It was all blamed

on the ‘incompetence’ of the local

broadcasters. Plus ça change.

Always Look On The Bright SideGlastonbury and all the other summer

festivals aside (Metallica headlining

indeed!), this summer’s live list is

topped by Monty Python at the O2

Arena. Th e fi nal reunion show is to

be broadcast live on television. Monty

Python Live (Mostly) will be screened

on comedy channel Gold on 20

July, marking the end of the group’s

10-night run. Th e three-hour event

will be preceded with a live backstage

programme.

“We are very excited that not only

do we get the chance to screw up on

stage, we get a chance to screw up live

on TV too,” Python’s Eric Idle said.

“What could be fi ner at the end of a

long life in comedy, than a chance to

reunite with old pals and say goodbye

to all our fans in one fi nal mad

musical show.”

Gold will also screen a fi ve-part

series later this year celebrating Monty

Python’s Flying Circus and the eff ect

it had on the comedy world. If you

haven’t got tickets for the O2, tune

in to Gold. I want a licence for my

goldfi sh, Eric...

Th e FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony was plagued by poor sound qualityCredit: Danilo Borges/Portal da Copa



Big in Japan

GEO FOCUS JAPAN

From world-recognised audio

brands, to a bustling live

industry and a huge music

market in the US, Japan is by-and-

large one of the healthiest pro-audio

industries in the world.

According to the Recording

Industry Association of Japan, the

country is the second-largest music

market in the world following the

US, with sales reaching $4.42 billion

in 2012 (which amounts to 26.8% of

worldwide sales).

Although digital music sales

dropped 25% in 2012 (the last year

that precise fi gures are available), the

country saw an overall increase of

3% across the total value of recorded

music and digital music sales, the

fi rst in fi ve years.

Th e big news, however, is the

continuing strength of sales of

physical albums, with sales in

Japan the highest out of the top 20

grossing markets worldwide at 80%.

Yet, despite this, many within the

music industry are concerned by the

health of the market and the long-

term eff ect of the obsession with

‘Idol’ acts.

Japanese Idol groups are

manufactured pop acts admired more

for their representation of youth and

cuteness than musical abilities. A

small handful of these groups with

obsessive fans make up the majority

of the Japanese music market.

Th e groups regularly release several

versions of each record with diff erent

covers or packed with tickets for

concerts or ‘shake-hand’ events

(basically the opportunity to line-up

and meet a member of the group for

approximately 10 seconds).

AKB48, one of the largest girl

groups in the country (as of May

2014 the group includes 140

members), has sold more than 30

million records and can attract up

to 200,000 fans across Japan and

neighbouring countries to shake-

hand events for a single release.

Th is mass manufacturing of music

has led to a decrease in commercial

studios and concern over audio

quality. Home recording is more

standard and most production

companies are building their own

studios (mostly software-based

and ITB).

“I think there is no way to get

Japanese people to return to the real

traditional recording style again.

Everything is digital-based now

and people have forgotten about

analogue gear, especially young kids.

It’s all plug-ins with very few live

instruments,” comments a music

producer in the country who asked to

remain anonymous.

Live MusicDespite issues with the outdated

Fueiho laws (which restrict dancing

in nightclubs without a special

licence) Japan, and Tokyo in

particular, has an impressive live

music scene from small to medium-

sized concert halls (called ‘live

houses’) to massive productions

and festivals.

Tokyo alone has hundreds of

live houses scattered across the

city with higher concentrations in

neighbourhoods such as Shibuya,

Shinjuku, Shimokitazawa, and

Koenji. However, unlike in most

other countries where the venue will

book and pay bands, most Japanese

bars and clubs work on a pay-to-play

system where the artists need to sell

a certain quota of tickets or otherwise

pay the diff erence.

While this raises the question of

why an act would potentially pay

just to step on stage, most venues

supply a high-quality sound system

and a full backline, and with the

artists ostensibly becoming the

venue’s ‘customers’, the staff and

engineers cater to almost all of the

whims of even the smallest indie act

(something anyone who has played

shows in other countries will almost

never see).

Outside of the live house scene,

the trend for massive summer

festivals has also been wholly

embraced with productions such

as Fuji Rocks, Summer Sonic, and

Rising Sun Rock Festival attracting

crowds to see both domestic and

international acts.

BroadcastJapan’s national broadcaster, NHK,

has been developing what it calls

‘Super Hi-Vision’, which pairs a

picture with 16 times as many pixels

as HDTV with a 22.2 multichannel

three-dimensional audio format.

Th e NHK Science and Technical

Research Labs has been working on

the project since the early 1990s with

BBC R&D collaborating since 2008.

While the technology has been tested

at a number of events, it was the

capture and playback of events at the

London 2012 Olympics that showed

the format’s real true potential.

Game AudioAs the birthplace of the videogame

industry, the Japanese games industry

realised early on the importance of

music and sound.

“For a long time, Japan didn’t

have an indie game development

scene like in the US or in Europe.

However, aff ordable game engines

(Unity in particular) and new

dedicated events such as BitSummit

in Kyoto have been catalysts, as

was the emergence of the mobile

game market,” comments Nicolas

Tsugi, a 20-year game audio veteran

who worked with companies such

as Konami, EA, and Sony, before

starting his own game audio

technology company Tsugi.

“All this translated in the need for

more audio content, and often on

smaller projects. It changed the game

audio landscape and encouraged

newcomers and well-known

musicians/sound designers to

become independent themselves,

in the same way that some famous

Japanese game producers/designers

like Keiji Inafune from Capcom

(creator of Megaman) have started

their own smaller companies.

“Although there are still huge

audio departments in companies

such as Capcom, which employs up

to 60 people in their audio group in

Osaka, smaller companies are being

created by ex-employees of the

big ones.

“Attic in Tokyo is an example of a

recently created small studio which is

dedicated to game audio.”

Long known for its high level of quality manufacturing, Japan is home to a number

of infl uential pro-audio brands, and has been a breeding ground for technological

advances over the past few decades. But have these advances helped or hindered

the recording, live, and broadcast industries? Jory MacKay fi nds out.

POPULATION: 126M

(10TH IN THE WORLD)



BROADCAST FOCUS

From 1 October 2014, the UK broadcast industry is facing a seismic shift in the way programmes are

delivered. While audio considerations are to the fore, if you still haven’t done anything about it yet there is

no need to panic, writes Will Strauss.

File-based Delivery – What You Need to Know

Unless you’ve been living

under a rock for the past

12 months you’ll know

something significant is about to

happen to television programme

delivery in the UK. In what is

described as the “biggest change since

the move to colour”, from 1 October

broadcasters will expect external

programme suppliers to submit any

new post-produced shows as a digital

file rather than on a tape.

According to Mark Harrison,

the chair of the Digital Production

Partnership (DPP), the rationale

behind the move is there for all to see:

“Producers are already shooting and

editing their programmes digitally.

But then a strange thing happens. At

the moment a programme is finished

it is transferred from computer

file to videotape for delivery to the

broadcaster. When the broadcaster

receives the tape they pass it to their

playout provider, who transfers the

tape back into a file for distribution to

the audience.”

For broadcasters this move will

mean, among other things, a single

industry standard, no more tape

obsolescence headaches or VTR

upgrades and it should make metadata

ingest easier.

But how will it affect sound

engineers and audio post-producers?

The BasicsFundamentally, the change is just

replacing physical items like tapes,

labels, and VT reports with their zeros

and ones equivalents. So, instead of

a plastic tape case it’ll be an AS-11

DPP wrapper. Inside the wrapper is

the programme as a digital file and the

associated metadata.

Loudness is KeyThe good news is that the content

creation stage remains largely the

same as for tape delivery. The only

real difference is the new loudness

measurement technique (EBU R128).

The DPP rules are fairly clear: all

new programmes must be mixed to

comply with R128. Programmes that

have been mixed to the old PPM6

standard, including legacy or archive

content, will only be accepted by prior

agreement with the broadcaster.

The loudness check is likely to be

the first part of the delivery process.

It has been written about constantly

but for the sake of clarity, R128 looks

at normalising audio and is based on

average loudness rather than peak level.

Producers are being advised to “tell

the post-production provider whether

the programme is mixed to PPM or

R128”, a decision based on the version

of the Technical Standards to which

the production company is contracted

to deliver. So, expect a call.

Surround Sound and WorkflowFor audio-only post houses, the days

of laying back to tape are probably

numbered. The easiest way to get

around this will be to deliver .wav

files to an Avid (although, it is worth

mentioning that working that way it

won’t be easy to check the sync as you

will possibly never see the mixed audio

with the finished pictures).

If there is a 5.1 Surround Sound

mix required, this “must be delivered

as discrete audio tracks, not

Dolby E encoded”, but Surround

Sound programmes still need the

Dolby metadata to be sent to HD

television sets. This is a grey area and

development is ongoing.

Programmes delivering surround

sound must also carry a stereo mix

meeting all requirements for stereo

delivery. This should generally be an

automated down-mix of the surround

channels using the same downmix

parameters as are held in the surround

metadata. The advice here is that “in

order for both the surround mix and

stereo down-mix to comply with

EBU R128 the down-mix should be

normalised before layback”.

Quality Control MattersQC is affected quite considerably by

the move to file-based delivery with

the responsibility falling entirely to

the programme producer, and not the

broadcaster. There is a perception that

the responsibility has been changed, in

fact it has always been this way.

Broadcasters will do basic checks

but won’t do a full QC check so firstly

a manual QC check will be required,

with humming or buzzing, silence, and

lip sync among the considerations.

Then an automated QC process

will be possible where some technical

checks – for audio clipping, audio

dropout, and audio phase errors plus

loudness and maximum peak – can be

done by a computer.

The OutputTo complete the process the post-

producer will then output an MXF file

containing both the audio and video

encoded material, and the required

metadata. The video and audio tracks

must be encoded and structured

according to the DPP Technical

Standards as a compatible AS-11

OP1A MXF file.

For HD files, the audio must be

frame interleaved with the video and

carried within a BWF container as

described by AS-11. All audio tracks

must be encoded as PCM with a

sample rate of 48kHz at a depth of

24bits/sample.

Last-minute ChangesIt is highly likely that, in the early

days, this delivery process will take

longer than its tape equivalent. Which

is fine if you allow plenty of time and

nothing goes wrong. But, and here

comes the biggie, if something needs

to be changed or goes wrong, you

cannot currently insert edits on a file.

So, if there’s a late credit change,

for example, where with tape it was

easy to drop in the amended shot very

quickly, with file delivery, there’s no

option to do this so you have to create

a new full master file.

As of now, there is no consensus on

how to deal with this problem other

than producers will need to adhere to

deadlines. The fact that they will most

likely be charged by their post house

for the creation of a new master may

also be encouragement.

While it sounds problematic, ITV

supervising editor, Emmerdale Post

Production, Gary Westmoreland does

have some advice: “It is really about

keeping the QC process close to your

edit timeline so that if you do have

a failure you are not too far down

the road for you to then to go back,

rewind, correct the process, re-warp,

and deliver from there.”

www.digitalproductionpartnership.co.uk

Audio post facilities will face a

number of changes after 1 October



Walking into a shop

selling used pro-audio

and studio kit can feel

like going deeper and deeper into an

Aladdin’s cave passing shiny and not-

so-shiny esoteric pieces of kit in search

of that diamond in the rough. Yet

there is always the risk that when you

clean the grime off that ‘vintage’ piece

of kit, there’s a lot less diamond and a

whole lot more rough underneath.

It would be a lie to say that the

vintage gear craze is slowing down,

with any self-respecting studio owner

going above and beyond to fatten

out their list of vintage microphones,

preamps, consoles, and backline

(we’re still waiting for the vintage

plug-in craze to kick in). The stacks

of outboard that disappeared during

the initial move over to digital studios

in the 90s have sprung up again, with

analogue kit being a big selling point

for many commercial studios.

But the path to a vintage-equipped

studio is fraught with pitfalls that even

the pros sometimes can’t avoid. Just as

if you were buying a secondhand car

sight unseen, what’s under the hood

might not be exactly as advertised.

For those looking to add some

flavour to their studio, or just stretch

their budgets, there are a number of

processes for procuring used kit, each

with their pros and cons.

Where to BuyThe private market is full of people

moving along old kit, upgrading, or

who just fancy a change. But what if

you aren’t willing to part with your

hard-earned cash without some type of

guarantee as to what you are receiving?

“You can obviously stretch your

budget and pick up a bargain, but

you’re in a bit of a lottery,” comments

Funky Junk founder Mark Thompson.

“Lets put it this way: we love eBay.

Probably at least 50% of our work in

the past year has been from things

that people have bought on eBay and

aren’t what they thought it would be.

If it’s a bargain there’s a pretty good

chance it won’t be as it seems.”

Thompson founded Funky Junk in

London in the early 1990s. It specialises

in buying vintage kit, servicing and

sometimes restoring it, and then selling

it with a warranty. At almost the same

time across the Atlantic, engineer/

producer/musician brothers Michael

and Andrew Nehra were doing

something similar under the Vintage

King moniker. Both had become

frustrated with the lack of responsibility

taken by private sellers and gear brokers

of the time and understood that, as

Thompson puts it: “Every single piece

of gear has something that needs to be

done to it and most pieces of gear that

come from a professional background

need a lot done to them.”

Thompson uses a recent example

of a Teletronix LA-2A that Coldplay

wanted to use on their new record.

The unit measured fine on all the tests

but his techs said that it didn’t sound

exactly right and brought in a tube

specialist.

“Before that goes anywhere we’re

going to make sure it sounds like a

Teletronix should,” he explains. “If you

were buying that same unit off eBay,

you’d pay the same as you would from

us or Vintage King, the difference

being that we would have invested

£160 in bits, maybe more, plus a

couple of hours on the bench. It’s not

just the cost of doing that, but finding

someone who has the time to do it.”

The Personal TouchWhile Thomspon and Nehra have

built their businesses around this

model, the recording industry is still a

small, tightknit group of people, and

one where many deals still happen on

a personal basis. Enter the pro-audio

broker…

“A broker’s role is one of trust and

providing a secure buffer between the

buyer and the seller so that both can

feel confident in trading especially

when a technical authority is required

to be certain of how much value

for money you’re getting,” explains

Hamish Jackson of equipment broker

and studio real estate company mjQ.

“Quality and assurance is the basis of a

broker’s reputation, which takes a long

time to establish.”

Unlike Funky Junk and Vintage

King, which act more as a curated

secondhand shop, a broker is

responsible to both buyer and seller,

which means, at least to Jackson, that

sticking to a clear company policy

is the best bet at making the deal as

transparent as possible for both sides

– something that is summed up in the

unofficial mjQ motto: if it ain’t fixed,

don’t ‘broke’ it!

Caveat Emptor - The Audio Media Guide to Buying Secondhand

FEATURE USED GEAR

For those looking to stretch their budget when

equipping or upgrading a studio there is no better

way than to buy secondhand. But how do you know

whether that deal really is just too good to be true?

Jory MacKay investigates the market for buying

used and brings tips and advice from the industry’s

biggest brokers and resellers. Knowing what you can, and can’t get

spares for is important

“If it’s a bargain there’s

a pretty good chance it

won’t be as it seems.”

Mark Thompson, Funky Junk

Neumann

mics are

perenially

popular on

the used

market



FEATURE USED GEAR

Knowing When to Steer ClearExperience counts when it comes

to buying used gear. Besides going

through all the right steps once you’ve

begun the negotiating process (see box

above), are there some pieces of kit

that you should be especially wary of?

“Anything digital can be an issue

because it isn’t fixable by a normal

tech as usually it has surface-mounted

technology and has to go back to

the manufacturer who then tends to

change the board,” says Thompson.

“There is a list of stuff that you just

cannot get spares for: Fairchilds, if the

output transformers are gone you can’t

get them and the value goes down

from £30,000 to £15,000 on the spot.

Neumann’s, with the U47 if the VF14

tube is gone you can spend a long time

looking and spend a lot of money trying

to find out. On an AKG C12, the

capsule - you won’t get one.”

Yet it’s not just the specific model

numbers that you need to be aware

of. Buying secondhand smartly also

means knowing what a piece of kit

should sound like.

Thompson: “When capacitors go

in a piece of equipment it will very

often continue to work although it

may become intermittent, but the

sound thins out – you lose the bottom

end, you lose clarity and punch. This

is why I say we often see people who

have bought stuff secondhand, usually

processing gear, and they’re putting up

with something that isn’t performing

anywhere near to its optimum and

they don’t realise it.”

Sound InvestmentWhile the idea of buying ‘secondhand’

might be a great way to build up your

studio while saving money compared

with purchasing new gear, buying

‘vintage’ is a whole other story.

There is some level of cultural

weight we attach to recording

gear from the ‘Golden Era’ that

manufacturers continue to play off. Just

look at the way new kit references the

revered items of the 60s and 70s, or the

sheer amount of plug-ins that claim to

be the most realistic end-to-end sonic

recreations of those specific models.

“People are increasingly conscious

of the resale potential, much like

works of art (which they are!),”

says Jackson. “Trends are still quite

territory-specific, for example

Neumann vinyl cutting lathes are

going back to Germany where the

mastering industry is booming and the

Chinese love affair with tape machines

is still very much alive and well.”

“With computer technology and

the internet over the last 15 years

you’ve seen a steady and exponential

increase in the amount of musicians

who can record affordably,” adds

Nehra.

“We still find a massive amount

of this stuff and it does still change

hands, but more people want it and

that’s driving up the price. So, there’s

only so many U47s, and however

many Pultecs, Fairchilds, Teletronix

LA2As, etc… So the demand is

higher and the price has gone up.

There’s more users and only X amount

available. When we started in 1993, a

vintage 1073 was $700, now it will go

anywhere from $6,500-$7,500. It’s a

pretty good investment.”

Not everyone, however, is as

optimistic about the continuing

growth of the market and Thompson

believes it is starting to soften and

that prices might need to be re-

evaluated and lowered in the near

future: “Instinctively I feel the market

softening a bit. I don’t know why,

maybe because the stuff we do is just

the froth on the cappuccino.”

www.funky-junk.comwww.mjq.co.ukwww.vintageking.com

1. Looks Matter – “Very often cosmetic condition gives a good clue as to

how it’s been treated. Especially if the seller still has the original boxes. That

suggests he’s up his own ass and has been looking after the gear quite well!”

2. Be a Historian – “Find a bit of history about how it’s been used: has it

been used as a doorstep or did he record for say two days a month? A lot of

companies offer extended warranties, so see if those are transferable.”

3. Get Hands On – “Ask if you can try it first, and if that’s too difficult

then ask for an independent technical report.”

4. Get a Guarantee – “If you can’t try before you buy – and I understand

a lot of private sellers or a place like eBay won’t allow you to – be sure to get

some sort of money back guarantee, even if it is only for a few days.”

5. Use a Little Common Sense – “Know what you’re buying! We’re

astonished at how many people come to us with bits of gear they’ve bought

secondhand and have no idea all the capacitors are shot or the pots are

shagged and just say ‘I assumed that’s what they sounded like’. A lot of this

stuff has been used professionally. It’s been turned on 24-hours a day. It’s

been rock ’n’ rolled. It’s going to need some servicing and refurbishment.

Don’t think for a moment that you’re going to go out there and buy

something [that’s perfect].”

Mark Thompson’s Top TipsThe Funky Junk boss gives his best advice on

how to make sure you get the most out of your

used gear purchase.

“A lot of the vintage or classic recording equipment was made at a time when

the recording artists used to ask the in-house technical staff to come up with

a piece of equipment that did a particular job for them, like special reverbs

(Phil Spector - Wall of Sound) - or heavy compression ( Joe Meek - Telstar),”

comments mjQ’s Hamish Jackson, who has brokered deals for artists and

facilities such as Mark Ronson, Paul Epworth, Abbey Road, and Gary Barlow.

“In the old days, kit was generally hand-built at the studios using high-

quality components with durability, a wide frequency range, and that special

feature of the day – the valve or tubes as the Americans call them. The big

warm sound was an important ingredient – liken this to a valve-based jukebox

playing in your local café: it may not be at its most accurate, but the listener

finds it acceptable to listen to for some length of time.”

“There was a lot of beautifully sounding pieces and model numbers made

and they were built really well, for the most part, and they sounded great

because of the transformers they used, the inductors, the quality of the

components, and the style of the construction,” adds Vintage King’s Mike

Nehra.

“1073s, any vintage Neve modules, vintage API modules, any vintage

Neumann or AKG mics whether they be tube or solid state, Urei, vintage

Teletronix, Telefunken tube modules, preamps, and so-forth. Those are really

popular staples but anything that is classic, whether it be British, European,

American, built in the 60s and 70s – almost all brands increase in values.”

The Vintage Hit List

Electric Lady Studios in

New York is home to a fully

restored Neve 8078



Many moons ago, I recall a

certain pro-audio magazine

running an article on

the equipment necessary for creating

game music and sound. It turned out

you needed a Mac running a midi

sequencer, some modest stereo editing

software, and the latest Kurzweil

fl agship: the K2000. Or thereabouts…

Th e article cast the game audio

world of nigh on a quarter-of-a-

century ago as awash with 8-bit

quality sound, and reading between

the lines, one populated by somewhat

less than ‘pro-audio’ practitioners.

Understandably, if perhaps a tad

arrogantly, it confi dently forecast a

time when the industry would grow

up, and technical standards for fi delity

would blossom to ‘CD quality’. Th e

message was clear – all you ‘proper’

studios, stand-by, at some point this is

all coming your way, because eventually

those bedroom audiomancers

struggling with 8-bit samples on the

Amiga home computing console will

no longer be able to cut the mustard.

Harsh, but fair?

Well, it’s complicated. In some

respects, this was a reasonable analysis

given the prevailing circumstances –

how many back then really foresaw

the huge explosion in reliable

computerised music technology? Yet,

arguably, software-savvy audio creatives

in the games industry were very well

placed indeed to harness the rapidly

developing new recording tech and run

with it as they increasingly found the

game tech concurrently developing in

leaps and strides. It started to become

possible to ship games with believable

3D audio worlds replete with credible

acoustic modelling, boasting occlusion

and obstruction and a plethora of other

DSP treatments in play. It wouldn’t be

long before those game audio pioneers

would be able to replay dozens of 3D

audio channels rendered in 5.1 and

then 7.1 – all running live at ‘run-time’

in a videogame via a sophisticated

virtual digital mixing desk – a

revolution in interactive audio.

Let’s also not forget that the notion

of a ‘project studio’ was nascent – the

concept that you could create master

quality assets in less than top-end

pro-audio conditions was to become

a reality, changing the recording

industry forever – from ADAT to Pro

Tools… you know the rest.

Creative OpportunitiesWould the dominant technology

limitations surrounding game audio

eventually fall away for good? It

was touch and go for a while. Not

every generation of games hardware

brought music to the ears of the

audio community. But without doubt,

the advent of the Xbox 360 and

PlayStation 3 ushered in an era where

creativity could blossom abundantly,

far less hampered by technology than

previously. Today, we live in the world

of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and

the future for high-quality music,

sound, and dialogue, both technically

and artistically, looks very bright.

Meanwhile, many of the original

videogame audio types from back in

the day are alive and well, creating

or overseeing top-class interactive

audio content. As to the level of

in-house provision – it’s a mixed

picture – some larger companies have

created impressively high-spec’ed

designer recording and mixing

environments while others take a

much more stripped back approach.

(And interestingly, there really is no

correlation when it comes to the Bafta

and Grammy awards season).

How To Build A Game Audio Studio

FEATURE GAME AUDIO

With game audio

becoming more of a

focus for developers

John Broomhall investigates gear and

facilities for creating

today’s videogame sound.

MIDDLEWARE/BESPOKE SPECIFIC GAME DEVELOPMENT TOOLSWWise; FMOD; In-house

proprietary tech; Unity; Unreal

(Specifi c ‘devkit’ required for

console platforms such as PS4,

XBOX One, Nintendo Wii etc)

DAW OF CHOICEPro Tools; Nuendo

DAW INTERFACERME MONITORSGenelec; Adam Audio (Most

rooms equipped for 5.1 and/or 7.1)

HEADPHONESbeyerdynamic; Sennheiser

EDITING SOFTWARESoundForge; Audition

SOFTWARE PLUG-INSiZotope – various; Waves – various

SOUND LIBRARY MANAGEMENTBasehead; Nuendo Mediabay;

SoundMiner

ROOM ISOLATIONApproximately half of the people

asked have a fully sound-proofed,

isolated room.

PROFESSIONALLY DESIGNED ACOUSTICSRoughly three-quarters of the

respondents have professionally

designed acoustic treatments.

Tools of the TradeAudio Media asked around to fi nd out who’s using what and the general

nature of facilities where today’s cutting-edge audio for games is being

created. By no means scientifi c, it’s more of a fi nger in the air – but the

main headlines are clear enough:


FEATURE GAME AUDIO

“How many staff do you have in your project

and are you planning for long-term or for

the immediate short-term needs of the

team? Will it be in-house talent using these

facilities or will you have external partners

utilise them as well?

“Does the design have flexible spaces –

can it be used cross-discipline, for example, a

large mixing space that can also function as

a high-performance dialogue recording area/

Foley recording area. Do you need Foley pits

etc? Should you have additional, adaptable acoustic treatment or fixed?

“What type of connectivity do you need between the spaces? How many

different people work in the same rooms? If many people work in the rooms

a good way to ensure maximum productivity is to have each room mirror

hardware and software if possible. People should in theory be able to ‘plonk

down and play’. However that Holy Grail is rarely achieved – there’s always

something going wrong or failing in a large audio facility – having the odd

spare monitor and patch bay is always useful!”

Key QuestionsSteve Brown, associate audio director, Lionhead

Studios, creator of the renowned Fable series,

highlights the key questions to ask when setting

up a new facility for game audio production.

“The main consideration was the use of

space. We had a small area to begin with, so

it was about building a room into that space

that would be comfortable for my sound

designers to be in for long periods of time.

Next was the acoustics of each room – I

didn’t want them completely dead. I wanted

them to have a touch of life, hence working

with The Studio People closely to ensure

we didn’t pack the walls out too much. In terms of gear, we tried to future

proof ourselves as far as cable runs and sockets. As for gear, I knew what

systems I wanted each room to have and I wanted each room to be exactly

the same in terms of kit: Genelec monitoring with surrounds built into the

walls, mounted TV for Sound to Picture work and game sound design, and

enough desk space to accommodate an array of outboard gear.

Environmental IssuesAlan McDermott, audio manager, Sony’s Evolution

Studios (creators of DRIVECLUB PS4 and the

Motorstorm series) discusses creating the right

environment for cutting-edge racing game audio.“My primary concern was maintaining

collaboration with the team, and that’s

infinitely more important to the end result

of the audio experience in our games than

having a perfect monitoring environment.

The two really are totally at odds with each

other – soundproof rooms scare people, and

that’s not good for teamwork. So, our rooms

are not soundproof – it’s important for me

that we have an open door policy as much

as is practical rather than being hermetically sealed off. And our rooms

have windows facing onto the dev floor – this compromises the acoustics

but makes us feel part of the team.

“Gear-wise, I like having a mic set up permanently and being able

to record when inspiration strikes, not writing down that inspiration

and booking some time for recording, and I make sure everyone in my

department is set up to work that way too.”

Little TearawayKenny Young, head of audio for Media Molecule

(developer of LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway) on

design considerations for the four interconnected

audio production suites in MM’s office.

What were your top three design

considerations when putting together your

own private workspace and equipment?

1 “Make an outhouse functional to work

from. This involved building a room inside

a metal barn. This was all done with wood,

due to cost, and the fact that it works well

for audio.”

2 “Given that each of us in The Audio

Guys needs to build up our own facilities,

the ultimate aim is to end up with a room that is reasonably ‘dead’ and

functional for audio. We then need to get everything we are likely to

need… in each location. The basics are obviously a workstation… TV on

wall… multiple monitors, etc, etc.”

3 “As far as gear goes… we use PCs, but our rooms are not really studios

as such. We have very little outboard gear [as] most is done in software.

The vast majority of our gear is dedicated to our recording exploits… and

this involves tons of stuff… five recorders, many (20+) mics, blimps, cases

of cables, DIY kit needed for cars and building mic rigs etc, furry stuff for

wind protection… stands, chargers and all kinds of accessories.”

Tim Bartlett, co-founder Of UK outsourcer

The Audio Guys (whose credits include Sonic

Jump & Sonic Dash, Surgeon Simulator 2013, and

Forza Motorsport 5 On Xbox One).

1. Need – “Is this gear needed this

year? Is it needed by only one person

or useful to all? When outfitting 25

workstations, everything adds up and

you won’t get enough money to do

it all. Someone might need a special

soft-synth for this one effect. But

would everyone use it? Make sure

you maximise your dollars every year.

Ubiquity is fairly important for a

large facility so avoid the tendency to

buy a bunch of random stuff.”

2. Speed – “Plug-ins and tools that

are overly complex and esoteric, you

probably don’t want to invest in.

Get stuff that is generic and fast

that everyone can easily put to good

use quickly.”

3. Acoustics – “Soundproofing is

less important while to me, acoustics

are more important. Bad reflections,

resonance, and bass response kill

time – and time is both money

and quality.”

XBOX Audio Kristofor Mellroth, senior audio director, Microsoft Studios, cites need,

speed, and acoustics as primary considerations for their facilities.

Outsourcer’s Perspective



Tucked behind a nondescript

black metal door in central

London is one of the city’s

most storied and celebrated recording

complexes. This isn’t the illustrious

Abbey Road or the grandiose AIR –

this is Dean St.

In 1976, what is now known as

Dean St. Studios was bought by

legendary producer Tony Visconti, who

recorded the likes of David Bowie, T.

Rex, and The Moody Blues here before

selling it to music production company

Joe and Co in 1989. After fading into

somewhat obscurity in the early 2000s,

director/studio manager Jasmin Lee

launched Dean St. in 2007.

The Studio 1 control room is the

main hub and is currently manned by

head engineer Austen Jux-Chandler.

It has recently upgraded to a new Pro

Tools HDX system running on one of

the new Mac Pro towers, but sitting

quietly in the corner is also a Studer

A80 tape recorder. It belongs to Lee,

who inherited it from her late father

Alvin Lee of Ten Years After.

“It’s a shame that it doesn’t get used

more often in sessions,” admits Jux-

Chandler. “But when you tell people

about the extra costs of lining it up,

and how expensive tape is, plus the

problems with syncing, most people

just decide it’s easier and cheaper to

stay in Pro Tools. A lot of people get

nervous as well when I tell them I

won’t be able to chop up their drums

or comp the vocals. I think the idea

that a musician would have to practice

their instrument to the point where

they can perform their entire part in a

single take is a bit of a lost art.”

The control room houses a

48-channel SSL Duality console and

loads of industry-standard outboard

including pieces from Neve and

Chandler. Jux-Chandler has a personal

connection with Focusrite, which has

given him the ISA828 mic pre and the

ISA430 MkII channel strip.

ATC SCM50ASL Pros were the

only monitors that Jux-Chandler

found worked here.

“This room’s got character,” he says.

“The layout and treatment hasn’t

changed much since Tony Visconti’s

days so sometimes if you’re mixing

you can notice the depth of the

balance changes in certain spots, but

I know this room so well it’s never

been a problem. We tried out so many

different speakers. The SCM50ASL

Pros are perfect for this room.”

While Jux-Chandler works with

Tom Odell quite often and Peace were

recently in Studio 1 for five weeks

with producer Jim Abbiss, Dean St.

Studios also supports smaller artists.

Hank Marvin was in the studio

on the day of our visit. “It was funny

because he did actually use the

phrase ‘I’m Hank Marvin,’” laughs

Jux-Chandler. “He didn’t actually

give a performance but he was being

interviewed and then he played a

few licks.”

Old Meets NewThe studio owners have invested in a

lot more instruments and amps for

the live room in recent years. Also

coming from Lee is an old Hammond

C3 organ and George Harrison’s

harmonium. The collection also

includes a 100+-year-old Bechstein,

while the newest keyboard that

Dean St. has acquired is a Streetly

Electronics M400. According to

Jux-Chandler, the drum kit is a bit of

a ‘zombie kit’. “It’s mostly a Premier

with some Yamaha and Mapex pieces

chucked in for good measure.”

The mic cupboard includes a

couple of Royers, the R-121 mono

ribbon and the SF-24 stereo ribbon; a

Wunder Audio CM7 tube; Josephson

C42 pencil condensers and the e22S

side-address cardioid; a Crowley and

Tripp El Diablo ribbon; and a home

modified valve Neumann U 87 Ai

condenser.

Dean St. also sublets four further

studios as private production suites,

one of which is rented by production

company Yellow Boat Music.

Company director Paul Cartledge

has been here since the Visconti days.

“It’s an ironic twist of fate that I’ve

ended up back in the basement where

I started,” he laughs.

On occasion Yellow Boat Music will

hire Studio 1 when they need a larger

space. “They hire session musicians

who nail it on the first take, which is

a bit scary for an engineer!” jokes Jux-

Chandler. “But it’s always a friendly

and relaxed atmosphere.”

Producer/mixer duo Charlie Russell

and Brad Spence work in studios 4

and 5. They’ve most recently been

working with Hero Fisher and Jake

Bugg but they cut their teeth assisting

different sessions and producing for

Jamiroquai. Studio 4 is also on long-

term shared hire to producer/mixer

Alex Beitzke.

Studio 3 is a dedicated audio

post-production suite in conjunction

with GuiltFree, which does a lot

of voiceovers for the BBC, CITV

programme Horrid Henry, travel

programmes, and more. The studio has

a small booth, which can fit a drum kit

when Dean St. runs it commercially.

www.deanst.com

DEAN ST. STUDIOS

FEATURE STUDIO PROFILE

On the Road of Music Legends Jake Young goes down to a small Soho operation that has a big history.

Austen Jux-Chandler in the

Studio 1 control room


FEATURE STUDIO PROFILE

How did the project come about?Corey was interning for us. He was doing general odds and sods that any

intern would get involved with; cleaning, making teas, getting sandwiches, all

the usual kind of things. Towards the end of his three-week stint he played me

his EP and I was pretty blown away by the standard of songwriting.

He let me know he had been to BRIT School, but he’s also just been sent on a

songwriter’s bootcamp in Nashville that is sponsored by PRS. As payment for

the internship we gave him a day in the studio.

You’re helping him develop a more refined sound?After his initial ideas, we tracked the acoustic guitars, lead vocals, and backing

vocals. Then I took that all away for a bit and worked on a few production ideas,

cutting up loops and samples etc. Then we came back into the studio again to

add live drums and electric guitar and replace the synth bass with a real one.

What special challenges did it present?I suppose the timing of things; Corey likes to incorporate a lot of samples

and loops so trying to get a natural performance against that sort of rigidity

was hard. I had to find the right tempo that worked for the song naturally,

with just him and a guitar, then make sure that all the samples were set to that

before he recorded. It ended up quite a lot faster than he had it originally but

to be fair, he nailed it!

How did you find an interesting sound for the acoustic guitar?I kept a Neumann U 87 Ai as a control, so that was an AMS Neve 1073 and a

Universal Audio LA-2A. Aside from that I also had this weird Sony flat mic,

which is actually something that you would plug into a phone. There was also

an old Sanyo mini tape recorder to try and get a bit of character into it. That’s

a little tip that Tom Upex the studio assistant picked up from working with

Jim Abiss when Peace were in. They’re new toys that are floating around the

studio so I chucked them in to see if it was worth having them.

Dean St. for Corey Fox-FardellCorey Fox-Fardell is a 19-year-old singer songwriter who started writing when he was 14.

Austen Jux-Chandler runs us through To Be With You, a song that builds on the success of Fox-Fardell’s

plays on Radio 1 and 6 Music.

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS AUDIO PLUG-INS


Software manufacturers of

DAWs these days seem to be

vying with each other as to

how many sound-shaping tools they

provide. Nuendo, Pro Tools, and Logic

are all stuffed full of creative toys to

keep you happy, surely you don’t need

any more third-party plug-ins, right?

Perhaps, but plug-ins offer more than

just a funky new skin for an EQ; they

offer different ways to shape it, distort

it, or even just monitor it.

Having the choice of a third-party

EQ, or two, can really help your

creativity and other types of plug-ins

could potentially save your mix in a

tricky situation. If you need to move

from one DAW platform to another,

having your own set of plug-ins that

can move with you is very important.

Some plug-ins are free and fun

while others represent a serious

financial investment. Many seek to

emulate old and classic outboard

hardware while others invent entirely

new devices.

Let’s start by looking at what EQ

options are available. You’ll find

many variations on a theme of classic

hardware as well as completely new

designs. Most free EQ plug-ins

tend to be limited in their scope

or development and so may not

find a permanent home in your

toolbox, but a small outlay will get

you the versatile and good looking

MDynamicEQ which incorporates

dynamics processing. This side-chain

effect is usually seen on compressors,

but why not have it as part of your

EQ for added versatility? You also

get visual feedback in the form of a

sonogram, which can be a real help

in understanding how your sound is

being affected by the changes

you make.

Taking a more traditional approach

to EQ with a plug-in based on the

hardware unit found in Sony Oxford

large-format consoles; the Sonnox

Oxford EQ presents itself as a

precision tool. With a simple, clean

layout, this EQ is easy to use and you

should find the result you want

pretty quickly.

Recreating a classic sound of the

past is the role fulfilled by the Waves

PuigTec EQP-1A & MEP-5 – copies

of the highly regarded Pultec units of

the same name. With simple controls

and a very musical sound you’ll quickly

be able to dial-in an effect you like.

ReverbIt can be easy to under-estimate

reverb as just something to take the

dryness away from your recordings,

but the appropriate application of it

can really enhance things. Perhaps

you feel like placing the vocalist in

the middle of Notre Dame cathedral?

Or maybe recreating a more intimate

room setting for your drama without

building several false walls around

the talent? A convolution reverb

plug-in is what you need for this. It

recreates the environment of your

choice by sampling the reverb from

the actual building itself and applying

it to your mix.

AltiVerb is from the originators of

this tool, AudioEase. It offers a wide

range of sampled spaces to play with

as well as the ability to make your

own. Something really useful for post

production is the function to take the

sound of the clapper-board to recreate

room ambience. When going back to

the original location is no longer an

option, this could be a potential scene

saver for any over-dubs that may

be required.

If you’re searching for a more

electronic sound then there’s a huge

range of choice. ToneBoosters offers

its versatile TB reverb plug-in, which

includes another six useful studio

plug-ins – one of this year’s

plug-in bargains.

Any self-respecting studio in the

80s would have had a Lexicon 224

reverb unit as part of their tool set

– the ubiquitous white control box

proudly on display at the centre of

the desk. With the RC-24 reverb,

Native Instruments has recreated this

popular effects box, right down to the

12-bit sampling converter. There’s also

the RC-48, which recreates the more

sophisticated Lexicon 480L.

Loudness MonitoringPlug-ins are not just for the fun

stuff either. With the widespread

acceptance of the EBU R128 protocol

for mix loudness a demand for

improved audio level monitoring has

developed. There are cheap versions to

expensive ones so pick what suits your

needs/budget/abilities.

First up is the Klangfreund LUFS

meter. Still in beta, but also free, this

basic meter gives you an easy-to-read

overview of programme loudness, as

well as a peak display. It won’t give

you a live readout of your programme

peak levels, so you’ll have to play it all

through first in real time.

TC Electronic’s LM6 is a plug-

in based on its own hardware. This

displays the loudness history in the

form of a radar sweep, adjustable

from between a minute and 24

hours, making it suitable for a range

of programme material. A more

traditional momentary peak display

wraps around the radar view along

with numerical readouts, making for a

busy but compact display.

Nugen Audio has a range of

loudness plug-ins forming a Loudness

Solution suite. Comprising four

separately available tools, this suite

not only gives a comprehensive

monitoring overview of your audio but

corrects it as well.

Cross PlatformI’ve ensured that the plug-ins

mentioned here are cross-platform,

working on both Macs and PCs in

VST, AU, and RTAS formats. It’s

worth bearing in mind that some of

the more esoteric choices you may find

are often single platform.

Don’t forget the format you choose

may have a bigger impact on your

set-up than you may wish. Many plug-

in manufacturers include different

formats as part of the cost but it pays

to check your long-term plans. It’s a

given that at some point your DAW

of choice will comprehensively change

its core software and your favourite

plug-ins will become redundant

overnight. Avid’s adoption of a new

format, AAX, to ultimately replace

its aging TDM and RTAS plug-ins

is a case in point. While the shift to

a more-future proof format can be

seen as a wise move, the resulting cost

implications of new hardware and

software meant that many

users went looking for DAWs that

used a more universal (and cheaper)

plug-in format.

Expert WitnessMatthew Holley talks through a few of the dizzying amount of plug-ins available.

“It’s a given that at some

point your DAW of choice

will comprehensively

change its core software

and your favourite

plug-ins will become

redundant overnight.”

Matthew Holley

Expert witnessWith nearly 25 years of experience in BBC Radio and freelancing, Matthew Holley is currently based at the Open University as an audio producer.

Matthew Holley

Credit: Holly Tighe

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS


Audio Plug-insThe wealth of choices when it comes to plug-ins is creating an increasingly crowded market.

Here are some of the products you need to be acquainted with.

STEINBERG RND PORTICO PLUG-INS

The Rupert Neve Designs

Portico 5033 EQ and 5043

compressor plug-ins bring

the legendary Neve sound to

your DAW. Available in VST

3, VST 2.4, and AU formats,

these plug-ins combine the

best in analogue and digital

technology.

www.steinberg.net

CEDAR AUDIOCEDAR STUDIO 6

Announced at the 2014 NAB

Show by restoration specialist

Cedar Audio, the newly released

Cedar Studio 6 suite comprises

AAX and VST plug-ins that allow

users to restore and improve the

sound quality of their audio.

www.cedaraudio.com

IZOTOPENECTAR 2 PRODUCTION SUITE

iZotope Nectar 2 Production Suite is a complete set of tools

designed specifi cally for voice. Producers can set up their

favourite vocal settings as presets and quickly recall

them every time.

www.izotope.com

MCDSPAE400 ACTIVE EQ

McDSP’s new off ering,

the AE400 Active EQ, is

used by Grammy-winning

mix engineers such as

Andrew Scheps and Mick

Guzauski who have been

lauding the versatility and

sonic fi delity of the only

active EQ available for

AAX DSP and AAX Native.

www.mcdsp.com

SONNOX OXFORD REVERB

The Oxford Reverb is a

fl exible reverb plug-in

with full control over all

of its many parameters.

Designed with the ability

to create virtual spaces

from scratch, the Oxford

Reverb also has over 100

presets.

www.sonnox.com

UNIVERSAL AUDIO NEVE 1073 PREAMP & EQ

PLUG-IN COLLECTION

The Universal Audio Neve 1073 Preamp

& EQ plug-in collection captures the

sonic characteristics of one of the most

revered preamp and EQ circuit ever

designed bringing that ‘Neve sound’ to

UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces.

www.uaudio.com

WAVES MAXX TECHNOLOGIES

Waves’ MAXX

technologies are used

to improve sound

quality in virtually

every sector of the

audio market, from

recording, mixing, and

mastering to post-

production, broadcast,

and live sound.

www.waves.com


TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

SOURCE ELEMENTSSOURCE-CONNECT 3.8Voice and radio professionals can

easily and instantly conduct sessions

and interviews on the road using any

internet connection with appropriate

bandwidth

with the

new version

of Source-

Connect

3.8. Source-

Connect Pro

X is used for

real-time surround mix approvals

as well as multi mic and other

multichannel audio transmissions.

www.source-elements.com

SOFTUBETSAR-1

REVERB

Described as “an amazingly

natural sounding algorithmic

reverb that adds the room

microphones you wish had

been part of the original

recording”. The TSAR-1

algorithm works with four

separate reverb engines

that feed into each other

in a complex manner. This

creates a wide stereo fi eld

that blends well with the

ambience in the recording.

www.softube.com

ANTARESAUTO-TUNE 7

Auto-Tune corrects

intonation and timing

problems in vocals or

solo instruments, without

distortion or artefacts,

while preserving all of the

expressive nuance of the

original performance, all with a user-interface that is

clear, speedy, and easy to use.

www.antarestech.com

ACCUSONUSDRUMATOM

According to Accusonus,

Drumatom is the world’s

fi rst dedicated drum leakage

suppression tool. It is a

standalone program based

on proprietary technology

developed by Accusonus, based on BSS (Blind Source

Separation) algorithms. Drumatom aims to locate and

reduce bleed eff ectively, without the usual disadvantages of

traditional tools like gates.

www.drumatom.com

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS


Audio InterfacesTransferring your signal from the outside world and into

your DAW of choice is one of the most important parts of the

recording process. Here we round up some of the top choices

for maintaining your audio integrity.

APOGEEONE

Apogee ONE is a studio quality

microphone and USB audio interface

designed for easily creating professional

recordings on an iPod touch,

iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Using Apogee’s

premium A-D/D-A conversion, ONE

produces pristine music, podcast,

and voice-over recordings while also

delivering audiophile quality sound to

headphones.

www.apogeedigital.com

AVIDFAST TRACK DUO

Designed for the aspiring

solo musician, Avid’s Fast

Track Duo comes with

everything needed to turn

a Mac, PC, or iPad into

a portable, easy-to-use

songwriting and audio

recording system. Featuring dual mic preamps/instrument inputs, line-

level inputs, and Pro Tools Express software, the studio-grade Duo enables

musicians to sound their best.

www.avid.com

DIGIGRID

Following implementation of Waves SoundGrid for the DiGiCo SD consoles,

DiGiCo and Waves have created SoundGrid-based studio hardware including

a full line of I/Os with converters, preamps, headphone amplifi cation, built-in

DSP servers, and network switches.

www.digigrid.net

FOCUSRITESAFFIRE PRO 26

Saffi re PRO 26 is the latest

addition to Focusrite’s family

of studio-quality Firewire/

Thunderbolt-compatible audio

interfaces, with full 24-bit/96kHz conversion and four Focusrite

mic preamps with phantom power. Saffi re PRO 26 was designed

with both studio recording and live musicians in mind, off ering

extensive input and output capabilities for maximum fl exibility.

www.focusrite.com

M-AUDIOM-TRACK EIGHT

M-Audio’s M-Track Eight is an eight-channel, 24-bit USB audio interface designed

for expanded recording capabilities with an ultra low-noise signal path, 111dB SNR,

and zero-latency monitoring. Said to be ideal for recording groups, entire drum kits,

or any multi-mic arrangement, the M-Track Eight combines a practical design with

professional features.

www.m-audio.com

RMEFIREFACE 802

The Fireface 802 is built on the Fireface 800, but equipped with all the

latest features RME has to off er.

www.rme-audio.de

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

PRESONUSAUDIOBOX 44VSL

The four-in, four-out PreSonus AudioBox 44VSL gives users near-zero-latency signal

processing on all inputs and playback streams, including reverb and delay and the same

EQ, compression, limiting, and high-pass fi lter found in the PreSonus 16.0.2 digital mixer.

AudioBox 44VSL boasts Class A XMAX mic preamplifi ers and 24-bit/96kHz converters, and

comes with PreSonus’ Studio One Artist DAW.

www.presonus.com


MERGINGHAPI

The new Hapi has many shared features with Horus,

particularly the same A-D and D-A boards. A small 1U

compact design makes Hapi a lower cost node on a

Ravenna/AES67 network and an ideal companion to

Horus where fewer channels are required. Easy remote

control of all parameters can be managed by a simple

web browser.

www.merging.com

PRISM SOUND ATLAS

Atlas makes use of the CleverClox

clocking technology and mic pres

(originally included on the Orpheus

FireWire interface) across all eight analogue inputs. The new MDIO expansion slot

and built-in RJ45 connection means Atlas (and smaller Titan interface) is future proof

with plans for Pro Tools HDX, AES, and possibly Thunderbolt options as well

as networking formats.

www.prismsound.com

MOTU828X

Motu’s 828X connects to a

Mac or PC with Thunderbolt or

USB 2.0 (3.0 compatible) and delivers

DSP eff ects and mixing for 28 inputs and 30 outputs with

32-bit processing. Eff ects include Classic Reverb, modelled

analogue EQ, and vintage compression modelled after the

legendary LA-2A.

www.motu.com

TASCAMUS-1800

The US-1800 is a single-rackspace USB 2.0 Audio/MIDI interface packed with I/O. It features

eight studio-quality microphone inputs with phantom power, two line/instrument switchable

inputs on the front, four additional balanced line inputs on the rear, overload indicators for each

input, four line-level outputs, digital SPDIF I/O (output switchable to AES/EBU), independent

monitor and headphone outputs with separate level controls, and 16 channels of MIDI I/O.

www.tascam.com

SOUND DEVICES USBPRE 2

Sound Devices USBPre 2 is a fl exible portable interface

that connects professional microphones, line-level

sources, consumer audio electronics, and S/PDIF digital

sources with Mac OS and Windows computers via USB.

It also features Windows OS ASIO drivers, allowing it to

connect to popular DAW software platforms in Windows,

such as Pro Tools.

www.sounddevices.com

TC ELECTRONICSTUDIO KONNEKT 48

Studio Konnekt 48 off ers an array of professional features that simplify recording, mixing,

and monitoring. All essential recording tools are gathered in one box, including world-class

DSP eff ects, a wealth of I/O options, speaker management, and many other powerful tools.

www.tcelectronic.com

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW


VALVE MICROPHONE

British microphone

design company

Sontronics is now in

its 10th year and has built an

extensive range around one

guiding principle: to design

‘task-specific’ microphones.

The company’s success story

is built on build and sound

quality along with reliability,

but at surprising prices

thanks to the fact that its

products are built in Shanghai

to founder Trevor Coley’s

exacting specifications.

However, with a wide

range of microphones already

in its catalogue, where will

this latest addition sit in

terms of both application

and sound?

With this in my sceptical

mind I was very keen to get

my hands on one. I wanted to

find out if the Aria is really

able to compete with well-

known classic microphones as

it is suggested.

On The SurfaceThere is no hiding the fact

that the new Aria looks great.

Its design pulls on styles

that instinctively suggest its

purpose and level of quality

before you even turn it on.

The satin and chrome finish

coupled with the shape and

size give this microphone a

very attractive retro look.

The Aria comes equipped

with two styles of stand

mounts: a simple clip and a

cradle. While the finish of the

microphone is of very high

quality, the suspension mount

is just as spectacular. All

too often cradles are poorly

designed, but the Aria’s is well

thought through and built

with strength.

Like most valve mics, the

Aria uses its own power

supply unit, which is built

very well, and offers a -10dB

pad and a 75Hz high pass

filter. There is also a blue

LED to let you know when

the tube has warmed up for

optimum recording results,

which is great.

Completing the package

inside its neatly presented

flight case is a good length

custom cable with screw

connectors to run between the

PSU and the mic itself.

If the Germans built this

microphone then yes, you

would expect a slightly higher

refinement of the engineering

of some components, but

to be honest, not by much.

Considering the price and

what you are getting, this is

definitely Sontronics’ best

build quality to date, to a level

of which it should be proud.

Beneath the ExteriorThe Aria has been

predominantly designed as

a vocal microphone and has

a fixed, single cardioid polar

pattern. It features a 1.07in

gold edge-terminated capsule.

Following the capsule is the

tube itself, for which Trevor

Coley, the founder and

designer from Sontronics,

specified the well-used

ECC83 from Eastern Europe.

Coley is not only proud of

this choice, but he personally

selects which valves actually

get used in each microphone,

as he reports that each one

differs a little.

Another component that

Sontronics is proud of is

the power supply unit. The

manufacturer has installed

a high-quality, medical-

grade mains electricity

filter to ensure a pure and

interference-free supply.

Normally, you would expect

to have a slightly lower

noise to gain ratio with valve

microphones, which is the

case here too. However, the

Aria is better than many

classic valve mics and it

didn’t concern me on any of

the recordings I made while

testing it. If you wanted to

mic something more ambient,

then this possibly wouldn’t be

the best choice.

There has been a lot of

development around the Aria,

and it shows. The microphone

has been on the drawing

board for about three years

with some fairly important

individuals involved over

the last 12 months of R&D,

including PJ Harvey, Paul

Epworth, and several Abbey

Road engineers. They all now

own an Aria and are strong

advocates for Sontronics.

There is pedigree associated

with the microphone already

and I think it’s well deserved.

The SoundInitially, I used the

microphone for several

vocalists, both female and

male, at Woodbury Studios.

In direct comparison with

some other microphones of

significantly higher value I

found negligible but pleasing

differences. I was really

impressed by this because it’s

as if Sontronics has unlocked

the secret to a great vocal

microphone, which I didn’t

expect. I have to admit that I

had my doubts, but it wasn’t

long before I realised the

significance of this release.

With the female vocalist

there was less noticeable

difference between the

microphones but the male

vocalist highlighted some key

benefits of the Aria’s valve.

The valve really was allowing

the harmonic content to shine

through in the way that you

would expect to hear from

classic valve microphones

worth several thousands. The

response was very smooth

with a slight presence lift,

but not quite in the sibilance

territory.

Looking at the extremes:

the high end, like with most

of Sontronics’ mics, isn’t over-

emphasised but is in fact

slightly tamed. I think because

there was already so much

clarity and detail in the sound,

thanks to the valve, there

wasn’t the need to look to the

ultra-highs for more detail.

At the low end, there was a

lovely warmth and richness to

complete a full-bodied sound,

but it wasn’t too much at the

same time. In fact, the result

was very close to a finished

mixed vocal and there wasn’t

much treatment needed.

I should point out that

in direct comparisons it was

hard to pinpoint the Aria’s

tone when the mics were in

‘solo’ mode. The sound was

just as I would have expected

from a more expensive

vocal microphone. I’m also

reassured that there isn’t

anything about the sound that

is out of the ordinary. As soon

as you hear the microphone

within a mix however, that is

when its character starts to be

more obvious.

Along with the silky highs

that come through, the

presence in the mids and its

low-end depth, you also really

Simon Allen puts his doubts aside and finds the latest release from

Sontronics holds its own even against more expensive options.

Sontronics Aria

“The Aria doesn’t

just match what

very expensive

microphones

achieve, but also

shines a little of its

own magic when

inside a mix.”

Simon Allen


TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

start to hear the valve come

into its own.

When in many situations

an unprocessed vocal could

be lost in the mix, the Aria

was as clear as day with the

detailed harmonics coming

cleanly through. This is where

I believe the Aria doesn’t just

match other microphones of

higher value but really starts

to impress. Anyone who

records with the Aria will

probably find that their dry

signal won’t need much work

at the mixing stage, achieving

an easy placement of vocals in

the mix.

We’ve spoken a lot about

Sontronics’ ‘task-specific’

design method and how great

the Aria sounds on vocals, but

when you look at the mic’s

specifications on paper there

is no reason it can’t suit other

applications too.

I used the mic on a lot of

different instruments and in

different placements to see

what else I could achieve.

Firstly, I used the Aria as

a room mic for an electric

guitar cabinet which I might

do normally with a valve

mic. Electric guitar room

sounds can vary hugely and

often either need additional

processing or clever mix

placement, but again the Aria

captured a very clear sound

which worked well in the mix.

I also put the microphone

through its paces with Paul

Clarvis, one of London’s

best session percussionists.

We ended up using the

microphone on everything

from shekeres and bells

through to the low end of

cajóns and an orchestral

bass drum. We were both

very impressed with the

microphone. Nothing

seemed to find a pitfall of

the microphone or overload

it in any way and the sound

was prominent and clear. I

really hope others start to

realise the potential with this

microphone and don’t just

keep it for vocals as there

are many applications where

it sounds great. Although

I haven’t had the chance

yet, I understand that there

have been reports of the

microphone sounding great

on cellos, which I can quite

easily believe.

ConclusionI wasn’t quite prepared

for the results from this

microphone. To be honest, I

had my doubts. However, the

Aria doesn’t just match what

very expensive microphones

achieve, it also shines a little

of its own magic when inside

a mix. It is a very versatile

microphone that not only

suits male and female vocals

but other applications too.

Due to its incredible price

point, I think this microphone

is a great choice for the

growing market of home

recording or small project

studios. These smaller studios

will also benefit from the mic’s

almost ‘ready-made sound’

where you don’t have large-

format analogue consoles or

expensive recording chains.

This is a modern take on a

valve microphone, which is

ideal for the digital age.

A great British product!

Feature Set

www.sontronics.com

INFORMATION

What was the inspiration behind the Aria and how long was the development process?I have always loved using

and hearing recordings made

using valve microphones

on vocals as they, especially

the classic vintage models,

impart something magical

to the voice. For that reason,

two valve mics, Omega and

Helios, formed part of our

line-up when we launched

Sontronics in 2004. Over

the years, I’ve always wanted

to create a mic dedicated to

vocals, which is how my

first prototype for Saturn

started out before it took

a different, multi-pattern

condenser path.

After its release, I started

work on a valve vocal mic

which ended up being

three years in development

from initial sketches and

prototypes through the beta-

testing stage (working with

PJ Harvey, Paul Epworth,

and the Abbey Road

engineers) to its launch at

NAMM this year.

What applications was it designed for and where does it really shine?The focus for Aria was

always vocals, and thanks

to the way we’ve crafted

the capsule as well as the

individually selected valves

(which I do myself ), I’m

proud to say that it excels

on both female and male

voices, sung and spoken. I’ve

been lucky enough to hear

Aria used on new tracks by

PJ Harvey and Paul Weller

– two voices that couldn’t

be more different – and the

results sound so lusciously

smooth yet with a real

crystal clarity and depth

of character.

Interestingly Aria has

also become a real favourite

with professional cellists.

The engineers at Abbey

Road beta-tested Aria on

piano and strings (as well

as vocals), once on a session

with Sherlock composer

Michael Price, and he, along

with cellist Peter Gregson

and others have bought

Arias and champion it as a

cellist’s dream mic!

What are some of the features that set it apart from similar microphones?Although Aria may look

more conventional a

microphone than some of

my other designs (Saturn or

Apollo, for example), it does

have certain features that

make it sound very special

indeed. The materials used

in the body construction

and its size, the shape of

the grille, the single-sided,

edge-terminated capsule, the

frequency response and the

choice of vacuum tube all

play a huge part. We actually

tested more than 12 different

types of tube before settling

on the European-made

12AX7 ECC83, but even

in a small batch the tubes

can be minutely different

in character, which is why

I personally select and test

the valves before and after

putting them in each mic.

It’s an arduous process, but

that personal approach and

attention to detail is what

helps the mic stand out from

the crowd.

Why build another tube microphone? Just because a particular

type of microphone exists

in our range doesn’t mean

that my imagination or our

R&D stops there. I’m always

experimenting with different

components, body materials,

mic shapes, and capsule

designs, and Aria grew out of

a desire to create something

special both in look

and sound that would

inspire a singer and

recreate the kind of

sound that would only

otherwise be achievable

with a vintage microphone

costing many thousands

of pounds.

Trevor Coley, Sontronics founder, designer, and MD, speaks

with Audio Media editor Jory MacKay about the thought

process behind the Aria.

The ReviewerSimon Allen is a full-time sound engineer and record producer. After a stint as senior engineer at City Studios in Cyprus where he headed up the new music studio, he can now mostly be found at Woodbury Studios in Hertfordshire.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW


Warm Audio WA76 DISCRETE COMPRESSOR

Walk into any

professional

or semi-

professional studio facility

and you’re likely to see one

(or more) Urei 1176 Limiting

Amplifiers. These have long

been the compressor of choice

for generations of musicians

and, even if a vintage unit or

the modern recreation from

Universal Audio (UA) can’t

be found, it’s likely that one

of the many clones that have

appeared over the years will

be nestling somewhere in the

equipment rack. However, if

you wander into the typical

project studio, processing

hardware is likely to be almost

completely absent, superseded

by virtual recreations of classic

equipment with some of the

most popular options being

various flavours of the 1176,

which just goes to show how

popular this compressor still is.

The reason for the device’s

desirability among engineers

is, of course, the positive way

it affects any audio passing

through it, which is why

studios are prepared to shell

out significant amounts of

moolah for a vintage 1176 and

why project studios owners are

keen to have virtual versions.

As you might expect, the

original 1176 has undergone

many revisions over the years

and each has its advocates.

One of the most popular is

the ‘Revision D’ model and

this is the iteration that

Warm Audio has chosen to

recreate as its latest hardware

audio processor, the WA76

Discrete Compressor.

The SpecsWarm Audio has developed

a formidable reputation for

building high-quality audio

processors for reasonable

prices, and devices such as

the TB12 Tone Shaping

Microphone Preamp and

WA12 Microphone Preamp

have found admirers and

a place alongside more

expensive equipment in many

studios. Unlike some boutique

manufacturers, Warm Audio’s

products are aimed at those

who might normally use

plug-ins – in fact, the WA76

costs around the same as some

virtual compressors. However,

it appears that Warm Audio

hasn’t cut any important

corners when manufacturing

the WA76, as it employs

fully discrete circuitry and

Cinemag input and output

transformers – the latter

company being the owner of

Reichenbach Engineering,

producer of the transformers

for the original Urei designs.

Popping open the WA76

reveals a well-constructed

and neat layout. The most

significant difference between

the WA76 and the original

unit is the latter is shipped

with a chunky in-line external

24V AC power supply.

This choice must have had

a significant impact on the

build price of the unit as it

significantly simplifies the

circuit and enclosure design

required and, as the WA76 is

probably going to be used in

a static studio-type situation,

I think most potential

purchasers will be happy with

this particular compromise.

Externally, the WA76 looks

like (surprise, surprise) an

1176! A significant reason for

the original unit’s popularity

is its simplicity in use, and the

WA76 recreates this exactly.

The large and friendly backlit

meter can be set to display the

amount of Gain Reduction,

has two settings that change

the value of the 0dB indicator

to display +4dBm or +8dBm

levels, and a physical off

switch for the unit.

The Attack knob allows the

user to set the compressor’s

attack time between 200

and 800 microseconds, while

the release knob ranges

between 50 milliseconds

and 1.1 seconds. The Input

knob controls both the

signal level entering the unit

and the threshold setting –

there’s no separate threshold

control, the level at which

compression occurs being

set in conjunction with the

ratio controls, which offers

gain reduction ratios of 4:1,

8:1, 12:1, and 20:1 – the last

effectively turning the WA76

into a limiter.

Aficionados of the original

1176 will be pleased to hear

that the ‘all ratio buttons in’

and ‘all buttons out’ modes

also work on the WA76, so

the full gamut of creative

compression options are

offered. The Output knob

provides gain makeup and

the Class A output amplifier

provides a signal perfectly

capable of producing low-

noise results with modern

audio interfaces and mixers.

The rear panel is even more

spartan – a socket for the

power supply, a -23dB input

pad button (that’s useful if you

have high-output preamps or

want to overload the input),

and, usefully, simultaneously

available balanced inputs and

outputs on both XLR and

TRS sockets. There’s no stereo

link option (though a mod is

available) but I can’t see that

really being an issue on this

unit, as it’s more likely to be

mostly used on mono sources

when tracking, rather than on

a stereo bus when mixing.

In UseI compared the Warm Audio

WA76 to both a vintage

Revision D LN (Low Noise)

1176 and a Universal Audio

1176 revision D plug-in –

which has become my ‘go

to’ software compressor. The

WA76 immediately sounds

impressive. Patched in to

the inserts on my Metric

Halo ULN-2 and fed by my

80s Neumann U87, I was

presented with ‘that sound’

that I’m familiar with from

hundreds of records and

dozens of recording sessions.

I can get somewhat close to

the same feel with the virtual

1176, but the presence of

physical transformers and

components always seems

to add a certain subtle

something missing from the

software models.

Strangely, the difference

in sound between the WA76

and the UA model appeared

less than the difference

between the Warm Audio

unit and the vintage Urei,

the latter sounding more

‘closed in’ to these ears spoiled

by this modern world of

digital clarity. However, the

WA76 definitely sounds like

a real 1176 and the controls

behave in the expected and

predictable manner – I can’t

give it higher praise than that.

At the price, I can’t really fault

the WA76 – apart from Warm

Audio’s logo, perhaps!

Feature Set

www.warmaudio.com

INFORMATION

The ReviewerStephen Bennett has been involved in music production for over 30 years. Based in Norwich he splits his time between writing books and articles on music technology, recording and touring, and lecturing at the University of East Anglia.

“The presence of physical transformers

and components always seems to add a

certain subtle something missing from the

software models.”

Stephen Bennett

Can Warm Audio’s compressor match up to the legendary

status of the classic 1176? Stephen Bennett finds out.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW


PreSonus Sceptre S8 COACTUAL STUDIO MONITOR

There’s just no way

around it: i’ve never

seen – or heard,

actually – a monitor quite

like this before. Leave it to

PreSonus to find a new way

to combine materials, modern

design, and a touch of oft-

forgotten classic design into a

reasonably priced and effective

yet unusual nearfield monitor.

The SpecsThe Sceptre S8 employs

an 8in (glass-reinforced

paper) woofer and a 1.73in

horn-loaded high-frequency

transducer with its most

notable design feature: a time-

aligned, coaxial, concentric

woofer/tweeter arrangement

that is highlighted by the use

of a square horn.

Time-aligned coaxial drivers

were largely popularised by

Tannoy, but the S8’s design

will trigger fond memories

from veterans of 70s Urei

813B mains with their blue

styrofoam-coated horns.

Beyond this nostalgic

aspect, the S8 exhibits all

modern, or post-modern,

traits. They’re self-

powered (90W of Class

D amplification per driver,

crossed over at 2.2 and

2.4kHz for the S6 and S8

respectively) with input level

trim (non-stepped), three

filtering/voicing options (low-

end ‘boundary’ attenuation,

tweeter level with boost or

cut, and HPF at 60, 80, or

100Hz), and front-ported with

self-protection (both thermal

and current-output limiting).

Cabinet construction is where

PreSonus broke the mould

with an ABS-type plastic

enclosure and a similar (yet

harder) faceplate/baffle,

weighing in at a mere 24lbs.

The considerable

DSP required to achieve

consistency and eliminate

acoustic issues inherent to

a coaxial speaker design –

diffraction and reflection of

low frequencies off the horn

create distortion, frequency

response, and imaging issues

– is courtesy of Dave Gunness

at Fulcrum Acoustics, whose

TQ (Temporal Equalization)

is claimed by PreSonus to be

the key to S8’s performance.

In UseI set up the S8 pair before a

mix session and found them

to immediately have that

coaxial cohesiveness, stability,

and depth of soundstage I

recalled from my early work

in the 90s on coaxial Tannoys.

The time-alignment and

equilateral radiation from the

horn indeed provide imaging,

placement, and frequency

balance that remains

trustworthy even as you move

from side to side (or up and

down) within the S8’s rather

large sweet-spot.

The second most notable

characteristic of the S8 was its

frequency response. Without

my sub, I found reasonably

deep bass extension, good

punch despite a slight lack

of note definition, and an

overall bottom end that was

rather smooth and absent

of the peaks/valleys often

found in affordable monitors.

In addition, the top end

was not shrill or brash, but

instead subdued and ‘natural’.

However, the S8’s midrange

qualities did not inspire such

trust; I heard numerous non-

linearities and colour that

was not at all familiar, or

comfortable, to me.

Deep in a week of serious

mixes, I loaned the S8 pair

to colleague Jeff Long for

a second opinion. Long

commented that the S8s

“made everything sound nice”

with excellent imaging, but

the frequency response threw

him for a loop, too. I agreed,

but felt like I could use some

additional opinions – time for

a group listening session.

Group TherapyHaving invited four engineers

into my control room, I

sought to most accurately

calibrate the S8 pair with

my sub for a demonstration.

Upon feeding the S8’s tone

and adjusting the input

trims, I realised just how

troublesome these small

adjustment pots are. Small,

jumpy (un-stepped) and not

exactly aligned to their legend,

obtaining exactly equal output

from both speakers was very

difficult. Integration with

my subwoofer, however, was

smooth and musical, with

the S8 pair clearly benefiting

from the release of 80Hz

and below. We unanimously

agreed the S8 pair benefited

greatly from a sub (a rarity for

me, as subs will often divide

opinion, in my experience).

We noticed ‘puffier’ bass

response at low levels. We

all also agreed that imaging

within the wide and tall sweet

spot was fantastic.

Beyond that, the group

seemed confused in their

assessments, not unlike me.

The S8 has a fairly uneven

frequency response through

the mids; there’s a noticeable

200Hz bump that is quite the

opposite of the scoop found

in many affordable monitors,

and that bump is followed by

a scoop and another bump.

The result? It was hard for

me to make midrange EQ

decisions while using the

S8 pair.

But get this: I mixed

on the S8s for a couple of

weeks and got great results. I

experienced limited fatigue,

well-informed clients sharing

the large sweet spot with me,

and mixes that were right

on point! As unconfident

as I was, and as colored as

the mids are, I still received

fine results: a fact worthy of

consideration, if vexing.

ConclusionDespite success in both

tracking and mixing, I cannot

confidently endorse the S8.

The difficulties I experienced

in calibration and the

minimal voicing controls gave

me reason for concern. My

biggest concern is clearly the

unevenness of the midrange

response, though the 200Hz

abundance doesn’t bother me

that much (I’d rather hear

mud and tame it, than go

on unaware).

Despite my concerns, these

S8s crank out good mixes and

do a fine job of even radiation

and imaging in the nearfield.

At a price of £1,300 per pair,

street, they are not budget

priced, but are truly mid-

priced monitors.

Rob Tavaglione is left impressed by

the latest innovation from PreSonus.

Feature Set

www.presonus.com

INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW


Zoom H6HANDHELD AUDIO RECORDER

I have to admit something.

I’ve tested, reviewed, and

used a range of Zoom

products over the years but

I’ve never quite ‘got’ them.

Good? Yes. But deserving

of their huge popularity?

To me they were the Beats

of the handheld recorder

market: bestowed with some

fine qualities but also highly

marketed.

Before the lawyers start

reaching for their phones let

me state one thing: it may be

a spoiler for the rest of the

review but I really like the H6.

The design is striking, looking

like something Captain

Kirk would hold on a trip to

explore an alien planet. But its

beauty goes much deeper.

Under the HoodLet’s start with the on-paper

specs: it’s a portable recorder

that can be hand-held, stand

mounted, or fixed onto

a camera hotshoe with a

separate adaptor. It’s capable

of recording six channels of

audio through a combination

of four Neutrik XLRs and a

multi-use socket that takes a

range of slot-in capsules from

XY stereo to shotgun.

It can record in MP3

format (though I’d consider

that a waste) or .wavs at

sample rates from 44.1 to

96kHz and at 16/24 bit.

Although it takes in six

channels, it’s capable of

recording an additional stereo

backup as well. It can also be

used as a USB audio interface

on PC, Mac, or iPad.

Open the case and the first

thing that strikes you is the

unusual design. In a world

of small recorders (most of

which are on or under my

desk) the H6 strives to be

different, with a body that

arches up and away from the

user. The grey, rubberised

chassis has a colour LCD

screen, transport controls, and

four small horizontal dials.

These control the input gain

for the XLRs. Sitting between

them are -20dB pads for each

input. They’re perfectly placed

for quick operation and being

‘actual switches’ you can

quickly register that they’ve

been activated.

In UseThe H6 has a straightforward

menu system that is accessed

through a rocker button and

I managed to alter the record

settings to 48kHz/24-bit and

record some material with

the XY capsule without even

getting the manual out of

its bag (and I’m no genius).

The range of features and

functions is far too long to

list here but you can record,

edit, and mixdown on the

machine as well as adjust a

wide range of parameters in

both recording and playback.

There’s a graphical mixer you

can tweak, adjusting levels

of individual channels, for

example. There are even VU

meters which you can bring

up on the screen during a

recording, in place of the

standard peak meters.

There is also a compressor

and limiter, which can be

applied to separate inputs/

tracks and adjusted to suit via

a range of presets. You can set

the machine to pre-record,

adjust the MS recording,

tweak the level of the line out

to suit a DSLR mic input…

the list goes on.

But all this would be

nothing without decent

recording quality. I tried the

H6 first with the XY capsule

and

recorded

some

speech.

The

process

is simple

enough but

you have to

remember to

arm the inputs/

tracks before you start.

This is done by tapping the

keys that sit just above the

transport buttons. The small

LEDs above each one turn

red, then green when you start

rolling. They also flicker if you

reach peak on any channel.

Level is easy to set via the

dials which sit on the capsule

itself and are displayed on the

colour screen. I found this a

little small for my eyes but

it does the job nonetheless.

I listened out for handling

noise, which is the weakness

of virtually every handheld

recorder. I know this is down

to physics but it does seem

a major flaw if a handheld

recorder can’t be, er, handheld.

The H6 has the bonus

of a large body which gives

you the chance to keep your

fingers further away from

the capsules. There was some

rattling if I moved my digits

around but otherwise it was

not too bad. Of course, plug

in an XLR lead and use an

external mic and the problem

disappears.

ConclusionThe recording was pretty

damn good (which is some

of the finest understatement

I’ve used in a while). It was

clean and clear and had a real

presence to it. I then packed

the recorder in its little case

and took it to show a few

friends. One is a technician

at a local university film

school and the other is a BBC

radio engineer. With both

I did the same simple test:

record some speech and play

it back through headphones

(there is also a small speaker).

And with both the result was

the same: a lot of shock and

surprise at just how nice it

was. I then plugged in my

Rode NTG3 shotgun to

XLR one and recorded some

more speech. The result again

was better than I’d expected.

There was something to the

recording, something hard

to define, but it was clearer,

more precise, and more ‘real’

than I’ve heard from a small

recorder in a while. I haven’t

had the time to carry out a

more exhaustive test – yet.

But there’s a project coming

up shortly that will need a

combination of external and

internal microphones. With

the prospect of using the H6

– a powerful, well designed

and brilliantly performing

audio tool – I’m looking

forward to it.

The striking design isn’t the only talking point of

this portable recorder, writes Jerry Ibbotsen.

Feature Set

www.zoomcorp.co.uk

INFORMATION

The ReviewerJerry Ibbotson has worked in pro audio for more than 20 years, first as a BBC radio journalist and then as a sound designer in the games industry. He’s now a freelance audio producer and writer.

The International Audio Guide seriesfrom Audio Media

Each International Audio Guide focuses on an important pro-audio product line, giving independent articles followed

by in depth advertorials, covering the history and current range from the leading manufacturers in their field.

Available now:2014 International Console Guide

2014 International DAW & plugins Guide

2014 Live Sound & Theatre Guide

2014 International Monitors & Headphone Guide

2014 International Microphone Guide

Later in the year:2014 Broadcast Audio Guide

2015 International Console Guide

Contact me today to discuss

your requirements and to make

sure your company is represented.

Darrell CarterTel:+44 (0) 20 7226 7246

e-mail: [email protected]



John Broomhall chews the cud with Sony’s audio chief Garry Taylor ahead

of his 2014 Develop in Brighton Conference keynote address.

DEVELOP SPECIAL: In Conversation with Garry Taylor

INTERVIEW

What does your job as audio director for the Creative Services Group (CSG) within Sony Computer Entertainment Europe entail?I’m responsible for the strategy and

direction of our audio provision.

CSG’s a service group, which supports

our game developers. It includes audio

teams working on games embedded

in our studios around the UK and we

also do a lot for marketing as well as

for Sony (SCEI) in Japan. My primary

role is supporting our audio people

in the ‘first party’ studios, looking at

their projects, helping them decide

what they’re going to do and how,

and then facilitating the technical and

content-related resources they need to

make the best-sounding games they

can. We have teams based at Guerrilla

(Cambridge) and Evolution, plus

our London studio – but I also have

plenty of contact with key developers

like Media Molecule and Guerrilla

(Amsterdam). In addition, I’m closely

involved with the Audio Standards

Working Group (ASWG) – we

publish guidance and technical papers

on audio development for PlayStation

platforms generally.

What do you see as the most common problems people in the game audio industry face?It’s interesting, a couple of years back

a lot of the problems we faced were

technical. But that’s really not the case

to such a degree anymore. Obviously,

there are always technical issues that

need to be resolved, but nowadays

it’s more to do with communication

between audio teams and the rest of

the development disciplines. Technical

issues like lack of memory, lack of

voices, lack of resource are, to a greater

extent, falling away but now, more

than ever, we need to ensure our audio

teams are involved very early in the

design process, building relationships

with the game team from the get-go.

However, there’s no obvious catchall

solution. Our teams are very different

from each other in the way they work,

the culture within each studio and

the types of game they’re making,

so there’s not necessarily a single

production process to introduce that

will work for everyone – it’s important

to look at things on an individual basis

and work out what’s specifically right

in each case.

At last year’s Develop Conference, London Studios’ Joanna Orland (sound design) and Jim Fowler (music) talked about their proactive approach with the team on Book of Spells where they established a vocabulary and set of references to help non-audio team members to articulate issues about audio effectively – is that a good example?We’re a service group and the game

teams are ‘clients’ so we have to do our

research and pitch ideas to get their

buy-in. With Book Of Spells, Joanna

and Jim thought very hard about what

they were trying to achieve and put

together style guides and show-reels,

demonstrating what they believed

would be best for the title – not just

for consumption by the dev team, but

also JK Rowling herself. The pay-off

for all the groundwork was that our

presentations about audio direction

engendered strong buy-in from the

start, then during production, things

went smoothly with a sense that the

team had real confidence in what we

were trying to deliver.

We won the Develop Audio

Accomplishment Award for that

game – recognition like that really

helps spread the word too.

So presumably, you’ll be talking more about communication in your Develop keynote… What else is on your mind?I’m going to talk a bit about toolsets.

Audio development tools have

improved a great deal over the last

three to four years – from being just

‘good enough to do the job with little

sophistication’, to what you might

describe as robust, professionally

presented offerings with much greater

functionality. It used to be the case

that you’d put something into a sound

engine and hope it would come out

the other end as you intended it,

whereas now we have tools to track

signal paths with profiling tools

showing us what’s going on at every

stage. One thing I’ve been heavily

involved with is the establishment of

loudness standards, which have been

rolled out across a lot of the industry.

Our loudness standard is now

supported by all the major middleware

companies like WWise and FMOD

and many third party plug-in

manufacturers include an ‘ASWG’

pre-set in their tools.

What game audio has floated your audio boat recently?For me, The Last of Us was a work of

art in terms of audio. I was speaking to

the Naughty Dog audio team about it

and they were asking me for feedback

– a critique – I found it very difficult

because it all works so well. It’s very

hard to fault. I must say I also really

enjoyed Bioshock Infinite – fantastic

content. The music was brilliant. No

wonder it cleared up at the awards!

What developments do you expect to see for audio on PlayStation platforms in the coming period?There’s a bunch of stuff I can’t talk

about yet, but I will say I’m very

interested to see what people can

do with audio for Morpheus, Sony’s

new virtual reality headset, which

has a real-time binaural 3D audio

system. With the addition of head

tracking, the sensation of 3D sound

over a normal pair of headphones

is stunning. We’re still working on

the tech but I’m really excited about

what other developers will make of it.

The demo we showed at GDC and

E3 – The Deep, where the player goes

underwater in this big cage surrounded

by sharks and various other marine

life, sounds phenomenal.

“We need to ensure

our audio teams are

involved very early in

the design process,

building relationships

with the game team

from the get-go.”

Garry Taylor

Garry TaylorWill be giving The Audio Track Keynote Address at the Develop In Brighton Conference on Thursday 10 July 2014. For further details head to www.developconference.com

Audio Media July 2014

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Transcript of Audio Media July 2014