Jose James Honors Bill Withers ★ Frozen Fish Design ★ Scott Gershin Q&A ★ Classic Track: Blondie’s “Denis”

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 10.18 Contents
Volume 42, Number 10
Photo by Cherry Chill Will

14
FEATURES MUSIC TECH
14 José James:
A Bill Withers Tribute, AES 2018 PREVIEW
a METAlliance Session
BY BARBARA SCHULTZ

16 Classic Track: 34 Review:

“Denis,” Blondie Hafler P3100
BY BARBARA Power Amplifier
SCHULTZ BY MICHAEL COOPER 40 New Products:
22 On the Cover AES 2018 Edition
18 News & Notes: 36 Review:
Sound on Sound Leapwing 44 The Mix Guide to
Capitol Honors
Studios: NYC Legacy Ron McMaster Audio Education at AES
Outside the City BY MATT HURWITZ DynOne
Version 2
BY MIKE LEVINE
BY BARRY
RUDOLPH

50 Back Page
Blog
BY MIKE LEVINE
AND
STEVE LA CERRA
DEPARTMENTS
26 Frozen Fish Design: 10 From the Editor
Two Consoles, 12 Current
One Surface 19 Tribute:
Aretha Franklin’s 49 Marketplace/Classifieds
BY JENNIFER WALDEN
Timeless, Amazing Grace
BY DAVID MCGEE On the Cover: Owner Dave Amlen and studio manager Tony Drootin at the Euphonix System 5
28 Scott Gershin: in Studio B of Sound on Sound Studios’ spacious new Mont clair, N.J., home.
The Art and Science 21 News & Notes: Photo: Adam Frumkin/AFK Visuals.
Studer Celebrates
of Interactive Audio 70th Anniversary
Mix, Volume 42, Number 10 (ISSN 0164-9957) is published monthly by Future US, Inc., 28 East 28th Street, 12th floor,
New York, NY 10016. Periodical Postage Paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to Mix, PO Box 8518, Lowell, MA 01853. One-year (12 issues) subscription is $35. Canada is $40. All
BY TOM KENNY BY SARAH JONES other international is $50. Printed in the USA. Canadian Post Publications Mail agreement No. 40612608. Canada return
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6 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
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CONTENT
VP/Content Creation Anthony Savona
Content Director Tom Kenny, thomas.kenny@futurenet.com
Content Manager Katie Makal, katie.makal@futurenet.com
Technology Editor, Studio Mike Levine, techeditormike@gmail.com
Technology Editor, Live Steve La Cerra, stevelacerra@verizon.net
Senior Editor Barbara Schultz, barbara.schultz@futurenet.com
Sound Reinforcement Editor Steve La Cerra
Contributors: Strother Bullins, Eddie Ciletti, Michael Cooper,
Gary Eskow, Matt Hurwitz, Steve Jennings (photography),
Sarah Jones, Barry Rudolph
Production Manager Beatrice Weir
Managing Design Director Nicole Cobban
Design Director Walter Makarucha, Jr.

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Current
From the Editor
What Makes a Brand?
I’ve said many times that the smartest thing that Mix co-founders David
Schwartz, Penny Riker Jacob and Bill Laski ever did was name it Mix.
Back in 1977, when it debuted as a directory of Northern California
studios inside the much more popular BAM magazine, DB and Recording
Engineer/Producer were flying high in pro audio. Mix was a simple 24-page
supplement of studio names, equipment and services in a regional music
journal.
The founders, I was told, named it Mix because out of all the possibilities
being tossed around at the time, it fit most neatly as a logo on a T-shirt
or baseball cap. Mix. It says exactly what it is: it’s about mixing. And of
course all the varied services and developments and tools and people and
ideas that feed the mix. It just sounds like a brand. And it is. At its height,
it was a 248-page monthly, occasionally jumping into the 300s, with lots
of ads and editorial across every audio market we thought fit the mission
of providing access to the world of professional audio.
Now in Mix’s 41st year, my 30th as an editor, we are regularly at 52 pages
a month, occasionally jumping into the 60s. The world changes, and media
and music both got hit hard in the rapid changeover to a web-mobile-social
world. People sometimes ask me if I miss the “good old days,” and of course
I do! But these are good days, too! The mission remains the same, and we
still reach out to audio professionals. The delivery, however, might be a
biweekly newsletter, a Facebook or Twitter post, or a Sound for Film Event
at Sony Pictures Studios. The world may change, but brands are brands.
In that way, I feel a sort of kinship with the AES as I look forward to
heading out to New York City for the annual fall convention. When I
first joined Mix, one of the first organizations/clients/companies I was
introduced to was the Audio Engineering Society. It was a big show! Javits
was packed! The tape manufacturers hosted sometimes debauched boat
parties around the island! The TEC Awards on Saturday night remain one
of the highlights of my career.
10 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
And then, over the past decade or two, the AES has had to face
numerous challenges. The world changes. Recently, AES has responded
in a great number of positive directions, from partnerships with NAMM
and NAB, to adding Live and Project Expos, to hosting regional events on
VR/AR. The brand maintains. But you have to keep it fresh. AES has been
working at it, and it shows.
Here in our pages, we have a tribute to Studer’s 70th anniversary. Last
year Criteria Studios (now Hit Factory Criteria) celebrated 60 years. This
year Shure hit 93 years! That’s amazing. That’s a brand.
Then I walk down the aisles each year at AES, and each and every booth
is a brand filled with a cast of characters, all of whom contribute to the
impression made on show-goers. The audio industry is loaded with solid
names like API, SSL, Universal Audio, Avid, JBL, Meyer Sound, Neumann/
Telefunken, Lectrosonics, Yamaha, Genelec, ATC, Eventide, Manley, Grace
Design, Focusrite, Bose ... I could go on and on. The point is, pro audio is
relatively unique within the world of entertainment technology in that a
high, high percentage of the industry is made up of identifiable and strong
brands. Boutique manufacturer or multinational corporation, it doesn’t
matter. The majority have an established identity.
Look around at the show, look at the names. There are newcomers
that are building their brand and trusted friends who continue to evolve.
There are precision, handmade electronics and subscriptions to software
updates. The world changes every day. And we can thank the passionate
people of pro audio—who really are the brands—for that.
Tom Kenny
Editor, Mix
 Current // news & notes
Blue: 100% Cyan, 25% M

Panelists Announced for Sound Editing, Mixing Series

at Mix Presents Sound for Film & Television Event
Mix magazine and parent company Future U.S. have announced the sound
editors, designers and mixers to appear on the popular expert panel series
at Mix Presents Sound for Film & Television, to be held on host partner
Sony Pictures Studios’ lot in Culver City, Calif., October 13, 2018.
The Mix Panel Series, which is presented in cooperation with event
partners Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) and Cinema Audio Society
(CAS), and sponsor Westlake Pro have become the centerpiece of the event,
which began five years ago with an in-depth look at immersive audio. This
year’s panels include:
SOUND EDITING FOR ANIMATION: Pre-Production Through the Final Mix
This panel will discuss how sound takes the leading role in the creation
of an animated project, from the pre-records used to create the visual
animation of characters to the final soundtrack created completely from
scratch to bring the visual story to life on screen. What are their workflows
and creative thought processes? How do these processes and challenges
vary from a typical live action project? We will hear from both feature and
television sound supervisors and designers who have years of experience
within the animation field. Sponsored by MPSE.
Moderator: Carolyn Giardina, The Hollywood Reporter
Panelists: Paul Ottoson, Geoffrey Rubay, Erik Aadahl, Tim Chau and
Eileen Horta
DIALOG MIXING: The Audio Pipeline
More than ever, production sound mixers, editors and re-recording mixers
must adapt their workflows to consider advances in technology. A panel
of established production and post-production professionals explain how
they work today, and discuss the way it was and their predictions for the
future. Sponsored by CAS.
Moderator: Karol Urban, CAS
Panelists: Gary Bourgeois, Mathew Waters, Phil Palmer, Margit Pfeifer
Previously it was announced that sound designer, technologist, musician
and all-around audio manipulator Scott Gershin will deliver the keynote
address, which will focus on the art of storytelling on the big and small screen
amid developments in VR, gaming, film sound and television expansion.
Registration for the fifth annual event is open at www.mixsoundforfilm.com.

Thomas Dolby to Deliver AES Keynote

The Audio Engineering Society (AES) has announced that Thomas Dolby
will deliver the keynote address during the opening ceremonies of the AES
New York 2018 convention, to be held October 17-20, 2018, at the Javits
Center in New York City.
While most widely known for his work as a musician, producer, film
score composer and filmmaker, Dolby has been an educator throughout
his career. In 2014, he was named Homewood Professor of the Arts at
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. During his 35-year career,
he has consulted and assisted on countless technological developments,
including LaserDiscs, computer games, interactive TV, virtual reality
installations and location-based entertainment.
With the title “The Conscious Sound Byte,” Dolby’s AES keynote
address will focus on next-generation sound technologies—in particular,
adaptive/nonlinear music and audio for games, VR/AR, “hearables” and
other new media platforms.
“A big difference between
‘real’ and ‘electronic’ sounds
is that electronic sounds have
zero awareness of each other,”
says Dolby. “Sound bytes
blindly follow orders and fire
off [usually] as instructed by a
human. Yet musicians playing ‘real’ instruments listen, resonate and respond
to the music, the room, and to each other, in a matter of microseconds.
“In the hands of master arranger or programmer, this is not a problem,”
he continues. “Many of the nuances of real music can be simulated quite
effectively as processor speed, bandwidth and resolution improve. But as
entertainment becomes more interactive, with games and augmented reality
and ‘wearable’ technologies, it is increasingly vital that electronic sounds and
music learn an awareness of the context in which they are playing.”

Sugar Studios Goes Dolby Atmos

Sugar Studios has expanded from its fourth floor
headquarters in the historic Wiltern Theater Tower in
Los Angeles to add the ninth floor and entire 12th floor
penthouse space, which now includes a 25-seat Dolby
Atmos Mix Stage and 4K Color-DI Suite.
Audio Intervisual Design helped develop the
design/construction, acoustics, equipment selection,
programming and overall management support.
“Jim Pace and AID started working with us when we
were first planning this expansion,” says Sugar Studios
principal Jijo Reed. “They were an integral partner
throughout the entire process. We couldn’t be happier
with the results.”
The 800-square-foot Dolby Atmos Mix Stage is
based around a Slate Digital Raven Z3C console
surface, Avid Pro Tools HDX workstations, a JBL 7
Series-based 7.1.4 monitoring system, and a 16x9-foot Sugar Studios’ 25-seat Dolby Atmos
screen with 2.39:1 motor mattes. Mix Stage and 4K Color-DI Theater
Photo by David Goggin

12 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
Music

Photo by Cherry Chill Will

“LEAN ON ME”
Students Have a Ringside Seat as José James Pays Tribute to Bill Withers
By Barbara Schultz

B
ack in 1985, a young engineer named
Ed Cherney got the call to work on Bill
Withers’ Watching Me Watching You.
For Cherney, that was hundreds of records ago,
but the memories of hang time with the great
singer/songwriter, who turns 80 this year, have
stayed with him.
“I remember he was funny and smart and
he was kind to me,” Cherney says. “We ended
up hanging out and laughing, and he’d tell me
stories about what it was like growing up in the
Jim Crow South.”
Fast-forward to spring 2018: Now a great
mentor for budding music engineers, Cherney
was planning an educational event to be
conducted by METAlliance, the group he co-
founded with top engineer/producers Frank
Filipetti, George Massenburg, Al Schmitt, Elliot
Scheiner and Chuck Ainlay. The engineers
would divide into singles and pairs, each taking a
room in Capitol Studios and working with small
groups of attendees, including audio engineering
students, who would rotate through the rooms
throughout two days to observe a variety of
recording or mixing sessions.
It takes connections and skill to make such
a complex venture happen. “I called my good
friend Don Was and asked if he had a project that
he wanted to track as an opportunity to educate
these kids, letting them see and experience what
a real professional recording session is like,” says
Cherney, whose collaborations with Was go back
to Bonnie Raitt’s multi-Grammy Award-winning

14 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m

Photo by David Goggin
Engineer Ed Cherney and producer Don Was in Capitol Studio B
1989 masterpiece, Nick of Time.
As it turned out, Was, the producer and now
president of Blue Note Records, was about to
go into the studio with jazz/hip-hop artist José
James to make Lean on Me, a full album of Bill
Withers covers.
“The concept for this album totally originated
with José,” Was explains. “Like a lot of vocalists,
José loves to sing Bill’s songs. The melodies are
beautiful and the lyrics roll off the tongue like
butter; they’re deeply soulful. José had been
performing one or two of them live, and the
audience would go crazy every night. However,
I think he found that younger audiences
were becoming increasingly unaware of Bill’s
incredible musical legacy. So the idea comes
from a combination of wanting to do something
to shine a light on the greatness of Bill Withers
and the love of performing his songs.”
On unforgettable songs such as the title track,
as well as “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Use Me,” “Kissing
My Love,” “Just the Two of Us” and others,
the arrangements worked up by James and
the band—drummer Nate Smith, keyboardist
Kris Bowers, guitarist Brad Allen Williams,
percussionist Lenny Castro and bass player Pino
Palladino—bring Withers’ songs into new focus.
“The challenge lay in remaining true to
Bill’s original instincts for the songs while still
recording something other than karaoke covers
of the originals,” Was says. “I suggested that
José treat the compositions as if he wrote them
and find his own way into interpreting the lyric
separate from Bill. Same with the musicians:
Respect Bill, but be creative and honest in your
approach. I think we hit a really good balance.”
Sessions for Lean on Me took place in Capitol
Studio B, where Cherney captured the band live
to Pro Tools HDX via the studio’s vintage Neve
8068 board, with about a dozen METAlliance
students in attendance.
“José and his band were so good. You rarely
get an opportunity to see something like that
with Don producing and with a halfway decent
engineer,” Cherney jokes. “I think with those
kids being there, it actually put everyone on
their toes. They might have played a little better
because it was more of a performance with an
audience.
“I got there early to set up,” Cherney
continues. “The band showed up around noon,
but kids were there at 9, so I had them help set
up the room and explained what I was doing:
why I put people in certain places, the kind
of microphones I was using. We also talked
generally about how to become a great music-
maker and a great recording engineer. How to
make a session go and make everyone feel good
about what they’re doing.”
Among the recording techniques Cherney
shared was a favorite drum-miking tip: “I like to
place a Sanken CO-100K about 6 feet in front of
the drums and about 6 feet high,” he says. “It’s
an ultrawide-band omni and I usually limit the
bejeezus out of it and just try to break it. Then
I’ll use just a little bit of that to give the drums
more life.”
Another critical element was the Steinway B
“Nat King Cole piano” at Capitol—an essential
sound on the title track. “I used these new
mixonline.com | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | M I X
microphones I got by Sanken, the CU-51s,”
Cherney says. “I put one over the low hammers
and one over the high hammers and pushed the
faders up, and the piano just sang. That’s such a
beautiful piano.”
Cherney waxes a bit philosophical when asked
how he captured Pino Paladino’s awesome bass
sound: “We had just a little Ampeg B-15 cabinet
with him, and we plugged him in direct; there
was a touch of 1176, and that’s really it. The
sound comes out of his fingers. He’s got such a
beautiful, even touch.
“When I was first starting out, like these kids,
I couldn’t get a bass sound or a drum sound
to save my life,” Cherney adds. “I’d stay up all
night, plot and scheme what microphones I was
going to use and what signal processing, and
I couldn’t make stuff sound good at all. Then
one day I was with Don doing a Bonnie Raitt
record and Jeff Porcaro came in, and I think I had
one microphone up because I was just getting
sounds, prepping—a 57 about 10 feet away from
him—and it was the greatest drum track I’d ever
gotten. It had everything to do with the player,
as opposed to the gear.”
It’s an exceptional opportunity for the
students, especially, to sit down in front of the
control room glass, put on headphones, and
listen in while a powerful vocalist like James
sings live with the band. Cherney treated those
vocals like keepers, because that’s how James
sang them.
“They have that Frank Sinatra U49
microphone, and we used that with a touch
of Fairchild compression and not much else,”
Cherney says. “When the tracking went down,
it was one of those things where the music was
just filling the speakers and everybody was really
knocked out.”
After two days in Capitol, additional recording
was done by Pete Min, Todd Carder and Rouble
Kapoor in L.A. and New York before Brian
Bender mixed the album at The Motherbrain
West (L.A.).
“Don and I started out together doing Bonnie
Raitt’s Nick of Time record and we spent a good
15 years together every day, traveling the world,
doing everybody from Bonnie to Bob Dylan to
Neil Diamond to Iggy Pop to the B-52s to the
Rolling Stones—it was the time of my life,” says
Cherney, looking back. “So to work with him
now, with such wonderful, sensitive musicians—
it was a beautiful couple of days, and I hope
that translates to the way people experience the
record.” n
15
Classic Tracks
“DENIS”
Blondie
By Barbara Schultz

“F
rom the minute they started playing, I was thinking, ‘I know this song,’” recalls engineer/ Freeman points out that the suspended,
producer Rob Freeman. He was behind the board at Plaza Sound Studios for Richard room-within-a-room studio design no doubt
Gottehrer’s production of the first two albums by then-up-and-coming band Blondie. contributed to the high cost of building the
facility, which, as noted, shared walls and
The track he’s referring to is “Denis,” or Toscanini and his orchestra, and was later used halls with Radio City. “The entire sixth floor
“Denise,” a Neil Levenson-penned song that had as a broadcast studio,” the engineer explains. “It was suspended on cork and steel springs,” he
been a Top 10 hit for doo-wop group Randy & cost over half a million dollars—a ton of money says. “The Rockettes rehearsed up there, and
The Rainbows in 1963 before Blondie covered it. back then—to build that huge, orchestral room their hundreds of feet dancing would make
Before the melody was even apparent, Freeman with its wonderful, nicely controlled acoustics. a thunderous sound. For that reason, they
recognized a key element of the arrangement Plaza was quite unique! acoustically isolated the sixth floor from the
that the two versions share: that strumming, “Plaza Sound had a certain vibe,” Freeman rest of the building.”
drum-rolling intro that owes much to Buddy continues. “Even just getting up to the studio By the time Blondie began recording their first
Holly’s “Peggy Sue.” was an interesting experience. The studio was album at Plaza Sound, the studio was reasonably
Blondie included “Denis” on their album located on the sixth floor, above Radio City well-equipped for music projects, and that was
Plastic Letters, in the great punk tradition of Music Hall. You entered the building from either at least partly due to Freeman’s efforts. When
honoring the beauty and romance of early rock of the side streets, 50th or 51st Street. Then you he joined the Plaza Sound staff in 1974 as head
’n’ roll, even while offering up songs such as went up a special elevator, through unmarked engineer, the studio worked on industrial and
“Youth Nabbed as Sniper,” “Kidnapper” and “I’m doorways, and climbed a flight of stairs before commercial projects mainly via an 8-track Scully
on E.” winding through a labyrinth of hallways, all machine and a Spectrasonics console.
Plastic Letters was the second LP that the painted battleship gray. It was a weird, cloak- “Being a musician, I thought, ‘What can I
band made in Plaza Sound, New York City, and-daggerish route. It was part of Plaza’s charm, do to bring in the technology and the ability to
with Gottehrer and Freeman. Their eponymous and it felt special. Bands seemed to love how make records?’” Freeman recalls. “The studio
debut came in 1976, and Freeman remembers tucked away it was.” had plenty to offer: There was a 9-foot concert
those early sessions as a time of discovery for

Photo courtesy Rob Freeman

the musicians.
“Recording in a professional studio like Plaza
Sound was something new for them, and it
created a sense of joy and wonder,” Freeman
says. “It was like, ‘Holy cow, that’s us coming
out of the speakers! Listen to that!’ They were
excited about what they were doing, and they
incorporated all kinds of things they’d heard into
their music. It could have been Japanese anime
background music or a cornflake commercial
that influenced a song, or a keyboard or guitar
part. Their sources of influences were wide
open.”
Freeman points out that the studio itself,
with its illustrious history and grand space, was
another source of inspiration. “Plaza was built
in the ’30s by NBC as a rehearsal studio for
Rob Freeman at the API console in Plaza Sound

16 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
grand Steinway, a built-in Wurlitzer pipe organ
with three separate pipe chambers, orchestral
instruments such as tympanis, tubular chimes
and glockenspiel, as well as a wide array of
vintage microphones—many with their original
tube power supplies. The mic closet was a joy to
behold. The studio had all these great features
but just wasn’t doing the right kinds of projects.
So I kept chipping away, saying, ‘Let’s get some
proper equipment in here and make records!’”
During Freeman’s first two years, studio
owner Gregg Raffa did make many key changes,
including upgrading to a 16-track 3M Isoloop
tape machine and installing a 32-input API
console, the first in New York City.
“Our console acted as a demo board, so to
speak, for API, who wanted to showcase their
new line of consoles in a functioning studio,”
Freeman says. “Folks from API would come
around every so often, bringing people through
and saying, ‘Check out our beautiful board in
this spectacular room.’”
The members of Blondie—singer Debbie
Harry, guitarist Chris Stein, keyboardist Jimmy
Destri, drummer Clem Burke and new bass
player Frank Infante (replacing Gary Valentine)—
were seasoned and rehearsed when they came in
to record their sophomore album, after playing
numerous gigs behind the first record and
then spending several days in a rehearsal space
finalizing the Plastic Letters arrangements with
Gottehrer. Freeman remembers the sessions as
being fun but more businesslike than the first
album. The studio setup, however, was very
similar to what had been used on their debut.
“If a band came in and we wanted the whole
room to be open acoustically, we could do that,”
Freeman says. “But for more separation and
control, I would often divide the room in half,
and that’s what I did with Blondie. Plaza had a
number of large rolling baffles that were 8 or
9 feet tall and about 8 inches thick. Some had
windows. I’d roll them in to divide the 100-foot-
long room literally in half, putting two baffles
tightly together, leaving a little space to walk
through, then two more and two more, all the
way across the 65-foot width of the room.”
Bisecting the space gave Freeman more
control over the room acoustics, as did Harry’s
preference to sing live in a booth, in the room
while the band tracked.
“There was a huge rolling vocal booth,”
Freeman recalls. “It had glass panels for isolation
and a sound-locking door in the back; it was
really heavy and took at least two people to
A view from the Plaza Sound control room into the live room.
move it around. Debbie liked to sing in that
booth with no lights on. I had her sing into a
[Neumann] tube U47. Singing with the band
while they recorded basic tracks, Debbie might
have assumed she was just providing scratch
vocals, but many of those performances became
finished vocals, with a only few tweaks later on.”
The rest of the musicians played together
in the half-studio, with amplifiers individually
baffled. Infante’s bass was split between an amp
and a DI. Destri’s keyboards were also taken
direct; everything else was miked up.
“The drum kit was set up fairly close to
the control room glass for added liveliness,”
Freeman explains. “I believe we recorded drums
on five tracks: bass drum blanketed with an AKG
D12 placed inside, snare drum with a Sennheiser
421 on top, hi-hat with a Neumann KM56 pencil
mic, and overheads left and right were two
Neumann U87s to capture the tom-toms and
cymbals.”
Infante’s bass mic was an Electro-Voice RE20,
and Burke’s guitars were captured by a Shure
SM57 and a Neumann U87. “The dynamic mic
would be placed right up close to the cone of the
speaker, and the condenser mic, with a -10 dB
pad in, would be about 2 to 3 feet back,” Freeman
says. “As we were doing overdubs later, I would
move the U87 8 to 10 feet away from the amp
because we weren’t worried about drum leakage
at that point.”
Freeman also employed the studio’s collection
of “now-vintage” outboard gear during tracking:
Teletronix LA-2A tube compressor/limiters,
Pultec tube EQs and more. “We had a wealth
of Pultecs—three or four different types—and
several of those classic LA-2A compressors, and
I just used them like crazy,” he recalls.
“‘Denis’ sounded like a hit from the minute
they started playing it,” Freeman says. “Debbie’s
voice was bubbly, and she sang the song really
mixonline.com | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | M I X
Photo by George A. Le Moine, courtesy Don Hunerberg
well and sounded great. Her voice cut right
through the rhythm tracks. She had that little
growl that would come in every now and then.”
Harry also played with the lyrics of the
song. The band had changed their version from
“Denise” to “Denis,” French for Dennis, so that
Harry could sing “You’re my king” and “I’m so
lucky ’cause I found a boy like you” in French,
in one of the verses toward the end of the song.
“When we came to the point where we had the
solid track and a great vocal, that’s when Richard
would put on his final touches,” Freeman says.
“It was often Richard’s layer of percussion that
made a track sound truly finished. He brought
in a huge bag of tambourines, shakers, and some
African instruments. That song also had some
foot stomps added.
“Those percussion sessions were the capper,
and always great for me, too, because I loved
getting out of the control room to play in the
studio after setting things up,” he reminisces.
“I’d have my assistant hit the record button,
and I would become one of the musicians,
shaking a tambourine or shaker, clapping hands
or stomping feet along with the band. That
percussion really made the record sound like a
hit. It gave it a timeless sound.”
“Denis” was the first single that Blondie
released from Plastic Letters in 1978, and it was
a massive hit in Europe: a Number 2 song from
a Top 10 album in the UK, Number One in
Belgium and The Netherlands, and a Top 20
song in several other countries.
“Denis” didn’t chart in the U.S.; Americans
don’t always share Europeans’ love for old-
school rock ’n’ roll. But Plastic Letters was a Top
100 album, and the video for “Denis,” with the
exceptionally beautiful Harry dancing in what
looks like a sweater over a swim suit, captured
viewers’ attention and primed them for Blondie’s
biggest successes to come. n
17
Music // news & notes
CAPITOL STUDIOS HONORS RON McMASTER
Mastering Engineer Retires After 35 Years

Y
ou don’t hear much about retirement parties

Photos by Matt Hurwitz

these days, and it’s rare for someone to spend
a full career with a single company, but after 35
years at Capitol Mastering, veteran mastering engineer
Ron McMaster has hung up his lacquers. As a testament
to his talent and the respect he has garnered, the
appropriately named and much-loved disc cutter was
given a warm sendoff at the studio earlier in the summer,
attended by colleagues including engineers Al Schmitt,
Geoff Emerick and Niko Bolas, as well as fellow mastering
engineers Gavin Lurssen, Kevin Reeves and Peter Doell,
and former studio boss Michael Frondelli.
Lurssen, who noted that McMaster had cut his final
set of lacquers that very day—a vinyl reissue of Jackson
Browne’s Running on Empty—told of how he had come
to rely on the engineer after founding his own mastering
studio and needing discs cut for vinyl customers.
“Fifteen years ago we decided we needed to work out
a system,” Lurssen recalled. “There are two parts to the
process. First, we give Ron the highest possible resolution
Retired mastering engineer Ron McMaster, left,
of a file. The other part is the professional-grade digital- with one of his protégés, Ian Selchik
to-analog conversion process. Ron just has ‘secret sauce’
of unique analog equipment, which he knows how to use to give records a him, and he would patiently explain
kind of depth of field, where the sound is not overcooked in level.” everything he was doing.”
McMaster, who began cutting vinyl in 1979, said, “I’ve been working in a Adds Reeves, “I would watch
room where I’ve got some great Neve EQs and SoundTech EQs and a great him—he has a personal relationship
limiter/compressor that was built and designed here. And that’s really all I with every client. You could see how
need.” they trust him.”
Schmitt pointed out one other important piece of equipment: “It’s in his Filling his shoes at the studio will Legendary engineers Geoff Emerick,
ears—it’s in the way he hears. Nobody cuts vinyl better.” be Kevin Bartley, who will cut in left, and Al Schmitt honored their
friend and colleague Ron McMaster.
Reeves, a protégé of both McMaster and his late colleague, Wally McMaster’s former room, and Ian
Traugott, told Mix that upon his arrival at Capitol in 1986, “I already knew Selchik, who began as a tech 10 years ago, eventually learning to cut five years
who Ron was from reading the backs of records I loved. I was blessed to ago, after resuscitating Traugott’s Neumann VMS 66 cutting lathe, under
come up through the ‘Capitol farm club’ and be trained in this fine art by McMaster’s tutelage. “When the vinyl resurgence came, Ron was slammed,
Ron and Wally.” so I started taking on some of his work,” Selchik said.
Among the most important early lessons Reeves learned from his “People are just in awe of vinyl—it still amazes them,” McMaster told
mentors was to take himself out of the picture and let the music do the the audience, most humbly. “Whether it’s people who want a high-quality
talking. “When I came in, I was headstrong and thought I knew all about record and are willing to spend a lot of money and time on getting it just
this stuff, and would immediately start turning knobs. Ron and Wally would right, or other folks who just want to have a record made, just want to have
say, ‘No, take your hands off the controls and listen for a second. This isn’t their music on vinyl. But they’ll come in and take a ton of pictures with their
about you; this is about the music. Let’s talk about how to make the music cameras, watching me transfer their recording and go through my board and
great—or even if you need to touch it at all.’ That was a hard lesson for me cut them a lacquer, and then play it back. It still fascinates them, even though
to learn as a young engineer.” it’s a pretty simple process.”
All who spoke noted a common element: McMaster’s humble, gentlemanly And, about that name, Lurssen notes, “‘McMaster,’ of course, is perfect.
manner. “I’ve never seen him rattled,” said Schmitt. “I don’t think he ever gets Thankfully, his first name is Ron—not Skip.” n
mad. He’s such an easy guy to be around. I would recommend clients to —Matt Hurwitz

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Music // a tribute
ARETHA’S TIMELESS, AMAZING GRACE
Remembering the Queen of Soul’s Finest Hour on Record
By David McGee

O
n the sunny morning of August 16,
word came early of Aretha Franklin’s
passing. Awakening to this news
broadcast on New York City’s classical station,
WQXR, followed by the sound of Aretha rolling
out her stunning rendition of Puccini’s “Nessun
dorma” live at the 40th Grammy Awards in New
York City on February 25, 1998—she filled in at
the last minute for an ailing Luciana Pavarotti,
who had already made the song his indelible
trademark, and did nothing less than save the
show, according to producer Ken Ehrlich—I
immediately sent a text to my son on the West
Coast, stating simply, “Aretha RIP.” A couple of
hours later, when he woke up, he sent a replay
text: “One of a kind. No comparison.”
Well, the lad was right, in a sense. But in
my return reply I pointed out a couple of valid
comparisons, with the proviso that you have
to go deep to find them, which in and of itself
speaks to the sweep of history Aretha brought to
every note she sang. In my estimation, only two
artists brook comparison to Aretha and, indeed,
together define Aretha.
The first would be Bessie Smith, the “Empress
of the Blues,” who sold millions of records over

Photo by Atlantic Records

the course of the 1920s and ’30s, was the highest
paid entertainer of her day, and became the
archetype for all big-voiced, swaggering, soulful
blues women to come.
Seventeen years Smith’s junior, Mahalia
Jackson, “The Queen of Gospel,” became a moral
force—and million-selling artist—after signing
with the Apollo label in 1947 and breaking out
with a fiercely committed reading of William the source of Aretha’s formidable artistry. To this mixture Aretha
Herbert Brewster’s “Move On Up a Little Higher” added much of her own. As www.criticofmusic.com points
to the tune of 8 million copies sold. out, “Franklin crafted incredible phrases by utilizing rhythmic
Bessie and Mahalia—the secular and sacred variations and motifs, dynamics, articulation, vocal colors and
sides of Aretha, both possessed of strong, drives to create original and brilliant phrases.”
authoritative contralto voices, Bessie being the With all due respect to the towering Atlantic sides of legend
friskier of the two, to put it lightly, and Mahalia (largely produced by Jerry Wexler, with the singer backed by the
commanding a vocal pulpit as if channeling legendary Swampers of Muscle Shoals and Atlantic Studios’ A-team
God’s voice—are the twin poles on which hang session players), Aretha’s finest hour, the moment captured that

mixonline.com | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | M I X 19
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Reproduction Number LC-USZ62-119977

Mahalia Jackson at the May 17, 1957, Prayer Pilgrimage of Freedom in Washington, D.C. Bessie Smith in a portrait from 1925

still brings me to my knees, is her 1972 gospel from the mainstream both in fact and in with the choir on “What a Friend We Have in
album, Amazing Grace, first issued as a double- influence, it seems nigh on a miracle. In 2018 Jesus”; or, with a scintillating assist from the Rev.
vinyl collection, recorded live at the New Temple Amazing Grace remains the best-selling release Cleveland and the animated choir, bending and
Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Not of Franklin’s career and in the history of live shaping “Precious Memories” into an extended,
since Elvis’ two 1960s gospel albums and Peace gospel albums. Verily, she did get over. sweat-inducing blues workout. This goes on and
in the Valley EP from 1957 had a truly towering So even today, 46 years later, I am surely not on through four sides of the original release, the
mainstream artist delivered such a profound alone in turning to it for spiritual sustenance. spirits of Bessie and Mahalia materializing in,
faith manifesto, both artists doing so at the To hear Aretha absolutely wrecking the house meshing with and being redefined in Aretha’s
height of their commercial powers. and wringing every last ounce of faith and earthy attack.
When Jerry Wexler signed Aretha following redemption for the entirety of a near-11-minute The double-vinyl release was in fact edited
her stint recording mostly pop and jazz standards fire-and-brimstone scalding of “Amazing from two nights’ worth of services finally made
for Columbia under the aegis of John Hammond, Grace” is to hear testifying of an exalted order, available unabridged on a splendidly remastered
he famously declared his intention to put her approached only by Mahalia. double-CD set in 1999, Amazing Grace: The
back in the church. Lo these many years later, And with the backing of the choir directed Complete Recordings, guaranteed to leave a
it still strikes me as a courageous move on by the Rev. James Cleveland, a gospel giant listener limp but spiritually reinvigorated.
Atlantic’s part to release Amazing Grace instead worthy of sharing this pulpit, a circle becomes Speaking to the assembled multitude, the
of another surefire smash soul album with complete. Once the child Aretha’s mentor, now Rev. C.L. Franklin, Aretha’s father, describes
multiple hit singles; however the decision was he’s spurring the choir to sing to the angels as the how moved he had been by what he was hearing,
made, it paid off to the tune of multi-million mature Aretha ups the emotional ante at every “because my daughter Aretha is just a stone
album sales and a Grammy Award in 1973 for turn, whether it be in de- and reconstructing singer!” Upon the raucous applause and shouted
Best Soul Gospel Performance. Inez Andrews’ “Mary Don’t You Weep”; finding a hallelujahs dying down, and without referencing
Back then, a gospel album’s success on this seam in Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” and “Natural Woman,” “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,”
scale seemed impossible; in today’s more secular reimagining it as a hymn of faith; igniting the “A Brand New Me” or any of the monuments
society, when gospel has practically disappeared worshipers with an incendiary call-and-response his daughter had erected in popular culture to
that point, the Rev. Franklin reminds those on
Aretha ups the emotional ante at every turn, hand, “If you want to know the truth, [Aretha]
has never left the church!”
whether it be in de- and reconstructing Inez Andrews’ So herein she resides, right where she
“Mary Don’t You Weep”; finding a seam in Carole King’s belongs, never better, completely in command
“You’ve Got a Friend” and reimagining it as a hymn of faith; of her art, her soul soaring free and unfettered
Heavenward. Herein lies the truth. Amen and
igniting the worshipers with an incendiary call-and-response. Godspeed, great lady. n

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Music // news & notes
STUDER AT 70
From Tape Machines to Digital Consoles,
a Lifetime of Audio Innovation
By Sarah Jones
S
tuder’s story is a testament to time and technology. From its
beginnings as a tape recorder manufacturer, the company built
a reputation in consoles, and in the 1990s pivoted to digital
technology. But back in 1931, Willi Studer was a Swiss teenager with an
aptitude for engineering, an entrepreneurial spirit and some big ideas.
After graduating high school, Studer enrolled in an apprenticeship
program, then abandoned it soon after to market his own radio receiver.
He went on to design audio test equipment, including high-tension
oscilloscopes, launching the Studer business in the basement of an old
post office building near Zurich, with a staff of three. The company’s focus
shifted to tape recorders in 1948 when Studer was contracted to convert
500 American-made products to European specifications. He quickly
realized that he could produce a better machine, and two years later he
launched the Dynavox T-26.
In 1951, the Studer company split into two brands. Studer recorders,
initially marketed under the Dynavox name, found instant acceptance in
professional circles, while the Revox line offered the same core circuitry
but added consumer-friendly features such as IR remote control. (One of
Revox’s most successful products, the A77 recorder, was introduced in 1967
and went on to sell more than 400,000 units.)
In 1952 Studer launched its first professional studio tape recorder, the
A27, which was the first Studer machine to feature a three-motor drive
design. The A37 followed, then the B37, and later the half-inch, 2-track C37
and its 1-inch, 4-track version, the J37, both of which went on to become
recording studio standards.
Studer’s studio legacy was cemented when, in 1965, Abbey Road Studios
purchased four J37 machines. At that time the Beatles were entering a
deeply experimental period in the studio, layering and editing sounds to
create groundbreaking new textures. The J37 is probably best known for its
role in the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sessions, when producer
George Martin, engineer Geoff Emerick and the band spent four months
Photo courtesy Bob Olhsson
Photo courtesy Studer
Photo courtesy Studer
Willi Studer presided over his
recording, editing, track bouncing and namesake company for more
mixing with two J37s manually synched than four decades.
in Abbey Road Studio Two. Soon the J37
would be found in nearly all of England’s major studios.
Studer recorders soon made it to the States. Recording and mastering
engineer Bob Olhsson, who spent much of the 1960s at Motown Records’
Hitsville U.S.A., recalls that the facility owned four of the first C37
machines in the country, and they played a major role in the recording
methods pioneered at the studio.
“The Studer C37s sounded incredible,” Olhsson says. “And their
extended, very flat low-frequency response allowed us to accomplish
extremely precise half-speed lacquer mastering at unprecedented cutting
levels for the amount of low-frequency information present.”
Studer continued to develop tape recorders for the next quarter-century.
In 1970, the company released the A80 professional studio tape recorder,
which was based on a new modular design concept. It was followed by the
A800, the first microprocessor-controlled recorder, in 1978, then the A820
in 1985. Studer’s first digital machines, the D820 and D820X, were released
in 1989; the D827 DASH recorder followed in 1993.
By the late 1980s and early 1990s, Studer was sharpening its focus on
digital technology, forming Studer Editech after buying Integrated Media
Systems, maker of the Dyaxis hard disk recording system. Other early
Studer digital products included the SFC16 sampling frequency converter,
DAD-16 disc cutting digital preview delay, the A725 CD player and the
TLS4000 synchronizer.
In 1990 Willi Studer, set to retire, sold the company to the Swiss Motor
Columbus Group, and in 1994, Studer was acquired by Harman. (The
Revox group was sold to private investors.)
By 1993, Studer had launched its first large-scale digital mixing console,
the D940. In 1995 the Swiss National Broadcasting Company’s first all-
digital broadcast system, based on the Studer D941 console and Studer
MADI router, went on air.
Studer continued to develop both analog and digital desks for broadcast
and live production, including the 928 analog console, the OnAir Series of
digital broadcast consoles that pioneered the Touch ’n’ Action user interface,
and the Vista Series, which features Vistonics “knobs in glass” technology. n
Left: Motown’s Hitsville U.S.A. had some of the first Studer C37 mono and stereo
1/4-inch machines in the United States. In the Mastering Room, an eight-track
mixing room, mono and stereo Studer C37s
flanked the console.
Inset: The Studer Vista 1 Black Edition, built for
broadcast, live sound and installation, combines
control surface with DSP, configurable I/O and
redundant power supplies.
mixonline.com | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | M I X 21
on the cover
Sound on
Sound Studios
The Legacy Lives on With a Bold Move to New Jersey
B
y 2016, Dave Amlen had finally had
it. He’d been a studio owner in New
York since 1987, starting with Sound on
Sound Recording, which later became Legacy
in partnership with Right Track Recording and
ended up as MSR after that partnership was
dissolved. Amlen had certainly prospered during
the boom years of the recording business in the
1990s and early 2000s; he also had witnessed the
decline from up close after 9/11, dropping further
after the 2008 financial meltdown.
Still, Amlen managed to keep his business
viable until about 2013, when the devastating
troika of the fall of the record business, the
maturity of the home studio and the skyrocketing
New York real estate market became too much.
What finally did him in was the sound of
22 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
By Mike Levine
jackhammers leaking into his control room from
7 a.m. to 11 p.m., six days a week, from the slow
demolition of a building that was just feet from
the outer wall of his studio in Times Square.
“We went from roughly a $2-million-a-year
business down to about three-quarters of a
million dollars,” Amlen says of the effect of the
construction noise. “It was a huge kick in the
ass.”
Feeling “battered and shell-shocked” when he
finally had to shutter MSR, Amlen sold off some
of his gear, put the rest in storage, and tried to
figure out what to do next. “I wasn’t ready to
call it quits,” he says, “so I held onto some stuff
that I might need for a smaller, smarter studio
in the future, which I figured was going to be in
Manhattan.”
OVER THE RIVER
Amlen quickly discovered that the commercial
real estate market had become so inflated that
there was just no way to find an affordable
location in New York City with enough space
to put his studio. But rather than giving up, he
began to ponder the idea of building a studio in
the New Jersey suburbs.
“I started to look at space and I realized that
a lot of my clients came from north and north-
central Jersey,” he says. “There were still clients
on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, but when
I talked to them informally, they told me, ‘Sure,
I’ll come out to Jersey.’ I realized that the asking
prices in Jersey were kind of like what they had
been in New York many years ago.”
Amlen found a location in Montclair, N.J., a
tree-lined suburb with a population of about
40,000, just 15 miles west of Times Square and
easily accessible by car, train and bus. “We have
lots of parking on premises,” Amlen explains.
“We are two blocks from the Bay Street train
station, which, unlike the other Montclair
stations, is open on weekends. You can also take
a bus from Port Authority that will literally drop
you off at the corner here, on Grove Street. So
you can drive, you can train, you can bus it, you
can Uber and Lyft it.”
As suburbs go, Montclair has an unusually large
population of creatives, including musicians,
songwriters, composers and engineers. It’s full
of New York City transplants, so it has a pretty
sophisticated vibe and even its own highly
regarded film festival.
David Amlen, left, and Tony Drootin at the Euphonix S5 console in the Studio B control room. Photo by Neil Grabowski
“From Maplewood all the way up through
Englewood, and all the towns in between,
Montclair being the most notable, you have this
hotbed of creativity,” says Amlen. “So the idea of
building a studio in Montclair didn’t scare me.
All of the producers and engineers I talked to
said, ‘We’re really positive about the idea if you
build a great facility outside of New York. You’re
going to have business.”
The new Sound on Sound is not the only major
New York facility to move across the river to New
Jersey. Mastering giant Sterling Sound recently
left its Manhattan headquarters and relocated
much of its operation to Edgewater, which is on
the Hudson River near the George Washington
Bridge. With real estate as expensive as it is in
New York, there are likely to be more to follow.
BUILD QUALITY
Construction began at Sound on Sound’s
Montclair location in the spring of 2017, and by
December the facility was complete. It contains
two main rooms: Studio A, which features a
1,250-square-foot live room with four iso booths,
a Yamaha Concert Grand, a Neve VR console in
the control room and much more. Studio B is a
600-square-foot live room with two iso booths,
a Yamaha C7 Concert Grand and a Euphonix S5
console. Both control rooms have Augspurger
three-way main monitors, along with Genelec

Background: Studio A at Sound on Sound Studios in Montclair, N.J., features

a 1,250-square-foot live room with four iso booths. Photo by Ticha Vichitlakakran mixonline.com | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | M I X 23
1031s, Yamaha NS-10s and a Genelec 1094 sub.
In his effort to make the new Sound on Sound
a leaner and meaner operation, Amlen opted
for a smaller outboard gear collection than he’d
had in his previous locations. He’s depending
more on plug-ins, fully stocking both studios,
with a special emphasis on the Universal Audio
collection. Back when he was still in New York,
Amlen says, he became sold on UAD.
“I started listening to them, and I said, ‘Oh
my God. You don’t need racks of the stuff for
mixing,” he recalls. “And most people, when they
were tracking, were being very purist: mic pre
into Pro Tools, and we’ll process it later.”
With the Neve and Euphonix consoles both
having excellent mic pre’s, Amlen brought over
just a small number of extra units, adding in
some essential outboard gear. He brought over
eight of his Neve 1081s.
“I kept some other mic pre’s for flavor,” he says.
“I kept a full dynamics rack. I literally said I wanted
12 channels of mic pre’s, EQ and compression.
Different flavors, but 12 full channels of that in
different permutations. But the console front-
end mic pre’s are amazing in both rooms. I’ve
engineered a couple of sessions every week since
we’ve opened. Whether it was a single voice, a full
ensemble, dozens of singers, multi-instruments,
whatever it’s been, I’ve mostly relied on the mic
pre’s on the console. Occasionally we’ll use the
1081s. The stuff sounds wonderful.”
STAFFING UP
One of the smartest additions Amlen made was
hiring veteran New York studio manager Tony
Drootin, who came aboard while the facility
was being finished. Drootin, who has years of
experience managing major New York facilities
like Sony Studios and Unique Recording, brought
his considerable expertise to the project.
“Tony has always been among the very select,
highly regarded studio managers who actually
know what they’re doing,” Amlen says. “The
clients love him, the studio ownership always
loved him. So he’s a rare breed.”
Drootin has been a key figure not only in the
day-to-day studio operations, but in helping to
bring in business.
“We’ve had some great projects here,” Drootin
says. “We’ve had a few from the city that actually
were quite high-profile, including [Broadway
actress] Renee Fleming with Leslie Odom Jr.
from Hamilton and classical producer David
Frost. We just had the Hell’s Kitchen Funk
Orchestra with Bill Warfield, Blue Lou [Marini]
24 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
The Studio A control room is centered around a Neve VR console.
and Paul Shaffer, which was a lot of fun to do.
We’ve had a lot of local rappers. DMC lives in
Wayne [a nearby town]. He’s a regular client of
ours. We’ve had Billy Drummond, Billy Hart—
you know, jazz legends. Jay Anderson. A lot of
local jazz projects. A lot of local rock projects.
We’re doing something with School of Rock
in Montclair, we’re doing something with Jazz
House Kids in Montclair.”
Drootin describes Sound on Sound as being
diverse in both its capabilities and its client base.
“We designed it to be quite formidable as a live-
tracking facility,” he says. “Out here we have the
luxury of having a larger space, and it sounds
great and looks great. Our clientele is diverse.
We have a podcast this weekend with nine
participants. We’re doing larger scripted podcast
series. We did a kids series. We’re starting to see
more local podcast companies and individuals
who are doing it.”
Due in no small part to the experience of
Amlen and Drootin, Sound on Sound has the
look and feel of a big-city facility, from the gold
and platinum records on the wall to the large-
format consoles and Augspurger monitors in
the control rooms. When getting ready to leave,
you almost expect you’ll be walking out into
Midtown Manhattan.
“I carried over a lot of the things that made
Sound on Sound a special facility and what made
MSR a special facility up to the end,” says Amlen.
“The rooms here are just a little smaller than
they were at MSR. We’re literally talking about
5 feet on a dimension, give or take. And they’re
also linked together with 48 mic or line-level
tielines. We have two great sounding rooms that
can link together, and we actually have a project
later this month where we’re going to do that.
It’s a big contemporary jazz ensemble recording
where they really want to utilize strings in one
room, horns in another, rhythm section here,
vocalists there. Everybody at the same time,
Photo by Neil Grabowski
but isolated. There’s no place that I know of
anywhere that can do that like we can.”
MOVING FORWARD
Despite all the great gear, well-designed rooms
and highly experienced personnel, the idea
of locating such a facility in the suburbs was
definitely a gamble, and a high-stakes one at
that. Would there be enough business to make
it viable?
The answer is, it’s too soon to tell. Amlen has
found the relocation surprising in some ways. “I
really thought we were going to have a lot more
of our New York base, and I didn’t expect that
the local scene would provide us with much
business,” Amlen says, “but the upshot is that it’s
sort of been the reverse.”
“We look at it as the train is just getting
rolling out of the station,” says Drootin. “We
would like to see more. We’ve made a facility
here that makes clients and artists in the New
Jersey area realize that we’ve brought a New York
commercial operation here, and they no longer
have to go to the city. What we’re hoping to do
is convince more people in New York that we are
incredibly easy to get to. And that’s our challenge.
Getting the New York business to realize that we
can be extremely competitive rate-wise; we are
very close, and have capabilities that rival some of
the facilities that still exist in Manhattan.”
But Drootin thinks they made a smart bet that
will pay off in the long term. “We look at it like
we got in when the timing was right,” he says.
“Because, quite honestly, it’s going to become
unmanageable to do business monetarily in
Manhattan, at least for recording facilities. You
can’t continue getting your rent doubled while
your rates are level.” n
Mike Levine, Mix technical editor-studio, is a
composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist
from the New York City area.
Two Consoles, One Surface
Frozen Fish Design Integrates Avid S6, Neve DFC, Euphonix System 5 Surfaces
By Jennifer Walden
S
tudios tend to hold onto their large-
format digital mixing consoles for a while
because upgrading a big-ticket item every
two years or so can be expensive. But facilities
still need to keep pace with technology, whether
to improve workflow for mix engineers or to
support emergent sound formats—or to simply
have tools that are a cut above the competition.
How can a studio stay current while still holding
onto their boards?
When the Avid S6 came out in 2013, it offered
re-recording mixers more comprehensive control
over Pro Tools sessions. Keeping mixes in-the-
26 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
The Frozen Fish Design hybrid AMS Neve DFC2/Avid S6 console at Goldcrest Films, London
box was already entrenched practice, and the
functionality of the S6 improved that workflow.
Many mixers jumped on board, including Oscar-
winning re-recording mixer Niv Adiri, who was
one of the S6’s early adopters. He liked the
option of having a different control surface for
different aspects of a mix.
“If you’re mixing effects, you might want to
use an Avid S6, and if you’re mixing music, you
might want to use the AMS Neve DFC,” he says.
“That’s what a lot of mixers do these days.”
When a studio didn’t have an S6, Adiri would
bring in his own and simply park it on top of
the studio’s existing console. It was a temporary
fix for what became a permanent staple in his
workflow. But stacking the two looked unsightly,
and it wasn’t very ergonomic; it also proved hard
to get at the console underneath. Like stacking
a Lego on top of a Mega Blok, the two mixing
surfaces just didn’t fit together.
“If you still want to use the main surface,”
Adiri laments, “then you have to put the S6 off
to the side, and that means you end up mixing
while looking sideways.”
Frozen Fish Design out of London, co-founded
by Glenn Haddock and Alan Frost and essentially
Photos courtesy Frozen Fish Design

Frozen Fish Design co-founders Alan Frost, left, and Glenn Haddock
unknown in the audio world, recognized the
problem and engineered a solution, dubbed
the Hybrid Integration System. In very simple
terms, HIS combines the Avid S6 with consoles
such as the AMS Neve DFC Gemini and the
Euphonix System 5, both popular in high-end
audio post-production, by placing the smaller
S6 components into DFC or System 5–sized
buckets.
“The DFC needs our HIS components to make
the Avid S6 modules fit,” Haddock explains. “But
for the Euphonix System 5, we had to completely
remake the buckets. I’d say that is the core of
this product, and it’s where our design and
manufacture skills have come into play.”
Frozen Fish Design is not an audio company
in the traditional sense, though it fits perfectly
into the modern recording industry paradigm of
digital/analog integration. As Haddock explains,
“We come from a much more bespoke world
of design for branding, product launches, car
shows, and even props for film and TV builds.
We design things from scratch, so we’re used
to this challenge of ‘I need this to do that,’ or ‘I
need to repurpose this to do something it wasn’t
originally designed for.’ We saw a deficiency in
this area of pro audio that no one was addressing,
this issue of having to put one console on top of
another in order to work with both consoles.”
The pieces combine into a congruent console
that looks as good as it feels. “We’re getting people
to understand and appreciate the ergonomics
of a console,” he says. “It’s not only about the
hardware; it’s how easy and comfortable it is to
work on. The ergonomics aren’t a last thought
anymore.”
Adiri adds, “Frozen Fish Design helped us
to look forward, literally, to look at the screen
directly in front of us by giving us the flexibility
to move our preferred surface in front of us.
They gave us the option to use different surfaces,
different controls, on one console desk.”
The company’s first hybrid console, installed
at Twickenham Studios, was a hit and was soon
followed by Goldcrest Films and Lipsync Post in
London, and RH Factor, Skywalker Sound and
20th Century Fox Studios in the U.S. Adiri has
mixed on Frozen Fish Design’s hybrid consoles
at several studios, including Pinewood Studios,
where he mixed the films Annihilation and
Adrift, and at Halo Post in London for the film
Paddington.
“Halo installed the hybrid console specifically
for Paddington because we asked for it,” Adiri
says. “Glenn [Haddock] did an amazing job of
integrating the S6 into the DFC 1 at Halo Post.”
Frozen Fish Design recently installed a hybrid
console at Wave Studios in Amsterdam—in one
evening.
“Their studio was Euphonix System 5 on
Thursday night, and by Friday morning we
had integrated a new Avid S6 into the basic
chassis of the Euphonix,” Haddock says. “The
technicians there were saying, ‘Great, we don’t
have to throw this away. We don’t have to try
to resell it and lose money on it.’ This is a better
way to reuse and repurpose consoles, bringing
them right up to date. Studios can upgrade to
the new equipment gradually. It can be more of
a thought-out process. They can integrate the
newer equipment into the older equipment, and
that gives the equipment a longer life.”
Frozen Fish Design’s bucket solution offers
more than integration. It gives studios the ability
to reconfigure their consoles to suit any re-
recording mixer’s preferences. The layout can
literally be made-to-order. That’s a huge draw
for high-end film mixers.
Simon Campbell, head of technical services
for Abbey Road Studios’ Mix Stage—a Dolby
Atmos Premier, DTS:X and IMAX audio
accredited film mixing studio—worked with
mixonline.com | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | M I X
The Frozen Fish Design hybrid
AMS Neve DFC Gemini and Avid S6 console
at Abbey Road Studios Mix Stage, London
Haddock on a console made entirely of buckets
to house both Avid S6 and AMS Neve DFC
Gemini components. According to Haddock,
the challenge was making sure the support
frame underneath could handle the flexibility
of unplugging any or all of the buckets and
swapping out more or fewer buckets of S6 and
DFC Gemini, all while keeping the look of a
complete console.
“Having the desk in a bucket style means we
can move it all around to suit our clients’ tastes,”
Campbell says. “The mixers will get in touch
and tell us what bits of desk they want where,
and who is sitting where, and what they’ll want
within arm’s reach, whether it’s more S6 or more
DFC. Then we slot it around accordingly. That
makes it flexible and easily adaptable to personal
preference, which hopefully makes the mixers
happy before they’ve even turned up.”
The custom design for Abbey Road
incorporates sliding picture monitor rails on
the back of the console desk. Haddock notes
that there was limited space at the back of
the console where all of the cabling and slide
mechanisms are located, “so we had to do a bit
of reworking there to make things fit,” he says.
The picture monitor rails will be retrofitted onto
other consoles at Abbey Road, including the
Neve 88Rs in Studio 1 and Studio 2, and onto the
SSL J-Series in Studio 3.
“At Abbey Road, we didn’t stop at HIS,”
Haddock adds. “We covered a range of
accessories and furniture, all designed and
engineered to improve the workflow of the mix
environment.” In fact, they’ve designed custom
console furniture for studios across the world,
including Soundsquare in Prague, Goldcrest
Post in NYC and VSI Berlin.
With the hybrid console challenge solved,
Frozen Fish Design is setting its sights on another
industry issue: how to mix while standing up. n
27
Scott Gershin and the
Meaning of Sound
Roots in Music, Career in Film, a Life of Interactive Storytelling
By Tom Kenny
O
n October 13, at the fifth annual Mix Presents Sound for Film &
Television event at Sony Pictures Studios, Scott Gershin will kick
the day off by delivering the Keynote Speech. His name might
not be on the nominee list for Best Sound Editing at the Oscars each year,
but his sounds have appeared across hundreds of films, a few of them
nominees, since he entered the world of sound design in the early 1980s.
He was a rock and roll musician out of Berklee College of Music with a
deep understanding of the emerging MIDI standard, a great love of tone
and an open, conceptual approach to storytelling.
Since then, few sound designers in the world can claim the variety and
types of A-list credits across as many mediums as Gershin. From films
such as Pacific Rim, Hellboy 2, Night Crawler, Chronicles of Riddick, Team
America, Shrek, Book of Life and American Beauty to major games such as
the Gears of War series, Epic Mickey, and Final Fantasy, the Resident Evil and
28 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
Photos courtesy Scott Gershin
Scott Gershin in his newly revamped sound design/mix suite.
Fable franchises. Gershin is equally at home in front of a roomful of game
designers and implementers at Game Developers Conference as he is on an
Oscar sound design panel at the Motion Picture Academy. He speaks the
language of sound, music and technology fluently.
So when Mix went looking for someone well-respected with a foot in
tradition and both hands in the future, someone who could address an
audience of peers and offer compelling insights into the changing nature
of workflow, the multi-release demands of modern media, the merging of
the big and small screens, and the coming of Virtual Reality/Augmented
Reality, we called Scott Gershin.
From his early days at the famed Soundelux, where his understanding
of the art and craft of sound design and sound supervision grew into
full maturity, to his recent stint as head of the Interactive Group at
Technicolor, and at all stops in between, Gershin’s curious mind and
obvious talents have kept him at the leading
edge of sound for picture. During our interviews
in mid-September he was finally able to talk
about his next venture, which has him thinking
worldwide and every bit as excited as he was
when he recorded and cut his first sound effects.
But first, about that Keynote Speech. We
asked Gershin for a few preliminary thoughts on
what he might like to say to a full house at the
Cary Grant Theater, what he’s discovering as he
bounces from Cubase to Pro Tools to the Wwise
console and Fmod game engine—and what it
means for storytellers, particularly sound story
tellers, in the coming years.
Mix: Let’s start with the brief-bio portion of the
interview, Scott, before moving into the future.
Music provided your entrance into sound, I
understand?
I come from a music background, but it was
slightly different in that I realized early on
that not only do I love notes and melody, but
I love tone. I’ve always been fascinated by how
they got that sound of an orchestra. Early on,
when people were listening to the Beatles, I was
listening to Yes, to Emerson Lake & Palmer. So,
I was always attracted to music that was rich in
tonal structure.
Then when I first saw Star Wars, I thought,
“Okay, I’ve now figured out what I want to do
with my life. I either want to become a visual
effects artist, or I want to go into sound. The
sound was so amazing. The two movies that set
me on my path were Star Wars, and Apocalypse
Now. When I heard the fan blades morph into the
Helicopter while playing Ride of the Valkyries ….
I just went, “Oh yeah.”
Those are two films that helped to redefine
how sound could work in film..
Absolutely. I have since learned that sound
design is used in two ways. One: creating great
creative sounds that open up new worlds of
possibilities, like the light saber in Star Wars, the
communication and language of R2D2, Darth
Vader’s ship-bys and all those amazing sounds
that came out of that film. Then the other
style, which is more Walter Murch, it’s not only
the sounds you choose or design, but how you
decide to use them. The Valkyries coming in off
the helicopters. The fan blades becoming the
helicopter. The accentuated footsteps of crossing
a large room in Hudsucker Proxy. It wasn’t just
about the individual sound, it was about how
each sound is used to help tell the story.
Gershin recording group walla in a bull ring in Mexico for the movie Book of Life
To me, designing sound for a project is like a
tango between dialog, sound design/effects and
music. In a music, sometimes it’s the sound of an
instrument, and sometimes it’s the melody that
stands out . The melody in sound design is how
you decide to use, or not use, a sound within any
given scene.
Here’s a good example: I supervised American
Beauty, and when I interviewed for the job, the
director, Sam Mendes, looked at me, looked at my
credits, looked at me again, a little perplexed and
said, “I’m a little confused. You’re an interesting
choice for me—everything you do is big, bold
and loud. This movie is not that.” So I said, “Well,
let me equate this to music. You can think of me
as a heavy metal guitar player, a musician, and
that’s what I’m known for. But I’m good at jazz,
too. So when I looked at the script, it’s not about
what I decide to put in, but what I decide not to
put in. It’s got to be a quiet movie, about negative
space. Its not about quantity, it’s about quality.
Like a fine wine, delicate… Every single sound
counts.” Ten minutes later while driving home
from the interview, I got the gig.
Quiet can be a lot harder to mix than loud, I
understand.
Silence is the loudest sound I can use. In a
soundtrack and mix, it always comes down
to detail and making things easy to listen to.
Just as a writer writes a script and a director of
photography captures a visual, the audio team
has different tools to use at different times of
a project. What do I mean? Well, in any film or
script you have an establishing shot, a visual.
“Where are we? I see we’re in a room, but is
that room in a modern city like NY or off a
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cobblestone street in old England.” So with
backgrounds, which I love to create, we have
audio’s version of an establishing shot.
The next thing you have to do is glue reality
making sure dialog doesn’t just float against the
music. Reality can come from many places, such
as from sound effects and Foley, to having a voice
and movement with the right amount of reverb
on it so that you buy they are in a room, not a set
. It’s about the phonograph in the corner of the
room. Is it scratchy? Is it new? All these kinds of
cues are part of the conversation, and they are
all tools that the sound supervisor, mixers and
director can use to tell the story.
I use sounds to create pace and timings.
Once you understand the rhythmical arc of a
scene, you can work to start sculpting the sound
to extract emotion. Sound really is all about
emotion, about how you feel. At the end of the
day, as a sound designer, supervisor or mixer, our
job is to be an audio psychologist, to understand
in any given scene how these sounds will make
an audience feel. Will you giggle, be sad, be
scared or feel triumphant?
Is that fundamental approach the same
whether it’s a film or a game?
Whether I’m doing a big screen, an interactive
title, a game, VR or AR, or a theme park ride,
my job is to convey one of two things at any
one time: the story and the experience. Some
things are much more story driven with regards
to a beginning, a middle and an end, and some
projects are about the experience. “How would
it feel to fly a spaceship?” It’s all about fantasy,
about being someone else, about experiencing
something else. I don’t care if you’re flying over
29
the Grand Canyon like a bird or if you are making
believe you’re a soldier in an interstellar battle
fighting aliens. Whatever it is, it’s taking a person
away from their daily life, for the time that you
have them, and have them experience something.
Does that mean you’re presenting them with
essentially one version of reality?
Our whole history has been ingesting our
entertainment as a voyeur, from the other side
of the window, whether it’s the proscenium of
a theater or the glass window of a TV. We are
always on the other side looking in. We watch
what’s in front of us.
Now there are other types of technologies,
which is more like what we used to do as
children, where we would watch the movie
and then go act it out on the playground. With
games and VR, you no longer have to go to the
playground. You can put on your goggles or play
a game, and now you are participating. This is
trickling into all forms of entertainment, and
right now I think we are at a fork in the road
like never before in terms of how we ingest our
entertainment. We’ve always been a passive
participant, and now we have the ability to be an
active participant.
What does that mean for a more traditional
sound editor or mixer? What do they need to
know before diving in?
In a film you have a fixed point from where the
directors and filmmakers have decided they’re
going to put the camera. In a game and in VR,
that is now about, “Where does the user want to
put the camera? Inside the car? From the back
of the car? On the front hood?” The player has
choices.
So again, each form of entertainment will
dictate how the experience will be experienced.
It’s not about what I want. It’s about what
sonic perspectives and opportunities there are.
So I now have to look at sound from all these
positions.
In film, I build elements based on the
perspective of the camera and a picture editor’s
cuts, but in a game or VR, there are no cuts and
no set perspective.
Here’s a good example of the difference.
When I go out to record guns, I use many, many,
many microphones based on perspective. In
film, the sequence of events will always be the
same, it’s a linear format. However, in games,
when someone is running at me with a gun.
I have to design for all possibilities. So in the
30 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
distance, I could hear distant gun report. As an
opponent gets closer, I’ll hear more perspective
differences such as the thud of the gun shot,
then as the opponent gets closer, a high-end
crack. Then as it gets really close, I’ll start to hear
mechanisms and bullet ejects. Or if I run away,
that scene will play totally different. The user is
controlling perspective.
In games there are parameters and conditions.
I’m telling the game engine that when you get
to this distance, I want to trigger these sets
of sounds and not these sounds. Then at this
distance I want to hear these, but not these.
Etc. I’m having to build the complexity as if I’m
moving a listener anywhere within that sonic
space—at a distance we trigger a set of samples,
add acoustical attributes based on the distance,
perhaps apply EQ and compression, and as it
gets closer add different sets of samples.
Different acoustical applications change
in real-time parameters based on the player’s
perspective to any given object. These are things
we would do automatically on a mixing console,
but we’re now getting the computer to do it
based on where our taste is, based on players
perspective.
Remember, in games and VR, there is no static
mix! And that is the tricky part, because the
parameters of a mix have to start somewhere.
It can be based on distance, it can be based on
height. There are so many things you can define,
and then you have to have the tools to help you.
Like we have Pro Tools for linear, there are tools
like Wwise, Fmod, and custom programs for
interactive entertainment.
Let’s jump to the present-future. Before they
had shuttered the rooms at Technicolor this
summer, you had lines on a new gig, doing what
you do and maintaining the variety. Can you
talk about it now?
I have just joined a new company which will
be announced shortly. I’ll be working out of
the same room as when I was with Technicolor
with the same crew, just a different name on
the door. It’s a fascinating company in that
it is very flat and spread around the world,
with approximately 6,000 employees. It’s about
the clients and the content, not about giant
structures in a centralized place. We want to
be where our clients are. L.A. is a new territory
for them. They come from the gaming world
supplying localization, testing, technology and
graphic design. Now they are expanding into
other forms of entertainment with additional
Gershin records airplane sounds
for Chronicles of Riddick.
services, and I look forward to being part of the
team that grows the L.A. market.
I presume that means films, games, VR/AR and
all future experiences?
I feel that VR was kind of exciting there for a
second, and now it’s gotten a little bit timid
as we wait for the technology to catch up.
When VR first came out it was overhyped and
rushed to market. people were only seeing
cardboard with low-quality images that looked
like their childhood TV. It can’t compete with
their new 4k OLED, HDR television in their
homes. Eventually the technology will catch up.
The most exciting thing on the VR side for
me right now is the theme park industry. That
is where you have goggles and mobile PC on
backpacks. These systems have haptics, where
you have things you can touch and feel. So
they’re using fans for winds and even technology
for smell. I did a project called Tree where we
manipulated your senses. The Void has great
titles where you can experience these things. You
can grab a weapon, open a drawer, walk across
a plank between buildings. And you believe it
because the plank is wobbly. There are some
great experiences out there, where we’re getting
close to being on a holodeck. That’s very exciting.
AR, in the meantime, has a lot of everyday
tools that people are going to like, such as, “I
was thinking about buying a couch.” You could
photograph the room and overlay the couch in
that corner. The value of that is huge. Think of
education for sound engineers. I want to learn
the Avid S6, I reach out for a button and an
overlay is there and you say, “Ah! That’s what
that button does.” Medical is very exciting.
Doctors can start with visuals in an overlay of
where or how they might have to operate. We
can start understanding that there are so many
great opportunities for this technology.
And they all need audio.
And they all need good audio. And good stories
and experiences. n
 TechHAFLER P3100 STUDIO POWER AMPLIFIER
150 Watts Per Channel Yields Open Sound, Pinpoint Detail, Tight Lows
By Michael Cooper
F
or almost 20 years now, I’ve used
the discontinued Hafler P3000
amplifier to power my Yamaha
NS10M Studio and DAS Monitor-8 passive
nearfields, nervously watching suitable
replacement amps exit the market as active
monitors became de rigueur. So I was
thrilled when Radial Engineering bought
the dormant Hafler brand in 2014 and soon
thereafter announced the new Hafler P3100.
TRANSCENDENT
The 2-channel P3100 uses a refined
version of Hafler’s patented Trans•Nova
(TRANSconductance Nodal Voltage
Amplifier) circuitry. Employing high-speed
lateral MOSFETs at the amp’s outputs, this
design reduces the audio path—employing
only three gain stages—and removes the need
for elaborate protection schemes that would
otherwise degrade the amp’s pristine sound.
The circuit’s latest iteration uses a toroidal
transformer, resulting in tighter bass-band
reproduction and less potential for induced
noise from external electrical sources
compared to when using a conventional
E-lam transformer. According to Hafler’s
design engineer, the amp’s unusually high
biasing assures very clean low-level sound—
especially important for mixing and mastering
work. The amp runs pure Class-A up to about
5 watts and Class-AB at higher levels.
Like the P3000, the P3100 can drive a
pair of monitors with 150 watts RMS per
channel into 8 ohms or 200 watts RMS into
4 ohms; alternatively, you can bridge the
amp’s two output channels for 400 watts
RMS of mono power to drive a subwoofer
or—using two P3100s—two large monitors
having at least 8 ohms impedance.
34 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.com
MIX502.tech_section.indd 34
The P3100’s attractive front panel includes level trims, LED meters and indicators, and a sturdy power switch.
The P3100 needn’t be placed in an iso or
closet: 34 oversized heatsinks (identical to
those used in the legacy P3000) flank the
amp’s sides and provide passive convection
cooling that, along with vented top and
bottom chassis, eliminate the need for an
internal fan. Four sturdy feet—2 inches
in diameter and a half-inch tall—provide
ventilating clearance for the bottom chassis
with tabletop installation; they can be
removed to snugly rackmount the 2RU amp.
Like the P3000, the P3100 weighs 23 pounds.
On the P3100’s beautiful front panel,
a sturdy, rocker-style soft-start (time-
delayed) power switch protects monitors
from damaging pops and thumps when
powering up. Two continuously variable
rotary knobs let you independently adjust
(from +14 to +29 dB) respective gain for
left and right channels, which is critical
in asymmetrical rooms that reinforce one
monitor over another.
Metering has been greatly improved over
the P3000, which would be expected after
20 years: Multicolored ballistic LEDs (11 per
channel) show levels, idle status (powered
up, but no signal present) and clipping at
the P3100’s outputs. Two other LEDs (legacy
holdovers) light up if an electrical fault or
excessive heat is detected, in which case the
reviews
P3100 will automatically shut down.
All connections are made on the P3100’s
rear panel. Each channel provides a balanced
XLR line input, with a ground lift switch
that disconnects Pin 1 when engaged; two
RCA jacks for unbalanced line-level I/O (the
output runs parallel to the input and can be
used to send the source signal to another
destination); a switch that selects which
input to use; and gold-plated binding posts
for wiring the amp’s speaker outputs to your
monitors, accommodating any cable size up
to 6AWG. I was disappointed to find that the
XLR/TRS combo jack shown on prototypes
was replaced by a less-adaptable XLR.
Engaging a mono switch feeds both
speaker outputs from the left channel,
for bridged operation. Another switch
allows 115V or 230V operation worldwide
and features a security cover to prevent
accidental adjustment. Yet another switch,
this one suitably recessed, disables the LED
level indicators on the front panel. An
IEC power receptacle accepts the included
14-gauge (beefy!), grounded, 6-foot AC
cable. The P3100 has a three-year warranty.
AUDIO PERFORMANCE
The P3100’s full-power bandwidth is cited
to be 0.15 Hz to 300 kHz (+0/-3 dB). THD is
9/19/18 2:10 PM

Each channel provides a balanced XLR line input, two RCA jacks for unbalanced line-level I/O, a switch that
selects which input to use, and gold-plated binding posts.
less than 0.01 percent from 1 watt to 85 percent
of rated power, and signal-to-noise is said to be
102 dBA—significant improvements over the
legacy P3000’s specs. Other specs match those
for the P3000: The slew rate—in practical terms,
an indicator of how fast the amp will respond
to transients—is an impressive 100 volts per
microsecond. The damping factor (the ability of
the amp to control unwanted motion in a speaker
cone at its resonant frequency, most important
in the bass range) is also very impressive: 400 up
to 1 kHz, 200 between 1 and 10 kHz, and 18 from
10 to 100 kHz. To get the best sonic performance
from your P3100, it is recommended that you let
it warm up for an hour before critical use.
Noah Scot Snyder
“The m108 is so universally useful and sonically
impeccable that I can hardly imagine an engineer or
studio who would not benefit from owning one.”
noahscotsnyder.com
MIX502.tech_section.indd 35
Quiet when idling, the P3100 provided
my nearfields with plenty of clean power—in
fact, way more than was needed to listen at
reasonable levels. In my recording and critical
listening sessions, the P3100 subjectively had
the same essential sound—open, natural and
unrestrained—as its discontinued predecessor,
the P3000. The amp’s spectral balance sounded
honest, with clear midrange reproduction and
smooth highs that allowed many hours of
listening without fatigue.
Low frequencies sounded very focused, a
hallmark of the Hafler Trans•Nova sound;
listening with the P3100, you likely won’t be
making misguided adjustments to tighten up
learn more at gracedesign.com
PRODUCT SUMMARY
COMPANY: Hafler
PRODUCT: P3100
WEBSITE: www.hafler.com
PRICE: $2,000
PROS: Very open, balanced and natural sound.
Yields impressively tight lows and transient
detail. Passive cooling (no noisy fan). Multi-
segment level meters and fault indicators.
CONS: No TRS inputs.
kick drum and bass guitar tracks that don’t need
them. Transient reproduction was superb—
extremely detailed, yet not harsh—no doubt
due to the P3100’s exceptional slew rate. Using
an amp like the P3100 that responds so quickly to
drum hits and string plucks, you’re less likely to
reach for transient shapers and high-frequency
EQ boost when they’re not needed. The P3100’s
stereo imaging and depth of field were also both
excellent, allowing accurate pan adjustments
and creating an enjoyable, immersive experience.
The P3100 is an all-around excellent studio
power amp. If, like me, you’re a fan of Hafler
Trans•Nova amps’ highly detailed sound and
tight low end, you’ll love the new P3100. n
9/19/18 2:10 PM
 Tech // reviews

LEAPWING AUDIO DYNONE VERSION 2

Mastering-Level, Multiband Parallel Processor with 5-Band Linking
By Barry Rudolph

C
o-founded by Belgian mastering engineer Robin Reumers,
coder Jeroen Dreessen and technical engineer Emiliano
Caballero, Leapwing Audio has released DynOne version
2, a 64-bit multiband parallel processor mastering plug-in. It is the
company’s second plug-in, joining CenterOne Spatial. They both come
as VST, VST3, and AU and AAX Native versions for both PCs and Macs.
DynOne offers a fresh look at the multiband compression/
expansion process, with a choice of either Parallel or Normal
operation. In either mode, each of the five bands has its own gain
reduction/expansion meter and a fader for setting the level of that
band’s contribution to the finished sound. In addition, the five
band-faders link together, with the ability to link/unlink any one of
them individually. I found that this feature, along with being able
to solo any band, made it easy to build a particular tonal “shape.”
The five bands have custom-built crossover filters with non-
harmonically related frequencies centered at 160 Hz, 800 Hz, 4
kHz and 11 kHz. There is a choice between linear phase filters called
Ultra Quality (default) and Low Latency.
Ultra Quality adds a concomitant jump in CPU usage and
increased latency; it measured 4,096 samples at 44.1 kHz, using
256-samples hardware buffer size in Pro Tools HDX 2018.7. The Low
Latency mode had 65 samples latency and much less CPU usage
and was the mode I used primarily on individual tracks in a mix.
With larger track count mixes and many other plug-ins running,
I found myself using larger hardware buffer sizes than I normally bands range from 300 ms to 400 ms.
do—mostly because of my old and slow 2010 8-core Mac Pro tower. When adjusting these settings, the Crest Factor calculation is
considered; it would be great to see a visualization of CF in the GUI
MASTERING THE CONTROLS somehow. New to all this, I found that trying DynOne on individual
Each of the five bands has a separate drop-down control panel tracks in a mix was the best way to teach myself and understand
with its own set of adjustable compressor parameters; you can these controls. There are also 29 presets you can load and modify
type in numeric values as well. Threshold ranges from -60 dB to 0 to taste, and those told me a lot when getting started.
dB, and the continuous ratio slider goes from 20:1 down to 0.80:1. In the Global window you may select either Parallel (default)
(Compression ratios below 1:1 are actually upward expansion ratios.) or Normal operation, and there is a crossfader to set for using
There are also Attack and Release controls for each band—dual either RMS (default) or Peak
faders with upper and lower handles to set a range of optimized attack detection—or anywhere in PRODUCT SUMMARY
and release time settings based on that band’s Crest Factor calculation. between. The Channel Linking COMPANY: Leapwing Audio
Crest Factor is the ratio between peak and RMS values of audio signals, fader sets how much the five PRODUCT: DynOne Dynamics Plug-In v2
and each band in DynOne has its own Crest Factor calculator. bands’ gain reduction actions WEBSITE: www.leapwingaudio.com
For all five bands, attack time ranges from 0 ms to 800 ms, and are linked together. DynOne’s PRICE: $199 MSRP, 30-day trial available
release times range from 5 ms to 800 ms. Leapwing specifies 0 ms five stereo compressors can act PROS: Super clean and clear; precise.
attack time because the plug-in uses a (look-ahead) buffer. The independently in 100 percent CONS: CPU-intensive, GUI needs some work.
initialized default attack time and release times for each of the five Stereo Mode, or you can slide

36 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.com

MIX502.tech_section.indd 36 9/19/18 2:10 PM

 the Channel Linking fader toward 0 percent for multi-mono (default) linking.
The Weighting fader controls the sum of a weighted combination of the five frequency
bands on total gain reduction. Move the Weighting fader all the way left to Single Band and
none of the bands are weighted. The fader can go all the way right for All Bands contributing.
I left it at 50 percent (default), where all bands have equal weight.
I certainly found Linking and Weighting to be useful parameters when compressing
individual tracks, especially on vocals, kick drum, snares and bass—sources that do not
have the spectral complexity of a full music mix. For example, you can “squash” the low
frequencies of a kick drum and keep the rest of the sound, with the ambience and air intact.
IN STUDIO, IN ACTION
I installed the 64-bit DynOne AAX Native version in my Pro Tools HDX rig. When you first
insert DynOne, it defaults to Ultra Quality, which could be a nagging problem in big sessions
with CPU overloading. I would rather it default to Low Latency.
My first impression on the first track was that DynOne is extremely clean, clear and
transparent, without typical compressor/limiter coloration or artifacts.
The first track was a problematic lead vocal with crazy dynamics and sketchy enunciation.
I used the Low Latency mode. I liked to shift-click for soloing any band(s)—very handy,
although I could use a solo clear button, plus it is hard to see which bands are not in solo.
With some careful tweaking and constant comparison, I got my singer loud, clean and
clear but not dulled-out and squashed-sounding. I used Parallel mode but not Auto Gain.
I also used expansion ratios in the HF and LF bands—an awesome new discovery for lead
vocals! Dynamically expanding the top and bottom frequencies of a vocal track is my
new secret weapon for getting a compact and controlled midrange for cutting big music
productions that become “fat” and airy at the same time.
Precision Studio Design Featuring the off (but on later), and Normal mode (Parallel mode off)
TEC Award-Winning
PhantomFocus™ MixRoom™Concept
shop.carltatzdesign.com The Upper Deck - Nashville, TN listen, the sound might appear too subtle in its control
carl@carltatzdesign.com (615) 400-5479 www.carltatzdesign.com can highly recommend for both mastering and mixing. n
MIX502.tech_section.indd 38
DynOne will do a complete reconstruction of a kick
drum. Here, I wish the low frequencies had a switch to put
the 160 Hz band down an octave so the subsonic frequencies
could be better sculpted. But I was able to compress at 160
Hz and then expand the upper frequencies. Auto Gain was
useful here, and I tried both Low Latency and Ultra Quality
and found no significant difference.
I then tried my hand at mastering using Ultra Quality
on a country song I had mixed, starting with Auto Gain
for my first trials. Generally, I used very low ratios and
auditioned each of the five bands in solo to see if I could
maximize their sound quality.
I was able to make it loud, super clean and clear, bright
and crystalline—even go overboard—yet I never heard
any ugly distortion. I used expansion on the 11 kHz band,
8:1 ratio on the MF band, Global detection was toward
Peak (76 percent) and Weighting was 28 percent toward
Single Band. In the hands of a skilled mastering engineer,
DynOne could be magical. I liked Band Auto Gain but
with all bands on or off.
I found good use for DynOne in cleanly shaping any
source. Thicken up direct guitars, remix the bottom
end of a drum loop in any way without distortion, or
straighten out a synth pad track to fit into your track.
My only beefs? The plug-in reads both input and
output levels in LUFS, but the values—along with the
frequency bands’ values—are too dark and hard to read.
(They are lighter blue over dark blue background!) The
band fader handles could be a little larger, and the band
meters don’t show gain reduction, only level. Finally,
there are no band mute buttons.
Still, DynOne is extremely clean and clear and, at first
and effect. Just remember, it is a precision tool, one that I
M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | m ixonline .c om
9/19/18 2:10 PM
AES Preview // new products
RECORDING
Universal Audio Apollo X Series
New Range of Thunderbolt 3 Rackmount Audio Interfaces
Universal Audio has been busy this year, with a host of new UAD
plug-ins announced and an expansion into live sound with the
UAD-2 Live Rack MADI Effects Processor. AES attendees can
see the new Apollo X Series of Thunderbolt 3 rackmount audio
interfaces for Mac and Windows. Featuring all-new, elite-class A/D
and D/A conversion and HEXA Core UAD plug-in processing—
yielding 50 percent more DSP for running UAD Powered Plug-Ins
in real time—the Apollo X range can run Unison mic preamp
models from Neve, Manley, API, Helios and SSL, and includes
selectable +24 dBu operating levels, and comprehensive Surround
Sound monitoring support for 5.1 and 7.1 formats. Each available
configuration—Apollo x6 (16x22, 2 preamps), Apollo x8 (18x24, 4
preamps), Apollo x8p (18x22, 8 preamps) and Apollo x16 (18x20, with
16 channels of analog I/O via DB-25)—comes with “Realtime Analog
Classics Plus” UAD plug-ins: 610-B Tube Preamp and EQ, legacy
LA-2A, 1176, and Fairchild compressors, Pultec EQs, Marshall Plexi
Classic, Ampeg SVT-R Classic Bass Amp and more.
Waves Abbey Road Chambers Plug-In
Captures That Legendary EMI Echo
Waves will no doubt have
plenty of eyes and ears on
its Abbey Road Chambers
plug-in, which re-creates a
defining part of the studios’
legendary sonic signature:
the echo chamber used
to create reverbs, delays
and other unique spatial
effects on countless classic
recordings by The Beatles and others.  Users get the controls to
the Studio Two echo chamber, complete with the original valve
Neumann KM53 microphones and Altec 605 speaker. Also featured
is a complete re-creation of Abbey Road Studios’ original S.T.E.E.D.
(Send. Tape. Echo. Echo. Delay.) setup, a system designed to extend
the chamber’s natural sonic palette by splitting the signal and
creating a feedback loop from the studio’s REDD desk, through
a dedicated tape delay, via the RS106 and RS127 filters, and then
to the chamber and back.  A second set of filters is included as
well. The plug-in also includes two other legendary spaces: Abbey
Road’s famed “Mirror Room,” and the “Stone Room” from Olympic
Studios, London.
40 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
iZotope RX Standard, Elements
Audio Repair Tools Aimed at Musicians
The seventh generation of RX, a family
of audio repair and enhancement
software, builds on the company’s
strengths in post-production and adds
RX 7 Standard and RX Elements, aimed
at solving musicians’ unique audio
issues. RX 7 Standard includes: Repair
Assistant (noise, clipping, clicks and more, with three suggestions
for quick fixes), Music Rebalance (performs source separation
by intelligently identifying vocals, bass, percussion and other
instruments) and Remove/Isolate Vocals (for creating instrumental
versions of songs by removing the vocal elements, or isolating the
vocal to prepare a remix). RX Elements has been updated with a
streamlined version of Repair Assistant, offering a single repair
suggestion with a choice of three intensity levels.
Vienna Symphonic Library Smart Orchestra
A Full Range of Instruments at Your Fingertips
The Vienna Symphonic Library has
released the Vienna Smart Orchestra,
a complete package that offers a large
orchestra and additional organic FX
textures, mapped over the entire range
of the keyboard. It comes with the new
Vienna Synchron Player for playing all
the main sections of the orchestra—
strings, woodwinds, brass, mallets,
drums and percussion—together or
separately, with the possibility to add
selected solo instruments and adjust the levels of each ensemble.
A convolution reverb, featuring the acoustics of Synchron Stage
Vienna, is integrated in the player’s multichannel mixer, resulting
in balanced sound right out of the box. The package provides a large
140-piece orchestra with full dynamics, ready to play. Included FX
presets provide a source of inspiration elements for creating hybrid
soundscapes and organic textures.
Neutrik NA2-IO-DLINE
Line I/O Dante Interface Brings Analog to a Network
Neutrik keeps putting out quality
connections, year after year. At AES,
the company is featuring its NA2-
IO-DLINE Line I/O Dante Interface.
A 2-in/2-out device, the NA2-IO-
DLINE simultaneously converts
analog signals to Dante and Dante to analog. Genuine Neutrik
input and output XLRs, along with a locking etherCON connector, provide
professional-level connectivity. Four LED indicators provide network
status as well as DANTE SYS and SYNC status. Optional mounting
brackets and rackmount panels are available for attaching the NA2-IO-
DLINE to floors, walls, tables or racks. With the ability to transmit signals
up to 100 meters via Cat 5e cable, the NA2-IO-DLINE functions with
nearly any network switch that provides Power over Ethernet or else a PoE
injector. The NA2-IO-DLINE is AES67-compliant.
TASCAM Model 24 Recorder/Mixer/Interface
SD Card, 100mm Faders for Studio or Live
The versatile Model 24, equally at
home in studio or on stage, offers
24 tracks of 24-bit, 48 kHz audio
capture (22 channels and a stereo
main mix) and 22 playback tracks
via either USB 2.0 or to the unit’s
onboard SD Card recorder. The SD
Card recorder offers quick, easy,
one-touch recording and includes transport controls, auto and manual punch
in/out, and overdub capability, with a built-in 22-channel mixer with 100mm
long-throw faders. The two monitor returns, subgroup bus, and stereo main
bus also are equipped with dedicated 100mm faders. The Model 24 offers 12
mono channels, each with XLR mic and 1/4-inch line inputs; 1/4-inch channel
inputs 1 and 2 can be switched between line and instrument level, enabling
users to plug in a guitar or bass, and feature a 1/4-inch TRS insert point. You
also get four stereo channels with mono XLR mic and left and right 1/4-inch
line inputs. All 16 microphone inputs sport a preamp gain control and an
overload (clip) indicator for the channel’s premium TASCAM microphone
preamp. Each of the first 20 channels includes mute and PFL solo.
Prism Sound SADiE 6 Software
Workflow Enhancements, 64-Bit Support for CEDAR Plugs
SADiE 6.1 software introduces a
number of enhancements for a
more seamless user experience
and project workflow. Available
as a 64-bit version of SADiE 6
for native operation and also
for the SADiE BB2 Radio Editor
system and LRX2 Flexible
Location Recorder, SADiE v6.1.13 delivers an update to the system’s core
so that all are fully compatible with Windows 10. The Mastering Suite
and Sound Suite versions of SADiE v6.1.13 offer WAV Master, ASIO Direct
Monitoring and native support for timecode. ASIO Direct Monitoring is
available in the Sound Suite version, while native LTC support is offered
in the Mastering, Post and Sound Suite versions. Other feature updates
include support for playback and recording to RF64 format and 64-bit
support for the Cedar Retouch, Declick, Decrackle, Dethump plug-ins. The
new software is available as a free download to any existing SADiE 6 users.

Built on a Legacy,
Designed to Inspire
P3100 Power Amplifier
Delivering the mix to your ears in
the most musical way imaginable

The key component of professional recording studios for over 40 years www.hafler.com
Audio-Technica  Series to 15 Hz with output in excess of 130 dB SPL. The 7382 also works with
Third-Generation, True-Diversity UHF Wireless System GLM software to control bass management and solve issues of subwoofer
Audio-Technica will show its placement in unpredictable rooms.
third generation 5000 Series
Frequency-Agile True Diversity Sommer Cable SC-Micro Duo Aramid
UHF Wireless Systems, Shielded Twin-Pair Design for Hanging Stereo Mics
designed for use anywhere from With the advances in networking
touring to houses of worship. technologies, quality cables and
The new dual receiver includes connectors can make a huge difference
the company’s dual-compander in all kinds of situations, including at
circuitry that processes high the mic. Sommer Cable is introducing
and low frequencies separately, the new SC-Micro Duo Aramid shielded twin pair cable for safely hanging
with a tuning bandwidth of 148 MHz: 470-608 MHz and 653-663 MHz stereo microphones. Aramid consists of synthetic polymers, related to
(duplex gap). The full-rack chassis houses two independent receivers and nylon, that yield fibers of exceptional strength and thermal stability.
offers antenna power, frequency scan, IR sync functionality, a ground-lift Compared to steel ropes, the aramid fibers have no negative impact on
switch and a front-panel headphone jack. A second model adds Dante the cable’s audio transmission quality. The low-capacitance SC-Micro Duo
connectivity. Up to eight 5000 Series receivers can be cascaded to a Aramid is AES/EBU and DMX capable (110 ohms), and the concentrically
single pair of antennas. The 5000 Series offers body-pack and handheld braided OFC wires ensure an optimized, neutral transmission.
transmitters, both featuring rugged, ergonomic metal bodies, highly visible
dual-mode OLED screens and switchable RF power (2 mW/10 mW/50 mW). Soundtheory Gullfoss
Intelligent EQ Modeled on the Human Brain
Genelec Two-Way S6A, 2A Sub Soundtheory’s Gullfoss is an
High-SPL Smart Active Monitors Designed to Play Loud intelligent equalizer with a
Genelec will show its new high- sophisticated algorithm that has
SPL Smart Active Monitors— modeled what the human brain
the two-way S360A and the likes to hear. The user can set and
7382A subwoofer. The S360 adjust parameters to the incoming
SAM features a 10-inch signal, utilizing EQ changes in
high-efficiency woofer and tremendous number and frequency
1.7-inch titanium diaphragm (up to 100 times per second) and increase the perception of clarity,
compression tweeter, with space and dimension—and all that without latency, artifacts or phase
a short-term SPL capability destruction. The advanced computational auditory perception model
of 118 dB and a long-throw makes objective processing decisions to make mixes more consistent
capability that can provide reference-quality accuracy at greater than 33 feet. between different listening situations. Additionally, Gullfoss eliminates
The 7382 SAM Studio Subwoofer houses three custom-designed 15-inch annoying resonances and cancellations and retains dynamics and reduces
long-throw woofers, said to deliver precise low-frequency extension down the need for multiband compression.

SOUND REINFORCEMENT with Yamaha CL and QL Series digital mixing consoles.

Steinberg Nuendo Live 2 Lectrosonics SPDR

Multitrack Recording from Corporate to HOW to Festivals
A month before AES, Steinberg
announced the immediate
availability of Nuendo Live 2,
offering intuitive ease of use, rock-
solid stability and outstanding
audio quality—32-bit floating-
point processing and up to 192 kHz
resolution. A new meter view shows
32, 64, 96, 128 or 160 meters at once; the enhanced track view feature now
displays the meter bridge on the bottom of the screen, with up to 64 tracks.
Users will no doubt appreciate the all-new Advanced Session Management,
with auto-naming of recorded files, multiple folder creation, easy-to-use
marker track, auto-save and notepad. Nuendo Live seamlessly integrates
All-Day, Dual-Channel Recording at 48/96 kHz
Lectrosonics, which made a big splash last year at AES
by announcing its entrance into the live sound market
with the Duet M2 digital in-ear monitor system, is back
again with the SPDR, a stereo version of its acclaimed
PDR micro digital recorder. Designed for use in ENG,
film and video production, as a backup recorder, or
for personal use, the SPDR records to a  microSDHC
memory card in Broadcast Wave format (WAV with
iXML metadata) and 24-bit depth, at 48 kHz or 96 kHz
sample rates. (A 32 GB memory card allows almost 30 hours of recording
time at 48 kHz.) The unit can accept inputs from analog line level and AES
digital sources, or from lav microphones wired for standard Lectrosonics
5-pin “servo bias” inputs. The SPDR has an external power input with

42 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
internal battery switchover (two AA batteries). A high-quality headphone
output is provided for playback and monitoring.
Sanken CS-M Shotgun Microphone
Small Profile Fits in the Tightest Locations
Sanken Microphones will be introducing
the new CS-M1 super cardioid shotgun
microphone to AES attendees. From
professional boom pole TV and film location
recording to DSLR camera-mounted
applications, the short-shotgun (4 inches
long, less than 2 ounces) CS-M1 delivers
pristine quality audio with sharp directivity. Its small body is unobtrusive,
making it ideal for tight mic situations. It is rugged and dependable, with
a wide range of applications where sound clarity and noise rejection are
critical requirements. Its unique components assure optimum resistance
to humidity and adverse temperature changes.
Zaxcom ZMT-Phantom 2
Re-Engineering of a Classic Wireless
Transmitter
Zaxcom will be showing its re-engineered
ZMT3-Phantom wireless transmitter,
the ZMT3-Phantom 2. The new model
supports both balanced phantom-powered
The NEW B80 BMB4 MOTHERSHIP with Waves SoundGrid features an
Ethernet port for 64 I/O per MOTHERSHIP Chassis. SoundGrid is an
audio-over-ethernet networking and processing technology developed
by Waves. SoundGrid provides extremely low-latency, high-channel
count audio processing for studio recording, live sound, and other real-
time professional audio applications.
microphones as well as compatible lavaliers. The original lightweight
transmitter was designed for the top of the boom pole instead of the
bottom, and accepted only condenser, dynamic or ribbon microphones.
The Phantom 2 supports 12V, 24V, 36V and 48V balanced microphones and
3.3V lavalier microphones at the same size, weight and power consumption
of the previous model. The new unit touts 100 percent digital transmission
that’s described as rivaling hardwired audio without compander, noise
reducer, limiter or compressor distortion.
Dan Dugan Sound Design Model E-2A
New Automatic Microphone Mixing Controller
Dan Dugan Sound
Design will show the
new Model E-2A, an
automatic microphone
mixing controller with
analog and ADAT I/O. The E-2A incorporates 28 channels of processing
(12 balanced analog, 16 ADAT) and supports all Dugan algorithms: Speech
System, Music System and Gain Limiting. Channels may be grouped into
three independent automixers. A six-bus pre/post matrix mixer is also
provided, with 56x6 capability. Four switched Ethernet ports are available
for control. The Model E-2A may be controlled remotely via the Dugan
Control Panel for Java (included) or the Dugan Control Panel for iPad
(sold separately); tactile remote control is available via the Dugan Model K
Control Surface, also sold separately. ■
B80 BMB4
MOTHERSHIP
WITH WAVES SOUNDGRID
BMB4 SOUNDGRID FEATURES:
• 1 SOUNDGRID ETHERNET PORT
• 2 BNC WORD CLOCK OUTPUTS
• 1 BNC WORD CLOCK INPUT
• 64 I/O AT 44.1k, 48k, 88.2k and 96k
BURLAudio.com
AES Preview // education guide

THE MIX GUIDE TO EDUCATION AT AES

AES has always been a great place to meet your peers, see all the new gear and learn from the best in the business. This year is no different,
and the educational program is comprehensive and massive. To help you navigate your way, we’ve highlighted a few select panels that are
of interest either because of the topic or the presenters (both, in some cases).
If you want to see the whole, very large enchilada, you can see it online at www.aes.org/events/145/program.

Photos by johnstaleyphoto.com
ARCHIVING & RESTORATION:
AR—Archiving and Best Practices for Modern Production
Workflows
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Chair: Konrad Strauss, Indiana University (Bloomington, Ind.)
Panelists:
• Chuck Ainlay, METAlliance (Nashville, Tenn.)
• Maureen Droney, The Recording Academy (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Michael Romanowski, Coast Mastering (Berkeley, Calif.);
The Tape Project
While technology has democratized music creation, the abundance
of recording formats and the rate at which technology evolves
present a dizzying array of choices to the artist. Additionally, many
artists are working outside the music industry pipeline, reaching
their audience directly via online portals. In effect, they are their
The legendary Leslie Ann Jones returns to AES
own curators, preserving their artistic output.
this year to share more of what she has learned.
The Producers and Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy
recently revised their “Recommendations for Delivery of Recorded to move close and even around audio sources with a high degree of
Music Projects” and released “Recommendations for High- plausibility to match the visuals. This workshop looks at recording
Resolution” music production. Additionally, they have been a leader strategies that enable 3DOF/3DOF+ and 6DOF for live music
in the development of the DDEX metadata standard that resulted performances.
in the creation of RIN. This panel will discuss technical best
practices and explore the many challenges artists and producers RECORDING & PRODUCTION:
face when creating and archiving music using modern technology. RP—Microphones—Can You Hear the Specs? A Master Class
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
GAME AUDIO & XR: Moderator: Helmut Wittek, SCHOEPS (Karlsruhe, Germany)
GA—Practical Recording Techniques for Live Music Panelists:
Production in 6DOF VR • Jürgen Breitlow, Georg Neumann Berlin (Berlin, Germany);
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Sennheiser Electronic (Wedemark, Germany)
Co-moderators: • Eddy Bøgh Brixen, EBB-consult (Smørum, Denmark); DPA
• Calum Armstrong, University of York (York, UK) Microphones (Allerød, Denmark)
• Gavin Kearney, University of York (York, UK) • David Josephson, Josephson Engineering (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
• David Rivas Méndez, University of York (York, UK) There are many microphones available to the audio engineer. It’s
Panelists: not always easy to compare them. Often the choice of the model
• Hashim Riaz, Abbey Road Studios (London, UK) is made on the basis of experience or perhaps just habits—or just
• Mirek Stiles, Abbey Road Studios (London, UK) because it looks nice. Nevertheless, there is valuable information
As virtual and augmented reality technologies move toward in the microphone specifications. This master class held by well-
systems that can deliver full six degrees of freedom (6DOF), it known microphone experts of leading microphone manufacturers
follows that good strategies must be employed to create effective demystifies the most important microphone specs and provides
6DOF audio capture. In a musical context, this means that if we attendees with up-to-date information on how these specs are
record an ensemble, then we must give the end user the potential obtained and can be interpreted. Furthermore, many practical

44 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
audio demonstrations will be given to help everyone to
understood how the numbers relate to the perceived
sound.

RECORDING & PRODUCTION:

RP2—Mastering Content for Loudness Specifications:
A Discussion of Best Practices, Pitfalls and Other
Practical Considerations for Engineers and Educators
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Presenters:
• Adam Ayan, Gateway Mastering Studios (Portland,
Maine)
• Adam Grover, Sterling Sound A participant a last year’s Live Sound panel.

• Bob Katz, Digital Domain Mastering (Orlando,

Fla.)
• Alex Kosiorek, Central Sound at Arizona PBS
(Phoenix, Ariz.)

E
• Jamie Tagg, Indiana University (Bloomington,

T I V
Ind.); Stagg Sound Services

A
Navigating today’s loudness standards can be confusing

V
to young engineers and others who don’t work with these

O
INN TIONS
requirements frequently. This panel of audio experts and
educators will address the justification for these standards,
what they mean for us, and how to optimize our workflow
to accommodate their requirements over a variety of

L U
commercial delivery formats. Particular attention will

SO
be paid to balancing problematic sound sources with
dialogue, the state-of-the-art in metering, formats and
delivery methods, and workflow considerations with RACKNTABLE
which young engineers and interns should be familiar.
MOU

IMMERSIVE & SPATIAL AUDIO:

ED
IS4—STAAG Implementation Expanded: A Practical
RUGG S ING
Demo of STAAG Mic Technique and Its Use in Stereo, HO U
Surround and Height-Channel Capture for Recording
and Broadcast
Thursday, Oct. 18, 10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Presenters:
• Alex Kosiorek, Central Sound at Arizona PBS
(Phoenix, Ariz.)
• Jamie Tagg, Indiana University (Bloomington,
Ind.); Stagg Sound Services
While working on location, audio engineers are often ABLE
challenged by insufficient monitoring, making choices LOCKSSIS
that lead to timbral, wet/dry balance and stereo image CHA
problems. This tutorial examines the use of STAAG
(Stereo Technique for Augmented Ambience Gradient)
PUT/
and its established advantages for addressing stereo
2 x INUT
image, acoustic realism and flexibility in the mix. While
originally optimized for immersive headphone listening,
OUTP NA2-IO-DLINE
this technique has proven advantageous when upscaling Connect your legacy audio gear to the Dante® world. The NA2-IO-DLINE
to stereo, surround and even height-channel loudspeaker Line I/O Dante Interface is a 2-channel end-of-network device that
systems and stereo/surround broadcast streams. Also, simultaneously converts analog signals to Dante and Dante to analog
this setup is advantageous when working on location signals. Professional-level connectivity is provided via lockable NEUTRIK
XLR and etherCON® connectors. Designed for both harsh stage conditions
and fixed installations. For more information visit www.neutrik.com

m i x o n l i n e . co m | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | M I X
and in live performance scenarios due to its compact arrangement and
compatibility with a wide variety of microphones. This tutorial will feature
physical configurations and playback of audio examples in a variety of
formats.
SE—Platinum Latin Producers & Engineers
Thursday, Oct. 18, 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Moderator: Andres A. Mayo, Andres Mayo Mastering & Audio Post
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Presenters:
• Rafael Arcaute
• Gustavo Borner, igloo music (Burbank, Calif.)
• Eduardo Cabra, Visitante
• Andres Levin, Music Has No Enemies (New York / Havana);
Habanico (New York/Havana)
• Eduardo Pereyra (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
• Rafa Sardina
Every year the Platinum Latin Panel brings some of the finest audio
professionals to AES. The presenters, all multi-platinum record producers
and GRAMMY winners, will tell you all about producing great music for
the Latin market.
AUDIO FOR CINEMA:
AC2—Collaboration at a Distance: Real-Time Remote Recording Tools
46 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
for Scoring and Post Audio
Thursday, Oct. 18, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Presenter: Robert Marshall, Source Elements
Market forces and the advent of new technologies and the internet
have greatly altered the world of film scoring, along with other related
enterprises in audio post. Excellent tools exist for collaborating remotely
on recording sessions. Workflows have built up and developed over time
to allow those constrained by budget, or desiring the artistic services of
someone who is geographically remote, to conduct full sessions with
talkback and good monitor audio. This workshop is an exploration of one
of the major tools, along with examples of how remote recording is being
used in scoring and other disciplines.
SE—Al Schmitt—On the Record
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Presenters:
• Maureen Droney, The Recording Academy (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Al Schmitt (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Al Schmitt is a multiple GRAMMY Award-winning engineer and producer,
a music legend whose career spans more than six decades. In fact, Al has
received the most GRAMMYs ever awarded to an engineer. He’s worked
with such iconic artists as Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, Toto, Diana
Krall, Steely Dan, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Neil Young, Quincy Jones,
Henry Mancini, Tony Bennett, Linda Ronstadt, Natalie Cole and so many
more. In this wide-ranging discussion with Maureen Droney, managing
director of the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, Schmitt
will share stories from his life in music along with practical tips and sage
advice about what it takes to become one of the most in-demand talents
in the business. This discussion also commemorates the release of Al’s
autobiography: Al Schmitt on the Record: The Magic Behind the Music (Hal
Leonard).
SE—Mastered by Bob Ludwig: An Exploration of his Career and
Techniques
Thursday, Oct. 18, 3:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Presenters:
• Jett Galindo, Bakery Mastering (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Bob Ludwig, Gateway Mastering Studios (Portland, Maine)
Jett Galindo of Bakery Mastering hosts a conversation with legendary
mastering engineer Bob Ludwig of the famed Gateway Mastering Studios.
Ludwig’s career began during an era when mastering technology looked
very different than it does today. The interview explores Ludwig’s
perspective on all things mastering, including how he has navigated
those changes, his observations about what has changed, exploration of
technology old and new, and insights into how he approaches his work.
We’ll hear a sampling of some of his work and learn what “Mastered by
Bob Ludwig” really means.
RECORDING & PRODUCTION:
RP—Music Mixing, Part V
Friday, Oct. 19, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Moderator: Richard King, McGill University (Montreal, Quebec, Canada);
The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology
(Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
Panelists:
• Pablo Arraya, Audio Piranha (Brooklyn, NY); Purchase College
(Purchase, NY)
• Frank Filipetti
• Leslie Ann Jones, Recording Engineer and Producer, Director of
Music Recording and Scoring, Skywalker Sound (San Rafael, Calif.)
• George Massenburg, Schulich School of Music, McGill University
(Montreal, Quebec, Canada); Centre for Interdisciplinary Research
in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT) (Montreal, Quebec,
Canada)
A panel of award-winning expert practitioners from varying backgrounds
and genres within the industry will spark interesting discussion and
debate. Topics will include the process of mixing and methodologies that
have yielded successful results in a constantly changing industry. Focus
will include the different ways to approach a mix, how to improve a mix,
and how to interpret comments from clients. Balancing, processing and
listening will also be addressed. There will be lots of time for Q&A so the
audience can engage the panel members. This series has become very
popular with young engineers, educators and seasoned professionals.
RECORDING & PRODUCTION:
RP2—Planning for On-Location Audio Recording and Production
(Including Surround)
Saturday, Oct. 20, 10:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
48 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
Presenters:
• Alex Kosiorek, Central Sound at Arizona PBS (Phoenix, Ariz.)
• Steve Remote, Aurasonic
• Corey Schreppel, Minnesota Public Radio|American Public Media
• George Wellington, New York Public Radio (New York, NY)
• Eric Xu, Central Sound at Arizona PBS (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Artists and engineers are recording more productions on location or
in locations other than the studio. Whether it’s audio for spoken word,
chorus, small chamber ensembles to large symphony orchestra, or complex
jazz/pop/rock shows involving splits from FOH, pre-production is a critical
aspect of any remote recording. Moreover, with new forms of immersive
delivery on the horizon, surround production is now part of this equation.
Some of the challenges for on-location production include maintaining a
consistent aesthetic across productions, varying venue acoustics, discretion
of microphone placement, monitoring, and redundant backup systems.
In this workshop, today’s working professionals will give relatable and
practical methods of tackling production for mobile/on-location events
and discuss how it differs from studio recording. Topics will include
venue scoping, bids and quotes, stage plots, communication with venue
or ensemble production managers, talent coordination and other logistics.
Some audio examples (including those in surround) will be included.
IMMERSIVE & SPATIAL AUDIO:
IS—D Audio Acoustic Recording Capture, Dissemination and
Perception
Saturday, Oct. 20, 1:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Presenters:
• David Bowles, Swineshead Productions (Berkeley, Calif.)
• Paul Geluso, New York University (New York, NY)
• Hyunkook Lee, University of Huddersfield (Huddersfield, UK)
• Agnieszka Roginska, New York University (New York, NY)
This is a panel discussion on recording techniques for capturing and
disseminating 3D acoustic music recordings, with an emphasis on
psychoacoustic and perceptual challenges. The 90-minute panel will be
immediately followed by a 90-minute playback session. There will be Q&A
during the panel, but after the playback to allow audience to experience
playback without interruptions.
RECORDING & PRODUCTION:
RP2—From Studio to Stage—The Impact of Technology on Live
Production
Saturday, Oct. 20, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Presenters:
• Erin Barra, Berklee College of Music (Boston, Mass.); MAMMA
BARRA
• DJ Nebraska, Jessie Davis Music
• DJ Raydar Ellis, Berklee College of Music
• Paul “Willie Green” Womack, Willie Green Music (Brooklyn, NY)
Advancements in technology and software have transformed the live
performances of DJs, looping artists and producers. DAWs and samplers
do not live solely in the domain of the studio; rather, they have become
the instruments of live performers across the globe. This roundtable
discussion will explore the changing workflows and evolving capabilities
of technology-based artists. ■
Tech // back page blog
Notes on DI Guitar and Mobile Recording
Mike Levine: Mix Technology Editor, Studio
We’re All Gonna DI: My workflow for electric guitar
overdubs almost always starts with a DI recording rather
than a miked amp. I find it to be quite efficient.
Unless I’m recording a clean rhythm track, I’ll usually
track it while monitoring through an amp-and-effects
modeling plug-in. (My current favorite is Line 6 Helix
Native.) Of course, monitoring through a plug-in brings the latency devil
into the equation, but as long as I’m able to set my record buffer at 256
samples or lower, I can deal with it. I’ll bleed in a little direct sound in my
headphones just to help me stay locked with the time if the latency delay
is making it tough.
If I’m working on a song that’s already got a ton of tracks and plug-ins,
and it’s using too much CPU power to allow me to set the buffer that low,
I’ll make a reference mix and open it in a new session. I’ll track my part
along with it, and then import the new guitar track into the original session.
But fear not, this doesn’t mean I use an amp modeler for the final sound
every time. I’ll often reamp the DI tone through a tube amp and mic it. But
typically I won’t make the final decision about a tone—whether to keep using
the modeler or whether to reamp and mic—until I’m well into the mix.
Mini-Review: CEntrance MixerFace R4: The idea of being able to record
anywhere is compelling.
Whether you do field
recording or just want
to be able to work on
music projects outside of
your studio (and I mean
anywhere outside of your studio, as long as you’re not underwater),
CEntrance’s MixerFace R4 Mobile Recording Interface lets you go forth
untethered and record with high quality into your laptop, mobile device,
portable recorder or video camera.
The handheld, battery-operated R4 offers impressive-sounding mic
pre’s and converters, and plenty of handy features. Two Neutrik combo
inputs with globally switchable phantom power allow you to connect XLR
mics or guitars, basses and other Hi-Z sources. The inputs each have a
highpass filter switch and a gain knob. An aux-in circuit, accessed with a
1/8-inch jack, is controlled by a volume knob.
For outputs, you get a 1/8-inch headphone jack and left and right
1/8-inch TRS balanced outputs for feeding monitors or any other external
gear, with an additional stereo 1/8-inch line out.
With an Oktava MK-012 mic, I recorded acoustic guitar, resonator guitar
and vocals, and all sounded roughly comparable to the quality I get through
my desktop interface, which is no cheapy. Through the instrument inputs
I tracked DI electric guitar and bass with equally happy results.
50 M I X | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | mi x o n l i n e.co m
Steve La Cerra: Mix Technology Editor, Live
Find Someplace Else to Live: My cousin Frank sent me a
message and a link to an online article published last week
that discussed the reorganization of the wireless spectrum
and its effects on wireless microphone and instrument
users. Frank doesn’t work in the audio industry, so the
whole thing was news to him. “Will this be a PITA for you?”
he asked. If only he knew. As someone who participates regularly in church
services (he’s a deacon), Frank and his parishioners would be concerned.
Audio pros have been over it ad nauseam: broadband wireless providers
with deep pockets want the prime real estate of the 600 and 700 MHz
bands for their own use, and the audio industry is a gnat on the FCC’s
office wall. When presented with the opportunity to “sell” air rights to
companies like Google or ATT for tens of billions of dollars, the FCC
jumps, and really doesn’t give a rat’s behind if they jump up and down on
the graves of the audio guys, whether we’re working on tours, Broadway
shows, sporting events or in houses of worship. We simply don’t have the
resources to compete.
What has become evident in the past few years is that the FCC’s
reorganization is hurting small audio operators like that church with a
few hundred parishioners who can barely keep the lights on or afford to
fix the roof, let alone fork up a few grand for new wireless microphones.
Wireless manufacturers have been more than gracious by creating trade-
in programs, but they can only go so far. I can just see some knucklehead
representing ATT walking in on a service and trying to shut it down
because a minister is using an old wireless system in the 700 MHz band.
Tremendous efforts by Shure, Sennheiser,  Lectrosonics and Audio-
Technica have helped get us some concessions from the FCC, but the
FCC’s message clearly remains “find somewhere else to live.”
Product of the Month: Bose Panaray MSA12X:
Intended for use in house-of-worship applications,
auditoriums, lecture halls, theaters and conference
rooms, the Panaray MSA12X Modular Steerable
Array Loudspeaker from Bose Professional is a self-
powered, steerable array. Each MSA12X employs
12 full-range 2.25-inch transducers in a columnar
line array configuration engineered for high vocal
intelligibility and full-range music reproduction in
acoustically-challenged spaces. Bose’s proprietary
Articulated Array provides 160-degree horizontal
coverage, while built-in DSP enables digital control
and beam steering of the vertical coverage patterns.
Vertical coverage for a single MSA12X is 20 degrees.
Frequency response is spec’d at 75 to 14,000 Hz. n
9000