Italian distributor Leading Technologies and sister company Sound Light & Technologies (SL&T) recently participated in recording an ambitious production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola with RAI Radio, using a combination of Soundcraft and Studer digital mixing platforms.

The production involved around 250 members of cast and technical crew, and was mixed on a combination of three Studer Vista 9 and Vista 5 consoles, with three further Soundcraft V1 desks providing backup. These were used in four different scene locations – while the actors, singers and choir were located in Parco della Mandria in Venaria, Palazzina di Caccia and Palazzo Reale in Torino, the orchestra was recorded remotely at the Auditorium RAI in Torino. All locations were linked by fibre or radio bridge to give the actors the sense of performing in real time with the orchestra, using a Studer stagebox in each venue.

On duty were two 52-fader Vista 9 consoles, a 42-fader Vista 9 and a 42-fader Vista 5 located in the OB truck, which were used for mixing the orchestra and actors’ mics, as well as for 5.1 surround postproduction, while the three Soundcraft Vi1 consoles were used for pre-mix of secondary inputs and backup.

The orchestra required 68 microphone channels on the desks with a further 12 channels for the choir (who were based in the same location as the actors).

A multitrack recorder received the audio via a Madi port on the Vista 9.

RAI Radio provided technical staff while SL&T provided personnel support and other ancillary equipment from the Harman Professional portfolio, such as JBL Eon loudspeakers and AKG microphones and headphones. AKG C414 XLII and various K141 and K702 microphones were used for mixing and monitoring by the musicians and engineers.

The recording marked the latest success in a long relationship between Italy’s national broadcaster and SL&T/Leading Technologies.

The event itself was transmitted live around the world over two days in early June and the DVD, produced by Rada Film, will be available soon for marketing and promotion. RAI Radio has the technical production rights for La Cenerentola, with Antonio Ciano taking overall audio responsibility, Fiervisaggio Giorgetti, technical project and installation supervisor, Marco Diodato and Domenico Narducci as Vista 9 engineers and Dario Chiapino as Vista 5 engineer.

Rada Film has the production rights under the authorisation of Andrea Andermann with the direction of Carlo Verdone. Providing the technical interface between Rada Film and RAI was Alessandro Bernardi.

Working closely with Kvest Management in the role of ‘artist development guy’, Derek W Pardoe places a high value on his recording facilities. After his original studio was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, Pardoe built the current facility himself.

In 2002 he had landed a deal with Wind-Up records with a band named Atomship. ‘I spent every dime I made from that deal building my first studio, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina,’ he recounts. ‘So I built the building that I am currently in.’

Using his Mississippi Gulf Cost studio to develop artists, involves helping musicians to write songs, arrange tracks and create demos that are then distributed to major labels. His recent decision to install a new mixing console was, therefore, an important one. Now central to this process is an Audient ASP4816 analogue mixing desk – the first ASP4816 placing in the US.

‘The console is an absolute dream,’ he says. ‘It has all the functionality of a large format desk with a smaller footprint, and I love it.

‘One of the biggest selling points for me was the functionality. The bus matrix reminded me a lot of working on an SSL and having the monitor controls onboard and a built in two-bus compressor, as well as eight aux sends and four stereo inputs is a huge step forward for this market. You guys have set the bar extremely high.’

Pardoe originally had reservations about the sound quality of small desk: ‘I was nervous that I was going to be heavily relying on outboard pres to “colour” the audio, but this hasn’t been the case at all,’ he says. ‘They have such a fantastic character, I can only describe it as clear and warm. They have a really fast response, they excel on everything you put through them. I have yet to feel like something was lacking, and I have a feeling I never will.

‘The EQ is extremely natural sounding,’ he continues. ‘It doesn’t sound like it’s applied to the track, it just simply sounds like the track. It can be very surgical; it can be very subtle.

‘I originally built the studio, both studios, in fact, as a personal space but after a while I had local musicians contact me about recording, so it became a little less personal. I was then contacted by our manager Kenny Vest – who owns Kvest Management – about working with him and Kvest to develop his artists and record demos.

‘One of the biggest reasons I decided to upgrade with the ASP4816 was because of this close work relationship – quality is important, and I found quality in the Audient.’

The desk runs with Lynx Aurora 16VT converters into a Mac Pro running Pro Tools.

‘For outboard, I run a minimal set-up,’ he says. ‘The only pres beside the Audient’s are Vintech 473s. For outboard compression I have a two-channel Vintech 609CA compressor/limiter, two Empirical Labs Distressor compressors, a Kush Audio UBK Fatso compressor and dbx 162SL.

‘I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot with the ASP4816. I’m happy I found it because there are no options in this price range that have this much functionally and quality. You guys have done something fantastic here.’

The desk was supplied by US Audient dealer and music technology retailer Sweetwater.

More: www.audient.com

The University of Salford’s new £30m digital learning, teaching and research facility at MediaCityUK has been fitted out to support a live production programme.

The centrepiece for Studio A Sound is a Solid State Logic C10 HD Compact Broadcast Console, which is used for a wide range of live production teaching situations. ‘With players like the BBC and ITV next door, it was imperative that we had a recognised industry standard console for our students to learn on,’ says Ash Tidball, TV Studio Manager for the University at MediaCityUK.

The teaching situations cover one-on-one interview and panel programmes, to music programmes featuring everything from a pop band to a full classical orchestra.

‘The University of Salford’s MediaCityUK campus was created to host our media production, graphic, animation and video game departments, among others, as part of the very exciting MediaCityUK project,’ says Ash Tidball, TV Studio Manager for the University at MediaCityUK. ‘For our Studio A Sound control room, we needed a console that was very flexible and could be set up very quickly for the different types of shows produced. We chose the SSL C10 because it offered us the best feature set and sonic performance for all our production needs. For example, the snapshot recall of program settings greatly increased our teaching capabilities, as a push of a button gets the console ready for each succeeding class in an instant.’

Part of a £650m mixed-use property regeneration programme in Salford and Trafford, the University of Salford at MediaCityUK facility is next to a major BBC complex where BBC Children’s, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Research and the BBC Sport departments are housed. The University’s building space will also be shared with ITV later this year.

‘Our new location is right in the heart of this major production hub. This proximity presents a great opportunity for our students to be able to work with industry professionals and to possibly gain employment in the future,’ Tidball explains. The console delivers the proper, advanced production experience, while providing a platform our graduates will likely find in the industry at large. We believe that learning on an SSL C10 can only benefit our students in the future.’

Spread over four floors, the facility includes HDTV and radio broadcast studios, digital media and performance labs, postproduction suites, a living lab research facility and meeting rooms with video conferencing. Studio A offers separate video and audio (Studio A Sound) control rooms, while Studio B offers a full 3D virtual studio. As Studio A is available for students, researchers and commercial clients, the unique features of the C10 make it the ideal choice.

‘Studio A is our flagship studio, delivering a no-nonsense, professional, state-of-the-art HD production experience,’ Tidball says. ‘The C10’s Feature Match and Preset systems can accommodate all our needs as we have different operators with greatly varying skill levels. Some students might be at the beginning stage, so the engineering staff can set the console to lock out all the controls, except the ones needed for a particular class. At the same time, a professional engineer can come in and access the full power of the console. The one button mix-minus system is outstanding, as is the 5.1 Upmix feature. The C10 allows us to address every aspect of TV production with great sonic integrity.’

More: www.solidstatelogic.com

API has named Source Distribution as distributor for its full range of analogue recording consoles and outboard equipment in the UK and Ireland.

Effective immediately, Source will supply all API products to the market, including the 500 series Lunchbox modules, the range of 19-inch rack mounting outboard products and the large-format 1608 mixing console.

With more than 700 desks in use globally, the latest addition to API’s console portfolio is the 1608 Recording Console – a 16-channel 8-bus mixer (expandable to 48 channels) that has found favour in commercial, private and educational facilities around the world. Among them are the personal studios of Ethan Johns, KT Tunstall, Maroon 5 and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters – Grohl’s 1608 was used to record the band’s Grammy-winning album, Wasting Light.

The heart of API’s range of outboard products is the 500 series of interchangeable modules, including the 512c mic preamp, 525 compressor and 550 EQ, while the 200 series modules offer a more compact format for applications where space is a premium. API’s outboard range comprises the 3124 mic preamp and 5500 EQ alongside newer offerings including the 2500 bus compressor and A2D mic pre with digital outputs. Finally, the JDK series of rack-mount mic preamps, EQs and compressors offers end-users a super-affordable route in to API technology: designed and built in API’s Maryland factory, JDK products boast API’s traditional sonic purity and durability – but for those with tighter budgets.

‘Anyone monitoring the UK pro audio market over the past few years couldn’t have failed to notice Source’s impressive rise to prominence and their utter professionalism in sales, marketing and technical support,’ says API Director of Sales, Dan Zimbelman. ‘API isn’t a company to change distribution partners often. We think long and hard before making any changes, but it became clear that there was only one distribution team that was going to be able to take our brand forward to the next level. We’re delighted to be working with Source and feel sure it’s the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.’

‘API products tick every box for us as a distributor – they have a fantastic brand with a long history of innovation and integrity, they produce beautiful sounding and totally reliable products, and they are thoroughly decent people to do business with,’ says Source MD, Ian Jones. ‘We’ve always regarded API as the kings of discrete analogue audio, and their range not only gives us the chance to promote large format consoles such as the 1608 – an obvious gap in our current portfolio – but also gives us a great range of discrete analogue outboard processors to get our teeth into. We’re thrilled to be representing API and are really looking forward to adding such a well-respected name to our portfolio.’

See also:

Foos use API desk for all-analogue Light album
Wrenn House Studios adds API 1608
API counts ten 1608 desks in Argentine studios

More than 70 broadcast professionals from around Indonesia gathered at Jakarta’s Sari Pan Pacific Hotel recently for a Studer product seminar.

Organised by Studer’s regional distributor PT Kinarya Swarna Indonesia, the seminar showcased the OnAir console range, with a focus on the new Studer OnAir 1500 mixing console. The OnAir 2500 mixing console was also displayed. Studer Regional Sales Director, Keith Prestidge and Sales Engineer, Yee Tat Nam presented a technical overview of all Studer products. Digital radio system design was also covered with discussions covering audio networking and studio workflow and control connectivity.

‘Modern radio control surfaces [mixing consoles] need to be highly ergonomic in design,’ says Yee Tat Nam. ‘They also need the control connectivity to talk to other equipment in a way that ultimately makes it easier for the on air talent to perform without errors. Control surfaces, however, still must have access to all the sophisticated features should they be required. Studer has invested a lot of effort into the surface design to get both these aspects right.’

In conjunction with PT Kinarya, Studer has supplied both standalone mixing consoles and integrated Studio/MCR systems in to several Indonesian radio stations including the RRI network, Woman Radio, Elshinta Radio and others.

‘We are very excited by the future prospects in Indonesia and look forward to designing innovate solutions for the Indonesian market,’ Prestidge says.

More: www.studer.ch
More: www.kinarya.com

Calrec Audio and RTW have struck an agreement that will see the RTW TM7 TouchMonitor integrated into Calrec digital broadcast consoles.

‘Given the lack of availability of traditional moving coil meters, and the demand which still exists, the TM7 also allows us to continue to provide our customers with the facilities they expect in professional broadcast facilities,’ says Henry Goodman, Head of Sales at Calrec Audio.

RTW will provide the OEM version of the TM7 TouchMonitor touchscreen loudness meter to be built into Calrec’s full range of digital consoles, including the Apollo, Artemis Shine, Artemis Beam and Artemis Light consoles. The TM7 will be integrated into the upstand of the consoles, providing various metering options. For example, on the Artemis consoles, both single and double meters layouts are available. The benefit of the double meter option (one above the other) is to show moving coil emulation along with a separate vector scope

The TM7 will include the standard Multichannel, Loudness, SSA Surround Sound Analyzer and PPM software modules and custom meter presets offering loudness metering that meets the EBU R 128 and ITU BS1770 standards as well as traditional bargraph- and moving-needle metering to comply with additional international standards. The TM7 will also be available for retrofitting.

The TouchMonitor is RTW’s response to growing demands in modern production, postproduction and broadcast environments. With its high-quality 7-inch or 9-inch touchscreen and intuitive user interface, the TouchMonitor breaks new ground in professional audio analysis for accuracy, performance, efficiency and flexibility.

‘We have enjoyed a good relationship with RTW for many years, and this agreement enables us to continue to provide our customers with the right tools to meet the highest standards of broadcasting, as well as the ability to comply with new broadcast regulations. We look forward to many more years of enterprise between our two companies.’

‘RTW and Calrec have enjoyed a long history together and this new agreement provides both companies with the opportunity to supply our customers in the broadcast industry with the modern technology necessary to fully comply with current loudness regulations now and in the future,’ ,’ agrees Mahmoud Chatah, RTW Director of Marketing & Sales.

More: www.calrec.com
More: www.rtw.de

Marking its Brazil debut, DiGiCo’s SD10 is now in use with events company Maxi Audio Luz Imagen.

Based in Sao Paulo, the company covers a variety of events. ‘As a sound rental company, we need to offer the best products to our clients,’ says Maxi Audio Technical Manager, Sandro Monteiro.

‘The DiGiCo SD10 has fantastic sound which has the same “colour” as that of an analogue console. The digital processing has great clarity, the preamplifiers are high quality, the workflow is straightforward and the Madi system is really useful. On top of all that, the console has a great price.’

Training on the SD10 was provided by Renato Carneiro, an associate of Antonio Lorenzetti DiGiCo’s representative in Brazil. ‘Renato was a great choice for the training,’ Monteiro reports. ‘He made learning the desk very straightforward. I have known Antonio for several years and he has always made things very easy. With DiGiCo he is exactly the same – the support is excellent.’

With the SD10 in the company’s inventory, Monteiro is hoping to increase the number of events that Maxi Audio is asked to support.

‘We have had a lot of positive feedback from clients and sound engineers,’ Maxi Audio owner José Augusto Martins concludes. ‘I think we will be adding SD7 and SD9 consoles to our inventory sooner than we imagined.’

More: www.digico.org

The logical extension of the training providfed both at its UK head office as well as with distributors around the world, DiGiCo has moved online with digico.tv.

Built up over the past ten years, DiGiCo is keen to reach users and potential users who find it difficult to access face-to-face sessions but would benefit from its content.

A large percentage of DiGiCo’s SD user interface is common to all of the product line, so it is logical that the SD9 provides the platform for this comprehensive tutorial – it being the first in the SD series of consoles that comes with a remote rack as standard.

The tutorial is split into three sections: a quick start for those who have never used, or seen, a DiGICo console; standard tuition that shows major set-up, functions, controls and parameters; and an advanced section for those wanting to learn enhanced features such as remote control, mirroring consoles and programming for complex shows and systems.

The training totals a little less than three hours of material, which is divided into the three sections above, and then into chapters specific to features and functions users may wish to gain greater knowledge of. All movies are HD so can be shown at full screen size.

The service will is live online now.

More: www.digico.tv
More: www.digico.org

From winning the first UK Pop Idol series in 2002, singer-songwriter Will Young has built a career as a multi-million selling artist, recently embarking on sell-out UK tour .

The equipment for Echoes was provided by Britannia Row Productions, who used part of its extensive Outline inventory for the project. The main system comprised an 18 per-side configuration of Butterfly CDH 483 enclosures, with two Mantas 120° cabinets underhung as down fill. A dozen Outline Subtech dual 18-inch subwoofers provided low-frequency reinforcement and the whole system was driven by Outline T Series amplifiers.

‘This system is so modular and light it is perfect for these venues as we can fly lots of boxes from a single point and not have to worry too much about the weight limit,’ says system technician, Dave Compton. ‘I have used it now for five years and it never fails to impress me’.

‘It always sounds great, agrees FOH engineer Davide Lombardi. ‘I am using a DiGiCo SD8 and record every night, it’s like having a huge close-field monitor left and right of the desk. Will is a very articulate singer and it is important that his vocal is clear to everybody, and this system really delivers. It’s also great as far as the band are concerned, we have some of the best musicians available on this tour and I can hear every nuance, as can the audiences. Many of the PA systems I work on simply cannot do this.’

More: www.outline.it
More: www.britanniarow.com

Florida’s Daytona State College has opened a new recording room with Munro Acoustics Dynaudio M4s as main monitors – finding that the system it installed in its first room is still the best option.

‘Our Music Production Technology programme has grown faster than expected and we found ourselves in need of an additional control room to handle the increased number of students,’ says Head of Music Technology, Jake Niceley. ‘Our primary control room [designed and built by Michael Cronin] was built as a 5.1 surround room with five MA Dynaudio M4s, two Custom MA subs, an SSL Duality and a comprehensive assortment of microphones and outboard gear. We felt like we needed an intermediate step between intro level classroom instruction and the Duality room.

‘The M4s were a natural choice when I was choosing a system for Daytona State College. One of the things we focus on in our programme is critical listening and ear training. The M4s offer a very reliable and accurate representation of the source material. We can demonstrate panning, depth of field, imagery, and tonal manipulation with pinpoint accuracy. We often give assignments that require the use of both control rooms so it’s very important for us to have sonic compatibility between the two rooms.’

The new control room – also designed and built by Cronin – is a stereo room with two M4s for mains an API 1608 and a good compliment of outboard gear.

‘The customisation service we offer came into it’s own here as we were able to provide the cabinets with angled faces to give the correct physical alignment into the mix position,’ says Phil Pyatt of Munro Acoustics. ‘The facility at Daytona State College is outstanding and would be the envy of many a commercial studio. A trip to Florida to commission M4s is a bonus.’

More: www.munro.co.uk