Recording 1979 04 - PDFCOFFEE.COM (2025)

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Volume 10

C ONCFA

April 1979 Number 2

SOUNO

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STUDIO DESIGN

Rudi Breuer Michael Rettinger Kent Duncan Rich Houston

RELATING ftfCORDING SCIENCE

TO RECORDING ART

TO RECORDING EQUIPMENT

---

45 62 68 80

versatile.. .

the word for Everything Audio. We have a wide range of clientele because we satisfy wide range of needs. From the most elaborate studio design and installation to the smallest equipment need, we are ready to serve you. Pictured at left is one of our installations, Spectrum Recording Studios in Venice, California. Our involvement in this project was limited to that of design -to maximize their available funds, the owners had their own builders handle Pictured at right is Compact construction. Video Systems in Burbank, California, an advanced is

audio /video facility utilizing computer assistance in the post production audio room. It is one of our newest and most elaborate installations. We designed this facility in an existing structure, supplied the audio equipment, and assisted their crew during construction, clarifying and

modifying the plans as the work progressed. The combined effort of the Compact Video crew and the Everything

supplied the plans in metric measurements and, through local representa-

Audio staff resulted in an installa-

tion that is inno-

vative in its technology as well as its finish and materials.

Another of our

recently completed studios is the Record Star in Hamburg, West Germany. (We have representation in Great Britain, Germany, Australia, and Mexico.) We

tion, kept involved in the project until its completion. In all of our projects-anywhere in the world -the home office keeps abreast of everything with on -site inspections. If you are contemplating upgrading or building a new facility, we'd like to show you what we can do for you. Or if you're just looking for a new piece of equipment -let us help. From total design and installation, to supplying the smallest equipment need -we do it all.

MTia MITÚRra

IIOC

16055 VENTURA BLVD., SUITE 1001

ENCINO, CALIFORNIA 91436

Versatility: Let it work for you.

(213) 995 -4175

/Y/'//rI/-//'r

Favourably comparable with any console available today, the standard 36 -input desk offers simultaneous quad, stereo and mono mixes from 32 tracks, with DC subgrouping of VCA- assisted channel and echo return faders. The M3000 only has excellent performance specifications and is purpose -built to allow the engineer total control of the many advanced signal development and flow functions available in the desk. Some of the outstanding facilities include: one mic and two differential line inputs: 4 -band parametric equalization (variable frequency and Q on all 4 bands) with swept pass filters: four mono and one stereo send addressable to 8 busses: inplace, groupable quad solo: programmable and groupable muting: automation ready VCA channel faders with LED display in 'read' mode: 8 dedicated submasters: 24 assigns with panning odd -even between live busses, and direct assigns: additional audio subgrouping in remix: 32 track monitoring: in-line construction: comprehensive studio and control room monitoring systems: talkback: oscillator: 8 automated echo returns, 4 assignable to multitrack: overall status commands for main operation modes: comprehensive patchfield: phantom power: Penny and Giles conductive plastic faders.

Also available are the M2000, our most cost -effective 24 track desk, shortly also with automation option; the M1000, our ten buss console intended for 16-track and sound reinforcement work; the X series, our small console useful for 8- track, broadcast and reinforcement applications.

`Ey`T)THINO

ra10.Zt

Contact Brian Cornfield at, EVERYTHING AUDIO. 16055 Ventura Blvd. Suite 1001, Encino, Los Angeles,CA 91436, Tel (213)995 4175.

MARTIN AUDIO

East Coast distribution, Courteney Spencer or Bruce Martin, MARTIN AUDIO. 423 West 55th, New York 10019, (212) 541 5900. AMEK SYSTEMS AND CONTROLS LTD, Islington Mill, James St. Salford M3 5HW, England. Tel: (061) 834 6747.

:--

www.americanradiohistory.com

We won't promise the world, but we will deliver what we promise! udio delivers a guaranteed acoustic design based on principles proven and refined in 226 irldvride. More than just acoustics. we deliver all the elements required for today's technology analysis through acoustic. geometric and isolation design, to include turnkey completion.

coincidence that our clients are among the most successful and skilled professionals in their fields.

- Shinanomachi, Tokyo (12 studios) VIDTRONICS - Los Angeles (Video Sweetening Room) FANTASY RECORDS - Berkeley (2 studios) MR. "D's," KENDUN RECORDERS - Burbank SO(1NDMIXERS - New York City (Redesign and Rebuild) RECORD PLANT - Los Angeles (studio C) SOUNDS INTERCHANGE - Toronto STUDIO SIX - Montreal ARMSTRONG AUDIO 'VIDEO - Melbourne MANGO STUDIOS - Sydney CINEMA AUDIO - Manila JEM RECORDS - Manila PIERCE ARROW STUDIOS - Chicago KITTY RECORDS - Tokyo (2 studios) MASTER SOUND - Atlanta CBS SONY - Robpongi, Tokyo (2 studios) ALFA RECORDS - Tokyo BIAS RECORDING - Virginia (3 studios) SOUND PALACE - New York City RECORD PLANT - Los Angeles (Remote Truck) FANTASY RECORDS - Berkeley (studio B) CBS SONY

... Plus another 19] rooms by our exclusive designer. Tom Hidley. The London Palladium. Virgin Records Cabaret-Disco. and hundreds of studios ... Your project should have our acoustic guarantee.

Sierra Audio

721 South Glenwood Place

Burbank. California 91506 (213) 843 -8115 Telex 691138

RXCORDINO

engineer/producer -Recording the magazine to exclusively

serve the

Studio market ... all those whose work involves the recording of commercially marketable sound.

APRIL 1979 VOLUME 10

Recording ART to Recording SCIENCE

NUMBER 2

Contents

- the magazine produced to relate ... to Recording EQUIPMENT.

page 30

Horizon Records' TOMMY LI PUMA .. from promotion to production to label president by Tom Lubin

page 45 Editor /Publisher MARTIN GALLAY Managing Editor TOM LUBIN Consulting Editor PETER BUTT Operations Manager D. KEITH LARKIN Traffic Manager KEN McARTHUR Business Manager V L. GAFFNEY Circulation Manager PATTY COLLINS

o RECORDING Engineer /Producer is not responsible for any claim made by any person based on the publication by RECORDING Engineer/Producer of material submitted for publication. Material appearing in RECORDING Enginner /Producer may not be reproduced without written permission of the publisher.

Postmaster: Send form 3579 for address correction to: RECORDING Engineer /Producer P. O. Box 2449 Hollywood, California 90028 (213) 467-1111

R-e,p 6

Acoustics - Design - Construction The Rudi Breuer Approach by Rudi Breuer and Jim Riordan

Sound Insulation Requirements for Recording Studios by Michael Rettinger

page 68

Studio Design Requirements for the Next Decade by Kent Duncan

page

Increased Height, Active Trapping, Improve Remote Van Control Room Acoustics by Rich Houston and Jeff Brown

page 89

Live Performance Sound Reinforcement:

BEATLEMANIA by Patrick Maloney

page 106

RECOGNITION 1978: A tribute to the 1978 Grammy Winning Engineers, Producers and Studios

page 110

"AN AMERICAN PRAYER" John Haenÿ s story of the dedicated research, production and engineering of the Jim Morrison epic by John Haeny assisted by John Weaver

page 124

Microphone Applications for Classical Recording by Carson Taylor

page 130 page 136 page 142

page 146

...

VCAs ROUND II: B&B's David Baskind's response to Allison's Paul Buff Paul Buff's response Harvey Rubens, Marvin Caesar, Edward Bannon and Michael Sanders New Products Review: ECOPLATETM by Larry Rebhun

The Cover:

Controlled Circulation Postage paid at Los Angeles, California

page 62

"RECORDING Engineer /Producer" (USPS 768 -840) is published six times a year by GALLAY COMMUNICATIONS, INC., 1850 N. Whitley Avenue, Hollywood, California 90028, and is sent to qualified recipients in the United States. One year (six issues) subscriptions for other than qualified individuals and companies may be purchased at the following rates: United States (surface mail) .. $10.00 United States (air mail) $17.00 All Other Countries $19.00 Foreign subscriptions payable in U.S. funds only by bank check or money order.

Sierra Audio's latest installation, Mr. "D's", Kendun Recorders, Burbank. Photo shows large volume multi delay isolation room featuring fully adjustable mid band delay time; .1 to .7 seconds. Also depicted is the ghost of a musician past. Photography: Bill Miller.

Departments: Letters New Products Classified News Advertising Index

10 150 170 172 178

Introducing Altec Lansing's Incremental Power System. And Its Closest Competitor. Lately a lot of the big names in professional amplification have been making head -to -head comparisons with their competition. And, understandably, the brand being featured in each ad usually comes out on top. But one product that no one is comparing themselves with is Altec Lansing's new Incremental Power System. That's not really surprising since Incremental Power is a lot more than just an amplifier. Each main frame actually contains a flexible array of power amps, electronic crossovers, line amps and input devices. So you get a complete amplification system that's prewired and ready to use. And since it is a system, Incremental Power offers a degree of flexibility that's unmatched by any single amplifier. In fact, to match the overall performance of one Incremental Power System you'd need a rack full of traditional components. Skeptical? To prove the point we've devised a head -to -head comparison that you can make for yourself. Below you'll find the Power Available for L.F. @ Mfg. Rec. Load

Incremental Power System

300 Watt Total 150 Watt /Ch. @Bohm

Power Available

for M.F. @ Mfg. Rec. Load

150 Watt Total 75 Watt /Ch.

@16 ohm

Power Available for H.F. @ Mfg. Rec. Load

150 Watt Total 75 Watt /Ch.

@16 ohm

published specifications for an Incremental Power System set up for stereo, triamplified operation. Simply select the competitive components that you'd need to match Incremental Power's performance and then judge for yourself. There's a lot more to Incremental Power than we have room to tell you here. So if this kind of performance and package size sounds good to you, contact our Commercial Sound Sales Department for the details. Or check the Yellow Pages under Sound Systems for the name of your local Altec Lansing sound contractor. Either way you'll get the complete Incremental Power story. We think you'll agree that our short story makes the competition look a long way behind. Altec Lansing Sound Products Division, 1515 South Manchester Avenue, Anaheim, California 92803.

ALTEC LANSING' Altec Corporation

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R-e/p 7

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Model 8078 Music Recording and Mixing Console. 44 inputs /32 tracks. Separate monitor mixdown. Fitted with the incomparable 31105 equalizers. VCA Grouping or NECAM Computer Mixing optional. Join the Neve world of excellence. Please call or write.

Rupert Neve Incorporated rkshire Irraus: :.:. c.79 6255 Sur : Rupert Neve Incorporated ; :. ` >>ton, Onta,. Rupert Neve of Canada. Ltd.. rn Royston ' :_ Neve Electronics International, Ltd _...: Rupert Neve GmbH ".

Your original sound is at the nearest Tangent Dealer! Martin Audio New York /(212) 541 -5900 Bruce Martin

Express Sound California (Southern) /(714) 645 -8501 Jerry Smith

Banana's At Large

California (Northern) /(415) 457 -7600 J. D. Sharp

Lebow Labs Massachusetts /(617) 782 -0600 Peter Engle

Creative Audio Tennessee /(615) 331 -3247

Allen Rumbaugh

Paul Westbrook Audio Texas /(512) 578 -4401 Paul Westbrook

E.A.R.

Arizona/(602) 968 -8675 Mike King

B.S.C. Illinois/(312) 453 -5551 Paul Bergetz

Sedco Missouri/(417) 883 -6373 Mark Morton

Pro Audio Seattle Washington /(206) 622 -6984 Craig Ingle

Stereo Sonics Laboratories Florida /(305) 831 -2575 Allan Smith

AVC Systems Minnesota /(612) 729 -8305 John Borman

Listen Up Colorado /(303) 778 -0780 Bill Rollin

Ford Audio Oklahoma /(405) 525 -3343 Jim Ford

Arnoldt Williams Michigan /(313) 453 -6586 John Williams

Veneman's Maryland/(301) 762 -5100 Andy Fantin

tangent R-e/p 10

Lcttc r5 from: Kenneth R. Fause Fause & Associates Newbury Park, CA The companion articles in the last issue by Don Davis and Chips Davis describing, among other things, Live End - Dead End (LEDE) control room acoustics raise some points which I feel invite commentary. To be entirely fair to the authors, I must state that I have not yet made the pilgrimage to Las Vegas to hear the prototype room which the articles discuss. Colleagues have given me glowing reports, so I am quite willing to accept the fact that the scheme works in the manner discussed. In architectural acoustics, as in most aspects of life, there are few absolutes; there are options, choices, and engineering tradeoffs to be made among these options. Thus, I would claim that in LEDE, we have not the solution, but one more member in a family of potential options which might be appropriate to a specific case at hand. The control room is a large and expensive tool; the more closely this tool is fitted to a given task or situation, the more efficiently it will function in executing that task.

In my own consulting practice, experience has shown that when all the necessary people and technical equipment are arranged in an ergonomic manner suitable for the intended use of the control room, the spatial arrangement of the room has already been strongly defined. We prefer, in fact, to start with a blank piece of paper and arrange the people and their equipment first, and then proceed to wrap a suitable architectural enclosure about them. The problem becomes vastly more complex when the high value of real estate in the major geographic recording activity centers is considered. The studio designer proceeds to polish up his shoehorn when the owner describes how much space he can afford to lease or purchase; usually about two-thirds the area the studio designer had in mind. Unfortunately, it appears that the LEDE scheme may be considered only when a certain minimum dimensional envelope is available. To meet the proposed "initial time delay gap" of 20 ms. would likely require that

the reflective surfaces, wall or tape machines, be about 9 to 10 feet behind the prime mixing position. To meet the loudspeaker spacing suggested with a sensible stereo azimuth, the loudspeakers would be at least 10 feet forward of the mixing position. Add an allowance for the depth of the loudspeaker enclosures and the necessary undulations of the rear wall, say 4 feet total. Massive sound isolating

construction adds at least 6 inches at both front and rear, usually more. Add all this up and you have a gross front -to-back required dimension of at least 25 feet! We are often, and quite seriously, given spaces half that size to turn into useable control rooms. The point is simply that here is another choice the facility owner must make: floor area cost versus desired acoustic performance. The authors declare, and I will strongly agree, that close -order reflections are undesirable in control room acoustics; the "early sound" (say the first 2 ms.) is most likely to have a comb filter spectrum, and image "smearing" may also result. Don Davis proposes that the solution is to "put the sound source in as nearly anechoic space as you can achieve ... ". This certainly works. It is worth noting that it is possible to avoid early time anomalies in designing a hard front control room by paying very careful attention to reflection paths. Tricky, but possible. This is not mere conjecture; a control room of our design based on that approach has been operating in Hollywood for nearly a year. The last time I visited, I dragged along our newly- acquired TDS to see if theory, measurement and "golden ears" (not mine) would agree. The raw, unequalized response of both left and right channels overlayed is shown with a time

EDITEL. 2:'19,'79. L&R Overlay. No EQ 3 Hz. 2000 Hz /sec, 10 kHz SPLH

window of approximately 1.5 ms. (1.7 feet). The dip at about 3.5 kHz is inherent in the anechoic response of the particular loudspeaker installed. Yes, Virginia, it can be done.

The worst close -order reflection problems we have encountered to date have been reflections from the console top, which will remain a design problem no matter which ends of the control room be hard or soft. It does not appear that this 3 by 8 foot or larger reflective surface is likely to disappear or shrink markedly in the immediate future. The comments about reverberant field starvation being common in "rear dead" control rooms are true, but again, this is a matter of design specifics, and is not

Whysettleforacopy...

Why settle for an imperfect copy of your sound, when Tangent will give you the original? Tangent's crystal -clear transparency allows your original sound to flow cleanly to the tape, with only the coloration that you add. And beyond this foundation of solid quality, Tangent invites comparison on these features:

Automation Automation from Tangent uses the innovative and widely- respected Allison 65K programmer and Fadex designs. Tangent chose the Allison system because it is the proven -in -the -field system.

VCA Grouping

For those not needing full automation, Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA) Grouping utilizes up to nine VCA groups, while other manufacturers normally use fewer.

when Tangent gives you the original? 16 Submasters

Sub -Group Solo

Programmable Sub -Group Solo allows the engineer to solo an entire sub -group in place by pushing only one button. This convenience is not found in all competing VCA grouping or Automation systems.

Semi- Parametric EQ

Three -band sweepable frequency equalization on each channel is a standard Tangent feature. Not an expensive option as with some competing systems.

Transforrnerless Balancing

Transformerless Balancing keeps your original sound pure with incredible transient response. Noise is within 3 dB of the theoretical limit Transformerless Balancing is suddenly a big deal among the other console manufacturers. It should be. Tangent's been doing it for years.

Tangent Model 3216

Tangent's 16 submaster busses plus "Direct" allow tremendous flexibility for 16 or 24 -track work.

FE Î Switching

Electronic FET switching silently rearranges the signal flows for maximum convenience and minimum repatching.

Lots of Extras

Penny & Giles faders, multiple Echo and Cue send, Phase Reverse, Tape Return Gain, and many other features on each channel give full professional control and reliability.

Compare Tangent's features to consoles costing twice as much and you'll see what a value Tangent is. As for comparing Tangent's quality, well, you just can't get better than the original.

rongent MUSICAL

ENGINEERING

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R -e /p 11

PROFESSIONAL Ohio Disco Packager, SWB Electronics, uses Stanton Exclusively.

The trend to Portable Disco continues strong. An ambitious Company in Canton, Ohio, SWB, is achieving excellent success with their units (their goal is a national franchising operation). James C. Fravel, General Manager /Promotions, writes to Stanton, We are using Stanton cartridges in each and every unit we sell. Two of our units have been running for about a year and a half without failure. We are quite proud of the track record of our units and the Stanton cartridges." They use the 500AL because it's a durable cartridge and "gives SWB a 4 dB base boost that we like to have with the music we play. It has been, by far, the best cartridge we have used (and we have tried many) ". So, Stanton, world famous for its top- of-theline calibrated cartridges, the 881S and the 681 series, also serves the professionals in an interesting branch of the Disco Industry.

Whether your usage involves recording, broadcasting, archives, disco or home entertainment, your choice should be the overwhelming choice of the professionals in every field ...Stanton Cartridges. © Stanton 1978

Larry

L. Decker, Designer'Owner, examines finished control table for Disco use.

For further information write: Stanton Magnetics, Terminal Drive, Plainview, N.Y. 11803

"The choice

of the

professionals' ""

STANTON! R-e/p 12

inevitable in the generic approach. Another potential decision variable in selecting a geometry may present itself: a

portion of the studio time -buying marketplace absolutely demands, insane as it may be, the capacity to blow themselves away with sound level on playback, a type of acoustic massage. It is unrealistic, and it is hazardous to hearing, but if you want to serve this lucrative part of the market, you gotta play the game. In a simplictic analysis, at low frequencies, a "dead end" source is close to an omnidirectional radiator, Q =1 by definition. The same source mounted flush in a stiff barrier, a proper soffit for example, and working sufficiently close to another stiff boundary in the form of a hard ceiling, radiates into an approximation of a quarter space, for a source Q of 4. The direct sound is thus 6 dB higher at a given sampling point with respect to the case where Q =1. The winner of this race might more likely be determined by the total sound level, in which case the specifics of each type of design wpuld need to be compared to calculate reverberant sound level to arrive at the total sum. Again: option, tradeoff, decision. Two minor quibbles: It is stated that the "initial time delay gap ... may be adjusted to provide the psychoacoustic effect of a large space." Is this a desirable goal? Most commercial product, Disco excepted, is auditioned by the end customer in a domestic living room or den, which may or may not be a "large space." As many investigators have observed, it would appear desirable for there to be some correlation between the spectral and temporal characteristics of the "typical" living room, whatever that may be, and the control room. A matter for further research. Also, it is implied that the "precedence zone" window is 20 ms. In a fairly extensive literature search on the subject, it appears that among, the various investigations consulted, the precedence effect is at very least, a function of the source signal impulsive character, the absolute level of the direct sound, the time delay of the reflection, the relative sound level difference between the direct (or first) and the reflected (or second) sound, the spectral character of the reflected sound referenced to the direct sound, and the direction of arrival of the reflected sound referenced to the direct sound. Consider the possibility that the optimum reflection pattern in a LEDE control room might be different for different types of music not so farfetched; modern concert halls are often constructed with variable acoustics for this

reason. Again,

matter for further

investigation. I hope neither the authors or the readers will find these comments to be carping. My sincere compliments to Don Davis for his intuitive leap away from conventional

thinking on the subject and developing a potential alternate solution for consideration in designing control rooms. My double compliments to Chips Davis for having had the courage to plunk down his money and build the first one, and thus prove that the LEDE scheme is indeed viable.

from:

Jerrold S. Tiers Clayton, MO

The article, and subsequent defense of same, by Mr. Ray Kimber, concerning speaker wire, is substantially in error and is misleading. Mr. Kimber's error is in the use of an inappropriate equation without regard for the origins of the equation or the physics of electromagnetic speakers. The numbers obtained through the use of this equation do not have any necessary relationship to the force available to resist cone motion, except in comparisons using the same speaker, and are in any case not proportional to the damping force, i.e.: doubling the number does not double the force. Proof in a moment. Lest I become embroiled in an

audiophiles' subjective controversy,

hasten to point out that I am not attacking Mr. Kimber's favorite wire, just his technical explanation and formula. If you like the new wire, use and recommend it; just don't claim that halving the wire resistance doubles the damping. Now for the proof.

Let's start at the beginning. A loudspeaker is intended to transfer energy by air, by setting the air in motion, alternately creating high and low pressure zones near the cone. In order to move air, the speaker cone must move. The cone has some non -zero mass, so it has kinetic energy which is non -zero. The energy is stored when the cone is accelerated, and given up when it slows down. Because of this storage, the cone does not instantly reach full speed when a "step" of voltage is applied to the voice coil, nor does it instantly stop and reverse direction when the polarity of the voltage is reversed. When the cone is moving, its kinetic energy must be removed in order to stop it. That is, since work equals force x distance, and also work done on a moving body equals the change in kinetic energy of the body, a force must be applied while the cone moves some distance, in order to stop it. The force applied may be due to suspension friction, it may be due to the air resisting cone motion, or it may be due to electrical damping. If the rate of energy removal is low, (low damping, low friction, and poor coupling to the air), oscillations may occur at the resonant

frequency of the speaker

the

characteristic "hangover" or "tubbiness" in the bass (ringing also occurs in tweeters, and is often controlled by adjusting the suspension friction). Neglecting everything but electrical effects, let's see what causes the damping

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force. The force exerted by the voice coil is given by: F = Bli, where "B" is the magnetic flux density in the voice coil gap, "1" is the length of wire in the gap, and "i" is the current flowing in the voice coil. "B" and "1" are fixed by the coil and magnetic circuit assembly, and are constant. The variable is "i." Note that this force is either the force exerted by the coil, or the force exerted on the coil. (Microphones also "speak" if power is supplied to them.) In the case we are discussing, the energy is being supplied by the stored kinetic energy of the cone, and the current "i" is due to cone motion. Now, taking the low frequency case, current = volts /resistance by Ohms law. If we are considering the speaker/wire/

amplifier system, the equivalent circuit in Figure

is useful.

The speaker-generated voltage, Vspkr, equals B u, where "u" is the velocity of the voice coil, while "B" and "l" are as before. Therefore, the current "i" from the first equation is given by: 1

FIGURE

u/(R, + Rw + Re)

and combining,

F=Bz

u/(Rve+Rw+Ra)=B

We are neglecting the amplifier output voltage by invoking the principle of superposition, allowing separate solutions for the currents due to the two sources. Plainly, the damping force "F" is dependent on the current, "i" which is inversely proportional to the sum of the resistances, including the voice coil resistance! Now, since the voice coil resistance is the largest resistance in the circuit, typically 5 - 7 ohms for a nominal 8 ohm speaker, it is the determining element. The formula used by Mr. Kimber, since it neglects this resistance, is invalid. With respect to Mr. Kimber's "justification" of the omission, in which he claims that it's okay, since "the only difference would be the amount of power available ", his reasoning is faulty, precisely because the amount of power available will vary with voice coil resistance. Power, P, equals i2R. Reducing the resistance will increase the

...

Ro amp

Vamp

Vspkr Vspkr = B

(Neglected in incremental analysis)

Speaker

Wire

Amp

current. Because the current is squared, while R is not, the increase of i2 more than offsets the decrease due to diminuation of R. The net power supplied by the speaker will increase. Power is the rate of transfer of energy, so a given amount of kinetic energy can be removed in a shorter time if the rate of removal, power, is greater. So, again, the damping effect is greater if the voice coil resistance is decreased, if other resistances are held constant. It's not that the wire has nothing to do with damping, rather, voice coil resistance has the greatest effect because it is the largest resistance in the circuit. It is

erroneous to assume that any version

of the "damping equation" used by Messrs.

Kimber, Dickensheets, and Brooks

provides any definitive information on speaker damping, since their formula, as well as my own observations above, has neglected an additional resistor which is the acoustic radiation resistance. This provides additional damping, varying from little, in an inefficient acoustic suspension speaker, to a possibly dominant effect in a high efficiency horn system. The horn system is likely to be very tolerant of low damping ratios, as the cone is coupled to a greater mass of air, so that its own mass becomes less important by comparison. The effect is similar to suppressing the "ringing" of an L-C filter by properly terminating the output. Speakers

The Sound Workshop Series 1600 recording console. As technology advances at an ever increasing rate, it has become easier to design and build

recording equipment that yields "professional" specifications. But specifications alone do not define a product. As we conceived the Series 1600, we saw the need for a "true "professional console that would be at home in major multi -track installations, yet offer the cost effectiveness that other manufacturers promise. The Sound Workshop Series 1600 employs a modular design philosophy, allowing numerous initial configurations, and the ability to add features and function as need dictates and cash flow allows. The Series 1600 is available with our standard transformer coupled mic -pre or our new trans formerless design which features the TRANS- AMP LZ* amplifier module. Two equalizers are offered: the standard 3 -Band 12- Frequency;

and the optional full parametric which offers complete control of frequency, boost /cut, and "Q "on

each band. Both EQ sections are corn pletely stable, offer +/ -15 dB range, and include an 18 dB/ octave switchable low -cut filter as well as LED status indication for EQ IN and LOW -CUT IN. The standard level indicator is an LED column which can be ordered with or later retrofitted with Peak reading capabilities. Our new High Resolution Meter Module offers the convenience of

*Registered trademark of the Valley People. Inc.. Nashville, Tennessee.

R-e/p 14

LED metering with even greater

resolution than standard meters. All of our LED indicators feature

groups allowing from two inputs to the entire console to be controlled by one fader, even if each channel is assigned to a separate output.

fully adjustable intensity to corn pensate for ambient light conditions, and accept our Spectrum Analyzer which adds Real -Time Analyzation to the Series 1600. Standard Vu Meters are available on special order.

The gymnastics necessary to cope with today's complex mixes are handled by ARMS Automation, leaving the engineer and producer to return to their art; music and creativity. ARMS is a true computer based system featuring INDEPENDENT MUTE WRITE (if you are considering

Our VCA Grouping Package permits assignment of each input channel to up to 3 Input Sub-

other automation systems, don't buy one that can't write mutes independently!!!), Auto -nulling,

generally have an optimum amount of damping, with which they perform best, and the designer picks a tradeoff involving efficiency, size, range, then adjust the damping to conform to the desired filter function response. See the various articles in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, Audio, etc., for more information, especially concerning the large family of bass reflex alignments worked out by A. N. Thiele. With that caveat regarding the usefulness of any fancy "damping" equations, let me summarize: 1)

Electromagnetic forces

the

loudspeaker are a function of the current in the voice coil. 2) For a given voltage, the current in the coil is determined by the total circuit resistance, including that of the coil. 3) Therefore, whatever the actual utility of the equations, it is incorrect to leave voice coil resistance out. 4) Since the voice coil resistance is large with respect to other resistances in the circuit, Mr. Kimber's linear relationship between wire resistance and damping has no basis in reality, the actual relationship looks more like a log curve, and diminishing returns catches up in a hurry. 5) Those wonderful damping ratios in the 30s and 40s are wholly imaginary, and those amplifier D Rs of 1,000 will not be attainable

practice. I am very interested in what the actual assumed source resistances in the speaker industry are. It makes more sense to me to assume a small non-zero value, and assume a normal statistical distribution around that value, than it does to assume zero source impedance, since you are certain not to attain exactly zero. In any case, there must be some sort of convention or standard rule of thumb. In conclusion, Mr. Kimber's numbers seem a poor basis to choose wire on. It certainly seems adequate to keep wire resistance to around 5% of the voice coil resistance, in order to minimize power losses. Certainly #000 buss bar seems excessive, no matter what glorious numbers result from Mr. Kimber's formula. in

reply from: Ray Kimber RKB Industries Rexburg, ID In my article I was not trying to state the final word on dampening factor. Rather, the main purpose of the article was to show that there are some differences in cable resistance due to environmental tempera-

ture, stranding makeup, and the presence of tin coating on the conductors. I was only pointing out in simple terms that the cable resistance is a factor, and that the cable I was speaking about was sufficient to satisfy

such requirements. But the low resistance is not the main attraction of the new speaker cable, rather the fact that low resistance, plus distributed capacitance and braiding (no conherent antenna) serves to significantly lower the affect of nearby power cables, lighting circuits, and RF fields. The cable also permits proximity with microphone lines to a much greater degree than possible with cable normally used with speakers. Mr. Tiers is to be complimented on what essentially is an "article" on the subject of dampening factor; and I think a very good one. My apologies for oversimplifying the subject in the article. I essentially agree with Mr. Tiers, except that I still think my numbers are not a "poor" basis to choose wire on. I think that under a few circumstances wire resistance of 5% of the resistance of the voice coil would be adequate. I do, however, think that between 2 to 5% of the voice coil resistance is better and, in fact, meets my original requirements. Taking into account the factors as mentioned by Mr. Tiers, one can easily decide which way to move within that 2 to 5% range. And, for the record, I do not recommend #000 buss bar.

- continued

on page 140

Anew philosophy of console design. computer controlled Entry and Exit modes, programmab e muting, inplace -solo and more. ARMS will accept our socn to be

released Super-Group option which allows an UNLIMITED number of programmable input subgrjups.

The Series 1600 also features Penny & Giles faders; fully balanced inputs, transformers coupled track outputs, independent Studio and Control Room sections, 4 send busses with Inputsourcing and output assignment; and our unique modular, balanced TT Patch Bay.

for additional information circle no.

Almost all of the options available for the Series 1600 can be retrofitted with no additional expense over the cost if factory installed. Write for additional details. We're choosy about who sells the Series 1600, so if you need assistance in finding the tight dealer, call Emil Handke, here at Sound Workshop (516 -582- 6210).

INGING TN

ETEpINOtOG E

rrn= MRS RIA {.

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Sound Workshop Professional Audio Products, Inc. 1324 Motor Parkway, Hauppauge, New York 11787

(516) 582-6210

R-e/p 15

Northeast: LONG VIEW FARM (North Brookfield, MA) is in the process of doing overdubs with TIM CURRY and co- producers RICHARD WAGNER and MICHAEL KAMEN for their upcoming album project for A &M Records. Engineers KEVIN HERRON and BRUCE TERGESEN are sharing the console. FRED HELLERMAN is mixing an LP for PETE SEGER in Studio B. RANDALL BARBERA has joined the staff as studio manager. North Brookfield, MA 01535. (617) 867-7662. PART OF II RECORDING STUDIO (North Dartmouth, MA) formerly a mobile recording service, has expanded its a full- service 8 -track recording studio. The studio is located midway between the capitals of. Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, and draws customers from all over southern New England. The main studio was designed by the owners, and features a uniquely damped drum booth. 9 Sable Avenue, North I

facilities to become

Dartmouth, MA 02747. (617) 996 -9728. P & P STUDIOS (Stamford, CT) announces the opening of their new JOHN STORYK designed 16- 24track studio. According to studio owners, JOHN FISHBACK and TERRY PUFFER, the facility also includes two smaller studios, a soundstage, high -speed cassette and reel -to -reel duplication, film editing and transfer and multi -image programming and projection. 17 Viaduct Road, Stamford, CT 06907. (203) 327 -9204.

NOLA RECORDING STUDIOS (New York, NY) has recently finished segmenting an upcoming event for the King Biscuit Flower Hour, with RITA COOLIDGE, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, and STEPHEN STILLS headlining at the Havana Jam. The show was taped during a live performance in Cuba. Owner /engineer JIM CZAK, and staff engineer TIM MULLIGAN are engineering advertising campaigns with producers BURT JONES, TRADE MARTIN and HORACE OTT for spring releases on products including Gallo Wines, Yves St. Laurent and the Gillette Company. 111 West 57th Street, New York,

NY 10019. (212) 586 -0040.

BLUE ROCK STUDIO (New York, NY) has been doing tracks with ALAN GORDON, writer of the BARBRA STREISAND hit "My Heart Belongs To Me," for the Entertainment Company and Screen Gems. The sessions were engineered by MICHAEL EWASKO. Also in the studio is KEITH AVEDON being produced by ALLAN SCHWARTZBERG and engineered by MICHAEL EWASKO and EDDIE KORVIN. 29 Greene Street, New York, NY 10013. (212) 925 -2155.

MAGNAGRAPHIC RECORDING STUDIOS (New York, NY) has just purchased a 16 -track Scully with full remote control, updating the studio from 8- to 16- tracks. Other studio equipment includes: a custom Spectra Sonics console, dbx noise reduction, MicMix reverb and digital delay. 72 Bedford Street, New York, NY 10014. (212) 6912333.

RIGHT TRACK RECORDING (New York, NY) has recently updated their Auditronics 501 console with the Allison Research Fadex system giving the studio automated mixdown capabilities, according to studio owner, SIMON ANDREWS. 44 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10010. (212) 243 -4782. RECORD PLANT (New York, NY) unveiled its flying remote recording package at the onset of the CBS Havana Jam at the Karl Marx Theater. Record Plant's director of remote recording, DAVID HEWITT, described the operation as "a complete packaging system which allows us to transport our gear via the small aircraft and limited ground transportation available in South America." The control room sets up in available space complete with adjustable wall treatment. 321 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036. (212) 581 -6505.

SIGMA SOUND STUDIOS (New York, NY) is currently recording tracks and overdubs for the next STEELY DAN album. The sessions are being produced by GARY KATZ with ROGER NICHOLS handling the engineering chores. Other activity at the studio includes JIM BURGESS for DOOBIE BROTHERS with ANDY ABRAMS engineering. Also, JIMMY SIMPSON mixing DEODOTO with ANDY ABRAMS engineering. 1697 Broadway, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10019. (212) 582 -5055. THE SOUND PALACE, INC. (New York, NY) has recently installed a monitor system designed for the studio by TED ROTHSTEIN. The system utilizes the UREI time -aligned crossover with the Altec 604, JBL super- tweeter, and three sub -woofers in each cabinet. The studio accommodates up to a 30 piece orchestra and utilizes sn MCI series 536 console which is fully automated. 237 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019. (212) 541 -4870.

have you? increased track capacity - gone 24, 16, 8 added key people won awards moved or expanded added important equipment these are some of the interesting news items that can be announced in the next available issue. Write: R -e /p STUDIO UPDATE Box 2449, Hollywood, CA 90028

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DAWN RECORDING STUDIOS, INC. (Farmingdale, NY) announces their recent relocation into a new studio complex. The new studios feature a custom built Xedit 16 -track recorder, a Van Eps stereo disk cutting system, API and Gately 16 -track consoles, plus outboard equipment. A second 16 -track studio is presently under construction. 756 Main Street, Farmingdale, NY 11735. (516) 249 -9619.

WIZARD RECORDING STUDIOS (Briarcliff Manor, NY) announces its expansion to 24 -track capability with the acquisition of a new Lyrec recorder, one of the first of the line to be introduced in the U.S. by Neve. Other equipment includes a Tangent 3216 console. Studer A -80 2- track, Big Reds with Mastering Labs crossovers, Auratones, and a custom designed house monitor system. All outboard equipment as well as BGW power amplifiers, White monitor EQ, and crossovers are housed in custom built enclosures. P.O. Box 25, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510. (914)762-3015. Southeast: ALPHA AUDIO (Richmond, VA) recently installed a new 32- channel, automated Sphere Eclipse "C" console. Among the initial users of the new console were producers RON DUNBAR and GEORGE CLINTON, completing album projects for Parlet and Bootsy's Rubber Band. Alpha's engineer for the sessions was NICK COLLERAN. 2049 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23220. (804) 358-3852.

...

at Alpha, Richmond

STRAWBERRY JAMM SOUND COMPANY (West Columbia, SC) has expanded from four tracks to sixteen over the course of the past two years. The studio featu res MCI 16track recorder with AutoLocator, MXR digital and analog delay, dbx noise reduction, three control room monitor systems, three isolation booths, and five echo systems. Plans for the future include 24 -track with automation within the year. 3964Apian Way, West Columbia, SC 29169. (803) 356 -4540.

CRITERIA (Miami, FL) has been recording a new album for PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE with RON and HOWARD ALBERT for FAT ALBERT PRODUCTIONS producing, DON GEHMAN engineering, and KEVIN RYAN assisting. Criteria president MACK EMERMAN personally took over the engineering for a new double LP, by the UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI CONCERT JAZZ BAND. 1755 N.E. 149th Street, Miami, FL 33181. (305) 947-5611. SRS INTERNATIONAL RECORDING CORPORATION (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) has finished basic tracks on a new BUDDY GRECO album with final mixing to be completed in April. Also in production are FREDERICK MICHAEL ST. JUDE, ABBY LINCOLN and DINK RAMSEY. 790 Northeast 45th Street, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334. (305) 772 -0008.

FXL SOUND STUDIOS (Sunrise, FL) has recently opened its new 8-track studio with GOVERNOR BOB GRAHAM a symbolic recording tape to mark the opening. Studio equipment includes MCI 8- and 2-track recorders, a Loft console, Crown amplifiers, and Big Red monitors. The new studio is under the owner /management of husband /wife team, FRANK X. LUCONTO and PHYLLIS FINNEY. 7766 N. W. 44th Street, Sunrise, FL 33321. (305) 741 -7766.

cutting

South Central: JACK CLEMENT RECORDING STUDIOS (Nashville, TN) has been working on the movie soundtrack for the upcoming film, THE VILLAIN, a Rastar Films -Engelberg Production starring KIRK DOUGLAS. Production on the project was being supervised by producer /arranger BILL JUSTIS. Also in the studio was BOBBY BARE with BYRD BURTON producing and GARY LANEY engineering. 3102 Belmont Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37212. (615) 383 -1982.

YOUNG'UN SOUND (Nashville, TN) has recently updated the studio and control room, according to owner CHIP YOUNG. The VALLEY AUDIO designed room features a Sphere Eclipse "C" with Allison programmer, and two Ampex 24 -track recorders with sync -lock capability. Monitors available are Westlake, 4311s, and Auratones. Still under construction are Studio B and a separate re-mix room. 114 - 17th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203. (615) 244 -5656.

MUSIC CITY MUSIC HALL (Nashville, TN) formerly RCA Studio A, has recently updated their Neve 8038 console by adding Allison Research's automated fader system, the Fadex, according to BILL HARRIS and BILL VANDERVORT, the studio engineers. 30 Music Square, Nashville, TN 37203. (615) 255 -9084.

- continued

to be represented in the next available issue write: R -e /p STUDIO UPDATE P.O. BOX 2449 HOLLYWOOD, CA 90028

R-e/p 18

on page 23

Definitely a

World Class Studio. You've heard about Sound 80 in Minneapolis. About how the latest technological developments and equipment are always available in our studios. About our reputation for technical excellence and leading the industry in equipping studios

with revolutionary recording systems. Well, we've just topped our own reputation.

Now there's a reason to do more than hear about Sound 80- there's a reason to come and see (and use) our studios. Simply stated, Sound 80 has the finest "beyond the state of- the -art" recording equipment available anywhere today. From the 3M digital 32 -track recorder to a selection of new consoles chosen for their "musical" characteristics; from the results of years of research in monitor systems to the disc recording and remote recording systems described here: Sound 80 is definitely a world class studio.

www.americanradiohistory.com

The SRO Disc Recording System. With the advent of digital studio mastering, the next generation of disc cutting equipment is needed. Presenting the SRO System. "The Lathe" by L. J. Scully equipped with an Ortofon cutterhead driven by our Scott Rivard cutter amplifier. Sound 80 engineers have put 31/2 years of

development and subjective listening tests into the SRO System. The sound? Incredible.

Road

80.

We call it Road 80 because our remote truck can take Sound 80 technology -including

multi -track digital- anywhere. Our GMC Coach is the only remote unit available in the midwest, but it's receiving national attention because its acoustical environment sounds as good as most control rooms. Road 80 can capture those great midwest audiences on 32 -track digital, 24 -track analog or two 24- tracks locked together (46- track).

2709 East 25th Street

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406 (612) 721 -6341

continued from page

ARDENT RECORDINGS, INC. (Memphis, TN) is currently constructing a third studio which will offer automated mixdown with recording capability up to 42 tracks. Meanwhile, the two existing studios are kept busy with DENISE LASALLE, ZZ TOP and THE MEMPHIS HORNS among the groups using the 24 -track facilities recently. 2000 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104. (901) 725 -0855.

North Central: SUMA RECORDING STUDIO (Painesville, OH) has just completed final installation of 24 channels of Dolby Cat 22 Noise Reduction, interface with an Ampex MM -1200 24-track and Ampex MM-1000 16-track recorder, in addition to technical improvements in Suma's 24x 48 channel console. Other equipment in use includes DeltaLabdigital delays, EMT echo, Eventide Flanger, Studer and Ampex tape machines, and JBL and Auratone monitors. 5706 Vrooman Road, Painesville, OH 44077. (216) 951 -3955. K &R RECORDING STUDIOS (Southfield, MI) has just celebrated its first year in business. Equipment includes: 8- and 16 -track Scully machines, 4- and 8 -track Tascam machines, Otari and Re Vox 2 -track machines, JBL and Auratone monitors, Model 5 Tascam Mix board, dbx compressors and noise reduction, Kepexes, and Orban and EMT reverb. 29111 Greenfield Road, Southfield, MI 48076. (313) 557 -8276.

CLOUD BORN PRODUCTIONS STUDIOS (Grosse Pointe, MI) announces its expansion to 24 -track MCI with Dolby and dbx noise reduction. The facility is owned by KEN SANDS and GARY PRAEG. Additional equipment includes an MCI console, Eventide Harmonizer, UREI limiters, Kepex Noise Gates, EXR Exciter, and a choice of two monitoring systems. 18000 Mack Avenue, Grosse Pointe, MI 48224. (313) 882 -0566. LANSING SOUND (Okemos, MI) is now a 24 -track facility. The building was designed and constructed from the ground up as a recording studio. The studio features a MCI 24 -track recorder, Nectek console with full complement of mikes and outboard equipment. Engineer and chief designer BOB BALDORI has formerly worked with Lou Adler, Chuck Berry and Motown Records. 2719 East Mt. Hope Road, Okemos, Ml 48864. (517) 351 -6444. WESTMINISTER SOUND STUDIO (Ft. Dodge, IA) has released plans for a major expansion, including the acquisition of 24 -track state -of- the -art recording equipment for their Westlake facility. According to studio manager JACK STOWE, Milam Audio will be installing the new equipment. Box 220, Otho, IA 50569. (515) 972 -4475.

Southwest: INDIAN CREEK RECORDING (Uvalde, TX) is currently under construction, incorporating the newest design frcm WOODY SMITH, of Abadon /Sun, Inc. The new studio is being built from the ground up with 18 -inch thick rock walls resting on bedrock along with fifteen hundred square feet of glass enclosing the structure. Equipment consists o` a Neve console and Lyrec multitrack with Ampex ATR -100 mixdown machines, Lexicon digital reverb units, with monitoring done through an array of three JBL 4343s bi -amped with Crown PSA -2s and equalized by White sixth octaves. WELLS SOUND STUDIO (Houston, TX) has just upgraded to 16 -track facilities from 8- track. Also in the changeover, a 32-input Speck console was installed. Monitoring is done through Altec 604s, with outbcard equipment including delay lines, dbx, and signal gates. 20.36 Pasket, Houston, TX 77018. (713) 688 -8067.

Mountain: SANBORN PRODUCTIONS (Boulder, CO) is now operating its new mobile unit designed by GENE REYNOLDS and CARL FROST utilizing the near -field monitoring with bi -amped JBL 4333A monitors. Other equipment includes a Sound Workshop 1600 console, and an Ampex AG- 440 -8. The 27- channel snake system uses Jensen sp!itter transformers and AMP Coaxacon connectors. An oversized heating /air conditioniig unit floats independent of the control room. All of this is housed in a 22' van atop an International Loadstar. 1280- 28th Street, Suite 10, Boulder, CO 80303. (303) 443 -2372.

R-e/p 23

COMMUNI- CREATIONS, INC. (Denver, CO) has started operations in their newly completed 24 -track room. ALAN BURNHAM ,formerdesignerandtechnician at Caribou Ranch, now astaff member at Communi, designed and installed the new studio. The facility now has three complete recording areas, including a 50' by 35' by 18' sound stage, a newly remodeled eight track room, video capabilities in all rooms, and all Ampex equipment including the ATR -100. EMT reverberation units are also featured. 2130 South Bellaire Street, Denver, CO 80222. (303) 759 -1155. Southwest:

LOCATION RECORDING SERVICE (Burbank, CA) has reopened their Studio 4with new Trident TSM 32 -24-24 board, which will be interfaced with the first Studer A -800 to be delivered in the U.S., late in April. The new board features a custom layout, and special mods to provide optimum, transformerless, interface with the new Studer. First sessions in the new room will include: Backstreet /MCA's artist, ROBBIE PATTON, with MIKE VERDICK producing, and Epic Records' group PAGES, with BOBBY COLUMBY producing, and MIKE VERDICK engineering. 2201 West Burbank Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91506. (213) 849 -1321. a

KENDUN RECORDERS (Burbank, CA) has promoted LEILA GREENSTONE to director of administration, and LEAH BERNSTEIN to director of creative services. Also joining the engineering staff are JOHN STRONACH and BAKER BIGSBY. Artists in the studios include: BLUE OYSTER CULT, IGGY POP, and JOACHIM KUHN. 619 S. Glenwood Place, Burbank, CA 91506. (213) 843 -8096. SOUND AFFAIR RECORDING (Santa Ana, CA) has opened its new studio featuring an Ampex MM -1200 16 -track machine and a Sound Workshop 1600 series console. Monitoring is through JBL and E -V Sentry Ill speakers. Studio design includes drum and vocal isolation rooms and piano trap area. EXPRESS SOUND served as a consultant and installer on the project. 2727 G. Croddy Way, Santa Ana,

Sound Affairs Studio

CA 92704. (714) 540 -0063.

SALTY DOG RECORDING (Van Nuys, CA) has opened its new 24 -track studio with 4,000 square feet of floor space and new equipment, including MCI JH -528 console, 3M -79 24 -track machine with

Audo Kinetics AutoLocator, Ampex 2 -track machines, stereo EMT, Marshal Time Modulator, UREI Time Cube, Kepex, Gain Brains, MXR Phasor and Flanger, with monitoring done through Ampex monitor speakers. 14511 Delano Street, Van Nuys, CA 91411. (213) 994 -9973.

SPECTRUM STUDIOS (Venice, CA) has added a Stephens 24 -track tape recorder and an EMT /250 Digital Reverberation system to their already 24 -track studio, bringing total recording capability to 46tracks using their 3M79 24 -track and the new Stephens interlocked. The studio has also modified their automated Harrison console to include tri- stable null lights, automated mute and high frequency peaking /shelving option. The studio is currently completing an LP for DAVID CASTLE (Casablanca /Parachute), JOE FARRELL (Xanadu), and DAVID SOUL. 3015 Ocean Front Walk, Venice. CA 90291. (213) 399 -9218.

LIONS GATE FILMS (Los Angeles, CA) the production company founded by ROBERT ALTMAN, has recently gone into post -production with the establishment of LIONS GATE SOUND. RICHARD PORTMAN has been named vice president. Portman's credits include seven Academy Award nominations. Two new state -of- the -art dubbing stages are being constructed which will be able to accommodate 15 films per year. All time is already booked through 1979. 1861 South Bundy Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90025. KSR STUDIOS (Hollywood, CA) has opened their new 24 -track facility, according to president KEN STORY. The studio is MCI equipped with 36-in and 24 -out. Monitoring is done with UREI Time Align Monitors. JERRY WEAVER (Casablanca) is currently cutting tracks at the new studio for the R&B group, FRIENZ. The sessions are being engineered by HAL SACKS. 1680 Vine Street, Suite 706 -713, Hollywood, CA 90028. (213) 467 -G768.

ELDORADO SOUND STUDIOS (Hollywood, CA) was operated for fifteen years under the supervision of chief engineer JOHN CEVETELLO. On February 1st, John died while in Paris recording a Carmen MacRea album at the NEDAM convention. The studio will continue to operate under the new management of NADA RAY BELL, previously an assistant to John. 1717 N. Vine Street, Hollywood, CA 90028. (213) 467 -6151.

R-e,p 24

FOR THE SMALL STUDIO OWNER WITH BIG IDEAS. If you're a small studio owner, you may have a problem: your ideas are far beyond your present equipment. Maybe you're an engineer, dreaming of an automated 24 -track studio. Maybe you're a producer, searching for "the next big thing." Maybe you're an artist, trying to land a record contract. What you need is something that will get you from where you are to where you'd like to be. Sound impossible? Not to us. At dbx, we're committed to make professional recording technology available to anyone with the determination to make use of it. We make a line of rack -mountable signal -processing devices designed and priced especially for the small studio. Our tape noise reduction systems, the 155 (4- channel, switchable), the RM -155 (8-channel, switchable) and the 158 (8- channel, simultaneous), all offer the same 30 dB noise reduction and 10 dB headroom improvement as our state -of- the -art units and are fully compatible with them. They enable you to make master quality tapes, instead of demos, on your present

equipment. Our 161 and 163 compressor /limiters feature true RMS signal detection, which closely resembles the response of the human ear, and feed forward gain reduction, which allow for infinite compression capability. The 163 employs "Over Easy" compression, the most natural- sounding you've ever heard, and its "one knob" operation is the simplest around. We can't guarantee our products will make you a star. But if you've got the talent, they'll take you as far as you want to go. dbx, Incorporated, 71 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02195 617- 964 -3210.

dbx

161

UNLOCK YOUR EARS .,; dbx 158

for additional information circle no.

*-E JENNIFUDY RECORDING STUDIOS (North Hollywood, CA) has opened their new 24 track studio according to an announcement by owner and cheif engineer Phil Kaye. The studio is equipped with a Harrison Model 3232 console. Available are a number of different monitoring systems including the UREI 813 'Time Aligned' and Mitsubishi DS -35B speakers. Kaye recently engineered a direct -to- two -track album for producer Dave Pell's "Prez Conference" featuring Joe Williams. The record was produced for GNP Crescendo, and is called "Prez and Joe ". 11115 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601 (213) 980 -3872 THE AUTOMATT (San Francisco, CA) has been recording CON -FUNK -SHUN for Mercury Records with SKIP SCARBOROUGH producing and FRED CATERO engineering. Also in the studio were THE DUROCS with ELIOT MAZER producing in conjunction with members RON NAGLE and SCOTT FREE, and SPELLBOUND with ROY SEGAL engineering. 827 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. (415) 777 -2930.

TEWKSBURY SOUND RECORDERS (Richmond, CA)-has just acquired an Ampex MM -1000 wired for 24- tracks, a pair of Ampex 440 2- tracks, and two ReVox quarter and half -track machines. Other new equipment includes: a Nakamichi cassette deck, Orban Parametric Equalization, a Schoeps stereo microphone, and a Mason -Hamlin Concert Grande, 9' long, which was built in 1910. 6026 Bernhard, Richmond, CA 94805. (415) 232-7933.

VILLA RECORDERS (Modesto, CA) has opened its new 16/24 -track studio located on an 80 acre almond ranch. The studio is using a Trident 28 -in, 24 -out console, Ampex MM -1200 16/24 -track recorder, two Ampex ATR -100s, and a custom monitor system with Altec 604s, JBL 4311s, and Autratones. For rest and relaxation the studio has a swimming pool, hot tub, and Swedish sauna. 3013 Shoemake Avenue, Modesto, CA 95350. (209) 521 -1494.

Villa Recording Studios.

Northwest: KAYE -SMITH PRODUCTIONS (Seattle, WA) announces the reopening of their Studio A, which features an API custom console recently retrofitted with the Allison Research Fadex system. According to DAVE MATHEW, chief maintenance engineer for the facility, Studio B also utilizes an API console, which is automated with an Allison 65K Programmer. 2212 Fourth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121. (206) 624 -8651.

England LANSDOWNE HOUSE (London) has recently installed a new Scamp outboard rack consisting of four F300 -S Expander/Gates, two SO1 Compressor- Limiters and the new effects modules S23 Pan Effects Module and S24 Time Shape Modules. The rack has been built into a self -contained signal processing "trolley" which may be wheeled to any part of the studio. Lansdowne House, Lansdowne Road, London W.11. 01 727 0041. ODYSSEY RECORDING STUDIOS (London) has completed its new facility includes two studios with large control rooms, a broadcast facilities studio, copying rooms, and will eventually include disk cutting facilities. Each control room will have MCI 24- and 32 -track machines which can be locked together. In addition both studios are electronically connected making it possible to tie all four machines together. 52 -track studio in London's West End. The

ustralia STUDIOS 301 (Sydney, Australia) has opened as a state -of- the -art facility consisting of two main studios, a mixdown suite and mastering rooms. The studios offer fully synchronized video for film and television work, direct to -disk recording of up to 45 tracks with sync -locked Studer tape machines. Acoustic design was clone by KIGEL WAKE, with all studios, including the mastering suite and mixdown suite, being acoustically matched. Other equipment includes: Neve consoles, and dbx or Dolby noise reduction in addition to all of the usual special effects equipment. 301 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW, Australia. (02) 20912. A

to be represented in the next available issue write: R -e /p STUDIO UPDATE P.O. BOX 2449 HOLLYWOOD, CA 90028

R-e/p 26

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five -way professional amplification systems! As the most experienced manufacturer of multi -way amplification systems, SPECTRA SONICS has consolidated over seven years of field experience into the design of a second generation DC modular power amplifier, the Model 701.

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SPECTRA SONICS modular DC power amplifiers have been utilized by such top performers* as Paul Anka, The Carpenters, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Jacksons, Wayne Newton, Donny and Marie Osmond, Debbie Reynolds, and by such prestigious performing arts facilities* as Concord Pavilion, Denver Symphony Hall, Harrah's Club Tahoe, Hollywood Bowl, Ontario Place Forum, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Stardust Hotel, and St. Louis Municipal Opera. Now you, personally, may listen to the new SPECTRA SONICS Model 701 Power Amplifier in tri-amplified systems at any of the following participating SPECTRA SONICS dealers: EXCEL AUDIO 1819 Crook Avenue Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001 (307) 638 -6433

ACCURATE SOUND CORPORATION 114 5th Avenue Redwood City, California 94063 (415) 365 -2843

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AMERICAN ELECTRONICS 313 South 36th Street Phoenix, Arizona 85034

9701 Taylorsville Road

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KLOPF AUDIO /VIDEO COMPANY 3381 Successful Way Dayton, Ohio 45414 (513) 236 -5500

AUDIO CONCEPTS, INC. 7138 Santa Monica Boulevard Hollywood, California 90046 (213) 851 -7172

AUDIO INNOVATORS 216 Boulevard of the Allies Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222 (412) 391 -6220

MULTI -SONUS, INC. 168 Durnan Street Rochester, New York 14621 (716) 544 -8024

BARATH ACOUSTICS, INC. 1925 South Rosemary, Suite C Denver, Colorado 80231 (303) 750 -6474

SOUND SYSTEMS, INC. 10254 Page Industrial Boulevard St. Louis, Missouri 63132 (314) 428 -1033

CABLE BROTHERS, LTD. 7915 Argyll Road Edmonton, T6C 4A9, Canada

SPECTRA SOUND PRODUCTS, INC. 2245 South West Temple Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 (801) 467 -2842

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COLLMUS SOUND, INC. 627 North Bend Road Baltimore, Maryland 21229

8535 Fairhaven San Antonio, Texas 78229 (512) 690 -8888

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392 -7531 R -e /p 29

Horizon's

Tommy Li Puma - from

R -e/p [Tom Lubin]: In the past you've started and built a couple of labels. Horizon is your new label tell me about it. Tommy LiPuma: Hopefully it's going to be as eclectic as my personal tastes are. I enjoy a lot of different types of music and I feel a record company has to have a strong base. It has to be involved in all types of music. When I say all types, I don't feel we should venture into country, or classical since I feel there are other people who do that a lot better than I. But other than that I'd say Horizon is going to be rather broad in range. Not just because I feel its important to have a good solid base but because that's the way my tastes are.

...

R -e/p [Tom Lubin]: Do you think Horizon, a

small label, operating under the umbrella of a much larger company, A&M, is indicative of a trend in the business? Do you see more small labels being distributed through much larger companies? Tommy LiPuma: I think distribution deals will probably become more prevalent in order for the small label to survive. You know there was a time when a small label could make it with independent distribution. At the time that was the state of

things, but today it's become so sophisticated. The manner in which Columbia or WEA distribute their product to the retailers and directly to the consumer makes it very hard for the small company to stay right up there with them, and they have to, just to compete. It's not only a question of good music, though I guess I'll always feel that good music will win out, it's a question of getting your product out on the street. I think that any smart individual, an entrepreneur, who wants to start a label R-e/p 30

promotion

to production by Tom Lubin

to president -

photography: Art Rex should put some serious thought into it. I learned that the best way, by hard knocks. I started in 1962 with a Cleveland record distributor. It was a good experience. I packed records for M.S. Distributing. Shortly thereafter I got into promotion. I came out to L.A. and went to work for Liberty Records. They sent me to New York for a year in the same capacity, and then I came back out here and got into publishing. That was when I was able to start delving into the studio. I was doing song demos with writers and was able to learn producing without having to put my ass on the line making a record. It gave me a chance to play around in the studio. I realized I really enjoyed it. I had been a musician, a saxophone player, and had traveled with bands for a few years. I averaged three or four nights a week. During the day I was a barber by trade. That might have spurred me on because I hated barbering to such a degree that I began to drill myself to achieve whatever it was I was going to do just to get out of that. R -e/p [Tom Lubin]: How is it you went into

promotion rather than developing as a musician? Tommy LiPuma: I suppose I was a bit insecure. Then again, now that I think about it, it could have been just how I felt at the time. It seemed like a good way to get into the business. I was always a record freak. I had a big collection of albums, so it was an exciting thing to be into. The insecure part of it was that I wasn't a schooled musician. I could read, but I wasn't good at composition. I felt you had to have a background in conducting, and so on. It

never really occurred to me to enter it as a player, not once I heard John Coltrane play in a club. I knew I wasn't in that category, so I went into promotion and that brought me out here. R -e/p [Tom Lubin]: Is that when you got

involved with A&M? Tommy LiPuma: No, A&M was the first job that I held as an A &R man. Prior to that I was doing A &R work with Imperial Records, which was a subsidiary of Liberty. I

had moved myself from professional manager of the publishing firm into making some records. At that point Jerry and Herb asked me to join them. That was when they were just starting to expand. But we've gotten off the beaten path. We were talking about surviving in the business. The biggest lesson I had was with a company that I co -owned Blue Thumb. Dave Mason, the Pointers, the Crusaders, Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Sylvester and a few others were on the label. This was before ABC got involved with it. It was three -and-a -half years of survival. We were trying to exist as an independent, but we had a terrible time collecting from distributors. We had to pay our bills because it was the only way we could get our records pressed, but it was tough getting our money. At that particular time, in the late 60s and early 70s, the big labels were really getting into bidding wars over artists, so we were really flying by the seat of our pants. Nonetheless it was a real lesson for me in marketing. I realized just what you're really up against if you're a smaller label. There was a list of independents. A &M,

- continued overleaf

showcase their talents and generate interest in their region. Often they hope that a major will see some action on the act and pick up the product. Do you think an act has a chance by approaching the record

represent you as your "manager" for the sake of being your mouthpiece isn't much help either. If he doesn't have any more power or clout to open doors than you do, then you're both in the same boat. There are very few individuals that have the agressiveness and ingenuity to get in the door and become a great manager. So, I guess it comes back to the best thing they can do is find a reputable music business attorney. If the attorney can't directly help he will definitely know somebody who could. If he's into it and likes the people involved and wants to take them on as clients then, obviously, he's going to work

business this way?

with them.

Motown, and a few others, were at the top and they got paid first. We were at the bottom of the list. To get back to the original question. Yes, I think you're going to see more small record labels using major distribution providing the major knows and trusts the abilities of those involved. R -e/p [Tom Lubin]: Many artists haue tried

to start their own labels in an effort to

Tommy LiPuma: First of all they need a good amount of capitol in order to just make the record, pay for the manufacturing and distribution, and support whatever it takes in the way of promotion to break the record out. I wouldn't want to say that it couldn't be done, but I think that it's practically suicidal as far as getting something out of it. I think an act would be better off putting their energies into making the act as good as it possibly can be. The band should have their material good and tight so they're really ready to go when it does start happening.

R -e/p: Do you think performance is an

integral part of promoting the record product?

TL: I have seen cases where it didn't seem to matter; such as Steely Dan, or Pink Floyd, but I think it really helps. In the case of George Bensen, when he's traveling he's probably reaching 20,000 people a week. If you do that over a period of thirty or forty weeks, and maybe every six months you go back to the same town, you're not only seeing a lot of people, you're building up a following. Your name is always out there in one form or another. R -e/p:

It Sound Labs with engineer Al Schmitt.

R -e/p: Once they are ready who should an

act first approach? A record company, an attorney, an accountant or management? TL: I'd say for an unknown group that

doesn't have anybody handling their management, they should go to an attorney. A music attorney, not just "a" attorney, because for the most part attorneys are

connected with people in the record business on a daily basis. If they hear something when someone comes into their office for some sort of business negotiations, it's very easy for the attorney to say, "I just heard something today. The guy plays really well, and I think you should hear the tape." If that happens there's a possibility that someone will hear the tape. Trying to hook up with a manager who is known for an act that is unknown, is almost impossible unless the manager sees the group and gets excited and wants to manage the act. Getting someone to

third on a bill they're probably not euen meeting their expenses. In order to make it happen for them are record companies getting more inuolued in the financing of the road production? TL: Very much, but it depends on what type of tour is booked. It's got to make sense. If a band comes to the label and wants tour support and their manager has booked them in a lot of towns that aren't important, then the company isn't going to do it. The cities don't have to be major cities like L.A. or New York, but they have to be break -out markets like Seattle, Washington/Balti more, Boston, Philadelphia or Atlanta. It's important that they be seen in those areas, especially to coincide with the release of a new album; but it's got to make sense, the dates have to be right. Another thing, when you're dealing with a good manager it's amazing the things you can do. The staging of the show. If they're good at it then things go as smooth as butter. a band is

R -e/p: Like Bill Graham.

TL: Yes, or Shep Gordon. R -e/p: Since they're already

financing tours do you think record companies are going to get more into management as well as record production? Will the two become integrated? TL: Well, in a sense it goes on now when an act doesn't have a manager. Sometimes they're better off not having one. If the record company is on top of the situation

they can act as a liaison between the group and an agent or club. But something tells me that it would get off -color if suddenly you

had record companies dealing in management. I think

would be unhealthy.

It seems that jazz is becoming an euer increasing part of the record market. TL: I think it has more visibility. I see more R -e/p:

articles and magazine features. There's more being written about it and more people have become interested in it. The artists that have had huge success such as Chick Corea, and George Bensen aren't really making "jazz" albums. I don't think Breezin' or any of the other albums I've made with George are strictly jazz records. Those record are very broad in nature and have a lot of different influences in them. By contrast a Bill Evans album falls much more into the category of jazz. Those albums, even though they may have had increased sales commensurate with the increase in the buying public, aren't really doing any better than they were five years ago. I'm sure that if Bill sold 30,000 copies of his last album that would be a lot. It's unfortunate, too, because he happens to be one of the best. R -e/p: He did an excellent album with Tony Bennett.

TL: That record sold more, and had "pop" overtones by the very nature of Tony Bennett.

A&M has always taken acts and developed them. They've always been willing to keep an artist who consistently sells, though not millions of units. Many labels seem much more prone to drop an artist if their first record isn't a million seller. Do you think labels are going to continue this practice, or become more involved in nurturing and developing an act? TL: I think it will depend on the nature of the act. In the case of A&M their very existence made them do what they've done, which is develop talent. There's a few reasons for R -e/p:

that. First, I don't think Jerry

the kind of

individual who is inclined or, if it really got down to it, would want to compete with, let's say, a Columbia. He gets more of ajolt out of finding an unknown act that he has an instinct about, and building that act. I can't think of one act with the exception of Joan Baez, or someone of that stature, that was a known act prior to being with the label. It's the very nature of what they've built this small empire on. It's what they get a kick out of. To tell you the truth, so do I. It's not that I've made that a quest in my life, it's just that I get some bit of excitement out of developing an act. I think that's where my

strengths lie. I guess, too,

I don't particularly like dealing with an established act. You have less of a one -to -one relationship when you suddenly walk into a situation where you're

R-e/p 33

At Sound Labs with drummer Steve Gadd.

confronted with an act that's sold several million copies. Suddenly, you're sitting there and they say to you, "Okay, schmuk. What have you got to contribute?" The thing I thrive on is being able to develop talent. It's seeing the potential, and working with it. R -e/p: How important is the attitude of the artist in your decision to work with them? TL: That's one of the big things. First of all, it's very obvious there is a multitude of talent

out there. Some talent seems to work at their art in a negative manner and some work positively. I've worked with both. When the talent is so great that I overlook some potential problems, then it will always, some way or another, come back and disturb the situation. An act has to have all the elements, not only whatever it is, the vocal or musical creative part, but also a determination and positive attitude that they've got the goods. It's just a question of getting all the right elements and working at it and making it your career. That's another thing. An artist sees what's conceivable and what's possible and they say let's go and do it; let's get a platinum record. That's probably the worst thing that could ever happen to an absolutely unknown group. If they get a platiunum record the first time around, they are suddenly put in quite a position. With the inexperience that they have it's likely that they're just going to be ground up. I think people have to look at it as a long term career just like anyone else who goes into a profession. R -e/p: How do you approach producing? TL: Every case is unique. In the case of George Benson, or someone like that, I get very involved in the selecting of the material; the early stages; the cast of musicians, such

as Harvey Mason and Ralph McDonald; and picking the right arranger. In that particular case we used Claus. On "Living Inside Your Love" I used Mike Manari because Steve Gadd had played me some things he'd done and they knocked me out. I'd say it's casting in George's case, and being his objectivity in the booth. I think one of the hardest problems for an act is that there is no way to be both subjective and objective. It's very tough when you're out there doing it to suddenly walk into the booth and listen to the broad spectrum without wondering R-e/p 34

whether or not you played one particular passage well. Sometimes musicians get hung up on a bar or a part of the song that is really insignificant to the whole. I like going for a performance. That's one of the things that makes working with Al Schmidt such a joy. I've worked with him for eight years. Al is probably one of the best mixers that I've had the pleasure of working with. And it's in the manner in which he does things which is so wonderful. When I'm working with him I know he has it covered, and I don't have to concern myself with the sound. There have been a few instances when I've gone to New York to do some recording, and Al didn't come along, when I just'Wasri t sure I was getting things properly on tape. It was a well established studio and the engineers had been at it for twenty -five years, but they had an attitude that they were just putting in their time. You'd a §k them to change something and you'd get these vibes. They weren't listening, they were just there. Their minds were somewhere in New Rochelle. It's different with Al, and all the good engineers I know. They're dedicated and have a pride in their craft. Another thing that's fantastic about Al is his microphone technique. It's a real forte. It's how he places them and which mike he uses. It's all there. In the re -mix we might use some outboard equipment to create effects. Nonetheless it's put on the tape with very little processing. Also, he works in a smooth, swift, and as quiet a manner as he conceivably can. That's been the biggest asset to us working together. I'm able to catch that spontaneity because, barring any unforeseen problems, within twenty minutes to a half -hour there's a more than reasonable balance. If things are starting to get hot we can get it. It's like anything else. The players start off at one level and play to a peak, and then it slides downward. We may do another eight takes, but the fact is that if you've got it you can always go back to it. I don't ever say to them, "That's it! You don't need to do it anymore." Not if they feel they want to do another one. The fact is, if we're ready when that magic happens, we've got it. And that's what I'm looking for, the magic.

the face is the truth. There's no sense in trying to belabor something. With the exception of Dave Mason, who has an amazing capacity to get better as he does overdubs, I can't remember that many cases where recutting a part over -and -over improved the performance.

R -e/p: Do you do much overdubbing? TL: It depends. In the case of Weekend In L.A. we did quite a bit of overdubbing. But, again, it's no different than making a film in that all you're really trying to do is create an illusion. If the illusion is correct I don't think that anyone will question how you got it. It's making it feel right and seem like that's the way it's supposed to be. That's your job, to

of the

make sure that it does. The other thing we do is fix just what doesn't work. If I can keep 70 or 80 per cent of an original performance I would rather replace that 20 or 30 per cent if, in fact, that thing that's hitting me right in

R -e/p: What sort of hours do you like to

work? TL: I don't like epics. First of all, it's an absolute waste of money. After awhile you're just punching a time clock. The creative juices and stamina will only last so long. There's a lot of tension in a session because in a sense everybody is under the gun. With a few exceptions six or seven hours is about it. After that I lose my objectivity, and I clam up. I originally was a night person who would work evenings, but I find now that if I work during the day I get the musicians at a fresh part of the day before they've been in fourteen sessions. Even if they're not session guys they've been up since 11 o'clock bouncing around or doing whatever it is that they're doing. By 11 o'clock at night things start going in the other direction. I like working days. R -e/p: Do you think the U.S. is just catching

up to the interest that Europeans have displayed in jazz over the past few years? TL: Yes, I think so. The Europeans have always been aware of the players, and so forth. R -e/p: In the early sixties there was a

definite English style. There seems to have emerged another European sound, this one having its root in Germany and France. Do you think that influence will continue? TL: Most definitely, and not just the disco. There are also some great things coming out of Japan. I was in Japan in December, and I was knocked out with the musicianship I heard. While I was there I picked up an album for the rest of the world. A group called The Yellow Magic Orchestra. It's sort of in the same gendre as Tangerine Dream or Kraftwork. I would say it's one of the most original things I've heard come out of Japan. The guy who composed and put it all together is Harry Hosono. I was very impressed with not only the performances

orchestra in person and the people's response to them, but with him as an individual. That gets back to what we were talking about that an act not only has the talent, etc., but he can walk into a room and you feel the charisma and the guy's presence. Then you're talking about an artist who can do more than have a hit record. R -e/p: Would you expect more artists from non -English speaking countries will cut

English versions of their records? TL: Of course, because they are more

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conscious of how important that is. They know they have to be understood.

singer, and a fantastic band, but material sucks, it won't work.

R -e/p: You work with Al Schmitt a

R -e/p: George Benson writes, plays, and sings. Jon Mark, Johnny Almond and Dave Mason all have similar broad talents. Is it

great

deal. He produces and engineers many projects as well as engineering many of your

the

productions. Do you think that the getting where the complete artist who does engineer/producer has a difficult time falling it all is the only one that is going to be able to into the role of engineer only? TL: I have never felt it with Al. It's a mutual respect for one another as to what our roles are, what it is that we do. Even in the cases where we've co- produced such as Al Jarreau. Al Schmitt heard him at the Bla Bla Cafe, on Ventura Boulevard [Los Angeles]. Al Jarreaú s manager and Al Schmitt got some money out of Columbia to make a demo that didn't work out. And then I saw him at The Troubador, in Hollywood, and was knocked out. I called Mo Ostin and we went down on a Sunday night and that was it. So Al Schmitt was really responsible for Jarreau getting his first deal. Subsequently, after the first album, we decided we wanted to produce the album together and it worked out beautifully. And, as I think about it, it's been a long term thing since we were close prior to working together. Al was producing records for RCA, Sam Cook, Henry Mancini, and so forth, and I was a promotion man and we were friends. Al went into business for himself with Steve Douglas. They had a company called

Penegrahm. Steve Douglas played saxophone, he was on the last Dylan tour, and was the chicken sax player on the Spector Records. Al hadn't mixed a record in I'd say eight to ten years. He'd stopped mixing records in the early 60's. When I was doing the Dave Mason album the engineer that I'd been working with had to go on to another project. I don't know why it occurred to me, but I decided to ask Al if he would mix the album down for me, just as a favor. He was very excited and really wanted to do it. I think consequently when we did that album that was the Dave Mason Alone Together album that it gave him a second look at how talented he was in an area he had not pursued for eight or ten years. I was very pleased and so was he that he got back

...

into it. R -e/p: What does it take to be a good

producer? What should an act look for when someone says they want to produce them? TL: Someone that's not only objective, but has the ability to draw the right things out of you. Or, spontaneously being able to know when something is right. Being able to point it out and saying, 'You know, this is what it should be like." And when it's off the mark the producer has to be able to tell the artist that it's not working. Someone who is sensitive to material. That's a big, big part of the problem. I mean, you can have a great R-e/p 36

make it? TL: Conceivably so. However, if the individual who doesn't write but has a great voice also has the ingenuity and wherewithal to hear good material and build a catalog of songs they can perform, then they can make it. There are still people who write songs and others who push them. And you'll always have great singers because someone will come along and say, "You're a great singer. I want to make an album with you." R -e/p: How does somebody find great material? How does the guy that lives in

Oshkosh find great material? TL: If you hang around crowds of music people maybe you'll hear something. Or, you just might start by going out and buying the hits. I guess if I was an individual who was trying to do something, the first thing I'd try to do is get out of Oshkosh and go to a hub. That's not necessarily just L.A. Any area where music people congregate: New York, Nashville, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Texas, Atlanta. There are pockets all over the country. R -e/p: The exposure to other acts helps a

new act to develop their own abilities. TL: Not only that, it allows the act to rub elbows with a variety of music people. R -e/p: If someone has an unknown act and

they want you to hear them, what do they have to do? What sort of presentation? TL: Someone has got to get my attention. This is very difficult for a lot of people to

understand. If I had to actually sit down and listen to every tape and talk to every person who calls me, I would be sitting here twenty four hours a day. That's just not productive, not in my particular case. What I do is have someone whose ears I respect highly, and they listen to them and pull out what they feel to be the highlights. From there they narrow it down even more. If a manager, producer, arranger, or musician I respect calls me and tells me, "Hey, listen, so- and -so has this tape, or is playing somewhere and I think you should hear them," then I'll go and listen to them. I guess that's what it gets down to. Other than those things that run across my ears when I'm out, I guess I respond to people I know and respect. As far as the demo itself, I swear I expect nothing more than whatever it takes to get the point across. If it's a song, a piano or a guitar and the voice will do because a good song is a good song, and a twenty piece orchestra is not going to make it better or worse. In the case of a band, just going in there and doing the best material that they think they have, keeping it down to a minimum because quality is not quantity. Some people call me and say they've written four hundred songs. That's great, but which four or five out of that four hundred are any good. What are the best ones. Picasso didn't paint a masterpiece everytime he sat down. R -e /p: When someone wants to take an

unknown artist into the studio should they deal with the legal practicalities before starting to work with the musical creativity? This seems to have always been a business where some participants in it haue alleged rightly or wrongly that they've been creatively or financially ripped off. What is your perspective on the ethics of the business? TL: Anytime you deal with individuals I think you'll find things run pretty steady, the world hasn't changed; and I don't think that it's going to get any better. But I don't think it's any more -or-less unethical than any other business that I know of. I mean, you have honest people and you have thieves in any business you're in. What it gets down to is that people have to be astute as to who the assholes are, and who the honest people are. Sometimes that's very difficult to do. Very often the person who's unethical has other things going for him such as charm, or a glib tongue. if you're an inexperienced individual and just coming up, or you're a kid or whatever and somebody makes you laugh or says something that rings a bell, you get sucked in. All the fanatical religious movements that are going on have proven that people want to follow like sheep. They don't want to think. This is really as far afield of the music business as it's possible to get, but I think it's appropriate. If there's one thing I fear today it's the loss of the individual. I see the continued on page page 40

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individual shrinking. Forget whether it's socialism, or capitolism or whatever. It's like Fritz Lang's Metropolis. We are starting to miss the individual. That's what I see missing. When you think back to the pioneers they were very individual people. When you speak specifically of the record business pioneer like Sid Nathan, who was owner and head of King Records, he might

line regardless of whether it's a hit record or not. You're there and you're learning. If it's a

have had some questionable business dealings, but he was an individual.

use a formula of my own. I know the average amount of days that in takes me to do tracks. And the number of musicians that I'm going to use. I'll multiply the cost of the musicians times the number of hours and days that I'm going to use them. That's added to the studio time. I know how much the studio is costing per hour. I use an average as far as tape. At $125 a reel that can get out there, too. If you're using interlocked machines the number of reels increases, and I record at 30 ips. You go through a reel pretty quickly at that speed. So you add that up. If you are

R -e/p: A&M is uniquely individual. TL: Yes, it's a haven. R -e/p: Those who might now be in school. To them what would you suggest? What sort of background is best suited for this

business? TL: What specific area? R -e/p: Engineering, producing

those

good studio you'll just pick it up if you have the passion and desire to do it.

How do you prepare a budget? Is that something you learn by just being around it? TL: I learned a bit that way, but I kind of just R -e/p:

aspects. TL: I would say, first of all, that practical experience will do it every time. I would say if I were going to college and had to do it all over again, I think I would try very hard to get a law degree. Not really to practice law, but to just survive. It's a lawyer's world. I'm not saying you have to be an attorney; forget about being an attorney. But just as a basis to sustain you through situations that you're going to find yourself in the rest of your life. A legal background is one way to get into anything that you want to get into. If you want to get into the business end of the situation, and I don't mean strictly the business end of it. I mean like Clive Davis, he's the head of a record company. I'm the head of a record company, but I'm still very much involved in the creative end of it. In my case it was just a question of having been in every aspect of the business for seventeen years. Just through experience and osmosis that comes from being around people who know it. Getting knocked on my ass a few times, and being able to get up again helped. But I think there are easier ways to do it. If you have aspirations of being the head of a label, of getting involved with the executive end of the business along with the creative end, you've got to be an attorney or have some business background. It would be a tremendous help. To want to make records? Man, I would get myself a job at a recording studio, or just hang out. Or work at studio instrument rentals picking up Fender Rhodesis and taking them to the studio in the city. I don't know what other words to use except to get on the circuit. Getting a job as a second in a good recording studio would be an absolute asset to anybody who wants to learn how to make records. Sitting back there running the tape machine, learning how and where to make punches, learning the musical structure of things. Even though you have a responsible job there, your ass isn't on the

necessary. If you bring the album in for $10,000 under budget and it sounds fantastic then that's just a bonus. But you're defeating your purpose if you don't spend the additional $25,000 that makes the difference between making it right and just putting it out the way it was when you hit the budget line. You've got to realize that what you're trying to sell is a product. When you walk into Tower Records it's awesome what they have available today. You see how much competition there is and what you're up against. You just can't go in there thinking about budgets, you've got to think about making the best possible album you can. That includes all the elements that go into it. Material, packaging, performance, everything!

art seems to haue become a very important part of the marketing

R -e/p: Album

process. TL: Yes, but I guess I'm from the old school, again it's the medium. We sell records through airplay. Once airplay has moved the record into the top twenty or thirty then I think the manner in which you've done let's say the graphics or whatever else you do to advertise and market a record will help sales. But prior to that you've got to get airplay. If it's got it, and it's in the grooves, you can sell it in a brown paper bag.

R -e/p: It must be a big help if an act participates in the promotion by visiting

working with a vocaist you know you're going to have to spend a lot of time with repairs and vocal overdubs. That could mean figuring in an additional week or two weeks. It's working out whatever you think it's going to take in studio time to do the vocals, or instrumental overdubs, etc. Then you try to bring it in for that. The thing about doing a budget is that it can only give you a guideline as to what you think you're going to spend or want to spend. You're talking about an intangible thing. It's not like going out and building a building. Knowing you're going to need so many feet of wood, so many workers and so many yards of plaster to put it all together. Maybe you'll be ten per cent over your original budget. With recording you're dealing with an. intangible. You have to go with what you think is

radio stations, record stores and promo men when they're on the road. TL: Believe me, that helps. Today though, I think it's more difficult to get an act into a radio station, or a radio station to respond to an act. In many cases they don't want to deal with that. When an act goes to a city, it gets down to them working a club that's a good showcase and then the press and radio people are invited down to hear them. That creates some kind of excitement, but I don't think you get that much out of radio interviews. It's airplay. It's not like selling a pair of shoes. If that's what you're selling you get a half page in Playboy, and if those shoes are what's happening then that's what they'll buy. Great. But with music you can't say, "Take my word for it, folks!" They want to hear it. R -e/p: How involved do you get in the

engineering? TL: Very little. I haven't gotten into automated mixing as yet only because the studio I do most of my mixing in doesn't have it. We do most of our recording at Sound Labs, or have been for the last year and-a -half. Prior to that it was all at Capitol. I still mix at Capitol. For one thing they have one of the best echo chambers in the country. I think one of the big reasons why those rooms are so good is George Augspurger who tunes the rooms. I've -

R-e/p 41

become accustomed to what I hear when I mix it down there. When I take it out, it sounds true. I just can't add EQ to compensate for what I'm hearing or not hearing in the room so that the tape will turn out right. I just can't do that. It's very important to me that I hear exactly what I'm

R -e /p: What do you think about the quality

doing.

R -e /p: What can be done?

suppose at this particular point, if I were suddenly put on the spot and had a good second, I could probably get a balance. There's no conceivable way that you can work in studios for ten years and not have it rub off on you. I'm very conscious of engineering when things don't sound right, when there is something wrong; but I've chosen to put my emphasis on the music and being finely tuned -in as to what's happening in the studio. As far as the recording, I leave that up to Al. I

R -e/p: Do you refer back to rough mixes at

various times as an aid in remembering what was originally cut on the "basic" sessions? TL: Yes, as far as making sure that I don't over indulge the track. I try to stay very conscious of what it was I originally heard at that specific time. The spontaneity or the magic, or whatever. It helps to know if the basics are being enhanced or detracted from with the addition of each overdub. You have to make the right decision, and being

able to make decisions part of producing.

is a

very important

of record pressings? TL: It's terrible.

TL: I guess what the record companies could do is take substantially less in profits, or they could charge an additional dollar. R -e/p: Do you think

record companies

might start to release two versions? An audiophile version, and normal product? TL: I think that's possible. Actually, it's happening right now. The thing is the record companies don't want to put in the time, energy, or money that it would take to set up a department that would specialize in that type of product. So what they're saying is that they'd rather take a portion of their profits and give them to someone else who's doing that sort of thing as his living. R -e/p: Such

as Mobile Fidelity's Original Masters? They haue an audiophile version of Breezin'. TL: I have one of them here. They master at half- speed, and press them in Japan. As far as the vinyl compound is concerned it's incredible. The disk is very quiet. The only fallacy in the process is that what they say

Tommy, AI Schmitt and secona engineer Linda Ty

they are doing is making a pressing that is exactly as the master tape prior to adding any mastering EQ, etc. They want to hear it exactly as the tape. This is an area that I think a lot of people pass over and don't give a lot of attention to. It's probably the most important, and the most drastic point for me. I go through more traumas when mastering a record because there are such fine lines and such subtleties that can be done to the original master while cutting. There is so much that can happen, so many variables when you're taking a two track tape and putting it on a disk. I know a lot of people that once they have a two-track they send it to the guy to make a disk. When they listen to it, they say it's great, but Jesus Christ!, that's the most important step. I

mean, you're spending $100,000 on something and when it gets down to the last thing you say, 'Well, screw it!" I spend a good deal of time on the mastering. That

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doesn't mean just getting an acetate to take home and listen to. Let's say they've enhanced it by adding additional highs to the program. What you've got to remember is that everytime you add something you also have to think about what it is you're subtracting. Also, what is it that you're bringing out along with what you want to enhance. The only way you can do that is by sitting at home and listening to it over a period of time so that the subtleties start coming out. What is it that you're really listening for? I don't like to rush the mastering step, because the next thing you know something that sounded great like the little edge that you might have added, starts to sound abrasive once you've listened to it several times. You might find you want to raise it only a dB rather than two, or maybe not add it at all. Or, if you did something to the bottom in the mastering, when you cut the disk it sounded right because you were trying to zero in on a specific thing. But when you sit back and hear it, it just doesn't sit right with you. It's sort of like having a glass of bad milk. Mastering requires the time to relax and listen to, remembering what it was that you had on the original tape as compared to what you ultimately ended up with on the

TL: There's no way that I could. When I took this position I realized that there was only so much that I could do as a producer. What I was really giving a workout to was being able to delegate authority and projects to other people. I'm now picking producers, and the other people that I surround myself with. It's taken a year to build the staff that I have. To find the right people for particular jobs, that's the challenge I have now. You see, the promotion, marketing, sales, all those other areas are as important as what I do. You can make great records but it won't happen if you haven't surrounded

yourself with people who can make sure that all the other elements are done correctly and put forth in the right manner. They need to know what to do once it's recorded. It requires daily attention. That's another thing, daily attention. It's easy for a company this large, that has forty or fifty acts, to lose something now -and then. If I'm in the studio I have to delegate responsibility to those trust. That's the essence, other than obviously having to come up with the talent, and that's been the toughest part of my job. If

disk.

When I EQ a disk I don't EQ it to blow it up or to make it bigger. All I'm trying to do is make it sound as much like the tape sounded as possible. In some cases I find that Mike Reese, the guy we work with at

Mastering Labs, will suggest something. Since he's listening to the tape for the first time his objectivity quite possibly is better than mine. He might hear something that didn't even occur to me that will really make a difference. He'll make a disk, and I'll go listen to it and let him know what I think. In a lot of cases what he has done works. The only thing about these original masters is that I don't think you're hearing them in their best light. In those cases where I've cut things flat from the tape to the disk, their records are even closer to the tape than the regular pressing. I really wish I had someone here who is more versed in cutting than I, because I'm not sure what happens when you cut it at half- speed. It may really do something for the high end, but what is it doing to the low end? That's where I notice

an incredible difference; there's a boominess. R -e /p: What's on the horizon for Horizon? TL: Quite a few things. We just have a new release with a group called Seawind. We signed Richard Evans, and a girl by the name of Eleanor Mills. She was on the Norman Conners album, This Is Your Life, and a

Professional performers for stage and studio...from ATLAS SOUND, microphone stands and booms. the world's leading manufacturer of Take these Porta -Stand headliners, for example. For today's artist there's Model PS -C, America's first floor stand with spring- action telescoping legs, most practical where mobility or transportation costs are a consideration. For acts that have their ups and downs, Model PS -S features our exclusive touch control clutch that makes height adjustment so easy, you can raise and lower the microphone with one hand tied behind your back. There is Model PB -1, one of a series of new easy- adjustment microphone boom attachments which fit all ATLAS SOUND microphone floor stands.

And,. fcr choir or studio, the mobile model SB -100W Boom, 9 ft. long,. -vith its unique flex-

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Studio quality microphones that don't need a StUdiot urvìve.

The CS15P

condenser cardioid microphone is equally at home in a recording enviro broadcast studio. When hand -held puts sex appeal in a voice with its bas boosting proximity effect. With shaped high- frequency response and its ability to handle high sound pressure levels (140d8 with 1% THD at 1kHz), the i

CS15P is ideal for close -up vocal or solo instrument miking applications.

When boom mounted, the CS15P has better gain- before feedback and a better signal to -noise ratio than most shotguns. It's phantom powered and it's rugged. j R-e/p 44

The CO15P condenser omni extends frequency response to the very limits of audibility, 20 to 20,000 Hz. Unlike other "omni's;'the CO15P maintains its omnidirectional polar pattern at the very highest frequencies. Perfect for the distant miking of an entire orchestra as well as up close on individual instruments. And like the CS15P, it's phantom powered and it's rugged. The Electro -Voice warranty Electro -Voice backs up these two microphones with the only unconditional warranty in the business: for two years we will replace or

repair your CS15P or CO15P microphone, when returned to Electro -Voice for service, at no charge no matter what caused the damage!

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studio construction The Rudi Breuer approach by

Rudi Breuer with the assistance of

Jim Riordan

Naturally, the first step in constructing a is finding the right location. Occasionally, as a designer and contractor, I am called on before the site or building has been selected. Careful consideration of the location can save a lot of headaches later. For instance, here in California we're earthquake prone. We have to have certain seismic calculations. In particular, some of the buildings out here are old but spacious. Let's say you want to use a building that was built prior to 1933. It would probably be unsafe for anything in the eyes of the building department. You could bring it upto -date, but why do that unless you're going to buy it. Why put the money in someone else's pocket when the lease is going to be over in ten years? The potential client must be made aware of many things which he may be totally in the dark about. Parking is another big problem here in L.A. The codes say that for every five hundred square feet of building you must have one parking space. The musicians here

studio

don't come by bus as they might do in but with the way we insulate and isolate the Chicago or New York; they come by car. walls, the factor of losing heat is virtually down to nothing. We have a severe parking problem here. Another location problem is being near Zoning and Permits Of course, every area is a little different as airport take -off or landing patterns. Superscope is in such a position. We had to far as the building and zoning regulations go. build their room in a relatively small area that Often it is difficult for an artist to get around was about 20 by 14 feet. We used more than these regulations to build a studio in his four hundred pieces of drywall to isolate the home. The only way is if he can show that rooms from the plane noise. It was a location the studio is for his private use. The artist problem which we had to correct. That's who wants to build his own room should one of the challenges that makes this recognize there are limitations. I'm working business so interesting. Each studio is on a studio with an artist now where the situation is right, but, again, not everybody different. At Shade Tree, in Lake Geneva, can afford to have a studio on his private Wisconsin, the only problem we had to property. He's going to have to live there a consider was the winter. We had to make long time to get his money's worth unless he sure the heating and air conditioning were sells it to another musician. Not just right. To do this we used an economizer anybody is going to be willing to pay him two unit. The net result was by taking the cold air hundred thousand to four hundred direct and cutting out the compressor, a lot thousand dollars more just because there's a less electricity was used. It's a little more studio there. Most people wouldn't know expensive to install a unit like that, but it's what to do with it. Then again, being in the well worth it. You need adequate heating, position where he can use it for his private R-e/p 45

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TAPE A

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same night. With the Model 15, you've got performance and flexibility wired, too. From the discrete . ;, microphone preamplifier, equiva\ lent input noise is -126dB (weighted). With one input assigned to one output buss, signal -tonoise is 76dB M:CESS PM PEND

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The Model 15 will drive any 16 -track recorder and give you a vast array of mixing, monitoring and cueing capabilities. For example, the Cue mixing position can be fed by 48 sources simultaneously (all the inputs plus all 16 tape playback positions plus all eight echo receives). Out of the crate, you'll have a lot more mixer in the Model 15 than you can get elsewhere for the money. Add your savings on installation (both parts and labor), and the Model 15 becomes even more cost-effective. So think about the real, often hidden costs of buying a mixer. When you add it all up, we think you'll see the practical advantages of getting it wired with a Model 15. The Model 15's functions, interior layout

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Products

Development Corporation (1966) Ltd.

R-e/p 47

continued from page 45

Rudi Breuer was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1955. By 1958 he was working as a tradesman, and by 1963 he had formed his own construction business. He began building studios as a sub -contractor in 1967, working on such facilities as The Record Plant, Bell Recording, and Wally Heider. Four years ago, Rudi began designing his own studios with the stipulation that he build them. In recent years, he has designed and constructed many innovative and

successful studios, including

Bayshore Recording, in Coconut Grove, Florida; The Shade Tree Resort Studio, in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; and KBK Earth City Studio, in St. Louis, Missouri; and built the Village Recorder's Studio D and Group Four, to name a few. James Riordan writes a syndicated rock column called Rock -Pop which

appears

several newspapers

around the United States. Riordan has also been producing records for the last ten years in Nashville, Chicago and Los Angeles. He recently moved to the Los Angeles area from the Mid -West.

Control room ceiling detail

use is a definite advantage for him as a recording artist. Whenever we've worked in Canada we've had problems with building permits. Being

contractors

is one thing but being foreign country is another story. The inspectors have a hard time believing the amount of materials that we put into these things. For example, Sound Interchange, in Toronto, was a new structure with two concrete block outside walls, and a concrete roof. It was first class

contractors

in a

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- Village Recorders, Studio

the way. But the inspectors were bewildered at all the angled walls, floating floors and how nothing was parallel the way it is in regular construction. To the inspector it looks like a puzzle. Most of the things we do are strictly unorthodox in the normal building industry. When I am hired to do a job, I go in and look at the place and then come up with several proposals. Once everyone agrees to the final plan we go to the building department for permits. Material shortages can vary in the process and are occasionally a problem. Drywall and insulation continue to be very scarce. Sometimes it takes up to a year to plan and acquire the materials for a job. You've got to be very solid financially to even attempt it. You also have to go with good designs that are original and accurate in order to get successful results. all

Decoupling We finish the control room first so that the electronics people can get an edge on installing the equipment. We try to do so much each day, putting in long hours for the duration of the job. Of course, building time varies for each studio. It took us 63 or 64 days to build Shade Tree, which is pretty much our average. Their outside structure was completed when we got there. Then we did a slab separation by cutting the floor with a water cooled concrete saw. That's all that was necessary. We separated the floor from the outside structure, the control room from the isolation booth and the studio from the control room. In an existing structure where buses, trucks or sirens go by it's probably going to be necessary to use dual wall construction and floating floors. The building used should have a high ceiling. Even the control room should have a minimum height of 13 feet before the construction begins. I think any structure with a ceiling less than that is compromising. You just can't do it without getting into a pinch, and that becomes more

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difficult and expensive. I always tell people, "Sure, we can build one at the end of a runway and next to a railroad track, but how

much do you want to spend ?" Isolation is expensive. Perhaps it's the single most important thing in studio construction. Floating or de-coupling a particular wall or the studio floor can make the difference between a good studio and a bad one. Of course, what determines the type of isolation technique needed is the structure and the outside noise level. Are there other tenants in the building below you or behind you? If you use a floating floor and floating walls then you establish a totally isolated base from the existing structure. No part of the walls touch any of the existing structure. It's de-coupled from the ceiling, the floor, and the other walls. There's rubber between the ceiling and the wall and rubber between the floor and the wall. If the wall shifts, it's against the rubber. Both the floating floor and the existing floor are concrete but one of them floats on top of the other. They are two separate systems with only one of them coupled to the structure. If you use a floating floor you don't have to cut the existing floor because the floating floor is about ninety-nine per cent decoupled. The floating floor system is supported by isolation pads under plywood, which forms a floor. You use three -and-a -half inches of concrete and then build the studio on top of that. If the existing structure won't support such a system, they you better reconsider. You can't float one on top of it. In such cases the vibration level outside becomes much more a factor in how isolated the studio can be. Some of today's kinetic isolators are fantastic. They are made of compressed fibrous (synthetic) material pressed into little cubes. If you were standing on a slab that was poured on these kinetic isolators

2 x

wall

2 x

machinery rubber

plate

existing concrete slab

ground

new perimeter saw cut

-J

FIGURE 1: STANDARD STUDIO CONSTRUCTION

and somebody blindfolded you and blocked out the sound, we could hit a sledge hammer on the original floor no more than six inches away and you wouldn't feel it. Another method of achieving isolation is by decoupling the floor from the outside structure. It involves cutting the floor between the studio, the control room and the rest of the building. But the first method is better, though more expensive.

floor. The wall on the floating floor isolates it

completely. As of this point, none of the electrical and audio equipment has been installed. They are on the second wall on top of the last layer of drywall between the furring strips. Over that we install wood, felt, or whatever. We try to punch through over the soundlock. It's the best spot. Over the soundlock is also a good place to run air conditioning to the air handlers. By running from the control room and studio over the air lock a lot of the sound Walls Wall construction will vary with the job, is shut off. The sound lock usually is next to but usually the first wall may be built on the the control room leading into the studio, so floor of the existing structure right next to one sound lock can serve both areas. This the outside wall, or it might be floated. The efficiently utilizes the space and keeps things floating wall gives the best isolation. It is held centrally located, making it simple and up with rubberized brackets on each side so effective. The sound lock is also made of double wall everything is actually decoupled. The amount of drywall will also vary depending construction with the sandwiched -type walls on what you want to achieve, but generally and ceilings. Sometimes, if we have a we use as many as five layers. The first layer spacious attic we utilize that area for such things as amp storage. It can be separately is soundboard, then three layers of drywall, air conditioned, have a drop -down stairwell, two the other and then soundboard, another or a built -in ladder. It's a good place to put layers of drywall. We finish the wall, seal it, caulk it; and remote dimmers, which cuts down the cost then start another wall. Possibly on a floating of long electrical runs.

FIGURE 2: TYPICAL CONSTRUCTION (VILLAGE RECORDERS' STUDIO 'D')

existing 2nd story ceiling

upper floor >

ÿ'

insulation!:-

.>'>J f

T V

c">

air space

additional drywall drywall sandwich exposed sound absorbers

R-e/p 50

isolation hangers

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R -e/p 51

cations a floating floor about fifty per cent time. In Group Four [Hollywood] signed by Harry Newman) we didn't have b do it because the location was ideal. It was

Under

set back quite aways from the street and the existing slab was six inches thick. The place used to be a print shop and it has tremendously high ceilings ... about twenty four feet in height. All we had to do was take out the false ceiling that was there. Another example is Captain and Tennilé s new studio. They have a large warehouse type building that once was a store in the western San Fernando Valley. In their case we needed to isolate the floor and use a ro multi -wall system so they could do future studio floor expansion at their spacious location. It is transparent cloth necessary to do all proper isolations at this time. There are some unique things in their studio. One is my design of a drum booth that's below the surface of the studio floor. It's going to be an all -glass cage and it will have traps underneath the regular studio floor. So the kick drum will be totally drum booth floor isolated. One of the most interesting but difficult PIT FIGURE 3: PERCUSSION sides of the studio construction business is When we built Record Plant C [Los it would break up. We soil dealing with the many varied problems in the expanding Angeles] before the fire there was an structure that face you when you take on a used a jack hammer to see how thick the eighteen inch brick wall between it and job. One of the studios I built for Westlake floor was and it was incredible! You could I'd Studios A and B. Nobody ever thought this not hurt it. floor and that roll tanks across Audio was Century 21, in Winnipeg, would leak, but Gary Kellgren and I Canada. The temperature was one hundred never seen anything like that before. The would discussed the possibility. The proposed that slab degrees different from California. We tried only problem in not cutting design idea called for building this big to cut slab as we do on most jobs for the be if they built another studio next to this concrete block wall in there, decoupling the isolation around the control room and the one without floating the floor. They might roof, and allowing the existing wall to flow simultaneous running have difficulty perimeter of the studio, but we found that freely. Structurally, it wasn't feasible. The the concrete was twelve inches thick and it sessions since low frequency "flanking" foundations would still have been coupled had half -inch rebar steel reinforcements in would occur through the floor. I think if they together. To build such a wall you have to go the concrete. We found that the soil there is had been right next to a road with heavy into the ground quite aways to have clay and when it gets moist it expands. In traffic they would have had problems with substantial footing. Because the two walls from resonance originating frequency low other words, the whole structure actually were parallel and close to one another there lifts up as it expands. Obviously, we couldn't the outside. A good set back took care of was nothing to be achieved. You'd still be use a thin slab like in California, because of that. coupling. What we did was cut the slab and I Photo: Steve Finestone. Village Recorders, Hollywood. constuction Studio D floated a wood wall in there. It took a weekend to do. A weekend job that cost seven thousand dollars could have been a forty thousand dollar wall. That was just the savings on the wall; to decouple the roof and all that goes with it would have been another three to four weeks. That's how a studio contractor can save people the bucks. They were willing to take this route and to do it my way and it was quick. There was virtually no down time for the studio. The wall we built did the trick. I shouldn't say it stopped it one hundred per cent, but it stopped it well enough to do simultaneous sessions, and that's all we were after. You don't want to expensively overbuild; you just want to get it right. I think my two most challenging projects have been Village Recorders Studio D and Bayshore. The challenge at Village was that we had about seven weeks to finish the job. The other difficult aspect of that job was that

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we had to do structural remodeling at the and analyze it to see what was holding what. same time. The place where the studio was Because we were working upstairs, we took going to be had four posts in it which we had the railing out of a balcony and got a forklift. to take out. We temporarily shored the We simply brought the materials to the job building up while we re -did it. We used a fork and then raised them up with the forklift. lift inside the building to get all the beams in At Bayshore there were apartments place. It was really a thrill-a- minute trying to behind the studio which had tennants full get those beams to fit precisely where the time, and below the studio a yacht old columns had been. It meant putting it brokerage which is a very quiet sort of into just the right spot. It was down to the business. There is also a beauty salon in the nitty -gritty. It was down to a sixteenth of an building. Naturally, the landlord was afraid inch and that's pretty close for steel work. that we were going to, in his words, "disturb It's nothing like a new job where you can the neighbors." I had to come up with a shimmy this or that. It's old, and the old guarantee in writing stating that the end beams are already there, and you're trying product would not do so. In fact, the City of to fit this new girder into the existing support Coconut Grove wanted a similar guarantee. structure. Besides having to make several To accomplish the isolation we again built an structural modifications we were pressed for isolated floor on top of the existing one using time. isolation pads. There was no better way to On the Bayshore job we had some do it. structural modifications also. We had to We are continually running into structural pick up a whole section of the roof with a problems involving studios in older strongback (a steel beam to support the roof buildings. They can really be headaches. I've from above) because we removed a bearing been called to some jobs where there is no wall. It had to be done to accommodate the way that the building can support a studio on control room. We had to call in a structural its upper level. engineer to go through this whole building One job that did work out well in an older

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At first glance, the Solid State Logic Master Recording Console is markedly different from all the others. This is apparent in the meticulous detail of its British craftsmanship, and in the bold yet carefully considered innovations it presents. A closer look reveals the unparalleled completeness of the signal processing and routing possibilities. Each channel contains an instrument quality noise gate, keyable program expander, full feature compressor/limiter, totally flexible true parametric equalisation, and separate continuously variable high and low pass filters. The total interface between the console, the multi -track and the Solid State Logic Studio Computer dramatically increases studio efficiency. At last there is an automation system which brings much needed assistance to recording as well as mixing. The SSL computer maintains reel information, tracklists, songtitles and cuepoints, then uses this data to perform swift, intelligent autolocation, unerringly accurate programmable drop -ins, and automatic cycling of overdub passages. Al mixing changes are captured well within frame accuracy, and with absolutely no cumulative delays generated during updates. The status of the automated faders is software directed, enabling completely instinctive operation. Unlimited mix storage is provided, with advanced programs for extensive off -line edit-

ing and mix data manipulation. More importantly, the system is remarkably easy to use. It responds to simple, common -sense English commands. It even tests itself and performs diagnosis of the entire automation system! There is a force behind these elements; a force called Music. We feel that today's engineers and producers waste far too much of their time performing repetitive, tedious, non -musical tasks. We set out to create a total studio system which would free them from these tasks, giving them more time to listen to the music, and more time to concentrate entirely on essentials requiring skill and judgment. More time, in other words, to Create. It is not enough to have a collection of recording tools. They must be orgqInised and presented in a manner which contiiutes to the smoothest possible flow of each session, whatever rs special requirements. We believe that our SL -4000 E Series constitutes a major fulfillment of this goal. Every Solid State Logic console is built with much individual care and pride. From the initial selection of components to the final onsite commissioning, every detail receives experienced and uncompromising attention. This highly personal involvement is not inexpensive; but only in this way can we build instruments worthy of today's finest musicians and recording artists.

If yours is a studio where such standards are held most important, we would welcome an opportunity to tell you more about the Solid State Logic Master Recording Console and Studio Computer. Please contact one of our representatives at your convenience.

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building was the Chicago Recording Company. In this case the building checked out fine. We got a break in that they had some sort of isolated floor from when the building had been used as a radio station. I was called in for consultation on the KBK Earth City Studio, in St. Louis. (They already had plans drawn by an AIA, and the plans were conflicting.) The local contractor had come up with some very scary bids.

When I deciphered it, all it came down to was poorly prepared plans. A heavy Vshaped block wall was suspended over the control room window by no visible means of support (skyhook theory). I eliminated all block walls and went to a conventional wall. I ended up doing the job and redesigning extensively. They now have a fantastic 24track studio, and for a lot less than what their original plans would have cost to

Village One of the most beautiful rooms that I did recently was the Village Recorders Studio D. We have done several remodels on some of their rooms. It's the constant process of updating that I was referring to earlier. It's funny but (I'm going to repeat somebody's words here) "now we've entered the era of the super rooms." Studio D was built with Fleetwood Mac in mind. They block book it for extended periods. I think Geordie Hormel, the owner, knew basically what they had wanted. The construction went smoothly and the whole decoration concept was done in antiques. Geordie went out and bought thousands of dollars worth of antiques to install into the studio. That included lead -stained windows and the like. Geordie's great on mirrors. He did an absolutely fantastic thing with mirrors in the longue area, which is relatively small, but with mirrors it looks fantastic. Studio D is very unique. It's very spacious. They have a live echo chamber there and it has a six -foot window and door in it. The studio has three iso-booths, including the live echo chamber. Because Village is on the corner of two busy streets, there's a lot of city noise. Just building a live echo chamber was risky. The shape of an echo chamber is always

irregular. The floor, for obvious reasons, is level. The walls are pie- shaped and the ceiling is sloped. What you're trying to do is maximize the delay. The volume should be at least twelve hundred cubic feet, but the bigger the better. Being in that particular location was like committing suicide. It was the worst place you could build an echo chamber, so we floated the whole thing on concrete to get rid of all the leakage problems with low resonances. It's not the only way to do it, but it's the most feasible and economical. Coil springs should not be used for that purpose because springs have a tendency to pick up sound waves and resonate. Actually, fiberglass is really the best way to do it, so that's what we did. At Village, they don't hear anything going by in the street. And you would definitely hear it in the echo chamber if you were going to hear it at all. The live echo chamber has an isolated concrete floor (isolated again from the other floating floors), wood studs, three layers of drywall and it's plastered from the inside. It has three coats of plaster and a plaster putty finish on it. In Studio D echo chamber a window was included so that a picture could be projected on the wall inside and seen through the window. They often use the projector to set mood in the studio. The Village Recorders Studio D is

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dungeon, it's going to sound like that because there's no joy there. It's amazing the way some of these studios are designed. Shade Tree has an outside window. It's quite a view, and the mood created inside is very good. When we built it we had to consider condensation from the outside window, so we ran a heat strip between it and the inside. The heat strip dries up any condensation, leaving the outside window clear all the time. (Thanks, Dave.) Shade Tree employed the new design that I

gradually evolved into from the

compression-type rooms. It's more of a relief -type room. I think the sound they get there is great. When Bob Todrank called me in to help build Ronnie Milsap's studio in Nashville we had to use an upstairs room for live strings and it worked out very well. We would have liked to have a little more ceiling height, but it turned out very good. It has a hardwood floor with redwood on walls and ceiling. It's really a very bright string room.

"Some Studios Aren't What They Used To Be"

When you talk about structural problems you have to realize that some of the older studios are not what they used to be acoutically because they deteriorate. Things shift in the walls and crack, and they open up. For some control rooms the cracks may

Control room window frame detail Village Re coders, Studio D. Photo: Steve Finestone.

probably the most elaborate studio I've built. How a place feels is extremely important. If you have a room that's depressing and like a

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R-e/p 60

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actually be helpful. They can act as relief, believe it or not. But, basically, this sort of movement degrades the transmission loss. In a multi- studio facility this can present a

real problem because of session interference. As an example, rock and roll in one studio leaking into vocal in the other studio. Owners who have studios built by people who don't know exactly how to build them run a high risk of having a bad room. The problem might be almost impossible to correct short of starting over. He has the additional problem that if the word gets out that there's something wrong he'll surely lose clients. Building it right the first time will go a long way in preventing financial suicide. I recall a facility that required going back and re -doing half the, rooms because a simple fact was neglected in the coupling and decoupling situation. You can't use just any type of would -be contractor or "wood butcher" to build a studio. It takes a lot of experience and upgrading all the time. You might have a last -minute change. There is just no way in the world that you can put everything down on paper. It's a constant process of updating your acoustic designs because there's so much progress being made electronically. Then, too, I think we're building a much better room, acoustically speaking, than we did a few years ago. Studio facilities run the gamut from the smallest demo operation to multi - million dollar master studio. The owner of a demo room might have a desire to make masters, and he'll continually be re- investing in new equipment and updating what he already has. At som epoint the owner has to make a really serious decision. His $40 an hour rooms probably

won't cut it. The next big investment has to be improvements in the room, be it modifications or outright relocation and brand new everything. A good studio should have a good traffic pattern. It has to complement the studio. You can often use the traffic area for isolation in a multi-complex situation. Some people aren't willing to pay for an extra preliminary studies to see how things are going to go. This kind of thing can turn into a studio with no clear style or design. The studio construction business is unique in that most cases the only time you can experiment is when you have to go for it. It's kind of a precarious position. I've tried constructing models to work out sound problems, but they don't seem to give accurate results. There's nothing like the full -scale environment. There are plenty of statistics on what will stop what, but so much of this information is highly dependent on what environment the tests were conducted in. A similar example is speakers. Just because a speaker functioned well in a particular testing environment doesn't mean it will react the same way in a given control room environment. I would like to see all the speaker manufacturers use the same testing environment so that accurate comparisons could be made. In the end the owner has to make a selection.

It's the same with specialty items. Flow do we know what kind of environment the acoustic materials are tested in? We've checked out figures which say that so much lead will equal so much of a thickness of concrete. We've tried some of these things, and in some instances it seems like a valid statement; but in some cases it's totally unrealistic. Lead is really a last chance thing

an eleventh hour solution because "weight wise" there are a lot of drawbacks, but "space wise" it's very efficient. A good studio contractor builds with a gut feeling and intuitiveness that is developed over the years. Of course, a substantial construction background, along with a good imagination, is essential. Don't be afraid to ask your contractor. I think that in this business it's something you have to do. Once I give the owner a completion date he's got equipment coming in and all kinds of things lined up, so I've got to come through for him. The responsibility of the owner is to have a realistic set timetable for construction. This is to his advantage when you consider such things as the inflation rate of raw material and the expense of extended construction time. With these accelerated cost increases delays can cost the owner many thousands of dollars. The contractor, besides saving time, can also save in the purchase of the raw material. The studio owner will have to pay straight

retail for many goods and services, while the contractor will be able to get discounts. I always feel you have got to be straight with an owner, and yet flexible. Every potential studio owner has some definite ideas. Ronnie Milsap's job was one of those. He's done so much recording that he had some good ideas to contribute. This project was a joint venture with Bob Todrank. We used some of his ideas, some of mine, and some of Milsap's. Contracting for studios is a lot different than building houses, where you're dealing with a single designer who's got a single plan for building sixty units. It's a one -of -a -kind sort of constructing. It's dealing with the air

conditioning man one minute, and the rock star the next. Building studios requires cooperation among a great many different types of people, and being flexible with your ideas and the ideas contributed by the people who want the studio. It's also making sure that you're giving the client the best possible value for his money in building techniques, and by keeping him out of trouble design wise and before the building begins. It's understanding the life style and

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for additional information circle no. 27

und Insulation Requirements for Recording Studios by Michael Rettinger Consultant in Acoustics Encino, California In planning the construction of a new recording studio, or even in evaluating its acoustic climate after completion, a 24 -hour noise exposure level survey is desirable. This may reveal unexpected rumbles during a certain hour of the day, periodic clinks and clonks of machinery near the room, and other equally objectionable acoustic disturbances. Unfortunately, the making of such a prolonged sound recording requires over 20 miles of magnetic tape running at 15 ips, plus personnel for the three eight -hour shifts. Additionally, to secure statistical information on the project, the recordings have to be either re- recorded onto a graphic level recorder to make the temporal noise level variations visible, or else they have to be evaluated in some other time consuming manner. To economize the process of noise exposure level surveys, micro -sampling has come into vogue. Since very rarely the important noise peaks have a predominant frequency above 6,000 Hertz, so that high -fidelity recording is not necessary, a tape speed of 1 -7/8 ips can be employed in the survey, to save both tape and to reduce the number of reel changes per hour. Also, the magnetic tape recorder does not have to operate continuously, but for only a given percentage of time. Thus, when the recorder is "on" only 10% of the time, say hour and 12 minutes in 12 hours, the noise history may be recorded on only 675 feet of tape, which, when 0.001 "thick, can be put on a standard 5" diameter reel. Similarly, a "one- hour" cassette operated 10% of the time can accommodate 10 hours of noise recording. So as not to miss exceptional noise level changes in an hour's period, it is best, in the 10% recording technique, to record for six seconds continuously every minute, instead of recording continuously for six minutes every hour. The switching device, known as intervalometer, must not deactivate the electronics of the recorder, since this would introduce a significant time lag in the six -second intervals of recording, but must apply a brake unit to the tape transport mechanism which is able to start and stop the medium instantly. The accuracy of the micro -sampled results are remarkably good. The micro -sampled decile noise level exceeded 50% of the test period, or L50, is less than 0.5 decibels different from the Lso obtained by

continuous recording, when the noise is chiefly street traffic disturbances. The accuracy would not be as good if many short -term high -level signals had to be evaluated, such as foghorn whistles, gunshots, siren blasts, thunder, etc. In practice, when the tests are to be carried out in the open, the small reel -to -reel or cassette recorder and associated intervalometer may in the evening be hidden in a bush on the site, or if overnight parking is permitted there, the equipment may be locked in a car, with the extension microphone hanging unobtrusively on the outside. Transportation of the investigator to and from the site may be by an associate or by taxi. When the site is large, this investigator has deployed -several tape recorders about the lot to obtain the temporal noise level variations at several locations. dB

FIGURE

110 100 90

o RO

Lso L90

R-e/p 62

NOON

MiDNiGRT

MIDNIGHT

Figure shows a 24 -hour noise exposure level survey made at a proposed studio site. The designations L,, Lio, L50, and L90 stand for the Cweighted decile noise levels exceeded respectively 1, 10, 50 and 90 per cent of the time. In environmental assessment work the A- weighted sound levels are often used in such surveys, to gain a measure of the annoyance which the acoustic disturbances may produce on the dwellers of the area. This is of less importance here, since in studio work one is more interested in the amount of sound insulation required to achieve a specified interior noise level limit from a 1

- continued overleaf

We really con't have to b-oadcast the virtues cf our ecuipment. Especially t you've ever troadcast on our equipment. Infact, go into almost any professional facility, anc it'll be easy tc spot Sony. With one e:ceptior: Our miniature omri directional electret condenser mike. The ECM -50PS is so small, you'd never expect such big performance. 1"et this tie .ac microphore offers a wide frequency response with full cove-age from any direction. On your vi9t you'll also'ccme across the Sony C -37P. This is a professional condenser mike that's at home on stage or in studios. This versatility is enl-anced by a selector switch that lets you go from omnito unidirectional. And thanks to FET circuitry, the 37P boasts a remarkaoly wide dynanic range, allowing sound pressures of up to 154 dB.

With the ECM -56F, Sony moves the direction cf a unidirectional condenser microplone. Offering Sony's exclusive Back E ectret design, this unit combines a wide frequency response, with uncanny smoothness. The Back Electret also sets the ECM -53FP ahead. The microphone: a f exible Cardioic for desk or podium Sony C -74 microphone (not pictured), is a gin-type. You'll often see it at news conferences, where loaded questions are asked. This uni-directional condenser microphone is acknowledged as the standard in its category. in

It's no stranger to theatres, sound stages, large halls and televsicn studios. When you can't get proximit}, make sure you're not at a distance-from Sony. Sony's line of micropl-o fes is as complete as you'll find anywhere. But it also has Sony's disciplined quality and on-going perfecto -ism. Which you won't find anywhere.

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cire no.

Recommended Background Noise Criteria for Various Rooms

knowledge of the exterior sound pressure level spectrum. When a statistical distribution analyzer is not available for determining the decile noise levels, they may be obtained by adding all the time intervals between two specified noise levels, as obtained from the temporal noise level variation chart, as illustrated on Figure 2.

FIGURE 2

90 -95 SPL Probability

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recorder, through a variable bandpass filter, to a graphic level recorder or other instrument to obtain the temporal sound pressure level variations in the various octaves or third -octaves contained in the variable bandpass filter. We obtain thus a series of charts, much like that of Figure 1, each chart

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FIGURE 3: PREFERRED NOISE CRITERIA CURVES

The MRL catalog includes tapes for all studio applications. In addi Gun to Ihr. usual spot trequency lales. me make single -tone tapes rapid swept Im rqucncy tapes, wideband 111 113r1 octave I,,uul pink 1,14141om 110150 Idpr.,

av, dable

Each curve is a code for specifying the noise level characteristic, or spectrum, of noise in rooms.

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R-e/p 64

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MRL Calibration Tapes me designed and supported by expel is in magnetic recold ing we helped witty and audio standardization the standards. Each tape comes with detailed insuucuons and application notes.

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-30

LIMN 0

A noise histogram shows the precentage of time that the noise level at a given area is found between two set limits. This amplitude distribution is by means of rectangles whose widths are the noise level ranges and whose heights are the temporal percentages. The question arises now what can be done towards calculating the required sound insulation of the exterior boundaries of the planned studio after the noise exposure level survey has been conducted at the prospective site. First, from the magnetic tape used to record the temporal noise level variation, the spectrum of the prevailing noise should be obtained. This may be done by connecting the output of the

25 30 35

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Type of Enclosure Recording Studios, Concert Halls Theatres Homes Offices Stores

for additional information circle no. 29

pertaining to a different frequency band. Again we must perform a statistical evaluation of the octave components, that is, decile noise levels, Lí L,ó, etc., where the L primes pertain to the various octave sound pressure levels. From a practical point of view, it is not necessary to consider L. levels, that is, decile noise levels exceeded by .1% of the test period, because such a small percentage refers to only the noise levels in 3.6 seconds within an hour. When the standard deviation of the noise (a measure of the spread about a mean value) is 6 dB, the noise level difference between L., and L, is 4.5 dB when the normal distribution of the noise levels is near Gaussian. To use L., as the criterion value for the exterior noise instead of L, would require twice the surface density of the walls to achieve a desired interior noise level limit. This means twice as thick walls, since surface density refers to the mass per unit wall area. Figure 3 shows the series of curves known as PNC graphs. Each curve is a code for specifying the noise level characteristic, or spectrum, of the noise in a room. In sound recording studios PNC -20 is generally desired, which is equivalent to an A- weighted sound level of 30 dB -A. Figure 4 represents a graphic solution to the problem of how to determine the required sound insulation of the exterior walls of a planned studio. The solid line is the prevailing noise level spectrum during as discussed % of the time, the so- called Lí previously, and is labelled Curve A. The dashed line is the PNC -20 characteristic desired for the interior of ,

THE MAGAZINE COLLECTOR At last! A magazine collector that will keep all your special issues of RECORDING engineer/ producer free from dog -eared corners and other damage. This heavy duty, rich brown vinyl magaMAGAZINE zine collector will store and protect your magaNA\IF. zines, making it simple to find that informative article or unusual photograph when you want it. Our sturdy collector features a modern slash cut, allowing easy removal of any issue. It measures 4" across on the inside and will hold publications up to 81/2 x 113/4. For easy identification, our publication's name is stamped in gold at the top of the collector's backbone. You can order these collectors now for the special price of $5.50 each, (plus applicable sales tax). Send your order to: RECORDING engineer /producer P.O. Box 2449, Hollywood, CA 90028 collectori'r

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R-e/p 67

Mr. "D 's"

control room, Solid State Logic console, Kendun Recorders, Burbank

Studio Design Requirements For The Next Decade by

Kent Duncan Sierra Audio Burbank, California

In this, the infancy of the digital recording age, a significant number of manufacturers have already introduced professional audio recording systems capable of from 20 to 30 dB better signal -to -noise ratios than had been the standard up to this time. The challenge of digital technology as it relates to the modern studio acoustic environment is one that must now be addressed. The implications both to signal processing and acoustic performance of the recording studio are as clear as they are unaddressed. Since the design and construction team of

Sierra Audio and Tom Hidley

the

leading turnkey builder in this industry (207 studio projects, worldwide) it falls to us, more than to any others, to face up to this timely and demanding new acoustical challenge. To illustrate the point: from R-e/p 68

personal experience, it seems safe to observe that not one out of a hundred studios, today, has 90 dB of broadband outside interference rejection. Our own first design and construction projects that

clearly address this new isolation requirement are the two studios we are presently building for Fantasy Records, Berkeley; the two studios we are building in Tokyo for Kitty Records; and, of course, the turnkey facility of twelve studios for CBS/Sony in Tokyo. This discussion, then, will be divided into two parts. As follows, Part One will provide background focus to the subject. Part Two, authored by Tom Hidley will appear in the June issue of R -e/p setting the parameters and specifications required to exploit the new technology and new generations of

equipment.

Analysis of Requirements for Recording Studio Design for the Next Ten Years Realizing that the bulk of audio recording in the United States, Europe and Japan today is done by the small independent recording studio, supported by major record labels, the goals of successful studio design and construction are straight forward: The studio owner desires to achieve maximum return on his investment. To do this the studio he wants designed and constructed must meet the demand for outstanding acoustical, electronic and human performance.

- continued

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R-e/p 69

the success of a project is very much a part of the design concept, and cannot ever be ignored. The net effect of not rigidly adhering to these valid acoustical, electrical and human design basics and principles has often resulted in rooms where tinkering with the monitor system is a way of life, rather than having a monitor system as an integral unit of the studio, to be relied upon as a basis of artistic evaluation. The purpose of this article then is to direct the reader toward careful analysis of the theory of any acoustic design, and perhaps to broaden the horizon and sophistication of the reader by sharing the benefits of our worldwide consulting experience.

Anti-static underlay and acoustic sheathing prior to final finish.

Acoustically the studio must provide the artist and producer with a well- defined sound, free of interference from outside sources, and providing internal separation between instruments generating very high sound pressure levels (SPL) located only a few feet apart. Additionally, the control room must provide a calibrated listening reference free of phase inversions that would impede the ability to accurately evaluate the performance in as close to true and flat reproduction as possible. Electronically, the studio must be designed and equipped to the highest technical standards and impose no creative compromises due to lack of flexibility or

Measurement Techniques Since the acoustic environment to be measured will itself, in turn, become the measurement tool for evaluating the recorded product, the need for exacting analytical work cannot be stressed too strongly. All Sierra/Hidley analysis is done

using pink -noise and warble -tones measured by Bruel & Kajer equipment through the calibrated B&K Model 4134 random grazing microphone. (We never cease to be amazed at those who attempt to use omni microphones of sizes many times the wavelength of the high frequency material to be plotted, to say nothing of the

reliability.

From the human performance point of view, an environment that is comfortable and conducive to creativity is extremely desirable. The human interface so vital to

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R-e/p 70

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fact that the random field components that must be part of the analysis procedure are ignored.) The term broadband is used to connote the frequency range 31 Hz to 16 kHz. Pulse testing techniques which may have some accuracy in mid -range or top -end is unreliable in typical audio studio environments where dimensions of less than one full wave -length of the frequency being measured exist. [The wave -length of 40 Hz is approximately 10 meters (32 feet), and most control rooms, as we have observed, have maximum dimensions of not more than 2/3 that dimension.] Additionally, adjustments made on voicing filters when using a source other than pink -noise or warble -tones ignore the effect of alterations at the harmonics of the frequency being adjusted. Decay time must be plotted to provide meaningful analysis of any space. Unless the analysis of decay time is tied to a frequency range meaningful measurement is lacking. It is fine to say that one wants a two -second studio, or a half- second control room, but this is meaningless without complete specification.

The Basic Studio Layout To illustrate, the following is a discussion of an average studio used for pop- recording, that might accommodate 20 - 35 musicians. Talking first of the studio (a discussion of the control room will follow), the initial work is twofold: 1) compute the primary resonant frequency of the room and design an

attenuation system to remove this

irregularity as it appears in the room curve. 2) Provide a large amount of low -end attenuation to achieve sufficient isolation, instrument-toinstrument. To do this effectively there must be an understanding of the sound pressure levels generated by the average band. For example, when measuring the Basie Band playing at double F, one would ordinarily experience reasonable 104 dB SPL peaks. But, a rock and roll drummer will often develop 120 dB SPL of impact energy, threatening what would ordinarily have been sufficient isolation. A bass guitar with 112 dB SPL centered at, maybe, 50 - 80 Hz, and kick -drum levels even higher than that dictate that in addition to having airborne (wave) challenges in the room, the walls and floors will tend to move in mechanical resonance with this low frequency energy. Properly treated with active attenuators the standing waves created by these large amounts of low -end flutter will be eliminated. Audible mid-range and high -end flutter echoes cause additional problems which will need to be solved. In solving these problems the acoustician must reach a balance between isolation and proximity to provide an artist the ideal

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R-e/p 71

workable situation, meaning adaquate separation of at least 20 dB, broadband, instrument -toinstrument, three meters (approximately 10 feet) apart. The most severe requirement for isolation demands an integrated design consideration, involving floor, walls and ceiling, as will be shown. A minimum requirement now exists of 50 dB of isolation

between two floor -coupled rhythm instruments: piano producing 80 - 90 dB SPL, and drums yielding in excess of 120 dB ... which good recording practice requires to be no further than 3 meters (10 feet) from one another. To suggest that one or the other of the instruments be placed in a separate room to achieve isolation is much too restrictive to the human performance factor, as well as being unneccessary, relative to what we know of acoustic design today.

Diaphragmatic Power Attenuator (bass trap) and floating concrete floor detail.

The Rhythm Area The integrated solution to the problem involves decoupling each instrument from a common floor, as well as providing an attenuation system and massive wall system that not only provides a lack of sympathetic resonance well below 31 Hz, but sufficient isolation to the outside as well. As designed, our drum cage provides 26 dB broadband isolation at a distance of 30 cm. The ceiling is designed with 20+ dB low -end attenuation, and the piano is faced into a broadband trap, providing an additional 6 dB rolloff. The science today can indeed achieve 50 -odd dB broadband separation (26 plus 20 plus 6) with these two instruments 10 feet apart, in the same room! However, if a studio were built inflexibly with the instruments placed as provided for by specific acoustical treatments, the producer and engineer are obviously denied alternatives and choice to augment various artistic properties of the instrument. At the other end of the alternative, far too many studios are uniform throughout. This is too confining in light of the state of the studio design art today. Ideally, given sufficient total space for the studio an area of very short decay time would be designed for the rhythm section, a moderate decay time area for guitars and other electric instruments, a medium -to-

absorption.

The Active Trap

Floor and Wall Construction

destroyed. The energy of unwanted

As an almost universal specification the

floor of the greatest majority of studios will probably not have to exceed 30 cm (12 inches) of high density concrete slab. Atop this, each floated off the base slab with long life, open -cell rubber layer to form an acoustic sandwich, are a series of 20 cm (8 inch) concrete slabs linearly isolated from each other. (The control room actually sits on a third slab to further decouple the highpower monitor system from the studio space.)

Typical stud and plasterboard construction is found to be the most cost effective and flexible high mass wall technique used worldwide. With the stud plates barrier

isolated from the slab, standard construction calls for

2 x 6 studs with 5 to 10 cm of high mass materials overlapped and sandwiched as individually calculated for each particular application. The surfaces are a series of membranes which will react with sympathetic vibration to frequencies in the very low ranges, typically 8 to 36 Hz. Three or four of these wall systems are used with air spaces between for both control room and studio, depending on isolation guarantee. *

warm area for horns and acoustic instruments, and a multiple -decay isolation area for strings and vocals. It becomes apparent that isolation control (rejection) is a quite different matter, and must be differentiated from absorptive (attenuation) control. Generally, the primary tools used to achieve isolation are decoupled, high mass wall and floor systems, and secondarily diaphragmatic power attenuators (bass traps). Although extreme low frequency trapping is used to improve isolation, trapping and trap design is the predominant tool for controlling R-e/p 72

* The fact that Sierra Audio/Hidley designs offer an acoustic guarantee has interested clients and designers around the world. As far as we are aware, we are the only firm which offers any sort of guarantee attached to the performance of the studio. This specifically guarantees that from a point in the center of the control room, an area 12 to 18 feet wide, 6 feet front-to -back, and from 6 inches above the console to the ceiling will measure precisely flat, plus or minus 1 dB broadband. This includes sufficient flexibility to vary the finish materials to achieve a mid -range decay time up to 0.7 seconds, as the user prefers.

Obviously, energy cannot be created or soundwaves must be converted into motion by attenuation through membranes vibrating in sympathetic resonance, thereby reducing the energy to a level that provides

sufficient isolation, instrument -toinstrument. While there are other methods to accomplish this, such as slot resonators and tuned wedges, Tom Hidley developed the active trap as the method upon which the Sierra/Hidley acoustic design is based. The active trap is an acoustic sandwich of materials suspended to move freely in a cavity designed specifically to attenuate a particular range of frequencies. Physically the blankets are suspended to allow free motion as the trap converts sound waves into physical motion. The specifications that determine the amount of attenuation and the center frequency of a particular trap are the trap length, spacing between traps, volume of the cavity, the angle of the trap in relation to the base line of the trap opening, and the ratio of cavity opening to cavity volume. The advantage of this approach is that more attenuation across a given floor surface area is provided from a decidedly smaller area and volume of material than would otherwise be possible. The active trap has been found to be significantly more efficient for recording studio application. Through the integrated use of these design and construction techniques the studio will now have been cleared of resonating anomalies, and further has been provided with low-end roll -off of up to 40 dB at 40 Hz in the rhythm area.

Designing For Creativity The highest order of challenge for the is to produce an environment where recording will take

acoustic designer

- continued

on page 76

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for additional information circle no. 35

www.americanradiohistory.com

continued from page

place with as little correction as possible;

that

without equalization! Since

equalization is a form of phase shift, it must be assumed that whatever EQ or limiting is added in the control room is a statement of either poor acoustics or deficient technique by the engineer. Certainly all of us have been reminded by the recent direct -to -disk and digital work that has been done around the world that the amount of EQ and limiting in pop music is by and large unnecessary and counterproductive to the accurate creating of the illusion we call a disk. It certainly is pleasing for us to walk into a studio of our design and observe that only a couple of the tracks require just a taste of EQ, no more than 2 to 4 dB, reflecting the producers taste to accent a particular instrument, not his need to compensate for inferior acoustic design.

Studio FLOOR

Main Studio Floor Moving out of the rhythm area (which requires the highest order of low frequency control), the following discusses the moderate area where other electric instruments are placed. Usually one end of this section has a large volume room trap in front of which a hard surface floor for percussion is layed. This room trap adjacent to the percussion area is tuned for wider range bass frequencies attendant to percussion, while presence is enhanced by the hardwood floor upon which the instruments sit. This is located no more than four meters away from the basic rhythm

area, and meaning that

all

rhythm

instruments are centered in a small radius. In the center of the studio, between the live and dead ends of the room, is a medium area that is most often designed with

Drawing

CBS

SONY STUDIO

PLAN

hardwood walls surrounding a carpeted floor to provide warmth to enhance moderate level instruments, such as horns and acoustics. Obviously, the variation of finish materials determines decay time of mid and top frequencies, and considerable creative input is necessary to determine the shape and geometric plan of these spaces. A word about "live" and "dead" rooms. It must be remembered when we stress low end roll -off we are working 400 Hz down, with maximum attenuation centered at 40 Hz. We allow 400 Hz to 5 kHz to be longer (in decay time) as there is considerably better isolation due to low -end control. Indeed, the goal is not to make a studio dead, but just the opposite. A very long decay time is desirable throughout the midband to enhance the presence and transients inherent in the music. All we are saying is that to preserve good clean transients (a snappy snare, a funky piano, a string section you can reach out and touch) the low end must be kept under control. Then the drum sound stays tight when you open the piano, percussion and ambient microphones.

Multiple Decay Isolation Room The live end of the room, today, is really the outgrowth of what formerly was the vocal booth. As our design has progressed more space was needed in the vocal booth, and as we enlarged it, it became more useful. The multiple decay isolation room now typically occupies a third of the floor space in the pop recording environment and basically has reflective materials with low absorption coefficients, providing dual purpose hard wall surfaces (reflective in the mid -band and ported to trapping to attenuate a moderate amount of low -end). This provides a very useful treatment to imitate the environment of a concert hall for acoustic string instruments. It also helps good engineers to build a finished mix at the time of initial tracking.

*SECTION

Mechanical Tools to Alter Decay Times Now that four areas have been provided the studio, each with optimized surface materials to enhance individual characteristics of particular instruments, further flexibility can be built into the room to give in

the producer and engineer unlimited

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freedom and flexibility of choice. Hard surfaces can have pull drapes to shorten mid -band decay time. Glass ceilings can have louvers ported to mid -band traps above. Carpets can be rolled back to reveal slate, marble or hardwood floors. Entire sections oí the studio can be divided to provide acoustic cavities that become very bright as glass doors contain small areas to increase decay times. All of this may be done as part of a well engineered approach to a flexible environment. It is no longer

necessary to instinctively reach for the EQ or the echo send. Instead the engineer or producer engages the remote drapery control or the louvre gears to tune the

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CONTROL ROOM The control room is the point of reference where the decisions are made relating the

live band to the consumer listening environments. It is the point where all audio analysis is done. The control room must be an accurate mirror of precisely what is happening in the studio, without coloration. It cannot be separated from the monitor system for which it was designed. The monitor must be capable of generating very high power in a clean and accurate way to satisfy the client. More specifically, from an acoustic point of view, there is a requirement for being able to move across the entire width of the mixing console (as well as forward and back) without hearing any apparent change in timbre or balance (and not encountering acoustic phase distortion). Acoustically the room should be two-dimensional and symmetrical in a way that the stereo and quad image stays in balance. Too, there must be low -end and primary resonance frequency control. The room must be accurate, which is to say that every frequency must be very clearly defined. The image must be precise, meaning that ear fatigue will be low. Proper geometry is critical, to provide a lack of acoustic phase distortion.

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Acoustic Phase Distortion One of the major benefits of having achieved room linearity, as the curves have improved over the years, is the reduction of ear fatigue. In the past articles have been written attributing improvements in this condition to better sum -add measurements. Without question the reduction of acoustic phase distortion has improved the accuracy of the room and thereby reduced the harshness of the mid -band, as well as having minimized the need for phase alignment in the monitor system. But the real reduction in ear fatigue was the result of the improved geometry, smoothing the room further as measurement became more precise. As an example, a well known Hollywood Studio was measured third octave, a few years ago. It read plus or minus 2 dB from 60 Hz to 10 kHz, third octave. When read tenth octave, several spikes over 22 dB were discovered. (What might it have been measured fifteenth ?) Sierra/Hidley rooms when read in this more precise way consistently deliver no more than a fi dB peak, as well as being

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flat over a much broader range. These narrow band measurements, of course,

average when analyzed third octave. But it is these spikes that are causing ear fatigue, and what that means to the studio owner is shorter sessions and less revenue.

Sum -Add Measurements If a monitor is placed in a free field and sufficient power is fed to deliver, say 110 dB SPL broadband, and a second identical monitor is fed an equal amount of power, theoretically a 6 dB power increase will result acoustically. It is not uncommon to measure rooms, which are up for redesign, to find measurements with as Iowh as 3 dB add. We have actually seen rooms that had a 0 dB add. What this indicates is that the room had so much cancellation introduced by random signal, that there was as much out -of -phase energy as there was in -phase

energy. Ideally, a design should achieve as close to the theoretical 6 dB summing maximum as possible. By experiments with altered geometry, and research into the absorption coefficients of various finish materials the Sierra/Hidley guarantee* now includes a minimum 5 dB broadband sum -add requirement. (A full 6 dB with reverb times as low as .35 seconds at 40 Hz, and .25 in mid and high frequencies has been achieved in several recent rooms.) With this

improvement the acoustic third dimension of the control room has been minimized by not only providing proper attenuation via active trapping, but by designing the interface of the trap ports to the room in such a way as to provide a completely symmetrical room with no chatter causing phase cancellation. By tailoring the room for the monitor a completely phase coherent room has been effected. Using the supposition of a relatively small control room, and attempting to correct the design of a standard monitor with electronic time alignment is, we think, an obtuse approach when contrasted with a selected monitor system and a room of compatible design. Supposedly dead rooms have been observed where the low frequency decay time was amazingly long. There are reams of data on absorption coefficients, but very little complete information, especially through the lower frequency bands. (What is the effect of an upholstered pad at 30 Hz ?) Basic premises of control room design indicate that the listening position (and that is not just the center of the console) should be uniform in frequency response and somewhat semi- reverberant in decay time. We achieve this by using many interlocking design criteria. For example, tape machines are moved to angles where mid or high

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frequency information will not be reflected back into the listening area. Low -end is controlled, then balanced in the control room front -to-back. The listening area is ported to a ceiling trap. Then, in the final analysis, before release, the room is tuned acoustically by sizing the appropriate trap ports ... rather than brute force electronic voicing using a filter system. Another trap is povided in front of the room below the window system, and the inside window pane is aimed off the console back into this trap. Decay time predictability is achieved by the finish materials used in the room, and can be modified to the client's personal taste. Mid -range dispersion is achieved by the geometry of walls and ceiling together with the monitors providing an optimum ratio of direct versus reflected sound at the listening point.

Recent Projects A number of recent projects have increased our experience in areas other than in recording studios. Projects including a cabaret disco in London for Virgin Records, redesign of the sound reinforcement system of the London Palladium, and other non -studio projects applying our principles have provided useful references for new design projects. Additionally, recent rennovation projects such as the Soundmixers complex, in New York City, have provided interesting information as to misconceptions prevalent in the area of studio building. We have found many such studios built with low -mass, lowcost wall and floor systems that were used to economize in the studio construction. This turns out to be a vast disservice to the client when his clients discover the results of sympathetic vibration at relatively low

levels. Substandard geometric design introduces acoustic phase distortion and contributes to non -linear frequency response. Standing waves in control rooms which manifest as unbalanced and boomy bass commonly use attenuation systems other than active trapping. (Ah!, but to have done it right the first time.)

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Your Checklist Some of the questions that should be asked in the early stage of planning the studio and a key to selecting a good designer should involve comprehensive discussions of design theory, long before discussion of finishing details, materials, colors, decor, and layout. The following will be an aid to making your decisions:

For the distributor in your area -Call or

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Is the space large enough to develop into a studio area that will accommodate the number of players needed for the type of

music to be recorded? Is

R-e/p 78

for additional information circle no. 38

there sufficient space to develop an

acoustically correct control room?

table? High and low levels throughout the year?

Is there ample space and suitable building layout for office, support and traffic areas?

What is the proximity and power of the nearest broadcast transmitter?

there audio interference from adjacent

levels of the building?

Conclusion What is the humidity and temperature range?

What is the composition and height of the ceiling? Is there any mechanical equipment

mounted adjacent?

What is the voltage, frequency and phase of the electrical power available? What is its capacity? Its reliability?

What is the level of ambient noise, both airborne and ground conducted vibration? At what frequency? Is it impact energy?

What is the construction and

Are there unusual local building codes or zoning restrictions? Are there historic preservation laws affecting the area?

transmission factor of the internal walls? Are they common to a neighbor?

What is the proximity to airports, railroads, or heavy traffic?

Is the floor slab solid? What is its thickness? Do cracks go through to the ground? Is it transmitting external noise? Will it carry the load of the proposed facility?

What are the local labor rates? Are there potential union problems?

Are the proposed studio spaces interrupted by structural supports? What is the compostion of the soil under the building? What is the size and location of subterranean pipes? Subways? What

the relative height of the water

measurements are an indispensible part of the total design process. An attitude of throughness can save a good deal of time and money.

What is the local tax situation? Is there any sort of investment credit?

What is the availability of building materials in the area? How costly is any required demolition?

Whether you have chosen an existing building or a vacant piece of land, on -site

It is more than reasonable to expect that the studio of the 1980s will vary in character from one area of the room to another, providing a variety of decay times essential to versatility. Any room lacking third dimensional control from 30 Hz up and not addressing the problem of instrument leakage must be rejected out of hand. Any room that has a totally reflective surface behind the listening point, a monitor angle exceeding 60 degrees to the listening point, or low mass walls and ceiling systems, must be suspect. If the studio is to be a tool where one makes subjective decisions based on engineering criteria then we must achieve

an accurate environment without compromise. Either the room is flat throughout the audible range, has minimal acoustic phase distortion, is symmetrical, and has greater than a 5 dB sum; or there is imperfection

resulting

coloration, sympathetic

vibration, variations in frequency response by level and listening position, and ear fatigue. Specifics from Tom Hidley in June.

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p 79

The Orban 526A Dynamic Sibilance

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an Introducing the Orban 526A improved, single- channel version of our internationally -accepted Dynamic Sibilance Controller. It features a mike input, fully- balanced input and output, LED level display, and GAIN

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continued from page 81

hand he wanted to avoid a box size that would be impractical for remote applications. A happy medium was an 18' x 8' x 81/2box, which with the efficient use of available space, afforded a more spacious feeling in a very niobile configuration. The larger space alone wasn't enough to end that difficult and bothersome problem common to all remote trucks and small control rooms, "bass build -up" and inaccurate monitoring. The solution was the extra height of the new box which provided space enough for an active ceiling trap. The trap in itself is a revolutionary concept in remote recording, it was but the first important step to a studio quality monitoring system.

"The System" Realized The rationale behind the feeling that remote truck acoustics didn't need to be perfect has been that mobile recording was used only to capture the on- location performance (usually on multitrack tape), which was then taken to a conventional studio where it was critically evaluated and mixed. However, other applications for remote recording in the last few years have approached those of the permanent studio. Although live performances are still big, the video industry is seeing an increasing need for location mixing. The present majority of work is audio for video productions. When you add to this television simulcasts, live

Detail of ceiling construction showing trapping and air conditioner ducting.

radio broadcasts, album projects at client's choice of location, etc., it is readily apparent that an accurate monitoring environment for critical mixing is a must! Anyone who has attempted to design a small control room knows that many of the problems of acoustics are magnified and increased with decreasing room size. Bass

Time -Based Effects

build -up, room overload, and poor stereo imaging were all popular demons with the first Houston truck.

The Problems It is well known that standing waves occur at specific frequencies and locations or modes within a room. Equalization provides

... Without the Side-Effects.

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re is a new solution for time -based effects. Filling the gap between expensive digital lines and tox' cost 'black boxes', the Series 440 Delay Line /F4dnger delivers the amazing depth and dramatic realism rightly associated with analog delay effects. Yet it avoids so many unwanted side effects you expect from analog and even some digital systems. TI

Now, you don't have to sacrifice the dimensional impact of your music to severely limited bandwidths, nor lose that bright crisp edge to compromised

electronics. Gone too, are the 'thumps', 'whistles', background oscillations, quantizing noise, 'grainy' digital audio, and other strange distortion you may have noticed before. Even headroom, a problem with so many units, is no problem with the Series 440 Delay Line /Flanger.

All you get is great sounding delay combined with the creative flexability of VCO time based processing. Mixed to any degree with straight delays from .5msec all the way out to 160msec., VCO

processing permits such effects as resonant flanging, Leslie -type sounds with diffe ent 'rotation' speeds, vibrato, double tracking with realistic pitch and timing errors, or a wide range of more subtle effects to control the spatial perspective of your music. In addition to the built -in VCO feature, control voltage jacks allow further modification of the system's special effects capability. Impressive? We think so, but there is more. Why not check out the details at a representative dealer near you. The Series 440 Analog Delay lane /Flanger is in stock and ready for immediate delivery.

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no cure because the modes will still exist in the same locations. Low frequencies are particularly hard to handle. Although soft surfaces and other wall treatments can tailor the high and mid bands, they have little effect on the low end, which will still roll around the room creating peaks and nulls. The highest bass energy concentration will be at the junctions of walls, ceiling and

corners. Acoustic overload is particularly acute in a small enclosure. As the monitoring level is increased, a point is reached where direct, reflected and reverberant signals are bounced around the room at nearly equal amplitudes. Since the boundaries of the small enclosure are so close, the time interval between direct and reflected sound is very short, resulting in mass aural confusion. (Mixing in the first truck was done with the rear door open whenever practical to help alleviate this problem and decrease bass build -up.) [Perhaps the first Live End Dead End mobile studio.] Not only does this affect clarity and intelligibility, it also degrades the perceived stereo image. Special consideration must be given to stereo monitoring when designing the small control room. Not only will stereo imaging suffer due to acoustic overload and necessary close placement of speakers, any wall surface irregularities and asymetry will also compound the problem. Practically all of the acoustical shortcomings of the first truck were a result

smoother response without equalization, lower susceptibility to acoustic overload, improved stereo imaging and more effective soundproofing. The basic soundproofing is typical lead- laminated plywood and a raised sub -floor.

Comfort As mentioned earlier, the new Houston truck was designed to "feel" larger. That "cramped" feeling evident in many remote trucks has been reduced. There is an effective use of earth tones, plush carpeting and stategically placed mirrors that combine to make the new truck an aesthetically

pleasing environment to work in. Added amenities include air conditioning/heating, dimmable lighting and a refrigerator. These

are all- important factors considering engineers may spend 18 to 20 hours in the truck at remote jobs. The interior comfort can make quite a difference in the results achieved in a remote application just as it does in ground -based control rooms. Houston's clients often comment that they forget they are in a truck. Considering the

resulting sound quality, monitoring

accuracy and comfort of the new truck, Rich Houston's new concepts in remote recording really work.

A microprocessor-controlled audio analysis system.

of size. Since there were physical restrictions on how large the new truck could be (especially the '8 -foot legal maximum width), and still remain as mobile as possible, it was necessary to enlarge the interior by acoustical means. The single most effective change was the addition of an active ceiling trap. The entire ceiling was done in the standard "swinging baffle" configuration which also provided space for

such mechanical requirements as air conditioning ducts and lighting. In addition to the ceiling treatment, two tape machine soffits with active trapping were placed along either side wall. These served to break up the low frequency concentration at the junction of the ceiling and walls. All of the traps prevent the typical bass build-up while increasing the apparent size of the room.

Symetry was carefully preserved throughout the control room. The front wall between the two monitor speakers was finished with a hardwood surface to facilitate precision panning across the stereo spectrum, while the front side walls were treated for improved dispersion. A "deck" was constructed from the front wall to the back of the console meter panel to prevent sound from bouncing around in this otherwise wasted area. All other wall surfaces were finished with velvet acoustic "pillows" or carpet. The net result of these efforts is that of a

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Now you can accurately measure sound pressure levels and perform real-time, third-octave band analysis simultaneously. Measure RTe0, delay, decay, and program an infinite number of time /amplitude variables for gated time measurements. The newest computerized lvie analyzer is a versatile, compact, acoustics laboratory that is completely independent of power cords. Plot amplitude vs. time, amplitude vs. frequency, etc., with precision accuracy, and generate "hard copy" automatically into any standard X-Y recording device.

lvie has a complete family of audio analysis products and accessories designed for your particular application. Our products are sold and serviced worldwide. Write for product catalogs containing specifications and applications information.

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R-e/p 85

THE BLACK WIDOW

...because the best wasn't good enough. You're looking at one of the finest loudspeakers in the world...the Peavey Black Widow. They were created to fill a serious void,... speakers that could match the sophistication of today's sound reinforcement technology. For years we have employed the finest speakers from the most respected manufacturers in our equipment and through years of experience, have rediscovered the value of that

old cliche', "if you want it done right, do it yourself." We did. Since its introduction several years ago, the Black Widow has been praised by sound experts and musicians for its excellent efficiency, bandwidth, and power handling capabilities in applications that range from high powered concert sound reinforcement to studio recording. The Black Widow's unique

characteristics are the result of optimized procedures and concepts in design and manufacturing that provide a complete integration of form and function. Unlike the other established manufacturers who are still building the speakers they designed back when a 100 Watt amp was a big deal, Peavey has designed the Black Widow

with today's technology for today's high powered music. r

The combination of a rigid cast -aluminum frame and

the Black Widow from other high quality transducers is its unique integral coil form /dome structure. When a loudspeaker is subjected to very high power levels, the voice coil temperature rises very rapidly, causing the loudspeaker impedance to increase. The result of this increase is a loss of efficiency. The Black Widow Series provides a most effective method of minimizing any impedance increases due to heat by utilizing the one -piece coil form /dome as a heatsink. Just as high power amplifiers use aluminum heatsinks to dissipate heat, the Black Widow coil form /dome is produced with low mass, high rigidity aluminum.

high- efficiency magnetic structure is a feature found in many professional quality loudspeakers. What places the Black Widow Series far ahead of its competition is its field replacable basket assembly.

Each Peavey Black Widow

subjected to extensive quality control procedures to insure long field life and high reliability. The manufacturing methods employed by Peavey, such as numerical and computer controlled machining equipment, allow the Black Widow to maintain the close tolerances necessary for previously unattainable levels of quality and consistency. Each Black Widow has a four -inch edge -wound is

This feature, usually found only in high quality compression drivers, allows the user to be "back in business" in a matter of minutes, rather than days or weeks. The high efficiency and high power handling capabilities found in the Black Widow make each model the best choice for its sound reproduction applica-

tion. Again, what separates

aluminum wire voice coil to provide maximum energy conversion. The cone assemblies provide the required frequency response shapes with minimum weight and maximum structural integrity for high mechanical reliability. Each magnetic structure is fully removable and will provide minimum flux density of 12,000 gauss with very precise operating clearances. The magnetic structure uses a large rear vent to assist in further voice coil temperature control. The Peavey Black Widow is now offered as standard equipment or as an option in most Peavey enclosures and will soon be available "over the counter" at selected Peavey Dealers. The Peavey Black

Widow,...for those who can't accept less than maximum performance and reliability from their speakers.

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NOMINAL IMPEDANCE 4/8 4/8 4/8 8

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R-e/p 87

.i, ..

our VCA- 5M is very good and very expensive

our new EGC is fantastic and not very expensive!

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20Hz -20kHz Output Noise V.S. Gain (Typical performance of EGC -101 using 5534 Op -Amps) .02%

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The ALLISON EGC is a true VCA, offering a gain control range of from in excess of 100dB attenuation to over 50dB gain. The control law is precisely logarithmic (dB vs Volts) over this range. The EGC is an advanced electronic gain control circuit which utilizes Class A Log /Antilog techniques, in a complimentarily balanced and symmetrically cross balanced format, employing proprietary bias ratioing and noise reducing elements.' The results, if you'll pardon our bragging, are sensational. Distortion characteristics approach the limits of measurability, are not susceptible to thermal variations, and essentially independent of the gain or attenuation of the device. The sensitive "symmetry control is gone, as is any trace of modulation noise or crossover distortion. Quiescent noise levels are very low, particularly at the gain extremes, where they approach the theoretical limits of the input and output resistors. EGC exhibits extremely high slew rates and bandwidths, together with good control rejection. In short, EGC offers no excuses just transparent audio. PACKAGING is an 8 pin miniature package EGC -101 The basic which conveniently plugs into a standard 18 pin DIP socket. It is user definable, and may be configured to fit a variety of use and performance criteria. External circuitry is simple and well documented. Other versions of EGC are available as complete VCAs to replace devices of other manufacture, as well as for retrofit into popular consoles.

AVAILABILITY EGC is available now. How many would you like, and when would you like them? (Since we are just now gearing up for high volume production, orders for more than 10,000 units may take several weeks.)

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R -e/p

for additional information circle no. 44

A Live Performance Audio Experience by

Patrick Maloney Beatlemania did not end in the early 1970's when John Paul, George and Ringo decided to bring to a conclusion one of the Patrick Maloney is a sound mixer based in San Francisco who specializes in live performance. Beside doing extensive work in the Bay Area through his own company, Conscious Audio, he also mixes direct to -disk project for Crystal Clear Records. He has gained national recognition for his road show work with such artists as Liza Minnelli 1;1974 [Mexico], 1975 [European

Tour], 1976, 1977), Andy Williams (1977 American Tour - Caesar's Palace; Monterey Jazz Festival 1976, 1977), Herb Alpert and the TJB (1973, 1974 [European Tour], 1975 [Canadian -USA Tour]), Burt Bacharach (1975, 1976 [American Tour], 1977), and many other acts of equal stature. He has a degree from San Francis co State in broadcast communication and has taught many aspects of the recording, sound reinforcement business.

most significant musical forces of our time. It continues today in the form of a well produced, fast paced technical achievement in sight and sound called what else

"BEATLEMANIA."

The show is presently being performed in three locations simultaneously across the country by separate East Coast and West Coast touring companies, as well as a New York Broadway cast. Each company is made up of two complete casts who act in alternate shows, so in fact there are twenty four Beatle look -alikes and sing-alikes in all! I had seen the show in Los Angeles at the Pantages Theater last year, and then again just recently at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. Each time the production basically blew me away. It is literally a sound engineer's paradise or nightmare, depending on your point of view and/or level of proficiency. The sound was designed by Abe Jacob, who has in the past designed and supervised the sound for such hit shows as Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago, A Chorus Line, and others. The sound equipment for the show is on rental from Harry McCune Sound Service, Inc., based in San Francisco and Anaheim, California.

photos by Dennis Minnick

The Concept According to Abe, the underlying point of Beatlemania was to recreate the sound of the Beatles' albums as faithfully as possible, night after night. Since the albums were done in the studio with much overdubbing and various studio tricks, a way had to be found to duplicate these sounds live, in real time. Fortunately, the technical equipment exists today to do this quite well the digital delays, flangers, etc. About the only things that couldn't be done live were ail the tape loop effects song like "Number 9" was out of the question, for instance! All the singing, playing, special effects and orchestral sounds are performed live by the group on -stage as well as by off -stage session musicians and the second group of "Beatles." For the following performance this second group trades places with the first group, which then comes backstage to sing background vocals and play various

-a

percussion instruments. Very well and good you say, but whose job was it to figure out just which pars all these people were supposed to play each night? That lot fell, for the most part, on one

- continued overleaf R-e/p 89

Andy Dorfman. Andy, who was also the

conductor and keyboard magician backstage in San Francisco, arranged and orchestrated all the tunes and also figured out how to produce most of the strange and innovative effects the Beatles used. He did this the same way countless bands have done before namely by sitting in front of an electric piano and listening to a cassette of the Beatles' music over and over again until he had all the tunes worked out, note for note. Both David Eskenazi, the sound mixer in San Francisco, also known as "Doc," and Abe consider Andy to be

primarily responsible for accurately reproducing the sound of the Beatles live. Andy's charts and special effects ideas were then taken by Abe, the various casts and sound engineers for each show, and worked with until Beatlemania was created. Sound mixers are instructed to do the show the way it was originally set up and designed but are allowed to vary from the format if the situation dictates; as when a singer's voice may be a bit weak one night or a trumpet player might be blowing slightly off mike. As with any theater piece, however, there are definite cues that have to be followed throughout the show. For example, the quadraphonic pan of the piccalo trumpet in "Penny Lane" although certainly not on the record, it was an effect which Abe felt enhanced the show. Some of the effects they came up with to duplicate the vocal effects on the records; i.e., the doubling and pitch changes in tunes like "Lady Madonna" and "Strawberry Fields," got a little difficult for the musicians to sing along with, so they had to be tempered somewhat. Many of the Beatles' backward sounds and effects that we all know and love have been worked out by Andy and are played live quite effectively on the synthesizer. One sound that I particularly liked was the "Sssshuucka- ka- ka -ka" at the beginning of "Come Together." It was produced by an Eventide Harmonizer set for maximum delay with about 90% regeneration. The return signal's slider is brought up as the regeneration decays in order to keep the effect loud in the mix. The initial sound which generates the effect is the musician playing John saying "Shucka" into the mike. Doc credits this and several other effects to Larry Spurgeon, the mixer who did the show in Los Angeles. New innovations and improvements are made all the time and Abe credits the continued success of the show to the various sound mixers, past and present: namely, Doc Eskenazi, in San Francisco; Mike Welch, in Chicago; Larry Sprugeon, in Los Angeles; Jesse Heimlich, in New York and Dave Martin with the East Coast touring company. This recognition is well deserved because, as every live mix engineer knows, when the lights go down

R-e/p 90

quadraphonic effects coming from speakers in the rear of the theater. The sound in the house is extremely even in level and frequency all the way to the top of the second balcony. Vocals are centered except in a few instances when they are slowly panned for effect. Guitars are split The Equipment The other hero of this show is the sound left and right with the bass guitar centered. system itself. Abe had used McCune Rack and floor toms are split left and right, Sound's JM -3 speakers before and knew kick center and snare slightly right of center. that they would provide the dynamic range Off-stage strings are in mono except during as well as the quality required by this show. "Yesterday" and "Eleanor Rigby," when The packaging of amplifiers and associated they switch to stereo. Horns are always processing equipment made it easy to put stereo. The stage set itself is basically a version of the show up in a short amount of time. McCune was able to provide a complete what the set looked like when The Beatles service with regard to the console and first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. In processing equipment as well. Because this fact, the first time we see the group live onshow was going into legitimate theaters and stage is through a huge projection of a TV set following the original footage of Ed not large auditoriums or coliseums, the size Sullivan introducing the real Beatles. The of the equipment was a prime concern. The JM -3, which is a fully integrated three -way set is not the only thing authenic: the stage system housed in a natrual wood- stained instruments consist of Ludwig drums, cabinet, stands less than four feet tall and fit Rickenbacher guitars and Hofner bass, all the bill perfectly. Four JM -3s are placed on a plugged into actual Vox Beatle amplifiers! Abe drew the line at authenticity, however, single scaffold off each side of the stage. Pioneering the movement away from wherever he felt that sound quality would separate black bass bins and stacked suffer. For instance, the Shure 555A multicell horns, the system was originally "Birdcage" mikes that the Beatles used at designed by John Meyer for McCune Sound one time were bypassed in favor of ElectroVoice EV- 1776s, specially modified by in the early 1970s. It has since undergone a McCune's chief engineer, Bob Cavin. Bob is few modifications and in its present form about the best thing I've heard to date. rebiased the FET preamp and changed the output coupling capacitor from 10 (With the exception of McCune's JM -10 microfarads to 100 microfarads to decrease would which system coliseum-capable necessitate another article to describe!) I sat distortion. Shure SM -58s were originally through two loud performances without used but these modified EV -1776s were once cringing, gritting my teeth, rolling my found to have a bit crisper sound, more level eyes or plugging my ears! When the show as and better rejection. The New York cast over and I noticed that I could still hear soft have now switched to EV -DS35s which have sounds, high frequencies and talk in a a still tighter pattern, in order to combat the reverberation and general sound bounce on normal voice, I decided to get together with the stage there. Doc to go over the details of the equipment The vocal mike at the foot of the stage is being used as well as the operation of the AKG -451 equipped with a long VR -2 an system. Doc is mixing the show in stereo with extension tube and a CK -1 unidirectional and the curtain goes up, the guy behind the console is the producer, not just an engineer taking instructions from someone else. He's the guy responsible for the sound and success of the show every night.

- continued

on page 95

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show only to end up like butter in the sun because the mix wasn't "happening" and he didn't know why. God knows he'd mixed the tunes enough times in the studio. The problem is that we're dealing with more than one dimension now and the additional visual element must be taken into account. Good television sound mixers have known this all along. Beatlemania is a prime example of this concept being used correctly and the effect is very powerful and authentic. The brass, strings, and keyboard parts are mixed in with the sound of the group on -stage at a slightly lower level than on the original record, so as to not take focus away from applause the group. The resultant effect and cheers from the audience at the beginning and, more importantly, at the end of each of the 29 tunes in the show speaks for itself.

The House Mix The MC -8 mixing board, custom built by McCune, is the heart of the main mix console in two of the three Beatlemania shows. It's a twenty -two in, four-out board eight of the inputs being switchable to submaster modules if need be. The console differs from most other boards in that it incorporates a double matrix assignment system. Each input can be assigned to any or all of the eight mixbusses whic'-i can then be grouped through the submasters if need be and then routed to any one of four outputs via eight pushbuttons on each output strip. Any output therefore can control any number of individual inputs or subs irrespective of what the other three outputs are doing. In a show like this, where Doc's hands aren't in any one place longer than 3.4 seconds, and where whole groups

or individual mikes are punched into and out of quad pan pots frequently, flexibility in a console is essential and the MC -8 seems to

be up to the job. Each console input strip contains a continuously variable gain control; three section switchable EQ; two echo or effects sends, selectable pre or post; pan control; eight buss assign buttons; cue button; input overload light and long throw fader. The two effects channels return via their own fully E..Qd and pannable input strips. Each return channel is then routed through each of the four outputs for maximum flexibility and control of effects. This console even has full EQ on the cue output channel! Sitting next to the MC -8 is a Yamaha PM1000 which has been modified by remoting the power supply to improve signal -tonoise, adding internal structural bracing, and by connecting all its busses to the MC -8 via multipin connectors. The PM -1000 is used

a submixer for the orchestra, background vocals, and piano. Two racks of auxiliary processing equipment flank the mix position and are connected to the MC -8 and PM -1000 via ADC mini -patch panels in the racks. These racks contain two Eventide H -910 Harmonizers with dual delay outputs, an Eventide Flanger model FL -210, two Orban 622B parametric equalizers, two UREI LA -4 limiters, one UREI 1176LN limiter, four Penny and Giles quad pan pots, the control electronics for the Master Room CSREQ -23 stereo reverb unit, and a dual channel Aphex Aural Exciter. Exactly how all the microphones and other signals get mixed, grouped, processed and eventually routed to their respective speakers could easily take several days to describe, so I will limit myself to a few choice

Doc Eskanazi at house position. McCune MC-8 on left, Yamaha PM -1000 on right.

highlights. For instance, the piano mike and pickup come into the PM -1000 but are not

assigned to an output. Instead they are combined on an echo buss, the output of which feeds one channel of the Aphex at line level. The echo buss is thereby used as a piano submixer a typically novel and resourceful technique thought up by Larry Spurgeon. The blend control on the Aphex is then set to produce just the right amount of Aphex to dry sound and this mixed output is sent to a single input on the MC -8. The other.channel of the Aphex is set to the full Aphex mode and is fed from the vocal submaster module on the MC -8. This signal is then routed back to the console where it is mixed in with the "dry" vocals. (For a description of Aphex and its effects refer to Howard Cummings article in the August, 1977 issue of R -e/p, Volume 8, Number 4.) Vocals are fed into the UREI 1176LN at an 8:1 or 12:1 ratio utilizing fairly fast attack and release times. Bass guitar and kick drum are each compressed 4:1 on separate LA -4s. Incidentally, the Harmonizers are used in delay mode only and not for harmony! That particular effect would definitely be out of place among true Beatle harmonies. Overall the system sounds extremely quiet and noise free. According to Bob Cavin, the equivalent input noise of the MC8 is -130.5 dBv! This is referenced to the noise generated by a perfect 150 ohm resistor which is -131 dBv re .775 V. In order to preserve this kind of quality

once all the peripheral processing equipment was patched in (and we all know what that can sound like!) McCune sought to eliminate any possibility of ground loops, hums or buzzes. They therefore had Deane Jensen manufacture several different types of double shielded high quality transformers to their specs so that no ground connection would exist between the microphones, the processing equipment, the consoles, or the amps. When they first discussed these transformers with Deane, he thought they were a bit off the wall but he went ahead and built them anyway. Other transformer manufacturers wouldn't even discuss the idea. The mike transformer is now available as a stock Jensen Transformer, model JEMB-D.

The one thing that Abe and all the mixing engineers would like to have, but don't, is some sort of automation at the console. All the effects and assignment changes which come into play during the show could then be programmed through a series of presets. This show is especially challenging for the operator since many songs are segued into each other and are not interrupted by dialogue as they would be in most musicals. I have a feeling that they need not wait too much longer, as automation is just around the corner and is steadily advancing, byte by byte. (Sorry.)

continued from page 90

SM57

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SM -58. When the Mellotron is programmed for strings and the Arp for horn ensemble and then mixed with the live instruments well, the sound is very close to a full orchestra (see Figure 2). Sound isolation within the booth is done with perforated metal baffles manufactured l4y Nexus, which are very rugged and work extremely well. However, the magnetized rubber strips that are designed to link the baffles together in groups seem to be another example of "it seemed like a good idea at the time." What I saw linking the baffles together was the sound engineer's

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FIGURE

capsule. The extension tube enables "Paul" to swing the mike into position when he sits on the edge of the stage and sings a few numbers solo. The bass guitar is taken direct via a SESCOM direct box whereas the lead rhythm amps are miked with Shure SM -57 and 58s respectively. The drum kit gets Sony ECM-33s on hi -hat and cymbals and SM -57s on toms and snare. The front head of the kickdrum was left on so that the word Beatlemania could be painted on it; a decision which necessitated cutting a nice four-inch hole at the bottom of the skin and inserting an SM -57 through it to get a tighter sound. At various points in the show a motorized band wagon containing a Yamaha grand piano is moved out on stage. The piano is picked up by a Helpinstill Model 110 which feeds the console at mike level. In addition there is also an EV -CO90 omni electret condenser mike suspended over the third hole of the Yamaha. This mike is combined with the Helpinstill to give an extremely smooth and natural piano sound. Sitting atop the piano is a rather scarce old Gibson organ brought in by Andy Dorfman. This organ is much prized for one particularly unique setting which produces the metallic sounding opening notes of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." The output of the organ feeds an MXR Phase 90 which is then cleaned up by an MXR Noise Gate which feeds the console directly via its balanced output. During a recording studio sequence on stage, yet another band cart comes out which is miked with an RE-20 on the trumpet and an EV -RE15 on the woodwinds (see Figure 1). Located backstage is a small booth which has been constructed to house the orchestra and background singers. The orchestra miking consists of Sony ECM -33s on the viola and violin; an Electro -Voice RE-

BEATLEMANIA STAGE SET-UP

best friend

gaffer's tape! At this point I'd like to mention something which Abe was aware of and which I feel is a subtle but important factor in the success of this show. It all has to do with focus. When you listen to a record at home you are basically dealing with one dimension sound. This sound is created for the ears, not the eyes, and is mixed accordingly. At a live concert, however, you have an artist on stage who is now a visual focal point and the mix should reflect and support this. For this reason, trying to make a group sound "exactly like the record" on stage can often have an unsettling effect on the audience and result in an unsatisfactory show for all concerned especially the engineer! It's not uncommon for a studio engineer, with little live experience, to attempt mixing a live

20 on the trumpet; a Shure SM -54 on the woodwinds; EV -RE15 on percussion and two SM -58s on background vocals. If you are thinking that one cello and one violin do not a string section make, you are quite

correct. Beefing up the string and horn sections is the keyboard player who has at his disposal a Mellotron, taken direct; An Arp 2600, also direct; as well as a Yamaha electronic organ and Fender Rhodes, both of which feed a Fender amp miked with an

FIGURE ECM33

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R-e/p 95

THANKS HOLLYWOOD (Nashville, New York and San Francisco) For Hanging inThere Until SEATTLE Was Ready to Happen

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console, the Model 2000 Mixing Console. According to the company, the Model 2000 is unique in that it has been built to withstand the rough handling of a road operation while retaining all the sensitivity, flexibility and ease of operation of the most sophisticated studio units. All necessary functions are incorporated in the standard APSI console. As many as 32 input channels feed four sub-mix, four master and four quad output channels in any combination. The twelve outputs may be configured to provide effects, sub grouping, stage monitors, taping, or house mixes in any combination. All controls and indicators are color coded and logically

A Reasonable

arranged to aid in maintaining precise control over each signal. APSI reports that reliability and versatility of the Model 2000 have been road proven in hundreds of thousands of miles of travel and hundred of flawless performances in concert halls, theaters and clubs of all sizes. No compromise has been made in either sound quality or construction of the console. AUDIO PROCESSING SYSTEMS 38 LANDSDOWNE STREET CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139 (617) 263-8827 for additional information circle no. 85

Alternative...

Serve 'em sound on a PLATE! "THE PLATE" from Audicon gives you more reverb for less money. Check the features! *

There are no limiters nor compressors used because none are needed.

Plate system is pretensioned so there is no setup necessary. Just plug it in and turn it on.

High headroom electronics provide wide dynamic range.

But the real beauty is in the price...

$4500P0

(includes shipping in Continental U.S.)

Initial Installations:

For technical specs and dealers:

Sound Mixers Studio New York Tulsa Studios Oklahoma

CuMBM7U1

1200 ßeechwood Avenue 615.256-6900 R-e/p 156

a3OML

Nashville, TN 37212 for additional information circle no. 84

signal processing system than is reportedly available elsewhere in the market.

EQUALIZER

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ORANGE COUNTY ELECTRONICS PARASOUND, INC. SUITE 414, 680 BEACH STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109 (415) 673-4544

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NEW PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER MODULE FROM ORANGE COUNTY Orange County Electronics, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, has introduced their new PEQ full Parametric Equalizer module. The new PEQ module is a four-band parametric with center frequencies variable from 20 Hz to 20 kHz in overlapping five octave (32:1) ranges. Each section tunes over a 40 dB control range. Bandwidth is variable from .15 -3 octaves (Q = 10 - 0.33). According to the manufacturer, a unique feature of this parametric equalizer is that all controls are non- interacting. This means that when the bandwidth is varied, for

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example, there is no change in level. This module reportedly offers extremely low noise operation. Signal -to-noise is 110 dB with all sections in 20 dB boost. Distortion is 0.05% THD @ 18 dBm output. Standard balanced or unbalanced operation is available. An overload indicator warns of excessive levels in any stage of the module. Output capability is +30 dB (10 k load); +24 dB (600 ohm load). The PEQ is designed to be used as either a mono or stereo parametric in the standard Orange County rack frame. It can also be utilized as part of the Orange County VS -1 Stressor, thereby offering more control in a

NEVE ANNOUNCES LARGEST STANDARD CONSOLE YET Recognizing the growing need for high quality 46 -track recording, Neve Electronics International, Limited, has announced details of a standard 48 -track console specifically designed to meet the latest professional requirements. Called the 8098, this new 48 -track recording and mixdown console follows hard on the heels of Nevé s recently introduced 8078 40- channel 32 -track model, but with its 56 input channel capacity it is very much the big brother of the 8078. Unlike the 8078 with its straight design, the 8098 features an L- shaped design to allow the 56 -input channels to be utilized more conveniently. Although Neve have built larger custom designed consoles, the 8098 is the largest standard console so far and, as might be expected, it offers a very comprehensive array of facilities designed to satisfy even the most demanding

- continued overleaf

24816243240 SIGNAL -TO -NOISE RATIO referenced to 1040 nWb /m (3% THD) unweighted wideband at 30 ips: on our 2 -track 1/2" 80dB; on our 4 -track 1/2 ", 8 -track 1" and 16 -track 2" 75dB; on our 24 -track 2" 72dB; on our 32 -track 2" 71dB; and an amazing 70dB on our 40 -track 2 ". We're the quiet one.

STEPHENS

ELECTRONICS, INC Since 1956

3513 Pacific Avenue, Burbank, Calif. 91505

for additional information circle no. 87

Phone (213) 842 -5116

R-e/p 157

professional applications. As with most Neve consoles, the 8098's capabilities can be considerably enhanced at any time by the addition of Nevé s powerful NECAM computer assisted mixdown system and VCA sub -grouping facilities.

According to Neve, some of the 8098's features include: 56 input channels with full equalization and Penny and Giles faders on each channel; master microphone/line changeover facilities; and master cut A and B facility to enable pre -selected groups of channels to be muted. Four reverberation outputs with delay and slap -back facilities; 6 cue (foldback) groups, 4 mono and 1 stereo output; muting positional solo facilities on all channels; 48 track monitor mixdown section with full quad panning; and 48 track metering using VU or PPM or Bargraph meters. Plus all the usual facilities found on Neve multitrack consoles such as full quadraphonic monitoring, studio loudspeaker circuits, comprehensive talkback facilities, a range of patch-panel options, integral limiter/compressor effects, etc., to customer specifications. RUPERT NEVE, INC. BERKSHIRE INDUSTRIAL PARK BETHEL, CT 06801 (203) 744-6230

NEW E -V SHOCK MOUNTED OMNIDIRECTIONAL MIKE A new shock mounted omnidirectional microphone tagged the D056 has been announced by Greg Silsby, Professional Products Sales Manager at Electro- Voice. The D056 is primarily intended for handheld Pbroadcast and sound reinforcement applications. According to Silsby, "Isolation of handling noises and mike cable vibration are achieved by having the main acoustic cavity and the diaphragm /voice coil assembly isolated as an integral unit, from the case. This makes a capsule /case collision virtually impossible even under the

for additional information circle no. 88

most demanding circumstances." Frequency response extends to 18,000 Hz. A slight emphasis in the 2,000 to 12,000 range enhances the D056's vocal qualitites while a slow rolloff below 200 Hz reduces low- frequency noise interference. "Ppopping" protection is provided by a highdensity AcoustifoamT" blast filter. The suggested retail price: $100.

ELECTRO-VOICE, INC. 600 CECIL STREET BUCHANAN, MI 49107 (616) 695-6831 for additional information circle no. 90

THE MARSHALLTIME MODULATOR ssr A 100121.

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"DOES EVERYTHINGAMARSHALLTIMEMODULATOR DOES." Others claim it; we do it. The Marshall Time Modulator'M started it all, and is now the reference standard to which others compare. Even the effects introduced by the Time ModulatorTM have become industry standards; such as Positive Flanging,' Negative FlangingM ADT,'M Cardboard Tube Echo,' Resonant FlangingTM and others.

R-e/p 158

We have not been sitting back and resting these past three years since the Time ModulatorTM was introduced. Every advancement in the technologies that apply to delay processing has been incorporated in the new Time Modulator," assuring performance and specifications that exceed the very best of the newcomers. New advances now make the unit even

more versatile; with an internal power supply and up to 400 milliseconds of delay at 95 dB. Ask your local Marshall repreMARSHALL sentative for our demonstration kit and record, or ask us directly, and see why the first is still the best.

MARSHALL ELECTRONIC, 1205 YORK RD. SUITE 14, LUTHERVILLE, MD. 21093, USA (301) 484 -2220 for additional information circle no. 89

WIREWORKS INTRODUCES MULTICABLE COMPONENTS GROUP Wireworks Corporation, manufacturer of

microphone cable and professional

multicable systems, is announcing their expanded line of Multicable Components. Geared for the professional user, all components are interchangable to allow for a system configuration tailored to the application. Included within the components group are Multiboxes (chassis mount), Multiracks (rack mount), Multitrunk sections and Multitails. Featuring AMP Multipin and

Switchcraft QG Series connectors,

intelligible speech over a range from 1/2 to 21/2 times normal sound speed. Use of a

patented, digital "intelligent splicing"

technique allows the module to provide speech time compression/expansion with noise -free splicing. A true multiplicative pitch shift is produced in real time for all frequency components of the input. According to Lexicon the Model 20 is a continuously adjustable x2.0 to x0.4 pitch shift range, and offers a 100 to 5,000 Hz +0/ -3 dB frequency response, greater than 56 dB dynamic range, and 0.6% total distortion and noise. Easily integrated into systems, the 3.5" x 5" module requires only +12 VDC @ 150 ma/ -12 VDC @ 50 ma and audio input to function. Provisions for slaving control of an external DC motor to

Wireworks' Multicable Components are now available in sizes tanging from 3 to 50 pairs.

Multiboxes are housed in a chassis constructed of .090" steel, welded and ground and feature two bar -type protective

handles. The durable Multiracks are designed to mount directly into all standard 19" equipment racks and feature handles which provide connector protection and additional tie -off points. Multitrunks and Multitails incoporate individually shielded, multipair cable with heavy wall neoprene shrink tubing at connector to provide stress

relief.

Wireworks Multicable Components are available with XLR or quarter -inch return lines and with 2-way, 3 -way, and 4-way mike splitting capability.

WIREWORKS CORPORATION 380 HILLSIDE AVENUE HILLSIDE, NJ 07205 (201) 686 -7400 for additional information circle no.

LEXICON PITCH SHIFT MODULE AVAILABLE The Lexicon Model 20 is an LSI -based audio pitch shift module that permits tape, disk, and film editors, previewers, and sound reproducers to create off -speed

LOADED... THE 600 WAlT NO-OPTION AMP. People kept asking us "How about a high -power amp with low distortion that's loaded with options and doesn't cost an arm and a leg ?" We listened to them and set out to build' The Complete Amp" with reliability, power, specs, features, and price. We've succeeded. Our reputation has been built on the design and construction of cost -effective gear combining maximum performance with simplicity and reliability. Now OSC offers a package you can't find in any other amp, REGARDLESS OF PRICE OR OPTIONS. The A 8.0 delivers 300 watts of clean power to each channel (20 -16 kHz with less than .09 %THD

rising gradually to 0.2% THD at 20 kHz into 4 ohms) and 600 watts into 8 ohms with the same specs in the bridged -mono operation. Features include: PowerLimit Controls; Fan Cooling; 3 -way Load Protection; LED displays for level, distortion, and limiting indicators; Balanced Inputs with XLR type 3-pin connectors: and Outputs with 5 -way binding posts, phone jacks, and speaker protection fuses. Ask your Pro-Audio Dealer about the A 8.0 or write directly to us for a free brochure detailing the incredible features and specifications of this exceptional new power amplifier from QSC.

AUDIO PRODUCTS

1926 Placentia Avenue Costa Mesa, CA 92627

714/645 -2540

for additional information circle no. 92

R-e/p 163

to "roll off" the low frequencies from the instrumental backup and room environment while accenting the vocal range. The microphones include: ATM31, a unidirectional (cardioid), fixed -charge condenser model; ATM41, a unidirectional (cardioid), moving -coil dynamic model; and the ATM91, a unidirectional (cardioid), fixed charge condenser model. Audio -Technica Artists Series instrument mikes include: The ATM10, an omnidirectional, fixed- charge condenser model; ATM11, a unidirectional ( cardioid), fixed charge condenser model; ATM21, a

the selected pitch factor are included. The Lexicon Model 20 is priced at $170 each (100 pieces per year). OEM discounts and licensing arrangements are offered. Complete documentation and literature are available on request.

LEXICON, INC. 60 TURNER STREET WALTHAM, MA 02154 (617) 891 -6790 for additional information circle no. 93

AUDIO -TECHNICA 'ARTISTS SERIES' MICROPHONES FOR MUSICIANS Called the Artists Series, the new line consists of six microphones with various pickup patterns and electrical designs. Three of the microphones are designed for vocalists, three for instrumental pickup. "A major feature of each of our road tough vocal microphones is the triple -layer windscreen," says Charlie Winkler, recently

appointed

Audio -Technica's first

marketing manager - music products. "Rather than a conventional, single -layer screen, there is a heavy outer wire mesh, a finer inner mesh and a fine brass screen. All are soldered in place, rather than glued. This helps assure that the mike will withstand rough handling." The mikes are available in moving -coil dynamic and fixed- charge condenser

unidirectional (cardioid), moving -coil

The !Mil O:.

The ATM

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models. According to Audio-Technica, the fixed- charge condenser offers benefits over earlier electret designs. The permanently charged element is mounted behind the not on it. The moving diaphragm diaphragm is thinner than usual to deliver extremely low distortion and uniform wide range. Three vocal mikes are designed to eliminate feedback while providing high output. The frequency response is tailored

dynamic model. The ATM10 and ATM11 fixed- charge instrument mikes are engineered to eliminate potentially dangerous, sub harmonic frequencies that might add distortion and damage speakers. The instrument mikes are available with optional schock mounts. Each microphone in Audio- Technicá s Artiste Series has a heavy -duty housing with a low- reflectance matte finish.

AUDIO -TECHNICA, U.S. 33 SHIAWASSEE AVENUE FAIRLAWN, OH 44313 (216) 836-0246 for additional information circle no. 95

Amber 4400A: top studio performer. AMBER 4400A MULTIPURPOSE AUDIO TEST SET. Designed for an industry where time is money, and maintaining top performance is essential. It saves you time by integrating virtually every test and measurement function you could need. It cuts setup time, and assures quality equal to or exceeding competitive equipment, but at a fraction of the cost. With your oscilloscope, the Amber 4400A can plot the frequency response of a tape recorder or monitor system; measure the weighted noise of a console; plot the phase response of an equalizer or check the transient behaviour of a speaker; tune your room or measure the RTan of your studio. Optional interface lets you make hard copy plots with any XY recorder. The Amber 4400A combines versatility with quality. It integrates sine, function, sweep. tone burst and noise generator; autoranging digital dBm meter and frequency counter; multimode filter; spectrum analyser; frequency response and phase response plotter.

The Amber 4400A lets you make sure your product is always at its best.

Export:

Gotham Export eorporoñon. Vem

R-elp 164

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Amber Electro Design Ltd. 4810 Jean Talon West Montreal Canada H4P 2N5 Telephone (514) 735 4105

for additional information circle no. 94

amber

NEW MAGNETIC TAPE REPRODUCER CALIBRATOR NOW OFFERED BY MORRISON This

precision de- emphasis network

provides seven high and three low frequency characteristics for standardizing tape playback equipment with the induction loop technique. Various induction loop assemblies for open reel and cartridge or cassette machines are available for use with the calibrator. The network is passive and employs specially manufactured components to provide all required curves to be usei with magnetic tape and film equipment of all formats. A fact sheet and price information may be obtained by writing to the publisher of the Standard Tape Manual. R. K. MORRISON

819 COVENTRY ROAD KENSINGTON, CA 94707 for additional information circle no. 96

E -V INTRODUCES LOW -COST MICROPHONE SHOCK MOUNT A new shock mount clamp, designated the 313A, was announced by Greg Silsby, Professional Products Sales Manager at Electro- Voice. The unit has the outward appearance of being a standard stand clamp, but is actually a whole lot more. Meant to hold microphones with an approximate 3/4" barrel diameter, the 313A is manufactured from polycarbonate and

metal to withstand the abuse commonly encountered in "real world" use. The microphone itself is suspended in the shock mount by four replaceable urethane bands. A hinged metal latch is provided for those applications that require only temporary shock mounting of the microphone, or, when used with a supplied set screw, the 313A becomes an inexpensive semipermanent shock mount for those applications that don't require frequent microphone changes.

ELECTRO- VOICE, INC. DEPARTMENT SH 600 CECIL STREET BUCHANAN, MI 49107 (616) 695-6831 for additional information circle no. 97

"THE PLATE" BY AUDICON The Audicon Marketing Group announ-

ces "The Plate," a new standard for reverberation systems for use in demanding studios and broadcast facilities. The surprise in this quality reverb is its surprisingly low price; about two- thirds of other comparable units. Reverberation characteristics surpass by far those of "plate -type" systems now available. Driver and pickup systems employ the latest technological improvements. There are no limiter or compressing units in the extremely low -noise amplifier. The low noise circuitry offers a wide dynamic range with headroom to spare. The plate system in "The Plate" is pre tensioned prior to shipment so there are no adjustments and no setup is required. "The Plate" has already been installed at Sound Mixers Studio, in New York, and at Tulsa Studios, in Oklahoma. The unit is priced at $4,500.00, including shipping within the continental United States. Other products available from Audicon Marketing Group are multi -pair cables for audio wiring, and specialized power supplies for phantom power and other audio applications. AUDICON MARKETING GROUP 1200 BEECHWOOD AVENUE NASHVILLE, TN 37212 (615) 256-6900 for additional information circle no. 98

The Quad-Eight Story You've Never Heard. Introducing the precision Quad -Eight Equalizers. Three and four-band configurations with integral Hi and Lo -Pass filters. Each available in 19" rack and standard console -1 /2" mountings. Contact us for all the juicy details. 1

For the Artist in Every Engineer.

International,t

Quad -Eight Electronics Quad -Eight 1

1929 Vose Street, North Hollywood, California 91605, (213) 764 -1516 Telex: 662 -446

for additional information circle no. 99

R-e/p 165

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1-112U.IPIM TYPE 85 FET DIRECT BOX INST. AMP. PICKUP INPUT

NEW NEUMANN CONDENSER: THE MODEL U -89

Gotham Audio Corporation, the exclusive U.S./Canada representative for Neumann products for over 22 years, is pleased to announce the introduction of a revolutionary new condenser microphone: the Model U -89. Since 1947, when Neumann brought to this country their U -47, and with it revolutionized the recording industry, every introduction of a new model studio microphone has heralded a new fashion in sound, and therefore this new arrival will be watched with great interest.

SPEAKER

MIC OUTPUT OPEN fí A PIN I

ONO

INDESTRUCTIBLE EXTRUDED HOUSING RECESSED CONNECTORS AND

SWITCHES BATTERY OR PHANTOM POWERED

INTERNAL PAD FOR SPEAKER BRIDGING TRUE GROUND

ISOLATION -EVEN WHEN PHANTOM POWERED R.F. FILTERED ON INPUT

AND OUTPUT ACTIVE CIRCUIT -DOES NOT LOAD PICKUPS LESS THAN 2µV NOISE

RESPONSE ±.5dB 20 Hz TO 20 KHz

.05°Io HARMONIC

DISTORTION COUNTRYMAN ASSOCIATES 424 Stanford Avenue Redwood City, CA 94063 Phone (4151 364 -9988 R-e/p 166

The U -89, the latest of the FET -80 48 Volt "Phantom Powered" series, maintains the basic shape of the current best seller, the U87, but trims about 15% off its height and bulk. Its totally new and revolutionary condenser capsule for the first time

provides exposed capsule elements, including the two gold sputtered polyester membranes, all of which are at zero Volt potential. The result is far greater security against capsule failure resulting from humidity, human breath and accumulating dirt.

The U -89 features five directional characteristics: the three basic ones, cardioid, figure -8 and omni -directional, and the additional hyper -cardioid and wide cardioid. The former is an extra narrow pickup angle at the expense of a small back lobe, while the latter is a very wide -angle cardioid which may best be described as "unidirectional." All of the patterns have a directional integrity previously available only in the miniature KM microphone series. While the U -87 microphone has but one transistor, the U -89 has ten and with it an undistorted sound pressure tolerance that's up 12 dB. There are two selectable low frequency roll -off curves: one at 80 Hz and one at 160 Hz turn -over frequency plus

flat response, of course. A 6 dB overload protection switch completes the U -89's

facilities.

The U -89 is available in quantity immediately following the AES Convention in Los Angeles. Accessories such as wind screen, elastic suspension and battery supplies are available. GOTHAM AUDIO CORP. 741 WASHINGTON STREET

NEW YORK, NY 10014 (212) 741 -7411 for additional information circle no. 100

LEXICON ANNOUNCES NEW DIGITAL REVERBERATION SYSTEM A new digital reverberation system with superb audio quality and extensive control capabilities has been announced by Lexicon. The Model 224 provides a longawaited alternative to large, cumbersome mechanical reverberators. The 224 provides reverberation with smooth, natural decay without coloration, "twang" or "boing." Its' 5" x 8" remote control console puts reverb control right at the producer's fingertips allowing unprecedented control over all significant reverberation parameters. The system is the industry's first reverb with a built -in control memory that provides instant pushbutton recall of previously set effects. Model 224's high speed digital processor accepts up to eight different programs and requires only seven inches of rack space. It not only saves studio space but is fully portable for on- location use. Lexicon has developed a library of programs including: concert hall programs with stereo input and four outputs that create the space and depth of a live performance with decay times of 0.6 seconds to 70 seconds; acoustic chamber programs that provide sound equal to the best reverberation chamber and pre -delay up to 256 milliseconds; plate programs that out perform the highest quality reverberation plates or other mechanical devices with full control of all parameters including pre delay.

A basic program is selected by pushbutton and then is tuned for the desired sound by adjusting six slide pots whose parameters are digitally displayed in engineering units. Reverberation times in seconds for both bass and mid -range may be set independently. The bass to mid -range crossover is set in kHz. Depth, a non dimensional parameter, is set to simulate the position of the reverberant pickup in concert hall programs. Pre-delay is set in milliseconds to create the desired effect in chamber and plate programs.

LEXICON, INCORPORATED 60 TURNER STREET WALTHAM, MS 02154

provided on the two mix output. Other standard features include four cue/echo sends with EQ; talkback, slate, and dim logic; alternate speaker switch; switchable pre/post EQ; internal phantom power; a solid hardwood frame; and the slickest functional layout on the market. Series III is available with automation as an option. The series III with 28- inputs and 24 -track assign is available for $23,000.00.

NEOTEK P.O. BOX 11127 CHICAGO, IL 60611 for additional information circle no. 102

(617) 891 -6790

MITSUBISHI AUDIO

for additional information circle no. 103

DA -A7DC AMPLIFIER Mitsubishi Audio has announced a new power amplifier. The DA -A7DC which

NEOTEK SERIES III RECORDING CONSOLE Neotek announces its series III professional recording console. The series III is a full function, state -of- the -art transformerless recording console. The series III joins the series I and II transformerless PA console that the firm has been manufacturing for the past seven years. It is available in two frame sizes, 28inputs or 40- inputs with up to 32 -track assignment. Standard features include completely transformerless design throughout, utilizing the latest state -of- the -art high speed circuitry. Each IO module features a full four band state variable parametric equalizer, channel mutes, odd/even track panning, and stereo/mono solo functions. The console status functions are performed by master logic controlled FET switching;

group muting and solo -in -place are performed by the master logic. The light meters are individually

switchable between VU and PPM characteristics with an overall dim control. VU meters with peak indicators are

delivers 75 watts per channel (RMS) into 8 ohms with 0.01% total harmonic distortion. Fred Hartfelder, Mitsubishi national audio director, said the unit's suggested retail price is $330, and will be delivered in quantity nationally beginning in March. The unit's highly sophisticated circuitry utilizes state-of- the -art ultra-low noise semiconductor technology, providing a signal-tonoise ratio of 122 dB (IHF A network). The circuitry is entirely direct -coupled resulting in a frequency response of flat to 0 Hz (DC). Like all Mitsubishi amplifiers, the DAA7DC utilizes the company's unique "docking," in which any Mitsubishi preamp or tuner -preamp can be joined electrically and physically to the amplifier so that the preamp or tuner -preamp front panel controls regulate all functions for both units. Reliable, safe operation is reportedly ensured by relay- operated protection circuits which guard the output transistors from overload and isolate the speakers from potential damage. Other specifications include: frequency response of +0 -0.1 dB from 20 to 20,000 Hz;

THE WORD FOR TODAY IS

"NATURAL" [More or Less] For years, all reverbs were just that - simply reverbs - until development of the MASTER ROOM. MASTER -ROOM claimed Natural

Sound and demonstrated what is meant by that with its unique, full ambience properties of: Natural delay prior to first echo Natural group of first order echoes Natural build -up in amplitude Natural pattern random diffusion Natural build-up in echo density Natural proportioned decay Natural flat frequency response

Natural smoothness without limiting

As a result of MASTER-ROOM, "NATURAL" is now the key word in reverberation equipment, but a

word that is too often used without regard to its true meaning. So thanks to all who have helped to make "NATURAL" the word in reverberation devices.

From the originator...the one who backs it up with performance.

i.+ MICMIX Audio Products, Inc. 2995 Ladybird, Dallas, TX 75220 (214) 352-3811

R-e/p 167

10 to 60,000 Hz power bandwidth; 80 dB channel separation (at 1 kHz). Dimensions are 163/4 wide x 6% high x 9'% deep. Weight is

26 lb., 8 oz.

MITSUBISHI AUDIO SYSTEMS MELCO SALES, INC. 3030 E. VICTORIA STREET COMPTON, CA 90221 (213) 537 -7132 for additional information circle no. 105

SPECK MODEL 800 -D MIXING CONSOLE The Speck 800 -D is a 16 input, 8/16 output studio mixing console. The console is totally modular with 16 input modules, a master module, and a complete communications module housed in a sturdy mainframe that contains 10 large, illuminated VU meters.

Each input has 8 panable assigns, 3 band parametric equalizer, 3 sends, pan, stereo solo, a long throw slide fader, and most important: a second line input with an independent slide fader, a 2 band equalizer and pan. Since the Speck 800 -D has two discrete line input circuits for each input module and 16 assignable direct outputs in addition to the 8 sub -masters, the 800 -D is well suited for 16 or 24 track studio operations. The stereo program buss is independent of the 8 track assign section which allows the console to feed a full compliment of 1/2-track, 1/4- track, and cassette recorders simultaneously during mixdown. The unit is priced at $9,800.00.

RAINDIRK CONCORD 52000 CONSOLE INTRODUCED Raindirk will be introducing the Concord S2000, a new low price mixing system at the Los Angeles AES. The mixer features electronic signal switching and P.R.O.M. controlled status switching to give a flexible, easily operated mixer. It is suitable for a very wide range of applications, including recording and re- mixing, broadcasting and PA work. Also to be exhibited will be a Series III mixer with a number of new features to further enhance the flexibility of this very popular mixer.

RAINDIRK, LIMITED 33A BRIDGE STREET DOWNHAM MARKET

SPECK ELECTRONICS 7400 GREENBUSH AVENUE NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA 91605

NORFOLK, ENGLAND

(213) 764-1200 for additional information circle no. 106

(036 63) 2165-3617 for additional information circle no. 108

A NEW 2,048 -STAGE BBD ANNOUNCED BY PANASONIC A new, low -noise 2,048 -stage BBD

"bucket brigade device ") is now available from the Electronic Components Division of (

Panasonic Company. Designed as "BBD3008," it comes in an eight -pin DIP plastic package offering a variable delay time of up to 104.8 milliseconds, low insertion loss (0 dB typical), wide dynamic range (signal -to-noise about 78 dB), wide frequency response (about 0.3 of the clock frequency), low total harmonic distortion (0.5% typical), clock frequency range of up to 200 kHz. According to Bill Bottari, Panasonic's product manager: "The new BBD3008 offers an inexpensive alternative to a designer of audio and general analog circuits. Unlike conventional BBDs, the BBD3008 is an extremely low -noise device. It can be used to obtain reverberation

The Symetrix

represents a major step forward in versatility CL-100

and cost -effectiveness.

Consider these features:

D- essing,

Independent attack

and release controls, Side chain insertion which allows an equalizer to be patched into the control loop for frequency dependent threshold, and LED gain reduction and threshold indication. CL -100: S299, CL-100B (Balanced): $34 Symetrix, 109 Bell Street, Seattle, Washington 98121 (206) 682 -3076.

R-e/p 168

for additional information circle no. 107

effects in electronic organs and other musical instruments; variable or fixed delays of all kinds of analog signals; telephone time compression and delay line for voice communication systems. Of course, the latest addition to the Panasonic BBD family the BBD3008 provides the designer with more choice to fit his requirements (other BBDs that were

introduced previously are BBD3001 through BBD3007)."

The deliveries of BBD3008 are stock to 8 weeks. OEM discount prices are available on request. In 1,000 -piece lots each BBD3008 costs $14.95.

each input, line/mike input select switch, input LED clipping light, slide pots and built in road case. The MMX -1800A is designed to be highly

Since the introduction of the 4550, this product has found the pathway into numerous recording studios and broadcast

dependable and functional

placement has also been found in the sound reinforcement area. The unit is a full octave device used in the measurement of spectrum content and contains two memories useful in A - B comparisons. Currently, this is the only full octave device on the market in the world. Track Audio, Inc., is in the process of setting up a distribution network and is open to dealer inquiries. Correspondence should be sent to: TRACK AUDIO, INC. 33753 9th SOUTH FEDERAL WAY, WA 98003 (206) 838 -4460

in any multichannel recording or live PA use. Suggested retail price is $2,380.00.

PANASONIC COMPANY ONE PANASONIC WAY SECAUCUS, NJ 07094

MUSIMATIC, INC. 4187 GLENWOOD ROAD DECATUR, GA 30032 (404) 289 -5159

(201) 348 -7276

for additional information circle no. 110

for additional information circle no. 109

MUSIMATIC MMX-1800A SOUND MIXER The MMX -1800A is Musimatic's new 18 channel stereo mixer which boasts these

features: talkback mike, separate

headphone section, 3 band EQ on each input, 4 band monitor EQ, built -in reverb, output VU meters, recording outputs on

AMBER ELECTRO DESIGN EXPANDING Amber Electro Design, a Canadian based firm, has agreed to allow Track Audio, Incorporated, a U.S. based firm, to continue manufacturing the Model 4550 Spectrum Display. All correspondence relating to this device should now be directed to Track

stations around the world. Similar

for additional information circle no.

111

Audio, Inc.

We design and manufacture high definition loudspeaker systems to exacting standards, making use of the finest materials available.

141111Eir P.A. Stage & Instrument Monitor Eastern Acoustic Works, 59 Fountain Street, Box

111,

Studio Monitor

Framingham, Massachusetts 01701/(617) 620-1478 for additional information circle no. 112

R-e/p 169

CONSULTING SERVICES

Classified

FOR SALE: ALL EQUIPMENT IN

Consulting in Performance and Presentation Technology

EXCELLENT CONDITION Eventide 1745A DDL Eventide 1745M DDL 1 Ampex 300-2 in console 1 Ampex 300-4SS in console 1 Set 8 -Track Heads for 3M -M79 1 Ampex 351 -2 with Inovonics electronics 5 OpAmp Labs Model SM100 50w/channel 1

ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES

$45.00 Per Column Inch (21/4" X 1") One inch minimum, payable in advance. Four inches maximum. Space over four inches will be charged for at regular display advertising rates.

and Associates 7

TIME DELAY SPECTROMETRY AUDIO- VISUAL SYSTEMS

Newbury Park

Tipperary Lane

theory and working information and emphasis on practical uses

91320

(805) 498 -4006

(215) 561 -3660 TRACKS! Total recording systems, specializing in the semi -pro studio. Tascam, TEAC, Neotek, BGW, dbx, MicMix, Sennheiser, TAPCO, MXR, Shure, S.A.E., and many others. COMPLETE STUDIO PACKAGES

WANTED

224 Pages 97 Illustrations $8.95 Hardbound; $5.95 Paperback Postpaid

FREE CATALOG

CONSOLES KITS L WIRED AMPLIFIERS MIC., EC), ACN,LINE, TAPE, DISC, POWER

OSCILLATORS AUDIO, TAPE BIAS

SOUND RECORDING

for additional information circle no. 113

- Studio Sound

338 Pages, illustrated with 232 tables,

curves, schematic diagrams, photographs, and cutaway views of equipment. $16.95 each R-e /p Books

ONE STOP FOR ALL YOUR PROFESSIONAL AUDIO REQUIREMENTS BOTTOM LINE ORIENTED F. T. C. BREWER COMPANY P.O. Box 8057 Pensacola, Florida 32506

FOR SALE

Hardbound $19.95 R -e/p Books Hollywood, CA 90028

Box 2449

by P. A /ton Everest 320 pages 201 illustrations The book that covers it all a comprehensive guide to all facets of multi -track recording ... acoustics ... construction studio design and equipment ... techniques

...

much, much more. Paperback $7.95 Hardbound $10.95 R -e /p

Books

Hollywood, CA 90028

anal

S2.50 each

Mall orders to:

Volume Volume Volume Volume Volume Volume Volume Volume Volume Volume

algal

- - --

We will be delighted to enter your subscription to R -e /p upon receipt of your order and payment (check or money order must be included with your order we cannot bill for subscriptions). Your subscription will begin with the next published issue. (Sorry! We cannot start with back

issues.)

Foreign subscriptions are payable in U.S. funds only and must be by bank check or money order. Please provide the information below and mail with your payment to: Recording Engineer/Producer, P.O. Box 2449, Hollywood, California 90028. Since R -e /p is published six times per year, please allow ample time to receive your first issue.

ONE YEAR (SIX ISSUES)

- WhileVolume They Last

June, 1975 December, 1975 February, 1976 June, 1976 August, 1976 February, 1977 June, 1977 August, 1977 October, 1977 December, 1977

(313) 739-7020

----------------- --

BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE

Limited Quantity April, 1975

DETROIT'S PRO -AUDIO WAREHOUSE

to the recording industry.

RECORDING

United States (surface mail) United States (air mail) All Other Countries

6, #2 6, #3 6, #6 7, #1 7, #3

7, #4 8, #1

Name

8, #3

have enclosed

$10.00 $17.00 $19.00

Title

8, #4

8, #5 8, #6

R -e /p

P.O. Box 2449 Hollywood, CA 90028 Foreign orders payable in U.S. funds only by bank check or money order.

R-e/p 170

ound oluCions

When you subscribe to R -e /p . . . you'll be starting a useful reference library pertaining

HANDBOOK OF MULTICHANNEL

...

Ampex 300/440 8- track; custom

Spectra Sonics console 16 x 16; AG -440 2- track; miscellaneous gear. (415) 232 -7933

by Don & Carolyn Davis 296 Pages 81/:x11

R -e/p

FROM EUROPE! TWEED AUDIO PRODUCTS AUDIO DESIGN & RECORDING SCAMP SYSTEMS

Hollywood, CA 90028

SOUND SYSTEM ENGINEERING

P.O. Box 2449

5670, (203) 226-4200.

1033 N. SYCAMORE AVE. LOS ANGELES, CA. 90038 (213) 934 -3566

by John Eargie. JME Associates

P. O.

RECORDING STUDIO: Immediate sale and occupancy. Partially equipped midtown NYC recording studio. Excellent acoustics and location. Wired for video. (212) 679-

POWER SUPPLIES

The best book on the technical thoroughly side of recording

0. Box 2449

TRACKS 9520 47th Street Brookfield, IL 60513 (312) 485-0020

6 AUDIO APPLICATIONS

R -e/p Books Box 2449 Hollywood, CA 90028

recommended

AVAILABLE

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

by Martin Clifford

CONTACT FRANK TARSIA

EQUIPMENT WANTED

Dan Alexander 6026 Bernhard Richmond, CA 94805 U.S.A. (415) 232 -7933 or (415) 232 -7818

"MICROPHONES HOW THEY WORK AND HOW TO USE THEM"

RECORDING EQUIPMENT OF ALL AGES AND VARIETIES

BOOKS

P. O.

ENTERTAINMENT SOUND SYSTEMS

Station /Company

New

Address

City

Renewal

Home State /Province /Country

Zip

Office

API 2061 stock console, modified for 28 -in, 24 -track monitor, 8 mix busses. With production desk, full patch bay, 2 limiters, many extras.

SALE: Scully 16 -track 100 recorder, reasonable, mint condition. Spare 16- track, 12- track, 8-track head assemblies. Spare logic cards, 4 extra electronics, meter panel, 16 -track sync- master, digital counter. (213) 245 -7640 FOR

$18,000.00.

SOUND IDEAS, 151 West 46th Street, NY, NY 10036. Call George Klabin at (212) 575 -1711. ALTEC Acoustavoicette, $375.00

11/2

STUDIO LIQUIDATION old MCI 428B console

FOR SALE: 8 channel Otari 1/2" tape deck, console and remote, Tascam M -5 with talkback, flight case. Also Crown, MXR, etc. Reasonable offers. Call Tim. (216) 332 -9916

Year

$20,000

dbx RM 154 noise reduction, eight track each $1,000 ea. MicMix Master Room Reverb $1,000 Many Mikes, Grand Piano... $5,000 Call (217) 367 -7262 (Days) (217) 359 -6634 (Nights) 2

Custom 24 -track recording console, API Equalizers, dbx VCA level control, 24- input, 24 buss, 24 -track monitor, 4 echo sends, comprehensive patch bay. $26,000.00

Custom Mastering Console, API Equalizer, Neumann Filter, dbx VCA line amps, all point patching facility. $10,000.00. (213) 655-8280 Roger Mayer

MOBILE RECORDING FACILITY 36' long mobile control room. Width expands to 15'. Truck comes with 52 x 32 Auditronics console, Dolbys, AKG BX -20 reverb, AG -440 2-track and 4- track, and complete video system. Control room has JBL 4333 speakers with UREI 1/3- octave 527A filters. Comes with International Tri Star Cab.

Stereo Mikes

AKG

104aB and 105 the British

KLF

Dept. REP Roslyn, NY 11576

1038 Northern Blvd

FOR SALE Klipsch MCM 1900 biamp industrial loudspeaker system with road trim with wheels, as seen at AES Show, Circus Disco. A.C.I., Hollywood. $3,250.00. (213) 938 -7459 FOR SALE Custom El -Tech 24-track console. 5band select able EQ. 26- inputs, 5 effects busses, Jensen mike pre -

amps. $12,500.00.

STUDIO SOUND RECORDERS

reference for classical recording.

down section, 4separate monitor speaker systems, API #312 preamps with Deane Jensen Transformers, API #325 line amps with peak indicators. Faders are Painton conductive plastic. API #550A EQ, 4 echo, 2 cue, auto -mute, 4 API #575 Osc. Producer's desk installed with: Pioneer cassette deck, ITI stereo parametric

equalizer. Complete with all supplies required. Also 3M Model 79 24-track recorder and 2- track; both new. Will sell part or package price. Will install. Call

EVERYTHING AUDIO

Los Angeles

(213) 985-9157

(213) 995 -4175

USED STUDER CONSOLE FOR SALE Model 189 -080 Swiss made like a fine watch steal at $20,000 complete and in perfect condition. Steve (212) 765 -2005

-a

MIKES FROM STOCK! AKG EV-SONYiSHURE /SENNHEISER

ound olutions

(415) 232 -7933

Tascam, TEAC, Sound Workshop, Otarl dbx, Nakamichi, MXR, Dynaco, ADS, E -V, Eventide, Shure, Maxell, Ampex, AKG Pro, Beyer, UREI, Sfax, Sennheiser, TAPCO, Crown, and more! SEND FOR PRICE QUOTES ZIMET PRO AUDIO

FOR SALE MCI JH -428 professional recording console. Excellent condition, fully operational, 3 years old. 28 x 24 with quad and stereo outputs, light meters, full patch bay and power supplies. $25k. For more information write: Console, P.O. Box 3015, Washington, DC 20010, or call (202) 347-1420.

C -34 and 422 In Stock

TSR

FOR SALE-CUSTOM CONSOLE

24 -in, 32 -out, 32 channel separate mix -

DETROIT'S PRO -AUDIO WAREHOUSE

(313) 739-7020 EDUCATION Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester

SUMMER RECORDING INSTITUTES 1979 in newly equipped and

renovated facilities

FOR SALE

!vie IE -30s In Stock IE -10 Trades Taken

ECOPLATE ECOPLATE ECOPLATE ECOPLATE

Great reverb at a good price! Ask us

about availability.

REVOX

MODIFICATION STANDARDS

TO PROFESSIONAL 15 ips B -77s in

(213) 798 -9127 #85 ARROYO ANNEX

PASADENA, CA.91109

stock!

2 1

2 6

Fairchild 659A Reverbs $350 ea. Ampex 400 Transport 71 -15 ips.. $150 Ampex AG440B -8 w /remote, excellent

BASIC RECORDING TECHNIQUES

Ampex 300/350 head stacks (from 32200 duplicator) $75 hubs Ampex 1" 406 tape, excellent

ADVANCED RECORDING TECHNIQUES

$10 ea.

FALK RECORDING SERVICE (502) 267 -0479

FOR SALE SPECK 800 -C 16/8 mixing console. Complete with patch bay. $6, 200. We're updating to 800 -D. It's your chance to save $$$.

HAL HIDEY STUDIOS (213) 761 -0671

FOR SALE

02iSt

AUDIO ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES

Custom DeMedio recording console; 32 inputs, 24 outputs, full patch bay. WALLY HEIDER RECORDING (213) 466 -5474

wks. - June 25 to August

wks. - July 16 to August 3 Instruction by professionals in the fields of audio recording and engineering covers microphones, studio setups, remotes, classical recording, signal processing, maintenance, etc. Labs, recording sessions, mixdowns. Ros Ritchie, director of Eastman Recording Services, coordinator. Credit and non -credit. 3

write for brochure and application to: Summer Session, Dept. 19, Eastman School of Music, 26 Gibbs Street, Rochester, New York 14604 equal opportunity to all applicants

R-e/p 171

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

EMPLOYMENT

NEW CROWN PSA -2 Microprocessor Programmed Amplifier is the new industry standard because it sounds better. If you don't agree with us, we'll buy it back! We also stock BGW and JBL power amplifiers, JBL and UREI Time -Align Monitors. The

JBL APPLICATIONS ENGINEER We're growing and in need of an additional qualified Applications Engineer with a minimum of 2 years professional experience in engineered sound systems design and appropriate educational

preparation. Please submit resume including salary history for prompt and confidential consideration to: Peter Horsman

JAMES B. LANSING SOUND, INC. 8500 Balboa Blvd.

Call us. AS1

Equal Opportunity Employer M/F

EDUCATION Short Intensive summer courses in Recording Techniques, Electronics,

Electronic Music, Jazz Improvization, Contemporary Song Writing, Popular and Jazz Harmony, Musical Instrument Repair and Instrumental Workshops in Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute, Trombone, and Percussion, with Allard, Oberbrunner, Rascher, Goebel, Purcell and Strohman. Write or call Frank Stachow, Summer Workshops. (717) 867 -4411, Ext. 275. LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE Annville, PA 17003

NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Responsible for sales of signal processing equipment in the United States and Canada.

Requires the ability to direct

and

motivate dealers and

representitives.

Some recording studio background essential with actual engineering expperience highly desirable. Submit resume in confidence, including salary history to John Saul

MS Ix IN/11

MICMIX Audio Products, Inc. 2995 Ladybird, Dallas, TX 75220 (214) 352 -3811

HELP WANTED Immediate opening for qualified head technician for rapidly expanding pro audio retailer. Management ability plus previous multitrack and digital experience a must. All replies held in confidence. Box CGI, c/o R -e /p SERVICE

sell,

P.O. Box 2449

Hollywood, CA 90028

QUAD -EIGHT ELECTRONICS CONSOLE SYSTEMS ENGINEER

Position involves layout and design of film and recording consoles. It requires in -depth knowledge of console operation and electronics, and /or extensive mixing/ maintenance experience. This is your opportunity to join the leader in custom audio. We offer excellent salaries and full benefits. Send your resume and salary history, in confidence, to:

QUAD -EIGHT ELECTRONICS

Mr. Skip Pierce 11929 Voss, St. No. Hollywood, CA 91605

LEADING NATIONAL AUDIO TECH WRITER NEEDS ASSISTANT Self- starter to develop both technical and creative copy for pro- audio, Hi -Fi, musical and computer equipment. Relaxed atmosphere in hills 45 minutes from downtown L.A. Writing experience helpful, but we may train the right person. Full time preferred. Send resume.

Gary Davis & Associates

20939 Hillside Dr.

Topanga, CA 90290

HELP WANTED Professional audio retailer SALES has immediate opening for high caliber salesman with a minimum of two years recording or broadcast sales experience. Above average compensation. All replies held in confidence. Box CGI, c/o R -e /p P.O. Box 2449

R-e/p 172

(512) 824 -8781

EMPLOYMENT

Northridge, CA 91329

manage,

Pro Audio

San Antonio, TX, USA

Hollywood, CA 90028

C,J5 UCLA SYMPOSIUM HIGHLIGHTS "THE REVOLUTION IN HOME ENTERTAINMENT" UCLA Extension will provide a forum for demonstration and discussion of "The Revolution in Home Entertainment: New Technology's Impact on the Arts," May 1113 at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel. The symposium will be held on the eve of the 1979 Los Angeles Convention of the Audio Engineering Society. It will bring together experts in technology and arts programming to demonstrate and discuss new tools and systems of communication and the new dimensions in multi -media arts events they make possible. Martin Polon, chairman of the 1979 AES Convention and director of Audio -Visual Services at UCLA, will conduct the symposium, presented in cooperation with the AES and Audio magazine. The Friday, May 11, evening session deals with "Sound: Recreating the Live Concert in the Home." Demonstrations will include new speakers, amplifiers, disk, tape, and digital delay. The Saturday, May 12, morning session

features "Sound: Capturing the Live Performance for the Home," with demonstrations of digital recording, direct to -disk, microphones, and computer mixing. The afternoon session "Video in a Multimedia Arena" will feature demonstrations of cable TV, motion picture, home video tape and video tape and video disk, stereo projection TV. The final session, Sunday morning, May 13, "The Information Connection: Broadcasting into the Home," will feature demonstrations of electronic literature, visual arts inventory, TV newspaper, radio TV, shortwave, computer graphics. In the afternoon, "Home Entertainment: Visions of the Year 2000" will feature demonstrations of laser or coherent light communication and satellite transmission. Featured speakers are John M. Eargle, vice president, product development, JBL; Richard E. Heyser, senior engineer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Eugene Pitts, III, editor, Audio magazine; Andrea L. Rich, director,

Office of Instructional Development, UCLA; and Emil Torick, director, Audio Systems Technology Center, CBS Technology Center, Stanford, Connecticut. Other speakers will be announced. All sessions will take place in the Golden State Room and the Pacific Room of the Los Angeles Hilton, 930 Wilshire Boulevard.

The $85 fee includes admission to all exhibits and general sessions of the AES Concention, May 15 -18, at the Hotel. For enrollment information, write The Arts, UCLA Extension, P.O. Box 24902, Los Angeles, California 90024, or call (213) 825 -9064.

BEE GEES RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY "GIFTS OF SONG" The latest in a succession of Bee Gees' "song gifts" to underprivileged children stems from the group's fourth Ampex Golden Reel award, presented by the magnetic tape manufacturer in honor of the brothers' new single, 'Too Much Heaven." The award carried a $1,000 cash donation to a charity of the artist's choice. This gift, the fourth Ampex has presented to children's agencies on behalf of the Bee Gees, will go to the Sunrise School for Retarded Children, in Miami, Florida. Miami is now home base for two of the brothers and the site of Criteria Recording Studios, where the Bee Gees record their hits. The Bee Gees received the Golden Reel award January 12th in Los Angeles during a week of heightened musical activity. The occasion was proclaimed "Bee Gees' Day" by mayor Tom Bradley and included appearances by the Bee Gees on two network television shows. The brothers also became only the fifth singing group ever to

be honored with the Chamber of

Commerce "star" on Hollywood Boulevard's prestigious Walk of Fame. Three days earlier, the group was at the U.N. in New York taping "A Gift of Song," the internationally televised benefit concert for UNICEF. Conceived by the Bee Gees to celebrate the International Year of the Child, all proceeds derived from the original songs aired on the program will flow to UNICEF to provide basic care for children in over 100 developing nations. Income from sales of the Bee Gees' "Too Much Heaven" and the songs of ten other entertainers on the program are estimated to top $100 million. In addition to Golden Reels for "Too Much Heaven" and "Saturday Night Fever," the Bee Gees have two others to their credit. No other group has won more, and in every case the brothers designated children's agencies as recipients of the donation. The Ampex donation for the album "Main Course" went to the Children's Health Council, in Palo Alto, California, and the contribution for "Children of the World" went to "Jerry's kids" the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The innovative program is the only recording industry award that carries a charity donation, and is the only award to recognize the entire recording team,

including the recording studio, engineers and other technical personnel, as well as the artists. With the program now in its third year, more than 450 award plaques have been presented and over $80,000 has been given to worthy causes most of it to non- profit child care organizations.

QUAD -EIGHT DELIVERS A NUMBER OF FILM RE- RECORDING CONSOLES Quad- Eight, the North Hollywood, California, manufacturer of mixing

equipment, has recently supplied two large automated consoles to Nippon TV, in Japan; acquired a contract from Norsk Film, of Oslo, for a customized QE -2441S film rerecording console, and has also shipped a QE -2441S unit to Romania Films. The academy award winning company

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ANNOUNCING

A HARRISON COMPROMISE Sorry competition.... price only. Affordable automation is now even more affordable. The Harrison 3624 and 2824 are now available at 10% off for a limited time. Not a quality cutback, but a price rollback so you can put some of the long GREEN... BACK in your pocket. HARRISON SYSTEMS. INC.

P0. Box 22964, Nashville, Tennessee 37202 www.americanradiohistory.com

Almost NO COMPROMISE

Harrison

(615) 834 -1184, TELEX 555133

still receives orders from major Hollywood

Jensen transformers By

Wide Bandwidth

Minimum Transient Distortion Low Noise

concerns:

Universal Studios: A 76 -input custom Compumix III film system; a QE-2441S rerecording console and a custom electronic looping console. Robert Altman 's Lion's Gate Films: 45input Compumix automated rerecording

and turnkey package. Ryder Sound Services: Installation of a 45 -input Compumix III automated system has just been completed with a custom electronic looping console to follow. Todd -AO: Quad-Eight has re- equiped the facility at Todd -AO, finishing refurbishment with the installation of a 96input, 6-track rerecording console in Studio "A" and a 24- input, 4 buss stereo rerecording console in Studio "B."

Years of transformer manufacturing and design experience, combined with computer assisted technology, have enabled us to make asignificantly audible improvement in the performance of audio trans-

FANTASY NAMES NEW V.P. Jim Stern has been named vice president of engineering/studio operations for Fantasy /Prestige/Milestone /Stax by label president Ralph Kaffel.

formers. Write for information 1617 NORTH FULLER AVENUE HOLLYWOOD, CA 90046

(Visitors by appointment only)

BTX. He came from Pacific Video Corporation, where he was responsible for marketing and sales. NEW SPECTRA SONICS BUILDING COMPLETE Spectra Sonics president, Mr. William G.

Dilley, with understandable pride,

announced recently that their new building, constructed to his design and specifications, is completed. The new factory is situated across the road from Ogden 's Municipal Airport where the company airplane is

hangered. The two story structure, constructed of white brick and steel, reflects the clean design aesthetics that are immediately apparent in the audio products that are manufactured by Spectra Sonics. The new factory site was selected for easy access to surface and air transportation facilities. The air terminal is a ten minute walk from the factory and the Interstate Highway is within a few minutes drive. The factory is located on a bluff overlooking the city of Ogden, and enjoys an impressive view of the Rocky Mountains of Utah. The building is constructed to improve production through a logical traffic flow. In addition, a distinctive and impressive demonstration area provides a suitable setting. The new Spectra Sonics address is: 3750 Airport Road, Odgen, Utah 84403. The telephone remains the same: (801) 3927531.

NEW TOLL-FREE SERVICE FROM AMPEX

Ampex Corporation's audio -video

SPECK HAS SOMETHING

NEW...

We've designed some new concepts into our mixing consoles .. and have added these consoles to our .

product line.

SEND FOR SPECK'S 1979 FULL LINE CATALOG

o O1

7400 Greenbush Avenue North Hollywood, CA 91605 (213) 764 -1200

R-e/p

174

Stern was well-known as a drummer in the Bay Area when he joined Fantasy in 1969 with an in -house rhythm section backing a busy schedule of R &B sessions. F/P /M/S chief engineer since 1971, Stern heads a steaff of 15 and supervises three recording studios. He is currently overseeing the preparation of a new stateof- the -art fourth studio and disk mastering studio in the seven-story tower now being added to the Fantasy building. BTX ESTABLISHES WEST COAST OPERATIONS Opening of West Coast operations of the BTX Corporation is announced by Ronald C. Barker, general manager of the Weston, Massachusetts, manufacturer of SMPTE time code systems. The new BTX operations are located at 6255 Hollywood Boulevard, where the telephone number is (213) 462 -1506. Jerry Hudspeth has been named manager for

systems division has inaugurated a 24 -hour toll-free telephone system for ordering spare and replacement parts for the division's professional audio and video products. Parts orders will be placed the day they are received, and a follow -up service is provided to insure prompt delivery. The toll -free number for California is (800) 982 -5875. The toll -free number for the remaining contiguous states is (800) 2278402.

Headquartered in Redwood City, California, the Ampex audio-video systems division manufacturers audio and video recorders, cameras, systems and related equipment for commercial and educational broadcasters and for closed circuit TV

applications

medicine, education,

industry, science and government.

QUAD-EIGHT EXPANDS FACILITIES AND INCREASES NUMBER OF DEALERSHIPS Facility expansion has begun at Quad Eight, the North Hollywood [California] based manufacturer of professional mixing equipment. To meet the increased demands for their products, the company has

Let's Talk

About AUTOSET

Auto -Set is a complete self- contained automation programmer made by Harrison Systems. It is speci-iGaily designed to interface with all Harrisor.consoles ever built. Interface is quick and simple through the use of multipin connector. Auto -Set is a simple piece of equipment to operate. It can operate as simply and with as little facility as the other available automation systems. All that is required is the pressing of one out-on. Auto -Set can alsc be a very powerful tool to the experienced operator, and that experience can be had very easily. The Auto-Set commands nave been written in such a way that an inexperienced operatocan gain operating expertise in small steps There is no need to know the complete instruction set in the beginning as features can be learned one at a time. WHY DOES AUTO -SET LOOK LIKE A COMPUTER_' Because it is a computer. Auto -Set contains two Z -8C microprocessors operating under firmware control tc make your life easier and your final product better. There is no need for you to be a computer programmer as all programs are supplied, safely locked away

expensive mass storage cevice and a time code system. Also, you never run out of cata storage space as the data space increases with the length of material an

to be mixed. Auto -Set allows the storage of four separate and independent mixes on one channel of a standard aucio tape machine. Two channels of a machine must be allocated to autorr.ation for bouncing the data back and forth as a mix is built. Auto -Set allows you to independently select any one of the four nixes for each console fader. This selection process can be repeated 10 times for different pats of a mix anc the selections recalled sequentially in a real time a _he final mix is recorded. Pre -Set Automation data is stored on special certified data car:ridges wlich pLg Ito the front of the Auto -Set. Preset automation s a totally different way of storing automation data. The previously described dynamic automation stores coltinuous changes in real time. Prese: automation stores "snapshot' mixes only when you Dress a buttcn, up to 630 of them on one data car:ridge. Likew se when ycu are ready to use the "snapshot' mixes they can be recalled one at a time with the simple push of a button. The uses of preset automation are many and var ed. It can be used for direct to d sc -eco-dine using mixes taken in rehearsal and recalled by the mixer as needed. Also, it can be used in broadcast. live performance, theatre, or any other applicat on where mixing is not from a prerecorded multitrac -c

in non -volatile memory.

HOW DOES AUTO -SET STORE DATA? It can store data in two different ways oecause Auto -Set is in reality two separate automation pro Normal Automation

grammers living in ane box_ Data is stored on a standard

studio tape machine. This is a very good way to store automation data as it is not necessary to purchase

HARRISON SYSTEMS, INC.

NOW, GC TALK TO THE OTHER GUYS.

11111

,>*

NIIIIN

P O. Box 229E4 Nashville,

Tennessee 3 7202

Passive Direct Box

Deluxe Active Direct Box

Active Direct Box

SM-1A

SM -2

Single

'Mie- splitters"

MS-1A

SM-3 Quad

8x2 "Mic-Splitter"

"Mic-splitter'

acquired an additional 11,000 square feet of room adjacent to the existing facility. The area will be customized for specialized Digital Research and Development and to house modular console production. Coupled with spatial growth, three new dealers have been added to carry Quad Eight's products. In Los Angeles the new dealer is Everything Audio;" in Northern California 'Accurate Sound" andin the New York area, "Martin Audio" will have Quad Eight's line.

MS-8

MS-4

16x2 "Mic-splitter"

12x2 "Mic-splitter"

MS-10

MS-9

Direct Boxes: Both active and passive SM -1A for guitars SM -2 and SM-3 for keyboards and electronic instruments.

"Mie -splitters ": Low impedance in and out. Will handle +6 dBm. Will pass phantom voltage. Isolated grounds.

Thou/end, in we wound the Wald! We also manufacture audio transformers,

snakes, audio modules

SEND FOR YOUR FREE COPY OF OUR NEW CATALOG P.O. Box 590,

12931 Budlong Ave., Gardena, CA 90247 U.S.A.

CÓM "Quality Engineered

421-1828, Sound Products"

770-3346-7510,

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? 9

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SEX DISCRIMINATION SUIT AGAINST MAJOR SOUND REINFORCEMENT COMPANY

Linda Joyce Wheatcroft filed on December 1, 1978, a suit against Clair Brothers Audio Enterprises, Inc., of Lititz, Pennsylvania, charging sex discrimination in hiring practices with their sound company. The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, is to redress deprivation of rights secured by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which stems from an incident during the spring of 1976 Peter Frampton Tour. Linda Jouce Wheatcroft seeks permanent injunctive relief from discrimination against her with respect to employment because of her sex, an accounting for loss of earnings by her resulting from Clair Brother Audio Enterprises, Inc., unlawful refusal to hire her, and money damages resulting from the unlawful employment practices. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Philadelphia District Office, found reasonable cause to believe the charge of sex discrimination and issued a "Notice of Right to Sue" on September 8, 1978.

Linda Joyce Wheatcroft and her legal counsel, Laura Goldin, of Goldin and Goldin, believe it is the first such suit in the sound technician area of the music industry.

BANFF CENTRE OFFERS

RECORDING FUNDAMENTALS,

e SIMPLE

This poor devil is spending more time hasseling with cabling and connectors than he is playing music . . . which is why he purchased his home studio in the first place. If you are a musician- engineer in the L.A. area and you need help with your studio, just call .. . KELLY 894 -8925 or NANCE 652 -5151 SCREEN DOOR MUSIC and NANCE P.O. BOX 4848 PANORAMA CITY, CA. 91412

R-e/p 176

1979 This year's course will take place from Monday, June 3rd to Friday, June 8th and will again be under the direction of Stephen F. Temmer, president of Gotham Audio Corporation, New York/Hollywood. This is the fourth year that the course has been given.

The fee for this week -long, 45 -hour course is $225.00. Single accommodation is $21.50 per day; shared is $19.50. This includes full meal service in the cafeteria. Selection of applicants will be made as applications are received. There is an absolute application deadline of May 15th, but it may well be that all available space has been booked by that date. Prompt return of application forms is encouraged. The week following the seminar, Mr.

Temmer will be working with music students at the Centre, indoctrinating them into the philosophy of recording and actually putting students on tape, doing retakes, editing, etc. Mr. Temmer will also be giving a 11/2 -hour daily course for second year Theater Crafts students on sound reinforcement for the legitimate stage. There may be a possibility of accommodating a small number of seminar students for the second week. For further information, contact Lorraine Schindel, Theater Arts Division, The Banff Centre, Box 1020, Banff, Alberta TOL OCO, Canada. NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OFFERS COURSE IN AUDIO The New England Conservatory of Music will hold a Summer Session from June 25 August 3, 1979, featuring workshops, courses, and master classes. Among the numerous offerings of special interest is the Electronic Music Workshop with Robert Ceely, June 25 - 29. The workshop will be divided into two sessions. Mornings will include lectures and

demonstrations of the hardware and software of Electronic Music and

discussions of how and why synthesizers work, and the theory behind their sounds. The afternoon sessions will be individual hands -on experience with the ARP, MOOG, BUCHLA, and EML Synthesizers. Studio technique covering multichannel

recording, sel- sync, overdubbing, reverberation, etc., sophisticated

sequencing techniques, and unusual patch configurations will also be explored and demonstrated.

REQUEST FOR COURSE INFORMATION FROM INSTITUTIONS & INSTRUCTORS OF AUDIO EDUCATION PROGRAMS R -e /p is interested in obtaining information from schools and other organizations that are involved in education as it relates to the recorded art. Such information will be included in a listing which will be prepared, to be sent

response to the mounting number

of requests for such information.

reply to: Curriculum List Recording engineer/producer P.O. Box 2449 Hollywood, CA 90028 SONY/RCA IN DIGITAL RECORDING SESSION WITH DALLAS SYMPHONY Sony's new PCM -1600 digital audio processor was used in March to record three classical works performed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra which are

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NO 1% COMPROMISE Two nice sounding words, just like a lot of other nice sounding words that manufacturers and suppliers use to describe their products and services. Talk is cheap and so are words, so in order for words to have any true value they must stand for something of value. At Harrison Systems No Compromise means something very real to us, to our dealers, and to our customers. No Compromise is a way of doing business, a philosophy that we believe in, a standard by which we can measure our every decision and endeavor, not just pretty words. The No Compromise philosophy is with us every minute of every day. It is the dominant factor in the design, the manufacture, and the after sales support of every piece of equipment that we build. To our dealers it means that they are representing and delivering the very best recording consoles available in the world. They are proud of the fact and we are proud of them. Without exception Harrison dealers world wide are the

finest, most knowledgeable, most honorable audio professionals to be found.

Harrison customers have the No Compromise philosophy, also. In most cases the decision to purchase a Harrison console has not been made on price, for there are many consoles that sell for less. Harrison owners know that they have purchased the finest consoles for their studios. That goes a long way toward the making of a No Compromise studio. Interestingly, most Harrison owners have found that the choice of a Harrison console has in the long -run been the most profitable for their operations. The care and expertise in the design of the consoles have made their clientele very happy and supportive. The quality of construction and check out have meant minimum down time and start up problems. Harrison consoles have a history of very good retained value which means that the cost of ownership can be quite reasonable. Many years ago one of the smartest men I have known told me that if you take care of business, then business will take care of you. Taking care of business ... I guess that is what No Compromise is really all about.

Harrison HARRISON SYSTEMS, INC.

0. Box 22964, Nashville, Tennessee 37202

(615) 834 -1184, TELEX 555133

THIS ISSUE OF R -e/p IS SPONSORED BY THE FOLLOWING LIST OF ADVERTISERS A &R Record Mfg. Co

Allison Research ALTEC Corporation Amber Electro Design Amek Ampex Corporation Aphex Atlas Sound

Audicon Marketing Audio & Design Recording Audio Associates Audio Concepts/Dave Kelsey Audio Distributors, Inc. Audio Industries Corp Audio Kinetics (UK), Ltd. Audio Services Audio -Technica, US Audioarts Engineering Auditronics Auratone BGW Systems BTX Corporation Rudi Breuer Canyon Recorders CETEC Gauss

Community Light & Sound Countryman Associates Crown International dbx, inc. DeltaLab Research EXR Corporation

Eastern Acoustic Works Eastman School of Music Electro-Media Systems Electro-Voice, Inc Everything Audio Hammond Industries, Inc Harrison Systems Hidley Design Services Inovonics, Inc. Interface Electronics Ivie Electronics JBL Jensen Transformers

Klark- Teknik Klipsch & Associates Lexicon, Inc. Loft Modular Devices

MCI MRL Magnefax, Inc. Marshall Electronics MICMIX Audio Products Midas Audio Systems Milam Audio Rupert Neve, Inc

Northwest Sound Omnicraft Omnisound, Ltd. Orange County Electronics Orban Associates Otani Corporation Peavey Electronics Pro Audio /Seattle Programing Technologies OSC Audio Products Quad -Eight Quantum Audio Labs, Inc. Raindirk Limited SESCOM Saki Magnetics Screen Door Music Shure Brothers, Inc. Sierra Audio Solid State Logic, Ltd. Sony Industries Sound 80, Inc Sound Technology Sound Workshop Speck Electronics Spectra Sonics Stanton Magnetics Stephens Electronics Studer Re Vox America

Studio Supply Company Symetrix TDK Taber Manufacturing Co. Tangent Systems TEAC/Tascam Telex Communications UREI URSA MAJOR Valley Audio Valley People Westlake Audio

White Instruments Yamaha International

intended for RCA Red Seal release, according to Roger Pryor, digital audio division manager for Sony. Conductor Eduardo Mata led the Dallas Symphony's performance of Stravinskÿ s Firebird Suite and Symphony in Three Movements, as well as Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe. The 3/4-inch U-Matic tapes will be edited later this spring using an advanced electronic editing unit to be shown by Sony at the Los Angeles AES Convention. According to Sony sources, the new editor

88 7

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BENJAMIN B. BAUER, NOTED SCIENTIST AND MICROPHONE PIONEER DEAD AT 65 Benjamin B. Bauer, former head of CBS water, and techniques and instrumentation Technology Center, Stamford, Connecti- for reproducing and broadcasting cut, died of a heart attack on Saturday, quadraphony. Mr. Bauer was born in Odessa, Russia, in March 31, 1979. He was 65 years old. A towering figure in the audio and acoustics 1913 and spent his youth in Cuba. Coming field, he had remained a consultant to CBS to the U.S. in 1930, he earned a degree in following his retirement in July of 1978 after Industrial Engineering from Pratt Institute,

35 17

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New York City, before attending the University of Cincinnati where in 1937 he received an Electrical Engineering degree. Post graduate studies included Physics, or directional, microphone whose Mathematics, and Acoustics at Chicago and acoustical phase shift principle is to this day Northwestern Universities. Dedicated to learning and scientific used most universally in commercial microphones for broadcast and public education, Mr. Bauer authored nearly 100 address systems. At that time a novice technical papers; lectured widely in this development engineer for Shure Brothers, country and abroad; contributed to Incorporated, manufacturers of micro- technical acoustical subjects; was technical phones and phonograph pickups, he was to editor and publisher of a textbook, become Shuré s director of engineering and "Acquisition, Reduction, and Analysis of vice president. He joined CBS, Incorporat- Acoustical Data," for the U.S. Navy, and ed, in 1957 where he assumed responsibility was visiting professor of engineering for audio technology development at the acoustics at Pennsylvania State University. He was elected to the National Academy then CBS Laboratories, in Stamford, of Engineering in 1974, and was a member of Connecticut. the Naval Studies Board from the National Many contributions in the ensuing four Academy of Sciences. He was a Fellow of decades followed Mr. Bauer's landmark the Institute of Electrical and Electronic 1938 microphone invention. Spanning a Engineers, of the Acoustical Society of broad range of technology disciplines, he America, and the Audio Engineering was awarded 75 U.S. Patents. Foreign Society. He was ari honorary member of the Patents swelled the total to more than a latter organization as well as a past hundred. His long list of achievements president and recipient of its Gold Medal included microphones created for award. In 1977 the Acoustical Society acoustical measurements, piston phones, presented Mr. Bauer with its' silver medal in heartbeat measurements, hearing aids, acoustics, only the third scientist so public address systems, broadcasting, honored "for his contribution to engineering sound ranging, and civil and military acoustics, particularly in the development of communications; headphones, and artificial techniques and devices used to pickup, voice and ear devices, loudspeakers and record, and reproduce sound." Recently, in March 1979, Mr. Bauer had loudspeaker enclosures, vibration measuring instruments, stereophonic test been inducted into the L'Ordre de a records, and transducers for phonograph Chevalerie de L.'Etoile de la Paix recording and reproduction. Magnetic chevalier of the Order of the Knights of the recording heads and transports, directional Star of Peace -- an international nonhydrophones, and hydrophone calibrators. denominational organization founded in Devices for automatic level control in 1229, and dedicated to peace and which broadcasting, psychoacoustic research recognizes heads of state and leaders in the related to the measurement of loudness and field of government, international relations, to the directional hearing in air and under diplomacy, the arts and sciences.

21 years of service.

152 44

Mr. Bauer's first invention came shortly after his graduation from college in 1937. It was the single transducer cardioid dynamic,

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capable of precision electronic editing. It is RCA's intention to release three classical albums from the Dallas Symphony session. Pryor noted that Sony's advanced editor will be used for the first time here for the RCA project. "From what our engineers in Japan have told me," noted Pryor, "we should have no difficulty editing up to RCA's standards." The RCA/Dallas Symphony session was recorded at Mt. View College, in Dallas. Peter Delheim produced for RCA. is

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