May 2005
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Technology
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| Audio-Technica AT2020 Condenser Microphone |
The AT2020 is Audio-Technica's entry-level, side-address studio condenser mic. It brings the company's build quality and consistency into the same street...
BY NICK BATZDORF |
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| GML Model 2032 Preamp/EQ |
Some two centuries ago, German author and philosopher Goethe said, “Excellence is rarely found, more rarely valued.” It's clear that his...
BY KEVIN BECKA |
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| Lipinski L-505 Passive Monitors |
My new year got off to a great start when FedEx dropped off a pair of Lipinski L-505 speakers for evaluation, polywrapped in their own foam-padded, zippered...
BY JOE HANNIGAN |
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| Nautilus Commander Analog Summing Box |
Which is better? Mixing inside or outside the box? If you haven't had this discussion, then either you have your head in the mix, don't get out much...
BY ERIK ZOBLER |
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| Sony Oxford Restoration Tools Plug-Ins |
With its Oxford EQ and Reverb, Sony Oxford has established a reputation for excellence in plug-in design in a very short amount of time. So it's no surprise...
BY K. K. PROFFITT |
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| Tools of the Trade |
COYOTE R&D TWO-CAN64 Ready for Windows Longhorn's 64-bit power, the Two-Can64 from Coyote (www.coyoterd.com)...
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Sound for Picture
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| Under Pressure |
Consistently scoring in the Top 10 on the weekly ratings lists, the hit show Lost is, along with Desperate Housewives, a major component of ABC Television's...
By Maureen Droney |
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Live Mix
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| An All-Digital Horse and Human Show |
Cavalia, the traveling equestrian spectacular from Canada, recently upgraded its audio setup to an all-digital signal path. The show, which takes place...
Kevin Becka |
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| Ani DiFranco |
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Ani DiFranco is packing theaters across the U.S., out in support of her latest studio album, Knuckledown. Mix caught up with...
by Steve Jennings |
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| Dave Alvin Rocks the Mystic Theatre |
Touring to support his CD Ashgrove, roots-rocker Dave Alvin blasted McNear's Mystic Theatre (Petaluma, Calif.) in late January, relying on the venue's...
Jeff Forlenza |
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| LOUD, CLEAN ROCK RETURNS TO THE STAGE |
Only Mötley Crüe could pull something off like this for more than two hours without a support act and playing just about every night: deafening...
By Sarah Benzuly |
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| News |
Keane toured the U.S. early in 2005 supporting This is the Last Time, using Sennheiser e935s on main and backing vocals, e604s and e614s on drums. “The...
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| Now Playing |
Slipknot Sound Company: Thunder Audio FOH Engineer/Console: Dave “Shirt” Nicholls/Midas XL4 with 16-channel XL3 stretch Monitor Engineer/Console:...
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| On the Road |
Robert Frazza Robert Frazza is one of those rare engineers who is equally comfortable in the studio or doing live FOH or monitors. We caught up with...
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Recording Notes
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| BEN FOLDS |
Walking down the street in Nashville one day, Ben Folds saw a sign that a studio was for lease. Upon further inspection, Folds discovered that the studio...
By David John Farinella |
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| COOL SPINS |
The Mix Staff Members Pick Their Current Favorites Kings of Leon Aha Shake Heartbreak (RCA) Already enormously popular in Britain, the Nashville-based...
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| KEREN ANN |
It is the rare French act that makes waves in the U.S.; in recent years, only the Afro-French hip hop sister act Les Nubians created much of a stir....
By Blair Jackson |
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| PHIL COLLINS' “IN THE AIR TONIGHT” |
If you see someone playing air drums in the car stopped beside you at the red light, there's a decent chance they're playing Phil Collins' “In...
By Robyn Flans |
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| WYNTON MARSALIS AND KEN BURNS IN JACK JOHNSON'S WORLD |
The issue of race is a thread that goes through nearly every documentary that the outrageously talented and amazingly prolific Ken Burns has made. Whether...
By Blair Jackson |
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Coast to Coast
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| L.A. GRAPEVINE |
More changes among L.A.'s major studios: Larrabee owner Kevin Mills has sold his two-room Neve facility, Larrabee East, to a group of investors that...
by Maureen Droney |
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| NASHVILLE SKYLINE |
I was knocking around Berry Hill and dropped in at Fred Vail's classic Music City studio, Treasure Isle (
by Rick Clark |
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| NEW YORK METRO |
Shocking news isn't always that much of a surprise. Case in point is the February closing of New York City's legendary Hit Factory, which — toward...
by David Weiss |
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| TRACK SHEET |
NORTHWEST Michael Bard mixed indie documentary Cowboy Del Amor in surround with sound designer Matt Meyer at StudioBar (Portland, OR)…Hyde Street...
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Insider Audio
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| On the Road With Kronos |
When a string quartet gets on an airplane, they get five seats, with the extra one for the cello. But here's a question: Does the cello get a baggage...
BY PAUL D. LEHRMAN |
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Bitstream
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| Getting the Lead Out |
This month, I'm finally closing the book on my “Pedant in a Big Box” IT glossary series, and all I can say is, man, did this project balloon!...
BY OLIVER MASCIAROTTE |
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Tech's Files
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| Better Audio Through Chemicals |
Gold is most resistant to corrosion as it's the only precious metal found in nature in its raw form. It is also the most expensive. All of the other...
Eddie Ciletti |
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| Upgrades, Switches and Pots |
Audio gear has a metamorphic history of first being essential, then “standard issue” and later disposable, until it's ultimately reborn as...
BY EDDIE CILETTI |
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From the Editor
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| We All Care About Quality |
There's a scene in the movie Sideways where the Paul Giamatti character, sidled up to the wine bar with his buddy, is discussing the release of a special...
Tom Kenny Editor |
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Feedback
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| Letters to Mix |
BEHIND WALL OF VOODOO'S ALTERNATE REALITY I read with amusement your piece on the making of Wall of Voodoo's Call of the West [“Classic Tracks,”...
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Current/Industry News
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| AVID TO ACQUIRE PINNACLE |
With an expected close date of July 1, 2005, Avid has acquired Pinnacle Systems Inc. in a cash and stock transaction. Pinnacle shareholders will receive...
COMPILED BY SARAH BENZULY |
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| CHICAGO NARAS HOSTS |
The NARAS organization and Pressure Point Studios (Chicago) brought all-star producers Elliot Scheiner, Ed Cherney and George Massenburg to a very chilly...
Craig Dalton |
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| INDUSTRY EVENT |
Solid State Logic and Guitar Center held the first of 16 in-store tours featuring SSL's AWS 900 Analogue Workstation System and XLogic line of outboard...
COMPILED BY SARAH BENZULY |
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| INDUSTRY NEWS |
5.1 Production Services (West L.A.) has promoted Sandi Taylor to the newly created position of VP, production…Recently employed by QSC Audio, Jon...
COMPILED BY SARAH BENZULY |
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| MIX FOUNDATION |
Individual scholarships for the 2004 TEC Awards Scholarship Grant were awarded to Tyler Andal, Kayla Knoll and Nathan Tocci. Andal, 16, a recording industry...
COMPILED BY SARAH BENZULY |
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| MUSICIAN'S HOTEL |
Now in its 15th year, South by Southwest (www.sxsw.com) has emerged as the showcase for both emerging...
COMPILED BY SARAH BENZULY |
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| ON THE MOVE |
Who: Rick Belt, Beyerdynamic general manager Main responsibilities: designing the future of the brand. To that end, I have assumed the roles of director...
COMPILED BY SARAH BENZULY |
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| REMEMBERING MARTY FELDMAN |
On January 21, 2005, Martin Feldman passed away. Many knew him as the founder of Paragon Recording in Chicago in 1969; others as co-creator of Chicago-based...
COMPILED BY SARAH BENZULY |
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General
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| BARBERSHOP STUDIOS |
For years, Barbershop Studios' (www.thebarbershopstudios.com) CEO Scott Barber had...
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| Bruce Jackson |
When Bruce Jackson got his start in the live sound industry in the '60s, sound reinforcement wasn't much more than an idea — consoles were pretty...
By Sarah Benzuly |
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| Final Words On Quality… |
In this issue, we've exhausted the topic of “quality” on many different levels, but we'd like to acknowledge that in the end, music is what...
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| FLOGGING MOLLY |
Although the tour is relying on local production, front-of-house engineer Jeremiah Ball is able to maintain consistency in the sound night after night,...
by Steve Jennings |
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| FUTURE DISC MASTERS AMY GRANT'S LATEST |
Amy Grant and hubby Vince Gill stopped by Future Disc in Los Angeles to oversee mastering of Grant's latest release, Rock of Ages…Hymns and Faith,...
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| GARBAGE CLEANS UP |
Garbage recently visited The Lodge (New York City) to master their new album, Bleed Like Me (Warner Bros.), with chief mastering engineer Emily Lazar....
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| Get Your Audio E Ticket Here |
Most awards shows just need to look good. But nobody really notices the sound, unless, of course, it completely cuts out during some celebrity acceptance...
By Maureen Droney |
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| Keith O. Johnson |
Traditionally, orchestral recordings don't require much in the way of equipment — an onslaught of amplifiers, compressors and digital processing...
By Heather Johnson |
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| Lost on Location |
Without a doubt, these were the most challenging shows — physically and mentally — that I've faced in my 25 years in production sound. Although...
By David Barr-Yaffe, C.A.S. |
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| Mark Knopfler |
Artistic and production excellence has always been the standard throughout Mark Knopfler's career. From the time his old band, Dire Straits, arrived...
By Rick Clark |
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| NEW DIRECTIONS IN CONSOLE DESIGN |
Predicting the future is a tough proposition. And often, every industry analyst and prognosticator in the world can be just plain wrong. For example,...
BY GEORGE PETERSEN |
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| NSCA Expo 2005 |
Following on the heels of Winter NAMM — just six weeks before — the 25th annual NSCA Expo (March 10 to 12, 2005) didn't have a lot of new...
By Mark Frink |
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| ONE PHISH, BIG GROOVES AT EAST IRIS |
Phish frontman Trey Anastasio (pictured) and band migrated to Nashville to cut tracks for his forthcoming solo album at East Iris Recording's Studio...
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| Preserving The Art Of Audio Engineering |
Those who embark on a career in the craft of engineering tend to be passionate individuals. They generally devote themselves to long years of learning,...
By Maureen Droney |
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| Quality in the Age Of “Good Enough” |
I It was the late, great Nashville engineer Denny Purcell who, in a moment of frustration and resignation, opined about the audio industry, “We...
By Blair Jackson |
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| Rikki Don't Lose That Number |
Consider our collective audio heritage — those uncounted hours of recordings on tape, acetate and disc we've accumulated as a species since Valdemar...
By Ron Franklin |
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| Rudy Van Gelder |
“Quality is what drives the work I do,” Rudy Van Gelder says. “From the beginning, that's all I would think about, day and night: How...
By Jeff Forlenza |
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| SONICA RECORDING |
Atlanta indies Red Letter Agent (www.redletteragent.com) wrapped up their latest D.I.Y. release,...
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| Technology Breakthroughs In Concert Sound |
Many of today's high-tech products have complicated our lives and have made decisions regarding inventory an endless nightmare of guesswork, yet it's...
By Mark Frink |
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| The Consumer Conundrum |
Here's a simple logic problem: If all audio engineers are consumers, does that mean all consumers are audio engineers? That's right, the answer to that...
By David Weiss |
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| The Curriculum Quandary |
If there's one thing that most members of the recording industry will agree upon, it's that when it comes to getting an education, there is no fail-safe...
By Breean Lingle |
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| The Hybrid Production |
We've heard the gripes, even participated in many of them: the roster cuts, the shrinking budgets; the home studio's rise, the commercial studio's decline;...
By Heather Johnson |
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| The New Model of Manufacturing |
At one time, quality was tied in with price: The pro/high end paid high prices simply because the hardware was expensive to build and, by even the most...
By Mel Lambert |
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| Upgrades and Updates |
Aphex Systems (www.aphex.com) is now shipping the Model 230 Master Voice Channel. The unit features...
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