REPORT
REVIEWS
REVEALED
/ Sound for sport: the state of play / The 88R at 20: covering a classic / Product Focus: A-D with Preamps
/ API Select SR22 & SR24 / Antelope Galaxy 32 Synergy Core / dSONIQ Realphones V1.7
/ Vance Powell: from eight-track to Atmos / Cicaleto Recordings: pure Italian style / Resolution Awards: nominee profiles
V21.6 | October 2021 | £5.50
The
Interview
Mike Larson
m908 24 channel Monitor Controller - Atmos® Ready. The big push to deliver immersive music to streaming platforms means your music production room could soon be mixing for Dolby® Atmos Music. If this sounds like equal parts yikes and yeehaw, we can help the transition be more of the latter with our award-winning 24ch, immersive audio-friendly monitor controller.
ing a simple Dolby Atmos Music Target Curve setup), bass management and individual channel delay settings. With a powerful, dedicated remote control unit, all monitoring functions are at your fingertips, and system info is clearly displayed on the large LCD screen. To top it off, the m908 delivers the finest audio quality of any monitoring equipment in the world.
The m908 will easily manage your stereo and 7.1.4 Atmos speaker systems, providing 12 bands of parametric room correction EQ per channel (includ-
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/ Contents
28 V21.6 | October 2021
News & Analysis 5 6
Leader News News, studios and appointments 12 New Products New mics and headphones from Beyerdynamic, alongside launches from Nugen, PSI and Antares
Columns
14 The state of TV sports sound Dennis Baxter recalls the controversy his work on the 2012 Olympics created, and how modern technology (and a global pandemic) has focused our attention on crowds 18 The Seeds of CEDAR We look back on the work of Professor Peter Rayner, one of the creative forces behind CEDAR 24 RESOLUTION AWARDS NOMINEES Here’s our guide to the categories and nominees in our 2021 Awards, along with details about how you can 54 Playlist The Resolution writing team offer up the tracks they put on when they want to test a new listening environment
Mike Larson
38
Craft
28 Mike Larson Pharrell Williams' full-time producer/engineer, Mike Larson, chats to Danny Turner 34 Vance Powell The engineer, mixer and producer talks Jack White, Jack converting his own studio for Atmos mixing, and his approach to accumulating gear 38 Charlie Foskett After a career behind the scenes of London’s music business, it took a cancer diagnosis to get Charley Foskett in front of the mic to record his own music
34 47
Facility
50 Cicaleto Studio Nigel Jopson takes a look around a beautiful location in Italy and finds has all the style and good taste you would expect — plus a lot of interesting design
Technology
42 Product Focus: A-D mic pres We take a look at a range of options for getting your mic signal into the digital domain in the best possible shape 47 Neve 88R As it’s only a few months older than Resolution itself, and approaching 20, we decided to take a look back at our coverage of this classic large format console over the years
42 50
REVIEWS 20 Antelope Audio Galaxy 32 Synergy Core 22 API Select SR22+SR24 23 dSONIQ Realphones
October 2021 / 3
/ Welcome
Leader
John Moore
Editor/Content Manager John Moore john@resolutionmag.com
Editor-at-large Nigel Jopson
Contributors Mike Aiton, Dennis Baxter, John Broomhall, Simon Clark, Russell Cottier, Jay Dean, Gijs Friesen, Kevin Hilton, Tim Oliver, George Shilling, Rob Speight, Jon Thornton, Danny Turner, Phil Ward
Decisions, decisions...
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L
ast month, we announced the list of nominations for the 2021 Resolution Awards. Now the online voting portal is up and running and will be available to let you have your say until the end of November. You can read all about the nominations and why our team chose them in this issue, and we hope you’ll visit www.resolutionmag.com and help decide the winners. We’ll feature all those winners in the new year's issue, as well as in a special digital supplement that will go out to all magazine and digital newsletter subscribers in December. Talking of digital supplements, all newsletter subscribers will have received the free Monitors Focus supplement in mid-October, redesigned in a digital device-friendly format. If you don’t subscribe to the newsletter it can also be seen at the Resolution website as well; we hope you enjoyed it and we’re keen to hear what you thought about it — if you have any comments, please email us via info@resolutionmag.com. This month we take some time to focus on mic pre options with A-D conversion, and once again it’s an almost overwhelming range of options and choices. Every time we settle down to put together these guides, it is a salutary
reminder of the difficult financial decisions that practitioners have to make when it comes to equipment and upgrades, and how those decisions are actually philosophical as well as financial. The kit you choose says everything about how you want to work, and the priorities that you have for your work environment — which is why the endorsement of peers we respect can mean so much in the decisionmaking process. When the world of specifications gets too overwhelming and the differences in build-quality are often extremely small, then the ethos of the company and those that support it are always easy points to focus on. That’s quite right too… The same can be said for the process of nominating and giving out awards; we take our responsibility for selecting nominees very seriously, but when it comes to picking winners, we’re more than happy to hand over the responsibility to people we respect — you, and our other readers. So, if you have already voted: thanks. If not, we hope you can find the time to impart your wisdom by expressing an opinion soon. Your vote could help someone else make a better choice down the line, and learn a little from your hard-earned wisdom. Until next time.
John
October 2021 / 5
News
Orange Amplification Deplike app offer
All new Orange Amplification OMEC Teleport A-D audio interfaces registered on the company website will now receive a free three month subscription to the Deplike app. The OMEC Teleport is an audio interface for both studio and gigging, housed in a small effect pedal enclosure, it is essentially universal connection device which allows analogue signals to be converted to digital for DAW connection. The Deplike amp and effects application has been modelled on a huge range of guitar amps, cabinets and effect pedals. The free three month subscription gives OMEC Teleport users a full guitar suite on iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS and ChromeOS operating systems for operation on both desktop, laptop and mobile devices. The suite features low-latency tools, tones and effects. Customers already owning a Teleport can register at www.orangeamps.com/support.
AMS Neve improves Recall Software AMS Neve has made improvements to its Recall software that allows software control of its 88 series hardware units and the 2254/R compressor/limiter. The program gives control up to 16 Neve analogue outboard units from a connected computer, with settings for each unit stored and available to be quickly recalled. Recall runs on a Mac or a PC, with hardware units connected to the computer via USB or through a powered USB hub. Once they are connected, the Recall software automatically finds them; as well as offering unlimited recall of all switch settings, rotary pot and fader positions, Neve’s upgraded software also provides a stereo matching function for the 8803 dual EQ (for master bus processing), an on-screen drag-and-drop audio processing matrix for the 8801 channel strip, and a host of direct output routing options for the 8804 fader pack and 8816 summing mixer. The software can be downloaded free of charge, from the AMS Neve website. www.neve.com
SMPTE to host Annual Tech Conference virtually SMPTE has today announced that registration is open for its 2021 Annual Technical Conference (ATC), a virtual event with daily four-hour sessions offered Nov. 9-11 and Nov. 16-18. Described as the “world's premier peerreviewed forum for media and entertainment technology,” this year's format and schedule includes a day of sessions presented in APAC-friendly time zones, and is designed to make participation more convenient. SMPTE 2021 ATC will feature presentations on next-generation technologies, as well as discussions on traditional broadcast engineering, sustainability, media in the cloud, and operational SMPTE ST 2110 deployments. It will feature daily live roundtables and Q&As, with opportunities for networking and social events, as well as the SMPTE Storytellers programs and the induction ceremony of the new class of SMPTE Fellows will take place on Nov. 10. Atc21.smpte.org 6 / October 2021
AWFC names Advisory Board The Alliance for Women Film Composers (AWFC) has named its newly formed Advisory Board. The steering committee of AWFC Founding Members Laura Karpman, Lolita Ritmanis, Miriam Cutler, Chandler Poling (pictured above) will head the Advisory Board whose members are Academy Award, Emmy, and Grammy winning composers, songwriters, music supervisors, music directors, Sundance music executives and studio executives. The advisory board will actively support the Alliance for Women Film Composers — which was founded in 2014 as a community of composers and colleagues
who strive to support and celebrate the work of women composers through advocacy and education — in its mission, advise on future programs and outreach, and be a public face to champion the organisation. The Advisory Board members are: Amy Andersson, Amy Dunning, Chandler Poling, Diane Warren, Hildur Gudnadóttir, Kathryn Bostic, Lisa Coleman, Lolita Ritmanis, Madonna Wade-Reed, Miriam Cutler, Mitchell Leib, Peter Golub, Rachel Portman, Rickey Minor, Suzie Katayama, Tamar-kali, Tony Scu dellari and Wendy Melvoin. www.theawfc.com
APPOINTMENTS
Munich’s Gärtnerplatztheater enters the IP world The Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (State Theater at the Gärtner Square in Munich, Germany) has opted for state-of-the-art IP audio technology from Lawo, and is producing its new season largely on the basis of an AoIP infrastructure. The central elements of the new setup at Gärtnerplatztheater are two Lawo mc²56 audio production consoles with A__UHD core engine with I/O via several A__line AoIP nodes and Lawo DALLIS devices already in place in-house — integrated into
the network via a Nova73 HD router core. The install replaces two mc²66 digital mixing consoles — used by the auditorium and sound control room for sound reinforcement and to record musical, ballet, operetta and opera productions — that have been in situ since 2007. The A__UHD Core engine that will underpin the new desks is set for a software upgrade to A__UHD Core (Phase 2) in time for the 2022 season, to facilitate further IP infrastructure expansion. www.lawo.com
McDSP APB driver supports Apple Silicon
SoundGirls hosts inclusive virtual conference
The new McDSP APB driver now takes advantage of the latest advancements in Big Sur (Mac OS 11.x) by running natively on the new M1 processor. Additionally, the latest software update for the programmable analogue processor features an installer that will automatically load the correct driver version on Intel and M1 processor based Macs. The APB Driver still supports older Mac OS versions, including High Sierra (Mac OS 10.13.x), Mojave (Mac OS 10.14.x), and Catalina (Mac OS 10.15.x), as well as Intel processor-based Macs running Big Sur (Mac OS 11.x). The M1 compatible APB Driver is a free update to all APB-8 and APB-16 clients, and can be downloaded from the McDSP website. www.mcdsp.com
SoundGirls, established to provide support for women and non-binary persons working in professional audio, has announced the roster for its upcoming Virtual Conference on December 4-5. Women, non-binary and BIPOC make up only 5% of the pro work force in audio and music production, so SoundGirls is committed to assisting women and under-represented individuals with a desire to join the industry. The Conference is a two-day event open to all, from audio veterans to beginners and students, with presentations from a wide range of women, men, and non-binary professionals with roles in post-production, recording, live, theater production, broadcast, and more. The Conference also offers networking opportunities, while the SoundGirls Mexico City chapter will present several sessions in Spanish. Attendees will receive access to a video archive of sessions. www.soundgirls.org
Loudspeaker manufacturer PMC has appointed Phil Millross to the company’s sales team as Business Development Manager for Studio Products in the UK and Ireland. Formerly employed as a senior design engineer, Phil has been with PMC for more than 13 years and has a thorough understanding of the company’s entire portfolio. He is now responsible for maximising sales, increasing brand awareness, building strong links with UK business partners and introducing producers, engineers and artists to PMC’s Studio Products portfolio. This includes the recently launched compact, active near-and midfield monitors. “As we celebrate our 30th year, PMC is rightly renowned for delivering exceptional audio quality to recording professionals all over the world,” says PMC’s CEO Jeff Willcocks. “The launch of our new monitor range, combined with our reputation as experts in the world of immersive audio, is driving a substantial increase in business and we are expanding our sales team in the UK to reflect this growth.” www.pmc-speakers.com Polar has announced the promotion of the current UK National Sales Manager for Integrated Solutions, Will Turney, to the post of Head of Integrated Solutions. Will joined the Polar team in 2017 as a Business Development Manager after five years with the Harmon-owned AMX. A Marketing and Management graduate of Newcastle University, Will's progression at the company is described as “a reflection of his dynamism and detailed understanding of the AV industry.” Turney himself says that his role managing the Integrated Sales Division will include “supporting and developing the Sales and Technical Support teams at Polar in continuing to meet the challenges of a fast-moving technology sector,” and that he will also be responsible for “liaising with our brands to develop strategies for new product launches, as well as ongoing product updates.” POLAR Managing Director John Midgley adds that: "In his time at POLAR, Will has demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of AV technologies and their application in the widest range of market sectors and possesses a highly developed set of skills that make him the ideal fit to take charge of the Division.”
October 2021 / 7
Column
Broadcast aside Dennis Baxter
The future (shock) of broadcast sports sound
I
DENNIS BAXTER takes a look at the changing perception of sports broadcast sound post-COVID, and what this means for veracity
will never forget my first live remote broadcast. I was in over my head and knew my studio experience was no substitute for outside broadcast experience. The engineer in charge knew I was struggling to get things set up; he looked me square in the eye and ruefully informed me that “sound is 10% of the show and 90% of the problems.” I may not have known anything about IFBs or communications systems but, coming from a recording studio environment, one thing I knew was that television could sound much better than it did. This launched my career-long quest for tone, and for getting audio to some degree of parity with the visual side of broadcasting in terms of its impact. While it might be too harsh to say that many ‘video people’ — and some producers — did not pay much attention to the sound of their sports broadcasts until the stadiums were 14 / October 2021
empty, I can imagine producers and broadcast executives scratching their head’s and sighing, “well what do we do now?” Sound-starved stadiums were an unknown concept in top-line sport before Covid-19, and I saw some early online discussion during the period that was mostly against the idea of adding the artificial sound of crowds with foley. However, as sports continued, it was generally agreed that adding crowd noise to generate some atmosphere and enthusiasm was the way to go. The first time I used live foley to augment a broadcast, it was long enough ago that I used a tape loop and rolled in crowd sounds at a car race. With that event, it was needed because the cars were so loud they would drown out any useable crowd noise. The tape loop worked, but had flaws — however, In 1986, the Akai 900 Sampler appeared on the market and the possibilities for live foley changed.
So live foley is nothing new — think about hearings horse hoofs above a boisterous race-day crowd — but the use of sound supplementation took bad turn for me in 2012,
when members of the press accused me of faking the entire sound of the London Olympic Games. The truth is, during the Olympics we used samplers for augmenting rowing and skiing events where crowds and participants can be separated by some distance, but always attempted to capture live sound. The Olympics never supplemented the crowd sound before 2021, despite many Olympic venues often only having modest crowds. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed those smaller crowds because I felt that — when captured properly — I could deliver a very clear and dynamic crowd tone as opposed to a background roar or something that sounded like white noise.
known as vCrowd. However, there are purists who believe sports sound should not be altered or augmented for the sake of entertainment — though many have been directed to have a change in attitude when sports producers and directors were shocked at the lack of energy to the finished result without crowd ‘hype’. It is all about entertaining the consumer, and I contend broadcast content producers have a higher bar for what that means now. As an inexperienced mixer, I rarely put out additional crowd microphones because I thought the effects mics picked up adequate
crowd noise — but as I developed as a sports mixer, particularly while handling the Olympics, I learned to sculpt a sonic landscape with definition and depth in the atmosphere and ambience (and I usually had enough sportsspecific sounds in my library to complete the illusion). Crowds are the glue of sports entertainment, particularly in immersive sound production, but great crowd sounds require more than just good capture. This was proved when there was no live crowd sound to capture, and various levels of sonic enhancements emerged or were developed. Big crowds do not necessarily sound like
Larger than live
The crowds are back in the stadiums now, though, and I have heard jubilation from my mixing colleagues about having “real sound” again. However, I’d suggest that sports sound mixers now may have an altogether different problem to deal with. During Covid, the broadcast audience clearly experienced sound that was not usually heard before empty stadiums, and fans are enjoying a more detailed sonic experience. Now, I propose that there will be a higher level of expectations of the sound beyond the loud roaring of crowds. There is a lot of sound around a Premier League Football match — banter between players, coaches constantly yelling and — of course — the thumps of the ball being kicked, but much of this sound has not been making it to screens at home. Part of the role of the sound mixers is to squeeze the sounds from the pitch with finger acrobatics, frantically mixing between that and crowd swells — however, crowds simply masked much of the on-theground sound of competition in the same way those cars did to the crowd. I have always approached sport sound design as trying to give the listener a ‘bigger than life experience’; similar to the way sound is presented in film and games. Sports broadcasts document events, but I would not consider them a documentary. If you do, then I respect the opinion that there should not be sound augmentation for empty stadiums.
AI foley
Most of the Covid sound supplementation has been manual with multiple layers of sound triggered from computers that are blended and stacked by mixers, but Artificial Intelligence is playing a bigger role in media production. While the camera lens and mic remain the tools for covering live sports, entertainment options like film and games have amped up consumer expectations of sound ‘reality’. Field sound has been improving with technologies like Lawo’s Kick audio tracking system — which can integrate with image analysis software to follow balls — and Salsa Sound’s MIXaiR, an AI-driven automixing and sound object creation solution. Created by Dr. Ben Shirley and Dr. Rob Oldfield (See Resolution V16.8) the system has expanded to offer an augmentation system October 2021 / 15
Resoution Awards 2021
AWARDS 2021 REWARDING QUALITY AND INNOVATION
Resolution Awards 2021 – a guide to the nominees 2021 has continued to see the development of new and innovative products in the world of Pro Audio, which we are pleased to recognise in our 2021 Awards nominations. Here’s our guide to the nominees and the voting process.
T
his year’s Resolution Awards selections include AoIP equipment, digital and analogue processing, artisanal custom-builds, and reinvigorated DAW and plug-in software. They run the whole gamut of audio technology, and the selections in each of the — slightly rejigged — categories come from the recommendations of our writing team, trusted colleagues and peers. Now we'd like you to vote for your favourites to decide the winners. Since the 2019 Awards, we have opened the voting process to our digital community — audio pros who receive our email newsletter, issuu. com readers and our wider Facebook and social media audience. Voting is via a special portal on our website. Simply visit www.resolutionmag.com/awards-2021-vote, enter an email address, make your choices on the voting form, and click ‘Submit’. Voting for our 12th annual Resolution Awards will close at the end of November, and the winners will be announced in a special digital Winners Supplement, and Resolution's print and digital editions. We maintain fairness by only allowing one vote per IP address (the numerical label assigned to a device or local network connected to the internet). So, here’s our guide to the categories and the nominations in each.
Analogue Outboard
A notable element of the new Select range (see the review of the SR22 and SR24 in this issue), the API Select T25 is a classic two-channel tube compressor that has caught many an eye as part of the company's new outboard line. Though not a name as associated with vacuum tubes as some out there, API have nevertheless produced a bit of a winner in the shape of a 2U, blue rackmount unit. Little Labs' LL2A is a diminutive, seemingly simple compressor/limiter with a lot of interesting electronics going on within its half-racksized enclosure, and a new way of doing things. Rather than light-sensitive resistors (optical), valves or any of the other compression methods we’re used to seeing, it uses a signal processor dubbed the ‘four‑quadrant analogue multiplier’. The Audio Digital Technology Olympic 500 EQ, reviewed in Resolution V21.4, is an impressive attempt to 24 / October 2021
capture the magic of the Olympic Studios Helios desks of yore — recreating the circuitry of the units used in Studio One there — that really impressed George Shilling when he tested it for us. On the distinctly more modern side, is the Solid State Logic UV EQ unit. This pulls out the popular, ear-catching, Ultraviolet circuitry of the larger Fusion signal processor into a compact 500 series format as part of a new range of such modules the company launched during 2021.
DAW/Software Suite
Of the four nominees in this category, two of the titles are well known and two are newcomers to the market. Both Pro Tools 2021.6 (Resolution 21.5) and Nuendo 11 added a significant raft of features to their well-known, well established DAW platforms. The former made significant steps forwards with the addition of the Hybrid Engine in this summer’s update, while Nuendo 11 added in-the-box Atmos support and ADM authoring, spectral editing as well as enhanced Intelligibility and Loudness monitoring features to its extensive skill-set. In terms of the new faces, UAD's Luna stepped into the ring to compete with the established DAWs by taking an analogue-inspired approach to in-the-box recording, leveraging its creator’s expertise in analogue modelling and hardwaresupported processing. L'Acoustics’ L-ISA Studio is something very different from all of the above, though: a software suite dedicated to emulating immersive audio environments for headphone mixing, bringing the power of the L-ISA processing to desktop and laptop computers, alongside a binaural engine that offers potential for creators of immersive experiences to work on projects anywhere, at and anytime, on headphones.
Interface (A-D/D-A)
The Antelope Galaxy 32 Synergy Core (reviewed in this issue) further develops the company's bespoke FGPA chipset ecosystem and makes a powerful platform for its low-latency plug-in range with Dante, HDX and Thunderbolt connectivity. Released prior to the 2021.6 update of the DAW — but probably with it in mind — the Avid Pro Tools | Carbon pairs wonderfully with the changes to the Pro Tools with the Hybrid Engine for those looking to move towards HDX in high-end project, and small professional, studio settings. The Focusrite Red8Line is a powerhouse 58-In, 64-Out Thunderbolt interface with a wide gamut of connectivity options (analogue line-level, DigiLink, Dante, ADAT & S/PDIF) along with two Red Evolution mic pres, while the Prism Sound Dream ADA-128 represents five years of research from the company, and operates as a modular, expandable, high-performance A/D that can accommodate up to 128 channels.
Microphone
With its highly directional supercardioid pattern, the DPA 4097 CORE Micro Shotgun (Resolution V19.4) proved to be a rugged performer in our test, capable of handling high-SPLs and great for discreet placements — in fact, we described it as “mindblowingly miniscule”. We also loved the JZ BB29 Signature (Resolution V21.4), not only for its eye-catching design and looks, but also for its excellent handling of vocals and acoustic instruments. Another eye-catching piece of very left-field design and thinking, the Scope Labs Periscope (Resolution V21.2) impressed with its looks and unique, unusual sonic palette — which made it an idea effect mic, or great when you need a bit of crunch. By contrast, the beautiful, classic design of the Telefunken TF11 FET scratches a retro itch by melding a CK12-style capsule design with modern circuitry, build quality and style.
Mixer/Controller (Analogue or Digital)
As an enhancement to its console packages, the Calrec Brio Medley — built around the Brio 36 Compact console, with 96-Input channel upgrade and a Dante or MADI expansion card and a Br.IO I/O — forms a powerful integrated system for broadcast that’s ready to go right out of the box. Launched at the end of 2020, Lawo's MC236 48-fader delivers extra faders and control options to the firm's compact desk, along with in-built A-UHD Core processing. Built around the
21.5” full HD touchscreens that integrate with touch-sensitive colourilluminated rotary encoders, it offers 256 DSP channels and up to 896 channels of I/O. The Rupert Neve Designs 5057 Orbit offers an ultra-stripped back, quality summing option for DAW-based studios looking to add analogue flavour to tracks or final mixes, while the Solid State Logic UF-8 (Resolution V21.3) provides a modular, expandable controller option for a similar audience of DAW users. What’s notable, though, is that it does it marrying the kind of functionality you expect from SSL to that company’s eye for build quality tactile control.
Monitoring
As the bigger option in an updated Alpha range, the two-way, bi-amped Focal Alpha 65 EVO active nearfield monitors serve to bring the French company’s notable sonic panache — which we have rewarded with Resolution Awards nominations in the past — to a very competitive price point. The Genelec GLM4.1 software (we looked at GLM4 in Resolution V19.6) completely overhauls its extremely user-friendly room optimisation system with a brand new, completely rewritten room analysis engine and a whole host of new functionality and accessibility options. The Grace Designs m908 (Resolution V19.6) proved to be an extremely capable, super-flexible monitor controller in our tests, that we were confident could handle virtually anything a modern studio could throw at it. In the same spirit, the Trinnov D-Mon has now matured into an even more attractive option for controlling and perfecting the sound of your room thanks not only to its powerful rackmount unit and its processing and the eye-catching measurement microphone, but also thanks to the addition of the smart, stylish La Remote (Resolution V21.3) and a desktop control solution that blends simplicity and power.
Plug-ins
As a perfect plug-in representation of a very powerful piece of outboard Mastering EQ hardware, we couldn't really have been more impressed by the Bettermaker EQ232D than we were in Resolution V21.2’s review of the software by
George Shilling. Also in that issue, we looked at Leapwing’s Al Schmitt Signature plug-in, which not only proved the old joke about Al wrong (it goes: ‘if October 2021 / 25
/ Resolution Awards 2021
Al Schmitt ever made a plug-in, it would be one button that if you clicked it would turn off all the other plug-ins’), but managed to perfectly capture his impeccable taste and light touch in the control room while still delivering a good range sounds and options. SynchroArts' VocAlign Ultra (Resolution V21.3) is a wonderful no-frills tool for aligning audio and performing basic pitch correction that represents a real time-saver for those that will need it, while UAD's API Vision Console Emulation (Resolution V21.4) for Luna fundamentally re-jigs the software into an end-to-end API emulation providing a unique change of character for the DAW in a way we've not really seen before.
Preamp
As a perfect partner to the 8424 desk, or a great addition to almost any rig, the AMS Neve 1073OPX (Resolution V19.4) melds eight-channels of the company’s muchappreciated 1073 preamp circuitry with a flexible, network controllable, rackmount enclosure, while the API Select T12 brings another unexpected 2-channel, all-tube, Class-A mic pre to a 2U rack as part of its new line — leveraging its AP2516 transformer in the input stage and a custom API transformer on the output stage. The Cranborne Audio Camden EC1 interface offers a diminutive 1/2 rack option for musicians and podcasters who need a compact portable option, while still delivering excellent quality pre-amp circuitry in multiple flavours, headphone monitoring and access to the company's C.A.S.T. audio distribution system. Finally, the RME 12Mic (Resolution 21.4) is a network controllable, reliable, great-sounding workhorse set of mic pres that with MADI and AVB connections that greatly impressed during our tests.
Processing & Ancilliary
While, at its heart, the Flock Audio Patch system is a software-controlled patchbay, the range of integration and routing options it provides and the simplicity of its operation via the Patch App software can be a revelatory way to integrate analogue outboard for the uninitiated. The LT we reviewed (Resolution V21.5) has 16 ins and 16 outs, and greatly impressed, though larger options with much expanded I/O are also available. The Lawo A_UHD CORE represents a new heart for the company's MC2 mixers, with up 1,024 channels of flexible DSP processing that can be shared between consoles, as well as extensive IP Audio capabilities. Also from the same company, is a very different proposition in the form of Lawo Home, a system that provides a highly flexible, cloud-based portal for management and connection of IP-based media infrastructure. Finally, the Studio Technologies Model 5422A Dante Intercom Audio Engine builds on and expands the 5422's reputation for providing IP-based Intercom facilities and broadcast-related mixing.
Recorder
Ideal as a rugged full stereo recorder to be employed when a wireless system cannot be used, or as a great compact backup to keep in the kit bag, the Lectrosonics SPDR a great lightweight, dual-channel recorder. In a similar vein, Tascam DR-10L is also a compact discreet recorder — but this time twinned with a lavalier mic and ideal for videographers, content creators or reporters to use out in the field. On a distinctly more musical bent, iZotope's Spire Studio is a wireless, portable, musician-friendly recording system that twins an internal mic with additional connectivity options, along with app-driven effects and AI cloud processing to create a powerful, portable musical notepad for ideas and collaboration. As a great addition to the evergrowing toolkit aimed at the burgeoning podcast market, the Zoom PodTrack P8 delivers an easy-to-use, portable and powerful option for podcasters with six mic inputs and a multitude of other connection options.
AWARDS 2021 REWARDING QUALITY AND INNOVATION
VOTE NOW! www.resolutionmag.com/awards-2021-vote 26 / October 2021
MASTERING... SOLVED. Michael Romanowski, Coast Mastering (Alicia Keys, Too $hort, America...)
· BDA4M 4 CH DAC with switchable BX5s · BAD4M 4 CH ADC with switchable BX1s · B16-BMB3 Dante
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The Interview
I strived to make their lives so easy they couldn’t envision not having me around...
Mike Larson As Pharrell William’s full-time producer/engineer, Mike Larson will oversee the creation of the rapper’s new super-studio. DANNY TURNER learns how he intends to implement the latest spatial audio technology.
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fter interning for Salaam Remi, producer/engineer Mike Larson found a home at Miami’s South Beach Studios where he began assisting daily for The Neptunes and on sessions for N.E.R.D.’s third album, Seeing Sounds. Now firmly established thanks to working full-time for rapper/singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams, Larson has worked with a catalogue of highprofile artists including Ariana Grande, Beck, Lil Uzi Vert, Snoop Dogg, Miley Cyrus, Mary J. Blige and Hans Zimmer. Larson’s latest project is to oversee the aesthetic and technical design of Pharrell’s soon to be built Goodtime Sound studio, based within the grounds of the recently opened Goodtime Hotel in Miami Beach. The studio will incorporate the latest in recording and AV technology, including Sony’s 360RA spatial audio technology — a rival to Dolby Atmos — and Larson is excited by the game-changing potential that 3D audio will offer artists creatively.
doubling would widen a stereo mix. With Spotify, where you can literally look up any album you want, I’ve been going back and re-listening to the music I loved as a kid. It’s mind blowing what they were able to pull off before the assistance of computers and digital editing software. Stick a microphone in front of a great singer and you can capture something incredible, but now with everything so produced and polished it’s not quite the same.
Were you always analytical when it came to discovering how a piece of music was created? Not at first. That happened around the time I started putting my own beats together when I was still in high school. I‘d go listen to a song produced by someone like Dr. Dre and notice things in terms of panning and how vocal
While employed as an assistant at South Beach Studios, how long was it before you began working with the likes of N.E.R.D. and Pharrell Williams? I was getting session experience almost immediately! In addition to my first internship with Salaam Remi, I had four to five years of recording experience in my little basement
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It’s mind blowing what they were able to pull off before the assistance of computers and digital editing software. Stick a microphone in front of a great singer and you can capture something incredible setup, so I knew the basics of how to sit at a computer, run the software and hit record. Later on, I learned all the other elements of true engineering at Remi’s and South Beach Studios. I had some incredible mentors as a young engineer including Frank Socorro with Salaam and Drew Coleman [longtime engineer for The Neptunes] before I assumed the hot seat. At SBS, I learned how it was all about the team and wasn’t officially part of the N.E.R.D. sessions at first, but Drew and assistant engineer Hart Gunther were gracious enough to allow me to help out and be in the room. My only real responsibility was to assist the assistant, but I’d be there trying to soak up every bit of knowledge I could, from the way the keyboards and MIDI gear was set up to running a Pro Tools session and how their whole system was designed to operate.
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October 2021 / 29
Craft
Charley Foskett The musician/producer sits down with JOHN MOORE, to chat about why after a long and varied career, he’s finally decided to put out an album of his own music — aptly titled Late Bloomer
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fter 50 years in the musical trenches — as gigging musician, creating ads and jingles as part of Off-beat Music in Hammersmith, as a songwriter, as a producer, and as something akin to an impresario and general mover-and-shaker — Charley Foskett has a guitar case full of tales, which he’s more than happy to share in his effusive, engaging, self-deprecating style. A 38 / October 2021
prime example of this is when a simple question regarding where he cut his studio teeth quickly derails thanks to a series of stories that include (but are not limited to): a frustrating four-week UK tour for a single that was released late; exhaustion; Greg Walsh (producer for Tina Turner, Heaven 17 and many more) showing him how to use the EQ on a Teac four-track; his brief stint as the bass player for a nascent Roxy
Music (“In exchange for playing bass, I could store my kit at Ferry’s house… well, it wasn’t Ferry’s house it was actually owned by two models and he was living there”) and ends up with him talking about his time at Tittenhurst, working in John Lennon’s old studio with with Zak Starkey, Ringo and engineer Martin Adam as part of an heroin awareness charity project that Foskett claims was stifled by the UK government.
It’s a mad, mad world…
That music, part of 1986’s The Anti-Heroin Project LP It’s A Live-in World, was a small section of a four-sided album of songs by artists including Paul McCartney (Simple as That, co-produced by Charley), Elvis Costello and Dire Straits and represented 20 months of voluntary work by Foskett from offices at EMI. However, the record’s title single would eventually be banned by the BBC at the behest
Everything recorded is a performance; so my job as a producer is to capture the magic of that — and I think I did for every damn note on the whole of this record… of British powers-that-be, according to Charley, effectively killing its chances of success. He believes the move came after he declined to become part of the Government’s own antidrugs campaign team. In the aftermath of that debacle, Foskett moved away from his projects in the jingle business and began working as a gigging producer, taking whatever projects came his way all across Europe. Along with this, came the odd bass gig (Dexy’s Midnight Runners being a notable example), multiple songwriting collaborations, and work with friends, contacts and clients at his private home studio in Dunstable. That studio — a simple one room set-up, save for a vocal booth, based around Logic Pro and a tried-and-tested set of NS10s sitting on top of the desk — is where I sit down with him for our chat. It is every inch the comfortable songwriting/advanced project resolution 2021_2.pdf 1 12.10.2021 set-up, scattered with instruments, manuals 22.46
/ Charley and friend getting to work in his private studio
and old bits of kit (we see you, superceded Mac G3, bless you). It’s here that Charley has, after all of his adventures, finally taken time to make an album of his own. Called Late Bloomer, it’s an engaging
folk LP that’s delivered in Foskett’s distinctive Newcastle brogue (aka ‘Geordie’ accent, for our non-UK readers). That’s ostensibly what we’re here to talk about, but… y’know, things rarely travel in straight lines with Charley.
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October 2021 / 39
Focus: A-D/D-A Mic Pres
Focus: A-D/D-A Mic Pres In the DAW-driven world in which we live, the interfaces and A-D/D-A is the core of most studios; choices are myriad and often cut to the core of what the the studio is for, and what its owners are about. Mic pres and the process of analogue to digital conversion used to be largely the reserve of separate hardware — and for studios with large desks, that is often still the case. But with a massive number studios now being DAW only, the process has become a lot more integrated to save space and money. The choices made in this area reflect decisions about the size of projects that the facility can handle, the amount of I/O options it can accommodate — and, not least, the amount mic channels and thus of performers that can be recorded simultaneously. As such there are hundreds of corresponding options. So, here is our look at the range of A-D (and sometimes D-A to) connectivity that include mic preamp functionality, some being specific just to that task and some being full studio I/O options.
AMS Neve
Antelope Audio
At heart, this is a high-quality front-end for your DAW or live rig that, with the addition of a Digital Option Card, can offer Dante and USB or connectivity. The basic unit provides eight channels of remotecontrollable Neve 1073 Mic/Line/Instrument preamplifier, though up to eight can combine on a network and be operated via the OPX software, providing a maximum of 64 channels and full recall of all settings. It also means they can be placed various locations with centralised control (and front panel locking). When you buy AMS Neve it’s probably the sound circuitry you’re interested in — and very little comes with the cache that the 1073 nomenclature does, being a basic building block of many a recording system for years. Input connections here come via combo XLR/¼” jacks on the front or D-Sub on the back, with Neve’s Marinair transformers on mic inputs and Class-A transformer-less DI input. All channels offer an 80Hz HP filter, -25dB pad, phase flip and smart phantom power control — with Hi/Lo Impedance selector (300Ω to 1.3KΩ). There is also a separate stereo monitor path with Independent level control for latency-free monitoring of all signal sources, a front-mounted headphone output, with rear XLR outputs for your studio monitors.
While the Galaxy 32 is the headline-grabbing new kid on Antelope’s lineup, if you need mic connectivity the top-of-the-bill is the Orion Studio, a rackmount audio interface with Thunderbolt 3 or USB connection. It offers 12 (four front, eight rear) discrete mic preamps with 75dB of gain on combo XLR jacks — with four of them being Hi-Z compatible. There are also 2x analogue inserts to connect outboard gear without the need to do additional routing in the DAW or in the control panel. It’s digitally expandable with up to 16 channels of ADAT and two channels of SPDIF. It utilises Antelopes proprietary 64-bit clocking technology and jitter management algorithm as well as providing for the company’s Synergy Core real-time effects processing thanks to six DSP chips and two FPGA processors, which allows up to 128 effects instances across 32 virtual racks in a configuration identical to the Galaxy 32, which is reviewed in this issue. Drag-and-drop routing, and four 32 channel mixers for cues and sub-mixes make set-ups flexible, and customisable presets allow quick recall. A front of unit mic handles Talkback, and its software can be controlled wirelessly from a computer on the same network. If flawless A/D quality is your requirement, then it will also be worth looking at Anterlope’s Amari, which offers USB, analogue and digital connectivity up to 24-bit, 384kHz with 138dB dynamic range.
www.ams-neve.com
www.antelopeaudio.com
1073OPX
42 / October 2021
Orion Studio & Amari
API
Apogee
Even considering that API is a company with a long and storied history of creating top-of-the-line analogue mixing consoles and outboard, it's still surprising to realise that this is the first of the company’s products to offer a fully integrated digital output. The A2D also provides a pair of API’s 312 mic pres along with API 2520 and 2510 Op Amps to drive the input gain and the feed to the A-D convertors. Input connection comes via XLR switchable between mic and instrument levels; with polarity, phantom power, input pad, 2:1 transformer routing controls too. Further to this, each channel has a 1/4" jack connection on the front panel for Hi-Z Instrument input, with a further 1/4" TRS Insert connection on the back for direct access to the A-D conversion without touching the preamp. Inserted effects can be fed come from each channel's balanced XLR outs, or users can apply any preamp flavour they choose to the proprietary API A-D system. On the digital side of this simple equation, there are six sample rate choices and 20 segment LED metering on both analogue and digital sections. The A2D's digital interface connectors are an SPDIF single-ended RCA connector and an AES digital out on XLR. A coaxial BNC connection accepts external clocks signals, and the unit provides a pair of 9-pin D-sub connectors that allow the multiple units to be chained and locked to the sample-rate clock derived from the first unit in that chain. While it is not a full-blown interface in the way that many of the units in this product focus are, it certainly serves to deliver API-quality mic pres directly to the digital domain with all the sonic colour that entails.
Apogee’s headline interface, the Symphony I/O Mk II offers modular I/O of up to 32 inputs and outputs, with touchscreen display for front panel control, it offers four protocol options for its direct digital connectivity: Thunderbolt, Pro Tools HD, Dante or Pro Tools HD or Waves SoundGrid. Other options come with the Base I/O configurations, though if your requirements include mic pre provision your options are limited to picking the 8x8+8MP option. That particular combination offers eight digitally controlled mic preamps with four Hi-Z ¼” jacks for instrument connection and eight software assignable analogue insert points to stand alongside the 8x8 card’s (also available separately) eight analogue and AES-EBU outs via D-Sub 25-pin or optical ADAT I/O channels and SPDIF connectivity. This can all be handled from the front touchscreen — and its accompanying rotary encoder — or remotely controlled using Apogee’s new Symphony Control software. If additional mic pres are needed beyond this, an expansion option would be a unit like the Apogee Element 88; while that offers eight channels of mic/instrument (4x combo and 4x XLR) inputs with Thunderbolt connectivity and can operate as an input device for DAWs in its own right, its ADAT outputs could be used to add its mic capacity to the Symphony, while being controlled by the same software.
www.apiaudio.com
www.apogeedigital.com
Audient
Avid
A2D mic pre
iD44 and ASP880 The iD44 is an all metal build desktop USB C interface with four of Audient’s well-respected console mic pres. These offer Phantom Power provision, 100Hz high-pass filter and -10dB pad. There are also two front-positioned JFET instrument ins along with independent headphone (x2) and stereo outputs and balanced inputs. Channels 1 and 2 feature insert points for the addition of external effects pre-conversion, while patching directly into the Insert Return slot can allow external preamps direct access to the A-D processing. The unit also provides a talkback facility and three assignable function buttons. Alongside USB C channels for DAW connection, outputs come in the form of four line outputs and ADAT optical. Additionally, two ADAT ins are primed for connection to a unit such as the ASP880, which offers eight more Audient mic pres with rear XLR and front-facing 1/4" inputs offering variable impedence and
Symphony I/O
Pro Tools Carbon
accompanying A-D conversion — potentially expanding the iD44 to 20 mic inputs should a session require it. The mic pres of the ASP880 also offer more versatile high-pass filtering between 25-250Hz alongside the other features mentioned on the iD44,, with all the options controllable from the front panel of the 1U rack unit.
Avid’s unsurprisingly Pro Tools-centric hardware provides I/O to the DAW via either Thunderbolt connection or over Ethernet via a proprietary version of AVB. In terms of I/O from the unit, it provides eight balanced XLR/TRS inputs with variable Z (impedance) on inputs 5–8, as well as eight further connections on balanced DB-25, a Hi-Z instrument socket, two unbalanced TRS and up to 16 channels of ADAT — with outs also via DB-25, ADAT, 2x ¼” TRS and four ¼” headphone sockets. This, and the noted quality of its A/D, spec it out as a great interface for a project studio or commercial facility with low demand for mic pres, though sadly it lacks monitoring control for surround applications and frame edge syncing for working with video, which puts it out of contention for a lot of post-production applications. Given its potential market, then it's really the HDX DSP acceleration that catches the eye — as it delivers Avid’s low-latency plugin functionality as part of the package without the need for a dedicated HDX card installed in the computer hosting Pro Tools. Here we get eight dedicated processors (2.8GHz aggregated) for the job, along with a suite of 116 plug-ins, 70 of which are AAX DSP and will work with the technology, and deliver the headline low-latencies. A powerful system for sharing the load of native processing, Carbon and Hybrid Engine's expansion of Pro Tool's HDX functionality, now make the system much more accessible.
www.audient.com
www.avid.com October 2021 / 43
Facility
Cicaleto Studio NIGEL JOPSON finds a Tuscan villa with excellent acoustics
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very producer has a ‘bucket list’ of studios to record in — now a new facility in Italy lays claim to a top spot on your hit list — especially for those whose aim is to record ‘real’ instruments in a flattering acoustic setting. Finished in 2020, Cicaleto Studio is located in a historic eighteenthcentury villa hidden away in the Tuscan countryside. The villa is set in a nature reserve, but is still only a convenient five minutes by car from the provincial capital of Arezzo. Conceived by musician, composer, sound engineer and producer Francesco Ponticelli, the acoustic and structural design were delivered by Studio Sound Service of Florence. Resolution took a look at the fantastic villa in the company of Ponticelli and acoustic designer Donato Masci. “This is a recording studio with a capital ‘R’ — with the emphasis on good acoustics and recording natural instruments — as well as benchmark monitoring and modern digital production. Everything started from Francesco’s experience — he’s a jazz bass guitar and double bass player for several of the most important Italian artists,” explained Masci, “this studio is born not only to produce but, first of all, to record music.” Ponticelli participated in the foundation of the Agus Collective, which between 2010 and 2020 became something of a reference point for new jazz in Italy. He has had the privilege of 50 / October 2021
playing alongside some of the most influential musicians on the international scene, such as Enrico Rava, who hired him for the ‘New Generation’ group, at the beginning of Ponticelli’s career. An interest in composition led Ponticelli to form his own ensembles, and subsequently record two albums, Ellipses and Kon-Tiki, highlighting Francesco as an innovative composer in the Italian jazz scene.
/ Screens moved out from the wall for a session
The Genelec monitoring and acoustic design of the control room is really accurate The Cicaleto ‘Main Hall’ live room is tailormade for acoustic music. The spacious 95m2 space has 6m high ceilings, the room is flooded by natural light coming in through four windows and a large glass door overlooking the villa’s garden, with the natural wood floor making a
/ The fireplace transformed into a control room window
The hall has been hosting chamber music concerts since the early 18th Century striking first impression. The floor played a major role in the sonic character of the main recording room, as Masci described: “A very important point — not so conventional for studio design — is that we did some in-depth research about the flooring of traditional Italian theatres; the floor is made basically of four or five centimetres of timber on wooden stud work. At Cicaleto, this is in part a resonant floor; in some areas, it is filled with Rockwool for damping, in other areas it is empty, and this is helpful for different sound colours.” By simply moving musicians around the various locations in the room you can hear instruments react differently, finding the perfect point to enhance the sound. “All of the floor area has different sections, and this was one of the most important parts of the project in the recording room. It substantially affects the sound of instruments such as cellos, as well as the piano.” The piano is a Steinway D, purchased from Bussotti (a well-known tuner for the legendary Italian classical pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli)
in 2018. From 2006 to 2018 it was played in concert by several world-renowned pianists, whose signatures adorn the soundboard.
Good vibrations
The parallel orientation of the long walls, which could possibly cause repeated echoes, has been disrupted by constructing wall treatments with different inclinations. The long walls hide custom-made mobile gobos (or screens) that can be used independently within the room, creating isolated areas for ad-hoc recordings. The large screens, finished in tasteful pastel shades (this is, after all, an Italian studio), can be turned to present either an absorptive or reflective side. Francesco described how he usually uses the screens to isolate the drum kit, which he places on the floor area with most absorption to tighten the sound. “As a double bass player, the feeling when the floor vibrates sympathetically with the frequencies of the notes is really a beautiful sensation and definitely helps my playing. The mics pick up a fuller sound; if the instrument is recorded on its
own, then mics can be backed-off a little for a bigger sound. For string quartets, it's amazing, it's a very airy sound. Horns and flute also sound wonderful in this room.” The ceiling in the Cicaleto recording room retains exposed wooden beams, with ‘sail’-type angled diffusors. We observed that the ceiling reminded us a little of the jazz-centric Rudy Van Gelder Studio, where John Coltrane recorded. “All of us at Studio Sound Service had a long conversation with Francesco about this point, and for this recording space the ‘musical part’ is most important. The famous Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, built by Frank Lloyd Wright associate David Henken, followed this ‘focus’ principle. We have beams in just one direction, but the ceiling shape is quite similar in Cicaleto Studio; the curved surface of our treatment panels, however, gives a little bit of extra spread and diffusion to the sound.” The ceiling ‘canopies’ have a double function: they help to diffuse sound coming from below and they also minimise over-focusing which could be produced by the tilted roof. In addition to the large live room, there’s also an iso-booth adjacent for those moments when an intimate vocal or plucked guitar is required. Musicians foldback in the studio is provided by five Mytek PQ2 — an excellent 12-channel musician mix headphone distribution system with two 30W class-A amps in each box. October 2021 / 51
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