Ask anyone over a certain age what they remember about the Match Game and they may recall presenter Gene Rayburn, who hosted the daytime game show’s initial run from 1962 through 1969, and his iconic handheld microphone. ABC has recently revived the show with new host Alec Baldwin wielding an enhanced replica of the original microphone. The replica microphone, which was developed and built by Prop Master Jerry Carnett in coordination with sound mixer Jorge Silva, makes use of Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid Wireless technology, incorporating a Lectrosonics SSM micro belt pack transmitter.
According to Carnett, Match Game’s producers wanted to recreate the show with as many elements as possible from the original production. “They wanted the iconic shape of that microphone and they really wanted it to be functional, not just a prop,” he says. The microphone is such a part of the show’s image that it has been a central feature in several of Alec Baldwin’s promotional clips and photographs, and the host often jokes about it with his guests.
“The other thing was that it needed to be wireless,” adds Silva, a New York-based freelance engineer and mixer whose work also includes The Dr. Oz Show, Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, Broadway shows and the recent political party conventions. He mixes the production at ABC’s West 56th Street facility. “Putting a typical plug-on transmitter at the bottom was not an option — it didn’t go with the look. The transmitter had to be as small as possible, so we chose the SSM,” he says. Silva was familiar with Lectrosonics products and the SSM transmitter and suggested to Carnett that he might be able to use it. After dissecting the SSM transmitter, Carnett determined that not only were the internal electronics very well designed, but that the solidly built body with the very secure LEMO 3 pin connection would be able to hold up as the base portion of the slightly top heavy microphone.
Since the original microphone is now a historical artifact, Carnett, who is based in Los Angeles, purchased a similar 1960s Sony ECM-51 on eBay and used it to engineer a replica for the new show. The customized telescoping tube is topped with a DPA 4060 lavalier microphone capsule inside the Sony windscreen, wired into the Lectrosonics SSM at the base. John Castellanos at Location Sound Corp. in Los Angeles supplied the Lectrosonics transmitters, and offered technical support.
Silva reports that his production mix typically uses a combination of the handheld mic with Alec Baldwin’s lavalier. “I use 40 percent lavalier and 60 percent wand microphone. It makes it smoother,” he says. “But I print them to separate tracks so the post people can use them if they need to.” The production purchased another module for its Lectrosonics Venue receiver to accommodate the new handheld microphone.
“I had to slightly modify the outside of the transmitter to be able to fit it together,” continues Carnett. “I merged the Lectrosonics transmitter into the mic in such a way that it would make the slimmest possible housing and allow Alec Baldwin to perform with it without worrying about it, and without interfering with the transmission. My assistant, Lisa Rothstein, and I did a test standing 675 feet apart. “It’s one thing to get sound—but to get broadcast quality sound and beautiful, flawless sound--is an entirely different thing. It sounded incredible, like she was standing right next to me.”
“One of the things that I was concerned about was handling noise, but it’s very minimal,” says Silva. “Jerry used a lot of carbon fiber in the tube, so it’s very solid, and the fact that the transmitter is so light means that it balances the wand. Alec Baldwin holds it with three fingers and has found the balance point. Sometimes he will grab the transmitter from below and cup it in his palm, but that hasn’t even been an issue — the RF still remains strong. But then the RF is always very solid with Lectrosonics.”
The new Match Game recently premiered this summer and airs on Sundays at 10 p.m. as part of ABC’s Sunday Fun & Games block.
Posted: Friday, September 23, 2016
At the 141st AES Convention in Los Angeles, will be displaying its full range of audio network solutions at its exhibition booth, as part of a variety of products, all currently shipping and never before seen at AES.
These new offerings include:
Additionally, Focusrite is displaying the following products, all currently available:
Posted: Friday, September 23, 2016
RecordingTheMasters (MULANN Group), which this year began producing Agfa and BASF formulations of magnetic recording tape, has announced a collaboration with French residential recording facility, Kerwax Studio, resulting in the release of Kerwax Replica, an Analog Tube Processor. Kerwax Replica is the studio’s first design, and the unit was developed, and will be made, in France.
Kerwax Replica is a 2-channel excerpt of the 24-channel custom tube mixing console installed at Kerwax Studio, which the company calls “a unique mixing desk conceived in the pure tradition of golden-age studios to meet the requirements of in-house sound engineers and producers.” The Replica’s two independent channels were conceived for stem or individual instrument processing. The Replica is said to create a variety of tube harmonic distortion characteristics, from “gentle enhancement to smashing blast,” with a tweaking combination of gain drive and output volume stages, bias adjustment and EQ knobs. It is suggested for insert use or as a front-end unit for processing stems or mixes.
Available for pre-order, Kerwax Replica will be showcased and demonstrated by its designer Christophe Chavanon on RecordingTheMasters’ booth during the AES Convention in Los Angeles. RecordingTheMasters will be represented on booth #526 by experts and US representatives (RMGI USA) who will be available to discuss analog recording, tapes and machines.
Posted: Friday, September 23, 2016
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RecordingTheMasters Factory Launches Kerwax Replica
RecordingTheMasters (MULANN Group), who this year began producing Agfa and BASF formulations of magnetic recording tape, has announced a collaboration with French residential recording facility, Kerwax Studio, resulting in the release of Kerwax Replica, an Analog Tube Processor. Kerwax Replica is the studio’s first design, and the unit was developed, and will be made, in France.
Kerwax Replica is a 2-channel excerpt of the 24-channel custom tube mixing console installed at Kerwax Studio, which the company calls “a unique mixing desk conceived in the pure tradition of golden-age studios to meet the requirements of in-house sound engineers and producers.” The Replica’s two independent channels were conceived for stem or individual instrument processing. The Replica is said to create a variety of tube harmonic distortion characteristics, from “gentle enhancement to smashing blast,” with a tweaking combination of gain drive and output volume stages, bias adjustment and EQ knobs. It is suggested for insert use or as a front-end unit for processing stems or mixes.
Available for pre-order, Kerwax Replica will be showcased and demonstrated by its designer Christophe Chavanon on RecordingTheMasters’ booth during the AES Convention in Los Angeles. RecordingTheMasters will be represented on booth #526 by experts and US representatives (RMGI USA) who will be available to discuss analog recording, tapes and machines.
Posted: Friday, September 23, 2016
— AES 141st Convention’s Game Audio Track sessions to cover sound design, production,
immersive audio, career opportunities and more —
Game Audio is one of the most technologically advanced and fastest-growing segments of the audio field. The AES Game Audio Track sessions make sure attendees are right in the middle of the action at this year’s 141st AES International Convention, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, September 29 – October 2, 2016.
“If you want to learn about the latest developments and opportunities in game audio, the 141st AES Convention will be a ‘can’t miss’ destination,” said Steve Martz, 141st AES Game Audio Track Chair. “Our sessions and expert presenters will bring attendees not just up to date, but ahead of the curve in this ever-evolving industry segment.”
AES 141st’s Game Audio Track gets out of the gate Thursday, September 29, with “Tales of Audio from the Third Dimension!,” presented by Microsoft’s Scott Selfon, which will present both a technical and creative primer on topics including dynamic simulation of position, distance, interaction with game geometry, environmental reverberation, and more. “Designing, Planning and Creating a Dynamic Music System” will follow, as Sound Librarian’s Stephan Schütze explains the complex process of creating dynamic video game music, where the music interacts with the game action to dramatically enhance the player’s experience. Thursday will conclude with “Dialogue Recording Workflow,” a look at the technical and artistic challenges of dialogue for video games, which may have as many as 10 to 100 times more spoken lines than in a movie.
Friday, September 30’s “Impact of Immersive Audio for Today’s Games” will feature New Audio Technologies’ Tom Ammermann in an examination of current strategies for headphone virtualization and immersive home theater environments. Additional seminars will include a look at VR game audio design for the Sony Computer Entertainment America game Bound in the presentation “Adapting Traditional Game Audio for VR Experiences: A ‘Bound’ Post-Mortem” by Daniel Birczynski, and Steve Martz moderating “VR Audio Renderer Panel – Process and Discussion,” which will help game makers understand the spatializer rendering process and work more easily within the format.
On Saturday, October 1, “Game Audio Education – Get Smart! How and Where to Get the Training You Need” will enlighten attendees on this hot topic. What are some of the latest training and degree programs? How can I start a game audio program if I’m a teacher? What about learning on your own? Moderator Scott Looney of the Academy of Art University and entrepreneurs from top educational institutions will cover these topics and more. Steve Horowitz of the Game Audio Institute and Nickelodeon Digital will lead a “Careers in Game Audio – Understanding the Business of Games” seminar, in which game studio professionals will discuss what people need to know when looking for work in the gaming industry.
Furthermore, as part of the AES Los Angeles special events on Thursday, September 29, the “Implementation & Mixing for VR Games as Both Art & Science” event will gather experts from PyraMind Studios, Zero Latency VR, Technicolor, and Sony to explore both the variable aesthetics at play as well as discuss some of the latest platform, middleware and plug in developments being used to achieve realism and sonic aesthetics in today’s latest games.
A newly announced AES Technical Tour to the Sony Computer Entertainment America facilities where attendees will tour their state-of-the-art audio facilities located within Santa Monica Studios, the game studio behind the hit God of War franchise. This walkthrough tour of the facilities includes an explanation of tools, process and pipeline, and samples of the studio's audio work in recent releases. Attendees will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement to enter the studio. More information on tickets for AES Technical Tours available at http://www.aes.org/events/141/gameaudio/?ID=5219.
Complete AES 141st International Convention Game Audio Track events information is available on the AES website at http://www.aes.org/events/141/gameaudio/ and via the AES Events mobile app (iOS and Android), which also offers convention maps, scheduling, social media interaction, and other helpful guides to making the most of the convention.
Register now to receive a FREE Exhibit-Plus badge (apply promo code AES141NOW at checkout) or purchase a premium All Access badge for the AES Los Angeles Convention at aesshow.com.
Find out more about the Audio Engineering Society at aes.org.
Posted: Friday, September 23, 2016
Antelope Audio will showcase its new FPGA-based FX, along with several of its Thunderbolt interfaces at this year's AES Convention in Los Angeles, September 29th and October 1st.
The Antelope booth will feature ongoing demonstrations of the FX and interfaces, led by Antelope's U.S. Director of Sales and Marketing, Marcel James. Each day of the convention Antelope will feature special guests and musicians.
At this year's AES Convention, Antelope Audio will also be a Project Studio Expo sponsor, supporting more than a dozen sessions occurring between Thursday and Saturday, ranging from topics on "How to Make Your Recorded Vocals at Least Twice as Good!" to "The Special Sauce for Mixing a Hit Record".
Antelope will also be partnering with the AES Student Community to provide a new Zen Tour — what Antelope calls the 'king among portable interfaces' — as an award for the final stage of the student competition. Finally, Antelope will be posting new career opportunities at the AES job fair, to be held on September 30th.
Posted: Tuesday, September 20, 2016
At this year’s AES Convention in Los Angeles, ADAM Audio is showing their 2.1, 2.2 bundles and 5.1 and 5.2 surround bundles which include sets of ADAM monitors together with matched ADAM subwoofers from the AX and SX lines.
“Monitors are one of the most important components of a recording studio - every decision that you make is based upon the sounds coming out of your chosen monitors,” says Dave Hetrick, President of ADAM Audio USA. “Our Bundle Program is an expression of how ADAM Audio is dedicated to providing our customers with options for full range monitoring systems, no matter the size and shape of your room.”
The 2.1 bundles feature five different ADAM AX monitor pairs with a subwoofer,.The 2.2 bundles include monitors and subs from the SX line. The surround bundles include four 5.1 bundles in the AX line, and the 5.1 and 5.2 Surround bundles from ADAM’s SX line include package options.
ADAM Audio launched their first Bundle Program earlier this year after listening to customers speaking about the way they work, and recognizing the need for them to have systems which combine the precision of ADAM studio monitors with the lower bass extension that they need in a high performance matched subwoofer. In offering these exclusive bundles, ADAM Audio suggests it has done the work of matching the monitors and subs together for ultimate performance as a package.
“We offer a variety of matched monitor and subwoofer packages that are designed to meet our customers’ needs for any level of creative work – from boutique project studios to major recording, production and broadcast facilities,” adds Hetrick. “Now everyone can have a complete ADAM matched monitor and sub bundle which combines precision and power into one great package.”
More Information: www.adam-audio.de
Posted: Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Posted: Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Posted: Tuesday, September 13, 2016
MusiCares, in partnership with the Audio Engineering Society and The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, will be hosting free hearing screenings Thursday through Saturday from 10am until 4pm during the AES Los Angeles Convention.
Posted: Tuesday, September 13, 2016
