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Pro Sound News Online Index: July 2020

on the cover

Pro Audio in a Post-Pandemic World, by Clive Young
The pandemic won’t truly end until a vaccine is developed, but as states open back up and the economy starts to rebound, what will the lasting impacts be on the pro audio industry? Retailers share their surprising upswing while manufacturers discuss the pros and cons of an audio world rocked by COVID-19.

COVID-19 Can’t Stop Pro Audio Retail, by Steve Harvey
There is already a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for pro audio, as retailers recount a short sales dip before rebounding.

The History of America, by Steve Harvey
Archivist, engineer and recording artist Jeff Larson details how he assembled Half Century, a new box set celebrating 50 years of the band America. The collection includes the band’s 1970 London demos and previously unheard tracks from some of their seven albums with legendary producer George Martin.

A Look Back at Live Aid
July 13, 2020, marks the 35th anniversary of Live Aid, which brought pop/rock royalty together to play a massive benefit concert held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia. With 60-plus acts on the bill and 160,000 people in attendance—not to mention 1.9 billion watching it on TV—Live Aid was a live sound challenge from the first note to the last.

Download the July 2020 Issue of Pro Sound News

Report: Pro Audio Biz Still in Good Shape, by Clive Young
The new report paints a picture of an industry in relatively good economic shape despite current challenges, and ready for potential consolidation. 

Gibson Sells Cerwin-Vega to … Cerwin-Vega, by Clive Young
Gibson has sold two more audio brands—Cerwin-Vega! Pro and Home—to Cerwin-Vega Mobile, reuniting the brands for the first time in 13 years. 

Sound Productions Renames Audio Scholarship
Long a supporter of pro audio education, Sound Productions is holding its fourth annual scholarship, renaming it in honor of recently deceased EVP Jeff Humphrey.

dCS Expands Legends Award
The dCS (Data Conversion Systems, Ltd.) Legends Award campaign, which began last year, has been expanded to highlight more engineering legends.

IBC 2020 Cancelled
After several weeks of exhibitors backing out—including Panasonic and Ross last week—the organization, which sponsors the world’s second largest broadcast trade show, finally cancelled this year’s edition. The show was scheduled to take place in Amsterdam Sept. 11-14.

Pro Sound News InfoComm Best of Show Special Edition Award Winners
As part of InfoComm Connected, Pro Sound News has announced its Best of Show Special Edition Award winners.

AES Virtual Vienna a Vivid Success
AES Virtual Vienna, the Audio Engineering Society’s first online Convention, drew participants from 59 countries.

Sound Productions Expands into Wisconsin
Aiming to broaden its national footprint in Pro Audio and AV, Sound Productions expands, founding its first office outside of Texas.

Crew Sues Over Deadly Tour Bus Crash, by Clive Young
Lawsuits fly over last fall’s deadly tour bus crash that killed a monitor engineer and injured seven others.

CEDIA Expo 2020 Cancelled; Virtual Event Planned, by Clive Young
COVID-19 takes down another trade show as CEDIA moves to a virtual format for this year’s Expo.

Recording Academy Advises How To Reopen Studios
With all 50 states now in the process of reopening, the Producers & Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy has released Considerations For Recording Studios As They Reopen. 

NAB Show Express Draws Virtual Crowds
An estimated 40,000 attendees went online to experience the inaugural edition of the virtual trade show, NAB Show Express. 

PAMA Contributes Aid to Live Sound Pros
The Clinic, Crew Nation and the AES each have received a $2,500 PAMA donation to help them in turn aid their constituents during the pandemic.

Audio Lisbon Expands Facility to Grow Market
Aiming to draw more international business, Audio Lisbon is moving into immersive audio mixing, in part by adding Genelec monitors.

Miking to Meet Björk’s Vision
When avant-garde songstress Björk envisioned Cornucopia, 50-piece choirs and invented instruments in an immersive audio landscape was only the beginning.

Fusion Fun with Halsey’s Vocals
Halsey is known for her genre-hopping, and FOH engineer Simon Thomas ensures her vocals play the part with an SSL Fusion.

1873 Cathedral Updates with 2020 Audio System
Built in 1873, St. Eugene’s Cathedral in Derry, Ireland, now sports a sizable d&b audiotechnik xC-Series system.

KV2 Sounds at Khalijia Lounge
The Barcelona-based hotspot recently got a new AV system installed, based around KV2 EX Series loudspeakers.

Inside Stereophonics’ In-The-Round Sound
Stereophonics filled arenas on its most recent UK tour—not only with audiences but with creative sound engineering, too, ensuring the audio held up when the band played a third of its show on a mid-floor B stage.

James Taylor Tracks Standard Songs at United
James Taylor recorded two tracks at United Recording earlier this year for his latest album, American Standard, performing classic American popular songs.

SMPTE Revises IMF Standards
SMPTE’s latest IMF standards revisions address results from IMF Plugfests, as well as feedback from implementers and users.

The History of America, by Steve Harvey
Archivist, engineer and recording artist Jeff Larson details how he assembled Half Century, a new box set celebrating 50 years of the band America. The collection includes the band’s 1970 London demos and previously unheard tracks from some of their seven albums with legendary producer George Martin.

The Wrecks Go High Lo-Fi for Debut Album, by Steve Harvey
With the release of the band’s debut album under producer/frontman Nick Anderson, L.A. pop-punk act The Wrecks uses lo-fi production to add an edge that the group’s more polished early EPs lacked.

Producer/Artist Rupert Hine, Dead at 72, by Clive Young
Rupert Hine, the producer behind hit albums by Rush, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Stevie Nicks, The Fixx and others, was also an accomplished artist in his own right.

Producer Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon, Dead at 59, by Clive Young
A mainstay of 1980s and 90s reggae and dancehall, producer/engineer Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon died on May 21 in Kingston, Jamaica from kidney disease. Over the years, Dixon worked with the likes of Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Garnett Silk, Frankie Paul and the U.S. group Morgan Heritage, but also went on to found his own Heatwave studio and Digital B label.

Studio Showcase: The Record House, by Steve Harvey
Following years working at Interscope Records’ studio, Mert Ozcan went on to co-found The Record House. Now armed with a brand-new Dolby Atmos mix room outfitted by studio acoustics designer DHDI, the boutique studio has become a creative collective scoring and working on Hollywood features.

Recording Babyface’s George Floyd Tribute, by Clive Young
Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds recently re-recorded his 1996 Grammy-nominated song “How Come, How Long” acoustically for a video in tribute to George Floyd, who was killed by police during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.

Bringing Fantastic Negrito’s Dead Album to Life
Nahuel Bronzini discusses working on the Fantastic Negrito album Please Don’t Be Dead, which won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

Tracks – July 2020
Tracks is a monthly look at the recording process behind 10 new releases by artists across the musical spectrum.

Inside American Horror Story’s Dynamic Sound
The show may be horrific, but production mixer Brendan Beebe helps ensure that the sound is not with the aid of Lectrosonics transmitters.

SugarHill Upgrades Desk with GenesysControl
The long-running SugarHill Studios in Houston have upgraded the facility’s Neve Genesys Black console for total integration with DAWs.

Octave Records Deploys SSL SiX for DSD Projects
DSD projects are being recorded at Moose Sound through a new SSL SiX SuperAnalogue desktop console.

Mixer Makes Move from Cans to ADAMs
Multi-instrumentalist and producer Patrick Jordan-Patrikios has a history of mixing on headphones, but recently he’s come to use ADAM Audio A7X active studio monitors for his work on movie trailers and other projects.

Blackbird Revamps Studio F Mix Room
Nashville’s Blackbird Studios has brought one of the first SSL Origin analog in-line mixing consoles into its Studio F mix room.

Dolby, Tidal HiFi Roll Out Immersive Streaming
Streaming titan Tidal is making Dolby Atmos Music available from Atmos-enabled home systems.

Beverly Goes Wild with Sennheiser
Field recordist uses drop rigs to capture soundscapes, spot effects and surround ambiences for sound design. 

Toei Translates with Meyer Sound
Toei Studios’ multi-faceted screening room/dubbing stage now sports an extensive Meyer Sound Acheron Studio loudspeaker system.

Caracol Monitors Remotely During COVID-19 Crisis
Colombia’s Caracol private media company purchased three mixing consoles during the current coronavirus pandemic to use remotely.

Composer Takes Deep Dive into Emote Control Software
Eventide’s Emote Control Software wound up being a key part of composing for the BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet.

Building the Epic Audio Narrative of Wind of Change, by Jim Beaugez
Did the CIA really write a heavy metal song to debase the Soviet Union and bring the Cold War to an end? The hit podcast Wind of Change traveled the world to find out, bringing a cinematic feel to the show’s sound to tell the tale.

How Talkhouse Built a Podcast Production Process COVID-19 Can’t Break, by Jim Beaugez
When Talkhouse host and producer Elia Einhorn got COVID-19, it put the popular podcast’s workflow to the test. The workflow won.

Biscuits & Jam Digs Into Audio Realism, by Jim Beaugez
Whether talking to Martina McBride at Blackbird Studios or Willie Nelson over a cell phone, the Biscuits & Jam podcast team uses sound to keep it real as food-loving musicians share stories about home, family, tradition and more. 

How the Flashback Podcast Takes History to the Top, by Jim Beaugez
Apple hosts more than 1 million podcasts — and the new hit series, Flashback, is in its Top 50. Executive Producer Rob Culos shares how sound supports OZY/iHeartRadio’s show about the unintended consequences of history.

Sound Innovations: Audinate Dante Domain Manager, by Brad Price
Brad Price, senior product marketing manager at Audinate, traces the history and development of Dante Domain Manager software, which allows users to build ever-larger, more sophisticated AV systems using brands they already know.

Innovations: Bose SoundComm B40 Headset, by Matt Ruwe
Matt Ruwe, senior product manager for Bose, discusses the thought process behind the creation of the Bose SoundComm B40 Headset, intended for use on the road and in the field by live event professionals.

Review: Pliant CrewCom Professional Wireless Intercom, by Liz May
The Pro Sound News review team put the Pliant CrewCom Professional Wireless Intercom to the test in a theatrical production. Here’s how it played out.

Review: Ultimate Ears Fitkit, 18+ CSX IEM, by Russ Long
Ultimate Ears’ Fitkit system allows users to make their own ear molds for custom IEMs—so we stuck some in our ears and gave it a shot.

PreSonus Eris E8XT Studio Monitors, by Jon Musgrave
The update for this very popular PreSonus monitor range has landed. Was it worth the wait?

Studio Products

Apogee Clearmountain’s Spaces Reverb Plug-In
Eventide Crystals Effect Plug-In
GIK Acoustics VISO Booth Vocal Shield
ADAM Audio T8V Studio Monitor
Røde RødeCaster Pro Accessories
DPA 4097 Micro Shotgun Mic, Interview Kit
MaonoCaster Podcast Mixer

Sound Reinforcement Products

Adamson Systems Engineering CS-Series Loudspeakers
LEA Professional Cloud Platform
Audio-Technica Wireless Manager Software
L-Acoustics L-ISA Control for Yamaha Rivage PM5, PM3
Avantone Pro Kick Drum Mic
Radial Engineering BT-Pro v2 Stereo Bluetooth DI

Indie Band Ready to Wreck and Roll, by Steve Harvey
L.A. pop-punk act The Wrecks rips it up live, but that’s aided by an inspired high-tech, low-cost system the band carries on tour.

Atlanta HOW Gets L-Acoustics L-ISA System
Rather than an immersive audio application, Mount Paran Church’s new L-ISA System was installed to deal with speaker placement issues.

Live Sound Showcase: Mariah Carey
FOH engineer Phil Strong shares how he’s used multiple residencies in the recently renovated Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to fine-tune Mariah Carey’s sound.

A Look Back at Live Aid
July 13, 2020, marks the 35th anniversary of Live Aid, which brought pop/rock royalty together to play a massive benefit concert held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia. With 60-plus acts on the bill and 160,000 people in attendance—not to mention 1.9 billion watching it on TV—Live Aid was a live sound challenge from the first note to the last.

Orpheum Theater Upgrades with Sound Image
Touring sound/installation specialist Sound Image replaced the aging audio system in Flagstaff, AZ’s Orpheum Theater with a new EAW KF810P line array.

Xi’an Olympic Sports Center Gets EAW System
A new 18,000-seat sports arena in China, the Xi’an Olympic Sports Center, is covered via a massive EAW Radius loudspeaker system.

DGA Gets Emotional Over New Sound System
The newly renovated DGA Theater in Los Angeles sports a Meyer Sound Acheron system chosen by filmmakers Michael Mann and Michael Apted.

Ahava Festival Gets in Under the Wire
Held just before the pandemic took hold of the U.S., New Orleans’ new Ahava Festival charity event was assisted by Danley Sound Labs.

From the Editor: The Ballad of Tommy LiPuma, by Clive Young
The new book, The Ballad of Tommy LiPuma, features household names, mobsters, poor life choices, big laughs and, most of all, a lifetime’s worth of insight and advice on what it takes to be a world-class record producer.

View from the Top: PK Pandey, Symphonic Acoustics, by Clive Young
PK Pandey, partner, Symphonic Acoustics, shares the studio monitor brand’s colorful history, as well as what’s ahead with the company’s new dual 8-inch monitor.

60 Seconds with Steve Johnson of Audix
Get to know Steve Johnson, the new vice president of sales and marketing at Audix.

People: Hires and Promotions in the Audio Industry for July 2020
Industry moves this month include promotions and hires at Renkus-Heinz, Solid State Logic, Yamaha Corp. of America, THAT Corp., Martin Audio, Riedel Communications, Calrec and Audiologic.

The Aha Moment: There’s More to Clusters Than Safety in Numbers, by Peter Janis
Peter Janis, former CEO of Radial Engineering, explains the concept of business clusters and how they can be used to create legions of happy customers who will return to buy more.

Music Etc. – The Grahams, Kids Like Us, by Steve Harvey
Steve Harvey talks with Nashville-based duo The Grahams—childhood sweethearts Alyssa and Doug Graham—who rode the length of Route 66 on motorcycle to find inspiration for their latest album, the last produced by the late Richard Swift.

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